Full-Time Magister

“Mo Fan, six points!”

After the Math teacher—Deng Yongchuan—had said this, the class began to laugh loudly.

Nearly everyone turned their heads around to look at the short, black-haired youth who was sitting at the very back of the classroom. This youth was Mo Fan, the one who only got a single-digit score on the exam.

“Mo Fan, you should learn from Mu Bai. He was able to score 96 despite the exam being this hard. How could you only get a single digit score on the exams? Don’t sully your own name,” Deng Yongchuan sighed.

How could such a troublesome student be in my class? When he first entered the school, his grades were top notch. However—after entering high school—his grades quickly fell, and with his exam scores being such a tragic sight, it caused the class average to drop as well.

“Teacher, he doesn’t even live up to his name: Mo Fan. Mo Fan… he’s not average at all! He’s levels lower than average—he’s practically a dreg. 1” the student called Mu Bai called.

“Hahaha”

“He really is!”

“Mu Bai truly lives up to his reputation, he can insult people without swearing. Mo Fan is indeed not average, he has already become trash!”

The entire class began to laugh and it wasn’t until Deng Yongchuan began his lecture that they finally stopped.

...

“This Mu Bai makes me sick. He thinks he’s amazing just because he’s handsome, has good grades, and knows how to play musical instruments!” The person who sits next to Mo Fan—Guan Gu—said.

“He’s just a childish ****.” Mo Fan said with disdain.

“Do you want to play volleyball when the school ends?”

“Can’t go, I’ve got stuff to do.”

“You’re going to help Old Man Ying again? After all, you’re the only one who dares to go to the thatched cottage behind the mountains. Oh right, I got me some Xuanhuan and Mohuan novels, do you want me to lend one to you?”

“You can put it in my bag, however, you should read less novels. You’re addicted.” Mo Fan said.

…

To a student, the most beautiful bell sound is naturally the one signaling the end of class. After the end of an entire day filled with dull classes, Mo Fan yawned as he carried his bag while walking to the back of the mountain.

The back of the mountain was the back entrance of the academy; basically, no one actually used it.

Old Man Ying who Guan Gu mentioned was the guard of the academy’s back mountain. In order to ensure the safety of the students—and prevent students from sneaking out to internet cafes—the school had appointed Old Man Ying as the keeper of the back entrance.

Old Man Ying had no relatives nor friends. When he had passed away, there were no questions asked about him; thus, the school carelessly buried him.

Mo Fan and Old Man Ying were quite familiar with each other. Before the old man passed away, he had also left some stuff for Mo Fan. He only remembered the old man’s good intentions today, hence he decided to take a look at the thatched cottage.

Old Man Ying had always said that he was the descendent of some historical big-shot, so he was in possession of a five thousand year old antique ring.

Mo Fan have seen that ring before; it was completely pitch black, and didn’t look like some antique. However, the most important thing was that he had brought it to an appraiser to get appraised; the owner had thrown Mo Fan out while questioning how he could have the face to say that this copper ring—smelted from a charcoal stove—was an “antique”. Ever since then, Mo Fan stopped believing in Old Man Ying’s bragging.

Mo Fan wanted to take the things Old Man Ying had left behind as something to remember him by.

Old Man Ying was a magnanimous gatekeeper; he was very indifferent toward the topics of life and death. Mo Fan wished for him to pass away in peace. Death was not the end of everything, perhaps you can start your life over somewhere else?

“Would you believe me if I said that in this plane that holds science in high regards, there is another parallel plane that practises magic? In that plane, you don’t study science, but magic...”

This was the kind of crazy talk that Old Man Ying would always tell Mo Fan, which was why Mo Fan firmly believed that when he passed away, Old Man Ying had gone to a different plane to restart his life—and live a more extravagant one while he was at it.

The ring was easily found within the wooden box under his bamboo bed.

As Mo Fan opened it, he felt a faint obscure aura emanating from the box—it did indeed feel quite mysterious. However, Mo Fan is fifteen-sixteen years old, he didn’t believe that there would be something like a cultivation technique in this world. He definitely did not believe the recluse who said that if Mo Fan wore this ring, and practised this cultivation technique, he would be able to save the universe.

The pitch-black ring was an ordinary looking ring. If one wanted to know the most peculiar thing about the ring, it would be that the interior had eight very small holes—which any artisan was able to make.

The moment Mo Fan put it on, he felt a heart-freezing chill. This thing that made him shake in the heat of summer was quite strange.

“Strange my ass.” As Mo Fan thought this over, he denied the idea in his head.

Mo Fan was struck with a sudden sleepiness, but he still had to work that night. Thus, he arranged the the bamboo mat and laid down inside the house to sleep first. At 10 PM, he would have to go to the 24/7 supermarket to be a clerk, and he would work till 6 in the morning…

…

He was extremely sleepy, thus he fell asleep very quickly.

A sliver of blood-red light shone through the mountain cracks from the setting sun, dying the forest behind the mountains and the small, thatched cottage red with it’s glow.

It was like a colossal door in the dark that was slowly closing. The radiating light in the darkness was slowly being sucked inside the door. As the sunset completely disappeared beneath the mountains and as dusk came to rule the world, the back of the mountain seemed as though it was covered with a misty layer of a bizarre color.

From far away, this area seemed like it continued into nothingness. Beneath the blood sun was an indistinct scene around the water, like a mirage!

The youth sleeping inside the thatched cottage was still snoring, little did he know that the ring on his finger was emitting an ear-piercing humming sound. It was as if it was reacting to the reflection of the mirage that revealed the world’s true calling.

“Bum~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~”

As it trembled, so did the entire space!

Shui Nan Middle School was located in Nanshan in the city. Nanshan was much taller than the rest of Xia City.

The city was already brightly lit up; the streets, shops, buildings, the Grand City of Xia was radiating a magnificent brilliance. Old people who were taking walks after dinner, older ladies who were dancing in the public squares, the children who chased each other in the small valleys, and lovers who were having dates in the park...

The evening didn’t leave people with any insecurity or fear. On the contrary, they were actually enjoying getting off classes for the day, getting off work, and relaxing after dinner. However, if one were to look closely toward the location of Shui Nan Middle School—the south side of the mountain—they would have discovered that the campus that should have been shining bright had been shrouded in a muddled layer.

This space was originally peaceful like the water’s surface, but at this moment, a Spatial Tunnel appeared—spiralling like it was being devoured—causing it to be increasingly fierce, although silent!

On one side was a peaceful city with glorious lights!

On the other was half a mountain swallowed by the black spiral!

The northern city that had just entered its summer eve became an incomparably astonishing scene!

The entire space-time had changed, and the cause of it was this tunnel that was unexplainable in scientific terms.

The center of the Spatial Tunnel was the thatched cottage behind the mountains.

The colossal whirlpool suddenly diffused followed by it vanishing into nothingness. It was as if nothing had happened at all.

A certain person who was still sleeping soundly had no idea about the colossal changes to the world, that he had fallen into a parallel world.

…

…

The empty mountain experienced a sudden rain, which gave the scorching summer day a fierce cold punch, suppressing the overwhelming heat.

The air in the morning was particularly good, and the warm meat-buns by the school gates released an alluring smell. The dazzling golden youtiao gave a mouth-watering scent.

“Seventh Uncle, I’d like some soymilk and youtiao.” A youth with a messy appearance sat down on the stool as he said this to the old man who sold youtiao.

“Coming.” The old youtiao man swiftly served the soymilk, purposely filling up the cup as a smiled radiated across his face, “Mo Fan, you are about to take the magic exams, you should put some effort and strive to get into the University of Magicians so you can bring our Clan some face.”

Mo Fan blankly stared at the Seventh Uncle who was selling breakfast by the school gates. He carefully thought to himself and reckoned that he probably misheard, thus he nodded as he ate.

Yesterday, he slept so much that his head felt dizzy; he felt as though he had dreamt about a journey that took several centuries. When he woke up, he felt like a lifetime had passed; he didn’t know where east, south, west, and north were, nor whether it was morning or noon.

Mo Fan wolfed down his food, his hand holding half of the youtiao. As he was about to bite into the youtiao, he suddenly felt something heavy at his side. A half-bald man in his thirtys sat down next to him, his body reeking of cigarettes.

“Mo Fan, eating breakfast, eh?” The bald man smiled as he greeted Mo Fan.

“Good morning, Superintendent Hu.” Mo Fan hastily smiled as he greeted him back.

This man was the prominent Superintendent Hu, he wore a suit that didn’t suit him every day and his forehead shone brightly.

“I’m not wearing my watch, what time is it?” Superintendent Hu asked, exposing his yellow teeth.

Mo Fan took out his broken Nokia to look, “Still another fifteen minutes before the bell rings.”

“Crap, I’m late. I still haven’t finished my Magic Theory PPT—I don’t have time to finish my breakfast…” As Superintendent Hu stood up all of a sudden, Mo Fan suddenly tilted over.

“Boss, I don’t need the soymilk...Walking to the office is far too slow—whatever—it doesn’t matter if I use some magic.” Superintendent Hu stood there talking to himself.

Mo Fan was very puzzled, he felt like Superintendent Hu was speaking in an alien language.

Just as he thought he heard wrong, the soymilk shop’s canopy turned over in a incomparably strange way. It was as though compressed air had bubbled forth from within the soymilk shop…

As the evil wind came by, it messed up Mo Fan’s hair and rustled his clothes.

“Wind Trail, Fast Stride!”

As Superintendent Hu suddenly muttered to himself, his misfitted suit began to move on his body in an indescribable way—it was as if there was a gale inside his clothes.

His tie fluttered, and his trousers began oscillating. How could there be wind on a calm morning such as this, and it ruthlessly blow toward Superintendent Hu?

“Sssssh~~~~”

An azure light flashed. Mo Fan could see an indistinct thread of a beautiful starlight moving to surround Superintendent Hu’s whole body. The starlight flashed as it moved.

“Student Mo Fan, teacher will leave first. Do your best in studying!” Superintendent Hu turned around and exposed his yellow-toothed smile to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan seemed a bit taken back. Before he could come back to his senses, he heard a “swoosh” sound!

The slightly plump, bald Superintendent Hu—with the suit that seemed out of place—followed the dust trajectory from the swirling wind and hastily made his way toward the school!

His stride was exceptionally quick. The students wearing their student uniforms seemed immobile, which let Superintendent Hu travel in high speed through them, leaving behind a shocking dust trail…

During this short period of time, Mo Fan felt like the Superintendent’s face was still in front of him. However—at this moment—Superintendent Hu had already disappeared into the depths of the school, and he was no longer able to see his shadow.

The words “Do your best in studying!” still resonated in his ears; however, the person was already gone without a trace. He was chewing on half the youtiao. As the chewing came to a stop, the other youtiao slid from Mo Fan’s hands!

Superintendent Hu, are you the successor of Duan Yu, using his ultimate technique of Ripple Tiny Steps???2

…

“This is just an illusion, this is definitely just an illusion.” Mo Fan rubbed his eyes after a long while.

It must be because I didn’t sleep well last night. It must’ve pressured my cranial nerves or something, how else am I imagining this kind of scene?

Let’s finish this breakfast quickly and go back to the classroom to get some more sleep. Heavens, what is this? A bald and prominent Superintendent who can use Ripple Tiny Step?

After arriving at the classroom, he lay down onto the desk immediately without saying anything, so he could mitigate the illusion he had seen before.

From the front of his desk came the two small voices of the student representatives, one said, “There’s only one month left, what do I do if I don’t get into a good high school?”

“You’re really smart though, I’m sure you can enter the Tian Lan Magic High School.”

“What, you’re the smart one. Your grades for theory classes are so high, I could practically pull out any Magical Beast and you would recognize them and their weaknesses.”

Mo Fan creased his eyebrows, this wasn’t his first time hearing this whole concept of magic.

What happened? Is it possible that I’m having another illusion?

I don’t take drugs nor do I smoke!

Forget it, it must be because I haven’t had a proper sleep.

Mo Fan ignored the crazy talk of the two lads in front of him and quickly entered a deep state of sleep.

Mo Fan’s many years of experience in studying gave him a superior ability to fall asleep on his desk in just a single second.

“Students, open your textbooks. Today, we will continue to learn about Magic Release’s preliminary requirements. Do you still remember what I told you before? To complete Primary rank magic, you have to first make the stars in your Magic Stardust link to each other. By doing this, you will be able to form a Star Path and then utilize the power of Magic. I have already explained this theory to you many times before, while at same time, this is also the most important part of the exam,” the Math teacher—Su Qingzhi—said as he maintained his intonation.

In the past, Mo Fan could enter a state of deep sleep as he followed the voice of the teacher. However, as he once again heard ‘Magic Release” and “Star”, he was immediately woken up.

“Mo Fan, you better listen in class. There’s less than a month’s time, yet you’re still neglecting yourself!” Su Qingzhi saw Mo Fan and immediately reprimanded him.

The classmates also turned their heads around and quietly laughed to themselves. Laughing at the trash had already become their favorite thing to do in class.

“Open your textbook.” Su Qingzhi said in continuation.

Mo Fan felt helpless as he opened up his textbook...

“Shit, what is this??” Mo Fan couldn’t help himself from swearing.

The pictures, functions, and formulas that were contained in the math book were all gone. Instead, there was a “Star Path” which he didn’t understand at all, the picture of the Star had something that looked like a connecting line with streaking meteors. It looked like... like… just like a f**king Magic Formation!

Mo Fan forcefully suppressed the astonishment in his heart, and then came to another realization.

When the math teacher stopped observing him, Mo Fan kicked his seatmate, Guan Gu, below the table and said, “Are you messing with me? What the heck did you switch out my book for, hurry up and give me back my math book.”

“Big brother, what math book are you talking about?” The tanned faced Guan Gu felt wronged— he didn’t try to provoke anyone.

“Come take a look at this crap. Hurry up and give me my book back.” Mo Fan opened up his book and pointed at the strange Star Path, Magic symbols, and the odd incantations.

“Big Brother Mo Fan, this is the Magic book for this class. What’s Math? Did you stay up all night again reading Science novels? You’re even saying I’m reading so much that it’s like I am possessed—you’re the same as me.” Guan Gu said.

As Mo Fan heard Guan Gu’s retort, his chin almost couldn’t help but drop down to the floor.

What is this, and what now?

“Stop bullshitting me.” Mo Fan said in anger. This brat sure is good at acting, the real question is whether I’m gonna believe you like a madman.

“Boss, the novels have actually caused you to go mad. We are in the magic world alright, how could we possibly have something as incredible and mysterious as Math. If there really was, then I wouldn’t be spending everyday studying something as boring as Magic Theory, Elemental Systems, or Magical Beasts. I would have studied Mathematics, Literature, and all these interesting things a long time ago.” Guan Gu said—with a sincere expression and a heartfelt tone—to Mo Fan.

As Mo Fa looked at Guan Gu’s expression, he thought to himself, This bastard actually did not even reveal a little bit of a mistake as he said this crazy stuff. It really seemed like it was real.

My seatmate has gone mad, not only has he gone mad, but he’s even trying to turn me into a madman!

Learning something as boring as Magic Theory, Elemental Systems and Magical Beasts...

Hehe! It’s impressive you can even say that out loud!

“If you don’t believe me, then just listen to what the teacher is saying.” Guan Gu said indifferently as he saw Mo Fan’s peculiar expression.

As Mo Fan heard this, he finally carefully listened to what the math teacher, Su Qingzhi, was saying. However, one part was like an alien language—there were terms which Mo Fan had no idea about— which caused him to feel unwell.

Su Qingzhi didn’t mention the familiar ‘Functions’ nor ‘Formulas’ at all. On the contrary, he had said the words ‘Star Path’ and ‘Star Diagram’ numerous times, he even mentioned things like ‘Fire- Ice- Water Elements’.

“Crazy—they’ve all gone crazy.”

Mo Fan’s belief was solemn, he would not believe these words.

The next class was with his favorite Literature teacher: Mrs Qin. Beautiful, sexy, mature, gentle, big and perky boobs, her very round buttocks won’t use this kind of nonsense to deceive me.

…

After going through the incomprehensible math class, Mrs Qin—with her slender body and formal black dress—walked into the classroom.

Just like before, she gave a slight smile that illuminated the entire classroom. The boys of the class became like kindergarteners; excitement filled their faces as they greeted the teacher.

“Students, today we will be discussing the pros and cons of black magic. Everyone should already know that black magic is divided into three different types; Spectre Type, Curse Type, and Shadow Type. Then, what’s the difference in these three types of Magic?” Mrs Qin said with a gentle and elegant voice.

In the past, Mo Fan would have been able to attentively look and listen. However, after hearing these words, his expression made it seem as though he had eaten a housefly.

While the crazy seatmate to the side of him made a “See, what did I tell you?” kind of expression.

Shit, you’re not wrong, then your father, I, must be sick!

Impossible!

Mo Fan finally couldn’t take it anymore and quickly slid off his chair and stood up.

“Mrs Qin, aren’t we supposed to have Literature class?” Mo Fan asked.

As his seatmate Guan Gu realized what Mo Fan was going to stand up and ask, he tried to pull him away but failed to do so. After hearing what Mo Fan had asked, he facepalmed himself while saying “Oh mai gah”.

As the words were said, a roar of laughter arose within the quiet classroom.

The whole class, consisting of forty students, were swaying with laughter. Especially Mu Bai—he laughed so much that he began to tear up.

Mrs Qin did not laugh. She pushed her glasses with gold traces to the side while maintaining a slight smile. Her clear cat-like eyes looked at Mo Fan as she earnestly said, “Mo Fan, this literature you’re talking about is Science, right? Science doesn’t exist here; you must have immersed yourself in those non-existent things instead of earnestly studying magic. You have to become an useful Mage for society, alright?”

One could imagine the Literature teacher was very sincere. When such earnest words were being spoken out loud, one could imagine the expression of a certain youth changing greatly.

God, please kill me already!!

…

Eh, hold on. How come the words Mrs Qin just said was exactly the same as what the already passed, Old Man Ying, had said?

Is it possible that there really is a magic plane? And I have actually been dropped right into the magic plane?

…

…

Mo Fan had originally thought that this was all just a dream; however, the following few days were exactly the same.

While at same time, his clear conscious had also been telling him that this was definitely not a dream.

On the morning of the fourth day, he was once again sitting at Uncle Seven’s place eating youtiao, while feeling conflicted.

The two male students next to him were discussing Magical Tools. Mo Fan was unclear on what kind of things these Magical Tools were, however, listening to the way they spoke about it, it seemed to be something incredible. Not only that, it also sounded expensive, roughly about the same price as a car.

“Mo Fan, why do you seem so down? How about I—your Uncle—buy you something to energize you? The exams are coming up, whether you are able to become a Mage depends on this exam… ” The youtiao vendor, Uncle Seven, said with concern.

Mo Fan automatically assumed what Uncle Seven had said was related to his grades in school.

“Huhuhu~~~~~~~”

A bizarre wind blew onto the small vendor. It swirled some dust onto Mo Fan’s soymilk, thus, he quickly poured it down his throat. His entire being looked dispirited.

The wind got stronger and stronger and Mo Fan felt a strange pressure slowly spiralling down on him.

The grass was was swaying wildly and the dirt particles were flying everywhere. The girls covered and held their skirts down as they let out astonished cries.

Mo Fan had gotten used to it. It was that teacher again using the “Wind Trail” magic to stride, and there was more activity among the people this time.

“What…what in the heavens, what is that??”

“Oh crap, that’s so cool!”

“Wings, that person actually has wings behind him. It’s exactly the same as the video in Super Kugen!”

“Wind Wings, dear lords, I have actually seen the high-level Wind Element magic ‘Wind Wings’ with my owns eyes!”

Mo Fan was unable to eat his breakfast peacefully with the surroundings being this noisy.

Mo Fan assumed a calm face as he raised his head, however, in the next moment, it was as if his entire being sustained a lightning shock as he stood there. His drowsy eyes widened all of a sudden, unable to move away from what he was seeing!

Against a bright blue sky, at the corner of a rooftop, by the swaying trees, and the fluttering flag of the school...

This man who was wearing a silver gown looked like a spirit from a dream; he flew past these exceedingly remote locations and streaked across the sky in a breathtaking arc!

Mo Fan sat in the back row in the classroom, so when he was bored he tended to stare at the cloud, the sky, the trees, the flagpole, and the birds who are flying free in the sky. However, he never thought that there would actually be people who would have illusory wings to swoop past him for an unimaginable visual impact.

This should be something that only exists in movies, but now it has actually appeared in front of his own eyes!!

“Wind...wind...wind wings!” Mo Fan stared at the silver man with wings in the sky as he mouthed the magic name out loud.

Unlike the time he witnessed the Wind Trail, Mo Fan could feel something moving fiercely within his heart; this was him breaking out of the shell of his original mindset, giving birth to a thirst.

That’s right, in the past few days, he was unable to accept the changes to everything. Only now did he suddenly realize the great changes, and contrary to one’s expectations, it made his heart race violently. It was as though he fell in love with someone at first sight!

After the shock from the silver man flying by had passed, Mo Fan had already stated to himself within his heart: Even if this is a dream, I’ll still learn Wind Wings and hover across the horizon freely before I wake up!

…

The time that Mo Fan had at hand was very short.

If he were to look at things from the perspective of his former world, nine years worth of mandatory graduation testing was happening in twenty days.

In the remaining twenty days, all Mo Fan did was confirm some crucial points:

The courses were divided into:

Magic Foundation Theory – based on the setup of the subject, it seems to be Literature

Magic Star Path – should be geometry

Magical Beast Knowledge – should be biology

Magical Tools and Devices Knowledge – should be physics

Materials Knowledge – should be chemistry

Magic History and Magic Geography should be self explanatory.

Naturally, Mo Fan also understood one very important piece of information.

Basically, there were no students who could release magic yet. This was because what the students had studied during the nine years compulsory education were general theories, concepts, and abilities.

This was actually the same as Junior High School graduates in the former world—no survival skills whatsoever.

To Mo Fan, this is definitely good news. After all, this world of magic was completely alien to him—he practically had to relearn everything.

The most crucial point to become a Mage as a Magic student was the “Magic Awakening”.

The “Magic Awakening” was similar to an opening ceremony. During the opening ceremony of Magic High School, every magic students were to receive their one-time “Magic Baptism” which was the Magic Awakening!

Different people awakened different elements. Mo Fan had heard from Guan Gu that the awakened elements were mostly chemical elements. These were the ones you usually learn in class: Wind Element, Fire Element, Water Element, Light Element, Lightning Element, Ice Element, and Earth Element.

The ones Mo Fan had witnessed before,”Wind Trail”and”Wind Wings”were divided into low rank magic and high rank magic. If the people who awakened the Wind Element were to strive hard, then it was possible that they could learn this magic.

…

Thus, if one wanted to become like the Mage who could fly, then the first thing one needed to do was to get admitted into high school and receive what every high school magic students got——the Magic Awakening!

…

“Mo Fan, don’t tell me you actually want to take the exams for Magic High School, and become a Mage?” Guan Gu asked sincerely.

In Guan Gu’s opinion, Mo Fan never struck him as a person who loved studying, but suddenly he seemed to be genuinely studying magic. This was an atrocious matter.

Mo Fan was too lazy to explain to his classmate. However, he had already decided that he would definitely be admitted into the Magic High School and obtain the extremely precious opportunity to awaken.

“Even if you were to study now, it’d be useless. You should just stop wasting the time, after all, you’ve missed several years of homework.” Guan Gu said in persuasion.

Guan Gu was very clear on the fact that Mo Fan only got six points on the last Magic mock exam—the lowest of the entire year group. How could he get admitted with this kind of grade?

“You’ve already messed up, there’s no use to put in effort now, just accept it.”

“Guan Gu, you should be the one to study more.”

Having Guan Gu chattering in his ears made Mo Fan feel somewhat irritated.

“Why?” Guan Gu asked.

“Guan Gu, did you know that you look ugly?”

“I did,” Guan Gu admitted with a sincere face.

“Yeah, then there’s a saying that you should know: If one is ugly then one should have more...hiccups, if one is ugly then one should learn Magic!” Mo Fan said these heartfelt words with sincerity.

“F**k off mate!”

Guan Gu wasn’t wrong, however. There was only twenty something days left, even if one was a genius, they still wouldn’t be able to compensate for all the classes from years past. Additionally, the content of the exams and what was learned were two different concepts.

Mo Fan knew that he didn’t have much hope left, but the reason for him cramming was not because of exams. It was because he was genuinely moved by Magic, causing him to feel an intense desire to study.

…

…

The time passed quickly, twenty or so days flew past in a flash.

Mo Fan did not wake up from his so-called Magic Dream, instead, he began to believe in the real existence of this world. Furthermore, he welcomed the Junior High Exam which had turned into the Magic Junior High Exam.

On the day of the exams, the people outside of the school were filled with worry. It didn’t matter whether they were having exams on Magic, or Science, the parents of children were still coming to pick them up; those who drove cars came in cars and those who drove pedicab came in pedicabs. This was because the parents were very clear on the fact that the exams this time were going to decide whether their children would come in cars to pick up the next generation, or in pedicabs.

As Mo Fan walked out of the exam room, he saw the endless streams of people, and in his heart he thought, “Why are there cars and electric scooters in a Magic World?” He walked out as he was puzzled over this, but his thoughts quickly returned back to the contents of the exams.

After twenty or so days of studying hard, Mo Fan have finally reached the level where he can understand the subjects of the exams. However, whether the answer was correct or not—— Sigh, as long as I am happy.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan...” Among the crowd, a yellow-faced middle-aged man looked toward Mo Fan with his left hand raised above his head.

As Mo Fan saw this familiar face, he accidentally called out, “Father, why did you come here?”

“To pick you up of course. After you’ve finished your exams, you have basically graduated. I found you a job in the next city district as a construction worker, you’ll be under Uncle Guang Feng. Once you’ve worked there for a few years and gained experience, then you can start doing it on your own. If you’re lucky, then there shouldn’t be a problem for you to earn up to four to five thousand RMB. It’s also better if you start working early.” Mo Jiaxing said as he smiled wholeheartedly.

The world has changed, but Mo Fan remained bad at studying. Whereas Dad was still Dad; Mo Fan felt like he had retained an unchanged family.

If Mo Jiaxing had mentioned the matter of becoming a construction worker to Mo Fan about a month ago, Mo Fan would choosen the road his father had arranged for him without hesitation—this was because he had to walk this road to enter the society.

However, the Mo Fan of now was different.

In this society, there are cars, mobiles, computers and even refrigerators. However, scientific merchandise didn’t exist because it was replaced by Magic. If you don’t become a Mage, then you will become a worker that handles and produces those kinds of things. Damn, that’s no different than the former world, thus, I will definitely study magic!

“Dad, I want to continue studying.” Mo Fan remained silent for a long period time before he told Mo Jiaxing about the thought in his mind.

“I thought you didn’t like studying magic?” Mo Jiaxing said, with a raised eyebrow and his face filled with surprise.

“Uh...” Mo Fan felt caught between a rock and a hard place. How was he supposed to explain this thing. He was so screwed.

Mo Jiaxing looked at his almost sixteen year old son as his face once again contained a straight and honest smile, while he said, “Don’t worry, your father won’t blame you for not putting effort into studying magic. Every individual has their own ambitions.”

“No, I genuinely want to study.”

“Are you able to pass the exams?” Mo Jiaxing asked.

“No.” Mo Fan said in in certainty.

Whether it is having exams in English language or Magic, Mo Fan would definitely not pass, there was no doubting this point.

“Then that’s that. Don’t worry, Although the ancient people have said, ‘Magic is above everything,’ there’s also a saying for those who are a jack of all trades.”

As Mo Fan finished listening to this, he unconsciously smacked his lips.

At the moment, there was a lot of information that Mo Fan had to process. However, during the period of time he was processing this information, Mo Fan was particularly silent. For example, Mo Fan remembered there was one time where the history teacher had told the students, “The Light Element Magic’s earliest user was “Edison”, and at that time, it had caused Mo Fan to curse over and over again in his mind.

When Mo Jiaxing patted Mo Fan’s shoulders to console him, he suddenly realised that his son maintained his silence. His son’s expression showed he was not in a normal state.

No one understood their son like their father. Mo Jiaxing slowly retracted his smile, his voice turned lower pitched as he asked, “Are you for real?”

“Yeah, I want to obtain the opportunity to awaken. I do understand that it’s already too late, but I genuinely want to study and become a Mage.” Mo Fan sincerely said.

Mo Jiaxing remained silent.

Mo Fan also didn’t say anything.

“You really want to continue studying?” Mo Jiaxing confirmed once more.

“I do.” Mo Fan nodded his head without hesitation.

Originally, Mo Fan also thought it was on impulse. However, it has been a month and the restless sensation the Wild Wings had brought into his heart had yet to cool down. He really was not kidding, he seriously wanted to study!

“In that case, alright, I’ll think of something.” Mo Jiaxing said no more.

“Dad, I found a temporary job at the Tian Lan Magic High School, looking after the library. It starts the day after tomorrow.” Mo Fan said.

Since he has decided to study magic, Mo Fan had no intentions of giving up due to himself being unable to properly study. Whether he could enter the Magic High School and obtain the opportunity to awaken would have to depend on his father, while he would depend on himself to fill in the knowledge that he was lacking. He was very clear on the fact that he had no hope to be admitted into Magic High School—thus, Mo Fan found this job in advance.

There was practically no salary, just food and residence. However, to Mo Fan, this was very important as he could find many things he lacked in the library.

Mo Jiaxing was astonished, he didn’t know what had caused his son’s great change of mind. However, since Mo Fan has wholeheartedly begged for magic, then he had no reason to be unhappy. After all, in this society, the ones who truly held a status were the Mages. A construction worker could get a house and a car, but their value and respect still couldn’t be compared to a Mage who graduated from a Magic School.

“Let’s go home first, we’ll talk at home.” Mo Jiaxing nodded his head, no longer saying anything else. Mo Jiaxing did not worry about his son at all. Mo Fan wasn’t sixteen yet, but in Mo Jiaxing’s heart, Mo Fan had already entered adulthood.

1. Mo Fan’s ‘Fan’ is also used in the chinese ‘Ping Fan’ which means mediocre/average

2. Duan Yu is a famous character in the Jing Yong novel of Tian Long Ba Bu

On one half of the mountain lay a residential area. If one were to follow the road with the iron fences, and walk to the end of that small road, one would find Mo Fan’s home.

It was a small, one-and-a-half-story house; the exterior wall had cracked paint, which revealed the red bricks underneath. There was junk in the houses surrounding it.

The other houses in the neighborhood were all about three-and-a-half-story tall. After going through renovations and after being decorated, the houses looked more like actual homes. Whereas Mo Fan’s house—furthest away in the corner—seemed even more like a wretched and old-fashioned house.

“Brother Mo Fan, you’re back... I brought you some good news.” As Mo Fan arrived at the entrance to his home, a monkey-like youth sprung out, his face filled with joy.

This monkey was Zhang Hou, one of the children of the families that lived near this block. One could say that he grew up with Mo Fan.

“What’s the good news?” Mo Fan asked.

“Little Princess is back, I saw her when I was by the entrance to the mansion. Wow, you have no idea how much prettier Little Princess has gotten—she’s just like a little angel.” Zhang Hou said with some excitement.

Mo Fan glanced at the mansion across the street. The mansion was exquisite to the point where it caused everyone to feel envious. Every inch of the flowers, plants, and trees had been through careful enhancement, causing it to reach the level of a real garden park.

However, the beautiful mansion’s garden was currently being surrounded by tall iron fences.

When he reminisced back to his childhood, the iron fences were not there. He had regularly brought along the kids from this street to the mansion’s garden to play.

At the highest location of the residency, there existed many extremely exquisite european-../style villas. In the eyes of these children, they looked like a castle from a fairytale, and within the castle was indeed a Princess so beautiful that made them forget to breathe. She was at a similar age to them and Mo Fan would frequently sneak the Princess out to play with them...

He couldn’t remember when the iron fences appeared around the residency, and the adults in the neighborhood no longer allowed their children to go into the mansion. In addition the make-believe Princess had turned into a real Princess in the castle. Following the passage of age, they became more and more distant, and the number of times they met became less and less.

“Did you know? I heard that Little Princess is currently the Ace of the renowned Imperial Magic School, her innate talent toward Ice elements is simply incomparable with her peers. She is able to utilize Ice magic at the tender age of 15.” Zhang Hou said in mystery.

Mo Fan was astonished. If Zhang Hou were to tell him that the Little Princess received a medal in the Olympics, then he probably wouldn’t feel anything. However, if it was about becoming an Ice Element Mage, then that was something completely different!

Most people had to wait until they turned sixteen—in their first year of High School—to receive awakening before obtaining their first Elemental Magic.

After obtaining that, it didn’t mean you had become a real Mage yet. You had to go through a long process of training, obtaining a Magic Book, and diligently practicing before being able to release magic. _Little Princess sure was impressive, she became a real Magician at the age of 15!_

_Could it be that she is the so-called Child Prodigy? The Child Prodigy of the Magic World!_

“Brother Mo Fan, I feel sorry for you. If only you put in more effort to take away the naive and innocent Little Princess back when we were younger. Now she’s talented and good looking, tsk tsk tsk… it sure makes us quite envious.” Zhang Hou said as he raised his eyebrow.

“That was when we were young, stop talking about useless things.” Mo Fan said cluelessly.

As Mo Jiaxing heard the two youths talk about this, he coughed and dragged Mo Fan back home.

As he just returned back home, Mo Jiaxing said, “I’m going out for a bit. Xin Xia is living with your aunt, she’s probably not coming home.”

“Alright, I understand.”

……

After Mo Jiaxing left in a haste, Mo Fan walked around his house and realized his home hadn’t changed at all.

Although the world had changed, the bitterness of being poor hadn’t changed. _How come my family didn’t trade with the family with the mansion? Really God? You went through all that trouble to turn Science into Magic but you couldn’t do something as small as changing this?_

The only thing he rejoiced over was the fact that his own appearance did not change—it was still as outstanding and elegant as before!

Sitting at home was boring—there was nothing to do. Mo Fan was so bored that he decided to go out and take a stroll. He also wanted to see what else had changed.

As he followed the mossy road that no one walked on, he saw his father’s pickup truck as he was about to meet the main street.

His Old Man was a chauffeur. He used to drive the Master of that Mansion; however, he didn’t know how his father ended up being transferred into the logistics section. There was a day where he went to purchase things on the behalf of the Mansion, and ever since then, the family’s condition had gradually gotten worse.

“Jiaxing, this request of yours is a bit rude, isn’t it. You should know that I treated your family quite well in the past. Despite the kid from your family committing such a deed, I still left some work for you to do. If it was someone else’s family, I’d just have had them pack up and leave immediately.” A middle-aged man’s tone slowly sounded.

“Brother Mu He, just look at this as the last time I request help from you. If I were to try and buy our way into Tian Lan Magic High, then that’d be too expensive. You should already know of the situation of my family, we really can’t afford it.” Mo Jiaxing said, slowly and humbly.

“You—why are you doing this for your failure of a son. He himself doesn’t have the qualifications to pass the exams to enter the Magic High so you might as well let fate run its course, he’s almost 16. Besides, even if I were to help you get your son into Magic High, just based on his character, he will definitely slack and not become a genuine Magician. Becoming a Magician is not that easy, not only do you require talent and hard-work, but those Magic Books, Magical Devices and Magical Tools are not something your family can afford. Without these things to support him, he can’t even become a Primary-level Magician...” The man called Mu He said with sincere tone, but Mo Fan could hear a sliver of arrogance in it.

“This time, he genuinely wants to study. Brother Mu He, if you help me out this time, then I will move far away from Master Mu per his demand. This way, we would also make Master Mu feel at ease, and I will also guarantee that my little brat will certainly not interact with Lady Mu Zhuxue.” Mo Jiaxing’s voice sounded.

“Oh, in that case, I’d have to consider it.”

As soon as he heard they were willing to move away, this man called Mu He seemed to have more interest in the discussion.

……

A youth leaned onto a wall as he listened to the conversation; his heart felt incredibly complicated.

He thought that when the world changed, the many terrible connections he had would also have changed. However…it seemed like nothing had changed.

Like a ruler, the rich people of the Mu Mansion were at the very top, whereas the very bottom was this father who had to go through hard work and needed help from other people. This Mu He was the Chairman of Tian Lan Magic High, and the truth was that he only needed to say a single word and it’d allow Mo Fan to enter Tian Lan Magic High.

However, after hearing his own father—Mo Jiaxing—being willing to move away, Mu He quickly agreed with a heavy sigh.

At the end of the conversation, his father was incessantly thanking Mu He. While Mu He got into his luxurious car and left, he left behind the seemingly old pick-up truck with dust, and his seemingly as dusty and old father, Mo Jiaxing.

_How is this a dream?_

This cruelty was exactly the same as his previous reality. The Mo Fan who was leaning onto the wall with a serious look, he was very aware of the fact that his own family’s condition had not changed at all. Their low status had also not changed at all.

In olden times, the older family in the society had power and status; there was no difference at all in the modern world; some families have more heritage, longer history, and their family still occupies positions and identities with power. Even if the common people were no longer called servants to the rich; they were now called workers; and although they no longer needed to kneel and salute, the fates of these common people was still below those of the rich, and their fates could be manipulated easily at the fingertips of these rich people.

Mo Fan himself was born into a family at the very bottom, and they were being completely domesticated by a wealthy family called ‘Mu’.

Within his heart, it felt like there was something violently surging—he grasped his fist tighter and repeatedly smashed it against the azure-colored wall.

“Your Mu Family took advantage of me when I was young, and when I was lying down!”

“When I am powerful, I will definitely return the favor tenfold—no, a hundredfold!”

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: DOCuinn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

After Mo Fan returned home, all he could think of were the words Mu He had said. Those words appeared to be earnest and sincere, however, the disdain he had for the Mo Family, and toward himself, was very evident.

_Can’t even become a Primary-level Magician?_

“Your father, I, will make you eat those words!”

Mo Fan admitted there was a period of time where he and the Little Princess, Mu Ningxue, were very close with each other. However, the young him did not know what kind of disaster this would bring to his poverty-struck family. From that day on, Mo Fan finally realized that a social class difference existed.

“Mo Fan, hahaha! I have solved your problem! I gave a call to an old friend of mine, and it turns out he’s doing really well now. He is the chairman of Tian Lan Magic High. He said if you can diligently cultivate magic, then he could allow you to enter Tian Lan Magic High and let you awaken your Elemental Magic. This kind of opportunity only comes once in a lifetime, so you really need to do your best this time, alright? The yellow faced Mo Jiaxing entered the home with a smile, as he patted Mo Fan on his shoulders.

Mo Fan looked at his father’s joyous smile. If he was his normal self, he would also be happy and celebrate this by drinking a cup of white wine with his father. However, how could he still believe in his father’s honest and bright laugh after knowing the truth? What made Mo Fan have even less faith in his respectable father was that no one else respected him in their society.

“Really? That’s really good! That’s definitely my dad; he fixes whatever issues come our way. Haha!” At last, Mo Fan finally wore a smiling face, as he reached his arms around his father’s shoulders.

“Of course! Who do you think your father is?” Mo Jiaxing thought this kid’s bullshit was really well done, so the smile on his face grew increasingly wider.

The father and son still had a few cups left. While they were drinking, Mo Jiaxing tactfully said, “Mo Fan, you should live in the dorms. I’m planning on renting out the house so we can get a bit more money for ourselves.”

Mo Fan already knew that this house had basically been sold to Mu He. This lousy house holds no value in itself, however, the land is inside the city area so it’s price was very high.

“Alright, I’ll do that. I don’t come back very often anyway. It’s just… What about Xin Xia…” Mo Fan said as he pretended to not know the truth.

“Xin Xia is staying with your aunt. To be honest, it’s not easy for two men like us to take care of Xin Xia. That girl is very sensible, so there’s no need for us to worry about her,” Mo Jiaxing said.

“In that case, I understand. Make sure you come and visit me often in school,” Mo Fan said.

“I will. Alright, I’m tired. I’ll head off to sleep first. You should go to school tomorrow,” Mo Jiaxing finished the last cup of white wine and stood up swaying.

Mo Fan saw him turn around. Seeing his back made him suddenly remember the article written by Zhu Ziqing.

_I will live in school, and Xin Xia will stay with our aunt. We_ _have found a place_ _, but where is this man going to live?_

Ultimately, Mo Fan didn’t bring up the issue.

In fact, Mo Jiaxing was willing to make these sacrifices because he believed it was the duty and honor of a father. He wanted to let his son know that he should study in peace, and that he would help him solve any issues that he couldn’t solve by himself.

Besides, Mo Fan also understood that if he were to bring the issue up it would only make Mo Jiaxing feel sorrow and shame. After all, what man doesn’t want to be an awesome father who can fix everything for his son?

Mo Fan couldn’t bring it up. Other people might disrespect his father, but he wouldn’t!

_This broken house… So what if we don’t live here? At most in three years_ _,_ _after I have achieved a great level in magic studies, I will have anything I want._

_In this society, Magic is respect!_

_I will become an indomitable Master Magician!_

……

The two months of summer break went past really quickly. Mo Fan felt as though he had been dropped into a sea of books.

There were all sorts of books in Tian Lan Magic High. Furthermore, the books concerning Magic were just like science books: complicated, numerous and offering a genuine significance to what knowledge they could offer.

However, Mo Fan had reaped a great harvest. At the very least, he was no longer an illiterate… _Oh,_ _M_ _agic illiterate!_ Mo Fan had basically grasped all the knowledge from the nine years of compulsory Magic education. His hidden potential was unleashed as he was pushed to the very depth of his desperation.

The school started on the first of September. The opening day held great importance for all the Magic students. This was due to taking part in the most important step for all students entering the world of Magicians; they would determine what kind of Elemental Magician each would become.

Awakening, just as the name sounds, involved awakening the hidden powers within your body.

“Little brat! I wish you luck. Best you awaken the fire element. That will allow you to hold an advantage over other Magic students. Although the other elements are quite alright, among the Primary-level Magicians, the Fire element is the best when it comes to battle prowess. Oh, Rock element isn’t bad either… nor is Wind element…” the Chief Supervisor of the Library, Old Man Gu said.

Mo Fan replied in agreement without understanding him. When this Old Man started talking, he just didn’t stop.

The truth was, Mo Fan was unable to sleep last night. To him, the awakening today wasn’t just a change of fate for him, but also an unprecedented attempt. In his original world, things like Magic simply did not exist. However, today he was finally able to wholeheartedly grasp this experience.

His little heart was leaping and frisking about.

……

Mo Fan was placed in class 8, with his student number being 48.

There was nothing he could’ve done about it. He practically entered the school from the backdoor.

The higher up the student number, the higher the score they received during the Magic Middle School Exams. It was said that when a person of higher number awakened and received an element, their speed in cultivating the magic was much faster compared to a regular person. This was because their understanding toward Magic was much better, thus, cultivating it was also much easier for them.

As luck would have it, the number one in class 8 just happened to be Mo Fan’s old classmate, Mu Bai.

Mu Bai was actually from the Mu Family. It seemed that he was not from the main family though. The reason as to why Mu Bai always looked down on Mo Fan was, naturally, because of his status within the Mu Mansion. He was considered as a little Young Master, whereas Mo Fan was the son of a servant, thus also a servant.

Unfortunately for this lad, he’s just a child of the branch. He was nowhere near a princess like Mu Ningxue. Mu Bai had used every tactic to court Mu Ningxue, however, she only ignored him.

Mu Bai’s grades in magic were really good. Within the Mu family, he was one of those who received extra attention. It was said that if he awakened the element of the Mu Family, the Ice Element, his future cultivation speed would increase several times. After all, the Mu Family had many resources they could offer. The other families simply couldn’t compare with what the Mu Family could provide to a child from a branch of the family.

“Class, congratulations on admittance. Presumably, many of you have been waiting for the emotional time today, but before that, there are many things I need to say to everyone.” On the Great Magic Grounds, all of the 1500 new students were divided into twenty classes, forming into squads, as they stood neatly next to each other. They looked magnificent!

“Students, do you know what it means to become a Mage?”

“No matter what kind of Mage you turn out to be, do not forget that we magicians exist to further allow humanity to grow. We protect the most important mission of humanity. Do not forget that outside of this safe city, there are countless Magical Beasts watching us like a tiger watches his prey.”

As the Headmaster’s speech came to an end, he finally came to the part everyone was looking forward to most.

“Alright, you will begin the awakening ceremony today. I hope you will become rising stars in the future world of magic!”

As the Old Headmaster’s words were said, the students on the grounds could no longer hold back the joy in their hearts.

Who doesn’t want to wield flaming fires that brim with the power to destroy your enemies? Who doesn’t want to wield ice and freeze the world over? Who doesn’t want to dominate and gallop across the world with arrogance? Who doesn’t want to wield the power of earth and resist invaders?

Within innumerable stories, videos, and movies there are many heroes who are worshipped. Furthermore, this motivates these students to become a certain kind of Magician. Today is their first step into that journey to become a Mage who roams the territories of the Magical Beasts outside of the city, or to rule the city of Magic with their paramount powers.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: MIndLitUp

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

There were twenty different classes that would conduct the awakening.

Mo Fan was number 48; he would be the last person to receive the awakening.

The Homeroom Teacher, who was also their Magic Advisor, Xue Musheng, was already standing at the very front. The awakening would be conducted in front of numerous people. The student’s name was called out, and then they would go up front to place their hands on the Awakening Stone in front of the Magic Advisor.

“Hey, the-one-who-entered-through-the-backdoor, you’re not gonna fail the awakening are you? I heard that there are certain incapable people who fail the awakening. A dreg like you should just stop wasting the energy of the expensive Awakening Stone,” on a different line up, an old classmate of Mo Fan, Zhao Kunsan said.

Zhao Kunsan was Mu Bai’s henchman. Mu Bai personally didn’t bully Mo Fan because of his background, so instead, he primarily used Zhao Kunsan to do it.

It was actually possible for the awakening to fail, so Mo Fan was genuinely worried about this part. Strictly speaking he was… yeah, a person who had crossed from a different plane. If his physical body was different from the people from here, then that’d be one of hell of a joke.

“Brother Mo Fan, just ignore this jerk. Wait until you awaken a Fire element and show him. Then he’ll know the meaning behind the phrase, ‘Look down on people from a dog’s eyes.[1]’” Zhang Hou, who was placed in the same class as Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan didn’t say anything. If it was a different day, he would’ve thrown all sorts of insults at Henchman Zhao Kunsan, however, he wasn’t in the mood today. On one hand, it was because he was truly very nervous. While on the other hand, he didn’t know why the black pendant he wore around his neck was incessantly shaking.

The black colored pendant was the remnant of the backdoor gatekeeper of his old middle school, Old Man Ying. Mo Fan suspected that this ring was the reason behind the great changes in the world. That day, Mo Fan was wearing this pendant when he fell asleep on the mountain behind his school.

Ever since this morning the broken pendant had been acting like it was possessed, constantly trembling. It shook so much that it made his own hand shake without stopping.

_Screw your mother! Why do you keep shaking?? You’re just a stupid pendant, so why aren’t you acting like the pendant you are?!_

“Mu Bai!” the homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng, called out.

“Oh, so that’s Mu Bai. He is indeed very handsome, and his grades are the top as well.”

“Yeah, I saw him this morning, I like it. I wonder what kind of element he’ll awaken? I reckon it won’t be crap elements like Water or Light, will it?”

Mu Bai stood up and immediately heard a few girls in his class chattering incessantly about him. At same time, he also attracted starry-eyed infatuations from other classes.

Mu Bai wore an indifferent expression. His eyes, however, revealed that he was enjoying others discussing him. He walked to the front and stood before the homeroom teacher, a humble and confident smile on his face.

“Mu Bai, you’re from the Mu Family who is renowned for their Ice element right?” Xue Musheng asked with a slight smile.

“Precisely.”

“Good, if you awaken the ice element, then you will be superior compared to others. However, don’t forget to put in effort too. After all, talent isn’t the decisive aspect to everything.”

Mu Bai nodded, but he thought to himself, “Yes, talent can’t decide everything, but without talent and family resources, then one would have to live forever at the bottom of the society.”

With permission from the homeroom teacher, Mu Bai slowly placed his hands on the floating Awakening Stone.

A thick, star shaped compass emerged, along with a clear palm print on the Awakening Stone. Mu Bai seemed tranquil, but his heart was nervous as he placed his hands on the Awakening Stone…

Thanks to his bloodline, the possibility of him awakening Ice Element was very high. However, there could also be exceptional circumstances. If he awakened the Water or Light Element then the Mu Family was unlikely to continue attaching any importance to him. After all, there was no way they would waste their finances just so they could find resources suitable to a different attribute.

He placed his left hand on the stone…

The Awakening Stone suddenly emanated a starry radiance. This radiance turned into strips of star marks that appeared to be an extraordinary vein as it landed on Mu Bai’s left hand.

This was everyone’s first time seeing the awakening with their own eyes; the students were all tiptoeing as they watched Mu Bai.

Mu Bai was standing there unmoving, as though he was suddenly enlightened. He then raised his head slowly…

“Creak, creak, creak~~~~”

A sudden frosty air curled itself around the Awakening Stone.

The air became more and more dense. It actually slowly froze the surface of the Awakening Stone, forming a layer of frost!

“Ice Element! It really is the Ice Element!!!”

Suddenly, a person behind him began yelling. Following this yell, a few girls screeched.

As Mu Bai heard the noises, he opened his eyes in joy!

It’s actually the Ice Element! With the Ice Element, it would be easier for him to be taken in by the Mu Family. The day where he would soar through the skies was not far. To deal with someone like Mo Fan, the dreg of the society, would be like pinching an ant to death… Ah, that’s not right. _After awakening the Ice Element, I will become an official disciple of the Mu Family. There is no reason for me to lower myself to the level of a beggar._

_I need to set my standards higher. Who knows? I might even have an opportunity to cultivate together with Mu Ningxue!_

“Very good. It is a very pure Ice Element. I believe an Ice Element Star Dust should be appearing within your Spiritual World. Cultivate harder, and make it grow even stronger!” the homeroom teacher said, with eyes full of praise.

The ability to freeze the Awakening Stone during the awakening meant that the power of his Ice Element surpassed the average person. He was likely to be a very talented Ice Element apprentice, and his future was very promising!

“Next, Qiu Yueying!”

After the homeroom teacher said this, a girl with a somewhat confident look on her face came over.

“Alright, Earth Element. The power of your stardust isn’t bad at all. It seems like the effort you’ve put in is showing!”

“Next, Xu Qinglin!”

“Also Ice Element.”

At this moment, Mo Fan tiptoed to watch. He discovered that the person who also awakened the Ice Element, Xu Qinglin, caused a layer of faint frosty mist to emerge. It did not freeze the Awakening Stone though.

From this, one could tell that even if this was the Ice Element, Xu Qinglin’s talent and cultivation was much lower than Mu Bai.

“Next, Lu Xiaobing.”

“Hm, Water Element!”

“Ahhh, oh my god, how could I be Water Element? I should be a Fire Element!” suddenly, the classmate called ‘Lu Xiaobing’ called out in bewilderment. The people within the circumference of a hundred Mi heard this.

“Don’t be discouraged. No matter what Element you cultivate, as long as you can become an Intermediate-level Mage, you will obtain even more recognition.”

Lu Xiaobing had no other choice. He could only return to his own seat in low spirits.

In fact, the awakening in the beginning was very important. If it was a Fire Element, then one could possess a certain level of combat prowess as a Primary-level Magician. That allowed future cultivation to happen much more easily.

The Primary-level Water Element skill was ‘Water Shield,’ and its defensive power was not as strong as the Earth Element. If one was not proficient in it, then the effects were not very clear. At the very least, that’s how it worked among the Primary-rank Mages.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: MindLitUp

* * *

[1] Looking down on people who are far better than you are.

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Next…”

“Next...”

“Next...”

“Zhang Hou!”

Standing not too far from Mo Fan, the monkey-looking Zhang Hou turned his head around and gave Mo Fan a glance, “Brother Mo Fan, I’m going now.”

“Alright, good luck.”

“Hmph, I hope you will also get Water Element,” Zhao Kunsan immediately said in sarcasm.

Zhang Hou was just a skinny, monkey stick. As he put his hands on it, an odd wind vortex appeared on the Awakening Stone, causing the teacher’s clothes to move slightly.

“Very good. Wind Element. Your talent isn’t bad at all. Practice hard, and don’t be lazy!” Xue Musheng’s face also revealed a look of satisfaction.

The homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng, was feeling very happy. This was because he had only reached ten or so of them, and there were already two talented students who had appeared. If they were to cultivate well, then they would definitely be admitted into a good University.

Naturally, what made his face light up like a gem was student number 1, Mu Bai. An outstanding Ice Element talent coupled with the Ice Element Family behind him, his future capabilities would be of a great asset!

It seemed like the class 8 had an opportunity to become one of the top classes this year.

“Next…”

“Next...”

“Next...”

“Pu~~~~~”

An orange colored fire suddenly lit up on top of the Awakening Stone.

This scene caused the entire class to widen their eyes.

“Fire… Fire Element!!!”

“Shit! It turned out to be a girl. What’s her name?”

For a moment, the girl who awakened the Fire Element became the focus of the class. This Element was the most amazing one among the Chemical Elements. This was also the Apprentice-level Mage’s first choice in awakening. If they were able to choose which Elements to get, then...

Unfortunately, the Fire Element was quite arrogant yet tender, and the probability of awakening it was quite low. In a class, there’d be at most three of them; that’s not even one every tenth students.

“Her name is Zhou Min. It seems like she’s the daughter of some teacher,” someone said in a whisper.

“She looks really good. We should get to know her better.”

“We should be cautious. This Zhou Min looks like she’s very quiet and obedient, but in reality, she’s very short-tempered and violent. How else could a girl awaken the Fire Element?”

“That makes sense.”

“Daughter is just like mother. If Mrs. Wenhua knows about this, then I’m sure she’ll be excited,” the homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng, said.

“Thank you teacher.”

“Next... Wind Element.”

“Next... Light Element.”

“Heavens, I’m going to the roof. Don’t stop me,” the Light Element student said.

“Next...Water Element.”

“Classmate with the Light Element, wait for me! I’m coming with you to the roof.”

“Next...”

……

Finally when it seemed like the entire class had their Elements awakened, Mo Fan’s hand held the student number 48, as his heart madly skipped incessantly. Perhaps no one else was as nervous as Mo Fan. On one hand, his first interaction with magic was only three months ago, while on the other hand, he was really worried that he’d fail his Awakening!

“Number 48, Mo Fan!”

“It’s your turn!” Zhang Hou turned his head around and encouraged him.

“Sacrificing everything to get in here. Just don’t hold any kind of hope. If your luck is good, you could get Water Element. If you can’t reach the Intermediate-level Mage, then you’ll have wasted it. If your luck is bad, then your awakening will fail. Tsk tsk tsk… and by then you’ll be expelled,” Zhao Kunsan said with sarcasm.

“Would you shut your dog mouth?” Zhang Hou said with slight anger.

Zhang Hou saw Mo Fan as a big brother. Although his grades in Magic were bad, and he entered Magic High through the backdoor, Zhang Hou absolutely did not wish to see Mo Fan’s awakening be worse than others.

The nine year compulsory magic education actually served to build a foundation for the Awakening, as well as the theories for cultivation afterward. If they didn’t study well, then on one hand, the Awakening might fail, while on the other, the cultivation might not advance.

Mo Fan took large strides and passed through the crowds of people.

“It’s him. It seems like he entered through the backdoor.”

“Who is this? He looks pretty handsome,” a girl asked dreamily.

“A dreg of a student. I was originally from the class next to his,” another girl with a mushroom head and large mouth said.

“Is that so? Then his awakening might be bad.”

“Whether he will succeed his awakening is the real question.”

“Those of you who awakened Light or Water Element, don’t worry. Wait till you see this Mo Fan awaken… then you’ll feel much better. This guy’s exam score was at one digit, and his foundation is completely shit. His awakening is likely to fail,” at that moment Zhao Kunsan spat at Zhang Hou with a straightforward, loud voice that carried a sense of mocking.

As he said this, the Light and Water Element students eyes turned bright. If there really was a person that failed their awakening, then that would really make them feel… relieved.

“Stop making a racket!” Xue Musheng glared at Zhao Kunsan.

The corner of Mu Bai’s mouth slowly curled up. He wanted Mo Fan to be humiliated in front of everyone. _What qualifications did he have to approach Lady Mu Ningxue? He’s just a loser. Someone as handsome as me, with a good talent in magic and who makes great efforts, who is Mu Ningxue’s relation, should be very intimate with her._

“Dreg… I heard that your family sold the house so you could do the Awakening. If you really happen to fail the awakening, then you should just find a river and jump into it. That way your problems will be solved. Then you can also save your family from being humiliated,” Mu Bai said with a delicate whisper as Mo Fan passed by.

Mo Fan glanced at Mu Bai; he endured the impulse to curse at the idiot as he walked to the front of Xue Musheng.

“Mo Fan, put your hands here,” Xue Musheng said with a gentle tone.

As the homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng was very clear on the circumstances of the student in front of him.

His middle school exams were essentially at the bottom. He was only able to enter Tian Lan Magic High because of the higher ups pulling strings. From how Xue Musheng saw it, Mo Fan was from a normal family: no background, no talent, his grades were so bad that he didn’t even want to look at them. This kind of student being sent to his class was simply a headache; it was very easy for him to pull down the average of the class.

_Ah, there’s nothing I can do about it. I’ll have to count myself unlucky. Hopefully this kid won’t actually fail his awakening, or else he’ll become the laughingstock for the entire year._

Mo Fan’s hands was constantly shaking. At the end of the day, he was still a little nervous.

“Smooth and steady, don’t shake,” Xue Musheng said as a reminder.

Mo Fan used his left hand to grab onto his right hand. In this way, he successfully put his right hand onto the Awakening Stone.

It’s cold. He didn’t know if it was because the last person had awakened the Ice Element, causing the entire Awakening Stone to be ice cold.

Eh? Something’s not right. Why is it beginning to feel numb and hot?

“Close your eyes and feel your Spiritual World!” Xue Musheng said.

What a troublesome student; he doesn’t even know the basics.

Mo Fan hastily closed his eyes as instructed.

This so-called Spiritual World could be seen when one closed their eyes, and within their head, a piece of void would emerge. A normal person would continually imagine in this void, and just like movie fragments, there would be those indistinct scenes. When one emptied their mind and stopped thinking, the mind became a void… just like a sky without a star.

Within the Spiritual World, there was nothing at all. However, when Mo Fan placed his hand on the Awakening Stone, he could feel the power of lightning…

This power was transmitted from his hand to his body. Following this, there was suddenly a miraculous power within his empty Spiritual World, which caused a purple colored arc to streak across the world; it was gorgeous, magnificent, and an experience that shocked his soul!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: MindLitUp

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Within the empty Spiritual World was a little bit of light. Mo Fan carefully tried to focus his awareness on it. Suddenly, he noticed a tiny bit of stardust emerging from the void.

Mo Fan felt a burst of excitement.

This stardust was extremely important to Mages; it measured the Mage’s cultivation. The stardust existed within the Spiritual World of Mages, and the more that occupied the void, the stronger the power of the Mage!

Mo Fan already saw something illuminated within the stardust. It looked like a small, purple colored star cluster. Comparing it to the rest of the Spiritual World, the cluster did not look like dust. While at same time, this meant that his awakening had not failed. The book clearly stated that as long as there was a star cluster within the Spiritual World, no matter how weak and feeble it was, it meant that the awakening was successful!

_Hahahaha! Who said that this father, I, would fail the awakening?!_

_Didn’t I succeed the awakening?_

__

_I really want to see the aghast faces of Zhao Kunsan and Mu Bai._

_Hm?_

_Hold on, what’s the color of the star cluster?_

_It’s not red… How unfortunate. I didn’t awaken the Fire Element._

_Red represents the Fire Element._

_Green represents the Wind Element._

_Brown represents the Earth Element._

_Blue represents the Water Element._

_Gold represents the Light Element._

__

_Purple represents…_

__

_Holy crap!!!_

Suddenly, Mo Fan was completely flabbergasted.

_Purple!!!_

__

_He actually had the purple star cluster; the purple color!!!_

…

“Heavens! Someone in the class next to us awakened the Lightning Element!”

On the training ground, a student suddenly cried out in surprise.

“What? Lightning Element appeared?? Shit, that’s a whole lifetime’s worth of luck.”

“Where, where? Woah, what a dazzling and ruthless purple. The homeroom teacher of class 7 must’ve been quite surprised.”

“Uhhhhh, kill me already. Why am I Water Element? Why didn’t I get the Lightning Element? Don’t stop me. I’m going to the roof.”

“Don’t bother jumping; you won’t die. Beneath it lies the corpse of a Light Element user.”

“This Lightning Element student will cause an uproar throughout the entire school!”

After the Lightning Element appeared, everyone felt a shocking sensation.

If one said the Fire Element was the first choice of all the common Mages, then the Lightning Element was the beautiful grace bestowed from the Heavens. The Lightning power was more tyrannical than the Fire Element. It allowed Primary-rank Magicians to possess a combat prowess that exceeded others. According to statistics from the teachers, there was a 50% chance for students who awakened the Lightning Element to become Intermediate-level Magicians (unless they slacked off and did not study properly).

The Magic Middle School Exam basically eliminated roughly 60% of the students. The remaining 40% became students who were allowed to go through the Awakening.

Among the students who went through the awakening, there might be around 60% who were eliminated. This was because during their 3 years at the Magic High, there was a chance that they would not be able to release any magic at all.

There’s one thousand five hundred students in school, but only one student who awakened the Lightning Element. This went to show how rare the Lightning Element was!

…

In that moment, all the teachers and students eyes flew toward the boy in class 7. This boy, coincidentally, wore purple clothes. This made the indistinct purple lightning arc from the awakening seem increasingly dazzling. In that moment, this seemingly confident, yet cold, boy became the focal point for a thousand people as he gave rise to a boiling excitement from the crowd.

“Woah, why is it so noisy?” Mo Fan slowly opened his eyes, his face was filled with joy.

However, as Mo Fan opened his eyes, he discovered the teacher who was watching over him was completely enchanted with the class next to them.

Mo Fan turned his head around and saw the students behind him also looking at the class next to them.

_What’s going on??_

_Where are you guys looking??_

Soon enough, Mo Fan finally found out what was going on.

Apparently, a person in the class next to his had awakened the Lightning Element. In the instant of Mo Fan awakening, the teachers and students gazes were directed toward the lad who awakened just before him!

Mo Fan’s face was filled with bitterness as he looked at the Awakening Stone, which was also leaping with a purple lightning arc. He really wished he could just slap the homeroom teacher across the face and tell him, “Why are you envying the shit in the class next to ours?! Look at me! I also possess the almighty Lightning Element!”

As Mo Fan was about to speak, a starry radiance suddenly lit up again on the Awakening Stone. It was as though blood vessels began forming on Mo Fan’s hands.

Mo Fan’s face filled with surprise!

_Wasn’t the awakening over? Why was this Awakening Stone starting up again?_

Mo Fan wanted to retract his arm, but the magic power had already been transmitted into his body from his palm.

Fiery hot.

A fiery hot power!

Mo Fan himself had no idea on what was happening. However, a small part of the power urged him to once again spread his awareness into his Spiritual World and perceive the second power’s invasion.

Within the empty Spiritual World the purple star cluster remained in the same area, sparkling with a faint radiance. Seeing this made people eager to see it dazzle and bloom more brightly.

This was the star cluster of the Lightning Element… the power he had awakened only moments ago.

The other power from the awakening charged in like the Lightning Element. Within Mo Fan’s Spiritual World was a blazing arc streaking across like a burning meteor, causing Mo Fan to tremble.

“This… this is…”

Within his Spiritual World emerged a “Red Star Cluster”!!!

Mo Fan was at a loss in the beginning, but he soon felt an excessive joy!

_Fire Element!_

_He had also awakened a Fire Element!_

_Unexpectedly he had Dual Elements!_

_He had actually awakened Dual Elements!_

One had to understand that among the Primary-ranked Magicians, students could only awaken a single Element. Someone who could awaken Dual Elements was practically non-existent. The probability of it was a million times lower than awakening Lightning Element!

_Heavens!!!_

Mo Fan felt like he was suddenly knocked unconscious with happiness.

The appearance of the Lightning Element had made him go wild with joy. With the Fire Element emerging, and becoming an Innate Dual Element user, he felt like he was about to cry from such intense joy!

After acquiring the knowledge surrounding Magic, Mo Fan was very clear on the fact that having an additional Element signified that he’d be one step ahead of others, despite the fact that the cultivation of the Elements would need to be independent of each other.

It was like an online game. The people on the server were only allowed to create one account and bitterly battled against monsters to level up. Whereas he himself could create two accounts. The most important factor to this was that he could combine the two accounts and have it on a single character, so his combat prowess would be more than 1+1=2!

_This is too good!!_

_I have an Innate Dual Element. One that was the heaven shattering Lightning Element, while the other was the ferocious Fire Element. Who could stop me at this point?_

The guilt over his father selling his house and being humiliated was cleansed in that moment. Mo Fan was very clear on the fact that if he put great effort into cultivating the two Elements, then he would become a Magician who would stand above the others at the same level.

_Who cared about the Mu Family with a hundred years of heritage? Who cared about the Ice Element family? Is that as amazing as the Dual Element that your father, I, am in possession of?_

_Hahaha! Hahaha! Hahaha!!!_

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: MindLitUp

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Really...agh. Why wasn’t this student assigned to my class, instead, he was placed into Zhang Jianguo’s hand. This Zhang Jianguo’s face is going to be filled with pride from today on.” Xue Musheng’s own face was filled with envy and jealousy.

While in the front, Mu Bai’s face was filled with shock and was followed by a bit of gloom and disdain.

The Lightning Element is extraordinary. However, if you don’t know how to cultivate it, then you’ll just stay a loser. Having some strong Element appearing in China which has a large population isn’t anything out of the norm. It’s not like he’s a Natural Dual Element user, hmph. You dare to steal my limelight? Watch me trample you flat on the ground in the future.

Oh, I almost forgot to check what kind of Element this dreg has. The awakening took so long so it must’ve failed.

“Woah, woah. It’s a Fire Element!!”

“This is serious, our class has yet another Fire Element.’

“Who said he would fail his awakening? It turns out he awakened the Fire Element, that sure makes me envy him.”

After the disturbance from the shocking Lightning Element had calmed itself, everyone finally discovered the Element Mo Fan had awakened.

The girl, Zhou Min, who awakened the Fire Element earlier seemed a little shocked. She intentionally looked closer at Mo Fan and discovered that there was indeed fire sprouting from the Awakening Stone. The sprouting fire seemed to be a bit more vicious than the one she had herself.

“There’s yet another Fire Element appearing in class 8.”

“Although it’s not as rare as the Lightning Element, the Fire Element is still incredible!”

“Fire...Fire Element...” Xue Musheng looked dull as he looked at the student before him.

The appearance of the Lightning Element almost made Xue Musheng forget about the existence of this troublemaker. Originally, he thought this student would’ve failed his awakening. However, he never thought that he would actually succeed in his awakening, and never did he think that he would even awaken the preeminent Fire Element!

This...this is also a treasure!!

Furthermore, judging by the exuberant level of the flames, it seems like his talent was even higher than Zhou Min’s.

Xue Musheng never thought that the student he thought to be a liability would unexpectedly give him face instead!

“Not bad, not bad, that’s really not bad at all. What’s your name…oh, Mo Fan, right?” Xue Musheng was smiling so wide that his eyes looked as if it was closed.

“Yeah.” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan originally thought that people saw his Lightning Element awakening. However, after looking around himself, he realized that no one had actually taken notice of that...

Either the person who awakened the Lightning Element was exceedingly shocking, or his own Lightning Element awakening’s power was too weak.

The pressure emanating from the Awakening in the beginning matters, however, it’s not a decisive factor. Even if the pressure from the beginning was weak, one could still put in efforts to slowly cultivate it, allowing it to grow even stronger.

“Fire Element student, hmm. You must strive to do well in the future, if you have something you don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask me.” Xue Musheng happily said as he patted Mo Fan on his shoulders.

Mo Fan was still feeling ecstatic.

However, he didn’t let himself indulge in this happiness. If it was any other youth, then they would most likely reveal the Lightning Element they had awakened previously, using the credibility of Natural Dual Elements to completely steal the audience’s attention from the other Lightning Element student.

Mo Fan was not going to do that. If the heavens can be jealous of a genius, then how would mortals feel?

Mo Fan knew that there’s someone who carries hostility toward himself in the Mu Family. Thus, if he were to reveal that he possesses Natural Dual Elements, then either he would have to comply with their wishes, or they would simply get rid of him. Although Mo Fan did possess the peerless Dual Elements, he himself was still too weak. It was not too late to go crazy after he had gotten stronger!

Mo Fan turned his head around to see the reaction of Mu Bai and Zhao Kunsan.

Sure enough, the two lads faces were twitching!

“What kind of luck does this kid have? Let’s not even talk about the successful awakening, but he even awakened the Fire Element!” Although Mu Bai looked dignified, his heart was harshly cursing him.

“What the heck, how is this possible? Fire Element...” The henchman, Zhao Kunsan stared in confusion.

“Haha, I’ve said it before, Brother Mo Fan is indeed not normal! Fire Element, impressive, it really is impressive. Who cares about you, Zhao Kunsan, with your Wind Element.” Zhang Hou jumped in joy. He saw the henchman, Zhao Kunsan’s face and immediately sensed resentment.

Zhao Kunsan’s face was filled with rage. If one were to compare Primary-ranked Wind Element with Fire Element, then Wind Element will definitely be the losing side!

Mo Fan turned around with an unrestrained smile on his face as he bathed under the sunlight. Suddenly, it was as though the carpet beneath his foot spread out with two girls squealing. He was filled with confidence.

As he walked past Mu Bai, Mo Fan sneakily gave him a middle finger. The entire action was done in a smooth way, it looked like they were just greeting each other.

Mu Bai felt as though he had received the full force of Mo Fan’s ridicule, his breathing became so heavy it was practically about to explode.

He took a deep breath. Mu Bai told himself to maintain his image, he must maintain his image. He couldn’t stoop down to the same level as this beggar. He himself is the Little Young Master of the Mu Family, whereas this guy is just the son of a part time worker.

Let’s not talk about this loser succeeding in his awakening. He had even awakened the Fire Element that has a superiority in its preceding period, I guess even losers have their luck... Additionally, what made him even angrier was the appearance of the rare Lightning Element in the class next to them. The attention from Mu Bai’s own ancestral Ice Element was completely stomped by him, shit!” Mu Bai whose appearance seemed like a Prince Charming was harshly cursing in his heart.

Mo Fan returned to his place while at the same time, he felt the gaze from his surrounding classmates that were completely different from before.

“The Fire Element, we better not provoke this guy in the future.”

“Provoke? We should improve our relations with him. If a Light Element user like myself should mix in school, then I’d need a Big Brother with Fire Element to support me.”

“Oh right, what’s his name? Was it Mo Fan?”

The surrounding students were whispering, but it still somewhat was caught by Mo Fan’s ears. Mo Fan felt his mood turn even better, while at same time, he glanced toward Mu Bai who had also heard this. Sure enough, one could see a little dissatisfaction on Mu Bai’s face.

Mo Fan already knew what kind of trash Mu Bai is. From day to night, he just acts like a Green Tea 1. The fake and emotionless expression he keeps on his face means that on the inside, he felt extremely dissatisfied.

Green Tea Man. You turn green with envy when your daddy awakens the Fire Element? Just wait till you know that I, Mo Fan, also possess the Lightning Element... You may even commit harakiri wouldn’t you?

* * *

1. Green Tea essentially means putting up a front but is actually just a complete ass.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: Allenwa

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

The summer became autumn. The dead leaves whirled along with the wind, as they finally landed on the school grounds.

On the side of the school grounds was a dense shade of trees. The afternoon sunlight shone through a gap of in the leaves, turning into threads of light, like a particular autumn stage.

For Mo Fan, the time passed by very quickly. It had already been two months since his awakening.

Within those two months, Mo Fan had only been doing one thing, which was sitting beneath this tree and meditating!

On the first class of the first day, the homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng, gave all the magic students one very important lesson: the activation of Magic!

The activation of Magic consisted of only three very simple steps:

Step 1- Meditation

Step 2- Control

Step 3- Activation

Meditation, just as the name implied, required one to use their fullest attention to concentrate.

When a person closed their eyes, their mind constantly wandered into different scenes.

However, if one were to empty one’s mind and remain in an undisturbed state, one’s mind would become an empty space!

After their magic awakening, a star cluster corresponding to the Element would emerge within that empty world.

In other words, as long as Mo Fan closed his eyes and didn’t think about anything while allowing his mind to enter a dark, cosmos like space, then the star cluster of Lightning and Fire elements would emerge within the empty space.

The Lightning Element’s star cluster was purple, and it looked just like other cosmic dust: magnificent and aesthetically pleasing.

Within the star cluster of the Lightning Element was seven stars. These stars were recklessly orbiting around within that small star cluster, just like seven mischievous children, energetically running around.

For any magic students who had awakened, as long as they could cause the star cluster to appear within the empty space, and see the bright, child-like stars within the cluster, then they would have completed the Meditation step.

One could even say that this first step was unexpectedly simple. The homework assigned to the students for the first two months was this alone.

Meditation… They started meditating after dinner, all the way until they were completely exhausted, and then they went to sleep.

The second day, after classes had finished, they continued meditating in the same manner. All the way until they were exhausted, and then went straight to bed.

Mo Fan did not slack off; he did this for two whole months. He even sat down and meditated on weekends. On many different occasions, he pondered about why the students were assigned this simple task and had them do it for two months.

_What if I go ahead and try ‘Control’?_ Mo Fan thought it was very easy for him to enter Meditation, thus, he was eager to begin the next step.

The second step of Magic Activation was also very simple.

One could see the star cluster after entering Meditation. Within the star cluster was seven lively and energetic stars that were orbiting around frantically.

Control… It meant they had to use their own thoughts to control these stars, making them stop, and placing them into a designated spot to form a Star Path.

Once they had successfully formed the Star Path, the Magic Power would be conducted through the Star Path into the Magician’s body, thus becoming genuine Magic as they activate i!

“They sure run fast. Let this daddy touch you,” Mo Fan began attempting to connect the stars.

He used his own thoughts to control the stars. At the moment, Mo Fan was locked on an energetic star, trying to make it obediently halt in its place.

“Whooosh~~~”

That Star was extremely cold; it didn’t give Mo Fan any attention. It was like a Loli[1] quickly escaping from a strange Uncle.

“Shit, they’re being tsundere[2]. Forget it, let’s try a different one,” Mo Fan attempted to connect the other Lightning Element star.

“Be a good boy… Daddy is here… Be an obedient boy, and come here…”

“Whoosh~~~”

The second Star acted as though it met a patient with a mental illness… Thus, it fled quickly, just like the one before it.

Mo Fan attempted the same thing on the other stars as well, but the results were the same. Not a single one cared about Mo Fan. There were even a few that started moving faster when they felt Mo Fan’s thoughts trying to control them.

You couldn’t conduct the Magic Power when the stars were quickly orbiting.

It’s just like an electrical wire. The electric energy is the interior part of the star cluster. If one wanted to use the electric energy, one would have to form a wire with the stars so it could guide the energy into the Magician’s body.

Unfortunately, there was not a single obedient one among the Lightning Element stars. If he didn’t touch them, then they were fine, but once he attempted to connect them with each other they would quickly run away. It was like eating five hundred pounds of Stride gum pieces… they just wouldn’t stop!

“How do I deal with this? How many years and months is it going to take before this daddy learns Lightning Strike?” Mo Fan felt a headache.

The Primary-rank skill of Lightning Element was —— Lightning Strike.

This skill should be the most practical one among the Primary-rank magic. After learning it and becoming proficient in controlling it, one would basically have a preeminent combat prowess.

Unfortunately, learning skills wasn’t easy.

The Lightning Element stars were highly active. Trying to make them stop was not something one could accomplish in just a day or two.

“I can’t even control a single star at the moment. To control seven of the stars simultaneously… This road really isn’t short.”

Sure enough, studying and learning Magic was the same; it wasn’t something you could do in just a few days.

……

The weather turned cold, the short skirts and stockings were replaced with thick leggings and pants. Unknowingly, the season where you turn into a dog if you don’t own a heater had finally come to the south.

“Achoo~~~” Shit, if I knew this was gonna happen, then I would’ve just cultivated the Fire Element first. At the very least, I’d be able to pass this winter in comfort,” in the early morning, Mo Fan cursed as he practiced ‘Control’ on the roof.

He had cultivated for yet another month. Mo Fan was now able to control up to four stars.

_The process of controlling the stars…_ _Well, how to put this?_ _It’s like an advanced domino set up._

In other words, if you were to carefully place four domino bricks down, and if there was not even the slightest wobbling, then it would count as completing a small step.

If a domino brick wasn’t placed properly, then it’d tip over and you’d have to start all over again!

The stars were just like that. Firstly, you would have to target a star and use your thoughts to make it stop. In the process of making them stop, you would have to concentrate all of your attention on it. Even if you experienced resistance from a star that lead to a great headache, you’d still have to grit your teeth and not let it distract your focus.

Only when grinding your teeth could you centralize your focus within your mind to control them, and make them stop; only then, could you make some of the violent stars obediently follow your control.

After you were in control of one star, then you would have to split your consciousness and do the same thing in order for you to firmly control the second one.

If one were to accidentally put too much attention on the second star, and not continue to put in the same focus on the first one, then the originally obedient star would immediately orbit away. Additionally, it would also take away the second star that was in the process of being controlled, and waste the entire effort.

The teacher had said once before: the step of controlling the stars was extremely difficult. On one hand, the difficulty of controlling them was exceedingly high, while on the other, the Magician needed to have enough Spiritual Power to spare.

If one were to practice ‘Control’ everyday, like Mo Fan, and every time they failed at it, they would feel their mind become somewhat tired. One could practice for at most, two hours in a single day, and by then one would be in a state where one was nearly mentally broken. One would have tinnitus, blurred vision, and a mind in chaos.

At this point, one should not meditate or attempt control again.

_To be frank, practicing ‘Control’ was like a thief… Hell, a waste of mana!_ Mo Fan could only last, at most, two hours with his current mana.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: MindLitUp

* * *

[1] A minor, basically.

[2] Someone who feels the opposite of how they act.

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Four stars is firmly under my control now. The difficulty of controlling five at the same time is much harder.” Mo Fan sighed and thought, _I wonder if I can control all seven of these scoundrels and form a Star Path before the end of the semester? Speaking of which, Monkey said that most people can only practice ‘Control’ an hour every week… If they trained an additional five minutes, then they’d collapse. I wonder why I could practice two hours when I first started… Is it because I awakened dual elements?_

The mana usage in taking control of a star should be the same. That means my mana capacity is double the amount of most other people?”

There was a limit to each of the magic student’s spiritual forces, and every time one attempted to control a star, it would deplete their spiritual force. Most of the current Magic Student’s Spiritual force levels only allowed one hour of ‘Control’ training.

Having one more hour advantage, coupled with the great effort Mo Fan put into his daily training, allowed his cultivation speed to already surpass his peers by a lot. According to the henchmen, even the most outstanding student in the class could only control 3 stars.

Of the 7 stars, Mo Fan was already able to control 4 of them. Furthermore, he hoped to achieve up to five stars within the month. It seemed like awakening dual elements not only gave Mo Fan double the elements, but also an extended amount of time for him to practice compared to other people!

This was an incredible advantage!

The time for him to enter the apex of his life and marry a fair-skinned, rich, and beautiful girl was just around the corner!

……

The class started at eight in the morning, and the first class was the “Magical Beast Knowledge” class. The one in charge of teaching the “Magical Beast” subject was the homeroom teacher of the class next door, Zhang Jianguo.

“Mo Fan, you are late again. Can’t you improve your attitude toward school? Your talent has always been worse than the majority of the students, your foundation is also particularly bad, and you’re not even sincere about studying. Take a look at Zhao Ting in my class. He has Lightning Element, a good talent, a good foundation, and his attitude toward studying magic is also very good. He is currently able to control four Lightning Element stars, whereas you… I heard that you still haven’t been able to control a single Fire Element star. You awakening the Fire Element is simply a waste!” as Zhang Jianguo saw Mo Fan coming in late, he immediately began to reprimand him without holding back.

Mo Fan couldn’t help but give a conceited look. Teacher Zhang Jianguo really couldn’t stop talking. He brought up that Lightning Element guy during practically every lesson.

The so-called classmate, Zhao Ting, was the guy who awakened the Lightning Element during the school’s opening ceremony. Zhang Jianguo talked about him every day. When he lectured someone using Zhao Ting’s name, his face revealed the pride he concealed beneath.

“That guy can control four stars? This daddy can control six stars; I just need one last star,” Mo Fan thought to himself in disdain. He didn’t say this out loud though. Instead, he just walked to his seat in leisure.

“Alright, please open the Magical Beast book. Today, I will continue to talk about the common Magical Beasts. As everyone knows, the Magical Beasts are located outside of the city, which we humans reside in, and they are extremely hostile towards humans. They wander all over the place and fight when they encounter each other, as well. If a Magician was to tread outside of the city and encounter a One-Eyed Magic Wolf, then what should he do?” Zhang Jianguo already started talking about this subject with a great delight.

One-Eyed Magic Wolf…

This was the kind of Magical Beast that resided in the area closest to the human city. Mo Fan had only seen one through the textbooks and videos; they had a vicious appearance.

A normal person was unable to deal with this kind of organism. Only a Mage was able to battle them. However, if the group of Magic Students, who couldn’t activate their magic, was to meet a One-Eyed Magic Wolf, then it’d be a bloody massacre.

The One-Eyed Magic Wolf was the highlight of the Magical Beast classes. Zhang Jianguo had already spent a month talking about this type of Magical Beast, which by this point, annoyed Mo Fan.

Currently, Mo Fan relied on his double cultivation time to reach the control of 6 stars. As long as he could focus his mind, then he could make the six stars obediently form a Star Path.

The thing is, the seventh star was particularly difficult to control. It was like a chaste girl, go soft and you’ll suffer. Go hard, and she won’t listen. This made Mo Fan feel particularly anxious!

_I’m just bloody missing this one last step!_

“Brother Fan, how is the cultivation progress of the Fire Element?” Zhang Hou hastily asked as he saw Mo Fan sitting down.

“The same as before,” Mo Fan answered leisurely.

Fire Element…

Just like the rumors Zhang Jianguo had heard, Mo Fan was still unable to control a single Fire Element star.

That was something he could do nothing about. He had invested all of his energy on the big shot, Lightning Element student this entire semester.

“No way. It seems like your foundation really has affected your cultivation. I heard that guy, Mu Bai, is already able to control four Ice Element stars. If he were to put even more effort in during his winter vacation, then he will most likely be able to activate the Primary-rank Ice Element skill, ‘Ice Spiral,’’ Zhang Hou said.

“I know.”

“Big Brother, how are you not anxious at all? Let me tell you, him and his henchman, Zhao Kunsan, are already scheming a plan against you.”

“Don’t worry, let them come.”

Mo Fan’s current mind was full of how to control the seventh star; everything else was treated the same as air.

Zhang Hou sighed, “Just be careful… This semester is almost over. You should really do your best in the next semester. If you can’t complete the Magic activation during the next semester’s end of term Magic Activation exam, then the school could find all kinds of excuses to force you to resign.”

……

The school semester quickly ended, and Mo fan faintly felt the seventh star being moved by his sincerity.

“Damn it! Cultivation is even harder than awaiting the presence of a Goddess… trying to communicate and pay my greetings every day and night…” Mo Fan complained as he walked toward the school exit.

Mo Fan had practically never left the school during the entire semester. He would spend two hours every day to practice ‘Control,’ and after practicing that, he’d spend the next ten hours to meditate. Afterward, he’d just go to class, eat his meal, and sleep without ceasing for a single day.

Regardless of what happened, this semester was over. After the students received their winter semester assignment, each went their way home, and each went to find their own mom.

After exiting the school gates, Mo Fan subconsciously waited for the bus to go home to his house. However, he then realized and immediately became speechless.

_I almost forgot that dad sold the house; I am essentially homeless now._

Father Mo Jiaxing spent most of his time driving, which meant he didn’t have time for a house. The homeless Mo Fan thought about this, It seems like it’s time to see little aunt and pay a visit to Xin Xia.

It’s been half a year not seeing Xin Xia; I wonder how she’s doing at Little Aunt’s place.

“I’ll just go straight to her school to pick her up then.”

Mo Fan caught the bus heading toward her middle school.

Sitting on the bus, Mo fan had nothing to do, so he continued to practice ‘Control’ to see whether the seventh star would submit itself or not.

A different Element had different stars, and each different star had a different temperament. Some were easier to deceive; Mo Fan only needed to spend a few nights sweet talking them, and most of them would then listen. However, some were especially violent and hard to deal with. If you weren’t careful, you could suffer a rebound in your mind. That kind of rebound carried a dense pain to the mind. The usage of Spiritual Power would also be several times greater.

The seventh star that Mo Fan was unable to control belonged to the violent type; it didn’t listen. It attacked brutally, and it was simply as difficult to accommodate as a great aunt.

Fortunately for him, recently their relationship had advanced by leaps and bounds. The violent star was slowly displaying a will to listen, otherwise, Mo Fan would really cry. He had spent almost an entire month on this seventh star.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: MindLitUp

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Come on. Come, get in a line. Number off!”

Mo Fan calmed himself and put his full focus on once more attempting to control the seventh star.

The first star was the most obedient one. After all, it had been caressed everyday. As soon as Mo Fan issued a command, the star immediately stopped its lively movements, leaving it floating in the middle of the star dust.

The second star seemed somewhat stubborn. It showed an unwillingness to cooperate, as it quickly followed the first star.

Following behind them were the third, fourth, and fifth stars…

The sixth star was extremely obedient; it eagerly ran to the formation.

_Alright, there’s only the last star left!_

Mo Fan put all of his focus, all of his Spiritual powers, into the seventh star.

The seventh star orbited at a high speed within the star dust before it heard Mo Fan’s thoughts and gradually slowed down. It carried an impatience and unhappiness as it slowly took its place in the Star Path…

_GOOD BOY，_ _G_ _OOD BOY_ _!!_

_G_ _OOD BOY_ _,_ _GOOD BOY_ _!!_

As Mo Fan noticed the seventh star showing signs of submitting, he began to feel a slight excitement.

The first six stars are like dogs: if you shout, then they’ll obediently sit down, motionless. The seventh star was like a cat: freaking cold and impatient from head to toe.

_Since you want me to stay still, then I’ll do my best to make it difficult for you._

_Slowly…slowly…_

The seventh star finally stopped in its tracks as it followed along the path of the other six stars.

Star Path complete!

Magic, Appear!

Mo Fan, who wore a black t-shirt, was sitting in the back row of the bus; he suddenly had a curved track curling around his body. A purple star dust trajectory flashed past, giving Mo Fan’s body an indescribable force.

“Lightning Strike!!!”

“It’s Lightning Strike!!!”

Mo Fan’s heart gave rise to a wild excitement; he couldn’t help but want to laugh toward the sky.

“Bzzzt~~~~~~~~”

On his right fist an arc of lightning coiled around his arm like a python. The force of the purple Lightning Fist was stored within Mo Fan’s hand; if he were to brandish his hand, lightning would be sent toward the middle of the bus.

“Oh my god!!”

“Mage! It’s a Mage!!”

“It’s a Lightning Element Mage… Ah, why do I feel my entire body turning numb?!”

A surprised voice was heard from within the bus. The older auntie who finished her round of shopping, the old man who finished exercising, the young girl who was playing on her phone with her head lowered, as well as the pervert who was molesting the girl with the phone were all stunned as they saw at Mo Fan at the back of the bus.

“Great… great mage, I… I promise I won’t do this again… I beg of you, please spare me! I have eyes but couldn’t see Mt. Tai,” suddenly, the middle aged man who was molesting the young girl yelled out as he kneeled down, his face covered in tears as he begged for forgiveness from Mo Fan.

The middle aged pervert thought the young Mage had seen his own vulgar behavior, enraged him, and caused him to activate his Lightning abilities.

This Lightning force was extremely terrifying. All of the people on the bus were intimidated by the Lightning force, causing them to feel numb all over… especially the pervert who molested the young girl. His hands were numb to the point where he couldn’t feel anything.

“I’ll spare your dog life. If I catch you doing it again, I’ll immediately make you lose the use of your hands!” Mo Fan stood up after understanding the situation; his aura was cold as he looked down on the pervert.

“Yes! Yes, I won’t do it again, definitely.” After saying this, the pervert frantically escaped from the bus as the driver halted.

The surrounding aunties and uncles immediately reacted with praise. A few evident middle school girls looked at Mo Fan in admiration.

“Mom, that older brother is incredible. Am I able to become as unbelievable as him in the future?” an eight year old child dragged at his mother’s skirt and asked faintly.

“Becoming a Mage is not something anyone can do, especially a Lightning Element Mage.”

Mo Fan realized his magic had caused a huge uproar within the bus. In order to avoid the disturbance, Mo Fan quickly departed.

After exiting, Mo Fan’s heart was the same as before… unable to calm down.

_Shit, that is so freaking cool!!_

Recalling the Lightning Strike twirling around his arm and the dreadful feeling of being able to easily eliminate a person was unprecedented. It was like a dream!

_This is magic??_

_This is Magic!!_

Mo Fan’s heart throbbed incessantly. Even though he didn’t activate Lightning Fist, Mo Fan could still feel the might of the Lightning force. It came from within his body; he could control it, and it brought a strength he never considered before.

The reverence everyone on board of the bus directed at him… the pervert who was kneeling on the floor, begging for forgiveness, and the mysterious Lightning force that spiralled around his fist…

_This really is an inconceivable!_

“Hahahaha! I have learned the Lightning Strike, and I only needed a semester to do so. I want to see how you guys are going to stand in my way now? Mu Bai, Zhao Ting, all of them will have to kneel before me.”

Mo Fan was able to control Lightning Fist in just a semester. The fact is, the school gave the students one year to complete this ability.

From the beginning of the school year to the end of the semester, Mo Fan had only used five months worth of his available time. If this speed was known publicly, then his classmates and teacher, or even the students and teachers of the entire school, would be completely dumbstruck.

It seemed like the student who was favored by the Magical Beast teacher, Zhang Jianguo, had reached the control of four stars not too long ago… Mu Bai was at the same level as him.

_Hahaha! This Daddy has already activated Lightning Fist. How can you, Mu Bai, a green tea man, compete against me?_

_I can feel the power of the Lightning Force being released from it spiral around my arm. I wonder what it’d be like if I were to truly release it? Just thinking about it makes me want to yell out in excitement._

_Deep breath, deep breath. I’ll look like an idiot if I laugh in the middle of the road; I need to be calm. I am an incredible Mage!_

Mo Fan actually wanted to use Lightning Strike one more time, but after he had finished the Lightning Strike earlier, his body began to feel empty and dizzy.

“This is probably the spiritual exhaustion that the teacher mentioned, right?” Mo Fan asked himself.

Generally speaking, Mo Fan could maintain two hours of practicing ‘Control’. He would only feel Spiritual exhaustion after two hours.

He had only practiced ‘Control’ for twenty minutes when he was on the bus; however, in the moment he completed Lightning Strike, he felt his Spiritual Force being completely drained…

Mo Fan still understood this point. While he was practicing ‘Control’, he wouldn’t complete the Star Path. Normally speaking, that wouldn’t use too much Mana. However, if he completed the Star Path and channeled the Star Force into his body, thus achieving the true effect of Magic, then the majority of the Mana would be gone.

_I’ve never been a Mage before, but I’ve played all sorts of games like League of Legends, or The Legend of Mir; they all follow the same logic!_

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Mo Fan was in a mood while humming ‘Little Apple’ as he walked toward Mingwen Middle School.

Mingwen Middle School was a private All-Girl school. The most delicate and fashionable girls were assembled there.

The difference between this and other schools was this school doesn’t use the dull Magic Theory education, and they definitely didn’t have fools who only knew how to write exams in Magic books. These girls came from families with magic backgrounds, thus, they naturally knew more than the magic students who had to go through nine years of compulsory Magic education. For an instance, some of them would frequently wear a Magic Tool ornament around their chest.

This Magic second generation has been wearing Magical Tools that enhance their Spiritual Force since the day they were born. Compared to these people, Mo Fan was just a peasant who has to climb his way up, step by step.

The small roads around the school were filled with luxurious vehicles as it was just in time for the end of school. Mo Fan was very clear about Xinxia’s character; she would definitely go around the girls with limousines and go along the small road in the alley. as she smelled the fragrance of the small bamboo by the window which was planted by the residents.

Mo Fan walked around the main entrance as he planned to wait for the little sister, Ye Xinxia, by the end of the road in the alley.

There weren’t many people who would use the road in the alley. Mo Fan passed through other people’s courtyards as he entered the familiar road.

Although the world has changed, the city with which he was so familiar hadn’t changed, neither had the bamboo by the window.

Thinking about it, Ye Xinxia shouldn’t have changed either.

……

Mo Fan stood in the middle of the alley with his back leaning onto a wall. He looked like a gangster waiting for an opportunity to extort arcade tokens from primary students. He would occasionally raise his eyes to look at the entrance of the alley, hoping to surprise the girl who was about to come over. Who would’ve thought that the beautiful silhouette would not appear for half the day?

_How come she’s not coming?_

The pose in which Mo Fan was standing made him feel numb.

As he slightly closed his eyes, Mo Fan was practically about to enter meditation out of habit.

Suddenly, Mo Fan heard a noise coming from the entrance of the alley in the direction of the small hill. Usually, these noises and clamors would be deafened by the high walls of the alley. For some reason, these noises ended up in his ears.

_Could it be the side effects of Meditation_ _has_ _increased perception?_

Mo Fan began walking toward the direction of the small hill in curiosity.

As he walked in the direction of the small hill, it became clear all of a sudden. The front side, at the foot of the hill, was roughly a kilometer away from the house that Mo Fan’s family recently sold.

Down the hill was a small lawn that looked like a small park. Near an air vent was a swing made of twisted vines.

The swing was standing still, without the slightest bit of movement.

Sitting on top of the swing was a girl with long, black hair. The winter wind messed her hair, revealing a silky white and delicate face. She had long eyelashes, exquisite nose, and lips glossy like jade.

She attentively looked forward in silence. It was as though she perfectly blended in as a portrait with the winter swings and delicate lotus. Cold and lovely, yet alone as her unique temperament blossomed.

Mo Fan’s steps halted suddenly, without realizing when he started to enjoy looking at her like this. Seeing her sitting caused a warm current to surge within Mo Fan, flowing down the deepest part of his heart. At which point, he couldn’t help but allow the corner of his mouth to curve.

However, in this moment, Mo Fan felt something wasn’t right.

His eyebrows immediately creased as he walked toward the elegant girl sitting on the swing.

The girl also felt someone walking over; however, as she saw it was Mo Fan, her face didn’t appear surprised at all. She only gently laughed, as though she knew this person would be coming and she was here waiting for him.

“Big Brother Mo Fan.” The girl called out with a sweet voice.

“It’s that crap again, isn’t it?” As Mo Fan walked over, a faint anger crept up his face.

Xinxia didn’t say anything.

“Today, I will definitely deal with them; they’re a group of degenerates!” Mo Fan’s anger multiplied, and he gazed at the staircase on the hill.

“There’s a lot of them; forget it.” Xinxia shook her head, advising Mo Fan to drop his anger.

“It’s not possible to forget about it. I’m going to deal with these dregs.” Mo Fan said no more and followed the staircase up.

Xinxia, who was sitting on the swing, wanted to pull Mo Fan away, but Mo Fan was already climbing up the mountain, seething in anger.

Xinxia was familiar with Mo Fan’s temper. He has always fought the neighborhood bullies and ruffians for to reasons related to her. He would fight against multiple people every time and return with wounds all over his body…

This was something she wants to see the least.

The ones bothering her this time weren’t some small ruffian or bullies. It was clear these people had long ago dropped out of school. The people who messed around in this area were known as the Azure Bear Gang. They were for hire to the wealthy girls living around here; whoever they didn’t like, they’d step on them.

There were at least five people over there, and two of them had very sturdy bodies; their bodies were several times bigger than Mo Fan’s. If Mo Fan were to go up there to find them, he would definitely be beaten badly.

……

On the pavilion, on the hill.

“Xu Bing, don’t you think we lack elegance if we do it like this...” A youth said with a cigarette hanging from his mouth and poker cards in his hands.

“How are we lacking elegance? This is my sixteenth time expressing my sincere feelings to her, allowing her to become my girlfriend... Can’t I sit here on the pavilion playing cards as she considers this?” The young man called Xu Bing responded.

On Xu Bing’s neck was a clear azure colored tattoo and, due to his short jacket that covered half of the tattoo on his neck, it seemed extremely eye-catching. You could tell with a single glance that he was a character that was hard to provoke.

“Yeah, if she wants to reject you, she would’ve walked away already... King Flash, hahaha. Give me the money, double up!” Sitting on the other side, a young man wearing a cowboy hat with a hole said.

“Damn, this bullshit luck of yours.”

“One more round, one more round. We’ll play till the sky turns dark. I don’t believe the girl won’t panic.” Xu Bing narrowed his eyes, enjoying the position of someone on top.

Towards girls, one had to be unyielding. A girl’s natural disposition was to be shy; if one isn’t a bit unyielding, then one would not be able to do anything. This girl Xinxia was becoming prettier with time; seeing her really made one excited. _There’s actually someone who would say that I’m like a toad who wants to eat the meat of a swan. Today, I will claim this girl, and then see who would dare to say anything_.

“Oh right, I remember this little girl still has a brother; that’s annoying.” The young man in cowboy adornments commented.

“His battle prowess is lacking. Other than having an unyielding character, he is just a meat bag. You can beat him up however you want.” Xu Bing said without caring much.

“That’s right. Before, I would be enough to deal with him. Now, I’ve gained some muscle I’d like try beating that thing up!”

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Speaking of which, Xu Bing, aren’t your preferences a bit too much? This girl does indeed look good, however... Being able to do _that_ is a bit hard to say.”

“I think so, too.”

“In this all-girl school, there are numerous of pretty girls. The people are dumb but they have money; just threaten them a bit and they’ll cave in. Why would you go through so much trouble for just this one girl?...”

“What do you know? It’s is called having good taste.” Xu Bing viciously glared at the group of people.

While he was starting to feel dissatisfied with the terrible taste of this group of boys, Xu Bing raised his head and saw a young man wearing a black t-shirt, walking toward the pavilion with a cold aura surrounding him.

_Eh? This guy seems familiar._

_Crap, speak of the devil, isn’t this the brother next door to the girl?_

_This guy, I’ve been wanting to deal with him for the longest time for obstructing me from trying to hit on this girl. Who would’ve thought that you’d come to me by yourself? It just happens that there are quite a few of my brothers here today; we’ll just let you have a taste of getting beaten and we’ll see if you dare to stand up again in the future!_

“Brothers, grab your weapons!” Xu Bing stood, his gaze interlocked with Mo Fan’s cold eyes.

The man with cowboy adornment, the young man with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, the man with the headphones, and the man wearing the jacket immediately stood up as they all looked to their side…

“Bro, we didn’t bring weapons,” The cigarette man moved closer to Xu Bing’s ear as he faintly whispered.

“What the heck? Do you need weapons to deal with this thing? Beat him up real good. Per the instruction of Brother Zhao Kunsan, if we beat him up then it’s on him!” Xu Bing slapped the talkative brothers on their forehead with his palm as he responded enraged.

The man with the cigarette felt wronged. _You were the one who said to grab the weapons…it seems like it’s just a wordplay._

“Since it’s something Brother Zhao Kunsan has instructed before...” The man with the jacket removed his jacket as he chuckled, revealing his white tank top and bustling muscles!

Mo Fan looked attentively at the five trash from Azura Bear Gang with a gaze that felt as though he was looking at a domesticated animal.

……

“Hmph, kid, let put it like this; my interest in a girl like your sister is practically the luckiest thing in her life. Do you think anyone else is like me, Xu Bing, who doesn’t care that she’s a… a...cripple? There’s no reason for a cripple to act like a Goddess; if there’s anyone who wants her, then you should burn the money and thank Buddha[1]!!” Xu Bing pointed at Mo Fan as he revealed his true intentions.

Xu Bing’s patience had run out after all these years.

_Look at me, Xu Bing; I have the looks and the strength._ Within the Guangchi District, he was quite the character. _If Ye Xinxia were to follow me, she would be able to live well whether she has it good or bad and she’d always have minions at her service._

“The point is, learn to appreciate favors!”

“Now, obediently call me brother-in-law. Seeing how we’re going to be a family, we will be gentle with you. This way, we can tell Zhao Kunsan and Mu Bai we beat you up. If you’re still resisting, then we’ll break your legs so you can be a cripple along with your sister!” the muscular man with a white tank top commanded.

After hearing this, Mo Fan’s chest began heaving violently.

He glanced at the pavilion.

In the middle of the pavilion, there was a lone wheelchair with poker cards on top of the seat.

Originally, Mo Fan was extremely angry from seeing these dregs using Ye Xinxia’s wheelchair as a table for playing poker. However, now that he had heard these humiliating insults from Xu Bing, Mo Fan felt as though his chest was about to explode.

_A cripple?_

A _cripple_?????

_I, Mo Fan, have pledged a vow. If someone were to ever say this kind of stuff to Ye Xinxia, then I will make sure they will regret being reincarnated as a human!_

“Stop wasting time with this kid; go beat him up!”

“I, alone, am enough to deal with him, brothers; you just stand to the side and watch.” The muscular man in white tank top began cracking his fist.

Mo Fan looked at them with extremely icy eyes.

However, as they were messing around here, they didn’t notice one thing. He was forging a vicious purple colored lightning path within his eyes. The Star Path contained a tremendous Lightning Force that was about to erupt like a volcano under Mo Fan’s rage.

“Do you really think I’m still the same Mo Fan who you can take advantage of?”

A restless force began to tremble in the atmosphere around Mo Fan. It was like fully armed soldiers who were waiting for the commands from their General!

“You, who isn’t even on the same level as a domesticated animal, are just in time to taste the flavor of Lightning!”

The moment the angry voice transmitted from his throat, the seven stars formed and became a Star Path, causing the power from the Lightning star dust to gather within Mo Fan’s right arm!

“Bzzt~~~~”

An astonishing arc of Lightning sparked across Mo Fan’s body like a python. In the next second, the restless Lightning in the atmosphere began to assemble within Mo Fan’s right arm, emitting an ear-piercing noise!

“Heavens!!!!”

“What is that???”

“Why is there lightning crackling around his body?!”

“This kid...Heavens, he’s a Mage!!” Among these people, Xu Bing was the one who had seen the most of the outside world; “Mage” was said in certainty.

This group was certainly famous ruffians within the Guangchi District, and yet, ruffians still relied on punches and kicks. In front of a real Magician, they weren’t even enough to be called dregs.

“How could he be a Mage!!”

Xu Bing and the group of people were exceedingly scared by the incredibly shocking scene in front of them.

In their perspective, if one could leave a mark after punching a tree, then one would have an incredible existence within the ruffians. However, they have never met someone whose body was enshrouded by a crackling Lightning arcs. Everything within the circumference of a few meters looked just like a destroyed high voltage area. Incorporeal power pressured them, causing their entire bodies to feel numb!

“Lightning Force, Lightning Strike!”

All the invocations were complete. This time, Mo Fan was genuinely using the Primary rank skill, Lightning Strike!

He suddenly raised his arm with his palm, facing the sky.

All the trembling Lightning arcs in the surroundings emitted a sharp sound. They were just like a group of elemental warriors in a purple colored armor who had just received a command as they suddenly unsheathed their weapons!

“Annihilate them!” With the unfathomable rage, Mo Fan relied on a feeling to control the Lightning Force that heeded his commands.

He ferociously gripped his fist!

An arc-like Lightning element emerged and shot toward Xu Bing, who was standing at the very front, as well as towards the muscular man’s location.

The Lightning arc came forth from the high altitude. Every strike was like a whip filled with immense power, whipping Xu Bing and the muscular man to the floor. While at the same time, it left behind strands of marks as it continued to whip them on the floor.

“Pshhhttt~~~~”

Xu Bing, as well as the muscular man, was beaten down to the floor. Just a while ago, they were still putting on airs but now, in the moment the Lightning Strike fell on them, flesh lacerated from their back, skin burning to a crisp.

They wanted to scream out in pain, but not a sound came from them. The Lightning Strike’s strands of power were like small pythons, scurrying around their body. Every time it scurried, one could see Xu Bing and the muscular man twitch in pain.

“Pudong!!” After feeling this dreadful power, the man with the cigarette was so frightened that he began to kneel on the floor. His body unconsciously began to tremble!

The man in the cowboy adornment was completely dumbstruck; it was as though he was turned into a statue.

Although the man with headphones was just standing there, without getting hit by the Lightning Strike, his jeans were completely soaked. It even started dripping down on his shoes!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

* * *

[1] In Buddhism, you burn fake paper money to thank buddha for the luck or anything god.

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

In the Pavilion, on the hill, there was an unimaginable purple energy flashing magnificently before it quickly disappeared into nothing.

There was a scorched smell pervading the air.

There was even some charring on the plants in the surroundings.

There were two people laying on the ground; they were acutely twitching. Their appearances were too horrible to look at; the insufferably arrogant attitude of the Guangchi District’s ruffians was nowhere to be seen.

The other three people were thoroughly scared.

“Big...Mo...Big Brother Mo Fan… Seeing…seeing as how we grew up in the same district…could…could you spare us. We...we will never do this again!!” The man with the cigarette had been so scared that his soul had dispersed. In his eyes, the sixteen-year-old youth in front of him was even scarier than the demons in his nightmares!

“You…you are an honorable Mage.. you don’t need to lower yourself to the same level as dregs like us. I beg of you; don’t…don’t do anything to us.” The man in cowboy adornment said with a trembling voice.

Seeing the appearances of Xu Bing and the muscular man, it was just too terrifying!

The man in cowboy adornments didn’t want to become like them!

The whiff of rage accompanied with the completely released Lightning Strike was slowly settling down to the bottom of Mo Fan’s heart.

He looked at the miserable Xu Bing and the muscular man and glanced at the other three people who were completely terrified.

“Take them to the hospital,” Mo Fan’s said as he calmed down.

The truth was even Mo Fan couldn’t imagine that the Primary rank skill of Lightning Element, Lightning Strike would have a might that immense!

_This was my first time actually activating it. If I can become even more proficient at it and be able to increase my accuracy in controlling it, I won’t waste a single bit of that scattered energy during the activation. I’m afraid the perfected Lightning Strike would directly cause the five people to die from the explosion._

So far, so good, however, there were no casualties out of this or else things would become complicated!

“Yes, yes, yes! We’ll go; we’ll go now!!” The cowboy looked at this young Mage’s rage settling down; he acted as if he obtained a new life.

The other two didn’t dare to think too much about it; they hurriedly supported the two paralyzed people on the ground…

The result was, as soon as they touched the two men, the remaining lightning arcs transmitted into their arms from the bodies; causing them to tremble in fear.

“Call an ambulance. You’ll handle the medical fees yourselves.” Mo Fan said indifferently.

“I’ll call them now; I’ll call them now.”

Mo Fan’s rage had already dispersed. In fact, his mind still had some enthusiasm which was hard to conceal.

Right now, Mo Fan was like a God Killing existence for them; how could he display his extremely joyful appearance to these fools?

After walking to the inside of the Pavilion, Mo Fan swept away the cards from the wheelchair. He picked up the wheelchair and followed the stairs back down.

These three people were still looking at Mo Fan with fear lingering in their hearts.

Suddenly, Mo Fan spun around.

The three people were scared and hastily took a step back.

“Oh right, if someone were to ask, tell them that these two tried to steal electricity. If you dare to spread the matter of me being a Mage, I’ll have you shut up forever. Either way, I heard the police won’t make it difficult for a Mage who accidentally kills someone. Especially the dregs of society who provoked a Mage.” Mo Fan thought of it and turned around to warn these people.

The three people nodded their head as though they were pounding garlic; they couldn’t be more obedient.

“Regarding Zhao Kunsan and Mu Bai, with your IQ, I believe you know what to say, right?” Mo Fan said as he left in a carefree manner.

“We…we didn’t see you.”

“You’re smart. I’ll think of the matter as done, this time. If there’s anything in the future, you can come and find me. You’ve seen my abilities already.”

“Yes, yes, yes! Big Brother Mo Fan, take care.” The three bent over as they nodded their head with fear and reverence.

Mo Fan nodded as he picked up the wheelchair and left.

_First, you need to ruthlessly beat them up, then you give them a little bit of benefit._ Mo Fan believed these lads wouldn’t dare be rash, and believed they wouldn’t spread the word of this matter to the outside.

On one side, he has become a Lightning Element Magician that was able to activate his skills. On the other side, it was the Apprentice-level Mu Bai. _I believe these guys understand how to stand for themselves._

However, Mo Fan was already clear on the fact that these five people were just lackeys for Mu Bai and Zhao Kunsan.

_When the time comes, I’ll still pay those two bastards back what they deserve._

……

Following the stone steps downwards, Mo Fan finally couldn’t help but to laugh out loud.

A few years ago, he was just a normal student in a classroom who would occasionally look at the world outside of the window, due to the dullness from the History class. Occasionally, he would also daydream about suddenly being faced with a gust of wind and flying upwards; his foot lightly treading on the flagpole. Soaring through the blue sky and the distant back mountain of the school. He imagined encountering a brute that could cause himself to be thoroughly enraged. When he met fiends and numerous villains, his hands were able to congregate a special force that could directly defeat them.

Who would’ve thought that he was able to have a small taste of this today!

With the Lightning Force in his hands, the five ruffians who used to bully him became like stray dogs. This has never happened before, and the feeling was fantastic; it was like a dream!

“Lightning Element, Lightning Strike is indeed impressive. I wonder what kind of power the Fire Element’s ‘Primary rank skill, Flame Burst’ holds. There’s still half a year before the annual Magic Examination; I should have enough time to grasp the Fire Element’s Primary rank skill, Fire Burst…” Mo Fan got excited.

_The Lightning element’s primary rank skill, Lightning Strike was indeed ferocious. I wonder how the other element’s skills are._

Moreover, Mo Fan knew that the primary rank skills are the lowest type of magic; after the primary, there’s also intermediate and high rank!

“Right, right, the Wind element Teacher did mention it during the first class. The Wind Element’s high-rank skill, Wind Wings gives you the ability to soar through the sky...Damn, if I’m able to learn Wind Wings, then I’d be able to go anywhere!

After a long while, Mo Fan was still having difficulties holding down his excitement. His mind was incessantly processing the magic knowledge he learned. He wanted to know what other heaven-defying skills the Mages could be in possession of!

……

On the still swing was the long haired, perfectly straight nosed young girl with her head slightly turned upwards. She was carefully observing the pavilion whose view was blocked by trees.

“The purple ray just now...” Ye Xinxia murmured to herself.

She saw a magnificent purple colored light like a remnant of a shooting star flashing by the pavilion. Although it quickly dissipated, it was still an astonishing scene that left a mark in people’s heart.

“Is it a Mage?” Ye Xinxia thought to herself.

She had a really hard time imagining that there’d be a Mage in a city area this small.

However, why would a Mage appear in the same location as Mo Fan and the group of ruffians, and they even used genuine magic!

Is Big Brother Mo Fan alright??

At this moment, Ye Xinxia was feeling nervous. She subconsciously bit the side of her lip.

At last, the familiar figure appeared on the small, stone staircase. He was carrying her wheelchair, and his face had a ... had a trace of a silly smile?

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

_As long as there’s no trouble, then it’s fine!_

Ye Xinxia’s heart finally settled down.

“Xinxia, I have already dealt with those people. They won’t bother you anymore.” Mo Fan placed the wheelchair in front of Ye Xinxia.

“I just saw… I saw lightning. It seems to be the primary rank skill of Lightning Element, Lightning Strike.” Ye Xinxia said.

As Mo Fan heard this, he began to feel a sense of pride. However, he smiled without saying a word. He used his broken eyes to look at Ye Xinxia.

Ye Xinxia felt something wasn’t right; she carefully thought about it before astonishment flashed in her eyes.

“The one activating Lightning Strike was Big Brother Mo Fan??”

Mo Fan didn’t admit to it; he just stood there with a smile.

“It really was you! Big Brother Mo Fan is a Mage??” Ye Xinxia said with a hint of disbelief.

“Haha, you are the first person to witness my true power!” Mo Fan said suddenly with a headstrong tone in before Ye Xinxia’s delicate and cute face.

Ye Xinxia didn’t anticipate this sneak attack; her a red flush immediately filled her cheeks; it even reached down to her neck.

Only then did Mo Fan realize that he was being a bit too relaxed. He hastily began to explain, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I got a bit too excited.”

Ye Xinxia replied with a low voice, “Then…did you really become a Mage?”

Mo Fan nodded.

“Our teacher said only one out of a thousand can awaken Lightning element. The primary level of Lightning Element holds a great advantage, so much of it can be said to be the best primary ranked element.” In this moment, Ye Xinxia began to feel happy for Mo Fan.

Ye Xinxia was clear on the situation at home, even more so after she became a member of the family and gave Uncle Mo Jiaxing more unnecessary pressure. According to Auntie, Uncle Mo Jiaxing had already sold their house. It seems as if their poverty had reached a definite point.

Both her and Mo Fan were still young; it’s difficult for them to help Mo Jiaxing. What Mo Fan could do was study hard and become a genuine Mage; only then would they be able to relieve the current family crisis.

It seems like Big Brother Mo Fan was indeed amazing. He had unexpectedly learned Magic in such a short period of time.

_Eh, that’s not right!_

Suddenly, Ye Xinxia came to a realization. She looked at Mo Fan with her beautiful eyes which hinted that she wanted to say something.

Mo Fan replied in earnest, “What’s wrong?”

“It hasn’t even been half a year since you awakened. According to what is known, even people who have a high innate talent require nearly a year to completely activate the primary rank skills.” Ye Xinxia said.

Mo Fan was dumbstruck.

_No way, even people with a high innate talent need nearly a year’s worth of time to go from awakening to activation?_

_Then…me being able to completely use the primary skills after half a year is indeed a bit too quick!_

The thing was, Mo Fan didn’t know anything about this.

That blockhead Mu Bai was already able to grasp four or five stars. From how he saw it, wasn’t it normal that he, himself, could already activate Magic?

However, why did Ye Xinxia’s surprised face give off the feeling as if she was looking at a Monster?

Could it be that being able to learn the Primary rank skill within half a year was an extremely abnormal thing in this world?

“The ‘Possess a high innate talent’ in ‘Even someone that possess high innate talent needs a year’, what kind of level does that speak of?” Mo Fan cautiously asked.

Mo Fan didn’t want to expose the fact that he knew almost nothing about this world.

“Mu Ningxue is considered the most talented person within our Bo City. Her talent even surpasses numerous genius-level students in the Empire; however, she needed eight months to go from the awakening to learning the Ice Element’s primary skill.” Ye Xinxia said.

“Eight...eight months?” Mo Fan felt a bit stunned when he heard this.

What kind of existence was Mu Ningxue?

She was the only person who was directly recruited by the Empire Institution in the entirety of Bo City. She’s also the most beloved person of the entire Mu Clan; she had received the entire Mu Clan’s inherited magic training methods. The kind of resources which a common Mage would never receive in their entire life.

The reason behind her being viewed as an important figure, as well as her astonishing Magic talent, was closely related to that!

Even an extremely arrogant person like her needed eight months to go from awakening to the activation of Primary Magic. What about Mo Fan, who only needed five months?

Holy crap!!

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!

Mo Fan felt his heart viciously surging!

If Mu Ningxue shocked the world with eight months and was classified as a heavenly genius by the people, wouldn’t his own five months be completely heaven-defying?!?!

“Big Brother Mo Fan, you...did you learn something bad?... I heard from an old scholar that this kind of cultivation speed is only possible with people from the Black Church,” Ye Xinxia whispered.

The Black Church had some Demonic Magic Method that could substantially raise a Mage’s cultivation speed. Ye Xinxia really couldn’t think of any other way that could allow someone to complete Primary Magic in just a short five months, even though Ye Xinxia knew her Big Brother Mo Fan’s intelligence surpasses others...

“The Black Church? How is that possible… Is, is that so? Oh, right, I actually didn’t awaken on the day of Opening Ceremony. I got to know an old man way before that; he told me ‘Kid, I see that your bones are unusually good; your talent exceeds others. Why don’t you let me teach you magic?’ and at that time, I asked who he was. He told me was a member of the Magic City’s Magic Association. He could help me awaken in advance… In short, I actually didn’t learn Magic in five months.” Mo Fan reacted by quickly explaining this.

As Ye Xinxia listened to his explanation, she became confused.

However, she still replied with a big smile, “Oh, so you actually awakened in advance. Awakening too early would cause side effects to the cultivation, however, if it’s the people from the Magic Association, then there shouldn’t be any large issues.”

As Mo Fan saw that Ye Xinxia no longer asked any questions, he finally sighed in relief.

_Shit, I really am a monster. It seems like I shouldn’t reveal too many things before I completely understand this world._

“Is it true,t it’s only those from The Black Church that can finish their cultivation in five months?” Mo Fan asked faintly.

“Yes,” Ye Xinxia nodded in sincerity.

Mo Fan felt cold sweat!

Being too amazing wasn’t a good thing. Originally, Mo Fan wanted to surprise Ye Xinxia with the fact that he also possessed the Fire Element, however, now it seemed like it would be better to not be reckless while he still hadn’t understood the circumstances.

_I should go back and consult the books first and fully understand the situation, just to have some warranty. If not, I’ll be branded as someone from the Black Church and then be dealt with!_

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

After taking Ye Xinxia back to her aunt’s place and having dinner with them, Mo Fan wanted to continue practicing the Lightning element Magic; however, when he began to do his usual practice on ‘Control’, he began to feel a headache, so bad it was as though his head was splitting apart. It was the kind of feeling that was like playing League of Legends for three days straight without sleep in a Internet Cafe; It was as though his entire being was about to drop dead!

_What kind of situation is this??_

_It’s the feeling of having a low Spirit._

_Is it because I used Lightning Strike twice today? Is it due to Lightning Element’s Magic being excessively used that lead to me feeling spiritually fatigued?_

_Is there a mistake? If we count in the time in the bus where I didn’t completely activate it, then I’ve only used Lightning Strike twice today, and that caused my damn mana to be completely drained?_

_Originally, I thought spending five months worth of time to meditate would cause the magic capacity within my star dust to be tremendous. Who would’ve thought that using Lightning Strike twice would cause the entire Lightning element star dust to feel completely dismal?_

The Lightning element’s star dust used to be gorgeous and colorful within the Spiritual world. The purple radiance reflected by the seven stars were like a beautiful painting of the starry sky. However, right now, the star dust lost its radiance as it sunk into the darkness.

At first, Mo Fan was slightly scared. Fortunately, after he loosened up and started to rest, the Lightning star dust began to slowly recover its radiance, although very slowly!

“It seems like the star dust isn’t bright enough. Every time I use magic, the star dust will lose a bit of its radiance. When the star dust is completely dark, it means the energy within it has been completely used up.

The star dust contains Magic energy.

No wonder why the homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng, would stress all day, saying, “Even if it’s boring, you still need to maintain meditation. If a talented Mage doesn’t diligently meditate, they could become mediocre.

These words could basically mean, “So what if your skill is incredible? If you don’t have the mana then you’re just a dreg!”

_Forget it, let’s not think about this. I should hurry up and sleep or else I’ll really pass out!_

……

As he was holing up in his room, he slept until dawn.

Ye Xinxia was lovable. It was almost noon, yet she didn’t wake him up.

Mo Fan got out of his bed feeling energetic.

He easily entered a meditative state and scanned his own star dust. He discovered that most of the stardust was shining brightly. It’d probably completely recover its former radiance very soon.

“Oh right, I shouldn’t reveal my Lightning element to outsiders. Although this is a society governed by law, it could still cause people to be jealous. An example would be the Mu Family which is capable of covering the heavens with the point of a finger. It seems like I still need to cultivate the Fire element, this way it’d be easier to fool other people.” Mo Fan brushed his teeth as he pondered over this question.

_However, I only have so much energy in a single day. How can I cultivate the Lightning element while I cultivate the Fire element as well?_

The reason as to why Mo Fan was able to activate the Lightning element’s skill in just a mere five months was because he spent all of his cultivation time on the Lightning element. No matter how fascinating and charming the Fire element was, Mo Fan still remained single-minded toward the Lightning element.

_The annual Magic examination is in roughly half a year. If I want don’t want to reveal the Lightning element’s power this early, then I ought to concentrate all of my attention on cultivating the Fire element in the next school semester and reach the point where I can activate the primary skill of Fire element._

_Although, if I were to do this, then that’d mean the progress of Lightning element would be at a standstill for half a year._

_I need to meditate. The star dust won’t become stronger without a reason!_

……

Mo Fan made a few adjustments to his meditation schedule.

There was a bit more than six months left before the annual Magic Examination. Mo Fan planned to distribute ten hours of what he could handle every day; Eight hours on cultivating the Fire element and two hours to gently grow the Lightning element.

This way, the Lightning element’s growth may be very slow, but it will at least maintain his proficiency in ‘Control’.

Spending eight hours every day to cultivate the Fire element was already much greater compared to students who were only capable of meditating for five hours.

……

His aunt, Mo Qing came back home from work during lunch.

Aunt Mo Qing is the most normal woman ever; she’s thin with a yellow face, and she was a very good person.

“Mo Fan you’re back! I’ve heard from your dad that you’re fully concentrating on cultivating at Tian Lan Magic High. You must really do your best! If you are able to become a Primary Mage, then you’d bring honor to the ancestors of our Mo Family!” Mo Qing said.

_A Primary Mage and I’d be bringing honor to the ancestors??_

_How many generations have we been poor?!_

_Sigh, I don’t know if I am ready!_

“Where’s your husband, why haven’t I seen him around?” Mo Fan asked.

“He’s delivering goods to the hunters in the mountains. I really don’t understand how a normal person like him could possibly have the courage to go into the mountains. If he were to encounter a Magical Beast, it could swallow him in one gulp!” Mo Qing complained.

“Aren’t the Magical Beasts in the Primitive Mountains quite a distance from our city?” Mo Fan said.

This world was different from the world he was familiar with. Outside of the city, in the Magic World resided numerous Magical Beasts that threaten the lives of humankind. Not even to mention, common people were afraid of setting food in those areas; even Magicians tended to lose their lives out there.

“Haven’t you seen the warning issued by the Hunter’s Union? Recently, the Magical Beast have gotten restless. There have many been signs of Magical Beasts emerging outside of our Bo City; thus, they have especially been warning the normal folks to not take a step outside of the safety zones.” Mo Qing said.

“Isn’t that a bit too much?” Mo Fan said with a smile.

Although Mo Fan was new to this, he still read a lot of books. The Magical Beasts are generally far away from the cities where humans reside; moreover, there were renowned organisations like the Magic Association, Hunter’s Union, and large Magic Families who cleaned up on a regular basis to ensure the safety of the people within the city.

“You’ve studied so much that you’ve become dumb. Think about it, which Mayor doesn’t want their city to prosper in peace? Even if Magical Beasts were to invade, they would still say the situation is under their control in order to avert panic...The truth is, there have always been Magical Beasts in the vicinity of the city; there are even some within the city. It’s just we, the common people, don’t really see them.” Mo Qing whispered.

Mo Fan was surprised as he heard this, but he still said with a forced smile, “Aunt, you’re too paranoid.”

“Little boy, you still won’t believe me. Then, let me tell you something that actually happened. This happened; don’t say that your aunt loves listening to gossip all day…You should know that I work in the hospital’s logistics department.”

“Uh-huh.” Mo Fan nodded.

Fortunately, Mo Qing didn’t say she was working at some Sacred Institution, or else Mo Fan’s balls would really hurt as he wouldn’t know anything.

“There was an evening where I went to deliver medicine for wounds to the doctor in charge. However, there was a person in the operation room who seemed to be a Healing element Mage. He chewed out our Dr. Wang saying, “Even if you are a Healing element Apprentice, you shouldn’t be so stupid to not know how to differentiate poison marsh and poison water. Also, these people are under a Demonic spell which is why they look lifeless… Go, go, go, don’t be a burden here. Go find the people from the Hunter’s Union and have them find the Evil-eyed marsh beast, or else there’ll be more injured people in this area!” Mo Qing moved closer. She spoke with a very cautious tone to Mo Fan.

As Mo Fan saw Mo Qing’s expression; he didn’t feel like she was making things up.

_Don’t tell me the Magical Beasts are actually so close to the city, with some being within the city?_

This is quite scary. Magical Beasts were monsters that eat people; if you were to come across one, then death would certainly be imminent!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: Fluffygoblyn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Will your husband be ok seeing as how he went into the mountains?” Mo Fan asked.

“Who would’ve known that there’d be light colored warnings outside of the city; it indicates that the residents shouldn’t carelessly wander deep into the mountains. He kept saying that the Hunter Squad lost some supplies while they were following the tracks of a One-eyed Magical Wolf and that he had to personally deliver it. He’s just a logistics employee, yet, he even has the guts to do this kind of life-threatening work. Your dad, no matter what I told him, still wouldn’t listen.” Mo Qing answered.

“My dad went as well?” Mo Fan’s face immediately changed.

“Yeah, they said it would pay a lot. Even Mage Apprentices are too afraid to receive their call, yet, these two normal people... If nothing happens, then that’s fine. However, if something really were to happen, what’ll happen to us?” Mo Qing said.

“Auntie, don’t worry. They must’ve considered this already; there won’t be any problems. They’re just delivering it to a designated outpost, and the roads from the city to the outpost are still within the safe zone,” Ye Xinxia said from the side.

“Either way, I just wish the two would just obediently do their job within the city. I get worried when they leave the city,” Mo Qing whispered once again.

After hearing Mo Qing’s complaints, Mo Fan began to have a bad feeling.

Father hasn’t come to my school to see me for the past six months. It turns out he picked a different road; he went to deliver goods to the Hunter Magicians patrolling outside. This job is indeed very dangerous compared to his former job where he’d only deliver goods to wealthy people.

……

Although it’s winter break, Mo Fan wasn’t free at all. After staying at Auntie’s place for a few days, Mo Fan returned to Tian Lan Magic High’s library.

The library had the information he needed to replenish, for example, the Black Church which he missed out on.

Mo Fan understood what kind of thing the Black Church was after reading about it.

Those guys are similar to the terror organizations; a large, Evil cult. They frequently did things that would harm the safety of the people. Additionally, for the sake of their own goals, they would even use living people as cultivation material. The country was not lenient on insane things like that, naturally!

In the coming month, Mo Fan wholeheartedly meditated.

After knowing the Lightning element’s stardust would dry up and turn completely dark after only using Lightning Strike twice, Mo Fan began to understand the importance of meditation.

Thus, this entire month, despite how great the temptation of activating Fire element’s skill, Fire Burst, Mo Fan didn’t rashly try to come in contact with Fire element’s star. He must solidify his foundation first.

As he was engrossed in meditation and treated all of this as a habit, the time passed very quickly.

Soon enough, it became the start of the school again.

Inside the library, Mo Fan swept off the cobwebs that covered his body; ready to meet the new magic school term.

In a high spirit, Mo Fan walked into the classroom and sat down in a seat at the very back, just like always.

“Eh?”

There’s something wrong today.

Mo Fan looked at Zhang Xiaohou next to him and discovered this lad didn’t look alright.

Normally, this guy’s expression would be just like a curious little monkey, a clever one. Moreover, he would incessantly tell Mo Fan about his past few days during class.

Today, however, his eyes looked dull, his mouth was slightly open, and his face was filled with an unfathomable intoxicated gaze as he looked toward the front.

As he looked around his surroundings, the two study wrecks, Xu Qinglin and Lu Xiaobing were showing the same expression; it was as though they were being possessed!

Shit, don’t tell me what Auntie said really is true. There is a One-eyed Magical Wolf within the city and these lads have all been infected by it!

“Good morning class, the teacher for your Practical Magic class has fallen ill and is currently at home recuperating. From today on, I will be in charge of everyone’s Practical Magic classes. My name is Tangyue!” A mature, beautiful and bright sound resounded.

After being accustomed to the hoarse and slow voice of an old man, the sudden appearance of a mature woman’s voice with a charming and the sexy tune swept past like the spring wind brushing the grounds; this caused the slightly tired Mo Fan to immediately wake up!

He raised his head as he searched for the origins of the voice with expectation. Mo Fan’s eyes were starstruck and his expression appeared enchanted.

What the hell, who cares about the Evil-eyed Marsh Monster that can confuse people’s hearts? It’s evident that the souls of the males with the exuberant hormones were attracted by this newly arrived, extraordinarily beautiful female teacher.

This teacher, Tangyue, wore a standard, black suit. In between the outer black suit and the white shirt on the inside were a bulging, majestic, and glamorous mountain peaks that were about to burst. This made Mo Fan wonder whether the little buttons on the chest was really capable of holding up this turbulent wave.

Annoying, this really is annoying.

_The early morning has always been the time where the young men are at their most violent. As they were stimulated like this, I reckon the majority will have a rather shameful appearance._

“It’s been half a year since you awakened, and there’s not a single person who has been able to use their magic. However, I hope you understand that being able to control an immense power does not signify that you know how to use it. If you don’t properly control your powers, then they’ll backfire on you,” Mrs. Tangyue quickly entered her teaching state.

Originally, the teacher’s earnest and solemn attitude caused many little tyrants to come back to their senses. Who would’ve known that the second she turned around after writing some important segments on the blackboard, the entire class would get nosebleeds?

What a disaster. Bulging and round, Mo Fan was definitely a normal male student. At this moment, the exact same scene came to his head.

Ahem!

How could one let one’s imagination run wild in a sacred school? Either way, Mo Fan wholeheartedly wanted to study; Mo Fan was definitely not the same as this group of people who only thought with their lower body. _In any case, I definitely won’t wear tight pants to the Practical Magic classes again. Not every organism is capable of being like a climbing tiger; move around the obstacle and continue what they’re doing._

The Practical Magic classes went on for the entire morning. After finishing theory, Tangyue brought everyone to the field; personally showing everyone the essential keys to Magic Activation.

Mo Fan also earnestly listened to this class; for example, what Mrs. Tangyue had said concerning the Magic Activation Link, Mo Fan have already experienced it. It’s just, he didn’t understand how the buttons on the front of Mrs. Tangyue’s chest were so durable; it’s been so long yet they still hadn’t burst?

Naturally, the school field isn’t supposed to be used for radio calisthenics.

The field was actually just the practice grounds, they had been divided into several independent spaces using a Magic Barrier which Mo Fan didn’t understand. All the overflowing power would be absorbed by the transparent barrier; this was to prevent harming the students who didn’t have any kind of ability.

“Look closely; I will demonstrate the primary skill of Fire element, Fire Burst!” Tangyue stood in the middle of the students.

The students assembled into a half arc, scattered behind Mrs. Tangyue. Whether everyone really was watching Mrs. Tangyue’s hand seals was something that no one was sure of.

“Fire Burst, it’s the skill of Fire element. Brother Mo Fan...wipe your saliva, it’s your element’s skill. Never did I think that Mrs. Tangyue, who looks so tender and virtuous, would actually be a Fire Mage!” Zhang Xiaohou nudged the Mo Fan beside him.

“Oh, oh, I want to learn this!” Only then did Mo Fan come back to his senses.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: Fluffygoblyn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Currently, Tangyue maintained an extremely straight posture as she calmly stood there. Her elegant, curvy physique outlined the slightly tight skirt which people felt was particularly moving. Perhaps it was because she was new to teaching, that was why her selection of clothing seemed a bit too hasty, resulting in this. This really gave the students a feast for their eyes.

“You have to meditate, be tranquil, and concentrate. Even if I am speaking to you right now, my mentality is wholeheartedly concentrated on the Fire element nebula within me…oh, I mean star dust.” Mrs. Tangyue said.

Mrs. Tangyue’s voice was transmitted to every student’s ears. When everyone thought Mrs. Tangyue was standing still as a statue, a sudden fluctuation could be seen from her pear blossom hair.

There was not a single thread of wind in the field, however, her hair looked as though she was on a steamer, causing it to scatter around!

“Control, at this moment, you need to call out so your star can obey your commands and open the doors of the Fire element Magic!!” Mrs. Tangyue’s tone changed from its usual softness to a solemn one; it carried a hint of an arrogance which stated that everything should burn down before her.

In this instant, all the males, with their heads filled with dirty thoughts, immediately became dumbstruck.

Their eyes widened as they looked at this beautiful female teacher with shock.

Aura!!

That’s right; they felt a scorching aura emitting from Mrs. Tangyue’s body; swelling over everyone’s faces.

There was shock, reverence, and a certain intimidating presence that prevented people from having any form of wicked thoughts!

Everyone initially thought the newly arrived Mrs. Tangyue would be your average teacher; be able to give everyone a messy theory lesson just like the old guy before her. When it came to them being able to personally activate Magic, there might even be a mistake in what she taught. However, the young Tangyue in front of them seemed have been able to control this power for a very, very long time. She was able to teach while she controlled the star. After she finished her magic incantations, the emerging fire’s intensity was on a completely different level compared to the old man. It was like comparing a small fire to a pillar of flames!

“Remember, after you’ve finished the arrangement of the stars, you can’t relax your thoughts. You must immediately focus on the position of your activation!”

That dignified voice resounded once more.

“Searing Flames!”

The sound was like a magical bell, ringing inside everyone’s mind.

While at the same time, a dazzling scarlet red Star Path emerged around Mrs. Tangyue’s body before it quickly condensed within her jade-like right hand.

Following this, a fiery red power rapidly grew on her half gripped hands; it was incomparably violent!

With all of her might, she used her arm to throw it!

The flame shot out like an arrow and gave off a scarlet red delicacy. After that, it became like a bullet, accurately and unmistakably penetrating the body of the puppet!

“Gone?”

“How come nothing happened?”

“It hit the target though.”

The atmosphere grew silent for a period of time. The puppet which was hit by Fire Burst didn’t have any kind of reaction while Mrs. Tangyue’s aura was the complete opposite.

Within the confusion, Mrs. Tangyue slowly turned around and faced the entire 48 students of the class with her somewhat young and tender face; however, the corner of her mouth gave off a smirking smile that displayed her high self-confidence.

WHEEEEEEWWW!!!!!

Suddenly, a shocking scarlet red burst forth from the within of the puppet. It absolutely was not one of those slow ignitions; it was a violent flutter. It looked like something that was able to burn everything in one breath.

The intact human-like puppet from just now was engulfed by a scarlet red flame in just an instant!!!

Was it one second or two?

The fire everyone knew of usually fluttered about; however, this flame was hungry like a wild beast swallowing food. It hadn’t even been two seconds before the entire human shaped puppet was completely engulfed into nothingness.

The gaudy scarlet light reflected in Mrs. Tangyue’s beautiful pear blossom hair. Her fair-skinned face was increasingly captivating at the moment.

The smile from the corner of her mouth, along with the reckless fire behind her back, enhanced the already stunningly beautiful teacher. There was one way to describe this appearance: unrealistically beautiful!

All 48 students of the class were completely starstruck.

Mo Fan didn’t know how other people felt about this, but he felt his own heart throbbing. Not only because this teacher was beautiful and charming, but when she wore the power of the flames, her body exuded a grandeur confidence his own blood rose, accompanied by worship, infatuation, and reverence!

If a woman is only beautiful, she’ll cause men to have a wild imagination. However, this woman had grasped the authority and power which other people were unable to touch upon. This woman was like poison; men were just unable to free themselves from her!

Only the heavens knew how many guys have set Mrs. Tangyue as their Goddess for life after seeing this scene. Even Mo Fan was completely subdued by her temperament.

Although they were both teachers in Practical Magic, the old man’s Magic Activation was lifeless; it caused the people watching to feel drowsy.

Mrs. Tangyue’s activation caused people to engrave it on to their hearts, making them feel excited and unable to calm themselves.

They were on completely different levels!!

“Alright, who are the Fire element students in our class? Let me note them down.” Mrs. Tangyue seemed to regard the gazes of worship from students as something normal as she continued to teach her class.

“I’m a Fire element user,” a girl whose face carried a heroic spirit took the initiative and stood up; she was Zhoumin, who gave rise to small disturbances during the opening ceremony.

Zhoumin’s eyes were constantly fixated on Mrs. Tangyue

In fact, Zhoumin didn’t like her in the beginning. How could there be a teacher who would wear clothes that attracted this much attention and possessed a voice so gentle and beautiful?!

However, after seeing Mrs. Tangyue finish a Flame Burst, Zhoumin’s heart did a complete 180, and her heart gave birth to a sense of worship.

Zhoumin’s mother was also a teacher. However, she was sure that her own mother was unable to do the same thing as Mrs. Tangyue. Whether it was the aura, intensity, accuracy, or the power!

“I am! I am one too, Mrs. Tangyue! I am also a Fire element user!! My name is Huang Feifeng,” the other male student who had awakened the Fire element jumped out.

_Look at this Huang Feifeng’s excited expression…_

Who didn’t know that if the Practical Magic teacher had the same element as you, then it’d be like having a small stove, with the master passing useful things on to their disciples[a]?

Huang Feifeng felt extremely lucky. He had unexpectedly become Mrs. Tangyue’s disciple. _Who could say if Mrs. Tangyue would appreciate his talent in the future and give birth to feelings toward him; she was his own Little Dragon Maiden!_ _[1]_

“Don’t stand in my way; I’m going to the roof. Why didn’t I awaken the Fire element, why?!” Lu Xiaobing, who awakened the Water element, was making loud noises as he cried.

“Tea… teacher, I am also a fire… fire element user. My, my name is Zhao Daniu,” a little man who stuttered stood up. As his eyes met Mrs. Tangyue’s, his face turned completely red.

Mo Fan sighed, _you could tell with one glance that it was just an average beansprout that no one cared for._

As Mrs. Tangyue looked at this little man, she chuckled as she said, “You’re clearly very thin and weak. Why did your family name you ‘Big Cow’[2]”

“My… my body is weak. Father and mother… father and mother wish… wished for me to become sturdy, like a big cow.”

“Then you should be named Zhao Blabbermouth,” Zhao Kunsan and his clever mouth immediately mocked.

What Zhao Kunsan was mocking was naturally, Zhao Daniu’s stutter.

“Hm, are there more?” Mrs. Tangyue’s gaze swept over.

“There’s only three Fire element users in a single class?”

“That’s too little.”

Judging by their aura, it seemed like there was only the girl called Zuo Zhoumin whose talent was slightly better, and her cultivation pace was also not bad.

“There’s also me; my name is Mo Fan,” Mo Fan came back to his senses and walked out from the crowd of people.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

* * *

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaolongn%C3%BC

[2] Da Niu in Chinese is big cow

[a] T his is a Chinese idiom meant to say that having a teacher with the same discipline as you is a special boon in that they can pass down useful items (and knowledge) since their focuses align.

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Mrs. Tangyue’s perceptive eyes fell on Mo Fan’s body. While she was probing Mo Fan’s aura, her lips couldn’t help but open up.

“Mo Fan, you sure have the guts to stand up. A school semester has gone by, yet you haven’t been able to control a single Fire element star. Your star is still dark, so much so that you can’t even see it yet; don’t try to act like you’re something!” Zhao Kunsan immediately said.

There was a test during the end of the last semester. This test was to check the tempo of the student’s cultivation. There were definitely no accidents occurring; Mo Fan’s star dust wasn’t any different from when he first awakened it. The entire class knew this, and that totally did not cause Zhao Kunsan and Mu Bai laughter!

If you’re an idiot, then you’re an idiot. So what if he awakened the Fire element? He would never become a Mage in his entire lifetime.

“Your talent in the Fire element is very good, so how come your cultivation is so low? Mo Fan, there are numerous people who wish to become a Fire Magician, and you already have an advantage which many people don’t. You must put in the effort.” Mrs. Tangyue looked at Mo Fan as she said in pity.

“I understand, Mrs. Tangyue.” Mo Fan nodded.

After going through meditation, a Magician’s Spiritual Force would become powerful. Its power would reach the point where they were able to perceive details which normal people couldn’t. They would also be able to perceive the aura of another Mage.

Through the aura’s intensity, one could roughly determine a Magician’s cultivation level.

Mo Fan knew from the start it wasn’t possible to hide his cultivation.

However, there was this one thing. If Mo Fan were to conceal the power of the Lightning element and only reveal the aura of the Fire element, then others would only be able to sense the Fire element’s aura. Thus, they were only able to determine the Fire element’s cultivation level while being unable to sense the other element.

That was why Mo Fan could normally just use the Fire element to fool other people!

“The second I wanted to focus on the Fire element, an amazing Fire element teacher suddenly appeared at my door. It seems like there’s hope for me to complete the activation of the primary skill, Fire Burst, before the big examination.” Mo Fan’s confidence immediately increased.

_Eh?_

_Why is this woman looking at me with an odd expression?_

It seems like she’s called Zhoumin, the top student in the class and also a Fire element user.

Mo Fan was puzzled. _I don’t think I’ve ever offended this girl, Zhoumin, so why is she looking at me with such a hostile gaze?_

On the other side, Zhou Min brows creased. Seeing the study wreck called Mo Fan looking at her, she immediately and ferociously glared at him.

Zhoumin was unhappy, extremely unhappy.

_What qualifications does Mo Fan have to possess a better talent in Fire element than me?_

The homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng, once said Mo Fan’s talent in Fire element was the best in the entire class. During the awakening, the flames were very clear, and now, this extremely amazing Mrs. Tangyue also commented on how his talent was good.

_Forget it, there’s no need to get angry over this kind of study wreck. Either way, when the annual examination comes and he doesn’t meet the qualifications, he’ll be asked to leave school. This guy will have one last half year of leisure._

_I just really don’t understand. It’s obvious that his family situation isn’t good, they sacrificed everything just so he could enter the Tian Lan Magic High. Yet, after awakening the Fire element, he’s decadent and lazy; how is he able to face his family? Did a dog eat his consciousness?_

Thanks to Zhao Kunsan and Mu Bai, the entire class basically knew that Mo Fan was squeezed into the class.

“Your homeroom teacher has already spoken to me about the importance of the Annual Examination. First, if you don’t meet the requirements, then you’ll be asked to leave the school. Second, they’ll divide you into different classes based on your grades. If you’re placed in the Elite class, then you’ll obtain certain benefits that will give you an advantage on the Magic University’s exams. Thus, this school semester, everyone should have no reason to not put in their utmost effort,” Mrs. Tangyue said to everyone.

“Mrs. Tangyue, will you be teaching the Elite class?” A male student asked.

“Yeah, if everything goes according to the plans, I will be assigned to be the Practical Magic teacher for the Elite class after I’ve finished teaching you,” Tangyue slightly nodded her head.

“Teacher, I, Yangguo…oh, I, Huang Feifeng will definitely do my best!”

“Mrs. Tangyue, I want to follow you in the future as well.”

Tangyue maintained a gentle smile as she could tell that her first class today was pretty successful. The student’s passion for studying has been lifted.

“Oh right, when any of you are able to control seven stars, then you can come and find me in private. I will take some time off of my schedule to teach you some more,” Tangyue continued.

Clamor!

A wolf howl suddenly resounded from the class.

Seven stars, it suddenly became the striving objective for everyone.

“I’m not too far from seven stars, Mrs. Tangyue, wait for me…”

“Are you for real? How many can you control?”

“Two.”

“Get lost!”

“I can do 3, that’s better than you dregs!” Huang Feifeng said with his face filled with pride.

“Three stars and you still have the face to stand here and act arrogant. I’m almost at 4; don’t you know that it gets harder as you progress?” Xu Qinglin asked in disdain.

“That’s funny, real funny. You groups of wastes, Mu Bai is already in control of five stars. In the next semester, he could spend three days fishing and two days browsing the internet and he’s still able to reach seven stars. The first one to work with Mrs. Tangyue will definitely be Mu Bai.” Zhao Kunsan immediately said in ridicule.

“Shit, Mu Bai is that amazing?”

“Five...five stars, how did he cultivate like that? That’s too amazing!”

“I heard that the most amazing student in the school, the 7th class’s Lightning student, has only been able to control five as well.”

Feeling the discussion surrounding him, Mu Bai felt his entire being beginning to float.

However, in order to show his mature and collected temperament, Mu Bai wouldn’t expose his approval for the compliments towards him. That would just make him look like a complete douche.

This guy, Zhao Kunsan, he was a little stupid, and he was not reliable when it came to doing things. However, there was one thing that was very good about him; when the Master wants attention, yet can’t display it, Zhao Kunsan would jump in with the right timing.

_It’s not like I can personally jump out and say “This daddy can already control five” every time someone is discussing three or two stars and then get shocked by four stars. That’d be cheap, too cheap; it doesn’t conform with the temperament of being the young master of my family. If we put it in Zhao Kunsan’s words; It fits perfectly well._

This way he could show everyone he was amazing, and not diminish his manners!

_Life is like playing League of Legends; not only do you have to be good at it, it is also very important for teammates to know how to conform to you!_

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Hot air flowed over the mountains, engulfing the south and exchanging the embrace of spring for the humidity of summer.

Following this came heavy rain, a good omen, destroying the leaves and leaving the flowers to wither!

Bo City was regarded as a city with many seasons; however, sometimes it could get exceedingly unruly.

Just this morning, the sun was fierce and illuminating. There was not a single cloud that could be seen for thousands of miles. The nap he took felt the same as the one with which he crossed worlds, a strange gust with the black clouds covering the entire sky. As it became evening, the torrential rain and wind became ice-cold.

“Is there a storm coming? This crap weather…It is randomly happening all year round; it becomes whatever season it wants without skipping a beat!” Zhang Xiahou complained from within the dorms.

“Zhang Xiaohou, aren’t you a Wind element user? Come, you should go out into the storm and see if you can activate the primary skill of Wind element, Wind Trail.” Lu Xiaobing from the same dorm said.

“Don’t you freaking have the Water element; why aren’t you going out and showing the Water Barrier, oh magnificent Water Magician. You’re still using an umbrella when you go out; aren’t you ashamed when you go out?”

Lu Xiaobing’s face turned pale.

Truly, A Water element Magician should technically have a wind jacket in the rain.

The problem is, it’s almost time for the Annual Examination. Lu Xiaobing could only control four stars; thus, there was still quite a distance from him being able to activate the Water element skill, Water Barrier.

“Zhang Xiaohou, can you really use Wind Trail? Why don’t you show us? The truth is, other than seeing that violent girl, Zhoumin, using Fire Burst, we haven’t seen anyone else in class use proper magic.” The dorm head, who talked about his lewd thoughts about Mrs. Tangyue every day, said.

“It’s not going so well; I can’t guarantee the 100% succession.” Zhang Xiaohou said with a slight shyness.

“Monkey, show it to us. I also wanna see what the Wind element skill looks like,” Mo Fan eyes beamed as he put down the theory book in his hands.

“The place is too small.”

“Use the hallway; the hallway is long enough.”

“…Okay, let me try. But I’m really not proficient at it,” Zhang Xiaohou nodded his head.

It’s already the end of the term, and Zhang Xiaohou had quite the talent. He was one of the very small number of people in the class that could control seven stars.

Everyone was curious about the skills of every element; naturally, they also wanted to see Zhang Xiaohou used his.

Zhang Xiaohou closed his eyes and began to enter the activation state.

He was really slow; it was clear that he wasn’t very good at controlling the stars.

He maintained the rhythm of his breathing, and the breathing was audible.

Whooosh.

Suddenly, the books on the table began to move.

The dormitory’s old doors began to creak.

The dust on the floor began to rise, and swirled the dirty underwear beneath the bed. As the boss of the dormitory was about to grab it, the underwear elegantly avoided his hands and floated unrestricted in the wind!

“Wind Trail, Fast stride!”

Zhang Xiaohou’s entire temperament changed; an azure color emerged within his eyes as his lapel began to brandish.

Along with his incantations, the toothbrush, cups, and clothing racks clattering about. They were all moving according to the trail.

Mo Fan quickly composed himself to watch this scene. From these pieces of junk and the swirling dust, he surprisingly discovered an unusual air stream in the dormitory. This stream of air originated from Zhang Xiahou’s location; it spread all the way from the hall to the other side of the hallway’s public toilet.

Swoosh!!

Suddenly, Zhang Xiaohou’s figure disappeared.

The former unmoving Zhang Xiaohou standing in the center of the dormitory became as though he used the Ripple Tiny Steps; the speed was as fast as a whirlwind as he frantically charged out of his dorm and followed the indiscernible Wind Track in the air that went toward the toilet at the end of the hallway!

“That’s awesome!!” Lu Xiaobing yelled out.

The group of people in the dormitory immediately squeezed themselves out the door and chased after Zhang Xiaohuo.

However, as everyone exited their dorms, Zhang Xiaohou had already quickly shifted from the left side of the hallway to the very end of the hall.

Too fast!

Any 100-meter sprinter’s speed would be pathetic compared to this movement!

Mo Fan’s felt a ripple in his heart. The Wind Element’s primary skill was also really cool; the feeling of stepping onto the Wind Track must be amazing.

“Help, help!” Zhang Xiaohou called out.

Peng!!!

The hallway suddenly trembled. As Mo Fan just finished his envying sigh, the Zhang Xiaohou in the distance hit the door of the public toilet.

People began to laugh at him.

The crooked faucet began to spray wildly, and a part of the toilet door was broken. A strong and fishy stink quickly spread out throughout the entire floor as there now was no door to prevent the smell. In a split second, cursing voices were heard.

The Wind Track finally dissipated. Zhang Xiahou was laying on the ground with his nose bleeding.

This appearance was already pretty miserable. Unfortunately, the underwear that followed the flow of the wind lost the wind force and finally landed the poor guy’s face.

Lu Xiaobing and the dorm head hastily dragged Zhang Xiaohou back to his dorm.

The dorm head took back his underwear and opened it to find a blood stain.

“Dorm head, I didn’t know you also had menstruation periods,” Lu Xiaobing cracked up.

“Get outta here,” The dorm head reluctantly threw his beloved underwear into the bin.

Mo Fan silently retracted his head and returned to his bed before the residence manager charged over in a fury; he acted as though nothing had ever happened.

The Wind Element’s skill seems good. This movement speed was not any slower than the that of a car. It’s just Zhang Xiaohou hasn’t met the standards; thus, he didn’t know how to pull over and stop.

“You group of brats. The annual examination is near, and you still aren’t properly meditating; instead, you’re here doing these things. If I see this happening again, I’ll skin you alive!” the residence manager’s roar spread across the entire hallway in this wind and rain.

……

The annual examination had finally arrived, and for a lot of people, today was a nightmare. This was because there was a chance that they would be expelled from the school, and these people counted as the most tragic and most shameless who had to go back and meet their parents.

However, studying Magic was not a child’s game. Every Magic High’s system worked like this: if you were not suited to study Magic, then you would be expelled early, giving them another way so they wouldn’t continue to waste their time in the borderless Magic sea.

To those students who had been doing their best in cultivating, today was the day they could show their results. Particularly for those students who could already use their skills!

The stormy days had already passed. The morning’s weather was sunny, and the summer air was clear.

Within the Mu Manor…

Mu Bai specifically wore a white t-shirt with plum embroidery and ironed trousers. His entire being gave off a low profile feeling, not wanting to show off his family background.

With his handsome exterior and his low profiled outfit that didn’t fail to show his elegance, he had already captured the affection of many girls.

However, with him being a legitimate member of the Mu Family, how could he fancy any of these common and vulgar women. His objective was a proud girl like Mu Ningxue...Of course, if Mrs. Tangyue were willing to give in, he would be willing as well.

“Mu Bai, you have to show off today. You have to know that our Mu Family will distribute a few cultivation resources to some of the young disciples. The distribution is based on the contribution of their family and the cultivation grades of the young disciples. You have to work hard for this branch family of yours that has almost been forgotten by the Mu Family.” Mu He personally sent Mu Bai to school in his black limousine this morning.

Mu He was the Supervisor of Tian Lan Magic High; he personally arranged the annual examination today.

No matter what, Mu Bai was still his nephew. Mu He hoped for Mu Bai to give him some face in front of the other Supervisors.

“Uncle, please don’t worry!” Mu Bai said with the utmost confidence.

As he finished speaking, Mu Bai suddenly thought of something; he turned over and whispered, “Uncle, I heard that Mu Ningxue is also coming to Tian Lan Magic High today?”

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Yeah, today is a very important day for Tian Lan Magic High. It just happens that Mu Ningxue started her summer break early from the Empire Institution. I discussed with the Family Head and had her, the flag of Bo City, come to Tian Lan Magic High to give you guys a lecture, take a look at the annual examinations this year, and have her evaluate the quality of the students,” Mu He said.

Seeing Mu Bai bursting with life, Mu He naturally knew what kind of ideas he had. He chuckled as he patted Mu Bai’s shoulders, “Don’t worry; when it’s your turn, I will have her watch with the Family Head. When the Family Head sees you working so hard, he might even distribute more cultivation resources to your family. You know how few disciples we have in our Family, and the outstanding ones are rarer. If the Family Head notices you and you are given a Stardust Magic Tool for two or three months, you’ll reap many benefits!”

“Star…tardust Magic Tool?Really? I have a chance to use a Stardust Magic Tool?” Mu Bai’s eyes radiated.

“Of course, do you know why we are different from common Magicians? Superior genes? Family influence? No matter how good these are, they aren’t better than a Stardust Magic Tool! If you canbecome a Core disciple within the family, you have a chance to receive a Stardust Magic Tool; your cultivation will definitely be far higher than your peers in school!” Mu He said.

“Uncle, I…I will definitely do my best to show off!”

Cultivation being far higher than the peers in school!

Mu Bai began to boil up. No wonder why these disciples of the Family were frantically cultivating; it turns out it was for the Stardust Magic Tools.

Every Magician has a limited amount of time to cultivate. For students like these, five hours of meditation was their limit, and the remaining time was for studying theory and knowledge.

The Stardust Magic Tool was an item which every Magic cultivator yearns for the most.

Mu Bai didn’t know the principle behind the Stardust Magic Tool; however, he did know the Stardust Magic Tool could help cultivators to recover their energy more quickly and cut down the amount of fatigue.

Normally, after spending 5 hours of meditation, they could only do other things in the remaining 19 hours.

They were weary from meditating during the 19 hours. They could only pass this time through doing other things or sleeping.

For a lot of students who wanted to advance, 19 hours of fatigue was too long; while at the same time, they couldn’t do anything about it. When a person is putting their mind on a constant focus, they need to have an even longer period of relaxation. Otherwise, their mind would collapse.

Whereas the Stardust Magic Tool was a divine cultivation tool that was capable of cutting that fatigue time down.

With the meditation fatigue period cut down, that would mean the increase of the daily meditation time!

There may not be much of an effect with just a day or two. However, a month or two would make a small difference when it was compared to cultivators without a Stardust Magic Tool. If they were to practice with it for two or three months, then they would be in a completely different league compared to their peers.

The efficiency of meditation varies from people to people; there are fast and slow ones; so let’s not think about that for now. However, even if the efficiency was exceedingly slow, one could still be in the lead with the help of the Stardust Magic Tool. People who did their best and had talent would only do half the work for twice the effect!

“Uncle, you mentioned the Elite Class students would have the opportunity to use the Stardust Magic Tool; is this true?” Mu Bai asked with a slight excitement.

“That’s right; since this is a Magic school, naturally, there are also some few cultivation resources. However, the resources are very limited. There are so many students; thus, giving each student the chance to use it is not possible. Therefore, it’s necessary to have the annual examination and the Elite class. This way the students of the Elite class will have an opportunity to use the Stardust Magic Tool for a period. It won’t be a problem for you to enter the Elite class with your grades. When the time comes, I’ll pull some strings from behind the scenes and let you use the school’s Stardust Magic Tool for a little bit longer. For you, this is quite beneficial. The school is an equal place after all; it’s not possible for me to do too much. What would truly allow you to soar to the sky is to use the Stardust Magic Tool from our Mu Family; that is something a common Magician will never be able to obtain in their lifetime. That’s why you must treasure it,” Mu He sincerely said to Mu Bai.

“Don’t worry Uncle; I won’t disappoint you.”

“Saying that to me is useless; you need to prove yourself in front of Mu Ningxue and the Family Head!” Mu He patted Mu Bai’s shoulders as he said this.

Mu Bai nodded seriously; his heart couldn’t help but to give a cold laugh, _“Xu Zhaoting, so what if your cultivation is on par with mine. So what if you have the Lightning element. Behind me is the enormous Mu Family; you will never be able to contend against me!”_

“Oh right, how’s the situation with that kid called Mo Fan?” Mu He inadvertently thought of this as if he thought of a begger he didn’t want to give money to. He asked without thinking, as though he had nothing to do.

“He’s trash; he will definitely be expelled from the school,” Mu Bai didn’t need to cover up his despise for Mo Fan.

Mu Bai really loathed Mo Fan.

When everyone was young, they actually grew up in this area together. However, Mo Fan would always have a group of people following him; he was like the Monkey King. However, what Mu Bai didn’t understand was the fact that the revered and matchless Mu Ningxue was actually blindly mixing with them, and their relations were very intimate.

What did he count for? He was like a wild monkey, running around the block and mountain areas every day with a whiff of attitude; yet, his poverty was fully revealed.

Did he know what true power was, family status? Did he know what it was to be called laughably poor to the point where people would always look down on him?

The son of a servant is just low. Without seeing it, he just didn’t know what vision was, what is called ‘Ambition.’ He just lived in his slum house, in that mud reeking street and took pleasure in working hard.

“Hmpf, I’ll sign him off. I’ll have an explanation for Mo Jia Xing as well. It’s not that I didn’t help; it’s just his idiot a son wasn’t able to become a Mage, even when we gave him a chance to awaken. Sigh, people just aren’t tactful; they just have to spend massive amounts of money to give it a try. The thing is, you are a loser, how can you hope for your son to be an allosaurus? Being poor and useless is something that gets passed down through generations,” Mu He slowly said as he took a drag off his cigarette.

At this moment, Mu He’s eyes were half closed. He looked like a grand and graceful old fox; he even revealed his disdain and ridicule for poor people.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

In the student dorms…

“Brother Fan, we should go; it’s the annual examination. It’d be bad if we’re late,” Zhang Xiaohou urged Mo Fan

“You go first; I’ll practice Control for a bit longer,” Mo Fan replied.

“Making a last-minute effort, huh?”

The few people in the dorm didn’t wait for Mo Fan; they posed as they went to the examination.

The examination wasn’t writing on a paper in the classroom. Although they did have examinations on Magic Theory, the points acquired from it weren’t much. The most important thing was the annual practical examination.

Frankly, it was just assessing the student’s cultivation state after a year and once more distributing them into classes.

Mo Fan was the last to arrive at the training grounds. On normal days, everyone would be here to attend their Practical classes, but today, it was clear the grounds were set up differently. Other than the examiners’ table that was placed in a half arc, there was also a floating Star Appraisal Stone.

The Star Appraisal Stone looked a little similar to a black cobblestone the size of a watermelon. At the moment, it was placed in the very front of the training grounds with the help of a stone pillar.

The Star Appraisal Stone was the most important apparatus for the examination for the students.

The annual examination was really simple, just like the Opening Ceremony’s Awakening. The students only needed to place their hands on this massive Star Appraisal Stone, and the examiners would be able to determine the students’ cultivation from the past year from the light emitted by the Star Appraisal Stone.

It was like high school exams; a paper might determine the students’ fate. This world also had the same quota; either you continued studying and obtained a good opportunity in life, or you packed your things up and found a different path.

“Remember what I’ve told you before; the radiance intensity from the stardust represents the power of the magic capabilities within the stardust. Students of the eighth class, the time for you to showcase the efforts of this year has come; release the lights of your stardust!” the homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng’s face was filled with passion.

“Mr. Xue, I’m sorry; I may be expelled from the school,” A seemingly weak girl said with her face filled with tears. Her nervous and worried little appearance attracted the pity from the surrounding classmates.

“How could that be? You’ve always done your best. Don’t be so pessimistic.”

“But I’m stupid. Even if I were to do my best in cultivating every day, my stardust still seems so weak,” The girl named Zuo Heyu said.

“Hey, don’t be afraid; even if you don’t meet the requirement, there’s still me. As long as there’s a Mage in the family then we’ll be fine,” the dorm head of Mo Fan’s dorm, Lu Jianhua, patted his chest as he spoke to Heyu.

“Stop talking crap; you don’t even know if you’ll get kicked out yourself!”

“Are you joking? Wait till this daddy places my hands on it; the radiance will blind your titanium alloyed dog eyes!” Lu Jianhua said with pride and arrogance.

Soon enough, three examiners from the school finally arrived at the grounds.

The examiners were disciplinary teachers; the students were normally really scared of them.

“Alright, silence! The annual examination will be observed by a few school supervisors this time; we hope you will display the essence of a Mage today!” Xue Musheng reminded the students.

The examiners were to assess the thirty classes of freshmen. The 1500 people who wore the uniform of Tian Lan Magic High gave off a certain aura; it was a magnificent sight as they stood on the training grounds. They were arranged like blocks.

Before the assessment, naturally, the principal gave a speech. It was like this every year.

Following this, it was the school supervisors’ turn to express themselves.

When Mu He stepped onto the platform and passionately painted the beautiful picture of a Magicians future for the students, Mo Fan, who was among the crowd of people, couldn’t help but to give a cold smile.

His speech was filled with the lifetime expectations of the young students. However, Mo Fan was very clear on Mu He’s morals and integrity.

“Today is an extremely special day.”

“That is because we have invited the most distinguished female Magician of the Bo City. When she was 15 years old, the Empire Magic Institute made an exception and recruited her. I’m sure many of you have already heard of her legacy…That’s right; she is Mu Ningxue! Please, let us all warmly welcome her, who should be the same year as you but is a Magic Genius who has already been promoted to university!” Mu He said loudly.

As this was said, the entire a thousand or so people suddenly caused an uproar.

“Heavens, it’s Mu Ningxue! I heard when she awakened the Ice Element, the power from it directly caused the grounds to freeze into ice blocks.”

“Those are just rumors; I hold the most accurate info. I heard she only needed eight months to learn the primary skill of Ice element, Ice Scatter.”

“Eight...eight months?! Heavens, I’ve already been in school for a year, and I have only been able to control five stars! How can the differences between people be so big?!”

“These aren’t even the important points, alright...the most important point is, she’s also a beauty! She’s good looking and talented; she’s the pride of Bo City!”

In just a moment, the students of the school began to discuss this. From everyone’s reaction, one could tell they were not unfamiliar with Mu Ningxue.

They never imagined on the annual examination today; they would meet the legendary Magic Genius!

“Brother Fan, brother Fan, it’s Little Princess; it really is her! She actually came to our school.” Zhang Xiaohou was so excited he began to pull the sleeves of Mo Fan next to him.

Mo Fan raised his head and gazed toward the platform. He had truly seen a beautiful figure quietly standing there like a proud lotus in the snow. The snow white, skin-tight dress caused her impressive body disposition to appear increasingly more detailed.

What really attracted the people’s attention wasn’t the girl’s fascinating body that emitted a sexual charm, but the stunning and long, peerless silver hair.

Although the weather was warm and dry, the girl standing proudly on the platform was as like a Snow Fairy who wandered through the snow mountain before stepping onto the secular world. She was undoubtedly beautiful!

As the students and teachers saw this girl step up; they were all silently shocked.

They’ve heard stories of Mu Ningxue many times, but they had never seen her before. Who would’ve thought her entire being was an ice fairy in a girl form, whether it was her temperament, attire or her inherent graceful, silver, long hair.

This is Mu Ningxue?

Even her bones were emitting a noble pride.

Even Mo Fan himself thought he saw a goddess. This most likely was the first time he saw Mu Ningxue after that thing happened; it had been about three years or so?

In the past, the group of children liked calling her Little Princess, and she was a princess in everyone’s heart. She lived in the castle in the mountains, wearing clothes and accessories that were prettier than normal girls by so many times, as well as her enchantingly cute appearance…

However, after three years, Mo Fan felt like he couldn’t recognize her at all.

Her change was colossal.

The originally cheerful and approachable Mu Ningxue, in her prime, gave people an unapproachable feeling.

Was it because her temperament had changed, or was it due to her growth throughout the years? Or perhaps it was the colossal difference in status giving rise to the thoughts in his mind?

“Brother Fan, you should’ve eloped with Little Princess back then...” Zhang Xiaohou looked at the manifestly superior Mu Ningxue as he exclaimed this.

“Did you hit the toilet door so hard you became stupid?”

“Eh, I said that without thinking it through.”

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Mu Ningxue’s speech was very short; Mo Fan didn’t understand what the guys were so excited about. They spoke as though they really could get into the Empire Institution.

Empire Magic Institution was naturally the best Magic University within the country. For a city like Bo City, every person who entered it would already be extraordinary.

With the recruitment rate so low, it showed how special and how outstanding Mu Ningxue was. She was recruited into Empire Institution without even experiencing Magic High School.

“Brother Fan, do your best in the next two years and enter Empire. After entering Empire Institution, even if Mu Family’s arms are long, they most likely can’t reach there. By then… hehehe…” Zhang Xiaohou chuckled.

Just as the words left Zhang Xiaohou’s mouth, that nosy Zhao Kunsan jumped out.

“Don’t make me laugh. After today, your Brother Fan will be directly expelled from the school, so don’t even think about Empire Institution!” Zhao Kunsan exclaimed.

“Zhao Kunsan, are you sick or something? When did my Brother Fan ever offend you? Do you want to bark like a dog everytime we say something?” Zhang Xiaohou had endured Zhao Kunsan for far too long.

In any case, Zhang Xiaohou was currently one of the preeminent students of the class, and also one of the few who was able to use Magic. He didn’t know what kind of qualifications this trash, Zhao Kunsan who was only able to control 6 stars, had that made him confident enough to bark so loud in front of him.

“He didn’t offend me. However, I’m just unable to get used to this little dreg having no sense of shame. I just really don’t understand where you got the guts to befriend Miss Mu Ningxue back in the day. You should be more clear on what kind of thing you are, and stop your wishful thinking. If it wasn’t for you, then the lands of our Zhao Family wouldn’t have been returned!” Zhao Kunsan pointed at Mo Fan’s nose as he cursed.

Zhao Kunsan was also from this area of the city, and he counted as the servant of the Mu Family as well.

Family servant: these words were quite harsh in modern times. However, if a family’s livelihood was due to the Mu Family’s owner’s fondness of flowers, then how was the Zhao Family, who takes care of the flowers and plants at the manor, not a gardener, a Family Servant?

The Mu Manor was too big; it was so big that it was like the land of a noble in olden times. Such places had over a hundred nobles in the Manor, and revolving around these people were farmers, manual laborers, and servants, numbering over a thousand.

According to the older generations, this entire city area belonged to the Mu Family. In order to survive, households alike Mo Fan and Zhao Kunsan were naturally orbiting the true powerful and rich.

Zhao Kunsan held a grudge against Mo Fan. If he wasn’t so reckless and provoked the Old Master, then the farmers would’ve lived good days!

“Mo Fan, don’t you have even a little bit of brain? I already knew from early on that there are some people that I can’t touch in my lifetime and remaining at a respectful distance would only benefit the family. You just had to invite trouble; you think a toad can eat the meat of a swan? Do you freaking think this is some tv drama? A cow caretaker marries a princess… get out of here!” Zhao Kunsan pointed at Mo Fan in disdain.

With the appearance of Mu Ningxue this time, Zhao Kunsan also completely released the anger he had concealed within his heart.

The stupid thing Mo Fan did back in the day had involved too many people, too many families.

A Princess is a Princess… When you need to show her respect from a distance, then you should.

This isn’t a fairytale. When you cross that boundary, the King will increase the taxes in his rage, and this will cause the entire village and town’s farming families to suffer beyond words!

Today, standing in the back of the platform, the white-haired, middle-aged man emitting a heroic aura was the King!

His name was Mu Zhuoyun. He was the person who could genuinely shake the entire Bo City with the stomp of his foot.

This was the person Mo Fan provoked.

Mu Zhuoyun was known for being benevolent by not making Mo Fan’s entire family drop to the point where they’d have to beg for food!

“Zhao Kunsan, could you shut your mouth?!”

“What, did I say anything wrong?” Zhao Kunsan replied.

Mo Fan glanced at Zhao Kunsan.

Truth be told, the words he spoke made Mo Fan feel guilty. This matter was far from what he imagined the reality to be.

Some people understood things only after they had grown up. Some teased the students with bad grades, but a rich family, that was a silly thing. After entering the society, the ones with money went overseas to study and came back with an incredible diploma. They could easily find a company and earn a tens of thousands per month, and they’d still think it was too little money. Whereas those who had diligently studied, entered university, then submerged themselves in a multitude of jobs still had a quality of life that was simply not on the same level as those who were teased for their family background. Their ideal world was erased; they lost their spirits, yet remained tired, and still more poor than a freaking dog.

The words Zhao Kunsan had said did, however, make people understand that his mindset was more mature than his peers. He already knew it’d be better like this than mindlessly pursuing his goals. Or else, failing the dream, and the cruel reality would cause you to lose all the ambitions from the past in just a single moment; it would be an unacceptable nightmare!

Naturally, Mo Fan had no reason to admire Zhao Kunsan’s perspective on reality. Instead, he felt like laughing.

“Zhao Kunsan, you sure have the potential and consciousness to be a dog. That is something I, Mo Fan, would never be able to have in my lifetime. I admire that; I truly do!” Mo Fan said back to him.

“Who the hell are you. If I am a dog, then I’d be a posh dog, eating good food, living in a small pretty house, wearing beautiful clothes. You’re just the dog of a dying family; a degenerate dog. A dog that eats from the trash. Why don’t you look at what kind of thing you are, with your body that emits the stench of a garbage heap? The most amusing thing is, you still don’t understand how stinky you are yet. You just had to ruin the last land of your family simply so you could come to the Magic High. But at the end of the day, you just get kicked out anyways. I just want to ask your dad, Mo Jiaxing if he ever regrets giving birth to a person with such shit luck, like yours!” Zhao Kunsan continued to curse.

Mo Fan’s cursing had actually directly struck Zhao Kunsan’s weak points. However, Zhao Kunsan wasn’t someone who was easy to deal with; he admitted he was a dog and bit Mo Fan back.

Mo Fan looked toward the group of people.

Naturally, his eyes caught the vague person who seemed to somewhat take pleasure in this whole ordeal; this person was naturally Mu Bai.

This was the young master who lived on someone else’s charity; the same one who Mo Fan had pressed down onto the floor and beaten up in the past.

In the past, when everyone was still a child, their retaliation would at most be throwing stones, breaking their windows… fairly harmless actions.

But now, a person’s fate would greatly change under the Magic Awakening and Magic Examination. The Mu Bai who suddenly rose up had finally been given an opportunity to hit Mo Fan back.

For now, Mu Bai had released this dog, Zhao Kunsan. Mo Fan, however, had been plotting for a while, and he’d waited for a more better opportunity to give a ferocious cut.

Not bad, not bad. The kid who was beaten like a dog in the past had finally learned how to scheme. It seemed that disciplining him like a father for so many years had not been in vain.

_Come, use whatever move you have in your arsenal._

_I have more than enough experience dealing with these flamers and posers. I have never lost. To fight meanness with meanness, and seek revenge for the smallest grievance, not letting them get away!_

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: MindLitUp

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Alright, stop being so loud. The examination begins now. If there is any more noise coming from any of you, then you’ll lose your qualifications to take it!”

“Just thinking about the expression on Lady Mu Ningxue’s face at seeing you being expelled in front of all of the students and teachers, I reckon she would definitely regret wanting to run away with you in the past selfishly,” Mu Bai didn’t feel a need to conceal his objectives anymore as he whispered these sinister words into Mo Fan’s ear.

“Your mouth smells like crap. I can’t handle this stink; don’t get close to me,” Mo Fan used his hand to block him.

The corner of Mu Bai’s mouth twitched.

_I’ll let this kid be arrogant for a while more yet!_

In the past, Mo Fan had held Mu Bai on the ground as he fiercely beat him up in front of Mu Ningxue. Since then and for the rest of his life, Mu Bai would be unable to raise his head in front of Mu Ningxue; even now, he still felt ashamed.

Today, he, Mu Bai, planned on letting Mo Fan suffer even worse.

Being expelled in front of the entire school and Mu Ningxue… In this society where Magic was the ultimate authority was reason enough for Mo Fan to be ridiculed and looked down upon by Mu Ningxue. When he return to his father, Mo Jiaxing, how is he going to explain this to his father who sold their house just so he could enter Magic High, when he returned?

Unqualified students being expelled during the annual examination was a very common matter.

Being expelled wasn’t something announced to the entire school. The school wasn’t likely to be that unkind.

However, there was one exception where the school would directly announce the expulsion. That would be when the magician’s stardust hadn’t shown any progress at all!

Under normal circumstances, after the students had awakened their stardust, they would properly cultivate it every day. Even the more clumsy people would slowly make their stardust glow, and develop their magic capabilities unless the student was too lazy to do so!

In order to punish this type of student, who wasted the awakening resources and magic books, and to help make the other school students understand that cultivation was not a child’s game where you could waste your time, the school would publicly announce the expulsion of a student whose cultivation was far too low.

This kind of public announcement might not happen every year, and it was set up to encourage the students who took the back door to enter the school.

During the start of this school semester, the entire class conducted a rough examination. At that time, Mo Fan’s cultivation was practically at zero. Xue Musheng almost made a public slandering of Mo Fan in a fit of fury.

Now, the school semester had ended, while also entering the most important annual examination.

If things went according to the calculations, then Mo Fan’s cultivation would be very likely approach the line of public expulsion.

Naturally, to prevent a miscalculation, Mu Bai and his uncle, Mu He, had also prepared a big present for Mo Fan.

This big present was enough to put Mo Fan out of bounds, giving him the honor of receiving the punishment the school hadn’t given for three years.

The most fortunate thing was that Mu Ningxue and Mu Zhuoyun would also be present to view this scene!

Mu Bai felt much happier just thinking about it.

Today was the day to show himself off, and from that day on, soar through the sky with high status. It was also the day for that cheap Mo Fan to be humiliated. _How great, how great!_

……

“The Annual Examination will now officially begin!”

All of the thirty classes in the school began simultaneously.

The process of the test was actually very simple. You just had to place your hand on the Star Appraisal Stone while everyone, including the examiners, watched. Then, you concentrated to enter a meditative state, and at that time, the Star Appraisal Stone would emit the same radiance as the examinee’s stardust. They would then assess the level of the cultivation based on the radiance.

Every student had three attempts.

The final result was based on the attempt with the brightest radiance.

Naturally, the more the student concentrated on it, the more the Star Appraisal Stone would accurately display the radiance of the student’s stardust.

The order of the examinee’s was random. The first examinee naturally happened to be that weeping beauty, classmate He Yu, who was already standing at the front.

The girl was still that timid; she was still extremely shy as she walked to the front of the Star Appraisal Stone under everyone’s gaze. She looked as though she was scared of being expelled.

“You may begin,” the bald examiner said.

“Good luck He Yu! Your teacher and your fellow classmates believe in you,” Xue Musheng said.

“Don’t worry if you don’t do well; I will take care of you,” the nutjob of a dorm head, Jian Hua said.

He Yu was feeling shy as she closed her eyes; she then placed her small hands on the massive Star Appraisal Stone.

The entire class suddenly turned silent. Their eyes were attentively watching the girl who was taking the first test, and it seemed as though they were more nervous than the examinee.

For some reason, Mo Fan felt a change in He Yu’s temperament after she began her test. Her expression turned serious; although she was nervous, she wasn’t frenetic.

The black Star Appraisal Stone gradually emitted some radiance from within. In the beginning, it looked like the early sunrise. Following He Yu’s intense focus, the radiance gradually spread around the Star Appraisal Stone, causing the radiance to fill the surroundings.

“A！”

“A！”

“A！”

In this moment, the three examinee’s practically announced the results simultaneously.

“Classmate, it’s done. Your final result is an A!” the bald examiner said without an expression on his face.

He Yu opened her eyes; she looked as though she was unable to believe it, before she excitedly said, “Re… really? I got an A?”

Although the scene of a girl happily yelling out she got an A was strange, they had no choice to admit that He Yu’s final results gave everyone a surprise.

“I… freaking hell. A?! That’s the standard for entering the Elite Class!”

“I’m speechless. Before the test, she was sitting there wailing endlessly. We really thought she was drifting on the borderline of being expelled, but as the final results came out, she freaking got an A!”

“Magic B*tch; what a typical magic studying b*tch. I’ll never believe her again.”

After the results came out, Mo Fan’s dorm head, classmate Jianhua, was completely flabbergasted.

_Raise her, my ass. It’d be really good if he would be able to get a B. He’s just blindly worrying about someone who got an A._

The homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng’s expression was stiff. He was deceived by the female teacher who acted all cute. However, having the first one to take the test and get an A made Xue Musheng feel happy overall.

All the grades will be summed up, and after that, the thirty classes will compare the average grades. Xue Musheng felt like his own class had the potential to reach the top three.

The biggest competition was the class next door, class 7. With that Lightning Element kid, Xu Zhaoting, who knew how much of a difference there would be between the classes? However, what he wished for was the most outstanding student in his class, Mu Bai, to not be inferior to Xu Zhaoting in any respect.

“Next one, do you want to partake the test?” the bald examiner said, as he looked at He Yu.

He Yu shook her head in haste as she said, “I’ve only grasped six stars so far, so I’ll let it be.”

“Alright. We’ll use the evaluation from your other teachers to decide which class you’ll be placed in,” the bald examiner said.

“Thank you, teacher.”

He Yu walked out, happily. Originally, she wanted to share this joy with the friends next to her, however, she realized the friends were all a meter away from her. She was puzzled by this.

She didn’t do anything wrong; her grades were pretty good, right?

“Next, Zhang Xiaohou,” the examiner announced the name.

Zhang Xiaohou couldn’t help but be surprised. He didn’t think it would be his turn so soon.

“Brother Fan, I’m going,” Zhang Xiaohou said to Mo Fan.

“Mhm, do your best, and stay calm,” Mo Fan replied.

“You shouldn’t be advising other people; hearing it makes me wanna puke,” without fail, Zhao Kunsan followed, saying this.

Mo Fan was puzzled. _Is this Zhao Kunsan on a stalker mode and conversation denial mode? How is it possible that he would just pour cold water along with everything I do?_

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: MindLitUp

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Zhang Xiaohou glanced at Xu Musheng, and then took one glance at the Practical Teacher, Tangyue.

“Do your best, teacher believes in you.” The one who said this was the Practical teacher, Tangyue.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded as he walked to the side of the Star Appraisal Stone.

Closing his eyes, Zhang Xiaohou adjusted his breathing and slowly entered a meditative state.

The radiance emitted from the Star Appraisal Stone flickered; it followed Zhang Xiaohou’s breath as it brightened and dimmed. It was easy to tell that Zhang Xiaohou was slightly nervous, which explained why the Star Appraisal Stone was unable to grasp the energy from his stardust.

However, Zhang Xiaohou slowly entered the meditative state.

At last, the radiance stabilized. The cyan colored radiance from the Wind Element covered the surroundings of the Star Appraisal Stone, and the radiance was superior to He Yu’s. Other than being a bit unstable, there was no other fuss about it.

“A！”

“A！”

“A+！”

The three examiners seemed to have different views regarding it.

“Teacher, let me try one more time.”

Zhang Xiaohou didn’t seem pleased with this result; thus, he once more entered a meditative state.

This time, he was considerably calmer.

The intense radiance covered the Star Appraisal Stone’s surroundings; it was apparent that it was much stronger than He Yu’s. Additionally, there didn’t appear to be any unstable flickering from it anymore.

The three examiners glanced at each other and nodded.

“A+”

“A+”

“A+”

“Final results, A+!”

After they announced the results, the students of his class all showed shock and envy.

“Crap, A+! That’s a grade that secures your place in the Elite Class! This kid, Zhang Xiaohou’s life../style, is just mediocre, so who would’ve thought that his cultivation would be so amazing? We were mistaken; we really were mistaken.”

“That’s really amazing! If I could get A+, then my dad would immediately gift me a car!”

Xue Musheng and Tangyue, the two teachers, gave a slight smile as they nodded their heads. Their eyes were filled with praise.

Zhang Xiaohou had always been an outstanding student to them, thus, having this kind of result was well within reason.

“Classmate, you’re done. We will assess accordingly…” the bald examiner was about to announce the final result.

“Teacher, I’d like to attempt the next test,” at this moment, Zhang Xiaohou’s expression was firm, but his face showed a shyness as he said this.

“Are you sure?” the examiner asked, a bit surprised.

“I know that the higher you place in the rankings during the Annual Examination, then the longer you will get to use the Stardust Magic Tool. Thus, I’d like to take the Activation test,” Zhang Xiaohou said with certainty.

Xue Musheng and Tangyue maintained the smiles on their faces. They already knew that Zhang Xiaohou had reached the level of Activation.

The examination consisted of two parts.

The first part was the Stardust test.

The majority of the students only needed to complete this part to continue to study magic at Magic High.

While the second part was set up for the top students, out of over one thousand students, there were roughly only a hundred or so who had touched upon the level of Activation.

If one can activate the elemental skill during the examination, then naturally they would be awarded more points for the Annual Examination.

To obtain more of the limited resources from the school, the students would have to display all of their powers during the Annual Examination, without hiding anything.

……

Zhang Xiaohou’s Activation test didn’t go particularly smoothly. He was so nervous that he was unable to properly link the seven Wind Element stars with each other to form a Star Path.

However, the examiners were able to see that this student was capable of Activation, but due to being nervous on the testing grounds he was unable to activate successfully. However, they still gave him some points based on his performance.

Feeling somewhat disappointed, Zhang Xiaohou walked out of the testing ground with his head low.

Mrs. Tangyue was like a tender older sister when she patted Zhang Xiaohou’s shoulder, “Don’t feel discouraged. You will definitely be able to enter the Elite Class with your grades.”

“Teacher, I thought I was proficient in ‘Control,’ but who would’ve thought that a little nervousness would cause the time I spent practicing ‘Control’ to disappear mysteriously, making me start from the beginning. Teacher, how are you able to accomplish the magic activation so easily?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Naturally it’s from practicing. Other than that, the state of your heart is also crucial. Not only does a qualified Magician need to have a solid foundation, but they also need to have a mentality that won’t waver if they encounter trouble.”

Zhang Xiaohou nodded as he seemed to understand this.

“Next, Huang Feifeng.”

“B！”

“Teacher, I should receive an A! I should be given an A!!!”

“If you make more noise, we’ll cancel your results.”

“Next, Luo Si.”

“C！”

The student called Luo Si jumped for joy.

For a failure of a student like him, receiving C was like New Years.

……

The students of eight class were receiving their examinations, one by one. The majority of the students were B and C; there didn’t seem to be many A’s.

“Look, the people of the school council are almost here.”

“They are at the seventh class’ exam grounds… The one taking the test is that Lightning Element guy.”

“Xu Zhaoting, that is firmly the number one guy in the entire school.”

“That’s not certain. I heard Mu Bai’s cultivation is also very high!”

As Mo Fan heard his classmates’ discussion, his gaze turned toward the seventh class exam grounds.

Sure enough, the School Council group included the particularly outstanding Mu Ningxue, who had already walked to the vicinity.

……

“Old brother Mu Zhuoyun, this is our school’s most outstanding Lightning Element student; his name is Xu Zhaoting. When he awakened his Lightning Element a year ago, I, as the Principal, began to pay close attention to him. He’s currently doing the Activation test; care to watch?” the Principal of Tian Lan Magic High said to Mu Zhuoyun.

The Principal was very polite toward Mu Zhuoyun; thus, it was obvious that Mu Zhuoyun’s status within Bo City was very high.

“Ningxue, why don’t you take a look at this student’s performance.”

“Mhm,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

Lightning element, the first of the elements. Its violent, destructive force was enough to make other Magicians take several steps back.

Within the examination grounds, Xu Zhaoting, who wore the school uniform, was already there. He adjusted his breathing, as well as trying to make peace with the pressuring gazes coming from the students and teachers of the entire school.

Ever since he had entered the school, he had become the focal point for them. These gazes were incessantly urging him to cultivate.

“Heed my command!”

“The first of the Elements, Lightning!”

“Strike of Lightning!”

As the sounds faded, he raised a hand.

The purple Lightning Arc surged; it was as though the Serpent King called out to the violent python soldier. They slithered their shocking body, twirling through the atmosphere and burning everything they touched.

“Activate!”

The Electric Arc violently descended upon the human-shaped puppet.

The puppet violently trembled. It was charred from the drop of the violent Lightning Strike. The electricity crackled around; covering it with whip prints. The human-shaped puppet exploded with no remains in a single moment by the force of the Lightning.

On the floor of the Training grounds, there were strips of black marks. It looked extremely terrifying.

The puppet had already turned into a pile of black dust.

The heaven-defying Lightning element skill immediately stole the attention of the entire exam grounds, causing the Elite students who were also able to activate skills to take a deep breath.

_Holy cow, who cares about Wind Trail? Who cares about Water Barrier? What Fire Burst? They are all weak. The tyrannical power of the Lightning Strike was not something the other Elements could compare themselves to. It directly caused the puppet to explode into dregs. This destructive power…

_

_

Whoever was standing there would die instantly!

_

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: MindLitUp

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

After Xu Zhaoting saw this result, his face revealed satisfaction.

As he turned around, he, who was waiting for the examiners to deliver his results, suddenly noticed a pair of beautiful eyes that was like snow.

It was Mu Ningxue!

Xu Zhaoting’s face was filled with pleasant surprise.

He didn’t think his examination would catch Mu Ningxue’s attention.

She was definitely startled; after all, the power of Lightning element wasn’t something any other element could compare to.

……

“Ningxue, what do you think?” The school supervisor, Mu He, asked with a smile across his face.

“Average,” Mu Ningxue didn’t take another look and chose to continue advancing forward.

The Principal and the other few people in the school council became stiff.

No way, a Lightning element this strong and she still thought it was normal? Just how high were this girl’s standards?

“Hehe, that’s actually not bad. Ningxue is in Empire Institution; all of the geniuses in the country gather there. The activation of the primary skill, Lightning Strike, is the most basic skill there. The reason as to why she thinks its average is because she has a habit of using the standards of Empire Institution to assess,” Mu Zhuoyun smiled as he explained this, giving the Principal and the group of people in the school council a way out of this awkward situation.

“If you put it like that, does that mean Xu Zhaoting has students with the potential to enter Empire Institute?” The Principal was also someone who understood how to deal with situations; he took advantage and asked this.

The other people immediately copied what he said.

“If things go well, then Xu Zhaoting’s grades will be the best in the entire school, right?” School director, Chen Guangliang said.

“That’s hard to say. From what I know, Mu Bai from the eighth class is also quite capable.” Vice-Principal replied.

Hearing them saying this, a smile emerged on Mu He’s face as he immediately spoke to Mu Zhuoyun and Mu Ningxue, “Older brother, Mu Bai is a disciple from our Mu Family; his grades have always been quite remarkable. From how I see it, it should be his turn soon; should we go and watch?”

“Mu Bai? Which family’s?”

“He’s Mu Yang’s son. When Mu Yang passed away, I saw Mu Bai and his mother being bullied by others somewhere; thus, I brought them to live in the manor. Mu Bai is a very intelligent and determined child; he’s no worse than the other kids of our family… Oh, there’s naturally a huge gap compared to Mu Ningxue, but he’s still a seedling worth raising,” Mu He cautiously said to Mu Zhuoyun.

The highest authority over the manor was completely within Mu Zhuoyun’s hands. Mu He counted as a Lord, as well; however, he was just a third or fourth degree Lord. That was simply not on par with Mu Zhuoyun.

“Oh, that slightly rings a bell. Then let’s go and have a look; how about it, school directors?” Mu Zhuoyun asked.

The school director with the split hair that was gradually losing its color said “Since it is a disciple of your Mu Family, we are definitely interested.”

The group of people began to walk, slowly making their way to the exam grounds of the eight class.

The aura of this group of people was very strong. In the eyes of the students, the directors may be a faintly discernable existence; however, Mu Ningxue, a genius of the same age as them was something incredible.

On the grounds, the male students saw the girl observing from the side.

“Heavens, the group of directors is coming here.”

“They really came; my hands are trembling.”

“Good timing; just in time for me to show off.”

“Show off my ass; your test is already over. You’re just a dreg with a ‘C!’”

The students of the eight class were unable to calm themselves.

Every student’s fate depended on the Annual Examination. While at the same time, the group of school directors who could change their future with just a single, praising glance were coming over. This caused the examination to have an exceedingly heavy atmosphere.

Mu He was walking to the very front. The bald examiner immediately raised his head and glanced at Mu He.

As Mu He hinted to him, the bald examiner immediately understood what he meant. He first pretended to not see anything before he indifferently said, “Next, Mu Bai!”

Mu Bai’s eyes were still placed on Mu Ningxue’s body. Even though the two lived in the same castle, it was still so big that Mu Bai has only been this close to Mu Ningxue just a few times before.

“Mu Bai, it’s your turn.” Mu He coughed to remind Mu Bai.

Only then did Mu Bai come back to his senses.

What could he do? He liked her for far too many years. Even if it were rather impossible for him to walk with her, he still wouldn’t freaking let that trash, Mo Fan, take her away. He would be her bodyguard!

It was time to prove the efforts of the past years!

Mu Bai nodded before he began walking toward the exam grounds.

He had been waiting for this for a long time. Mu Bai took a deep breath.

To have the attention of the family and Mu Ningxue, these were things Mu Bai could only dream of, and today was the day where the both would come true.

As he placed his hand on the Star Appraisal Stone, Mu Bai repressed his excitement within his heart as much as possible.

In this aspect, Mu Bai had actually practiced for a long time. Even if he felt more excited and nervous than anyone, he relied on his past training to complete a proper and stable meditation.

A white and dense, icy wave quickly spread out from the Star Appraisal Stone and covered the surroundings.

This ice wave was so strong; it overflowed from the Star Appraisal Stone and made even Mu Bai feel its cold on his face.

All of the teachers and students watched this scene, entranced.

The radiance was overflowing. This was perhaps the first time they have seen something like this happen during an exam. Even Zhoumin, who received an A, was quite inferior to the overflowing radiance of Mu Bai!

“S！”

“S！”

“S！”

The three examiners immediately gave announced their grades, and all of them were ‘S’s!’

“I remember Xu Zhaoting from before had two ‘S’ and an ‘A,’ right?”

“In that case, Mu Bai’s stardust is more superior than Xu Zhaoting!” Mu He immediately said.

At this moment, Xue Musheng was astonished by this sight. This Mu Bai had hidden his true power?

“As expected of the disciple of a noble family. I thought Mu Bai would only get one ‘S’ at most, who would’ve thought that he would receive three ‘S’s!’ “

“Three ‘S’s,’ the final result is naturally ‘S’s!’”

These were without a doubt the best grades in the school!

“Shit, Mu Bai is too amazing. He unexpectedly received three ‘S’s.’ These grades directly shake Xu Zhaoting from class seven off; thus, Mu Bai will be worthy of the title ‘Number One.’”

“I never imagined…”

“Mu Bai, you’re far too amazing!”

A few girls, at this moment, had already become completely infatuated with him.

Mu Bai was handsome, and his grades were outstanding. He was simply the Knight on the white horse in their hearts.

“Big brother, what do you think?” Mu He laughed as he asked Mu Zhuoyun to his side.

“Not bad,” Mu Zhuoyun gave a brief comment.

Mu Ningxue, however, didn’t say anything.

Seeing Mu Ningxue not react, Mu Bai knew that getting three ‘S’s,’ in Mu Ningxue’s opinion, was nothing impressive. This was the Activation test; it was also the time for him to show off his true strength!

Mu Bai turned around and walked to the middle of the exam grounds.

“Mu Bai is taking the Activation test!”

“No shit, Mu Bai has definitely grasped the control of seven stars.”

“I can’t wait to see the skill of Ice element.”

As they were discussing this, Mu Bai had already fixated his gaze onto the human-shaped puppet.

That’s right; the Stardust test was only the basics. The people who had a brain were very clear on the fact that the Activation test was the true assessment test.

I will definitely have Family Head and Mu Ningxue take notice of me!

He closed his eyes and began his magic incantations.

Mu Bai skillfully made the seven Ice element stars connect with each other to form a Star Path.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Ice Spread!”

Without stopping or hesitation, Mu Bai yelled this in a rush, demonstrating all of his hard work.

His pupils changed. After he finished his Magic activation, those watching suddenly realized there was a layer of frost spreading on the body of the puppet.

The ice quickly covered its body, and the puppet now looked as though it was painted in a layer of ice lacquer. It was rather astonishing.

The stabbingly cold air pervaded the entire exam grounds.

Creak~

The Ice Spread didn’t stop after it covered the entire puppet, it even began to spread onto the floor of the exam grounds.

The other classes also had Ice element students who had taken the activation exam. Clearly their Ice Spreads weren’t as imposing as Mu Bai’s!

The other students felt intimidated and took a step back, feeling like the ice was about to spread to where they stood.

The directors and examiners were calm. However, their eyes flashed with praise.

This was the equivalent of a proficient Ice element skill, it had reached the standard of a member of the Magic Association.

This was actually set up for older students by the Magic Association. A student who only awakened an year ago capable of utilizing the Ice element skill to a proficient level was something extremely rare to come across.

“Not bad.” Mu Zhuoyun still gave the same evaluation.

Mu Bai didn’t know whether he had entered Mu Zhuoyun’s eyes. With his heart feeling nervous, he shifted his gaze toward Mu Ningxue.

As he looked at her, Mu Bai felt as though an arrow had pierced through his heart. It was because his most beloved Mu Ningxue hadn’t taken a look at him from the start. Instead, her gaze had always been attentively watching a certain person in his class.

Mu Bai took this opportunity and looked for the person she was looking at, and he felt another arrow piercing his heart.

Mo Fan!!

She’s looking at Mo Fan!

Scoundrel, SCOUNDREL!

Why is she looking at him again!!

What is there to look at in a guy who is almost covered in trash? Why aren’t you looking at my remarkable display of skill?!

Mu Bai’s nervous face was almost completely distorted.

On the most important event of his life, all he wished for was to get Mu Ningxue’s attention. But in the end, she still ended up looking toward that little hooligan. That little hooligan was only a clown that existed to entertain the princess, what’s there to see in a clown? When you’re done laughing, move on, why are you still wasting your precious attention on him?

“I will make you suffer immensely!” Mu Bai’s face was exceedingly gloomy. He carried a heavy resentment as he left the exam grounds.

“Your marks are extremely outstanding. Your stardust is S, and your activation is of B grade!” the examiner gave him his final results

Even the top students would only receive a C grade or a D grade on the Activation test. The only other person who have received a B was that Lightning element user, Xu Zhaoting!

With a grade like this, he deserved the title of the number one in school.

……

“Next, Mo Fan!”

As people were admiring Mu Bai magnificently seizing the crown, it was finally Mo Fan’s turn.

The truth is, Mo Fan felt like something was strange.

Why did it have to be me after that Green Tea Man? Did they scheme this?

Mo Fan refused to believe that there was such a coincidental thing in this world.

However, it didn’t matter. If one needed sleep, one should sleep. Different situations called for different measures. If you don’t do anything, then there’ll be no clear sky.

……

“Are you alright?” Mu He whispered as he watched Mu Bai walking over.

“I did what you told me to,” Mu Bai seemed like a scheming woman as he replied sinisterly.

“I’m doing this for the good of Mo Jiaxing. By directly sweeping his son out of here, I’ll save him the trouble as a parent tirelessly worrying about him. His son wasn’t someone who was suited to study magic from the beginning, yet, he still had to force his way in,” Mu He said.

Mu He and Mu Bai naturally had ways to deal with Mo Fan.

Before the examination, Mu He had used his powers as the school director to carefully scheme something.

The bald examiner was one of Mu He’s people. Thus, the order of the examinees was something Mu He had arranged.

As soon as Mu Bai finished his exams, it became Mo Fan’s turn. After Mo Fan finished his examination, it would be the time for resting and announcement of grades. Thus, within this short break, one could secretly pull a trick. For example, when Mu Bai had placed his hand on the Star Appraisal Stone, he could slip in a Black Stone into it.

The effects of the Black Stone were very simple. When the Star Appraisal Stone was emitting its radiance, the Black Stone was capable of absorbing a part of the energy, causing the Star Appraisal Stone’s radiance to dim by a lot.

So if Mo Fan was barely able to reach the C grade, then this tiny Black Stone the size of a grain could lower Mo Fan’s grades to a solid D.

Either way, he’s just trash. Who cares if we make him look like complete and utter trash? There really was no need for the school to waste its resources on a person like that, expelling him from the school benefitted not only the school, but also his family.

Mu Bai had already smiled so much that his face seemed completely distorted.

How are you, Mo Fan, going to avoid losing all of your face this time?

……

“Mo Fan, that sounds familiar.” At this time, Mu Zhuoyun slowly opened his mouth.

“Big Brother, he is the son of Madam’s driver,” Mu He reminded Mu Zhuoyun.

At that moment, the Mu Zhuoyun whose eyes that seemed like ice and snow this entire time suddenly began to turn.

In truth, he had already taken notice of Mo Fan. It’s just he was in doubt. How come the second he got here, it was Mu Bai’s and Mo Fan’s examinations?

Mu Zhuoyun took glance at Mu Ningxue to his side.

Mu Ningxue quickly recovered her tranquil manner, acting as though she was looking at the mediocre students from before, without any fluctuation to her emotions.

Mu Zhuoyun’s eyes gave rise to some satisfaction.

A kid will always have a time where they are rebellious. Once they grow up, they will no longer be that childish.

“Let’s watch then. He also counts as one of our Mu Family, at least, he was.” Mu Zhuoyun’s manner of speaking was indifferent as he said this.

Mu Zhuoyun was also very clear on the fact that a driver’s son was incapable of being any good, thus, letting Mu Ningxue watch was also beneficial. This kind of person was common within the small Bo City, they would leave our world sooner or later. Mu Zhuoyun didn’t want this kid, Mo Fan, to remain a scar within the heart of his precious daughter.

……

On the other side, Mo Fan didn’t listen to what these people were talking about.

He had already walked to the front of the Star Appraisal Stone, and just like the people before him, he placed his hand on the Star Appraisal Stone.

“To be honest, I’m really thankful that he is here. He can save me from setting the standards lower, this way, I won’t be too miserable,” a failure of a student said.

“Third Brother, I also got a D. Don’t worry, we can leave the campus together in a natural manner.” said his classmate, Xiao Bing, who was a Water Element from the same dorm.

“Whether he can receive a D is hard to say.”

“Yeah, he probably didn’t make any progress on his cultivation.”

In the same class, Zhoumin, who also possessed the Fire Element, was attentively watching Mo Fan.

She wanted to know whether he studied or not. A person who clearly had a higher talent in the Fire Element than her being expelled from the school, this made even Zhoumin feel it was somewhat a pity. At same time, she couldn’t help but loathe Mo Fan, a person who didn’t put effort into improving himself.

“There’s light, there’s light coming...”

“The radiance seems really weak, it feels like it’s even weaker than a D grade.”

On the Star Appraisal Stone, the radiance felt extremely bashful. It was simply unable to escape from the inside of the Star Appraisal Stone.

However, the radiance on the inside had a relatively strong light. It seemed as if the light was being concealed by a shadow; simply unable to escape from the inside.

“Shit, something isn’t right.”

“That light...it doesn’t seem to be a D!”

“Really? Grade C??” The dorm mate, Xiao Bing looked at it in astonishment. He seemed unable to believe that Mo Fan was actually able to cause a C grade Fire Element radiance to appear on the Star Appraisal Stone.

We said that we would leave the school in a natural manner, but you receiving grade C would barely meet the qualifications.

What about the trust from one failure to another failure?

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Is it C?”

“No, that’s not right, the radiance is still slowly spreading.”

The examiners were also puzzled. The other examinees had quickly finished their tests, however, this student’s radiance was weak in the beginning, but then it started to slowly become stronger. It went from D to C, and it was still growing stronger even after reaching grade C.

“B! This is definitely B!!”

“Holy cow, a comeback, the failure is doing a comeback!!”

“That must be a mistake. I only received a B, how could this guy possibly get a B?” The other Fire element user, Huang Feifeng, almost cried.

Zhoumin received an A, and that puny little kid called Da Niu also received a B. Out of the four Fire elemental students, only he, Huang Feifeng had received a C. How was he going to receive Mrs. Tangyue’s affections now!

Xue Musheng’s eyes immediately began to brighten.

As the homeroom teacher, his biggest fear was for someone in his class dragging down the average. Today, all Xue Musheng asked out of Mo Fan was for him to not be publicly expelled, it had not happened for the past three years. If this Great Buddha didn’t do that, then he could drag down the average as much as he wanted!

What Xue Musheng never thought of was that this kid would suddenly emerge with a B!!

The average of the class was roughly B-.

The Great Buddha had unexpectedly increased the average grade, this something he could not even dream about.

The current Xue Musheng was happier than seeing an A grade student!

The discussion volume this time wasn’t any lower than the chatter about Mu Bai before. After all, Mu Bai was the person who everyone knew had good grades, whereas Mo Fan was the well-known dreg out of the dregs.

The dreg suddenly seized a B, there were too many people who didn’t expect this outcome!

“How is this possible…how is this possible!” Mu Bai was flabbergasted.

His uncle, Mu He, watched this scene while feeling completely speechless.

What kind of situation is this, that kid got a B??

“Mu Bai, did you really place the Black Stone there? The absorption rate of that Black Stone is really strong, a person who can receive a C would be turned into someone who can’t even get D,” Mu He whispered to Mu Bai.

“I did place it, I definitely placed it there.” Even if Mu Bai made a mistake on his examination, there’s no way he would make a mistake on that part.

The Black Stone was definitely placed there, but how did this guy get a B??

Wasn’t this guy drifting between C and D? Don’t tell me that he was concealing his strength, and then let it all out on the last examination to reach a B?

C is passing grade, whereas B would be quite good!

Who could imagine that a failure who was supposed to take the penalty that hadn’t been given for three years would suddenly turn into a good student?

“Mhm, this grade was well within expectations.” Mu Zhuoyun’s tone was indifferent as it carried a sense of mocking.

His own daughter was almost taken away by this kid???

If this really happened, then he would have been ridiculed by all of the people under the heavens.

“Alright, let’s move on to the next class.” Mu Zhuoyun didn’t want his daughter to pay too much attention to this kid, thus, he said this to the crowd of people.

“Big Brother, this Mu Bai…” Mu He wanted to continue talking.

Mu He was not satisfied with this outcome. Today’s plan was to let Mu Bai show off his skills in front of the clan and receive the attention of the Family Head. The other one was to let Mo Fan suffer a tragic end. However, the two outcomes hadn’t been attained, how could he just let them leave like that?

“Oh, distribute a bit more to their family during the New Year to show encouragement,” Mu Zhuoyun replied.

As Mu Bai heard this, he was completely stunned.

What the hell was ‘distribute some more to them during New Year’s’ ???

Who the hell wanted that charity-like money, what he wanted was attention. What he wanted was for the Mu Family to focus on supporting him. What he wanted was the Stardust Magic Tool. What he wanted was the colossal cultivation resources which the Mu Family distributed to their direct descendant!

“This…Big Brother, I think…” As Mu He was about to say some few words for Mu Bai, another voice suddenly resounded.

“That’s wrong, this radiance is wrong!”

Suddenly, someone objected. It was a woman’s voice, sounding soft and sexy.

“Mrs. Tangyue, what objections do you have regarding our decision? According to the norm, the results of the exams are decided by the examiners. Even if we wanted to object…” Xue Musheng started saying.

Xue Musheng was actually extremely satisfied with this grade. He even suspected the Star Appraisal Stone to have some malfunction, how could Mo Fan otherwise receive a B?

“Mrs. Tangyue, please let this matter go. If there really is a problem, then I reckon I as the homeroom teacher will unable preserve my integrity!”

“Teachers have no qualifications to object to the assessment of the examiners. However, they can object to accidents happening during the examination…we can even examine the testing equipment to ensure the accuracy of the equipment,” Mrs. Tangyue said.

At this time, a school director was secretly shaking his head toward Mrs. Tangyue. At same time, the Principal was also incessantly hinting to Mrs. Tangyue.

It’s not that the school director didn’t know there was some concealed trick beneath this, but they didn’t want any unnecessary matter to arise when there were so many school directors present.

What was the problem with the result, wasn’t it normal? It was a grade a common student should receive.

“Why do you have an objection regarding this result, honorable teacher?” Mu Zhuoyun became somewhat interested in this, so he began to inquire.

Mrs. Tangyue had already walked onto the examination ground, her eyebrows were knitted.

Suddenly she closed her eyes, she looked like a Magician who was about to cast magic.

The people who had some understanding about Magic knew that she was actually just expanding her senses into the stone.

……

Mrs. Tangyue’s action immediately caused Mu Bai and Mu He to panic.

According to the norm, after Mo Fan had finished his exams, the examinations would take a break so the students could rest. At same time, they would announce the most outstanding student’s name of the first half of the examinations.

Taking advantage of the break, the bald examiner would remove the Dark Stone without suspicion. This way, everything would be normal, the plan was flawless.

Everything was going smoothly, but who would’ve thought that there would be a teacher popping out from nowhere who discovered the source of the problem.

“Mrs. Tangyue, how can you just ignore the rules of the examination grounds? If I was you, then I would immediately leave the examinee’s examination grounds!” Mu He immediately yelled out.

Mu He obviously had to be loud. He had to use his authority to intimidate this teacher who discovered the problem.

However, Mrs. Tangyue wasn’t afraid at all. She looked as if she found something as she directly walked toward the Star Appraisal Stone.

“The Star Appraisal Stone has a problem, this examination has to be redone.” Mrs. Tangyue’s incomparably sharp gaze stared at the examiner.

The bald examiner was at loss on what to do, he hastily looked at Mu He.

Mu He was embarrassed. His expression appeared to be confused.

“What are you shocked about, go over there and take a look! We must give the examinees an impartial examination environment, if there’s a problem then we must immediately go and fix it,” the Principal said righteously.

The three examiners immediately went over to inspect, and they also quickly discovered the hidden Dark Stone.

“That’s weird. We’ve already inspected this before, how could something like this pop up from nowhere?” another examiner said in astonishment.

Whenever a student’s examination was over, they would inspect it again. When Mu Bai had finished, the person who had gone over to examine the stone was precisely the bald examiner.

This time, the bald examiner was really scared! Covering up for someone framing others on the examination, that was a big crime.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“How is it?” the Principal asked the three examiners.

Before the three examiners reported the emergence of the Dark Stone, Mu He said, “Oh, since there’s a problem, why don’t you let him do the test again. Director Wang, why don’t you go to the storage room and grab another Star Appraisal Stone. Although the Star Appraisal Stone is useful, it’s just a little fragile. After receiving interference of different energies, it’d start having problems. I’d really like to thank Mrs. Tangyue for finding out the problem with just a glance, you’re really covering up for our mistakes.”

This Mu He was really an old fox, he immediately covered up the matter. Thus, the three examiners were simply unable to report the actual problem.

Tangyue’s brow furrowed, she knew that this matter probably had something to do with Mu He.

If she were to make this matter public, the school directors would be quite difficult to deal with. After thinking it over, it would also affect the student’s examinations, so it was better if she just left it alone.

“Alright, redo the test.”

“Redo the test!”

“Student Mo Fan, there were some small problems with the Star Appraisal Stone. The grade from before is invalid, we will give you one more chance to redo the examination.” The bald examiner held onto a straw of hope as he quickly said this.

Mo Fan looked at these people as though he was looking at a group of clowns. You want to play? Keep on playing, this Father, I, am waiting!

“Great, go take the test again. At most, you’ll receive a D, how could you receive a B? Third Brother, we can once again leave the school in a natural manner,” Lu Xiaobing said with excitement.

_The heavens didn’t turn his back on I, Lu Xiaobing. I’m so thankful that Mrs. Tangyue discovered the problem. Just like I said, how could Mo Fan, a person who has even worse luck than me, have his luck turned over?_

“Mrs. Tangyue, why did you even bother? Giving the student another chance isn’t necessarily a good thing.” Xue Musheng didn’t know whether to cry or laugh as he said this to Tangyue.

So it really was the Star Appraisal Stone malfunctioning, this made Xue Musheng feel bad.

What should be happening was really coming at last. The penalty that no one had received in three years was finally going to land on a student in his own class!

“Haha, how could I, Huang Feifeng possibly be at the very bottom. Mrs. Tangyue, you are a hero, I really admire you,” Huang Feifeng said, as if he was relieved of a burden.

On the other side, Mu Bai’s dog of a henchmen was also extremely happy.

_Almost scared the hell out of me, I really thought this dreg was making a comeback. Even I, Zhao Kunsan, have only gotten a B!_

“Good, good, Mu Bai, this broken Star Appraisal Stone almost secured the kid’s entrance. I’ve come to realize that Mrs. Tangyue is increasingly more like the lover of my dreams.” Zhao Kunsan wiped the cold sweat off himself as he continued, “Oh, Mu Bai, why do you still have such a long face? Didn’t they say that he only received a B due to the malfunction of the Star Appraisal Stone? Don’t worry, he will definitely get out of here.”

“Could you shut up, you’re annoying!” Mu Bai snapped, as his mood was exceedingly bad.

Zhao Kunsan withdrew. He didn’t know how he had offended his master.

……

The examination of the other classes had basically ended. Due to the examination of the eighth class having some problems, many of the people began to gather around them, including the top students of the other classes.

At this time, Mo Fan accidentally became the focus point of everyone.

“Alright, Mo Fan, you may redo your exam. Mrs. Tangyue, you’ve also inspected it, there shouldn’t be any problems this time right?” the bald examiner asked with a flattering smile.

“No, there isn’t,” Mrs. Tangyue replied. Her dark eyes might have scorched his face for all the friendliness in them.

Mo Fan once again stood in front of the Star Appraisal Stone. This time, he didn’t feel a cold air coming off of it.

It really was Mu Bai’s fault!

Mo Fan humphed coldly. Thankfully, the sexiest and most enchanting Mrs. Tangyue discovered this so early, or else Mo Fan would appear to be lower than a piece of poop in front of the school directors!

Mo Fan closed his eyes and placed his hands on top of the Star Appraisal Stone. The cold Star Appraisal Stone quickly turned warm from the circulation of Mo Fan’s Stardust energy.

The radiance began to intensify, and the scarlet radiance looked as though it was burning from within. The radiance this time didn’t suffer from any kind of suppression as it was released. It spread around the Star Appraisal Stone, and it even began to leak out of it!

“This…this radiance!!!”

The first one to reveal an incredibly surprised face was precisely Mu Zhuoyun. The Principal, Vice-Principal, the Disciplinary teachers, and the School Directors also widened their eyes.

“The radiance is flowing out!” The homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng was thoroughly flabbergasted. After being a teacher for so many years, how could he not see the meaning behind the overflowing radiance?

In this entire school, only Mu Bai had achieved the state of overflowing radiance. It was not just because the flames were already relatively bright, but the overflowing of the Fire radiance was even a bit stronger than Mu Bai’s Ice radiance!

_Damn!!!_

The surrounding students from other classes, and the students from the eight class were all trampled to near death by the word ‘Damn!’ in their hearts.

_Overflowing radiance, this really is overflowing radiance!_

A student who was considered a weak-minded dreg had actually achieved the state of overflowing radiance!!

“S…S？”

“It’s S…it really seems to be S.”

“How about…how about we inspect it once more?”

Crazy. The bald headed Director Wang and the other two examiners had gone crazy. The classmates who thought that Mo Fan would get swept out of the school had also gone crazy.

Shit, this is the real malfunctioning of the Star Appraisal Stone. How could that guy’s cultivation be at this kind of level??

“It’s an illusion, it must be an illusion!”

“I refuse to believe it, I REFUSE to believe it!!” The water element student Xiaobing was wailing like a ghost.

_What happened to us leaving the school together??_

_Let’s forget about the fact that you didn’t honor your title as a failure of a student, but you even became a Divine student. This time there will be no one who will stop me in my way, this daddy, I will jump into the river. If Mo Fan can become a Divine student, then I, a Water elemental Magician probably can drown to death?!_

The normally expressionless Mu Ningxue was completely showing her emotions at this time. That’s right, not even she imagined that the final result would be like this!

For a person like Mo Fan that didn’t have any particularly special talent, or a family property, receiving a B was already quite normal.

However, he achieved overflowing radiance, the overflowing radiance of the Fire element. That was already one level ahead of Mu Bai, who had received resources from his family.

For some reason, Mu Ningxue’s heart bloomed with a sunshine that was like the overflowing radiance coming from the Fire element.

“That really causes one to feel extremely shocked. I almost missed out on an even more remarkable student,” a school director exclaimed in admiration after seeing this event.

“That’s right. I don’t dare to imagine what kind of disaster would be brought over if we were to only give him a B while also causing our school to lose out on such a prominent Magician.”

“Better late than never! Mrs. Tangyue, we are really grateful to your ability to spot details!”

As Mrs. Tangyue saw the School directors flattering her, she only returned a small smile. The truth was, even Tangyue herself was extremely surprised.

All this time, she had been thinking that the most outstanding Fire elemental student in her class was Zhoumin. But to everyone’s surprise, this Mo Fan was even more remarkable. The most important thing was that he had always been calmly cultivating, not having the need to compete nor laying himself bare to others. This kind of temperament was very suitable for becoming a Magician.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

The other Fire Elemental user, goody two shoes girl Zhou Min, looked at this overflowing radiance. Her small face was clearly showing her disbelief.

This student who she always loathed for not making progress… he was actually stronger than Mu Bai?

She had actually been making a mistake this entire time?

All of their shock and disbelief wasactually far inferior to the defeated look on Mu Bai’s face.

His expression couldn’t even be described as an expression, it was practically a whole distortion. Even his cramping facial muscles were twitching.

What was worse than being completely flipped over by the person they hated the most?

The dog of a henchmen, Zhao Kunsan rubbed his eyes over and over again. However, what he saw was still the overflowing radiance. The superiority he was displaying toward Mo Fan was completely obliterated, making him seem like a comical retard, looking all lofty in the middle of the people.

“S!”

“S!”

“S!”

“Final result is ‘S’!”

The highest score in school was S. However, everyone was very clear on the fact that the magical capabilities within Mo Fan’s Stardust were probably higher than Mu Bai by a bit.

“Mo Fan, do you wish to continue the exam?”

“Naturally!” Mo Fan gave the examiner a slight smile.

_This daddy, I, have been waiting for this for a long time!_

_Man, if it wasn’t for the world changing, then I would’ve already have reached this level during the High School examination. Fortunately, the outcome is still good!_

Mo Fan naturally wanted to test his activation.

Weren’t most of the people bitterly cultivating just so they can appear as that little golden idol in front of others, glinting and shining?

“Fire Burst!”

His entire aura was moving. After Mo Fan said his incantation, his whole bearing was very self-confident.

A searing aura frantically spread from the central point of Mo Fan’s body, washing over the cheeks of hundreds of people. The feel of the scorching heat was very distinct.

The Fire Star Path quickly mobilized around Mo Fan’s body after he finished the arrangement of the stars.

The obtrusive scarlet red and the staggering fire!

The flame scuttled forth from the half-clenched hand of Mo Fan, just like a vicious and impatient animal.

“Go!”

As he waved his hand, the flames streaked across the exam grounds like a dazzling scarlet fire arrow. It accurately made its way into the human-shaped puppet’s body.

“ _Burn!_ ”

He raised his hand up high. After a second of silence, the vicious fire suddenly blasted forth from inside the puppet’s body.

The more it burned, the more vicious it was. That raging fire engulfed the puppet in matter of seconds.

The reflection of the flames were visible on Mo Fan’s face. His face was smiling, and his confidence was soaring.

This was Fire Burst, the fire force he was in control of! There was no need to mention its charm!

After finishing all of this, Mo Fan turned around.

Every single person was dumbstruck.

The teachers, students, directors, they hadn’t even completely recovered their senses from the S grade he had gotten from his previous examination. However, then they saw Mo Fan’s extremely smooth casting of Fire Burst.

There was no hesitation, and neither was it forced. Additionally, the speed he had completed it at was even faster than Mu Bai!

The Fire Element’s primary spell was much more violent than the Ice Element’s. That was why the reaction of the people was much more intense than Mu Bai’s Ice Spread after Mo Fan finished the casting of Fire Burst. Not only was it Mo Fan’s beautiful turnaround, but it was also because of the boundless power of his Fire Element aura.

“Give your marks,” Mo Fan glanced at the astonished examiners as he said this in a natural manner.

“A!”

“B!”

“A!”

The grades for the casting test were immediately announced.

As expected, Mo Fan’s grades were higher than Mu Bai’s.

Mu Bai was already so angry that he felt as though he was about to get a heart attack. If this continued, then he really would stop breathing!

How could it be like this, this didn’t conform with the script!!

Both of the scores were higher than Mu Bai’s!

“Is this really the Mo Fan that we know??”

“This really is the most amazing turnaround in history. He became a divine student in just a second, it’s really blinding my dog eyes!” Xu Qinglin said.

Xue Musheng’s mouth had a crooked smile.

He didn’t care about the enmity between Mo Fan and Mu Bai. His class suddenly popped up a student with the S grade, and his grades for the activation test were the highest. If everything went well, then wouldn’t he be Number One in the entire school?

_From last place all the way to first place. I’m afraid there’s nothing more shocking than this, it’s like a dream._

_Other than him being Number One, Mu Bai should be able to settle steadily into second place._

Thus, the first and second-ranked students were in his class. This would give him a promotion!

“As expected of the Mu Family. Brother Mu Zhuoyun, you really had our small-scaled Magician Organization have an eye-opening experience. If I remember correctly, this Mo Fan is the son of the driver at your manor. Being in a large, noble family sure is great, you even unconsciously influenced a preeminent student in Bo City!” said Deng Kai from the Hunter’s Union.

Mu Zhuoyun looked at Deng Kai.

Deng Kai was in the upper echelon of the Hunter’s Union, and at same time, he was also a director of Tian Lan Magic High. Amongst the school directors, his cultivation was the highest, and his strength was also the greatest.

As a school director, Deng Kai was praising, and the other school directors were continually sighing.

“You can’t help but admire that. A son of a driver is already this amazing, he’s comparable to the magic seedlings which they have carefully raised!”

Mu Zhuoyun was slowly coming back to his senses from being shocked.

He really didn’t think that this Mo Fan would have some ability. Right now, he even heard praise coming from the people in his circle, his face immediately lit up.

As his mood got better, Mu Zhuoyun’s heart also began to ponder.

Mu Ningxue had carried the flag for the family for many years. However, the other direct successors and branch disciples all required support from the family. Only this way were they able to consolidate power within the family.

The Mu Family were very short in Magicians who specialized in the Fire Element.

Although this kid had done things that had caused him to feel incomparably angry, he was just young and inexperienced. It had already been so many years since then, there was no need to continue investigating it. It was about time to give some benefit to this kid so he would start to serve the Mu Family.

He would definitely not approach Mu Ningxue. However, he could send him to his eldest son, Mu Jiangming, and nurture him into an remarkable Fire Element henchman. That was not a bad plan.

A talented person still needed to be recruited!

Mu Zhuoyun stroked his beard, feeling somewhat happy. After seeing Mo Fan exiting the examination ground, he opened his mouth to say, “Mo Fan, come here.”

Mo Fan glanced at Mu Zhuoyun, he wasn’t sure what this old scoundrel wanted from him.

With some hesitation, Mo Fan walked over in front of the directors. His eyes couldn’t help but take a glance at Mu Ningxue.

Damn, I haven’t seen this girl in so many years, how come she looks so… beautiful!

Mu Zhuoyun _hmpfed_.

Mu Ningxue also moved her gaze away.

Mo Fan also withdrew his gaze.

“You called?” Mo Fan raised his head and looked at the Mu Zhuoyun’s tall and sturdy physique.

In front of others, Mo Zhuoyun would have a whiff of the prestige of a King, causing them to feel even afraid to breathe in front of him.

Mo Fan was different. Other than raising a beautiful daughter, to him Mo Zhuoyun only emitted the aura of an old scoundrel.

__________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Our Mu Family received some cultivation resources for the Fire element a while ago; unfortunately, most of the people in the manor are Ice elemental users. Your fire-elemental talent is not bad at all; your cultivation even surprised me. Thus, I’d like to give these resources to you. From now on, when you’re not attending classes, you may cultivate with Mu Jiangming,” Mu Zhuoyun said as he stroked his beard.

These words were said in public!

From Mu Zhuoyun’s point of view, doing this also gave Mo Fan a lot of face!

The branch disciples within the manor scheme, wanting to display their abilities to me; yet, I don’t even give them the slightest bit of attention. A person like Mo Fan, who isn’t even a disciple of the Mu family, receiving this kind of opportunity is simply a huge leap in fortune!

In this society, there would always be some exceptions. With him being the Head of the Mu Family, he couldn’t just be narrow or small minded and only pay attention to the disciples within.

“Brother…this…how could this be? Mu Bai’s talent is even better. Perhaps he was just a bit nervous today; thus he wasn’t able to display his utmost abilities. Also, he is from our family, to begin with...” Mu He was extremely shocked; he hastily spoke to Mu He.

After Mu Bai, who felt as though his heart had been pierced by thousands of arrows, heard this, he seemed as if he were a corpse being viciously whipped all over. It was a hideous appearance!

Damn, that was the opportunity to become an inner disciple which Mu Bai was looking for!

Mu Bai racked his brain so that he could erase the title of being just a branch disciple. Only after becoming a true core disciple of the Mu Family would he receive even more generous cultivation resources and no longer be that half a young master who freeloads under someone else’s roof.

It doesn’t matter if he didn’t receive it, but it was taken away by the person he hated the most!

This corpse was so pissed off; it almost resurrected!

“I have already made the decision. Mu He, you do not need to speak anymore,” Mu Zhuoyun waved his hand, his face maintained that slight smile as he looked at Mo Fan.

What’s wrong; are you getting too happy?

Hurry up and thank this Master for his kindness?

Mu Zhuoyun was relatively pleased with the fact that he could forget the former enmity and recruit the student who had no background. It seemed like he was a very understanding ruler.

……

“Mo Fan, why are you still startled? Hurry up and thank Master for his good grace,” Xue Musheng hastily urged Mo Fan.

Zhang Xiaohou, Lu Xiaobing, and Xu Qinglin were admiring him to no end.

In the past, Mo Fan was just a small, insignificant thing that one wouldn’t be able to find in the sea of people. In just a flash, he had become Mr. Perfect!

Mo Fan looked at Mu Zhuoyun who had a slight smile on his face; his own expression was quite startled.

Mo Fan regained his senses; he squished his lips together.

After a period had passed, Mo Fan finally opened his mouth, “Did your brain get flooded with water or something?”

“What did you say?” Mu Zhuoyun’s face was filled with doubt; it seemed like he didn’t hear what the kid said.

“I said, did water flood your brain or something?!” Mo Fan asked what he had before, word for word.

Everyone was able to clearly hear these words; however, their expressions were filled with confusion.

What???

Brain get flooded?

He said Mu Zhuoyun’s brain was flooded?

Heavens, this Mo Fan has gone crazy!

Mu Zhuoyun heard this very clearly. He ferociously blew his beard as he carried a bit of rage and replied, “Your next few words better be a good explanation, or else…”

“An explanation? Of course, I have one,” Mo Fan nodded as he continued, “Don’t act like you didn’t suppress my family three years ago with your strong sense of justice. I, Mo Fan, am not someone who you can slap and then give some benefit for me to devote my life to you. Three years ago, you said things to my dad and I that were as if you were looking at a dog. Your memory may be bad, but I remember it very clearly. I’ll just tell you like this, you old scoundrel; don’t say that you want me to join your family as a disciple for my sake. Even if you were to send Mu Ningxue along with a dowry to me so I could enter your family, I still wouldn’t do it! Do you really think that all the people in the world revolve around your Mu Family? And you even expect me to be moved to tears?? Other than your brain getting flooded, I can’t think of what other kinds of problems you would have today!”

As he cursed, it was as though the suppressed anger within his heart was completely spat out. The entire process was completely smooth.

The Principal, the school directors, director Deng Kai, Mu He, Mu Bai, Zhao Kunsan, Xue Musheng, the students of eight class, as well as Mu Ningxue were completely shocked.

Mu Zhuoyun’s face was exceedingly gloomy at this point.

Creak~

As he was angered by this, beneath Mu Zhuoyun’s feet grew a frozen, firm crystal ice. The cold aura emanated from the person’s anger was pervading throughout the air!

Mu Zhuoyun was angry, really angry!

He didn’t know how many years it had been since someone spoke to him like this. Calling him the tyrant of Bo City wasn’t completely wrong. The high tiered people of the same generation, the Principals of the Magic schools, the high-status people from Magic Association, and even Deng Kai from the Hunter’s Union would always treat him with respect. Even the people from the manor would be unable to breathe when they were in front of him. Who just gave this kid, Mo Fan, the guts to talk to him like that??!!

The aura filled the grounds.

A frightening ice ground!

The grounds filled with sand and grains were completely frozen into a solid ice crystal in just a few seconds with Mu Zhuoyun in the center!

The icy aura was vicious. The hot, summer day suddenly became winter. The training grounds also turned into an ice floor, like a gigantic mirror!

This mind-blowing scene scared the school’s students and caused them cry out in fear!

The training ground turned into an ice floor in just an instant. Mu Zhuoyun didn’t even cast any magic; he only relied on his aura to freeze the entire training ground. Just what kind of boundary had his cultivation reached?

Comparing Mu Bai’s previous, small Ice Spread, Mu Zhuoyun was simply a huge monster, incomparable.

“Zhuoyun, control your mood. This is a school, and there are also students with no defensive capabilities,” The school director who was also from the Hunter’s Union, Deng Kai, suddenly stood up, standing between Mu Zhuoyun and Mo Fan.

As Deng Kai stood in between them, Mu Zhuoyun’s intimidating power became somewhat weaker. However, the people in the surroundings were still intimidated to the point where they had difficulties breathing.

As Deng Kai stood in between them, a few people who could still move and Mrs. Tangyue’s pace came to a halt.

Tangyue didn’t permit Mu Zhuoyun to harm her students, even if she wasn’t a match for the Mu Zhuoyun, the Ice elemental Family Head.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: FluffyGoblyn

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Mo Fan you-you shameful thing! What are you saying?! Immediately apologize to Mr. Mu Zhuoyun!” Mu He said with great anger.

Was this Mo Fan stupid beyond redemption or something? He even had the guts to act like this in front of Mu Zhuoyun! Was his family tired of living?!

“Apologize? Of course I will. However, he must also apologize to me regarding the matter from three years ago. Don’t think you can scare me with your high cultivation and authority. This Mu Zhuoyun used his cultivation to bully me, a student who hasn’t even turned 18 yet. Let’s put it like this; if you were the same age as me, I would be able to beat you up real good!” Mo Fan’s fearless gesture was currently being displayed in great detail.

“Bullshit!” Mu Zhuoyun was getting really pissed off by this bastard kid, so much that he directly began to swear.

When Mu Zhuoyun was at his age, even though his talent may not have matched Mu Ningxue’s, he was still a genius. He naturally didn’t place any of the students within Tian Lan Magic High in his eyes!

“Mo Fan, you really are shamelessly daring! Don’t even mention Master Mu Zhuoyun when he was young, we could randomly grab a core disciple from the current Mu Family and he’d be able to beat you down with a single move!”

“That’s right, we don’t even need to use core disciples. I, Mu Bai could duel you in magic. If you lose, then you must kneel down and apologize to Master Mu!” At this time, Mu Bai came to life and jumped down to be used as a dog by Mu Zhuoyun.

Mu Bai and Mo Fan were peers, it would be a fair duel. _Let’s see what other excuses you’ll have!_ , thought Mu Bai.

With this, Mu Bai would beat Mo Fan to death and firmly ease Master Mu Zhuoyun’s resentments.

“Not necessary.”

Just as Mu Bai was about to step up bravely, an icy, arrogant voice resounded.

Everyone’s gaze immediately turned toward the voice that spoke up.

The person who said this was precisely Mu Ningxue. Who would’ve imagined that Mu Ningxue would make a move at this time?

Mu Ningxue came between her father and Mo Fan. Her gaze was like an ice mountain that carried a bit of anger.

The person she was angry at was naturally Mo Fan.

“Since you said my father only knows how to bully the younger generation…since you said that my father used his authority to suppress you, and you relied on your own cultivation to develop your magic…

“In that case, I’m the same age as you, I’ll compete with you!” In Mu Ningxue’s tranquil voice was an icy power.

“Ningxue??” After Mu Zhuoyun saw his own daughter come out, the anger on his face changed into astonishment.

As Mo Fan saw that it was Mu Ningxue who was facing him, his face sprouted a smile that said he’d rather die than surrender

_Interesting, even Mu Ningxue came forth,_ he thought.

The truth is, facing a worthless person like Mu Bai was completely useless. Mo Fan had already stomped him over earlier today. However, Mu Ningxue had been credited as the number one girl genius of Bo City, and a blessed daughter of the heavens within the Imperial Institution. Thus, having her duel him would prove to be much more interesting.

“Ningxue, I am enough to deal with this guy, there’s no need for you to…” Mu Bai promptly said with a smile.

“My father has been thoroughly humiliated. My father can be magnanimous and not bother with this sharp tongued little thief. However, I, as his daughter, simply will not let the person who has humiliated my father off! We’ll settle it by using an impartial Magic Duel!” Each and every word said by Mu Ningxue was sincere, there was not a hint of hesitation in her voice.

“Good, well said! This icy, lofty and unyielding character makes us, the older generation very gratified! As expected of the number one genius of Bo City! Having an outstanding talent at such a young age while having the ability to distinguish between right and wrong!” School Director Deng Kai immediately began praising her.

After he praised her, Director Deng Kai also patted Mu Zhuoyun’s back as he said, “Brother Zhuoyun, having you deal with this rude kid is not necessary at all. Naturally, you can’t return to when you were 16 to duel him, proving whether he’s better than you when you were young. It’s better to let your daughter Mu Ningxue take your place in this matter and silence this kid that does not know the immensity of heavens and earth.”

Mu Zhuoyun didn’t say anything as he just stared at Deng Kai.

As Deng Kai saw that Mu Zhuoyun was still able to control his temper, he gave a slight smile before he walked in front of Mo Fan and said, “Mo Fan, right? As the person in charge of the Hunter’s Union within Bo City, I really am not sure on whether your actions today can be described as you being young and inexperienced, or just simply stupid. However, you should apologize to Mu Zhuoyun for your hot-headed action, the contributions he has made to Bo City are far beyond what you can comprehend.”

“Apologize? That’s not a problem. I can cover my entire body in thorns and use the most traditional method, kowtowing, to apologize to him. I’ll even kowtow until he’s satisfied. However, are the Mu Family in the right to have me apologize to them? Go ask them regarding what they said to my family three years ago. If I were to apologize, then it’d be after they have apologized for the matter three years ago. Since he is a respected person of Bo City, then they should know better than to provoke nobodies. You can slap a nobody to death with just a single palm, but before they get slapped to death, they would definitely curse you till your brain breaks!” Mo Fan said without inhibition.

“This is a society ruled by law. How could this kind of thing happen? At most, we’d just expel you,” the Principal said as he creased his eyebrows.

“Alright, since things have come to this point, then it’s not as difficult to deal with as I thought. Then we’ll do according to what Mu Ningxue said, she will have a magic duel with you. If you lose, then you will have to apologize until Mu Zhuoyun is satisfied. If Mu Ningxue loses…” As Deng Kai reached this point, his gaze turned toward Mu Zhuoyun.

Mu Zhuoyun said with a cold voice, “How could Mu Ningxu lose?”

“You don’t need to talk spout so much garbage, just say if you dare or not!” Mo Fan’s tone carried a sharp dagger.

Dignity wasn’t something that would be grander just because you’re from an aristocratic family. Even moreso if your own family was homeless, miserable, and lower than dirt. Mo Fan was just a nobody, a nobody who sought revenge for his grievance!

Have him join Mu Family?

Mo Fan was unable to forget the words Mu Zhuoyun said three years ago that sounded as though he was disciplining a dog. And he definitely was unable to forget the fact that Mu He was responsible for them being homeless. If he were to eager to go back to them just because Mu Zhuoyun threw him a bone, then he himself would really be a dog! At that point, how would he be any different from Zhao Kunsan and Mu Bai?

Saying profanities to him?

That should be normal!

Three years ago, when he was just thirteen years old, he had the guts to point at Mu Zhuoyun and call him an old scoundrel. Now that he was sixteen years old, how could he possibly be afraid of him?

‘Once bitten by a snake, three years shy from the rope’; this was a phrase that was well disposed to Mo Fan. If a snake dared to bite him, then he would definitely act like the snake was a rope and swing it away!

When you were already being seen as an ant in someone’s eyes, there was no way for you to run away from that colossal foot. You might as well just curse at them until you were satisfied.

“Brother Zhuoyun, do you agree?” Deng Kai acted like a mediator.

Currently, the argument and cursing had been seen by the entire school. If they were able to direct this ugly affair towards a fair Magic Duel, that would naturally be the best option. If they really were to expel this student called Mo Fan, it would be meaningless. It would cause the school to lose a genius. Being able to take the number one spot in Tian Lan Magic High meant he was indeed a good seedling.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

As Mu Ningxue heard this, her forehead creased.

“My adopted son, Yu Ang, is the same age as you. I’ll have him duel you!” Mu Zhuoyun said.

“Or…” Mu Ningxue wanted to say something.

Mu Zhuoyun didn’t give Mu Ningxue a chance to speak, turning toward Deng Kai and saying, “Deng Kai, I know you tend to look after the younger generation. However, even you saw this kid speaking so rudely to me. I have taken a step back, letting him have a chance to measure his ability with my adoptive son, Yu Ang. If he loses, then this kid will kowtow to me until I’m completely satisfied. If he wins, I will apologize. The lousy matter from three years, I, Mu Zhuoyun naturally did not place in my eyes!”

As Mu Bai and Mu He heard this, a smile suddenly emerged on their faces.

_Yu Ang, let Yu Ang deal with it!_

Mu Zhuoyun sure was shrewd! He guessed that Mu Ningxue’s sudden stance was most likely to help this kid exonerate himself.

How could Mu Zhuoyun possibly let Mo Fan off the hook so easily? Even if Mu Ningxue wholeheartedly wanted to help him dissolve this matter, he would definitely not suppress his tone.

Yu Ang was the cultivation lunatic of the Mu Family. Whenever someone mentioned this person, their whole body would feel a chill. If they were to let Yu Ang handle this matter, then it was guaranteed that Mo Fan would suffer a miserable death!

“The regulations of the Magic Association state that both of the parties involved in the Magic Duel need to be 18 years old. Thus, allow me, Deng Kai, to act as a witness for this matter. The day when Mo Fan and Yu Ang have both reached the age of 18, they will engage in a Magic Duel!” Deng Kai said sincerely.

Mu Zhuoyun coldly humphed.

Mo Fan nodded his head, “I’d have a bit of difficulty to make my move against a woman, thus, switching to a man is good. I’ll beat him until his father won’t recognize him!”

As Mu Zhuoyun heard Mo Fan still slandering him, he was so enraged he blew into his beard.

_Wait and see. During the Magic Duel at the age of 18, we’ll make you lose your pride and cover your body with wounds!_

The Magic Association, the Hunter’s Union, and the Magic Schools. These organizations unconditionally protected the Magic students. However, as soon as they reached 18, they came of age. Magicians would then have to hold responsibility for their own actions.

At the moment, Mu Zhuoyun had no need to lower himself to the same level as a sharp-mouthed kid. In two years, when he had come of age, Mu Zhuoyun might as well let him hover between life and death.

……

Mu Zhuoyun had gotten so angry that he already left. The Principal and the others naturally followed behind him.

As Mu Ningxue was leaving, she gave Mo Fan a meaningful look. She wanted to say something but while at same time, she didn’t know what to say.

Mo Fan knew Mu Ningxue was helping him.

Her trying to deal with this matter personally was far better than Mu Zuoyun personally dealing with it. If someone of Mu Zhuoyun’s level were to make a move, they would bring a deadly strike against Mo Fan and his family.

Unfortunately, her plan was seen through by her father, Mu Zhuoyun.

Mu Zhuoyun knew that Mu Ningxue would be lenient, and thus he switched to a different person. The cultivation madman of Mu Family, Yu Ang, would deal with Mo Fan. Mu Yu Ang was very obedient to Mu Zhuoyun. If Mu Zhuoyun wanted Mu Yu Ang to kill Mo Fan, Yu Ang would do it without hesitation!

Mu Zhuoyun had no reason to be lenient toward a little thing that dared to swear at him. For now, he would just let Mo Fan pass the time at the school in ease for two years. Once Mo Fan graduated, Mu Zhuoyun would have him see that going against the Mu Family was just asking for trouble!

……

The disturbance finally calmed down and petered out.

All of the students looked at the Mo Fan who had been turned into a Divine student as they were reminded of his actions just now. None of them knew what to say.

This Mo Fan was crazy!

Against the Mu Family, a magic family household, and a noble one, who could pull out anyone and still be able to pressure Tian Lan Magic High…

What made this extremely clear was the fact that Mu Bai, an Elite student within Tian Lan Magic High, was just a branch disciple within the Mu Family!

Although Mo Fan’s performance today had indeed startled everybody, however, that did not mean he had the qualifications to provoke a colossal family like the Mu Family.

(Sigh) Originally, he could’ve become a dragon. Now, there was basically no difference between him and trash.

Who didn’t know of the Mu Family being the largest in Bo City? If you offended the Mu Family, then how could you continue to survive in Bo City?

Within the school, there was barely the holy ground to protect you. Once you were out in society, you would definitely be dealt with until you had become a tragic sight!

Willful, why was he so willful? The opportunity so many people were hoping for was dropped by Mo Fan’s willfulness, leaving behind a colossal foe.

……

“Brother Fan, you are too cool. We are scared to death by Master Mu Zhuoyun, only you would call him an old scoundrel over and over again. Haha, in fact, many of us also call him an old scoundrel on the inside.” Zhang Xiaohou’s temperament was somewhat shy, but he had a particular adoration for Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was the king of the children within this area of the city. Back in the days, he could gather masses with a single call, even Zhao Kunsan mingled with Big Brother Mo Fan. Only after that incident did Zhao Kunsan start to rely on Mu Bai, and many others no longer dared to play with Mo Fan.

Zhang Xiaohou was devoted to Mo Fan. No matter what kind of over-the-boundary thing Mo Fan had done, he would still lift even his feet to clap in admiration!

Zhang Xiaohou knew of the matter from three years ago. And now that he had seen Mo Fan striking back without hesitation or fear, he began to admire Mo Fan even more. He would never be as bold as Mo Fan in his lifetime!

“Then, do you think Mu Ningxue has been charmed by me?” Mo Fan said as he raised his eyebrow in satisfaction.

“Eh…that’s hard to say. After all, that old scoundrel is her father,” Zhang Xiaohou replied.

“Ah, I feel really good today. When I go to the cafeteria later, I’ll get an extra fried egg.” Mo Fan patted Zhang Xiaohou’s shoulder as he felt a flush of success, before walking towards the cafeteria.

“Haha, if you saw the looks on Mu Bai and Zhao Kunsan, then you’d definitely feel even better,” Zhang Xiaohou said as he vented his resentment.

That henchman, Zhao Kunsan, had really been beaten until his face had swollen up. Xiaohue bet Kunsan couldn’t even dream of Mo Fan’s cultivation being higher than his by more than a level.

Whereas Mu Bai, there’s no need to say more about that. All he did was act like someone he was not and assault the poor on a regular basis. And what was the result of that? In the end, the Wise Martial God, Brother Fan, still got rid of him.

Forget it. Mu Bai really was trying to curry favor with Mu He like a son. He just wanted Mu He to help him enter the Mu Family’s inner court, and cultivate together with the core disciples…

In the end, that old scoundrel didn’t even take a look at him at all. Instead, he was fixated on Mo Fan. What really stupefied people was that Mo Fan had directly thrown away what Mu Bai dreamt of like it was trash, while at same time, he even made the old scoundrel lose face. Refreshing, it was truly refreshing!

Xiaohou didn’t understand what that old scoundrel, Mu Zhuoyun was thinking. Three years ago, the old scoundrel had already experienced Mo Fan’s viper tongue and vicious temperament. Yet, today, he attempted to dismiss the former debt, which merely resulted in Mo Fan, who didn’t hide any of his cards, slandering him greatly.

He reckoned Mu Zhuoyun’s blood pressure today had risen by a lot!

“However, Brother Fan, if that old scoundrel really gave his daughter to you along with a dowry, while begging you to join the Mu Family, would you really decline?” Zhang Xiaohou whispered.

“Of course not!”

“Damn, Brother Fan, where are your morals?”

“Eh, what you said does make sense.” Mo Fan suddenly rubbed his chin as he pondered.

“You also think you don’t have morals?” Xiaohou wondered.

“Get out of here, I’m saying that the old scoundrel’s apology is useless. It’d be better if he just gave his daughter to me with a dowry!” Mo Fan answered.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Brother Fan, you should stop daydreaming. That Yu Ang really is abnormal. We don’t even know if you will see the sunlight of your second day as an eighteen year old. You should just stop wishing to marry the Little Princess.”

“Yu Ang? Hmph, watch me make him look for his teeth on the floor!”

In the past, Mo Fan would consider whether he was capable of opposing the whole Mu Family, so how could the current Mo Fan be afraid of merely the disciples in the younger generations?

The ire in his left hand would scorch their outsides crisp and their insides tender, while the lightning in his right hand would lacerate their flesh!

……

The final results of the annual examination had been released. When the large blackboard showed Mo Fan in first place, there were numerous people who madly rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

How was this Mo Fan so amazing? His examination results were surprisingly impressive; how did he surpass even the Lightning element’s Xu Zhaoting, and that Mu Bai from the Ice elemental family?

The matter with the grades had already caused numerous people to widen their eyes. The matter of Mo Fan cursing Mu Zhuoyun in front of everyone, and challenging a disciple of the Mu Family with the school supervisors being the witnesses had quickly been spread amongst the students. As a result, it didn’t take long before Mo Fan became famous in the school. Not only did he become a divine student of the school in a flash, even more surprising was that he was the most reckless student in all of Bo City!

The people who had some experience understood that Tian Lan Magic High wasn’t for your average Magicians. There were some impressive students within the one thousand five hundred student body. Sure. However, it was simply not on the same level as some certain Magic Highs and the noble families with deep foundations. The Hunter’s Union, Magic Association, Big families and noble families; any random Magician from them would be enough to suppress all of them.

The school was certainly a good choice for both grassroots and dragons. However, that didn’t mean that you could go challenge those second generation wizards!

Mo Fan didn’t care about the gossip happening around the school. Other than meditating and practising spellcasting, he would eat and sleep.

The only thing worth mentioning was that Mo Fan was placed within the Elite class.

The Elite class had a hundred individuals total. They were all in a large classroom, and practised in a large training ground.

The students in the Elite class were generally capable of controlling seven stars, it was just that they weren’t proficient enough in spellcasting.

Thus, when it was time for Practical classes, each of the elite elemental students demonstrated their magical prowess!

The teacher for the Practical classes remained Mrs. Tangyue. It was said that this newly arrived Practical teacher’s cultivation had far surpassed any of the other Practical teachers within the school. Even though she hadn’t been in the school for more than half a year, the Elite class’ Practical classes were being taught by her.

The homeroom teacher of the Elite class also remained Xue Musheng.

His class had two S grade students. If he wasn’t the homeroom teacher for the Elite class, who else could it be?

It was because of Mo Fan that Xue Musheng obtained so many benefits from the School Supervisors. Naturally, the School Supervisors had repeatedly instructed Xue Musheng to fix Mo Fan’s rebellious temperament.

Xue Musheng got a headache over this matter. He felt that whether Mo Fan was a failure in school or a divine student, he was just like Buddha, hard to please.

……

The new term went by, yet another month passed in a flash.

The homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng was standing in the Elite class and coughed, signalling everyone to control their excitement.

Why were the students so excited today?

Today was the day where the school distributed the Stardust Magic Tools to the Elite class. There was naturally another benefit to being students of the Elite class other than having the best teachers.

The reason behind why those large Magic Associations and ancient Magic families were so much more ahead of them, excluding the fact they had abundant knowledge, secrets, and experience, the most important reason would be due to the Stardust Magic Tool.

Let’s put it like this: Experience, knowledge, secrets, and teachings would be the software, whereas the Stardust Magic Tool would be the most important hardware!

Other large ancient families had all sorts of software, and their technology was first-rate. Even if an average Magician could learn everything from school, they still wouldn’t have the hardware that could be compared to the ancient families.

That is to say, this Stardust Magic Tool was quite qualitative. It was capable of nurturing the soul and cultivation, and it would relieve the fatigue the Magician would experience after meditation, allowing them to continue practising. To put it in a way that made more sense, it was like a cooler, decreasing the cooldown of meditation.

There was no way around it, Mo Fan wasn’t a paid player. He naturally had to go through the school to obtain the necessary cultivation resources.

The competition in school was quite big, it was simply like gold and sand!

Fortunately, he was firmly placed on the first rank. Thus, the magic resources he obtained from the school shouldn’t be a small amount. This way, he would be able to cultivate in peace.

“The usage time for the Stardust Magic Tool will be based on the rankings of your annual examination. The higher you are placed, the longer you will be allowed to use it. Naturally, our school is very fair, and thus we will conduct an examination every quarter of the year and rearrange the rankings. The Stardust Magic Tool usage will then change according to the new ranking..

“The other thing to take note of is that you are currently the students of the Elite class, and you possess an advantage a Common class doesn’t have. However, don’t believe for a second that your position is safe. During the quarter year examination, the last ten people will directly be downgraded to the Common class, and the top ten of the Common class will be upgraded to the Elite class. Thus, the pressure of the competition is increasingly big!” Xue Musheng said.

This part was no different than his previous world. Mo Fan didn’t think anything of it.

There were a lot of people who didn’t like school, and even more who didn’t like high school exams. However, there was one phrase that wasn’t wrong: How are you going to stand on equal ground with a wealthy second generation if you don’t have an education, nor tests?

The school’s cultivation resources were not necessarily worse than the large ancestral families, the only difference was that the schools had gold and sand.

You’d also have to agree to one phrase: Only gold is able to shine!

……

“Mo Fan, as the number one in class, you ought to be the first to use the Stardust Magic Tool, and also have it for the longest duration. However, due to your disrespect toward your elders during the annual examination, the time you are allowed to use it has been changed to ten days, down from a month. This is your penalty!” Xue Musheng said with a solemn face.

“Ah, from a month to ten days, that penalty is way too high. If he could hold himself back from being so impudent, then the one month worth of time would be enough to pull him apart from many others by a lot.” Some students started to discuss these words.

“If he were to bluntly lower his head and agree to joining the Mu Family, then he’d most likely receive even more!”

“Yeah, why is he so stubborn.”

Xue Musheng glared, causing the students to quiet down.

“Mo Fan, do you have any objections regarding this penalty?” Xue Musheng said.

“I do not,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan naturally needed a Stardust Magic Tool. His cultivation time was already longer than that of others, and with the help of the Stardust Magic Tool, he would be able to do half the work for twice the results.

However, it would only have this effect if used continuously over a long period of time. If it was used only in short intervals, it would bring very little value to Mo Fan. Ten days of use? They would do nothing for him.

“Green Tea Man, let me ask you a question.” Mo Fan approached the table of Mu Bai next to him with a solemn expression.

“What the hell did you just call me?” Mu Bai’s violent temperament immediately appeared.

“Uh, Mu Bai, let me ask you a question.”

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“If you’ve got things to say, say it.” Mu Bai was bitter, he didn’t want to look at Mo Fan for even a second. Unfortunately, Mo Fan was strange. This Mo Fan had something to ask him? The two should be irreconcilable.

“That guy named Yu Ang, is he in possession of a Stardust Magic Tool for all 365 days of the year?” Mo Fan asked.

Mu Fan began to laugh coldly as he said, “Originally, he was only allowed to use it three to four months per year. But thanks to you, he is now permitted to use it for longer than half a year at a time!”

Mo Fan nodded his head and continued asking, “I’ve already provoked the old scoundrel to this extent, that old scoundrel still doesn’t give it to that guy called Yu Ang for a whole year? Is it that the old scoundrel is too greedy, or is he just underestimating me?”

“Do you think the Stardust Magic Tool is just a rock on the sidewalk, something there’s a lot of? The entire family has so many disciples. Thus, the Stardust Magic Tool definitely has to have turns. Within the family, only Mu Ningxue has a Spirit grade Stardust Magic Tool which she keeps on at all times,” Mu Bai said as he looked down on Mo Fan.

“Spirit grade Stardust Magic Tool? The Stardust Magic Tools have different grades?” Mo Fan asked in shock.

He only knew of the effect of the Stardust Magic Tool, he wasn’t aware of the fact that there were different grades of them.

Mu Bai looked at Mo Fan as though he was looking at a retard.

_This retard simply knows nothing, just how did he cultivate to S grade?_

Mu Bai was very proud and wanted to display his knowledge. Thus, he was showing how much he despised Mo Fan on one hand, while on the other he said, “Stardust Magic Tools naturally have good and bad ones. The Soul Nourishing Magic Tools which we are able to interact with are basically all Common grade. I reckon there’s only a very few of the Spirit grade ones in the entirety of Bo City.”

“What effects do the Spirit grades ones have?” Mo Fan continued asking.

“Common grade, it is able to roughly increase cultivation time by 20% every day. Spirit grade, it is able to increase the cultivation time by 40%,” Mu Bai sneered at him.

As he was talking about the Spirit grade Stardust Magic Tools, Mu Bai’s entire being was unable to hold back on his fascination for it. To people like him who had only just taken their first step onto the road of cultivation, these Spirit grade Stardust Magic Tools were simply perfect. Possessing one would easily allow him to surpass those of the same age!

“I see.” Mo Fan nodded his head.

One that could cut accumulated fatigue by 20% and one that could cut it by 40%, Mo Fan was quite able to understand this effect!

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself. The cultivation Magic Tool you obtained you get for only ten days. Whereas I will have it for a whole month, I’ll quickly surpass you by thousands of miles!” Mu Bai exclaimed without hesitation, pouring a bucket of cold water over Mo Fan.

Mo Fan didn’t mind. If he were to quarrel with nobodies like Mu Bai and Zhao Kunsan, that would simply lower his social status. His real enemies were the inner disciples of Mu Family that possessed rich resources! He planned to surmount all difficulties and make that old scoundrel promise his daughter and deliver a dowry to the man in front of him!

“Remember, the Stardust Magic Tools are very, very precious. You must not in any way damage it. Moreover, once the time is up, you must return it. I have already reminded all of you, this isn’t something you can blindly make trouble for!” Xue Musheng said with a very serious tone.

……

On the nightfall, the dormitory had already turned off all the lights. Darkness fell around the entire campus.

On the roof of the school building, Mo Fan was sitting on top of a large water storage tank as he played with the Stardust Magic Tool he had received today.

The Stardust Magic Tool was a tiny, azure colored dust stone that was set within a very precious casing. One could tell how much the school valued the Stardust Magic Tool.

The Tool had been polished, with a white chain passing through it. This allowed cultivators to wear it like a pendant on their chest.

“Does it work as soon as I put it on?” Mo Fan asked himself.

Lowering his head a bit, Mo Fan slowly put the Stardust Magic Tool on. Since the chain was a bit long, the Tool ended up laying on Mo Fan’s chest.

_Ding~_

Suddenly, a unfathomable tapping echoed out of Mo Fan’s chest.

Mo Fan was stunned before he finally came back to his senses.

He was wearing yet another necklace about his neck.

This loach-shaped pendant was pitch black. He remembered that on the day he Awakened his element, this thing was vibrating incessantly.

The Stardust Magic Tool must have bumped into his loach shaped pendant, explaining the sound from just now.

Speaking of which, just what was this Loach Pendant?

Mo Fan had actually been trying to research the construction behind it, but ultimately failed. At the same time, he was very convinced that the Loach Pendant was the reason behind the changes to the world.

The Loach Pendant was the legacy of the old gatekeeper of the school’s back mountain, Old Man Ying. That day, he was wearing this exact Loach Pendant as he slept in that thatched cottage when the whole world began to mysteriously change, or he transmigrated into a different parallel world, he still wasn’t sure of which.

Mo Fan always wore the Loach Pendant, and he was a little worried about removing it, in case everything would return to normal if he were to do so. _Man, I went through great difficulties to learn Lightning Strike and Flame Burst!_

“Forget it, don’t worry about him. I should pay more attention to my own cultivation. That guy Yu Ang won’t be easy to deal with. Furthermore, if that old scoundrel really were willing to deliver his daughter to me, it will be impossible if I don’t have incredible power!” Mo Fan thought to himself.

As he put down the Loach Pendant, Mo Fan used his Intent to enter the Stardust Magic Tool which he had just received.

Intent appeared after a Magician’s spiritual mind had reached a formidable level. When you focused the Intent of your spiritual mind and locked it onto something, you could perceive the peculiar fluctuations of Magic Ability, and your senses of hearing, smell, sight, and touch would become stronger than an ordinary person.

“Strange, there’s no reaction. Xue Musheng said as long as you enter it with your Intent and leave behind a Spiritual imprint, then the Stardust Magic Tool will transmit its nourishing spiritual energy to your body, allowing a Magician’s body to obtain a nourishing effect as well as relieving spiritual fatigue.”

Mo Fan attempted this a few times. He didn’t feel the wonderful response from the Stardust Magic Tool, which Xue Musheng had described.

Eh?

The Loach Pendant had overflowing energy?

Mo Fan’s expression was shocked as he hastily probed the Loach Pendant with his Intent.

As he probed it with his Intent, Mo Fan’s entire being felt as though he landed in a hot spring. Silky smooth warmth caused his exhausted spiritual condition to slowly disperse, while it also slowly caused his own Spiritual world to become clear and cozy.

He felt no agitation, nor anxiety. His state of mind had never been so tranquil and cozy before!

Mo Fan had already cultivated for a whole ten hours today. Before this, he would already have gone to sleep. Today, he had the Stardust Magic Tool, and he wanted to try it out.

The surging fatigue he felt was alleviated under this balmy sensation, he felt like he could still continue to cultivate for a little while longer.

_Oh crap._

_What is this??_

The Stardust Magic Tool given by school was of no use. Instead, the Loach Pendant which he had always brought with him began to show the effect the Stardust Magic Tool should’ve shown.

_Is it possible…is it possible that this Loach Pendant that I have always worn is actually a Stardust Magic Tool?_

Mo Fan began to feel a bit of excitement!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

_Wrong, there’s something wrong._

_I used my Intent to probe it before, but the Loach Pendant was like the dead sea. So why did it become a Spirit Nourishing hot spring today?_

_While at same time, the school’s Stardust Magic Tool that should have some effect just happens to be out of use??_

“Shit, don’t tell me the Loach Pendant absorbed the Stardust Magic Tool’s internal energy!!” Mo Fan suddenly made an astonished wild guess.

Mo Fan immediately concentrated his Intent once more. This time, he quickly probed the fluctuations between the two Magic Tools.

As expected!

Mo Fan could feel the Stardust Magic Tool had a trace of hidden energy in its deepest parts. However, this trace of energy was currently shifting…

_Accurately speaking, this freaking Loach Pendant took a straw and started to suck in the energy from the school’s Stardust Magic Tool. If I only realized this later, then I wouldn’t have been able to find any kind of evidence._

“Freaking hell, Little Loach, I never thought that you’d actually have some skill. After hiding it for so long, you’ve finally revealed it,” Mo Fan swore as he grabbed the Loach Pendant with one hand.

_Little Loach, go die Loach!_

_Hurry and compensate my Stardust Magic Tool. How am I supposed to cultivate when you’ve drained all of its energy…_

_However, the Loach Pendant just released some energy for me to use. What I should worry about is how I’m supposed to explain to the school regarding this empty shell of a Stardust Magic Tool!_

_Furthermore, this little Loach Pendant that I swear at everyday…seems…seems to really be a freaking Stardust Magic Tool!_

Mo Fan felt his own brain was not enough to process this!! This information was too explosive!

_Calm down, calm down, I have to calm down._

_I have to hurry and get to the end of this matter._

Mo Fan continued sitting there, studying the two tools. He realized the little Loach Pendant he wore actually seemed to have the same function as a Stardust Magic Tool. Mo Fan tried to make the little Loach Pendant return the energy to the Stardust Magic Tool, but the Loach Pendant had no reaction.

Mo Fan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

The great thing about it was…the little Loach Pendant was actually a really amazing Stardust Magic Tool.

The real tragedy was that the school’s Stardust Magic Tool had been wasted. There was not a shred of energy left in it, it was just like a pebble by the riverbank.

The school gave the Stardust Magic Tool to him for ten days. After ten days, he had to return it to them in its original state. It’s not like he could tell Xue Musheng that he was bored, and thus he decided to remodel the Stardust Magic Tool into a loach shape. He can’t even begin to guess what kind of expression Xue Musheng would have after he saw the small Loach Pendant.

“Mrs. Tangyue is experienced and knowledgeable, perhaps she knows the reason behind this.” Mo Fan knew that him being blindly anxious would be of no use, so he hastily sought some help.

Mrs. Tangyue was Mo Fan’s number one choice. After that time when Mrs. Tangyue had seen through the schemes of Mu He and Mu Bai, Mo Fan and she had established a deep teacher to student trust.

……

“Mrs. Tangyue, are you sleeping?” Mo Fan called Mrs. Tangyue’s phone.

“I just changed into my pajamas, about to sleep. Tell me what you want,” a sexy and gentle voice floated back to him. Mo Fan couldn’t help but wonder about Mrs. Tangyue’s amazing appearance when wearing a transparent night gown.

“My Stardust Magic Tool seem to have a small problem, I don’t know what to do right now, I could only call Mrs. Tangyue to consult.” Mo Fan assumed a pitiful student’s demeanor.

“Where are you?” After hearing ‘Stardust Magic Tool’, Mrs. Tangyue seemed to turn somewhat serious.

The Stardust Magic Tool was the most precious item in the school. If there was a problem, then it would be big!

“The third building’s roof, on top of the dam.”

“Alright, give me three minutes.” Mrs. Tangyue quickly hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Mo Fan began to think to himself, _Three minutes. How could Mrs. Tangyue possibly come here from the teacher’s dormitory? Even if Zhang Xiaohou were to use Wind Trail, I reckon he’d need five minutes._

What’s more, Mo Fan didn’t think that Mrs. Tangyue would come here without changing her attire.

As Mo Fan was still indulging in his fantasies, a weak movement suddenly appeared on the pitch black roof.

This movement was extremely weak. If Mo Fan hadn’t carefully noticed it from the beginning, he would have not seen it. It didn’t seem to be an air fluctuations, nor was it the aura from elemental energy. The noiselessness caused him to feel somewhat terrified.

“Mo Fan?” At last, a gentle and beautiful voice floated over.

“It’s Mrs. Tangyue?” Mo Fan jumped in fright, hastily looking toward the open roof from his current location.

The moonlight sprinkled over the intersection of the water pipes on the old roof. The black cloud’s shadow was revealing a bright yet dark figure on the roof…

The first thing that entered Mo Fan’s vision was an indistinct silhouette emerging from the shadows. Immediately after, Mo Fan saw Mrs. Tangyue wearing a long, woman’s-../style coat coming out of the shadows of the dark clouds and into the area of moonlight.

It felt like Mrs. Tangyue had simply walked out of another door, extremely shocking!

“What kind of ability is this?” Mo Fan couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

He didn’t even hear footsteps from the corridor. Just how exactly did Mrs. Tangyue come to the roof, and emerge from the shadows?

“What’s wrong with your Stardust Magic Tool?” Mrs. Tangyue suddenly leapt down and landed on the dam.

The bright moon illuminated Mrs. Tangyue’s impressive physique, it made Mo Fan’s heart ripple.

“I don’t know either, I did everything according to what Xue Musheng said. I don’t know what happened, but the Stardust Magic Tool’s energy suddenly disappeared, and then…”

“And then what?”

Mo Fan was hesitating. He was wondering whether he should tell Mrs. Tangyue about the little Loach Pendant or not.

However, his understanding of this world was far too little, if he did not tell her about this matter, then Mrs. Tangyue might not believe him.

“And then the energy was transferred into my pendant,” Mo Fan told her.

Regardless of what it was, he should put trust in this teacher. On the one hand, it was very likely that Tangyue would see through him. On the other hand, he didn’t know how to explain this whole matter to the school.

Him slandering Mu Zhuoyun, the school would turn a blind eye to.

However, breaking the Stardust Magic Tool, that would give Mu He enough of a reason to kick him out of Tian Lan Magic High.

“You’re saying…that the Stardust Magic Tool given to you by the school has had its energy transferred to your pendant??” Tangyue widened her bright eyes as she revealed a somewhat disbelieving expression.

“Yes,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Where did your pendant come from?” Tangyue’s expression had an obvious change.

“Heritage,” Mo Fan replied.

Tangyue immediately turned silent. Furthermore, she used her intelligent eyes to look at Mo Fan and then at his pendant.

“Have you told this matter to anyone else?” Tangyue’s expression was very serious as she said this to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan couldn’t help but feel startled. This was like a classic tv show where they’d murder someone for their belongings. Seeing the surroundings, the weather, the dark night, a certain student couldn’t handle the pressure of studying magic, thus, he jumped off the roof. Wasn’t everything conforming to the script?

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“N-not yet,” Mo Fan replied.

_I’ll have to resign myself to my fate. If my judgement is really that bad, then having who I thought to be the reliable Mrs. Tangyue help me with this problem, I get whatever I deserve._

“Your pendant is also a Stardust Magic Tool.” At last, Mrs Tangyue opened her mouth.

“Mhm,” Mo Fan listened sincerely.

“However, it is different from the Stardust Magic Tool we usually see; it is a growth-type Stardust Magic Tool,” Mrs. Tangyue said with a severe gaze.

“Growth-type Stardust Magic Tool??” Mo Fan had never ever heard of this concept before. If you were to talk about embedding an attribute via a gem, he would understand that theory as there was lots of it in games…

“This Stardust Magic Tool is an absolute gem under the heavens. This is due to it originally having the same function as other Stardust Magic Tools, but it is also capable of growing. It is able to absorb the magical energy from other Stardust Magic Tools in order to boost its own capabilities. After absorbing enough magical energies from other Stardust Magic Tools, it is able to raise its Spiritual level!” Mrs. Tangyue earnestly said to Mo Fan.

As Mo Fan heard this, he felt great waves rolling within his heart.

_A Stardust Magic Tool that is capable of growing???_

An extremely average Stardust Magic Tool was considered a treasure by both the school and ancient families. Even an incomparably preeminent student would need to take turns to use it, it only showed how precious and rare they were.

A Spirit grade Stardust Magic Tool possessed twice the efficiency of a common grade Stardust Magic Tool. Mu Bai also said that within all of Bo City, one could find very few of them. One of the known ones was in Mu Ningxue’s possession.

One wouldn’t need to guess to know that it is most likely a treasure of the Mu Family!

The little Loach Pendant actually possessed the ability to grow itself into a treasure of that level.

_This… this…_

Mo Fan had roughly guessed that this might be an incredible item, but he never thought that it would be incredible to that extent!

_Shit!_

_Shit!!!_

With this kind of treasure, even a person with principles would feel jealous and kill another for the item.

According to what people said, it was common for Magicians to fight over a treasure!

At the moment he was only a small Magician. If Mrs. Tangyue really were to have a change of heart…then the news tomorrow really would have the story ‘A certain genius from Tian Lan Magic High jumped off the roof due to the pressure from school. More on page Two.’

“Mrs .Tangyue, I feel like a small Magician such as myself is unable to manage a thing so precious. I’ll give it to you so you can research it…” Mo Fan wasn’t a fool; thus, he immediately said this sincerely.

Even if Mrs. Tangyue appeared to be a very righteous person, a person’s character was very hard to predict. Mo Fan wasn’t childish enough to think that Mrs. Tangyue wasn’t a bad person just because she’s pretty.

“Psh~,” Tangyue immediately started to laugh at what Mo Fan had said. The lovely scene of her laughing was touchingly beautiful.

Mo Fan’s expression was blank. He didn’t know what he did to make a beauty like Tangyue laugh like that.

“Mo Fan, on the day of the annual examination, when you righteously slandered Mu Zhuoyun from that small family, I thought you were a firm and unyielding man. Just now, I was thinking about confiscating your particular treasure; after all, it is not something a small magician like you is able to manage. However, I never thought that the firm and unyielding you would hand it over; that really makes my impression of you take a one-eighty degree turn.” Mrs. Tangyue’s laugh seemed like a peach blossom to the ear.

Mo Fan awkwardly laughed.

_An unyielding character is only worth so little, a life is more important._

Scolding Mu Zhuoyun, Mo Fan was well aware of the consequences.

If one were to integrate themselves into this society, one couldn’t be so naive and stupid. Whether it was the science society or the magic society, maturing early, what’s so bad about it?

“Then, Mrs. Tangyue, how do you plan on solving this?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Alright, I know you are very reluctant to part with it. It’s good that you told me about this. If it was any other teacher, they really would pull something disadvantageous to you in order to stand above thousands of others,” Tangyue’s smile faded as she spoke seriously.

Mo Fan’s eyes shone. It seemed like he floated the right way this time. This Mrs. Tangyue really was different from the other Magic teachers who seemed to be righteous, but were something else on the inside.

“First, you cannot tell anyone about it being a growth-type Stardust Magic Tool… Eh, I reckon with your intelligence, you wouldn’t tell anyone else, anyway. Second, it’s not because I’m not interested in your growth-type Stardust Magic Tool, but it is because the Stardust Magic Tool is somewhat special. It seems like it has a trace of an unbroken spiritual link with you,” Mrs. Tangyue told Mo Fan honestly.

_Wow, this thing was a binding equipment?_

Mo Fan really felt baffled. No wonder why every time he tried to remove the Loach Pendant, an indescribable resistance arose.

“Lastly, the growth-type Stardust Magic Tool needs to grow. It uses Spirit Essence and other Stardust Magic Tools as fuel. Currently, it is only a common grade Stardust Magic Tool. Despite the Pendant being equipped with the ability to grow, whether it really will grow is hard to say. Or, the resources it requires to grow might be much larger than a Spirit grade Stardust Magic Tool. In that sense, your inherited family treasure might be no different than a trash grade tool,” Tangyue said.

Mo Fan nodded his head and thought a bit before asking, “Mrs. Tangyue, what is Soul Essence?”

“At the moment a Magical Beast dies, its soul will leave its physical body. A soul leaving the body becomes a Spirit after its life has ended. If the soul remains in the body after death, then it will emit a special Spirit radiance. That type of soul after death would be ten times more pure than a common soul, and is called a Spirit Essence. A Spirit Essence is an important material for refining a Stardust Magic Tool.” As expected of a teacher, her easy explanation made Mo Fan have an urge to write it down.

“Basically, if I wanted to make it grow, then the best way would be to collect Spirit Essence. Alright, I better hurry up and increase my strength so I can go kill some Magical Beasts and collect Spirit Essences!” Mo Fan said enthusiastically.

“Mhm,” Tangyue nodded, followed by saying, “Hurry and collect them, remember to send me a Wechat location before you die. I will go to the Magical Beast’s stomach to retrieve your skeleton and the growth Magic Tool.”

The corner of Mo Fan’s mouth stretched, he didn’t know how to reply to that.

“Give me the broken Stardust Magic Tool that was given to you by the school, I’ll settle this matter for you. This is me helping you privately, so just look it as you owing me one.” Mrs. Tangyue wasn’t joking as she said this.

“Thank you, Mrs. Tangyue. If I can be of use in the future, don’t hesitate to tell me!” Mo Fan replied.

Asking Mrs. Tangyue for help was indeed not bad, the most headache inducing problem had been solved by her.

As long as I don’t get expelled by the school, then I’m alright. Also… the Little Loach Pendant obtaining the energy of the Stardust Magic Tool signifies that I’ll be able to use it permanently!

That was amazing!

People like Mu Bai and Xu Zhaoting would only be able to use the Stardust Magic Tool for a month, and even that Yu Ang who was going to have a duel with Mo Fan would only be allowed to use his for half a year. Mo Fan himself would be able to use it non-stop for a whole year, his cultivation would surpass them by a whole street!!

He couldn’t help but give the Little Loach Pendant a kiss!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“I guess that after you’ve tasted the benefits the Stardust Magic Tool will bring you, you will helplessly want to go and collect the Spiritual Essences. When the quarter of your school time has ended, we will bring you to the outside of the city for two months of practical experience. When the time comes for you to meet a real Magical Beast, you will forget about the idea you have today,” Mrs. Tangyue said.

“Practical experience??” Mo Fan had never heard of this thing. Was this possibly the legendary High School Military Drill?

“Every Magician needs to experience this day. We don’t nurture Magicians so they can stay home and live like princesses, nor is it for you to compete against one another. It is for you to stand off against Magical Beasts during crucial times. The practical experience is a significant test of the student’s temperament,” Mrs. Tangyue explained.

“I will treat this seriously.”

“No.” Tangyue said, “The practical experience isn’t an exam. I only wish for you and other students to calm yourselves when you encounter a problem and ponder how you’re going to survive it,” Tangyue said with an earnestly profound manner.

After Mrs. Tangyue said this, she turned around to leave. When Mo Fan was about to ask for more details, he realized her curvy body had slowly merged with the area where the moonlight didn’t shine. A heartbeat later, there were no more traces of Tangyue.

Mo Fan was able to see everything very clearly this time.

She really merged with the darkness. Her entire being disappeared as though she was never here.

Mo Fan hastily jumped down from the dam and poked his head out of the railings of the roof.

What made Mo Fan’s shocked was the fact that Mrs. Tangyue had gone from the roof of the eight floor tall school building and was already on the ground, treading with slow and light footsteps toward the teacher’s dormitory. The gloomy moonlight stretched her shadow out, making her look like a proud night fairy.

As Mrs. Tangyue entered the shadow of a messy tree, she suddenly disappeared once again from his line of sight, and he was no longer able to find this mysterious female teacher in the dreary night.

Just what kind of skill was that?

Out of all of the Elements that Mo Fan knew of, only the Wind Element was able to use Wind Trail to move swiftly. That fact alone made Mo Fan think it was amazing, but Mrs. Tangyue used magic that he didn’t know anything about. It practically let her enter the shadows to move swiftly.

_That is just too cool, I wonder when I can learn this?_

Speaking of which, this Mrs. Tangyue didn’t seem normal.

According to the rumors, one would have to reach Intermediate-level Magician to awaken a second Element. In other words, Mrs. Tangyue was at least an Intermediate-level Magician.

No wonder why Mrs. Tangyue was able to surpass so many other qualified and older Practical Teachers. For most people, an Intermediate-level Magician had already reached the peak Heaven level!

_It seems like Mrs. Tangyue is actually a very thick thigh…I will have to hold onto it tightly!_

——

“Did you hear? After our quarter of cultivation time has ended, we will begin the Magician’s Practical Experience.”

“What is the Magician’s Practical Experience?”

“Basically, we’re going to the areas outside of the city.”

“No way, ever since I was a child, I’ve heard those areas have Magical Beasts that eat people, I’m not going.”

“You have to go. This Practical Experience is related to our admittance to University, it is the equivalent of a very important subject.”

“It’s just Practical Experience, what is there to be afraid of? We’re Magicians, even if we were to encounter a Magical Beast, we can just use Ice Spread to freeze it into an ice statue.”

“However, I heard Magical Beasts are really strong. Didn’t the Magical Beast teacher always stress about how we should never face a Magical Beast by ourselves?”

Just like what Mrs. Tangyue said, after the end of their quarter of cultivation time, they immediately welcomed a cruel Practical Experience. If it went as planned, then they would meet a genuine Magical Beast.

There had always been a Magical Beast class, and who knows how many years the teachers had been talking about them. However, for the students had never met a genuine Magical Beast, even if they were to secretly watch a video of them on the internet, there was no difference to them between that and watching a Godzilla movie.

This time, the students would finally get to meet a genuine Magical Beast. As soon as the news hit, it could be said that the entire school began to discuss this matter.

The Practical Experience began with the Elite class.

All of the students of the Elite class were basically able to control seven stars after the end of the annual examination. Currently, it had been more than half a year. Thus, every single one of them should be able to expertly control their elemental skill.

The school would let the students who could grasp their Magical Skills participate in the Practical Experience. If a common person were to encounter a Magical Beast, they wouldn’t even have a bit of ability to retaliate.

——

The time passed by quickly. Mo Fan relied on his Little Loach Pendant to cultivate his Lightning and Fire stars to more than five times their original levels.

He was able to cast both Lightning Strike and Fire Burst skillfully.

He was able to practice Fire Burst openly in school now, and thus the casting speed of his Fire Burst had gotten even faster; roughly three seconds was enough for him to cast it now. As for Lightning Strike, he would need about four seconds.

Currently, most of the students in the Elite class would require five to ten seconds to use a Magic Spell. Thus, Mo Fan was far above them in terms of spellcasting.

The entire Elite class had a total of 100 people, they would be divided into five groups with roughly twenty students in each.

There would be a teacher with them, as well as two other military instructors.

Every group had its own bus. Thus, the five school buses began to drive toward the outer areas of the city with groups of young magicians.

The place they were going to this time had more or less been decided; they would be going to the Snowy Peak Mountain station.

The Snowy Peak Mountain was an important goods stronghold for the hunters of Hunter’s Union and Bo City. The entire stronghold was constructed in the middle of a valley.

“Do you remember when I told you that the stations in Bo City’s surroundings are the boundaries of the safe area? The areas outside of the stations may have a Magical Beast appearing; thus, before you have the abilities to face off against a Magical Beast, make sure you never step out of the safe areas or else you’ll become a pile of skeletons!” the Magical Beast Teacher, Zhang Jianguo told them strongly.

“That’s right. Within the area of the station, we, The Hunter’s Union, and the Magic Association, as well as other large Ancient Families, assign someone to patrol daily and set up warnings. There will definitely not be any Magical Beasts entering the residential areas of humans. However, the capabilities of us Magicians are also limited. Thus, the only places we are able to protect are within the boundaries of the stations. We are powerless outside of the stations; after all, even if we have stronger Magicians, we are unable to eradicate the Magical Beasts hiding under all the complicated and difficult terrains,” the third hunter’s group’s captain, Luo Yunbo, stated.

Luo Yunbo was a tanned and very handsome man. After the girls in the groups saw Captain Luo Yunbo, their eyes began to sparkle; it was like the girls were worshipping and infatuated with the handsome military instructor.

Luo Yunbo was the military instructor who guided the team this time.

The assistant military instructor was a woman named Pan Lijun. She was a tanned, capable, and vigorous type. There was a huge difference between her and the female Magicians from the campus.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

As they sat on the bus, they passed through the wasteland of the outer regions of the city. In just moments of time, mountain forest appeared in everyone’s sight.

The Mountain forest was very green, deep, and its vicinity was luxuriant, sturdy, and vigorous. Weeds were growing, the distant mountain peak was uneven and the clouds were thick.

“Do you see it? This lonely and mighty mountain is the Snowy Peak Mountain, and also the border of our Bo City.

“Our Bo City counts as a medium-sized city. At the front-line Magic Cities, Empires, and large Demonic Cities, their safe borders wouldn’t be called just a station, or even a small stronghold,” said the assistant Military instructor, Pan Lijun, whose hair was only the length of a forefinger.

“Speaking of which, since you guys regularly have contact with Magical Beasts, then that means you must be Intermediate-level Magicians?” Wang Sanpang said.

“Intermediate?” Pan Lijun swept her gaze across Wang Sanpang as she ridiculed him, “Why would Intermediate-level Magicians guide you little brats around?”

As Wang Sanpang heard this, he got upset and whispered, “Then you guys are just Primary-level Magicians, that’s nothing to brag about.”

As Wang Sanpang said what everyone was thinking, the two military instructors began to laugh simultaneously. It was evident that they thought Wang Sanpang’s words were far too childish.

……

As the bus entered the mountain, they had been on the road for more than half a day.

Mo Fan wasn’t leisurely sitting around for more than half a day. He was maintaining his meditation at the very back of the bus.

He and the bus were fated. When he had completed connecting seven stars and Lightning Strike, he was also on the bus.

This time, Mo Fan felt like his Fire element had touched upon something.

The Little Loach Pendant was like a Stardust Magic Tool, it allowed Mo Fan’s cultivation time to hugely upgrade. It has been a year since the annual examination, and Mo Fan realized that not only had his Stardust become tremendously bright, but the stars within the Fire element Stardust had gone through a huge change.

In the past, the star’s radiance would be occasionally bright and occasionally dark. Currently, the star’s radiance could be said to be extremely steady.

It was said that when the stars’ brilliance began to transform, its ability to conduct Magic would also improve. A Spell’s effect and might would also follow this change and strengthen!

He spent the entire second year of high school increasing this.

_I wonder what kind of might the next level of Fire Burst will possess, I can’t wait!_

……

At last, they finally arrived at the Snowy Peak Mountain Station.

Although they said it was a small stronghold, this place wasn’t just some crude village.

The stronghold station used the incomparably precipitous cliff as its sides. The cliffs were at least a hundred meters high, you could only see the sky if you were to fully tilt your head backwards.

The cliffs on the two sides formed a natural wall. Additionally, the front and the back of the valley road had two colossal stone doors locked down. The entire stronghold station was just like a small fort garrison within the valley.

“So this is the Snowy Peak Mountain stronghold. It is said that other than the high-leveled flying type Magical Beasts, as well as those that have a climbing ability, this Snowy Peak Mountain fort garrison can obstruct the absolute majority of the evil creatures that are doing bad deeds from the safety zone. Moreover, due to the Snowy Peak Mountain station, we haven’t had any frightening reports about people being hurt within the safety zone for many years.” Zhang Jianguo walked out of the bus as he looked at the large protective stone doors. He couldn’t help but feel deeply moved.

“Teacher, I heard that this protective stone door is made by our Bo City’s Construction Master, Earth element Magician Zhang Yuheng. No magic beneath the Intermediate-level is capable of moving it?” The young lady Ba Zhoumin asked while being the good student she was.

“That’s right. The stone door seems a bit old, but the truth is that its firmness is no way inferior to steel.” Zhang Jianguo walked in the front, holding in his hands a flag for the third group. He looked like a tour guide who was taking the students on a walk around an ancient city.

Not long after, the other four groups buses arrived in succession. The one hundred elite students of Tian Lan Magic High stood together beneath the tall and sturdy stone door.

On the two sides of the stone gate were two sentries. Amongst them was a Battlemage who didn’t wear his uniform; he was leisurely playing with the flame in his hands. The small flame was like an obedient pet; moving actively within his hands. Occasionally, it would float around his body, it seemed wonderfully graceful.

As Mo Fan noticed this, he was amazed.

From the way he was playing with the fire, Mo Fan could tell that the man was far more skilled than he was. He began wondering how much stronger the plain-clothed Battlemage’s Fire Burst skill would be compared to his own.

“Hey, Boss Zhankong, how come you’re assigned to this post today?” Luo Yunbo raised his head as he smiled toward the Fire Mage who was fiddling with flames.

“I have nothing to do. I heard there would be some high school girls coming here today, so I specifically came here to check it out myself.” The man called Zhankong didn’t hide his characteristics as he smiled to himself.

On the side, Zhoumin pursed her small brows. It was because she could already feel this Magician called Zhankong was already gazing at her as he checked her out.

“So handsome.”

“Yeah, you simply can’t compare the little brats from our school with him, he has such a manly aura to him.”

“And he’s also very honest.”

The few infatuated girls in the class could no longer maintain their calm and immediately began to chatter continuously.

“Little girl, don’t crease your brow toward our Boss Zhankong. He is one of the rare experts here.” A voice that sounded as though she didn’t like guiding the students came from the Vice Captain, Pan Lijun, and in her voice was a slight note of adoration for Zhankong.

“I’ve heard of the name Zhankong. Isn’t that the Fire Magician who slaughtered the most amount of Magical Beasts in the Snowy Peak Mountain station?” Zhang Jianguo immediately raised his head as he loudly said, “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“He has only killed off a few Magical Beasts, what’s so impressive about that,” Wang Sanpang said.

“It is indeed not impressive. When Deng Kai proposed the idea of having you students come here for practicals, I did reject it…” the handsome mustachioed Zhankong said.

“The warning from a year ago has passed, currently, there won’t be any problem. As a Mage, you still need this practical no matter what. You can’t just extend it just because of a warning from a year ago,” Zhang Jianguo said.

“I don’t really mind as long as you don’t let the students wander around. I don’t wanna see this fine and delicate beautiful girl being eaten by a One-eyed Magic Wolf,” Zhankong said with a hearty laugh.

Zhang Jianguo smiled awkwardly.

The other person was a genuine expert. Even if he were to assail a woman with obscenities, he, a teacher, was unable to do anything.

The warning from a year ago?

Mo Fan had heard of this matter from Little Aunt. However, as Mo Fan had spent most of his time within the ivory tower of the school, the dangerous matters that occured in the outside world were unknown to him.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

The entry and exit was clearly within the hands of the man called Zhankong. As the hundred Elite students exited the bus, they all began entering the Snowy Peak Mountain’s stronghold.

The stronghold was very simple, with only a single main road. On the main road were many shops and vendors, it was virtually no different than the market place for a town.

The only difference was that they didn’t sell chicken, duck, or fish meat. They sold the necessities required for a Mage’s battles and cultivation.

“Come, come, top-rate Magic Boot Equipment. Let me tell you, this is some good stuff. Do you know what the fastest Magical Beast is?… That’s right, it is made of the skin of a Speed Beast’s hind legs, with the Wind Trail magic pattern. It also has a pure wind stone increasing its energy. If you were to run using this…you’ll definitely cause the One-eyed Magic Wolf to stare helplessly. If you were to buy this, I will give it to you with a discount, seeing how you and this treasure have interlinked fate.”

“Second Baldy, stop bullshitting. How can this thing be called Magic Equipment? Any random Nike would be be better than your pair.”

“Bullshit! We lost two people killing a Speed Beast, and I was awarded the skin of the hind legs. It’s definitely a genuine pair of Magic Boots Equipment!” The Second Baldy immediately began a dispute with the person who made fun of him.

Further up was a vendor, and they had Magic Stones of all colors.

‘Magic Stones’ were very simple. They were produced when the elements – Fire, Wind, Lightning or Earth – were dense, producing an extraordinary stone. Inhabiting these stones was energy similar to the Magic powers within a Magician’s Stardust. Although they couldn’t be directly used by Magicians, they could still be used by embedding them into Magic Tools and Magic Equipment to supply them with constant energy.

This knowledge has already been discussed by the teacher during class, and Mo Fan had earnestly listened to it at the time.

They had said that that on many occasions, the purified Magic Stones could also be used as a currency.

The consumption rate of the Magic Stones was colossal; in fact, it was the equivalent of a power source in the scientific world.

Mo Fan originally thought the mobile, computers, and household appliances used freaking electricity. After that lesson, he understood that the power plants here weren’t some water conservancy that supplied electricity, nor some windmill network, but instead used Lightning Magic Stones.

There’s nothing he could do about it. The Light element originating from Edison was something Mo Fan had to accept. Apart from this, Watt, the one who invented the steam machines and helped the entire world enter an Industrial Revolution…that’s right, he was a Fire Magician. The theory behind the Steam machine was a Fire Magic Diagram. They used the Fire Magic Stone as the power source.

That is why this world didn’t have oil, hydroelectric power, or electrical energy. They relied on these Magic Stones to survive!

And where did the Magic Stones come from?

Naturally, they came from nature!

The cruel thing is, the Magical Beasts also needed the Magic Stones. The Magic Stones were their most important food, and were a vital source of energy to becoming stronger.

Thus, when the humans were searching for, digging up, and gathering Magic Stones, their biggest obstacle wasn’t the nature, but the Magical Beasts who also relied on Magic Stones to survive.

Magical Beasts were instinctively hostile toward humans.

Think about it. All of the Magical Equipment within the city was simply food to a Magical Beasts. Additionally, humans had always been their prey, which is why human Magicians and the Magical Beasts had never ceased their battles against each other.

Perhaps this was the biggest difference between the original world and the current Magical World.

In the original world, the humans held a governing position. If they wanted to sweep things away, all they needed to do was send a guided missile.

However, in the world of Magic, explosive weapons didn’t exist, there were only Magicians.

Perhaps heavy explosive weapons would be unable to achieve their goal, and the Magical Beasts would occupy even more territory.

The majority of humans could only live in cities. A city needed the protection of Magicians.

This was also the reason why a Magician’s status would always be higher than commoners. Not only do they possess a mighty power, but they also had a divine mission!

……

“Brother Fan, on the Practicals this time, we must properly show ourselves off. I’ve heard the Practical’s grades are directly related to our admission to University; It occupies 20% of the total admission grade!” Zhang Xiaohou said to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nodded.

Their homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng, had already mentioned this matter.

The Practicals were basically a part of the ‘High School Exams’. This is because the grades were set by the military, which is to say the military head of this practical exercise.

The evaluation of the Head Military Instructor would be either C or A. This would directly decide whether the student Magicians would end up in a top-rate Magic University, or just a common Magic University!

The Imperial Institution which Mu Ningxue was in at the moment would require the students to reach an A before they would bother to recruit them.

Mo Fan had not resigned himself to staying in a small place like Bo City. Besides, the higher tiered Magic could only be learned in larger cities and Universities.

On the practicals this time, he also wanted to attain a grade of A or higher. Only this way would he have the right to enter Universities of the same level as an Imperial Institution.

“These Military instructors have been bribed by the school. Even if you were to waste your time here for two months, they’d at least give you B or C. That’s why, there’s no need to worry,” Wang Sanpang came over by chance as he said with a smile.

“That’s right, it was like the previous sessions as well.” Another student who knew of the internal stories also nodded his head.

“That’s about right. The school definitely hopes for the Military instructors to give them a higher grade.”

“Gather in the plaza.”

“Gathering!”

After Luo Yunbo loudly shouted, all the students began to quickly gather within the central plaza of the Snowy Peak Mountain stronghold.

The number of people could be said to be of no small amount, there were a hundred of them in all. They all wore the uniform of Tian Lan Magic High.

After all of the students had properly lined up, they quickly attracted the attention of the Magicians stationed around the stronghold. They slowly gathered to surround the students. Each one of them seemed to be engrossed, their faces showing an exceptional sneer.

“Come and check this out, it’s a new group of interns, hahaha. We can once again see the newbies make a fool out of themselves,” a man with a sharp face like a rat said.

“Exactly. The period of time where the interns are here are the most lively period of time in this stronghold. Guess which one of these interns will be scared to the point where they pee their pants?” a man who looked like the officer of a small Hunter’s squad said as he stuck his head out.

“I guess there’ll be at least 30!”

“Then the rest of the 70 will be scared until they faint?”

The students formed a formation on the plaza, but they could easily hear the voices of the veterans of the stronghold.

Most of them had a look that made them seem as if they took pleasure in seeing other people’s misfortune. They definitely did not try to cover up their disdain toward the students.

The hundred Elite students were divided into five groups, and there were twenty people in each of the five groups. In the front stood two military instructors and one Practical class teacher.

“Head Military Instructor!”

“The Head Military Instructor has come!”

Not long after, a group of Battlemages wearing uniforms neatly walked to the front of the gathered students, and one could feel a certain prestige emitted from their aura.

Leading these people was unexpectedly the mustache uncle who was playing with the flames by the sentry, Zhankong.

Zhankong still had that superior appearance. As the Head Military Instructor, his unorganized appearance actually caused people to think otherwise.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Hello everyone, I am the Chief Military instructor of your Practicals, Zhankong. You should consider yourselves lucky because you are the first group of examinees that have come here since I’ve taken charge,” the Chief Military Instructor, Zhankong said.

The students were standing there with their back straight, none of them dared to say a word.

In the past, they’d only interacted with teachers. The knowledge the teachers could impart to everyone was abundant, but it was only theories and data. The Battlemages had remnant auras from killing Magical Beasts! This students who had never seen this aspect of the world were not rash, despite the Chief Military Instructor called Zhankong seeming gentle.

“Don’t worry, you are the first Practical students that I will be responsible for. In order for you to smoothly pass the Practicals that directly influences your high school examinations, I will give you all a special treatment!” Zhankong said with a loud voice.

Not being able to pass the practical examination, or getting a low score will influence the grades by a lot! It’s possible that their fate would greatly change due to the assessment of the Practicals this time.

“I understand that you are all the most outstanding young magicians of our Bo City, and I also believe you possess the required strength to pass the Practical Examination this time…Thus, the Practicals this time will be extremely easy,” Zhankong said harmlessly.

At this moment, Luo Yunbo and Pan Lijun couldn’t help but crease their foreheads. Whenever he revealed this kind of smile, it wouldn’t be a good thing!

“I just received a bounty, and the difficulty is of the lowest level. There’s 100 Magicians in total from the school right… How about this. If any of the squad, or individual amongst you 100 people are able to complete this bounty, then you will pass the entire Practical assessment, and acquire grade A,” Zhankong said.

Before Zhankong could finish his sentence, an uproar occurred within the small stronghold.

The ones most excited were naturally the one hundred practical students.

They had heard their senior brothers and sisters mention the matters regarding Practicals. All they needed to do is to waste time at the station and not provoke the instructors, and they’ll basically pass. If you performed well, you could get a B, and an A wouldn’t be much of a problem.

However, they’d never heard of something like clearing a bounty?

Bounties, aren’t these the special missions undertaken by the full-grown Mage squads that are looking for the high reward!

Within the plaza, even the hunters who had been at the station for a long time couldn’t calm themselves.

What kind of situation was this?

Letting these students undertake the Bounty missions?

That was retarded. Even our full-fledged Mage Hunting Squads, are unable to succeed, and now these immature and inexperienced students are supposed to finish it?

“What if none of us are able to finish this mission?” Xu Zhaoting, who was standing further to the front, asked.

“Then no one will pass.” Zhankong replied indifferently.

All the students and teachers were unable to remain calm after hearing these words.

“Chief Military Instructor, you might as well fail us all!” At this moment, class representative Zhoumin stood up as she was at the end of her patience.

“Yeah, there’s no difference between that and failing us right now!”

Zhang Jianguo, Xue Musheng, Tangyue, and Chen Weiliang, the teacher’s expressions were also exceedingly concerned.

What was with this situation? Didn’t they already bribe them, so why is this Zhankong not playing according to the rules?

A bounty, was this really something the students were able to do?

“How is it inappropriate? Why don’t you go and find your school director, Deng Kai. Either way, it won’t be easy for you to receive high grades from me. Since Tian Lan Magic High is the best public high school in Bo City, then you shouldn’t have brought a group of wastes here for Practicals. Besides, if all you’re planning on doing is wasting your time here, then you might as well go back to school and read Magic books. What’s the freaking use of bribery, it’d be good if that didn’t happen. That way, you wouldn’t come to a station where danger lurks everywhere!” Zhankong’s tone suddenly turned serious. Just now, he had a gentle appearance; but in a flash, he turned into a fiend.

_Brought a group of wastes for Practicals?_

Those words struck the hearts of the students fiercely.

“Chief Military Instructor, the examination you used is a bit too much. From what I know, any random Bounty would require a squadron that has been polishing their skills in the outside world for at least three to five years to successfully complete…” Teacher Zhang Jianguo said with lack a of confidence.

“You have one hundred people. If you can’t even finish a bounty mission, then the wastes you mediocre teachers have raised would leave me very disappointed. Are they even Elite students?” Chief Military Instructor Zhankong replied with no trace of politeness.

As Zhang Jianguo heard this, his face turned green and white.

This instructor had something wrong with his head. Let’s not even mention him issuing an impossible mission, he even slandered all of the teachers and students of Tian Lan Magic High!

“Naturally, for the squadron or person that successfully completes the bounty, I will personally gift a reward. This reward is a piece of Defensive Magic Equipment,” continued Zhankong as he raised his voice.

As soon the words ‘Defensive Magic Equipment’ were mentioned, the veteran Hunters outside of the plaza suddenly got excited.

“Shit, awarding some Defensive Magic Equipment?”

“Boss Zhankong, don’t do it. Why don’t you give that opportunity to us, we promise we will be able to smoothly accomplish the mission.”

“Yeah, we are just in need of a piece of Defensive Magic Equipment. That life-saving thing should definitely be given to us.”

“Allow us to have a fair competition with these students, Boss Zhankong, we also want the Magic Equipment!”

In a flash, the small Hunter squadrons outside of the plaza were suddenly shouting out all this.

Magic Equipment!

Magical Equipment was something that connected with your soul. With your thoughts you were able to activate it, and it would quickly transform into its genuine form. It would then become gear that would assist you in battles.

They were just like the Boot Magic Equipment the Second Baldy tried to sell. Only after you wore and activated it would the speed of your body substantially increase. If you really were to meet a foe that you couldn’t fight against, then the Boot Magic Equipment would be a life-saving item.

Additionally, if their body were to have increased speed during combat, then it could substantially increase the Magician’s combat power.

Defensive Magic Equipment. It was a special type of equipment that was able to directly morph into a Shield or Armor. At a crucial time, it could block the attack of a Magical Beast, and thus was also a form of lifeguarding equipment.

Although the Magic Equipment’s price wasn’t as high as a Stardust Magic Tool, to people like Hunters who risked their life everyday in the outside world, it was treated like Divine Equipment. What was more valuable than life?

“Shit, that’s some good stuff. From what I know, a common Defensive Magic Tool would end up being priced at several thousand yuan!

“No wonder these hunters are going crazy. This kind of money-bustling thing unexpectedly become the reward of the Practical for these immature and inexperienced students.”

“The question is, can those students obtain it?”

“You’re right. The bounties are usually really difficult, and even the veteran Magicians can occasionally be caught in life-threatening situations.”

Mo Fan was still a stranger towards Magic Equipment, but if you were to convert the Magic Equipments into currency, then he would understand perfectly!

Even the most common Magic Equipment was worth a good thousand yuan! _Shit, this daddy has never seen that much money in his life before!_

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

_Ten days later…_

Beneath the exuberant forest, on a curvy mountain path, a squad of twenty students wearing the uniform of Tian Lan Magic High stood near a mountain cliff…

No matter how much they complained and felt dissatisfied, they still trod upon the road of Bounty.

Ten days had passed in the blink of an eye.

In these ten days, they’d been advancing through obstacles, passing through large mountains and jungle. The bitterness they suffered was unbelievable.

“This freaking Chief Military instructor, I really want to curse him for sending us to such a sly place.” Wang Sanpang gasped for breath as he sat his butt down, while fanning himself with his cap.

“Yeah, freaking crap. Speaking of which, how have we not finished the 30 kilometers yet, isn’t this the tenth day?” Zhang Shuhua with the giraffe neck asked.

“The thirty kilometers is the distance if it was a straight line. We have had to climb hills, cross valleys, and take detours around mountains. This kind of road is more than 30 kilometers,” Zhang Xiaohou explained.

The squad Mo Fan was in had a total of twenty people. The Practical Mission needed to be completed by students, and thus no teachers were leading the squads, nor were any military instructors following. All they were given was a map to use.

The hardship of the journey for the past few days caused everyone to look like primitives, their faces were covered in filth and they were dripping with sweat.

“After crossing this river valley, we shouldn’t be too far from the Hundred Grass Valley that Chief Military Instructor mentioned,” class representative Zhoumin said as she held the map.

“Shit, how are we supposed to pass this river valley? Flying? In any case, it is at least 10 meters wide!” Wang Sanpang was the first to call out.

At this moment, there was a cliff in front of them!

The cliff on the opposite side of the mountain was right in front of them. However, the rapid and surging river below was fearsome. The roaring sounds of the water splashing against the rocks were very clear!

“What do we do? We can’t just give up halfway there.”

“How about we just go home. There are still other groups, it’s possible that they could finish this…” Zhang Shuhua the giraffe neck said.

“You lack spirit, how can you place your hope on other people?!” Zhoumin immediately reprimanded him.

“Then you tell us what to do. None of us are able to cross this cliff,” Zhang Shuhua complained.

“Oh right, Zhang Yinglu, aren’t you a Wind Magician, why don’t you try jumping over?” In this moment, Xu Zhaoting looked toward a girl with ponytails beside him.

The girl called Zhang Yinglu’s face immediately turned deathly pale as she shyly said, “N…no, I won’t jump. What if I fall?”

“We have ropes. The two cliffs have trees, as long as one person is able to directly jump to the other cliff on this valley and tie the ropes on the trees on the opposite side, then all of us will be able to use the ropes to cross over,” Zhoumin said, her eyes shining.

“Zhang Yinglu, don’t you want to get an A? You are jumping with a rope, even if you aren’t able to jump over, we are still able to pull you up. It’s only bungee jumping,” Xu Zhaoting continued.

“I don’t want to!” Zhang Yinglu was clearly a cowardly girl.

“Shit, when we need you, a Wind Magician, you don’t comply. What kind of Magician are you?” another Water elemental girl said.

“Let’s not force someone to do something they don’t want to,” Zhoumin said.

As everyone was still confused as to what to do, Mo Fan glanced at Zhang Xiaohou to his side.

Zhang Xiaohou wasn’t a very outstanding student within the Elite class. Everyone habitually placed their hopes on Zhang Yinglu who had the highest score in the Wind element. However, Zhang Yinglu was just a girl, how could she possibly do something that might risk her life.

“Monkey, do you dare?” Mo Fan opened his mouth to ask.

“What is there to be afraid of!” Zhang Xiaohou slapped his chest.

“Good!”

Zhang Xiaohou stood up and said to Zhoumin, Xu Zhaoting, and Zhang Shuhua, “Tie the rope around me, I’ll do it.”

Zhang Shuhua and Xu Zhaoting revealed doubtful expressions as they checked out the not-particularly-impressive Zhang Xiaohou.

However, someone volunteering was still better than standing there worrying helplessly.

Zhoumin’s movements were quite swift, she quickly tied one end of the rope around Zhang Xiaohou’s waist.

“Make way, make way, give Zhang Xiahou room for running.”

The other people immediately gave Zhang Xiaohou thumbs up. There were numerous people standing by the cliff and trembling as the wind blew past. Who would have the courage to jump in this situation?!

“Monkey, don’t worry. If you aren’t able to jump across, I will pull you up.” Mo Fan tied the other end of the rope onto a tree trunk, and he also used both of his hands to firmly grab the rope!

Zhang Xiaohou smiled at Mo Fan’s straightforwardness.

As Zhang Xiaohou took a deep breath, he slowly closed his eyes. No one knew whether he was connecting the star paths or emboldening himself.

Suddenly, Zhang Xiaohou opened his eyes. His pupils emitted a green radiance.

An indescribable gale began to swirl around Zhang Xiaohou!

Under the intent control of Zhang Xiaohou, the gale turned into a Wind Trail leading toward the cliff from the hillside of the mountain.

This Trail was invisible. However, the dust it scattered around allowed people to clearly see the extraordinary wind passage!

“Wind Trail, Swift Current!”

As Zhang Xiaohou yelled out, the star trail radiance around his body achieved an extremely bright level!

_Swoosh~_

A burst of wind sounded, and their clothes began to flutter!

Zhang Xiaohou’s body turned into an indistinct shadow as it quickly passed through the wind passage which he had created, swiftly following the current within the Wind Trail. Zhang Xiaohou’s speed grew increasingly faster!

The hill didn’t pose any problem for Zhang Xiaohou.

“Jump! Jump quickly!”

Xu Zhaoting, Zhoumin and Zhang Shuhua the three of them were closely fixated on Zhang Xiaohou. That Wind elemental girl, Zhang Yinglu, who was too scared to jump opened her eyes even wider!

Zhang Xiaohou arrived at the edge of the cliff and jumped with all his force using his right foot. He shattered a rock by the cliff as his body simultaneously began to leap!

“Ohh!!”

In the mid-air, Zhang Xiaohou welcomed the whistling gale from the top of the valley, the wind was so powerful that his face almost deformed.

His body arced between the two cliffs as he approached the other side.

At this moment, Mo Fan tightly grasped the rope. If Zhang Xiaohou didn’t make it, the he would have to pull him or else he might crash into the rugged stones beneath the cliff!

The remaining nineteen people raised their heads up as they looked at the leaping Zhang Xiahou, all of them were worried.

At last, Zhang Xiaohou began to roll.

His foot heavily stomped onto the edge of the other cliff, his body continued rolling forwards.

_Boom!_

In the end, he still crashed into a large tree on the other side of the cliff as everyone on the opposite side stared blankly.

Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes were crossed as he immediately turned around to look at the students on the other side of the cliff with a simple and honest smile. His appearance at the time looked extremely funny.

Although his appearance seemed funny, the students’ impressions of Zhang Xiaohou were much better.

Twenty people, and among them, there were only about four Wind Magicians. The only one who dared to jump over was Zhang Xiaohou.

In this kind of situation, so what if the other Wind Magicians’ grades were better?

“Monkey, good job!” Mo Fan was the first to yell out.

Zhoumin, Zhang Shuhua, Wang Sanpang, and others immediately give Zhang Xiaohou a thumbs up.

“We’re coming over!” Xu Zhaoting was the first to climb the ropes.

The remaining nineteen people also successfully climbed over to the other side of the valley. This would be a success on the first test of Practicals because they had arrived at their destination, Hundred Grass Valley!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

After the three groups of twenty people passed by the valley, a man wearing a straw hat jumped down from a tree within the forest of the valley. Within his hand was a scoreboard!

After he had registered what he needed, he quickly left the forest and headed off to an empty meadow.

“All three of the groups have passed. Amongst them was a Wind elemental student named Zhang Xiaohou who has been exceptionally remarkable,” the straw hat guy said as he walked into a tent to the man inside it.

If the students were here, they would have been shocked as they discovered their Practical teachers as well as the military instructors were all there. They were all sitting comfortably, eating snacks, and drinking wine.

“Oh?” Zhankong creased his eyebrow.

From Zhankong’s impression, there was no Wind elemental student among them called Zhang Xiaohou that had a high cultivation.

Whatever, that was normal. Cultivation was just the foundation, the most important part of a Magician was actually their head and their courage!

“Note this name, we can give him a high grade,” Zhankong said toward assistant military instructor Pan Lijun seated next to him.

Pan Lijun nodded her head as she quickly noted Zhang Xiaohou’s name.

“Haha, you Battlemages of the stronghold sure know how to play,” Zhang Jianguo laughed.

“Yeah, first, we directly put the students on the great mountains and give them a sense of feeling they’d have no help whatsoever. And then, we discreetly follow them and find the more outstanding students during the process of them completing the mission and give them grades according to that… This idea couldn’t be any better!” Chen Weiliang also smiled.

“Yeah, compared to the idling from the past, this can clearly reflect a student’s quality,” Mrs. Tangyue also nodded in agreement.

If the hundred students who were slandered to the point where they’d sounded like trash knew about that their teachers teamed up with the instructors to do this, who knew what kind of faces they would reveal.

Teachers and the Military Instructors naturally couldn’t just ignore them. Currently, the things they were studying were indeed not enough for them to survive in the outer regions of the city. However, if they were not given an environment where they could experience the danger, then they would never be able to reach a state of surviving it. Thus, the best method would be treating them cruelly on the surface and then following them in secret. If there were any accidents, they could quickly lend a hand.

“Chief Zhankong, I was almost tricked by you. I thought you really were going to be heartless and not allow a single student to pass the Practicals,” Vice Military Instructor Pan Lijun said.

“You’re wrong there. Those who are useless during the Practicals will not pass,” Zhankong stated very directly.

“This…this is a bounty, there’s no way anyone is capable of completing it.”

“Yeah, I think it’s already exceedingly good for them to be able to pass through the Monster Vine region,” Chen Weiliang said.

“Naturally, if it was a real bounty, they would not be able to complete it. Let’s not even talk about them, even the Military Instructors here wouldn’t necessarily be able to complete it,” Zhankong said with a smile.

“Even Military Instructors wouldn’t necessarily be able to complete it? What does that mean?” Zhang Jianguo asked in puzzlement.

“It’s like this. Since we are making the den of the One-eyed Magic Wolf the destination for the students, we would have to ensure that there are no remnants of a One-eyed Magic Wolf. Thus, we placed a Summoner to guard the den. The Summoner Mage is actually the last test for the students. The den doesn’t actually have a Magical Beast, but there is a summoned beast…” Luo Yunbo said with a smile.

As the group of teachers listened to this, their eyes began to sparkle.

Chen Weiliang, the head of the teachers immediately began to clap his hands.

“Smart, very smart! This move is incredibly smart!”

Xue Musheng also violently nodded his head, “Yeah, we can’t let the students face a genuine Magical Beast yet, there would be numerous casualties. The practicals are for the students to temper their reactions towards a Magical Beast. If they don’t face a Magical Beast, then the impact of the Practical won’t be effective. Placing a Summoner Mage there and have him summon a Beast to play the role of a Magical Beast is extremely fitting. This way, they are able to reach the maximum efficiency of students facing a genuine Magical Beast, as well as guaranteeing their safety!

“I’m really thankful to you, Boss Zhankong, for coming up with such a wonderful Practical test. I believe the students will definitely reap a harvest this time!” Xue Musheng said with a slight smile.

“It’s my obligation.”

“Speaking of which, there’s only one summoned Beast. What if the students are more vicious than what we have imagined and defeat the summoned beasts with their combined force?” Mrs. Tangyue couldn’t help but ask.

“(sigh)., Mrs. Tangyue, you are thinking too much…In our twenty years of teaching at Tian Lan Magic High, there has never been a single student who has been able to properly cast their magic on their first meeting with a Magical Beast. If we were to take a step back, even if they are able to cast their Magic spells, these students are only able to cast their Primary skill, which cannot wound the muscles of a summoned Beast,” Zhang Jianguo said with confidence.

“Yeah. The strongest amongst elements are Fire and Lightning. Only Xu Zhaoting, the Lightning Mage, is able to give the summoned Beast a slight challenge. Whereas Fire Burst can at most give flesh wounds,” Chen Weiliang said with a laugh.

The teachers and the instructors began to laugh one by one.

Indeed, they were very clear on the strengths of each student. The mission on the Practicals this time was impossible to complete; all they wanted was for the students to grow during the process of the mission. At least, they would be able to keep notes of all their experiences during the mission!

Mrs. Tangyue didn’t laugh at all. She looked toward the valley in the distance that was enveloped in fog.

“Mo Fan have been in possession of the Stardust Magic Tool for a whole year. I wonder if his Fire Burst has reached a higher level. If that would be the case, then he could be the only student that is capable of wounding the summoned beast, thus, receiving the S grade shouldn’t be a problem.” Tangyue thought to herself.

Soon after, Tangyue also shook her head.

Being able to fully cast a spell when you were up against a ferocious Magical Beast would already be quite good.

All Tangyue wished for is for the hundred Elite students to not be wiped out during the summoned Beast stage. This was because, as long as they were able to cast a spell, then Zhankong would be giving them an A on the Practical class.

An A was already the highest grade a student was able to receive from an instructor on the Practicals for many years!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

After passing through the valley and walking past the weeds that were taller than people; everyone finally arrived at the Hundred Grass Valley!

The Hundred Grass Valley had multiple entrances. If you wanted to pass through the ravine, you had to go along those narrow, curved paths.

“Why does this path have so much rattan, they are all dropping down from the top of the mountain, it looks disgusting,” the more delicate girls immediately began to whisper.

Tree sticks and grass vines were intertwined on the ground of this narrow path. Some of them looked like a python from a distance, others were tangled on the ground, it looked as though they had walked into a den of black pythons. It was dreadful, it made sense why some of the more cowardly girls were feeling absolutely horrified.

“It’s just some broken vines, what’s there to be afraid of? Come, follow me!” The time for Wang Sanpang to show off his heroic side had come as he walked confidently by himself to the front.

Wang Sanpang’s bloated body broke through the wrist-sized vines before him as he strode forward.

His physique was indeed very suitable to opening up this kind of path. If he could cross over, then the remaining students could also cross over.

“Ah! What the heck, what’s going on? Oh crap, help me! HELP ME!” Suddenly, Wang Sanpang let loose a noise that resembled a dog being beaten up from the inside.

The students subconsciously took several steps back as they looked around. At same time, they also felt goosebumps creeping up.

It seemed like those vines could move!

These twisting vines quickly tied Wang Sanpang up as he entered the path. Wang Sanpang’s obese physique was then turned upside down.

The vines had thistles and thorns on their bodies, so when it tightened, Wang Sanpang’s fat skin was completely ripped, immediately leaving him bloodied. Seeing this, Zhang Yinglu and the other little girls began to shriek uncontrollably.

“What are you shrieking for, what can you do other than shrieking?!” the shaky Xu Zhaoting immediately howled at them.

Just as he finished what he was saying, Xu Zhaoting returned to where he stood before. The first star emerged as an illusory image in front of Xu Zhaoting’s forehead. The magnificent purple hue fascinated the watchers.

The stars emerged one by one and linked with each other under Xu Zhaoting’s adept control.

In a split second, a star path was linked.

“Lightning Strike, Python Scar!”

Xu Zhaoting’s Lightning Skill executed smoothly; A scorching electric arc suddenly emerged in his surroundings.

The electric arcs flew toward the narrow paths under the command of Xu Zhaoting, lashing onto the Demonic Vines that were dragging Wang Sanpang’s plump body away.

_Bzzzt~_

The Lightning Strike caused several scorched stripes to appear on the Demonic Vines. Although the Plant element Demonic Beasts did not fear the lightning attack, it still caused them to slightly withdraw while they continued to drag Wang Sanpang away without fear.

“Save me, save…” Wang Sanpang’s shout carried a sobbing tone. However, following this, his mouth was covered by a strip of vine, muffling his cries.

Chaos immediately ensued amongst the students.

Xu Zhaoting’s Lightning Strike had no effect whatsoever; how would they stop that Demonic Vine now?

“Ah!!!”

Yet another screech arose. It turns out the Demonic Vines weren’t satisfied with just Wang Sanpang, as they had already targeted a slender and delicate girl. That girl called Zheng Yunxia’s ankles were caught by the vines.

Zheng Yunxia was a Water Elemental Magician. The problem was that she is too scared to even link her stars, and definitely not able to cast a spell.

“Don’t panic, let me handle them!” class representative Zhoumin yelled out.

A Fire elemental star path was quickly forming next to Zhoumin’s body. This added a somewhat blazing impetuous temperament to the originally brave and threatening Zhoumin.

“Fire Burst!”

A ball of Flames emerged from Zhoumin’s palm before she threw it. The ball of flames was thrown amidst the Demonic Vines, and a burning sound immediately arose.

The scorching flames immediately burned out the middle of the Demonic Vines.

The flames rose, and the speed they spread at was fairly quick. They instantly swallowed a large number of the Demonic Vines.

The Demonic Vines were extremely afraid of flames. After Zhuomin cast Fire Burst, the Demonic Vines quickly withdrew as if they had seen a ghost.

The Demonic Vines also quickly loosened Wang Sanpang, and he fell heavily onto the ground. Luckily, he fell on his round, fat stomach, or else his face would definitely have been in a bad state.

“That was amazing, Class Rep!”

“Fire element is comparatively good, those Demonic Vines immediately ran away pissing themselves.”

“Yeah, Class Rep is formidable!”

As the group of students saw most of the Demonic Vines retreating, each one of them began to throw in compliments.

Xu Zhaoting, the proud Lightning element user, was standing there with an ugly face.

Plant creatures had an innate resistance against the Lightning element, it was something he couldn’t do anything about.

Mo Fan was also standing to the side watching; he didn’t use any Fire spells at all.

Either way, Class Rep Zhoumin was able to handle those Demonic Vines, there was no need for him to pull any moves.

Furthermore…

Zhoumin’s Fire Burst was still at the first level, whereas his own Fire Burst had changed since the day they left for the Practicals!

_A small Demonic Vine, there’s no need for this Daddy to do anything. I was also able to save some mana!_

Zhoumin greatly spread her powers, causing all the Demonic Vines who wanted to attack the girls to retreat. At this kind of time, the power of the Fire element was being fully utilized. Fire Burst’s effectiveness was way more tyrannical than the spells from other elements.

——

“Zhoumin, Fire element girl. Hmm, this lady is definitely to my liking,” said Head Military Instructor Zhankong said as he stroked his moustache back in his tent.

“Currently, the first group should be the fastest. Amongst the first group, there are many exceptionally talented students,” Zhang Jianguo ventured.

“The first group’s Fire Magician is a loser, he was unable to cast any spells when he was up against the Demonic Vines. In the end, it was that student called Mu Bai who froze the Demonic Vines. They are the fastest ones to reach the Hundred Grass Valley. Soon enough, they will encounter the summoned Wolf Beast! The real test for them is finally here!”

“The summoned Wolf Beast won’t injure the students, right?”

“Being injured is inevitable. Breaking a few bones is also very common. However, our Summoner Mage and his summoned Wolf Beast will behave appropriately,” Pan Lijun said.

“In that case, how about we give him a call to remind him. If the students are injured too heavily, it could affects their attempt at University.”

“There’s no signal in the valley. There’s no need to worry, Baiyang knows the severity of this,” Luo Yunbo said.

“Baiyang? Isn’t that the dead Light element Magician?” Tangyue was startled.

Zhankong laughed, “That was made up. He is the Summoner of our Snowy Peak Mountain station that is left within the den of One-eyed Wolf. However, the Blue Bracelet does exist, it’s within that den.”

Tangyue remained silent. This Head Military Instructor had schemes going everywhere! She didn’t know whether those students would be able to safely pass through.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

The scenery from the Valley wasn’t bad. To the south was a lake that looked like a person’s hand. Towards the north was a bulging mountain pass.

The former den of a One-eyed Wolf was right outside of the mountain pass. In fact, you could see it if you were standing in the middle of Hundred Grass Valley.

The person who led the first group was naturally the green tea…er, naturally the Vice Class Rep, Mu Bai!

Mu Bai was able to successfully subdue every single person in the group on the Practicals this time. The girls were increasingly in adoration of him.

Being able to reach the Hundred Grass Valley so quickly this time was definitely thanks to him.

“The cavern is right there. I thought this bounty was going to be difficult, but it seems like we easily found our destination!” Zhao Kunsan said as he laughed.

This guy Zhao Kunsan sure knew how to endure. In the very last quarter of the year, he

Had charged into the Elite class and was successfully colluding together with Mu Bai once again.

“Be careful, the bounty can’t be this easy.” Mu Bai was born into a large and storied family; he was experienced and knowledgeable. He understood that these bounties weren’t something you could easily complete.

A squad of twenty people were being lead by Mu Bai. They followed the precipitous hill as they climbed up to the den by the mountain pass.

On the outside of the pass was a small spring, its pond looked about half-full.

The den was already in sight, its entrance extremely large. It was about the same size as the subway passage beneath the city.

The inside of the den was in deep darkness. This kind of darkness could easily trigger a phobia of darkness or the unknown in people. Additionally, a wind filled with ill omens was blowing from the inside of the den, raising goosebumps.

“How about we wait for some more people before we go in?” He Yu asked shyly.

“I agree, it looks scary,” Zhao Kunsan spoke up, without even the courage of a dog.

Only the heavens knew what kind of thing was inside that den, so walking in just like that…

If there really was a Magical Beast inside, then they would lose their lives.

As the crowd of students were discussing this,yet another group of students was walking toward that place through the mountains.

“It looks like the third group, that’s good!” He Yu said happily.

The first and the third group were the groups with the highest combat power, due to Mu Bai and Xu Zhaoting.

Seeing the third group was so much slower than himself, Mu Bai couldn’t help but smile coldly. Although Xu Zhaoting and Mo Fan had both received an S on the annual examination, what was so great about that? The one who had received nurturing from an ancient family would have a larger benefit during the Practical!

—

Soon enough, the third and first squads were reunited. The other three squads probably weren’t able to pass the Demonic Vine stage. Maybe they were even eliminated during the valley stage.

It made sense, not every Wind Magician would be daring enough to jump over the valley.

“Let’s go in together. Light elementals, you finally have some use. Light up your bulbs!” Zhao Kunsan felt braver as he saw more people, it was just that his dirty mouth hadn’t changed.

Every one of the Light Element students began to complain instantly.

There was nothing they could do, however. Their primary spell’s nickname was indeed “Moving Light Bulb”.

The Light Element students used their spells and illuminated the craggy and strange cavern. However, the deeper parts were still pitch black, making people’s hearts speed up.

“Wind elementals, search for paths in the front. You have the Wind Trail spells; if you encounter any situation, you can quickly leave.” As expected, coming from an ancestral clan, Mu Bai knew how to reasonably divide a squad.

The Wind elemental students also didn’t say anything more. Zhao Kunsan, Zhang Yinglu, and Yang Xintian also began to walk in the front of the crowd.

“Brother Fan, I’m going to the front to find paths… What are you looking at?” Zhang Xiaohou was a Wind elemental, so naturally he was tasked with the mission to find paths.

Inside a cavern with such a large group of people, having no one in the lead was definitely out of the question. If they were to encounter a situation, they would only cause confusion among themselves. Mu Bai’s decision was indeed correct.

Mo Fan was still standing by the entrance of the cavern with his eyes fixated on the pond by the front of the entrance.

It has been raining for the past few days, so the pond containing water was quite normal.

However, Mo Fan discovered a really strange thing.

“There’s traces of water by the side of the pond; this means that the water in the pond was at that level. Traces of water can still be seen, and the decline of the water level should not have fallen this far in the period of half a day… If it evaporated, then the speed of evaporation would not be this fast…” Mo Fan said to himself.

“Could it be that the people from the first squad drew out some of the water?” Zhang Xiao said.

“We all retrieved water from the lake, there’s no reason for us to come all the way to the mountain to get it one more time,” Mo Fan continued.

“Then you mean…” Zhang Xiaohou rarely saw Mo Fan being this serious.

“The Head Instructor said, this place used to have a group of One Eyed Wolves dwelling here. This pond by the entrance should be the place where they drank water. The water level has decreased in the past few hours, and the traces of water are still here,” Mo Fan said thoughtfully.

Zhang Xiaohou wasn’t stupid, how could he not guess the meaning behind what Mo Fan said? He was so scared that his face turned pale.

“Brother Fan, please don’t scare me. You’re saying that there’s still something dwelling inside this cavern, and it came out here not too long ago to drink, right?” Zhang Xiaohou asked, almost stuttering.

“With the water level going down so much, it would mean that this creature’s physique is particularly large. Or, it means there’s more than one,” Mo Fan added.

Zhang Xiaohou’s teeth began to chatter.

“Go, it could be that I’m just being too paranoid.” Mo Fan clapped his hands as he caught up to the group of people who had just entered the cavern.

Zhang Xiaohou hurriedly ran to the front of the group and told Mu Bai, Xu Zhaoting, and Zhoumin about Mo Fan’s discovery.

However, before Zhang Xiaohou could finish, a sudden fishy smell blew out from the inside of the cavern, violently swatting the forty students’ faces with its stench…

It resembled a large wave coming over to hit them. Their hair and clothes were a mess, and they could feel moisture gathering on their faces!

“Awoooh!”

“Awooooooooh!!!”

Two frightening and vicious howls came from the depths of the cavern.

In that moment, everyone seemed to understand what the great breath that carried a sticky steam was!

_Heavens! That was the saliva from the roar of a Magical Beast!_

The forty students were all startled, their bodies stiffening up in shock.

In the next second, their faces changed into the dread they had kept within the deepest part of their hearts.

Magical Beast!

It’s a Magical Beast!!!

At school, they had to frequently study Magical Beasts. In their heads, they had thought numerous times about their future battles against Magical Beasts. However, once they felt the two insatiable eyes fix on them from the deepest parts of the cavern, their minds went blank.

The Light Magician’s light was still hovering in the air, illuminating the cave before them.

A hairy blue foot suddenly came out of the dark. Its claws were as sharp as a knife as they sank into the stony ground…

Following this, the owner slowly stretched its head over; revealing itself with help of the illumination from the hovering lights!

Rows of fierce, saw-like teeth appeared, and green saliva was dripping down from two sword-like fangs, revealing that this thing was starving at the moment.

The fierce and terrifying wolf’s head had a neck longer then a camel’s, brimming with even more strength than a normal wolf, as well as a body with rock-solid muscles. It had dark blue fur that was as sharp as needles covering its entire body…

This Magical Beast was standing in front of the forty students, its eyes looking at them like they were delicacies voluntarily delivered to it.

“R…r…run!!” someone’s voice shivered as he screamed.

_________________________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

In the next second, this group of magic students all turned into terrified chickens. As they were crushed together and colliding with each other in their hurry to escape, they all staggered as they fled from the mountain cavern.

“Quick! Run! Why are you still standing there!?” Zhang Xiaohou looked at He Yu off to the side, who had been literally scared stiff. Without saying anything further, he grabbed the girl’s arm.

“Wind…wind…wind trail…shit!”

Zhang Xiaohou attempted to finish casting his spell. However, because his heart was beating so wildly, he was unable to complete his casting.

With his prior practice, he was already able to proficiently complete the Star Paths. Zhang Xiaohou thought that magic was something he could handle conveniently. However, when he was twenty meters away from a dreadful Magical Beast, he realized that everything he had learned was complete nonsense!

The formerly obedient Stars were like scared wild deer as they spun into chaos within his Stardust. None of the students were able to cast their spells at this time, and each of them obeyed their basic survival instincts and ran toward the exit of the cavern.

“Brother Fan, Brother Fan, quick… run!” Zhang Xiaohou pulled the stiff He Yu and ran toward the exit to the cavern.

At this moment, Mo Fan was no different from the rest of the group of students who were running away. The ones who were screaming, crying, and even the ones who had peed their pants, were all mixed up. Under these circumstances, he was the same in the sense that he was unable to completely focus his thoughts on casting magic…

_Not good, I have to run as well._

Mo Fan was able to complete the linking of the sixth star. But when he was about to link the seventh one, his focus was dispersed by the roar of the Magical Beast. How could he use magic in this situation?

As he had no other choice, he grabbed Zhou Min standing next to him.

“Let me go, let me stall this One-eyed Magic Wolf! You others need to quickly calm down!” Zhou Min really was a tough girl who didn’t care for her life.

“Is there something wrong with your head?” Mo Fan directly grabbed Zhou Min and carried her away.

Although Zhou Min looked like she was harsh, she was actually just a frail little girl. After Mo Fan had cultivated the Lightning Element, his physical strength had improved by a little, and thus, carrying Zhou Min while running wasn’t too difficult.

It’s not that Mo Fan didn’t give Zhou Min an opportunity to use her magic; it was because under these circumstances even he could only link six stars. With Zhou Min’s cultivation being lower than his by more than a grade, how could she possibly complete her Star Path?

At this kind of time, it was better to not have that Class President spirit; if you could run, then run.

Mo Fan carried Zhou Min as he madly rushed out. The sound of weeping as well as the panicked shrieks were piercing his ears.

_Crap! No wonder why those veterans at the station were ridiculing us. Their first reaction was to escape… However, if we were to ry to escape, then that’d be equivalent of killing us one by one. We used rope to climb up from the mountain pass, thus, we can at most run to the mountain pass. There’s only one rope, thus, the people who can climb down can be counted on one hand._

Mo Fan’s thoughts were still a bit messed up; he was doing his best to calm himself down so he could ponder his actions, however. The dread of the Magical Beast far exceeded their imaginations.

This kind of feeling was just like watching a horror film. If you just looked at the screen, then the horror film wasn’t exactly that bad.

However, if you were to turn on the sound, then the horror of the film would immediately increase by more than a level.

In this moment, this kind of situation was not just simply watching a horror film, it was more like the monstrosity just came out of the TV screen. It was right in front of you, so close that you could even clearly see the blood veins in its eyes.

In this kind of situation, there was no one who could actually keep themselves calm!

Mo Fan was running rather fast. After carrying her out of the mountain pass, Zhou Min was actually already scared to the point where she could no longer stand.

Too scary, this was far too scary for them. This was tens or even hundreds of times scarier than their nightmares!

“Heavens, the rope!”

“No, no! I don’t wanna die here!”

“What’s going on?” Mu Bai and Xu Zhaoting were still able to reason. However, looking at their sorry figures, it was plain that they weren’t able to use any magic at all.

There were about ten people who had fainted from fear, and about twenty or so people who had attempted to climb down using the rope.

However, the rope had disappeared!

Right now, unless they were to jump down directly…

“What do we do, are we all going to die here?” Zhao Kunsan was so scared that his entire body was trembling.

The thing was, other than the Spirit Wolf’s stinking breath, this place already had a dense, foul smell pervading it. Students with their pants wet could be found everywhere.

“The One-eyed Magic Wolf has chased us out! I’d rather fall to my death than be eaten alive!” a male Water elemental student cried out.

“Shit, there are so many who completely fainted in that cavern. Why is that guy not eating them, but instead chasing us out here?” Zhao Kunsan said.

Although Zhou Min and Xu Zhaoting were afraid, after they heard Zhao Kunsan’s crazy words, they both glared at him.

“Running is useless. We need to unite and deal with it together.”

“How do we deal with that? I can’t even remember what kind of Element I have!!”

——

Three hundred meters away from the mountain pass was a stone platform by a mountain wall.

On the stone platform was the Chief Instructor, Zhankong, Luo Yunbo, Pan Lijun, as well as the summoner, Bai Yang. They were all observing the students trapped in the mountain pass from afar.

The summoner called Bai Yang couldn’t stop laughing and had his hand covering his mouth. This was because they could see a student who had just peed his pants and gone completely limp.

As the Chief Instructor saw this group of students who hadn’t even used any Magic at all, he shook his head.

Disappointing…

He had thought that these students of Tian Lan Magic High had some ability. Who would’ve known that not a single one of them was able to use their Magic.

He had already said that these students were a group of useless Magicians, and it seemed like that was indeed the truth. The school expended so many resources to cultivate them, and yet, when they truly faced a Magical Beast, they ended up being like this.

The three teachers, Zhang Jianguo, Xue Musheng, and Chen Weiliang, all looked extremely awkward at this time.

They were very clear on the students’ potential; the school usually just pursued a student’s cultivation score. That way, at least their reports would look good; however, their Practicals would just pass by.

The Practical combat was something they had to learn for themselves through real experience, how could the school teach something like that?

“Eh? Someone is using magic.” Luo Yunbo’s eyes were good, he discovered that there was a white radiance flickering near the mountain pass.

“It’s Ice Element… That seems to be Mu Bai!” Xue Musheng immediately began to smile.

Chen Weiliang and Zhang Jianguo also hastily looked over. It seemed like the first one to use magic was indeed Mu Bai.

A white Ice energy began to swirl around Mu Bai’s area. Those Ice spirits rushed forth like soldiers, quickly covering the four limbs of the Spirit Wolf that had already exited the cavern!

“Hmm, note that,” Chief Instructor Zhankong said.

“This is the disciple of the Mu ancient family; he has received the family’s training and has a trace of the temperament of the ancient family’s disciples. His mental essence and his ability to adapt is much stronger than the other students,” Xue Musheng quickly said.

As expected of a disciple from an ancient family. While the other students were having a mental breakdown, Mu Bai had already calmed his heart and used Magic.

Being able to use the Ice Element spell Ice Spread under this kind of dreadful situation, Mu Bai was already able to receive the outstanding grade of A.

Currently, they just needed to see if the other students were able to calm themselves.

________________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Outside of the mountain pass, Mu Bai was standing in front of the Spirit Wolf confidently. The Ice power he was in control of had turned into a slow ice frost as it covered the four limbs of the Spirit Wolf.

As Mu Bai was about to reveal a trace of relief on his face, he suddenly discovered that the Spirit Wolf’s pace was only slowed by a little; its approach toward the students was unaffected.

“It’s useless?” Mu Bai was dumbfounded.

His Ice Spread could freeze three or four people in place even on bad days. As Mu Bai saw it, he could give his other classmates a chance to regain their composure. Who would’ve thought that the strength of the Spirit Wolf’s four limbs would be this strong? His Ice Spread was unable to make it stop.

_Creak!_

The Spirit Wolf stepped onto the ice with one foot and continued to advance.

The Spirit Wolf’s objective now was Mu Bai. Its large foreleg was raised high in front of Mu Bai before it viciously slammed down!

_Boom~_

A vicious shockwave caused the dust and stones to fly away, along with Mu Bai, who was hurled more than five meters back.

Mu Bai had no ability to defend himself at all. Under the shockwave’s impact, he was unconscious before he hit the ground, no longer able to get up.

“Mu Bai!” Zhao Kunsan hurriedly ran over and discovered Mu Bai’s clothes were filled with holes. His skin had been punctured by the sand and stones!

He Yu, who had finally regained her senses, saw this scene and was frightened that she started crying like a little infant, unable to move.

As she cried like this, it looked as though it offended the Spirit Wolf. The Spirit Wolf strode with disdainful contempt toward He Yu.

For the Spirit Wolf, there was no such saying as being nicer to a girl. Mu Bai was sent flying with his body stained with blood, so who knew what would happen to someone as fragile as He Yu.

“Shit, hurry up and run!” Zhang Xiaohou shouted urgently. As he clenched his teeth, he once again ran toward He Yu in hope of dragging her out of the dreadful sight of the Spirit Wolf.

“Monkey, are you tired of living?!” Not far from this, Mo Fan saw this scene and was no longer able to retain his calm.

From Mo Fan’s point of view, Mu Bai’s action just now was really stupid. His power by itself was completely unable to move the Magical Beast whose strength was more than just a level higher than the student Magicians. Thankfully, this Magical Beast didn’t fully enjoy massacre, or else its foreleg would’ve directly slammed onto Mu Bai’s body, sending his flesh and blood flying with his life, guaranteed.

“Fire…Fire Burst!” Under the stress, Zhou Min had basically bitten through her lip before she could finally cast her Fire Element spell!

The fireball was flying toward the Spirit Wolf’s body. However, perhaps because it was cast in a hurry, the Fire Burst hit next to the Spirit Wolf’s foot. A large crimson flame began to light up by the side of the Spirit Wolf, turning the nominally blue Spirit Wolf reddish.

The Spirit Wolf simply ignored the flame as it continued to walk toward Zhang Xiaohou and He Yu.

“You brute, have a taste of my Lightning Strike!” Xu Zhaoting yelled out as an uncountable number of lightning arcs appeared around his body. These electrical arcs whipped toward the Spirit Wolf at his command.

Every purple lightning arc was able to cause the body of the Spirit Wolf to convulse. The Spirit Wolf was no longer able to advance, and it even gave out a deep, pained roar.

The Spirit Wolf’s pair of oily eyes immediately fixed on Xu Zhaoting.

_Awoooooh!_

The Spirit Wolf opened its bloody mouth as it howled a roar at Xu Zhaoting.

In a split second, a wild wind erupted. The mountain pass originally had a lot of sand and stones, and they were all caught up by the power of the roar. It looked like a Dust Dragon as it flew toward Xu Zhaoting.

“Sanpang!” Xu Zhaoting hurriedly yelled out as he saw this scene.

Wang Sanpang wailed, “Earth Wave, Divert!”

Wang Sanpang’s plump body unexpectedly bent over and stuck his two hands onto the ground.

The ground was filled with grains of sands. In between the time the time of his shout and his hands reaching the ground, the ground about him had suddenly turned into a controled earth wave, like a stone thrown into a clear pond, making it ripple.

This ripple appeared on the sand and stone-filled ground. It became a wave of earth that quickly appeared in front of Xu Zhaoting.

Originally, Xu Zhaoting was unable to avoid the flying sand and rocks. However, as this earth ripple appeared, it carried Xu Zhaoting smoothly over five meters away, smoothly dodging the flying sand and rocks that would have easily injured him!

Xu Zhaoting’s eyes were closed. After he opened his eyes, he found himself moved somewhere else. He smiled as he gave his close friend Wang Sanpang a thumbs-up.

Wang Sanpang was also chuckling. He also didn’t think that his use of Earth Ripple would actually produce this kind of benefit.

“Don’t be afraid, everyone! With us being so many, we are definitely able to defeat the One-eyed Magic Wolf if we use magic!” After Xu Zhaoting had demonstrated his astonishing power, he had quickly become a leader as he gestured to everyone.

“Everyone! Quickly, connect your Star Paths, the Lightning Strike has an effect that paralyzes the muscles. This One-eyed Magic Wolf is definitely having problems moving, let’s use this time and counterattack!” Wang Sanpang yelled out loudly.

_(Ed. Note: Yes, they are still so panicked they haven’t realized it’s not a One-eyed Wolf…)_

Just like Wang Sanpang said, after the Spirit Wolf had received the lash from the Lightning Strike, it remained in its place with its muscles constantly twitching.

This was undoubtedly a life-saving news for everyone, while at same time, a few Magicians who had calmed down also began attempting to connect their Star Paths.

“Brilliant Light, Purify!”

“Ice Spread, Freeze!”

“Water Field, Decay!

“Earth Ripple, Divert!”

“Fire Burst, Scorch!”

Seven or eight students of different Elements finished casting their spells at the same time. The spells caused different effects as they were sent flying toward the Spirit Wolf.

The paralyzed Spirit Wolf received the attacks being sent from all directions and began to howl out in pain.

“Fire Elements, hurry up! We have temporarily suppressed this One-eyed Magic Wolf, use fire to scorch it to death!” Xu Zhaoting had naturally turned into the leader. On one hand, he was preparing his next Lightning Strike while on the other, he was yelling out loudly.

The Fire Element was the damage-dealer. The Light Element’s brilliance was temporarily blinding the Spirit Wolf. Numerous Ice Mages’ Ice Spreads had completely frozen the Spirit Wolf’s lower limbs. At this time, they could only rely on the Fire Element to give the Spirit Wolf a powerful burn.

Zhou Min’s little mouth had started to bleed from her biting. She finally cast a proper Fire Burst, the flames igniting on the back of the Spirit Wolf. They could clearly hear that the Spirit Wolf began to howl out even louder from the pain.

_Awoooh~ Awoooooooh!!_

When everybody thought that their all-out attack was effective, the Spirit Wolf roared out twice in succession.

Two waves of sands and rocks simultaneously shot out. One flew toward Xu Zhaoting and Wang Sanpang as they engulfed everything. The other flew toward the other five who were able to cast.

The two waves of sands and rocks did devastating damage to the students, each of them had flesh torn away from them.

The students who had just found an opportunity to survive were suddenly utterly defeated!

______________________________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Def…definitely not the same level.” The upper half of Wang Sanpang’s body was covered with blood as he climbed up from the dirt.

Xu Zhaoting remained on the floor, his current situation no different from Mu Bai’s.

On the other side, the other five students had also collapsed on the ground. They were buried beneath the sand and stones, completely unable to get up again.

The Spirit Wolf had suffered some damage, but the injuries were not enough for it to lose any of its combat prowess.

The Spirit Wolf’s strength had far surpassed their imaginations. Even if more of them calmed themselves, even if they had ten or more people, they would still be unable to deal with it.

“If all forty of us were to join together and cast their spells, then it’s possible that we could win. Bastard, scoundrels, this father will actually die in a place like this!” Wang Sanpang cursed.

“Mo Fan, your…your Fire Element is…is stronger than mine, quick, make your move!” Zhou Min yelled out from the side.

The only things that could truly damage the Spirit Wolf were Fire Burst and Lightning Strike. However, there were too few Fire students.

“It’s no use! This isn’t even an One-eyed Magic Wolf!” Mo Fan’s eyes were fixated on this special Magical Beast.

An One-eyed Magic Wolf would only have one eye, this Magical Beast had a pair of verdant eyes.

Practically every single person had been scared witless by this Magical Beast, so who would even pay attention to this dreadful creature’s characteristics?

“Save…save…save…” He Yu was crouching there with her face gone extremely pale.

It was very clear that the Spirit Wolf greatly despised those who kept weeping. After it had blown away those students who were able to use Magic, its objective once more became He Yu!

“Hurry up and run!!” Mo Fan felt a twitch of disdain. This girl was incurably stupid. Just now, there were other people who were attacking the Spirit Wolf, giving her time to run away. However, she actually did not move a single step!

_This is not good. If this continues, then everyone will die under this Magical Beast. We have to get rid of this thing!_

“Monkey, are you able to rush forth?” Mo Fan had an idea, and hurriedly asked Zhang Xiaohou, who wasn’t too far away.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded repeatedly.

“Good, I will attract the attention of the Magical Beast. When I do that, you must carry me and run toward the cavern, do you understand?” Mo Fan said to Zhang Xiaohou with a serious tone.

“Brother Fan, what are you planning on doing?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Slaughtering it!” Mo Fan clenched his teeth, using the pain to calm himself down.

The Fire Element Stardust turned into a cosmic space as it swirled around Mo Fan’s body. Each of the fire elemental stars finally began to link with one another to become a Magical Star Path at the command of Mo Fan.

The speed of completing a Star Path for Mo Fan was very quick. After he connected the sixth star, the seventh and most disobedient star finally acknowledged Mo Fan’s command.

Completing the Star Path, the Magic was cast!

A scorching flame ignited within Mo Fan’s fists. The scarlet flame was erupting between Mo Fan’s fingers.

“Fire Burst, Burning Bones!”

Everything was complete. Mo Fan’s hair was fluttering madly from the airflow.

As the fierce flame was thrown, the Fireball whistled through the air. It flew toward the Spirit Wolf’s massive trunk with extreme accuracy.

The Fireball’s impact was initially silent. After a second, it looked like a frantically growing scarlet vine. It actually ignited the Spirit Wolf’s body! The intensity of the flame was far more powerful than the Fire Burst cast by Zhou Min!

The fierce flames were very bright, and also very ferocious. The Spirit Wolf raised its head and emitted an exceedingly pained howl.

The Spirit Wolf seemed to be in agony, running and rolling around on the ground. Finally, it turned and jumped into the pond.

The flames from Burning Bones didn’t dissipate even in the the water. The horrifying power of the flame probably burned the Spirit Wolf’s viscera into ashes!

Zhou Min, Zhang Xiaohou, Wang Sanpang, and Zhang Yinglu saw this scene, and were completely dumbstruck.

The disorganized Elite Students who were outside of the mountain pass were also looking at Mo Fan in disbelief.

“Brother Fan… your Fire Burst…” Zhang Xiaohou stared at Mo Fan, stunned.

The power of Mo Fan’s Fire Burst was far stronger than Zhou Min, and even the effects of the flames weren’t the same.

Zhou Min’s Fire Burst was at the Scorch level. After the fires struck the Spirit Wolf’s body, all they did was continue searing the surface of its body. This kind of scorching would only burn off the outer layer of the Spirit Wolf’s skin and fur, and not truly damage its muscles and bones.

In contrast, Mo Fan’s Fire Burst looked like it had ignited inside the Spirit Wolf’s body. The effects of everyone’s spells together just a while ago didn’t look as effective as Mo Fan’s single Fire Burst!

On the stone platform, the summoner called Bai Yang creased his brow at this moment.

There was a telepathic link between a summoned beast and the summoner. Bai Yang was able to feel the excessive pain his Spirit Wolf was suffering; he was very clear on the fact that the Fire Burst used by the student had actually thoroughly damaged the Spirit Beast.

“Fire Burst, Burning Bones?!” At this moment, both Chief Instructor Zhankong, as well as Mrs. Tangyue, revealed astonished looks on their faces!

Zhankong and Tangyue were both Fire Element cultivators. How could they not understand Fire’s primary spell?

The Fire Element’s primary spell, Fire Burst, was divided into three levels.

The first level of Fire Burst was known as Scorch. Scorch was the lowest form of the Fire Burst. The power it possessed was just quickly igniting the target in order to burn them.

However, the second level of Fire Burst was completely different.

Fire Burst, Burning Bones, worked as the name implied; after the fireball hit the enemy, flames of an increasingly high temperature would directly ignite within the enemy’s body. It was able to burn even the bones to ashes!

The external burns of Scorch were unable to deal a lot of damage to the Spirit Wolf. In one aspect, it was because the students had no idea about where to attack, while in a different aspect, the Spirit Wolf’s fur also possessed high resistance to magic.

Burning Bones was completely different. The dreadful flames that came from the internal combustion could very well burn the Spirit Wolf’s insides completely away.

“This student… what’s his name?” Zhankong came back to his senses, his eyes finally revealing traces of praise. Being able to achieve the second level of Fire Element spells, this student was remarkable!

“His name is Mo Fan!” Mrs. Tangyue’s face revealed a slight smile.

_Mo Fan actually did not let me down. In just a short period of a year, he has already risen to the level of Burning Bones!_

The truth was, the first Fire Burst spell she ever shown the students was actually Burning Bones. That was why the effects of the flames at that time were far stronger than the ones the students had seen before.

“This student, we can give him an S!” Zhankong said with satisfaction.

Instructor Luo Yunbo and Vice Instructor Pan Lijun also nodded agreement. There was barely anyone of the younger generation who could reach this kind of realm within all of Bo City.

Suddenly, the summoner called Bai Yang yelled out, “Crap!”

“What is it?” Chief Instructor Zhankong demanded quickly.

“After the Spirit Wolf jumped into the pond, I don’t know why, but for some reason, it is suddenly ignoring me! It seems… it seems like I can’t control it!” Bai Yang said, his face pale.

“Disgraceful! Didn’t I tell you to tame this guy’s wild nature?” Zhankong scolded him sharply.

These words from Bai Yang caused Tangyue, Zhang Jianoguo, and Chen Weiliang’s faces to shift quickly.

Out of control!?

This Spirit Wolf’s combat prowess was a bit stronger than a One-eyed Magic Wolf. If he lost control of it, there was no way to know how many students would fall to it!

“Quick, go stop it!”

“Not good, it takes some time for us to get there!”

“How could you lose control? Crap, it’s over. There’s gonna be people dying!” Director Chen Weiliang was terrified.

The Spirit Wolf had been lenient with its moves, or else some students would have already died within the cavern.

Now, they’d lost control of the Spirit Wolf. It would now truly start its slaughter, there would only be a few students who would be able to survive.

“I’m sorry, I-I don’t know why this happened,” the summoner Bai Yang mumbled.

“What’s the point of saying that now, quick, go and rescue them!” Zhankong shouted angrily.

____________________

Translator : Tofu

Editor : RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

In order to put out the burning flames, the Spirit Wolf jumped into the middle of the pond outside the cavern.

However, for some reason they didn’t know, after the dripping wet Spirit Wolf climbed out of the pond, its appearance had changed. Its originally green pupils had turned completely scarlet.

The Spirit Wolf’s wild nature was very hard to tame. Once it received a strong and fierce stimulation, it could easily go mad. On a battlefield, the Spirit Wolf’s madness could be a useful effect. However, to the students, it would be a disaster!

The scarlet red pupils were filled with a dreadful, ominous glint. The exceedingly angry Spirit Wolf’s eyes were fixated on Mo Fan; its killing intent turned into a shivering cold energy as it lunged towards Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s entire body stood motionless.

This Spirit Wolf was far stronger and crueler than he had imagined.

“M…Monkey!” Mo Fan was barely able to muster up the strength to speak.

Zhang Xiaohou also felt this dreadful killing intent as he frantically linked his Star Path.

Before, he was unable to complete his Wind Star Path. Now, he had no choice but to do so. If he failed, Mo Fan would be crushed to death in an instant.

“Awoooooh…!”

The Spirit Wolf flew up with its four limbs. Smoke and dust swirled up behind it.

This explosive power!

The transition time between the Spirit Wolf’s immobility to jumping speed was less than a second, the explosive power was exceedingly dreadful!

“Brother Fan!”

Within the border between life and death, Zhang Xiaohou firmly grabbed onto the rigid Mo Fan.

A Wind Trail became Zhang Xiaohou’s speed tunnel. Zhang Xiaohou almost stole Mo Fan from between the Wolf’s jaws in this crucial situation, and continued fleeing toward the inner part of the cavern.

_Agh!_

The Spirit Wolf’s teeth closed on air with an ear-piercing crunch.

As it bit into the empty air, it felt a great humiliation. The dreadful creature once more broke out its astonishing speed as it chased the pair into the cavern.

Within the cavern were quite a few students who had fainted. They climbed up with great effort, only to be greeted once more by a mad Spirit Wolf.

These students were all promptly sent flying with their blood splashing everywhere.

“Run, run quickly! Quick!” Mo Fan looked behind them. He could see that the Spirit Wolf was a bit faster than Zhang Xiaohou’s Wind Trail, Swift Travel.

“I-I really am trying!” Zhang Xiaohou was dripping with sweat, and didn’t dare to shift his concentration in the slightest.

The wind was whistling by his ear. Behind them was a tremendous monster Wolf madly pursuing them; even jumping would only cause them to slow down at this point.

“Just drop me in the front, run away after that. I will deal with it!” Mo Fan regained his calm before he spoke confidently.

“How could I do that, I will not drag Brother Fan down…”

A friend in need is a friend, indeed. If he could survive this, then Mo Fan would definitely be moved.

The problem was, whether he would still be able to survive or not would depend on this godforsaken cavern.

In the deeper part of the cavern was a spacious cave. The ground was ragged, and the ceiling was completely covered in stalactites.

This place had no students, and also no place to run. It was a dead end.

Zhang Xiaohou has already done his best. His Wind Trail has already given the two of them enough time to fight for their lives. Now, the Spirit Wolf had finally caught up to them, and they had no way to escape now.

“Brother Fan, aren’t we quite mighty? We baited the Spirit Wolf all the way here so the others could run away…” Zhang Xiaohou suddenly said with a strange calm.

Mo Fan’s back was leaning against the stone wall as he looked toward the Spirit Wolf, who had already found them. He scolded Xiaohou, smiling, “Bullshit. I, Mo Fan, would never do something like that.”

“Careful!!!” As Mo Fan said this, sand and stones spurted out of the Spirit Wolf’s mouth as it gathered up the sharp rocks within the cavern, before sending them flying toward the pair.

Zhang Xiaohou was a Wind Mage, his movement speed was slightly faster. He initially wanted to dodge, but then he noticed that Mo Fan was definitely not fast enough to do so.

Clenching his teeth, Zhang Xiahou shoved Mo Fan behind a large rock.

At this point, it was too late for him to evade the cyclone of stones. His body was instantly hit by the sharp rocks, leaving behind numerous injuries. Several eye-grabbing bloody holes appeared!

“Bastard, you bastard! If something happens to Monkey, I, Mo Fan, will definitely stomp you until you become minced meat!” Mo Fan yelled angrily.

There wasn’t enough time for Mo Fan to check whether Zhang Xiaohou was alive or not. Taking advantage of the time the Spirit Wolf was recharging, Mo Fan closed his eyes!

After he opened his eyes, Mo Fan’s pupils were actually filled with densely packed purple lightning!

Eyes like Lightning, hair like Fire!

Stars shone inside Mo Fan’s pupils. After the gorgeous purple stars felt their owner’s anger, they unified like never before. They connected into a beautiful, purple path, exceedingly dazzling in the dark cavern.

The Star Path was before him, Mo Fan stood proud.

“Lightning Strike, Python!” As he said this, a Lightning trace that looked like a great snake appeared around Mo Fan. It writhed with the anger in Mo Fan’s heart.

He held his arm up high and gripped his hand. Lightning was crackling out between his fingers.

The Lightning Python turned into a brave and fierce lightning soldier after receiving the command of Mo Fan. It whipped out in an explosive tangle of voltage!

One after another, the arcs of the Lightning Python hit the Spirit Wolf’s body. They electrified the Spirit Wolf’s muscles, paralyzing them, and struck its skin so hard it burst apart.

“Awooowooowoooh!”

Lightning Strike’s power was quite a bit stronger than Burning Bones. This was also one of the few spells that was able to injure the Spirit Wolf.

The Spirit Wolf’s fur had already been charred black. Blood was madly dripping from its flesh and skin!

Even if the Spirit Wolf was in pain, it was still unable to move due to the Lightning Strike’s paralysis. Its pair of scarlet eyes were still completely fixated on Mo Fan.

That’s right, it was killing intent!

This mad summoned Beast had already completely turned into a wild Magical Beast brimming with killing intent. That pair of eyes only had a thirst for killing and disdain for human lives!

“Fire Burst, Burning Bones!”

Mo Fan’s stars linked once more, his pupils turning from purple to a flaming red.

The Fire stars connected quickly under his burning eyes. They quickly formed into a Star Path that was able to draw the magical power from Mo Fan’s body!

Staring at this Spirit Wolf’s eyes, Mo Fan’s heart didn’t feel any fear at this moment. What he felt was anger and an unwavering will.

The Spirit Wolf’s eyes flashed a trace of contempt toward the weak human. It was like it was saying, “So what if you use it one more time. Burning Bones won’t be able to kill me! In the second that my muscles are no longer locked, I will slice you in two!”

Even though it was exceedingly painful, the Spirit Wolf was still able to endure the internal combustion from Burning Bones.

The Lightning Python or the Burning Bones were still not enough to kill it. Thus, the end result would still be humans ending up as its food.

_You livestock…!_

Mo Fan could feel the contempt coming from the Spirit Wolf’s eyes.

“Look who’s going to die!” Mo Fan yelled out angrily. The Fire stars turned into a scorching fireball condensing in Mo Fan’s palm.

_________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Die!” Mo Fan yelled out, and the fireball within his hands was thrown skywards.

A eye-dazzling fireball was rising toward the roof as it instantly lit up the dark cavern, illuminating the images of the ferocious Magical Beast and the Fire caster.

The Spirit Wolf raised its gaze, in its vicious scarlet pupils flashed a trace of suspicion.

Was this human scared to the point where he became a fool? Why were the flames flying toward the ceiling?

The Spirit Wolf was paralyzed by the Lightning Strike, standing in one place and unable to move. In this kind of situation, hitting it with a Flame Burst, Burning Bones would be far too easy. It would be the same as the normal wooden doll which they used to practice with…

However, Mo Fan did something that made the Spirit Wolf feel like he was a complete retard.

Mo Fan was smiling with his mouth opened. The light from the fire showed his fanatical smile.

_Boom!!!_

Fireburst, Burning Flames was like a meteor in the air as it struck the root of a stalactite.

The flames from Burning Bones wouldn’t be useless just because the target was a rock. The internal combustion of the Burning Bones instantly heated the slender root of the stalactite red-hot.

_Gurgle~_

Just a second was enough for the flames that could burn bones into ashes to melt the stalactite’s root away.

The stalactite was massive. After it snapped from the heat and its own weight, it turned into a massive stalactite spear falling from the highest point of the cavern.

In the beginning, the Spirit Wolf carried only contempt and suspicion. However, after it realized the snapped-off stalactite was right above his own head, it finally displayed panic.

“I won’t bother seeing you out!” Mo Fan slowly retracted the hand that threw out the Fire Burst before he smiled coldly.

_That’s right! Lightning Strike is only able to restrict your movements and Burning Bones won’t be able to kill you. However, this father, I, will use wisdom to crush you!_

The stalactite stone was massive, it was like a colossal stone sword had punched down into the body of the Spirit Wolf…

It drove right through the Spirit Wolf’s back, piercing it deeply through the abdomen. Just like that, it was fiercely nailed to the ground!

Blood started to flow out from the Spirit Wolf’s guts. Following this were some broken stalactite rocks falling and bouncing off it. Soon enough, they formed a large pile beneath the Spirit Wolf’s body.

The Spirit Wolf stood there…

It wasn’t even able to collapse. The scarlet pupils gradually returned to their former green color as the last seconds of its life passed by.

It turned its head to look at the stalactite that had pierced its body, and then glanced at the insignificant human.

Other than being unable to believe this, there was no other thoughts that could be seen in its eyes.

The Spirit Wolf’s arrogant dignity was completely gone. It became increasingly weak, so much that it was unable to even struggle.

Life passes by just like that…

By this tiny Magician…

—

A whistling sound was heard.

A wind was racing wildly along from the cave entrance. The students covered in bruises and wounds all raised their heads weakly.

A man dropped down from the sky. On his back was a massive pair of wings condensed by the Wind Spirits, covering their line of sight.

“Wind… Wind Wings!” Mu Bai, who had finally regained consciousness raised his head,staring at the mustached man in disbelief.

“It’s… It’s the Chief Military Instructor!”

“Heavens, what am I seeing? An angel!?”

The entire group inside the entrance to the mountain was astonished.

They had guessed that Chief Instructor Zhankong was a super-strong Mage. However, they never imagined that he was a high-ranked Mage who was able to control Wind Wings!

Wind Wings!

That was a spell that allowed a person to genuinely fly around like an angel!

Zhankong glanced at this group of students who didn’t seem like they were in a life-threatening situation, and then glanced toward the inner cavern that had a large noise echoing out of it.

“I hope that student who used Burning Bones is still alive.” Zhankong didn’t dare to remain any longer, his large Wind Wings flapped with sudden force, and he flew deeper into the cave like an arrow.

Ragged stones were slammed to the sides by Zhankong. The Chief Instructor passed through the long path in a stunning manner before he finally arrived at the spacious bottom of the cavern.

“Fire Burst, Rupture!”

Floating within the dark cavern, Zhankong was gripping his hand, and a fireball appeared there.

The Fireball was tossed to the mid-air of the cavern before it ruptured like a gorgeous firecracker, lighting up the entire cavern.

Zhankong looked around. He only hoped that the Spirit Wolf still had a bit of intellect remaining, so that it would allow that student called Mo Fan to barely stay alive.

That’s why he didn’t try to save the mana in his Stardust, he hoped to find that student as soon as possible.

The radiance from the flames lit the entire cavern up bright.

However, in the next second, Zhankong was completely flabbergasted.

The Chief Instructor floated there, his brown eyes filled with astonishment!

This… How could this be possible!!

—

On top of the stone platform, the summoner Bai Yang’s expression was frantic as he sat there. His heart was only wishing for the Boss Zhankong to get there in time.

“Fatal…” Chen Weiliang was on the ground, completely weak. If a Student died on the Practicals this time, he would be held fully responsible. The country put a large degree of importance on these Magic Students. Even the tyrant of Bo City, Mu Zhuoyun, would not dare to injure the students in any way.

Tangyue bit her lip.

She thought back to that day when she was still making jokes with Mo Fan. She had joked about how she’d use the Wechat locator to retrieve his dead body, but she never thought that the day would come so soon.

Tangyue was actually very interested in Mo Fan. On one hand, she felt that this student seemed to have a secret other than the growth-type Stardust Magic Tool. On the other hand, she thought that he had potential, and she wanted to see what kind of realm he would be able to reach…

A pity, what a pity…

“Bia Yang, just what happened? How could the summoned beast turn mad for no reason? Even if the Burning Bones was painful for it, there’s still no reason for you to lose control!” Luo Yunbo criticized him angrily.

For a summoner, the basics of the basics were about controlling their own summoned beast!

“I…I don’t know… Normally speaking, even if he were to be killed, he wouldn’t start slaughtering the students without my command. I really don’t know why it has turned out like this,” Bai Yang said as he trembled.

This whole thing really did not make any sense.

Bai Yang never thought that there’d be students who could use Burning Bones and actually oppress his own summoned beast. What he expected even less was losing control of the summoned beast for this reason. There had to be something else involved in this.

“You should just pray for your lost beast to not kill too many people,” Pan Lijun said coldly.

“I…I also…Ah!” Bai Yang was about to explain, but suddenly he felt a fierce pain in his head.

This kind of feeling was like his soul had been fiercely chopped. It was so painful that it made Bai Yang’s entire face turn pale as he sweated profusely.

“What happened now??” Luo Yuanbo demanded, as he began to lose his patience.

“My…my Spirit Wolf… My Spirit Wolf!!” Suddenly, Bai Yang looked as though he had lost his soul. His entire being knelt down on the floor, his empty eyes looking over at the cavern dully.

“What happened?” Tangyue also creased her eyebrows. She had no idea what this summoner called Bai Yang was doing.

“My Spirit Wolf…It… It died!” Bai Yang barely spit out those words, looking as though he had lost his soul. He sounded like he didn’t believe the words, either.

________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Tangyue, Zhang Jianguo, and Chen Weiliang were all stunned.

Chief Instructor Zhankong had just flown into the cavern. Even if he was faster, there’s no way that Zhankong would kill the wolf. In which case, just how exactly did the Spirit Wolf die?

“After the summoned beast of the summoner dies, they themselves will receive damage to their spirit and soul. It seems like the Spirit Wolf really died,” Tangyue commented softly.

Bai Yang’s appearance just now was very clearly the result of a summoned beast’s death, it was not something that could be faked.

“Didn’t the Spirit Wolf chase Mo Fan into the cavern?”

“Yeah, how come it suddenly died?”

“Is it possible that the Spirit Wolf hit a rock and died due to the cavern being too dark?” Chen Weiliang wondered.

Bai Yang turned his face around, his eyes brimming with maliciousness. “You fucking hit a rock and died, your whole fucking family hit a rock and died!”

_My Spirit Wolf isn’t some stupid rabbit who would crash into a wooden pole and die! The Spirit Wolf had night vision, and its body was strong! How could it possibly hit a stone and die?!_

Even if all forty students were to use their Magic at same time, they would not necessarily kill his Spirit Wolf!

“Let’s go and check,” Mrs. Tangyue said.

“Yes, yes, let’s hurry and check it out.”

“The reinforcements will arrive soon, and they’ll take these students back.”

——

_Inside of the cavern…_

Chief Instructor Zhankong remained dumbfounded; he was unable to believe the scene his eyes were showing him.

The student called Mo Fan didn’t die, and at this moment, his entire body was covered in wounds.

The Spirit Wolf, who originally should’ve been dealt with by Zhankong, was currently standing beneath… or more accurately speaking, it was being pierced by a stalactite, directly pinning it to the cavern floor.

There were no longer any signs of life.

The Spirit Wolf had died!

The combat prowess of this Spirit Wolf was in no way inferior to a genuine Magical Beast. The reason why Zhankong let it out was definitely not to defeat the students, it was to allow the fake Magical Beast to give the students some genuine practice!

Defeating this Spirit Wolf?!

That was something that they shouldn’t have been able to do. Even a genuine squad of Hunters would be defeated by a Magical Beast, and let’s not even talk about those students who turned soft when they saw a Magical Beast.

Thus, after Zhankong charged into this place, he only hoped for there to be fewer students dying before he could deal with the Spirit Wolf.

However, he saw a scene that he himself could not believe.

The Spirit Wolf had died!

It was impaled by the stalactite.

_There can’t be something this coincidental in this world. There’s no way the stalactite would drop by itself and precisely hit the mad Spirit Wolf. Let alone with the Spirit Wolf’s reflexes; before the stalactite could drop on it, it would definitely be able to dodge._

“This…this was done by you?” Chief Instructor, Zhankong didn’t come back to his senses for a long time. At last, he finally locked his gaze on Mo Fan.

This student looked like nothing special. He had neatly cut short hair, and a face that you could say was quite handsome. His body and his face that revealed that he was somewhat exhausted. His hands were firmly holding onto the other thin and weak youth covered in bloodstains, as if he planned on carrying him out of the cavern.

Mo Fan raised his head, and his eyes also showed astonishment.

_Wings! The Chief Instructor has wings!_

Wind Wings, Mo Fan knew this was Wind Wings. However, he never thought that actually seeing the Wind Wings would stun his heart like this.

The shadow hovering in the mid-air, the Wind Wings behind his back that looked like an angel’s… _Damn it, that’s so cool!_

“How did you do this?” Zhankong still carried some disbelief. After asking this, Zhankong suddenly felt like he was asking too much.

From the perspective of following the crime scene and all the signs, it would be that this student used the Fire Burst to snap the stalactite, and made it fall down and pierce the Spirit Wolf.

However, Zhankong’s heart was still filled with numerous suspicions, as well as astonishment.

First, just what degree of calm did this student have if he could think of baiting the Spirit Wolf into the cavern and using the stalactite as a weapon? Second, just how did he make the Spirit Wolf remain in place long enough to allow the stalactite stone to pierce through it?

In short, he was genuinely unable to accept the fact that a second-year high school student was capable of killing a Spirit Wolf whose strength was a bit stronger than a Magical Beast by himself!

“Chief Instructor, I passed by this blue bracelet in the cavern, does this mean I’ve completed the bounty? Where’s my Magic Equipment?” Mo Fan walked in front of Zhankong and smiled.

Zhangkong quickly thought back and suddenly realized something.

_Goddamnit!!_

He had never prepared any Magic Tool!

The difficulty of this bounty was extremely high. Since the cavern was guarded by the Spirit Wolf, the blue bracelet was only put there to act as a symbol. There was no hope whatsoever for the students to acquire it!

According to Zhankong’s predictions, half of the students would be eliminated at the previous checkpoint, and the remainder would be completely annihilated by the Spirit Wolf.

He would never have thought that this heaven-defying student would actually slaughter the Spirit Wolf! Just what kind of demon was this!?

Even instructors would not necessarily be able to resist the Spirit Wolf, yet it was killed by a student!

As for the Magic Equipment?

Magic Equipment was extremely precious, how could Zhankong possibly gift one away?

However, now… This student had clearly completed the bounty.

Mo Fan watched the Chief Instructor, whose face had turned incredibly strange, carefully as he reached out his hand to demand the Magic Equipment.

_Cough_ … “Let’s save the people first, let’s save them first!!” Zhankong answered awkwardly at last.

“Oh, oh, that’s right… I remember you said it was a defensive Magic Equipment, a defense Magic Equipment worth tens of thousands of RMB!” Mo Fan nodded his head, showing his approval.

The hovering Chief Instructor’s wings turned rather unstable, and he almost didn’t dodge the fallen stalactite.

_Student, let’s save the people first!_

_________________

Translator : Tofu

Editor : RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Mo Fan was about to leave, but suddenly, he saw a shadow moving.

The shadow was swirling along the cavern walls and descended in front of Mo Fan. Following that, Mo Fan watched a woman with a curvy, delicate body slowly emerge from it. The incredible scene caused Mo Fan to feel a despondent awe.

_Holy crap, just what kind of spell is this, that’s too cool!?_

“Mrs. Tangyue…” Mo Fan clearly saw this woman’s perfect oval face, willow leaf brows, and Demon Fox eyes!

“You’re okay??” Mrs. Tangyue revealed a joyous smile.

“I’m okay.”

Mrs. Tangyue shifted her eyes and quickly discovered the Spirit Wolf pinned there like a collector’s specimen. Suddenly, she was unable to keep her calm.

“This…This is…” Mrs. Tangyue blurted out, stunned.

“You have nurtured a demonic student. The Spirit Wolf was killed by him,” Zhankong told her.

Mrs. Tangyue felt so shocked that she opened her mouth blankly as her gaze fixed on Mo Fan.

Mo Fan felt embarrassed from all the looks, coughing before saying, “Let’s save the people first, let’s save them…”

——

Outside of the mountain pass, Mu Bai, Xu Zhaoting, Zhao Kunsan, Zhang Shuhua, and He Yu were all clear-headed.

The other students also gradually regained their senses. Each and every one of them assembled near the pond like refugees, their bodies were also trembling.

Not long after, Zhankong and Mrs. Tangyue led Mo Fan out of the cavern.

After everyone saw that Mo Fan was actually still alive, each of their faces revealed an expression like they had seen a ghost!

They had personally seen Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou lead the Spirit Wolf into the cavern. In that kind of situation, even if they had hundred lives, they’d still be shredded to pieces by the Spirit Wolf.

“Mo Fan… Mo Fan… you guys didn’t die?” He Yu was finally clear-headed. Seeing Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan still alive, her tears began to flow.

The eyes of class president Zhou Min, seeing the two of them were safe and sound, also began to redden.

If it wasn’t for Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou luring the Spirit Wolf into the cavern, there was no telling how many people would have lost their lives. No matter how you put it, it was they who had saved everyone!

The other girls who also had wounds on their bodies began to weep. They had always been in an easy and comfortable place like school, they had never experienced this kind of situation.

The male students were either laying on the ground, looking blankly into the air, or were rejoicing over the two heroes, Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou.

Originally, they thought that as long as they possessed Magic, they could do anything. At school, they would also feel proud and arrogant. At the end of the day, when they truly faced a Magical Beast, they weren’t even able to cast their spells. If it wasn’t for Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou luring the Spirit Wolf away, then the consequences would have been too unbearable to imagine.

“Oh right, just how did they escape from the Wolf’s claws, and where is the One-eyed Magic Wolf now?” Wang Sanpang and Xu Zhaoting asked.

“Do you even need to ask that? The One-eyed Magic Wolf has definitely been killed by the Chief Instructor. Zhankong’s arrival was just in time; if he was even a second slower, then they would’ve already been eaten,” Zhao Kunsan declared.

The Chief Instructor glanced at the Zhao Kunsan who was making remarks; he couldn’t help but think it was funny. They were both students, yet the difference was unnaturally large.

“Since everyone is not in a life-threatening situation, then I have some things to say,” Chief Instructor Zhankong said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Everyone was sitting outside of the mountain pass. The teachers were helping the students wrap their wounds, and the students were helping each other clean their injuries.

“In the process of you completing this bounty, we have actually been observing you all the entire time. Additionally, we will grade the students who have done well, among them being Zhang Xiaohou, Zhou Min, Mu Bai, Li Yueming…” Zhankong went on.

These words immediately caused a disturbance amongst the students.

The teachers were paying attention to the students during the process of the Practicals. There were a lot of people who began to regret not doing well.

“Then when the Magical Beast appeared… Why didn’t you guys… Were you guys going to appear after we died?!” Mu Bai asked resentfully.

To be honest, he was almost killed by the Magical Beast!

“If this Spirit Wolf really wanted to kill you, you would already have died. Especially you!” Zhankong coldly snorted.

Mu Bai puckered his brow as he thought back to the scene from before. Indeed, if the Spirit Wolf had really slammed down with its foreleg, then his little life would have already dissipated.

“Wait, Chief Instructor, what did you say that Magical Beast was? A Spirit Wolf?” Zhou Min hastily asked as she suddenly realized something.

“That’s right, that wasn’t an One-eyed Magic Wolf. That was a Spirit Wolf. It’s a summoned beast,” Zhankong continued.

“Let me explain things to everyone. The bounty Practical this time was actually arranged by us and the instructors. Even the summoned beast actually belongs to this instructor, Bai Yang. We needed you to face against a Magical Beast, but at same time, we didn’t want you to be killed by one…” the homeroom teacher, Xue Musheng explained.

As this was being said, all of the students started crying in relief.

So it was actually just practice. Why did it have to be so real, they genuinely thought that they were actually going to die!

Additionally, the Spirit Wolf’s combat prowess was far too scary. There were so many of them using magic, yet it was ineffective against the Spirit Wolf.

“I was just thinking how Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou could have survived it, it seems like it was a summoned beast…” Zhao Kunsan said with disdain.

“That’s wrong. The truth is, just now, there was something that exceeded our expectations. This Spirit Wolf suddenly went out of control, it no longer heeded the commands of summoner Bai Yang. Just when we thought the Spirit Wolf was going to massacre you all, Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou lured it into the cavern. Thus, your lives was actually saved by the two of them,” Zhang Jianguo stated.

“Heavens, then we really are fortunate!” Zhang Yinglu couldn’t help but yell out.

“What fortunate, it was Mo Fan and Zhang Xiahou who saved us. These two brothers, if there is anything in the future, don’t hesitate to issue me a command. I will not decline it under any circumstances!”

“We’re thankful for your bravery. From now on, you will be our eldest brothers!”

Wang Sanpang and Xu Zhaoting were friends, and very proud and arrogant. However, now they were both expressing their thanks to Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou.

Mu Bai and Zhao Kunsan were just standing there with their faces pale. How could they accept that the person they despised most had actually saved their little lives?

“Teacher, you better give extra attention to this cavern. If that berserk summoned beast were to charge out…” Zhou Min reminded them.

“Don’t worry, the summoned beast has already died,” Mrs. Tangyue said.

“Mhm, it was killed by Mo Fan,” Zhankong nodded his agreement.

“Oh, as long as it’s dead, as long as it is dead. That kind of berserk summoned beast… Wait, Chief Instructor, what did you just say?” Wang Sanpang didn’t immediately come to his senses before he opened his eyes and asked again.

_________________

Translator : Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

The Chief Instructor also forced a smile. “The berserk summoned beast was killed by Mo Fan.”

Xue Musheng, Zhang Jianguo, Luo Yunbo, Bai Yang; the instructors and the teachers were all astonished.

The person with the most intense reaction to this was naturally the summoner, Bai Yang. He looked at this barely second-year High school student as his chin almost dropped to the ground.

“My Spirit Wolf… was killed by you??” Bai Yang asked without confidence.

“Mhmm!” Mo Fan nodded.

For a moment, Bai Yang’s expression turned extremely strange. One could tell that this summoner’s heart had collapsed!

A magnificent Spirit Wolf was single-handedly killed by a student participating in his first Practical!

Shit, if he knew this would be the result, then Bai Yang would much rather believe that the Spirit Wolf was as stupid as a rabbit, hitting a rock by itself! This was too insulting for a Spirit Wolf’s pride!

Instructor Bai Yang had lost his spirit. Presumably, he wouldn’t be able to calm down even if he were to write a paper.

_(TL Note: Essentially, a form of meditation for him.)_

A huge waste!

There would be nothing more wasteful than this for the rest of his life!

It took a squadron about two months, and immeasurable amount of resources and manpower to finally subdue the Spirit Wolf. However… it was killed by a second-year High school student. How could these instructors possibly endure that!?

Each of the students was increasingly more dumbstruck.

They were very clear on how abnormal this Spirit Wolf was, they knew that it would be a one-sided massacre…

However, Mo Fan was the same as them, a second-year High school student. He relied on his own powers to kill the Spirit Wolf!

_Kneel!_

_Really have to kneel!_

“The other thing, I’ll tell you some good news. Due to Mo Fan completing this impossible mission, you, the students of the Elite class, will all receive grade A!” Chief Instructor Zhankong said to all the students.

“R…really?”

“Thank God, if I get an A, then I will definitely be able to enter a good Magic University!”

“Mo Fan, you are simply my greatest benefactor! I will definitely repay you when I’m rich!”

“Mo Fan, do you have a girlfriend?” a girl who was saved by him asked him with a whisper as she blushed.

“Mo Fan, do you need a boyfriend?”

In an instant, Mo Fan became everyone’s hero.

After all, not only did he save everyone’s lives, he even made it possible for everyone to receive an A grade on everyone’s extremely important Practicals!

Zhao Kunsan was going to make a few more sarcastic remarks, but he was encircled by fiendish gazes from the surroundings. He swallowed his words deeply.

Mu Bai’s face was still extremely ugly.

He was the first student to use Magic; however, it was ineffective. Then he was stuck unconscious by the Spirit Wolf. In the end, his limelight was stolen by Mo Fan.

—

“Aii, did you hear? That bounty was completed by a student. It seems like Bai Yang’s Spirit Wolf was directly slaughtered by a student!”

“Don’t bullshit. We all know of the Spirit Wolf’s prowess. If a student completed it, then I will eat the bounty liquid crystal,” said the incredibly bulky captain of a squad.

“Then you should go and eat it.” Pan Lijun spoke up suddenly as she swept her gaze across that man.

“Go look at it yourself, the bounty has been completed!”

The veterans in the stronghold all raised their heads. Sure enough, they discovered the bounty was flashing “Completed”, and beneath it said, “Tian Lan Magic High second-year student – Mo Fan”!

“Damn, that youngster sure is courageous!”

In an instant, the veterans within the stronghold were all stunned.

The face of the person who said he’d eat a liquid crystal turned exceedingly ugly.

_Holy crap, there really is a student who completed a bounty which I wouldn’t be able to complete?_

Soon enough, the news had spread across the stronghold.

Except for the Battlemages of Bo City, most of the people in the stronghold were hunters who wandered the mountains. These hunters relied on bounties and killing Magical Beasts to survive. After the news of this came out, each of the veterans within the stronghold felt a bit ashamed. The ones who ridiculed the students the most at the time were exactly these people.

“That Magical Equipment… the Defensive Magical Equipment?” the bald meddler asked hastily.

“Boss Zhankong is having a headache right now. He never prepared any Magic Equipment because everyone knew the students would not be able to complete this… Boss Zhankong is a very trustworthy person, he should be buying a Defensive Magic Equipment to give to the student,” Pan Lijun said.

“This student has made a huge profit, even Boss Zhankong’s heart is bleeding! Us who have gone through fire and flames will not necessarily get a piece of Defensive Magic Equipment… _sigh!_ ”

“Speaking of which, could that kid be the Young Master of some super ancient family? His body must be covered in luxurious adornments, how else was he be able to go up against the Magical Beast?”

“Bullshit, he’s just a common student. I heard that his dad is just a driver who delivers goods to our stronghold.”

“That… that really is too abnormal!”

“We’ve always been a group when we fight against a Magical Beast.”

—

Within a stone house, Chief Instructor Zhankong’s hands were clasped onto a case as a painful look crossed his face.

“Shit, that sinister merchant’s starting offer for this Bone Scythe Shield was 550,000!” Zhankong cursed.

On the side, Luo Yunbo, Pan Lijun, and Bai Yang said nothing.

A few Battlemages were smiling to themselves. Normally within this stronghold, their Boss Zhankong would beat them until cuts and bruises were all over their bodies. Who would’ve known that there’d be a time where even Boss Zhankong would have a headache, too?

A Bone Scythe Shield. This thing was really not cheap. It took quite a lot of Boss Zhankong’s salary. He had promised a reward himself this time. Thus, the government would definitely not cover it!

“Call the kid over, _hmph!_ ” Zhankong ordered, still in a bad mood.

“Boss, I’ve been here this entire time.” Mo Fan raised his hand as he spoke up. Boss Zhankong’s head wasn’t very clear.

When Zhankong saw Mo Fan, he felt somewhat angry. He still had no idea exactly how Mo Fan had killed the Spirit Wolf!

“Take it.” Zhankong handed the Bone Scythe Shield over to Mo Fan.

“Chief Instructor, could you let go, please?” Mo Fan asked.

Zhankong’s mouth twitched before he finally let go.

After Mo Fan received this treasure, he felt excited from head to toe.

Facing a Magical Beast this time made Mo Fan realize one point. Just having attack power was not enough. Any Magician who only knew how to attack would get killed by a Magical Beast in a single hit.

However, if he had some Defensive Magic Equipment, then it would truly be a treasure during this time that he hadn’t learned a single defensive magic spell!

“Kid, if you can’t find a suitable job after you’ve graduated, you can come here and report to me,” Zhankong said as he tried to present himself as a gentleman.

Even if his heart was reluctant, Zhankong had no choice but to admire this youngster’s courage and quick thinking.

The reason why so many Magicians were defeated by Magical Beasts was due to their thought processes. They didn’t understand how to properly use their limited Magic Spells.

Indeed, within the level of Primary Magician, all the Mages were only in possession of a single spell. But there were many ways to use a single spell. This kid had already grasped the true essence of magic, which many veteran Mages hadn’t truly understood yet.

________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Forget it, I’ll just get into a good university. I heard that even higher levels of Magic are only taught at university,” Mo Fan said.

When the Chief Instructor heard this, he felt angry.

_Sneaky kid, this Instructor inviting you to our forces is your luck, you actually dare to reject me!_

“Take the things and go. Don’t let me see you again,” Zhankong snarled, as his bad mood grew worse.

“Oh right, was there only a single Spirit Wolf guarding the cavern?” As Mo Fan carried it away, he was reminded of something and asked a question.

“There wa only one. If there were others, then you’d already have become their food. Why, do you still have some doubts?” Zhankong demanded.

“There’s nothing else, I just wanted to ask.” Mo Fan nodded his head and looked towards Instructor Bai Yang at the side, “Your Spirit Wolf sure can drink.”

Bai Yang was suspicious, but Mo Fan didn’t care.

“Hurry up and go!” Zhankong said impatiently.

——

Mo Fan was kicked out of the barracks, but he couldn’t help but whisper to himself, “This Advanced Mage got angry just because he gave away a Magical Equipment?”

The Bone Scythe Shield at this moment was in Mo Fan’s hands…

The Bone Scythe Shield just about covered Mo Fan’s entire palm. Mo Fan, who knew nothing about Magical Equipment, was puzzled at this moment.

_Can something that only covers my palm really withstand the attack of a Magical Beast? Do they really think all Magical Beasts have a compulsive obsession to only hit the shield of Captain America?_

After going through some research, Mo Fan finally understood how to use the Bone Scythe Shield.

When a Mage used their intent to enter the Bone Scythe Shield, the shield would automatically interlink with the Magician’s spirit and leave behind a Magical Equipment imprint within the Mage’s spirit world.

After the imprint was formed, the palm-sized shield would immediately assimilate into the Magician’s body.

When the Magician used their intent to circulate the imprint, the magical equipment would immediately appear in front of the user. The shield that would appear at that time would not be the size of a palm, it would become a shield wall the size of a man. Effects like the Spirit Wolf’s flying stones skill would then no longer be able to strike him.

“No wonder this thing’s price is so high. If I had this Bone Scythe Shield when I was up against the Spirit Wolf, then I could safely use magic from behind it!” Mo Fan looked at the large rhombus-shaped Bone Scythe Shield in front of him that bore the pattern of a scythe. He couldn’t help but smile.

With this Magical Equipment, he would have some resources to duel against Yu Ang of the Mu Family!

“Speaking of which, I possess both the Lightning and Fire Elements. Although Lightning Strike and Fire Burst are very useful, they still don’t have the desired combat prowess when I am truly facing a Magical Beast.” Mo Fan couldn’t help but ponder over this dilemma.

Being able to kill the Spirit Wolf actually involved lots of good fortune. If it wasn’t for the dazzling light that allowed Mo Fan to see the stalactites in the deeper part of the cavern, or Zhang Xiaohou’s Wind Trail, or the student’s unison attack, then he himself would have been shredded into pieces in an instant by the Spirit Wolf. If it wasn’t for them, then how could he have smoothly completed the bounty this time?

_I need to learn a spell similar to Wind Trail and Earth Ripple that allows me to move quickly, and quickly change my own position. Or else, with my slow speed, I might get smacked to death by a Magical Beast before I can even finish forming my Star Path._

After going through the battle this time, Mo Fan was finally aware of how important a defensive spell and a movement spell was.

In the Primary levels, only the Water Element possessed a defensive spell. In school, everyone thought that the Water Element was of little importance; however, in reality, the Water Element was essentially everyone’s benefactor when it came to battling a Magical Beast.

“In my hands, I have a Bone Scythe Shield. It can barely classify as a defense type spell. Thus, the next time I Awaken, I should consider a movement-type Element, like the Wind Element… or the cool one like Mrs. Tangyue, a spell that allows you to move through the shadows.”

The Wind Element’s primary spell, Wind Trail, was indeed remarkably useful in an actual battle. If you couldn’t break away from a Magical Beast’s attack, then you wouldn’t even have the margin of time needed to use your magic.

The Wind Element was a really good choice, but Mo Fan reckoned that the Shadow Element would suit him even better!

After doing his research, Mo Fan understood that the spell which Mrs. Tangyue used to move within the shadows belonged to the Shadow Element.

At his stage, the spells that everyone was familiar with were only within the basic Element types.

In reality, other than the “Basic Elemental Magic”, Magic had three other main types: White Magic, Black Magic, and Dimensional Magic!

The Healing Element was a part of White Magic.

The Shadow Element was a part of Black Magic.

The Summoning Element which Bai Yang wielded belonged to the Dimensional Magic type.

The nine years of compulsory magic education and High School classes only had basic elemental magic. If you wanted to learn about the three secondary types of White, Black, and Dimensional Magic, then you had to go to university.

Currently Mo Fan was in possession of the ability to control the Fire Element that possessed high attack power, as well as the tyrannical Lightning Element. With the Bone Scythe Shield, he had gained the ability to defend himself. The only thing he was missing now were the movement spells.

If one truly wanted to battle a Magical Beast alone, then one needed to have those abilities!

Shadow Element!

It was evident that this choice was the most suitable for him.

“I have to quickly rise to the ranks of an Intermediate Mage; that way I will be able to Awaken yet another Element. If only I can Awaken the Shadow Element!” Mo Fan said, filled with expectation.

Most people could only Awaken a single element as a Primary Mage.

Mo Fan had innate double Elements, and thus, it could be said that he already had a huge advantage.

An Intermediate Mage could not only learn the Intermediate level Magic spells, they could also Awaken a second time, and give birth to yet another Stardust!

After they Awakened yet another Element, the Mage’s battle prowess would definitely have an upgrade in quality!

Just like Chief Instructor Zhankong; when Mo Fan first met him, he was playing with flames. From that, you could tell that he was a Fire Mage.

However, in the cavern, behind his back was a pair of Wind Wings that shocked everyone’s hearts.

Thus it was very evident that not only did he cultivate Fire Element, he also cultivated the Wind Element.

Moreover, he could also deduce that Zhankong should be in possession of one more Element’s spell.

The Wind Wings was a spell that only Advanced Mages could control. Intermediate Mages already possessed double Elements, and when they reached the Advanced level, they would have a third chance to Awaken. They would have a third Element!

In short, Primary Mages only had magic of one Element.

Intermediate Mage could Awaken one more Element, and thus be in control of two elemental magicks.

Advanced Mage could Awaken yet another Element and control three elemental magicks.

Mo Fan was an innate double Element, thus, he was already one step ahead of others from the very beginning.

Additionally, if Mo Fan hadn’t had the combination of Fire and Lightning Eements, then he would not have been able to kill the Spirit Wolf. Chief Instructor Zhankong didn’t understand why the Spirit Wolf didn’t evade the falling stalactite. This was because he couldn’t imagine that not only was Mo Fan a Fire Element Mage, he also possessed the Lightning Element Stardust. It was the Lightning Strike that paralyzed the Spirit Wolf, causing it to be immobilized!

“I have the little Loach Pendant, as well as my cultivation capacity, which is twice as much as others. Thus, the progress of my cultivation will be much faster than other people. However, having both Lightning Strike and Fire Burst is not enough to single-handedly go up against Magical Beasts. I need to quickly become an Intermediate-level Mage; that way, I would have one more set of elemental spells other than the Lightning and Fire spells I have right now. Having more spells doesn’t create a burden on my body!”

_Mhm, mhm, I have to do my best._

_How did the slogan of the boys of Class Eight go again?_

_Oh, right! Make money, cultivate, and marry Tangyue!_

____________________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

The rate of his cultivation was still not fast enough!

Even if Mo Fan had twice as much cultivation time as other people, as well as the 20% buff from the Stardust Magic Tool, the time would still have to be split between his two concubines, er, Stardusts. Thus, he would only be slightly bit faster than that fool Mu Bai.

If he didn’t want to easily expose the ability of his Lightning Element in front of others, he would not be able to rely on that small advantage to play against the Ancient Mu Family and their cash players!

The question is, how would he be able to maximize the increase of his strength?

As he decided to Baidu the answer, all it said was: Buy a Stardust Magic Tool!

This answer was essentially too stupid.

Let’s not bullshit, the Stardust Magic Tool was naturally the best tool to increase his cultivation. The question was whether the Stardust Magic Tool was something a person could buy?

However, from Mo Fan’s point of view, other than the Stardust Magic Tool, there were no other good methods!

“What if I were to upgrade the Little Loach Pendant to Spirit rank, just like the one Mu Ningxue is wearing…

“A Common ranked Stardust Magic Tool is only able to increase cultivation by 20%. If I were to upgrade it to a Spirit rank, then it would be a 40% increase. That way, even if I were to practice both the Lightning and Fire Element, then I’d still be much quicker than most people. Mu Ningxue’s starting point was higher than mine by too much. Since she was able to get recruited by the Empire early on, that itself would testify that her strength exceeds mine, and most likely has reached the requirement of universities. If I still slowly cultivate like this, then I will get shaken to death by the ancient Mu Family sooner or later.” Mo Fan didn’t regret making this kind of enemy. He was only able to exhaust all his options to increase his strength due to the enemy’s oppression.

Presently, the only thing that could increase his strength faster seemed to be a Stardust Magic Tool.

Mrs. Tangyue had mentioned it before. The Little Loach Pendant could be upgraded by absorbing the spirits of Magical Beasts after they died. This meant that he would need to go out and slay Magical Beasts. If his luck was good, then a spirit would really show up. Then his Little Loach Pendant could really be upgraded to Spirit Rank!

The 40% cultivation addition for a Mage like Mo Fan, whose cultivation speed was already twice as fast as others, was simply riding a rocket!

“It seems like this is the only way.”

Since he had made a decision, then he should brazenly do it!

The heavens had given him this advantage. If he were to neglect it, then it’d be good for nothing.

——

After the Practicals, there still remained about a month of summer vacation. Mo Fan walked down to the Hall of the Hunter’s Union without hesitation.

The Hunter’s Union was an organization formed by wandering Hunter’s Squadrons. There were tens of thousands of Hunter Mages who came to the Hall of the Hunter’s Union to search for missions that were suitable for themselves.

Mo Fan had already gone through them. A Spirit Essence’s price on the market exceeded 5 million RMB.

Searching for Magical Beasts was the only path Mo Fan could choose to obtain wealth. If he really could gather 5 million RMB first was hard to say, but the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences were something you could only obtain through killing a Magical Beast. This was the only path he could choose now.

Killing a Magical Beast by himself?

Mo Fan immediately shook his head to reject the idea. He simply did not possess the ability to kill a Magical Beast by himself. Thus, he now needed to look for a Hunter Squad that was suitable for him.

Practically all of the Mages in Hunter’s Union formed their own little squads. Those who were able to kill a Magical Beast single-handedly were far too few.

—

The Hall of Hunters. The people came and went, it felt like a large hall of spirals, while at same time like a job fair.

On the wall of the Hall of Hunters was a colossal LCD screen. It announced the newest missions, as well as the rewards of the missions. The lowest reward was 100k RMB, and the higher reward missions could go up to millions.

Mo Fan looked at the million-level missions, his saliva almost flowing down his mouth.

Completing five of those kinds of missions, and he would be able to buy a Soul Essence to upgrade his Little Loach Pendant by a level.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t something a normal person could do!

“Iron Hammer Squad is looking for Ice elemental Mages. Required battle experience is three years and above. Have the desire to cooperate in a team. The most important thing is to have adept control of the Ice spell. The mission has already been received, average reward is 20k RMB, estimated two months completion!”

“Wind Element Mages, the squad lacks an experienced Wind Magician who can lure an One-eyed Magic Wolf. Other Elements are not needed!”

“Fire Element. Where are the Fire Mages, join our Fierce Wind Squad! Guaranteed to efficiently complete missions, and get wealthy!”

Mo Fan swept a glance over to the side, and he discovered that those Magicians who had joined squads before had actually brought resumes!

On the resume was distinct proof of their time in other squads, how many missions they’d completed, and the levels of the missions.

Mo Fan was dazzled by this scene. For a moment, he had no idea on how to pick.

It seemed like the Magicians who had just graduated were those no one wanted. After all, they had far too little experience with Magical Beasts; one small mistake and they’d lose their life. Who would dare to have Mages who just graduated?

Mo Fan hadn’t even graduated; he was a student who had just entered his second year of High school. Bringing a Magic Student was simply a nuisance, and essentially defrauding his squad mates. He could tell that it would be very hard to find a suitable squad from his time in Practicals.

“Shit, being a Mage actually needs qualifications, this particular year…” Mo Fan couldn’t help but curse.

As Mo Fan finished cursing, a man hurriedly ran past Mo Fan and bumped into Mo Fan while cursing even more.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. The City Hunter’s Team is currently recruiting. I have to go and give it a try. Excuse me for bumping into you!” a weak youth wearing thick glasses said to Mo Fan.

“City Hunter’s Team?” Mo Fan asked suspiciously.

“Yeah, don’t you know? They’re specialized in sweeping dangers within the city. They’re a group who kills Magical Beasts that are hiding within the city. The City Hunter’s Team has always been the first choice of Hunter Mages. After all, they are hunters who can stay within the city. Who likes to run around the desolate areas and fight against unknown creatures? Not to mention the City Hunter’s Team’s rewards have always been really high…” the youth said as he pushed his glasses up.

“Tong Yubin, you should stop wasting your time. A Mage like you who just graduated from a Magic High School doesn’t have experience, nor the strength. There’s no way the City Hunter’s Team would notice you, unless you’re a Lightning Mage,” an older Hunter to the side ridiculed him.

“They’re looking for Lightning Mages?” Mo Fan asked quickly as his eyes lit up.

The City Hunter’s Team, they moved within the city. This is something very suitable for Mo Fan, who was still studying in school.

If he were to go to outside, then he wouldn’t know how long it would take him to finish a mission.

“Lightning Mages have always been in demand for squads. Even the Lightning Mages who have no experience whatsoever will be happily accepted into a squad. After all, the Lightning Mages are far too few, their skills are just simply tyrannical. _Sigh!_ If I were to Awaken a Lightning Element, then I wouldn’t have to be ridiculed by those veterans every day!” that old Hunter said.

_________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[advantage]: by having their erection in contact with her

*[ cent bills]: China has cents in bills called jiao

*[Guoshu]: Guo here means country and shu means technique

*[ 190 centimeters]: Over 6ft tall

*[Lake Cui]: Cui Hu, also means Green Lake

*[hundred dyuan bills]: 100yuan is their biggest bill

*[Daoist Fierce Tiger]: The author of this novel

*[Noodles]: made of wheat

*[Rice Noodles]: made of rice

*[Zhang Tian Tian]: Tian means sweet

*[Bajiquan]: Also known as Eight Extremities Fist, but Bajiquan sounds nicer to me

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

_Oh, oh!,_ Mo Fan rejoiced covertly.

So it turned out that Lightning Mages were very popular within the Hunter’s Union!

They couldn’t be blamed, however. There was only one Lightning Mage per thousand people, and additionally, the Lightning spells’ power were not inferior to the Fire Element. Plus, it carried a paralysis effect. With a Lightning Mage suppressing the Magical Beasts, the speed it took for a squadron to circle Magical Beasts would be reduced by a large margin!

Good, he had found a method that would allow him to make money, as well as increase his combat prowess!

_However, in order to not expose my innate double Element, I should still do a disguise. On one hand, it’s so people won’t recognize me. On the other hand, I would look more mature. I am still too much of a high schooler!_ After Mo Fan made his decision, he quickly found a black crayon.

Changing his appearance wasn’t hard. Mo Fan just needed to dye his face darker and then put on a long, gray hoodie.

As long as he put on the hoodie, and showed the distinct jawline of his face, his entire temperament would be entirely different!

He found the City Hunter’s Team and saw the long queue standing outside. He couldn’t help but sob a bit.

_Shit, this even overtakes registration for the officer’s exams!_

_Let’s just line up. That’s all I can do. Let’s just do the interview first and then go past stage two of it. It seems like the interviewer is a sweet and beautiful woman._

—

“They’re all trash. Do these morons thinks we, the City Hunter’s Team, are a job where we just sit on our butts and eat the benefits of the state!?” a tall and sturdy man, who still had gauze wrapped around his head, snarled from behind the recruitment counter.

“Captain, don’t be anxious. There’s a lot of people applying, there will be a good one!” said another man who was wearing a fashionable flower cap.

“Actually, this one isn’t bad. He has mastered the second level of Wind Trail, Flash Steps. It can be used to track and lure Magical Beasts,” a delicate-looking girl said as she stood behind the sturdy and tall man.

“As long as we have me as the Wind Element, do we still need anyone else?” spoke up a Wind Mage with long hair, looking graceful in his white shirt.

“These are all just considerations. I still haven’t seen anyone I’m completely satisfied with yet,” the gauzed-up Captain said.

“In that case, how about Ah Cheng? This fellow is quite clever. The truth is, the really amazing Mages actually have their own fixed squads. They rarely wander over here. In my point of view, we should just choose Ah Cheng. His Fire abilities should be sufficient enough against a Magical Beast,” the graceful, long-haired Wind Mage spoke up.

The Captain helplessly shook his head, “It seems like this is the only way.”

As he finished saying this, that sweet-looking recruitment girl hastily ran over, her face ramming directly into the Captain’s chest.

“A…Ah, I’m sorry.” The recruitment girl’s cheeks were red as she hastily apologized. “There’s… there’s a Lightning… a Lightning Mage applying to join our City Hunter’s Team.”

“Are you for real??” The tall and sturdy Captain seemed more energized, his eyes beamed as he looked in the direction of the long recruitment line.

The other squadmates’ eyes also sparkled.

Lightning Mage!

Their City Hunter Team was indeed popular, relative to other squads. However, that didn’t mean that Lightning Mages were willing to enlist with them.

In the past, Lightning Mages had always been guests among the Hunter Squads. Some of the more Elite squads wouldn’t mind taking in a completely newbie Lightning Mage.

You could definitely cultivate newbies. However, an one in a thousand Lightning Mage was extremely hard to find even if you were to turn on a lantern!

Too many Lightning Mages had already been reserved, and additionally, they were very easy to absorb into a large Ancient Family or other organizations. The possibility of finding an unattached Lightning Mage was just far too small.

“Is that him?” The sturdy Captain was a little impatient, he directly walked out from the back room.

“Y…yes, Captain. Are you going to personally interview him?” the recruitment girl stuttered.

“Interview… What’s there to interview?” the sturdy Captain turned around, looking puzzled.

The recruitment girl, as well as the other teammates, were confused. If the Captain wasn’t going to personally interview him, then why did he run over there?

At this moment, you could see the Captain walking to the recruitment desk. He looked at Mo Fan, whose face seemed somewhat dark, before he asked, “You’re a Lightning Mage?”

Mo Fan glanced at this tall, sturdy, and ferocious man as he slowly raised his hand. In a split second, an electric arc passed between his fingers before it formed what seemed to be a bug, buzzing as it fell onto the table, before burning a small hole in the table cloth.

The sturdy Captain’s face bloomed, he nodded his head excitedly.

“You guys… no longer need to line up! We have found our person!” The sturdy Captain was also domineering; he directly shouted this out as he looked at the long line.

As he shouted that, the long line was not very happy.

“Shit, why? We still haven’t gone through an interview yet?!”

“Yeah, I’m really strong. I can cast a spell in less than four seconds.”

“Are you for real, there are even Magicians going through the back door in recruiting? This world is just too unfair! I don’t want to be in the desolate areas!”

The group of people began voicing their complaints. They had expectations for this position.

“If any of you is also a Lightning Mage, then this Captain will break the rules and recruit you!” shouted the sturdy Captain, maintaining his unreasonable attitude.

As everyone heard this, they were stunned.

“Shit, Lightning?”

“Are you for real? A Lightning elementalist ran here and stole our livelihood, how do we even survive now?!”

“Ugh, a Lightning elementalist, what’s there to interview about? Let’s just go somewhere else.”

As soon as they heard Lightning Element, everyone was like a defeated chicken as they dangled their heads and slunk away.

There’s nothing they could do about it. The Lightning Element was the top of the Basic Elements, it had an incomparable advantage. These people no longer had any desire to compete.

Mo Fan turned around and saw that the long line immediately disperse. He was a little shocked.

Even in school, he knew that the Lightning Element had a particular importance attached to it. However, he never thought that the Lightning Element would possess such a suppressing force in magical society.

It made sense when he thought about it. When he was facing the Spirit Wolf, the truly decisive spell was indeed the Lightning Element’s Lightning Strike. Not only was it able to injure the Magical Beast, it was also able to paralyze its muscles!

“Come come come, little brother. Welcome to our City Hunter Team, let me introduce you to our members… Oh, let me first introduce myself. I am the Captain of the City Hunter Team, Xu Dahuang, a Fire Mage,” the sturdy Captain introduced himself.

“Hello, my name is Xiaoke, I am a Water Mage,” the delicate-looking girl smiled sweetly.

“Li Wenjie, Wind Element,” the handsome young man said confidently, as he flung his graceful hair back.

“Call me Feishi, I am an Earth elementalist,” the round-faced man with the flower hat said as he smiled widely.

Mo Fan looked at these Magicians whose were definitely a few years older than him. He was a bit stunned before he finally introduced himself, “I am Fan Mo.”

“Fan Mo, from your blank resume, I can tell that you’re a newbie who hasn’t even met a genuine Magical Beast. Thus, I want to remind you of one thing. Don’t think you’re amazing just because you’re a Lightning Mage, be careful of your own life!” spouted a rather beautiful girl.

Mo Fan glanced at that young woman, feeling that she was somewhat familiar.

“Oh, this is my Vice-Captain, Cai Tang, Ice Element!” Captain Xu Dahuang explained with a smile.

_Cai Tang??_

_Shit, it’s that girl!_

Mo Fan finally recognized this person. This Cai Tang was related to the Mu Family. This girl kept up a princess-like appearance every day, and was hard to interact with!

_Shit, how come I meet people from the Mu Family all the time? It seems like I need to quickly enter a good university and leave this city…_

_______________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Alright, Fan Mo. We will give you an ID related to the City Hunters Team later,” Captain Xu Dahuang said.

“There’s an ID?” Mo Fan asked, feeling a bit stunned.

“Of course!” Feishi explained as he kept smiling, “This ID has quite a few privileges, you are now equivalent to a enforcement officer within Bo City!”

“You’re saying that I have now become an honorable enforcement officer?” Mo Fan asked, as he creased his brow.

“Hahaha, we are precisely City Officers!” Li Wenjie suddenly laughed. Only after he stopped laughing did he continue, “The only difference is that we don’t deal with those law-breaking peddlers nor profiteers, we deal with the things that emerge at night!”

A City Officer of Bo City?

Mo Fan couldn’t help but smile a little. This position was quite to his own liking; it had a whiff of being Spiderman, The Flash, or Iron Man, a hero that was supposed to save this chaotic city. While at same time, he could be mysterious as he flirted with girls!

Mo Fan quickly blended in with the mood. Fei Shi, the older brother who had the most experience, introduced the squad’s current state of affairs as well as their primary responsibilities.

“Hello… What, why didn’t you report this to me earlier? What kind of global joke are you making, those police officers are completely useless!” While they were happily discussing things, the Captain Xu Dahuang roared into his phone.

Li Wenjie, Xiao Ke, Feishi and the people who were happily talking to Mo Fan suddenly changed expressions as their gaze fixed on Captain Xu Dahuang.

At this time, Fei Shi creased his brow as he whispered to the suspicious Mo Fan, “Originally, we wanted to take you out for some drinks. Who would’ve thought that the second you joined us, we would be assigned work! If we aren’t wrong, then it’s most likely the Cafeteria’s Quaking Door of Mingwen Girl’s Middle School.”

“The Cafeteria’s Quaking Door?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

He had heard of quaking cars, quaking water, quaking fields, but it was his first time hearing about freaking quaking doors. _You city people sure know how to have fun!_

“Brother, you are too wicked… It’s not what you think it is. Every night, the school’s cafeteria would experience some strange quaking. In the beginning, they thought it was some construction team working in the middle of the night. After that, they dispatched people to check and the report said there was no construction team. Instead, there was a strange story that has been passed down through the Mingwen Girls Middle School,” Fei Shi explained to Mo Fan in a whisper.

“Did you say Mingwen Girls Middle School?” Mo Fan suddenly realized something before he inquired further.

“Yes, it’s a girls-only school, even the teachers… _tsk, cough_ ” Fei Shi returned to being serious.

Mo Fan was unable to have sexual fantasies about it. Ye Xinxia was at precisely that girl’s school. Thinking back on it, roughly two months ago when he was on phone with Ye Xinxia, she had told him that her cafeteria was really scary.

“Alright, let’s make use of the time when the students aren’t studying to immediately resolve the issue!” Captain Xu Dahuang said.

Putting down the phone in his hand, Xu Dahuang’s face was no longer smiling.

Li Wenjie, Xiao Ke, Guo Caitang, and Feishi; all four people’s eyes were all fixed on their captain.

“There has been an accident. A second girl has gone missing,” Xu Dahuang said with a calm voice.

Everyone’s brows creased.

A few months earlier, there was a girl who went missing at Mingwen Girls Middle School. Due to the school being unable to determine whether the girl had disappeared on the school grounds, this matter had been handled by the police. After a few months, there still hadn’t been a single clue.

This matter had been in the morning newspapers, but everyone was quick to forget. The city had millions of people, and someone disappearing was not something strange to the police at all.

Xu Dahuang and his team had made a trip to the Mingwen Girls Middle School once before. The school, however, didn’t want to make this into a big ordeal. Thus, they didn’t want to let the City Hunters do anything, leaving the matter completely unsettled. Who would’ve known that half a year later, there’d be yet another girl gone missing. This time, she had actually gone missing within the school grounds.

The school finally realized that this was a big problem, and they urgently got in contact with the City Hunter Team.

“Captain, if someone were to go missing, shouldn’t they still just contact the police?” Xiao Ke opened her mouth to ask.

“A Light Mage found some footprints that didn’t belong to humans.” Xu Dahuang said solemnly.

Everyone else immediately turned silent, except for Li Wenjie, who seemed to be bursting with life. It was evident that he felt happy about having work to do.

“They contacted us a week after it happened; they really are a group of morons. If they had contacted us immediately, then perhaps we could have found the missing girl. Now that it has been this long, that girl is definitely gone!”

“Some schools are like that. Everyone wants to hide the bad things, but once they realize they cannot hide it, that’s when they know it’s a real problem!” Guo Caitang said coldly.

As Mo Fan heard everyone talking, his heart began to beat harshly.

Missing for a month?

Ye Xinxia hadn’t contacted him for a whole week!

Due to him not having the money to buy a mobile, Mo Fan had always used the old telephone booth to call Ye Xinxia’s mobile. He would talk to her at least once a week.

He had just returned from Practicals and his heart was filled with how to increase his own strength. Thus, he forgot to check in with Ye Xinxia!

Aunt Mo Qing’s house was near Mingwen Girls Middle School. Even during summer break, Ye Xinxia would spend the majority of her time immersed within the school’s library, since it was extremely inconvenient for her to walk to begin with…

As Mo Fan thought more about it, his heart grew increasingly more panicked. He urgently borrowed a phone from Fei Shi.

“ _The number you have called is unavailable_.”

Mo Fan’s heart jumped.

“I will reunite with you guys in a bit!” Not saying anything further, Mo Fan dashed out of the Hall of the Hunter’s Union.

“Hey, wait! In any case, take my phone with you, this way we can contact you easier!” Fei Shi yelled toward Mo Fan.

As he yelled out, Fei Shi tossed his phone toward the running Mo Fan.

“Brother, isn’t it a bit dangerous when you throw your phone like that? What if that kid didn’t catch it?”

“Don’t worry, that’s a Nokia. It won’t break.”

“Brother, I meant as in what if you crushed him to death!”

“…”

“What’s wrong, why does your face suddenly look so bad?”

“The gods know, no matter what, we should start doing our work.”

___________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Mo Fan felt as though he was burning up with impatience and worry. At this moment, he really wished he had a movement spell so he could quickly arrive at Mingwen Girls Middle School.

Sitting in the slow taxi, he finally arrived at Aunt Mo Qing’s house.

As he dashed into his aunt’s house, Mo Fan almost crashed into a girl in a wheelchair as he turned a corner.

“Brother Mo Fan!” Ye Xinxia smiled sweetly, she was astonished and delighted that he was there.

“Xinxia, you’re okay! You scared the living hell out of me.” When Mo Fan finally saw Ye Xinxia’s smile, his heart immediately calmed down.

“What’s wrong?”

“Why was your phone turned off when I called you?”

“Payment was due, I wasn’t willing to pay.” Ye Xinxia lowered her head as she answered, feeling embarrassed.

“…”

Alright, the girl only wanted to save a little money.

Either way, as long as she was okay, it was good. Mo Fan loosened up.

“Did the Practicals go smoothly?” Ye Xinxia handed a rolled handkerchief to Mo Fan.

Nowadays, girls who carried a handkerchief were far too few. It’s not that Xinxia was immersed in literature, but it was because carrying one would save money.

Mo Fan wiped his sweat as he also smelled the fragrance on the handkerchief. _Hmm, there’s still that alluring body fragrance. The ones I stole before have lost their fragrance…eh, I almost exposed my vulgar actions._

“I heard that there are missing girls from your school?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mhm.” Ye Xinxia urgently nodded several times. “It’s really scary this time, Aunt won’t even let me go to school.”

“Tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s a girl from my next door class, her name is Lin Yun’er. The day she disappeared, I was also in the library, she even told me that she was going back to the dormitory. However, after that, I never saw her again. None of the cameras in school saw her leaving the school, either…” Ye Xinxia said in a low voice.

Seeing her turning pale at recalling this, Mo Fan lightly patted her shoulder.

“In this case, you’re the last person to see her?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, the police have already asked me numerous times, but that is all I know. However…” Ye Xinxia lowered her head.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan asked.

“After leaving the library, I smelled something strange. This smell was similar to the rancid odor that is emitted from a certain place in the school cafeteria. However, our library is far from the cafeteria, and at that time, I felt a strange chill. It was like… something was staring at me. I was really scared, so I hurriedly left that place,” Ye Xinxia said.

Mo Fan’s brow creased. Apparently, she had already been extremely close to danger!

“Brother Mo Fan, if I didn’t leave that early…” Ye Xinxia was clearly at a loss.

“Yeah, it’s a good thing that you left early, or else you could possibly have become the missing girl!” Mo Fan was glad inside.

Ye Xinxia shook her head as she used a voice that only she seemed to be able to hear to blame herself, “I reckon that scary thing’s initial objective was me. Since I hurriedly left the place, it turned its attention toward the person next to me, Li Yun’er. I…I should’ve gone to find Lin Yun’er and had her leave the school with me.”

As Mo Fan heard Ye Xinxia blaming herself, he was momentarily speechless.

_This brat, just what is she thinking in her head…_

If she hadn’t left early, then it was possible that there would be two missing people. If the school really had something that shouldn’t be there, then neither of the two girls had the strength to defend themselves.

“How can this be blamed on you? Even if you had told Lin Yun’er, she would have just thought you were too paranoid. Your five senses have always been more sharp than others since you were young; however, you are unable to move freely. Being able to protect yourself is already an impressive matter,” Mo Fan conforted her in a soft voice.

“Brother Mo Fan, do you think Lin Yun’er has already…”

“Most likely… Oh, no. Definitely not. I’m now working for the City Hunter Team, we will solve this problem. How could I let my cute Xinxia stay in such a dangerous school!” Mo Fan said as he clapped his chest.

The words came from Mo Fan’s heart.

With such a thing happening inside the Mingwen Girls Middle School, even if he wasn’t a part of the City Hunter Team, he’d still rush over. Ye Xinxia had already lost something very important to her growing up. No matter what happened, Mo Fan would not allow his wheelchair-bound sister suffer even more things.

She was pure, beautiful, and kind. When he was young, he’d often hide in Ye Xinxia’s home after having fights with other kids from the area because he was scared of his dad’s scolding. Ye Xinxia would carefully clean and wrap his cuts and bruises for him. She even lied to them for his sake…

Ever since then, Mo Fan made a vow to himself that he would definitely take good care of her, and not allow her to suffer anything.

“For the next few days, stay home. Wait until I finish dealing with the perpetrator?…” Mo Fan patted Ye Xinxia’s head.

“Mmm!” Ye Xinxia nodded her head sweetly.

After learning that Mo Fan was a Lightning Mage, Ye Xinxia began to feel safer. Moreover, she could also feel her Brother Fan was becoming stronger and stronger.

He went from a common youth to a Magician, and was now a member of the City Hunter Team! He changed practically every time she saw him! She guessed that during the time she hadn’t seen him, he had done his very best to improve.

“Brother Mo Fan, did you get exposed to the sun when you were in Practicals?”

“Not at all, why do you ask that?”

“You’re so black that I can barely recognize you.”

“…”

——

After leaving his aunt’s home, Mo Fan headed for Mingwen Girls Middle School.

_Shit, a city and a school actually had such a scary thing happening; developing the flowers of this country in this kind of environment. The teachers may be able to endure it, but this uncle won’t!_

_The beautiful girls of Mingwen Girls Middle School, do not be flustered, do not be afraid. Your prince on a black horse has come to rescue you from this chaos!_

_Bang!_

As he kicked the elegant gate of the school open, Mo Fan was feeling ready to enjoy the admiration and attention from thousands of girls in their short, white skirts. Who would’ve thought that as he looked in, the entire campus was completely empty. A few homeless cats on the flowerbed stretched their heads out as they used their disdainful gazes to look at the intruder by the gate; it looked as though they were saying, “Where’d this retard come from, you scared the crap out of this daddy!”

_Oh, ohhh. I forgot this is the summer break, the girls aren’t here._

“En? You got here before me.” Not long after, a woman’s voice came from behind him.

Mo Fan turned around, and discovered it was that extremely arrogant Guo Caitang.

Other than this girl having a plump chest and slender legs, her entire body emitted the temperament of an evil woman.

________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Did you find anything?” Guo Caitang asked Mo Fan.

“I have questioned the person who last saw the missing girl. She said she smelled a rotten odor also found in the cafeteria. I have basically determined that the cafeteria either has a panty-stealing pervert or a Magical Beast.” Mo Fan pushed back his glasses in a move that exuded wisdom, _How did Detective Conan put it… Oh right, there is only one truth!_

“Is that so. Then tonight, you’ll keep watch over the cafeteria. The rest of us will go to the teaching blocks, the Mingwen Mountain Park, dormitory, and the school field,” Guo Caitang replied, appearing somewhat arrogant.

“That… why am I not keeping watch over the dormitories? I heard that there are a few students who stayed behind. Why don’t you let me take care of their safety…” Mo Fan said.

“Just Feishi being there is enough.”

Mo Fan felt a headache coming on. Feishi looked like a weird uncle that would steal girl’s underwear. Having him keeping watch over the dormitories would result in the girls being in even more danger!

——

That evening, Mo Fan really was assigned to watch over the cafeteria.

The cafeteria of Mingwen Girls Middle School was immensely large, looking like a huge meeting hall. As this place could be considered an aristocratic school, a cafeteria this luxurious and spacious was well within reason. Unlike the cafeteria of Tian Lan Magic High; if you wanted to hide something there, then you’d be swept out by the aunties at the cafeteria.

The dark cafeteria only had a few spots illuminated by the lights in the distance, the chairs and tables were neatly arranged. Mo Fan was squatting in a corner daydreaming about the scene of young girls wearing their short skirts in summer, the sweet fragrances overflowing in the endless radiance of the springtime…

_Boom!_

_Booom!!!_

_Boom! Boom! Boom!_

The noise came from nowhere.

A lone spoon which was forgotten on a table was swaying and trembling as it slowly moved toward the edge of the table.

As the spoon fell off the table, it hit Mo Fan’s head. Mo Fan quickly grabbed the little spoon that had nearly exposed his location.

_What the Hell, who would be so bored as to leave behind their spoon after having an ice cream in the middle of the night, it almost exposed my location…_

_This cafeteria is really weird. Just what is the source of this trembling, it feels like there’s a construction team beneath me. Could it be that they’re building a prison basement? Lately, that kind of thing has been quite popular all across the country,_ Mo Fan stealthily stretched his head out as he looked around.

_Grrrroowlll..._

Suddenly, an extremely strange, deep noise came from the back of the kitchen in the cafeteria.

Following the noise, Mo Fan immediately smelled the rancid odor of rotten food. It was some chives, fishy-smelling meat, and salted vegetables.

_Shit, there really is a Magical Beast?_ Mo Fan tensed up.

Before he joined the City Hunter Team, Mo Fan had always thought that the city was a very tranquil and safe world. He thought Magical Beasts were just something the adults made up just to scare kids who refused to go to sleep. Who would’ve thought that the city actually had some Magical Beasts hidden away; what aunt Mo Qing said before was not necessarily fake!

Thinking back on it, it made sense. The city was so big, there were too many unknown places. If a Magical Beast really were to appear, and there were human lives involved, the police would still prevent the information from being leaked out and then proceed to resolve the matter in private. The effect of people panicking was far worse than the things that were happening.

Mo Fan grabbed a communication device, pressing down on it in his pocket.

This communication device was simple. It would notify his team members of his location and let them know that he had a situation.

The sound of a stomach growling resounded.

As he pressed the communication device, the thing that was behind the cafeteria kitchen acted as though it could feel the signal. A set of deep blue eyes oddly emerged behind the kitchen glass as they directly locked onto the person who let out the signal.

Its pupils were as big as a basketball, and the meat tissues around the eyes writhed as it turned around, raising goosebumps on his skin.

With the help of the reflection, Mo Fan was able to roughly see a silhouette.

_That’s a neck-?_

The neck was as big as a tree, it was hard to distinguish whether it was a neck or a head. In short, in the place where there should be a head was an eye as large as a basketball, and a mouth that was filled with rotten food.

_Shit, are these Magical Beasts equipped with a signal receiver? It could even sense when I sent a signal!_ , Mo Fan cursed to himself.

As soon as he sent a signal, the big-eyed neck monster immediately locked onto him. Not even those aliens in Hollywood had an amazing ability like that!

_Gugu!_

Suddenly, the big-eyed neck monster’s pupil looked as though it had condensed, he could see that its basketball-sized pupil was compressing.

As the building energy reached its maximum output, a red ray shot out from the monster’s pupil!

The red ray pierced through the glass window that separated the students and the canteen aunties, before piercing through the row of dining tables straight toward Mo Fan’s location!

Mo Fan nearly peed his pants.

_This thing doesn’t even greet me before attacking me! Its cold expression is like a cafeteria lady’s annihilating gaze when you hope she will give you a bit more meat…_

Fortunately, it was not Mo Fan’s first time dealing with a Magical Beast. Relying on his reflexes, he tumbled toward the cafeteria’s exit.

In the next second, Mo Fan’s hiding place was turned into a scorched black hole. If he hadn’t rolled away, then that hole would’ve been his chest!

As their Stardusts grew stronger, they would also change a Magician’s physique. Although these changes weren’t extremely evident, they were good enough for a Magician to dodge very evident attacks.

Mo Fan was also very clever. He had chosen a location near the exit from the beginning, and thus he was able to successfully leave the cafeteria with just that tumble and roll.

However, everything was not as simple as Mo Fan thought it would be. The large-eyed neck monster let out a screeching noise as it rushed out of the back of the cafeteria. Its massive eyes was once again condensing a red light.

Mo Fan glanced behind him and felt increasingly shocked.

_This thing’s attack frequency is too high, I can no longer dodge it!_

Mo Fan began to use his intent to activate the Magical Equipment imprint within his soul so he could call out the Bone Scythe Shield to shield him.

As Mo Fan was about to finish it, a clear voice called out from the distant basketball court. “Water Field, Dissolve!”

Following this, Mo Fan saw a stream of water forming in the air. This stream of water was as soft as a ribbon as it floated in front of him. However, it quickly formed into a concave shield.

After the red ray hit the water shield, it was completely neutralized. The red energy was immediately dispersed into countless droplets that sprinkled over Mo Fan’s feet.

Mo Fan immediately cancelled the activation of the Bone Scythe Shield. He turned his head around just in time to see the girl called Xiao Ke smiling sweetly toward him as she revealed two cute canine teeth.

_Xiao Ke? Lady, your timing is too good!_

____________________

Translator : Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Fan Mo, fall back. Leave this animal to me!” Captain Xu Dahuang shouted as he and Fei Shi both arrived in time.

The two looked as though they were on a flat escalator. They didn’t take a single step, yet they were moving rapidly along the flat ground.

Mo Fan knew that this was the primary spell of the Earth Element, Earth Ripple!

Earth Ripple was also a movement spell, it could control the surface of the ground to initiate quick movement. Wang Sanpang was also capable of this. However, he was not as adept at it as Feishi.

“This is a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat, they usually live underground. Thus, they’re experts in digging holes and particularly enjoy the city sewers. They can stretch their neck and their eyes can release a piercing red light beam… This thing is like a mixed rat, capable of high speed reproduction. Their survival abilities are high. The sewers and garbage lots tend to have quite a few of them. Normally, they eat human leftovers. However, if their hunger reaches a certain degree, they are able to eat humans as well, making them a terrifying and common Magical Beast!” Soon enough, Vice Captain Guo Caitang informed everyone about this creature.

_(Ed. Note: Ah, comic book combat time. Look at that paragraph. And he said all that in the middle of an attacking giant rat!)_

Colossal-eyed Ape Rat?

The Magical Beast classes had discussed this creature a few times; this creature was an expert at living underground and hole-digging! It was the Lan Xiang University amongst Magical Beasts!

Normally, whenever this kind of Magical Beast encountered a Magician, they would run away peeing themselves. How come this one dared to even initiate attacks!?

“This one is evidently extremely rash. I reckon it’s starving; requiring a large amount of food and energy. Fortunately, we happened to find it!” Feishi said as he smiled.

These people were different from the group of students who ran like dogs when they first encountered Magical Beasts. Whether it was the Captain Xu Dahuang, the girl Xiao Ke, Wind Mage Guo Caitang or Uncle Feishi, they wore a different attitude when they faced off against the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat.

They were all spread out, but they stood at a distance where they could support each other.

They formed an attack formation, while maintaining a distance where they could retreat if they encountered danger.

Mo Fan, who had just joined their team as a member, was awkwardly standing there. It looked as though he had told his teammates, “After you retreat, I will challenge this creature.” However, the truth was, he was slowly shifting behind his teammates; on the inside, he was cursing Fei Shi for not using Earth Ripple on him.

The sound of an empty stomach grumbled out.

This Colossal-eyed Ape Rat was indeed extremely vicious, as it didn’t run away despite seeing so many people. Its eyes immediately locked onto the closest person to itself; the Wind Mage, Li Wenjie.

It was the red light beam! This animal that lived amongst the human city’s dark corner looked as though it wanted to shoot through the people moving around it presently. Its intense roaring was particularly fierce in the air of the evening school campus.

“You want to attack us?” The Wind Mage Li Wenjie was laid back.

Mo Fan practically didn’t see Li Wenjie meticulously focus his mind to link the Star Paths, yet a cyan Wind Track emerged around his body, blowing around his white shirt.

_Swoosh!_

The red piercing beam shot forth, but Li Wenjie left behind only a wild breeze at his former location. His figure had already flashed five meters away. How could one be that handsome?

“Fool, you dare to come out and harm people with just this little skill?!” Li Wenjie stood in front of a table tennis stand as he coldly smiled toward the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat.

When the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat saw its beam was ineffective toward this nimble human, it flew into a rage as it spread its four sharp limbs.

With a neck and head that strange, the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat’s speed was actually a few times faster than the Spirit Wolf which Mo Fan had met before. If it used this speed to go against students, even if they were able to stay calm and complete their Star Path, they would still be too late casting their spells!

The time it took for students to cast their spells was around four seconds, whereas the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat was able to get to Li Wenjie from a place forty meters away in a short two seconds. Its claws ripped right for Li Wenjie’s face.

Mo Fan couldn’t help but feel apprehensive; he was scared Li Wenjie would lose his life.

Looking at his surroundings, neither the Water Mage, Xiao Ke, nor the Earth Mage, Fei Shi, seemed to have any intention on saving Li Wenjie.

“Wind Track, Flash Steps!” Li Wenjie was not flustered at all. His gaze was calmly watching the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat dash over as he coldly spouted the name of his spell.

_Swoosh!_

Li Wenjie’s body once again disappeared from his original location. The Colossal-eyed Ape Rat’s claws smacked against the stone table tennis stand, reducing the table to powder that flew off into the surroundings.

After the creature realized that its claw had failed, it immediately began to look for Li Wenjie.

_Swoosh!_

Li Wenjie’s took another step, he once again left behind a dust trail before he quickly flashed twenty meters away.

_Swoosh!!_

Li Wenjie stopped behind a cotton tree planted inside the cantina. To Mo Fan’s surprise, the Wind Mage had once again disappeared from his sight.

Following this, a red beam fiercely hit the cotton tree Li Wenjie had stopped behind. The cotton tree was pierced straight through by the beam, leaving behind a blackened hole. Ash blew out of the hole from the superheated steam and charred wood, drifting down in a cloud of dark motes.

Wind Track, Flash Step!

Mo Fan saw this as he gasped in surprise.

In school, all the Wind elemental students had only grasped the Wind Track’s Swift Travel. To move fast with Swift Travel was only possible if you were able to create a Wind Tunnel. Although it was indeed quick, it was still not as fast as Li Wenjie’s Flash Step!

If Zhang Xiaohou had grasped Wind Track’s Flash Steps back then, he would definitely have been able to thrash that Spirit Wolf around a few times, and get out of the difficult situation of being chased deep within the cavern.

Although it was also a primary spell of the Wind Track, its effect felt evidently on a different level. The Colossal-eyed Ape Rat’s sensitivity was even above that of Spirit Wolf. However, at the end of the day it still wasn’t able to touch the corner of Li Wenjie’s clothes.

As expected, the things you learned at school were far too limited. Only when you were exposed to this kind of environment and constantly gaining practical combat experience would you truly be able to raise your strength.

_It was a wise choice to join the Hunters, only when I follow these Hunter Mages who are fearless in front of the Magical Beasts will I be able to grow. Going with those students who pee their pants when they see a Magical Beast is definitely a bad choice._

It wasn’t that Mo Fan disliked his classmates, but he had come to realize many things after battling against the Spirit Wolf.

Pursuing examinations, grades, target shootings, attending Magical Beast classes, and analyzing battle techniques were completely useless when you actually encountered a Magical Beast. The only way to improve was to fight, to constantly face Magical Beasts like this.

“Have a taste of my flames!”

Captain Xu Dahuang flew up confidently. There was already a ball of scorching hot flame in his palm. The flames illuminated the sturdy uncle’s face, which carried some disdain for the creature before him!

_____________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Fire Burst!” Xu DaHuang bellowed, the strong flame in his hands split the night, flying towards the Colossal-Eyed Ape Rat.

Feeling the heat behind him, the cunning Rat tried to dodge to the side.

This move by the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat astonished Mo Fan. It had some keen senses to detect the speedy attack by Xu DaHuang…

It was obviously going to miss. Monsters wouldn’t stand there like a dummy in school, waiting to be attacked.

“Hiding? Futile!” Xu DaHuang laughed in mockery.

The fireball landed where the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat first stood, missing it completely.

“Burst!” he chanted the twist to the technique.

In that instant, a ray of light emerged from the extinguishing fireball as it burst open!!

_Boom…!_

The cloud of fire exploded, waves of fire quickly swallowed everything around the point of impact.

_Crimson fires!!_

The crimson flames engulfed everything in a three-meter radius, including the Rat which thought it had evaded the attack.

A tremor appeared in the air, the explosion was blinding!!

Through the flames, Mo Fan could faintly see the Colossal-Eyed Rat get swallowed up in crimson. Its fat bulk was thrown five, six meters away, slamming head-first into the canteen walls.

Cornered, the Colossal-Eyed Rat thrashed for its life, now stripped of that monstrous air. Now, it was just a half-dead sewer rat.

At this, Mo Fan’s lips stretched into a giant “O”!

_Unbelievable!_

Fire Burst, Burst!!

That overbearing burst effect left no chance for that agile Big-Eyed Rat. The burn and cremation effects paled in comparison to that direct and violent burst effect!

Mo Fan never would have thought that the squad leader of the Hunting squad had trained the Fire Burst technique to the third level. The burst effect nearly killed the Rat instantly.

Man, if he had known Burst during the Spirit Wolf encounter, he could have ended it in a single blast. Would he have needed to run, needed those stalagmites? If those stalagmites weren’t everywhere, and the monster positioned directly underneath one… Last time, he was lucky.

_Unbelievably cool!_

At this point, Mo Fan’s heart toiled like the raging waves of fire.

Thinking about how his fireball could reach this level, his passion for training blazed.

As long as he could master Burst, that Yu Ao wouldn’t be his match, that old geezer Mu Zhuoyun could be smacked so hard that his face would swell up!

_Yes, no matter what, I have to reach the third level in Fire Burst before I graduate, and blind the titanium dog eyes of those old geezers in the Mu Family!_

The experience and skill of the Hunting Squad was apparent when they predicted that the Rat would run after the blast. Fei Shi and Guo Caitang sealed the escape routes of the Rat using their techniques.

“Ku…!!!!” the Big-Eyed Rat roared, and leapt unexpectedly towards Guo Caitang.

Guo Caitang paused, her Ice Vine technique froze the spot where the Rat had just fled. She did not anticipate that the Rat could still thrash so violently.

“Xiao Ke, Water Meld, now!” Squad Leader Xu DaHuang tensed at this sight.

Xiao Ke panicked, frantically linking the Water Star Path. Too nervous, Xiao Ke slowed down and couldn’t cast Water Meld in time.

While Guo Caitang, having faced dangers like this before, grit her teeth and leapt to the side.

Although she couldn’t dodge it completely, as long as she could save her vitals, losing an arm was better than dying.

“Lightning Seal, Python Mark!!”

Multiple seals swarmed in the distance just as the situation turned for the worse.

These seals flogged the Colossal-Eyed Rat and flayed its flesh. The Python marks on the Rat drilled frantically into its muscles, leaving it unable to run.

Halfway through its dash, the Rat seized up and slumped to the concrete, rolling to a stop before Guo Caitang’s legs.

Guo CaiTang paused as she saw the twitching Rat, before jumping back a few meters away. She stared in disbelief at Mo Fan.

“Good Job, Fan Mo!”

“Man, this Colossal-Eyed Rat has to be mutated, why is it more violent than a One-Eyed Wolf? Half-dead and it is still attacking rather than running!” Fei Shi exclaimed, still shocked from the ordeal.

“I’ve told you so many times, be on your guard, be on your guard!! Guo Caitang almost died… If not for the Lightning Mage we recruited today, would the monster be paralyzed? How else do we stop the Rat from staking it all?” Squad Leader Xu DaHuang burst into a tirade.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s my…my fault,” Xiao Ke stammered.

“Apologies wouldn’t help if someone died, they can’t hear it in their graves! As the only Water Mage in the team with defense capabilities, your job is to be on your guard! Be ready with your Star Path at all times!” Xu DaHuang bellowed at Xiao Ke.

Mo Fan was slightly surprised, he had expected Captain Xu DaHuang to just nag instead of lashing out at such a cute girl.

However, he wasn’t wrong. Magicians of different Elements had different roles to play when forming a Hunting team. A single mistake in a strategy was not only lethal, but would spell disaster for the entire team. Monsters killed in an instant!

Xiao Ke bit her lip and said nothing, having realized the severity of her mistake.

Guo Caitang did not blame Xiao Ke, instead, she continued to stare at Mo Fan.

She was about to die, but this greenhorn had saved her life!

_____________________

Translator : Tofu

Editor : RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Fan Mo, your reaction was really quick. Your spellcasting speed also shocked us. We thought you were the type of newly graduated Magician whose legs would soften up after seeing a Magical Beast.” Li Wenjie walked up to Mo Fan and patted his shoulder a few times.

“Yeah, I thought we would have to take care of you for the most of the year before you would be somewhat useful; who would’ve thought that your spirit quality was already good enough that you even saved Guo Caitang. Guo Caitang, you’ll have to devote your entire life to him to properly express your appreciation,” Fei Shi said with a laugh.

Mo Fan had applied for this position without any practical experience, nor resume. In fact, the Hunter Team’s minimum requirement was to have killed at least ten Magical Beasts. If Mo Fan were of a different Element, then this elite Team of Hunters would definitely not have accepted him. They didn’t even need those with the Fire Element. After all, the City Hunter Team fought off Magical Beasts within the city. If other hunters couldn’t face off against a Magical Beast, then they would just die by themselves. If the Hunters Team couldn’t face off against Magical Beasts, then it was possible that the consequences would spread to people who couldn’t fend off the Beasts themselves.

The City Hunters Team’s responsibilities were significant, and thus, its members needed to be the elite of the Hunter Mages.

Considering the rarity of a Lightning Mage, as well as the abilities of their spells, the Hunter Team was willing to spend half a year to properly nurture the rookie who knew nothing. In everyone’s eyes, Mo Fan was a definite rookie who wouldn’t necessarily be able to cast a spell when faced up against a Magical Beast.

Just now, after he had finished his Lightning Strike spell in an instant, his reaction time and control of his Star Path actually gave the Hunter Team a whole new view of him!

Especially Guo Caitang. In the beginning, she had aggressively given Mo Fan, a rookie, a harsh scolding. Who would’ve thought that at the most crucial time, it would be this rookie that would save her life? Her heart was exceedingly complicated at this moment.

“Alright, Li Wenjie, Feishi, the two of you go and inspect the cafeteria. If there is no other Magical Beast, then we can leave the rest of the matter to the police if that girl is still alive,” Xu Dahuang ordered.

“OK!”

Search and rescue required a large number of people. The Hunter Team’s primary objective was to eliminate the danger factors. Following that, all they needed to do was to let Feishi and Li Wenjie assist the police in searching for the missing Lin Yun’er.

It was just that it had been over a week, and the girl’s chances of survival were very low.

_Buzz…_

As Mo Fan was about to leave, the Little Loach Pendant suddenly let out a buzz.

_There’s a Soul Remnant?_

Mo Fan was delighted as he hurriedly walked over to the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat’s body.

A blue radiance emerged out of the carcass of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat. It looked similar to a firefly. It was as small as a candle flame, and acted like it was being summoned as it slowly floated into the pendant around Mo Fan’s neck.

The others were busy with other things, and thus they didn’t notice this scene. Mo Fan successfully absorbed the Soul Remnant of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat into his Little Loach Pendant.

The Little Loach Pendant had an ability that allowed it to automatically absorb Soul Remnants. When he had killed the Spirit Wolf, it had also absorbed the Spirit Wolf’s Soul Remnant.

_(Ed. Note: No, I don’t remember that happening, either…)_

Unfortunately, to make the Little Loach Pendant really grow required something even more pure than a Soul Remnant, which would be a Soul Essence. _Who knows if absorbing these Soul Remnants will have any effect whatsoever, I’ll have to go back home and do some research on it._

Moreover, the Magic Association and Hunter’s Union also sold Soul Remnants. The price of one was roughly around ten thousand RMB. If it absorbed enough Soul Remnants, then the Little Loach Pendant would also grow. _In that case, is there a need to use the money from hunting Magical Beasts to buy those Soul Remnants? Either way, the top priority is to make the Little Loach Pendant grow; this way, my Fire Burst will definitely reach the level of Rupture!_

_Hmm? The Lightning stars seem to have transformed some. Don’t tell me…_ Suddenly, Mo Fan felt the stars within his Lightning Stardust tingling excitedly.

The excitement here was similar to the time his Fire stars had transformed. The change that time had allowed Mo Fan to reach the level of Fire Burst’s Burning Bones, up from merely Scorch!

That is to say, his Lightning Strike was about to make a breakthrough!

In the past, when he was meditating, the Lightning stars had no reaction whatsoever. Who would’ve thought that the lightning quick spellcasting today would actually cause them to transform? Mo Fan didn’t know if they had transformed because of the experience from the battle he had today, or if it was due to the absorption of the Soul Remnant.

_Fire Burst has already achieved Burning Bones. I wonder what kind of effects the heaven-defying Lightning Strike will cause at its second level? It really makes me look forward to it!_

—

What Mo Fan did not expect was that he would actually obtain a commission from his first completed mission.

The school had used 200,000 yuan to ask the City Hunter Team to come there and solve the issue. Mo Fan received 10% of it; after all, he had just joined them. Normally speaking, those who had just joined would only receive the wages of an intern. The commission was given as a token; they considered Mo Fan a special Lightning Mage, as well as his outstanding display today. The team basically gave Mo Fan a full share.

10% was around 20,000 RMB. This was on par with six months of his father’s income.

Mo Fan didn’t want to play around with this money. He cautiously put it away, as he did not need it for a period of time.

Speaking of which, this was Mo Fan’s first time being paid for work. Although it was indeed dangerous, the reward had actually exceeded Mo Fan’s expectations. This was much more than the hunters outside of the city earned; no wonder why so many of them would do their best to join the ranks of the City Hunter Team!

——

_The Mu Family Manor…_

The sky-blue private pool had a gentle ripple. Mu He, wearing a swimming cap, had swum up on shore. With his body still wet from his swim, he laid down on the recliner with an umbrella shielding him from the sun. He then looked at the private swimming teacher with rye-colored skin as he not-so-accidentally swept his gaze across her chest.

_Creak, creak, creak…_

As Mu He was about to say something, he discovered the swimming pool had a layer of frost slowly growing across it. The surface of the swimming pool quickly solidified.

“Don’t… I’m going to swim again soon…” Mu He felt a headache coming on. Before he could finish, the entire swimming pool had already been frozen as solid as if it were winter. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Uncle He, my father wants you to come over,” a tall, slender man with a gloomy look said to him.

“Yu Ang, your Ice Stardust has gotten increasingly strong, how has your training been?” Mu He asked with a pleased expression.

“The progress is a bit slow,” the youth called Yu Ang replied.

“You still call that slow…” Mu He said with a forced smile, “Other people are only at the first level of Ice Spread, yet, you have already grasped Ice Spread: Condense. With your cultivation speed, you won’t even need two years to attain the third form of Ice Spread, Cover! That is a large-scale Ice Spread, let’s not even talk about a small Fire elemental student, you could even freeze a whole lot of them by yourself!”

“Two years? That’s still too long,” Yu Ang mumbled to himself.

“You’re always so dissatisfied with your cultivation. The truth is, you’re already far more outstanding than other peers your age. Yes, you and that child Mu Ningxue have a definite difference; however, Mu Ningxue is just too special. You should already know that your father, Mu Zhuoyun, has been brooding over that kid Mo Fan. After a year, when you’ve successfully dealt with that kid, then your father will definitely give you an amazing present,” Mu He laughed.

“I haven’t even put that little clown in my eyes at all,” Yu Ang stated.

____________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Yu Ang’s diligent cultivation was for himself. Even if his father, Mu Zhuoyun, had arranged a Magic Duel for him a year from now, Yu Ang genuinely did not put this matter in his heart.

“Why don’t you head over, I’ll be right there with you,” Mu He told him.

Yu Ang nodded as he walked toward the Master’s house.

After going through an artificial garden, Yu Ang stepped into an unusual little courtyard.

In a European-../styled Mansion like this, having an antique tea house was extremely strange.

“Father, I don’t understand why you have arranged a boring duel for me.” Yu Ang sat down to one side as he addressed Mu Zhuoyun.

“If we were to only invite high-class people, family members, and people of your age to your Coming-of-Age Ceremony, then that would be extremely dreary. The opportunity of gathering the most important and well-known people of Bo City into a single place is quite difficult. If there is a duel during your Coming-of-Age Ceremony, then I’m sure a lot of people would have a more positive opinion of you. There are certain matters which the older generation like me just cannot interfere with; thus, you need to use your own superior strength to subdue the seniors and peers watching you; this way, you will also gain prestige. Having that will assist you greatly when you control the city later on.” Mu Zhuoyun sipped his tea as he talked about his plans.

“Then you should arrange a more suitable opponent for me,” Yu Ang replied.

“In the beginning, I also thought that having a small character like that would be a child’s play for you during your Coming-of-Age Ceremony, so I was also considering about whether I should’ve arranged for someone more appropriate. However, it doesn’t seem that way anymore. After all, it’s essentially a battle between me, Deng Kai, and Principal Zhu,” Mu Zhuoyun told him.

“What do you mean?” Yu Ang asked, confused.

“Your opponent, Mo Fan, has already grasped the second level of Fire Burst. The progress of his cultivation has exceeded everyone’s expectations. Being able to achieve this kind of result in just a short year means he’s not just some minor character. Presently, he is the most outstanding student of Tian Lan Magic High, and he has gained the attention of Deng Kai, Zhan Kong, and Principal Zhu. Now, if I wanted to pull anything on this kid, I believe the others most likely wouldn’t let me do it… This really caught me by surprise. The cultivation of the son of a driver is actually not any slower than the preeminent disciples of the ancestral families. If he was more discreet, than you wouldn’t have to know anything about the matters between Deng Kai and I,” Mu Zhuoyun explained with a cold smile.

“In that case, there might be some interesting things happening.” Yu Ang looked greatly relieved.

If a weak opponent were to appear at his Coming-of-Age Ceremony, then he wouldn’t be earning himself any prestige; instead, it would be giving this scoundrel his spotlight, as well as not being able to demonstrate strength that exceeded his peers.

The Mu Family regarded the younger generation’s Coming-of-Age ceremonies as their most important, and it could be said that the Coming-of-Age Ceremony was their grandest ceremony. If their youths were strong, then the family clan was strong; this would allow them to claim power in Bo City at an early age. Having the older generations jumping out and showing off their strength wasn’t always appropriate. If they were to have their younger generation of disciples demonstrate their overwhelming dominance to their peers, wouldn’t that be demonstrating the Mu Family’s absolute power?

Mu Ningxue was at the Imperial Capital, which was an even higher domain.

Bo City also needed an outstanding young Magician who could carry the banner, right?

Yu Ang was an excellent successor for controlling the city. Mu Zhuoyun wanted to meticulously nurture him so that he could stand at the peak of Bo City.

Whether the path of the future would be smooth would naturally depend on the beginning. Other disciples’ Coming-of-Age Ceremonies could be arranged in a small manner. However, Yu Ang’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony needed to be grand. It had to have grandeur, it had to have guests, and it had to amaze the world!

_That brat Mo Fan does indeed exceed our expectations. However, he is only a stepping stone for the growth of an elite youngster like Yu Ang!_

However, would this scheming Mu Zhuoyun tell Yu Ang that he was nurturing the young man with a large amount of resources, so that when he reached a high position and held power, he would be someone else’s stepping stone? That person would be Mu Zhuoyun’s biological daughter, Mu Ningxue!

Mu Ningxue was the most perfect successor for Mu Zhuoyun. Since Bo City was too small, his only choice was to nurture another trusted aide so he could properly control Bo City and the native lands of the family.

“Don’t worry, after the end of the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, I will open up the Underground Holy Spring of Bo City for you. You will have a week’s worth of cultivation time in there. This one week will be enough to allow your cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds; then your peers in Bo City will no longer be placed in your eyes!” Mu Zhuoyun said calmly.

“Father, is that Underground Holy Spring really that magical?” Yu Ang’s eyes glistened as he asked this.

“Of course! You know what a Stardust Magic Tool is, right? This Underground Holy Spring is equivalent to a Stardust Magic Tool that reinforces your strength countless times. It doesn’t just simply ease your fatigue, it is also a Holy Ground for the nurturing of your cultivation speed! Whether it is meditation or control, the spring is the most perfect place for it. The Underground Holy Spring isn’t something you can open at will; thus, once you enter, you will have to put your entire mind into cultivation. This is because this could possibly be the best opportunity for you to attack the Intermediate level!” Mu Zhuoyun told him.

“Int..Intermediate? Aren’t I still quite a bit far from that??” Yu Ang was a bit startled.

“If you don’t enter the Underground Holy Spring, then you would still be quite far from it. However, if you were to obtain this opportunity, then that would be different,” Mu Zhuoyun said as he stroked his mustache.

“Father, just how did this Underground Holy Spring of Bo City come to be? How can it have such an incredible effect?”

“The Underground Holy Spring has a long history, there is no need for you to know it. All you need to remember is that the Underground Holy Spring is an amazing cultivation opportunity that you only get once in your life.” Mu Zhuoyun no longer said anything else.

Yu Ang nodded several times in understanding.

Assuming that it was able to allow a person to break through the Primary level and tread upon the Intermediate level which so many yearned for, this Underground Holy Spring of Bo City was indeed extremely important!

______________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

In the remaining time of the summer break, Mo Fan kept on cultivating.

The City Hunter Team wasn’t exactly a very busy job; most of the time, he was just adjusting his life.

After Mo Fan finished two more Bounty missions with the City Hunter Team, he finally left the realm of a rookie. He was able to stay even calmer as he cast his spells when faced with a Magical Beast.

Advancing his battle experience along with his cultivation, Mo Fan unexpectedly discovered that his Stardust’s growth was even faster.

As his Stardust grew, the usable stars were naturally also transforming. On the day he started his third year of high school, Mo Fan had successfully transformed the Lightning stars.

They had turned increasingly bright, and the radiating stars were able to conduct increasingly stronger Lightning Magic. Thus, his spells naturally changed as well.

_Next time when I go out on a mission with the City Hunter Team, they will surely be surprised._ Mo Fan was sitting in class, he felt particularly happy.

Currently, his Lightning Strike and Fire Burst had both achieved the second stage. This advancement speed far exceeded his peers. If he was able to reach the third stage by his graduation, then that would be even more perfect!

It was said that when one’s stars transformed into the third stage, then one would be rather close to breaking through to Intermediate level Mage.

Mo Fan had no idea on when he would reach the Intermediate level. However, he would definitely exhaust all methods to make himself stronger!

School life was still just like that. After going through the Practicals, the students’ attitudes had clear transformations. On top of that, the Magic entrance exams were near. In particular, those students who were usually slacking were giving their best as they frequently appeared on the training grounds.

Mo Fan himself didn’t go to the training grounds.

What was the use of hitting a wooden puppet? He had directly changed these meaningless practices and exercises into real combat, real combat against Magical Beasts! His kind of progress was many times more effective than hitting the wooden puppets at the school training grounds!

“Brother Fan, did you realize it? Ever since Practicals, the arrogant Class Representative, Zhoumin has been treating you really well,” Zhang Xiaohou whispered into Mo Fan’s ear.

“Really?” Mo Fan asked as he raised his eyebrows.

“Of course, sometimes, she will even sneakily glance over here.”

“Isn’t it because I’m handsome?”

“If you put it like that, then I can’t do anything about it. However, if it was because you’re handsome, then she wouldn’t have been so harsh on you when school began. She is harsh on every single person except when it comes to you, and then her entire person changes; she becomes like a next-door little sister, cute and obedient,” Zhang Xiaohou stated.

Presently, Mo Fan went to class in the morning and cultivated in the afternoon. At night, he had to wear a uniform to protect the peace of the city. How could he have time to care about a young girl’s heart? Moreover, he already had a heroic spirit that would save thousands of girls from their suffering, thus, occasionally obtaining a few girls’ affections… Wasn’t that a common thing?

“See, see. She’s coming over here to find you… Tsk tsk, Brother Fan, I’ll retreat first.” Zhang Xiaohou was indeed a qualified friend. There were certain friends who were as stupid as pigs, they just loved being a Light Mage!

(TL Note: This basically means Lightbulb, which also means a third wheel.)

Mo Fan raised his head, and saw that Zhoumin really was coming his way.

Seeing her appearance, embarrassed yet excited, it truly made one pity her.

Zhoumin looked quite elegant, with squeaky clean black hair over her shoulders, and a delicate face that carried the arrogance of many young girls. Normally, they naturally treated boys like devils and so they kept their distance. However, the truth was, it was just impossible for them to conceal their warm hearts.

“Mo Fan… Do you have time tonight?” Zhoumin whispered after she walked over.

Tonight?

He still had to consolidate the level two spell of Lightning Strike.

_Zhoumin, oh, Zhoumin. As the Class Representative, you should be wholeheartedly focusing on your studies, how could you let your heart focus on the mundane things. We are third year high schoolers who are about to become University students. This year is extremely important, it will affect the future. If you were to let your heart distract you this early, then it will bring nothing good for anyone!_

Nevertheless, Mo Fan nodded as he said, “I’m available!” to Zhoumin.

Zhoumin immediately opened her eyes wide and said, “Wait for me after school, I need to tell you something really important.”

“No problem.” Mo Fan nodded, he was wondering if he should have Zhang Xiaohou go and prepare a small umbrella, just in case he needed it.

_(TL. Note: A small umbrella is slang for a condom.)_

——

After school ended, a large crowd of students rushed toward the exit.

Zhoumin was indeed true to her words; she was waiting for Mo Fan at the back gate of the school.

Mo Fan walked over and as he was about to open his mouth, Zhoumin mysteriously said, “Mo Fan, I’m not sure if I should be telling you about this matter, but I also don’t know anyone who is more suitable.”

As Mo Fan heard this, he suddenly had no idea what to expect.

“It’s like this; my grandma’s house is on Rongshu Street. It is an old district that is going to be rebuilt into a new one. During the summer break, I went back to live with my grandmother, and then I frequently felt trembling sounds from the construction site next door. It seemed like there were construction workers doing their jobs. However, I asked some people and they all said that they don’t do construction work at night… My grandma always said that the large old district that is about be razed has something living there. I tried to get my grandmother to move away, but she refused to leave the place. Therefore, I was hoping you would come with me and see what exactly is happening. Or else, I won’t feel safe leaving my grandmother there alone, I’d feel scared at night,” Zhoumin told Mo Fan sincerely.

After hearing Zhoumin’s words, Mo Fan couldn’t help but feel shocked.

Construction site trembling?

Shit, last time there was a cafeteria, and this time, there’s a construction site trembling. This Bo City was getting toyed with too much!

“Don’t tell me it’s another Colossal-eyed Ape Rat?” Mo Fan thought aloud.

“Colossal-eyed Ape Rat? That’s a Magical Beast, Bo City shouldn’t have those kind of things, right?” Zhoumin blurted out in shock.

Zhoumin still had lingering fears from the last time she faced a dreaded Magical Beast.

“That’s not a strange thing at all. The news from the Hunter’s Union states that during this period of time, the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats are acting like they’re entering the mating season, and there are frequent cases of them popping out from dark corners.” Mo Fan was already used to seeing strange things.

If he spent his time just lingering around school, Mo Fan would be the same as Zhoumin; thinking that Bo City was one hundred perfect safe and that there would not be any Magical Beasts appearing.

However, being in the City Hunter Team, Mo Fan could count as having experience and knowledge.

_How do you say this…_

_Little classmate, Zhoumin, you really found the right person! This brother’s other identity is an officer of Bo City, and because we only clean the Magical Beasts within the Bo City, we are definitely more specialized!_

_Sigh, I won’t be able to receive a commission this time. However, getting a girl’s affection isn’t exactly a bad thing either, let’s go and take a look!_

——

Arriving at the old district, it was just as Zhoumin had described. This part of the city had already been demolished, it looked as though it had just experienced a severe earthquake.

Dust pervaded the demolished district, and there were temporary walls and holes all over the construction sites. A half-demolished house was just left there, it affected the appearance of the area as they erected another unfinished tower nearby.

_I heard that the old Rongshu district is going to be rebuilt into a new commercial district. In the end, there was a severe shortage in the investments, and so they left behind its remains. Even the government doesn’t know how to deal with it._

Most of the people had already moved away from this district. There were wanderers and vagrants who decided to stay here temporarily due to difficulties. The remaining ones who stayed behind were the old people who refused to move away, like Zhoumin’s old grandmother.

____________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

To be honest, other than the emergence of Mo Fan’s pure and manly heroic spirit, he was very puzzled over this trembling thing happening again.

It had already happened once atthe Mingwen Girls Middle School’s cafeteria; how come, not long after, another trembling had emerged in a different part of Bo City? Was it really another Colossal-eyed Ape Rat?

It was reported that after eliminating the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat, the other areas around Mingwen Girls Middle School also had slight trembles. The police hadn’t found the reason behind them, and the school had ensured the campus’ safety, so school began as planned.

“My grandmother lives here, and the trembling area is over there.” Zhoumin pointed first at an old house, and then pointed toward a large construction site with more old houses that had already been partially demolished.

The construction teams had withdrawn from the site for a while now, a result of not being paid. The entire abolished district could be described as desolate and uninhabited. When night fell, the distant, splendid city in lights was not able to illuminate this place. Black clouds shrouded the night sky.

The great city officer Mo Fan was currently being quite daring. With a nimble leap, he vaulted the temporary construction walls, and after he landed elegantly, he discovered Zhoumin walking in through the little gate further down. The atmosphere immediately turned incredibly awkward.

“ _Cough_ , so what time does it usually start trembling?” Mo Fan asked quickly.

“During the evening, no specific time.” Usually, Zhoumin would appear like a successful career woman. However, after coming to this abandoned construction site, she couldn’t help but stand closer to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan walked forward a few steps, and then took something like a fragrant bag from his pocket.

He untied the bag; inside it was sparkling and translucent dust. As Mo Fan blew the dust, it immediately scattered through the air, before it slowly sprinkled down all over the construction site.

“This is… Beast Seeking Dust?” As expected of the honor student Zhoumin, she could tell what it was from a single glance.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan nodded. Beast Seeking Powder was a must for city officers when hunting beasts on a dark and windy night.

“How come you brought this kind of thing along, do you really think there’s a Magical Beast here?” Zhoumin asked, surprised.

What student would normally bring this along with them? Moreover, this was Bo City, it’s not like they were in the desolate countryside!

“Lady, you need to trust in experts. Just look for yourself.” Mo Fan pointed at the sparkling, translucent dust that was sprinkled on the floor.

The dust he’d sprinkled had gathered about ten meters away from them, and the translucent dust particles looked as though they were glued to the floor, forming an outline there. This outline looked like… a footprint!

As Zhoumin saw this, she was completely dumbstruck.

Heavens, Bo City really had Magical Beasts??

The odor of a Magical Beast was normally really hard to catch a whiff of, especially the ones that had already left the scene.

The specialty of the Beast Seeking Dust was that it was extremely sensitive to a Magical Beast’s odor. If a Magical Beast left behind a footprint ten days ago, the Beast Seeking Dust would still be able to track it!

“What, what do we do?” Zhoumin was so scared that her face had turned pale.

Normally in school, she wouldn’t question what the teachers said, and she would think the city was the safest place. Who would’ve thought that there really were footprints of Magical Beasts, the Beast Seeking Dust didn’t lie!

“I’ll take a look at the shape of the footprints…” Mo Fan bravely walked over.

“We-we should hurry and contact the City Hunter Team.” Zhoumin couldn’t help but feel a chill.

Mo Fan was completely speechless.

_I am a genuine officer from the City Hunter Team. Contact them, my ass!_

Besides, it’s not like the City Hunter Team had a lot of time. If there wasn’t any concrete evidence, then they wouldn’t dispatch the team.

The footprint outline emerging from the Beast Seeking Dust could only count as a suspicion, and not ironclad evidence. After all, a Summoning Mage taking a stroll here was a possibility, too.

“This footprint doesn’t seem like it belongs to a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat.” Mo Fan creased his brow.

“Mo… Mo Fan… We should leave.” Zhoumin was a bit scared.

Mo Fan, however, wanted to investigate this to the end, so he continued to walk toward the interior of the construction site.

Zhoumin carefully followed Mo Fan.

“It seems like he is hiding in that unfinished mall.” Mo Fan pointed down the road to the building before them.

This building looked like it was supposed to be a shopping center. The floor area was gigantic, and there were piles of cement bags, tools, and building materials everywhere. The footprint shown from the Beast Seeking Dust ended at this unfinished shopping center. If there really was something living around here, then it would definitely be living in this place as it terrorized the people!

This abandoned construction site had been here for two months, so it was the most perfect spot for hiding.

“Mo mo mo… Mo Fan…” Zhoumin’s voice suddenly turned incredibly stiff. She used an extremely strange way to warn Mo Fan.

Mo Fan immediately looked towards the place Zhoumin was staring at. On the other side of the brick front wall, the place that was supposed to be the first floor had a wiggling black shadow!

It was a creature with very sturdy lower limbs. Just standing there, its head was almost hitting the ceiling of the second floor.

Its physique resembled that of a Spirit Wolf; the main difference was that it did not stand with four limbs, it stood on two legs, like a werewolf!

The biggest difference was this thing’s head.

The gigantic wolf-shaped head had one single eye; it looked particularly terrifying beneath the night sky.

“It’s… It’s an One-eyed Magic Wolf!” Zhoumin almost yelled out.

A One-eyed Magic Wolf. This was a savage Magical Beast that was mentioned several times by their teachers in Magical Beast class. It was different from a creature like the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat that hid in the corner; the One-eyed Magic Wolf mostly dwelled in the mountains. It was innately hostile to humans, and it really liked eating them!

They were greedy, savage, and enjoyed massacre. They hungrily eyed people who tended to live away from the human centers of civilization.

“Shit, this kind of One-eyed Magic Wolf appeared so close to the city area; even if there are people who don’t care, they won’t be able to anymore!” After Mo Fan saw this scene, his heart also began to tremble.

Not too long ago, he was the same as Zhoumin; someone who thought the city was extremely safe.

Who would’ve thought that this would be the second Magical Beast he encountered in Bo City?

The Colossal-eyed Ape Rat appearing in the city wasn’t too strange. That kind of creature already lived among humanity’s sewers and graveyards. However, how could one explain the savage One-eyed Magic Wolf appearing in this kind of place?

“It… what is it doing??” Zhoumin was so scared that her face had gone white.

“Eating midnight snacks,” Mo Fan replied.

Zhoumin carefully looked over before she almost fainted.

This One-eyed Magic Wolf was chewing. In the shadowy light, Zhoumin saw a chewed-off arm!

Heavens, that was a human arm!

Mo Fan, that scoundrel, how could he playfully say that the monster was eating its midnight snack?!

It was eating people!!

It really was eating people!!!

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“This place has many vagrants living here. They wouldn’t be integrated into the population data recorded by the police. This One-eyed Magic Wolf is so sly. It hides in the abolished construction site, and then uses those wanderers that no one takes notice of as food. If I hadn’t found this, then who knows how many people would have become its rations,” Mo Fan coldly snorted.

Zhoumin was already scared to the point where she couldn’t talk. Originally, she had come here with the attitude of finding the source of the problem, but she didn’t expect to encounter a Magical Beast that ate people. Even if Bo City had nearly a million people, there were people dying everyday. That, however, did not mean that living people were being eaten by a Magical Beast that hid in a place like this. Dreadful, this whole thing was too dreadful!

“Speaking of which, Zhoumin, don’t you feel like this One-eyed Magic Wolf is different from the ones our teacher described?” Mo Fan commented as he looked at the dreadful animal from afar.

How could Zhoumin possibly have the mood to think about this question? At the moment, she was thinking about how to escape this construction site without being discovered, and then immediately notifying the Hunter’s Union of this scary information.

“Its physique is at least twice as big as the one our teacher described. This is not your common One-eyed Magic Wolf,” Mo Fan continued.

Zhoumin almost went crazy.

_Let’s think of a way to escape this place first, alright? How can Mo Fan’s courage be at this level!?_

Mo Fan himself very quickly realized that Zhoumin was only an arrogant girl while in school. When faced with a horror scene such as this, she lost her will to investigate.

“You can leave this place first and call the City Hunter Team’s hotline. While you’re at it, have the police move the residents and wanderers in this area away,” Mo Fan told Zhoumin.

“What about you?” Zhoumin asked.

“I’ll stay here and watch over it,” Mo Fan replied.

Zhoumin looked at Mo Fan with the gaze of someone who had seen a monster.

_We are both third-year high school students, but why doesn’t this guy have any reaction after seeing this? Normal people would be so scared that they’d pee their pants!_

After carefully thinking about it, Zhoumin suddenly realized that this abnormal Mo Fan had killed a Spirit Wolf once before; it seemed like Magical Beasts didn’t frighten him much.

_A freak, he’s a freak._

“I… I already notified them,” Zhoumin whispered, somewhat proud of herself for taking the initiative.

Mo Fan was confused as he asked without thinking, “How did you notify… Oh, shit!”

Within a heartbeat, Mo Fan realized the trouble he was in.

“Hnng~!”

Inside the not-so-distant building, the One-eyed Magic Wolf busy having its meal slowly turned its head around. The lantern-like eye locked onto Zhoumin and Mo Fan’s location.

In a split second, the atmosphere froze.

Despite hiding behind a brick wall, Mo Fan and Zhoumin could still feel the bone-chilling killing intent released from the savage One-eyed Magic Wolf.

An evening wind came through, carrying a dense smell of blood as it blew right into the faces of Mo Fan and Zhoumin.

Zhoumin was completely dumbstruck. She never thought that the One-eyed Magic Wolf would suddenly discover their whereabouts. As her gaze met that single eye, it was like her entire being was dropped into a dreadful abyss, and her body was unable to move.

“Did your mom not teach you that Magical Beasts have the ability to sense mobile signals!?” Mo Fan grabbed Zhoumin, and with lightning speed, he dashed toward the outside of the construction site.

The creatures in this world had one thing that was out of the norm, which was their ability to sense the signals of magical equipment. So even if you were to send a help text to the City Hunter Team with your phone sounds off, it’d be no different than sending your phone GPS location to the Magical Beast’s brain, exposing you instantly!

“Grrrr~!”

The One-eyed Magic Wolf also realized that its whereabouts were exposed. It readied its body like a bow, and then it became like a coyote who discovered food as it flew toward Mo Fan and Zhoumin, its speed extremely frightening!

Fortunately, Mo Fan and Zhoumin were a good distance away from this thing, or else the two of them would have instantly turned into the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s midnight snack.

Mo Fan ran extremely quickly, fleeing even as he was connecting his Star Path.

This technique was something he had learned from the few times he had responded to a call with the City Hunter Team. If he stood in his original spot connecting his Star Path like a retard, the Magical Beast could just wantonly throw something at his forehead, and he would lose his life on the spot!

“Fire Burst, Burning Bones!”

With one hand, he held Zhoumin’s wrist as he ran; on the other hand, he coagulated a boiling fireball.

As he jumped over a pile of cement bags in front of him, the fireball in his hands was simultaneously thrown toward the One-eyed Magic Wolf that was charging them.

_Whewwwww~_

The swirling speed of the Burning Bones was extremely fast; in an instant, it ignited the pile of scrap wood. The One-eyed Magic Wolf didn’t dare to charge through the incredible heat.

Mo Fan’s Fire Burst naturally wasn’t thrown at the One-eyed Magic Wolf. The nimbleness of One-eyed Magic Wolf was at the same level as the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat. Its sturdy four limbs allowed it to vigorously jump over the ruins while Mo Fan’s skill with his spells hadn’t reached a level where he would be able to accurately hit it.

The objective of the Burning Bones flames was simple: to form a firewall to cut off the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s attack route!

“Grrroarr~!”

However, the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s agility far exceeded Mo Fan’s imagination. It’s back legs ferociously stomped the ground, and it suddenly jumped up. It actually jumped directly over the raging Burning Bones flames!

_Boom!_ The One-eyed Magic Wolf landed heavily, raising a cloud of dust.

Its eye once again locked onto the escaping Mo Fan and Zhoumin. The One-eyed Magic Wolf’s back legs stomped ferociously, its body lowered and became like an oncoming train as it charged after them. The construction wood, sand piles, and handcarts in its way were all sent flying.

Mo Fan turned his head to look back, and was unable to stop himself from cursing.

This One-eyed Magic Wolf really was abnormal. Let’s not even talk about its speed, its body was actually so sturdy. If he were to get hit by a One-eyed Magic Wolf like that, then he would would lose his life. It was probably much stronger than any of the other Magical Beasts that he had encountered before.

_Fortunately, Zhoumin and I were a bit far from it before. We’ll be exiting the construction site soon, we should be safer once we’re outside._

_Boom! Boom! Boom!_

The temporary outer walls of the construction site were like foam, directly smashed into pieces by the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s body. When Mo Fan and Zhoumin, who had just made it to the old residential area, turned their heads around and realized that the One-eyed Magic Wolf was still chasing them, they were completely dumbstruck.

_Freaking One-eyed Magic Wolf, this daddy has already entered his pagoda, yet you still want to be that noisy?_

Mo Fan had thought that this One-eyed Magic Wolf had some intelligence, because it was hiding in a construction site no one was at while it ate vagrants. Thus, he deduced that the One-eyed Magic Wolf would not chase them all the way to the old residential street. If it was discovered by people, it would become the objective of a manhunt. Who would’ve thought that the One-eyed Magic Wolf was actually so stupid that it directly chased them out of the construction site?

_Brother Wolf, attacking in broad daylight would not give you anyone to eat, so you can go and head home. Although it is currently evening and the old residential street doesn’t have many people around, there will still be someone who will see this and report it… Isn’t it better if we all just go and leave in peace today, split up after we’ve crossed this corner, and none of us turn our heads around?_

_Shit, you’re still chasing? If you’re still chasing, then don’t blame me for being impolite!_

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Mo Fan… Mo Fan… What do we do, I can’t run anymore.” Zhoumin was still ghost-white pale from fright as she hid behind Mo Fan.

It was the dead of the night on this old residential street. Due to the abandoned construction site, there weren’t many people living here to begin with. At this moment, the One-eyed Magic Wolf had dashed out of the construction site as it followed the slightly muddy street. From the shadows of the old banyan tree, you could only see another shadow engulfing everything as it passed by.

“Hurry up and escape with your grandmother, I’ll try to delay this thing!” Mo Fan told Zhoumin.

No matter how fast they ran, they still couldn’t run away from a violent, four-limbed One-eyed Magic Wolf. At this time, Mo Fan was once again reminded of how important it was to have a movement spell.

“How are you going to delay…” Zhoumin asked, her voice trembling.

“Don’t bullshit so much!” Mo Fan excoriated her.

Although Zhoumin was also a Fire Mage, her Fire Burst: Scorch was completely useless against this kind of large One-eyed Magic Wolf. The signal device had pointed out that his Hunter team members were in the vicinity, so Mo Fan should be able to hold up until reinforcements came.

Zhoumin finally stopped wasting time as she hurriedly ran toward one of the houses on the street.

However, Mo Fan underestimated this stupid girl’s kindness. Not only did she notify her grandmother, she also wanted to notify the other people who also lived on the street.

As Mo Fan realized that there were quite a few old people who still living on the old residential street, his forehead creased.

If they hadn’t seen through this thing today, then it was possible that these old people would’ve ended up as the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s food.

_It’s here!_

Finally, the One-eyed Magic Wolf caught up and was only twenty meters away from Mo Fan.

The One-eyed Magic Wolf probably didn’t even need a second to cover the twenty meters.

(Ed. Note: Ah, the speed of plot. So swift, yet taking so much time to catch up to those waiting for it…)

Not to mention, these Magical Beasts were way scarier than how the school described them. The pressure given off by the One-eyed Magic Wolf as it dashed over was about the same as an oncoming car. A normal person would just stand there completely dumbstruck.

“I told you to not chase, yet you still had to freaking chase. Do you think that I’m gonna drop some rare loot after I die?” Mo Fan couldn’t help but curse as he stared at the One-eyed Magic Wolf that was hurtling at him.

Cursing was one thing, but Mo Fan had no intention of standing there waiting to get killed.

His intent was locked onto the scythe imprint within his Spiritual World; in an instant, a mystical glow from his spirit blossomed from his body.

In the front of Mo Fan, the mystical glow materialized a three-dimensional, rhombus-shaped shield that was a bit taller than a human.

When the mystical light was at its brightest, the radiance in front of Mo Fan turned into a dark green bone shield with clear corners.

Magical Equipment, Bone Scythe Shield!

The Bone Scythe Shield was floating in front of Mo Fan’s head as it was enveloped in the mystical light. It appeared extremely fast.

The colossal One-eyed Magic Wolf wasn’t aware of the appearance of the Bone Scythe Shield until it was too late, and in its haste to crush Mo Fan into mincemeat was unable to stop in time.

_Bang!_

Because the One-eyed Magic Wolf was leaning forward, it hit the Bone Scythe Shield head-on. The Bone Scythe Shield emitted a fierce trembling sound. The One-eyed Magic Wolf, who had rammed into the Bone Scythe Shield with colossal force, now flew back ten or so meters, and Mo Fan, taking cover behind the shield, was blown away as well.

After the Bone Scythe Shield had warded off the vicious attack of the One-eyed Magic Wolf, it immediately turned into fragments of light as it disappeared into thin air. Mo Fan slid along the cement like he was on a skateboard as he was forced away.

His stomach felt awful.

Mo Fan fought down the urge to puke. Even though the Bone Scythe Shield had warded off the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s strongest attack, Mo Fan still felt like his stomach had been hit by something.

_What a strong animal!_ Mo Fan was secretly astonished.

The quality of the Bone Scythe Shield could be called pretty good, as being able to block the full strength of a Magical Beast and emerge safely demonstrated. However, when the One-eyed Magic Wolf had charged in, it had still caused some damage to Mo Fan. From that, he could tell that if that much power had directly struck his body, it would definitely have caused his bones to shatter.

The One-eyed Magic Wolf was lying on the street, its head bleeding.

It shook its head as it slowly climbed up in a daze, and then held the area it had hurt with its paw like a human might.

“It can even stand up from that, is its body made out of iron?” As Mo Fan saw that this One-eyed Magic Wolf hadn’t lost its ability to move, his jaw nearly dropped to the ground.

Was it that the Magical Beasts he had encountered before were too weak, or this One-eyed Magical Wolf was just particularly strong? If the Spirit Wolf or that Colossal-eyed Ape Rat had charged over like that, then their bones would have fallen apart!

Run, hurry and run!

Taking advantage of this thing still being dazed, he began to run away without stopping.

Just running wouldn’t work, it would quickly catch up. Thus, he would just give it a Lightning Strike so it would lose its ability to move for a bit!

With this kind of danger, Mo Fan no longer dared to hide his strength. If Zhoumin saw his Lightning element, then she saw it; convincing her to not tell anyone wouldn’t be too hard.

As he took a deep breath, he eased the pain in his stomach. Mo Fan had already begun to prepare for Control of his Lightning Star Path.

“Ice Spread, Condense!”

As Mo Fan took control of two Lightning stars, a woman’s shout came from afar.

A cold air quickly covered this old residential street, and frost fell down from the ominous sky.

This frost was formed by command, it quickly gathered on the feet of the One-eyed Magic Wolf, and its surroundings condensed into a block of ice.

The ice was spreading. It grew up the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s strong legs, and in just a few seconds of time, the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s four limbs were covered in ice.

If the One-eyed Magic Wolf were in perfect condition, then the Ice Spread most likely wouldn’t be able to stop it. However, the One-eyed Magic Wolf was currently in a dazed condition. By the time it was clear-headed, its lower limbs would already be frozen. If it were still able to take a step, then freezing it would be extremely difficult!

Mo Fan felt a surge of joy as he turned around, seeing a cold-faced young woman wearing dark purple jeans on her long legs standing at the end of the street. The white Ice Star Path on the side of her body was still emitting radiance, causing the Ice Maga to look even more beautiful.

“Caitang!” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

She didn’t forget that he had saved her life once before with Lightning Strike, and with her timely move this time, he was able to maintain the secret of the Lightning element.

“Little bastard, how come you are here?” Guo Caitang was suspicious as she looked at Mo Fan.

This bastard Mo Fan, how could Guo Caitang not recognize him? With a group of little kids, they peeked at her taking a bath, how could Guo Caitang ever forget about that matter? It made her hate Mo Fan to the bone.

If she knew it was him who had attracted an One-eyed Magic Wolf, then Guo Caitang definitely would’ve hesitated when she took action earlier. In theory, a pervert and a Magical Beast should both be the same; in the name of the moon, I will eliminate you!

“I… My girlfriend and I were having a date here. You came just in time.” Mo Fan immediately retreated to a safe distance as he reunited with Zhoumin and her grandmother.

“Hurry up and get lost! Our Hunter Team is already in the vicinity,” Guo Caitang snapped in a rude tone.

______________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Great! It’s the Beast Hunter Team.” Zhoumin shouted, as if she had obtained a new life.

Mo Fan no longer said anything. He took advantage of the One-eyed Magic Wolf being frozen to immediately escape from that place.

Right after they escaped the street, he immediately heard Guo Caitang use her Bluetooth-../style earphones to communicate with her other teammates, saying, “Have you guys notified Fan Mo? This is an One-eyed Magic Wolf at the Advanced stage! If I’m not wrong, then this should be the thing that sneakily absorbed the Underground Holy Spring, along with the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat! Dealing with the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat isn’t much of a problem, but this One-eyed Magic Wolf has reaped a great benefit and is much stronger than your average Magical Beast! Without Lightning Mages, it will be very hard for us to subdue it!”

“So it’s that kind of reckless animal, my father put out a bounty for it a while ago now. Today, it will be seized by us!” Standing beside Guo Caitang was a tall, skinny and gloomy-looking young man, “Since I’m here, then I, Yu Ang, will help the Hunters Team eliminate this animal!”

“We shouldn’t approach it. Let’s use Ice Spread to suppress it from afar first, it seems like it hit something a while ago and hasn’t regained its senses yet. Otherwise, our Ice Spreads most likely wouldn’t be able to stop it. Let’s just wait for our teammates to arrive, especially the Lightning Mage. Against this kind of power-type Magical Beast, Lightning is the best choice to use!” Guo Caitang said sincerely.

“Oh? Alright, I’ll go with what you say.” Yu Ang nodded his head. He also began to link his Ice Star Path as he stood away, before he continued freezing the Wolf. As it seemed quite easy, Yu Ang turned his head around to glance at Mo Fan, who was escaping with his female classmate. “Who’s that guy you called little brat? Do you know him?”

“It’s Mo Fan, it’s the uncontrollable guy who cursed Uncle Mu Zhuoyun.” Guo Caitang clenched her teeth.

“So that’s Mo Fan, hehe.” Yu Ang couldn’t help himself as a smile of contempt emerged on his face.

_I thought this guy was supposed to be pretty amazing, but it turns out when he is facing a Magical Beast, he becomes a scared dog. That’s comical. It seems like the rumor of him killing a Spirit Wolf before really was just the luck of a dog. I bet it wasn’t even him who killed it, the people in the stronghold really enjoy babbling nonsense._

_Does this kind of a dreg really have the qualifications to appear at my Coming-of-Age Ceremony?_

_Sigh, let’s not think too much about that unimportant character. I have to think about how to deal with this One-eyed Magical Beast that is at the Advanced stage…_

—

“Mo Fan, why are you going back?” Zhoumin led her grandmother toward a street with more people.

“I dropped my phone there.” Mo Fan didn’t care too much about Zhoumin’s question as he hurriedly ran back the way they’d come.

As Mo Fan was running, Mo Fan pulled out a fashionable hoodie from his flat backpack. At same time, he used crayons to paint his face black, and to be on the safe side, he wore a face mask!

“Damn, Captain America can just rip off his clothes to instantly become the city rescuing hero, whereas my transformation is just too behind the modern times!”

_(Ed. Note: Remember, Mo Fan is from another world. Highly doubtful either Captain America or Bluetooth is known here.)_

In fact, Mo Fan was just changing from Fire element to Lightning element. Fortunately, he didn’t forget that he had a secret identity of being a City Officer while he was in school, which was why he always brought his tools along.

After acting like a brave male student, he ought to become the emissary of the City. He really didn’t know if he was simply amazing, or if he was just a clown.

Speaking of which, the person standing next to Guo Caitang should be the adoptive son of Mu Zhuoyun, Yu Ang. Looked like a she-male prettyboy; one glance and you knew that he was not a good person.

A One-eyed Magic Wolf who had sneakily absorbed some of the Underground Holy Spring?

_Just what is the Underground Holy Spring, how did it turn a normal One-eyed Magic Wolf into something this dreadful?_

Mo Fan was already different from Practicals. If it were a Spirit Wolf in front of him right now, then he could actually deal with one or two. However, this One-eyed Magic Wolf was clearly much stronger than the Spirit Wolf…

_Lately, there have been vibrations everywhere, as well as an increase in Colossal-eyed Ape Rats that have gone crazy. Is it possible that it has something to do with the Underground Holy Spring?_

_Forget it, let’s not think too much about that for now. I need to hurry back and defend the peace of the Earth._

_It is said that a Variant Beast tends to drop good things…_

—

By the time Mo Fan returned to the old banyan street, the other Hunter Team members had already arrived.

They were basically on call 24/7; as long as there was a situation, they would be the first to arrive, much faster than police.

“Brother Fan Mo, you got here quite fast!” When Fei Shi saw Mo Fan arriving, he immediately busted out a smile.

“Don’t be distracted, this Advanced One-eyed Magic Wolf can take our lives in just a second!” Captain Xu Dahuang ordered solemnly.

“Mhm, fortunately, we have an extra helper today. With two Ice Mages present, we will be able to substantially restrict the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s movements,” Li Wenjie said.

Guo Caitang and Yu Ang were both outstanding disciples of a great Ice family; with their Ice Spreads conjoined, they had already frozen ten meters around the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s legs. Although the One-eyed Magic Wolf hadn’t been completely frozen over, its movements were still much slower.

Ice Spread had a permeating ability; the longer the Wolf was within the area of the Ice Spread, the stiffer its bones and muscles would become. Against a One-eyed Magic Wolf who completely relied on brute force to battle, this tactic was extremely suitable.

However, a small problem still remained.

Ice and Fire elements had some conflicts with one another. The primary attacker of the Hunters Team was Xu Dahuang; however, Xu Da Huang’s Fire Burst: Rupture could very possibly shatter the Ice Spread from Guo Caitang and Yu Ang.

Thus, except for restricting the One-eyed Magic Wolf for right now, they had no other good ideas at the moment.

“I have already called for reinforcements, Yang Zuohe from the Mage Association is currently on the way here. We’ll need to maintain the restraints while he is on the way, don’t make a vain attempt to kill this One-eyed Magic Wolf,” Xu Dahuang said with an experienced air.

Fire Burst: Rupture definitely was capable of severely injuring this One-eyed Magic Wolf; however, that wasn’t much of a warranty. In case the One-eyed Magic Wolf still was capable of fighting, restricting its movement at that time would be much more difficult. Above all, they definitely could not let it flee to a residential area with people still living there!

“Yang Zuohe, the Intermediate-level Mage?” Xiao Ke’s eyes lit up, her face filled with admiration.

“Mhm, with him here, we can safely kill this One-eyed Magic Wolf. If we were to let it escape, then it would bring countless casualties among the civilians,” Xu Dahuang answered.

“That is indeed the case, but we don’t know how long our Ice Spread can last. This One-eyed Magic Wolf is too strong. If we were to advance our Ice Spread to level 3, it would definitely not be able to escape from us,” Guo Caitang told him.

“Don’t worry, there’s still us here!” Fei Shi and Li Wenjie spoke up.

“Are we going to do something?” Mo Fan asked as he looked at the people who had drafted a plan.

“You stay on the side and tend to other lives, your level one Lightning Strike won’t necessarily be able to injure it. However, the paralysis effect should be able to have a significant impact. If this One-eyed Magic Wolf struggles and the Ice Spread shows signs… Huh, something is wrong. Why is this guy’s aura becoming stronger and stronger?” Xu Dahuang’s expression changed.

The air was cold from the magic pervading the old banyan street area. Without any visible cause, a great amount of ferocious aura suddenly converged around the Wolf, before turning into a violent gale that blasted down the whole street.

________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

_Wooosh~~_

The old banyan tree’s branches were waving wildly, dead leaves and branches fell to the ground.

“Yu Ang, quick, use one more layer of Ice Spread!” Guo Caitang urgently ordered Yu Ang as she immediately realized something.

“I can’t, the aura is too strong, it’s left me unable to breathe,” Yu Ang replied weakly.

Mo Fan also felt the mad beast aura that smashed onto his face like a sea wave, followed by the One-eyed Magic Wolf raising its head to howl at the sky. This ferocious aura continued to splash out like a great wave, and all the residences on the old street started shaking.

“Advancement, this guy has been pressured by us so much that it is forcing its own advancement!”

“After absorbing the energy from the Underground Holy Spring, it already possessed the potential to advance. We must stop it! If we let it succeed at its advancement, then even if Yang Zuohe gets here, he won’t necessarily be able to subdue it!” Xu Dahuang’s face turned extremely ugly.

After being in the City Hunter Team for so long, it was also Xu Dahuang’s first time encountering a Magical Beast at the advanced stage.

An advanced stage Magical Beast wasn’t scary at all; the scariest part was a Magical Beast that had successfully evolved. That was not something these Primary Magicians were capable of withstanding!

Moreover, once it started to wantonly massacre everything, the slaughter in this area of the city would be devastating!

“This isn’t good, we are unable to stop it! Let’s use the time before it successfully advances to escape from this place,” Li Wenjie said, his face completely pale.

The speed of a Magical Beast that had successfully advanced was not something Li Wenjie was capable of dealing with, the people here would all die. It wouldn’t even take ten seconds for a One-eyed Magic Wolf who had succeeded at its evolution to kill every single person here!

“What the hell are you saying? Turn yourself around and see what’s behind your back!” Xu Dahuang shouted at him angrily.

This area was abandoned because of the existence of construction sites, and the banyan street was also in a semi-demolished state. However, after passing through the old banyan street, there was a business district with flashing neon lights.

Sitting in that place were families of old and young watching movies, there were girls who were preparing presents for the Qixi Festival, there were also old couples who were leisurely taking a walk. Resident towers, shops, entertainment centers, plazas…

“Do you think these people are capable of protecting themselves?

“It’s safe to say that if we were to turn around and leave, then if this One-eyed Magic Wolf completes its evolution, it will definitely be in need of a large quantity of food. Those people are the food!”

This city did have Magicians who were stronger than their Hunter Team. However, Intermediate Magicians wouldn’t be on alert at all times. Even if they were to come here at the fastest speed possible to eliminate the One-eyed Magic Wolf, it definitely did not mean that they would be able to prevent a massacre within that period of time.

Just how many humans lives would be lost is something Xu Dahuang did not dare calculate.

“Although that little scoundrel is extremely annoying, he still has done something incredible today. We were able to discover this One-eyed Magic Wolf that was about to evolve in time; that can be considered as preventing an increasingly large massacre. However, we don’t have to say such disheartening things, it still hasn’t successfully evolved! We are still able to obstruct it!” Guo Caitang smiled coldly.

Xu Dahuang had already decided to not run.

To be honest, the spirit of the Captain of the City Hunter Team caused Mo Fan to feel some admiration toward him.

“Fei Shi, prepare Earth Wave to slow it down. If it breaks away from the Ice Spread, we definitely cannot let it run,” Xu Dahuang ordered.

Feishi nodded.

His palm suddenly smacked onto the cement road. In a split second, the surface of the ground suddenly turned into what looked like ripples on a lake. These ripples moved in a single direction, forcing the frozen One-eyed Magic Wolf away from them, toward a more distant location.

However, the Ice Spread’s effects couldn’t be sustained for much longer.

A churning heat from the Wolf’s body began to force the surrounding frost to melt, and furthermore that water started boiling.

“This guy really is evolving, its body and blood vessels are boiling!” Feishi swore with an uneasy expression.

Li Wenjie clenched his teeth, he didn’t know what to do.

To be honest, once this One-eyed Magic Wolf successfully evolved, none of the people here would be able to survive. No one would be able to stop this monster from entering the flourishing business district.

Remaining here would be awaiting his own death.

Furthermore, the signs of this One-eyed Magic Wolf’s evolution were already very evident, why were they still remaining, awaiting death?

“It is about to break through!” Li Wenjie said, cold sweat dripping off her.

Crap, now it was too late to escape!

Xu Dahuang, Xiake, Feishi, Guo Caitang; none of them had any intentions of leaving.

Mo Fan at this moment was staring at the One-eyed Magic Wolf; he could clearly see the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s muscles had turned slightly transparent. The veins within its muscles could actually be seen, they were boiling at a high temperature. The blood was quickly flowing through the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s body!

The One-eyed Magic Wolf’s bones were cracking, and bones actually grew directly from its shoulder muscles, becoming sharp shoulder spikes.

Its giant-sized backbone was also growing, piercing through the muscles of its back. Bones that still had wisps of blood glued to them had turned into a thorny ridge on its spine. Beneath the cold moonlight, it appeared increasingly dreadful!

“Fire Burst, Rupture!”

Xu Dahuang was finally unable to resist. A fireball condensed in his hand. It carried some resentment as he threw it toward this monster.

_Boom!_

Raging flames loudly exploded in front of the One-eyed Magic Wolf, and the fierce tongues of fire immediately engulfed the One-eyed Magic Wolf. The scarlet blaze was shrouding the entire street in choking smoke.

A heatwave immediately poured down the old street, and the old banyan trees combusted beneath the fierce flames. Furthermore, the fires began to spread toward the older buildings.

The residents of these old buildings had already escaped without a trace. After the explosion, the two buildings to the sides turned into a burning mess.

It was a ferocious blast, and presumably, it would be able to cause injuries to the One-eyed Magic Wolf.

When the initial intensity of the fires dissipated, a figure with its body completely draped in flames suddenly flew out from the place that had exploded. As it flew out, it knocked aside everything that was in its way.

“Captain, be careful!” Feishi yelled out.

Xu Dahuang was completely frozen with shock.

After suffering from his Rupture, this One-eyed Magic Wolf had actually emerged safely!

“Earth Wave!” Feishi risked his life to use the spell.

He controlled the surface of the ground and wanted to use the rippling ground to drag the running One-eyed Magic Wolf backwards. Who would’ve thought that the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s speed was too quick, the rippling ground was of no use!

_Awuuuu~_

The burning One-eyed Magic Wolf suddenly jumped, showing its unharmed belly. The claw it had poised to strike turned into a streak of cold light as it cut towards the motionless Xu Dahuang.

“Water Barrier, Protect!” Xiaoke was still able to complete her Star Path during the calamity, countless strands of water quickly forming a liquid armor as the claw landed on Captain Xu Dahuang’s body.

The powerful claw ferociously ripped across this water armor.

A spray of blood spurted out. A long wound emerged on the body of Captain Xu Dahuang, it looked like his chest had been completely ripped open!

____________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Xiaoke was already completely stunned.

She definitely used her water spell to protect Captain Xu Dahuang, how was the One-eyed Magic Wolf still able to tear apart the Captain’s stomach?!

“Cap, Captain!” Guo Caitang’s entire being was completely dumbstruck.

A One-eyed Magic Wolf who could completely render Fire Burst: Rupture useless and ignore Water Barrier: Protect; was that really a Magical Beast that they faced off against every day?

“Xiaoke, hurry up and run!” Feishi yelled at Xiaoke.

After Xiaoke regained her senses, it seemed like she had been soaked in cold water. She could feel the endless ferocity from the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s pupil.

Its next objective was her!

“Lightning Strike, Fierce Whip!”

As everyone sank into a panicked state, traces of purple Lightning covered Mo Fan’s head.

He raised his hand up, before suddenly gripping it.

In a split second, all of the traces of Lightning turned into a long Lightning Python. The Lightning Python frantically whipped out onto the incomparably malevolent body of the One-eyed Magic Wolf, lacerating its flesh!

Every time the Lightning Whip swatted down, an electric arc would follow up and drill itself into the savage One-eyed Magic Wolf, entering its flesh and bones.

It was different from the primary Lightning Strike, Python Scars. Once the whip-like Lightning traces hit them, it would leave behind Lightning prints. These prints would then conduct electricity to each other, sustaining the electric shock to the target organism.

“Awuuuuu!!”

The One-eyed Magic Wolf was in so much pain that it began to howl.

The One-eyed Magic Wolf’s strong, substantial flesh and its steel-like body was able to endure the formidable destructive force of the Fire Burst: Rupture, and the Lightning Strike’s frantic whipping could only cause superficial wounds. However, its flesh was definitely unable to resist the paralysis caused by the electric shock and the electric arcs that were constantly bouncing around inside its body.

“Lightning! The One-eyed Magic Wolf relies most on the strength of its body, and is weak against Lightning Magic!” Guo Caitang was suddenly shocked awake.

“This, This is the second level of Lightning Strike!” Feishi was also somewhat stunned.

During this time when these Hunter Team members were unable to do anything, who would’ve thought that the newest member of the Hunter Team, who had joined not too long ago, would actually stand out!

The most important thing was, this kid had actually cultivated his Lightning Strike to the second level when no one was aware of it!

The One-eyed Magic Wolf was already at the stage where its muscles, blood vessels, and bones were transforming. During this kind of transformation, the One-eyed Magic Wolf would directly possess the dreadful combat prowess of a successful evolution. At this time, there was nothing that could be more perfect than a Lightning Mage that was capable of detonating explosives within the creature’s flesh.

Even if it was the second level Lightning Strike, the strongest of the basic elements would only be able to vividly display its dominance in this kind of situation. Adding to the Lightning element’s powerful restraining abilities, it even caused the One-eyed Magic Wolf to actually stagger and feel weak across its entire body.

Opposite it was Mo Fan, standing at a safe distance and letting loose a long breath.

Fortunately, the second level of Lightning Strike was indeed very effective, or else the consequences would have been catastrophic.

“Continue, Fan Mo, continue! Your Lightning Strike is causing its flesh and bones to stop growing! As long as we are able to stop its evolution, we will still have a chance!” Guo Caitang urgently shouted.

Mo Fan nodded.

He connected his Star Path, and the purple traces of Lightning once again emerged on top of Mo Fan’s head.

Even if he was still a bit unfamiliar with using the second level of Lightning Strike, Mo Fan couldn’t afford to have even a slightest bit of error when faced with a life and death situation.

The Lightning Whip once more viciously lashed onto the One-eyed Magic Wolf, whose body now appeared to be a little deformed. The whip this time not only had the ability to restrict the One-eyed Magic Wolf, it actually caused its body to deflate. Additionally, the growth of the Wolf’s bones showed signs of receding.

“Good job, Fan Mo!”

“We suppressed it!”

“Hit it until it returns to its original form!”

Everyone was unable to contain their excitement. To them, Mo Fan’s Lightning Strike had essentially saved all their lives.

“The paralysis effect of the Lightning Strike isn’t sustainable. After the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s flesh and bones have adapted to the electric shocks, it will be able to expand once more!” Guo Caitang reminded everyone.

Mo Fan himself was extremely clear on the fact that the Lightning Strike’s paralysis effect wasn’t sustainable.

No matter what, he still had delayed it for a bit of time. Mo Fan felt like he had done his best, and at least enough to allow Li Wenjie to pull Xu Dahuang into a safe area. Whether Captain Xu Dahuang was alive or dead was hard to say.

“Awooooo!” the Wolf howled out.

It had finally adapted to the paralysis of the Lightning Strike. This monster that was brimming with power from its body once again released the aura of a wild beast.

“Crap, it is transforming again!”

The color of everyone’s faces changed once more. This meant that they would need to worry about their lives again.

After seeing this scene, Mo Fan knew that he really was powerless now.

Currently, all he could do was to retreat. His Lightning Strike had given the innocent residents a bit more time, and could also be seen as having saved a few people.

“You evil creature, you still haven’t accepted your death!” an incomparably solemn shout suddenly resounded through the sky above the old street.

Before he had even seen the speaker, Mo Fan could feel an enormous elemental force gathering in mid-air, countless drops of misty fog were falling faintly onto his cheeks.

_Woooooosh~_

Mo Fan raised his head, and was shocked to see that there was an incredibly large wave emerging in midair!

A turbulent wave in the air?

Mo Fan had a hard time believing his own eyes. Yet, this surging wave really was passing through the old houses. Immediately after it did so, it was like a bursting dam as it attacked the body of the One-eyed Magic Wolf.

“Violent Wave, Banishment!”

Following this divine Magic chant, the surging tide directly smashed onto the One-eyed Magic Beast. Furthermore, it turned into a flood as it instantly filled the entire street.

All of the banyan trees had practically been broken through, the walls of the old houses also collapsed. The originally violent One-eyed Magic Wolf had no margin to struggle beneath the violent wave’s flood; it was flushed from the middle to the far end of the street.

“Inter-Intermediate level Water Magic!” After Xiaoke saw this scene, her face turned incredibly red with excitement.

Violent Wave!

This was precisely the Intermediate spell of Water Element. Seeing the floodwaves rapidly flushing across the street, Xiaoke, who was also a Water Magician, was so excited that she almost fainted.

Intermediate level! It was something that people yearned for even in their dreams. No one knew how long it would take a little Magician like her to reach that level.

The trembling Violent Wave was surging forwards nonstop, but it didn’t reach any inhabited areas. What everyone could see was that this Violent Wave resembled a ferocious dragon as it overwhelmed the One-eyed Magic Wolf, along with the fact it had almost destroyed the entire street!

Mo Fan was also watching this scene attentively. At same time, his heart was also surging!

_Intermediate Mage, so this is an Intermediate Mage! Formidable!_

_____________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Sorry, I’m late. Is Xu Dahuang alright?” A middle aged man with a dark blue shirt was standing on top of an old building, and beneath his feet was a gradually fading Star Map. It looked dazzling.

It was very clear that this person was Yang Zuohe, and should be the closest Intermediate ranked Magician to this place. Fortunately, Xu Dahuang and Guo Caitang had notified him in time.

Yang Zuohe still had some lingering fears as he looked toward the renovated buildings in the flourishing commercial streets. From his position, he could see the people who were still shopping, completely unaware of the danger they were in.

If the One-eyed Magic Wolf had successfully evolved and crossed over to those buildings, then no one knew what kind of living hell this commercial district would have become!

Yang Zuohe, who had been with the Magic Association of Bo City for so many years, had seen all kinds of Magicians. Xu Dahuang’s Hunter Team knew this One-eyed Magic Wolf was at the stage of evolving, yet, they stood their ground and did their best to stop it. He really admired this level of bravery!

“His skin was ripped, his internal organs are fine. He’s still alive, thank the heavens and earth for that.” Li Wenjie helped Xu Dahuang cover his blood-coated chest.

To be honest, Li Wenjie didn’t quite understand the Captain’s attitude. Could it be that his life as a Magician was less important than those people?

“I have contacted a Healing Mage and they’re on their way here. Think of a way to stop Xu Dahuang’s bleeding. I’ll take this animal’s life!” Yang Zuohe said.

After saying this, Yang Zuohe’s figure suddenly flashed away. Mo Fan could only see him leaving behind a cyan-colored Star Path before he quickly disappeared. Moreover, with extreme speed, he approached the One-eyed Magic Wolf that had been washed far away by the Violent Wave.

Mo Fan subconsciously followed the Intermediate Mage’s path until he arrived at the end of the street, to find the One-eyed Magic Wolf there, covered in debris.

An Intermediate Mage’s might was several times stronger than any Element in the Primary level. Where they were unable to do anything against the One-eyed Magic Wolf, he was able to use the Violent Wave to turn it into a half-dead old dog.

Thinking about it, it seemed about right. With such a ferocious wave swatting onto you, a few bones should be broken. Adding the subsequent rolling, soaking, and the previous attacks, even creatures with a higher strength would also directly be turned into trash on the beach.

Yang Zuohe evidently did not want to let this One-eyed Magic Wolf, who almost became a huge threat, go that easily! He used Wind Track to land in front of the One-eyed Magic Wolf.

“Wind Disc!”

The sound of Magic was heard, Yang Zuohe instantly transformed from a Water Magician into a Wind Magician equipped with the power of wind.

A suppression that caused people to stop breathing emerged from the air.

Suddenly, the surrounding air looked as though it was being pulled away from something as it began to frantically circulate.

Not too far from there, Mo Fan had just arrived in time to see this Intermediate Mage with a dark blue shirt use a single hand to support the gathering power with all his might. Beneath his foot and above his head were bright Star Maps that were reflecting one another; they looked gorgeous!

_Woooooooooooosh!_

It wasn’t a gentle wind like the Wind Track, and definitely not the same as the Wind Tunnel that was formed to increase one’s speed. At this very moment, Mo Fan could clearly feel the churning airflow blowing forwards, and circulating at high speed!

In a flash, a shocking and turbulent tornado emerged before them.

The Wind Disc tornado pulled the immobile One-eyed Magic Wolf into the air. It drew into an arc as it circulated twenty-something meters above the ground.

The Wind Disc tornado which stunned Mo Fan quickly dissipated.

The One-eyed Magic Wolf, which somehow appeared much smaller, began to drop heavily from the sky as the Wind Disc tornado lost its force!

_Boom!!!_

The cement floor directly became concave as the impact formed a large crater.

The One-eyed Magic Wolf’s body was completely torn and crushed as it hit, its blood splashed everywhere.

From the beginning to the end, the thing did not let out a sound. In just two Intermediate Magic spells, the Wolf had turned into an extremely mournful carcass.

“Dead??” Mo Fan asked, finding it hard to believe.

“Dead.” Yang Zuohe saw Mo Fan had come along, and showed his confidence with a slight smile.

“I… Can I go and take a look?” Mo Fan asked.

“You can. Oh, if I’m not wrong, then the Lightning Strike from before should have been cast by you, right?”

“It was me.”

“Young man, you did well. We, the Magic Association, will join with Hunters Union and the Government to give you all a commendation.” Yang Zuohe patted Mo Fan’s shoulder.

Mo Fan approached the One-eyed Magic Wolf that looked nothing like its former glory as he slowly fished out the Little Loach Pendant from his shirt pocket.

The Little Loach had a strong reaction at the moment the One-eyed Magic Wolf had lost its life. It was like it was beating a pitch no one was able to hear, like it was shouting out for something…

A strand of Wolf Soul slowly floated out from the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s mouth.

Mo Fan was able to see this Wolf Soul. It looked like a tiny burning moth that had fluttered up from being frightened, looking unsure of where to go.

A radiance emerged from the Little Loach Pendant, and the Wolf Soul looked like it had found its destination as it quickly floated over…

The Little Loach Pendant directly absorbed the Wolf Soul, and then let out a shivering sound. It was similar to a little child who was happy after eating its food.

_This time… this time, it didn’t look like a Soul Remnant._ After the Little Loach Pendant had absorbed the Wolf Soul, Mo Fan suddenly realized something.

Before, when the Little Loach Pendant had absorbed a Soul Remnant, the Remnant basically had the weak, nearly invisible light of a firefly, and additionally, the light was particularly muddy. The Little Loach Pendant simply had difficulty absorbing it; it had the attitude of someone who thought it was barely better than nothing.

However, this time, the Little Loach Pendant appeared thirsty with anticipation. When it ate the whole Wolf Soul, the entire Loach Pendant felt happy…

Could it be that it was a Soul Essence this time?

Thinking back on what Guo Caitang had said before, this One-eyed Magic Wolf had stealthily absorbed the colossal power from the Underground Holy Spring of Bo City before it hid within the human city as it sneakily tried to evolve. In other words, this guy had basically received some good nourishment that had caused it to advance in strength and reach the stage where it was going to evolve.

This kind of Magical Beast would have a very high chance of leaving behind a Soul Essence after its death!

Only Soul Magicians were possessed with the ability to collect Soul Essence. If the Intermediate Magician, Yang Zuohe didn’t bring along a special Soul Essence gathering tool, then he wouldn’t be able to see this incomparably pure Soul Essence.

The Soul Essence of a dead creature would automatically dissipate after three minutes, and it was clear that Yang Zuohe has never collected Souls before. Thus, he didn’t have any interest in the carcass.

Perhaps this Intermediate Magician never thought that the coming kid would actually carry a tool for collecting souls. Just when he had turned his back to tell others to clean up the scene, the Soul Essence valued at five million RMB had been taken away by the harmless-looking Mo Fan.

The value of an One-eyed Magic Wolf who was on the verge of evolving was very high, but not as valuable as a Soul Essence that had only a very small chance of appearing!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Not long after, Battlemages started appearing in this banyan tree-filled old residential area.

Among them was a Healing Mage, who quickly began healing Captain Xu Dahuang’s ripped-open chest. Fortunately, Xu Dahuang was a Magician and his body had been strengthened by his Stardust. If he had been a common person, then he would’ve died on the spot.

After seeing the large bloody scar stretching from Xu Dahuang’s chest to his abdomen, Mo Fan truly realized the importance of a defense spell. At the same time, he also rejoiced over the magical Bone Scythe Shield in his hands, or else he would’ve died already.

“Mr. Yang, I think we should still sound the alert. The frequency of the appearances of the Magical Beast are somewhat high, it’s a bit unusual,” Guo Caitang said to the Intermediate Mage, Yang Zuohe.

“Our Magic Association is already in discussion with the Hunters Union. The government is also contemplating this matter. The only thing is that we already sounded the alert not too long ago, so sounding another one in such a short time could very easily give rise to panic,” Yang Zuohe replied worriedly.

“A One-eyed Magic Wolf, a Magical Beast that isn’t supposed to appear in the city, still appeared… Which is to say, there are some bad things happening,” Guo Caitang retorted.

“Don’t worry, we are already investigating this matter. We have already reinforced the safety of the city with people. There are still some bizarre situations that we are unable to deal with, that’s why we still need your Beast Hunter Teams to help,” Yang Zuohe answered.

“We will naturally do our best, it’s just the Captain has suffered some injuries, thus, our actions…” Guo Caitang trailed off.

“I will let a Fire Magician temporarily fill your Captain’s post until he recuperates. Speaking of which, when did your team add a new member, and it’s actually a Lightning Mage?” Yang Zuohe asked as he smiled slightly at Mo Fan.

“Recruited from the auditions.”

“Recruited from the auditions??” Yang Zuohe was dumbstruck as he helplessly said, “It’s my first time hearing of a Lightning Mage going to a recruitment fair.”

Everyone began to laugh as their gazes turned to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s performance had actually surprised everyone. When everyone thought they would get killed by the evolving One-eyed Magic Wolf, he used the second level of Lightning Strike to create a decisive event. The Hunter Team rejoiced over the fact that they had picked up this kind of Lightning Mage who was willing to move around the City with them. One had to understand that Lightning Mages who has grasped the second level of Lightning Strike were mostly employed by the large, ancestral families. Even if they were to go to the Hunters Union, Magic Association or the government, they would still be able to freely choose a position of equivalent level.

Yu Ang was standing there as he saw everyone’s gaze lock onto that young Lightning Mage, and he couldn’t help but frown.

Even if he had the light from the major Ice element family, or even excelled among the peers of his age, the splendor of the Lightning Element would still be able to overshadow him.

“Caitang, in order to prevent Fan Mo from changing jobs, how about you use your body to tie him down. In any case, he has saved your life once already, and you still don’t know how to repay him,” Feishi spoke up.

“Get out!” Guo Caitang’s arrogant face was blushing as she viciously cursed back.

On the side, Yu Ang’s face also immediately turned increasingly gloomy.

——

The disturbance caused by the One-eyed Magic Wolf had finally settled down.

After changing his clothes, he returned to the school dorms. When Mo Fan was about to climb over the walls, he discovered a delicate little shadow flashing past by the gate.

“Zhoumin?” Mo Fan was a little surprised. Why hadn’t the girl returned back home to sleep, what was she doing squatting here?

“Mo Fan, that’s good… I thought you…” After Zhoumin saw Mo Fan was safe and sound, her eyes began to tear up.

Zhoumin was, after all, a girl at the peak of her prime. She was particularly moved during the time when Mo Fan sacrificed his own life to save everyone during the Practicals. However, she was unable to express herself due to her arrogant pride obstructing the way. This time, due to her grandmother’s matter, she had almost made Mo Fan lose his life again. Mo Fan had once more saved not only her life, but also her grandmother’s, and she had no idea how to repay the kindness.

As Mo Fan saw Zhoumin was weeping, he also felt really awkward.

“In short, thank you for saving my grandmother. My parents are always busy, so I grew up with my grandmother…” Zhoumin continued.

After consoling her for a good while, Mo Fan advised Zhoumin to return to the female dorms.

A boy sending a girl home in the late evening while the girl is crying, this scene would cause many to have ideas.

After returning to the dorms, his dorm mates began to question regarding how it was. _Boring, this daddy, I, is saving the world, alright!?_

_—_

After everyone had gone to sleep, Mo Fan ran to the water tower on the roof of the school building.

This place was Mo Fan’s holy ground for cultivating. Most of the time, there wouldn’t be any people disturbing him.

“How come the Little Loach Pendant didn’t have any reaction after eating that Soul Essence, it’s like it is sound asleep?” Mo Fan sat down on the roof of the tower as he began to talk to himself.

After saying this, the Little Loach Pendant was like an infant as it woke up. It gently trembled as it let out a blossoming radiance that covered its circumference by a finger-length.

This radiance looked extremely viscous, it felt like silk wrapping around the pitch-black pendant.

_Spinning a cocoon to use for rebirth?_

Seeing the Little Loach Pendant’s transformation, Mo Fan couldn’t help but think of a word.

In fact, the Little Loach Pendant was slowly being wrapped up in the radiance, and was indeed undergoing a transformation. Its old surface had some evident transformations appearing; it was no longer as rusty or stained. It now looked as glossy as jade.

“The thing which Old Man Ying had left for me is indeed a treasure!” Mo Fan was entranced.

He could distinctly feel the changes to the Loach Pendant. After the transformation had finished, its location on his chest was continually receiving a very comfortable flow of energy.

When he was being nourished by the Common grade Stardust Magic Tool, it was like being soaked by a spring. His entire body would relax from the flow of the comfortable heat, the feeling of quickly loosening up his body and mind was extremely evident.

However, after the Loach Pendant had transformed, Mo Fan could increasingly feel like he was being covered by something unique. If he really were to describe it, it would be a soft silk…

That soft silk would not be a burden to the actions performed by his body. It was tightly stuck to his entire body. Mo Fan, who had just gone through a big battle, instantly felt fresh and comfortable. It was like being an infant, lying down on a soft baby’s bed that carried serenity and peace.

Mo Fan was delighted.

Even though he had never seen a Spirit grade Stardust Magic Tool, he was still able to clearly feel that this kind of effect from the nourishment definitely belonged to a Spirit grade Stardust Magic Tool. In addition to feeling his exhaustion quickly dissipating, Mo Fan could also feel his own Stardust being showered with nourishment; this sensation was like he was actively meditating.

“It is able to increase cultivation without meditating?!” Mo Fan was thoroughly shocked!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

The amount of time Mo Fan could endure meditating for was already much longer than other people. With the assistance of the Stardust Magic tool, he could cultivate for 12 hours a day and it wouldn’t be a problem.

However, the time a person had was still limited. If an even higher grade of Stardust Magic Tool allowed him to continue cultivating for an increasingly longer period of time, then it wouldn’t mean much at all. It’s not like Mo Fan would meditate for 24 hours a day!

After experiencing combat, Mo Fan understood that if a Magician solely relied on meditation to increase their strength, it would not be enough. On the contrary, experiencing combat, being in a life-threatening circumstances and having the thirst to become stronger when faced against a powerful foe, these had a certain degree of inducing a slow but definite range of increase in Stardust.

Thus, Mo Fan needed to maintain a long cultivation time everyday while he also had to join the operations of the Hunter Team.

If an even higher grade of Stardust Magic Tool only increased a Mage’s cultivation time, then it wouldn’t be very effective for someone like Mo Fan who could already cultivate for ten or so hours everyday.

What went beyond Mo Fan’s expectations was that the Spirit grade Stardust Magic Tool could allow Mo Fan to continually meditate, but also directly nourished his Stardust to a certain degree.

When he was not meditating, his Stardust could still slowly grow.

When he meditated, then it would have an even higher effect on the growth of his Stardust than normal!

Mo Fan had already attained a longer degree of increase to his meditation time, and if the effects of meditating received a boost, then that was increasing his power like a rocket!

_Awesome! If it’s like this, then not only will I be able to advance to the third level of the Fire spell before I graduate, but my Lightning spells will also be able to advance to the third level! If I were to strive even harder, I might even be able to touch the threshold to Intermediate Mage!_

When the stars reached level 3, it signified that the Stardust was not too far away from transforming into a Nebula!

Mo Fan had already researched many things concerning Intermediate Mages.

The element that was first formed within a Magician’s Spiritual World was known as a Stardust.

When the Stardust within the Magician’s Spiritual World turned into a Nebula, the star orbit would appear increasingly magnificent and bright. That meant the Magician had reached the Intermediate level!

The Nebula was much bigger than the Stardust. If the Stardust was just a tiny, sparkling dust in the vast universe, then the Nebula would be a cloud where starlights converged. The Nebula contained increasingly larger amounts of mana. This would signify that the mighty, formidable Intermediate Magicians could rip open the vast sky, and grandly arrive.

When you linked the stars within a Stardust, they would become Primary Magic spells!

When you formed a Star Map with the stars within a Nebula, they would become Intermediate Magic spells!

Mo Fan definitely did not forget that when the Intermediate Mage named Yang Zuohe cast his Intermediate Magic, beneath his foot was an incomparably mysterious and magnificent Star Map. It was different from the radiance of a Star Path, the Star Map was far stranger and mightier, the power within it was enough to earn the boundless admiration of all the Magicians who were still hovering around the Primary level.

The Intermediate Water Magic that was able to wash the entire street, Violent Wave, and the Intermediate Wind Magic that was able to lift a One-eyed Magic Wolf that was as heavy as a car ten or so meters into the sky, Wind Disc; let’s not even talk about how cool they were, but their strength was even more abnormal. It was definitely on a whole different level than a Primary spell!

_If just the Wind and Water Elements Intermediate Magic were that amazing, then wait until I have grasped the Intermediate spells of Lightning and Fire; then who would need to be afraid of the Mu Family?_

_Let’s diligently cultivate!_

_I, Mo Fan’s, incredible life has only just started!_

——

The winter wind was blowing smoothly from the north. Everywhere it went, the trees stripped off the leaves that covered them as they welcomed the breeze with harsh nudity.

In the south, the flora wasn’t affected so much by the winds of winter. No matter how strong the wind was, the trees were always suave and green. Having some leaves falling was only giving face to the seasons. The trees were always green, 365 days a year.

Mo Fan was in Bo City, a city that didn’t have very clear seasons. Even the clear seasons would change one day, and that would signify that Father Typhoon was coming.

Yet another typhoon season. Mo Fan and his friends were all curling up in their dorms. The moist and cold dorm building with a somewhat musty smell was mostly silent. Most of the students were expending big efforts for the Magic High Exams next year.

What no one knew was that a mere Magician who graduated High School would still need to struggle within society. If you weren’t able to strive for a higher position, then it would be increasingly difficult to cultivate to a higher level of Magician. If you genuinely wanted to stand out from your peers and become a Magician that would receive people’s reverence, then you had to enter a Magic University. That way, your chances of becoming an Intermediate Magician would be significantly better.

Intermediate Magician, that was a Magician’s one chance to completely change their life. All of the students were doing their best to strive for this chance.

“Big Brother Mo Fan, I awakened the Healing element. So if big brother Mo Fan receives any injuries, then I can use magic to heal you,” came a text message along with an adorable smiling face.

Mo Fan was slightly astonished.

_What the heck, what is this?_

“Healing element? How come you awakened the Healing element? All of us awakened a basic element, so how come you awakened a Light Magic during your primary awakening?” Mo Fan urgently sent a text back to ask.

“The vast majority of everyone’s first element awakening is a basic element. However, there are bound to be some few exceptions. I have heard that others could use some unusual item to conduct their Awakening, this would give them a definite chance of awakening a certain Magic element,” Ye Xinxia texted back.

“Conduct their Awakening? If I were to reach the Intermediate level and wanted to awaken an element, then couldn’t I use the conducting way that you mentioned to complete it?” Mo Fan was delighted, he felt as though he had gained a whole new view of heaven and earth.

“You can, the prerequisite is that you need to be able to gather the conducting materials.”

“Xinxia, I love you to death, you have helped me solve a huge and difficult issue.” Mo Fan’s dull mood immediately turned happy.

He had always thought that the Awakening was random, whatever element you grabbed would be it. He never thought that there’d be something like Awakening Conduction in this world. In that case, after reaching the Intermediate level and obtaining a chance at Awakening his second element, if he were to use Awakening Conduction, then he could receive the Dark element!

The window of Magic was unceasingly opening wider for Mo Fan during this short period of time. Every time it opened, Mo Fan could see a future that he yearned for, driving him to passionately cultivate!

The progress of his Lightning and Fire Stardusts had gone smoothly, the speed of their advancement was a few times faster than his expectations. Especially after meditating, and joining the Hunter Teams for combat, he had shaken off many of his peers.

However, this kind of thing did not necessarily need to be boasted about. On the day of the Magic High Exams, his peers would definitely be so surprised that their chins would come crashing down to the cement floor!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Time quickly flowed by. Mo Fan gave his precious youth to cultivating and hunting beasts as he immensely enjoyed this experience.

In just a wink, the number of beasts killed by Mo Fan had already gone past fifteen. In the eyes of the old veterans in the Hunters Union, he would be classified as a extremely experienced Magician.

In school, the Magic High Exams, the waterfall that could allow the students to leap onto the gates of the dragons, was slowly approaching.

“Your comfortable days are quickly coming to an end, Mo Fan,” Zhoa Kunsan said to Mo Fan, delighting in Mo Fan’s misery.

With graduation coming, it would also mean the previous Magic Duel promise which was witnessed by the School Principal was nearing.

Mo Fan couldn’t help but admit that this guy Mu Zhuoyun sure was cunning. He had set the Magic Duel on a date before the Magic High exams.

This would mean that if Mo Fan were to get into some small accident in this Magic Duel, then it could very well influence his performance at the Magic High Exams.

“Brother Fan, I heard the neighbors talk about Mu Zhuoyun. He is preparing for Yu Ang’s eighteenth-year Coming of Age Ceremony. Our Bo City has always placed a great importance on the Coming of Age ceremony, and a big family clan like the Mu Family would definitely set up their most important disciple’s Ceremony to be grander than anything,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“I know, they will invite rich and powerful guests. All the people of importance within Bo City have been invited, families with status just enjoy doing this kind of stuff,” Mo Fan said.

“But this is so unfavorable toward you, this old scoundrel is obviously trying to cheat you. He’s using you as a stepping stone for that guy Yu Ang. In any case, Brother Fan is currently the number one student of Tian Lan Magic High. If you were to lose the Magic Duel in front of the gazes of all these people, then not only will it give their family an awe-inspiring authority, but it would also mean that the number one student among the fifteen hundred at Tian Lan Magic High was not able to win against the student nourished by their family. Principal Zhu will not be able to leave that stage.”

Principal Zhu was the most important person in Tian Lan Magic High; he and Mu Zhuoyun could be said to be two old rivals in Bo City.

The prestige of Principal Zhu in Bo City was very high; after all, he had earned the trust of the people. All of the grassroot Magicians who were outstanding were unable to succeed without Principal Zhu’s support. Principal Zhu had used the school to dig up many brilliant Magicians with no background.

Mu Zhuoyun was more of a typical case of a Magic Family clan. This basically meant the family was more specialized in nurturing their own disciples. By relying on the more outstanding children of the aristocrats, Mu Zhuoyun was able to obtain a long-standing position within Bo City.

Every once in a while, the grassroot Magicians and the Clan Magicians would have a contest. The most important time for Mu Zhuoyun every year was when he saw the young Magicians from his own clan completely wipe out the students which Principal Zhu had nurtured from his public school, Tian Lan Magic High.

Deng Kai and Principal Zhu were both completely on the side of the school. That was why when Mo Fan slandered Mu Zhuoyun, even if they hadn’t settled the matter down to having a duel with a younger generation of the Mu Family, they would still somehow suppress this matter.

A student who is able to take three S’s in the annual examination, that would make him the school’s treasure. How could they let the tyrant Mu Zhuoyun suppress him?

After hearing that Mo Fan had smoothly eliminated the summoned beast that went berserk, both Principal Zhu and Deng Kai increasingly felt like they had obtained a treasure.

Mo Fan himself didn’t know that Principal Zhu and Deng Kai had always been meticulous about him. The two of them, who put great importance on the grassroot Magicians, had always arranged for people to watch over him.

However, a school was still a school, they couldn’t be selfish. They also wanted to give a Stardust Magic Tool to Mo Fan so he could use it all the time. However, they couldn’t be like an ancestral family, favoring one and discriminating against the others!

——

When the time arrived for Yu Ang’s holiday-like Coming-of-Age ceremony, Principal Zhu and Deng Kai finally couldn’t help themselves, and called Mo Fan to the Principal’s office.

Mo Fan had met Deng Kai before, he had stood up to help Mo Fan before. He was the boss of Bo City’s Hunters Union. He was even stronger than the Intermediate Mage Yang Zuohe!

Principal Zhu was someone Mo Fan was meeting for the first time. This old Principal who held a prestigious status in the hearts of the students and their parents actually seemed to have the aura of a hermit. However, when there were big things happening, he would still come out and take charge.

“Mo Fan, there are some matters we need to discuss with you seriously,” Deng Kai took the lead to say.

Mo Fan stood there as he listened attentively.

“The truth is, every now and them, the students of our Tian Lan Magic High and the disciples of the Mu Family will have a session of interaction. In past years, we would always pick the most outstanding one from among the students, and the student with the strongest combat ability would fight against the disciples of Bo City’s families… Originally, we had put our hopes on Xu Zhaoting; after all, he is a rare Lightning Mage, and thus, he had a higher chance of success in this contest. However, on the annual examination, you had very good grades, and were even presumptuous enough to provoke their family. In order to prevent Mu Zhuoyun from making your life difficult, we intentionally moved the matter toward this fight that was already bound to happen,” Deng Kai sincerely said to Mo Fan.

“I know… Oh, what I meant to say is, thank you, to you two directors, for helping me out of an embarrassing situation,” Mo Fan said.

“To be honest, we have already helped you delay the time by two years. The growth that you have achieved within these two years has been noted in our hearts. But, you still need to pay the cost for being so rude back then.” Deng Kai helplessly shook his head.

Deng Kai had already obtained some information from other people. Yu Ang’s cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds in these two years. Additionally, he had real combat practice provided by the family. Even if Mo Fan was more clever, he still might not be Yu Ang’s opponent. Everyone knew that he was lucky when he had killed the summoned beast back then.

The principal sighed. “Mo Fan, we also know that the heavens are sometimes unfair; they sometimes give people privileges from birth, where others get nothing. However, this does not mean that you can blame the gods and accuse others and boldly vent out the resentments in your heart. Although you may have spoken out about your discontent to these superior characters, and there are many who want to do the same, those words also signify that you are putting yourself on the edge of the abyss. When your strength is far from being capable of contending against a big family like this, swallowing your anger is not a bad thing,” Principal Zhu said with sincere and earnest wishes.

Principal Zhu had been a principal for so many years, and had seen many haughty students. Some of them really did accomplish a lot, and had become Magicians who many revered. Some others, however, had sunk so far that they were never heard of again.

Talent was important, cultivating was important, but the most important thing was to judge the size of the situation. Don’t do unnecessary things, the school was only able to provide protection for a few years. After joining society, only the words of those at the top mattered.

“Thank you for the guidance, I was indeed too willful back then,“ Mo Fan nodded.

“The reason as to why we called here today naturally isn’t for educating you… We actually do hope for you to be victorious in the duel this time, and that is because the winner will obtain a chance to cultivate at Bo City’s sole Underground Holy Spring,” Principal Zhu continued.

“Underground Holy Spring??” Mo Fan’s eyes immediately brightened.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

This wasn’t the first time Mo Fan had heard of the Underground Holy Spring. It appeared that the One-eyed Magic Wolf from that time had stolen the energy from the Underground Holy Spring, and it had almost evolved into an even higher rank. From that, it was evident that the Underground Holy Spring was the heavenly treasure of Bo City. Even the Magical Beasts would sneak into the dangerous areas where humans dwelled to steal it.

“Our Bo City naturally has some special resources, they are specially provided for those who are on the verge of entering the Magic Universities… Unfortunately, the Underground Holy Spring is an extremely limited resource. We can only open it up for a single student every once in a while. This student isn’t just simply chosen from a school, but the Magic Clans and Ancestral Families also have to fight for the spot,” Principal Zhu said.

After saying this, Deng Kai couldn’t help but give off a bitter smile, “Principal Zhu, we haven’t had the qualifications to take that spot for many years, I feel like it is always taken by the disciples of the Clans and Families.”

“That’s not strange at all. The Ancestral Families and Clans are able to focus their resources into a single outstanding disciple. Additionally, the nurturing and training which they can obtain is not something our egalitarian school can compete with.” Principal Zhu seemed quite calm; it appeared he was already indifferent about this matter.

“Mo Fan, the outcome of this battle is not something you need to put any importance on. Having you realize the might of a disciple from an Ancestral Family is also good. In the future, you will be able to stay calmer on the road of cultivation, and work even harder. As for the revenge from the Mu Family, that won’t be something you need to worry about. After you enter a Magic University, they naturally won’t be able to touch you that easily, and if you were to remain in Bo City, then we are still quite willing to continue carrying on nurturing you,” Deng Kai said.

After hearing the two teachers words, Mo Fan felt somewhat moved.

No wonder why Principal Zhu and Deng Kai had such prestige within the hearts of the students and their parents. It seemed like they had always been on the side of the common students. They were willing to protect the common students, even from the Ancestral Families and Clans. These kind of people were hard to find, one had to know that the school directors of many other public schools would try to curry favors with the strong.

“Alright, the competition is the day after tomorrow; adjust your mindset and perform properly. Even if winning against this Yu Ang who has been carefully nurtured by the Mu Family is impossible, the duel this time is still an opportunity for you. It is not an everyday occurrence that you can gather so many important people of Bo City to watch youngsters have a duel.”

“Mhm, even after you enter an University, a Magician’s advancement requires a large amount of resources. If you can find someone of influence to watch over you before you enter University, and who is willing to subsidize you, then it will be much better for you after you enter University. After all, the competition amongst the Magicians in the Universities are even fiercer. If you don’t have anything, then you won’t be a match for those students who have an even stronger power behind them,” Principal Zhu told Mo Fan.

The two teachers didn’t say anything useless. In fact, they were telling Mo Fan the answers to questions that he would encounter in the future. They hoped for Mo Fan to understand that the road of Magicians wasn’t that simple.

Mo Fan once again expressed his thanks to the two teachers.

——

The time went past very quickly. The Mu Family was in their manor as they wildly beat their gongs and drums.

Mo Fan walked out of the school, he raised his head up at an angle as he couldn’t help but sigh in sorrow. _Shit, three years have gone past so fast!_

_It’s not long before I will have to leave this school gate._

_Three years ago, I walked out of middle school. Three years later, I’m on the verge of walking out of this high school._

The school gates had numerous cars parked there today. Most of them were here to pick up their adorable Mage children and return home. The school had given the students ten days of self-cultivation time in order to welcome the Magic High Exams that happened after those ten days.

But before the Magic High Exams, Mo Fan naturally still had his duel.

In fact, he had been waiting far too long for this day to arrive!

He could not forget the high horse attitude which Mu He had displayed when he snatched away their family house, nor his father Mo Jiaxing’s low and petty action that caused Mo Fan’s heart to tighten.

He would definitely not forget Mu Zhuoyun’s conceited attitude from two years ago. A long time ago, he had treated them as a dog as he drove them out; yet, on that day, he threw a bone and called Mo Fan back, expecting him to come. Was he born into this society to be controlled at the very bottom by the guys who tyrannically abused him?

No one should be born to be someone else’s slave, unless they were willing to lick the shoes of their owner!

The him of yesterday was indeed not even worth mentioning, a clown with a mouse as sideshow. Tomorrow, he would enter the gates of the Mu Family and rely on the cultivation which he had bitterly worked on for so many years to defeat the disciple which they had carefully nurtured and let this fool understand what it meant to start a great fire with just a tiny spark!

——

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan!” a familiar middle aged man yelled toward him.

“Father, how come you’re here?” Mo Fan asked as he lowered his head, astonished.

“I heard that the school is giving you guys a self-study holiday, so I came here to pick you up.” Mo Jiaxing revealed a spotless row of teeth, his face filled with a silly smile.

It felt like he had returned to three years ago when he had walked out from failing the exams. It had also been filled with cars by the gates, and his father, Mo Jiaxing, had been waiting with the crowd, his face sweating.

The difference was that Mo Jiaxing was more tanned and skinny, Mo Fan didn’t even need to ponder to understand that his father had been running all over the place for the family in the past three years.

The other difference was that Mo Fan himself had gone from a student who was lagging behind the others to a Magician who had grasped the Lightning and Fire element!

At the very least, he was worthy to face Mo Jiaxing’s decision to send him to the Magic School without hesitation!

“Father, you don’t need to work so hard. Didn’t I transfer a bit of money over to you?” When Mo Fan saw his father this tanned, he began to feel bad.

“You can keep your money to yourself, a Magician needs a lot of money. I have heard from the old Mages in the stronghold saying that there is something called a Stardust Magic Tool that is able to increase the speed of your cultivation. I’ll see if I can raise some money to buy you one, this way you’ll have something when you enter University, or else what would you have to compete against those other kids from the big cities?” Mo Jiaxing said with a smile.

Mo Fan was momentarily speechless.

Magic had replaced science, yet, Mo Jiaxing was still like a common father, pure and blunt.

“Don’t worry, that thing has already been provided to me by the school. Don’t worry, take that money and go check out houses with little aunt when you have time. You don’t have to buy it, you can just rent one for now,” Mo Fan said.

This year Mo Fan had hunted quite a few beasts, their commission was considerable, from 120-130k RMB.

This money was not enough to buy Magic Equipment, nor Magical Tools, but it was enough to allow his father to rest for a period of time and relieve the pressure of their finances.

The truth is, Mo Fan didn’t know how to tell his father Mo Jiaxing that a Stardust Magical Tool was actually really, really expensive. It was not something he could afford even if he were to work hard for a few years; this thing was something he couldn’t buy even if he were to work hard for several lifetimes.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“That’s not necessary. You’re entering University soon, who would be staying in that house? It’s better if Xinxia is at your Little Aunt’s, us big men would have a hard time taking care of her. I give your Little Aunt some money every month… Speaking of which, the card you gave me has about a hundred or so thousand, plus I have around eighty thousand saved from running all over the place, in total there is two hundred thousand. It’s enough to buy a piece of Magical Equipment, right? I heard that thing is extremely important for Magicians,” Mo Jiaxing continued.

“I already have a Magical Equipment!”

“Oh, oh! I almost forget, you obtained a Magical Tool from Zhankong. Honestly, you’re really giving face to your father. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard the old hunters in the stronghold talk about that matter!” Speaking of this thing, Mo Jiaxing’s face was brimming brilliantly as he just now realized it had already been a year.

“Tomorrow, I will go to Mu Manor to have a Magic Duel with someone called Yu Ang,” Mo Fan said sincerely to his father.

“I know, I know. I have implored some elders in Mu Family to have Yu Ang go easier on you. Either way, you’re only there to give some luck to his Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Being able display yourself in front of so many powerful and influential people of Bo City is also extremely rare for you. Speaking of which, I wonder how you even thought of this kind of outstanding method back then… Anyway, don’t offend Master Mu again, he is still unhappy about the thing between you and Mu Ningxue back then. You little brat, so young yet the pearl of a family almost eloped with you!” Mo Jiaxing said.

Mo Jiaxing didn’t blame Mo Fan for the thing that had happened in the past.

Mo Fan was too young back then, doing a few stupid things was only normal. Furthermore, the biggest problem didn’t lie in his own son, the problem was the other family was too powerful.

Sigh, if only Mu Ningxue was the daughter of a common family; that way, he’d have gained a daughter-in-law. This little brat didn’t have any redeeming qualities, yet, his ability in swindling a lady back when he was a child was outstanding!

The Magic Duel this time was seen as a incredibly good thing by Mo Jiaxing.

Many other disciples who had better better circumstances than Mo Fan were very eager to appear at this incomparably grand Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Even if they were only there to enhance Yu Ang, it was still a supreme honor. For a fool like Mo Fan, this kind of opportunity was indeed very good, as long as this Mo Fan didn’t have the intention to actually fight for the outcome of the battle. What kind of a background did the other person have? If they were able to be the supporting character, that’d be fine, as well! If Yu Ang really became a great character of Bo City in the future, then they’d at least be able to say “I fought with him once before!”

“Father, I will be able to win!” Mo Fan said sincerely.

“Don’t be too ambitious, I am already very satisfied with the grades you have gotten now,” Mo Jiaxing said as he patted Mo Fan’s shoulder while laughing.

Seeing Mo Jiaxing’s attitude, Mo Fan’s heart was somewhat puzzled.

_Why do you guys think I am going there to be someone else’s cannon fodder?_

——

The Mu Family’s invitations had been sent ages ago. The entire Mu Manor was already surrounded by their distinguished friends and high-class crowds. The employees of Mu Manor were extremely busy; even a stray weed in the flowerbed would cause a huge fuss before they fixed it.

Mu Zhuoyun went overboard for the Coming-of-Age Ceremony this time, making sure everyone in Bo City knew about it.

Mo Fan had wondered in the past why Mu Zhuoyun had set him to fight against Yu Ang. It seemed like the cunning sly fox had actually planned this whole thing; adding a little good luck charm to the grand banquet this time.

Just drinking and eating would have no meaning. Watching the younger generation duel was better. Not only would he be able to deal with a sewer rat like Mo Fan beneath the gazes of everyone, but it would also give his Mu Family some face; what reason would he have to not go through with it?

To be honest, Mo Fan really hadn’t thought that the old scoundrel Mu Zhuoyun would give it such wide publicity.

Perhaps it really was as Principal Zhu and Deng Kai had said; this was a contest between the disciples of an ancestral family and the students from school.

The current Mo Fan was no longer the student with the best grades within Tian Lan Magic High in name only. There was a chance that even if he hadn’t inconvenienced Master Mu, he still would have ended up battling against the disciple of the ancestral family.

_That’s fine, we’ll deal with the new and old grudges at same time!_

“Old scoundrel, since you gave it such a wide publicity, then this daddy, I will make you lose face!” Mo Fan stood in front of his old house, as he raised his head to look at the Mu Manor that was decorated with lanterns and colored banners as it lit up splendidly. It brought a cold smile to his face.

——

On top of the Manor, Mu Zhuoyun suddenly sneezed.

He was currently sitting inside the tea room as he rubbed his moustache, his face filled with glory as he looked at Mu Ningxue, who had returned a while ago due to summer holidays.

“This Coming-of-Age Ceremony was originally prepared for you. However, your father, I, didn’t think that you were far more outstanding than what we had imagined. This tiny Bo City is no longer something you need to contend for. This Coming-of-Age Ceremony will be given to Yu Ang; he is loyal to our family. In the future, he can become your right-hand when you contest against the disciples of other elemental ancestor families!” Mu Zhuoyun said.

For his daughter, Mu Zhuoyun had actually gone through a lot of trouble.

“Why are you still holding onto him so tightly? Even if you wanted to let Yu Ang obtain the opportunity of Underground Holy Spring the proper way, you could still have chosen someone else.” Finally, Mu Ningxue couldn’t help but open her mouth.

The him Mu Ningxue was pointing at was naturally Mo Fan.

“That little scoundrel slandered me in front of so many people, how could I possibly forgive him? Doesn’t he think that he’s noble and virtuous, doesn’t he think that he’s amazing? How is it inappropriate of me to give him such an exceptionally good opportunity? I have already arranged it, when the time comes, you just need to sit next to me and watch.” Mu Zhuoyun’s mood immediately changed when this matter was brought up.

_Still protecting that kid at this time?_

Mu Zhuoyun did not understand. There were so many outstanding disciples from these large ancestral families, yet she didn’t say more than a sentence to them. She just had to care about a poor kid who didn’t know how to admit his mistakes and had no abilities whatsoever.

“Then tell Yu Ang to stop before he goes too far!” Mu Nignxue knew that her father wouldn’t budge a single step on this matter, thus, she also spoke of her own bottom line.

“Don’t worry, I have morals. I only want to let this kid who doesn’t know the difference between heaven and earth to understand that the dignity which I stomped on doesn’t mean anything. Whereas tomorrow, he will understand that being completely defeated beneath the gazes of everyone is truly losing all his face!” Mu Zhuoyun couldn’t help but smile.

_Little thing, you want to play with me, Mu Zhuoyun? When I shook the whole of Bo City, you were still inside your mother’s womb!_

_I, Mu Zhuoyun, have a variety of ways to make you unable to raise your head again within Bo City!_

_______________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

The moonlight was charming, and there was a wind flowing around the tranquil Bo City, giving it the gentility and elegance possessed only by a southern city. The mountains outside of the city were endless.

Tomorrow was the day that was extremely important to his life.

The children of poor people didn’t have a Coming-of-Age Ceremony. However, from everyone else’s perspective, he already had a decent Coming-of-Age Ceremony, being the supportive role to the disciple of a rich family.

From everyone else’s perspective, he was undoubtedly crouching on the floor, acting like a footpad for Yu Ang’s shiny leather shoes, so that Yu Ang could appear even more outstanding amongst his peers.

However, was that really true?

Lifting the beer in his hand, Mo Fan raised his head to pour the ice cold beer down his throat.

In front of him was a tall tower. The hundred-meter tall Global Trade Center was towering in front of him. It was like a prominent sword loftily erected in the center of the city, with glorious lights.

Mo Fan sat on the balcony with the wind drifting onto him. In the past, he had really enjoyed sitting here. He was able to see all of the flourishing scenery of Bo City; the Global Trade Center, Mu Manor, Bo River, and Tian Lan Magic High, located on the southern mountain.

He was feeling rather rueful. Behind him came the sound of footsteps, rhythmic and slow.

An ice-cold wind blew over from behind him, Mo Fan didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

“I asked Xinxia, she told me you were here,” the girl’s bright voice called out. If it wasn’t so cold and detached, then her voice would be as beautiful as a silver bell on a snowy day.

“Looking for me this late at night? I won’t be able to elope with you this time.” Mo Fan grabbed a paper used to wrap peanuts and put it next to him, signifying someone should sit there.

Mu Ningxue stood there, watching Mo Fan’s familiar movements as she remembered some things from the past.

When she was young, he would take her to some bizarre places to play. No matter where he went, he was able to sit on the floor, whereas she would be afraid of dirtying her beautiful skirts, so she’d refuse to sit. At some point, he started to find something clean to put down next to him; even his jacket was a victim, although his jacket sometimes would be filthy.

“Don’t go tomorrow, Yu Ang will be harsh on you. He listens to my father’s every direction. Anyone who harms my father, even if it is just cursing at him, he will harbor grudges toward, and he will not stop until you die.” Mu Ningxue didn’t walk over, she just stood there as she said this to Mo Fan.

“Your father sure adopted a good dog, I reckon he’d bite anyone your father wants him to.” Mo Fan didn’t have a favorable opinion of Yu Ang.

“He’s really odd, I don’t like him, either,” Mu Ningxue agreed.

“Then that’s good, I’ll help you educate him tomorrow,” Mo Fan said with a smile.

“Do you not understand me? I don’t want you to go tomorrow.” Mu Ningxue wrinkled her eyebrows.

“Miss, have you reached the Intermediate rank yet?”

“Don’t go tomorrow. After avoiding this, go to Magic University immediately. During the time you’re in University, I will slowly take control of the authority of my family, so when you return to Bo City, no one will do anything to you.”

“You want to provide for me? But I will still go.” Mo Fan turned around as he acted surprised.

“You…” Mu Ningxue was so angry that her chest heaved up and down.

She sincerely wanted to help him, yet, he was playing such a joke on her! _Doesn’t he know that offending my father means that he will have no place in Bo City!?_

Mu Ningxue realized she was unable to get through to Mo Fan. Thus, she turned around and left.

——

“Brother Fan, I heard that Little Princess was looking for you,” Zhang Xiaohou asked through a text.

“Yeah.”

“What happened?”

“She still admires me, she wanted me to understand the tyrannical and cruel guy named Yu Ang.”

“Speak normally, please.”

“Alright, she wants me to run in order to avoid dying, hahaha!”

“Brother Fan, I also suggest you run, Yu Ang is abnormal. His entire being is odd.”

——

The day arrived in the end.

Mo Fan, who had stayed at his Little Aunt Mo Qing’s house, heard the sounds of festivities early in the morning from the Mu Manor not too far from him.

One after another, luxurious cars followed the curvy mountain road as they entered Mu Manor. Who knew whether Mo Fan, who was going there by motorbike, was losing face for the title of “Yu Ang’s Opponent.”

Just when he was about to enter the large iron gates, Mo Fan saw a few familiar figures.

“Li Wenjie, Feishi, you’re finally here. Hurry up and come in, our Manor has some of the best chefs of Bo City, I guarantee it will suit your tastes.” Guo Caitang stood by the gates as she welcomed her team members.

“Hahaha, thanks to you, we, the small City Officers are able to have the opportunity to come to this wealthy Ancestral Family’s home and take a look.” Feishi patted his growling stomach.

“It’s too bad that kid Fan Mo had some matters to attend to, so he was unable to come. Or else you could let him understand your extravagant life, and when the time comes, he will definitely pursue you without stopping!” Li Wenjie added.

Guo Caitang glared ferociously at Li Wenjie.

Guo Caitang actually felt somewhat disappointed. She actually really wanted to invite Fan Mo to her own house.

_Eh, it’s Fan Mo?_

Guo Caitang’s gaze suddenly turned to see a familiar figure. After looking carefully, Guo Caitang immediately felt a twitchy loathing.

_How is that Fan Mo, it obviously is that little scoundrel, Mo Fan._

_I really don’t know where this kid got his guts from, he is actually having a duel with Yu Ang! No matter what, he’s going to be beaten half to death._

“Hmph, you came?” Guo Caitang looked at Mo Fan sideways, arrogant was not enough to describe her appearance.

“Yeah, there’s no other place to eat breakfast,” Mo Fan said with a ruffian-like attitude.

Guo Caitang got angry; this little scoundrel was making Mu Manor into a buffet!

“If you apologize now, I will tell Yu Ang to go easier on you,” Guo Caitang snorted coldly.

“You’re still brooding over the things that happened when we were young. In that case, how about I take responsibility for it? It’s not a big deal,” Mo Fan said.

“Go die!”

After Mo Fan finished teasing Guo Caitang, he laughed as he walked toward Mu Manor.

In any case, he was an important character for today, so he should have his own seat. _Forget it, there’s so much to eat, let’s start with everything._

“Who is this haughty kid?”

“That’s the disciple of an ancestral family, he even dares to assail our sister Caitang with obscenities.”

“What ancestral family, it’s just the son of a chauffeur. The one who cursed our Master Mu, and the one who is having a Magic Duel with Yu Ang today is precisely him,” Guo Caitang snarled, full of disdain.

“Are all the teenagers nowadays that arrogant?”

“Not all of them, if you look at the Fan Mo in our team, Lightning element with a solid strength. Young, yet not arrogant. Caitang, I advise you to grab Fan Mo as soon as possible. If he is taken by some other girl…” Feishi said once more.

“Don’t talk about useless stuff! Hmph, I invited him to my home this time, yet he actually didn’t come, who would understand him!” Guo Caitang’s cheeks turned red as she hurriedly explained herself in a low voice.

________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

After entering the inside of the Mu Manor, Mo Fan unfortunately heard Feishi, Li Wenjie, and Guo Caitang having a discussion about him. In his heart, he thought about what kind of expressions they would have if they knew that Fan Mo and Mo Fan were the same person.

_Forget it, let’s focus on the matters of the duel today._

Entering Mu Manor’s large dinner hall, there were indeed numerous tasty delicacies being placed on the table. Mo Fan, who was just getting hungry, was about to start eating before he came face-to-face with a handsome mustachioed man who was surrounded by young, unmarried women.

“Good brat, you really dare to join the banquet!” the mustachioed man glared at Mo Fan.

“Head Instructor, you’re also here to eat and drink for free?” Mo Fan didn’t think that Head Instructor Zhankong would be here as well.

“ _Cough_ , what are you saying!” the mustached Zhankong broke loose from the crowd of young women. He pulled Mo Fan to the side as he asked with his eyebrows cocked, “How about it, why don’t you join my army when you graduate? If you are able to enter a good Magic University, then our army will be able to support whatever the cost of your Magic University is. I know that you brat has caused trouble for the master. The government can protect you, and guarantee that you will be able to stomp on these second generations if you aren’t satisfied! We will clean up your mess!”

This wasn’t the first time Zhankong wanted to pull Mo Fan into the army, and it was very hard to say if it was only to have Mo Fan give back the precious Bone Scythe Shield.

“No, protecting the borders everyday is boring, I still wanna take a stroll around the big cities,” Mo Fan rejected him.

“What’s so good about a large city? Reinforced concrete, vehicle emissions, and putrid stench. How is it better than our large stronghold with enchanting scenery, bird songs, and fragrant flowers? If you’re not satisfied with the meals, then you could go to the outside and hunt a few Magical Beasts to bring back home to eat, how free is that?” Zhankong said, his face filled with smiles.

“Either way, I’m not enlisting,” Mo Fan replied with certainty.

“Alright, alright, you brat sure is unyielding. If you nod your head today, then this Head Instructor will definitely help you settle any big matters in the future. Since it’s like this, then I won’t care even if you get beaten half dead by that guy Yu Ang.” Zhankong started getting angry.

With Zhankong’s reputation, he could get any young Magicians he wanted, they all begged him to take them in, yet this kid didn’t even give him any attention!

As Mo Fan was about to walk away, Zhankong’s pressed his finger onto Mo Fan’s shoulders.

“Head Instructor, what is the meaning of this? Are you going to make me join by force?” Mo Fan asked in confusion.

At this moment, Zhankong had retracted that vulgar yet handsome uncle appearance, between his eyebrows showed a hint of seriousness as he whispered, “Not joining my team is fine, but help me with one small matter.”

“What matter?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

“When you battle that kid Yu Ang, be mindful.”

“Mindful of what?”

“Just be more mindful.”

“I don’t understand.” Before Mo Fan could inquire more, two middle-aged men and women who looked important were walking over.

They appeared to be familiar with Zhankong. Zhankong immediately smiled as he greeted them.

Mo Fan was completely confused, he didn’t know what Zhankong wanted him to do.

——

Not too long after, Principal Zhu, Deng Kai, Yang Zuohe, and the more important characters of Bo City began to appear. Mu Zhuoyun personally brought Yu Ang along to greet all of them.

Principal Zhu represented the Magic School, he was the Mt Tai of all the Magic Schools in Bo City.

Deng Kai was the head of Hunters Union, his position was naturally aloof.

Yang Zuohe represented the Magic Association, his power approached the previous two.

The one representing the Military was Zhankong, and it could be said that he was the strongest Magician in this crowd of people, and the true God of War of Bo City!

Mu Zhuoyun didn’t need any introductions, he was the head of this Elemental family!

Mo Fan unexpectedly realized that he had met all these important characters of Bo City. Did that mean he himself was also an important character?

_(Ed. Note: Sure, it’s all about you, Mr. MC)_

The fact is, Mo Fan also knew that he was quite a distance away from that group of people. He was able to easily receive the attention of these people at the top of the ladder because of his identity as a student who excelled beyond the common. Once he entered society, and the great tides washed by, he reckoned that they would quickly forget about him.

The three instructors, Luo Yunbo, Pan Lijun, and Baiyang, were also participating. Based on what Mo Fan had found out from the mouths of those veterans at the stronghold, these three Instructor’s powers were a bit stronger than the Hunter Team’s Captain, Xu Dahuang. They were all people who were approaching Intermediate Mage.

The truth is, those who had reached Intermediate Magician in Bo City could be counted as impressive. Any power would try to offer a powerful person benefits to rope them in.

Frankly speaking, if Mo Fan were to reach Intermediate Magician, then Mu Zhuoyun would no longer dare to cause trouble for him. The number of Intermediate Mages in Bo City could be counted on two hands.

—

“Mu Zhuoyun really went all out this time, he invited so many people here. It feels like those who have the slightest bit of prestige are invited, and they came here to give old Zhuoyun enough face.” Inside the banquet, there were already a few people whispering.

“How could that be, the Mu Family has already produced Mu Ningxue, their future position won’t be at the same level as it is currently. Who doesn’t know that old Zhuoyun will quickly be able to cover the skies with his hands? Today, he will introduce his little tyrant of Bo City. Thus, if you want to be able to make something out of yourself in Bo City in the future, how could you not come? If you don’t come despite being invited, then I reckon you’ll be dragged onto the blacklist,” a man who looked like he should be from the Magic Association whispered.

“Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?” another person asked.

“It’s true, it’s definitely true. Look at us, at what age did we cultivate to Intermediate Mage level, and then look at Mu Ningxue, how old is she? From that, you can tell the amount of power the Mu Family will be able to grasp in the future.

“That’s why other than Boss Zhankong, someone who has transcended beyond common people like us, everyone will have to treat old Zhuoyun with respect. I really don’t understand what that foolish brat called Mo Fan is really thinking. Even we have to say yes to everything Mu Zhuoyun says, yet he talks back… He really doesn’t want to stay in Bo City!

“ _Sigh_ , that’s hard to say. I’ve heard that Mu Ningxue and Mu Zhuoyun’s relationship isn’t too good. If Mu Ningxue says to not touch someone, then Mu Zhuoyun can’t be too excessive.”

“Yeah, besides, I’ve heard that kid Mo Fan is the student with the highest grades in Tian Lan Magic High, and he obtained the backing of Boss Zhankong during his Practicals. Principal Zhu and Deng Kai would definitely protect this kind of student. Even if the two don’t want to offend Mu Zhuoyun, Boss Zhankong wouldn’t care about that. Who has Boss Zhankong ever been scared of? Whoever touches his soldiers, he would crush everything on his way to their home!”

As Feishi realized these people were discussing this, he immediately went up to them to join them.

Not long after, Feishi came back. Xiaoke was curious, so she asked Feishi, “Brother Feishi, why is everyone discussing the matter of Yu Ang and that person called Mo Fan?”

“Oh, I also just found out. Mo Fan is representing the strength of Magic Schools to a certain degree. He will be using the identity of a student of a Magic School to duel against Yu Ang, who is a disciple of an Ancestral Family. The winner would naturally obtain an opportunity to cultivate at the extremely super ultra precious Underground Holy Spring of Bo City,” Feishi explained.

“So it’s like that, I heard that it has been many years since a student from a Magic School has entered the Underground Holy Spring.”

“That’s normal, the schools have many students to tend. Having one or two incredible geniuses appearing occasionally counts as a good harvest. The disciples of the Ancestral Families are the Elites; they may not have as many people as the schools, but they are all Elites. It won’t be too weird if that person called Mo Fan becomes the stepping stone for someone else today,”

“It feels quite lamentable, an outstanding student who emerged victorious from fifteen hundred people is still not better than someone from an Ancestral Family,” Xiaoke sighed. “Being born into a good family is a skill.”

____________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Mo Fan walked around and obtained some news from the people around.

_That’s what I thought, what was the point of making two a duel of two youngsters so grand? As it turns out, it is actually a duel between the powers of Bo City._

This battle was indeed not a bad thing for him. Perform well during the duel and he’d make a name for himself, that’s not bad at all!

“Zhoumin, Xiaohou, He Yu, Zhang Yinglu, Xu Zhaoting, Wang Sanpang… How come you guys are here too?” Mo Fan suddenly discovered a group of relatively young figures. It turned out they were his classmates.

“The school had a few spots, and Mu Bai helped getting us in here. It’s not every day that you see the school’s number one expert fight with the disciple of an Ancestral Family, how could we not come and see?” Xu Zhaoting sounded a bit sour.

To Xu Zhaoting, a great Lightning element user, this spot was originally his. In the end, it was stolen by Mo Fan, who killed his way here.

However, after what happened during Practicals, Xu Zhaoting’s scorn towards Mo Fan was no longer as fierce as it once was. Everyone’s lives were basically saved by Mo Fan. In fact, he was actually hoping Mo Fan would perform brilliantly during the duel this time, so he could regain some face for the Magic Schools.

“Brother Fan, I just saw Uncle Mo Jiaxing’s name on the invitation list. I reckon it was done by that guy Mu He,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“That’s a good thing.”

“Mo Fan, you need to do your best,” Zhoumin said with a pure smile.

Mo Fan nodded.

The Mo Fan from two years would never have imagined that his duel would turn into such a passionate topic among the crowds today.

_That is also good, the feelings of having so many eyes on you is also a once in a lifetime experience, it’s way better than being in the dark with no one knowing of you!_

—

“Everyone, everyone, I’m thankful for everyone who made it here to congratulate my son. Time always flies by so fast, some of us will definitely reach a point where we are unable to cast magic. Bo City’s future will inevitably be seized by those younger, and ever more outstanding youths. You may think that I have invited everyone here for my son’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony, that is a mistake. I have always believed in the students surpassing the master, I, Mu Zhuoyun, am only able to do this much for Bo City. I am only able to help preserve the current state of this Bo City that has given birth to many Magicians and outstanding, talented people. However, in the next ten to twenty years, Bo City will be in the hands of the young and will become even more prosperous. Becoming an increasingly more flourishing Mage City is definitely possible. Don’t you think that I should be holding a majestic banquet for the future of Bo City, so everyone can witness it together?” Mu Zhuoyun was the organizer, he raised the goblet with red wine as his face filled with a red aura to hint to the present guests.

“Alright, let’s give a toast for the future of Bo City!” Yang Zuohe was the first to stand up as he toasted Mu Zhuoyun.

“The people present are all those who have the qualifications to discuss our Bo City. Master Mu Zhuoyun is not the only one who is looking forward to the future of our Bo City; this toast, I will drink all at once!”

The present guests also stood up as they toasted before drinking it all.

Among the people in the hall, Mo Fan discovered that Mrs. Tangyue, who was also present at the banquet, was feeling as sick as he was from what Mu Zhuoyun had said. She even rolled her eyes during the toast.

He didn’t know which part of Mu Zhuoyun’s words Mrs. Tangyue was against.

Realizing his ambitions, after this feast at the impassioned and mighty Mu Manor, so glorious that it was almost emitting golden rays, had ended, naturally, they welcomed the most important play of the day — the Magic Duel!

Many of these people really did not come here to listen to Mu Zhuoyun’s stereotypical speech. They just wanted to know whose family the Underground Holy Spring would fall on this year.

There were numerous Magicians in Bo City who were at the Primary level and had only been able to use the same Magic, so much that their old hands began to develop calluses. Whereas how many were there exactly who had actually taken a step into the realm of Intermediate Mages?

Stardust was unfathomable; some people displayed talents from the start, yet at the end of the day, they were unable to cross that threshold. Thus, those who had been Primary Magicians their whole lives could be found everywhere. Hence the heavenly treasure, the Underground Holy Spring, that was able to infinitely increase a Magician’s chances to approach the Intermediate level, became a holy item everyone was yearning for even in their dreams…

Unfortunately, it was only opened to the younger generations of Magicians who were filled with unlimited possibilities. Furthermore, only one person could enter every year, and few could win against the disciple of a Ancestral Family.

When Mo Fan was just a student, he didn’t know that Bo City had this kind of heavenly treasure. He also didn’t know that time being rude and impetuous would allow him to hit the cultivation opportunity which numerous people within Bo City were thirsting for.

It seemed to comply with the saying: If you don’t do your best, then you won’t know how great your strength is.

—

The time of the Magic Duel finally came. Mo Fan was already waiting in the inner arena of the Magic Duel after hearing the arrangements from Mu Zhuoyun.

An elliptical center emerged in the duel arena; it was much bigger than the training grounds of the school. It approached the size of a sports stadium.

On both sides were ascending seats, more than enough to contain today’s invited guests from Bo City.

Mo Fan was standing in the center of the duel arena. In fact, he had been standing there for a while.

Yu Ang was late, it was clear that Mu Zhuoyun wanted to give him a gorgeous appearance on stage.

This kind of feeling wasn’t good.

This made Mo Fan feel like he was in a bullfighter ring. He was the bull that was released into the ring so everyone could watch him, let the spectators understand what kind of weight this bull had, to see the sturdy physique and sharp bull horns. Then the leading role, the handsome and elegant matador, brilliantly enters the arena a little while later. All kinds of lighting begins to flicker and all kinds of applause screeches out…

—

“My son, that’s right, that is my son.” Mo Jiaxing was definitely optimistic, he was cheerfully telling the old employees of Mu Family at the side.

“Not bad, Old Mo, it could be said that you brought a change of fortune,” a worker who dealt with the garden said.

“Is that right, as long as he doesn’t get completely beaten. I have heard this Yu Ang is normally unusually fierce against his own brothers and sisters,” a worker who was in charge of cleaning mentioned.

“The youths are just testing their skills, how could they be fierce?” Mo Jiaxing chuckled.

In Mo Jiaxing’s view, this was just a very common duel. He also thought that a great character like Mu Zhuoyun wouldn’t have the mind of a child. The truth is, a lot of the people knew that Mu Zhuoyun wanted to stomp on this Mo Fan who didn’t know the difference between heaven and earth.

“Bets, I bet on this kid Mo Fan being beaten in a single move!”

“Shit, no matter what, he is still the number one student of Tian Lan Magic High, how could that be possible?”

“I will bet on it either way, I have heard of Yu Ang’s abilities many times before.”

As everyone was incessantly discussing this, Yu Ang, who was wearing a unique garment, finally emerged.

His clothes looked like they were made of leather, but at same time, they also looked like high quality silk. It was sparkling beneath the illumination of the lights. His entire person looked like a prince who was walking into his palace.

In terms of the appearance, it was clear that they had put a lot of effort into it. This really caused a huge contrast with Mo Fan, who wore sandals to the arena.

After Yu Ang wore high-class clothes, his entire demeanor had immediately risen by a few levels. Adding to his already tall stature and somewhat feminine traits, bedazzling a few girls was natural.

On the snowy white clothes was a design that fused the family’s ice magic diagram. Yu Ang brilliantly entered the arena, and the corner of his mouth displayed a confident smile that indicated that he was the main character today.

____________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Crap, this old guy Mu Zhuoyun is really going all out, are you able to count how much Magic Equipment and how many Magic Tools are on his body?” As Deng Kai saw this, he almost jumped out of his chair.

Principal Zhu repeatedly shook his head.

The reason why the numerous students from school were unable to beat the disciples of an Ancestral Family was not just because their cultivation was slightly lacking, but their equipment was definitely not as good.

At this Coming-of-Age Ceremony, who knew how many Magic Tools and how much Magic Equipment Old Man Mu Zhuoyun had given to Yu Ang.

What about Mo Fan?

Other than the Bone Scythe Shield he received from Zhankong, it appeared that he had nothing else.

How did you even fight that?!

Seeing this scene, Principal Zhu and many other people from the school were slightly dejected.

“Deng Kai, since this duel was approved by you, then you can be the referee for it this time.” Mu Zhuoyun smiled slightly, he was waiting to see a good play around the cat dominating the rat.

Deng Kai really did not know what to say, he could only pray for Mo Fan in his heart.

“The two are both well-known figures among the younger generations, having the duel is to motivate you to work even harder on your cultivation… Either way, take your positions!” Deng Kai stood between the two young Magicians as he said this with a voice everyone could hear.

Deng Kai then slowly took a few steps back, but he did not completely exit the field.

At that spot, if something were to happen, then he could quickly put a stop to it.

“Alright, shake hands. Wait for my signal to star,.” Deng Kai said.

Mo Fan and Yu Ang were facing each other as they both extended their arms.

An wisp of ice condensed on Yu Ang’s palm. At the instant Mo Fan shook hands with him, he could feel a cold air penetrating into the depths of his bone marrow.

Mo Fan’s response was quick, as his arm turned burning red. The flames were protecting his own flesh, arteries, and bones. With his face remaining the same, he raised his other hand to erect a middle finger toward Yu Ang.

“You really are a little rat that doesn’t know anything. However, that won’t be a problem, I will freeze your brain that is filled with water; that way, it could perhaps make you more clear-headed.” After Yu Ang let go of his hand, he turned around as he let out a cold laugh before taking his position.

“Idiot,” Mo Fan replied.

After returning to his designated place after turning around, Mo Fan subconsciously closed his eyes for a moment. He opened his eyes again as his gaze swept across his surroundings.

When he had entered this manor, he had forgotten how many eyes he had seen that carried ridicule and sympathy, and there were many who were saying to him that he was incredibly brave yet the corners of their mouths let out a shallow smile of disdain that meant “You’re overestimating your own strength, simply attempting the impossible.”

In this world, there would always be someone who thought they were clever. Using the excuse of being experienced and with schadenfreude tendencies, they would judge you based on every action that appeared to be overstepping your boundaries. They themselves were trapped in a cage of mediocrity, and they were all living in a system they thought no one was able to jump out of. Thus, they thought and hoped for everyone to be the same as them. Furthermore, they used an opinionated and short-sighted belief to ridicule the people who dared to do anything more.

These people loved to rejoice over other people’s misfortunes, incessantly gossip, and show off their limited knowledge and sense of superiority…

Today was the day Mo Fan would make them all shut up!

“Duel, begin!” As the command came, Deng Kai had thoroughly declared the beginning of the Magic Duel which Mo Fan had been waiting for for a long time.

In the next second, Mo Fan’s pupils instantly emitted scarlet fire rays. Within the fire rays could clearly be seen the seven flame stars, they quickly connected to each other to form a Star Path.

Dazzling Star Path, magic come forth!

A ball of flames ignited on top of Mo Fan’s palm. The scorching flame sprites were excitedly jumping around, impatient to scorch all of the flammable materials in the surroundings!

“Fire Burst, Scorch!”

The speed of Mo Fan’s completion of Star Path was fast, the people could still feel the sounds of Deng Kai’s declaration of battle resounding within their ears.

The adept casting naturally startled everyone present.

“It seems like he’s still got some ability, the problem is that this first level of Fire Burst is completely useless.”

“Strange, hasn’t this guy already grasped Fire Burst, Burning Bones? Why is he using the first level, Fire Burst, Scorch? The power of Burning Bones is much stronger than Scorch, since he already seized the opportunity of casting Magic first, why isn’t he being more fierce?” Instructor Luo Yunbo immediately revealed the suspicions in his heart.

The people who somewhat knew of Mo Fan already knew that Mo Fan was the first person in the entire school to have grasped the second level of Primary Magic. The might of Fire Burst, Burning Bones had already been displayed back in Practicals. In this important duel, why did he decide to cast a Fire Burst, Scorch?

On the other side, Yu Ang was not in a hurry at all. He stood there watching Mo Fan finishing his Star Path, it looked as though he was saying, “So what if you finish your Magic spell first?”

“Ice Spread!” Yu Ang no longer waited, he also used his intent to control all of his stars.

He was just as adept at it as Mo Fan. Spirals of cold air swirled around the expensive white clothing that Yu Ang wore.

“Ice Spread, Coagulate!”

Yu Ang continued to chant the name of his magic. In a split second, the entire duel arena’s temperature abruptly dropped. It went from originally midsummer hot to a cold winter season.

Snowflakes were floating, there were partially frozen layers of frost and ice motes fluttering through the air.

The white snow of frost descended upon Mo Fan. With the speed of the Ice Spread’s freezing, if Mo Fan were to stand more than three seconds within the area of the Ice Spread, the lower part of his body would definitely be frozen.

Ice Spread was an extremely advantageous spell during a showdown.

At the Primary caster level, only the Wind and Earth elements had any movement spells.

The effect of Ice Spread had always been an entire area. Once it arrived and the snow frost fell to the ground, the Magician would have to escape from this area within three seconds or else they’d be frozen stiff. The people who weren’t fast enough were completely unable to escape from the frozen zone.

Yu Ang’s Ice Spread covered a large area around Mo Fan. Even if Mo Fan were to do all he could to run from it, he definitely could not escape the range of Ice Spread within three seconds. Thus, after 3 seconds, Mo Fan would become a human target.

After that, Yu Ang would continue to cover the place with yet another layer of Ice Spread. Mo Fan would become an Ice Sculpture that would attract the laughter of the people in yet another three seconds.

There was nothing to be done about it. Ice Element was basically a no-brainer when it came to dealing with slower Magicians and Magical Beasts. This was because Ice Spread was said to be the spell that required no technique within Primary Magic, yet was still very useful!

“Shit, did this kid go crazy, why is he still standing there?”

“If it was me, I’d just start running. The second you get frozen, it’ll be over.”

Mo Fan didn’t run. If it were any other knowledgeable Magician facing Ice Spread, they would start moving so they wouldn’t be easily frozen.

“You want to freeze me?” At this time, Mo Fan burst out with a smile.

Mo Fan didn’t throw the flames in his hands at Yu Ang. In fact, he was very clear that the small level one Fire spell was definitely not able to emerge victorious against Yu Ang. This Fire Burst: Scorch possessed another clever function!

________________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

He lightly raised his palm, and the ball of flames on his palm rolled down.

As the flames fell down, the scarlet red fires instantly spread beneath his feet as they turned into a gorgeous scarlet carpet.

These flames began to burn Mo Fan’s surroundings. He already had the body of a Fire user, and thus, even if flames were to burn around his body, they would not affect him too much. Furthermore, there were still layers of ice accumulating under his feet. As the frost encountered Mo Fan’s flames, it began to melt instantly!

Raising his head as he stood there in the middle of the flames, Mo Fan had a smile on his face, carrying hints of provocation as he looked at Yu Ang.

The Ice Spread that was everywhere had melted into water from the effects of Scorch. Mo Fan didn’t even need to move to accomplish a state where he didn’t need to worry about being frozen into an ice cube.

“Using the Fire Burst, Scorch on his surroundings, thus removing the effects of being frozen from the Ice Spread. This guy is pretty clever!” Mrs. Tangyue, who was seated in the audience, had a trace of a smile on her face.

Even if the students from the Magic Schools had been learning Magic, their understanding toward the uses of Magic were still incredibly limited. Just like the Fire Burst spell, practically every fire student who cast Fire Burst would subconsciously use the Fire Burst to directly attack their foe’s body by throwing it.

In fact, the effects of Fire Burst’s Scorch had many uses. For example, let’s say if you cast it on a fixed area, causing it to ignite a continued fire, it would be able to turn into a Fire Wall that could seal roads and cut them off. If you were to do it like Mo Fan, directly allowing the flames to roll beneath his feet, relying on his natural resistance to fire, that would cause a layer of protection in the form of fire. The protection of these flames could at very least shatter the freezing effects of an Ice Mage’s Ice Spread.

“A level 1 Fire Burst broke the level 2 Ice Spread’s freezing effects. This is a little interesting,” Principal Zhu nodded.

During the stage where you were lacking in spells, being able to flexibly use what you had was a very profound skill.

Clearly, on the first exchange, Mo Fan still occupied some advantage.

“My turn.” Mo Fan stood in the center of the flames that were protecting him, his Star Path connected once more inside his pupils.

His speed of connecting the Star Paths was very quick, he casually grasped his hands.

One more Fire Burst emerged on top of Mo Fan’s palm, but the intensity of the flames this time was different. You could tell the Fire Burst that emerged within Mo Fan’s hands was impetuous!

“Fire Burst, Burning Bones!”

The temperature of the raging flames increased, and a dazzling scarlet red Fire Ball was thrown out. It left behind a long flame remnant as it streaked across the line of sight of the spectators before it accurately fell toward Yu Ang.

“It’s the second level of Fire Burst! If you are touched by this, then you will definitely be directly burned into ashes!”

The present number of knowledgeable people was not small in number. After they saw Mo Fan easily cast the second level of Fire Burst, their hearts began to billow.

“Yu Ang’s Ice Spread was broken, now he will be more passive,” Guo Caitang said, slightly worried.

“Don’t worry.” Mu He was the opposite.

Mu Zhuoyun carried his accustomed smile, as though everything was under his control.

Fire Burst: Burning Bones finally fell down. However, the people quickly realized that Yu Ang had suddenly accelerated, he actually moved four or five meters to the side when the flames approached him. The fast speed caused the people to feel dazzled. The people were astonished, as they had no idea how Yu Ang could suddenly change his location.

As Mo Fan saw the Burning Bones flames land on a piece of empty ground, his brow creased slightly.

He was able to see it clearly. This guy Yu Ang’s leather shoes emitted a dim yellow light, and after that, Yu Ang acted like he had gained the Earth Ripple spell, his body shifted a few paces away.

Shit, it was a piece of Magical Equipment!

Magical Boots, an Earth Magic Equipment with the Earth Ripple spell!

Having the earth element’s Earth Ripple spell appearing out of nowhere caused the plan in Mo Fan’s heart to go awry.

Fortunately, this imprint spell within the Magic Equipment needed a Magic Stone every time you used it, and then you needed to recharge it to continue using it. Or else, Mo Fan didn’t need to fight in this duel anymore. The flying speed of the Fire Burst was fast, but it still wouldn’t be faster than the opponent’s monstrous Earth Ripple movement.

“If you think your little flames could cause me to be useless in front of you, then you are too naive. This farce that has been preserved for two years should end. I will let you live, or else I won’t be able to see you kowtow in front of my adoptive father in front of the gaze of all these people!” Yu Ang laughed like a maniac.

Yu Ang raised his two hands, and in a split second, the entire field looked as though it was completely engulfed by a snowstorm. Driving snow descended from the sky, the cold pierced the bones and froze every object into an ice cube.

The violent snow descended, the temperature rapidly fell. It fell so much that even the flames were unable to continue burning.

This kind of cold, it was almost as though it froze the air!

“Ice Spread, Blizzard!”

Yu Ang was like a Snow Beast as he arrogantly stood in the middle of this incomparably concentrated snow.

The entire duel arena was boundless, the cold snow was grim and ruthless, it was like a disaster had descended in winter. It didn’t allow a way for any of the living things here to survive.

The people sitting in the seats to the sides fell into a world of ice and snow. They subconsciously began to hug their own chests as their teeth began to shiver.

“Holy crap, the last time I met Yu Ang, he had only grasped Ice Spread: Coagulate. After not seeing him for a whole year, he has actually cultivated his Ice Spread to the realm of third level. Ice Spread: Blizzard is basically an ice disaster falling, extinguishing the flames! No matter where that kid called Mo Fan hides in this duel arena, he will still be frozen into an ice cube in just a matter of seconds!” Feishi was unable to hold himself down no more as he yelled out.

Feishi clearly remembered that when they were dealing with the One-eyed Magic Wolf, Yu Ang and Guo Caitang’s cultivation were about the same. Up until now, Guo Caitang still hadn’t grasped the third level of Ice Spread, yet Yu Ang had actually reached this realm. Just what kind of degree of cultivation speed was this?!

“It’s over, it’s over. Can’t you see that Mo Fan’s protective fire has been extinguished? After the snow has completely fallen, we will be able to see a human-shaped ice sculpture,” Li Wenjie exclaimed.

Principal Zhu, Deng Kai, Yang Zuohe, etc were all feeling the same. The present guests were gasping one by one.

Eighteen-years old, this was Yu Ang’s eighteen-years old Coming-of-age Ceremony. Many old Magicians who had reached forty or fifty years old would brag about their second level of Ice Spread spell, yet he had reached eighteen years old and had already grasped a realm many Ice Magicians were unable to cross in their whole lives. They really had no idea of what to say.

“Today should be like this.”

“Mo Fan also has a Magical Equipment…” Instructor Luo Yuanbo noted.

Zhankong shook his head, “A Bone Scythe Shield is useless against a spell like Ice Spread.”

The Bone Scythe Shield was actually a really good defensive Magical Equipment, but so what if its defensive ability was stronger than the Ice element? Either way, the copper-clad iron bone would still be turned into an ice sculpture beneath the Ice Spread.

Mo Fan’s Magic Equipment was basically completely useless in this duel.

________________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Let Yu Ang finish. If he were to freeze Mo Fan’s face, then it would halt his breathing; that would be a danger to Mo Fan’s life.” Principal Zhu looked like he had predicted this result before he spoke to Deng Kai.

“Don’t worry, a Fire student won’t die that easily under the snow.” Mu Zhuoyun was so happy that he began to stroke his beard.

Looking at the surrounding guests, they all appeared to be completely dumbstruck.

_Hahaha, I bet you guys didn’t think that Yu Ang, who has just turned eighteen, would have grasped the third level of Ice Spread already!_

Generally speaking, if you were able to grasp the second level spell before you graduated from Tian Lan Magic High as a student, then you’d be a top-notch student. If this kind of student also received a good grade on their Practicals, then the majority of them would definitely be able to enter a good Magic University.

As for the third level spell, who knew how many years it would take to learn that?

His adopted son, Yu Ang had actually grasped it by the age of eighteen, surpassing all of the fifteen hundred students of Tian Lan Magic High, and surpassing all the other powerful disciples.

_This little thing Mo Fan really is overestimating his own abilities. Later, when you get knocked out, I, Mu Zhuoyun will still not let you off that easily. I’ll let you curse, little brat, I’ll let you do that. Didn’t it feel good that year when you cursed at me? Am I still not able to control you, little bastard?_

“Nevertheless, the Mu Family can still produce these talents. Admirable.”

“Old brother Zhuoyun, this move of yours was a little unexpected. Third level of Ice Spread, you sure hid that one deep. Fortunately, I didn’t let my dog of a son compare himself with your Yu Ang, or else he’d become just like this pitiable student,” an old married woman laughed bitterly to herself.

_Sigh!_ “With the third level of Ice Spread appearing, he’s basically now in control of all the younger generations of Bo City. Indeed a hero of the young.”

The intimidation of the Third level of Ice Spread was indeed strong, it essentially caused this duel to no longer have any leeway for the wider number of people. All the guests basically started to congratulate and flatter Mu Zhuoyun.

Mu Zhuoyun was enjoying it. Making the Coming-of-Age Ceremony this grandiose was so he could show the people of Bo City how strong the Mu Family’s younger generation was.

“Deng Kai, it’s about time.” In the end. Principal Zhu was still relatively worried for Mo Fan.

“Deng Kai, how come you haven’t stopped it yet? Mo Fan doesn’t have a single Magic Equipment to resist this. If you delay it any longer, his blood flow will also stop. That will have a great effect on him.”

In the middle of the duel, Deng Kai actually wanted to stop this duel with a huge gap between the powers. However, in that boundless snow round flames were radiating that caused Deng Kai to immediately dispel his thoughts.

“Old Zhu, I’m afraid this Mo Fan isn’t as simple as we imagined him to be.” Deng Kai’s gaze was tightly locked onto Mo Fan.

Principal Zhu’s heart was filled with suspicion. Just when he was about to say something, incomparably bright and colorful flames ignited within the boundless snow and caught his attention.

In this kind of situation, he still wanted to persist and finish a Fire Burst?

Fire Burst, Burning Bones’s might would substantially decline beneath the pressure of this large amount of snow. Even if its might didn’t decline, Principal Zhu refused to believe that Yu Ang wouldn’t have any defensive Magic Equipment.

In other words, even if Mo Fan was able to complete a Fire Burst before he got frozen, his Fire Burst would still be deflected by Yu Ang, who hadn’t used his defensive Magic Equipment. This kind of struggle…

_Huh, something is wrong!_

_This Fire Burst…_

Principal Zhu’s eyes suddenly widened. Using his powerful perception, he was actually able to see the intense and incredibly frantic Fire element energy within the boundless snow!

_This isn’t the second level Fire Burst, Burning Bones!_

The tiny ball of flames possessed an incomparable penetrative power and boiling temperature, it shot through the snow, which was incapable of cooling off the flames!

The Fire Burst once again landed in front of Yu Ang, who was controlling the ice and snow.

Yu Ang sneered with disdain, he used his intent to search for the defensive Magic Equipment within his Spiritual World.

“Ice Dust Shield!”

Yu Ang awoke the Shield Magic Equipment imprint within his spirit. In an instant, the specks of ice frost quickly formed into a large, curved Ice Dust Shield in front of him. This Ice Shield was enough to completely protect him while he was behind it.

As the guests saw this scene, some began to sigh and others started to mock.

There was no need to continue this useless struggle. _A free player like you will definitely not able to win against a premium player._

“Fire Burst…”

“Rupture!”

From within the ruthless and boundless snow, Mo Fan’s resounding chant suddenly spread around the duel arena.

After the sound faded, a frightening scarlet red emerged from center of the vast expanse of whiteness that was the arena.

The scarlet red was only the size of a candle light in the beginning, however, in the next second, an enormous explosion sound was heard.

“ ~~~~~~~~！！！！”

Without warning, the raging flames suddenly burst open.

Waves of fire began to wash over with the Fire Burst ball in the middle, scorching tongues of fire were frantically fluttering.

A dazzling scarlet red, and a boiling heat. The air began to vibrate from the sound of explosion, and the undulations were all transmitted towards the guests who were still seated.

As everyone saw this, they were completely dumbstruck. Their eyes sank into that ball of rupturing Fire Burst.

Heavens!

How is this Fire Burst’s Burning Bones!?

Fire Burst, Rupture!

_This is the third level of the Fire element spell!_

The people hadn’t regained their senses from the shock of Yu Ang’s elevation, far surpassing his peers. Now, they were all being blasted away by Mo Fan’s Rupture. Their hearts were all trembling, unable to calm down.

The Captain of the City Hunter Squad, Xu Dahuang, looked as though his eyes were coming off.

Fire Burst: Rupture was his ultimate move. With the help of this third level of Fire Burst, he could be counted as an outstanding Magician among the hunters. The problem was that he was a Magician close to thirty years old, and the Fire Burst: Rupture was something he had poured all his strength into to break through. A third-year high school Magic student who hadn’t even graduated yet had actually grasped it… This really was difficult for him to accept!

Principal Zhu and Deng Kai had already sensed Mo Fan’s Fire Burst from the beginning. However, even now, their hearts were still unable to calm down.

After running a school for so many years, a student who was able to grasp the third level of Fire Burst before graduation… They couldn’t even remember how many years it had been since the last one!

You had to know that just a few seconds ago, they were sighing about how an Ancestral Family’s Disciple was the disciple of an Ancestral Family. No matter how excellent the student of a Magic School was, they still wouldn’t be able to contend. Who would’ve known that in the next moment, Mo Fan gave them something that exceeded their imagination?

Was this kid a freak?

He was still capable of cultivating to this kind of realm in school, a place that had a limited amount of resources!

Yang Zuohe from the Magic Association was flabbergasted upon seeing this. He swept past the people in the surroundings who were completely stunned and couldn’t help but ask, “Has this kid been pulled in by anyone? If not, then I want him!”

The Zhou Family’s Zhou Mingjun was unsatisfied as he immediately said, “Your Magic Association doesn’t have any good Fire elemental resources, you should leave him to our Zhou Family.”

“This kid belongs to our army, don’t you steal him from us!” Luo Yunbo was unable to hold himself back, he hurriedly stood up and said his part.

Yu Ang, a disciple of an Ancestral Family, had practically the best resources which Bo City could offer. In this kind of situation, he had cultivated to the third level of the Ice element spell, which caused people to lament endlessly. A student from Tian Lan Magic High who was able to achieve the same realm would definitely disturb the entirety of Bo City!

___________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Mrs…Mrs Tangyue, did you give Mo Fan a private lesson, how can Mo Fan be so abnormal?” Xu Zhaoting couldn’t help but ask.

This time, the arrogant Lightning user Xu Zhaoting was completely defeated.

He, Xu Zhaoting. had only grasped the second level of the Lightning spell half a year ago; he had thought that he had approached Mo Fan’s strength. Who would’ve known that Mo Fan’s cultivation was like a rocket, freaking learning the third level of Fire Burst already! If it wasn’t for Mrs. Tangyue giving him private lessons, then how could he, Xu Zhaoting, believe it?

“I have not. That was all cultivated by himself,” Tangyue denied as she shook her head.

Tangyue was the only person who knew that Mo Fan possessed a Stardust Magic Tool. She was able to roughly guess that Mo Fan’s cultivation was much higher than everyone’s expectations. However, she never thought that he would have already grasped the third level of Fire Burst!

The face of Mo Fan’s arch-nemesis, Mu Bai, had turned completely dark.

He didn’t know when, but now it seemed like he couldn’t even touch Mo Fan’s foot. If this level three Fire Burst were to fly toward his face, then he would’ve lost his dog life in just seconds!

“Zhuoyun… Brother Zhuoyun…” Mu He was sitting there, his complexion turned extremely rigid.

Mu Zhuoyun’s chest had began to heave up and down a while ago. His face was filled with wrath, but most of it was an endless astonishment!

“I really underestimated him!” At last, Mu Zhuoyun couldn’t help but spit these words out.

Mu He couldn’t help but take a look at Mo Jiaxing, who was sitting diagonally from him.

Was this simple and foolish chauffeur really having his fortunes flipped over? After losing the fortune of his entire family to send his kid to the Magic Academy, he had actually produced a Magic Genius?

Third level of Fire Burst! Look at Yu Ang, he only reached the third level of Ice Spread after eating numerous resources!

—

The guests who were sitting on the seats all had an appearance which displayed their endless shock.

In the arena, the frantically fluttering snow finally weakened. The people could gradually see the student Mo Fan standing there proudly.

On his opponent’s side, the summoned Ice Dust Shield had already been completely turned into specks of ice stars splattering over the ground, and the Yu Ang which the Ice Dust Shield was protecting had been blasted several meters away. His new Prince-like white clothing had been engulfed by the explosion, turned into ashes. His entire being was like a sorry figure as he lay on the ground, no longer having the boldness of today’s main character!

The snow finally melted. Mo Fan waited for his body to warm up before he began to stride toward Yu Ang on the ground.

_Shit, do you really think you are the only one in this world who has grasped a level three spell?_

_I’ll let you show off, and then I’ll kill you with an explosion!_

“Interesting, haha, it really is interesting! It really is too interesting!” Suddenly, Yu Ang, who had been blasted into a sorry state, stood up from the snowy ground.

Mo Fan was somewhat surprised. _This guy is still conscious?_

Logically speaking, although the Ice Shield did indeed take the majority of the Rupture’s effect, the exploding fire energy shouldn’t have been blocked. The rupturing force should’ve been enough to cause Yu Ang to lose consciousness.

“No way, a level three Fire Burst still wasn’t able to knock Yu Ang down?”

“Is this guy’s body made of steel?!”

Mu Zhuoyun at this moment began to coldly snort, as he cursed in his heart, _Fortunately I prepared Yu Ang Magic Armor, or else he really would’ve lost to this kid who was deeply hiding his skills._

Mo Fan had nearly emerged victorious in this duel. The power of Fire Burst: Rupture was basically unstoppable by anyone at this level. Unfortunately, no one had thought that Mu Zhuoyun would be this cunning!

“Magic Boots, Magic Shield, and an extremely expensive Magic Armor. Is there a need to be this luxurious?!” that man with the last name Zhou couldn’t help but call out.

Both Principal Zhu and Deng Kai was completely stunned when they saw this.

Magical Armor was a defensive Magic Equipment, and its price far surpassed that of a Magic Shield. The block range of a Magic Shield was very narrow, and furthermore there were some spells that you couldn’t block with just a Magic Shield. Magic Armor was able to block absolutely every attack other than spirit attacks! Additionally, it was worn directly on the body, and was able to protect them from the attacks from all angles, truly a divine tool!

“I forgot to tell everyone. For my son’s coming of age gift, I specifically gave him an Ice Silkworm Armor, in order to protect him from sneak attacks.” Mu Zhuoyun said slowly to his guests, rubbing his mustache.

“What the heck, what’s the point of dueling now? His entire body is covered with Magic Equipments! If you really have some ability, then why don’t you fight without the Magic Tools! How shameless!” the worried Zhoumin couldn’t help but yell out.

Xu Zhaoting and Wang Sanpang were also feeling indignant.

Without Magic Equipments, then that guy Yu Ang would’ve been beaten by Mo Fan so hard that he wouldn’t even look like a person anymore. The third level of Fire Burst would’ve taught him a lesson on how to be a person!

“Background is also a form of strength,” Mu Zhuoyun remained unmoved as he retorted calmly.

Mu Zhuoyun had no time to talk about this kind of thing with a group of students. _So what if our Mu Family has the resources, aren’t you a bunch of poor students trying to fight our Mu Family in vain?_

“Unfortunate, how unfortunate. This student called Mo Fan is already incredible remarkable, and in the end, he still lost to Magic Equipment,” Yang Zuohe sighed.

Many of the present people were pitying Mo Fan.

With the level three of Fire Burst he had displayed today, he could proudly laugh at all of his peers in Bo City, and it was definitely enough to cause many of the disciples of the Ancestral Families to feel ashamed. However, a duel was still a duel, a loss was a loss. Just like what Mu Zhuoyun had said, background was also a form of strength, this was a logic that many people would understand after they entered society.

“You sure recognized a good father!” Mo Fan looked at the Ice Silkworm Armor beneath the damaged clothings. His heart also began to feel a trace of rage.

Magic Boots, Magic Shield, and yet another Magic Armor piece of Equipment, that was just giving him no way to survive!

Yu Ang was still smiling, the look making everyone disdainful of him.

“To be honest, you’re already doing very well. I thought you were a clown who was purposely pleasing the crowd. But it turns out you’re actually purposely hiding your ability, and wanted to use the opportunity this time to amaze the world. How unfortunate, you were just this close, hahhaha!” Yu Ang laughed, he didn’t care about Mo Fan using the Fire Burst: Rupture again.

Standing on the side of the field, his face filled with dismay, Deng Kai didn’t know what to do. In the end, he couldn’t help but to remind Mo Fan, “Mo Fan, give up. The Ice Silkworm Armor is made to specifically restrain Fire elemental spells. I’m afraid your Fire Burst: Rupture is not capable of injuring Yu Ang.”

“Deng Kai isn’t wrong. On my next Ice Spread, you will be turned into an ice cube. It’ll be complicated after you’ve been frozen. You can go in front of my adoptive father and kowtow to him. This can be considered me being a little lenient toward you, who could be considered not a bad opponent.” Yu Ang stood there, wearing his Ice Silkworm Armor, he looked like someone from the top peering down at Mo Fan.

Yu Ang’s proud gaze was very high on his horse.

The laugh of Mu Zhuoyun, that cunning fox, it also made Mo Fan extremely angry.

_Background is also a form of strength?_

Mo Fan also wanted to laugh, but he was unable to do so right now.

He looked around the fully seated guests, he looked at the people who held a high position within Bo City. It appeared that everyone had accepted what Mu Zhuoyun had said, they all carried a bit of sympathy as they looked back at him.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Mu Zhuoyun, the two youngsters of Bo City have displayed their incomparable remarkability, so let’s end it here. You being one of the characters in the lead of Bo City should be able to dismiss the youngster’s delirious utterance as a laugh,” Principal Zhu still opened his mouth to say at last.

The present guests actually all knew of the events surrounding Mo Fan and Mu Zhuoyun, and they also know that if Mo Fan were to lose this duel, he’d have to kowtow in apology until Mu Zhuoyun was satisfied.

Mo Fan’s display had caused a sensation among the people. A genius who was able to cultivate to the third level of Fire Burst alone definitely deserved the praise of everyone.

At this time, Mu Ningxue also put her two pupils onto Mu Zhuoyun’s face; she also hoped her father would drop it.

If it wasn’t for Yu Ang having the advantage in Magic Equipment during this duel, then he would basically have lost against Mo Fan, who had exceeded everyone’s expectations. Mu Ningxue thought that this victory didn’t have any meaning.

“Just forget it? How could that be!?” Mu Zhuoyun coldly snorted.

_If any small thing dared to run up to his face and point at him while cursing him, then how could he, Mu Zhuoyun, continue to meddle in Bo City? A win is a win, what was promised before should be fulfilled!_

“Mo Jiaxing, what are you happy for? Don’t you know that your son is going to kowtow to everyone?” an old gardener asked from the slanted seats.

“What kowtow?” Mo Jiaxing asked with a blank face. Mo Jiaxing was happy because he never thought that his own son would actually cause the important characters of the City to feel moved.

“Shit, don’t you know that your son and Master Mu Zhuoyun had a bet? If Yu Ang loses, then he, Mu Zhuoyun will personally apologize to the two of you for the matters that happened in the past. Whereas if your son loses, he will have to kowtow to Master Mu Zhuoyun until he is satisfied! Our family’s child would only think to himself a few words about Mu Zhuoyun, yet, your son cursed at him several times to his face! For an important character like him, even if he were to tolerate it, he would still be a little angry. Today, he doesn’t plan on letting Mo Fan go!” the gardener told him.

Mo Jiaxing had no idea about a bet, he really was a thoroughly confused father.

As Mo Jiaxing heard of this, he was stunned. He really did not know of this matter!

He was very clear on his own son’s stubbornness and pride. Having him kowtow and apologize in this kind of occasion in front of his classmates, teachers, neighbors, and Mu Ningxue?

What kind of children were there nowadays? There were some who would even jump off a roof just because they got slapped. If he were to kowtow at this kind of occasion, then he wouldn’t be able to raise his head again!

Mo Jiaxing hurriedly stood up as he ran toward the host’s seat in the middle.

“Master Mu, Master Mu…” Mo Jiaxing yelled toward Mu Zhuoyun.

“Oh, it’s Mo Jiaxing?” Mu Zhuoyun squinted his eyes, he still recognized this old chauffeur.

“Seeing how it’s been so many years, let’s not make it difficult for a child. Think about, today, in front of these many people, and many of them are his classmates, teachers, friends…” Mo Jiaxing hurriedly pleaded.

“Don’t, don’t. Don’t talk to me about how many years it’s been. You talk about it as though I didn’t give wages to you, that time I was already lenient toward your feelings. This time, no matter what you say, I will definitely not let him go!” Mu Zhuoyun’s attitude was firm.

Mo Jiaxing immediately began to panic. He really did not think there was such a thing involving apologizing and kowtowing.

With the generations nowadays, and being in their prime, what kind of attack would his son’s self-esteem receive if he were to kowtow and apologize in front of this many people?

“Then… then I’ll take his place. Let me take his place. Child was not taught, Father takes the responsibility. I’ll take his place to kowtow and apologize to you. When you’re satisfied, that’s when I’ll get up!” Mo Jiaxing said with panic on his face.

Words were just words. This old chauffeur really knelt down in front of the numerous people, his pair of wrinkly eyes looked up to regard the still-sitting Mu Zhuoyun.

Everyone’s gazes immediately focused on Mo Jiaxing’s body.

As Mo Jiaxing felt these gazes on him, he also felt a great humiliation.

However, if they thought about it, if they were to let Mo Fan, who had cultivated his magic to far beyond the same level as his peers, do this kind of stuff, then the humiliation would definitely be magnified numerous times.

He had already received the approval of the important characters of Bo City, and he had nearly defeated the Yu Ang whom the Mu Family had carefully nurtured. In these three years, he must’ve been practicing really hard… He was a very clever young man. The reason why he had gone and made such a bet with Mu Zhuoyun was because he wanted to give his total failure of a father the face he had lost when he was driven away like a dog.

His son was way stronger than he was. In the future, he would definitely become an extremely excellent Magician. If he were to let his son kowtow to someone, then it would be a traumatic experience that he would carry for life. He himself was just an old chauffeur, an old man with no future prospects. This kind of thing where you’d lose your face for life didn’t hurt him at all.

Watching Mu Zhuoyun, Mo Jiaxing saw that Mu Zhuoyun clearly would not cool his temper. He clenched his teeth as he kowtowed.

On the dueling arena, Mo Fan suddenly saw this scene. His heart felt like he was hit by an arrow, receiving a pain he had never felt before.

The tall and aloof people will be that way from the start to the end.

The lowly people will forever be lowly people.

Were people really equal in this society?

If it really was equal, then there wouldn’t exist such a thing as being driven away because he and Mu Ningxue was close.

If it really was equal, then their house wouldn’t have been taken. That house that blocked the wind and sheltered them from rain was just one of the drops in the ocean for Mu He!

If it really were equal, then there wouldn’t be all that Magic Equipment bought using money in a Magic Duel that was witnessed by all these people. It was like a colossal mountain that would make a grassroot like him feel like it was incredibly difficult to cross!

In the old days, social rankings were really clear, they would force people to distinctly understand where they belonged in this society. In the current age, the scariest thing lay in the fact that although you were at same level as them, what you were unaware of and no one would tell you before you exited school was that once you entered society, it would be like a bolt from the blue, rumbling down. It would catch you unprepared, and you’d be in so much pain that you’d rather die.

The kneeling people? The sitting people?

Although you stand most of the time, there’s no difference between that and kneeling!

“Father, stand up!” Mo Fan turned towards the place where Mo Jiaxing and Mu Zhuoyun were.

Mo Jiaxing turned his head around, but his knees didn’t have the courage to stand up. Mo Jiaxing was too scared of Mu Zhuoyun wanting Mo Fan to personally come and apologize.

Mu Zhuoyun remained sitting there, looking indifferent.

Mo Fan glanced at his own father, who once again had made a great sacrifice for him, and then at the Mu Zhuoyun who didn’t have any interest in letting the matter go.

“Father, don’t return the gift back to Mu Zhuoyun this early, the duel isn’t over yet.” Mo Fan looked at Mo Jiaxing, his eyes filled with icy rage.

“Return the gift?” Mo Jiaxing had no idea on what his own son was saying.

Mu Zhuoyun didn’t know what this guy was saying either.

_Return the gift? Are you saying that I, Mu Zhuoyun, also need to kneel down and apologize to you!?_

_____________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

.

.

.

“ Mo Fan, you have to pay for your own stupidity. Currently, your father is kneeling down to my foster father in front of everyone. I believe that makes you feel even worse than you personally kowtowing!” As Yu Ang saw this scene, he didn’t have a trace of sympathy. Instead, he laughed once more.

“He’s just returning a gift. My dad is a simple and honest person, he feels that it’s more sincere if he were to return a gift.” Mo Fan turned around, his eyes were coldly gazing at Yu Ang, who was still laughing.

“I see you’re not convinced until you’re faced with the reality. In that case, let me turn you into an ice cube first, and then slowly enjoy this kind of ceremony that will cause you to never raise your head again within Bo City!” Yu Ang swore, as his eyes dripped with disdain.

The Ice stars began to quickly connect with each other within Yu Ang’s eyes. With the Ice Silkworm Armor on his body, Yu Ang wasn’t worried about being interrupted by Mo Fan’s Fire Burst, even if this guy Mo Fan was faster than him at casting!

On the other side, Mo Fan’s pair of eyes were extremely cold.

If… Mu Zhuoyun had a slight intention of letting go of these matters, then he would’ve given up on the matters today. However, the father and son’s arrogance and irrationality had thoroughly provoked Mo Fan.

He firmly believed that if he didn’t win this duel, then he would see a scene where his father would kowtow until he started bleeding for his foolish son!

However, was he really that foolish?

_Today I will let everyone understand what it means for a single spark to start a prairie fire!_

“Background is also a form of strength?” Mo Fan couldn’t help but start laughing loudly.

In the next second, his laugh came to a stop. Replacing his laughter was a domineering aura that no one had seen before!

“In that case, my innate talent is also a form of strength!”

_Do you really think that I, Mo Fan will lose just like that?_

_Have a taste of the might of my Lightning!_

Purple-colored pupils suddenly appeared. Within the pitch black eyeballs that seemed like the vast universe was a purple Star Radiance, glinting warningly!

Lightning!

The strongest of the elements!

It represented anger, might, and destruction!

This ridiculous social ladder was shattered into pieces by this violent Lightning!

The Lightning stars actually had a special connection with the feelings of their owner. The natural attribute of the Lightning embedded its user with a domineering quality that would not cease at any time!

It was not because of the user’s petty background!

It was not because of circumstances outside of the body!

All of the Lightning stars had never been obedient before. That was because Mo Fan’s mental state had never been in sync with the Lightning element’s temperament before today.

The Lightning Star Path ignited a raging wrath within his heart as it instantly connected. They also seemed like they wanted to be granted all of the energy of their user.

Star Path emerge!

The magic that congested the mysterious energy between heaven and earth was of the highest quality.

_Bzzzt~!_

The purple lightning arc was tyrannical as it emerged. It unprecedentedly swirled around Mo Fan’s body, willingly awaiting Mo Fan’s command.

Mo Fan raised his head with lightning within his gaze.

“Lightning Strike!”

“Wrath Shock!”

Within the lightning, Mo Fan raised one of his hands. Following this action, he violently grasped his hand and the traces of Lightning frantically swirling in the air turned into lightning soldiers. They gave out an angry hissing as they chaotically bombarded Yu Ang’s position.

_Bzzt!_

After the numerous traces of the purple Lightning landed, they began to mutually link to themselves and turned into an even stronger lightning as they ferociously attacked Yu Ang, who seemed completely defenseless.

Yu Ang’s Ice Spread spell was still being chanted. In the next second, he was completely wrapped within the dazzling, yet dreadful Lightning force. The shock within his heart could not be described with words.

The attack was incomparably volent. Everytime it shocked his body, it would transmit an acute pain. What was even more dreadful was that these lightning traces could enter the body’s flesh and bones while causing the enormous effects of an electrical shock. Even if the Ice Silkworm Armor was resisting it, it still wouldn’t be able to completely block out the all-pervasive penetrating power of Lightning!

Yu Ang’s body no longer belonged to himself. His body was acutely twitching as he stood there. The arrogance and superior look on his face was no longer there, all that remained was his eyes filled with questions and disbelief!

_Why?_

_What is this?_

_Lightning, this is clearly Lightning Strike! Why can you, a Primary Fire Magician, cast a Lightning spell?_

The Ice Silkworm Armor didn’t exist in front of the might of Lightning Strike. At last, Yu Ang let out a miserable scream, his entire being began to collapse under the assault of the purple Lightning Strike!

This time, it would be impossible for Yu Ang to get up. A third level Lightning Strike was even more powerful than Fire Burst. The Ice Silkworm Armor was capable of restraining Fire spells, but there was no way it could possibly defend against the dreadful ability of a third level Lightning Strike!

The Lightning’s roar was still screeching by their ears, but the entire Manor was completely silent!

Everyone was completely dumbstruck the moment Mo Fan cast Lightning Strike. Although the Lightning Strike didn’t hit them, the bolt from the sky was still within their minds!

What did they just see?

_Lightning Strike?_

_This is freaking Lightning Strike?_

_You, a Primary Fire Magician, are telling us that you are able to cast Lightning Strike?!_

Yu Ang had already collapsed from the attacks. Currently, the people had forgotten about this guy’s existence. Instead, the scene in front of them that was beyond common sense had made them so shocked that they almost went crazy.

How could they not go crazy? In this world, any Magician at the Primary level could only control the magic of one element. Magicians were only able to obtain their second element when they reached the Intermediate level. _You, a third-year high school student who hasn’t graduated yet, how can you have acquired two elements?_

_One is Fire, the other is Lightning-!_

“He…he…could it be that he’s an Intermediate Magician? That’s impossible, that’s definitely impossible! In this world, even if your cultivation is fast, there is no way you would be able to cultivate to the Intermediate level within just three years! This is definitely impossible!” Mu Zhuoyun was the first one among the people to shoot out from his chair, he had difficulty believing what he saw in front of him.

In the same way, Principal Zhu, Deng Kai, Yang Zuohe, Zhankong, these Magicians who were at a higher realm, they were all unable to believe the scene they saw in front of them.

Third level Lightning Strike, this was clearly the third level of Lightning Strike!

However, how was a Fire student be able to cast a Lightning spell?!

Was it the result of a special piece of Magical Equipment?

That wasn’t right, the magnificent purple Star Path that had emerged around Mo Fan’s body had already proven that this power was something he personally used. It was definitely not possible for him to have been supported by other Magic Equipment!

The only Lightning Magician in this place, Xu Zhaoting, was even more dumbstruck.

Holy crap, isn’t that the realm that he himself had been thirsting for? The third level of Lightning Strike, that was the objective that he himself was pursuing for the next few years. Why was it being cast by Mo Fan? _You, Mo Fan are clearly a Fire Magician, alright?!_

Crumbled, Xu Zhaoting’s heart just crumbled. This something which he, a genuine Lightning user, hadn’t grasped, and was actually achieved by a Fire Magician. _I-I don’t wanna live anymore!_

_____________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

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Mo Fan’s classmates, Zhoumin, Zhao Kunsan, Mu Bai, Zhang Xiaohou, and Wang Sanpang, were all frantically rubbing their eyes. It must be because they’d been studying Magic for so long that they became delirious. Not good, they must return back to school to write ten thousand scrolls to calm themselves. Having illusions before the high school exams was not a good sign!

The entire place was silent for a very, very long time!

As Lightning Strike came out, it was as though the concepts everyone knew had crumbled in that moment, and they were unable to say anything for a long time.

“Who… who can… who can tell me, this… just what is going on!” The man with the surname Zhou also jumped out of his chair as his gaze swept past the important characters of Bo City who were completely stunned by the display of Lightning Strike.

_Is there really no one who can come out and explain, or is it that I really am blind?_

“Intermediate Magician, he is an Intermediate Magician. He has awakened a second element, that must be it!” Xue Musheng used words that he himself could not believe.

“No!” At this moment, the one with the highest status, Principal Zhu spoke out.

The people watched Principal Zhu attentively. They believed that the unbelievable and blinding scene in front of them could only be explained by someone with virtue and prestige like Principal Zhu.

“He is still a Primary Magician.” Principal Zhu said firmly.

“Then how could he possibly possess the Lightning element…”

Principal Zhu took a deep breath, at this moment, one could tell how stirred up this teacher of Bo City was. He was so stirred up that the muscles on his face were quivering, so moved that he even needed a while to speak.

“Innate dual elements… he… Mo Fan is an innate… innate dual element!” Finally, Principal Zhu spoke out his shocked yet definite conclusion.

_That’s right, it must be an innate dual element!_

This student’s cultivation definitely had not reached the Intermediate level. The only explanation as to why he was able to cast Lightning Strike was him being an Innate Dual Element!

He Awakened Fire, and also Awakened Lightning!

This student who was nurtured within Tian Lan Magic High was one of the world’s incomparably matchless, rarely seen Innate Dual Elements!

“Innate Dual Element! Heavens, this world really has an existence like an Innate Dual Element?”

“I…I don’t know what to say.”

“Xue… Xue Musheng, Mo Fan… isn’t he your student? Weren’t you in charge of the Awakening day?” the Disciplinary teacher Chen Weiliang said to Xue Musheng at his side, while still completely shocked.

“I was, but… But I clearly remember he only had a Fire element.” Xue Musheng tried really hard to recall that day, but unfortunately, he really could not recall the situation back then.

This mind-blowing matter made people forget that this was a Magic Duel between the youths. The sensation caused by the Innate Dual Element caused people to forget that the main character today was supposed to be Yu Ang, who came of age! Tonight, there would be no one as dazzling as Mo Fan with an Innate Dual Element, who had achieved the brilliant feat of amazing the whole world!

“This kid… our army will definitely have him, whoever dares to steal mine, I will raid their home!!” The head of the Army, Zhankong, had jumped out of his chair a while ago.

He, the great Zhankong, feared no one in Bo City. Whoever dared to jump out today and steal this kid Mo Fan with an Innate Dual Element, then he, Zhankong would eliminate said person.

_Holy crap!_ He was dropped in this Bo City here in the south by the higher-ups, and he thought it was just that. Who would’ve known that this little place would have an youth that possessed an Innate Dual Element that rebelled against the heavens! When Mo Fan only had a single Fire element, Zhankong had already wanted him, and wanted to pull him into the Magic Army. Who would guess that this kid had concealed such a heaven-alarming talent! He wanted this kid Mo Fan, Zhankong would take him even if he had to lose his entire fortune!

That man with the surname Zhou wanted to stand up and say something. In the end, Zhankong’s words made his entire being abruptly stop.

_Shit, not like this! Our Zhou Family also wants him!_

The man with the surname Zhou was now regretting the fact that he didn’t jump out earlier to forcefully pull this kid away. Now, after the appearance of the Innate Dual Element, the powers of Bo City were completely broken due to this homeless kid!

“Boss Zhankong, although there are many things which are in your control within Bo City, that does not mean that as long as you want it, you can take it. I am going to report to the higher-ups. Our enormous Magic Association has never let go of an exceptional genius. Furthermore, what other organization is more specialized in nurturing Magicians than our Magic Association?” Yang Zuohe directly jumped out.

Small families and small ancestral families would still have to give face to the Army. However, the great Magic Association did not need to do so.

Fight?

In this world they had never heard of a power that would dare to contest the Magic Association!

“Heh? This kind of student our school actually is very much willing to expend a large quantity of money to nurture. So the two of you no longer need to worry about that, hmm,” Principal Zhu said.

Damn them, these two guys Zhankong and Yang Zuohe wanted to snatch away Mo Fan in front of his face before he even graduated. _I, old Zhu have good relations with people. However, that doesn’t mean I will concede this kind of student to others. If you have some ability, then come and contest our Magic School… Don’t forget, many of your Battlemages actually come from our Magic School, so give me all you’ve got, Zhankong!_

Mu Zhuoyun stood there like a fool. He looked at all the guests who were shocked by Mo Fan, and then looked at all these powers contesting each other for Mo Fan in front of his face. At last, he looked at the duel arena, at the Magician who was controlling the dual elements of Lightning and Fire.

Mu Ningxue from his family also had a rarely seen talent in Magic. However, if talking about appeal, then the Innate Dual Elements were a few points ahead. After all, Mu Ningxue’s innate Ice-affinity Spirit was definitely above peers of her age. However, those truly rich and powerful Ancestral Families were able to gather treasures to obtain Ice-affinity Spirits, whereas the talent of an innate Dual Element was something you definitely could not find a second of even if you were to turn on the lights to search for one across the world!

It could be said that even Mu Zhuoyun wanted this kid!

“Hurry up and get up, Old Brother Jiaxing, get up. I only wanted to give your son a little lesson, how could I possibly have him do it,” Mu Zhuoyun hurriedly supported Mo Jiaxing in front of him.

Mu Zhuoyun’s attitude had taken a 180-degree change.

After Mo Jiaxing got up with some support, he looked around his surroundings in disbelief.

Perhaps a driver wouldn’t know what an innate Dual Element actually represented, but from seeing the changed expressions of these important characters from before and now, he was able to understand just how incredible his own son was.

No, being incredible wasn’t enough to describe it. His son perhaps was enough to cause a sensation throughout the entirety of Bo City!

This was very good! Selling off his only family property to let him enter Tian Lan Magic High was not in vain! If he had hesitated even a little, he could’ve killed off an incredible Magician. _Look at all these important characters of Bo City, look at the expressions on their faces, look at them when they’re fighting! Heavens, I, Mo Jiaxing, who do not have any morals or ability, is capable of conceiving such an incredible son!_

Mo Jiaxing wiped at his tears of joy as he stood up.

A busy life and a petty salary, along with a poor environment, had pressured his back that had always been crooked. Normally, he would drive for these rich, powerful people and nod his head and bow, which was no different from kneeling… He now understood why his own son had told him to stand up. It was because from now on, the two of them would no longer have to grovel before anyone!

____________________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Brother, Yu Ang is still lying there!” Mu He called out to remind Mu Zhuoyun.

Mu Zhuoyun’s face immediately sank.

Shit, he had almost forgotten that today was the Coming-of-Age Ceremony for his son Yu Ang. His majestic and formal Coming-of-age Ceremony had turned into a day for this brat Mo Fan to cause a sensation in Bo City!

What was even more regretful was that they had lost this Magic Duel. This meant that Mu Zhuoyun would have to apologize to the father and son in the front of his distinguished guests!

Thinking about this point, Mu Zhuoyun felt something in his chest fiercely rumbling, and his blood pressure rose tremendously.

—

In the arena, Mo Fan didn’t even feel like looking at Yu Ang, who had turned into something like a dead dog after being bombarded by Lightning Strike.

_Background, you want to talk to me about background? I’ll use lightning to shock you into a dog that acts rich!_

As he turned away, Mo Fan began walking toward the stands.

The result couldn’t be more obvious, he had won.

Despite the shock that had caused everyone’s flesh to feel numb, Mo Fan was more concerned about that old scoundrel Mu Zhuoyun’s current expression.

As expected, the old scoundrel looked as though he wanted to spit blood, but was unable to do so.

“My dad has already given you his gift, old guy, why don’t you decide for yourself what to do,” Mo Fan coldly grunted as he walked in front of Mu Zhuoyun.

_Waiting for today! I have also been wanting for many years! Today, when people who have status from Bo City are here, I will make you, Mu Zhuoyun, experience how to lower your voice while you deal with that anger!_

Mu Zhuoyun’s old face began to twitch severely.

In reality, Mu Zhuoyun actually thought highly of Mo Fan. He was afraid that the kid would cause a reversal of fortune, and so he had specially prepared that Magic Armor for Yu Ang. However, Mu Zhuoyun did not even dream that Mo Fan had an innate Dual Element, and that he even had Lightning Strike cultivated to the third level!

This entire grandiose Coming-of-age Ceremony had thoroughly had become this kid’s ceremony for shocking the world. It was like making a wedding dress for someone else’s apprentice. This kind of feeling was like wearing a green hat, causing him to seethe with anger.

“That… Don’t worry, don’t worry. Master Mu Zhuoyun has always been looking after us, Mo Fan, just let this matter go.” Mo Jiaxing was after all a good and honest person. From how he saw it, Mu Zhuoyun kneeling down and apologizing was no different than having him killed. In any case, he was still an important character.

“Yeah, just forget about this matter. Tonight has caused all of us to expand our horizons,” Mu He hurriedly jumped in, his attitude was completely different from before. It was simply like someone with a merchant’s friendliness, it carried some good intentions.

_Just forget it?_

_Shit, if this old scoundrel Mu Zhuoyun had the intention of just forgetting it, then he, Mo Fan, wouldn’t have brought out Lightning to shock them!_

“Hmph, what does a kowtow apology amount to. I, Mu Zhuoyun, will do what I have promised. If you agree to a bet, then you must be prepared to lose!” Mu Zhuoyun fiercely spat out these words.

As these words were said, Mu Zhuoyun really stood in front of Mo Jiaxing.

The spoken words was quite bright, yet, Mu Zhuoyun’s actions were somewhat stiff.

He really needed to do a kowtow apology to the father and son?

After doing this, he, Mu Zhuoyun, would really be unable to raise his head in front of the people of Bo City.

_Bastard, freaking scoundrels! How could such a heaven-defying talent like the Innate Dual Element possibly be in this little scoundrel, Mo Fan’s body? No wonder why he was so confident when he agreed to this duel bet back then, it turns out he actually had such a trump card in his hands…_

The old fox, Mu Zhuoyun was similarly calculating, but he was unable to anticipate his opponent’s Innate Dual Element.

Struggling, Mu Zhuoyun clenched his teeth as his knees slowly bent.

“Old brother Mu Zhuoyun, you must not! Sigh, we don’t even have any deep animosity, there’s no need to be like this. Besides, what kind of century is this, there’s no need for something like this! Even people in the past were able to laugh and forget the old grudges. We could even count to have known each other for a long time.” Mo Jiaxing hurriedly supported Mu Zhuoyun back up.

Mu Zhuoyun looked back at Mo Jiaxing in shock.

In his perspective, most people would be enjoying themselves greatly at this time. It was not just anyone in this world who could enjoy Mu Zhuoyun’s kowtow apology, let alone Mo Jiaxing, who had also given him one before.

“Mo Fan, it’s all right now,” Mo Jiaxing turned around and told Mo Fan.

Mo Fan shrugged his shoulders. Even his father had spoken up, what else could he do?

Either way, Mu Zhuoyun did kneel just now, and it could be said that he also did kowtow. The grudges of many years could be said to have been drained out with the impetuous Lightning Strike.

“Well said, even people in the past were able to laugh and forget old grudges. Today should be a day worthy of celebration! Our Bo City has given birth to a shocking genius with Innate Dual Elements! Not too long ago, we thought that Mu Ningxue’s Ice-affinity Spirit would make the name of our Bo City famous. Who would’ve thought that Mo Fan’s Innate Dual Element is even more shocking! The heavens really are watching over our Bo City!” the prestigious Principal Zhu let out with a sigh.

Among the southern cities, Bo City couldn’t be counted as being particularly excellent, nor did it have many excellent Magicians appearing. Thus, it had been silent in the south for a long time.

However, Mu Ningxue’s Ice-affinity Spirit, as well as Mo Fan’s Innate Dual Element, could definitely cause a great sensation. It would allow Bo City to become the most-watched city in the south!

This matter excited people just thinking about it!

“Mo Fan, let’s just put it like this. As long as you join our Army, then you will definitely be able to become the chief of a city army in the future! Let’s not even talk about the large amount of cultivation resources, someday you will definitely be able to find success in this career!” Zhankong was first to jump out and make promises with a sincerity he never had before.

“Zhankong, that should be enough. Being able to choose which faction is an individual’s freedom. What is the meaning behind your forceful recruiting?” Yang Zuohe protested unhappily.

“Shit, how am I forcefully recruiting him. Mo Fan and I address each other as brothers. He is my sworn little brother!” Zhankong widened his eyes.

The two instructors, Luo Yuanbo and Pan Lijun, to the sides, began sweating.

_Boss Zhankong, when did Mo Fan become your sworn little brother?_

“Head Instructor, just what are you babbling about?” Mo Fan was speechless.

“Oh? You’re not content with that? How about you’re the older brother? You being my sworn older brother is also alright. Either way, join our Army and you’re guaranteed a high position and great wealth,” Zhankong immediately proclaimed.

Luo Yunbo and Pan Lijun had already begun sweating waterfalls.

_Shit, you, the grand Chief of Bo City’s Army, are recognizing an eighteen-year old kid as your sworn older brother, that’ll make all the army squads in Bo City collapse. Can’t you have some moral principles, Boss Zhankong?_

The two instructors really wanted to drag their Boss Zhankong away immediately, this was far too shameless!

____________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

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At this moment, the fat yet agile Feishi was fixated on Mo Fan. After hesitating for a while, he finally opened his mouth and whispered to his teammates next to him, “Don’t you guys think that this guy looked like a certain person when he cast Lightning Strike?”

“You also think so?!” Xu Dahuang immediately widened his eyes.

On the side, Xiaoke was biting into an apple while she continually nodded in agreement.

Li Wenjie had a strange smile as he glanced at Guo Caitang.

It was very obvious that Guo Caitang had also sensed something. Her beautiful face was filled with an unwillingness to accept reality.

“Fan Mo, Mo Fan; shit, it’s him!!” Xu Dahuang yelled out as he suddenly came to his senses.

The entire Hunter Squad came to the same realization. The expressions on their faces couldn’t be described with mere words.

They always knew Fan Mo was young, but they definitely hadn’t imagined that he was a third-year high school student who hadn’t even graduated yet!

The most important thing was, not only did this guy have the Lightning element, he also possessed a ferocious Fire element! The power behind his Fire element was actually not inferior to their Captain, Xu Dahuang!

Guo Caitang was probably the person who felt most the complex about this revelation. In fact, after interacting with him for the past year, she had developed a good opinion of their mysterious Lightning element user, Fan Mo.

Everyone knew that a Lightning Mage had infinite prospects, and most Lightning Mages chose to head into an easy job with a high income and high position. The young and promising Fan Mo had instead been part of their Hunter Squad, and not only did he excel among his peers, he was also very calm most of the time. Additionally, he had once single-handedly saved her life, and another time he had used his Lightning Strike to save the entire Squad. Thus, having a good opinion of him was a certainty.

In the end, Fan Mo and Mo Fan, the two had suddenly turned into one. Combining a person who you have a good opinion of with one whom you loathe and disdain, that was… That truly made her speechless!

—

“Everyone, I have something to say.” Principal Zhu spoke out once more.

Principal Zhu had a good moral bearing and reputation, so naturally everyone paused to listen to him.

“An Innate Dual Element is an astonishing talent, and the Magic High Exams are coming soon. Our school plans on using this extremely rare opportunity to properly pull off a big move and make the people from other places see the might of our Bo City. Thus, I hope everyone will not leak the matters that happened today. Wait until the national Magic High Exams have started, we will give our incredible Magician of Bo City, Mo Fan, an opportunity to cause a sensation across the country, how about it?” Principal Zhu’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

This kind of large matter, it would most likely be spread across the media, covering the skies and earth.

_(Ed. Note: Must ask Tofu if this was written before the true cell phone age. There’s no way a lid could be kept on it nowadays…)_

It was almost time for the incomparably important Magic High Exams, and Principal Zhu hoped to use the opportunity of these Magic High Exams to firmly fly the flag of Bo City. It had been far too long since Bo City had this kind of glory.

“That, I don’t mind. However, I can at most postpone the reports to the higher-ups for two weeks,” said the Magic Association representative, Yang Zuohe.

“Principal Zhu, who would dare to spread news of this kid with me here?” Boss Zhankong agreed.

Zhankong wasn’t stupid. If the bigger organizations caught news of this guy, they’d come running here to dig for him. If that happened, then he, Zhankong, could only start crying. No matter what, they had to suppress this matter!

With this place having so many people, it was only natural to be unable to control everyone from running their mouths off. However, as long as they were able to control the media and prevent them from spreading this matter outside the city, then those people could run off their mouths as much as they wanted. Either way, they were only keeping this a secret until the end of the Magic High Exams, when they would announce it.

“Speaking of all this, isn’t this a bit exaggerated? They even have to block off the media for the Magic Innate Dual Element?” Wang Sanpang whispered.

Mrs. Tangyue was sitting with the students, her heart still hadn’t calmed down from the shock. After hearing Wang Sanpang’s question, Tangyue couldn’t help but explain, “You have only been in a small place like Bo City, so it’s natural you don’t know how incredible the Innate Dual Element is. If the news were to spread out, then Bo City would be occupied by incredible forces within a day. Furthermore, if Mo Fan were to choose a faction, then some with sinister intentions would rather kill him than let him grow. After all, killing a Primary Magician like Mo Fan in secret is not a big matter to them. By suppressing this information, it will benefit Mo Fan as well as everyone else.”

“No way, there really are people that scary? Doesn’t that make them no different than the Black Vatican?”

“When a human’s heart is evil, you need to be cleverly cautious,” Tangyue replied.

“Brother Fan really caused a sensation this time… Speaking of which, just how did Brother Fan cultivate? Since he has dual elements, then it should take even longer for him to cultivate, so how could he be so much further along than us with both of his dual elements?” Zhang Xiaohou couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah!”

The corner of Xu Zhaoting’s mouth began to twitch. _Zhang Xiahou, can’t you shut up??_

“I reckon Yu Ang will cry until he turns stupid.”

“Exactly. Did you not see that old scoundrel Mu Zhuoyun? Even though he had some problems with Mo Fan before, now he would immediately accept Mo Fan as his godson…”

“How could that be? Even the Chief Instructor wants to make Mo Fan his sworn brother! With the Chief Instructor, an Advanced Magician, backing Mo Fan, who would dare to touch him?”

“Sigh, comparisons are odious.”

While Mo Fan’s classmates were discussing this, Tangyue’s eyes had been watching Mo Fan this entire time.

Tangyue finally understood how Mo Fan was able to kill the Spirit Wolf back then.

Speaking of which, Mo Fan really gave people endless surprises. He had actually been hiding his Innate Dual Element this entire time…

However, doing that was pretty smart of him. Having a low profile while his strength wasn’t high enough was not a bad thing. Now that Mo Fan had people who were backing him enthusiastically, like Zhankong, his future growth would be a lot smoother.

It was just that they didn’t know if this guy would be able to properly use his incomparable Innate Dual Element, and be able to distinguish himself from the other exceptional geniuses from across the country.

—

Tonight, Mo Fan had naturally amazed everyone!

The Magic Association, Hunter’s Union, and Bo City Army combined to suppress the news together. It naturally wouldn’t be possible for this matter to spread out in a short period of time.

_(Ed. Note: Someone has not heard of telephones and the internet age, methinks…)_

Of course, this Magic Duel’s biggest profit wasn’t just retrieving his family’s dignity from the past. The most important thing was obtaining the opportunity to enter Bo City’s Underground Holy Spring to cultivate for a whole week.

With the Magic High Exams approaching, Mo Fan wanted to advance tremendously in his cultivation with the nourishment from Bo City’s Underground Holy Spring before taking the exams. That way, Mo Fan would be able to have a stunning performance on the Magic High Exams and take away the breath of people across the country!

When that happened, he would truly be renowned everywhere. It could be said that it would give Mo Fan a perfect road for his future Magic cultivation.

“The Underground Holy Spring, just what kind of special cultivation ground is it?” Mo Fan couldn’t help but look forward to it.

It was reported that many Magicians who were stuck at the Primary rank had broken through to Intermediate with the help of the Underground Holy Spring. An Intermediate Magician in Bo City was seen as very good!

Furthermore, Mo Fan was an Innate Dual Element Magician. Once he reached the Intermediate rank, he would possess a third element of magic! That kind of versatility would hold an absolute advantage among Intermediate Mages.

_Alright, I must definitely use this rare opportunity to substantially increase my strength!_

___________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

The Underground Holy Spring was located beneath the Silver Commerce Tower, surprising Mo Fan. This was because the roof he met Mu Ningxue on was only one building away!

This Silver Commerce Tower looked like a straight, towering pentagon. People described it as a skyscraper, but it looked like a big pentagonal pagoda that was located in the center of Bo City.

The height of the Silver Commerce Tower was around two hundred meters. The entire exterior was covered in reinforced glass. Beneath the sun, it looked like the tip of an unsheathed sword. When night fell, the entire tower would be filled with brilliant lights and vibrant colors. City areas in the distance were still able to see its swirling rainbow colors in the evening.

It was considered a symbolic structure of Bo City. It was said that the super big conference hall on the top floor belonged to Mu Zhuoyun.

And Bo City’s heavenly treasure, the Underground Holy Spring, was actually located beneath the Silver Commerce Tower. The white and gold collar workers within the Tower didn’t know that this place even had a fifteenth sub-floor!

An elevator that seemed like the ones from a secret services headquarters had taken Mo Fan down to the fifteenth sub-floor of the Tower. Mo Fan was stunned to find out that this place really looked like a secret organization; they had actually dug out a secret protective underground hall.

The Underground Hall was built using special crystalline rocks. At one look, you could tell it came from the hands of a very credible construction master.

The Underground Hall had only one patrol squad guarding the place. The patrol squad’s Captain was also an Intermediate Magician.

An Intermediate Magician was guarding the entrance?

This showed just how important the Underground Holy Spring was to Bo City!

“Behind this totem door is the Underground Holy Spring. You are allowed to enter for a period of one week to cultivate. The Underground Holy Spring will maintain a cycle by itself, so don’t touch it. All you need to do is to sit in the middle of the Underground Holy Spring, on the leather mat, as you enter meditation or Control.” Mu Zhuoyun was in a bad mood as he said this to Mo Fan.

This Underground Holy Spring was originally supposed to be taken by Yu Ang; who would’ve thought that it would be taken by this kid Mo Fan? How could Mu Zhuoyun’s mood be good at this time?

Accompanying Mo Fan here was Mrs. Tangyue. Mrs. Tangyue slowly nodded to Mo Fan, hinting that he should go inside and enter his seclusion.

“Oh, I have something to give you,” Mrs. Tangyue said to Mo Fan as she thought of something.

“Something to give me?” Mo Fan was surprised.

Mrs. Tangyue took four different purple and red colored books out from thin air. The books were engraved with what looked like light specks from the stars and Star Path prints. It looked like some kind of completed Magic Diagram.

“Mrs. Tangyue, you really are magnanimous when you hand things out. This is a precious Star Atlas Book, and you’re even given out four of them! This really is making me, a rich provincial, broaden my horizons.” Standing off to the side, Mu Zhuoyun immediately recognized the books Mrs. Tangyue was giving away, his face turning sour.

“What is this Star Atlas Book?” asked the confused Mo Fan.

“After you have experienced the baptism of the Underground Holy Spring, you will surely not be too far from becoming an Intermediate Magician. I’m not certain whether I’ll still be here to teach you. Thus, I’m giving you these Star Atlas Books as parting gift, so you can have some way to protect yourself after you’ve broken through to Intermediate level.” Mrs. Tangyue stopped for a bit before continuing to explain the functions of the Star Atlas Book, “You already know that Primary Magicians are required to link their stars to form a Star Path. After a Star Path emerges, a spell will be formed.”

Mo Fan nodded, it felt as though he was listening to his teacher give him an even higher level Magic Class.

“After you reach Intermediate level, your Stardust will turn into a Nebula. The Nebula will be even more vast than Stardust, and it will have 49 stars in total. Intermediate Magic requires you to connect the 49 stars into a Star Atlas. Intermediate Magic will only be born after the Star Atlas has emerged…” Mrs. Tangyue explained.

Stardust turning into a Nebula!

49 stars interconnect to form a Star Atlas, which becomes Intermediate Magic!

Mo Fan’s heart silently remembered these crucial words.

“You should understand that completing the control of seven stars requires an incomparably long time to cultivate. The 49 stars’ difficulty won’t be just two or three times as hard. Even if you change your Stardust into a Nebula, you will still need a long time before you are able to cast an Intermediate level Magic spell. This Star Atlas Book’s speciality is that when you pour your intent into it, the Star Atlas Book will release a special attraction that will cause your 49 stars to form into the arrangement on the Star Atlas. Even if you don’t have enough power to take control of all 49 stars, as long as your Nebula has enough Magic energy, then it will be able to cast its Intermediate Magic spell!” Mrs. Tangyue explained sincerely.

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped: he never thought that this world would have such a magical thing.

With something like a Star Atlas Book, what was the point of Magicians bitterly cultivating Control? They could just bring along a few books and they would be fine!

Mu Zhuoyun looked as though he could read what Mo Fan had in mind before he coldly humphed, “Even if you had money, you still wouldn’t be able to purchase a Star Atlas Book! Your Mrs. Tangyue isn’t as simple as a regular teacher.”

Mo Fan looked at the mature and beautiful teacher in front of him, astonishment building in him.

Thinking about it carefully, a teacher who was able to casually settle the matter with a Stardust Magic Tool shouldn’t be as simple as just being a High school teacher. Furthermore, Mo Fan had witnessed Mrs. Tangyue’s Shadow spells; this meant that Mrs. Tangyue was at least an Intermediate Magician!

“You possess an Innate Dual Element, it will be hard for you to escape the jealousy of smaller people. These books are given to you to protect yourself. Naturally, if you want to use these Star Atlas Books, the prerequisites are that you need to turn your Stardust into a Nebula, and 7 stars into 49 stars. If not, the Star Atlas Book will absorb your body and turn you into a mummy,” Mrs. Tangyue informed him earnestly.

_(Ed. Note: Ah, I think Mo Fan totally missed the part about becoming a mummy.)_

Mo Fan nodded his head in sincere gratitude, he felt really moved.

He and Mrs. Tangyue only had a regular student and teacher relationship, and yet, she was caring for him so much. It seemed he must hurry up and cultivate to the level of an Intermediate Magician, and then earn lots of money so he can marry her; only then will he be able to return this favor.

“Thank you Mrs Tangyue, I will definitely do my best!” Mo Fan said sincerely.

Tangyue smiled, her bright eyes had some expectations of him.

“You shouldn’t be too proud of yourself. The Heaven and Earth Spirit Pond of this Underground Holy Spring isn’t bad. However, it won’t be able to help you reach the Intermediate level. It will only give you a big push toward the Intermediate level checkpoint, if you really want to break through… Hehe, still far for you!” Mu Zhuoyun coldly humphed.

Tangyue no longer said anything, she had already given him what she wanted to give him, so she turned around to leave.

Mu Zhuoyun was too lazy to look at the kid that made his entire being feel like babbling rubbish. He waved his hand to signal to the protectors of the Underground Holy Spring to pull Mo Fan in and lock him inside.

“Pull yourselves together. Last time, the Ground Gutter Rat almost found this place. If the warm waters of the Underground Holy Spring were to leak out and attract calamity, then you guys will definitely be questioned!” the Captain of the guards, Liang Bin, shouted.

“Captain, don’t worry. That matter will definitely not happen again!” The other guards made a solemn vow.

This last thing Mo Fan had heard from the guards before he had entered the Underground Holy Spring made Mo Fan think of that One-eyed Magic Wolf that had almost evolved.

The One-eyed Magic Wolf had precisely acquired the leaked warm waters of the Underground Holy Spring, turning it into something dreadful. _With that logic in mind, if I was to cultivate here for seven full days, wouldn’t my entire being soar?_

______________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

The Underground Holy Spring was an enclosed area, built with dark green boulders. Each boulder had a strange Magic Diagram and incantation engraved on its surface.

In any case, Mo Fan was an educated person. He could understand some of the meanings behind the diagrams, and if he wasn’t wrong, then these must be Advanced level protective-type Magic spells.

Thus, it was not just some place built with stone. In fact, even if there was an earthquake, it wouldn’t necessarily affect this place in the slightest; a flawless defense in the truest sense.

Originally, Mo Fan thought this Underground Holy Spring was a large bath; he would strip off his clothes and lie in there as he enjoyed all of it. However, after passing through a few erected archways, Mo Fan was amazed to find out that the Underground Holy Spring was only a square-shaped, stone-stepped altar.

The stone altar had four layers. The very bottom one had a small hole that acted as a circuit channel. The clear Holy Spring water was practically transparent as it slowly flowed through the small stone channel.

Mo Fan observed it for a bit and couldn’t find anything special about it. Just when he was about to sit down on the stone step altar and start cultivating according to the instructions of Mu Zhuoyun, suddenly, the Little Loach Pendant on his chest began to emit strange trills.

“What are you getting excited for, acting like you can drink all this!” Mo Fan began to scold it immediately.

The current Little Loach Pendant was a Spirit-grade Stardust Magic Tool. Not only was Mo Fan able to maintain Meditation for 14 hours a day, he was also able to obtain the special energy from the Little Loach Pendant that helped nourish his two Stardusts. The pendant was precisely why Mo Fan was able to cultivate two elements to the third level within such a short time.

Even in a school with so many people, those who possessed the second level of Primary Magic before they graduated their third year of high school could be considered impressive. Mo Fan was able to exceed them by a level in a circumstance where he had one more element to cultivate! This was enough to display the capabilities of a Spirit-grade Stardust Magic Tool.

_Is it possible that the Little Loach Pendant is able to absorb the Underground Holy Spring’s hot spring?_ As Mo Fan felt his pendant’s thirst, his heart couldn’t help but ask this question.

The Stardust Magic Tool and Underground Holy Spring should have the same nature, being able to speed up a Magician’s cultivation. The Underground Holy Spring displayed a colossal amount of energy, so much that it could help Magicians attack the Intermediate realm from the Primary level.

_Should I try? If the Little Loach Pendant really can absorb the energy from this place, then wouldn’t it be able to once more advance to an even higher quality Stardust Magic Tool?_ Mo Fan inevitably had some brazen thoughts floating through his head.

The school’s Stardust Magic Tool’s energy was completely absorbed by the Little Loach Pendant. If the special hot spring within the Underground Holy Spring was absorbed, wouldn’t that be equivalent to him carrying around the Underground Holy Spring on his body?

The Underground Holy Spring only opened up once a year. It would only be able to supply one promising Magician with cultivation time. With just that, many people admired it. If…If…

_Shit, I can’t!_

The Stardust Magic Tool from school was absorbed by the Little Loach Pendant and was turned into garbage. He could only thank Mrs. Tangyue, who had helped him settle the matter.

This time, if he were to absorb the entire Underground Holy Spring, not only would all of the people in Bo City go crazy, he himself would be put on a stake and burned to death!

Carefully meditate, it’s better to not think about this kind of large, illogical matter.

_Little Loach Pendant, don’t be so impulsive. I know this thing is a big supplement for you. However, if you were to do that, then your grandfather, I, would be stomped by the people of Bo City. Thus, you cannot just do anything you want. We’ll just quietly seclude ourselves here for seven days, and then pass the exams, enter University, and then subdue monsters and kill demons to save the world, with my left hand wrapping itself around Mu Ningxue, and nestling against Tangyue with my right. When the time comes, we’ll even find you a female pendant…_ , Mo Fan dreamed inside.

The Little Loach Pendant seemed as though it really understood, as it no longer blindly caused trouble. It returned to obediently laying on Mo Fan’s chest.

Mo Fan took a deep breath.

_Shit, is this really a pendant? Why is it acting like a little demon king in the world of players…_

After seating himself on the leather mat, Mo Fan was able to feel an energy gathering to him, similar to the nourishment of the pendant, even if he didn’t enter meditation.

The nourishment from the special hot spring was much stronger than Little Loach Pendant. If the Stardust Magic Tools were divided into Common grade and Spirit grade, then the cultivating nourishment which the Underground Holy Spring brought was definitely a first-rate one. It felt like his entire being was getting ready to fly.

His Lightning and Fire Stardusts, who were at a saturated state, began to move. They were like two infants who suddenly touched mother’s milk as they frantically began to suck it in. Every time they sucked, their bodies began to expand a little.

When he first Awakened, the two Stardusts were really small. In his entire Spiritual Cosmos, they really seemed like tiny Stardusts, their radiance was rather dark and not clear. Sometimes, they were even hard to find. After cultivating for three years, the Stardusts gradually expanded, their radiance distinct and clear. His entire Stardust looked as though it formed its own territory as it exhibited a mysterious energy.

At this moment, the two Stardusts had subtle expansions; the change in every hour was about the same as Mo Fan’s bitter cultivating for a whole week!

_This is too good, this experience is almost like cheating!_ Mo Fan’s heart was incomparably stirred up.

He never thought that he himself would actually accidentally obtain such an exceptional opportunity for cultivating. It seemed like stealing resources from those wealthy second generations was necessary. Even a dumbass would be able to be an expert who exceeded their peers with a cultivation speed like this.

Resources. There were too many resources that were in the hands of a small number of people. If it wasn’t for him revealing his Dual Elemental ability, then he wouldn’t have gotten his hands on the Underground Holy Spring.

With the nourishment from the Spirit grade Stardust Magic Tool, added with the effects of the Underground Holy Spring, the seven days of cultivation could very possibly allow him to attack the Intermediate Magician level!

——

A new guard who came not too long ago, Wang Tonglian, inquired of his commanding officer, “Captain Liang Bin, is this Underground Holy spring really that miraculous?”

“Our Bo City traces back a long time, even earlier than the Age of Qin Kingdoms. The Underground Holy Spring could be said to have survived up until now. Think about it, our Bo City doesn’t have economics, talents, nor development. So why are we a reputable city in the south? It is only because of the existence of the Underground Holy Spring. It could be said that without the Underground Holy Spring, our Bo City would at most be recognized as a village,” Guard Captain Liang Bin answered from his seat on the floor, his face tranquil.

“Dating from the Qin Kingdoms? Doesn’t that mean it has more than two thousand years of history?” the new guard asked, shocked.

“Exactly. As long as you’re not a naturally endowed, foolish, incurable Magician, then cultivating inside there for one hour would be equivalent to cultivating for three days on a normal day.” Liang Bin’s face couldn’t help but reveal some fascination.

“But Captain Liang, there are only a few people in Bo City who have entered Underground Holy Spring,” a guard to the side pointed out.

Liang Bin nodded. He could never forget about the time he had been in there to enjoy it for seven days. To people who thirsted for a greater power, that place felt even better than having a group of beauties assigned to you to ravage for seven days.

__________________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Furthermore, the Underground Holy Spring that was capable of assisting a breakthrough to Intermediate level also had a more subtle ability. If you were guarding it for the long term, even if it was separated by a restricted door, you were still able to receive some of its nourishment. Why else would a grand Intermediate Magician be willing to stay there?

“Captain Liang, the cavern tunnel that was dug by the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat has been found. This cavern tunnel looks extremely deep. We didn’t dare to go too deep in for now,” said a valiant and formidable-looking woman wearing a guard uniform.

The beautiful eyes of the female guard carried hints of valor. Paired with that tight white uniform, she commanded an unique charm.

“Vice Captain Lin Yuxin, you’re thinking too much. The Colossal-eyed Ape Rat is a commonly seen creature within Bo City, being able to dig all the way here through a complicated underground drain is also an occasional matter,” said the rookie guard Wang Tonglian.

Lin Yuxin creased her brow; it was very clear that she did not like how laid back this Wang Tonglian was.

“The Magic Association has already sent someone to investigate this, there was nothing particularly strange. It’s better if you just stop worrying,” Captain Liang said with a smile.

Lin Yuxin nodded, but it was evident that she didn’t loosen up after those words.

“I’ll take a look on the outside.” After Lin Yuxin finished speaking, she brought four guards along and left.

Everyone stared at Lin Yuxin’s attractive backside before they couldn’t help but shake their heads.

“Ever since Lin Yuxin’s sister went missing, her smile has become a rare occurrence. _Sigh,_ even her sister’s skeleton hasn’t been found at this time. Such a good middle school student, if she’s gone then she’s gone,” Tan exclaimed as he sighed.

“I heard that it was done by a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat?”

“Perhaps, who knows.”

—

After Vice Captain Lin Yuxin had left the underground hall, her heart was still filled with worry.

After her sister had gone missing an year ago, she has been constantly searching for Colossal-eyed Ape Rats. She even entered those caverns left behind by the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats in the underground sewers of Bo City.

Even if the Magic Association had sent people out to investigate, Lin Yuxin was still unresigned.

She was unwilling to believe that her dearest little sister would disappear from this world without seeing her corpse.

Just yesterday, Lin Yuxin found something that was unusual within the caverns of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat.

It was water.

Having water in the sewers was very normal. If someone else were to see this, they definitely wouldn’t think this was strange at all. However, in the eyes of a Water Magician, that wasn’t just your normal water. Accurately speaking, the water was very similar to the waters of the Underground Holy Spring!

Why was the water of the Underground Holy Spring in the sewer tunnels?

This was something incredibly inconceivable. The Underground Holy Spring was being protected, even a drop was precious. However, when she investigated the sewer tunnels, the water was like a sewage flow as it was spread all over the quagmire, even as it was being drunk by the nasty rats and cockroaches.

Suspicious, Lin Yuxin specifically brought this water over to a specialist who researched substances. The researchers from the Magic Association had told her that the results would come today.

Lin Yuxin walked to an empty place and saw it was nearly time to call the number of the researchers at the Magic Association.

“How is it, what did the results say?” Lin Yuxin asked after making her call.

“It is not the Underground Holy Spring,” the researcher calmly replied to her.

“I thought so,” Lin Yuxin nodded. It seemed like she was thinking too much.

“However, other than it not having the same special effects, its other qualities are very similar to the Underground Holy Spring,” the researcher continued.

“What does that mean? It’s possible to find a second Underground Holy Spring in this world?” Lin Yuxin was puzzled.

“The Underground Holy Spring is a Spirit Pond from Heaven and Earth. Other than it being clean, it is able to bring a great nourishment to cultivators and Magical Beasts. This water that is similar to the Underground Holy Spring was also birthed from a special environment; however, it should have been affected by the darkness in its surroundings. The waters that you found are actually also capable of boosting the strength of cultivators and Magical Beasts for a short period of time. The only difference is that this water seemed more like a stimulant; frantically absorbing the energy in the organism’s body. The creatures would turn crazy and irrational at the cost of their energy,” the researcher said sincerely.

Lin Yuxin was startled, as she had never heard of this kind of water existing in this world.

Could it be that this water was the cause of the originally vulgar and cowardly Colossal-eyed Ape Rats jumping out and harming people?

“There’s one more thing… but I hope I’m just thinking too much.” The researcher’s voice suddenly turned exceedingly solemn.

“What is it?”

“If you don’t drink this sewage water, then it could actually be passed off as Underground Holy Spring, as it has similar effects. At the very least, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between two of them within a day.”

Lin Yuxin felt a chill over her body.

Fake imitations as real?

This kind of water had inexplicably emerged within the tunnels dug by Colossal-eyed Ape Rats. A year ago, a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat almost dug through the location of Underground Holy Spring… was this really a coincidence?

“It could be a coincidence.” Lin Yuxin smiled rigidly, as she herself couldn’t believe that.

“I can only hope so… There’s going to be heavy rain, I’ll come to the Silver Commerce Tower to pick you up, you probably don’t have an umbrella,” the researcher said.

“I’m a Water Magician, would I still need an umbrella?” Lin Yuxin said.

“…Alright, let’s have dinner together tonight?”

“I have to guard the Underground Holy Spring.”

“…Alright.”

Lin Yuxin hung up the phone with her forehead creased, there remained many doubts in her heart.

——

A white pickup truck that was turning gray was climbing up the Snowy Peak Mountain station.

Just as it entered the station, torrential rain suddenly began to pour down. In an instant, the entire mountain range was enveloped by the continuous rain. An orange mist emerged on mountain peaks in the distance.

“The goods were almost ruined. Fortunately, I got here just in time.” Mo Jiaxong jumped out from the truck as he looked at rain outside with a lingering fear.

“How can the rain have colors on it? Strange!” a few veterans in the station remarked.

“Yeah, it looks like the color of urine, hahaha!” another Hunter Magician laughed.

Mo Jiaxing passed by them as he greeted some of the familiar faces with a smile. As he heard the people discussing how the rain was weird, he couldn’t help but look at the sky that was covered by a curtain of rain.

Either way, this rain really was strange…

—

The station was normal, the man guarding the northern checkpoint was a direct subordinate of Zhankong, Wan Duanfeng.

Wan Duanfeng was the Army Commander of a regiment with a thousand people, an Intermediate Earth Magician. In terms of guarding Bo City, there was no one who was more remarkable than him.

Wan Duanfeng wore a conjoined leather raincoat, he stood in the middle of the rain with a dignified and solemn bearing.

His gaze was attentively watching the forest that was drenched by the large rain. Suddenly, a light ball flew out from the back of the mountain hill as it broke through the yellow rain. In the dark skies, it let out a weak light.

“Brilliant Light?” Wan Duanfeng widened his eyes, and his expression immediately sank.

Brilliant Light was the Primary spell of Light Magicians. The purpose of Light Magicians within the Army were very important, as they are able to transmit messages and locations.

This Brilliant Light was similar to a primitive signal bullet. Magical Beasts had no perception toward this kind of light, and if they were to watch it, it could easily cause blinding harm to their eyes.

If the soldiers were to use any other technological equipment to transmit messages, it’d be like sending the surrounding Magical Beasts their GPS location. This kind of Brilliant Light had became a strategy to expel Magical Beasts and transmit signals.

“Commander Wan, that… that is a warning signal, why is group three sending a signal to us? Could it be that a Magical Beast is escaping?” a Battlemage to the side asked.

As he finished speaking, yet another Brilliant Light cut through the rain from afar, once again turning increasingly bright.

At this moment, all the Battlemages standing guard at the checkpoint were startled.

Two Brilliant Lights!

A Blue Alert?

____________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

.

.

.

The Alerts were divided into different levels. The first level was Orange.

Two years ago, Bo City had set off an Orange Alert. Back then, there was precisely a Brilliant Light radiating from the back of the mountain. At that time, there were at least three hundred Magical Beast scattered in the vicinity of the safety boundaries!

Today, two staggered Brilliant Lights were seen, this meant a Blue Alert.

Once this Alert went off, it signified there were hidden threats and a crisis in the city.

The Orange Alert was quickly solved by Boss Zhankong back then. However, with the appearance of a Blue Alert today, it meant that there were at least a few thousand Magical Beasts roaming the vicinity of the safety boundaries!

Heavens, Bo City hadn’t sounded off a Blue Alert for the last ten years!

_Ringalingaling!_

A jingling sound arose.

Just when everyone thought this was a joke, the phone in Wan Duanfeng’s pocket began ringing.

The rain poured down onto the faces of the hundreds of Battlemages, revealing stunned expressions. With the exception of the sounds of rain and Commander Wan Duanfeng’s mobile ringtone, the surroundings were very silent.

Wan Duanfeng fished out his mobile beneath the drifting rain and put it to his ear. “Hello.”

“Commander Wan… we were attacked by a group of beasts, our Light Magician…The Light Magician died, we are unable to continue firing off the Brilliant Lights.” The voice of Squad Captain Zhou Jin was coming over the phone.

Wan Duanfeng felt a chill run through his body, the hand that was holding the phone began to tremble.

“If Bo City is able to survive this disaster, please apologize to Boss Zhankong, and apologize to Pan Lijun.” Zhou Jin’s voice was gloomy and hoarse, carrying reluctance.

Wan Duanfeng’s face was fiercely twitching, his eyes carried a deep sorrow and anger.

_Beep Beep Beep_

After saying this, he hung up the phone. In the process of the call, Wan Duanfeng was able to hear clamorous roars. The roars sounded as if they were right next to his ears, his heart was palpitating.

Wan Duanfeng put down the phone in his hand with a despairing soul. He tightly closed his eyes, the pouring rain paining him, and it seemed even more swords were stabbing into his heart.

Even though they had hung up the phone, Wan Duanfeng was still able to imagine the next second when the Squad Captain Zhou Jin let out a grieving shriek.

He was dead, he was definitely dead. There was no one who was more clear about that than Wan Duanfeng; a person who was using a phone in that situation was definitely not capable of surviving!

“Sound off the Blood Alert!” Wan Duanfeng took a deep breath. His eyes no longer had traces of sadness, it was replaced by the resolve of a soldier’s hard work.

“Blood… Blood Alert?? You’re not joking with us are you, Captain Wan?!” The Battlemage at his post had a disbelief on his face.

Beneath the curtain of rains, the Battlemages guarding their posts were all dumbstruck. For them, the second level Blue Alert was already causing turmoil. As for a Blood Alert…

That was a calamity!

The Blood Alert was the most dreadful calamity. Some people could live their entire lives without seeing a Blood Alert, whereas those who had experienced a Blood Alert might not be able to step out of that shadow for the rest of their lives!

“What are you being distracted for, hurry up and do what I told you to do!” Wan Duanfeng practically roared.

These blockheads. Delaying the sounding of Blood Alert by even a second could cause the death of hundreds of people!

_Awuuuuuu!_

_Awuuu! Awuuu!_

_Roar!_

Suddenly, a series of roars that shook people’s hearts came from the back of the mountain. It was as though the back of the mountain had series of lightning bolts hitting it, making the entire mountain tremble.

The aftermath of the trembling reached the station, the giant stone barrier in the station also wavered slightly.

_Awuuuuuuuuu!_

In the vast curtain of rain, a fuzzy figure suddenly jumped out. He emerged on top of an stately pine tree’s utmost summit.

Beneath the rain, the proud and aloof creature that resembled a King clearly had the body of a Wolf, yet it was arching its back as it stood there. The three eyes on his fierce skull let out an incomparably vicious red light.

The Magical Beast was overlooking this checkpoint station of the human city from afar. It was… It was like it was looking at penned-up sheep.

“Three… Three-eyed… Three-eyed Magic Wolf!!” a young Battlemage to the side shouted with a trembling voice.

As he said this, the Three-eyed Magic Wolf that was proudly standing on top of the pine tree suddenly had shadows scuttling forth behind it. Those shadows occupied the tall trees as they gathered around the Three-eyed Magic Wolf like it was a military officer.

More and more of the shadows appeared. Their red and savage eyes were like stars decorating the dim rain. One glance caused the men’s entire bodies to feel a chill, and their scalps went numb!

“This… this many!”

Multiple packs of One-eyed Magic Wolves began to appear on the hill. They simultaneously raised their heads as they howled toward the sky that was raining down. The entire mountain was covered by their voices.

“They’re calling, they’re continuously calling for their comrades!” A Summoner who had done research into the Beast Language stated, his face completely stunned.

Heavens, that place already had over three hundred One-eyed Magic Wolves. With that many One-eyed Magic Wolves calling out at same time, just how many more Magical Beasts were they calling for?!

At this moment, the Battlemages who guarded the station finally understood why they sounded off the Blood Alert!

The Magical Beasts were attacking!

Multiple groups of Magical Beasts were attacking!

This was a calamity, an unforeseen calamity!

A heavy rain, followed by hundreds and thousands of Magical Beasts who were frantically rushing in!

Bo City had been fighting with the Magic Wolves for many years. It was like the Magic Wolves were no longer able to suppress the thirst in their hearts! They were gathering beneath the commands of higher level Magic Wolves before they frantically attacked the defense line of Bo City!

A dark green tide covered the mountain, formed by numerous One-eyed Magic Wolves.

They were frantically running and howling. The small Snowy Peak Mountain station trembled fiercely.

The eyes of the numerous Magic Wolves were filled with hatred and cruelty toward the humans waiting beneath the heavy rain. They planned on eating all the living people!

Beneath this kind of frightening sound, even the Magicians seemed incredibly small. At this moment, they were coming to fight off the Magical Beasts!

For many of the Battlemages, they would never forget the scene of groups of One-eyed Magic Wolves racing over… ah, it was unlikely that they would forget it, because there wouldn’t be many who would necessarily survive the day!

___________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

Within the Underground Holy Spring, a youth wearing a street-bought shirt was earnestly sitting there with his face occasionally looking excited, and sometimes his brow was furrowed.

Whether it was studying or cultivating, they were both slow and dry. Mo Fan had already deeply experienced this point. However, for his incredible life as a Magician, he was willing to endure this life../style.

“I don’t know how many days it has been, but I can feel myself touching the doors of an even higher realm!” Mo Fan stopped meditating and began to ponder.

The biggest difference between Primary and Intermediate level was the Stardust within a Mage’s Spiritual World turning into a Nebula.

During the time his N experience card was activated, Mo Fan cultivated frenziedly.

His cultivation time had always been more than twice as long as others, and additionally, he had the nourishment from the Underground Holy Spring. With this, he was able to achieve nearly 24 hours of continuous meditation.

After all, Meditation gave Stardust a large boost. Mo Fan was already able to clearly feel the transformation of his Magic Stardust during the past few days.

Originally, the higher level Magic Nebula was a strange and odd thing to him. However, after his Stardust had burst out with a weak, pulse-like radiance, Mo Fan vaguely felt that this could be the sign of a breakthrough.

Normally, Stardust was very stable. His current Stardust was covered in a mist of a bizarre light shell that looked like an aurora. After going through Meditation in this short period of time, there was a clear thirst and agitation coming from the Stardust. It seemed like a little life within an egg, urgently trying to break open the mist light shell on the outside.

With every intense radiance coming from the Stardust, it was an attempt to break through the binding of the shell. Every time the radiance turned dark, it probably meant the Stardust was charging its power.

His Lightning element was the first element he had awakened. During this period of time, Mo Fan felt like the Lightning Stardust was going to break through the shells and evolve, even the stars seemed to have some clear changes…

“Still not enough, let’s continue meditating so I can get the Stardust to increasingly expand. Only then will they have a hope of breaking through and becoming a Nebula!” After Mo Fan let himself rest for a while, he already began to have the ideas of attacking the next realm.

_Bzzzzzz!_

Suddenly, a fierce trembling came from his surroundings.

Mo Fan who had been about to break through in a spurt of energy, immediately opened his eyes as he surveyed the shaking walls of his surroundings.

_What kind of circumstance is this, an earthquake?_

Mo Fan stood up and walked toward the location of the large gate as he put his ears to it. He wanted to hear whether something had happened on the outside.

Just as he was going to listen, the restricted gate slowly began to open up.

“A week has already gone by? That was fast!” Mo Fan was stunned.

The sealed door opened up, a woman wearing a milky white uniform entered Mo Fan’s eyesight as she darted in. At same time, Mo Fan saw the entire underground hall was covered in scarlet red marks of blood.

The guards were laying everywhere, their bodies all ripped into several pieces. The blood clots and organs were all mixed in the pools of blood. Seeing this stunned Mo Fan’s entire being.

_Corpses, there are so many corpses!_

_What happened to these guards of Underground Holy Spring, what happened to make them so miserable?_

“Captain Liang!” the uniformed young woman yelled out.

As she finished yelling, Mo Fan saw movement on the other side. The Intermediate Magician, Liang Weichan, were fiercely thrown toward a pillar of the underground hall like a sandbag. The pillar was directly broken into two.

Fortunately, Liang Weichan’s body had a layer of Water Barrier protecting him, or else that kind of collision would definitely have injured him badly.

_Just what is happening here?_

Seeing that made Mo Fan tremble in fear. There was actually something that was capable of throwing a grand Intermediate Magician around like a sandbag!

Mo Fan moved to the side so that he could see see the other half of the underground hall obstructed by the stone door. What numbed Mo Fan’s entire body was that there was actually a creature standing there with a body that was bigger than a small truck!

This creatures neck and head were indistinguishable, but the big rat’s body was extremely distinct. It was different from a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat, this creature’s body was covered in incomparably sinister, twisted, and numerous blood marks!. It made this pickup-sized Big Rat appear even more dreadful!

Mo Fan had been in the Hunter Squad for a year, yet, he had never seen this kind of body. He had never seen a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat with a body full of blood marks, the aura it emitted from its body made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cavern as he trembled in fear.

“This… This is a Blood Mark Colossal Rat!” Mo Fan plundered the knowledge he had learned from his Magical Beast classes. At last, he finally remembered the name of this creature.

Heavens, the Blood Mark Colossal Rat on the textbooks looked somewhat comical, but the genuine Blood Mark Colossal Rat’s fierce appearance felt like an attack in itself!

_Why did this thing appear inside the underground hall, were all of the guards get killed by this Blood Mark Colossal Rat?_

“Guguguggu!”

The Blood Mark Colossal Rat seemed to have smelled the odor emitted from the Underground Holy Spring, its massive lantern eye immediately locked onto the location of Mo Fan and the guardswoman.

Its sharp claws easily dug into the underground hall’s stone bricks. One could feel that this Blood Mark Colossla Rat was currently charging up its power, just like a pickup truck gunning its engine.

“Close the door!” Surrounded by stone fragments, Liang Weichan shouted toward the guardswoman.

Lin Yuxin bit her lips, but she had no choice but to fiercely slap the gate.

The two restriction gates closed. Just when the opening was reduced to a small crack, Mo Fan was terrified to see the Blood Mark Colossal Rat’s claw coming in. It caused Mo Fan to reflexively stumble back.

_Too fast!_

The closing speed of the gates was extremely quick. The Blood Mark Colossal Rat was clearly over thirty meters away, yet, it charged over in a wink.

_Booom!_

The stone gates trembled, the Blood Mark Colossal Rat had clearly slammed into them.

Lin Yuxin’s complexion turned pale as she glanced at the student who was still cultivating here.

“What happened?” Mo Fan asked, a lingering fear in his heart.

The scene from before was too scary. If they were one step later closing the door, then they would’ve instantly lost their lives. The Blood Mark Colossal Rat was several times scarier than the nearly evolved One-eyed Magic Wolf. It was definitely not something a Primary level Magician was capable of fighting against!

“If you don’t want to die here, then come with me!” Lin Yuxin didn’t have the time or patience to explain to him.

All of Bo City had sunk into a crisis, the sewers were filled with Magical Beasts. They appeared to have been planning for it, they all began to frantically attack the Underground Holy Spring.

On the surface, all of the Magicians were currently fighting off an invasion of Magical Beasts. The Underground Holy Spring had suffered a surprise attack, and so they wouldn’t be receiving any reinforcements. Presently, they could only rely on themselves to protect the Underground Holy Spring!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

“How do we leave, this is basically a cell!” Mo Fan looked at the guardswoman, who was dripping with sweat.

“Just follow me.” Lin Yuxin didn’t want to babble with Mo Fan, and quickly walked to the altar.

Following her instructions, she ran her finger under the edge of the altar, and found a button hidden under the edge. Biting her lip, she pressed it down, and heard a gurgling behind her.

Without knowing what kind of button she had pressed, the originally circulating Underground Holy Spring was now continuously flowing into a small hole.

_Gudu~ Gudu~_

A few seconds later, all of the Underground Holy Spring had disappeared. There was not a single drop left within the small stone ditch.

Lin Yuxin strode to the very top of the altar and tore up the old leather mat, which was still warm from Mo Fan sitting on it.

The board beneath the leather mat could be opened. After Lin Yuxin opened the board, a blue bottle was visible inside. Within the bottle appeared to be the incomparably clear Underground Holy Spring’s waters.

Mo Fan was incredibly curious. How could so much Underground Holy Spring be contained within a soda can-sized bottle?

Lin Yuxin carefully put away the bottle that contained the Underground Holy Spring and turned around to look at the straightforward student who was about to do his Magic High Exams. She said, “This is the emergency protection plan for the Underground Holy Spring. There is another passage in this cell, it should lead to the back mountain of your Tian Lan Magic High.”

“It leads to the back of the school’s mountain? Miss, can’t you tell me just what exactly has happened first?” Mo Fan asked anxiously.

“You’ll know once you’ve exited. Come with me first, their objective is precisely the Underground Holy Spring, we cannot let the Underground Holy Spring land in their hands.” Lin Yuxin didn’t want to say too much.

“Their?” Mo Fan was even more confused, he didn’t know what Lin Yuxin was saying.

Lin Yuxin walked along the wall. Her fingers actually inserted what seemed to be some kind of password into a section of the stone wall that was indistinguishable from the rest.

Mo Fan was stunned as he saw this. He had concentrated hard to cultivate in this cell, so much that he didn’t realize there were so many mechanisms in the Underground Holy Spring’s chamber.

_Krrrrr~_

With a grinding noise, the stone wall to the side suddenly opened up, revealing a pitch black tunnel. He really wondered where the tunnel led to.

_(Ed. Note: Yes, he’s quite dense at times. It’s all about him!)_

“Leaving this place is our priority.” Lin Yuxin said no more as she grabbed Mo Fan and they walked into that dark tunnel.

Mo Fan had also realized that there were major things happening on the outside, so, he didn’t dare to hesitate.

As they took a few steps inside, Lin Yuxin suddenly thought of something. Her pair of somewhat sharp eyes looked over at Mo Fan.

“This secret tunnel isn’t necessarily safe. The people from the Black Vatican should have me as their objective. I’ll let you carry the Underground Holy Spring, you must protect it.” Lin Yuxin made a decision that she herself thought was rude and impetuous.

However, Lin Yuxin had no other choices.

The Black Vatican came here prepared, it seemed like they knew the Underground Holy Spring like the back of their hand. If they were to meet people from the Black Vatican during the process of escaping, then their main objective would definitely be her, the Vice Captain, while Mo Fan, a student, would definitely be neglected by the people from Black Vatican.

As long as they were able to protect Underground Holy Spring, then there was still hope!

“Can I trouble you to just tell me what is going on?!” Mo Fan was a bit impatient.

Judging by how Lin Yuxin appeared to have lost her spirit, it meant that a big commotion was happening in Bo City.

“Blood Alert One.” Lin Yuxin was unable to clearly explain to this student in a short amount of time. After all, the student was secluded in the room, and completely ignorant of what had happened in the outside world.

Blood Alert?

A colossal rock hit Mo Fan’s heart ferociously, causing a huge wave of emotion!

After coming to this world, Mo Fan had learned some very important pieces of information. It was a fact that humans were not the dominant race in this Magical world. Outside of the city dwelled Magical Beasts hundreds and thousands of times more numerous than humans!

The Magical Beasts were also spying on the resources that were occupied by humans. Beneath the command of some Magical Beasts that acted like monarchs, the Magical Beasts would be like a legion as they attacked human cities in a large scale assault. There had been cases where some weak cities disappeared overnight!

Thus, the five continents of the world with the strongest Magic Associations called these kinds of attacks against cities Alerts. Furthermore, they would be divided into different levels based on the number of Magical Beasts and their powers.

Just like natural disaster warnings from the technological world had different levels, so too the kind of crises where Magical Beasts would invade the humans also had different levels!

Orange Alert! That was the first level of Alerts, this meant there were sightings of Magical Beasts within the vicinity of the safety boundaries. Their numbers were above three hundred!

An Orange Alert happened two years ago, that event had already alarmed people.

A Blue Alert was even more dreadful. For Bo City, this would be a foul wind of blood rain. Who knew how many Magicians and Civilians would lose their lives when the Magical Beasts wantonly invaded.

But the higher level, Blood Alert…

That was destruction, massacre, a catastrophe for the city. The limited amount of Battlemages would be unable to fend off the invasion of the Magical Beasts. The Magical Beasts would invade the city and start wildly massacring the people. It was not just a few Magical Beasts running around, there would be hundreds or thousands of them!

There were many Magicians who would get slaughtered like chickens, let alone the civilians who were completely unable to do anything.

Blood Alert, the City would turn into a river of blood, the corpses would be everywhere!

Just the descriptions and records from books caused people to tremble in fear. Now that everything was happening in front of everyone’s eyes, just what kind of Hell on Earth would it be?

——

After passing through the secret tunnel, Mo Fan, who was still dazed with disbelief, and Lin Yuxin emerged on the north side of the mountain in the city.

The heavy rain was still pouring down, the dark and gloomy weather enveloping all of Bo City in a depressing atmosphere. From afar came a roar that shook people as it echoed in their ears. In an instant, their bodies began to tremble in fear.

Mo Fan turned his gaze in the direction the roar of the Magical Beast had come from.

Heavens, that was a residential area!

The ground level houses, and the streets constructed with an outdated cement… it was like a food market that had scarlet red blood flowing out!

All that blood couldn’t be the blood of chickens. That was the blood of once-living people that converged into a stream as it flowed into the sewers from the constant pouring of the heavy rain!

Bloody red, an eye-catching bloody red!

Standing on the back of the mountain in the middle of the city, he could clearly see bloodstains everywhere in the rain-covered, dusky Bo City.

Bo City was an ink-like city with the characteristics of the south. Under the rain, it would normally look even more like a beautiful painting. However, today, Mo Fan saw a painting that was filled with blood stains, like the arrival of a nightmare!

_Awuuuuuuuuuuu!~~~~~~~~_

A trembling roar suddenly erupted from Bo City, its sound raising goosebumps all over.

Mo Fan turned his head around as he looked in the direction of the sound. However, a mind-blowing and terrifying scene entered his eyes!

A gray sky was shrouding all of Bo City. Bo City’s symbolic building, the Silver Commerce Tower, was like a crane in a flock of chickens. It almost looked as though it was touching the gray heavens. However, lying on the dome of the lofty Silver Commerce Tower was a colossal shadow!

Its tail stretched almost the full length of the dome of the Commerce Tower.

Half of its wings were unfurled. One half looked hazy in the rain, the other half covered several floors of the building!

Its head was raised high. The roar that shook the entirety of Bo City came from a ferocious mouth that was capable of swallowing clouds!

_______________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

The colossal creature was laying on Bo City’s highest point. You could see the dome of Silver Commerce Tower from any location in Bo City, that meant that everyone in Bo City was able to witness this ferocious and colossal dark creature!

This scene caused Mo Fan to take a deep breath, he was unable to regain his senses for a long time!

This was too mind-blowing, this entire thing was too much for Mo Fan.

What Spirit Wolf, what One-eyed Magic Wolf, what Blood Mark Colossal Rat? All of these looked like a joke of an army in front of this creature that was sitting on top of the Silver Commerce Tower. Mo Fan’s definition of a Magical Beast had been fiercely overthrown in this moment!

It was in the territory of the humans, yet it looked like it had entered its own territory. Humans were only food which it had confined and raised in this city!

_Just what exactly happened?_

_Is this still the Bo City I am familiar with?_

_Didn’t the Magical Beasts get banished into the depths of the mountains, or were the textbooks always deceiving others? The ones who ruled over this world had never been humans, they were these Magical Beasts that were massacring Bo City!_

_It’s a nightmare, it’s the underworld!_ He could really feel every inch of his body shivering from fear!

“Just what exactly is that?” Mo Fan regained his senses after a long, long time.

Not too long ago, he was directly beneath this dreadful creature. If he hadn’t used the secret tunnel to escape from the Silver Commerce Tower, then would he have lost his life there?

“Darkwing Wolf, Commander level Magical Beast. Calling hundreds of Magical Beasts with just a howl… The only person in Bo City who can survive its attack is the Chief of the Army, Zhankong.” Lin Yuxin replied in a stiff voice.

“Com… Commander level?” Mo Fan repeated faintly.

In the Hunter Squad, Mo Fan had come to understand a lot of knowledge which was not mentioned in the textbooks provided by school. One such tidbit was that Magcal Beasts were divided into different levels based on the evolved stage.

Spirit Wolf, Colossal-eyed Ape Rat, One-eyed Magic Wolf; all those Magical Beasts which Mo Fan had encountered once before were all the lowest level, Servant class creatures!

These servant class creatures were like butchers in the eyes of the non-Magicians, they were completely unable to fend them off!

“The Blood Mark Colossal Rat that you saw in the Underground Hall is a Soldier class creature. The Darkwing Wolf is an even higher level Magical Beast Commander, and also one of the reasons behind the Blood Alert. Other than the Blood Mark Colossal Rat, there are hundreds of Three-eyed Magic Wolves outside of the safety border who are commanding numbers of One-eyed Magic Wolves as they’re assaulting the Army. The perimeter which the Army can protect is very limited, there’s roughly a thousand or so Magical Beasts who have invaded Bo City. Deng Kai of Hunter’s Union is already commanding all of the Hunter Magicians to block off their route and kill the Magical Beasts in the city.” Lin Yuxin said, trembling.

“Why are there suddenly so many Magical Beasts attacking Bo City?” Mo Fan was still having difficulty accepting this.

“Black Vatican, it’s the handiwork of the people from the Black Vatican,” Lin Yuxin said.

The Black Vatican?

This wasn’t Mo Fan’s first time hearing of this organization!

“They manufactured the Violent Spring, a kind of medicine that could come off as a counterfeit Underground Holy Spring. Its effects are entirely different from the Underground Holy Spring, however. Tthis kind of Violent Spring can arouse a Magical Beast’s wild nature; causing them to basically lose control and go on a rampage. We currently do not know how Black Vatican was able to attract the Magic Wolf race to Bo City. However, they sprinkled the Violent Spring into the clouds and waited for a heavy rain to come so the Violent Spring could act as a dreadful catalyst; causing the entire Magic Wolf race to begin frenziedly assaulting Bo City,” Lin Yuxin told him.

Back when Lin Yuxin had discovered the Violent Spring waters, she had completely overlooked this point. Only when the calamity had descended did she abruptly come to a realization, causing her to break out in cold sweat.

From how Lin Yuxin saw it, this something they had plotted for a long time. There was someone who wanted to use the population of Magical Beasts to thoroughly massacre Bo City!

The only force who would do such a cruel thing was the Black Vatican!

“The… what about now?” Mo Fan asked as calmly as he could.

“The objectives of the Black Vatican is to completely destroy Bo City, and have this place become Hell on Earth… The Darkwing Wolf is admittedly very strong, but it is not enough to turn all of Bo City into a slaughterhouse in just a day or two. However, if more Magical Beasts of the same class as the Darkwing Wolf appear, then even if our Bo City were to wait for reinforcements to arrive, there would practically be nothing left,” Lin Yuxin said with an ice-cold gaze.

Mo Fan turned silent, extremely silent.

Facing this calamity, he himself could only turn into someone who ran from this. There was nothing he could do.

“Mo Fan, you need to do two things now. One, protect the Underground Holy Spring. Do not let it fall into anyone else’s hand in any situation… I have a premonition that the Black Vatican urgently need to obtain the Underground Holy Spring.” Lin Yuxin’s expression was extremely serious as she looked at Mo Fan.

“And the second thing is?” Mo Fan asked.

“Do your best to survive the calamity this time. My identity is relatively sensitive, the people from the Black Vatican won’t necessarily believe I have the Underground Holy Spring on me. Thus, I will now deliberately attract their attention. What you need to do is to hide as long as possible with the Underground Holy Spring, and survive for as long as possible. Don’t let the people from the Black Vatican find it, and definitely do not let it fall into their hands,” Lin Yuxin said.

At this moment, Mo Fan had millions of f**k words firing past in his heart.

_Why are you putting this kind of hot thing into my hands?!?_

Lin Yuxin saw there was some hesitation in Mo Fan, an agonized expression floated onto her face, yet she did not say anything.

Lin Yuxin straightened her bloodstained white uniform, and then relentlessly chopped off her messy hair.

Wearing the hat while possessing an heroic spirit, Lin Yuxin had already began to stride toward the bloodstained city that was being overrun by Magical Beasts. As she was running, she emotionlessly called back to Mo Fan, “I will draw away all the people from the Black Vatican. As long as you are not stupid, do not meet one yourself, and successfully get to the established Safety area, then you will be fine.”

After saying this, Lin Yuxin quickly disappeared into the drifting heavy rain.

In the midst of running, Lin Yuxin didn’t turn her head around to look back at him.

She knew that not everyone had a heart of justice, but she believed that every person had something they would sacrifice their lives to protect. The sister she had depended on had become the first victim of this plot, and thus, the only thing left she could protect was the Underground Holy Spring.

—

Mo Fan stood there in amazement. Watching Lin Yuxin’s figure from afar, he had no idea about what to say.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan wasn’t given any time to think about it. From his location at the very back, he saw a group of something in the middle of running down the back mountain of Tian Lan Magic High.

Their bodies were incredibly robust, they easily knocked down several trees.

They looked like a group of feral wolves that were rushing into a corral of sheep without fences. Their greed could be seen from their impatient speed.

_Shit, the school also has Magical Beasts running around, and there’s quite a few of them, too!_

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

The Safety Area was established by a collaboration of the Magic Association and Hunter’s Union. There were Magicians and shelters for protection in there. It was roughly three kilometers from the mountain where Mo Fan was currently located. However, Mo Fan knew that he couldn’t rely on his own strength to safely go through three kilometers of the city that were already crowded with numerous Magical Beasts.

“Although they don’t have enough experience, they are still Magicians. I have to retreat to the Safety Area with them,” Mo Fan said to himself.

If he was to encounter a Magical Beast, Mo Fan could simultaneously use Lightning and Fire elements. Although he couldn’t completely kill it, it wouldn’t kill him, either. However, from how he saw it from his high location, it was clear that the One-eyed Magic Wolves weren’t fighting by themselves. As long as two One-eyed Magic Wolves appeared, then Mo Fan would be unable to do anything.

_No matter what, let’s first join with the students of the school. The power of a single person is too insignificant in this calamity, unless you are able to reach the same realm of Head Instructor, Zhankong._

Mo Fan quickly hurried toward Tian Lan Magic High. At the bottom of this mountain, passing through a few old valleys, was the backdoor of Tian Lan Magic High.

What he was happy about was the fact that this part of the city hadn’t been overrun by a large amount of Magical Beasts. The civilians nearby were all either hiding in their basements, or escaping towards the Safety Shelters. The descent of calamity was too sudden, there was too many people who had been woken up from their beautiful dreams. As these people opened their eyes, they sank into the incomparably dreadful reality.

The students were all in school today, putting in efforts for their once in a lifetime Magic High Exams. But they weren’t prepared to face blood spilling battles, yet they had to welcome an unexpected Blood Calamity. The students who pissed their pants seeing Magical Beasts for the first time, just how would they react to a city overrun by Magical Beasts? It was truly difficult to imagine…

——

“Retreat, you must hurry and retreat. This place is extremely unsafe!” In the office, Xue Musheng slapped the table with a righteous indignation.

Principal Zhu and the other School Directors were not present. The decision-making of the school was in the hands of the Head Disciplinary teacher, Chen Weiliang. However, Chen Weiliang persisted on having the students remain in school and form a defensive safety line with the teachers to resist the invasion of the Magical Beasts.

Xue Musheng didn’t think this was right. Although the numbers of students and teachers were enough, once more Magical Beasts appeared, the school would be unable to protect itself. The truly strong Magicians in Tian Lan Magic High were currently running around in Bo City. The current students and teachers could only rely on themselves.

“Director, director, there are a large number of One-eyed Magic Wolves coming from the back of the mountain. Mr. Lan… was torn into a corpse.” Mr. Zhou’s complexion was deathly white.

The faces of the teachers in the office completely changed.

The truth is, even if they were a mature Magician, they had never encountered a calamity like this. Currently, the Magical Beasts were running amok in the city, they ate and shred anyone they saw. The teachers who didn’t possess the ability to stand off against Magical Beasts were also so scared that their legs began to tremble.

“The school has no shelter. If dozens of Magical Beasts simultaneously appeared, we will definitely suffer a disaster. This is Blood Alert! During Blood Alert, only those who reach a Safety Shelter will have a hope to survive!” Xue Musheng roared hysterically.

Did these teachers turn stupid from teaching Magic? There were records on the Blood Alerts. These records told the later generations that they shouldn’t be relying on their own strength to stand off against the Magical Beasts outside of the Safety Shelters, the survival rate didn’t even reach 30%!

The first and second years students were all on holidays, so they were home. The third-year students were all called to the school for preparation of exams.

Fortunately, the people at school this time were only third-year students. All of these students have gone through the Practicals, and encountered a Magical Beast. Their Magic foundations were very firm; if all of the fifteen hundred students and a hundred or so teachers were to work together, then there was no way they couldn’t reach the Safety Shelters. The Safety Shelters were only three kilometers away from the school!

“Retreat, retreat. All homeroom teachers will lead their own class. All of the teaching teachers are to be divided into their corresponding class based on their average. We must reach the Safety Shelter zone as a team.” Chen Weiliang finally made his decision.

The school had in total seventeen hundred people. If being outside of the Safety Shelter zone during a Blood Alert only gave a 30% survival rate, then that would mean continuing to stay within the school would cost a thousand or more people their lives. How dreadful would that be?

The teacher’s execution during this time could be considered very fast. They quickly walked toward their own classrooms and had all of their students gather on campus grounds, preparing to leave.

Not even five minutes after the decision was made, a Wind Teacher ran back to them while looking dejected and depressed as he told Chen Weiliang, “There’s another forty One-eyed Magic Wolves appearing in the back of the mountain!”

“Retreat, hurry up and retreat. Have the Practical Teachers withstand them no matter what, do not let any of these Magical Beast enter the school!” Chen Weiliang turned pale with fright.

The Wind Teacher’s face was filled with pain.

Fifty or so One-eyed Magic Wolves, and you’re relying on just a few Practical Teachers to delay… How was that even possible?

—

Xue Musheng hurriedly ran toward his Elite class.

The strength of Elite class was high, the other classes had plenty of students who were still unable to completely cast their magic spells. They said that they have the combat prowess of fifteen hundred Magicians, but the truth was that there were only a few hundred people who were capable of facing Magical Beasts, and that was including those who were unable to cast Magic when faced against Magical Beasts.

_(Ed. Note: In other words, they’re padding their own numbers and lying to themselves about how much they can fight.)_

Just when he was about to enter the class, Xue Musheng crashed into a very familiar student, and was overjoyed over the unexpected good fortune. “Mo Fan, how come it’s you?!”

“I escaped here from the Underground Holy Spring’s cell, and the school just happens to be close. Let’s hurry and evacuate to the Safety Shelters, or else there will be more people dying. From the tone of the Vice Guard Captain of the Underground Holy Spring, the scariest part isn’t the invasion of Magical Beasts.” Mo Fan gasped for breath as he answered Xue Musheng.

“I also think that way, we are currently preparing to leave,” Xue Musheng solemnly nodded.

“That’s good, this matter shouldn’t be delayed, let’s quickly leave this place… I just came from Qishan Park, I saw there were numerous of One-eyed Magic Wolves in the back of our mountain. I don’t know where they popped up from.” Mo Fan said.

“Really, in that case we must evacuate even faster!” Xue Musheng was stunned.

From how Mo Fan saw it, the scariest part of the current situation wasn’t as simple as just a thousand Magical Beasts invading Bo City. From Mo Fan’s previous location, he was able to see there were many Magical Beasts who had mysteriously appeared on the grounds. Other than One-eyed Magic Wolves, there were also Colossal-eyed Ape Rats.

This meant that hiding in the underground basements was also not safe. The underground is basically the home of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats, they would all be dug up and eaten!

“Brother Fan, it turns out to be you! Seeing you here is good,” Zhang Xiaohou looked at Mo Fan as though he was looking at his own relatives, he was so emotional that his eyes nearly turned red.

Recalling when they had encountered a Magical Beast for the first time, many people had lost consciousness from fear.

Today, a large number of Magical Beast were leaving behind corpses and bloodstains in the city which they lived in. There were not many who was able to stay calm, there was already many girls who were crying.

For the students, all of this came too suddenly. It was too scary, and they had no idea on the circumstances regarding their own families.

Seeing the entire class sunken into fear and despair, it made Mo Fan recall the earthquake, tsunami, and storm-like calamities from his former world. In front of natural disaster, humans really were tiny. Even forming a group to fend off Magical Beasts, these people were still helpless.

“Awuuuuuuuu~~~!”

A howl suddenly came from the basketball court in the back of the mountain. The student who was sitting closest to the window gazed down, feeling an absolute terror as he discovered an One-eyed Magic Wolf had jumped down from the hill. Its vigorous body ferociously stomped on the basketball court.

The entire cement court was deeply crushed, immediately broken to bits. That One-eyed Magic Wolf’s scarlet red eye slowly looked up as it gazed at the delicious students inside the classroom with an incomparable greed.

With their own two eyes, they saw this hungry and greedy wolf, and simultaneous shrieks from girls came from the school building.

“Ma… Ma… Magical Beast!!!” The male student sitting next to the window who was usually diligently studying went completely pale.

Compared to the Spirit Wolf from before, this One-eyed Magic Wolf’s evil tendencies seemed even worse. Looking at it face-to-face caused their entire bodies to go numb.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Students, come with me. Wind Magicians, go to the front and find us a path!” Xue Musheng hastily yelled out.

The students closest to the window began to frantically escape to the corridor. However, there were a large number of students from other classes in the corridor, they crowded around the place as they all lost their rationality while shrieking.

Shrieking, cries, and the yells of the teachers had resounded throughout the entire corridor. It was a situation where it was difficult for even teachers to control.1

Mo Fan was still standing in the corridor, cautiously watching those students who were frightened to death. His eyes displayed a bit of grief.

They were just like a group of wild deer. As soon as a deer was frightened by a wolf, it would begin run away. Once all of the other deer saw this, they would also frantically try to escape. In reality, there was only one wolf, and as long as the deer stood united and raised their horns, a few more wild wolves would not necessarily be their match.

This fear was contagious, even Mo Fan’s former world was similar in this sense. Otherwise, how could so many shocking stampedes happen?

The people in the classroom were all so scared that most of them took a step back, the skills they were taught on daily basis had all disappeared in this moment.

“Lightning Strike, Mad Whip!”

A chant was resounded from the classroom. Mo Fan turned his head around and saw Xu Zhaoting had made his move in anger. Traces of ferocious Lightning emerged from the air.

The traces of Lightning frantically whipped toward the One-eyed Magic Wolf under the control of Xu Zhaoting. Although the accuracy was somewhat lacking, there was still some lightning traces that hit the One-eyed Magic Wolf.

The Lightning Arc pierced through and surged in turns. Every time it swept past the One-eyed Magic Wolf, it caused it to let out low howls of pain. The flesh of its body began to twitch beneath the might of the Mad Whip.

“Hmph, just an One-eyed Magic Wolf scared them all into dogs, a group of cowards!” Xu Zhaoting swept his gaze past the people who were lagging behind those who ran away, his gaze full of disdain.

“That’s right, we have so many people, why are we still scared of just a few One-eyed Magic Wolves?” Wang Sanpang also stood up.

Just as he finished speaking, Wang Sanpang used a short period of three seconds to finish his Earth Ripple spell.

His pair of fat hands smacked onto the floor of the classroom, in an instant, a ripple circulated from the classroom all the way down to the cement campus grounds. The paralyzed One-eyed Magic Wolf was ferociously bumped into the other basketball hoop under the quick movements of Earth Ripple.

Zhoumin could be considered to have some courage, she quickly finished her Fire Star Path and a ball of Fire Burst emerged in her grasp.

Taking advantage of the One-eyed Magic Wolf having fallen down, Zhoumin’s Fire Burst quickly streaked across the flagpole of the school as it accurately hit the One-eyed Magic Wolf that was being pressed beneath the basketball pole.

Fire Burst: Burning Bone’s might was naturally powerful. In an instant, it burned the backboard into ashes. The One-eyed Magic Wolf began to constantly howl under the fire as it rolled around the campus grounds.

Soon enough, another few Magicians with different elements began to cast their spells from different locations. Judging by the level of their spells, it was clear that it was some Practical Teachers who cast them. Under their cooperation, they quickly turned the rash One-eyed Magic Wolf into a scorched carcass!

Seeing the One-eyed Magic Wolf being quickly disposed of, Mo Fan slightly let out a sigh of relief. It seems like not all of the people in school were a group of losers.

“Come over here,” Xue Musheng said to the seemingly calm students who remained in the classroom.

Xu Zhaoting, Zhao Kunsan, Mu Bai, Zhoumin; these were the people who were able to directly face Magical Beasts back in Practicals. It had been a year since then, their fear toward Magical Beasts was no longer as deep as before.

All of them came over. They didn’t know why Xue Musheng had suddenly made them stay behind.

“Originally, this kind of responsibility should be carried by the teachers. However, there are sightings of large numbers of One-eyed Magic Wolves in the back mountains, and the strength of our teachers is limited. Now, we have no choice but to draw support from the strengths of you students,” Xue Musheng said with a seriousness that no one had seen before.

“Teacher, let’s not waste too much time in this kind of time. If you have something to say, hurry up and spill it.” Wang Sanpang couldn’t help but speak up.

“We need a Vanguard Squad. I’m afraid the Vanguard Squad will mainly be comprised of students.

“The Vanguard Squad will be separated from the Main Group, practically independent. Furthermore, they have to walk ahead of the Main Group.

“The nearly two thousand people from our school will follow the path opened by the Vanguard Squad. Your group has the strongest combat prowess amongst our entire school, you are definitely not inferior to any teacher. Thus, we hope you can form a Vanguard Squad that can show everyone the way to the Safety Shelters,” Xue Musheng said.

As this was said, all of these students turned silent. For a few moments, they were unable to unable to process this plan.

The truth is, they themselves didn’t know if they were able to fight against Magical Beasts after they separated themselves from the main group. Having them become the Vanguard Squad, the risk was indeed quite big.

“This decision is up to yourselves, we won’t force you. If you aren’t willing, then I will go and find other students. We will just be delayed for a bit longer and the danger will be a bit larger… This Vanguard Squad will be led by me, please give me your response as soon as possible, alright?” Xue Musheng said.

“Mrs. Xue, I’ll join.” Zhoumin had no hesitation, she took the initiative and joined the Vanguard Squad first.

“I will also join.” Xu Zhaoting also didn’t ponder over it too much.

Wang Sanpang and Xu Zhaoting were good friends. Since Xu Zhaoting have already joined, he could only join with a bitter face.

Xue Musheng slightly nodded. With a Lightning Magician here, the Squad’s combat prowess would be one level higher. They should be able to successfully arrive at the Safety Shelters.

“I will also join.”

Mu Bai and his henchman Zhao Kunsan glanced at each other, and then finally chose to join.

Following this, an Earth element student with an exceptionally good grade also joined.

Zhang Xiaohou however left his gaze on Mo Fan, it seemed as though he was processing this plan.

“Brother Fan, are we following the main group or are we choosing the Vanguard Squad?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Let’s join the Vanguard,” Mo Fan replied.

“I didn’t know that Brother Fan was also a man with high principles.” Zhang Xiaohou was really able to find joy in sorrows. He was still able to make a joke in this kind of situation.

“Going with the main group is even more dangerous,” Mo Fan said indifferently.

“Why?” Zhang Xiaohou asked, puzzled.

The main group had at least seventeen hundred people. With that kind of colossal number, even if they were to suffer the attacks of a group of Magical Beasts, they still wouldn’t be in much danger. After all, the seventeen hundred people were practically Magicians.

“You saw what just happened. With the appearance of a single One-eyed Magic Wolf, the entire floor panicked. That is the instinct of weaklings; not only are they transmitting fear to each other, they are also able to magnify the fear infinitely. Thus, the Main Group’s battle prowess will be limited. If I’m not wrong, then just a hundred Magical Beasts will completely wipe out the main group. With such a large group of people walking, that is equivalent to easily attracting a group of Magical Beasts, or even higher level Magical Beasts. I don’t want to be associated with a large group of sheep. When their time comes, whether they live or die is not something they are in control of,” Mo Fan whispered to Zhang Xiaohou.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

After Zhang Xiaohou heard this, he looked at Mo Fan in surprise. He had never considered this point.

Zhang Xiaohou himself was unable to distinguish whether what Mo Fan said was right or wrong, he just subconsciously believed in Mo Fan’s choice.

Zhang Xiaohou actually did not know that Mo Fan could be considered a Hunter Magician with experience in hunting Beasts. Being influenced by that kind of environment caused Mo Fan to understand one very important principle, and that was to never think a large number of people would equal being powerful. Why would the Hunter’s Union only form smaller squads to go hunting Beasts in the outside world? Could it be that they didn’t know that the more people there were, the safer it was? The truth was, the more people there were, the easier it was for them to attract the attention of large numbers of Magical Beasts, and easier for them to become livestock for the higher level Magical Beasts.

The amount of people in the Vanguard Squad couldn’t be considered that many. If they were to meet a large number of Magical Beasts, they could most likely evade them. Their movements would be less restricted, and the decision to fight or escape could be made very quickly.

However, if they were in the main group…

If they didn’t meet large numbers of Magical Beasts, then they were safe and sound. However, if they did attract the attention of a Soldier-class creature and its group of Magical Beasts, then the main group would definitely get massacred. In this kind of massacre, your life would no longer be in your own control.

—

The Vanguard Squad had ten people in total, Xue Musheng was in charge of it.

After passing through the gate of the school, they were no longer able to see anyone on the streets.

Trashwas everywhere, with shattered goods from the vendor stalls being flipped over and stores with their doors wide open, yet no one was watching…

When the Blood Alert was sounded, all of the civilians either hid in their houses, or they began to run toward the Safety Shelters with all their might; causing a complete mess. This was also the main reason why the people from the school were not able to retreat in time.

However, there were still a large amount of people who hadn’t retreated to the Safety Shelters. When Tian Lan Magic High began to move toward the Safety Shelters, many of the civilians in the vicinity began to rush over. They wanted to use the strength of the students and teachers of Tian Lan Magic High to safely pass through this three kilometers of dreadful street blocks.

The Vanguard Squad was walking at the very front of the main group. Zhang Xiahou moved to the top of a building and quickly saw this scene of civilians gathering toward the school…

“I’m afraid there’ll be over four thousand people in this move. In this area of the city, there are many people who didn’t reach the Safety Shelters in time. They didn’t dare to move by themselves, so now they’re like iron dust on magnets as they constantly get absorbed into the main group from different locations,” Zhang Xiaohou said to everyone after he jumped down from the old building.

“Mmm, with more people, they should be able to prevent the attack of some smaller groups of Magical Beasts. However, they will also become a burden for the entire main group,” Xue Musheng observed coolly.

Magic High Schools were different from Magic Universities. The students of Magic Universities had more battle prowess than regular army mages, but Magic High Schools nurtured groups of magic student apprentices who weren’t even eighteen. A student able to protect themselves in this Blood Alert could already be considered good, protecting a mass of people was really too far-fetched.

“This is also something we can’t do anything about, it’s not like we can throw them away and ignore them,” Zhoumin said.

“Let’s go, now that the main group has increased to four thousand people, the burden on us has also increased,” Xue Musheng said.

Everyone nodded.

“Zhang Xiaohou, Zhang Yinglu, the two Wind Magicians are responsible for finding us a path. The others will closely follow behind.”

It was clear that Xue Musheng was a teacher who had gone through military training. He had some experience with deploying and troop formation, having some plans on what to do in this kind of situation.

—

The movement of the ten people could be considered rather quick. Passing through the main street after leaving the school gates and along the pedestrian lane, then going through the small area of houses with elevators would allow them to see the Safety Shelters.

The main street was around one kilometer long, and was completely blocked by abandoned cars. Let’s not even talk about a school bus being able to pass through, even a bike would have difficulty finding a smooth path.

Vehicle traffic was basically blocked, they could only rely on walking to get there. Three kilometers; it was far, yet not that far. It was short, yet not that short. Whether something would happen was out of their hands.

“There’s a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat in the book kiosk to the front.” Zhang Yinglu’s complexion was white as she ran back with gasping for breath.

“It is chewing on a child,” Zhang Xiaohou added.

By the time the two of them had discovered it, the child was already dead. But this kind of bloody scene had fallen into their eyes, sad and frightening.

After continuing their advance, they moved past a big bus that was diagonally parked and blocking the street. They were able to see the book kiosk dyed by blood, and the ten or so year-old little boy that was laying in the pool of blood.

“Where’s the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat?” Xue Musheng creased his brow. He was looking around, but he couldn’t even find the shadows of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat they were talking about.

“It was just…”

“Gugugugu!!”

Just when Zhang Yinglu was about to say something, a furred creature ferociously jumped out of the rear of a Volkswagen to the side, its two large incisors biting at Zhang Yinglu, who was caught completely unprepared.

_Puuuchi~_

Zhang Yinglu was a very thin and weak girl. Her neck was torn out by the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat in front of the stunned Squad, her life’s-blood began to spurt out all over the advertisements on the side of the bus.

This scene was too sudden!

Even Mr. Xue Musheng did not have any kind of preparation for it. He was standing right next to Zhang Yinglu as the blood from her neck splashed over his face.

“Hide in the bus, hurry!” In the instant the stunning change happened, Mo Fan shouted at everyone.

Everyone woke up from their daydreams as they staggered toward the bus.

Xue Musheng’s reaction could be considered quite fast, he pulled Zhang Yinglu along as he jumped into the bus. The dreadful Colossal-eyed Ape Rat was going to continue its massacre, but had crashed into the doorway of the bus due its body shape.

The other people were also somewhat frantic, they also hid themselves in a bus.

As Xu Zhaoting saw Zhang Yinglu being killed like that, he began to chant the power of Lightning in his rage.

Mo Fan originally wanted to link his Star Path also. However, the Beast-Seeking powder that he sprinkled had actually floated in different directions, causing him to suddenly realize something!

“Everyone, climb onto the bus, there is more than just a single Colossal-eyed Ape Rat here!” Mo Fan shouted. As he said this, Mo Fan interrupted Zhoumin, who was casting magic, dragging her toward the bus.

“Monkey, stop looking after Zhang Yinglu, she is already dead. Hurry up and draw that Colossal-eyed Ape Rat away, or else we will all die here!!” Mo Fan ran as he yelled toward Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou could be considered the calm one, he had already cast his Wind Path during the attack of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat. Zhang Xiaohou wanted to go and save Zhang Yinglu. Unfortunately, what he did not know was that after the attack of a Magical Beast, there were not many Primary Magicians who were able to do much.

Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes began to redden.

He blinked, the girl who had been in the same class as him had died just like that! This godforsaken Magical Beast!!!!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes

*[12.47 to 13.07]: don’t ask me about the tree sap

“Wind Track: Flash Steps!” Zhang Xiaohou quickly attracted the attention of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat whose mouth was covered with blood. Using the second level of Wind Track, Zhang Xiaohou’s figure nimbly passed through the chaotically parked cars. Whenever the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat wanted to slice open Zhang Xiaohou’s chest with his claws, he always ended up hitting the stream of air left behind by Zhang Xiaohou.

“Monkey, be careful, there’s another one!” Mo Fan already climbed on top of the bus. With one glance, he saw the figure with fierce fur arching its body as it hid itself behind the advertisement board by the bus stop.

Zhang Xiaohou was moving in high speed as a large rat with fierce teeth was tenaciously pursuing him, how could he have the time to even consider the position of the other Colossal-eyed Ape Rat?

Mo Fan had used the Beast-seeking powder to find the unexpectedly sly Colossal-eyed Ape Rat.

These Magical Beasts had always lived in an environment where the strong ate the weak. Their methods were much more savage than the humans who had been living safely in the city. Magicians who had not truly gone through hunting beasts would also get killed like Zhang Yinglu. Even being a Wind Magician, she did not know that she needed to have her Wind Track on at all times.

“Look, its neck is stretching.” Zhoumin hastily said to Mo Fan as she saw the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat that was behind the public transportations advertisement board.

As Mo Fan saw this, he began to curse to himself.

Colossal-eyed Ape Rat’s abilities were not just mere biting and scratching, its most dreadful attack was the scarlet red beam that was shot from its eyes. That was a frightening power that was capable of penetrating a person’s body.

At this moment, the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat’s gaze was precisely locked onto Zhang Xiaohou.

“Dazzle, Blind!”Just when Mo Fan was getting extremely anxious, Xue Musheng yelled out as he carried an awe-inspiring power in his voice.

Suddenly, a milky white light ball emerged in front of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat that was stretching its neck, and emitted a bright radiance.

This radiance was extremely fierce, the paint on the advertisement looked as though it was being melted by the heat of the light. The students inside the buses hastily closed their eyes, yet they were still able to feel the burn from the fierce light.

The dazzling light exploded in front of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat, the fierce light was like the edge of swords as it entered the widened eye of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat. You could see the Rat’s cornea began to burn, furthermore, it spread to the entire eyesocket of the rat!

The Colossal-eyed Ape Rat who was ready to use its scarlet red light beam was burned blind by the light. It let out sounds of grief as it crashed into everything in its surroundings.

At this this time, Zhang Xiaohou finally realized there was one more Colossal-eyed Ape Rat located by the bus stop’s advertisement board. He quickly changed his position, and shook off the monster that was chasing him before returning to everyone.

“Mr. Xue, thank you!” Zhang Xiaohou panted.

This dazzling light directly blinded a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat that was a threat to everyone. As for the remaining rat, when they all had time to link their Star Paths, then this animal would no longer be able to hurt them!

The first one to take action was Mo Fan. He was the one who finished his Star Path the fastest amongst them, and his third level Fire Magic could be said as not giving the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat any time to hide. An indignant rupturing flame grandly exploded in front of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat that had killed Zhang Yinglu.

_Beep beep beep beep~_

As it exploded, it instantly triggered the ear-piercing alarms of the cars. Numerous car windows were shattered beneath Mo Fan’s Fire Burst: Rupture.

The Colossal-eyed Ape Rat was sent flying into the iron roll-up door of a milk tea store from the explosion. The fur on its body was burned to crisp, its flesh were split, you could see the shattered pieces of windows were stabbed into its flesh and muscles.

Xue Musheng turned his head around and studied the fire-hurling Mo Fan who had hurt the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat. Pleasant astonishment flashed in his eyes.

It truly deserved to be called the third level of Fire Burst. Its power had actually caused a Magical Beast to have difficulties getting back up. As long as this Vanguard Squad had a powerful student like Mo Fan, then they probably wouldn’t get completely wiped out.

“That freaking animal, I will skin it!” Wang Sanpang and Zhang Xiaohou appeared exceptionally angry.

Just a few minutes before, that animal had bitten their female classmate to death. In just a few more days, she would have entered the beautiful Magic University; however, she ended up being killed by this kind of ugly thing. Just who would be able to suppress the anger from the depths of their heart in this kind of situation?

“Don’t go, it hasn’t died yet!” Mo Fan immediately berated them in a loud voice.

Just as Wang Sanpang was going to take revenge for Zhang Yinglu, the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat who looked as though it was about to die suddenly jumped up, its killing incisors snapping toward Wang Sanpang.

Wang Sanpang’s complexion changed, and he subconsciously rolled to the side.

The sharp incisor bit down, and bit off a bloody chunk from Wang Sanpang’s shoulder. As everyone saw this, they couldn’t help but gasp.

“Animal, go die!” Under the rage of Xu Zhaoting, the Lightning traces swirling around his body were like a lightning whip as they lashed toward the incredibly sly Colossal-eyed Ape Rat.

Lightning Strike: Mad Whip’s might could be considered quite ferocious. It mutilated the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat further, and adding in the repeated electric arcs running through its body caused it to unable to budge, all it could do was lay on the ground and squeal in pain.

Wang Sanpang frantically crawled back to the bus, the blood flowed out from his shoulder. His face was deathly pale and filled with fear.

Xu Zhaoting, Zhoumin, and Zhang Shuhua continued to bombard the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat with magic, smashing it into pieces.

This time, the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat could not be any more dead. However, everyone’s faces didn’t have a single sign of loosening up.

So this was a genuine Magical Beast??

It only took them a second to kill people, even a speck of carelessness would send a Magician’s life to the underworld!

“It’s… It’s good that you reminded us, or else Wang Sanpang would have ended up like Zhang Yinglu,” Xu Zhaoting said to Mo Fan in shock.

Xue Musheng nodded repeatedly. Even he didn’t imagine that the Vanguard Squad he had formed with the strongest students would have someone dying and wounded on their first encounter with a Magical Beast.

“Mo Fan, you seem to have some deep understanding of Magical Beast’s characters. Why don’t you take command of the squad, me and He Yu will be responsible for defense. He Yu… saying these kind of things in this kind of situation is excessive, but you saw with your own eyes how Zhang Yinglu was killed. This is not the time to squat on the floor trembling and crying for the lives of the passed ones. Either way, could you please cast your Water defensive spell when the next Magical Beast attacks any of us, or else the remaining nine of us may not be able to survive until the Safety Shelter… and the four thousand or so people following behind us would also lose their direction from this point on.” Xue Musheng walked over to He Yu, who was so scared that her consciousness was distracted as he spoke quietly and sincerely.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I really am sorry. I...I am unable to finish the Star Path…” He Yu’s face was filled with teardrops. She was really afraid, she was afraid that she would end up like Zhang Yinglu.

“Do your best. As long as you are able to cast a Water Barrier, then that would mean you are able to save our lives. I believe you can do it,” Xue Musheng said.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

Mo Fan glanced at He Yu, who was choking with emotions as she cried, he couldn’t help but sigh.

Xiaoke was also a Water Magician, she had also grasped the second level of Water Barrier. However, when facing a Magical Beast, He Yu was no different from a normal girl, and was unable to cast a spell. If the other people within the squad were like that, then there would be more people dying the next time they met Magical Beasts.

At the moment, Mo Fan didn’t know just how many would lose their lives, he could only force himself to advance along this road.

“Since Mr. Xue wants me to lead this squad, then I hope everyone will keep in mind what I said. We may not smoothly arrive at the Safety Shelters, but at the very least, we will be able to prevent unnecessary deaths.” Mo Fan looked as though he had lost his spirit as he spoke to the Vanguard Squad.

This Vanguard Squad had viewed the Magical Beasts as being too simple, the one in the practicals was just practice. Before the Spirit Wolf had gone berserk, it did not have any intention of killing the students. Genuine Magical Beast were definitely not like this. They would use any and all methods to kill humans, even if they knew that they would die, they would still use their last remaining strength to drag one more down with them. Magical Beast lived in an environment where they killed each other, they understood very well the techniques to kill others.

“The primary Magical Beasts which we will be facing are of two kinds: Colossal-eyed Ape Rats and One-eyed Magic Wolves. Colossal-eyed Ape Rats can be considered easier to deal with, the scary ones are One-eyed Magic Wolves. Their cruelty and slyness is way above that of Colossal-eyed Ape Rats. If we happen to encounter three or more One-eyed Magic Wolves, then don’t hesitate, split up and escape by yourselves. If the luck is on our side, then only three of us will die. If we don’t run, then everyone will die,” Mo Fan said resolutely and decisively.

The truth is, if two One-eyed Magic Wolves appeared at same time, that be enough to bring a life-threatening blow to this Vanguard Squad. Currently, Mo Fan only wished to let his classmates understand that the dread of Magical Beasts was thousands of times scarier than what was described in the classes!

_This is no longer a practice, nor is this an practical, this is battle that involves life and death! If you win, you’ll live. If you lose, you’ll die!_

Xu Zhaoting, Wang Sanpang, Zhoumin, Mu Bai, Zhao Kunsan, Zhang Xiaohou, He Yu, Zhang Shuhua and Xue Musheng were all looking at Mo Fan attentively. The reminder Mo Fan had given them was to allow everyone to avoid casualties their first time. While they were attentively listening to him, they were also thinking to themselves, _Why is Mo Fan, a third-year High School student just like them, so much sharper than everyone else?_

Mo Fan told everyone the easier mistakes that could be made, just like the foolish action by Wang Sanpang. _You should not approach any Magical Beast that looks like it is dead, it will use its last remaining strength to drag you down with it!_

“Monkey, you’re responsible for finding the path. Execute this cautiously,” Mo Fan warned Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded repeatedly, he would listen to everything Mo Fan said!

“Mu Bai, prepare your Ice Spread at all times. Remember that your Ice Spread is currently used to protect everyone, don’t count on freezing the faster Magical Beasts,” Mo Fan said to Mu Bai.

Mu Bai creased his brow, he wanted to say something, but he ended up swallowing those words back down.

He had a huge prejudice against Mo Fan; however, compared to the lives of everyone, including his own, this kind of prejudice was indeed very insignificant. He nodded his head to show he understood how he should be using Ice Spread.

After Mo Fan quickly explained things to everyone, he couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

In fact, he himself did not know whether they would be able to safely pass through this three kilometer-long road of death. He just hoped everyone’s luck would be good and they would not encounter three One-eyed Magic Wolves at the same time.

——

The Squad continued to advance. They encountered no other Magical Beasts along this one kilometer-long main street. However, they did find a few old people who were unable to retreat to the Safety Shelters in time within the residential buildings.

The Vanguard Squad was unable to escort any civilians, Xue Musheng could only tell these old people to follow the main group after they got here, or else they would really be in danger.

Practically every road was blocked. Occasionally, they’d see some people who made a vain attempt to drive their cars to the Safety Shelters. In the end, they had to abandon their car along the blocked roads and switch to walking.

Seeing the people on the road, Xue Musheng and Zhoumin would tell them to first find a place to hide and wait for the main group.

—

After traversing the main street, they quickly arrived at the Mingyuan District.

The Mingyuan District could be considered relatively higher end in Bo City, having buildings with elevators. The entire district was decorated like a small park in the city. The space it occupied was quite large. Passing through all four of the ABCD Districts of Mingyuan District would be nearly a kilometer of distance.

No one knew how many people there were who hadn’t retreated yet in the large number of buildings, they believed being in the these tall buildings would keep them safe.

The fences around the Mingyuan District were useless. Mo Fan could see a few of them broken down already, this meant there were definitely a few Magical Beasts inside this relatively large area.

After passing through the backdoor of this area, a pond entered everyone’s eyes. A security guard’s body was floating there, and the water in the pond had also turned crimson red.

The heavy rain had started to slow, this meant the bloodstains in this city were increasingly harder to clean. Seeing these bloodstains everywhere, the Vanguard Squad all got goosebumps passing through this place.

“Do you hear that? There’s something yelling in this building,” Zhoumin whispered to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan walked toward one of the buildings. Through the glass, he was able to vaguely see a shadow that did not belong to a human pass by the window of the building.

“Let’s hurry up and move forwards.” Mo Fan did not investigate further.

Zhoumin nodded her head, no longer daring to say anything else.

As they walked a few steps forward, their pathfinder, Zhang Xiaohou, who was searching for a way forwards, returned in haste.

“There are more than five Colossal-eyed Ape Rats ahead, we must go around,” Zhang Xiaohou told them.

“Alright, let’s use the other road,” Mo Fan agreed as he patted Zhang Xiaohou’s shoulders to show he did a good job.

Zhang Xiaohou could only force a smile. If he did not force himself to grow in this kind of environment, then he would only become a burden for the squad. Zhang Xiaohou himself was also prone to panic. However, seeing Mo Fan still able to give a cool-headed response, he subconsciously felt a bit more brave.

After going around the five Rats, they had passed through half of the district. The entire process could be considered threatening, but not dangerous.

“There’s a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat drinking by the swimming pool.”

“We’ll go around it.”

“Why, we can clearly kill it and then directly pass by this place.” Zhang Shuhua was puzzled.

“Don’t fight insignificant battles. Currently, our mana is more precious than water in a desert.”

The nine of them safely passed through Mingyuan District. Considering that there was a large group following behind them, Mo Fan also chose a route that was relatively spacious and a more sensible, or they’d be congested and would attract an attack from a group of Magical Beasts, which would be dangerous.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

“Good, one more kilometer and we’ll arrive safely,” Xue Musheng said.

Letting Mo Fan lead the squad was a sensible decision, this guy was even more experienced than the teacher. He used Beast-seeking Dust to predict the whereabouts of the beasts, diversion, and an instant kill with zero casualties to pass through Mingyuan District. The number of Magical Beasts in Mingyuan District was far higher than the ones on the main street. Passing through safe and sound was indeed extremely fortunate.

“The concentration of Magical Beasts outside of the Safety Shelters is even higher. Everyone, make sure to not let down your guard,” Mo Fan reminded everyone.

The last one kilometer was a very normal commercial and public entertainment district. There was no clear main street, the small alleys and roads were quite complex. This kind of place was very suitable for hiding from Magical Beasts. At same time, it was very easy to get ambushed by Magical Beasts.

The movement of the nine people was actually very nimble, unlike the large main group, where even changing directions took large effort.

“It seems like there are other Magicians in the middle of a battle, should we merge with them?” Zhang Xiaohou asked everyone as he stood at a high point.

“They’re too busy to take us into consideration. Let’s continue walking,” Mo Fan answered.

Just when Zhang Xiaohou was about to jump down from the high point, he suddenly saw a big, fierce wolf head slowly stretching out from a bungalow. The barbed, toothlike bones on its head were striking!

Zhang Xiaohou widened his eyes, his breath nearly stopped in that moment.

_Heavens, that is at least a three story tall bungalow, that wolf head is still a bit higher than it… Just how big is the body of that creature, is that still your average Magical Beast?_

“Zhang Xiaohou, what are you doing, hurry up and come down…” Wang Sanpang called up to him.

Zhang Xiaohou’s entire being was completely shaken. He slowly moved his body to the corner before he gave everyone a _Shhhh_ gesture as he looked at them with unconcealable dismay.

Just when Wang Sanpang was about to say something, Mo Fan quickly covered the mouth of this freaking fatty.

Xue Musheng seemed to have realized something as well, he hastily gestured to everyone to find a place to hide.

The eight people quickly hid at the corner of the wall, none of they dared to even breathe. Their expressions were stunned and frightened.

_Hu~~~~~_

A deep breath came out from a place not too far away, and suddenly, a chaotic stream of air began to circulate along the ground.

_Dong!!_

_Dong!!!!!!_

Heavy steps shook the ground. With every step it took forward, they could feel the entire building distinctly trembling.

Zhang Xiaohou, who was hiding in the corner of the hallway, was like a puppet as he kept himself out of sight. He was almost as high as the huge wolf head, he could even feel that monster with three eyes sniffing in his direction!

_Shit, if this thing were to bite down, it could eat up all the people in this small room…_

Fortunately, the smell of garbage had concealed everyone’s scent. Otherwise, with this monster’s size, a claw slamming down would kill instantly.

_Dong!!!_

_Dong!!_

_Dong!_

The trembling sound of footsteps slowly grew more distant. The rigid expressions on the faces of the dumbstruck Vanguard Squad finally loosened up.

Their hearts began to race viciously, beating so hard that they were unable to slow down.

They didn’t know just how far the creature had gone, everyone had some lingering fears in their hearts as they remained still in their places, not daring to walk half a step.

“Who…who the hell can tell me… that… what that was!” Wang Sanpang asked with trembling lips as gazed into the distance after the distant head.

Zhang Xiaohou nearly fell weakly to the floor, his calves couldn’t stop shaking.

Too scary. How could this world have such a scary creature? It was on a completely different level than the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats and One-eyed Magic Wolves they had encountered before. A monster with a body like that, their magic probably would not even be able to wound it!

“It’s… It’s Warrior-class Magical Beast. A Three-eyed Magic Wolf, also known as Bone Thorned Fierce Wolf. Its three eyes give it a 270 degree arc of vision, its body is as sturdy as steel, its bones are sharp and craggy. For us, this iss simply a nightmare-level Magical Beast,” Xue Musheng said with an incredibly gloomy voice.

“This isn’t something we are capable of dealing with.” Xu Zhaoting said, his voice carrying a hint of despair.

“If an Intermediate Magician doesn’t prepare in time, then they would also get killed by a single hit. We must leave behind a message informing the main group that there is a Warrior-class creature here, or else it will cause colossal damage,” Xue Musheng said.

Everyone nodded.

Mo Fan couldn’t help but glance at the Silver Commerce Tower, now covered by the fog from the after rain.

A Warrior-class Bone Thorned Fierce Wolf was already at this level of scary, then what about the Commander-level Darkwing Wolf that was lying on the dome of the tower?

Just how strong did a Magician need to be, to be able to contest against a creature like that?

In front of that kind of Magical Beast, everyone was basically food awaiting slaughter.

——

The heavy rain had stopped a while ago, but the mist had persisted through the City.

A kilometer to the south of the Safety Shelters, a female Magician wearing a bloodstained white uniform and dripping with sweat ran across a road.

Behind her were two monsters that looked like pitch black monkeys with abnormal bodies, in the process of ferociously pursuing her. They looked as though they were going to shred the attractive young woman into pieces.

“Wind Disc: Tornado!”

The atmospheric pressure suddenly declined, the broken debris in the surroundings began to suddenly move and spin!

The rotation became more and more intense, and soon enough, a colossal cyclone was visibly forming into a wind dragon as it charged and began to grow skywards.

The cars that were parked on the sides were slowly leaving the ground, the street lamps were also being pulled out from their stands. The incredibly ugly monkey-faced beasts that were chasing the Magician emitted miserable shrieks before they were mercilessly drawn into the air. The fiercely rotating stream of air made them float like grass.

_Boom~~ Boom~~ Booom~~_

The cars were crashing into each other, metal fragments were everywhere. The two monsters were quickly turned into indistinct flesh fragments in the air, and what sprinkled down was a rain of scarlet red fluids. A miserable death.

After seeing this scene, Lin Yuxin’s face grew a withered smile. Her gaze carried a bit of celebration as she attentively looked at the other Magician who had came just in time.

“Mr. Yang, thank you!” Lin Yuxin said excitedly.

“If I’m not seeing this wrong, then those must be the Dark Beast Monsters which the Black Vatican loves ordering about,” Yang Zuohe said with a solemn expression.

“That is correct, the disaster this time was caused by them,” Lin Yuxin said with certainty.

“I also guessed that. Unfortunately, we don’t have any bit of preventive to let this Bo City… Sigh.” Yang Zuohe’s expression was filled with grief. This Blood Alert was really unforeseen, there was no way of knowing how many people had already died.

“I suffered from an attack when I was protecting the Underground Holy Spring, their objective seems to be the Underground Holy Spring,” Lin Yuxin told him.

“We already know that, they specifically wanted me to find you just so I could ensure the safety of the Underground Holy Spring. As for the Underground Holy Spring, you didn’t give it to them, did you?” Yang Zuohe said.

Lin Yuxin shook her head, “They had me surrounded. However, after they realized the Underground Holy Spring wasn’t on my body, they flew into a rage and wanted to kill me. I used a group of scattered One-eyed Magic Wolves to escape from them.”

“You’re very clever! If that’s case, where is the Underground Holy Spring now?” Yang Zuohe continued asking.

“I gave it to the student who was cultivating inside the Underground Holy Spring. I believe placing it with him was much safer than carrying it myself,” Lin Yuxin explained.

“Are you talking about Mo Fan, the kid with an Innate Dual Element?” Yang Zuohe asked with an astonished look.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

_Chapter 101 – A Chance Encounter with Instructor_

“Mhm.”

“Where is he right now?”

“I don’t know, I had him escape to the Safety Shelters by himself,” Lin Yuxin answered.

When Yang Zuohe had heard that Lin Yuxin had not let the Underground Holy Spring fall into the hands of the Black Vatican, he looked as if he was relieved from a burden. However, after learning the Underground Holy Spring was in the hands of a student whose location was unknown, his entire being felt completely gloomy.

“Mr. Yang, why do the Black Vatican want their hands on the Underground Holy Spring? What is their objective of calling over a group of Magical Beasts to attack Bo City?” Lin Yuxin asked.

“The reason why they have destroyed Bo City is something we don’t know yet. However, them wanting the Underground Holy Spring is to completely eradicate Bo City,” Yang Zuohe said with his voice carrying a hint of anger.

“Why?”

“The Underground Holy Spring is a several thousand year-old heavenly treasure. The Commander level Magical Beasts are immensely attracted to it. Through the abuse of the pups of the Darkwing Wolf and the Violent Rain, they gave rise to this calamity. However, from the start until now, the Darkwing Wolf still hasn’t extinguished Bo City yet. Their plan is to release the Underground Holy Spring’s gigantic pond to entice other Commander level Magical Beasts to attack Bo City. The Magical Beasts have an innate instinctual thirst toward these kind of treasures that could allow them to greatly expand their strength. Once the Underground Holy Spring’s pond is released, the Commander level Magical Beasts within a hundred kilometers will be drawn here by the smell. Bo City’s defense line is already approaching a crisis, and those Commander level Magical Beasts who possess a certain intelligence will definitely profit from our misfortune. When that time comes, Bo City will become Hell on Earth,” Yang Zuohe said.

As Lin Yuxin heard this, she trembled in fear.

The Black Vatican was too cruel!. Not only did they entice the Darkwing Wolf and its clan, but they wanted to attract even more Commander Magical Beasts. This would turn Bo City into a city of corpses!

“We must find that student called Mo Fan before Black Vatican does,” Yang Zuohe said, gravely serious.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that the Underground Holy Spring would influence such a big…”

“You made a sensible choice. The Underground Holy Spring being in the hands of that student would at least indicate that it hasn’t fallen into the hands of the Black Vatican.” Yang Zuohe could only pray quietly in his heart that they didn’t find Mo Fan first.

“Let’s not be too optimistic for now. I’m afraid the people from Black Vatican have guessed that I have given the Underground Holy Spring to Mo Fan, I reckon they have already dispatched people to search for traces of him in the city,” Lin Yuxin said with a calm and steady voice.

“There’s no time to lose, let’s go find Mo Fan.”

“If he was eaten by a Magical Beast, then isn’t it better that a Magical Beast has acquired the Underground Holy Spring, rather than the Black Vatican?” Lin Yuxin suddenly asked.

Yang Zuohe was stunned.

“That would indeed be true…”

——

In Mingyuan District, Mo Fan was walking along and suddenly sneezed, “Achoo!”

He rubbed his nose, wondering where that came from. Perhaps someone was concerned about him.

The appearance of the Warrior class, Bone Thorned Fierce Wolf severely blocked their progress. Everyone waited until the dreadful creature was far away before they picked up the courage to continue their journey.

On their own, they encountered an One-eyed Magic Wolf. Fortunately, the nine people took action and settled the matter before it was able to attract other Beasts.

Xu Zhaoting was a Lightning user. He first used Lightning Strike: Mad Whip to restrict the One-eyed Magic Wolf, followed by other people immediately beginning their bombardment with Magic. When the One-eyed Magic Wolf was about to recover its movement, Mo Fan used a Lightning Strike: Wrath Shock. The One-eyed Magic Wolf did not have an opportunity to take action, he was directly turned into a tender carcass with a crispy crust.

A team in possession of two Lightning Magicians did indeed have a strong and fierce battle prowess. As long as the Magical Beast was not prepared to fight against them, they could basically decrease the danger level considerably.

“We’re almost there, thank the gods! Do you guys see the erected shelter lightscreen that is as tall as the city walls, that’s the one!” Zhang Xiaohou was standing on top of an electric pole as he excitedly told everyone.

This three kilometer death route was indeed not very easy for these Magic Students who had yet to graduate. Now that they were about to arrive at the Safety Shelter, they were naturally wild with joy.

“Don’t lower your guard, there’s still six hundred or so meters,” Mo Fan said calmly.

The nine of them continued advancing. In front of them was a river that was beginning to stink.

The river channel couldn’t be considered as very wide, the two sides had willow trees growing on the banks. The original parasol cafeteria was no longer compact and aesthetic, it had been turned into a completely mess.

The stinking river had two Colossal-eyed Ape Rat in it. Fortunately, they didn’t stay for long, and began to swim further away.

The nine people cautiously crossed the bridge. The bridge had some visible damage, probably the result of a fight between a Magician and a Magical beast. Beneath the bridge was a disposed fire was still burning.

“Mag… Magical Beast!” Just as they made it to the center of the bridge, a deep blue Wolf-shaped creature appeared on the other side.

It was different from the One-eyed Magic Wolf, which stood on its two rear legs. This deep blue creature’s four limbs were on the ground, The hair from the back of its head stretched all the way to its neck and shoulders. It was distinctly different from the savage One-eyed Magic Wolf that everyone had encountered before.

Everyone was stunned at first, but after they realized there was a man sitting on the back of this Spirit Wolf, they all displayed delighted smiles, especially the students.

“Instructor Bai, isn’t this Instructor Bai!?”

“Thank heavens, we unexpectedly found a person from the Army at a place like this.” Xue Musheng seemed as though he was relieved from a great burden.

Mo Fan looked over and discovered the person sitting on the Spirit Wolf was indeed the one of the Practical Instructors, Bai Yang.

It is precisely that unusual Summoner, whose Spirit Wolf that had been used to train everyone was killed by Mo Fan.

Bai Yang didn’t seem like he only had a single Spirit Wolf… It was just unfortunate that this one’s physique and aura was slightly inferior to the one which Mo Fan had slaughtered.

“How come you guys are here, didn’t retreat in time?” Bai Yang said to everyone from atop his Spirit Wolf.

Wang Sanpang, Xu Zhaoting, and He Yu saw the brave appearance of Bai Yang’s domination over the Spirit Wolf, their face displayed adoration.

Summoners were so cool, they could even tame Magical Beasts. In this kind of area where all transportation is completely blocked, a Spirit Wolf that could freely travel back and forth was more important than anything else.

“No one from Tian Lan Magic High was able to retreat in time, the number of people was too excessive. The main group is roughly a kilometer behind us. They are following our Vanguard Squad to evacuate toward the Safety Shelter,” Xue Musheng said.

“Oh, I will contact the Army Chief to dispatch reinforcements to protect them. Your group and I will stay here and wait, there are a few Magical Beast in front of us that are a bit hard to deal with.” Bai Yang took off his army hat and revealed a gentle smile.

“Instructor Bai Yang, do you know how much danger we’ve encountered on the way here? The unfortunate thing is that Zhang Yinglu was killed, but fortunately, Mo Fan had experience in dealing with Magical Beasts, or else we wouldn’t be able to reach here,” Wang Sanpang immediately said to Bai Yang, unable to stop his mouth from running off.

Seeing the Instructor here, everyone was naturally able to heave a sigh of relief. After all, this Summoner Instructor’s battle prowess exceeded that of a Magical Beast. If he had more summoned beasts, then dealing with a few more Magical Beasts wouldn’t be a problem.

“Oh? Mo Fan!?” Bai Yang’s face had a distinct change, his gaze landed on Mo Fan’s body.

Mo Fan was puzzled. Why was this Bai Yang staring at him?

Bai Yang jumped down from the Spirit Wolf’s back as he strode in front of Mo Fan. His eyes were fixated on Mo Fan as he said, “We are all looking for you.”

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

“Looking for me?” Mo Fan said, feeling increasingly puzzled.

“Oh, you don’t know? It’s like this. This calamity was caused by the Black Vatican. Not only did they lure the Darkwing Wolf over, they are planning on luring over even more Commander level Magical Beasts with use of the Underground Holy Spring to completely eradicate Bo City,” Bai Yang said to Mo Fan gravely.

“So it was the Black Vatican, those things that can’t even be called animals!” Xue Musheng said, indignant at the injustice.

“Vice-Captain Lin Yuxin should’ve handed the Underground Holy Spring to you, right?” Bai Yang continued.

Mo Fan didn’t reply, he was just looking at Instructor Bai Yang.

Bai Yang looked at Mo Fan up and down, he was wondering whether this thing had been properly protected before he continued, “Give the Underground Holy Spring to me. I’ll immediately deliver it to Boss Zhankong. This thing is extremely important, if it lands on the hands of the Black Vatican, then our Bo City is finished.”

Everyone’s gaze also landed on Mo Fan. They had never thought that Mo Fan was actually guarding such an important thing.

“Mo Fan, so you were actually secretly protecting the Underground Holy Spring. Fortunately, we have met up with Instructor Bai. Give the Underground Holy Spring to him, and we should also hurry to the Safety Shelters,” Xue Musheng said.

Bai Yang was so excited that he took a few steps forward, he practically wanted to snatch the Underground Holy Spring from Mo Fan’s hands. Unfortunately, he didn’t see where the Underground Holy Spring was .

Mo Fan attentively watched Bai Yang and said, “It is also very safe with me, it’s better if I personally give it to Boss Zhankong, please hurry and guide us on the way, Instructor Bai Yang.”

Bai Yang was clearly stunned, followed by his face filled with a smile, “That makes sense…”

It was clear that Bai Yang hadn’t finished talking, he slightly stopped. The warm smile he had on his face instantly froze, his gaze suddenly displayed an ominous glint. His face actually seemed somewhat twisted.

“Then, you can go and die!” Bai Yang coldly said.

As his voice faded, the incredibly meek Spirit Wolf suddenly took a big stride toward Mo Fan. Its sharp claws were raised, it was actually going to slam right into Mo Fan.

As this unexpected thing happened, everyone was completely dumbstruck.

“Mo Fan!” Zhoumin cried out in alarm, yet she could only helplessly watch as the Spirit Wolf’s heavy claw was about to seize Mo Fan’s life.

“Instructor Bai, what are you doing!?” Xue Musheng shouted loudly.

Bai Yang completely ignored him. His Spirit Wolf didn’t have the slightest intention of being lenient.

Not a single student would be able to survive from an attack from this distance.

_Swooosh!!!_

As the claws slammed down, it seemed to carry the anger of Bai Yang within it. After all, his previous Spirit Wolf was killed by Mo Fan, and now he finally had the opportunity to take revenge for that.

Naturally, taking revenge was just one part of it. The Underground Holy Spring was the more important reason. If he give it to the Red Cloaked Deacons, then this Bo City would also…

_How…How is this possible!?_

Bai Yang was expecting the boy’s blood to dye his entire body. However, a solid Bone Scythe Shield was erected right in front of Mo Fan. The Spirit Wolf’s claws slammed onto the Bone Scythe Shield, causing both Mo Fan and the shield to be struck flying without claiming his life!

Bone Scythe Shield! Bai Yang clearly remembered this was something given to Mo Fan by Zhankong. The question was, how did this kid have the time to prepare? He shouldn’t have had the time to activate his Magic Equipment when suddenly attacked at this distance, unless he was already suspicious about Bai Yang’s identity!

After the Bone Scythe Shield had blocked a heavy claw strike, it turned into numerous bone splinters as it dispersed into nothing. Mo Fan, who was knocked ten or so meters away, also stabilized his body.

Raising his head, Mo Fan’s face was stern. The heaving of his chest displayed his current rage.

As expected, this Instructor Bai Yang did have a problem.

“F***king sh**!” Mo Fan spat as he ruthlessly cursed.

“Hahaha, who would’ve thought? I can’t help but be curious as to why you are suspicious about me. I’m your instructor, after all.” Bai Yang began to madly laugh. The gentle and attractive appearance from before had now turned into a twisted lunatic, no longer having the admirable light which caused infatuated the young women!

At this kind of time, how could Mo Fan be in the mood of explaining to this spy of Black Vatican about this kind of stuff.

His gaze swept past his companions who were standing to the sides as he hastily shouted to them, “Be careful, this guy’s summoned beasts are not alone…”

Instructor Bai Yang’s face immediately sank, an ominous glint in his eyes flashed.

On the other side of the bridge, two slowly wiggling shadows quickly flew out. Their particularly sharp, long, and narrow forelimbs were like two sickles chopping toward Zhang Xiaohou and He Yu that were closest to them!

Bai Yang’s sudden betrayal came too quickly. The others were unable to react, much less to speak of being mindful of the two creatures that had jumped out from the two sides of the bridge.

With a ghastly monkey face and an abnormal human body, its body was completely black. It looked as though it was wearing some kind of tight leather clothing. Extremely ugly, this was precisely the symbol of Black Vatican, a Dark Beast Monster!

Mo Fan saw one of the Dark Beast Monsters was jumping toward Zhang Xiaohou, his heart began to beat fiercely.

Currently, he really wanted to finish his Star Path in less than a second and directly turn that Dark Beast Monster into dregs. However, his magic casting speed was not that fast.

In the end, Zhang Xiaohou was still somewhat pure. He couldn’t be like Mo Fan, who already had a wariness toward Instructor Bai Yang. If it was any other student, then they also wouldn’t have any bit of suspicion toward their own instructor.

He wasn’t able to cast his Wind Track this time, and when he turned around, he had already discovered that the incredibly ugly black creature had already pounced in front of him…

_Am I gonna die like this?_

Zhang Xiaohou was unable to believe this.

He had gone through the dreadful three kilometer route of death with Brother Fan, and was close to arriving after overcoming great difficulties. In the end, he was going to die at the hands of his own instructor.

Zhang Xiaohou closed his eyes.

_Puuuchii~_

The warm blood suddenly sprinkled over his face, Zhang Xiaohou’s heart felt helpless.

_This animal has opened my chest, its speed was so quick that I felt the blood sprinkling on my face before feeling my chest being shredded open._

After one more second, Zhang Xiaohou still didn’t feel any pain. He was puzzled as he opened his eyes.

As he opened his eyes, he had discovered that the ghastly beast that was attacking him had been sent flying away and had slammed heavily into a motorcycle.

_I didn’t die?_

_Then this blood…_

Zhang Xiaohou turned his head around, his entire being stunned.

That was a deathly pale face, it was cold and dismal and it made people want to hold her in their arms.

Blood was spurting from her body, it was warm, it was so warm that it caused Zhang Xaiohou’s entire being to burn.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

“He…He Yu!!”

Zhang Xiaohou wanted to scream out from the depths of his throat, however, his throat was blocked by a fierce pain, unable to make a sound.

Numerous water droplets were sprinkling in front of Zhang Xiaohou, they were like He Yu’s life as they fell onto the ground and quickly dispersed.

“Wind Track! Wind Track! Wind Track!!!”

Zhang Xiahou tried to connect his Star Path while his heart was feeling a fierce pain, and at last, a wind coiled around his body.

Using the Wind Track, Zhang Xiaohou frantically stole the completely bloodstained He Yu from the other Dark Beast Monster’s claws.

Relying on Flash Steps, he carried He Yu as he darted to a location far away. However, the blood was also sprinkling all over the ground…

It was completely unable to stop. A Dark Beast Monster was specialized in slaughtering, capable of accurately finding a creature’s arteries. Once it cut, the blood would certainly flow without stopping.

“Why did you use Water Barrier to protect me, you should’ve protected yourself! You’re not even able to protect yourself, you blockhead!!”

“Mr. Xue, please hurry and save He Yu, I beg you, please save her! There must be a way!”

“Shit, shit, shit, I will slaughter you bastard!”

The sound of the shouts fell into everyone’s ears, just like how everyone never thought that Instructor Bai Yang was someone from the Black Vatican, they never thought that He Yu would protect Zhang Xiaohou like this. Captivating scarlet blood was everywhere. Upon seeing it, everyone’s heart tightened.

Zhang Xiaohou held He Yu, and He Yu looked back at him. Her pale face was turning purple.

Her eyes were wide open, her black pupils contained a mix of feelings in the last moments of her life. Perhaps it was a trace of gratification because she was able to finally cast Water Barrier in a critical situation and protect a person’s life according to what Mr. Xue had said. There was also peace, the skinny boy in front of her risked his own life to save her during Practicals and today, she had also saved him. But most importantly, it was yearning; like other girls, she had far too many wishes which hadn’t been fulfilled yet.

“Hahaha, it seems like you brats have also progressed a bit. I thought that the second Dark Beast Monsters made their move, the two of you would definitely lose your lives, I never thought that one of you would survive. However, your Instructor, I, have taught you one more lesson, and that is to never trust someone that easily. Unfortunately, this could very well be the last class of your life, because none of you will live to cross this bridge!” Bai Yang stood in the center as he shouted, looking quite demented.

As he was talking about surviving, the two Dark Beast Monsters once again pounced toward the other students.

The Dark Beast Monster’s physique was not much different from humans. Their speed was twice as fast as Colossal-eyed Ape Rat, and once they scuttled into a shadowy place, it would be too difficult to see their figure.

This kind of excessively nimble creature could be called the executioner of rookie Magicians. They were capable of killing you with a single attack before you could finish casting your Magic, and they could easily avoid the frantic attack of a Magician!

“Retreat!” Xue Musheng shouted.

Everyone had just experienced how formidable Dark Beast Monsters were. Once they approached any of the students, the next moment, they could become like He Yu; unable to stop bleeding.

On the other side, the robust Spirit Wolf was precisely obstructing Mo Fan by standing in front of him. This savage creature most likely had hurt itself immensely after striking his Shield, and was unable to attack Mo Fan again for a short period of time. Nevertheless, it used its pair of vicious eyes to deathly stare at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was breathing fiercely, his chest heaving. After hearing Zhang Xiaohou’s grieving scream, a raging fire began to fiercely burn within his abdomen.

From He Yu’s perspective, seeing Instructor Bai Yang was equivalent to being safe. However, who would’ve thought that Instructor Bai Yang was actually even more ruthless than a Magical Beast. Seeing his face still ridiculing them, it made him to really want to smash his fist into the man’s face!

“Roaaaar~!”

The Spirit Wolf opened its mouth, and from within the depths of its throat something was surging. Following the roar, a turbid air wave viciously drove toward Mo Fan.

Flying Sand Stones!

This was Spirit Wolf’s special skill. Even if it could not use its claws, it could still attack the enemy from afar.

The scathing yellow Flying Sand Stones were flying over, but Mo Fan was already well prepared. He nimbly rolled to the side and quickly hid himself behind an abandoned van.

The Van’s steel layer began to shriek as the Flying Sand Stones hit its surface, the rocks penetrated through the van and left behind numerous holes. The entire van began to shake repeatedly.

Mo Fan leaned against the van with his back, his eyes was already emitting purple radiance. This radiance turned increasingly stronger, and began to form a beautiful streaking purple Star Path around Mo Fan’s body.

The seven stars were dazzling within the Star Path, they were transmitting Lightning to each other and quickly condensed into a raging and twisting Lightning pattern around Mo Fan’s body.

“Hu!”

Mo Fan let out a long breath, he turned around before the Flying Sand Stones had completely stopped. He directly faced the Spirit Wolf.

“I slaughtered a thing like you an year ago, and today, I will kill you like a dog!” Mo Fan said in rage, and in his eyes was not a single trace of fear.

He raised one of his hands, and suddenly clenched his fist, a command of Lightning was passed. The agitated and unstable Lightning Elements in the air turned into an indignant sharp weapon as they fell on the Spirit Wolf.

The Spirit Wolf attempted to evade, but Mo Fan had already predicted the place it would be when it dodged.

Lightning Strike: Wrath Shock inherited the transitive effects of Lightning Strike: Mad Whip. As long as a single Lightning arc came in contact with the Spirit Wolf, then the rest of the Lightning Strike would be absorbed into the target’s body like a magnet as it was ferociously scourged and the Lightning ruthlessly penetrated into its flesh!

There were many purple Lightning arcs. They covered the entire body of Spirit Wolf, and it incessantly emitted a painful howl.

The Spirit Wolf’s movement capabilities immediately disappeared, it was no longer able to approach Mo Fan with a single step.

Mo Fan coldly smiled. Not seconds after he cast Lightning Strike, a scarlet radiance flashed within his pupils. Not knowing when, his other hand was actually already holding a ball of flames.

First, Lightning!

And then Fire!

The godforsaken Spirit Wolf was about to have a taste of the two Magics that held the strongest power within the realm of Elements.

His anger was like fire and lightning, the ball of flames in his hands was thrown by him in anger. Everyone could see that the ball of Fire Burst was directly thrown toward the mouth of the Spirit Wolf that was howling in pain.

After a great amount of practice and real experience, Mo Fan was able to cast the Fire Burst even more accurately. As expected, the small ball of fire immediately struck the head of the Spirit Wolf that was slightly raising its muzzle, and then floated into its mouth.

“Rupture!” Mo Fan’s gaze was like a torch as he said this, his control of the third level of Fire Burst’s Rupture had achieved a complete synchronization.

The small fireball did not look very strong at all. However, it ignited after Mo Fan’s cry, and exploded mightily within the mouth of the Spirit Wolf

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

The strength of the rupturing wave of flames instantly burned into the Spirit Wolf’s muzzle. You could distinctly see the Spirit Wolf’s mouth bones severely deform, and furthermore, its jaws were quickly swallowed by the fierce flames.

The fire didn’t stop there. It tyrannically expanded down the Spirit Wolf’s throat, and crammed into the Spirit Wolf’s abdomen. This caused its belly to immediately bulge, it looked as though it was going to explode.

_Booooooom!_

A loud sound finally erupted, and the vicious Spirit Wolf was turned into grilled, stinking meat by the Rupture exploding inside it. Its body landed heavily in front of Bai Yang.

Bai Yang’s sardonic smile immediately turned stagnant. His gloominess fell to a terrifying level.

His previous Spirit Wolf’s bloodline was superior to this one, and he’d been able to nurture it into an extremely powerful summoned creature, but it was accidentally killed by a Practical student. The killing that time could be said to have used all kind of tricks. The Spirit Wolf this time was directly bombarded by his opponent’s powerful dual Elements Magic.

“I admit that you are indeed different from the majority of the students whose limbs turn weak when they encounter a Magical Beast. You’re not worse than any other veteran magicians. However, you will still die! I will use your corpse to feed my next summoned beast!” Bai Yang covered his chest with one of his arms, his face ghastly pale as his twitched uncontrollably.

In the end, that Bai Yang underestimated this student. Lightning Strike: Wrath Shock and a Fire Burst: Rupture might be able to heavily wound a Spirit Wolf in normal circumstances, but would not be able to directly kill it. This student had his Fire Burst enter the mouth of the Spirit Wolf and instantly slaughtered the Spirit Wolf. This kind of handiwork was not something a normal student would think of, or was capable of doing!

However, so what if the Spirit Wolf died? As long as he got his hands on the Underground Holy Spring, he, Bai Yang’s, status would be completely different. For a great Summoner like him, by then, a tiny Spirit Wolf would no longer be good enough for his standards.

“You two, kill him!” Bai Yang’s gaze turned cold as he viciously ordered the two Dark Beast Monsters.

The Dark Beast Monsters were chasing other people when they heard their master’s command, and immediately turned toward Mo Fan.

The Dark Beast Monsters are much more nimble than Spirit Wolf. They are able to directly jump from the roof of vehicles, and they could use the cars to continuously change their locations.

The two Dark Beast Monsters clearly knew how to cooperate to hunt for their prey. They divided to the two sides of Mo Fan. Even if Mo Fan used Lightning Strike to suppress one of them, the other Dark Beast Monster would certainly pounce on Mo Fan and cut his throat!

The two Dark Beast Monsters was getting closer and closer. Mo Fan, who didn’t have the Bone Scythe Shield anymore, only had the time to complete a single Magic Star Path.

Mo Fan didn’t have the time to think too much as he didn’t have enough time, Mo Fan subconsciously condensed one more ball of Fire.

The rupturing effect of Fire Burst could maybe allow him to slightly dodge this. It was just that dealing with these two extremely fast Dark Beast Monsters after that would be very hard to do.

“Mr. Xue, cast Brilliant Light!” Mu Bai shouted toward Xue Musheng from not too far away.

Xue Musheng glanced at Mu Bai, and realized his hands had a quickly condensing blue star radiance. The experienced and knowledgeable Xue Musheng immediately understood, and began to cast his own Light Magic without hesitation.

Brilliant Light: Blind!

If he properly cast this immensely strong radiance, it would be able to blind one of the Magical Beasts and make it lose its combat prowess.

Feeling the strong radiance appearing, Bai Yang slowly turned his face to the other side, displaying some disdain.

This kind of radiance didn’t have the ability to wound anyone. If you didn’t directly look at it, then you could quickly restore your vision. As for his two Dark Beast Monsters, don’t be stupid. They were creatures from the Black Vatican, they didn’t have eyes. They were unable to feel the blinding effects of the radiance.

“Black Ice Chop!”

A voice was heard behind Bai Yang. In the next second, a tremendous cold intent came down the back of his neck.

From the tip of the milky white radiance, a pitch black sword emerged from nowhere. Its cold tip flickered as it emitted a piercing chill. It split open the air as it chopped down at Bai Yang’s body.

Bai Yang was actually very sharp, standing beside a car when he didn’t have a summoned beast accompanying him so he could avoid any sneak attacks from the students. However, it didn’t matter to the Black Ice Sword that there were things blocking its way. It directly chopped the car in two while at same time splitting open Bai Yang’s back!

The cut was sharp and filled with power. It cleanly chopped apart Bai Yang’s left shoulder.

As the blood dripped down, the cut on his body froze under a layer of ice. Bai Yang slowly fell to the ground as he looked upwards, his face frozen in disbelief.

He, a Summoner who had tamed three summoned beasts, was actually killed by students who pissed their pants after seeing Magical Beasts just a year ago?

Deathstrike Magic Equipment. Why did a student who hadn’t even graduated yet have such a precious piece of Magic Equipment, and even use it in such a sudden manner? It was so sudden that he didn’t even have the opportunity to use his own Defensive Magic Equipment!

The distracting radiance of Xue Musheng’s spell began to dim. Mo Fan was able to see that the two Dark Beast Monsters had suddenly stopped their movements amidst the brilliant light.

The Dark Beasts were clutching their throats, their bodies twisting in pain. What stunned Mo Fan even more was that their pitch-black bodies looked like they had encountered something with a high temperature, as they slowly began to melt.

Not even five seconds later, the two Dark Beast Monsters who had wanted his life had dissolved into a vile black liquid, that even emitted disgusting bubbles.

“The Dark Beast Monsters are interlinked with their masters. If the Master dies, they are also destroyed. This is why they are the Black Vatican’s most devoted evil creatures,” Xue Musheng explained as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

The other students walked over one by one, glancing at He Yu’s corpse, and then at the two pools of dark liquid pus, their faces exhausted.

After annihilating the Magical Beasts, they could perhaps come to connect with each other to a certain level. However, after these actions by Practicals Instructor Bai Yang, it had shaken their trust in human nature. No one knew how long it would take before they could adapt to it.

“The Deathstrike Magic Equipment that my uncle gifted to me on my eighteenth birthday has finally been put to use,” Mu Bai said with a bitter smile, as saw everyone staring at him.

Deathstrike Magic Equipment was an Attack-type Magical Equipment. After activating it, it would be able to emit a huge burst of killing power, but the mana it used was equally large. At the same time, Deathstrike-type Magic Equipment was much more precious than Magic Armor. Even a Magician was unable to buy it, much less common people.

What Bai Yang really was unable to predict was that there would be a student among them that would be in possession of a Deathstrike Magic Tool. After all, even a wealthy Family would not just casually give out this kind of Magic Tool to a student who hadn’t graduated yet.

No matter what, Mu Bai’s Deathstrike Tool had saved everyone. They might not have been able to deal with the extreme speed of the two Dark Beast Monsters.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

“Good job, Mu Bai!” Zhao Kunsan jumped out from a corner, his face filled with excitement.

“That was scary, I feel like I will never trust another person again.” Mo Fan let out a long breath and glanced toward the Green Tea… oh, Mu Bai.

This time it was all thanks to the Wealthy Magic Second Generation. Without his extremely extravagant Deathstrike Magic Equipment, who knew how many of them would’ve died before they were able to get rid of this Instructor Bai Yang.

“Are the others all right?” Xue Musheng asked.

The students hiding in the surroundings assembled one by one. Only Zhang Xiaohou was standing by the fence, completely spaced out.

The battle has ended, and He Yu’s blood has also run dry. Seeing the red blood puddle that was like a scarlet carpet, grief once again enveloped everyone.

“Monkey, let’s go.” Mo Fan walked up to Zhang Xiaohou, he didn’t know what to say to comfort him.

As Zhang Xiaohou saw Mo Fan, his state of mind seemed to collapse. Teardrops began to rush forth.

“Brother Fan, I want to become stronger…” Zhang Xiaohou did his best to wipe the tears, he practically vowed as he growled, “I will definitely, definitely become stronger!!”

Zhang Xiaohou’s unforgettable words were echoing in his ears, Mo Fan was feeling somewhat stunned.

Seeing this guy who was like a foolish brother to him…

At the moment he was crying like a little child. However, beneath the flowing blood, his heart was fiercely undergoing change!

That’s right, you are only able to protect the people next to you if you become stronger!

—

After passing through the bridge, the light screen wall that was as tall as the city walls had finally entered everyone’s sight.

The remaining eight people’s tired faces squeezed out traces of a smile. This time, they were clearly able to see Magicians who wore the Magic Association uniform guarding the place.

The three kilometers of road was way longer than any of the experiences they’d had to go through in their seventeen years of living. No matter what, they had still arrived.

“The main group is only half a kilometer away from us, I hope they can safely arrive here,” Xue Musheng turned around to look behind them.

Zhou Min, Xu Zhaoting, Wang Sanpang, Zhang Lihua, and the others also nodded. They had gone through with their responsibility as the Vanguard Squad. After going through that kind of dangerous life and death road, they sincerely hoped that the main group would be able to smoothly arrive. They didn’t want to see more lives wasted.

“Who is Mo Fan?” asked a man with the symbol of the Army as he walked up in front of everyone..

“I am.” Mo Fan raised his head, still dripping with sweat. He was exhausted.

“Come this way, the Chief wants to see you,” the man said.

Mo Fan nodded obediently, and followed the man from the Magic Association toward a watch tower that was created by a Earth Magician.

The watch tower was very tall. As they followed the coiling staircase upwards, they kept walking for a long time before they finally arrived at the top of the tower.

At the very top was a spacious area. A fierce wind from the high altitude was blowing into this place, it was so strong that his cheeks felt painful.

The watchtower didn’t have a protective rail, yet a man with a clear windbreaker was standing there with his hands behind his back, his unruly hair moving along with the gale.

To the left and right sides of the man were a few Battlemages who were also wearing clear windbreakers. Their hoods were raised up, and their bodies were completely still as they stood at the very edges of the watchtower. They were not angry, but possessed a trace of power as they stood there like statues. Chief Zhankong, who was standing in the middle, gave people a sense of admiration. This was very different from the shameless Instructor Zhankong who Mo Fan had met in the past.

The row of ten Battlemages by Chief Zhankong’s sides were all emitting extremely powerful auras, they were all at least Intermediate Mages!

They looked into the distance, their gazes were like swords pointed toward the dome of Silver Commerce Tower, toward the ringleader behind the calamity of Bo City— the Commander level Magical Beast, Darkwing Wolf!

“Chief, Mo Fan is here.” The man saluted, and then slowly retreated.

Zhankong didn’t turn his head around, the entire watchtower entered a moment of silence.

“Seeing you alive makes me very happy.” Zhankong’s tone was no longer the same sloppy tone as he had before, even saying the word happy did not have any sort of feeling to it.

The current Zhankong was not the same Chief Instructor that Mo Fan knew, or this could be the real him, dignified and aloof!

“Do you know what I want to do the most when I see you?” Mo Fan asked.

“Shower me with curses. Bai Yang being part of the Black Vatican did indeed surprise all of us. Fortunately, you were suspicious of him, and you saved your own life,” Zhankong said evenly.

Zhankong already understood what had happened from the reports of his underlings, and Zhankong had not expected any of it. Not even the Army was able to sense the Battlemage Bai Yang’s evil heart. So why was Mo Fan suspicious of him?

“Did you even think about it?! Back when I was at the cavern in Practical protected by Instructor Bai Yang, I saw the pond there had traces of being drunk by animals. It wasn’t just a single one, and after that event, I asked Instructor Bai if he had any other summoned beasts, and he replied he didn’t.”

“Over such an irrelevant thing, you assumed he was a problem?” Zhankong laughed involuntarily.

“The sudden berserking Spirit Wolf back then was also a problem. In fact, I also wasn’t willing to believe that Instructor Bai was a spy, and I also wasn’t able to confirm it. I only put it at the back of my head. Who would’ve known that he would actually take actions against us,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan was actually only somewhat suspicious. If he really was sure there was a problem, then he would’ve warned the surrounding people the instant he saw Instructor Bai. Furthermore, Mo Fan didn’t calculate on the appearance of the Dark Beast Monsters.

“Where’s the Holy Underground Spring, then?” Zhankong didn’t want to continue discussing that spy as he switched to the most important topic.

“I was thirsty, so I drank it,” Mo Fan replied playfully.

Chief Zhankong was standing by the edge of the watchtower, and almost slipped to his death. The dignified aura he was emitting just now was completely gone.

Zhankong turned around as he looked at Mo Fan with his eyes wide.

_Shit, are you messing with me? Are you regarding the Underground Holy Spring like Nongfu Spring Water, and drank it when you were thirsty? This is genuine article of a thousand years of Bo City! Even if it isn’t as miraculous as it was back in the days due to the passage of time, it is still a yearned-for cultivation treasure of the Magicians in this country. Yet, this was… it was drunk by this kid like water?_

“This is not the time to joke around.” Chief Zhankong’s expression was solemn as he stared at Mo Fan.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

“I’m not joking, did you think I could safely arrive here while carrying something like that? Carrying the Underground Holy Spring would make me the same as the meat of Tangseng, attracting all kinds of Magical Beasts… But I also did not dare to throw this thing away, in case something big happened. It just happened that I was so scared that I got a little thirsty, so I drank all of it without leaving a behind a tiny drop,” Mo Fan solemnly replied.

After finishing what he was saying, Mo Fan took out the bottle that used to contain the Underground Holy Spring, and threw it to Zhankong.

After Zhankong received the empty bottle, and looked inside as an odd expression appeared on his face.

_You… you really freaking drank it?!_

Even he, who was a descendant of a great military leader and had a certain amount of authority in the country’s politics, have never taken such a luxury before!

Zhankong took a few steps away in order to not fall over the edge of the tower.

Only after a while was Zhankong able to regain his calm. He helplessly said, “If this was before the Calamity, you’d be burned at the stake, and be treated no different from the Black Vatican… However, I, Mu Zhuoyun, Yang Zuohe, Old Zhu, Deng Kai, and the others were hoping that the Underground Holy Spring wouldn’t fall into the hands of the Black Vatican, and furthermore… It was also going to dry up in the next few years, so we wouldn’t be able to use it many more times, anyway. If there’s none left, then that’s it, being able to save Bo City is the most important thing.”

“I also had that premonition, that’s why I directly drank it. Even if the Black Vatican finds me and opens up my corpse, they will at most find an especially foul-smelling urine.” Mo Fan sneered.

“This kid…” Zhankong shook his head with a smile.

Zhankong didn’t actually care too much about what had happened to the Underground Holy Spring. In fact, he didn’t necessarily believe what Mo Fan had said. However, the Underground Holy Spring that was drying up had brought a disaster upon Bo City, rather than a good fortune. Even if Mo Fan was a sneaky little thief and had actually secretly hid it, then it could be counted as his reward for saving Bo City. After all, him being a student who hadn’t even graduated his third year of high school was able to protect such an important thing, and see through Bai Yang’s betrayal. If it had been anyone else, then the Underground Holy Spring would perhaps have fallen into the hands of the Black Vatican.

_If he really drank it, then that’s good. If he hid it, that’s fine as well. It doesn’t matter now._

Since they had confirmed that the Underground Holy Spring hadn’t fallen into the hands of the Black Vatican, and also confirmed that the one they had to face was a Commander-level Darkwing Wolf, then it was time for them to put an end to this calamity!

_Commit a crime against people, and I’ll put you on stake for show. Wherever you run, I, Zhankong, will definitely cut your head in twain as a tribute for the decreased souls of Bo City!_

“Heed my order!” Zhankong’s gaze was like lightning as he suddenly shouted out loudly.

The motionless Intermediate Magicians to the side suddenly put on their battle faces, a stern feeling instantly pervaded the whistling wind.

“Kill the Darkwing Wolf, no rest until death!” Zhankong yelled out once more, his voice was filled with killing intent.

“Kill the Darkwing Wolf, no rest until death!”

“Kill the Darkwing Wolf, no rest until death!”

“Kill…”

The nine people under Zhankong’s direct command simultaneously answered with a vigorous fervor. Mo Fan was unable to sense a shred of fear in their voices; all there was, was a mission, and the courage of the men of the Army!

After the steel-like voices had dispersed in the wind, Army Chief Zhankong took a step forward. His azure Military windbreaker was blown high.

Fall, Chief Zhankong fell off from the watchtower just like that. Before Mo Fan was able to recover from the shock, white wings emerged in his line of sight…

Wind Wings!!

This was Mo Fan’s second time seeing Wind Wings, the shock in his heart was not any less than the last time.

In the dusky weather, and the bloodstained city, between the heavens and the city, a shadow that was carried by the Wind Wings was free and untamed.

In front of this kind of disaster, everyone seemed exceptionally miniscule… except for him, the man who had Wind Wings.

He dares to say he is going to kill the Darkwing Wolf!

He dares to say that he will protect the city!

_Huuuuu~~_ The wind from his wings was directly blown over.

After Zhankong flew away, the nine people under his direct command also jumped down. Soon after, Mo Fan saw nine great white eagle-like birds carrying the officers flying toward the Silver Trade Tower in the gray sky.

Those were Heavenly Eagles, only allocated to high-ranked Military Officers, and the symbol of the Army.

As Chief Zhankong flew by himself with the Wind Wings, and the nine Heavenly Eagles soared through the skies with the nine Military Officers, a thunderous shout rose from the protectors within the Safety Shelters.

The Calamity would finally come to an end!

In the days of a Blood Alert, the role of humans was to be food, and run away, weak and scared. However, that did not mean that humans were extremely weak, and were poultry who were confined to the city!

Within the ranks of humans, there was a certain kind of people. They were known as Magicians!

Their mission was to use the power that was given to them by nature to battle against the invasions of the Magical Beasts!

Ruthlessly…

Ruthlessly slaughter Magical Beasts!

——

Within the Safety Shelters, there was an youth, his body tanned a dark brown.

He helplessly sat amongst the group of protected people, perplexed and mediocre.

However, he raised his head to see the shadows above the city, saw the nine eagles streaking across the sky, heard the loud shouts of all the Battlemages within the Safety Shelters. It was just like beating military drums… all their eyes were thoroughly drawn toward the scene, their pupils expanding.

Ever since the moment He Yu died, his eyes had never regained their senses, until now. Now his eyes felt like they were simply combusting!

His heart was surging like the beating of the drums, following the ten streaks that were flying toward the Darkwing Wolf. He had found the place where he belonged.

“If you knew that the weak boy that you sacrificed yourself to save is able to become a Battlemage that can watch over the city, and use his own powers to save millions of beautiful girls like you, then the you in the heaven will be smiling in gratification, right?…”

The weak boy gripped his fist; he already knew where he should go, and what he should be doing in the future.

—

Mo Fan walked down from the watchtower, and after arriving at the very bottom, he happened to see the female instructor, Pan Lijun.

In the past, Pan Lijun had a stiff face. Today, it looked like she held a grief that had been there for a long time. It seemed like the her who used to be very well-trained was somewhat weak at the moment.

“A scouting squad member took a risk to bring back news. Many caverns outside of the Safety Shelters have a distinct traces of being dug out,” Pan Lijun solemnly said to the headband-wearing man next to her.

“So that means the sudden appearance of all these Magical Beasts in Bo City is mostly because the many tunnels outside of Bo City lead to the water tunnels beneath it. The Magical Beasts used those tunnels to walk past our Safety Shelters to directly enter Bo City?” headband man solemnly asked.

“Yes, our top priority is to find a few Magical Beast caverns and have those tunnels directly filled and destroyed, or else Bo City will have unending amount of Magical Beasts appearing. It’s just, we currently are not sure on where those tunnels that leads to Bo City lie.” Pan Lijun was at her wit’s end at this moment.

The attack of the Magical Beasts was too sudden, and the entire City had gone into chaos. Finding a Magical Beast entry point in a large city like this was definitely not an easy matter.

As he heard these two discussing this, Mo Fan’s thoughts suddenly flashed.

Cave, water tunnel, sewers… This meant that there was a creature specialized in digging causing mischief!

Colossal-eyed Ape Rat!

In his year with the Hunter Squad, Mo Fan and the squad members had killed a large number of Colossal-eyed Ape Rats within Bo City.

At this moment, he finally understood why there were so many Colossal-eyed Ape Rats going rampant in Bo City for the past year!

Heavens, they were the signs of this disaster to Bo City!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

“Instructor Pan, I think I know where the clues are.” Mo Fan hastily interrupted after hearing the two people talking, realizing something important.

“Where?” The two looked at Mo Fan in confusion.

“The City Hunter Squad,” Mo Fan replied.

The discussion between the two could be said to have been an influence for the flash of an idea in Mo Fan’s head.

The invasion of the Magical Beasts this time seemed to be unexpected. The truth is, Mo Fan who was on the City Hunter Squad had vaguely understood some of the situation of Bo City, and the most distinct one was the rampage of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats!

The Colossal-eyed Ape Rats were experts in digging, from this, it was easy to understand that the magical beast tunnel leading into the Bo City from the outside was the doing of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats.

Every time the City Hunter Squad hunted a Magical Beast, they would record it. Surely they would be able to find the location of the Magical Beast Entrance from the recent activities of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats in Bo City!

The two people looked at each other as they realized the same thing.

It was impossible for the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat to have dug a tunnel leading into Bo City without any kind of activity. The ones who understood the problems that existed within Bo City best were naturally the City Hunter Squad!

They’d be able to obtain some accurate clues from the City Hunter Squad!

“Good, I’ll go and contact the people from the City Hunter Squad immediately,” the man with the headband nodded repeatedly.

Pan Lijun turned her head around in astonishment as she looked at Mo Fan. She never imagined that this student’s few words could be so important.

“The truth is, I am a member of the City Hunter Squad. After returning from the Practicals, I realized that my own strength was far too weak, thus, I joined one of the City Hunter Squads. However, I currently do not know where they are,” Mo Fan explained with a forced smile as he saw Instructor Pan staring at him.

“You really are unfathomable,” Pan Lijun forced out a smile.

“Instructor Pan, how’s the situation at Snowy Peak Mountain Station? My father is there,” Mo Fan asked.

“Don’t worry, that place is even more secure than Bo City, your dad will also be all right,” Pan Lijun assured him.

“That’s good, could you help me with another matter?”

“Tell me, little hero.”

“The Safety Shelters are like a huge camp, there’s simply too many people. I am unable to find my family members who have withdrawn to the Safety Shelters, could you help me ask about their current whereabouts?” Mo Fan asked.

“Alright, that won’t be a problem. It will most likely take Instructor Cheng some time to find the people from City Hunter Squad.”

With the Magical Beasts invading the city, the normal communication devices were basically not functioning.

——

Not much later, the headband-wearing Instructor Cheng had already returned. Besides him were a few people, and among them were Xiaoke and Xu Dahuang, who Mo Fan was familiar with.

Xiaoke was currently holding onto her mini-notebook as she quickly searched for the Magical Beast Record which she had put into the computer.

“Right now, I have located a few areas where the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat has appeared. The first one is Beiling Area’s park, a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat that injured a human appeared there. The very first discovery of the Magical Beasts invasion should be at Beiling Area,” Xiaoke said to Instructor Cheng.

“Beiling Area has currently been occupied by the Magical Beasts,” Instructor Cheng noted thoughtfully.

“Following that is Guangshang Heavenly Street, and then Lufeng town and…”

“Has there been a place with a distinct burrow?,” Instructor Cheng spoke up.

“Oh, yes there is… Beneath Mingwen Middle School’s cafeteria was a burrow. There was a girl who went missing back then, and there are many Magical Beasts in Mingwen Area. I reckon there is definitely a Magical Beast Entrance there,” Xiaoke said.

“That rings a bell, I remember that was when Fan Mo had just joined our squad. We just happened to find a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat inside Mingwen Girls Middle School. Following that, the police discovered a burrow. We all suspected the girl had been dragged into the burrow and eaten there…” Feishi hurriedly said.

They were talking as they were walking. Xiaoke and Xu Dahuang clearly did not see Mo Fan, who was standing nearby, and listening very attentively to them.

Currently, the Hunter Squad knew that Mo Fan was Fan Mo, and they would have been surprised to find that Mo Fan was not cultivating within the Underground Holy Spring. How had he come here?

“Mingwen Area has a Magical Beast Entrance? Did the people in Mingwen Area escape already?” Instructor Cheng asked the Maga to his side.

“There’s currently not any information on their evacuation.”

Everyone sunk into silence.

After a while, Xu Dahuang creased his brow and said, “It seems like Mingwen Area does indeed have a Magical Beast Entrance, and furthermore, the entrance is within the Mingwen Girls Middle School. No wonder why they felt that the school was vibrating like there was a construction work happening nearby. It turns out that it was actually the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats that were digging.”

“No one has evacuated? Did you read that wrong, are you sure no one has evacuated from there?” Mo Fan’s gaze was fixed on the Maga who was talking just now.

“Mo Fan, calm down.”

“Yeah, if we’re not wrong, then the Magical Beast Entrance should be near Mingwen Girls Middle. Thus, Mingwen Area should also be connected, which is why it’s not an easy matter to evacuate from there.”

Mo Fan’s soul sunk.

He clearly remembered that Ye Xinxia had told him that their school had frequent vibrations occurring. That would definitely mean the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats were digging underground.

If the Magical Beasts directly climbed up from there, then the entire school would be instantly destroyed.

Presently, all of Bo City has entered a crisis, just who would be able to care about whether a middle school had been able to evacuate or not?

“Commander Cheng, as this is a matter of the utmost importance, we will dispatch a squad of people over. We must immediately destroy the Magical Beast Entrance!” Pan Lijun said.

Since they had found the Magical Beast Entrance, then naturally they had to set off immediately. They didn’t have any time to waste.

“This number of people on this squad can’t be too many. Although these Magical Beasts don’t have a high intelligence, once they discover that there are a large group of people advancing toward their entrance, we will definitely attract a large number of Magical Beasts and expose our objective,” the female Maga told all of them.

Commander Cheng swept his gaze past the present people as he said in a serious voice, “Let’s immediately deploy people.”

“Commander, we will go with you. As the Captain of the City Hunter Squad, I am definitely more familiar than you with battling against Magical Beasts within the city,” Xu Dahuang said.

Xiaoke glanced at Xu Dahuang, she didn’t know whether she should make a decision or not.

“Alright, with an Elite Hunter Squad, the chances of success will definitely increase by a lot. The mission this time is fairly dangerous, everyone still needs to be cautious,” Commander Cheng said.

As everyone had just finished discussing this, and as they were just about to prepare to leave, a person happened to stand in front of them.

“Fan Mo?! Oh no wait, it’s Mo Fan!” Xiaoke and Xu Dahuang exclaimed, astonished.

_(Ed. Note: yep, they’re a little blind not noticing him talking to the Maga…)_

Mo Fan looked at the two people, and then at Commander Cheng, who was responsible for the mission this time.

Pan Lijun was also shocked as she said, “Mo Fan, don’t tell me you also want to join?! You have already successfully helped the people of Tian Lan Magic High to evacuate, and destroyed the plans of the Black Vatican. It’s better if you just stay within the Safety Shelters and rest. We will take care of this!”

“Yeah, you are already the hero of our Bo City, let alone this mission… Even nine deaths and one survivor could’ve been described as doing really well,” Commander Cheng nodded.

Hero of the City?

Mo Fan didn’t think that way.

If she died, then he would be a waste through and through.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

“Isn’t that Mo Fan?… Are you kidding me, what’s he going to do outside now that he has already arrived at the Safety Shelter??” Xue Musheng was resting in the camp to the side as he happened to see Mo Fan leaving the Safety Shelter.

“Shit, I will never think about leaving this place in my lifetime.”

“Yeah, Mo Fan is far too courageous.”

For the students, the other side of the Safety Shelters was a nightmare which they would never forget. They had finally reached this place after great difficulties, no matter what people ssaid, they would not tread a single step outside.

They were unable to understand just what exactly was giving Mo Fan the courage to once again tread outside of the Safety Shelter?

—

The truth was, Mo Fan also thought that he wouldn’t take another step outside after he arrived at the Safety Shelter. After all, anything could be put to the back of his head compared to his own life, so how could he have the intention to bitterly save people?

Regretfully, he didn’t think he was qualified. He was unable to achieve the stage Xu Dahuang was at.

However, in his mind floated the girl who couldn’t walk, lingering in the area with the highest number of Magical Beasts. Her pure eyes were filled with fear and helplessness, and just like Zhang Yinglu, leaving this world with a yearning and not knowing what had happened.

A lot of people think they have an insignificant role within society, and they are unable to do anything about matters with high principles. They would even sigh in admiration over the fact that there are people that would do things without a care for their own lives… In reality, there are many things in their hearts that had already surpassed others. What they don’t realize is that being able to make a quick decision during the time of crisis is a kind of instinct, and whether that action affects their life is something they had no second thoughts about.

The current Mo Fan was like that.

He never thought about whether he should go out of the Safety Shelter or not, his mind was already occupied by the scary thought. All of the molecules in his body were telling him to not let such a tragedy to befall Xinxia!

Thus, when the squad was telling Mo Fan with certainty that the girl he was looking for had most likely died, and him going out was also a futile action, Mo Fan still decided to go with the squad to Mingwen Area with a fixed resolution. Even if the probability of finding her in this disaster was very low, even if the hope of her still being alive was uncertain…

—

Xu Dahuang has an adequate understanding of the entirety of Bo City, and having him as their guide would avoid many unnecessary inconveniences.

In the end, the Water Magician of the Hunter Squad didn’t choose to follow them out. Every individual had their own choices, neither Officer Cheng nor Xu Dahuang were forcing them.

Going along with this mission were the two Instructors that Mo Fan was familiar with, Luo Yunbo and Pan Lijun. The one who was responsible for the squad was precisely that Officer Cheng who is an Intermediate Magician.

Officer Cheng was an official protector of Bo City, and this incredibly difficult mission had to be handled by him personally.

There were a total of eight people in the squad, not a large number. On one hand it was because having a large amount of people might easily allow the Magical Beasts to sense their actions. On the other hand, there were no other people they could dispatch with them. Being able to dispatch an Intermediate Magician could already be considered a really good thing. After all, there were many Warrior-class Magical Beasts roaming around Bo City, and only Intermediate Magicians were able to handle those Magical Beasts.

Meixin Highway was the best shortcut from the Safety Shelters directly to the Mingwen Area in the city.

The highway bridge has already been turned into a mess by abandoned cars, completely impassable. One could vaguely see a few Magical Beasts’ figures scuttling on top of the cars on the highway bridge; looking for the citizens who thought hiding in their cars would be safe.

At this moment, on the chaotic highway bridge, eight black motorcycles were silently and flexibly following along the pedestrian sidewalk at the side of the bridge, which was basically unobstructed. The cycle’s steel was very flat, they looked like eight African panthers running around from afar. The dim lights from the after rain would barely reflect from its luster.

“Although this kind of motorcycle that was made with black stone will not be discovered by Magical Beasts, it is still clear that riding a summoned beast gives you a certain advantage in this kind of situation!” Officer Cheng said.

“Unfortunately, the Summoners also have their own missions to attend to,” Pan Lijun replied.

Officer Cheng nodded, no longer saying anything.

In this moment, Mo Fan was also operating a black motorcycle, he had grasped the technique of riding one back in middle school.

The teachers in the magic schools had told them that all kinds of Magical equipment could easily attract Magical Beasts. After all, phones, computers, cars, and motorcycles were all created using different elemental magic blueprints. They all needed the energy of magic stones to operate.

The energy from the Magic Stones could easily be sensed by Magical Beasts.

The Magical Stones made into scientific equipment might not have a huge attraction to the Magical Beasts, but Magical Stones that had a fast movement… those were different. Just like how many animals have no awareness of immobile things, but once something starts moving, they would also start to chase. This was the same reasoning with the Magical Beasts and vehicles.

Thus, other than the equipment that had been custom modified by the military, using scientific equipment would definitely attract the Magical Beasts in the surroundings. The radius of influence depended on the Magical Beast’s senses.

After a discussion between a few soldiers, Mo Fan came to understand a very important piece of information, and that was a Magician’s personal tool of transportation was usually a summoned beast. The summoned beast’s aura was similar to a Magical Beast, those who rode a summoned beast outside of the city wouldn’t be easily found by a Magical Beast.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of first Elemental Awakenings would only be of a basic Element. The Dimensional Element of Summoning Magic could only be awakened when you reached the Intermediate or Advanced level. Thus, Summoned Beasts weren’t actually that common.

—

After passing along the Meixin Highway, their progress could be considered very fast.

However, as they were about to arrive in Mingwen Area, the bridge had collapsed ahead of them, probably because a Warrior-class Magical Beast had passed through this place.

Thus, they had no choice but to abandon their cycles and walk instead. The technological means of transportation was inconvenient from this point onward, as it relied too much on the road.

After abandoning their vehicles, the eight people continued to advance. Instructor Luo Yunbo was a Wind Magician, he was scouting a path for them forwards.

Luo Yunbo’s experience was far more abundant than Li Wenjie. He knew how to use his own Wind Trail Magic to lure the Magical Beasts away, allowing them to directly pass through and not take detours.

This kind of Wind Magician was very important to a squad, as they would be able to save a lot of time and everyone’s energy.

The road was quite long, there were too many things standing in the way of everyone. If they were able to save their energy, then they should!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

To the south of Mingwen Girls Middle was a very extravagant shopping mall.

Normally around this time, the shopping mall plaza would be occupied by a large group of aunties, all formed into a colony under the melody of Little Apple.

Today, there was not a single soul in this plaza. The aunties who once disregarded the weather to be here might never dare to take make a show of their happiness here again. This was because just the night before, they had seen a group of Magic Wolves swallowing their dance partners in single gulps.

The bloodstains had already been washed off by the rain, and what remained on the ground was the remains of humans. Seeing this made many people feel like vomiting.

In the surroundings of the plaza a few low growl and roars arose, and occasionally there’d be a miserable shriek breaking through. With that, one would immediately know that there was one more person being eaten by a Magical Beast.

The large shopping building occupied one-third of the plaza. This was a new shopping mall, but due to the Magical Beast’s recklessness, it had been turned into ruins. Shards of glass could be seen everywhere, as well as shattered walls, and the floor tiles were a mess.

The floor beneath the plaza was precisely a Walmart supermarket. Human food was not a big attraction to the Magical Beasts, or else they would have gathered down there.

The Supermarket was very fortunate, you needed to take an elevator down, so it hadn’t been discovered by the Magical Beasts yet.

The people hiding within the supermarket were all sitting on the ground. The only thing they could do was pray; pray for the beasts to never find this place.

“We couldn’t have been abandoned like this, right?” asked a girl holding her knees as she sat in the corner, sobbing softly.

“Most of the people in the outside world have died, us being discovered here is something that will happen sooner or later.” The manager of the supermarket said apathetically as he sat on the ground..

“We can’t. Sitting here will only result in waiting for death, we must go outside. Going out will give us a sliver of hope.” said the man who was responsible for transporting the goods of the supermarket.

“I am a pipeline worker, I have been working like this for several tens of years. Follow me to the underground sewers and you won’t encounter any Magical Beasts,” said a skinny middle-aged man wearing a blue work uniform.

As everyone heard what the man said, their eyes began to shine.

According to a youth who had escaped to here, the outside world was filled with Magical Beasts, and if they were to go to the surface, they’d be eaten by a Magical Beast within seconds. If they were to use the underground sewers, they would be able to easily reach the Safety Shelters from the Mingwen Area. To actually have a worker who was familiar with the drains of the city present, that would prevent them from getting lost.

“Go, let’s hurry up and go. I don’t wanna stay in this place.”

“Yeah, under the Blood Alert, not evacuating to the Safety Shelters in time would basically mean there’s no hope for survival…”

“Go, hurry up and go. This place will be found by a Magical Beast sooner or later.”

There were around fifteen people within the supermarket. After they heard there wasa pipeline worker who could lead them out, their eyes began to flicker with a hope for survival.

Fortunately, the supermarket had an entrance directly to the sewers. This way, they would finally have hope to make it to the Safety Shelters.

Everyone quickly packed up, they all followed behind the pipeline worker as they walked toward the underground sewers.

“Wait, hold on everyone. Can someone come and help, there’s a girl sitting in a wheelchair. She probably can’t walk…” a petite girl hurriedly said toward the group of people who were about to leave.

“Are you out of your mind, with the situation like this, who has the time to care about her?”

“Yeah, you can’t pass through the underground sewer with a wheelchair. Little girl, you should just hurry up and come with us,” the fat manager of the supermarket said.

The pipeline worker was walking in the front, and the others were acting as though they didn’t hear anything as they strode behind the pipeline worker.

“Then can anyone carry her, I beg of you. Don’t leave her behind, I beg all of you.” The petite girl nearly cried as she saw the people had gone quite far. At this time, she didn’t know what to do.

Although there were a few people who turned their heads around and saw the girl in wheelchair, they revealed a look of wanting to help. Unfortunately, they still did not do so…

It was difficult to predict what would happen to them. If they were to meet a Magical Beast in the underground sewer, they wouldn’t be able to run away if they were carrying a girl.

“We probably shouldn’t be doing this, that girl looks pitiful,” a woman amongst them whispered.

“What not doing this, it’s she who cannot walk, how can we be blamed? If you pity her, then you can go and carry her, don’t blame me for not warning you. There are many pipes in the underground where you need to crawl, and ladders where you’ll need to climb until your legs don’t work. Having her come along with us would mean it’d take longer than two days to arrive at the Safety Shelters,” the pipeline worker said.

“The Magical Beasts won’t necessarily discover the supermarket, she can stay here and wait for someone to rescue her.”

As everyone heard the words of waiting to be saved, the corners of their mouths couldn’t help but draw back.

Under the Blood Alert, there was no possibility for rescues. The vast majority of the Magicians would assemble around the Safety Shelters to protect the safety of the people, and the vast majority of those who were roaming outside needed to think of their own means to evacuate.

Thus, that girl sitting in the wheelchair could only pray that the Magical Beasts would never find the supermarket.

——

The supermarket quickly became empty, and the petite girl who was talking before was precisely standing beside the girl in wheelchair. As she saw the backs of the people gradually walking further and further away, she almost bit open her lips.

“You should follow them,” the girl in wheelchair said toward the unknown girl beside her, forcing a smile.

“I’m sorry… I really want to bring you along,” the petite girl said with an incomparable embarrassment.

“Don’t worry, hurry up and catch up to them.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

The girl in wheelchaird seemed as though she thought of something before she quickly took off her bracelet and gave it to the petite girl saying, “If you reach the Safety Shelters, please give this to my family…”

The petite girl quickly remembered the information of the wheelchair girls family before she sincerely nodded, “Don’t worry, I will tell them and have them think of ways to come here and save you.”

The girl in wheelchair shook her head, “Please tell them that I have already been killed.”

The petite girl was so shocked that she opened her mouth, momentarily not knowing what to say.

At last, the petite girl turned around and left. She wanted to turn her head around several times but she didn’t do it with great difficulty.

—

A cold hued light sprinkled around the corner. The heart of the white collar worker, Lingjia, was suffering. She originally thought that there’d be a man among them who would be willing to carry the girl to leave, but in the end, they all hurried away…

This kind of neglect made her heart feel bitterly disappointed.

However, what could Lingjia do? Her legs were still wounded, her being able to follow the people with her limp was already very good. She was completely unable to carry that girl in the wheelchair.

The unknown girl sitting on the wheelchair looked very tranquil, when everyone decided to leave her behind, she didn’t seem to have the slightest trace of begging. There was no frenzy nor despair within her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Lingjia’s lips were bitten open, in the end, she could only unceasingly apologize and run toward the people who had left.

Soon enough, the entire supermarket was completely empty, leaving behind a simple and convenient wheelchair, and a girl wearing a green silk skirt…

The people had already left, Ye Xinxia slowly dropped her head. Her hair covered her face, her white hands were put on top of her knees.

Even if she seemed more tranquil, her fear would still open up, unconsciously grabbing onto her skirt was the best reflection of that.

In her heart, she did not blame those people. Just like her being unable to walk, who could she possibly blame that on?

Every person had the right to live.

It’s just, when you don’t know the silent danger that lurks around you, and you don’t know just when you will die, the feeling of the world having abandoned you, the feeling of helplessness slowly spreads across every inch of the body. She didn’t know whether to continue to suffer, and helplessly wait like this, or just end her life to solve all her problems. Was there any more reason to struggle while at death’s door?

As if she made some kind of decision, she slowly pushed the wheelchair as she slowly approached the kitchen utensils area.

She strenuously stood up from the wheelchair as she grabbed a sharp fruit knife.

She was able to stand up and forcefully walk a few steps. It’s just her weak legs would quickly cause her entire being to extremely tired.

As she sat on the wheelchair once again, she then slowly pushed her wheelchair back to her original location…

—

Ye Xinxia’s actions were seen by the workerLingjia’s eyes, and guilt once again washed over her heart.

If this supermarket was discovered by Magical Beasts, then the girl in the wheelchair would most likely end her own life.

Lingjia took a deep breath, but in the end, she still closed the door.

* * *

Translator : Tofu

Editor : RED

…

…

“There’s already another squad that has discovered a Magical Beast entrance, and they were able to successfully destroy it.” Officer Cheng walked out from the side as he spoke to everyone seriously.

“Shouldn’t we be happy about this?” Xu Dahuang immediately smiled.

“The squad was also completely wiped out, not a single person escaped alive,” Officer Cheng added with a whisper.

The smile on Xu Dahuang’s face immediately froze.

The others opened their mouths in shock, no longer feeling any kind of excitement.

The entrance of a Magical Beast most likely had a group of Magical Beasts. Maybe slipping into the place was rather simple. However, once the entrance was destroyed, then the squad will definitely be surrounded by groups of Magical Beasts in an instant.

In fact, when they were filtering members, Officer Cheng had clearly told everyone that the mission this time will most likely be one where you can go, but you will never return.

“Let’s continue advancing, we shouldn’t be too far from Mingwen Girls Middle,” Officer Cheng said.

“Mhm, there is a student street after we pass through this old house. After we pass through the student street, we will be able to see the gate to the girl middle school. The report back then had said that there were vibrations coming from their cafeteria, thus, the Magical Beast Entrance is most likely beneath their cafeteria,” Xu Dahuang told them.

Everyone nodded agreement, and followed the route chosen by Xu Dahuang.

On the way there, they had encountered a few troublesome Magical Beasts. However, they were quickly dealt with by Officer Cheng.

An Intermediate Mage was able to instantly kill Minion-class Magical Beasts, and so they proceeded relatively quickly

“Help!! Save me~~ Save meee!!”

Just as they were going to continue, a shrieking yell suddenly sounded out from in front of them.

Just when Xu Dahuang was about to take action, Officer Cheng immediately stood in front of him to stop him.

Xu Dahuang’s face was filled with confusion, just when he was about to open his mouth, Officer Cheng coldly said, “I have already said this when we set off, our mission is to destroy the Magical Beast Entrance. Even if we were to meet someone we know on the way, we cannot lend a helping hand. Other than Mo Fan who is here to save his relative, I hope others will understand what they’re here to do!”

Everyone entered a moment of silence.

They were all Battlemages, and obeying orders was their duty. Thus, even if there were miserable shrieks coming from the street to the right of the corner ahead of them, they could only bite their lips and remain where they were.

Mo Fan was still shocked.

However, after carefully thinking about it, he understood the reasoning behind the seemingly inhumane decision.

If they were to save people en route, then the squad would become a rescue squad. With so many people burdening them, there’s no way they would be able to charge into the Magical Beast Entrance.

Lingering around Magical Beasts for even an extra minute could result in their ten-person squad losing their lives. They had to pick this option, even if just reaching their hands out to the people in front of them would be able to save them, they still could not do so.

After two minutes had passed, the miserable shrieking yells finally disappeared.

A few minutes later, Instructor Luo Yunbo returned to the squad and said to Officer Cheng, “The Magical Beasts have left, we can proceed.”

Luo Yunbo had personally seen those people being killed, and at this current moment, his complexion was very ugly. If it wasn’t for the mission, then he would definitely have gone and saved them.

——

In front of them was a street that could be considered quite spacious, and the entire road was empty of cars. However, on the asphalt were a few corpses that were still horrifyingly bloody. It hadn’t been very long since they had died…

As they took a few steps forward, a fat man’s body laying on the road, emitting a foul stench, moved suddenly.

It seemed he hadn’t died yet, and with his eyes wide open, he raised his head with great effort as he looked at the squad.

His eyes were filled with anger and suspicion.

As he was crawling away with his body dripping blood, he had clearly seen this group of Magicians in the reflections from the glass on a building.

He was precisely yelling at these Magicians to come and save him just before.

However, when his legs were being bitten off by the Magical Beasts, these people didn’t take a single action. When his lower body was almost completely swallowed by the Magical Beasts, these heartless Magicians remained indifferent.

When those Battlemages walked past his body, he used his last bit of strength to grab onto the leg of one of them. He wanted to ask, he wanted to firmly ask these scoundrel Battlemages why they would watch as everyone died!

Pan Lijun slowly came to a stop. As she looked at the fat man grabbing her who was at his last breath, her eyes didn’t have any trace of emotion.

The next second, she continued to walk forward again.

Everyone didn’t look too much at the incomparably miserable man as they quickly moved on.

Not too many steps further, they saw more corpses that were mutilated beyond recognition.

After walking to the middle of the street, the Battlemages who had suffered the silent criticism of the dying discovered a woman’s corpse by the mouth of the underground tunnel, her throat torn out by a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat.

“They probably wanted to escape using the underground sewers, but then…” Luo Yunbo’s voice was low.

“The underground sewers are the lairs of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats; they followed the path to their own doom.” Xu Dahuang helplessly shook his head.

The path they shouldn’t have walked was precisely the sewers; the Magical Beasts had used the underground world to scatter into all of the locations of the city.

“Let’s go, if we don’t destroy this entrance, then there will be more people dying,” Officer Cheng said without a sign of emotion.

The others nodded.

Just when Mo Fan was about to proceed forward, his pace abruptly came to a stop.

His gaze was fixated on the wrist of the girl that was next to the entrance. He had never seen this girl before; however, the bracelet she wore was something he was very familiar with.

This was a DIY bracelet he had bought for Ye Xinxia in the student street on her sixteenth birthday. They had chosen different beads to create this unique bracelet, and amongst them was a single, ugly black bead which he personally had inserted with great fanfare.

Other boys and girls would string half the bracelet each. A careless person like Mo Fan had wasted a very long time to string together a very incompatible black bead. It was as though this beautiful DIY bracelet had been polluted by a rat. Yet, Xinxia had still worn it happily every day.

This type of bracelet was everywhere on the streets, however, the black bead that he had strung was easily recognizable. This was definitely the DIY bracelet which he and Ye Xinxia had successfully completed through a “cooperation”. But why was it in the hands of a unfamiliar girl?

“Mo Fan, are you all right?” At the front of the group, Pan Lijun turned around to look at him.

“I think I have found a clue. This girl is wearing my sister’s bracelet.” Mo Fan removed the bracelet from the girls wrist. After going through a closer inspection, he confirmed it.

“The dead fatty’s back has the logo of Walmart; these people must’ve escaped here from the underground sewers near Walmart. They were most likely found by Colossal-eyed Ape Rats halfway through, which was why they tried to escape to the surface,” Pan Lijun said.

Mo Fan glanced toward the entrance of the sewers, and indeed there were two more corpses down there. Additionally, he could determine that they were from the sewers from the stench of the sewage on their bodies.

“Around this area, there should only be a Walmart Supermarket beneath the Mingwen Shopping Mall.” Xu Dahuang was very familiar with this area, and he immediately said this to Mo Fan.

The search from before was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Who would’ve thought that the heavens would be so nice to him, and allow him to find some clues?

Although he couldn’t confirm if Ye Xinxia was at the supermarket or not, now, he’d at least have a direction to go. At least he wasn’t like a headless housefly, looking around this area.

“Mo Fan…”

Mo Fan nodded. “I understand.”

“Then we’ll wish you luck.” Officer Cheng no longer said anything else as the team continued to advance.

“I wish you luck.”

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

To the side of the plaza, a purple radiance suddenly flashed, following which numerous traces of lightning were enveloping the body of a One-eyed Magic Wolf, its mouth now filled with blood.

As the One-eyed Magic Wolf’s body was completely charred by the Lightning, its eye was filled with anger.

It was completely unable to move its body. It wanted to slit open the tiny human’s chest in front of it with its claws, but it was unable to do so.

At last, the One-eyed Magic Wolf collapsed under the repeated bombardment of magic. From the beginning to the end, it did not have a single opportunity to even touch the human Magician.

“Fortunately, I discovered it and seized the opportunity.” Mo Fan took a long breath as he looked at the already dead One-eyed Magic Wolf.

This was his first time facing a Magical Beast by himself. If it wasn’t for his Lightning Spell, then he could’ve easily gotten torn into pieces by the vigorous and powerful One-eyed Magic Wolf. Just now, Mo Fan had used his Lightning Strike to first control it, and then switched to Fire Burst’s Rupture effect to deal with the completely unprepared One-eyed Magic Wolf.

After passing through this small valley, the Shopping Mall was just ahead of him.

Mo Fan looked for a relatively safe passage to approach the shopping mall.

—

Beside the Shopping Mall was a balcony located ten floors up.

On the balcony was two men wearing black clothing. They looked as though they couldn’t be found by Magical Beasts as they were scanning this city area with ease.

“There was a purple radiance appearing just now, it should be a Lightning Magician… Oh, he has appeared. It looks like he’s walking toward the shopping mall.” Among them was a man with hawk-shaped nose.

“It’s actually him!” The other man with his face wrapped had a flash of hatred appearing within his eyes.

“You know him?” The hawk nose man asked.

“Of course I know him. Stay and guard here, I will go and kill him!” the man with his face wrapped said.

“Don’t take too long, we still have a mission to do.”

“I know, however, no matter what, I will slaughter this person!”

After saying this, the man with his face wrapped issued a command. Soon enough, a few Black Beast Monsters appeared to his left and right, and began to jump toward the shopping mall.

—

On the other side, Mo Fan had already arrived at the flight of stairs within the Shopping Mall.

His luck was very good. Although there was a few Colossal-eyed Ape Rats within the large Shopping Mall, they hadn’t detected Mo Fan’s presence, allowing Mo Fan to successfully arrive at the flight of stairs.

The shopping entrance had clearly been destroyed. Mo Fan cautiously scattered the Beast Seeking Powder to prevent falling prey to a surprise attack from the Magical Beasts on the first floor.

As the Beast Seeking Powder scattered, this dandelion-like special medicine slowly drifted toward Mo Fan’s surroundings. It was evident that it was telling Mo Fan that there was a creature quickly approaching from his right side.

_Swoooosh!!!_

Suddenly, a black shadow quickly scuttled toward Mo Fan’s whereabouts. The sharp claws sliced through the glass door as it flew ferociously toward Mo Fan.

Mo Fan subconsciously dodged to the glass door by his side, dodging this ferocious attack.

The black shadow continued to attack, it was clear that it didn’t care about the glass as its head smashed into the glass doors, while at same time the glass fragments began to fly everywhere.

Mo Fan hurriedly hid inside. As he lowered his head, he discovered that there was a very deep wound on his arm. It stretched from a location slightly lower from the shoulder all the way to his elbow, and a scorching pain quickly followed.

_Shit, what is this, its speed is actually that fast!_

Luckily, Mo Fan had scattered the Beast Seeking Powder. It just happened to find that there was a creature off to the side, or else what would’ve been ripped apart could very possibly have been his own chest.

Mo Fan quickly ran away, when he turned his head around, he happened to see the creature that had smashed into the glass looking confused as it climbed up.

Black Beast Monster!

Mo Fan was shocked. _Isn’t that human-figured monster with an extremely ugly monkey face the symbol of the Black Vatican, the Black Beast Monster?!_

_Could it be that there are people from the Black Vatican here?_

“You’re quite fast in hiding. Unfortunately, this time, it will be impossible for you to survive to see the sun of the next day!” a cold and gloomy voice slowly called out from the location of the door. A person with black clothes had appeared by the door, his entire face covered by a black cloth.

“Who’s this person?” Mo Fan felt that he had heard this voice somewhere before, he couldn’t think of just which scoundrel it was.

“You don’t recognize me…Hahaha, alright, I’ll let you see just who I am!” The man from the Black Vatican began to laugh loudly as he raised his hand to slowly unwrap the wrapping on his face.

Soon enough, the bandages that was around this person’s face had dropped. However, what entered Mo Fan’s sights was a face that looked slightly frightening.

The skin on the left side of his face looked as though it had rot. It felt like it had been melted by some kind of acid, his left eyeball had no skin covering the eye socket, making it look huge and quite frightening.

His right face however, Mo Fan had seen before. It’s just Mo Fan had never thought that this person would actually be a person from the Black Vatican!

“Do you recognize me now?” The man from Black Vatican slightly leaned his face to the side, allowing Mo Fan to see his entire right face. The somewhat stiff face maintained a strange smile.

“So it was you, is this your new mask made to scare little kids? It doesn’t look too bad.” Mo Fan felt shocked, however, his mouth didn’t show it as he directly mocked him.

“Shut up!!” The Black Vatican man’s two disharmonized faces immediately distorted. He ferociously turned the other ugly side of the face over. He carried an immense hatred and anger toward Mo Fan, desiring Mo Fan to be skinned alive and directly eaten!

“Having the opportunity to be a good young master of a noble family, yet, you decide to be a dog for the Black Vatican,” Mo Fan coldly replied.

“My face was granted to me because of you!” the Black Vatican man yelled out with a painful voice.

“What does it have to do with me?” Mo Fan said.

“The person who should’ve entered the Underground Holy Spring is me, it should’ve been me! If I gave the Underground Holy Spring to Senior Salang, I would’ve been able to become a Deacon in the Black Vatican! For this plan, just how many years did I pay? Ten years, for ten years, I have been a dog for that old scoundrel Mu Zhuoyun! I obeyed everything he said, I served him like I would’ve served my biological father! I obtained his trust just so I could take the Underground Holy Spring that day! In the end, you destroyed my secret plan of ten years, and caused my current appearance!! Do you know the pain when Senior Salang put my face into the Acid Ghost Water?! Now, I will have you get a taste of that! Not just your face, I will have your entire body bathed in Acid Ghost Water! I will turn you into a slave like the Black Beast Monster!!” the Black Vatican man hysterically roared toward Mo Fan.1

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

As Mo Fan saw this twisted guy, he couldn’t help but think it was funny.

The successor for Bo City’s noblest family, which Mu Zhuoyun had nurtured with great difficulty, had actually been a lackey from the Black Vatican that they had put in place ten years ago! This plot had actually been proceeding for a long time!

The enraged Darkwing Wolf, the excavated underground tunnels, the Violent Spring, stealing the Underground Holy Spring; everything had been in the palms of the Black Vatican. The interesting thing was, originally, it was supposed to be Yu Ang, the spy from the Black Vatican, who should’ve entered the Underground Holy Spring and exchanged the Springs. In the end, that person ended up being Mo Fan. Thus, it could be said that their plot to completely destroy Bo City had not been completely effective.

No wonder Yu Ang’s superior was so angry, and gave him such a grotesque appearance. Thinking about it thoroughly, they had actually been defeated again as they suffered another setback. And that defeat seemed to have been caused by Mo Fan.

_(Ed. Note: They didn’t get the Spring even by invading with Beasts later…)_

_Sigh, it really is destiny._

Speaking of which, there was one thing in Yu Ang that Mo Fan sympathized with, and that was thinking Mu Zhuoyun was an old scoundrel.

“You little waste that knows nothing, you ruined my great ambition and wrecked my face! Today, I will definitely let you taste my pain tenfold, a hundredfold!” Yu Ang shouted in anger.

Mo Fan couldn’t help but give a cold laugh as his gaze was fixated on Yu Ang and his Black Beast Monsters. “A defeated general taking action, even if you have one more Black Beast… SHIT!”

Before Mo Fan could finish, a few deformed black figures emerged from behind Yu Ang; this event made Mo Fan realize it was not worth dealing with that frenzied Yu Ang as he began running toward the elevator entrance!

As he was running, Mo Fan’s hand condensed a ball of fire.

Being unable to think too much, Mo Fan directly threw the ball of Fire Burst – Rupture toward the door of the shopping mall, giving himself a bit more time to escape.

The ball of fire exploded on the large door. The Fire Burst’s fiery power blew an incredibly high and painful damage effect at the Black Beasts, and along with the shattered glass flying towards them, the Black Beasts naturally weren’t able to get to Mo Fan in time.

As it turned noisy, there were fragments of glass and fires everywhere. Yu Ang used his own Shield Defensive Magic Equipment to protect himself from the might of Rupture, and then glanced toward the few Black Beast Monsters that were rolling around the floor trying to extinguish the fires enveloping their body.

His pair of eyes turned extremely vicious, he wouldn’t give up until he killed Mo Fan!

As he raised his hand, a continuous number of black shadows scuttled forth from beneath the stairs. The pursuit speed of these black shadows was extremely high. Under the command of Yu Ang, they quickly gathered around him, looking like a hunting squad.

There a total of ten Black Beasts from the Black Vatican gathered around Yu Ang, making it plain just how heavy his desire to kill Mo Fan was.

One had to know that this group of Black Beastss was originally assigned to guard the Magical Beast Entrance. However, after seeing Mo Fan, Yu Ang had lost all form of rational thought. He had to kill Mo Fan no matter what!

“Yu Ang, return to me immediately! There’s a squad of Magicians approaching the Magical Beast Entrance!” Just when Yu Ang was going to enjoy his banquet of revenge, he heard the voice in his earphones coming from the hawk-nosed man.

Yu Ang was exceptionally angry, he wanted to personally see these Black Beasts skin Mo Fan alive.

“Alright, I’ll be there soon.” Yu Ang didn’t dare to disobey him. If disobedience was made known to Senior Salang, then it wouldn’t be something like just burning off the other side of his face. That man was the scariest person Yu Ang had ever met in his life.

Yu Ang ferociously swept past Mo Fan, who had escaped into the elevator, watching him climbing into the non-functioning elevator made Yu Ang expose a savage smile.

“The Black Beast Monsters are experts at pursuit. After they catch up to you, they will rip off your flesh bit by bit, exposing your bones and digging out every one of your organs! Thus, go ahead and enjoy, run, you won’t be able to escape from the ten Black Beasts!” Yu Ang said toward Mo Fan’s fleeing back while laughing.

The laughter slowly began to fade out. It was evident that Yu Ang believed that Mo Fan didn’t have the ability to escape from the ten Black Beast’s attack formation.

In fact, the Black Beast’s combat prowess was somewhere between a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat and a One-eyed Magic Wolf. When it came to sneak attacks and pursuing, however, it was even more frightening than either Magic Beast. Ten Black Beasts that knew how to cooperate to hunt a target were far more frightening than ten One-eyed Magic Wolves. Furthermore, Yu Ang had given his command of doom. The Black Beasts would definitely pursue Mo Fan non-stop, and kill him most cruelly!

—

Mo Fan didn’t dare to stop at the moment.

He wasn’t afraid of Yu Ang at all; even if there was one additional Black Beast, Mo Fan would still be able to contend against the two. However, when there were a whole ten Black Beasts, that was definitely not something he was capable of dealing with.

After arriving outside of the elevator, Mo Fan forcefully opened the elevator doors with his hands.

The elevator was clearly at the very bottom floor. Mo Fan decisively jumped into the nearly empty elevator hole, and then quickly grabbed onto the metal cable within the hole of the elevator as he climbed up.

The quality of Mo Fan’s body wasn’t bad, the speed he was climbing at wasn’t slow.

However, after climbing only three meters, there was an ugly shriek coming from below. It was a Black Beast jumping into the dark depths of the elevator…

The well of the elevators had a limited amount of space, the Black Beast didn’t grab onto the cables, and thus it fell down to the lowest level of the elevator; landing on the top of the elevator that was stopped at the first sublevel, it was momentarily stunned from the fall.

Following behind it was the second Black Beast jumping out.

Learning from the one that had fallen down, this Black Beast used its claws to grab onto the cables, and then it used its strong forelimbs to quickly climb after him.

“Shit, fall down for this daddy!” Mo Fan cursed.

As he said this, his two hands was tightly holding onto the cable ropes. From his fingers an electric arc was transmitted to the cables through his palms.

The electric arc quickly shot down, hitting the Black Beast that had nearly grabbed onto Mo Fan. Afterwards, its forelimbs clearly withdrew…

_Groan~!_

The Black Beast emitted a shriek, its body quickly smashed down. It smashed right onto the first Black Beast that was going to climb the cables to catch up. Hilarity ensued…and ended with a crash.

Mo Fan let out a relieved breath before he began to quickly climb again.

After passing through the reinforced glass of the elevator, Mo Fan realized that these Black Beasts possessed a certain level of intelligence. After they realized that Mo Fan could use the power of Lightning to make unable to climb the cable ropes, the Black Beasts did something that made Mo Fan want to curse out, and that was… run up the stairs!

A large shopping mall was usually designed in a way that there would be an escalator and an elevator. They left four Black Beast Monsters to guard the entrance of the elevator, and had them watch Mo Fan within the elevator well. The other six collectively ran toward the escalator on the other side; it was clear that they were going the second and third floor to pursue Mo Fan.

The reinforced glass within the elevator well might be a bit hard for them to destroy; however, the door of the elevator could easily be pulled open. If they were to keep guard over the top and the bottom, then Mo Fan wouldn’t be able to preserve his little life.

Thus, after getting to the second floor, Mo Fan didn’t think twice before he immediately pulled open the second floor elevator door. He jumped to the side, toward the emergency tunnel, and ran. After getting there, Mo Fan encountered a situation!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

The Black Beast’s speed was fast, but after taking a detour around the escalator to the second floor, they had to take yet another detour to get to the elevator. Naturally, they had spent a little more time because of that. This gave Mo Fan an opportunity to take a breather, and allowed him to rush into the emergency tunnels.

Mo Fan frantically run through the emergency tunnels.

From what he could remember, the third floor of this shopping center had a very secretive control room. When he was here shopping with Xinxia in the past, he had nearly barged into someone’s control room while he was looking for the lavatory. The material of the room was much thicker than the others, so if he was able to hide there, then he could temporarily prevent the Black Beast Monsters from hurting him.

The problem is, the Black Beast Monster’s claws were really sharp; they were able to tear the iron sheet of a car in two. Thus, other than those secured warehouses that were made with special materials which they couldn’t penetrate through, the other control room for civilian use was unable to fully resist the attack of ten Black Beasts.

In other words, if he could delay them for a period of time, then that’ would be great!

Naturally, the most important thing is that Mo Fan wanted to use the control room to find the whereabouts of Ye Xinxia.

The control room was actually the surveillance room. If all the security cameras in the shopping mall were still functional, then they would be displaying on the monitors within the control room. The control room’s electricity came from the electricity generator, and so even after the shopping mall’s electricity has been cut, the security cameras should still function normally.

As he ran to the third floor, the control room wasn’t too far from the emergency tunnel. Just when Mo Fan had arrived at the door, he heard the gods-forsaken Black Beast Monster’s fast paced steps and their avaricious gasp for breath resounding within the corridor. They seemed to have knocked over some of the things in the corridor, causing a few ping-pong noises.

“Thank the heavens, the doors aren’t locked!” As Mo Fan saw the control room, he charged in without hesitation and quickly shut the door.

Just when he had tightly shut the thick iron door, a few depressions suddenly appeared on the iron door. The whole door made a shivering noise; it was clear that a Black Beast had directly slashed right onto the door.

There was no longer anyone in the control room. Mo Fan swept his gaze across the room and immediately locked onto a surveillance camera that was extremely close to the control room on the third floor. Through the monitor, Mo Fan shockingly discovered the ten Black Beasts assembled outside of the door of the control room. They were using everything they had to attempt to tear apart the control room door.

The Black Beasts were temporarily unable to break down the iron door. Mo Fan’s gaze quickly swept over the room.

In front of him was a row of computer monitors that looked like like a beehive. He was able to see practically the entirety of the shopping mall, including the Walmart in the underground floor.

The supermarket was very big, with the goods being arranged in rows. There were many places that obstructed line of sight, and from a glance, he was not able to see a single person…

_Wait, there was some activity here!_

Suddenly, Mo Fan saw something slowly wiggling around in the camera. From the angle that Mo Fan was looking at it, it looked as though it had climbed out from Walmart’s warehouse.

Mo Fan quickly found the camera in Walmart’s warehouse, and to his surprise, he discovered a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat digging its way out of the underground sewers, its body stained with blood.

The underground world was the lair of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats, they would be able to surface as long as there was a tunnel. At the moment, it was clear that there were two Colossal-eyed Ape Rats who had surfaced inside of the Walmart using the underground tunnel.

“Fortunately, Xinxia is not there, or else it’d be dangerous… Xinxia, just where are you?” Mo Fan continued to look around, yet he did not find Xinxia’s figure.

When Mo Fan swept his gaze over the monitors of Walmart once more, he suddenly found a wheelchair parked right next to the large fridge.

Mo Fan immediately widened his eyes as he tried to drag that monitor closer to himself.

The control of the video wasn’t too difficult, Mo Fan quickly found it. When he zoomed in with the camera, he was increasingly confident that this was Xinxia’s wheelchair!

_Xinxia isn’t on the wheelchair!_

Mo Fan felt his heart being stabbed by something sharp, his brain went into a chaotic state.

_Could it be she…_

“Huh, what’s this?”

Just when he felt as though he was struck by lightning, Mo Fan accidentally discovered there was something within the large fridge next to the wheelchair, moving around.

Mo Fan hurriedly turned his gaze to the other screen, and once again zoomed the camera closer.

From the screen, Mo Fan shockingly discovered the large fridge that was originally used to store dairy products was actually holding a girl with black hair and silk skirt.

The wheelchair was next to it, and there was a person hiding within the fridge. _She is definitely Xinxia, it’s definitely her._ Even if he wasn’t able to see her face, Mo Fan was currently extremely confident that it was her!

_Good, that’s really good._

Mo Fan almost cried. Ever since he had heard the people from Mingwen District hadn’t evacuated, Mo Fan’s heart had never been calm. He thought that he would never be able to see her again, who would’ve thought that she was still alive?

She was in the Walmart Supermarket by herself. It was clear that she had been abandoned by the group of people who had escaped from the Walmart.

It was also fortunate that she was left behind, or else she would have also died miserably beneath the fierce teeth of the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats, just like the people from before.

However, the current Mo Fan was unable to be happy, especially when he saw the two Colossal-eyed Ape Rats that was stained in the blood of humans had already entered the dairy products area where Ye Xinxia was hiding. Mo Fan felt his own heart begin to race furiously.

Imagine that, hiding inside that fridge was the most important person to him. Two Colossal-eyed Ape Rats that were capable of taking her life away instantly were wandering near her, and this scene was visible to him through monitors. When you were gritting your teeth and praying in silence, the nervosity and insecurity would magnify infinitely, this would cause the hair on a person’s entire body to stand up.

His heart was viciously beating, and his gaze was completely focused on the screen.

Currently, Mo Fan really wished he could charge down there and turn the two Colossal-eyed Ape Rats that were getting increasingly closer to the fridge into ashes.

It’s just, Mo Fan’s current situation was not any better. Behind that iron door were ten Black Beasts whose strength was not any inferior of those Colossal-eyed Ape Rats, standing guard and attempting to break through the door. It seemed like the only thing he could do was stand there and watch.

_No, I definitely cannot let it remain like this!_

Whether it was his current dangerous situation, or Ye Xinxia hiding from the pace of death. If he just relied on prayers, then he definitely wouldn’t have a path to survive.

The door would be broken down soon.

There was no chance that Ye Xinxia would be able to stay hidden within that freezing refrigerator. She would be frozen to death there after all, that was a freezer at below zero!

The two Colossal-eyed Ape Rats did not discover Ye Xinxia hiding inside the freezer. However, it was clear that they were going to enjoy themselves by the meat department. The two Magical Beast definitely wouldn’t leave Walmart anytime soon, and Ye Xinxia wouldn’t be able to hide in that freezer for any longer than thirty minutes!

She was already shivering in the cold!

In order to prevent the cold-hearted animals, like the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats, from sensing her own body temperature, she hid herself inside a fridge with a temperature that was in the negative, it was covered in frost!

Seeing a helpless Xinxia inside Walmart, seeing her curled up trembling within the freezer for survival, Mo Fan’s heart nearly broke.

He had said it before, no matter what, he’d protect her. In the end, he let her suffer this kind of torture and torment.

As he ferociously clenched his teeth, Mo Fan didn’t realize that he had already bit open his lip.

He firmly tightened his fist.

He knew that if he was to wait longer, he’d just be letting Ye Xinxia get closer to death.

At last, Mo Fan suddenly sat down and tightly closed his eyes!

“Little Loach Pendant, I let you absorb all of the Underground Holy Spring… Now, I will use all of my effort to break through, please bestow me upon all of the energy that you are able to provide me with!” Mo Fan seemed to direct it toward the Little Loach Pendant, but he was actually also saying that to himself!

Back when he was still in the underground hall, Mo Fan had already attempted to attack the Intermediate level. However, he had not succeeded.

This time, he would do it with the help of the Little Loach Pendant.

The Underground Holy Spring had indeed been drunk, Mo Fan did not lie about that part. However, it wasn’t Mo Fan who drank it, it was actually completely absorbed by the Little Loach Pendant.

Currently, Mo Fan planned on attacking his own cultivation once more within this short period of time.

However, this time, he would not allow himself to fail!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

Cold, it was just like dozens of small needles were entering her skin. It felt like her blood was completely frozen, unable to circulate around her body.

Ye Xinxia’s breathing within the fridge was getting slower, the rise and fall of her chest was clearly decreasing.

The coldness and sleepiness were intertwining, if she were to close her eyes now, she’d silently fall asleep.

“If I fall asleep now, then I’ll never open my eyes again…” Ye Xinxia suddenly bit her lip, forcing herself to wake up.

The two Colossal-eyed Ape Rats didn’t seem to have any intentions of leaving. Their noises were not too far away from where Ye Xinxia was hiding.

Ye Xinxia herself didn’t know how much longer she would be able to persist. From how she saw it, it would be much better to freeze to death in the fridge than to become food for the Colossal-eyed Ape Rats.

As the air got increasingly thinner, Ye Xinxia tried to adjust her breathing as much as possible. Her mind couldn’t help but drift off into nicer memories.

——

_Creak~~ Hisss~_

_Boom! Boooom!_

A few deep imprints had been fiercely smashed in on the iron door of the control room, and the sound of the Black Beast’s claws scraping on the door was clearly audible.

These Black Beasts were very obedient when it came to their master’s commands. They knew that Mo Fan was hiding in this place, and if they didn’t personally rip Mo Fan’s body in two, then they definitely would not leave.

Their sharp claws slowly but surely ripped into and shredded the iron door, causing cracks to appear. As soon as cracks appeared on it, the process of destroying the door became much easier. After these Black Beasts first cracked the iron door, they became like prisoners who had seen the open light, they began to shriek in excitement. Moreover, they began to take turns using their claws on the door.

On the other side of the door, Mo Fan was sitting down. He could no longer turn a blind eye to the imminent danger.

He was able to hear the sound of the door being shredded, the Black Beasts’ shrieking noises became increasingly clearer as the crack began to widen.

It’s just, what was the point of being completely struck by terror?

Whether he was able to survive was completely dependent on the two Stardusts within his spirit world.

The purple and red stardust began to emit a strong, then weak radiance.

A canopy of faint light was enveloping his two Stardusts on the outside, while inside the Stardust blossomed a radiance that was about to break through the hazy light canopy.

The light canopy was like an egg shell, or a cocoon. It held energy capable of breaking through the shell. It looked like the canopy was immovable under the attack of magic energy, yet there was a clear swelling that was caused by the rummaging energy within.

_Break for me!_ , Mo Fan shouted from his heart.

On his chest, the Little Loach Pendant’s radiance seemed to be transferred into the attacking power of Mo Fan’s Stardust. Its original emanation had turned into a sudden condensation.

Just like many small rivers, they converged into a great river, and the once-quiet great river suddenly rushed forth.The surging wave ferociously smashed into the dam across the river!

Cracks finally emerged on the outer shell,

_It’s nearly done. It’s nearly done!_

Mo Fan insides began to fill with excitement. He was only crazed about breaking into the next level, Mo Fan could already feel his mind suffering from a huge energy rebound, generating an immense headache.

Initially, Mo Fan believed that he couldn’t do it at all. The impact of the mental feedback was just like a sword piercing through his brain, or like the waves of the sea crashing into each other in the midst of a storm. Mo Fan had never experience this kind of mental impact during his training. It was much worse than exhausting his whole energy, it was a nightmare filled with torment and destruction!

And in the process, if his mentality loosened just a little, or he had a single thought of giving up, then the all-out attack would vanish in an instant. He would then need to start all over again!!

Mo Fan felt that his head was about to explode. His veins were bulging all over his face, but he was afraid to let go!

Truthfully, this pain was no less than being ripped apart by the Black Beasts. A person that had a weak fortitude would’ve given up at the very beginning, but Mo Fan had committed to it with his very last breath.

Closing his eyes, the last flashback that he saw was a girl on the verge of death. If the girl was ripped apart by a Colossal-eyed Ape Rat, Mo Fan believed that he would have to bear a lot more pain for the rest of his life.

The mental impact was magnifying, increasing fivefold from its original strength!

Mo Fan ground his teeth and persisted.

_Tenfold!_

Mo Fan rolled up his tongue, scared that he was unable to control his own body, and bit off the end of his own tongue.

Inside him, his spirit world was full of raging storms.

The purple and red Stardusts looked as if they were about to perish. In the hugely churning spirit realm, they were dulling abruptly.

The light ray was getting weaker and weaker, not even like a distant star. It looked like it was about to disappear into the dark night.

At this moment, Mo Fan suddenly opened his eyes.

His pupils were expanding inhumanly. In his eyes there was an endless universe. In the deepest depths were his dimming Lightning and Fire Stardusts.

His pupils widened, Mo Fan’s entire face trembled.

The two deathly still Stardusts suddenly burst out with an incredibly hot radiance, and to his surprise, flooded his entire Spiritual universe at incredible speed.

The purple was so gorgeous that it brightened the entire star universe, it was beautiful and stunning.

The fiery red that ignited the darkness was sparkling and surging.

Their flight and their shrouds, they looked as though they were creating their own little universes, their own star homes.

However, what was created was no longer the same as the small little Stardust that had been sitting in one corner of the universe like before. He had created a star cluster like a Cloud, they were all condensed into a dense cluster, and reflected upon each other!

“Stardust becoming Nebula!”

Experiencing all of this, Mo Fan felt like his blood was boiling.

Stardusts were truly like dust within the vast universe, existing, but also extremely insignificant. Thus, the energy they were able to provide for a Magician could be considered relatively limited.

However, the Nebula was completely different from a Stardust. The large group of Stars occupied a huge area, their radiance could be described as brilliant. They were extremely visible in the vast spiritual universe, dominating his chaotic spiritual world!

Dust and Nebulous Clouds, the difference between the two was very clear. If every little Star’s light contained magic energy, then how much energy would this densely packed Nebula Cloud contain, and just what level of magic would they be able to create?!

Within the Nebula were the extremely important Stars that Magicians used to cast magic.

It was a little different from before; within this vivid Nebula, there were a total of 49 Stars!

These stars was moving around the Nebula, just like when Mo Fan had awakened his elements, dazzling him.

“This kind of feeling…” Mo Fan looked at his hands in disbelief.

On his left hand, there was a thirsty fire rising from his skin. As it ignited, it felt as though he had unlimited magical energy!

On his right hand, the lightning arcs were like crackling lines of purple ivy as they covered the whole of his fist. The lightning looked as though it was striving for his favor against the flames, like a conceited brat that thirsted for a chance to demonstrate its strengths.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

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“Simultaneous breakthrough!” Mo Fan looked at the countless amounts of abundant magical energy, the feeling in his heart couldn’t be described as just mere excitement.

Normally speaking, as long as either Stardust broke through to a Nebula, then he could be regarded as an Intermediate Magician.

Thus, whether Mo Fan’s Lightning Stardust or his Fire Stardust became a Nebula, he would still be able to enter the Intermediate realm. However, he had actually broken through with both of his Elements, this was something that he had never expected.

_Shreeek~!_

An ear-piercing shriek shook Mo Fan’s ears, following which was the noise of the iron door being torn apart by the Black Beasts.

Mo Fan was standing in front of the door, his eyes held an inextinguishable flame that was completely fixated on the greedy, ugly things.

The Black Beasts were the symbol of the Black Vatican. They actually weren’t summoned beasts at all, they were creatures that was created using parts of human corpses and demonic energy. They were closer to being undead spirits.

Other than liking massacres, their biggest hobby was to make everyone else into a slave of the darkness, just like them.

This kind of jealousy and hatred was infectious, it motivated them all.

How could a small iron door resist their thirst? When their avaricious tendencies were not being shown, they were just freaks that enjoyed tormenting others. When it came to killing, their avaricious tendencies would be increasingly frightening!

Their green eyes, and the saliva that was dripping down from their jaws. Their restlessly agitated claws, and their hungry calls…

Perhaps half an hour ago, if there were more than two of these creatures appearing, then it would be a nightmare for a Primary Magician like Mo Fan. Their speed was enough to dodge a Primary Magic spell, and they’d slyly collaborate in battle.

However, now, this crowd of creatures was just like a group of pitiable fools in Mo Fan’s eyes, poor little clowns. His transformed eyes were no longer showing dread, they were showing disdain and arrogance, like a higher class creature was looking down on them.

Mo Fan was standing there, letting them tear off the iron door.

_Swaaa~_

The iron door was finally torn open, and in that time, the few Black Beasts that were at the very front began to frantically squeeze themselves into the place. It was like they thought biting his flesh would cause their evil souls to rise to a higher level.

Their heads were fiercely moving closer as their bodies were still stuck in the hole of the door. The Black Beasts in the back was urgently squeezing in as they let out anxious shrieks.

The Mo Fan who saw this scene was not flustered at all, he slowly withdrew his Star Atlas Book.

The Star Atlas Book was clutched in his hands as he frantically poured Magic Energy into it. The Book suddenly floated in front of Mo Fan, and before his eyes, it turned into specks of Stars…

As the book disappeared, the bizarre Star Atlas on it shot into Mo Fan’s pupils.

_One Star, Two Stars, Three Stars…_

The Star’s of Mo Fan’s Fire Nebula seemed as though they had received a summons, they impatiently began to link to each other.

First, they were linked into a Star Path, and for Mo Fan, this was something he was overly familiar with. It was precisely the bridge he had formed when he was doing Primary Magic…

However, what Mo Fan cast this time was definitely not Primary Magic!

The Star Path was currently being linked, and the second Star Path had finally emerged within the Magic Star Nebula…

Stars forming into Star Paths, and the Star Paths were interweaving with one another. Their fantastic interweaving had turned into a beautiful and moving Star Atlas within the Nebula!

This was a Star Atlas!

This was the bottleneck of an even higher Magic, this was the door to Intermediate Magic!

Forty-nine Stars, they became a beautiful Star Atlas under the summoning of the Star Atlas Book, these patterns didn’t just sparkle within Mo Fan’s pupils. Their traces appeared beneath his feet!

_A Star Atlas beneath his feet…_

A colossal power began to frantically pour into Mo Fan’s body, and his body began to boil.

“Fiery Fist!”

Mo Fan fiercely chanted the name of the Fire Intermediate Magic, his blood was completely boiling under the heat!

His gaze was proudly fixed on those Black Beasts that wanted to kill him, and from within the flames, one could see Mo Fan had a frenzied smile on his face.

“I’ll deliver you to the heavens!” Mo Fan declared, word by word.

In a split second, the fiery flames within his body were completely concentrated on Mo Fan’s right hand and within his tightly gripped fist.

Within his fist, a ball of fire was curling around, a ball that was able to kill everything in its way!

Bearing his anger for these creatures that attempted to destroy his hometown, and their massacre of the people he cared for, the raging flames that were ready to erupt at any time fiercely shot out at the roar of Mo Fan.

The raging flames covering Mo Fan’s fist were shot out. The surroundings of Mo Fan’s fist were turned into a gigantic blazing halo, and following this came the all-devouring flames. The raging flames were in the form of a gigantic fist, it was nearly as big as a wall!

What iron door?

Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist exploded upon the entire wall!

So what if those massacring Dark Beasts were charging in?

Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist was massacring all of the Black Beasts!

The majestic flames were burning, the entire wall was turned into black ashes beneath the power of the gigantic Fiery Fist.

Within the red flames, the first Black Beast that was met with the colossal Fiery Fist had turned out just like the wall, you could clearly see that it had turned into scorched ashes beneath the powerful explosion.

_Shreeeek~!_

On the corridor, the Black Beasts that were going to throw themselves upon the delicious food were now frantically shrieking.

Just the heatwaves touching their body caused them to be so scared that they wanted to flee anywhere. When the colossal, destructive flame fist arrived, those Black Beasts that were unable to flee in time had been turned into ashes at the very center of the flames.

The temperature around the Fiery Fist weren’t very high. However, that didn’t mean the Black Beasts with good reflexes were able to escape.

They were thirsting to be the first one to taste Mo Fan’s flesh, and thus, they were all initially stuck in the door. As Mo Fan threw this one fist over, he had essentially caught all of them. Additionally, the area of effect of the colossal fist of flames was about the size of a wall, what could they do even if they were to run?

_Bang!! Bang!! BANG!!!_

The first wall of the control room was turned into black powder.

The opposite wall of the corridor was blown into pieces.

The external reinforced glass was split open, the force of the colossal Flame Fist immediately poured into the dining room to the right, filling it to the brink, and then it wrecked the windows of the dining hall as the flames poured out.

The Black Beasts that weren’t being scorched into ashes by the high temperature were all blown into the dining hall from the corridor, and then hurled from the window to the outside.

They could no longer scream, the six Black Beasts that were enveloped in flames ruthlessly fell from the third floor of the shopping center. At same time, the entire sky was filled with glass and fragments of tables that were completely immolating as they rained down.

The entire floor was hit by a shockwave, and the entire shopping mall began to tremble from it.

The destruction caused by Fiery Fist didn’t last for long, but it had turned a wall, a corridor, and a western-../style dining hall into nothingness in an instant!

Four out of the ten Black Beasts had directly perished. Even if the remaining six were alive, it was probable that they would no longer be able to climb up again. They were all collapsed outside of the shopping mall with burning parts of the building accompanying them.

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Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

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Mo Fan stood inside the half of the control room left, looking past through the charred remains. The entire plaza could be seen in plain sight.

A few One-eyed Magic Wolves were roaming around the plaza. It clearly looked like they hadn’t found the food they were looking for before a huge bang was heard, and all of their focus was fixed on the hole that had suddenly appeared.

One of the smaller One-eyed Magic Wolves watched those six nearly dead Black Beasts, it was frightened as it look over to its comrade.

Instead its comrade looked at the human that was standing near the edge of the gigantic black hole, and its whole body shivered unwillingly. When both eyes of the beasts met, those two One-eyed Magic Wolves ran away in panic from Mingwen plaza.

It was easy to imagine that these two One-eyed Magic Wolves’ thoughts were shattered, thinking inside that they were lucky: _Holy shit, lucky we didn’t go that way_!

—

Watching those two fleeing One-eyed Magic Wolves, Mo Fan was still in a boiling state!

_This is the Intermediate class of Fire Element!_

_This is the Intermediate class of Fire Element!!_

_This is magic, this is real magic! The beginner’s magic we learned was so weak compared to this!!_

_Damn Yu Ang, that f****g Black Vatican dog, is still thinking of killing your grandpa, Mo Fan?!_

_Shit, I can’t reveal anymore, Xinxia is still in danger!_

Mo Fan belatedly noticed this important matter, and stopped caring about those dying Black Beasts. He darted towards the Wal-Mart at once.

After reaching Intermediate magician, Mo Fan felt that his own body had a noticeable change. He ran to the railing, and simply jumped down from third floor.

Landing, both his legs were quite stable

Mo Fan didn’t dare to waste another second, darting towards the Wal-Mart.

Normally, Mo Fan would take the time to think about how to deal with those two Giant-eyed Ape Rats wandering around the Wal-Mart.

But now…

One Ignite immediately blew away the iron door of Wal-Mart. Who cared how many Giant-eyed Ape Rats were in the store?

Mo Fan rushed in, looking through the rows and rows of shelves, rapidly locking on and running toward the freezer on the monitoring screen.

Mo Fan was running frantically, before coming into a semi-spacious cargo channel. At this moment, those two Giant-eyed Ape Rats peeked out after they heard a movement.

When they saw a living human, those two Giant-eyed Ape Rats began to make an excited sound. They moved onto the long shopping walkway and jumped towards Mo Fan.

The Giant-eyed Ape Rats were fast, their huge front teeth gaped wide in the air.

“Go die!! Fiery Fist!”

Below his foot, a drawing of Fire element energy was glowing brightly!

The fire rapidly condensed around Mo Fan’s wrists and held tightly around his right fist.

_Peng!! Peng!!!! Peng!!!!!!!_

Upon releasing the Fiery Fist, the shelves on both sides of the aisle burned down to ash under its power. This two Giant-eyed Ape Rats could only regret that they were already halfway in their charging towards him.

Were they blind, didn’t they recognize that this was an Intermediate class human magician? That giant rampaging fire punch couldn’t be endured by their weak bodies.

The raging fire engulfed them, turning them into ash, all in the blink of an eye.

Mo Fan controlled his release just a little. After successfully killing the two Giant-eyed Ape Rats, he withdrew the power of his Fiery Fist, or else if it kept going the explosive power would set the Wal-Mart ablaze. If it hurt Xinxia, that would be such great crime…

“Xinxia, Xinxia!!”

Mo Fan didn’t even bother looking at the ashes, impatiently heading towards the end of the freezer section.

The wheelchair in front of him, that giant freezer also reached his sight. Mo Fan rushed to the front of the freezer.

Inside the freezer, Ye Xinxia was laying there like a sleeping beauty. Her skin was originally fair, but now it was a scarily pale white.

Her peaceful face didn’t have any sign of color.

Both of her eyes were tightly shut, her long eyebrows had a little frost on them. It looked like a frozen tear.

Mo Fan hurriedly carried her out, but only felt that freezing cold death.

“Xinxia!!”

Mo Fan felt like he was hit by a thunderbolt.

“Wake up, Wake up. I’m Mo Fan, I’m Mo Fan! I’m here to save you!”

The fire from Mo Fan’s body began to burn. He held the petite body of Xinxia in his arms, hoping that the flames could help the frozen Ye Xinxia awaken.

Heat constantly transferred, swiftly clearing away the frost that tried to take a girl’s life.

Her body started to slowly warm up.

Her almost stagnant breath was also starting to follow along.

Opening her heavy eyes, one very warm body holding her tightly. Ye Xinxia felt that the warmth was something she never experienced, but also that it was very familiar.

“Brother Mo Fan?” Ye Xinxia voice was so weak that it almost couldn’t be heard, and she couldn’t believe that it was him.

Some said that before a person died, they would have illusions. Ye Xinxia was scared that this was the last flare of happiness that a girl selling matchsticks would see. But being held tightly felt so real.

Mo Fan heard a sound. He then realized it was Ye Xinxia has opened her eyes and was talking gibberish.

In front of a disaster, everybody’s lives were so weak. Mo Fan had already seen so many girls die during this disaster. He was so afraid that this would happened to Ye Xinxia too! After all, other people had the ability to run away, but what about her?

Mo Fan came here unfaltered. He knew that Ye Xinxia was crippled and definitely would be abandoned in a place somewhere, helplessly waiting for death.

“Brother Mo Fan, I thought… I would never see you again.” Ye Xinxia heart was melted away, her soft arms hugged Mo Fan tight unconsciously, as if she was not willing to let go, wishing that she could melt into Mo Fan warm body.

“How could I leave you alone and not care for you?” Mo Fan replied, his voice cracking.

Ye Xinxia didn’t reply, only hugged him tighter.

The whole world could abandon her, but Mo Fan definitely would not… Knowing this fact, she now had no doubt of it.

When the calamity broke out, and she had been left alone in the cold underground supermarket, Ye Xinxia had not shed any tears. Only when Mo Fan really showed up in front of her did the tears started to shower down uncontrollably.

________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

_Chapter 117 – The Miraculous Healing Element_

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After he put Ye Xinxia back on her wheelchair, Mo Fan suddenly felt dizzy.

As Ye Xinxia realized this, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t worry, I’m just a little dizzy…” Mo Fan replied, his head spinning a bit.

Thinking of which, ever since he left the Underground Holy Spring, he hadn’t had any rest. There were so many wounds on his body that he hadn’t taken care of, and his mental focus was also exhausted.

He wanted to take Ye Xinxa and leave this place. However, in his current state, he was no longer able to use Intermediate Magic, which required a large amount of magic energy. This worried Mo Fan considerably.

“Your arm is bleeding profusely, you have lost too much blood.” Ye Xinxia quickly discovered the astonishing wound on Mo Fan’s arm.

That wound was casually wrapped with a cloth. However, it hadn’t stopped the bleeding.

“Oh, when I was dealing with the Black Beast Monsters before…” Mo Fan only now realized that his wound was fairly painful.

“Put it here.” Ye Xinxia put Mo Fan’s wounded arm on her lap.

Even with her silk skirt in between them, Mo Fan could still feel Ye Xinxia’s smooth thighs. As his wrist accidentally touched them, her beautiful legs revealed a shocking elasticity. The pain and blood loss was soon punted to the back of his mind.

Ye Xinxia’s thighs didn’t have any scars, nor were they misshapen or withered. When she was sitting down, she looked the same as any other girl. Furthermore, while wearing a skirt, she possessed the beauty of an delicate piece of art, and a natural snowy-white skin. Her jade-like radiance was at a level that completely infatuated others.

Perhaps her two legs were too beautiful, and that was why the heavens had taken away her most important thing. No strength, her legs didn’t have the slightest bit of strength. She was able to walk, but only a few steps before she would begin to gasp for air…

It wasn’t that she didn’t regularly see any doctors, but they couldn’t do anything about her problem. The more expensive hospitals were not something they could afford to go to, and so they could only delay this matter.

As Mo Fan was enjoying this special treatment, a bizarre energy slowly emerged from Ye Xinxia’s body…

A pure white light appeared on Ye Xinxia’s delicate fingertips. They blossomed with a distinctive and gently flowing luster, similar to water. These pure white lights slowly gathered within Ye Xinxia’s small palms…

She closed her beautiful eyes as she put her hand on Mo Fan’s large wound.

An itchy feeling quickly rose there. Mo Fan saw the wound on his arm slowly healing under the white lights. They were just like a group of active, living spirits as they gathered on Mo Fan’s injured flesh and reconnected his severed veins. And while healing Mo Fan, she was still able to maintain her energy!

“This is…” As Mo Fan saw this, he felt a bit astonished.

The cut on his arm was healing at a visible speed. The gash around his elbow also began to heal, followed by the one on his shoulder also slowly fixing itself.

This kind of feeling… If you were to view the wound like a zipper, then healing was like someone slowly pulling the zipper up. Furthermore, the wound was longer visible after the zipper was pulled up, leaving behind intact flesh, no scars!

This was the Healing Element!

This was the ability of the Healing Element!

Mo Fan was filled with disbelief as he stared at Ye Xinxia, who still had her eyes closed. Looking at her fully concentrating, he began to feel waves of astonishment.

He had nearly forgotten that Xinxia was a Healing elemental Magician, the first person in the entirety of Bo City who had gotten this element on their first Awakening!

The vast majority of the people awakened an classical element on their first Awakening: Wind, Fire, Water, Ice, Lightning, Light, or Earth. However, there were bound to be exceptions among humans. Other than the classical elements that were being Awakened on their first try, there was also White Magic, Black Magic, and Dimensional Magic.

The Healing element belonged to White Magic. Normally, you could only find Intermediate Magicians who possessed Healing Magic. People like Ye Xinxia who gained it on their first Awakening were extremely rare.

Beneath the warm glow of Healing, his drowsy feeling from before had also vanished. It was clear that other than restoring his wounds, Healing was also able to replenish lost blood to a certain degree.

This event made Mo Fan extremely happy. He never thought that his precious little Xinxia would have such an incomparable ability. If she was brought to the Safety Shelters, then Ye Xinxia would instantly become a very important person. After all, there was not a single medicine or method that could possibly be better than Ye Xinxia’s ability to heal wounds!

“Xinxia, how strong is the effect of your Healing? If you were to use Healing right after someone had their throat severed, would you be able to save them?” Mo Fan asked excitedly.

Ye Xinxia shook her head. “Healing is useless if your life is taken instantly.”

“Oh, oh… This is already very impressive!” Mo Fan nodded.

The veteran hunters, those who frequently fought Magical Beasts out in the wild, knew something: What truly killed you was not necessarily the attacks of a Magical Beast, but the accumulated wounds on your body.

Wounds could bleed, get infected, worsen, and if you didn’t get your injuries checked in time, then it was the equivalent of your life chipping away. Other than rations and water, the large majority of the veterans would bring medicine. Unfortunately, the effects of the medicine were far too slow, and were unable to keep up with the veterans who were always battling…

If the squad had a Healing Magician, then this would no longer be a problem. Sometimes, it would be even more useful than defensive Magic Equipment! It would also substantially decrease the mortality rate of the squads, especially the squads that went on long and difficult treks.

“Are there any other wounds?” Ye Xinxia cautiously inspected Mo Fan.

Her small hands swept past Mo Fan’s flesh without even touching his skin. The small wounds on his body instantly healed, including the bruises, bumps, and splash wounds. This miraculous event made Mo Fan also desire this type of ability!

Not long after this, Mo Fan was completely healed. Despite the ragged clothes on his body, there were no bruises to be seen, and even his scars had completely disappeared!

“Haha, so it turns out my Xinxia is this amazing! Say, how about we start a clinic for removing scars, who knows how much money we would be able to make…” Mo Fan couldn’t help but say.

Ye Xinxia gave him a supercilious look.

Mo Fan also felt that he was being a bit immature. In any case, they were both divine Magicians now.

With his wounds no longer a burden, Mo Fan felt very comfortable.

After gathering his spirit, Mo Fan pleasantly discovered the Magic Energy within his Nebula had also restored itself a little!

In this case, it meant he was still able to use Intermediate-level Magic, and that would mean the Magical Beasts wouldn’t be able to stop him!

________________

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Translator: Tofu

Edito r: RED

After pushing Xinxia out of the shopping mall in her wheelchair, Mo Fan saw the few remaining Black Beasts, who were crawling around in pain.

The corpses of three of them were in many parts, it looked like they had been ripped apart by other creatures. Fortunately, the ones that had survived the fall were able to jump to another location. However, these kinds of Magical Beasts that had sustained great damage were even more tasty than humans to other Magical Beasts. They would probably be eaten if they were to walk away.

Outside of the city, the Magical Beasts would attempt to kill each other. This was because a Magical Beast’s body emits an energy that was similar to a Magic Stone. Due to this reason, there were many Magical Beasts who would fight to death in order to obtain the carcass of a creature of a higher level.

“We have to get to the Jiamei highway, that way it will be much safer for us to get to the Safety Shelters,” Mo Fan told Xinxia.

“Mhm,” Xinxia nodded. However, her face displayed a trace of worry.

Mo Fan smiled slightly as he said to Xinxia, “Don’t worry, we won’t encounter any Magical Beasts.”

Xinxia looked at Mo Fan in confusion.

_This area is clearly surrounded by Magical Beasts, so why did he say we won’t encounter any? Aren’t those words of consolation a bit too far-fetched?_

—

Mo Fan pushed Xinxia along the avenue.

He would sometimes walk, and sometimes stop. Sometimes, he would suddenly increase their speed, and other times, he would find a place to hide…

However, his seemingly strange actions allowed them to avoid the wandering Magical Beasts in the surroundings. This made Xinxia think someone was giving Mo Fan directions through the use of a satellite.

As they continued walking, there was indeed not a single problem. Occasionally, there would be a few Magical Beasts appearing. However, it looked as though they were frightened of something, and thus decided to turn around and leave.

This was all seen by Xinxia. After continuously moving down the street for a long time, she couldn’t help but ask, “Brother Mo Fan, why does it look like they’re actually afraid of you, instead?”

Indeed, even when these wandering Magical Beasts saw them, they would intentionally avoid the pair. This did not conform to the typical traits of a Magical Beast, who would try to eat everything they met. Furthermore, Xinxia was able to see traces of fear within the eyes of those Magical Beasts.

“That is because they aren’t stupid. They were able to sense that I’m stronger from the aura emitted from my body,” Mo Fan said with a smile.

“Your aura is stronger than theirs?” Xinxia lowered her head and thought it over. A few seconds later, she suddenly came to a realization before an emotional smile appeared on her pretty face. “Brother Mo Fan, you are already… you’re already an Intermediate Magician?”

“That’s right, hahaha! If these little Magical Beasts don’t form a group, then they’d be sending themselves over to die!” Mo Fan gave her a splendid smile.

The difference between Primary and Intermediate Magician was like heaven and earth. When he entered the shopping mall, he was cautious and advanced gradually, as he was afraid of alarming any Magical Beasts.

Now, Mo Fan was able to leisurely walk in front of them, and they would not dare to do anything to him. If they did anything, then he’d be able to kill them in just a single move.

Naturally, Mo Fan would not personally go and look for trouble.

The truth was, he had not completed his Intermediate Magic. The reason he was able to cast the Intermediate-grade Magic was because of the four Star Atlas Books given to him by the great beauty, Mrs. Tangyue.

Mo Fan had already used two books, and his hands were currently holding the other two Star Atlas Books. This meant he was only capable of using Intermediate Magic twice from now on, and furthermore, the consumption of Magic Energy was high. Thus, Mo Fan would also not purposely provoke them.

“I see. In that case, Brother Mo Fan’s perception has also gotten much stronger?” Xinxia happily asked.

“Yes, I am able to sense any activity of Magical Beast in the surroundings, even if they are two streets away,” Mo Fan confirmed.

Intermediate Magicians possessed the ability of perception. This kind of perception was not only able to quickly sense the activity in their surroundings, but was also able to quickly feel fluctuations of energy.

If someone tried to mount a sneak attack, then they’d be within the scope of an Intermediate Magician’s perception. This allowed the Intermediate Magicians to immediately counter such attacks.

This made them much stronger than a Primary Magician!

Xinxia’s joy was displayed on her face. Her rosy face coupled with excitement made her extremely adorable, and made Mo Fan want to give her a kiss.

As Xinxia was about to say something, she suddenly found Mo Fan creasing his brow as his entire person seemed to become increasingly solemn.

“What’s wrong?” Xinxia whispered.

“Shit, don’t tell me there really is a group of Magical Beasts coming for me, let’s hide first!” Mo Fan cursed.

Mo Fan hurriedly pushed Xinxia toward a building.

Without listening to Xinxia, Mo Fan directly carried her as he quickly ran toward the top of the building.

Usually, Mo Fan would definitely smell the fragrance from Xinxia’s body, and take advantage of her waist or something. But Mo Fan didn’t dare to let his imagination roam at this moment, as he sensed a large group of Magical Beasts in the vicinity.

These Magical Beasts were running, their movements were extremely fast. By the time Mo Fan had gotten to the inside of the building, he was able to hear the rumbling noise that came from the streets far away.

Mo Fan carried Xinxia as he ran to the fifth floor. He was able to see an uncountable number of Magical Beasts in the street next to them from the window!

One-eyed Magic Wolves, Colossal-eyed Ape Rats; these malevolent things were like a tide as they quickly filled the streets. Furthermore, they looked as though they were frantically chasing something.

As Ye Xinxia was being carried by Mo Fan, she also did not dare to take any deep breaths.

She was also able to sense the torrential aura of the Magical Beasts engulfing the place. If they were discovered, then even if Mo Fan was an Intermediate Magician, they would also be engulfed by this tide of Magical Beasts.

“It’s the Instructors!” Mo Fan finally saw a group of people who were running frantically.

On the street, Instructor Luo Yunbo was flying by using Wind Trail, and the person he was dragging along was precisely the female Instructor, Pan Lijun.

The other Battlemage was also fleeing on the other street. Guiding these fleeing people was precisely the Captain of the Hunter Squad, Xu Dahuang.

From Mo Fan’s location, he was able to see Mingwen Girls Middle School. As he looked that way, he discovered that there was a massive collapse of the school building, especially around the cafeteria. There was no longer any trace of the cafeteria or the playground, it had turned into a large crater.

“They succeeded!” Mo Fan was ecstatic.

The Magical Beast’s entrance inside the Mingwen District was extremely large. If they were able to destroy it, then it could be considered as stopping the advance of the Magical Beast horde, and Bo City could be considered saved!

What about Officer Cheng?

Mo Fan quickly noticed that this person was nowhere to be seen. It appeared as if these four being chased were all that remained. Furthermore, it was clear that Luo Yunbo and Pan Lijun had been surrounded by the Magical Beasts, and they would definitely be engulfed by the Magical Beasts very soon.

_They all died?_

Mo Fan’s face revealed helplessness.

This was indeed a mission you didn’t return from; even Officer Cheng, an Intermediate Magician, died in that place.

“Xinxia, let’s go to the roof…” Mo Fan carried Xinxia as he walked toward the roof of the building.

They were the warriors of Bo City; no matter what happened, Mo Fan couldn’t just sit there and watch them die!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

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As evening approached, Bo City was still shrouded in a dim layer of mist.

Usually, there’d be shining lights in Bo City around this time. Now, other than the misty drizzles within the dull gray area, there were the non-stop growls and roars coming from around the city. This made the survivors wonder whether this was a city for humans to live in, or just a hunting ground for the Magical Beasts?

In Mingwen, there were corpses lying everywhere in the area, making it look inescapable. Every second, there were people being dragged out of their hiding places, and quickly becoming food in the bellies of the invading Magical Beasts.

Just at this moment, as the sunset left a ray of dim light through the dark night, many hordes of Magical Beasts were rampaging through the streets. They were extremely furious because a group of cursed humans had destroyed their precious passageway!

There were still many Magical Beasts who had yet to taste this the beautiful gourmet dish called humans. Their passageway into the city was unexpectedly destroyed before they were able to completely conquer this place…

The Magical Beasts nearby were angry, frantically hunting down those humans who had destroyed the passageway. They definitely would not take a step back from this matter, even if there was an Intermediate Magician amongst the humans.

That relatively powerful human had already been killed by them, leaving behind four people who were fleeing like rats.

——

“Yunbo, forget it. We can’t run anymore.” Pan Li Jun looked sadly at Luo Yunbo, who was using all of his energy to run away, her face resigned.

She was prepared to never return the moment she had joined the mission squad.

With the entry tunnel destroyed, along with the sacrifice of Officer Cheng, how could mere Primary Magicians possibly escape from the pursuit of the Magical Beasts?

“What stupid talk, their speed can’t match mine. Believe me, we will definitely escape!” Luo Yunbo cursed.

Luo Yunbo hadn’t given up yet. There was no officer who wasn’t afraid of dying, they were just more resolute compared to common people. They would not hesitate if there came a time where they had to sacrifice themselves.

The mission was complete. Officer Cheng used his very last magic to open up a passage for them in hope that they wouldn’t give up.

Life was precious. Tens of thousands of people had already died in Bo City. Luo Yunbo grew up in this city, and didn’t wish to see any more casualties. Furthermore, he didn’t want to see his comrade Pan Lijun fall into the jaws of the Magical Beasts.

In short, he wouldn’t give up. He wanted to live. He still wanted to see Boss Zhankong’s glorious return with the Darkwing Wolf’s head. He wanted to see every one of the Magical Beasts banished from Bo City. Furthermore, he wanted to see Bo City’s rapid restoration to its old peaceful days, with no miserable shrieks nor sounds of cries…

Luo Yunbo didn’t want to die, he also wouldn’t allow Pan Lijun to give up like this!

“Ah Woo, Ah Woo~~~~~~~~~~~~~!”

Suddenly, there were six One-eyed Magic Wolves blocking Luo Yunbo and Pan Lijun’s escape route at the intersection ahead.

On this long road, there was no other alley to use. There were hundreds of Magical Beasts chasing behind them, and these two people simply couldn’t push through with their insignificant strength. There were even six One-eyed Magic Wolves in front cutting off their last way out.

Pan Lijun displayed traces of relief on her face. She didn’t want to put up a pointless struggle. She was going to die either way, and she felt that it was pointless for her to live in this world by herself.

Luo Yunbo was not resigned to his fate!

Even if there were hundreds of Magical Beasts chasing them, they could only dream of catching up to him, unless there was a Warrior-class Magical Beast amongst them.

They would still have had a chance at survival after they passed this long street. Unfortunately, there were six wandering Magical Beasts here. It was clear that they were called by their packmates to block this route.

_I won’t give up! If I was just a little bit stronger, the result would’ve been completely different…_

Luo Yunbo swept his surroundings in hopes of finding a chance at survival. Alas nothing was there. However, he didn’t know why there was the glow of flames on the roof of a building…

—

“Burn!”

Within the dark night, a fire like a falling meteor dazzled Lou Yunbo’s eyes, it was brimming with the aura of destruction.

_That fist would surely be my, the great Mo Fan’s, Fiery Fist!_

Fiery Fist!!!!!!

Day and night had practically reached a boundary point at this moment. At this exact moment, a fiery blaze began to illuminate the entire shadowed street area from the roof of a building.

With his entire body covered in flames, he stood on the corner of the roof, looking like a crazed Blaze Demon. Standing on top of the city, the fire blazed in the dark night as a wave of heat heavily slapped onto everything.

The air temperature had nearly achieved the point of combustion. As Mo Fan frantically brandished his Fiery Fist, the gigantic fist of flames broke through the dark night like a power resisting the god of darkness.

The surroundings had been lit up brightly. That gigantic fist of flames had even evolved into a burning meteor. It beautifully flew past a few buildings, heading straight toward the crossroad!!!!

_Peng!!! Peng!!! Peng!!!!!!!_

That fist of flames was born to destroy. Those six greedy One-eyed Magic Wolves never imagined that flames would come down from the sky, just like a giant heavily throwing his punch on them. The One-eyed Magic Wolves were flustered as they attempted to escape, but it was too late. They still were engulfed by the wave of flames.

At the intersection where the humongous fist of flames landed, a massive fiery crater suddenly appeared. Those six One-eyed Magic Wolves that had blocked the path of Luo Yunbo and Pan Lijun were burned into ash, along with some fleeing piteously.

“This...” Luo Yunbo and Pan Lijun were shocked.

It was like a blessing from the heavens, a fist of flames suddenly saved them at the moment they were stepping into the gates of hell. Their current emotions could not be described with mere words.

Luo Yunbo’s reaction was very fast, he cast Wind Trail once again to flee with Pan Lijun. When passing by that massive hole, Luo Yunbo couldn’t help but turn around to see where the bright flames came from.

_The shadow in flames…_

_Why did it look so familiar? Why did it look like Mo Fan, who had gone off to find his relative?_

_Could I be mistaken?_

Pan Lijun also turned around to see. She had never imagined that a miracle would happen when she was on the verge of death. This miracle came from the mysterious man on the rooftop!!

_Who is he?_

_Were there still experts in Bo City that we did not know of? Why was he willing to save us?_

—

When the radiance of the flames slowly faded, the district descended into darkness once more.

Xinxia was quietly sitting on the rooftop. The teenaged girl’s elegance fluttered along with the waves of flames. Together with her dark hair, the rooftop had formed into an aesthetically moving piece of art.

However, her beautiful face didn’t hide her astonishment.

Her pretty eyes were focused on the shadow on the edge of the rooftop. Even if she knew that he had reached the Intermediate level, Xinxia felt that Mo Fan’s entire temperament had changed, along with the overbearing flame aura enveloping his entire body as he shot out a fist of flames into the night.

In Xinxia’s heart, Mo Fan had always been a heartwarming ruffian who was always sharing silly thoughts with her. It was hard for her to imagine that he had grasped such a solemn, absolute power.

Mo Fan turned around as he realized Xinxia’s gaze had never once left his face, before he subconsciously asked with a bashful grin, “Didn’t I look cool?”

Only now did Xinxia realize how she seemed a bit silly as she stared at him. Her face immediately turned bright red. She averted her gaze as she no longer dared to look into Mo Fan’s eyes.

At this moment, Xinxia finally understood what it meant to have butterflies in her stomach.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

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Mo Fan also wanted to help Xu Dahuang’s group. However, he was too far away from them. His Fiery Fist couldn’t possibly reach that far. Also, Xu Dahuang’s party was surrounded by Magical Beasts, whether they could survive or not was a question still to be answered.

After finishing his moves, Mo Fan lifted Xinxia up and quickly fled the building. Those Magical Beasts weren’t blind, and having been so flagrant disturbed them. Even if you were an Intermediate-class magician, they wouldn’t give up. Intermediate-class magicians were strong, they could instantly kill a Magical Beast if their skills were perfected. But at the same time, if there were many Beasts, the number of Beasts could also take down a magician.

Furthermore, if the Beasts couldn’t kill a magician, they could always cry out to their leaders! The General class of Magic Beasts would never fear an Intermediate Magician!

As expected, not so long after Mo Fan used his skill, this whole building were surrounded by dozens of Magic Beasts and there were loads more on their way to the building. Luckily, Mo Fan had fled the building quickly along with Ye Xinxia. If not, he would have paid his life for nothing after saving her.

Mo Fan now had only one Star Map Book left. Unless those dozens of Magic Beasts were obedient (and stupid) and grouped themselves up in a circle so Mo Fan could hit them all with a Fire Fist, one Intermediate-class magician was certainly not enough to kill them all.

Mo Fan quit while he was ahead, fleeing as fast as he could. Not long after, Mo Fan arrived at the Jia Mei Gao Bridge.

—

At the bridge, there was still a dark motorcycle left by the military. If they didn’t meet a General-class Magical Beast, they could basically reach the Safety Shelter safely.

The night was getting darker, and a fierce wind whistled in their ears. The night was black as a panther, and blended into the dreary view. From Jia Mei Gao Bridge, it was easy to see Bo City covered in darkness.

From time to time, some bright magic spell could be seen from some streets, and there was also some growling to be heard coming out from the buildings… After so many decades of peaceful times, who would’ve thought that this kind of catastrophe would fall upon this city? Or was this just saying that this world was never peaceful, war could always happen? It was completely different from the world Mo Fan was born in.

There, humans were always starting a war with other humans. In here, it was hard for humans and Magical Beasts to live together!

Mo Fan didn’t know if Bo City would change or not at the next dawn, or if the magicians would be able to fully drive the Magical Beasts out of the city. He could only follow his own beliefs when Xinxia was hiding, and was now in deep sleep in his arms...

_It was when Zhang Xiao Hou cried out and said those words, “I must make myself stronger!”. I am lucky, because the person that I care the most about didn’t die in this catastrophe, but I don’t think I will be lucky all the time… If I arrived at the freezer, and was holding Xinxia’s ice-cold corpse, then I would have blamed myself my whole life, why didn’t I become stronger?_

”Xinxia, we’re nearly there.” Mo Fan eyes were set on the Safety Shelter. Along the way, the butterflies inside him still had not settled.

“Mm.” Xinxia took a deep breath. The feeling of being alive felt so good!

“I heard that there’s a one-winged magic item. If your legs still aren’t healed, I’ll make you into a fairy?” Mo Fan asked her.

“It’s very expensive.”

“Doesn’t matter if it’s expensive, your brother, I, is good at earning money! I also can buy you a different ../style, bird-type, butterfly-type, fairy-type, monster-wing type… uh, uh , that’s disgusting, doesn’t fit our pretty ../style…”

—

Finally arriving back at the Safety Shelter, the rest of the night quietly passed.

At daybreak, the clouds were overcome by the sunrise, the bright rays were trickling down to the hills, rivers, and city.

Mo Fan was half-leaning on one side of the wall, and hazily opened his eyes.

He could hear people cheering, but didn’t know why. After seeing the snow white Sky Eagles coming from the direction of the sun, Mo Fan couldn’t help himself, and grew excited.

They were reinforcements!!

_Reinforcements have finally arrived!!_

One big group of Sky Eagles, every Sky Eagle was equivalent to an Intermediate-class magician!

This southern city had encountered such a disaster, everything was so sudden, and on top of that the location of Bo City was relatively remote. If the military called for backup, it would normally take some time.

But, from the look of this flying wing of Sky Eagles, the higher-ups must be quite indignant. If not, why would they transfer such super elite Sky Eagle magician troops forward?

Intermediate-class magicians in Bo City itself were quite limited. Those nine Sky Eagle troops that were under boss Zhan Kong were all fighting alongside him against the Darkwing Wolf. Whether they were dead or alive, he didn’t know. It was hard to have enough Intermediate-class magicians to fight those murderous Magical Beasts again, especially with that General-class creature, who was like a living nightmare.

The army troops on Sky Eagles swiftly flew over Bo City, and landed on the watchtower.

Watching each high and grand white eagle landing, seeing those military magician’s aura given off, he knew that Bo City was finally defended.

——

The purpose of the Sky Eagle team was very simple. It was to hunt and kill the General-class Beast roaming around the city.

Once the General-class Beast was dealt with, then the Servant-class monsters couldn’t defend against the magician’s bombardment.

The night before, the magicians needed to hide in the Safety Shelter, using a defensive position to fight against the Beasts. But now, all the magicians had split into small groups. They were using the Safety Shelter as a strongpoint to deploy from and hunt the Magical Beasts in Bo City!

The entrances of the Beasts were being destroyed in succession. Killing one Beast in Bo City meant having one less threat. The whole place was turning into an extermination zone.

——

The extermination had been going on for the whole week. It included the sewer being relentlessly cleaned a few times over. Maybe there were a few Rats left behind, but they definitely wouldn’t come out to the surface.

After many days of hunting, Bo City finally returned to a peaceful state.

Only, Bo City wasn’t what it was before.

There were destroyed buildings everywhere, fallen bridges here and there. Everything was a mess, and occasionally there was some corpse found by children playing, scaring and frightening them.

This Bo City wasn’t the old Bo City anymore, that evil rain had left many people with a shadow on their hearts. They couldn’t sleep, and were even afraid of the rain.

The whole city was bathed in grey-white. Many people lost relatives, and tens of thousands of people had died. Even if this city still stood, it was no different than a graveyard.

—–

“Ai, everybody is leaving.” Mo Jiaxing was sitting in the house, smoking with a sad face

Mo Fan’s auntie Mo Qing was still alive, but his uncle’s fate was still unknown. The list of confirmed dead didn’t have his name, so it was entirely possible that his corpse was gone.

“The government means that us Bo City citizens will be placed in another city,” Mo Fan explained.

“It’ll feel the same as a refugee; displaced, living under others. I’ll just stay here, you guys can go,” Mo Qing said with a depressed face.

* * *

Translator: Shiden

Editor: RED

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Mo Fan was also helpless.

Bo City was definitely not a place he could continue staying in. Who knew whether the Darkwing Wolf would come back, and the military wouldn’t dispatch people to stay here forever.

The only reason why a remote place like Bo City was able to develop into a city was because of the extremely special natural resources. The natural resources in front of everyone’s eyes had essentially been completely plundered by the Black Vatican, and the most important resource, the Underground Holy Spring, had been drunk by Mo Fan.

Due to this matter, Mo Fan had been invited over to have tea several times. Yang Zuohe, Mu Zhuoyun, Zhankong, and the others did not investigate further into things. Either way, being able to protect the Underground Holy Spring, and allow Bo City to have this many survivors, was all due to him. Mo Fan’s achievements did not go unnoticed.

“Mo Fan, you are now a brave man who can support heaven and earth. I, your father, will listen to you, you decide where we’ll go,” Mo Jiaxing said to Mo Fan.

“Let’s go to the Magic City, Shanghai!” Mo Fan blurted out.

The biggest city in the south was naturally the Magic City, Shanghai. When he was in the Science World, Mo Fan had wanted to go to that huge city and strive for more. It could be assumed that the Magic City of Shanghai was bound to be an important city in the Magical World for numerous Magicians from across the country!

“The housing prices in Shanghai are very high, I’ll go and see if Shanghai is giving our Bo City a placement house,” Mo Jiaxing said.

Xinxia didn’t have any objections. Wherever Mo Fan went, she would go, too.

—

Not too long after, Mo Jiaxing ran back with a smile on his face as he said to Mo Fan and Xinxia, “The Magical City, Shanghai, does indeed have a small safety placement for our Bo City. If there aren’t any other problems, then I’ll register our names on it!”

——

Leaving as soon as they could, the whole family of three quickly began to organize their belongings… In fact, there wasn’t much baggage. After all, their house had already been sold.

Speaking of which, Mo Jiaxing was quite capable of foreseeing matters. It was as though he had predicted the great calamity of Bo City, and thus, he didn’t quite care too much about the house he had lost.

The entirety of Bo City had already been taken away by the military. Who knew what Mu He was currently feeling, considering he owned several estates in Bo City.

They rode a bus to the closest island of Xiamen, and then took a train from Xiamen all the way to the Magic City, Shanghai…

—

“Speaking of which, what happens if Magical Beasts appear on the train route?” Mo Fan was sitting in the train, and suddenly had this thought pop into his head.

“The train route is safe, there’s a barrier protecting it,” Xinxia explained.

“Speaking of which, this should be my first time going this far from home,” Mo Fan said awkwardly as he rubbed his nose.

“It feels like Brother Mo Fan came here from a different world, there seem to be many things you don’t know of,” Xinxia smirked.

“Yeah, I came from a world of science. The schools there would not teach you this kind of dry, bitter and boring Magic, they teach you extremely interesting science theories! They use science to explain everything, it was nothing like this place. Magic for us was just a superstition!” Mo Fan said with a hint of sincerity.

Xinxia probably had not seen anyone talk rubbish so earnestly, she was shocked as she heard this.

“What nonsense are you spouting? You students who don’t make progress in school are just daydreaming of this non-magical science. If it wasn’t for those great people exploring Magic, then your house would not have electricity, computers, or any mean of transportation. There would definitely not be a gigantic train like this that requires a Lightning Magic Diagram to operate. Damn brats who don’t know how to respect history, and their elders!” swore an old man with black hair and a thick moustache who was sitting next to Mo Fan.

After Mo Fan heard this, he didn’t feel very happy.

Mo Fan thought he would have adapted to this world after three years of living here. However, when the old man said the train used a Lightning Magic Diagram to operate, Mo Fan began to feel like his IQ was not enough to comprehend all this.

“Old Mister, my son likes saying bizarre things, don’t take him seriously. Old Mister, are you also going to Shanghai?” Mo Jiaxing was good with people, he immediately began to chat with the older man.

“Yes, I was doing a seminar in Xiamen, I’m currently returning to Shanghai.”

“With regards to your manner of speaking, could it be possible that you’re a professor?” Mo Jiaxing continued asking.

The old mister rubbed his mustache while the corner of his eye displayed a smiling expression, “Jewel University History Professor.”

As Mo Jiaxing heard this, his face immediately displayed reverence.

Mo Fan also looked at the old man in some surprise.

Jiaotong University and Fudan University that existed in the Shanghai back in his world did not exist in this world. However, the Jewel University of Shanghai was huge; it could be said that it was the Magic University every Magician yearned to go to.

If the calamity of Bo City hadn’t happened, Mo Fan would’ve attempted to enroll into Shanghai Jewel University. The people of Bo City that were being put in these placements were all part of a project; the majority of the exam candidates were being assigned to a different high school funded by the government, to study an extra year before taking the Magic High Final Exam in the coming year.

For Mo Fan, who had reached the Intermediate level, a Magic High School had already lost its use. Now, Mo Fan only wanted to enter a Magic University.

A Second Awakening Stone could be considered relatively precious. Furthermore, they were usually in the hands of schools, Magic Associations, the Military, or noble families. Even if you wanted to buy one in the black market, you might not be able to do so.

Not only could Mo Fan cast Intermediate-level Magic of Lightning and Fire after reaching the Intermediate stage, he had also obtained yet another opportunity to Awaken.

The first thing Mo Fan needed to do after reaching Shanghai was choose an organization that could Awaken him a second time. The most suitable was entering a Magic Association. With his current cultivation, it definitely would not be a problem for him to enter a Magic Association… However, a Magic University was also an excellent choice.

After all, the Magic Association was an accomplished organization. They had Magicians they wanted to nurture, special positions, and an orthodox method of distributing resources.

Magic Schools had always been determined to nurture others. The resources distributions were also left to those who were more capable.

When the time came, he would have to ask whether Jewel University did special enrollments for students. For someone like himself who was good at picking up girls… er, a good Lightning magician, who knew if they would give him special treatment or not.

_Speaking of which, the person next to me is precisely a professor of Jewel University, let’s ask him!_

“Old Mister, does Jewel University have special recruiting?” Mo Fan asked.

“Special recruiting? Unless you have an exceptional display in some area, then you won’t be in Jewel University’s range. Basically, there is no such concept as a special recruiting,” the old professor replied. He sized up Mo Fan, who couldn’t be any more common, before he asked, “You want to enter Jewel University?”

“My original plan was to take the exams there.”

“Then you should just pass through the High School Exams, don’t think about special recruiting. Jewel University is a gathering of the most outstanding students with the highest potential from across the nation. Being able to distinguish yourself from thousands of exam candidates would make you incredibly unusual,” the old professor said.

“Is there a Special Recruitment, or not?” Mo Fan asked very directly.

“There is, of course there is. However, I don’t think that it is something a normal person is able to pass.”

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

In the end, that god-forsaken old professor didn’t tell Mo Fan anything about the requirements of the Special Recruitment.

Mo Fan and his family finally arrived at the placement area address provided by Bo City.

There seemed to be around a thousand or so people in the placement, just enough to fill a small district.

A brief description of the district could be said as “cozy”. The truth was, the construction of it could also be described as sloppy; the height between the floors was relatively short. Living inside those places was like living inside a slightly larger box, restricted to a certain extent.

But according to what Mo Jiaxing said, as long as there was a place to live, then there wouldn’t be any problems. Mo Fan also didn’t have anything to complain about.

After considering Xinxia’s situation, the neighborhood association placed them on the first floor. Originally, Mo Fan thought he’d be able to see the high-rise buildings that were bright like a flourishing blossom. Unexpectedly, the surroundings of this area were even more desolate than freaking Bo City… the post-calamity Bo City!

This was a very rural area of Shanghai. According to the neighbors who had already moved in, it took roughly twenty minutes to get to the subway station via the bus, and then another half an hour to get to the downtown of Shanghai…

That would mean going to Shanghai took an hour, and coming back would also take an hour!

_Shit, if it wasn’t for the fact I don’t have money, then I’d have already left! How could I think that the government would assign us to the beautiful city? Instead, they placed us in this place that isn’t half as good as Bo City!_

_Money, I need to make money. In any case, I am an Intermediate Magician. Making money should be quite easy, and after I get that money, I’ll finally move. No matter where I rent, it’d still be better than this uninhabited rural place of Shanghai, I suspect that there’s probably Magical Beasts appearing in the evening…_

Mo Jiaxing didn’t mind. He was very quick to find a job, and he soon returned to his old profession; a chauffeur.

Xinxia didn’t plan on going back to school. There probably weren’t any Magic Schools in this area of Shanghai. The round trip to the city was also very inconvenient. Thus, she decided to homeschool and then participate in the high school exams next year.

The fact is, a Healing Magician was in great demand in hospitals. However, Mo Fan didn’t want Xinxia to enter society this early. For someone in her situation, it’d be better for her to stay in a park with an enchanting scenery.

——

Mo Jiaxing’s new job started to get busy. Xinxia was self-studying and meditating at home. It was clear that these two had adapted to their new life../style.

Mo Fan was also busy. He didn’t have too much money at hand, but preserving his relatively simple life../style was not too much of a problem. However, to change his life../style into a better one required hundred of thousands of RMB, which was a bit more difficult. Not to mention, Mo Fan planned to use those hundred of thousands of RMB to purchase Star Trails.

Star Trails were very important for Mo Fan, as there were a total of 49 Stars within his magic Nebula.

In the past, Mo Fan only needed to link seven Stars to cast Primary Magic.

However, the difficulty of Intermediate Magic was much higher than Primary Magic.

First, Mo Fan needed to link his Stars into a special Star Path. After linking the Star Paths, it would become a captivating Star Diagram, which would be considered as opening the door to Intermediate Magic, allowing him to cast spells of that level.

For a new Intermediate Magician to connect all of their 49 Stars without a mistake was simply a fairy tale. That was because they were unable to remember the pattern of the Star Diagram, and also because their minds couldn’t handle the duration of high concentration.

Star Trails were a kind of Magic Scroll, their usage similar to the Star Diagram Books given to Mo Fan by Mrs. Tangyue.

The Star Diagram Book was able to directly connect all of the Stars to a certain extent. If you were to compared the two, a Star Diagram would be like a character with numerous strokes, and the Star Trails would be like the different radicals; it was the copybook for the radicals!

_(Ed. Note: Chinese characters are made up of radicals!)_

New Intermediate Magicians needed to use Star Trails to guide and regulate them, or else they would create an indescribable Star Diagram that couldn’t conduct Magic.

One Star Trail cost 50 thousand RMB.

Mo Fan bought two, one was Fire and the other was Lightning.

In other words, the ten or so thousands of RMB which he had earned back in the Hunter Squad had all been used to purchase this godforsaken Magic copybook.

To excel among their peers as Primary Magicians, the big family clans would expend a lot of money on their children. However, reaching the Intermediate level, it would simply be robbing them of their wealth! A tool for assisting in control of your Stars cost fifty thousand RMB, that was roughly the same price as a cheap car!

In short, there was no money for them to move anytime soon… However, that was fine. He would focus on cultivating in this desolate place!

What method was he going to use to earn money?

Undoubtedly, it would be killing Magical Beasts!

As for killing Magical Beasts, without Intermediate Magic, it would be relatively difficult. Just thinking about that incredibly vicious fist of flames smashing over, Mo Fan’s entire being began to get excited. _What Magical Beasts? They might as well become bank notes and enter my pocket!_

Furthermore, Mo Fan had yet to cast the Intermediate Magic of Lightning. The Star Diagrams which Mrs. Tangyue had given to him were all of the Fire element. The Intermediate level Fiery Fist was already incredibly tyrannical. _I wonder how Lightning element, the strongest of the classic elements, would strike the heavens?_

Cultivate, cultivate!

_I have to hurry up and cultivate properly. If I don’t cultivate it, then I swear I won’t leave the door!_

—

Mo Fan was incredibly enthusiastic. He didn’t want to waste a single day as he began to meditate in their new apartment.

Meditation was essential. Mo Fan had roughly calculated that he currently had enough magic energy to cast three Intermediate Magic spells before he would feel dizzy. If it wasn’t for Xinxia’s Healing magic, then he most likely would faint after using Fiery Fist.

After Meditating, he would cultivate Control.

His 49 Stars would no longer form a monotonous Star Path, forming a far more complex Star Diagram. Seeing the disobedient and scattered Stars, Mo Fan began to feel a headache. At the same time, he felt like he was incapable of doing this.

“Little Loach, whether I, your father, can remain awesome depends on you… If you don’t help me cultivate, then I will sell you off! The market price for a Stardust Magic Tool is sky high, let alone a Magic Tool like you who has jumped who knows how many grades after swallowing the Underground Holy Spring!”

_(Ed. Note: Ah, our Mo Fan. He seems to have forgotten the Pendant is bound to him. Empty threat, unless he kills himself, too.)_

After absorbing the Underground Holy Spring, the Little Loach Pendant had jumped who knew how many grades. Currently, Mo Fan had no idea on how to appraise Little Loach Pendant’s grade.

Either way, it was impossible for it to be the same as the tiny little Stardust Magic Tool from before!

_________________

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

Currently, even if Mo Fan didn’t enter meditation, his Nebula would still be in a state of growth. The growth rate wasn’t slow, either.

An exact number of how much the Little Loach Pendant was supplying his cultivation was something Mo Fan did not know at the moment.

In short, Mo Fan hadn’t done anything in these two months of time, he only focused on cultivating. He didn’t know whether he would be able to completely cast his first Intermediate Magic in a short half a year worth of time like he could back at Primary level.

“Alright, I have cultivated for a month, let’s see where my limit lies!”

Mo Fan exerted all his effort preparing to connect all of his Stars to the very extent of his ability.

Mo Fan was very familiar with the methods of connecting Stars into Star Paths through the usage of Star Trails. What came after is how many Stars Mo Fan would be able to control.

The first seven were easy as they were the seven Stars for his Primary Magic. Mo Fan connected them with ease as they formed into a Star Path…

As the Control continued, Mo Fan forced the other Stars that was moving quickly to listen to his command.

The eighth Star was very obedient. Mo Fan didn’t interact with it much, and after a proper agreement with one another, the eighth Star had moved into its allocated place during the first week.

The ninth Star was not as obedient. Mo Fan had used threats to finally subdue it, and when he wasn’t being cautious, a fracture could easily emerge on the ninth Star.

A Fracture was the same as Primary level; when a single Star failed to connect, then the entire Star Path would collapse like a domino effect, forcing a restart. This was caused by outside interruptions, or a lack of a concentration in controlling the Star.

“Good, good! The next one is the tenth Star!”

After successfully connecting the ninth Star, he immediately began on the increasingly difficult tenth Star.

The previous nine stars were all on the same Star Path, they were the axis of the Star Diagram. Mo Fan had to constantly maintain the completed Star Path so it would not break, all the while he attempted to open up another new Star Path.

Completing a single Star Path may not be hard, however, controlling other Stars while maintaining an entire Star Path increased the difficulty several times over. This could be considered as testing the level of a Magician’s concentration!

Mo Fan was shouting within his mind, while at same time, he did not dare to loosen up.

He clearly remembered that when he had broken through to the Intermediate level, his consciousness had been hit by sequence of headaches. He clenched his teeth as he endured it.

The truth is, if you were unable to endure this kind of mental attack, then it could be said that your mental strength was not enough to handle a whole Nebula’s worth of Stars.

Within this period of practicing, who knows how many times Mo Fan lost to the tenth Star…

——

“Come, good job!”

The purple Star gradually came over sincerely. At last, it finally remained in the specially designated spot obediently, under the control of Mo Fan.

One Star Path and a newly appointed Star…

For Mo Fan, this could be considered as taking a big step, at the very least, he had grasped the essential part of the Intermediate Magic’s Star Diagram.

Many Intermediate Magicians could meticulously study this Star Diagram for many years. Many had already achieved the Intermediate level. However, by the time they were able to use Intermediate Magic, they would already be too old.

The difficulty of a Star Diagram was far more difficult than a Star Path. They would be stuck at this area if they did not have a sufficient amount of willpower, nor understanding of Control.

Mo Fan’s Control could be considered very successful!

——

On this morning, Mo Fan went to find a desolate place without any people just like before, so he could practice his Magic.

After reaching the Intermediate level, Mo Fan’s speed in casting magic had become extremely fast.

Now, Mo Fan only needed 1.5 seconds to cast Lightning Strike or Fire Burst. It was said that the real incredible Magicians were able to cast Primary Magic simply by lifting their hands, achieving the action of an instant casting.

Mo Fan also knew that it practicing was extremely essential if he wanted to reach that kind of level. 1.5 second-casting was still slightly slow. If a Magical Beast was around 30 or so meters away from you, perhaps they would only need one second to directly appear in front of you.

After finishing practicing, Mo Fan felt the mobile phone in his pants vibrate.

As Mo Fan opened the phone, he saw it was an unknown caller. He felt suspicious as he answered the call.

“Hello, is this Mo Fan?” From the phone came a mature and incredibly sexy voice, hearing it could make people’s ear feel comfortable.

“Mrs. Tangyue, it is great that I can hear your voice again!” Mo Fan answered happily.

After the calamity happened, no one was able to care for others. Mo Fan also did not see his beloved Mrs. Tangyue. Speaking of which, if it wasn’t for Mrs. Tangyue giving him the few Star Diagram Books, then his life would have most likely ended in Bo City.

“You sure hid yourself in a far place. I had to ask Zhankong to know that you’re in the placement area in Shanghai,” Tangyue said with a smile.

“After so many things happening, I just wanted to find a peaceful place to practice,” Mo Fan replied.

“How come you decided to come to the great Magic City, the waters here are quite deep. Even the Mu Family would be classified as a small family clan within the great Magic City of Shanghai. Seeing how much you love causing trouble, I hope you don’t provoke any of the great noble families,” Tangyue said.

“Currently, it is as though I am cut off from the rest of the world. The placement area is pretty desolate. Even if I wanted to cause trouble, I’d still need the environment,” Mo Fan replied with a bitter smile.

_This placement area… Sigh, forget it, I feel too disinclined to talk about it._

“I am currently on a mission in a northern area of Hangzhou. If you don’t have anything to do, why don’t you come over here for a bit, I’ll take that time and give you some recommendations,” Tangyue told him.

“On a mission? Mrs. Tangyue, just what divinity are you, could you leak a bit of that to this student of yours?” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan had already asked once before. Star Diagram Books were indeed an item that you couldn’t buy even if you had the money. His teacher, Mrs. Tangyue, had given him four books at once! It clearly showed that her background was not as simple as just a high school teacher.

“I’ll tell you when the time comes. So, are you coming here or not?” Tangyue said mysteriously.

“I’ll go, of course I’ll go!”

“You should have reached the Intermediate level, right?”

“Eh?… How did you know?” Mo Fan replied awkwardly.

The matter of reaching Intermediate level was something Mo Fan hadn’t told anyone yet. After all, the more strength he exposed, the more unfavorable it would be for him.

“It just happens that we are in need of a Lightning Magician.”

“Sensei1, I haven’t completed my Star Diagram yet!”

“Don’t worry, I have already prepared a Lightning Star Diagram Book for you,”

“… Does your family sell those? Why do you make it sound like it was a cabbage? I heard this thing was being controlled by some influential power, and it was impossible for them to be on the market. Sister Tangyue, don’t tell me you are from that influential power?” Mo Fan asked.

“Why are you asking so many questions? If you help us complete this mission, then you will receive many benefits.”

“Will there be an Awakening Stone?”

“An Awakening Stone… Alright, if you finish this, then I can bring you to the Magic Association to Awaken.”

Mo Fan felt a headache coming on as he heard this.

_What do you mean, finish this?_

_Pretty lady, you are a teacher, could you please pay attention to the phrasing!_

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

Hangzhou was very close to Shanghai, or perhaps it could be said that Shanghai’s urban area bordered the urban area of Hangzhou.

Mo Fan arrived in a small town in Jiangnan, a location in the north part of Hangzhou, following the instructions of the mature and sexy Mrs. Tangyue.

The name of the small town was Xishui, the name of it was somewhat interesting. However, after Mo Fan arrived in the small town, he realized that this place had cracked, soiled, and abandoned fields everywhere. Compared to the image of the Jiangnan waterways that Mo Fan had in mind, the difference was like heaven and earth.

What water? Let’s not even talk about a river, there was not even a brook to be seen around here. Even a small pond would be a huge problem to find.

The small town seemed to be a decent tourist attraction in the past, and it appeared to have some relatively classic inns. Following the address sent by the beautiful Tangyue, Mo Fan found the “Spaced Inn”. With a glance, he noticed the curvaceous, charming, and wonderful teacher who was sitting on the balcony, and Mo Fan felt much happier.

_Her round butt, and the impressive, majestic mountain peaks. Mrs. Tangyue, are you sure your last name is not Cang?_

Tangyue seemed as though she could sense Mo Fan. As her hair swept past, her eyes like limpid autumn waters were filled with joy as they gazed at the young man who had arrived.

—

“Mrs. Tangyue is still that beautiful person from the past,” Mo Fan couldn’t help but praise her.

“You’re not bad, either. Reaching the Intermediate level at such a young age, even amongst the large noble family and associations, that could be perceived as a genius,” Mrs. Tangyue replied with a smile.

“Mrs. Tangyue isn’t that old either, right? I have yet to truly see your strength,” Mo Fan answered.

“Alright, stop playing dumb. I know you wanted to ask where I was during the calamity of Bo City, right?” Tangyue was very direct.

“Alright, I do want to know because I feel like Mrs. Tangyue isn’t as simple as your regular Intermediate Magician… your background can’t be normal, either. The only thing is, I don’t understand why you came to teach in our Tian Lan Magic High. Is it because you did something that you can’t tell people, or is it perhaps that you are actually the mastermind behind the Black Vatican?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

Tangyue rolled her eyes as she heard this.

_This student’s imagination is quite rich._

“Do you know of the Enforcement Union of the Magic Association?” Tangyue asked him.

“I’ve heard a little about it. It is said they are a group of enforcement Magicians of the highest level, who specialize in catching Magicians who have broken the law?” Mo Fan replied.

“Yes, and I am one of them. The truth is, we were somewhat aware of the plan the Black Vatican had for Bo City. Unfortunately, we were unable to foresee that they had laid down such a large-scale plot. With my strength, I could at most subdue that guy called Salang from the Black Vatican. The rest could only be left for Zhankong and his company… It’s my fault, if I had been able to foresee their objectives earlier, then the calamity wouldn’t have happened.” Tangyue didn’t want to hide the truth from Mo Fan, so she explained things very directly.

“You weren’t at Bo City for even two years, whereas those people had been plotting it for more than ten years, assigning their personnel, and drawing up their plan. It was obvious that the higher-ups didn’t put too much importance on the matters of Bo City, or else, how could they send you as the only spy to Bo City?” Mo Fan responded.

The disaster of Bo City was clearly something the Black Vatican had plotted for a long time. Considering the Enforcement Union was somewhat aware of this, and furthermore, that they had even assigned Tangyue to remain in Bo City, that itself proved that they weren’t a group of total fools.

“As of now, the news of Bo City’s destruction has been spread everywhere. Furthermore, the news of the Black Vatican has also been made public. I have also reported what I know, and the Enforcement Union’s upper echelons have taken over this matter. I believe the Enforcement Union will be able to deliver justice for Bo City very soon,” Tangyue told him.

“Forget it, let’s not discuss sad subjects. Let’s talk about why you have asked me to come. Did something happen in this small town? Why does it look so dried up?” Mo Fan changed the subject.

“Your observation is quite sharp; it is indeed as you said. The water resources of this Xishui town have dried up, it’s nearly like the drought in the northwest,” Mrs. Tangyue said solemnly.

“Is something happening here?” Mo Fan subconsciously asked.

After being in City Hunter’s Squad for so long, Mo Fan had a habit of linking these types of things to being the work of Magical Beasts.

If people thought there were no Magical Beasts in a large city, then they’d were too naive. The bigger the city was, the more Magical Beasts there were, and more people eaten!

“I’m not too clear, it is reported that this strange thing has occurred in many cities and towns. The clues I have found so far are very limited, and that is why I need you to assist me here,” Mrs. Tangyue told him.

“Then you have found the right person. Before I became a Magician, I was determined to pursue a detective career. I have watched over six hundred episodes of Detective Conan, and am thus proficient in various…Oh, my point is, let me know what you need help with,” Mo Fan wanted to talk nonstop, but stopped in his tracks.

“My background is very sensitive, it is very difficult for people to find out. If we aren’t wrong, then the person wanted by our Enforcement Union should have an answer on him.” Tangyue pointed toward a man dressed impressively outside of the window.

“What’s wrong with him?” Mo Fan asked.

“We don’t know for now. However, going from experience, these matters tend to have Demons involved. This Demon is the usual Magician with a distorted personality. There are no lack of scheming Magicians. Even if they didn’t join the Black Vatican, they have still done many things that are against the rules of Heaven. Killing people is a normal occurance for them. Don’t judge him based on the way he is dressed, just like a little master from Hangzhou, the people they kill… More accurately speaking, the people they have killed are no less than that of Magical Beasts,” Tangyue said sincerely.

Tangyue hoped Mo Fan would understand that he wasn’t here to disturb them, but to face off against those evil Magicians. Those Magicians never considered the lives of other people, and when the casting started, they were the first to take action.

“Mrs. Tangyue, you summoned me to help deal with this kind of savage and frightening Magician… I’m afraid I might not be able to deal with them.”

“I originally wanted to call for a Lightning Intermediate Magician; however, he is very far away. If I wait for him, then the wanted person would escape during that time.” Tangyue understood this kind of thing was a bit far-fetched for students like Mo Fan. However, Tangyue didn’t want to let this kind of criminal do as he pleased.

“Mrs. Tangyue, your matters are my matters. Don’t be so polite, I will go and follow that guy, I guarantee that I’ll even grab his household register.”

“You sly little boy, I see you won’t do anything unless I give you some benefits?” Tangyue glared at Mo Fan, that lovably angry appearance was indeed particularly graceful.

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

He swindled three Lightning Star Diagram Books and three Fire Star Diagram Books from Mrs. Tangyue’s hands.

Now, Mo Fan possessed a total of seven Intermediate Magic Books, this increased Mo Fan’s confidence a lot.

After all, Primary Magic and Intermediate Magic were incomparable. Just seeing the tyrannical power from back then, and its incredible ferocity…

However, Mrs. Tangyue reminded Mo Fan that although the Star Diagram Books were not rare for her, the vast majority of Magicians who wanted to continue increasing their strength would definitely not excessively use this kind of auxiliary item.

The Star Diagram Books were, after all, an auxiliary. The more he used it, the more difficult it would be for him to control his Stars.

The Stars were supposed to interact with their Magicians. Using the Star Diagram Books was equivalent to having someone else taking care of the Stars, and thus, it would be harder for them to listen to you.

Mrs. Tangyue recommended that Mo Fan stop using these Star Diagram Books after this time. If there was a side effect, then he’d be the one losing out. After all, based on Mo Fan’s current cultivation speed, it seemed like he would most likely reach a higher realm.

—

After taking the Star Diagram Books, Mo Fan dressed up like a normal backpacker as he began to tail the poor, yet vicious-looking villain.

Mo Fan was actually feeling quite confused, as the person looked relatively handsome and elegant, so why would he do such an evil thing?

After walking into a desolated field, Mo Fan found the man in the round hat standing in place. Furthermore, it looked like he was inspecting something.

This was originally a very large field, and he would occasionally see a few farmers sitting in the shade sighing. Normally, they’d be able to harvest their crops during autumn, but this time, it had dried up for some reason. How could they not feel aggrieved about this?

“Uncle, do you remember when this place began to dry up?” The man in the hat who had walked over to an old farmer, and asked this courteously.

“Around ten days ago, just after my godforsaken child decided to go upstream to swim. I told him to not swim over there, and now, our crops have ended up absorbing his dirty water… Oh, after they went to the brook, they came back to tell me that the water of the pond had diminished by a lot. There wasn’t enough to even swim. I reckon the water disappeared like magic from that day on,” a farmer with a dirty tank top replied.

“Oh, thank you. I’ll go and take a look,” the man with the hat said.

“Youngster, I advise you to not go. I heard that the place’s temperature was unusually high, it’s like it began to boil up.”

“Don’t worry.“

The man in the hat walked toward the dried riverbed according to the instructions of the old farmer, heading upstream.

At this moment, Mo Fan awkwardly realized if he followed the person into the desolated area, he could easily be found out.

After waiting for a while, Mo Fan ran up to the old farmer who’d had a conversation with the man in the hat.

“So he followed brook upstream…” Mo Fan secretly nodded to himself.

“Something is not right, let’s hurry up and follow him,” the voice of a woman quietly appeared next to him.

Mo Fan was startled, he turned his head around, only to realize it was Mrs. Tangyue!

Dammit, you think having a Shadow spell is amazing? There’s no need to be so scary and appear without notice!

“That person seems like he is also looking for the reason behind the dried-up brook,” Mo Fan said to Mrs. Tangyue.

“Mhm, let’s go. If I’m not mistaken, then there’ll be more and more people gathering in this place,” Mrs. Tangyue replied.

When Mo Fan heard this, he was confused. He felt like this matter wasn’t as simple as Mrs. Tangyue had made it out to be…

——

After continuing, the water upstream described by the old farmer actually flowed down from the hills. After walking this road, it was clear there was no signs of moisture in this entire brook, and the vegetation surrounding the brook was visibly starting to wither.

“Why does this place look like this? It looks like it has been dried up for a month or two! If it was a drought, then I’m sure the news would’ve reported this when I was on the internet… Crap, this place has no signal. Dammit, of course a rural area doesn’t have anything!” Mo Fan looked down at his phone and couldn’t help but complain.

“This shouldn’t have anything to do with a natural drought, and I’ve never heard of Hangzhou being in a dry season in July. Let’s continue following that person, I’m sure we’ll find the answer soon…” Mrs. Tangyue told him.

Mo Fan nodded. As he was about to open his mouth, Mrs. Tangyue’s jade-like hand suddenly covered his mouth.

Mo Fan widened his eyes in shock, and he didn’t have time to react before Mrs. Tangyue suddenly pulled him to hide in the shadows of a tree next to them.

“Hide your aura!” Mrs. Tangyue exhaled next to Mo Fan’s ears, her breath turning into a captivating smell of the wind.

Happiness came very suddenly, Mo Fan had no time to hide his own aura. He stood there, hiding with Mrs. Tangyue and her incredible body behind the trees.

As the warm wind attacked, the shadows of the trees began dancing. The two people who looked like they were french kissing by the trees began to turn hazy and gradually integrated with the shades of the trees before they completely disappeared.

A strong Dark aura flooded the surroundings. Mo Fan lowered his head and couldn’t see his own body, he had to carefully look to see there was an outline of a person beneath the shadow of the tree. Mrs. Tangyue’s shadow could not be seen, it was like there was no one there. However, the wonderful fragrance, as well as the glossy skin of her body, had all been sampled by Mo Fan. His concentration couldn’t help but waver.

While he was getting used to being inside the shadow, a few footsteps were heard from not too far away. It sounded like there were quite a few people.

Mo Fan retracted his thoughts as he gazed over to the other side of the dried-up brook. A group of people appeared from between the trees, and they seemed to be Hunter Magicians based on their outfits.

Hunter Magicians often worked outside of the safety zones, and they would contend against Magical Beasts. Their equipment was all very exquisite, a glance was all that was needed to recognize what they were.

Mo Fan was confused. Could it be that this matter had been noticed by the government, and they issued a bounty? There were Hunters coming here to take care of it?

“Trust me, this place definitely has a Fire Soul. Those blockheads thought this place had dried up, that is far too funny. You are all very clear on how much a Fire Soul can be sold for. Let’s take this chance when no one has noticed to grab the Fire Soul and then sell it. After that, we’ll be rich!” a man with a cowboy hair../style at the very front declared.

“Panxiong, you better not mess with us. We had to give up a bounty to come here. If there’s nothing here then… HMPH,” a man with a scarred face shot back.

“In my opinion, there is most likely a Fire Soul here. If it dried up, then this place wouldn’t have shriveled up in such a short time. How does this place even look like Jiangnan? It simply looks like a desert closer to the northwest,” the man with spectacles said.

“Alright, let’s do our best to quickly locate the whereabouts of the Fire Soul.”

“Hahaha, this time we’ll really become rich!”

“Panxiong, we all know you’re a Fire Magician, you better not refine the Fire Soul. Since the rest of us can’t enjoy this thing, then it’s better if we sell it and distribute the profit among us!”

_______________

Translator: Totally Lav

Editor: RED

Fire Soul?

Numerous question marks emerged within Mo Fan’s head.

This appears to be a concept that school doesn’t teach?

Mo Fan couldn’t help but gaze toward the Mrs. Tangyue, who was extremely close to him.

Mrs. Tangyue had an extremely delicate oval face, and her eyes were bright, like electricity ran through them. Her tall nose seemed sexy, and her small, red mouth was fascinating. Her skin was fair white and ruddy, and despite her face being so close to him, he was still unable to find a flaw on it.

Mrs. Tangyue noticed Mo Fan’s lecherous glint, she harshly glared at him and said, “If you blasphemed a teacher in the past, you’d be beaten to death!”

“Sister Tangyue, please, currently, it is you who’s pressing me! Seducing a student in the past would result in being soaked in a pig basket!” Mo Fan said.

As Tangyue saw that person leaving, she finally let go of Mo Fan.

The second after she released Mo Fan, their figures once again emerged behind the trees. It was extremely strange.

Tangyue felt disinclined to blabber with Mo Fan, she knew that Mo Fan definitely did not know what a Soul was. In that moment, she also began to dispel his doubts, as a proper role model, “The world produces elements. And these elements would also have different rankings depending on their environments. In some of the special areas, the elements are rather active, and as a result, it’d give birth to a Fire Soul. If this kind of Fire Soul was to be refined and absorbed by a Fire Magician, then the might of the Fire Magician’s spells would increase several times over!”

Several times over?

As Mo Fan heard this, he became excited.

Mo Fan had already realized that no matter which cultivation level you were at, the cast spells essentially still had the same might.

For example, he was currently an Intermediate Magician. His speed in casting Primary spells was extremely quick, but its power was the same as other Primary Magicians.

The Fire Burst: Rupture which Xu Dahuang cast was not much different than the one which Mo Fan cast. This had become a big problem for Mo Fan. In the Xuanhuan novels that he had read in the past, the hero’s might would increase along with their cultivation!

Mo Fan thought that the power of his spells would never increase, who would’ve thought that the thing that would allow him to increase his power would actually be in this place!

A Fire Soul!

Magicians had to go through absorption and refining of the elemental seed produced by Heaven and Earth to increase their own magic power. Furthermore, if it increased the power several times… did that mean it would be able to reach a power where Fire Burst: Rupture was capable of directly killing those Three-eyed Magic Wolves and Colossal-eyed Ape Rats?

Mo Fan didn’t have a Stardust to store his Mana anymore, but a Nebula. Casting ten or so Primary Magic spells wouldn’t be fatigue him too much. Intermediate Magic’s ability in killing was indeed very strong, but there’s no way they’d be using Intermediate Magic to kill the smaller enemies as well. That way, he’d be wasting too much mana and energy!

The power of Primary Magic was obviously not on par with Intermediate Magic; however, the effects of the spells were something else. For example, Lightning element’s paralysis would be useful in any kind of battle.

“The most common kind of Fire Soul in the market would still reach up to 2 million RMB, and there’d still be people fighting over it. I was wondering why this criminal would take a risk and wander about, it seems like he was drawn out by this Fire Soul.” Mrs. Tangyue came to an understand the situation, and her cherry mouth turned up into a slight smile.

“Two…two million, oh my heavens. That amount of money could get me a large villa in the downtown of Shanghai.” Mo Fan subconsciously took a deep breath. This Soul was even more precious than diamonds!

“I’m sorry, that still wouldn’t be enough!” Tangyue gave Mo Fan a knowing glance.

Alright, the prices of real estate in Shanghai were just too excessive.

However, a small Fire Soul’s price could reach that of degree, this really shocked Mo Fan.

Furthermore, this thing could directly increase the power of Fire Magic. Not only would Primary Magic receive an increase in its power, but even Intermediate Magic would, as well…

Just thinking about the unreasonable power of Fiery Fist… If the power of Fiery Fist doubled, then not only would it be able to directly kill those Minion-class Magical Beasts, but even those Warrior-class Magical Beasts wouldn’t be able to resist it!

“Oh right, I remember that girl Mu Ningxue had an innate something…” Mo Fan suddenly thought of something as he quickly asked.

It hadn’t been long since Mo Fan had gotten here, so there was a lot of knowledge that he needed to replenish.

“Mhm, other than the special elemental seed produced by heaven and earth, there’d be some people from those noble and ancient families where they’d innately have a soul of some sort. These people would awaken a few years earlier than normal people, and their awakened element would be much stronger than others by a level… Mu Ningxue should be an Innate Glass Ice Seed. It belongs to the strongest type of Ice within the Ice Soul Seeds. The power would be 2.5 times stronger than your normal ice user. When someone like her uses Ice Spread: Cover, she could freeze anyone in a certain area within two seconds. Against a group of Magical Beasts, she’d be able to have twice the effect with half the work. Pairing that with the Earth Wave of Earth Element that can slow the movement of Magical Beasts, she’d be able to freeze countless Magical Beasts,” Mrs .Tangyue patiently explained to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan gasped.

No wonder why that old scoundrel Mu Zhuoyun thought of Mu Ningxue as a treasure, and why the entirety of Bo City referred to Mu Ningxue as the number one girl genius. This kind of Innate talent that allowed her to be stronger than others by 2.5 times truly let her sweep past her peers. Furthermore, this girl awakened her element a few years earlier than others, her advantage was very clear. No wonder why she was directly recruited by the Imperial Institute.

“Normal people indeed have no way to compete…” Mo Fan whispered.

Tangyue’s face revealed a smile as she said to Mo Fan, “Your Innate gift is also tyrannical. You have one more element than others. If we were to compare, then your Innate Dual Element would be much more favorable than Mu Ningxue’s. Element seed ranking can be increased through absorbing the seeds produced by Heaven and Earth. Having another one being produced is something you can discover, but not search for.”

“Mrs. Tangyue, since you’re putting it like that, then I’m feeling better about myself.”

“There are also cons. That is because you use more resources compared to your peers. If you can’t increase your cultivation, and lack in resources, then you’ll be no different than an useless person. In short, your Innate talent burns money and resources.”

The corner of Mo Fan’s mouth twitched.

_Mrs. Tangyue, if you stop rubbing salt on my wounds, then we can still remain a happy student and teacher._

The aspect of burning money was something Mo Fan have already experienced. When other people bought a Star Trail, they would at most spend around 50,000 RMB. When Mo Fan had to buy them, he’d need a Fire type and a Lightning type, making it 100,000 RMB in total!

Furthermore, if he was to think about it in the form of Soul Seeds… Then he can’t just get a Fire Soul Seed, but it seems like he’d need to get a Lightning type, too… If a Fire Soul Seed cost 2 million RMB, then just what kind of price would that put a Lightning type at?

_Shit, this means I’ll have to live in the rural areas for the rest of my life!_

* * *

Translator: Totally Lav

Editor: RED

“I suggest you rely on a rich and influential power. They will provide you with their rich resources, that way you can secure a good future. Of course, in the future you will need to follow their orders. After all, they will have given you countless resources…” Mrs. Tangyue recommended.

“Mrs. Tangyue, you seem to have an extraordinary background. How about you provide for me and in the future… I won’t hesitate to obey you, even in extreme danger,” Mo Fan proposed.

“I dare you to sweet talk me again!” Tangyue face flushed bright red as she gave this perverted student a deadly glare. She understood the nasty meaning concealed beneath his words.

Mo Fan didn’t dare to be rash again. He still needed Mrs. Tangyue for her help, it was better if he quit while he was ahead, or else he’d be left behind.

—

After the Hunter Magicians left, the two of them began to silently follow them. They didn’t dare to follow too closely. Mrs. Tangyue’s Shadow spells were not very effective, and they could easily be discovered.

Following the footsteps of these people, the teacher and the student finally found the source of the river.

The source of the river was intentionally dammed up, forming a small reservoir. The current reservoir had already dried up. There were even some dried fish bones lying within.

“How come there are so many people. This kind of news is indeed hard to hide.” Tangyue and Mo Fan were hiding and quickly discovered that there were two groups at the small reservoir.

One of the groups was the Hunter Magicians from before. Apart from the three men; Pan Xiong, the man with the scarred face, and the cowboy-../styled man, there were another seven comrades with them. At this moment, this troop of Hunter Magicians were looking as if they were facing an enemy as they stood on a spot near the hills.

Another group looked as though they had just arrived. There was a total of 4 men. Every one of them gave off a noble and virtuous impression, and in the face of the Hunter Magician squad, they hardly seemed fazed.

“Pan Xiong, if you don’t want to be begging in the streets of Hangzhou, then be a good boy and take your men away. The Fire Soul Seed that we, the Dongfang family, have settled our eyes on will never be shared with others!” stated one of the men. He seemed to be the head of the group, and wore a traditional luxurious Tang suit.

This man was very particular about his clothing, every one strand of hair looked as if were specially done. If he was wandering in the street, it would be normal to think he’d attract the attention of numerous ladies.

The Dongfang Family?

Mo Fan started to think. Previously, from watching television and reading novels, there’d usually be a person with a surname like this, always so imperious. In groups, they’d be rude and cocky. Every time they spoke, they’d always begin with stating their family name first. It was like they were a part of the royal family!

“So it is the Dongfang family, those ill-mannered people are also aiming for the Fire Soul Seed. The Dongfang family is famous for their specialization in the Fire Element. This rare opportunity happened to appear in Hangzhou, which is a part of their territory. There’s no reason for them to let other people get it first,” Tangyue murmured to herself.

Tangyue herself was specialized in the Fire Element, so she knew of the renowned Fire Elemental families within the country.

“They look like they’re about to brawl, but the problem is, where is the hooded man?” Mo Fan couldn’t help wondering, after seeing these two groups with their swords drawn.

“He must be hiding somewhere. He plans on having these two groups fight against each other while he snatches it away,” Tangyue said.

“What should we do?”

“We’ll wait to the end. No matter what happens this time, we’ll take him down!” Mrs. Tangyue spoke as her eyes showed clear determination.

While both of them were having a conversation, the four men from the Dongfang family had already begun fighting against Pan Xiong’s Hunter Magicians.

All four members of the Dongfang family were Fire Magicians. When those four began to brawl, lumps of blazing flame appeared in their palms.

Mo Fan basically didn’t see them take any preparation action for their Primary level Flame Bursts, since they were all cast and very familiar with it. It seemed it was very simple for them to cast Primary magic.

Damn, all four of them were Intermediate Magicians! The Dongfang family was really something special, the people that they sent out to fight for the Fire Soul Seed were all Intermediate Magicians. If they were in Bo City, all of them would be famous!

In the other group, those ten Hunter Magicians didn’t look like they were weak, either. The aura that Pan Xiong, Scarface, and Cowboy gave off were Intermediate level. The other seven magicians in the group were elites from the Primary Magician level. Third level of Primary Magic cast within three seconds!

This was a top-notch group of Hunter Magicians. They probably had the ability to kill a General-class Magical Beast!

“We’ll need to hide further away if we don’t want to get affected,” Mrs. Tangyue pulled at Mo Fan, and they gently moved back, hiding under a big patch of shady greenery…

Magic flashed, his vision blurred, as if everything had gone black. All his surroundings disappeared...

When his vision came back again, Mo Fan was amazed that he had appeared under the shadow of a different cluster of vine trees, over thirty meters away!

His eyes were filled with shock and awe at Mrs. Tangyue’s unknown ability.

“This is called Fleeing Shadow, a Shadow Elemental Primary spell. It won’t take long for you to learn this spell when you have Awakened the Shadow Element.” Mrs. Tangyue grinned with confidence. It was so enchanting, making a teenager like Mo Fan feel a reverent admiration for her.

This kind of technique was strong and yet mysterious. With her charming body, it was hard for the boys not to fall for her.

On the other side, the Dongfang family and the Hunter Magicians were also engaged in an intense fight. The sound of Flame Burst explosions continuously roared throughout this small forest. The dried plants went up in flames from the blazes started by the magicians.

Mo Fan watched closely. He realized these Intermediate Magicians who had cast their magic first hadn’t displayed their Intermediate Magic yet.

An Intermediate Magic needed to control a total of 49 Stars. By the time they finished drawing the Star Atlas, an enemy would’ve already cast a few Primary Magic spells on them.

Primary Magic strength wasn’t as powerful as Intermediate Magic, but the releasing speed was much faster!!

“You guys cover me, I’ll let them have a taste of my Fiery Fist!” shouted the handsome man who wore the traditional Tang outfit.

It was obvious that the four had been grouped together often. The other three instantly stood in a triangle formation to protect the man in the Tang Suit.

His Stars were connecting one by one, rapidly forming a Star Path.

The bright Star Paths crossed once again, evolving into a Star Atlas under the feet of the Tang Suit man.

The moment the Star Atlas was formed, bright red flames wrapped around the Tang Suit man. He looked like a burning soul who was searching for revenge. The heat around him rapidly escalated, causing the local air temperature to rise. The air felt like a boiling cauldron.

“Fiery Fist, Exploding Heavens!”

After seeing the Tang Suit man cast his Intermediate magic, the three men standing in front of him immediately got out of the way.

The man roared as he gathered all the flames into his right hand. His stance, posture, and aura all seemed very familiar to Mo Fan.

* * *

Translator: Totally Lav

Editor: RED

It was clear that the man wearing a Tang suit had been at the Intermediate level for quite a while. The fluency of his casting was much more proficient than Mo Fan, and the most important thing was, the other person was using his own Control to draw the Star Atlas…

As the three people dispersed, a colossal fist of flames suddenly rumbled down from the heavens. The small mountain ridge seemed unable to endure the power of the flames as it began to tremble fiercely.

The heat became increasingly violent. Some of the surrounding trees quickly snapped off, and the treetops were so bent that it would have reached the ground.

As the colossal fist of flames barged in, the Hunter Magicians began to scatter in fear, leaving only the Cowboy standing there. There was no sign of him evading the spell, his eyes even revealed a bit of disdain!

“Rock Barrier; Stone Range!” Cowboy Man yelled out, his two hands beginning to push out.

Within the tongue of the flame, you could see a rock wall emerging. It formed into a rugged barrier of massive rocks!

The rugged wall of stones looked like a shield that protected the people inside it, so thick that nothing could break into it.

The colossal fist of flames that exploded at the top of the mountain actually left behind an imprint, but the waves of flames could only flow out into the surrounding area as they followed the stone barrier.

Mo Fan gaped as he watched this scene.

Mo Fan knew the power of Fiery Fist. The strongest part of Fiery Fist was the very center, which was able to burn buildings into ash. The attack power was enough to destroy an entire bungalow! However, when the incredible might of Fiery Fist smashed into the stone wall, it had actually been blocked. The Cowboy Man who was standing up against the Fiery Fist was unharmed, and so were the rest of the people behind him!

“Intermediate Rock spell, Rock Barrier. The formerly strongest defensive spell of Intermediate level.” Tangyue was very suitable to be a teacher, immediately explaining to Mo Fan the unknown information of the Intermediate realm.

“Impressive!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

At the Primary level, everyone only possessed a single spell. Thus, in a magic duel, it’d be each one taking turns to attack. In the Intermediate level, everyone possessed four spells. A duel between Magicians became a battle of tricks, with tactics of attacking and defending.

Although the Hunter Magician squad wasn’t born famous, their match up was incredibly reasonable.

After Cowboy Man finished his defensive tactics, the man with scars on his face also finished casting his Wind Intermediate Magic from beneath the rocks.

“Wind Trail, Tornado!”

In an instant, the reservoir within the mountain range felt as though

_Whewwwwww~_

A gale suddenly erupted. The dry and warm air was quickly blown away by the evil wind. The people who were standing by the small reservoir was clearly feeling the air within a hundred meters of their surroundings frantically flowing into a designated area. The streams of air congested into the most constrained point of the air, causing it to slowly swirl around and build up into a frightening tornado!

The tornado spun the dust into itself as it formed into a hazy yellow dragon extending across the sky. Even the trees in the surroundings were unable to endure the strength of the wind, and were nearly pulled into the tornado!

As the frenzied winds blew into his face, they began to hurt a bit. Mo Fan was no longer able to clearly see the situation by the small water reservoir. All he could see was that Wind Trail, Tornado that was like a vicious monster, turning the entire place upside down.

Mo Fan had experienced the Intermediate Magic of Wind element, and seeing it again this time made his heart surge once more. Compared to the Primary level Wind Track, the Intermediate Wind spell was like a Tyrannosaurus; the destructive power was incredibly frightening!

After the tornado passed by, the small reservoir had changed in form. The bent trees were bent, the collapsed had collapsed, and stones were everywhere.

In the center of the chaos were precisely the four Magicians from the Dongfang Family. It seemed like they had used some kind of Magic Tool to defend themselves, as they weren’t spun up into the air. If not,, they wouldn’t even have half of their life remaining if they had fallen from such a height.

Although the four did defend themselves against the spell, their appearances showed they were in a difficult situation. The man who was wearing a Tang suit seemed to have some anger revealed on his face.

Both of the sides were burning with rage, and the Magicians were no longer cautiously using their Intermediate spells. Mo Fan and Tangyue specifically retreated over fifty paces in order to avoid the crossfire.

The fight continued for ten minutes, and Magic Tools were brought out as well. Ultimately, the man wearing the Tang suit used a Deathstrike Magical Tool to cut down the scarred man’s rock shield. The Hunter Magician squad retreated in shock.

Once their defense was taken away, the group of Hunter Magicians who needed a whole team to compete were completely overwhelmed by the four Intermediate Magicians.

“Today, I will give your Hunter Union some face. If you don’t get out now, then I will burn all of you into ashes! When the Enforcement Team comes, they won’t be able to find a single trace of you!” the man in Tang suit yelled out angrily, and a golden ball of flame emerged from his hand!

Xiong Pan and his people were incredibly reluctant, but they had no ability to stand up for themselves.

It wasn’t that their skills were not on par, it was the fact that these Family members just had way too much Magical Equipment on them. With great difficulty, they were able to suppress their opponents in term of skills, but they ended up being easily defeated by the Magical Tools!

At this time, the difference between an influential family and a grassroot Magician became very clear.

“We’ll go!” Xiong Pan clenched his teeth as he carried his teammate who had been knocked unconscious.

What they could rejoice about is that no one had died. The truth is, the people from the Dongfang Family were completely capable of killing them right now; however, they chose to not do so due to potential repercussions from the Court Association.

Magicians fighting over treasures in the outside world was a common occurrence. Magicians who had reached a higher realm most likely had their hands stained with the blood of their comrades. The Hunter Magicians believed their own lives were more important than the Fire Soul Seed.

Their group quickly retreated. They did not linger around this place as they seemed to be completely out of energy.

The four people from the Dongfang family let out long breaths, finally relaxing after seeing the Hunter Magicians retreat.

“Shit, they even dared to mess with us. I reckon our loss was quite big as well, my Nebula is nearly exhausted,” the handsome spiky-haired man cursed out.

“Yeah, it was thanks to what Brother Jun said; directly scare them away.”

The face of Tang Suit Man hadn’t relaxed. Those Hunter Magicians usually fought against Magical Beasts; they were more powerful than the Intermediate Magicians who usually stayed within the city. Thankfully, he had brought these three people who could be considered to be Elites within the family, or else he would’ve died here. The people from the Hunter Union were indeed not people they could easily provoke!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

“Since they left, let’s start harvesting the treasure. Tsk tsk, a Fire Soul Seed, if I obtained it, then Yunmei would definitely kneel down for me! Let’s see if she’d still act all virtuous as she ignores me everyday!” the man with a mole on his face said.

“Give this thing to me, I’ll give you guys some other good things.” Dongfang Jun said firmly, as he tidied up his expensive clothing.

The other people were shocked before they began to smile apologetically.

No matter how dissatisfied they were, they still did not dare to fall out with Dongfang Jun. Although each of them was indeed an Intermediate Mage, Dongfang Jun was a direct disciple that was able to eat on the same table as those from other noble sects. These people just did not have the guts to strive against Dongfang Jun.

“I’m sorry, this thing belongs to me. As for other benefits… If my mood is good, then I’ll let you all die a little less painfully.” As the other four were planning on reaping their harvest, a cold and gloomy voice floated over to them.

An extremely pale-looking youngster with a baseball cap and a somewhat handsome face was walking over. The chaotic atmosphere that remained after the Magic Battle suddenly descended into a biting cold that penetrated into their skin, right down into their bone marrow.

This man had the aura of an expert, and an indifferent killing intent. The person who looked like a runaway scholar suddenly revealed a ruthlessness that was similar to that of a Magical Beast. He swept his emotionless gaze past the four Magicians from the Dongfang Family.

“Who are you this time… Hmph, you actually want to reap our prize after we worked so hard for it…” Dongfang Jun’s face immediately displayed his anger.

“You might have heard of my name, Chao He!” The man slowly took off his hat, revealing half of his face, immediately showing a demonic expression! What shocked everyone was that on his forehead was a mark that was clearly imprinted using a branding iron. The people who had this kind of brand were mostly those who had been sentenced to death by the Magic Trials!

“Chao He, it’s…it’s that Killer Magician!” the man with the combed hair exclaimed.

“Dongfang Family? If I remember correctly, you guys have a girl called Dongfang Qinger, she seems to be quite delicious,” Chao He began to laugh.

“You bastard, you actually dare to toy with a disciple of our Dongfang Family?”

“Oh, toying with her wasn’t anything special. What I meant was she was quite delicious when I ate her!” Chao He licked his lips, looking like a blood demon.

As the four people heard this, they began to feel goosebumps!

They knew that the girl called Dongfang Qinger had been taken away by this crazy demon, Chao He. Who would’ve thought that this monster had actually eaten her!

On the other side, Mo Fan glanced at Mrs. Tangyue, his heart rippling with an endless wave of fear.

This person was so insane that he’d even eat a person, what was the difference between him and a Magical Beast?

“That’s why we cannot let him go this time,” Tangyue whispered as her eyes turned cold.

“The four people of the Dongfang Family aren’t weak, they should be able to -” Before Mo Fan finished, that monster called Chao He began to laugh strangely.

His laughter was extremely dreadful, like the screech of a blood-sucking bat.

As he was frantically laughing, Mo Fan suddenly realized there was something black slowly descending from the high altitude. It seemed like a black spider web that had been there from before, and at same time, it was also seemed like the claw of some vicious creature slamming down!

“I was actually here before all of you. In fact, this Demonic Pit was actually a gift I prepared for our meeting!”

A black claw and a black spider web appeared. When the four men raised their heads, they could see the trap, enveloped in a black mist. It was the shadow of an astonishingly sinister spider. Its numerous eyes displayed a avaricious glint and made them feel like they were being absorbed by the creature.

“It’s the Curse element, retreat!” Dongfang Jun yelled out, his face changing greatly.

Everyone panicked. They had never seen a magic like this, that allowed the unseen black silk to bind their whole body. As they were bound, if they closed their eyes in an attempt to cast magic, the avaricious eyes and the frightening body of the sinister spider would appear within their Spiritual World. Its disgusting body and masses of eyes within their minds made them unable to control a single Star.

“Oh no, we’re too late!” Tangyue suddenly stood up as her face turned pale.

Originally, Tangyue wanted to take action when Chao He was attacking the four people from the Dongfang Family, and quickly and thoroughly deal with him. Who would’ve thought that he had prepared a Curse Web here ahead of time, and bound the four Dongfang men instantly.

The spells from the Curse Element were usually sinister and cunning. You couldn’t defend against them if you were not careful. The four men from the Dongfang Family had been completely focused on the squad of Hunter Magicians. When they seemed to be relatively exhausted, Chao He cast his Intermediate Curse Magic to directly and effortlessly sweep up everything and everyone instantly.

Furthermore, the Sinister Spider Trap had been cultivated to the third level. When it reached that level, the sinister spider’s spirit would become a phantom that would enter people’s minds, leaving those who had fallen into the trap without a way to resist.

The Dongfang men were not weak at all. However, they were unable to defend themselves against this kind of cursing scheme. Once they had fallen into the trap, these four people were no different than disabled people. They were simply sheep!

“We should rejoice over the fact that we didn’t appear earlier, or else we’d be the ones who fell into that trap,” Mo Fan said with a gloomy face.

The fugitive that Mrs. Tangyue was planning on dealing with was even more frightening than a Magical Beast. This person was just like a spider; they put out a transparent web, and had their prey walk into it unaware. Once they ferociously tried to break the web, that’s when the God of Death appeared in front of you.

“If they were a Spirit Element or a Light Element, they’d still be able to survive. Otherwise, they’re dead for sure.” Tangyue really wanted to save them. However, even if she was to take action now, she’d be of no use. She specialized in the Fire Element and Dark Element. The spells from these two elements were simply unable to break the magic of the Curse Element.

“How about Lightning element?” Mo Fan had already pulled out a Star Atlas Book.

Tangyue immediately shook her head, “All of the spells within the Curse Element are cast beforehand. Even if Lightning killed the person who cast the spell, it’d still be of no use. The Curse Element would still continuously nibble away the life of these four men. In other words, the second these four people entered this place without realizing the Curse was cast, that was when their lives no longer belonged to themselves.”

“This guy is truly dreadful.” Mo Fan couldn’t help feeling astonished.

Tangyue bit the side of her lip, her expression solemn.

As a Judge of the Magic Trials, she had an obligation to save people. However right now, she could only stand there and watch the Curse swallow the lives of the four men.

She couldn’t take action, because even if she did, she still wouldn’t be able to save the four Dongfang men.

She could only wait, wait until the moment Chao He loosened his vigilance while he harvested the Fire Soul Seed, before she could deal with him. If she let him escape this time, then who knew how many more people would suffer from a similar calamity!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

Dark transparent threads tangled around the four Dongfang men. Their faces seemed lifeless, as if their souls was being drained away bit by bit by some sort of evil matter.

The only person who had the ability to resist this was Dongfang Jun. He appeared to be in pain as he furiously shouted “If you kill us, the Dongfang Family will never let you live!!”

“The people from the famous family are really dumb! I’m not even scared of the Trial Guild. Would I be scared of a mere family?” Chao He retorted with a gloomy grin.

Chao He didn’t bother to care for these men whose souls were slowly getting drained away. His focus was on the bottom of the badly cracked reservoir.

In truth, Chao He were also very surprised. This was indeed a water source. How would a Fire Soul Seed appear here? Unless, it was the Hellfire…?

Normally, Hellfire was a fire made from underworld heat that had been quenched for thousands of years. This type of flame as a Fire Soul was pretty docile, so it was quite easy to make it yield and refine for your own use.

This type of Fire Soul Seed was the best pick for many of the Fire Element magicians due to the fact that it was subtle and impressively strong. In an auction, it usually sold for an exorbitant price.

One of these Elemental Soul Seeds prices could reach up hundreds of millions. If you failed to refine it, then you might as well abandon your cultivation!

“Very good. After I refine this Hellfire, I will be able to do whatever I want with my increased power!!” Chao He shouted joyfully.

He still had an insurmountable gap to becoming an Advanced Magician. In normal conditions, his strength wouldn’t increase greatly in a short amount of time. However, with the Hellfire, the power of his Fire Magic would increase remarkably. _Let’s see if those Hunter Magicians and the people from the Magic Trials would dare to hunt me!!_

_BOOM!_

As a screeching noise was heard, the cracked and dry water reservoir exploded, a scorched hole appearing in its place.

The location of the hidden Hellfire wasn’t very deep. This kind of Elemental Seed would normally cause a major alteration to its surroundings. When that happened, it hinted that it was laying bare, ready to be discovered.

After the hole exploded, a heatwave from below shot up. The heatwave formed into a pillar of flames, as if it had been freed from its shackles.

Chao He was laughing madly when he saw this majestic pillar of flames.

There really was a Fire Soul Seed!

Judging by the clean, captivating red, he was able to determine that this Hellfire was relatively pure, it was a Rose Flame!

The normal color of flames was scarlet red. That kind of scarlet flame could be called Common grade. Any Magician who had Awakened the Fire Element was capable of controlling that sort of flame.

Blaze was of the Spirit Grade. The heavens produced a special kind of flames with a Spiritual nature, able to call themselves “Blazes”. This kind of Blaze, dyed a captivating rose-red, was named a Rose Blaze. Its scorching heat was much higher than other Fire Soul Seeds. It could be described as simple, yet ferocious!

Taking such a high risk and killing more people for this kind of treasure was indeed worth the trouble!!

Chao He’s entire being began to tremble from excitement. His ecstatic expression was greatly different compared to the four Dongfang Family corpses whose souls had been drained dry.

—

“You wait here and observe, I’ll head in first,” Tang Yue whispered to Mo Fan.

“You don’t need my help?” Mo Fan pointed at his nose.

“The opponent is a crazy murderer. I only let you come along as an extra layer of protection, not to fight this psycho,” Tangyue replied with a serious tone.

To Tangyue, Mo Fan still was a student. If the other people had seen those four Intermediate Magicians from the Dongfang Family die, that person would be trembling in fear. Tangyue knew that Mo Fan was brave, but that didn’t mean Tangyue would let Mo Fan fight needlessly.

Due to the fact the Magic Trials was currently dealing with the calamity in Bo City, they were unable to dispatch any people. Otherwise, Tangyue wouldn’t have allowed Mo Fan to join a dangerous mission like this.

Mrs. Tangyue had already said so, Mo Fan could only remain motionless and observe…

On the other side, Chao He’s hands were directly touching the Rose Blaze Pillar that had erupted. It was obvious that the captivating red energy was merging with Chao He. He was enjoying the power flowing into him.

After Tangyue waited for a few moments, she finally began to move.

Her beautiful figure was able to smoothly move through the shadows of the trees. In just a few blinks, Tangyue had already appeared behind Chao He.

As Mo Fan watched Tangyue casting her Shadow Magic, he subconsciously held his breath. He thought if he breathed heavier, then the psycho might discover them.

It started with a dark Star Path, which nimbly condensed itself under Mrs. Tangyue’s feet before rapidly constructing a Star Atlas filled with a mysterious dark energy.

After the Star Atlas was completed, Mrs. Tangyue slowly stretched out both of her arms. Her buxom chest impressively condensed a half-hidden giant spike!

The Giant Shadow Spike looked like it contained abundant dark energy. The surrounding shadows began to distort as it was being formed silently.

Even when the Giant Shadow Spike suddenly speared through the area ahead, there was only traces of the shadows rippling, and not a single sound was heard.

Mo Fan watched this Giant Shadow Spike in shock, he couldn’t help but lower his head as it swept past before he realized this Giant Shadow Spike had disappeared from its path. There was only an incredibly fast silhouette that indicated its existence.

This was the Shadow Element’s Intermediate Magic???

Mo Fan was shocked that it had no form and that it was a completely silent skill. How could one possibly defend against this?

The Giant Shadow Spike flew past the woods, abruptly appeared in Chao He’s shadow. The Giant Shadow Spike didn’t assault the physical body of Chao He, but his shadow.

Despite the beautiful pillar of flame that was lighting up the surroundings brightly, Chao He’s shadow was clearly shown. The Giant Shadow Spike shot from Tangyue in the woods accurately speared Chao He’s shadow, just like a person being impaled.

Chao He’s whole body quivered violently, his shadow was nailed down and couldn’t move an inch. His body couldn’t move either, as if his body was physically nailed down.

Tangyue felt more at ease when she saw that Chao He was successfully spiked down.

Giant Shadow Spike was one of the strongest imprisoning spells in Intermediate Magic. It was unable to cause damage to any creature, but it was capable of stopping their movements like a pressure point. It was also able to seal the enemy’s thoughts and render them momentarily unable to cast magic.

The target of the Giant Shadow Spike was the shadow. Even if they were used Magic Equipments or Armor, they still wouldn’t be able to defend against it.

“Another hidden party? This is getting more and more interesting.” Chao He stiffly turned around. It felt like his chest was pierced by an unknown item, making it hard to move.

“Four more lives have died in your arms, and they were all Intermediate Magicians. Not only will you be punished with death, even your soul will be sentenced.” Tangyue walked out from the wood coldly. Her eyes were filled with the rage and dignity of an executor as she glared at Chao He!!

* * *

Translator: Shiden

Editor: RED

Chao He turned around and saw Tangyue. He didn’t even seem slightly surprised. Instead, he had a sly grin his face.

“I believe I should have two more charges, and one of them is for killing a member of the Magic Trials.” Chao He locked his eyes straight onto Tang Yue, as if he wanted to tear apart her soft clothing.

“There’s nothing more to say to a scum like you!” Tangyue didn’t bother any further. There was an outline of Fire Star Atlas slowly being formed beneath her feet.

“Do you think I’ll go down like this, Miss Tangyue? Aren’t you a little naive?” Chao He expressed an even more uncanny grin.

Tangyue face darkened. Just as she was about begin to fight, she suddenly realized there was a cloudy thing quickly surging out to the side of her. It then floated in the sky above the small reservoir. It assembled rapidly and formed a dark cloud-like thing, throwing the whole field into darkness.

The dark clouds were so dense that rays of sunlight couldn’t shine through. The density of the dark cloud even devoured the Fire Soul Seed’s bright flame.

The area instantly turned pitch black.

As for Chao He, his shadow was also assimilated into the dark, or to put it another way, there was now no shadow at the place where he stood.

Chao He was released from the restriction. He shook his head and then burst out into an evil laugh.

“I forgot to tell you. I was aware that you were trailing me. In the past few days where you pretended to be a traveller and ate in the restaurants, I secretly put things in them,” Chao He spoke leisurely. He didn’t appear like a criminal who had met his judicator.

Tang Yue face’s began to stiffen again. She had already foreseen that the enemy still had a card up his sleeve. This convict Chao He had escaped from the Magic Trials several times before, so clearly, he wasn’t easily apprehended.

According to what Chao He said, he had poisoned her food. Tang Yue would never believe that.

As a member of the Magic Trial, if you weren’t aware of your food being poisoned, then you’d be the same as an idiot!

“I knew you wouldn’t believe it, but surely by now your lips are feeling dry.” Chao He didn’t look anxious at all.

After Tangyue heard this, she subconsciously licked her rosy red lips. Truthfully, she already felt that she was thirsty and dry, but she didn’t give it any second thoughts. She thought the reason for this was the dehydrated environment.

“It is impossible to make a member of the Magic Trial eat poisoned food. Thus, even if I am an Apothecary, I did not put any poison in your food. However, I’ve placed substances that are beneficial for your body…” Chao He narrowed his eyes to a line while staring at Tang Yue’s beauty, then slowly uttered “To explain it elegantly, the substances are good for women, they smooth the blood circulation, but, to put it bluntly… oh, you’re already having a reaction.”

Just as he spoke, Tangyue slowly went from feeling dry and thirsty to having inexplicably flushed red cheeks.

Her blood circulation speed increased, the frequency of her heartbeat has also spiked. The most important thing was that she felt like there’s something gently biting on her skin, making it hard to concentrate.

Her breathing slowly became heavier, as if she want to gasp out the thirst from her throat. Her whole body felt weak, unable to muster the strength to stand. While at same time, she felt herself immediately becoming a greedy cat that was unable to control itself from jumping into a certain chest…

“Shameless, shameless!!!” Tangyue finally realized what the substances were in the poisoned food. She trembled with embarrassment and humiliation all over.

“The Magic Trials wanted to learn the source of the Violent Spring from me, thus sending such a beautiful lady judicator like yourself to subdue me. Don’t they know that apart from a magician, I’m also a remarkable apothecary?? I have various methods to deal with women. Oh, didn’t I mention earlier that there’d be two more added convictions toward me, one for killing a judicator, another ... Tsk tsk , we’re all adults here, I know you’ll understand what it means.”

During the whole progress of trailing Chao He, Tang Yue was very careful. She couldn’t figure out how this shameless convict knew she was trailing him.

Moreover, Tang Yue had been vigilant. She already knew that the psycho was an apothecary, so she had been very wary of things, including nourishment…

Unfortunately, she had been continuously taking precautions against things that were harmful to her, never realizing that Chao He would not poison her at all. Instead he chose to use those things that stimulate your body. No wonder when Mo Fan pressed against her under the shadows of the tree earlier, Mo Fan suddenly emanated an unspeakable attraction. It turned out to be she was under the effect of the stimulants, making her amorous.

Bastard, this damn wretch, why does the world have such a despicable human being!!

……

Deep inside the woods, Mo Fan had seen the mishap. He was also taken by surprise. He was also an adult, but how did he not figure it out?

At this moment, Mo Fan still couldn’t make up his mind whether to make a move or wait a bit longer for an opening.

Mo Fan certainly wouldn’t watch his beloved Mrs. Tangyue be murdered in cold blood. The problem was, could he even fight against this psycho?

“You swine! I’ll burn you to ashes!!”

While Mo Fan was still struggling to make up his mind, he heard Tangyue roar.

In an instant, a tremendous wave of flames started to spread in all directions with Tangyue as the center. Where Mrs. Tangyue stood, her long hair was even blowing without restraint, like an noble and beautiful phoenix releasing its anger.

“Phoenix Flame!”

Tangyue stood there proudly and gracefully in the raging inferno. Her eyes revealed an amazing scarlet red color. There was a hint of killing aura displayed on her beautiful face.

“Fiery Fist!”

The flames rose to another level!

“Jiu Gong!”

The last was said respectfully. Mo Fan was fairly familiar with Tang Yue’s starting position at releasing Intermediate Fire Elemental Magic, but it also felt different!

First, the flame which Tangyue controlled was not the common red flame that was regularly seen. She named her flame the “Phoenix Flame”, as it presented an overbearing scarlet red color, as if she had noble blood in her!

Second, her Fiery Fist was not the level one Fiery Fist, Exploding Heavens. It had reached the third level, Nine Palaces!

Now that Mo Fan had seen her Phoenix Flame, he had no idea how strong it was compared to common flames.

For the Nine Palaces, when Tangyue agglomerated all the the surrounding waves of flames into her left hand, she threw them ferociously at the ground. It was then that Mo Fan finally experienced what the Fierce Fist Nine Palaces was. Mo Fan was struck dumb at the shocking sight!!

* * *

Translator: Shiden

Editor: RED

No matter what, the small reservoir was still hundred meters in circumference. This hallowed, dried-up ground looked like it had been rammed by countless things as numerous cracks on the ground frantically spurted superheated earth into the air!

The cracks on the ground were like a vermillion-colored whale jumping into the air, charging out of the sea, surging forward.

Following that, eight other majestic molten cracks exploded, it was like the surface of the ground was being released from its shackles.

The waves of fire were spreading into the surroundings. Additionally, the collision of the forces combined into an increasingly ferocious destructive wave of fire as it rolled over.

The spirit of the flames were rampaging around the colossal pillars of the ground cracks. It was like a ferocious beast as it bare fangs and brandished its claws. Its wrath was unfathomable!

A Violent Fist spurted forth from nine ground cracks!

Each of the ground cracks that bubbled forth was reflecting the others. It became a raging flame that was wreaking havoc wantonly in the hundred meter-wide area, setting everything on fire.

The four Intermediate Magicians from the Dongfang Family had used an intermediate magic that could be considered somewhat powerful. However, compared to this Queen of Flames at this moment, they would be considered relatively weak. Although the two magicks were the same spells, they felt like they were of different realms!

This was Mo Fan’s first time seeing Mrs. Tangyue’s true strength, he was unable to comprehend it.

_This Chao He will definitely be burned into ashes._

—

The colossal energy of the Violent Fist exploded over this part of the mountain range. Not too long ago, this area was a small water reservoir, but after the Phoenix Flames Violent Fist Nine Palaces, there were no longer any words that could be used to describe it.

When the grandiose flame energy had finally settled, Mo Fan stared at Chao He’s location, wondering if that guy had completely fallen.

However, Mo Fan was shocked once more.

Chao He was still there, his entire being looked like he was covered in a layer of rock armor.

The rock armor had already been scorched black, it even began to peel off bit by bit.

After the armor peeled off, it revealed Chao He’s wounded body. He coughed a few times beneath the smoke, his eyes immediately revealing a killing anger!

“You have actually destroyed my treasured Armor Equipment. It seems like you will have to use your plump body to let me vent out the anger of several years, only after that will I allow you to die!” Chao He’s entire body trembled as he shook the destroyed armor off his body.

The wounded Chao He no longer had that morbid grace. His entire being was more like a wild animal, cruel and savage.

His eyes were fixated on Tangyue, who began to heavily gasp for breath. It was like his gaze had torn Tangyue’s body into pieces.

“Shit!!” Seeing Chao He not suffering a mortal wound, Tangyue grew increasingly alert.

The truth is, when it came to fighting one-on-one, the Tangyue who possessed the Sparrow Flames was a league above Chao He in terms of combat. Otherwise, the higher-ups wouldn’t have let her pursue Chao He by herself.

However, this guy Chao He was incredibly sinister. The drugs he had dosed her with weren’t life-threatening. However, they did severely affect Tangyue’s control over her stars. Her desires were simply so strong that they nearly made her lose all her reasoning.

Just how many of those slow-acting drugs did she eat for her to become like this?

If it was only the effects of the drugs, then Tangyue would still be able to do something. Unfortunately, she was currently feeling traces of cold coming from her surroundings. It was precisely his Curse Elemental Magic. This gods-forsaken Chao He had even included her in the magic!

Tangyue was preparing herself for the worst-case scenario, which was falling into the hands of the criminal. She’d have to destroy her body so she could avoid the insults.

However, she still carried a slight hope.

That hope was Mo Fan, who she had called over as a back-up plan.

Tangyue called Mo Fan over because she was afraid there’d be some kind of accident. Furthermore, Chao He had also cultivated the Fire Element. Thus, fighting against him by herself would not be an easy job.

“Nnngg~!” Tangyue couldn’t help but let out a moan. She felt her body growing increasingly weaker, she had no choice but to lean onto the rock next to her as her breathing became more intense.

The black, incorporeal spider web binding, and the effects of the drug made her want to strip off all of her clothes, the heat made her go nearly crazy.

Chao He’s violent gaze was fixated on Tangyue’s curvy, delicate physique. Seeing her weak, yet repressed appearance made his previous irritable mood from before slowly settle down. It was like he was watching a sheep that was waiting to get slaughtered…

“Fiery Fist, Exploding Heavens!”

As Chao He just relaxed his vigilance, a colossal fist of flames suddenly charged forth from within the forest.

The trees were abruptly turned into ashes beneath the sweep of the colossal fist, the flames was surging as it became incredibly savage!

The colossal Fiery Fist’s objective was precisely Chao He. Chao He’s face displayed a shock of horror, he never thought that there’d be another Intermediate Mage hiding inside the forest as he was taking his sip of victory.

_Boooooom!_

The Fiery Fist exploded on the location of Chao He, once again becoming the center of a colossal explosion of flames.

Mo Fan was staying back as he looked at the chaotic flames. He thought Chao He had been blown into dregs.

However, the cautious Mo Fan would not easily walk out of the forest. If there was yet another trap there, then he and Mrs. Tangyue would definitely perish together.

“Still not dead!” As Mo Fan saw Chao He standing there, his face also turned serious.

Even this kind of sneak attack did not succeed, just how many cards does that guy have in his sleeves?

Mo Fan’s current mood could only be described with three words: _You f***ing dog!_

On the other side, Chao He’s surroundings revealed a half arc shield made of water.

Behind the water shield, Chao He’s face had turned incredibly distorted.

Even though he was able to open the Abundant Water Shield to protect him, he still felt the shock of the Fiery Fist, his viscerae and bowels were in incredible pain!

“Kid, if you want to act like a hero and save the beauty, then you need to know if you are capable!” With blood flowing down his mouth, Chao He’s gaze was viciously staring at Mo Fan. He looked as though he was going to eat him. “We’re both Fire elementals, do you really think you can hurt me? You are merely someone who has just treaded upon the Intermediate level, and you have yet to awaken a second Element, do you really think you can fight against me?”

Magicians with a higher cultivation could easily determine the cultivation of another Magician through the use of perception and intent. Initially, Chao He thought there was yet another judge from the Magic Trials appearing. However, after observing carefully, he realized it was merely a guy who had just entered the Intermediate level. His strength hadn’t even reached the level of the four people from Dongfang Family.

He hadn’t even Awakened his second element, this made Chao He feel at ease!

It was obvious that this kid was together with Tangyue. It seemed like he was still able to contend, and still had a high chance to seize victory!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

“I will stand here as I kill you.” Mo Fan did not take a step from his location, he was just standing a safe distance away.

“You can try. However, with your pitiful mana as someone who has just entered the Intermediate level, even if you were to use all of your Fiery Fists, you still won’t be able to destroy my Abundant Water Shield. Look at that woman, she has already been trapped by my Sinister Spider Trap. After a while, she will be just like the few people before her, her life completely absorbed!”

Mo Fan glanced at Mrs. Tangyue. At that moment, her whole body did indeed look like there was an indiscernible black silk around her. The dark threads wrapped around her body looked like they were beginning to penetrate into her flesh. It was clear that her current condition was similar to that of the four from the Dongfang Family.

This Chao He had prepared for Tangyue since the beginning, and they didn’t even know just when she had fallen into the curse trap, it was simply too strange.

“You want to use my beautiful teacher’s life to threaten me? The truth is, I am indeed a person who is greedy for life, I won’t make meaningless sacrifices. Therefore, even if you kill her, I won’t just stand there and get myself taken by you… How about this, I’ll stop trying to destroy your Abundant Water Shield, and you’ll release the curse on her. The Fire Soul Seed belongs to you, and the corpses of the four Dongfangs will belong to me?” Mo Fan bargained from afar.

Chao He was clearly shocked for a moment.

He could say that, but did his heart truly think that way?

To tell the truth, it was hard to say how many more Fiery Fists the Abundant Water Shield could block. Even if it was able to block all of them, his own viscera would most likely shatter.

The loss of an incredibly attractive and rare beauty from the Magic Trials was indeed a pity. However, being able to harvest the Fire Soul Seed was the objective. Thus, Chao He was definitely willing to make this deal.

However, seeing how someone else had proposed this idea, it just seemed so suspicious. It seemed like the other party was not a good person either, or else, how could he be on the same wavelength as Chao He himself?

“You won’t just attain the remnants of the four Dongfang members…” Chao He lewdly smiled as he glanced toward the lady judge from the Magic Trials, whose face had already turned red.

“That’s a deal, then, let’s have a good cooperation.”

“Don’t be too hasty. I’m currently in control of the curse, I won’t let the curse directly harm her life. Within this period of time, I will refine the Rose Flames, and after I have finished the refinement, I will let you take her away,” Chao He said.

“How do I know whether you’ll kill her once you’ve finished refining?” Mo Fan rebutted instantly.

“The curse needs a period of time before it takes a life, you can confirm that point with her. Naturally, if you are use Fiery Fist to destroy my Abundant Water Shield within this time, I guarantee that she will die immediately. Don’t worry, when it comes to a transaction of benefits, I always negotiate in good faith.”

The twisting power of the curse did indeed take a period of time. Currently, Chao He only wanted to take the Rose Flames and walk away. That way, he could avoid the kid and his beautiful teacher’s suicidal attempt to kill him. They still might be able to kill him if that happened.

Furthermore, if he was to delay even longer, then there would be other people coming here. If that happened, it would be even more inconvenient for him. Especially if a Light Element or a Spirit Element Magician came along, then his Curse Traps would be completely useless in front of them.

“A freak that kills people can still be honest? This makes me, a youth who follows the ideology of Magic, a bit embarrassed.”

Mo Fan confirmed with Tangyue the time it would take for the curse to take her life, and then confirmed that Chao He had no other trump cards other than the Abundant Water Shield!

“What did you say?”

“Nothing, it’s just, who said I could only use the Fire Element?” From the forest, Mo Fan’s voice suddenly became incredibly dignified.

At the same moment, a beautiful purple Lightning Star Path could be seen interlinking beneath Mo Fan’s feet. It thirsted to break through all restrictions. Its yearning was turned into the energy that was called forth upon his palm, making all organisms in front of it tremble!

Although the speed of using the Lightning Star Atlas Book was not very quick, Mo Fan had gotten enough time by ‘making friends’ with Chao He.

Chao He was able to use his senses to discover that Mo Fan was a guy who had just entered the Intermediate level. Furthermore, he even knew that Mo Fan hadn’t completed his second Awakening yet. However, Chao He could never have imagined that Mo Fan had Awakened dual Elements during his first Awakening!

When the incomparably violent sound of thunder tore through the forest, Chao He’s face was immediately filled with shock and horror.

The Abundant Water Shield was very effective in terms of blocking Fire Magic. However, when it was facing Lightning, it would be just like a decoration. After all, Water directly conducted Lightning!

Chao He didn’t even have time to run when the Lightning Star Atlas emerged. Furthermore, he didn’t have enough time to make the curse twist around Tangyue’s life, the time he had at hand was too short!

If it was some other Element, Chao He would have been able to contend against it. However, against the Lightning element, he was simply too unfortunate, the roles of he and Mo Fan had been reversed. His Abundant Water Shield, that had defended against Fire so marvelously, was now useless, and the condition of his body was poor. How could he possibly imagine that he’d encounter an Innate Dual Element!?

Lightning was the strongest of all the Classical Elements!

Its Primary Spell was already a force to be reckoned with, incomparably impetuous. When it reached the Intermediate level, its power would be increasingly more violent and tyrannical!

If Chao He’s Rock Armor was still intact, he wouldn’t be afraid of Mo Fan. Now, he felt like his final moments were coming!

“Thunderbolt, Exploding Apex!”

As Mo Fan was chanting, his hands pointed toward the sky!

As he pointed toward the sky, a purple thunderbolt came down unexpectedly, slicing the space in half. The thick and solid purple Thunderbolt let out a sharp noise as it shot toward Chao He, who was standing on edge of the hole made by Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist.

The Thunderbolt came incomparably fast as it fell from the sky.

As the Exploding Apex fell, the area around Chao He unexpectedly sank and shattered!

Chao He, who was standing right beneath the Exploding Apex, could feel his entire body beginning to change.

_Booom!_ , the thunderclap tolled.

Chao He was blown apart by the ferocious energy of the Thunderbolt, turning into blood rain sprinkling down.

The speed of the Thunderbolt was simply too fast. At same time, Chao He, whose body was completely shattered, was not actually that gross. The Lightning had shattered his flesh into tiny scarlet fragments. It looked like numerous bloody drops, with not a single sign of the previous freak, Chao He.

Whether it was the Intermediate Wind Magic, Wind Disc: Tornado or the Fire spell, Fiery Fist, Exploding Heavens; they all had an incredibly dominant aura. It was either the whole atmosphere suddenly distorted, or a surging heatwave. However, this Lightning Intermediate Spell had no sign of attack, unlike the other spells…

With the point of a finger, the Lightning fell.

Simple and cruel!

That Abundant Water Shield was just a useless decoration!

The death of Chao He was far too sudden, there was no time for him to dread. His flesh had already been turned into blood rain, and his soul was caught completely unprepared as he stood there. He no longer had the chance to taste the lady judge from the Magic Trials, and no longer had the opportunity of growing his Flames into the Spirit level. He could no longer run amok committing crimes, and he couldn’t even curse the kid with the Innate Dual Element for killing him!

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

The Curse was slowly being released. The chit chat Mo Fan had with Chao He was not for naught. At least, he was able to save Mrs. Tangyue from the same fate as the other four members of the Dongfang Family.

“Mrs. Tangyue, are you alright?” Mo Fan asked of her. She was weakly leaning against a rock.

At this moment, Tangyue’s clothes were slightly revealing. With two of her hands covering her chest, it was hard for Mo Fan to figure out whether she was trying to protect her jade body from being tainted or she wanted him to directly tear her clothes apart.

“Don’t… don’t come over here…” Tangyue resisted the desires that made her nearly want to jump on Mo Fan as she forcefully made herself sit down.

Within a number of kilometers, Mo Fan was currently the only man. The deceptive things that you usually see only see on bad TV dramas could actually end up happening to her. If he was a handsome, elegant, and princely man, then she might be able to endure this temptation!

Not good! In this kind of situation, any normal man would definitely take advantage of things! She had to think of some way to get him to get away from her. If she gave herself around ten minutes worth of time, she should be able to subdue her instincts. A Magician’s mental strength was much stronger than that of a common person.

Right, Rose Flames!

Originally, this thing would belong to the Magic Trials. However, right now, she could only take advantage of it.

“You… Go and refine the Rose Flames,” Tangyue said with a deep inhale.

“The Rose Flames can be refined at any time, your safety is more important right now,” Mo Fan said in a honorable way.

Tangyue didn’t dare to raise her head to look at Mo Fan, cursing several times in her heart, _Mo Fan, you mad person. Hurry up and reap the harvests, don’t tell me that you don’t know what kind of condition I am in right now, if you dare to take one step, I will feed you to the dogs!_

To tell the truth, Tangyue was genuinely worried that this guy might do something to her, or she’d do something to him. Either way, she clenched his teeth and said, “The Spirit grade Fire Seed will soon disperse.”

“Oh, oh, you’ll really give it to me?” Mo Fan asked sincerely.

“Yes!!” Tangyue’s teeth clenched even harder.

“Then I hope you take care of yourself, I’ll go ahead and refine the Rose Flames, if there’s anything you need me for…”

“Get moving!” Tangyue nearly went crazy.

Mo Fan walked away helplessly, feeling slightly depressed.

His current appearance looked as though it was saying “Innocently consulting the teacher with a question, yet harshly get told to get out…” The only thing he could do was sigh in sorrow about the current teacher’s nonsensical mood, and walk out of the bathroom…

However, after thinking about being able to obtain the astronomically valuable Fire Soul Seed, Mo Fan quickly forgot everything else!

Indeed an charming man! He himself was just a trash, but, the girls who approached him just could not stop themselves from throwing themselves at him, it was like they were on drugs! As a rare man in this world, Mo Fan would definitely not… Alright, the truth was, Mo Fan had seen a ball of flames being condensed in Mrs. Tangyue’s hand.

Rose Flames were clearly not comparable to his own life.

The current Mo Fan was already extremely poor. This kind of rare treasure was not something he’d say no to!

The Dong Family, the Hunter Squad of Panxiong, and this murderer were badly injured in order to obtain this Rose Flame. Mo Fan had thirsted for this Rose Flame from the very beginning, so, he was extremely grateful for Mrs. Tangyue’s support. Otherwise, this kind of precious thing would never have fallen into his hands.

Currently, in order for Tangyue to maintain her innocent self, she had begun to resist the curse in her heart. With the treasure falling into his grasp, his hands began to tremble.

_I have to hurriedly refine this and leave this place with Mrs. Tangyue. If more Magicians appear, then it will be problematic!_ , Mo Fan thought to himself.

Mo Fan didn’t dare to waste any more time, and he quickly put his hand on the exceptional Rose Flame.

A burning feeling immediately transmitted from his palm to the rest of his body. Originally, it felt unbearably hot, however it quickly began to feel like this Rose Flames that was brimming with spirit had no intention of causing pain to Mo Fan.

It gradually began to feel like boiling blood was entering his body. Mo Fan closed his eyes to better feel the bizarre sensation of the element.

The Flame Rose was indeed docile, like a infant; it perceived the first person that approached it as a parent. In the beginning, it was indeed vigilant, but it quickly let its guard down. It was as though it was stretching out its hands to get a hug. It assimilated into Mo Fan’s body, merging into his Fire Elemental Nebula.

This process made Mo Fan feel as though he was going through some sort of Fire Baptism. His innate flames began to transform with the Rose Flame.

The first thing that changed was Mo Fan’s body, as his skin seemed to darken somewhat. It was only slightly different from fine copper. After the Rose Flames had assimilated into him, the color of his skin gradually turned into a color that was closer to them, more glossy and smooth.

His blood seemed to have transformed somehow as well, turning increasingly redder and more energetic.

After his blood was his bones. His bones was not much different than a normal person’s, but after the baptism of the Rose Flames, his bones had turned into something like steel. Although it was not something Mo Fan could see, he could clearly feel they were different from before.

The biggest transformation was naturally the Fire Nebula inside his Spiritual World!

Originally, that scarlet red Nebula had some impurities in it. Inside the vast cosmos of the Spiritual World, it was only beautiful. When the Rose Flames arrived, they increased the Fire Nebula’s lineage by one level…

The Fire Nebula originally had a spiral around it. After the Rose Baptism, the pitch-black cosmos looked as though it had blossomed into something grander, a great and mysterious fiery rose now formed the entire Nebula!

After he had refined the Rose Flames, this was the visible result!

Even without casting any spells, Mo Fan was still able to feel that the Rose Flames held a power that was much stronger than the scarlet Common Flames!

It wasn’t lively, nor agitated. It blossomed by itself… but Mo Fan knew it was just as dangerous as the thorns on a rose!

Originally, if Mo Fan’s Fire Burst: Rupture hit a Magical Beast, then most of them would survive with a heavy wound.

Now that he had this Rose Flame, his power had nearly doubled. A Fire Burst: Rupture would essentially blow a common Magical Beast half to death, or even reach a level where he could immediately kill them!

The majority of Magical Beasts could move extremely fast, and there was no way they would just stand there and get hit by a Fire Burst. Even if other Magicians possessed the Rose Flame, it would only increase the effect of it… if it hit the enemy!

However, Mo Fan was a man with an Innate Dual Element!

First, he had Lightning Strike, so he could forcefully restrict a Magical Beast. After that, he could immediately use the Rose Flame Fire Burst: Rupture! That way, he would most definitely kill them!

Mo Fan only needed 1.5 seconds to use his Lightning Strike, and the Fire Burst wouldn’t take more then 1.5 seconds either!

As long as you gave him three seconds, monsters like One-eyed Magical Wolves, or Colossal-eyed Ape Rats, would definitely die! The power was just that unreasonable!

The mana usage of Primary Magic wasn’t too much. As long as Mo Fan didn’t get surrounded by Magical Beasts, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to kill his way out of a situation. Even if he was surrounded, he would let them have a taste of the incredibly powerful Fiery Punch!

_____________

Editor’s Note : _And now the editor knows why they are called Rose Flames, and not Rose-Colored Tyrant Annihilating Flames, or something similarly grandiose._

* * *

Translator: Tofu

Editor: RED

The pillar of Rose Flames had disappeared.

They were merging into Mo Fan’s body like a child wanting to follow daddy Mo Fan in exploring the world!

As soon as Mo Fan took a step, a scorched footprint was burned into the ground. A layer of red flames shrouded him right now. The feeling of possessing a newborn power spurred Mo Fan to roar aloud, like a tyrannosaurus bellowing towards the sky.

Beside the rocks nearby, Miss Tangyue’s breathing gradually returned to normal before she opened her beautiful blurry eyes.

After noticing Mo Fan’s transformation, Miss Tangyue _hmmphed_. This time he had really benefited…

If it wasn’t for the dangerous chemical stimulation, Miss Tangyue would’ve never given it to Mo Fan. This thing would’ve been given to the country.

However, brining Mo Fan with her this time had not been a bad idea, either. If Chao He had prevailed this time, then matters would’ve gotten even worse. The price of unsealing that layer of curses would have been astronomical, so much that it even made Miss Tangyue consider burning herself to death.

“All the people’s remains will be confiscated, don’t worry about it,” Miss Tangyue coldly said after she saw Mo Fan’s greedy face.

Mo Fan grinned as he replied quickly, “Of course, of course… Miss Tangyue, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I have disappointed you.” Her emotions were written all over her face.

The flustered woman’s expression seemed just like a shy, overworked woman. Mo Fan seemed like the man that had just sat there and enjoyed his life.

Mo Fan knew that Miss Tangyue was not happy because she had been drugged by that sort of substance. He didn’t want to annoy her further, and obediently followed her order to report the dead to the higher ranks.

Magical Tools were bound to the owner’s soul. When the owner died, their spirits dispersed, and the magical items they owned would also be destroyed. They wouldn’t have many other worthy items with them.

Miss Tangyue took away only one weirdly shaped ring from Chao He’s corpse. Normally, she would explain things that Mo Fan didn’t understand. This time, her cold expression hinted to Mo Fan that she wasn’t in the mood!

——

Mo Fan and Ms. Tangyue returned to town after they quickly left the crime scene.

It was clear that she was still dealing with residual effects. She called a taxi and had it drive her back to the city.

While sitting in the rear seat, Mo Fan closed his eyes while savoring the strange feeling which the Rose Flames were giving him. He could smell something faint at the tip of his nose, vaguely like the scent coming off from Ms. Tangyue. It smelled like a rose; sexy and alluring.

“The Spiritual Fire can change the physique of the Magician. Unless you meet a stronger Fire Seed, any damage done by other type of fire will be weaker,” Tangyue broke the silence with a cold and elegant voice, showing once again the traits of a teacher.

“So that’s how it works! I thought a Magician’s physique would always remain this weak.” Mo Fan was pleasantly surprised.

There was a certain level of immunity against fire, an excellent protective effect! When fighting against Fire Magicians in the future, this would essentially make him invulnerable!

No wonder Spirit grade Fire Seeds were so expensive. For those wealthy people, it was certainly worth spending so much money on these upgrades!

Mo Fan nodded back to her, thinking back to the conversation Chao He and Ms. Tangyue had. He asked, “Is the reason behind why you were chasing him related to the Violent Spring and what happened at Bo City?”

Ms. Tangyue looked out the window and replied, “Yes. The Violent Spring is a special type of medicine. It should not be easily found in the hands of The Black Vatican, and in such a massive quantity. We think there is some apothecary in the Magic Association defying the rules, and selling high level contraband to the Black Vatican for their own benefit. Chao He should have had some information in regard to this, but unfortunately he is gone. Hopefully we can find some information from his ring.”

It might be because of some embarrassing scenes in her mind, but she refused to make eye contact with Mo Fan at this moment.

It did not matter to Mo Fan. He was just staring at Ms. Tangyue, who still had noticeably flushed cheeks.

Mo Fan looked down a little and found her petite hands were gripping tightly onto the cushion, almost ripping it apart.

Looking at her evasive eyes again, her pupils seem to be hiding some sort of impulse!

“Ms. Tangyue, are you really alright?…” Mo Fan wholeheartedly asked without any wicked thoughts.

It was obvious how dangerous the evil maniac Chao He was. He assumed that if it he wasn’t her very last resort, she definitely would not have let Mo Fan come and assist her.

Moreover when fighting against Chao He, Ms. Tangyue did not actually plan on having Mo Fan take action.

Chao He was too horrifying and cunning, and Mo Fan didn’t have the experience and proper abilities to protect himself. Out of protection for Mo Fan, Tangyue didn’t ask him to directly interfere. How would Mo Fan not notice this kindness from her? Now that this kind of embarrassing thing had happened to her, Mo Fan let go of his wicked thoughts to help her.

Just when Mo Fan was about to ask a question out of concern, his whole being froze!

Just like that, one rosy red lip kissed Mo Fan, the soft tongue looked as if it instantly wanted to ignite all his primitive lusts. It broke right through Mo Fan’s untested defenses and scattered all his pure thoughts.

He used Lightning to attack his enemies, but Mo Fan felt the electrifying feeling on himself this time. The numbness from the tip to the end of his tongue, from the bottom of the tongue to his whole body. It felt like he was being baptised once more. All of his cells were active and his blood seemed to thunder in his veins.

There was a soft fragrance carrying a wild characteristics of a beauty as it crashed into him. He was completely unprepared, and felt extremely apprehensive… however, he quite enjoyed it!

_Groan~_

When the pleasant sound passed by the driver, he subconsciously turned around and saw what had happened, his heart began to pump fast!!

_Aren’t you a bit too impatient! I understand if you youths want to please yourselves in a car, but this is a taxi!_

_If I remember correctly, the young man called the beauty a teacher. Heavens! This… This is too exhilarating!!_

_Bzzz~~~!_

Suddenly, purple lightning lashed out to the front seat of the car.

The bolt instantly broke the car’s rear view mirror into pieces, scattering them everywhere. The driver turned back shivering, his face pale white.

“if you dare to turn around again, you’re dead!” Mo Fan shouted at the driver when he was finally able to take a breath.

The driver didn’t dare to do it again, he behaved and stared straight at the steering wheel. Occasionally, he heard the erotic sounds the girl was making from the back of the car, and felt like he was about to faint from hearing them.

The sound of the mirror breaking cleared up Ms. Tangyue’s scrambled mind a little.

She pushed Mo Fan away before pulling away to the very corner of the car. She looked like a scared cat as she curled up there.

As Mo Fan saw her forcefully get her mind together, he couldn’t help but sigh. One half of his heart was frustrated… and the other half was _extremely_ frustrated!

—

On a curvy road along the lonely mountain a taxi was speeding along. Inside was a driver whose heart had completely crumbled, and a young man and grown woman whose hearts were currently being tested.

Out of respect and consideration, Mo Fan also began to shift away from Ms. Tangyue. His eyes gazed at the outside of the window, acting as though what had just happened had not occured at all.

Not too long after, a fragrance suddenly invaded his nose. Mo Fan could feel the seat next to him slowly sink. He turned his head around, only to realize the Ms. Tangyue who was just like a scared kitten had turned into a fierce cat baring fangs and claws as she once again pounced at him. Her captivating small red lip kissed him, her four limbs were like the tentacles of an octopus as she tightly hugged him, a hug that seemed like it would never leave him.

Mo Fan didn’t know how to respond to this. Suddenly, she pushed him away once again as she retreated to the other side.

Watching her as her mood swung so wildly, Mo Fan felt terrible for her.

_Heavens, just kill me. Stop tormenting a pure and innocent boy like me…_

_It’s not like I won’t take responsibility. You dare to give me this kind of delight, and then just let it walk away. Originally, I could’ve been a proper gentleman, now I am completely confused…_

This road was even more tormenting than when they were charging into the monster-infested city area. Either way, Mo Fan felt like he was being constantly encouraged by a witch. He was just a young, handsome boy whose heart was left with numerous wounds.

Anyhow, they finally reached the city and finally purchased the medicine for suppressing the symptoms. The lover of his dreams was filled with shame as she ran away, leaving behind a Mo Fan whose chaotic heart was still billowing as he stood in an unfamiliar part of the city completely perplexed.

After he had finally regained his senses, Mo Fan wanted to take a stroll around the city of Hangzhou. However, he quickly received a threatening text message.

“If you dare to tell anyone about this, I will castrate you!”

“I actually will take responsibility,” he texted back.

“A judge of the Magic Courts is allowed two chances to kill, do you want me to use one of them on you?” The clear threat had been made through the texts. He could feel the killing intent of Ms. Tangyue when she sent the message.

“I am a man of virtue… Since we’re at it, could I inquire why you’re in Hangzhou right now? Coincidentally, I live in Hangzhou as well. I haven’t seen you since the fall of Bo City, do you want to grab a coffee together?”

—

In the apartment in west Hangzhou, the flush-cheeked Ms. Tangyue held onto her mobile. As she saw the most recent message, she wanted to give herself some respect by acting like he was a stranger. Yet she couldn’t help but giggle a little.

_Hmph, how could a someone who couldn’t use Intermediate Magic without the use of Star Atlas possibly take responsibility? There are even Advanced Magicians who would stand in line for me!_

——

After strolling around Hangzhou, Mo Fan took a bus directly to Shanghai… To be fair, it couldn’t even be called the outskirts of Hangzhou. Either way, it took a little more than an hour to get back to Shanghai using the metro, and roughly another hour using a train to get home.

Mo Fan’s original plan was to meditate at home for two months, and then see if he could rely on his outstanding ability as an Intermediate Mage to make the Jewel Institute recruit him.

_Let’s go back home and think carefully through this._

The priority was to learn how to control the Star Atlas. If he relied on a Star Atlas Book to cast Intermediate Magic, he’d be far too slow. Furthermore, if he was to continue using the Star Atlas Books, then the stars most likely wouldn’t see him as their father anymore.

Either way, going to University was essentially using most of the time to control the Atlas. He might as well stay home and meditate, and learn the skill before stepping into the institution. In one aspect, he had to show off. For someone like him who enjoyed showing off, he would have no way to do that if he did not have any hidden power. On the other hand, he’d have even more time to interact with new things.

_I just don’t know anything about things like the Curse Element. Who knows, maybe there’ll be a day where I’d die like the four people from Dongfang Family; completely clueless…_

_Furthermore, it’s not like I don’t have to cultivate after I get to University. I’ll Awaken a third Element, and then I’ll have to spend even more time on top of that…_

_Right, I’ve made my decision! I’ll cultivate for a year and then charge my way into Jewel Institute!_

——

Ms. Tangyue was indeed very sincere. Originally, Mo Fan thought because of the moment of passion in the car, she would never again look at him. Unexpectedly, she still sent him a message to go to the Magic Association of Shanghai to Awaken, with someone there to guide him.

The Magic Association of Shanghai was also known as the Dongfang Magic Association. This Dongfang Magic Association had nothing to do with the Dongfang Family, other than the Magic Association was located on the Oriental Pearl Tower.

When Mo Fan passed through the skyscrapers that pierced the heavens like a treasured sword, the Lujiazui, he arrived at the Oriental Pearl Tower. His emotions were rather complex.

In the world he was born in, the Oriental Pearl Tower was the symbol of Shanghai, and also a place for tourism. In this place, it was actually the freaking headquarters of the Magic Association!

The Magic Association had always been the most authoritative Magic organization in this world, recruiting most of the young and powerful Magicians. As long as you were a Magician, you would have to follow the rules drawn up by them!

The Magician’s Conventions had a few clear regulations. One of them said that no Magician was allowed to use a Destructive Magic above the Advanced level within the city, and magic beneath the Advanced level cannot be used without proper reasons.

The second regulation was to never use Magic against commoners, it would result in a punishment of the same level as killing someone.

The third regulation was that Magicians were allowed to have duels, and injuring someone in them was fine. If death occured, punishment would be determined by the Magic Court.

The Magic Association was equivalent to a Magician’s police force and legal system. The Magician’s Conventions were something that all Magicians in the world had to comply with.

Naturally, the ones who drew up these laws were also the lawmakers and the enforcers. In the exchanges between Magicians, and their transactions, interactions, and cultivations, the Magic Association held the highest level of authority. Normally, only the most outstanding young Magicians would be recruited into the Magic Association!

Within the Magic Association, there was also a Magic Court.

The Magic Court was extremely secretive and mysterious. It is reported that the Magic Courts consisted of people whose combat powers were all off the charts!

Mo Fan only found out about this afterwards on the internet. If Chao He hadn’t used all kinds of dirty tricks back then, then he most likely would not have been a true foe for Ms. Tangyue. Recalling the destructive power of the Fierce Fist: Nine Palace, he could still feel some lingering fear in his heart.

Ms. Tangyue looked like she was only twenty-something, and she was already in possession of such a great power in combat. It seemed that this was the very standard of the Magic Court, and clearly demonstrated that freaks existed within the Magic Court!

According to Ms. Tangyue, Mo Fan had come to the most renowned Magic Association in the nation!

He could already feel a magnificent aura streaming across his face while he was still standing out in the square. This was at a completely different level than the Magicians Association in Bo City!

The passing people on the stairs were dressed no differently than normal citizens, but judging by their auras, all of them were most definitely Magicians. Some were weaker, some were about the same level as Mo Fan himself, but there were also quite a few magicians that Mo Fan wasn’t able to sense.

If he couldn’t even feel the magic aura of those Magicians, it was without a doubt because they were at a much higher level than he was!

This was undoubtedly the most amazing Magic Association in the nation! Intermediate Magicians in Bo City were an existence that could be considered at the peak, while here, they could be seen as… _Oh, those people were just here for sightseeing. They weren’t Magicians. That’s probably why I couldn’t feel them. Right._

The Oriental Pearl Tower was open to the public. Visitors had paths that were specifically arranged for sightseeing. Thus it was only natural for Magicians like Mo Fan to walk along the Magician’s path instead.

—

After passing through an exhibition hall filled with magical advances and items of historical significance, Mo Fan took the elevator which skyrocketed him a hundred meters upwards.

His current floor was called the lower sphere, and was where the majority of the Magicians gathered. Although it was a sightseeing floor as well, its main purpose was to service Magicians from all corners of the country.

After exiting the elevator, the first thing that came into his sight was a majestic hall. The structure itself was a spherical building over fifty meters in diameter. However, after examining the painting on the curved dome that had a Western Renaissance ../style to it, he could feel a secretive and mysterious Magic assailing him.

The receptionist, wearing a white qipao with cloud designs, asked him with a polite smile, “Is there anything I can help you with, Mr. Magician?”

“I’m here for Awakening, someone already has booked an appointment for me.” Mo Fan replied, his eyes unconsciously staring at the receptionist’s beautiful long legs. _Tsk, just as expected of a grand city, even the receptionists are extremely beautiful!_

“Let me check it for you, may I please have your name…?”

“Mo Fan.”

“Ok, Mr. Mo Fan, do you wish to look around, or do you wish to head to the Awakening room straight away?” the receptionist asked with another smile.

“Lets go straight to the Awakening room.”

Between sightseeing and Awakening, Mo Fan cared more for his Awakening.

After experiencing so many things, Mo Fan clearly understood the importance of having yet another Element!

As Mo Fan passed through the main lobby, he noticed a relatively interesting fact. There were many one-to-one counters. Some magicians were able to enjoy lone service by a receptionist, while the majority of the Magicians were seated on the comfortable chairs in the hall. They looked like like they were retail investors as they watchedthe giant screen, searching for the information they wanted.

“The screen will announce some bounties, as well as weekly resources issued by the Magicians Association. Those who want them can apply for them.” The receptionist seemed to know it was Mo Fan’s first time here, and explained this in a friendly manner.

“What about the one-to-one service?” Mo Fan asked.

“They either paid a large sum for this special service, or have reached the level of an Intermediate Magician. All Intermediate Magicians automatically will have one on one service. The employees will do a price estimation if they are looking to trade items, as well as methods for selling them. Furthermore, they will also properly explain to the Magician information regarding any suitable bounties. Any matters which need to be followed closely or applied will be done on your behalf. This saves time and removes many tedious procedures. But of course, there are also employees who are specialized to get information which you normally cannot!” the thoughtful receptionist explained concisely.

“So that’s how it works!” Mo Fan nodded.

Everybody thirsts for special privileges, but those who are privileged are in the minority… and I am in the minority!

—

Mo Fan was brought to a beautiful spherical room. The room was filled with countless amounts of Awakening balls, causing those who saw them to feel dizzy.

“Mr Guo, the… the person who is here for Awakening has arrived.” After the girl dressed in qipao arrived here, she hesitated a moment before she spoke.

“Oh, I know, instruct him to sit there.” The man called Mr Guo looked as if he was busy as he replied in a neutral monotone.

“Then… then I shall take my leave.” The receptionist peeked at Mr Guo before her face displayed some disappointment.

Mo Fan followed Mr Guo’s instruction as he sat down to the side and waited. At this moment, he was a little excited. It was just like his first Awakening held at the school’s practice grounds.

On the other side of the room, the man named Mr Guo hadn’t even looked at Mo Fan once as he carelessly walked into another room.

The room was dim. Mr Guo looked at the young woman who was his apprentice and asked, “Xiao Mian, is the Awakening Stone ready?”

“Which Element’s guiding stone should I use?” the apprentice named Xiao Mian inquired.

“Let me see…” Guo Liyu walked up to the door and looked at Mo Fan from a distance. He didn’t bother asking Mo Fan as he showed his impatience, “Lightning Element,”

“You’re not going to ask??” Xiao Mian questioned him.

“I hate these kind incompetent second generations. His age should be around 17 or 18, yet he still came here for Awakening with the belief he could use money to awaken the Lightning Element. If my Awakening house wasn’t in need of money to bring in new stock, I wouldn’t even bother wasting Awakening Stones on these people,” Guo Liyu replied.

“How much did you charge for the service, Master?” Xiao Mian asked weakly.

“One hundred thousand yuan. The probability of Awakening the Lightning Element is just slightly higher compared to normal circumstances,” Guo Liyu replied.

Xiao Mian was shocked after hearing his reply.

_One hundred thousand for just increasing the probability of Awakening a Lightning Element for a person, Master is ruthless!_

Xiao Mian didn’t say much as she obediently put the Lightning Element guiding stone around the giant Awakening Stone.

This was the Magician’s Association’s largest Awakening house, the Awakening Stones they used were of the best quality. Normally the fees were relatively high, but it was a free service if it was a special case, such as a recommendation from extraordinary people.

“Come here, kid. I must tell you in advance, what you Awaken is up to the heavens and your talent. Even using an Elemental Guiding Stone, the success rate is only raised by a little. If you Awaken the Light Element, Water Element, or whatever Element, don’t blame me.” Guo Liyu walked up to Mo Fan with the appearance of having a bad day.

“I got it. Can we begin?” Mo Fan asked.

“You may go in, we won’t disturb you during the process of Awakening…” the girl named Xiao Mian answered Mo Fan, still not knowing why they were being unfriendly to him.

Mo Fan walked to the Awakening room which was completely lit up by luminous stones. As he walked to the location where the Awakening Stone was located, he realized there were many lustrous purple pearls around the giant Awakening Stone.

Mo Fan was confused when the pearls were clearly emitting the aura of the Lightning Element.

“I want to awaken a Dark Element, how come the Lightning Guiding Stone is placed here??” Mo Fan asked as Guo Liyu was about to leave and close the door.

Guo Liyun was currently pondering over how to remove the impurities from those precious Guiding Stones. He really did not want to waste another second with this second generation. He didn’t even bother to ask as he said to the female apprentice, ”He wants the Dark Element, then just give him the Dark Element.”

“Oh.” Xiao Mian obediently nodded, and changed to the Dark Guiding Stone straightaway.

Guo Liyu didn’t even bother asking as he once more focused on the difficult task of his own research. Before he began, he couldn’t help but mutter, “You want to Awaken the Dark Element on your first Awakening? You’re expecting too much! Whatever, the Lightning Guiding Stone and the Dark Guiding Stone’s price tags aren’t too far apart…”

—

After swapping to Dark Guiding Stone, Mo Fan was locked inside the Awakening Room.

The Awakening Stones felt so familiar, but there was a clear difference from the mass-produced cheap ones used by his school.

Awakening Stones were restricted items. You had to register yourself every time one was used. The Magic Association was basically in control of the Awakening Stones, and they dispatched them to the schools, military, Hunter’s Unions, or other appointed organisations.

Half of the tuition fees for High School were actually used to purchase the Awakening Stones.

Although the even more expensive Guiding Stones could be purchased, the high schools as well as Universities had no reason to provide something that expensive for their students.

Mo Fan wasn’t sure if he would succeed, either. Looking at the black elemental pebbles covering the Dark Guiding Stone, his heart couldn’t help but beat faster.

Mo Fan closed his eyes as he slowly placed his palm on top of the cold Awakening Stone. He felt uneasy, similar to a virgin boy touching his girlfriend’s breasts for the very first time.

When the glossy, cold Awakening Stone sensed the warmth from his palms, it immediately began to react. From the very center of the stone a light blossomed.

It was very similar to his first Awakening. With his eyes closed, Mo Fan was able to feel a bizarre energy flowing through the blood vessels within his body, and in a flash, it all poured into his Spiritual Universe…

It was as if a new life was being birthed somewhere in the chaotic field of his Spiritual Universe. It was changing his Spiritual Space, slowly forming a territory that belonged to itself.

The motes of energy were as tiny as dust as they carefully tiptoed into this territory, while carrying the intentions of invading. They wanted to own a much larger expanse of territory. The energy wasn’t as fierce and overbearing as the Lightning Element, and it wasn’t as active and inciting as the Fire Element, either. The motes displayed a different kind of calm and a coolness that other Elements didn’t have, like they were peeking around with ideas of their own.

_What is this??_ Mo Fan was momentarily unable to determine what it was.

From the looks of its color, this Element looked as if it was merging with his Spiritual Universe!

Dark color, yes, this was a dark color!!

Does dark have a color and its own luster?

The truth was Mo Fan’s dark Stardust had its own characteristics and its own luster. If he hadn’t carefully tried to feel it, then it would have been quite easy to completely overlook its existence. However, the motes existed right there as they gave out a dark Stardust radiance!

The guidance was successful!

_Ms. Tangyue said this Guo Liyu’s Awakening Stones were renowned across the country, and the success rates of his Guided Awakenings were far higher than what the schools could offer. Who would’ve thought that it really would succeed!_

_Shadow Element!_

_So this is the Shadow Element, mysterious, crafty and dangerous!_

_Good! With the Shadow element in my possession, I’ll be able to escape through the shadows like Ms. Tangyue! The usage of the spell is one thing, but things the spell can do is extraordinary cool!_

_In a University filled with romance, how could I possibly receive the attention of everyone, distinguish myself above the rest, and capture the heart of the girls and teachers without the incredibly cool Shadow Element?_

_Cough, ahem! Forget it…_ Under his circumstances, where he had two violent magical Elements, obtaining a spell that was capable of quick relocation was extremely important to him. Perhaps the Wind Element was a good choice, but from how Mo Fan saw it, he thought Wind was missing that mysterious feeling and potential for controlling things.

Now, he had finally Awakened the Shadow Element. Give him some time to complete the Primary spell, Escaping Shadows, and he wouldn’t ever have to go through the efforts of sneakily peeking at Xinxia… Oh, he meant, he could fight against Magical Beasts without restraint!

_Hahaha, three Elements in my hands!_

Mo Fan was completely excited and about to retract his hands when suddenly a new sensation was transmitted from the Awakening Stone like lightning, hitting him so fast he didn’t have time to react.

Mo Fan trembled. Before he was able to regain his senses, a new mysterious power was flowing into Mo Fan’s palms. Just like the previous Shadow Element, it quickly melted into Mo Fan’s blood vessels, and furthermore, it opened up yet another whole new world within Mo Fan’s Spiritual Universe!

_MY!_

_GOD!_

At this time, Mo Fan was unable to talk. He mouthed the words, but no sounds came out.

Recalling the first time he Awakened, the Lightning Element came first, and then the Fire Element immediately and vigorously followed. The Fire didn’t even give Mo Fan a moment’s leeway to wonder about it.

Now, the same thing had happened again!

After his third Element was Awakened, there was actually yet one more energy that charged its way into his Spiritual Universe. It didn’t even give Mo Fan the time to rejoice properly over the previous Element before sending Mo Fan to an even higher level of excitement!

This was just like a father who was about to hug his son who had been missing for many years before discovering that… It was a buy one, get one free? One hit, two sounds? _Shit, there is no way to describe this._ In short, he was happy beyond reason!

A fourth Element!

_I have four Elements!_

Other people at the Intermediate level would only possess two Elements. It seemed like they had to cultivate to a level above the Advanced stage before they’d be able to Awaken a fourth Element…

However, Mo Fan had only just stepped into the Intermediate level, yet he had directly Awakened a fourth Element!

This was against the rules of heaven!

_Calm down, calm down…_

_Shit, I can’t calm down!_

Mo Fan was so excited that he felt like he was blowing up. Controlling the emotions billowing up inside him, he finally directed his attention toward the color of the fourth Element.

_What did I Awaken this time?_

At this moment, Mo Fan’s mood was like he had won a lottery. As to whether it was a sports lottery or a money lottery, that wasn’t the important part. This winning pool’s reward was at a different level!

“What is this??” Mo Fan blurted out when he finally found the fourth Stardust in his Spiritual Universe.

The color of this Stardust…

It seemed like there was no color to it!

After Mo Fan carefully examined it, he realized that this Element actually had no color whatsoever!

It was transparent!

The reason why he could see it was because he was able to sense the outline of its Stardust within the chaotic area. However, it was very close to being invisible. If it was to be described with a color, then it would be the radiance that it emitted occasionally was the color of the moon!

What Element was this?

Mo Fan was momentarily unable to make a determination.

—

“Are you done?” The apprentice, Xiao Mian, opened the door without permission. She saw that Mo Fan had finished Awakening a long time ago, thus she began to pout.

“If you’re done, come out. There’s gonna be a Magician coming here to Awaken at the recommendation of the Magic Court, please don’t… Eh? How come the Element you Awakened is colorless?” The young apprentice Xiao Mian was surprised as she looked at the Awakening stone.

On the other side of the room, Guo Liyu immediately stood up as he heard his apprentice’s astonishment. He ran over to the Awakening Room and peeked inside.

When he discovered the Awakening Stone didn’t have any color, yet there’d be an occasional flicker of moonlight, his face was filled with shock.

_This… what kind of luck does this second generation have!? He actually awakened the Summoning Element!_

The vast majority of the people would only Awaken a Classical Element as their first Element. Those who Awakened White Magic, Black Magic ,or Dimensional Magic could be considered as being favored by the heavens. After all, the first Awakening’s Element were the Major Cultivations. Elements of Major Cultivations provided Magicians an increased amount of time to cultivate and practice. It made them far more proficient compared to those with a Secondary or Minor Cultivation Element.

Guo Liyun originally thought that if this person Awakened a Lightning Element, he would go back home with honor in his hands. Who would’ve thought that he would’ve changed to Dark Element at the last second, and while that did fail, he got a Summoning Element out of it!

According to the rules, the first Awakening being a Classical Element was the most common one. The following one would be either Black Magic or White Magic, and the one with the least probability would be Dimensional Magic.

Magicians with a Summoning ability for their first Element would enjoy an unlimited benefit from those major powers as long as they were willing to. Their rarity and price were far too high.

“This is the Summoning Element… Hmph, kid, the 100,000 RMB your family spent on you sure was worth it!” The corner of Guo Liyu’s mouth twitched as he spoke to the dumbstruck Mo Fan.

Mo Fan gasped as he looked at Guo Liyun with an unconvinced face.

Summoning Element, it was actually the Summoning Element!

Even today, Mo Fan has been unable to forget about the amazing scene of Chief Zhankong’s subordinate calling the Skyhawks flying through the sky of Bo City. That seemed to be the Summoning Element!

He always imagined himself one day being able to mount an awesome beast as he landed on the street. Who would’ve thought that he unexpectedly be closer to that now!?

This happiness came far too suddenly. If Ms. Tangyue was here, Mo Fan would endure the danger and hug her before giving her a couple of kisses.

_Speaking of which, If I was to tell the matter of Awakening the Shadow and Summoning Elements to that old scoundrel Mu Zhuoyun, would he package his beautiful Mu Ningxue and present her to me?_

That seemed to be equally possible!

Where else would you be able to find a son-in-law with four Elements?

“Alright, alright. Since you’re done Awakening, leave! I am busy.” At the end of the day, Guo Liyu was a busy person, he began to wave Mo Fan away.

“Oh, oh, thank you!” Currently, Mo Fan only wanted to find a place to calm his state of mind.

“Even if you Awakened a special Element, if you don’t put effort into your training, it’ll still be useless. Furthermore, you’re already relatively old. You’re much slower than other people, there is nothing to be excited about,” Guo Liyu said.

As Mo Fan heard this, he felt cold water being poured over him. He didn’t understand why Guo Liyu would say he was old…

According to Tangyue, being able to tread into the Intermediate level at this age would still be considered as being incredibly impressive even in Shanghai. Could it be that Guo Liyu’s scope of people was even higher?

Alright, the City of Demons was the City of Demons, after all. There were many strong people here, even Intermediate Magicians couldn’t be considered anything special here…

Mo Fan didn’t say anything else, and immediately left.

As he walked out, the receptionist girl in her white qipao guided another fat youth who looked relatively old into the room.

Mo Fan didn’t care as he left excitedly

As Guo Liyu saw this fatty, his face immediately broke into smiles. He greeted him as he ordered Xiao Miao next to him to make tea. “Oh, you must be the Intermediate Magician that Tangyue recommended… your name was Mo Fan, right?”

The fatty’s face was blank. He pointed at his wrinkled nose as he said, “My name is Yang Dahai.”

“The youth who just left was Mo Fan,” the receptionist quickly explained.

The jaws of both Master Guo Liyu and apprentice Xiao Miao both dropped as they glanced at each other. The expressions on their faces couldn’t be described with just a couple of words.

After a moment had passed, the apprentice finally regained her senses as she weakly said, “Master… Did we make a mistake?”

Guo Liyu’s face was stiff as he nodded, “It seems like it!”

“Then…then he was actually Awakening his second Element…” Xiao Miao said.

“As expected of the ancient Magic Court, producing such a monster! An Intermediate Mage that young… Awakening the Summoning Element on his second Awakening! I, Guo Liyu, am thoroughly defeated!” Guo Liyun let out a long sigh.

The receptionist didn’t know what was going on between the master and the apprentice, she just directly went back to the hall.

The fatty called Yang Dahai was also sitting there, completely confused about the situation.

“Are you the kid from the Yang Family that wants to Awaken the Lightning Element?” Guo Liyu asked as he glanced at the fatty.

“That would be me!” Yang Dahai replied, as he shook the fat around his body.

“Xiao Miao, bring him to the Awakening Room.”

“Master, didn’t you tell me to go make tea?”

“Make what, don’t waste my good tea,” Guo Liyu replied as he left to do his own work.

That fatty Yang Dahai was completely dumbstruck.

_How come the happy and sincere Awakening Master suddenly looks as though I owe him five hundred thousand RMB? Did Daddy give him too little money?_

After returning home, Mo Fan saw Xinxia sitting on the small balcony in peace. Her eyes were closed, so she must’ve been diligently meditating.

She planned on participating in the Magic High School Exams in the coming year, so she still needed to learn quite a few things.

Mo Fan wanted to share with her the happiness in his heart. However, seeing her earnest and dignified appearance, he didn’t disturb her at all.

Thinking about it carefully, he decided not to tell her yet. When the time came, he’d just give her yet another big surprise.

It was currently afternoon. The bright and beautiful sunlight was like a bright-colored muslin as it softly and quietly draped itself over Xinxia’s delicate body. She sat there with a particular elegance as she slowly opened her tender lips. She looked like a beautiful girl that only appears in dreams.

It seemed she had gotten a huge benefit from cultivating. She who regarded everything lightly would not usually be in such high spirits.

Mo Fan didn’t make a sound as he stood to the side, staring at her.

Her dark black hair cascaded across her small, flawless features. XinXia did not just have a perfectly oval shaped face, her cheeks filled out and made her look incredibly cute when she lightly bit her lips. When she calmly closed her beguiling eyes, those defined eyebrows of hers made her look all the more enchanting and ravishing.

With this kind of girl, there were rarely times where you’d want to disrespect her. Adding the wheelchair to her delicate appearance only increased one’s desire to protect her.

The night of the destruction of Bo City, Mo Fan had told her that if she couldn’t walk, then he would give her a pair of wings.

Magical Equipment in the form of Wings did exist.

However, their price was something a commoner couldn’t afford even in several lifetimes.

In the past, it would be near impossible for Mo Fan to fulfill this wish. However, right now… he held unlimited potential and would only grow stronger and attain even more riches. There would be a day where he would personally gift her a pair of beautiful wings and allow her to experience the incredible freedom. She will be able to enjoy the wind through her hair, and the clouds beneath her feet.

Mo Fan didn’t disturb her.

He knew what he ought to do. The joy which the dual Element Awakening had brought upon him had now cooled down. It had been turned into an unlimited expectation and thirst for the future, a self confidence that would allow him to control everything around him, and the power that burned fiercely within his heart!

—

After returning to his own room, Mo Fan didn’t want to waste a single second more.

Awakening four Elements did not necessarily mean that he had grown stronger. It only signified that if he was to put even more effort in, then he had even more room to improve.

He had to invest even more time into cultivation now. He had to practice the control of even more Elemental Stars, and spend even more resources.

Thankfully, the Little Loach Pendant provided Mo Fan with a great amount of assistance.

The truth is, the majority of people weren’t able to cultivate a single Element’s magic to a higher level, thus, how could they possibly have time to meditate on others? Mo Fan who planned on raising the levels of all four of his Elements, the time he was going to have to spend on them was not going to be small.

With the nourishment of the Little Loach Pendant, Mo Fan would be able to cultivate literally all day and night without getting tired.

Mo Fan simply sat in his room with his eyes closed as he spent every day like this.

The waters of the Underground Holy Spring had been absorbed by the Little Loach Pendant. Although it couldn’t achieve the same effect of the Underground Holy Spring, it was still able to double Mo Fan’s meditation speed!

A common grade Stardust Magic Tool increased cultivation speed by roughly twenty percent.

A Spirit grade Stardust Magic Tool was able to increase cultivation speed by roughly forty percent.

The Little Loach Pendant that absorbed the Underground Holy Spring had evolved once more, and Mo Fan was no longer able to determine what grade it was at. However, as long as Mo Fan entered a meditative state, he’d be able to enjoy the twice the effect for half the amount of work.

It doubled over what it had been previously!

This double effect of the nourishment was a solid increase. It wasn’t that Mo Fan’s comprehension of cultivation was very high, either. The time he could spend meditating was already extremely long, and when he wasn’t meditating, the Little Loach Pendant’s nourishing would still be active. With this kind of thing influencing him discreetly, he was able to further increase his cultivation.

The effects he obtained from meditation would be different everyday. Even if Mo Fan was a Magician whose innate talent in cultivation was inferior, he would still be able to race ahead of his peers by many levels by relying on the nourishment provided by the Little Loach Pendant.

—

Mo Fan had completely planned his time out efficiently.

After three months of constantly cultivating, Mo Fan had pleasantly discovered that the Stardust of his Shadow Element’s development had achieved the same level it took him a whole year to accomplish with his Fire and Lightning.

The increased speed of the Shadow Stardust was just like a rocket, even Mo Fan had some difficulty believing it.

“It seems like after reaching the Intermediate level, the Stardusts are simply something familiar for the Magicians who possess a Nebula. Thus, the speed at which they increase is much faster than it was in the past.” Mo Fan mused to himself.

The average cultivation time for one Element was roughly a day. This was something that everyone did.

The Little Loach Pendant’s nourishment was able to increase his own cultivation speed by roughly 2.5 times.

It would be logical to say that cultivation three months with the 2.5X buff was equivalent to cultivating for a little longer than half a year. However, it was actually more like a whole year worth of cultivation. If this was the annual examination, then it wouldn’t even be a problem for him to get a S!

Thinking this over, Mo Fan could only think of one reason. His meditation effect had increased by roughly fifty percent compared to before he was an Intermediate Mage!

Because he had to carefully look after the Nebula level Fire and Lightning Elements, it made it much easier for him to look after the Stardust level Shadow and Summoning Elements.

This kind of feeling was just like being a father who had already raised his two children to the age of ten or so years. Dealing with the third and fourth child would be like a casual pinch, his management over them would be neat and tidy, making them docile and obedient.

The Shadow Stardust and Summoning Stardust has already reached the level where he could cast their spells. Only then did Mo Fan begin to connect the Shadow Stars.

Similarly, the Star Path was something Mo Fan was very proficient in. Even though the Shadow Stardust and Summoning Stardust were something that required him to start from the very beginning again, he used swindling as his method to once more make the arrogant Stars obey him.

Cultivating the Shadow and Summoning Elements was much smoother compared to the Lightning and Fire Elements. He wouldn’t make any detours, nor would he lose confidence if he failed.

Control was something Mo Fan had practiced first. Normally, those who had connected seven Stars would impatiently attempt to cast spells, and put the majority of their time towards completely utilizing that spell. Considering the limited amount of time, Mo Fan had to suppress his urge to do the same thing. Instead, he put most of his time into consolidating his foundations.

When he got to the University, he would have all the time and grounds to practice at. In this desolate place with mountains around, there weren’t any pretty ladies with good figures for him to sneakily peek at and distract him…

Time quickly passed by. When you’re busy, time normally goes by in a flash.

From Mo Fan’s perspective, he felt as though he had cultivated for several decades. This kind of dry and dull cultivation only made the time feel even longer, not faster!

Everything in Wuxia novels that spoke of cultivating for several years passing in the blink of an eye was a complete lie. He had now personally experienced this and was bored to death. There were many times where he just wanted to go out and let loose, but he ultimately stopped himself from doing so.

Closing his eyes this time allowed Mo Fan to fully experience the vast sea of learning, and Magic without boundaries. Either way, they were both part of the long and slow road of cultivation.

If you don’t have the willpower, then you won’t be able to do anything!

Either way, Mo Fan had bitterly cultivated throughout this year.

“Come here and have a drumstick. Tomorrow is the great opportunity for you to retake the test! You have to get accepted into a good Magic University… However, I reckon there’ll be many famous universities who will want to recruit you due to your Innate Dual Element,” Mo Jiaxing said as he made a couple of incredible dishes.

“I don’t plan on telling them about my Innate Dual Element,” Mo Fan told his father.

After careful deliberation, Mo Fan decided that he wanted to lay low.

The way the four people of Dongfang Family died so easily was still fresh in Mo Fan’s mind. It made Mo Fan realize that having a good foundation does not mean you are in an invincible position, having a couple of trump cards could never go wrong.

Furthermore, the current Fire and Lightning Elements cultivation basically required him to put effort into drawing their Star Atlas inside himself. The schools weren’t necessarily able to help him.

“Then what do you plan on using for the exams?” Mo Jiaxing said, confused now.

“The Summoning Element.”

“When did you Awaken the Summoning Element?” Mo Jiaxing asked, dumbstruck. Xinxia was looking at Mo Fan while blinking in astonishment.

——

Mo Fan planned on taking the exams for the Pearl Institute. However, he was only going to use one of the Elements, and he chose the Summoning Element.

If Mo Fan remembered correctly, being able to raise your Stardust to the third level would make you quite outstanding. Mu Zhuoyun even specifically set up a huge feast for that b*tch Yu Ang.

Although he had actually never used a spell from the Summoning Element, he had looked out for information about Pearl Institute. If he told the examiner that the Summoning Element was his first, and display that he had genuinely reached the third level of it, then they would make an exception to recruit him!

More frankly, it would be his grades as well as him being one of the minority Elements that would get him recruited.

The possibility of Awakening a Summoning element on their first Awakening was much lower than the Lightning Element. That’s why they were a minority, such people were nearly non-existent.

There would be one Lightning Element among a thousand people, but there were hundreds of thousands of students taking the exams in this country. With the reputation and popularity of the Pearl Institute being the best university in the country, the Lightning Element was just so-so per their standards… In the whole country, they may just choose one among a thousand, or ten thousand.

The Pearl Institute gave more attention to specific Elements, namely Black Magic’s Curse Element, Dimensional Magic’s Void Element, and the Summoning Element.

Originally, Mo Fan planned on using the Shadow Element, which he was more proficient in, to take the exams. However, the standard of the Pearl Institute was far too high. Even if he did reach the third level of Shadow Element’s Primary Spell, Evading Shadow, he still wouldn’t be guaranteed a spot.

The Magic High Exams were like a huge billowing wave. The entire nation had numerous incredible talents, those with a solid background, and diligent Magicians. Displaying your cultivation and spells were only the very fundamental point of the exams. The most important part was to show an extraordinary skill of yours to impress the examiners.

Mo Fan was not lacking in extraordinary skills, so why did he choose to use Summoning Element for the exams out of all of the skills he had?

First, it was so he could show off on the vast and bright stage called University. Secondly, was the reply he had given to Mo Jiaxing and Xinxia, which was, “Since the Summoning Element would award me more attention at the Pearl Institute, then why would I go through more hard work to take the exams in a different way?”

——

For other people, the Magic High Exams were the main events of their lives. For Mo Fan, they were only a stepping stone.

Mo Fan didn’t walk the regular examination way. Instead, he chose to take the interview exam instead. This was something that also existed in his former world.

The interview was inside of Pearl Institute. Mo Fan had already displayed the abilities of his Summoning Element. After five of the examiners had asked a couple of in-depth questions regarding Magic Knowledge, they allowed Mo Fan to take the test to see the power of his Stardust.

“SSS, this is considered the lowest criteria for our direct recruitment. However, up until today, you have never used a Summoning spell. This makes our decision somewhat difficult. Although the Summoning Element is said to be one that does not need practicing, the difficult part about it is control of the Summoned Beast.” The Magic Professor with thick glasses carefully sized Mo Fan up.

There were relatively few numbers of Summoning Element users. The biggest question for them was whether they would or would not accept this student.

Although his foundation was solid, he did not have any other outstanding areas. There was no way for him to break through to the Intermediate level in a short period of time.

However, there were quite a decent number of Summoning students applying to their Pearl Institute. They didn’t want to make it look like they weren’t able to fill a dormitory!

“Director Lu, they have their eyes on an outstanding Earth Elemental Magician. His usage of the Earth Ripple shows a great creativity, it was able to create an effect similar to quicksand as it entrapped a test beast,” the male examiner with a tie said.

“In that case, we can only accept one out of the two?” the old professor with glasses said.

“Yes.”

“In that case. Student Mo Fan, since you are able to control the seven stars of the Summoning Element, then we will take a look at your first Summoning. We will base who we choose on what kind of creature you Summon.”

Mo Fan thought about it, and he felt like it was only fair.

It just that he had never actually tried the Primary spell of the Summoning Element, Dimensional Summoning.

“We will give you one week to prepare. One week from now, you will come to the training grounds, we will invite the professor of the Summoning Element to evaluate you… Oh right, since it’ll be your first time Summoning, we recommend you use some tools to help you with it. This way, the creature you Summon will be somewhat stronger. We don’t mind if you use any tools to assist you,” the old professor kindly reminded him.

“Okay, thank you teachers.”

After leaving the interview hall, there was a strange expression on Mo Fan’s face.

To be honest, the matter concerning tools for the Summoning Element was something he had never tried to understand. For the past one year, he had put all of his focus into the fundamentals of his cultivation.

If the old professor didn’t remind him that it’d be best if he was to use some tools for his first Summoning, then he would most likely have carelessly done a Summon.

Mo Fan had seen some rough introductions to the process.

The primary spell of the Summoning Element, “Dimensional Summoning”, was the most fluctuating spell amongst all the spells. Furthermore, it mostly relied on one’s luck.

If your luck was good, then you could Summon an incredibly strong creature. Its combat prowess would be even stronger than the Lightning Element.

If your luck was bad, then you could end up Summoning a retarded creature… it wouldn’t even be as intimidating as a dog you had raised yourself!

It just happened that his Summoning this time was his examination for university. Mo Fan was really looking forward to it.

Furthermore, he would definitely have to go find tools to assist him.

Within the Dongfang Oriental Pearl Tower there were Magicians from all across the country with different Elements, there should be someone selling this kind of thing there

_._

_._

_._

_Briiiiiing, briiiiiing…_

“Ms Tangyue~~!”

“What?!”

“Do you know anything about the Summoning Element?”

“I know a bit…”

“That’s great! I plan on using the Summoning Element to enter the Pearl Institute. Coincidentally, the books regarding Dimensional Magic on the market are quite few in number, and so, I decided to ask my most beloved Ms Tangyue,” Mo Fan said with a smile.

For some reason, Tangyue felt like Mo Fan’s tone exhibited some malicious intent.

However, this wasn’t the important part. Tangyue was more flabbergasted about the fact Mo Fan had Awakened the Summoning Element.

“Where are you?” Tangyue directly asked.

“I am… forget it, I’ll go find you instead, how’s that?” Mo Fan said very directly as well.

“Alright, come to Xihu.”

——

He lived relatively close to the train station, and so Mo Fan quickly stepped on board as he once again charged toward Hangzhou.

However, as he was sitting on the train toward Xihu, Mo Fan couldn’t help but to think for himself. If he was able to successfully summon a proper Summoned Beast, and was able to control it, then wouldn’t that mean he’d have a free limousine?

So what if a man’s most beloved thing was a BMW, Audi, or a Land Rover? Even if you were to drive a Benz, it still wouldn’t be able to measure up to the unrestrained freedom of a Summoned Beast brimming with power.

—

Mo Fan finally arrived at the location Tangyue gave him. This was a place where in the top grade apartments you’d be able to see the whole of Xihu from your own window.

An apartment like this with its surrounding filled with bright, flourishing flowers… comparing that to his own deserted area… Sigh, being poor is a problem that gets worse by day. Once I get into University, I ought to find a job!

……

Within a room, Tangyue was looking into the mirror. She was pondering over whether to use the bright colored red lipstick, or the lipstick that seemed tender like water…

Putting on some light make-up was a normal thing. However, the thought of her sitting in the taxi and giving him a breathtaking kiss suddenly appeared within her head. This made her purse her lips as a blush appeared on her face.

_What am I doing, I thought I already decided to never meet this guy again!_

Although the matter of that was actually a year ago, meeting Mo Fan again made her cheeks really blush.

_Forget it, when other people meet their previous boyfriends, they’d be magnanimous. For an adult like me, this kind of thing should just be a small matter…_

It just happened that she had been locked in her apartment, cultivating for a long period of time. _Having someone take a stroll with me in Xihu wouldn’t be a bad thing._

—

Mo Fan was patiently waiting downstairs, and finally saw Ms Tangyue walking toward him with her exquisite figure. Her unconcealed beauty once more caused a ripple in his heart. He hadn’t seen her for a year, but she was still that beautiful.

_Tsk tsk, if those classmates of mine in High School knew that Ms Tangyue and I are this close with each other, then they’d definitely die from jealousy…_

“Let’s take a walk. The matters concerning the Summoning Element are rather complicated, I’ll slowly explain them to you,” Tangyue said with a shallow smile.

Mo Fan realized that Tangyue’s mood was rather good, although he didn’t know why.

Mature women have good taste, it was like they were experts. If the girls were too innocent, then it’d be boring.

“Alright, it just happens that I’ve never taken a look around Hangzhou,” Mo Fan agreed quickly.

Mo Fan was a child from a poor family. Before the age of eighteen, he actually hadn’t gone anywhere.

They walked along the river of Xihu. There were lots of of people from all walks of life out taking a stroll around here. Due to it being summer vacation, there were many who took their children out on their trips.

The weeping willow on the other shore was reflected on the river, the scenery looked as beautiful as a drawing. Ms Tangyue’s steps were like a lotus, her figure like a delicate willow. The beautiful girls touring the famous Broken Bridge seemed to be even more beautiful than the location. They looked at the scenery happily, but little did they know that they were actually the best part of the view!

Ms Tangyue’s figure was particularly outstanding. A large number of people were turning their heads around to see her, making Mo Fan feel relatively pleased with himself. It was not because everyone was just people… It was because their admiration and jealousy made him feel extremely superior.

The two didn’t immediately discuss the most important topic. They talked a little about the recent state of matters, and after discussing a couple of other matters, they finally began to get into the topic of the Summoning Element.

“The Summoning Element is most likely the most unstable Element within all of the various Magicks. If you are able to properly use it, then you will be an invincible existence in your area. If you can’t use it, then you’re just like a commoner who is taking their dog out for a walk,” Ms Tangyue told him.

Mo Fan nodded, this was similar to what the old professor had said before.

Thinking about it, it sounded just about right. In terms of combat prowess, between a Primary Magician and a Minion level Magical Beast, it was natural that a Minion level Magical Beast would be stronger. A Primary Magician would need to form a squad to kill a Magical Beast of that level.

As for Summoners, if they were able to summon a creature whose combat prowess was equal to that of Magical Beasts, then that would mean they would have achieved a combat prowess equal to a squad of Primary Magicians. This was surely more monstrous than the Lightning Element.

“Dimensional Summon is a spell that is full of unknown factors. Once you’ve used Dimensional Summon, your intent will enter a plane that does not belong to our world, called the Summoned Beast Plane. In that place, your intent will quickly wander around within the Summoned Beast Plane. Furthermore, it will search for the closest creature…” Ms Tangyue continued explaining.

“Enter a different plane?” Mo Fan felt flabbergasted by this.

“There is more than one plane in this world. I’ve even heard from some old Space Element Magicians that there are many mysterious planes that are parallel to our plane. At a certain time, these planes would align… Telling you this is useless. The most important thing is, the Summoning Beast Plane is a plane which we humans are more familiar with. More accurately speaking, the Summoned Plane is attached to our world.” Tangyue continued to explain this topic to Mo Fan.

However, Mo Fan’s head was in chaos. After all, he was considered to be someone from a different plane!

“While your intent is wandering within the Summoning Plane, the summoned creatures you encounter will be completely different… and this is also why the Summoning Element is the most unstable Element. When you do your first Summoning, there’s no way to know what kind of Summon you’ll make,” Ms Tangyue said.

“I see, so the Dimensional Summon is similar to going to the zoo blindfolded as you randomly grab something. So grabbing a rat that ends up being a lion is also possible?” Mo Fan asked.

Ms Tangyue gently smiled as she slowly nodded, “That’s about right.”

“That’s interesting!” Mo Fan couldn’t help but to look forward to it.

The Summoning Element’s spells variables were far different than other Magic elements. However, this was just to Mo Fan’s liking. To delve into a Magic Element like this would only make it more interesting.

“With your Intermediate Magician’s intent, you will be able to find relatively strong Summoned Beast,” Ms Tangyue said.

“So this depends on the strength of your intent?”

“Mhm, if you are able to efficiently use the Summoning Element’s primary spell, Dimensional Summon, then it can potentially be even more amazing than Advanced Magic!”

The content of the Summoning Element was not something that could be explained in a couple of days.

Mo Fan oddly realized that Ms Tangyue was gradually guiding him into a secluded, gloomy forest. He watched as the people in his surroundings decreased, and Tangyue’s curvy, sexy body in the dusk…

_Could it be that what happened in the taxi was not enough to fully satisfy her desires? Could this dusky forest have yet another thing happening?_

“Alright, there is no one here,” Ms. Tangyue said after surveying the area.

Mo Fan widened his eyes.

_No way, it really is happening!_

_I’m not prepared, but I do like this kind of bluntness!_

“What are you looking at, I led you here to use Dimensional Summon!” Tangyue said to Mo Fan, in a bad mood.

“Oh, oh…” Mo Fan awkwardly smiled, it seems like she was afraid that the thing he’d Summon would scare other people.

Summoning Beast… To speak frankly, this was a Magical Beast that could be controlled by humans. When normal people saw Magical Beasts, they’d just pee their pants.

Tangyue didn’t think that the Magic could successfully control the Magical Beast on its first attempt. So she led him to a place where there was no people in case Mo Fan couldn’t control it.

——

The time given to Mo Fan was a week. During this one week, Mo Fan had been asking for guidance from Ms. Tangyue.

It just so happened that Tangyue was available during this period of time, soshe let Mo Fan keep her company as they strolle through Hangzhou.

She told Mo Fan that after she had moved to Hangzhou, she essentially did not wander around the city at all. On one hand, Tangyue was supplying Mo Fan with magic and combat knowledge; while on the other, she had him come along for shopping, sightseeing, and trying the local delicacies.

At this time, Mo Fan was rejoicing over the fact that he lived in a district that was relatively close to Hangzhou. Otherwise, he wouldn’t necessarily have had an opportunity like this, where he could walk with her so intimately.

During this week, not only did Tangyue tell Mo Fan information regarding the Summoning Element, she also imparted her knowledge of cultivating the Fire and Shadow Elements to him.

After going through this baptism, Mo Fan finally understood what it meant to have a Master impart knowledge to the disciple. In the practical classes in the past, Tangyue also gave lectures without hiding anything. However, that was a school after all, there were many things that were rather inappropriate to tell the Magic students at that level.

——

“I have to go, I will miss you Ms Tangyue.” Mo Fan waved his hands as he was unable to look at Tangyue.

“Be careful in the University,” Tangyue told him repeatedly.

“Careful? What do you mean?” Mo Fan asked while feeling confused.

“ University and Magic High School are completely different. The competition in the University is extremely cruel, there are many who will use their clan and background to obtain a couple of resources. The University itself is essentially a contest between the major powers from across the country. The University staffs just turn a blind eye to it…” Tangyue said to Mo Fan sincerely.

From how Tangyue saw it, Mo Fan was a smart person who knew how to survive in this society. However, she also saw that he was actually a rather rash person, and was worried Mo Fan would fall in the struggles within his University.

To speak frankly, Mo Fan came from a common family. He was completely different from those Magicians that had the wealth of their family, or a major background as a shield.

The road of a Magician’s growth was essentially burning money and resources. Mo Fan, who had to rely on himself to establish himself within the University, would have an extremely difficult time.

Even if Mo Fan had already achieved the Intermediate level, the Intermediate level Magicians in University could not be considered peak existences. A famous university like Pearl Institute had numerous monsters.

Mo Fan knows that Ms Tangyue was being considerate of him, and nodded his head quietly. “Ms Tangyue, don’t worry. I will control myself.”

Tangyue looked at him listening to her advice, she couldn’t help but smile, “I’m not asking you to swallow your anger after being bullied by others. If a family does something excessive, you can come and find me. I will support you.”

Mo Fan felt a warmth bubble burst forth inside him.

Although he only nodded on the surface, Mo Fan was actually thinking of something else.

If he were to get ravaged by some people in University, and he went whining to find his most beloved teacher, then he really would be just a little brat.

_I need to be a man who is responsible. How could I possibly hide under someone else’s wing?_

Furthermore, Mo Fan was also very clear that he was not a relative nor a friend to Ms. Tangyue. Mo Fan was already feeling extremely emotional about Tangyue providing him with so much knowledge without restraint on his road of growth as a Magician.

The rest was still something where he had to rely on himself!

——

_Pearl University…_

An overweight youth stepped out of a black Mercedes-Benz.

The fatty looked around the area, his eyes revealing some disdain. “How annoying, they actually still needed one more week to make a decision!”

“Xiao Song, this is the Pearl Institute of Shanghai, after all. Capable people here not few, and the person who is competing with you is precisely a Summoning Elemental Student. That kind of people could be considered rather rare.” The uniformed chauffeur also stepped out, his face bearing a kind smile.

“Old Li, do you really think the Summoning Element is something extraordinary?” Luo Song curled his lip.

“It is indeed nothing much compared to you,” the butler called Old Li fawned back.

“Let’s go, I want to see just what kind of ability this kid has. He dares to compete with this young master!” Luo Song directly strode toward the designated practice ground.

Butler Old Li quickly followed behind him. “Xiao Song, if they don’t accept you, let’s go to Imperial. After all, that is where our foundation lies.”

“I don’t want to, I will let those people who sneered at me see that I am even stronger than them, without relying on my father!” Luo Song didn’t conceal the arrogance on his face.

“There’s no need for that. You are after all very outstanding, that’s why they give you the best resources…”

“Old Li, you don’t need to say anything more. Either way, I have decided on the Pearl Institute of Shanghai, and I will trample down on those who are full of themselves! That’s something fun to do! An example will be the fool who thinks the Summoning Element is amazing!”

“Alright, as long as you don’t attract big trouble to yourself.” Butler Li said nothing else.

After finding the designated training grounds, Luo Song walked in and found the five examiners sitting there.

Other than the five examiners, there was another youth wearing a pitch black shirt, standing out there on the white sands of the training ground.

Telling the family circumstances of a person based on what they’re wearing was usually pretty accurate most of time. After all, fashion was something that required a large amount of money to really keep up with.

Thus, Luo Song was instantly able to give that the guy taking exams an evaluation: a loser!

“Luo Song, you’re here! Come and sit by the side!” The bald examiner stood up from his place and grinned.

The bald examiner walked up to Luo Song and whispered, “You brat, why did you leisurely come to Pearl Institute, and even want to contend against a Summoning Elemental student?!”

“What’s the matter, Uncle Li, you already know the situation with me!” Luo Song had a carefree expression, it appeared that he was determined to win.

Examiner Li walked back to his place, and glanced at Mo Fan, who was already prepared.

The old professor wearing thick glasses was also judging Mo Fan. When he realized Mo Fan hadn’t brought anything with him, he casually asked, “You didn’t prepare any auxiliary equipment?”

The old professor had deliberately postponed the test for a week later. His intention was to let this student discuss with his family spending some money on equipment for assistance. Such help would greatly increase his acceptance rate.

The old professor would gladly accept Summoning Elemental students, but everything had to be justified.

“It was too expensive, I couldn’t afford it.” Mo Fan straightforwardly replied.

Mo Fan understand this auxiliary equipment’s requirements. The costs started at a few hundred thousand yuan and ranged up to millions for the better stuff. Mo Fan only had a Bone Scythe Shield from before, but that was there to save his life.

“Okay, then let us begin!” The old professor didn’t say anything further.

On the side, the young master called Luo Song couldn’t stop himself from laughing. He said to the butler Li to the side, “Old Li, this person is quite interesting! He doesn’t have the money to study the Summoning Element! If he was to study any other Element, it’d still be better than the Summoning Element!”

Regardless of what, Luo Song was still raised in a big place, thus, he knew quite a few things.

The Summoning Element was the element that burned the most money amongst all Elements. The strength between summoned creatures varied greatly. The weak ones couldn’t even match up with dogs, and the strong ones could even fight against demons. So where did the strong ones come from? One aspect would be his own cultivation, and another is from burning resources!

“He has already started,” Butler Li coughed.

Luo Song no longer said anything. However, he was actually quite confused. Just how poor must a family be if they can’t even purchase a supporting item for the entrance exams. Were those things really that expensive?

—

Mo Fan had already closed his eyes as he began to slowly connect the stars in his Summoning Stardust.

The Summoning Stardust appeared to be transparent, with an occasional moonlight radiance circulating around it. After Mo Fan placed the stars in the interior into an array, the moonlight radiance became increasingly distinct. When seven of the stars were connecting to each other, it looked like a crescent moon.

After the Star Trail appeared, it circled around Mo Fan’s body. It looked like the bound radiance of the moon as it slowly ripped open a tunnel leading toward a different plane in the sky.

Mo Fan opened his eyes. They displayed a vast depth as he stood there on the practice ground, his spirit seemed like it had travelled to a different, mysterious plane.

A moon-colored dimensional door was located at the end of a black tunnel. Mo Fan felt as though he had instantly bumped into an incredible Garden of Immortal Peaches through a narrow, pitch black cavern. A completely new continent had emerged in front of him.

It was like a mirage, as what seemed to be right in front of his eyes was actually relatively far away. Like a dream, he felt like a god as he quietly watched the scenery of the dream.

“Don’t forget to use your intent to subdue the creature of your choosing,” the voice of the old professor suddenly echoed around him, reminding Mo Fan who was still entranced.

Mo Fan was also very clear that the amount of time his intent could remain in this Summoning Plane was very limited. If he didn’t quickly lock onto a creature that he wanted to summon, then this summoning would be considered a fail.

As he willed his intent to move, Mo Fan could feel himself flying past the new dreamland. Those creatures that was quickly galloping through the fields was instantly left behind by Mo Fan, so far behind that you could no longer see them on the horizon.

Awuuuuu~

Suddenly, a blue shadow sitting atop a tall, secluded mountain raised its head and howled into the dark skies.

Mo Fan glanced at this Spirit Wolf as his face filled with joy.

_It’s you!_

His intent turned into an incorporeal rope as it fell down on the defenseless Spirit Wolf.

As he reinforced his intent and pulled, the binding rope quickly broke off. However, Mo Fan’s Spiritual Print had already begun to crawl into the forehead of the Spirit Wolf. He wanted to leave a communication bridge between the summoned beast and the summoner in that area.

This Spirit Wolf refused in the beginning. However, once the sun rose, there was suddenly an indescribable mental attack toward him.

“You have to be friendly. Remember, you and the summoned creature are not a master and slave. You are using the energy of the Dimensions to request their help from the other planes to come and assist you in your battles. Thus, you need to reach a consensus with the creature, and not a forcible enslaving.” The old professor clearly seemed to be a very good teacher. Even if he still hadn’t entered the university, he still promptly assisted Mo Fan in the process of subduing the creatures.

Mo Fan realized the old professors intention, thus, he did not excessively force the second spiritual imprint.

Everytime you try to insert a Spiritual Imprint onto a summoned creature, it used up a large amount of magic energy. Even though Mo Fan’s current Summoning Stardust was at the third level, he still could not fail the branding too many times.

According to what Ms Tangyue had said, once the Spiritual Imprint successfully appeared on the body of the wandering creature, it meant the summoning was successful!

The first Spiritual Imprint was clearly a failure, probably because Mo Fan had turned his intent into a rope, attempting to abduct the wolf.

The second time, Mo Fan turned his Spiritual Imprint into a gentle radiance as he softly sprinkled it over the body of the Spirit Wolf that was still somewhat resisting him.

As expected, this guy was amenable to coaxing, but not coercion.

A few moments later, the Spiritual Imprint appeared on the forehead of the Spirit Wolf.

This imprint was actually a bridge between the two planes. When Mo Fan was about to finish the last part of the summoning, his intent quickly left this land of half-illusion and half-reality, and quickly returned to the practice ground.

Mo Fan opened his eyes, and realized the bald examiner who had just picked up his tea was actually drinking it now.

One had to understand that when Mo Fan was closing his eyes, the bald examiner was already holding onto the teacup…

His wandering intent felt like it had traveled over an entire world. However, time in the real world had passed much more slowly.

The moonlight Star Trail didn’t disappear like the other Elements. It became a crack that split open the space between two planes. The Spirit Wolf marked by Mo Fan’s Spiritual Imprint began to vigilantly yet curiously stretch its furry blue head, its vicious teeth enough to make all the observers cautious, out of the crack…

When it saw Mo Fan, it began to relax.

It directly walked out of the moonlight Star Trail to Mo Fan’s side, and began to look over its surroundings with keen blue eyes.

—

“Spirit Wolf?? How could he summon a Spirit Wolf on his first summoning!” the bald examiner blurted out in surprise.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Mo Fan, and then they locked onto his summoned creature. It was clear that this was a Spirit Wolf with an incredibly robust physique!

“Mo Fan, it seems like your intent was even stronger than what we had expected,” the old professor pushed his glasses up as a smile appeared on his face.

“This shouldn’t be your first time summoning, right? Summoning a Spirit Wolf on your first try should be extremely hard,” the female examiner next to him asked, suspecting something.

“It is indeed his first time summoning, I know this for sure… Dean Xiao, our Summoning department wants this student,” the Dean Jiang Yunming said.

Luo Song and his caretaker were standing to the side looking at the very live Spirit Wolf standing next to Mo Fan. The expression on his face showed his astonisment.

You’re kidding me, right?

I’ve never heard of someone summoning a Spirit Wolf on their first attempt!

The combat prowess of a creature like Spirit Wolf was comparable to a Minion level Magical Beast. This means that its combat prowess directly passed other Primary Magicians by several times.

He didn’t use any auxiliary items, and it was even his first time Awakening… Just what kind of luck does this kid have! And just how stupid can this Spirit Wolf be, being subdued that easily!

“Little Song, it seems like the Dean Jiang Yunming is set to have the summoner,” Butler Li awkwardly told him.

“They want him? Why!?” Luo Song immediately fell into a bad mood.

On the other side, the five examiners began a discussion among themselves.

As the director of Summoning division, Jiang Yunming was very emphatic with wanting to recruit Mo Fan. If his Summoning division did not accept more people, then the entire division would be shut down.

The person called Dean Xiao was precisely the old professor wearing the glasses. It seemed like he had approved of Mo Fan since the very beginning. He was in favor of the suggestion.

The other three people were clearly hesitating, as they were considering whether Mo Fan had the qualifications to enter the Pearl Institution.

“Summoning a Spirit Wolf is nothing impressive. Doesn’t Pearl Institute pay more attention towards their combat prowess? I could single-handedly extinguish this Spirit Wolf,” Luo Song jumped down from the stage without listening to the decision of the examiners.

He was extremely skilled in Earth Ripple. He quickly moved in front of Mo Fan with a single step, borne across the stone.

Luo Song didn’t seem afraid of facing a vicious Spirit Wolf. Instead, he looked at Mo Fan in didsain, “Let me play a little with your Spirit Wolf. Let’s see if he’s just a decoration or not.”

“That’s fine, I was just thinking of how to use him!” Mo Fan displayed a smile.

The main purpose of summoning the Spirit Wolf was to fight a battle. It was Mo Fan’s first time summoning it, yet it was only for examination purposes. This made it a bit difficult for him to explain to the wild Spirit Wolf.

Mo Fan glanced at the Spirit Wolf, and similarly, the Spirit Wolf turned its large, malevolent head to look at him. Its long mouth and its bold, powerful face was right in front of Mo Fan, so close that he could feel its breath blowing onto his face.

In the past, Mo Fan would have definitely been scared to death. However, the Spirit Wolf that he had summoned gave him a different feeling, it was like they were old friends.

Mo Fan patted the head of the big guy as he said, “Since he wants to challenge you, then you should take the challenge,”

The Spirit Wolf immediately turned its head around, fixing its gaze on the bloated figure of Luo Song with a chilling threat. Its eyes displayed fighting spirit and enmity.

“A lousy wolf like you is no different from a dog in my family,” Luo Song ridiculed it.

Mo Fan’s new Wolf companion seemed like it could understand the taunting, its eyes immediately narrowed dangerously!

Awoooooo~~~!

The great jaws filled with fierce teeth opened. The observers could see a turbid energy generating in the depths of the Spirit Wolf’s throat.

As the Spirit Wolf exhaled fiercely, its breath instantly turned into what seemed to be a vicious storm swirling the sands of the floor!

Flying Sand Stones!

Mo Fan’s face displayed a certain glee!

Recalling how Bai Yang’s Spirit Wolf using the Flying Sand Stones to cause incredible pain to his group of Magicians made Mo Fan feel happy. His own Spirit Wolf’s aura seemed a bit stronger than Bai Yang’s wolf! What his Spirit Wolf breathed out seemed just like a sandstorm, a raging Sand Dragon as it flew toward Luo Song!

Luo Song didn’t panic, nor was he impatient. He took a step to the side.

His body instantly moved, and the Flying Sand Stones quickly brushed by him without wounding him.

Within the eyes of the Spirit Wolf a light moved, it looked like he was thinking, This fatty is quite nimble.

After the Spirit Wolf gave up on the Flying Sand Stones, he directly moved forward with his four powerful legs.

His gaze fixed on Luo Song, the Spirit Wolf’s back limbs ferociously stomped down. Its body flew out, bursting out at an incredible speed that shocked everyone!

When the four limbs stepped into the sands, it left behind a deep footprint. The incredible force that split open the air in front of it made Mo Fan wonder what kind of feeling it would be like riding on its back?

The Spirit Wolf’s eruption of power was extremely dreadful, its speed even faster than the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat. Coordinating the speed with the wave of its claw, it could instantly tear the creature in front of it into two pieces.

Mo Fan, however, wanted to see how this stuck-up fatty was going to deal with the Spirit Wolf’s violent claw.

Luo Song was already relatively far away, but he realized the Spirit Wolf had caught up to him with just a couple of steps. His expression displayed a bit of confusion.

“Earth Ripple, Subsidence!” Luo Song quickly finished the Earth Star Path as his two hands heavily smacked onto the ground.

In a split second, the entire practice ground’s floor displayed a visible wiggle. The originally solid ground had been turned into a soft layer of mud under the control of Luo Song.

This layer of mud was quickly moving away from him, just like a stream flowing the wrong way.

While the Spirit Wolf was charging, a clear effect was visible. As it entered the area of rippling earth, it was clear that its speed had drastically decreased.

The speed of its charge being slowed due to the influence of the soft mud was one thing, but the ground was also constantly moving the Spirit Wolf backwards.

Luo Song’s ability to control the ground was superb. He was able to turn the ground around the Spirit Wolf into a trap. Added to this was the fact he could continually pull the Spirit Wolf toward the center of the effect, making into effectively a large area of quicksand!

The quicksand continuously sank. The Spirit Wolf was constantly being dragged toward the middle of the quicksand.

Faster, faster! Jump!, Mo Fan was standing in the distance, yelling inside frantically.

The quicksand was slow, after all. If the Spirit Wolf increased its speed, it is very possible that it outrun the force of attraction, as the draw would be less than its speed.

Awooooo~~~

The Spirit Wolf sounded infuriated. It raised its formidable head as it howled.

At that moment, the Spirit Wolf heavily took a step, forcefully pulling its legs out from the shifting ground.

It began to increase its running speed. Its legs were moving faster and faster…

Its legs were soon moving too fast for the naked eye, racing against the quicksand. The quicksand had maintained the same speed as it pulled the Spirit Wolf backwards, but the Spirit Wolf was outrunning it in its fury!

Finally, the quicksand was no longer a hindrance to the Spirit Wolf…

The Spirit Wolf relied on its erupting speed to escape the quicksand trap. Its sturdy body was like an arrow as it flew toward Luo Song!

“Shit… I originally did not want to expose too much. This brute animal and the kid were actually this tactless, I’ll let them experience my Intermediate Magic!” Luo Song realized that the little spell he had cast could not force the vicious Spirit Wolf to surrender. Thus, he quickly moved to the other side of the practice ground.

Most likely due to Luo Song being in a hurry, his move this time put him in a more awkward situation… as he fell face first onto the mud.

When he got up, he had a bit of anger displayed on his face, and began to arrange the stars within his Nebula.

The Star Atlas slowly emerged beneath his feet. Luo Song’s eyes was filled with disdain and ridicule as he looked at the lowly Spirit Wolf.

Since you dare to fight me, then I will teach you a lesson!

I will turn your first summon into a corpse!

“What, Intermediate Magic?!” The female examiner immediately stood up.

Originally, they wanted to use this fight as an examination as well. This way, they would be able to determine the combat prowess of the two.

However, the expressions on their faces immediately changed after they saw the completion of the Star Atlas!

After the Butler Li saw this scene, he couldn’t help but shake his head. He initially thought Young Master Luo Song could rely on his earth magic to enter Pearl Institute, but in the end, he still had to reveal his true power.

“It’s Ice element… It’s an Intermediate Ice Magic!”

A snowflake-like white Star Atlas emerged beneath Luo Song’s feet. The atmosphere in the training grounds felt like it had been condensed into ice. The piercing cold was not something simple clothes could defend against.

The ground was continuously being frozen, and the solid ice began to further spread into its surrounding…

“Ice Lock!”

Luo Song’s eyes carried ridicule. When he was chanting the name of his spell, the frozen grounds in front of them had actually been split open by something!

Icy white ice shackles suddenly flew out of the crack in the ice. They let out a sound that was similar to rattling steel chains, and quickly intertwined in front of Luo Song…

The shackles were as thick as a bowl. Each of the floating, ice-cold shackles was capable of locking the Spirit Wolf to death under the command of Luo Song!

“I can only say that you are unfortunate for meeting me, Luo Song! If your summoned beast survives this, then it will be because I was being lenient!” There was not a hint of sympathy in Luo Song’s eyes. Those who dared to fight with him had never had a good conclusion!

“Stop, stop!” The examiner with the surname Li yelled out.

However, Luo Song didn’t stop. He raised his head to say, “There are no such thing as being lenient during a battle. I will teach this guy a lesson, and he will firmly remember it in the future!”

Examiner Li had already charged onto the grounds. Originally, Luo Song thought he came to stop him, however, he realized that he was running toward the boy with the black shirt.

“Student Mo Fan, please calm down, please…” In this moment, the dean surnamed Xiao also stood up as he gently spoke.

Luo Song was completely dumbstruck.

What’s happening?

Are they telling the retarded summoner to stop?

Luo Song’s objective was the Spirit Wolf, so when he turned around to look at Mo Fan, he was so shocked that he couldn’t speak!

Purple…

A magnificent, bright purple Star Atlas had blossomed beneath the feet of Mo Fan ,with countless sparks curling around his bod!

Mo Fan’s finger was pointed toward the sky, and his other hand was pointed at Luo Song’s head!

As Luo Song raised his head, he suddenly discovered a thunder cloud was shrouding the sky. Lightning that looked as though it would fiercely descend at any time was currently writhing inside the cloud.

Luo Song felt as though a shower of cold water had been poured onto him. Cold sweat began to fall from every inch of his body.

Heavens, this is the Intermediate level Lightning Magic – Thunderbolt!

Luo Song had nothing to guard against it. If the Thunderbolt landed on him, then he would be turned into mincemeat!

“If you dare to make a move against my Wolf, I will extinguish you, you god-forsaken pig!” Mo Fan said to Luo Song icily.

Shit, Mo Fan had promised Ms Tangyue to lay low, who would’ve known he would meet such a person before he even entered University!

So what if you use Intermediate Ice? All you did was to force me to use my power!

Mo Fan had always thought that he was already a big showoff. Who would’ve thought that there’d be someone who was a bigger showoff than him, he was unable to endure it!

The entire practice ground immediately turned incredibly tense…

The chins of the Examiners had nearly dropped to the table.

First it was two Primary Magic students comparing their skills, and in the next second, there was two Intermediate spells being drawn!

Examiner Li nearly passed out. He actually knew of the true strength of this Young Master of his family. Within his heart, he had also hoped the Young Master would lay low. Who would’ve thought that he’d meet his demise so quickly! What seemed to be a normal summoner student had actually concealed the monstrous power of an Intermediate Mage!

At this rate, he might as well beat his own face until it was swollen.

How could Luo Song possibly dare to continue the use of his Intermediate Magic? He withdrew the ice shackles as his two legs began to feel weak.

As Mo Fan saw the fatty being a bit more tactful, he decided to not continue dealing with him anymore.

Mo Fan quickly calmed his lightning, and the clouds in sky also slowly dispersed, quickly returning to a clear sunny day.

“Little Wolf, return to me. Your performance was not bad at all!” Mo Fan waved at his own Spirit Wolf.

The Spirit Wolf obediently ran back to. Its eyes, which originally inhibited a lofty indifference, were currently showing new respect for Mo Fan.

The greatest honor for a Summoned Beast was when its owner was stronger than itself!

“Alright, it’s only an exam. There is no need to be angry. Mo Fan, although we don’t understand why a Lightning Magician like you decided to cultivate the Summoning Element, we do respect the choices of the students. From today on, you will be the newest summoner student of Pearl Institute!” Dean Xiao’s face carried a smile.

This Fatty really was something. Being so young yet daring to be so impulsive! There were many gifted people in Pearl Institute. If he showed off here, he’d get hit by lightning sooner or later!

Luo Song walked off the practice ground in disgrace. His face no longer held the belief that he was the number one under the heavens.

“Little Fatty, you’ll also enter the Ice school. You have learned an extremely important lesson at the start of the school, this will be very beneficial for you,” Dean Xiao told him.

“I…” Luo Song’s pride was shattered.

Originally, he could have easily entered the Pearl Institute by showing his true ability. In the end, it seemed like they had accepted him out of pity!

Jiang Yunming was very satisfied with Mo Fan, indeed! In the past, he was worried about Mo Fan being in a difficult situation. the Summoning element was Awakened as a Primary Magician’s first Element, especially for a rather poor student, it would seem more like a Trash Element. If they were to nurture that kind of student, the school would have to cough up a lot of resources. Recruiting that kind of student was of very little interest to the Summoning School.

If they were an Intermediate Magician, then it was different.

An Intermediate Magician held a certain strength all by themselves, and with enough capital, they would be able to burn more resources when Summoning a creature. That way, they would be able to nurture their Summoned creature to become even stronger.

“Are you from Bo City?” Dean Xiao slowly took off his glasses as he gazed at Mo Fan.

When he decided on accepting this student, Dean Xiao became aware the student’s record was from Bo City.

The entire nation knew of the calamity that had happened in Bo City. Thus, the entire nation gave special treatment to those who were from Bo City. During the enrollment of Pearl Institute this time, they had accepted one student from Bo City. Comparing him to the students from across the country, he wasn’t considered exceptionally outstanding…

“Yes,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Not bad, I can’t see the weak haze of the destruction on your body.” Dean Xiao smiled slightly and didn’t continue further.

Mo Fan shrugged in reply as he asked, “Can I live in the dorms?”

“Yes you can.”

Xinxia had already been accepted into Zhejiang Institute, and Mo Jiaxing was busy with work. Mo Fan also had nowhere to go, so it was better for him to stay in the school and refresh his studies.

Mo Fan didn’t have luggage or bags, so he immediately left to check in.

After Mo Fan left, the Director of the Summoning Element, Jiang Yunming, glanced at Dean Xiao Bingsen.

“This student is quite interesting. Make sure you properly nurture him,” Dean Xiao said with a smile.

Jiang Yunming didn’t quite understand the meaning of Dean Xiao’s words. However, before he could ask about it, Dean Xiao had already left with his hands behind his back.

“The Dean’s cultivation is extremely high. Perhaps he was able to see what other things the student had hidden,” the lady Examiner said as she looked at the departing back of Dean Xiao.

“There are still more hidden things? I personally don’t think that’s possible. It’s merely because Dean Xiao is benevolent, he’s more concerned about those people that survived the destruction…” the bald examiner replied.

——

The start of the school term was on the first of September, a very unusual day for starting school.¹

Mo Fan had already been living the dorm for roughly two months. He had a relatively good understanding of the entire Pearl Institute.

The Pearl Institute was divided into two campuses. The Azure Pearl Campus accommodated all the first-year University students and all the old students at Primary level. The Main Pearl Campus was only for those who had stepped into the Intermediate level.

The Main Campus was naturally the genuine core of the Pearl Institute. Gathered in this place were all of their outstanding young Magicians from every part of the nation. At same time, it was also the place with the most ferocious competition.

The Azure Campus could be considered a bit more fair. Gathered in this place were the new students who had entered the Pearl Institute, as well as the old students who had not made the breakthrough to the Intermediate level.

—

Mo Fan got up to brush his teeth and wash his face first thing in the morning. A relatively handsome man walked into the room.

He had fashionably ../styled, curly long hair, a face like a fairytale prince, and was wearing simple sportswear. Mo Fan looked at the first dorm mate that arrived with foam all over his mouth. In his heart, he cursed, Shit, this guy’s almost as handsome as me!

“Oh, I thought I was the first one to get here! Let me introduce myself, my name is Zhao Manyan, I major in the Light Element…” Zhao Manyan said with a warm smile, looking very friendly.

“I’m called Mo Fan…,”

“You should finish brushing your teeth, I’ll go tidy up some things… This dorm is a bit dirty,” Zhao Manyan chose the bed opposite Mo Fan’s, near the balcony. With a glance from the balcony, you could see the scenery outside of the window, as well as the dorm filled with girls.

After Mo Fan finished brushing his teeth, he began to chat with Zhao Manyan.

“You’re a Summoner? That means what the senior sister said was correct. We have a mixed Element dorm,” Zhao Manyan said helplessly.

A dorm could accommodate six people. Normally, the school would arrange students of the same Element to stay together, to make it easier for them to interact.

However, not every Element had students in multiples of six, and so some dorms would end up with students from different Elements.

“Brother Mo Fan, I made an appointment to have a meal with the senior sister, so I’ll take my leave first.” Zhao Manyan swung his hair as he elegantly left.

—

Not too long after Zhao Manyan left, another two people came in.

He didn’t know whether they were scared of strangers, or if they just conducted themselves in a rather superior way. These two didn’t even greet Mo Fan, who had been in the dormitory for the longest period of time. They quickly started to unpack their things.

When afternoon rolled around, a tall and skinny guy with dyed red hair appeared. This guy didn’t want to hide that he was a Fire Elemental student. He walked into the dorm as though he was in charge as he swept his gaze across the room.

“Whose bed is this?” The red haired man pointed at the bed he wanted.

“It’s mine.” Mo Fan walked over from the balcony.

“What Element are you?” the redhead asked.

“Summoning.”

“Oh! Oh…” The redhead stared blankly. It was clear that he didn’t expect Mo Fan to be an extremely uncommon Summoner.

The two dormmates who were in the middle of doing their business couldn’t help but raise their heads to take a glance at Mo Fan.

“What about this bed, what Element?” The redhead man pointed at Zhao Manyan’s bed.

“Light Element,” Mo Fan replied warily.

The redhead nodded as he strode to Zhao Manyan’s bed, and immediately put the big bag he had behind his back on it. He promptly threw Zhao Manyan’s things off to the side, and furthermore raised the corner of his mouth in a sneer as he said,” Now it belongs to the Fire Element. Let me introduce myself, my name is Lu Yunzheng.”

Mo Fan looked at the things that were being thrown to the side as he was dumbstruck.

This Lu Yunzheng seemed to be quite arrogant, he had stolen someone else’s bed just like that…

—

After finishing his dinner, Mo Fan received a text. He was told to come to his classroom, there was a welcoming party for new students.

After getting to the designated classroom, Mo Fan fantasized meeting a group of beautiful, youthful, and heart-moving female classmates. However, reality was cruel. The spacious classroom had no one in it!

“Did I come too early?” Mo Fan wondered, bored as he waited inside the spacious classroom.

Time passed by, the time for the meeting quickly arrived, and there was still only Mo Fan in the classroom. This made Mo Fan a bit anxious. Had he come to the wrong room by mistake?

When he was about to walk out, Mo Fan turned around and discovered the Summoning Director Jiang Yunming walking in.

When Jiang Yunming was about to say something to Mo Fan, hasty footsteps were heard from outside of the classroom. Six young men hurriedly entered the room together.

From the actions of the six students, it was very clear they were from the same dorm.

Jiang Yunming looked around at the seven people in the classroom as he casually said, “Everyone seemed to get here just in time, I see…”

Boom! Mo Fan’s chin nearly hit the floor.

Shit, everyone is here??

There are only seven new students for this Element???

Just enough to play out the Gourd Eva!²

“The Summoning Element can be called the Element that stands out from the rest. The way we conduct our classes are also very different from the others. Basically, it’s just having you guys raise your own beast. Other than a couple of important classes per week, you will be nurturing your own summoned beast. If you really are bored and have nothing to do, then you are allowed to go to other Element’s classes and sit through their lectures,” Director Jiang Yunming said.

Mo Fan opened his mouth in surprise, but than quickly nodded.

This was indeed something he wanted. After all, he was a person who cultivated four different elements, he’d only be able to go through them all if he had a flexible schedule!

“Our Institute has always had a special Welcome Program for the Summoning Element students. That will be the main thing that you will be facing next. The first two to show your exceptional performance will receive a Beast Refinement Blood,” Jiang Yunming continued.

After he mentioned the Beast Refinement Blood, the six Summoners began to get excited, their eyes displayed a radiance of thirst.

“Um, what is a Beast Refinement Blood?” Mo Fan weakly asked the short and small boy next to him.

“You don’t know??” The short and small boy looked at Mo Fan, suspecting something. It was as though he was saying, _Bro, are you in the wrong Element?_

“The Beast Refinement Blood allows your summoned creature to go through a Marrow Cleansing, its strength will substantially increase. This makes it much faster nurturing the beasts compared to using your own Magic energy to slowly help them along. Furthermore, it might allow a Summoned beast at the peak of the Minion level to evolve to the next level. Of course, this possibility is relatively low,” Jiang Yunming explained.

Mo Fan nodded to show that he understood now.

“Mr Jiang, what is this Welcome Program that you mentioned? How do you distribute the Beast Refinement Blood? How about we all summon our beasts and compare whose is the strongest, and you’ll give the blood to the winner?” the boy who sat in the very middle with a glossy hair asked eagerly.

“Hai Dafu, rules are not something that you can change. You will soon find out what the Welcoming Program is. This could possibly make you become the focal point of all of the new students, or make you the laughing stock of the school,” Jiang Yunming displayed a rather mysterious smile. He didn’t explain to everyone about just what this Welcoming Program was really about.

Mo Fan was also very curious. Just what kind of special Welcoming Program did they make for the new Summoning students?

Mo Fan also wanted the Beast Refinement Blood. His own Spirit Wolf’s prowess was actually quite strong, but that was far from enough for Mo Fan. Since there was a blood that could allow it to increase its strength, then he would definitely contend for it!

The main reason for entering the school was to contend for resources!

The majority of the magic resources were in the hands of major powers. If an impoverished Magician like Mo Fan couldn’t even fight for the resources in the school, then he would not be able to match up against others.

——

Mo Fan returned to his dorm of fish and dragons, still puzzled about the Welcoming Program.

He sat down on his chair, still pondering over this problem. At this moment, that Zhao Manyan across from him suddenly laughed as he said, “Brother Mo Fan, I’ve heard you Summoning Element students are in big trouble.”

“Big trouble? What do you mean?” Mo Fan didn’t understand him.

“I had heard something from the Senior Sister… It’s the Welcoming Program,” Zhao Manyan told him.

“I’ve been puzzled about that, tell me about it,” Mo Fan’s eyes shone, he hadn’t thought that Zhao Manyan would have such information.

“It’s like this. In the previous seasons, the Pearl Institute would always conduct a Beast Combat Competition during the Welcoming meeting. All of the students and teachers will sit in the biggest battle arena of our Azure Campus. They will place a monster inside of the cage on the battle arena, and all of the new students are allowed to walk into the cage to battle the creature inside. They’ll be demonstrating their strength in front of all the students and teacher of the school,” Zhao Manyan said as he filed his nails.

“Battle monsters?” Mo Fan’s eyes slowly began to shine.

_This Institute sure is interesting. Not long after school starts, they’ll allow others to fight before all students and teachers against a Magical Beast. That’s quite provocative!_

“What kind of Magical Beast, then?” Mo Fan asked.

“Who said it was going to be a Magical Beast?” Zhao Manyan raised his eyebrow as he continued, “You’ll fight against a beast, they’ll be using the Summoned beast of you Summoners.”

Mo Fan’s mouth instantly turned into an O shape.

The other people in the room also looked over, the expressions on everyone’s faces different.

“Shit, isn’t the school messing with us Summoners?” Mo Fan immediately cursed.

“Hahaha, you can only blame yourselves for having the most unique Element… I’m actually quite envious of you, you’ll be able to display the strength of your Summoned beast in front of the entire school,” Zhan Manyan laughed.

Mo Fan scowled miserably.

He finally understood what Jiang Yunming had meant.

The entire school was conducting a ceremony where new students battled beasts, and the beasts were their Summoned beasts. _How fortunate that the school can think of this kind of tactic to examine the students!_

When he heard of battling beasts, Mo Fan was actually feeling very happy. It just so happened that he hadn’t fought against a Magical Beast for a long time. However, who knew that it’d be this kind of set up!

_This… this is just irritating, it’s simply crazy and ridiculous!_

With this kind of awful Program, Mo Fan felt even more puzzled.

Only the students with good combat prowess were able to enter the Pearl Institute, there were essentially no existences here that’d go weak on seeing a Magical Beast. Although his Spirit Wolf’s combat prowess wasn’t weak, it couldn’t continuously fight against the new students…

It seemed like the Beast Refinement Blood wasn’t obtained that easily…

“You’ll have to hope for good luck. It’s late, I’ll go to sleep first,” Zhao Manyan patted Mo Fan’s shoulders with a gleeful not-smile on his face before climbing into bed.

Mo Fan’s answering smile was all bitterness. Just when he was about to climb into bed, he suddenly realized something. He looked at the Zhao Manyan that was already in his bed as he suspiciously said, “What happened to that…that Fire user?”

“He’s probably applying for a change of room, nothing important,” Zhao Manyan replied indifferently.

Mo Fan looked at the other people in the room and realized each of their expressions were strange. It looked like some of them were even scared of Zhao Manyan, and they didn’t seem to want to talk about this matter.

From the expression of the other three roommates, Mo Fan was able to guess that the matter wasn’t as simple as Zhao Manyan made it out to be. This rather astonished him. It seemed like this Zhao Manyan wasn’t all just looks, he had quite some ability!

Mo Fan didn’t continue asking. The biggest complication he had was a question that was giving him a headache.

The other six Summoners didn’t seem to be easy to deal with. How could he win against these people and obtain the Beast Refinement Blood?

Furthermore, his own little Wolf sure seemed pitiful at the moment…

In the dead of the night, Mo Fan’s routine was the same as before. He climbed up to the roof of the building as he began to meditate.

Meditating for the Summoning Element was actually a form of feeding. This Meditation turned his Summoning Stardust’s Magic energy into food to feed his Summoned beast. The Summoned beast’s strength would be able to increase a lot through the absorption of the Magic Energy that came from the Magician’s Stardust.

The speed at which Mo Fan restored his Magic energy was relatively fast. The Little Loach Pendant doubling the speed of his cultivation also signified that Mo Fan’s Magic energy replenished at twice the speed of a normal person.

Mo Fan had already reached the third level of the Summoning Stardust, and so the Magic Energy that he supplied to the Spirit Wolf was not small at all.

In the past two months, Mo Fan had been using all of his magic energy to nurture the Spirit Wolf every day. However, he didn’t discover any clear changes to the Spirit Wolf.

_Awooooo~~!_

While Mo Fan was meditating, a sudden howl was transmitted to him through the Pact mark that linked him and the wolf.

It sounded a bit like a provocation!

“This guy is battling again?” Mo Fan murmured, feeling a little stunned.

A Summoned beast was unable to remain in the normal plane for a long time. They resided in the Summoning Plane. In that plane, there also existed many challenges which they had to face.

In what seemed to be an incomparably infertile land for them, each of the creatures were doing their best to survive. Thus, they continuously had deadly fights with other creatures. Many of the times when Mo Fan summoned the Spirit Wolf, it would be riddled with scars…

The past couple of times gave Mo Fan a new insight into the Summoned beasts.

In the past, Mo Fan thought the Summoned creatures would always be in one place. As long as you’d call them, they would appear, and then use all their strength to fight.

In reality, all of the creatures that were called from the different planes had their own life../style. The agreement which they had with Magicians had the Magicians providing them with nourishment from their Magic energy, and a bit of strengthening. In return, they would appear and help the Magicians battle when they were called upon.

In the two months Mo Fan had been painstakingly cultivating, the Spirit Wolf had fought on its home plane more than ten times. Essentially, it would go back to finding creatures to fight again once it had recovered.

To be honest, Mo Fan was actually very worried about the Spirit Wolf dying in the Summoning Plane. If that happened, Mo Fan would have to brand yet another Spirit Wolf… that really took a lot of mental energy. Furthermore, the nourishment which it had received for such a long time would also be wasted…

The battles within their plane were not something the Magicians could help with. The only thing they could do is meditate, and guarantee they’d be able to provide the beasts with Magic energy once their battles were over. The Magic energy wasn’t just food for their cultivation, but also allowed them to heal up faster.

After a while, the Spirit Wolf’s battle finally came to an end.

The mental mark had become quite weak. From this, Mo Fan could tell that the Spirit Wolf was already badly hurt!

“Shit, don’t die on me!” Mo Fan was scared.

_I’ve never seen such a war-like Summoned Beast! Since you’re being taken care of by a Magician, then why can’t you just go find a safe place and be a good Wolf!_

Mo Fan didn’t dare to ponder too much over it. He hastily used the Pact mark to transfer Magic energy to the Spirit Wolf, hoping the energy would drag it back from the edge of death.

The Stardust that was filled with magic energy the color of moonlight quickly darkened. What relieved Mo Fan was the fact the Spirit Wolf’s aura seemed to have recovered a little.

_I’ll Summon you here and bring you to the school infirmary. There’ll be Healing Element teachers who will help you heal up_ , Mo Fan sent out to the Spirit Wolf.

Mo Fan was now certain that it had received a serious wound. If it didn’t get treated in time, it would be in a critical situation.

When Mo Fan was about to interlink all of the seven Summoning stars, the Spirit Wolf transferred a rebuff to him through the mental link.

_My Wolf brother, if you just heal yourself, who knows how long that will take. If you meet another creature that is hostile to you at this time, you will definitely die_ , Mo Fan sent anxiously.

Not long after, the Spirit Wolf replied, saying he was hiding in a very safe place…

Mo Fan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

How did he find such a stubborn Spirit Wolf? It was on the verge of death, yet it was still sitting there waiting for its wounds to self heal.

—

Mo Fan was worried about the Spirit Wolf the entire night. The Spirit Wolf’s aura finally stabilized as the sun rose.

Mo Fan sent all of his Magic Energy that he had just regained out to the Spirit Wolf. The Spirit Wolf was already in a deep sleep, perhaps it wouldn’t wake up for a long period of time…

“As long as it’s alive!” Mo Fan sighed. “It seems like there’s no hope to obtain the Beast Refinement Blood, it won’t be able to battle in this state…”

The wound the Spirit Wolf received this time was far too heavy, it would take a long time to recover.

In this case, Mo Fan could only give up on the Beast Battle Competition.

……

The day of the Welcoming meet was finally here. It was certainly the most majestic event of the Azure Campus.

The older students who had been in the school for a while would definitely not miss out on this chance to see the new students embarrass themselves. Many of the new students still believed their strength stood out from the others, and were waiting for a good opportunity to take one leap and become the focal point of the entire school.

Perhaps every single one of the students here were the most best of the best in the areas they had come from. However, in Pearl Institute, they were easily submerged within the piles of magic geniuses.

“Did you guys ask around about the Summoned beasts of the seven Summoner students?” Inside the cafeteria, four to five boys was sitting together and looked as though they were secretly discussing a major issue of some other country.

“I’ve asked around. the guy called Hai Dafu has a White Armor Battle Cocoon, its combat prowess won’t lose out against an adult Magical Beast. Zheng Bingxiao has a Rock Demon Soldier, its a Summoned beast with a relatively strong defense and power. And then, there’s a Bone Corpse Demon…” a guy who looked very excited replied quickly.

“Bone Corpse Demon? That kind of thing isn’t something you should provoke!” one guy nearly yelled out.

“If you don’t want to provoke it, then don’t. Either way, there are still some who aren’t too hard to deal with,” the boy who took lead of the discussion said.

“And there’s one more Summoner student called Mo Fan. I have yet to hear about what kind of Summoned Beast he has. It just happens that he’s not in the same room as the other six,” the excited guy said.

“That doesn’t matter, we’ll just find something easy. An individual or team that defeats one of the Summoned Beasts will receive a great reward from the school.”

“Yeah, why else would we go through so much trouble to get intel on the enemy?”

“The reward is not something I, Li Junwei, care about. There’s actually that Lightning kid who dared to contest against me about my Qin Xiaomian.”

“Oh, Li Junwei, you just happen to like this kind of gentle and obedient girl. I’m not the same as you, I like Mu Nujiao…”

“Shit, who doesn’t like Mu Nujiao? Do you know how many people got a nosebleed from seeing her on the first day?”

“Yeah, that is a supreme goddess!”

The most heated topic of the day was naturally the Beast Combat Competition in the afternoon. This event had been the most important thing happening at Pearl Institute Azure Campus during the past couple of years.

There were banners with Summoned beasts displayed on them at all corners of the campus. Furthermore, there were rumors that there were large posters of those who had displayed an incredible performance in the past competitions still in place on the walls of the entrances to the commons. That sounded really cool!

Mo Fan started to sort out his appearance and clothes first thing in the morning. He had to look his best for the lovely ladies…!

Looking at it from a different angle, the Summoner students were also the focal point of the competition this time.

His Spirit Wolf was still sleeping, so Mo Fan thought he had nothing to do here. Originally, this was a chance for him to display his talents and good looks to the entire school, but now he could only show off his incredible handsomeness.

“Brother Mo Fan, since we’re in the same dorm, you should tell me a bit about your Summoned beast. Give us something to work on?” his dorm mate Zhang Pinggu asked with his eyebrows raised.

“There’s nothing to hide, it’s a Spirit Wolf,” Mo Fan replied directly.

Beside him was Zhao Manyan, who was also fixing himself up. He turned around as he commented in surprise, “A Spirit Wolf is the favorite beast for Primary Summoners. Furthermore, that thing’s combat prowess is even slightly higher than a Minion level Magical Beast!”

“So it’s a Spirit Wolf… I reckon we wouldn’t be able to win against you even if the entire dorm was to group up,” Zhang Pinggu said with a bitter smile.

“Hehe, don’t use your standard to determine everyone’s prowess!” Su Long, the last one to arrive in the dorm, said with a touch of ridicule.

There were a total of five people in Mo Fan’s dorm, and the one he got along best with was Zhao Manyan, who had the bed opposite him.

Zhang Pinggu was a pretty shameless guy. He didn’t argue with anyone, and was able to banter with anyone.

Su Long was the last person to arrive. This guy seemed full of himself. In the beginning when Zhang Pinggu tried to welcome him, he was given a cold stare in reply, scaring him away.

The other two… Mo Fan still wasn’t able to remember their names. Either way, they’d been doing their own thing since the first day of school. They were relatively quiet, and they didn’t try to talk to others. Only Zhang Pinggu was relatively familiar with those two, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan just acted as though they didn’t exist.

“Good luck,” After Zhao Manyan tidied himself up, he patted Mo Fan on his shoulder before leaving.

Mo Fan couldn’t do anything else other than silently await the tragic Welcoming Competition.

——

After arriving at the Azure Battlegrounds, Mo Fan and his dorm mates parted ways.

The Summoner students were the main characters of the competition this time, it was natural that they had to go to the back of the stage to prepare.

The Azure Battlegrounds was a huge construction. Inside the place was a space that was a bit bigger than a soccer field.

Normally, this place was a grand arena, but today, the arena had already been turned into a colossal cage, called the “Beast Battle Cage”.

Surrounding the Beast Battle Cage were mat seats in the form of ladders. The mats were placed neatly, and closely. He estimated that accommodating ten thousand people wouldn’t be a problem at all. Perhaps only Pearl Institute was able to construct such a battleground of this size.

Students came into the building in succession, the lines starting right after lunch. The tide of people had already started disrupting the grand atmosphere of the building.

After three o’clock in the afternoon, the entire building was filled with students. Faces filled with vitality and pairs of beautiful white thighs filled with youth. Other than a concert or school, where else could you see such a large group of young girls coming in!

—

“Shit, there’s a lot of people. I’m feeling nervous…” Yang Yi said at the back of the stage, his face filled with worry.

As he looked into the arena, there were a multitude of faces they hadn’t seen before, and that was only a part of the arena. Seeing this made his heart began to race. When he was in the middle of the arena, and numerous pairs of eyes were looking at him from all directions, it would definitely make him so nervous that he would forget what Element he studied!

“That’s not a problem, I like this kind of situation. Today in the common area, cafeteria, and even on the way to the arena, I had heard people talk about our Summoned beasts. There was even a couple of them saying how they’d casually annihilate our Summoned beasts… I laughed. My White Armor Battle Cocoon¹ will let them know the definition of complete annihilation!” Hai Dafu was definitely excited!

Zheng Bingxiao was standing at the side, as calm as always.

The other three people didn’t have much of a reaction. However, from the occasional glow of confidence beaming from their eyes, Mo Fan could tell that they were actually extremely excited about this Beast Battle Competition!

The Pearl Institute chose the most elite Magicians from the competitions across the nation. If they were able to distinguish themselves in this kind of place, then wouldn’t that be enough to prove themselves?

Who didn’t want to be known for their mettle? Who didn’t want to bask in glory during University?

—

As the Ceremony began, the first person to make a speech in front of ten thousands of people was naturally Dean Xiao. “Before I make my speech, I want to confirm one thing with everyone.

“If you aspire to be a Magician who wants to be revered in society, with a high salary, and live a high quality life… then as the person in charge, I am obligated to tell you that you’ve come to the wrong place.

“The Magicians who graduate from Pearl Institute are bound to have the strength to change the world. They are heroes who protect humanity. If any of you pursue the former, then we will give you the certificate of Pearl Institute and a letter of recommendation right now, and you will be able to live that kind of life../style. Please don’t take up the precious spots, wealth, and reputation of our Pearl Institute. We don’t lack those things, we only lack an eternal heart that pursues the Supreme Magic!”

Mo Fan was standing at the back of the stage, not too far away from where Dean Xiao was making his speech.

He carefully observed everyone’s reactions toward what Dean Xiao had said. Every single one of them had something flickering in their eyes.

Those words were quite domineering. In a time where everyone was pursuing reputation and wealth, the Dean told the present people that receiving a certificate from Pearl Institute would allow them to obtain all of that. However, the Magic students who had been accepted into this kind of nationally reputable Magic Institution, did they truly only want those things?

In front of the Supreme Magic, all fame and profit was just like floating clouds!

“Today is the time for you all to demonstrate your own abilities. First, I’d like to introduce the seven main characters of today, they are the new Summoner students!”

Dean Xiao didn’t have much to say, and he didn’t let other teachers talk after him. He firmly went right into today’s event.

Maybe there were a couple of new students holding onto the attitude of laying low in the beginning, and thus not wanting to participate in the Beast Battle Competition this time. However, after they heard that speech, perhaps the majority of them were no longer able to hold onto that same thought.

They had won against all of their competitors during their High School Magic Exams, so why did they have to hold on their tails now?

The school won’t give those rare resources to you for no reason, especially when you’ve done nothing. In this institution, you had to compete, harshly compete!

The seven brothers of the Gourd Evas walked onto the tall stage under the shouts of the audience.

“Perhaps there are a lot of people who are dissatisfied with this. Why should these Summoner students become the focal point of the entire school the second they enter the school?

“Don’t worry! If you defeat them, you’ll be the real main characters of today!” Dean Xiao declared loudly.

The entire arena began to erupt, especially the new students. They were all impatiently wanting to jump onto the stage and fight a war!

—

“Eh, how come it’s you?” In the designated seating area for the Earth Elemental students,a sweet and gentle looking girl was filled with astonishment as she looked towards the Summoner students on the stage.

“Xiaomian, is there anyone you know?” Li Junwei, who had sat down shamelessly sat next to her, raised his eyebrow.

“Uh…I guess you can’t say that I know him,” Qin Xiaomian shook her head.

She really didn’t. Back when the guy had come to her Master’s shop to Awaken, he probably forgot the appearance of the girl apprentice who was present.

However, what Qin Xiaomian was astonished about was that the youth who was recommended by a Judge from the Magic Courts was actually a student at Pearl Institute like her!

-Master, Master!- Qin Xiaomian hurriedly fished out her phone as she sent a text message to her master, Guo Liyu.

-What is it, my apprentice?- the Awakening Master Guo Liyu quickly replied.

-I found the young Intermediate Magician that came to us for Awakening an year ago, precisely the one that was recommended by the Magic Court…- Qin Xiaomian typed her reply very quickly.

-Where? Aren’t you in school?-

-Yes, he is actually one of the new students in Pearl Institute. Furthermore, he seems to be studying the Summoning Element!-

-Holy crap, this kid only Awakened the Summoning element an year ago, and he relied on that exact Element to enter the Pearl Institute?!?!?!- Guo Liyu replied back excitedly.

-Yes, yes, this person is strong!-

-Then go and get to know him and enter a relationship. Most of the people from the Magic Courts have an unlimited potential for future prospects!-

-Master, what are you saying?!- Qin Xiaomin’s small face turned red, her mouth began to quiver.

All of this was naturally seen by Li Junwei’s eyes.

Li Junwei’s gaze immediately locked onto the only person among the seven summoner students who he knew, and his face immediately froze.

_Qin Xiaomian is my dish, whoever dares to fight with I, Li Junwei, about it, will die a painful death!_

—

“It’s him, hmph.” In the same area of the Earth Element, a boy whose body was clearly a bit chubby immediately turned gloomy.

This person was Luo Song.

He would never forget Mo Fan’s face.

However, Luo Song did not want to meddle with Mo Fan due to today’s situation.

A person who was an Intermediate Mage like him when they entered the school was definitely a person who was hard to deal with. Luo Song understood that he needed to take it slow with Mo Fan!

Furthermore, Luo Song didn’t plan on participating in the Beast Battle Competition.

If he was to use his true strength, then he could single-handedly annihilate all of the Summoned beasts!

—

On the other side of the arena, in the Lightning area, a guy with his hair standing up opened his eyes wide. He didn’t have a bit of confidence as he looked at the person in the middle of the seven people on the stage!

“Xu Zhaoting, what’s wrong??” a girl sitting next to him couldn’t help but ask. “Xu Zhaoting?” the girl pushed Xu Zhaoting’s arm.

Xu Zhaoting regained his senses, but the astonishment from before left a hint of dullness on his face.

“What’s wrong?” the girl asked worriedly.

“N…nothing, I happened to see my old classmate,” Xu Zhaoting replied slowly.

“Old classmate? Are you saying one of the seven new summoner students is your old classmate? If that’s the case, there shouldn’t be a need for you to look as if you lost your soul,” the girl told him smartly.

“You don’t know about him, that’s why you didn’t react like me,” Xu Zhaoting answered with a pained face.

“Then why don’t you tell me? Although the Summoning Element is special, and could be considered the strongest Element at the Primary level, it doesn’t mean that he will definitely be stronger than us in the future. Our Lightning Element has never been afraid of any other Elements!” the girl said with pride.

Xu Zhaoting shook his head. “In that case… when I knew him, he didn’t have the Summoning Element.”

“Didn’t have the Summoning Element? I don’t under…” The prideful girl suddenly realized something, the expression on her face became the same as Xu Zhaoting from before, filled with disbelief. “You…you’re saying… His main Element isn’t the Summoning Element… He...He is an Intermediate Magician?!”

Xu Zhaoting nodded, his gaze once again landing on Mo Fan.

To be honest, Xu Zhaoting had refused to accept Mo Fan in the past. He had thought of himself as the elite of his entire generation. However, Xu Zhaoting no longer had that kind of mindset. Whether it was the performance Mo Fan had made during the Practicals, the display of Dual Elements at the Mu Family, or the calm-headed actions he made during the calamity, they were all things Xu Zhaoting wasn’t able to do.

And now, Mo Fan had entered the Pearl Institute as a Summoner student. Xu Zhaoting really wished that person wasn’t Mo Fan. He tried to disbelieve it many times, but after he confirmed it was indeed Mo Fan, Xu Zhaoting had no choice but to accept this incredible thing!

“Then… then what Element did he have before? I heard that the Intermediate Magic requires a very complex array of Stars in their Nebula. Even if someone broke through the Intermediate level, it doesn’t mean they will be able to use Intermediate Magic. He shouldn’t be able to use the Intermediate spells, right?” the girl urgently asked.

Xu Zhaoting shook his head without replying.

Xu Zhaoting didn’t want to reveal too many things regarding Mo Fan. Since Mo Fan decided to conceal his others Elements and only display his Summoning Element, he must have his own reasons. If he revealed it, then he would be disrespecting the person who once saved the people of Bo City!

The girl noticed that Xu Zhaoting didn’t want to talk about the things in the past, and whispered reassuringly, “Since you haven’t seen him for more than a year, then his Summoning Element must have been recent. His strength shouldn’t be all that…”

“Yeah, shouldn’t be too strong,” Xu Zhaoting agreed, but his voice was unconvinced.

“Who wants to be first?” Dean Xiao looked at the seven summoner students with a slight smile.

“Me! Each one of these people wants to beat our Summoned beast for their own reputation. I will make each one of them crawl on the floor!” Hai Dafu spoke up, as he did not want to pass his responsibilities onto others.

“Then we’ll let you have the spot.”

Hai Dafu strode toward the mid-point of the arena. By the entrance of the cage was a line of people, it stretched quite a ways back. They all seemed very impatient.

Hai Dafu’s gaze swept past a couple of students standing in the very front, seeing them currently fighting about who was going to go first.

“Why don’t you dregs come up together so we don’t have to waste time? The teachers will count the amount of challengers and add them to our end of the year grades. Why should first and last matter when you are all just numbers?” Fu Dahai didn’t try to hide his arrogance, while at same time, he was completely looking down on the students from other Elements.

“What did you say, brat? Watch me annihilate your summoned beast with a single move!” the young man with a dyed blue hair shouted back, clearly displeased.

“If your Summoned beast can even touch the corner of the clothes of me, the Wind Grandmaster, I will acknowledge you as my older brother!”

“I don’t accept trash little brothers like you,” Hai Dafu shot back in disapproval.

Hai Dafu’s speech immediately infuriated the two guys who were fighting over the first place in line. Soon after, the four people at the very front jumped into the cage together with unstoppable anger.

“Only four? That’s not even enough to put in between my Summoned beast’s teeth!” Hai Dafu mocked them.

Taking a slow step forward, Hai Dafu closed his eyes.

A faintly discernible moonlight glow appeared in Hai Daifu’s surroundings. At first, it had the radiance of the stars in the sky, they looked as though they were moving according to his wishes. Under the control of Hai Dafu, they quickly assembled into a dimensional Star Path.

The Star Path split space and opened the tunnel to a different world. A dark, chaotic, and cold aura burst forth like water from the inside of the split space, flowing around Hai Dafu…

The dust beneath his feet floated into the air. From the dusky area, you could see a body of steel suddenly appearing from within the crack. Its shoulders, back, and four limbs had extremely sharp corners. Its entire body looked like an asembly of weapons that could cut anything!

_Chi~~~~~!_

As a sound was emitted, the dust dispersed. Everyone could finally clearly see the Summoned beast.

Its triangular head was covered in sharp spikes. Its thick and solid forelimbs that looked like two heavy battleaxes covered its solid keratin armor. The gigantic scorpion’s main body was covered in long, visible spikes. Its hind legs wasn’t as eye-catching as its battle-axe front legs, but in place of its toes, there were actually bone scythes! They would cut people who wanted to attack it from behind into two!

“White… White Armored Battle Scorpion!” The blue-haired boy’s face immediately changed once it saw the Summoned beast.

The students in Pearl Institute had an extraordinary and vast amount of knowledge beyond their combat prowess. They could instantly recognize what kind of Summoned beast was scuttling towards them.

However, the knowledge they’d learned from books was only from books. Books and pictures were unable to reproduce the impact of when the creature was standing in front of you…

“It seems like there really were challengers who came without intel… My White Armor Soldier is disobedient most of the time, don’t come to me and ask for medical fees when you’ve lost your arms and legs!” Hai Dafu smiled.

_Chiii~~~!_

The White Armored Battle Scorpion didn’t waste any time. It looked at the four challengers in front of itself, and made its move!

Its battle axe-like legs had already been raised, they could feel wind whipping past them when it did From this alone, they could determine that the White Armored Battle Scorpion’s strength was dreadful!

“Hurry up and disperse!” the blue-haired student cried out as he immediately dodged to the side.

The Wind Element Magician quickly used Wind Trails, rapidly distancing himself from the White Armored Battle Scorpion.

The other two were also escaping. Unfortunately, they were a bit slower, and the White Armored Battle Scorpion’s target was precisely them.

At this time, it was mainly about who was the slowest to escape. At last, the White Armored Battle Scorpion locked onto a delicate boy who wore his cap on backwards. Its legs churned the wind and turned into battle axes as it ferociously chopped toward the delicate boy!

All of the students and teachers couldn’t help but take a deep breath. This Hai Dafu really wasn’t being lenient. If the scorpion chopped into the boy’s head, he definitely wouldn’t be able to survive.

By the arena, the Light element teacher Gu Han’s forehead slowly creased. You could see a golden starlight beneath his foot as the White Armored Battle Scorpion was chopping down with its battle axes.

Gu Han was the guard teacher today. In order for the Beast battle Competition to run successfully, he had to save the lives of the students when they were in a life-threatening situation.

However, right when he was about to finish the Intermediate Light Magic, he saw an azure starlight flashing around the body of the slender student. Gu Han quickly cancelled his own spell cast.

_Kang!!_

When the axe forelegs heavily chopped down, people cried out… and a brown rock shield formed in front of the boy suddenly.

The gigantic axe leg was deeply lodged onto the rock shield, it looked as though it was stuck in it.

Beneath the shield was the delicate boy who had looked so scared that he was about to piss himself a bit ago. However, his eyes were now flashing with a crafty light, and he no longer had the appearance of someone struck by fear!

“Dazzle, Blind!”

The boy smiled in anticipation. In his hand was a ball of light that he had condensed without anyone noticing.

“Your Summoned beast will definitely be burned at this distance. Encountering me, Xie Wenfeng, can be considered your misfortune!” The slender boy raised his hand, and the golden ball that was already in his hands burst forth in front of the White Armored Battle Scorpion. The fierce and blinding light was like swords of light as it burned the White Battle Armored Scorpion’s eyes.

The White Armored Battle Scorpion already had its eyes closed, but they were forced open under the scorching of the light!

“Brilliantly done!” The blue haired youngster and the other two began to get excited.

If Dazzle: Blind was used right, it could be a godly spell. It could instantly shut down the sight of the enemy!

Even if a Magical Beast was stronger, as long as it lost its eyesight, it would turn into a waste. Dealing with it afterwards would only be a matter of time.

—

“That scheming bastard!” Mo Fan raised his eyebrows in astonishment.

Truly worthy to be called a student of Pearl Institute. They were on a completely different level compared to the classmates who weren’t even able to complete their casting when facing a Magical Beast!

Furthermore, the Light Elemental boy’s usage of the spell was extremely clever. First, he lured the scorpion close, and then used Dazzle: Blind at point-blank range. The original Primary spell that was considered useless instantly turned into the crucial point of his team’s victory.

At this moment, Mo Fan couldn’t help but get a little excited. If any random student in Pearl Institute had this level of control and response, then fighting them would definitely be extremely exciting!

“Hai Dafu was tricked, this is going to be a bit troublesome,” the Summoner student Zheng Bingxiao remarked.

The student with the very long face laughed, “Isn’t that even better? Eliminating one would leave the remaining five of us to fight for the Beast Refinement Blood.”

“Big brother, we still have six people. Did a Magic Teacher teach you math?” Zheng Bingxiao wondered aloud.

“Is there even a need to include him? He doesn’t even dare to summon his Summoned beast!” Longface glanced at Mo Fan, who seemed to be an outcast.

A couple of days ago, their teacher, Jiang Yunming, had asked everyone to Summon their beasts for an evaluation. Mo Fan’s Spirit Wolf was still sleeping, and so naturally it wasn’t Summoned.

Additionally, Mo Fan wasn’t in the same dormitory as the other six students, and so he became the one who didn’t fit in with the group.

“Don’t say that, no matter what, the seven of us belong to the same Element. Furthermore, Jiang Yunming also said if we don’t accumulate wins against a hundred people, then he will give the Beast Refinement BLood to those from other Elements. That would mean a big loss for us,” Zheng Bingxiao reminded him.

The number of wins, that was just a statement for the Summoner students.

Right now, they were essentially fighting all of the Elements in the school by themselves. Mr. Jiang Yunming had very high demands for them. It was not them being able to win against all of the Elemental students in the school, but they had to defeat at least a hundred challengers.

This would mean each of them would have to win against an average of fifteen or so students of other Elements.

The first one to go out, Hai Dafu seemed to be on the losing side. From how Zheng Bingxiao saw it, reaching a hundred wins would be a relatively difficult task.

“Don’t worry about it. If you guys can’t reach the quota, then I will single-handedly take care of it!” the long-faced student declared with a devious smile as his Dongbei accent came out.

“Wang Liting, you sure know how to bullshit.”

—–

Hai Dafu was standing in the middle of the arena with astonishment on his face.

Although he was astonished, he did not panic. Instead, he looked at the delicate man who was rubbing his nose as he said with ridicule, “It seems like all of your energy was spent on this little trick. Did you not know that an Insect type Beast’s vision is already bad to begin with?”

Just when Hai Dafu finished speaking, the White Armored Battle Scorpion emitted an angry sound.

It ferociously pulled its front legs out of the Rock Shield. It did not need to use its blinded eyes to locate its objective. The White Armored Battle Scorpion ferociously swept in the small student’s direction!

The student’s face suddenly turned white. He hadn’t expected that this White Armored Battle Scorpion would still be able to accurately judge his location despite losing its vision.

_Pu~~~~_

The student’s chest was struck by the White Armored Battle Scorpion as he was sent flying, blood spurting out like a fountain.

He flew a bit more than ten meters away, his entire being was completely knocked out. His face turned as white as paper.

Soon enough, the Light Element teacher, Gu Han entered the arena and quickly removed the unconscious student to get treated. His student had instantly fallen unconscious, the blood in his mouth continuously bubbling forth.

“Ms. Ruan Ya, please take care of him.” Gu Han put his student down as he indifferently spoke to the woman next to him wearing a white uniform.

“You should’ve gone and protected him, this wound is not light…” Ruan Ya helplessly shook her head.

“I don’t want to waste my magic energy unless it’s a life threatening situation.”

—

As Hai Dafu watched the wounded student being dragged off the arena, he laughed even more splendidly than before.

“Have a taste of my Lightning Strike!” the blue-haired student yelled out, his face filled with rage.

He didn’t stand too far away as he lifted his arm. The lightning that curled like a snake began to float above his head.

Under his command, all of the Lightning imprints frantically whipped toward the White Armored Battle Scorpion, the dazzling purple radiance shining brightly.

“You fool, your Lightning is nothing!” Hai Dafu cursed at him.

The lightning scars lashed the carapace of the White Armored Battle Scorpion. The Lightning arc was continuously transmitting through the skin, and then directly passed into the bone marrow. This caused great damage as well as paralysis to the vast majority of the creatures.

However, this time, the Lightning whip was hitting the white carapace of the White Armored Battle Scorpion. Scorches appeared on its armor, but its effect was unable to reach the muscles of the White Armored Battle Scorpion.

The White Armored Battle Scorpion didn’t even slow down. It took a step with its back legs while the Lightning prints were still electrocuting its body as it rammed into the blue-haired caster.

“F**k off!” Hai Dufu shouted.

The Scorpion’s triangular hammer of a head collided with the blue-haired man, and he was directly sent flying.

No one knew when Mr. Gu Han appeared in front of the blue-haired student, and he quietly dragged Lightning student away to the the healing instructor.

“There’s only you two left!” Hai Dafu coldly swept his gaze past the other two guys.

The two guys clenched their teeth as they cowered. Unfortunately, their spells were clearly of no use against the Battle Scorpion with its armor.

The Wind Element student could perhaps rely on its agile body movement to evade the relatively slow White Armored Battle Scorpion. However, Hai Dafu was in no rush to command its Summoned beast to attack. He quietly waited until the other party’s magic energy depleted.

At last, the Wind student surrendered.

……

After he easily defeated four people, Hai Dafu’s dominating performance immediately caused the challengers in the line to hesitate.

However, the Pearl Institute was not lacking in those who dared to fight, and so another five students quickly leapt up on the stage.

The five students had learned from the earlier match. Their group arrangement this time was clearly much better than last. Water Element was responsible for protection, the Wind continuously distracted it, and Fire constantly scorched it…

This battle lasted for a bit of time. However, they were unable to stand up against the ferocious White Armored Battle Scorpion in the end.

When the third challenger team came, Hai Dafu’s White Armored Battle Scorpion’s combat prowess had distinctly weakened. It no longer had that dominance it had in the beginning.

Hai Dafu clenched his teeth as he wiped the floor with the group of six people.

When it reached the fourth round, the White Armored Battle Scorpion was finally no longer able to withstand the waves of attack as it was defeated by a Fire element girl and sent back to the Dimensional space.

Hai Dafu was unable to accept it. In his previous school, he was able to defeat forty or fifty people without a problem. Who would’ve thought that he could only get rid of fifteen people at Pearl Institute!

With that score, he might not be able to obtain the Beast Refinement Blood…

“Your turn!” long faced Wang Liting glanced at the relatively short and skinny man.

The short and skinny man quickly shook his head, “I’m really bad, I don’t even know if I can last a round.”

“Don’t worry, even if you can’t defeat a single one of them, I will make up for it. I just want to know the numbers.”

“How about letting Mo Fan go first?” the shot and skinny guy said to Mo Fan.

“My Summoned beast is heavily injured, I’ll rely on you guys to make up the numbers,” Mo Fan didn’t try to hide it as he directly declared the situation.

“I knew you were just a waste,” Wang Liting sneered.

Mo Fan wasn’t angry… but he silently took note of this hostility as he considered how he’d return that slap in the future.

_If you’re that good, then you go. Stop bullshitting, do you want to bet that I can use lightning to directly destroy you?_

_You’re really pampering!_

When the short and skinny student entered the stage, he Summoned a Spirit Wolf.

Mo Fan had already seen this Spirit Wolf during class, it was clear that it was a Spirit Wolf that had not yet come of age. Its combat prowess was nowhere close Mo Fan’s Spirit Wolf, maybe half the size of his.

After the student had entered the stage, it was clear that he seemed timid. The surrounding people looked at him in ridicule, he began to feel embarrassed.

As expected, he didn’t live up to everyone’s expectations. In the first round, a Shadow Element student played so many tricks on him that he began to pant.

He returned to the others with his face completely red as he whispered, “I… I will do my best in cultivating. In the future…this… In this kind of competition, I definitely won’t make you guys lose face.”

“Not bad, you finished off two idiots,” the long-faced Wang Liting said with a hint of mockery.

“Don’t worry, we will definitely make up for it. The next one will be me,” Zheng Bingxiao declared.

—

Zheng Bingxiao’s Summoned beast was a Rock Demon Soldier. Its combat prowess was a bit stronger than the White Armored Battle Scorpion.

The White Armored Battle Scorpion was relatively weak against Fire. Heat transmitted into its body through its carapace would roast it alive.

The Rock Demon Soldier was completely immune to the Fire element, and furthermore, even Lightning Element spells were completely ineffective against it.

The Rock Demon Soldier’s biggest problem was its speed, it was simply really slow. They didn’t have to use any movement spells to evade its incredible powerful punch.

However, the Rock Demon Soldier possessed the ability to control the earth. This ability allowed it to reach whatever it needed to go. It was able to annihilate four teams in succession.

“Good job, Zheng Bingxiao. As expected of our class representative, hahaha!” a couple of the Summoners shouted excitedly.

“Look at the Lightning and Fire Element people’s expressions. They possess the strongest attack Element in the Primary level, so they are extremely arrogant. In the end, they have all been turned into children in front of Zheng Bingxiao’s Summoned beast, this truly feels good!”

“We’ve already eliminated twenty-three people. The other Elements are just dregs!”

Zheng Bingxiao was standing inside the cage, the normally good natured student now exuding an aura that made people want to run away from him. At same time, it was also winning the favor of many girls.

However, the young men from other Elements were now in a bad spot.

They were being beaten within an inch of their lives. Soon enough, the fifth group came up, and they did not know whether the fifth team would be able to win against him.

“I didn’t know there was a Summoning Element at the Primary level, now I finally know that the Summoning Element is actually this abnormal. They are able to beat us in groups, how are other Elements supposed to fight against it?” Soon enough, the students sitting on the mats began to discuss things.

The Summoning Element was able to withstand all of the other Elements. Even the Lightning students had no choice but to admire them.

“They’re only strong at the Primary level, who knows if they’re strong at the Intermediate level. Didn’t you see that guy who Summoned a small Spirit Wolf? Most of the first time Summons are just like him, they rely too much on their Summoned beasts for their cultivation. It is very hard for them to capture a strong Summoned creature without the help of precious auxiliary tools,” a couple of people who knew of this spoke up.

“However, in school, it’s better to not mess with the Summoners.”

“This Rock Demon Soldier looks like it can’t endure anymore, it had been bombarded by so many experts continuously.”

“Yeah!”

—

Zheng Bingxiao finally could not endure the attacks of so many challengers, and he finally retreated after eliminating twenty-five people.

“I’ve heard that the Rock Demon Soldier is the strongest Summoned beast they have…” a student sitting in the audience muttered hopefully.

“If there’s no mistake, there should be a Bone Corpse Demon. That creature is extremely cruel, it should be the most abnormal one among all of the Summoned creatures. If the Primary Magicians don’t make a group of more than ten people, then they will be annihilated by it.”

“Let’s just find something easier.”

“I think so too.”

—

“It’s my turn. There should be about forty in number now. If I’m feeling good, then you guys won’t have to do anything,” Wang Liting took a step forward, his expression filled with arrogance.

Jiang Yunming, still standing off to the side, cast him a glance as he indifferently said, “The higher the head count, the more resources you will obtain.”

“Then you guys can lay down and obtain resources,” Wang Liting raised his eyebrows toward everyone as he strode toward the iron cage.

Wang Liting was not simply bragging, he quickly Summoned his beast.

As expected, his Summoned beast was just like the rumors, the cruel Bone Corpse Demon!

The Bone Corpse Demon’s was like a condor. It had wings on its back, and its combat prowess was not as high as the other Summoned beasts. However, its ability to fly was enough to shake its challengers.

It was quick, crafty, and it always chose the most fitting time to take action. It was fast enough to do a surprise attack on a Magician before they could finish linking their Star Path, and it was nimble enough to easily evade everyone’s Primary Magic…

If the Rock Demon Soldier was the type of creature that could endure the spells to its body, then the Bone Corpse Demon could make the spells miss continually, taking no harm whatsoever!

As the Bone Corpse Demon came out, all of the people immediately turned into weak hares that was waiting to get killed. All Wang Liting needed to do was to stand there and count the numbers.

—

“I’ve heard the Summoners have a quota. They need to defeat 100 of us or else their resources will be distributed to the students of other Elements who have performed well. Shit, this Bone Corpse Demon will probably fill half of the quota. No matter how many teams challenge it, it will still be of no use!” the people in the earth area, next to Li Junwei began to comment.

“Indeed, could it be that there is no one who can defeat this Bone Corpse Demon??”

“There are definitely experts, however, they may not want to make a move…”

While the few people were discussing this, a prominently fat head popped out and asked, “Did you say that the Summoners have a quota?”

“Yeah, they need to withstand the attacks of one hundred people,” that person said.

A sinister smile emerged on Luo Song’s face, his eyes fixed on Mo Fan, who had yet to come on stage.

“So if we don’t let them reach their quota, then the resources that were originally for them will be given to our Earth School? Luo Song asked further.

“Naturally, you’d be getting a lot. However, our Earth Element is of no use against that Bone Corpse Demon…”

“You don’t need to thank me later,” Luo Song stood up from his chair as he slowly walked toward the challenge registration entrance.

“Thank you for what?” they asked in confusion.

Luo Song continued to walk forward. He had already arrived at the entrance for challenge registration. Due to the Bone Corpse Demon being too excessively domineering, the challengers couldn’t help but give way, it was clear that they did not want to mess with the Bone Corpse Demon.

Luo Song smoothly moved to the front of the line.

Originally, Luo Song didn’t want to make his move. The competition itself was not something an Intermediate Magician like him should participate in.

However, after knowing it would affect the resources obtained by the Summoning Element students, Luo Song immediately changed his mind.

“Luo Song? You want to have a go?” When Dean Xiao saw Luo Song, his face revealed a bit of irritation. He continued, “Didn’t you promise me to not provoke Mo Fan anymore?”

“I’m not challenging him,” Luo Song directly said.

At this moment, Dean Xiao didn’t know what to say. Luo Song was also a new student, and the rules said nothing about not letting Intermediate level students participate.

After speaking, Luo Song stood in front of the entrance.

Indeed, he did promise Dean Xiao that he would not take the initiative to mess with Mo Fan, who was also an Intermediate Mage…

Luo Song didn’t plan on fighting against Mo Fan’s Summoned beast. However, he planned to completely annihilate Mo Fan’s classmates!

He wanted to see how Mo Fan planned on having his trash Spirit Wolf deal with the large difference in numbers!

“The resources of your Summoning School will be given to us, the Earth School!”

Ice Element vs Lightning Element, it was clear that the Lightning Element was much stronger in terms of combat prowess…

Luo Song already had a hard time dealing with Mo Fan in terms of Intermediate Magic. Thus, he definitely could not allow Mo Fan’s Summoned beast to grow. If his Summoned beast was to increase in strength, then he wouldn’t be able to contest against it.

How could Luo Song let that happen?

Thus, if there was something that could obstruct Mo Fan’s road of cultivation, then Luo Song would definitely make his move. It just so happened that he did not like the person who was controlling the Bone Corpse Demon. How dare he have such a domineering attitude when he only had a trash Summoned creature?

Hilarious!

“You’re Earth Element? The Earth Element is of no use against a Bone Corpse Demon. Why don’t you wait for the next team to come?” A couple of people who seemed to be wavering said as they saw Luo Song coming.

Luo Song didn’t even glance at these couple of people as he walked up, “Did I say I was going to be in the same group as you?”

“F**k, you must be amazing, huh? If you’ve got the ability, then why don’t you go and deal with that Bone Corpse Demon by yourself.”

“Yeah, arrogant. I despise those kind of people,” the two people immediately cursed.

Luo Song didn’t need anyone. He entered the colossal cage.

At this moment, the Bone Corpse Demon was circulating arrogantly in the space above Wang Liting. Wang Liting squinted his eyes to size up Luo Song, before lughing and saying, “Little fatty, do you know what my Bone Corpse Demon’s favorite thing is? It just so happens to be someone with lots of fat like you!”

“Do you know how many pieces an icicle would shatter into if it was dropped from a thirty or so meter height?” Luo Song looked at Wang Liting.

“I think you’ve got a problem with your brain!” Wang Liting didn’t know what Luo Song was trying to say, so he commanded the Bone Corpse Demon to attack Luo Song.

“You should pray for your Bone Corpse Demon’s bones to have some endurance, or else dealing with its corpse will be quite troublesome,” Luo Song maintained his arrogant aura.

While he was speaking, Luo Song had already closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, an aura of great pressure suddenly bubbled forth and covered the entire Beast Cage.

_Creak creak creak…_

White frost suddenly appeared on the floor. At first, it was just some star-shaped frost scattered around, which rapidly and aggressively froze everything in its way. In just the blink of an eye, Luo Song had covered the surrounding area in a layer of ice.

“Ice Lock!”

Luo Song finished the links. Beneath his frozen legs, a magnificent Ice Star Atlas rotated as it displayed an incredible energy, spreading out with Luo Song in the center.

“Rise!” With a shout, the frozen ground around Luo Song suddenly ruptured!

Within the ruptures, there was a clanking noise, followed by thick chains of ice flying out.

“Holy crap!”

“Int…Int...Intermediate level…”

“This fatty is an Intermediate Mage!!”

At this moment, everyone was astonished.

Everyone was overwhelmed with shock as they watched Luo Song control the shocking ice chains, their expressions displaying disbelief.

Luo Song’s classmates’ chins dropped down so hard that they nearly shattered. They finally understood what he meant by “No need to thank me!”.

So what if your Summoning Element is dominant at the Primary level. Once an Intermediate Mage appears, there won’t be any competition!

Wang Liting’s face was frozen.

In the past, he had heard that there was someone among the new students who had already reached the Intermediate level, and hadn’t quite believed it. However, who would’ve known there really was someone like that. Furthermore, it just happened to be the fatty right in front of him!

“Crap!”

Wang Liting’s expression changed as he tried to recall his Bone Corpse Demon.

The Ice Chains let out a chaotic noise before flying out into the air under the control of Luo Song.

Even though the Bone Corpse Demon was very nimble, it was still not able to shake off the Ice Chains that surrounded it from all directions.

The ice shackles wrapped around the Bone Corpse Demon tyrannically. Furthermore, it was suspended in mid-air, and the icy energy from the chains quickly entered the Bone Corpse Demon’s body.

The Bone Corpse Demon’s physique wasn’t much stronger than low-level Magical Beasts, and it was completely unable to resist the powerful Intermediate Magic. Its skin was covered with icy frost, slowly spreading toward into the interior of its body.

Finally, the Bone Corpse Demon became an ice statue in the air.

At the same time, the Ice Chains suspending it in the air broke, and the frozen Bone Corpse Demon directly fell down from a height of thirty or so meters.

_Boom!!_

When the ice statue hit the ground, it immediately cracked. This crack stretched from the Bone Corpse Demon’s claws all the way to its wings…

As a result, the wings and claws were turned into smithereens, the ice was spread all over the ground.

“No no…no!!!” Wang Liting wasn’t even able to speak anymore, his looked as though he was going to kneel down for Luo Song.

His family had expended a lot of effort to help him acquire this Bone Corpse Demon. Once it died, Wang Liting would become a waste with no way to make a stand in Pearl Institute.

The arrogance on his face had vanished. Wang Liting ran toward his Summoned beast with his eyes showing his broken spirit.

Luo Song’s gaze was cold, with not a single hint of sympathy in his eyes.

In the real world, there were only the strong who survived and the weak who became food. Luo Song didn’t have the habit of showing mercy to the weak, so his actions were completely merciless.

“Classmate, calm down! Your Summoned beast shouldn’t have died yet.” Gu Han walked over and swiftly delivered the large block of Demon ice statue to the Healing teacher, Ruan Ya.

Ruan Ya helplessly shook her head, and quickly linked her Healing Star Atlas.

Luo Song watched the Intermediate Healing Magic as his lips twitched. With this Healing Teacher present, the Bone Corpse Demon’s life would definitely be saved.

—

The entire fight had actually ended very quickly, the commotion amongst the audience had been ongoing since the beginning

The incredible power of an Intermediate Magic was something the students seemed to understand now. The Bone Corpse Demon that they couldn’t do anything about had been destroyed like trash.

“Why don’t the two of you come at same time so we don’t waste time,” Luo Song pointed toward the leftover Summoner students with domineering arrogance.

The leftover two people were extremely angry. They didn’t have any intention of backing down, they wanted to take revenge for Wang Liting.

“His Intermediate Ice Magic is only able to deal with one of our Summoned beasts. I’ll let my Summoned beast withstand his attack, and you take that chance to deal with him,” the two discussed.

“Alright!”

“It’s better if you don’t go,” Mo Fan told them with good intentions.

“Why don’t you sit here and stick your head into the ground like an ostrich, you useless thing!” The two people were dorm mates of Wang Liting, and their relationship could be considered quite good. They were in the middle of a fit of anger, so it was natural they didn’t bother with what Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had already done his best to persuade them. There’s nothing he could do if they refused to listen to him. This world certainly did not lack idiots who cussed at their teammates and then delivered their own heads to the enemy.

“You want to use a pincer attack?” Luo Song looked at the two summoner students with ridicule in his eyes.

Mo Fan’s two Summoner classmates were really naive. They thought that the Intermediate Ice Magic was only able to deal with one of them, so the other could take advantage of the opportunity…

The fact is, Luo Song had no need to use Intermediate Magic.

The Primary Magic, Ice Spread, first covered Luo Song’s surrounding area. The intensity of the Ice Spread was enough to greatly reduce the speed of the two beasts.

Following this move, Luo Song used Earth Ripple to move himself somewhere more safe. When he found a good position, he once again used the formidable and terrifying Ice Lock.

The Ice Lock was clearly not a single target spell. The thick shackles forcefully locked the two Summoned beasts down and quickly turn them into ice blocks. Luo Song dealt with the two beasts without expending much effort.

“There’s only one more Summoner student left. I never thought that there’d be an Intermediate Magician in this competition.”

“Yeah, the last Summoner is just cannon fodder, he’s no match for Luo Song.”

“We also want to demonstrate our skills, who would’ve thought all the attention would be stolen by this person!”

After Luo Song had finished off the three Summoner students, all of the gazes in the audience was focused on the last one remaining, Mo Fan.

Mo Fan wasn’t stupid. He could clearly see that this fatty Luo wanted to make trouble for him.

Luo Song didn’t linger, he immediately walked off the arena.

He had already achieved his goal. Furthermore, he had also complied with Dean Xiao’s order to not provoke Mo Fan, who was also at Intermediate level.

After Luo Song left, everyone was all confused.

He should have been able to easily sweep the stage of all seven of the Summoners with his strength as an Intermediate Mage. So why didn’t he just deal with the last one, too?

Or did that mean that this guy thought the whole thing was boring, and thus he intentionally left the last one for the Primary Magicians to play with?

“Good, there’s still one left.”

“We still have an opportunity to display our skills. With the Bone Corpse Demon gone, we won’t have anything to be afraid of.”

“Let’s go!”

Li Junwei stood up, his eyes intentionally glancing at Qin Xiaomian to the side.

The main character today was definitely Luo Song, who had displayed the power of an Intermediate Magician. However, the rest of these people couldn’t just be swept away by the light of the Intermediate Magic. It was time for them to make a move!

“You guys want to challenge him?” Qin Xiaomian was slightly flabbergasted as she looked at the young men who always surrounded her.

“Is it inappopriate?” Li Junwei asked.

“No…no, good luck!” Qin Xiaomian felt she wasn’t in position to say anything.

Luo Junwei brought his squad along and walked down to the arena of the Beast Battle Competition.

After getting to the entrance, there were already people from other elements waiting.

These people had the same thought as Li Junwei. Intermediate was Intermediate. Although his cultivation speed was indeed extremely astonishing to everyone, it did not mean that everyone else should just linger around and do nothing.

Breaking through the next level was something that was hard to understand. Perhaps they would be able to touch upon the doors of the Intermediate level through this battle?

All of the people who came to Pearl Institute had the intention of attacking the Intermediate level!

—

“This Luo Song is indeed tactful. However, Mo Fan, it is clear that you are trying to cause trouble for me,” Luo Yunming coldly humphed.

It was clear that Luo Song came to destroy the public venue of the Summoning Element. Jiang Yunming knew of the events that happened between Mo Fan and Luo Song during the day of their tests.

“I know, but my Summoned beast…” Mo Fan shrugged.

There’s nothing he could do about this, especially when his Summoned beast was hibernating. Today, he was no different from a waste, so Luo Song had expended all that effort for nothing…

Eh??

It woke up??

Mo Fan had attempted to communicate with his Spirit Wolf without too much hope. Who would’ve known that the Spirit Wolf had already woken up? Furthermore, he looked relatively energetic.

“I really don’t want to give in,” Hai Dafu clenched his teeth.

The other Summoners were also very gloomy. Originally, their Summoned beasts were supposed to be the main characters of the Beast Battle Competition, they could display their superior strength as much as they wanted. Who would’ve thought that there’d be an Intermediate Magician who would take care of three of them in one go. This turned all of the Summoners into side characters very quickly.

It didn’t matter anymore because they weren’t able to complete the demands set by the teachers and the school. The distributed resources would all be sent to the Earth School which Luo Song belonged to.

The resources of Pearl Institute were quite significant, or else, the people from those noble families would not come here and desperately contest for them. The Summoning Element’s resources for half a year would essentially be given away! They were very unreconciled.

“Teacher, how about…” At this time, Zheng Bingxiao looked at Jiang Yunming, but was stopped in his speech.

Jiang Yunming shook his head, “The students who have left the stage can no longer go back on. Mo Fan, are you able to summon your Summoned beast? If not, then this will be it for today.”

“So what if he can do it?” Wang Liting exclaimed, his eyes red. “Teacher, could we ask the school to be lenient? My family spent a large amount of money to help me summon a good Summoned beast. If the school doesn’t give me some resources, then I’m afraid most of us won’t be able to reach the Intermediate level.”

“It’s impossible for them to be lenient, if you want to obtain resources then you have to rely on yourself… Alright, let’s go back everyone, this will be it for the competition today. Although you were completely annihilated by an Intermediate Magician, I am thoroughly satisfied with your performances. The Beast Refinement Blood will be given to Zheng Bingxiao.” Jiang Yunming didn’t talk too much about their feelings, he was clear on the positive and negatives.

After hearing this, the Summoner students all began to cry.

There were no resources from school, and they’d be losing a teacher as well. This made the wonder what they’re going to do in the future!

“Mr. Jiang, it seems like my Summoned beast has woken up!” Mo Fan spoke up abruptly.

“Oh? Then you can go ahead. If you perform well, then the second Beast Refinement Blood will be given to you,” Jiang Yunming raised his eyebrow.

“I just happen to want the Beast Refinement Blood,” Mo Fan said.

“Alright, you can go and take back some face for us in the Summoning School,” Jiang Yunming said.

—

Mo Fan slowly walked onto the Beast Battle arena while he communicated with his Spirit Wolf.

“Our objective today is to defeat sixteen people,” Mo Fan said to the Spirit Wolf.

Zheng Bingxiao won against twenty-five people, and Hai Dafu got rid of fifteen. Wang Liting was supposed to have the highest numbers, but he was completely annihilated by Luo Song after his sixth person.

Thus, if he wanted to obtain the Beast Refinement Blood, then he just had to surpass Hai Dafu’s number.

“Awoooo~~~!!” The Spirit Wolf let out an fearless and energetic howl in reply to Mo Fan.

After hearing the energetic and vigorous howl, Mo Fan was astonished.

Along with the Spirit Wolf’s howl was a wild and savage aura, and this aura…

It seems like sixteen people wouldn’t be too hard!!

“Come, call your Summoned beast,” Li Junwei represented the team of challengers, his face was filled with a sense of pride.

“As long as your Summoned beast isn’t a Bone Corpse Demon, I will definitely let you have a taste of my abilities!”

“This guy seems to be the only person we don’t have any intel on, we don’t know what kind of Summoned beast he has.”

Mo Fan looked at the team of five who seemed to be prepared, his face displaying a lazy smile.

Although he was also a guy who enjoyed fighting, this was not the time for him. This was the time for the Spirit Wolf to display its prowess!

“Fight for me!”

The moonlight Star Path emerged in front of Mo Fan and turned into a space crack. A dimensional bridge summoned forth a creature from the unknown plane!

From within the dimensional crack, a deep blue head stretched out.

Soon after, a robust and mighty body stepped out. The fur-covered body was fluttering in the space crack, following a bestial aura pervading the whole arena. The Spirit Wolf instantly became the focal point of the whole chamber!

“It’s a Spirit Wolf!”

“What a feral aura! This is like a completely different creature compared to the tiny Spirit Wolf from before!”

“It feels like it’s not easy to deal with that. I never thought the last Summoner student’s Summoned beast would be a fully grown, robust Spirit Wolf. I’m not sure if Li Junwei and his team can possibly contest that.”

In the backstage, the six Summoner students mouths had dropped open, they displaying their astonishment.

“It looks… It looks like it has gotten stronger since the last time,” Jiang Yunming murmured to himself.

They could hear the sound of the wind.

A ferocious wind was rolling around, the Spirit Wolf in its center. The dust had turned into a golden wave as it washed out, sweeping along the colossal Beast Battle Arena and blowing into the faces of the five challengers.

For some reason, their legs began to shake. The man in the lead with a big head turned around to look at his leader, Li Junwei…

“What’s there to be afraid of? It’s just a Spirit Wolf, not a Bone Corpse Demon!” Li Junwei cursed while feeling dissatisfied.

“I just keep feeling this isn’t your average Spirit Wolf.”

“Feelings my ass, go kill it!”

The five people were clearly very coordinated with each other. Facing Mo Fan’s Spirit Wolf, they quickly got into formation.

The Wind users were in the front, Water in the back, Lightning and Fire by the Earth user in the center.

With all five Elements in one team, Wind, Water, Lightning, Fire and Earth formed a very well coordinated team. Lightning users in the Pearl Institute were not rare, so forming a five elementteam wasn’t too difficult.

It was obvious that Li Junwei’s team was prepared. If it wasn’t for the appearance of Luo Song, they would’ve attacked one of the Summoned beasts by themselves.

Now, there was only the very last Summoner student, Mo Fan. They naturally would not continue waiting!

“Big head, restrict it. Remember, the Spirit Wolf’s burst damage is relatively strong, so you need to be quick when you use Flash Steps or else it’ll be able to slice you in two once you get to the other side,” Li Junwei said with a solemn expression.

“Yeah, I’ll just use Wind Trails, Floating Shadow!” the big headed guy in the very front said.

“Pimples, just because the Spirit Wolf is far from us doesn’t mean it can’t attack us. The Spirit Wolf has a breath attack.”

The girl with pimples on her face nodded quickly.

“Alright, let’s start. How could a little Spirit Wolf possibly stop the five of us from becoming famous. Let’s show those previously unorganized and useless people our coordinated battle strategy!” Li Junwei’s face displayed a great smile.

Those who treated a battle as a 1v1 conflict could only be deemed to be unsuitable with others.

During the Primary level, most of the people would only have a single spell, and so they would have to form a team. Being the chief of the Classical Elements, the Primary Lightning spells were indeed very strong, but they definitely did not have the ability to deal with a Magical Beast by themselves. The Water element did not have any attack prowess, but it was the only Primary ranked element that had a protective spell, making it one of the most crucial parts of a battle. In Li Junwei’s eyes, there was no Element that was trash from the start, only a group of retards who didn’t understand how to cooperate!

Mo Fan saw the opponents formation and a smile formed on his face.

Interesting. The five people’s battle experience was in no way inferior to the Hunter Squad he was a part of it back then.

“Be careful, they should be very knowledgable…”

“Awooooo~~!”

Mo Fan didn’t say another word. The Spirit Wolf let out a domineering howl.

The warlike Spirit Wolf began to attack without a response from Mo Fan. The amount of time it took for the Spirit Wolf to go from complete stillness to as fast as a cheetah was only a second. This bursting power afoot was not something a One-eyed Magic Wolf could compare to.

The Spirit Wolf was charging violently. Its objective was precisely the Wind member standing at the very front of Li Junwei’s team.

Although the big-headed Wind member of the group seemed relatively nervous, his steps were still nimble.

The third level of Wind Trails created several Wind Tunnels in the caster’s surroundings, creating a bunch of high speed Wind passages that belonged only to himself. With them in place, he was as lithe as a swallow.

Floating Shadow had a much bigger range than Flash Steps. It looked as though there were Wind Trails everywhere. It made the Magician seem like wind, impossible to catch and impossible to pursue.

The Spirit Wolves first attack caught only an empty Wind Shadow. The big-headed guy had already floated to a location twenty meters away when the Spirit Wolf had attacked with its claw.

The sound of the wind was heard again…

The Spirit Wolf quickly retracted its claws. His body slid through the ground for a small distance before he once again stood up with his four limbs. He had actually changed the course of his tracks in a single second toward the big-headed Wind Magician!

“Second attack!” Li Junwei’s face revealed amazement.

Normally speaking, when the Spirit Wolf used its full strength to attack, it would take a while to stop. It was just like when a person has used a frantic charge, they would need some time to catch their breath.

However, this Spirit Wolf had actually been able to regain its energy right after its first burst attack. Additionally, its speed even remained the same as it began its ferocious attack the second time.

“Pimple, protect him! Quick!” Li Junwei commanded.

Spirit Wolf’s second attack was definitely going to cause an enormous threat to the Wind Magician. After all, the big-headed guy believed he was in a safe zone after only moving around twenty meters away.

Numerous water droplets coalesced out of nowhere. They were all in motion, and quickly combined in front of the Wind element student to form a Water barrier defense!

Yet another howl of the wind was heard.

The Spirit Wolf saw these Water beads as he was halfway there, and his eyes showed a hint of disdain. His heavy claws ferociously smashed towards the Wind Magician once more!

Woosh!!

The ferocious claws split open the shield formed by numerous water droplets. The sharp claws streaked right through the body of the Wind elemental student.

An incredible blood scar emerged on the chest of the Wind elemental student.

“Oh…”

The Wind member of the group fell backwards, and the overflowing blood from his body mixed with the dust as it flowed into the distance.

“How… how could this be!” The eyes of pimpled girl went wide as they were filled with astonishment and fear.

Her Water Barrier had clearly reached the third level already, why was it unable to defend against the attack of the Spirit Wolf?

She had also been through numerous fights, and she had always been able to defend against all kinds of Magical Beasts’ attacks.

“You were too slow. You should know how to protect in situations like this next time without me telling you!” Li Junwei said with a gloomy face as he excoriated her.

Indeed, the Water elemental girl had cast it a bit slow. The Spirit Wolf’s claw had already slashed through the Wind student’s body before the Water Barrier had been formed. The Water Barrier that looked as though it was formed in time had only blocked the attack power that came afterwards!

“You bastard, taste my Lightning Strike!”

The purple Lightning was crackling furiously as they ferociously bombarded the location of the Spirit Wolf.

The Lightning dazzled their eyes. As the snake-like Lightning began to lash across the area, it looked like it had completely surrounded the Spirit Wolf.

The Spirit Wolf could smell the ozone in the air.

It stomped heavily with its back legs, and its body smoothly jumped to the side…

In the next second, the place where the Spirit Wolf had been standing was completely covered by Lightning Strikes. A patched of burned ground appeared immediately thereafter.

Small bits of static were jumping around the Spirit Wolf’s deep blue fur, but they didn’t pose any threat to it. The Spirit Wolf turned around, its verdant eyes locking onto the person who had unleashed the Lightning Strike.

“Awuuuu~!”

With its head loftily raised, and with its throat that seemed as deep as a cavern, a demonic wind suddenly came forth!

The demonic wind began to wantonly sweep across the sands on the surface of the ground, which rose into the air in thick clouds.

“Shit, is this still Flying Stones!?” As Mo Fan saw this scene, he couldn’t help but feel shocked.

The very first time Mo Fan had seen Flying Stones, the grains of sand were like a wide spread of bullets as they shot toward him. For a normal person, this would leave behind numerous holes in their bodies.

However now, the Flying Stones were being spat by his very own Spirit Wolf…

The area of this was more than double the size he had seen it before. It was like the Spirit Wolf had howled out a sandstorm…

“Hurry up and scatter!” Li Junwei’s complexion immediately changed.

For something like the Flying Stones, they could easily evade it by just quickly rolling around. Furthermore, the Spirit Wolf had used it from a distance.

However, against something of this scale that covered a fourth of the entire Beast Cage, they simply had nowhere to run and could only receive the damage.

Li Junwei slammed both of his hands on the ground as he tried to overcome his shock.

“Earth Wave!” Where Li Junwei was standing, ripples of earth began to spread into the surroundings.

The ripple quickly carried Li Junwei and his Lightning and Fire comrades to the two sides of the cage.

“Pimples, get behind me!” Li Junwei shouted.

After pushing his two comrades away, Li Junwei knew that he couldn’t rely on the Water Element girl to cast the second level of Water Barrier in such a short amount of time.

The Water Elemental girl ran behind Li Junwei’s back. However at this moment, the Flying Stones had already charged over. His cheeks were painfully scratched by those little grains of sands.

“Vine Wall!”

Li Junwei moved his intent and activated his own special Defensive Magic Equipment.

An azure ray flashed, and multiple strange black rattan vines emerged in front of Li Junwei. The vines began to intertwine while giving birth to new, thin vines that also integrated into the existing ones.

The sandstorm finally came to an end, followed by an ear-piercing sound.

If there hadn’t beena vine wall in front of Pimples and Li Junwei, then their weak bodies would definitely have been utterly smashed by the mighty storm.

……

“This student is not bad.” Dean Xiao watched the dust-filled arena as his face revealed a gratified smile.

The face of Zhou Zhenghua, the Dean of the Earth School, was also showing a bit of radiance.

Just moments before, Luo Song had given the Earth Element students a tremendous amount of face. Who would’ve thought that among the Elements, there’d also be someone like Li Junwei who knew how to cooperate amongst the different Elements.

Using the Earth Ripple to push the Fire and Lightning members who didn’t have any way of defending themselves to a safe area, and then use his own Magic Equipment to protect himself as well as the Water comrade behind him…

The Flying Stones from the Spirit Wolf were evidently strong enough to completely annihilate the four of them. However, that was completely prevented by an Earth Magician, Li Junwei!

There are too many Primary Earth Magicians who didn’t know what to do, nor their roles in a battle nowadays. Li Junwei’s display had essentially given a lesson to all the Earth Magician students who were still completely blank.

The Earth Element could be called the core of a squad. Their ability to move the surface of the ground meant they were the link between the squad members, and would also allow the squad to be much more flexible.

“Too bad they’ve lost,” Dean Xiao secretly added.

The Earth Element Dean, Zhou Zhenghua was slightly shocked as his gaze locked onto the cage filled with dust.

The dust came fast, and settled fast.

Li Junwei’s display was indeed very outstanding. However, in front of such a formidable power, their strategies and spells were completely useless.

Within the yellow mist, an eminent and ferocious silhouette was standing in front of Li Junwei. The dark green eyes were only meter away from him as it loomed over Li Junwei.

Li Junwei and Pimple both raised their heads. The two of them, who had just evaded the sweeping Sandstorm, felt like they had been soaked in cold water. Especially Pimples, she looked like though she was going to faint from the scene that greeted her eyes.

“Third stage Burst…” Li Junwei raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He originally didn’t want to believe this was an evolving Spirit Wolf. However, now he was not able to question it anymore.

A Spirit Wolf that could complete a third stage Burst was most definitely at the evolved stage. This was a vicious creature that was a half step into the Warrior level!

The five of them could deal with a normal Magical Beast without a problem. However, dealing with a creature that was in the evolving stage would only make them seem like children; they could easily get slaughtered!

……

After the sand had thoroughly dispersed, the entire audience saw an incredibly stunning scene.

The Spirit Wolf that suddenly disappeared was standing right in front of Li Junwei. Its four limbs was stepping on the vine wall, and its head was only a meter away from Li Junwei.

It signified that if the Spirit Wolf had any slight desire to kill, then it could easily snap Li Junwei’s head off with its fierce teeth.

“Come back,” the Summoner spoke up at that moment.

The Spirit Wolf was clearly very obedient, as it jumped down from the vine wall and returned to the side of Mo Fan without even glancing at the group of challengers.

Its slow steps, the haughty rise of its head and eyes that showed it was not fully satisfied seemed like it was saying, “Humans? Weak…”

“Xu Zhaoting, are you sure you haven’t seen him in only a year?” The girl sitting next to Xu Zhaoting asked him in disbelief.

Xu Zhaoting himself was even more dumbstruck!

Is that person even Mo Fan?!

Even if that guy was to break into the Intermediate level soon after the destruction of Bo City, it still wouldn’t make sense for him to be able to cultivate his newly attained Summoning Element to this level in just a year’s worth of time. The Spirit Wolf in front of him had easily defeated Li Junwei’s squad of five, showing it was much stronger than your average Magical Beast. If their Primary Vanguard squad had encountered something like this on the road, then they would’ve been completely annihilated.

“I also don’t know, he… he always seem to become stronger somehow,” Xu Zhaoting realized he just couldn’t understand Mo Fan. This person was far too unfathomable.

……

“***k, that Spirit Wolf has gotten even stronger!!” Luo Song, who had wanted to cause trouble for Mo Fan, abruptly swore.

Originally, this Spirit Wolf was nothing to be afraid of. His Ice Shackles were enough to defeat it.

Now, the Spirit Wolf have reached the evolving stage. If Luo Song didn’t completely direct his attention towards it, then there was a chance he might die in its jaws. Furthermore, there was also its Summoner Mo Fan, who possessed Intermediate Lightning!

“It seems like I’ll have to take the resources of my brothers and sisters, or else the difference will be even larger!” Luo Song thought to himself.

The faster Mo Fan’s strength increased, the more Luo Song didn’t feel at ease. He had already lost once against Mo Fan, he definitely could not allow a second time!

……

Li Junwei and his comrades walked out of the iron cage with fallen spirits.

This was not the result they wanted. They definitely could’ve finished off at least one Summoned beast. However, they completely oppressed by an evolving stage Summoned beast.

This feeling was unbearable.

At first, there was an Intermediate Magician who had heavily shocked all of the students in the audience, and now there was a Spirit Wolf at the evolving stage. They were simply too strong!

Li Junwei had completely experienced the saying of “crouching tigers and hidden dragons” at Pearl Institute. He wasn’t sure what kind of laughingstock he was as he walked out of the Beast Battle Cage, and nor about how Qin Xiaomiao would view someone like him.

“Mo Fan, you’re way too cool. You made up for the numbers we were missing!” the short and thin Summoner student called out to Mo Fan up on the stage excitedly.

Zheng Bingxiao also had a joyous smile on his face. This Spirit Wolf’s strength was definitely not any weaker than the Bone Corpse Demon. If Mo Fan was able to ward off attacks from the coming students, then they would definitely be able to keep their resources.

Although Hai Dafu and Wang Liting did not like Mo Fan, they still put their hopes on Mo Fan. Even if their faces did not display it, their hearts let out a sigh of relief.

“You guys are a bit too optimistic. You do know that there’s nearly fifty more people before you reach a hundred. If the squads are comprised of five people, then do you think Mo Fan’s Spirit Wolf is capable of dealing with ten waves of challengers?”

“It seems like that. Ah, it’s all the annoying guy’s fault! Wait unil I reach the Intermediate level, I will definitely take revenge!”

Mo Fan turned his head around to glance at the students of same Element as him. To be honest, if the whole resource thing concerned the entire Elemental department, then he’d directly leave after finishing off sixteen more people.

There’s nothing he could do, who could he blame for being poor? He couldn’t buy anything, so he came to Pearl Institute to squeeze resources from the teachers and the school. Since the Spirit Wolf’s strength had increased exponentially, then might as well let it fight until it was satisfied!

The Spirit Wolf could be considered as having escaped from a calamity and then obtaining a fortune.

After going through a cruel and brutal battle, the Spirit Wolf had broken through to the evolving stage.

The evolving stage signified the stage of time where the creature evolved from Minion class to Warrior class. A creature at this stage was far superior to a Minion class creature, but also still a long ways from a Warrior class creature.

The Beast Refinement Blood was extremely potent for evolving stage creatures. It just happened that they could obtain the Beast Refinement Blood if they displayed their excellence… Obviously, the Beast Refinement Blood wouldn’t be enough for the Spirit Wolf to step into the Warrior class, that still required a large amount of resources.

In fact, what Dean Xiao had said was extremely grand, and it had stirred many hearts. However, from how Mo Fan saw it, there was an extremely important point in what the old Dean had said. The demonstration of the Beast Battle Competition had actually displayed the life../style of Pearl Institute!

Resources could be plundered!

You could forever stand in the back and use your weak gaze to look at other people displaying their prowess on the stage, or you could clench your teeth and increase your own strength so that you could amaze the whole world one day and receive the attention of millions!

The more you withdraw, the more you will be forgotten in the corner. The more you are willing to fight, the more you will bask in radiance!

“Dean Xiao, I have a question!” When Mo Fan saw the mass of challengers standing by the exit, he took this little time to loudly ask a question.

“Speak!” Dean Xiao answered promptly.

“If our Summoning school doesn’t reach a hundred people, then the resources will be given to another Elemental school. Isn’t that a bit too unfair for us? If we lose, then the resources that belonged to us will be given to others. If we win, then all we do is retain the resources that would have already been given to us,” Mo Fan asked loudly.

After Dean Xiao heard this, he couldn’t help but smile. His gaze swept past the Deans of the other Elements.

“Mo Fan, that is a very good question. We have actually already considered this. Once you’ve reached a hundred people, there will be another reward. If a Summoning student can withstand the attack of two hundred people, then all of the resources that would be distributed to all of the other Elemental schools will be given to the Summoning school!” Dean Xiao replied in a loud voice.

After this was said, the colossal arena began to erupt.

All these people knew was that if the Summoning school did not reach their objectives, then they would receive a huge penalty. However, what they didn’t know was that if they were to defeat two hundred students of other Elements, then the resources that belonged to every other school except for Summoning school would belong to them!

Shit, just how colossal would the resources be if the ten or so Element school were put together!

The Summoning School had very few people, only seven of them. The students of other elements together totalled at least four thousand people!

The resources of four thousand people would be in the hands of the seven people of Summoning school… Wouldn’t the Summoning school essentially be in paradise?

“The reason we didn’t announce this rule is because there hasn’t been a single new student in all these years who has been able to do something like this. Thus, it didn’t really matter…” Dean Xiao said with a gentle smile.

“Dean, even I didn’t know about this,” the Earth Element Dean, Zhou Zhenghua, spoke up with a bitter expression.

The Dean of the other Elements all looked at each other. The younger Element Dean really did not know that was this kind of shocking rule after the first!

“Alright, I’ve answered your question. Do you have anything else you’d like to ask?” Dean Xiao continued.

“I don’t have a question,” Mo Fan replied. He had a subtle calm before, but in the next second, his face slowly displayed a tiny smile. “However, I just want to make a statement toward the students of all Elements.”

Make a statement?!

The five thousand or more new students didn’t know what this Summoning student wanted to do.

“I burn more resources compared to your average Magicians, thus, I’m sorry…” Mo Fan slowly cupped his fist as he bowed to them.

“Your resources will belong to me!”

When Mo Fan raised his head once more, he took off his innocent mask and put on a incredibly arrogant face!

The atmosphere seemed to have frozen.

The expressions of ten thousand teachers and students from the whole school were frozen at this time, too!!

What kind of talk was this!?

This brat… is he freaking crazy!?!

Dean Xiao mentioned it before, not a single person had been able to pull this off in all of these years. How dare you, a small little Summoner student, dare to be so arrogant? What right do you have to not put the four to five thousand new students in your eyes?

There were still many old students at the Azure campus. Among them were Magicians who have already been at the campus for three or four years, and they were now staring at the new student who had provoked the entire school. This caused them to lose their senses for a long time!

You want to act? Who can’t do that? You should first take a look at the situation of your Summoner school. You haven’t even reached fifty people, and now you’re telling me you’re going to get to two hundred?

You want to get rid of a hundred and fifty people by yourself?

The evolving stage Spirit Wolf is indeed very impressive, its combat prowess is much higher than your average Magical Beast. However, it is simply impossible for you to defeat a hundred and fifty challengers from other Elements with just that!

……

“Damn, did you have to be that arrogant? Not even I dared to say those words!” Luo Song blurted out, his face extremely ugly.

Originally, Luo Song was definitely going to be the main character of the day. There would have been many people revering him after the competition.

In the end, Mo Fan’s sentence directly provoking all of the Elements in the school had caused Luo Song’s actions today to seem like nothing.

If it was possible to enter the arena for a second time, then Luo Song would be the first person to battle Mo Fan to death!

“Damn, I hate these kinds of people who believe they’re unfathomable. So what if you have an evolving stage Spirit Wolf. Brothers, let’s go, let’s destroy it!” A new student with a rather explosive temper stood up as he hurriedly rushed toward the iron cage.

“He really does not know his place.” A couple of subtle eyes flashed with ridicule. Pearl Institute was definitely a place where hidden dragons and crouching tigers existed. Just minutes ago, Luo Song, an Intermediate Magician, had emerged. There would definitely be more people than Luo Song who had reached the Intermediate level.

There had been occasional Intermediate Magicians emerging among the new students in Pearl Institute in the past. They would naturally not participate in things like the Beast Battle Competition. However, when a Summoner student said things like that, did he really think those hidden experts would calmly let him fight with clowns and show off his prowess?

——

Mo Fan stood in the middle of arena and heard the swearing coming from all seats of the audience.

There were more than ten thousand people in this battle area. No matter where he looked in this place, he was facing at least a thousand people. Their voices were coming at him like thunder from all sides, it was an unprecedented feeling.

However, since this was a decision he had made, Mo Fan would definitely fight each one of them until the very end.

Ms. Tangyue was not wrong. For someone like Mo Fan, who had an innate Dual Element, if he did not have a colossal amount of resources, then it’d be just like doing things half-assed and achieving nothing.

If the Little Loach Pendant hadn’t absorbed the Underground Holy Spring, then Mo Fan definitely would not be able to take care of all four of his Elements.

Even after he obtained such a exquisite treasure, Mo Fan still felt like he was incredibly poor.

To use the Spirit Wolf as an example, the animal had already reached the evolving stage.

Could he really let a Summoned beast that was capable of reaching the Warrior class remain stuck at that level?

No!

Then he would have to obtain resources that could allow the Spirit Wolf to successfully break into the Warrior class. A small Beast Refinement Blood was definitely not going to be enough!

Doing things like this looked like he was being impulsive.

However, there was such an incredible opportunity being laid in front of him. An opportunity that allowed him to take the resources of over four thousand new students for himself. Was it even possible for him to not even attempt to strive for it, and let it slip by in front of him?

If he lost, then he would at most have been cursed at a few times. You don’t die from being cursed at, so who cared?

If he won, then his bowl would be completely filled up!

Perhaps even the disciples from those major families and other powers wouldn’t be able to sit on any resources!

“Spirit Wolf, don’t you love fighting… today, the two of us will fight until we’re satisfied!”

Come, give me all you got!

Mo Fan’s gaze swept past the vast crowd of people.

The feeling of being surrounded by the gaze of ten thousands of people was…just meh!

—

“I will go and beat him until his own mom won’t recognize him!”

“Make his Spirit Wolf into a soup! Damn, how dare he be more arrogant, wild, and shameless in front of me, Long Aotian?”

(Translator Note: Long Aotian’s name in Chinese basically means ‘The Heavenly Arrogant Dragon’)

“I’m the cure for all kinds of braggarts!”…

A large crowd of students began to appear by the arena entrance. Mo Fan’s words had instantly sent five thousand or so new students into a rage.

Perhaps there would still be many who were afraid of Mo Fan’s evolving stage Spirit Wolf before, but now everyone wanted to rush to the stage. If not, then it would signify that their Elements did not have not a single strong person.

Soon enough, five people entered the arena. Their faces were filled with anger, it was evident that they couldn’t endure his words.

They’ve seen those who stole resources. However, they’d never seen anyone who stole the resources of new students when they had only just been admitted, he must be tired of living!

“Hmph, it’s merely an evolving stage Spirit Wolf, it’s not a Warrior… shit!” Before Long Aotian could finish his words, the Spirit Wolf burst out at fearsome speed. With a single swipe of his paw, he reached Long Aotian and sent him flying.

He had a piece of Defensive Magic Equipment, but the force of impact still sent him flying over five meters away. After collapsing, he was no longer able to get up.

His comrades watched all that in awe.

When they were watching this from the audience, the Spirit Wolf’s speed didn’t seem this incredible. However, after facing it, its speed was actually more than just double?!

“They really are a group of people with a temper,” Mo Fan looked at these people, unable to help himself from thinking it was funny.

I’m an Intermediate Magician, and that’s why I dared to make this bet! You guys are like a bunch of fools compared to Li Junwei’s squad, and yet you still dare to come up here and be a disgrace?

The Spirit Wolf didn’t mess around as it pursued the remaining people. If Mo Fan hadn’t instructed the Spirit Wolf to be lenient from the beginning, then they wouldn’t just lose their arms and legs, who knew if their lives would still be intact!

—

After sending those people off, the next wave quickly came forth. Mo Fan just stood there without moving.

His Spirit Wolf could easily deal with the abundance of students who let their emotions take control of their actions.

However, Mo Fan refused to believe that Pearl Institute only had trash. He was just waiting there, waiting for a true expert to appear!

The people who disagreed were definitely not few in number. Mo Fan saw that the line by the exit has already formed into a long dragon. From their faces, he could tell that they all had the same expression. It said, “Shit, I will take you down!”

“My name is Zhuang Lifeng, a disciple of the Zhuang family. I haven’t liked you since you took a step onto this stage. Do you think you’re cool because you have the Summoning Element? I will let you have a taste of the prowess of our Zhuang family!” When Zhuang Lifeng stepped up, he appeared to have a scholarly air about him.

Mo Fan had no choice but to admit that this person’s appearance was not bad. With his refined way of announcing his family, as well as carrying an aura that gave the impression he was undertaking the will of the heaven made Mo Fan feel like he needed to give a certain amount of attention to him.

Naturally, Mo Fan didn’t become cautious just because of what he had said. It was because Mo Fan could feel that this person gave off a different feeling compared to the others.

“You fanatic, I will eliminate your beast that’s abusing others and then teach you a lesson!” Zhuang Lifeng rolled up his sleeves.

The Spirit Wolf didn’t bullshit too much with humans, its claws had already stretched out.

Zhuang Lifeng did indeed have the ability. His understanding toward the Wind Element: Wind Trails was far more adept than the guy with the large head from before.

Since the Spirit Wolf was able to reach the third level of charging, Zhuang Lifeng had already laid a Wind Trail domain around the Beast Battle cage. Everyone watched Zhuang Lifeng stop at a certain location, and then disappear from that area in the next second. The Spirit Wolf was only able to leave a small wound on his right arm in the three times he had charged over.

“Beautiful, Zhuang Lifeng! You control this thing!” the fire element girl with a slightly tanned face said.

“Fire Burst, Rupture!!” the girl shouted as a fireball rapidly formed within her palms.

The flames was thrown toward the location the Spirit Wolf was at. Before the Spirit Wolf was able to evade, it exploded forth. The ferocious flames exploded onto the body of the Spirit Wolf, causing him to fly several meters away. The flames was like fire as it sprinkled all over its surrounding.

“Awoooo!” The Spirit Wolf climbed back up and shook off the little flames that were on its body.

This was the first time the Spirit Wolf had received damage. In the beginning, Mo Fan was a little bit worried. However, his worry turned into relief as he saw the will to fight in the Spirit Wolf’s eyes.

A Fire Burst: Rupture was still unable to do fatal damage to an evolving stage Spirit Wolf. Furthermore, the Spirit Wolf’s physique was already rather sturdy!

“Ignore the Wind person, finish off the other people,” Mo Fan said to Spirit Wolf.

Spirit Wolf also noticed that the Wind Magician was relatively quick, and to catch him would be very difficult.

The Spirit Wolf immediately changed its target. Its gaze was directly locked onto the girl who was casting Fire Burst.

The girl didn’t have anyone else protecting her. When the Spirit Wolf charged over like a wild beast in the arena, it was completely unstoppable. Even if Zhuang Lifeng was faster, it would still be useless.

“Vine Change, Twist!”

When the Spirit Wolf was roughly twenty meters away from the girl, someone’s chanting was heard.

Following that, a strange scene emerged. On the ground where the Spirit Wolf was running, azure vines were suddenly spreading out.

These vines were the size of an adult’s arm. The surface of the vine was covered with thorns, and they were extremely shrewd and ferocious under someone’s control…

The Spirit Wolf was in the middle of charging. However, just as it stepped into the area, the azure vines quickly grew and forcefully bound themselves to the legs of the Spirit Wolf.

The Spirit Wolf was caught by surprise as it was quickly dragged crashing to the ground, causing a cloud of dust to appear.

“Plant Element??” Mo Fan was astonished as he looked at the Zhuang Lifeng from afar.

Zhuang Lifeng smiled deviously as he said, “Did you really think I was just a Wind Magician?”

After Zhuang Lifeng revealed the second element, the entire audience gasped in surprise.

Yet another Intermediate Magician!!

Zhuang Lifeng had just used the spell of Wind Element, so everyone knew his first Awakening was the Wind Element.

Now, he had used a Plant Magic!

Plant Element was a part of White Magic, and also very rare during Primary level. It was clear that Zhuang Lifeng had achieved the level of an Intermediate Mage, and the Plant Element was the second magic he had Awakened!

Mo Fan had been cautious of this person from the very beginning. As expected, his intuition wasn’t wrong at all, this person had advanced into the Intermediate level.

“That’s interesting. Unfortunately, the difference between you and that fatty Luo Song is too big,” Mo Fan couldn’t help but smile as he looked at Zhuang Lifeng.

The face of Zhuang Lifeng no longer have the same proud smile as before. He had a feeling that this Summoner seemed to know something that he didn’t.

“Being able to reach the Intermediate level is indeed very good. Unfortunately, you aren’t able to properly draw a Star Atlas. Whether it is the Wind Element or the Plant Element, you’re simply unable to cast Intermediate Magic!” Mo Fan opened his mouth to say.

Zhuang Lifeng thought he’d be able to scare Mo Fan once he displayed his second Element. However, he never thought that Mo Fan had already seen through it all.

“Just Primary level, don’t think for a moment that you can stop my Spirit Wolf!”

Mo Fan’s heart was connected with the Spirit Wolf, he knew just what condition it was in!

The Plant Element’s Primary spell was classified as a trap spell. If Zhuang Lifeng grasped an even higher level of vines, it would be very hard for the Spirit Wolf to break away…

“Awuuuu!!” The Spirit Wolf let out a roar as he directly used brute force to break away from the devil vines on his body.

The devil vines looked very firm, but it wasn’t tough enough. When the Spirit Wolf ferociously used its strength, the vines snapped in half and scattered across the ground.

The Spirit Wolf didn’t remain in the same place for long. This part of the arena had already been completely frozen by the Ice Magician. If he were to remain for two more seconds, his four legs would’ve been frozen as well!

As the Spirit Wolf burst out, his speed made the Ice element’s Ice Spread seem like nothing. The Spirit Wolf’s objective was naturally the Fire Element girl.

This time, even if she was to run, it’d still be of no use. The Spirit Wolf was lenient as it crashed into the girl’s body with its head, causing her to fly out like a kickball before she crashed into the cage.

Fortunately, the cage was made from Water Element and quite soft, or else the crash would’ve left a couple of broken bones!

After dealing with the most dangerous magician, the Spirit Wolf sent their Ice and Light Element Magicians down in succession. At last, there was only the Zhuang Lifeng remaining.

After Zhuang Lifeng saw his comrades being taken care of so easily, a vicious thought flashed through his mind.

“You fool, do you really think that I can only deal with your Summoned beast? If a Summoner doesn’t know how to protect himself, then the Summoned beast will be useless even if it’s really strong!” Zhuang Lifeng’s figure suddenly disappeared.

As the Spirit Wolf was in the middle of dealing with others, Zhuang Lifeng actually used his Wind Tunnel to race towards Mo Fan!

Zhuang Lifeng’s move was outside of everyone’s expectations!

In this competition, the challengers were supposed to eliminate the summoned beasts! This act of Zhuang Lifeng was out of the box, and mmediately caused dissatisfaction among the Summoner students!

“This is against the rules! How could he attack the Summoner straight away!” shouted Hai Daifu without hesitation.

“Not really, this competition is a battle between the Summoners and the people of the other side. There was one time where one person defeated our school long ago, and the senior that represented our school had a Summoned beast way stronger than Mo Fan’s,” Jiang said Yunming calmly.

As a teacher, Jiang Yunming did not talk about the situations that could possibly occur in a battle to his students, and he also had not told them that the Summoners could be a target as well in the battle…

Sometimes, only by experiencing something would someone truly remember a lesson!

Besides, in a real battle against demons and monsters, a Summoner had to learn how to protect himself!

“Damn, Mo Fan only managed to fend off seventy-nine of them, and is still quite far away from reaching one hundred...” said an unhappy Hai Dafu.

The spirit wolf was invincible. It had managed to fend off seven or eight waves of attackers already, but no one expected that someone experienced like Zhuang Lifeng would pop out o nowhere and attack the Summoner straight away…

“Such big words he used, and thanks to him, we have now offended the students of the other schools!” cursed Wang Li.

—

Zhuang Lifeng had the Element of Air on his side; he was so fast the dust on the ground was split apart by his high speed!

As he drew closer and closer, he could clearly see the provoking face of that Summoner student.

Idiot, how dare he act so tough and strong with just those puny capabilities of his! Even without using his magic, Zhuang Lifeng would be able to knock out this Summoner student just using the speed he was traveling!

Of course, Zhuang Lifeng was still observing every move made by Mo Fan carefully, and he had prepared himself to change to another way of attacking as long as Mo Fan showed any sign of using any magic equipment.

Light??

Why is there light on this guy’s hand, it does not seem like he is using any magic equipment!

Wait a minute, purple light?!?

Zhuang Lifeng’s expression froze in an instant!

Other than some exclusive Elements, the only Element that emits purple rays is the freaking Lightning Element!

“I don’t remember saying that I am not an Intermediate Mage…” drawled Mo Fan, mockery in his eyes as they started to emit bright purple rays.

The purple Star Path was formed and countless lightning arcs sparked around Mo Fan like slithering snakes.

“Lightning Strike, Fierce Whip!!”

At this range, there was not even a second for Zhuang Lifeng to activate any of his defensive magical gear at all.

The lightning arcs merged together in a blink of an eye, turning into ferocious purple serpents that charged out and whipped their bodies towards Zhuang Lifeng mercilessly.

Upon seeing the serpents, Zhuang Lifeng immediately reacted and tried to evade their attacks.

However, Mo Fan knew that this guy could move at high speed, and so he specifically activated the second level Lighting Strike. With the relentless and rampaging thunder whips striking everywhere, Zhuang Lifeng would not be able to dodge his attacks even if he twice as fast as he was!

Once he was struck by one of the Lighting Strikes, the other strikes would lash towards the target like snakes stalking their prey, before converging on and devouring the target!

Zhuang Lifeng’s Wind Trail was destroyed by the lightning whip, and purple Lightning sparks were sizzling all over his body. He couldn’t even move a finger now, let alone run like he had been!

“Eighty of you…”

Mo Fan on the other hand, did not release the Lighting Strike completely, because Zhuang Lifeng might pass out straight away. With a smile, Mo Fan ignored the paralyzed Zhuang Lifeng as he only considered Zhuang Lifeng’s failure another minor event on the road to his eventual victory.

Zhuang Lifeng was down on the ground, his face very pale. He looked at Mo Fan, who was standing right in front of him.

Intermediate level Mage... No wonder he dared to provoke everyone!

When Zhuang Lifeng failed, the people sitting out in the seats were all startled.

It was already surprising enough that Zhuang Lifeng had displayed another Element of magic. After all, that meant that there was yet another Intermediate level Mage among the new students.

However, before anyone could recover from the shock given them by Zhuang Lifeng, that arrogant Summoner pummeled even more surprises into everyone with a surprise Lighting Strike!

He… he was also an Intermediate level mage!

Damn, we know that the Ming Zhu University had a lot of strong students, but there shouldn’t be that many Intermediate level Mages!

The new students were basically not even twenty years old, and those that advanced into Intermediate level Mage before twenty years old were all monsters! Now, including Luo Song, there were already three of them!

Perhaps the latter two did not acquire any difficult Intermediate magicks, but with that monstrous talent of theirs, it is only a matter of time before they managed to do so!

—

“He… he is also a Lightning Mage?” asked a girl with a ponytail, looking at Xu Shaoting with surprise all over her face.

Xu Shaoting only smiled speechlessly at her question and did not say anything at all.

Back then, after the battle at the Mu Family, Xu Shaoting had immediately stopped acting proudly in front of Mo Fan after witnessing Mo Fan’s power, which far exceeded his own.

“Then, did he acquire any Intermediate Lightning Element magic?” pressed the girl with the ponytail.

“I don’t know!” Xu Shaoting replied with a shake of his head.

“Then he is unstoppable! With an evolved spirit wolf and his expertise in Lightning Strike, no one will be able to beat him!”

“Only by dragging it out will we win, drag out things long enough for his spirit wolf to use up all its energy!”

—–

Time passed slowly, as the challengers came up one after another.

One by one they came, and one by one they fell. After a few tries, more and more ‘bodies’ lay underneath Mo Fan and his spirit wolf’s legs.

In the battle, Mo Fan continued to support his spirit wolf by using Lightning Strike.

The Lighting Strike was very good for crowd control, and this greatly eased the burden on the spirit wolf. Even a strong summoned beast like the wolf would not be able to fight non-stop.

Soon, more than a hundred challengers had fallen!

This was very good news to the students from the Summoner School, as their resources were now secured.

Before they entered the competition, none of them could have dreamed that it would be Mo Fan that stood out and turned the tables. Now, everyone admired Mo Fan for what he had done, except for Wang Liting.

After all, not anyone could be like Mo Fan and overwhelm students from an entire school that easily!

Even after more than a hundred of them fell, the challengers continued to come in.

Who wanted to lose?

Thus, even after knowing that they might not be able to win, they blatantly challenged Mo Fan in hopes of wearing down the spirit wolf.

With this thought in their mind, more and more challengers fell. Soon the number was about to breach a hundred and fifty people.

The achievements of Mo Fan had completely cowed the other students.

“Idiots! A five person team, each and every one is a Primary Mage, and they failed to form a good synchronization with each other! They are just there to feed the wolf!”

“Dean Xiao, it has been already a hundred and fifty students, are we really going to give all the resources to him if he defeats two hundred of them?” asked Zhong Zhenghua, the chairman of the Earth School.

At first, no one took Mo Fan’s words seriously, and they all treated him as a lunatic.

But now, as the number drew closer and closer to the number given out by Mo Fan, they were all tensing up.

If just Luo Song and Zhuang Lifeng were Intermediate level Mages, and the others were only Primary level Mages, then even sending another fifty men would not be able to change the outcome of this match!

When they thought about it again, the spirit wolf was perhaps way too strong. Even when it was still evolving, it shouldn’t have any strength left after so long!

Judging from the injuries on the wolf, it shouldn’t be able to keep up anymore, but the wolf still gave off a terrifying presence, as if it could still fight another hundred challengers!

“Brother, it is your turn now. Our resources will be taken away if we allow these idiots to fool around any longer,” spoke up a young man with a handsome appearance.

“Your thoughts are exactly same as mine. Sigh… I did not want to fight at all. Well, not here at least,” answered a burly young man, as he stood up from his chair with confidence in his eyes.

“This is actually quite interesting. A pawn from nowhere came to Shanghai and caused such a ruckus. Who would have thought someone from the capital would steal the spotlight from us, and then there’s this little fish here... Bai Cangfeng, you were the first among us to finish a Star Atlas, so we will leave the spotlight for you,” said another elegant and graceful man as he toyed with an expensive ring on his finger.

“Of course, here’s my advice to the few of you. Spend more time on your cultivation, or you will only be able to hide here when a situation like this occurs again. You have shamed the four families of the Mo Du,” laughed the burly man called Bai Cangfeng.

“Hmph, there are always people who are lucky enough to enter the Intermediate level at an early age, but what then? There are so many people in this country, and what we do not lack the most is geniuses. They might be a genius right now, but who can guarantee that these geniuses will be as strong in the future!” retorted Shen Shanhe.

“Learn to control your Star Atlas properly. I will end this brat’s streak right away and let the students of Ming Zhu University know that our Bai Family are the kings of the Mo Du!” laughed Bai Cangfeng as he walked down towards the arena.

—

Bai Cangfeng took his time as he entered the arena, since there were over twenty people still in front of him.

Anyhow, as long as there were not more than fifty people, that brat’s spirit wolf would definitely be defeated at the hands of Bai Cangfeng.

“Buddy, which school are you from? We think that…”

With a glance, Bai Cangfeng waved his hands and rejected the student who appeared to be the leader of a five man group by saying, “I don’t plan on fighting together with you. I will be sufficient to deal with a spirit wolf with no stamina left and a half-assed Intermediate level Mage.”

After that, he ignored those guys and proceeded into the entrance of the arena alone.

—

“Damn, finally, someone powerful!”

“Another twenty more to go until two hundred, thank heaven… By the way, this man looks familiar, I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before?” wondered the leader of the group of students.

“He is Bai Cangfeng, from the Bai Family!”

“Yes, our hope has arrived! It’s Bai Cangfeng!”

Immediately, Dean Xiao and the other heads of various schools all landed their eyes on Bai Cangfeng. Among them, a lady from the Holy School smiled and said gently, “And here I thought my nephew would be able to sit back patiently.”

The Bai Family has taken action, this mess should end here now, thought a relieved Zhou Zhenghua.

“The resources given to the new students might not be able to interest the people from huge families like the Bai Family, but they probably couldn’t stand aside when the reputation of Ming Zhu University is being threatened,” said the lady.

—

In the arena, Bai Cangfeng was already standing there alone, totally confident.

He looked just like Luo Song, who had single-handedly decimated the three Summoner students just a little while ago. Both walked into the arena alone and were facing off against Summoned beasts that had long ago proven to be difficult to dealt with calmly.

“You are Mo Fan?” asked Bai Cangfeng as a gentle smile appeared on his face. He focused on Mo Fan and said, “Interesting, I have to say that you are one of the best among the new students at the school. However, you and I both know that once we made it to this level, Primary level mages are nothing more than just puny insects… The so-called two hundred people here are just fools that came in groups of five, there’s nothing to be proud of if all you did was just bully them.”

Mo Fan on the other hand, was also staring at this guy who was about to fight him by himself. Judging from this person’s presence, Mo Fan knew that this new opponent possessed strength far superior to Zhuang Lifeng.

“You are quite smart, actually, to be able to exploit the advantages of the Intermediate level to obtain more resources. Perhaps it was fine for you if you had only offended those without a strong background, but don’t you think that you forgot about the others with a huge background among the new students? Damn you!”

Bai Cangfeng put up an angered expression and in just an instant, tore his gentle image apart as he cursed at Mo Fan.

However, he stopped cursing almost instantly as he saw that Mo Fan had already started forming a violet Star Atlas while he was talking. If it wasn’t for his senses detecting that a huge amount of Lightning energy had started accumulating around him, Bai Cangfeng might not even have realized the Star Atlas was forming, because this sneaky bastard had used the body of the spirit wolf to block his line of sight!

“Just shut up, will you?” scolded Mo Fan.

“!!!!” Bai Cangfeng was rendered speechless.

The Star Atlas had completely formed under Mo Fan’s feet, the Star Paths started transmitting violet energy, and each time the energy passed from one Star Path to another, the power of the Lightning Star Atlas would increase little by little.

When the time had come, Mo Fan pointed his index finger towards the blue skies above!

Without any fancy moves or signs, the Intermediate level Lightning Elemental magic formed out of nowhere. It gave off a murderous feeling of wanting to kill, without any other nonsense. As Mo Fan pointed his finger upwards, thunderclouds formed on top of Bai Cangfeng out of nowhere!

It did not take long before the lightning started going on a rampage everywhere around the arena!

Hong~~~!!!!

Ear-piercing thunderclaps shrieked across the arena, and caused some of the students to cover their ears in fear.

In front of Mo Fan’s eyes, the violet lightning struck down from the skies, and the bolt flew straight towards Bai Cangfeng like an slithering dragon charging towards its prey.

With a destructive boom, the lightning landed right on Bai Cangfeng! Before the lightning even landed, the ground around Bai Cangfeng was already being torn apart by the massive amount of electricity!

The energy was so strong that even Teacher Gu Han, who was standing there safeguarding the students, frowned and showed a slightly nervous expression.

To be honest, even he did not manage to react in time, and now he was unsure if he could even help Bai Cangfeng withstand this lightning magic unleashed by Mo Fan...

BOOM!

The floor of the arena stage shattered under the horrifying thunderstrike! Although the Thunderbolt was swift and strong, it was not as fancy as a Lightning Strike. But at the same time, it possessed the strongest destructive power of all the Intermediate spells! If Bai Cangfeng didn’t have any defensive magic equipment, he would be crushed for sure!!

In the nick of time, a golden ray appeared from nowhere, shrouding Bai Cangfeng entirely as it turned into a golden barrier.

Bai Cangfeng, who had finally pulled himself out of his state of shock, quickly summoned his own defensive magic equipment. However, it was obvious that Teacher Gu Han’s defensive magic had gotten into place ahead of his gear.

Right after that, Bai Cangfeng was slammed right to the ground by the impact of the Thunderbolt. Thanks to his magic gear and Teacher Gu Han’s magic nullifying some of the destructive force of the Thunderbolt, he only suffered some minor injuries. However, Bai Cangfeng was still trembling at the close call!!

“Bastard! I will kill you!!” Bai Cangfeng stood up angrily, and fire rose within his eyes.

How could this guy attack first before the teacher even give the signal?

And he even dumped an Intermediate Lightning spell without saying a word! Bai Cangfeng had been thinking about how his opponent would deal with him, perhaps he would cast an Intermediate spell just like him, but he had never expected the outcome would be like this!

“You’re out!” Gu Han said without hesitation to Bai Cangfeng, as he exhaled a long and relieved breath of air.

“What? Why? I still have my magic armor equipment, I didn’t even need your help! This is your own miscalculation!” replied the frustrated Bai Cangfeng.

To Bai Cangfeng’s dismay, Gu Han answered coldly, “If it wasn’t because of me just now, you might have been killed straight away! At the least, you had not prepared yourself to use your magic equipment at the time he completed his Intermediate spell!”

“Nonsense! With my reaction speed-” shouted Bai Cangfeng angrily.

Did he just get disqualified before he could even do anything?

Yes, he did! Since the start, he had not thought that his opponent would throw out an Intermediate level Lightning spell, catching him off guard. However, that did not mean that he couldn’t use his magic equipment in time!

“How rude! Get lost from my sight!” Gu Han, however, did not go easy on Bai Cangfeng. He simply waved his hand and formed a Wind Element Star Atlas on the ground.

A wild wind rose, Gu Han’s clothes waving with it.

In just an instant, the air within the arena seemed to have been sucked away entirely. Teacher Gu Han was standing in the center of the storm’s eye, looking just like a demon rising from the vortex, standing there high and mighty…

Shocked, Bai Cangfeng stared at Teacher Gu Han with an empty mind. Finally, he gave both Mo Fan and Gu Han cold glares before getting down from the arena angrily.

He was extremely frustrated and stressed out that he was eliminated before he could do anything.

And that was not the thing that bothered him the most. He felt that his magic equipment could have helped him withstand Mo Fan’s attack, but that busybody teacher acted quicker than he had!

If a teacher interfered for someone during the battle, that particular person was disqualified, so how was Bai Cangfeng supposed to remain calm?

—

“Teacher Gu Han is so strong!”

“What a short tempered teacher... Come to think about it again, that Thunderbolt just now-!”

“An Intermediate level Lightning magic! What the hell! I am a main in the Lightning element and I have yet to enter the Intermediate level! Now, a Summoner main out of nowhere can already unleash an Intermediate level Lightning magic!? What on Earth!?”

Upon seeing Mo Fan’s Intermediate level Lightning magic, an uproar immediately occurred among the students of the Lightning School.

The appearance of a Thunderbolt was just like lightning striking down around the students on a sunny day. They just couldn’t accept it even now!

Another Intermediate level Mage, and he was a mage that could already cast Intermediate level magic!!!

This guy was just like Luo Song!

Luo Song was a mage from the Ice Element. The magic of the Ice chain was already bad enough, but as the strongest Element among the classical Elements, the Lightning Element seemed to be much stronger.

Just like Bai Cangfeng, who did not expect the sudden attack launched by Mo Fan, the other students also did not foresee it. That attack of Mo Fan was just like lightning striking down out of nowhere!

And it was only now that everyone knew why this Summoner mage dared to provoke every new student present today. He was not just a mage that had an evolved Summoned beast, but also a crazily strong Intermediate Lightning mage!

“The combat power of Mo Fan… an Intermediate level Lightning mage… Perhaps Bai Cangfeng would still be no match for Mo Fan even if he wasn’t disqualified… An Intermediate level Lightning mage is just way too strong against those of the same level!” Hai Dafu’s mouth had not closed once after Mo Fan unleashed his destructive Lightning magic.

The other Summoner students basically wanted to kneel down before Mo Fan and worship him ever since the Thunderbolt made its appearance in his hands. Among the students, Wang Liting had the richest facial expression!

Upon looking at the scene where the young man stood tall and mighty on the arena, and not even a person dared to challenge him again, no one could not admire the young man, even if they did not like him!

“There are a few that are still going to look for their own deaths now.”

“But there’s nothing they can do, Mo Fan will win straight if no one challenges him anymore.”

“Only a few more to go now, he has defeated 189 challengers now.”…

“Another two groups of challengers, sigh…I wonder why they stepped out now. One of them may be just like Zhuang Lifeng, who Awakened another Element, but being unable to cast any Intermediate level magic means that he is no match for Mo Fan…”

“Oh shit! Seems like we are going to acquire the resources of every School for ourselves!!” shouted Hai Dafu happily as he suddenly realized that point.

“Bro, we would probably only get what belongs to us, those resources will belong only to Mo Fan.”

Jiang Yunming nodded slightly as he agreed that Mo Fan had no reason to share the acquired resources with them.

——

“199!” declared Dean Xiao loudly to the new students, telling them that they had only one last chance.

“Let me clarify this, if you have yet to enter the Intermediate level, or if you have, but are unable to cast any Intermediate level magic, I suggest you stand down and step aside. It is good that you have the courage and bravery to fight, but you will be making a fool out of yourself if you charge at the rock with an egg!” said Zhou Zhenghua, who couldn’t watch anymore.

And as soon as he said this, the entire stadium turned quiet.

—

Luo Song clenched his fists. He regretted that he had entered the arena way too early, or he might have been able to take Mo Fan down with him after giving all he had. Now, the resources for all the new students would be given to Mo Fan. This was a treatment not even the children of the rich families out there could receive!

And if Mo Fan really received so many resources for himself, then he, Luo Song, would be outrun by Mo Fan by a huge gap!

Damn, were there no more Intermediate level mages??

Impossible, there must be more than just us, they just don’t want to get involved since the resources are barely anything to those who are at the Intermediate level…

But the thing is, will they be able to stop themselves from being provoked??

An Intermediate Lightning mage might not be easy deal with, but this brat obviously has no magic gear on him, so what is there to be afraid of?

—

“Someone is up for the challenge!”

Suddenly, a voice was heard shouting from one of the seats among the spectators. The silent arena turned lively again as everyone’s eyes landed on the new challenger.

What appeared within their vision, however, was a an extremely beautiful and curvaceous young woman. What made her stand out the most was not her courage to step up at this crucial moment, but her calm!

In no time, someone quickly recognized her and called out her name.

“Mu Nujiao!”

“It’s her?” Shan Shenhe blurted out in surprise as he looked towards the woman heading for the entrance.

On the other side, Bai Cangfeng was also stunned.

Everyone among the rich and noble families knew who this lady was, but at the same time, none of them saw this coming. They simply did not think that this lady would get involved in this matter.

Noises filled up the entire arena as everyone talked and asked one another questions, as they had not expected that the final challenger would be such a pretty lady.

Almost everyone knew about this lady but that was because her beauty had caused an uproar among the male students during the school opening ceremony. She was quickly acknowledged as one of the goddesses among the new female students.

She became so famous so quickly that even someone like Mo Fan who paid little to no attention to gossips knew about this lady through his roommates, as they constantly talked about her.

As the lady entered the arena, Mo Fan took a closer look at her.

He then realized that everything he once heard about her was completely insufficient to describe her true beauty; each and every single rumor he had heard was unable to describe her beauty. She was so elegant and graceful that she felt distant from any mortal’s reach, which made her lethally attractive.

The girls in the larger cities are indeed better! I am sure that someone will be willing to pay any cost in order to get married to a lady like this!

“Awooooooooo~~~~!!” Obviously, the spirit wolf was not someone who would enjoy the beauty of this lady; its eyes were glowing green as they stared at her with deeply condensed wariness and hostility.

Clearly, it also felt that this lady was not someone average like the puny pawns before her!

“So, you are Mu Nujiao?” asked Mo Fan, his tone filled with interest as he looked at her.

The lady nodded slightly to Mo Fan’s question and showed no other emotion but eagerness to fight.

Right now, Mo Fan felt that this lady was indeed beautiful, but what he saw in her eyes was something as sharp as the tip of a knife, a true eagerness to fight. All of this suggested that this lady called a goddess by the others was not someone approachable.

“How about we make a deal?” Mo Fan asked as he tried to keep his distance from Mu Nujiao, to prevent her from catching him off guard while they were talking, even though he believed that this lady would not do things like that.

“Hmm?” Confusion quickly arose in the Mu Nujiao’s eyes.

What else could be talked about at this point? Originally, Mu Nujiao would not have gotten involved in this competition, but since this competition had progressed to this point, she could no longer stand aside and sit back while the resources of her school were being raided by someone else.

“You are the last person I have to challenge. As long as I defeat you, I will be able to obtain a huge sum of resources. I can feel that you are actually kinda strong… How about this? Even if you won, you only secured a pitiful portion of resources for your school and if I win… I will be able to obtain all of the resources!” said Mo Fan as his eyes shone brightly with hope.

On the other hand, Mu Nujiao, who was also a very intelligent person, immediately realized Mo Fan’s intentions; she felt funny upon realizing Mo Fan’s motive and remained calm as she asked, “So what?”

“You should know by now. How about I take seventy percent and you take thirty? How’s that?” replied Mo Fan, as if he was a cunning fox that had been dwelling in the field of business for many years.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of those who heard Mo Fan’s suggestion, which included Dean Xiao, the heads of the various schools, and Teacher Gu Han were all extremely rich...

Can you have more dignity and pride for yourself?!

Where was the Mo Fan that had fought against so many people with no fear, where was the Mo Fan that said out loud proudly that he wanted to rob everyone of their resources???

How can someone so ruthless like that turn into a sly and cunning merchant in just the blink of an eye!

“…” Mu Nujiao stood there as she felt angry and amused at the same time; never had she come across someone like Mo Fan who was so shameless, it was as if his pride was eaten by stray dogs!

“So you are planning to give away thirty percent of what is supposed to be yours after such a long and tough battle, just like that?” Mu Nujiao asked, as she stared at Mo Fan.

“Take it as a token of friendship. You are such a beautiful lady and as a man that admires and appreciates all pretty and good things in this world, I wouldn’t mind giving away a little portion of my gains,” replied Mo Fan firmly.

“Then… what if I want seventy percent?” Mu Nujiao asked.

Mo Fan’s mouth twitched upon her proposal.

Damn, why is this damn woman so greedy? I tried to be good to her by not trying to fight with her, and she is actually asking for more now? How dare she asked for even more now? Is she trying to force me to fight her!?

“Stop wasting your time and saliva. Let us begin!” All the while, all Mu Nujiao wanted was a fight!

To be honest, the level of fighting in this competition was originally more than just boring to mages on the Intermediate level like her, which naturally turned them off. Now however, with Mo Fan who wiped out the entire Primary level new students, he successfully garnered the attention and interest of Mu Nujiao!

And those who knew Mu Nujiao well enough had always described her as a person who looked like an angel, but deep within her was a hunger and thirst for battle!

“Shit! Damn woman!” cursed Mo Fan quietly as he felt the surging battle intent and the relentless elemental typhoon rising around Mu Nujiao.

If it wasn’t because her strength was even stronger than his, Mo Fan would not even have bothered trying to negotiate with her!

What’s so great about having a higher cultivation level!?

If you want to fight, then I will fight and burn you to a crisp!

“Hu hu hu hu hu hu~~~~~~~~~~~~~”

The air within the arena was vacuumed away and wild winds started blowing.

With Mu Nujiao as the center of a jade green Wind Star Atlas, the raging airflow went on a rampage around the arena, sucking everything around the field up with it as it passed through everything!

From just a tiny whirlwind, it turned into a huge whirlwind as tall as the stadium with a diameter of two meters!!

“Wind Disc Tornado!” whispered Mu Nujiao softly, yet seriously.

Wind was supposed to be invisible, but after the tornado dragged up the sand, dust, and debris on the ground, it slowly formed a marvelous and gigantic body.

The tornado twisted, spun around the arena and created an airflow flowing so fast that whenever the wind blew pass the people, they felt that the wind was cutting them!. As seconds passed, the tornado became stronger and stronger, and it became difficult to stand properly without being blown away and end up being torn apart by the tornado!!

“Shit! Fifty! I can only give you at most fifty percent!” Mo Fan’s voice could be heard coming faintly from the center of the storm, but gradually, his voice faded away.

In Mu Nujiao’s eyes, Mo Fan saw only sheer will and determination as she continued to control the Wind Disc Tornado, which charged towards Mo Fan and his spirit wolf unstoppably.

The dust flew all over the place as the storm continued to wail around the arena, blurring everyone’s vision. Mu Nujiao seemed to become the one in control of everything within the arena.

The tornado might have only a diameter of two meters, but if an average person stood within ten meters of the tornado, the person would be dragged into it. Within five meters, perhaps a car would be dragged away easily as well.

Mo Fan was incredibly unhappy.

He had known that Mu Nujiao was a very strong opponent from the moment he first saw her.

As he had expected,he had only formed two out of three parts of his Lightning Star Atlas, and this woman has already completed casting her Intermediate Wind magic...

If his casting speed was slower than his opponent, the one who would die in a battle would be him if he insisted on trying to cast his spell. Thus, Mo Fan was driven into a situation where he had to give up forming his Star Atlas, and instead whistled towards his spirit wolf.

The smart spirit wolf immediately understood Mo Fan’s intentions and rushed towards Mo Fan at lightning speed.

As soon as the wolf ran past Mo Fan, he quickly grabbed onto its long fur before pulling himself onto its back agilely.

“Run, run towards the center, far away from the tornado!” shouted Mo Fan towards his summoned beast.

Without slowing down, the wolf ran as ordered by Mo Fan while a dust storm approached them quickly from behind. If the spirit wolf ran a little bit slower, both the wolf and Mo Fan would be within ten meters of the tornado and their speed would decrease drastically as it drew them in.

With Mo Fan on its back, the spirit wolf continued running away. Fortunately for them, the arena was huge enough for them and they could only hope that they would be able to shake away the rampaging wind beast!

Damn!, shouted Mo Fan in his heart as they finally arrived at the end of the arena after dashing away from the tornado.

When he turned around and looked at the tornado that was still approaching them without any signs of stopping, he wanted to negotiate with Mu Nujiao again by giving her seventy percent of the resources, but she would not be able to hear it anymore due to the howling wind.

“Wuuuu~~~~” The spirit wolf howled softly towards Mo Fan, signaling him to hide at the corner of the barrier.

Fast enough that Mo Fan couldn’t react in time, the wolf had already turned around and stared at the approaching tornado with its green eyes.

“Hou!!!!”

“Hou!!!!!”

“Hou!!!!!!”

The wolf raised its head and shot out three flying Wind Sand breaths towards the tornado!

Its flying wind sand breath was a move that utilized the power of Wind, and the wolf wanted to use its own Wind magic to neutralize the Wind Disc Tornado.

However, the spirit wolf’s magic was not strong enough to withstand an Intermediate level Wind magic. It was just like a kindergartener trying to shove an adult away, which would do barely anything towards the adult.

“Ah wooo!!!” Upon realizing that what it had done was in vain, the spirit wolf let out a long howl.

And before Mo Fan could give the wolf any other orders, the wolf had already charged straight towards the tornado, attempting to withstand the vortex with its own body.

‘Spirit wolf!” murmured the stunned Mo Fan. Is the wolf trying to use its body to fight against the Wind Disc Tornado??

Mo Fan clearly remembered that day where the berserk One-Eyed Wolf that was on the same level with a Spirit Wolf failed to take on an Intermediate-level magic and now, even if spirit wolf survived, it would also have its bones all shattered into pieces after ramming into the tornado!

Within the dust storm, the spirit wolf could not be seen clearly anymore, all that was left was just a black figure representing the wolf moving faster and faster.

In the end, Mo Fan clearly saw the figure of his wolf being hurled towards the center of the tornado…

His spirit wolf obviously was sent into the air after it collided with the tornado!

Fortunately, what the wolf did was not in vain, as the tornado finally stopped moving forward and the power of the wind also decreased after it rammed into it.

At the back of the storm, it was barely a second before Mu Nujiao noticed the spirit wolf that was struggling in the air.

Right after the entire tornado dispersed, the Summoned beast fell towards the ground from thirty meters up in the air...

The spirit wolf had already lost its balance, it might land head-first, which could be instantly lethal!

“Up!”

Mu Nujiao raised her hands, formed a gust of wind that buoyed the spirit wolf slightly, slowing down the wolf’s plummet and saving it from death.

However, when the wolf landed on the ground, it still suffered a heavy injury which completely immobilized it.

The Wind Disc Tornado appeared in an instant, and disappeared in split-seconds as well.

At the far end of the barrier, Mo Fan let out a relieved breath as soon as he saw the spirit wolf was saved from death.

“Thank you for your mercy, but I will not surrender without a fight!” shouted Mo Fan as he stared at Mu Nujiao who was far away with a sharp gaze.

Ever since the beginning, Mo Fan has deemed this lady to be a very dangerous opponent, and he was right.

The spirit wolf has risked itself, squeezed out its remaining strength to neutralize the attack of its owner’s opponent. Mo Fan felt that he must not let down his loyal summoned beast!

“Show me your true strength!” said Mu Nujiao.

Mo Fan quickly returned his summoned beast back into the dimensional space so it could rest and get healed up. After all, the wolf has been fighting for him for a very long time, and this woman had to be dealt with by himself personally.

At the same time, without any delay or hesitation, Mu Nujiao started forming another Star Atlas, clearly visible from the countless Star Paths appearing around her.

“Not on my watch!” shouted Mo Fan, who obviously did not want his opponent to have the chance to cast her spell.

He raised his hand, and a violet Star Path was formed in an instant.

Violet lightning started forming on top of Mo Fan’s head; with a grasp and a hurl, the violet lightning shot straight across the arena and flew straight towards Mu Nujiao who was halfway forming her Star Atlas!

Upon seeing the incoming lightning, Mu Nujiao inevitably had to avoid the attack and as a result, the spell she was channelling was disrupted.

Mu Nujiao had not seen that coming; she thought he would fight her with his own Intermediate magic. Instead her opponent canceled her spell channelling by using a basic level spell, which surprisingly proved to be quite efficient!

The Star Paths quickly formed a Lightning Star Atlas, pumping energy into his surroundings and infusing the energy right into Mo Fan.

With the energy surging within him, his hair standing up, lightning sparked around his body. With a shout, Mo Fan pointed his finger towards the skies, manipulating the raging lightning into coming down from the skies and turning them into a horrifying Thunderbolt!

An Intermediate-tier Lightning magic was formed, and thunderclouds appeared on the top of Mu Nujiao!

“Hua!!!!”

With a ear-piercing noise shrieking around the arena, the thundercloud gained the attention of everyone.

Violet lightning came rushing down from the clouds, tearing the area apart with relentless power, and struck towards Mu Nujiao mercilessly!

Unlike the Wind Disc Tornado, which first pumped out all the air around it to form a tornado before going on a rampage, the Thunderbolt was more straightforward. It just absorbed enough energy before it rained down from the skies.

Thus, the Thunderbolt might not be able to sweep across the surroundings like the Wind Disc Tornado could, but once the Thunderbolt struck someone precisely, there would be a very high chance that the person would die on the spot under it horrendous power!

The Thunderbolt was so strong that it could destroy anything in a blink of an eye without leaving any traces behind, which was also why Teacher Gu Han had acted at once even when Bai Cang Feng had his magic equipment. In truth, the Intermediate-level Lightning: Thunderbolt was too ruthless. Even with his magic equipment, Bai Cang Feng would still probably have been crushed in an instant. Thus, even when Bai Cang Feng was confident that he could repel Mo Fan’s attack, Teacher Gu Han felt that there was no reason for him to risk being derelict in his duty.

And now, Mu Nujiao was faced with the same thing experienced by Bai Cang Feng!

As the Thunderbolt struck, one would suffer extreme injuries, if not death, if he or she failed to evade the devastating attack. It was also insufficient to possess defensive magic equipment, as the Thunderbolt might just shatter the magic equipment along with its owner!

But this time, Gu Han stood aside calmly.

He had already seen Mu Nujiao’s defensive measures. Besides, in his perception, Mu Nujiao was entirely out of that idiot Bai Cang Feng’s league!

“Wind Trail-Drifting Shadow!” Mu Nujiao, who was still moving slowly, suddenly shifted rapidly as soon as the thunderous storm shrouded the air above her.

In the midst of the raging lightning, her curvaceous body could be seen moving agilely on the pre-set Wind Trails, her clothes dancing around her from her rapid movement.

The raging lightning went on a rampage on the arena, drilling out a huge hole in the ground with relentless power. But Mu Nujiao had already traveled ten meters away from the spot!

If the Lightning Star Atlas was completed before the Star Trail was released, the Thunderbolt would definitely be an attack that could not be evaded. Too bad for Mo Fan, Mu Nujiao has already prepared herself for this attack, praised Gu Han in his heart as he nodded his appreciation.

Ruthless and swift, that was the ../style of Intermediate Lightning magic!

And judging from what Mu Nujiao had pulled off, she obviously had a certain amount of understanding of the Intermediate Lightning magic, and so had set up her Wind Trails long ago.

With that, all she had to do was wait until Mo Fan completed his spell and quickly shift her position away from his attack as soon as the thundercloud took shape.

If she had moved slightly earlier, he would have been able to lock on to her again, and if she was too slow, the speed of her wind would be no match for the lightning. Hence, she chose a very precise moment and made use of her Primary magic to evade Mo Fan’s Intermediate Thunderbolt!

What an incredible woman! She actually dodged the Thunderbolt!, thought the now-shocked Mo Fan.

He had finally met a strong mage and unlike those students who knew nothing more than just studying the moves and applying their knowledge without creativity and flexibility, Mu Nujiao had obviously been showered with countless battles. Those battles granted her quite a bit of knowledge on the Intermediate tier spells!

After all, being able to grasp the timing and location of the final moment of the Thunderbolt was not something just anyone could do…

“Seems like you are going to lose!”

Using the Wind Trails she had precast, Mu Nujiao now stood at a place Mo Fan’s attacks could not reach.

This time, she would not give Mo Fan even the slightest chance to cast another Thunderbolt!

“Really? If you use the Wind Disc, Tornado again, I will have already evaded it long before it reaches me,” said Mo Fan as he looked at her.

The Wind Disc, Tornado could cover a very huge area, but its speed was relatively slow. Hence, during the time it traveled from one end to the other of the arena, Mo Fan would have enough time to take measures against the tornado.

“Have I ever said that I was going to use any Wind Element magic?” replied Mu Nujiao as a bright and sweet smile blossomed on her face.

The smile was so beautiful, but Mo Fan only felt immense danger coming from it!

“Forest of Kun-Gaol!”

Green Star Trails that resembled twisted vines appeared under the feet of Mu Nujiao. They quickly formed into a symbol that resembled nature, surging with condensed life force!!

She called out the name of her spell as if she was reading out a long forgotten spell while controlling the spirits of nature that danced around the nature totem.

With a finger flick, she turned the enormous lifeforce into an unattractive seed shrouded in green light.

The seed dropped to the ground not far away from Mo Fan. In just an instant, everything changed when the seed burrowed into the floor.

Something was emerging from the floor and before Mo Fan could react, countless strange looking trees, vines, and roots came charging out from the floor…

They pushed aside the arena floor around them, and what was even more terrifying was that they all matured at a visible speed!

Some twined together before spawning even more seeds that quickly ripped open into even more branches and vines, while others continued spreading across their surroundings before forming an area filled with only plants!

A few seconds ago, this area was filled with sand, rocks, and other debris. But now the area had been invaded by plants giving off a presence like a massive monster invading a place in search of something!!

Clearly, these plants possessed the ability to detect life force. They sensed Mo Fan and circled around him as they grew with unbridled speed. As Mo Fan withdrew, these plants did not stop him, but instead grew quickly into a thick vine forest that slowly cut off his path of retreat!

The many plants started growing faster and higher, to the extent no one was able to see through the mass of them.

They were just like a prison entirely made of weird-looking trees, vines, and branches. There were so many plants that they sealed off any possible exit for anyone trapped inside!

This was a prison that rose from the ground, which also had the entire top of Mo Fan covered tightly!

It appeared just out of nowhere and greatly amazed the other students.

Previously, just like the Wind Disc, Tornado had already changed everyone’s view on Mu Nu Jiao, with this prison of plants, she surprised everyone once again to a point where they couldn’t believe that this was the work of a new student!

Even the older students might not be a match for her!

After all, the majority of them had yet to enter the Intermediate level, not to mention she had cultivated both Elements at the Intermediate level to the point where she could fully unleash their power!

Now, a proper Summoned Beast competition had turned into a battle between two Intermediate Mages.

This caused some of the proud students out there to wonder if they were walking on the right path or not…

Just like them, both Mu Nu Jiao and Mo Fan were also new students, but how were they able to cast those Intermediate tier spells that were so far out of reach?!

It was fine if you knew only one Intermediate tier magic, but how come your second Element is also at the Intermediate level?!?

What is the point for us to keep on living anymore?!?

“This Mu Nujiao is ssooo strong!” exclaimed the girl with the ponytail in awe. She asked again, “Mo Fan is going to lose, right? The Forest of Kun’s Gaol is practically impossible to escape from!”

“That’s not what I think,” disagreed Xu Zhao Ting, shaking his head.

“Perhaps your friend still has some trick up in his sleeves? Is that possible?” asked the girl again.

However, Xu ZHao Ting did not answer her question and merely stared closely at the jungle that grew around Mo Fan like a prison.

—

“So… marvelous!!”

“Yeah, this goddess is about to defeat this evil demon! We almost lost all our resources because of him! From now on, she will be my one and only goddess!!”

Upon seeing this, all the new students immediately felt immense gratitude and admiration for Mu Nujiao. If not for her, their resources would have been stolen by Mo Fan!

A lady who was extremely beautiful yet incapable of anything would only bring disaster, but a lady who was both pretty and very capable at the same time would be taken as a kind, powerful, and strong goddess that would rescue her people from crisis!!

When everything calmed down after the prison made of plant life fully emerged, Mu Nujiao clamped her fist and walked slowly towards the prison.

She too, firmly believed that Mo Fan would not be able to turn the situation around.

Mo Fan has already depleted all his Summoner abilities, and if he had an even stronger Summoned beast, he would have brought it out long ago.

At this time, not even his Lightning magic would be able to help him escape from the imprisonment of the Forest of Kun. He had lost the fight!

In just a moment of time, Mu Nujiao drew close to the border of the Forest of Kun.

The Forest of Kun possessed no offensive capabilities, so Mu Nujiao would have to get close enough to ask Mo Fan to surrender.

If Mo Fan was stubborn, she would not mind giving him a tornado and letting him have a taste of the excitement of jumping down from a tall building without any safety measures!

Through the tiny gaps in the plants, she started searching for the trapped Mo Fan.

To her dismay, just when she was about to say something, she shockingly discovered that there was no sign of Mo Fan at all!

“How…?” Shock immediately replaced Mu Nujiao’s confidence.

Be it any type of position-shifting skills, no one would be easily escape from the imprisonment of the Forest of Kun. These plants tracked the target person by sensing the person’s life force as they grew…

Thus, even if it was Wind Trail, Earth Burrow, or other magic equipment, no one would be able to escape easily!

This was also why Mu Nujiao was confident that Mo Fan could not escape, which led her to walk up to where she was now standing confidently. She had not expected that Mo Fan could not be found within the Gaol made up countless plants.

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!!

“You lost,” said a voice with a very serious tone from the forest on the other side of her.

Extremely shocked, Mu Nujiao turned slowly around to look that way, only to find Mo Fan walking out from the shadows of the plants…

He did not walk out from the forest, but from the shadows of the plants. Even with her incredibly strong senses, Mo Fan had still managed to walk up on her unscathed by moving within the shadows!

In truth, no one would be able to escape from the imprisonment of the Forest of Kun… except when it came to Shadow Element magic!

With all the tall trees, thick vines, and large amount of leaves, shadows were everywhere around the Forest of Kun. This provided a huge area for Shadow Element mages to roam around freely. Be it the plentiful vines or branches, none of them would be able to trap a shadow that could move around freely in their shadows!

“Shadow Element… How is it possible that you possess magicks of the Shadow Element?!” exclaimed Mu Nujiao, nearly falling down as she stared at him in disbelief.

Right now, she dared not move at all, not to mention casting any more spells. Mo Fan was dangerously close to her, and he even had a slithering lightning serpent in his hand!

At this range, there would be no time for her to react, or even use any magic equipment!

“That has nothing to do with you. Anyhow, you have already lost this battle,” stated Mo Fan, as the lightning serpent in his hand grew more and more ferocious, and seemed like it would strike anytime.

Anger rose in Mu Nujiao’s eyes.

Shadow Element!!

Is he trying to defy everything I know about magic??

This man clearly displayed both Summoning and Lightning Element magic!

So why is there a third Element’s power!?

Is he an Advanced Mage??

Impossible, definitely impossible, no one could reach the Advanced level at such a young age, not even those from the Magic Court!

With no options left, Mu Nujiao stood there as she bit her lips.

Before she gave up, she briefly thought of continuing to fight this guy with her magic equipment, but in the end discarded the foolish idea.

“I’ve lost!”

As soon as she said this, the entire arena went quiet.

After a few moments, the entire arena exploded in chaos!

She lost, Mu Nujiao actually lost!

Her losing signified that Mo Fan alone would be sitting on all the public resources that were supposed to be distributed to the new students!

Oh Heaven! Their last hope, their goddess, had also lost to this demon king!

“How… Just how?”

“He must have cheated!”

“Just kill us! We went through so much just to get into this institution for the extra resources, but now, everything is gone, all gone!”

As a result of being unable to accept that what was done was done, cries could be heard all over the arena.

And when Mu Nujiao heard the cries, her cheeks were burning hot.

She had never seen her defeat coming, and she blamed herself for being so careless.

Mu Nu Jiao clearly knew that not everyone among the five thousand plus new students were the same as her, being able to completely ignore the resources provided by the institution. In truth, there was a girl in the same hostel with her who was relying on those resources to break through the barrier and enter the Intermediate mage level.

If she was purely looking for a fight, she would’ve been in the same position as Mo Fan, challenging the entire school. But she had stood up because she did not want the resources distributed to the students that came from average families to be raided by Mo Fan alone!

A nightmare fell upon the new students from the other Schools.

They had no time to pay attention to how Mo Fan had escaped from the Forest of Kun’s imprisonment…

“Dean Xiao, what… what do we do now?!” asked the other deans. “Can’t you see that chaos has overwhelmed the crowd?”

Although they had not figured out exactly how Mo Fan escaped, what had happened right before them was something that had not occured in the past ten years. It was obvious that this scene was going to be even more difficult to handle! “Why don’t we convince Mo Fan to give up? This is getting out of hand…” said Zhong Zhenghua.

Previously, they did not think that this would be possible, so they listened to Dean Xiao obediently. Who would have thought that rather than just being a competent Summoner mage, Mo Fan was also a mage that was able to manipulate Intermediate-tier Lightning Element magic…

Apart from that, this guy must have hidden a portion of his true strength away, or his winning streak would have been terminated by Mu Nujiao, as she was basically invincible among the new students!

“Rules are rules! They are not to be broken!” replied Dean Xiao with a cold humph as he rejected Zhou Zhenghua’s suggestion.

With a frown, Dean Xiao looked at the messy situation and let out a loud shout.

His shout echoed throughout the arena and forced everyone to shut up!

“Enough, this marks the end of the competition! The resources for this current batch of newcomers will be placed under the Summoning Element!” announced Dean Xiao with no hesitation.

“Dean Xiao!…”

Without giving any chances for the others to speak, Dean Xiao said coldly, “In truth, the resources given to you this semester are more than enough for all of you. Right now, what all of you couldn’t accept is not that your resources are gone, you just couldn’t accept that the resources are being given to one person!

“Why didn’t a single one of you jump out and repute the suggestion about the resources of the Summoning Element being distributed to the others if they defeated less than a hundred students? Was it because of the mere seven students of the Summoning Element? Was it because they couldn’t protest like uncivilized barbarians like all of you are because of their small numbers?

“Have you all forgotten what I said during the opening ceremony? Have you all forgotten how the rules of how our school cultivate mages?? This has never happened throughout the years, and this has proved that we have always been the same for so long without any changes, especially among the new students! Today, I am more than happy that someone finally broke this previously unchanged situation! He might not be able to change the world yet, but this is a good start!”

Dean Xiao’s angry and disappointed words struck everyone like raging thunder!

Upon hearing his words, those older students who were cultivating in the Pearl Institution all lowered their heads and dared not mutter any more words, let alone the newcomers!

If they had disagreed with this before everything started, Dean Xiao would have disregarded the idea of letting Mo Fan getting all the resources right now.

Why did they wait until Mo Fan triumphed against all odds and only started to protest after all of their own profits were taken away by someone else?

If the Pearl Institution only took in students like those guys, then Dean Xiao would be even more willing to donate these resources to those with greater ambitions and willpower who had failed to enter the association, in order to fully utilize them! At least, those mages out there now knew that the resources were hard to get!

At this time, a man with determination and pride stood up and questioned Dean Xiao loudly. “Dean Xiao, what you said is right, but have you ever considered… people like us who come from a poor family? We greatly depend on the resources given by the school to cultivate! We have to compete with those rich students that possess a greater amount of resources, and they only paid a tiny bit of effort for the resources they have! Each and every portion of resources means a lot to poor students like me!”

Facing this question, Dean Xiao took down his glasses and glanced at this young man in the audience.

Dean Xiao was not irritated at all as he answered, “Because this is a school, you had the chance to ask a foolish question like this. You think Mo Fan was born with a golden spoon in his mouth, you think he came from a rich and noble family, which is why he reached the Intermediate level much earlier than you all, correct?”

“Yes!” replied the young student.

“Fine! I did not want to bring this up, but since you have questioned me about this on behalf on the many mages that come from average families, then I will tell you… this student that plundered all of your resources came from Bo City!” replied Dean Xiao angrily.

Bo City???

That Bo City that was in the news about a year ago??

The tragedy that happened in Bo City would never be forgotten. According to the statistics, there were more than a hundred thousand casualties!

That day was a day where the blood shed was enough to form rivers!

“He came from an average family, with average resources and whatever he had at that time, were probably even worse than the majority of you! I think I’ve said enough,” replied Dean Xiao as he sighed.

Everyone went quiet immediately upon Dean Xiao’s reply.

That student looked at Mo Fan, who was at the center of the arena, in disbelief.

How was it even possible that someone at his age without any resources could advance into the Intermediate level? How was that possible??

Mu Nu Jiao also looked at the man who defeated her, shocked.

In truth, she had taken Mo Fan as one of the strongest disciples of a large faction out there, but who would’ve thought that he was actually just a nobody from Bo City! No wonder he didn’t use any magic equipment, he probably don’t even own one!

In the battles between the disciples of the rich and noble families, the use of magic equipment was even more frequent than magic casting. Mu Nu Jiao had thought that her opponent did not use any because he did not want to show off his wealth, just like her.

“Dean Xiao, this is all unnecessary attention... Is it really alright for you to expose my information just like that? How am I supposed to chase after the beautiful ladies of the rich after this?” asked a speechless Mo Fan.

“Hahahahaha, I was very angry and since a great example like you come by very handily, I took this chance.”

Speechless, Mo Fan shut his mouth.

It is very easy to garner hostile attention after becoming the brilliant kid next door that outperformed everyone!

Sigh, fine, so be it! Since I robbed everyone of their resources, no one from the new students will like me anymore!

Mo Fan believed that the students who were admitted to Pearl Institute were all people with good morals. However, he would carry a silver needle whenever he went to the cafeteria, just in case…

Still, after the competition ended, Mo Fan couldn’t stop feeling great!!

Although the resources were not the core resources given to the students by the institution, just with this amount, he was still happily overwhelmed!!

In the space of one second, he had gone from being one of the poor to one of the rich!

The remaining six people from the Summoning School already regarded Mo Fan as a god. They knew their capabilities and obediently let Mo Fan claim all that he had obtained while they only took what belonged to them.

Whether or not Jiang Yunming meant it, there was no reason for Mo Fan to share the resources with the six of them. He had poured in a considerable and desperate effort for the resources, despite knowing that he would make himself a public enemy of the entire school.

“Dean Xiao mentioned that he will convert all public resources into my own cultivation resources. I wonder how much they will be? Will I be able to obtain resources for the evolution of the Spirit Wolf??” said Mo Fan softly to himself.

Mo Fan had a strong feeling that if the Spirit Wolf was able to advance into the Warrior-class, he would be unstoppable among those at his level, and he might even be able to challenge those at a higher level!

Mo Fan still clearly remember the time where he saw a Warrior-class monster himself; he could still remember the impact and the awe brought by the Warrior-class Three-Eyed Demon Wolf when it pounced out from the building out of nowhere!

——

After experiencing the huge incidents that happened in the competition, there was a rapid change in his daily life.

First of all, there only only three people left in his dormitory.

The other two roommate of Mo Fan who seemed to be afraid of being dragged into the chaos stirred up by Mo Fan, had quickly submitted an application requesting to move into another dormitory.

Thus, only Mo Fan, Zhang Pinggu, and Zhao Manyan remained in the same dormitory.

Zhang Pinggu now admired Mo Fan so much that he had turn into a fanboy, while Zhao Manyan, on the other hand, reacted much more normally. However, one of his favorite questions for Mo Fan was now, “Since you fought with Mu Nujiao before, can you tell if she is a C or D cup?”

Mo Fan was extremely speechless to his question for how could he be able to do precise measurement during a fight, not to mention such an intense contest with Mu Nujiao?... But judging from what he saw, perhaps she has a D cup!

There would be quite some time until Mo Fan could access the resources granted to him because of some procedures but as someone who was not in a hurry, he patiently waited while he kept on training himself.

Time passed quickly and one month has passed ever since the competition.

The discussions about the competition were gradually replaced by some other fresh news but occasionally, Mo Fan could still hear Zhang Pinggu kept on talking about a few newly appeared strong competitors. One of them was said to be a student that enrolled at the school quite late but that student might possess strength greater than Mo Fan’s.

This was inevitable; Mo Fan had made himself a public enemy to the entire school, thus, even though everyone knew that he was strong, they were all unwilling to acknowledge him as the strongest in the school. As a result, they were all naturally more fond of the other individuals who possess greater strength than those on the same levels and since none of them have had a fight with Mo Fan, everyone just assumed that they were stronger than Mo Fan.

“Hey! did you guys know that Mu Nujiao did something that caused the entire school to view her as a goddess.” said Zhang Pinggu as he stormed into the dormitory while both Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were meditating as they were lazy to attend classes.

Zhao Manyan has his eyes opened first when he heard the name of Mu Nujiao. He has great interest in Mu Nujiao and would literally stop anything he was doing or working on, even if it’s in the midst of advancing into the next level.

Zhang Pinggu then continued to say : “Mu Nujiao took on the responsibilities for what happened in the competition and she donated an equivalent amount of resources won by Mo Fan to everyone in the school with the name of the Mu Family.”

This time, Mo Fan opened his eyes.as well.

“Why is she doing this?” asked Mo Fan in surprise.

Isn’t she being way too generous? The responsibility of losing the resources was not on her so why is she trying to compensate all of the new students for their own losses?

“Yeah I agree, it was unexpected. Not even the school expected her to do this. It’s a total blessing from the goddess.” replied Zhang Pinggu in great excitement.

Zhao Manyan thought for a while, and soon understood the reason of Mu Nujiao seemingly irrational move.

“It’s just a kind of strategy.” said Zhao Manyan.

“How so?” asked Mo Fan.

The public resources was a real great deal of amount that even a financially well-capitalized aristocratic family would not be able to afford spending just like that.

“Each year, every major aristocratic family will spend a great deal of resources to recruit graduated and undergraduate students from the prestigious schools. And for Mu’s family, they were merely doing this earlier this year in an attempt gain the favour of the freshmen. Supposedly, the school normally does not allow this to happen, but after losing such a huge amount of public resources, the school only silently approved this and allowed Mu Nujiao to do as she pleased.” explained Zhao Manyan.

“But it’s still way too costly just for a good reputation! And I wonder if the people will still side with Mu’ family when they are offered with a better prospect in the future.” replied Zhang Pinggu.

“Gold can be nothing for a wealthy person with luxurious life. However, when you offer a bowl of rice for a person who is starving to death, he will never forget your generosity to him till the end of his life. Mu’s family is being smart in the way that they are taking the overall situation into consideration to draw people to their side. Perhaps not everyone or only a minority of them will join Mu Family in the future but the Mu Family has earned themselves a good reputation among the entire school.”Zhao Manyan pointed out bluntly.

Zhang Pinggu sniffles.

To be frank, if Zhao Manyan did not point this out, he would really think that Mu Nujiao was doing this out of her guiltiness., thus, accepting her as a goddess with a pure and kind heart.

Mo Fan looked at Zhao Manyan with a little surprise.

“Well, he seems to really know well about all these stratagem. He must have been mixing around with the aristocratic family all this while or he would not be able to see through Mu Nujiao’s motive.” Mo Fan thought.

“Are you telling me that under her pure and pretty looking facade lies a heart full with scheme?! “I truly admire her as my goddess!” Said Zhang Pinggu impetuously.

“The decision wasn’t really on her, the Mu’s family was the one came up with this idea after they were told that Mu Nujiao lose all the resources. And as someone who felt extremely guilty for losing all the resources to Mo Fan, Mu Nujiao will definitely accept this proposal. It was a win-win situation.” explained Zhao Manyan again.

“Oh that’s great, you almost ruined the image of the dream girl in my heart.”said Zhang Pinggu with relief.

Mo Fan too, was filled with all sorts of feelings today.

Seems like not all aristocratic families were blindly abusing their power afterall; a true huge family knows very well of the benefits and importance of maintaining their image and reputation in order to recruit potential magicians.

Initially, it was a bad thing for the Mu Family when Mu Nujiao lost the battle, and thus lost everyone’s resources. But the situation quickly turned around and they made use of the previously bad situation to benefit themselves. The Mu family had gained a profound advantage and it would be much harder for the other aristocratic families to compete with them in the future.

“By the way, how did you escape from that Intermediate level Plant Magic? The forest is thick, none of us were able to see what exactly happened theret. What were the tricks that you used?” Zhang Pinggu asked Mo Fan curiously.

“The entire school will know in the twinkling of an eye if he tells you. You big blabbermouth!” replied Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan couldn’t agree more, so he just nodded his head silently. There was no way he would simply reveal his trump cards to another!

“Tell me quietly, I promise I will keep the secret for you,” Zhao Manyan said to Mo Fan with a filthy look and a raised eyebrow.

Mo Fan was stunned for a moment and immediately reacted to Zhan Manyan with two words : “Piss off!”

In the early morning, Dean Xiao had already brought the good news to Mo Fan, and asked Mo Fan to follow him to redeem his rewards.

When they got to the library that had the appearance of a huge book, Mo Fan was brought to the top floor, where access was not permitted to any other students of the institution.

As they reached the top floor, Dean Xiao stood with his hands at his back and looked at the Pearl Institution’s surroundings through the windows.

“Dean Xiao.”

When Mo Fan entered the meeting room, Mo Fan saw Dean Xiao standing alone. From the lonely yet slightly heavy atmosphere of the meeting room, Mo Fan could tell that Dean Xiao was worrying about some other matters.

Dean Xiao turned around, a gentle smile on his face.

“I knew that you were hiding some other hidden trump cards during the examination. Though I do not know how you evaded Mu Nujiao’s skill, but I sensed some dark magic...” said Dean Xiao with a smile.

“That is not really a secret. If Dean Xiao investigated my background in Bo City, then you have all the answers you need,” replied Mo Fan casually.

Back then, it was Principal Zhu’s idea to announce Mo Fan was an innate Dual Element at the high school exam.

However, when the catastrophe struck Bo City, no one had the luxury to pay attention to this matter anymore, especially when Principal Zhu died…

But if Dean Xiao really wanted to dwell on this matter, all he had to do was to send some people to ask those people who used to reside in Bo City, and he would have all the answers he needed.

“There is no need for that. One day, you will reveal your secrets all by yourself. Now, let’s get to the main point, shall we?” said Dean Xiao.

“Of course!” replied Mo Fan as he rubbed his hands together. Tsk tsk, the resources for all new students, just imagine how much these resources worth, perhaps he could buy a luxury bungalow in Shanghai already!

“These resources were to be given to different students from different Elements and we have to change them into resources you could use... Thus, what we did was changed some of the resources that you would not be able to use into something that could benefit you,” explained Dean Xiao.

Mo Fan understood the reason behind this action, nodded and said, “As long as I get the resources promised to me in full.”

If the resources had not been converted into something Mo Fan could use, they would just be useless rubbish to him.

Hence, just like what Dean Xiao said, they could only estimate the total amount of the resources and how much they were worth before they convert these resources to something Mo Fan could use.

“I know that you have barely any good magic equipment with you so here are a few higher class pieces of magic equipment suitable for the battles of Intermediate-level mages. You may only pick one of them…” Dean Xiao said, as he waved his sleeves and a few small-sized magic items appeared on the table, lying there quietly waiting for Mo Fan to pick one of them.

“Intermediate-level Magic Equipment, they must be quite expensive!” he blurted out excitedly.

“The value of these magic items solely depend on the ones using them. But if you were to put them on sale, each and every one of these magic items here are worth at least this amount!” explained Dean Xiao as he raised his hand, palm out.

“Fifty thousand?” asked Mo Fan.

His answer was quickly rejected by Dean Xiao with a shake of his head.

“Five hundred thousand!?” asked Mo Fan, amazed.

“Our institution spends quite a great deal on the student’s resources every year. Part of these resources are donated by the outstanding students of our Schools that have graduated, some are funded by our institutions. However, we will only give you the public resources funded by the institution,” Dean Xiao explained.

Nodding again, Mo Fan agreed, understanding that the resources donated by the outstanding graduates of the Pearl Institution were part of the reward and punishment given to those juniors that did not take part in the competition.

“Now, pick one of these magic items and you will receive the promised resources later on,” Dean Xiao directed him.

There were already tiny stars blinking in Mo Fan’s eyes. Damn, with a piece of Intermediate-level Magic Equipment worth five hundred thousand dollars and the other rewards, if I knew that there were so much included, I would have went all in to defeat Mu Nujiao, even if I had to expose my Fire Element!

“Would you mind explaining to me what can these items do? I know nothing much about magic equipment, these were something luxurious that could only be toyed around with by those rich people, not poor ones like me,” Mo Fan asked eagerly.

“Certainly. This one close to your hand is the Blood Tabi. It is made with the bloody bones of the Blood Beast in the Long Plain Mountains. Once equipped, the mage will be bestowed with the extreme sprinting capabilities of the Blood Beasts, which is even greater than the Wind Path: Drifting Shadows! Other than that, each time this Tabi is charged with the essence of a Blood Beast, the Tabi will be able to unleash power strong enough to crush a mountain,” explained Dean Xiao as he gave off a feeling of a professional in this field.

“Offensive ability! Nice!” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan then recalled the fight he had with Yu Ang; he had used magic shoes!

If Mo Fan was not wrong, he still remembered that Yu Ang’s magic shoes only allowed Yu Ang to execute an evasive move once, which was nowhere close to the level of the Blood Tabi!

“How about that? It looks like armor,” asked Mo Fan, as he pointed at the item in the center.

“Yes, that is magic armor. The largest difference between the armor and shield magic equipment is that the shield’s defense is dead; a magic shield needs the mage to activate the shield so that it can help the mage to fend off an attack, which is way different from the magic armor. The magic armor is strong to the point where the mage can just wear it and it does not require the attention of the mage to activate it for its defense. It may not be able to fend off attacks completely like the magic shields, but indirectly, it can greatly increase our durability. At every levels, the bodies of mages are weak, making magic armor one of the life saving insurances for them. This magic armor is called the Jade Scale Mail. It is known for its flexibility, so that even when Wind Element mages wear it, their mobility will not be affected by it at all. At the same time, this amplifies its flaws greatly. This mail possess a weaker defense than the other magic armors, making it hard to take a very strong impact or destructive power head on,” explained Dean Xiao.

“You are saying this type of magic armor must be one of the worst choices among the other magic equipment?” asked Mo Fan.

“Precisely. Magic armor is always expensive, they are only slightly cheaper than the Stardust Magic Tools. This Jade Scale Mail will only be able to sustain attacks from the Minion-class monsters, but when it comes to the attacks delivered by Warrior-class monsters or any Intermediate-tier magic, it will at most prevent the mage wearing it from dying,” replied Dean Xiao.

Magic armor might be a very good thing to use since it could be worn by mages throughout an entire battle. But when it came to Mo Fan, their inferior defensive capability would be less useful.

“The magic armor is way too expensive, I suggest you look for other magic armor that is more suitable for you when you have the capability in the future. Now, let’s take a look at this magic sword. Its name is the Black Cleaver. Once activated, it will form the front claw of a Blackbird and launch a Wind Disc:Shredding that is equivalent to the strength of the joint attack between two evolving monsters,” explained Dean Xiao.

Upon listening to Dean Xiao’s explanation, Mo Fan thought for a moment and felt that as a man who possessed the Fire and Lightning Elements, which were the two strongest Elements in terms of offensive power, he do not lack any attacking strength. Thus, he figured that this Black Cleaver would be more suitable to the mages that lacked offensive power.

To be honest, Mo Fan actually needed all of this magic equipment in many ways. After all, if he had all of this, his combat power would be increased to another level; different types of magic equipment would be able to alter the way he fought, granting him more flexibility and options.

However, if he had to pick one, Mo Fan thought that the Blood Tabi was a better piece of magic equipment for him.

Although he had learned a positioning magic, the Shadow Element’s magic that allowed Mo Fan to move freely was still not invincible. Unlike the Wind and Earth Element magic that allowed the users to move freely at anytime and anywhere, the Shadow Element magic would be useless if there were no shadows in the surroundings at all.

Without shadow, the Shadow Element magic was entirely unusable.

Originally, Mo Fan lacked defensive capabilities the most, but this magic armor was just too useless. Hence, he felt that the magic shoes would be much better for him, as it was always better to have another trick that could save his life!

“Since you are not considering the remaining magic equipment, you may now brand this Blood Tabi with your own spirit power,” Dean Xiao told him.

In just a moment of time, Mo Fan branded the Blood Tabi, linking it with his soul. With just a tick of his mind, the Blood Tabi would immediately appear on his legs, bestowing on him the power of the Blood Beast!

“Thank you, Dean Xiao,” Mo Fan said gratefully and confidently after receiving a high-grade magical item.

“There is no need for you to thank me. You earned this yourself. Now… the resources for your cultivation...” replied Dean Xiao.

“As long I’m not given any Stardust Magic Tool, please change into something else for me,” Mo Fan answered quickly.

When it came to cultivation magic tools, there might nothing that could be compared to Mo Fan’s Little Loach Pendant that had absorbed the water in the Underground Holy Spring!

“No no no, of course not. This resource I’m talking about here is an access granted to those outstanding or those who have contributed to the institution. We really have no idea on what kind of basis we are supposed to use to transfer all the public resources to you. Because of this, we specially requested headquarters to open the Three Step Tower for you to cultivate in once,” said Dean Xiao.

As someone that had never heard of this before, Mo Fan could only ask blankly, “Three Step Tower?”

However, his question fell onto deaf ears, as Dean Xiao only smiled without answering his question.

The reason why the Pearl Institution was able to stand at the very top among the many schools and institutions in the entire country for so many years was closely related to the Three Step Tower.

The Three Step Tower could be described as a place each and every Intermediate-level mage students in the main institution would fight fiercely in order to get it; the new students were not qualified to fight for the right to enter the Three Step Tower, and Mo Fan was one of the first!

“This is a hard to come by opportunity, you must not take it too lightly,” Dean Xiao said seriously.

Mo Fan nodded with a serious expression. He firmly believed that this Three Step Tower Dean Xiao was talking about was probably a sacred cultivation ground not any weaker than the Underground Holy Spring.

If it wasn’t for the Underground Holy Spring, Mo Fan would still need another few years before he ascended into the Intermediate level. This type of sacred cultivation ground could greatly improve his power if he managed to secure a chance to cultivate in it!

“Thank you,” Mo Fan said sincerely.

“I’d like to give you a little suggestion, if I may. People may only enter the Three Step Tower a few times. Many of the Intermediate-level mages in the main institution never got the chance to enter the Three Step Tower at all, so just imagine how hard it is to be able to get a chance to enter the tower. You should choose a suitable time for yourself to enter the tower. At least from my point of view, you are still not prepared to enter the tower. If you entered the tower now, you would only receive minimum benefits,” advised Dean Xiao.

Dean Xiao was right. Mo Fan had reached the Intermediate level in both the Fire and Lightning Element. He still had to fortify and master his current strength right now; his handling of a Star Atlas was nowhere close to Mu Nujiao!.

As for his Summoning and Shadow Element, Mo Fan only managed to raise them into the third level in his Stardust, and there was still quite a long way to go to the higher tier Starcloud.

Trying to increase his strength to a higher level would be very low if he tried to strengthen himself through the cultivation sacred ground now, and he would only waste a precious chance by doing so.

Mo Fan clearly understood Dean Xiao’s words; Dean Xiao wanted him to wait for a suitable time to enter the Three Step Tower, and only by doing so would Mo Fan be able to fully utilize the effect of the cultivation sacred ground.

Other than that, with the amplification of the Little Loach Pendant, early levels could be easily achieved in a matter of time, so there was no need for him to waste such a precious chance like this!

“Next will be the Warrior class monster’s Spirit Blood, which will provide a tremendous boost for your Spirit Wolf’s evolution into the Warrior class. All of this, however, is just something to aid your Summoned beast’s evolution; whether or not it will ascend into the next level depends on itself in the end. Remember, like you, your Summoned beast only reached its current level a short time ago, and its base is still not that solid yet. Nature has its own rules, and this is especially obvious among the monsters. The monsters with a higher-level bloodline are always smarter, fiercer, and stronger yet their ability to reproduce is weaker, and so there are fewer of them. The ones with lower-level bloodlines are relatively inferior, but they often reproduce swarms by swarms, and so are easily found. If the monsters with weaker bloodlines try to break the limits of their heritage, defying the rules of nature, and failed, they will turn to dust,” Dean Xiao reminded him seriously.

With a nod, Mo Fan indicated that he understood.

Be it man or monster, the path of cultivation was filled with difficulties.

For example, when Mo Fan tried to advance into the next level, the resistance of his mental power almost caused his brain to explode. The same were for the evolution of monsters. If their body and mind were not strong enough, they would all die, because what they were doing was trying to discard their own bloodline in order to achieve a superior one!

“Keep this card, there are two million RMB on this card, this is your reward for winning the competition. Among the public resources was some cash, which I placed in this card. They are all yours,” said Dean Xiao as he handed over a card to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped!

Two million!!

Oh my heavens, the institution is really generous, the amount given to him right now was equivalent to hitting a jackpot in the lottery!!

Rich, I’m rich!!

Upon seeing the extreme happiness on Mo Fan’s face, Dean Xiao who was worried that Mo Fan might lose himself in the sudden wealth, and warned him, “Money is nothing when it comes to us mages. In order to pursue ever higher achievements on the path of magic, a few million is nothing at all! Once you get to the advanced level, you might need even more than that! The cultivation path of a mage is a life-long path that requires a huge fortune. After the tragedy of Bo City, I assume you now know deeply the responsibilities of a true mage, and us humans’ position in the food pyramid of this world.”

“Don’t worry, Dean Xiao. I, Mo Fan, will not be satisfied with just being an Intermediate-level mage.”

“Good, then I hope that if a disastrous event bigger than the tragedy in Bo City arrives, you will be able to contribute,” replied Dean Xiao.

“Then, Dean Xiao, may I ask how much a Wing Magic Equipment cost?” asked Mo Fan curiously.

“At least this amount, and it is not negotiable,” Dean Xiao answered, as he raised one finger.

Mo Fan was feeling great as he left the library.

Although there was still quite a long way to go to his ultimate goal, he had already received quite a profit from winning the competition.

Dean Xiao clearly knew what Mo Fan needed, and so part of the resources were converted into something beneficial to Mo Fan so that he could get stronger.

Once Mo Fan became strong, he would no longer fear having no money, as money would just come in by itself. As Dean Xiao had just mentioned, once he was at the higher levels, they were all talking about more than just millions!

“My Fire is now the Rose Fire, which is worth more than twenty million in the market. The two million RMB I was given by the school is nowhere near enough to buy a Spirit Grade Lightning Seed, not to mention that the Lightning Seed is way more expensive… Perhaps I should use this money here to improve my living condition,” Mo Fan said to himself quietly.

He no longer wanted to stay somewhere with no people around, especially after Xin Xia had entered a well-known school in Jiang Zhe. She had difficulty moving around, so he had to hire someone to take care of her.

Mo Fan even planned that when they got richer, he would hire a female bodyguard so that Xin Xia would not be bullied because of her gentle nature.

For now, due to the University’s rules, he, like the other new students, had to stay in the student hostel.

In coming years, once he entered the main institution, he would have to get a place to stay. Everyone in the dorms might be living their own lives without interfering with one another, but there would still be some times where things could be very inconvenient. Just look at Zhao Manyan, who was always going out to get laid. With the hotels and motels located so far away from the school, he couldn’t possibly bring the girls back to the dorms to have a one night stand…

Dean Xiao even gave Mo Fan an reasonable suggestion!

Pouring all of his attention into cultivating was a good thing, but combined with some practical experience in combat, his cultivating speed would speed up a considerable amount.

After witnessing the four Intermediate mages of the Dongfang Family getting wrapped up during the battle with Chao He due to their lack of combat experience, Mo Fan now viewed fighting much more seriously.

After all, what was the point of obtaining a high level or strong spell if a person knew nothing about fighting? As a result, after a series of brainstorming sessions, Mo Fan figured that he would pick up where he left off long ago… becoming a Hunter Mage once again!

——

In school, he might be able to challenge the other students for more experience, but this was not enough by itself. A friendly match would always be a friendly match; everyone would compete with one another, but they would not go all-out in the fight. Unlike friendly matches, only people like hunter mages would get involved in a real battle where there was a chance they would be killed. Only by fighting non-stop, refining and honing one’s ability, would one be able to improve themselves!

Even better, being a Hunter Mage would earn him some extra income!

And if possible, he hoped that his Lightning Element would be able to morph into a Spirit Seed. After all, the temptation of having his combat power doubled was way too attractive!

——

“Mo Fan, where are you going? I’ve called out a few ladies from the Water Element, they are all extremely pretty, one of them is definitely your type! I can’t deal with so many of them at the same time...” shouted Zhang Pinggu to stop Mo Fan as soon as he saw Mo Fan about to head out.

“I’m bored, so I thought that I should go the market to have a look,” replied Mo Fan.

As much as he wanted to meet with the few ladies from the Water Element, he had long ago figured out that with Zhang Pinggu’s appeal, the ladies he called out might not be as beautiful as he claimed. Mo Fan instead decided to head towards the Hunters Union.

If it had been the elegant Zhao Manyan stopping Mo Fan, he would probably have stayed back!

——

The Hunter Union was located in the area of the Lu Family, where the few huge factions had each occupied a skyscraper for themselves.

When Mo Fan arrived at the Hunter Union’s skyscraper, he headed straight up to the fiftieth floor.

The Hunter Union’s main hall occupied this entire floor, with a total of fifteen elevators being used to sustain the incredible human flow here.

Around the main hall were all sorts of LCD screens, each filled with words and numbers that presented various bounties offered to the hunter mages in the hall.

One could say that the information collected in the Shanghai’s Hunter Union was the largest and broadest of all the Hunter Unions. Even some of the oversea bounties would be occasionally be listed here, allowing the hunter mages to select bounties according to their own capabilities and preferences.

Because of his status as a student still in school studying, it was impossible for him to become a hunter mage active in the wilds.

He also prefered hunting within the cities. Given how large the area occupied by Shanghai was, there would be countless monsters appearing here. What was the point of being a city urban law enforcer in tiny Bo City? If he had a choice, he would definitely be the city urban law enforcer of Shanghai!

In that way, while he was hunting for demons and monsters, he would be able to not only cross paths with all kinds of beautiful ladies, but cultivate himself and even earn large bounties, so why not?

—

“Sir, you will first have to acquire the veteran hunter title in order to become a member of the city beast hunting squad. According to the information you provided based on your experience in Bo City, you still lack a little bit in order to become a hunter of Shanghai,” said the hunter assistant Mo Fan had chosen, very diplomatically.

“Then how do I obtain this title?” asked Mo Fan.

“You will have to complete enough assignments and tasks! We have a designated department that helps you record your results and settle them into contribution points for you. Once you have enough points, your title will be promoted automatically. According to the data you provided in Bo City, you are now only an intermediate hunter with 785 contribution points, you still have 9,215 points more to go to become an elite hunter!” said the woman.

What the hell!

That means that I’m still a novice that is not even close to being qualified as an enforcer!

” I feel that my capabilities could handle assignments with higher difficulties, are there any shortcuts?” asked Mo Fan.

“You have to accumulate the points slowly. The Hunter Union has to be responsible to our customers. We can’t let those unqualified hunters accept assignments beyond their qualifications, because if they fail, we would not only cause more troubles for our customers, but also unnecessary losses for our hunters who are capable of completing those assignments!” replied the assistant.

“Alright, alright…” said Mo Fan as he laughed bitterly.

Seems like he thought things were easy; a high qualification was required to become a city enforcer. If he used a saying from the original world he came from, one required a PHD in monster hunting to become a city enforcer!

“However, may I suggest you join a private hunting organization?” suggested the assistant.

“Private hunting organization? What do you mean?”

“The Hunter Union permits well-known hunting squad or hunter masters to set up their own hunting organizations and attract customers. While these private organizations are much more expensive, they also have quite a high success rate of completion and efficiency.”

Immediately, Mo Fan knew what the assistant meant.

The private hunting organizations were just like private detective agencies that served those in need!!

It would be extremely time-consuming for Mo Fan to start from the bottom level; if he joined one of these private hunting organizations, there would be no fixed requirements on the hunter titles. Other than that, he would not be required to search for suitable assignments within the information tsunami, and any work would be coming to him!

“Well well well. Private hunting organization it is! Recommend me a private hunting organization!” said Mo Fan enthusiastically as he slapped the table.

After watching the whole series of “Detective Conan”, he felt that his chance has come!

First of all, he had to think of a phrase to introduce himself…

That’s right! I am the handsome detective, Mo Fan, a professional in dealing with all types of problems! All the ladies will feel extremely hot whenever they hear my name!

The woman was quite well qualified for her post, as she did not take long to find a private hunting organization for Mo Fan.

“The private hunting agency is called Clearsky Hunter Agency, one of the private organizations that have been around here for years. They are very well known, but no one knows why they take in people often, and why some of the hunter mages are not willing to join them,” said the assistant.

“A well known organization, shouldn’t there be many mages that would want to join them?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“No idea, perhaps the leader of the organization had unrealistic demands for their members? Just so you know, the information and details of these private organizations are not completely known to us. If you wish to join them, we can give you their contacts and you can head over there directly for an interview,” she replied helpfully.

“Fine, I wonder if the surname of the leader is Bao?” murmured Mo Fan to himself as he nodded to her suggestion.

After paying the agency fees, Mo Fan headed straight to the address of the Clearsky Hunter Agency provided by the assistant.

—

What surprised him was that this hunting organization was not far away from the institution, which was a great convenience to Mo Fan.

Just imagine in a place as big as Shanghai, if he had to spend a few hours a day just to traveling back and forth from the places he stayed, studied, and worked, how would he have enough time?

After passing by Jing An Temple and a few busy streets, Mo Fan entered a street that had the appearance of the olden days.

At the end of this street, an old fascia could be seen swimming in the air against the wind.

Clearsky Hunter Agency!

What a huge name! Mo Fan thought, feeling that with this name, this organization would be able to complete all the tasks they accepted!

Mo Fan then walked closer and finally got a clearer look at the old shop that looked like an inn.

By the front door sat a little girl with twin ponytail hair../style who was reading a story book with pictures while she swung her cute little legs.

Through the glass, Mo Fan saw no one in this inn, and everything seemed very organized…

“Are you here to commission a task? If so, the minimum price to commision a task will be three hundred thousand, and the pricing will be altered after we assess the difficulty of the task. We will not accept any task that worth less than that,” said the little girl without raising her head. Her voice was beautiful, but the tone was extremely cold.

Three hundred thousand dollars!

Immediately, awkwardness struck Mo Fan and he did not dare to give the fruit sweet he took out from his pocket to the little girl anymore.

“Uhhh… I’m here for an interview, I believe the Hunter Union has written an introduction letter to you already. Are you the shopkeeper?” asked Mo Fan.

Duang!

Upon hearing this, the little girl finally put her book down, raised her beautiful face and looked at Mo Fan with wise eyes as she replied, “Are you sure you can handle it? You are so young!”

Duang!

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped onto the ground.

My age is too young?

Why don’t you look at yourself, little girl! You are at most only twelve years old!?

“Lingling, is there a customer?” and at this time, from the deeper part of the shop came an old man’s voice.

“Grandpa, he is here for an interview but he is too young, I suggest that we reject him,” Lingling replied to the old man before she continued reading the book in her hand.

“…” Speechless, Mo Fan looked at this little girl and he did not know if he should laugh or cry.

“Being young is very good! Young men tend to be not afraid of dangers, but if they die, then it would be a shame that they have yet to enjoy the even greater things in this world,” said the old man.

“…” Hearing this, Mo Fan felt extremely awkward.

But since he was already here, Mo Fan did not want to get rejected at his first interview.

Just when he was about to enter the shop to talk about the interview with the old man, a lady who was walking hurriedly appeared at the junction of the street. It was obvious that she was looking for the Clearsky Hunter Agency. She, however, seemed to have failed to see the signs, and entered a few other shops recklessly.

“Grandpa, a rich target,” the girl named Lingling said to the old man.

“How so?”

“A lady who dresses in the ../style of the rich and seems to be very nervous while her mentality is shaken greatly.”

Mo Fan who was listening at the side had goosebumps all over.

What the hell? Is this a hunting organization, or a murderous shop with murderers!

As expected, the luxuriously-dressed lady entered this shop in the end and under the lead of Lingling, was led to the room where the old man listened to the lady’s request, a tobacco pipe in his mouth.

Meanwhile, the now clueless Mo Fan had no idea what to do and just sat down somewhere close as he listened to what the lady was about to say.

Tsk tsk, they said that this kind of organization would attract young ladies like this one easily, see? There is already one right now on the very first day I arrived, so it is a must for I, Mo Fan, to become one of the members of this Clearsky Hunter Agency…

“You are saying that your husband, who is now ill, is probably a monster, and he goes out every midnight to commit foul play?” asked the old man, who squinted his eyes and appeared to be listening to the lady very seriously, but Mo Fan clearly saw the old man was staring at her cleavage.

“Yes, yes! At first, I did not believe this but this morning… This morning when I washed my husband’s clothes, a piece of skin soaked in blood dropped out from his pocket... I was once a nurse so I can differentiate between animal skin and human skin…” said the beautiful and curvaceous woman with a pale face as she recited what happened this morning.

Mo Fan, who was listening at the side, also felt slightly shocked.

Back in Bo City, Mo Fan learned that there would be different monsters that lived among people with their very own special methods, but he had never heard of any monsters like the husband of this lady.

He had never heard of any monsters that possessed the ability to turn into a human!

“If your husband really is a monster, you wouldn’t be here to tell us about this anymore,” replied the old man.

“I really have no idea either! He looks normal in the day, and I rushed here quickly after lying to him that I was going for a facial in the beauty salon. Mister, you have to help me! I heard that you guys could decimate whatever monsters. I can no longer differentiate if my husband is still my husband or not. My four year old child is still at home! I wanted to take him back to my parents to hide, but as soon as I brought this topic up, my husband’s eyes turned red and thank heaven that I changed my idea right in time. I still have to go back tonight, or I’m afraid that my children will…” said the lady as she broke down into tears.

“Have you reported this to the police?” asked the old man.

“No, I know that they will refuse to look into this matter.”

Lingling, on the other hand, looked at the crying lady and said calmly, “Whatever you said just now is not enough to be evidence that your husband has turned into a monster. Think positively, perhaps your husband is not a monster, but a murderer with a weird fetish to collect human skin.”

After listening to the words of the young girl, Mo Fan immediately lost his voice.

Was that supposed to be more positive!?!?

“I’m really sorry. Although we really want to help you, you should be calling the police with your situation,” the old man softly rejected the commission.

“But reporting it to the police won’t be of use… Could you assign a Hunter Magician to protect me overnight, I can pay you immediately,” the young lady said.

“We don’t have any Hunter Magicians here at the moment, they are all out on an important missions,” the old man said.

The young lady’s face turned increasingly ugly. She never thought that personally coming all the way to the Clearsky Hunter Agency, they would choose to not take her job. They were still indifferent even with the money put in front of them.

“You…how could you be so heartless. If…if something happens to my family, I will never forgive you, even if I become a ghost!” The young lady stood up, her face filled with pain.

After saying this, she quickly turned around and ran out of the Clearsky Hunter Agency in depressed spirits.

Mo Fan could feel this young lady was very dispirited and felt a bit of pity toward her. He couldn’t help but ask, “Why didn’t you guys help her?”

Whether the lady’s husband had really turned into a Magical Beast, or someone else’s husband had killed someone, it didn’t matter. According to her description, you could tell she was in danger. She was even willing to pay them now, yet why did the old man still not take her up on the offer?

“Little friend, you can’t just look at the surface.” The old man tapped his pipe.

“What, could it be that there’s an ulterior motive?” Mo Fan rubbed his chin as he began to think over the matter like a detective.

“Look at this application.” The old man quickly extracted a contract from beneath the counter before tossing it to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was a bit baffled, but he opened the contract.

The contract was very brief. The client wanted protection overnight. It was because the client suspected there was a great danger lurking near them, and that it would affect its child as well as the client.

The date for protection was tonight, and the date for signing the contract was also today. It was from roughly around 7 AM in the morning.

“What does this mean? Could it be that this person’s family also has a situation similar to the lady just now?” Mo Fan asked in astonishment.

The old man laughed and then pointed toward the address on the contract.

Mo Fan glanced at it and was shocked again.

“It’s actually the same address as that lady… how could this be!?” Mo Fan was flabbergasted when he saw this.

The address was actually on the privately owned garden to the south of the University area. That place was a wealthy residential area. When Mo Fan went on a stroll with his dorm mates, he had actually walked right past that place. It wasn’t too far away from Pearl Institute, so Mo Fan had some kind of impression of the address.

Originally when the lady had left in despair, Mo Fan had planned to intercept her and go take a look at what was going on. He had to go through that area when he headed back to the university, after all. What puzzled Mo Fan was what the situation inside really was…

“This contract was actually signed by me and the husband of the lady just now. The situation was essentially the same as what the woman described,” the old man said with a smile.

As Mo Fan heard this, he began to feel goosebumps!

“So you’re saying… her husband came in here even earlier to say that the lady goes out to assault others in the middle of the night?” Mo Fan never thought there’d be such a thing.

“Yeah, there’s only been pretty boring commissions lately. The thing today could be considered rather rare. Kid, since you came to join our Clearsky Hunter Agency, then this commission will be taken care of by you.” The old man looked at Mo Fan with a rather devious smile.

“It’s good that there’s already something for me to do. However, this one is rather confusing. I can’t make sense of which one of the two is the genuine one.” Mo Fan was now completely mystified.

“That’s why we only received one commission. Did you not read it properly? The commission says, unless the client itself meet with a misfortune, they will definitely not investigate the person in charge. They only want us to protect their child. Being able to figure out which one of the couple is the problematic one is a good thing, but the most important thing is to protect the child,” the old man said.

“I understand,” Mo Fan nodded and then looked around the empty little store, “What about my team? Don’t tell me I have to deal with this thing by myself?”

“Of course not. Your teammate is right beside you,” the old man said.

Mo Fan gaze swept left, but he still did not see any so-called teammates.

When Mo Fan returned his suspicious gaze back to the old man, he indicated Mo Fan should slightly lower his line of vision. Only at this time did Mo Fan spot the cute little head with twintails and her rather childish face.

“This kid?” Mo Fan was flabbergasted.

“Yeah. The commissions are normally completed by a single person or a two person squad in our Clearsky Hunter Agency. Lingling’s previous partner died while they were cooperating with the Magic Court. That is why we recruited another person,” the old man said.

“You want me to bring a little kid to hunt Magical Beasts, what kind of joke is this?!” Mo Fan shouted.

“It’s me who is taking a rookie to hunt Magical Beasts, alright?” Lingling looked at Mo Fan disdainfully. After saying that, she fished out a badge similar to a policeman’s from her pocket and set it in front of Mo Fan.

Mo Fan looked at the badge doubtfully. After carefully examining the pattern on it, he almost fell off the chair.

“Hunt…Master Hunter!” Mo Fan felt as though he was going blind.

A loli like her, who he could lift up with two fingers, turned out to be a Master Hunter!

The Hunter Badges issued by the Hunters Union could not be falsified, and they were bound to their ID. The Hunter Badge from the little kid was indeed genuine. The question was, how could Mo Fan possibly believe that a ten or so year old little kid was a Master who had hunted down numerous Magical Beasts?

One had to understand that, being an University student, possessed a title of an Intermediate Hunter for himself was actually something he could flaunt about!

“Grandpa, I don’t want this guy. He looks stupid, he’ll most likely ruin the mission,” Lingling said to the old man.

“We’ll take him. It’s always been hard for our Clearsky Hunter Agency to recruit people. Having a fearless person come here is quite rare. I see that this kid’s strength is not too low, either. If we was to nurture him, I’m sure he could do bigger things later on,” the old man persuaded her with good intentions.

The little loli Lingling humphed coldly. She took her thick book, along with her attitude, as she returned to the room inside the agency.

After Mo Fan saw the little loli’s nimble back, the thousands of waves surging in his heart came to a stop, and he didn’t know what to say, either.

To be honest, Mo Fan was daydreaming about what kind of amazing and outstanding hunter squad he would meet and what they would allow him to obtain and grow into. Suddenly, his dream vanished, turning into a delicate little girl’s backside.

“I went through your documents. You’re from Bo City, and you’re called Fan Mo, is that right?” the old man chuckled.

“Yes.”

“The knowledge that my granddaughter has is not comparable to normal people. She would naturally be a little bit arrogant. If there’s anything you feel is offensive, please don’t take it to heart,” the old man said.

“I won’t fight with the little kid,” Mo Fan said.

“Good. The opposite party has already paid one hundred thousand RMB for this commission, the other two hundred thousand RMB will be received after the commission is done. Our Hunter Agency is different from the other Hunter Agencies. The commission doesn’t collect any communal cost. After you’ve finished the mission, you and Ling ling will share the pot. One hundred and fifty thousand RMB will be sent to your bank account.”

“A hundred and fifty thousand RMB?” Mo Fan’s eyes flickered.

The commission is only for a night and the primary mission is to protect the child of a family. For an Intermediate Magician, this shouldn’t be too difficult.

One hundred and fifty thousand RMB for a night. This way of making money was even faster than stealing it!

“Our Clearsky Hunter Agency is not only famous in Shanghai, but all across the nation. A commission of three hundred thousand RMB is only the lowest level. Your seniors won’t accept any commissions beneath a million RMB. You and Ling ling are still young, so you can start with these small things. Once you’ve matured, I will assign you bigger things to do,” the old man laughed gently.

“Bigger things?” Mo Fan was shocked.

If three hundred thousand RMB was considered the lowest level, then what level were the bigger things at?

The old man smiled mysteriously, but didn’t say anything. He only used his eyes to tell Mo Fan that if he did his best, then the benefits he could get would be endless!

“Lingling went to look for the data, you can sit here and wait for a bit. In the future, this will be considered your home as well, so you don’t need to be so courteous. There’s also an empty room in the attic, you can stay there if you like… Oh, oh, I still haven’t introduced myself after telling you all this. I am the President of Clearsky Hunter Agency, surnamed Bao. You can call me Old Bao in the future.”

“Alright, so you really are surnamed Bao.” Mo Fan couldn’t do anything. He didn’t know whether this old man had watched too much TV, or he really was related to Bao Qingtian¹. In any case, this world’s history and the history of his own world were very similar, the same historical people existed, and the legendary people from the history were also not lacking. Mo Fan still remembered his history classes talking about the Magic Dynasty period of Qin Shihuang.

Mo Fan wasn’t being courteous either, this old store did have everything he needed.

There was good tea, a good coffee maker, he could do whatever he wanted.

Mo Fan brewed tea for himself as he took out a book about the habitats and habits of Magical Beasts to read.

——

As Mo Fan was waiting inside the store, Old Bao was already in the second floor.

The second floor was just like a library. It was filled with what appeared to be some ancient books and some files that were sealed up. The majority of the files were covered in a layer of dust that had probably been there for a decade.

The little loli, Lingling, was sitting on an old rattan chair. Her bright, pearl-like eyes were focused on the book on her lap.

Her reading speed was very fast, it only took her about ten seconds to finish sweeping an entire page.

“Grandpa, why did you let that person come?” Lingling kept searching for something even as she questioned Old Bao, who had come up the stairs.

“The kid’s strength isn’t bad, he’s a good seedling.”

“Even if his strength isn’t bad, he’s still just an Intermediate Magician,” Lingling said.

“If you think like this, then I believe he will surprise you.” The old man was smiling, and said nothing else.

“Grandpa, according to the files, he’s from Bo City.” Lingling’s head was still lowered. Her reading speed didn’t decrease while she was talking.

“Yeah. Lengqing is currently assisting the Magic Court in pursuing Salang. If we aren’t wrong, then the one responsible for Bo City’s destruction is most likely him… Oh, don’t mention this matter to that Fan Mo. With his current strength, he is not capable of being involved in these matters, or else he will die a violent death, like Xiaoding,” Old Bao said.

“I know. However, I will definitely find the person who killed Xiaoding!” Lingling clenched her teeth, her puerile face displaying a hint of anger.

“Alright. Just leave this matter to us adults, don’t touch this matter until your strength is sufficient. You and Fan Mo can go ahead and deal with the things that are within the city. Shanghai is a massive city, the problems here are equally large.” Old Bao patted Lingling’s head.

——

When noon came, Old Bao was friendly enough to invite Mo Fan to eat in the store.

This old store was actually the home of Old Bao and his granddaughter, Lingling. They lived on the third floor.

The fourth floor also had rooms, it appeared to be rooms for the other members of Clearsky Hunter Agency. From Old Bao’s tone, it seemed like those people were quite outstanding.

In the Hunters Union, the majority of people would form a whole Beast Hunting Squad. In the Clearsky Hunter Agency, most of them completed missions by themselves or in pairs, that was not your normal kind of hunter! Furthermore, these missions were worth more than a million RMB!

After finishing off the food, Mo Fan couldn’t help but to ask,”What are we doing this afternoon?”

“You can return back to University. We’ll meet by the privately owned garden as the sky is turning dark,” Lingling said.

“How did you know that I was a student?” Mo Fan was a bit shocked as he stared at this little lady.

Lingling pouted her little mouth, and didn’t bother to explain.

Mo Fan felt awkward.

How many times did he get looked down on by this little kid?

Sigh, forget it. I won’t argue with this little kid.

Mo Fan followed Lingling’s instructions and returned to the university.

——

When the night came, Mo Fan finished his dinner in the cafeteria before heading toward the private garden.

After exiting the school gates, Mo Fan called for a taxi.

Just as he got into the car, three very well dressed girls were talking and laughing as they walked over. The taxi driver was evidently well disposed as he made the decision to have Mo Fan carpool.

There were quite a few people trying to find taxis at the University. The less scrupulous taxi drivers would try to drag a couple of people going the same way into the taxi in order to earn some more money. Mo Fan was used to it.

“We want to go to the private garden,” one of the girls with neat fringes said.

“This brother also happens to be going there. The three of you can sit in the back, let’s go.” The driver’s face was filled with smiles as he waited for the girls to get into the car. Once they were in, he stepped on the gas pedal and drove away.

—

Their destination wasn’t very far, so they almost arrived immediately.

As Mo Fan was sitting in the front, he could deduce that these girls came from families that did not lack money based on the way they talked and laughed. They didn’t want to live in a plebeian-like dormitory, so they spent money to rent a room in the apartment block inside the garden.

“The student in the front, do you also live here?” the girl with the short hair immediately asked Mo Fan once they got out of the car.

“No, I’m only here to deal with some things,” Mo Fan replied.

“Oh, oh, are you also a new student? Why do I feel like you’re familiar?” the girl with the short hair asked with a smile.

“Aiyo, Jia Wenqian, isn’t your way of flirting a bit too old? Who cares if he’s familiar or not, just ask for his phone number,” the girl with the neat fringes said with a smiling face.

“Yeah, you kept staring at him when we were in the car,” the girl with red lips pointed out.

“Do you want to die?!”

The three girls immediately became extremely noisy, without regard for anyone else. Mo Fan helplessly shook his head, and hurriedly went to find his superior…

Speaking of which, in the Great Detective, there was a kid being paired up with a beautiful girl solving numerous crimes. Here, it was actually a little loli being paired up with a handsome, young man?…

===================

Editor’s Note:

1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_Pao_(1993_TV_series)

Bao Qingtain is the main character of a Taiwanese detective TV show set in the old days, also airing in China! (Yes, I had to look this up).

…

“Why did you come so late?” said the little loli Lingling, her arms crossed angrily.

Mo Fan looked at this little girl and he started to wonder why that old man Bao only wanted him to babysit this child instead of hunting monsters.

“It’s still early. Anyhow, you discover anything yet?” Mo Fan asked.

“Here, take a look,” replied Lingling as she handed over a mini laptop to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was startled for a second, but as he took a look at the laptop, he realized that there were a few screens, each showing the situation of the luxury living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, and the other rooms.

And at the top right corner of the screen was a ticking clock, it was a cctv!

Mo Fan was in shock and he shouted, “Are you a hacker? How could you setup cctvs in other people’s houses?”

“Let’s get to the rooftop now, if anything happens, we can react right away,” replied Lingling crisply.

To be honest, Mo Fan was still slightly clueless about this task. They couldn’t possibly stay at the front doors of the lady’s house and rush in right away if they heard any odd noises, or they would just scare off the enemy.

Besides, they still couldn’t identify who the monster was, and it would be quite a problem to protect the child without being noticed.

But who could’ve thought that the pretty little girl Lingling had already set up cameras around the house! The angles she set up were perfect, eliminating every blind spot. Thus, if nothing happened tonight, all they had to do was to observe any movements through the cctvs and a hundred and fifty thousand RMB will be theirs!!

——

“Girl, don’t sit at the rails, it’s very dangerous.” Just as Mo Fan dozed off for a second, he realized that Lingling was already sitting at the edge of the top floor.

The little figure sat on the edge, swinging her legs in the air sixty meters above the ground, scaring the hell out of Mo Fan.

Little girl, this building is at least twenty floors high! Any average girls would have felt dizzy once they look downwards, aren’t your guts a just a little bit crazy?

Lingling however, did not bother about Mo Fan while she chewed something in her mouth with her mini laptop still on her lap. She glanced up at the skyline of this busy city, about to light up under the coming cloudy weather, and then observed the situation of the family through the cameras.

Speechless, Mo Fan sat down beside her, and even felt some slight pain as the strong wind currents blew on his face.

As he looked down, the masterpiece private garden was within his sight; at the center was a children’s playground, at the west was a tiny square, a pool was in the south, and a tiny forest occupied quite a large space.

The time was right after a meal; people were strolling around the garden, kids were playing at the playground, and the beautiful and sweet laughter of girls could be heard coming from some levels of the buildings.

Peace and serenity filled the entire surrounding area. With such a harmonious scene, who would have related it to a horrendous monster?

“I’ll take a bath,” said the lady, her voice coming from Lingling’s laptop.

Upon hearing this, Mo Fan was slightly surprised, as Lingling had even set up sound surveillance set up. He blinked a few times and said hurriedly, “Lingling, I reckon that you are a little tired of observing the situation such a long time. Let me do it.”

“Are you stupid, or do you take me as an idiot? You pervert!” replied Lingling as she hmphed.

As she spoke, she casually clicked on a few buttons and right away, the screen surveilling the bathroom immediately went dark.

Mo Fan laughed dryly and asked, “What about the husband and the kid?”

“The kid is watching a cartoon right now, but the husband, he is starting to feel uneasy,” answered Lingling.

They both continued paying attention to the monitor, but failed to identify or notice any terrifying elements described by the lady. This family looked just like a normal family that was living normally.

“Is the lady done bathing yet?” asked Mo Fan out of nowhere.

It had been half an hour, and the sound of water flowing could still be heard coming from the bathroom.

“And that’s just how long can a woman bathe… Hmmm?” frowned Lingling as she suddenly realized something.

“What?” asked a confused Mo Fan.

“Do you still remember when she said she discovered a blood-stained skin on her husband’s shirt this morning, before she rushed here to seek us out?” said Lingling.

“Yeah, what was wrong about it?” replied Mo Fan.

“She had her makeup on. She cried so bad that she ruined her makeup! Now… if she discovered that there was something wrong with her husband, do you think that she would have time to put on her makeup? Not to mention that she could still take her time and bathe for half an hour right now!” answered Lingling as she switched on the screen monitoring the bathroom.

Fog covered the entire bathroom and when Mo Fan stared at the monitor, he could vaguely see a body figure with smooth skin.

Just as he thought he was going to get some gratuitous eye candy, he stuttered and shivered!

That was no woman taking a bath, but a woman’s skin hanging there!!

Human skin without blood and flesh looked like a deflated inflated doll, but the wet and messed up hair was the scariest part.

“This… this is just like a snake that shed its skin?” exclaimed the now horrified Mo Fan.

“Hmph, it really is that thing!” said Lingling, staring sharply at the screen, as if she could see through everything.

“What the hell is that thing??” asked Mo Fan hurriedly.

“That is not a monster, but a human. I will explain to you later, if I’m not mistaken, this lady is definitely out trying to commit a foul play now,” said Lingling.

“You will keep learning new things until you die. There are just so many strange and unique things in this world,” said Mo Fan before he asked again, “Won’t she worry that her husband will find out about this? She has only such a short time.”

“So she must be lurking around this small area.” said Lingling.

“Can you find her??” asked Mo Fan quickly.

“I can try, but it’s not easy. As far as I know, this thing likes to suck the blood of young women. It would trigger her interest even more if the target was a mage. Now go, get her while I take care of the child here. Go and dig out her true identity!” said Lingling hurriedly.

“Ok,” replied Mo Fan without hesitation as he knew how dire the situation was right now.

He then jumped down straight from the edge of the building, which immediately garnered the attention of Lingling.

She looked after him in surprise as her gaze followed Mo Fan, who was falling down from the twenty-story building…

Just when he was about to hit the ground, Mo Fan vanished within the shadows. This scene was extremely eerie in this weather.

“The shadow element…” Lingling whispered.

This move was taught to Mo Fan by Teacher Tang Yue. It allowed Mo Fan to quickly descend from a high ground according to the different-sized shadows created by the buildings. Of course, he practiced this move from lower buildings first, or he would have killed himself if he failed!

Anywhere with shadow would be a medium for Mo Fan to travel.

He first landed on the ground and through the same magic again, he quickly dove into the dark forest.

He still remembered that a while ago, there was a couple that had entered the forest for some tryst. This forest was kinda huge and with the trees blocking the light, it was definitely one of the best places for this lady to commit her crime.

“Ohhhh~~~ Ah~~~~”

“N..nooo~~~ If someone comes~~ Noo~~~ Ohhhh~~~”

The moaning of the young lady could be heard immediately as soon as Mo Fan entered the forest. He was still in the shadows and immediately felt extremely uncomfortable!

Damn, behaving like that in the public! This is a public place, do you think that this is your own room!!

If it was any other time, he would’ve enjoyed the scene secretly at the side, but there was no time for him to do that right now.

“Fan Mo, head straight to the administration and ask for details of every lady that fits these two conditions; twenty years old or below, and at the same time, a mage,” Ling Ling’s voice sounded in his Bluetooth earphone.

“Alright,” agreed Mo Fan immediately as he also thought that it was a good idea.

Once he got there, without wasting any time and saliva to talk, Mo Fan immediately showed the admin his Clear Sky Hunting Organization badge and told the admin that he was on a mission.

This badge was even better than a police badge, as they represented a lot of privileges. After all, the hunting organizations’ level of authorization was much higher than the police, who could only hunt down average criminals.

“There are about seventy households here that fit your requirements. However, there was only around six households of mages,.” said the admin, as he looked at Mo Fan suspiciously.

“Fan Mo, which one is the closest to our surveillance?” asked Ling Ling.

“Golden Jade Pavilion, 18th floor, room 102. There are three young ladies from Pearl Institution that reside here. By the way, they often make noise at night and someone has filed complaints on them once or twice already.”

“Then it has gotta be them. The 18th floor of Golden Jade Pavillion can be seen from the bedroom of that lady. I reckon that the three young ladies were targeted quite some time ago,” said Ling Ling.

“On my way,” replied Mo Fan.

The gods knew how long and how much foul play this lady had committed, and if she was not stopped soon, there would be blood for sure. Mo Fan quickly rushed towards his destination but since there were not enough shadows to allow him travel straight up to the 18th floor, he had to use the elevator and knock on the door of room 102.

The door was quickly opened ,and it was the girl with neat bangs from earlier that opened the door. A smile immediately blossomed on her face as soon as she saw Mo Fan standing right in front of the door.

“Handsome, could it be you followed us all the way here after you got down??” asked the girl with a sweet smile.

“Who is it... Woahhh, Xiao Tong, Xiao Tong! Your handsome guy is here for you,” the red lipped girl who seemed to not be wearing any bra walked out to have a look and turned back into the room once she saw Mo Fan.

Mo Fan who was standing at the side then took a look inside the house and he put up a confused expression when he realized nothing was off.

Could it be that they were wrong and the shed skin lady’s target was not them?

“Sorry for the disturbance. Now, I still have some matters to attend to...” Mo Fan who had no time to deal with any other affairs now immediately excused himself.

“Ahhhhhhh~~~~~~!!!”

As soon as Mo Fan was about to leave, he immediately heard a loud scream from the red-lipped girl.

Bam!

The girl got rammed by something, and was sent flying out from one of the bedrooms and her body almost stuck into the hallway wall.

With the naturally weaker body of the ladies, Red Lips immediately fell unconscious and blood started flowing out from the back of her head.

“Nan Nan!” exclaimed Neat Bangs with a shocked expression as she rushed to check on Red Lips’ situation.

“Stop. What element are you?” asked Mo Fan as he halted her.

“Light… Light element,” Neat Bangs replied while shivering in horror.

“Follow right behind me,” ordered Mo Fan as he charged into the room.

He did not check on the girl’s situation for he knew that as a mage, the girl would be able to survive an attack that would kill a normal person.

To his horror, when he looked into the room, he saw the girl that had struck up a conversation with him was hanging from the ceiling; her wrists sliced open by a sharp object and blood was dripping down from the wounds.

Right underneath her was a scaly demon in humanoid female form, her mouth opened several times larger than any ordinary human’s mouth. Her extremely long tongue of hers was slithering in the air, waiting to lick off the blood that dripping down from the innocent girl’s wounds!

The face of the female demon was full of scales, yet Mo Fan could still recognize that this face was the face of the woman that had gone to see them this morning. She looked extremely different now; from a sad, innocent and beautiful face, she now owned an ugly, ferocious and greedy one. If Mo Fan had not seen this for himself, he would never believed that such things actually existed in this world!!

“Wh…what is this monster!!” shouted the neatly bang girl with a face as pale as paper!

Gods-damned demon, how dare you! This place is under my safeguard!, thought the angered Mo Fan.

This demon was entirely cruel; it did not kill the short-haired girl right away, nor suck her blood dry in one go, but hung its victim up high, and had her drip from the high ground until she died…

Mo Fan could imagine the pain that the short-haired girl was going through; she was still conscious and could only endure the suffering and horror while the demon enjoyed its meal!

“Flaming Dragon... Shit! Don’t run!”

Just as he was about to attack, the demon immediately jumped out of the window!

This was the eighteenth floor and if they jumped down without any precautions, they were doomed.

He rushed to the window, only to see that the demon’s claws were extremely powerful, being able to dig straight into the walls.

The distance between two high buildings was not far at all. At this moment, the Demoness was jumping in zig zags between the two buildings, watching this horrified Mo Fan. Unexpectedly, throughout this entire process, there was not a single sound to be heard!

It was easy to assume that the Demoness used this to enter the room of Short Hair.

“Hurry up and take them to the school infirmary,” Mo Fan said to Neat Bangs. At the same time, he mimicked the demoness and jumped out of the window like a great roc.

When Mo Fan dropped all the way to the thirteenth floor, his body suddenly integrated with the shadow of the building. Furthermore, as he stood on a balcony of the thirteenth floor, his eyes were attentively watching the demoness who had jumped onto the other building.

“Shit, this place is way too bright. I’m unable to escape,” Mo Fan cursed.

Escaping Shadows required shadows to shift away.

There was only air between the two buildings, there was no dark or light there. Even if it was dark out, there still wouldn’t be any shadows without light. Thus, it was simply impossible for him to use Escaping Shadows to reach the building the Demoness was in.

“Fan Mo, there’s a situation, hurry up and come back!” Suddenly, Lingling’s voice turned anxious.

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Her husband…her husband is also shedding!” Lingling’s voice seemed to contain some fear.

“Shit, both of them have problems! How is the kid??”

“That’s why I’m telling you to come back!”

Mo Fan was shocked. The husband’s objective was precisely that kid!

Heavens, the husband had employed the Hunters to protect his child. Yet, he assaults the kid in the middle of the night, just what kind of thing is happening to this family?!

“Save the kid first and finish our mission. I’m afraid this thing will be quite difficult!”

Mo Fan no longer tried to chase after the shedding demoness, instead, he went through fire and flames as he charged into the family.

As he got to the entrance, Mo Fan could hear the child inside the place crying loudly. Who knew what kind of scene the child was seeing for him to cry like that.

A man’s voice could be heard from inside the place.”Crying, all you know is crying. What… what annoys me the most is you crying… From… from now on… I will no longer need to listen to your ear-piercing cries…”

His voice sounded like there was thick things in his throat. The sound coming from it was relatively strange, nothing like a human’s!

“Fan Mo, quick. He hasn’t finished shedding yet. Once he has shed, the child will definitely die,” Lingling said urgently.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let that thing succeed!”

Evading Shadow!

Mo Fan stood by the door, his body slowly sank down. It looked like he had dropped into deep water, turning into a black shadow.

The shadow began to move from outside the door to the inside.

After the shadow entered, Mo Fan slowly rose from the darkness under the door.

At this moment, he was already inside the house. From a glance, he could see the husband inside the large room, who seemed more like a waking corpse. He was in the middle of tearing apart his own clothes and flesh.

Between the rent flesh and tattered clothing, it revealed the scales inside. They were extremely thick, and quite disgusting.

The man had already shed half his skin. During this process, his movements wasn’t actually very fast, he was like a newborn baby as he slowly staggered.

If it wasn’t for that, then the child would’ve died already.

At this moment, Mo Fan could be considered to have seen this type of monster’s entire transformation process. If an ordinary person had seen this, they definitely would have fainted from fear. Fortunately, Mo Fan could be considered to have seen many things. Even if this kind of scene was extremely disgusting, he could only clench his teeth and eliminate the shedding demon.

“Lightning Strike!”

Mo Fan quickly formed his Star Path and his palm instantly formed numerous Lightning traces.

These Lightning traces passed through the large room as they flew toward the shedding demon, whipping towards it..

The shedding demon’s scales seemed to have a high defense. Mo Fan’s Lightning Strike seemed to only have made a couple of black prints on its scales. He was completely unable to paralyze it, flabbergasting him.

“You…you meddlesome thing!”

The shedding demon let out a strange noise. It turned its head around; it had shed all of the remaining skin on its face and revealed three eyes that were viciously staring at Mo Fan.

It raised its arm, and its shoulder that looked like that of a human suddenly expanded. It grew three times as thick as before, and its muscles turned rock solid!

“Fan Mo, the demon has an extraordinary strength, you must be careful!” Lingling’s voice echoed in his ear.

Mo Fan had a calm expression as he began to move back.

Suddenly, the shedding demon’s expanding arm began to extend towards Mo Fan.

This arm was not only able to expand, but it was also able to stretch like rubber.

How could this possibly be just a punch? It was clearly a large iron ball swinging. The furniture and sofas inside the room were all destroyed by his iron-like fist.

Fortunately, Mo Fan had prepared for this earlier. His body turned into a shadow when the iron ball fist swept past, and then shifted toward the shade in the corner.

After dodging this attack, Mo Fan continued to move. He only showed himself after he had moved to a place without shadow.

The creature’s strength was boundless. Mo Fan didn’t dare to approach it.

Mo Fan took the opportunity of when it retracted its arm to run. He ran behind the shedding demon and grabbed the crying boy.

Mo Fan didn’t dare to use Intermediate Magic before this, because he was afraid of hurting the child. It wasn’t because of the money from the commission, it was because he couldn’t let an innocent child lose his life like this.

“Freaking monster, today, I, your daddy Mo Fan, will represent the heavens…” Mo Fan quickly drew the Star Paths. The Star Paths crossed with each other to form the even stronger power of the Star Atlas.

“Fan Mo, careful. The demoness is behind you!” Lingling suddenly shouted.

Mo Fan turned his head around and discovered an extremely ugly monster outside of the window inside the room. The monster’s tongue stretched out, her eyes fixed on Mo Fan and the brat that he was holding.

“Shit, the husband and wife are joining hands!” Mo Fan cursed.

Naturally, Mo Fan was no longer able to draw up the Star Atlas or else his throat would’ve been slit by the demoness that was at the window.

“Hurry up and run, you won’t be able to deal with two of them!” Lingling yelled.

“Don’t worry about me,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan hmphed coldly.

At this moment, he was standing in a place with no shadow. It could be said that the lantern on the ceiling had restricted Mo Fan’s movements.

Fortunately, he had obtained a pair of Magic Boots from Dean Xiao a couple of days ago. He could put the Magic Equipment to good use now!

“Blood Beast Boots!” Mo Fan chanted to himself. When he had given up on the Star Atlas, he immediately activated the Magic Equipment he was spiritually linked to.

A scarlet radiance glittered on his leg. It didn’t spread, but began to slowly condense during the process of materializing, slowly forming a pair of leather boots.

The boots stretched halfway up Mo Fan’s calves, looking like armor that had appeared out of thin air!

After activating the Blood Beast Boots, Mo Fan immediately felt his legs fill with a strange power. It felt like he could collapse the entire floor with a single stomp!

After Lingling saw Mo Fan activating his Magic Equipment on the screen, she immediately let out a sigh of relief. “Don’t fight recklessly, you’ll hurt the child!”

Mo Fan also understood this reasoning. When the demoness charged toward him, Mo Fan stomped the ground with his legs and jumped to the ceiling.

With one hand, he grabbed onto the chandelier, his other hand carrying the child. Mo Fan used the force of the jump to land in the kitchen.

The two demons didn’t let the matter rest, they immediately pursued angrily.

Mo Fan didn’t have the mood to stay and fight with them. He used the Blood Beast Boots to quickly run to the end of the kitchen, toward the laundry room.

With a kick, he smashed open the window. Mo Fan didn’t care too much, grabbing the child’s leg as he jumped down. He wanted to jump to the sixth floor where the light wasn’t on, so he could use the shadow to his advantage.

Huuuuuhuuuu!

His body was falling down perfectly straight. On one side, he had a child who was crying while sitting on a free bungee jump, while on the other side, was the whisking of the wind.

Mo Fan’s face looked upwards and saw the two demons angrily stretching their heads out, looking mighty fiendish. As Mo Fan was falling, he extended his hand and slowly erected a grand middle finger toward the two monsters while falling.

“Mother, I’m gonna return to my room to study.”

“Alright, make sure you turn on the lights so you won’t hurt your eyes.”

Mo Fan could faintly hear the sound from the sixth floor. When he turned his head around to look beneath him, a freaking cursing emerged inside.

The originally dark sixth floor balcony popped, and the entire place was illuminated. The light was so bright that it covered the entire balcony, leaving no shadows around.

Mo Fan had pursued them to the tenth floor while expecting the bottom to be completely dark, but reality was not the same. One could imagine just what kind of feeling he had right then.

Freaking kid, what shit are you revising! This daddy is going to die because of you!

Misfortune does not come singly.

Mo Fan realized that the two demons was not going to let him and the kid go. They actually also jumped out of the window, and charge at Mo Fan from a higher altitude.

Their massive mouths and long tongues! Mo Fan realized that their hideous faces were getting closer and closer to him!

The rate they were dropping at was faster than his own!

Mo Fan smiled coldly as he waited for the two to jump down!

Inside the floor, Mo Fan didn’t want to carelessly use Intermediate Magic. The power of Fiery Fist was capable of burning down the entire floor, and spreading to the other floors as well.

However, right now was the perfect opportunity to make his move!

“Fiery Fist!!”

The Star Paths were already completed. Once he saw the two monsters falling down, Mo Fan quickly intersected the Star Paths, forming a complete Fire Star Atlas!

The Star Atlas emerged on Mo Fan’s back this time because he was falling from a height!

He tightly gripped his right hand, and the red flames around his body instantly gathered on Mo Fan’s left wrist, turning into a vicious, burning bracelet!

“Rose Flames!”

The fire was incomparably beautiful, a thousand shades of red. From a distance, it looked like a multitude of roses blooming in splendor!

“Rose Flames, Fiery Fist, Explosive Heavens!”

Mo Fan’s fist was on fire. Using the strength of his entire body, he shot forth the fist toward the pitch black sky!

Woooooo!~~

A fierce flame with the shape of a fist emerged. As it shot toward the skies, the fiery Rose Flames dyed the entire building red!

As the Fist blasted at them, the two demons didn’t expect Mo Fan would actually complete a Fire Magic as he was falling down.

The two creatures could see the colossal fist charging up at them. As the wave of heat hit them, the scales on their body were completely burned away.

“Wuwaa!” The demoness seemed to be smarter than the demon. She suddenly grabbed onto the other demon.

The demon was initially very confused. Since they were both going to be engulfed by the flames, what was the point of grabbing onto each other?

Unexpectedly, the demoness stomped onto the other demons back. While it was in the middle of falling, it had actually jumped onto the balcony of the other building!

A loud rumbling filled the air.

The captivating hues from the strength of the Fist of Flames were shocking. After engulfing the demon in flames, its scales were all burned away. The expanding muscles on its body were not able to endure the baptism of this fiery energy.

The demon was originally falling, but the Fist had ferociously blown him to an altitude even higher than the building. From the distance, it looked like a burning firework had accidentally landed on the rooftop.

“What a sly bitch!” Mo Fan looked at the demoness laying on the other building’s balcony, and couldn’t help but coldly hmph!

The Fiery Fist burst into incredible flames above the building, illuminating the entire neighborhood and making it look like daytime.

With such a bright source of light, it made several convenient shadows beneath a couple of the buildings.

With the help of the shadow of this building, Mo Fan used Evading Shadow as he nearly reached the the third floor.

His body sank into the shadows, and shifted into the plaza down on the ground. Mo Fan put the kid he was carrying on the ground and heaved a big sigh.

Shit, fortunately I’m super witty, or else I would have died from that damn kid who urned on the lights after eating dinner…

“Fan Mo, are you alright?” Lingling’s voice came out of the Bluetooth earpiece.

Mo Fan glanced at the kid whose eyes had rolled up into his head as he awkwardly replied, “I’m alright, the kid is…Oh, he fainted.”

“You blasted the demon right to my location,” Lingling said with some dissatisfaction.

“That’s a bit out of my control. However, the power of my Fiery Fist is at least double that of your normal Intermediate spell. The demon ate the full power of my heaven-piercing Fiery Fist. Even if it didn’t die, it is at least handicapped,” Mo Fan told her.

“I never thought you’d be this impressive,” Lingling complimented him.

—

Up on the rooftop, Lingling was looking at the carcass of the demon, burned pitch black, as she was talking with Mo Fan.

Back when Lingling’s grandfather had said Mo Fan had some abilities, she had thought he was deceiving her. She thought it was because he didn’t want her to be in any danger, thus, he purposely let an average nobody accompany her to do the small things in Shanghai.

She had not expected was that this guy’s prowess was rather something, and she had no idea that he actually had a Spirit grade Fire Seed!

For someone his age to have this kind of strength was rather rare!

Furthermore, Lingling clearly remembered that Fan Mo also possessed the Lightning Element!

For an Intermediate Mage to use magic of three different Elements, that was something unheard of!

—

“What’s up?” Mo Fan returned to the rooftop and inquired about the situation of the black carcass.

“Check it yourself.” Although Lingling wasn’t very old, her courage was all out of proportion to her size. She didn’t have any reaction after seeing the burned carcass.

As Mo Fan walked toward the carcass, he began to have some suspicions. In that moment, the black carcass’s skin suddenly cracked. Its back was first, and it slowly cracked to the head and legs.

It looked like a baked potato cracking its skin open…

Mo Fan tensed up. He wondered if this monster could shed its skin to attack once again…

However, when Mo Fan realized that a living person’s skin had popped out after the burned skin had peeled back, he began to feel even more mystified.

The black skin peeled off increasingly faster. Inside was a naked man, weird fluids all over him, crawling out like a newborn baby!

He acted like he hadn’t been breathing for a long time. After he crawled out fo the stinking remnants of the demon’s skin, he began to take multiple deep breaths. It looked extremely painful.

“This…” Mo Fan was stunned as he watched all this.

The man that crawled out of there was clearly the husband!

Heavens, just what is going on..

After shedding the first time, he had turned into a fearsome Demon. After the demon died, he shed once more, returning to human form. Was this guy a demon or a person?!

“Help… help me…” The man looked as though he was suffering a huge torment, just crawling around on the roof.

Lingling stood there without moving. Mo Fan was momentarily confused as to what to do.

At last, Lingling opened her mouth.”Call the ambulance. He’s a person, don’t let him die.”

“Kid, are you sure?”

Lingling clenched her teeth as she said firmly, “He’s the client. If he dies, then we can forget about our 200,000 RMB.”

Mo Fan was completely exhausted by this girl. If her appearance and physique weren’t like a little loli, then Mo Fan would’ve suspected she was actually a mature, cold woman.

Alright, what Old Bao said was right. Lingling’s heart is definitely not like other people…!

The Demoness should’ve been wounded, too. She was probably frightened and escaping to somewhere else, they wouldn’t be able to catch her even if they pursued her.

After the man had been sent to the hospital, the doctor didn’t find anything strange on his body. He made it clear that the man was very weak, and there were signs of severe blood loss.

Mo Fan and Linling stood guard at the hospital, all the way until the sun rose again. Only after they ensured the man’s condition wasn’t abnormal did they leave.

“Are you sure he won’t shed again?” After walking out of the hospital, Mo Fan couldn’t help but ask Lingling.

“Don’t worry. Although I can’t investigate just what kind of creature it is, I am sure that it won’t appear during daytime,” Lingling said.

“Just what is he; human, or a Magical beast?” Mo Fan felt very hesitant about what to do next.

If she said he was a demon, well, the man in the hospital was actually no different from a normal human.

Calling him a human, Mo Fan had personally seen it shed its human skin, turning into a ferocious creature!

“I need to go back home and research. However, our commission can be considered complete. The remaining trivial things can be left to the City Hunter Squad,” Lingling said.

Based on the way Lingling spoke, she made it sound like the City Hunter Squad was their subordinate. This made Mo Fan feel like the authority of a Venerable Hunter was indeed something.

“Don’t worry, I’ll return to school first. Will the City Hunter Squad take care of the kid?” Mo Fan looked at the little boy still sucking his thumb next to him.

This kid seemed to be scared of Mo Fan, he thought Mo Fan was going to take him on yet another free bungee jump from the building. As he looked at Mo Fan, tears filled his eyes.

“Yeah, you can return to school first. After the man has sent the commission fee to us, we will transfer you half of it.” Lingling also didn’t say much. She had an adorable appearance, but as she pushed up her thick, black glasses, she suddenly seemed to be old and overworked.

——

Mo Fan returned to the school just after dawn.

He was so exhausted that he fell asleep the second he laid down. He didn’t even think about the matter of the battles with the ugly Demons.

If he would have encountered this kind of Magical beast monster in the past, Mo Fan would definitely be an insomniac now.

After being in Bo City’s Hunter Squad for a period of time and experiencing the calamity of Bo City, this kind of thing was no longer able to affect him.

——

When he finally woke up, the day was dark.

If it wasn’t for his stomach rumbling, He could probably have continued sleeping longer.

After crawling out of his bed, Mo Fan ran toward the dining hall.

There were only a few people left in the dining hall. In the large dining hall, the lights were rather cold and cheerless. The only person there was Mo Fan, sitting there wolfing down his food.

“Ah, the feeling of being full is great…” After belching loudly, Mo Fan left the dining hall feeling very satisfied.

Clearsky Hunter Agency’s efficiency was indeed very high. Just as Mo Fan returned to his dormitory, he received a transfer notification of 150,000 RMB!¹

This was genuine money, Mo Fan felt some excitement!

Although it was quite a distance from a million, he finally had a proper source of income. He believed that if he slowly saved it up, he would eventually save enough to purchase a Spirit grade Lightning seed! When that happened, his strength would also receive a great increase!

——

A few days later, Mo Fan hadn’t received any messages from Lingling.

Mo Fan didn’t go and investigate, he was just peacefully cultivating.

His Shadow Stardust had some clear transformations emerging from it. A layer of black silk was wrapping around the outside of it like an subverted halo.

Mo Fan clearly remembered the exact same thing happening when his Fire and Lightning Element were breaking through to the Intermediate level, their Magic Lights were being used as a cocoon.

“Alright! Tonight, we’ll break through with you!”

Mo Fan was excited. It seemed his Shadow Stardust had finally reached a critical point, and was going to break through the tiny Stardust and open up a new world for itself.

“Little Loach Pendant, it’s up to you now!” Mo Fan removed the Little Loach Pendant from his chest and gave it a kiss before praying for a blessing.

——

After finding a quiet place to sit, Mo Fan entered his own Spiritual World and began to attack the cultivation barrier of the Shadow Element!

After his previous experiences, Mo Fan was more understanding of what was required here, and understood what was called all in one go!

Mo Fan wasn’t going to waste his own mental energy like the way he had before. Instead, he meditated normally first, to allow himself to reach his best state.

He didn’t attempt to do anything, it would be a waste of his mental energy.

A Magician’s mental energy was limited. Wasting even just a little bit when attacking his cultivation barrier could lead to a fatal defeat!

What appeared to be a large tide emerged within his Spiritual World.

A beach was then unveiled. The muddy sand that was covered by the sea during all times of the year also appeared. At a glance, it was actually muddy ground, like the ocean had withdrawn from this area.

Since a large tsunami was coming by, the usual tide should be withdrawing!

The ebbing of the tides wasn’t due to the tsunami, it was due to the attack of a big omen!

Mo Fan was currently storing and refining his power.

He turned his intent into a ferocious, surging tsunami. He wanted to burst the cultivation barrier before him, he wanted to occupy an even larger area!

“Come, break for me!” Mo Fan shouted in his heart. In an instant, his mental energy turned into what appeared to be a torrential wave. Without hesitation, it attacked the cultivation dam that restricted his cultivation!

His intent was imposing and ferocious!

As an Intermediate Magician, Mo Fan’s intent was already much stronger than others. This time, he definitely used what he had learned from that lesson in the past!

Using a massive spurt of energy was precisely the method of breaking through the Stardust. At least, Mo Fan thought that he couldn’t be gentle toward the Shadow Stardust.

As expected, the Shadow Stardust showed a bit of resistance in the beginning, and even rebounded a mental attack back at him.

The thing is, how could Mo Fan not know that there’d be such a mental attack coming? In the past, when he wasn’t strong at all, he clenched his teeth and endured it. Knowing that there was such a mental attack coming, what was there to be afraid of?

Mo Fan now possessed two Nebulas, a mental attack from a Stardust was nothing compared to genuine might!

After enduring it for a little bit, Mo Fan used the burst to break into the Shadow Stardust’s dam, and it nearly fell apart.

The midnight Star Halos around the Stardust were cracking.

After breaking, he could clearly feel that the new Shadow Element was a beast that wanted to obtain an even bigger territory. It frantically swallowed up everything in its surroundings, condensing them into a domain that belonged to itself!

The small Stardust area was no longer able to contain the energy of the new Shadow Element. It spread out, rotated, occupied space, and quickly turned into a clump of Nebula. It was like a beautiful black rose blossoming inside the vast space!

“Shadow Nebula!” Mo Fan cried out in excitement. “Good, I have yet another Element reaching the Intermediate level!” Mo Fan was naturally happy.

Having one more breakthrough meant yet another Intermediate spell!

Although completing the drawing of the Shadow Nebula would require a period of time, Mo Fan still had some Shadow Star Atlas Books that were given to him by his beloved teacher, Ms. Tangyue!

There was three Star Atlas Books in total. It meant that once Mo Fan broke into the Intermediate level with his Shadow Element, he would be able to directly use the Intermediate magic of Shadow!

Fire Burst!

Fiery Fist!

Lightning Strike!

Thunderbolt!

Evading Shadow!

Colossal Shadow Nail!

Dimensional Summon!

He was now a man who possessed seven different spells! Who can now mess with I, the great Mo Fan?!?

“It seems battles are necessary for my growth. It’s been such a long time and I was not even close to getting my Shadow Element’s Stardust to the next level. However, with just two battles against two monsters, I am now at the Starcloud level!” Mo Fan said to himself.

Cultivating without any practical experience was, after all, not very effective. Right now, Mo Fan felt that he should start getting involved in more battles.

——

When he got back to the hostel, Mo Fan was quite surprised when he saw his two roommates were present in the room.

Usually at this time, Zhao Manyan would’ve gone out for a date; he was not willing to spend the long night alone satisfying himself with his own hands.

Zhang Pinggu would always go out; he was a overly friendly person and when there was no one in the hostel, he would go to the other hostels to gossip.

“Mo Fan! We were about to call the police if you don’t show up soon!.” exclaimed the relieved Zhang Pinggu when he saw Mo Fan enter the room.

“What? I was cultivating privately!” said the confused Mo Fan.

“Enough, don’t cause anymore panic, go and cultivate,” said Zhao Manyan impatiently.

Zhang Pinggu smiled awkwardly after hearing Zhao Manyan’s words and shut his mouth.

On the other hand, although he was unable to understand what the duo was talking about, Mo Fan felt that there was no need to dwell on the matter. His phone rang just as he was about to take a rest.

“Fan Mo!” an adorably pure and cute voice sounded in his ear.

“Little girl, what’s up?” asked Mo Fan.

“I’ve done some research on the blood sample on the skin shed by the demon, and used its blood to make something like a tracker!” said Ling Ling.

“Ughhh, you even know how to do this?” asked the surprised Mo Fan, who would never have thought that this little girl was so talented.

“Where are you now? I’ll go and find you. The husband said that if you could save his wife, he will pay us a total of one million RMB. The money is deposited already,” said Ling Ling.

“One million??” repeated a startled Mo Fan.

This man was way too generous… But when Mo Fan thought about it, this matter was tightly related to the lives of his family, and the man would probably pay even more than a million. After all, what was the point of keeping the money if they were killed?

“Are you at the institution? I’m just nearby so I will come to you now,” said Ling Ling.

“Ok.”

—————-

Mo Fan met up with Ling Ling at the ground floor of the hostel. Ling Ling seemed to be quite familiar with the Pearl Institution.

He then brought her to a beverage shop and bought her a cup of strawberry milk tea.

“Oh… You probably don’t drink that,” said Mo Fan as he thought of the demeanor of this little girl, easily equivalent to a grown woman. He reached his hands out after he handed over the milk tea to the girl.

“Did I say no!?” Ling Ling, however, snatched the milk tea away from Mo Fan and started drinking right through the straw, filling up her mouth with the sweet milk tea.

Perhaps Ling Ling noticed that her actions were not ladylike, and she quickly changed the topic. “How come there’s so few people today?”

“It’s the holiday, of course. The students have all gone home or gone for a vacation and the teachers are probably not here anymore, I guess?” replied Mo Fan.

“Right, let’s not talk about this. Let me show you what I’ve created,” Ling Ling said as she placed her laptop right in front of Mo Fan.

“What is this?” asked Mo Fan, looking at the digital map that had appeared on the laptop with a confused face.

“The map of Shanghai, what else could it be? This is no ordinary map; as soon as I entered the data of the demon, her position will be marked in this map right away and she will have no way to hide. Be it any streets or the underground tunnels underneath Shanghai, we will be able to locate her immediately!” said Ling Ling as she raised her little head proudly. At that moment, she was no different from a little girl that was showing off her new dress.

“You are really so smart! Being able to make something so high tech!” Mo Fan complimented her sincerely.

“Of course, I am a Senior Hunter! I am not good in actual combat, but no one could be better than me in supporting the team!” said Ling Ling, as a smile blossomed on her face.

“Shall we begin then? One million! I have never seen so much money in my entire life!” said Mo Fan excitedly. Other then the award the University had given him, of course…

Money, money, and more money. Mo Fan was extremely deprived of money and although this mission was quite tough, if it was for the one million…

Ling Ling nodded and took out an USB and inserted it into her laptop.

Soon, something appeared on the screen, as if it had been activated.

Mo Fan stared at the digital map closely and waited for the position of the demon to appear.

While waiting, Mo Fan asked, “What are these demons? Why are they a human one moment and a demon in the next moment?”

“Strictly speaking, they should be humans, but they are probably infested by some kind of parasite demon. In the day, they are no different from any human, but at night, the demons in their body need nutrients to survive. So they take control over them and use them to hunt for nutrients while they are unconscious,” explained Ling Ling.

“No wonder…When I killed that male demon previously, it reverted to a normal human. Could it be that if I kill the demons while they have control over their host, then the host will be freed from them?” asked Mo Fan.

“Hmmm, seems like it. I had the people of the Hunter Squadron observing the husband and over this period of time, the husband did not turn back into a demon again. What you did might have worked. Let us see where the demon lady went to,” said Ling Ling.

Mo Fan started looking for the red dot signifying the location of the demon Ling Ling was talking about.

“What is the black dot, then?”

“It’s our location… There’s the red dot. Huh? What is this??” spluttered Ling Ling in surprise.

Mo Fan stuttered as well, as he didn’t know what was happening.

On the digital map was a whole lot of red dots. These red dots were not far away from one another, and were all around the two of them.

“Ling Ling, could it be that your tracker malfunctioned? Didn’t you say that this could track the demon? How come there are so many red dots? Don’t tell me that this demon could still create different clones of itself?” asked Mo Fan as he tried to hold in his laughter.

Ling Ling, who was also confused, also thought for a second that her tracker malfunctioned, since so many red dots had appeared.

“Impossible, this tracker of mine is definitely working fine.”

“Then what is this? Look at these red dots, they fill up a huge area…” As Mo Fan continued talking, he suddenly realized something. Cold sweat started beading on his forehead!!!

What if… the tracker was working fine??

Did that mean that...

“Ling Ling, quickly tell me if it is possible that this parasite demon can spread like a disease?!” Mo Fan asked very seriously, as he stopped joking around!

Lingling was also stunned.

The most unique traits of the parasite demons were how concealed they were and how they could spread like a virus.

In fact, some parasite demons were contagious, but it has been quite some time since the last appearance of such creatures!

“Wait a minute, let me confirm this with someone,” said Lingling, calling someone hurriedly as she, obviously understood how dire the situation was right now.

Mo Fan could only sit at the side worriedly while Lingling reported the situation to the person on the other end of the phone.

“She is asking that if the demoness had the habit of drinking blood,” asked Lingling.

“Yes, when I traced the demoness that night to room 102, she hung a girl up in the ceiling and waited for the girl’s blood to drip into her mouth,” replied Mo Fan.

Lingling then quickly passed the answer of Mo Fan to the woman on the other end of the phone.

Not more than a few seconds later, Lingling hung up the phone. Mo Fan saw panic and blankness in her eyes as her expression changed drastically.

And after she hung up the phone, Lingling stared at the red dots with a weird expression.

“The numbers of the red dots are increasing…” Mo Fan trailed off in a very serious tone.

“How is this happening… how… These red dots are right nearby, could it be that these things are all around…” said Lingling in disbelief.

Even as a Senior Hunter, it was extremely rare for her to encounter a situation like this; contagious parasite demons were as scary as a plague!

“Could it be that the demon did not kill that short-haired girl because she was trying to infect her??” speculated the horrified Mo Fan.

He could still clearly remember that the demoness was slowly taking her time, when in truth, she could have killed the girl right away!

“It must have injected her blood into the girl and hung her up to completely exsanguinate her own blood…” said Lingling.

“That girl has been infested and she will turn into one of them at night, which means that this school…” Mo Fan trailed off, a shiver going down his spine when he looked at the red dots on the digital map.

The school had been infected!

The short-haired girl did not die, and presumably like that male demon, she has no idea what she did and she would even not be able to know that she would shed her skin and head out to suck blood!!

Oh gods, the school was filled with the nutrients essential to these parasite demons!

The tracker was working perfectly!

It precisely tracked the blood of the demon, but thanks to the short-haired girl that was infected by its blood, who then proceeded to infect the others, there were now countless infected people that carried the same blood!!

Mo Fan and Lingling looked into one another’s eyes, and saw the disbelief there.

“Fan Mo, night has arrived…” Lingling said softly, as she looked at the silent surroundings of the school and the dark sky.

“I… I know,” Mo Fan whispered back, inhaling deeply.

“I will notify the Hunter Union right away… Strange, why are all these red dots heading in one direction at the same time?” said Lingling.

“We are all on a holiday, but if I’m not mistaken, there is a concert at the school’s stadium tonight, and the tickets completely were sold out!” blurted out Mo Fan, as he recalled the event that Zhang Pinggu told him about.

“They probably have not shed their skins yet. The people of the Hunter’s Union will not make it in time, and when they get here, the entire stadium will have turned into the monsters’ canteen. Once everyone in the stadium is fully infected, things will get out of hand!” said Lingling.

“Besides, the people of Hunter’s Union probably won’t be able identify who is infected and who is not…,” added Mo Fan grimly.

Due to the holiday, most of the teachers were absent now.

Although the majority of the students were already gone, there were still over seven thousand students heading to the concert!

The stadium was extremely large, and with the many hallways, stairways, and rooms, the interior of the stadium was a maze. The only place within the stadium that was spacious was the arena, but with so many students in the stadium, it was practically impossible to deal with them one by one in a short time!

“The concert is about to start soon, but the red dots are still increasing, they are spreading like a virus at a very fast pace!!” shouted Lingling as she watched the rapidly spreading red dots.

“What can we do to stop this? I can’t possibly lay my hands on normal people carrying the infected blood!” asked Mo Fan asked quickly.

“Sister told me that the demon blood might be gathered at the thumbs of those infected, so just opening up a tiny wound and flushing out the infected blood from those who have yet to shed skin will do. As for those who have already shed their skins, you will have to kill them like you killed that male demon previously, and they will revert to normal!” said Lingling.

“Got it! Inform the Hunter Union and the teachers of the school right away, and request immediate assistance! I will head to the stadium first and you will assist me from afar, tell me which of them are carrying the infected blood!” Mo Fan said hurriedly.

“Ok, you be careful! These demons are extremely dangerous, and please don’t die!” replied Lingling worryingly.

“It’s not like you have never seen my capabilities. Enough said, every second wasted means another person getting infected!” said Mo Fan.

Through the shadows around him, Mo Fan merged with the darkness and quickly rushed towards the stadium.

——————-

“Shit, it’s just the concert of an idol, why are there so many of you there! Fuck, you guys just made my work even harder!” swore Mo Fan as he swiftly rushed towards the stadium.

The stadium was still quite some distance away from him. By the time Mo Fan got there, three minutes had already passed.

When he arrived, there was no one outside of the stadium anymore, as everyone had entered to see the show.

“Fan Mo, I’ve contacted someone in the higher up of your school, and he said that I am pulling a prank!” Lingling told him angrily.

“That’s normal, you are just a loli, do you think he will believe what you said? Have you reported this to the Hunter’s Union?”

“Yeah, someone at a higher rank than me has contacted the school,” replied Lingling, sounding quite annoyed.

“Good.”

“Fan Mo, Fan Mo! There is one at the entrance!!” Lingling’s voice was filled with tension.

Mo Fan was now at the entrance, and saw nothing but a very big display stage with the poster of a very cute and pretty female idol in front of him.

Perhaps due to the concert, the lights around were not switched on, and everything was dark.

“Tell me the distance and direction,” whispered Mo Fan.

“Go straight, about ten meters.”

“There’s nothing here, are you sure?”

“The black and red dot has already merged together on my map, you still see nothing?” asked Lingling nervously.

“No, I see noth… oh fuck, it’s on the ceiling!”

Outside of the school, Lingling’s heart started pumping quickly; she had no idea what happened, but she could hear rattling noises through her headphones!

On the other hand, Mo Fan was panting as he focused his attention on the demon scowling down at him.

This demoness was covered in yellowish-green scales, slightly different from the green-scaled demoness Mo Fan encountered previously.

Fortunately, he had already reached the Intermediate Mage level, which further enhanced his senses, or he would’ve been killed by this thing when it plunged down from above.

Though the speed of this demoness was not as fast as the husband and wife demons Mo Fan had faced, its combat power was perhaps no less than the Dark Beasts in Bo City!

Similar to the Dark Beasts, this type of demoness possessed both agility and sharp claws. The demon opened up a wound on Mo Fan’s shoulders after barely touching him with its claws!

But thank Heaven the wound was not deep, or he would have started bleeding out!

“Come, come here, you little shit, show me what you got!” taunted Mo Fan as he stood by the stairs.

As if it could understand human language, the yellow-green demoness screeched and lunged towards him!

As it moved towards him, it kept utilizing the terrain to shift its position, attempting to disrupt Mo Fan’s line of attack.

“It’s futile!”

If it was the old Mo Fan, he would be struggling to deal with this.

However, as an Intermediate Mage now, he could instantly cast the Primary tier spells. All he had to do now was wait for a chance to attack.

“Hissss~~~~!!!!” The demoness jumped up, clawing for Mo Fan’s throat.

Mo Fan quickly evaded, dodging its attack, and as he moved, angry lightning arcs could be seen forming in his right hand.

“Thunder Strike: Fury Break!”

Without hesitation, Mo Fan’s right hand landed on the body of the demoness. Countless lightning serpents twined around it.

The serpents covered the demoness with lightning as they burrowed into its body and paralyzed its muscles.

“Rose Flame: Ignite: Fire Burst!!”

Right after the demoness collapsed to the ground, a rose-colored fire appeared on Mo Fan’s left hand!!

The scorching Rose Flame exploded right in front of the demoness’ face, blowing its face apart and sending it flying away.

Weng…

The sound of the explosion echoed around him.

Mo Fan was also pushed back by the impact of the explosion, his clothes flapping in the backwash.

Cautiously watching the demoness from afar, Mo Fan realized this thing no longer had any energy, much less any power to climb up.

“Rose Flame’s might is really tyrannical. A single Fire Burst, Rupture was able to annihilate this monster,” Mo Fan extinguished the flames on his palm as he revealed a slight smile.

The demoness’ power should be around that of a Black Beast. If he was to meet a Black Beast now, he would be able to instantly kill them with just a Lightning Strike and Rose Flame’s Fire Burst!

After Mo Fan walked over to the side of the demoness, he realized that its scales had fractured during the Rupture.

A few seconds later, the scales fell off. The crude and sticky yellow-green skin beneath was also peeling away.

Body fluids began to pour out from the crack, and a slime-covered, pale arm slowly slid out.

Shedding!

This situation was the same as the man who recovered. Lingling was right, the people who had shed into a demon form would shed again to return to their original state.

“I…water…water…” A girl with her entire body covered in mucus came out of the decaying husk of the demoness.

The girl’s face was extremely pale, and her lip looked like they were about to crack. She opened eyes filled with helplessness and panic as she looked at Mo Fan, hoping he could pull her away from the parasitic pain.

Watching this incredible pretty girl rely on her natural instincts to beg for help made Mo Fan quite emotional.

Mo Fan removed his oversized t-shirt and wrapped the girl in it before carrying her to a rest area nearby.

After buying a bottle of water from the vending machine, he gave it to the girl covered in green mucus. The girl grabbed onto the bottle and frantically drank it.

Mo Fan bought a couple more of them. After seeing her recovering a little bit of her strength, he opened his mouth to say, “Wait here, I’ll call people to take you to the hospital.”

“Don’t…don’t go…” The girl looked at Mo Fan with her eyes turning red. Her body was still shivering non stop, she was still extremely scared.

She didn’t know what had happened, but she could feel pain. She could feel that she had done some incredible scary things. The man who had saved her definitely gave her a sense of comfort at this time!

“Don’t worry, there’ll be people here to help you very soon,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan didn’t dare to stay here for too long, as he hastily left for the gym.

—

“Fan Mo, are you okay? I saw the red dot disappear,” Lingling’s voice popped up in his ear.

“Go and pick up the girl outside, and prepare some clothes for her,” Mo Fan said.

“Alright,” Lingling hesitated for a moment, and then she said with a weak voice, “Or, don’t go in. Wait for the school and the Hunter Union to come here and deal with it. It’s far too dangerous inside.”

Lingling didn’t want Fan Mo to take unnecessary risks.

The matter was no longer their responsibility. The red dots inside were still increasing. If Mo Fan was to charge in and get surrounded, then there’s a chance he’d become one of them.

The two of them had encountered this while on their mission. The school would isolate the infection or catch the demons. The truth was, if they hadn’t discovered the existence of these parasitic and infectious Magical Beasts, then the number of infected might even have been two or three times greater!

All they could do now was to inform the Hunter Union and the school board about this horror, and leave them to handle the rest of the things.

“Fan Mo?” Lingling realized it was quiet on the other side so she continued to ask.

“Guide me to the next closest red dot,” his voice came from the other end.

“But…alright. You must be careful, make sure you fight in a monitored area so I can help you.” Lingling didn’t say anything else.

Through the monitor, Lingling was able to see the spacious gymnasium entrance. A shirtless man was running towards it, and that person was precisely her partner, Fan Mo! For some reason, Lingling could tell that he was definitely not afraid of a Magical Beast!

The resting area’s location was sent to Lingling’s monitor. She found the girl Mo Fan had saved currently curled up beside the vending machine.

Her tiny body was continuously shivering, and her skin was exceedingly pale.

She was wearing a t-shirt that seemed quite cheap. The large t-shirt happened to be enough to cover the girls thighs that were not stained with gory goo. But it did not cover her eyes, still filled with what seemed to be nightmares and helpless fear.

“Twenty meters!”

“There’s a wall in front of me! There’s no door!”

“I checked the gym’s blueprint. Either you have to blast through the wall, or you’ll have to take a two hundred-meter detour to get to the other side of the wall.”

“Shit!” Mo Fan cursed. He immediately turned around and took the detour according to Lingling’s instructions.

Blasting open the wall wasn’t difficult for Mo Fan. The problem was Fiery Fist would blast the entire room into ruins, making him no different than the demon who was killing inside the room!

Two hundred meters, if he was to use all of his strength to run, it wouldn’t take too long…

—

After arriving at what seemed to be an makeup room for performers. Mo Fan kicked open the door.

After opening the door, Mo Fan discovered that the room was extremely bright. At a glance, he saw a girl in performance clothes hanging up on the wall. She was already out cold, the arteries on her wrist had been cut open. Her blood was flowing down the wall.

Another insatiable demoness was standing by the wall, licking it greedily.

This scene could only be described as horrifying.

Mo Fan glanced at the girl in stagewear, his face already turning purple, his eyes filling with rage.

This kind of parasitic process was even more painful than instant death. The creature would hang the person up and hold their throat. Then, it would make them bleed while they were still conscious.

The victim would not only experience the agony of their blood being slowly drained, they would also receive a spiritual torment at the hands of the gluttonous creature. This would most likely leave behind a trauma within the victim’s heart.

“Die!”

Mo Fan did not hesitate at all. He threw the Rose Flames within his hand at the green-scaled demoness.

The demoness was in the middle of enjoying herself, how could she possibly have expected a calamity flying her way?

It didn’t dodge in time and was hit by Mo Fan’s Fire Burst, Rupture. It was sent flying helplessly to the corner of the room, hitting itself by the dressing table.

“You want to escape?”

Mo Fan didn’t give the demoness an opportunity to breathe, immediately finishing a Lightning Strike.

As the Lightning Strike hit, the demoness was wounded. After receiving numerous Lightning Strike whips, it no longer had the strength to climb back up.

“Fire Burst, Scorch!” Mo Fan was using the same move.

This freaking green demoness had actually used the bleeding-out method on the girl. Thus, he decided to use his Flames to burn the demoness to death!

The effect of the Rose Flame Fire Burst, Scorch was relatively good. From within the rose-colored flames, he could see the demoness’ ugly face distorting in incredible pain.

It continued to struggle and let out an ugly sound. The flames persisted for roughly half a minute before it finally stopped. The green Demoness had been burned to death.

The scorched scales began to fall away, and the bubbling skin also began to split. When this demoness died, it also began to shed its skin. Inside was another girl in incredible pain.

Mo Fan grabbed a cloth and draped it over the girl whose body was covered in mucus and then he pulled the hanging girl down.

Fortunately, Mo Fan had a habit of bringing medicine. This was cultivated back when he was with the Hunter Squad, or else her cut arteries would have been hard to take care of.

Mo Fan smeared the clotting medicine on the performer girl’s wound. This kind of staunching medicine was manufactured by a Healing Mage and extremely precious, but its efficiency in stopping bleeding was indeed impressive. It can even stop major blood loss from arteries!

After feeding the performer some water, Mo Fan noticed signs of her waking up, after which his own face revealed a smile.

“Fan Mo, cut her thumb,” Lingling told him through his earpiece.

Mo Fan cut open her thumb while she was half unconscious and half conscious.

A line of blood appeared, and a few seconds later, Mo Fan actually discovered something wiggling inside it.

The wiggling thing seemed to know that it was exposed as it began to pop out of the opened wound.

Mo Fan quickly caught it with his hand. It looked like a little earthworm-sized Parasitic Demon Bug, and even had scales on it. After losing its host, the Parasitic Demon Bug seemed to be no different than a normal bug. Mo Fan immediately crushed it in his hand.

“Thank…you…” the performer girl said weakly, after she regained consciousness.

“What Element are you?” Mo Fan asked.

“Heal… Healing Element,” the girl replied weakly.

“Are you able to use your magic?” Mo Fan asked.

“I should be after resting a bit,” The performer girl looked relatively stable. Her face forcefully revealed a cool smile.

“That’s good. Could you take care of the student too. Go to the fire shelter, if I remember correctly, there should be food, water and medicine there,” Mo Fan told her.

“Mmm… Are there still many of these creatures out there?” the Healing element girl asked as she nodded.

“Lots of them. They are parasitic and infectious. I cut open your thumb so you won’t become one of them,” Mo Fan saw the girl being a bit more clear-headed, relatively calm and her face displayed some gratitude.

“Then send all of the people like me to the fire shelter, I’ll heal them,” the performer girl said sincerely.

“Alright!”

Mo Fan was also feeling depressed for those who are completely disturbed and weak. He just didn’t have the time to send each of them out.

Now, there would be a Healing Magician inside the enclosed fire shelter. With her, he would be able to set up a safe zone. The people he saved could all head down there. Fortunately, there’s food, water and medicine in there. Once the school and Hunter Unions people arrived, they’d be able to take these people out to heal.

“Excuse me, may I ask what your name is?” Just as Mo Fan was about to leave, the pale-faced Healing elemental girl asked.

“Eh…”

“Don’t tell me your name is Leifeng¹,” the girl laughed. Her appearance was a bit withered, but she was still very dainty.

“My name is nothing important,” Mo Fan smiled and hastily left the place.

Mo Fan’s name wasn’t a good thing was true.

Mo Fan’s name had been turned him into a public enemy in the Azure Campus. After all, he stole all the resources that were meant to be given to the new students.

That’s why when the girl asked for his name, Mo Fan was hesitating.

However, the girl didn’t continue asking. Mo Fan also didn’t have the time to sit here and play with them, he hastily charged toward the next location of the red dots.

…

“Lingling, location!” Mo Fan called out.

“Fifty meters to the right, one hundred meters to the front, and left back one hundred-thirty meters… they are beginning a large scale operation!” Lingling said.

“Shit, just how many people have been taken?!”

“You should know that the school has dormitories. If one has been taken, then the entire dormitory will suffer.”

“Fortunately, the school went on vacation. Oh right, it’s possible for those infected people to be outside and continue to infect others. If that’s the case, this will be even more difficult.”

“No one outside of school.”

“How could this be, aren’t they just like normal people during daytime?” Mo Fan asked.

“I estimate that after they’ve been infected, the Parasitic Demon Bugs let out a unconscious mind control, making them not want to leave the school grounds during the day or night. In this place, there are many people who fit what they want,” Lingling told him.

“I see, they are looking at my University as a cafeteria. They really aren’t putting a new student like me in their eyes!”

—

“Fan Mo, the three of them seem to have sensed your presence, they are proceeding toward you.”

“This place is too narrow, it’s not suited for my fighting ../style. I remember there’s an indoor basketball court up ahead, I’ll go there and catch them all at once!” Mo Fan hurried towards it, making his plans as he ran!

_______________________

Léi Fēng was a soldier in the People’s Liberation Army and is a communist legend in China. After his death, Lei was characterized as a selfless and modest person devoted to the Communist Party, Mao Zedong, and the people of China.

Mo Fan ran very quickly, he didn’t properly hear what Lingling’s last few words were.

After going into the indoor basketball court, Mo Fan opened the door and heard the sounds of balls bouncing in the court.

“Damn, there are actually girls playing basketball here! I can have them help me fight the three green demoness!” Mo Fan increased his speed as he ran toward the middle of the basketball court.

The floor was so clean that it could be used as a mirror. After Mo Fan ran into the basketball court, he realized there were a group of girls in the middle of a game. It looked relatively fierce.

Mo Fan was bursting with joy. Even as he was shouting, he heard a collision coming from the place he had passed through just moments ago. He reckoned it must be a couple of green demoness who had knocked over the large garbage can!

“Ladies, please stop playing basketball for now. There are three Magical Beasts coming this way, we must join hands to defeat them!” Mo Fan ran to the middle of the basketball and shouted to the group of girls playing basketball.

After saying this, he turned around with a slight smile as he looked at the three arrogant green demoness.

Do you really think I’d be scared of you with your numbers? I have even more helpers here!

The three green demoness had charged in, their triangular eyes fixed on Mo Fan, who was standing in the middle of the basketball court looking very pleased with himself.

They opened their mouths, but they did not advance.

“Ssssss~~!!”

“SSSSSSS!!!!!!!”

They let out some weird noises in Mo Fan’s direction.

At this moment, everyone who was still playing basketball stopped, staring at the three demoness in shock. It was clear that they did not expect this place to have actual Magical Beasts appearing.

However, before they could even react to this, they looked as though they had been hit by some magic spell. Every single one of them fell down to the floor in pain while letting out some strange noises.

“Fan Mo, didn’t I tell you? The basketball court… is filled with red dots!” At this moment, Lingling’s voice came through at the worst time.

What?

It’s filled with red dots?

That means the girls who are practicing basketball next to me…

Shit!

Mo Fan hastily turned around, an expression which couldn’t be described by words on his face.

The girls playing basketball had all fallen to the floor. They began to painfully twist their bodies under the cries of the three demonesses.

Their nails grew longer, and they used them to tear open their delicate skin!

As their skin were torn, green scales were visible beneath!

Mo Fan was dumbstruck when he saw this scene. This feeling was similar to having a couple of antagonists finally revealing themselves in front of him. The scene was incredibly frightening, even his scalp had started to feel numb!

Every single one of them had been turned!

Just now, it had been ten or so heroes surrounding the three demon creatures. In an instant, the white chess pieces had turned to black. Mo Fan became the single white piece, completely surrounded by the black pieces!

These creatures shed their skin very quickly. Mo Fan didn’t have time to cut open their thumbs.

All of the people playing basketball here were girls. He should’ve known that one of the girls would’ve been infected, and then infected the others.

He had thought he could use the students’ help to fight against the demons, but they all ended up turning into one of them instead.

If they all came for him, then he’d be torn to pieces!

“Fan Mo, are you able to fight against them?!” Lingling shouted in his ear.

“Definitely not!”

“What are you gonna do then?”

“I’ll run first!”

Mo Fan wasn’t stupid, he wasn’t gonna wait for all of the basketball girls to finish shedding and become demons!

He activated the Blood Beast Boots without hesitation. A layer of blood-colored light was clearly visible covering Mo Fan’s legs.

Mo Fan ran so fast that you could see smoke following him. Fortunately, the basketball court had another exit, or it would have become really troublesome.

The Blood Beast Boots saved Mo Fan’s life once more. The lights in the basketball court were too strong, finding a place with shadows was easier said than done. If it wasn’t for the Blood Beast Boots, then he would’ve lost his life right there, even if he used Intermediate Magic.

Furthermore, to use Intermediate Magic, it would take several seconds. By the time he finished, he would’ve been swallowed by the demonesses on the basketball court!

Mo Fan charged to the other exit. The exit seemed to be the passage for the athletes, leading to the resting area in the back.

The passage was relatively long and narrow. Just as Mo Fan ran inside, the green demoness had finished shedding. They didn’t act like basketball players, but more like rugby players who charged straight in!

Mo Fan ran straight to the end of the passage. When he saw the green demoness had followed him inside, his mouth perked up in a smile.

“Good, I’ll finish them in one swoop!

Mo Fan smiled madly, gazing these avaricious yet clearly dumb green demonesses.

“Rose Flame, Fiery Punch, Exploding Heavens!”

His body was instantly covered by captivating rose-colored flames. Mo Fan had turned into a human torch, emitted extreme heat from the flames around him.

After shouting loudly, all of the Fiery Punch had gathered within his right hand!

“One, two, three, four, five… go die for me!”

Mo Fan threw the Fiery Punch out fiercely. The rather dark passage was instantly filled with the rose-flames as the gigantic Fiery Fist exploded forth and the entire passage seemed like it would collapse.

The two demonesses at the very front were engulfed in the flames as they let out miserable shrieks, they couldn’t dodge it even if they tried!

Mo Fan had slightly decreased the power of Fiery Fist, or else the two demoness in the front would’ve turned into ashes from the heat.

The force of the Fiery Fist pushed through, all five demoness who had entered the passage had all been scorched black as they were blasted far away.

The entire basketball court was lit up, and the reinforced glass within it displayed signs of cracking. The rumbling sound of the aftershock echoed inside.

“Amazing!” Lingling exclaimed, clearly pleased by this development.

“What did you say?!” Mo Fan’s ears were still buzzing, he couldn’t hear what Lingling said.

This Fiery Fist had directly blasted away five green demonesses. The offensive power behind it was naturally one of the highest of the Intermediate spells!

The thing was, there were two more demonesses who hadn’t entered the passage. However, because the power of Fiery Fist was simply too tyrannical, not only did it destroy the passage, it had even turned into a gigantic fire wave as it burst forth from the hallway. It had swept the other two demonesses up and and scorched them black as well.

“The strength and wisdom of these green demonesses are definitely not on par with the two we had encountered in that private garden. Especially the demoness that shed from the wife, not only was she fast, but she was incredibly sly,” Lingling said loudly to Mo Fan.

“These are at most Minion class. If there were more of them, then even I couldn’t do anything. The situation before was actually very dangerous!” Mo Fan replied calmly.

These green demons didn’t seem to know what fear was. After witnessing the might of Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist, your average Magical Beast would’ve run with their tails between their legs a long time ago.

The remaining six demonesses saw Mo Fan resting after casting magic and began to charge toward Mo Fan through the unrecognizably burned passageway.

How could Mo Fan possibly have the mood to linger around after seeing these six demons; he promptly ran away.

The Blood Beast Boots were able to continue on for a little bit longer. Mo Fan’s running speed was several times faster than that of the demons, and so he quickly threw them off.

——

On the second floor of the gym was a uniquely-shaped room. A young man with golden hair gently pushed a girl into the wall.

The girl was blushing. Looking like she was unable to resist her desires, she let out a little moan.

“If people come here, then we’re screwed,” the oval-faced girl whispered.

“They won’t, most of the people are watching the play. We’ll finish this quickly,” the blond man smiled back.

The man had already pushed her to the wall, he was in the middle of kissing her neck while slowly moving toward the deeper area of her throat.

The girl grabbed onto the blond man’s hair, with her juicy lips and her dark eyes. When she was about to undo the camisole that stood in the way of her pleasure, a greenish thing covered in scales slowly crawled into the room from the window.

“There’s…there’s a monster!” The oval-faced girl was so scared her face turned pale.

The blonde man laughed deviously and said, “Yeah, that’s right. I’m a monster who is going to eat you.”

After saying this, the blonde man kissed the girl’s lips once more.

The oval-faced girl’s eyes widened as she watched the green creature climbing on the ceiling like a spider, slowly approaching them!

“Sssssss~~!” The green demoness jumped down from above, biting toward the man’s throat with gaping jaws filled with sharp teeth!

“Light Cover, Holy Shield!”

Just when the green demoness was about to succeed, the blonde man suddenly turned around. His body was suddenly covered in a golden aura that expanded rapidly!

The golden ray turned into a bright, golden arc. The arc instantly spread out and wrapped up the blond man and the oval-faced girl.

The golden arc had Sanskrit charms inscripted on it as it spread its metallic edges. It became like a Holy Shield filled with light, firmly protecting the two of them.

The green demoness’ head directly smashed into the surface of the Holy Shield, sending her sprawling in a daze.

Light Cover, Holy Shield seemed to have a burning ability. The green demoness’ skin, where she had struck the shield, seemed to have completely burned off; it was like an evil vampire who had been exposed to holy water!

“You ruined this daddy’s fun!” the blond man coldly hmphed and gazed at the green demoness that was currently rolling around in pain, writhing as she clawed at her face.

The burn from the Holy Shield wasn’t like the heat from flames, but a purification from the holy cleansing. It was extremely effective against creatures of the dark, and profoundly evil creatures.

The green demoness wasn’t hit with any kind of magic that could kill it. Instead, she only ran into the Holy Shield, which was instead purifying her away.

Her face was completely burned away now, and the light had spread to its throat, followed by the rest of her body.

The green demoness could not bear the pain, and finally voluntarily cut itself. She had actually torn away the outer layer of her green skin.

“Don’t kill her, she looks like she is possessed!” The blond man was about to kill the thing, but the oval-faced girl next to him stopped him.

“Could it be that the couple of scary things that happened in school the past few days are related to this?” the blonde man wondered.

“Yes, it’s possible… Look, it’s a girl!” the oval-faced girl exclaimed.

After the green demoness skin was shed, it immediately revealed the naked body of a girl covered in mucus.

The girl inside it seemed to be conscious. She hastily climbed out of the mess of skin and goo and tore away part of the table cloth next to her, wrapping it around her body. Her eyes were filled with dismay, and she sat there with a drooped spirit.

“I’ll call my dorm mate to come here and help, we need to send her to the hospital first. We’ll notify the school regarding this matter,” the blonde man said.

“Mhm, let me call our Elemental director!” The oval-faced girl seemed very calm.

The blond man fished out his phone and hesitated for a while before he chose who he thought was a more reliable dorm mate to call.

“Where are you? Come here and help me send a girl to the infirmary. She looks like she was possessed by something…” the blond man said to the person on the other end of the phone.

“Fuck! Why are you calling me at this time!” a man’s roar was immediately heard from the other end of the phone.

—

There was a young man with no shirt emerging from the shadows of the ramp between the first and second floor.

He was running up the ramp toward the second floor without a care for his life as he cursed at his phone.

“Sssssssssss~!!!!”

“Sssssssssssssssssss~!!”

Near the hallway, six green demonesses had heard the ringtone of a phone and turned around to investigate it, just as they were about to leave. They began to chase after Mo Fan, who was now running upstairs.

“Your side… seems to be quite stimulating as well. Did something happen?” The person on the phone seemed to have heard the sharp cries.

“This daddy will be killed by you one day! I don’t have time to bullshit with you, I need to throw off these creatures!” Mo Fan said to the phone in a bad mood.

“Wait, don’t hang up! I think I heard your voice, are you inside the gym?!”

“Yeah!”

“Are you by the upstairs hallway?”

“Yeah!”

“Run to your right side, there’s an art room here! Hide here!”

——

Mo Fan didn’t dare to brood over it. After he ran to the second floor, he actually did discover there was a sign with large text denoting the art room.

After running that way, he saw someone opening the door. Mo Fan did not think, he just rushed inside.

Zhao Manyan quickly closed the door and watched Mo Fan brake and nearly slide out the window. Zhao Manyan was a little amazed at the speed, and when he looked at the boots on Mo Fan’s legs, he was quickly stunned once more.

“One, two? Three… Shit, how can there be six of them!” Zhao Manyan used the peephole as he looked out at the corridor and discovered there were six of the green scaled creatures that had assaulted him getting closer.

“There are many girls in this school that were…” Mo Fan gasped for air. Just when he was about to explain to Zhao Manyan, he suddenly realized the room had two girls in it. One’s clothes were not tidy, it was clear she had been doing something just now, and another one seemed like she wasn’t wearing anything, and was using the table cloth to wrap around her body as she hid in the corner.

“Don’t misunderstand, look at these scales. She came from inside those things,” Zhao Manyan awkwardly explained.

“I know, you don’t need to explain. I will explain the situation to you in a bit, help me deal with the six creatures that followed me,” Mo Fan said sincerely.

“I’ll protect you, just use your Thunderbolt and blow them away!” Zhao Manyan said.

An Intermediate Lightning Mage shouldn’t be afraid of these little magic beings, right?

“No, the power of Thunderbolt is too strong. It’ll destroy their bodies, I don’t want to become a murderer!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Just now, it looked like she began to shed after she bumped into the Light Element Magic. I think these creatures that possess others are very scared of Light magic,” the oval-faced girl observed.

Mo Fan glanced at her.

Zhao Manyan interrupted with a smile and said, “Let me introduce you, this is my girlfriend-”

“I’ve met her!” Mo Fan said in a bad temper.

When school started, Zhao Manyan had brought her back to the dorm several times, and even had a couple of meals there. Mo Fan did not remember what her name was.

“Eh? It’s my first time meeting you, though?” the girl looked at Mo Fan in surprise.

He coughed to himself… “Let’s deal with this matter in front of us first, these six green demonesses are still-” Zhao Manyan changed the topic just in time.

Unfortunately, before he could finish what he said, two claws suddenly punched through the door.

The claws crossed with left and right, tearing a couple of holes into the wooden door. The three people who was discussing how to deal with them were now visible to the demonesses beyond.

Their faces naturally changed.

Mo Fan took the initiative and finished chanting his magic. In his hand, a Lightning trace appeared.

Zhao Manyan immediately put his girlfriend behind him as a golden facula emerged on his fingertip.

(Editor’s note: Yep, I’m gonna make you look up facula!)

The faces of the two were relatively solemn; after all, this was no longer a laughing matter!

“Dazzle, Purification!”

Zhao Manyan shot out the facula on his fingertip. The point of light turned into a relatively slow pellet as it flew straight into the big mouth of one of the green demonesses.

The green demoness didn’t know what it had swallowed. When Zhao Manyan snapped his finger, her stomach suddenly bloated. A needle-like radiance shown out of her pores.

The green demoness covered her swollen stomach with her hands in agony. This radiance possessed a very effective purifying power, especially since the Dazzle had entered her body. It was very likely that it had purified all of the blood in her body!

This green demoness was boiling in internal agony, her claws began to tore apart some of the vicious scales on her body. She seemed to want to return to the body to the girl she was possessing!

The Lightning Strike that Mo Fan was in control of was still suspended in the air, he did not throw it out yet.

Mo Fan himself had spent a lot of effort just to get rid of one green demoness. This Zhao Manyan had used the lowest of the Dazzle spells to quickly kill one!

Dazzle, Purify was actually the first level of Dazzle!

“This kind of parasitic demon seems to extremely afraid of Light. Fan Mo, it seems like you found a good partner…Oh, I should call you Mo Fan,” Lingling said through the bluetooth earphone.

“Mhm!” Mo Fan nodded.

The Lightning Strike had turned into numerous electrical snakes as it flew toward the green demoness. Mo Fan was also very clear that even if Dazzle was very effective, it would still not be able to finish off six demons at once!

“Be careful!” The oval-faced girl turned pale with fear as she watched the f demonesses in the back charging at them with vicious looks.

Their speed was relatively quick. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan both dealt with one each. However, they could not stop the other four. Those used the walls as they charged toward Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan.

Just as Mo Fan was about to retreat, he suddenly thought back to Dean Zhu, who had told him that the Blood Beast Boots were able to pull off a kick of an incredible power!

With a thought, Mo Fan could feel his own mana being taken away, followed by an incredible energy bubbling forth in his leg, causing the muscles there to swell up.

Mo Fan waited for the right opportunity before he jumped up to do a roundhouse kick.

The bloody radiance let out a scarlet light at the moment Mo Fan kicked. Mo Fan’s heel smashed into a demoness’ head with the power of a wild beast, accompanied by an incredible red fluctuation. The red aura enhanced Mo Fan kick by many times!

BANG!!!

“hurk…”

A heavy noise was heard, followed by the horrifying sound of bones breaking.

The green demoness’ face had warped. Its entire body flew from one side of the hall to the other.

“Ice Spread, Cover!

Mo Fan was still infatuated with the invigorating feeling of the kick when the oval-faced girl completed her spell.

Frost quickly began to fall, covering the entire place.

The floor immediately turned into layers of ice. This ice spread up the walls, and the walls within the hall completely froze over.

The Ice Spread’s effect wasn’t very obvious, but the remaining three demonesses’ movements had slowed down a lot.

Originally, their claws allowed them to climb on the walls, ceiling, and be very nimble on the ground. However, after the Ice Spread, their claws were completely unable to latch on. One of the green demoness fell down from the wall, knocking right into the one paralyzed by Mo Fan’s Lightning Strike.

Primary Magic definitely could not kill these green demoness, except for Zhao Manyan’s Light Magic!

As long as the Dazzles hit them, the green demonesses would immediately fall to the ground in unspeakable pain.

Zhao Manyan’s chanting speed was relatively quick. The second Dazzle was completed and finished off yet another one.

With the three of them cooperating, dealing with the six of the green demonesses was suddenly nothing too dangerous.

After Mo Fan saw a golden ray emerging from the golden shield on Zhao Manyan’s body, his face betrayed his sudden recognition.

“So you’re also an Intermediate Magician! Why didn’t you do anything during the Rookie Beast Battle Competition?”

This Holy Shield was an Intermediate Light spell. Mo Fan had noticed that his roommate had concealed an incredible strength from the very beginning, and now, after he saw Zhao Manyan using the Intermediate spell of the Light Element, he had finally verified his suspicions!

“I’m an Intermediate Light Magician, what’s the use for us? Furthermore, why would I step on the table of a brother?” Zhao Manyan cursed him back.

Mo Fan thought about it. An Intermediate Light Magician’s role in a team was crucial. If one fought by themselves, they’d be a free sandbag.

Their gazes returned once more to the green demonesses that were currently shedding.

Maybe it was because the girls’ basketball uniforms were relatively elastic, but when they had finished shedding, their uniforms were still intact. However, the mucus covering them still looked incredibly gross.

“Shit, just what kind of creature is this? How can they turn jade-like girls into that kind of thing?” Zhao Manyan said.

“It’s a contagious parasitic-type demon. The people affected by this in this gymnasium are not small.”

“Does the school know?”

“I’ve contacted them, they should be taking measures… ah, do you guys hear something?” Mo Fan asked suddenly.

“I also heard it. It sounds like the automatic doors are being turned on.”

Just when Mo Fan was about to check what was going on, Lingling spoke up in Mo Fan’s ear.

“Mo Fan, all of the exits in the gymnasium have been sealed.”

“Sealed?!” Mo Fan was dumbstruck.

“It was decided by the school and the Hunter Union. They cannot let anyone with the blood of the parasite come out, or they will cause even more trouble. They had to resort to sealing off the place!” Lingling said.

On the outside of the gymnasium, a man stood between the sky-piercing horns of a massive blue beast. His eyes were solemn as he gazed cautiously at the large gymnasium.

“I have gone through it. This type of demon is called the Scale Skin Phantom. Generally speaking, the Scale Skin Phantom does not possess the ability to infect through blood. I believe the Scale Skin Phantom that we’re dealing with right now is a variant; it has evolved into a creature that we have not encountered before.” A handsome man in a leather jacket stood underneath the colossal sky-colored Beast, speaking to the man above respectfully.

“People do research on all kinds of magical medicine, some even go as far as using Magical Beasts for experiments. Developing a bizarre creature is not that strange. However, what I can’t endure is that these kind of creatures appeared inside Pearl University! This is the Pearl Institute, most of the people here are either new students or Primary Magicians! They are completely unable to defend themselves from these parasitic Magical Beasts!” the man on the large beast swore angrily.

As Hunters, they were very clear that it was possible for Magical Beasts to be roaming around in a large city like Shanghai. However, for them to appear at a holy ground like a Magic University astonished the entire magical world!

Why didn’t the hidden wards within the school stop the Magical Beasts from infiltrating it? Why did they only discover this matter when the situation reached this level? Why was the City Hunter Squad even allowed to eat food? In the end, they only found out about it because the Clearsky Agency’s people had received a commission for it!

If this matter had been delayed for two more weeks, the entire campus would’ve been turned into a Demon Lair!

“Yes. We have been careless.” A group of Magicians in orange uniforms stood there with their faces displaying a waxen complexion.

They were part of the City Hunter Squad, and the ones in charge of the area of Pearl Institute. If someone was to raise an alarm regarding a Magical Beast hereabouts, they were the ones immediately dispatched to eliminate the threat!

“At this moment, we are unable to count how many Scale Skin Phantoms are in there. Furthermore, from the information that I’ve received, this kind of Magical Beast will commit collective suicide if it thinks it will die. This kind of collective suicide method is actually a way for them to transfer their energy to the Mother Scale Skin Phantom. Additionally, after they’ve committed collective suicide, the person being taken advantage of will have their entire life force drained, and die!” the man with the leather jacket informed everyone.

“So basically, we cannot inadvertently alert the enemy?” the commander on the large beast asked for clarity.

“Yes. At the very least, we cannot let the Mother Scale Skin Phantom know that we’re undertaking a large scale operation. Otherwise, the people whom the parasites are attached to will immediately be abandoned by it.”

Upon hearing this, the Captain of the City Hunter Squad, Liang Yujie, couldn’t help but crease his brow.

On the other side, the face of the representative for Dean Xiao, Academician Li, changed greatly.

There were between six and seven thousand students inside the gymnasium. Among them, there were roughly a thousand people currently using the gym, and the rest of the people were inside the biggest sporting venue, watching the celebrity perform. Who knew how many people had been victimized so far?

If they were to charge in right now, all the people under the effect would commit suicide. This would immediately turn into a campus massacre. This was a responsibility which the Academician Li could not take upon himself, and the two elemental directors present could not do so, either!

“Then we can only stand here and watch?”

“We have to kill the Mother Scale Skin Phantom. Once the mother dies, the rest of the Scale Skin Phantoms will also die on their own!” the man with the leather skin jacket said.

“How strong is the Mother Scale Skin Phantom?”

While these people were in the middle of discussing things, a little girl holding a laptop came walking over.

“Little girl, hurry up and go home! This is not a place where you should be!” the elemental director, Zhou Zhenghua, hastily warned her.

Lingling didn’t even bat an eye at him, directly walking up to the man with the leather jacket.

“Lingling, come here!” the leather jacket man said with a loving smile, it was like he was looking at his own little sister.

“God damned monsters, you guys didn’t make too much noise when you decided to seal this place off, right?” Lingling said without reservation.

“Don’t worry, I heard from your sister. We were very careful with our operations, can’t you see that us experts are currently standing far away? If it wasn’t for us worrying about the evil Mother Scale Skin Phantom killing the victims, we would’ve already stormed into the place and eliminated them all. These little Magical Beasts are not something that I and Commander Xi Ming would place in our eyes,” the handsome man told her.

“Little girl, do you have any good ideas?” Commander Xi Ming asked.

Clearsky Agency’s beast hunting genius, Lingling, was actually quite reputable within the Hunter Union. Commander Xi Ming would gladly listen to any strategies proposed by her.

“If I’m not wrong, my partner and I were dealing with two green Scale Skin Phantoms, one of them should be the Mother and the other should be the Father. The Father was killed by us, and the Mother Scale Skin Phantom should be hiding inside the gymnasium. Furthermore, it uses its little Scale Skin Phantoms to draw nutrition for itself,” Lingling said as she opened her laptop and explained to all the high level people here the functions of the electronic map.

Everyone surrounded her, and quickly realized the electronic map displayed a relatively large number of red dots within the gymnasium. Furthermore, these things had mixed in with the students. Even if they were to dispatch experts into the place, it would still be useless. The experts would be unable to distinguish between who was a normal student and who’ had been infected by the parasites.

“According to my observations, these red dots are moving without a pattern. They’re going everywhere… however, there are always some of them moving to and from this area,” Lingling stretched out her little finger as she pointed at an interior area of the gymnasium.

“This place is…?”

“It’s the hydraulic fluid-lift platform in front of the large screen in the sporting venue,” Director Zhou Zhenghua immediately informed everyone.

“This hydraulic fluid-lift platform is usually in the air. Furthermore, it has a protective net surrounding it. This equipment is rarely used, unless it’s for an incredible celebrity who wants to do something like falling from the sky… Oh right, the performance idol is planning on using this for their official show,” Academician Li hastily informed everyone.

“The hydraulic fluid-lift platform should have a door that leads to the third floor. The third floor has the idol’s make-up room, lobby, and interview room. After the singer has prepared everything, they can directly go from the third floor into a small tunnel to enter the platform.”

“Lingling, are you thinking that the Mother Scale Skin Phantom is likely to hide within that platform, and is watching the entire venue from that altitude?” the man with the leather jacket asked in astonishment.

“Yeah, it’s because these little Scale Skin Phantoms have to deliver nutrition to their mother, that’s why I assumed it would be in this area.”

“This matter cannot be delayed, we need to immediately dispatch people to deal with this Mother Beast!”

“No, you might’ve alarmed the Mother Beast when you sealed off the area. The Mother Scale Skin Phantom is intelligent, it’s likely that the other reason it’s at a high point is because it wants to take control of the situation. If we were to rashly enter, we’ll definitely be discovered!”

“Then what do we do? We can’t just wait here!”

At this moment, everyone was at their wit’s end.

The strength of the Mother Scale Skin Phantom was nothing compared to these incredibly strong Magicians. The problem is, the enemy was holding a large number of students as hostages. Once they alarmed the enemy, it would be about life and death!

“Lingling, you just said that your partner killed the Father Scale Skin Phantom. According to your explanation before, your partner is currently inside the gymnasium?” the handsome man with leather jacket inquired.

“Yeah, he is also a student from here. He was the first to charge in to save people.”

“Your partner’s strength shouldn’t be too bad, why don’t you let him go and deal with the Mother Scale Skin Phantom?” the man with the leather jacket asked gently.

Lingling thought about it.

Indeed, that was the only solution that would be suitable, since the experts outside couldn’t risk entering!

…

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan walked back along the same path he had arrived through. Additionally, the girls that shed with the help of Zhao Manyan’s girlfriend had all been sent to the fire shelter.

The Healing Element girl seemed to be doing well. When she saw that Mo Fan had saved a whole group of girls, her face was filled with astonishment.

“You’re really impressive. If we lots were to unite, we would still not be able to deal with them. Yet you were able to deal so many of them by yourself,” the Healer said to Mo Fan as she gave him a thumbs-up.

“It’s alright,” Mo Fan smiled modestly, but in his heart, he felt himself becoming increasingly more awesome!

In the past, he needed to rely on a falling stalactite to win against a normal Spirit Wolf, whereas now he could use his own strength to eliminate so many of them. If he’d had this kind of power during the Calamity of Bo City, then he definitely wouldn’t have had such a difficult time!

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan!” Lingling’s voice was in his ear again.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s like this; the Mother Scale Skin Phantom has most likely sensed that we’ve sealed the entire area off. Furthermore, according to the newest information, if we were to drive her into a corner, she will make all of the green demonesses commit suicide. This kind of suicide will even take the lives of those possessed!” Lingling told him.

“I’ve only saved around twenty people so far. What’s the number of those still infected?” Mo Fan creased his brow in worry.

This was no longer a laughing matter. Once the Mother Beast issued an order to suicide, the number of people who died could very easily reach up to hundred or so.

Most of the ones being infected were girls. They were all incredibly favored by Pearl Institute. If they all were to die like this, then it would definitely become a huge tragedy!

“The Senior Hunters can’t go in, and the school directors at this moment cannot rashly do anything. The City Hunter Squad is currently searching for an entrance they can use without alarming the Mother Beast… However, if we drag it out like this, the situation will turn increasingly bad. Thus, the Senior Hunters, Academicians, and the Director’s idea is to have you go in and eliminate the Mother Beast!” Lingling sincerely said.

“Let me do it?” Mo Fan was shocked.

He didn’t even have to guess that the surroundings of the Mother Scale Skin Phantom would be filled with other phantoms.

The Mother Skin Scale Phantom was powerful. Just dealing with her was not that simple. Furthermore, there were groups of green demoness in its surroundings.

——-

Outside of the gymnasium, everyone’s attention was on the little loli, Lingling.

After she turned off the call with Mo Fan, she saw everyone was staring at her.

“How did it go?” Academician Li asked immediately.

“I told him that the school would award him something of considerable value, and City Hunter Squad’s annual ‘Eliminating An Enormous Threat’ award money would also be given to him. Only after that did he agree to do it,” Lingling told him after a thought entered her head.

“Alright, that’s good,” Academician Li sighed slightly.

If it was any other student, Academician Li would still be a little bit worried. However, once they found out Lingling’s partner was actually Mo Fan, Academician Li and director Zhou Zhenghua began to feel more relieved.

Who was Mo Fan?

On the day of the Rookie Competition, a single person defeated two hundred students. He defeated even Mu Nujiao, someone from an esteemed family! There were very few students who could actually be stronger than him!

“Hmph! If we allow a student go take care of the Mother Scale Skin Phantom, if he fails then aren’t we inadvertently alerting the enemy? I reckon we should wait for my City Hunter Squad to find an entrance the Mother Beast doesn’t know of and then go in and take care of them. In terms of hunting Beasts, I’m afraid there aren’t many who are as experienced as we are!” the bald Captain of the City Hunter Squad declared.

The bald Captain had ten years under his belt, and those beneath him were elites!

If this matter wasn’t fixed properly, then it would become a large massacre. Not only would the infected victim’s relatives investigate this, but society at large would also criticize it.

Whether this matter was handled by the City Hunter Team or by someone else, they would still be the first to get blamed. Thus, the bald Captain preferred to rely on his own strength!

If it was a student from the main campus of Pearl Institute, then the Bald Captain wouldn’t say a single word. However, the student inside was from the Azure campus!

What could a student from the Azure Campus possibly do? The difference between the two campuses was far more than a level!

“Senior Hunter, I also think it’d be rash to let this student take care of this matter,” another experienced Hunter spoke up.

“Did you find an entrance to the gymnasium where we won’t be discovered by the Mother Beast?” the Senior Hunter standing on top of the large beast looked down at them and asked.

“We have not…”

“Then shut up!”

——

Mo Fan followed the route from Lingling and headed to the third floor. Zhao Manyan came with him.

Zhao Manyan’s Light Magic was deathly effective toward the green demonesses. A group of the Skin Scale Phantoms could be considered very troublesome.

They couldn’t act like fierce hunters and just attack them all, as they might really hurt the possessed girls. If they were too lenient, then they couldn’t kill it. Thus, Zhao Manyan was the most suitable person to take care of the “children”.

The number of people in this operation couldn’t be high. If the Mother Scale Skin Phantom saw a group of Magicians charging over, she would definitely escape!

“Mo Fan, you’re here for the money, and I’m here for the fame. If my life is in danger, I’ll definitely turn around and leave. This is not something I’m feeling obligated or responsible to. I will do my best to help, but it doesn’t mean I will throw my life away,” Zhao Manyan said solemnly as he ran along with Mo Fan.

“I know. Wait, you want fame, what does that mean?” Mo Fan asked.

The truth was, Mo Fan didn’t think Zhao Manyan would do anything. After all, he was a Light Magician. Although Light is very effective toward the Mother Skin Scale Phantom, a Light Magician’s combat prowess was still very limited.

“I won’t hide this from you. I’m from the Zhao Family. The influence of my family in China is in no way inferior to the family of Mu Nujiao. Most of the young disciples from there enroll in universities not because they want to dominate others, but to make a name for themselves. They do want us to show we’re a cut above our peers, but the main reason is to attract talents for the family. The importance of the situation here at the Campus is definitely of no matter. If I am able to save the people from this disaster, then the influence and fame of my Family at university and in society will definitely increase substantially. If I make such a contribution to the Family, then they will put more importance on me. You don’t have a Family behind you, so you may not understand just how important this kind of thing is,” Zhao Manyan said honestly.

“The struggles of your family sure are complex. Fame doesn’t really matter to me. I’m already notorious, and if I save them from this disaster, then I’d only have washed the hate off myself,” Mo Fan replied.

“Oh?” Zhao Manyan’s eyes suddenly turned as he opened his mouth. “How about this; if we can annihilate the Mother Beast, then the fame will belong to me. That way, my influence will be in no way inferior to Mu Nujiao!”

Zhao Manyan was very clear that if they were to kill the Mother Beast, then the largest meritorious award would go to Mo Fan. Furthermore, if you were to look around, then Mo Fan was most likely the only person who was capable of defeating the Mother Beast.

Zhao Manyan would only receive an award for assisting him. That much wasn’t very useful. He needed the main award!

“Although we’re roommates…”

“State your price!” Zhao Manyan straightforwardly proposed.

State the price?

Then I won’t be polite!

“I want a Wing equipment,” Mo Fan blurted out.

“You can go by yourself. Either way, it doesn’t matter to me when people die.” Zhao Manyan immediately stopped, he looked as though he didn’t want to joke around at all.

“Spirit-grade Lightning Seed. If not, then I might as well go by myself. Either way, you don’t have any combat prowess. I have a method to protect myself anyways,” Mo Fan revised quickly and sincerely, without any hint of joking.

“...Shit, you sure are greedy!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

A Spirit-grade Lightning Seed was something worth more than ten or so million RMB!

A special Spirit grade seed like that was very rare. If it was put on auction, then it would be purchased by someone else with power in a matter of minutes.

That is why the Spirit grade Seeds were often a bit higher than the market price. The Spirit grade Lightning Seed that Mo Fan wanted wasn’t something the Zhao Family could not buy, but it wasn’t something they could just casually give away. Zhao Manyan felt as though his skin was being ripped.

“Deal?” Mo Fan asked.

“Deal!” Zhao Manyan replied as he clenched his teeth.

Zhao Manyan was a man who knew how to calculate.

If he was to compare himself to Mu Nujiao, who had expended a monstrous amount of her family’s resources to replenish the resources for the University’s rookies to attain her current standing, then his Zhao Family would only spend a single Spirit grade Lightning Seed to bring him to the same standing as her, that was actually quite a profit! Zhao Manyan believed that the people within his family with power would definitely agree to this transaction!

As the two were conspiring over this, they had arrived at the third floor.

When Lingling told them that the third floor was completely packed with red dots, the two of them couldn’t help but laugh bitterly to themselves.

What was the point of discussing the gains? They were not even sure if they would be able to survive the claws of these monsters! Whether it was the green demonesses or the Mother Skin Scale Phantom, they definitely wouldn’t be easy to deal with!

—–

Down in the square, the time for rehearsal had finally finished.

The students waiting in the surroundings had began walking into the middle of the square for the performance.

The middle of the square was occupied by a lot of chairs.

The seats had already been occupied by a group of male fans. These young men with their hormones going out of control were sitting there holding signs of the names of the performers they admired.

Many of them were wearing special t-shirts that had the face of their favorite idol on them. When their most admired idol finally emerged, each one of them appeared to be extremely excited as they yelled out loudly.

In the surrounding seats were another large group of people. Many of them came around because of the commotion, while others only came here to take part in the fun.

When the music started playing, the sounds of shouting gradually began to calm. An artificially created rain came down from the ceiling, falling onto the young people’s bodies that were swaying to the rhythm of the music. There were even some nightclubbers who had already begun to dance!

Like a nightclub, they followed the figures of those dancers in the background on the stage with their navels exposed. At this moment, a tiny screeching sound started up, and the DJ music could be heard!

The accompanying dancers’ wet hair lashed out, their eyes looked as though they were intoxicated by the music, it was incredibly attractive!

Their serpent-like hips and electrifying butts were glamorous. The different colors were like passing lightning, it expressed their wonderful and passion-filled dance!

A party began to develop down below. The main character of the day had yet to step up, while the students overflowing with the energy of the young had already exploded around the area!

However, the students intoxicated by the music being played by the DJ had no idea that the whole gymnasium was filled with danger.

In this kind of situation, when a girl who looked like she was too shy to speak up went to the bathroom, it was very likely that she would change skin and turn this entire area into a bloody feast!

—

Up on the third floor, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan realized that the performance had begun while they were still inside the tunnel.

The two of them weren’t in the mood to hear the music that shook the entire gymnasium. They were frantically running while cautiously scanning the pack of people.

According to what Lingling said, of the four thousand people in the audience, around a hundred of them were infected!

They believed that as long as the Mother Scale Skin Phantom gives the order, the hundred or so demons would immediately tear off their human skins and turn into blood sucking monsters as they began to massacre the entire audience!

Blood was the thing that Mother Scale Skin Phantom required the most.

The more blood it sucked, the more energy it would be able to obtain.

The four to five thousand people were all gathered in a single place. The large majority of them were Primary Magicians who would have trouble fighting against Magical Beasts. Once the infected people turned into demons, this entire place would be turned into a bloody feast and massacre!

“You need to be fast. The green demonesses from the other areas have gathered here, it looks like they are going to turn this into their dinner table… This place conforms with their need to suck blood and infect the female Magicians, as there’s at least 3,000 of them!” Lingling told him urgently.

Not too long ago, the red dots were wandering around the entire gymnasium, looking for their objectives.

However, now, they were all gathered in the very center.

Their intentions were far too obvious. If the people who came here to listen to the performance were drained and infected, then the Mother Scale Skin Phantom’s strength could very possibly reach the Commander level. At that time, it would be very difficult to kill the Mother Beast. Furthermore, the four thousand-plus people in the arena would be held hostage by it while it created an unprecedented horror!

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were well aware of how severe this matter was.

The Mother Beast did indeed possess a high intelligence. No wonder why it gathered all the people who had been infected, it was all for the sake of a bigger plot!

All of the people in the area might become sacrifices!

—

Mo Fan lowered his voice as he said to Lingling, “We’re here.”

“You have to annihilate the Mother Beast, or else you’ll be surrounded by a large group of green demonesses. At that point, there’ll be no escape route for you,” Lingling told him bluntly.

Zhao Manyan also heard this while standing off to the side.

At that moment, he hesitated for a bit.

The fame was important. But if he lost his life, then nothing would matter.

Zhao Manyan didn’t think that the matter would rise to this level.

“Mo Fan, aren’t you afraid?” Zhao Manyan couldn’t help but ask.

Zhao Manyan realized his roommate was definitely not the same as your average student. His calm attitude toward the Magical Beasts was very much like that of a seasoned veteran Hunter who constantly lingered between life and death.

“I’ve seen things much more dreadful than this, so this isn’t really much. Zhao Manyan, don’t even think about backing out. Look behind you,” Mo Fan said.

From the tunnel they had just walked out from, they saw a group of what looked like girls from the same dormitory. They wore volunteer uniforms, and it was clear that they were just volunteers for the performance this time.

They were laughing and talking. However, when they saw Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, the girl who was in charge of everything took a step forward as she shouted toward them, “HEY! You two! The third floor is staff only, you’re not allowed to roam here!”

Mo Fan remained unmoved.

Zhao Manyan was also standing there, gazing at the young women who all looked extremely normal.

Mo Fan glanced at Zhao Manyan and whispered, “They’re all red!”

Zhao Manyan’s face turned gloomy. If Lingling hadn’t accidentally taken a look at the sensor, then who would’ve thought that these lady volunteers actually had another skin?

“I’ll handle this.” Zhao Manyan looked around his surroundings and realized that the girls who had subconsciously walked over here had begun to increase.

The group of volunteers was acting quite strange. If it was just two people accidentally coming into this area, then there was no need for them to bring the whole group here, was there?

At the front of the tunnel and at the back, there were many girls who suddenly opened their doors into the tunnel and poked their heads out. There were also some who looked like they were celebrities preparing to take up an important role in the rehearsal, their eyes also suddenly on Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

“Be careful!” After Mo Fan said this to Zhao Manyan, his body strangely sank into the shadow beneath his feet.

Zhao Manyan nodded, his gaze attentively scanning through the people in his surroundings.

Just when he was going to turn his body to watch how Mo Fan passed through these little demons, Zhao Manyan was shocked to realize that Mo Fan was nowhere to be seen!

The lights were overlapping in this tunnel. There just happened to be one light in the tunnel that was not functional. Zhao Manyan happened to see a silhouette flashing by really quickly in that dusky area, and after that, he no longer saw any traces of Mo Fan.

“A Shadow Magical Tool?…” Zhao Manyan said to himself.

——

Zhao Manyan was a Light Magician. He possessed the incredibly powerful Intermediate Magic spell, Holy Shield, so even if he wanted to die, it wouldn’t be such an easy matter.

Mo Fan didn’t turn around to watch Zhao Manyan fight. He didn’t think that the disciple of an esteemed family would have such little ability.

What he needed to do was quickly kill the Mother Scale Skin Phantom. When all of the red dots gathered in the middle of the gymnasium, then this matter would be out of his control!

“Mo Fan, hurry up!” Lingling’s voice turned increasingly anxious.

“I am at the platform that you mentioned. There are some people here, and one is a girl who is wearing a rather bright and colorful garment, she must be the main idol for the rehearsal this time. By her side, there’s someone who takes care of her clothes, her makeup person, and her manager…” Mo Fan gave Lingling the details of what he was seeing.

Mo Fan was standing in the corner with his eyes on the lifting platform’s entrance.

It looked like there were around seven or eight people by the entrance. There was also a few workers walking left and right.

“Miss, you must be careful. If this lift has some problems, then I don’t think I can explain anything to the boss,” the female manager said, her face filled with concern.

“It won’t!” the girl that was in the center of an entourage said with a sweet smile.

Mo Fan looked closely and realized that this girl was identical to the famous idol that he had seen on the big poster at the entrance. When she smiled, she appeared so innocent!

“Alright, alright. The tech auntie inside, please control it properly, don’t let our Cucu fall.”

“Don’t worry, this equipment won’t have problems. Young lady, come in, your rehearsal is about to start!”

“What young lady, she’s a famous idol!” the manager said with dissatisfaction.

“Yeah yeah yeah, famous idol.”

Mo Fan continuously observed all this while listening to Lingling’s instructions.

When the opportunity came, Mo Fan once more used the Escaping Shadow and stealthily hid behind the people.

“Alright, we’re closing.” The technician auntie pressed the button and the door slowly closed.

This hydraulic lift actually looked similar to a large scaled elevator packaged into a small elevator that was suspended in the air. When the performers slowly descended onto the stage, all the gymnasium lights would also gather on that spot. The effect was quite stunning…

—

“Cucu!!!!!”

“Cucu!!!!!!!!!!!”

In the middle of the venue, the students who had been touched by the rhythm of the music had already began to sing along to the chorus.

This idol has already deeply entered the hearts of the people through her sweet and cute appearance, and her beautiful, pleasant voice. Whether she was dancing or singing, she was able to intoxicate people.

In the middle of the venue, the people began to shout her name.

The idol Cucu was already standing in the middle of the platform, she closed her eyes to feel the voices of everyone.

This was only a rehearsal, yet there was already so many enthusiasts from the school come to watch. One had to know that there were many two and three tier stars that would only have a few people present even during an actual performance.

She was extremely gratified. She thought to herself that she needed to give them a proper performance, even if it was only a rehearsal.

“Auntie, you can let me down. I am ready!” She opened her eyes as she spoke to the technician auntie who was in control of the lift.

“Don’t be nervous!” the technician auntie said as she chuckled.

“I am fine.”

“Oh, what I meant is that you don’t have to be nervous over anything. Because today, I am the main character here.” The technician auntie who appeared to be somewhat benevolent suddenly displayed a strange smile.

She smiled while she sized up the girl’s body. It looked like her mouth could open impossibly wide, and her sharp teeth were stained with brown blood.

The technician Auntie’s hands changed, turning into what looked like rubber as she slowly extended them.

What extended was not only the bones of her finger, but even her nails were turning green; they looked like sharpened daggers. They even had a thin barb!

The skin on her body began to peel off, bit by bit. What seemed to be a thirtyish woman’s face turned into dark green scales, and those scales were plastered together with some kind of liquid. It looked incredibly disgusting.

“Silaaaaa~~~!”

Her clothes were like paper as she torn them apart with her sharp claws. What was revealed was not the nude body of a woman, but a body covered in scales!

A long tongue stretched out, so long that it could even reach the front of the girls face!

The fishy red tongue was moving in front of her, and the girl was just standing there looking completely dumbstruck.

There was nothing more scary in this world than a person who shed her skin to reveal a demon covered in scales. The idol was so scared that her mind turned blank, legs trembling as she stood there, about to fall.

“Today, my children can finally eat ourselves full. This is all thanks to your rehearsal…” the scaled monster said with a human voice. However, she sounded as though her throat was filled with something; it was extremely hoarse!

“Sssssss!!!”

“Ssssssssssss!!!”

Suddenly, the Mother Scale Skin Phantom raised her head and let out a sound toward the middle of the venue.

This cry seemed like a monster’s mother, yelling at its kids to wake up!

The sound didn’t need any equipment to reach the center of the venue as it continuously echoed about.

The idol girl turned her head to look down with difficulty, and realized that the packed amount of people were beginning to get restless.

They all looked like herself, extremely shocked as they began to scatter.

Just when they were about to take a step back, they realized yet another scene had emerged to their sides. Chunks of skin fell down, and monsters with scales appeared, one after another!

“Aaaaaaahhh!!!”

“AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

For a moment, girls screaming were what could be heard the loudest in the center of the venue. The aura of fear immediately spread through the air!

“Your blood must be delicious!” The Mother Scale Skin Phantom extended its tongue as her eyes displayed an ominous glint.

She was a girl with tender, jade-like skin. Her blood would be incredibly savory!

The Mother Scale Skin Phantom took a step forward. Just as she was about to put her hand on the idol girl, a man without a shirt on slowly walked out from the shadows in the corner in the corridor.

Like an incorporeal door of darkness opening, a living person just emerged from nowhere!

The Mother Scale Skin Phantom was shocked, she immediately jumped back in retreat. As she kept close to the safety fence, her eyes carried rage as she recognized the person who came out of the shadows.

“It’s…It’s you again!!!” The Mother Scale Skin Phantom clearly remembered Mo Fan. After seeing Mo Fan, her eyes turned red upon seeing her archenemy.

She wouldn’t forget that it was precisely this person who had killed her husband!

“You won’t be able to escape this time.” Beneath Mo Fan’s feet a purple Star Atlas was intertwining.

Mo Fan would definitely not be lenient with this Mother Scale Skin Phantom. Even if he happened to kill the woman who was victimized by it, he couldn’t let this thing continue its crimes.

“You…you think you can stop me?” came the hoarse reply from the throat of the Mother Scale Skin Phantom.

Compared to the last time they met, her strength had increased a lot.

Right now, she was no longer afraid of a primitive Magician like Mo Fan. It just so happened that she could finally get rid of this godforsaken person and take revenge for her husband!

Her long tongue was like a whip; the Mother Beast lashed it out and the tongue snapped toward Mo Fan.

“Bone Scythe Shield!”

Mo Fan quickly activated his Bone Scythe Shield. The black shield emerged in front of his body, protecting him entirely.

The Lightning Star Atlas was nearly drawn. Mo Fan couldn’t let this thing destroy his Star Atlas-

Pow!

What appeared to be a soft tongue lashed onto the Bone Scythe Shield and immediately crushed it into powder; it was completely unable to withstand a single attack!

When the tongue shattered the Bone Scythe Shield, it directly hit Mo Fan’s body. When Mo Fan saw the situation going bad, he immediately stopped the Star Atlas and rolled to the side.

The tongue still lashed against Mo Fan’s back, leaving a deep gash there!

If it wasn’t for the Bone Scythe Shield taking the majority of the force, then the power of the tongue would most likely directly pierced right through his back.

Mo Fan felt a searing heat on his back, and clenched his teeth in pain.

Shit, even the defensive capability of something of Bone Scythe Shield’s level could not resist the attacks of the Mother Beast!

This Mother Beast’s strength was probably at the Warrior level; how else could a normal attack from her possibly destroy the Bone Scythe Shield?

“Die, die die!”

While the Mother Beast swung her tongue out, she also let out a careless and tyrannical scream.

The tongue flicked higher into the air, and fiercely whipped down toward Mo Fan’s head!

Mo Fan didn’t dare lower his guard. If that hit him, then he’d most likely become a meat patty!

“Evading Shadows, Shuttle!”

While the tongue lashed down fiercely, Mo Fan’s body sank down. His entire being dropped into the shadows beneath his feet.

Just like passing through a plane, the shadow Mo Fan had turned into began to quickly shift. After he quickly shifted to the corner, his body quickly emerged from that shadow.

At this moment, Mo Fan was standing together with the idol. Mo Fan glanced at her.

“Don’t…don’t mind me,” the idol said as she shook in fear. However, her resolute eyes showed that she could still act.

“I will draw her away. If you can, get your lights technician to turn on all the lights on the stage so they make multiple shadows!” Mo Fan said to her.

The idol nodded. Her complexion was deathly white, yet she maintained a bit of her calm.

Mo Fan took the opportunity when the Mother Beast was retracting her tongue to jump onto the safety fences on the ceiling of the stage.

“Fire Burst!” As he stood on the high ground, the flames in his hands were simultaneously tossed out.

The rose red Burning Bone flames hit the body of the Mother Beast, and began to burn on her green scales.

The Burning Bone flames would continue to burn. Mo Fan knew that Primary Magic wouldn’t necessarily cause wounds that would be able to kill this creature. However, as long as the flames didn’t go out, the wounds would still be there.

The Mother Beast let out a screeching sound. When she saw that Mo Fan was about to escape, her incredibly nimble body quickly began to climb up the safety fence like a spider as she began chasing Mo Fan.

The flames burned out as the Mother Beast moved quickly. The Mother Beast’s scales seemed to possess incredibly strong protective capabilities. The Burning Bone flames should have been burning into its bones and organs. Unfortunately, not even a Spirit-grade Burning Bones flame was capable of charring the scales of the Mother Beast, much less burning into her.

Mo Fan didn’t stop using magic. When he saw the flames were being extinguished on the Mother Beast’s body, his palm once again condensed yet another ball of Burning Bone flames.

The Fire Burst, Rupture would not necessarily be more effective than the Burning Bones flames that were persistent. Mo Fan wanted to continue enraging the Mother Beast; that way, he’d be able to direct it toward a location where he could fight.

The Mother Beast was very fast. Mo Fan was unable to fight against her in such a narrow area, and moreover, there were no shadows at the location where he was standing.

The Blood Beast Boots had been used before. He was unable to continue using them without replenishing their mana.

His Bone Scythe Shield had been directly smashed to pieces. His only defensive move was to use Evading Shadows.

Evading Shadows was not an unparalleled spell. As long as someone shot an attack toward the area of the shadow, Mo Fan would not only immediately appear, he would also receive a mortal wound…

As he stood on the safety fence in mid-air, Mo Fan watched the Mother Beast climbing toward him. He jumped down the fence without thinking.

The Mother Beast seemed to have predicted that Mo Fan would jump down. The Mother Beast’s back legs stomped fiercely onto the pole and jumped down toward Mo Fan at an even faster speed!

“She is actually this fast!”

When Mo Fan saw that the Mother Beast was less than five meters away from him, a cold sweat broke out.

—

On the stage in the mid-air, the idol girl had run to the edge of the safety fence. When she saw the Mother Beast was flying toward the slowly descending Mo Fan with a speed like a sharp sword, her heart began to race.

She had to do something, or else Mo Fan would have his chest ripped apart by the Mother Beast before he even hit the ground!

Unfortunately, her reaction was still too slow. The Mother Beast was like a bat; when moving through the air, she was almost invisible!

With her claws stretched out, the Mother Beast’s long tongue also lashed out in mid-air.

This time, she was planning on turning this godforsaken human into minced meat!

Mother Beast was so close to Mo Fan that he could smell the stench emanating from her body.

The fierce claws came closer and closer. Mo Fan didn’t have the time to think, his palm condensed yet another cluster of rose flames.

He stayed calm and waited for her to approach to just three meters away from him before he ferociously tossed out the flames in his hand, directly between the Mother Beast and himself!

Fire Burst, Rupture!

A ball of rose-colored flames exploded between them. When the heatwave engulfed the Mother Beast, the force of it expanding shoved Mo Fan away.

Mo Fan changed direction in midair, falling into the very middle of the stage.

The Mother Beast was indeed a freak. The burst from the Rupture caused its body to slow down a little in the air, yet its sharp claws were still reaching out!

Swooooosh!!!

Cold rays of light followed her claws like swords. The fierce claws were like a number of sharp blades hacking down from the air. Even the rose flames that Mo Fan tossed out seemed to be cut apart by those claws!

Some of the shattered bits of the lights touched Mo Fam. On Mo Fan’s arm, chest, and the left side of his face, multiple cuts appeared!

The wound on his arm was relatively deep. Perhaps even the bones were touched; it was so painful that Mo Fan took a deep breath.

The cuts on his chest and face weren’t too deep, or else he would have lost his life!

Boom!

Mo Fan slammed onto the stage heavily, the cuts already bleeding.

This Mother Beast’s strength was much stronger than before. Her speed was astonishing, her fierce claws were so fast that they created a whirlwind. If he hadn’t use the Fire Burst, Rupture’s force to get away, then he’d most likely have been diced up directly!

It was now chaos in the middle of the venue. Green demonesses had appeared, sending all of the students running in all directions.

There were still some people who were calm. They began to chant their spells to fight off those green demonesses. The venue was indeed going crazy, adding on that no one really knew if the person next to them might shed their skin. Even the people who had battle experience were obviously in a difficult situation.

When Mo Fan descended from the stage in the air, it seemed like no one cared about him. All that happened was he caused a couple of the girls who was running in his direction to scream.

For these girls, things that were flying could only be described with horror at this moment.

“Get away from this area!” When Mo Fan saw these girls who were screaming their heads off, he began to feel angry.

Studying magic for so many years have been for naught. If you were a Magician, you were supposed to calmly fight against Magical Beasts the second you encountered them. Instead, they ran around willy-nilly, like a herd of fat sheep. Just how exactly did they even enter the Pearl Institute?!

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan, are you alright?” Lingling’s worried voice began to sound in his ear.

Mo Fan climbed up from the little hole that he fell into and used his hand to rub the wound on his face…

As he rubbed it, his hand and hand were covered with blood.

“I’m still alive. This thing is already at Warrior level!” Mo Fan replied, his gaze fixed on the Mother Beast not far away, who was currently letting out some evil laugh.

The Mother Beast appeared to be very proud of herself. She even seemed to be enjoying the pitiful people who had been completely devoured by her children, she enjoyed this kind of cruelty and bloody hunting.

“Sssss~~!!”

“Ssssss!!!!”

Right at that moment, the girls who were frantically running around before suddenly fell to the floor.

Their nails began to grow, and they started to rip apart their own tender skin.

They exposed scales, and revealed pairs of extremely vicious and disgusting eyes. After the instructions they received from the Mother Beast, their gazes were all concentrated on Mo Fan standing at the side, his face all covered with blood. Their tongues began to extend into the air, swaying towards him.

Very quickly, behind him and beneath the stage, a couple of green demonesses pursuing their prey also stopped their actions. They suddenly turned toward Mo Fan and slowly crawled in that direction.

The Mother Beast, who was standing not too far away from Mo Fan, did not approach him at all. She seemed to recognize the danger behind Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist, Exploding Heavens. Thus, when she saw that there was a Fire Star Atlas emerging beneath his feet, she didn’t recklessly walk toward him. Instead, she ordered the surrounding green demonesses to directly encircle him!

The Intermediate Fire Magic, Fiery Fist, was indeed incredible, but it couldn’t kill lots of them!

After seeing more than eight green demonesses in his surroundings, Mo Fan also did not dare to continue chanting the Star Atlas.

The Fiery Fist was unable to kill all of these green demonesses. Furthermore, if he used his trump card here, then the Mother Beast would definitely charge over unrestrained and rip him to pieces.

“Tsk tsk! As long as I kill you, this place will become my nest!” the Mother Beast let out a strange sound, her voice carrying ridicule.

The analysis Lingling had done previously was correct. After the Mother Beast had absorbed the blood from many human bodies, she had acquired a certain level of wisdom and could now speak.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan, we are planning on charging in! We must give up on the infected people now, or else the people who are injured will only increase!” Lingling said in his earpiece.

“It has intelligence. If you come in, then the hundreds of infected people will definitely die,” Mo Fan replied.

“That’s still better than having the entire gymnasium being turned into their nest! You are not able to kill that Mother Beast!” a roaring voice interrupted, clearly not Lingling.

Mo Fan didn’t know who the person speaking was; however, it was clear that he was one of the people tasked to handle the case this time.

So they want to sacrifice hundreds of infected girls?

Hundreds of them?

They were all 18 to 20 year-old girls. If you lined up their corpses, what kind of painful and enraging scene would it be?

At this moment, Mo Fan couldn’t help but recall his first time saving one of the girls.

Crawling out of a monster’s body filled with scales while being completely naked. This kind of situation did not give Mo Fan have any kind of immoral thoughts, because these people had been tormented beyond belief. Their pale white skin had turned purple, without any hint of red. Their bodies were covered in mucus, they could only rely on their instincts to crawl out of it. Whatever beauty and dignity a girl had would mean nothing in that moment.

All they wanted was to survive.

It was precisely due to that thought that he had charged in here.

Whether it was an impulse, or anything else, was fine. He believed that as long as a normal person were to see this kind of thing, they would definitely do their best to save as many people as possible.

Mo Fan took a deep breath.

He wiped away the blood from his face.

“Give me a bit more time,” Mo Fan said very sincerely to the person in charge.

“You can’t kill it. This is a Warrior-level creature, how could you possibly kill that? We are already by the entrance,” the bald Hunter Captain said with a hint of anger in his voice.

From the very beginning, he did not believe that a student from the Azure Campus could possibly have the ability to kill a Magical Beast. At this point, the City Hunter Squad had already prepared themselves to sacrifice hundreds of infected people to protect the thousands of other students!

So what if it was a massacre, it was still better than having thousands of people turning into monsters!

“Scoundrel, didn’t I freaking tell you to give me some more time?!” Mo Fan cursed at the person over the earpiece.

—

Outside of the gymnasium, the hunter standing on top of the large beast’s head, the man with the leather jacket, Academician Li, the Elemental Director Zhou Zhenghua, and the bald Captain of the City Hunter Squad all heard the words that were being transmitted from the earpiece, and were all stunned.

Just as the bald Captain was going to curse back at Mo Fan angrily, the Hunter King on top of the Azure Beast’s head opened his mouth.

“Give him more time.”

“But-!”

“They also have the right to survive.”

Mo Fan hmphed coldly.”You’re not the only one with helpers!”

A moon-colored star quickly emerged in front of Mo Fan, looking like a slow meteor crossing the sky. When the trajectory began to shift, another new star casually appeared.

There were a total of seven appearances of stars. Those stars streaked over like falling moons and opened a rift that lead to a crack in the dimensional space!

Awuuuuuu!!!

A floor-shaking howl thundered over from another world!

In a split second, a powerful windstream came forth from the cracked space, forming a skin-flaying sandstorm flying toward the closest green demoness to Mo Fan.

The green demoness could never have imagined that there would suddenly be an incredibly strong energy coming from the dimensional gate. She didn’t have time to dodge, and was directly smashed by thousands of stones. The scales of a second green demoness were also showing traces of ooze.

“Sssssss~~~!!!”

The Mother Beast let out an angry command, commanding her children to rip this human to pieces!

Mo Fan remained still. Just as the two green demonesses jumped over, a great blue Wolf the size of an elephant suddenly charged out from the rift!

The Spirit Wolf let out another enraged howl.He charged forth from the rift with incredible force, and directly slammed into one of the green demonesses that was leaping toward Mo Fan.

The Spirit Wolf’s burst was fearsome, and with his great strength, the little green demonesses were completely unable to endure the power behind his charge. It was like a three-year-old being hit by a muscular, adult man. The green demoness was sent flying, her mouth filled with blood and bones shattered!

After the Spirit Wolf had knocked out one green demoness, he jumped ferociously after another, his jaws chomping down onto the other green demoness that was attacking Mo Fan!

“Uggghhh!!”

The Wolf held the green demoness in mid-air in his jaws, before mercilessly biting down!

His teeth bit into tainted flesh, there was a crack of bones giving way. The green demoness was in so much pain that she began to flail her limbs in an attempt to break loose, but she was unable to muster any strength to do so.

The Spirit Wolf bit down a second time. The green demoness was directly bit in two, and then tossed to the side by the Spirit Wolf like trash. No one took a second look at her.

The two green demonesses were eliminated in an instant. The remaining green demonesses were momentarily frozen, not daring to take a step forwards!

The imposing aura of a wild beast!

After Mo Fan gave the Beast Refining Blood to the Spirit Wolf to refine, the Spirit Wolf had gotten much stronger than he was back during the Rookie Competition. Killing this kind of common Servant-level monster was simply too easy!

“Help me deal with the little monsters!” Mo Fan called to the Spirit Wolf.

The Spirit Wolf’s teeth were still dripping with the blood of the green demoness. He looked fiendishly at the green demonesses in their surroundings. He would even dare to fight against creatures stronger than himself; these small Servant-level creatures were of even less importance. The more of them there were, the more he would chew!

“You evil-doer, if I don’t kill you today, then my name is not Mo Fan!” Mo Fan shouted at the raging Mother Beast.

“Sssssss~~~!!!!” The Mother Beast was totally infuriated. If her children were being bothered by a vicious Wolf Beast, then she would personally go take care of this godforsaken human!

She no longer had any patience left. She crouched, and her body shot off like a spring.

Her claws gave her an incredible climbing ability. After she jumped onto the large crystal screen, she latched on effortlessly.

After adjusting her angle, the Mother Beast jumped out like a missile once more!

With her missile-like speed and sharp claws, she would be able to shred Mo Fan to pieces, even if he had the Bone Scythe Shield up!

“Evading Shadows, Shuttle!”

Mo Fan took a step and jumped to the back of the stage where the shadow from the crisscrossing lights appeared. His entire being was fusing with the shadows. By the time the lights were shining in his new area, Mo Fan had already moved to a different zone!

“Sssssss!!!”

Her claws streaked past, like a blood red arc slowly descending. The half-fenced stage was chopped into, bands of metal severed in a scar a dreadful three meters long!!

The Mother Beast could feel that her claws cut mostly empty space. Her vicious eyes swept across the shadows in an attempt to find Mo Fan’s location.

“Sssss!!”

A cold glint flashed in the Mother Beast’s eyes, and in an instant, she disappeared.

In the next second, the Mother Beast was at the drum area, using her two claws rip apart everything in front of her.

The metal drum set was like paper as it was shredded. At same time, the human silhouette in the back also had a large cut emerge on it as it was cut in two.

Evading Shadow was not an unparalleled spell. If the enemy attacked his location, then a Magician using the Evading Shadow would be even weaker than normal. Normally, the claws might possibly just tear the chest; however, if it was during Evading Shadow, then a person could be cut in two!

Mother Beast had located where Mo Fan was hiding, and used her claws without hesitation.

When she saw that the human shadow was slowly falling in two, a wide demonic smile emerged on her face.

“Blockhead, don’t you know about things like mirrors?” From a completely different location, the exact same human shadow slowly emerged from the dark.

At same time, the place the Mother Beast had clawed through had numerous mirror fragments falling from it. It looked like Mo Fan’s human shadow had disappeared from the fragments of the mirror.

“Rose Flames!” Mo Fan shouted angrily, and the rose-colored fiery flames flared up beneath his feet.

Mo Fan’s body was already covered in his own blood. The blood and the color of the flames seemed to be the same color. When the flames began to flare up, it seemed like the blood also integrated into the Rose Flames.

“Fiery Fist!”

An intertwining Star Path emerged as it constantly supplied energy for the flames.

At last, the Star Atlas appeared. The increasingly fiery Rose Flames began to spread into its surroundings, with Mo Fan in the center.

“Exploding Heavens!”

Everything seemed to be ready. The flames that were spreading around him were suddenly retracted. One could clearly see that the large ring of flames in Mo Fan’s surroundings had instantly withdrawn, all of them condensed into Mo Fan’s fist.

Eyes like raging flames, he locked onto the Mother Beast that was trying to charge over.

His eyes burning, Mo Fan yelled out, “Go die!” as he threw out the fist with the colossal amount of fiery energies condensed inside!

The stunning flames were like a volcano spitting out energy. The gigantic fist shaped flames had turned everything on the stage into black powder.

As the violent flames came forth, they surged toward the location of the Mother Beast as they engulfed everything.

The Mother Beast’s reaction was quick. She jumped using all four limbs, quickly racing to the bottom of the stage. If she was hit by the full force of a Spirit grade Intermediate Magic, she would naturally die!

She began to frantically run, as though trying to outrace the giant Fiery Fist unleashed by Mo Fan!

In the end, the Fiery Fist still engulfed her. The flames swept over her body, blasting her into the air.

“Sssssss~~!!!”

The Mother Beast’s body fell beneath the stage, covered with flames. The scales on her body were visibly scorched, with traces of heated swirls on her flesh.

The Mother Beast had barely been able to endure the flames of the Burning Bones, and her green scales had only displayed a little red color. However, at this moment, not only did her scales get burned into nothing, but her horrifying body still had lingering flames scorching her!

The Mother Beast let out a scream filled with pain while being burned by the flames. Her face was extremely distorted.

However, she did not die!

After receiving such an incredible attack, this thing was still capable of crawling right back!

She was furious, and continuously let out shrieks of pain.

She didn’t seem to care that there were flames still burning on her body, she charged once more towards Mo Fan!

Her speed was by no means slower than when she was uninjured. Moving with that kind of speed usually meant normal people could not even see her properly.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan! They’re about to charge in!” Lingling’s voice was very urgent.

“I understand!” Mo Fan’s eyes were fixed on the Mother Beast racing over.

“Run away, don’t let the Mother Beast kill you!” Lingling said.

Mo Fan did not reply.

Run?

If he was to run now, that was only a road to death. With the speed of the Mother Beast, she would be able to overtake any running human in no time!

Mo Fan stood there as he hurriedly scanned the area around the intercrossed shadows while he watched the Mother Beast charging at him.

Mo Fan could feel the hatred and hostility of the Mother Beast. At this point, the Mother Beast was totally set on shredding him to pieces!

“Star Atlas Book!”

As he raised his hand, a black scroll appeared in front of Mo Fan.

The book imbued with the mana disappeared like tinder, and what remained was traces of little lights.

The shadows interwove and turned into a diagram, a Star Atlas that could be used to call upon the stars. Mo Fan’s Shadow Nebula’s forty-nine Shadow Stars lined up according to the patterns!

The arrangement of the Star Atlas Book was not very fast. However, Mo Fan only stood there without a single movement.

The Mother Beast’s speed was extremely fast. She had scuttled from the area she had fallen from and jumped back onto the stage, and from there was charging toward Mo Fan… During this entire process, Mo Fan was still trying to connect his Stars according to the book. It started from a normal Shadow Star Path, and it then doubled, which then began to intertwine with the first one…

The forty-nine Stars were being set up according to the Star Atlas, racing against the speed of the Mother Beast!

If the Star-linking speed was slower by even a little bit, then it was very likely that Mo Fan would be shred into bloody bits by the Mother Beast, before he was able to complete the spell.

At this moment, Mo Fan did not have any defensive tricks at all.

He was gambling!

He bet the speed of his Star Path drawing would be even faster than the Mother Beast!

“Ssssssss!!!”

The fishy stench that the Mother Beast let out came forth, the monster was right in front of him!

Mo Fan didn’t dare to be distracted, or else the effort he put into the Star Atlas would go down the drain!

At last, rays of Shadow emerged in front of Mo Fan. An incredibly large Shadow Silhouette that looked like a massive magic spike formed up. It was floating within an alternate dimension, completely different from those that were plastered onto the shadows!

“Giant Shadow Spike!”

Mo Fan hurled out the Shadow Spike filled with Dark Energy. This strange object immediately disappeared, you could only see its incredible shadows pass by through the intertwining lights.

The Mother Beast was already very close, her claws were reaching toward Mo Fan. This claw was enough to cut Mo Fan’s head from his body…

Mo Fan raised his head, seeing the claw that was about to take his life. His face began to split as the wind from the Mother Beast’s claws came forth, from his forehead to the bridge of his nose, from the corner of his eyes to his cheeks…

Just the wind from the claws was able to split apart the skin of a person, let alone after the claws landed; his head would be cleanly cut in half!

The claws slashed down.

However, she wasn’t able to touch Mo Fan’s face.

It was like she didn’t properly calculate the distance; her powerful claw barely missed Mo Fan’s face!

“Ssssss~~!!!!!” Mother Beast hissed out in anger.

It was like she was being held up by something. If the Mother Beast took yet another half-step forward, then she would be able to split Mo Fan in two.

Unfortunately, she seemed unable to move. Her frantic charge had come to an abrupt stop, just short of him!

After the Mother Beast turned her head to look, she realized her shadow had been stretched out by the lights on the stage. What made her extremely angry was there was an extremely large spike, like a sword, stuck into her shadow. Her shadow was firmly pinned to that area!

Once her shadow had been pierced through, the Mother Beast’s entire body seemed to be restricted. The Mother Beast was stuck in one place!

If the shadow can’t move, then the body won’t be able to move, either!

The Mother Beast’s claws were flailing hysterically while her legs continuously kicked in place. However, her pinned waist was not able to move a single step!

“Thunderbolt!”

In front of Mother Beast, not even a meter away, Mo Fan’s eyes suddenly lit up bright purple!

He was focused on the Mother Beast’s ugly face, while at same time, his own bloodied face displayed a satisfied smile.

The Element Stars that were the strongest between Heaven and Earth began to line up in front of Mo Fan. These Stars were those that Mo Fan was the most familiar with, and were much faster than the Shadow Stars!

As the Stars turned into Star Paths, and the Star Paths had intertwined into a Star Atlas, the Lightning Star Atlas emerged immediately. The majestic power seemed to flood in as it condensed within Mo Fan’s finger!

“Die!” Mo Fan jumped back as he pointed toward the Mother Beast’s head with his finger.

The Lightning Cloud immediately formed, the aura was extremely powerful!

A loud rumbling of thunder split the air!

Above the very center of the chaotic gymnasium, a thick Lightning Bolt split open everything as it descended!

The breath-taking purple color and its destructive power made it seem time itself had frozen as it exploded on the stage!

The Fire Intermediate Magic, Fiery Fist, and the Lightning Intermediate Magic, Thunderbolt, could be called the most dreadful and formidable spells among the classic Elements. However, these two were very different from one another.

The Fiery Fist cause an explosion in a certain direction, and was able to completely obliterate a large group of enemies in front of the user.

Thunderbolt was straight Lightning. It could only hit a single target, but as the chief of the classic Elements, Lightning’s tyrannical destructive power was incomparably powerful when it reached the Intermediate level.

If you dodge it, you’ll be fine.

If you get hit, you’ll die for sure!

When Mo Fan was up against the green demonesses, he never dared to use the Lightning Intermediate Magic. The Thunderbolt’s might was too dreadful, capable of turning not just the green demonesses, but also the infected girls, into superheated bloodspray.

However, now it was very simple. Using the descending Thunderbolt to extinguish the Mother Beast was more than just easy.

Mo Fan was not lenient at all!

Rumble~

Thunder echoes within the middle of the venue.

A large black hole had appeared on the stage, and the Mother Beast had turned into a scorched carcass that was about to fall into the hole created by the Lightning. The green monsters in the whole arena had fallen to the ground in pain, while looking like their lifelines had been severed.

The students were still running around, they didn’t know what had happened. All they wanted was to leave this dreadful place as soon as possible!

A few of the more courageous ones took advantage of the timing when the green demoness fell to the ground, writhing in pain, to rescue the students who were being attacked. Afterwards, they immediately ran toward the safety areas.

The few students who were calmly fighting against the green demoness were still watching them cautiously. They maintained magic in their hands, in case they were attacked again.

The middle of the venue was still a bit chaotic, but the people were gradually calming down. They looked toward the green demonesses on the floor from a safe distance. They had just gone from a dreadful life and death situation, to what seemed to be a very puzzling one.

They didn’t know that someone had killed the Mother Beast.

They were only watching them from a distance, and the green demonesses began to slowly shed their skins. They watched as the people within the skins crawled out, covered in some kind of slime.

No one dared to casually walk up, no one knew whether these were humans or Magical Beasts…

——–

Up on the stage, Mo Fan was sprawled out on the floor.

His calves were shivering nonstop.

He still had some lingering fear. If the Star Atlas Books given to him by Ms. Tangyue were slower by even a moment, then he would’ve turned into a ghost under those claws!

Fortunately, he had survived!

Bzzzzz~~

Just as Mo Fan was going to lay down, the Little Loach Pendant around his neck began to restlessly make noise.

Mo Fan did not have any energy left; however, he couldn’t deal with the Little Loach Pendant acting so spoiled. At last, he could only crawl over to the carcass of the Mother Beast.

“You even want a Spirit this evil?” Mo Fan asked weakly.

Ever since he had entered the arena, Mo Fan have been searching for the red dots, fought, and experienced an incredible fight against the Mother Beast. He really had used up every ounce of energy he had.

The Little Loach Pendant appeared to be very interested in the Soul Remnant of the Mother Beast. When Mo Fan got to there, he realized there was a deep blue cluster of light, like fireflies, floating out of the carcass of the Mother Beast.

As though they had heard the call of the Little Loach Pendant, these fireflies floated toward the pendant on Mo Fan’s chest, like swallows returning to their nests.

“This… this is a Soul Essence??” Mo Fan gaped in astonishment.

After obtaining the colossal energy from the Underground Holy Spring, the current Little Loach Pendant had no more interest in the Soul Remnants of Servant-class monsters. Furthermore, those Soul Remnants was no longer able to improve it.

However, the Mother Beast was a Warrior-class creature.

A Warrior-class Soul Essence was worth, at the very least, ten million RMB in the market!

“Little Loach Pendant, you don’t want to absorb this Soul Essence, right?” Mo Fan asked, with the intent to negotiate.

The energy within the Underground Holy Spring had been enormous. Right now, the Little Loach Pendant had advanced to an incredibly high level. Other than things similar to the Underground Holy Spring level of heavenly treasure, it most likely would not have any interest in them.

However, the Little Loach Pendant itself had the ability to absorb Soul Remnants and Soul Essences. If the Soul Essences were collected and auctioned off, then one would definitely earn a large amount of money!

Mo Fan couldn’t help but kiss the Little Loach Pendant. However, the blood on his face accidentally dripped onto it.

Mo Fan quickly used his own hands to wipe his little treasure clean, he didn’t dare let this little ancestor feel wronged.

After some discussion, the Little Loach Pendant decided that this Soul Essence did not have much effect on itself, so it wouldn’t force itself to eat it. It decided to help Mo Fan preserve it within the pendant.

This caused Mo Fan to let out a big sigh of relief.

This time, he really put his life into it, and the reward he got was large enough to be worth it!

——

Boom!!

Just as Mo Fan was about to take a rest, the reinforced glass of the roof of the arena suddenly made a large noise.

Mo Fan sat up and saw an shocking scene.

A green creature with iron hooves descended from the skies. Those hooves had actually broke through the ceiling.

Numerous glass fragments fell from the ceiling, and the green giant beast with iron hooves landed. It was like a small hill. When it landed, it actually caused the entire arena to rock a little.

The scene of the green beast landing in the place was mind blowing, and Mo Fan was completely dumbstruck.

What was even more shocking was that a man was standing between the horns of the creature!.

The large beast and the man were not proportional to each other in term of physique. However, he could still clearly feel that the man was the owner of this giant beast.

——

The man’s gaze swept across the gymnasium. He was looking at the green demonesses on the floor shrieking in pain, and shifted his gaze to land on Mo Fan up on the stage.

“Charge, charge in! Do not let any monsters go!”

From a place not too far away, a group of Hunter Magicians in uniform charged in from the middle arena entrance.

These Hunter Magician’s strengths weren’t low. Each of them had a spell for movement, either using Wind Trail, or Earth Ripple, or even some Magical Boots…

The one in charge was precisely the bald man. His speed was relatively fast, he almost instantly moved from the middle of the arena to the front of the gigantic green beast.

“Where is the Mother Beast?” The bald Captain’s face looked like a demon. From the killing aura he emitted, one could tell that the number of monsters he had killed in the past was not few.

“The Mother Beast is dead,” the man on the beast said slowly.

“Dead? As expected of a Hunter King! We hadn’t even gotten in here, and yet you’ve already killed the Mother Beast… It’s just pity about those girls who were infected,” the bald Captain said.

“They’re all alive,” the man on the beast said.

The bald Captain immediately surveyed the area, and realized that girls were climbing out of the carcasses of the green demonesses, looking extremely exhausted. Their skin was as white as paper, some of them looked like their nutrients had been completely drained. They were so skinny that they were basically just skin and bones.

“Then… the kid killed the Mother Beast??” the bald Captain asked hesitantly.

The Hunter King nodded.

This ending also went against the expectations of the Hunter King, because some of the monitors had revealed that the Mother Beast’s strength had already reached the Warrior level!

“Go help them, don’t let these girls have any more traumatic experiences,” the Hunter King said.

“Yes, yes!” The bald Captain hadn’t completely regained his senses, but he hastily instructed the rescue team to take care of the girls!

Mo Fan, Mo Fan…” the little loli, Lingling, anxiously ran toward the stage.

“Brat, I am here,” Mo Fan was laying there and tiredly waved his hand toward her.

Mo Fan had no energy left to crawl up. When the battle ended, the wound on his body suddenly began to flare up. It was so painful that he couldn’t stand properly.

“You… you are bleeding a lot,” Lingling saw that Mo Fan’s face was covered in blood, her eyes couldn’t help but redden.

Before they entered the gymnasium, Mo Fan was indeed jumping around looking like a hero. However, right now, who knew how many wounds there were on his body. Especially the two wounds on his cheeks; one that cut from his forehead to the bridge of nose, and the other from one cheek to the other. Lingling could imagine just how dangerous it was for Mo Fan to battle against that female demoness. She knew that if this wound was a tad bit deeper, he would’ve lost his life.

Looking at Lingling, who always seemed so dignified, about to cry, Mo Fan couldn’t help but smile.

This brat is a little lady after all.

The rescue team quickly sent a Healing Magician over.

“Will this disfigure my face?” Mo Fan couldn’t help but ask as he looked at the Healing Magician in her white uniform.

“No, this kind of scar won’t last long before it goes away,” the Healer smiled as she began to heal Mo Fan’s wounds.

The mystical ability of Healing Magic was something Mo Fan had witnessed before. As expected, the deep flesh wounds was healing at a pace he could see with his naked eyes under the silky white ray, and even the wound on his face was slowly regenerating!

“You didn’t die after all this, I really admire that.” Zhao Manyan walked over as he watched Mo Fan being healed.

Zhao Manyan himself wasn’t in good shape, either. Up on the third floor, he had fended off at least twenty different green demoness. From the scars on his body, one could tell that he had also encountered a life threatening situation.

“Alright, go and retrieve your achievements. Don’t forget my Lightning Spirit Seed,” Mo Fan said to Zhao Manyan.

“Then I won’t be polite,” Zhao Manyan nodded his head as he looked at the chaotic venue. “When you possess the Lightning Spirit Seed, I presume you will be able to enter the main campus with a good attitude.”

“Main Campus?” Mo Fan asked while puzzled.

“Don’t you know? Azure Campus is in fact what Pearl Institute calls… the outer courtyard. This place is the gathering of the largest quantity of the people who have been accepted to the Pearl Institute. All of those who have successfully entered the school are allowed to stay here for four years. However, as long as their strength achieves a certain level, they will be allowed to engage in the Main Campus Examination. You can go and ask any of the thirty thousand students within the Azure Campus. Which one of them are not putting in their greatest effort to cultivate just so they can enter the Main Campus?” Zhao Manyan sat next to him, he wasn’t in a hurry to retrieve the achievement reward.

Zhao Manyan still felt confused as to how Mo Fan was able to save the lives of all the girls who were affected, they were all spirits which Mo Fan had worked hard to defeat. After the event those girls will be so thankful to the hero which saved their lives, but the glory was supposed to belong to Mo Fan, I feel so guilty taking it for myself…

However, Zhao Manyan didn’t decline just because of that.

He knew what kind of guy Mo Fan was, and believed that a Lightning Spirit Seed meant much more to him than all the current merits.

Mo Fan would sell them to him, and Zhao Manyan’s family was willing to spend money to purchase them, it would be a win-win situation for both!

After Zhao Manyan left, Lingling gave Mo Fan a confused glance and asked: “It was clearly you who defeated the spirit queen, why let him take that title? Don’t you know the severity and impact of this event? You used all your power to save so many people, don’t you know all the benefits it will bring to you!”

“The increase in experience is more important to me, the Lightning Spirit Seed is too expensive, I cannot afford such a thing. If I don’t work to increase my power, I’m afraid that I’ll still be useless in two years when the Hunter Contest begins.”

“But… why would you give it to him? Is it because he’s the disciple of a renowned family?” Ling Ling puckered up her lips, looking rather unhappy.

It’s just she knew that this matter was something Mo Fan had used his own two hands to deal with from the beginning to the end. The one who should’ve been drowned in pleasure and praises should’ve been him, so why did it suddenly become Zhao Manyan, a supporting character, who enjoyed these benefits? was it because this Zhao Manyan was the disciple of a reputable family?

“I agreed to it, please don’t ruin it. I really need that Lightning Spirit Seed, which is why the person who killed the Mother Beast was Zhao Manyan. That is enough,” Mo Fan said sincerely.

“Alright,” Lingling was clearly not happy, her two cheeks bulging as she murmured, “You just said the Hunter Contest… are you planning on participating?”

“Yeah, I definitely will participate! Furthermore, I plan on getting first place!” Mo Fan nodded solemnly.

“Within the Hunter Contest are all of the most outstanding young Hunters from across the nation. They are experienced and knowledgeable, each of them are veterans! Getting first place is very difficult!” Lingling told him.

“That’s why I’ll put in the effort to increase my strength in the next two years,” Mo Fan said.

The matters concerning the Hunter Contest was something Mo Fan had heard Lingling talk about a couple of days ago.

Originally, Lingling thought Mo Fan only wanted to go there and fight a couple times. However, it seemed like he was very interested in the Hunter Contest. So much so that he’d even give up the honor this time in return for a Lightning Spirit Seed that could increase his strength!

The Hunter Contest were held once every four years.

The prizes were most likely the most extravagant ones in all of the competitions in the country!

In order to become famous, these young hunters would put all of their efforts into the Hunter Contest to reach victory.

Lingling was puzzled. In fact, she thought Mo Fan participating in the Hunter Contest in two years was still a bit early, much less taking first place!

“Eh, you want first place?” Lingling suddenly realized something as she asked.

“Yeah.”

“If I remember correctly, the first place prize is a pair of Magic Wings. Those Wings are indeed extremely valuable. However, you don’t really need Magic Equipment at this moment. I think that a Magic Armor is far more realistic for you than Wing Equipment. The Magical Tools you own are so few it’s almost pitiful,” Lingling said.

Lingling had actually met many disciples from the major families. Those outstanding disciples from major families would at least possess a few Magic Tools, and they would be even more than the spells they could cast.

When she looked at Mo Fan, although his strength was much stronger than those disciples from major families, he could only really bring out the Blood Beast Boots. As for the Bone Scythe Shield, it couldn’t even be considered a Magic Tool anymore, as it was unable to defend against his current level of opponents.

Lingling thought that the priority of the Magic Equipment right now should be a Magic Shield Equipment, Magic Armor, and a Deathstrike Weapon. He could forget about the Magic Wings, those kind of things could be found, but not sought.

Mo Fan saw Lingling’s clear and logical reasoning. However, he did not give her any explanation.

“Forget it, I won’t say anything,” Lingling no longer questioned it. Instead, she approved of Mo Fan’s methods.

Mo Fan glanced at her.

The little brat was very solemn as she said, “Every person has their own reason to become strong.”

Mo Fan was dumbstruck, and unable to stop himself from smiling.

—

Yeah, every person had their own reason to become strong. Many of them had very simple reasons to become strong.

At least, his own reason was very simple.

In his heart, there was an angel, how could he not let her have wings?

—

Laying on the stretcher, Mo Fan used his hand as a pillow for his head as he looked toward the skies.

The dome was stomped by the large beast, thus, he was able to see the beautiful sky just looking up.

While he was slipping into sleep, he couldn’t help but think of the smile on her face when she saw the Magic Wings. It would definitely be as beautiful as the night sky!

The Pearl Institute Azure Campus had a total of 30,000 students.

The fact was, those who were admitted to the Pearl Institute by normal procedures were around 30,000 people, but adding in those who were admitted to the school with special circumstances, there were a total of around 50,000 students.

When Mo Fan first entered the institute, he had made a big ruckus. As a result of it, he did not interact with the other students very often. Even his Summoner classmates respected him while keeping a safe distance.

Mo Fan had indeed brought back the resources of the Summoner students. However, he had also completely ruined the reputation of the Summoning school. The Summoner students had to act like rats on the streets even when they were only going out for some food.

However, during the monthly announcement of the institute, Academician Li actually announced shocking news to everyone. This was an one time recognition of the biggest enemy of the student body of the Institute; the demon Mo Fan had actually done something something heroic!

The matters of the arena turning into demons was something that generated a huge buzz in a small period of time. The thousands of students who experienced it had spread their own versions after the holidays…

The news media had also published reports regarding this matter.

What had happened within the institute was naturally receiving a lot of attention. The case of the Mother Beast, a virus-like entity sneaking in was no one’s fault, and how they dealt with it did not receive much criticism either. Most of the focal point was on how they handled the situation.

The matter this time did indeed result in many people dying. The number of deaths was well under less than ten!

It wasn’t like this kind of epidemic monster hadn’t appeared before. The death toll could easily reach hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands. Those who had died received the empathy of the government and donations from many sources.

These sad matters were usually not made public by the media nor the government, not just because the reason why there were less than ten deaths was because someone had killed the Mother Beast in time!

At the school general meeting, Academician Li wanted to specifically wanted to call up the person who had made a major contribution to the matter this time…

Thirty thousand regular students covered the whole field. What they gasped in surprise about was that the person who had resolved the danger this time was actually a Light Magician, but the other person who had participated in this was actually the Summoner Mo Fan, who had the worst reputation!

Before Mu Nujiao had donated funds to the school, there were some people cursing Mo Fan every single day.

Yet today, they wanted all of the students to praise him. Many people’s faces displayed strange expressions.

—

“Strange. How could it be him who killed the Mother Beast?” Within the mass of people, among the Healing Element group was a short young woman who looked shocked as she spoke.

“What’s wrong?” the female room mate asked.

“It’s…it’s nothing. So he’s Mo Fan.” The Healing Elemental girl didn’t say more after that. Her gaze was firmly placed on the man standing next to the main character of the day.

The school made supreme efforts to praise the Light Element student. However, in this girl’s eyes, the Light Element Zhao Manyan was actually the support! The real person who had killed the Mother Beast was definitely Mo Fan!

“Speaking of which, the circumstances back then were extremely chaotic. However, I clearly saw Lightning striking the green Scale Skin Phantom monster!I thought that was the Mother Beast?” At this time, another group of people began to whisper.

The people at that time were not many, and many of them were oblivious to one another. However, the battle on the stage was too striking, it was impossible for people to not see it.

“Yeah, I also remember there was an Intermediate Lightning Magician who killed the green demoness.”

“It could be that Zhao Manyan is not only just an Intermediate Light Magician, but also a Lightning Intermediate!”

“That’s not right, we also saw Intermediate Fire Magic as well… Who was the one that cast the Intermediate Fire Magic?”

The sounds of discussion began. Although the media and school’s announcement had stated Zhao Manyan had killed the Mother Beast, the students were spreading a different version. This version said that there was an incredibly handsome guy who possessed Lightning and Fire Element who had killed the Mother Beast on the stage.

Many of those who were present believed that. There was also many who suspected that it was Mo Fan who possessed the Lightning Element. However, Mo Fan was a student with the Lightning and Summoning Element, so this version was invalid.

“Believe me, I was actually near the stage at that time. I personally saw Mo Fan fighting against the Mother Beast. He had summoned his Spirit Wolf and then used Thunderbolt to finally kill the Mother Beast. Heavens, that Mother Beast was definitely a Warrior-class creature. Mo Fan single-handedly killed her, I even saw the blood on his face,” one of the guys yelled out.

“Are you crazy? He is only an Intermediate Magician, how could he possibly possess that many Elements! Furthermore, you said his face was covered with blood, how are you still able to identify him?”

“Damn, why won’t you guys believe me? When Mo Fan and the Mother Beast were falling from the lift to the stage, only half of his face was wounded. He was bleeding the whole time, but how could I possibly forget the face of my enemy? It’s definitely that Summoning Element Mo Fan, he killed the Mother Beast!” the guy said firmly.

“You must’ve been so scared that you saw wrong. The matter has already been announced, so what are you even saying?”

“It must’ve been hidden, definitely! Not good! I need to discover the dark secrets, and get the true rescuer justice!”

There were people who had seen the truth. Unfortunately, when Mo Fan was being carried out, his face was indeed completely covered in blood, so much that no one could recognize him. Since the officials had announced it was Zhao Manyan, then everyone thought it was him. As for the hidden secrets…

There was indeed some secrets, but they were plotted by Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan themselves.

It was al going precisely as the two of them had discussed this from the beginning.

One wanted the money, the other wanted the fame, so why not?

——

When the school general meeting had finished, Mo Fan was originally going to return to his old habit of avoiding the peak hours to go eat.

After carefully thinking about it, he knew he had basically washed himself clean. Assisting someone in rescuing people was a very righteous thing, no need for him to be carrying that infamy anymore.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had colluded, they specifically went to a pretty good restaurant to have a good meal together.

“Mo Fan, you know that Spirit grade Lightning Seeds are not something that can be found just like that. We plan on going to the National Trade Center to participate in the auction. When the time comes, our Li Family will definitely use our money to purchase that Spirit-grade Lightning Seed. Once we’ve bought it, we’ll immediately give it to you, is that alright?” Zhao Manyan said to Mo Fan.

“Auction? Are there a lot of good things there?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course! If you have anything you want to buy or anything you want to sell, you can go there. How about this, I’ll bring you with me on Sunday,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Alright, bring me along to take a look,” Mo Fan nodded.

In Mo Fan’s greedy hands was a Warrior-level Spirit Essence. This was something you couldn’t just sell to some small vendor. A million RMB thing like this was competitive!

Mo Fan planned on selling this Spirit Essence so he could then purchase a better Magic Shield.

The Bone Scythe Shield he’d won from Boss Zhankong could be considered almost useless now. Mo Fan had a bit more money now, so he wanted to quickly acquire a more suitable piece of Magic Equipment. Without one, it would be hard to say whether he’d be able to survive another encounter with a creature at same level as the Mother Beast!

If he couldn’t buy a Magic Shield, then he planned on taking a look at what other things could possibly increase his strength.

Not long after, there would be a Main Campus Examination. When that time came, how could he possibly compare himself to those experts who carried a grudge against him without any equipment?

Although the matter had caused a huge sensation, it eventually calmed down in time. Furthermore, most of the people’s focal point was now on the young hero from the Zhao Family.

Zhao Manyan was indeed very carefree. From the beginning of school until the arena incident, Mo Fan had thought of this guy as just a simple pick up artist.

Other than picking girls up, it didn’t seem like this guy did anything else. Now, he took advantage of the opportunity and soared in fame, becoming a reputable person within the school. It was indeed a rather miraculous thing!

Fortunately, Zhao Manyan also knew how to return the favor. He would occasionally introduce a couple of pretty girls to Mo Fan. Being an upright person, Mo Fan would normally reject them!

——–

After they agreed on the weekend, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan went to the National Trade Center together.

There was an auction hall on the top floor of the National Trade Center. The auction was usually held once a month. Mo Fan had never been to a place like this before, so he used Zhao Manyan and obtained a pass to enter.

“This auction hall is very exclusive. Either you spend a lot of money for a membership here, or you have to obtain a certain level of background. You need to be the rank of a Hunter Master to have the qualifications to come here. Other powers, or families, require a certain position for it,” Zhao Manyan explained to Mo Fan as they walked along.

“In other words, those without a position cannot participate in the auction for Magic goods even if they have the money?” Mo Fan asked.

“That’s right. A Magician is always lacking in things no matter what level they are at. This is also why a lot of the smart ones join some of the higher powers. One reason is because there is a lack of resources. Not everyone is like those Magicians in the Hunter’s Union, going out to remote areas to dig for treasures without a care for their own lives.

“Another reason is that most of the resources that are native to the safe areas have already been occupied and controlled by the greater powers. In fact, I actually admire you. You don’t have any background whatsoever, yet, you were able to cultivate to this level. You should know that most of the Magicians who are at the very top either cultivated bitterly and risked their own lives, and or were forced to sell themselves to the powers,” Zhao Manyan complimented him.

“If I have something I want to sell, where do I go?” Mo Fan asked casually.

Right now, Mo Fan’s family did have some money. The scholarship given to him by the school was around two million, and then the commission from the hunt had added yet another million. Originally, his request was to bring back his wife and child safely. However, he knew that his own wife had almost turned into the source behind a calamity, and even though she was directly beheaded by Mo Fan, he still gave him the other million.

He knew how painful it was to be infected. In his words, at least his wife was finally free of the demon!

Adding on the 1.5 million RMB from before, Mo Fan is now a man with 3.5 million RMB in assets. Providing for a girl in school was not much of a problem for him!

However, according to Zhao Manyan, the prices of all the things at the auction today would exceed 5 million RMB!

(Ed. Note: at $1/7 RMB, he’s worth half a million bucks!)

Mo Fan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had put in so much effort to earn so much money, yet he was unable to compete for a single thing. There were indeed more rich people in the world.

“What do you want to sell?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Warrior level Soul Essence.” Mo Fan didn’t hide it. After all, he still had to borrow Zhao Manyan’s identity to sell his things.

Just like how if you wanted to bid here, you’d have to be either a member or you’d have to reach a certain position in the society to sell something.

Speaking of which, that brat Lingling’s title as a Hunter Master was indeed very important, or else it’d be very hard to mingle in the domains of the Magicians.

“A trivial matter… wait, did you say a Warrior level Soul Essence?” Zhao Manyan was suddenly shocked as he opened his eyes wide to stare at Mo Fan.

“Yeah.”

“Damn, you sure have some freaking luck. You even obtained a Warrior level Soul Essence? Is it from that Mother Beast?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed, obviously shocked.

Mo Fan was also puzzled. This guy Zhao Manyan seemed to have the same moral integrity as Mo Fan himself, especially his choice of words.

“Yeah, I didn’t think I would gain it, either,” Mo Fan nodded.

“I respect that, I truly respect that! Others have killed who knows how many Warrior-level Magical Beasts, yet none of them have been able to get this stuff. You only killed one… however, if you think about it, it does make sense. This Mother Beast was presumably very different from the other Warrior level Magical Beasts. The more special these creatures are, the more likely their Spirits will turn into Soul Essence upon death. However, speaking of which, how could you have a Soul Container? That kind of stuff is not cheap at all,” Zhao Manyan’s expression showed admiration.

For a disciple like him, the resources he could receive were not unlimited. A Spirit grade Elemental Seed or Warrior level Soul Essences was extremely precious, the families wouldn’t just casually give them to the youths of the new generation.

Either way, Zhao Manyan have never received something that expensive in all his years in the family.

Looking at Mo Fan, he had first made a transaction with his own family to receive a Lightning Spirit Seed. What caused Zhao Manyan to be really shocked, however, was that this guy had obtained a Warrior level Soul Essence!

Even Zhao Manyan would react to it when the Mother Beast gave out this kind of stuff.

“Soul Container?” Mo Fan asked, as he didn’t quite understand.

“How are you able to collect a Soul Essence without a Soul Container? A Soul Container is usually something that are made by those Soul Magicians who meticulously study the soul. This kind of thing is used for collecting Soul Remnants and Soul Essences. If I remember correctly, the worst kind of Soul Container costs at least five million. For yours that can even collect a Warrior level Soul Essence, you can’t dream of buying one if you don’t have at least one or two hundred million!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“A container for collecting souls is that expensive?” Mo Fan was also surprised.

In fact, Mo Fan had realized this a long time ago. The Soul Essences and the Soul Remnants seemed to be something only he can collect. Even the members from the Hunters Squad in the past were not interested in Soul Remnants or Soul Essences, they didn’t even seem to see those souls that appeared like fireflies.

“Big brother, Soul Essences are used to manufacture Stardust Tools and Nebula Tools. Originally, no one was able to collect these things unless they were a Soul Magician. Now that someone has actually created a Soul Container, of course they are incredibly expensive! Imagine that even the worst Stardust Tool used by a Primary Magician goes from five to ten million. If you’re lucky enough to receive a couple of Soul Essences, then you could become rich overnight!” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan nodded to himself.

So collecting souls are usually something only Soul Magicians can do…

No wonder why the materials to create Magic Tools and Nebula Tools were so uncommon. Even Spirit Magicians were hard to find!

Little Loach Pendant, so your abilities are this amazing. I am increasingly more curious on where you are from…, Mo Fan looked at the Little Loach Pendant on his chest as he thought to himself.

“Let’s go, I’ll help you add your Soul Essence onto the auction list. It’ll definitely be sold for a good price!” Zhao Manyan said.

At this moment, Mo Fan was also a bit excited. He was very curious as to how much his Soul Essence would be sold for.

Would he be able to buy a house in an area of Shanghai?

Not long after, Zhao Manyan came out of the Appraisal Hall.

Normally, once the auction list had been made, it could not be altered. However, the bidding for a Warrior level Soul Essence was even more ferocious than a Spirit Seed. Did any of those who were here to participate not wish to see this kind of thing appear?

The organizing party instantly put the Warrior level Soul Essence onto the auction list.

“I let the old master appraise it. He said that this kind of parasitic Soul Essence is very special, and the more special the Soul Essence is, the more successful the manufacturing of a Nebula Tool will be, and the higher the quality it will be. Thus, the Scale Skin Phantom Mother’s Soul Essence that you are auctioning will be worth 10 to 20 million. If it generates a fight between large forces, then there wouldn’t be a problem for it to reach even 25 million,” Zhao Manyan said, and admiring look on his face.

This guy’s saliva nearly started dripping. He really wished that he personally had killed the Mother Beast!

However, Zhao Manyan also knew that he was a person without a Soul Container. Even if he had personally killed the Mother Beast, he would still have no way to retrieve its Soul Essence.

“Also, the Appraisal Master said the Warrior level Soul Essence has been stored very delicately. This can only be done by either an outstanding Undead Magician or by an incredible high level Soul Container. Right, how did you get such a high level Soul Container? These kind of things are rarely seen,” Zhao Manyan began to chatter endlessly.

“Inheritance. My family is poor, but we did inherit this thing,” Mo Fan didn’t explain too much, he just answered vaguely.

“You not being a Undead Magician is just too much of a waste,” Zhao Manyan sighed, and didn’t continue pursuing the subject.

However, Zhao Manyan did realize a really big problem. He had always been the young master of an aristocratic family, yet right now, he was just a simple nothing compared to Mo Fan, who have suddenly gained riches!

—–

Just when he was about to enter the Auction Hall, Mo Fan wanted to take a look at the sumptuous mansions around here.

Unfortunately, his line of sight was quickly occupied by an ugly face. This face looked like Mo Fan owed him 5 million RMB, just a single glance made him feel uncomfortable.

“It’s you, hmph!” the ugly face coldly grunted.

“Who are you?” Mo Fan asked.

The ugly face immediately seethed with anger.

This daddy is Bai Zangfeng! Do you understand? Bai Zangfeng, the young master of one of the four great Aristocrat Families of Shanghai!

“I am Bai Zangfeng!” Bai Zangfeng’s complexion turned increasingly ugly.

During the Rookie Competition, Bai Zangfeng wanted to hold an attitude like the Terminator, intending to tyrannically abuse Mo Fan and get rid of him, thus becoming the focal point of the entire school.

Who knew that the second he was up against him, he’d be hit by a life threatening Thunderbolt. This placed Bai Zangfeng in an exceedingly difficult situation, and even forced Instructor Gu Han to chase him down.

That day, Bai Zangfeng had truly lost all his face.

Furthermore, that scheming whore, Mu Nujiao from the Mu Family…! Losing is losing, yet she actually obtained the support of so many people by donating resources to cover their losses.

In the past couple of months, Bai Zangfeng had already been scolded by his seniors a lot. There’d occasionally be someone saying, “Look at the Mu Family, their daughter’s ideas are extensive! Yet you, Bai Zangfeng, are a man who is the same as trash!”

The words Bai Zangfeng’s elders used on him had many different versions. The second he got home, he would be scolded. They decreased his living expenses dramatically, and made him lock himself in to cultivate every single day.

All of this was caused by Mo Fan!

However, this guy who caused him to live like Sun Tzu for the past few months didn’t even remember who he was.

“Let me tell you, if it wasn’t for you playing a trick back then, I’d be able to kill you with just the pinch of my fingers! Just wait until the day I enter the Main Campus, if I don’t beat you up then my name is no longer Bai Zangfeng!” Bai Zangfeng was enraged by Mo Fan, pointing toward Mo Fan’s nose as he snarled this out.

This grudge was something Bai Zangfeng would never let go!

This semester, he was completely nameless due to what had happened at the beginning of the term. However, he would turn the tables around before too long!

Whether it was Mu Nujiao, Zhao Manyan, Shen Tianxiao, Luo Song, or even this Mo Fan who had caused him great pain, each one would be stepped on by him!

He, Bai Zangfeng, had entered the school with the attitude of the strongest person within his generation of the Bai Family. Not only would he be superior to those common students, he would even be stronger than those disciples from other Aristocratic families.

Bai Zangfeng’s words had filled the inside of the Auction Hall.

Mo Fan looked after the guy while feeling puzzled. After he waited for Bai Zangfeng to walk a little further away, Mo Fan finally turned around and asked Zhao Manyan, “Just who is this Bai Zangfeng?”

“It’s the guy who was put down by your Thunderbolt during the Beast Battle Competition. He is an Intermediate Magician, but he got beat by you in just a second,” Zhao Manyan explained as he couldn’t stop laughing.

“Oh, it’s him! I finished him off way too quickly back then, I didn’t get a good look at his face,” Mo Fan said.

The Bai Zangfeng who was walking up the stairs also heard this, his body began to stumble, he nearly fell down.

Shit, he is bullying me!

Just you wait, just you freaking wait! The battles within Azure Campus are simply little fights between children, just wait until the Main Campus… hehe, it’ll be hard to say who the champion will be then!

———

Zhao Manyan was indeed very sincere. Not too long after the Auction started, the Spirit grade Lightning Seed came out. The people from Zhao Family did not say much. They had this attitude of whatever the opponent would bid for this Spirit grade Lightning Seed, the Zhao Family will always up them.

The Spirit grade Lightning Seed went up over 2.8 millions RMB, but it was still purchased by the Zhao Family!

Using a baseless reputation to exchange for a 2.8 million RMB valued Spirit grade Lightning Seed was definitely worth it in Mo Fan’s eyes.

As for what the Zhao Family were able to obtain from resolving the dangers this time was not something Mo Fan was able to calculate. Even the losses by this great Aristocrat family were not something the could temporarily calculate.

“2.8 million RMB, it has been successfully auctioned off to this mister. I already introduced the Spirit grade Lightning Seed at the beginning of the auction; however, I can’t help but do it once more. This Lightning Seed was extracted from a heavenly mountain where the thunderclouds merges with the summit of the mountain at all times, it is called the Qianjun. When you release Lightning Magic, the Qianjun will generate a great destructive power through the surrounding air, the vibration caused will be even more effective than your normal Lightning!

“We all know that common seeds are mediocre, Spirit seeds are intellectual. Therefore, I hope that the Spirit grade Qianjun that was extracted from the far away heavenly mountain and brought here will be able to find a good master… I apologize that I am a bit talkative today, this is because the person who extracted the Qianjun was a good friend of mine. He died during the extraction of Qianjun. It was a friend who went through life and death to finally bring it back to the city.” The auctioneer seemed to be deeply moved as he said this to all the participants of the auction.

The middle aged man who won the bidding battle from Zhao Family seemed to be very courteous. He smiled as he said toward the affectionate auctioneer, “Mr. Wang, don’t worry. The Qianjun will be given to an extremely outstanding youth.”

“Youth, I like youths. They dare to charge and battle, not like us old people. We cannot go anywhere. Youths are good, they are suitable for the Qianjun!” The auctioneer had a good temperament, he immediately began to smile.

That Mr. Wang didn’t seem to be your average person, there was no one who dared to gossip about him.

—–

“Qianjun,” Mo Fan really liked that name.

Spirit grade Lightning Seeds, they all possessed intellects. They had the temperament and personality of a living creature, so they also received their own name.

Qianjun, that was a name of power. The Lightning Element was the Magic that encompassed the greatest power within all of the classical Elements;, the name Qianjun was extremely suitable!

In the future, all of the Lightning and Fire Magicks would possess their own prefixes!

His Lightning would be called Qianjun!

There was a lot of things appearing that Mo Fan had never heard of in his life in this auction. Zhao Manyan explained about some of the things to Mo Fan.

Many of these items were things Mo Fan was very interested in. For example, some of the Magic Tools with supplementary effects.

Magic Equipment and Magic Tools had definite differences.

Magic Equipment was only able to link itself to the soul. Once activated, it could transform into a special piece of battle equipment. While the Magic Tools were mostly just supplementary, things that granted nourishing effects were things that could not be activated.

For example, one of the items sold in the auction was called the Poison Fire Ring.

This kind of ring was a Magic Tool. It added on a certain poisonous effect to all of the caster’s Fire Magic. Unfortunately, this kind of ring cost far more than a Spirit grade Fire Seed, and Mo Fan was unable to purchase it.

“The next item is something even more people will be interested in. It is a Blue Velvet Sparrow’s egg. After going through appraisal, it is confirmed that this egg has a 100% chance of hatching. Summoner Magicians, you may bid your price…Oh, I almost forgot. This Blue Velvet Sparrow possesses the Penglai Skylark bloodline. As long as you raise it to adulthood, its strength will be no weaker than that of a full grown Warrior-level Magical beast!

“The Blue Velvet Sparrow is enough to take one flying, and an incomparable mount for flight. Its lowest price is 70 million RMB, so everyone can start bidding now!” The auctioneer’s face looked focused as he said this.

As soon as the Blue Velvet Sparrow’s egg came out, a disturbance went through the auction hall.

Although the price started at 70 million, the bidding people were everywhere!

Mo Fan was almost scared by these rich people. In his previous world, 100 million RMB was a unit that people wouldn’t even dare to think about. However, the Blue Velvet Sparrow’s egg was selling for 70 million+! And that was the lowest price!

“You’re also a Summoner, don’t you have any plans to get yourself a young one to nurture?” Zhao Manyan asked Mo Fan sitting next to him.

“Do you think I look like a person who would be able to afford that?” Mo Fan smiled bitterly.

There were only two types of Magicians that could manage beasts. One of them was Telepathic Magicians, and the other was Summoning Magicians.

The Intermediate Magic for the Summoning Element was Contract Summoning!

Contract Summoning and Dimensional Summoning had two very large differences. Dimensional Summoning summons a wandering Beast and puts a soul imprint in them so they can fight for you. This kind of creature had a limited time it could stay around. Furthermore, you never knew when they would die within the Summon Plane, or might not not want to participate in a battle.

Contract Summoning was the true core spell of the Summoning Magicians.

The Summoner would be able to go out into the wild to find a Magical Beast to form a contract with. Once the contract was done, the Magical Beast would be the Contracted Beast of the Magician, and one hundred percent loyal, attending to its master at all times.

Frankly speaking, Dimensional Summoning was a temporary job. While the Magical Beast was out, it would continuously use mana. The longer it battled in the real world, the more mana it would use.

A Contract Summoning was the one true being. He would be signing a contract with an existence that already existed in this world. Once the contract was successful, the Magical Beast could be considered tamed, and become a lifelong companion.

“Wasting your resources on your Dimensional Creature is really useless. The Dimensional Creature is not a long-term companion. However, the Contracted Beast is something you can spend as much resources as you want on, and it will also reciprocate that to you. I suggest that if you obtain some kind of resource for refining a beast, you’d better leave it for your own contract beast,” Zhao Manyan advised him.

“70 million is not something I can afford.”

“Bro, why would you want to buy a Blue Velvet Sparrow? Magical Beasts that can fly have always been extremely expensive,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Alright.”

The Summoning Stardust advancing to Nebula level would require just a bit more time. Although having one more Summoned Beast would be able to increase his combat prowess by several times, seeing the price of the Blue Velvet Sparrow made Mo Fan to feel like getting hold of a young beast would take him who knew how many years.

These things were expensive!

As of right now, Mo Fan was at the Intermediate level, and all these things were only useful for Intermediate Magicians. However, once he reached Advanced level Magician, just what kind of price would these things go up to? Casually become a few hundred million?

No wonder why they said if you didn’t have money, don’t become a Magician! It was so true!

“The next item being sold is one that cut the lines. Don’t be anxious everyone, this line cutting item will definitely be something you will need.”

The Auctioneer waved his hand to indicate for the girl to bring the new treasure up to the stage to auction.

“Look at this Container. I believe everyone should already know what we’re auctioning off this time?” the Auctioneer gave a slight smile.

“Soul Essence!”

“What level of Soul Essence? If it is the Servant level, then it’d be too unsuitable for this place!”

The auctioneer purposely sold a small climax. He waited until everyone began talking before continuing, “This is a Warrior-level Soul Essence! This came from a Parasitic-type Magical Beast. Everyone most likely knows that the more special the Soul Essence is, the higher the probability for them to become a Nebula Magical Tool. Just like a Stardust Magic Tool, the Nebula Magic Tool is an item that is long in demand, but short in supply. The most important material, the Soul Essence, is most likely something that everyone will love. We will begin the auction of the Parasitic type Warrior level Soul Essence, the starting price will be 12 million!”

From from starting price, one could see that there was no need to worry about this item not being auctioned off.

Even something like Blue Velvet Sparrow Egg could be sold for a lot of money. Furthermore, since it is for the Summoner, the bid battles weren’t too fierce, as the people needing it were quite limited.

However, Soul Essence could be directly linked with a Stardust Magic Tool or a Nebula Magic tool. Just which Magician would not require Stardust Magic tools or Nebula Magic Tools?

A Warrior-level Soul Essence was not as expensive as a Blue Velvet Sparrow Egg. However, the bidding contest was still just as fierce. The second they heard that this was an extremely rare Parasitic-type Soul Essence, the bid price began to increase.

“Soul Essence is one of the best sellers. In the future if you acquire more Soul Essences, you can contact the Appraisal Master from today on. They’re from our Zhao Family. He definitely won’t swindle you,” Zhao Manyan told Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was shocked. This Warrior-level Sou Essence was worth at LEAST ten million! However, Mo Fan quickly realized the people in the audience had given different kinds of bids.

This thing was indeed very lacking, no wonder why it could directly cut into the line.

Fortunately, the Little Loach Pendant was able to collect Soul Remnants and Soul Essences. What if I just earn money by selling Soul Essences in the future??

Speaking of which, Mo Fan’s Little Loach Pendant seemed to have some special abilities that he himself was not sure about. Otherwise, how could others kill numerous Magical Beasts yet been unable to collect a single Soul Essence, while he had already acquired two of them?

When he had the opportunity, he needed to do research on this Little Loach Pendant…

At the end, the Soul Essence of Mother Beast was sold for 29 million RMB!

The real value of a special Soul Essence was roughly around 20 million. After its price had risen by nearly 10 million, he could clearly see that the supply did not reach the demand for it.

He’s rich, he became rich in an instant!

In just an instant, he earned a profit of 28 million RMB. Mo Fan felt an unprecedented happiness.

He has never seen this much money in his entire life!

“The person buying it was actually the Bai Family, hahaha,” Zhao Manyan looked at the person who last made a bid and couldn’t help but laugh.

The person from the Bai Family seemed to have already gotten the thing they’ve wanted. They weren’t interested in the last item that was being auctioned, so they rose together and left the Auction Hall.

When Bai Zangfeng and his fellow clansmen had walked outside the auction chamber, he had swept a glance at Mo Fan and said, “A lot of the things here are things that you will never get in your entire lifetime. Do you think you’re impressive with that little power? Just wait until I have a Nebula Magic Tool, my cultivation will easily surpass yours!”

“Yes yes yes, when the time comes, please be lenient,” Mo Fan said while purposely acting as though he was afraid.

Bai Zangfeng strutted away with an unbelievably arrogant way, while the Zhao Manyan next to Mo Fan began to laugh like crazy.

Only Zhao Manyan knew that the Bai Family had directly put 29 million RMB into Mo Fan’s pocket. Mo Fan even dared to sell a Soul Essence, this only meant that he most likely had even better things. Otherwise, who would actually want to sell something that could increase their own cultivation?

This Bai Zangfeng guy, he thinks his own family is so solid. Just wait until we enter the Main Campus and watch just who will surpass who.

In Mo Fan’s hand was indeed an even better cultivation tool. The Little Loach Pendant had actually drank the Underground Holy Spring, not even a Warrior level Soul Essence was capable of improving it!

After Bai Zangfeng left, Mo Fan continued to wait for a while to see if there was a Magic Equipment that was suitable for him.

As he hoped, not too long afterwards, a Magic Shield appeared.

A good set of Magic Armor had an incomparable high price. Thus, Mo Fan would rather have a good Magic Shield, so when he was in a crucial situation, he would be able to block a mortal wound.

A Departing Nether Shield appeared in the Auction Hall. Not only was it able to block an all-out attack from a Warrior-level creature, the surface of the shield was able to turn into spikes and deal deadly piercing damage.

Mo Fan bought this Departing Nether Shield. The people who bidded for it weren’t many, but it was purchased by Mo Fan for 17 million in the end.

The Departing Nether Shield’s price was even higher than the Blood Beast Boots. After all, its defensive capabilities and its ability to counterattack were much stronger than that of the Blood Beast Boots.

Naturally, Mo Fan also asked about it. His own Blood Beast Boots could be sold for around 12 million. The things that Pearl Institute gave out were definitely not some cheap goods.

“Do you want to buy any Deathstrike Magic Equipment?” Zhao Manyan asked him.

Deathstrike Magic Equipment was something that all Magicians loved, everyone from Primary to Intermediate. In situation where attack methods are limited, Deathstrike Magic Equipment would be the most important factor for many Magicians.

“Are there any good Deathstrike Equipments for 10 million?” Mo Fan asked.

“Let’s use a Warrior level creature as an example. If you truly want to cause a mortal damage to a Warrior level creature, then the Deathstrike Equipment will always be at least 20 million or more, and those that comes with additional effects are naturally even more expensive.”

“Then I can’t afford it. I’ll leave some money to raise my little beast,” Mo Fan said.

“Tsk, that makes sense. If you have money, you do need to raise some canaries, I’ll introduce you to some good halfie girls…”

“What I meant was my Summoned Beast.” Mo Fan really admired how perverted Zhao Manyan was.

“Oh, oh, I was thinking about something else.”

“However, you can still introduce the halfie girls you mentioned.”

“Eh…” Zhao Manyan couldn’t keep up with the way Mo Fan was thinking.

——–

Selling Soul Essence, buying Magic Equipment, he had about 12 million RMB remaining. Adding onto the 3.1 million that he originally had, Mo Fan happily realized that he still had 15.1 million remaining after purchasing the Magic Shield.

With this money, he needed to move out from that godforsaken area!

Mo Fan had to endure that area for far too damn long. The damn safety area that required you to take a bus and transfer to a subway to get to the city area was even more remote than Bo City. How could it possibly be suitable for a man like him, who is now worth over ten million RMB!?

In the next semester, Zhao Manyan also said that he wanted to move out. In this kind of situation, Mo Fan also didn’t want to be bored and stay in the dorm. He could change to an even more independent area for cultivating, so he wouldn’t risk exposing himself. The secrets he had were not small. If someone was to see them, it could get pretty bad…

——–

After returning to the school, the end of the semester quickly approached.

This semester did not have any examinations. Only in the next semester would there be an official examination for entering the Main Campus.

This semester could be called the growing phase. If the students were cultivating somewhere else, that was fine. If they wanted to take classes, that was also fine. It would be fine even if they didn’t touch the gates of the school for the entire semester. The only examination would be the examination for entering the Main Campus.

To most Magicians, the Azure Campus and Main Campus were very different. The real Pearl Institute was the Main Campus; the resources there were abundant, while the competition was equally frightening. If you were able to distinguish yourself there, then you would be known throughout Shanghai, or even an influential figure for the whole country!

Entering the Main Campus was definitely the most important thing for all students. Mo Fan could clearly see that the reason why Zhao Manyan wanted to move out was not because he wanted to bring girls home to have sex with, but to put more effort into cultivating. After the matter of the arena, he had received a lot of resources from his family. He had no reason to continue loitering about.

As for Mo Fan, not only was he confidently planning on entering the Main Campus, the most important thing was the Hunter Competition that was happening in less than two years!

The Lightning and Fire Nebulae couldn’t stay at just the first level, he had to quickly level them to the second!

Mo Fan couldn’t forget about the domineering Fiery Fist, Nine Palace spell that Ms. Tangyue had used.

That was the third level of Fiery Fist, and adding on the Spirit grade Fire Seed, its might would definitely destroy any opponent.

The Lightning Element was the same, it had to increase as well. If it stayed at that level, that was definitely not a good thing.

Even the Shadow Element was the same, he had to learn how to draw its Star Atlas. The Star Atlas Books were limited!

His Summoning Element hadn’t reached the Intermediate level either, he had to put efforts into cultivating that as well!

There were so many things to level up on, Mo Fan felt that there was no time left for him to use.

Another thing was… Mo Fan had actually already caught a whiff of the gunpowder attitude that pervaded the entire school.

It was said that the Main Campus examination was a straight Magic War. Since Mo Fan had essentially offended all of the people in school, when that day came, if he didn’t have the ability to pressure others, he would be stepped on like a dog by those people in just minutes. The people who hated him were definitely not limited to just Bai Zangfeng. Someone said that they had even created an Anti-Mo Fan Society!

That society was specifically created to attack the public enemy of the schools, Mo Fan! The strength that Mo Fan had displayed back then was indeed did indeed appear monstrous to a lot of the Primary level students. This society’s strength had already grown greatly; they were only waiting to crusade against the monster and uphold justice!

Mo Fan had never once regretted stealing other people’s resources.

If he hadn’t stolen them away back then, how would he be able to fight against the Mother Beast? If he didn’t kill the Mother Beast, then where would he have earned enough to gain the Spirit grade Lightning Seed and the Departing Nether Shield?

This was called “the strong becomes even stronger” effect!

Those dregs. They really thought they would be able to contend against him if they bitterly cultivated for a year. When the time came, they would learn that daddy Mo would still be their daddy!

Once the semester ended, Mo Fan began looking for a new place to live.

He was able to afford it, spending some money to find a good apartment to live in was not a problem. In fact, Mo Fan was already interested in the Golden Origin apartments to the west of Azure Campus.

These apartments were relatively close to the school. Behind them was an artificial lake park. Although the lake wasn’t big, its grounds were beautiful.

Mo Fan walked up to the 12th floor of the building and knocked on the door of the apartment he wanted to rent.

“You’re here, are you the guy who called me just now?” The landlord auntie appeared to be very enthusiastic and friendly as she said this.

“Yes, I saw that you were renting out this place on the internet,” Mo Fan said.

The landlord auntie sized Mo Fan up and said, “Oh, come in first.”

Mo Fan nodded. Just as he was about to enter the room, two girls came out of the elevator. One of the girls was wearing a long, snow white summer dress. On the front of it was an image of a landscape.

She was like a cloud as she floated over, it seemed like she was looking at the numbers of the rooms.

The girl next to her appeared to be very petite. What really shocked him was that her petite body possessed a gigantic moon that could be seen very clearly with the glance of an eye. The girl was already wearing very loose clothes, but it was not enough to conceal this radiance of spring!

“Excuse me…Oh, it’s you?” Just when the girl was about to ask the auntie a question, she happened to see Mo Fan by the entrance. Her face revealed an astonished expression.

“Hehe, how coincidental,” Mo Fan was also shocked he would actually meet an “acquaintance” here.

This girl who was wearing a white dress with a painting in the front was not some random person. She just so happened to be the Mu Nujiao who had displayed an ferocious strength during the Rookie Competition at the very beginning of the year.

In this campus filled with youthful hormones, Mo Fan believed that the greatest topic of all of the boys at night was definitely this girl. When they mentioned girls, then they would inevitably mention the beautiful and moral girl of their dreams, Mu Nujiao.

The societies that Mu Nujiao joined would always be completely packed. The community events that Mu Nujiao participated in would definitely have people watching in the surroundings.

There was nothing they could do. Mu Nujiao’s public image was indeed extremely good. If it wasn’t for Zhao Manyan, who saw through it at first glance, then Mo Fan would’ve almost believed it.

“Are you also here to take a look at the room?” Mo Fan said.

“Mmm,” Mu Nujiao nodded without saying anything.

“You guys know each other… Eh, you are really familiar… Oh, you are that great monster!!!” the petite girl with large breasts yelled out, flustered.

“...” Mo Fan was speechless. Rumors of him being a great monster had really been spread around. Being able to scare a girl like that… Ah, this girl didn’t look like she’s scared. How come she appears to be in high spirits…?

Encountering Mu Nujiao here was not something Mo Fan thought strange.

The school had a regulation where the new students had to live on campus for a year. This regulation was actually strictly enforced for the first half of the semester. During the next semester, the students who had some ability would definitely choose to live somewhere close to school. Those who cultivated required a place of their own.

This Golden Origin apartment block was relatively expensive. Most of the students were using their money to cultivate, so how could there be a surplus of people wanting to live in this kind of luxurious apartment block… unless you were a wealthy person like Mu Nujiao!

The apartment block was very big. The decorations were exquisite, the entire place appeared to have a compound architecture. The first floor had a living area with a rug covering it. The entrance hall led straight to a balcony that was as big as a placement house. The balcony had a parasol, recliners, a pond, and bookshelves.

The living area was completely decorated. It appeared to be moon shaped, an extremely large television was on the wall with a half bed-../style couches. On the opposite side was a western ../style kitchen and a small bar…

For Mo Fan, a poor man’s child’s perspective, a living room should have a couch and a television. Anything else wasn’t necessary. For a place like this that had a little bar and a western ../style kitchen, this indeed broke his experience with houses.

Although Mo Fan had not seen the room yet, the luxury of this building made him sigh deeply in sorrow. It made sense as to why it was so expensive. Fortunately, the current him could be considered wealthy!

“The rooms are all upstairs, do you want to take a look?” the auntie asked.

“I don’t need to see it anymore, I’ll take it,” Mo Fan didn’t feel like looking.

Even the living room had been decorated like this, what’s the point of taking a look at second floor? The rooms were definitely not much different.

“What about the two ladies then?” the landlord auntie glanced at Mu Nujiao and asked.

“I really like it, Sister Mu, let’s pick this!” The petite, energetic girl seemed to really like this place.

The truth was, she and Mu Nujiao had already seen quite a lot of different places. Most of them did not satisfy their demands. The most important thing was both of them were born to rich and wealthy families. What may have been delicately renovated could only be seen as crude and simple in their eyes, no different than living in the dorms. However, this place, they could tell that someone had spend a lot of money to renovate it properly with just a glance. There was a bit of an art to it. It wasn’t much different from those places they would stay in when they went out to have fun.

“Since you are all very content with this place, then why don’t you co-rent. To be honest, the rent for my place here is indeed very expensive, there are not many people who would rent it on their own. A couple thousand RMB per month is not a laughing matter,” the landlord auntie said.

Mu Nujiao creased her brow.

She didn’t like the idea of co-renting. No matter how expensive it was, she wouldn’t mind at all.

“Alright alright, I haven’t co-rented before. I’ve never co-rented before, I’ve read a lot of novels where people co-rent in university. It seems interesting!” The petite girl had a very one track mind as she replied delightedly.

The landlord auntie smiled as she hurriedly continued the introduction. “This place has a total of four rooms. Two rooms are in the south, and two are in the north side. It just happens to be separated. Since you already know one another, then co-renting would be very suitable,” the landlord auntie said.

“Little Rabbit, don’t spout nonsense! Landlord Auntie, we aren’t actually that familiar with him,” Mu Nujiao said firmly.

“Aiya, Sister Mu, don’t worry. The rooms are all on their own, and it’s even separated by a whole section. Other than the first floor being a common area, the other ones cannot be common areas. My grandfather is really mean, he said he’d restrict my spending once I enter university. If we don’t share the cost, it would be very expensive. With one more person sharing the cost, that’d be great! If not, we could even have him pay half,” the white rabbit girl said.

“Hey hey hey, I never said I’d be paying half!” Mo Fan immediately jumped up.

Co-renting sounded pretty good, Mo Fan would definitely not reject that. However, the questions about the money, they had to clear that up first!

You two are wealthy people, don’t cheat the poor one!

“Other people would even offer to pay the rent for the whole place if they could co-rent with Sister Mu, we are only letting you pay for half so you can enjoy co-renting with two beauties! This kind of treatment would make you smile even in your dreams. Alright, let’s just do that. I want to stay in the room by the lake. I’ll have my people bring my things over,” the white rabbit girl said excitedly.

“Your people…” Once Mo Fan heard this, he started to feel not so good…

The white rabbit girl cheerfully went off to select her room. As a sister, Mu Nujiao was very close with her, so she quickly followed after her.

It was clear Mu Nujiao didn’t want to co-rent with a guy. You could tell her thoughts from her knitted eyebrows.

Mo Fan didn’t mind at all. Being able to see two beautiful girls jumping around in his surroundings while cultivating was definitely a pleasurable matter.

Mu Nujiao was definitely very attractive and her figure was definitely fine. Buildings and buildings of men fantasized about her. Now, he would be able to live together with her, that was just living high on the clouds!

What was the saying again? A single man enters university, graduates as a family of three. It seems like he was not far away from that kind of life../style!

Mo Fan did not bicker about paying for half of the rent. He originally only wanted two rooms, one for himself, and one for Xinxia.

Xinxia was about to enter her holidays, and he couldn’t let her remain in school or go back to the safety placement room. It had been a while since he met her, so it would be a good time for him to talk love… oh, errr, talk about emotions again!

He didn’t have to worry about his father. He had wanted to return to Bo City for a while. According to Xinxia, he might have gotten himself a woman, so he would remain there for a longer period of time.

Mo Jiaxing had been living as a bachelor for a long time. It was finally time for the spring to return back to him, thus, Mo Fan transferred a million to him so he could casually squander money!

Tsk tsk, transferring a million to his father’s card… having money is extremely comfortable!

——

“Ai Tutu!” Mu Nujiao called out to the bouncing white rabbit girl a bit angrily.

Ai Tutu obediently walked back, looking as though she had done something bad. Her eyes, however, looked very sharp.

“Sister Mu, I know I was wrong. I know you don’t want to live with outside people…However, aren’t you curious on what kind of method he used to escape from your Forest of Kun back then? Additionally, don’t you think this guy has many hidden secrets?” Ai Tutu wasn’t stupid at all, she immediately pointed this out.

Ai Tutu did indeed mention all of the thoughts Mu Nujiao had.

Mu Nujiao was an existence invincible amongst her peers. She had never imagined that she would be defeated by a common-born Magician at the Rookie Competition.

Additionally, Mu Nujiao had also heard about the gymnasium incident. The person who really killed the Mother Beast had to be Mo Fan!

If you wanted Mu Nujiao to believe that a person who could single-handedly kill a Warrior-level creature had no secrets, it was definitely impossible.

Thus, Mu Nujiao had always been very curious on just what Mo Fan was hiding.

“Sister Mu, what needs to be disliked can be disliked. What you need to scold can be scolded. However, his strength is definitely at the top of the school. He is far more interesting and possess more potential than those people who come from influential families and brag about being influential or strong.

“Co-renting with him now is an opportunity. Get familiar with him, there’s a possibility he’ll join the Mu Family because he’ll admire you. Your Mu Family is currently lacking talented people. Instead of wasting so much money on those shady henchmen of other families to have them join your family, you might as well subdue this great monster. I heard Dean Xiao accidentally say that this great monster’s prospects are unlimited!” Ai Tutu said firmly.

Mu Nujiao immediately sank into deep contemplation.

A person that even Dean Xiao recognized to a certain extent, could it be that this great monster really did conceal even more power?

“For the Mu Family, sister can make an effort to endure it. Furthermore, I don’t think the great monster is a bad person, or else he wouldn’t have stepped up for the incident in the gymnasium. Since you focus a lot on your own cultivation, you may not know things in school. I heard from a lot of girls that the great monster personally saved them!” Ai Tutu continued.

Mu Nujiao was originally firm on opposing this boring co-renting. After hearing what Ai Tutu said, she began to waver.

She was very curious on how Mo Fan had defeated her. She was also curious on whether he was the person who actually saved all the people in the gymnasium. What made her even more curious was what this great monster was hiding. Additionally, with what Ai Tutu had said about the co-renting, the possibility of attracting him into the Mu Family was true. Mu Nujiao began to waver.

Ai Tutu seemed to know how to come to an agreement with Mu Nujiao. As long as there was some hesitation, she would carry it out. That way, Mu Nujiao would have to give a rather difficult reply.

“Alright. However, he seems to be very close with the person from Zhao Family. Thus, we need to be careful,” Mu Nujiao said.

“Don’t worry.”

——

Mo Fan didn’t know that the two ladies was already plotting how to unveil his secrets. He paid the rent for the last half of the month in one shot, and then he laid down in the first floor living room to enjoy himself.

The couch was very soft, it felt as though his entire being would sink into it.

It could be that Mu Nujiao had no interest in this kind of stuff, since she was a very wealthy person. To Mo Fan, who was at the very rock bottom, even having to sell his house to live in as luxurious a place as this, it could only be described as comfortable.

Furthermore, adding in Xinxia, then this place would have a total of three girls…

This was simply living the life of an immortal!

He laid there comfortably, watched some TV, browsed the internet, and drank some wine. His afternoon was incredibly satisfying. He had painstakingly cultivated for such a long time, he hadn’t had a chance to loosen up and take it easy like this.

——

Outside of the elevator, two delicate and handsome men carrying a large bunny were walking in.

The delicate man looked very polite, and smiling courteously. Even when he was doing a job like moving, he still had to display his best trait in the best manner possible.

“You can put the things in the living room,” Ai Tutu said.

“Alright…Oh? There’s actually someone who got here before us.” The man wearing glasses with a scholarly smile took a glance at Mo Fan. In his eyes flashed a trace of a imperceptible hostility.

Mo Fan had fallen asleep on the couch, he didn’t care about the other people walking in. He was in a daze when he was woken up by someone. He suddenly discovered a gigantic white rabbit plushie on his couch, he almost jumped up.

“What is this?” Mo Fan rubbed his eyes.

“Moving, half of this couch will have my bunny on it!” Ai Tutu said, a little arrogantly.

After saying this, Ai Tutu instructed the other two “Back up boys” to leave. The man wearing glasses with the scholarly smile swept a glance at Mo Fan and quickly ripped off the fake, harmless face as he said, “Brother, why are you still laying there! Didn’t you hear Ai Tutu tell us to leave?”

Mo Fan glanced at the glasses man and replied, “Dude, I live here.”

The scholarly glasses man and the other vanilla man immediately froze, eyes wide.

The two of them quickly scoffed. Their bodies immediately let out an aura of disbelief, it seemed like they hadn’t woken up from a dream. Living together with Ai Tutu, who didn’t know Ai Tutu is always with Mu Nujiao! Living with Ai Tutu was equal to living together with Mu Nujiao!

“Stop daydreaming, hurry up and get lost!” The vanilla man looked very refined, yet the things he said were not refined at all.

Mo Fan immediately creased his brow.

I, your daddy, am laying here resting comfortably. How come there are two dog-looking things coming at me trying to berate me!?

“The ones who should get lost are you guys! This is my house!” Mo Fan stood up, his gaze on the two guys who were deliberately looking for a fight.

Ai Tutu saw the two sides being hostile to one another, she started to get excited. With a devious expression, she ran to the side and grabbed some snacks to eat. Her eyes flashed with a certain killing intent as she looked at Mo Fan and the two back-up boys, having no intention of resolving the misunderstanding at all!

Glasses and Vanilla did not expect this mover to be so arrogant. With Ai Tutu looking at them from the side, how could they possibly act like they were weak? The Magic auras surrounding them did not loosen up even a little bit!

Especially Vanilla. At this moment, he was not refined at all. His jacket was floating as a boiling hot aura could be felt from his body.

A Fire Magician! Furthermore, he was actually an Intermediate Fire Magician!

No wonder why he dared to be so arrogant. Being able to achieve Intermediate level within the Azure Campus surely gave them the right to look down on normal students.

The issue was, was Mo Fan a normal student?

Who knows where these two guys’ dog eyes are. They didn’t even recognize this great monster, and furthermore, they even dare to brag in front of me?

“What are you guys doing?”

Just when their auras was about to collide, Mu Nujiao’s solemn voice echoed from the second floor.

Vanilla’s aura immediately dispersed into nowhere. He looked foolishly at Mu Nujiao in her white cotton dress.

Glasses’ expression did appear to be relatively normal. However, the desires that flashed within his eyes belied his acting.

He looked refine and courteous as he said to Mu Nujiao, “My name is Han Luo, being able to meet Lady Mu Nujiao here is such an honor. We apologize for accidentally offending you. This kid here is truly a rascal, here dares to say that he lives here! This kid is daydreaming, and he is blaspheming Lady Mu Nujiao. Thus, we wanted to give him a lesson.”

Their Magic auras could be felt easily. The aura that Vanilla let out before had most likely alerted Mu Nujiao, who was in her room, which is why she came out.

“That’s right, since he is still speaking to us rudely, Tutu, it is better if you don’t interact with people like this in the future,” Vanilla added.

Mu Nujiao immediately looked at Ai Tutu who was on the side with a package of chips in her hand. She didn’t have to guess to know what Ai Tutu was up to.

Did Ai Tutu not know that Mo Fan was indeed living here?

“He does indeed live here. The two of you can leave, don’t cause trouble here,” Mu Nujiao said.

“Ha?” Glasses and Vanilla were both flabbergasted.

It was the legendary co-renting?

Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu are actually co-renting with a man, is the rent too expensive?

That’s not right, how could the two of them possibly care about this little amount of money?!

Furthermore, from the idiot outfit, they could clearly see Mo Fan was a poor student. How could he possibly rent such an expensive apartment, there must be a mistake somewhere!

The two guys faces were extremely rich. Who cared what kind of strange reason was behind it, whoever was able to co-rent with Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu only deserved to die!

However, the two of them did not want to cause trouble here. That was because they were only here to move things, and the other reason was because they didn’t want to leave behind a bad impression on Mu Nujiao.

“If that is the case, then we will leave first. A misunderstanding,” Glasses turned around with a slight smile, his face having changed extremely fast.

“Hurry up and get lost, you annoying thing.” Mo Fan didn’t give him face at all.

It was a good afternoon, and he had been sleeping extremely comfortably. Suddenly, two dogs came out of nowhere and started to bark. He had lost his good mood.

The mouth of Glasses Han Luo mouth twitched. Vanilla wanted to get angry, but the two of them ultimately left this place. As they were leaving, they swept their gaze at Mo Fan with a bit of hatred in their eyes.

Kid, just you wait!

——-

“Tutu, you’re causing trouble again!” Mu Nujiao said to Ai Tutu right after she saw the two people leave.

“Sister Mu, I just thought it was funny. I didn’t know that Han Luo and Jia Wenqing would be so ill-mannered,” Ai Tutu used a potato chip to cover her face as she tried to look innocent.

Mo Fan was also speechless at Ai Tutu. He glared at her as he said, “Co-renting is co-renting. But I need to agree on three things with you.”

“Ha?” Ai Tutu was puzzled when she heard this.

In novels, it would always be the main heroine who would arrogantly force the co-renting guy to agree on three rules. How come it is the great demon who said that to me first, this script is not right!

“I also think we need that.” Mu Nujiao nodded her head, she couldn’t continue to let Ai Tutu cause trouble like this.

“Bringing in strangers and have them sleep over requires the approval of the other people.” Mo Fan immediately extended one finger.

“You’re the one who will bring a guy home to sleep over!” Ai Tutu retorted, fuming.

“You cannot enter my room, not in any possible circumstances,” Mo Fan extended his second finger.

Mo Fan had four Elements to cultivate in total. If Ai Tutu barged in and caused trouble, then she will most likely see this. This was a secret that Mo Fan did not want anyone knowing.

“That is also something I want to say, hmph!” Ai Tutu hurled back.

“Number three, I know the two of you have the appearance of immortals, and there are numerous people pursuing the two. There will be many house flies like those two flying around here. In the future, if you want the handsome and elegant me to act as a shield against them, that’s fine. If you call me to chase them away, that’s fine as well. However, I will charge a fee, 50,000 RMB!” Mo Fan said.

“Why don’t you go and rob someone! Also, you’re handsome and elegant my ass!” Ai Tutu was already making threatening gestures.

“Tutu, don’t use vulgar language,” Mu Nujiao said.

“He’s the one who is being irrational!”

“This is all I’ve got for now. If I have anything else in the future, I will bring them up.” Mo Fan, being a completely honest man, definitely had his own principles.

Ai Tutu was scowling at him from behind. She admitted that she used Mo Fan to chase away the annoying Han Luo and Jia Wenqing. However, Mo Fan started his price at 50,000 RMB, that was a bit too excessive. Being a future roommate, wasn’t it his responsibility to chase away flies!

“Mo Fan, be careful of those two people. They are the disciples from relatively powerful aristocratic families. Be careful of them making your life difficult.” Mu Nujiao knew that although the two of them looked humble, they were very petty people.

Arrogant aristocratic disciples were everywhere, none of them being able to endure anything.

“A trivial matter.” Mo Fan didn’t mind.

The thing was, there was no activity from the Clearsky Hunter Agency. It had been a long time since Mo Fan had fought a monster.

If Mo Fan didn’t fight for a day or two, his entire body would start to feel unwell. It just so happened that he could use the arrogant disciples from those families to loosen up!

Speaking of which, ever since his last time battling Mu Nujiao, Mo Fan had basically not had a fight against Magicians. That was not a good thing, the Hunter Competition also had a part where they battled other people!

“Great Demon, could you make it cheaper? My allowance is really not much,” Ai Tutu asked in a low voice.

“You have to trust my specialty, I am able to deal with any kind of case. I can stomp them until I can’t stomp them anymore. 50,000 for one time really isn’t earning me any money, my lady.” Mo Fan was not kidding.

At this moment, if he was to take on a mission from the Clearsky Hunter Agency, he would get at least 300,000 RMB. With his strength increased, if Mo Fan dared to directly take on an even bigger assignment, that price would be even higher!

“Hmph, this time doesn’t count. It’s a service test. How were you able to tell that I wanted to use you to chase the two guys out, they are really annoying. They are terrible back-up boys! Unfortunately, they are the children of my parent’s friends, so I can’t directly turn it into hostility.”

“It’s normal, a handsome man like me will always encounter situations similar to this.”

Ai Tutu immediately began to chuckle even as she began to curse at his shamelessness.

After chatting for a bit, Ai Tutu suddenly realized that this great demon was nothing as repulsive as the one in the rumors. Furthermore, he seemed to be very entertaining… much more entertaining than those young masters!

In that case, should I tell him that there are currently people who are plotting to get together to subdue him?

Forget it. Let’s watch his performance in the future. If she was content with it, then she’ll sneakily tell him about the things that some people want to do to him!

The people who wanted to subdue him were many. Who told him to offend so many people during the Rookie Competition? Even the incident at the arena would not be able to completely whitewash his name!

As they entered winter, there were no signs of snow.

Originally, the more north you went, the more snow you’d see. The interesting thing was that Shanghai did have the winter air, and Hangzhou had a little bit of snow falling down. With the snowflakes landing on this City like a paradise, it made it look increasingly fascinating.

Mo Fan also understood why Xinxia wanted to come here. Compared to Mo Fan, who was a country boy who had set his mind on living in the big city, Xinxia was different. She only wanted to live in a tranquil, aesthetic city with a mountain, river, and bridges.

Xinxia’s school was relatively close to Xihu. When Mo Fan got to Hangzhou, he didn’t hastily go and pick her up, he was intent in taking her out for a stroll.

—

They slowly walked past the long dike. On the two sides were willow trees waving in the breeze, and in the distance was the gleaming reflection of waves in the sunlight, clear and crystalline. Even further away were mountains, some of which were tall and some small. There were temples and there were kiosks, and on the other side were many different tall buildings, reflecting the river.

After passing through the dike, they arrived at the scenic area of the Leifeng Pagoda. Mo Fan looked at the new pagoda and its former location. Just when he was pondering something, a person who seemed to be a local to his side began to mysteriously say, “Little Brother, is this your first time here? Hehe, what you are looking at is the former location of the Leifeng Pagoda. According the old people, a white snake was once been excavated from this area!”

“A white snake? How big?” Mo Fan asked, interested.

“It should at least be this thick,” After saying it, the tanned local made a hugging motion.

“That big??” Mo Fan was startled.

What the hell, if a snake was that big, then it was basically a Magical Beast!

“No. No one was able to kill it at that time. In the end, some great master used his own life to seal it up…” the local man glanced to his left and right, as though he was saying some big secret.

“Unable to kill it? That amazing? Then where was it sealed in the end?” Mo Fan conveniently asked.

“Possibly within the new Leifeng Pagoda, or it could also be beneath the Broken Bridge. It’s also possible that it is on the Three Pools Mirroring The Moon, or it could be near the Bai Causeway. Look, I have a handbook guide in my hands, it introduces the legends on it and the guides to other scenic areas. One for five RMB. From one glance, I could tell that you are a person who likes to explore the truth. Seeing how you are destined for this, I will sell this to you for only four RMB,” the tanned local said.

“Four RMB, that’s pretty cheap. However, sir, I think the big snake story isn’t enough to attract enough people. What if you changed the big snake to a person, turn it into a Fairy, who in turn met a man on the Broken Bridge. The two are exceedingly sentimental, but some great Master did not like this, so he decided to seal this snake girl’s essence beneath the Leifeng Pagoda… For the book of this story, you should ask someone to draw a couple of beautiful bubbles, this way, there’ll be many ladies and youths who will buy it. Since it seems like you are destined for this story, I will sell the copyrights to you cheaply, only 9 RMB!” Mo Fan raised his eyebrows.

The local man was startled as he heard that. He felt this little fella did have some logic behind his words. The issue was… how did his wanting to sell things turn into him using his own money to buy things?

Xinxia, who was sitting on her wheelchair, heard Mo Fan and the local man talking gibberish with a deadpan face, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Fluttering around here and there, the two men ultimately were unable to sell things to one another, and ended it abruptly.

—

After the person selling the maps left, Mo Fan continued to push Xinxia to walk around the pagoda before he said, “How come this guy doesn’t have any common sense, has he never heard of the Legend of Madame White Snake?”

“I’ve also never heard of it.” Xinxia said.

“Oh, it doesn’t exist here? I thought the history here was exactly the same, so this kind of folklore should also be the same,” Mo Fan was a little surprised.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying…” Xinxia’s face appeared confused.

“Didn’t I tell you once before, I am a man that came from a different world. In that world, we don’t learn magic. Although we do have the Qin Dynasty, Sui Dynasty, and Tang Dynasty etc, however, since the animals have been replaced with Magical Beasts, it seems like much of the folklore has turned out a bit differently,” Mo Fan said with a straight face.

Xinxia couldn’t help but whisper, “I’m no longer a child, how could I believe what you’re saying…”

“Even you won’t believe me. It seems like I can never prove that I’m a person from a different world,” Mo Fan said with a bitter smile.

“But you’re still you!” Xinxia said.

Mo Fan was slightly startled. He originally wanted to use this kind of ../style to conceal his foibles, however, Xinxia’s words suddenly caused Mo Fan to ponder and feel like he was released from the tension.

Seeing Mo Fan starting to ponder, Xinxia thought she said something wrong. Her little voice changed the subject as she said, “Brother Mo Fan, one of my History teachers said that people from our Bo City are very special.”

“What did he say?” Mo Fan asked.

“Do you remember the Underground Holy Spring? It has a really, really long history, it dates back to over two hundred years before the common era,” Xinxia told him.

“Oh, it’s like that. Then after nearly two thousand years passed, the area around the Underground Holy Spring must’ve had a lot of stories happen… Then, why do they say that we, the people from Bo City, are special?” Mo Fan asked.

“The teacher said that the people from Bo City were most likely protected by the Underground Holy Spring. Bo City in the past was only a small village, and was ordered by an ancient Sovereign King to guard the Underground Holy Spring for years. However, with the passing of time, the protectors continuously grew in numbers. This caused the small village to turn into a town, and after many years, the town became a city. With the entrance of new people, the change of lords in the city and the overthrowing of the feudal society… Bo City finally developed into what it was today. The protectors had long ago disappeared without a trace, along with the passing of time, or the entire city was actually filled with protectors…” Xinxia said sincerely.

Mo Fan was eagerly listening. He couldn’t help but think of those people from the Black Vatican.

The people from the Black Vatican seemed to have some kind of objective when they destroyed Bo City. Could it be that the destruction of Bo City was closely tied to the history of the protectors?

However, this was based on something from over two thousand years ago! Were the protectors really that important?

Was their objective really the Underground Holy Spring?

The Underground Holy Spring was currently in his own hands. In that case, the thing that the Black Vatican wanted had always been in his own hands?

Shit, doesn’t that mean I’m in danger?

Those Black Vatican animals really dared to do anything, they even massacred a whole city. The events of Blood Alert were something Mo Fan could still vividly remember.

“What else did your history teacher say?” Mo Fan asked.

“He was speculating based on some of historical records. He said if you wanted to find the truth, you’d have to go to some kind of ancient tomb and explore there. However, there were a lot of dreadful creatures within that tomb. Up until today, there hasn’t been a single Magician who has truly entered the mysterious tomb!” Xinxia informed him.

“Tomb, what tomb?” Mo Fan pressed automatically.

“The ancient city has a tomb. It’s inside the most famous spectral land of our country. Brother Mo Fan, did you not hear about it during your classes?

Tomb of the Ancient City, the Spectral Land?

This was like opening up a whole new door for Mo Fan.

The truth was, Mo Fan had been mostly focusing on painstakingly cultivating for the past few years. He still did not understand the structure of this world quite yet. All he knew was that things that existed in his world also existed here. The history in his world was fundamentally the same as here, even the same people in the history did not change.

However, when he was ridiculing the local who was trying to sell him the map, Mo Fan realized that some of the myths passed down in his original world had mysteriously disappeared in this one.

This surprising fact caused Mo Fan to be quite baffled. These two worlds were just like mirrors, even some of the small details were identical. There was no reason for such an ancient mythto be not passed down, unless…

“The tomb of the ancient city has a very long history. The entrance to the tomb was discovered by a few hunters a couple of years ago, and within the tomb was spectral creatures ten times more ferocious than Magical Beasts. There were many Archeologist Magicians who tried to find treasures passed down thru history, but they returned with nothing, due to those spectral creatures that were dedicated to protecting the tomb. After they were attacked and other explorers were sent to their own deaths due to unknown factors, the government has officially classified it as a forbidden area. Thus, no Magicians are permitted to go there,” Xinxia said.

“Is that so. I really am an idiot when it comes to geography,” Mo Fan awkwardly moved his head, he showing that he was indeed a bit ignorant.

However, thousands of waves were already crashing inside his skull!

Ancient city, isn’t that just Xi’an! Mo Fan naturally knew that there were many tombs in the vicinity of Xi’an. After all, it was the Ancient Capital! The Imperial Mausoleum had many mountainous tombs!

What Mo Fan had never thought was that due to Spectral creatures existing in this world, the tombs and mausoleums in the Ancient City had all turned into the incredibly dreadful territory of Specters!

Spectral creatures were considered a type of Magical Beast. Those gigantic tombs had basically turned into an underground paradise for Magical Beasts!

This kind of thing absolutely horrified people feel just thinking about it.

“The ancient Sovereign King who had our ancestors guard the Underground Holy Spring’s tomb is there as well. Thus, if you want to know the sequence of events, you’d have to go to the tomb and find the clues. My History teacher has been trying to apply for a team of Archeologist Magicians from the school and the government to enter the tomb.

The government was unable to find the reason behind the destruction of Bo City. Thus, the project which my teacher applied for may very well be successful. When that time comes, he will select a few students and a squad of powerful Magicians to enter the tomb of the ancient Sovereign King!” Xinxia told him proudly.

“Your teacher sure has some guts. However, it is a matter that happened many thousands of years ago, there’s no way the Black Vatican could have passed down a thousands-year old grudge, right? That is a bit much! I heard that the Black Vatican’s birthplace is overseas,” Mo Fan offered.

“That, I don’t know. My teacher have been studying this for a long time, and he is even more obsessed with archeology…” Xinxia stuck her tongue out.

Xinxia did not forget that her History teacher actually spent a whole week talking about Bo City, the protectors, and the Underground Holy Spring…

Mo Fan stopped discussing such a heavy topic with her. With the two of them being survivors of the Calamity of Bo City, they were not willing to talk too much about it.

“Brother Mo Fan, who are you calling?”

“It’s Ms. Tangyue. She lives around this area. Since we are already here, I was thinking of paying her a visit. However, it seems like she’s a little busy, she didn’t pick up.”

“Oh.”

“Forget it, let’s return to Shanghai. I’ll take you to my new place, you’ll definitely like it.”

“Yeah!”

————

Hidden Spirit Temple Magic Trial…

Ten men with interwoven sacred swords painted around their necks were sitting around a stone table. Their expressions were solemn, and they appeared very stern and grim.

“The Sand Tiger of Dunhuang has been resolved.”

“The vicious Tu Zhangjia has already been arrested.”

“There’s danger in Jiayuguan, we need to dispatch more people there.”

“The snake clan in the Qiandao Lake is overflowing. We need to contact the army to deal with it, there are over twenty missing people.”

“Loosen up on the Three Pools Mirroring The Moon.”

They men were concise and comprehensive. They quickly reported the things that had happened recently, and things that needed to be more mindful of.

Sitting in the head seat was a old Magician wearing a gold and red colored cloak. The old Magician would assign someone to deal with a matter after it was reported.

“Tangyue!” the old Magician called out with his head lowered.

“Yes, Head Judge!” Tangyue’s hair was tied up, displaying her delicate and beautiful complexion.

Her appearance today lacked any sign of gentleness. Her face was hard and solemn. There was nothing casual about her at all, she even exuded a strong spirit.

“The Three Pools Mirroring the Moon will be handled by you. Since it is being loosened, you can stop your other missions and deal with this before you come back to make a report,” the old Magician said.

“Head Judge, do you want me to let the Violent Spring person who interacted with Chao He escape?” Tangyue asked in astonishment.

“I will naturally assign someone else to continue following him. Right now we can confirm that the main schemer behind this is Sa Lang. Sa Lang seems to be quite obsessed with the Underground Holy Spring. Once the area is stable, you can be more mindful of that kid who protected the Underground Holy Spring at that time,” the old Magician said.

“Sa Lang is planning to make a move on him? With the strength of Sa Lang and his subordinates, I’m afraid that…” Tangyue immediately felt uncertain.

“Don’t worry. Sa Lang and his subordinates have already been strictly blocked off by us and another organization. This point is something Sa Lang himself also understands. At most, he’ll dispatch some pawn to do the job. It shouldn’t be a problem for just you to deal with these fugitives. However, if Sa Lang dispatches some expert, then we will also dispatch some people to arrest them!” the old Magician said.

“Yes, once the place is stable, I will immediately go to Shanghai!” Tangyue accepted the order.

“You can go! Lu Junhe!”

“Yes, Head Judge!”

“You go to Japan for a while. Go investigate whether the thing that attacked the fishing village was a wild Magical Beast or a Summoned beast.”

“Yes!”

“Li Jiang, you can stop the network over there. The Advanced Magician… Kill him on the spot.”

“Yes sir!”…

———-

After leaving the Hidden Spirit Temple, Tangyue restarted her own mobile.

After she opened it, Tangyue realized she had a few missed calls. Among them were two from the little scoundrel, Mo Fan!

Tangyue was a little surprised. She was just about to find him, yet he had just happened to call her?

“Why did you call me?” Tangyue returned to her normal gentle and slow facade after calling him back.

“I missed you.”

“Get lost,” Tangyue said with a bad temper.

She had never met a student this shameless. He truly thinks he can do whatever he pleases with me just because of that one time, he sure is dreaming!

“I was in Hangzhou not too long ago,” Mo Fan didn’t want to tease her too much, so he told her this sincerely.

“What about now?”

“On a car back to Shanghai.”

“I will go to Shanghai after a while. I need to finish up my job here first,” Tangyue said.

Tangyue was hesitating whether she should tell Mo Fan that there would be someone was going to cause trouble for him. However, after thinking about it carefully, telling a student about this kind of thing was a bit unnecessary. It would be better if she just secretly took care of the pawns of Black Vatican when the time came.

“When the time comes, I’ll take you out to have some ma la crayfish.”

“Alright.”

After Tangyue hung up, she couldn’t help but whisper to herself, “Why am I always involved with this little scoundrel, I was even assigned to be his bodyguard this time!”

Mo Fan had no more regrets in life. A place filled with beautiful girls, his eyes had some problems looking at them.

No wonder why the ancient people would only live to forty or fifty years old before they die. Who knows how much nosebleed Mo Fan have had in the past few days, let alone the ancient people’s wives and concubines…

In the middle of his winter vacation, Mo Fan was feeling cosy inside his place.

The entire living room had a fluffy carpet. They didn’t even have to turn on the heater to feel comfortable. Sitting on the couch in the living room while meditating gave him an extremely good feeling, it was just too nice!

Naturally, Mo Fan would only cultivate the Lightning and Summoning Element when he was in a public area. The other two Elements he only cultivated when he was inside his room. Furthermore, he had to properly control any leaking aura.

Mo Fan also realized that the white rabbit girl Ai Tutu would try to expose his secret by any means. Don’t think that you can close your eyes and swaggering in 34 degrees will help you expose me! Thinking back on Ms Tangyue, a mature and sexy woman like her wanted to do things with him, yet he was still able to control himself!

However, not too long after the winter vacation started, Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu returned back to their homes. For a period of time, the entire apartment had turned into a secret paradise for Mo Fan and Xinxia. Locking the door and carrying her onto the sofa, that truly was like being up the creek without a paddle and without any aid!

Xinxia’s cultivation speed was not slow at all. Compared to Mo Fan, a student who didn’t even listen in his classes, Xinxia was much more sincere about her own things, including cultivation.

Right now, her cultivation was very close to breaking through the Intermediate level. If the Little Loach Pendant could be used on other people, then Mo Fan hoped that he could help out Xinxia a little and help her walk into the Intermediate Magician level.

An Intermediate level Healer Magician was relatively popular. The Healing Element students and senior students within the Pearl Institute had always been the most popular people. For a lot of people, these Healing students were like guardian angels; they wore white uniform, were gentle, kind, and beautiful…

Unfortunately, the Little Loach Pendant was indeed what Ms. Tangyue had told him. He could only use it because he had some kind of spiritual connection with it. In other people’s hands, it would be no different than those ugly rings that you could find in some random store.

Xinxia wanted to break through the shackles of Stardust. During this winter vacation, he had seen her cultivate. Naturally, Mo Fan couldn’t just sit idly by. He started to cultivate the Lightning and Fire element, hoping for the two to reach the next state.

The Fiery Fist and Thunderbolt had already reached the right level of power. However, their effects were not as clear against Warrior-level creatures with sturdy physiques.

——

The winter vacation quickly passed by. Mo Fan reluctantly brought Xinxia back to her school. He was also about to enter the second half of the study year.

During the second semester, Mo Fan did not excessively engross himself into cultivation. He mostly went to the Clearsky Hunter Agency and looked for missions that were more suitable for himself.

Combat was the best method to increase one’s strength. Mo Fan realized that his cultivation had reaped a huge harvest after every single battle; either the Nebula had expanded or it had reached a level where it was able to attack the next level.

His Lightning and Fire Elements had been stuck in the first level of Intermediate for quite a while. Mo Fan urgently hoped that he would be able to raise them to the next level, and leveling by combat was the best method!

“Lingling, how come there are still no missions. I’m nearly bored to death,” Mo Fan sat inside the milk tea shop as he solemnly looked at the little loli Lingling enjoying her milk tea.

“If there is no business, then there’s no business. What can I do?” Lingling’s face showed that she didn’t mind that at all.

“Aren’t you guys a shop with a long established reputation in China?”

“Mmm!” Lingling didn’t even open her eyes as she continued drinking her milk tea.

Mo Fan’s entire being seemed to have withered. Not fighting for a couple of days made his whole body feel uneasy!

——

Just like that, he passed those days, bored, bored, bored. Mo Fan was sitting on the balcony as he watched a couple kissing each other by the artificial lake… Either way, he was currently bored to that extent, and his cultivation seemed to have gotten stuck, unable to take another step forward.

He heard the ding-ding as his phone began ringing.

When Mo Fan heard that ringtone, his entire person seemed to wake up.

In order to immediately receive a mission, Mo Fan had changed Lingling’s phone calls to a special ringtone, which happened to come right now!.

“Mo Fan, there’s work to do!” Lingling’s voice said clearly.

“Good, what kind of work is it this time,” Mo Fan urgently asked.

“It is a bit complicated, but also simple at same time. Come to the Hunter Agency,” Lingling said in a strange tone.

Mo Fan was also puzzled. He had been in the Clearsky Hunter Agency for around four or so months, and had dealt with nearly ten different missions. Every single one of them had been successful, and normally, Lingling would also give a simple description of the mission over the phone. Why did she want him to get to the headquarters this time?

Nursing a funny feeling, Mo Fan took a cab to the Clearsky Hunter Agency.

——

Clearsky Hunter Agency was the same as always. It looked like a fusion teahouse that was close to going bankrupt, and was completely deserted.

After walking in, the doorbell was heard very clearly. There was indeed not a single customer inside.

Old Man Bao was smoking at the counter of the bar. Lingling was sitting in front of the counter, her long legs were skinny, but did not reach the ground. She was even wearing a short skirt with long stockings.

Mo Fan walked in the front of Lingling and asked, “What is it?”

“Look at it yourself. This kind of mission is my very first time seeing one after all these years in this profession,” Old Man Bao pushed the mission document in front of Mo Fan.

Lingling also didn’t say anything, she drank her fruit juice as she waited for Mo Fan to finish reading it.

Mo Fan was confused. He picked up the mission document and began reading out loud.

“Due to special reasons, I have been kept busy with something, and so I could only dispatch other people to deliver this mission to you in the Clearsky Hunter Agency. I hope you are able to dispatch an experienced Hunter to help me protect someone’s safety. I believe in the reputation of your Clearsky Hunter Agency! I have already transferred the money to your bank account…”

As Mo Fan read this, he didn’t feel like it was anything complicated. He was puzzled as he looked at Old Bao. “Isn’t it just being a bodyguard, there’s nothing special right?”

Old Bao knocked on the pipe as he slowly said, “Look at the person you would be guarding.”

“Could it be that this person is special? But no matter how special they are, it’s just protect- What the hell!” When Mo Fan saw that he began to feel uncomfortable.

Mo Fan looked closely at the mission document as he rubbed his eyes. He was confirming whether he read it wrong or not.

“Initially, we also thought this was a prank. However, the money has indeed been transferred to our account, and it wasn’t a small sum, either,” Old Bao said.

“What is this…” Mo Fan held the mission document as he felt cold sweat coming on.

Protecting someone was very normal, Mo Fan didn’t think this mission had any unique areas.

The problem was, the person to be protected in the mission statement was named Mo Fan!

Mo Fan initially thought someone had the same name as him. After all, his name was handsome, elegant, and was very meaningful. Other people sharing his name was naturally a normal thing. However, the mission document clearly stated, “Pearl Institute Azure Campus, rookie Summoner student, Mo Fan!”

Hiring a hunter to protect a hunter. Mo Fan felt like he did not have enough brain cells to use for this.

Originally, Mo Fan thought the situation with the wife and husband in the past was extremely strange. However, compared to the situation right now, they were on a completely different level!

“Grandpa, what do you think?” Lingling asked from the side.

“Since someone has such good faith and has already given us the money, thus we naturally have to take responsibility for it until the end. I’ll have Dasheng come here for a bit, he should be back from Demon City,” Old Bao said.

“Wait, I am a hunter myself. Can’t I protect myself? As long as nothing happens, then this money will be mine,” Mo Fan thought of nothing but the profit.

Recently, the Clearsky Hunter Agency hadn’t had anything for him to do. Now that a mission finally came, he couldn’t just not do it because it was strange. If Mo Fan directly accepted this mission and protected himself, then how would that be strange?

“We can’t do that, if you were to die, we…our Clearsky Hunter Agency would lose our reputation,” Old Bao said seriously.

Mo Fan was swearing to himself. After hearing what the Old Man said, could those still be words from a human!

“You have to be extra careful. Since there are people who would offer this much money to invite our Clearsky Hunter Agency to protect you, it signifies that you are in a life-threatening danger,” Lingling said sincerely.

“I won’t wander aimlessly. I’m cultivating at school most of the time, how could I possibly be in danger,” Mo Fan said.

After saying this, Mo Fan suddenly thought back to what Xinxia’s History teacher had said.

If the Black Vatican’s true objective was the Underground Holy Spring, and if the Underground Holy Spring concealed an even more ancient secret, then wouldn’t the Black Vatican come and find him once more?

If it was the Black Vatican, then it would be really hard for him to deal with them himself.

Could it be Boss Zhankong became aware of the trend of the Black Vatican, and employed someone to protect me? He was unable to do it?, Mo Fan thought to himself.

There were not many people who were capable of spending a large sum to protect him. Mo Fan basic guess at this moment was the people from Bo City.

“You don’t have to feel uncomfortable. Dasheng specializes in protecting people, people who are being protected by him have no idea that danger has come before it is completely resolved… Lingling, you can go ahead with Dasheng and look after Mo Fan,” Old Bao said.

“Yes,” Lingling nodded.

——

After leaving the Clearsky Hunter Agency, Mo Fan had some heavy worries.

If it really was the Black Vatican, then it would really be quite a bit of trouble this time. He had encountered the cruelty of the Black Vatican, they would do anything to accomplish their objectives.

Moreover, they had a way to get in anywhere. Whether it was Instructor Bai Yang from before, or Yu Ang, who had hid himself in the Mu Family for over ten years, these types of people were very hard to guard against before they exposed themselves.

Forget it, thinking too much about it was of no use. He’d have to take one step at a time. The current him was no longer the same as the little Primary Magician in the past. If they dispatched people over, then he’d have to see how many dog lives they had!

——

After returning to the school, it was already evening. Mo Fan did not want to take a detour, he planned on directly walking past the artisanal park.

As he had arrived at the artificial lake, a few silhouettes flashed by on the small hill to the side.

After reaching the Intermediate level of Shadow Element, he was extremely sharp toward changes in shadows. Even if it happened on the hill, he could still immediately sense what was behind it.

Mo Fan’s heart tightened as he cursed to himself, “No way, they’re making a move this fast?”

It appears that Senior Brother Dasheng has yet to come and protect me. The Black Vatican’s actions were actually this fast… Furthermore, they even dare to conceal themselves in the area surrounding Pearl Institute as they waited to ambush me?

“Go, finish it as soon as you can!” someone shouted; it probably came from the leader of them.

Mo Fan’s brow creased. He subconsciously took a large step back so he could take a look at these people who were ambushing him.

A few silhouettes immediately jumped out from behind the hill. There was a magic aura on all their bodies. Furthermore, there were Star Paths lingering around them, which could only mean that they had already prepared their magic.

A ball of bright fire streaked across the night, immediately tossed from a high place on the hill. From the restless level of the fireball, you could clearly determine that this was the third level of Fire Burst, ready to rupture out and kill.

Mo Fan quickly dodged to the side. The Fire Burst struck the area he had been standing at, and the powerful flames turned into a tongue of fire as it splashed towards him.

Mo Fan’s eyebrows creased, his foot stomped ferociously on the ground. At same time, beneath his feet a rose-colored flame quickly scuttled forth.

The flames quickly crawled up Mo Fan’s body, as if he had donned an outfit of flames; it looked extremely elegant.

After the scarlet flames coming over saw Mo Fan’s rose flames, they looked like children who had seen their homeroom teacher after doing something bad. They were so scared that they began scuttling toward other places, with no intentions whatsoever of offending it!

What a joke, a little common fire dared to contend against Rose Flames?

Mo Fan coldly swept a glance toward the Magician who had used his magic on him. Before he was able to clearly see the person, the water on the lake’s surface suddenly dropped, the surrounding air was frantically being absorbed…

They formed a tornado around two meters wide!

The tornado was formed by the water, and the water of the lake had been completely drawn into it.

For a moment, the black water turned into a coiling water dragon, twisting its thick physique as it writhed toward Mo Fan.

The watery mist was everywhere as it pushed toward Mo Fan’s face. His hair was blown back as he was promptly soaked, before it even touched him.

As he watched the Wind Disc: Tornado coming closer and closer, Mo Fan didn’t dare hesitate. He immediately activated his Blood Beast Boots!

The blood-colored light turned into armor as it covered Mo Fan’s legs, giving him an immense amount of energy.

With just one step, Mo Fan’s was able to jump nearly ten meters.

He knew that even though the Tornado’s power was great, its movement was very slow. After calculating the Tornado’s devastating trajectory, Mo Fan hastily jumped onto the park’s gloomy street lamp.

Then he hopped onto a tree trunk that was relatively close. The Tornado was unable to change its direction and carried the lake water as went tearing through the woods. For a moment, the woods looked as though it had been hit by a storm, it was a mess everywhere.

“This kid sure is nimble,” a black shadow cursed.

Mo Fan didn’t pay attention to the person who said that. He was well aware that the one that poses the biggest threat was the Intermediate Wind Magician, and he had to deal with him first!

Mo Fan flipped his hand, Lightning force casually scuttled forth. These lightning arcs turned into strips of purple-colored snakes as they flew toward the Wind Magician who had cast his spell.

His Lightning Strike was continuously arcing loudly to the nearby hill. Furthermore, it had accurately struck the correct person!

After Mo Fan saw that person was currently being paralyzed and unable to move, he firmly charged toward the hill.

Two balls of flames exploded in front of him loudly. However, he possessed the Rose Flames, and he was not scared of strength of that level. He avoided the center of the rupturing Fire Burst, where the strength of the explosion was the strongest, with a slight shift, and used his boosted speed to rush toward the hill.

“Blood Beast Hoof!”

When Mo Fan activated the Blood Beast Boot’s active effect, energy began to gather in his legs.

At this moment, the power of his legs was no longer as simple as a human’s. They held the power of the ferocious trampling Blood Beast Hooves!

When Mo Fan kicked toward the hill, the stone mound instantly exploded, causing it to collapse.

The brute force transmitted to the back of the hill, and the Intermediate Wind Magician that was hiding behind it nearly fell apart, just like the hill. The sound of his bones breaking seemed to be extremely clear amid the sounds of the hill falling apart.

Mo Fan passed through the fragments of the hill that he had kicked apart. He saw people were unable to get up, pinned beneath the pieces of the hill. Only then did he turn around as his gaze locked onto the other two attackers.

The two attackers stood there, they seemed to been stunned after they saw the hill getting destroyed.

Too, too savage!!

He kicked the five meter hill to pieces, just what kind of a person was this?

The three of them were just some people invited by Jia Wen. After hearing that there was someone who dared to molest their fairy, Mu Nujiao, they were instructed to come here and teach him a lesson.

Originally, they only wanted to give him a taste of their ire before running away. Who knew that the battle had barely started and yet, their strongest member, the Intermediate Magician Fu Tianming, would get beaten half to death!

“Who are you people?” When Mo Fan realized that the two were completely dumbstruck, he suddenly realized that these people didn’t look like those from the Black Vatican.

When the people Black Vatican made a move, they would definitely demand your life, or else they would take their own.

These people used Fire Burst to probe him at first, and when they realized Primary Magic was useless against him, only then did they start using Intermediate Magic…

“We…we are students of Pearl Institute, we came here to find a student with the intentions of disciplining him a little. Who would’ve thought that we mistook senior for being that person, please… please be lenient,” the member who cast the Fire Burst said urgently.

“Yeah, yeah, we are in no way a match for senior!”

“Who instructed you guys to come!?” Mo Fan asked coldly.

“It…It was Jia Wen!” The two didn’t dare not answer.

Mo Fan blushed with shame.

They really weren’t people from the Black Vatican. These two guys were quite pitiful. If they were even a little bit slower in revealing their identities, then Mo Fan would’ve used Fiery Fist to turn them into ash.

Mo Fan would not be even a little lenient toward the Black Vatican. His hometown and so many people was buried beneath their hands. Other than a bit of lingering fear toward them, most of his feelings toward them were anger and hatred!

“Hurry up and take him to the infirmary; any slower and he’ll die,” Mo Fan ordered the two.

How could the two dare to say anything else? They ran toward the ruins of the hill and dug out their senior schoolmate, Fu Tianming.

After lifting up their schoolmate, they were horrified as they realized their seniors bones were nearly completely shattered. His entire person seemed as though he only had a little bit of life left in him.

This… was not just your simple savage!

Zhang Bing and Li Wang were considered good students. This sort of disciplining others was usually something that was instigated by their seniors. Their idea of discipline was to beat the other person up a little. However, how could they have imagined that the admired senior Wind student would have nearly all his bones shattered from a kick, and was nearly killed outright!

It was like they had committed some sin since it seemed like they encountered a demon…

Zhang Bing and Li Wang didn’t dare to stay any longer. They were deeply scared that if this senior would get in a bad mood and kick them, too, they would have an even bigger problem!

——

With that little disturbance passed, Mo Fan returned to his apartment.

“It seems like I’m too cautious. Even if the Black Vatican’s ability was greater, they still would have no reason to come to the Pearl Institute to commit an ambush, eesh…” Mo Fan rubbed the side of his head in an attempt to calm his nerves.

However, this was also impossible. After guessing the Black Vatican was planning to make a move on him, Mo Fan could not just loosen up and calm down easily.

During the destruction of Bo City, there were too many people dying. Many of them were people that Mo Fan knew personally. The scene of He Yu suffering from the evil schemes was still freshly imprinted in his memories, he would never forget it. Apart from this, the husband of his aunt had also died. The Hunter Squad Captain, Xu Dahuang, died; Fei Shi did not survive; and the people who had been disciplined by Mo Fan’s first Lightning Magic, Xu Bing and others, their corpses were seen by Mo Fan when he was walking toward the safety area…

Trying not recall these things, he had put the nightmares in the back of his head after coming to the new city. He had let the extremely bloody events slowly fade, while his hatred for the Black Vatican only increased.

In the battle just now, Mo Fan had indeed let out his hatred. It was why he did not go easy on them.

In the end, it just happen to be a farce.

Fortunately, that person was still alive. Although what he did could be considered self defense, directly killing someone would still result to him being invited to the Magic Courts for a cup of tea.

——

When the new semester started, yet another piece of new information passed through the school.

This was the fact that the demon Mo Fan nearly killed a Wind Magician before school started!

This matter was immediately spread throughout the school. This caused the nearly dissipated bad reputation that Mo Fan had to redouble.

Mo Fan was actually invited by the school to have tea. This was because the senior student needed two or more months to completely recover even after receiving healing from the Healing teachers. Furthermore, whether there would be repercussions in the future was something they didn’t know.

The second semester of every year was the most important period for charging into the Main Campus. Him being handicapped for two months essentially rendered it impossible for this Wind senior student to head into the Main Campus.

Since it involved human lives, Dean Xiao had to personally deal with this matter.

“Mo Fan, why were you so serious in your attacks?” Dean Xiao asked as he wrinkled his brow.

It’s not that the school didn’t allow private battles, it’s just that the method Mo Fan used had almost cost someone’s life. Thus, the school had to deal with it, no matter what.

Mo Fan didn’t explain too much. Either way, what he wanted to say had already been said. It was they who ambushed him, all he did was defend himself.

“Did you encounter some kind of trouble?” Dean Xiao asked.

Mo Fan didn’t reply.

The Black Vatican dealing with him was something that he had speculated on his own. Telling Dean Xiao this kind of thing was of no use.

“Alright, you can return. Be careful during the Main Campus examination. Don’t do things like this anymore,” Dean Xiao did not say anymore, he could only allow Mo Fan to return.

After leaving the school board, Mo Fan walked down the main road of the school. He could still feel a dark cloud hanging over him.

He didn’t know why, but his heart just did not feel safe.

Is it because I’m afraid of the Black Vatican?

Or, was it that he felt anxious because he knew that the Black Vatican was planning on making a move on him?

However, that made no sense. Back when he was at the Primary level, he was not afraid of them. So why now that he had reached the Intermediate level…

That’s right, he was not afraid of them. He was afraid of them taking away the lives of the people he knew!

My strength has indeed increased. However, my father, Mo Jiaxing, and Xinxia do not have the ability to protect themselves!

That guy Yu Ang was still alive. Considering the Black Vatican are people who would use twisted methods to force Mo fan to take out the Underground Holy Spring, the best way for them would be to attack his direct relatives!

Not good, he couldn’t just sit and wait for his death. The enemy was in the dark, whereas he was in the light…

“Lingling, tell Old Bao that I don’t need protection. Let Senior brother Dasheng protect my dad, Mo Jiaxing. And then, Lingling, I beg you, please go and protect my little sister Ye Xinxia,” Mo Fan quickly took out the phone to call Lingling.

“The mission was for us to protect you,” Lingling said.

“If something were to happen to them, then I wouldn’t be any different from being dead,” Mo Fan said.

“This…” Lingling was hesitating.

However, Old Bao’s voice quickly transmitted over, “Dasheng, go. Protect Mo Fan’s father. Lingling, you pay attention to his sister.”

“Thank you,” Mo Fan said gratefully.

“Dasheng and Lingling won’t be by your side. My other disciples are not here, either. There’s no one to protect you, so you need to be careful of everything. If you really can’t endure, then you can come and hide in the Clearsky Hunter Agency. There is no one who would dare to cause trouble in my, Old Bao’s, territory. Not even the power that wants to deal with you!” Old Bao declared firmly.

“I just happen to want to meet them. That way, I can go back home next year and use their blood to offer to my ancestors!” Mo Fan said ferociously.

If these scumbags from the Black Vatican really thought that Mo Fan was the same person as he was in the past, then they would be making a great mistake!

In the past, his strength was indeed weak. There were many things he could only stare helplessly at.

Back at the arena, when Mo Fan saw these girls crawling out of the carcasses of the Skin Scale Phantoms, Mo Fan suddenly realized that many of the people in Bo City were just like them. Each and every one of them was just like these infected girls. They begged to live, including He Yu, who had given her life for Zhang Hou. When she was on the verge of death, the thought of her exchanging her life for his caused people’s hearts to grieve.

That’s why Mo Fan charged into the arena with the intention to save people. When your strength had achieved that level, and you had the capabilities to save someone, yet you chose to turn around to leave and pay no heed to them… that kind of conscience would follow you for life. It would make him no different than those dogs from Black Vatican!

Perhaps he currently did not have the courage to sacrifice himself for justice like Boss Zhankong, nor was he as great as He Yu, who had used her own life to trade for the one boy that she secretly loved. However, if the him at that time possessed the strength he had now, then he would definitely would not have hesitated to blast the Black Vatican to pieces!

These animals that were just as bad as Magical Beasts came just in time…

The Underground Holy Spring is indeed in the hands of your father, Mo Fan. If you have the skills, then come and get it!

This time, whoever comes, is whoever dies!

…

“Oh? Are you sure that you’re done preparing?” Dean Xiao was a little startled as he looked at this student who seemed as though he had suddenly changed personality.

“Yeah, I will enter the Three Step Pagoda to cultivate,” Mo Fan said with great determination.

The Black Vatican would probably dispatch some person with power to deal with him. Mo Fan was not sure, but Old Bao seemed to know the inside information. He told Mo Fan that the Advanced Magicians were mostly under watch. Additionally, Pearl Institute was overseen by an expert like Dean Xiao. Those who are even higher than Advanced Magicians would definitely not enter the University to ambush him.

The Black Vatican had already been put under tight surveillance by the Magic Court and other influential powers.

However, this kind of thing was like a net. They had firmly captured the range of Black Vatican activities within the web, but at same time, it meant there were some who had escaped from it. Or, they could’ve gone through a long and complex process to hire some others to ambush him instead. Thus, the Pearl Institute and Magic Court were unable to completely prevent the pawns of Black Vatican from infiltrating.

As for hiding…

This kind of thing could be hidden from for a while, but you could not hide from the world. Mo Fan could not be cut off from the world forever.

Mo Fan himself would not hide, either!

“Alright, I will help you apply now. This requires some time, stay in school to focus on your cultivation,” Dean Xiao said.

“Thank you, Dean,” Mo Fan nodded. The Three Step Pagoda had similar effects to the Underground Holy Spring, it would definitely have a great effect on increasing his strength.

“This is what you fought for yourself, don’t thank me. Not only that, you’ve also done a great contribution for the school for the matter at the arena. It wouldn’t be unreasonable for us to award you even more things, however, you are also aware of your transaction about the meritorious award, and also the fact that you almost killed someone…” Dean Xiao said with a smile.

“So you already knew,” Mo Fan said awkwardly.

“I’ll notify you once I’ve arranged it,” Dean Xiao said.

“Mhm, then I’ll leave first.”

——

Just when Mo Fan was about to leave, a male teacher walked out from the hall next to them.

Mr. Guhan looked at Mo Fan, who was walking away through the window. He turned around and looked at Dean Xiao.

“Since we’ve already been notified, then why aren’t we simply hiding him? The Black Vatican are capable of doing anything, they will always find any kind of method to deal with the people that they are targeting. We are in the light, we are not guaranteed to be able to control this situation,” Mr. Guhan said sincerely.

“To eradicate the Black Vatican is everyone’s responsibility. Our schools should also put forth some strength. After investigation from different places, the current Black Vatican has suddenly been closed tightly. The Magic Court and the different influential forces have basically caught only their shadow.

“This time, they’ve been hiding for more than a year, and they finally showed some movement; furthermore, it’s toward a student. Presumably, Mo Fan has something on him that would indeed be something both you and they would need, or else they would not make a move at this time,” Dean Xiao stroked his beard.

“So, the Magic Courts are planning on using the opportunity of the Black Vatican’s move this time to dig out some of the things they are planning, and from there, dig out the whereabouts of Sa Lang?” Guhan said.

“Exactly. Doing this may expose Mo Fan to some danger… however, I believe this child has the ability to protect himself. The Black Vatican has been successful in their endeavors for all these years, they are guilty of monstrous crimes. If we still cannot arrest them, then who knows how many more calamities like Bo City will happen,” Dean Xiao said.

The matter of Bo City had already passed by a few years ago. The people might gradually forget about it, but the government, Magic Association, Hunter Union, and other influential forces would definitely not let them go. This thing needed to have an end.

“Since we have received the tips from the Magic Court, then why don’t we directly tell Mo Fan. After all, he is the bait. He should at least know that,” Guhan asked.

“He’s a smart person. I believe he already knows it deep inside. If he was scared, then he would’ve hidden himself already. He brought up the Three Step Pagoda, this means he wants to increase his strength and fight back against the Black Vatican. He has made his own decision,” Dean Xiao said.

“I am still a little bit worried. The Black Vatican are vicious and merciless, difficult to guard against whereas he is only a student…”

“Let’s choose to believe in him. He is much stronger than what we have imagined, and smarter,” Dean Xiao said.

Not too long after Mo Fan had nearly killed someone, Dean Xiao had received some information form the Magic Court. From themm, Dean Xiao was able to understand why Mo Fan was so vicious in his attacks toward the people that had attacked him.

Mo Fan already knew that he was currently in a situation where his life was in danger.

However, he didn’t run. This gave Dean Xiao no choice but to acknowledge this student’s spirit.

Even if he was to run, he still couldn’t run from the world!

Dean Xiao believed that he had made the correct decision!

Inside the Jingan private convalescence, a middle aged man was standing next to the hospital bed. His gaze was focused on the person covered in a body cast.

“Fu Tianming, let me ask you one more time. Have you already been exposed?” the man asked coldly .

“I have not. I can swear on my life. I went to probe using the name of someone called Jia Wen, the school will definitely not have realized anything. However, I just don’t understand why that person was so vicious in his moves,” the person with his entire body in a cast replied.

That person was precisely the Fu Tianming who had his bones shattered by Mo Fan’s kick. His gaze carried dread as he looked at the unpredictable person in front of him.

“I will assign others. You just need to tend to your wounds, then use your connections to seek revenge on him. I need to obscure the facts,” said the man who was standing beside him, while emitting a killing intent.

“Lord Deacon, he is the enemy of many people within Pearl Institute. Even if you don’t make a move, he is still surrounded by enemies. From what I see, the most suitable time would be during the Main Campus Examination. From the news that I’ve gathered, there are already a couple of disciples from Aristocratic families that have decided to get together to deal with him during the Main Campus Examination,” Fu Tianming told him.

“I don’t need you to teach me what to do,” the fiendish man replied coldly.

After their conversation ended, the fiendish man left. Fu Tianming sat up with great difficulty as he looked out the window. He was dumbstruck as he realized that when Sir Clergy had walked into a dark area, there were a couple of malevolent shadows accompanying him on the left and right.

Although these Dark Beasts belonged to the Deacon, those creatures, said to be refined using half living people and half corpses, were the dirtiest, ugliest and the most lamentable things in this world!

——

“Mo Fan, do you really think you’d be able to escape this time?” The Deacon was standing inside a dark shrubbery, a hat now on his head. His eyes were scanning the Pearl Institute, which was lit up brilliantly.

He slowly removed the hat from his head, revealing a face covered in half of a mask. When the light brushed past him, his revealed face would have horrified anyone who saw it.

“Even if you hide within the University, it’ll still be useless. I said it once before, I will turn you into a slave. Just like these dogs right here, when I tell them to do something, they will definitely do it!” the half-faced man swore in a sinister tone.

He swept past the Dark Beasts next to him that were trying to suck up to him. There was not a single hint of pity in his eyes as he kicked one of the Dark Beasts in its thick neck!

Yu Ang had a hobby. He liked to turn the people that he detested the most into one of these non-human creatures that would throw their lives away for him. Not a ghost, not a human, they were being treated like dogs as he tormented them forever!

——

Three Step Pagoda was located inside the Main Campus of Pearl Institute. The elites within the Main Campus fought over resources all the time, and among the resources was the Three Step Pagoda!

The Three Step Pagoda was similar to the Underground Holy Spring, a heavenly treasure.

The Underground Holy Spring was nurtured by itself for thousands of years. The energy that was contained within it could nurture a whole city and produce outstanding Magicians.

The Three Step Pagoda also had a long history. It was constructed by a wise man that was able to gather the Elemental Energy floating around the world into this special Magic Building.

Elemental energy was everywhere. A Spirit Seed was born when the Elemental energy and the Magic energy were extremely dense in an area, and after years of refinement, they gradually evolved into a seed. The Three Step Pagoda’s location and structure was capable of converging energies from over thousands of meters.

It was just like a giant root that spread across thousands of miles. Even if this area looked like it was remote, it did cover a relatively large area, and was able to provide the tree trunk with a continuous amount of energy.

The condensation from the Three Step Pagoda could be called the most crucial point behind the rise of the Pearl Institute.

Originally, the school had decided that not only did you have to enter the Main Campus first, you also needed to display a relatively outstanding performance to obtain a chance to cultivate in the Three Step Pagoda. Mo Fan had become an exception!

This opportunity was something that Dean Xiao had already warned Mo Fan of. There might only be one opportunity for him, so he must cultivate properly.

Mo Fan knew that he was facing a great danger. The Black Vatican wanted to deal with him, so he could no longer keep waiting. He needed to have his strength increased as quickly as possible!

——

The Three Step Pagoda. It appeared to be a symmetrical, three-cornered building. Its exterior looked like it was composed of silvery metal. It was as big as a tower, and seemed to be quite glamorous within the Main Campus.

“Dean!” The two men who were standing by the entrance of the Three Step Pagoda respectfully saluted as they saw Dean Xiao.

“So you are the ones guarding it today. I have already had someone show you the permits, you can take this student in,” Dean Xiao told them.

“Oh, so this is the rookie student from the Azure Campus! I was only able to enter the Three Step Pagoda two years after I entered the Main Campus. Junior, your luck truly makes me admire you,” one of the guards that looked relatively friendly said with a smile.

Mo Fan smiled modestly back.

“Follow me, I will tell you what to do!” The friendly guard led Mo Fan into the Three Step Pagoda.

When Mo Fan followed him inside, into a long tunnel made of metal.

He didn’t know how long he walked down the tunnel, Mo Fan suddenly heard a strange sound.

This tunnel was strange. Based on the speed he was walking inside the straight tunnel, he should’ve gone from the entrance to the very back of the Pagoda several times. Why did it feel like this tunnel did not have an end? This Three Step Pagoda looked like it was at most fifty meters wide from the outside!

“Do you know why this is called the Three Step Pagoda?” the friendly student guard asked.

“Could it be that this place is similar to a hallucination? It appears to be walking straight, however, we were really walking on a winding road or a returning road? From the entrance to now, we’ve walked at least five hundred meters. The Three Step Pagoda’s diameter should only be about fifty meters!” Mo Fan said.

“No, we’ve actually been walking straight this entire time. You are only from the Azure Campus, so you might not know much about the theories regarding the Space Element. The Space Element has a concept called, “A step is a thousand feet, two steps are ten thousand meters, and three steps are boundless! The Three Step Pagoda is also called the Boundless Pagoda. This is because it did not look that majestic from the outside, but it is extremely difficult to walk to the end of it in the space inside,” the friendly senior guard explained to him.

“Space studies?” This was Mo Fan’s first time hearing that word.

“Yeah. The Three Step Pagoda was constructed by a great expert who cultivated in the Earth Element and later on, the Space Element. This place has fantastic Space Magic Enchantments. Even now, there is not a single person who has been able to decipher it. That is why we can only use the instructions left behind by our seniors to use it. The Three Step Pagoda has many layers of space, and each space layer has different amount of energy that it can condense. Since you are an Intermediate Magician, you can only cultivate on the first and second layer. If you proceed further, you risk bursting apart from an influx of energy,” the friendly guard warned Mo Fan.

“This… How do I determine what space layer I am most suitable to cultivate in?”

“That you will know once you’ve experienced it.”

As he continued along, a staircase appeared in front of them.

This staircase was extremely astonishing. It consisted of stair boards that were floating in midair, without any type of support. The tunnel led to this dark area, where the floating steps were linked to a triangular platform.

“I can only lead you here, you just need to follow the staircases up,” the friendly senior said.

“Alright, thank you.”

After the senior guard walked out, Mo Fan cautiously stepped on those floating steps in order to see if they would fall down.

This kind of feeling was like when he played Super Mario in the past. The second he stepped on them, he would have to quickly jump away or else they would immediately fall…

Reality confirmed that the floating steps were extremely sturdy. Mo Fan did not know what kind of powers were used to keep them floating. However, they were just floating in the air, quite sturdy, and they didn’t move even a little when he stepped on them.

Mo Fan was relieved, and followed what the senior guard had told him, heading up the stairs. After he arrived at the triangular platform, which was as large as a basketball court, he finally arrived at the first layer. The energy of the world would be very sturdy in this place. The Magicians in this place would cultivate connecting with their Nebula, and the Nebula’s speed of expansion would be much faster!

Mo Fan followed the stairs to the top. In the beginning, he was walking quite smoothly, as though there was nothing blocking his way…

However, at some point, Mo Fan began to feel dizzy after he took half a step onto the fifth floor.

As he continued walking, his breathing became more ragged.

“What is this, why is my mana continuously disappearing?” Mo Fan quickly realized where the issue lay.

His mana was disappearing!

He didn’t use any magic whatsoever, nor did he enter any practice in Control. So how could his mana keep disappearing?

“Forget it, let’s not worry too much. Let’s first arrive at the destination.”

Mo Fan increased his speed in hopes of reaching the metal platform in the air in a single stretch.

The faster he climbed the stairs, the faster his mana was being used up. His Fire Nebula’s energy seemed as though it had nearly dried up.

After arriving on the platform, an immediate, rich Fire elemental aura pulled through. They were like a group of faeries as they fluttered around him. The flames seemed very friendly as they lingered around, even taking the initiative to enter the spiritual world…

As he felt the energy rush into him, Mo Fan immediately entered meditation. He realized, with some mild surprise, that the cultivation speed here was not any slower than the Underground Holy Spring in the past.

Back then he was only at the Primary level. The energy provided by the Underground Holy Spring was crucial for him to go from Primary level to Intermediate level. Right now, he was already at the Intermediate level, yet he was still able to receive that astonishing cultivation speed…

“The first layer’s cultivation speed is already twenty times faster than normal, what kind of effect would the second layer have?” Mo Fan couldn’t help but wonder.

The richness of the elemental aura within this place was twenty times more than outside. The meditative speed to expand his Nebula was also about twenty times.

Cultivating inside here for a little more than an hour would be equivalent to doing it outside for a whole day!

“What if I were to walk further up?”

The Dean had said that the number of times each person entered the Three Step Pagoda was very limited. Since the higher he went, the richer the Elemental aura, then he had no reason to not go further up.

Let’s challenge the second layer!

——

Outside of the Three Step Pagoda, the friendly looking senior returned to his original guarding area.

The guard standing next to him with an apathetic expression shot a glance at him and said, “Did you forget to tell the rookie again that the more steps they take, the heavier the gravity of the space becomes, thus, the mana they use will be even faster?”

“What’s the point of saying that, he’ll find out on his own,” the friendly senior said without a care.

“You should tell the rookie to not enter the second layer. The second layer’s gravity is stronger than the first by nearly double. A normal Magician will have lost all of their mana by the time they are halfway there… As soon as their mana runs out, the Magician will feel dizzy and will no longer be able to meditate and practice Control,” the apathetic guard said.

“I didn’t tell him. You also know that there are many arrogant people out there that overestimate their own strength. Even if I warn them to not enter the second layer, they would still attempt it. The Three Step Pagoda’s resources are indeed extremely alluring, the higher the layer, the increasingly rich the Elemental energies are…” the senior said with a smile that carried a bit of a crafty feeling.

“Doing that is wrong.”

“What’s wrong with it? Why does a rookie from Azure Campus get to enter the Three Step Pagoda? We are required to guard this place for two entire years before we are allowed an opportunity to enter the Three Step Pagoda to cultivate!” The senior’s smile disappeared, his face displaying his jealousy.

——

Mo Fan was a massive gaming fanatic back in the day.

In a normal multiplayer game, killing monsters to increase a level takes a long time. This was because they want to keep the game balanced, and extend its life. For example, killing a monster would get him 100 experience points.

Afterwards, some people seeking benefits developed a private server for the multiplayer game. In this private server, killing a monster would net one ten thousands of experience points. That kind of levelling was like riding a rocket to the top. When he first played in the private server, it felt incredible!

Now that he was on the second layer of the Three Step Pagoda, this was basically killing monsters within a private server!

When he cultivated normally, Mo Fan needed the little Loach Pendant to reach the second level of Nebula. It would increase the cultivation speed by four times, and increase stardust cultivation by five times!

However, in this rich, second layer space within the Three Step Pagoda, he could reach forty times the speed! Mo Fan’s Nebula cultivation speed was increased to at least a hundred times a normal person’s, while his Stardust speed might reach a hundred and sixty times!

This was even more incredible than the Underground Holy Spring!

Cultivating in this place for a whole day was equivalent to cultivating for three whole months!

Originally, the progress of his Summoning Element was relatively slow. Mo Fan wanted to put effort into his Lightning and Fire Nebula, so he didn’t focus on the Summoning Element for a while. However, after he paid a little attention to the Summoning Stardust in this place, the Summoning Stardust began to impatiently break through its shackles…

In just a single day, his Summoning Stardust expanded. It painlessly reached the Nebula level!

His Summoning Element’s Stardust Control could also be increased in this place. However, after considering that Control was something that he needed to get familiar with, he decided to not waste time on this and put the newly formed Summoning Nebula aside as he continued to practice his Lightning and Fire Element…

The breakthrough of his Lightning and Fire Element was the crucial point of cultivation at this time. Cultivating within this private server and then going to the outside world to chop other people, that was something that you didn’t get to experience every day!

Mo Fan was concentrating on cultivation, he dared not loosen up even a little.

What made him really joyful was the Lightning and Fire Nebulae had already advanced into the second level.

The first and second level had a huge disparity between them. In terms of just mana, the second level would have double the amount. A small Nebula’s coverage became increasingly bigger, and the radiance of the mana within became increasingly brighter.

Lightning and Fire leveled up once more, and Mo Fan’s confidence began to grow increasingly greater.

The time of cultivation within the Three Step Pagoda was limited as well. Mo Fan calculated it, he only had around a single day left.

In fact, after cultivating for the previous few days, his cultivation speed had indeed risen sharply. It was so fast that even Mo Fan had problems believing it. However, this thing was like eating medicine. The more medicine you ate, the greater the chance of developing an antibody.

When Mo Fan used the second layer’s forty-fold richness of the Three Step Pagoda to break through, the speed of his cultivation had gone from the original hundred-fold down to eighty-fold. When he reached the fifth day, it was only about fifty-fold.

On day six, it had decreased to thirty-fold.

This kind of situation was quite normal. Like the Underground Holy Spring, the Three Step Pagoda was rich in resources, but just like anything else, it only worked the very first time you went in. The longer you continued to cultivate in this place, the more its effects would drop.

After it had dropped to thirty-fold, Mo Fan only had one last day left, which was essentially just like him cultivating for half a month. It didn’t mean too much for Mo Fan.

“How about Iuse the last day and charge into the third layer?” This idea popped up in Mo Fan’s head.

The higher the layer, the richer the elemental energy was. Naturally, the benefits of it would be even greater.

Being able to obtain an opportunity to use a place like the Three Step Pagoda was very rare. Mo Fan relied on the mana of his four Elements to charge into the third layer!

Mo Fan now understood the layering of the spaces. A spiritual gravity existed in this place, and the higher the layer, the stronger the spiritual gravity. This was a crucial design to compress all of the elemental energy inside. Thus, when a Magician walked toward the upper layer, they would definitely feel the pressure from the spiritual gravity.

Their mana dispersing would be the biggest sign. Only when you had a high amount of mana would you be able to challenge the higher space layers.

Mo Fan possessed four Elements. The mana he had was definitely much greater than other Intermediate Magicians. Adding on the breakthrough he had made this time, he could not help but attempt the third layer!

After saying it, Mo Fan had already began to climb the steps between the second and third layer.

For every step he took forward, his head felt as though it had a heavy ball tied to it. This kind of heavy feeling could really inflict more pain on the spirit.

Mo Fan clenched his teeth as he continued to climb.

After he had gone halfway, he felt as though Xuanzang was chanting the Band-tightening Spell, it could only be described as extremely painful!

The Spiritual Gravity was increasing, and his head became increasingly heavy and uncomfortable, as though he was being squashed.

I can’t, I can’t endure it.

If he continued, his brain would explode.

Mo Fan finally chose to give up. This kind of Spiritual pain was even more painful than the time he first charged into the Intermediate level-

Oh, I’m already here?

Just when Mo Fan was giving up, who would’ve known that the third layer was just in front of him!

This really was not wasting anything… No loss, no egg, he nearly died from that!

He was like a half-dead old man as he climbed onto the third layer. When he reached the third layer, the spiritual gravity instantly disappeared. In place of the pain was an entire eighty-fold elemental richness that he could feel within his elemental ocean. He greedily began to absorb it into his own Nebula.

It was a whole two hundred-fold cultivation speed, Heavens!

Mo Fan nearly went crazy. After getting to the third layer, his cultivation speed directly started to rise. Mo Fan’s best cultivation speed in the second layer was a hundred-fold for his Nebula, and this time, it had directly doubled!

A day was equivalent to 200 days, this was the equal of meditating for over half a year!

People said the road of cultivation was long and slow. That was indeed true. If you were cultivating under the condition that you didn’t use any resources or any aiding devices, then a normal person could spend his whole life cultivating, yet he would at most reach the Intermediate level, and be unable to take a step further. It was precisely these Heavenly treasures and rich resources that allowed a Magician to exploit their talent and take a step higher.

It had been seven days since he came to the Three Step Pagoda, and that itself was enough to equal cultivation in the outside world for more than several years!

This time, Mo Fan put his focus in cultivation on the Fire Element.

If he was to allocate it evenly amongst the four Elements, then it would be very hard for him to get one of them to rise to a higher level. However, now that he put all of his focus onto the Fire Element, it could very well break through to the next level.

Fiery Fist, Nine Palace!

It wouldn’t be long before he could reach the same domain as Ms. Tangyue. Although he didn’t know what kind of level she was at, he knew that he was at least one step closer to her.

——

A day was a very short period of time. Mo Fan wished he could keep staying in this place.

Unfortunately, the school had set the time at seven days. Not even a second longer was allowed. Every time the Three Step Pagoda opened required a large amount of energy. Thus, the school would firmly control this.

Mo Fan walked out of the Three Step Pagoda, his entire being comfortable.

It seemed that if you went even further up from the third layer, there would be an even higher domain. If he had another opportunity to come, he would definitely continue to challenge the space. The cultivation speed he obtained from there could truly make a person go crazy.

——

After walking out of the Main Campus, Mo Fan was on the way home. His phone suddenly started to ring.

“Mo Fan, you need to come home quickly,” Ai Tutu’s voice came from the phone.

“What happened?” Mo Fan asked, feeling confused.

“Eh…it’s like this, I am in Starbucks drinking coffee, and even ordered a lot of food to eat. I finished eating everything, and then realized that I forgot my wallet and my cards. Can you hurry here and help me pay, it’s not too far. It’s by Nanyu street,” Ai Tutu said urgently.

“Although I am pretty unsophisticated, I also know that Starbucks is like KFC; you have to pay to get the stuff first,” Mo Fan replied sincerely.

“Aaaaah, this place is just that strange. What can I do, either way, come here quickly!” Ai Tutu said, flustered at his reply.

Mo Fan was also pretty hungry. He was just planning on passing through the commercial area, so he did what Ai Tutu requested and walked over.

—

After walking to the entrance of the store she said she was at, Mo Fan could see Ai Tutu was was beneath the green parasol, wearing a cute cartoon T shirt. She looked as though she was looking around herself, as though she was waiting for a savior to arrive.

After she saw Mo Fan, Ai Tutu began to make noises like a nightingale. She immediately ran over as she intimately grabbed onto Mo Fan’s arm.

Heavens, Mo Fan was used to calling Ai Tutu a big milk rabbit. It was because her breasts were indeed extremely exaggerated. With her grabbing onto him like that, Mo Fan’s arms felt as though they sank into her pair of jade hares!

Getting this kind of intimate treatment after coming out of closed meditation caused Mo Fan’s nose to heat up, like something was gonna come out of it.

It’s just, Mo Fan didn’t enjoy it for long, as he could feel pairs of ice cold, angry gazes shooting toward him from a few people there.

The matter was indeed a little different from normal. This Ai Tutu must’ve attracted some big trouble, so she asked me to help her escape from it!

Mo Fan has his eyes fixated on a couple of people in formal wear. It was very clear that these people were emitting a magic aura.

Their faces were cautious as they watched Mo Fan. Among them, a relatively young man with a strong nose took a short step forward and said, “Magician, don’t meddle. This girl was disrespectful towards our king… was disrespectful toward our Young Master. We don’t plan on making it difficult for her, we only require her to apologize to our Young Master.”

“Have you read too many Wuxia novels, you even talking about Young Masters? Isn’t he just a wealthy second generation who has eaten his fill!” Ai Tutu immediately spat.

“Who are these people?” Mo Fan carefully glanced at these people and realized that although these people did look asian, the outlines of their eyes and faces were a bit different. They looked more like people from Southeast Asia.

“I don’t know,” Ai Tutu said innocently.

Mo Fan was speechless toward this girl. She dared to provoke them despite not knowing their background.

“We are already very polite. Since we are unable to continue this in a good manner, then don’t blame us…” one of the men with a high nose said.

After saying this, he began to emit an even stronger and fiercer magic aura. It carried a red heat as it spread into the surroundings in this cold weather.

The other people were doing the same. They were all Magicians that weren’t weak, they didn’t seem to take the civilians on this street into account…

“Little Brother from the Magic Courts, we meet again. Eh, why are there magic activities?” Just when the opposite party was about to make a move, a middle aged uncle greeted Mo Fan with a smile.

Mo Fan turned around and realized it was the Appraisal Magician from the Magic Association, Guo Liyu.

“Ah, it’s Great Appraiser Guo, you still remember me,” Mo Fan said with a smile.

Mo Fan remembered that when he went to get his Awakening, this great Appraiser was actually very cold toward him. So why was he being so warm to him now?

“Magic Court??” The young man with a high nose immediately creased his eyebrows. He glanced at the other people.

It seemed as though they were very scared of the Magic Courts. The few people did not say anything else, and instead turned around and left. They did not look back or pursue anything else.

Mo Fan looked at the couple of strange Southern Asian people and felt very confused. Could it be that they came here illegally, or else why would they run away like rabbits when they heard Magic Courts?

“Did something happen?” Guo Liyu asked.

“Oh, since you guys are familiar with each other, you can continue talking, I’ll leave first,” Ai Tutu’s eyes flashed slyly. She ran away before she finished talking.

Mo Fan was even more confused about this situation, However, he was not bothered enough to ask. The issues he had were already a lot, so why would he care about that big milk rabbit’s matters?

“I’m not from the Magic Courts, the person who introduced me to you was my teacher,” Mo Fan awkwardly explained.

“Oh, oh, it’s like that…Oh yeah, I saw your teacher, Tangyue, a while ago. Her cultivation caused even me, an old man, to feel like I was inferior,’ Guo Liyu said with a sigh.

“She’s in Shanghai?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, she brought me along to assess a kind of jade. It was strange, I wonder why she was looking for a jade that attracts those from the Snake clans. Carrying something like that around is relatively dangerous,” Guo Liyu said.

Mo Fan remembered that Ms Tangyue did say she was coming to Shanghai. I wonder why she didn’t contact me?

A while ago, Mo Fan did try to contact her through the phone. However, it kept going to voicemail. During those times, it was because she was on a mission.

Snake Jade Stone?

Just what kind of mission is Tangyue doing for her to use that kind of strange thing?

“Next time you Awaken, come to me alright, I will definitely give you the best materials… Oh, the next time you Awaken, you’ll be an highly esteemed Advanced Magician,” Guo Liyu said.

“Alright, alright, then I’ll thank you in advance,” Mo Fan nodded.

——

After coming out of isolation, he had already encountered strange things. Firstly, he encountered the southeast asian people who were scared of the Magic Court, and then he heard about Tangyue doing a strange mission.

Forget it, these were not things that he could do anything about.

After returning to his residence, Mo Fan realized that the Mu Nujiao, who was seldom meditating in the living room, was actually sitting on the couch by herself.

This girl must’ve done yoga before. Her sitting pose was extremely beautiful. From her plump chest to her hips to her butt, the curves was so beautiful that it truly made one forget how to think…

Then looking at those delicate, straight long legs, bright and clean, round, it was like they were as vulnerable as glass!

Tsk tsk, he could play with those legs for a whole year!

Mu Nujiao must’ve sensed that someone was looking at her. However, she must’ve thought it was Ai Tutu, or she could’ve reached a crucial stage. Ignoring him, she was immersed in her cultivation.

Very soon, Mo Fan realized that there was a bracelet on Mu Nujiao’s wrist that was currently letting out a special light. It turned dark and then bright, matching the rhythm of Mu Nujiao’s steady breathing.

“A Nebula Magic Tool?” Mo Fan looked at her in surprise.

The higher-quality Stardust Magic Tools were already extremely expensive. In Bo City, it appeared that only Mu Ningxue had a Spirit-grade Stardust Magic Tool on her.

On Mu Nujiao’s arm was a Nebula Magic Tool that could nourish Nebulas. Although he could not determine what grade it was, Mo Fan realized the light and warmth it exuded was nowhere inferior to the little Loach Pendant.

Just how big were the assets of the Mu Family. They would actually gift something so precious to a girl who was barely twenty!

In fact, after he came back from Winter Vacation, Mo Fan sensed that Mu Nujia’s cultivation had increased by a lot. Back then, he didn’t dare to confirm it, but now Mo Fan could clearly sense it.

“Experts have their own fates,” Mo Fan sighed.

He himself had obtained the baptism of the Three Step Pagoda. His strengths had advanced by leaps and bounds. Mu Nujiao, a disciple from a big ancestral family, must have had her own luck. Even if he was able to put all those normal people to the very back, it didn’t mean that he could completely pressure those people from outstanding ancestral families and those who did their best at cultivating.

——-

Mu Nujiao seemed to be making an effort for the Main Campus Examination. In order to enter the Main Campus, one had to have an outstanding performance.

Mo Fan himself also knew this. As he had many enemies, he would definitely attract a very cruel test on the Main Campus Examination. Furthermore, he also had to consider the Black Vatican, who would make a move on him at any time.

Mo Fan didn’t goof around, he went to the balcony to cultivate.

Not too long after he left, the beautiful lashes of Mu Nujiao on the couch began to move. A pair of beautiful eyes, like jade stones, opened slightly.

She glanced at Mo Fan, who was cultivating on the balcony, nibbled on her lip and asked, “How did this guy increase his cultivation by so much?”

Mu Nujiao was a bit unresigned. She could be said to have relied on her family’s colossal resources. It could be said that if she wanted to increase her cultivation, then her family would do everything just to help her achieve that.

This Mo Fan clearly did not have anything. So why was he able to maintain the same increase as her?

His Lightning Nebula had definitely reached the second level.

His Summoning Element had perhaps also reached the Intermediate level.

She had to put in even more effort. If it wasn’t for her family supporting her from behind, then she most likely would not have been his match!

Mu Nujiao closed her eyes again and entered deep meditation.

The road of cultivation had always been slow and dry.

A lot of people loathe studying, they think studying is a very boring and dry thing.

The truth is, even if you were to do something that you really, really like doing, if you were to do it without resting for a whole 365 days, then it would also become boring and disgusting.

It would become not just hating studying, but being unable to go back to the mindset of finding it fun.

In this world, the experience Mo Fan was the most familiar with was the fact that the process of Magic Cultivation was equally dry and boring. When that refreshing feeling slowly disappeared after months and years, all that supported him to not waste even a little bit of his time every single day was the motivation to become even stronger.

Since the days were countable, then one just had to persevere.

Just like practicing Control. The Control of every Star was basically like focusing on placing down domino tiles.

Your heart cannot waver in this process, or no matter how much work you put into controlling the Stars, they would all drop down because of the small mistake you made.

From linking a Star Path to drawing up a Star Atlas, each of the controlled Stars were like domino tiles, the energy could be be a hundred or even a thousand times greater. In order to complete the Star Atlas even better, and faster, it required daily practice.

In any situation where there were external disturbances, the Stars would almost always fail when interlinking. When controlling the Stars, the heart would always waver. So when it came to battles that concerned life and death, then one would be even less perfect in execution.

——-

“I am very gratified. This is because, from the day of the Rookie Competition until now, I’ve seen the growth of many people.

“I remember not too long ago, there were many who regarded the Main Campus Examination as a devil lingering around our Azure Campus. It overlooked you, encouraged you, and it caused you to bitterly cultivate for it…

“This was not wrong. Whether it was hearing it from others, or experiencing it, or you received this information regarding the Main Campus from somewhere else, I believe none of them are be rumors. I think the reality will be even more cruel!

“The Azure Campus is the final destination for your youthful cultivation. It is the little pond of warmth before you face the torrents and waterfalls. The real Magic development happens in the next station. No matter how wronged, unfair, and how much you’ve suffered, you need to suppress it on your own. No one will sympathize with the weak!”

At the general meeting of the school, Dean Xiao who had always been benevolent and kind toward all the students, suddenly changed.

These words caused a lot of people to feel uncomfortable. Their most beloved Dean Xiao had turned into what seemed to be a Magic Demon Coach that didn’t care about anything but Magic.

Could it be that the competition within the Main Campus was actually that cruel?

Could it be that those with a background and power can stir trouble as they want. While those without a background and have an average strength can only hide in the corner?

“Any students that have yet to reach the Intermediate level do not have the qualifications to undertake the Main Campus Examination. Those who remain in the Azure Campus are only allowed to stay for three years. In these three years, you have the privilege to enjoy the resources and various benefits of being a student of the Pearl Institute. However, if you cannot break into the Intermediate level within three years, then please do not consider yourselves students of the Pearl Institute after you leave!”

Dean Xiao’s words were like thunder as they reverberated within the minds of the students.

If they don’t break through within three years, they were no longer students of Pearl Institute?

Wasn’t that rather inhumane?

“Those who aren’t Intermediate Magicians, you may leave. This is not your battleground!” Dean Xiao seemed as though he had changed to someone else, causing a lot of the students to feel a bit unwilling.

The Dean Xiao today was no longer the same teacher that drew up a beautiful future for everyone.

He was just like a demon that compared everyone, he was ruthless as he drove out the weak.

“Did you not understand? Weaklings are not suitable to become the real students of our Pearl Institute. What you need to do is to be able to raise your head high with your chest out when you hear these words next year, and stay! Now, you can go put in effort for the next year!”

Although there were a few complaints within the crowd of people, there was not a single person who would dare to refute him.

Gradually, the students who had been in Azure Campus for a while began to walk away. Their faces carried unwillingness and humiliation as they left.

As for the new students, they were just standing there blankly.

Perhaps it was their first time experiencing this kind of treatment for strength. In the past, no matter what level the students were, the school would definitely receive criticism for their discrimination.

After seeing the senior students leaving, there were some people who also began to take steps and walk away.

“Li Junhao, let’s go,” a man said to his friend.

“Why? I’m this close to breaking through, why won’t they let us participate in the Main Campus Examination?!” the student called Li Junhao said.

“Let’s go, we’ll definitely stay in next year.”

“Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!”

“These people, really. What are they feeling bad about? If you don’t have the qualifications, then you just don’t. Staying in the Azure Campus is pretty good as well. Guoguo, let’s go, I know you are also feeling bad, don’t worry, I’ll treat you to some food,” an indifferent, sloppy looking guy said to his female friend.

“You can go.” The girl, Guoguo stood her ground.

“What, what’s the point of just staying here, there are only Intermediate…” the sloppy man suddenly realized something as he looked at the girl in shock. He gasped, “You… you broke through to Intermediate?”

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to tell you. However, all you do every single day is mix with that gang of scoundrels. I believe I will finally have some results today,” the girl, Guoguo, appeared to be very indifferent.

She would stay there, and he would leave.

The conversation between the guy and the girl was accidentally heard by Mo Fan nearby.

After seeing the sloppy student leaving with a depressed spirit, Mo Fan couldn’t help but sigh.

It’s not that the girl was heartless. When two people are pursuing two different things, then there was no point to walk together. Mo Fan actually admired the decision made by the girl called Guoguo.

Really, girls always seemed to like those with money, good looks, and those who would make girls happy. How do you expect those guys who are average-looking, but powerful to live like that?

There were many people who had been putting effort into their cultivation because of the saying ‘If you’re ugly, then you should learn Magic’. Only those people putting more effort into their cultivations were more suitable for these kind of girls

—

People began to leave.

The students nowadays had hearts of glass. All they did was suffer from a little unfairness, but acted like they had suffered from a enormous injustice.

If Mo Fan himself was still in Primary level, he would definitely be the first one to leave.

Weak, telling you to leave is also good. If you were to meet a Magical Beast, then the Magical Beast would tear you apart, just because you’re weak!

There were around fifty thousand students at the school meeting. It was different from the Main Campus Examination in the past, where everyone could participate, but the frequency of disqualification was equally high.

This time, Dean Xiao directly cut off all of those who had yet to reach Intermediate level. This kind of t courage was not something an ordinary teacher could do, either.

“Those who stayed, congratulations on being admitted to the Main Campus area,” Dean Xiao’s attitude changed.

“No way, we got admitted just like that? Didn’t they say we have an exam?”

“Yeah, why are there no exams!?”

“Are we really not taking any tests? If there were some people at the Primary level staying, then wouldn’t they have profited from it, would that still count?”

The people remaining seemed to be about a thousand. This number had indeed exceeded the imaginations of many.

However, when they thought about it, it made sense. Entering the Intermediate level and being able to unleash an Intermediate Magic were two different concepts. It could be assumed that among the crowd of people, there would be quite a few that had entered the Intermediate level, but were relatively far from being able to draw the Star Atlas.

“If there’s no examination, then how do we determine the top 10? I heard the one who gets first place will be allowed to enter the Three Step Pagoda! The second place and third places could obtain a Magic Tool! The fourth to tenth places would be able to obtain some other rewards!” someone immediately objected.

Dean Xiao seemed to have anticipated this kind of discussion. He waited until everyone had finished talking, before he slowly fished out a scroll from his breast pocket that contained instructions.

“A few days ago, we received some information. A Shadow Beast the government used for taming has escaped due to problems with its supervision. The Shadow Beast possess some of the Shadow Elemental abilities, and it is able to hide really well in the night. At same time, it’s very hard to find them as they sneak through the city in the day. This Shadow Beast has gone through special training, so it won’t take the initiative to attack human beings, nor would it try to massacre them. Right now, it is like a wandering cat as it was in some place inside Shanghai.

“Our school is supposed to be assisting the government. The second we find any kind of trail of the Shadow Beast, we are to notify them immediately. Right now, I want you guys to catch this Shadow Beast alive and return it to the government.

“This will be the placement examination for the Main Campus.”

After Dean Xiao announced this mission, the thousand people began to talk in a loud buzz.

They’d heard that this Main Campus Examination could possibly be a large scale Battle Royale. They originally thought it was going to be a competition between students; however, it turned out it was actually a military mission!

“What is worth mentioning is that the Shadow Beast won’t attack humans on its own, nor does it have the intention to slaughter others. However, when it get attacked or pursued, its temperament will change greatly. Its danger level would be no less than that of a regular Magical Beast. That is why when you find the Shadow Beast and are going to catch it, you will need to outline a plan first.

“The students or the group that catches it and delivers it to the school’s Beast Cage will obtain the reward! If a single person finishes it, then that person will receive the reward. If it’s a group, with a limit of 5, then they will divide the reward amongt themselves. The reward is obtaining an opportunity to enter the Three Step Pagoda!” Dean Xiao said.

“Three Step Pagoda!”

“Heavens, it’s the Three Step Pagoda!”

As the words left Dean Xiao’s mouth, a thousand students nearly went crazy.

Even the students within the Main Campus would fight among themselves for the Three Step Pagoda. This time, Dean Xiao had actually given out five spots!

Mo Fan had personally entered the Three Step Pagoda to cultivate. He was very clear on just what kind of frightening cultivation speed it could bring Magicians!

If he had directly charged into the third layer, then that 200x cultivation would’ve been incredibly useful!

If he was given a couple more days, then Mo Fan firmly believed that he would be able to increase his other Elements to a whole new level.

The first day after coming out of the Three Step Pagoda, Mo Fan made a promise to himself that he would definitely return to the Three Step Pagoda once more. Who would’ve known that happiness would come this quickly. The reward for the Main Campus Examination this time would actually be an opportunity to enter the Three Step Pagoda!

Good, that’s too good…

The current him was able to enter the third layer. If he was able to cultivate within the third layer for seven days, Mo Fan’s Shadow Element and Summoning Element would both increase to the second level!

A student who was standing relatively close to the platform excitedly asked, “Dean, are there any hints or trails?”

Dean Xiao shook his head and said, “You’ll have to go find it on your own.”

——

Happiness was happiness, and being excited was excited. However, this mission had no hints or clues, and thus had already become a massive obstacle for the thousand or so students that were taking the test.

If you were to add in the outskirts of the city to the entirety of Shanghai, it was an incredibly big area. There were numerous alleys and streets. At this moment, they weren’t able to determine which area of the city the Shadow Beast was in. Trying to find a Shadow Beast with the ability to conceal itself within this incredibly busy large city, that was like trying to fish a needle from the sea!

Mo Fan really needed to enter the Three Step Pagoda once more.

When he entered the third layer, he had focused on cultivating the Fire Element. He had already touched upon the door of the third level of Fire Magic. If he was given two more days, then his Fire Nebula would definitely reach the third level!

Beneath the Advanced level, Mo Fan had no need to be afraid of anyone!

Apart from this, Mo Fan’s Shadow Element could be classified as having only just entered the Nebula stage. Control of his Giant Shadow Spike’s Star Atlas had been cultivated by Mo Fan within the Three Step Pagoda. Otherwise, he would have needed more than half a year before he would be able to cast it. What was originally nearly impossible to do was now something that he was very familiar with.

As for the Summoning Element, there was no need to mention it. Mo Fan was still unable to draw the Summoning Element’s Intermediate Star Atlas.

The time within the Three Step Pagoda was far too limited, Mo Fan had only focused on his Fire and Lightning cultivation.

The next time he entered the Three Step Pagoda, Mo Fan would have two options. Either he would charge into the third level of the Fire Element, or he could raise the level of his Shadow and Summoning Elements. In short, for someone like Mo Fan that had so many Elements, being able to enter the Three Step Pagoda once would result in his strength increasing by at least one level!

“The Shadow Beast… if only Lingling was here, it would be great. She is an expert in pursuing beasts. She was even able to find those creatures that hid beneath human skin. This kind of Shadow Beast would be simply nothing for her!” Mo Fan said to himself.

Mo Fan could already be considered a high level Hunter. He was also at his wit’s end, so he had no idea where to start…

——

After returning to his room, Mo Fan opened his computer with the intentions of looking up materials regarding the Shadow Beast. He wanted to see if the Shadow Beast had some kind of special habit.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan. Since the examination this time allows you to form groups…Why don’t you join our Beautiful girls group. Look, with me who is so filled with knowledge, the knowledgeable and powerful Big Sister Mu, you who is fierce and is super capable of fighting, and two others who possess very good controlling abilities, we would definitely be invincible!” Ai Tutu immediately charged into the living room as she said this to Mo Fan, her face filled with excitement. Her two jade hares were bouncing back and forth in front of Mo Fan.

Mo Fan raised his head as he looked at the Ai Tutu whose face was filled with expectations, and then he glanced at Mu Nujiao, who was changing her shoes.

“Find someone else,” Mo Fan shook his head, as he didn’t plan on going with them.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning on doing it by yourself! Aiya, how could you be like that?! We, the Beautiful Girl Group, invited you with such sincerity! Don’t you know how bad your reputation in school is, there is no one who would want to be in the same group as you! Other than Sister Mu and I who don’t avoid you… who would’ve thought that you’d be this selfish, and even reject us! I will bite you to death!” Ai Tutu spewed out as she became flustered.

“Tutu, stop causing trouble.” Mu Nujiao immediately stopped her.

Mo Fan didn’t feel like explaining it to Ai Tutu.

The truth was, it was not that Mo Fan didn’t want to form a group with others. After all, there was no difference between the rewards one person got, and a group of five.

However, Mo Fan was very clear on his current situation.

Perhaps the Black Vatican didn’t dare to make too much noise within the perimeter of the school, but once they exited the school, they would dare to do anything. Mo Fan didn’t want to involve these two girls into his own matters. The Black Vatican would definitely not be lenient just because they were beautiful!

When the Black Vatican did things, they tend to use sly schemes.

Right now, there were no movements from them, which only signified that they had been scheming in order to have it all done at once.

Their most beautiful opportunity to make a move would be the unavoidable Main Campus Examination.

The Main Campus Examination couldn’t exactly disappear. If it did not take place, that would only notify the Black Vatican that the different powers were on guard against them. Furthermore, the Pearl Institute couldn’t exactly cancel such an important matter just because they were suspicious.

Forget it, let’s not think about these things. Let’s find the Shadow Beast first!

——

“Monkey, you’re currently in the Army, right?” Mo Fan called Zhang Xiaohou’s number.

“Yeah, Brother Fan, let me tell you, I’m really amazing right now…” As soon as Zhang Xiaohou heard Mo Fan calling, the serious demeanor he had built up within the Army suddenly turned into a child trying to brag about his grades as he began boasting.

“Did you apply to the central section on your own?” Mo Fan asked, feeling slightly shocked.

Zhang Xiaohou seemed to have mixed in well with the Army. The Army was making efforts to nurture him. Although he had to go through a year of central section training, he would be promoted to an officer once he returned.

“Yeah, you can learn a lot of things from there. Brother Fan, did you need something from me?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

After their separation in Bo City, Zhang Xiaohou had chosen to enter the Army. He chose a road that majority of the students did not take, while Mo Fan went to Shanghai and competed within his school. The two of them walked different paths, but that did not affect their friendship.

“Yeah, I want to know more about one of the domesticated beasts in the Army, the Shadow Beast,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m not responsible for that area. However, I do have a companion who specializes in taking care of Shadow Beasts. I might not be able to get extremely classified information, but the more common things won’t be a problem,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

——

Zhang Xiaohou’s work ethic was quite high. Mo Fan called him in the morning, and by the afternoon, he had already sent the materials regarding the Shadow Beast over to Mo Fan.

“Brother Fan, if you are ever around the central section of the Army, come and find me, I really miss you!”

“I will!”

“Brother Fan, you must be really impressive now right?”

“Of course.”

“Brother Fan, you are still so immodest.”

——

Zhang Xiaohou’s companion really helped Mo Fan a lot. The materials stated that the Shadow Beasts that had been domesticated had an extreme craving for beef. They would have to eat at least half a cow every day. If you wanted to find a wandering Shadow Beast within Shanghai, then you’d have to start finding clues from some of the beef processing factories within Shanghai.

Mo Fan wasn’t in a hurry to go to the beef processing factories. Shanghai was a colossal city, the larger beef processing factories might not number a thousand, but there would at least be eight hundred. To find a Shadow Beast was easier said than done.

Soon enough, Mo Fan arrived at a police station. A high tier Hunter’s identity was no less than that of an officer. Mo Fan was able to use the police to help him find information regarding thefts.

“Mr Hunter, the reports that you wanted have been sorted. Since most of these are trivial matters, and a lot of these are about stealing and destroying meat, these kind of cases would at most have us sending some people over to take a look and take a report. For it to be completely investigated is rather impossible,” the female officer said to Mo Fan.

“Alright, thank you. Another thing, if someone makes a report regarding theft or destruction of meat, then please notify me as soon as possible. These are my contact details…” Mo Fan said to the female officer who helped him find the information.

“Alright!” The female officer seemed to be a rather new worker, she was very enthusiastic toward most things.

After leaving the police station, Mo Fan returned home to browse through the materials of these thefts and destroyed meat.

“The frequency of these events are relatively high within the Pudong district. Most of the recent cases are along Wan Street. This place should be close to the harbor, the imported meat would all be stored around here before they use trucks to deliver it across the city…” Mo Fan quickly had a direction to work from.

——

On the same day, Mo Fan went to Wan Street, which was near the harbor in Pudong District. Having the identity of a high tier Hunter made it very convenient getting things done. As long as he was investigating a case, especially one related to Magical Beasts, the workers would definitely cooperate and tell him everything they knew.

Mo Fan had arrived at the beef storehouse and began to cautiously investigate the area.

The materials given to him by Zhang Xiahou stated that the Shadow Beast was a creature whose tail tend to shed hair. The lost hair would have a fluorescent glow. Thus, if he was trying to find the location of the Shadow Beast, it would be very easy to use the fluorescent light from the tail hair to determine whether it had appeared in this area or not.

After searching through more than twenty beef storage areas in succession, Mo Fan finally came to a beef storage area that was not carefully maintained, and found a fluorescent tail hair.

“The lost tail hair will disintegrate into dust within seven days, this hair has almost turned into dust…”

His investigation did not let him find the exact location of the Shadow Beast, all it did was to tell him that it had been around this area. The time it stayed here was relatively short.

Finding the clues here were of no use, Mo Fan could only leave to find the next suspicious area.

——

Not too long after Mo Fan had left the beef storage, another team of people came over. Furthermore, each one of them began to look over the different beef storages.

“Brothers, could it be a real Magical Beast appeared? There was already someone who came by before to take a look,” a worker said as he trembled in fear.

“Oh? There’s someone who would come here before us?” Shen Mingxiao asked, feeling slightly shocked.

Shen Mingxiao was also one of the more reputable people within the school. He had relied on the connections he had within the Hunter Union to come all this way, and thought he was the very first one to obtain these clues. Who would’ve thought that someone had already been here!

“It seems like we need to be even faster. If it was found by someone else first, that would be bad,” Luo Song said.

“Don’t worry, the Shadow Beast can only be ours!” Sheng Mingxiao declared.

——

After Mo Fan left the beef warehouses, he began to proceed toward the Huangpu River.

“Hello? Who is this?” Just when Mo Fan was about to reach the next area, his phone began to ring.

“Mr Hunter, it’s me. I have just gotten a tip that there as a huge amount of beef being stolen by an old meat vendor in Xu Jiang’an, do you want to go and take a look?” the female officer inside the police station called to say.

“Alright, I’ll go and take a look. Thank you. I’ll treat you to a meal next time,” Mo Fan said.

“Oh…”

——

A man with a mask covering half his face was standing in a parking lot by a very common convenience store, a cold expression on what was left of his features.

A completely black creature was standing next to him. Its long claws were wrapped around the cold and sweaty female officer’s throat. If the beast’s claws closed lightly, then the policewoman’s blood would definitely splash everywhere.

“You’ve done well, I won’t kill you. This, however, does not mean I won’t kill your family. So, if you want your family to live, then you better not tell this to anyone…” the man with the mask said, an ominous glint in his eyes.

The truth was, he wanted to kill people.

After his face had been ruined, he had imagined every single person he had killed off to be Mo Fan.

However, he didn’t kill this policewoman.

If she died, then the people of Magic Court would rapidly be in pursuit of him.

The Black Vatican enjoyed slaughter. Killing people didn’t need any logic behind it, but before they killed someone, they would make sure it didn’t bring them any trouble.

Along the Huangpu river bank, there was light coming from a high location from afar. These lights were flickering in different colors as they reflected on the surface of the river. Following the movement of the stream, it looked like a floating, colored ribbon in the dark.

A heavy odor similar to excrement drifted by, instantly ruining the beautiful scenery. This was followed by numbers of black figures coming out of the river, one by one. The odor came precisely from these figures.

The five figures were in the front, they looked like they were chasing away animals as they let out a severe, excoriating noise.

They began to swiftly move toward Xu Jiang’an, because they had to gather there before their objectives got there!

“Hui Si, you stay on outside. The second you see our objective, notify me immediately.” The man wore a long grey cloak that covered his body, and a mask covering his face.

The five of them were all wearing long, grey cloaks. All of their bodies emitted a strange odor, and from one glance, you could tell they weren’t good people.

“Yes sir.” The person called Hui Si immediately stood guard outside.

They entered a rather shabby factory. This factory seemed like it recycled lower quality meat, as it smelled like meat everywhere. There were a lot of other things mixed together with it, so it smelled more like dog food, and could still be sold for a good price somewhere.

The factory had some machines in operation. However, there was not a single person inside, perhaps no one within a hundred meters.

“Once we’ve gotten our objective, remember he needs to be alive. Do not fail, or else you know what will happen,” Hui Yi pointed at the Dark Beasts crawling around the floor, who only knew how to listen to orders.

The other three people glanced at the Dark Beasts, and couldn’t help but shiver coldly.

The scariest part about the Black Vatican was that once you’ve made a mistake, then the punishment you got was even worse than dying!

——

Outside of the factory, a man with a purple outfit slowly approached. His eyes were very solemn in the middle of the night.

“Lulu, you stay here. I’ll go in and take a look,” the guy said toward the girl next to him with a high ponytail.

“Don’t go in, they look very dangerous…Zhaoting, why are you following these people? Just what are those half-human, half-monster things?” the girl with the high ponytail called Lulu said.

When he unintentionally caught a whiff of an unusual odor from a student, Xu Zhaoting seemed like he had turned into a different person. Zhang Lulu did not understand just what had happened, she could only follow Xu Zhaoting.

“Don’t ask, you stay here. If I don’t come back within ten minutes, you must leave immediately. Remember, don’t stay here!” Xu Zhaoting said in a very serious tone.

Originally, Xu Zhaoting and Zhang Lulu were looking for the clues of the Shadow Beast together. However, when they were looking for clues around a playground, Xu Zhaoting caught a whiff of a very unusual odor.

This odor was something Xu Zhaoting would never forget. That’s because this was a smell emitted from a creature with a pitch black body that had appeared during the Calamity of Bo City.

Xu Zhaoting really hoped that his own sense of smell had a problem. However, when he was stealthily following that student, he had discovered that the student was a Dark Beast!

Black Vatican!

It was the people from Black Vatican!

They seem to be scheming something again!

Xu Zhaoting hated the people from the Black Vatican to the bones. They were the people that caused his family’s death.

Near Xu Zhaoting’s home was a lair tunnel. When he went to the different districts to find his family with a depressed spirit, he only found a white paper with names. His father, mother, little brother, and grandma’s name were all on the white paper.

He had survived, but suddenly, he was by himself.

Xu Zhaoting did his best to forget about it, he wanted to live again in a new environment. He met an alright girl, being with her made him very happy. This made him forget about the pain…

However, today, he smelled this odor.

This kind of odor was emitted from a student in the Pearl Institute. When he had pursued that student to this place, he had actually discovered this student was a member of the Black Vatican.

This factory seemed to be their nest.

He had to go in there to confirm it. If that really was the case, he will immediately notify the Magic Courts to have them come here.

These godforsaken Black Vatican. He had to completely eliminate all of them from this world!

——

Xu Zhaoting had already slowly infiltrated the factory. The factory was immensely large, there were many places for him to hide. Xu Zhaoting was confident in being able to protect himself.

Zhang Lulu was waiting outside. She did not have any movement spells, so the only thing she could do was wait outside and guard.

She was very worried. She didn’t know who these people were, however, she could feel that they were extremely savage. If Xu Zhaoting was discovered, then his life might not be guaranteed.

——-

Xu Zhaoting had Awakened his second Element. His second element was the Wind Element.

This was a relatively good thing for him. He needed a spell that allowed him to move quickly. Otherwise, he’d have a strong destructive Lightning, but no abilities to protect himself with.

Xu Zhaoting had infiltrated through a broken window. He was standing on one of those crossed steel bars as he overlooked the large and spacious factory.

“They were indeed here. One, two, three, four… strange. Why are they missing one?” Xu Zhaoting was watching this from up top, and had only discovered four grey-cloaked people hiding here. They looked like they were awaiting someone to ambush.

“Are you looking for me?” a dark and cold voice spoke up from behind him.

Xu Zhaoting’s face was shocked as he looked behind him. He realized one of them was standing at a place not too far behind him.

Xu Zhaoting was stunned.

How did he find him? Could it be that they actually set up a trap inside this factory?

Impossible! When he was following them before, there was no way they were able to discover him.

“Lightning Strike, Wrath Strike!”

Xu Zhaoting’s reaction was fairly quick, he quickly condensed lightning within his hands.

The imprints of Lightning immediately appeared in his surroundings as Xu Zhaoting quickly interlinked his Stars. They turned into couple of purple serpents as they flew toward the person behind him.

The Lightning would conduct through the steel bars. These conducted lightnings were able to win him an opportunity at a key moment.

“It’s the Lightning Element, the objective has appeared! Catch him!” The Hui Yi who looked like he was the leader immediately raced over.

The other three had already prepared a trap. Following the order, black figures emerged from all of the exits and windows. A strong smell of excrement began to rise all around.

Xu Zhaoting looked around his surroundings in shock, and realized that he had been completely surrounded.

In the front were around ten of them, on the beam of the steel bar were seven. From the exit and windows, there were around another eight!

There was a total of twenty-five Dark Beasts!

Xu Zhaoting could never have imagined that they had actually set up a trap here to surround him…

Just how were they able to discover he was following them?

“I’m gonna kill you!” Xu Zhaoting yelled out, his face filled with extreme rage.

Rumble~

The fierce crackle of Lightning erupted within the factory, the ear-piercing sound causing people to subconsciously cover their ears.

Zhang Lulu was still hiding outside. Her complexion turned white as she saw the flickering lightning inside of the factory!

The lightning illuminated the area while miserable shrieks could be heard from within the factory. There was a few strange and disgusting shadows that could be seen in the glare of the lightning, and the number seemed to be quite high.

“Zhaoting…” Zhang Lulu was not sure what to do.

Biting her lip, Zhang Lulu charged toward the factory. She couldn’t just let Xu Zhaoting deal with these strange people and dreadful creatures alone!

Zhang Lulu ran to the entrance of the factory, and saw four people whose limbs looked like they had been cruelly twisted as they slowly crawled along. Their faces looked like ghastly monkeys and their skin color was completely black…

As she looked inside of the factory, she saw a man wearing a grey cloak staring at Xu Zhaoting with cold eyes. He stomped on Xu Zhaoting’s face, now covered with blood, as he swore furiously, “Scoundrel, you dare to ruin our plans!”

“Our great Deacon told us to bring the person away immediately so we won’t be exposed,” Hui Si said urgently.

“I’ll take this kid away. You guys can kill the girl! Quickly tidy up the area, and don’t leave behind any traces!” Hui Yi said.

Originally, they only wanted to surround the objective in this place. In the end, they encountered an irrelevant kid that had completely ruined their ambush.

After calculating the time, the real objective would most likely get here soon. They couldn’t let the objective know that they were making a move on him!

Hui Yi whistled and ordered the Dark Beasts to drag away the wounded Xu Zhaoting. The rest of the four people were focused on Zhang Lulu, who had charged in to her own death.

The four people might not be the scariest ones, but the most dreadful ones were precisely the Dark Beasts. Zhang Lulu never imagined that there’d be so many demonic creatures within this factory, and immediately regretting charging in impatiently.

“Gugugugugugu~~”

The Dark Beasts looked like hungry wolves seeing fresh meat. They fought with one another as they charged toward Zhang Lulu.

Zhang Lulu hurriedly took control of her Water Stars and turned the surrounding droplets into a Water Barrier.

The Water Barrier helped defend against some of the fatal attacks, but was unable to completely block the claws of the group of Dark Beasts. The Water Barrier was quickly broken through, and their claws began to streak past her chest. A long line of blood emerged, and splashed the two rusty windows to the side.

“Do you want to take this girl away to have some fun?” Hui San saw Zhang Lulu letting out a miserable cry, and his eyes flashed with lust.

“We could be considered to have failed this time. If we were to delay the matter even longer, then we would get punished by the Deacon,” Hui Er said coldly.

When Hui San thought of the person wearing half a mask, the things he had in mind were immediately gone.

“It’s better to kill this girl as soon as possible, let’s deal with the crime scene first.”

—

“Save… save me…”

A wound appeared on Zhang Lulu’s thighs, so deep you could see the bones. She risked her all just to crawl outside.

She had always been nurtured within a school, she had never encountered people this cruel before. They didn’t even have the slightest bit of humanity. With just a single command, they began to tear her to pieces.

Even though Zhang Lulu was an Intermediate Magician, she was still unable to cast her magic while she was being attacked by Dark Beasts from all directions.

She did not have any good defensive equipment. If she had a good defensive item, or the Intermediate level Violent Wave, then it could potentially have saved her life. Unfortunately, she was currently unable to complete that complex Water Star Atlas.

The blood wound was very long. A group of Dark Beasts were surrounding Zhang Lulu, they seemed to enjoy the process of slowly tormenting a living person to death.

“Hurry up and kill her. If you waste any more time, then I’ll take each one of you and feed you to the great demon!” Hui Er commanded the Dark Beasts angrily.

The Dark Beasts were scared to death, At last, they finally stopped tormenting and moved to end this pitiful life.

“Awoooo~~~!!!”

Suddenly, in the middle of the night, the howl of a wolf was heard.

While the sound was still reverberating, a swirl of dust began to form from afar. The dust was rolling widly as it began to engulf the place.

Flying Sand Stones. The fine sands were like bullets as they pierced into the body of the Black Beasts. The rest of the cowardly Dark Beasts began to jump to the sides in an attempt to dodge the Flying Sand Stones.

Within the murk, you could see a sturdy figure using a frightening burst of speed to charge over.

It was at least three or four times bigger than a Dark Beast. The huge wolf bit into a Dark Beast that tried to flee from the Flying Sand Stones.

“Ga!!!”

As the wolf bit into it, the sound of broken bones was heard, followed by a painful noise made by the Dark Beast as it was directly bit in two!

The upper body of the Dark Beast fell down. It had yet to die, and even began to use its claws to continuously dig at the floor in an attempt to crawl away from from this dreadful creature.

The Spirit Wolf raised a paw, and stomped on the head of the Dark Beast’s head like a watermelon. Brains and goo splattered around the floor.

A Dark Beast that hadn’t escaped in time died instantly!

Just a moment ago, it was taking joy in tormenting living beings. This time, it suffered from the process of itself being mercilessly slaughtered.

On the floor, the Zhang Lulu raised her pale face as her blood pumped out. She looked up at this impressive blue creature with the physique of a wolf.

This creature was standing right next to her. It was clear that it was trying to protect her. When she saw that there was a very familiar man sitting on top of the wolf-shaped creature, her tears began to mix with her blood as they ran down her cheeks.

She knew this person; this was precisely the Mo Fan that Xu Zhaoting mentioned all the time! He was also the Great Demon talked about within the school!

“You…you should run. There are still many more inside,” Zhang Lulu managed to gasp as she cried bitterly.

“Really?” Mo Fan stared at the Dark Beasts as well as the four grey-cloaked men. “I will kill as many as there are!”

Mo Fan jumped down from the back of the Spirit Wolf and carried Zhang Lulu off to the side.

“Awooo~!”

The Spirit Wolf was already unable to hold back his killing intent, and took the initiative to charge toward the four Dark Beasts.

A tackle, a smack, and the two Dark Beasts with smaller statures were directly sent flying. They smashed into the iron door of the factory with a loud metallic sound.

The other two Dark Beasts took the opportunity during its attack to bite the Spirit Wolf. They ripped out a bit of its skin along with the fur on its body…

The Spirit Wolf didn’t care about the little wound. It turned its around and bit into one of the Dark Beast’s arms, and easily threw the Dark Beast into the air.

The Spirit Wolf waited for the smaller Dark Beast to fall from the air and used its front claws to ferociously smack it. Before the Dark Beast was even able to land, its bones were smashed to fragments.

“The objective has arrived! Go! Hurry up and go!” Hui Er’s eyes turned ferocious as he commanded the Dark Beast behind him.

The other three grey-cloaked people all issued commands to the Dark Beasts they controlled. They originally thought their operation this time had failed, who would’ve thought the objective would still come to deliver his head despite seeing the circumstances here. It was a pleasant surprise!

—

Outside the iron door, Mo Fan stood in front of the heavily-wounded Zhang Lulu, staring daggers at the black Dark Beasts charging over.

Zhang Lulu was breathing heavily. Seeing at least fifteen Dark Beasts charging over caused her to nearly faint.

To a Magician who did not have any ability to defend themselves, being assaulted by a group was their biggest taboo. Under a group attack, Magicians generally could not cast their spells.

Zhang Lulu began to despair; it seemed she was still going to die in this place…

Bzzt~!

Lightning emerged around Mo Fan, arcs of electricity spiralling around his body.

A beautiful Star Path emerged beneath Mo Fan’s feet.

Zhang Lulu watched Mo Fan draw the Star Path, astonished to realize his control of Lightning was much better than Xu Zhaoting’s. Whether it was control of the Star Path or interlinking the Star Atlas, it all went smoothly. There were no pauses in the middle.

“Another Thunderbolt? So what if it’s Intermediate level Magic! At most, it can kill a single Dark Beast. With the amount of people we have, you can forget about killing all of us, even if you used up your mana!” Hui San was acting savagely. When he saw Mo Fan use the exact same Magic as Xu Zhaoting had before, he began to ridicule him.

The Lightning Element was indeed impressive. The might of the Intermediate level was very hard to defend against.

However,they were from the Black Vatican, and they could command from one to five Dark Beasts each! A Thunderbolt could at most kill one. Even if its power was excessive, it was still useless!

Mo Fan heard the ridicule coming from the disciple of Black Vatican. The corner of his mouth curved up into a cruel smile.

This dog-like thing was really not your normal naive fool, did he really think that an Intermediate Magic Spell only had a single form?

“Thunderbolt!”

He pointed toward the sky, and a thundercloud quickly emerged in the pitch black sky.

The light flashed as it fell down at an astonishing speed!

A thick purple Lightning bolt split open the skies, its body brimming with destructive powers racing down. Even the air was being scorched.

Mo Fan took control of the Thunderbolt. When it was halfway down, he yelled out the chant of the spell once more. “Thunderbolt, Yaksha!”

Halfway down, the purple Lightning began to split apart, and forked out into several Lightning branches!

Cross Thunderbolt!

There was total of five branches coming down out of the Cross Thunderbolt. Its power didn’t seem to have decreased as it struck the five Dark Beasts in the very front.

The five Dark Beasts was originally running over fiercely. However, in the very moment they were hit by the branches of Thunderbolt, they were directly turned into pieces of flesh!

The blood droplets were very thin, blood mixed with flesh. They were thoroughly electrocuted, their heads had been instantly turned into ashes, and their flesh blasted apart!

Thunderbolt, Yaksha was extremely fast and cruel. In a flash, the five Dark Beasts were turned into scraps. The only thing that remained was the blood steaming on the ground.

The bright flash made it hard for Zhang Lulu to open her eyes. When she was able to see everything clearly, she discovered that the five Dark Beasts had turned into steaming puddles after being hit by the Thunderbolt.

This…this was the second level of Intermediate Lightning Magic!

Mo Fan had actually cultivated all the way to the second level of the Intermediate Lightning realm!

He had instantly killed a third of the fifteen Dark Beasts. The Hui Yi who had a ridiculing attitude before had suddenly turned stiff.

Their objective was much stronger than the Lightning elemental kid from before. Whether it was the Lightning Star Atlas’s formation speed, or the might of his Lightning spells, they were all on a completely different level.

“Hurry up and go, take the opportunity while his magic is down!” Hui Er commanded furiously.

The Dark Beasts didn’t dare to even hesitate. They all continued to charge toward Mo Fan. These Dark Beasts had always been the most optimal cannon fodder for the Black Vatican. Even if all of them were to die, the disciples of the Black Vatican wouldn’t care as long as they accomplished their mission.

Facing the remaining ten Dark Beasts, Mo Fan was not scared in the slightest.

There was Lightning flashing within his palm, the Lightning Strike spells were extremely simple for him right now. They didn’t even see him make a movement to use the spell.

Fwish…

Sharp claws flashed by, practically streaking across Mo Fan’s throat. This attack was extremely dreadful. If the artery in his throat was sliced, he would definitely die!

Mo Fan had already seen this extremely quick Dark Beast, and took a small step to the side.

The moonlight was being dimmed by a cloud, it formed into two gloomy paths. Mo Fan was just standing by one of the gloomy paths. When the Dark Beast made its move, Mo Fan had sank into the boundaries of the shadows…

The second Dark Beast charged toward the darkness and hit the air. It was extremely furious as it kept looking for Mo Fan’s shadow everywhere. However, it did not know that Mo Fan had already moved ten meters away, to another dark area.

“Qianjun, Lightning Strike, Wrath Shock!”

This time, it was no longer a purple lightning!

Within the purple of the Lightning strike were some darker colors. The beautiful purple Lightning had turned into an indigo current!

Bzzzt!

The Lightning Strike seemed to be far from as strong as Thunderbolt, but coupled with the dark energy, it was extremely ferocious. Originally, Lightning Strike was used to whip and paralyze. Adding on the dark force, it caused the surrounding air to tremble and form into a completely vibration!

This Lightning Strike, Wrath Shock lashed onto the body of the quickest Dark Beast. The second the Dark Beast came in contact with the lightning, it had no way to move. A jolting pressure effect came along with the Lightning Strike as it shocked the Dark Beast multiple times!

It was like a thick indigo iron chain had slammed down heavily. The Dark Beast’s body was instantly covered in series of scars. Once the Lightning Strike completely whipped over it, the Dark Beast was turned into mincemeat!

The only smell was the fresh tang of ozone from the aftershock. This Dark Beast had been turned into mincemeat only twenty meters away from Zhang Lulu. The atmosphere was still trembling a little, and Zhang Lulu’s heart was unable to calm down.

This… was this still Primary Lightning Magic, a Lightning Strike?

A Lightning Strike, even a third level one ,could at most cause some damage to a Dark Beast. People had to take the opportunity when they were paralyzed to use another magic to inflict serious damage on them…

However, the Lightning Strike used by Mofan was different from that used by the other Lightning students, including Xu Zhaoting!

His Lightning was indigo!

His Lightning carried a power that shook even the air, it was an incredibly strong pressure. Originally, it was just some normal Lightning Strike, but it had turned into some heavy chain-like thing that crushed the Dark Beast’s body, killing it just like that!

Qianjun…

When he used his Lightning Strike, he did say that.

Could it be that his Lightning is no longer the common grade??

Strong!

This Great Demon that once received the worst reputation in a stroke at the Rookie Competition was actually this powerful! Those dreadful Servant-class Magical Beasts were just like children in his eyes, he only needed to use Primary Magic to completely whip them to death!

“Qianjun…”

While Zhang Lulu’s heart was billowing, Mo Fan once again drew a Lightning Star Atlas.

This Star Atlas’s speed was relatively fast, and didn’t seem to have been affected by the continuous assault of the numerous Dark Beasts.

An ominous noise was heard once more, as this time Mo Fan used his Spirit grade Lightning Seed on his Intermediate Lightning Magic.

Primary magic with his Qianjun Lightning Seed could already kill a Dark Beast, then what about an even stronger Intermediate Magic? Coupled with the effects of Qianjun, what kind of might would that be?

Qianjun

Thunderbolt

Yaksha!

An indigo-hued Nebula began to condense.

The indigo bolt struck down without pause…

When it reached halfway down, it split into several Lightning branches equally strong…

From a place not too far away, the slowly flowing Huangpu river reflected this incredible destructive dance. That was an indigo Cross Lightning; thick, irascible, and carrying a strong aura of death!

BOOM!

_______________

Ed. Note: Although I bow my head to the moment of awesome, I am wondering why the Four Stooges are just sitting around and letting him cast without using spells themselves…

The trembling carried through the air. When the Lightning Yaksha forked into five branches and landed, it did not just hit its five objectives. In the areas where the Thunderbolt Yaksha landed arose a powerful pressure.

Whether it was those who were directly hit by the Thunderbolt Yaksha, or those who were standing near the area of Qianjun’s domain, the little Dark Beasts had no way to survive. The difference in the former and latter was that the former was turned into countless droplets of blood steam. The latter was merely directly turned into minced meat. Who knows which one suffered more pain before they died.

His Qianjun Thunderbolt Yaksha’s might was much greater than that of a Common grade Lightning Seed. The remaining Dark Beasts seemed to have all died from the explosion of the Intermediate Lightning Magic…

One of them seemed to have good luck, only its legs had been completely shattered. Unfortunately for it, it just happened to get stomped on by the Spirit Wolf.

The Spirit Wolf slowly bit this Dark Beast to death. Perhaps this Dark Beast that was being chewed on was regretting why it didn’t just get killed along with its group. Instead, it was tormented for half a minute for no particular reason except a Spirit Wolf’s curiosity…

In just a moment, all of the Dark Beasts had been completely cleaned out. Just a while ago, Mo Fan was the prey of these people. However, he had immediately turned into a murderous Lightning Death God.

One had to know that it wouldn’t be much of a problem for these Dark Beasts to deal with two or three Intermediate Magicians. They were crafty, fast, and they knew how to attack as a team. Although Intermediate Magicians were indeed impressive, they still couldn’t deal with a group of these kind of creatures attacking them from all directions.

After these Dark Beasts had been turned into blood and meat chunks, the four disciples of the Black Vatican realized that the objective they were supposed to catch was not a simple sheep, he was a savage tiger!

Their strengths were on a completely different level!

This was completely different from the information given to them from the student concealed within the school!

“Re…retreat!” Hui San’s face had already turned pale. He turned around and started to run.

“Split up!” Hui Er could still be considered relatively calm as he advised his three companions.

The four of them knew they couldn’t handle Mo Fan, and so they began to run in four different directions…

Mo Fan swept across them with his gaze. Beneath his feet was an intertwining Star Path that wasn’t very clear nor bright.

“You go pursue that one.” Mo Fan pointed at the grey person that was running toward the riverbank as he spoke to the Spirit Wolf.

The Spirit Wolf immediately began to chase in the direction Mo Fan was pointing in. The Spirit Wolf didn’t even need to use its burst speed. The Spirit Wolf thought there was no way he could not outrun a slow human with two legs with his own four legs. How about biting off a leg once I’ve caught up and then see how much further he can run?

Mo Fan wasn’t in a hurry to pursue them. That was because the shadow beneath his foot had turned into a mysterious Star Atlas, a strange dark aura beginning to grow from it.

“Go!”

As Mo Fan pushed out with his hand, a gigantic Shadow Needle noiselessly began to fly out from the center of his chest.

He couldn’t see this shadow energy flying in the air, however. In the reflections in the windows in the factory, he could make out from the safety lamps that there was something sharp flying over.

In the next second, Hui Si, who was in the middle of running, came to an abrupt stop. His running movement and his inability to move an inch of his body formed an extremely strange posture. It looked extremely odd!

Hui Si’s complexion turned pale as he looked back. He suddenly realized that the shadow beneath his body had a gigantic spike sticking through it like a sword.

Following this, a shadowy gas began to emerge from the surroundings of his body, and this dark mist began to circle around him. It caused his restrictions to become even tighter, as if even his consciousness had received an attack!

“Everyone must die!”

Mo Fan didn’t even look at the person whose shadow was being controlled before his body sank into the shadows.

A shadow began to quickly move through the pitch black factory. A few seconds later, the shadows emerged in front of the calmest disciple of Black Vatican.

Hui Er ran with his life at stake. Originally, he wanted to turn around to see whether that ferocious death god was chasing him or not, and instead, he nearly crashed into the scary death god.

“Fire Burst, Burning Bones!”

A ball of flames suddenly condensed in his palm, Mo Fan threw it right into the front of Hui Er’s chest from a close distance.

The flames touched Hui Er and quickly covered his body.

Hui Er’s clothes were completely burned away. While it was burning his flesh, increasingly more dreadful flames began to invade the inside of his body.

Even his bones that shouldn’t be burned were turned into ashes. The flames of Burning Bones burned both the inside and the outside. If Mo Fan was specifically controlling the temperature, he could increase the heat of the flames by a lot…

If he was lenient toward those from the Black Vatican, then he’d be disrespecting those who had died by their hands!

Mo Fan turned around as he ignored the screams coming from the burning Hui Er behind him. His eyes fixed on Hui Wu, who took this opportunity to run away.

This Hui Wu ran pretty fast. He was a Wind Magician, Mo Fan could see a long wind tunnel behind him as he fled for his life.

Whooooosh~

Fierce flames began to scuttle forth from beneath Mo Fan’s feet again. Mo Fan’s entire person looked like a fiery demon. Although there was an incredibly hot fire engulfing his whole body, he still seemed so calm!

—

Hui Wu run with his life at stake.

No one knew that while he was a Wind student at Pearl Institute, he had always been a loyal follower of the Black Vatican.

Although he could not receive resources, he had always hoped to receive more power. The Black Vatican was able to give him even more power…

Although he had run pretty far, Hui Wu still had some lingering fear. He already knew of the great strength Mo Fan possessed during the Rooke Competition, but who knew that was only the tip of the iceberg?

He didn’t understand how a person who already had a Summoning and Lightning Element would also have Shadow abilities. This information had to be quickly given to the great Deacon!

Suddenly, he heard a voice rising ominously behind him.

“Fiery Flames, Exploding Heavens!”

Hui Wu turned around… eye-piercing red flames! He could only see the furious red flames that were coming for him!

The flames were extremely large, in the form of a gigantic fist raging out from the shabby factory. Even though he was so far from it, the power of the fist of flames did not diminish at all!

Hui Wu wanted to use his Wind Trail to change direction. The heatwave caused his skin to nearly melt while the gigantic fist began to expand in size. Even if he wanted to hide from it, there was no way he could-!

When the powerful flames exploded, Hui Wu’s entire being was engulfed…

At close range, the Fiery Fist was able to turn a creature into black powder. The temperature of the flames after a distance was not as high. However, it was still very much capable of turning a Primary Magician into a black carcass!

Hui Wu thought that if he could run far away, then he would be able to avoid it. However, he never imagined that the demon from the campus actually possessed the power of Fire…

Hui Wu fell to the ground with flames raging around his body, his face charred beyond recognition and stamped with an expression of disbelief.

What he would never understood was how this Intermediate Magician could actually possess magic from four different Elements…

“I beg of you, please let me go… I was forced to do this, I…” While he was stuck with the giant shadow spike, Hui Si couldn’t help but kneel down before Mo Fan and beg for his pathetic life.

Four Elements, it really was four Elements! This objective had a total of four Elemental magicks! The great Deacon did tell them that this objective was an Innate Dual Element…

If he used common sense, then the other party would Awaken one more Element when they reached the Intermediate level. He should only have three Elements!

However, four Elements…

How could there be trust between humans now?

Mo Fan wouldn’t talk smack with these domesticated slaves. He glanced at the Spirit Wolf, whose jaws still showed fresh blood, and said indifferently, “Here’s your midnight snack.”

The Spirit Wolf hadn’t had its fill yet, and it knew that this follower of the Black Vatican was currently being controlled by the Giant Shadow Spike, and unable to make a move. It was just thinking about cleaning its teeth before, but then it realized that it would need to clean them again. Thus, it decided to first rip its meal apart and then slowly eat it…

Dark Beasts were too smelly, and were extremely hard to swallow. However, the flavor of the followers of the Black Vatican wasn’t bad!

“Aaaa!” The miserable final cry of the last follower of the Black Vatican reverberated through the factory. Mo Fan had already walked out of the factory toward Zhang Lulu, who was still bleeding.

Mo Fan had seen Zhang Lulu before, she was the girlfriend of Xu Zhaoting. However, the current Zhang Lulu had already fainted. Originally, he wanted to ask her to keep the secret of his four Elements secret. However, it was clear that she already passed out by the time he had used the Fire Element.

Fortunately, Mo Fan always carried around some blood medicine. Although these blood medicines could not heal her, they could at least keep her alive.

First, he had to stop the bleeding. Mo Fan picked up Zhang Lulu and put her on the back of the Spirit Wolf that had just finished his midnight snack.

“We can head back,” Mo Fan said to the Spirit Wolf. The Spirit Wolf spat out a bone, feeling very satisfied, before he carried Mo Fan and Zhang Lulu back toward the city.

The city had regulations against Summoned Beasts. When Mo Fan arrived at a place where there were people, he had to take a taxi. Fortunately, Zhang Lulu’s life was no longer in danger, or else she would definitely have died from bleeding. The liquid from a Dark Beast’s claw prevented blood from clotting.

After taking Zhang Lulu to the closest hospital and paying a considerable amount for the hospital fee, a Healing Magician finally arrived and healed her.

Zhang Lulu had lost a lot of blood, and wouldn’t wake up in a little while. Mo Fan knew that the hospital was just as safe as the school, and so he left behind a contact number before he returned back to his apartment.

——

“Sister Mu, where do you think that Shadow Beast is hiding? We still have nothing on it, it’s so troublesome!” Ai Tutu’s voice was audible from outside the door.

Mo Fan opened the door and walked in. He didn’t talk to the two girls, as he had too much on his mind. With a heavy heart, he walked up to his room.

The two girls stopped their discussion for a while. After Mo Fan got to the second floor and closed the door to his own room, the two finally glanced at one another.

“Why didn’t you say anything, are you against his personality? And he didn’t even peek at Sister Mu’s thighs this time…” Ai Tutu muttered.

“What nonsense are you saying!” Mu Nujiao was a bit embarrassed. Why did this little brat keep running her mouth off like that?

“Didn’t you see that there was some tawny color on his clothes, it seemed to be dried blood,” Ai Tutu noted.

Mu Nujiao didn’t say a word. Based on the hint from before, he must’ve experienced a fight. The big bloodstain was relatively eye-catching.

Just where did this guy go, and why was he covered in so much blood?

“Could it be that this Great Demon likes to kill people in his spare time? That blood clearly wasn’t his!” Ai Tutu said.

Mu Nujiao didn’t want to randomly guess. However, she began to think about it.

——

In a long alley, the few lamps seemed to be only able to illuminate the surrounding ten meters.

On the green stone walls were a few wooden doors of the old ../style. Suddenly, one of the doors slowly opened, followed by a stinky creature crawling along on four limbs quickly charging in. It seemed to be carrying a living person, as well.

After this, a grey cloaked man walked inside. Before he entered, he made sure to check the alley to make sure no one was following him.

Inside the place was an old courtyard. There were trees there that no longer had any leaves on them.

The courtyard was very messy, no one had cleaned the place. Standing on the staircase that led toward the old house was a man wearing half a mask. In his hand was something similar to a whip he used to lash the couple of disobedient Dark Beasts at his side, their flesh already lacerated from the punishment.

“Great Deacon, our plan was ruined by this kid,” Hui Yi said.

“Xu Zhaoting? Hmph.” The man with half a mask looked at Xu Zhaoting, who was covered in dirt. The other half of his face that seemed fine let out a cold, cruel smile.

Xu Zhaoting was weak and had no strength remaining. However, he was able to recognize just who this strange person was.

After looking carefully, Xu Zhaoting spat with incredible anger, “It’s you!”

Bo City was only so big. Those who were around same age while being known as extraordinary naturally knew of one another. Yu Ang knew Xu Zhaoting, and Xu Zhaoting definitely recognized Yu Ang.

However, Xu Zhaoting had never imagined that the person Mu Zhuoyun had considered his successor was actually someone from the Black Vatican. It seemed like this person was definitely one of the ringleaders behind the disaster of Bo City!

“So it was an old acquaintance. I’ll have to give you some special treatments,” Yu Ang said with a smile.

“You half-faced monster, you must not know how to die!” Xu Zhaoting cursed him.

Yu Ang’s smile immediately came to a stop. His entire being began to sink into a gloomy state.

After his face was ruined, the one thing Yu Ang hated was to hear someone mentioning it. The places that he went to nowadays were not even allowed to have a mirror!

“I’ve told you before, I will give you a special treatment. Not a single person who goes against the Black Vatican will have a good life,” Yu Ang said coldly.

“Great Deacon… Hui Wu, Hui Si, Hui San, and Hui Er seems to have died,” Hui Yi whispered as his face suddenly turned pale.

“Was it the people from the Magic Court?” Yu Ang’s face immediately changed.

“It was the objective that came soon after. He even saved the girl that came along with this kid,” Hui Yi said.

When Xu Zhaoting heard this, he couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

As long as Zhang Lulu was fine. He was really worried about her ending up in the hands of these insane people.

The whip in Yu Ang’s hand immediately lashed toward Xu Zhaoting’s face. It was clear that Yu Ang was extremely angry about losing four underlings in an instant.

“You are happy about the girl who survived, aren’t you?” Yu Ang walked over in front of Xu Zhaoting. The whip in his hand lashed out mercilessly once again as he said ferociously, “I’ll let the two of you regret being alive in this world!”

After saying that, Yu Ang directly dragged the bloody Xu Zhaoting inside the old house.

When Hui Yi saw Yu Ang once again drag a living person into the house, his whole body couldn’t help but shudder.

In the Black Vatican, some people who had offended others or broken the rules would endure a pain worse than dying, especially when they ended up in the hands of this great Deacon whose heart was increasingly twisted…

“Oi, breakfast! Sister Mu really is a nice person, she even bought you one. Hurry up and show your gratitude!” Early in the morning, Ai Tutu watched Mo Fan, who was in a daze from sleep, walk out of his room, and immediately mentioned the delicious breakfast to him.

Mo Fan wasn’t polite at all as he took it and ate it.

“You really do not have manners at all,” Ai Tutu said unhappily.

“How is your investigation on the Shadow Beast going?” Mo Fan asked without thinking.

“I won’t tell you. Don’t you dare think about stealing our work. Let’s put it this way, the Shadow Beast won’t be able to escape from our hands!” Ai Tutu slapped her heavy chest as she said this.

“Actually…” Mu Nujiao thought about it for a while as she said sincerely, “Actually, I think the examination this time is not as simple as finding the Shadow Beast.”

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan asked.

Currently, Mo Fan was not in the mood to find the Shadow Beast. The Black Vatican was already trying to lay its hands on him, and furthermore, had even involved Xu Zhaoting!

Xu Zhaoting was taken away, no one knew whether he was alive or not. This was something Mo Fan was far more worried about right now.

“Dean Xiao said that once you took the Shadow Beast back to the Iron Beast Cage, then you will have finished your mission. This also means that even if you were to catch the Shadow Beast, it does not mean you’ve completed your mission,” Mu Nujiao said.

“Sister Mu, you’re saying that the school doesn’t care about who finds the Shadow Beast, nor do they care about who catches it, either? What they care about is who finally delivers the Shadow Beast back to the Iron Beast Cage in the school… So, if someone were to catch the Shadow Beast, then it’d be like American football; they’d have to tackle every person they see!” Ai Tutu exclaimed.

“Mhm. That is why before we catch the Shadow Beast, we need to consider that important factor,” Mu Nujiao said.

“At the end of the day, the Dark Beast could just be an incentive. The students will still have to fight one another!” Ai Tutu suddenly yelled out.

Mu Nujiao’s analysis gave Mo Fan a sudden insight.

So, all he needed to really do was to steal it? What was the point of wasting so much effort just to find the whereabouts of that Shadow Beast, anyway?

——

After finishing his breakfast, Mo Fan headed for the hospital where Zhang Lulu was mending.

Zhang Lulu’s recovery was pretty good. The Healing Magician’s magic was capable of completely healing wounds that weren’t extremely deep.

However, Zhang Lulu’s mental state was relatively bad. She didn’t want to eat anything, her eyes were extremely red. It was clear that she was worried about Xu Zhaoting.

Mo Fan took her from the hospital back to her residence. He began to ask her why she was at that place.

“We were originally looking for students of other Elements to form a squad to find the Shadow Beast. After Xu Zhaoting encountered someone in the bathroom, his face suddenly changed color. After which, we just followed that person, who seemed to be a student. After following him, we found a bunch of black things beside him. At that time, I wanted him to leave with me. However, he didn’t listen to me, and began to pursue them further,” Zhang Lulu said.

“A student?” Mo Fan creased his brow.

Could it be that the followers of Black Vatican had already penetrated into the Pearl Institute? Or did they already have a chess piece in Pearl Institute from the very beginning, so they could float along when they initiated a mission?

Mo Fan believed that the latter was a higher possibility. Pearl Institute’s administration was very strict. There is no way they would let the people from Black Vatican casually infiltrate.

“Oh, they said they were going to make a move on you. However, they were also afraid of the school and the Magic Court. Thus, they could only use a method that didn’t easily expose their identity,” Zhang Lulu said.

“A method that didn’t easily expose their identity…” Mo Fan began to think with his head lowered.

“I don’t know the concrete details,” Zhang Lulu said.

“Go rest up. I’ll think of some way to find the location where they took Xu Zhaoting,” Mo Fan said.

“We could notify the Magic Courts…” Zhang Lulu said.

Only the Magic Courts could truly hurt the Black Vatican as an organization. A normal person’s strength was unable to fight against the Black Vatican, which controlled the Dark Beasts.

“We cannot for now. Once the Magic Court makes a move, and the members of the Black Vatican catch a whiff of it, then they might possibly give up their plan… Once they’ve chosen to retreat, then we can forget about ever finding Xu Zhaoting,” Mo Fan said.

Zhang Lulu did not say anything else. Right now, she really did not know what to do.

——

When Mo Fan left, Zhang Lulu fell asleep.

She was half asleep and half awake. When she was clear-headed, her head was filled with the scenes of those ugly, savage Dark Beasts. When she was asleep, those same creatures would appear in her dreams.

From Zhang Lulu’s perspective, there was nothing more scary or disgusting than the Dark Beasts. The stench that their bodies gave off felt as though it was still lingering around.

Zhang Lulu opened her eyes, her gaze completely empty.

The room was completely dark, and the curtain was half-opened. The lamp outside of her room was shining on her rug, it was completely quiet…

An odor?

Zhang Lulu woke up so fast it was almost painful. Her body felt as though someone had poured cold water over her.

Heavens, why did her room have this kind of smell?!

In the beginning, it was just Zhang Lulu’s own hallucination. However, after she took a sniff, she was able to tell that it really was that smell in this place.

Clank!

Suddenly, the sound of something being hit came from the corridor.

Zhang Lulu was so scared that her soul almost left her body. She immediately jumped down from her bed as she charged out of her room in her bare feet. She ran toward the roof of the building.

The odor was increasingly heavy, and it came with the sound of footsteps below. Zhang Lulu followed the little crack between the staircases as she headed upstairs, when she saw a group of strange shadows moving.

It’s those creatures!

Zhang Lulu didn’t dare to hesitate as she raced toward the roof of the building.

She was clear that if she stayed inside her room, she’d definitely die. If she made it to the roof, she could use the roof of the other buildings to escape.

After charging to the roof, there was not a single person to be seen in the dead of the night. There were only these rooftops that had all kinds of things on them.

Just as she made it to the water reservoir on the roof, the wooden door to the rooftop was smashed open.

In a moment, three or four Dark Beasts charged upstairs. They licked their sharp teeth as a greedy green light blossomed in their eyes. They emitted a stench that made people feel extremely disgusted.

“Gugugugu!”

Just when Zhang Lulu was about to jump to the roof of another building, she suddenly realized that there was a Dark Beast whose body was engulfed in a cursed aura standing there.

This Dark Beast looked incredibly ugly. It was because its face seemed to have a skin that had yet to rot adhered to it, you could even see the fresh blood there.

Zhang Lulu almost fainted, she was now unable to run anywhere.

“Guguguguggugu!!” The small group of Dark Beasts that pursued her to the roof did not immediately take action. They were vigilantly watching the Dark Beast enveloped in a cursed aura.

The cursed Dark Beast slowly passed by Zhang Lulu. Its red eyes carried hostility, anger, and its mouth let out a hoarse and dreadful shout.

The cursed Dark Beast’s objective was not Zhang Lulu, it was the small group of Dark Beasts!

Zhang Lulu was dumbfounded.

When she saw the cursed Dark Beast began to charge the small group of Dark Beasts, she found it hard to believe.

They aren’t together?…

The Dark Beast with the cursed aura charged toward one of the rather smaller ones. Its speed was clearly much faster than the average Dark Beast. Before the smaller Dark Beast could even react, the cursed one had already grabbed onto its four limbs.

Not only was it faster, but in terms of strength, the cursed Dark Beast was also much stronger. The new Dark Beast was filled with power as it ripped the smaller Dark Beast in two!

The mixed flesh was being torn apart, and the sound of bones breaking was audible. The little Dark Beast was torn apart by the cursed one. Black blood splattered all over the ground.

“Gugugu!”

The other few Dark Beasts were scared to death, cowering as if they wanted to run away. The cursed Dark Beast’s gaze turned around as its sharp black claws suddenly criss-crossed …

A black claw shredded the wall as it flew along one of the Dark Beasts that was fleeing a bit too slowly.

Once the black claws reached the Dark Beast, its movement came to an abrupt stop. A very clear X mark emerged on its body, and it was divided into several pieces along the lines.

The cursed Dark Beast seemed extremely savage. Even though it saw the four other Dark Beasts running away, it did not plan on letting them off the hook.

It was massacring them. The pain it displayed in its eyes only seemed to be relieved by the killing.

Bang!!

Cold moonlight illuminated the roof. A sturdy Dark Beast was thrown into the water reservoir right next to Zhang Lulu. It splashed limply as it hit, causing the water to slowly flow out. In the moonlight, this was even more shocking to see.

After killing them all, the Cursed Dark Beast raised its head as it roared. This sound could be heard very vividly in these streets. It scared some of the drunkards that were still wandering around in the evening, and they fell to the ground.

At the side of the water reservoir, Zhang Lulu had already gone completely lifeless.

These bloody scenes had happened right in front of her. The bloody remains were everywhere, she imagined that this would be her doom very soon…

She was unable to move. She was even unable to bring out the Star Path that she was so skilled at, and drawing a Star Atlas was even more out of question.

The cursed Dark Beast in front of her, covered in the blood of its kin, was extremely strong. It was so strong that Zhang Lulu couldn’t do anything to fight against it.

After it roared, the Cursed Dark Beast turned around. Its face was covered in black blood, and could only be described with one word: pain!

Pain occupied the face of the Dark Beast, like it had lost all of its other emotions. Furthermore, the only thing you could see in its eyes was resentment and savagery.

Zhang Lulu didn’t dare to look into the eyes of this monster, but her legs didn’t listen to her as they began to go soft.

The cursed Dark Beast was not planning on killing her in the same way as it had killed its kin. It walked towards her with slow steps, but at same time, it seemed to be struggling with something as the steps it took also retracted.

Zhang Lulu’s head was completely empty. She also did not know why this cursed Dark Beast wasn’t moving any faster. With its strength, it could easily kill her…

“What, you don’t wanna make a move?” someone spoke up. On this originally empty roof emerged a man who seemed extremely suspicious.

Zhang Lulu immediately turned her head and realized that a man wearing half a mask was standing to the side of the roof in the moonlight.

When did he appear?

Or could it be that he was always there? Before he made a noise, she did not notice him there at all!

“You really surprised me. Refining a Cursed Dark Beast is a very difficult thing. It doesn’t just require a physique that is already extremely strong, it also requires the soul to be filled with hatred and resentment. Who would’ve thought that someone like you, from a good University, would accumulate so much resentment! You are really suitable for joining our Black Vatican, to be our killing slave… If you want to run, then forget about it. The Soul Enslavery of our Black Vatican is something that even the Parthenon Temple cannot resolve!” the man with half a mask called out in ridicule.

“Gugugugu!!!” the Cursed Dark Beast let out sounds as it struggled furiously. Unfortunately, its soul was locked by incorporeal shackles. These shackles were made by the half-masked man, and no matter how much more hatred it had, it was unable to do any attack that person.

Zhang Lulu stood there, but she was unable to understand what they were saying.

“Originally, your transformation was something that made me very excited. I could perhaps give you lenient treatment, but you decided to run away and kill so many of your kin. Thus, as a punishment…” the half-masked person displayed a horrifying smile as his eyes looked at Zhang Lulu like she was livestock. He slowly commanded, “Go rip her apart. Kids likes to split things apart as a game, and you are no different from a just born child to me. This girl will be your playtoy, you can rip her apart any way you want.”

Zhang Lulu’s face turned pale. After the half-masked man said these words, Zhang Lulu shuddered all over.

“Gugugugu!!!!” The Cursed Dark Beast was extremely angry as it roared toward the half-masked man.

“You even dare to raise your voice to me, are you tired of living?!” The half-masked man took out a black whip from inside his windbreaker. This whip was as thick as an arm. When it whipped toward the Cursed Dark Beast, the Cursed Dark Beast was actually unable to avoid it.

Krak!

After the whip landed on the Cursed Dark Beast, a bloody mark appeared on its back.

“Go, kill her!” the half-masked man yelled.

With its eyes turned red, the Cursed Dark Beast began to walk toward Zhang Lulu.

The cursed aura and the overpowering stench immediately swept over Zhang Lulu. She was so scared that she fell onto the floor, her face filled with tears of fear.

“I told him before, I will make you wish you were dead!” the half masked man said sinisterly.

The cursed Dark Beast was getting closer and closer to Zhang Lulu, its claws seemed to be lifting up.

However, its arm was also trembling. The rotting, pained face began to distort.

Finally, its claw struck toward its own shoulder. A deep wound immediately sank into its flesh. It seemed to want to sever its arms as a sound came from the very depths of its throat.

“You are unable to resist my orders! Kill her and your pain will be relieved! The more sins the soul of a Dark Beast carries, the stronger it will become, and the more it will be able to resist the torment of the Soul Enslavery! Quickly, kill her!” the man with half a mask roared out his orders, even as he smiled.

Killing this girl was something very easy for Yu Ang. However, he wanted to watch Xu Zhaoting, who he had turned into a Cursed Dark Beast, kill her!

Golden Origin Apartments…

Mo Fan was standing by the balcony with a phone in his hand.

“Ms Tangyue, you finally contacted me.” Mo Fan’s face displayed a smile.

“I’m currently in Hangzhou, I can’t leave. Are you alright? I received some information that the Black Vatican are moving in Shanghai. They are all charging toward you,” Tangyue said impatiently.

“I’m alright. I only encountered a group of small Dark Beasts, and I killed them all,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s a bit too reckless of you, if something were to happen… the methods of the Black Vaticans are extremely cruel. If you ever land in their hands, then you will most likely be turned into a monster by them! Thus, you must be extremely careful!” Tangyue said solemnly.

“What monster?” Mo Fan asked, feeling slightly confused.

“The Dark Beasts.”

“Dark Beasts? Aren’t they Magical Beasts?” Mo Fan didn’t understand.

Actually, Mo Fan had always been a bit suspicious about this. It seemed like the people from the Black Vatican were able to command the Dark Beasts. The only people who should be able to command Magical Beasts should be Summoners; there’s no way that all of the people in the Black Vatican were Summoners, right?

“They aren’t Magical Beasts, they are people, living people!” Tangyue told him.

“What?” Mo Fan was shocked.

Living people?

Those Dark Beasts were living people?

“They are all living people whose souls have been cursed. That is the most dreadful secret technique of the Black Vatican,” Tangyue said.

“Xu Zhaoting was caught,” Mo Fan said grimly.

Tangyue went silent.

Xu Zhaoting was also Tangyue’s student, how could she not know about him?

However, Tangyue was currently powerless. The Magic Court was currently unable to make a big move. Once they made a move, this Black Vatican group would run away from the inescapable net they had set.

Furthermore, Xu Zhaoting had already been caught by them. The possibility of him being alive was slim.

“Ms Tangyue, I need to go check out Zhang Lulu. If Xu Zhaoting was turned into a Dark Beast, then that would signify they already know Zhang Lulu’s residence…” Mo Fan said.

“Zhang Lulu? Who’s that?”

“It’s Xu Zhaoting’s girlfriend. Xu Zhaoting lost all of his family during the disaster at Bo City, leaving only him behind… His girlfriend has been with him this entire time. I believe that Zhang Lulu should be the most important person to Xu Zhaoting, I cannot let anything happen to her.” Mo Fan suddenly realized something as he hurriedly hung up the phone.

After rushing downstairs, Mo Fan couldn’t care about the regulations where they forbade Summoning beasts, and he directly summoned his Spirit Wolf. He had the Spirit Wolf charge toward Zhang Lulu’s residence.

The road in the evening was spacious and free. His Spirit Wolf was directly running on the road, all kind of traffic rules meant nothing to this wild beast.

——

The light of the moon was cold. The cold wind was turning increasingly chill as it blew onto their faces like sharp knives.

Zhang Lulu was in disbelief as she looked at the rotting face in front of her. She was in even more disbelief as she looked into those eyes filled with evil and hatred.

This is Xu Zhaoting?

THIS is Xu Zhaoting???

Her eyes began to bulge so much that they nearly popped out.

Her tears began to fall again. The pain in her heart had already caused Zhang Lulu to forget about the long claws that had pierced into her.

At this moment, she finally understood why this Cursed Dark Beast killed off all those Dark Beasts that were pursuing her. She also understood why it tried to resist making a move on her, and that it was actually protecting her before…

However, the blood was flowing quickly, and with it her life. In the process of the claws penetrating through her heart, she was no longer scared.

It was at least better than being killed by those dirty things…

“Haha, HAHAHA, I’ve told you that you can’t control yourself! As your master, I am benevolent enough to give you guys some time to say your last words. However, you must be quick or else her blood will run dry. No matter what you say by that time, she won’t be able to hear you… Oh, you can only gugugugu, I guess you won’t be able to express anything with that!” The man with the mask seemed to be really enjoying this.

He swept his long windbreaker around with an abnormally savage smile before he disappeared from the rooftop.

Tatata~

A large pool of blood began to splash on to the rooftop. The Cursed Beast stood there stiffly, his face displaying an expression that could no longer be described with pain.

Roar!!!!!!!

His throat looked like it was going to explode as he roared frantically. Since he had already opened his mouth, he took a bite at his wrist!

Ga!!

He bit off his wrist, like he wanted to bite his most hated person to death!

He bellowed in rage.

His expression was twitching fiercely as his hoarse shout continuously reverberated on the rooftop.

The black liquid from his eyes didn’t stop as they hung around his twitching face.

He frantically bit his body as he ripped at his skin. He used his killing claws to tear himself apart.

At this moment, the hatred at what he had become had already exceeded everything!

——-

Within the black shadows, a man came out as though stepping out of a different world.

He stepped onto the rooftop that was filled with black blood and remains of limbs. His black eyes were currently looking at the person that leaving behind red blood.

Half of her body was in the water reservoir, and on her chest was a severed hand. The claws on that hand had penetrated deeply into her body…

Her pale face looked as though she wasn’t in much pain. It could only mean that she had not died while experiencing fear and despair.

Next to the girl was a squatting creature covered in bruises. Its eyes were continuously watching over this girl that had already passed away.

It was crying bitterly. A creature that was not a ghost nor human crying was very different from how a normal human would cry. However, Mo Fan knew that it was crying.

Mo Fan took a deep breath as he slowly walked toward him.

“I’m sorry, I came too late.” Mo Fan looked down at the Cursed Dark Beast.

He was Xu Zhaoting. Mo Fan was very clear that he was Xu Zhaoting, there was no other Dark Beast that would stay on guard over the corpse of girl as it was displaying such extreme pain.

When Mo Fan saw Xu Zhaoting’s right hand was bitten off, his grievance became like a spring as it bubbled forth.

Xu Zhaoting slowly raised his despairing face. At this moment, the him that still retained some of his human traits recognized Mo Fan…

He suddenly used his claws to split open his belly, and slowly took something out of his stomach.

Mo Fan was a bit suspicious as he took the thing that Xu Zhaoting had drawn out from inside himself.

After wiping away the filth on it, Mo Fan was immediately dumbfounded.

This was a strip of leather. There were clear scratches on the leather, and he was able to see that this was a name in the moonlight!

——

“It’s the name of the Blue Deacon! Xu Zhaoting found the name of that Blue Deacon!” Tangyue exclaimed earnestly over the phone.

“What’s the point of a name?” Mo Fan asked.

“Most of the people from the Black Vatican have a honorable identity in society. This name is the name that the Blue Deacon uses to deceive others. Actually, according to our guess, the mastermind behind the actions against you is most likely a student of Pearl Institute. It’s just we don’t know his name. The objective of our mission this time was precisely this Blue Deacon, and his name is an important clue. The Blue Deacons are those who have direct contact with the Red Cardinal Salan. We now have hopes to find Salan with this Blue Deacon!” Tangyue stated grimly.

“In that case, you must hurry and tell your superiors! Also, is there any way to turn Xu Zhaoting back?” Mo Fan held his phone as his gaze swept toward Xu Zhaoting, who was still squatting over the dead Zhang Lulu.

“The Goddess of Parthenon Temple could perhaps help him. But from what I know, the twelve female candidates of the Parthenon Temple have all been murdered. Thus, the position of the Goddess is still vacant,” Tangyue told him.

“In that case, there is no hope whatsoever?” Although Mo Fan did not know who Tangyue was talking about, according to Tangyue’s tone, the chances of Xu Zhaoting turning back were basically non-existent.

The cruelty of the Black Vatican truly made one’s hair stand up in anger.

” Go take care of him, I’ve some things to do,” Tangyue replied.

“Alright.”

After hanging up, Mo Fan realized Xu Zhaoting had already raised his head to look at Mo Fan.

“Gugugu~~~” Xu Zhaoting extended his other, perfectly fine claws as he let out a strange sound at Mo Fan.

“What do you want to say?” Mo Fan tried to understand.

“Gugugu!” Xu Zhaoting pointed at Mo Fan, and then pointed at the location of his heart.

“You want me to end your life?” Mo Fan was stunned.

Xu Zhaoting nodded.

“I’ll take you to the Magic Court, I’ll have them temporarily take control of you and find a way to turn you back,” Mo Fan said sincerely.

Xu Zhaoting shook his head. Now that Zhang Lulu had left this world, his appearance had turned into this, and even let that freak Yu Ang treat him like a slave to continuously hurt people. He might as well end his life now.

Xu Zhaoting was unable to finish his own life. As his soul was enslaved, he was unable to personally kill himself. That’s why he begged Mo Fan to take action.

Dying would be like a form of relief, especially when it was from the Black Vatican.

Mo Fan didn’t move. How could he possibly take action?

Xu Zhaoting realized that Mo Fan wasn’t making a move, so he suddenly kneeled down. He used his bloody head, continuously banging it against the floor.

He was begging Mo Fan, he didn’t want to continue living like this. He didn’t want to be forced to kill someone. He believed that every time he had to kill someone, he would be reminded of the incredible pain today. He wanted to break free from all this, perhaps he could even meet the departed Zhang Lulu on the road of the Yellow Springs.

Mo Fan once again called Tangyue’s phone, he wanted to confirm whether there was a different way.

However, the only thing that Tangyue gave him was despair.

“Do what he wants, let him feel at peace.” Tangyue’s voice was gloomy.

“I…” Mo Fan looked at the Xu Zhaoting, who was continuously kowtowing to him. Within his heart, a blaze of fire ignited.

Finally, Mo Fan nodded. He displayed his agreement to Xu Zhaoting’s request.

Rose-colored flames condensed within Mo Fan’s palm. It was burning as it began to jump around. The reflection of the flames could be seen on Mo Fan’s resolute face, and was also reflected on Xu Zhaoting’s bleeding and rotting face…

As he looked at Xu Zhaoting, Mo Fan couldn’t help but recall the Opening Ceremony of Tian Lan Magic High, and the Lightning student that took away the breath of the entire school. In that moment, he was incomparably dazzling. Whenever he looked at Mo Fan, his face would carry a sense of arrogance. After all, he was the sole Lightning elemental student of the school. At least, that’s what he thought…

“You can leave without regrets,” Mo Fan took a deep breath. He felt a sharp prick in his throat.

The rose flames finally rolled from the crack of his fingers, they looked like a holy serum as they poured down over the head of Xu Zhaoting.

The temperature of the flames was extremely high. While the Rose Flames were burning his body, they also stretched to the body of Zhang Lulu by his side.

Xu Zhaoting, his body completely covered in flames, hugged Zhang Lulu tightly. The flames were burning ferociously. Mo Fan didn’t want Xu Zhaoting to suffer from the pain of the fire, and he made the flames burn even faster as he quickly ended Xu Zhaoting’s life.

From the bright red flames, a few petals floated up. They turned into a hot sacred burial ceremony. The fires quickly turned Xu Zhaoting and Zhang Lulu into black dust…

During this entire process, Mo Fan had his back turned on them.

The cold moonlight sprinkled over the lonely rooftop. The bright light from the flames stretched Mo Fan’s shadow out before him.

At this moment, Mo Fan’s fist was tightly clenched!

With the cremation of Zhang Lulu and Xu Zhaoting, the flames within Mo Fan’s chest turned increasingly fierce. It was almost as though it would burn the air around him!

He stiffly raised his hand and put the mobile next to his ear. With his voice extremely serious, he asked, “Ms Tangyue. You previously mentioned that the main ringleader behind the operation this time was hiding within Pearl Institute, right?”

“Yeah, unfortunately, we don’t know his name. Unless we got the information from Xu Zhaoting, we’d have to wait for them to expose themselves.”

“What if I gave them an opportunity to make a move on me?” Mo Fan asked sincerely.

“If the Underground Holy Spring really is in your hands, then they will make a move, even if there is a risk to it.” Tangyue said.

“Alright, I’ll give them an opportunity to make a move on me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Ms Tangyue, please hurry and locate the Blue Deacon. I’ll take care of the one in Pearl Institute,” Mo Fan said.

After saying this, Mo Fan hung up the phone.

The flames behind him were slowly starting to die out. Only at this time did Mo Fan dare to turn his body around.

Seeing the bone ashes mixed together, Mo Fan’s gaze turned extremely cold.

“The two of you… you can leave without worry…

“I, Mo Fan, will take your vengeance for you!”

——

“Lingling, have you found the location of the Shadow Beast?” Mo Fan asked.

“Why does it feel like I’ve become your servant? Even though I am in Hangzhou, I still have to help you find clues in Shanghai… Alright, alright, it’s very difficult for me to find the Shadow Beast. However, to find the person who caught it won’t be a difficult matter. The Shadow Beast has landed in the hands of someone called Shen Mingxiao,” Lingling said.

“Help me find them.”

“No problem.” Lingling heard Mo Fan’s tone, it felt like a volcano that was about to erupt!

Although Lingling didn’t understand why it was so urgent for him to find the Shadow Beast, she would help him however she could.

“I’ve found them, they are in the warehouse of an express delivery to the south of Pearl Institute,” The efficiency of Lingling’s work was very high. A great Hunter that specialized in following clues and locating was indeed better than your normal one!

“Alright, in two hours, help me spread a message. Tell them that I, Mo Fan, will take the Shadow Beast to the Beast Iron Cage in the early morning. I want you to guarantee that every single person who participates in this examination knows of it!” Mo Fan said.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m pulling a snake from its hole.”

Mo Fan wanted to find the scoundrel that caused the death of Xu Zhaoting and Zhang Lulu!

Since he couldn’t find their identity before they exposed themselves, then he could only throw out a big net!

When the Shadow Beast was in his hands, then all of the participating students would make a move on him. This included that member of the Black Vatican, he could even use the Shadow Beast as a cover-up for his real objective!

However, Mo Fan would definitely uncover him.

He definitely would not let him go, DEFINITELY WON’T!!!

This was a warehouse that was clearly going to undergo renovation very soon. It was about the size of a classroom, and there was some junk inside of it.

At this moment, there was a bit of cold air inside. That was because the center of the warehouse had thick ice shackles locked around a creature with a physique similar to a leopard.

This creature’s fur was exuberant, and even covered its eyes. Its long tail showed a fluorescent light in the dark, and looked rather glamorous.

“So beautiful. Once the night comes, we’ll take it to the destination. The mission can be considered to have been completed by us!” Shen Mingxiao proclaimed to his squad.

“I’m so tired, we almost let it go. Not good, I need to go and take a rest.” Luo Song rubbed the fat on his body as he said this.

“We can just leave these three here,” Shen Mingxiao said to the other three.

In order to catch the Shadow Beast this time, Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song had put in great efforts. The other three people felt as though they had profited off of them. Thus, this kind of task of looking after the Shadow Beast was naturally their job.

The other three did not say anything, sitting inside the warehouse as they prepared to guard it overnight.

——

Luo Song and Shen Xiaoming walked together to a harbor restaurant to eat their fill. They chatted as they walked back to their residence afterwards.

“Brother Luo, don’t worry. Once we enter the Three Step Pagoda, is it even worthwhile for you to use my network to get rid of that person? We could deal with him ourselves! Hmph, how funny. If it wasn’t for I, Shen Mingxiao, coming late to school, then how could we have let a country bumpkin like him impress everyone?” Sheng Mingxiao said with a smile as he patted Luo Song’s shoulder.

“Exactly! In this Pearl Institute, we are the ones who should be stirring up trouble! With our families joining hands, why would we be scared of the Bai Family, or even the Mu Family?” Luo Song said, as a smile emerged on his face.

After the two of them had eaten their fill, they wobbled along, wanting to go back home to sleep. None of them expected their phone to start ringing at this time.

Shen Mingxiao looked, and saw it was a call from his older brother, Shen Lin. He picked up the phone with a smile. “Big Brother, did you call to ask about our progress? Don’t worry. I won’t disappoint you, since you used the resources of the Hunters Union to help me finish this mission. We’ve already caught the Shadow Beast.”

“Is that so? Then how come I got some news saying there will be someone called Mo Fan dragging the Shadow Beast to the Beast Iron Cage?” Shen Lin said calmly.

“How could that be? The Shadow Beast is currently under our control. That guy must be bluffing,” Shen Mingxiao said disdainfully.

“How about I give them a call and ask,” Luo Song said, a bit worried. He fished out his phone as he dialed one of the squad members that was left behind, but the call did not connect.

All three of their numbers did not go through. Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song glanced at each other, thinking the same thing… Shit!

—

The two of them sprinted to the old warehouse. They discovered the door to the warehouse was open, and there was no longer a Shadow Beast inside. There was only their three squad members fainted on the ground.

“Disgraceful thing, he dares to rob us of our goods! Let’s go, let’s find him!” Shen Mingxiao immediately started to rage.

They had spent so much effort to catch the Shadow Beast, but then it was stolen by someone else. How could Shen Mingxiao’s proud nature possibly put up with this?!

Luo Song was even more angry. How could it be Mo Fan again?! He had already crossed him three or four times; this time he wouldn’t let him go, no matter what!

——

Pearl Institute’s Beast Taming Iron Cage was provided for the use of Summoner students. It was there to prevent some of the Summoned Beasts from getting out of control.

The Beast Taming Iron Cage was at the very edge of the Azure Campus of the Pearl Institute, a place that could be considered very close to an old hill. Normally, there wouldn’t be many people there.

When the news of Mo Fan catching the Shadow Beast spread, the eyes of practically all of the students who were still confused up until now started shining. They were already waiting to ambush him there.

The funny thing was, those who had the same idea were not few in number. There were only a few places where they could hide, so it looked like there were several big people entering a small cupboard, one by one. Some of them were already familiar with one another, so they could only awkwardly greet each other.

“Shit, I must turn this scoundrel into a swelling corpse! He actually dared to call everyone over!” Shen Mingxiao said, as he nearly went crazy.

The Shadow Beast that he had spent so much energy on was actually being announced to everyone! A group of idiots had come here to get their share of the action!

Even if Shen Mingxiao’s ability was better, he could not fight against nearly a thousand students!

—

“Big Sister Mu, did Mo Fan really catch the Shadow Beast?” Ai Tutu whispered as she hid on a rooftop.

“Didn’t you see the picture?” Mu Nujiao said.

“But did his brain malfunction? Although he caught the Shadow Beast, why did he take a selfie and send it to his friends group?” Ai Tutu wondered.

Ai Tutu had already taken off her underwear, and was preparing to shower and then go to bed. Who would’ve thought that when she was swiping her friend group feed, she would see a selfie. The person on the selfie was Mo Fan, and next to him was a Spirit Wolf that had seized the Shadow Beast!

Heavens, did this guy go crazy, sending things on the newsfeed? Whoever caught the Shadow Beast would normally cling onto its tail while conducting themselves normally, and secretly deliver it to the Beast Iron Cage. This Mo Fan had directly put himself in the spotlight as he made himself seem like a god!

“Was he purposely teasing everyone?”

“Whether he was teasing or not, we will see when the time comes.”

The two of them turned silent as they surveyed the thousand people who were hiding in that narrow ground.

They had all received the news, and thus came here.

“Spirit Wolf, I see the Spirit Wolf…”

“The Shadow Beast is also there, it’s being dragged by the Spirit Wolf!”

“Heavens, the Great Demon really came!”

Suddenly, the edge of the campus that seemed so tranquil boiled up. It was like every single person’s brain had one question reverberating… Did something in Mo Fan’s brain break?

——

Mo Fan came according to schedule. He followed the asphalt road with maple trees along it as he directly walked forward.

The maple trees were on both sides. He could see students using various methods to hide themselves all over the place. They were all feeling sluggish, as they couldn’t believe that the Great Demon would really did drag the Shadow Beast over.

After the end of the road was a plaza with a fountain. In the center of the fountain were a few sculptures of Summoned Beasts. These sculptures were immersed in the water, with some moss growing on them. They seemed to have been there for many years.

Hiding behind the sculptures was Bai Zangfeng and his squad, their gazes already fixed on Mo Fan walking over. They glanced at one another.

On the other side of the fountain sculpture was a forest. The refined Jia Wenqing and the senior Fu Tianming opened their eyes, unable to believe it.

Mo Fan continued to walk forward. At this moment, there were a couple of people who could no longer stand by, and they surrounded him.

The thing was, no one dared to make the first move.

Everyone knew of the incredible strength of the Great Demon. The many people in the place right now knew that the first person to make a move would be the first person to suffer losses!

“He… he really came! Sister Mu, I don’t think you should recruit him. I bet the normal him is maintained with the use of medicine. He definitely did not take his medicine today!” Ai Tutu exclaimed from the rooftop. From her place, she could clearly see Mo Fan, and also see the Shadow Beast that he brought along with him.

Mu Nujiao didn’t think of it as something so simple. However, no matter how much she thought about it, she just did not understand what Mo Fan was thinking.

The Three Step Pagoda was something that every single person would dream of getting. Just what was the reason for him to even give up the opportunity to enter the Three Step Pagoda?

Additionally, Mo Fan would normally appear to be rather sly. However, today, he seemed to be very gloomy, and it even felt like there was some kind of dark aura encircling his body.

This kind of dark aura was not something Mu Nujiao had seen before. When she used her Forest Of Kun, Prison, she seemed to also have seen this kind of dark aura bubbling forth.

He knows Black Magic?

Or could it be that there’s a Dark Aura Equipment on his body?

Mu Nujiao watched cautiously, but she felt as though Mo Fan was getting increasingly harder to grasp.

——

Mo Fan had already walked to the center of the pond in the plaza. The people surrounding him only increased, but there was still not a single one who dared to take the first step.

The Shadow Beast was being dragged along by Spirit Wolf. The Spirit Wolf and its master were the same, neither of them displaying any hint of weakness as they faced down these people surrounding them.

Mo Fan’s gaze swept past the hundreds of people, knowing that the person who had hurt Xu Zhaoting was definitely hiding among them. However, just who was it?

“Who wants it?” Mo Fan asked as he pointed at the Shadow Beast.

Who wants it?!?

Everyone began to curse in their heart. Wasn’t this bullshit, which one of the people present did not want it?

“Let me just casually mention this. In my old town, there’s an exceedingly special type of spring water. I was originally going to enter an agreement with this Shadow Beast; however, this guy ended up swallowing the bottle that contained that spring water. If you want the Shadow Beast, you can have it, what I want is that bottle of spring water!” Mo Fan continued.

Mo Fan was very straightforward with what he said.

That’s right! He wanted to tell the son of a b*tch from the Black Vatican that was hiding as a student that the Underground Holy Spring was in his, Mo Fan’s, hands! Now he planned on using it to feed the dog… ah, feed the Shadow Beast. If he had some ability, then he could fight with the other hundreds of students!

—

“This guy… he knows our objective!”

“He’s baiting us!”

“So what if he’s baiting us? Everyone wants the Shadow Beast, so what if we were to steal it, there’s no way we’d be discovered!” Fu Tianming said as he clenched his teeth.

“Yeah, this is our only chance. I don’t want to go back and see the Deacon with a failed mission.”

“Sir Priest, you’ve said enough.”

The Priest was like a statue as he stood there. His eyes burned with resentment as he gazed at Mo Fan.

If gazes could kill, Mo Fan would’ve been turned to pieces right there!

This godforsaken Mo Fan, he actually purposely tried to bait me!

Alright, I, Yu Ang, would like to see what kind of ability you have! In this chaos, you won’t be able to see the punches and kicks. If there’s a death, then it’s something that even the school might not be able to investigate. We’ll let the chaos begin, and then take away the Underground Holy Spring!

“Sir, I’ve investigated it just now. The Shadow Beast’s breath does indeed have the smell of the Underground Holy Spring. The Underground Holy Spring is indeed in the stomach of the Shadow Beast, it’s real.”

“Sir, we’ve confirmed that there is no one from the Magic Courts nearby. As long as we can deceive the eyes of the school, then our actions this time will not be exposed,” spoke up Hui Yi, who was now concealed as a student.

Yu Ang nodded. Since there was someone looking to die, then he’d help them along!

“Don’t use the power of the Vatican, we need to take the Shadow Beast first!” Yu Ang said.

Although he detested Mo Fan to death, Yu Ang knew that the most vital matter this time was to take the Underground Holy Spring. After obtaining the Underground Holy Spring, he, Yu Ang, would be able to become a Blue Cloaked Deacon! His authority would skyrocket! It would be a simple matter to have someone killed!

“Understood. The problem is, there are many experts within the Azure Campus. I will most likely encounter a few obstacles.”

“Hmph, it’s just a group of garbage,” Yu Ang said disdainfully.

He wasn’t going to move, his underlings were the ones who were going to take the Shadow Beast.

Even if these people were to exposed and sacrificed, Yu Ang wouldn’t brood over it.

——

Mo Fan gazed over his surroundings once more. He understood that it would be impossible for him to find the members of the Black Vatican just by looking.

His eyes sweeping across, Mo Fan suddenly saw a familiar face.

“Bai Zangfeng, it’s you! I’ve been feeling very apologetic to you due to the thunderbolt I pulled on you during the Rookie Competition. I’ll give this Shadow Beast to you as my sincerest apology!” Mo Fan looked at Bai Zangfeng, who seemed to harbor resentment toward him. His face immediately displayed an innocent smile.

After saying this, Mo Fan commanded the Spirit Wolf to drag the Shadow Beast over in front of Bai Zangfeng.

Bai Zangfeng stood there, completely dumbfounded.

Screw your sister! If you really were sincere, then you should’ve given this thing to me in private, and I’d call you a brother! Now that you throw this thing at me, that’s basically making me a target for everyone else!

After he said he’d leave it, Mo Fan didn’t even glance at the Shadow Beast. He directly had the Spirit Wolf toss the restricted Shadow Beast to Bai Zangfeng.

“Go, go!”

“Steal it, hurry up and steal it!”

“I’ll go to the Three Step Pagoda even if I die, whoever dares to steal from me, I will fight them!”

The students immediately went crazy. They looked like hungry wolves charging from a desert as they frantically tried to steal the Shadow Beast!

The first person to make his move surprised everyone. It was precisely Wang Liting, with his powerful Bone Corpse Demon!

Wang Liting had the Bone Corpse Demon hover in the air above the Shadow Beast. It directly assaulted those students that tried to take the prize!

It was clear that his Bone Corpse Demon’s strength had increased. While it was circling around, its feathers were like sharp daggers as they rained down on the surroundings of the Shadow Beast.

Wang Liting was indeed very fierce. The sharp feathers of his Bone Corpse Demon were shooting into a large area. They instantly hit ten or so people, and those people were unable to finish their magic in time. They could only howl as they fell to the ground…

“You should know that a Summoned Beast is different from just normal magic. A straight spell’s power can be controlled, the caster can prevent a life-threatening wound! However, I cannot control the Bone Corpse Demon that thirsts for blood all the time! If someone’s eyes gets pierced, or they get cut and die here, don’t blame me, Wang Liting, for being cold-blooded! I also have things I must place first!” Wang Liting was extremely domineering. As he stood up, he immediately intimidated everyone.

Wang Liting clearly had squad members with him. The other four people immediately encircled where he was standing. One of them stepped on the Shadow Beast that was unable to move, his gaze vigilant toward his surroundings.

Wang Liting’s words were indeed useful. Many of the Magicians that did not have a defensive ability immediately retreated. The students that were unable to draw a Star Atlas also no longer wanted to steal it, and they hurriedly retreated to a safer place.

The battle this time was an extremely important test!. It was an examination that concerned their life!

The school clearly stated that unless there was definite proof that you purposely killed someone, then anything that happened in the process of a battle was your own responsibility. So you must retreat to safety, or else you can’t blame the school and the government when you’re on death’s door!

All of the Magicians here were adults. They had to be responsible for their own actions!

Furthermore, it could be said that there was definitely no such thing as a safe area for Magicians!

“Wang Liting, that blockhead! Why couldn’t he hold out for a longer time!? Don’t tell me he actually thinks his Bone Corpse Demon is invincible?! Doesn’t he know that this examination has students in their fourth year? There are limited rookie experts, but the number of experts hiding their strength among the veterans is as many as the hairs on the back of a cow!” snorted the Summoner magician Hai Dafu.

Zheng Bingxiao nodded. “Although we don’t know what objective Mo Fan wants to achieve by giving up the Shadow Beast, our hope of taking the Shadow Beast is very high. Since Wang Liting formed a group with other people, then we don’t need to be polite, either.”

“Do we make our move now?” Hai Dafu asked, considering their options.

“Don’t be in a hurry. We, the Summoning Element, possess a great advantage in a fight between Primary Magicians. However, once we reach the Intermediate level, it would be hard to say,” Zheng Bingxiao said.

“Oh.”

Wang Liting and his squad would definitely pay for their impulse of rushing out first!

Even though the Bone Corpse Demon was powerful, it was still unable to dodge when it faced off against so many Intermediate Magicians shooting spells at it.

Furthermore, there were many people who had joined together in attacking it!

Perhaps not everyone would genuinely try to take each other’s lives, but people like Wang Liting, who possessed a powerful Summoned creature, needed to be gotten rid of.

When the Bone Corpse Demon was locked down by an Intermediate Senior student, a sudden Thunderbolt came down from the sky and struck the Bone Corpse Demon mercilessly.

Thunderbolt was the ability with the most frightening energy at the Intermediate level. After the Bone Corpse Demon lost its ability to dodge, its posture was extremely weak. The overpowering Thunderbolt directly smashed the Bone Corpse Demon to pieces!

Chunks of blood and the feathers mixed together as they sprayed in every direction. Wang Liting’s face turned pale as he stood there, as though the lightning had smashed into his brain.

Wang Liting’s four squad members clearly did not have enough strength. After suffering from waves of attacks, they no longer had any thoughts of being arrogant as they pulled the completely dumbfounded Wang Liting out of the place!

“Hmph, he was truly overestimating his capabilities! He dares to contend against us, the Lightning Hat Squad, with just that little ability… I presume everyone knows what kind of person I, Guan Yi, am! If you don’t want to fall into a desolate place, then you better obediently give way to me! In the future, if you ever get bullied by someone in the outside world, I will fight for your justice, seeing as we are all classmates!” Guan Yi took the lead, working with his four squad members to take control of the Shadow Beast!

He had cast the Thunderbolt that had destroyed the Bone Corpse Demon just now.

Guan Yi’s Thunderbolt was indeed tyrannical. For a moment, not a single person dared to make their move. There were a few people who were affected by what he said, and hurriedly gave way to him.

Guan Yi’s reputation wasn’t small, either. He was the most outstanding student of the great Element of Lightning, and one of the most influential figures of that school!

It was said that he already had the ability to enter the Main Campus. The only reason he never stepped into the Intermediate level was because he wanted to receive the reward. He was more clear than anyone on the importance of the Three Step Pagoda!

Someone who pinched his throat in the crowd yelled out, “You’re really acting tough! I haven’t been very pleased with you for a while! Everyone, let’s go! Let’s get rid of this tyrannical guy who ran away from the Main Campus to the Azure campus!”

This voice seemed to be from a man. He most likely did that in order to deceive everyone.

“Violent Wave, Banishment!”

As his voice came out, another mighty voice was heard. Just when the people were guessing who was being so audacious, they saw the water by the pond immediately gather in mid-air!

The water was like a curtain as it floated along!

“It’s Violent Wave, escape!”

“What kind of utterly heartless person is this! Dealing with Guan Yi is like dealing with a large family!”

Curses came from the crowd. However, no matter how loudly they cursed, they still couldn’t compete against the turbulence of the Violent Wave!

The area the Violent Wave engulfed was even wider than Fiery Fist. It was like a powerful river fell from the skies and washed over everyone, whether they were enemies or not!

Everyone had gathered in the middle of the place for the Shadow Beast. This was good for the attackers, as the large number of people there would get caught up in the whirlpool that came along with the ferocious, beast-like Violent Wave!

“Water Elemental classmates, hurry up and deal with it! With each less competitor, it’ll mean a bit more hope!” the person who was holding his throat once again called out.

An Intermediate Water Magician naturally had the ability to walk on water. They stepped on the waters as they retreated to a safe place. However, once they saw the people who were being engulfed by the Violent Wave, their eyes also began to shine.

Yeah, wasn’t it better if they just made it more chaotic now? Use the Violent Wave that engulfed the widest area to drive away those people who were a hindrance?

Behind the maple tree, a girl’s strict voice sounded out, “Violent Wave!”

“Violent Wave!!!” Outside of the building, yet another Water Star Atlas emerged!

“Violent Wave, Raging Waves!”

They didn’t know which incredibly powerful Water Magician it was that last time, but the Violent Wave they cast was even more dreadful. Everyone could clearly see that there were layers of raging waves swirling in the middle of the plaza. It wasn’t just the banishment of a flood, it was simply swallowing all the people and then slamming their bones until they shattered!

The Water Magicians were simply revolting, each one more violent and condescending then the next. They used the force of the Violent Wave to completely ruin near a hundred students.

Fortunately, none of them wanted to deal a life threatening wound to the others, or else there would have been many people that would have drowned underneath the layers and layers of engulfing Violent Waves!

Among the students, there were still a few good-natured girls. They did their best to think of ways to save the people trapped within the whirlpool.

The Violent Wave was indeed tyrannical. The people caught within the whirlpool could not be rescued. The entire plaza had been turned into a lake, it was similar to the rapid river on a tempestuous day as it drowned the trees and roads.

Mo Fan had run to a higher location, riding on the Spirit Wolf. He watched the surging flood, feeling great caution as he did so.

If Magicians gathered and use the exact same Magic, the destructive power could be devastating. Even some outstanding young four-Element Intermediate Magician who was confident in his strength would be eliminated by this kind of joint effort!

There were many Magicians who possessed an incredible destructive power, but as for their defensive capabilities… they could only be considered mediocre!

After the layers and layers of Violent Wave crashed on down, they got rid of a large number of people. The people that were being washed away numbered only a hundred or so, but the people who had thoroughly lost their motivation to contend against something like this numbered a lot more! They could only obediently run away to hide in the distance!

Reaching the Intermediate level was one thing, and being able to draw a Star Atlas was another! For those who were unable to adeptly draw a Star Atlas, they did not have the power to contend against the others here. Furthermore, even if they had grasped an Intermediate Magic, they would still get smacked into a sorry state if they weren’t attentive! This situation was truly too chaotic, and no one was able to guarantee whether they’d be able to remain the champion after taking the attacks of the different groups!

Mo Fan had already retreated after he handed the Shadow Beast over.

He wasn’t stupid enough to contend against that many Intermediate Magicians. If he hadn’t already moved away from it, then the Violent Wave from before would most likely have turned him into a handicap as well!

“You crazy Water Magicians! Since you don’t want the rest of us to obtain it, then you can forget about getting the Shadow Beast, as well! Brothers, stop hiding! Let’s get rid of these Water Magicians! They are only sitting there stirring up crap, leaving them here benefits no one,” a vigorous voice spoke up from the crowd.

That person’s name was Zhang Xiangming, he was rather famous among the senior students. At his shout, the other Magicians who had suffered under the hands of the Water Magicians were no longer able to endure it. Each one of them began to control their Star Atlas as they targeted the Water Magicians.

It was true that the Shadow Beast was the true objective of everyone. However, if they were in this kind of chaotic situation, the majority of the people would get angry and chant their magic. A clean battle could easily develop into one of hatred!

The Elemental Schools were already in conflict with one another from the very start. In a situation where there was no one to control them, all kinds of new or old resentments would be used as an excuse to start a fight! Who cared about the Shadow Beast right now? When there were still so many people around, not a single person would be allowed to touch the Shadow Beast… thus, they would settle their other matters!

The Water Magicians had indeed enraged everyone. Each one of them was trampled down in succession.

Fortunately, the battle had alerted the teachers. There were many teachers standing nearby, guarding the students. Even Dean Xiao did not anticipate that Mo Fan would gather all of the examinees in this place to fight. He hurriedly used an Advanced level Magic of the Light Element to create a gigantic barrier. He used the barrier to confine those fighting in order to prevent their battle from leaking out and hitting the buildings of the school, or hurting innocent people.

In addition to Dean Xiao, the other Light Teachers also took action when they arrived a bit later. This part of Azure Campus was nearly turned into ruins. The other Elements’ destructive power were not easy to deal with. The Fire Element gave others headaches; if a Fiery Fist were to fly toward one of the school buildings, that would be a big problem!

Fortunately, this was the most desolate area of the school. The school had expected that the students would start a fight in the area of the Iron Cage, so they had selected this place to be the ground for their battles. However, they did not predict that ALL of the students would be fighting here!

“Dean, at this rate, there’ll definitely be someone dying!” Zhou Zhenghua could no longer watch this.

“Open the Great Nyx Regime Formation. Have all of their powers suppressed!” Dean Xiao said solemnly.

Fortunately, the battle royale had only been going on for a little while, and not everyone had started to go crazy. However, when it came to fighting, it was very easy for people to go out of control. The casualties would only increase!

There was no way the school had not prepared for this. The reason why they chose this place was precisely because there was a Great Nyx Regime Formation in this place!

Nyx Regime was an Advanced Shadow Magic. It used Shadow Magic Stones to conduct a Star Path with the layout of a Star Atlas. It then transferred the colossal energy to the formation in order to increase the Advanced Magic’s might several times over, even tenfold or more!

The Great Nyx Regime Formation was placed right around the area where the students were fighting. After Dean Xiao gave the order, the bright night sky was suddenly engulfed by something.

It was just like a colossal shadow hand, its palm covering the entire sky.

When the Hand of Regime slowly fell from the sky, a Shadow Stone array buried beneath the ground in the middle of the Taming Beast Iron Cage emerged.

If you were to look at it from a high location, you would definitely realize that the Shadow Stones appeared to be set up like a Star Atlas…

The Shadow Star Atlas emerged first, but when the Shadow Stones serving as Stars shot their radiance into the sky, yet another Star Atlas appeared there!

Each of the stars was linked to a Star Path!

Each of the Star Paths turned into a Star Atlas!

There wasn’t just one Star Atlas. There was several of them on the ground, and in the sky, the intertwining dots of flowering shadow awns were also Star Atlases…

(EdNote: I’m going to make you look up awns.)

——

Ai Tutu and Mu Nujiao were still on the top of the roof. The two of them just happened to be looking down from higher ground.

The sight of those colossal Shadow Star Atlases shocked them. Even Mu Nujiao, who was so knowledgeable, had not imagined that the school actually had such a gigantic Shadow Formation!

“A Constellation… It’s a Advanced tier Great Magic Formation!” Mu Nujiao was shocked when she saw everything happening below her. The divine and stately Star Atlas filled her eyes…

Constellation, a Shadow Elemental Constellation!

As she raised her head, the curtain of the night turned into a gigantic palm, cloaking the sky as it slowly enveloped everything.

The starlight was no longer there. The lights from the city in the distance were no longer there, either. Even if they were extremely close, it was all completely pitch-black.

Originally, it was a fight in the late evening. However, after the school activated the Great Nyx Regime Formation, this entire area of the school entered complete darkness. If you were to look inside from other places, it would look like an empty space!

“What’s going on?”

“Heavens, I can’t see anything!”

“My Magic, why can’t I use my magic…”

The Constellation had already disappeared, and the Divine Nyx mantle enshrouded the entire area. The darkness made people feel indescribably unsafe, and if their fear was magnified, it would easily become panic.

—

“Sir Priest, there’s a big formation here, could it be that we’ve been discovered?” Hui Yi was so scared that he turned pale.

An Advanced Great Magic Formation; this was the Shadow Element’s Advanced Magic, Nyx Regime!

Underneath the Nyx Regime, not only would the power of Magic decrease by a lot, but the people themselves would enter a dark maze. If they wanted to escape, it would be difficult.

“Don’t panic. If it was directed toward us, then they wouldn’t use a Shadow Magic that would trap even the students… unless the school really disregarded the lives of their students in order to hurt us!” Yu Ang said calmly.

“Sir Priest, this is a Magic Formation the school prepared beforehand in order to prevent a large amount of casualties during the Battle Royale. Its objective is to prevent the might of the Intermediate Magic from being too powerful and accidentally killing someone… This information was something I personally got from a teacher after he drank too much,” Fu Tianming hastily interjected.

Yu Ang coldly swept his gaze past him. “Since you knew about this, why didn’t you tell us earlier!?”

Fu Tianming no longer dared to say anything else.

Yu Ang was indeed frightened by this Great Shadow Formation, he nearly thought he was exposed.

So it was to prevent casualties among the students. This Great Shadow Formation was equivalent to helping them greatly! In this darkness, even if they Summoned Dark Beasts, then who would know that it was them?

“Beneath the Nyx Regime, the vast majority of Magic will decrease a lot. Our Dark Beasts are cursed creatures. Although they can’t increase in strength, they also won’t weaken because of the Nyx Regime! The strength of Mo Fan, who possesses the Fire, Lightning, and Summon Elements, will have been decreased substantially! If we want to deal with him, it will be much easier!” Hui Yi began to smile.

Yu Ang also couldn’t help but laugh.

The circumstances were a great advantage for them!

This time, the Underground Holy Spring inside the belly of the Shadow Beast would be theirs, and even that guy Mo Fan would die!

“How did the heavens turn dark?”

“It has been night for a while!”

“No no no, how come I can’t see any bit of light…”

“You’re right. Strange, why did my Stars turn extremely unstable, they won’t repond to my control!”

Beneath the Nyx Regime, the students in the middle of the battle royale finally realized that they had entered a rather bizarre domain.

This was the Shadow domain. It was impossible to see the lights in the distance. If they were in a specific location, they’d barely be able to see their objective.

It was like there was an incorporeal, black wall trapping them inside a small room. You could see the people inside the room, but the things outside of the room were unknown.

Soon enough, the chaotic battlefield was separated into parts by the Nyx Regime. At this moment, the students that began to brew hostility toward each other from the fighting began to realize that in this pitch black maze, if the Shadow Beast was taken away, no one would know!

“Don’t panic, this is a Great Magic Formation set up by the school! If I’m not wrong, then this is the Advanced Shadow Magic, Nyx Regime, that has been strengthened many times. The Nyx Regime is a very strong Shadow Magic, it is able to set up a dark maze-like battleground. Other than Shadow creatures, within this battleground, the power of other Elements will be suppressed by a certain degree. Their power will also be weakened by a lot!. We can assume that it was because the school was worried that the people who can use Intermediate Magic would cause fatal injuries within this chaos,” Song Xia, in the same squad as Bai Zangfeng, spoke up.

Song Xia was one of the stronger rookies. Among the female Magicians, she was the only one who could face Mu Nujiao!

Bai Zangfeng and the other people began to calm down. However, once he thought about the possibility of someone taking away the Shadow Beast with the help of the Great Magic Formation, Bai Zangfeng immediately began to feel worried as he exclaimed, “Then, how can we find the Shadow Beast?”

“When Mo Fan had threw the Shadow Beast at you, I put a Magic Imprint on it. Just follow me and you’ll find it!” Song Xia said.

“Hahaha, Lady Song Xia is indeed very quick-witted. This time, the Shadow Beast will definitely be ours!”

No one wanted to see the chaotic situation. Where the Battle Royale would end up was something only the heavens could decide. Now, everyone had been put in the dark battleground of the Nyx Regime, and so every student would have to reach their maximum efficiency. They won’t get suddenly shot by an arrow at random, nor would they be attacked from all sides.

Thus, as long as you could find the Shadow Beast and then find the path that led to the Beast Taming Iron Cage, then the mission would be considered complete!

——

“This godforsaken Mo Fan. When I catch you, I will personally stomp on you!” Shen Mingxiao was trapped inside the darkness, and his face showed his anger.

Luo Song, at his side, was fuming with rage between his gritted teeth.

Originally, they had success within their grasp. Who would’ve imagined that it would turn out like this. Now they didn’t even know where the Shadow Beast was.

“It smells, do you guys smell something?” the people next to them asked.

“I can smell it too… Damn, what kind of creature…”

“What kind of creature? Are you so scared that you turned dumb?”

“I really did see it, it looked like a monkey-masked thing crawling.”

——

The darkness was everywhere. Mo Fan himself was standing on his original ground, and didn’t move a single step.

The Shadow Beast could no longer be seen. The Nyx Regime had divided the place into numerous maze-like battlegrounds…

He couldn’t help but thing that this gave the Black Vatican an easier time moving around.

However, how could Mo Fan possibly let them succeed!?

This Great Nyx Regime Formation gave them an additional protective layer; however, it was also a gigantic shadow prison!

Tonight, they could forget about leaving this place alive!

The Nyx Regime was a layer of dense fog for a lot of people. It was a domain that suppressed them, their combat prowess would suffer accordingly. However, as a man that possessed the Shadow Element, the Nyx Regime didn’t suppress Mo Fan, and it also gave Mo Fan an unlimited amount of space to move around in.

For a lot of people, this was a Shadow Wall that they could not tread over. For Mo Fan, this was the most convenient path of movement. Using Evading Shadows, Mo Fan would be able to move around the Nyx Regime Maze as much as he pleased!!

Mo Fan was clear that the people from the Black Vatican’s objective was precisely the Shadow Beast. Thus, his top priority was to find the Shadow Beast.

Fortunately, the Shadow Beast had been Marked by Mo Fan!

Mo Fan naturally wouldn’t throw the Little Loach Pendant that had absorbed the Underground Holy Spring into the stomach of the Shadow Beast. All he did was to have the Little Loach Pendant produce a little drop of the Underground Holy Spring.

Either way, as long as it had the aura of the Underground Holy Spring, the Black Vatican would definitely make their move. Luring them had already been achieved, and the net had also covered the entire area. The school had made such a large, dark cage, this would cause them to be completely trapped within…

He believes that the Black Vatican who thought they were beneath the protective umbrella would tear off their skin and expose their true selves.

Once they were exposed, Mo Fan would definitely kill them on the spot!

“Little Loach Pendant, it’s on you. Help me find the Shadow Beast.” Mo Fan said toward the Little Loach Pendant on his chest.

The Little Loach Pendant was actually very intelligent. It was able to understand its master’s intentions.

The small ray within the Little Loach Pendant began to slowly shine brighter, it was as though it slowly pushing away the darkness under the black dome of night.

The starlight was very weak, but it began to strengthen once Mo Fan began to move. If the direction Mo Fan walked in was wrong, the radiance would turn weaker.

“The closer I am to the Shadow Beast, the brighter it becomes. The farther I am from it, the weaker it becomes?” Mo Fan quickly understood the meaning behind it as he couldn’t help but kiss the mysterious Little Loach Pendant.

Of course, Mo Fan knew that the Little Loach Pendant was only being like this because it didn’t want to waste even a drop of the precious Underground Holy Spring. Thus, he didn’t really think it was that mysterious.

——

Following the guidance of the Little Loach Pendant, Mo Fan began to look for the Shadow Beast.

Mo Fan was able to easily pass through the walls of the maze. Moving like that, it became much easier for him to find the Shadow Beast.

“Strange, why is the direction changing all the time?” Mo Fan looked at the flickering little Loach Pendant as he began to feel suspicious in his heart.

Mo Fan continued to move, and suddenly, the direction of the Shadow Beast changed once more.

Mo Fan stood his ground, no longer moving as he continued to look in that direction.

At this moment, the Little Loach Pendant actually began to shine brighter on its own.

He didn’t move, so why did the radiance turn brighter?!

Whooosh!

Suddenly, a grey shadow swept past in front of Mo Fan. It was a creature with the shape of a leopard, you could only see the silhouette of it. However, its tail was radiating a light that seemed extremely bright in the darkness.

“Shit, wasn’t this guy restricted?” Mo Fan opened his mouth as he saw the Shadow Beast flying past much faster than even the Spirit Wolf.

The Shadow Beast struggled free of it restrictions as it was already running around within the maze.

“Gugugugugu!~”

Very quickly, a horrifying sound was heard following it. This sound was something Mo Fan was extremely familiar with!

It was a Dark Beast!

The people from the Black Vatican had actually summoned Dark Beasts, and furthermore, they were hunting for the Shadow Beast!

No wonder the Shadow Beast was running; it was actually being pursued by a couple of creatures with an overwhelming stench!

“It seems that if I follow the Shadow Beast, I’ll be able to catch all of them in one stroke!” Mo Fan hid inside the wall of the maze as he couldn’t help but smile coldly…

“It can’t be wrong, it’s right here!” Luo Song’s expression sank, his gaze locked onto the darkness in front of him.

Bai Zangfeng and the other three disciples of different aristocratic families also turned serious as they prepared their magic.

“It stinks.”

“Yeah, who was it that so scared that they pissed themselves? How could it be so stinky otherwise?” Zhuang Lifeng said.

“Stop bullshitting. The Shadow Beast’s movements are very quick. Zhuang Lifeng, prepare your Plant Magic, you must stop the Shadow Beast.” Song Xia did catch a whiff of the strange stench, but she was more concerned about the Shadow Beast.

Zhuang Lifeng nodded. In his palms a deep green vine was moving around.

The green Star Path streaked past, the Plant Spell was prepared. They were only waiting for the Shadow Beast to appear…

At last, a grey silhouette appeared. It was as fast as wind when it ran. If it wasn’t for its tail that shone continuously, they wouldn’t have seen it.

At this moment, Bai Zangfeng also prepared the magic in his hand. His eyes were fixed on the Shadow Beast that was charging over.

A wall of odor came at them, as well. Originally, these people had a solemn look on their faces. However, once they caught a whiff of the odor, they nearly fainted from it. Bai Zangfeng, who had mysophobia, immediately began to vomit.

Suddenly, Zhuang Lifeng yelled out, “Heavens, what are these creatures?!”

Zhuang Lifeng was in the front, and he finally understood where that overwhelming stench was coming from. It was precisely from the large group of ghastly monkey faces with deformed black humanoid bodies in front of him!

These things formed a group, with some of them even crawling on the wall of the shadow maze. Some of them were rapidly rushing along on the ground, and some were even able to crawl upside down. There was a large number of them, and watching them gave the four of them goosebumps.

Zhuang Lifeng swore that he had never seen such ugly and more disgusting creatures in his whole life!

“Hurry up and get out of my way!” Song Xia’s face paled as she immediately yelled to the people behind her.

These people were all elites of the rookie students. Even after they saw this inconceivable scene, they wouldn’t just stand in one place dumbfounded. They began to escape into the surroundings, not daring to obstruct this group of black creatures that were rushing forth like a flood.

“Use Magic, hurry up and use Magic!” Bai Zangfeng screamed out strangely.

Bai Zangfeng had already started his Star Atlas. Between his two hands a chaotic wind was brewing.

Under the pressure from the Nyx Regime, the time Bai Zangfeng took to complete his Star Atlas was much slower than normal. The formation nearly fractured.

Finally, he still managed to complete the Wind Disc, Tornado!

The Tornado came forth, the cold gale spinning at a high speed and turning into a massive howling whirlwind. Those Dark Beasts in front that were charging over drove themselves right into the whirlwind and were flung into the air!

The black-skinned creatures began to fall down from the sky, one by one. As each one fell down, its bones shattered and its head smashed on the ground.

Bai Zangfeng’s Wind Disc, Tornado had offended the other Dark Beasts, who sent hostile looks over to indicate they not going to let him get away with it. The leftover Dark Beasts’ gazes locked onto him and his squad as they directly charged over.

“Do you have a pig brain? They were charging towards the Shadow Beast, so why are you provoking them?!” Song Xia loudly yelled at him from the side.

Bai Zangfeng’s Tornado, seemed to have only killed three Dark Beasts. If it were outside the Regime, then the Tornado would have been able to kill an entire area full of Dark Beasts without a problem. However, beneath the Nyx Regime, other Magic suffered from suppression. You would only be able to guarantee that your other Elements would not receive any kind of restriction if you possessed the Shadow Element!

Bai Zangfeng looked at the increasing numbers of Dark Beasts crawling out of the shadow maze, and was so scared that his stomach was doing flip-flops.

He never thought that there would be so many of these creatures. At this moment, the Dark Beasts’ eyes were like numerous stars as they fixed onto him.

“Escape, hurry up and escape!” one of his squad members yelled out.

“Zhuang Lifeng, hurry up, use your Intermediate Plant Magic!” Xia Song commanded.

Zhuang Lifeng didn’t dare to think about the order. He gave up the primary Plant Magic and immediately start to draw his Plant Star Atlas.

“Forest of Kun, Prison!” Zhuang Lifeng seemed to be an expert, as he was able to adeptly use his Magic while in danger.

However, his Forest of Kun, which originally would have been able to completely occupy the path within the dark maze, was weakened by the Nyx Regime. It was only able to seal a third of the path, leaving behind a clear gap that allowed the creatures to run by.

“Don’t panic, maintain the formation! Although there are quite a number of these creatures, they aren’t that powerful!”

“Shit, if it wasn’t for the Nyx Regime suppressing my power, I would definitely turn them all into dregs!”

There were flames in the eyes of Song Xia. They could see her standing at the very front of her team, displaying incredibly calm. She waited for the group of Dark Beasts to crawl through the gap of the Forest of Kun. Once they reached a certain distance, Song Xia yelled out as fierce flames came forth from beneath her feet. These flames completely wrapped around her body, and turned her into a human torch!

“Fiery Fist, Groundbreak!”

The Fiery Fist appeared in a circle and condensed on the wrist of Song Xia the instant she finished chanting the spell.

Her eyes flashed, and her burning fist fiercely drove down onto the ground beneath her feet.

The scalding energy instantly poured into the ground. They could see burning cracks quickly spreading through the ground towards the Dark Beasts.

Boooom!!

The surface of the ground disintegrated. Incredibly thick flames bubbled forth and turned into a Lotus Fire Break, filled with an aura of death as it exploded!

The range of the Lotus Fire Break was enormous, pillars of flames bursting through along the entire path. After those Dark Beasts charged into the area of the Groundbreak that had burst through the ground, were all sent flying. Furthermore, they were all burned to black ash before they could hit the ground.

Zhuang Lifeng and the other two members looked at the deadly lotus flames in front of them, their jaws dropping in astonishment, unable to close them.

This was their first time seeing Song Xia use her full power. The second level of Fiery Fist’s might was extremely astonishing. The Wind Disc, Tornado could only kill three of these creatures, yet the Fiery Fist, Groundbreak burned far more than just three right into ashes! Not to mention those that were still on fire!

“The Nyx Regime has suppressed our power too much. We have to scatter, there are still a lot of these creatures! We can’t kill them all,” Xia Song said to her squad members grimly.

Everyone else naturally listened to this older sister. They quickly took advantage of the time the Fiery Fist, Groundbreak was still burning to flee!

——

As Bai Zangfeng and Xia Song turned around, emerged a human shadow emerged on the wall of the dark maze.

He watched the five people who were already leaving, and then turned his gaze around. He directly locked onto the large group of Dark Beasts that were trapped within the Forest of Kun and Fiery Fist.

“I’ll gift you one more move!”

His gaze flashing, the fire appeared as though it had combusted.

Rose-colored blood red flames scuttled forth from beneath his feet. In the Nyx Regime, his flames did not appear to have been affected, and the flames had reached a critical point!

As the energy reached its climax, it felt like an angry god was about to explode through his fist!

Rose Flames-

Fiery Fist-

Groundbreak!!!!!!

“Die! All of you!”

These flames were flames of vengeance! Their might was many, many times stronger than the Groundbreak from the girl from before!

A large number of the Dark Beasts were instantly reduced to ashes when smashed by the Rose-imbued Groundbreak flames. Miserable shrieks began to rise within the dark maze!

“Did you guys hear something?” Xia Song suddenly stopped and turned around.

“Hear what? Who cares about those things!” Bai Zangfeng answered, his face still pale.

“It seems like they aren’t pursuing us, let’s go back and take a look,” Xia Song said.

“Great auntie, do you have a death wish?”

Xia Song didn’t understand these cowardly men, so she headed back without another word.

She actually smelled an even stronger and more ferocious flame, and felt an even stronger magic fluctuation from the place they were at before.

She returned to her original location step by step, following the black walls, until she realized that there was a large pile of black carcasses in front of her.

These carcasses were piled up, it was hard to tell how many had died, not to mention the ones that had been turned into ashes.

On the one hand, Xia Song was very confused. Why did these Magical Beasts, with such fierce appearances, appear in the Great Nyx Regime Formation? On the other hand, she didn’t understand just who had killed this large group of Magical Beasts. The time between her running away and now was not much at all!

“This type of flame…” Xia Song looked at the remnant blood-colored flames on the ground as her face displayed her astonishment.

As a Fire Magician disciple from a famous family, how could Xia Song not recognize this type of flame? This wasn’t common flame, these were Spirit-grade flames!

There must’ve been another Fire Magician here, a powerful Fire Magician that possessed Spirit-grade fire!

However, if you surveyed the entire Azure Campus of the Pearl Institute, there was practically no one that possessed a Spirit-grade Seed. Just who was it that made these flames? The flames were actually so powerful that they were able to kill a large group of Magical Beasts in just this short period of time!

“They are dead, these Magical Beasts actually died?”

“Could it be that each of them ran into Xia Song’s Groundbreak flames after we left?” Zhuang Lifeng wondered aloud.

“How could that be?! Even if you are that stupid, these Magical Beasts are definitely not that foolish!”

“It doesn’t matter. There were things that didn’t belong to our school in here. We must be careful, and if we encounter other people, we need to tell them as well!” Xia Song said firmly.

“Too bad. Now we don’t know where the Shadow Beast went again!” Bai Zangfeng’s face turned furious.

“Don’t worry, we can still chase after it.”

——

In the dusky dark maze, a man with grey clothes was moving along the walls.

The Shadow Beast was resting to the side. This time, Hui Yi would definitely not let this creature run away.

Hui Yi was very cautious in his movements. He first had the Dark Beasts silently block all possible escape routes for the Shadow Beast.

Hui Yi waved his hand and ordered the Dark Beasts to slowly surround the Shadow Beast.

It was clear that the Shadow Beast was exhausted from being chased around. As it sat there panting, it did not know that it was being surrounded by no less than ten Dark Beasts.

Suddenly, a man’s voice was heard from the other side of the wall. “It’s here, it’s here! Hahaha! You really find things if you spare no effort in trying… Shit, what are these things!?”

The Shadow Beast turned around and realized a group of people were not too far away from it. It then looked around and realized the group of black-skinned creatures was crawling on the walls, their eyes emitting a green light as they revealed their white teeth!

The Shadow Beast didn’t even think before it began to run!

In the Nyx Regime, it was at least twice as fast as normal. It simply moved and disappeared from the very end of the dark maze walls. If they were to look for it, they wouldn’t know which way to go!

“Shit, you blockheads dared to ruin my good moment!” Hui Yi was flustered as he roared toward that group of people.

“Isn’t this Senior Li Tong, what a coincidence! Seeing you is great, did you see those creatures that were crawling on the walls? It was so scary!” A girl with a ponytail displayed a smile as she saw Hui Yi in front of them.

The man who scared away the Shadow Beast was still watching his surroundings. He was the only one who clearly saw those ghastly creatures’ faces. Although the creatures disappeared in a flash, he did confirm that he saw them.

Hui Yi suppressed his anger and had the Dark Beasts hide as fast as they could. Only then did he smile as he said, “Oh, so it was you guys… No, you guys scared away the Shadow Beast that I nearly caught.”

“Senior Li Tong, why don’t you team up with us? Our team just happens to be missing a person,” the girl with the ponytail proposed.

Hui Yi considered it and finally nodded.

If he wanted to catch the Shadow Beasts, then he would definitely need the help of these people.

This team’s strength was pretty good. There was actually a Shadow Elemental user among them.

A Shadow Magician was like a fish in water inside the Nyx Regime. Chasing after the Shadow Beast with them would be very easy!

——

Not too long afterwards, they once again found the Shadow Beast. It was clearly out of strength, and no longer able to run.

“Hahaha, the opportunity to enter the Three Step Pagoda will be ours!”

“Yeah, yeah. The Shadow Beast no longer has any strength to run… Oh it stinks, do you guys smell something?”

“I also smell it, what is this weird smell!?”

The four people simultaneously pinched their noses. The stench that wafted onto them made it difficult to breathe, they didn’t know where the stench was coming from.

Hui Yi smiled coldly. His gaze was cunning as he stood behind the four people.

If he were to face them directly, then he wouldn’t be their match. However, if it was a sneak attack… even if they were Intermediate Magicians, they wouldn’t be able to do anything!

Once he took the Shadow Beast, he would be able to receive his reward.

Suddenly, a man’s voice snarled from the walls of the shadow maze,”Be careful!”

Everyone turned around, and realized there was a person they were somewhat familiar with coming out of the walls. It was like he had walked out of a shadow door, extremely strange to see.

The student who was also a Shadow user was extremely surprised when he saw the coming person. This person’s usage of Evading Shadow was much more skillful than his own. If it wasn’t for the fact that he had yelled out, he would not have sensed him at all. He had really achieved the realm of fusing together with the shadow…

“Isn’t this the Great Demon?!”

“It’s him… you… don’t come here! I’m warning you, no matter what, we are still four elites of Pearl Institute, if you want to mess with us… Shit, do you even dare to look at me?!” one of the surprised students spluttered.

Mo Fan didn’t pay any attention to them as he came out of the shadows. His gaze was fixed on the student called Senior Li Tong.

“So you’re Mo Fan, how dare you think about stealing from us?” Li Tong’s reaction was fairly quick. He immediately retracted his Curse aura as he took on the appearance of a normal student.

Mo Fan’s face was cold as he looked at him, before saying, “You can stop the act now. Look at your Dark Beasts.”

Li Tong’s eyebrows creased, he swept his gaze over and realized that his strongest Dark Beast was stuck on the wall for some reason. It was fixed there as it struggled for its life.

Its distorted body was trying to struggle, but stuck through its abdomen was something like a giant nail. It was like a sharp spike had nailed it to the wall, and it was unable to move a single step!

“Hmph, you think you can fight me on your own? The amount of Dark Beasts I can control are more than you could possibly imagine!” Hui Yi was no longer acting. The smile on his face had turned into a gloomy sneer.

As he said this, the stench immediately pervaded throughout the entire maze, instantly turning into a miasma.

This miasma was actually toxic. If a person were to breathe this in for a minute, then they would get poisoned. If they passed out, then they’d basically be choked to death.

The group of people had yet to react to what was happening, and were instantly enveloped in the miasma. One by one they began to faint, except for the Shadow student. He used the Evading Shadow to quickly move into a different area.

“Classmate! Save your team members, or else they will die here!” Mo Fan knew what was happening behind him, so he shouted at the Shadow Student in a loud voice.

The student quickly responded, “Alright, thank you!”

The miasma came from behind Hui Yi. There were many sharp voices coming out of the turbid miasma, rising from the crowd of Dark Beasts.

They bared their fangs as they charged toward Mo Fan, wanting to rip him into pieces.

Mo Fan took a step and his body sank into the shadows. He quickly turned into a shadow and quickly flashed through from the walls. In the next second, he appeared behind Hui Yi.

Mo Fan slowly emerged from the shadows, and in his hand a trace of Lightning quickly scuttled forth…

However, at the moment he was going to make his move, Hui Yi suddenly displayed a cold smile in disdainfully. A cold aura immediately arose from his body, and the ice chains emerged from the grounds and flew towards Mo Fan.

“Ice!”

Mo Fan was a bit astonished, and he hastily jumped backwards.

The ice chains were brandished as they began to surround Mo Fan from all directions in sequence. Their chill turned people’s bones rigid.

Mo Fan knew that he was underestimating the Hui Yi’s abilities. He immediately activated the soul imprint and opened the power of his Blood Beast Boots.

Red light flashed around Mo Fan’s legs and interwove into something that resembled armor before it covered his legs. At the same time, there was a red line that looked like a blood vessel pouring onto Mo Fan’s legs, and the power of his legs rose sharply!

Swoooosh!

A thick Ice Shackle swept toward Mo Fan’s back. It arced towards him, looking like a gigantic python that was about to wrap itself around Mo Fan’s body.

Mo Fan used the erupting power of the Blood Beast Boots and jumped away suddenly, dodging the Ice Shackle.

As he stepped onto the thick Ice Shackle, Mo Fan used the force from being lashed at to land directly onto the dark wall!

“Go.” Hui Yi controlled the remaining Ice Shackle. It was like he had predicted the location Mo Fan would leap onto, and he quickly used the Ice Shackles to form a gigantic binding formation.

The Ice Shackles rushed forward. Mo Fan knew he had to avoid their tips, so he stomped heavily on the dark walls, his body shooting away like a catapult toward an even more area.

The Ice Shackles were flying as they chased him, and they nearly caught him. Once you were locked on by the Ice Shackles, then struggling to escape from was very difficult.

“You dare to fight against us, the Black Vatican, with that little ability? Let me tell you, whoever has caught the attention of our Black Vatican can dream about living properly again, and you are definitely not an exception!!” Hui Yi watched the moving Mo Fan, who was in a difficult situation. The smile on his face turned increasingly sinister.

He was an Intermediate Ice Magician. Adding on to that was the fact that he could obtain many Dark Beasts for fighting. This Mo Fan actually tried to fight against him, that was far too naive!

Fortunately, the Shadow Beast was already too tired to move. After he finished off Mo Fan and brought the Shadow Beast to Sir Priest, then he would be the person with the most outstanding service for this operation!

“For trash like you, even if more of you came, I’d still be able to annihilate them!” Mo Fan stood there as his eyes turned solemn.

Hui Yi once again displayed a cold smile. He pointed toward Mo Fan, and the Dark Beasts within the miasma immediately surrounded him. At a quick glance, there were no less than ten of them.

Hui Yi did not plan on fighting against Mo Fan head on, he wanted to use the Dark Beasts to tire him out and then use the Ice Shackles at the critical moment. That way, he’d be able to finish everything!

“Awuuuu~!!!” From a silvery crack in the air, a gigantic wolf head stretched out, followed by its sturdy and powerful body.

Its long blue fur was fluttering with the wind. Its bright eyes and full expression were filled with the wild nature of a wolf.

“Those Dark Beasts are yours!” Mo Fan said to the Spirit Wolf.

The Spirit Wolf was indeed violent. It didn’t bother warning those Dark Beasts, nor did it care about how many there were. It took a couple of steps and charged toward them.

The Dark Beasts were furious, and they had advantage in numbers. This Spirit Wolf was indeed very arrogant, how dare it not place them in its eyes! They were all Minion class, or was it saying that the ten of them could not win against one?!

The Dark Beasts moved to encircle the Wolf, nimbly trying to pull off hit and run tactics. To speak frankly, it was just biting the opponent and clawing them once before they retreated. They wanted to bleed the Spirit Wolf to death.

The Spirit Wolf wasn’t that easy to deal with. Not all of the Dark Beasts that attacked him were able to retreat successfully. Two of them who had left wounds were quickly swatted to the ground by the claws of the Spirit Wolf, and then were brutally stomped to death!

Mo Fan realized his Spirit Wolf’s combat prowess was indeed high. Even if it was unable to match ten Dark Beasts, it was still able to defeat their formation in a short period of time.

The most important thing was to kill the member of the Black Vatican in front of him, who was pretending to be a student. From the strength he had displayed, he should only be a henchman.

That was fine, too. Getting rid of their henchmen before finding their master would also be advantageous!

He could not do close combat. This guy’s Ice Shackles were pretty impressive. If he really did to get trapped, he would be in quite some danger.

Forget it, what was the point of bullshitting with this person? Let’s just directly kill him!

As a man who possessed the most violent Element of Lightning and Thunder, he would be able to deal with most problems just by using a fist! If that didn’t work, he could use Thunderbolt! I refuse to believe this henchman will be able to withstand my explosive attacks!

Mo Fan didn’t say much as the dark purple Lightning arc appeared around his body.

The Star Paths interlinked and quickly turned into a Lightning Star Atlas beneath Mo Fan’s feet.

If he wanted to be tyrannical, then what else would he use, other than Lightning?

At this time, Mo Fan did not need to hide any of his powers. He needed to let this lackey of the Black Vatican understand that not everyone from Bo City was easily provokable!

“Dark purple color…This Lightning isn’t a Common-grade Lightning!”

Hui Yi was retracting the Ice Shackles. He wanted to use defensively, but after he saw that Mo Fan’s lightning was dark purple, his eyes began to widen!

The Lightning Element was incredibly fierce. If the Lightning was Spirit-grade, then even if his Ice Shackles condensed into a protective layer and stacked on top of a defensive Magic Equipment, it might not be enough to defend against it!

Hui Yi knew that the situation was far from reassuring. He screamed out at the top of his lungs at the Dark Beasts, “Hurry, kill him!”

He did not have any method to stop this Spirit-grade Lightning Seed! At this moment, he could only interrupt the Star Paths before his opponent could finish the chant!

Hui Yi’s command was extremely effective. Very quickly, two Dark Beasts changed their objective to Mo Fan, who was still in the middle of drawing the Star Atlas.

They used the walls to the two sides to move around the Spirit Wolf, relying on their powerful claws to climb it. They were like ghastly monkeys as they were moved on the walls toward Mo Fan.

The two Dark Beasts’ long claws flashed as they drew closer and closer to Mo Fan. At this moment, Mo Fan’s Star Atlas had only drawn six Lightning Star Paths, he was missing the last one!

If the Star Paths didn’t link up, they wouldn’t be able to form an Intermediate Magic!

A roar was heard!

The Spirit Wolf and Mo Fan had a spiritual link. When it realized Mo Fan was being attacked by the two Dark Beasts, it suddenly bellowed.

After its roar, its speed suddenly increased. It didn’t care about the fact there were a couple of Dark Beasts on its body as it charged toward the two Dark Beasts that were trying to mess with Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was originally hesitant on whether he should give up the Intermediate Lightning Magic or not. Seeing the Spirit Wolf charging over so valiantly, his heart calmed as he continued his Star Path.

Swoooosh!

With the Wolf’s thick claws slamming down, it wasn’t as simple as just ripping them apart. It was enough to smash the little bodies of the Dark Beasts into pieces!

The Spirit Wolf first splattered one of the Dark Beasts into pieces on the wall. Afterwards, it didn’t even glance at the remains before it turned around and bit into the Dark Beasts that was trying to rip into its flesh.

When the other Dark Beast with its long claws jumped toward Mo Fan, the Spirit Wolf shook its head and threw the Dark Beast in its jaws toward the other one!

The Spirit Wolf looked like it had inherited Mo Fan’s full marks in physical education in the past, as the Dark Beast that it threw accurately struck the other one in midair. The two of them tumbled awkwardly as they fell down next to Mo Fan.

“Qianjun!”

An ominous humming suddenly descended. Restless Lightning energy emerged in Mo Fan’s surroundings.

These dark purple Lightning arcs turned into a powerful net around him. The two Dark Beasts next to Mo Fan attempted to get up to make a move on him, but the force of the gathering Lightning caused their bodies to twitch wildly. It was as like they were being pressured by some kind of metallic object. Their flesh was shriveled, and their bones were completely shattered!

“Thunderbolt, Yaksha!”

Mo Fan didn’t even feel inclined to look at the two weak things to his side as his finger pointed toward the dark skies.

A dark purple thundercloud emerged from the originally completely black sky. It was like the aura of a death god as it gathered above Hui Yi’s head.

Hui Yi was so scared that he began to tremble. He lost control of his Ice Shackles.

He was actually quite adept at controlling the Ice Shackles. Mo Fan knew that most of the Ice Magicians would use the Ice Shackles as a form of restrictive spell. This Hui Yi actually knew how to control the Ice Shackles and have them form a thick protective layer…

However, the moment the dark purple Thunderbolt descended from the sky, the hard shackles of ice immediately turned into white spray. All of it had been blown into debris!

The Ice Shackles were in the end not a proper protective spell, so how could they possibly be able to defend against the bombardment of Spirit-grade Lightning?

The cross-shaped dark purple lightning came thundering down. Hui Yi called out his Magic Shield with his life at stake, hoping to protect his life.

However, the Thunderbolt, Yaksha exceeded his imagination. The lightning flashed down and destroyed the Ice Shackles, and even turned Hui Yi’s Magic Shield, worth millions, into nothingness.

Hidden beneath two layers of protection, Hui Yi was barely able to escape with his life. However, the lightning of Qianjun carried a powerful ability to vibrate the air, and his bones had shattered into pieces. He fell down on the ground like a rag doll, as his bones could not support him any more.

His eyes were wide and staring. He was unable to understand how his objective’s strength actually had this degree of power…

Hui Yi touched his chest with difficulty. Just when he was about to reach a deadly poison, Mo Fan had already used Evading Shadows to appear in front of him.

“Fire Burst, Burning Bones!”

A flame ignited in Mo Fan’s palm. It was like living lava as it fell down from between Mo Fan’s fingers, each drop landing on the body of Hui Yi.

Hui Yi wanted to take poison to kill himself. However, his wrist was kicked away by Mo Fan, so he didn’t even have the opportunity to control his own life.

“You!!!!” Hui Yi glared at him in rage.

Mo Fan didn’t respond to him. All he did was wait for the Burning Bones flames to slowly burn Hui Yi’s entire body. He waited for that face to turn pained and sinister beneath the high temperature of the flames.

You think I still don’t know the ../style of conduct of your Black Vatican?

Even if he haven’t seen it personally before, he had still seen it on TV. This kind of organization, that carried out dreadful and deadly operations, would most likely have its members carrying a poison for killing themselves. Once they were caught or close to dying, they would take the poison to end themselves, as they didn’t want to expose their organization, nor their superior.

When Hui Yi saw Mo Fan cast Spirit-grade Lightning, he knew that he would be no match for him. Who would’ve thought that he would actually use a second level Intermediate Magic? When Hui Yi’s bones were shattered, he had already planned his own death. Who would’ve thought that Mo Fan wouldn’t even give him that opportunity?

If he was to die, then that wasn’t much. That kind of poison would take his life in an instant, he wouldn’t even feel pain. However, when his wrist was being trampled on by someone else, even his own thoughts were seen through by the other… Forget about his strength being lower, even his own intelligence was lower! As a villain, his last dignity was taken away by the other as well, how could one possibly describe this kind of anger?

“You’ve almost been burned to death, so why don’t you do some charity work and tell me just who your master is?” Mo Fan asked as he controlled the temperature of the flames.

These flames were just baking him, it wasn’t enough to burn him to death just yet. However it was surely bringing him incomparable pain. Mo Fan was engrossed in appreciating this scene. Even if it was a little bit too bloody for children, this was the ../style Mo Fan chose to deal with evil: using violence to curb violence!

You kill my friend, and I’ll annihilate ten of yours! You destroy my city, I’ll trample your organization!

“Don’t even think about it…Ah…AH!!!!” Hui Yi was rolling uncontrollably within the flames. His miserable shrieks echoed through the dark maze. Those who heard him were extremely horrified.

Mo Fan was not being even a little lenient.

It was because he would never forget that he used these kind of flames to send Xu Zhaoting and his girlfriend away!

The misery and grief they experienced before they left, Mo Fan would definitely make that appear on the faces of the people of Black Vatican!

The Spirit Wolf was extremely tough. Mo Fan said those ten Dark Beasts was its to deal with, so it decided it wanted to personally take care of them all. In the end, its whole body was covered with wounds. You could even see its bones in many places.

The Spirit Wolf was limping. Its lipswas still drawn back, but it didn’t appear frightening. It actually seemed charmingly naive, grinning in glee.

“You can go back and rest,” Mo Fan said as he unsummoned the Spirit Wolf. At the same time, he also used more of his Summoning mana to feed it.

His Summoning Elemental Nebula was extremely large now, and capable of providing an abundant amount of mana. Mo Fan was already able to calculate how much mana the Spirit Wolf would need before it would evolve.

That bottle of Warrior Beast Spirit that he had obtained from Dean Xiao was still there. After considering that the Spirit Wolf might lose its life while it was evolving, Mo Fan hadn’t dared to give it to Spirit Wolf to use.

After Hui Yi had burned into ashes, Mo Fan finally turned around to leave.

Watching a living person being cremated like this was rather disgusting. There’s no way he’d have an appetite for the next two days.

If he were given more time to do it, he’d still do the same thing. Comparing this disgusting scene with the departing of the two, this would be nothing.

——

Mo Fan continued to follow the Shadow Beast. After the Shadow Beast had rested up for a bit, it began to escape energetically again. It disappeared like a wisp of smoke. Mo Fan took nearly half a day to find it again.

“This place seems like it has a building… that stupid thing. Don’t tell me it ran toward the Beast Taming Iron Cage on its own?” Mo Fan was still able to see beneath the Nyx Regime. Who would’ve imagined that the Shadow Beast that was running like a little deer actually walked into the trap itself!

Mo Fan was very clear that the true mastermind had yet to appear. He couldn’t let this hunt end like this, or else who knew how many people would lose their life the next time the Black Vatican made their move.

After walking to the front of the building, Mo Fan was about to drive the Shadow Beast away before he suddenly felt some movement behind him.

Mo Fan turned around and saw five familiar faces. The two leaders were in the middle of displaying ridiculing smiles, like hunters that had finally hooked onto their prey.

“Mo Fan, I want to see where you’re gonna run this time!” Luo Song’s smile was so wide that his fat began to ripple.

Shen Mingxiao’s appearance was charming and reserved. However, he was also smiling devilishly. Between his hands magical energy was continuously fluctuating.

“You really do have the ability. Not only did you steal our Shadow Beast, you even started such a big event. Do you really think there is not a single person in this world that can fix you?!” Shen Mingxiao shouted in agitation.

Mo Fan looked at these five people with creased eyebrows. He didn’t want to start a pointless fight with them, unless there was a henchman of the Black Vatican among them.

He assumed that these five people were regular students and disciples of rich families. People from the Black Vatican most likely wouldn’t have the inclination to catch the Shadow Beast.

“You better not provoke me.” Mo Fan was not in the mood, and he spoke in a bad tone.

“Oh, your attitude sure is big. I sure want to see what kind of ability you have…” Shen Mingxiao himself was relatively strong. He did not place a country boy like Mo Fan in his eyes.

Just as they were about to make a move on Mo Fan, a couple of people appeared out of the black fog.

Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song looked behind them and saw it was a squad that was most likely watching the vicinity.

They had most likely found the entrance to the Beast Taming Iron Cage and camped out, waiting for the students who found the Shadow Beast to arrive with it.

“Isn’t this Fu Tianming, hahaha! You came just in time, we’re about to teach Mo Fan a lesson!” When Luo Song saw it was Fu Tianming, his face began to show an even bigger smile.

Fu Tianming. If it was in an earlier time, probably not a lot of people would know of this person. However, ever since the rumor of the Great Demon nearly killing someone started, everyone learned about this Fu Tianming. This was because Fu Tianming was the senior that Mo Fan nearly killed!

It is said that he was called on to teach Mo Fan a little lesson when Mo Fan crossed Jia Wenqing. Who would’ve known that he nearly got snapped in two by Mo Fan!

As expected, Jia Wenqing, the little thing that looked especially refined and pale, was also present. He recognized Mo Fan at a glance, and on his fashionable face emerged a ridiculing smile.

This Mo Fan! He had done too many evil things. Today, he would be stopped in this place! No matter what, he would have his face shaved off!

“Shen Mingxiao, Luo Song, why don’t we make a deal?” Fu Tianming maintained the same aloof manner as he slowly spoke out.

“What deal?” Shen Mingxiao asked.

“We are not that interested in the Three Step Pagoda. The thing we are interested in is precisely this Shadow Beast. Let’s join together to deal with Mo Fan. All you need to do is to give us the Shadow Beast and allow us to extract the bottle within its stomach before you hand it over to the school,” Fu Tianming said.

Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song were confused. They didn’t know what kind of thing this Fu Tianming had in mind.

However, no matter how you looked at it, they were the ones who would benefit from it. Not only could they punish Mo Fan, they could also win the examination this time! On the Main Campus in the future, they could most likely attract a few experts with this kind of merit!

Luo Song glanced at Fu Tianming and his people, and his heart couldn’t help but whisper, These people are rather strange. They don’t want the Shadow Beast, yet they want the thing that is in the stomach of the Shadow Beast. I remember Mo Fan did mention something about a spring from his hometown that was eaten by the Shadow Beast…

“Luo Song, we can later talk about the matter we have between us. However, it’s better if you leave right now. These people are henchmen of the Black Vatican!” Mo Fan coldly stared at Fu Tianming, Jia Wenqing, and their people.

“Black Vatican?” Luo Song was stunned, and glanced sharply at Fu Tianming and Jia Wenqing.

“Ridiculous! That’s ridiculous. So you, Mo Fan, actually know what fear is. Did you not think that day when you nearly killed me that there would be a day where all the people you’ve enraged would attack you? So you’d actually think up this kind of hilarious way to make us not join hands?” Fu Tianming immediately sneered, his tone carrying ridicule.

Luo Song and Shen Mingxiao already had a grudge against Mo Fan. Furthermore, all the rumors of family struggles and gossip on campus was something they knew very well about. None of it had anything to do with the Black Vatican, so they couldn’t link this matter to the Black Vatican. Naturally, they were determined to show that Mo Fan was just babbling nonsense in desperation.

Mo Fan also knew that Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song wouldn’t believe him, so he was prepared to face them head on.

His opponents had a few too many people. There were a total of ten people, and it could be assumed that each of them were experts capable of casting Intermediate Magic.

Let’s not talk about the fact that a bombardment by various powerful Intermediate Magic spells would be extremely hard to deal with. Even if it was Primary Magic flying over, Mo Fan still would not be able to deal with it.

However, he was still gratified. It was because Fu Tianming’s words just now had basically exposed his identity.

The last time, he didn’t kick him to death. It seemed like this time, he must kick his skull open!

If he was not mistaken, then the student who Xu Zhaoting had trailed was precisely Fu Tianming!

Being attacked from all sides was one thing. Mo Fan wasn’t exactly thrown into confusion.

If it was in the past, he would definitely not be a match for these ten Intermediate Magicians. However, within the Great Nyx Regime Formation, his Shadow Element’s power received a substantial increase, and his other Elemental Magic wouldn’t be suppressed either. His opponents powers, on the other hand, would decrease by a lot beneath the Nyx Regime!

He couldn’t meet them head on, but fighting them in a circle would allow him a higher chance of winning!

Mo Fan didn’t want to think about it further. He turned around and ran toward the closest building.

Luo Song, Mingxiao, Fu Tianming, Jia Wenqing, and the others never thought that Mo Fan would actually be without a backbone. Not only did he just run away, he also yelled out strangely. They began to chase after him!

Mo Fan was running while using Evading Shadow. His speed was much faster than theirs. However, Shen Mingxiao and Jia Wenqing both possessed the Wind Element. Their speed as they pursued with Wind Tunnel was not in any way slower than his own.

Luo Song and Fu Tianming clearly drew help from Magic Equipment. Their speed was only slower by a little. Among the rest of the six people, one of them was also a Wind Magician, and he was closely pursuing along with the larger group.

Mo Fan rushed into the staircase of the building. Just as he was about to climb it, his surroundings suddenly condensed into ice. The cold air went right through his skin.

He turned around and realized four or five thick Ice Shackles moving like nimble pythons were sweeping toward him. On the other end of the Ice Shackles was Luo Song, who was displaying a cold smile.

Luo Song was still an Earth Elemental Magician. Along with his Magic Boots and his Primary Earth Magic, he was the first one to catch up to Mo Fan.

“Let’s see where else you can run to!”

A hole appeared on the granite staircase after the thick Ice Shackles smashed onto it.

“Strange, where is he?” In the dark maze, Luo Song thought he had trapped Mo Fan with the Ice Shackles. Who would’ve known that after he ran upstairs, he couldn’t even see the shadow of Mo Fan.

“He must’ve run inside. Quick, don’t let him hand over the Shadow Beast!” Shen Mingxiao used Wind Tunnel and ran in as he made a intuitive decision.

The group of people did what they did best. All of them charged into the building that looked like a bunch of piled-up stones.

—

The building was constructed using large boulders. For buildings like these, used to contain Summoned Beasts, the school had asked an Earth Magician to casually construct a building. This building seemed to be a big project, but the truth was, if it was damaged, no one would care. If they wanted to reconstruct it, all they needed to do was to use a little bit of mana.

In the deepest area of the building was a Beast Taming Iron Cage. This Beast Taming Iron Cage was precisely the destination of the examination this time.

The Beast Taming Iron Cage was colossal. It was in no way inferior to the venue that had held the Rookie Competition. In terms of area, it could fit at least a soccer field.

The Iron Cage was twenty meters tall, and it appeared to have been constructed with steel reinforced bars, supplemented with a little bit of Magic. For Magical Beasts under the Commander level, they could only dream of trying to break through this Iron Cage in a short period of time.

The building was also within the Great Formation of the Nyx Regime. However, it was clear that this was at the very edge of it, as there was only a little bit of darkness pervading this place.

The fog flooded the entire open-roofed building, and down around the large rusty iron cage. The Beast Taming Iron Cage give off the feeling that its depths hid some kind of gigantic beast, raising hackles of dread.

Mo Fan was running with all his might. In the darkness, his visibility was also very limited. Thus, when he found a place to hide, he accidentally accidentally entered the Iron Cage.

The Beast Taming Cage’s gates were hanging up in the air. They were completely covered by the dark fog, and Mo Fan didn’t realize that he had accidentally charged into the gigantic iron cage.

Clang!!!!

Suddenly, some kind of metal smashed down onto the ground from above!

Mo Fan turned around and realized that behind him was a twenty-meter tall iron door. It let out a massive sound as it hit the floor, making the ground tremble.

Mo Fan didn’t understand how this iron door would drop down. However, when the black fog in the surrounding area slowly dispersed, Mo Fan finally realized that he was actually already inside the Beast Taming Iron Cage!

He could only roughly see about twenty meters within this fog. The truth was, twenty meters was not enough to see the other end of the Iron Cage!

It was Mo Fan’s first time coming here. How could he know that the Iron Cage was actually this big? What he never expected was that the only exit out of the Iron Cage was currently completely blocked off by that gigantic iron door!.

Iron rods like tree trunks rose up side by side. Unfortunately, the space between them did not allow anyone to pass through!

The top of the Iron Cage was a dome made out of evenly arranged iron wires. It appeared to be circular. This signified that he couldn’t escape from the top, either.

What caused Mo Fan to feel even more restrained was that he saw there were hard wires of other Elements twisting around the other places. Their weave turned into an Iron Net, completely destroying Mo Fan’s thoughts of escaping.

Just who designed this damn Iron Cage? It’s for containing Beasts, so why can’t humans get out of here?

Suddenly, in the gradually dispersed fog, he heard a human voice. “Hahaha, do you know what you look like right now?”

Hoarse and sharp voices were normally described as ugly. However, this guy’s voice was similar to that of a ghost; those who heard it would feel their hair stand up.

“It seems like you’ve been waiting here for a long time.” Mo Fan looked for the mysterious person who had closed the iron door.

“It’s you who walked right into the trap! I’ve already obtained the Shadow Beast, so now I hope the school will join me in appreciating the most exciting performance yet!” the voice came from Mo Fan’s left.

Mo Fan turned, and realized there was a person standing by the staircase outside of the Iron Cage.

He was wearing a mask that nearly covered his eyes with a very long fringe. The black fringe covered the other half of his face…

Thus, you could only see this person’s right eye. That eye was filled with madness.

“Who are you?” Mo Fan stood within the Iron Cage as he gazed at this person.

“You don’t recognize me? YOU DON’T RECOGNIZE ME?!” The man that had revealed one eye suddenly began to laugh. This voice sounded particularly mournful within this Beast Taming Iron Cage.

“Your voice sounds like a gawking crow, sounds a little familiar,” Mo Fan responded.

“Stop acting! Last time, you were lucky that I let you escape Bo City! This time, I will make you regret surviving that time!” the masked man snarled.

“If you put it like that, then I know who you are. To be honest, your face isn’t much of an issue. Just go to Korea and get some plastic surgery, wouldn’t that solve everything? There’s no need to brood over it with me. For someone like you who was delightfully pretending to be someone’s son for ten years, getting some plastic surgery wouldn’t be something that would drag your dignity down.” Mo Fan actually already knew who this person was the second he heard his voice.

“Hehe. Soon enough, you will kneel down and beg me to leave you with a whole piece of skin!” Yu Ang’s voice was cold.

“Yu Ang, I have a question,” Mo Fan asked, smiling coldly. “If you were to fail this mission once more, would your superior ruin the other half of your face, as well?” Mo Fan asked slowly and deliberately.

Mo Fan’s cold smile gradually turned increasingly more sinister!

Yu Ang swore that if this scoundrel mentioned the word ‘face’ one more time, he would cook him alive and make him into a human flesh congee. Then he would force his loved ones to drink it!

Xu Zhaoting was not at all like this Mo Fan, who was looking for death. In the end, he was still turned into a slave, and in so much pain that he had preferred to die.

Yu Ang hated this Mo Fan to the bone. He would torment him even more!

Yu Ang couldn’t endure having Mo Fan breathe more oxygen. He began to chant a strange spell.

The spell was like visible grey music notes. They were floating around Yu Ang as they turned into a grey ribbon.

The ribbons were intertwining, turning into a door covered in magic engravings.

The grey door slowly opened, and a deep green light shot out, directly locking onto Mo Fan inside the large Iron Cage.

Mo Fan could see that those eyes were filled with hatred. When the creature finally walked out of the grey door, Mo Fan was finally able to see what it was.

Its entire body was dark grey. The wrinkled skin was branded over and over again by a strangely shaped iron. It was criss-crossed, and looked like small centipedes were crawling all over its body.

In terms of physique, it didn’t seem to be much different from a Dark Beast. At same time, it was also very different from a Dark Beast. When Mo Fan looked at it carefully, he felt that the smell this creature emitted was very similar to the one emitted by Xu Zhaoting!

It was a cursed and disgusting smell! This Dark Beast’s power was most likely going to be far higher than a normal one!

“This is a Cursed Beast. When we throw people into the pond to bathe, we need to first conduct an extremely resentment-inducing torment on them. The stronger the resentment, the higher the probability of them turning into a Cursed Beast… This was my very first Cursed Beast. Xu Zhaoting was my second, and you, you will turn into my third Cursed Beast!” Yu Ang pointed at Mo Fan with a manic smile on his face.

Yu Ang knew that Mo Fan possessed an Innate Dual Element. Normally speaking, if you were to throw a powerful Magician into the pond to refine them, the chances of them becoming a Cursed Beast would be even higher, especially someone who had an Innate Dual Element!

Mo Fan looked at the Cursed Beast and couldn’t help but crease his brow.

If he was to judge from its aura, then this creature had definitely achieved the Warrior level. He never imagined that Yu Ang would’ve also progressed so far in the past two years. He had changed from just a little figure that controlled Dark Beasts into a Priest that possessed a Cursed Beast!

Right now, Mo Fan was pretty clear on the social rankings of the Black Vatican.

The very lowest class was called the Disciples. Most of them were concealed as normal people, they used the ability to control the Dark Beasts granted to them by the Black Vatican to pursue their own interests.

The higher level ones were called Priests. Yu Ang was precisely a Grey-cloaked Priest. Beneath him was a group of Disciples who were willing to die for him.

Even further up in the rankings were the Deacons.

The name Xu Zhaoting had gotten was precisely the one of a Blue-cloaked Deacon of the Black Vatican.

Yu Ang, as a Grey Priest, naturally held the ability to control the even stronger Cursed Beasts.

Unfortunately, when Xu Zhaoting was turned into a Cursed Beast, he still had a bit of intellect. It was enough for him to escape. Furthermore, Yu Ang also knew that Xu Zhaoting was going to be hard to control, and basically gave up bothering to.

This summoned Cursed Beast, however, was now was extremely loyal. This was because it had been Yu Ang’s slave for more than ten years!

“Do you know who this is?” Yu Ang pointed at the Cursed Beast next to him as his appearance carried a sinister air.

“I’m not interested.” Mo Fan stood inside the large iron cage. He was trying to stall for time with Yu Ang while trying to find a way out of the Iron Cage.

Yu Ang no longer said anything else and ordered the Cursed Beast to approach the Iron Cage.

In this world, perhaps no one actually knew that this Cursed Beast was actually Yu Ang’s biological father.

When he was seven, he was accidentally turned into a member nourished by the Black Vatican. The first thing Yu Ang did was turn the father that abused him into a Dark Beast.

Not long afterwards, Yu Ang entered the Mu Family. He was in the Mu Family for over ten years, and he never once exposed his identity. Furthermore, he used their resources to slowly refine this Dark Beast.

As expected, his most intimate person had shown the biggest improvement. It revealed its talent first among his many slaves, and turned into a Cursed Beast.

It was also because of this Cursed Beast that Yu Ang had been promoted to a Priest, one under the direct command of a Blue Deacon.

If he was able to successfully complete this mission, then he would obtain the favor of Cardinal Salan. Being able to become a Blue Deacon straight from this wouldn’t be a problem at all!

However, those who had offended him would definitely have a bad time. He was already capable of turning his own father into this creature when he was seven, so let’s not mention what he would do to Mo Fan, who ruined his ten year plan and half of his face!

He had to make Mo Fan suffer so much pain that he’d rather die!

“Go, rip his skin off first!” Yu Ang fiercely commanded the Cursed Beast as the whip in his hands ruthlessly lashed toward it.

The Cursed Beast seemed extremely scared of Yu Ang. It turned all of its grievance and pain toward Mo Fan, who was stuck in the middle of the Iron Cage.

A Cursed aura, like a poison gas that could choke someone, immediately wafted over from the outside of the Iron Cage.

Mo Fan was standing at the very edge of the Iron Cage. After seeing the thing coming closer and closer, he couldn’t help but take a step back.

This thing’s physique is not that different from a human’s. There’s no way it would be able to make its way in, right?

Just when Mo Fan’s heart carried some hope, Mo Fan realized that the Cursed Beast was equipped with the ability to change the location of its bones. Its deformed body had shifted into an inconceivable angle. First its head came in, followed by its cartilage bones and then its ugly body.

The process of the Cursed Beast entering the Iron Cage was extremely horrifying. If it was someone who had not seen things, they’d definitely faint!

When Yu Ang saw that Mo Fan’s already displayed dread, his face displayed a wide smile.

He was going to slowly enjoy this marvelous process. The best thing would be that after the Great Formation of Nyx Regime was removed, people would see Mo Fan’s skin left behind in the Iron Cage!

“Yu Ang, retreat! Now!” Suddenly, a voice in Yu Ang’s ears ordered.

Yu Ang touched the earphone in his ear and hastily replied in a very respectful voice, “The thing is almost in my hands! Sir Deacon, why are we in such a hurry?”

“I have a bad feeling.”

“But, Sir Deacon, the kid who has the Underground Holy Spring has been trapped by me within the Iron Cage. I will take it very soon, please give me a bit more time.” Yu Ang said hastily.

Yu Ang had spent a lot of effort to get Mo Fan into the Iron Cage. If he had to leave just like that… how could Yu Ang be willing?

“Really?” The Deacon was clearly hesitant.

If they were to return empty-handed, they would definitely get punished by Salan.

But if they didn’t evacuate now, then he felt like the people of the Magic Court would be closing in. The Blue Deacon was wavering a little.

“Sir Deacon, I will be able to take the Underground Holy Spring very soon, and then I will give it to you immediately,” Yu Ang didn’t want to let go of this opportunity.

“Then… then I’ll wait for a bit…” Blue Deacon replied reluctantly.

For the Underground Holy Spring, he was willing to take on the risk!

The large Iron Cage surrounded Mo Fan. The Cursed Beast was slowly crawling over, its disgusting saliva dripping onto the ground. The saliva was corrosive, as black smoke appeared after it dripped onto the iron poles and ground.

Mo Fan knew that he had no choice but to have a fight to death with this Cursed Beast within the Iron Cage. He immediately retreated to a relatively safe distance.

The Cursed Beast’s eyes were very bright, and he didn’t want to look at them. A low sound came from its throat, like it was a hungry wolf that hadn’t eaten for a long time.

Finally, the Cursed Beast moved!

He only heard a swoosh of motion sound before the Cursed Beast left behind an aftershadow as it charged toward Mo Fan with extreme speed.

This speed seemed even faster than the Mother Skin Scale Phantom from before! Fortunately, Mo Fan had put some distance between them thus he was able to respond in time.

The entire Beast Taming Iron Cage had a barrier. Furthermore, it was for containing the Shadow Beast. Thus, if he wanted to use the Shadow Elemental spells to escape from the Iron Cage, it would prove to be impossible. Presently, he could only fight with the Cursed Beast.

He couldn’t help but admit that based on the speed of the Cursed Beast, it had to be several times stronger than the Mother Skin Scale Phantom, which had just entered the Warrior level!

Suddenly, a flying claw swept across from afar.

The flying claw was glistening coldly, he could see a clear sickle shaped force emerging from it. The surface of the ground was being completely torn apart by the force of it as it swept toward Mo Fan!

A normal Dark Beast would use their claws to directly attack a Magician, as only then would it be effective. The claws of the Cursed Beast were capable of flying through the air. Mo Fan wanted to take the opportunity of the opponent being far away to use an Intermediate Magic, however, he did not have the time to draw a Star Atlas.

Mo Fan spun to the side to avoid it, and the claw went past him. Just when he thought he had dodged the range of the attack, the side of his arm suddenly felt scorching hot.

As he turned around, Mo Fan realized there was a deep wound on his arm, he could nearly see the bones!

The Cursed Beast opened its mouth and let out a strange cry. In the same moment it shot out the claw, it also charged toward Mo Fan. It was clear that this thing had a bit of intellect, it knew how to use a long- range attack to stop Mo Fan from drawing a Star Atlas, followed by a close-ranged attack…

If an Intermediate Magician didn’t have the opportunity to use Intermediate Magic, then they would only be a normal person in front of a Warrior-level creature. It was very easy for them to rip them into pieces.

This Cursed Beast was not giving Mo Fan any opportunity to use Intermediate Magic. It was coming closer and closer, and Mo Fan didn’t dare to hesitate. He hastily activated his other Magic Equipment Imprint!

Departing Nether Shield!

The imprint within his soul came forth, displaying a deep, blue color as a rigid ray of light emerged.

The light ray interwove systematically as it formed a geometrical diagram in front of Mo Fan. It turned into a dark blue shield with a Roc that spread its wing.

The Shield was sharp and clearcut. There was also a few strange holes at the top of it, and its edges emitted a metallic luster.

Klang!

The Cursed Beast’s ghastly claws could go through iron like mud. When it hit the Departing Nether Shield, it let out a fierce metallic shriek, and a deep claw mark appeared on the shield.

“Reverse Sting!” Mo Fan saw the opportunity as he hastily activated the Departing Nether Shield’s counter ability.

In that moment, rhombus-shaped blades shot out like a torrential rain from the strange holes on the shield.

These rhombus blades were extremely sharp. Even if the Cursed Beast’s external skin had a layer of rotten flesh as protection, the sudden attack from the rhombus blades penetrated fiercely into the body of the Cursed Beast!

Dark Beasts were experts in making others bleed, while the counterattack of the Departing Nether Shield had hooks. The Departing Nether Shield’s bleeding ability was in no way inferior to the claws of a Dark Beast.

How could the Cursed Beast possibly imagine that the Departing Nether Shield was this advanced? Numerous holes emerged from the wounds on its body, and a dark grey liquid began to flow out of those holes.

“Guguguguggugugugu~~~!!!!”

The Cursed Beast was flustered. It didn’t wait for the other Reverse Stings to enter its body before it suddenly began to jump backwards and pull the blades out of its body!

“Its responses are fairly quick. It actually didn’t get hooked by the counterattack!” Mo Fan watched the Cursed Beast jump away as he felt some regret.

If the Cursed Beast was hit by all of the Reverse Stings, then it hooked onto the bones, he would’ve casted a Thunderbolt. Even if it didn’t die by then, it’d at least be half-dead!

As expected of a Warrior-class creature, it definitely wasn’t easy to deal with!

The Reverse Sting didn’t give the Cursed Beast a life-threatening wound. Mo Fan also took this chance to draw back further.

Mo Fan retracted the Departing Nether Shield. He knew that he didn’t have many methods for protecting himself, so he definitely couldn’t let the Cursed Beast approach him again.

“If you want to charge over again, then ask my fist first!”

As Mo Fan saw the Cursed Beast charging over again, rose-hued flames ignited around his body.

“Rose Flames, Fiery Fist, Groundbreak!”

Mo Fan put all of his mana into this one fist as he punched down fiercely.

The flames poured into the ground. Suddenly, a gaudy red fiery pillar burst out of the ground like an erupting volcano!

The fire pillar’s area was extremely large as it blew up, the surging magma flames dancing. The Cursed Beast was extremely cunning, its launched attack was just a feint. When the ground began to erupt, the treacherous creature suddenly jumped to the side. It actually dodged the fatal Groundbreak Flames!

By just touching a little bit of the flames naturally wouldn’t hurt the Warrior-level Cursed creature.

The Cursed Beast displayed a mocking smile. When it landed gracefully on the ground, its speed suddenly erupted as it flashed toward Mo Fan.

Its claws were still frantically working while it was racing over. The flying claws that came along with the erupting speed of its body turned into a whirlwind of claws that shot over with extreme speed.

Mo Fan was despondent when he saw this.

God damn, this Cursed Beast’s abilities are much stronger than that of a Dark Beast!

Fortunately, Mo Fan had considered this scenario and didn’t let the flames in his right hand go off.

However, the remaining mana he had was not enough to cast the Groundbreak again. Fortunately, Mo Fan threw his fist of flames toward the storm of claws to fight it.

Whoooooooooooosh~

The flames spouted forth from Mo Fan’s fist. Its power was not as ferocious as a complete Fiery Fist, Exploding Heavens.

Mo Fan didn’t expect to blast the Cursed Beast away. He only hoped for the remaining flames to help him defend against the wind blade attacks from his opponent.

Claw Edge Whirlwind had a layer of chaotic winds protecting it. All of the flames that struck it were either blown away, or swept apart. The wind itself didn’t appear to be weakened at all!

he sparkling city of Shanghai’s lights were not reflected in the black sky like normal days.

The dense black clouds were low. The taller skyscrapers flickered with lights at some of the floors as they proudly reached above the clouds. The tops of the skyscrapers were no longer visible.

The lights were on inside the numerous packed family homes, and along the crisscrossing streets. When the traffic paused in the city, the red tail lights of the cars appeared to be slowly circulating blood veins covering the very heart of Shanghai!

A person with dark green hair was sitting on the edge of the roof of a large building that reached up to the sky. Beneath the hair was a face with very sharp cheekbones and a pale complexion. This person seemed like a monster roaming the city.

His pupils were very deep, so deep you couldn’t see even a trace of emotions in them.

An ancient Tang suit draped over his skinny body. What was astonishing was that there were eagle-like wings on his back!

The feather’s tips were like sharp blades, each of the edges could be clearly seen. The wings was currently in a retracted state, but you could still tell they were very sturdy, and very well made!

For this kind of person standing on the very edge of a skyscraper while looking exceptionally isolated, even if the city was bigger, they’d still be easily found!

“We’ve found the person!”

“Position?”

“It’s in the Jiang North area, we’ve set a coordination light.”

The pale man’s gaze was looking to the south. Sure enough, above the splendid city, a distinct light that was gradually rising!

“Hmph, Blue Cloak, don’t even think about escaping from the palm of my Nighthawk!”

The pale man jumped and the wings behind his back wooshed open. The pitch-black feathers appeared even more elegant beneath the illumination of the dome…

As he frantically whizzed past the buildings, the pale man flapped the wings. He was flying steadily in the sky, not very high up nor very low as he soared just above the black clouds.

As he leaned a bit to the side, he left a wind trail like a hurricane as he passed through the large buildings in Shanghai. All of the colossal towers that went through the clouds were now behind him as he swept past the skies of Huangpu River like a wild goose. The pale man was getting closer and closer to the area with the flickering lights.

…

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan…” an anxious voice was heard from the bluetooth earphone.

“I’m still a little busy, miss.”

“Listen to me first. The Blue Cloak Deacon is planning on escaping. The Nighthawk of the Magic Courts is ready. As long as we are able to delay him for five more mins, then the Blue Deacon won’t be able to escape us… From the information we received from the people monitoring him, he seems to be waiting for something.” Ms. Tangyue’s voice entered Mo Fan’s ears.

“He must be waiting for the Underground Holy Spring to get in his hands… Shit!” On the other hand, Mo Fan rubbed off the blood that came out of his mouth as he couldn’t help but curse.

Lightning Strike’s paralysis effect gave Mo Fan a little time to rest. It’s just his current situation did not look very favorable.

“Oh, Ms Tangyue. I wasn’t cursing at you. I have a Cursed Beast over here, and it’s a bit difficult to deal with. What did you say before?” Mo Fan was also as daring as a skilled person. He still had the time to talk while in the middle of a battle.

“I see. The Blue Deacon is waiting for the Grey Cloak Priest to finish his mission. That’s why he was willing to take the risk to stay. Mo Fan, our capture operation still needs another five minutes. You must delay them, force them to take another five minutes of risk for you!” Tangyue said.

Mo Fan didn’t quite understand. Since they had already found the person, couldn’t they just go straight to them? Why do they need five minutes to prepare…

Is it because they wanted to make the web bigger so they could catch everything, or was it because the objective was in a lively area, and a battle could potentially involve innocent civilians?

No matter what the reason was, Mo Fan knew that he had to buy some time. It appeared that Yu Ang did indeed exchange words with someone a moment ago, that person must be the Blue Cloak Deacon.

“Sir Priest, there’s only a drip of Underground Holy Spring within the Shadow Beast. Furthermore, it seems to have dried up, we’ve been played by this kid!” Outside of the colossal Iron Cage, Fu Tianming and Jia Wenqing ran over with their faces flustered.

Yu Ang’s face contorted with anger, but he suppressed the rage.

From the tone of the Blue Deacon, the current state was very urgent. If there were no chances of accomplishing the mission, then they had to evacuate.

However, Yu Ang was not willing to let Mo Fan escape this time!

Whooooooooosh!!

A sharp claw swept past him. Mo Fan continued to roll all the way to the very edge of the Iron Cage.

It was clear that his wounds weren’t light this time. As luck would have it, the pendant on the guy’s chest seemed to have knocked on to something, as it was unable to conceal a special aura that began to pour around the place.

This aura was like a slowly dispersed colossal halo. Within the range of the halo was a layer of water, it caused people’s minds to resonate and feel extremely comfortable!

“Underground Holy Spring…It’s the genuine Underground Holy Spring!” Yu Ang’s eyes nearly popped out!

The Underground Holy Spring was indeed in the hands of this kid! Furthermore, he seemed to have kept it well!

No wonder Mo Fan’s strength had advanced by leaps and bounds and reached the first or second place of the Pearl Institute in terms of cultivation. It was actually because he was using the heavenly spiritual treasure of Bo City all by himself!

“Kill him, hurry up and kill him and take his pendant!” Yu Ang went crazy.

Yu Ang recalled concealing himself in Bo City. One reason was because he was acting as a spy and the other more important reason was because he was supposed to steal the Underground Holy Spring.

Master Salan had said it before. He wanted to take the Underground Holy Spring because he wanted to start a ceremony. He wasn’t interested in the cultivation effect it gave. If Yu Ang was able to steal the Underground Holy Spring, then the he could have the Underground Holy Spring for himself after the ceremony finished!

Yu Ang had dreams of a meteoric rise many times. In the end, all he obtained was half of his face rotting!

After seeing the genuine Underground Holy Spring, Yu Ang’s eyes had turned thoroughly red.

“Master Deacon, it is the genuine Underground Holy Spring! It’s within the kids pendant! If Master Salan knew of this, he would definitely be extremely happy!”

“Shit, hurry up and steal it then, hurry!” From the other end, the Blue Deacon sensed something was wrong as he began to roar at Yu Ang.

Yu Ang naturally didn’t know just how serious the situation right now was. In his eyes right now, there was only the Underground Holy Spring.

The Blue Deacon also had to wait.

Disciples and Priests naturally did not know the location of Salan, much less have any form of contact with Salan. The only ones who were able to contact Salan were the Blue Deacons, and those who had existed for a long time within the Black Vatican. Within the Black Vatican, this was the form of contact between members.

Presently, Yu Ang and the other few could be considered to be half-exposed. Since they didn’t want to comply with what the Blue Deacon had said, they would quickly get caught by the Magic Court and imprisoned within Shanghai. Even if they obtained the Underground Holy Spring, they could forget about leaving!

The Blue Deacon had to wait for them. All of the Deacons within the Black Vatican were being watched very closely. They could only rely on Grey Cloak Priests and their Disciples to complete missions. As soon as they obtained the goods, the Blue Deacons had the ability to immediately disappear into thin air, so the important goods wouldn’t be seized by the Magic Courts!

Mo Fan stood up and looked at the long cut that reached from his right shoulder to his left. Every time he breathed he felt a scorching pain, it was a form of torment.

Shit, in order to make Yu Ang and the Blue Deacon stay, he really was being a bit fearless!

However, that was alright. Him tricking the enemy by injuring himself had been effective. After Yu Ang saw the Little Loach Pendant emitting a dense Underground Holy Spring aura, he appeared to have lost a bit of reasoning.

Is this Underground Holy Spring really that important to him?

There were many heavenly treasures in this world. The ones with effects comparable to the Underground Holy Spring were not few in number. The Black Vatican have no reason to spend this much effort to just obtain it, unless the Underground Holy Spring had another different special usage…

Mo Fan recalled what Xinxia had told him about the fact the Bo City was a guardian city. They guarded the Underground Holy Spring, thus, there must be an ancient secret that had been hidden for nearly two thousand years.

“Gugugugugugu~~~~!!!”

The low roar issued by the Cursed Beast reminded Mo Fan not to ponder over it for too long.

“You evil creature. I was just picking up a phone call and got a little distracted. Do you really think you can hurt me?” Mo Fan nearly flew into rage.

Mo Fan didn’t use his Shadow spells, so as not to show all of his abilities to Yu Ang. Now Mo Fan believed that Yu Ang wouldn’t be able to escape at all, and so he had no reason to hide anything.

The Cursed Beast was able to understand human speech. It gave out a low roar that carried a hint of ridicule.

-Tiny human, you still dare to boast shamelessly at this point?-

Whooooosh!

The Cursed Beast disappeared from where he was standing.

Its figure was continuously fluctuating between places. Mo Fan’s Lightning Strike and Fire Burst were easily avoided by this thing.

Another claw swept past, this time from above, striking down. It wanted to slice Mo Fan into two halves from the top of his head!

Yu Ang stood at the top of the staircase. From within the dense fog, he saw Mo Fan’s silhouette slowly falling into two. The smile on his face turned even more splendid.

Originally, he wanted to leisurely torment Mo Fan to death. However, the Blue Deacon wanted to hastily leave, so Yu Ang didn’t dare waste time. He wanted to take the Underground Holy Spring and leave immediately.

However, before Yu Ang was able to enjoy his excitement, he suddenly realized Mo Fan’s silhouette was in a different place. Due to the fog, Yu Ang was unable to see just how this guy was able to dodge the life threatening claw. However, this flustered Yu Ang even more!

“Sir Priest, the Great Nyx Regime Formation seems to be disappearing,” Fu Tianming hastily informed Yu Ang.

Yu Ang looked up and realized the originally pitch black sky was slowly dispersing. He could already see the dense black cloud and the traces of lights from the buildings in the night sky. He looked around and saw the black mist had already disappeared, and the colossal Iron Cage had completely revealed its astonishing appearance.

The dark maze around the pond had already disappeared. From where Yu Ang was standing, he could see the fountain and the plaza.

Yu Ang’s heart began to give him bad feelings. When the Great Nyx Regime Formation disappeared, they’d have great difficulty hiding their identities. Yu Ang wasn’t scared of these students, he was scared of the teachers. Their strength was much greater than the students.

“The two of you can go and charge in. No matter what happens, we need to obtain the thing before the Great Nyx Regime Formation disappears!” Yu Ang ordered Fu Tianming and Jia Wenqing.

“Sir, if we go in, wouldn’t that just directly expose us…”

Before Jia Wenqing finished, Yu Ang gave the two of them a glare.

The two didn’t dare to oppose him. They took the opportunity when Mo Fan was still dealing with the Cursed Beast to walk into the Iron Cage through the iron door in the corner.

They were already familiar with the Beast Taming Iron Cage. Whether it was the small door or the barrier on top, they knew how to use all of them. Walking in was extremely easy.

“If you’re smart, you should give us the Underground Holy Spring and we’ll let you live!” Fu Tianming pointed at the still-living cockroach Mo Fan angrily.

Mo Fan found the time to look at the two people who had walked into the Iron Cage on their own as his expression turned extremely cold.

They sold their lives to the Black Vatican instead of being good students of the Pearl Institute. They would rather be slaves than people!

Mo Fan concealed some of his strength because he wanted to lure Yu Ang out. There was a barrier within the colossal Iron Cage, and Mo Fan was unable to use Evading Shadow to get out. If he wanted to kill Yu Ang, he would have to lure Yu Ang inside!

Who would know that Yu Ang was actually so sinister and cunning. The situation had escalated to this point, yet he didn’t want to personally deal with it.

Mo Fan was no longer able to hide, so, he’d eliminate them first and then think about what to do later.

The Evading Shadow Technique. When he had pulled a certain distance away from the Cursed Beast, Mo Fan was finally standing in the middle of the entire Iron Cage. From his body, a dense Shadow Aura began to leap out.

Although the Great Nyx Regime Formation had disappeared, Mo Fan was still able to sense the dense Shadow Element in his surroundings.

A strange and mysterious Star Atlas slowly emerged beneath Mo Fan’s feet.

The blood on his chest dripped down from his clothes. The red blood dripped onto the darkly glinting Star Atlas. It caused the entire Atlas to link up in a more outlandish way.

“Giant Shadow Spike!”

The cut on Mo Fan’s chest was extremely astonishing. From his blood-covered chest, a giant Shadow Spike suddenly emerged.

The Giant Shadow Spike that Mo Fan used right now was different from before. It looked like a very slender Shadow Sword. A black aura wrapped around it before it shot off!

Beneath the Nyx Regime, all other Elements would receive a decrease in power. At the same time, the Shadow Element’s power would receive a substantial increase in power. Even the Shadow Beast’s power would increase, not to mention the Magic of a Shadow Magician!

“Go!”

The Giant Shadow Spike followed the wave of Mo Fan’s sleeves as it instantly pierced through the void and disappeared without a trace.

Jia Wenqing and Fu Tianming were both completely flabbergasted by this.

Shadow Magician???

How could Mo Fan be a Shadow Magician?!

At the same time, Yu Ang, who was standing outside, was so furious that his entire being began to tremble.

Shadow Element!

This scoundrel Mo Fan actually possesses the Shadow Element!

No wonder his powers wasn’t influenced by the Great Nyx Regime Formation!

Fire Element.

Lightning Element.

Summoning Element.

Shadow Element!

This guy doesn’t have an Innate Dual Element, he is able to obtain the power of two Elements whenever he awakens!

Yu Ang wasn’t resenting Mo Fan because of his face. He was jealous that Mo Fan possessed the talent of an Innate Dual Element. Who would’ve known that this guy possessed an ability that was even more domineering than an Innate Dual Element!

Dual Elements at Primary level. Four Elements at Intermediate level. Once he reached the Advanced level, wouldn’t he possess six Elements?

He definitely needed to get rid of this Mo Fan, definitely!

“Kill! Him! Now!” Yu Ang’s voice had turned into a shout, the flames within his chest began to burn even brighter.

Fu Tianming and Jia Wenqing regained their senses.

The Innate Dual Element was already extremely astonishing to the two of them. This person with Four Elements… they felt as if their whole world was smashed into pieces!

“Gugugu!”

The Cursed Beast could feel its owner’s frantic rage as it used all of its power to charge toward Mo Fan.

The Cursed Beast’s speed was relatively fast. In less than a second, it was already fifty meters away from Mo Fan, and the remaining fifty meters was just a wink away.

Mo Fan looked at the Cursed Beast and this time, he didn’t even try to dodge it. The corner of his mouth curved as he thought, Let’s see how savage you’re gonna be!

His fingers moved slightly, and a invisible thread wrapped around his finger. It looked as though he was trying to pull something.

Mo Fan’s finger was precisely controlling the Giant Shadow Spike. The Giant Shadow Spike that entered the void did not represent it being lost; it was waiting for Mo Fan’s command, while he waited for the moment the Cursed Beast’s shadow appeared!

The Giant Shadow Spike appeared noiselessly. Due to it being strengthened by the Nyx Regime, it didn’t emerge as a sharp sword, it was turned into six swords!

The first Sword Spike drove into the leg of the Cursed Beast!

The Cursed Beast was in the middle of charging. When its left leg got struck, it came to a abrupt stop. The other parts of its body looked as though they had all separated.

Yet another Shadow Sword Spike appeared, and pierced into the brain of the Cursed Beast without any warning.

More Shadow Spikes appeared, piercing into the Cursed Beast’s abdomen, right leg, and its two wrists!

Normally when Mo Fan used the Giant Shadow Spike, he would at most just force them to stay put, and the other parts of the person’s body would still be able to move around.

This time, the Giant Shadow Spike was strengthened and split into six swords due to the Nyx Regime. Each of the spikes fiercely struck out and even hit the different parts of the target’s body. This locked the Cursed Beast in place and turned it into an experiment specimen!

“Gugu!!!”

A second hadn’t even gone past and the Cursed Beast suddenly let out an incredibly painful shriek.

When the dark energy had slowly wrapped itself around the Cursed Beast’s body, a shadow aura penetrated deep into its body.

This kind of nail didn’t just pin their flesh body, it pinned their souls!

The Shadow force was an extremely bizarre thing. Originally, Mo Fan’s Giant Spike was only capable of pinning their body and restricting their consciousness. Beneath the Great Nyx Regime Formation, his Giant Shadow Spike gained the ability to pierce through the soul. Cursed Beasts had their own souls cursed. These six spikes had penetrated their soul, causing it extreme pain.

A Cursed Beast receiving extreme pain in their soul would basically lose all their combat prowess.

The biggest annoyance had been dealt with. Mo Fan’s gaze was then fixed onto the traitors, Jia Wenqing and Fu Tianming.

“Don’t be furious, have a taste of my Wind Magic!” Fu Tianming yelled out.

The Magic Fu Tianming cast was precisely Wind Disc, Tornado. The whizzing tornado began to blast out within the colossal Iron Cage; he had no intention of giving Mo Fan an opportunity to run around!

The wind was like daggers, painful before it even got there.

However, Wind was the least effective Element against the Shadow Element.

Mo Fan directly sank into the shadows and moved around. Who cared how strong that Wind Disc is, it could forget about even touching him!

Jia Wenqing, on the other hand, ignited into flames. There was an incredible Fire energy condensed around his wrist.

The spell Jia Wenqing was casting was precisely Fiery Fist!

The colossal Fiery Fist shot toward the shadow where Mo Fan was hiding. The Wind Element might not be able to wound Mo Fan, but once the Fire Element hit, then it would definitely turn Mo Fan into ashes!

Boooom!!

Fiery Fist, Exploding Heaven was extremely tyrannical. It was like a little meteorite on fire as it charged over violently and a large dark hole blew away.

The scarlet flames was burning brightly. Jia Wenqing believed that he wouldn’t be using the Evading Shadow again. Furthermore, the flames were so bright, it gave Mo Fan no way to possibly use it!

The Fiery Flames were very powerful. As the sound of this was extremely loud, it naturally alerted the students who were roaming around.

As luck would have it, Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu was standing at the stairs outside of the building. They first felt the force of a whistling wind and knew that there was a battle inside, and so they began to run in.

Who would’ve thought that after entering the place, they would find Jia Wenqing’s Fiery Flames being shot toward Mo Fan, who was hiding within a shadow.

“Jia Wenqing, what are you doing!?” Ai Tutu’s sharp voice was heard.

Jia Wenqing was’t being lenient at all. If it was a normal person without a defensive spell or a defensive magic equipment, they would definitely die on spot!

Mu Nujiao was a bit more rational. Her gaze scanned the surrounding and were able to see clearly see what was happening in this entire area through the dense fog…

When she took note of an extremely ugly creature stuck there like a pinned butterfly, she immediately realized something was wrong. She immediately dragged back Ai Tutu who was about to charge in.

“Sister Mu, don’t drag me. I need to check if the Great Demon have died or not,” Ai Tutu said, feeling hurt.

“Don’t be hasty.” Mu Nujia’s voice was very solemn.

Yu Ang naturally discovered these two girls. However, he didn’t have the time to pay attention to them. He had to take away the Underground Holy Spring and leave this area before the other students arrived!

“Stay away from here, they are from the Black Vatican!”

Just when Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu had yet to comprehend what was happening, a ball of fierce flames began to ignite. A man with his body completely covered in flames slowly walked out.

The scarlet flames was burning brightly, even the steel poles had been turned red.

However, the flames on the silhouette within the scarlet flames were rose-colored. He walked out of the flames as he appeared, as if his entire body was burning up. The fact was, the rose flames were flames cast by him!

The rose flames seemed to be protecting him!

“Great Demon, you haven’t died!” Ai Tutu shouted out.

Mu Nujiao was also looking at Mo Fan. Her beautifully pale face was also astonished.

At this moment, Mo Fan’s entire body was covered in flames. The rose fiery flames could clearly be distinguished from the orange flames. He looked like a phoenix that had reincarnated from within the flames.

The problem is, how could he possess flames?

“You want to hurt ME, using those little common-grade flames?” Mo Fan said coldly. The second he released the aura of the rose flames, his temperament had also changed.

Common flames were common flames. How could they possibly win against the far more precious Spirit-grade Flames?

When Mo Fan used the rose flames, all of the orange flames appeared like soldiers who had seen their monarch, as they began to bow towards it.

The Rose Flames aura was even more tremendous. It was able to instantly swallow up all of the orange flames from Jia Wenqing. The burning flames all turned into Mo Fan’s rose flames!

It was as captivating as the ocean. Mo Fan was standing within the fierce flames, and his black eyes were burning with an unprecedented sharpness.

“Let me give you a taste of what are really called Flames!” Mo Fan’s voice was solemn and forceful as it carried his scorn!

“Rose Flames!” Mo Fan yelled out. When the flames with the purer lineage faced off with the lower grade flames, they displayed their innate prestige. The current Rose Flames had an aura that was even stronger than usual.

As the energy condensed, the flames became stronger. Mo Fan moved the engulfing Rose Flames on to his arms,where the fierce flames burned impatiently.

“Fiery Fist…” Mo Fan raised his fist as he half-knelt. He used his fist, brimming with the energy of Fiery Fist, to smash into the ground. The surging dust began to shake.

“Groundbreak!”

Mo Fan’s voice was vigorous and domineering. The fist that shot out was sustained by the power of the Rose flames as it entered the ground.

Bang!!!

Suddenly, the place where Jia Wenqing and Fu Tianming was standing on exploded with a surge energy. It was like a colossal fierce beast was about to burst out from there.

The ground of the Cage roared, and a red flame erupted from the ground. It was just like the eruption of a small volcano.

The erupting flames turned into a flower filled with a magnificent destructive powers.

The pillar of flames appeared to be the stalk, the tongue of the flames became petals, and the magma was filed within its pistil. The sight was astonishing, carrying an extreme destructive force.

Ai Tutu and Mu Nujiao were a bit astonished as they saw this. Their faces had flushed red.

Within the flames, Jia Wenqing and Fu Tianming were both trying to call out their defensive magic equipment. However, their little pieces of magic equipment were of no use within the tyrannical high temperatures coming from the Spirit-grade Flames. Their Defensive Magic Equipment only lasted a couple of seconds before they were turned into ashes.

Their bodies had been hurled into the air as they suffered the extremely high heat that came from the flowering Groundbreak.

The captivating red flames burned for a long time. Mo Fan was not being lenient toward Jia Wenqing and Fu Tianming. He didn’t even bother to look at them as the two fell down from the air, their bodies turned completely into charcoal.

Killing people would usually turn someones eyes red. However, after Mo Fan had eliminated Yu Ang’s two pawns, his gaze at Yu Ang was filled with flames.

Yu Ang was behind his mask, making it hard to see his face. However, from the eye that he revealed, it showed that he was currently in shock and disbelief!

It had barely been more than two years since the Calamity of the Bo City. In these two years, a person who had nearly failed the admittance to a Magic High School had actually grasped upon an incredibly powerful destructive force… this was impossible, even if they had the Underground Holy Spring!!

Even a Warrior-level Cursed Beast was unable to kill him, and the two Intermediate Magicians were completely crushed. No wonder Hui Er, Hui San, Hui Si, Hui Wu, and the army of Dark Beast they brought along was completely destroyed. This guy didn’t only possess the strength of four Elements, each of the Elements’ might was extremely abnormal!

“I, Yu Ang, will definitely turn you into a slave that will become so miserable that you’d rather die in this life!!” The scars on Yu Ang’s face started to ache and burn once more.

However, he knew that he was unable to touch Mo Fan this time.

Yu Ang didn’t dare to remain. Whether Fu Tianming and Jia Wenqing were alive or not was not something he cared about. He didn’t even care about the Cursed Beast as he began to hurry toward the outside of the Beast Taming Iron Cage.

Mo Fan was trapped within the Iron Cage and unable to walk out. After he saw Yu Ang fleeing, he also vowed to himself, “No matter where you’ll run, I, Mo Fan, will definitely take your life!”

——

Yu Ang escaped from the Pearl Institute using every sneaky trick he could. It was with great difficulty he finally found a place where he could breathe and take off his mask. It revealed the other half of his face, which was completely scarred and mangled.

The disfigured part of his face was bleeding, his anger had torn the fused and melted flesh. Naturally, his face had began to split once more, he looked extremely bizarre and scary.

“Sir Deacon, we’ve failed our mission.” Yu Ang took a deep breath before he reported events with a communication device.

“Sir Deacon?”

“Deacon...”

Yu Ang suddenly realized something before his face had gone pale!

Sir Deacon had been caught!

Crap, crap! With the Deacon caught, how could he, a tiny Priest, possibly escape from the heavenly network of the Magic Court?

Furthermore, once a Deacon was caught, all the Priests under him would be unable to escape. All of the members of the Black Vatican within Shanghai could be considered as trapped within a pot!

Yu Ang lost his spirit. He felt as though this lively city had millions of eyes upon him. He ran with his life at stake. No matter what, he could not end up in the hands of the Magic Court…

It was that Mo Fan, that godforsaken Mo Fan!!

During the Calamity of Bo City, he should’ve personally dealt with the bastard. How could he have ended up where he was now, otherwise?

Even if he was able to escape from the claws of the Magic Court, when he returned to the Vatican, who knew if the other half of his face would remain!

He had failed to obtain anything. The Blue Deacon and all of the members of the Vatican he was in charge of were being cleaned out completely. Master Salan would definitely go crazy with anger!

Not good! Even if he was able to escape, he could not return to the Black Vatican!

Yu Ang made his decision. He definitely couldn’t let Salan know that he was alive, or else he would suffereven worse than what would happen if he landed in the hands of the Magic Court!

When he was ordered to deal with Mo Fan, Yu Ang was extremely happy. Never did he imagine that he would actually end up in this kind of situation,where he was being pursued by the Magic Court while being unable to return to the Vatican.

——

“What happened here, heavens, what is this strange creature. That’s disgusting…”

“Corpses, there are burned corpses! Someone has been killed!”

“It’s the Great Demon! The person within that Iron Cage is the Great Demon, Mo Fan!”

Following the disappearance of the Great Nyx Regime Formation, and the tracks of the Shadow Beast, the students began to gather at the Beast Taming Iron Cage. They were surprised to find that the Beast Taming Iron Cage had gone through an extremely fierce battle. There were traces of magic, everywhere as well as astonishing scratch marks.

The origins of the scratch marks were most likely from the monster that was stuck there like a butterfly on display.

As for those burned corpses, no one knew who they were…

There were wounds on Mo Fan, especially the long cut across his chest, they could almost see his internal organs.

Ai Tutu and Mu Nujiao’s healing medicine were given to the Mo Fan inside the cage. However, Mo Fan’s wounds were clearly cursed, and thus could not heal. Blood was still flowing out.

“Mo Fan, are you alright?” Ms Tangyue’s deeply concerned voice came on his Bluetooth.

“I won’t die. Did you catch your person?”

“We’ve caught him. We will finally be able to pull out the roots of all the power behind the Black Vatican in SHanghai. Tonight, there’ll be a great purge.” Tangyue said a bit excitedly.

However, Tangyue heard Mo Fan’s breathing was very heavy. Her voice immediately turned soft as she said, “This was all thanks to you this time.”

“It was Xu Zhaoting…” Mo Fan said bitterly.

“Yes, no matter what, we were able to wipe out the Black Vatican’s force this time. You guys have provided a great contribution, I will notify the Captain of the Magic Court,” Tangyue said.

“I let Yu Ang escape, I’m worried that he will attack again,” Mo Fan said.

“Don’t worry, it’s impossible. The person in charge of the Vatican’s mission this time was him. With his mission failed, he won’t dare to return to the Vatican. We will announce a wanted list for him, and as long as it is a city with a Hunter Union and a Magic Association, he won’t dare to tread into them. Not just cities, but even safe areas. Even if he escapes, all he can do is become like a Magical Beast. And Magical Beasts are definitely not friendly with us,” Ms Tangyue said.

Mo Fan nodded, feeling a bit more relieved.

Yu Ang had to be eliminated! Mo Fan was worried that he would hurt more of the people close to him.

Even if he was a wanted man, it wasn’t guaranteed that he would be unable to hurt people.

No matter what, if there was a chance, Mo Fan would definitely have this person eliminated. Mo Fan would only be able to sleep properly once all the risks were gone!

“Hmph, even you have a day like this. If you didn’t die, then you can still be considered somewhat lucky!” Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song stood outside of the iron cage as they looked at Mo Fan, who was bleeding profusely.

Bai Zangfeng and Song Xia had also arrived outside. They looked at Mo Fan, who was obviously injured.

Bai Zangfeng took joy at this sight. Luo Song, however, kept looking at the Cursed Beast that was pinned there.

The Cursed Beast was tormented until exhaustion by the reinforced Giant Shadow Spike, it didn’t even have the strength to move its fingers. With such an ugly and scary creature appearing within the campus, the students were naturally talking about it.

“How did you receive such a severe injury, again?” A girl who appeared to be quite delicate hastily strode over as she saw Mo Fan laying at the edge of the Iron Cage.

Mo Fan turned around and saw a relatively familiar face, but he couldn’t recall her name, all he could do was grin.

“Let me heal you, don’t move.” The delicate girl crouched down on the other side of the iron Cage as she began to control her Stars.

“Hmph, why are you helping him? Can’t you see that most of the people here are too lazy to even bother with him? With you helping him like this, won’t you just cause all of the people in school to hate you?” the boy next to the girl asked.

The girl called Tingting didn’t care about everyone’s gazes as she continued to control her Stars.

“I have a Cursed corrosion effect on my body, you can’t heal me, your heal-” Mo Fan began to say to her.

“I’m also not the same Primary Magician as in the past,” Tingting smiled, as a white Star Path emerged beneath her feet.

There was more than just a single Star Path. They were both intertwining, as soft as a silk ribbon as they curled around the girl called Tingting. It made her appear holy and pure.

The Healing Ray slowly floated over. Its effect was completely different from the Primary Magic. The Intermediate Magic Healing was more like a spiritual butterfly. Wherever there was a wound, it would be attracted to it like a flower. As it followed the smell of blood and the aura of corrosion, the Healing Butterfly began to flutter around. It quickly began to eliminate the corrosion and swelling on Mo Fan’s rotting wounds.

A normal staunching medicine was of no use. However, when the Butterfly lightly breezed past, the blood immediately turned into scabs.

There was an extremely eye-catching cut across Mo Fan’s chest. Outside of where the flesh had turned slightly black, you could clearly see white bone. The Healing Spirit Butterfly lingered around for a long time before it was able to remove the Curse, and sewed Mo Fan’s wound back together. This whole process only caused Mo Fan to feel slightly itchy, there was no pain whatsoever.

His pale complexion began to recover some color. Mo Fan, who was laying in a pool of his own blood, wanted to get up, but he was scolded by Tingting saying, “Lay down. You lost too much blood, the Healing Spirit Butterfly will help you recover some of it.”

Mo Fan obediently laid back down. As expected, the Spirit Butterfly sprinkled some sparkling powder that entered his skin, and he could clearly feel his blood surging. His dizziness slowly began to dissipate.

Ai Tutu was standing by the side and couldn’t help but mumble, “This godforsaken Great Demon, why does he have an Intermediate Healing Magician helping him heal?”

The students who were in the vicinity was also shocked as they saw this.

Why???

The Healing element was similar to Summoning, both were few in number. Thus, all of the female Healing Magicians on the campus were regarded like Guanyin. (Ed Note: Guanyin = Goddess of Healing)

Magicians who possessed great destructive Magic power frequently suffered wounds every now and then. Many of them wouldn’t be able to talk due to how painful their wounds were. If they knew a Healing Magician, then all their problems with Magic would be resolved.

The Healing Element had always been protected, nurtured by many Elements. Those who paid attention to them would form a huge line. Under this incredible competition, the students who had gained the favor of the Healers were very small in number…

During the Rookie Competition, Mo Fan had probably offended the Healing Elements, as well. So how come there was an Intermediate Healing Magician who would come out and heal his wounds, and take such care of him? This made those who were watching from the side extremely envious.

It was the first time for a lot of people to experience a genuine Healing Magic. It looked like that extremely heavy wound was healed within just minutes!

In the Magic Campus, the most important relationship you had was the one you had with the Healing Goddesses!!

“Alright, you’re fine now.” Tingting displayed a smile, as if she didn’t mind anything else.

This made Mo Fan think of Xinxia. Could it be all girls who Awakened the Healing Element had hearts this kind?

“Thank you,” Mo Fan said in appreciation.

“The person who should be saying thank you is me. My name is Bai Tingting,” Bai Tingting showed a pure smile.

“Oh, my name is-”

“I know who you are. That day when you saved me from the Phantom Beasts, I already recognized you and your great fame.” Bai Tingting smiled once more.

“You mean his notoreity, hahaha!” While the two were talking, a man walked over, panting with rage.

This person was precisely Bai Zangfeng. When he saw his own cousin healing the scoundrel Mo Fan, he began to get extremely angry.

“Tingting, why are you healing him? I know you like to help people, but you need to also consider just how notorious this person’s name is on our campus! If you help him, then isn’t that equal to ruining the name of the Bai Family?!” Bai Zangfeng immediately brought up their family.

How could Bai Zangfeng not get angry? Whenever he was wounded, his younger cousin Tingting had never helped him heal at all. Now, she had spent so much mana just to help the Great Demon, and she did it in front of so many people, as well!

“Why do you care so much about my things?” Bai Tingting raised her head and glanced at Bai Zangfeng, her tone immediately turning cold.

Bai Zangfeng was at a loss for words. His eyes carried rage as he glared at Mo Fan.

“Err, who knows anything about this Beast Taming Iron Cage? Could someone quickly let me out?” Mo Fan yelled out.

“Let me help you ask,” Bai Tingting immediately offered.

As expected, once the Healing Sister opened her mouth, everything seemed to become much easier. Accordingly, a senior student who had once guarded this place began to explain how to open up the Beast Taming Iron Cage. At last, Mo Fan finally left the Cage.

“Don’t walk away! That creature, as well as those corpses, you will need to give an explanation!” Shen Mingxiao immediately reached out and grabbed Mo Fan.

“Yeah, if I’m not wrong, then those two people must be Fu Tianming and Jia Wenqing!… Did you kill them?!”

Mo Fan glanced at the two corpses, and did not back off at all, “I did indeed kill them!”

“Good, good, good, as long as you admit it! You killed two Intermediate Magicians, and they were both students of Pearl Institute! You even Summoned such an ugly murdering creature. Mo Fan, you won’t be able to escape today, I see that you are most likely a member of the Black Vatican!!!” Luo Song smiled coldly as he pointed at Mo Fan.

“The Black Vatican?”

“So, Mo Fan is a member of the Black Vatican, no wonder… I saw a creature that was extremely similar to a Dark Beast within the Dark Maze, so I wasn’t hallucinating at that time!”

Everyone’s gazes landed on Mo Fan, as a Black Vatican hat settled on Mo Fan’s head in their hearts.

There were bodies, and there was also a Cursed creature!

This was undeniable proof!

Whoooooosh!

Just when everyone was getting over-intense, a slipstream curled from the skies above them. It blew fiercely onto the flags that were located on top of the building.

Some people raised their heads and suddenly saw wings like an eagle appear.

After looking carefully, they realized it was actually a pale-faced man whose back bore a gorgeous pair of eagle wings. He dove down from the skies as his sturdy figure shocked them all.

“It’s Nighthawk, from the Magic Court!” Someone immediately recognized this extremely famous expert from the Magic Court.

There were many experts within the Magic Court. Among them was a person with eagle wings who everyone knew of, and that person was precisely Nighthawk!

He hovered around the skies of the city with eyes like an eagle. The targets he locked onto had never been able to escape!

“Cursed Beast?” Nighthawk of Magic Court’s gaze fell onto the body of the Cursed Beast.

However, he quickly realized that this Cursed Beast had been tormented until exhaustion under the incorporeal Shadow energy restricting it.

Nighthawk of the Magic Court scanned through the masses as he asked, “Which one of you is Mo Fan?”

“Sir Nighthawk, you came just in time! That person is Mo Fan, he is a person from the Black Vatican. He has killed two students-” Luo Song immediately jumped out as he blamed all of this on Mo Fan.

Shen Mingxiao and Bai Zangfeng had also encountered the Dark Beasts. Thus, they also decided to target Mo Fan.

“Shut up!!!” Nighthawk of Magic Court snorted disdainfully at those people who were pointing. At same time, he walked over in front of Mo Fan with eyes that were indeed similar to a hawk. He sized Mo Fan up before saying, “Mo Fan, you single-handedly destroyed the network of disciples and priests of the Black Vatican! Although you are young, your courage is incomparable, that’s, that’s really good!!”

After saying this, the Nighthawk’s pale face displayed a smile that could not be hidden. His gloved hands clasped Mo Fan’s shoulders heavily.

The words of the esteemed Nighthawk of the Magic Court thoroughly shocked everyone around them.

Single-handedly destroyed the network of Disciples and Priests of the Black Vatican?

There really were people from the Black Vatican sneaking into the school??

And they were all gotten rid of by Mo Fan?!

“Unfortunately, one of the Priests escaped,” Mo Fan said quietly.

“It’s fine. If it wasn’t for you and the Xu Zhaoting who has passed away, how would we have been able to completely pull out the network of the Black Vatican in Shanghai? I represent the Magic Court as we thank you for stepping out so bravely!” Nighthawk’s eyes were filled with praise.

There was so many experts and incredibly capable people within the Magic Court, yet none of them had been able to do anything about the Black Vatican. Even now, they hadn’t been able to punish the person behind the scenes responsible for the Calamity of Bo City.

Who would’ve thought that their operation this time was able to completely pull out the network administered by the Blue Deacon. They didn’t know how many members of the Black Vatican were actually concealed within Shanghai. However, with them being able to uncover such a large amount of people, it would actually eliminate the danger to many people who had been targeted by the Black Vatican!

“I only wanted to take revenge for Xu Zhaoting,” Mo Fan murmured, clearly unimpressed.

“No matter what, you have helped the Magic Court get rid of a great disease. Your strength is quite outstanding, and your bravery exceeds many others. How about this, after you graduate from Pearl Institute, you can come to our Magic Court! We’ll let you become an intern for the Magic Court, and when the time comes, we’ll turn you into a genuine member…”

Nighthawk wanted to recruit him!

The Black Vatican were stirring up trouble everywhere nowadays, every area had concealed danger. The judges from the Magic Court were all risking their lives, so the Chief of Magic Courts wanted to recruit some new reserves.

Nighthawk thought that in this day and age, where people were completely terrified when they heard the name “Black Vatican”, finding someone like Mo Fan who had the guts to face off against the Black Vatican face-to-face was extremely rare. In addition, his strength was incredibly outstanding. This kind of person was someone the Magic Court definitely wanted to recruit!

The second everyone heard Nighthawk wanted Mo Fan to join the Magic Court, the reaction on all the students’ faces could be described with three words:

What the f***?!?!

What kind of place was the Magic Court?

It was a Holy place of dreams for all Magicians who had cultivated so bitterly. Not only did the Magic Court possess paramount authority that no one could question, the resources that the Magic Court provided for all of their judges would cause any Magician who wanted to become the best to go crazy!

Ever since their childhood, the idea that their schools had been hammering into the students’ minds was, “A Magician’s duty is to protect humanity!”

And what was the highest ranking organization for protecting humanity?

That would be the Magic Court!

Thus, when the Nighthawk expressed his wish to have Mo Fan join the Magic Court after he graduated, waves of jealousy, admiration, and hatred swatted down onto Mo Fan.

“We’ll be taking back this Cursed Beast. As for these two people’s true identities, we will also properly investigate,” the pale Nighthawk told him.

“Alright,” Mo Fan nodded.

After going through this great battle, Mo Fan was naturally extremely exhausted.

Although his wounds had been healed, his mental state was completely worn out. Fortunately, he possessed four Elements, which was four reserves that could store mana. Otherwise, he would’ve run out of mana ages ago after such a long battle.

—–

Not long after, the people from the University arrived. They saw Nighthawk and were shocked.

People from the Black Vatican sneaking into a school was an extremely scary matter. Who knew what those heartless people would do to these extremely naive students!

When they found out that Xu Zhaoting and Zhang Lulu had been killed by people from the Black Vatican, Dean Xiao’s last few words for the speech of the examination this time turned very gloomy.

He knew that the Black Vatican came to deal with Mo Fan. However, he did not know that they had already snuck into the school.

Dean Xiao believed that he had failed his duty when he was unable to protect his students. Originally, he wanted to do something for Xu Zhaoting’s family… and then he found out that Xu Zhaoting no longer had one.

Thus, all of the compensation would be given to Zhang Lulu’s family…

——

Mo Fan finally returned to his own accommodations. Being extremely exhausted, he laid down on the couch on the balcony.

The night was extremely dark. Mo Fan, who had always been optimistic, recalled the scene when he had burned two people to ashes, and he started hyperventilating.

Their vengeance was done. Although Yu Ang did not get punished, he could no longer return to the Black Vatican or to the human civilization, which was no different than being dead.

The Black Vatican people overseen by the Blue Deacon would soon be completely eradicated, all because of the name that had been concealed in the abdomen of Xu Zhaoting.

Mo Fan finally understood why so many people were scared of the Black Vatican. It was because, when you battled the Black Vatican, blood would be shed!

—

“Monkey, what are you doing? Let me tell you something…” Mo Fan laid there as he told Monkey over the phone about the things that had happened during the past few days.

“Brother Fan, don’t blame yourself too much. All of us who have gone through the Calamity of Bo City have a firm determination to destroy the Black Vatican. If it was me, I would have done the same thing as Xu Zhaoting. The blood he shed was worth it! If he knew that you used the name he brought to you to destroy a member of Blue Deacon level within the Black Vatican, he would definitely bring it up with his family in the Yellow Springs!” Zhang Xiaohou said sincerely.

Mo Fan nodded in agreement.

He was indeed not able to save them, but at the very least, he did not fail them!

They could finally rest assured!

Black clouds covered the flourishing city below like a dense brocade.

The city was big, like the physique of a colossal giant. The roads with flickering lights were dense and crisscrossed in every direction. The many red tail lights looked similar to blood being transported throughout the body of the city.

It was still active at midnight, like the heart of a giant that was still beating.

In some of the corners, and some of the dark areas that were hard to find, it seemed a parasite, a tumor, a larvae had latched itself onto this great city. In a single night, all of that was being eliminated!

Perhaps they might hurt the flesh and bones during the extraction, but everyone was clear that these dangers were concealed. Perhaps the next time, there might even be large chunks of flesh, or even an organ affected by it. In order to protect the people that resided in this giant-like city, when they removed the bad blood, they definitely could not be lenient!

Mo Fan was laying on the balcony the whole time. The floor was high up, and it allowed him to see the beautiful night scene of this giant city.

He had called Ms Tangyue several times, but all of them went to her voice mail.

Thinking about this night, all of the justices from the Magic Court were currently fighting. Mo Fan could not see this battle, and those students who were discussing the Shadow Beast within the school also could not see this. The normal people who had already fallen into deep sleep did not see this, either… however, that does not mean it didn’t happen!

Ai Tutu suddenly jumped into Mo Fan’s line of sight. “Hello, why are you laying there like a dead person? Tell us just what happened, or else…or else I…”

What came into Mo Fan’s line of sight was not actually her pouty face, but her large chest. Furthermore, she was wearing a tank top, just how could he resist that?

“Nothing, really. It’s my own things, it’s better if you don’t know.” Mo Fan realized that he was also a very thoughtless person. When he saw that big white rabbit jumping around, his mood also turned into his normal lazy one.

“Bullshit, why are the people from the Black Vatican targeting you? Was that Cursed Beast subdued by you? I heard that those Cursed Beast are Warrior level! How could you, a student, possibly fight against a Warrior-level creature? Also, were that Jia Wenqing and Fu Tianming really from the Black Vatican? Could you be an undercover agent that was put into the school to deal with the Black Vatican by the Magic Court… Oh, that must definitely be the case!” Ai Tutu’s large number of questions immediately swatted over and slapped his ears.

“You’re really creative, you should go and write some novels!” Mo Fan was speechless toward Ai Tutu.

“Also, the most important question. If you answer this question, then you won’t need to answer the other questions,” Ai Tutu said seriously.

“Ask away,” Mo Fan said.

“Just what Elemental Magician are you?” Ai Tutu asked.

This question was precisely the same question that Mu Nujiao, who was sitting on the couch wanted to ask. When Ai Tutu asked this, she also turned her head over as her beautiful eyes watched Mo Fan.

The first time seeing him at the Rookie Competition, Mo Fan was clearly just a Summoning Magician. His Spirit Wolf was basically invincible.

Afterwards, he displayed an Intermediate Lightning Magic. This could also be considered normal, perhaps his major Element might have been the Lightning Element, and then he began to cultivate the Summoning Element. After all, an Intermediate Magician was able to use two Elements.

However, when Mu Nujiao was watching Mo Fan in combat, Mo Fan had clearly shown power from other Elements. This was a question that continuously perplexed her.

Within the Beast Taming Iron Cage, Mo Fan’s performance was extremely astonishing.

As he walked out of the flames, his whole body was enshrouded in a captivating flame. The strength that he displayed at that time was precisely Intermediate Fire Magic!

The incredible might of the Fiery Fist, Groundbreak was something that was still fresh in Mu Nujiao’s mind!

He’s also a Fire Magician?!

But how could that be possible? His cultivation had yet to reach the Advanced level, yet he possessed three different Magics!

“Didn’t you guys see it already, what’s the point of asking?” Mo Fan also did not deny it.

The truth was, the two of them were very considerate. If they were to ask some people that came from Bo City, they would most likely know about the Innate Dual Element thing. Even if they knew about it, it wouldn’t change much.

“Do you really have three Elements??” By now, Mu Nujiao was no longer able to sit quietly. She immediately stood up, and her curvy, delicate body immediately popped into Mo Fan’s vision.

Ai Tutu’s little mouth formed into an egg shape as she looked at Mo Fan in disbelief.

“Great Demon, you really are a freak. Innate Dual Element is something from legends!”

“Not only do you have that many Elements, you are even able to cultivate them to a realm that most people cannot do…” Mu Nujiao immediately grasped onto the most important aspect of this.

The scene of him using the fire Element convinced Mu Nujiao that Mo Fan’s Fire Elemental strength far exceed that of his Summoning Element. It was even a bit stronger than even his Lightning Element!

Furthermore, this guy didn’t possess common fire; it was Spirit-grade Fire!

“Great Demon, if this is the case, that means your strongest Element isn’t Summoning nor Lightning, but is actually the Fire Element!” Ai Tutu said.

“That sounds about right.”

Ai Tutu basically kneeled down.

Mu Nujiao was actually a relatively strong woman herself. She initially thought her own strength was on par with Mo Fan. However, who would’ve imagined that he had actually cultivated three Elements, with Lightning being the secondary, the Summoning Element which had defeated over a hundred people was his minor, while the Fire Element was his major… Suddenly, a feeling of defeat washed over Mu Nujiao.

“You freak!” Ai Tutu began to pant with rage.

Ai Tutu enjoyed playing games. She initially thought she was pretty awesome. However, it turned out that she couldn’t even win against someone else’s smurf account. Her heart began to feel conflicted.

——

During the night they were sweeping away the Black Vatican, another incredible thing happened in Hangzhou.

The news only mentioned something based on no evidence. There was no concrete proof to what they were saying. After this thing had turned into a strange occurrence, it immediately was lost behind the other news that people were more interested in.

Mo Fan was listening to Xinxia mentioning this over the phone. This vaguely made Mo Fan recall when Ms Tangyue mentioned she had some matters to attend in Hangzhou. However, just what exactly happened in the Xihu region that was filled with a beautiful, poetic grace was most likely something that only the Magic Court and some higher organization would know.

——

Not too long after the invasion of Black Vatican happened, Mo Fan went to visit Xinxia’s school.

Xinxia and Lingling were very close. The two of them seemed to be sisters.

“Did anyone have plans against Xinxia?” Mo Fan asked Lingling.

“Don’t worry, she will definitely be fine. Hangzhou has a Magic Court office, so normally speaking, the Black Vatican wouldn’t dare to come all the way here to seek death. However, when I was protecting your little girlfriend, I discovered something that you probably never realized,” Lingling said.

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked, feeling confused.

“Sister Xinxia seems to have someone protecting her already!” Lingling declared.

“There’s someone protecting her?” Mo Fan felt as though cold water had been poured over him.

“It could also be my misconception, they might also be some admirer in the school. Either way, that person has no malicious intent toward her, and I’ve also confirmed that it isn’t anyone from the Black Vatican. I actually discovered it unintentionally,” Lingling reported.

“Just what is going on, you need to be more clear.” Mo Fan was very anxious when it came to Xinxia.

“I’m unable to give you concrete information.”

Mo Fan asked her several times, and Lingling just said she herself did not know much either. She only had a feeling.

Mo Fan also went to ask Xinxia. Xinxia said she hadn’t felt anyone in her surroundings. Mo Fan only felt more insecure after hearing this.

Protecting Xinxia was something he should be doing. -Just which scoundrel is meddling in other people’s business. You better run to some cool and chill place, or else I, your daddy, Mo Fan will catch you!-

-If you sugarcoat it, you could call it protecting. If you don’t, then this is just stalking!-

—

“It could be her mother. Her mother suddenly left, and she probably felt guilty and didn’t dare to meet her. That’s why she decided to watch over her in secret. Mo Fan, you don’t need to worry blindly…” After Mo Jiaxing heard this, the first thing he thought of was Xinxia’s mother.

When Mo Fan asked about Xinxia’s mothers circumstances, Mo Jiaxing only sighed deeply and began to talk about the reason.

In short, Mo Jiaxing told Mo Fan that he had planned on starting a family together with Xixnia’s mother. However, not long after they had gotten together, Xinxia’s mother suddenly left, leaving only Xinxia behind.

Mo Jiaxing was a very generous and kind person. Even if he was cheated on by someone else, he didn’t want Xinxia to be impoverished. Thus, he took on the position of Xinxia’s irresponsible mother and raised her.

After Mo Fan knew the truth, he also had nothing to say.

His father had indeed gone through a lot. He finally found someone after great difficulty, but that person ended up being completely heartless. Her only objective seemed to be leaving her own daughter behind.

After hearing Lingling’s description, it could be assumed that the person protecting Xinxia would most likely be her own mother. She might’ve been worried, but was too afraid to show herself.

Mo Fan didn’t tell Xinxia about this so she wouldn’t be hurt.

—

Mo Fan stayed in Hangzhou for a period of time. Perhaps it was because he saw how lonely Xu Zhaoting and Zhang Lulu were, it made him treasure Xinxia, who he had saved from the calamity, even more.

Lingling seemed to be very interested in what had happened in Xihu, and began to investigate it, as well.

Unfortunately, even with her skills, she was unable to find out anything about this matter. Thus, she was dejected and did not want to continue bothering Mo Fan and Xinxia, so she returned to Shanghai first.

——

“Mo Fan, hurry up and come back. Dean Xiao has already sold us, he wants us to go to Imperial College as exchange students,” Zhao Manyan said to Mo Fan through the phone.

“What, exchange students?” Mo Fan said with a great confusion.

“Sigh. If you put it nicely, we’re exchange students. If you put it in a bad way, it was a little b*** fight between the schools. They do this every year,” Zhao Manyan put it more clearly.

“Then why is it us and the Imperial College?” Mo Fan said, feeling confused.

“It’s just bullshit. If you look across this country, there are very few places that can contend against the Imperial College. In the draw this year, we just happened to draw against them. Each side will choose a batch of rather outstanding students to go to the other university for three months. This time, we’ll be going to Imperial College. The Imperial College is filled with freaks and evil-doers are everywhere. Even the staff behind the school is like Alexander the Great. In order not to lose face for our school, Dean Xiao is basically forcing you to go!” Zhao Manyan told him.

Mo Fan was speechless as he hastily returned to school.

After finding Dean Xiao and Zhou Zhenghua, Mo Fan immediately said in dissatisfaction, “Hey, how could you not ask for my opinion before you put my name down! I never said I wanted to be some exchange student, and I also don’t plan on going to Imperial College to have people look down on me!”

“Mo Fan, don’t be so modest. With your strength, you won’t lose to the people in Imperial College. There are so few incredibly outstanding people entering the Main Campus, if you don’t go, then who will?” Zhou Zhenghua said deadly earnestly.

“Dean Xiao, you know I’ve always been a low key kind of person. This school battle…Oh, things like this where you fight for the honor of your school is something other people are far more suited for than me!” Mo Fan made it clear that he did not want to go.

His life../style in Shanghai was great. During the daytime, he earned money from commissions. Subdue monsters and get rid of them while pampering the Elements with their endless appetite to increase their quality. His life../style was beautiful, so why would he want to go to Imperial College? Relying on someone else while being looked down at? Any of the students in Imperial College could be considered heavenly geniuses. If Mo Fan was to live with those kind of f**ers, then he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t kill one or two!

“Mo Fan, please don’t decline this. Being sent to Imperial College as an exchange student is incredibly pressuring, I understand that. Thus, for the students who go this time, I will reward them with an additional treasure. I have a Focus Magic Tool, this guarantees that a Magician would be able to endure spirit attacks while being able to cast their spells…” Dean Xiao could be considered a very experienced person. He was able to tell what kind of person Mo Fan was with one glance, so he didn’t bullshit anymore and just gave him the benefits!

“It can endure spirit attacks?” Mo Fan blinked. He quickly recalled that freak Chao He that he had fought against with Ms Tangyue.

His Curse Spells came with spiritual attacks, rendering others unable to cast their own spells.

Right now, Mo Fan was not scared of visible attacks. However, he was scared of those strange, spiritual-type traps. Being unable to use spells was a huge problem. If he had this kind of Focus Magic Tool, then he would have one more layer of protection!

“We have a deal!” Mo Fan firmly received the Focus Magic Tool.

The Focus Magic Tool was a necklace. Although Mo Fan was already wearing a pendant inside his clothes, this Focus Magic Tool’s shape was a bit better looking than the Little Loach Pendant. Wearing it on the outside wasn’t too bad.

Actually, Mo Fan already thought about that guy Yu Ang knowing he had hidden the Underground Holy Spring within his necklace. He had most likely revealed this to others, so, with him wearing this Focus necklace, he’d be able to fool them!

“Since you’ve taken your gifts, you cannot lose the face for our Pearl Institute when you go the Imperial College!” Zhou Zhenghua said with an ugly face.

Other students would try to steal spots to be an exchange student. He had never seen someone like Mo Fan who would haggle with the teachers about this! A Focus Magic Tool was not a cheap object! How could they just give it away so easily?!

“Don’t worry, I will definitely beat the people of Imperial College up!” After Mo Fan received the benefits, he was going to be exerting himself to his fullest.

Dean Xiao glared at Mo Fan and said, “Don’t stir up trouble.”

“Hey hey, I won’t… I won’t..” Mo Fan smiled awkwardly.

Dean Xiao coughed as he began speaking with a different tone, “While at same time, don’t be too courteous. As long as it is justified, we will definitely help you.”

Mo Fan looked at Dean Xiao, who was being so serious, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Dean Xiao’s words could be translated as “If you’re bullied by someone, don’t worry. Let go of your fears and fight them to the end, the school will provide support for you!”

Mo Fan could be considered a very normal person. Since he had come to the Imperial city, then he might as well take a look at the tourist attractions!

As a man who refused to satisfy himself until he had reached the apex, Mo Fan was standing on a lofty mountain ridge. As he stood near the ridge that had been built up into a great wall, he viewed the majestic mountains. A couple of quiet exclamations left him as he looked around, he felt like he was at a completely different level!

“The Great Wall was constructed by Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor. In the beginning, it was used to defend against Magical Beast’s invasions. However, following the expansion of the territory of China, this majestic defense line had gradually turned into a remnant of its former self. Now it is just used for tourism. The Great Wall has a long history, there were many stories regarding the ancient, mysterious magic that happened on these Great Walls… ” The old teacher, Qiu Yuhua, who was leading the group was giving the students a narration as he began to talk about Magic History.

The other people looked as though they were about to fall asleep, none of them were listening.

Mo Fan’s face was very different, however. There were many questions that popped up in his head, he couldn’t help but begin teasing the history teacher Qiu Yuhua as he said, “Was the magic in the past a bit behind the times? Otherwise, how could a powerful Earth Magician construct a colossal object today, while it took them manpower and bitter work in the past?”

“What do you kids know? Not only was Qin Shi Huang a great Sovereign King and a strategist, he was also the most terrific Earth Magician in our history. The Epang Palace and the Great Wall have existed throughout history! No matter how much time passes, these things have stood tall. Do you really think the material used in creating the Great Wall was common? With your current cultivation, even if you were fighting here for ten days, you still would not be able to scratch the surface of it!” the old teacher Qiu Yuhua said.

Mo Fan was speechless. If he really were to throw a Fiery Fist toward the Great Wall, then he wouldn’t just destroy the remnant of an ancient civilization, but he’d also have to fork out a lot of money in compensation.

“Alright alright, Qin Shi Huang was the ancestor of the Earth Element…” Mo Fan didn’t know whether to cry or to laugh.

“Hmph. The tomb of Qin Shi Huang is a place we have been unable to step into. Do you really think that the tomb was built from the bitter efforts of the people? If that really was the case, then it wouldn’t exist in the Departed Paradise!” old teacher said.

Departed Paradise. This was probably directed toward the tomb outside of the Ancient City, Xi’an. There were many Hunters who wanted to go there and search for the Magic Tools left behind by the ancient people. However, the Departed Creatures were like a tide, rendering the Magicians unable to take a single step.

“Tomorrow, we will go to the court of the Magic Forbidden City. There are many more historical treasures deposited there. Even to this day, they are still extremely interesting,” Qiu Yuhua said.

When they went out with the old teacher, if they didn’t go to historical sites, then they would go to museums, old palaces, places students were normally not interested in at all. However, these were classes they had to attend. If you wanted to be a proper Magician, you couldn’t just go around killing all day!

No matter what era it was, science had its history, while Magic also had its own. The highest level of a subject could not leave out the history behind it.

——

After they took a tour around these famous remnants of the Imperial City, Mo Fan almost thought that the old teacher would force them to write down their thoughts about it.

Fortunately, what the old teacher wanted to tell everyone was just a single concept; the history of human magic was not simple. It was built upon piles of corpses that had turned into a protective wall. The people that came afterwards needed to put even more effort into their cultivation, increase their strength, and only then would they be able to contend against the Magical Beasts that exceeded humans by millions!

After the calamity of Bo City, humanity’s position had been overturned in Mo Fan’s heart. He specifically went to take a look at the history of this place, and realized that his own world largely had humans killing each other. However, in this place, humans generally watched out for one another. There were rarely battles or wars between humans, they were mostly between humans and magical beasts.

The history appeared to be similar. The science and technology were nearly identical, and the literature wasn’t out of alignment, either. What was different was actually the structure of the world.

The battles between humans and Magical Beasts had never stopped during the entire span of human history. The Great Wall of China was a crucial defensive line constructed by Qi Shihuang, used for protecting the human lands.

The school was, after all, a sacred place. They would never stop imbuing their duty into new Magicians.

Perhaps other students had yet to truly understand the importance of being a Magician. After going through the calamity of Bo City, Mo Fan had a deep experience after seeing first hand how the Magical Beasts had entered the city and used humans as their livestock.

Presumably, over the long course of history, there must’ve been things that happened that were even more dreadful than the calamity of Bo City between the humans and Magical Beasts!

——

After walking through a couple Chinese Magic History sacred grounds, they finally entered the Imperial College.

Mo Fan felt as though the many compliments he had given the Imperial College paled in comparison to its reality. In his brain, all that he came up with was “Tsinghua” or “Beijing University” as descriptions, yet, those were still too far from its reality.

This was the number one University in China, always revered by others and never toppled.

Each year, the Magic Universities would have an exchange. This was a very common thing. Originally, with Pearl Institute being the number one university in Shanghai, its ranking was not just for show. When they went to other universities, not only would they not have to bow, it wouldn’t be even a bit of a problem if they were to walk around with a sense of superiority.

However, Gu Han’s luck was was indeed weak. Out of 985 projects with nearly 40 schools, he didn’t draw anything good. He just had to draw the Imperial College, the school ranked number one. When the school board learned about this, they began to seethe with anger.

Pearl Institute was a well-known University within the nation. However, there was indeed a slight bit of disparity when compared to the splendid Imperial College. After all, the other party’s history was extremely deep!

Here, the disciples of Aristocratic families were the same as normal students. The geniuses in this place were numerous, you could hit dozens with a wave of your arm. If you weren’t born under a Heavenly Sign, then you’d be embarrassed when telling others that you were an Imperial College student!

The board of Pearl Institute did have a lot of pressure. Being the number one ranked University in Shanghai, there was no way they would ever say they were terrified of Imperial College. Thus, the board of Pearl Institute decided to choose the most outstanding freshmen in the Main Campus to distinguish themselves for Pearl Institute at the Imperial College.

The list of names was decided by Dean Xiao, and the first name he wrote on it was Mo Fan!

Mo Fan even dared to kill those from the Black Vatican, and he dared to be tyrannical. No matter how imposing the Imperial College was, they still couldn’t exceed the Black Vatican. By having this kid go, they definitely won’t lose out!

Afterwards, Dean Xiao also put in the names of other people Mo Fan knew.

One of them was Zhao Manyan, his dorm mate.

The other was Mu Nujiao, his house mate.

One was Song Xia, his future dorm mate… eh, this girl was a bit too violent, let’s forget that…

Zheng Bingxiao, his classmate of the same element.

Luo Song and Shen Mingxiao, who had obtained the carcass of the Shadow Beast.

The Healing Element student, Bai Tingting, and another student called Peng Liang.

Since they had picked them from the freshmen, those old students who had entered the Main Campus from the Azure Campus were not even ranked. Thus, the outstanding students were a group of people that Mo Fan had at least seen before.

Adding in Mo Fan, there were a total of nine exchange students this time.

Gu Han was leading the group, while Qiu Yuhua was responsible for talking.

If he were to count, then Mo Fan was familiar with all of them, except for the student called Peng Liang… even if that familiarity was bad blood…

After entering Imperial College, the teacher who was responsible for receiving everyone quickly assigned them to their dormitories.

Now that everyone was an Intermediate Magician, they could even be considered a postgraduate student. Thus, their living standards were quite good.

The dormitory had a large hall, and all of the rooms were individual. The dormitory was relatively tall, very close to the top of the building.

For Mo Fan, someone who liked to cultivate in the dead of the night, staying somewhere closer to the roof was better for him. If the moonlight was in the right place, he wouldn’t even need to use the staircase. He could just use Evading Shadow to move from his balcony all the way to the roof!

“Mr. Gu Han, Mr. Qiu Yuhua, why don’t you take the students and rest here? Tomorrow, the other six exchange students from the other schools will come. When the time comes, there’ll be a learning event from each other’s schools,” the teacher in charge told them.

“So soon?” Gu Han was shocked.

The comparing notes event between all the magic universities was absolutely necessary. It was just having it so soon surprised everyone.

“What is it? The time just happens to be right. This has always been the most important event of the year. Furthermore, this year, other than comparing notes, the practicals are also essential. The earlier we start this, the better it’ll be!” the teacher said with a chuckle.

“If that’s the case… Alright.”

“I will come and get you from here tomorrow. Students of Pearl Institute, you should also rest early. We, the Imperial College, have already heard about your achievements. We’ve been hoping to have a little competition with you, so when the time comes, please be lenient to us!” Teacher Lu continued, his polite smile displaying a false sense of modesty.

Gu Han’s temperament wasn’t very good. He wanted to coldly hmph in front of the man.

-What’s the point of acting? Wwho doesn’t know that your Imperial College is always the number one show off beneath the heavens, and you even dare to ask us to be lenient?-

After Teacher Lu left, Mo Fan’s face was filled with questions. “Mr. Gu Han, what is this competition?”

“You don’t even know about this?” Shen Mingxiao immediately answered suspiciously. “Although we are called exchange students, the truth is we are just people dispatched by the university to compete with the students from other universities!”

“Don’t feel too pressured. Just use your usual heart to face off against them. Furthermore, there are still students from other schools…” Qiu Yuhua said.

“It’s not the same. Whether the students from other universities win or lose doesn’t really matter. It’s because they already know their strengths aren’t on par with Imperial College. However, the Pearl Institute is different; if we lose, we also lose our prestige!

“Don’t think too much about it. Go back, rest properly, and adjust your condition,” Mr Gu Han advised them.

Mo Fan had basically come here without knowing anything. He didn’t know that the second he got here, he’d have to fight. -Shit, this is totally against what I expected!-

——

Mr. Lu Yiming walked out of the dormitories and proceeded toward the practice grounds.

The Imperial College would always put a particular focus on this event every year. In order for them to remain at the number one rank, the students they arranged to compete against the exchange students were definitely chosen from thousands of eager applicants. Some of them were so powerful that even their teachers were unable to compare.

Their students had prepared for a long time for the Exchanging of Notes this time, especially the the ones who were better at fighting.

In terms of strength, Lu Yiming firmly believed that there weren’t many universities that had any students that were capable of overpowering the Imperial College. The main advantage they had that allowed them to be invincible was that all these students had already gone through fights with one another. This made them even more cooperative in team fights!

In the middle of the practice grounds, a man with bare arms and a body like a stone asked, “Mr. Lu, have the exchange students from Pearl Institute arrived?”

This person’s usage of Earth Ripple was very adept. As he casually took a few steps, he moved from the middle of the practice grounds to the outside.

“They’re here,” Mr. Lu Yiming nodded.

“Hahahaha, these mediocre people of Pearl Institute! They hoot at our Imperial College every single day. This time, we have finally drawn you out! Just wait until I beat all of you until you’re on the ground, and then we’ll see who dares to question the truth!” The man with the solid body began to laugh out loud as he clapped his chest.

At this time, an elegant student with white clothes joined in,”Those from the Pearl Institute have always had a loud thunder, but small raindrops. They move their mouths, and refuse to be beneath us. They don’t have any real abilities.”

“I’m even feeling impatient!”

Lu Yiming watched his students’ enthusiasm, and displayed a slight smile.

The competition between Pearl Institute and Imperial College was not something that has been ongoing for merely a couple years. These two exceedingly large metropoli were already opposing each other in terms of territory. For schools, places where many ambitious youngsters gathered, a competition was simply unavoidable.

In the past, Imperial College had always drawn the other universities as opponents. Winning was very normal for them.

This year, it was the Pearl Institute, and this was definitely something worth watching!

Pearl Institute was, after all, the number one University in Shanghai, whereas the Imperial College was the number one University in the Imperial City.

With the two of the most famous Magic Universities in the nation fighting, that’s what was truly called exciting!

It’s not that the students were too impatient to really display themselves, as even the school board couldn’t wait to start the competition. They wanted to truly get rid of Pearl Institute; this way, their spot as the best would be even more firm!

Either way, them not decorating all around the campus and celebrating because they were finally able to draw the students of Pearl Institute could still be considered being reserved!

“Mr. Lu, if we can get rid of the people of Pearl Institute this time and obtain the prestige for our university, would the school give us some additional reward?” Xu Dalong asked.

The white clothed student floating in the air, Liao Mingxuan said, “Whether or not we get rewarded is not the issue. My hand are very itchy right now, the Pearl Institute… how do I put this, they could still be considered as being alright.”

“The two of you better not be hasty. Don’t you go around and destroy the position of our school all on your own,” a Summoning student within the practice ground spoke up. Beside him was a fierce blue wolf!

“Lu Zhenghe, don’t underestimate us. I’d be able to knock down your Violent Mark Wolf on my own!” Xu Dalong’s short temper immediately arose.

“Hehe! There is indeed someone who is capable of single-handedly knocking down my Violent Mark Wolf on their own. However, that person is not you. Why don’t you go and practice a couple more years.” The summoning student, Lu Zhenghe, patted the large head of the wolf next to him, his smile filled with ridicule.

Xu Dalong’s face turned black as he pointed toward the Summoning Element student. “Just you wait!”

“I will definitely get the highest reward from fighting against other universities this time. With the ability that the Pearl Institute has, I’m afraid even if they were to team up, they still wouldn’t be able to win against my Violent Mark Wolf, hahaha!” Lu Zhenghe laughed egotistically.

Lu Yiming shook his head. As students of Imperial College, the vast majority of them were very arrogant.

That’s nothing he could do about it, they indeed had extremely dominating abilities.

“Where’s your captain?” Lu Yiming asked.

“Captain was tired, she went to rest up first. Mr. Lu, why don’t the few of us go to the fights tomorrow. Let’s not bother our Captain.”

“Yeah, yeah, just us will be enough.”

The second they mentioned the Captain, the few of them couldn’t help but display admiration.

The position of this group was very simple. Whoever was the strongest was the Captain!

When they were choosing their Captain, even the extremely arrogant Lu Zhenghe did not object.

In front of others, Lu Zhenghe’s Violent Mark Wolf was a fierce wolf. In front of her, it turned into a little dog.

As evening came, Mo Fan quietly moved to the rooftop.

The air in the Imperial City was even worse then the Demon City. No matter which part of the city you were in, there was no way for you to see the starry skies. The clouds made the night pitch-black and everything unclear. There was a layer of a yellow drizzle around, like a pollution of the light.

Mo Fan planned on continuing meditating tonight and wanted to focus on the Summoning Element that had recently evolved into a Nebula.

Who knew why, but the Little Loach Pendant was a bit odd today, as it let out a strange radiance. Mo Fan thought it was very weird.

During the past couple of days, while he was appreciating the Magic Historical Sites, Mo Fan had gone to Mr. Qiu Yuhua specifically to ask about matters regarding Undead Tools.

Recalling what Zhao Manyan had mentioned before, Soul Remnants and Soul Essences that appeared after death could not be seen, and thus could not be collected, either. Only Undead Magicians were capable of controlling them.

If other Magicians wanted to collect Soul Remnants or Soul Essences, they had to use the Undead Tools forged by the Undead Magicians…

Just where did the Little Loach Come from? It was a precious Meditation Tool, and also a Undead Tool.

Tonight, the light emitted by this little thing was particularly strange. Mo Fan decided to use his intent to probe and see what he could find out.

The Underground Holy Spring was stored within the Little Loach Pendant, and was nearly completely digested. The reason why Yu Ang was able to sense the aura of the Underground Holy Spring was because the Little Loach Pendant had emitted some drops of the Underground Holy Spring stored inside it.

Spitting out the Spring again was basically impossible. Additionally, the Little Loach Pendant seemed to have linked to it. Even if someone wanted to take it away, it would be impossible. To be frank, the Black Vatican no longer had any possibility of ever getting the Underground Holy Spring.

“Why are you being so noisy? Not only are you not asleep in the dead of the night, you’re also letting out some strange, green light…” Mo Fan was sitting on the rooftop as he watched the Little Loach Pendant in confusion.

As night fell, the Little Loach Pendant began to light up a green radiance. From time to time, it would start to tremble as well. If Mo Fan wasn’t one hundred percent sure that the Little Loach Pendant was actually a pendant, then he would’ve suspected it to be a living creature.

As his intent entered the pendant, Mo Fan was shocked to discover that the inside of the Little Loach Pendant actually had a void space.

Perhaps because his cultivation back then was not high enough, his intent had been unable to truly enter the world of the Little Loach Pendant. This time, Mo Fan felt just like his first time using Dimensional Summoning, his intent felt as though he was in a plane different from his own.

However, Mo Fan did not panic. Even something like the Three Step Pagoda had a colossal space hidden within it, the mysterious Little Loach Pendant having a world of its own was not strange at all. Otherwise, where would it put the Underground Holy Spring? Where would it put the collected souls?

As his intent continued to wander, he realized this piece of void was actually not that big. As Mo Fan proceeded toward the deeper parts, he quickly spotted an incredibly clear river in the middle of it.

The aura emitted by the river was just like the Underground Holy Spring. You could basically say that there was a murmuring river flowing within the void of the Little Loach Pendant!

As Mo Fan watched carefully, he realized there was a ball of green light hovering above the waters of the river. It looked like a bunch of enlarged fireflies as it floated above the river.

The green fireflies’ radiance had already reached a certain scale. It began to gather as it glittered above the clear river, simply too beautiful. However, once he was clear what the firefly radiance was, Mo Fan was no longer able to think of them as beautiful.

To put it in a nice way, the things floating above the river were Soul Remnants.

In a bad way, they were all souls.

In the very beginning, when Mo Fan had killed the Spirit Wolf that belonged to Instructor Bai Yang, the Spirit Wolf’s soul had been absorbed by the Little Loach Pendant.

Ever since, the Magical Beasts and the people from the Black Vatican killed by him had all turned into those specks of light as they floated into the Little Loach Pendant.

Mo Fan thought that those worthless Soul Remnants had all been turned into food for the Little Loach Pendant, but who would’ve thought that they were all here, turned into a green lantern hovering above the river…

Mo Fan was also puzzled. He really did not understand the Little Loach Pendant’s addiction to gathering all these spoils of war.

Fortunately, not too long afterwards, the green radiance began to dim. Although Mo Fan was suspicious, since he couldn’t tell what was going on, he had to stop wasting time.

They were all Soul Remnants. Compared to the Soul Essences that could be used to create Stardust Magic Tools and Nebula Magic Tools, the difference was like a grain of sand and gold. Since the Little Loach Pendant liked to collect them, then he’d let it be. Being a Pendant with a goal was not a bad thing, either!

Mo Fan no longer paid any more attention to the Little Loach Pendant. He sank into his magic Cultivation.

——

As he entered the latter half of the night, the Little Loach Pendant turned restless once more, continuously trembling.

Mo Fan opened his eyes. Just as he was about to scold the pendant, he suddenly realized that the originally scattered green radiance had concentrated greatly!

Mo Fan to opened his eyes widel and his mouth was gaping enough to fit a fist inside it!

The scattered green radiance and the condensed green radiance were two completely different things. The former was a Soul Remnant as worthless as a grain of sand, and the latter was a Soul Essence worth as much as gold!

The problem was, he clearly did not fight anything, nor did he kill any Magical Beast, so how could the pendant possibly produce a Soul Essence?

Furthermore, this was the genuine article!

Mo Fan hastily used his intent to probe and suddenly realized the Soul Remnants hovering above the river were no longer there. The space above the river was completely empty, there was only a Soul Essence with a very concentrated radiance. It was as mesmerizing as the moonlight!

Mo Fan was not the kind of person who liked to have a meat pie drop from the sky. He needed to have everything made clear to him before he would feel safe.

This Soul Essence was too sudden. It was just like picking it up from the street…

Being happy was one thing, but his heart was still a bit not at ease.

——

Carrying this hesitation, early morning finally arrived.

Mo Fan knocked on the old teacher, Qiu Yuhua’s door the first thing in the morning. The old teacher yawned as he looked at Mo Fan saying, “You’re up quite early, what’s wrong?”

“Sir, I was reading a book regarding the Undead Magic Tools. It said that other than just collecting Soul Essences, they also have one extremely special ability. Do you know about it?” Mo Fan asked him.

The old instructor’s eyes began to shine. It was like he had met another great master who would delve into this kind of study as he wearily said, “Where did you read this book at, it must be an ancient book! I actually accidentally came across some very early materials that had some records written down…”

When Mo Fan saw this old teacher’s eyes turning extremely excited while pretending to act so mysterious, he knew that this old guy definitely had the answer that he wanted. Thus he directed him in the direction of what he wanted to understand.

The old teacher Qiu Yuhua appeared as if he was spilling all of the secrets he had discovered throughout his life as he whispered, “There’s a rumor that there’s a Undead Magic Tool that doesn’t just collect Soul Essences, but it even has an affinity with Soul Remnants. This is because this type of Undead Magic Tool… is capable of refining those Soul Remnants into a proper Soul Essence!”

After hearing this, Mo Fan felt like his entire body had just lit up.

As expected, the Little Loach Pendant that had turned all those Soul Remnants into a Soul Essence.

Turning sands into gold!

Mo Fan couldn’t help but give the Little Loach Pendant a kiss. Owning a Pendant and having it reach this kind of realm, that was way too amazing. It was far too exceptional.

After he returned to his room, Mo Fan went inside it to affirm once more.

It was indeed a Soul Essence, a Minion-level Soul Essence.

A Minion-level Soul was also relatively precious, because all the basic Stardust Magic Tools required them.

When Mo Fan was pondering about how he could use the Little Loach Pendant to earn big money in the future, he accidentally discovered an even bigger problem!

It appeared that he was not able to extract the Soul Essence!

“Little Loach Pendant, don’t tease me. If I can’t take out the Soul Essence, then I can’t bring it to auction. If I can’t sell it, I won’t have money.” Mo Fan didn’t know whether to cry or not.

He had discovered gold, but was unable to extract it. In that sense, even if there was more gold, what was the point of it?

Mo Fan studied it for a long time, and realized that he was unable to extract this condensed Soul Essence from the Little Loach Pendant. If this was the case, then wouldn’t the refined Minion-level Soul Essence be just the same as a decoration?!

Could it be that he jumped the gun too fast?

Mo Fan was a little unwilling as he continued to study the Soul Essence.

He didn’t eat breakfast. He used all of his time attempting to extract the gold that he had picked up from the street.

Mo Fan used his intent to repeatedly attempt its removal. He eventually realized that this Soul Essence was not able to go anywhere else, other than inside his Spiritual World.

This kind of feeling was just like a Spiritual Imprint. It was like this Soul Essence had a imprint on it, and was firmly bound to him…

The question is, what was the point of having this special Soul inside his own Spiritual World?

After probing it for a long time, the bored Mo Fan decided to move the Soul Essence toward his Lightning Nebula.

The Lightning Nebula was purple and had a spiral shape now, like a galaxy. It was extremely bright within the vast Spiritual Space.

As Mo Fan watched the radiating Soul Essence being pulled in, he realized that this firefly-like radiance was involuntarily floating toward a Lightning Star.

Just as Mo Fan was trying to discern what was going on, the Lightning Star suddenly began to emit a certain magnetic field, and it devoured the radiant Soul Essence completely.

“Shit, how could that thing be eaten?!”

A Soul Essence was worth three to give million RMB! How could it eat it like that, it was outrageous!

How could a normally very obedient Star suddenly have such a change in attitude?! It swallowed a Soul Essence, and even refused to spit it back out!

This whole situation rendered Mo Fan completely dumbstruck.

Originally, he was only experimenting. Who could’ve imagined that this Soul Essence would get devoured, and it was devoured by one of the Stars that he used to form a Magic Star Path!

This situation had already exceeded Mo Fan’s imagination. Mo Fan hastily found Mr. Qiu Yuhao again and hoped to obtain some kind of explanation for all this from him.

——

“A Star devouring a Soul Essence?” The old teacher pushed his glasses while his face displayed a smile.

Qiu Yuhua was a person who liked it when his students asked him crazy questions. If he was able to answer them, that would show that he was an excellent scholar.

The question Mo Fan asked was rather tricky. A lot of books didn’t record these kinds of things. Fortunately, the old teacher had stumbled upon books that did, so he cleared his throat and began a long diatribe of things that had nothing to do with it. After that, he finally got to the actual question.

“You should already know that Soul Essence is a very good thing. It is able to provide a great assistance to a Magician’s Cultivation. The greatest usage of a Soul Essence is creating a Meditation Magic Tool. Whether it is a Stardust Magic Tool or a Nebula Magic Tool, they are all worth a lot. However, in the beginning, Soul Essences were not used in that way. Before people used Necromancy to research Stardust Energy or Nebula Energy, Soul Essences were used for strengthening,” Qiu Yuhua explained.

“Strengthening? Strengthening what?” Mo Fan immediately asked.

“You even have to ask this? Of course it was used for strengthening the Stars! Otherwise, why would a Star devour a Soul Essence?” Qiu Yuhua hmphed into his beard.

“It’s capable of strengthening Stars?”

“Yes, before the invention of Meditation Magic Tools, Soul Essences were being wasted in that manner.”

“If it is able to strengthen a Star, does that mean the Magic spells formed from the Stars would also get stronger?” Mo Fan immediately asked.

“Naturally. If the Star receives a boost, then the spells will also become stronger.”

“Then… isn’t that a good thing?!” Mo Fan felt a burst of joy.

So the spells were able to obtain a boost, that was good news!

Just like when casting the Giant Shadow Spike beneath the Great Nyx Formation, a single Great Shadow Spike had multiplied into six of them. It was able to completely nail the Warrior-level Cursed Beast down, like a pinned butterfly. It even had an additional effect of penetrating its soul. The strengthening of a spell was actually extremely powerful!

Qiu Yuhua shook his head and said, “I also said that it’s a waste of resources.”

“Why?” Mo Fan was unable to understand that.

“A Soul Essence is extremely precious. If you were to go to an auction, you’d be able to understand just how much in demand those things are. No matter what level the Soul Essences are, the ones needed for manufacturing a Stardust or a Nebula Magic Tool are simply not in enough supply. Who would actually use those Soul Essences to strengthen their Stars? Primary Magic has a total of seven Stars right? Only when you strengthen all seven of those Stars are you able to receive a certain upgrade… The problem is, other than the Magician being stupid, they would definitely not want to strengthen their Primary Magic with a whole seven Soul Essences,” Qiu Yuhua said.

“Eh…” After Mo Fan heard this, the expression on his face changed.

It seems like he was that kind of stupid Magician. Just five minutes earlier, his dazzling Soul Essence had been completely devoured by one of the Lightning Stars.

“That’s why, even though the strengthening of Magic Stars does exist, it would need to use a Soul Essence which provides a great benefit to the humanity. This kind of path of strengthening is very expensive. It is no different than using your money as firewood,” Qiu Yuhua said.

Mo Fan thought that over as he nodded.

——

Shit. If the condensed Soul Essences within the Little Loach Pendant could not be extracted and auctioned off, then he could only use them to strengthen his Primary Magic!

A Primary Magic required seven Stars, and each of them needed to be fed a Minion-level Soul Essence, then all of that money would’ve been able to buy him a Warrior-level Soul Essence.

Furthermore, even if his spells were buffed, the effect probably wouldn’t be too exaggerated. At the very least, it probably wouldn’t reach the might of an Intermediate Magic. What Mr. Qiu Yuhao said wasn’t exactly wrong. As long as you’re not stupid, then this is something you definitely wouldn’t do.

“Let’s continue to study it. If I really can’t take it away, then I could only use them to strengthen the Stars.” At this time, Mo Fan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Using them for strengthen his Stars. That was still better then having them decorate the space above the river. The crucial point was that he’d feel too vexed when he saw them!

There was another school having a mock battle with the Imperial College in the morning. In the afternoon, it would be Pearl Institute vs Imperial College.

The mock battle this time was naturally the highlight. There would most likely be a crowd even before the battle arena had yet to open.

Mo Fan had messed with the Little Loach Pendant the whole night. The other people followed Gu Han early in the morning to watch the battle with the other school. Mo Fan didn’t go, heading back to his bed to get his long deserved sleep. How else would he have the energy to fight against those arrogant people from the Imperial College?

——

As Mo Fan was sleeping, the other students went to the battle arena.

The arrangement of the battles was that all six universities would fight one another. There were universities from the north, south, east, and west of the country, all of them important in their own areas.

However, the students of Imperial College weren’t very concerned. The people they wanted to get rid of the most were those from Pearl Institute.

—

In the morning, the feeling of competition quickly arose from the conversations the teams had. Luo Song and Xu Dalong, whose personalities were rather direct, immediately began to pick a fight with one another.

“Luo Song, you’re a pretty smart person. You didn’t want to be the tail of a phoenix, so you ran off to become the head of a chicken… Thinking about it, that also makes sense. For someone like you, your strength would be at most average in Imperial College. It wouldn’t even be your turn to fight.” Xu Dalong didn’t even try to sugarcoat his words, whatever he wanted to say was said.

Mr. Gu Han had a bad taste in his mouth as he looked on.

-F*** off, you’re a phoenix, while I’m a chicken?-

“Xu Dalong, don’t be rude. Please allow me to apologize for him, Xu Dalong is just a very direct person. Please pardon him, everyone,” Lu Yiming hastily came out to resolve the conflict.

“‘Just being too direct’. Does teacher Lu Yiming really think that?” Gu Han coldly hmphed.

Gu Han was cold and short-fused. Being a graduate of Pearl Institute, and a current teacher there, he had no reason whatsoever to lower himself just because the other party was the Imperial College!

“This…” Lu Yiming awkwardly smiled as he hastily changed the subject, “When I received you, I remember there nine students in total. How come there’s only eight of you today?”

Qiu Yuhua was a bit more kind-hearted, he quickly interrupted Gu Han and said, “The student didn’t sleep properly last night, so he’s sleeping right now.”

“Hahaha, you don’t actually need to feel that pressured. It’s only a mock battle, how could you lose sleep over that!” Lu Yiming started laughing.

“…” Qiu Yuhao’s face turned black.

When they were being received yesterday, he thought that this Lu Yiming had some kind of problem. Today, after they had interacted, he felt like this person’s mouth didn’t have anything good coming out of it!

“Whether that guy comes or not doesn’t really matter. We only need the few of us to deal with you guys.” Shen Mingxiao immediately stood up, his eyes like a treasured sword as he gazed at the group of people from Imperial College.

“Is that right? You think showing off can get you anywhere?” the elegant Liao Mingxuan smiled coldly.

“Who the hell are you talking about?” Shen Mingxiao was immediately enraged.

“Alright, what’s the point of verbally attacking each other. Use your strength to prove yourselves this afternoon!” Gu Han coldly interrupted.

“Yeah, let’s use strength to prove yourselves.” Lu Yiming maintained a hypocritical smile on his face, as he didn’t really care if the student’s relationships with each other had gone sour.

“What about Mo Fan? Just where the hell did he go?”

“He woke up. However, he said he was going to meet some lover. He will come back in the afternoon,” Zhao Manyan said with a straight face.

——

Mo Fan had slept until the afternoon. Everyone else had already left, leaving him alone there. He dealt with lunch on his own.

The Imperial College was quite large. The clearest differences between the two universities were trees that reached up to the skies, little paths through the forests that could be seen everywhere, and the ../style of the buildings were almost ancient in design. This was completely the opposite of Shanghai that was developed according to modern times.

That also made sense. There were many talented people at the Imperial College, even the dirty gutters there were pervaded with a scholarly aura, you could even get a few famous names from them. No wonder the students from here were all incredibly arrogant. In this place, where experts were like clouds, a place derived reflected glory from an illustrious hero. A person who was modest could easily be interpreted as showing off. You might as well be a little confident and manifest the presence that you ought to have!

He didn’t know whether it was because he received an education from Qiu Yuhua, or his own mood, but Mo Fan was in quite the mood to go sightseeing around the school. His heart sighed… alright, he was lost.

——

With the help of a few helpful senior sisters, Mo Fan finally found his way to the battle arena.

The battle arena was huge, very imposing, and the large white pillars outside of the place made him think of ancient Rome’s great Coliseum.

The battle arena’s ../style was very different from what he knew. Furthermore, it seemed to be similar to the Rome’s Beast Coliseum with its circular form. It appeared that it was intentionally designed like a honeycomb, to make the arena look even more mesmerizing.

After walking into the battle arena, Mo Fan realized he was just in time. It was nearly time for Pearl Institute to fight against Imperial College.

He didn’t know why, but the second he walked in to his team, Mo Fan smelled gunpowder. He felt like this problem could only be solved with PK.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan asked Zhao Manyan.

“What else could it be? They were baited to fight. That guy Luo Song was talking with the group of Imperial College kids, and clashed with that guy called Xu Dalong. Their flames immediately spread to the groups,” Zhao Manyan told him.

“That’s good, then. I like this type of brutality. If they were polite and gentle, that would make us feel too embarrassed to go all out,” Mo Fan said devilishly.

“Me, too.” Zhao Manyan didn’t deny it, either.

The matter between Pearl Institute and Imperial College was something everyone understood.

Every single one of those who came here was extremely excited. The two involved parties no longer needed to continue playing nice with each other. Have them immediately fight and then they could finally see whether Pearl Institute really had the ability to be called the number one in the country, or the Imperial College lived up to its expectations of being able to get rid of Pearl!

“What kind of fight are we having?” Mo Fan used his elbow to nudge Mu Nujiao, who was wearing a yellow fluffy goose jacket, his eyebrows raised.

If it was anyone else, Mu Nujiao would’ve immediately used a Wind Disc, Tornado to send that person flying. The irreproachable her did not like it when guys casually touched her.

However, as they lived together, Mu Nujiao had become more immune to him. She acted like nothing had happened.

“We send out four, and they send out four. Team battle.” Without batting an eye, Mu Nujiao withdrew a certain distance from Mo Fan.

“I like that,” Mo Fan rubbed his hands as he made a playfully sinister face.

Currently, the number of spells everyone had grasped was not too impressive. If they were to fight by themselves, it would be mostly about their own firepower. Basically, the person with the most practical strength would win the battle, which would be quite monotonous.

A Team Battle would be different. Each Element with its own spells, and different types of Magical Equipment. Their cooperation with each other, and the intertwining of different schools would make the differences considerable, andreally put a Magician’s battle prowess and their adaptive skills to the test!

“Don’t be excited. You’re not a part of the team being sent out.” Zhao Manyan patted Mo Fan’s shoulder.

“Why?” Mo Fan was unwilling.

“Shit, you even have the guts to say that? You only came after we made the name list!”

“Oh, oh. I was lost.”

——

Fortunately, the Imperial University was kind enough to agree to a double set of competitions.

In the first round, the Pearl Institute began by sending out Shen Xiaoming, Luo Song, Peng Liang, and Zhao Manyan.

Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song were two people that refused to accept lesser things. They saw numerous teachers and students from different schools, and also many beautiful girls and goddesses present. If they were able to defeat the Imperial College, then they would definitely become a hot topic instantly!

Shen Mingxiao, who had always had the title of a god in Pearl Institute, naturally did not want to miss out on this opportunity. He was taking advantage of Luo Song and Xu Dalong’s grudges to show off.

Luo Song and Xu Dalong had a deep grudge against one another. The second the two met, they immediately began to greet the “intimate” people of their own Element. Luo Song naturally would take charge in challenging him, he wanted to beat Xu Dalong down!

Peng Liang and Zhao Manyan were both listed by Mr. Gu Han, the two of them did not dare to disobey the orders of their teacher.

——

“Xu Dalong, Liao Mingxuan, Jing Jing, Zhao Mingyue; the four of you can take this turn. Don’t let us down,” Lu Yiming immediately called out four names.

“Yes, teacher!”

The four students of Imperial College walked out. Xu Dalong was a stereotypical muscular man, he did not look like a Magician at all. He looked more like a personal trainer specialized in tricking women.

Liao Mingxuan was very elegant. In terms of temperament, Mo Fan thought that he was the same type as that male b*tch Shen Mingxiao. Just because there were a few girls that would write them love letters and look at them with hearts all over their eyes, they started to think they were just as noble as princes!

Jing Jing and Zhao Mingyue were lady Magicians. When Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were standing together, they had already carefully examined the two of them, and decided to name them Girl A and Girl B.

A was an A, B was a B. Their looks were very good also, the type you could fall for at first sight.

“I’ll bet a bag of spicy pepper that we’ll lose,” Mo Fan said to Zhao Manyan.

“What, can you see the cultivation of the other side?” Zhao Manyan raised his eyebrow.

No one else might know this, but Zhao Manyan was very clear that in terms of cultivation, Mo Fan should be the highest one around. Those with a higher cultivation were able to deduce the strength of others through the fluctuation of the Elements. With Mo Fan talking so big about them losing, this definitely meant that he must’ve understood something.

Mo Fan smiled mysteriously, but did not reply.

Mo Fan did not see their cultivation, it was just his happy wish.

-Shit, if they win, then how could I possibly display my incredible ability to save the world?-

——

There were some uniformed people sitting along the two sides, in the colors of Xiamen University and Huadong University. They were all rejoicing in other people’s misfortunes as they sat there watching the fight.

Mo Fan used his intent to roughly sweep past them. He realized that no matter which University or how it was ranked, all of the people that came here for the mock battles had the cultivation of an Intermediate Magician. Furthermore, most of them appeared to have been at the Intermediate level for quite some time.

Thinking about it, it did make sense. The great University’s rankings were still rankings. Those who were being dispatched to win honor for a University must be the experts of the experts, and each of them had a huge pool of talent to draw from. Promising youths like Mo Fan must also be quite a few in number. Since he didn’t come in the morning, he didn’t know just where their strengths lay. Either way, the girls seemed to be quite good…

—

On this side, the Pearl Institute and Imperial College’s peak battle was just about to begin.

“Fair conditions! For this Team Battle, all Magical Equipments and Tools cannot be used. Use Magic to make friends, don’t go further than necessary!”

The rules this time were a good thing for everyone. In the Imperial College, disciples from great families were as common as dogs. It was impossible for them to not have any extraordinary items on them. By eliminating Magic Equipment and Tools, it would force them to rely on their real strength.

As the two sides showed they were ready, the judge gave the order. The battle had begun!

From the moment it started, the spectators could clearly feel that the people were no longer the same. On Pearl Institute’s side, their formation was a bit more messy. Those watching could not tell which one of them was the front, nor who was the one standing behind for support. As for the four people of Imperial College, they most likely had trained together for more than just two days. Their cross-shaped formation was instantly completed.

Everyone could tell this was a training gap. It was clear that the four people from Pearl Institute were just troublemakers. They realized the Imperial College came very prepared as they quickly moved to their positions.

Zhao Manyan was standing at the very back. As an Intermediate Light Magician, he’d be protecting his team mates most of the time.

The opposite side’s Magic casting was extremely fast, especially the girl called Jing Jing. There was a dark green Star Atlas being quickly condensed beneath her feet, the glowing Stars within the Star Atlas had turned into vines that slowly intertwined with each other as they grew up along the girl’s long legs.

The Magic wrapped around her body. Judging by that vine, it seemed she was an Intermediate Plant Magician. This spell was extremely familiar to Mu Nujiao, who also possessed the Plant Element.

“It’s an Intermediate Magic, hurry up and take her down!” Shen Mingxiao immediately ordered Luo Song as he assumed the role of commander.

Luo Song’s face revealed a sly smile. He didn’t expend any real effort to ruin that Intermediate Magician’s beautiful Star Atlas, instead completing a Primary Earth Magic.

“I’ll make you a bit shaky, let’s see how you’re gonna be completing that Intermediate Magic!” Luo Song slapped his fat hands onto the ground.

The originally flat ground suddenly started creasing. These creases began to fluctuate, while at same time, the surface of the ground started trembling, stretching and retracting quickly. The four people of Imperial College standing in the cross formation immediately began to stumble.

“Do you really think that you’re the only one who knows Earth Magic?” Xu Dalong seemed to have prepared for this. Just as the Earth Ripple’s shaking was getting stronger, Xu Dalong stomped down with his foot!

At that stomp, everyone could see a brown earth ripple suddenly spreading out with Xu in the center. As the ripple spread, it calmed down the shaking surface of the ground in his surroundings. The Earth Demon that was about to start trouble was no longer daring to be rash…

Jing Jing, who was in the middle of brewing her Intermediate Magic, was still relatively stable. Even though she was about to fall to the ground just now, her Magic Star Path and Star Atlas were not interrupted.

As the green vines began to intertwine higher on her bosom, the Intermediate Plant Magic, Forest of Kun, had finished casting!

“Forest of Kun, Prison!” Jing Jing’s temperament immediately changed. Her eyes shone toward the four people of Pearl Institute, filled with arrogance.

“Enjoy being trapped by vines, bushes, demonic branches, and thorns!” she shouted.

Chapter 256 – As Expected, They Lost

The Forest of Kun was something Mo Fan had experienced once before. Its might was certainly enough to trap a group of people inside.

The vines began to grow at  extreme speed. The thorn and spikes on the vines were very distinct, beneath their feet were demonic grasses that kept wiggling about. If you didn’t carefully take notice of this strange grass, they would grip your feet, and after that, the extremely tough whip-vines would begin to bind your feet together like ropes!

The Forest of Kun was growing. Not too long afterwards, it had turned the location where the four people of Pearl Institute were standing into a big shrubbery cage. If the people inside the prison wanted to use Magic, they would have to first destroy the dense prison of plant life!

However, the people of Imperial College did not have the patience to wait for them to find a way to get out of this. They all watched the girl called Zhao Mingyue, who had finished casting her Plant Magic, and now strode right to the front.

Whooosh~~!

Fierce flames scuttled forth. The scarlet light immediately illuminated the entire arena.

The flames emerged from her body and spread into rings of flames. Following her loud shout, all of the fierce flames began to condense on her right hand.

“What is she doing?” Chen Bingxiao asked, feeling a bit confused.

“It’s clear that the Forest of Kun is still activated, if they were to use Fiery Fist in this case…” Just as Luo Song was about to explain his thoughts, they could see Zhao Mingyue’s hair rising within the heatwave. What appeared to be a soft and silky punch had turned into an extremely severe one beneath the flames!

A circle was formed around the Fiery Fist; the further it was shot, the larger the explosive area!

When the colossal attack of flames hit the Forest of Kun, the plants in that part of the Forest of Kun began to burn.

The flames from Fiery Fist burned very fast, turning the Forest of Kun into a sea of flames within mere seconds as it burned violently.

Originally, Shen Mingxiao, Luo Song, Peng Liang and Zhao Manyan were only being restricted by the Forest of Kun. That did not have as much of an effect on their combat prowess. With the Fiery Flames hitting the Forest, they were now trapped in a jungle with flames everywhere!

The flames were everywhere. To add to it, there were still some plants that had yet to be burned down. If those trapped wanted to escape from the forest of flames, it would be a little difficult.

“They sure are vicious.” Chen Bingxiao finally understood their plan.

The Fire Element was very capable of restraining the Plant Element. The second the flames touched the Plants, they were burned to ashes. The people from Imperial College had used this kind of restraining theory to create a forest of flames. The effect was far more effective than just throwing a Fiery Fist at one of the students.

The scarlet jungle had already engulfed Shen Mingxiao and his people. No one knew just what kind of situation was unfolding inside it.

The flames burned very quickly. The black ashes still maintained the form of the growing vines, but with a warm updraft blowing lightly, they were immediately peeled off and crumbled.

The gigantic forest had been burned down. The flames from the Fiery Fist gradually calmed down and died out. The crowd of people were discussing this before everyone suddenly realized that in the middle of the mess, there was something looming out.

After they looked carefully, it was clear that thing was precisely a stone shell. This stone shell was obdurately covering an entire area.

“It’s the Intermediate Earth Magic, Rock Block!” Chen Bingxiao exclaimed in joy.

It seemed like the four of them weren’t completely unprepared. Luo Song was the one with Intermediate Earth ability. When the Rock Shell defense finally wore off and receded into the earth, Luo Song finally put down the hands that were supporting it. His fat cheeks displayed a bit of exhaustion.

He had used the defense of Rock Block to completely stop the attack of Fiery Flames. The burning of the Prison of Kun was naturally also blocked away. All of this energy expended would naturally affect him.

“So you actually had some ability when you’re showing off everyday!” Shen Mingxiao had also completed his Intermediate Magic under the protection of Luo Song.

Shen Mingxiao cast his Wind Magic. In the burned ashes, a frantic wind began to brew. It lifted the ashen grit as it flowed through the arena.

The wind grew stronger and stronger. Although the air was invisible, with the dust swept up inside it, you could see the outline of its form. It was the fierce, rotating funnel of a tornado!

The tornado was at least two meters wide, and began to move toward the people of the Imperial College under the control of Shen Mingxiao. It was violent as it moved toward them, able to shred all of the people in front of it into pieces within its own territory.

“Hmph, I’ll take care of it!”

On the other side, the white-clothed Liao Mingxuan pursed his lips. The clothes on his body began to float, along with a stream of air that bubbled forth from his feet.

They were both masters of wind. Liao Mingxuan wanted to have a battle of winds with Shen Mingxiao!

Wind Disc, Tornado quickly scuttled forth from his Star Atlas. Shen Mingxiao’s tornado had yet to cross half of the arena when Liao Mingxuan’s hand let out a similar tornado…

The two tornadoes were moving around them and happened to violently rotate in opposite directions. When the two finally collided, the entire arena suddenly seemed to go silent. You could no longer feel even a little bit of wind.

In the next instant, the place where the two tornadoes collided birthed a new sound. It seemed like the two funnels had fused together, and a new cyclone had replaced them. With the location they collided at as the center, it began to spread ferociously in all directions.

The driving wind was totally unrestrained. When it howled over, it caught the people from both sides off guard. All of them were blown into the air.

Fortunately, the edges of the battle arena had a soft Water Barrier protecting them, or the cyclone that blew the two sides away would’ve broken many of their bones.

“They really are stupid beyond redemption. They have no understanding toward the characteristics of the wind.” Beneath the arena, Lu Zhenghe hmphed as he watched Liao Mingxuan’s wind in disdain.

Lu Yiming also raised his eyebrow. This kind of thing where both side lost shouldn’t happen too often. If they had relied on their strength, they would be able to firmly grasp victory this time.

After they got back up, Zheng Mingyue glared fiercely at Liao Mingxuan and said, “Listen to MY COMMANDS!”

Liao Mingxuan clutched his waist as he stood up, his face bitter.

Fortunately everyone was at the Intermediate level. This type of attack wasn’t heavy, and it wasn’t severe enough for them to forfeit the battle.

——

“Mo Fan, Mu Nujiao, Song Xia, and Zheng Bingxiao, the four of you go prepare.” Gu Han watched the battle in the arena as he named the four students.

The battle on the arena had been going on for a while now. The four of them did not betray Mo Fan’s expectations, this round was definitely lost!

In terms of strength, the two sides were on par. They were all very adept in using their two Elements of Magic, however. In terms of teamwork, the four people of Pearl Institute were clearly much messier.

This issue was identified by Gu Han ages ago. Thus, when he had named four more people, including Mo Fan, Gu Han couldn’t help but feel a bit more worried. He was worried that they’d lose because of this problem in the next round as well.

“Mr. Gu Han, don’t worry, we will definitely defeat them!” Song Xia said sincerely.

“Okay. Take care of yourselves!”

Chapter 257 – Where’s Your Contracted Beast?

“Just what are you doing? Why couldn’t the Soul Shadow Nail stop the girl who could use Fire?” Shen Mingxiao said unwillingly to Peng Liang.

Peng Liang was dumbfounded. When she walked down from the arena, it seemed as though she didn’t want to give any face to Shen Mingxiao as she retorted,”What? The reason why we lost was my fault?”

Shen Mingxiao’s face immediately sank as he returned to the group in frustration.

Peng Liang was also smiling coldly. He didn’t want to put up a front in front of Shen Mingxiao. Either way, he didn’t think that this Shen Mingxiao had much ability to begin with.

Luo Song was even worse. Xu Dalong had said a couple of mocking words afterwards, which caused him to nearly rush back into the arena and start another fight. It simply made him far too angry.

“Alright, go and rest up to the side,” Gu Han advised the few people who were currently nursing their internal strife.

“Mr. Gu Han! Let me go up in the next round. I still have some power that I had yet to unleash!” Shen Mingxiao immediately asked Mr. Gu Han.

Shen Mingxiao was not happy about this. In one aspect it was because Peng Liang was a dreg of the Shadow Element. He was also not happy with Zhao Manyan’s passive battle ../style.

Just how were these two people chosen as exchange students? They were useless when it came to practical combat, it was like two vs four. If they hadn’t lost then it would’ve been strange.

“The next round of people have been confirmed. It’s Mo Fan, Mu Nujiao, Song Xia, and Zheng Bingxiao,” Gu Han stated.

“You might as well have me go next round instead of having that pretentious Mo Fan go. I will definitely win the next round for us, Mr. Guhan. Or could it be that you think we will lose both of the rounds?” Shen Mingxiao’s mood was clearly affected, and he was no longer pretending.

“This…” Gu Han glanced at Mo Fan and then back to Shen Mingxiao, who was very determined.

From their battle, Shen Mingxiao’s strength was indeed the strongest out of the four. However, a loss was a loss. Gu Han had no reason to haveMo Fan stand down.

“Mr. Gu Han, the compatibility between these four students is a little bit off. The Imperial College clearly came prepared. There isn’t much of a gap between our students and theirs. But in terms of compatibility and teamwork, they are far more outstanding compared to ours. Zheng Bingxiao is a Summoner, and so is Mo Fan. The two people whose majors are Summoning are simply not as effective when they’re in the same arena,” Mr. Li Jing said.

Li Jing had come to the Imperial College before Gu Han and Qiu Yuhua. He was primarily responsible for the communication between the exchanges. Mo Fan wasn’t there this morning, so he didn’t know there was another teacher taking care of the team.

This female teacher appeared to be siding with Shen Mingxiao. She added oil to the fire while Gu Han was slightly hesitant.

The thing was, Gu Han also thought Mr. Li Jing had a good point. Out of the four people in the second group, two of them had Summoning as their primary Element. He was not saying that the Summoning Element was bad, it’s just, in case it was countered by the opposite side, then they would be guaranteed a loss.

In that moment, Zheng Bingxiao opened his mouth.“Since it’s like that, then Shen Mingxiao, you can take my spot.”

Shen Mingxiao raised his eyebrow. He actually wanted to take Mo Fan’s spot. However, since someone else took the initiative to give that spot away, then that was good as well.

“Zheng Bingxiao, are you sure you want to do that?” Mr. Gu Han asked, feeling a bit surprised.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. It’s all for our victory. Since Shen Mingxiao believes that he can win, then I might as well just give up on my spot.” Zheng Bingxiao didn’t want to fight about that spot as he displayed a considerate appearance.

Mo Fan and Zheng Bingxiao could be considered classmates. When they spoke of the six people from the Summoning Element, the only person who was able to contend against Mo Fan was Zheng Bingxiao. The other people could only revere them.

“Then go ahead. Make sure you don’t lose this time,” Qiu Yuhua said.

“Don’t worry, I definitely won’t!” Shen Mingxiao said with confidence.

Shen Mingxiao was more prepared now. When he saw the eye-sore Mo Fan in the same team, he recalled the Peng Liang who was a major obstruction for him. He immediately said to Mo Fan with a bad attitude, “You better listen to my instructions later, don’t make any rash decisions on your own! If we lose, then you won’t be able to compensate us for it! This is something that affects the reputation of our entire Pearl Institute!”

“In the past, I thought you were a bit arrogant. Who would’ve thought that you’d be this shameless. If you’re not strong enough, then why don’t you just sit on the bench, what’s the point of bouncing around blindlessly? You even took advantage of someone else’s good nature and had them give up their spot for you.” Mo Fan knew that Shen Mingxiao was against him, and after seeing his attitude, he decided to not be even a little bit polite.

“Just what can you be considered? I just don’t understand how the school could let someone like you, a waste who only knows how to please the crowd, come here for the exchange!” Shen Mingxiao snarled.

Mo Fan didn’t continue to fight with Shen Mingxiao. He walked over together with Mu Nujiao.

Originally, Mo Fan thought Luo Song was the most annoying person. That guy Shen Mingxiao was even more worse. He better stand closer to the good smelling Mu Nujiao so he can disperse of the disgusting smell of the two.

Shen Mingxiao was fixated on Mo Fan. As he saw Mo Fan and Mu Nujiao laughing and talking, his face sank even more.

Shen Mingxiao pursuit of Mu Nujiao was something the entire school knew about. The major reason behind his great dislike for Mo Fan was very much related to Mo Fan being very close to Mu Nujiao.

He didn’t understand why Mu Nujiao, someone with such an outstanding personality, a goddess-like person, would actually let a ruffian like Mo Fan stay near her. It must be because she had a good temperament and didn’t want to talk badly about anyone, so she let this shameless guy hang around!

“Jiao jiao, when the time comes, please make sure to give me more protection. If I can’t use Magic Equipment, then I basically have no defensive method,” Mo Fan said repeatedly to Mu Nujiao.

Mu Nujiao ignored him.

Her relationship with him had yet to reach a state where he was allowed to call her name so intimately. However, this guy was not shy at all. From left to right, he would keep calling her Jiao Jiao. Hearing this made her feel ashamed, and really made her regret not dragging Ai Tutu away back when they co-rented their place.

“You better use your full strength in this competition. If we lose once more, we will no longer have any face in our school.” Mu Nujiao couldn’t help but whisper to Mo Fan.

Mu Nujiao knew that Mo Fan was capable of using three different Elements. As the current situation was related to the reputation of the school, he should go all out in this battle.

“We’ll see. I don’t really want too many people know of my magnificent talents,” Mo Fan whispered back, but the shameless tone that accompanied his words rendered Mu Nujiao completely speechless.

“The people they sent out in the first round can’t really be considered very strong. I refuse to believe that the Imperial College would only have this little ability,” Song Xia spoke up.

Those words caused Shen Mingxiao to feel very awkward.

“I also think so,” Mu Nujiao nodded agreement.

“Mo Fan, you have Summoning and Lightning Element, right?” Song Xia seemed to have a natural ability to take command. Even though Shen Mingxiao was present, she still took on the position of the leader of the group and asked, “How’s the strength of your Summoned Beast?”

“It’s only one step away from the Warrior level,” Mo Fan said sincerely.

“Hmph, that’s basically completely useless in this kind of battle.” Shen Mingxiao didn’t want to let go of any opportunity to attack Mo Fan verbally.

Song Xia, however, creased her eyebrows and asked, “What about your Contracted Beast?”

Contracted Beast was a power that belonged to the Intermediate level Summoners. It allowed a Summoner to enter a contract with a young Magical Beast. This would turn the Magical Beast into a Contracted Beast.

“That… I have yet to find a suitable one…” Mo Fan replied dismissively.

Everyone else creased their foreheads.

This meant that ever since the Rookie Competition, Mo Fan’s Summoning Element hadn’t progressed by even a single step??

That meant he could only rely on a single Intermediate Elemental Magic!

Chapter 258 – She is my Wife!

Shen Mingxiao had many grievances. He just didn’t understand how such a trash could steal his Shadow Beast away or how he was chosen as an exchange student.

As Mo Fan was being questioned by Song Xia, he was unable to escape feeling a little awkward.

In terms of strength, he definitely wouldn’t lose to these people. The issues lay in that he was trying to conceal his strength, and could only display the Summoning and Lightning Element. In such a case, he would have a little bit of a difficulty. After all, he indeed had not made any visible progress on his Summoning Element.

Forget it. One step at a time! His Lightning Element was most likely able to deal with everything!

“Lu Zhenghe, Ming Cong, Xiao Jinhe and Xiao Feng. The four of you can go. If the Pearl Institute only has that little ability, then the four of you will be enough to deal with them,” Lu Yiming said with a smile.

The group that was sent out in the first round were only in the middle in terms of strength. If the Pearl Institute was not capable of dealing with the people that they had sent out in the first round, then they could forget about obtaining victory in the second round.

“Teacher, let me go.” At that moment, a beautiful voice, like an ice crystal bell, was heard coming from the parasol outside.

Everyone’s gazes were immediately set on the girl beneath the parasol.

The parasol was quite large, and was at the dark corner of the staircases. Beneath the bright afternoon sun, most people did not realize that there was a girl silently sitting there like a perfumed ice lotus. It wasn’t until she stood up, her indescribable cold aura slowly dispersing in all directions, that people discovered that the Imperial College’s team actually had such an incredibly beautiful girl!

As she walked out into the sunlight, it was like the blazing sun had dimmed down a little. The faint ice fog was burned away and revealed her incredible figure and the snow white boots wrapped around her delicate legs. Her round, straight long legs were half covered by her long windbreaker. The snow white windbreaker hugged her skin, outlining her astonishing curves!

Her waist was so slim that others wanted to reach out and pinch it. Her chest wasn’t humongous, but due to her delicate frame, it made her two peaks appear plumper beneath her silk shirt.

Her figure was exceptionally outstanding, but what truly amazed people was her refined complexion. Her facial features were so beautiful it was like she had walked out of a drawing, you couldn’t find a single flaw on her at all. If you had to pinpoint a part of her face that wasn’t perfect, then it was the lonely and cold expression. However, that was a still a part of her ice-cold beauty.

Her silver-white hair was extremely eye-catching beneath the fierce sun. At same time, her snow-white skin appeared to be reflecting the light, giving her a different kind of a temperament at same time. People were having a hard time differentiating whether she was flirtatious or an independent beauty!

When the girl walked out, she not only got the full attention of all of the people of the Imperial College, but even the students and teachers from other universities!

Originally, everyone thought the girl who was wearing a knitted cotton from the Pearl Institute was extremely alluring, but who would’ve known that the Imperial College had hidden a girl whose looks and aura appeared to have completely suppressed her!

“Ningxue, they’re not enough for you to come out. We can take care of them on our own,” Lu Zhenghe immediately greeted her, the smile on his face filled with the intention of currying favor.

After seeing Lu Zhenghe, the person called Zhao Mingyue began to feel angry. She had no good impression of this girl who was very breathtaking.

In truth, Lu Zhenghe was rather direct. The other few male students also wanted to say something, but after they saw her cold expression, they put away those ideas.

If a girl was only pretty, then her only ability was to draw the attention of other men. To truly hold yourself above these men who were extraordinary and were at a age where they played around, you had to possess beauty while grasping the strength that made men look up to you!

Even if Xu Dalong, Lu Zhenghe, and Liao Mingxuan were quite arrogant, they would still act like a lackey when facing their Captain, Mu Ningxue, or they would feign being aloof and disinterested.

“Mu Ningxue, are you sure you want to go?” Lu Yiming asked sincerely.

“Mhm.” Mu Nignxue did not explain anything as she walked toward the battle arena.

The man called Xiao Jinghe who was among the four of the people who was being sent out was currently shamelessly smiling as he firmly gave away his own spot while saying, “Since Mu Ningxue wants to warm her hands, then I will give you my spot, Senior! However, this will let the Pearl Institute who has already lost a round lose even more face, hahaha!”

“Yeah, let them see what a true genius is!” Lu Zhenghe said.

The students from the other universities were dumbstruck as they watched this. From the manners displayed by the students of the Imperial College, the silver-haired beauty was actually their Captain?

What the heck! They fought for so long in the morning, yet it turned out their Captain hadn’t shown herself. This really made them quite a failure of an exchange!

“Shit, this girl looks like my most ideal person in my dreams.”

“After seeing her, I feel like the other girls are all just floating clouds.”

“What do you mean by a floating cloud! Zhou Yutong, I will definitely kill you today!”

The surrounding arena continued to discuss this, there was even sounds of hissing. Who would’ve thought that the Captain of the Imperial College was actually such a bewitching girl?

Over on the Pearl Institute’s side, the eyes of shallow guys like Zhao Manyan and Luo Song nearly flew over to the Imperial College’s side!

“Shit, we haven’t seen each other for more than a year, she has grown to be even more beautiful!” Even a profound man like Mo Fan had to wipe away his drool as he whispered.

If this was the ancient times, then this kind of appearance would be enough to start wars between feudal lords. They were sure to be a maneater capable of hurting a lot of people!

Speaking of which, ever since going on a youthful “elopement” with Mu Ningxue, Mo Fan had not had any other opportunities to meet her, even though they could be considered neighbors…

Mu Ningxue was very pretty even before puberty. Now, she was so pretty that it was like a lotus fairy had walked out of a drawing. It really made Mo Fan regret that he didn’t properly bang her back then. Once the rice had been cooked, who would then care about the bullcrap from Mu Zhuoyun?

“Tsk tsk, we truly did not come here in vain. If I could have that girl, I’d even be willing to lose all of my assets. I have decided, she is the girl that I, Zhao Manyan, will subdue.” Zhao Manyan said while making this solemn promise.

“I… me too. I’d even be willing to cripple my cultivation!” Zheng Bingxiao hurriedly agreed.

Peng Liang nodded in agreement.

In the past when this f**kboy Shen Mingxiao saw a beauty, he would feign ignorance. This time, he was no longer able to pretend, his eyes could not move away from Mu Ningxue’s body.

“You guys can forget about it…” Mo Fan wiped away his drool.

“Why? Is that girl taken?” Peng Liang asked.

“Yeah, she’s my wife,” Mo Fan said earnestly.

They had never seen such a shameless person in their lives!

When Mo Fan said that this goddess-like beauty was his wife, everyone was able to firmly give him this kind of compliment!

“Alright, alright, I brought you guys to fight for the honor of our school, not to fight among yourselves for a woman and lose before you start!” Gu Han interjected.

“Originally, I thought we still had that chance to win. Now, it looks like we really will lose all of our prestige,” Mr. Li Jing sighed.

He had come here before the other teachers and witnessed Mu Ningxue’s strength. Once she made a move, it was likely that she would begin to suppress everyone on their side.

“Since we’ve seen enough, then we can think about how we’re going to fight against them!” Song Xia spoke up sharply.

Mo Fan looked at everyone. Mo Fan was not concealing the feelings that he had for Mu Ningxue, whereas Shen Mingxiao was more fake. It was clear that he had nearly fainted on seeing her, yet he was still pretending to not care about it all as he continued his attempts to earn Mu Nujiao’s favor.

Mu Nujiao was just like before, too lazy to even care about these two soulless guys. Instead, she was on her guard while cautiously watching the silver-haired Mu Ningxue.

She was able to tell just from the girls aura that her strength was rather incredible. Even though she wasn’t purposely releasing her aura, she was still able to affect the temperature in her surroundings. She was like an ice spirit; no matter where she went, she would always be enveloped in a cold fragrance.

Mu Nujiao had heard from her seniors that some special Magicians were born with an astonishing Innate Gift. She assumed that the Captain of the Imperial College was precisely that kind of person.

“Just be careful. She must be an Ice Magician. When we are in combat, I will do my best and restrict her. You guys go and deal with the other people as fast as possible, so we can join hands and deal with her!” Song Xia ordered.

Her perception was in no way inferior to Mu Nujiao’s. She was clearly able to sense that the elemental energy from Mu Ningxue was different from other people.

Fire and Ice has always been mutually restraining. As a Fire Magician, Song Xia would surely be able to properly restrain the other party.

“Understood!” Shen Mingxiao and Mu Nujiao simultaneously nodded.

Mo Fan was still cautiously observing his wife, Mu Ningxue, at the side…

In the very beginning, Mo Fan was in fact very suspicious of Mu Ningxue’s outstanding Innate Gift. He did not understand why there were so many people in Bo City who admired her so much. However, he now had experience with Elemental Spirit Seeds, and was capable of finally understanding just how dreadful this girl was!

Her dreadful Ice was most likely not as simple as just being a natural Spirit Seed. When she walked onto the arena, the ground that she stepped on condensed frost…

She did not use any Magic, neither did she release any Ice aura. All she did was walk. She was like an Ice Empress, everywhere she walked was an Ice Domain.

A Magician with this kind of Innate Gift was something that Mo Fan had never seen in Pearl Institute…

——

“Do you want me to make the formations?” Lu Zhenghe asked Mu Ningxue as he put on an appearance to curry favor with her.

Mo Fan nodded. Her icy clear eyes swept past Mo Fan on the opponent’s side as she appeared to think a little.

Seeing Mo Fan here as an exchange student had shocked Mu Ningxue. Recalling the astonishing scene where Mo Fan had defeated Yu Ang, Mu Ningxue couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of realm Mo Fan had reached while he was at the Pearl Institute.

The most important thing was, she knew of his abilities. She did not want to see her own team lose against the Pearl Institute. Even if the outcome was even, it would be a great disgrace for the Imperial College.

“Ice Spread!”

Mu Ningxue stepped back a little. An icy sparkle was sliding down from her white hands.

She gently blew with lips that could excite countless people.

Frost flew, and the sparkling powder began to spread throughout the entire arena. The cold air immediately pervaded the entire atmosphere.

The ground originally had a little bit of frost on it, and looked like icy muslin. However, after Mu Ningxue used Ice Spread, the frost had turned into a living plant, like Boston Ivy as it densely began to spread all over…

The sandy battleground had turned frosted and creased in just an instant. It was white all over, even the leftover water from the Water Barrier on the battleground appeared to have turned into ice!

At this kind of incredible transformation, everyone’s expressions changed greatly.

“Is…Is this really an Ice Domain?” Gu Han, Qiu Yuhua, and Li Jing beneath the arena watched this happen in awe.

They had never heard of anyone beneath the Advanced level and Soul-grade Elemental Seeds having this kind of Domain…

An ability like a Domain always appeared in the Advanced level. Among them, the most classic one was precisely the Shadow Element’s Nyx Regime!

Nyx Regime was able to suppress every Element outside of Shadow creatures and Shadow-type things. Furthermore, it was also able to substantially increase Shadow abilities. Its power was something Mo Fan had personally experienced.

The other Elements similarly possessed Domains.

However, the Elemental Domain was usually something that existed only after you had reached the Soul grade of Elemental Seed. An Intermediate Magician like Mu Ningxue possessing such an ability, didn’t that mean that she was basically unrivalled within her own level?!

“Shit, her Domain will be able to completely suppress me.” Song Xia’s complexion darkened.

Her flames were just commo-grade. Facing off against the Spirit-grade Ice, they would just get suppressed.

Who would’ve thought that this woman’s Spirit-grade Ice Seed would come with such a frightening ability! Her Fire would definitely get suppressed, there was no way for her to fight!

Song Xia was extremely unwilling. She clenched her teeth and took the initiative to start her Fire Star Atlas.

Song Xia’s Fire Cultivation was not much inferior to that of Mo Fan. Her speed forming a Star Atlas was also very adept. However, as she was halfway through forming her Star Atlas, she began to feel a bone-piercing coldness spreading up from her feet. She immediately broke away from her Star linking when she began to feel the cold devouring her.

Failure!

Her Star Atlas drawing failed!

Song Xia’s complexion was extremely ugly. She practiced this thousands of times, how could she possibly fail? This was an incredible disgrace for her.

“The rest of us shouldn’t be affected by this.” It was also the first time Shen Mingxiao was fighting against someone able to use a Domain. His serious expression was at its most extreme.

Mu Nujiao also knitted her eyebrows. Her Plant Element and Wind Element did not get suppressed by the Ice Domain, but their strongest firepower, Song Xia, had failed. This made them feel like this fight had gone down the drain!

But no matter what, they could not cower!

The Domain was only able to suppress fire. Their original plan was to have Song Xia stall her, while they would deal with the other people, and then join hands to deal with her…

However, now that they looked at it, they must join together to deal with her first. Whether the Ice Domain was only able to suppress Fire was something they weren’t certain of…

“Shit, my speed has also been slowed!” Shen Mingxiao cursed.

Shen Mingxiao’s major Element was Wind. When he released his Star Path, he would normally be able to quickly move around within the wind area and only leave behind a remnant of his shadow. However, the ice underneath his feet critically impacted his movement. The chill ice had him feeling like he was running through a heavy snow.

The speed of Wind Trail, Floating Shadows speed was nowhere close to the second level of Wind Trails, Flash Steps. If the opposite side also had a Wind Magician that was not was not restricted by this Domain, then his sluggish speed would definitely get beaten down!

“Lightning Strike, Wrath Shock!”

As they were just entering the Ice Domain, the people from the Imperial College immediately began their assault.

A Primary Lightning Magic. The purple Lightning traces were using the ice on the ground as a intermediary to move. In just a moment, the ground beneath everyone’s feet had turned into a long Lightning Arc as it let out a crackling sound.

Ice Spread had the power to greatly decrease speed. Adding the Lightning Strike’s paralysis to it, the students of Pearl Institute would have difficulties moving about.

“Don’t panic, let me take care of them!” When Mo Fan saw everyone was about to hide, he spoke up.

At this moment, Song Xia, Mu Nujiao, Shen Mingxiao recalled that Mo Fan was also a Lightning Magician. The Lightning Strike might not be able to move about freely on the ground.

Mo Fan stood in the front and faced the Lightning traces scuttling forth on the ground.

A purple Lightning Arc came forth, and the Lightning Arc began to guide his opponent’s Lightning Strike toward himself.

The Lightning’s arc was just like a python. When it saw that Mo Fan’s body had Lightning, it began to act like a python seeking its prey, frantically winding around Mo Fan. Soon enough, Mo Fan was completely covered with the Lightning Arc.

Lightning Strike possess the ability to paralyze and lash others. However, Mo Fan did not feel any of that.

As he grasped it in his hand, the aura of the second level Lightning Nebula began to spread, quickly intimidating the Lightning Arc that was attempting to hurt Mo Fan.

“It’s my turn! Lightning Strike!”

Mo Fan turned all of the electricity into his own power as dark clouds began to gather in the sky above his head.

Following Mo Fan’s order, the Lightning Strike with double the power smashed into the ground as it attacked the four people from Imperial College…

“This kid sure is gutsy!” Ming Cong, the Lightning element user, coldly hmphed, “Holy Shield, protect!”

Ming Cong was basically reverse-slapped. He had no choice but to use his Intermediate Light Magic, or else the Lightning Strike would be a great problem for his team.

Countering someone else’s Lightning by absorbing it, that was something you could only do if you had complete confidence in your own grasp over Lightning. Not only did your cultivation have to be higher than the other person, you also had to complete your Star Path during the moment the opponent’s Lightning Strike was about to take effect.

If not, the Lightning wouldn’t be able to come forth, and could potentially feed back to the user and injure them badly!

Mo Fan had watched the opponent’s Lightning Strike as he was completing his Star Atlas. If there was any kind of slip up during this process, he would’ve had to use his own flesh to defend against the Lightning Strike!

“Good job!” Song Xia exclaimed in praise.

Mu Nujiao’s eyes also began to shine a bit. This Great Demon of Pearl Institute sure was extremely brazen. He actually returned the Lightning back with double the energy to the other person, giving the other caster no choice but to use their Intermediate Magic to block it!

Everyone had a limited amount of mana. Intermediate Magic was not something they could use without limit. Everytime they used Intermediate Magic, they would use up a lot of mana. Thus, if they were able to use Primary Magic to force their opponents to use an Intermediate spell to defend, they’d be making a profit.

——

“Your little trick was a bit too shallow. Let me deal with them.” Lu Zhenghe was displaying his extreme arrogance in front of the others.

This guy had been standing at the very back from the start. It wasn’t because he was afraid, it was because as long as he was able to call forth his contracted beast, then the opposite side would get beaten down easily.

Drawing the Star Atlas of the Summoning Element was extremely strenuous. Furthermore, it was equal to multiple uses of Intermediate Magic. The Summoning Element’s Intermediate Magic activation time was two or three times longer than other Elements.

To justify smiling arrogantly within this area, Lu Zhenghe did not want to make any mistakes as he went through the Summoning.

His Star Atlas was already three-fourths complete, and Lu Zhenghe couldn’t help but smile. The people from Pearl Institute were a group of blockheads, they actually didn’t know what kind of consequences came from allowing a Summoner to complete his magic.

“Do you really think you can safely Summon?” Just as Lu Zhenghe was feeling a bit of disdain, a voice came forth from the wind.

Lu Zhenghe looked to his side, and realized the guy called Shen Mingxiao had used his Wind Trail to appear there from nowhere.

“Hehe, do you really think you can interrupt me?” Lu Zhenghe was a bit surprised, but he was not panicking.

His Star Atlas did not stop, he was only missing the last link of the Star Path.

Shen Mingxiao hated people who looks down on him. He drew help from his own speed to create a frantic wind. It was like an autumn gale sweeping away the fallen leaves as it swept toward Lu Zhenghe.

The places Shen Mingxiao quickly moved through immediately created a chaotic slipstream. It was like a current had suddenly struck against a rock, creating an incredibly strong force as it attacked Lu Zhenghe!

Lu Zhenghe stood there without moving. His face was filled with smiles.

Just as the frantic wind was about to blow him away, countless water droplets suddenly came out of nowhere.

The blue water droplets gathered and turned into a soft Water Barrier. The Water Barrier curled in front of Lu Zhenghe in order to protect him from the engulfing, frantic wind…

The Water Barrier was like a waterfall being blown by a strong wind, and began to slant sideways. However, Lu Zhenghe was perfectly unharmed behind the protection of the Water Barrier.

“You can die now!” Lu Zhenghe mocked his attacker. “Contract Summoning, Violent Mark Wolf!”

The pattern on the ground glowed like a moon. Lu Zhenghe confidently took a few steps backward, and the pattern suddenly grew a few times bigger. It felt like an ancient painting drawn above the ice, where each stroke was filled with some unknown energy that did not belong to this world.

As the glow reached its brightest point, the pattern suddenly became dark, like a black hole. A ferocious creature with an appearance similar to a wolf slowly floated up out of the hole.

Its fangs were incredibly sharp, while its savage nature was totally exposed by its pitch-black eyes. Its body was the size of an elephant, cracking the ice under its feet as it shifted its weight.

What astounded the crowd the most was the crazy marks spread all across its body, covering it from neck to tail as if it were placed under a curse, or some kind of seal that was restricting its power.

“Gods, a Warrior-level Summoned creature!” some random student from a random school suddenly screamed.

Warrior-level!

“This is bad.” Mu Nujiao had a stern look on his face.

Mu Ningxue alone was more than enough to give them a headache, and now a Summoner Mage capable of controlling a Warrior-level creature had also joined the battle.

The strength of a Warrior-level creature was utterly terrifying. If they weren’t careful, all of them together would have trouble facing it, not to mention that no Equipment was allowed to be used in the battle.

It was quite ridiculous to fight against a Warrior-level creature without any Equipment!

“I’ll try my best to hold it off, while you guys figure out a way to break through,” Mu Nujiao said.

She was definitely the best candidate among them to pin down the enemy for the time being with her Plant Element, but she would not be able to hold for too long.

Mu Nujiao used Wind Track at the same time. She began to worry when she realized every step she took was sticking to the ice.

A Warrior-level creature was difficult enough to deal with, and now even her speed was being affected…

The Violent Mark Wolf’s first target turned out to be Shen Mingxiao, who was the closest to it. Shen Mingxiao had ventured very deep into enemy territory. He would be able to escape if his Wind Track were slightly faster, but a basic level Wind spell was nowhere enough to handle the Violent Mark Wolf. Shen Mingxiao immediately felt greatly threatened when the Violent Mark Wolf lunged toward him.

“Vine Trap!”

Mu Nujiao immediately waved her hand, realizing the dangerous situation Shen Mingxiao was in. She positioned a vine right across where the Violent Mark Wolf would run.

The vine was not obvious at all. As the Violent Mark Wolf stepped on it, a sturdy prison of vines immediately grew out from it, aiming to entrap the creature within.

However, as the vines were reaching for the Violent Mark Wolf’s limbs, it suddenly increased its pace. It had managed to leave the range of the vines before they could entrap it.

As a result, the vines became totally useless, leaving a frown on Mu Nujiao’s face.

There was no way she could use an Intermediate-level spell now. It would trap Shen Mingxiao with the Violent Mark Wolf inside a giant cage made of plants, which was no different from sending him into the wolf’s mouth straight away.

“HAHAHA! It’s like a game of cat and mice!” Lu Zhenghe burst out laughing, watching Shen Mingxiao running for his life.

He initially thought the guy would have some tricks up in his sleeves. It turned out that the people of the Ming Zhu University were only good with their talk. It was stunning how they were sending such ordinary students to represent them twice.

“Earth Wave!” The young man called Xiao Feng finally completed his basic level spell.

He definitely knew how to throw stones at someone who had fallen down a well. Shen Mingxiao was already having a hard time being chased around by the Violent Mark Wolf, and yet he still tried to drag him in the opposite direction he was running in with his spell.

Although Shen Mingxiao never stopped moving forward, due to the displacement of the ground, the distance between him and the Violent Mark Wolf gradually reduced.

The Violent Mark Wolf suddenly leapt into the air. The blue runes on its body glowed brilliantly.

It leapt right above Shen Mingxiao’s head and dived down, extending its limbs. The glowing runes on its body seemed to multiply its strength a few times its actual size, as if it had transformed into a giant battle axe!

BANG!

As it landed, the ground cracked open like a giant spider web, while the impact produced a shockwave filled with flying stones.

Shen Mingxiao managed to dodge the attack, but the shockwave from the impact still sent him helplessly into the air.

Shen Mingxiao totally lost his balance. The force of the impact caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood, and he slammed into the ground close to the boundaries of the barrier.

Luckily, Shen Mingxiao’s second element was Water, thus he was able to cast a Water Barrier on himself in the nick of time. Otherwise, the damage would have half-killed him!

It took Shen Mingxiao quite a while to rise from the ground.

Meanwhile, the Violent Mark Wolf did not give him any chance to catch his breath. Despite standing fifty meters away from him, it opened its mouth wide and bit forward, tearing at the space in front of it.

As it clenched its teeth, Shen Mingxiao immediately noticed a row of giant teeth appearing right beside him. He could feel his scalp going numb as they grew more defined.

They were the fangs of the Violent Mark Wolf!

Shen Mingxiao could not understand how it could attack from so far away. How could it possibly bite him from such a great distance?

“Sacred Shield Protection!” When the fangs were closing on him, Song Xia’s rather masculine voice rang out.

A golden light flickered close to Shen Mingxiao’s position. It formed a golden shield wrapping around Shen Mingxiao’s figure.

The fangs ended up crushing down on the light, resulting in a clanking sound.

The Sacred Shield shook vigorously from the bite, while its glow significantly dimmed. Meanwhile, the Violent Mark Wolf seemed quite frustrated that its attack was nullified, and fixed its gaze onto Song Xia.

Shen Mingxiao was safe for now, but Song Xia, who had saved his life, immediately replaced him as the next target for the beast.

Mu Nujiao also stepped forward to lend a hand. She continuously altered her position with her Wind Element while harassing the Violent Mark Wolf, forcing it to focus its attacks on her.

“That alone is enough to give them a hard time. Should I even do anything further?” Xiao Feng wondered snidely.

“Let’s finish them all now,” Ming Cong said.

They took their time arranging their Nebulas while their enemies were occupied with handling the Violent Mark Wolf.

A purple Nebula and a blue Nebula, which were the Lightning Element and the Wind Element respectively, began to arise.

The duo were actually drawing the patterns at a fast pace, and finished half of them within the blink of an eye. Once the two Intermediate spells were cast at Mu Nujiao and Shen Mingxiao, they would not be able to defend themselves.

The target of the Lightning spell turned out to be Shen Mingxiao.

The glow of the Sacred Shield wrapping around Shen Mingxiao’s figure was already significantly dimmer, thus the strike immediately smashed him into the ground.

On the other hand, the Tornado seemed to be targeting Mo Fan and Song Xia.

Song Xia had used her Light magic on Shen Mingxiao, thus leaving her in a delicate situation. Luckily, Mo Fan had managed to summon his Spirit Wolf in time, which carried them away and ran wildly around to dodge the Tornado.

“We can’t let this continue, we’re being too passive.” Song Xia jumped down from the back of the Spirit Wolf and glanced at the four students from the Imperial College were still standing at the same spot since the start of the battle.

“Shen Mingxiao, are you alive or not? If you’re not dead yet, hurry up and get your ass together. You, Mu Nujiao, and my Spirit Wolf will deal with the Violent Mark Wolf!” Mo Fan called out to Shen Mingxiao.

It went without saying that Shen Mingxiao was still able to move. The defensive capabilities of the Sacred Shield were indeed impressive, although he could still sense a slight shudder in his bones.

“Don’t you think highly of yourself…” Shen Mingxiao cursed in an unpleasant manner.

“What’s with the nonsense under such circumstances, just follow Mo Fan’s instructions!” Song Xia snapped.

Shen Mingxiao did not dare to say anything further. After all, Mu Nujiao would not be able to hold out much longer.

Mo Fan knew that even with them teaming up, they would not stand a chance against the Violent Mark Wolf. Therefore, he had sent his Spirit Wolf to assist them, as he assumed that the two together with the beast would not be defeated so easily.

As a matter of fact, in Mo Fan’s opinion, the Violent Mark Wolf’s strength was weaker than that of the Mother Skin Scale Phantom and Cursed Beast he had encountered before. That being said, a Warrior-level creature was naturally stronger than an Intermediate Magician by a significant margin. Without sufficient equipment or some special abilities, it was impossible to win against the creature.

“Dean Xiao, I wouldn’t try so hard if it weren’t for the benefits you’ve given me!” Mo Fan mumbled to himself as he glanced at the Focus necklace around his neck.

Mo Fan could not care less about the reputation of their school, but since he had promised Dean Xiao and the Elemental Director, he had to keep his word!

“Song Xia, you will handle that Wind Magician. If possible, try and stand behind me and protect me with the Sacred Shield,” Mo Fan said to Song Xia besides him.

Song Xia nodded and repositioned herself behind Mo Fan. Just as she set a Star in place in her Nebula, she suddenly felt a chill in her surroundings.

“Crap!” Song Xia cried out shock.

“Back off, quick!” Mo Fan blurted out as he sensed the dropping temperature in the surroundings.

Song Xia moved backward rapidly. As she withdrew herself from the icy area, she realized that the icy elemental energy was not actually targeting her.

Bang! Bang!

The frozen ground suddenly cracked open, and several thick chains of ice sprang out from under it. A loud clank was heard as they collided with each other.

Song Xia stared at the ice chains in astonishment. She tried to summon the Sacred Shield for protection, but it was too late. She could not do anything but watch Mo Fan being entrapped within the blink of an eye, with no chance of escaping!

Clank! Clank! Clank!

The chains continued to wrap around him, forming a few layers around Mo Fan’s figure.

A moment later, Mo Fan was totally locked down by the chain, as if he had turned into a frozen mummy, and the ice elemental force crazily surged toward him!

The other ends of the chains slowly rose from the ground, held tightly by Mu Ningxue, whose silver hair totally stood out in the middle of them. It was obvious that she was the source of the overwhelming ice elemental force.

Her Ice Chain had obviously reached the second level, a completely different level than Luo Song’s. No matter how Song Xia tried to melt them with her Fire, her effort was totally in vain.

Icy flakes slowly fell as her silver hair blew elegantly in the wind. Mu Ningxue’s icy and unapproachable aura was even stronger as she controlled the ice chain, as if no living man were allowed within a few kilometers of her.

“That’s… that’s way too insane!” The students stared with their eyes open wide and their jaws dropping.

Most of them did not notice Mu Ningxue drawing her Stars, which implied that her control of ice magic had reached a level that she could cast it in almost an instant.

The Ice Chains that she had summoned were quite spectacular. Due to her purer lineage, tiny ice flakes were forming around the chains as they froze the air nearby.

That being said, the flakes were not just mere decorations. They were in fact sharp as thorns!

In other words, if Mu Ningxue were planning to deal a killing blow, the thorns would not only be floating in the air. They would combine with the chains and pierce the person they were trapping to death!

—

On the other side, the team of Mu Nujiao, Shen Mingxiao, and the Spirit Wolf could barely hold off against the Violent Mark Wolf.

Mo Fan was already trapped by the chains, and Song Xia behind him was totally incapable of freeing him. It seemed like the battle had almost come to an end, way faster than everyone expected.

Mr. Gu Han, Mr. Li Jing, and Mrs. Qiu Yuhua exchanged glances with one another. They did predict the loss, but they never thought the difference in strength would be so bizarre.

“That Ice Maga is too terrifying.”

“If we were to face her in the last round, the battle would be one-sided, too,” Peng Liang shuddered.

Zhao Manting remained silent. His eyes were fixed on the chains. He could not believe that someone as strong as Mo Fan would stand no chance against that mad woman.

Mo Fan had actually defeated the Mother Skin Scale Phantom on his own, thus Zhao Manting found it hard to believe that he would be defeated so easily.

“Forget it, that might be the end of the battle,” Mrs. Qiu Yuhua sighed. She was worried that Mo Fan could not stand the cold from being trapped inside the chains.

“Mmm,” Mr. Gu Han nodded too.

It was indeed a tough match-up for them to fight against a female Ice Maga who had learned the Elemental Domain, and a Summoner Maga who was able to control a Warrior-level creature.

“Teacher, please wait for a little longer,” Zhao Manting blurted out.

“Is there any point for that?” Luo Song exclaimed.

“Shut your mouth.”

Mr. Li Jing was not happy with Zhao Manting’s tone. As he was about to speak, he discovered Mr. Gu Han was staring in the direction of the ice chains.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Gu Han?” Li Jing asked.

“Fire…I can sense the Fire Element… a strong Fire Elemental energy… It can’t be wrong!” Mr. Gu Han had been about to signal to the judge when he detected a slight hint of Fire Element energy emanating from the Ice Chains.

The energy was ferocious, trying to break free from the firm ice chains. A line of blood could be seen dripping out slowly from the ice chains.

Mr. Gu Han’s cultivation was relatively stronger then the others, so he could sense it.

However, he still could not understand why such a fierce flame was burning inside the chains.

—

“It looks like we can celebrate our victory today. How boring, it’s such an easy win,” Lu Zhenghe proclaimed, all smiles.

“Captain, you should withdraw your Ice now. It would be bad if he were to die from the chill,” Ming Chong from the Lightning School spoke up.

Mu Ningxue ignored the comments from her teammates, continuing to hold the chains in her hand. Even though her eyes were emotionless, it was obvious that she had not dropped her guard.

She continued to stare at Mo Fan, literally staring at him.

Finally, she spoke with her usual pleasant voice, “Enough with the acting, show me your true strength, Mo Fan!” Her eyes flickered slightly when she mentioned his name.

She had no idea how long it had been since she had last called his name, nor did she expect to stumble into him during the exchange program.

However, Mu Ningxue clearly knew that Mo Fan was nowhere near as simple as he appeared on the surface.

She knew this because she had witnessed his outstanding talent during the feast held by the Mu Family. He had an Innate Dual Element!

Mu Ningxue was only willing to take part in the duel for that particular reason. She was eager to witness the capabilities of a person whom was considered more talented than herself!

“Acting?”

“Show his true strength?” The crowd was stunned hearing Mu Ningxue’s words.

Was she implying that this student called Mo Fan has yet to use all his strength?

However, even if he possessed a power stronger than his Lightning, how could he possibly break free from the Ice Chains?

“Ningxue, what are you saying? I don’t really get it, do you know him?” Lu Zhenghe asked with a stern face.

The students watching the battle were puzzled. He was trapped like that, would it make a difference if he were hiding his strength?

“That’s right, the battle has ended… Hey, why am I seeing something red, like blood?” Ming Cong asked suddenly.

Red like blood?!

The area covered with ice was dyed a bright red, which did look like blood from afar!

However, it was way hotter than blood!

Crack! Crack!

Cracks began to appear on the firm Ice Chains, tiny at the beginning, but as more red spread out from inside, they spread rapidly across the surface!

BANG!

There was a loud blast as the Ice Chains finally could not hold the rumbling energy within!

As soon as the Ice Chains shattered, flames that looked like fiery roses burst out, pouring onto the ice on the ground! They sizzled as they battled against the broken Ice Chains.

A figure slowly walked out from the pool of fire.

He was the source of the flames capable of melting the Ice Chains. His entire figure was engulfed in red flames, like the Emperor of Fire walking on lava as he entered the limelight!

The rolling flames continued to drive the Ice Zone away. Although the Ice Zone had covered the entire battleground, in that particular area, the ice was completely melted away by the flame.

The figure inside the fire slowly revealed his appearance. However, no one could believe what they saw!

“Is…is that Mo Fan???” Zhao Manting, Zheng Bingxiao, Mr. Gu Han, and Mrs. Qiu Yuhua stared with blank faces.

Even the people from the Imperial College were pop-eyed.

If they weren’t mistaken, this guy called Mo Fan had already used his Lightning and Summoning spells. Despite that, he was currently controlling the Fire Element, and it appeared that he was quite an expert with it, too!

Song Xia’s Fire had no chance against Mu Ningxue’s Ice Domain and Spirit-grade Ice Seed, so she was unable to fully utilize her Fire’s power. On the other hand, the flame engulfing Mo Fan did not seem to be afraid of Mu Ningxue’s Ice Seed from her bloodline…

The Fire was also Spirit-grade!

“Three…three…three Elements, Mo Fan has three Elements!!” someone from the crowd cried out in disbelief.

A great uproar filled the entire place.

Only Magicians who had achieved the Advanced level could control three different Elements. It was clear that he had yet to achieve the Advanced level, and yet he was able to use three different Elements. Could it be that he had two Elements innately?

Having two Elements since he was born, that was surely some talent that everyone would be jealous of!

As the ferocious flames burned madly, Mo Fan walked out from the area on a carpet of flame. No matter how unbelievable it was, a magician with three Elements was standing right in front of them!

Under the glow from the Spirit-grade Fire, Mo Fan’s fiery eyes were showing a hint of vice. He was staring at the icy, noble Mu Ningxue with a wicked grin.

“I thought you would go easy on your boyfriend. It’s such a surprise that you were actually being serious.” Mo Fan shrugged off the ice flakes on his shoulder, which quickly evaporated in the fire.

Mu Ningxue was already used to his nonsense, so she did not even try to refute him. She proceeded to cast an Ice Veil, preventing Mo Fan’s reckless Rose Flame from dealing her a surprise attack.

Due to her Element, she was not really a fan of Fire, as it would make her uncomfortable.

“Boy…boyfriend?”” Lu Zhenghe totally lost his mind on hearing this.

That turned out to be the greatest shock to him. Only he knew that he was seriously attracted to Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue did not bother explaining the situation. She could already sense the danger posed by Mo Fan’s Spirit-grade Fire. If she did not do something quickly, it would be impossible for her to remain unharmed by his Fire.

“I know you’re just trying to test my strength. That being said, you’ve been working so hard already, how is it acceptable for me to be weak? Since you’re asking me to use my true strength, I’m more than happy to do so!” Mo Fan said with a broad smile. A moment later, the flame completely devoured his entire face, together with his malevolent smirk!

The words felt like an emperor giving out an order to his officials and soldiers. The flames obeyed his command and rapidly compressed into a bracelet on his wrist, pulsing to his heartbeat.

Even Song Xia, who was standing behind Mo Fan, could sense the regality of the Rose Flame, to the extent that her Fire had an urge to submit to its will!

Mo Fan’s Fire was completely withdrawn. Only his sturdy figure remained standing, his right hand covered in burning flame.

“Rose Flame!”

“Fiery Fist!”

“Groundbreak!”

Each chant was louder than the one before, with each wave of flames taller than the previous. Mo Fan completely unleashed the energy he had accumulated in his fist into the ground.

The impact from the fiery energy instantly shattered the ground, and terrifying flames erupted.

The Fire danced wildly, like burning petals!

Fiery pillars rose into the sky, hot enough to melt everything!

The erupting lava caused the Groundbreak to spread even further, resulting in a great visual display.

Apart from Lu Zhenghe, the rest of the students from the Imperial College were completely overwhelmed by the flames.

Ming Cong and Xiao Feng panicked. They did not expect Mo Fan’s Fire to be so unstoppable. Xiao Feng’s second Element was Earth Element, so he swiftly reacted by casting a defensive spell.

However, he could not make it in time. His figure was completely overcome by the flame before his protective spell was formed.

In order to save himself, Xiao Feng was forced to use his Equipment!

Similarly, Ming Cong was unable to defend himself against the attack. The Fiery Fist and Groundbreak were enough to overwhelm him, let alone the Rose Flame, which was powerful enough to burn his Equipment to ashes.

Fortunately, there were teachers around to keep an eye out, who would interfere once the situation got out of control. Ming Cong, who lost consciousness from the impact, was swiftly rescued by the teacher in charge.

The flames had even devoured Mu Ningxue! Lu Yiming was just about to make his move after seeing Mu Ningxue in danger, when she whisked herself out to the boundary of the Groundbreak with her Wind Track.

Despite that, the flames at the boundaries were not to be underestimated. The Ice Veil she had produced before came in handy, serving as protection from the hungry fires!

The gust of Wind had an azure hue to it, displaying an energy significantly greater than an ordinary blue Wind Element. Mu Ningxue’s speed surpassed those who also possessed an ordinary Wind Element.

The Wind Element was considered quite common among the Elements, but it was also the most flexible. Mu Ningxue moved swiftly, as if she had suddenly turned as light as feather, her movements unpredictable.

She nimbly dodged the Groundbreak, while the spitting flames around her were extinguished by the Ice Veil she had set up previously.

She had already predicted the spells Mo Fan would cast!

“Wind Disc, Sky Snare!”

Everyone was shocked at how fast Mu Ningxue was able to align her Stars. She did not even pause to cast them!

The azure gust of Wind slowly lifted her figure, leaving her slightly afloat.

Her long silver hair moved elegantly in the air, while the veil which was initially hanging before her lifted, revealing her close to perfect face.

Her glistening eyes were blue in color, like a Wind Elf. For a second, an azure aura with a diameter of twenty meters could be seen circulating her glamorous physique, visible in the flicker from her eyes!

The aura was the reason why she was afloat in the air. It transformed Mu Ningxue, her hands crossed in front of her chest, from an Ice Sorceress to a Wind Fairy, so noble and pure that no one dared to have any disrespectful thoughts.

“A Spirit-grade Wind Seed!!”

“Our captain was forced to use her second Element, this is the end for that guy Mo Fan!”

In terms of aura, Mu Ningxue’s Wind totally crushed the rest of the Wind Magicians. What was more terrifying was that the Wind energy had already gathered around the area Mo Fan was under the command of its empress…

It was nothing like the Wind Disc Tornado. At least in the case of Wind Disc Tornado, people would still have some time to react. As long as you could run faster than the Tornado, you would be fine!

That was not the case for the second tier of the Wind Disc, Sky Snare! It would summon a spinning giant tornado with a diameter of twenty meters right where the target was. The moment it was cast, it would form a fast-spinning wall of Wind around the target. Unless the target could break through the wall of Wind with brute force, it would end up being thrown against the wind wall by the blowing wind and suffer incredible injuries.

If the target somehow survived, the final fling would send it high up into the air. The drop from such a height was more than enough to shatter all its bones.

Such was the strength of the Wind Disc, Sky Snare. In addition, Mu Ningxue was also controlling a Spirit-grade Wind Seed, and so the power of the spell was even more terrifying after being multiplied. The other Intermediate Magicians nearby had already backed off, as this level of battle had gone totally beyond their capabilities!

Indeed, both the second-tier Intermediate Spells or the Spirit-grade Element Seeds were enough to wipe them all, and when the two were stacked together, the damage they dealt would easily be more than the students could handle.

Somehow, the whole battle had turned into a duel between Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue, and the latter totally had the upper hand due to her two Spirit-grade Element Seeds. The almighty Wind Disk, Sky Snare had thoroughly confined Mo Fan inside. He looked extremely tiny inside the giant tornado.

“Fiery Fist, Exploding Heaven!”

Mo Fan was not willing to give up without putting up a fight, despite finding himself trapped within the cage of wind.

The only way to break through was to target the walls that were trapping him. As such, he would have to blow them apart before the tornado shrank to his size!

It went without saying that Mo Fan was extremely familiar with using the first tier Intermediate Fire spell. He could easily throw a few punches after adjusting his energy.

The Rose Flame on his wrist grew restless as the fist of Exploding Heaven collided with the spinning wall of Wind!

BANG!

It was obvious that the great Tornado was shaking. Some parts of it were dislocated too, but new Wind energy immediately filled the gap as Mu Ningxue maintained the shape of the Tornado.

“Again, Fiery Fist!!”

As the punch was thrown, flames engulfed his fist once more. The Fiery Fist collided with the shrieking wind wall with tremendous might once again.

The Wind was already disrupted after the first punch. When the second punch collided with it, the Tornado surrounding Mo Fan buckled heavily.

“Begone!”

Mo Fan was completely unstoppable. Others might already be panting heavily after executing an Intermediate Spell, but he did not even show any intentions of preserving his energy. He continued to draw energy from the Fire Nebula, launching a third punch at the Tornado. The impact from the third collision finally shattered the Tornado, and it dissipated in all directions in random whorls of protest.

As the Wind died away, lumps of dust fell from the sky, stacking up under Mo Fan’s feet.

Mo Fan had the crowd’s complete attention. The flames on his wrist had yet to extinguish completely.

His fiery eyes were full of emotion, while his unyielding stance delivered a strong statement to everyone.

—

Did he just break through a Spirit-grade tornado, just like that?

No one had ever seen a magician more violent than this Mo Fan!

Most of the people subconsciously assumed that they would need to rely on defensive methods to nullify such a destructive spell. Even though Mo Fan had three different Elements, none of them was suitable for defense. To their utter surprise, he had actually managed to overcome Mu Ningxue’s Intermediate Wind Spell with an even stronger attack!

—

“The final boss of the Pearl Institute, as expected of someone who was given that title. I’m utterly impressed.” Peng Liang, the student from the Shadow School, had completely dropped his jaw.

—

On the other side, Zhao Manting had actually guessed that Mo Fan had the Fire Element, but after witnessing the battle, he finally knew how right he was. He was no longer surprised that Mo Fan had actually managed to kill the Mother Skin Scale Phantom.

—

It took Mr. Gu Han, Mrs. Qiu Yuhua, and Mr. Li Jing quite a while to collect their thoughts. They finally understood why Dean Xiao and Director Zhou Zhenghua had expended such efforts to bring Mo Fan in…

As for coming to the Imperial College to be wrecked, or to have a friendly duel… it was obvious that Mo Fan was here to humiliate them!

—

“Two Spirit-grade Seeds… It looks like I’ve made the right choice coming to the Imperial College. At least there’s someone worthy to fight against me.” As Mo Fan had exposed his secret already, there was no reason to hide it any further.

More importantly, there weren’t too many students from the Pearl Institute who could force Mo Fan to use all his strength. Although it turned out that Mu Ningxue could match his strength, the truth was, she was not the only one with two Spirit-grade Seeds!

“It’s my turn!” Mo Fan’s smile blossomed with unmatched confidence.

“Do you think you’re faster than me?” Mo Fan had totally aroused a strong will to battle in Mu Ningxue’s heart. A hint of pride surfaced on her icy face.

“You’ll never know if you don’t try!” Mo Fan continued to smile.

Mu Ningxue focused her gaze on him. The flicker in her eyes from casting a spell seemed exceptionally determined.

Even when talking, it did not affect the brilliance of the Stars when they were aligned in their focus. Even when they were staring into each other’s eyes, the orbits of the Stars remained interconnected, as a destructive force accumulated in the pattern.

“Nirvana Ice: Ice Lock, Bone Husk!” an ethereal voice called out.

Mu Ningxue was the first to complete her Ice Spell. She had reached the Intermediate Level way earlier than Mo Fan, and her foundation was more solid.

“Qianjun: Thunderbolt, Yaksha!” Mo Fan countered with his vigorous voice too!

His casting speed was slightly slower than Mu Ningxue, but that did not rattle his confidence. He confidently released his Lightning Spell even when he was surrounded by Mu Ningxue’s Ice Lock.

The Lightning Intermediate Spell was significantly cleaner than the other Elements. Mu Ningxue was still setting up her Ice Locks, while a single point by Mo Fan was enough to summon a huge dark stormcloud!

Ghastly lighting struck down, like purple-black dragons diving in with incredible might.

Halfway in the air, the dragons split into several lightning bolts, as if they were spreading their claws apart!

Mu Ningxue raised her head. She knew she was in a bad spot the moment she saw the storm cloud, so she did not dare to fire the Ice Locks around her figure. Instead, she controlled the ice chains with both hands to position them above her head.

The giant chains lashed out fiercely, colliding straight with the lightning bolts from above. It suddenly turned into a pure clash of two great forces, bringing a destructive and deathly aura to the arena.

The speed of the Lighting Element granted Mo Fan an upper hand in the battle. An ordinary Yaksha would not be able to penetrate through the thick Ice Locks, but the source of Mo Fan’s Lightning was Qianjun!

The vibration effect from Qianjun’s power was extremely handy, as the Ice Locks were incredibly sturdy, but too rigid. Cracks began to appear on the Ice Locks. As they spread across the surface of the Locks, the next wave of vibrations immediately broke them into pieces.

The chains were shattered into falling pieces of ice.

Mu Ningxue stood in the middle of the falling pieces. She did not even try to dodge them.

She raised her head and immediately saw a lightning arc striking the spot beside her.

It formed a scorched pit on the ground. Mu Ningxue waved her hand and turned the pieces of ice into white powder. Following another wave, the powder was turned into tiny drops of snow and drifted away in the wind. It was a spectacular sight!

“Two Spirit-grade Seeds.” Mu Ningxue fixed her eyes on Mo Fan.

The Yaksha lightning fork was clearly able to land a clean hit on her, but it was obvious that Mo Fan had purposely changed its direction.

Mu Ningxue knew that she had lost the duel.

The Ice Locks were not the best ability to defend herself. There was no way she could prevent herself from being harmed by the Thunderbolt: Yaksha.

She did not understand; how did Mo Fan possess such an overwhelming strength without the resources from joining a formidable faction?

There were quite a few disciples from renowned families. Even they did not have a single Spirit-grade Seed, and Mo Fan, who did not come from a formidable background already had two!

The resources distributed to the disciples were already limited. Most of the resources were spent on Stardust Magic Tools, Nebula Tools, and Equipment. Many families could not afford to spend more resources buying Soul Seeds for their disciples, apart from the extremely talented ones.

How was it not astonishing that Mo Fan had two Soul Seeds, when the disciples of renowned families did not even have one?

Most importantly, he had three different Elements! Normally, his cultivation would be affected, since he would spend less time on any one Element. However, that was not the case for him.

His Fire had reached the second tier of the Intermediate Level.

His Lightning had also reached the second tier of the Intermediate Level!

Mu Ningxue knew from before that Mo Fan was setting his feet on an extraordinary path as a magician, but she never thought he would be this brilliant!

——

“Did Mo Fan win?” Bai Tingting asked softly.

“He did win, but…” Mr. Gu Han had yet to collect his thoughts.

“I’ve always heard how the demon king is unbeatable, but it turned out that it was only a part of his strength. Born with two Elements, having both a Lightning and a Fire Spirit Seed, second tier of Intermediate Level, f**k me. He could easily crush everyone from our Pearl Institute with either one of those two Elements!” Peng Liang exclaimed loudly.

“Either way, he has won the battle. He has defeated the Imperial College’s ace!” Zhao Manting raised his thumb at Mo Fan with a smile.

He had finally witnessed Mo Fan’s true strength. If it weren’t for the fact that the Imperial College had a crazily talented Mu Ningxue, Mo Fan would have definitely continued to hide the truth. He was surely worthy of being titled the demon king of their Pearl Institute!

“Nice one, well done!” Mr. Qiu Yuhua said.

Mu Ningxue walked off the stage without saying anything after she was defeated by Mo Fan.

The tide of the battle shifted as soon as she left the stage. First, Song Xia’s Fire was no longer being restricted by the enemy’s powerful domain. As a result, the violent girl unleashed all her rage at the Violent Mark Wolf.

Mo Fan had already defeated two of the students with his Fiery Fist and Groundbreak combo. Now that Mu Ningxue had left the battle, Lu Zhenghe was the only one left. There was no way he could do anything against his enemies.

Lu Zhenghe was not content with the result. He could only withdraw the Violent Mark Wolf after glaring at Mo Fan.

“The Pearl Institute has won… unbelievable…”

“Holy crap, the second team from the Imperial College was strong enough to take on four or five of our teams! Despite that, the Pearl Institute still won the battle! That guy with the name Mo Fan is so strong! I wonder which renowned family is he from?”

“I bet you can only find such talent at the Enforcement Union, he might be one of them.”

The students and teachers from other schools were rabidly gossiping among themselves. Similarly, the students and teachers of the Imperial College were utterly dumbfounded.

Have we really lost the battle, despite having Mu Ningxue and Lu Zhenghe as our representatives?

It was definitely not something that they could easily accept!

Where did that guy call Mo Fan came from? Are we sure that he’s not those students who have yet to graduate from University after many years?

Wait a second, even they would not have such terrifying strength!

“Humph, I’ll teach him a lesson next time!” Lu Zhenghe glared at Mo Fan, grievances piling up in his heart.

“No one would expect them to have such an ace, too. It looks like we’ve underestimated the Pearl Institute!” Lu Yiming exclaimed with a sigh.

“I don’t think he’s that impressive!” Lu Zhenghe protested.

“So, apparently having two innate Elements is not impressive? Are you trying to say that you, who relies solely on your Violent Mark Wolf, is more impressive?” Liao Mingxuan immediately used the opportunity to mock the overly proud Lu Zhenghe.

“That’s enough! There’s always winning and losing in a battle. Besides, it was only supposed to be a friendly match. It’s more about the experience!” Lu Yiming intervened.

Students only had the chance to train themselves at institutes. Even if there were duels, they would only be against other magicians, so there were still many things they had to learn. It was necessary for them to fight against real demons, too!

A powerful magician did not necessarily need to have an overwhelming strength. It was more important to learn how to survive in the wild, where the demons resided.

The training at universities was no longer as naive as the military practice they went through during high school. They would be sending the students outside the safe zones without protection from teachers or hunters. They would have to face the problems themselves, and handle demons on their own…

Deaths were inevitable in such training, but as magicians, it was an awareness that they should have had since they first Awakened their magic!

——

The news spread rapidly. Even the leaders of the Pearl Institute found it hard to believe after hearing that they had won the battle.

Dean Xiao and Zhou Zhenghua felt extremely relieved after hearing the details from Mr. Gu Han. They had definitely made the right choice sending Mo Fan to the Imperial College. A shadow was cast as soon as the pole was raised!

Since Mo Fan had displayed his Fire Element, the news regarding his double innate Elements was soon spread around the schools.

Mo Fan, the demon king of the Pearl Institute, was now quite famous. He had suddenly become a hot topic among the students across the whole country. Suddenly, the students began to set up a ranking based on everyone’s talents.

Students with nothing better to do listed out those who had shown incredible talents and arranged their names on a list.

Both Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan were included on the list, their talents regularly discussed by the students.

Mo Fan even checked the ranking himself. His Innate Double Elements was ranked fifth, while Mu Ningxue’s Innate Spirit Seed was ranked ninth.

“No way, even Innate Double Elements is only ranked fifth on the list. Let me see how crazy the talents are that placed higher than fifth!” Zhao Manting screamed after staring at his phone.

“The world is so big. There are surely people with insane talents.” Peng Liang said after glancing at Mo Fan. “It’s already insane to be ranked in the fifth among the students from all the different schools. Imagine the prodigies that each of the schools has. Even being ranked in the top one hundred would be a great boost to your confidence, let alone being ranked in the top ten!”

“Talents are a gift from the Heaven to very few certain magicians. Without working hard, those with talents will also become trash. I’ve seen many young magicians with incredible talents, but how many of them are actually reputable in the end? There’s nothing to be envious of!” Mr. Qiu Yuhua scoffed, speaking in a professional manner.

Mr. Gu Han could not help but agree. Talent was only adding decoration to something perfect. It was more important to work diligently.

For someone like Mo Fan, with Innate Double Elements, if he did not work hard enough, having three Elements might actually become a burden, stopping him from reaching the Advanced Level.

A magician who could not even reach the Advanced Level despite having three Elements… What use would that be?

As such, to those who were relatively experienced, talents were not necessarily the determining factor!

“Now, you will be sent away from the safe zones as training. Your safety is not guaranteed during the training, as no one will come and save you if you’re in danger!” Mrs. Li Jing told them.

“No protection?”

“We’ll give each of you a pen that’s able to send out a magic signal. If you find yourselves trapped, we’ll send out reinforcements… but first, you have to stay alive until help arrives…”

“This…” The expressions of the crowd of students stiffened.

“Deaths and injuries were quite common in the past. Therefore, I hope everyone will be on high alert once the training begins. Don’t do anything too risky. There might be times where you think you could easily handle a few demons, but let me tell you this: things are not always as simple as they seem!” Mr. Gu Han warned them sternly.

“Even though you’ve taken classes about demons, or received information about the world outside the safe zones, the truth is, most of the teachers who have taught you have never left the safe zones themselves. If you assume that what you’ve learned is enough to look after yourselves… that isn’t realistic at all.

“Anyways, just be careful. I want to see the same number of people coming back!” Mr. Qiu Yuhua said.

The three teachers were as calm as usual, but everyone knew that the training was not something to be taken lightly.

Although Mo Fan had fought demons in the past, just like the other students, it was also his first time leaving the safe zones.

Ever since they were born, they were told that the world outside the safe zones was the demons’ territories. Even the greatest magician would be forced to tuck their tail between their legs, as you never knew when you would stumble into a terrifying demon, or a bunch of them!

“You are required to carry out a task when the training begins. We will notify you when the time comes. Since you’re here in the capital, if you have some savings, it’s better to buy a piece of defensive Equipment. It might save your life.”

Most of the students in the exchange came from average backgrounds. Therefore, they could afford one or two pieces of Equipment.

Mo Fan knew that he did not have the money to buy more Equipment, so he did not even bother going to the vendors.

——

As they were given five days to prepare for the training, Mo Fan decided to use the time to strengthen his Summoned Beast.

The Spirit Wolf had had quite a hard time.

During the friendly match, the Spirit Wolf was totally crushed by the Violent Mark Wolf. Their strengths were not even on the same level.

Despite being from the same species, the Spirit Wolf had completely lost its pride during the battle.

Mo Fan was aware that the battle had a great effect the Spirit Wolf. After considering for a time, he decided to help it rank up to Warrior level.

It had been almost a year since it ranked up to the Advanced Level. The Spirit Wolf had continued to battle inside the Summoned Beast Plane to improve itself, so its experience should be enough to rank up to the next level.

After the humiliation it had received from the Violent Mark Wolf, the Spirit Wolf had a stronger desire to break free from its Servant status. It longed for the chance to evolve into a stronger Wolf.

How could Mo Fan possibly be willing to let such an ambitious wolf be humiliated any further?

Besides, that guy with the name Lu Zhenghe was so full of himself, just because he had a Warrior-level creature.

Mo Fan disliked assholes like him the most… not to mention that he was shameless enough to stay near Mu Ningxue all the time.

Once his Spirit Wolf ranked up to the Warrior level, he was eager to see how Lu Zhenghe would still retain his attitude!

Evolving a Summoned creature to the next level was something to be treated with care. As such, Mo Fan decided to ask Mr. Qiu Yuhua for advice, hoping he would provide some assistance.

“When evolving a Summoned creature, the more things you’ve prepared, the higher the chance of success would be. In simple words, if your Spirit Wolf were to try evolving without any help, the chance of success would only be around twenty percent. After that, it would return to its previous form, thus making it an ordinary Servant-class creature.” Mr. Qiu Yuhua thought Mo Fan was pleasing to the eye the more he looked at him. He was quite earnest in answering questions.

“Twenty percent, that low? Even the lottery is easier to win!” Mo Fan immediately had a bad feeling.

“That’s only because your Spirit Wolf has a strong will. Otherwise, an ordinary Spirit Wolf would only have a ten percent success rate,” Mr. Qiu Yuhua added.

“How can I increase the success rate, then?” Mo Fan asked.

“Can’t you listen in the classes for once? Even though you have three different Elements, you’re still technically a student of the Summoning School…” Qiu Yuhua scolded Mo Fan before speaking in a stern tone, “You mentioned that you have a Warrior Soul. That is not a bad support item. It should be able to increase the success rate by twenty percent.”

“Right… but that’s only forty percent. I’m not a fan of betting.” Mo Fan said.

Even though a handsome man like him would always be the main protagonist in every story, Mo Fan did not believe that his plot armor could alter the success rate from forty percent to one hundred percent!

If he lost the bet, the Spirit Wolf’s strength would greatly regress. It was difficult to tell when it could return to the Advanced Level!

“There are ways for sure. But it might cost a fortune. “Qiu Yuhua continued with his explanation, “Normally, there are a few factors that determine the rank of a creature…

“First, their lineage. The higher the lineage, the greater the chance for the creature to rank up to a higher level.

“Second, the soul. The stronger the soul, the greater the potential it would possess.

“Third, the body. The strength of one’s body can normally be improved through endless battles. Having a strong enough body is the most basic requirement before evolving to the next level.”

Lineage, soul, and body! Mo Fan silently took note of the three important factors.

“The Warrior Soul that you’ve found is useful for soul-strengthening. When the soul becomes stronger, the success rate of evolving to the next level is increased too, by roughly twenty percent. Of course, different quality Warrior Souls will affect the success rate. Generally speaking, the one you have is able to increase the success rate by twenty percent.”

“Teacher, does that mean that I can look for ways to increase the success rate through improving its lineage or body?” Mo Fan blurted out.

Mr. Qiu Yuhua nodded with a smile, before saying with a stern face, “Which is why I said… You need to have money. The lineage of a Warrior level creature does not come at a cheap price. There are many ways to strengthen a wolf’s body too, but the actual good ones are quite costly too. If you find a suitable lineage, it might increase the success rate by thirty percent. As for strengthening the body, you can combine multiple ways together. It’s hard to say the increase in success rate it would bring, but it definitely helps with the process.”

It seemed like having a Warrior Soul was nowhere near enough to guarantee the success rate. He would need to get his hands on a Warrior-level lineage, too!

—–

Luckily, he did have over ten million in his savings. He immediately headed to the Magic Association’s branch in the capital to look for a Warrior-level lineage.

The Magic Association in the capital surely had stocks of supplies. Ordering something like a Warrior-level lineage that belonged to a wolf species would take more than ten days or even half a month to deliver to smaller cities. However, they were readily available on the shelves in the capital for a slightly higher price of a few million. However, Mo Fan did not have the time to wait any longer.

He managed to acquire a Warrior-level lineage after paying a price of ten million while clenching his teeth. He then bought some bone dust and a heart to strengthen the body, each valued at around a million. Following the purchases, he only had less than a million left. He suddenly had a feeling that he had gone back in time, to the pre-liberation era!

“Little wolf, you better be kind to me. Don’t you fail the process.” Mo Fan almost had the urge to burn some incense and worship his Spirit Wolf when he saw the previous splendid eight digits turning into merely six digits in his bank account.

The Warrior Soul would increase the success rate by twenty percent.

The Warrior level lineage would increase it further by thirty percent.

The Spirit Wolf had trained diligently in battles, strengthening its body to a certain level, which increased the success rate by twenty percent.

With those added up, the success rate was currently seventy percent, not including the bone dust of a Warrior-level wolf and the heart of a Three-eyed Magic Wolf.

——

“Since your Spirit Wolf’s flesh has never been strengthened before with materials, the bone dust and the heart should be quite effective. The success rate should be around seventy-five percent. Besides, you’re an Intermediate Magician. The energy from your nebula is able to increase the success rate by another ten percent. In other words, your Spirit Wolf has eighty-five percent change to evolve successfully.” Qiu Yuhua came up with a precise evaluation.

“Eighty-five percent, that sounds convincing!” Mo Fan said.

“Indeed, I didn’t expect you to be this rich. The materials should have cost you at least thirteen million.” Qiu Yuhua encouraged Mo Fan with a smile, “Go ahead, many Summoners’ first attempts only had thirty percent success rate. Your eighty-five percent pretty much guarantees that your Spirit Wolf will evolve to Warrior-level!”

Mo Fan nodded. With Qiu Yuhua’s assurance, he felt far more confident than before.

——

The Imperial College had some private training grounds. Mo Fan spent some money renting one to make sure that the process was not interrupted.

He was the only person at the spacious training ground. Drawing the pattern which produced a moonlit split in the air, the Spirit Wolf quickly landed right before him.

The Spirit Wolf let out a howl. It seemed more serious than usual, as it clearly knew that today was an important day for it.

“Here is a Warrior Soul, the lineage of a Warrior-level wolf, a heart,and a bottle of bone dust. These will help you to successfully evolve. Don’t be nervous, and don’t feel pressured. Relax and you won’t feel any pain. Be calm and there won’t be any sequela, and you can go back to work right away!” Mo Fan tried to comfort his little wolf.

The Spirit Wolf let out a cry like an obedient husky, its eyes seemed to be flickering.

It lowered its head and rubbed against Mo Fan.

“I’m no stranger, these are nothing. One day, when I see that Darkwing Wolf again, I’ll get my hands on its soul, blood, bones, heart, meat, whatever you want to eat as snacks. How can you not feel proud being I, Mo Fan’s summoned creature?” Mo Fan smilingly fondled the Spirit Wolf’s hair.

Both Qiu Yuhua and Zhao Manting had suggested Mo Fan not spend his resources on a creature that he had Summoned with the Dimensional Summoning.

In simple words, the creatures of Dimensional Summoning were like temporary laborers. They had their own lives to live. If one day, they managed to conquer their own dimension, they would no longer be willing to work for you.

Besides, it was possible that these creatures would die in their dimension, too, thus the investment was not secure at all.

As such, most of the Summoners would save up their resources until they reached the Intermediate level, just so they could spend them on their Contracted Beast, which would be treated like their own child.

Mo Fan was not a sentimental person. If the Spirit Wolf did not use its own body to knock Mu Nujiao’s Wind Disc: Tornado away during the Rookie Beast Battle Competition, Mo Fan would have considered saving up the resources for his Contracted Beast, too.

The Spirit Wolf was loyal and fearless, thus Mo Fan believed that it would become an important companion along his journey. Helping it to evolve was surely not a loss at all.

The Spirit Wolf was clearly aware of it, thus it was expressing its gratitude by rubbing its head against Mo Fan like a giant puppy.

Similar to the world outside the safe zones, the worlds in other dimensions also followed the law of the jungle. The Spirit Wolf definitely had a better chance at surviving in its world too if it were able to evolve.

“Alright, let’s begin!” Mo Fan said to the Spirit Wolf.

The Spirit Wolf uttered a cry filled with excitement.

The first step was to wash out the blood with the higher-tier blood, then construct the soul, and finally improve the flesh. Mo Fan had firmly remembered the steps for the process, since everything, including the Warrior Soul, was worth around twenty million RMB. If he ended up in the fifteen percent margin, he would simply delete his character.

Most summoners would spend the majority of their magic Feeding their Summoned beasts. On top of that, the evolution of the beasts required a huge amount of magic, too.

The blood washing was a lengthy process. It was somewhat similar to blood transfusion in the hospital. He needed to draw fifty percent of the blood out from the Summoned beast, then transfuse the new blood to trigger the blood transformation.

It was important to be extremely cautious during the process. After all, a beast like the Spirit Wolf would most likely die if it lost over fifty percent of its blood!

Fortunately, Mo Fan was still considered a magician with precise control of his magic. He first drew out fifty percent of the Servant-class blood from its body, then quickly inserted the Warrior-level blood.

For wolf species in particular, their lineage would usually be very useful, and it was quite rare for the different types of blood to be incompatible with one another. Although the Spirit Wolf’s body did experience a slight repulsion when the fresh blood was transfused into it, the two types of blood successfully merged together.

A purer lineage would grant greater power to the creature, thus it was always considered the most important.

Upon merging half of the Warrior-level blood, Mo Fan gave the Spirit Wolf some time to recover.

——

The Spirit Wolf howled and stood up once again. It was signalling Mo Fan to continue.

“Impressive, such fortitude!” Mo Fan nodded.

Soul constructing had a higher risk, as the soul was usually the weakest part of a creature. As such, spells that attacked a target’s soul would cause ten times more pain to it than ordinary attacks.

If somehow the previous soul was shattered, and the new soul failed to be constructed, it would be the end for the Spirit Wolf.

The process was a test of determination. Therefore, Mo Fan could not do anything to help. It would all rely on the Spirit Wolf itself, to see if it could endure the pain.

The Spirit Wolf cried out in agony the moment the spirit entered its body.

Due to the different classes among beasts, it was obvious that the presence of a higher-class creature would intimidate a lower-class creature. The worst thing that could happen to a lower-class creature when a Warrior Soul entered its body was getting its soul devoured!

The class of a Warrior Soul was higher than the class of a Servant Soul. As they naturally obeyed the rules of jungle, the Spirit Wolf had no choice but to endure the pressure from the Warrior Soul. Otherwise, its soul would be devoured instead! When that happened, it would be turned into a walking corpse.

Mo Fan waited with a stern look, similar to a father waiting outside the delivery room.

The Spirit Wolf continued to cry out in pain. It was obvious that its soul was suffering great pain.

It was clenching its teeth so tightly that not only the fangs were exposed, it felt like it was about to break them. Its cry felt like its heart was being torn apart.

The process lasted for only five minutes, but Mo Fan clearly knew how lengthy it was to the Spirit Wolf…

—

At least, it managed to endure it until the end.

The Spirit Wolf had always been persistent. It never asked Mo Fan to heal its wounds with his magic, as by allowing the wounds to heal themselves, it would improve its self-rejuvenating capability.

The improvement might be insignificant for a Servant-class beast, but it was enough to show its determination!

The Spirit Wolf was fully exhausted from being tortured during the soul constructing process.

However, since it was a refinement to its soul, any creature would feel the same way, regardless of how strong their body was.

That being said, the process had not ended yet.

—

The body strengthening phase was the easiest among the three. It could simply eat the heart and the bone dust, which could also replenish the lost energy in the previous steps.

The Spirit Wolf cried out at Mo Fan after a brief rest.

“Are you planning to evolve now?” Mo Fan asked.

The Spirit Wolf nodded.

“Alright, we should strike the iron while it’s hot!”

The most important stage had finally arrived. Once the three improvements were made, it would be the best for the Spirit Wolf to evolve when the effects were still fresh. The Spirit Wolf did not want to miss such a great opportunity.

Mo Fan would be transferring his energy to the Spirit Wolf, and everything else was in the Spirit Wolf’s hands.

The Spirit Wolf stood in the middle of the training ground. Its body was giving off a strong odor due to its sweat. Its body was not as firm as usual, but its eyes seemed extremely determined.

The Spirit Wolf raised its head and howled into the sky.

The sound echoed in the training ground as the aura bursting out from its body summoned a ferocious gust of wind, sweeping the place and ruffling its fur.

Mo Fan had witnessed the process before. It happened beside an abandoned construction site, where he saw a One-Eyed Magic Wolf evolved into a Three-Eyed Magic Wolf. Its powerful presence had been suffocating.

A familiar scene was taking place here, but it felt like the Spirit Wolf’s aura was significantly stronger than the One-Eyed Magic Wolf!

It was quite reasonable too, as the One-Eyed Magic Wolf only drank a tiny amount of the Underground Holy Spring. It only made the One-Eyed Magic Wolf’s soul stronger, but did not improve its other areas.

The Spirit Wolf let out a second howl.

This time, a stronger force burst out from its body. It was the tide hidden in the previous wave, which forced Mo Fan to take few steps backward despitebeing an Intermediate Magician.

Dust was blowing all over the place, and the place looked cloudy. However, Mo Fan could see a tornado forming around the Spirit Wolf.

“This aura…did it work?” Mo Fan exclaimed joyously as shielded his eyes from the dust with his hands.

The aura alone symbolized the presence of a Warrior-level creature!

A Servant-class creature did not actually have an aura. They could only intimidate weak creatures with their lofty figures and savage appearance.

However, once a creature ranked up to the Warrior level, it would possess an aura, which could be thought as a natural territory around the creature. It could terrify creatures nearby, or interrupt the spell casting of even Intermediate Magicians.

A third howl arose. This time, Mo Fan could easily tell that the sound was different. The cry even caused his ears to buzz.

The dust was still in the air. He could tell that the Spirit Wolf was significantly bigger than before. It was almost four meters tall!

As the dust shrouding his vision finally cleared, he was able to see the true appearance of the Spirit Wolf, which could only be described as captivating.

Previously, the Spirit Wolf had the typical appearance of a beast. It looked savage and cruel, and the only part that stood out was its bluish fur.

Now, apart from its size, its appearance was much more balanced. The muscles on its neck, shoulders, back, and tail were significantly leaner. Its muscular limbs were more slender, so it no longer looked ferocious, but rather graceful!

Mo Fan was quite surprised by its change. After all, a creature would stick to its previous traits most of the time, be they strength or agility. Mo Fan expected the Spirit Wolf to become even more muscular and savage, but it ended up turning into an agile, intelligent, graceful type!

It was indeed matching the saying, “He who gets in contact with vermilion will become red!” Its master was definitely a jade tree in the wind, and now even his Summoned beast was keen to follow his footsteps!

——

Inside an apartment…

Mr. Qiu Yuhua was sitting in the living room with a book about the mysteries of the world in his hands. However, he was unable to focus his attention on it.

He would normally lose himself in the mysteries of the world, such as the documentary about the Kingdom of the Undead inside the pyramids in Egypt. He always had the urge to continue reading when it came to unveiling the mysteries of the world.

However, he was feeling ill at ease, as he had just received new information from his old comrade. Even though its validity was still being confirmed, he did hear similar news about the new Magic Element before.

“Old professor, why haven’t I seen Mo Fan around today?” Mr. Gu Han asked.

“Oh, he went to the training ground. He’s trying to evolve his Spirit Wolf,” Mr. Qiu Yuhua replied.

Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song happened to be in the room, too. Luo Song could not help but burst out laughing, “The success rate is so slim, and there isn’t anything special about his Spirit Wolf. It’s most likely that he has failed the process, since he had been gone for quite a while.”

Shen Mingxiao remained silent. He could not help but feel extremely envious when he heard Mo Fan’s name.

It doesn’t make any sense at all, to learn that a scum like Mo Fan had innate Dual Elements!

“Let’s check it out. It would be bad if he were involved in any accident,” Mr. Gu Han proposed.

“Sure.”

Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song exchanged glances among themselves before the former said, “We’ll go with you, too!”

——

The two followed Gu Han and Qiu Yuhua to the training ground. Since Mo Fan’s booking of the training ground had come to an end, the entrance automatically opened by itself.

As soon as they arrived at the place, they immediately picked up a burning scent while a hot gust surged in their direction.

“Shit. Did his summoned beast go out of control?” Gu Han blurted out with a worried look.

It was clear that the fire in the surroundings was Mo Fan’s magic. He was fighting against something!

“That very likely, since there’s a chance that the Warrior Soul will devour the soul of the Servant-class creature it entered. As a result, the Summoned beast will no longer be tagged with the mark that the magician has left on its soul, allowing it to regain its freedom…”

“Sigh, I should have warned him that helping a Summoned beast to evolve is actually extremely dangerous and wasting his resources.” Mr. Gu Han increased his pace, worried that Mo Fan might be in danger.

Luo Song and Shen Mingxiao’s eyes glittered upon hearing this.

This is great! If that scum’s Summoned beast rebelled against him, not only would he lose control over it, he would also waste a huge amount of money!

The group of four headed straight into the training ground, and saw Mo Fan near the end of it, with flames erupting under his feet as his figure emitted a formidable aura.

On the other side of the flame stood a magnificent creature with black fur. Its physique was graceful, yet intimidating. Its limbs had the color of the moon, and it looked like it was nimbly moving above a moonlit cloud.

They looked toward its head and saw fangs like that of a saber-toothed tiger instead of a wolf, protecting its jaw like a mask. They had the same color as its limbs, a captivating appearence!

“This…” Qiu Yuhua took off his glasses and stared at the creature with a blank expression.

Gu Han was not too familiar with the species of spirit beasts, but he could tell that it was no ordinary creature at first glance. Even he began to consider if he should become a Summoner when he became an Advanced Magician, just to get himself a cool-looking Summoned beast too.

“Swift Star Wolf!” Qiu Yuhua finally called out the creature’s name with a hint of excitement. “It’s really a Swift Star Wolf, the nimblest wolf species!”

“So…does this mean Mo Fan’s Summoned beast has successfully evolved?” Gu Han stared at the graceful creature with a stunned expression.

A Warrior-level creature was able to match the strength of a few Intermediate Magicians, thus any Summoner with a Warrior-level beast would surely have a huge advantage dueling magicians around the same age, just like Lu Zhenghe was able to hold off three opponents with his Warrior-level beast. Shen Mingxiao and Mu Nujiao were relatively talented among the Intermediate Magicians, but they still had a hard time fighting it.

That being said, the resources needed for a Servant-class to evolve to the Warrior level were several times greater than magicians with other Elements. Mo Fan totally outmatched everyone with his Spirit Wolf when he first came to the institute. However, the Spirit Wolf did not improve much in the past year, which highlighted the huge difference in strength between each rank up. Luck was also a big factor determining the success of a Summoner, either becoming a god or a piece of trash.

With that in mind, Mo Fan had definitely become the former now!

Having a Warrior-level beast did not merely increase his strength by a few dozen percent, but multiplied it a few times instead!

“Mr. Gu Han, Professor Qiu Yuhua, you’re here. I’m practicing with my new Summoned beast.” The flames on Mo Fan’s figure vanished as he greeted the two teachers with a smile.

“Mo Fan, a big congratulations to you. What do you think? What’s the strength of your Swift Star Wolf like?” Qiu Yuhua asked happily.

Mo Fan was having a friendly battle with his Swift Star Wolf. To his surprise, he had to rely on his Shadow element to force the battle into a draw. It was so fast that it could easily dodge his Thunderbolt: Yaksha. He was utterly clueless if he would be able to defeat it in a situation of life and death.

-It’s not too embarrassing if I can’t defeat the Swift Star Wolf. It’s obviously my Summoned Beast. I would let it beat anyone that doesn’t agree with me!-

“Very strong, I don’t think I could restrain it.” Mo Fan said with all honesty.

“HAHAHA, only a maniac like you would be able to fight against the Swift Star Wolf on your own. Anyone else would surely be torn into pieces with a few minutes. The Swift Star Wolf is considered the hardest creature to deal with among the wolf species. Without proper preparations, groups of Intermediate Magicians would not even dare to trouble a Swift Star Wolf.” The old professor seemed quite impressed with Mo Fan’s new Summoned beast.

Mo Fan raised his brows as he gently stroked the Swift Star Wolf’s fur, “I didn’t know you were that strong!”

“The Swift Star Wolf also has a unique ability…Cough cough, you should take your time to discover it. Now, let’s ask the others to come. I’ll stake everyone a meal as a way to celebrate Mo Fan’s success!” The old professor was incredibly happy. His gaze toward Mo Fan was similar to one that he would give to a satisfying son-in-law!

On a side note, when they first met on the train from Xiamen to Shanghai, Qiu Yuhua had initially thought Mo Fan was full of bullshit, thus assuming him to be quite an unreliable student. To his surprise, two years had passed, and the young man had achieved a great deal. He should actually consider introducing the boy to his granddaughter, as he was definitely going to be a big shot in the future!

Gu Han was also congratulating Qin Nan, but his eyes never left the Swift Star Wolf. Behind his poker face was an expression filled with admiration. He could not help but step forward and caress its slightly messy hair from the fighting.

Too bad for him, the Swift Star Wolf totally ignored Gu Han, with a ‘please don’t touch me with your filthy hands’ look.

Luo Song and Shen Mingxiao both had awkward smiles, with twisted faces.

-Damn it, how lucky can this Mo Fan get? He even managed to help his Summoned beast to evolve successfully?-

-His Fire and Lightning Elements were already insane, and now the Swift Star Wolf was strong enough to fight on its own…-

The Swift Star Wolf let out a heavy breath as its pitch-black eyes stared at Luo Song.

It seemed like it had recognized Luo Song, as he was the one that had bullied it when it was first Summoned by Mo Fan.

The Swift Star Wolf stepped forward and moved its head toward Luo Song. The previous breath was exactly directed at him, as if it were trying to tell him something.

“Yo fatty, my Swift Star Wolf says he wants to play a few rounds with you.” Mo Fan said to Luo Song with a grin.

Luo Song finally realized something and immediately backed off. He waved his hand and said with a half-grin, “I’ll pass!”

This time, Luo Song could no longer hold his ground. Even Shen Mingxiao, who was stronger than he was, had been chased around like a puppy when fighting against the Violent Mark Wolf. It felt like the Swift Star Wolf was even stronger than the Violent Mark Wolf, so there was no way Luo Song would stand a chance against it.

The Swift Star Wolf cast another proud glance at Luo Song with a hint of disdain.

Luo Song’s smile froze. He was actually being scorned by a wolf…

——

On a vast land illuminated by the starry sky, an enormous beast with blue horns was running in the direction a white railcar was traveling in.

The beast was extremely fast, as it quickly overtook the railcar and eventually left it a huge distance behind.

“Dad, look. It’s a Godzilla!” A young girl stared at the enormous beast in bewilderment through the window of the railcar.

“Holy mother of god, it’s a demon beast!” The girl’s father let out a scream and tugged his daughter into his chest.

Even though the path of the railcar was still within the safe zones, there was no guarantee that it was completely safe from any demon beasts that somehow trespassed into them. Otherwise, how could anyone explain the giant beast that had just appeared?

The scream immediately grabbed the attention of the passengers, who quickly shifted their focus toward the enormous beast outside the window. If they did not know what it was, they would assume it to be a flying mountain instead!

“Everyone, please stay calm. It was only a Contracted Beast. A Senior Hunter is on duty nearby. He’s currently investigating the railway!” the conductor on the railcar announced through the speakers.

“So it’s a Contracted Beast, that scared the shit out of me.”

“That Summoner is so cool, I saw him standing on the beast’s head!”

“That’s a Senior Hunter for you, even Commander-level creatures are nothing in their eyes. That blue beast is most likely Commander-level!”

The white railcar was left behind as the blue beast disappeared into the distance. However, the passengers were curious about what had happened that a Senior Hunter had to come just to investigate the railway?

——

A voice spoke out of nowhere in the middle of the night. “Senior Hunter, I can’t get too close to the target. With the strength it displayed, I won’t even last five minutes in the battle.”

The haze nearby slowly cleared up as the moonlight lit up the area slightly. With a closer look, one could see a figure flying in the air!

The figure was around fifty meters above the ground, flying at a steady pace. The strong wings growing out from his back were rather dazzling under the moonlight. Every time they flapped, they would leave a huge gust behind.

“Don’t lose sight of it, I’ll be right there,” the Senior Hunter responded through the communication device.

“Why do we need to wipe the military’s ass after they messed it up… It’s leaving the safe zone, should I continue the pursuit?” the man in a leather jacket grumbled with a rather shrill voice.

“I was one of the people in charge of the whole project when I was with the military. However, it’s impossible that anyone has survived… It’s the biggest problem we encountered,” the Senior Hunter replied.

The winged man sighed. “Why did you guys even do it in the first place, when you knew it wasn’t going to work? Look at this mutated monster that you’ve created, such a pain in the ass to deal with! Besides, the project isn’t really humane, either, since each time it fails it costs the life of a magician!”

“It’s still the first magic breakthrough in a long time, the old people will never give up… I can see you!” the Senior Hunter spoke up.

The enormous blue beast paused on a wild grassland, where the man in the leather jacket was gliding in the air while maintaining his altitude. His figure was like a bat as he entered the Senior Hunter’s vision, looking quite small against the background of the area.

Suddenly, a strong blast erupted on the grassland. The shockwave from it caused the grass to bend ninety degrees flat as it swept through the surroundings.

“Yao Nan, watch out!” the Senior Hunter warned.

“What do you mean…Oh hell no, he’s right under me!”

“Big guy, save him!” the Senior Hunter yelled.

The giant blue beast kicked the ground, and its hill-sized figure leapt into the air. The jump covered a distance of one kilometer from the edge of the grassland.

It made another jump, whose figure cast a huge shadow across the place under the moonlight, landing close to the center of the grassland. The distance that it covered with two jumps was absolutely insane!

ROAR!

In the midst of a powerful gust of wind, something slammed right into the winged man. He dropped rapidly at a slanted angle and slammed right into the ground, leaving a huge gouge in the ground behind him. He finally stopped after sliding a great distance across the ground.

“Yao Nan, are you alright?” the Senior Hunter on the huge beast asked.

“Still…still alive… that guy is very strong, be careful!” Yao Nan said.

“The test subject this time was an Advanced magician. All his three of his Elements have mutated. Since he was already an Advanced magician to begin with, the monster he transformed into is surely going to be more terrifying!” the Senior Hunter said.

“You should really end the experiment as early as possible. This is too scary. I can easily handle a few Advanced Magicians on my own, but this monster…”

The Senior Hunter did not respond to Yao Nan’s comment, as he was being stared at by a pair of bloodshot eyes.

The enormous blue beast was considered quite outstanding among Commander-level creatures. Normally, beasts with weaker strength would shiver in fear when they saw it, but the monster did not show any sign of fear at all. Instead, it seemed like it was ready to kill!

“Yao Nan, this place is close to the railway. You should head there and keep an eye out, to prevent the shockwaves of the battle from involving the innocent,” the Senior Hunter said after a while.

“Roger!”

“Let me handle this monster!” The Senior Hunter’s gaze turned cold as brilliant Star Patterns appeared close to his body.

Not only did the Star Patterns appear below his feet, there were also around his body and above his head. The speed he aligned the Stars was absolutely nuts.

Furthermore, a mysterious pattern was also drawn to align the different Star Patterns, causing the Stars to cross paths with one another like meteors. The amount of Stars was enough to fill the entire sky…

In the distance, Yao Nan shook his head when he saw brilliant Star Patterns rising up around the Senior Hunter and said, “A Senior Hunter is indeed out of my league, using an Advanced magic as his first move!”

—

The moonlight reflected on the metallic surface of the white railcar. The coaches of the railcar traveled rapidly across the boundless field. It did not slow down, even when it was going into turns. It was leaving a white glow behind on the vast land due to its speed.

Yao Nan clenched his chest. Blood could be seen from his mouth as he was flapping his wings while maintaining his position above the railcar.

A strong wind blew due to the insane speed of the railcar, leaving Yao Nan’s hair disheveled.

Yao Nan began to cast his magic. He was casting the Water Curtain of the Water Element to protect the entire railcar.

“Damn it, it’s coming!” Yao Nan quickened his pace.

The Water Curtain was a giant water barrier. The water screen sparkled in the moonlight, forming a waterfall flowing from the front to the back of the railcar along its roof.

Deep cracks began to appear on the ground close to the railway. Some parts even began to crumble, forming a canyon as a violent quake came from afar.

With a closer look, one could see the shockwave was spreading rapidly from the spot where the Senior Hunter was fighting the monster. The railcar was at least two kilometers away, and it was obvious that the Senior Hunter was not the person responsible for the shockwave. It was enough to highlight the utterly terrifying destructive force the monster had.

The Water Curtain vibrated vigorously as the shockwave collided with it, feeling like it was on the verge of breaking.

“Such incredible force? How is it so strong ,even when we’re so far away? What exactly has the military done?” Yao Nan blurted out with a hint of worry when he saw his Water Curtain almost shatter.

——-

The Magic Association of the capital was located inside an ancient palace, and so it was also referred to as the Magic Palace.

The Magic Palace and the Oriental Pearl Tower were considered the strongest Magic Associations in the country, and were incredibly famous across the entire world.

The Magic Palace consisted of an ancient courtyard, pagodas, sculpted hills, and arbours.

The west pagoda currently had four people seated around a wooden table. The person pouring tea was a middle-aged man, wearing an ancient hat. His sideburns were already turning white, but there were no wrinkles on his face.

Meanwhile, the person with his hands on the table as he sat sideways looked like a fighting man or soldier, based on his attire. It was obvious from the number of badges that his achievements were quite formidable.

Sitting opposite the soldier was the old professor, Qiu Yuhua, who was finishing his sip of the tea. Despite that, he was not really interested in the tea.

“What’s with the matter now? None of us should be considered at fault,” the half-aged man with the hat said.

“I’m not sulking, but it has escalated to the question of where should we draw the line. I’ve already made it clear that you will not get your hands on him. End of discussion! General Lu Nian, enough with your arrogance, and stop trying to proclaim that you’re doing it for the country or the human race. In the end, you’re only doing something that the Black Vatican would do! The chairmen of the Magic Associations from all five continents have made it clear that they won’t accept it as a new magic Element. What you’re trying to do is demonic, you will definitely pay for what you’ve done!” Qiu Yuhua burst out, scolding the man without mercy.

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by RED

“The Black Vatican conducts experiments on evil arts, and represent a huge threat to humanity. It’s the truth that we all know. We have our lines, too. The test subjects are usually criminals who were given a death sentence. Although it does go out of control sometimes, we’ve managed to clean the mess up in the past without hurting anyone.

“Qiu Yuhua, you’re too stubborn. How could you say we’re evil, too? We’re inventing. In the past, there were only a few Elements that existed. Our ancestors did a great job exploring and discovering new Elements. Having a new Element would significantly help our country, and all of mankind. Are you only going to realize how weak humans are when the demon beasts are consuming us like poultry one day? You’re not the only one being irrational! Besides, magicians have an obligation to sacrifice for their country when needed!” General Lu Nian held his stance.

“Whatever you say. All I know is that he doesn’t belong to the military. You have no right to order him. I’ve asked Dean Xiao regarding this matter too, and he will never agree,” Qiu Yuhua had no intention of wasting his time further with Lu Nian.

“Alright, that’s enough. It’s extremely difficult for you two to meet, and you’re still arguing when you have the chance. Let’s enjoy the tea, the authorities will decide for us,” Dean Song He from the Imperial College, who was sitting between them, said.

“Dean Song He, we should discuss the training.” Qiu Yuhua totally ignored General Lu’s existence as he spoke with Dean Song He.

“Oh, I’ve made the preparations. Do you still remember Jinlin City?”

“Why does it have to be there…”

——

Training missions were extremely important for magicians who were still studying. Even if the schools did not force the students to participate in the missions, those who strove for excellence would still organize them for themselves. How could they not try to gain experience if they were thinking of becoming an expert?

During the meeting for the exchange students, Dean Song He represented the Imperial College to explain the details of the training mission.

The students from the Pearl Institute and the Imperial College would be undertaking their mission at the same place, thus they were attending the same meeting.

“The training this time will be held at Jinlin City, located in the Yangtze Plain,” Dean Song He informed them.

“Jinlin City? Why haven’t I heard of the place before?” blurted out Qingqing, who was quite a geography expert.

She was quite a genius, with an impressive memory. She clearly remembered the name of every cities in the country, but she had never heard the name Dean Song He had mentioned.

“This Jinlin City is quite special. It was wiped off the map around fifteen years ago,” Qiu Yuhua said calmly.

“Wiped off from the map?” The students were astounded. They had never heard of any city being wiped out!

Besides, what did it actually mean when a city got wiped out?

“Fifteen years ago, the are close to Dongting Lake was caught up in a great disaster. The over-populated demon beasts swarmed toward Jinlin City, which was relatively remote. Luckily, a magician found out what was happening while in the midst of his training in the countryside. He immediately asked the government to evacuate the people of Jinlin City.

“On the second day, the entire city turned into a feast for the demon beasts after it was overrun. Those who could not evacuate in time were buried there forever.” Dean Song He could not help but feel emotional when he mentioned the past events.

As a matter of fact, the magician that had discovered the disaster was Song He himself. However, he was not willing to share his past, as it was too much of a tragedy.

When Song He mentioned this, some of the students who were familiar with history remembered some things.

Some records which were not revealed to the public did briefly mention the disaster at Dongting Lake fifteen years ago. However, no one from their generation knew about the city that had disappeared fifteen years ago.

“So that means Jinlin City is a desolate city?” Xu Dalong asked.

“That’s right. Ten years ago, it was like the paradise for the demon beasts. Even the magicians from the military did not dare to take the risk to annihilate them. However, according to the latest information from the hunters, most of the beasts at Jinlin City have disappeared, as if they had moved to another place for some reason…

We did carry out an investigation, and confirmed that the number of beasts has significantly decreased. It was not as terrifying as it used to be,” Dean Song He said.

“So that means, we’ll be training at that abandoned city?”

“I want you to collect data from the city.” Dean Song He took a sip of his tea before continuing. “Even though the demon beasts are gone, there are still many species of them wandering in the city. I want you to gather as much information as you can, counting the number of Servant-class creatures and Warrior-level creatures you’ve stumbled into.”

“Just collecting data?” Shen Mingxiao asked.

If they only needed to collect data, it did not seem too difficult.

“We are planning to write a proposal to evaluate the possibility of reconstructing Jinlin City. The Imperial College and the Pearl Institute are working together for this, and so the data you will be collecting is extremely important. In order to prove our point, we need to evaluate the danger of the city that has been abandoned for fifteen years.”

Mo Fan did not think it was an easy task after hearing the explanation.

The city was incredibly huge. In order to collect accurate data, they would need to spread across the city.

In that case, the chance of being detected by the beasts was clearly higher, and they could easily find themselves being surrounded by beasts…

The danger level of the mission at the desolate city would be similar to the Blood Alert disaster that the Bo City experienced. It was not as easy as hiding in the safe zones. If they went too deep into the demon beasts’ territory, it would be the end of their lives!

“Dean, you are asking us to count the number of Servant-class and Warrior-level creatures. How about the Commander-level beasts?” Luo Song asked naively.

“Oh, if you stumble into a Commander-level creature, it would be quite impressive if you managed to make it back alive,” Dean Song He said in a rather calm voice.

Everyone instantly felt a chill down their spine hearing his response.

Basically, Jinlin City had turned into a demon beasts’ den, and a place like that would always have Commander-level beasts. If one or two of them decided to move, their mission would be extremely dangerous.

It was said that the Commander-level creatures were incredibly perceptive. Even a giant bird flying across its territory a few hundred meters up in the sky would still be eaten alive.

“There is so much you can do on your own. I hope the students from both the Imperial College and Pearl Institute are able to work together to ensure that everyone will return safely in one piece!” Dean Song He encouraged them calmly..

Chapter 273: The Dongting Lake Horde

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by RED

Dongting Lake was located close to the Yangtze Plain, which was in the north of Hunan Province.

The Dongting Lake was not a famous tourist spot, as this particular giant lake covering a surface area of over forty thousand square kilometers was also one of the three most dangerous lakes in the country!

Due to its massive size, there were many ecosystems within it, which meant there were countless demon beasts calling it home!

On top of that, the infamous Giant Reptile Beast Horde that had overrun Jinlin City treated Dongting Lake as their base camp.

After taking a flight to Kangning City, the closest city to Jinlin City, the seventeen students from the Pearl Institute and Imperial College had no choice but to continue their journey on foot. Along the way, Qingqing the genius told everyone the situation of Jinlin City, and mentioned the pack.

Mo Fan, on the other hand, was totally clueless about this world, so he could not help but interrupt when Qingqing mentioned the horde.

“Even though most demon beasts live in solidarity, there are quite a few exceptions, too. For example, the most common demon beasts in the southern province that prefer to stay in packs are the Demon Wolves. The Black Vatican might be the culprit behind Bo City’s disaster, but they were actually using the Demon Wolves Horde to do the dirty work for them. Most of them came from from the Demon Wolves Horde that resides in the Nanshan Mountain Range. With that in mind, the Demon Wolves Horde is nothing compared to the Giant Reptile Beast Horde of Dongting Lake!” Qingqing explained gravely.

Mu Nujiao glanced at Mo Fan when Qingqing mentioned Bo City. She took over when Qingqing was not actually answering Mo Fan’s doubts. “Basically, we categorize the demon beasts based on their scale. For example, if the number of grown-up beasts in a group reaches fifty or above, it would be described as a nest. When the number of nests of the same species exceeds fifty, it would become a pack. If there are more than ten packs, it would become a horde.”

“Wait, hang on a second, let me do some calculation.” Mo Fan extended his fingers as he murmured, “Fifty beasts become a nest, fifty nests become a horde, which means a horde would have at least twenty-five hundred of them?”

“That’s right, a horde means there are at least twenty-five hundred beasts in the group, not including the younglings, those in the growing stage, or the aged… basically excluding those that can’t fight.”

Mo Fan recalled the calamity of Bo City. Not counting the Three-eyed Magic Wolves, the number of One-eyed Magic Wolves alone easily exceeded twenty-five hundred, not including those that were battling against the military outside of the safe zone!

There were at least ten thousand One-eyed Magic Wolves for sure, equivalent to a large horde!

“A beast horde usually has twenty-five hundred to ten thousand beasts, with one to three Commander-level creatures as their leaders. A force like that is definitely enough to trigger a Blood Alert. Jinlin City was on Blood Alert in the past. Luckily, most of the people were evacuated in time. Otherwise, it would have been a lot worse,” Qingqing said.

“Hehe, Qingqing, it’s unnecessary to give such a clear explanation. Our friend Mo Fan has personally experienced a Blood Alert before, so he would understand what a beast horde would look like… am I right, Mo Fan?” Luo Song interjected with a smirk.

However, before Mo Fan could say anything, an icy gaze immediately locked onto Luo Song, causing him to shiver. He immediately turned around and saw Mu Ningxue, the ice goddess of their Imperial College, staring at him.

“Don’t you dare use Bo City as a joke!” Mu Ningxue stated in a chilling voice.

Mu Ningxue had already returned to school when the calamity took place. She did not experience it first hand, but many people from her Mu Clan were killed. The entire Mu Clan suffered greatly from the disaster.

Luo Song had no idea that Mu Ningxue was also from Bo City. He immediately pulled his neck in and shut up.

Mo Fan was relatively amiable, thus he did not really care what the others were saying to him. His mind was still occupied with the thought of how terrifying a beast horde would be if a pack was already so destructive!

Imagine a horde consisting of ten armies of the One-eyed Magic Wolves that attacked Bo City. How terrifying would the Giant Reptile Beast Horde at the Dongting Lake be?

If Jinlin City had not evacuated early, it would have been a worse calamity than Bo City!

“A horde is just a small number of the beasts in this world. If the beasts were to unite to fight against us humans, I’m pretty sure it would be the end for humanity,” Zhao Mingyue added.

“Ok, we get it. It’s really annoying that we still need to listen to your brainwashing talk when we are on a mission! Let’s focus on how to arrive at Jilin City safely. We are getting further away from the safe zone. This trip is not going to be peaceful,” Liao Mingxuan said impatiently.

Liao Mingxuan was right. They were around twenty-five kilometers away from the safe zone. The military still had patrols keeping an eye on things at this distance, but that would no longer be the case if they were to venture deeper into the wilds!

“We should follow this abandoned railway.” Song Xian was holding a map, and pointed at the rails that were fully overgrown with moss.

The rails had rusted with unnatural speed, and were fully covered with weeds and moss. They led straight into the woods in the distance, surrounded by thorns and wild bushes. It was quite difficult to see the railbed if they were not paying attention.

The railway was once part of the safe zone. Since Jinlin City had been overrun, the part that led to the city was no longer used, so it was normal for it to end up in such a state.

Either way, the railway was clearly the obvious path to guide them in the right direction. They would surely arrive at Jinlin City by following it.

“Let’s make this straight, I have always been the leader of the team. Since the school has asked us to complete the mission together, it doesn’t make sense if we don’t appoint a leader for the seventeen of us. I’m more than happy to take the role, and feel free to give me any suggestion. I’ll decide the path we take, what to do when we encounter a beast, and when we should rest…” Lu Zhenghe immediately expressed his intention to be the leader.

Xu Dalong, Liao Mingxuan, Zhao Mingyue and the rest of the students from the Imperial College did not seem to be bothered by his words.

“It’s not possible for us all to listen to you all the time. We’ll be following Song Xia’s order instead. You two will discuss how we shall work together,” Zheng Bingxiao said.

“Sure, we can do that,” Lu Zhenghe said.

They had come up with a basic plan, which was to follow the railway. The students taking part in the training were the elites among elites from both schools, thus their courage and strength totally outmatched the students who were in the military drills back in high school. With that behind them, they should be able to accomplish their mission with ease!

Chapter 274: Monsters in the Tunnel

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by RED

The railway was abandoned fifteen years ago. Normally, it would remain hidden among the weeds, with no chance of seeing the sunlight again…

Surprisingly, it had visitors today. Instead of a railcar, it was a group of students from famous schools, undertaking their training mission.

The path was still usable, as long as demon beasts were not treating the railway as their bed. The journey had been quite smooth until the group reached a tunnel, naturally totally dark, which looked extremely spooky.

“I’ve just taken a look at the map. This tunnel is around a kilometer long. Based on how frequently we were stumbling into demon beasts along the way, this tunnel is most likely used as their lair. I suggest that we find another way around the mountain instead of making any contact with the beasts when we are clueless of their species and number,” Song Xia recommended to the group behind her.

“Aren’t you being too cautious? Who cares what’s inside, we should just kill whatever we see. The tunnel is only a kilometer long. Who knows how much time we would waste looping around the mountain!” Lu Zhenghe rebutted.

“Don’t be so scared, let’s use the tunnel,” Zheng Bingxiao agreed, thinking it was a waste of time. There was no guarantee that they would bump into a strong beast in the mountain, or not bump into one if they detoured around.

“Alright, we’ll use the tunnel,” Song Xia nodded helplessly.

“I’ll let the Rock Golem take the lead. If anything happens, it will hold the danger off for a while.” Zheng Bingxiao Summoned his Rock Golem while he was speaking.

As Zheng Bingxiao finished his Summoning, Lu Zhenghe glancedat the clumsy creature and said with a hard smile, “It isn’t even an Advanced-level creature. You stingy shit… Well, I guess a solid creature like that is enough to clear the path for us.”

Zheng Bingxiao scratched his head without explaining himself.

The Rock Golem was three meters tall, its entire figure covered with sturdy rocks. Despite its slow movement, it was like a combination of a shield and bulldozer as it proceeded forward on the railway, clearing away the thorns and grass along the path!

“Those who are at the back need to be quite strong too, and it can’t be a Summoned beast. We need someone able to make a rational decision straight away if something happens,” Lu Zhenghe proposed.

“I’ll guard our rear,” Song Xia volunteered.

“You should leave the dangerous tasks to us.” Xu Dalong intervened courteously.

Song Xia did not say anything. Xu Dalong’s primary Element was Earth, and so he was indeed a better candidate.

The ones scouting ahead were Liao Mingxuan and Shen Mingxiao. Their primary Element was Wind, so they could respond quickly if needed. Behind them were Zhao Manting and Song Xia, both were able to use Brilliant Light, illuminating the path ahead…

It was obvious that the cave had seen no sunlight for a very long time. Zhao Manting and Song Xia had to cast a Brilliant Light every ten meters just to light up the place and cleanse the air around them.

They could not tell if the air were poisonous, but it would be idiotic to try and inhale it, since the place was filled with foul odors from rot, dung from the beasts, and lack of ventilation…

“What’s it look like ahead?”

“Nothing, just some strange looking white pieces of rocks.”

“It must be something that was left behind because of the construction. Keep going.”

—

“Jiao jiao, stick closer to me. I can protect you in case of an emergency.” Mo Fan walked in front of Mu Nujiao, as if he were a reliable man looking after a woman in need.

Mu Nujiao was wearing a tight long-sleeve shirt, which wrapped around her upper body closely. The pleasant scent from her body in such a enclosed space was exceedingly attractive. Each of her breaths felt quite arousing.

Mu Nujiao rolled her eyes at Mo Fan and asked, “Aren’t you supposed to protect your big wife?”

“Uhh...” Mo Fan wore a half-smile. Why didn’t I retain my composure before, saying that in front of Mu Nujiao?

When she saw his reaction, Mu Nujiao found herself asking, “How did you two meet?”

“She used to be my neighbor,” Mo Fan answered honestly.

Her house was like a castle, with its own garden, driveway, and rows of mansions. Meanwhile, his house was a terrace under the mountain, but it could not alter the fact that they were neighbors!

“So she’s from Bo City too… That explains her previous reaction.” Mu Nujiao recalled Mu Ningxue’s attitude toward Luo Song previously and nodded to herself.

“It seems like you are enjoying your time flirting with each other. Please be careful, as you might not even know how you died if something were to happen. I did hear that many Intermediate Magicians died after being ambushed by demon beasts because they assumed they were strong enough. Some even died to poison. Therefore, as an Intermediate Hunter, I would like to advise you all to stay on alert at all times,” Liao Mingxuan advised, as if he were more experienced than the others.

“Oh, an Intermediate Hunter, absolutely impressive!” Mo Fan laughed.

Liao Mingxuan subtly patted the head of the little hamster sitting in his chest pocket with a proud look. His eyes vaguely glanced at Mu Nujiao, looking for her reaction.

Mo Fan found it quite amusing. He did not tell anyone that he was a Advanced Hunter, and yet this guy was showing off. His partner was even a Master Hunter!

Since he found out that a twelve-year-old loli had already achieved the title Master Hunter, Mo Fan no longer had the nerve to mention that he was an Advanced Hunter, since it would be too embarrassing!

“Mo Fan, don’t you feel like something is watching us?” Mu Nujiao asked. She had no interest in the petty competition between the boys.

“Mistress Mu, don’t you worry. Based on my many years of experience hunting down beasts, there’s nothing nearby at the time being,” Liao Mingxuan said with squinted eyes.

He finally had the chance to talk to Mu Nujiao, or so he thought…

Suddenly, the little hamster in Liao Mingxuan’s chest pocket straightened its back and let out a cry of alarm.

Liao Mingxuan’s smile froze instantly. His eyes quickly scanned the surroundings.

“Zhao Manting, shed some light in that direction.” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manting looked where Mo Fan was pointing. With a quick wave, he aligned the Stars and brought forth a beam of light.

“Forward!”

Zhao Manting directed the light to the area beside Mu Nujiao. The golden ray lit up the walls of the tunnel, revealing the black vines covering above them.

The vines spread across the walls like giant spiderwebs. However, through the gaps, they could see several pairs of eyes staring at Mu Nujiao, who was the closest to them, with great hostility!

“Jiao jiao, stand behind me!” Mo Fan stepped forward.

Mu Nujiao was no little girl. A breeze quickly rose around her, establishing a wind path allowing her to move faster.

“Fire Burst!” Mo Fan held his palm half-open as a rose-colored flame ignited there.

He hurled the rose-colored Fire Burst at the black vines on the wall. It rapidly burned them into ashes.

The light of the flames lit up the area out of reach of the Brilliant Light, revealing the shadows of several hunchbacked figures who were holding bones stained with dried blood in their hands!

Chapter 275: Waking the Beast’s Nest

There were only four of the hunchback monsters. Since Zheng Bingxiao’s Rock Golem was clearing the path ahead, it did not detect anything out of place along the way. Therefore, Mu Nujiao, Mo Fan, and Liao Mingxuan, who were following behind, had assumed their path was clear. The tunnel was not wide at all, thus they should be able to notice any beasts easily.

To their surprise, the wall of the tunnel had already crumbled. There was a giant gap hidden by the black vines, preventing them from noticing it at the start.

Luckily, while Zhao Manting was lighting up the area with his Brilliant Light, it had also blinded the creatures for a second. Otherwise, they would have lunged at Mu Nujiao earlier!

“It’s the Cavern Slaves!” As expected of a genius, Qingqing was able to identify the beasts hiding behind the vines after only a quick glance.

However, Mo Fan could not have cared less what they were called. As his flame exposed their location, he immediately followed up with a Lightning Strike from his left hand as a gift.

The tendrils of the Lightning Strike were like pythons winding their bodies, racing rapidly toward two of the Cavern Slaves. The violet sparkle covered their entire bodies and the shock caused them to dance wildly, as if they were at a disco.

“Maa!!”

A bleat similar to a sheep’s was heard, but incredibly sharp and lacking any hint of softness!

The Cavern Slaves leapt forward furiously. One of them lashed at Mo Fan’s head with the giant bone in its hand.

“These creatures like to smash anything alive into meat paste. Watch out for the bones, they will crush your skull instantly!” Qingqing immediately reminded Mo Fan.

“If you have the time to speak, please lend a hand by casting a spell!” Mo Fan could feel his head aching.

Fortunately, Mu Nujiao was more reliable. She altered her wind path and extend it to Mo Fan to speed his movement up.

Mo Fan dodged aside and saw the bone stick itself deep into the spot he was standing at. The rail that it struck instantly bent into the ground!

Mo Fan could finally take a closer look at the Cavern Slave’s appearance. It had a stooped figure with bent hind legs. However, its front limbs were incredibly muscular, and together with its wrinkled skin, Mo Fan preferred to call it ugly instead of ferocious!

Who knew how long these ugly creatures had stayed single, that their arms could be so brawny. They would lash their bone sticks at anything they saw, and the limited space that restricted their ability to dodge did not help at all.

“Vine Lash!”

Mu Nujiao spoke as the Cavern Slave was about to hit Mo Fan.

There were plenty of vines around, so her Plant Element was super handy. She easily summoned a vine whip into her hand and struck the Cavern Slave’s legs hard.

She did not end her attack there, as she seized the opportunity to tangle the Cavern Slave’s legs up with the vine and hang it upside down in the air.

The Cavern Slave let out a panicking scream while waving its bone stick wildly.

It had only struggled for a brief moment before several Lightning Strike: Wrath Shocks landed on its body.

A burning smell instantly filled the tunnel. Clearly, the Cavern Slave had paid a great price for acting on impulse, being electrified to death in a miserable way while hanging in the air.

The one who attacked with the Lightning Strike was not Mo Fan, but the student called Ming Cong. He had used a level three Lightning Strike straight away. It was more than enough to instantly kill a weak monster which had lost the ability to defend itself.

“Maa~!!!” The Cavern Slaves where the wall had collapsed burst out screaming after witnessing the death of their comrade.

The cries echoed through the tunnel. It was difficult to tell if they were cries of anger or fear. Either way, the creatures stopped their attacks.

“Just a few Servant-class creatures, nothing to be afraid of. Let’s continue forward,” Lu Zhenghe said in an indifferent manner after glancing at them.

Zheng Bingxiao nodded. However, he quickly noticed pairs of blue eyes appearing in the darkness ahead.

It started with a few pairs, but a few seconds later, countless blue dots began to light up the darkness ahead, so densely packed that it would cause one’s hair to stand on its end!

“F**k me, they were summoning their mates!”

Rumbling noises could be heard coming from both directions of the tunnel.

Song Xia and Zhao Manting quickly cast Brilliant Light. As the tunnel ahead lit up, the group took a deep breath when they saw several more caves exposed as the vines disguising them were torn apart by the Cavern Slaves. They had assumed the vines were just covering the walls…

More Cavern Slaves appeared, almost blocking the entire path ahead. Their blue eyes flickered furiously as the bone sticks clanked with one another, rising together with their sharp sheep-like bleating…

“Crap, we’re right in the middle of their nests, there are caves like these behind us, too!” Xu Dalong yelled.

The same scene was taking place behind them in the tunnel. The black vines were too thick, so no one realized that the walls were actually non-existent.

“This is the Cavern Slaves’ nest. The white pieces of rocks we saw were actually the bones that they crushed!” Zhao Manting realized.

The group felt a chill down their spine.

It’s possible that they would end up just like white broken pieces on the ground!

The Cavern Slaves were extremely cunning. They had waited for the group to venture deep into their nest before showing themselves to completely surround their prey!

“Those with the Fire Element, hurry up and burn the vines on our sides. We are being flanked from our front and rear, we don’t want to get flanked from the sides too!”

“Everyone stay closer, we need to regroup! You will lose your life once you get separated!”

Chapter 276: Epic Battle Against the Cavern Slaves

There were three people in the team with Fire Element: Mo Fan, Song Xia, and Zhao Mingyue.

The three immediately cast Fire Burst at the vines on both sides of the tunnel. Since they were using Burning Bones, the vines were burned away quickly…

When the vines finished burning into scorched ashes, the group immediately realized that there were two other caves close to them.

The Cavern Slaves coming from the front and the rear were scary, but they could still hold them off with their magic. A potential ambush right beside them was the scariest, since it would catch the group off guard, and the magic they cast would also be friendly-fire if they panicked.

“Those in the middle of the group should try and eliminate the Cavern Slaves in the caves nearby as soon as possible!” Lu Zhenghe’s shouted furiously above the noise in the tunnel.

Mo Fan was quite surprised. Lu Zhenghe might be arrogant, but he knew what he was doing as a commander. He was most likely the person that told them to burn the vines down.

Their priority now was to eliminate the Cavern Slaves in the nearby caves, as they could not be allowed to come close to the team. The biggest difference between the magicians and the demon beasts was not power, but the fact that magicians were way weaker when it came to close-quarters combat!

A single swing of the bone stick would hit like a hydraulic hammer.

Despite being elites in their respective schools, it was difficult for them to control the situation straight away when their lives were endangered all of a sudden. The student from the Imperial College called Xiao Feng found himself in an extremely dangerous position, as he was flanked by two Cavern Slaves at the same time.

“Bright Mirror Shield!” Xiao Feng activated his shield in the nick of time.

However, the Cavern Slaves were not as slow-witted as he had imagined. The bone stick that was aimed at his chest was repelled, but the other was aimed straight at his calf, where there was no protection!

The bone stick made direct contact with his right calf, as Xiao Feng could not dodge in time. The horrifying sound of cracked bone rang out instantly.

“AHHHH!!! Help...AHHHH!!” Xiao Feng screamed in agony, and before he could withdraw, his left calf received the second blow. His two legs, solid and muscular a few seconds ago, were smashed flat, leaving pulped flesh and bone behind.

Blood was splattered everywhere, as everything below Xiao Feng’s knees was shattered. He subconsciously crawled toward his teammates on the ground in extreme pain.

It was shocking enough that he could still stay conscious, due to magicians having stronger minds than ordinary people. His calves had been directly shattered.

“Ice Spread!”

As the group finally realized that Xiao Feng was separated from them, Mu Ningxue was the first to react by casting her Ice Element spell.

The layer of frost spread rapidly across the ground, turning the area where the two Cavern Slaves were into an icy white zone. The icy mist immediately covered their eyes…

“The Ice Spread won’t be enough to save him…” Peng Liang immediately acted as he was aware that the spell Ice Spread needed some time to freeze the target. By then, Xiao Feng would already be crushed to pieces!

However, as soon as Peng Liang arrived in front of Xiao Feng, the movements of the two ferocious Cavern Slaves suddenly came to a stop.

In just less than a second, the not-so-muscular legs of the Cavern Slaves were covered in a layer of ice. The Ice Spread froze their flesh first, before completely freezing the blood in their legs.

It totally stopped the two Cavern Slaves from moving, and they cried out in anger. They were totally unaware of the Ice Spread climbing up their bodies, swiftly freezing them solid.

A moment later, the only body parts that they could move were their muscular arms. They were turned into ice statues.

Peng Liang opened his mouth wide, finding it hard to believe. Normally, the freezing effect of Ice Spread would need at least four seconds to work. However, Mu Ningxue’s Ice Spread had done it in less than two seconds. It was way too fast, even faster than those with a Spirit-grade Ice Seed!

“AH!! Ugh!!” Xiao Feng continued to scream in pain, before he was rescued from the jaws of death by Peng Liang with his Fleeing Shadow.

“I’ll take care of him.” Bai Tingting was standing right in the center of the team. She was no doubt the one protected the most by the team.

When Peng Liang placed Xiao Feng on the ground, Bai Tingting had already completed the casting of her Healing spell. A light green drop of liquid slid off Bai Tingting’s fingertip and was sprinkled on Xiao Feng’s legs.

The glowing liquid slowly penetrated into Xiao Feng’s injured body parts. When the liquid finally covered his mangled legs, Xiao Feng finally stopped screaming in pain.

“I’m providing you some relief from the pain. It will take me some time to heal you,” Bai Tingting said to the pale-faced Xiao Feng.

Xiao Feng wiped the combination of tears and mucus from his face. He had almost lost his life just a few moments ago, so he could not care less about his image.

“Help the others first, I…I’m fine.” The healing liquid was like a strong anesthesia.

“Xiao Feng, are you alright?” Ming Cong asked in a worried tone, while casting a Lightning Strike.

“I was almost dead, luckily Ningxue reacted quickly enough.” Xiao Feng wiped the sweat on his forehead. He knew that now was not the best time to chat. They had to clear out the beasts on both sides as soon as possible. Otherwise, they would be in grave trouble.

At the very front, Zheng Bingxiao’s Rock Golem stood no chance against the Cavern Slaves’ attacks. Only half of its body remained after receiving countless blows from the beasts.

“Zhao Manting, withdraw your Summoned beast,” Zhao Manting said.

Zheng Bingxiao swiftly withdrew the half-crippled Rock Golem. At the same time, he could sense a strong watery mist in his surroundings. He looked back and saw Zhao Manting casting an Intermediate Water Spell, summoning rolling waves like a dam had just burst, which surged forward with a great roar.

The furious tide reached almost half the height of the tunnel. It dragged the Cavern Slaves that were closest to the group with it and continued to roll forward ferociously.

The efficiency of an Intermediate Spell was instantly displayed. The number of Cavern Slaves coming from the front was the highest, and the rolling tide was enough to hinder their advance.

“My turn!” Song Xia shouted as she began to cast an Intermediate Fire Spell on her wrist.

Several Cavern Slaves were still trying to recover from the impact of the fierce tide when they were terrified by the approaching Fiery Fists.

A bright glow lit the entire tunnel up. The beasts that could not dodge in time let out cries of agony as they were burnt into ashes by the giant fists, leaving only the stench of burned flesh behind.

Chapter 277: Charge!

The Cavern Slaves let out a weird shriek. They were afraid of the Intermediate Spells, yet they were still lunging forward without hesitation. It appeared that they were using their own flesh to clear the path for their comrades.

The Intermediate Spells were powerful, but they were not enough to hold off the Cavern Slaves’ kamikaze push. The Cavern Slaves rapidly drew nearer to the group of students.

“Attack, kill them all, we can’t let them get any closer! Otherwise, we will be buried here!” Lu Zhenghe yelled.

Everyone no longer dared to conserve their magic, casting their spells continuously, with no disconnection between the projectiles. Fire Burst, Earth Wave, Lightning Strike, Brilliant Light; the glows emitted from each Element lit up the pitch-black tunnel like a violent rainbow, together with explosions, mudslides, frost, blinding flashes, vine whips…

Casting an Intermediate Spell required the alignment of forty-nine Stars, thus slowing the rate of attacks, and if they lost awareness of their surroundings for just a second, there was a high chance that they would be smashed into pieces by the sticks of their attackers. The Cavern Slaves would not give them enough time to finish their channeling.

They would need some protection in order to cast Intermediate Spells, as spending three to six seconds just to align the Stars was more than enough for them to die a few times over to the heavy blows of the bone sticks.

Luckily, the group consisted of quite a number of students. Seventeen Intermediate Magicians took turns to attack with their magic, while mixing one or two Intermediate spells in between. They managed to get the situation under control by preventing the Cavern Slaves from approaching closer than twenty meters to them.

The Cavern Slaves were pretty much practice targets. It was impossible for them to get any closer as long as the group had enough firepower.

The only threat was still the caves on the sides, since no one could tell how many of these ugly beasts were still waiting in them.

“Watch out!” Bai Tingting blurted out when she suddenly noticed something out of place beside Liao Mingxuan.

Liao Mingxuan reacted swiftly, using the Wind Track: Flash Steps to relocate himself.

A huge Cavern Slave crossed paths with Liao Mingxuan. Its bone stick almost struck his skull with a mighty swing.

“Damn it, why are the monsters in these caves never-ending!” Liao Mingxuan moved to a safer spot and watched the caves with lingering fear.

There were three caves on the sides. Two of them no longer had any beasts jumping out from them, indicating that the beasts inside were completely eliminated… but more than ten had already come out from the remaining big cave. Some among the group were forced to use their defensive gear. Meanwhile, Bai Tingting had never stopped using her Healing Magic…

“Mo Fan, charge into the cave with me.” Mu Ningxue said, glancing at Mo Fan while pointing at the cave.

“Do we really have to be so aggressive?” Mo Fan was not so willing. Heaven knows how many beasts there are inside the cave? What if we can’t get out after charging into it?

Mu Ningxue did not want to waste her time debating with Mo Fan. She drifted on an icy Wind Path and disappeared into the cave in full darkness.

Mo Fan had no choice but to put his life at stake to keep the beautiful woman company. He followed Mu Ningxue into the cave.

It turned out that the cave was extremely spacious, at least double the size of the tunnel. Mo Fan had no idea that these ugly Cavern Slaves enjoyed such great accommodations. Unlucky for them, it was time to burn them all down!

As Mo Fan raised his hands, flames ignited on both his palms: Burning Bones on the left and Rupture on the right. Mo Fan did not even care if there were beasts nearby, since they could still be used as sources of light.

The blaze lit up the entire cave. Mo Fan surprisingly discovered that the cave was actually connected to the other caves!

“Motherf**ker, no wonder the beasts kept coming! The caves are interconnected! The Cavern Slaves from the other caves can come through them!” Mo Fan cursed.

Mu Ningxue led the way, leaving a proud, icy back to Mo Fan as usual. Her Wind Track’s speed was double the speed of an ordinary Wind Path. She boldly proceeded forward with utter confidence, and it seemed she was planning to flank the enemies using the cave in return.

The Nirvana Ice Domain spread through her surroundings automatically as she moved. Through its unique aura, she could easily detect any movement in her surroundings without relying on her vision.

As they passed through the cave, four pairs of eyes suddenly sprang open in the midst of darkness, followed by a shuffling noise.

The Cavern Slaves surely had some way to see in the dark. They were waiting for Mu Ningxue to approach them in the corner, but little did they know, the claws of the ice had already reached out to them while they were holding their breath and lying on the ground.

“Maa!!”

The four Cavern Slaves let out a terrifying scream as they lunged toward Mu Ningxue from four different directions.

Mu Ningxue remained stationary in the middle. Her icy eyes flickered menacingly.

“Ice Lock.”

She had already completed the Star Pattern. It was hilarious that the four Cavern Slaves thought they had hidden their presence well.

The thick ice chains appeared from nowhere, launching themselves toward the four Cavern Slaves at Mu Ningxue’s command.

The ice chains caught the Cavern Slaves off guard, wrapping around the beasts in the air.

“Bone Husk!”

Mu Ningxue proceeded with the follow-up move, and the ice chains clenched tightly with outstanding might.

The horrifying sound of bones crackling echoed in the cave. The four Cavern Slaves did not stand a single chance. The bone sticks in their hands fell to the ground as they exhaled their last breaths.

Mo Fan had no way to increase his movement speed. As soon as he caught up to Mu Ningxue, he was right in time to witness the four Cavern Slaves being shattered into pieces by the Ice Lock: Bone Husk. Mu Ningxue was standing right in the middle of the four corpses, and glanced at the irritatingly slow Mo Fan in silence, before continuing forward with her Wind Track.

Mo Fan was left speechless. He was about to go after her when he felt the slight shudder from his Little Loach Pendant.

“Right, these Soul Remnants can be turned into Soul Essences.” Mo Fan recalled it in the thick of things and quickly collected the Soul Remnants of the Cavern Slaves.

The Soul Remnants would only linger for a short period of time after their death, thus he had to be quick in retrieving them, otherwise, they would just disappear.

Mo Fan quickly went after Mu Ningxue after he was done with his task, but it turned out that Mu Ningxue totally had no mercy, unlike a normal woman. Mo Fan could see several corpses turned into ice statues along the way.

Mo Fan decisively collected the Soul Remnants. He barely caught a glimpse of Mu Ningxue before she disappeared within the blink of an eye again. Mo Fan could not help but murmur, “Damn it, why do I feel like I’m a newbie being carried by a big sister in an instance? Should I just follow behind her and pick up the loot?”

The bone sticks smacked right into the ground and the wall Mu Ningxue was previously at.

This time, Mu Ningxue was having a hard time killing the Cavern Slaves instantly. First, there were seven of them in total, and second, her Ice Lock was on cooldown.

Using Intermediate Wind Magic in a cave like this was not effective at all, as the path between the caves was too narrow. Mu Ningxue could only use the Wind Track to speed herself up while waiting for her frost to spread forward.

However, the Cavern Slaves were not total idiots. They immediately smacked the ground with their bone sticks when they saw a layer of ice approaching their feet. The ice was instantly shattered, not allowed to spread any further ahead.

Their actions placed Mu Ningxue in quite a passive situation, and she had no choice but to back off.

“I should be waiting for that guy,” Mu Ningxue said with a hint of remorse.

Mu Ningxue also realized that she had gone too far. She had no idea how long it would take Mo Fan to reach her since he did not have any movement magic.

He could easily deal with the Cavern Slaves. The combination of Fire and Lighting was like adding violence to violence, unlike her, who did not have any destructive moves when the Ice Lock was on cooldown.

“Guess I’ll have to use my equipment,” Mu Ningxue mumbled under her breath.

Mu Ningxue had been using the Wind Track to kite the seven Cavern Slaves for quite a while. However, with the bone sticks being swung around wildly, it was only a matter of time before she was hit.

“Qianjun Lightning Strike: Wrath Shock!”

In the midst of the darkness, a figure appeared from the shadows. He was already casting a few Lightning Strikes as he moved.

As Mo Fan sent out the order, the Lightning Strikes targeted the beast which was chasing after Mu Ningxue.

The Lightning Strikes struck consecutively. The numbness from the electrification and the stun from Qianjun’s special effect stacked together, and the beast dropped lifelessly to the ground after being turned into a scorched meat lump.

Mu Ningxue’s eyes flickered with a hint of joy when she saw Mo Fan.

She quickly used her Wind Track to move to Mo Fan’s side. Her heavy panting showed that she had experienced some danger during the battle.

“One, two, three, four, five, six…Just about right!” Mo Fan said with a grin. When he was casting the Lightning Strike with his left hand, his right wrist had already turned fiery.

He did not launch the attack as he was worried that he would hurt Mu Ningxue too, but it was no longer his concern.

“Rose Flame Fiery Fist: Exploding Heaven!”

Using the Fiery Fist in such a limited space did not require any accuracy, as the spreading flame was enough to fill the entire area.

As Mo Fan threw his punch forward, the raging flames lunged at the six Cavern Slaves. No matter how hard they screamed and tried to flee, they had no chance to escape from the flames.

Mo Fan’s Rose Flame Fiery Fist was way more ruthless than Song Xia’s. Zhao Manting and Song Xia had first used Raging Waves, before following it up with the Fiery Fist to eliminate seven to eight Cavern Slaves. In comparison, Mo Fan’s magic did not even need an Intermediate Spell to set the scene up. The double-power Rose Flame instantly burned the beasts into ashes. They did not have any time to feel pain.

Mu Ningxue’s heart rippled as she glanced at the confident look on Mo Fan’s face while feeling the heat from his aura.

In her memory, this fellow used to be making meaningless jokes all the time, but he had changed significantly now. She knew clearly, even when she was still a teenager, that only with enough power would they have the freedom to choose for themselves. She initially thought their paths would be separate, but they somehow stumbled into each other at the peak of their age group.

“Wasn’t I cool?” Mo Fan turned his head and winked at Mu Ningxue.

“You’ve arrived earlier than I thought,” Mu Ningxue totally ignored his question.

“Hehe.” Mo Fan let out a charming smile as he mumbled in his heart, “I was using my Fleeing Shadow to get here, why wouldn’t I be faster? Using League of Legend’s terms, I have used my Ghost and Flash to save my teammate!”

The remaining flames of the Fiery Fist landed at different spots in the cave. The light was just enough to reveal the situation ahead.

Mu Ningxue glanced ahead and pointed at the wall, “There’s a turn there.”

“It might be connected to the other nests,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, you take the lead.”

“…”

——

In the main tunnel, the other fifteen students were still busy holding the attackers from both directions off. The corpses had begun to pile up, but they still had no idea how many of these ugly beasts were left.

Luckily, since the threat from the sides was dealt with, they had organized seven magicians in each direction to take turns casting their spells. The Cavern Slaves’ advancement was totally suppressed.

“Damn it, there are still a lot coming from behind them.”

“Don’t worry, they won’t dare to simply rush and die in vain.”

“Strange, why are they screaming in the back…”

“Who cares, I’ll let them have a piece of my Fiery Fists!”

Song Xia threw a punch forward, to great effect. The flames killed four Cavern Slaves instantly!.

However, the group was confused when the Cavern Slaves who were gathering their comrades before their next attack seemed to be panicking all of a sudden.

“Rose Flame Fiery Fist: Groundbreak!”

“Nirvana Ice Lock: Bone Husk!”

The magic chants of a man and a woman were heard coming from the darkness ahead. Before anyone could react, a brilliant flower of death blossomed in front of the Cavern Slaves. Under the blinding blaze, an unknown number of Cavern Slaves were completely burned into ashes.

The Groundbreak was destructive enough on its own, but the thick chains of the deadly Ice Lock surrounded the Cavern Slaves and contracted rapidly. The Cavern Slaves who initially had a chance to escape from the Groundbreak were all pushed right into the flames!

The Cavern Slaves did not expect two Intermediate Spells enchanted by the Soul Seeds to attack them from behind. More than twenty of them died to the combination of ice and fire!

“It’s Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue!”

“Damn it, how did they end up behind the Cavern Slaves?”

“I can’t even describe how impressed I am!”

The group of students was wide-eyed, with fascinating expressions on their faces.

A few seconds ago, they were forced to take a defensive stance against the Cavern Slaves coming from both directions, but these two managed to make their way behind their enemies and flanked them in return!

Out of nowhere, the Cavern Slaves were suddenly being attacked from both directions. The morale of the students standing their ground against the Cavern Slaves in the front skyrocketed as they synchronized their attacks with the violent duo to bombard the Cavern Slaves with their magic!

As the Cavern Slaves began to panic, the magicians were able to cast their spells at will. The Servant-class beasts had no chance of defending themselves from the overwhelming power of Intermediate Magic!

Not long afterwards, the Cavern Slaves in front of the group totally lost hope and began to flee into the caves nearby.

While a few escaped, those that stayed ended up as piles of corpses lying on the ground with crushed flesh and severed limbs. None of them were in one piece.

When only a few of the beasts were left, Mu Ningxue cast her Ice Magic to seal off the caves to the sides.

The layer of ice solidified swiftly, forming a frozen wall which completely blocked the entrance to the caves, preventing the Cavern Slaves from ambushing them again.

“Let’s go, there’s no point staying here any longer,” Mu Ningxue said to the crowd.

The railway tunnel was not very wide. They did not have much space to move around, so Wind and Lightning Intermediate Spells were not suitable to cast here. They also had no idea if they were any more Cavern Slaves hiding somewhere in the tunnel. They had to leave as soon as possible.

“Let’s go!” Lu Zhenghe yelled.

The group proceeded forward. The Cavern Slaves behind them were still uttering angry cries.

Xu Dalong, Zhao Mingyue, Qingqing and the rest managed to hold them off. Everyone let out a relieved sigh when they found the path ahead was clear.

“Forest of Kun¹!”

Qingqing finally had the chance to use her Plant Element Intermediate Spell, under the protection of her teammates. The Forest of Kun summoned plenty of thorns, vines, and branches behind them, blocking the path of the Cavern Slaves.

It would take some time for them to destroy the Forest of Kun. Xu Dalong, Zhao Mingyue, Shen Mingxiao, Qingqing, and the others who were in charge of protecting the rear immediately regrouped with the others.

“Those with Earth Element, use the Earth Wave!” Lu Zhenghe shouted.

Xu Dalong and Luo Song quickly cast the Earth Wave, the soil below moving forward in ripples, increasing the speed of the group as they forged ahead.

The remaining length of the tunnel was filthy and filled with a foul scent. Rotted corpses and feces could be seen everywhere. However, none of the students were too bothered by that, as they were still being chased by a huge number of beasts behind them. They continued to follow the railway.

—

“I can see light ahead! We made it, we’re almost outside!” blurted out Lu Zhenghe, who was leading the way.

Lu Zhenghe had already summoned his Violent Mark Wolf to clear the path. It smashed the Cavern Slaves it stumbled onto to death straight away.

The others also quickened their paces when they saw the light.

Most of them found it difficult to open their eyes for a while after spending a prolonged period in darkness. However, the moment they entered the sunlight, it felt extremely pleasant, just like entering a bath!

“Do a headcount, quick!” Lu Zhenghe seemed to have some sort of experience as a team leader. He did not let his guard down even after exiting the tunnel.

“Good on our side!” Liao Mingxuan quickly counted the eight people from their school.

Song Xia immediately counted her group, but her face turned pale when she counted eight in total. She blurted out in panic, “We are missing one!”

The Pearl Institute had nine in total, including Bai Tingting with her rare Healing Element. However, Song Xia still failed to count nine people after doing a recount.

“Who’s missing?” Mu Nujiao asked worriedly.

“Peng Liang is here, Luo Song is here, Zhao Manting…Oh my god, Mo Fan isn’t here!” Song Xia felt her heart clenching.

“Damn it, I’m going to save him!” Zhao Manting let out a curse and turned around, heading straight for the tunnel.

Mu Nujiao did not hesitate to follow Zhao Manting too, but a figure with an icy aura acted faster than her.

“Don’t be ridiculous, if he weren’t here with us, he is probably a pile of minced meat now,” Shen Mingxiao said.

There was no way Shen Mingxiao would go back into the filthy, smelly tunnel after trying so hard to escape it. Besides, he had spent half of his energy during the battle, so he would most likely be killed if he were trapped inside once again.

“Who were you describing?” asked a figure appeared from the shadows.

“Holy crap, you scared me to death!” Zhao Manting cursed again when he saw Mo Fan coming out from the tunnel.

The others halted in their tracks too, before letting out relieved sighs.

If someone were to die before they even reached the desolated city, how difficult would their actual mission be?

“What were you up to? I thought you were walking ahead of us just then,” Mu Nujiao asked Mo Fan curiously.

“Nothing.”

Mu Nujiao’s eyes flickered suspiciously, but since Mo Fan was not willing to tell her, she decided not to ask further.

“Since everyone’s fine, we should leave this place and find somewhere to set up a camp,” Song Xia said.

“I agree, I’m dying from the smell.”

“I’m feeling a slight headache, probably because I’ve spent too much energy.”

“How’s Xiao Feng doing?”

“The bone is being reconstructed. He’ll need some time…” Bai Tingting said.

The group was quite confident with their capabilities when they first entered the tunnel, but all of them were extremely tired and depressed now, with wounds all over.

The one that suffered the most severe injury was Xiao Feng. Peng Liang was protecting him throughout the entire battle.

Luckily, they had a Healer in their team. Otherwise, they would have lost one of their crew even before arriving at the desolate city!

——

The group found a place with a supply of water close to the railway. After checking the perimeter to make sure they weren’t any beasts around, they began to put up tents and rest up.

As the night fell, the boys sat around the campfire. The light from it shone upon their young faces.

The night was extremely quiet. The only sound was the crackling noise from the burning wood. Suddenly, Zhao Manting broke the silence as he whispered, “Are you sure they are bathing in the river?”

“That’s right, Mu Nujiao, Mu Nujiao is there too…”

A strong burst of hormones resulted in a weird atmosphere between them. Some swallowed hard, some licked their dry lips, while others could not help but glance in the direction of the river.

“Peng Liang, why don’t you go and take a look? With your Shadow Element, they won’t notice you at all.”

“Err, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Peng Liang said with a red face.

Despite saying that, Peng Liang’s body betrayed him, turning into a puff of shadow and disappearing into the woods.

Everyone was envious seeing Peng Liang making his move. &lt;i&gt;Why didn’t we awaken a Shadow Element too?…

“Huh, why are the trees freezing?”

“I’m afraid Peng Liang was exposed. HAHAHA, that idiot, our captain’s Ice Domain isn’t just for decoration. It could pick up the ripple of magic energy from a certain distance. Peng Liang is done for!” Xu Dalong instantly burst out laughing.

______________

Translator’s Note:

(1) This used to be Forest of Kun Gao in previous chapters, but I’ve refined it to Forest of Kun instead. Kun (坤) here is one of the eight trigrams of Bagua and is used to denote the Earth.

The night sky was extraordinarily clear in the wild. The moonlight shone upon the woods as the willows danced to the breeze, causing the shadows to sway slightly. The water of the river flickered like diamonds as its surface reflected the bright radiance of the moon.

Clothing releasing a faint fragrance had been placed beside the river, consisting of various colors and elegant ../styles. Some were made of muslin, or lace, and were either close-fitting, or loose…

In the river under the moonlight, maidens who looked like night elves were splashing the water onto their bare and flawless skin, resulting in quite a spectacular view. The occasional giggle embellished the silent woods.

The clear water of the river flowed steadily by. It felt great despite being quite cold.

“Are you tired of your life!” Suddenly, an icy voice echoed in the woods, before a shadow moved aside rapidly.

“AH! AH!”

Zhao Mingyue, Bai Tingting, Mu Nujiao, Qingqing, and the rest of the women immediately dropped into the water while scanning the surroundings with sharp looks.

“What’s going on?” Song Xia, who was helping the girls keep an eye out, hurried her way over with a confused expression.

“Someone’s there.”

“It’s the energy of the Shadow Element!”

“Who has the Shadow Element?”

“Peng Liang, it must be him!”

——

The guys were still chatting around the campfire, telling each other what they had encountered in the past. In simpler words, they were boasting.

A moment later, the girls appeared with long faces, as if their eyes could penetrate one’s heart.

“Who was that just then?” Song Xia cut straight to the point. She pointed at the men and snapped furiously.

“Who could it be? There’s only one person with the Shadow Element in our group…” Qingqing glared at Peng Liang.

Peng Liang’s face turned pale. He immediately rose to his feet and explained, “I didn’t. I was only at the woods. I didn’t even have the chance to get close to the river. I didn’t see anything.”

“Oh Peng Liang, I never thought you were that kind of a person. I’m embarrassed to call you a teammate!” Zhao Manting uttered a cough and said with a stern look.

“Zhao Manting, you…” Peng Liang suddenly felt like he had been betrayed.

Just a moment ago, every guy was jealous that he had the chance to enjoy a spectacular view. Who knew that they would all turn their backs and act like they were gentlemen when the girls found out!

Peng Liang had no choice, but to admit it.

He admitted that he did have the intention, but he swore that he did not manage to take a peek, as he did not even get to see the river.

“Forget it, Song Xia was looking out for us, too. He was probably just running around in the woods.”

“Humph, what a scum!”

“Pervert!”

“Hypocrite!”

The ladies furiously returned to their tents. The men surrounding the campfire nodded their heads quickly, totally hanging Peng Liang out to dry right until the end.

Peng Liang suddenly felt his life was over. He felt like crying, but there were no tears.

—

The dispute was soon settled. The young men took turns as watchmen for the group as everyone began to go to bed.

“Mo Fan, where were you just then?” Mo Fan and Zhao Manting were the first up on duty. Zhao Manting suddenly recalled that Mo Fan did leave for a moment during the previous dispute.

“I am used to being on alert all the time, so I was just patrolling nearby,” Mo Fan said with a stern look.

“Oh, is that so… If I’m not mistaken, I remember that you do have a Shadow Element equipment.” Zhao Manting raised his brows and blurted out in an indifferent manner.

Mo Fan coughed awkwardly, as he initially thought his plan was executed perfectly. Unfortunately, the pervert Zhao Manting had already read his mind.

“How was it? Who had the best physique?” Zhao Manting’s eyes flickered. Even though he did not have the chance to witness it with his own eyes, he could still imagine it in his mind through Mo Fan’s description.

“I can now tell you that, Mu Nujiao is indeed a D.”

“Holy crap, are you for real? I mean, look at her, it’s already unbelievable if she had C. If you’re telling me she’s a D, tsk tsk tsk!”

“There’s something you won’t even think of,” Mo Fan said with a mysterious tone.

“What is it? Hurry up and say it!” Zhao Manting was utterly excited.

“The biggest ones are Bai Tingting’s.”

“Oh my, that chick has been hiding them well. It does suit her Element!”

“How about Mu Ningxue, she must be hot? I can tell she’s a beauty among all just by looking at her skin and her collar bones.”

“I didn’t get to see it. Her perception was stronger than I thought. Luckily, I had Peng Liang to be the scapegoat.”

——

Outside the tents, a figure moved rapidly in the woods in a seemingly anxious manner.

When the person went into the woods, the sound of water dripping to the ground was heard. Zhao Manting who was patrolling around went up and asked, and it turned out to be someone getting up from sleep to take a leak.

The person did not return to his tent straight away after finishing his business. His hidden eyes glanced carefully in Zhao Manting’s direction before hiding behind a tree.

The figure slowly took out a glowing pen-shaped object and buried it in the ground.

The figure then pretended to be half-asleep while returning to the tent with a yawn.

——

As the night grew late, the campfire had already died. Six tents, each having the capacity of three people stood quietly on the grass. The place fell into a dead silence as the chirps of the birds and bugs disappeared.

Zhao Manting was in charge of patrolling, while Mo Fan kept an eye from high up.

Mo Fan slouched above a tree branch among the woods. Since he could capture any strange movement with his Shadow Element, he did not need to rely on his eyes.

“I wonder if I can refine a Soul Essence from the Soul Remnants I’ve collected…” Mo Fan murmured.

He had come out from the tunnel last because he was looting the Soul Remnants from the dead Cavern Slaves!

Over a hundred of green glowing dots were floating above the Spiritual River inside the Little Loach Pendant. They remained at their own spots without budging, so it was hard to tell if they were condensing.

“Is it because there aren’t enough of them? More than a hundred Soul Remnants were not enough to refine a Soul Essence?”

“Oh? They’re condensing!”

Mo Fan was overjoyed when he saw the Soul Remnants he had collected finally showed some reaction. A white gaseous substance seemed to be clumping them together.

They began to collide into each other within the white mist.

Each collision would cause two glowing dots to merge into one, with a brighter glow.

Over a hundred of glowing dots suddenly turned into just a tad over fifty, which began to collide with one another once again…

The same process repeated continuously. Just as Mo Fan was trying to imagine what would happen if they were an odd number of Soul Remnants, a relatively bright Soul Remnant began to devour the Soul Remnants nearby. It ended up consuming all the remaining seven or eight Soul Remnants!

Following that, the initial cloudy-looking glow of the Soul Remnant began to peel open, revealing a bright firefly-like glow under the layer!

It’s a Soul Essence! I managed to refine a Soul Essence!, Mo Fan burst out screaming in silent joy in his heart.

Mo Fan immediately directed the Servant-class Soul Essence to the second star of his Lightning Nebula, instantly upgrading it.

“Five more to go, and my Lightning Strike will rank up to the fourth tier! I wonder what it’s going to look like… I suppose only a few magicians would actually try to upgrade it to the fourth tier. Tsk tsk, how exciting!”

The journey ahead of them would involve traveling across mountains and rivers, and breaking through brambles and thistles.

Some who were following the latest hits hummed along the journey as they slowly advanced, following the railway. A few were immersed in thoughts about their future, but they eventually felt uncertain when they collected their thoughts, knowing that they were still in the midst of a dangerous adventure. None of them were in the mood to enjoy the pleasant scenery, as they knew they were in the demon beasts’ territory.

Apart from the relatively thrilling experience at the tunnel, the journey had been rather peaceful. They had not encountered any similarly large groups of beasts since then.

With their current strengths, they did have the ability to look after themselves against ordinary demon beasts.

——

After spending more than ten days traveling, Jinlin City was finally visible in the distance.

They came up to another hill, which also had a tunnel the railway was leading into. This time, they decided to take an alternative route instead of going through the pitch-black tunnel.

They immediately saw a spacious basin when they arrived at the top of the hill. Plenty of foothills could be seen leading in the distance toward their destination.

In the north was a river with many bends and curves, eventually ending up running alongside the remains of a city, now overgrown with plant life. The river continued to extend into the distance and bent towards the east, towards the hill that the group had just crossed.

“That would be Jinlin City. It’s only been fifteen years. How did it end up like this?” Zheng Bingxiao wondered, staring at the distant desolated city.

“It’s pretty much expected, since the beasts were using it as a habitat. The houses, streets and roads would be in utterly destroyed. The plants are intaking their waste as fertilizer, so they can grow very fast. You will find the whole place crawling with moss, vines, and weeds,” Qingqing said.

“Come, we should scout the outer area first and count the beasts roaming around,” Song Xia suggested.

The periphery of the city was a big open plain surrounded by woods, and also one of the key places to be investigated. If there was any point in reconstructing the city, they had to know if the perimeter was occupied by the beasts.

Fortunately, they were not sent here to wipe out every single beast from Jinlin City. It was big enough to be described as a second-grade city. Even the perimeter alone was more spacious than they could have imagined, let alone the city that was now a den for the beasts. It would be quite impossible to restore it to a human habitat without a few army brigades.

—

After spending some time investigating the woods, the group was surprised to find out that they only saw a few individual demon beasts searching for food, instead of moving in groups.

In the end, the investigation around the city’s perimeter was carried out smoothly. They marked the map grids with green ticks, implying that there were only a few beasts roaming in them.

“Let’s head inside. We should finish our task and head back earlier. I feel quite uncomfortable staying out here,” Luo Song proposed.

In fact, Luo Song had toned down significantly over the past ten days. Either way, he did not want to suffer any longer by staying outside of the safe zone.

“This kind of investigation will take quite some time. Besides, the places we are investigating are extremely huge. We have already marked the spots on the map, unless we are splitting up…”

“Splitting up isn’t a rational decision.” Song Xia shook her head.

If the seventeen of them could stick together, they still stood a chance against beasts that were inclined to move in groups. It would be a completely different scenario if they were to split up.

“We’ll check one spot out at a time.”

——

The seventeen people made their way into the desolated city. The road that was meant to be used for transportation into the city was fully blocked with rusted, abandoned cars. The way they had ended up was enough to illustrate how the people decided to abandon their cars to flee for their lives during the incident.

Things like cars were quite useless in a large-scale calamity, since they relied heavily on roads.

—

They began to see remains of houses after passing along the highways.

The main road had been broken apart. The cracks spread throughout the entire road, with plants growing in the gaps. It felt like the life force of the trees alone was enough to drill across the road.

The houses were entirely covered in dust, stacked densely together. Vines continued to climb upward and into the windows, growing thickly and leaving the inside in a total mess. The trees everywhere lacked someone looking after them, and seemed to be shrouding the heavens.

Currently, the students from both the Imperial College and the Pearl Institute were walking on the main road. They could hear occasional animal cries in the distance, explaining their alert expressions.

This residential area was the first place they needed to investigate. Judging from the data, it was highly possible that this area was previously the territory of beasts, as most of rooms had animal droppings piled up in a corner.

“I can’t imagine what happened here. This used to be a city.” Bai Tingting seemed to be quite sentimental as he sighed.

When a city was at its end, when you could not find a living person on the streets, a person would feel quite lonely and devastated. It was something that they had not experienced before.

Desolated was surely the best way to describe this city.

“We should find somewhere save to settle ourselves,” Shen Mingxiao proposed.

“We finally arrived at the city. We have to make sure we can escape easily. It should be near the edge, with some great defense…” Lu Zhenghe said.

“So where should we pick as our place?” Song Xia asked.

“Inside a building, we should use one as our base. Some of them are connected to the others, allowing us to escape easily,” Lu Zhenghe went on.

“That’s right, the taller buildings would also grant us a greater field of vision, which would be better for us when standing guard. Otherwise, it will be hard to tell if a large group of beasts is approaching.”

“I think that one’s not too bad.” Mo Fan pointed at a building in the distance.

A large, blocky building stood firmly in the distance. It did not look too filthy, as if it had been occasionally washed by the rain.

Most importantly, the building seemed relatively fine compared to the other buildings. Not only did it have many floors, it had a magnificent aura to it, too.

“You do know how to pick the place…” Song Xia let out a smile as she identified the building on the map. “That used to be the city’s Administration Hall!”

The group drew closer to the Administration Building after passing several residential areas.

The Administration Building had three layers, each structured differently. The first layer was the Administration Hall, made up of several floors, rectangle-shaped and covering a huge area.

The second layer was a square-shaped section above the base. It was quite a contrast to the rectangular base below it.

The third layer was a few tall blocks above the square-shaped layer. It probably belonged to the business units that were not open to the public. The whole building somehow did not feel like it belonged there, as it stood out too much among the buildings nearby.

“This place is on our investigation list, too. However, I feel this Administration Building is kinda weird. Take a look at those plants; they are not growing toward the sunlight, but into the building instead…”

Mu Nujiao had the Plant Element. She took a closer look at the vines and scorched branches. The vines were as thick as a man’s waist. They seemed to be growing into the base of the Administration Building and intertwining with the other vines in the hall.

The Administration Building was supposed to have plenty of sunlight. However, because of the vines, the light could no longer shine into the building, giving it an eerie atmosphere. It felt more like a forest of vines then a building.

Rows of chairs set up for the public were scattered everywhere. The whole place was full of dust. Moss could be seen spreading across the cracking windows. Boxes of documents had been dropped to the floor as the people freaked out during the invasion, now stained with weird liquid emitting a foul scent.

“One or two should keep an eye outside. The rest will head into the building,” Lu Zhenghe advised the group.

“I’ll stay!” Mo Fan volunteered.

“Me too,” Bai Tingting said.

Lu Zhenghe and Song Xia glanced at the two before leading the others into the Administration Hall.

—

The fourteen students soon disappeared into the gloomy Administration Building. Only Mo Fan and Bai Tingting stayed at what used to be a garden in front of the building.

Mo Fan glanced at Bai Tingting and recalled the astonishing sight of the twin bobbing hills he had seen at the river. He could not help but have a thought, How is it possible for a girl currently in her twenties who doesn’t have a boyfriend to have such huge boobs? Can her petite body really support the weight?

If Bai Tingting were aware of Mo Fan’s thoughts, she would definitely agree that it was more dangerous for her to stay outside with this guy than going into the building with the group.

Bai Tingting was the Healer of the group, thus they could not afford to place her in danger. As such, it was reasonable for her to wait outside. With Mo Fan’s strength, he could easily be her guardian.

“That’s strange…” Bai Tingting seemed to have discovered something, and she slowly walked toward a bed of flowers.

“What is it?”

“There’s a pack of food here that’s only half-finished. Only part of it has started to rot, instead of the whole thing. Take a look for yourself.” Bai Tingting put on a pair of gloves and picked up the pack from the ground.

Mo Fan went up to her and took a closer look. It did indeed look like a pack of jerky. The seal was already open, but the jerky itself looked quite normal. It did not look like it had been here for fifteen years…

—

Inside the overgrown Administration Hall, Lu Zhenghe and his Violent Mark Wolf led the way. The latter leapt onto a platform and scanned its surroundings with a sharp gaze.

The elevator was totally out of order, so they would have to find the stairs to reach the higher levels.

“There are a few traveling bags here. It seems like someone left them here.” Liao Mingxuan said.

“They might belong to some hunters who visited here recently.” Lu Zhenghe did not place too much attention on them. He led the group to the hall on the second floor.

The second floor was full of meeting rooms. The plants were even denser here. The entire hallway was nearly blocked by them…

As they proceeded forward, they did see an elevator with its door open. The vines could be seen extending into the shaft. Its parts were rusted, and were stained with some unknown colored liquid.

“The stairs should be just ahead.” Lu Zhenghe was quite bold indeed, leading the group with his Violent Mark Wolf.

Lu Zhenghe had just started moving when Mu Nujiao, who was relatively observant, halted in her tracks. Her eyes were fixed onto the vines closest to the elevator’s shaft.

“What is it?” Liao Mingxuan was always staying close to Mu Nujiao.

“It looks like something is stuck between them.” Mu Nujiao pointed at the gap between two vines.

Liao Mingxuan finally had his chance to display his manliness. He reassured the lady while walking toward the vines and dragging the thing out.

As he got a closer look, his mind went blank as his face turned pale white.

A scalp!

Liao Mingxuan was holding a human’s scalp in his hand, with the face still attached. Its long hair was hiding its face before, so Liao Mingxuan did not realize what it actually was.

The scalp had dirty black hair and its face was detached from the head. Its eyeballs were still hanging from the skin. Liao Mingxuan had not expected it would be something so bizarre.

“A dead person, it’s a dead person’s head!”

Zhao Mingyue, who was nearby, let out a scream. As the scalp was pulled out, they were able to get a closer look at the thing stuck between the vines. It was a skull, and definitely human!

The skin was filthy, but it had not rotted. The eyes looked rather alive, but the flesh was gone, and so was the blood. It was a corpse that had been sucked dry, and not longer than ten days ago.

“There’s one here!”

“Here too!”

“What’s going on? How did these people die here? Were they ambushed by some beasts…”

The group was flustered. Judging from the corpses and the objects scattered around. They were supposed to be a team of hunters, but they had somehow died a horrible death here!

“We’ve checked the place around. There wasn’t any presence of beasts nearby,” Shen Mingxiao said.

Mu Nujiao and Qingqing exchanged glances with one another as a bad feeling arose within them.

“These plants feel strange.” Mu Nujiao reminded the others.

“What plants…That’s weird, where did the path…Oh my god, the path we took to get in here is gone!” Xu Dalong, who was in charge of covering their rear, cried out in alarm.

Everyone turned their heads and realized the path they took had somehow been blocked by the vines. The gap was now too tiny for them to squeeze through.

Everyone was used to staying on guard for things that moved, and any hint of murderous aura from demon beasts. None of them had expected the plants to seal off their escape route out of nowhere!

The path behind them was blocked, but the problem was, they had only used it a moment ago!

“It’s the plants, they can move!” Someone finally realized the terrifying truth.

“Run, quick!” Lu Zhenghe screamed out.

The building was overgrown with plants consisting of thick vines and branches, a team of hunters had died here quite recently, and now their path behind was blocked…

This Administration Building is definitely not a welcoming place!

The vines suddenly began to shift and move. Plants that were extremely careful to remain motionless just a moment ago suddenly made their move.

The thick vines contracted toward the center. The group felt like they had been trapped inside a giant machine. Its gears were initially rotating slowly, and now it had finally awakened after the engine was heated up.

The vines slowly gathered outside the elevator’s shaft. Those in front altered their shapes into sharp thorn-spears, extending toward the group of students trapped by the vines.

“Holy crap, we’re done for!” Luo Song shrieked.

He and Xu Dalong were the closest to the rear. The vines close to the stairs were still writhing as they formed layers of walls, blocking their escape. The walls were so thick that it would be almost impossible to break through!

“AH! AH!!”

Someone among the group uttered a terrifying scream. It turned out to be Song Xia, who had been stabbed by a sharp vine that had struck her from the side when she was aligning her Fire Element’s Star Pattern.

The vine in the shape of a spear drove into her abdomen, dragging her into the air toward the walls.

Fresh blood splattered across the ground. Song Xia’s mouth was totally filled with blood. She did not even have the strength to cry out.

Everyone’s mind went blank when they saw her being dragged around like sugar-coated candy on a stick.

“What the hell are you all waiting for, run!” Luo Song screamed and totally ignored Song Xia, who was slowly being devoured by the plants.

“We need to save her.”

“There’s nothing we can do. She’s done for!” Lu Zhenghe snapped coldly, trying to calm everyone down.

“Ice Lock!”

Mu Ningxue was the first to complete a spell. Her eyes were staring at Song Xia, who was being trapped inside the walls made of plants.

The icy chains swiftly sprang forward and wrapped around Song Xia tightly. Mu Ningxue held their other end and pulled with great force, dragging Song Xia out from the vines.

Song Xia had a terrifying hole reaching from her abdomen to her back. Her blood splattered across the whole place while she was being pulled toward the group, an awful sight!

The Ice Lock had managed to pull Song Xia back from the jaws of death. However, her injury was so severe that it was impossible for her to survive any longer. Her inner organs were damaged, and she had lost a great amount of blood…

“Ice Spread: Freeze!”

Mu Ningxue cast a spell again to freeze Song Xia’s body. The frost rapidly covered the wounded young woman, sealing the wound to prevent her from losing any more blood.

The blood finally stopped flowing from the wound, but Song Xia was on her last breath, and lay on the ground in an extremely weak state. Her eyes were full of pain and unwillingness to die.

“Hold on there, I’ll bring you out.” Mu Ningxue looked into Song Xia’s eyes.

Song Xia’s eyes were still wide open. Fresh blood slowly flowed out from her mouth. She looked utterly devastating. She never thought she would almost lose her life here, and had never imagined that Mu Ningxue would be the person who saved her.

“I’ll look after her,” Mu Nujiao said to Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue nodded before turning around and casting a cold glance at Lu Zhenghe.

Lu Zhenghe responded with an expressionless face. “I was considering the whole team.”

“I’ll give the orders from now on.” Mu Ningxue was not willing to let someone like Lu Zhenghe, who had come from a military background, lead them. In such a person’s eyes, other people’s lives could be sacrificed at any time.

“Alright.”

Mu Ningxue controlled the Wind Element and quickly made her way to the blocked path.

The same vine spear that had attacked Song Xia suddenly thrust in from the side without any warning, aimed right at Mu Ningxue’s heart. If it landed, it would kill her instantly.

The vine struck forward at an incredible speed, leaving no time for the magicians to react, let alone giving them enough time to cast an Intermediate Spell.

Mu Ningxue had already prepared herself for this. With a thought, pieces of pentagonal ice rapidly appeared around her. They immediately attached to her clothes as if they were magnetic. In under a second, the ice chips formed an elegant frozen armor around Mu Ningxue.

The armor was elegant yet sturdy, turning Mu Ningxue into a princess clad for battle. Her elegance carried a hint of new imperiousness.

The frosty armor wrapped around her tightly. The incoming vine snapped as if it had just collided with metal, and was immediately withdrawn like an injured tentacle.

“Protection!”

Mu Ningxue controlled the chains of the Ice Lock to revolve around the group. The icy chains immediately flew toward those who were being targeted by the vines to protect them,

“Water Barrier!”

“Sacred Shield!”

“Water Barrier!”

The others could not afford to just stand there and watch. They immediately cast their defensive spells to protect one other.

“The walls are still collapsing. If they finish contracting, we will end up like the hunters. We have to find a way to break through!” Zhao Manting said.

“Does anyone have a Deathstrike Item? I don’t suppose you’re still not willing to use them at a time like this!” Mu Ningxue asked.

Her Ice Lock was only suitable for use as protection under the circumstances. It was quite impossible to use it to break through the thick walls of interwoven vines.

“Mu Ningxue, try to freeze the plants. That way, my Light Slash will be more effective!” Ming Cong shouted.

“Got it!”

Qingqing and Luo Song, who also had the Ice Element, immediately cast their Ice Spreads together with Mu Ningxue.

Due to the buff from her domain, the trio’s Ice Spread was stronger than usual. The frost spread through the place swiftly, managing to freeze a few layers of the walls within just a few seconds.

“Rupture Light Slash!” Ming Cong summoned a golden saber with a thought.

The saber was made of hard light. The others immediately cleared a path for it when they saw it.

Deathstrike Magic Equipment like this was expensive. It appeared that Ming Cong’s renowned family was willing to spend some money on him, just to guarantee his safety.

All Magic Equipment required energy to activate. Their maximum power would only be unleashed with sufficient energy.

The Deathstrike Magic Equipment that Ming Cong was currently holding was worth at least ten million RMB. Its glow was extremely fiery, preventing the plants from getting any closer.

As he slashed forward with the saber of hard light, the others only saw a crescent sun flying forward in a straight line, chopping the vine walls apart. It even set the vines on fire…

Even though it was only a slash, it managed to clear a wide path. The vines seemed to be quite intimidated by it, the ones that were not damaged withdrawing from it hastily.

“Nice one!”

“Quick, we need to go now! The vines are closing in!”

Out in the garden, Mo Fan and Bai Tingting stared at the building before them with blank faces.

The vines coiling around the building began to wriggle as if they had come alive. It looked like they were trying to compete for the food they had just discovered.

It was their first time seeing such a sight, as most magicians were used to treating plants as something harmless. Even when the place was overgrown with vines, they were only keeping an eye out for anything alive. They had never expected that the entire plant was in fact a demon beast, and its vines and branches were as deadly as weapons!

“What should we do now? They are being trapped inside!” Bai Tingting exclaimed urgently.

The thick plant looked sturdier than the concrete walls. The group had already ventured deep into the building, so it would be extremely difficult for them to barge their way out. After all, the situation was similar to them jumping into a giant beast’s esophagus.

“Look up.” Mo Fan pointed at the second layer of the Administration Building, which was the giant structure above the base.

Bai Tingting raised her head and felt her scalp going numb.

She could see a giant, hideous brain sticking out from the structure!

The brain did not look the same as an animal’s, but similar to the shape of a tree stool. If it weren’t for the huge mouth that had suddenly opened up, no one would assume it to be something alive.

The stump-shaped brain t took up almost the entire second layer. Its endless vines were like nutrition pipes connected to its throat. From afar, it looked like a demon covered in tree skins sucking at something!

“A Pseudomorphing Demon Beast!” Bai Tingting took a deep breath. She experienced a tremendous shock, as it was her first time seeing such a monster with her own eyes.

“Can someone tell me if this thing is a plant or a demon beast?” Mo Fan subconsciously took a step backward.

The thing was literally a demon. It was using the Administration Building as its disguise, and the place looked so calm and peaceful, luring other things to use it as a temporary rest stop.

The fact that there were no demon beasts roaming nearby was a clear indication that this place was extremely dangerous. Anything that was alive would surely find themselves falling into the demon’s stomach, as it was basically a master of disguise. The unwary all ended up as nutrients for its growth!

“It’s considered a demon beast with a purer lineage, extremely difficult to deal with once it’s mature. Since it is scared of light, it will only reside in gloomy places… Somehow the Administration Building has become its natural habitat, which it could attach to as it grows, perfect for blocking the sunlight. Its preys would present themselves conveniently…” Bai Tingting was surely the top student in the subject of studying demon beasts. She had managed to recognize a species that even the public had rarely heard of from the official channels.

“I hope it’s not Commander-level… I’ll try attacking it with my fire.” Mo Fan said.

“Don’t provoke it. Fire isn’t very effective against it. Even double the size of our team has no chance against a Pseudomorphing Demon Beast.” Bai Tingting immediately stopped him.

“So they’re pretty much dead?” Mo Fan was stunned.

“Most likely, they would be wiped out within ten minutes if the team did not have a Light Magician,” Bai Tingting frowned.

She had decided to stay because of Mo Fan, as she had a rather good impression of the man who had saved her life. To her surprise, the random thought she had had prevented her from stepping into such a terrifying trap.

They was nothing the two could do. They would be committing suicide if they went inside. They could only wait and reinforce the group if managed to reach the entrance.

Mo Fan felt his heart sinking.

He could not care less about most of the others, but that did not include Mu Ningxue, Mu Nujiao, and Zhao Manting.

However, if Fire wasn’t effective against it, and Lightning was also useless against plants, so there was nothing he could do but wait outside.

As the two were panicking, a black gust suddenly swept toward them like a tide, knocking the trees and everything else along the way aside.

The objects on the ground rattled as a rusted bike was blown into the air before smashing into one of the buildings nearby, causing pieces of metal to fly wildly.

Mo Fan and Bai Tingting were totally clueless as to what was happening.

Their breathing intensified as cold sweat came out. The two exchanged glances with one another and saw the fear and disturbed look in each other’s eyes!

In the midst of the black tornado, a pair of giant wings enlarged as they moved rapidly toward the two!

Under the wings was the body of a giant lizard. Its thick skin was fully covered with lumps, all the way from its head to the tip of its tail. Its long tail was half-curled, and towards its end was a sharp edge which flickered sharply under the sunlight!

“Run!” Mo Fan blurted out.

The formidable aura alone had almost suffocated them. Those with a slightly weaker mental state would instantly fall unconscious. It was Mo Fan’s first time experiencing such an overwhelming aura from a living beast, to an extent that his mind was swarmed with the urge to flee for his life.

Bai Tingting froze on the spot. She could only look at Mo Fan with a pale face…

Mo Fan grabbed her wrist. He could not care less about concealing his strength under such circumstances, and quickly cast Fleeing Shadow.

“Damn it, the alignment keeps failing.” Mo Fan could not even cast the Fleeing Shadow smoothly. It only worked after breaking four times in a row.

Dragging Bai Tingting with him, Mo Fan turned into a puff of shadow and ran along the walls around the Administration Building. His shadow quickly moved to the street with shady trees.

After moving a great distance away, almost a street apart, the overwhelming presence finally became weaker.

“You…you have four Elements!” Bai Tingting stared at Mo Fan in disbelief, her mind totally blank.

“I’ll explain it to you some other time.” Mo Fan turned around and glanced at the Administration Building.

The giant lizard had already flown up to the third layer of the building, which consisted of an extended balcony. It circled above the building like an eagle…

Suddenly, it flapped its giant wings and dove toward the second layer of the building. Its mouth was wide open like a cave, its fangs were like stalactites hanging right above.

The giant lizard tore right at the structure, shattering the cement to pieces, like popping bubbles.

Its actual target was the brain of the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast. As its fangs bit down, the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast let out an ear-piercing scream across the entire city.

The vines wrapping around the entire building thrashed wildly, almost tearing the whole place down. The Pseudomorphing Demon Beast struggled violently, using its vines to wrap around the giant lizard.

Countless vines were drawn out from the windows of the Administration Building. They began to wrap the giant lizard like tentacles, trying to pull it away from its head.

Unfortunately, the vines were as fragile as spiderwebs to the giant lizard. It easily tore them apart with a casual rending before biting even harder. The Pseudomorphing Demon Beast was totally helpless against it…

The Pseudomorphing Demon Beast finally could not resist the bite. Its brain was crushed into pieces between the giant fangs, while the rest of its body collapsed with the building.

The giant lizard began sucking up the liquid from the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast’s brain, as if it were nutritious. It did not want to waste a single drop of it.

The dense plant life inside the Administration Building wilted swiftly. The Pseudomorphing Demon Beast died an incredibly fast death, like a goat whose throat was torn apart by a giant crocodile. Its struggle was completely in vain, and only quickened its death.

“It was… eaten.” Bai Tingting face turned pale white, unable to believe what she had just witnessed.

Mo Fan was also shocked. The Pseudomorphing Demon Beast, which they had no clue how to deal with, had become another beast’s food in just a matter of seconds. If the giant lizard were targeting them instead, didn’t that mean they would lose their life instantly?

The giant lizard had a satisfying meal. It extended its wings, not having any interest in anything else around it and launched itself into the air.

As soon as the giant lizard left, the second layer of the Administration Building crumbled completely, together with the third layer…

The towering structure fell over lazily before crashing into the buildings nearby, bringing them down with it!

The impact was huge enough to alarm Mo Fan and Bai Tingting, as clouds of dust from the falling buildings spread all over the place from the impact…

Fortunately, the city was dead to begin with. Otherwise, the crumbling of the buildings would have resulted in countless deaths. After all, humans were like ants compared to the size of the buildings.

——

Inside the remains of the Administration Building, the ceiling continued to fall as the supporting beams broke into pieces.

Fourteen people desperately made their way toward the exit. Various kinds of defensive equipment and barriers made of water, light, and rock surrounded the group. Luckily, the base of the building was rather solid, and the crumbling had started on the second layer. Otherwise, they would now be buried alive within the building.

Without the plant walls blocking the way, everyone was able to move more quickly.

“We’re almost at the entrance.”

“Quick!”

“Thank God, we’re out!”

The Summoned Rock Golem carried the frozen Song Xia on its shoulder, while the others were moving forward with Wind Track and Earth Wave.

The Administration Building had fallen to the side opposite the entrance, but they had clearly heard the impact. However, none of them had time to care about it as they rushed out of the building.

“We’re over here!” Bai Tingting cried out in joy when they saw the group make their way out safely.

“Quick, save Song Xia, she’s dying.” Zheng Bingxiao ordered the Rock Golem to place Song Xia in front of Bai Tingting.

Bai Tingting could imagine how dangerous the situation was inside the building when she saw the hole through Song Xia’s guts.

“Melt the ice.” Bai Tingting did not dare to waste any time. She immediately cast an Intermediate Healing Spell.

The Healing Fairy was summoned. As the ice began to melt, the Fairy entered Song Xia’s body through the hole.

Song Xia had totally lost consciousness. Her pulse was so weak that she might die any second.

Bai Tingting went all out with her energy output to produce fresh blood for Song Xia…

The damage to the internal organs was not fatal, but the loss of blood was. Song Xia’s face was extremely pale. She might bid farewell to the world at any second.

“Damn it, who suggested us to come to the Administration Building. It almost cost our lives!” someone among the group scolded.

Liao Mingxuan glanced at Mo Fan and snapped, “Wasn’t it you? Well, well, sending us to die while hiding out here yourself! How nice of you, Mo Fan!”

Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song immediately pointed their fingers at Mo Fan. They were hostile toward Mo Fan to begin with, thus they would not mind using such a great opportunity to belittle him.

Mo Fan was indeed the one that had suggested the group come here. Everyone had just escaped from the jaws of death, while Mo Fan himself was perfectly fine out here. It was reasonable for them to lose their tempers.

“I would have sealed the entrance off if I wanted you all to die.” Mo Fan was never a kind person, so he merely responded with a cold smirk.

“Weren’t you supposed to coordinate with us from the outside? Why are you hiding here? You’re such a selfish scum!” Liao Mingxuan snapped furiously.

Liao Mingxuan’s leg had also penetrated impaled vines during the battle. The extreme pain caused him to clench his teeth, he was only using it as a way to release his anger.

Bai Tingting was busy saving Song Xia’s life, so she was too occupied to defend Mo Fan. On the other hand, Mo Fan had enough of these idiots’ bullshit. Their voices alone were irritating enough.

“What happened? Why did the entire building collapse?” Zhao Manting asked.

“The beast at the top of the food chain in this city just saved your lives.” Mo Fan said.

“What do you mean?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“It was a Razortail Drake. It just ate the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast alive,” Bai Tingting explained after taking a deep breath.

Bai Tingting told the group how the Razortail Drake had appeared out of nowhere and killed the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast in an instant, leaving everyone with their eyes open wide and their jaws dropped.

Luckily for them, it was only interested in the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast. Otherwise, all of them would have died. From Bai Tingting’s description, the Razortail Drake was at least Commander-level, as the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast, which was already considered a deadly threat to the whole group, could not survive even a single bite.

“Holy shit, I want to go home!”

“Same here, this place is too terrifying. What was Dean Song He thinking about sending us here? Look at the things that we’ve encountered so far! There’s no way we are able to deal with them on our own!” Liao Mingxuan blurted out.

Song Xia had almost lost her life, and some of them were almost dragged away while they were barging out from the building. It was an extremely close call.

What was even more terrifying was the reason they were able to make it out alive was that a Razortail Drake had just eaten their would-be killer in a single bite. The entire building had collapsed just from that conflict. Who the hell would have the guts to continue the investigation?!

“Something is definitely wrong with the information that the Hunter Union has. The danger level of this place is way higher than what they told us! Or maybe we’re just too unlucky, to stumble into such a terrifying beast when we just arrived here. We should still be able to finish our mission if we are more careful!” Lu Zhenghe immediately interrupted.

Liao Mingxuan and Xu Dalong looked at Lu Zhenghe strangely. They were surprised Lu Zhenghe would make such a daring decision after what the group had experienced.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the information that the Hunter Union has,” Zhao Manting spoke up.

“Are you serious? Look at the stuff we’ve encountered!”

“You just saw the corpses in the building. In simple words, the hunters who made it back alive didn’t stumble into anything too bizarre, so they thought this place was relatively normal. As for those who did stumble into something extraordinary…” Zhao Manting paused for a moment before continuing with a wry smile, “Those who stumbled into powerful demon beasts are all dead. I don’t think they were able to report back if they were all dead.”

Chapter 286: Leaving the Group

Either way, everyone agreed that they should find a safer place to rest up.

Song Xia had suffered a severe injury. Xiao Feng had fully recovered from his previous injury, so he could walk normally. However, it was difficult to tell how much time Song Xia needed to recover.

That being said, it was a huge relief that she was still alive.

“Luckily Mu Ningxue managed to freeze the wound in time to stop her from losing blood. Otherwise…” Bai Tingting said.

Song Xia, who had just regained consciousness, cast a thankful glance at Mu Ningxue, who responded with a nod.

“What should we do now?” Zheng Bingxiao asked.

Someone had already been severely injured,and several among the group had argued to retreat. The team no longer shared the same vision, so they were hesitant to proceed with the mission.

“No matter what, I won’t leave now.” Mu Ningxue said.

Mu Ningxue did not want to force the others to follow her decision. Even though they had come from different schools, they had come here to train themselves. It served as a test to their capabilities, thus they had no excuse to bail out now.

Mu Nujiao shared the same thought as Mu Ningxue. She came from a renowned family. She clearly knew that if a magician survived such an ordeal with their life at stake, it would have a great impact on the future growth of their cultivation.

Improving their strength was not something that could be done efficiently if they were only staying in the safe zones and meditating every day. The experience they acquired from battles was in fact the most important factor. She believed that if she were to leave now, it would be much more difficult for her to gather her courage to overcome the difficulties she would face in the future.

“Since Mu Ningxue has decided to stay, there’s no way I’m leaving either,” Liao Mingxuan said.

Mu Ningxue and Mu Nujiao were both women. If they were so determined to stay and complete the quest, the men would feel ashamed if they decided to bail out now.

However, Liao Mingxuan, Shen Mingxiao and Ming Cong continued to remain hostile toward Mo Fan. They were still accusing him of placing them in danger.

“Mo Fan, you better shut your mouth up from now on. I don’t understand why the directors of the Pearl Institute let such a coward represent their school as an exchange student.” Liao Mingxuan spoke roughly.

Ming Cong nodded in agreement, “If it weren’t for my Deathstrike Magic Equipment, it would have been impossible for us to leave in one piece.”

Mo Fan went up to them and stated grimly, “If you’re looking for a fight, bring it on. I’ll take both of you at the same time. I’ll make sure to turn you both into cripples, so you can use it as an excuse to bail out.”

In Mo Fan’s eyes, it was not worth wasting his time on these two idiots.

Don’t you chicken out if you’re trying to pick a fight!

“Alright, that’s enough! We shouldn’t waste any further time. Let’s head to the next location.” Mu Nujiao rose from the ground and glared at Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song, who were about to cause a stir.

“I prefer not to hang around with some dogs who only know how to bark. You guys continue on to the next location. I’ll investigate another spot myself. What the eye doesn’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over. It will save us some time too.” Mo Fan suggested leaving the team and investigating on his own.

Mu Nujiao immediately advised against it, “Mo Fan, it’s too risky.”

“That’s right, it’s safer for us to stay together. It will be hard for us to provide any support if you somehow found yourself in danger.” Zheng Bingxiao said.

“Let him be. Humph, I would like to see if he’s able to make it back alive,” Liao Mingxuan spat.

“See, he said it himself,” Luo Song said.

Mo Fan wasted no time and insisted on leaving the group.

Bai Tingting wanted to leave with Mo Fan, since she trusted him the most in the whole group. However, she needed to look after Song Xia. There was no way she would put Song Xia’s life at stake just so she could leave with Mo Fan.

Zhao Manting was planning to go with Mo Fan too, but the latter rejected the offer and asked him to stay with the team.

“Since you’ve decided, do keep in contact with us. You will return to the team at once after you finish investigating the location…” Mu Nujiao knew Mo Fan had already run out of patience with the other guys. There was no better option.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. I’m not too keen to leave you with a bunch of ungrateful scum either,” Mo Fan said.

It was reasonable for Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song to be hostile toward him. However, that Liao Mingxuan was only picking on him because he was jealous of his relationship with the girls.

He still has the mood for that even at a place where they could possibly lose their life in an instant! You can find scum anywhere in this world!

“Anyway, just be careful on your own.” Mu Nujiao looked at Mo Fan. She understood that he had been crowded out by people of the group just because he had been standing out too much. She hesitated for a moment, before taking out a crystal orb from her bag and handed it to Mo Fan. “Take this.”

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked with a confused look.

“A Crystal Guardian Orb. You can insert your energy into it once you’re in danger, then break it into pieces. A defensive barrier similar to the Water Barrier will circulate around you. It should be able to protect you for quite a while,” Mu Nujiao said.

“This thing… I suppose it isn’t cheap, right?” Mo Fan felt a surge of warmth as he saw the sincerely concerned look on Mu Nujiao’s face.

“You better bring it back to me in one piece,” Mu Nujiao said sternly.

Mu Nujiao knew Mo Fan was a smart ass when it came to playing with words, and always had an indifferent attitude toward everything. However, after their life and death experience just a few moments ago, she knew that any mistake here could possibly lead to their deaths.

Mu Nujiao did not want anything to happen to Mo Fan. The Crystal Guardian Orb was a lucky charm that she wore all the time.

“Thank you, Jiaojiao. If I didn’t make it back… you don’t need to wait for me. Find yourself a good man,” Mo Fan teased.

Mu Nujiao walked away before Mo Fan finished the sentence.

She suddenly lost interest in speaking to him any further. What does he mean by finding himself another good man? Does he think she is a rolling stone?

Wait a second, who would want to wait for him?!

—-

Mo Fan left in satisfaction after teasing Mu Nujiao.

He suddenly realized that he was quite well-received by the women around him.

After splitting up with the team, Mo Fan returned to the collapsed Administration Building.

“I wonder if a rather unique beast like the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast would leave any Soul Essence after it died?” Mo Fan murmured.

Using the broken walls, Mo Fan nimbly climbed to the place where its brain was bitten off. He let out a sigh after searching through the debris.

It was either the Soul Essence had disappeared due to taking too long, or the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast actually did not drop any Soul Essence when it died. Mo Fan ended up empty-handed.

“Alright, Little Loach, stop shaking. Didn’t I come back now? If I were to dig up the loot, wouldn’t I have to share with the others? I don’t mind sharing with Mu Nujiao, Zhao Manting, Bai Tingting, and Mu Ningxue, but those disgusting guys, do you really want to share with them? Well, it’s all ours now!” Mo Fan exclaimed to the Little Loach Pendant on his chest.

Chapter 287: The Pseudomorphing Demon Beast’s Seed

For some reason, the Little Loach Pendant was in high spirits when Mo Fan first arrived at the Administration Building.

Mo Fan had only decided to stay outside after planning to look for the thing that had excited the Little Loach Pendant. To his surprise, the terrifying series of events took place before he had the chance to search the place.

Besides, a group of hunters was recently eliminated inside the Administration Building. Was it a coincidence that they had come to the Administration Building? If so, why were they here in the city in the first place?

Was it because they had discovered something valuable?

Did they really think Mo Fan would choose to leave the team because he was pissed off at those idiots?

He was only planning to investigate what the place was hiding!

However, all that remained were a pile of debris and wilted vines. He had no idea where the thing that the hunters were looking for would be.

During this situation, the Little Loach Pendant once again resolved a huge problem for Mo Fan. As it was vibrating vigorously, it was also emanating a unique glow. The strength of the glow served as an indication of the distance between Mo Fan and the object.

Inside the dark collapsed hall, Mo Fan weaved through the wreckage on his own. Since he had the Shadow Element, he was not worried about the ceiling collapsing on him.

As he proceeded to the hall on his left. he saw a long passage stacked up with barren rocks. The entire path was almost blocked off, and the top was sealed off by the dead vines. If it weren’t for Fleeing Shadow, it would be impossible for Mo Fan to make his way through.

Suddenly, a supporting beam that was on the verge of shattering collapsed and fell right onto Mo Fan. He let out a curse and swiftly dodged the incoming disaster with a tumble.

He did manage to dodge the beam, but it did not feel great when the dust blew onto his face.

The glow from the Little Loach Pendant had grown even stronger, which implied that he was getting closer to the treasure.

Mo Fan continued to take a few steps forward and realized that the glow had actually grown weaker. He took a few steps backward, and saw the glow becoming stronger, before falling again.

“Ah, this is it. Is it above me?” Mo Fan lowered his head and discovered that down was the correct way.

“Swift Star Wolf!”

Mo Fan opened a moonlit path and Summoned the beast to him.

The gallant and high-spirited Swift Star Wolf arrived from the other dimension. He let out a bright howl while unleashing his Warrior-level aura toward the surroundings, totally displaying his pride as a king of wolves.

However, when the Swift Star Wolf finally thought he was called here for an epic battle, his heartless master said, “Dig up this place!”

The Swift Star Wolf was totally left speechless. A Warrior-level Summoned beast was being ordered be a digger. What a total waste of his talents!

But, the Swift Star Wolf’s claws were incredibly sharp, and so were very efficient when it came to digging. The cement ground was shattered with a few gouges, and in just a few minutes, a huge pit appeared in front of Mo Fan.

“Keep it up!”

Mo Fan jumped into the pit and discovered the glow from the Little Loach Pendant became brighter.

A while later, the roots of the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast began to surface. It was hard to tell how much area the roots actually covered underground.

Luckily, the dead roots were no match for the Swift Star Wolf’s claws. It continued to rip through the roots.

“Strange, it looks like the roots are wrapped around something.” Mo Fan realized something was out of place.

The Swift Star Wolf seemed to be aware of it, too. It quickened its digging speed, and the soil was hurled everywhere.

After the roots were dug up, a wide space was discovered, which was empty apart from a floating green light. It was difficult to tell what it actually was.

The Swift Star Wolf was rather impatient. He scooped out with his claw and retrieved the little glowing light from the space, which he presented to Mo Fan. The Wolf was waiting for him to acknowledge his hard work.

Mo Fan grabbed it and stared at it in confusion. Its appearance was similar to a glowing pea.

Mo Fan inspected it while murmuring, “What the heck is this, a glowing green pea…No, this isn’t right, why would the roots be hiding a pea…”

Suddenly, a flash flickered in his mind as his expression rose with joy, “A seed! Ah, it must be a seed!

“But what kind of seed is it… Oh my, it must be the seed of the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast!

“The Pseudomorphing Demon Beast’s strength is utterly terrifying when it matures. This seed must be similar to a beast’s youngling, which means it can be fostered by a Summoner!”

Mo Fan’s spirits instantly rose.

He had witnessed the capabilities of a Pseudomorphing Demon Beast with his own eyes. It was almost unbeatable among Warrior-level demon beasts. Therefore, he expected the seed to possess incredible value.

“I’ll take it back. I’m sure that I can sell it off at an insane price!” Mo Fan slowly stored the seed of the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast away.

Although Mo Fan was a Summoner himself, and he had yet to decide on a Contracted Beast after he reached the Intermediate Level, the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast could be considered an option once it gained its self-awareness.

However, the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast was quite special. Mo Fan was not too much of a fan for things that took root.

The best way was to sell it, then use the money to bid for some suitable younglings at the auctions.

—-

Mo Fan felt incredibly pleasant after finding such valuable loot.

Mo Fan had almost gone bankrupt after spending all his savings on the evolving materials for the Summoning Element. He also still had a Shadow Element Soul Seed on his to-buy list, and its price was even higher than a Lightning Element Soul Seed Seed. Mo Fan was clueless of where he would get the money from, but he had now found this seed.

Apart from the Soul Seed, the Contracted Beast would also require a huge investment.

There were not many beasts younglings being sold on the market. A Servant-class youngling would cost between one million to two million RMB. The Warrior-level younglings were even crazier, with a starting price of at least twenty million RMB. Regardless of their lineage, they were basically sold instantly most of the time.

The Pseudomorphing Demon Beast would have a rather high lineage among the Warrior-level demon beasts, but it was hard to tell if a plant-type demon beast would be valuable to the Summoners. At least, Mo Fan was not too fond of it himself.

“I should go back to the investigation point to pretend I’m working, just so they won’t find it out.”

Mo Fan was perfectly content with the discovery. He jumped onto the Swift Star Wolf’s back and headed straight to his destination.

The Swift Star Wolf’s speed was outstanding. The streets were overgrown with weeds and crowded with abandoned vehicles. The Swift Star Wolf was able to run easily along the roofs of the vehicles. Dilapidated buildings on both sides were quickly left behind, and the wind from the running inflicted a slight pain on Mo Fan’s ears…

At such a rate, he would arrive at the inspection point in no time.

It was impossible for them to just sit at a spot and count the number of demon beasts nearby. The inspection involved placing a beacon that released a unique sonar wave at the specified location, and protecting it for three hours. The beacon would be able to collect the data needed regarding the disposition of the demon beasts.

On a side note, the sonar wave being emitted from the beacon was not perfectly stable. As such, certain types of demon beasts would be able to sense it. There was no guarantee that the beacon would still remain intact after three hours if it was left unguarded!

Chapter 288: Go Big or Go Home

Drizzles were common in this season. Tiny raindrops fell from the mountain shrouded in a thick mist. The terrain was wet and muddy, and even the rivers were flowing with a stronger current. The sound of the waves could be heard from a great distance away.

The grey sky was boundless, nor was there a visible end to the mountain range. Curtains of rain hung between the sky and the ground.

In the midst of the cold rain, snowy white wings appeared out of nowhere, maintaining a certain distance from the ground as they glided through the sky.

The wings belonged to the Heavenly Eagles, the trademark tamed beasts of the Chinese military. They were mostly used as mounts, and were rarely involved in any kind of battles.

The Heavenly Eagles were one of the rare kind of Beasts that could be tamed using the Psychic Element. During the many battles between humanity and the demon beasts, humans had somehow discovered this rare species. They were willing to be affiliated with the humans, but they were not willing to fight for them.

More snowy white figures appeared. They were moving in an orderly fashion, with a hint of aura that could only be seen on Battlemages.

A man with an army coat draping over his shoulders on one of the Heavenly Eagles said, “Remember, from now on, you’re no longer carrying the identity of a soldier. Everything that you do is no longer tied to the North China Military.” The man had two small tufts of mustache and an ancient tobacco pipe in his hand. He would take a smoke every time he finished a sentence, just like normal breathing.

Not many people actually smoked with a pipe in this era, but it was just a habit that Lu Nian had gotten used to. His back was once torn apart by a Commander-level beast, leaving a giant wound which he could still feel a dull pain from. He had visited many experienced Healers, but none of them had proved to be useful. In the end, he could only rely on a special type of tobacco to slightly numb himself…

“Commander Lu, we are three hundred kilometers away from Jinlin City. There’s a group of Blood-Puncture Vultures living close to Jinlin City. Should we engage?” The Advising Officer was a female Battlemage. Her eyebrows were almost joined in a straight line, not a good-looking woman.

“There’s no need for that. We will travel on foot once we are close to their territory,” Lu Nian said.

“Acknowledged!”

“Remember, only success is allowed for this mission!”

“Affirmative!”

——-

In a rather unique bamboo pavilion to the south of the Imperial College, Song He, who was a fan of Chrysanthemum tea, was sitting on a futon and enjoying the pleasant scent from the teapot in front of him.

Suddenly, the door was push open with great might. The door made of bamboo swayed wildly, as if it were going to collapse.

“Who’s there? Where’s the manner at?” Dean Song He wore a frown.

“It’s me, old man.”

“Zhan Kong?” Song He raised his eyelids and stared at the not-so-young-anymore man in front of him in surprise.

Song He took a closer look and saw five fresh scars around the man’s neck and chest. Only parts of the scars were revealed above his collar, it was difficult to tell how far the scars extended.

“Your wounds, if they were an inch higher on your neck, you might be dead now!” Dean Song He said with a slightly distressed look.

“I’m alive, that’s all it matters. Unfortunately, they did ruin my perfect body.” Zhan Kong tried to let out a relaxing smile.

“They must be from the Darkwing Wolf. Their claws were very sharp and have the ability to corrupt their target’s blood. You will need a very long time to fully recover from the wounds,” Dean Song He told.

“I’ll slay that Darkwing Wolf with my bare hands one day… but I’m here for another matter.” Zhan Kong had a stern look.

“What is it, don’t tell me the South Military is interested in the kid with Double Innate Elements?” Song He smiled as he came up with the answer fairly quickly.

“What do you mean, if we’re interested?! He’s my sworn little brother! I was looking after him back in Bo City! I was worried about something when he exposed his Double Innate Elements a while ago…”

“Don’t worry. Old Xiao and Qiu Yuhua were against it. Lu Nian did pay me a visit privately,” Dean Song He informed him.

“That’s exactly why I’m here. I’ve received news from an old friend in the North Military. A bunch of soldiers who were reporting to Lu Nian was discharged all of a sudden. Even Lu Nian himself seemed to have the intention to quit his position,” Zhan Kong said.

“It’s true that Commander Lu has been acting strange lately. Perhaps he’s trying to find another path, as he could not get any higher in the military?” Dean Song He proposed.

“Hey, have you lost your edge because of your age? Lu Nian is doing this because he can then do something crazy without being restricted!” Zhan Kong said.

Dean Song He was startled, before he recalled something as he gathered his thoughts.

“Are you really suggesting he’ll go that far?” Dean Song He inquired.

“And you’re telling me it’s impossible? Hurry up and tell me where the kid’s at!” Zhan Kong shot back.

“He’s with the training group!” Dean Song He replied.

“Does Lu Nian know about it?”

“He does!” the Dean answered helplessly.

“…” Zhan Kong was left speechless. He then blurted out, “Is your brain rusted? Lu Nian’s subordinates are a bunch of maniacs who would do anything to achieve their goals. Why wouldn’t you think that Lu Nian would do something crazy, even if it would cost him everything? They were all expelled so if they commit a serious offense, they won’t necessarily bring shame to the Black Tortoise Regiment!”

“I never thought they would go that far! Quick, we can’t waste any more time. We have to head to the Jinlin City at once. We can’t let him do such a terrifying thing.” Dean Song He exclaimed.

“Save some breath, old man, I’ll go myself.” Zhan Kong said.

“Yao Nan, the hunter in charge of that incident is here in the capital, too. I’ll ask him to go with you. He has a Wing Magical Equipment. He can travel there fairly quickly.” Dean Song He said.

“It’s decided!”

——

Inside Jinlin City, close to a bunch of Boston Ivies, Mo Fan had changed into a black outfit and was sitting atop a stand-alone pillar. He was enjoying some delicious jerky, while watching the fight between his Swift Star Wolf and a Three-eyed Magic Wolf.

It was rare to bump into a familiar species in the abandoned city, and somehow it was a type that could sense the resonance of the sonar wave.

The Three-eyed Magic Wolf was incredibly huge, taller than the roofs of most of the buildings in the street. Mo Fan clearly remembered the first time he had bumped into such a gigantic beast with his classmates. He did not even dare to take an extra breath, just so it would miss his presence.

His mindset was completely different when he bumped into a Three-eyed Magic Wolf once again. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan could just let his Swift Star Wolf deal with it, instead of attacking himself.

Despite the fact they were both different species of wolves, the Swift Star Wolf totally saw the Three-eyed Magic Wolf as an unworthy opponent. It sprang forward and attacked with its fangs, teaching its opponent what a real wolf should be like!

Looking at the wounds covering the gigantic beast, Mo Fan could not help but grin.

The fact he could now easily handle the beast that he used to only be able to run away from was something to be quite proud of!

Chapter 289: Slaughtering the Demon Wolves

“Awooohhh!”

In the midst of the intense battle, the huge Three-eyed Magic Wolf suddenly raised its head and let out a howl to the sky.

The sound echoed away into the distance. Clearly, it was not trying to execute a special move.

A while later, a great disturbance could be felt in the distance.

Since Mo Fan was sitting high up, he could see countless figures appearing from the buildings and the corners, moving into the open. They were moving toward the source of the Three-eyed Magic Wolf’s howl like a black tide.

“Summoning the crew when it can’t win? I thought this was meant to be a duel?” Mo Fan did not agree with the Three-eyed Magic Wolf’s decision.

Putting his disdain aside, a pack of One-eyed Magic Wolves was charging toward them from all directions. One-eyed Magic Wolves focused heavily on their physical strength. The sight of them running had quite an outstanding visual impact. It felt like the entire area was shaking.

The number of the One-eyed Magic Wolves continued to increase. Mo Fan estimated there were at least fifty of them. Back in Bo City, such a pack of One-eyed Magic Wolves was enough to wipe out a huge group of magicians instantly.

Mo Fan was left with no choice. The device had been installed into the ground for over two hours, so his job was almost done. He had promised to investigate on his own. If he were to return empty-handed, he would have to suffer being mocked by Shen Mingxiao, Luo Song, Liao Mingxuan, and the others again.

Preserving his face was only part of the reason. Most importantly, Mo Fan had the urge to start a massacre now!

These pieces of shit, he once had no choice but to run away for his life when facing them. Now, he wanted some payback by butchering them. Otherwise, what was the point of him learning magic?

“Swift Star Wolf, you focus on that one. I’ll handle the rest!” Mo Fan told him.

The Swift Star Wolf cleared his throat. He seemed to have something to say. Shouldn’t Mo Fan be the one fighting against the boss, while he handled its subordinates?

Mo Fan jumped to the roof of the next building, which was overgrown with Boston Ivy. Half of the building had already collapsed, and a variety of plants had grown their way into it.

“One, two, three…seven. Very well. I’ll let you keep one another in company in death!” Mo Fan wore a confident grin as he pictured the Star Pattern.

A few seconds later, he began to emit a strong fiery aura. He continued to release heat to his surroundings under his control, gathering on his right fist.

The energy condensed, his fist turning blazing red. A moment later, Mo Fan suddenly threw a punch, aiming at the street from the high ground.

The target spot was a corner on the street. Seven One-eyed Magic Wolves were running toward the source of the howl excitedly. They thought their leader had found some delicacies for them.

However, as they turned the corner, their vision was filled with a blazing curtain, as if a burning meteorite had just crashed in front of them!

The two One-eyed Magic Wolves leading the way were dumbfounded. They instinctively tried to turn around and flee, but instantly collided with the One-eyed Magic Wolves behind them.

The Fiery Fist landed, and the seven One-eyed Magic Wolves were thoroughly devoured by the Rose Flame. Those that were turned instantly into piles of black ash died a quick death, but those that were half-burned from the flame and suffered the impact from the Fiery Fist experienced the most pain. Even as they exhaled their last breath, they could not understand why their boss had summoned them here, just to die!

The One-eyed Magic Wolves here and the One-eyed Magic Wolves in the south by Bo City did not belong to the same horde. Unfortunately, someone here bore a huge grudge against their species!

Mo Fan had just eliminated seven One-eyed Magic Wolves with a single attack. The feeling of being able to crush his opponents’ lives easily made him hot-blooded!

Those who had not experienced being hunted by the One-eyed Magic Wolves would never understand how excited Mo Fan was. Either way, he would kill every single one of them that he stumbled into today!

Two One-eyed Magic Wolves that were hiding pretty well in the shadows dashed out from the debris when they saw Mo Fan focusing on killing their comrades.

They opened their mouths wide, aiming to tear Mo Fan apart with brute force. They coordinated their attacks from both sides, leaving Mo Fan with no escape.

“Too slow, are you seriously trying to ambush me with that speed?” Mo Fan sneered.

With his current strength, it was too easy for him to detect the presence of a few Servant-class beasts. The experience he had collected from fighting against stronger beasts had gotten him used to their attack patterns. Even the Mother Scale Skin Phantom and the Cursed Beast that were infamous for their speed were unable to threaten Mo Fan’s life. How could these One-eyed Magic Wolves possibly do it?

In Mo Fan’s eyes, they were incredibly clumsy with their attacks!

As the jaws approached him, his body dissolved into a puff of black shadow, which rapidly sank into the portal between the layers of light and darkness.

In the following second, Mo Fan reappeared on the roof of a different building. He looked at the One-eyed Magic Wolves exchanging kisses while flipping his hand, which already had a blazing red flame burning on it.

“Enjoy your time together in the Fire!” Mo Fan threw the sparkling flame forward.

The flame drew a dazzling arc in the sky before landing at the collapsed building.

Keeping a clear count in mind, Mo Fan clenched his fist as if he were pushing the trigger for a time bomb, and the Fire Burst in the building exploded.

The buildings in this area were already on the verge of collapsing. The impact from the explosion was more than enough to topple it, burying the two One-eyed Magic Wolves together in the rubble.

Mo Fan quickly added the final touch with Burning Bones. The two One-eyed Magic Wolves were already having a hard time trying to get out from under the debris, and the flames of the Burning Bones placed them in a torturing pain. They kept on crying out in agony…

They were going to burn to their deaths!

Mo Fan was extremely skilled with the basic level spells now. He could utilize the different effects of the spells to maximize his damage output!

“Killing them all should be enough for another Soul Essence, right?” Mo Fan glanced ahead. The number of the One-eyed Magic Wolves was quite astonishing.

Mo Fan had collected quite a number of Soul Remnants throughout this adventure. He had improved five Stars of his Lightning Element after setting foot in this ravaged city!

He currently had over twenty Soul Remnants in his collection. The group did kill quite a number of Servant-class and Warrior-level beasts along their way here, after all.

“Awooohh!!”

“An Advanced-level One-eyed Magic Wolf! Nice, I’ll start with you first!”

An Advanced-level One-eyed Magic Wolf was not easy to deal with, and it posed a greater threat to Mo Fan’s safety. As such, Mo Fan was not too conservative with his energy when fighting against one. Purple-black electric arcs wrapped around his body, flickering sharply!

Chapter 290: Completing the Collection

An Advanced-level One-eyed Magic Wolf was significantly faster and quicker to respond. Mo Fan knew that the cunning beast would dodge his Fire Spells with ease.

Therefore, he straight away went with a much simpler yet violent way, using the Thunderbolt that even an Advanced-level One-eyed Magic Wolf would not be faster than!

The purple-golden lightning struck down, triggering a spark in the air. On top of that, the effects of Qianjun made it look even scarier.

A single lightning bolt was enough to leave the Advanced-level One-eyed Magic Wolf with no chance to react, without the need for a follow-up attack. Its powerful body was shattered into bloodspray by the overwhelming power of the Thunderbolt.

A rain of blood fell down from above, sprinkling onto the rest of the One-eyed Magic Wolves nearby. Those who were rather timid totally lost their will to fight. The big guy was considered the strongest among them, and yet he was defeated by the human with a single spell. How powerful was this human?

“Lightning Strike!”

The merciless attacks were enough to highlight Mo Fan’s hatred of the One-eyed Magic Wolves. Before the One-eyed Magic Wolves could recover from their shock, he lashed out with several forks of Lightning Strike to hamper the remaining One-eyed Magic Wolves.

When they lost their ability to move from the paralysis, Mo Fan swiftly attacked with three Fire Bursts!

There was not any skill that stood out in the series of attacks. He was blatantly killing them with the overwhelming power of Fire and Lightning.

“Something is glowing there? It’s a Soul Essence, hahaha! I’m in luck, I’ve found another Soul Essence!”

Mo Fan was overjoyed. He had killed quite a number of Servant-class demon beasts throughout this adventure, but he’d yet to find any Soul Essences. He finally understood why the Stardust Magic Tool was so rare and expensive.

Only someone with four Elements like Mo Fan could afford to face so many beasts at once. The rest of the Intermediate Magicians who still had not mastered their basics had no choice but to run if they were fighting more than ten beasts at once.

That was another Soul Essence in the collection, which meant he could now refine his sixth Star!

In addition, after collecting the Soul Remnants of the One-eyed Magic Wolves that were still being slaughtered, they were most likely enough to form half a Soul Essence.

The Swift Star Wolf let out a roar and took a few hits so it could tear at the Three-eyed Magic Wolf’s throat.

Following the bite, fresh blood splattered across the place like a spring. It was extremely striking.

The Three-eyed Magic Wolf held its throat with its claw. It realized that it stood no chance against the incredibly nimble Swift Star Wolf, and finally decided to flee for its life. It hurled a worn-out car nearby toward the Swift Star Wolf and ran into the distance.

“Trying to run?” Mo Fan was long aware of its intentions. A Shadow pattern appeared under his feet.

A Shadow Spike appeared before his chest. With a thought, it quickly vanished into thin air…

From the reflection of a puddle ahead, the shadow of something like a rapier swept pass silently.

As the Three-eyed Magic Wolf was fleeing into the woods nearby, its movement came to a sudden stop, as if something enormous had grabbed it from behind.

The Three-eyed Magic Wolf stomped the ground, which collapsed and sank beneath it, but its body was still held in place firmly in a weird manner.

“Finish it off quickly, its strength is rather high!” Mo Fan said to the Swift Star Wolf.

The Shadow Spike nailed to the shadow of the Three-eyed Magic Wolf loosened up due to its strength. Mo Fan had no idea how long the spike would hold.

The Swift Star Wolf sprang forward instantly. Unlike the Three-eyed Magic Wolf, which would leave a huge mark on the ground with each step, the Swift Star Wolf left no trail behind. It was indeed light as a feather and fast as the wind!

The Swift Star Wolf’s fur fluttered in the wind. He gathered his strength as he ran forward. He was still twenty meters away from the Three-eyed Magic Wolf when he leapt into the air, his sharp claws emitting icy flickers.

He drove forward like the thrust of a sword. His claw left a flickering trail behind as it tore through the Three-eyed Magic Wolf’s injured throat.

The Three-eyed Magic Wolf tried to raise its thick forelegs to shield itself, but the slash blatantly cut through them, too.

The two severed arms flew through the air as fresh blood spiraled out from the wounds.

The momentum of the slash was not halted by its legs. It continued on to slash through the same wound on the Three-eyed Magic Wolf’s throat, turning it from a hole to a clean cut, severing the flesh and bone beneath.

Its head slowly fell off from the cut and dropped heavily to the ground, its body still being held in place by Mo Fan’s Shadow Spike. As a result, a stiffened headless giant wolf was just standing there, totally losing its previous imperious appearance!

A few seconds later, fresh blood jetted out from the cut like a fountain. As the effect of the Shadow Spike slowly fell away, the Three-eyed Magic Wolf collapsed onto the ground like a small building.

The Swift Star Wolf, who was a clean freak, stayed far away from the corpse. He waited until the blood finished spraying all over the place before going up to the corpse of the Three-eyed Magic Wolf. He ripped open its chest and dug up its heart.

He swallowed his prize in one go. The inner organs of the same species of Beasts were incredibly useful for the Swift Star Wolf. As a beast that had grown up obeying the law of jungle, being merciful was never the key to staying alive.

Following the Three-eyed Magic Wolf’s death, the One-eyed Magic Wolves totally lost their will to fight Mo Fan and his Swift Star Wolf. They immediately fled in all directions.

“You go and clean them up, I’ll see if the Three-eyed Magic Wolf has anything valuable left.” Mo Fan said to the Swift Star Wolf.

The Swift Star Wolf rolled his eyes like a human. I’ve dealt with their boss, and now that the battle has ended, why do I have to clean up still? Are you kidding me?

“You’ve already eaten the most valuable heart. Go on…” Mo Fan prodded…

He would surely be able to salvage some valuable loot from the corpse of a Warrior-level demon beast. If he were lucky to find some mutated bones, claws, or skin useful for crafting equipment, he could sell them off for quite a fortune!

Unfortunately, the Three-eyed Magic Wolf did not drop such rare loot, but he did find a mutated bone from one of the dead One-eyed Magic Wolves. He should be able to sell it for two hundred thousand RMB.

“The Soul Remnants still aren’t enough?

“I’ve already strengthened the sixth Star. My Lightning Strike is about to rank up!

“Forget it, I should head on to the next inspection point. I should be able to collect enough Soul Remnants there…”

——

Mo Fan returned to the device and saw it beeping green, which indicated that it had finished collecting the data regarding the numbers of beasts within three kilometers. The next step would be bringing it back to the professionals so they could analyze the data.

The next inspection point was not too far away. Mo Fan followed the map and hurried his way over. I’m so close to collecting the seven balls to summon the dragon…Err, I mean, strengthening my Lightning Strike. I won’t feel at ease if I don’t complete it!

He had managed to complete the task that others would need to group up to accomplish!

That’s the freedom he got from having a formidable level of strength!

Chapter 291: An Eerie Water Spider

“Hold on for a little longer, just a little longer, it’s about to turn green!”

“Damn it, more of them are coming, if we don’t leave now, we’re going to turn into their dinner!”

“It’s green, it’s green!”

“Let’s go, quick!”

The group was soaked in sweat as they hurriedly fled the place.

A few moments later, packs of giant green lizards crawled out from the swampy area and overran the street.

They let out cries into the sky as the group of magicians cast spells to escape from the place safely.

Luckily, they had come up with an escape route before they carried out the plan. Otherwise, they would have found themselves stuck between the giant lizards by now.

“Holy crap, we are in such a miserable state, even though we’ve only completed one inspection point. Doesn’t that mean half of us will end up dead if we finish the whole mission?” Luo Song grumbled while panting heavily.

“We’re lacking strong firepower since Mo Fan isn’t here. It’s more of a burden for us to fight against the beasts,” Peng Liang subconsciously blurted out.

In terms of firepower, even Mu Ningxue was incomparable to Mo Fan. Both his Lightning and Fire Elements were considered the most violent Elements, not to mention that they were both enhanced with Soul Seeds. He could easily wipe out a whole pack of Servant-class demon beasts with a few Intermediate Spells.

“Humph, that guy would only get us into trouble. He even claims that he could inspect the places on his own. I believe he’s going to come back empty-handed soon,” Liao Mingxuan retorted.

They had spent two days designing their plan and executing it, since the device itself would attract certain demon beasts to them. Therefore, some of them would have to guard the device for three hours. It was almost impossible without a team.

“Indeed, maybe he’s already dead.” Luo Song replied with a nod. He earnestly hoped that was the case. How lucky was that son of a bitch, not only did he have Double Innate Elements, he even had two Soul Seeds!

“Sorry to disappoint you, but my watch is telling me that he’s heading straight in our direction,” Zhao Manting said.

They each had a localizer in their watches, which would point in the direction of the same watch and vaguely display the distance between them.

Zhao Manting had been keeping an eye out on his watch all the time, and discovered that Mo Fan had started coming toward them an hour ago…

He was moving fairly quickly, as if he weren’t even trying to hide from the beasts roaming in the city. He was moving toward the group in a straight line.

Zhao Manting could not help but wonder if Mo Fan’s Spirit Wolf had evolved successfully. Otherwise, how could he move at such so fast, in such a daring manner?

——

The group managed to find a resting spot. It was a relatively well-preserved church.

The construction of the church was done with considerations for its maintenance as it aged. As a result, the building material used prevented any plant from growing on its walls, which somehow preserved it completely as the city was abandoned. A brief cleaning was enough to prepare the place as a temporary base for the group.

Three students stayed at the church. They were Song Xia, who was still in a coma; Bai Tingting, who was handling Song Xia’s recovery; and Ming Cong, who was protecting the two girls.

“They were on their way back, but the route they took before is somehow blocked now. It’s hard to tell if they can make it back before dark,” Ming Cong said to Bai Tingting after receiving the news.

Bai Tingting was kneeling right beside Song Xia. All her weight was pressing down on her calves. Her round buttocks and curvy legs fully stretched her pants without any creases. Anyone would have a lewd imagination looking at her well-rounded body.

Ming Cong was not a gentleman to begin with. He knew that Bai Tingting was fully focused on healing Song Xia’s injury, thus he recklessly stared at her while occasionally swallowing to himself.

Everyone knew that Liao Mingxuan liked Mu Nujiao. He had always been circling around her like a bee, but he was always disgusted when he saw Mo Fan.

Ming Cong did not hold a grudge against Mo Fan at the start. However, when he discovered that Bai Tingting, whom he was interested in, was quite close to Mo Fan, plus Mo Fan displayed his outstanding talents with his Double Innate Elements, he no longer had a good impression of him. Since Liao Mingxuan, Shen Mingxiao, and Luo Song were trying to pick on Mo Fan, he immediately joined their side without hesitation.

Ming Cong had volunteered to guard the church. He wanted to make use of the opportunity to improve his relationship with Bai Tingting.

“Ming Cong, go and collect some clean water. I’ll need to clean her wounds,” Bai Tingting said.

“Just use the drinking water here.”

“Cleaning the wounds will need plenty of water. We only have a limited supply of drinking water left. We should preserve it.” Bai Tingting said.

“Fine.”

Ming Cong took the container and went out. He was figuring out where he could get the water from…

He remembered seeing a pond overgrown with weeds when the group first arrived. The water should be enough for cleaning her wounds.

Ming Cong did not notice anything out of place at the pond. He carelessly dipped the container into the pond as his mind was occupied with the image of Bai Tingting’s body.

Unlike Mu Nujiao and Mu Ningxue, Bai Tingting was relatively petite. She was the type with a well-rounded figure. Ming Cong did not prefer skinny girls, but those with rather defined body parts, as he felt like it would feel better when grabbing them.

Normally, most of the people would be worried about the demon beasts in the current environment. However, the more dangerous the situation was, the easier it was for a man to have lewd thoughts due to the atmosphere. Ming Cong had watched some adult-rated videos in a post-apocalyptic setting. Being with Bai Tingting in a church alone under the current circumstances did fit the atmosphere…

It had been a while since the group had left the safe zone for the training, which meant that Ming Cong, who normally spent every night lying on a woman’s body, was unable to fulfill his cravings throughout this period. His mind was full of lewd thoughts and imaginings.

He did not even realize that the container had been filled with water.

Nor did he notice something that looked like a water spider was climbing into his sleeve past his hand that was still immersed in the water!

The half-transparent water spider quickly climbed into Ming Cong’s shirt and stayed there.

“Time to head back. Instead of imagining it here, maybe I should try communicating with her more, and see if I could take her down.” Ming Cong was not an inexperienced little boy. He knew that just imagining it was totally useless. The key was to find her soft spot and hit it hard!

He returned to the church, unknowingly taking along the little creature with an appearance similar to a water spider.

“This hell of a place is full of bugs, making my whole body itchy. How irritating.” Ming Cong scratched his back as he felt a sting there…

Chapter 292: A Beastly Act

When the water arrived, Bai Tingting mixed some antidote into the container. Song Xia’s wounds were recovering very slowly, which clearly indicated that what attacked her was somehow poisonous, too. Healing Magic was not useful in treating the poisoned wounds, so she could only rinse the wounds with water.

She could sense herself sweating profusely as the heat built up in the church. She took off her jacket, revealing her smooth, pale shoulders. Drops of sweat at the end of her hair sticking to her neck slowly skidded down her chest.

Ming Cong stood aside and glanced down from above. His eyes instantly glittered.

Such deep cleavage!

Judging from his experience, he strongly believed that Bai Tingting was wearing something similar to a sports bra, which concealed her astounding breasts.

Ming Cong’s mind was fully occupied with lewd thoughts. He did not even have the intention of hiding his gaze, he was just staring right at her. His eyeballs were on the verge of launching themselves toward her chest.

Bai Tingting finished cleaning Song Xia’s wounds and wiped the sweat on her cheek with the back of her hand. She then noticed the lustful gaze in Ming Cong’s eyes.

Bai Tingting was startled, but quickly collected herself and said, “Save yourself some pride!”

Ming Cong did not respond. He was still staring at Bai Tingting.

Finally, Bai Tingting realized that it was not just a simple peek. She could see a strong desire in his eyes.

Ming Cong did not budge. His eyes were lost in his lust.

For some reason, as his mind was filled with the lewd thoughts, he could sense himself sinking into a swamp of illusion. Within this illusion, he was recklessly making his move at Bai Tingting, just like the scenes from the pornography he had seen before.

A post-apocalyptic setting, an abandoned building, a man and woman on their own…

A burst of evil laughter followed by an embarrassed scream of a girl. The sound of clothes being torn apart. His imagination had totally broken the chains tying a beast deep inside his heart. He cast aside the remaining hints of morality in his heart. All he wanted now was to unleash the beast within him.

“What are you doing, you jerk!” Bai Tingting screamed with an embarrassed look.

Ming Cong, who had lost control to the beast within him suddenly reached out with his hand and grabbed the strip of Bai Tingting’s bra. It instantly snapped with a violent pull, revealing half of her firm, well-rounded chest!

Bai Tingting would not give up without a fight. She quickly backed off in anger while aligning her Stars.

She would not want to use her magic on a friendly, but Ming Cong had gone too far with his shameful acts. She clearly knew that most of the boys would have some lewd thoughts deep in their hearts, but they usually would not take advantage of a situation like this!

Bai Tingting never thought Ming Cong would have such a filthy mind under his rather noble appearance.

“You filthy scum, what are you trying to do!” A man appeared at the entrance of the church.

The man was Lu Zhenghe himself, on his Violent Mark Wolf. He subconsciously snapped after he saw Ming Cong’s actions as he arrived.

The Violent Mark Wolf sprang forward and held Ming Cong down with its claw.

Ming Cong was put under control, but his filthy acts were totally exposed in front of the group. Everyone was staring at him in disbelief.

The entire church fell silent for quite a while.

Bai Tingting put her jacket back on. Her face was still angry.

This is unacceptable. This Ming Cong has gone too far. Why would a person like him be considered an elite from the Imperial College? She would not let him go so easily after they’re done with the training!

“Ming Cong, are you f**king crazy?” Lu Zhenghe slapped Ming Cong in the face.

Ming Cong slowly collected his thoughts and saw everyone looking at him with a weird look.

His face turned pale white as he glanced at Bai Tingting, whose face was blushing and clothes were in a ragged state.

Oh my, wasn’t it just my illusion? Did I really do that to Bai Tingting…

“I…I…”

“What are you trying to explain still? Xiao Feng, Xu Dalong, tie him up.” Lu Zhenghe said.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry!”

“Sigh, I didn’t know he was that kind of person.”

“Yeah, Qingqing, you were so close with him. You should stay away from him from now on,” Zhao Mingyue whispered.

The whole incident was too sudden for the group. They never thought something like this would happen. Xu Dalong and Xiao Feng tied Ming Cong to a pillar. The group totally lost any desire to discuss the next inspection point. The atmosphere was utterly strange.

——

At night, as the tired went to sleep, they heard footsteps approaching the church.

“Don’t panic, it’s me.” Mo Fan’s voice came from outside.

As the door opened, Mo Fan came inside with his usual sloppy smile. He immediately glanced toward those whom he cared about among the group.

To his surprise, before he could react, Bai Tingting suddenly rose from her spot and ran toward Mo Fan. She dove right into his arms, as if she had just gone through some extreme grievance.

Mo Fan could not help but feel that happiness had come too quickly as he felt the softness of her body, and the shocking bouncy touch.

Everyone was stunned!

It was easy to tell that Bai Tingting liked to hang around with Mo Fan, mainly because he had saved her life before. However, they never knew their relationship had escalated to this stage.

Or maybe, Bai Tingting was in such shock that she subconsciously assumed Mo Fan to be the only one that could comfort her.

“Erm…uhh, can anyone tell me what happened here?” Mo Fan was quite helpless. He thought something bad had happened to someone among the group, but as he took a closer look, everyone still looked alive and well still.

“Can you not leave again?” Bai Tingting’s eyes were slightly red as she spoke in a rather pitiful look, as if Mo Fan was the only one she could trust.

“Erm…ok.” Mo Fan immediately gave his promise.

Having a beautiful girl falling into his arms was quite enjoyable, but he still felt strange when she suddenly rushed into his chest like that.

Since when had their relationship gone this far?

“The one that claims he could investigate the places on his own is back. So, how’re your results?” Liao Mingxuan asked with a sneer.

Mo Fan comforted Bai Tingting for a while before taking out two devices with green lights and chucked them at Mu Ningxue, who was responsible for keeping them.

“Two inspection points?” Mu Ningxue said in a surprised tone.

“Humph, is that possible?”

“It seems like it. F**k me, Mo Fan, how did you do it? We almost got wiped out when we did our first inspection point!” Peng Liang screamed out in astonishment.

Chapter 293: Bewitching the Heart and the Soul, Part I

“The man has his own brilliant scheme.” Mo Fan let out a mysterious smile.

“I bet it’s because the two places didn’t have many demon beasts nearby.” Shen Mingxiao said.

Luo Song immediately followed up with a nod, “Nothing to be impressed of.”

“Don’t assume the others are the same as you, when you’re just a useless prick,” Mo Fan said with no respect.

Liao Mingxuan could feel the slap to his face. His tone became icy as he spoke, “Are you saying that we’re a bunch of useless pricks? Don’t you think you’re good just because you have Innate Double Elements. Let me tell you, Mo Fan, you’re just a piece of trash who’s only slightly luckier than the rest of us! You won’t be this lucky all the time! One day, you’ll end up with nothing!”

Mo Fan raised his head and looked at Liao Mingxuan with a half-grin.

Liao Mingxuan finally spat out his view at last. The problem was, didn’t he realize that he had totally shown how jealous he was of Mo Fan?

“If you’re looking for a fight, you’re always welcome. Don’t just bark there like a dog!” Mo Fan replied.

“Do you think I’m scared of you!?” Liao Mingxuan was infuriated.

The smell of gunpowder between the two suddenly became strong. The others did not expect the situation to escalate this quickly.

Mu Nujiao quickly went up to Mo Fan and dragged him back, “There’s no need to be so mad. We should focus on the mission. You have plenty of time to settle this when we’re back.”

Mu Nujiao’s advice instantly sparked fury in Liao Mingxuan. Why were all the girls acting so close to Mo Fan? Even an icy goddess like Mu Ningxue seemed to have some indescribable relationship with him. He was just a bum from the countryside, who thought he was unbeatable because he was lucky to be born with an outstanding talent. Liao Mingxuan had had enough of people like him!

“Come, we’ll settle it outside! Whoever loses will piss off back to the school at once!” Liao Mingxuan was utterly enraged.

“Bring it on.” Mo Fan was never a fan of bitchy or nasty people. They deserved to be taught a lesson. Either way, Bai Tingting would be able to treat his wounds.

“Have you had enough?” Lu Zhenghe shouted. His voice echoed in the church.

Lu Zhenghe went up to Liao Mingxuan to drag him away.

Liao Mingxuan flung Lu Zhenghe’s hands off and pointed his finger at him before scolding, “Who do you think you are? The boss here? Are you the captain, giving out orders to everyone? Do you think you’re good just because your brother is a commander? Acting like you’re so good in the Imperial College. Why is me having a duel with someone even your business? Fawning over Mu Ningxue like a lackey, but treating the others like you’re the boss!”

The whole crowd fell silent, hearing those words.

Lu Zhenghe’s expression was filled with colors. He was trying to calm things down, but to his surprise, Liao Mingxuan had gone so crazy that he even scolded him too!

On top of that, the last sentence was like hitting the nail on the head, leaving Lu Zhenghe in an awkward position.

“Are you out of your mind, too? Do you want me to tie you up?” Lu Zhenghe was furious.

“Do it, Ming Cong still has the guts to force himself upon the girl he likes. How about you? You don’t even dare let out a fart in front of Mu Ningxue. Since when does the renowned Lu Family own a coward like you?” Liao Mingxuan replied scathingly, his face red.

Lu Zhenghe was left dumbfounded. He subconsciously glanced at Mu Ningxue whom he was indeed extremely fond of.

Mu Ningxue wore an expressionless face. However, her eyes displayed a hint of disgust at Liao Mingxuan. She always knew that Liao Mingxuan was narrow-minded.

“Xu Dalong, Xiao Feng, he’s gone crazy. Tie him up!” Lu Zhenghe said.

“Why are you two being so obedient? Are you seriously going to follow his orders like dogs?” Liao Mingxuan said.

“…” Xu Dalong and Xiao Feng were left speechless. Why did they have to get ridiculed out of nowhere, too?

Either way, Liao Mingxuan did seem to have lost his calm. The group decided to tie him up too, and used a cloth to seal his mouth, not allowing him to continue ridiculing the people in the group.

——

“What’s going on here? First Ming Cong tries to force himself upon Bai Tingting, then Liao Mingxuan starting a fight with Lu Zhenghe?” Mo Fan asked.

“Don’t ask me. Maybe it’s because of the recent life-endangering experience. Everyone is feeling a great pressure on them, so they are unleashing their real thoughts from deep at the bottom of their hearts,” Zhao Manting proposed.

“I don’t think we can continue with the mission.”

“If we failed to complete the training, we will be getting less resources when we move to the main campus,” Zhao Manting sighed.

Before, the group would still gather together at the campfire and discuss some relaxing topics. At times, Peng Liang would burst out with a few lame jokes. However, it felt like the group had separated into their own groups. Those who were closer would sit in their groups together.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manting sat together. Zhao Manting curiously asked Mo Fan when he managed to earn Bai Tingting’s trust, but even Mo Fan himself was confused.

The chat only lasted for a brief while when Mu Ningxue went up to them and cast a cold glance at Zhao Manting, before looking at Mo Fan.

Zhao Manting was a sensible man. He smilingly said, “You two chat, I’ll check out Song Xia’s injury.”

Mo Fan was confused, too. He looked at Mu Ningxue with a puzzled expression.

Mu Ningxue was very gorgeous indeed. He would never get tired looking at her perfect facial features, not to mention her silver-white hair drifting in the wind. The sight alone could only be described as glamorous.

“Have you discovered something?” Mu Ningxue was the first to talk. Her eyes flickered as she was immersed in deep thoughts.

“Discovered what?” Mo Fan was utterly confused.

“Something isn’t right.” Mu Ningxue said.

“Not really, everyone has their own dark side. Ming Cong is lecherous to his bones. He has shown his true colors because of the pressure he’s feeling. Liao Mingxuan is a narrow-minded person. He’s always jealous when he sees someone else doing well. He’s only telling us his true thoughts.” Mo Fan held his hands behind his head.

“Someone else isn’t behaving normally too.” Mu Ningxue said.

“Who?”

“Bai Tingting. You aren’t that close with her, and yet she rushed into your arms in front of the crowd. I don’t think she’s that weak of a girl,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Maybe she has been secretly fond of me for a long time. It’s normal. Aren’t you the same, suddenly asking me to run away from home with you?” Mo Fan said with a smile.

“I was a silly little girl back then,” Mu Ningxue calmly replied.

“But I agreed!” Mo Fan said.

“I’m sorry…” Mu Ningxue’s expression turned slightly dull. She knew that incident had resulted in serious consequences for Mo Fan’s family.

“You don’t need to apologize to me. Even if you told me you wanted to leave the Mu Family now, I’d still accept it.” Mo Fan said with a sincere smile.

“We have grown up now, so save the joke for yourself.” Mu Ningxue did not react to his words. Her expression was calm as usual. What could have happened to her, to turn her into such an icy person…

“I wasn’t joking. I agreed without hesitating when you said you wanted to escape from the control of the family. Do you know why?” Mo Fan said, looking into her cold eyes.

Chapter 294: Bewitching the Heart and the Soul, Part II

“Because in my heart, you’re like the pretty yet mysterious princess living in a castle. Not many people would have the chance to run away with a princess, just like a fairy tale. I thought many things would happen when we were on the run. Unfortunately, we were caught and brought back fairly quickly.”

Mu Ningxue fell silent.

A moment later, she spoke, “You’re strange, just like them.”

“I think so, too.” Mo Fan shrugged. The smile on his face remained the same. It was hard to tell if he were being serious, or fooling around.

“Then there’s no need to say this now.” Mu Ningxue was more concerned about the current situation.

“But I’ll always keep the promise I made.”

“Is there any meaning to it? You know that it’s naive, just like a fairy tale. The Mu Family is no longer the same. Don’t make it harder for yourself. Besides, I’m no longer interested in you,” Mu Ningxue said frankly.

It had been many years ago. Mu Ningxue totally ignored her past, since she was so focused on her cultivation. She was only feeling guilty for causing trouble to Mo Fan in the past, nothing else. She did not want Mo Fan to misunderstand her.

“That’s because you haven’t really discovered my charm under my sloppy appearance!” Mo Fan said shamelessly.

“You’re strange. I mean it. But, maybe it really is something you want to say in your heart. I’ll give you the answer, too. They’ve already arranged a fiancé for me. Even though I don’t have any feelings for him, romance isn’t really that important in my heart. Therefore, you should stop assuming that I’m feeling troubled because of the arrangement. It’s just that I don’t really care, that’s all,” Mu Ningxue told him.

Even Mu Ningxue felt strange when she finished her sentence. She would never reveal her inner thoughts to anyone. On second thought, maybe she was just trying to have Mo Fan give up on her. He had Innate Double Elements, which guaranteed he’d have a brilliant future. He did not need to go against such a formidable power just because of some promise he made in the past.

Mo Fan subconsciously smacked his lips.

With Mu Ningxue’s mindset, she would definitely be the perfect candidate to cultivate some merciless martial arts, or it would be a waste to her peerless beauty and her inviolable aura!

That being said, at least she was being honest with him.

Isn’t she similar to the femme fatale in ancient times? Only the one that conquers the entire nation is able to win her heart in the end?

Mo Fan suddenly felt like he had found a challenging life goal.

As a matter of fact, Mu Ningxue was like his first love. If he were asked if he could let it go, his answer would surely be yes, but…

The question was, why would he let it go?

The reason a man worked hard was to become stronger, have more money and power, just so he would have more freedom when making choices. He would not need to follow orders just to put food on the table. He would not have to struggle making a decision if he should give up on his job when he met his true love and was considering to move to the city she lived in. He would not have to give up on something that he really liked, and end up comforting himself by saying, “Maybe I’m not that fond of it after all.”

Would it matter if Mu Ningxue had a marriage agreement with someone else? With enough power, he could decide to intervene or not, instead of being forced to give up, then hide in a little corner and feel emotional.

At least, she had already made it clear. It did not matter who she was with, so either whether it was with someone arranged to her, or someone that had stolen her away, it would make no difference!

As a man, he should be like a tyrannical CEO!

A toad that did not dream of eating swan meat would never be a good toad. Besides, he was not a toad, but a handsome…

—-

The atmosphere in the church was abnormal throughout the night.

As Mo Fan was about to hide his ambitious plan deep inside his heart, a soft ripple appeared from the pendant on his neck.

The soft ripple slowly traveled into Mo Fan’s mind.

The ripple contained a magical mental force, which suddenly calmed Mo Fan’s thoughts, as if he had been placed inside a tub of cold water. It felt like he had just woken up from a strange status.

His gaze became clear as he woke up..

He looked at Mu Ningxue’s departing figure. It turned out that his stubbornness had prevented the conversation from going on.

“Ningxue, wait,” Mo Fan called out.

Mu Ningxue turned around and glanced at him. She realized that Mo Fan was extremely different from his previous impudent behavior. It felt like he had just woken up from a nightmare.

“What else are you trying to say?” Mu Ningxue probed, as she was uncertain too.

“Something is strange.” Mo Fan said sternly in a deep voice.

Mu Ningxue nodded as she realized that Mo Fan had become rational, “Looks like you were the same as them.”

“We’ll talk about that later. It feels like some kind of bewitching spell. I’m wearing something called a Focus Magic Tool on my neck, which is able to keep myself focused. It managed to protect my mind with its power, which helped me to wake up from its effect,” Mo Fan said grimly.

Mu Ningxue’s expression turned serious too. She was having similar speculations. Since Mo Fan’s Focus Magic Tool had shown a reaction, it had proved that the group was under some bewitching effect.

“Ming Cong has forced himself upon Bai Tingting because he was fond of her at the start. It provoked him to put his lewd thoughts into action. Liao Mingxuan is jealous of you, and is not satisfied with Lu Zhenghe, so he lost control and scolded him too. Bai Tingting has a good impression of you. After experiencing a great fear, she subconsciously feels like you’re the only one she can rely on.

“And you… Well, you know it yourself.” Mu Ningxue said.

Mo Fan felt extremely awkward. The secret that he had hidden in his heart was just exposed like that, even though he had pretended as if it no longer bothered him.

He sighed and forgot it for now. He should focus on resolving the difficult situation the group was in now.

“Ming Cong was the first person to act strangely. I’ll ask Bai Tingting where he went before it all happened,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan walked toward Bai Tingting. The latter seemed to be staring at Mu Ningxue with a hint of hostility. For some reason, Bai Tingting was still hostile to Mu Ningxue in her heart.

Mo Fan walked up to Bai Tingting and placed the Focus Magic Tool in her hand.

The same ripple was emitted, and Bai Tingting shuddered. As her pupils regained focus, her eyes had a much clearer look.

Bai Tingting blushed when she recalled what she had done. She did not even dare to look Mo Fan in the eyes.

“It’s alright. Don’t worry. I kind of know what’s happening. I just want to ask you, do you know where Ming Cong went to before? The church should be tightly sealed, and I don’t see any signs of demon beasts nearby…” Mo Fan asked her.

Chapter 295: Fighting One Another

“I did ask him to get some water. He must have gone to the pond nearby,” Bai Tingting said with her face all red.

“Mm, okay. I’ll go check it out. Try and guard your mind with your will. That thing is able to bewitch people without them knowing and magnify their emotions,” Mo Fan told her.

“Ok, sure!” Bai Tingting nodded.

Mo Fan told Mu Ningxue to keep an eye out. Since it was hard to tell how many people were being affected, Mo Fan did not tell the group about his finding.

The Focus Magic Tool could only protect his own mind. He was able to wake Bai Tingting up, as she was not deeply affected yet. As for Liao Mingxuan and Ming Cong, he would not be able to wake them up, so it was better to leave them tied up.

Mo Fan pretended to go on patrol nearby, but he was actually heading to the pond that Bai Tingting had mentioned.

The first person to go crazy was Ming Cong, and the only time he left the church was to get some water. Therefore, the pond was definitely where it all started!

—

The whole city was deadly quiet as midnight approached. He could barely hear some faint cries in the distance, which belonged to some nocturnal beasts looking for food.

The grim moonlight revealed the silhouettes of the dilapidated buildings. Mo Fan was rather courageous, as the others would not dare to leave the relatively safe church on their own in the middle of the night…

The Shadow Element granted Mo Fan the ability to see to a certain range in the dark. He soon located the fountain Ming Cong had gathered the water from.

Mo Fan did not approach it straight away. He investigated the surroundings instead.

As he approached a muddy area, he suddenly discovered a pile of bones lying under his feet. It was in such a mess that he could barely identify its species.

Mo Fan had seen a fair amount of bones before, but when he explored the bushes nearby, he discovered even more piles of bones ahead…

There were enough bones to lay a fifty-meter path from his feet. Furthermore, since the place was slightly sunken, it looked like a mud pit filled with bones!

The bones were quite terrifying under the cold moonlight. It was impossible to count the actual numbers of corpses around him. The problem was… the place did not seem dangerous at all. Why would there be so many bones here?

Mo Fan continued the search, and ended up stumbling into a few beasts who seemed to be fighting against each other. They were tearing at each other ferociously.

On a closer look, the beasts turned out to be several One-eyed Magic Wolves!

It was like the One-eyed Magic Wolves shared a great hatred of one another. Every bite was aimed at the vital parts. Blood was splattered everywhere, producing quite a gory sight in the middle of the night.

“That’s weird. One-eyed Magic Wolves usually live in packs. It doesn’t make sense for them to fight each other.” Mo Fan hid in a corner and watched the One-eyed Magic Wolves attacking one another in a crazed manner.

Eventually, some of the One-eyed Magic Wolves were bitten to death by their own kindred. The last one standing dropped to the ground with severe injuries. The scattered grass was fully covered with blood, and the smell of it lingered in the air.

Mo Fan was utterly confused. He cast a glance at the eerie pond nearby.

No shit, this place is too weird. I better have everyone leave at once.

The mud pit filled with bones, the One-eyed Magic Wolves killing each other… there must be something that was controlling the minds of the beasts!

Mo Fan did not dare to venture any deeper, as he didn’t know if they were any powerful beasts hiding in the water. The piles of bones were a good indication that it was not something he wanted to mess with.

Mo Fan turned around and headed back to their camp at the church.

—

Along the way back, he suddenly felt strong energy coming from the church.

Fire!

A bright fire!

As he got closer to the church, his sight was filled with a blazing red!

The previously peaceful church was now engulfed in flames. Several figures were scattered across the place, with Star Patterns being summoned and aligned…

Mo Fan was stunned. He had no idea what had happened at the church in the brief period he was away.

He did not dare to waste another second. His body turned into a puff of shadow and disappeared into the darkness as he moved rapidly toward the church.

The church had been set aflame. The light from it lit up the entire place.

As soon as Mo Fan arrived, he saw Bai Tingting and Peng Liang supporting Song Xia, who still couldn’t move, as if they were the survivors of a calamity.

On the other side of the church, Mo Fan saw Mu Nujiao and Luo Song fighting each other. The two were already casting Intermediate Spells, not planning to give their opponent any chance of surviving.

Why would Mu Nujiao suddenly fight with Luo Song? Did Luo Song do something lewd to her, too?

That was totally unforgivable!

“Hey fatty, you dare touch my Jiaojiao, I’ll crush you into pieces!” Mo Fan was infuriated. He had already summoned pillars of flame on his hands.

“Screw you, she attacked me first! Mo Fan, is this how you repay my kindness?” Luo Song was utterly terrified.

Luo Song was already weaker than Mu Nujiao to begin with. He was forced to use his equipment to just barely hold his ground. If Mo Fan were to join the battle, he would really die an instant death! These assholes were f**king crazy to attack their allies without any mercy!

Mo Fan took a closer look and saw a red mark on Mu Nujiao’s forehead, coming from under her skin. It somehow added a hint of evil to the dignified and graceful Mu Nujiao… It did give her a different kind of charm…

“Even Mu Nujiao is affected! Damn it, it was only magnifying their emotions before. Why would it suddenly make them fight against each other? They are just like the One-eyed Magic Wolves…” Mo Fan exclaimed in astonishment.

He would not allow himself to attack Mu Nujiao, since he would feel the pain himself if he were to injure her.

“Fatty, try to hold on. Don’t hold back, but try not to harm her. I’ll find the culprit behind this as soon as possible!” Mo Fan said to Luo Song.

Luo Song almost felt like crying. What do you mean, try not to harm her? I’m about to be crippled by her instead!

===

Mo Fan disappeared into his shadow and proceeded to the other side of the church.

He soon discovered Zhao Mingyue and Zheng Bingxiao being flanked by Shen Mingxiao, Qingqing, and Zhao Mingyue.

A terrifying rock golem with the height of a three-story building stood beside Zheng Bingxiao. Its strength was utterly shocking. A single punch from it could produce a wave of earth over ten meters tall…

Zheng Bingxiao had hidden his true strength. He already had a Warrior-level Contracted Beast!

The Giant Earth Fusion Golem swung its bulky arms to shield itself from Zhao Mingyue’s Intermediate Fire Spell. The overwhelming power of the Fiery Fist was only able to knock it back a single step!

“Such a powerful beast!” Mo Fan murmured.

“Mo Fan, don’t you f**king tell me you’ve gone crazy too!” Zhao Manting screamed in Mo Fan’s direction.

“I’m not!” Mo Fan replied quickly.

Zhao Manting and Zheng Bingxiao let out relieved sighs simultaneously.

If this lunatic Mo Fan turned against them, it would take at least three ir four people just to hold him back. His double Soul-Seeded Fire and Lightning Elements were not funny at all.

“Hurry up and turn them back to normal! Otherwise, it will either end with us killing them, or them killing us!”

“I only learned that there’s a beast nearby that can control one’s mind. I was just coming back to bring everyone away from here, but you guys were already fighting.”

“Why don’t you go ahead and kill that son of a bitch? You can easily resolve a situation like this by killing the mastermind. Everyone will return to normal then!” Zhao Manting blurted out.

Usually, Mo Fan would be quick and decisive. Why was he so slow tonight? Zhao Manting was baffled.

“Sure, I’ll hold them back. You should go and kill that son of a bitch,” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manting was left speechless.

It was simple to guess why Mo Fan was unwilling to go. Being able to dominate the area and leaving an entire pit with bones was enough to imply that the beast was not something they wanted to mess with.

Mo Fan did not care about the rest of the group. Even though Mu Nujiao was put under the curse too, he could knock her out and carry her away. It made more sense to leave the place as quickly as possible.

Just as Mo Fan was still trying to figure out a plan, a graceful figure floated toward him rapidly, astonishing silver hair drifting in the wind elegantly.

“Come with me!” Mu Ningxue arrived in front of Mo Fan with her Wind Track and grabbed his wrist.

“Where are we going to…Slow, slow down. There’s a swamp ahead…” Mo Fan let out a shriek. In simpler words, it was the last place he wanted to be at.

Words could not describe how unwilling Mo Fan was when he was being dragged away by Mu Ningxue with brute force. However, as he got closer to the pond, he knew that he had no choice, but to kill the monster inside the water today.

As Mo Fan was thinking what the monster inside the water would look like, he suddenly noticed a red mark on Mu Ningxue’s forehead. It did make the icy and sacred girl look rather seductive. Mo Fan’s heart began to beat rapidly.

Wait a second, why is my heart even racing. Mu Ningxue has lost her state of mind too!

But, it doesn’t make any sense!

The others had begun to fight each other when they lost their state of mind, as if they were unleashing the grudges which had been kept inside their hearts for a long time.

Mu Ningxue was in the same position too, but why was she dragging him all the way here instead?

Has she fully lost control, so she is purposely presenting herself as food to the beast in the pond? Or did it magnify her emotions, thus making her more determined to kill the beast?

“Nirvana Ice Spread: Blizzard!” Mu Ningxue cast an Ice Spell right at the eerie pond.

An icy murderous intent could be seen in her eyes. She was indeed bewitched, but her emotions turned out to be a strong drive to kill the culprit!

Mo Fan was wearing the Focus necklace, so he was able to maintain a clear mind. However, Mu Ningxue, who was being bewitched, was still focused on killing the beast. He could not help but feel utterly impressed.

This woman was such a weirdo. Everyone else was quarreling with each other, which then escalated to killing each other. Let it be fear, anger, envy, lust… all of them had some reason which drove them to kill one another, but that was not the case for Mu Ningxue. All it ended up doing was magnifying her will to kill the beast!

The ice rapidly spread across the water. Mu Ningxue was trying to freeze the entire pond with her Nirvana Ice!

There was no way the beast under the water would remain calm when the pond was freezing. Mo Fan totally prepared himself as he waited patiently at the side.

If something similar to the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast sprang out from the pond, he would instantly knock Mu Ningxue out, then knock Mu Nujiao out too, and fled with Bai Tingting and Zhao Manting.

It was not a matter of having no guts. The world was full of wonders. Mo Fan did not assume he could handle any demon beast with his current strength. If he could not defeat it, of course he would run away!

The ice continued to spread rapidly. The surface of the water was almost completely frozen. Mo Fan could see the reflections of the stars in the sky from the surface.

There was indeed something inside the water. As the ice almost covered the whole surface, many tiny creatures which looked like spiders with somewhat weird eyes sprang out from the pond and fled in all directions as if they were harmless.

However, a moment later, Mo Fan noticed some of the spiders crept toward him and climbed up his pants.

Mo Fan was unaware of it at the start, as the spiders were absolutely tiny and nimble. It would be impossible to feel them on your skin. Luckily, the Focus necklace had alerted him with a ripple…

“Was Ming Cong being bewitched by these little spiders when he was getting water from the pond?” The thought crossed Mo Fan’s mind.

These tiny creatures must be the reason. Otherwise, the Focus necklace would not behave in such a way.

If he were bewitched, as his current thought was to run away, he would end up fleeing on his own after the thought was magnified. He would not care about the others, or maybe he would just go ahead and kill that bastard Liao Mingxuan. He had been a nuisance for a long time…

As Mo Fan was still immersed in his random thoughts, a loud explosion occurred inside the pond.

The layer of ice on the water was shattered and scattered widely. The impact also produced a huge wave, surging out and flooding the place.

More shockingly, countless spiders like before were leaping around on the water as they fled in all directions in fear.

An utterly hideous brain surfaced from the water, together with lines of eyes emitting an evil crimson glow. Some of them were staring at Mo Fan, while the rest were staring at Mu Ningxue.

It was the brain of a spider, half the size of a room. Its eyes were located between the brain and the face. The face was in an odd shape, utterly contorted with dark lines.

The bulk of its body was made up of brains. Its actual body was significantly smaller than its head. However, what caught Mo Fan’s attention the most were its legs. They were densely packed with hairs as sharp as a saber. These weren’t legs, they were eight razor-edged sabers that could easily pierce through one’s chest!

A spider-type demon beast!

The type was infamous for being evil and cold-blooded. They had countless weird, unexpected, and cruel ways to hunt their prey. They were experts in using traps, curses, poison, and bewitchment to catch their prey off guard!

It was a bewitching spider-type demon beast!

Heaven knows how long this Bewitching Magic Spider had been living here and the number of beasts it had eaten, to have grown into such a shocking size. On a side note, demon beasts like the Bewitching Magic Spider were usually weaker in combat!

Mo Fan took a deep breath and inhaled a weird scent coming from the Bewitching Magic Spider’s body.

Luckily, it didn’t look ridiculously strong. It was winnable!

The Swift Star Wolf had gone back to rest. If he were here, it would be easier for Mo Fan to handle the Bewitching Magic Spider. He had no choice but to rely on himself for now.

Even Warrior-level beasts had disparities in terms of strength. For example, the Cursed Beast, Mother Scale Skin Phantom, and Three-eyed Magic Wolf were considered average among the Warrior-level demon beasts.

On the other hand, the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast was considered Warrior-level too, but its overwhelming strength was not something the group could handle right now. It was considered the strongest existence at the Warrior-level.

As for the Bewitching Magic Spider in front of him, judging from its aura alone, it should be stronger than the three normal Warrior-level demon beasts, but not as terrifying as the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast.

Mo Fan was wearing the Focus necklace, so his mind was safe from being bewitched.

Mu Ningxue was obsessed with killing the beast, thus it would not make a difference if she were being bewitched or not.

Without the bewitching effect, the Warrior-level Bewitching Magic Spider would not be too difficult to deal with. The priority now was to eliminate it as soon as possible, as they did not want the group to end up like the One-eyed Magic Wolves.

The Bewitching Magic Spider flung its front limbs out furiously, slashing forward in a crisscross motion like several sabers.

It was standing thirty meters away from Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. Normally, it would not be able to reach them due to the distance. To their surprise, the Bewitching Magic Spider was not as simple as it looked. The slashes from its limbs turned into two piercing shockwaves, forming a whirling airflow that flew toward Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue!

Mo Fan immediately rolled to the side in a panic, subconsciously tugging his neck down.

He felt a cold breeze above him. He raised his head and saw the wall behind him sliding down from a clean cut!

How sharp were those slashes!?

Mo Fan initially thought a demon beast that was hunting its prey by luring them into traps would not be too strong in combat. Little did he know… the previous slash had almost beheaded him on the spot!

As for Mu Ningxue, she tried to set up a barrier with the Ice Lock, but the sturdy chains were instantly cut in half and dropped to the ground as she lost control of them.

Mu Ningxue’s Ice Lock was instantly nullified. The only move she had left was the Wind Element.

She floated a safer distance away using Wind Track, and began to align a Star Pattern.

Strong wind circulated around her body, slightly lifting her clothes, and revealing her astonishing curves. Her eye-catching silver hair drifted in the wind. The mark on her forehead flickered as her eyes displayed a strong determination to kill. She had thoroughly transformed into an outraged Wind Fairy, whose single attack would result in a disaster of wind!

The Spirit-grade Wind Seed was even more brutal. It had summoned a destructive tornado covering the area within a hundred meters under Mu Ningxue’s control.

The Wind Disc: Sky Snare was cast very quickly. It turned from a random breeze to a magnificent wind wall within a few seconds. The Bewitching Magic Spider was right at the eye of the storm. It let out a sharp shriek and attacked the rapidly contracting wind wall with its claws.

The wind wall converged quickly. The Bewitching Magic Spider struck its limbs deeply into the ground to resist the force of the Wind Disc, which was capable of uprooting a whole building.

The Bewitching Magic Spider’s grip was insanely strong. It was half-crawling on the ground as the Wind Disc: Sky Sky Snare was tearing at its body.

The Wind Disc: Sky Snare lasted the longest among the Intermediate Spells. However, apart from a slight quiver, the Bewitching Magic Spider did not end up being blown into the air.

Mu Ningxue frowned. The creature was way stronger than the normal Warrior-level demon beasts. Most of the Warrior-level beasts would not be able to survive the destructive force of a second-tier Wind Magic, which was further enhanced with a Spirit-grade Soul Seed.

“Mo Fan, your turn!” Mu Ningxue said to Mo Fan, aware that her attack was not strong enough.

“Keep it busy. I believe it is very quick too!” Mo Fan replied.

“Mm!”

The Wind Element had a huge area of effect. It was not as direct as the Fire and Lightning Element. The perfectly unharmed Bewitching Magic Spider served as a convincing proof to the statement.

“Rose Flame Fiery Fist: Groundbreak!”

Mo Fan cast his strongest move straight away. He accumulated the power of the Fire Element to his limit, before throwing the fiery punch at his target.

The burning roses of death blossomed on the Bewitching Magic Spider’s location. The shocking blaze rapidly devoured the entire area as pillars of lava jetted from the ground!

Groundbreak was also a destructive spell with a huge area of effect. Unfortunately, it was too easy to tell where it was coming from, as the energy would surge out from the ground before it took place. The Bewitching Magic Spider had extremely sharp senses. It immediately crouched when it felt a strong heat coming from the ground below.

The moment the Groundbreak burst out, the Bewitching Magic Spider leapt over ten meters into the air.

It was hard to imagine a bulky creature like that having such an incredible jumping ability. Only a tiny amount of lava from the Groundbreak was spilled onto its hairy body, which could not even trigger an itch.

“You have to freeze it!” Mo Fan immediately backed off when he noticed the Bewitching Magic Spider was leaping in his direction.

To his surprise, the Bewitching Magic Spider was relentless with its attack. It was surprisingly fast on the ground, too. The eight limbs shuffled rapidly, sending up a continual splatter of soil behind it.

Its speed was almost comparable to the Mother Scale Skin Phantom. The only difference was, the Mother Scale Skin Phantom was close to the size of a human, while the Bewitching Magic Spider was more like an excavator. When such a massive beast was running, with its current momentum it could even smash a hill into pieces, let alone a human!

Mo Fan did not dare to use his Departing Nether Shield.

He remembered once while he was scrolling through Weibo on his phone when he was bored, he saw a story where a little kid was trying out the sturdiness of his phone case. He struck the case a few times with a hammer, but the case was perfectly fine. However, when he turned the case around, the phone itself was shattered!

It would be the same situation if he tried defending himself with the Departing Nether Shield. The shield would be perfectly fine, Mo Fan had utter confidence in its quality since he had spent quite a fortune on it. However, the impact of the collision would still be enough to break his bones.

“Blood Tabi!” Mo Fan decided to use another piece of equipment.

A crimson glow materialized and wrapped around Mo Fan’s legs.

The Blood Tabi connected itself with the blood vessels in Mo Fan’s legs and inserted an outstanding force into them. Mo Fan felt his lower body fill with power.

The Bewitching Magic Spider charged toward him wildly, razing the tiny lumps, walls and plants in the way. Its limbs were incredibly sharp, leaving nothing in its way in one piece.

Mo Fan did not dare to underestimate the beast, darting toward the debris behind him.

As he reached the debris, the Bewitching Magic Spider was within inches from him. Mo Fan kicked the wall hard and leapt into the air above the Bewitching Magic Spider.

“Have a taste of this!”

Mo Fan had finished casting an Intermediate Fire Spell in the middle of his backflip. His entire body was engulfed in flames!

As he was hanging upside down in the air, the hideous brain of the Bewitching Magic Spider was ten meters right below him. Its eyes were glaring upwards, fixed on him.

The Bewitching Magic Spider was just about to raise its front limbs, but Mo Fan’s fist was faster!

“Rose Flame Fiery Fist: Exploding Heaven!”

The Fist struck downward ferociously from the air, surging toward the Bewitching Magic Spider’s head. This time, it could not dodge the attack in time. It received Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist right on the top of its skull!

Not only was the Fiery Fist burning at a high temperature, it also contained an incredible force of impact. Mo Fan was knocked higher into the air by the repulsive force, while the Bewitching Magic Spider slammed right into the ground, sinking right into a burning pit. The flames thoroughly scorched its body…

Mu Ningxue stood a close distance away with her mouth open wide.

This Mo Fan was way too ballsy. Any ordinary magician would not dare to use an Intermediate Magic like this!

Leaving that aside, it was enough to prove how experienced Mo Fan was when fighting. Apart from his impressive agility, he was also able to control his magic freely. Many magicians were stood at the same spot like wood piles when they were aligning their Stars. They might be able to scare Servant-class demon beasts away, but the time it took for them to cast the spell was enough for them to die a few times over to Warrior-level demon beasts!

Mo Fan’s punch was rather powerful. It took the Bewitching Magic Spider a prolonged period just to crawl out from the burning pit, despite its sturdy skin.

Mu Ningxue did not believe the Bewitching Magic Spider would be killed by a single punch from Mo Fan. She immediately cast a Wind Element Intermediate Spell as it was recovering from the injury.

Her Ice Element would be conflicting with Mo Fan’s Fire Element. However, Mu Ningxue’s Wind Disc would fan the remaining flames instead!

A Wind Disc: Sky Snare appeared once again. Its wind wall, with a diameter of close to a hundred meters, contracted rapidly. It even drew in the flames from the Fiery Fist into the spinning tornado.

A few moments later, the wall of the tornado had turned blazing red. It was no longer just a Wind Magic, but a shocking fiery twister! The flames grew even stronger as the wind continued to howl!

When Mo Fan saw Mu Ningxue was using his flames to intensify her Wind Magic, he immediately half-clenched his hands and summoned two Fire Bursts!

Mo Fan hurled the Burning Bones: Fire Burst out, and they drew bright arcs in the middle of the night, colliding with the rapidly contracting Wind Disc: Sky Snare…

“Keep it going!” Mu Ningxue said to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was definitely a pro at using the basic level spells. As soon as the Fire Burst merged with the raging tornado, another two flames ignited on his hands.

Again, he tossed the flames at the tornado. Mo Fan was trying to keep the fire burning stronger while the Wind Magic lasted, in order to inflict sufficient damage on the Bewitching Magic Spider.

His Stars continued to join along their path. Mo Fan had never cast Fire Burst at such an incredible rate. The consecutive Fire Bursts formed a continuous arc in front of him. He felt like he had turned into a fire-spitting Gatling gun releasing all its ammo at a specific spot. Their combined power was on par with that of an Intermediate Spell.

Mo Fan did not cast Fiery Fist, as its impact would instantly destroy Mu Ningxue’s Wind Magic. On the other hand, the Fire Bursts were just strong enough to merge with the tornado…

In the end, the Wind Disc: Sky Snare drew fully in, and the eye of the storm slowly disappeared. The Bewitching Magic Spider tried to root itself to the ground again with its sharp legs. However, this time, separate from the tearing of the howling winds, it was also suffering the burn from the flames. It was definitely torture for the Bewitching Magic Spider, which preferred to stay in the water.

The wind continued to grow stronger, finally dragging the Bewitching Magic Spider off the ground and tossing it into the air. The hideous creature, half the size of a building, was rising slowly into the air.

“I’m at my limit!” Mu Ningxue’s face was slightly pale. Her Wind Disc: Sky Snare could only last this long. Unfortunately, the Bewitching Magic Spider was less than ten meters from the ground. The impact from the fall would not be enough to kill it.

“It’s fine, let it fall!” Mo Fan said.

Mu Ningxue took a deep breath. The Wind Disc: Sky Snare dissipated inside one breath.

The Bewitching Magic Spider fell to the ground. It landed on its limbs, cushioning its fall and minimizing the damage. Its rows of eyes quickly turned and glared at Mu Ningxue as it uttered a piercing shriek at her!

Suddenly, the Bewitching Magic Spider opened its mouth, which had been hidden somewhere on its face before. Despite its small size, it was filled with sharp poisonous fangs. The Bewitching Magic Spider spat something out. Mo Fan could not see what it was at the start, but then realized it was some poisonous liquid with a closer look as it sprayed at Mu Ningxue!

The poisonous liquid poured close to Mu Ningxue like a drizzling hose.

Mu Ningxue had no choice but to activate her protection equipment. A sacred golden glow wrapped around her body like a blossoming flower, granting her protection without any blind spots…

Mo Fan had seen similar equipment at the auctions, but most of them could only shield the user from a specific direction. He could tell how rare Mu Ningxue’s equipment was, as it was able to form a full protective barrier around her entire body.

The poisonous rain had no effect on the glowing shield, but as it slowly dribbled from the shield onto the ground, the grass nearby instantly turned black. Black bubbles slowly rose as the ground was corroded. The corpse of a One-eyed Magic Wolf nearby, which had only died a short time ago, turned into a puddle within a few seconds, leaving a pile of pitted bones behind!

Mo Fan subconsciously recalled the pit filled with white bones as he saw the corrosive ability of the poisonous liquid.

Could it be that the Bewitching Magic Spider was purposely targeting beasts that lived in packs? It would let them fight among themselves first, before cleaning up their corpses?

That must be it. It would let the tiny spiders bewitch its prey, and let them fight one another. It would then drag them back here to its territory and enjoy a feast.

Such a cunning demon beast! If it weren’t for the Focus necklace, it was highly possible that he would have ended up as a pile of bones nearby, too!

The Bewitching Magic Spider gave up on its attack when it saw Mu Ningxue was being protected by a special barrier. It spat out another mouthful of acidic poison in Mo Fan’s direction instead.

Mo Fan was given a great scare. He was not a richass like Mu Ningxue, who could afford a piece of shield equipment able to protect his entire body. He started running instantly, knowing that his Blood Tabi was still active…

Picking a race against a rain of poison, how exciting!

When Mo Fan realized that he could never outrun the poisonous spray, he quickly transformed into a puff of shadow and disappeared into the darkness.

He was currently a fair distance away, and believed that Mu Ningxue would not be able to see him using the Shadow Element…

As the poisonous rain poured down, everything within its reach began to corrode at a shocking pace. A single drop somehow landed on Mo Fan’s foot, instantly dissolving the side of his shoe. Luckily, he was quick to toss the shoe away, or the spittle would surely have left a giant hole in his foot.

Although Healing Magic could heal the wound rather quickly, it was not all-powerful. Anything poisonous would greatly hinder its effectiveness.

Mo Fan, who now running with a bare foot, was utterly infuriated. He let out a yell in Mu Ningxue’s direction, “Use your Ice Chains to lock it down! I’ll teach it a great lesson!”

The mark on Mu Ningxue’s forehead was now half-gone. She quickly drew her Star Pattern after hearing Mo Fan’s words.

The Star Pattern of the Ice Element crystallized under Mu Ningxue’s feet. An icy mist began to form in the surrounding air, before transforming into several long chains.

The frost condensed rather quickly, fully summoning the ice chains. They dropped to the ground, clanking loudly.

“Go!” Mu Ningxue pointed with both hands, controlling the ice chains to weave through the corroded area.

The first Nirvana Ice Ice Lock arrived before the Bewitching Magic Spider. The beast reacted fairly quickly by raising its claws and slashing at the chain, cutting it into several segments.

“Again!”

Mu Ningxue controlled the Ice Locks to attack from different directions. Any other beast would be running for its life now, but the Bewitching Magic Spider was facing the Ice Locks head-on with its eight limbs. It quickly cut apart the chains when they approached its body.

“Rise!” Mu Ningxue suddenly pointed her finger up.

An ice chain sprang up from below the ground. It quickly wrapped a few circles around two of the Bewitching Magic Spider’s back limbs, not giving it a chance to cut them open!

“Nice!” Mo Fan exclaimed. The Star Pattern he had been aligning emitted a bright glow under his feet. It was a dark purple pattern, containing the most destructive force among all the Elements!

“Qianjun Thunderbolt: Exploding Apex!”

Mo Fan did not cast Yaksha, as it was more suitable for dealing with more than one enemy at the same time. On the other hand, the force of Thunderbolt: Exploding Apex was more concentrated, as it only consisted of a single lightning bolt from the sky. It was a very simple attack, but the hardest to defend against!

The Bewitching Magic Spider was clearly aware of the approaching danger when the stormy cloud began to form above its head. However, its limbs were rooted to the ground, and it was unable to escape for the moment.

The Thunderbolt struck down without mercy. Its dark purple lightning stroke arced across the night sky. As its gorgeous flicker vanished, a destructive force consisting of both the energy of the Thunderbolt and the multiplication effect of Qianjun landed right on the Bewitching Magic Spider’s head. It blasted away a huge chunk of its brain!

The hole was thoroughly scorched, with blood plasma and cerebral fluid splattering across the place. Its enormous body fell heavily to the ground, raising the dust nearby.

The Bewitching Magic Spider let out a sharp cry. The Thunderbolt had left it in insane pain. It would need to eat a huge amount of meat to replace the hole in its brain.

The hideous rows of eyes were glaring right at the damned human who’d done that. The Bewitching Magic Spider rose to its limbs with the incredible pain, and broke free from Mu Ningxue’s chains with brute force.

“It can still stand?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

In the past, even Warrior-level demon beasts would be half-dead after being struck by the Thunderbolt head on. He expected it to kill the beast instantly with Qianjun’s multiplication.

Isn’t the Bewitching Magic Spider’s body a bit too insane? How is it still alive?

Mo Fan quickly backed off. He could sense the fury boiling off the Bewitching Magic Spider.

“Ice Crystal Bow!”

Not far away, Mu Ningxue did not dare to preserve her strength knowing Mo Fan was in a pinch situation.

She reached out her right hand and activated the mark deep inside her soul.

The frost around her turned into a vortex circling around her. It then rapidly transformed into an elegant bow hovering in front of her!

The icy bow almost reached the ground. It was like a swan extending its wings while soaring into the sky. Made of ice crystals. Its appearance was extremely graceful, and yet filled with a strong murderous aura.

Mu Ningxue grasped the bow firmly. The icy particles around her began to transform into arrows.

The magic started with the tip of the arrow, sharp and piercing, followed by a long body fully crafted of ice, ending with its tail, which fit perfectly between Mu Ningxue’s fingers and the fully-drawn string.

Her silver hair was hanging behind her back, passing her waist and half-covering her attractive buttocks. As she released her fingers, the ice crystal arrow sprang forward. The gust made her hair dance elegantly in front of her chest and sweep past her elegant face, exposing her pale neck in the process…

The arrow pierced through the air in a perfectly straight line. The overwhelming icy aura left a snowy trail behind it, producing a shocking visual impact.

The tip of the arrow drove into the body of the Bewitching Magic Spider. Mo Fan thought it would penetrate the beast, but the arrow instead exploded. Frost spread rapidly across the beast’s skin, with the impact point as its center.

The ring of frost continued to expand, rapidly covering across the entire beast. The Bewitching Magic Spider had already raised its limbs, but before it could do anything crazy, the frost completely covered its body, freezing its half-destroyed brain and its risen limbs stiffened in the air!

The frost was like a crystal art that had appeared out of nowhere. The Bewitching Magic Spider had turned into the most precious sculpture of the art. Its fury, its ferocious aura as a Warrior-level creature, its unstoppable murderous intent were still lingering around it…

But it was now motionless. His life force had disappeared instantly.

Everything in the vicinity was covered with a layer of frost now. The pond was now a shattered mirror. The stalks of grass had become some fragile, rigid objects. The rocks were turned into ice cubes. Under the moonlight, the whole place was enchanted with a still, icy aura.

Mo Fan eyes were wide. He still could not believe the power that the arrow had unleashed!

Mo Fan had seen Deathstrike Magic Equipment before. Most of them were in the form of a longsword, or something with a sharp edge. When activated, they would grant the magician the ability to execute a powerful slash. Its strength was equivalent to that of a very destructive Intermediate Magic Spell.

Mo Fan had seen some of them during the auctions. The ones he thought would suit him were at least twenty million yuan. Those with their unique forms were even more expensive, and there was no point going to their auctions without fifty million yuan.

Mo Fan already had quite some offensive abilities, so he never paid extra attention to Deathstrike Magic Equipment.

To his amazement, he had witnessed an incredibly rare Bow-type Magic Equipment today!

The bow was made of ice crystal particles that looked like bits of diamond. The moment the arrow was fired, it froze the whole area instantly, giving its target no chance to react.

Words were not needed to describe its killing force. The problem was, Mu Ningxue was merely an Intermediate Magician. Why would she even have such a piece of insane equipment? If she were to use it during the duel before, she could have instantly wiped out the entire team from the Pearl Institute!

The ice was not even the Nirvana Ice which she had, but an even higher tier of ice crystal!

Since it was able to crystallize everything, it implied that the grade of the Ice Seed had surpassed the Spirit-grade. Mo Fan did not expect Mu Ningxue would have an even stronger Ice Seed, on top of the Nirvana Ice!

That did not sound right, either. If she had a stronger Ice Seed, there was no reason for her to hide it. There would be more casualties if they did not eliminate the Bewitching Magic Spider in time.

“Phew~”

Mu Ningxue’s hair fell and returned to normal. The disheveled hair drifted across her face, which somehow made her look even more lovely.

She was panting heavily, trying to catch her breath. The red mark on her forehead had finally disappeared. Her previous empress-like formidable aura as she was firing the arrow had vanished, as if her energy had been fully drawn out, leaving her extremely fatigued.

Mo Fan immediately rushed to her side and supported her when he saw her swaying.

“I still can’t fully control it…” Mu Ningxue murmured to herself.

“Since when do you have such strong equipment?” Mo Fan asked.

The Ice Crystal Bow was definitely not something that an Intermediate Magician could use. Normally, if someone were trying to imprint high-level equipment, their soul would suffer tremendous torture, as it could not withhold the item’s power.

Mu Ningxue’s cultivation was far from being able to utilize such a thing. Mo Fan was worried about her soul.

The reason magicians meditated was to strengthen their soul. The different levels of cultivation meant there were different amounts and levels of equipment they could imprint at a time. The level of equipment which an Intermediate Magician could imprint was restricted, as they were unable to endure the force of a Deathstrike item possessing a power equivalent to an Advanced Magic.

The power that Mu Ningxue’s Bow displayed was not as strong as an Advanced Magic, but it was not far off. Her soul would be enduring a great burden if she actually imprinted it.

“I just need some rest.” Mu Ningxue sat on the ground. She would pass out any second now, judging from her extremely pale look.

Mo Fan stayed beside her. He was full of questions as he stared at the depleted Mu Ningxue.

The bow was somehow different from the equipment he had seen before, but Mo Fan, who had little knowledge, couldn’t describe what the difference was.

That being said, his instincts were telling him that the bow might be tightly related to why Mu Ningxue had changed so much over the years.

On top of that, Mu Ningxue’s Ice Seed was not just a simple Spirit-grade Soul Seed.

If an item’s Element was the same that the magician had, its power would be enhanced further by the magician’s Element.

The Ice Crystal that Mu Ningxue had cast was stronger than her Nirvana Ice. Even a relatively strong Warrior-level Bewitching Magic Spider was killed instantly, enough to highlight its outstanding force.

It was surely Mu Ningxue’s trump card, she was only using it as her last resort. That alone was obvious just by looking at her current state. She had been keeping a lot of secrets to herself.

——

Mu Ningxue had rested quite a while, but Mo Fan still did not dare to leave, as she still could not stand properly.

Sometime later, her eyes finally sprang open. She quickly glanced at Mo Fan and shifted her gaze.

She could still recall the boy she used to like when looking at Mo Fan’s face. The feeling was concealed deep inside her heart, so deep that she thought she had forgotten it. At times, the feeling would rise out of nowhere, creating a ripple on the frozen lake in her heart.

She was utterly grateful that he was looking after her. As a matter of fact, she had always been grateful to him.

In their younger years, Mo Fan was already different than the rest of the kids. He was fearless, and never acted logically.

The kids in the neighborhood would look at her from a distance, not daring to get close to her. Mo Fan was the only one who completely ignored the warnings and advice of the elderly. He would drag her around with his filthy hands and chase away the loneliness and fear of her childhood.

He was full of nonsense, he swore a lot, he was naughty, but he had the courage to bullshit by her side.

There was no special reason why Mu Ningxue liked him in the past. It was simply because Mo Fan was the closest boy to her. The others would only keep their distance from her. They would either try to fawn on her, pretend to be cool around her, be too embarrassed to talk to her, or put on an act…

Mu Ningxue shook her head, trying to get rid of the thoughts.

Maybe she was recalling things because of the lingering effect from the bewitchment?…

“Let’s go, I’m fine now.” Mu Ningxue rose to her feet.

Mo Fan subconsciously offered his hand. Mu Ningxue did not take it. The intimacy between them was all in the past, they were grown-ups now. They had their own lives to live, their own rules to stick to, there was no need…

Mu Ningxue was trying to maintain the distance between them, but as usual, she was helpless against Mo Fan’s unpredictable moves. A filthy hand reached out and grabbed her smooth hand, while the other grabbed her shoulder.

Mu Ningxue had totally run out of energy. Otherwise, she would definitely hang this asshole who was taking advantage of her precarious situation up in the air and beat the crap out of him!

Returning to the church, the duo discovered that the whole area was a total mess, with ravines everywhere. The energy of various Elements lingered in the surrounding air.

It was obvious that the battles had come to an end. However, they could not tell where the group had gone!

“Ningxue, are you alright?” Lu Zhenghe was the first to appear. He immediately came forward. His gaze immediately turned hostile when he saw Mo Fan with his hand on her shoulder. He said in a cold tone, “I’ll take care of her from here!”

Mu Ningxue could not be bothered by the two. She found herself a corner to rest up.

Lu Zhenghe continued to stick to her like a fly. He a completely different person than when he was commanding the group. Liao Mingxuan was speaking the truth, after all…

Mo Fan went to look for the others. He had no idea how his gorgeous Mu Nujiao was doing. After all, she had been living together with him. He held himself responsible for her safety.

Instead of finding Mu Nujiao, he ended up bumping into the fatty Luo Song.

Mo Fan grabbed the fatty by his collar. Before he could say anything, Luo Song burst out crying, “Brother, have some mercy on me! I was almost killed by her. She’s right there. I think she’s awake. She’s been murmuring to herself…”

Luo Song was indeed in a miserable state. From his energy level, it appeared that he had almost used up all his magical gear, too. In terms of cultivation, Mu Nujiao had mastered her Intermediate Magic and was clearly a lot stronger than him.

Mo Fan soon found Mu Nujiao standing in a pile of bushes. The plants nearby were clearly all her work. She looked slightly lost, and her gaze was hollow. The main difference was the red mark on her forehead had vanished, giving her back her usual noble appearance.

“Jiaojiao, are you alright?” Mo Fan went up to her. He took off the Focus necklace and hung it around Mu Nujiao’s neck.

Mu Nujiao’s pupils displayed some emotion. It was fear, as if she had just woken up from a nightmare. She was experiencing the aftershock.

“Don’t be scared, I’m here.” Mo Fan slowly pulled Mu Nujiao’s soft body into his arms. He was trying to warm her terrified little heart with his masculine body warmth.

Mu Nujiao did not show any reaction to being hugged by Mo Fan. Normally, she would be enraged.

“What..what happened to me?” Mu Nujiao asked with a stunned look.

She was unable to recall what she had done. She only remembered Luo Song was slandering the Mu Family and picking on their past. It made her furious, but she totally forgot what happened afterwards.

“Your mind was being controlled, but everything is fine now. Come, you’ll feel better with a hug. Come closer,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Nujiao finally raised her head. Her previous scared expression was replaced with a hint of doubt.

At last, Mu Nujiao realized something. She instantly blushed, which made her extremely adorable, leaving Mo Fan with a stunned face.

Mo Fan felt like he was being bewitched, being at such a close distance and capturing her attractive scent. Although he was not extreme enough to force himself upon her, he would not mind kissing her pink face and sexy lips.

“Asshole.” Mu Nujiao pushed the jerk who was taking advantage of the situation away.

She was experiencing a similar feeling to Mu Ningxue. If she still had the energy, she would hang him up and beat the crap out of him. Wasn’t he supposed to be more gentlemanly?

Mo Fan felt extremely pleasant, as he had spent some enjoyable time with the two goddesses. Mu Ningxue’s skin was exceedingly smooth and soft, the touch of her felt incredibly good. Mu Nujiao’s shoulders were rounder, with a pleasant body scent, giving her a different charm.

“Where are the others?” Mu Nujiao switched the topic to prevent the atmosphere from turning awkward.

“I don’t know, I wouldn’t care about their life and death,” Mo Fan said indifferently.

“How can you say that?” Mu Nujiao rolled her eyes at him.

“Come, take this back. It was a close call when we were killing the Bewitching Magic Spider. However, I wasn’t willing to use your lucky charm.” Mo Fan gave the orb back.

Mu Nujiao also returned the Focus necklace to him. She blushed again when she heard Mo Fan describing it like they were exchanging love tokens between them. She immediately walked off, not willing to continue talking with the shameless prick.

She was still feeling absent-minded. Her heart had been acting weird after being teased by Mo Fan…

——

Mo Fan and Mu Nujiao soon found Zhao Manting and Bai Tingting.

They were unharmed, but Zheng Bingxiao was severely injured, as he was struck head-on by Zhao Mingyue’s Intermediate Fire Magic. He was almost roasted alive.

Bai Tingting was trying her best to treat his wounds. She had no idea if he could make it.

Even if Zheng Bingxiao made it, he would feel extremely hopeless knowing that he had almost died to an ally instead of a demon beast.

The infighting had left everyone injured and consumed by extreme fatigue. Most importantly, the trust between the students no longer existed. Song Xia was unconscious, Zheng Bingxiao was heavily burned, and Xu Dalong’s arm had been bitten off…

The group was a complete mess. Everyone was sitting in different groups, just like before they lost control of their minds.

“Let’s retreat. We’ll go back at dawn,” Zhao Manting proposed.

“I can’t stay here any longer, either,” Luo Song agreed.

“Our mission is still ongoing, we can’t leave now…” Lu Zhenghe immediately panicked, as if he was scared that the group would leave.

“Mission my ass, I almost lost my life. Either way, I won’t be staying here any longer,” Xu Dalong snapped furiously.

His arm was bitten off by Lu Zhenghe’s Violent Mark Wolf. He thought Lu Zhenghe had gone too far with his attack, even though he was bewitched.

As for Ming Cong and Liao Mingxuan, who were deeply under the bewitchment, the former had totally disappeared. Liao Mingxuan was fine, but he was only sitting in a corner with a weird expression.

Since Liao Mingxuan regained his wits, he had been acting strange, even worse than he was bewitched.

As for the vanished Ming Cong, no one was in the mood to search for him, as they were all weary. They would try searching for him during the daylight tomorrow. It was the most they could do.

Everyone was having trouble looking after themselves. They were not in the mood to care for others.

No one had expected to stumble into such a deadly beast that was able to control their minds, nor expect that the elite group of students would collapse in just one night.

Liao Mingxuan sat beside Mu Ningxue. He did not lose control of himself, but he was worn out after holding off Liao Mingxuan and Xu Dalong.

He wanted to talk with Mu Ningxue, but she had been quiet the whole time. He had no idea how he could break the silence.

He raised his head and began to think of some way to make conversation. Suddenly, he saw pairs of snowy-white wings on the dawn-lit horizon. The wings were approaching the group at a steady pace, their faint glows embellishing the dull sky.

Lu Zhenghe felt a surge of joy, but immediately pretended he had seen nothing.

The wings landed, instead of flying straight into the desolate city.

Their landing spot was not too far away. They should be arriving in their area soon. Lu Zhenghe intentionally checked his surroundings, searching for Mo Fan.

Coincidentally, Mo Fan, Mu Nujiao, Bai Tingting, Zhao Manting, and the others were walking towards him, too. Mo Fan was the first to break the silence, “Since no one has the mood to continue the mission, should we head back now?”

“We still haven’t found Ming Cong.” Mu Ningxue said.

“Forget it, he was killed by Liao Mingxuan accidentally out.” Xu Dalong blurted out.

Liao Mingxuan shivered when he heard the accusation. He pointed at Xu Dalong and screamed, “That’s a bloody lie!”

“Just admit it, everyone lost control of themselves. One of the two of you would die,” Mo Fan added mercilessly.

“Liao Mingxuan, did you kill him?” Mu Ningxue inquired.

“I…I didn’t mean it. I can’t control myself at all…” Liao Mingxuan was on the verge of breaking down. He plunged his hands into his hair as if he were trying to pry open his head.

Ming Cong was his best buddy, but who knew that he would be the one killing him. Even his corpse was distorted beyond recognition.

“Pack up. We’re leaving.” Mu Ningxue did not question any further. She gave the orders as the team’s captain.

None of them had the courage to continue with the mission after the series of events. The abandoned city was way more terrifying than they had imagined. Heavens knew how many of them would still be alive if they tried to accomplish their mission.

Everyone was tired. Most importantly, they were scared.

Everyone was already intimidated after they stumbled into the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast. Now, the Bewitching Magic Spider had set them fighting one another. Liao Mingxuan even ended up killing Ming Cong. Even though he had fallen the deepest into the bewitchment, the group still could not believe it.

——

After packing up their stuff, the group went and found Ming Cong’s corpse, and decided to bury it. They used Earth Element magic to quickly set up a solid grave for him. It would stop his corpse from being dug up by the demon beasts.

The severely injured Song Xia had regained consciousness. Her abdomen was still covered in gauze, and she looked extremely tired.

She was very lucky to have survived, so she did not expect much from the group. All she wanted was to return safely with the others.

Zheng Bingxiao was in a terrible state, too. Bai Tingting had used up all her energy saving him. She still had no idea if his life was still at risk.

Everyone in the group was ambitious when they set out for the adventure. They thought they could easily conquer the desolate city, but they were thoroughly beaten after they had only investigated a few spots. They had thoroughly experienced the cruelty of the demon beasts’ territory.

Being an elite of the Pearl Institute or the most talented student of the Imperial College made no difference. Even surviving in the wild alone was utterly difficult for them.

Despite being treated as influential figures in the schools, despite dominating the rest of the students, despite hearing lots of tales about the outside world from the elderly, they didn’t know how useless they were until they experienced it first-hand. The dead stayed dead, and the wounded were wounded.

None of them were convinced of the result. As the top students of the whole nation, they each had a certain level of pride in their hearts, which they could only swallow back down as they dragged their exhausted bodies back in the direction they had come from.

The training had proven to be too difficult.

——

Slowly, the group walked out of the city.

The sky was well-lit, and birds were chirping in the woods nearby. The pleasant melody helped weaken the appalling atmosphere.

Looking ahead, they could see the same railway overgrown with moss and weeds. It extended into the distance through the woods, and would eventually lead them back to the city that could be called paradise.

Everyone was in a rush to get back; back to somewhere with living people, back to their cozy homes.

The students were about to follow the railway when a group of people approached from the woods. They were wearing the same uniforms, which was similar to Battlemages. However, the colors were totally different.

The group consisted of about thirty people. Each had a white giant eagle on their side. The eagles had bulky chests and sharp gazes. Their folded wings were touching the ground. If they fully spread them apart, they would be ten meters across, at least!

Mo Fan had seen these Heavenly Eagles before. They were the beasts that the Battlemages usually tamed.

It was said that only powerful magicians with the Psychic Element were able to tame a beast. Even though they could not force them to assist in battles, they were perfect for transportation.

“Battlemages? Are they here to save us?” The two girls Zhao Mingyue and Qingqing were excited seeing the Battlemages.

It felt great just seeing someone alive.

“Something’s weird about their uniforms…” Zhao Manting pointed out.

“They must be here to save us. Such a relief, they might be able to save Zheng Bingxiao.” Peng Liang blurted out in joy.

Lu Zhenghe stood there and avoided eye contact with the group.

The Battlemages continued to walk toward the group. Their leader was a man with thick brows, holding a pipe between his lips.

The man was wearing a camo windbreaker. The eyes under his thick brows quickly scanned the students, before stopping at Lu Zhenghe.

Lu Zhenghe cast a glance in Mo Fan’s direction, as if he were trying to tell the man something.

Commander Lu Nian nodded slightly and slowly raised his right hand. He gave an order to the Battlemages behind him, “Those who we have no interest in, kill’em all.”

Lu Nian spoke in a relatively calm manner, as if he were asking them to be taken away.

However, he was ordering them to be killed!

Even Lu Zhenghe was stunned when he heard the order. He immediately forced a smile and said, “Brother, have you mistaken? They are students from the Pearl Institute and the Royal College. We’re only here on training.”

“That’s why they have to be silenced. I don’t want anyone to know what has happened here.” Lu Nian said in a relatively calm tone. His decisive attitude served as an indication that there were countless lives lost in his hands!

A strong murderous intent burst out from the people behind him. They were all soldiers, with a strength of at least the Intermediate Level. Their eyes locked onto the naive students like a hungry pack of wolves eyeing a herd of sheep.

The atmosphere had thoroughly changed!

Zhao Mingyue and Qingqing were about to say something to the Battlemages when they realized a few ice chains had suddenly appeared under their feet!

The chains penetrated their bodies while they were in a totally defenseless stance. The silver-white ice chains were instantly dyed red with fresh blood.

The ice chains pierced through their bodies. Blood sprayed everywhere. The two lively girls were instantly turned into two icy corpses on the ground…

It was utterly shocking. The students could not believe what they had just witnessed!

The group of students felt a surge of numbness across their whole bodies!

The Battlemages had always been their protectors in their eyes. They were a symbol of justice and strength.

However, the Battlemages they had stumbled into today could be referred to as devils!

They showed no sign of empathy. The two girls from the Pearl Institute were considered future pillars of the nation. Even if they had different identities, they were still two living humans. Just like many people, they believed they could always trust a Battlemage.

Their lives were lost within the blink of an eye. The eyes of the two close friends were still wide open. They had survived the extreme training of the desolate city. They were even thinking of enjoying themselves a warm bath when they arrived home. Unfortunately, they had stumbled into a bunch of devils wearing the uniforms of Battlemages, who had forced them to bid an everlasting farewell to the world!

“It’s a storm cloud, watch out!”

Someone among the group cried out, which prompted the group to glance upward. They saw a giant stormy cloud appearing in the sky above them.

A series of lightning bolts flickered within the stormy cloud. Their speed was not as rapid as Mo Fan’s Thunderbolt, but he had somehow sensed overwhelming Lightning energy rumbling inside the cloud.

“It’s a third-tier Thunderbolt! Dodge it quick!” Mo Fan let out a scream.

Following his cry, a loud clap of thunder echoed in the clear sky.

The sky was already well-lit, but as the lightning struck downward, it further illuminated the surroundings!

A rapid lightning arc struck mercilessly down on Zhao Manting’s head.

Zhao Manting used his fastest speed to cast the Sacred Shield Protection. A golden light shield was summoned to protect himself.

Another lightning arc descended from the sky. This time, it was targeting Zheng Bingxiao, who was already severely injured. There was no way he could defend himself in his current condition.

The eyes on his scorched face opened wide. He could see the lightning arc falling right onto him.

BANG!

Zheng Bingxiao, who had just barely survived his previous injuries, instantly turned into a crimson shower. It was impossible to differentiate between the flesh and blood.

It splattered onto Zhao Manting’s body, who was standing right beside him. His eyes were open wide as they filled with fear for the very first time.

Did the bloody mess on his face, his clothes, and under his feet all belong to Zheng Bingxiao?

A night ago, Zhao Manting was still fairly impressed by Zheng Bingxiao when he Summoned his Giant Earth Fusion Golem. However, he had now turned into a bloody mess.

The lightning arcs continued to drop onto the group of students at an increasing pace. It was most likely due to two Lightning Magicians casting Thunderbolt simultaneously.

The Lightning Strikes wildly attacked the group of students continuously.

Most of the students possessed a few pieces of equipment which could protect themselves for a brief moment. However, the power of the third-tier Thunderbolts was way too overbearing for them to handle. Eventually, the Lightning Strikes began to shatter their defensive equipment into pieces…

“Help, someone…AH!!!”

A lightning arc struck Xu Dalong’s arm. His bulky body was disintegrated instantly, just like Zheng Bingxiao.

Rains of blood poured down on the group. They showered over Lu Zhenghe, who was already fully stained with fresh blood.

Lu Zhenghe’s face was smeared with blood from his teammates Qingqing, Zhao Mingyue, and Xu Dalong.

His whole body was trembling. He did not even have the courage to look at Lu Nian’s face.

Lu Nian had always been a close brother to Lu Zhenghe. His brother was extremely caring of him. He would always find a way to get the things he desired. Since Lu Zhenghe had lost his father in the early years, he had seen his brother Lu Nian as half a father.

However, he never thought his brother was such a demented murderer.

Lu Nian had asked him to leave signals along their journey. He told him that he was on a critical mission, so Lu Zhenghe had agreed without hesitation. He had left the signals along their journey so Lu Nian could track them down.

To his surprise, his brother was here to butcher them all!

Was he still the brother he knew?

“Idiot. What are you waiting for? Do you want to die with them too?” Commander Lu yelled.

Lu Zhenghe was scared to die, especially when he saw his friends dying beside him.

Even though he could not believe that his brother was a murderer, he subconsciously obeyed the order given by the man who had raised him. He believed that he would not harm his own little brother.

Lu Zhenghe turned around and glanced at Mu Ningxue. He was planning to bring her with him.

However, a bolt of ferocious lightning struck the ground beside him, as another targeted Mu Ningxue. Lu Zhenghe hesitated when he saw Bai Tingting falling to the ground after losing her defensive equipment.

“Come here at once!” Lu Nian snapped.

The roar was like an order to Lu Zhenghe. He finally turned around and ran toward the Battlemages.

He clearly knew that he would be massacred just like his friends if he did not start running.

“Trying to escape? I’ll drag you with us since we’re all going to die!” Mo Fan was infuriated. He finished casting the Lightning Strike in an instant.

From the midst of the lightning arcs, Mo Fan aimed his Lightning Strike at the fleeing Lu Zhenghe. It was significantly thicker than a normal third-tier Lightning Strike. The dark purple arc quickly conducted across the ground and caught up to Lu Zhenghe’s feet.

Lu Zhenghe did not see it as a threat. How could an insignificant basic level Lightning Strike do any harm to him?

However, when the thick lightning arcs crawled onto his body like crackling pythons, the paralysis effect was double that of an ordinary Lightning Strike. It completely locked him down, to his disbelief.

Even if Mo Fan had a Spirit-grade Lightning Seed, it was impossible for a basic level Lightning Strike to have such power.

Lu Zhenghe could not move at all. He looked helplessly at his brother Lu Nian with a pale face, hoping that he would come and save him.

Unfortunately, someone else was faster.

Mu Nujiao had finished casting her Plant Magic. Her vines quickly tangled Lu Zhenghe’s legs while he was still paralyzed by Mo Fan’s Lightning.

The vines instantly dragged Lu Zhenghe back, slamming right into Mo Fan’s body, which was engulfed in flames.

Mo Fan had thoroughly transformed into a blazing demon. He furiously grabbed Lu Zhenghe’s neck. The fury in his eyes was on the verge of bursting out.

“Son of a bitch, ask your people to stop the attacks. Otherwise, I’ll burn him to death alive!” The flames on Mo Fan’s body became even more vigorous, as if they were going to lunge at Lu Zhenghe in the next second.

Lu Nian grimaced.

He was considering whether he should wait to give the order until Lu Zhenghe made his way to their side. However, he ended up giving out the order from impatience.

In his eyes, they were only a bunch of students who had yet to experience a real hand-to-hand battle in a war. Normally, they would not be able to react after experiencing a great shock.

To his surprise, the kid with the name Mo Fan was able to react so quickly. He was smart enough to use Lu Zhenghe as a hostage.

On the other hand, Lu Zhenghe was a complete idiot. Everything would have been fine if he had made his way to their side right at the beginning.

“Bro…brother, save me!” Lu Zhenghe cried out.

Lu Nian was decisive at killing without showing any mercy. He could tell that Mo Fan was the same as him, too. The Rose Flame was on the verge of lunging at Lu Zhenghe, and Lu Nian was confident that Mo Fan would kill him instantly once he made the decision.

“Interesting.” Lu Nian took a sip from the pipe. He waved his hand to signal his group to cease fire.

Lu Nian could not allow his brother to die here. He had spent years in the army, thus he never had the time to set up a family for himself. Lu Zhenghe was a lot younger than him. He was basically the last member of their family. Lu Nian knew he would be on trial very soon. He could not care less about his own life, but Lu Zhenghe should not die here.

At the same time, he could not show that he was actually concerned about his brother’s life.

As a matter of fact, if he were left with no choice, he would still sacrifice his brother’s life, as he was trying to achieve something magnificent. He would be the one who changed the world if the plan succeeded.

Any sacrifice he made would be so worth it in the end!

“Who do you think you are, listen up. I, Liao Mingxuan, am the son of Liao Feng from the Magic Association. If you dare kill me today, I’ll make sure your entire family dies with me too!” Liao Mingxuan burst into a hysterical scream.

“Oh?” Lu Nian raised his eyebrows. His eyes suddenly emitted a brown flicker.

Liao Mingxuan who was yelling and screaming suddenly fell silent.

He could not make any noise. His body had become stiff. He could not even move any of his fingers.

His body was covered in a layer of grey-white substance. It started with his toes, and eventually spread across his entire body.

The substance spread even faster, like cement being dried in the sun within a short period. The only problem was, the substance was spreading on Liao Mingxuan’s body, which meant that any part of his body that was covered in the grey-white substance would be turned instantly into stone!

Liao Mingxuan tried to break free, but he was thoroughly turned into a statue in just a few seconds!

“Someone like him is even worse if left alive.” Lu Nian took another sip from his pipe. He was acting indifferently, as if he were just getting rid of a piece of paper.

The anesthetic tobacco entered his lungs, giving a slight relief to the pain from his back. It helped clear his mind too.

He glanced at Mo Fan who was still holding his brother as a hostage. He looked like a rusty blade stained with blood, highly unpredictable, but extremely dangerous.

“Tell me, what do you want.” Lu Nian said in a calm tone.

“Maybe we should ask you what you want instead. We don’t even know you. Why are you trying to kill us?” Mu Nujiao flushed with anger.

Her body trembled as she spoke. It was obvious that she was scared, but she forced herself to calm down. It was eerie that their enemy could kill without any sign, which made him extremely difficult to deal with. Luckily, Mo Fan was able to seize their lifeline in time by controlling the traitor Lu Zhenghe.

“You must be Mu Zhanxing’s granddaughter. You’re quite brave…If I told you that your grandfather agreed with our plan, what would you feel?” Lu Nian burst into monstrous laughter.

Lu Nian was not in a rush. After all, his people had his target surrounded.

It would be better if he could let Lu Zhenghe live. After all, he was his only brother. If not, he would not mind killing them all to prevent new problems from cropping up unexpectedly.

Even though they were only students, most of them had quite a formidable background. It was better to pretend the group was wiped out during training. That way, the people behind them would have no clue who to interrogate, since they were all dead!

“Now, let’s do a deal. I’ll let someone live in exchange for his life. You make the call.” Lu Nian did not sound like he was negotiating, as if he had total control of the situation.

Mo Fan frowned. He could not read the devil’s mind at all. Most importantly, Mo Fan had no clue why they were killing them. Did someone happen to stumble into some kind of secrets that they were trying to keep? Otherwise, why would they go so far to silence them?

“The girl beside you is quite adorable. I’m sure that you two are close. You let go of that idiot Lu Zhenghe, and I promise to spare her life.” Lu Nian grinned, showing his filthy teeth.

“You’ll spare the five of us. It will be me, him, her, her, and her. I don’t care what you do to the rest.” Mo Fan demanded.

Mo Fan’s decision immediately scared the shit out of Luo Song, Shen Mingxiao, and the others. They almost dropped to their knees before him.

Peng Liang and Song Xia stared at Mo Fan in disbelief. They were on the same team with him, so they never thought he would abandon them without a second thought.

“I said it, only one!” Lu Nian’s voice turned cold.

“It will be me then,” Mo Fan blurted out without hesitation.

“HAHAHA, such an interesting kid.” Lu Nian burst out laughing.

This time, it was Bai Tingting, Zhao Manting, and Mu Nujiao staring at Mo Fan in a great shock.

They never thought Mo Fan would actually abandon them too.

“I tried my best.” Mo Fan said with an apologetic tone.

“I don’t mind. If it weren’t for you, I’m already dead now.” Bai Tingting forced a smile. Everyone could tell she was reluctant to say it.

Mu Nujiao bit her lips. Her mind was telling her that Mo Fan had made a reasonable decision. Anyone would react the same way. However, she could not help but feel miserable in her heart. For a second, she imagined that Mo Fan would say her name instead.

“Mo Fan, you are such a disappointment. That being said, if I really were to die here, I hope you will kill that son of a bitch for me in the future…” Zhao Manting said with an absolutely ugly smile.

“Even if you didn’t say it, I’ll kill him myself,” Mo Fan replied.

Lu Nian tapped his pipe while casting a dismissive side glance at the despairing students.

“Are you done with your last words? Let Lu Zhenghe go now. Otherwise, not a single one of you will be spared.” The Commander said.

“I’ve already said it. Let me go.” Mo Fan repeated.

“Too bad, you’re the last one that will be allowed to leave among them,” Lu Nian said with a grin.

Mo Fan was stunned. He stared at the lunatic in front of him with a blank face.

Were they from the Black Vatican?

No, even though they were vicious, it was obvious that they were not related to the Black Vatican. They looked extremely calm on the surface, as if they knew they were no turning back after what they had done…

The question was, what were they planning to do?

These people were too strange!

“If that’s the case, I won’t trade your brother’s life for any of us. I just want to know the truth. I’ll let your brother go if you tell us why you’re acting like the Black Vatican. At least, your secrets will still be buried here in the desolated city.”

Lu Nian was quite surprised.

He was not surprised by the kid’s sudden change of mind, but rather because the kid looked fairly composed, even though he was asking for his life to be spared before. Anyone else would have dropped to their knees and begged instead.

“Is he trying to drag the time out?” Lu Nian murmured.

With his profound experience, Lu Nian quickly determined that Mo Fan was trying to waste time. However, he could not figure out the meaning behind it. No one would come to such a desolate place to save them. Besides, with the strength they had displayed, they could not even handle his subordinates, let alone defeat him, an Advanced Magician!

Lu Nian finally accepted Mo Fan’s condition after a slight hesitation.

It was definitely worth it to trade his brother’s life by just talking. Lu Nian did not doubt that the students would drag his brother along with them if they were killed. He was too familiar with the final pride and urge to avenge themselves of weaklings prior to their deaths.

“There’s an experiment…” Lu Nian began to narrate in a calm tone, “It might be the only way to stop humans from deceiving themselves.”

“For the sake of mankind? How brilliant. What does that have anything to do with some students doing their training? Are you telling me that we have to be silenced because we’ve witnessed your shameless experiment? The problem is, we’ve seen nothing!” Mo Fan said.

“Shameless?” Lu Nian took a sip from his pipe and said with a smile, “Not at all. Every contribution to mankind in the past has always involved sacrifices. It’s true that many have died in the experiment, and your lives are only a drop in the ocean. However, the difference it will make when it succeeds is a completely different story. We will no longer live under the domination of the demon beasts. In fact, we can even destroy their habitats…”

“Then, by all means, go ahead with your ambitious plan. Why are you butchering us here instead?” Mo Fan mocked him.

“What’s the difference between your indiscriminate killing and the assholes from the Black Vatican? Stop trying to sound so noble!” Peng Liang gathered up his courage and cursed them.

“Humph, what do students spending their time in ivory towers know about the outside world? Your teachers will only tell you the victorious battles we’ve fought. I bet no one has told you the number of lives lost in the battles against the demon beasts. How many cities were destroyed… Humans pretend to be the rulers of the world, with more heroes being born to save the people, ensuring that the civilians can live a peaceful life.

“Absolute nonsense! Those who have yet to experience a battle will never understand. Humans are only struggling to survive as they reproduce mindlessly. They think humans will become stronger with each generation.

“Little do they know, when the number of humans reaches a certain point, the demon beasts will then hold a feast. They will feast upon us, and yet be conservative. They won’t eat us all, since we won’t be able to reproduce if none of us are left. They wouldn’t be able to hold a feast anymore. Wars? They are only the signs that the demon beasts are hungry, and there are enough humans to be their food,” Lu Nian said.

Lu Nian did not smile as he delivered his speech. His face was filled with anger.

He had fought against demon beasts in real wars. He knew more of the truth than students who only lived in ivory towers.

—

Mo Fan could feel his heart sinking.

The words had completely toppled their values. It was almost like a brainwashing script given by the Black Vatican, if it were a little bit more extreme.

If the calamity of Bo City was only a small depiction of what a real war looked like, Lu Nian was most likely speaking the truth.

However, Mo Fan never thought humans were as petty as Lu Nian had described, especially how he mentioned that the demon beasts were only letting the humans survive to guarantee their food supply!

In other words, humans surviving until now was not because of how well the Magicians were protecting them. It was only a conspiracy set up by the demon beasts so they could continue to feast on them.

Was it real? Mo Fan could not tell.

“Humans have the ability to live on, invent, and reproduce. It doesn’t mean we are great. It only means that we are more suitable to be raised as livestock. They don’t even need to worry about feeding us,” Lu Nian laughed grimly.

As a matter of fact, he enjoyed delivering the speech.

When he first joined the army, he also thought the Magicians were the guardians of mankind, stopping the invasion of the demon beasts. In the end… he realized how insignificant humans were when facing a pack, a horde, or even a kingdom of demon beasts!

His view of the world was crushed in the battles. As such, he felt an indescribable pleasure when it was his turn to destroy the students’ view of the world too.

“What you’ve said is tied to the whole of mankind, but what does it have anything to do with us?” Mo Fan redirected their attention back to the topic.

He was not interested in discussing the big picture. He only wanted to know why Lu Nian would not spare his life.

He had never met him in his life. He had never heard of this experiment, either.

“The experiment is about…” Lu Nian paused for a moment. It would not be much of a secret soon. Having this thought, he continued, “A new Element!”

“What did you just say?” Mu Nujiao and Zhao Manting exclaimed.

Lu Nian’s lips curled upward as he repeated, “A new Element. If it succeeds, we will be the inventor of a new Element!”

“When Magic was first discovered, it gave us the power to challenge the demon beasts. The problem was, after tens of thousands of years, the Elements we have awakened are nowhere enough. We did get a glimpse of hope when the latest Element, the Light Element, was awakened. However, that’s clearly not enough. We need stronger Elements.”

Lu Nian’s eyes flickered with excitement.

If he were a calm, decisive killing devil before, he was more like a lunatic obsessed with his passion now.

His insane, zealous behavior was something that Lu Zhenghe had never seen before. His madness was thoroughly concealed by his calm exterior appearance.

“Are you telling us that you guys are planning to invent a new Element?” Zhao Manting blurted out in disbelief.

“That’s right. Do you really think I’m actually out of my mind?” Lu Nian smirked.

“But…how…” Zhao Manting had no idea what to say.

“You, Mo Fam, are the best test subject for the new Element!” Lu Nian pointed at Mo Fan as if he were looking at a perfect specimen with an extreme passion.

“Me?!” Mo Fan pointed at himself.

“Yes, you, because of your Double Innate Elements!”

The best test subject?

Because of his Double Innate Elements?

Mo Fan’s mind swarmed with more questions. According to what Lu Nian had mentioned, they had experimented on countless people, and the test subjects were basically dead. What they were doing was probably inhumane, otherwise, they would not be so secretive about it.

Why would having Double Innate Elements make him the best test subject? Why would the new Element be related to his Double Innate Elements?

Mo Fan had been reluctant to expose his Double Innate Elements, as he was worried that something like this would happen. However, a paper could never wrap fire. It was only a matter of time until his talent was exposed. He hadn’t thought he would be targeted this quickly, as he had only shown his Double Innate Elements quite recently, let alone be targeted by a bunch of demented Battlemages.

“What does my Double Innate Elements have anything to do with the new Element?” Mo Fan asked.

“Let him go first,” Lu Nian was not stupid.

“You tell me, and I’ll let him go.” Mo Fan said.

“Do you think I’m a three-year-old? You’re dead regardless. Release him, and I’ll give you all a quick death. If the new Element is a success, we might even carve your names on a monument,” Lu Nian said.

Mo Fan knew that Lu Nian was running out of patience. He turned around and glanced at Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue nodded.

The flames engulfing Mo Fan’s body slowly died down. He loosened his grip on Lu Zhenghe’s neck.

Lu Nian continued speaking with a smirk. “The test subjects only managed to survive for a brief period. On top of that, they would also lose their ability to think rationally, as their bodies could not handle the burden from the process. They would die instantly once the efficacy of the test drug ran out. It felt like all their life force was depleted within a short period of time. We have never had a single survivor since the start of the experiment.”

Lu Zhenghe walked toward his brother while trembling in fear. He was scared, as he was still in range to be burned into ashes by Mo Fan’s attack. His brother would not be able to save him in time.

“Such a sinister experiment! You’re treating human lives as if they had no value!” Mu Nujiao snapped.

“Whatever you think, the experiment was actually inspired from observing some mutated parasitic beasts…” Lu Nian added. At this stage, he could not care less if the experiment was described as inhumane. Even if the Magic Association banned the method, they would not give up. They were so close to succeeding. Once it worked, the world would no longer be in the control of the magicians.

“Parasite beasts. You’re using living humans as their hosts?” Mo Fan’s heart shuddered. He immediately recalled the Mother Scale Skin Phantom.

The Mother Scale Skin Phantom had turned a human into a monster. Normally, these monsters would have strong combat capabilities. Ordinary magicians were no match for them.

It fit the condition of losing rational thought!

“You don’t need to know the details. Don’t harbor a grudge against us. Many people died peaceful deaths, or should I say, meaningless. Many were killed by the demon beasts, very saddening. Meanwhile, you are dying for the birth of a new Element, such an honorable sacrifice…” Lu Nian paused in the middle of his sentence.

Lu Nian was finally a safe distance from him, thus there was no point wasting any time further. His priority was to kill the others, and bring the one with Double Innate Elements back so they could proceed with the experiment.

“The next time I see you, I’ll trample you to the ground and spit on you. You’re a f**king crossbreed between your close relatives. You can dream about your ambition in hell!” Mo Fan burst out cursing.

Lu Nian did not treat it seriously. He burst into laughter and said, “If you managed to survive the experiment…Kill them!” Lu Nian waved his hand and gave the order.

An overwhelming icy aura was unleashed behind Mo Fan’s position.

Her snowy-white long hair drifted elegantly. Her glamorous face was filled with anger as her gorgeous figure floated in a suddenly frosted area!

“Ice Crystal Bow!”

Mu Ningxue had instantly transformed into an icy goddess. A magical bow which could turn the entire place into a frosty kingdom appeared between her extended arms!

The snow blew wildly, the frost spread rapidly, the ground froze at an insane pace, and even the clouds had turned icy!

She lifted her icy gaze as she drew a deep breath. Mu Ningxue never thought she would be using the Ice Crystal Bow twice within twenty-four hours. She could feel the energy inside her body being drawn empty, to an extent that she could even feel her life force being completely drained away by the Ice Crystal Bow.

However, she had to take the risk.

Mo Fan was trying to earn her some time. The moment he held Lu Zhenghe as a hostage, Mu Ningxue realized that the whole group would be wiped out if they failed to react in time.

Mo Fan instantly understood her intention after seeing her gaze. Going against such a powerful troop of Battlemages led by an Advanced Magician Commander, their only hope was the Ice Crystal Bow.

If she were to put her life at risk, the arrow she summoned could erupt with a power similar to an Advanced Magic!

“Domain…A Soul-graded Ice Seed, impossible…This is impossible!” Lu Nian opened his eyes wide and burst out screaming.

A Soul-graded Ice Seed and an Ice Crystal Bow which could unleash an attack similar to an Advanced Magic. The arrow alone posed a great threat to Lu Nian’s group.

As the Domain spread toward the Battlemages, they could sense their bodies being frostbitten. The casting speed of their Intermediate spells became extremely slow. Even Lu Nian’s Advanced Magic was affected.

The arrow continued to take form. Its body began to appear.

This time, the Ice Crystal Arrow that Mu Ningxue produced felt even stronger than the one before. The production phase alone had stirred a shocking icy storm around her.

Standing at the eye of the storm, Mu Ningxue drew the bow’s string back fully.

As she released the arrow between her fingertips, a sharp tone, like the scream of an icy storm, went off!

Killing for no reason but a ridiculous ambition, disregarding human lives like the Black Vatican; his words had completely infuriated Mu Ningxue!

Even if firing the arrow cost her her life, she would drag these bloody murderers to death with her. They were not worthy to wear the sacred uniform of the Battlemages.

The arrow flew in a perfectly straight line in parallel to the ground. The ground, trees, stones, and even the air completely froze as it flew by.

Lu Nian was quick to respond. He immediately dodged aside.

The Ice Crystal Arrow pierced through the air with a howl and struck the chest of a Battlemage who was casting the Lightning spell.

The arrow did not penetrate its target, but exploded as its tip made contact with the target’s chest.

Endless ice flowers blossomed, an astounding sight, the entire place covered with frost and ice crystals.

The light at dawn was supposed to wake the world up and signal the birds to sing out with pleasant melodies. However, as the explosion ceased, the whole place fell into a dead silence. There was no sign of life, as if time were frozen too.

The ice clouds floating in the air suddenly peeled off and turned into a glacier crushing down on the woods.

As the woods were already frozen, the weight of the glacier thoroughly shattered the trees to pieces. The broken ice scattered across the ground.

On the frozen land, vivid and lifelike ice statues stood silently. Their faces were dominated by fear. Some were frozen up while aligning their Star Patterns.

They never thought an Intermediate Ice Magician would be able to summon an Ice-type Bow Magical Weapon with such outstanding power, nor did they expect a student of the Imperial College would be able to maneuver a Soul-grade Ice Seed at her age. Her Domain alone had overwhelmed their whole troop, including an Advanced Magician!

The arrow was utterly astonishing. Even Mo Fan, who had recently witnessed its power, had not expected its true strength to be this terrifying.

But, why would Mu Ningxue have such power that clearly did not belong to her, hiding inside her?

Her silver long hair was disheveled. The imposing, imperial expression on her face was replaced with a debilitated look, as if her soul had been drawn away.

The Ice Crystal Bow broke into pieces after a soft crack, and fell off from her hand.

Mu Ningxue could no longer stand. She slowly fell backward.

Mo Fan immediately caught her in his arms. Her body was extremely cold, like a corpse. Not a single hint of heat could be felt.

Mo Fan quickly felt her pulse and let out a relieved sigh after confirming that she was alive. If she were to die here, he would never forgive that lunatic Lu Nian and his ridiculous ambitions!

“Quick, run!” Mo Fan blurted out glancing at the students.

Mu Nujiao, Bai Tingting, Song Xia, Zhao Manting and the rest were still experiencing a great shock after witnessing the power of the arrow. They finally collected their wits when Mo Fan yelled at them.

It turned out that Mo Fan was buying some time for Mu Ningxue so she could fire the arrow. They glanced at Mu Ningxue whose life was at risk, not knowing how to express their gratitude.

“Wait, bring Mu Ningxue with you. They are here for me. Zhao Manting, take good care of them, and…” Mo Fan glanced at Mu Ningxue, who could fall into an eternal sleep anytime. He could only express his concern with a brief demand, “No matter what happened, don’t let her die.”

Zhao Manting nodded heavily and brought the students away with him.

Mo Fan did not hesitate further. He glanced at Lu Nian, who had almost broken free from the ice, and the rest of the soldiers who were not completely frozen…

Clenching his teeth, he turned around and ran toward the desolate Jinlin City, which was still plagued by monsters.

It was impossible for Mu Ningxue’s arrow to wipe the whole troop out. It would only buy some time for them to run away.

Knowing they were trying to hunt him down, Mo Fan was not left with many options.

The enemies had Heavenly Eagles and an Advanced Magician. He would definitely be caught if he were to flee aimlessly.

The only place that would increase his odds of surviving was the desolated ruins of Jinlin City.

The city was overrun with countless demon beasts. They were strong enough to kill a Magician instantly, not to mention their capabilities of making the Magicians fighting against each other. He had to rely on them to get rid of his pursuit!

“Mo Fan is heading into the city.”

“What difference would that make?”

“We have to split up. They are trying to silence us. We’ll be wiped out if we stayed together.”

“Then…we’ll be leaving first.” Shen Mingxiao and Luo Song almost wet their pants.

They had nothing to do with the mess at all. Now that they had the chance to escape, they could not care less about the others. If those evil Battlemages caught up to them, they would be done for. They were still young, they did not want to die!

“Then…I’ll be taking Song Xia with me.” Peng Liang mumbled.

Song Xia was utterly exhausted. There was no way she could escape on her own. It was quite a relief that Peng Liang was willing to look after her.

Zhao Manting glanced at the half-dead Mu Ningxue, the injured Bai Tingting, and finally Mo Fan, who was fleeing towards the ruins of Jinlin City…

“You three, come with me!” Zhao Manting made up his mind.

He was slightly regretful that he had promised Mo Fan to look after the three girls. He was afraid to die, too. He wanted to run away like an unscrupulous coward, just like Luo Song and Shen Mingxiao. However, when he recalled how Mu Ningxue had put her life at risk to save them, and how Mo Fan had left on his own so he would not drag the others into the mess too, there was no way he could leave the girls and run for his own life.

——

A while later after the students fled, the ice crystals under the bright sunlight finally cracked open.

Commander Lu Nian was the first to break free from the ice. He had managed to apply a layer of protection around himself. The frost might be powerful, but it was not enough to inflict any serious damage to an Advanced Magician.

His face had turned blue after being exposed to the cold. His grim face was enough to imply how furious he was!

They had been tricked by a bunch of students!

However, as a Commander, killing them was as easy as killing poultry with their legs tied up…

Did they really think they could run away?

They had drunk fresh demon beasts’ blood and destroyed their nests before. And now, they couldn’t handle a bunch of students who were only on their first training mission?

“You guys, go after those who are trying to escape. I want them alive!” Lu Nian said to the soldiers who managed to break free from the ice first.

“Affirmative!” The soldiers were not weak either. They quickly prepared themselves and rushed off in the direction Zhao Manting and the others had fled into.

“The rest of you, come with me. How could we lose our most important test subject?” Lu Nian glared at the desolate city and gave the order to the rest of the soldiers who were regaining their feet.

“Commander, I’m afraid they won’t be able to wake up,” the female advisor said.

“Then destroy them.”

…

The remaining ice statues were knocked into pieces. The tiny shattered pieces were mixed with the blood and flesh of the soldiers they contained. When the ice melted, it would be impossible to tell whose corpses were they.

Seven statues were destroyed in total, which meant that Mu Ningxue’s single arrow had instantly killed seven talented Intermediate Magicians.

Commander Lu Nian continued to wear an expressionless face, but it was definitely a humiliating defeat for them.

The ice on the ground was crushed as they marched forward. The devils who had stripped off their sacred wind jackets never thought of giving up.

Now, it was not a matter of silencing the students. Their priority now was to seize the kid with Double Innate Elements.

He was their hope to invent the new Element!

When the time came, he would be their ace to overcome everything, including the demon beasts who had been dominating the world for millennia!

It had all happened too quick, not to mention how strange the whole situation was.

Mo Fan tried to calm himself down as he was running. He began to review the whole incident.

First of all, these people were not from the Black Vatican. They were only targeting him because of his Double Innate Elements.

They were carrying out an experiment that involved a new Element. However, they could not allow the experiment to be exposed. In other words, the new Element was most likely their own wishful thinking.

He remembered that the birth of a new Element required a very long exploration. Most importantly, he would have to seek the approval of magical society, particularly the Magic Association.

The Magic Association had never announced any experiments about a new Element. Therefore, it was highly possible that they were inventing some evil magic that involved sacrificing human lives, similar to the terrifying curses that the Black Vatican was passionate about that turned living humans into Cursed Beasts.

Either way, any experiment that involved using human lives as sacrifices was considered evil magic. The one that stood out the most was the Black Vatican’s evil magic, which could turn people into Dark Beast Monsters.

Lu Nian had also mentioned that the experiment was inspired by the parasite demon beasts. Therefore, it was highly possible that the new Element involved turning humans into monsters.

Indeed, if it were similar to the Mother Scale Skin Phantom, who could infect others with its blood and turn them into Scale Skin Phantoms, the overall strength of the human race would significantly increase… as long as they could still retain their rational thinking after mutating into the monsters.

In conclusion, the new Element must be related to some kind of mutation. To that extent, the Mother Scale Skin Phantom was most likely some mutated monster that had escaped from some secret lab!

Mo Fan did not want to become a test subject. Although he did consider himself an alien as he had come from another world, it did not mean he was willing to sacrifice himself as a test subject just to make the world a better place. Besides, it was only a one-sided statement from Lu Nian, heavens knew if they were actually inventing some evil magic like the Black Vatican.

“I wonder how Mu Ningxue is doing. She should be alive still. Hopefully, Bai Tingting is able to save her life.” Mo Fan began to worry.

When he was bewitched, he had revealed to Mu Ningxue some of the secrets in his heart.

Just like words spoken when drunk, they might be the truth, or just him being sentimental.

Either way, it was obvious that he was still constantly thinking of her. She had put her life at stake to save the group. Mo Fan would not easily forget her bravery.

That evil Lu Nian was totally inhumane. He would have to kill the bastard with his own hands.

And that son of a bitch Lu Zhenghe, who had dared to leave signals to draw the lunatics to them.He wasn’t sure if Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow had ended up freezing him to death. Otherwise, he would not mind digging the bastard’s heart out. Unbelievable!

——

Mo Fan escaped into the ravaged city. He could sense the devils chasing after him.

Luckily, they did not dare to attract too much attention, due to the current residents of the city. It gave Mo Fan a better chance at escaping.

Mo Fan was going straight to the places he assumed to be dangerous.

He was on his own, thus his movement was much nimbler than Lu Nian’s group. However, the hide-and-seek would eventually come to an end. He would have to rely on the demon beasts in the city to lower their numbers.

“It should be this way. I’m hoping the Razortail Drakes will be more kind to me,” Mo Fan mumbled.

While he was investigating the places on his own, he had accidentally trespassed into the territory of the Razortail Drakes. It was a half-dried, half-swampy area located right at the center of the city. Many of the buildings there had sunken into it.

Many species had set up habitats in Jinlin City, but most of them considered the swampy areas forbidden, as they were the territories of the Razortail Drakes, who were the dominating species of Dongting Lake.

The city used to be occupied by the Razortail Drakes Horde. The information given by the school was not reliable enough. The Razortail Drakes had not fully withdrawn themselves from the city. At least a pack of them had stayed behind!

Mo Fan was running straight toward the Razortail Drake’s territory. It was the most dangerous place in Jinlin City, and the only hope of staying alive he had.

A swamp overgrown with reeds was within visible distance. The place looked perfectly normal compared to the other areas. The only odd things were the roofs of seemingly half-meter tall structures sticking out from the water.

It was deadly quiet. Not a single cry of bugs could be heard from the piles of reeds. That being said, the bubbles rising to the surface of the swamp was a good indication that the place was not as dead as it seemed.

The Swift Star Wolf let out a deep breath. It was staring sharply at a lump of mud beside the swamp.

“What are you looking at…F**k me!” Mo Fan bit his tongue when he suddenly saw the lump of mud moving all of a sudden. A giant mouth with fangs lunged in their direction. Its throat was so big that it could swallow a grown man whole.

It was a disguise. The demon beast knew how to camouflage itself!

Its skin had the same color as the mud and its texture blended well with the dried mud. Mo Fan would never know it was there as long as it lay stationary on the ground.

Luckily, the Swift Star Wolf was alert enough. It quickly leapt aside, dodging the bite. Otherwise, the strength of its jaws could tear a human in half instantly.

The Razortail Drakes were classified into different grades.

Their Servant-class was generally referred to as a Giant Lizard Beast. They were the size of a mature crocodile with a lizard’s head. The frills on both sides could expand like umbrellas, and their tails were another third of their bodies’ length.

The Warrior-level Razortail Drakes had another name: Tyrant Lizards!

The Tyrant Lizards had different Elements, including Fire, Poison, Ice, Earth…

This particular one that knew how to camouflage itself was obviously Earth Element. Its body had blended in perfectly with the background. It was impossible to notice it without really sharp eyes. Any living thing passing nearby would be eaten with a single bite, without understanding how they were killed by a lump of mud.

The sinister fangs of the Tyrant Earth Lizard let out a clank as its eyes sprang open. They were the size of human fists, and looked like they were almost popping out.

Its crawling speed was surprisingly fast, too. It scuttled toward its prey, dragging its heavy body across the ground.

The Tyrant Earth Lizard was extremely cunning. It pretended to be lunging at them. When the Swift Star Wolf reacted by jumping sideways, it whipped its body around and smashed its tail right in the direction the Swift Star Wolf was moving to.

The Swift Star Wolf was knocked flying in the air. Its body flew over ten meters away.

Mo Fan was sent flying too, slamming right into a pile of reeds.

A few bones in the Swift Star Wolf’s chest had broken, as Mo Fan swore he had heard a loud crack from its chest.

The Swift Star Wolf let out a furious roar. It totally ignored its broken bones as it rolled up from the ground. Its eyes emitted a cold flicker of light.

“We don’t have time to fight. The devils are chasing us behind. We have to go deeper, and see if we can bait more of these Tyrant Lizards to kill some of them.” Mo Fan shouted to the Swift Star Wolf.

Moving forward, the swampy areas here were even broader. Even the places were the roads used to be had completely caved in.

The Swift Star Wolf was considered a nimble beast, but was forced to be extremely cautious with each step he took.

The Swift Star Wolf was running along, currently on top of a collapsed building. The roof was around a hundred meters long. The area below the building had reverted to a swamp, and in order to continue forward, he had to jump from this building to the balcony of a residential building ahead.

The two buildings were a certain distance apart, hence the Swift Star Wolf needed to sprint to build up momentum.

With a burst of speed, the Swift Star Wolf sprang forward like a dark blue arrow being fired.

It took less than a few seconds to cover the distance of a hundred meters before reaching the edge of the roof.

He jumped into the air and swept across the gap between the two buildings, drawing a blue arc in the air.

“There!” Somewhere nearby, a soldier shouted out while pointing at the two buildings.

A few soldiers who had the Wind Element rushed towards the building from the ground. They were trying to chase after Mo Fan when they realized the place ahead was covered in a huge swamp with black bubbles rising to the surface.

No entry!

They would sink incredibly fast in the swamp. Even using Wind Track was not enough to guarantee they would reach the other side safely. Most importantly, there were definitely a lot of Giant Lizards living in this area. Their strength was a lot higher when fighting in their territory than on the surface.

“Don’t let him escape!” the female advisor Jiang Yi in the grey-white uniform shouted.

Two soldiers with Earth Element came up to them, and tried to clear the path with their magic.

The Earth Wave was indeed efficient against the swamp. It gradually split the mud aside in the middle, revealing a walkable path.

The problem was, the mud was extraordinarily heavy, and it covered a huge area too. It would take them some time just to clear a path to the other side.

Even though it was only the distance between two buildings, they had no choice but to chase after their prey slowly.

—–

Meanwhile, Mo Fan rode the Swift Star Wolf, which continued to leap between the roofs. The buildings in this area had yet to collapse, but the entire place seemed to have sunk down into the swamp. Luckily, the Swift Star Wolf was quite an athlete, able to jump nimbly between the buildings as they ventured deeper into the swamp.

The Swift Star Wolf let out a soft groan as he landed on top of a balcony.

Fifteen years ago, Jinlin City’s development had just started booming. There were not many high rises with elevators, so most of the residential buildings were not too tall. Most of them were around the same height, making them the perfect springboards for the Swift Star Wolf.

“Why are you crouching?” Mo Fan asked in a confused tone when he felt his body dropping down.

“Awooo~” the Swift Star Wolf cried out in a low tone, as if it were telling the idiot Mo Fan that it was not him crouching, but rather that the whole building was sinking rapidly.

Mo Fan looked sideways and realized that the building they were on was indeed a floor lower than the next building.

“Jump quick! Otherwise, we will be buried together with the building!” Mo Fan told the Swift Star Wolf urgently.

The Swift Star Wolf did not dare to hesitate further. He immediately took off after seeing that the building was sinking rapidly.

As the Swift Star Wolf leapt into the air, Mo Fan was able to tell from his outstanding physics calculation that the Swift Star Wolf was most likely going to slam into the side of the building ahead.

The sun was shining brightly above them. He could not even see a single shadow around him, thus the Fleeing Shadow was out of the question.

Luckily, the Swift Star Wolf’s claws had a strong grip, and managed to hold onto the edge of the building.

The Swift Star Wolf was holding onto the edge, while Mo Fan was holding onto the Swift Star Wolf’s hair. The wolf and the man were casually hanging in the air.

Under them was a vast swamp like an ocean. Most importantly, a swirl had just appeared right below them, and from it a Tyrant Giant Lizard with a body around twenty meters long opened its mouth wide. Its deep throat was like a tunnel…

It was waiting, waiting for Mo Fan and the Swift Star Wolf to fall, to drop right into its esophagus.

The Swift Star Wolf strenuously pulled himself up and managed to gather a foothold on the roof.

Mo Fan quickly took a glance at the soldiers chasing behind him. He realized that they were advancing at a rather quick pace too, as they had Earth Element Magicians clearing the path for them instead of using the roofs.

Heading forward, more Giant Lizards began to appear. No matter which direction he was looking, he could see packs of them swimming in the mud.

The Battlemages were quite close to catching up to Mo Fan. However, they went from moving in a straight path to being blocked by endless Giant Lizards rising up from the mud. From afar, they looked like a bunch of crocodiles making their way toward the prey that had trespassed into their territory.

Echoes of magic blasts rang out. The group of Battlemages was way stronger than the students. The Servant-class Giant Lizards had no chance of getting close to them due to the attacks of continuous Basic Level Spells, with occasional Intermediate Spells. Mo Fan had only traveled slightly further when the whole pack of Giant Lizards was completely massacred.

The Battlemages were well-trained and greatly experienced with battles. It would take more than a few hundred Servant-class beasts to pose any threat to them.

“Strange, what’s that devil up to?” Mo Fan was curious, staring at the Battlemages from afar.

The Advanced Magician Lu Nian was also on the pursuit at the start, but he had somehow disappeared from the group.

After spending a brief moment observing his surroundings, Mo Fan realized that Lu Nian was nowhere to be seen. The female advisor was in charge of the group of Battlemages chasing after him.

The advisor’s strength had reached the peak of the Intermediate Level, having perfectly mastered the third-tier Intermediate Magic. Her strength would be comparable to Tangyue in the past.

The rest of the soldiers possessed a similar strength to himself. They could cast the second-tier Intermediate spells with ease.

Mo Fan could barely handle one or two of them on his own. He had zero chance of going against thirteen Battlemages at the same time.

The Swift Star Wolf’s gaze suddenly sharpened as it stared at the area ahead alertly.

The place ahead was supposed to be a rather busy zone of Jinlin City in the past. The buildings were half-standing in the swamp. Parts of the roads and pedestrian paths were still walkable. However, there was something strange from the clear gap between the buildings, as if there were countless of eyes watching them.

“Are you saying that there are more than ten nests ahead?” Mo Fan asked.

The Swift Star Wolf nodded.

His instincts were telling him about the danger lying ahead. Once they proceeded ahead, they would have a very small chance to survive!

“Consider it a bet, at least we can still drag those bastards to death with us.” Mo Fan clenched his teeth and decisively stepped forward into the dangerous area.

Mo Fan rode on the Swift Star Wolf as he landed on a wide street filled with rubbish and mud.

The street was around two kilometers long. It most likely used to be one of the main streets of Jinlin City. The surrounding buildings were relatively taller, and consisted of office buildings and high-rises.

The buildings were corroded with some strange-looking mud. They looked liked construction frames without any windows. The buildings were severely ramshackle, with broken pieces scattered nearby…

As he followed the street for a hundred meters, Mo Fan soon discovered a cement wall blocking the path ahead. The height of the wall was similar to the buildings nearby, blocking vision like a huge dam.

The Swift Star Wolf quickly reminded Mo Fan that the place after the wall was extremely dangerous.

With his enemies catching up behind, Mo Fan headed up the slope of the wall without hesitation. However, when he reached the top, a giant hill suddenly took up the entirety of his vision.

Why would there be such a tall hill right in the middle of the desolate city?

After taking a closer look, Mo Fan instantly shivered.

It was not a hill at all. It was actually a nest built with dried mud. The nest was located right at the busiest place of the city. It was over a hundred meters taller than the tallest skyscraper in the city, and seemed to almost have reached the clouds.

The hill was densely packed with holes. There were so many of them they would make one’s scalp numb from trypophobia.

{Editor’s Note: Your word of the day!}

Each of the holes was a den of the Giant Lizards. Mo Fan was already intimidated when the Swift Star Wolf mentioned that there were more than ten of their nests ahead. However, when he cast his eyes over this nest that was taller than a skyscraper, he immediately felt the urge to leave.

Screw the adventure to the lion’s den, screw the slim chance of surviving he thought he had. If all the beasts inside this nest were to come out, they could easily destroy Jinlin City all over again.

“No, something isn’t right. I don’t feel that many auras…Could this be the leftover habitat for the Giant Lizards, as most of them have withdrawn to Dongting Lake? It is only an empty shell?” Mo Fan soon calmed down.

It was Mo Fan’s first time witnessing a demon beast’s next. The visual impact of it was comparable to witnessing a skyscraper made by humans.

Most importantly, Mo Fan noticed that the dried mud was actually mixed with vehicles, light poles, advertisement boards etc. The hive was not purely made of mud. It was mixed with a variety of objects, including corpses…

“If all that’s left is an empty shell, or maybe there are a few of Giant Lizards living in it, I might still have a chance…Oh mama, it’s that guy!” Mo Fan was in the midst of his murmuring when he saw a pair of giant wings extending out at the peak of the hive.

Mo Fan took a closer look and realized that the movement of the wings felt like a simple stretching. A giant red head was hanging right beside the hive. Its mouth was half-open, with drool flowing out like a water tap.

It was the Commander-level beast that had killed the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast with a single bite, an Advanced Razortail Drake!

The Razortail Drakes bore great similarities to the dragons of the West. They had originated in a different country. The Razortail Drakes were considered a subspecies of the dragons who had moved to Dongting Lake sometime in the past, and had dwelled there for hundreds of thousands of years, becoming an intimidating species of demon beasts.

In the past, Mo Fan had only seen magical beasts like dragons and flying vipers in movies. In contrast, this giant Razortail Drake with wings and a big fat tummy was right in front of him. He could easily tell that the Razortail Drake was a crossbreed between some dragons.

This Razortail Drakes’s primary lineage was the lizards, but the wings were clearly inherited from the dragons, thus they were known as drakes. Their strength was most likely higher than the Darkwing Wolf which had conquered the trading building of Bo City, since the Razortail Drake was distantly related to the dragons!

A small tornado was spinning in the air. The giant Razortail Drake was deep asleep. Its snoring was loud as thunder, while its breath alone was as strong as the power of a Wind Magician.

It was quite terrifying knowing that a beast which could be described as a Grim Reaper was currently sleeping on top of the nest.

Luckily, he was still a distance away from it. Otherwise, Mo Fan would not have had the courage to move hastily, recalling how the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast was killed almost instantly by the beast…

—–

Mo Fan and the Swift Star Wolf proceeded to the area where the nest was located. The places nearby were totally dry. Not a single beast could be seen around. It was most likely that the Giant Lizards were resting in the hive, and only moved out at night, as they were nocturnal.

The Lizards were not afraid of sunlight, but they preferred gloomy or rainy days.

As he continued along the street, Mo Fan noticed his enemies climbing over the cement wall behind him.

He saw the female advisor Jiang Yi in her grey-white uniform, followed by a group of Intermediate Magicians. They seemed to be clueless of fear while they were on the chase.

“Where are you going to hide this time!” Jiang Yi’s ugly face was wearing a cold grin. It was not acceptable for Battlemages to go through so much trouble just to hunt a student down!

“I’m not planning to run either,” Mo Fan shrugged, as if he had given up.

“Do you think you have a chance to escape by using confusion? Just to let you know, these Giant Lizards aren’t strong enough for us to treat them seriously!” Jiang Yi smirked.

“Is that so? How about those inside the nest?” Mo Fan grinned.

His right arm was already engulfed in flames. He did not fire the Fiery Fist at the Battlemages, but aimed at the bottom of the nest instead.

The Fiery Fist was like a small meteorite. It swept across the air and landed accurately at the base of the hive.

Due to the size of the nest, the force of the punch was only enough to shake some of the caves close to the base of the hive.

However, the movement alone was more than enough to startle every Giant Lizard at the bottom of the hive. Countless heads began to pop out from the holes as they uttered agitated cries while glaring at the intruders.

It had been many years since something alive had made its way here. They could feel their stomachs rumbling, as they had not tasted human flesh for quite a prolonged period!

Jiang Yi was not bothered by Mo Fan’s action. She said with a cold and disdainful tone, “Do you think you’re better than my soldiers?”

Mo Fan’s plan was fairly simple, to totally stir up chaos.

The Giant Lizards would surely attack the humans, regardless of their sides. Mo Fan would end up being flanked by the Giant Lizards, but so were Jiang Yi and her soldiers!

It all came down to who would be able to survive the ambush.

Jiang Yi thought Mo Fan’s resolution was too naive. Her soldiers were elites in the army. Each of them was responsible for hundreds of demon beasts’ deaths. To them, surviving in the wild and battling against the demon beasts was considered nothing out of the ordinary.

Meanwhile, the kid himself was only a student on his first training. To be blunt, he was just like a rookie in the army. Why would such a person think that he could rely on the demon beasts to escape?

Even if the kid had ten lives and died ten times in a row, all of the soldiers on her side would still be alive!

“Stop disgracing the term Battlemage. You’re just a bunch of scum in the army. Were your sacred vows and oaths nothing but mere talk?” Mo Fan cursed them without reservation.

Mo Fan could tell that the female advisor Jiang Yi had the pride of a Battlemage, as if she were utterly confident in the soldiers that she had trained.

Indeed, it was impossible to tell who would be the last one standing in a situation like this. Mo Fan was only betting his life on the fact that he had a higher chance to survive with his four Elements.

Mo Fan had never minded giving others a piece of his mind. His mouth had never stopped.

However, the accusations seemed to deal a heavy blow to Jiang Yi’s backbone. She was proud to be a Battlemage, thus it was her nature to obey orders, even though what they had done today was totally unforgivable.

They had lost their titles, and would be thoroughly cast aside by the public soon. Lu Nian might be crazy over his ambition, but Jiang Yi was not the same. She could feel overwhelming guilt inside, but she tried to tell herself that it was all for a greater cause, even if it meant more sacrifices and committing serious offenses!

Jiang Yi saw the Giant Lizards and Tyrant Lizards gathering around them in a circle.

Any other Magician would totally lose their minds seeing such an insane number of demon beasts. However, in their eyes, they were nothing but a bunch of filthy lizards.

“If you think you will be the one surviving, I’ll give you a chance,” Jiang Yi laughed grimly. She ordered the soldiers behind her to get into position as she spoke.

“Oh?” Mo Fan was rather surprised. Could it be that this ugly female advisor was attracted to his handsomeness, that she suddenly had a change of thought and would like to discuss things with him?

“I won’t be attacking you. I’ll be having a bet with you using the lives of these soldiers. If one of them dies while you’re still alive, I’ll fulfill one of your requests!” Jiang Yi said.

Jiang Yi could not kill Mo Fan. As a matter of fact, she would have to protect him to a certain degree. Otherwise, how could he be their test subject, if he was already dead?

Mo Fan’s action would result in either the fish dying or the net splitting. It would not bring any good to either side, so she Yi might as well suggest a competition between the two sides.

“Any request?” Mo Fan wore a grin. However, when he saw the Giant Lizards were less than five hundred meters away, his smile stiffened a bit.

“Apart from letting you go.” Jiang Yi said.

“You’re not being sincere at all, even though we’re ants on the same string now,” Mo Fan replied easily.

They were currently being surrounded by countless Giant Lizards. None of them would be able to leave without a fight. It was difficult to tell if any of them could survive in the end. Who would have the mood to start a competition now?

“That’s the most I can offer. If you were only a student, I won’t even show you any respect,” Jiang Yi replied

“I don’t understand?” Mo Fan was confused.

“I’ve read your information. The favorable turn of Bo City’s calamity, and the wipeout of the Black Vatican in Shanghai were both related to you,” Jiang Yi said calmly.

“I see, if you really have respect for me, then step aside. I don’t think any good will come out of it if all of us were to die here.” Mo Fan could tell that Jiang Yi was not too willing to be part of the operation, but she had no choice but to obey orders.

“Can’t do,” Jiang Yi simply said.

“Screw it, I’m not in the mood,” Mo Fan snapped back.

He initially thought he could convince the advisor and redeem her fallen soul. Who knew that she was a piece of cold metal.

They no longer had the time to exchange words. The closest Giant Lizard to Mo Fan was less than a hundred meters away. Mo Fan noticed the beast was the size of a truck as it charged towards him. Its wide eyes were showing him how strong of a desire it had to eat some human flesh!

“Fire Burst!”

Mo Fan cast the spell adeptly. The Blazing Rose Flame drew a red arc down the street.

The flame exploded on the Giant Lizard’s body. The huge impact from the explosion knocked its body sideways while the fire spread rapidly across its body.

The Giant Lizard was not dead, having an extremely thick layer of skin. A Basic Level Magic was far from enough to kill it.

The Giant Lizard engulfed in flames recovered and dashed right at Mo Fan furiously, as if it could not sense any pain.

“Die, you piece of shit.” Mo Fan threw another Fire Burst forward with a disgusted look.

This Fire Burst was directed at the Giant Lizard’s lower jaw. The explosion blew its mouth apart. It was still alive as it dropped heavily to the ground, but it was pretty much useless.

As Mo Fan engaged his Giant Lizard, the thirteen soldiers cast their magic too.

Since there were more people on their side, their scent was heavier, which attracted a greater amount of Giant Lizards. The dense shuffle on the street indicated the insane amount of Giant Lizards making their way towards the group of soldiers. Their cries were exceedingly sharp, like a scream of thunder right beside their ears.

Jiang Yi held her arms in front of her chest and stood in the middle of the group with an expressionless face. Not a single hint of fear could be seen.

As a matter of fact, it was basically the same for her to die here or be sentenced to death later. However, she had to finish the mission!

She cast a cold glance at her surroundings.

If Mo Fan managed to survive, and her soldiers were dead…

No, no way. She couldn’t let him go.

Since she had already made the wrong choice, she had to stay with it.

The Commander might be out of his mind, but since she had sworn an oath to remain loyal unconditionally, what difference would it make if she were to regret her actions now?

“Lightning Strike!”

The lightning from Mo Fan’s hands lunged forward wildly, forking into arcs that spread wildly through his surroundings.

The fourth-tier Lightning Strike was able to fork more bolts than before. They could even arc along the ground. Mo Fan was currently conducting the spell through his feet, which could spread anywhere within twenty meters from him.

Inside the electric field, the lightning arcs could merge with one another. The Giant Lizards who stepped into the field would be paralyzed, as if countless pythons had wrapped around their limbs.

As their movements were hindered, they burst out crying in rage.

They were so close to eating the human alive, but were bound to their spots after being paralyzed by the Lightning Strike. They stared at their prey with wide, hungry eyes.

“Such a remarkable Lightning Strike…” Jiang Yi had been watching Mo Fan all this time. Her face was filled with a hint of astonishment.

Even a Lightning Strike enchanted by a Soul Seed would not have such a strong paralytic effect. It must have been further strengthened by some method, or its power would not be so close to an Intermediate Magic.

Lightning Strike was a Basic Level Magic, thus Mo Fan was able to cast it as his heart wished. The moment the electric field had dissipated, Mo Fan instantly produced another one to replace it. Despite the overwhelming number of Giant Lizards, none of them were able to get within twenty meters of him, making him momentarily unbeatable in the battle against the Giant Lizards.

Jiang Yi could not help but admit that she was rather impressed. Being able to master a Basic Level Magic to such a level was enough to indicate his extraordinary talents.

That being said, the soldiers were in a fairly similar position, too. They had formed a circle and utilized the combination of Ice Element’s Freeze and the slowing effect of Earth Wave to form a magic field to keep the Giant Lizards away. All they needed to do was to look out for the Warrior-level demon beasts.

Glancing ahead, their entire field of view was filled with moving Giant Lizards. The Demon Beasts were flowing toward them like a tide, to an extent that some of them were actually moving forward by sliding across the bodies of their comrades. The street alone had run out of space for them to move forward.

There were still many, many Giant Lizards within five hundred meters moving toward the Magicians. Some of them were even climbing the buildings in the surroundings.

More than ten Giant Lizard corpses could be seen close to Mo Fan’s feet. Killing these Servant-class Giant Lizards did not seem too difficult, but the number he had killed was nothing compared to the number of them which were still alive. There was no way he could kill all of them before his energy depleted.

He cast a glance at Jiang Yi and her soldiers. They were utterly experienced with battles. They did not waste their energy unnecessarily casting Intermediate Magic…

The students who had come on the training sometimes had the urge to blast the Servant-class demon beasts into pieces with their Intermediate Magic. However, it was a very stupid thing to do. Their energy was just like their HP bar in the wild. Wasting their energy was the same as wasting their HP. They could never eliminate all the demon beasts. Knowing how to control the usage of their energy was the key to surviving.

The soldiers were conserving their energy. They would never cast an Intermediate Magic unless it was their last resort. They were aware that it would take some time to drive the Giant Lizards back, as they were only a kilometer away from their nest.

“Swift Star Wolf!” Mo Fan called out to signal the Swift Star Wolf to look out for the Tyrant Lizard approaching from the left.

He could still handle the Giant Lizards, but the Tyrant Lizards posed a great threat to him. They were like lizard-tanks on a rampage on the street. They could even knock the buildings down.

The Swift Star Wolf clenched his teeth as he glared at the Tyrant Lizard among the pack of beasts.

The Tyrant Lizard was blazing red, like a roasted giant crocodile. As it made its way between two buildings, they even slanted sideways slightly.

It was utterly eye-catching among the Giant Lizards. The Giant Lizards around him that were moving rather slowly would create a path for it.

“A Tyrant Fire Lizard…” Jiang Yi had seen the Tyrant Lizard too. Her eyes flickered with the alignment of Stars.

She would not allow Mo Fan to die here. If need be, she would have to attack to guarantee his safety.

That being said, she would use her magic to detain Mo Fan too if she had the chance, as capturing him was her priority now!

“Don’t come to me, don’t come to me… F**k, is your lizard brain actually made of pig’s DNA? Why do you have to come here when there are so many people there!” Mo Fan was furious when he saw the Tyrant Fire Lizard crawling toward him.

Despite the curse, Mo Fan did not relax at all.

Regardless of the number of the Giant Lizards, he could still use Lightning Strike to set up a safe zone for himself. However, it was not as effective against a Tyrant Lizard. The fourth-tier Lightning Strike would only be useful against a Warrior-level demon beast when all the lightning arcs were focusing on attacking a certain body part.

“Swift Star Wolf, find a way and lure it to them!” Mo Fan said to the Swift Star Wolf.

Swift Star Wolf and Mo Fan shared the same thoughts. Their first instinct in a situation like this was to add to the misfortunes of their enemies.

However, as soon as the Swift Star Wolf was about to draw the Tyrant Fire Lizard’s attention to the other group, Jiang Yi suddenly made her move.

The woman was trying to protect Mo Fan while finding a way to detain him. However, since Mo Fan was trying to break the rules, she would not mind being the judge for once.

Jiang Yi’s strength was similar to Tangyue back in the old days, thus the Swift Star Wolf would not dare provoke her. Mo Fan had no choice but to give up on his plan. Same as usual, the Swift Star Wolf would deal with the big guy, while he would handle the small ones.

Without the help of the Swift Star Wolf eliminating the Giant Lizards nearby, Mo Fan could sense the pressure building up.

He had to rely on the collapsed building behind him as a shield as he stood on slightly higher ground.

It was impossible to relocate himself now. The area before him was covered with a rug made of Giant Lizards. If he were to join them together into a string, he could wrap it around the perimeter of the city twice!

Mo Fan cast his magic continuously. The remastered Lightning Strike gave Mo Fan the ability to drag the battle along.

In a hit and run situation, he would be able to eliminate ten times the number of the beasts he had killed so far. However, it was totally impossible when he was being surrounded like this. If it weren’t for the paralyzing effect of the electric field, and being lucky that the Giant Lizards did not know any ranged attacks, Mo Fan would have been chewed into bones by now!

“Just surrender. Your Lightning Strike is rather impressive, but when your energy depletes eventually, you will be turned into their food. Give up, and you might still have a chance at surviving. The Commander said that you’re the best test subject. Although there hasn’t been a successful specimen before, you definitely have a higher chance to succeed!” Jiang Yi glanced at Mo Fan across the endless Giant Lizards in the way.

Jiang Yi did not dare to get too close to him. She had to consider the possibility of Mo Fan committing suicide if she pressured him too much.

Any normal person would consider dying in glory rather than living in dishonor. Since he was dead either way, why would he allow himself to be a test subject? Wouldn’t that be helping the evil side to achieve what they wanted?

Jiang Yi wanted Mo Fan to surrender himself.

It was a pain to deal with the huge pack of Giant Lizards, but they could still make their way out with ease, as long as she joined the battle.

However, Mo Fan was still venturing deeper into the demon beasts’ territory, preventing her magic from reaching him and the soldiers from capturing him alive.

If Mo Fan ended up feeding himself to the Giant Lizards, the mission would be deemed a failure. She was hoping that Mo Fan would be thinking rationally. If he continued to act as he wished, he would end up killing all of them. Shouldn’t he be accepting the truth instead? Being a test subject didn’t mean he would die!

Mm, maybe…

Mo Fan would not believe any of Jiang Yi’s bullshit.

The woman might seem to be a bystander, trying to be reasonable with him, but he clearly remembered that she was the one responsible for killing Qingqing and Zhao Mingyue at the start.

Mo Fan believed that Jiang Yi still had some conscience as a Battlemage deep inside her bones, but its ratio was like a thumb mark to an entire heart that had turned black.

He would survive the experiment?

Enough with the jokes, it was not like Mo Fan had not witnessed the pain of the girls when they were taken over by the Mother Scale Skin Phantom. It was not like he had not witnessed the torture that Xu Zhaoting had gone through when he was turned into a Cursed Beast. The only way Mo Fan would surrender was to someone like Tangyue, who had big boobs and buttocks, who was sexy and strong at the same time, not to some female Battlemage who had dark skin, a large face and a totally darkened heart!

Mo Fan hated people like her the most, trying to sound so righteous to justify their inhumane actions. Just admit that you’re scum and a heartless maniac!

“Stop with the meaningless struggle. If you waste any more time, even I won’t be able to save you!” Jiang Yi yelled.

“Even if you all are dead, I’ll still be standing here. Try and get me on your own; otherwise, stop screaming like a b**ch… These damned lizards, do you really have the lineage of the dragons? How stupid can you all be? Were you born the same way as that crossbreed scum Lu Nian? There are so many juicy humans over there, but you have to come to me instead!” Mo Fan stood above a pile of debris and yelled out. It was how he had always tried to relax from the pressure he of life-threatening danger.

Jiang Yi felt her lips contorting.

This kid was rather special, being able to curse both humans and lizards at the same time.

Fine, I’ll wait until you finally gave up!

The demon beasts had the same routine with their attacks. They would first send some pawns to consume the Magicians’ energy. Once they began to feel the fatigue, the Warrior-level Tyrant Lizards would then show themselves.

Judging from the situation, the Tyrant Lizards would show up sometime soon. Mo Fan, who was totally on his own, would definitely beg for her assistance. There was no way he would be a warrior who could take death calmly.

“Even though the new Element relies on the lineage of the mutating species to alter the human’s flesh, it won’t be as bizarre as the Black Vatican’s inhumane curses. You won’t die, and you won’t end up like a monster either!” Jiang Yi said.

“What has been the biggest weakness for the humans, and for the magicians? Clearly, it was the fact that we don’t have strong enough bodies! The mutating beasts were able to mutate the humans and give them flesh that was as strong as the demon beast!. Therefore, after many experiments, we’ve finally invented the Blood Sarira which can alter a Magician’s body. It would grant you incredible might, and if you were to merge with a certain kind of beast, you would possess inhuman powers. You could even fight against the demon beasts with your bare hands, without relying on magic!”

Jiang Yi continued trying to brainwash Mo Fan. She was trying to let Mo Fan know how marvelous their experiment was.

How significant would it be if humans were able to fight against demons with their bare hands?

It would mean there was no longer any difference between an ordinary human and a Magician. Ordinary people would be able to fight against the demon beasts, while the Magicians would become even stronger with the new strength.

Lu Nian had gone crazy because the experiment was too appealing to them. It would bring a chance for the entire world once it succeeded.

Therefore, no matter the consequences, they were willing to do it, even when the government tried to stop them, even if it were banned by the Magic Association across the five Continents, and they were blacklisted by the Hunter Union!

“If it’s really that useful, why don’t you try it on yourself? I believe you can easily find lots of crazy people like Lu Nian himself!” Mo Fan was busily dealing with the Giant Lizards. It took him quite some time before he had a chance to respond.

“The test subjects in the past were all volunteers. We’ve still got many volunteers now, but they are all doomed to fail. Using the Blood Sarira on them either turned them into a mindless monster, or dry corpses when their energy was completely drawn away!” Jiang Yi replied.

Mo Fan finally had a chance to catch his breath. The Swift Star Wolf had managed to drive the Tyrant Lizard away and come back to his side, giving him a chance to rest up slightly.

As he was doing so, he cast a side glance at Jiang Yi, who was being protected by the soldiers.

“Fellow advisor, if you find it hard to pursue your dreams in the army. I would recommend a new role for you. This position has great benefits, and will provide you with double identities and many subordinates too, with countless holidays. The people taking up the role have remarkable ambitions, and the way they do things are similar to you, too. Luckily, I’m quite familiar with the people of the Black Vatican too. I don’t think they would ever forget me. I can ask someone to introduce you to them. They will surely welcome you with open arms. They can even save some time in trying to brainwash you.”

“Don’t you mix us with those scum from the Black Vatican!” Jiang Yi screamed, as if the words had pierced through her heart.

Maybe she knew in her heart that what they were doing was similar to the Black Vatican, but she was not willing to admit it, she was fulfilling a sacred duty as a soldier!

Jiang Yi took a deep breath, her face shuddering.

She was trying her best to control her emotions, trying to observe her surroundings with a calm mind.

More Giant Lizards had shown up in the direction they were planning to retreat to. It would be even more difficult to clear a path if they were totally surrounded by the Giant Lizards.

“The Blood Sarira will take in different levels of energy, depending on the Magician. An Intermediate Magician only has two Nebulas, but the energy that the Blood Sarira required was more than that of two Nebulas… so the Magician’s soul could not withstand the burden!” Jiang Yi continued.

“If too much energy was drawn away, it would result in a huge impact to their soul, collapsing it in the end. However, without enough energy, the new Element won’t activate…”

“Hence why you’ve found me, just because I have Double Innate Elements?” Mo Fan laughed grimly.

That explained it all. The Blood Sarira would need to draw out a huge amount of energy, which would always surpass the limit of its bearer.

If the bearer were a Basic Level Magician, it would draw more than a Nebula’s energy.

If the bearer were an Intermediate Magician, it would draw more than two Nebulas’ energy.

If the bearer were an Advanced Magician, it would draw more than three Nebulas’ energy.

Furthermore, the difference margin would surely be significant, as it was overwhelming enough for the Magicians to lose their rational thinking, collapse their souls, or dry out their flesh.

He had Double Innate Elements. He was the only person in the world who would have more energy than an ordinary Magician.

Therefore, he was deemed the best test subject!

“You had the highest chance to succeed. Theoretically, it would only cause your cultivation to decline, but it won’t cost you your life!” Jiang Yi added.

Time was running out. She had to convince Mo Fan to surrender. Otherwise, even she would not be able to guarantee their safety…

“Is that the same thing you told those who died?” Mo Fan inquired coldly.

Jiang Yi fell silent.

As a matter of fact, she did say the same thing to the test subjects who had ended up dead, including her own brother who had volunteered himself. He had died a horrible death. His eyes were full of hatred for his own sister. She could still see his eyes at night every time she closed hers.

It would only make their cultivation decline?

Even she had believed the nonsense…

Mo Fan glanced at the soldiers.

Luckily for him, more Giant Lizards were attracted to their group. Several of the Tyrant Lizards were launching their attacks at the temporary fortress they had set up, too. Otherwise, he would have lost his ground long ago.

Glancing ahead, the number of the Giant Lizards did not seem to dwindle. He could not even see the end of the street due to the beasts swarming in his direction. He had no idea how many dens of the Giant Lizards were awakened by his Fiery Fist, or maybe it was because the Giant Lizards had also summoned their comrades after mere humans dared to trespass into their territory.

Mo Fan panted heavily. His supply of energy was still sufficient, but he was having trouble keeping up with the speed of the Giant Lizards.

His electric field did control the Giant Lizards within twenty meters that were trying to attack him, but there were so many of them that they were able to use the bodies of their paralyzed comrades as stepping stones.

Their fangs were within reach. They could easily smash him into mush with their tails.

“This is bad, I will surely die at this rate.” Mo Fan clenched his teeth and glanced into the sky.

“Swift Star Wolf, buy me some time. Don’t let any of the Giant Lizards get close to me!” Mo Fan said.

—

The Swift Star Wolf quickly glanced at the surrounding Giant Lizards. Fortunately, the Tyrant Lizards did not seem to be interested in them. If it were only the Giant Lizards, he could help hold them back for a period of time.

He nodded, telling Mo Fan to carry on with his plan.

Mo Fan trusted the Swift Star Wolf. He sat down with his legs crossed above the debris.

He began to meditate.

He had decided to gamble. His Fire Element’s Nebula had been refined the most in the Three-Step Tower. Since then, he had been actively involved in battles and training. He could feel that he was close to arriving at the doorstep of the third-tier.

Even though trying to have a breakthrough while being surrounded by demon beasts was extremely risky, Mo Fan believed that his talents were easily aroused in situations like this, where his life was in danger.

As such, he would have to rely on the Swift Star Wolf to look after him for the time being.

“Awoooo~!!!”

The Swift Star Wolf raised its head and uttered a deafening howl into the sky.

A great tornado began to sweep around his body. Its scale was significantly bigger than the one before, with stronger wind. It was slowly turning into a sandstorm as it gathered its momentum!

The tornado rolled forward and swept the Giant Lizards along its trajectory into the air.

The sands spinning inside it might be tiny, but at such incredible speed, were like bullets that could penetrate walls.

The sand bullets ground away at the demon beasts, producing a bloody mist inside the tornado. It had turned into a killing sandstorm.

The street, the advertisement boards, and the walls of the shops nearby were heavily damaged. The densely packed holes looked like they were left by a rain of arrows.

The troop of Giant Lizards ended up as dead bodies full of holes, their flesh splattered everywhere. Their thick skin stood no chance against the rapid firing of the sand bullets. A huge number of Giant Lizards were killed in this bizarre manner!

Previously, the Swift Star Wolf was only fighting the Giant Lizards in close quarters combat, as casting a spell with a huge area-of-effect like this would consume a significant amount of his energy.

The Swift Star Wolf panted heavily after casting the Thousand Piercing Sandstorm. However, the attack was super efficient, as it had instantly killed dozens of Giant Lizards in a certain direction.

The Giant Lizards were not agile, due to their bulky size. Swarming toward them in large packs, the attack turned out to be rather efficient.

The number of Giant Lizards had slightly decreased. More precisely, the number of Giant Lizards who could still move had greatly reduced, as the corpses of the Giant Lizards dropped heavily onto those that were still alive, knocking them to the ground.

The Swift Star Wolf was utterly attentive to the duty he had been given. In order to ensure that no beast could get closer to Mo Fan, he continuously attacked with spells that would consume a significant amount of energy, holding the Giant Lizards back.

—

Mo Fan was aware that time was precious. The Swift Star Wolf would not be able to hold on for too long.

The Fire Element Nebula burned blazingly in his Spiritual World, like an ever-lasting sun.

However, it was still lacking more heat.

Mo Fan wanted it to be stronger, to be more vigorous!

“Daddy has been very kind to you all. Now that my life is in danger, can you stop going into a huff and expand your territory to the neighbor kindergartens, please?” Mo Fan went all out with his ironic humor. As a matter of fact, he was feeling extremely nervous.

Holding his breath and calming his thoughts, Mo Fan began to focus on his breakthrough.

All his focus was gathered on the Fire Element Nebula. He was guiding his Spiritual Force to support the entire Nebula.

The Nebula used the force to expand, like a galaxy of stars trying to conquer the void and darkness nearby, allowing its brilliance to reach further.

The entire process required the Magician to drive their Spiritual Force.

If it were described as a tide, in order for the Nebula and its energy storage to expand it had to splash upon the chaotic wall of the nearby darkness and break the chains restricting it, thus allowing the Stars to rise to a higher level!

Mo Fan did not have much time for several attempts. He had to accomplish it within a few seconds. Otherwise, he would have no choice, but to surrender to that mentally-disordered woman.

Why would he surrender?

In Mo Fan’s opinion, death was definitely the final resort. He considered using death to proclaim pride a cowardly act. Instead of using death to escape from reality, it was more heroic to stay alive and bear the burden.

—

“Awoooo~!!!”

The Swift Star Wolf howled to signal Mo Fan that time was running out.

It was not because he had failed to hold the Giant Lizards off, but because his rather powerful attacks had attracted a Tyrant Lizard nearby.

Once the Tyrant Lizard engaged them, the Swift Star Wolf would have to fully focus on the battle against it, which meant that the Giant Lizards would be able to climb up the debris and eat Mo Fan alive.

—

On the other side, Jiang Yi had joined the battle too.

There were more people in her group, thus they had attracted more Giant Lizards to them. Her soldiers began to have trouble handling the situation on their own. If Jiang Yi continued to be a bystander, there would be casualties soon.

However, Jiang Yi was aware that Mo Fan was in a pinch, too.

“Is he out of his mind, trying to expand his Nebula here? Damn it!” Jiang Yi clenched her teeth and forcefully fought her way out from the formation.

She could not let Mo Fan die, at all costs. He was their final hope for the experiment of the Blood Sarira.

“Advisor…” “Advisor Jiang!” The soldiers cried out in panic when they saw Jiang Yi breaking away from the formation.

“Don’t mind me, just protect yourselves. I’ll go and save him. Hold your formation. We’ll have to clear a path out of here soon!” Jiang Yi ordered.

“Affirmative!”

The soldiers clenched their teeth and held their ground as they helped Jiang Yi clear a path.

As Jiang Yi advanced a hundred meters forward, a blazing hot Rose Flame rose from the debris ahead.

The light from the fire dyed the entire street red, as the overwhelming heat spread toward the surroundings like a wave.

Jiang Yi raised her head from among the Giant Lizards in astonishment. She could sense strong fiery energy coming from Mo Fan, completely different than before…

“How is this… how was he able to make a breakthrough in this situation?” Jiang Yi was utterly astounded.

Even the most daring soldiers in their ranks would not dare to act so boldly after being surrounded by demon beasts. A Magician could not be disturbed by any external factor during the process, as they had to put one hundred percent focus on it.

He was surrounded by hundreds of Giant Lizards, who could easily take his life with a single bite!

Wasn’t he worried that the Swift Star Wolf would fail to protect him, allowing just a single Giant Lizard to break through? Didn’t he doubt that his life would be at risk while he was trying to expand his Nebula?

The fiery Rose Flame burst out above the debris, engulfing his entire body. His appearance, similar to burning lava, was more imposing than the heat of the flames.

“Swift Star Wolf, well done. Leave it all to me!” Mo Fan wore a smile. It was relatively wild under the illumination of the flames.

The Swift Star Wolf quickly withdrew to Mo Fan’s side.

The raging flames were quickly withdrawn under Mo Fan’s control, including the heat wave surging toward the surroundings and the fire spreading across the ground. They were rapidly drawn to his right wrist.

His wrist was wrapped by a ring of flames, which were swaying slowly to the wind.

“Rose Flame!”

“Fiery Fist!”

Mo Fan’s hair was standing upright in the overflowing flow of energy. Even his eyes burned like fire in the process.

He threw a mighty punch from the top of the debris. An enormous amount of energy was directed straight into the ground.

The energy was transferred at an insane speed. The surrounding ground began to crack open as if it could not hold the energy within it.

“Nine Halls!”

The energy finally reached its limit. Under Mo Fan’s ferocious roar, pillars of flames began to spurt upward in the area a hundred meters around him!

The pillars of flame were bursting out from deep beneath the ground. Not only did they cause lava to surge to the surface, they had also transformed into burning pillars.

The first one appeared right on Mo Fan’s body. The flames rising from his body sprang into the air!

The second pillar appeared a great distance ahead. The two pillars were around thirty meters apart, but it felt like the area between the two pillars was being utterly destroyed.

The third pillar appeared behind Mo Fan, which was parallel to the pillar on Mo Fan’s body and the pillar in front of him.

Another great explosion took place.

Three pillars parallel to the ones that had sprouted from the ground appeared on both sides as the ground cracked open once again, which meant there were six other fire pillars bursting into the air from underground.

The first three pillars had already eliminated every single Giant Lizard within a hundred meters around Mo Fan, almost a hundred of them.

However, the remaining six pillars had brought utter destruction across the place. The troops of Giant Lizards were burned into black ashes under the blazing fire, including the piles of corpses on the ground.

Nine Halls!

The nine pillars were the formation of Nine Halls!

The fiery pillars were bright red due to the Rose Flame. The Giant Lizards were gradually burned into ashes, regardless of if they were alive or dead. The pillars were around five or six floors high, the Giant Lizards looked incredibly tiny and helpless before them.

Jiang Yi was also an Intermediate Magician who had ranked up to the third-tier, but she did not have a Soul Seed.

Mo Fan’s Soul Seed had made his Fiery Fist: Nine Halls extremely powerful. It was strong enough to annihilate an entire Giant Lizard’s den!

They were still surrounded by the Giant Lizards, but Mo Fan’s surroundings were totally empty, with no sign of flesh or corpses, just piles of black ashes.

On a side note, there was a Warrior-level Tyrant Lizard among the troops of Giant Lizard. It had been confidently making its way towards its prey, but after its whole body was scorched by the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls, it immediately fled for its life.

Even a Tyrant Lizard with an outstanding defense was unable to endure the damage from the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls. It would share the same fate as the Giant Lizards if it did not run away in time.

The Giant Lizards surrounding Mo Fan seemed to be commandeered by the Tyrant Lizard that had fled. As their commander ran away, the Giant Lizards in the distance remained in place with blank faces. None of them were daring enough to move forward.

“This is our chance, time to run!” Mo Fan climbed onto the Swift Star Wolf’s back while the Giant Lizards were dazzled.

The space around the Swift Star Wolf was more than enough for him to gather his momentum up for a sprint. He dashed forward and used the scorched ground as a springboard, jumping onto the collapsed building nearby.

He ran across the roof before dropping down. Even though the path below was densely packed with Giant Lizards, the fearless Swift Star Wolf ran across using their bodies as stepping stones for a short distance.

The Giant Lizards revealed their fangs and tried to snap at him. There were times when Mo Fan almost felt that the Swift Star Wolf’s tail was being bitten, but in the end, he was too fast for the sluggish Giant Lizards, who only ended up biting the air and the fur on the Swift Star Wolf’s tail.

The Swift Star Wolf only sprinted across the Giant Lizards for three seconds, but the fear and excitement from it urged Mo Fan to curl his legs upward subconsciously.

Brother, don’t pull such a prank on me next time. I almost shit my pants!

The Swift Star Wolf turned the corner and arrived at another street covered in shadows, with only a few Giant Lizards around…

Mo Fan instantly released the Swift Star Wolf into the Summoning Plane. He hugged the walls and immediately cast Fleeing Shadow.

Mo Fan had been keeping an eye out at the sky throughout the whole battle. He was not pretending to be an artistic emotional young man before his death. He was waiting for the sun to poke out from the clouds!

The buildings would only cast shadows when there was sunlight!

Mo Fan had disappeared around the corner, and when the Giant Lizards chasing after them reached the spot, they had already lost sight of the human and the wolf.

Meanwhile, the Giant Lizards who were being attracted to the street due to the sounds produced from the battle had not seen Mo Fan and the Swift Star Wolf, nor did they notice a lump of shadow moving between the buildings. They continued to move toward the group of soldiers who were busy killing their comrades.

Jiang Yi had seen Mo Fan disappearing around the corner. However, by the time she reached there, Mo Fan was no longer there…

He had vanished into thin air!

Even though he had only turned the corner, and the entire street was still filled with Giant Lizards, the demon beasts were only rushing toward her men. They did not act as if they had seen anyone rushing past them.

“He’s gone?” Jiang Yi stared into the distance in disbelief.

Jiang Yi initially assumed that there was an element of luck when she learned that the kid had saved Bo City and fought back against the Black Vatican. However, she was more convinced that that was not the case now.

She had lost sight of Mo Fan!

Her instincts were telling her that Mo Fan had escaped with some hidden abilities. She would be able to track him down eventually, but the problem was, her troop was still surrounded by the Giant Lizards. She did not even know if they could make it out alive!

—————————————-

[1] TL Note: For more information about Nine Halls (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo_Shu_Square)

Comments ( 3 )

Alephpo

EXP!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

BLgreeks

First

nitefreak

Nice plot armor awakening skills. Keep at it Mo Fan

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“Crap, a pack of Tyrant Lizards are heading toward us!” a soldier who was in charge of observing the surroundings blurted out.

The Giant Lizards would never be able to break through their defense. After all, they were Battlemages who had gone through countless battles. They knew how to exploit the weaknesses of the demon beasts to set up a temporary fortress.

However, the Tyrant Lizards were a completely different story!

Each Tyrant Lizard that had appeared would inflict some damage to their formation. They would need a couple of Intermediate Spells to hold them off.

However, a pack of Tyrant Lizards was definitely a nightmare for them.

They were all trying to hold the overwhelming number of Giant Lizards back. Who would have the spare firepower to deal with the Tyrant Lizards?

Seeing the pack of Tyrant Lizards taking up half of the street with their different-colored skins indicating the Element they possessed, the soldiers could no longer remain calm as before, as death was just around the corner!

“Clear a path, now!” Jiang Yi demanded.

They had to break free from the demon beasts. Otherwise, their entire troop would be wiped out here!

——

Meanwhile, Mo Fan had used the Fleeing Shadow to distance himself from the main street.

He was still at the center of Jinlin City, but for some reason, the buildings nearby had all collapsed. The whole place was full of debris. He could not see the end of it with a glance.

There was no swamp nearby. Although he could still see the towering nest in the distance, there were barely any Giant Lizards nearby.

Mo Fan stood on the remains of an observation tower and looked at the soldiers who were slowly drowning among the demon beasts.

He could imagine the fear replacing their arrogant looks. He could also imagine the disbelief on Jiang Yi’s face when she lost sight of him.

This bunch of idiots, still thinking they stood a chance against him. They would never expect him to be a Shadow Magician, too. He could easily move around as long as there were shadows near him.

The Giant Lizards were extremely slow with their reactions. They would never notice him when he was using their shadows to move around. It was the main reason why Mo Fan had decided to venture deep into their territory.

Most importantly, he had managed to rank up!

Mo Fan now understood why many of their seniors had encouraged the younger Magicians to have more battles against the demon beasts.

Meditating was indeed important, but the best way to improve a human’s potential was through fighting. If he weren’t surrounded by the demon beasts, Mo Fan believed that he would have needed at least another half a year to improve his Fire Nebula to the third-tier.

“Fiery Fist: Nine Halls… I’ve finally mastered such a domineering attack.” Mo Fan clenched his right fist as he recalled the destruction wrought by the giant fire pillars.

He still remembered his first time seeing the attack from Tangyue. Back then, Tangyue was so powerful that Mo Fan had the urge to bow before her. She might have reached a greater height by now, but at least he had caught up to her strength back then. Besides, she was an agent of the Magic Courts!

Leaning back, Mo Fan began to take a rest.

He was slightly worn out from the battle before. Now that he was safe, he was not in a rush to leave, since he was interested in admiring the fate of the evil Battlemages when they ended up dead!

“Mm, what’s that?” Mo Fan realized a pair of white wings were flapping in the sky.

He gathered his thoughts and glanced ahead, taking a clearer look.

The following second, his body began to tremble as if he had been struck by lightning.

It was a Heavenly Eagle with a pair of snowy white wings, slightly bigger than an ordinary one.

It was flapping its wings as it soared across the sky above Jinlin City…

Its claws were extremely huge, and were carrying a giant net.

Four people were trapped inside the net. It looked like they had lost control of their minds. They were utterly helpless against the net and were being dragged around like little chicks. Their eyes were looking at their surroundings helplessly.

Mo Fan was utterly familiar with them, as they were Zhao Manting, Mu Nujiao, Mu Ningxue and Bai Tingting…

Flames of anger ignited within Mo Fan’s heart. He finally realized why Lu Nian was not going after him. It turned out that the devil was chasing after his friends. He was hanging them in the air just to display his bargaining chips.

Mo Fan was exceedingly furious!

How could someone be so despicable! If he could turn his anger into fire around his fist, he would surely have smashed that son of a b**ch’s face with his bare hands!

“Mo Fan, I’ll only say this once, whether if you can hear it or not!”

“Come and kneel in front of me at once. Otherwise, I’ll be throwing them down from this height!

“Don’t you worry, I’ve sealed their souls. I can guarantee you that they won’t be able to cast a single spell during the fall. According to my experience, even a Warrior-level demon beast will be smashed into minced meat from this height. Forget about the little kid from the Zhao Family who’s on the verge of dying after I’ve beaten the crap out of him. However, it would be a pity for the girl with the Ice Element who’s still unconscious. I believe she’s very important to you. If that’s not good enough, how about the three of them together?”

Lu Nian’s devil-like voice echoed in the sky. He had purposely enhanced his voice with his magic, making sure that it would spread to every corner of the city.

As Mo Fan heard the words, flames uncontrollably burst out under his feet. He could no longer control the rage inside him.

Even the outrageous Black Vatican had never made him so angry before. He never thought it would be a person wearing the uniform of a Battlemage!

“Mo Fan, this devil will still kill us even after you’ve shown yourself. Go back to the capital, to the Magic City. You have to let the Enforcement Union and the army know what happened here…” Zhao Manting who was severely injured let out a scream.

He was unable to yell out with magic, as his soul was being sealed. He could only scream at the top of his voice, hoping Mo Fan could hear him somewhere down there.

That being said, there was no chance Mo Fan could hear him due to the height!

Bai Tingting and Mu Nujiao remained silent. Their ears were filled with the echoes of Lu Nian’s terrible laughter.

——

Up in the sky, a great burst of wind swept forward, parting the clouds in a blue line…

A pair of Wind Wings slowly appeared in the blue sky, as a man wearing a wind jacket embroidered with a different pattern on its back flew toward the city rapidly.

The man had a handsome, stubbled face. Although his collars were upright, an obvious scar going across his neck all the way to his chest could still be seen.

“Lu Nian, you’ve committed a terrible crime! Let go of the students at once!” the man approached the giant Heavenly Eagle and snapped furiously.

Lu Nian stood on the back of the Heavenly Eagle and stared at the stubbled man driving the Wind Wings.

Zhan Kong?

Isn’t he guy in charge of the army in the south? Why would he come all the way to Dongting Lake to meddle with his business?

The entire operation had been carried out behind the scenes. There was no way the military would have noticed it. Could it be that someone had alerted them? Could it be the students who had escaped?

Impossible, even if they had some sort of a communication device, the military would not be able to respond so quickly. It was too much of a coincidence if Zhan Kong just happened to be nearby, too.

Lu Nian grinned, revealing his yellow teeth. He waved his pipe calmly before speaking with a challenging gaze, “A useless commander like you, who failed to protect Bo City, dares to challenge me? Zhan Kong, I believe you’ve come alone…You knew that the kid had Double Innate Elements all along, but you have been keeping it to yourself. Does that mean you’re planning something on your own, too?”

“Bullshit. Do you think everyone is as reckless as you? Blood Sarira my ass, with the kid’s potential, he could easily rise up as a hero one day without relying on that filthy piece of crap. I’d feel greatly ashamed if I were you, to use such inhumane methods on students. If your father knew you would turn out to be such a piece of crap, he would prefer to shoot you on the wall and let you dry in the wind!” Zhan Kong did not care how rough it sounded when he was cursing people.

He was extremely furious.

Zhan Kong assumed that Lu Nian would only be trying to capture Mo Fan alive.

To his surprise, Lu Nian had totally lost his mind. He somehow decided to kill all the students, just to silence them.

They were the elite students from the Imperial College and the Pearl Institute, with a great future ahead of them. However, they had died horrible deaths here just because of Lu Nian’s wild ambition.

How many years had it been since the military had a failure like him!?

“Zhan Kong, do you really think you can defeat me?” Lu Nian smiled. It slowly turned into a savage grin.

Since his actions had been exposed, there was no longer a need to be mindful of keeping it all a secret.

There was no need to care too much. A high achiever should never be bound to the restrictions around him. It was better now that he was no longer tied to his rank. There were only a few Commanders in the army that could match his strength, and this Lu Nian was definitely on the list.

It was time for the massacre to begin!

Anyone who was slightly related to this incident would die!

“Feed them to that thing.” Lu Nian glanced at the giant beast who had just woken up on top of the nest with a cruel grin.

“Commander, I believe… that’s a Razortail Drake!” the soldier driving the Heavenly Eagle said with a trembling voice.

Lu Nian was referring to the dominator of the desolated city, currently sitting at the top of the Giant Lizards’ nest: the Razortail Drake!

Feeding the four students to the Razortail Drake?

Wasn’t that a little bit too far?

If he were to fly toward it, the Razortail Drake would surely eat both him and the Heavenly Eagle too!

“Are you disobeying my order?” Lu Nian glared at the soldier.

“Ne…negative.” The soldier saluted and directed the Heavenly Eagle to fly toward the nest.

…

In the net, Bai Tingting’s face was as pale as a piece of paper.

Zhao Manting and Mu Nujiao might not know the beast, but she had seen it herself.

The Heavenly Eagle was flying directly at the beast. Despite the distance between them, Bai Tingting was already soaked with the cold sweat of fear.

“What’s that?” Zhao Manting caught onto the net and stared at the top of the nest with a blank face.

“It’s…it’s the thing that had eaten the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast with a single bite,” Bai Tingting said in a trembling voice.

Zhao Manting and Mu Nujiao could not help, but shiver in fear.

So, that’s the thing… eating the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast with a single bite…

The Pseudomorphing Demon Beast alone was impossible to deal with, wouldn’t that make the Razortail Drake as deadly as the Grim Reaper…

They preferred to fall to their deaths from their current height rather than being fed to the Razortail Drake as a snack!

…

“Lu Nian, are you insane? Are you seriously going to continue making mistakes?” Zhan Kong roared furiously.

“Zhan Kong, are you really that naive to believe the world is within your grasp? Don’t you know that someone is still waiting for you under the cracks of Tianshan Mountain? You don’t even have the courage to retrieve her corpse!” Lu Nian burst into sinister laughter.

Lu Nian’s words made Zhan Kong’s expression turn extremely dark, as if they had touched a spike at the bottom of his heart that he had been avoiding all this time. His eyes flickered with a strong murderous intent.

The devil Commander seemed to enjoy Zhan Kong’s reaction, and added with a laugh, “You couldn’t even protect Bo City from a bunch of low-intelligence demon wolves. You’ve shown me again just how useless you are. I feel sorry for you.”

Zhan Kong’s muscles twitched. The scar under his collar almost burst open as it throbbed.

“And now you’re back pretending to be a hero, trying to condemn us like a sacred judge. Don’t you find it funny? Look at those students. How innocent, how pitiful. They might be the future of mankind if they were able to survive. If you really are capable, then try and get over my dead body and save them. Prove to me that you’re not a useless piece of crap! Unfortunately, you’re trash, a complete piece of trash!” Lu Nian’s voice was extremely ear-piercing.

Despite being utterly furious, there was no expression on his face.

Zhan Kong wore an expressionless face. He pointed at Lu Nian and said in a firm tone, “I might have failed before, but I’ve never stopped trying.”

That person who was frozen under the cracks of Tianshan Mountain… Even if his hair turned white by the time he became a Super Magician, he would still revisit Tianshan Mountain to retrieve her, either alive or dead. It was a promise that he would keep for the rest of his life!

He knew he was responsible for Bo City’s calamity, too. The Darkwing Wolf, the Black Vatican, he would never forgive them. He would surely use the wolf’s blood and the heads of the Black Vatican to mourn the deceased of Bo City!

Now, Zhan Kong had sworn to himself that he would slay Lu Nian to get rid of this disgrace of the military, even if his life were at stake!

His Wind Wings beat rapidly. His priority now was to save the four students who were being delivered to the Razortail Drake. Zhan Kong swept across the sky at his fastest speed, resulting in a trail of turbulence behind him.

“Eyes of the Rock Demon!”

Lu Nian would never let Zhan Kong pass so easily. Several brilliant Stars appeared close to him, which were densely joined together in the sky like a stunning Nebula.

The Stars aligned into patterns. The patterns glowed brightly while they slowly combined. They gradually merged into an astonishing Constellation near Lu Nian’s position.

The brown-hued Constellation looked incredibly complex, but Lu Nian had constructed it in a very adept manner!

The evil Commander was casting an Advanced Earth Spell. The brilliant, astounding Constellation was enough to serve as an indication.

“Petrify!”

The evil Commander uttered coldly. The clouds in the sky were covered in a grayish-white layer…

The dust from the petrification process lingered in the air. The clouds were turned into a stony substance within a few seconds, which began to break into pieces while floating in the air.

Even the clouds were petrified, what about humans?

The first time Mo Fan had met Zhan Kong, his Wind Wings had only consisted of a pair, resembling an ordinary pair of wings.

Currently, Zhan Kong had two pair of Wind Wings on his back. The wings were generating a strong gust between them, which was quite impossible to see without a closer look.

Zhan Kong was controlling the four Wind Wings mentally. A pair of them wrapped in front of him as a shield, forming a layer of protection around him.

The gray-white force of Petrify approached its target. However, the Wind Element circulating around the wings was effective against the particles, even those invisible to naked eyes. It formed a layer of protection that could blow any energy away…

Protected by the Wind Wings, Zhan Kong’s eyes were burning.

Wind was only his supportive Element!

Fire was his main Element. Facing a strong opponent like Lu Nian, Zhan Kong had no intentions of concealing his strength!

Fiery Stars quickly aligned around his body. The paths between the Stars lined up and drew a perfect Intermediate Star Pattern.

The Star Patterns continued to join together as Zhan Kong floated right in the middle of them. He was like a dictator who had control over the lives of all living things, able to bring utter destruction with a single rise of his hand!

The Constellation took form!

As the Advanced Magic was being cast, Zhan Kong maintained his altitude while holding his hands above him. A fiery magic ring sprang up high in the sky.

The fiery magic ring covered a huge area above the clouds. It dyed the sky the color of sunset, resulting in a spectacular view.

“Sky-Flame Funeral!”

Zhan Kong, who was right in the middle of the Fire Constellation glanced down at Lu Nian. His hands were actually supporting the fiery magic ring that had set the entire sky ablaze. Following his roar, giant fireballs swept across the sky like a meteor shower and dove down!

The sky above the city was turned blazing red. The meteor shower was visually astonishing. It was definitely worthy to be called a funeral, since each of the fireballs was enough to stir up utter destruction, smashing a huge chunk of the city into ashes!

Although the Sky-Flame Funeral was targeting the evil Commander Lu Nian, the packs of Giant Lizards on the ground ended up as victims, too. Countless numbers of them were burned into ashes as the flames poured down upon the place…

When the destructive force reached a certain level, the Servant-class demon beasts became extremely tiny. The spreading force from the Sky-Flame Funeral was enough to annihilate the Giant Lizards from an entire street!

…

Mo Fan was not in the mood to spectate the duel between Lu Nian and Zhan Kong.

He raised his head while chasing after the Heavenly Eagle on the way to the nest.

Zhan Kong was occupied with the battle against Lu Nian. There was no way he could save the students in time. Mo Fan was torn with anxiety as he saw Zhao Manting, Mu Nujiao, Bai Tingting, and Mu Ningxue approaching the gates of hell.

What now?

What could he do to save them?!

The place ahead was an ocean of Giant Lizards. He had no idea if he could make his way through them, besides…

For God’s sake, the Razortail Drake was awake!

At the top of the nest, a giant pair of wings slowly extended, like a human stretching after waking up from a nap.

Its giant eyes slowly opened as it exhaled a deep breath, splitting the clouds in front of it apart.

It slowly turned its head around. It first looked down at its citizens, to check if they were sticking to their daily routine. However, it suddenly caught a glimpse of something moving ahead.

The Giant Lizards were not sensitive to things that were stationary. However, they naturally had a grudge against those that flew in the sky!

The giant beast stared at the Heavenly Eagle s approaching it. Its eyes fixed on the humans hanging in the net.

It stuck out its tongue with an avid gaze, and a hint of anger directed at the imbeciles that had dared to trespass into its territory!

On the ground, Mo Fan was getting closer to the Giant Lizard’s territory.

Mo Fan had no fear of the overwhelming number of Giant Lizards. He would not mind stacking their dead corpses into a mountain.

Unfortunately, the Razortail Drake had awoken. The Commander-level demon beast, which had been able to kill the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast with a single bite, had set its eyes on Mu Ningxue and the others…

…

“You’re going to kill yourself…”

As Mo Fan stopped for a brief moment to catch his breath, a woman’s voice appeared from the debris beside him.

Mo Fan glanced toward it and saw Advisor Jiang Yi.

The woman was indeed quite impressive, being able to escape from the tide of Giant Lizards in one piece. That being said, half of her troop was missing. Even Jiang Yi herself was covered in wounds. It was clear that they had completely lost their ability to fight.

“If you were planning to stop me, I’ll kill you all right away!” Mo Fan glared at the remnants of the troop.

He had no time to waste on them. Either way, there was no way he would watch Mu Ningxue die!

“Let’s ignore the fact that you can’t make your way past the swarm of Giant Lizards in front of you. Even if you somehow made it to the Razortail Drake, it would smash you into minced meat with a single slap. You’re just getting yourself killed.” Jiang Yi uttered a piece of cold advice instead of trying to detain him.

“As if I’m not aware of it. If it weren’t for you lunatics, why would it have ended up like this!” Mo Fan cursed.

He was using his Blood Tabi to chase the Heavenly Eagle across half of the city. It was currently on cooldown.

How could he possibly weave through the Giant Lizards which had totally filled up the two-kilometer-long street?

Even if he somehow made it to the other side, how could he possibly face the Razortail Drake? Zhan Kong was occupied with the battle against Lu Nian. There was no way he could make it in time, while Lu Nian was purposely dragging the battle further just to let Mo Fan knew the consequences of not following his demands!

“The Commander is out of his mind.” Jiang Yi’s eyes were filled with despair.

Jiang Yi could barely justify the Commander’s decision from before, and now, what he was doing had completely surpassed her final limit.

Their Commander Lu Nian had really changed. He had gone insane!

He was no longer doing it just to complete the invention of the new Element. He was trying to satisfy his lust to kill!

As a matter of fact, she should have realized it as soon as she set out for the operation.

“I believe you understand too. There’s no way they could survive the Razortail Drake. Even if Zhan Kong managed to make his way pass Lu Nian, he won’t be able to save them, either,” Jiang Yi added.

Mo Fan’s actions were utterly meaningless.

He could not even make his way through the street filled with Giant Lizards, and still, he was thinking of saving the four students.

“Shut the f**k up!” Mo Fan snapped.

Fire began to sprout from his body uncontrollably, followed by a few lightning arcs flickering in the air. It was a sign that a Magician had totally lost control of his emotions.

Jiang Yi could tell that this young Magician was reluctant to give up until the final moment. He was still planning to rush into the territory of the Giant Lizards still.

“Are they really that important to you?” Jiang Yi asked.

Mo Fan did not respond.

He did not even consider the question. His only thought was to eliminate the Giant Lizards so he could reach the nest. He wanted to knock the Razortail Drake flying with his fist!

No one was allowed to touch the people inside the net!

“Mo Fan, if you really want to save them…” Jiang Yi’s eyes flickered with strong emotion as if she had made a decision that she could not even believe herself.

She opened her palm and continued…

“Here is the Blood Sarira.”

“A crazy woman whose mind is filled with thoughts of killing people like you should just stay as far away from me as possible. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind killing you all right now.” Mo Fan had had enough of Jiang Yi’s bullshit. He had to calmly think of a way to make his way to the nest, while the Razortail Drake was still drowsy after waking up from a long nap!

“This is the only way, if you really want to save them,” Jiang Yi said calmly.

On her filthy hand floated a bright red container, which looked like a drop of liquid. It was impossible to tell what Element it consisted of from its eerie gloss. However, Jiang Yi could easily sense the overwhelming power it contained!

Magic Associations across the five Continents were unwilling to admit its existence, to the extent that the governing body of every nation had forbidden its experimentation.

Maybe it was evil and wild, but no one had denied its unmatched power. It was always the case when a new Element was invented. The whole world would always be against it at the start. Humans were always afraid of the unknown, and had deemed it evil…

However, how could power be deemed righteous or evil? Just because it was too overwhelming?

If someone were able to fully control it, it would be up to the person to decide if it were truly evil!

Double Innate Elements, the young man who possessed three Elements at the Intermediate Level.

He was fearless, and intelligent. Jiang Yi had never met any Magician who would dare to trigger a breakthrough while surrounded by demon beasts.

Jiang Yi believed that he was the only person who could control the new Element.

“Maybe it’s our fault that all this is happening, we’re willing to accept our fate, but that’s because of the sins that we have committed. You and your friends shouldn’t be treated as a sacrifice.

“It’s a very simple decision. Either you charge into the demon beasts and die like an idiot, or break this Blood Sarira into pieces. Well, you could just turn around and leave instead. Maybe the people inside the net aren’t that important to you, after all.” Jiang Yi held her palm up, allowing Mo Fan to take a closer look at the Blood Sarira.

Turn around and leave?

Mo Fan glanced at the Heavenly Eagle, which was getting closer to the Razortail Drake…

If Mo Jiaxin were in the net, Mo Fan would not hesitate. If Xinxia were in the net, Mo Fan would not hesitate, either.

How about them?

Even if he were able to calm himself, the urge to save them was definitely stronger than any fear of going against the Giant Lizards!

It was actually not so complicated. The same thought had been occupying his mind all along: no one was allowed to touch them, not the devil Lu Nian, nor the Razortail Drake!

Finally, Mo Fan said to Jiang Yi, “Give that piece of shit to me.”

“We call it the Demon, or you can call it the Demon Element, too. It’s still considered Black Magic.” Jiang Yi handed the container to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had no time to waste with Jiang Yi. He couldn’t care less about the specific procedures, nor did he care what it was called.

The Blood Sarira looked like a drop of blood that had been frozen in midair. However, it felt like it was made of glass. He could easily break it into pieces with his fingertips.

“You have three Nebulas due to your Double Innate Elements. You should be able to provide sufficient energy to the Blood Sarira. You also possess the Summoning Element. According to the information we collected from our 788th test subject, you will be affected by your Summoned Beast’s lineage once you transform. Therefore, your transformation will lean toward something related to the lineage of wolf species,” Jiang Yi quickly explained to Mo Fan.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan failed to listen to a single word. The Razortail Drake had almost fully awakened. On the bright side, its attention was currently attracted to the astonishing attacks between the two Advanced Magicians. Otherwise, it would easily reach Mu Ningxue and the others with a single flap of its wings.

Clenching his teeth, Mo Fan crushed the Blood Sarira between his fingers!

Jiang Yi, who was still in the midst of her speech, was startled by Mo Fan’s action.

Meanwhile, the soldiers who were hiding a fair distance away were stunned when they saw Mo Fan’s action. Their eyes were completely filled with terror, as if they were about to witness the birth of a devil.

As the Blood Sarira broke into pieces, a layer of thick, bloody mist gradually engulfed Mo Fan’s body…

Jiang Yi immediately backed off. She was well aware of how terrifying the blood mist was.

As the blood mist circled around Mo Fan, it seemed to be inspecting him, as if it were alive. It was deciding whether the sacrificial lamb would suit its taste, as if it were something that had just been released from Pandora’s Box!

Suddenly, the blood mist drove into Mo Fan through his pores.

Mo Fan was taken by surprise. Just as he was about to check his body, his movements stiffened.

The colors of his pupils turned dark, a depth capable of containing the entire galaxy. It switched from endless darkness to a mysterious silver color, then a fiery ocean, then a wild purple flicker!

Meanwhile, his hair grew longer at an insane rate, while its color turned from black to white, similar to the smooth fur of the Swift Star Wolf!

His bones emitted crackling noises as they grew. His muscles expanded rapidly. Mo Fan let out a roar as he experienced a huge pain coming from his soul. The sharp fangs of a wolf could be seen sticking out from his mouth…

The blood mist had vanished. However, Jiang Yi had discovered an eerie outline around Mo Fan, followed by blood-colored lines spreading under his skin. The outline was growing at a fast pace, similar to a newborn infant!

Gradually, the image looming over Mo Fan’s body finally resembled something. It was the evil-looking, savage silhouette of a werewolf!

“The Swift Star Wolf… His blood was indeed under the influence of his Summoned Beast. A Summoner who has established a strong bond with their Summoned Beast would be able to control their mind and soul better, and they will be granted extra power due to their mutated blood.” Jiang Yi blurted out in excitement after taking a closer look at the Soul Shadow.

The number of bloody lines continued to increase. They were joining together to form a pattern similar to what the Swift Star Wolf had on his body. However, the power of the lineage they contained had significantly surpassed that of the Swift Star Wolf!

A beastly roar burst out from Mo Fan’s mouth.

Although he still retained his human appearance despite the blood lines that had overrun his body, the aura emanating from his body was way more terrifying than a demon beast!

His inhuman eyes and the long white hair that had reached his ankles thoroughly showcased his fiendish nature.

His bare feet stepped heavily on the ground, leaving a trail of scorched footprints. The path he walked upon was instantly turned into a burning hell.

His entire body was surrounded by flickering electrical chains tied to his body, actually forming a destructive domain!

The Soul Shadow of a werewolf loomed over his back, showcasing the power and darkness it had full control of!

Humans always had a tendency to imagine something that had never existed. They would combine the things they knew to invent something new, and if the thing they had invented was evil, they would call it a devil.

The Demon Element was unacceptable by the masses, but it had limitless potential at the same time!

Currently, four different Elements had been combined together in a perfect balance in Mo Fan’s body. He was the true depiction of a demon that had existed in the ancient drawings!

More than a thousand test subjects were involved in the Demon Element experiment. However, Jiang Yi had never seen any of them react the same way Mo Fan was now!

Normally, the transformation would contort their appearance beyond recognition. Even their bones would be twisted by mutation. One time, a test subject even had bones like blades poking out from the flesh all over his body, completely resembling the appearance of a demon beast…

In comparison, the young man before her had retained most of his appearance. That being said, his transformation was way more terrifying than the twisted looks of the other test subjects.

The demonized young man suddenly turned around. His eyes with rapidly changing colors were staring at Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi stiffened. She could not even move her fingers. She was utterly clueless why she would be overwhelmed with fear and not dare to have the thought of resisting.

“I forgot to mention…” The demonized young man spoke in human’s tongue, just that his tone was accompanied by a hint of savagery.

Jiang Yi could not believe what she had just heard. It was the first time a demonized Magician had spoken normally. The transformation was basically the same as humans who had been possessed by parasitic beasts, which would turn them into demon beasts!

Forgot to mention?

Forgot to mention what? Jiang Yi looked at the young man who was so much more extraordinary than the other test subjects. It was like he had turned into a different person due to his demonic appearance.

What is he trying to say? And what did he forget to tell me?

“I don’t have just three Elements.” Mo Fan’s voice was filled with a hint of a sneer, even though he was not actually sneering. She could hear the mocking laughter echoing in her ears.

Jiang Yi was stunned once again. She could not tell if the young man were still the same person as before.

Don’t have just three Elements?

Could it be…

Jiang Yi suddenly realized something. She stared at the Soul Shadow that resembled a werewolf looming over Mo Fan’s back with great astonishment.

The shadow…

Where did it come from?

Before Jiang Yi could answer her own question, the demonized young man stooped. He was like a human-shaped bow that was accumulating power!

The ground beneath him cracked open as his body sank down slowly, implying the amount of force he was gathering.

Mo Fan sprang into the air, like an arrow being fired into the sky. He disappeared from before Jiang Yi and her soldiers.

Raising her eyes, she discovered that Mo Fan had landed right onto a signal tower nearby. It was over a hundred meters tall. He had just jumped onto it with pure physical force!

The ground cracked open like a giant spiderweb just from his feet, indicating that his body possessed greater explosive power than a demon beast.

“Doesn’t have just three Elements…doesn’t have just three Elements…” Jiang Yi murmured with a blank face as she looked into the sky.

A Magician with Double Innate Elements was already considered the perfect candidate for their experiment, but what if the young man had four Elements?

——

On top of the nest, the enormous Razortail Drake had locked its gaze onto the Heavenly Eagle approaching it.

With a flap of its wings, the Razortail Drake flew from the nest and lunged toward the Heavenly Eagle carrying the giant net. It opened its large mouth, yawning open like a giant cave, planning to swallow the Heavenly Eagle and the humans in the net with a single bite.

It was only treating them as a snack before going back to sleep. It was planning to swallow them and digest them without chewing!

The saliva in its oral cavity was exceedingly sticky. Bai Tingting, Zhao Manting, Mu Nujiao and Mu Ningxue were swallowed right into its mouth. It was just big enough to contain them. If the Razortail Drake were using its teeth instead, they would be turned into minced meat instantly…

They would soon slide down its tongue into its esophagus. The compression of its stomach wall and the corrosiveness of its gastric acids would result in a horrid death for the students!

Bai Tingting and Mu Nujiao had already shut their eyes. To be fair, even if their eyes were opened, they would see nothing but darkness too…

“Filthy Lizard, spit it out now!” A savage roar shook the place, like a blasting clap of thunder in the clear sky!

A figure encapsulated within a wolf-like shadow on top of a signal tower launched himself toward the enormous beast.

His fist generated an incredible fiction with the air, the fire engulfing it combusting fiercely. As the figure approached the Razortail Drake, a significantly enlarged Fiery Fist was thrown right at the Razortail Drake’s neck!

The Razortail Drake, caught in the midst of enjoying its snack, fell backward as its neck received the powerful blow.

It automatically spat out the food it was just about to swallow before its enormous body flew backward and slammed heavily into a hole on the nest…

The burning flames were like a fiery cloud half-dragging Mo Fan into the air.

Mo Fan glared at the hole on the nest which the Razortail Drake had disappeared into, as if he had yet to release all his anger. He raised his leg and kicked down in an arc, firing off a crescent shockwave!

The shockwave swept across the sky at an insane speed, aiming right at the Razortail Drake…

The shockwave was sharp like a powerful slash. It swept past the nest silently and disappeared!

The tip of the nest began to slide downward, revealing a clean cut across its surface. The cone-shaped stony structure dropped from a height of over three hundred meters and slid into the ground in the middle of the city.

Jiang Yi and the soldiers had eyes wide, their jaws dropped.

Did he just knock back the Commander-level Razortail Drake flying with a single punch?!

Did he just fire a crescent-shaped projectile with his leg and cut off the top of the Razortail Drake’s nest open?!

Even with the transformation from the Blood Sarira, there was no way he would be granted such terrifying power.

“Four Elements!! He’s a magician with four Elements!” A huge wave rose in Jiang Yi’s heart.

She finally knew why the demonized Mo Fan could still speak, and why he possessed greater power than the rest of the test subjects. The power granted by the Blood Sarira was directly proportional to the energy it had drawn from the Magician. Since the kid had four Elements, he would be more than four times stronger after the transformation!

He had demonized perfectly!

Only an Intermediate Magician with four Elements would be able to transform perfectly!

His consciousness…

That’s right, he was able to retain his self-awareness too. Otherwise, a demonized Magician would only have a strong lust to kill, just like a demon beast. Unlike the test subjects in the past, he was aware of what he wanted to do. He still had control of his mind.

It worked!

Their Demon Element was a success.

Their Demon Element was finally a success!

Jiang Yi knew she could not escape the punishment of her wrongdoing. However, she was relieved that she could witness the true strength of the Demon Element with her own eyes…

No, what she had just seen was merely the tip of the iceberg of the Demon Element.

He had the power of a demon with four Elements!

Bai Tingting slowly opened her eyes. She was expecting to see the disgusting stomach wall of the Razortail Drake, but it turned out to be sunlight, the blue sky, and clouds which had been set aflame.

Meanwhile, Zhao Manting and Mu Nujiao were staring at the person whose hair had almost reached his feet… He was definitely Mo Fan, but they could not believe he was the Mo Fan they knew!

His face was showing the signs of the wolf species, while his entire body had hereditary markings, like a curse.

His hands had turned into a pair of sharp claws, which were currently holding the net with ease.

His jumping ability was shocking. It felt like he was flying as he leapt between the buildings, despite them being more than a hundred meters apart. Any ordinary human would have totally broken their bones from the jump, but he was perfectly fine!

Mo Fan continued to jump between the roofs of the buildings as he made his way down to the ground, carrying the net firmly in his hand. If he weren’t concerned that the four students would not be able to handle the impact of landing on the ground straightaway, he would be perfectly fine even if he were to land from his current height of three hundred meters.

Even Mo Fan could not describe his current status.

It was similar to the burst of power his legs received after activating the Blood Tabi, but he could feel an even greater burst of power pouring into every body part. The power seemed to be circulating in his body, and would not dissipate as easily as the power of the Blood Tabi.

The degree of his strength was absolutely outstanding. It was on a totally different level than a human’s body. If it weren’t for the fact that he still retained his human appearance, he would believe that he had turned into a demon beast with a fairly outstanding lineage!

Mo Fan could feel himself acting very impetuous.

He could still think, but he could not help but feel disgusted and treating it as a waste of effort. The savagery, lust to kill and anger in his bones were multiplied a significant amount of times by the Demon Element. It felt like there was nothing he could not resolve with his fists. Nothing would trouble him any longer, as long as he killed them all!

Now, Mo Fan felt like a demon who had been kept in captivity for too long, who had finally regained its freedom. The first thought that came to his mind was to bring chaos and utter destruction to the entire world.

Killing and destroying were the only rituals that could be tied to the body!

He could not even understand why he had saved the four humans. He was only aware of an obsessive thought occupying his mind. It felt like an instinct that had been implanted in his mind during the transformation. He would never allow anyone to touch them, not even a single hair!

A deafening roar burst out from the nest, which echoed throughout the entire city.

The Giant Lizards filling the streets were aware of their leader’s fury. They shivered and lowered their heads, awaiting their leader’s command.

A giant beast poked out from the top of the chopped-off nest. It was the Razortail Drake.

A part of its neck was dented in, which was obviously the reason why it was enraged. On top of that, its favorite nest was also destroyed!

The Razortail Drake glanced down at the demonized Mo Fan and bellowed out more deafening roars. Even the buildings began to shake violently…

Finally, the giant beast glided down from the height of the mound. Its enormous shadow loomed as its giant body slammed right into the tall buildings and toppled them like Lego blocks!

The demonized Mo Fan responded with a furious roar, too. Mu Nujiao, Zhao Manting, and Bai Tingting instantly covered their ears against the screeching pain.

Killing was his nature, too!

The demonized Mo Fan showed no intention of thinking for even for a second. He only wanted to follow his instincts, to tear the damned big fat lizard in front of him into pieces!

With an eerie whoosh, Mo Fan’s figure vanished into thin air, and a wolf-shaped silhouette appeared in the shadow under the Razortail Drake!

The Wolf Shadow gradually materialized, before emerging as a Wolf Soul!

Under the Wolf Soul stood a man, none other than the demonized Mo Fan. His face was savage, with an eerie grin.

The power granted to him was rumbling inside his body, urging him to spread his arms wide and let out a roar into the sky!

He extended his arms and stared right into the Razortail Drake’s eyes fearlessly.

He howled like a wild wolf. Even the air was vibrating. As he did, the Soul Shadow gradually enlarged, to the extent it felt like the surrounding buildings were being drawn into it…

The Wolf Shadow lunged forward, launching itself at the diving Razortail Drake and tearing ferociously at its throat!

The Razortail Drake was infuriated. It brawled with the Wolf Shadow with its giant claws as the two ferocious beasts collided with one another. One had great might due to its size, while the other was an irascible Soul Shadow displaying its wild nature.

The Razortail Drake turned out to be slightly stronger. It seemed to have discovered the Wolf Shadow’s weakness. It blew out a strong gust of wind, which was capable of blowing the buildings apart right at the Wolf Shadow’s half-illusionary body…

Part of the Wolf Shadow dispersed as if the wind were about to break it apart. Its claws had left some marks on the Razortail Drake’s body, but they had failed to inflict any damage to the beast’s thick skin.

“Come back!” the demonized Mo Fan called to the Wolf Shadow.

The Wolf Shadow rapidly returned to his body and attached itself to him like before. It did make him look even more sinister.

Chains of lightning stirred restlessly as the Razortail Drake charged in Mo Fan’s direction.

The purple energy had already run out of patience. After all, it was the Element that symbolized destruction!

The demonized Mo Fan howled once again. His body was a human covered with bloody cursed lines, but his shadow was that of a dark werewolf!

The arcs of lightning crackled wildly over him. Some of them spread to the streets as they broke free from Mo Fan’s control. The Giant Lizards roared loudly as they were electrocuted.

Mo Fan curled his hands into claws!

He leapt into the air and struck forward with a claw, followed by the whip of the arcing lightning.

The shockwave produced by the swipe tore the air apart and slammed right into the Razortail Drake’s chest. Despite its scales being as strong as steel, the sharp claws still managed to pierce through its thick defense. Blood jetted out from the Razortail Drake’s flesh along the path of the claw marks.

Meanwhile, the lightning arcs following the swipe drilled themselves into the wound and drove right into the Razortail Drake’s flesh.

The Razortail Drake had a violent temper, too. It totally ignored the lightning penetrating into it and bit at the demonized Mo Fan with its giant fangs.

The Razortail Drake’s bite was not just the width of its mouth. The moment it opened its mouth wide, it also summoned a sinking black void, sucking in everything within a hundred meters, including the streets, the buildings, and the slow-to-react Giant Lizards.

The demonized Mo Fan was right in the middle of the black void, surrounded by the fangs of the Razortail Drake.

It turned out that the black void was actually linked to the Razortail Drake’s esophagus. It was planning to swallow the entire area!

Mo Fan quickly leapt into the air, trying to escape the pulling force of the void. However, the void had produced a whirlwind, strong enough to drag the objects outside the reach of the void into the Razortail Drake’s throat!

“So you like to swallow, try swallowing this!” Mo Fan sneered.

Raising his arms high up, a giant fireball appeared right above his head.

The fireball started at the size of a Fire Burst, but as soon as Mo Fan’s body was engulfed in flames, it expanded in an insane manner!

The fireball continued to enlarge. Its size was enough to fill half of the street. It felt like Mo Fan was holding a burning asteroid right above him.

His muscles flexed as he hurled the giant fireball into the black void.

Since it led to the Razortail Drake’s throat, he would not mind blowing it and the Razortail Drake’s stomach up!

The fireball drove down into the void. Although the force of the void was strong enough to shatter the buildings nearby, it had no chance against the overwhelming burning force.

The Razortail Drake realized that it was stupid to continue swallowing. It tried to stop the effect, but it was unable to do so before the fireball made its way into the void.

There was a dull blast, and the enormous Razortail Drake’s stomach rapidly expanded, reflecting the explosion of the fireball inside!

The Razortail Drake was in incredible pain. It immediately opened its mouth wide to let the heat escape from within it.

Luckily, its throat and stomach wall were even sturdier than its skin. Otherwise, any other Commander-level demon beast would have found their stomachs blasted apart by the explosion!

Flames could be seen sprouting from the Razortail Drake’s body. It slammed into the buildings nearby wildly, feeling its insides burning. There was no way it could spit out all the flames within it in a short period of time.

The Giant Lizards and the Tyrant Lizards shrieked after seeing their leader in such a miserable state. They began to charge toward the demonized Mo Fan fearlessly.

The swarm of Giant Lizards stuck their necks forward in an endless tide, trying to defend their commander.

However, there was no way that Mo Fan, with the Demon Element under his control, would be intimidated by them. In fact, he actually had a strong desire to kill!

His hands still curled into claws, Mo Fan stood on the street, glaring at the tide of Giant Lizards swarming toward him.

“A bunch of rubbish!”

He tore the air apart with a fierce ripping motion. The Wolf Shadow attached to his body repeated the same action. The shadow of the claw swipe made its way across half of the street in less than a second!

The shadow cut right down the two-kilometer-long street!

Every Giant Lizard along that line was torn in half!

A lengthy fissure of unknown depth was left on the street, while countless corpses of the Giant Lizards that were slashed in half lay on both sides. The blood only started to spray out after a delay of a few seconds.

It was hard to tell how many Giant Lizards had died to the claw, but their blood eventually turned the fissure into a river.

As Mo Fan pulled his hand back, the Soul Shadow followed the same action. He locked his gaze on a particular Tyrant Earth Lizard, significantly bigger than the other Tyrant Lizards.

The Tyrant Earth Lizard was able to camouflage itself in its surroundings. It had been hiding in the corner, waiting for the perfect time to strike and eat him alive.

Unfortunately, as soon as it was made its move, Mo Fan had already noticed its existence.

A Tyrant Lizard close to evolving?

One that was considered the strongest among the Warrior-level demon beasts?

Did that make any difference?

The demonized Mo Fan nimbly dodged aside as the demon beast’s stinking fangs swept past his face. He made his way to the beast’s tail before it could turn around in time.

Mo Fan’s hand was still the same size like a human’s, but the Soul Shadow’s hand was huge.

Clenching his hand, the Soul Shadow grabbed the long tail of the Advanced Tyrant Lizard.

The Tyrant Lizard, big enough to easily crush a building into pieces, was lifted into the air. It was launched sixty meters high into the sky with a random fling…like a toy being thrown around!

The Tyrant Lizard struggled to recover its balance, but as it reached the highest point, a bolt of thick purple-black lightning struck down on its head from above!

The merciless lightning bolt penetrated its skull smoothly, as if there was nothing in its path.

The Advanced Level Tyrant Lizard’s body stiffened in the air. It was already dead before it landed on the ground…

“Instant…instant kill?”

Not far away, Zhao Manting was so shocked that he almost dropped his jaw to the ground.

The Tyrant Lizard was considered rather strong among the Warrior-level demon beasts, and it was still killed instantly by the demonized Mo Fan!

The military was not just doing an experiment, they were trying to make a demon!

…

The huge corpse of the Tyrant Earth Lizard landed in front of Mo Fan, but he did not waste a second looking at it. He jumped onto its corpse and glanced ahead at the Giant Lizards swarming in his direction.

The Razortail Drake’s glowing eyes were full of anger.

Since when did Jinlin City have such an annoying creature, possessing such incredible strength despite his tiny size?!

The Razortail Drake uttered a roar, as if it were summoning all its Giant Lizard minions to it.

The number of Giant Lizards was still at a terrifying level. They had totally occupied the whole area. Their backs formed an ocean of scaled flesh in the street.

They had gathered here after being summoned by their leader.

The demon beasts had totally surrounded Mo Fan. They were trying to abuse their numbers to wear their enemy out.

Mo Fan just smirked.

The Little Loach Pendant on his neck shuddered all of a sudden.

“Don’t worry, they are all yours!” the demonized Mo Fan growled, tapping the excited Little Loach Pendant. His tone revealed his desire to massacre all the beasts!

The Giant Lizards gathered from all directions, led by the Tyrant Lizards. Meanwhile, their highest commander, the Razortail Drake, was standing on top of a ruined shopping mall. Most of the structure had eroded away, and it could barely hold the weight of the Razortail Drake, certain parts of it already beginning to collapse.

Mo Fan’s gaze at the Razortail Drake across an ocean of Giant Lizards and a ravaged street that used to be the liveliest section in the city was full of provocation.

It was obvious that the Razortail Drake had thick skin, but it was still fairly lively after swallowing the giant fireball. Was its stomach made of steel? No wonder it was bold enough to swallow everything!

That being said, it was rather naive trying to use its troops of Giant Lizards to buy some time!

“Vanishing Wolf Shadow!”

As he spread his arms, the Soul Shadow behind him began to contort as several Shadow Wolves jumped out the giant shadow.

With a point of his hand, the wolves dashed across the lengthy street!

The wolves crossed paths with flickering claws. The power of the Soul Shadow was transformed into sharp weapons, piercing through the Giant Lizards with ease.

The demon beasts were sliced in half from their heads to their tails. Some had clean cuts on their necks, some had their stomachs ripped open, while the others were torn to pieces instead. The Shadow Wolves summoned by Mo Fan were like hungry ghouls. Their trails were fountains of bloody mist, the slow Giant Lizards butchered before they could react.

A huge bloody mist swallowed the street, amputated limbs scattered in the air. It was quite impossible to see any Giant Lizard still in one piece when looking ahead. The Shadow Wolves were like amputating experts. Every demon beast was turned into pieces of meat regardless of how sturdy they were.

The Servant-class Giant Lizards stood no chance at all. They could only use their numbers by stacking into a long meat shield. Their chances of surviving were completely dependent on whether the Shadow Wolves passed close to them!

Mo Fan clearly remembered the feeling he had when he first witnessed the savagery and cruelty of the demon beasts. He felt himself to be extravagantly tiny before them, and now, the tables had been turned. The demon beasts were petty and inferior as they were ordered around by the Tyrant Lizards. The entire pack of Giant Lizards could only be used as a sacrifice to protect their leader from a true expert’s attack.

The Razortail Drake had no mercy and love for its minions. As a matter of fact, the growth of a demon beast to Commander-level was only made possible through the countless deaths of demon beasts of the same species. Even if the entire pack were to die here, it would be fine as long as the Razortail Drake lived!

The Giant Lizards continued to crawl in the demonized Mo Fan’s direction. Mo Fan did not need to attack himself, as the Wolf Shadow on his back was enough of a nightmare for the Giant Lizards. Each time the sharp claws of the Shadow Wolves swiped through the air, a great chunk of blood and flesh would splatter out, while their Soul Remnants were sucked away by the pendant on Mo Fan’s neck.

Today was definitely the most exciting day for the Little Loach Pendant ever. It continued to shiver on Mo Fan’s neck, like a kid crying out in joy.

It continuously absorbed the Soul Remnants, as if it would never have enough. On top of that, it seemed to have a bigger appetite the more it ate!

The Little Loach Pendant refused nobody, be it the Soul Remnants of Servant-class demon beasts, the occasional Soul Essence that would pop up among the dead bodies, or the Soul Remnants of the Tyrant Lizards. It was happy to accept them all. The river inside the Pendant was densely packed with glowing green dots…

That being said, the Little Loach Pendant was still the most interested in the Razortail Drake’s soul.

The Little Loach Pendant had never tasted the soul of a Commander-level demon beast before. Such a high-grade soul would be very useful in helping it to level up!

—

“A bunch of them are coming toward us!” Zhao Manting cried out in panic

There was no way he could handle these many Giant Lizards on his own. Currently, Zhao Manting was the only one who could use magic among the four of them.

Zhao Manting’s scream immediately caught Mo Fan’s attention. He turned around with a puzzled look.

He ran forward and jumped around a hundred meters away from Zhao Manting and landed right behind the group.

The Wolf Blood Lines on his legs began to glow brightly, as if the runes of a curse were freshly painted on him. They even started to pulsate.

The glow from the bloody lines transformed into a murderous flicker as Mo Fan’s legs began to accumulate an overwhelming dark energy…

Mo Fan fired the crimson glow off with a kick, which slashed forward in a crescent shape. The giant slash sped forward at a crazy pace while staying parallel to the ground!

“Brother, why are you kicking at the building?” Zhao Manting was left speechless. Mo Fan’s attack was fairly shocking, but the problem, was, it was aiming at a building beside the street.

However, halfway through Zhao Manting’s grumble, Mo Fan kicked in another direction, firing another crimson crescent-shaped projectile at another building on the other side of the street.

The two thirty-meter crescents swept across the bases of the two buildings, cutting the cement walls and the supporting pillars in their paths…

Without the support of the base, the two buildings slowly collapsed toward the street. They even collided into one another halfway during the fall and were smashed into debris before hitting the ground.

The remains of the buildings crashed onto the street wildly, blowing the dust into the air. The debris stacked up and blocked the path of the Giant Lizards. It had formed a wall of steel and cement in front of the group, preventing the Giant Lizards from reaching Zhao Manting and the others!

The wall had formed a protective barrier around the group, although Zhao Manting could not help but think that Mo Fan had gone a little bit overboard with his violent method.

“It looks like the Razortail Drake is leaving.” Zhao Manting suddenly pointed at the giant beast, which was flapping its wings.

Mo Fan refocused his gaze on the Razortail Drake, which did happen to be rising into the sky while flapping its wings…

A strong aura burst out from Mo Fan’s body. He had no intention of letting the fat piece of meat go. He instantly disappeared with a flicker of motion. As Zhao Manting looked into the distance, he could see the demonized Mo Fan jumping continuously between the buildings, chasing after the Razortail Drake!

“Why the hell are you chasing it?” Zhao Manting was on the verge of breaking down.

Did he seriously need to be that violent, chasing after a Commander-level demon beast?

Why can’t we just leave this bloody place as soon as possible!?!

Mo Fan was utterly furious when he learned that the Razortail Drake was flying away. He had to find a way to release the savagery in his bones.

He was running at a crazy speed. He could even use his hands as claws while sprinting vertically up the tallest building, just like how he ran on the ground. At that moment, he was no different than a demon beast!

As he reached the top of the building, Mo Fan finally caught a glance of the Razortail Drake, which had already risen around seventy meters higher into the sky.

He stooped slightly on the building, the exact same stance he used before. The burst of power launched him over a hundred meters into the sky. His jumping ability was crazier than that of the Swift Star Wolf, as the Blood Sarira had strengthened the lineage of the Swift Star Wolf a few times over!

Wrapped around by the Wolf Shadow, Mo Fan sprang into the sky. He was propelling himself straight at the Razortail Drake.

The Razortail Drake flapped its wings wildly, as if it had just seen a ghost.

Normally, the Razortail Drake would never allow anyone to trespass into its territory, but as soon as it realized how bizarre the intruder’s strength was, it had decided not to fight against him again before having a clear understanding of what he was.

To its surprise, the man was reluctant to give up. He was still chasing after it even though it had taken the initiative to withdraw from its territory!

Was there something wrong with his mind?!

The Razortail Drake was infuriated. It rapidly sucked the air around it into its stomach…

The Razortail Drake’s body bloated. It resembled a giant balloon with wings from afar.

“ROAR~!”

The Razortail Drake unleashed all the air in its stomach at the rapidly approaching Mo Fan. A shocking tornado spun through the sky.

The tip of the tornado extended down right at the demonized Mo Fan who was still rising like a rocket…

Mo Fan was unable to control his body in the air. As a result, the Razortail Drake’s breath struck him heavily before trapping him inside the tornado.

As the tornado fell from the sky, Mo Fan, who had lost his balance, was flung wildly toward an abandoned residential area overgrown with weeds.

The entire area was smashed into pieces from the collision. A huge cloud of dust lingered in the air. Mo Fan, who was right in the center of the tornado, slammed hard into the pit the collision created. His body was covered in wounds, like he had been flogged a whip.

The wounds were not too deep, mere scratches on his skin. The tornado was still spinning above the residential area. Mo Fan rose to his feet as if he were perfectly unharmed. His extraordinary eyes stared at the Razortail Drake flying up in the sky through the thick layer of dust!

At the same time, the Razortail Drake stared down at him in the sky.

When it figured that he had only suffered a little scratch, it exhaled a furious breath from its nose.

Where did this monster come from? He was tiny as humans, but the blood and bones in his body could match that of a Commander-level demon beast!

Why would I bother fighting against such a monster?

The Razortail Drake raised its head and uttered a commanding roar to the Giant Lizards on the streets.

It flapped its wings and flew in the direction of Dongting Lake without turning its head back.

The Razortail Drake had already planned to move its territory. It was time for it to bring its minions back to their real nest.

Following that command, the Giant Lizards withdrew like a tide. The previously rumbling streets quickly fell silent. Their tails and scaled backs disappeared into the distance as they followed their commander, the Razortail Drake, into the horizon.

The carpet of flesh swept through a certain direction in Jinlin City. The Giant Lizards had no instinct to protect the property. They trampled up the streets of the abandoned city and bulldozed the ruined buildings in their path. It was a spectacular view!

It was true that the demonized Mo Fan killed the Giant Lizards like cutting vegetables, but there were just too many of them. It would take him more than a day and a night to totally wipe them out…

Besides, it was only a small pack led by a Commander-level Razortail Drake. It was impossible to imagine how terrifying the scale of the entire Giant Lizard Horde at the Dongting Lake would be…

…

Another zone of the city was also destroyed beyond recognition due to the highly destructive Advanced Magic being cast upon it.

It was the location where the battle between Zhan Kong and the devil Lu Nian was taking place. Neither had managed to gain an upper hand in the battle so far.

Lu Nian might be stronger than Zhan Kong, but the later was incredibly agile due to his Wind Element. He knew how to dodge Lu Nian’s powerful attacks. The two had fought in the air and on the ground. More than a hundred demon beasts had died from the fallout of the spells they had cast.

They were both keeping an eye on the situation taking place at the center of the city, but they could not afford to lose their focus in a battle against a worthy opponent too…

“You’re still weak as heck. If this is all you’ve got, you should just die and accompany her in hell. She must be missing you a lot down there!” Lu Nian said with a cold grin.

At the same time, he twisted the military bracer on his wrist.

The bracer began to emit a brown magical glow, which rapidly wrapped around Lu Nian’s body.

“This thing is called the Petrifying Bracer. It can boost the power of my Petrifying Eyes significantly. Your defensive equipment is no longer usable, and the protection of your Wind Wings alone won’t be enough to nullify my attack. Zhan Kong, do you like the petrifying funeral that I have specifically arranged for you?” Lu Nian burst into laughter.

A Petrifying Equipment!

This kind of equipment was extremely rare to find. It was specifically made for certain unique Magic. Lu Nian had spent a great fortune just to acquire it.

Initially, he thought he would only use it in war, but he never thought the first tester would be his old comrade Zhan Kong. What a perfect timing!

Zhan Kong frowned as he swiftly backed off.

The equipment on Lu Nian’s arm was unleashing a shocking energy. It was surely nothing ordinary. It would most likely be able to petrify a fourth of the city. He should keep a certain distance away…

“You’re running away? Do you really think you have enough time for that?” Lu Nian was accumulating his energy. It might seem like he would be channeling the cast for quite some time, but there was no way Zhan Kong could make his way out of range in time.

He did enjoy watching Zhan Kong fleeing for his life, like a hunt between an eagle and a hare. The hare would assume it could make it to its burrow in time. However, the eagle had already calculated its speed and the distance from the burrow. The moment it dove from the sky, it had already decided the outcome of the hunt.

“Mm? Giving up already?” The petrifying energy was unleashed from Lu Nian’s body. None of the plants nearby were able to escape their fate, and were covered in a layer of grey-white substances. A soft touch alone would shatter them into pieces.

Lu Nian suddenly realized that Zhan Kong had stopped flying away. He was just standing there with a complicated expression, as if he had just seen something unbelievable.

“You better look behind you,” Zhan Kong said.

“Do you think this is a kid’s game!” Lu Nian snapped.

“Well, I did try to tell you…”

The astonishment on Zhan Kong’s face slowly disappeared. His eyes were fixed on Lu Nian, and the black shadow that was approaching him at an insane speed!

Lu Nian was suddenly aware of something behind him when he felt a cold breath with a beastly presence.

A demon beast?

Impossible, his Petrify would turn everything nearby into statues, no demon beast would be able to get close to him.

Seeing the weird grin on Zhan Kong’s face, Lu Nian finally had no choice but to turn his head around.

Within a blink, a face rapidly approached him with the speed of the wind, leaving him dumbfounded.

Who, who’s this?

Why would the face be covered in crimson lines full of dark energy? The flicker from its eyes was utterly intimidating!

“Mo…Mo Fan?” Lu Nian stared at the person in front of him in disbelief.

“It’s me!” Mo Fan wore a savage grin, to an extent that it revealed the cruelty in his bones. His voice was completely different than before, although his words sounded extremely familiar to him. “I did say that the next time you saw me, I’d send a mongrel like you to hell!”

Mo Fan was unable to think clearly in his demonized state. However, the hatred he bore before turning into a demon was inerasable. The rage in his heart finally found a way out, that being to crush this disgusting, loathsome devil commander, soul and all, into pieces!

Lu Nian was still lost in his thoughts. He could not actually tell if the person was still Mo Fan himself, or a total demon.

He had seen many test subjects in person, and none of them were able to speak like a human after the transformation, as they had completely turned into monsters. They could not even retain their human appearance. On the other hand, apart from the bloody lines and the long white hair, Mo Fan had managed to keep his usual appearance.

If he had yet to demonize completely, why would he have such a horrendous, deadly aura? Why would he have such eerie power?

“I can’t let you die too quick… Why don’t you give me a kowtow first?” Mo Fan grinned and revealed his sharp fangs!

As he finished the sentence, he grabbed the back of Lu Nian’s head.

“To you? Do you think you can still move standing so close to me…AH!!!” Lu Nian was hurled to the ground by Mo Fan with brute force before he could even finish his sentence.

Lu Nian slammed on the ground with his face down. He did not have the time to defend himself. He was thrown to the ground like a dog with a great blow to his head!

The ground used to be muddy, but it had turned solid as a rock from Lu Nian’s Petrify. Lu Nian was planning to use his power to turn his opponent into a dead statue, but he ended up testing the sturdiness of the rock with his own face!

The rock shattered into a pile of dust. Lu Nian’s head sank into the ground below like an ostrich, leaving him in incredible pain.

As Lu Nian was an Advanced Magician, his flesh was significantly stronger than that of an ordinary human. If he were some Servant-class demon beast, his head would have burst open, just like a watermelon dropped from a great height. On the other hand, his face was only slightly sunken, with blood smeared across it.

“I…I will never… forgive you!” Lu Nian’s body quickly unleashed a golden glow, turning into a flexible armor wrapping around him.

The armor was rather advanced, even providing protection to his head. As Mo Fan threw a punch right at his face, the golden armor had already covered it up.

Mo Fan was not too bothered by the sudden-appearing armor. He held Lu Nian up and clenched his right hand into a flaming fist.

The fist that burned like a meteor was thrown right at Lu Nian’s face. He did not even care about the protection of the golden armor!

There was a fiery explosion as the punch landed on Lu Nian’s face. The armor managed to resist most of the damage from the fire, preventing his skull from burning into ashes instantly. However, the impact from the punch still knocked out all his teeth and broke his nose…

The golden armor shattered as it could not withhold the violent fist, revealing Lu Nian’s distorted face, covered in blood.

“Pe…Pe…Petrify…” Lu Nian was indeed an Advanced Magician. He still managed to cast an Advanced Magic despite the injury he was suffering from.

His Magic, strengthened by the bracer he wore, burst out from Lu Nian’s eyes in the direction he was looking. A grey-white energy spread rapidly in that direction.

Lu Nian was extremely furious. All he could think of was to turn the kid into a rock and smash him into pieces with a kick!

The demonized Mo Fan totally ignored the approaching threat. As he dashed toward Lu Nian, the grey-white substance covered his legs and rooted him to the rock under his feet.

Mo Fan smashed his fist at the ground, which instantly burst out with a flame pillar that devoured the petrifying energy crawling up his legs!

The grey-white substance had just spread across the area within a hundred meters of Mo Fan when the flames surging up from the ground cracked them open. The two forces collided with one another, the area petrifying and cracking open in an endless loop. It felt like a rose-red army and a grey-white army were having a stand-off with one another.

Commander Lu Nian’s eyes widened. The energy had originated from his eyes. His trembling body clearly indicated the strain he was enduring.

His energy was usually strong enough to petrify the body of a Commander-level demon beast. How could Mo Fan possibly stand a chance against it?

Since Mo Fan had turned into a demon, why was it that he could still retain his thoughts, and still remember to get his revenge?

“You piece of scum! You…you should be thankful to me, as I… gave you such power!” Lu Nian blurted out resentfully.

Mo Fan had demonized on his own, thus Lu Nian did not even have the chance to place him under his control. Furthermore, Lu Nian had never thought Mo Fan would be able to demonize so perfectly, even retaining his human appearance. He was able to speak and retain memories of the past while also being granted overwhelming strength.

If this kid had such terrifying strength after demonizing while he was only an Intermediate Magician, if he could survive the aftereffects and further improve his cultivation, he could easily become a demon that would shock the entire world!

He could easily trample the Supreme Magicians, the Commander-level demon beasts, even the Ruler-level demon beasts under his feet!

“I should thank you, indeed…” The demonized Mo Fan displayed his anger and savagery as he laughed grimly and exposed his sharp fangs. “Which is why I’m sending you to Hell now!”

Violent lightning arcs revolved around Mo Fan. The writhing purple-black energy swiftly formed a long spear made of countless lightning arcs in front of him!

Mo Fan grabbed the lightning spear and drove forward with a burst of speed, as if he had merged with the lightning!

The spear thrust right at Lu Nian’s chest. The lightning had already displayed its overwhelming penetrating force when it punctured an Advanced-level Tyrant Lizard’s brain!

The purple lightning twisted in the air. The tip of the lightning spear made contact with Lu Nian’s chest.

Lu Nian could feel the force of the lightning lunging at him.

The lightning did not have any paralyzing effect. It was purely destructive, and there was no need to mention how overwhelming it would be when so many lightning arcs were gathered together into a thick spear.

His golden armor was the first thing to meet the lightning spear. The advanced armor had no chance against the penetrating power. The spear instantly burned a black hole through it, piercing through the armor and striking Lu Nian’s chest, producing a wild, ear-piercing screech!

The lightning arcs did slow down by a very small margin as they touched Lu Nian’s skin, rib cage and back, before punching through with brute force.

The lightning tore his back open, leaving a huge bloody hole. The lightning spear was stuck into his chest, the tendrils continued to crackle in the air.

Lu Nian’s body stiffened, his eyes widened. He tried to touch the hole in his chest, but his hand was instantly scorched black by the lightning.

He could not feel any pain from his hand, as his life force was draining away at a lethal pace. Pain was not the scariest thing to humans, it was the moment when they could no longer feel pain, indicating that death was knocking on their door.

“How…how could…how could you…” Lu Nian stared at Mo Fan with a contorted expression.

The demonized Mo Fan was standing right in front of him, lightning flickering wildly around him. He was like a God of Lightning who had just descended to the mundane world.

Mo Fan grinned sinisterly, before bursting into great laughter.

His wild laughter and Lu Nian’s distorted face formed a great contrast. Perhaps Lu Nian, who had just slaughtered innocent lives a short time ago, never thought he would fall into this kid’s hands.

Such an outstanding force should be under his control instead. Why would…why would he treat him as his first target, instead?

The Demon Element, he had tried so hard just to find a suitable candidate for the experiment, but he had accidentally made someone who ended up as his nightmare, who just impaled him with lightning…

Not a single drop of blood was visible. The scorched hole on his chest resulted in an extremely shocking view as his body slowly fell backward. In the final moment of his life, he realized just how beautiful the sky was, like a giant blue gem. However, he could see a face in the sky, a sinister-looking one covered in crimson lines. It belonged to a young man, the perfect test subject of the new Element.

He just couldn’t accept it!

He was so close to having the perfect demon under his control, which he could abuse to finally do anything he desired…

“AHHHHH!”

As his life approached its final moment, the claws of countless Shadow Wolves lunged at his nearly dead body.

Lu Nian initially thought his life would simply end soon, but he still suffered unimaginable pain at the final second. The pain was inflicted right on his soul, after leaving its physical container!

The claws were able to attack his soul directly. Mo Fan had done it on purpose, using the claws to tear his soul into pieces, not giving the commander a chance to turn into a deceased spirit…

The soul of a human was utterly fragile. It would vanish from the world after receiving any direct attack, as if the soul were repeating its death countless times over. The reason why Hell was so terrifying was because it was said to be torturing the souls of those who were dead!

Lu Nian did not even have time to show remorse as he was torn into pieces by Mo Fan’s shadow claws.

Mo Fan did not even allow the pieces to drift away with the wind. They were absorbed into a strange river.

It seemed like the Underworld River, with countless souls of demon beasts lingering on its surface. They were utterly terrifying to Lu Nian’s fragmented soul.

Was this actually Hell? Did he really end up in Hell?

——

The pendant let out a soft buzz. Mo Fan could even hear Lu Nian’s scream of agony from inside it.

Either way, the souls being drawn into the Little Loach Pendant would eventually be refined. It was impossible to tell if the pain from being refined was comparable to the inhumane experiments. At least, it definitely would not feel good, as anything related to the Soul Element was tightly related to pain, torture, and death.

—

After killing Lu Nian with his own hands, Mo Fan suddenly felt his mind going blank, as if he had lost purpose.

Zhan Kong looked at him from a safe distance away, not daring to get any closer.

From what Zhan Kong knew, the strength that the demonized Mo Fan had displayed was still not his full potential. He wanted to help Mo Fan recover from his current state, but he was clueless about how to approach him.

Not many test subjects were able to survive this long after the transformation. Zhan Kong was not involved in the inhumane experiment either, so he had no idea what to do.

He decided to try communicating with Mo Fan, since he appeared to still have a slight hint of his own personality compared to those who had demonized in the past.

“Mo Fan…” Zhan Kong fixed his eyes on Mo Fan.

The demonized Mo Fan turned his head around. His eyes were filled with rage that was on the verge of bursting out.

He did not attack Zhan Kong straight away, as he could still barely recognize the Chief Military Instructor from Bo City.

However, a tearing pain spread across his brain, so intense that he felt like tearing his head half with his bare hands.

It was an overwhelming and wild spiritual impact, most likely the after-effects of using the Blood Sarira. It was strong enough to drive a person crazy, and even thoroughly shatter a person’s soul!

Mo Fan let out a beastly scream. His Fire Element and Lightning Element spread out wildly into his surroundings after he lost control over them.

“Listen, listen to me, Mo Fan… The Demon Element has never been considered a real Magic Element due to its insane after-effects! It is the same as overdrawing the hidden potential of a human’s soul in exchange for a temporary burst of extraordinary power. However, it’s possible that your soul will be shattered during the process!” Zhan Kong blurted out when he saw Mo Fan trying to resist the spiritual breakdown.

“Tell…tell me…what I…should do!…” Mo Fan, who had managed to retain his final hint of rational thinking, responded to him!

“Soul Essence, you need a large amount of it. You should try your best to control the power, so I can bring you back to the military. They have enough Soul Essence to prevent your soul from breaking down due to the aftereffects. The Demon Element is indeed a demon. It’s like signing a contract with a demon, which can grant you its power, before coming back to claim your soul,” Zhan Kong said to Mo Fan.

Although Mo Fan possessed four Elements, the more power he used, the stronger the aftereffects he would have to bear.

The only way to protect his soul was by using a large amount of Soul Essence!

Soul Essence was useful in strengthening a Magician’s soul. If the demon that had granted Mo Fan the power was drawing his soul away, he could neutralize it by using a sufficient amount of Soul Essence.

As such, the amount of Soul Essence required was huge. Zhan Kong had no idea if the military was willing to let Mo Fan take all he needed, since there was no way to tell just how much he needed to overcome the situation. However, Zhan Kong wanted to save Mo Fan’s life at all costs!

“Control yourself, I’ll bring you to the military now…” Zhan Kong said.

“ROAR~!” Mo Fan uttered a savage roar into the sky as if he had totally lost his last remaining shred of reason.

Suddenly, he leapt to his feet and sprang into the distance like an arrow, rapidly disappearing from Zhan Kong’s sight.

Zhan Kong was taken by surprise. He tried to activate his Wind Wings to chase after Mo fan, but the airflow quickly dissipated just as it appeared. Zhan Kong realized that he was in quite injured himself too, and there was no way he could use the Wind Wings, which required a significant amount of energy.

“Mo Fan!” Zhan Kong screamed at the ghostly figure sprinting across Jinlin City.

The figure did not stop. He ran wwildly in a certain direction and soon left the boundary of Jinlin City.

The problem was, if he continued to run aimlessly in the wild, his soul would end up being sucked dry.

Zhan Kong stared at the disappearing figure with an indescribable pain in his heart.

As a matter of fact, since the calamity of Bo City, Zhan Kong had always kept an eye on Mo Fan. He had even asked Dean Xiao to specifically look after him.

Zhan Kong knew it was only a matter of time until Mo Fan’s Double Innate Elements was made known to the public. After learning about the shocking experiment on the Demon Element that the military was performing behind the scenes, he had been keeping an eye on Lu Nian for quite some time. As he expected, he did make his move.

However, Zhan Kong had underestimated the devil’s madness. He had surprisingly asked his loyal subordinates to forfeit their positions in order to carry out his demented operation.

More than half of the students were killed. Even Mo Fan had disappeared due to the aftereffects, with no way of telling if he would survive in the end. Zhan Kong was so mad that he kept punching the ground with his fists. Why didn’t he act earlier to prevent this from happening!?

It was no longer possible to chase after Mo Fan. Zhan Kong had run out of the energy to do so. He had just flown all the way here without stopping, using up quite a huge chunk of his Wind Energy. Even with the Wind Wings, it would be rather difficult for him to catch up with the demonized Mo Fan’s ridiculous speed in the wild.

Rising to his feet, Zhan Kong headed back to the center of the city.

He soon found the four students and the rest of Lu Nian’s subordinates.

“If you were planning to resist, I don’t mind executing you on the spot.” Zhan Kong cast a cold glance at Jiang Yi and her crew.

Jiang Yi shook her head in surrender. “We won’t be doing that, but could you please tell us what happened to the commander?”

“He’s dead, torn apart by the demon you all made,” Zhan Kong replied.

Jiang Yi and the soldiers were stunned. They were unwilling to believe it before seeing the corpse in person.

They did manage to find the corpse, whose chest was punched clean through and blackened.

His face was greatly contorted, as if he had suffered incredible pain right up until the very last moment of his life. According to Zhan Kong, Mo Fan had torn his soul apart.

Jiang Yi and the soldiers burst out crying. On the other hand, Zhao Manting, Bai Tingting and Mu Nujiao were pleased, knowing that they were avenged. Their hatred toward the devil who had killed their friends so inhumanely despite calling himself a Battlemage was indescribable. What wrong had the students who were here for training done? Why did they have to suffer just because of his wild ambition?

“Where… where’s Mo Fan? Is he hurt? I’ll treat his wounds.” Bai Tingting blurted out.

“We’ll talk about it later.” Zhan Kong was unwilling to talk about it.

“Please tell us.” Mu Nujiao said firmly.

“I’ll notify his family.” Zhan Kong said in a soft tone. He was glaring at Jiang Yi and her crew with bloodshot eyes.

Zhan Kong was furious. He was angry at these cold-blooded killers who were as mad as Lu Nian. They had turned a rising talent who could possibly be the greatest Magician of all time into a demon!

Just like what he had said before…

Even without the Demon Element, his Double Innate Elements could easily have let the whole world know his name. It was totally unnecessary!

No one had higher hopes for Mo Fan than him!

——

Lu Nian’s corpse was brought back to the safe zone.

The students who had initially gone to investigate Jinlin City for their training had returned to Imperial College with the lowest survival rate in history. No one had expected this to happen.

The military had sent someone over to collect Lu Nian’s corpse and Jiang Yi, who was willing to testify at the court-martial.

The army headquarters which Lu Nian belonged to tried to keep the news down to avoid unnecessary consequences, but the schools demanded otherwise.

At Zhan Kong’s request, the information about the Demon Element was not made public by the military and the schools. They were only describing it as some evil experiment. No one knew that Mo Fan had been demonized too. The only people who were aware of it were Zhan Kong, Dean Song He, Dean Xiao, Qiu Yuhua, and the four friends who Mo Fan had rescued.

Jiang Yi and the soldiers who knew the truth were all sentenced to death. Out of Jiang Yi’s final hint of kindness, she told everyone that Mo Fan was a hero who had sacrificed himself to save his classmates, instead of a demonized human who was lost somewhere in the wild.

——

The familiar chirps of birds were heard. It seemed like the little creatures living on the trees in the garden had grown up. Their voices sounded more mature.

Opening her eyes, the first thing that came into her vision was the potted plant by the window, which provided a delicate fragrance throughout the night. It appeared that some maids had remembered to keep it watered while she was away, allowing it to grow healthily.

The room was filled with a familiar scent, the scent of the blanket from the perfume satchel placed beside the pillows…

“She’s awake, Young Mistress is awake!”

As soon as Mu Ningxue regained consciousness, she could hear the maid screaming at the top of her lungs.

It was followed by the sound of someone rushing down the stairs. Mu Zhuoyun, who looked slightly haggard, dashed into the room excitedly.

“She’s awake, my good daughter, you’re finally awake.” Mu Zhuoyun said in a deeply concerned manner.

“Father…” Mu Ningxue’s lips curled slightly.

“I’ll never let you go on a training mission again, never!” Mu Zhuoyun snapped.

Mu Ningxue slowly recalled the events before she passed out. She could remember the evil faces of the Battlemages, and her freezing them using all her energy.

Did she manage to escape?

But, it wouldn’t be that simple. While she was half-awake, she heard people crying beside her, someone trying to tell her something, and it seemed to be related to Mo Fan…

Mu Zhuoyun knew her daughter was unaware of the things that had taken place after she fell unconscious. He immediately told her what he knew.

“Sigh, who would have thought that the kid would sacrifice himself as a bait to lure the Razortail Drake out. In the end, the Razortail Drake and Lu Nian ended up killing one another, while you guys were saved. Mo Jiaxin did come to visit you a few days ago. I’ve comforted him, and offered him a job with high pay. Unfortunately, he declined the offer,” Mu Zhuoyun said with a hint of sadness.

Mu Zhuoyun was never too fond of the little jerk Mo Fan, but who knew he would sacrifice himself for his daughter. It totally revised his point of view on him. He had asked his people to take extra care of his family, as a way to express his gratitude.

“Is…is he really dead?” Mu Ningxue asked sternly.

“Mm, Zhan Kong has said it himself. I don’t think he would be lying. Don’t get too emotional about it…To be honest, I didn’t know he liked you so much, to be willing to sacrifice his life for you…If I knew…I won’t have treated him like that before…ah, forget it,” Mu Zhuoyun uttered with a sigh.

Mu Ningxue hugged her knees while staring blankly out of the window. She subconsciously recalled the words that Mo Fan had said to her at the church.

Did he really mean what he had said?

Either way, she had no way to verify it. It had somehow become his last words to her.

The last remaining anticipation inside her heart thoroughly dissipated.

“Ningxue, you shouldn’t use the Ice Crystal Bow again for the next year. Even though I’m eager to see you establish yourself in the massive Mu Clan, I’m more inclined to see you well and healthy. Our little Mu Family is already in such bad shape that we have to live under the Clan’s roof here in the capital. If you fall, it will be the end for our family,” Mu Zhuoyun said with a stern face.

“Mm, I’ll be more careful,” Mu Ningxue nodded. She was still occupied with past memories that made her feel slightly embarrassed.

Mu Zhuoyun stopped disturbing her rest. He understood that her daughter’s mind was still occupied with the boy who had brought her away from a giant cage…

——

Leaving the room, Mu Zhuoyun sank into the sofa and let out a deep breath.

As he was just about to start planning his next step, the butler led a young man with a silver necklace and a middle-aged man whose hair was combed back from his forehead from the entrance.

Both of them were appropriately dressed, with a fair amount of accessories, including jades, pendants, and rings. It was hard to tell if they were mere decorations, or valuable magic equipment.

“Why hello, Mr. Zhou and You Hong. Xiao Ling, please bring me my best tea leaves.” Mu Zhuoyun rose to his feet and greeted them warmly.

“Don’t worry about the tea, we’re just here to visit Mu Ningxue regarding her injury,” the middle-aged man with the surname Zhou said.

“She’s currently resting. Please, take a seat. I do want to discuss with Mr. Zhou our business of acquiring rare bones from all sources in the market. I’m well-prepared to present the proposal. Should we invite the presidents of the various auctions for a team meeting sometime soon?” Mu Zhuoyun asked with a smile.

“Shouldn’t you be asking the people from your Clan? Most of the auctions and trading markets are tagged with the surname Mu. I don’t see any reason to ask me about that,” Mr. Zhou raised his brows and said, pretending to be clueless about what he had heard.

“Dad, you can’t say that, you know that Uncle Zhuoyun here is in quite a tough position. We should help him as much as we can.”

“I don’t see any need to do that. First, we aren’t related at all. Our Zhou Family might be quite powerful in the capital, but we do follow the rules among the renowned families,” Mr. Zhou said.

“This…” Mu Zhuoyun wore an awkward face, not knowing how to respond.

Mu Zhuoyun disliked the feeling of asking for people’s favor, but he was left with no choice. He had a giant family to look after. Most of the family members were completely useless, and only knew how to waste money. He had already told them many times that their status was not as comfortable as it used to be in Bo City, but his advice was totally in vain.

Zhou Youhong ran out of patience, seeing Mu Zhuoyun hesitating as usual. “Uncle Zhuoyun, you know that I’m sincere toward Mu Ningxue. I believe we should proceed with our wedding as soon as possible, then we will have a reason to help you all we can. We do feel pity for your family after what had happened to Bo City, and we are aware that you’re currently living under the Clan’s roof. They are pretty much treating you all as outsiders.

“However, it would be completely different after the wedding. You will be directly related to our Zhou Family, and the Mu Clan will be friendlier to you as a way to express their respect toward us. I was going to give Mu Ningxue some expensive herbs for her recovery, but our Patriarch has made it clear that it’s not allowed since Mu Ningxue is still not one of the Zhou Family. In addition to that, without our Zhou Family’s support, the advantage that Mu Ningxue has due to her talents will soon be irrelevant against the rest of the geniuses in the Imperial College.”

Zhou Youhong had no intention to drag things on further. Since she was already engaged to him, he preferred to get it done as soon as possible.

Mu Ningxue’s outstanding physique, smooth skin, and glamorous face… Zhou Youhong had long coveted her. Knowing that he would obtain her once the marriage was done, he tried even harder to persuade Mu Zhuoyun.

“Well…about this…” Mu Zhuoyun was unable to make up his mind. He clearly knew that with the marriage, his family that was on the verge of going bankrupt would finally have hopes of recovering.

But…

When he remembered that Mo Fan had just saved Mu Ningxue’s life, if he were to agree to the wedding now, he would feel guilty toward the deceased kid.

“Why don’t we decide this sometime later? Mu Ningxue is still incredibly weak, I don’t want her to be bothered by it…” Mu Zhuoyun said.

“Exactly, we should just proceed with the wedding to cleanse her from her recent bad luck.” Mr. Zhou blurted out impatiently.

“It’s fine, her well being is more important. If that’s the case, we shall let Mu Ningxue rest well. We will come to visit her again.” Zhou Youhong knew that there was no need to push any further. It would not look good if he were forcing an injured woman who was still lying in bed to marry him.

It was just a matter of time until he claimed the beauty as his!

“Please excuse us. As for the auctions, you will need to come up with a plan yourself.” Mr. Zhou said bluntly.

Zhou Youhong still showed his politeness as a future son-in-law by saying goodbye before taking his leave.

Mu Zhuoyun let out a deep sigh, watching the figures of the father and son of the Zhou Family from leaving.

Family, Clan, and House were three completely different levels.

The Mu Family Mu Zhuoyun was in charge of was only a small emperor controlling Bo City. In the eyes of the real Mu Clan, they were like insignificant family members who had been exiled to a small city in the south.

Now that Bo City was gone, Mu Zhuoyun was forced to bring his half-broken Mu Family back to the capitol. However, apart from Mu Ningxue, who could still earn the respect of the ancient Ice Element Mu House due to her outstanding talent among those in her age group, Mu Zhuoyun and Mu He were like higher servants obliged to listen to the orders of other family members who had more resources than them.

They were considered fairly old, and their cultivation would no longer be able to improve any further. As a result, they had no chance of expanding their power and circle of influence. They could only place their hopes in the younger generation. Otherwise, they would never be able to raise their heads as long as they were surnamed Mu.

Biyi City was located to the southeast of Dongting Lake. The entire city was managed by the military, and the residents here were mostly involved in jobs that could fulfill the needs of the army.

A large amount of Battlemages was stationed at Biyi City’s headquarters. They were primarily here to form a military defense with the Giant Lizard Horde at Dongting Lake. The city could be described as a defensive barrier between the Dongting Lake and the cities in the east.

In the clear sky outside of the safe zones, a group of white figures was flying toward Biyi City rapidly. They landed directly on a platform located on a military fortress.

The group consisted of twenty people. They made their way to the main meeting hall in the fortress after handing the Heavenly Eagles to the Beastmasters.

Nine commanders were already seated inside the hall. Their eyes were fixed on the map of Dongting Lake being projected on the wall.

“Permission to speak!”

“Granted.” The commander standing in front of the projected map said to the captain of the investigation team who had just returned.

“We’ve verified the findings. We’ve found a large number of Giant Lizard’s corpses west of Dongting Lake. We’ve brought back some samples. The results should be out fairly soon.” the leader spoke after saluting.

“I say, Great Commander Qiu Xin, who cares if the Giant Lizards are dead. Why are we wasting our time on them? Maybe a new Razortail Drake has just been born, and they were fighting one another in order to claim their territories. It’s not like there hasn’t been any infighting within the Giant Lizards Horde in the past. Why do we need to be here?” An indolent-looking man with a Commander badge said.

Great Commander Qiu Xin had a fierce face, but he had always been extremely cautious in everything he was in charge of. As long as the soldiers detected anything that was slightly out of place, he would demand it be investigated. Knowing that there were millions of lives behind Biyi City, if they failed to react and prepare themselves in time against a possible attack from the horde of Dongting Lake, the casualties would be absolutely terrifying!

The Commanders waited patiently in the meeting hall. Soon, a military surgeon came into the hall and presented the result.

“From the data we’ve acquired from the samples, it turned out that the majority of the Giant Lizards died in three different ways. Firstly, being burned to death. I believe most of them were burned into ashes. Secondly, being shocked by lightning. A clean, instant death. Last, being torn apart by brute force. It seems like the killer has quite a strong claw grip and great strength!” the fairly aged military surgeon said with a cough.

“Fire, lightning, and physical force?” Great Commander Qiu Xin fell into deep thought. He was trying to filter out the demon beast using the three important clues.

However, from what he knew, there was no demon beast like that around Dongting Lake.

“Is there anything else?” Great Commander Qiu Xin asked.

“Oh, the team did say that the area was absolutely clean.”

“Clean?”

“It means that there was no sign of dead souls. Normally, when an area has a strong presence of death, ghosts would begin to appear, not to mention the insane amount of corpses there. However, not a single dead soul was seen. This means that after the demon beasts were killed, their souls were either shattered, or being collected straight away,” the old military surgeon explained.

“Isn’t…isn’t this a little bit too bizarre? The Giant Lizards were getting slaughtered for no reason, and even their souls are gone too…” a female Commander, Li Man, said.

“Who cares, we should be happy that something is helping us wipe out the Giant Lizards. I hope it would kill another hundred thousand of them. It will make our lives easier for the next few years,” the indolent Commander Zhao Mang said with a smile.

“We should keep an eye on it still. I’ll spread the news and see if anyone knows the truth behind it,” Great Commander Qiu Xin said.

The meeting was over soon. Great Commander Qiu Xin proceeded to contact the other headquarters and see if someone from the public domain knew anything about it.

The Hunter Union was the best place to ask for information about something weird like this, since their members were pretty much everywhere. They would even go to places that the military would avoid at all costs.

“What do you think it was? Corpses of the Giant Lizards started appearing a week ago. Is it something that would threaten the entire horde?”

“Who knows, it must be some extremely powerful beast. Just from the number of corpses alone, it’s only possible to kill that many beasts by sending an entire army.”

Commander Li Man was wearing a frown. Her attractive face was filled with a hint of worry.

She never liked strange phenomena like this, as it was normally a sign of an approaching disaster.

She rose from her seat and ordered sternly,”Captain, give me the location. I’ll investigate it myself!”

“Well, maybe we should wait…”

“I don’t like to wait!” Li Man snapped.

As Commander Li Man finished her sentence, she was already dragging the captain out of the meeting hall. The rest of the people subconsciously shook their heads.

This empress in the army was as hot-tempered as usual. She insisted on investigating the matter herself even though it was most likely due to infighting within the beast horde. Or maybe she was just wilder and more violent than men, and preferred to go out on an exciting adventure instead of rotting here in Biyi City…

Tsk tsk, a woman who loved exciting adventures!

——

Communication between army headquarters was fairly transparent among the military. The information that Great Commander Qiu Xin had made public soon made its way to the headquarters in the south.

The army in the south was mainly in charge of the Demon Wolves Horde. Normally, the Dongting Lake’s Giant Lizard Horde was not their concern, but their Commander Zhan Kong had been keeping an eye on them recently.

Zhan Kong had just received the news when someone knocked heavily on the door.

“Who’s that?” Zhan Kong asked.

“Boss, it’s me, Zhang Xiaohou!” his excited voice replied from behind the door.

“I knew you would come. Come in.” Zhan Kong said laughingly.

Zhang Xiaohou rushed into the room and blurted out excitedly, “Is there any information about Brother Fan? I’ve heard that there’s something strange happening at Dongting Lake. I recall what you told me before, and I think it’s highly possible that it’s actually Brother Fan himself…”

“Not sure yet, I’ll send someone to investigate it. Don’t panic.” Zhan Kong said.

“How can I not panic, he’s my only brother!”

“I know, now off you go and wait patiently. I’ll let you know when I learn something new.”

“No, boss, please let me go to Dongting Lake. I’ve finally had a glimpse of hope. I will bring Brother Fan back at all costs,” Zhang Xiaohou said with a stern face.

“It’s not your business. Besides, with your current strength, you’ll just be feeding yourself to the Giant Lizards.”

“It’s definitely my business…Boss, I can take care of myself,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Idiot, with your capabilities, even if you trained ten more years, you will still die right away.” Zhan Kong booted the annoying kid out of his room.

What did he think Dongting Lake was?

Even he, Zhan Kong, had no confidence that he could return from there in one piece. An Intermediate Magician like that kid would definitely get himself killed if he went there!

Zhan Kong was still occupied by the strange discovery at Dongting Lake after he went to bed, overwhelmed with fatigue.

He was dying to know if it the demonized Mo Fan was responsible for it. If so, it would mean that he was still alive, but how did he manage to retain rational thought? Why was he killing the Giant Lizards endlessly?

Failing to get any peaceful sleep, Zhan Kong woke up early in the morning and summoned his old comrade. He was planning to have him investigate Dongting Lake with a few men.

“Commander, Zhang Xiaohou left the army before daybreak. Judging from the things he has taken, it seems like he has planned to leave for quite a long time,” the old comrade said.

“That stupid kid!” Zhan Kong cursed.

“Should I send someone after him? He shouldn’t be too far away. Leaving without permission is a serious offense,” his old friend said.

“Help him fill in the document saying that he’s out on a mission, and take the chop in my room and sign it on my behalf. He might be dumb, but he’s a good sapling,” Zhan Kong sighed.

“Yes, sir.”

“The demon wolves have been restless recently. I’ll have to deal with them first. Send a letter to the headquarters in Biyi. Qiu Xin is my Senior Brother. He will know how to deal with the strange phenomenon at Dongting Lake. By the way, if you see that idiot Zhang Xiaohou along the way, have someone drag him back here. I don’t want him to die in the wild,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Affirmative, I’ll do it right away.”

——

Biyi City, Zhang Xiaohou, who had dressed up like a hunter, stopped a passerby and asked about the location of the trading marketplace.

“Do you know if any place here is selling Soul Essence?” Zhang Xiaohou lifted his cap, revealing his eyes.

“Of course, where do you think this is? Biyi City, the closest fortress to Dongting Lake. You can even describe it as a city established right outside the demon beasts’ den. Both the military and the hunters are always fighting against the demon beasts from Dongting Lake. The number of the Giant Lizard’s corpses every month is enough to wrap around the Earth’s perimeter twice. Soul Essence might be rare still, but there’s definitely someone selling it, almost every day. Some of them are still fresh too,” the man explained.

“Alright, thanks for the tip.” Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

“Kid, I see that you’re looking for Soul Essence? I do have a source here. If you’re keen, I can give you a good discount. After all, once the Soul Essence is sold at the marketplace, the price will be marked up further,” the man said.

“Are you serious?” Zhang Xiaohou blurted out with joy. He was so lucky to grab someone selling Soul Essence right away, as expected of Biyi City. Normally, Soul Essence would only be found at auctions in smaller cities.

“Of course, but do you have the money?” the man asked.

“Yes, I definitely have enough. I have nine million here…”

“Nine… nine million?” The man was startled. He revalued the kid who seemed honest and upright with a first glance.

“That’s right. I was planning to buy three, but I heard that even an ordinary Soul Essence would cost at least three to four million. Those that are slightly better are around five million each…I only have nine million, which is all I have after selling my equipment. Is it possible for you to sell me three for three million each?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

It took the man some time to collect his thoughts. He did not expect an ordinary, humble looking man like Zhang Xiaohou to have so much money on him!

“Three…three it is then. It’s not the best price, but since you seem to be in a hurry, I’ll try contacting the seller for you,” the man said.

“Thank you. By the way, what should I call you?” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“I… err, calling me Da Jin is fine.”

“Alright, thanks, Brother Da Jin! You have quite some connections! I don’t think three Soul Essences is easy to get.”

“No doubt about that, HAHAHA!” the man burst out laughing.

——

Zhang Xiaohou followed Da Jin to a magic shop. The plate hanging above was completely covered in dust.

Apart from the magic marketplace and auctions, there were also private magic shops. Most of the items in these magic shops were acquired from Magicians whom the owner personally knew. Their prices would be slightly cheaper than the marketplace and auctions. Many hunters liked to try their luck at shops like this, as the sellers would not necessarily know the true values of the items being sold. Besides, it was easier to negotiate the price.

Da Jin wore a smile as he brought the customer to the magic shop. He asked him to wait at the lobby at the front.

The shop did not have any customers. It looked rather deserted, although the shelves were decorated with magical items and equipment, and some magic ores.

Da Jin proceeded to the back of the store and discussed things with the owner, whose weight had almost reached two hundred kilos.

“Sell him those fake Soul Essences you bought after spending more than two hundred thousand. Judging from his looks, I don’t think he’s able to tell the difference. Besides, even if he does… hehe!” Da Jin whispered.

“It doesn’t even help if he were to call the people of the Magic Association here. We’ll just blame him for not handling the Soul Essences appropriately, resulting in the leak of energy. It’s not our problem either, HAHAHA!” The plump owner burst into laughter too, before adding, “Make sure you bring all the stupid outsiders you’ve bumped into to me.”

“No worries, not a problem. We’re so familiar with one another.”

The owner went to take out the three fake Soul Essences after a brief discussion.

The fake Soul Essences were still Soul Essences, but because of the inappropriate collecting method or the lack of a suitable container, they had lost the majority of their energy. They were still usable, but their effects were far from the real Soul Essences. The marketplace usually would not sell them, but that was not the case for magic shops.

“I’ve got the stuff here. Show us your money. Our shop is quite small. It would be troublesome if you lied to us and took the stuff without paying us,” the plump owner said arrogantly.

“The money is on this diamond card.”

“Diamond card? Is this the one you can withdraw money from at the Magic Association or the Hunter Union without a password?” Da Jin squinted.

The diamond card was usually used for big transactions people would not want tied to their identities. It was similar to cheques, and it was the best method to do illegal trading, too!

“Take the stuff, I’ll see if the card is real.” the owner said.

Zhang Xiaohou did not overthink it. He handed him the diamond card so he could verify it, while he received the three containers with the Soul Essences and began inspecting them.

However, as soon as he directed his will into them, he immediately discovered something wrong.

“Something isn’t right with the Soul Essences!” Zhang Xiaohou said with a frown.

“What do you mean? You didn’t handle them correctly, so their energy has leaked out.” The plump owner exclaimed with a surprised look.

“Give me back my diamond card.” Zhang Xiaohou handed the three containers back.

“What diamond card? Don’t you know the rules of trading in magic shops? The buyer would always verify the validity of the item before paying the money. Why would I take your card before you’ve checked the item?” the owner said.

Zhang Xiaohou pulled a long face.

They had teamed up to set him up!

Both the owner and Da Jin were wearing an evil grin. A man like Da Jin who had spent a great time dealing with different kinds of people could easily tell that this kid was a novice. However, he never thought he would be so rich. Speaking of a big fish.

It was pretty difficult to stumble into someone who could be so easily tricked nowadays!

“So, you’re trying to take my money?” Zhang Xiaohou glared at the two.

The plump owner and Da Jin laughingly said, “What are you going to do about that? I never thought anyone would hand over their diamond card that easily. Kid, did you come from some deep forest on a mountain? Is this your first time in a big city?”

The owner had never seen someone so dumb.

Likewise, Da Jin had been scamming people for many years, and yet he had never seen anyone who would believe a stranger so easily.

Nine million, consider it the fee he had paid for a life lesson. If not, he might even lose his life next time!

“Then you shall not blame me for showing no mercy.” Since Zhang Xiaohou had confirmed that they were trying to scam him, he would not need to be kind to them.

The military had made it clear that no soldier was allowed to fight ordinary civilians or Magicians, unless they were involved in criminal acts like scamming or violence.

“Huh, trying to pick a fight now? Do you really think we’re just a simple magic shop? Da Niu, Er Niu, San Niu, Si Niu, come out here. Some guy is trying to cause trouble here. Beat him up and throw him out!” The owner yelled at the back of the store.

Four men in singlets soon appeared. Among them, the one called Da Niu had a strong magical aura. It was obvious that he was not just a Basic Magician.

“Someone asking for trouble again…Yo, it’s a youngster this time. You should leave if you’re smart enough. You don’t want to pick a fight with me, it would be painful.” Da Niu laughed.

“That’s right, our big brother here is a famous hunter. He managed to kill a Warrior-level demon beast with a team before. A kid who will wet his pants from a Servant-class demon beast like you should just go home and drink your milk!”

The group of five ridiculed Zhang Xiaohou straight away.

Zhang Xiaohou did look slightly naive, like a student who had yet to go out in society. A person like him was the easiest to intimidate.

“Should I be impressed?” Zhang Xiaohou smirked as he glanced at the shop owner. “The diamond card you’re holding onto, three million inside it is from a piece of equipment which I just sold. As for the remaining six million, it’s from killing twelve Warrior-level demon beasts and two hundred and thirty-one Servant-class demon beasts. In the army, the demon beasts that we kill on our own belong to us.”

The four thieves were stunned for a second. They inspected Zhang Xiaohou once again, before bursting into loud laughter!

“HAHAHAHA, HAHAHA, this is so funny! I’m dying!”

“Did this kid seriously say he has killed Warrior-level demon beasts on his own? It took us four Intermediate Magicians and twelve Basic Magicians to kill a Tyrant Lizard, and you’re shameless enough to say you’ve killed twelve of them? You’re the biggest bluffer I’ve ever met!” Da Niu could not hold back his urge to laugh.

The kid was at most twenty years old. There were only a small amount of twenty-year-olds who were Intermediate Magicians in the whole nation, and each of them would only be found in the renowned families, or the best schools. Why would any of them be running around like this dumb kid?

“Enough with the nonsense. Let’s beat him up and throw him out!” Er Niu, who was wearing a giant earring, said.

Zhang Xiaohou didn’t waste any more time. He took a few steps backward.

He was not afraid of them, but worried that the beam above him would crush him when the battle broke out.

“Kid, allow me to show you the true strength of an Intermediate Magic. I’ll show you what a Star Pattern looks like!” A magical aura burst out from Da Niu’s body, as Stars appeared under his feet and began to align themselves.

“You’re too slow!” Zhang Xiaohou grinned. His Wind Element Star Pattern had already completed when his opponent’s Star Pattern had only completed by a third!

He was so quick at casting the magic that even Er Niu, San Niu, and Si Niu were still in the middle of casting their Basic Spells when he finished accumulating his Intermediate Energy!

“Wind Disc!”

Zhang Xiaohou hesitated for a moment before deciding against the urge of casting the second-tier Wind Disc.

“Tornado!”

A wild gust appeared under Zhang Xiaohou’s control, quickly turning into a powerful tornado!

The area it covered grew, and it swept everything in the shop into it, shattering the glass cabinets as it did so.

The strong updraft of the tornado lifted Da Niu, who was also an Intermediate Magician, into the air.

“Oh my…Oh mama!” The plump owner and Da Jin were terrified by the tornado. They quickly fled to the back of the store.

However, there was no escape, as the tornado uprooted the walls and drew the other three Magicians into the air, too…

The street was usually quiet at this time, but the surrounding neighbors were shaken when they saw the tornado destroying the magic shop!

The wind was strong enough to uproot a whole house, let alone humans!

The entire magic shop crumbled. Zhang Xiaohou, who was standing inside the tornado, quickly withdrew the spell, as he was worried that it would injure the innocent nearby. That being said, the people inside the shop were totally dazzled by it!

The shop no longer had its previous appearance. The ground was covered by shards of glass. All that was left was an empty shell.

Zhang Xiaohou stepped on top of the debris and went up to the plump owner and Da Jin without glancing at the other Magicians, who were looking at him as if he were a devil.

“My diamond card!” Zhang Xiaohou did not want to kill someone. As a matter of fact, the civil liability of a Magician when dealing with an unethical seller like the shop’s owner would be fairly minimal.

The plump owner was covered in pieces of glasses and his clothes were torn. He had cuts and bruises all over.

He tremblingly handed the diamond card back to Zhang Xiaohou.

Both the shop’s owner and Da Jin were shaking in fear throughout the whole process. They initially thought Zhang Xiaohou, who looked like he was in his twenties, was a Basic Magician. Therefore, he would not be a problem for Da Niu and the others. To their regret, the four magicians were defeated with a single attack…

The shop’s owner totally believed that he was able to kill Warrior-level demon beasts on his own now. The strength that this kid had displayed was even more terrifying than some of the aged hunters he knew personally!

“This is my badge. I don’t want anyone to know that I’m in Biyi City. Once the people of the Magic Association show up, just tell them that you made the mess yourself.” Zhang Xiaohou received the diamond card and kicked the plump owner.

“Sol…soldier, you’re a soldier…” The owner was dumbfounded!

That’s right, he did mention something about the army…

This was the end. He was messing with a soldier! His life was screwed.

The plump owner glared at Da Jin as if he were saying, “You dumb fuck, why did you bring a soldier here! All the Magicians that are trained by the military are freaks!

Da Jin felt like bursting into tears.

He had never seen such a young soldier in Biyi City!

It wasn’t a huge fish that they had hooked, it was a giant white shark!

Xizhao Valley was a small valley made up of low-lying ground, and had an extraordinary glow to it under the sunlight when the sun was setting. Some say that it was due to a unique plant species here, which would blossom briefly every evening. The fascinating tale had attracted quite a number of adventurers here to take photos of it…

However, the truth was horrifying enough to make anyone’s scalp go numb. The real reason was that when the fertile soil here reached a certain temperature at sunset, the Giant Lizards whose skin secreted a layer of oily slime, would crawl out from their swamps and lie in the valley. Their skin was usually rough, but the layer of oil would reflect the sunlight like crystals, thus the valley shone brightly, as if it were filled with sparkling treasure.

A long time ago, there were tales about the hidden treasure waiting to be discovered in this mysterious valley, waiting for brave Magicians to dig them up. However, after a significant amount of Magicians were killed, many people were disgusted by the truth when the mysterious, beautiful veil was torn apart.

Humans gradually distanced themselves from Dongting Lake as the beast horde continued to expand its territory. Many had moved to the safer cities, and so the ugly tale of Xizhao Valley was still being spread among their descendants…

On a muddy road leading to Xizhao Valley, a group of fully-equipped hunters slowly made their way towards the dangerous place.

It was currently evening. Xizhao Valley was emanating a beautiful shine, as usual. Perhaps if the truth were not known, it would turn out to be a great attraction, as the shine emitting from the valley was too astonishing.

“Believe me, there must be some treasure in Xizhao Valley. I’ll bet my dick on it.” A red-haired young man tapped his chest and said.

“Yo, watch your mouth, there’s still a woman in our group!” A man wearing a bandana said. He purposely cast a side glance at the woman wearing a tight-fitting outfit, who had joined the group halfway through the journey.

The woman was wearing a pair of army-green pants. The loose cut was unable to conceal her big booty, while her long, firm legs, which were perfectly straight even though she was not wearing high heels, totally thronged the men’s minds with lewd thoughts…

Maybe because of the slightly warm temperature, the woman had taken off her jacket. She was only wearing a black chest binder. Her outstanding bust had caused the men who were experiencing a great burst of hormones to excuse themselves into the woods to provide relief for their physical needs. Otherwise, they were scared they would be committing a serious criminal offense here in the wild, not to mention the group consisted of famous Magicians and hunters…

The busty woman did not seem to be bothered by the comments. She had used a wooden branch to tie her hair, as if she had forgotten to bring her hair clip, exposing her face and neck, which were covered in fragrant sweat. Deep cleavage could be seen down her neck, a very attractive sight. Her rather simple and casual look somehow highlighted her wild personality, and was causing a great itch in the men’s hearts!

“By the way, this woman is pretty daring too, coming to the valley of Dongting Lake on her own. She was lucky to bump into us. If it were a group of dishonorable hunters, they would most likely rape her and kill her before dumping her body in the wild, and no one would care at all,” the leader, Liang Dachui, said to his friends nearby.

“Leader, please don’t bring that up. If not, I could turn into the dishonorable person you are describing. The lady is too hot!” Huang Zhuosi could not help but peek at the woman again.

Their boss coughed loudly. “Can we talk about business!? The treasure in Xizhao Valley will surely make us rich,” the red-haired man said with a stern look.

The five men, with Liang Dachui as their leader, were part of the Dachui Hunter Group. Everyone was an Intermediate Magician. The group was a relatively famous Hunter Group in Biyi City. Their success rate at looting treasure, bounties, or mercenary work was rather impressive.

They were told by their informer that there was some treasure in Xizhao Valley, estimated to worth millions or more. As such, the group immediately decided to try their luck, despite the challenging journey so far.

To their surprise, they had bumped into a female hunter on her own, who seemed to have lost her way. The group conveniently brought her along, seeing that her strength was rather outstanding, too. She was also heading to Xizhao Valley. She had told them that she was not interested in the treasure, and was only trying to investigate the area for some strange reason.

Everyone in the group was fairly experienced, thus no one was worried that the woman was trying to trick them. The only problem was, they had wasted too much toilet paper after bringing her along. At this rate, they would have to use stones and tree branches to clean a certain body part when needed…

“We’re almost there. We should come up with a plan first. I don’t think we should barge in the valley straight away. It will take us more than seven days and nights just to wipe out the Giant Lizards on the way here,” the red-haired Magician who was in charge of planning their strategy said.

“Give me the map,” the woman said.

“Li Man, are you an analyst too?” the red-haired man asked with a hint of interest.

“I’m normally in charge of settling problems,” Li Man said.

An analyst was the mastermind of the team, in charge of planning their strategy. Once it was approved by the captain, the whole team would stick to it. A Hunter Group without a brilliant mastermind would usually end up dying in the wild, regardless of how strong they were. Having outstanding strength alone was useless without a certain level of intelligence and experience!

“The sky is turning dark. We’ll be entering the valley tomorrow evening.”

“Evening? Hong Niao, didn’t you say that’s the time when the Giant Lizards would come out from their caves? Aren’t we presenting ourselves to them if we head in at that time?” Huang Zhuosi asked.

“That explains why you’re not the mastermind!”

The captain Liang Dachui had great faith in Hong Niao’s capabilities. He immediately agreed to follow his plan.

——

The following evening, the Hunter Group appeared at the east of the valley. They were taking a path which seemed rather dangerous, but in the end, not a single Giant Lizard was insight. It totally puzzled Huang Zhuosi.

“How do you know there’s no beasts here?” Huang Zhuosi asked.

“Aren’t they a fan of sunbathing? If you look closely, you will realize that the west of the valley has a lower height than this area. Most of the Giant Lizards will be sunbathing there instead, thus this side will be clear,” Hong Niao said confidently. He could not help but glance at the woman called Li Man as he spoke, trying to detect any hint of impression from her eyes.

Sadly, Li Man had a stern look naturally, thus she did not show any reaction.

She did not seem to be interested with the treasure in the valley, but she was intrigued by the corpses of the Giant Lizards they found along the way. She went up to the dead bodies and mumbled, “Punctured by lightning, instant death… I’m getting closer to my target!”

“Strange, there are some scattered corpses here,” said Hong Niao, who was relatively observant.

“It’s normal, since the Giant Lizards always fight one another for territories or partners. Come, we’re one step closer to our treasure. HAHAHA, we’ll all be rich once we get our hands on the Flowing Mud!” Huang Zhuosi, who was rather insensitive, burst into laughter.

Everyone’s expression turned weird when they heard his shout. They subconsciously glanced at the woman called Li Man.

“Idiot, you’ve exposed the Earth Element Soul Seed that we are looking for. The Flowing Mud is a high-quality Earth Element Soul Seed. The estimated market price is around thirty million RMB. I swear I’ll skin you alive if you screw this up!” the captain, Liang Dachui, glared at Huang Zhuosi.

Huang Zhuosi let out an awkward smile. He cast a glance at Li Man and realized that she was only glancing at them indifferently. It seemed like she was not too interested in a Spirit-grade Soul Seed like the Flowing Mud.

——

As they arrived at the valley, they immediately saw its astonishing brilliance. The golden sunlight of the setting sun had laid a golden rug across the Giant Lizards, which were wriggling as they moved. Not only was half of the basin filled with them, even the slope of the mountain was crowded with the Giant Lizards. From afar, it looked like the entire place was covered in gold!

“Holy crap, how many Giant Lizards are there!” exclaimed Hong Niao when he witnessed the spectacular sight. Instead of admiring the view, he could feel his scalp going numb.

If they somehow ended up being surrounded in the valley, they would be like sheep entering a pack of wolves, with no chance of surviving.

“Captain, are you sure we’re going in?” Huang Zhuosi felt like retreating when he saw these many Giant Lizards.

The treasure was important, but everything would be in vain if he lost his life here!

“I…I also think that it’s too risky,” the others agreed

“We’ve already come this far. Don’t worry, Hong Niao’s plan will surely work,” said Liang Dachui with a deep breath, although he looked quite nervous too.

Luckily, the valley was fairly spacious, thus there were quite a few hiding spots for them. Otherwise, even a few extra lives would not be enough for them to barge into the demon beasts’ valley.

——

Li Man split up with the Hunter Group when they arrived at the valley.

She was quite interested too, but it would not make sense if a Commander were to take advantage of them after they had invested great effort in collecting the information, coming up with a plan, and risking their lives to acquire the Earth Element Soul Seed.

Li Man followed the trails of the corpses. The Hunter Group agreed to split up, knowing that she was looking for something else.

They were more interested in the treasure, since what kind of woman would they not be able to find when they had the money?

However, soon after the group entered the valley, a nimble figure followed along their trail.

He glanced at the group of hunters and the female Magician who had split up, and quickly inspected the corpses on the ground. In the end, he chose to go after the female Magician.

The person was none other than Zhang Xiaohou, who had left the army to infiltrate Dongting Lake on his own.

As a matter of fact, he had followed Wang Dachui’s group all the way from Biyi City. The experienced hunters had never noticed his existence along the journey.

Zhang Xiaohou was mainly in charge of tracking and spying in the army. He was considered a special forces soldier among the Battlemages, although it was closely related to the two Elements he had.

“Brother Fan, I’m very close to finding you!” Zhang Xiaohou felt even more confident when he saw the causes of death of the corpses nearby.

—

Li Man continued her search, following the corpses. She believed that she was very close to finding the Deathbringer of Dongting Lake.

The term had appeared in the Hunter Union when a large number of Giant Lizards were found dead close to Dongting Lake. When the hunters discovered the Giant Lizards all had similar wounds, they referred to their killer as the Deathbringer of Dongting Lake.

Li Man was the representative from the military sent to investigate the matter. Dongting Lake had been a sensitive and dangerous area for quite some time, so she was not willing to overlook any tiny detail, just in case it turned out to be a new Commander-level demon beast, or something even more dangerous. It would become a great threat to Biyi City!

“Strange, my legs feel heavy. I don’t think my stamina should be this bad, even though it’s been a while since I was last out on the field…” Li Man had no choice, but to find a dry spot to rest up after walking past a swampy area.

She quickly took off her boots to check her legs.

“Damn it, why was I so careless!” Li Man finally discovered the reason. Her feet were somehow poisoned by the swamp. Her jade-white feet were dyed purple.

Li Man was reallocated to Dongting Lake quite recently, thus she was not very familiar with the environment. As such, she did not put too much attention on her precautions toward poisonous substances.

“This doesn’t make sense, I’m already following the advice given by my comrades. Besides, with my cultivation, there’s no way I would be poisoned so easily. Could this be an unknown poison…Where did it come from, such a strong poison!” Li Man anxiously sat down on the rock.

She immediately applied all the antidotes she had brought with her, but she was surprised when none of them was effective against the poison, which continued to spread up her legs!

The swamp was a mix between Water and Earth Elements, thus she tried using the respective antidotes, but none of them worked.

This is bad!

Li Man was not afraid of demon beasts. She would not mind killing any of them that she stumbled into.

However, poison was definitely troublesome to deal with. She was clueless about it, and she was not well-prepared for this adventure. She had no idea what to do in her current situation.

“The hunters must have gone far away… Should I fire a signal to ask for help? The army would send someone over…but if they knew I failed to accomplish the mission just because I’ve been poisoned, everyone would laugh at me. Those old jerks never liked me intervening with their business at Biyi Headquarters to begin with!” Li Man clenched her teeth and gave up on the thought.

She tried other ways to cleanse the poison, but its strength totally surpassed her expectations.

When the purple poison made its way to Li Man’s knees, she finally regretted her idiotic decision.

The poison was definitely nothing ordinary!

As the sky fell darker, Li Man began to feel dizzy. It would be rather difficult for her to send a signal now.

She would need to make some preparations before firing the signal. Otherwise, a normal signal would just expose her location to the demon beasts. Li Man leaned against the cold rock and panted heavily.

The poison continued to spread in her body. Li Man could no longer move. She could hear distant cries of the Giant Lizards around her as her eyelids fell heavily.

She had no idea if her spot was concealed enough. All she could do was to pray that the Giant Lizards would not notice her, otherwise…

Just as Li Man was falling unconscious, she felt a strong electric current passing in front of her. It struck a Giant Lizard crawling toward her, and instantly killed it.

Li Man’s heart skipped a beat.

How bad exactly was her luck? Not only was she immobilized because of some strong poison, the Deathbringer of Dongting Lake just had to show itself now, too!

Most of the Giant Lizards had died after being punctured by lightning. Li Man was confident that the figure coming closer to her was the one she had been searching for!

In a shabby cave, a man in ragged clothes sat like a caveman besides a vigorous bonfire. On the other side lay a woman with a shocking bust, whose chest was pulsing steadily.

The woman’s army green pants had been taken off, revealing her pink underwear. The rather small piece of cloth was unable to completely conceal her plump booty, which was completely exposed and looked even more alluring under the illumination of the fire.

Cave, bonfire, a man, and a woman, such a set-up could easily provoke anyone’s wild imagination.

“Why would a woman even come to this place?” the man murmured.

“Mm…” The woman let out a soft moan. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the cave became drier, as the sound of someone swallowing a mouthful of saliva was heard.

“Crap, I forgot to put her pants back on…”

As soon as the thought crossed the man’s mind. Li Man regained consciousness. She checked her surroundings with a blank face after her eyes sprang open, and discovered a man with long hair, like a caveman staring at her. She immediately gathered her focus and began casting magic subconsciously.

“You are poisoned.” The caveman smiled, exposing his teeth. His canine teeth were quite sharp, like two swords hanging in the air.

“You’re a… Hunter?” Li Man asked in a calm tone as she collected her thoughts.

The reason she had stuttered for a moment was because the man looked too similar to a caveman. Even a hunter who was in extremely bad condition would still look better than him. She could not tell how long he had been staying in the wild.

“More or less, at least I won’t be able to leave this place in a short period of time,” said the man with a smile.

“Did you save my life?” asked Li Man.

“Yeah, the poison you caught is quite tricky. It took me a great effort to cleanse it when I caught it myself. However, your body is a lot stronger than I thought. I assumed that you would be unconscious for at least seven or eight days,” said the man.

“Thanks, I’m not this careless usually,” explained Li Man.

“Why would a woman like you come to such a dangerous place on your own?” asked the man.

“Aren’t you on your own, too?” Li Man returned the question. Her eyes were filled with the pride of an independent woman.

“You’re right, so you’re here for the treasure in the valley?” added the man. His eyes peeked at her at times.

Li Man shook her head. She recalled the lightning she saw prior to falling unconscious, before taking a closer look at the man in front of her, “I’m here to investigate the thing that has been killing lots of demon beasts recently.”

“Oh, I see…” The man shifted his gaze as he switched the topic. “As long as you’re not here for the treasure. Too many have died because of it.”

“Too many have died?” Li Man was startled.

“Yeah, where do you think the poison come from? I’ve tried to warn a few groups, but they totally ignored my advice,” the man said.

“This valley isn’t normal.” Li Man frowned. She recalled how she was poisoned and the uneasy feeling she had when the group first arrived at the valley.

She was an Advanced Magician and she still came so close at losing her life, let alone the Hunter Groups!

Crap, Dachui’s group was still clueless about the danger. Hopefully, they were not poisoned as she was. Otherwise, the whole group would be dead by now.

“It will take some time until your poison is cleansed. You should hide in the cave for the time being,” the man said.

“Why are you here?” Li Man asked.

“To collect some stuff…” The man smiled mysteriously.

“Have you had enough?” Li Man’s expression turned dark as she glared at him.

“Err… I’ll excuse myself. Please put your pants on, I’ve already dried them for you!” The man awkwardly left the cave.

Li Man had totally run out of patience. During the conversation, she already gave him hints to leave the cave. To her surprise, he sat there throughout the whole conversation!

If it weren’t for the fact that he had saved her life, she would never forgive him for taking her pants off!

—-

When the man returned, Li Man had already put on her pants. Her eyes were staring at the bonfire as she tried to figure out if the man had done something to her.

She briefly checked her body. Her sensitive parts seemed perfectly fine… her hymen was already broken. As a female Battlemage, she had already given her virginity to the intense training in the army. It had nothing to do with a man.

“Can I ask you a favor?” Li Man glanced at the man who was walking towards her.

Li Man could not help but murmur in her heart, exactly how long has he been living here? His hair almost reached the ground. His canine teeth were like a wolf’s fangs. If it weren’t for his seemingly ordinary human face, she would have thought that he was actually raised by a wolf, like in the film A Werewolf Boy!

“I don’t have much time,” the man rejected her straight away.

“I haven’t told you what it is yet!” said Li Man protested in an angry tone.

“Sis, I don’t have any time to spare. My life is still at stake here,” the man said.

“Whatever you are doing, I can help you, but I hope you can send a message to the Hunter Group that has just arrived here. Tell them not to go any deeper. Their lives are at risk,” Li Man said.

Li Man had a fairly good impression of the group. Even though they were quite lecherous, she had gotten used to people staring at her like that.

“I…I should have just set up a noticeboard there! The thing in the swamp at the center of the valley has already been injured. However, several groups of Magicians have been so keen to give the thing a warm hug lately. I can’t stop them!” complained the man.

Li Man fell into deep thought.

It was likely that there had been news spreading around about the Earth Element Soul Seed. As a result, many Magicians had come to search for it. To their surprise, the valley was nothing but a trap, taking countless lives. On top of that, it was impossible for the people to learn the truth, as most of the groups were completely wiped out after coming here. As a result, more people would just come here and end up dead.

If even an Advanced Magician like her had failed to protect herself properly, any other group would surely be killed!

“How do you know the thing is injured?” Li Man was slightly suspicious of the man.

Most of the people would have died halfway into the valley, and yet this guy seemed to be perfectly fine living here.

Besides, she did sense that the Deathbringer of Dongting Lake had appeared before she fell unconscious. How did she end up being saved by this man? Was she under an illusion?

“Err… that’s none of your concern,” said the man.

“I still don’t know your name.”

“Oh, you can call me Fan Mo.”

“You seem rather familiar with this place. I don’t want to see more people dying, and they are all Intermediate Magicians… Let me help eliminate the thing in the valley, too.” Li Man said, staring at the extraordinary young man with a stern look. The military had the obligation to get rid of any potential threat. Since Li Man was a Commander, it was a responsibility which she could not avoid.

Mo Fan was stunned. He began to inspect the woman whose tone was slightly dignified.

“I do have a plan to kill it, but I don’t think it’s plausible with the two of us. We still need someone nimble enough to lure the poisonous beasts away,” said Mo Fan.

“There was a guy tailing us when we were entering the valley. I’m sure that he was using the military’s way of tracking enemies and concealing his presence. I’ll find him,” Li Man said.

“It won’t be good enough, either. We need someone strong enough, who could kite a Commander-level demon beast… (sigh) forget it, let’s give it a try. You should find the guy first. Just making it clear, don’t try to take the thing I need. Otherwise, you all will be dead soon,” said Mo Fan.

“I’m not interested in it,” Li Man said in a rather calm tone.

“Sigh, such a pity for her to leave like that. Captain, why didn’t you say anything? I don’t think it would hurt to let her stay.” Huang Zhuosi’s mind was still filled with the woman’s deep cleavage. He just could not understand how her skinny waist was able to support her incredible bust. Guess she trained herself a lot in the wild…

“Can your brain be useful for once? Aren’t you aware that something isn’t right here!” Hong Niao snapped furiously.

“Something isn’t right?”

“There isn’t a single Giant Lizard here!”

“Isn’t that good news?” said Huong Zhuosi.

“F**k me, is your brain full of shit? The density of Giant Lizards in this place is estimated to one every ten square meters! However, we’ve not seen a single one along the way, what does that imply!?…It means there’s something so terrifying here, that all the Servant-class Giant Lizards are too scared to get close!” Hong Niao was absolutely furious. Why did he decide to join a bunch of brain-dead teammates?

The group finally realized that something was indeed out of place here. They quickly scanned the darkness around them.

The center of the valley was an uplifted area. If the swampy area, which took up seventy percent of the valley, was considered a lake, the uplifted area could be described as an island in the middle of the lake.

They had stuck to their plan and come all the way here without stumbling into any danger. They were so close to reaching the area. The information they received had mentioned that an Earth Element Soul Seed, Flowing Mud, was right in the middle of the valley.

There was indeed a strong Earth Element presence nearby. There must be a Soul Seed being nurtured in the middle of the swamp!

They had put so much effort in just to acquire the Soul Seed. As such, any potential danger was treated as everything would be fine as long as they were careful enough.

They couldn’t help it, as the Soul Seed was too huge of an incentive to them!

“We’re here. What should we do now?” asked Captain Liang Dachui.

“I’ll investigate our surroundings first,” said Hong Niao.

The group of hunters had reached the land in the middle of the swamp. Their surroundings were still clear of Giant Lizards. Maybe they had gone somewhere else to take a nap…

Hong Niao took out an aluminum container. He explained to the group while setting up the special tool, “This is an Element Detector. By inserting it into the ground, we’ll be able to distinguish the ratio of Elements within a kilometer. This land is soaked in the swamp, thus it should be showing a balanced ratio of brown, which represents the Earth Element, and blue, which represents the Water Element. If the result leans towards dark brown, it implies that the area is strong in the Earth Element, therefore the Soul Seed should be within a kilometer of the device.”

“Alright, we’re Magicians, not scientists. We don’t need to know the details,” said Huang Zhuosi impatiently.

Hong Niao wore a disdainful look. Who told you that Magicians don’t need to use their brains? Who said that Magicians don’t need to learn how to use different tools?

“Mm? This is strange!” The result was out fairly quickly. Hong Niao blurted out staring at the blank screen on the Element Detector.

“What is it?” asked Captain Wang Dachui. The rest of the team came closer too, eager to know if there was any treasure nearby!

“Why doesn’t it show any color? Didn’t you say it’s supposed to be brown and blue?” Huang Zhuosi went up to the device and stared at the empty screen.

Hong Niao was confused too. He quickly checked the device.

Why isn’t there any color?

It is just ordinary land. The device should at least show brown, but why is it showing nothing? Didn’t that mean the land is not showing any Elemental reaction? This doesn’t make sense scientifically… no, magically!

“Is this thing broken?” Huang Zhuosi laughed. He was never fond of devices like that

“Impossible, let me try again,” said Hong Niao. If it wasland, it should have Earth Element’s reaction…

Either the device is broken, or this ground…

“By the way, do any of you feel that we’re rising?” someone blurted out among the group.

Hong Niao, who was about to use the device again, suddenly had a pale face. The hands holding the device began to tremble violently…

The device was not broken, but it still failed to detect any reaction.

Everything in the world was basically made of some Elements, but the only thing that would not show a reaction would be… a living thing!

A roar so powerful that it could shake the entire valley erupted suddenly!

The sound was extremely close to the group, it felt like it was occurring right beside their ears. Their eardrums were almost destroyed, while they felt like their brains were about to explode!

The first one to realize the truth was Hong Niao, whose mind was instantly overwhelmed with fear. He could not even move his body.

Following the roar, the land in the middle of the swamp rose rapidly!

It escaped the swamp and rose into the air. The giant body previously concealed under the swamp was exposed. It was huge enough to stir a great tide in the middle of the swamp!

The land began to tilt sideways as the giant black beast stood up. As it stood up, the island turned out to be its backbone!

The earth and mud rapidly came loose from its giant body. Its massive stood under the dim night sky. As the moonlight shone upon the enormous silhouette, the part which was exposed above the mud resulted in an epic scene!

The tiny humans on the giant beast’s back were utterly terrified. They never thought they were actually stepping on the back of a giant beast…They completely lost their minds!

Some who were quicker in response immediately cast spells to aid their escape.

However, the beast was long aware of these intruders’ presence. With just a slight shudder, it shook the humans off its back with ease.

Its movement was not too quick, but its size was enormous. A single step from it was able to cover the distance of a Wind Magician’s Wind Path.

Liang Dachui, Hong Niao, Huang Zhuosi and the rest never thought they would be stepping into the jaws of death themselves. Even Magic could not save them as they fell through the air…

Everything had happened too quickly!

The place fell silent fairly quickly. The group of elite Magicians had only seen the giant beast’s backbone, before they were devoured by darkness without a hint of struggle!

For a few seconds, there were screams and shouts, but now, the giant black beast was slowly sinking into the swamp again.

The entire place returned to calm, as if nothing had actually happened…

Somewhere in the distance, on top of an old tree growing away from the rest of the plants, a fairly skinny young man was sitting on a branch. His eyes were wide, as he could not believe what he had just witnessed in the center of the swamp.

His teeth started grinding subconsciously. It took him quite some time before he could collect his thoughts. He even stared at the ground below him, which was overgrown with weeds…

After taking a close look, Zhang Xiaohou was confident that it would not rise all of a sudden. Half of his shirt was soaked with cold sweat.

What the hell is wrong with this place!

Zhang Xiaohou was utterly terrified. He was planning to track the corpses, but considering that he would not be able to move freely in the valley, he decided to tailgate the group of hunters while maintaining a certain distance from them.

To his surprise, the whole group was wiped out within a few blinks of an eye!

The hunters, consisting of Intermediate Magicians, were considered an elite group, but had just been wiped out so easily!

Not knowing if he should feel lucky or pessimistic, Zhang Xiaohou somehow lost track of his direction. The valley was scarier than he had imagined. The enormous creature at the center of the swamp had definitely surpassed the Warrior-level.

Should he leave the valley at once, or…

Damn it, how could he leave before finding the person he was looking for!

He would just avoid going to the center of the swamp at all costs! The giant beast would most likely stay in its area due to its incredible size!

Clenching his teeth, Zhang Xiaohou immediately left the area. The further he was away from the swamp, the better!

“F**k me, are you being serious now? The Giant Lizards are returning to their lair at this time?” As Zhang Xiaohou was about to leave, he saw the Giant Lizards, which were supposed to be gathering to the west of the mountain, were instead making their way toward him.

The group of beasts seemed to be taking a stroll after enjoying a satisfying bath, and were on their way back to their nest to call it a day. It was definitely bad news for Zhang Xiaohou, as he just happened to be close to their nest.

As a matter of fact, the valley would normally be empty for two to three hours, as the Giant Lizards would gather on the west of the mountain. They would show up on time like housewives turning up to dances being held at the public squares { TN: yes, this is a thing in China} , living their quality lives.

The Hunter Group had planned to finish their job within this gap of two to three hours. Regardless of if they succeeded or not, they would leave instantly once time ran out, and would resume the operation the next day.

Unfortunately, none of them expected there to be an enormous beast hiding at the center of the swamp!

Zhang Xiaohou was out of luck to bump into the housewives… err, the Giant Lizards when they were returning to their nest. He was clueless about the Giant Lizards’ regular routine. He assumed they would stay on the west side of the mountain until daylight.

Seeing more Giant Lizards crawling toward him, Zhang Xiaohou felt his scalp turning numb. He immediately used all his capabilities to flee for his life.

—

The swamp to the south of the valley was poisonous. Not only was the poison able to spread rapidly, its gaseous substance could also permeate through a living thing’s skin.

The creatures residing in the swamp were totally immune to the poison, while outsiders trespassing in this area would most likely end up like the countless corpses at the bottom of the swamp.

“You’re still not cleansed from the poison. Why are you following me?” Mo Fan was left speechless, glancing at the stubborn woman.

“I’m fine, but are you sure that disgusting fruit is enough to resist the poison?” asked Li Man.

“Of course, otherwise, I would be dead by now,” answered Mo Fan.

“We should find the group of hunters as soon as possible, then try to find the Wind Magician,” said Li Man.

“If they executed their plan tonight, they are most likely dead by now. As for the guy you mentioned who was hiding in the dark, to find him in such a huge valley…” Mo Fan lowered his body to cross the wall sticking out above him. He paused his sentence as soon as he made it to the other side.

Li Man followed behind and lowered her body to pass through the gap below the wall. She took over Mo Fan’s sentence, “He should be nearby…Err…”

Mo Fan was staring blankly ahead at the swampy area. He saw a large group of Giant Lizards chasing after a skinny young man who was sprinting in front of the beasts.

The young man seemed to be unaware of the gap under the mountain wall. He had stumbled into a dead end. His eyes flickered with firm determination.

“You assholes, your Grandpa Hou is definitely going to beat the shit out of you!” Knowing there was nowhere left to run, Zhang Xiaohou took a deep breath and prepared himself to have a lengthy battle with the Giant Lizards until daylight.

There were at least seventy Giant Lizards chasing after him. They were significantly larger than the usual Servant-class demon beasts. Their only weakness was their slow movement speed. They were trying their best to catch up, despite only being a hundred meters away. Their grinding teeth could not wait to tear the seafood apart. Well, the swamp was their habitat, so humans who lived on the shore were considered their seafood.

“Is he the person you were talking about?” Mo Fan tried to take a closer look at the person, but all he could see was a shadowy figure.

Li Man nodded after also taking a glance. “Most likely.”

Li Man was lost in her thoughts. She assumed that they would need some time trying to find the person. To their surprise, they had somehow bumped into him as soon as they got closer to the valley. It was just too coincidental.

“Hey, I wouldn’t want to have a rumble with them! There’s a path here, come quick!” Mo Fan waved at the idiotic young man from the gap below the mountain walls.

Zhang Xiaohou turned around and saw a wild-looking man and the mysterious woman who was with the group of hunters before.

“Oh, coming!” Zhang Xiaohou crawled his way toward the gap below the wall.

—

The Giant Lizards were unable to make it through the gap, so they had given up on the chase.

The trio continued to move in the pitch-black darkness. Zhang Xiaohou was the first to break the silence, “Thanks for saving my life.”

“Don’t worry about it, we do have something to discuss with you, too… By the way, friend, your voice sounds familiar…” Mo Fan responded in the dark.

“Strange, your voice sounds familiar to me, too!”

The two had just walked out from the dark as they spoke. Four eyes stared into one another as the moonlight shone upon their face.

A soft breeze caressed their faces. A crow somewhere in the mountain let out a weird caw…

“Holy shit, Xiao Hou?”

“Brother Fan!”

“Hell yeah, Brother Fan, I knew you were not dead!” Zhang Xiaohou gave Mo Fan a great hug, although his body was soaked with smelly mud.

It had been two years since they had bid each other farewell in Bo City.

When Mo Fan learned that his friend had come specifically just to look for him, he felt a surge of warmth rising in his heart.

Mo Fan knew how dangerous Dongting Lake was, and yet Zhang Xiaohou was willing to come on his own. He was quite speechless about his friend’s recklessness.

Returning to the cave, Li Man fell asleep, as the poison in her body was not cleansed yet.

“Oh right, Brother Fan, this is for you.” Zhang Xiaohou slowly took out two containers from his backpack and shoved them into Mo Fan’s hands.

“What are these?” Mo Fan took a glance at the containers, but he could not tell what they contained.

Mo Fan was rather familiar with the containers. They were commonly used to contain Soul Essences.

“There are two Soul Essences inside. Boss Zhan Kong told me that your soul is in a critical state, and you’ll need a huge amount of Soul Essences to maintain it. I brought two Soul Essences from Biyi City along my way here…” Zhang Xiaohou blurted out in excitedly.

Knowing Mo Fan was still alive was the most exciting good news to Zhang Xiaohou. After all, he had treated him like his own brother.

“Where did you get the money from?” Mo Fan held the two containers. He could feel something flowing in his eyes.

Mo Fan was barely able to retain his normal appearance since his soul had a breakdown. However, the Demon Element was extremely unstable. He did not dare to return to the safe zones yet, not until his soul was completely stabilized.

However, he could not help but admit that it was quite lonely living out here.

Mo Fan was incredibly touched knowing that Zhang Xiaohou had come all the way here looking for him, and yet had still prepared two Soul Essences for him.

It was true that Mo Fan was in desperate need of Soul Essences, which was the main reason he stayed at the valley here in Dongting Lake. He had no choice but to maintain his fragile soul with a huge amount of Soul Essences, and the source of them was the Giant Lizards…

He had no idea how many Giant Lizards he had killed so far, and how many Soul Essences he had acquired. As a matter of fact, Zhang Xiaohou’s Servant-class Soul Essences were no longer effective for him. However, when he recalled that his bro had come all the way here just to give him the Soul Essences, he could feel his eyes getting wet…

Mo Fan always thought he was a heartless person, but surprisingly he was incredibly touched by Zhang Xiaohou’s actions.

“Money is never the problem. Besides, I’m more or less a soldier now. By the way, is your body okay now? I was so worried when I heard the details from Boss Zhan Kong!” Zhang Xiaohou asked him.

“Take these back. Sell them and get yourself a piece of good defensive equipment.” Mo Fan did not want to take the gift.

Although the gift was not too useful for him, the intentions behind it mattered more than anything else, especially to someone like Mo Fan, who had been living a lonely life in the wild for more than three months. The Servant-class Soul Essences would still work, but Mo Fan could easily acquire them. Zhang Xiaohou had most likely spent all his savings on the two Soul Essences.

“I already have some equipment. Boss Zhan Kong told me that you need lots of Soul Essences. Just make them count, since I’ve managed to find you. Brother Fan, just focus on treating your injury, I’ll gather the Soul Essences for you. To be honest, those Giant Lizards are nothing against me. I’ve also taken a Soul Container from the army. I know it’s rare to find Soul Essences, but I can kill a lot of them. I believe it would eventually appear…” Zhang Xiaohou had come prepared. Judging from the things he had brought, he was definitely planning to stay for quite a long time.

“You little prick, alright, stop boasting how capable you are now. I do have my own hands and legs. What do you think I’ve been doing for the past three months?” cursed Mo Fan.

“That’s right, let’s kill the beasts together. With us working together, I believe even the Deathbringer of Dongting Lake has to clear a path for us, HAHAHA!” Zhang Xiaohou burst out laughing.

Mo Fan smacked his lips. He was hesitating if he should tell Zhang Xiaohou the truth about the Deathbringer of Dongting Lake.

On second thought, he decided not to tell him the truth, so he would not destroy his confidence. Besides, Zhang Xiaohou had come at the perfect time, as he desperately needed a helper.

—

Mo Fan had been camping in the valley for a few days. His target was actually the monster at the center of the swamp.

It was a Commander-level demon beast, which was currently injured. Mo Fan had no idea how it was injured, but he did fight against it in his demonized state, thus he was confident that he could kill it.

Mo Fan desperately needed a Commander-level soul, either a Soul Remnant or a Soul Essence.

The injured Commander-level demon beast was Mo Fan’s only hope. Otherwise, if the Demon Element were to lose control again, his soul would definitely crumble, as it would no longer be able to endure the overwhelming burden.

The Demon Element did give him incredible strength, in exchange for the energy from his body and soul. In fact, Mo Fan did not run away from Zhan Kong because he had lost control of his body, but rather because he clearly knew that the military would not be able to provide a sufficient amount of Soul Essences for him, thus he had decided to find them himself.

With the help of the Little Loach Pendant, Mo Fan could easily collect Soul Essences. All he needed to do was kill demon beasts!

He was able to collect Soul Remnants, which would eventually be refined into Soul Essences.

If he were lucky enough, he could even get Soul Essences straight away, which definitely would aid his recovery.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, the first Soul Breakdown almost cost him his life. Mo Fan had no choice but to massacre the demon beasts in his demonized state.

The number of Giant Lizards at Dongting Lake was already overflowing. The military had plans to control their numbers, and had been encouraging Magicians and hunters to eliminate them.

Mo Fan just happened to have no choice but to do a kind deed for society, and somehow ended up as the infamous Deathbringer of Dongting Lake.

If his predictions were on point, he would experience a strong Soul Breakdown around a week from now!

Mo Fan had awakened four different Elements, thus there were a total of four Soul Breakdowns. He had survived the previous three, but his guts were telling him that the final one would be significantly stronger than those before.

The Little Loach Pendant had refined lots of Servant-class and Warrior-level Soul Essences for him.

However, Mo Fan still felt like he needed a Commander-level soul to increase the odds.

A Commander-level demon beast had a higher chance of dropping a Soul Essence. Even if the injured Commander-level demon beast ended up not dropping a Soul Essence, its Soul Remnant would still contain a significant amount of energy.

Killing a Commander-level demon beast was not an easy task, even though it was already severely injured.

Mo Fan began to run out of patience. Once the Commander-level demon beast recovered from its injury, there was no way Mo Fan would be able to kill it, even with the power from his Demon Element.

Luckily, Zhang Xiaohou had come so far to look for him, and there was also a potentially powerful female Magician here to help him, increasing his chances of killing the Commander-level demon beast!

“We’re going to kill the monster at the center of the swamp,” Mo Fan straight away made his intention clear.

“THE WHAT NOW?” Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes went wide as his thoughts filled with the image of the Hunter Group being swallowed alive by the giant shadow!

The Giant Lizards were amphibious. They could live in caves, sleep in the mud, were able to live off vegetables, and feast on meat at other times. Such an all-around beast species was troublesome to deal with. It was difficult to find their weakness due to their strong adaptability. It also meant that their reproductive ability was fairly outstanding.

There were only a few Giant Lizards here forty to fifty years ago, and now… they were enough to queue up for a sunbath.

One thing for sure, the creature hiding at the middle of the swamp was also a kind of the Giant Lizard species.

The Razortail Drake which Mo Fan had seen before was a Giant Lizard mixed with the lineage of dragons. In comparison, the one he was targeting now had no wings, and its size was significantly bigger than the Razortail Drake…

—-

Over the past few days, the trio was trying to figure out a plan to kill the enormous beast at the center of the swamp.

Li Man had returned from her regular exploration with bad news. Two groups of hunters were planning to enter the valley soon. Li Man had blocked the entrance they were planning to use, so she had barely delayed their plans by a day or two.

“Looks like we’ll have to make our move tomorrow,” said Mo Fan.

They would not be able to stop the hunters from feeding themselves to the beast. Besides, that would ruin their ambitious plan of killing the beast.

Furthermore, Mo Fan felt that if they were to wait, the beast’s shell would regrow fairly soon.

In the weak illumination from the bonfire, Mo Fan started drawing on the ground with a stick as he laid out the plan.

“Firstly, the Xuanwu Lizard is our biggest problem. Even though it was severely injured, its strength is still too much for us to handle. We can’t attack it without making sure that everything is in place. It is our main target, and it is an expert at disguising itself. Don’t judge it by looking at its enormous size, I can assure you that it has a higher intelligence than the Magicians that it has eaten alive.” Mo Fan drew the beast’s position on the soil.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded heavily.

The Xuanwu Lizard was indeed very cunning. It never attacked just when the Magicians showed themselves. It waited patiently until they stood on its back. The groups of hunters were quite experienced, and were fully prepared, too. If it were a normal encounter, one or two of them would be able to escape. However, they were completely wiped out in an instant.

“We have no hope of defeating it on our own. However, there’s something that could turn the impossible into the possible.” Mo Fan drew another area of the swamp with the stick.

The zone was where Li Man was on her own before, the exact place where she was poisoned without her knowing it.

Mo Fan glanced at Li Man and saw that she was in deep thought. He chuckled and said, “That’s right, the Xuanwu Lizard is not the only thing living in the Xizhao Valley. There’s also a very strong poisonous bug.”

“Brother Fan, are you implying that we should have the poisonous bug attack the Xuanwu Lizard?” Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes flickered.

They had zero chance of winning if they fought the Xuanwu Lizard head-on. It was clearly a Commander-level demon beast, and even an injured Commander-level demon beast could kill them instantly.

But it would be a different case if they had some external help.

Li Man cast a surprised glance at Mo Fan. She hadn’t thought this caveman would be so daring.

It was something that hunters used a lot, to have some beast do their dirty work. As such, they would be the ultimate winner of the situation. Not many people would dare to use it on a Commander-level demon beast, as they would end up being eaten if they made a careless mistake.

“Have you gathered enough information about that poisonous bug?” asked Li Man.

“Almost,” answered Mo Fan.

“Almost?” Li Man pull a long face.

“Either way, it’s useful in this situation.” Mo Fan was not willing to explain further. “The plan is simple; we’ll lure the poisonous bug to the Xuanwu Lizard. Its poison is strong enough to weaken a Commander-level demon beast. All we have to do is let the Xuanwu Lizard kill the poisonous bug, and we’ll utilize its poison to kill the Xuanwu Lizard.”

Zhang Xiaohou nodded quickly. He was utterly convinced that the plan would work. He asked after a slight pause, “So, who’s going to lure it to the gigantic beast?”

Mo Fan and Li Man did not respond. The cave suddenly fell silent, apart from the crackling noise from the bonfire.

Zhang Xiaohou pointed at his nose and said in a rather stiff tone, “You’re asking ME to do it?”

Mo Fan and Li Man nodded simultaneously. Neither of them had any convenient movement abilities, while on the other hand, Zhang Xiaohou had both the Wind Element and the Earth Element, and he had learned useful techniques in tracking enemies and concealing his presence in the military. He was definitely the perfect candidate for the difficult mission.

Zhang Xiaohou knew he had nowhere to escape to. He murmured under his breath, “Why do I feel like you both reached that conclusion before this?”

“We will bring the poisonous bug and the Xuanwu Lizard to this specific location. Therefore, we need someone luring the poisonous bug, and another person baiting the Xuanwu Lizard.” Mo Fan poked at a spot close to the center of the swamp with the stick.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

On second thought, Zhang Xiaohou was puzzled. He blurted out, “So what’s next after we bring the poisonous bug and the Xuanwu Lizard there? Aren’t we going to be flanked from both sides? We’re going to be killed first in between them!”

The plan was perfect, but its execution was bizarre.

The biggest problem of baiting the demon beasts to fight one another was to ensure a safe escape from the situation. Did they really think the beasts would just run into one another and battle fiercely while the bait simply turned a corner and ran away?

Enough with the jokes, this wasn’t filming a movie. It did work for the female protagonist in Jurassic Park IV, but Zhang Xiaohou would not dare to use the same trick himself.

“That’s the question,” Mo Fan coughed and pointed at the spot he poked before.

“Have you thought why we’re luring them to that specific location?” Mo Fan sternly said, “Li Man and I have investigated the surroundings. There’s a cave at the end of this path. Below it is a dried underground passage, which runs under the entire valley, including the bottom of the swamp, to the center of the valley.” Mo Fan drew another path, which connected to the swamp at the center.

Zhang Xiaohou immediately came to a realization and blurted out, “Brother Fan, so you’re saying that someone will be receiving us there?”

“That’s right. Once we lure the Xuanwu Lizard and the poisonous bug to the spot, the ground there is rather fragile. A few destructive Intermediate Spells would blast a hole open. It will then drain the mud like a vortex, and we’ll be able to ride it and make our way to the underground passage…” explained Mo Fan.

“HAHA, a crafty escape! The demon beasts will fight one another, and we’ll even have the time to change into clean clothing before retrieving our loot! Muahahaha!” Zhang Xiaohou burst into great laughter.

Brother Fan is as intelligent as usual. It turned out that everything was under his control all along!

As the two were filled with excitement, Li Man was silent throughout the entire discussion.

Overall, the plan did seem viable.

But here came the problem. If Zhang Xiaohou was assigned to lure the poisonous bug, who was going to bait the Xuanwu Lizard?

The underground passage was just a narrow cave located a layer below the valley. The swamp was on the surface, and below it was an underground river with a layer of rock in between.

Li Man had donned all her equipment and was traveling in the underground cave on her own. The light from her watch could only cover a limited distance. Luckily, she and Mo Fan had made some markings along the walls, indicating the specific location she was at relative to the surface.

The task given to her was not too complex. Both Li Man and Zhang Xiaohou were Battlemages, so they had brought along some useful devices apart from their daily needs.

” Li Man, have you arrived at your position ?” Mo Fan’s distorted voice appeared in her ear.

Li Man readjusted her earphone and responded, “I’m underground now, but the signal is weak. I can’t hear what you’re trying to say.”

” Time is running out, the Giant Lizards are almost done with their daily public square dance, ” said Mo Fan.

They had to make their move when the Giant Lizards were away taking a sunbath, thus they would not have enough time to wait until each step was completed. They had to move simultaneously!

“Start luring the creatures, I’ll be there soon,” Li Man said. She had just arrived at the second-to-last marking that they had put down before. She was very close to reaching her designated position.

” Alright, I guess we have no choice. Remember, use all you have to blast it open !” Mo Fan reminded her.

“Oh, I guess I should make the hole big enough for the two monsters to fall down here, too?” Li Man asked in a calm voice.

” So you do have a sense of humor !”

Li Man’s pink lips curled upward. As a matter of fact, if she were to use an Advanced Magic, she could easily blow a hole big enough for the two monsters…

—

Up on the surface, Zhang Xiaohou, who had already eaten plenty of the disgusting fruits, was holding his position.

He started to feel nervous when he saw that the sun was setting on the horizon. He kept on telling himself: Wake the poisonous bug, bring it to the spot, wait for Li Man to blast the ground open, and drop down following the spiral… It isn’t complicated at all, and not dangerous, either!

” Houzi, we’re ready… By the way, the military’s communication device is pretty impressive. You can even use it in the wild ,” Mo Fan’s voice crackled over the com.

“It’s being driven by the Magicians’ energy. We can hide our energy well, thus it won’t attract the attention of the demon beasts easily,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

” Mm, it’s about time. Go and wake the little poisonous bug up. I’ll wake the big lizard up, ” said Mo Fan.

“Sure thing!” Zhang Xiaohou nodded as his gaze firmed. He quickly scanned this section of the swamp, with its extraordinary colors.

The swamp here was separated from the big swamp in the valley. It was the territory of the poisonous bug. Both of the demon beasts would usually mind their own business.

Zhang Xiaohou had eaten the fruits that were an antidote to its poison. He boldly went up to the swamp and cast Earth Wave, stirring the mud like a giant tide.

“Come on, come on, don’t force me to use an Intermediate Magic on you!” Zhang Xiaohou yelled at the swamp.

As long as the water was mixed with mud, Zhang Xiaohou could control it with his Magic. As a result, the previously calm swamp was stirred into great chaos, throwing the mud everywhere.

Zhang Xiaohou was told that the poisonous bug was quite a tyrant. It would surely chase after those disturbing its cozy nap, although Zhang Xiaohou had no idea why Mo Fan knew that.

Finally, a response! Zhang Xiaohou stared at the tide of mud that was rising up high into the air in a spectacular manner.

The mud rolled like black boiling water, splashing wildly into the surroundings, before pouring back down on the ground in front of Zhang Xiaohou like a downpour…

A long body sprang out from the muddy water. At a single glance, it looked like a giant python had whipped up from the bottom of the water into the air. However, the body had giant limbs on both sides!

A pair of the giant limbs extended out onto the surface. There was a thirty-meter tall tree right on the shore there, and it turned out to be the same height as the giant limbs!

One pair, two pairs, three pairs… Seven pairs…

Half of its body was still buried in the swamp, but there were already fourteen limbs exposed!

An ugly head with a pair of snapping mandibles, like a pair of giant scissors, popped up from the mud. It opened its bloody mouth wide and screamed at the tiny human staring at it from the land.

The scream was followed by a powerful gust of wind driving into Zhang Xiaohou’s face with splashes of mud. Zhang Xiaohou stared at the huge creature with a blank face.

“Little…little poisonous bug?”

Zhang Xiaohou could feel a billion voices cursing and swearing inside him!

Can anybody tell me what is little about it? I’m smaller than the hair on its leg!

A centipede, a Gigantic Swamp Centipede…

Normally, a centipede would be proud of itself if it was the length of a human’s finger. As for the centipede in front of him… A human was not big enough to fill the gap between its teeth!

Zhang Xiaohou was utterly lost. He said to Mo Fan with a trembling voice, “Brother…brother Fan, I’ve woken…woken it up.”

” Then why aren’t you running!? ”

Zhang Xiaohou almost had the urge to give up on the spot, but considering that his Brother Fan would never send him to the jaws of death, he immediately tamped down the fear in his heart!

Wind Track!

Earth Wave!

Zhang Xiaohou cast the two speed-increasing abilities at the same time, and turned himself into a little mouse running across the mud.

Luckily he was already a certain distance away from the little centipede – Oh no, it should be a centipede that had been cultivating for more than a thousand years – Otherwise, he would have been crushed into pieces instantly when the beast made its entrance…

Zhang Xiaohou was incredibly fast on his feet, way faster than the average Intermediate Magician. He knew how to stack the Wind Tracks to increase his speed further, and knew how to use Earth Wave to fill in the gaps between the Wind Tracks to make sure that he was consistently at his highest speed possible.

The problem was, there was no way two legs were able to outrun a gigantic centipede who had fourteen giant limbs on only half of its body…

Zhang Xiaohou felt like he was dead meat. He did not dare to turn around, but continued to sprint forward with tears running down his cheeks.

The mud rolled with such great force that the momentum of it hitting the stacked rocks nearby was enough to shatter them into pieces. The giant centipede chased after the human fiercely. It looked like the creature did not have any ranged attacks; otherwise, a single spit would have easily killed Zhang Xiaohou!

” Houzi, is it still chasing after you? ”

“I…I don’t know, I can still hear it.” Zhang Xiaohou was actually not in the mood to talk.

” Take a peek! ”

“I… ” While running, Zhang Xiaohou slowly turned his head around.

With a single glance, Zhang Xiaohou realized that his vision was almost filled up by the giant centipede, especially its ugly, savage head. A few more glances would cause his scalp to turn numb.

Suddenly, Zhang Xiaohou noticed something important.

Although the giant centipede was chasing madly after him at a crazy pace, its body, which was around a hundred meters long, was now totally exposed as it leapt across a ridge of stone on the ground…

The first half of its body had fourteen limbs, but the other half had none!

It was not because the giant centipede was the product of some weird mutation. Zhang Xiaohou could clearly see the cuts and bruises on the second half of its body, which implied that it had somehow lost half of its limbs!

It was a centipede with half of its limbs amputated!

No wonder the beast had not eaten him alive yet! Due to the lack of limbs on the second half of its body, it had completely lost its ability to maintain its balance. It kept on crashing to the sides, either gouging out huge ravines or sliding into the muddy pools. It would be agile at times, but slow as an ox the rest!

“Brother Fan, this giant centipede is injured too!” Zhang Xiaohou blurted out in excitement.

I knew Brother Fan wouldn’t let me down!

” Mm, be careful. Although that guy has no ranged attacks, you will be in grave danger if it manages to slam into you with its head. Oh, I forgot to mention too. The antidote fruits that I had you eat before, they aren’t really fruits. They were the eggs that the giant centipede laid. Therefore, it should be able to smell the scent of its kids on your breath. Don’t worry about it not chasing after you, just keep on running, ” Mo Fan replied, while panting heavily on the other side of the coms.

Zhang Xiaohou was stunned for a moment.

Worry my ass!

A disgusted feeling welled up inside him. Zhang Xiaohou never thought Mo Fan would set his teammates up like this! It turned out that none of his words were true, apart from the fact that the thing could be used as an antidote.

Crap, the ground ahead is running out!

Zhang Xiaohou realized there was a huge mud pool in front of him. He would need to travel more than two hundred meters across the water before reaching land.

He took a glance at the giant centipede chasing after him, which was only a hundred meters away… Holy crap, it was pretty much just the length of itself away!

There was no way Zhang Xiaohou would be stopping now. He only hoped that the mud was viscous enough and had a high percentage of Earth Element. Otherwise, it would be the end of things if he ended up sinking into the muck!

Clenching his teeth, Zhang Xiaohou maintained his speed and continued to cast Wind Track and Earth Wave at the same time as he made his way across the mud.

The Wind Track formed a lengthy airflow across the two-hundred-meter long pool of mud.

The Earth Wave surged forward and used the mud to create a path. Zhang Xiaohou manipulated the mud in the water and forced the lumps to gather rapidly, quickly contracting and forming a muddy path across the surface of the pool…

Boss Zhan Kong had told him before that if a Wind Element user was fast enough, he could sprint across the surface of water.

The viscosity of mud was significantly higher than water. Surely it would be easier to run across it than water, right?

Zhang Xiaohou had completely put his life at stake trying to pull off such a difficult move. A unique glow wrapped around his legs as he prepared to use his magic Boots, which served as his final trump card. He was doing everything he could just to stop his legs from being caught in the mud.

“Oh wow wow wow wow~~~~~!”

Zhang Xiaohou sprinted across the pool while screaming at the top of his lungs. A clear path surfaced in the middle of the pool, splitting the muck aside. If it weren’t for the visually dominating centipede chasing right after him, he would not mind showing his new move to his friends!

“Brother…Brother Fan, I’m almost there… F**K ME!”

Zhang Xiaohou saw a giant black moving mountain rising ahead of him, just as he was about to reach his destination!

Zhang Xiaohou had only managed to see the rough silhouette of the creature the other day, as the place was too dark. Now, under the last of the sunlight, he could finally see the true appearance of the giant lump of meat. He could feel his heart shattering into pieces from shock.

It was an Xuanwu Giant Lizard!

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard had a fairly flat giant shell on its back. The Hunter Group had mistakenly assumed it to be even ground when they stepped onto it.

The body of the Xuanwu Giant Lizard was even bigger. The whole swamp was trembling as it moved. Zhang Xiaohou was still a distance away from the gigantic beast, but it felt like it was right in front of him due to its overwhelming presence!

This guy was way more terrifying than the giant centipede!

“Brother Fan, are you sure they will be fighting one another?” Zhang Xiaohou’s throat throbbed as he spoke in a rather unbelieving tone.

“I’ve fed it the centipede’s legs. They should be fighting soon.” Mo Fan responded in a confident tone.

“…Brother Fan, what exactly have you been doing at this place!” Zhang Xiaohou felt like dropping to his knees in front of Mo Fan.

“They were both severely injured, and I found a way to get rid of the centipede’s poison, so it won’t pose any threat to us. The Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s movements are slow due to its injury. Otherwise, we would be dead by now,” Mo Fan replied.

As the two drew closer to one another, the two giant creatures which could stir the swamp into great chaos were on the verge of crashing into one another.

However, between them stood the humans who had infuriated them. Their first priority was to get rid of the pests, before handling the conflict between themselves. As such, the two giant beasts totally sealed off their escape routes. They would talk later when the two bold little mice were dealt with.

“Li Man, Li Man, the vortex, blast the layer of rocks open now!” Mo Fan quickly screamed to Li Man through the communication device, who was standing by in position.

Zhang Xiaohou had arrived at the little sandbank. The only thing he could do now was to pray for the vortex to appear in time.

—

Right below the sandbank where Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were racing, Li Man shone her torch at the moist layer of rocks above her.

Since it was possible for the mud to block the hole after it was blasted open, Li Man had to wait until the two were in position before making her move.

“Plummeting Rays!”

A blinding golden Constellation spread out elegantly in Li Man’s surroundings. Li Man had no intention of preserving her energy. She instantly cast an Advanced Magic.

She had to blow the layer of rocks open in one blow. Any further delay would result in the two little humans being eaten alive by the two monsters.

Plummeting Rays was the Advanced Spell of the Light Element. More than a hundred rays of light were summoned after the Constellation was completed. If the Magician altered the shape of the rays into sharp weapons, they would turn into powerful piercing laser beams!

The Plummeting Rays turned into countless light arrows under Li Man’s control. The arrows were as dense as a heavy downpour, penetrating the layer of rocks from beneath…

The rocks were shattered almost instantly. The rain of arrows soon created a ten-meter wide hole on the surface.

It was just about the right size, as the mud would not fill the hole quickly, while preventing the two monsters from breaking through.

“Mm? What’s going on!” Li Man frowned all of a sudden.

She had cast an Advanced Spell, as she was worried that the layer of rocks was thicker than she had expected. To her surprise, the light arrows seemed to have trouble penetrating the entire layer!

It doesn’t make sense, the rocks shouldn’t be this solid!

She was already using an Advanced Spell!

” Sis, please tell me you’re not pulling a prank on us? Where’s the vortex you promised us? We’re doomed! ” Zhang Xiaohou’s pleading voice blurted out from the communication device, followed by the shrieks of the two monsters.

“Something’s weird about the rocks… I see, the Earth Element Soul Seed! The Soul Seed, Flowing Mud… It’s hidden right in the layer of rocks!” exclaimed Li Man.

” Are you for real ?”

” What are you so excited for! ” Mo Fan’s scream burst out from the device, “ Screw the Soul Seed, blast it open right now with all you have !”

A great splash of incredibly viscous mud poured from the sky, turning Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan into mud people instantly.

It took Zhang Xiaohou quite some effort to clean himself up, and now, he was turned into a mud monkey again. {TL Note: Xiaohou can also mean little monkey}

Mo Fan was in a better spot, not because he was not splashed with the mud, but he was rather filthy to begin with, so an extra layer of mud did not really make any difference.

“Brother…brother Fan… what should we do now?” Zhang Xiaohou who had finally met up with Mo Fan, managed to create some distance from the Giant Poisonous Centipede. However, the distance was soon cut short when the two monsters flanked them from both directions.

Zhang Xiaohou could feel his stomach flip-flopping, seeing the two gigantic monsters charging in their direction.

He thought he finally had the chance to slaughter some demon beasts after becoming an Intermediate Magician. However, he was still extremely tiny standing in front of these Commander-level demon beasts.

“I guess I’m left with no choice!” Mo Fan stared at the muddy swamp. All he could see was waves of mud splashing toward them.

Clenching his teeth, he could picture his fangs extending longer and his pupils changing color.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan did not feel like using the power of the Demon Element, as each time it was used, he was selling more of his soul. He could not even tell if he would still be alive after using it this time!

Every time he used the power, he would have to survive four Soul Breakdowns; all his previous efforts would be in vain!

The Giant Poisonous Centipede floated on the mud and wriggled rapidly in an S-shape like a water snake. Every time it uttered a roar, a great lump of mud would pour down from the sky, followed by the disgusting gust of its breath.

If it weren’t for the missing limbs on the second-half of its body which hindered its balance, it would have caught up to Zhang Xiaohou easily!

The centipede had huge mandibles on both sides of its mouth, looking like two steel blades. They clacked loudly as it was swimming across the swamp. It could not wait to tear the guy that had stepped on its tail into pieces!

The centipede was shrieking endlessly. It turned out that its old enemy, the Xuanwu Giant Lizard, was posing a great threat to it, so it did not dare to lunge forward at its prey straight away.

Likewise, the Xuanwu Giant Lizard did not expect to bump into the centipede, either. Its lantern-sized eyes were staring at the extremely poisonous demon beast. Its cave-sized mouth bellowed at the Giant Poisonous Centipede in warning.

The roars of the demon beasts were deafening!

However, the hesitation of the two beasts somehow bought Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan, who was stuck in between them, some time.

That being said, the two Commander-level demon beasts were not brainless, either. They quickly came to an agreement between themselves. In order to showcase their savagery, they would first tear the damned humans into pieces first!

“A vortex, Brother Fan, it’s coming!” In the nick of time, Zhang Xiaohou burst out screaming when the life-saving vortex finally appeared in the swamp.

Mo Fan had seen it too. He immediately stopped himself from activating the Demon Element.

He grabbed Zhang Xiaohou and used the shadow of the mountain from the setting sun to cast Fleeing Shadow!

A giant claw swept out; the Xuanwu Giant Lizard had launched its attack. The force of the slap alone was enough to crumble a small hill, let alone two Magicians!

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou dodged the attack with the Fleeing Shadow. However, the shockwave from the slap was utterly terrifying. It managed to knock both Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou out from the shadow they were traveling in.

Both of them were knocked flying. It felt like their bones would fall apart any second now…

Luckily, they happened to be knocked toward the vortex. If they were flying in the other direction, they would surely be killed by any simple attack from either the Xuanwu Giant Lizard or the Giant Poisonous Centipede.

Falling from the air, Mo Fan quickly grabbed Zhang Xiaohou tight and plunged right into the vortex.

—

The layer of rocks under the swamp had collapsed. The thick mud was sucked into the underground river with a strong current.

As the bottom was blasted open, the water level of the swamp began to sink rapidly. It started from a small whirlpool with a diameter of a few meters, but it soon expended as the opening expanded…

The surface of the black swamp was peaceful just a few moments ago, calm enough to reflect the night sky, but it was now filled with rumbling waves and a rain of mud pouring down a big hole.

The two gigantic creatures stood in the swamp. The rolling waves seemed to have little effect on them. They continued to roar at one another in the midst of the stand-off, completely ignoring the whirlpool that had appeared!

The whirlpool gradually grew larger. Its diameter had reached twenty meters!

From the beasts’ perspective, the whirlpool was not as tiny as it was before. The mud nearby poured into the hole at an insane pace, trying to fill the empty space.

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou had already jumped into the vortex. The flow dragged them down further, and they soon found themselves right at the center of the vortex!

The two creatures pounced at the vortex when they saw the humans being dragged away by the current.

Due to their enormous sizes, as they lunged in the same direction, they both mistakenly assumed that the other was trying to attack them. As such, the Giant Poisonous Centipede responded by smashing its head into the Xuanwu Giant Lizard, while the later raised its front limbs and pressed its weight down on top of the centipede’s body!

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard raised half of its body into the air before slamming it down hard. The terrifying impact ended up stirring a ring of tsunami, starting from the center of the lake.

The Giant Lizards at the shores of the swamp were no longer in the mood to enjoy their peaceful rest. The mud tsunami had already driven them somewhere far away, leaving a great mess on the trees, the ground and the foothills of the mountain.

—

Under the swamp, a great force surged from the surface of the water, instantly shattering the vortex.

Fortunately, Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were already in the pillar of water flowing down to the underground river. If it weren’t for the cushioning from the mud and water, the force would have blasted a bigger hole under the swamp. The whole swamp would have collapsed, and there was no way they would have survived!

Li Man had already moved a distance away from the hole prior to the blast. Her ears were deafened by the echoes as the waterfall poured down with an unending roar.

The splattering mud from the pillar of water was so strong that it could even shatter the rocks to pieces.

The layer of rocks was punctured, and the whirlpool was created as planned. However, it would be a great surprise if the two men being dragged around by the current would feel at all great after their journey…

When his body slammed down on the underground riverbed from to the momentum of the mud plummeting down, Mo Fan finally realized that it was too early to deem his plan perfect!

The feeling of it was definitely not a pleasant one after he had just experienced the impact from the Commander-level demon beast’s trampling a moment ago. If it weren’t for the layer of mud and water, his bones would have broken into pieces by now.

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou held their breath while being dragged around by the rapid current.

They could feel their minds going blank, but they tried their very best to remain conscious, as they had no idea where the current would drag them to in the end…

Cough cough cough~ Cough cough~

Mo Fan dragged the half-dead Zhang Xiaohou to the shore of the river. It was impossible to tell how many layers of mud was he covered in, as it was so thick that he no longer looked human.

He kept on coughing, trying to clear out the mud that had entered his nose and throat. It felt horribly disgusting!

Li Man soon found the two men. When she saw Zhang Xiaohou lying beside Mo Fan unconscious, she stomped her foot on his stomach without mercy.

A pillar of mud jetted out from Zhang Xiaohou’s mouth as he regained consciousness.

“Water Barrier!” Li Man swiftly cast the Water Spell and produced tiny drops of water. They soon formed a ribbon of water and wiped off the two mud men under Li Man’s control.

The watery ribbon dug into their noses and throats, giving them a thorough cleaning-out.

Li Man ended up casting a few Water Barriers just to turn Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou back to normal. She glanced at the two half-dead young men and giggled, “It’s been a while since I last met teenagers who were so willing to put their lives at risk.”

Li Man was indeed fairly impressed by the two’s courageous spirits. Normally, anyone’s face would turn pale after hearing the term “Commander-level”, and would stay as far away as possible, let alone taking the initiative to provoke them!

Each of them was in charge of luring a Commander-level demon beast, and the hardest thing to believe was, they actually managed to escape in one piece!

“Brother Fan, can you put me in charge of blasting the hole open next time?” Zhang Xiaohou blurted out dully.

“Do you really want a next time?” asked Mo Fan in a similar tone.

Zhang Xiaohou shook his head wildly!

Mo Fan would never want to find trouble with a Commander-level demon beast if it weren’t for the fact that he desperately needed its Soul Remnant.

The ceiling of the underground cavern shook vigorously. It felt like the fragile layer of rocks would crumble at any second.

The two gigantic beasts had begun fighting one another. The endless vibration was the best indication.

“Should we go up?” Zhang Xiaohou asked after finishing his rest.

“A Commander-level demon beast won’t die so easily, it will take days for the battle to come to an end… By the way, Li Man, didn’t you mention something about an Earth Element Soul Seed?” asked Mo Fan.

“Mm, it’s in that direction. Too bad we didn’t bring any harvesting tools with us. Once I blasted it open, the energy of the Soul Seed will be lost fairly soon,” replied Li Man in a rather pitiful voice.

The Earth Element Soul Seed was definitely something remarkable, as Li Man was only able to puncture it with strong Advanced Magic. No wonder many hunters were keen to find it, as they would surely be able to sell it at an incredible price.

“Houzi, aren’t you an Earth Magician, what are you waiting for? Are you going to stand there until its energy is completely lost!” Mo Fan kicked at Zhang Xiaohou, who was lost in his thoughts.

“Me?” Zhang Xiaohou pointed at himself and blurted out with disbelief.

“Li Man and I don’t have the Earth Element. Who else among us can take it, hurry the f**k up! Once you claim the Earth Element Soul Seed, it’s time to go to the surface to deal with the two idiotic beasts!” exclaimed Mo Fan.

Zhang Xiaohou no longer felt miserable from his previous experience. He immediately followed Li Man’s directions to the location of the Earth Element Soul Seed.

—–

Waves after waves of mud were stirred up, each fiercer than the ones before.

On the west side of the valley, the innocent Giant Lizards climbed their way up the mountain while staring at the roaring tides of mud being produced at the center of the swamp. Their instincts were urging them to stay as far away as possible.

Everything within a few hundred meters of a battle between two Commander-level demon beasts was at risk. The closest safe distance would be at least one or two kilometers away.

The Giant Lizards tugged their brains and continued to climb up the mountain. They were like refugees fleeing for their lives after their homes were drowned with mud.

The different segments of land close to the center of the swamp were devoured by the continuous waves of mud rolling in all directions. The two Commander-level demon beasts had been enemies for quite some time in the valley, and each seeing that the other was currently suffering severe injuries, they both assumed that their time of conquering the Xizhao Valley had finally arrived. As such, they totally ignored the two humans who had somehow disappeared, and started a life-or-death brawl between themselves.

The Giant Poisonous Centipede had been living in the valley for around seventy years. It had already conquered a part of Dongting Lake prior to the arrival of the Giant Lizards. However, when the Giant Lizards moved in around twenty years ago, its habitat was overrun with them, not to mention the Xuanwu Giant Lizard who had forcibly occupied its old nest. It had no choice but to move to a smaller swamp nearby.

The two creatures had been enemies for a very long time, thus they totally went all out in the battle. They were aware that the valley had a perfect balance of Water and Earth Elements, thus either a Water Element Soul Seed or an Earth Element Soul Seed would appear every five or six years. Both the Giant Poisonous Centipede and the Xuanwu Giant Lizard agreed that they could not find a better place to cultivate than here in Dongting Lake!

Only one Commander was allowed in this valley!

The Giant Poisonous Centipede could no longer withhold the grudge against the Xuanwu Giant Lizard, which had been building up since its habitat was taken away. It was determined to avenge itself while the Xuanwu Giant Lizard was still recovering from severe injuries!

A purple poisonous mist was discharged from the pores on the Giant Poisonous Centipede’s body. The poison rapidly contaminated the water, and even lingered in the air…

The Giant Poisonous Centipede’s greatest weapon was its poison. Even Commander-level demon beasts that were stronger than it would be turned into its food once they were poisoned.

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s stance slightly weakened when it saw the poison spreading.

Its was a fair bit stronger than the Giant Poisonous Centipede. Its body was the size of a mountain, and not merely for decoration purposes. The shell on its back could easily resist the sharp mandibles of the centipede. The reason why it had yet to drive it away completely was because of its poison…

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard was aware of its strong poison, and immediately backed off from it.

To it surprise, the Giant Poisonous Centipede pounced at it with its hundred-meters-long body and tore at its face, biting a huge chunk of flesh off!

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard was thoroughly infuriated. It stood upright and grabbed the Giant Poisonous Centipede’s limbs with its claws, tearing them apart!

The front two limbs were amputated. A great amount of liquid jetted out from the wounds like fountains…

The Giant Poisonous Centipede uttered a furious roar. It tried to spray the liquid onto the Xuanwu Giant Lizard!

The liquid spurting out was also poisonous!

The Giant Poisonous Centipede did not care about the two amputated limbs, as it still had twelve remaining. It was trying to poison the Xuanwu Giant Lizard with its daring move!

The two monsters fought fiercely, treating one another as their mortal enemy.

Meanwhile, in the underground cavern, Zhang Xiaohou had refined the Earth Element Soul Seed, the Flowing Mud. He could feel himself soaring across the sky.

It was Zhang Xiaohou’s first time obtaining a Soul Seed. It had improved his strength significantly. Now he could even accomplish some missions that groups would have trouble doing, all on his own!

“This Flowing Mud is one of the best among the Earth Element Soul Seeds I’ve seen. It’s firm as a rock when it solidifies, and can turn into a vicious mud that is adhesive and poisonous as it softens,” said Li Man.

Zhang Xiaohou felt slightly embarrassed, as he did not expect the two would give him the Soul Seed just like that.

The Flowing Mud Soul Seed did give Zhang Xiaohou two different feelings. As Li Man had mentioned, it had two different attributes. It was rare for a Soul Seed to have different attributes. Not only did it improve Zhang Xiaohou’s Earth Element power, it also granted him different ways of utilizing his Earth Element.

For example, most people would use Earth Wave to alter their location. Those who were adept with it could use it as fluctuating quicksand to hinder an enemy’s movement.

However, the Flowing Mud’s Earth Wave would end up laying a huge swampy trap. The enemy would find their legs stuck in the mud, which not only obstructed their movement, but the Water Element poison would also penetrate them through the mud…

Zhang Xiaohou could tell that his strength had multiplied!

As he thought, following Brother Fan was definitely a wise choice. Ordinary Magicians would not even have enough money to buy a Soul Seed after saving up for all their lives, while he had been given an extraordinary Soul Seed for free!

“Don’t feel embarrassed, it’s what you deserve. You put your life at stake for it,” Mo Fan clapped Zhang Xiaohou’s shoulders.

Zhang Xiaohou had played an important role in the plan. Besides, he had sold all his possessions just to get him two Soul Essences. There was no way Mo Fan would mistreat his stupid brother, and they had conveniently found the Soul Seed by coincidence. Was there any reason he wouldn’t be giving it to Zhang Xiaohou?

“Mm!” Zhang Xiaohou nodded heavily.

“Let’s head up,” said Li Man.

“Let’s go.”

“It would be great if they were both dead…”

——

The trio quickly returned to the surface and ran toward the center of the swamp.

They could hear the great collisions between the two monsters from a good distance away. Mo Fan could not help but feel impressed by their vitality. They had spent quite a long time resting underground, and yet the two creatures were still fighting one another.

Suddenly, a giant limb the size of a tree slammed onto the ground in front of them.

They quickly reacted and dodged aside. The centipede’s limb was fairly sharp. It looked like a giant scythe being hurled in their direction, leaving Zhang Xiaohou’s heart racing wildly.

“The giant centipede only has six legs remaining!” Zhang Xiaohou pointed at the Giant Poisonous Centipede and blurted out with joy.

In the air above the swamp, the Giant Poisonous Centipede was wriggling its lengthy body nimbly as it flung its limbs hard at the Xuanwu Giant Lizard!

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard used the shell on its back as a shield. However, a huge crack had surfaced on the large shield, showing the outstanding power of the Giant Poisonous Centipede’s move.

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard fell heavily into the swamp. The blow was fairly strong. It took the Xuanwu Giant Lizard quite some time to gather its feet…

The Giant Poisonous Centipede did not give the Xuanwu Giant Lizard any time to catch its breath. It wrapped its limbs around the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s short neck, trying to snap its neck straight away.

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard struggled miserably. Its relatively short limbs were completely useless in a situation like this. Besides, it could no longer use its full strength due to the effects of the poison.

Considering that staying in the mud would in fact restrict its own movements, the Xuanwu Giant Lizard dashed out from the swamp and sprinted forward.

The giant centipede was still chained to the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s neck. Either the Xuanwu Giant Lizard had discovered the presence of the humans who started all this, or it was only running in a random direction, but the Xuanwu Giant Lizard was somehow charging straight towards where the trio was standing at.

The three quickly hid themselves. A moment later, they saw a gigantic creature with a giant centipede wrapped around its neck slamming into the walls of the valley…

The trees were like a bunch of weeds in the eyes of the two creatures. The mountain wall was merely a wall made of tiny rocks to them.

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard felt like it was suffocating as its neck was clutched tight. It crazily slammed into the wall, trying to knock the Giant Poisonous Centipede off its head.

The Giant Poisonous Centipede was determined to gamble with its life. This was the final blow it would deal to the Xuanwu Giant Lizard. If it ended up being flung away from the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s head, it would surely be smashed up by the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s trampling claws, as it could no longer escape in time with its remaining limbs. As such, no matter how hard the Xuanwu Giant Lizard slammed into the walls, the Giant Poisonous Centipede held onto its head tightly. The blood and fluid spurting from its body sprayed over the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s body. Just a while longer, and the poison would penetrate into its enemy. When that happened, the Xuanwu Giant Lizard would find its head being separated from the rest of its body!

Their thunderous movement was incredibly shocking, leaving holes and ravines in the ground and on the mountain walls.

Blood and pieces of flesh were scattered across the place. The two Commander-level demon beasts were having their final showdown!

Blood and body fluid!

Any fluid inside the Giant Poisonous Centipede was deadly poisonous. They were splashing onto the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s skin, penetrated through the pores, or entered its body through its wounds.

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard was dyed purple, a sign that it was deeply contaminated by the poison.

As a matter of fact, the Xuanwu Giant Lizard had had the upper hand throughout the battle. It had torn the Giant Poisonous Centipede’s limbs off one by one, and managed to shatter its carapace, too.

However, as the battle dragged on further, the effects of the poison grew more terrifying. The Xuanwu Giant Lizard did not expect that it would fall to its enemy’s poison in the end.

It could feel its body turning numb, as its limbs were completely paralyzed. It could no longer move its body…

It was feeling an incredible pain in its neck. It had failed to smash the centipede into pieces with its final slam into the wall, which in return marked its defeat!

For many years, the Xuanwu Giant Lizard had managed to drive the Giant Poisonous Centipede away with ease. However, in a battle where both of the creatures went all out, the latter proved to be more deadly…

——

The giant mountain of meat slowly collapsed to the ground!

The poison had spread across its entire body. Its neck was dislocated, as it had been half-snapped by the Giant Poisonous Centipede.

It was not fully snapped, as the Giant Poisonous Centipede had lost its strength, too.

It had lost another three limbs due to the impacts from the collisions. It only had three limbs remaining, while its entire body was covered in wounds.

It proudly raised its head and screamed into the sky, declaring to the beasts in the valley that it had finally reclaimed its territory!

“We’ve eaten its eggs, so its poison is useless against us. Let’s kill it!” Mo Fan said to the other two who were hiding beside him.

The Giant Poisonous Centipede greatest weapon was its poison, which they were not afraid of even if their whole bodies were soaked in it.

Now was their best chance to kill the Giant Poisonous Centipede!

Mo Fan was the first to dash forward. He desperately needed the Commander-level Soul Remnants. He had to retrieve the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s Soul Remnant before its energy dispersed.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed!” Li Man blurted out when she saw Mo Fan rushing out like that.

Even though the Giant Poisonous Centipede was on the verge of dying due to the severe injuries it had suffered, it could still kill a Warrior-level creature instantly with a random attack. Mo Fan would surely be killed by the infuriated Giant Poisonous Centipede if he were charging straight at it!

Mo Fan could not care less about the risk. He had to collect the Soul Remnant as soon as possible!

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard was indeed enormous. Mo Fan felt like he was running under the ruins of a huge building. He drew out the Little Loach Pendant from his chest…

Soon, the dead Xuanwu Giant Lizard began to glow like a firefly. The glow perfectly followed the outline of its body.

The Little Loach Pendant emitted a similar glow as it slowly drew the soul out from the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s flesh.

However, to Mo Fan’s surprise, the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s soul was large, too. He could even see it lunging at him with the unwillingness and anger of death.

He felt a great chill go straight down his soul. The Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s soul opened its mouth wide, trying to bite in Mo Fan’s direction.

Mo Fan was stunned. The Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s soul looked totally alive. It even had the same suffocating pressure of a Commander-level demon beast.

The deafening roar left Mo Fan’s ears buzzing, completely dazing him.

A strong sense of danger came right at him. Mo Fan could feel himself being encapsulated within the deadly aura. His body and soul were going to be shattered into pieces…

“Buzz~” The Little Loach Pendant let out a bright chime, sensing that its master was in danger!

A serene blue glow erupted from the pendant, turning into rays of light fired at the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s soul.

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard seemed to be afraid of the rays. It took a few steps backward, before floating away in panic.

The Little Loach Pendant had no intention of letting its prey go. It was its first time tasting a Commander-level soul, thus it would not allow the Xuanwu Giant Lizard to escape!

The rays of light transformed into lengths of soul chains, penetrating the giant soul of the Xuanwu Giant Lizard. The chains tightly bound the escaping soul.

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard was bound up tightly before it could run away, and dragged back into the inner world of the pendant by the rays of light.

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard was utterly terrified. It burst into screams of agony, but no matter how hard it struggled, it could not break free from the chains…

A soul was fairly light in weight. Despite the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s enormous size and strength, the Little Loach Pendant was able to drag its soul back with ease.

The closer it was dragged toward the pendant, the smaller the Xuanwu Giant Lizard became. When it was right in front of Mo Fan, it turned into a tiny blue puff of flame.

The flame was no longer as intimidating as before. As Mo Fan collected his thoughts, the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s soul was fully sucked into the Little Loach Pendant, joining the others in the world inside the pendant.

“I thought that was the end for me.” Mo Fan’s face was white with fear.

He never thought the Xuanwu Giant Lizard would still be so terrifying after it was dead. It forced Mo Fan to reevaluate the Commander-level demon beast. Not only was their flesh powerful, their souls were also domineering in the Nether Realm!

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh, knowing that the Little Loach Pendant had saved his life once again.

After quickly inspecting the interior of the pendant, Mo Fan discovered that the soul of the Xuanwu Giant Lizard was floating above the river. It was definitely outstanding among the souls drifting in the world.

There existed a unique world inside the Little Loach Pendant. The Underground Holy Spring that it had absorbed before had turned into a long river cycling endlessly in the world. The Soul Essences and Soul Remnants that the Little Loach Pendant had absorbed floated above the river made from the Underground Holy Spring. The souls were embellishing the river like candlelights and lanterns. The reflections on the surface of the river showed the appearance of the demon beasts while they were still alive. From afar, it looked like the souls were stars, while the river was like the galaxy containing them…

Regardless of how savage the demon beasts were while they were still alive, each of their souls had turned into an elegant glowing star in this place, merging with the calm and peaceful world!

“I’ve finally acquired a Commander-level Soul Remnant, too bad it wasn’t a Soul Essence…” Mo Fan was relieved when he finally subdued the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s soul. He no longer had to suffer from the Demon Element. With the help of this Commander-level Soul Remnant, he was confident that he could survive the final Soul Breakdown from the Demon Element and became human once again!

“Brother Fan… Brother Fan, behind you!” Zhang Xiaohou called out with trembling teeth.

Mo Fan calmly turned around and saw a bloody giant centipede half-rising in the air while staring down at him. The eyes on its sunken face displayed a vicious and disdainful gaze.

A mere human dared to steal its loot after it had won the glorious battle?

The Giant Poisonous Centipede was completely overwhelmed with savagery after killing the Xuanwu Giant Lizard, who had a higher lineage than itself.

It was highly possible that the Giant Poisonous Centipede would undergo a significant evolution after this. In this world that obeyed the law of the jungle, demon beasts that managed to kill a higher-lineage demon beast would break through, as if they were blessed by nature!

Currently, although the Giant Poisonous Centipede was on the verge of dying, its aura was stronger than before. Mo Fan’s body completely stiffened when the demon beast was merely staring down at him.

“Damn it, I was too impatient!” cursed Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was too desperate to acquire the Commander-level Soul Remnant, plus he was afraid that the energy of the soul would disperse rather quickly. As such, he had rushed toward it recklessly.

To his surprise, the Giant Poisonous Centipede was as hot-tempered as usual, despite its severe injuries. It slowly opened its giant mouth, as if it had already given Mo Fan a death sentence.

“Plummeting Rays!”

As Mo Fan was clenching his teeth and about to run away with Fleeing Shadow, he heard Li Man’s rather imperious voice.

Several brilliant Constellations were summoned beside her, which set her off looks like a goddess that had descended to the mundane world, sacred yet glamorous!

Golden rays appeared in her vicinity, slowly turning into a rain of arrows under her control!

“Ad…Advanced…” Zhang Xiaohou was lost in amazement.

Mo Fan also opened his eyes wide, and stared at the woman in disbelief!

Oh my God, this big-booty woman is an Advanced Magician!

The glowing rain of arrows poured down from the air like a golden storm.

A few arrows might not be enough to scratch the surface of a Commander-level demon beast’s skin, but a few hundred, or even a thousand of them, was a completely different story.

The Giant Poisonous Centipede did not expect to find such a powerful Magician among the group of humans. Due to its Dark Element, the Light Element turned out to be one of its greatest weaknesses!

Each of the light arrows easily penetrated and melted through its carapace. The demon beast burst out screaming in pain when the boiling golden rays burned through its wounds.

Plummeting Rays: Sacred Chant!

The cleansing force was deadly against evil beasts. The Giant Poisonous Centipede was full of poison, so every single drop of its blood was terrified of the light arrows containing the cleansing force of the Sacred Chant…

As the light arrows poured down, instead of blood splattering from the piercing of sharp weapons, the golden arrows actually melted the demon beast’s carapace like burning iron melting through wax. No matter how thick its flesh and how sturdy its carapace were, the cleansing force of the Sacred Chant was still able to penetrate through them!

The Giant Poisonous Centipede shook its body wildly, before it started rolling on the ground in pain.

Every single movement of its tail would cause the entire area to shake vigorously. Mo Fan quickly fled the scene.

He was satisfied with one Commander-level Soul Remnant. He was not too fussy about killing this Giant Poisonous Centipede.

However, the Light Element was indeed inflicting critical damage on the demon beast. The Giant Poisonous Centipede could barely hold itself together. If they were to add more firepower to the attack, they would be able to deal a critical blow to it.

The Giant Poisonous Centipede wriggled, trying to locate the Magician casting the Light Element Magic at it. It curled its tail, before slamming it hard on the ground…

The surface of the ground cracked rapidly. It spread to Li Man’s position like a fissure.

Li Man dodged aside with great agility. However, some of the light arrows lost their accuracy, weakening her damage output.

The Giant Poisonous Centipede hurled pieces of rocks in Li Man and Zhang Xiaohou’s direction.

They might be pieces of rocks in the eyes of the Giant Poisonous Centipede, but to Zhang Xiaohou and Li Man, they were giant boulders flying toward them! They quickly dodged the incoming projectiles.

The Giant Poisonous Centipede utilized the chance and escaped toward the center of the swamp.

It only had a few limbs remaining, and was purely wriggling like a snake. It plunged right into the mud as it lost its balance, and swam swiftly deeper into the swamp.

“Don’t let it escape!” yelled Zhang Xiaohou subconsciously.

The Giant Poisonous Centipede was almost dead! It was the perfect chance to kill it. A Commander-level demon beast would surely drop a lot of valuable loot.

“Mm, off you go,” replied Li Man.

Mo Fan was not interested in chasing after the beast, either. His experience was telling him that killing a Commander-level demon beast was extremely troublesome. Although the demon beasts that had managed to rank up to the Commander-level would have different levels of strength, they would surely have outstanding capabilities at escaping or surprise attacks as their trump cards!

Li Man had yet to fully recover from the poison, thus she could not fully utilize her strength. Meanwhile, Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were only Intermediate Magicians. Even with their Soul Seeds, they still could not inflict any serious damage to the Commander-level demon beast. The Giant Poisonous Centipede had already surprised them by winning the fight against the Xuanwu Giant Lizard. It had already assisted them in killing the Xuanwu Giant Lizard, if they chased after it due to greed, the whole group would end up being wiped out.

“Forget it; unless we have a way to trap the Giant Poisonous Centipede, we won’t be able to kill it.” Mo Fan did not seem interested in chasing after the beast.

Li Man shared the same thought. If both Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were Advanced Magicians, the three of them might have a chance at entrapping the severely injured Giant Poisonous Centipede. However, they were only Intermediate Magicians. It was quite a miracle that their plan had actually killed the Xuanwu Giant Lizard!

“So you’re an Advanced Magician. Why didn’t you tell us sooner? We won’t have had to try so hard to make the plan work!” Zhang Xiaohou exclaimed, with a hint of admiration.

Li Man seemed rather young from her looks, but her strength was rather impressive!

“It won’t make any difference. We won’t be able to defeat these monsters,” said Li Man.

“No way. Does this mean an Advanced Magician can’t defeat a Commander-level demon beast?” Zhang Xiaohou blurted out in astonishment.

Li Man shook her head and said, “Only the strongest among the Advanced Magicians are able to take on a Commander-level demon beast on their own. That being said, most of them wouldn’t be able to kill the Commander-level demon beasts either, as the beasts will run away when the situation isn’t right. Commander-level demon beasts are highly intelligent. They know how to set up traps like humans. On top of that, the endless Warrior-level and Servant-class demon beasts under its lead are quite a pain to deal with already.”

“No wonder Boss Zhan Kong never managed to kill the Darkwing Wolf. Doesn’t that mean he is considered an expert among the Advanced Magicians, since he dares to fight the Darkwing Wolf on his own?” Zhang Xiaohou was even more impressed with his superior.

Magicians had to come up with a perfect plan in order to eliminate a Commander-level demon beast.

First of all, they would have to deal with oceans of Servant-class and Warrior-level creatures, as the Commander-level demon beasts could expend them as free pawns.

Second, the strength of a healthy Commander-level demon beast was equivalent to six or seven Advanced Magicians. Even the weaker ones would still be equivalent to five Advanced Magicians. Furthermore, these creatures had outstanding endurance and strong life forces. Even after the Advanced Magicians fully depleted their energy, the beasts would still be vigorous and lively.

Finally, the Commander-level demon beasts had great skills at escaping. Without a suitable plan to entrap the demon beasts when they were trying to escape, the Magicians would never be able to kill them. Their enormous size allowed them to come and go as they wished. If the Magicians were to chase after them, they would destroy the formation they had set up for the battle, and could even get themselves killed!

They were only able to kill a Commander-level demon beast this time due to several factors.

The Xuanwu Giant Lizard and the Giant Poisonous Centipede were already injured to begin with. They were also only fighting to their last gasps due to the grudges they had toward one another. Normally, most of the Commander-level demon beasts would not go all-out in the fights. Only Servant-class demon beasts would do something stupid like that.

Mo Fan cast a glance at Li Man and said with a smile, “I bet the military doesn’t want the Giant Poisonous Centipede dead, either?”

Li Man nodded and replied, “The Giant Lizards Horde has been out of control recently because they don’t really have a natural enemy here. However, the Giant Poisonous Centipede has killed the Xuanwu Giant Lizard, and its strength will improve significantly after it recovers. It and the Giant Lizards were like fire and water. It could help us suppress the growth of the Giant Lizards.”

“I agree. Within a month, you won’t find any Giant Lizards here in Xizhao Valley!” Mo Fan nodded.

A rare smile surfaced on Li Man’s face.

Biyi City’s greatest threat was the Giant Lizards Horde. Since Li Man had been reallocated to Biyi City, she had been unable to come up with any viable plan to suppress the growth of the Giant Lizards.

She was initially planning to investigate the Deathbringer of Dongting Lake, trying to understand what could possibly kill so many Giant Lizards.

To her surprise, she had bumped into a caveman and a young but courageous soldier in Xizhao Valley. The two had used the simple strategy of provoking two demon beasts to fight one another to eliminate a Commander-level demon beast. It was definitely good news to Li Man, as it would provide Biyi City some relief.

On top of that, after learning that the Giant Poisonous Centipede turned out to be the winner of the battle, Li Man quickly came up with an idea and specifically marked the creature with the Light Element Sacred Chant. She purposely let it live, so it would suppress the Giant Lizards.

Killing a Commander of the Giant Lizards while producing a new natural enemy of the Giant Lizard Horde, it was equivalent to suppressing two nests of the Giant Lizards!

“I’ve mentioned before, the corpse is mine,” Mo Fan said sternly, pointing at the giant dead body of the Xuanwu Giant Lizard.

“Mmm, I’ve got what I wanted,” said Li Man.

“Brother Fan, I’ve also gotten what I need. As for the mountain, you should bring it back and build yourself a building,” Zhang Xiaohou burst out laughing.

A Commander-level demon beast’s corpse was full of useful components. It would take Mo Fan some time just to finish looting the dead body.

“I’ll help. I can send a troop of Battlemages here to move the corpse back to the army and dissect it. Who knows how long you will take to do it yourself,” suggested Li Man. Her face had more color now, and she looked more feminine. She was in a good mood, both because the poison was cleansed, and because she had resolved a huge threat for the military.

“Why don’t I sell it to the military? Since we couldn’t have done it without you, I’ll give you a ten percent discount.” Mo Fan did agree that moving such an enormous corpse would definitely bring him a great headache.

“That works, too. The research team will surely be more than happy to take a Commander-level demon beast.” As a Commander, Li Man had the authority to make the decision on her own.

“I wish us good cooperation.” Mo Fan reached out his filthy hand. His hair was overgrown with long hair, a sign that the Demon Element was not fully deactivated yet.

“Likewise.” Li Man wore a gentle smile. She squinted as she said with a hint of admiration, “You’re something special. It’s my first time seeing an Intermediate Magician killing a Commander-level demon beast. Even among the Advanced Magicians, killing a Commander-level demon beast is considered an impressive achievement!”

“Hehe, I didn’t come here living for a few months like a caveman just to experience nature!” Mo Fan smiled, revealing his sharp canine fangs.

“Then why don’t you tell me, why were the two Commander-level demon beasts severely injured before I came here?” Li Man stared right into Mo Fan’s eyes, as if she were trying to see through his lies.”

“God knows.” Mo Fan rolled his eyes, as if it were none of his business.

Li Man did not ask further, seeing that he was trying to avoid the topic.

Li Man believed that this caveman was closely related to the Deathbringer of Dongting Lake, but she did not know the details.

——

After arriving back at Biyi City, Mo Fan felt the final Soul Breakdown was about to take place.

It was similar to a Tribulation for Mo Fan. He was being punished by Heaven for using a power that did not belong to him. Everything would be fine if he were able to survive the Tribulation, but he would be damned if he failed.

Mo Fan was clueless about the number of Giant Lizards he had killed, and he had no idea how many Soul Essences he had consumed. Either way, he did not want to be controlled by the Demon Element again. If it weren’t for the Little Loach Pendant, he would have died several times over.

Once he survived the final Soul Breakdown, the Blood Sarira in his body would disappear completely.

Mo Fan would have hesitated to get rid of the demon’s lineage if it weren’t for the extreme after-effects. He did like the feeling of being able to beat the shit out of a Commander-level demon beast…

Unfortunately, great power would not just come for free. The price he had to pay was too much for him to bear!

He recalled Jiang Yi’s words. Even if he managed to survive, his cultivation would still decline…

———-

After Mo Fan used the Commander-level Soul Remnant to overcome the Tribulation, his soul was in a grave condition, while his cultivation declined significantly, too.

Mo Fan felt like having a tearless cry. He had spent so much effort on improving his Fire Element to the third tier. He had so much fun with the Nine Halls Fiery Fist, but it had now dropped down to the second tier, the Fiery Fist: Groundbreak!

Not only did his Fire Element decline, his Lightning Element, Shadow Element, and Summoning Element had all dropped by a grade…

If Mo Fan were slightly touched by the power of the Demon Element before, the declining of his cultivation had forced him to make up his mind instead.

His cultivation was a result of hard work!

That being said, it would be quite impossible for Mo Fan to demonize now even if he wanted to. The energy of the Demon Element had completely dissipated after the final Soul Breakdown. He would need a new Blood Sarira in order to use the Demon Element again.

The Blood Sarira was in the military’s hands. Mo Fan did consider bringing one with him at all times, as losing his life was scarier than losing a grade of his cultivation. It would be something he had to think about in the future.

——

After recovering his human form, Mo Fan followed Zhang Xiaohou back to the Southern Military.

The only person from the military he could trust was Zhan Kong. He had managed to suppress the information about the Demon Element, thus not many people knew about his secret.

“I sometimes wonder if you’re invincible… how are you still alive after that?” Zhan Kong smiled when he saw the lively Mo Fan in front of him.

“I’m pretty much dead anyway. My cultivation has declined,” Mo Fan said with a wry smile.

“That’s nothing, you can easily recover your cultivation. I’ve asked them to do a full check on your body. The demon lineage in your body is fully cleansed, and your soul is recovering well, too,” said Zhan Kong.

“That’s a relief,” Mo Fan nodded and uttered a relieved sigh.

“By the way, I’ve done a little experiment by using the Blood Sarira’s energy on your body. I’ve discovered that your body is now immune to it,” said Zhan Kong.

“Immune?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Frankly speaking, the Blood Sarira won’t have any effect on you. You won’t be able to demonize anymore. You would have Awakened a new Element, if it were truly an Element. However, you only have four Elements now, instead of having the Demon Element in your Spiritual World. What they invented was more like a virus, an ecstasy, a biochemical drug. It has nothing to do with a new Element,” said Zhan Kong.

Mo Fan nodded. Lu Nian and his group were mad, trying to make something so twisted a new Magic Element.

“You should train here for some time, try and recover your cultivation first. The news regarding your death is still being published, since the Black Vatican still has their eyes on you. If nothing is wrong with your body for some time, you can go back to school,” said Zhan Kong.

“Thanks, instructor.” Mo Fan felt rather relaxed knowing that his life was no longer in danger.

“Brother Fan, you should stay here longer, ” Zhang Xiaohou said with a smile.

“You should get your ass to the Ancient Capital now. I sent you there to train yourself, and yet you’ve been wasting time messing around, ” scolded Zhan Kong without mercy.

Zhang Xiaohou shrugged, not daring to say anything further.

“The Ancient Capital Xi An? I was told that it’s pretty close to the Land of the Undead?” asked Mo Fan.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded heavily as he said, “The undead will occasionally crawl out from nowhere. It’s nearly impossible to wipe them out, as they will reincarnate fairly quickly. By the way, with the Earth Element Soul Seed, Flowing Mud, I’m no longer afraid of being surrounded by the undead!”

“I should visit the place some time!” exclaimed Mo Fan.

The place where dynasties rose and fell, the burial ground of countless soldiers!

As the sun rose from the east, the living woke up and proceeded to their daily routines.

However, as the sun set on the horizon, the undead would impatiently lift open the sand, pall, and coffin lids as they worshiped the darkness!

Tombs, graves, battlefields, corpse pits, buried soldiers…

What kind of an exciting kingdom would it be?

Autumn had arrived within the blink of an eye. The streets full of drifting fallen leaves and catkins in Hangzhou had combined into a poetic scene.

During autumn, Hangzhou was not as scorching as the cities in the south, with temperatures similar to summer. It was also not as chilly as the places in the north. It had the perfect temperature, with a gentle breeze. It was more like the gentle, elegant final washes of ink or color to a drawing, instead of an omen of the upcoming winter season…

Zhejiang Institute had the same dull-gray color. More fallen leaves were waiting to be cleaned up every day. They were like the clothes that women dumped as the seasons changed, not worth being sentimentally attached to.

The female students still retained the usual trend of wearing short skirts and black stockings. The outfit was deemed the all-around outfit among the girls, regardless of the season, and it would never be described as out-of-fashion, either. It was like Nippon Lily, retaining the radiance of spring at all times… {TL Note: Fun fact, the radiance of spring is sometimes referring to a slight glimpse of something sexy or erotic *wink*}

In comparison, the most popular outfit among the men was the combination of sandals and jerseys. In the south, this outfit was good enough to last three and a half seasons. Those who were not bothered about trifles would wear it during all seasons, not because they would simply wear an outer layer of down-coat in the cold seasons, but because they did not need to rely on extra warmth from clothing due to their Fire or Ice Elements.

——

Speaking of the perks of having those Elements…

Zhejiang Institute had a small lake to its west, and at its center stood a pavilion.

The pavilion was left unattended for quite some time. Even the wooden bridge connecting the pavilion had collapsed to the bottom of the lake, as if it serving as a sign telling the students not to hang around the lake.

Unfortunately, everyone there was a Magician, thus the bridge would not make a difference at all.

A handsome man with perfectly set hair stood by the lake and said with a smile. “I’ll push you there, it’s nothing worth mentioning.”

The calm surface of the clean lake reflected his rather tall figure. The gentle, yet masculine movement and tone implied that he had come from a fairly educated background.

He reached out his hand and swept it across the lake.

The weeds at the shore were gradually covered by a layer of ice. The ice rapidly spread to the water, making a crackling noise.

The surface of the lake froze. The thin layer of ice gradually thickened, as the icy energy continued to spread across it. It looked like an ice bridge was slowly extending across the surface of the lake, resulting in a magical view.

“It’s the Prince of Ice, Liu Yilin. Not only is he handsome, his control of the Ice Element is very impressive too. As expected of someone ranked on our school’s leaderboard!” Some girls nearby screamed at the top of their lungs.

The Prince of Ice was a complimentary title that Zhejiang Institute had given to Liu Yilin. He had conquered the entire school with his Ice Element not long after coming here. Together with his outstanding appearance and cool demeanor, he quickly captured many girls’ hearts.

Wasn’t a man like him the reason why they had worked so hard trying to secure a spot in the powerhouse institutes?

“Sigh, he’s with that girl again. I don’t understand, what good does a girl who can’t even walk properly have?” a female student with a perfect mid-split hair../style blurted out in envy.

In terms of appearance, many girls could easily outmatch her.

“I bet he’s just pitying her. I hate people who act like they are pitiful the most. Grumbling when someone has merely stepped on an ant. Ah, I can’t walk, please push me around. Ah, I’m having a slight headache, I think I’ve caught a cold. Everyone knows how to pretend to be weak. Humph!” Chen Yunqi snapped.

Her mimic was on point, which prompted her friends nearby to bust out laughing. The laughter echoed in the path lined up with trees…

The Prince of Ice, Liu Yilin, glanced back at the girls who he used to hang out with. He smiled gently and slightly lowered his head, “Don’t mind them, they are only jealous because I’m spending my time with you. Come, let’s go to the pavilion.”

“I want to have some time alone, sorry.” Xinxia raised her head. There was no other emotion in her clear eyes apart from the calm.

She rolled her wheelchair with her skinny arms. She did not take the frozen path, but approached the lakeside instead.

Liu Yilin tapped his nose as he uttered a self-mocking laugh.

Meanwhile, Chen Yuqi’s rather annoying voice appeared, “Yo, acting like a noble, pretending to keep a distance in order to grasp him better, how impressive…”

“Well, Yunqi, you can’t say that, maybe someone is really not interested in the Prince of Ice. Maybe someone has already occupied her heart,” said the girl with the mid-split.

“Then maybe her sweetheart prefers to go out with someone whom he can hold hands with while browsing the streets, someone like us who will not require him to push a wheelchair.”

“I bet you’ve been reading too many of those romance novels. Hehe~”

Liu Yilin frowned. In his opinion, Chen Yunqi and her friends had gone too far. How could they keep on talking about someone’s physical defects? It would just highlight how uneducated they were.

The girls continued to exchange disdainful remarks on their own. Liu Yilin finally ran out of patience and blurted out, “Aren’t you going a bit too far with that?”

“Too far? I don’t think so, we’re just saying what we want to say, and doing what we want to do. We don’t like girls who like to put up an act. Frankly speaking, she’s still acting as if she were a saintess after being mocked by us, pretending that she isn’t angry at us. I bet she’s cursing us in her heart,” said Chen Yunqi in a mocking tone.

“That’s right, we make it clear who we don’t like. We dare to spit it out when we dislike the white lotus.”

“Those who put up an act are the most disgusting.”

The girls left Liu Yilin speechless with their reasoning.

Liu Yilin was clueless about what to do. He glanced at the lonely back of the person sitting on a wheelchair. He had no idea how he could comfort her.

While he was feeling lost, a man wearing a black short-sleeve shirt walked past him. Judging from his outfit, he had most likely come from the south. No one would wear clothes like him due to the cold temperature.

The man had a fierce presence. His body was wrapped inside a unique shadow, which resulted in huge contrast with his bright, eye-grabbing aura. He even looked like a hooligan with how his chest was exposed from the three loosened buttons.

“Bitches like you should just stay in the water,” the man said to Chen Yunqi and the girls who were still talking non-stop.

The man definitely lacked a tender heart toward females. His kicks landed accurately on three different body parts of the girls.

Chen Yunqi, the girl with the mid-split, and the other one wearing glasses were taken by surprise, and were knocked right into the icy lake. The splashes were exceedingly obvious along the path. It quickly attracted the attention of the crowd nearby.

None of the girls possessed the Water Element. Their bodies were soaked, and the water was cold, too. Their clothing, hair, makeup were utterly messed up by the water!

Liu Yilin was stunned. He stared at the man in disbelief.

Why would a man be acting so rough against women? Even though he had pictured himself kicking the girls into the lake a few times, his inner conscience from living a noble life would never allow him to perform such a disgraceful act!

“Which jerk dares to kick me into the water, I’ll crush you!”

“It’s that guy in the black shirt, it’s him!”

“Sisters, let’s peel his skin off! Teach him that the prettiest three sisters of Zhejiang Institute are not someone he would want to mess with.”

The mid-split…Uhh, the girl with her hair soaked wet had turned into a crazy woman. She totally ignored the icy water and started showing her Stars.

The girl called Chen Yunqi was even crazier. A Star Pattern was drawn slowly under her feet. However, her body shivered from the cold and following a sneeze, it instantly interrupted the casting of the magic, leaving her really angry.

“Bitches like you who only know how to abuse people with words dare to fight against me?” The man wearing the black shirt whistled and stared at the wet clothing on the girls, “One has a thick waist, one a flat chest, and one with wide-opened legs. I’m not surprised that you would be jealous of the others!”

The three girls went crazy when the shameless man pointed out the parts that they were embarrassed of. They totally forgot about the rules where the students were not allowed to duel outside of the training grounds and summoned their Nebula and Star Patterns.

“Lightning Strike: Electric Field!”

Mo Fan adeptly cast the Lightning Magic. Dense lightning arcs sprang forward following his wave.

The lightning arcs flew through the air, a few of them spreading rapidly across the ground. The lightning arcs soon formed an electric field with a circumference of twenty meters around the girls.

The lightning arcs cracked rapidly as they were conducted toward the girls. The water made it easier to conduct electricity. The Basic Level Spells they finally managed to cast were shattered instantly. They began to dance wildly as if they were in a fire pit from the shocks.

Their hair was scorched black while their wet clothes were toasted dry. The girls that were relatively good-looking a few moments ago now looked uglier than ghouls.

Mo Fan had already controlled the power of the Lightning Strike to avoid inflicting any damage to them. Otherwise, he could guarantee that they would have had an even greater time!

“The Lightning Strike…” Liu Yilin was startled.

Chen Yunqi was an Intermediate Magician, and the other two girls were not weak either, halfway into the Intermediate Level. However, not only their opponent had managed to cast his magic way earlier, they could not even do anything against a mere Basic Spell!

The Magician using the Lightning Strike clearly knew how to control his energy, only trying to teach them a lesson instead of hurting them. The passersby burst into laughter when they saw the miserable appearance of the girls.

“You…you just wait!”

“Tell us your name if you have the guts. I, Chen Yunqi will definitely make you pay!” Chen Yunqi burst out cursing while coughing up smoke.

The man in the black shirt blurted out with an evil grin, “I’m one that has never bothered using a false identity, Shen Mingxiao from Pearl Institute!”

“Shen Mingxiao… very well, you shall wait!”

Chen Yunqi quickly left after uttering the threat. As a woman, she still wanted to protect her own image. The trio did not want to stay any further and be the crowd’s laughing stock.

The man in the black shirt chuckled when he saw the three girls fleeing. He went up to Xinxia.

On the wheelchair, Xinxia whose eyes were glistening had her mouth slightly open. Her face was filled with joy and surprise…

Soon, her eyes turned wet and red. Following a blink, her eyelashes were soaked with tears.

“Stupid girl, what are you crying for? Didn’t I tell you that I’m still alive?” Mo Fan stood in front of Xinxia with his hands in his pockets. He half-bent forward while staring at Xinxia’s cheeks, as if he were acting cool.

However, when he saw her tears bursting out from her eyes, he panicked and drew out his hands. His fingers swiped across her chubby face to get rid of the tears rolling down her cheeks.

Xinxia could not hold her tears when she heard the words. She opened her arms and wrapped around Mo Fan’s neck, sticking her face close to his…

Mo Fan was slightly startled. He could feel the tenderness and the heat from the girl’s face. His heart, which was still feeling rather indifferent, immediately melted. His squinted eyes showed how relieved he felt, while his mouth, which usually portrayed arrogance and evil intentions, slowly curled upward into a relieved smile.

A girl sitting on a wheelchair, and a boy half-bending forward while enjoying the hug, the crowd, despite its number, had somehow turned into the background together with the path with trees lined up on both sides. It was a peaceful afternoon, with steady and gentle breathing, and tears of joy…

“Do you still remember the story I told you? Once upon a time, a king had two daughters. They were born pretty, and had a unique ability. Their tears would turn into pearls instantly. The king then let her eldest daughter marry a prince from another kingdom. The prince always hurt her, thus making her cry. The pearls she made were enough to wrap around the Earth twice… The younger daughter married a farmer. The king was confused, as a single drop of tears could let them live a luxurious life, but they stayed poor instead. However, the king soon realized that the farmer is not willing to let his daughter shed a single drop of tears. The king said to the farmer with relief, you’re a good husband, unlike the other prince who only cared about producing more pearls with his daughter’s tears…” Mo Fan slowly told the classic story.

Xinxia nodded heavily. She had already heard the story before, and not just once.

Her heart rippled as she blushed slightly. Did Mo Fan just hint that they were like husband and wife?

“The farmer fell silent for a moment hearing the king’s words, before he blurted out…” Mo Fan saw there were still tears on Xinxia’s cheeks, thus he pretended to be the farmer and said, “My king, I bet you’ve forgotten. She is only fond of me after she went blind…”

Hearing this, Xinxia instantly felt the atmosphere crumbling. She clenched her little fists and threw punches at Mo Fan’s shoulder…

This asshole is trying to destroy the fairy tales again. Most of them have already fallen victim to his hands. Can’t he just finish them with a happy ending!?

However, when she recalled Mo Fan’s tone as he mimicked the farmer, she burst into tears of joy instead.

Thanks to this jerk for brainwashing her with dark fairy tales. Somehow, she would even laugh at such a bad punchline!

“Xinxia, is this your brother that you mentioned before?… Hi, I’m Liu Yilin, nice to meet you.” Liu Yilin was never satisfied with just being a bystander. He soon went up to the two.

Mo Fan turned around at the hypocrite Liu Yilin and snapped, “Didn’t you know it’s impolite to disturb a couple making a public display of affection!”

“Public display of affection?” Liu Yilin was stunned, before he asked in a surprised tone, “Aren’t you two siblings?”

“She’s a Brocon, and I’m a Siscon, you have a problem with that?” said Mo Fan.

The expression that the Prince of Ice, Liu Yilin was wearing was the pure definition of weird. Despite wearing a stiffened smile, he was having a dramatic monologue in his heart.

Why would Ye Xinxia have such a weird brother? Not only was he acting rough to girls, he even said stuff like Brocon, or Siscon, how lowly!

“If you have nothing else to say, please get out from my sight. Go wherever you should be going.” Mo Fan pushed Xinxia’s wheelchair and headed to the school’s entrance.

There was no chance Liu Yilin would let them go just like that. His instincts were warning him about how unreliable this person was. Xinxia was already a weak girl who had impaired movement. It would be a disaster if she were taken away by this strange man!

Hence, Liu Yilin continued to wear a smile as he said, “Since you’re Xinxia’s friend, you are my friend, too. I believe you’ve just arrived here. Please, let me buy you a meal…”

“Dude, aren’t you annoying? We’re about to find someplace without people to share our love and do something that’s not suitable for children. Can you please stop talking and step aside?” Mo Fan said impatiently.

Xinxia blushed when she heard the words.

What does he mean by sharing our love and do something that’s not suitable for children? How embarrassing does that sound?

Liu Yilin’s face turned blue and white rapidly. This guy was indeed having bad thoughts against Xinxia. She was too kind and gentle, she wouldn’t even dare reject him.

No way, even if Xinxia weren’t rejecting him, how could I just stand and watch her falling into the wolf’s mouth? Liu Yilin decisively stepped forward and said with a stern face, “Friend, you’re going too far with that. I’ve been looking after Xinxia for the past few months. I know how gentle she is. I will not let you abuse her personality and harass her as you wish. She might stay silent, but it doesn’t mean I, Liu Yilin will allow it!”

Xinxia was about to say something, as she did not agree with Liu Yilin.

As a matter of fact, Xinxia had already made things clear to Liu Yilin, but this guy seemed to be just living in his own world!

However, Mo Fan stopped her. He squinted and glanced at Liu Yilin whose appearance and actions were hinting that he was a fairly well-behaved man. He asked with a smile, “Do you like her?”

“What are you trying to say…” said Liu Yilin.

“If so, I still think you’re behaving reasonably. Otherwise, aren’t you f**king caring too much about other people’s business?” cursed Mo Fan.

Liu Yilin did not like anyone cursing at him. He frowned and glanced at Xinxia.

It’s fine. He could use the chance to express his feelings. Otherwise, the woman he loved would be dragged away by this perverted wolf, staining the pure, naive woman he was fond of!

“So what if that’s true!” Liu Yilin said with a stern look.

“So what if it’s true? I was already disappointed when those girls were picking on her. If you’re a man, you should have kicked them straight away instead of wasting your time arguing with them. And now, you’re telling me you like her…” Mo Fan’s smile had turned into a mocking grin.

“I was being considerate for Xinxia!” Liu Yilin explained himself with a dark face.

“Consider my ass! Listen up, she’s my sister, and my wife that I’ve raised up since young. She’s mine, you understand? Stop bothering her shamelessly like a fly. I’ll beat the crap out of you so that your mum won’t even recognize you!” Mo Fan snapped righteously.

Mo Fan’s current appearance perfectly suited the expected behavior of an imposing CEO that the girls always fantasized about.

Xinxia had let Liu Yilin know that her heart was already occupied. However, when she heard Mo Fan referring to her as his wife that he had raised since young, she felt like digging herself a hole and hiding inside it. There were people passing by occasionally. Did he really have to say that out loud?

“Beat the crap out of me that my mum won’t even recognize me?” Liu Yilin’s expression turned dark. He could no longer stick to his polite demeanor, “I bet you should go and ask around, to see if anyone dares to disrespect me like that here in Zhejiang Institute!”

The situation immediately became a showdown between the two. Their auras collided, the energy of the Ice Element and Lightning Element soon lingered in the air nearby.

The crowd quickly realized that the two were about to start a brawl. They immediately backed off and looked at them with a hint of gloating.

“Where did this kid come from? Is he really that blind to try and pick on the Prince of Ice?” said one of Liu Yilin’s sidekicks.

“Take a look yourself, it’s that guy in the black shirt. Liu Yilin has already warned him not to cross the line. However, that guy showed no respect at all. Even though the Healer girl Xinxia was born with impaired movement, there are quite a few guys interested in her. However, either they did not dare to compete with the Prince of Ice, or they were taught a lesson behind the scenes… This guy is about to have a tough time,” said a student who was relatively up to date with the news in the school.

“By the way, does anyone know who the guy is? I don’t think he’s from Zhejiang Institute?”

“Surely not, otherwise, why would he even bother going against Liu Yilin! Look at him, still thinking that he’s good. I bet he won’t even know how he loses the fight later.” Liu Yilin’s sidekick burst into laughter.

An unusual breeze swept the place. The fallen leaves drifted to the wind.

The crowd was intrigued. They had surrounded the entire place, waiting for the two to start fighting.

The school did set up rules, but how many Magicians could actually control their hands?

“Xinxia, step aside. I’ll teach this stupid jerk a lesson. My Ice Element is fairly powerful. I don’t want to hurt you by accident,” said Liu Yilin politely.

Mo Fan did not purposely push Xinxia away. His eyes flickered with a bolt of purple-black lightning, an indication that he was accumulating his energy.

“I prefer to use Lighting against people like you.” Mo Fan stood beside Xinxia. The Lightning Element Star Pattern was drawn quickly under his feet. The process was finished in a silent, yet rapid manner.

“Damn it, having Xinxia by your side while fighting against me. You know that I won’t cast any Spell at you!” said Liu Yilin with a stern look.

“It’s not that complicated…” Mo Fan smiled.

As a matter of fact, it was unnecessary for the crowd to give them a big space for the duel. There was no need to have Xinxia move away from them to avoid being hurt by accident…

Mo Fan could easily defeat an opponent like him with a single attack!

“Qianjun!

“Thunderbolt!

“Yaksha!”

Mo Fan was incredibly quick at casting an Intermediate Spell. He was already pointing his finger at the air when he was uttering the words, “It’s not that complicated…”

A great flicker swept across the sky. It forked and struck down rapidly. The trees nearby were shattered into black pieces instantly by the lightning…

Thick purple lightning bolts appeared out of nowhere from the clear sky, like a devil’s claw.

The Prince of Ice, Liu Yilin could not even prepare himself. He never imagined that his opponent was able to cast an Intermediate Magic at twice his speed!

He had only drawn half of the Star Pattern!

Liu Yilin quickly activated his Magic Shield, knowing that the situation was not in his favor. The Shield looked like an extended fin. Its surface was made of scales, each reflecting a unique color.

The purple-black lightning bolt struck the Shield heavily. To everyone’s surprise, it was shattered into pieces instantly by the powerful bolt of lightning.

Even though the equipment looked fairly sturdy, it was incredibly fragile when facing the lightning.

Liu Yilin was slammed to the ground as soon as the Shield was destroyed. Blue puffs of smoke rose from his body.

Although his equipment managed to protect him from the lightning, his body could not withstand the momentum from the impact. He fell to the ground with his face down, the blood from his bleeding nose immediately smearing across the face he was proud of.

Liu Yilin shivered. It felt like his bones were on the verge of collapsing when he tried to get up from the ground. The incredible pain made him clench his teeth.

Meanwhile, the gloating crowd were gaping, their eyes wide. They could not believe the famous genius of their school was defeated by a single attack!

Where did this monstrous kid come from?

“Crap, Liu Yilin has smashed himself into an iron plate.”

“That’s insane, he just defeated the famous Prince of Ice with a single spell!”

Being aware of the comments and weird gazes of the crowd, Liu Yilin totally lost his temper.

However, when he glanced at the man in the black shirt, Liu Yilin did not dare to underestimate him again.

The fact that he had acquired a Spirit-grade Soul Seed and able to master the second-tier Storm Cloud was enough to imply that he was no ordinary Magician.

Liu Yilin could not help but admit that he had picked the wrong fight, but he would not give up easily!

“Don’t let me see you again. Otherwise, I’ll beat the crap out of you every time I see you,” Mo Fan stared down at Liu Yilin, who was still having trouble rising from the ground. Both his expression and tone were incredibly smug!

“Beat me up every time you see me?” It was the first time Liu Yilin had heard someone say that to him.

The fact was, him being persistent would make little difference. His strength was obviously not on the same level as his opponent!

Mo Fan did not waste any time further with the idiot. He pushed Xinxia’s wheelchair and left the place.

——

They finally had some peace after leaving the crowd behind. Mo Fan glanced at Xinxia, who had been fairly quiet, and chuckled, “Do you think I’ve gone too far, beating up your schoolmate like that?”

Xinxia shook her head and said, “He is indeed too full of himself.”

Xinxia had no idea what to say about Liu Yilin. Despite acting like a gentleman around her, he would subconsciously display the pride in his heart with little details. She was not willing to get close to him, but he always assumed that she was hiding her favor, worried about being picked on by girls like Chen Yunqi. She had already told him that she was not interested in him, but he assumed that she was only feeling unworthy due to her natural defect.

“Oh, so you don’t like him either! I should have hit him with another spell. I hate idiots like him who think they are the White Prince the most,” said Mo Fan.

—

Leaving the school, Mo Fan saw that Xinxia was still wearing her same old clothing, thus he decided to bring her shopping.

Autumn had come too. How could a girl not dress up properly in this poetic season? Besides, Mo Fan enjoyed seeing different impressions of her as she tried on different outfits.

Mo Fan realized that many couples were hailing taxis at the school gate.

Mo Fan was not in a rush. He queued up patiently for his turn. When his ride arrived, Mo Fan was about to push Xinxia toward it when someone quickly went up to the car and hopped into it with his girlfriend!

“Hey, I’ve already waved my hand,” said Mo Fan in an unpleasant tone.

“Brother, I waved my hand at it, too. Too bad you didn’t see it, just wait for the next one!” said the young man with a baseball cap.

The driver saw Mo Fan was with a girl in a wheelchair, and subconsciously wanted to avoid trouble. He pressed the horn, urging Mo Fan to make way.

“See you, brother! Don’t blame me, you should be driving yourself since your girlfriend is impaired,” said the young man in a proud tone.

“It does make some sense,” Mo Fan nodded.

Hailing a taxi was not really convenient. Why was he waiting here when he already had a great transportation tool?

Mo Fan briefly closed his eyes. When they sprang open again, his pupils flickered with a lunar white glow.

The Nebula of the same color appeared in front of Mo Fan, forming a dimension gap connecting their world to another magical kingdom.

“Awoooo~~~!”

A howl stirred up a strong gust within an instant. The school gate was fairly crowded at this time of the day. They immediately turned around upon hearing the shocking noise.

To everyone’s surprise, a handsome blue wolf leapt out from the gap. Its hair drifted imposingly in the wind, granting it indescribable savagery and ../style.

“Come, our ride is here.” Mo Fan lifted Xinxia and placed her on the back of the Swift Star Wolf.

As Xinxia collected her thoughts, she realized that she was sitting on the back of a magnificent beast. She grabbed the fur of the Swift Star Wolf in fright.

Mo Fan folded up the wheelchair and carried it on his back. He leapt onto the Swift Star Wolf’s back, sitting behind Xinxia. He made use of the chance to hug her around the waist, while his nose was enjoying the pleasant scent of her hair.

The crowd at the school gate burst into an uproar!

Apart from those hailing taxis, even those who had driven their luxurious cars here to pick up their girlfriends were incomparable. This man had redefined the highest level of making a public display of affection!

The guy who was feeling proud after taking the taxi away from Mo Fan was stunned. Even the driver was too scared to drive away.

Holding Xinxia’s tender body and riding the magnificent Swift Star Wolf, Mo Fan had decided to show these guys his best ride, which consisted of a roaring jump start, an open-top view of two hundred and seventy degrees, and a luxurious two-seater!

The strong wind blew past as the beast sprinted along. Unlike in the wild, riding the Swift Star Wolf as it sprinted in a developed city was a totally different experience. The tall buildings quickly swept past on the sides, the beast easily caught up to the running vehicles on the streets. Mo Fan also caught a glimpse of the terrified or jealous gazes of the pedestrians…

At a time like this, did Mo Fan care if he had a Summoned Beast Permit for Hangzhou City?

As a matter of fact, every city had clearly stated that Summoned beasts were not permitted to run freely on the streets, to avoid stirring unnecessary terror. The rule did not apply to Magicians on duty, as they were given special permits to do so.

Mo Fan could not care less about not having the permit, as he believed no one would dare to stop him. Besides, he was using the motorway, thus he would not bring any harm to the pedestrians!

However, when approaching the central area, Mo Fan did not dare to swagger. He withdrew the Swift Star Wolf and folded the wheelchair open before placing Xinxia on it. He could finally push Xinxia around as they went shopping…

——

The weather was fine. The sun was shrouded behind the clouds. Occasionally, a soothing breeze would fondle their faces. It was definitely the perfect weather to go shopping.

Mo Fan bought a hot drink for Xinxia. She held it with both her hands and took a small sip at times. Her eyes were scanning the shops nearby, the delicate display windows with dazzling items, and the things that she was fairly interested in. Due to her impaired movement, she rarely had a chance to go shopping in a busy district, nor would she have the chance to leap with joy after finding an ornament that she was extremely fond of. Xinxia had many friends, who were exceedingly kind to her. However, not just everyone would spend so much time hanging out with her at places like this. She seemed rather out of place among the walking pedestrians, the overhead bridges on the streets, and the escalators in the shopping malls.

It was easier when Xinxia was going shopping with Mo Fan.

Mo Fan would just carry her when there were stairs in the way. He was rather willing to do so, as it gave him the chance to take advantage of her at times. The guy would have a sense of achievement when he saw her blushing adorably.

After choosing a garment, Mo Fan pushed Xinxia into the dressing room.

“I can do it myself.” Xinxia left Mo Fan outside and pulled the curtain.

“It’s fine, I wouldn’t mind it,” said Mo Fan with a shameless grin.

For the past two years, they had both been busy at their respective schools. They did not meet often , thus it had been a while since he last checked on her puberty. He had not been fulfilling his role as a brother.

Unlike the shameless Mo Fan, Xinxia still had principles she would abide by. No matter how hard Mo Fan tried, she was determined not to let him help her change!

Xinxia did not have a problem standing up. Her straight yet thin legs were more attractive than most of the girls at her age. They were like a piece of art that had not received any damage…

She never needed anyone’s help to change her clothing, including changing into a dress!

On a side note, Mo Fan definitely had no taste in choosing garments for a woman. He only saw a rather retro piece of clothing, and assumed that it fit Xinxia’s personality in his imagination. As such, he immediately claimed that she would look good in it without even considering the price.

It was a long-sleeved gown similar to the design of the garments during the Han Dynasty, with a silk ribbon acting as a belt. It was suitable for autumn. Instead of a piece of vintage that looked like it had traveled across time, it had a mix of the current trend too. It did not stand out too much when Xinxia was wearing it. It felt natural, fresh and trendy, with a strong sense of Chinese culture.

Mo Fan satisfyingly swiped his card, seeing Xinxia’s fresh look.

—

The full experience of going shopping surely included buying great food. Mo Fan soon arrived at a fairly tall restaurant with a spectacular view.

He could act willfully, as he was rather rich now. Similar to most of the rich people, Mo Fan enjoyed going to luxurious restaurants with glass windows. He would choose a spot close to one, and enjoy the view of the modern city. He would order a glass of coke…Uh, wine, and had an enjoyable time with a gorgeous beauty across the table. Ah, what a pleasant life!

Mo Fan did live like a caveman before. He had experienced a tense atmosphere where a grave danger would possibly lunge at him at any second in the wild. As such, he was treating the chance to live a calm, sweet life preciously.

Xinxia, who was feeling the moment in a similar manner, stared at Mo Fan’s eyes as she grumbled, “Brother Mo Fan, can you please not leave the city again?”

“Don’t worry about me, it wasn’t that dangerous,” Mo Fan said with a grin.

“Ningxue has already told me.” Xinxia twisted her lips. She knew Mo Fan would try to comfort her and stop her from worrying.

“Oh, oh…” Mo Fan rubbed his head awkwardly.

Mu Ningxue and Xinxia had always been close. Therefore, it went without saying that Mu Ningxue would tell Xinxia the entire incident. Mo Fan suddenly realized that him trying to comfort Xinxia with a lie was a bad move.

He had to be more cautious. He had to consider the possibility of his first and second wives colluding before lying to them.

Mo Fan was not interested in continuing the topic. He glanced at the scenery outside, hoping to shift Xinxia’s attention.

It was a very tall building. Although they were a few tall structures nearby, they were unable to block the perfect view that the restaurant had.

His gaze quickly skimmed through the buildings nearby, reflecting the colorful lights of the city, and saw the West Lake which had been relatively calm for centuries in the distance… For some reason, as he glanced at the reflection on the surface of the lake, Mo Fan’s mind was occupied with the ugly Giant Lizards, possibly because he had been seeing too many swamps recently.

Slightly to the left was a tall building that belonged to a bank.

The building was polygon-shaped and had a pointy top. It had silver LEDs spread all across it, and was built mainly with refined glass. From Mo Fan’s angle, he could see an outdoor swimming pool with a side glance.

The swimming pool was obviously not open to the public. There were only a few girls in their bikinis there…

Somewhere on his right stood a five-starred international hotel. It was surely one of the tallest buildings nearby. It was famous in Hangzhou due to its spectacular view across the West Lake.

From Mo Fan’s angle, he could see the entire five-starred luxurious hotel.

“Strange, we just walked past there. What’s that building?” Mo Fan finally found a potential topic to shift Xinxia’s attention. He pointed at the tall black shadow between the skyscraper and the five-starred hotel.

Xinxia turned her head around with a confused look.

“It doesn’t have any light. Is it new?” asked Mo Fan.

Xinxia shook her head, “I passed by the area recently, but I don’t recall seeing the building…”

After taking a closer look, Xinxia suddenly acted strangely. She turned around and said with a weird expression, “Brother Mo Fan, I don’t think it looks like a building.”

“It doesn’t look like a building?” Mo Fan was startled.

Mo Fan quickly took a closer look with his senses. He was shocked in the next second!

Mo Fan’s face gradually filled with disbelief, which soon turned into fear as he got a closer view of the shadow. In the end, he was overwhelmed with fear!

The shadow that was standing in the busiest district in Hangzhou slowly turned around!

It was as if… It was turning around after being aware of someone looking at it.

It was literally turning around!

The black shadow was definitely not there before. It was currently standing between the silver skyscraper and the luxurious five-starred hotel!

It had its back against the restaurant that Mo Fan was at, and now it was turning around…

It had a gigantic face, even though the majority of it was flat.

Its two triangular-shaped eyes were glowing, like spotlights lighting a logo at the top of a skyscraper. Its flicker was not too bright, but it was eerily terrifying, as if it could penetrate deep into one’s heart!

Its head and neck were almost the same width. The neck was slightly bloated, like it was wearing a giant cowl. It was entirely black in color, but one could barely see the scales on its skin under the illumination of the neighboring tower.

As for the rest, Mo Fan did not dare to look any further.

It was staring right at him. As a matter of fact, it made more sense for it to be staring at the building instead of the people in the window due to its wide vision. However, Mo Fan somehow had a strong feeling that it was looking right at him!

The stare made him feel extremely tiny and petty!

It stood at the busiest district of the developed city like an emperor. Despite the countless people on the streets and the tall highrises nearby, it was just standing there… It felt like it had been there for thousands of years instead of just appearing a few moments ago.

In the air, a helicopter circled the black shadow and directed its spotlight at it. In the darkness, Mo Fan could finally get a clear look at its appearance.

Snake, it was a snake!

It had its body upright like a statue. If it did not turn its head around, most of the people would assume it to be a freshly constructed skyscraper.

It was extremely huge. Mo Fan was confident that a beast like it could bring utter destruction to the city just by moving around.

However, it did not move. It maintained its posture after turning its head around. The only clue that proved it was not a statue was the tongue poking out from its mouth!

“Heavens, what… what is that?” Someone in the restaurant finally realized the astonishing sight and burst out screaming.

“Snake, it’s a snake!”

“A snake, it’s really a snake. Help!”

The restaurant that was filled with a romantic atmosphere a moment ago burst into an uproar. Everyone’s eyes were filled with extreme terror, yet they felt so lowly that the Skyscraping Snake could not spare a glance for them.

The restaurant was filled with screams and cries. Even Magicians like Mo Fan could feel their hair standing on end, let alone the ordinary people who had never seen a demon beast before.

Even the Razortail Drake had not given Mo Fan such great soul-trembling fear.

Could anyone tell him what he was looking at?

He was currently in Hangzhou. The modern city was built up over thousands of years by human civilization, why would the Skyscraping Snake now right at its center come out of nowhere?!

“Xinxia, behind me!” Mo Fan bit his own tongue. Only that would help him to briefly overcome the fear that was filling his heart.

Standing behind the transparent window, Mo Fan did not flee for his life like the rest of the crowd. He clearly knew that with a human’s speed, it would be no different than just standing there waiting for their death facing the Skyscraping Snake.

As Mo Fan sensed the Skyscraping Snake slowly reaching its head in his direction, Mo Fan subconsciously dragged Xinxia, whose mind had gone blank, behind him.

The Skyscraping Snake was extending its body. Its face slowly leaned forward as if it had seen something interesting. It slowly approached the restaurant’s window. Its lantern-sized eyes were parallel to the restaurant located on the seventieth floor of the building!

A pair of human eyes, despite being filled with boundless terror, had a strong determination to live in them.

A pair of snake eyes, without any sign of anger or joy. It was rather impossible to tell what it was planning to do. Maybe it was just randomly casting its gaze at a spot, and somehow the pair just happened to be within its vision…

It might be a mindless act from the Skyscraping Snake, but it posed a threat that the man who was trying to protect the woman behind him had never felt before!

—-

The dark clouds reflected the dazzling lights of the city. The closest layer to the clouds were the symbolic skyscrapers that stood like tall trees. They symbolized the modern and prosperous of the human race, but tonight, they were no longer the closest to the clouds. That was a legendary snake that was straightening its body!

The astonishing view served as a heavy slap to human civilization. The humiliation and tininess before the gigantic beast had fully toppled the understanding of humanity, who realized that they were only frogs living at the bottom of the well.

It was not moving, nor was it destroying anything, but it was already a great calamity to the place.

The crowd that looked like dense black dots from a great height ran in all directions. Vehicles had blocked all the crossroads. Many were rushing out from their cars and fleeing on foot…

A nightmare had just arrived, without any sign or any chance for humans to prepare themselves.

A few minutes later, a few people with wings on their backs appeared.

Magicians who were able to fly were highly respected among humans, as they were exceedingly powerful. However, they were like flies and mosquitoes circling around the Skyscraping Snake, not daring to move any closer.

The good news was, the towering snake had shifted its gaze, as if something else had attracted its attention.

It leaned sideways as its neck began to expand. It was as huge as a cloud.

Its eyes found a focus. They fixed onto a white-shirted man with long hair flying toward it from the south.

The man had long hair like a woman’s, perfectly straight long hair.

The man landed on the pointy tip of the skyscraper nearby. Below him was the swimming pool, where the girls from wealthy background had already fainted, resulting in a rather intimate view.

The long-haired man raised his head and stared into the eyes of the towering snake. Among the thousands of people nearby, his eyes, sharp like the eyes of eagles, were the only ones that were not filled with fear.

“Even though the seal on you was nothing, it doesn’t give you the right to stir such a scene on the streets!” the man yelled, as if he were talking to the Skyscraping Snake!

The Skyscraping Snake completely ignored the man. It slowly raised its head, staring at the closest dark clouds, and hissed…

Suddenly, a haze encapsulated the Skyscraping Snake’s body. The haze was faint at the start, only partially shrouding the snake’s astonishing size. It quickly became as dense as the dark clouds, fully hiding the Skyscraping Snake within.

The haze grew thicker and soon covered the entire Skyscraping Snake. It slowly formed the shape of a snake connecting the ground to the clouds. It showed no sign of dissipating after a prolonged period…

As the wind blew in from the West Lake, the snake-shaped haze finally began to disappear, blowing away slowly. During the process, the people could no longer see the astonishing figure of the Skyscraping Snake.

As a matter of fact, the beast had already left by the time the haze wrapped around its body. However, the people still assumed that it was still there, since a slight movement from it was enough to bulldoze the streets.

To everyone’s surprise, it had disappeared into thin air, just like that. It did not destroy a single building, nor did it utter a single cry. Nothing was left apart from the disappearing haze between the silver skyscraper and the five-starred hotel… Oh, that wasn’t true. It did leave a haze of fear covering the whole of Hangzhou.

——

Inside the restaurant, Mo Fan’s black shirt was already soaked with sweat. After confirming that the towering snake had left, Mo Fan could feel his limbs becoming weak.

Frankly speaking, he would rather believe he was having a nightmare, as such an unbelievable scene could only take place in dreams!

The only problem was, that alone was not enough to explain the fear that felt so real, which had resulted in him being soaked wet with cold sweat.

“Brother…Mo Fan.” Xinxia opened her eyes and could only see Mo Fan’s back. The soaked shirt was sticking to his back.

Mo Fan was standing still. His body subconsciously shivered tremendously as he took in more breaths.

Hearing Xinxia’s call, Mo Fan tried his best to calm his thoughts and forced a smile, “Everything… everything is alright now.”

“Did it disappear?” asked Xinxia in an intimidated tone.

“I think so.”

“Do you know what it was?” she asked in a weak voice.

Mo Fan shook his head. He slowly took out his phone and browsed the Internet…

As he thought, the news soon spread widely. The topic of the Skyscraping Snake in Hangzhou City exploded on every social platform!

“The government will give us an explanation… Either way, let’s…let’s leave this place first,” said Mo Fan.

“Mmm…” Xinxia nodded.

——

The district that was rather peaceful a few moments ago was in a total mess filled with horns, screams and cries…

The people were still running away. No one knew if the snake were going to appear again. Everyone was trying their best to leave the land of nightmare.

Mo Fan could not care less about the laws. He Summoned the Swift Star Wolf and quickly left the area.

He did not want to say a single word, nor was he in the mood to care about the discussions happening on the Internet. He solely wanted to bring Xinxia somewhere safe.

Mo Fan had no idea what would happen after this. He completely lost his curiosity due to fear.

He only wished that the thing would never appear in front of him, ever again!

——

“People of Hangzhou, do not be afraid. It’s only a beast shadow that has been invented quite recently. The snake isn’t real at all. It’s only an illusion, which is the reason why it was able to appear and vanish without any sign. If it were a true demon beast, its size alone would bring utter destruction to the city!”

In less than an hour, the official party had commented on the shocking incident.

“So it was only an illusion, they said it was made of mist, but it looked so real.”

“Yeah, the eyes were like a pair of spotlights. I was more than ten streets away, but it felt like that thing was right in front of me.”

“There’s no way that’s an illusion. They are hiding something. I was right in the hotel when it happened. I could clearly see its head from my angle. It’s definitely not some illusion made of some magic!”

——

Within a day, the people of the entire nation had their eyes on the astonishing news. Many people who were present when the incident took place accused the government of hiding something.

However, just like every other epic incident, it would slowly be forgotten when there was no news following it up, as the people’s attention was grabbed by other incidents happening across the nation.

On the second day, the people were still listing the evidence on the Internet, demanding the official party give an explanation.

On the third day, most of the people were leaning towards believing the official statement. No matter how real the Skyscraping Snake looked, no one could explain how it appeared and vanished like a piece of cloud.

The demon beasts were savage in nature. If such a towering beast actually appeared, the whole district would be in ruins.

A week later, fewer people were discussing the topic. The public had shifted their attention to the new species of demon beast that had appeared along the coast…

——

Mo Fan had stayed at Hangzhou during the week. It took a whole week for the haze of fear in his heart to clear up.

An illusion? Some sort of formation constructed with the Shadow Element?

As a Magician who had spent quite some time surviving in the wild, Mo Fan could guarantee with everything he had as a man that it was definitely not just an illusion!

The Skyscraping Snake was real, and Mo Fan had a strong feeling that it would show itself again!

Mo Fan spent most of his time in the apartment that he had rented. He could not even focus on his cultivation. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind would be filled with the giant face of the snake and its deadly, cold eyes!

What exactly was it?

No government in this world would try to hide information about a demon beast. Why would the officials claim it was an illusion in their statement?

How did such a gigantic snake appear in the middle of the busiest streets, and disappear without causing any destruction?…

What category would the beast belong to?! It was definitely not Commander-level! Mo Fan had seen quite a number of Commander-level demon beasts, and yet he had never been so terrified by one before.

—

Mo Fan did not want anything to do with the snake. However, he realized that he could not focus on his cultivation after seeing it. He could not help but feel uneasy if the doubts and fear continued to occupy his mind.

“I guess there’s someone I can ask if I want to learn more about it.”

Mo Fan made up his mind. He wanted to at least know what it was, and found out what it had done to him, to make his mind overwhelmed with fear whenever he closed his eyes.

“Miss Tangyue, are you free? I’m in Hangzhou,” said Mo Fan.

“What the hell are you doing there instead of resting in the army?” Tangyue scolded him.

“I’m well-rested. Actually, I’ve been in Hangzhou since a week ago…” said Mo Fan.

Tangyue paused for a moment, before asking in a solemn tone, “Did you see it?”

“Yes.”

“Come to my place.”

“I’m quite scared to go closer to the West Lake area now…”

“Hah!~” Tangyue uttered a pleasant giggle before asking with a hint of mockery, “Even a guy as fearless as you feels scared for once?”

Mo Fan was thinking of taking a rest in Tangyue’s apartment when the mature, gorgeous teacher walked toward him in loose cotton knitwear. Her long legs above a pair of high heels were absolutely stunning.

Tsk tsk, her sexiness and charm were definitely something that many young girls were jealous of, and yet something that they could not mimic with makeup…

“What are you staring at!” The charming teacher rolled her eyes at Mo Fan.

She had yet to meet any guy who was more impolite than Mo Fan. It felt like he desperately wanted to stick his eyes onto her body. Did he know what a peeper was? Did he have any face?

“Miss Tangyue, I believe if we had more teachers like you in the middle schools, the parents would never have to worry their kids would somehow become unstraight during their growth,” blabbed Mo Fan.

Tangyue could feel her cheeks burning. She uttered a harrumph before leading the way. She was not in the mood to waste her time with this little jerk!

Mo Fan quickly followed behind and asked, “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular.” Tangyue stretched like a noble cat that had just woken up from a nap.

Mo Fan cast a glance in the direction of the district Tangyue was heading to. He took a deep breath before catching up to her.

When Tangyue saw Mo Fan was half-a-step slower than her, she could not help but giggle, “Was it really that scary?”

Mo Fan nodded. He believed that even in his demonized form, the Skyscraping Snake would still kill him instantly.

“Let me tell you a story.” Tangyue reduced her pace and walked side-by-side with Mo Fan.

“Is it something to do with the snake?” asked Mo Fan.

“It’s something to do with me.” Tangyue wore a charming smile.

“Mm. Should we start with ‘once upon a time’?”

“Of course!” Tangyue glared at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan obediently shut his mouth, no longer trying to disrupt the atmosphere.

Tangyue was walking at a slow pace. Her high heels tapped on the ground in a slow rhythm, which was fairly pleasant to the ears.

A pleasing scent from her hair, mixed with her favorite perfume, would come whenever a breeze swept past them. It was fairly attractive, giving any man the urge to dive into her mature, alluring body and sniff it all out.

Mo Fan was quite fond of Hangzhou, as he would always be accompanied by beautiful women here… at least, that was what he thought a week ago.

“My hometown is a small village surrounded by small lakes. The village is actually scattered by the lakes. If the sections were joined together, it would be the size of a town…” Tangyue’s eyes flickered with a nostalgic gaze. It did seem like she actually lived in a village surrounded by lakes.

“My village was surrounded by mountains,” said Mo Fan.

“Hey, stop interrupting me!” Tangyue glared at Mo Fan. Mo Fan shrugged and shut his mouth.

“In addition to that, our village is also located outside of the safe zone. Most people in the village are Magicians. Even the girls who seemed they could not even stand a gust of wind would be an outstanding hunter here…” Tangyue paused for a moment and purposely glanced at Mo Fan with a grin. “Why didn’t you ask me why?”

“Err…” Mo Fan was speechless. Aren’t you the one that warned me about interrupting you? He quickly joined the play and asked, “So, why was that?”

As he asked the question, he suddenly realized that the village did sound weird. It was still reasonable for the entire village to be powerful Magicians, as they were certain places that had more talented people.

However, since the village was not located in the safe zone, it also meant that it was in the demon beasts’ territory. Even a city would be overrun with demon beasts fairly quickly if it were located outside the safe zone, let alone a small village without outstanding defense!

“It’s because our village is under the protection of a god,” Tangyue smiled. Her eyes were like crescents.

“Under the protection of a god?” Mo Fan was confused.

“That’s right, we’re never worried about being infiltrated by demon beasts. Due to the presence of the god, you wouldn’t find a single demon beast within ten kilometers of the village,” said Tangyue.

“Can a god actually do that? I thought they could only comfort one’s soul,” said Mo Fan.

“Not the god that we worship.”

“Then tell me who the god you worship is, maybe I should pay him a visit soon, so he would look after my hometown too,” Mo Fan joked.

“You already met,” Tangyue winked at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was dumbfounded. Since when did he visit their god…

However, for some reason, Mo Fan’s mind was instantly filled with the face of the Skyscraping Snake. He recalled its deep eyes. If he were to describe it, that beast did stand there like a deity!

Mo Fan shuddered. He looked at the smiling Tangyue in disbelief. He subconsciously took a few steps back with a stiff expression, not knowing what to say for a long moment.

Tangyue continued to stare at Mo Fan, smiling.

Mo Fan was always being indifferent toward spiritual stuff. Frankly speaking, he was simple-minded when it came to things like religion. He was far from a sentimental person.

Tangyue thought there was nothing he would be afraid of. Even if there were anything that scared him, he would still try to overcome it with his signature black humor. However, the Skyscraping Snake had somehow gotten into Mo Fan’s nerves, thus Tangyue could not help but have the urge to tease him further.

“Miss…Miss Tangyue, please don’t joke with me like that.” It took Mo Fan quite some time to utter the words.

“I’m not joking.” Tangyue was still wearing the same smile.

“…Your village…is everyone a snake-person?” asked Mo Fan.

Tangyue rolled her eyes and blurted out, “Please, we’re all humans!”

“Humans, but you’re worshiping a snake as a god?” Mo Fan failed to comprehend it.

“Did you even study history!?” Tangyue was speechless at how lazy Mo Fan was in his studies.

“Not really, please enlighten me.” Mo Fan could feel his conception of the world crumbling.

“The history classes in school should have mentioned it, but not much. It’s also a secret of our village, and we don’t usually tell outsiders about it, unless…” Tangyue paused.

“Unless I become a son-in-law?” interjected Mo Fan.

“Humph, who wants scum like you!” snapped Tangyue.

“I didn’t say you. I would think that your village still has other girls,” replied the garrulous Mo Fan.

“Come with me, I’ll take you somewhere!” ordered Tangyue.

“Not a chance. A strange village like yours would surely do something crazy, like offering living sacrifices. I’m not interested in your secret, and I’m not going.” Mo Fan shook his head heavily.

“…I think you’ve been watching too many movies!” Tangyue felt like crying and laughing at the same time.

Finally, Mo Fan compromised.

Tangyue had told Mo Fan the reason why he was constantly having fear in his heart, why he kept seeing the Skyscraping Snake’s face when he closed his eyes, seeing it hissing at him…

It was because the Skyscraping Snake had chosen its prey. When the time came, it would appear out of nowhere like before and swallow him alive into its stomach.

“Oh, if you aren’t aware, snakes like to eat their prey alive. You won’t die straight away once you get swallowed. You will be digested slowly instead.” Tangyue further clarified the details, leaving Mo Fan shivering in fear.

“Sis, please say no more. I’ve already promised to go with you!” Mo Fan put on a long face.

——

Mo Fan followed Tangyue to the West Lake. As they arrived, they straight away went up to a boat and rowed it out to the center of the lake.

The water was clear and calm. White clouds could be seen from the reflection surrounding the little boat.

Normally, Mo Fan would start having lewd imaginings, being alone with Tangyue on a little boat. He would imagine what sort of bad things he could do to her, being on an isolated boat. However, he could not do it this time.

His mind was indeed implanted with fear, making him feel uneasy at all times.

To an extent, when Mo Fan was staring into the clear water, he could somehow see a gigantic coiled-up body deep inside the water, right under the boat. The boat was only floating on the lake like a leaf, while the body under it was only the tip of an iceberg.

The water suddenly turned darker, as a snake’s face suddenly approached him from the darkness. He suddenly found himself in a deep abyss, lost in fear.

What was happening to him? Mo Fan had never felt so disconcerted. Could it be that Tangyue was actually speaking the truth? He was a prey that had been marked, which the beast would just come and enjoy whenever it wished?

—

The boat slowly rowed out to a small island at the center of the lake.

The shape of the island resembled a No Entry sign, with a circle on the outside, and a big cross inside the circle. The rest of it was filled with water.

As the boat arrived at the shore, Mo Fan immediately saw a man in a blue outfit keeping an eye out at the area. His eyes flickered when he saw Tangyue, but his excitement was replaced with a frown when he saw Mo Fan.

“Tangyue, we don’t allow outsiders here,” said the man.

“Dasheng, he’s not an outsider.” Tangyue urged Mo Fan to go onshore as she docked the boat.

“Does that mean, you two have already-?” The man called Dasheng was astounded. If he were only rejecting him because he was an outsider, it had now turned into pure hostility!

Tangyue blushed when she came to a realization. She blurted out, “What the hell were you thinking, he’s my student!”

“Oh, oh, a student, well I guess you won’t be considered an outsider then,” Dasheng chuckled. His hostility toward Mo Fan quickly vanished.

“So you guys are in charge of this island. I initially thought it was open to visitors.” Mo Fan was surprised when he found out that the island did not have any visitors.

In the past, the place used to be a famous attraction due to its scenery. The island was not huge. You would find yourself at the same place after barely taking any steps, but it was surrounded by the lake, and decorated with trees and plants.

“Dasheng, you can go back now. Leave it to me,” said Tangyue.

“Oh, sure thing.” Dasheng took the boat and left without hesitation.

Mo Fan was intrigued when he saw Dasheng leaving without any worry.

Isn’t this island empty? Anything could happen when a man and a woman are left alone on it. Does he really believe we are only teacher and student?

The thoughts filled Mo Fan’s mind, but as he expected, it was soon replaced with the snake’s face. Goddamnit!

——

“Well, it’s my turn to be on duty today, but since you’re here too, it won’t be too boring.” Tangyue smiled. She did not seem too vigilant with Mo Fan around.

Mo Fan could not help but admit that his mind was filled with lewd thoughts. An isolated island, a man and a woman left alone. A beautiful scenery, and a taboo relationship between a teacher and a student, even though they no longer were student and teacher… Even the fear from the snake could no longer hold him back!

Tangyue placed her hands behind her. She was like a cheerful teenage girl bringing a friend to somewhere she was familiar with.

Her walking pace was slow and relaxed, and she looked amiable and gentle, unlike her breathtaking and imposing aura as a teacher when he first met her.

Mo Fan followed Tangyue and arrived before a building at the center of the cross made of green tiles and red pillars. It thoroughly displayed the signature building ../style around the area.

The building was decorated with antiques. As Mo Fan went inside, not only was the table filled with aged objects, even the walls had paintings of ancient legends…

The wall paintings consisted of humans, and an ambiguous demon beast.

They also depicted a village, lakes, and some weird-looking creatures surrounding the village in a circle.

Normally, Mo Fan would not pay too much attention to stuff like this. Even if he did, he would never understand what the paintings were illustrating. However, Mo Fan understood bits of the drawings when he recalled the story that Tangyue had told him!

The ambiguous demon beast was wrapped around the village. Without taking a closer look, they looked like two sets of walls protecting the boundaries of the village… But it was actually a snake!

The snake was coiling around the village like a ring. The demon beasts were scattered around the village in a circle. They were running away, implying that they were scared of the village.

The truth was, they were not scared of the village, but the snake protecting it!

The ancient drawing did not have too much detail. Without hearing the story, one would not see the ring around the village as a snake.

“Were you telling me the truth?” Mo Fan glanced at the aged walls, before looking at Tangyue.

Tangyue nodded sternly, indicating that she was not joking.

“The snake is actually protecting your village?” asked Mo Fan in disbelief.

“Mm, that’s why we call it a god. This island is depicting the same tale, too,” said Tangyue.

Mo Fan was stunned. He recalled the shape of the island… A ring!

It turned out that this specific island on the West Lake that had existed for centuries was already a sign!

Who knew that it would be hiding such an astonishing secret? Unfortunately, his Miss Tangyue was the guardian of the secret!…

“Is that why it appeared, but didn’t destroy a single building, nor did it cause any casualties?” asked Mo Fan.

The news was already public. The Skyscraping Snake did not trample a single building, nor did it kill a single person. As a matter of fact, for a gigantic beast like it, it would have to specifically position itself to avoid trampling on the ant-like humans.

Tangyue nodded.

“The government knows about your village, and knows it’s your god, so they have decided to hide the truth?” asked Mo Fan.

Tangyue continued nodding.

“But…don’t you think…it’s…it’s…”

“It’s terrifying, and if it were to lose control, it would bring utter destruction?” Tangyue giggled.

“Mm, it’s able to appear and disappear in the busiest district without anyone noticing. I believe if it were made public, the people of Hangzhou City, or even the entire nation, would go mad. After all, your village might be familiar with your god because it’s protecting you, but the others would only be overwhelmed with fear of unknown. This fear is enough to drive people to do some crazy shit…” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was a Magician who had been through a lot recently, and it was fairly rare for him to be afraid of something.

Even he was left with a great shadow looming over his heart after seeing it, let alone the ordinary people who did too. Surely many were admitted into the hospital after for traumatic shock?”

“We’re rather confused, too. The situation seven days ago was, in fact, the first in many years. We have no idea why it would appear out of nowhere. Normally, it would only do so when it sensed a huge threat in the city. I’ve brought you here because I want to know more details from you. Yo were present when it all happened. Did you notice anything out of place, like what it was looking at…”

Mo Fan recalled the scene, but he could not remember anything out of place, because the entire situation was extremely weird to him!

If there were anything in particular, he could only think of how the snake was staring at the building he was in. It looked like it was staring at his floor, right at him.

“I feel like it was watching me,” said Mo Fan honestly.

“Are you sure?”

“Not really, its eyes were so huge. Maybe something in the building was making it feel uneasy. I couldn’t really tell,” said Mo Fan.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was wondering if it had anything to do with the Demon Element.

The power granted to him when he demonized was outstanding. If the Skyscraping Snake were a guardian, could it be that it had appeared after detecting the restless demon blood in his body, but left straight away when it realized that he did not pose any threat?

But, it still did not make any sense to Mo Fan. Even when he demonized, his strength would only be comparable to a Commander-level demon beast.

The Skyscraping Snake’s level was surely higher than the Commander-level. It was not necessary for it to show itself.

Maybe, there was, in fact, something in the building that he was in?

Tangyue fell into deep thought. She was not worried about how the Skyscraping Snake had shown itself in front of the public, but rather the reason why it had appeared!

“So, is the snake like a guardian?” asked Mo Fan in a serious voice.

“Mm. It used to look after a village, but that was thousands of years ago. Now it looks after a city, and the city is called Hangzhou,” said Tangyue.

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide. It stayed open for quite some time, as he could not find a word!

Who would have thought that such a gigantic beast that had brought such fear to the people, turned out to be the guardian of the city? It was definitely the most unbelievable secret he had come across so far!

“Why haven’t I heard of it before?” said Mo Fan.

“You must have heard of totems, right?” Tangyue went up to another wall and pointed at the painting on it.

“Totems… it sounds rather familiar. A long time ago, human tribes had their own flags, and the flags were drawn with Totem Guardian Beasts… Are you telling me that the snake is one of them?” Mo Fan immediately came to a realization.

The textbooks of his History classes did mention the term totem before. In ancient times, humans worshiped these totem beasts in exchange for the peace of their habitat. These totem beasts were not real demon beasts, nor were they Summoned beasts. They were rather a unique existence, one that did not have the lust to kill humans, but were willing to coexist, or even protect them.

Unfortunately, these Totem Beasts had only existed in legends thousands of years ago. With Magic becoming a part of humans’ daily lives, they had learned to protect themselves. They only had contact with Summoned Beasts instead of Totem Beasts…

“It’s an ancient Totem Beast. Our people have been protecting it, while it protects the city. Many of the Magic Associations are still rejecting them, as they were afraid of their overwhelming power. Besides, most of the Totem Beasts are now history, thus the remaining few will rarely show themselves. Humans no longer accept them. I believe only a few people like us are protecting the Totem Beasts,” Tangyue sighed softly.

“A Totem Guardian, I didn’t know Miss Tangyue also held such a special identity. How about your role in the Magic Court?”

“The two don’t conflict with one another. The Magic Court is well aware of its presence. By the way, the Head of the Magic Court is my eldest uncle…”

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless. It appeared that his Miss Tangyue was even more extraordinary than he thought. Putting her identity of a Totem Guardian aside, her identity as the niece of the Head of the Magic Court was enough for every renowned family, association or the military to treat her with due respect.

“On that note, why were you at Bo City?” Mo Fan recalled an important question.

With her rather formidable background, it did not make sense to send her to a small place like Bo City.

“It’s because there might have been a group of Totem Guardians like us hiding in Bo City, too,” said Tangyue.

A thought crossed Mo Fan’s mind when he heard the words.

If he remembered correctly… Xinxia did mention to him that the people of Bo City were the descendants of some guardians appointed by an ancient emperor. But, weren’t they protecting the Underground Holy Spring? Why would the Underground Holy Spring have anything to do with the Totem Beasts?

“So does that mean, the Black Vatican didn’t choose Bo City as the victim of their calamity randomly just to get their revenge from the society?” Mo Fan finally grasped the true intention behind the Black Vatican’s attack.

“We did suspect that they were targeting the Totem Beast that had been lost, but we eventually found out their other goals… unfortunately, I wasn’t told to keep going with the investigation.”

{Ed. Note: Google it}

Mo Fan fell into deep thought.

Zhan Kong had decided not to reveal to the public that he was still alive, as a precaution against the Black Vatican.

However, if the Black Vatican were trying hard to get rid of him, it would only be a matter of time until they found out the truth.

Mo Fan was bewildered. What did those assholes from the Black Vatican want? Was it the Underground Holy Spring, or the secret of the Totem Beast?

Having this thought, Mo Fan discovered a lovely painting on the wall. It had a gigantic snake that was tall enough to reach the roughly drawn layer of clouds…

Under the gigantic snake was a little creature. It was tiny like an earthworm comparing to the snake. Mo Fan could not help but crack out, “So, this Skyscraping Snake has a little baby, too. It looks rather cute.”

Tangyue followed his finger and said with a smile, “The baby you’re mentioning is the Skyscraping Snake itself.”

“F**k me, what is the thing above it then?” Mo Fan almost wet his pants.

The Skyscraping Snake definitely had the most shocking size that Mo Fan had ever seen before. If it were cloudy, it could easily connect the ground to the sky.

Meanwhile, in the wall painting, the snake in it was more than ten times bigger! Wouldn’t it be shrouding the Heavens!?

“I don’t know either. It was drawn by people in ancient times. Maybe it’s just a wild imagination, that there exists some god that the Skyscraping Snake worships. It lives up above in the sky, and its size is even crazier…” answered Tangyue.

Even their tribe possessed lots of the ancient legends that they could not explain today. After all, it was rather common for the knowledge being passed on to be lost somewhere.

Mo Fan also agreed that it was a mere imagination. Otherwise, if such a gigantic beast were real, he should go to Mars instead. Earth was too dangerous for him.

—-

Suddenly, he heard a deep roar that could penetrate into one’s soul, extremely close to the lake!

Mo Fan began to tremble. He stared at his Miss Tangyue in disbelief.

“Dont…don’t tell me… it’s right here!” Mo Fan’s expression became weird.

Mo Fan now believed Tangyue’s words. Things like totem beasts were discussed in their History textbooks. However, whenever Mo Fan recalled how it could appear out of nowhere, he could still remember the overwhelming fear. The next thing he knew, he was soaked in cold sweat.

“Mm, it’s right there.” Tangyue pointed outside.

“Miss Tangyue, why don’t we discuss this somewhere else, let’s go to your place,” said Mo Fan.

“Hehe, you don’t need to be so scared of it, it doesn’t bite. Should I bring you closer so you can befriend it?” Tangyue could not stop giggling.

“No, no thanks. I’ll let you worship your own god. I’m an outsider, I’m sure that your god doesn’t like my accent,” said Mo Fan sternly.

“Alright, I had my fun. It indeed lives here at the West Lake, but you won’t find it even if you dug three meters deep into the bottom,” said Tangyue.

“Why is that?”

“It has been hibernating in the seal of the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, but probably around the time when the Black Vatican went to Shanghai to trouble you, the seal of the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon became unstable, allowing it to appear in Hangzhou or the lake as it wished.” Tangyue brought Mo Fan out to a place where they could see the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon.

With a glance, Mo Fan could see three stone statues that looked like cauldrons standing on the surface of the water. It was likely that they were supported by extremely long beams under the water.

They were positioned in a special triangular formation, with equal distance between them. The cauldrons had a small flame flickering inside them, which appeared as a reflection on the surface of the water.

“It has the Eyes of Terror, which plant a Seed of Terror in living things that are weaker than it. The seed will grow deep within the soul, and the prey won’t know that it has grown into a giant tree. When the prey sees the snake again, it will drop to its knees subconsciously, overwhelmed with fear. Its prey would not have the courage to oppose it,” Tangyue explained his condition to him.

“I think so too. Only a woman like Miss Tangyue is able to stop me from sleeping. Any other demon beast won’t be able to do that,” Mo Fan chuckled to pretend that he was relaxed.

“Smooth tongue!” Tangyue rolled her eyes at Mo Fan.

Tangyue had taught Mo Fan the way to overcome the fear. It was fairly simple. As he meditated, when the snake’s face appeared, he would have to insist on staring at it without altering his gaze. As long as he overcame the fear once, the Seed of Fear would no longer sprout. Otherwise, he would be trapped in the nightmare forever, losing his inner peace.

—

Mo Fan went off to make his attempt. It sounded fairly simple from Tangyue’s explanation, but it was not the case when trying to do it. Even though he was only confronting the fear in his Spiritual World, he was still soaked with cold sweat.

However, the effect was instantaneous. The fear soon disappeared, just like the sweat that had evaporated on the wind.

As the fear disappeared, Mo Fan felt like paying the so-called ‘god’ a visit now.

On second thought, he decided not to take the risk. Maybe it was actually not fond of outsiders. It would be a disaster to him if it ended up implanting some spiritual haze in his soul.

—

“I thought I could find out the reason why it showed itself in the city from you, so we could take some precautions. It turned out that you’re as lost as we are, ” said Tangyue as she was taking a walk.

“Please, I don’t think I can be any help for things at that level,” said Mo Fan.

“Why, don’t you want to help me?” Tangyue blinked her eyes.

“It’s not that I don’t want… wait, since when did I say I’m helping you?” Mo Fan was startled.

“When you agreed to come. I tell you the secret, and you’ll help me with something that has been a headache to me for quite some time.” Tangyue opened her eyes wide. It was a mature, glamorous face, but yet she pretended to be naive.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless.

As a matter of fact, he felt like he was being tricked here! It felt like Tangyue was already planning her trick when she asked him here and decided to tell him the secret…

“Tell me then, what is it that you need?” asked Mo Fan with a wry smile.

“The god needs to go through ecdysis every ten years, and the next cycle will be happening fairly soon. The Head of the Magic Court and Heiyu has made me responsible for it, and asked me to choose a few outstanding candidates. During the ecdysis, the god will be extremely weak. It’s the only weakness that the god has, thus its natural enemy or those with evil thoughts will try to make use of this opportunity to target it. Prior to the ecdysis, it will be fairly sensitive. It will go berserk as long as it detects a slight threat, which is the main reason why it appeared in the center of the city. Normally, if we don’t open the seal, it wouldn’t show itself,” said Tangyue.

============

Ed. Note : We’ll skip over the scene where Mo Fan pulls out his phone to look up what ecdysis is, too.

“So what does it…” Mo Fan was trying to say, what did he have anything to do with it?

“Frankly speaking, we suspect that someone in our tribe is colluding with the enemies. Therefore, no matter how secretive we are being, there’s still a chance that the enemy will know about our plan. I’ve proposed to the Head of the Magic Court that we’ll be using some outsider that we could trust,” said Tangyue.

“So I’m the outsider that you could trust?” Mo Fan pointed at his nose with a blank face. Why did he even bother calling Tangyue in the first place? If he didn’t he wouldn’t be in this mess right now.

Tangyue let out a charming smile. Her glamorous eyes were staring right at Mo Fan.

I was just having a headache trying to think about what to do when you’ve volunteered yourself. I’m more than happy to take you onboard!

Mo Fan felt that Tangyue’s current look was like a seductive snake hissing at him, as if she would eat him alive anytime.

“I trust you, hence why I’m willing to tell you the secret. Besides, you’re not one of us, neither are you bound to any organization. A decently clean background. In addition to that, you’re smart, you know how to react swiftly to the situation. I believe that you would surely be a great help to your teacher!” Tangyue was so happy that she felt like giving Mo Fan a kiss on his cheeks.

She had been troubled by the matter for quite some time.

The ecdysis every ten years was extremely important. Other people might think that the existence of the god would pose a great threat to mankind, but after succeeding the role of a guardian and getting along with the god for so many years, Tangyue had more confidence than anyone else that it was truly a guardian that cared about the city more than the humans living in it.

Humans built the city, the city nurtured the god, and the god protected the humans, while the humans worshiped the god. If the humans could interact with the god like her, they would know how gentle and kind the god was.

Tangyue was one of the rare ones in the tribe that could communicate with the god. Knowing that the god would be fairly hot-tempered during his ecdysis, and would be extremely hostile toward powerful humans or living things, that the Head of the Magic Court and Heiyu had decided to place her in charge of the important task.

The tribe had many experts, but none of them had the chance to interact with the god on a daily basis.

Besides, since the god was rather hot-tempered during his ecdysis, it was better not to let the experts appear close to him. She was surely the best candidate for the job.

It was a heavy task, and yet they had learned from reliable sources that there was a traitor in their tribe. It further increased the weight on Tangyue’s shoulders.

Coincidentally, Mo Fan had somehow found her. To avoid leaking the information about where the god would be placed during his ecdysis, Mo Fan was the best person to be entrusted with the protection task.

Therefore, Tangyue had told Mo Fan the secret straight away after receiving his call. In other words, she was trying to drag him onboard!

In terms of the people she could trust, Mo Fan was definitely one of them.

“Don’t forget, you still owe me a favor,” Tangyue said with squinted eyes.

“I saved your life.”

“Humph, you’ve already taken advantage of me!” said Tangyue with a blush.

“Wasn’t the favor about a mere Stardust Magic Tool, I’ll give you two in return.” Mo Fan was now a rich guy, too.

“That was before!” Tangyue blurted out. How unreliable could this man be, he even promised it himself!

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was cursing in his heart, trying to find an explanation for how he ended up in such a great mess.

“Allow me to consider,” said Mo Fan.

“Alright.” Tangyue did not force him. After all, it was not just a small favor to ask. “If you’re not willing, please forget what I’ve told you. It’s better that fewer people know about the existence of the god.”

The god was not accepted by the people. He would bring extreme fear to them. The government and Enforcement Union here in Hangzhou might be willing to protect the succession of the ancient totem beasts, but it did not imply that the greater authority governing the nation would allow it.

The god’s recent appearance in the city had already attracted the attention of the people from the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Magic Palace. They were expecting lots of Magicians to come visit them and ask them questions. If they insisted on executing the god, he would not even stand a chance during the ecdysis.

Tangyue bit her lips. Her eyes were fixated on the burning cauldrons on the surface of the water that had existed for a very long time.

She only hoped the god could survive the incoming crisis.

“You look like you really care a lot about it?” asked Mo Fan when he saw Tangyue praying for the Skyscraping Snake.

“A long time ago, my father died in a war against the demon beasts. I was living here alone at a very young age. Once, I went to the Lingyin Mountain for a little adventure, and stumbled into a beast with sharp fangs that had deserted its tribe. There wasn’t anyone nearby, and the beast was starving. I thought I would die there, but after a very long time, when I opened my eyes, I realized that the beast was running away in fear. I turned around and glanced at the West Lake in the dark from the mountain. As the moonlight shone upon it, a gigantic snake shadow faintly appeared… It was my first time seeing it.” Tangyue’s lips curled slightly upward before she continued, “It was incredibly huge, but I wasn’t afraid. It was more like an elder living next door, watching me grow up. As long as I’m here at the West Lake, it will protect me.”

Mo Fan did not interrupt as he saw Tangyue telling the tale with a stern look.

The reason why humans needed a home was so they could just be themselves, without worrying about anything once they stepped into the door.

Most of the kids had grown up peacefully under the protection of their parent and elders. For Tangyue, the Skyscraping Snake that had brought terror to the humans of the city had played that important role in her life. It was quite extraordinary.

“I heard that the skin after the ecdysis is a great material for forging outstanding armor. If I help, you will give me a piece of that guy’s skin in return,” said Mo Fan.

With the Skyscraping Snake’s size, its skin was more than enough to forge thousands of pieces of armor. However, the material had to be refined before it could be forged into a piece of equipment. Rather than the size, the extraordinary power that the bones, blood, skin or flesh of a demon beast contained mattered more. Therefore, even if it were only enough to forge a few dozen sets of armor, he was not demanding too much to take one of them.

“So that’s what you are thinking of, humph!” Tangyue harrumphed.

“Not entirely, since you’ve told me that he is like your elder, then he’s an elder to me, too, as we’re one family. There’s no way I would be a bystander,” replied Mo Fan in a stern tone.

“Who told you that we’re one family, do you have any shame!” Tangyue blushed.

Mo Fan burst into laughter when he saw his Miss Tangyue feeling embarrassed.

Tangyue quickened her pace in a fit of pique. She had no intention to speak any further to her bad student. As a way to conceal her embarrassment, she took out her phone, pretending to be checking the news.

However, the embarrassment on her face quickly dissipated. Her face was now flushing red with anger as her eyes stared right on her phone’s screen.

“Ridiculous, this is ridiculous!” Tangyue yelled furiously.

“What is it?”

“They are setting up a plot to frame the big guy…” Tangyue handed her phone to Mo Fan, which was showing the latest news.

“We’ve found casualties from the incident with the giant snake. The two Hunters were thoroughly corroded by some poison, destroying their appearance beyond recognition. No one was able to tell they were human corpses, but their identities have just been verified. It was confirmed that they had died to the snake’s poison after it appeared,” Mo Fan read the news out loud.

Mo Fan was confused, looking at the news. Didn’t they already release an official statement saying that no one had died in the incident? Why would they suddenly find two casualties, after such a long time?

“It’s a frame-up, someone is trying to make false charges against the Skyscraping Snake!” Tangyue’s face turned furiously red.

“Why would you assume that it’s a setup… Miss Tangyue, your phone is ringing,” said Mo Fan.

Tangyue received the call with a frown. From her stern expression, the call was probably from her superior.

“Come with me.” Tangyue hung up the phone and dragged Mo Fan to the boat.

“Where are we going?”

“The Enforcement Union’s meeting room.”

——

Following Tangyue, Mo Fan arrived with her at Hangzhou’s Magic Association Building.

They took the elevator straight up to the highest floor. It was a meeting room with a clear, spectacular view over the entire city.

The entrance of the room was guarded by a group of men in uniforms. Each of them possessed rather outstanding cultivation. Mo Fan could not help but exclaim in his heart, as the guards defending the entrance were all Advanced Magicians!

They waited for a short time outside of the room before a man with black long hair came out. His eagle-like eyes glanced at Tangyue, then at Mo Fan.

“My student, Mo Fan,” introduced Tangyue.

The man nodded slightly before inviting the two into the room with a gesture.

The room consisted of a standard, huge round table. Several appropriately-dressed men and women were seated across the table. There were seven or eight of them.

The remaining twenty-some people stood at the side. They were all from the Magic Court, judging from their outfits.

Those outside of the room were already Advanced Magicians, but the ones in the room were even more shocking. Was there anyone on the same level as him?

These people were the authoritative figures among Magicians!

Mo Fan could recall the man with the long black hair. He was the one standing on the silver skyscraper while staring the Skyscraping Snake in the eyes. His strength significantly outmatched Zhan Kong’s, but even he was standing on the side instead of sitting down.

“He’s my eldest Senior Brother, Heiyu. He’s also the Vice Head of the Magic Court, ” said Tangyue in a soft tone to Mo Fan, who was standing beside her.

Mo Fan nodded. He was just trying to figure out what level the man’s cultivation was, when a middle-aged man with a thick beard slammed his hand hard on the table and snapped, “There are people dying, and yet you’re still protecting that poisonous snake! The Magic Palace didn’t send me here to negotiate. I’m here to eliminate the threat in the West Lake, returning peace to Hangzhou. You better hand over the Skyscraping Snake to us!”

Tangyue glared at the man while cursing under her breath.

Mo Fan whispered when he saw her teacher on the verge of losing her temper, “Who’s that?”

“Zhu Meng, a senator of the Enforcement Union,” said Tangyue, while clenching her teeth.

“It seems like he has been getting on your nerves?” said Mo Fan.

Tangyue told Mo Fan the entire sequence of events without holding any information back.

It turned out that the Enforcement Union was well aware of the existence of the Skyscraping Snake. The governing body in Hangzhou tacitly consented to the Totem Tribe inheriting their succession. However, a whole faction in the Magic Palace, under Zhu Meng’s lead, greatly opposed it.

Zhu Meng’s faction in the Magic Association and the Enforcement Union was an untiring advocate of eliminating hidden threats. They proposed that everything that could possibly bring disasters to cities or mankind be eliminated at all cost.

As a result, the totem beast living in West Lake was treated as the highest priority to be eliminated in Zhu Meng’s faction. They had always kept an eye on the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, and tirelessly proposed to the highest authorities to eliminate the threat of the city. Frankly speaking, they would not allow the snake to stay inside the city, as no one knew when it would be enraged and bring a great disaster to Hangzhou City.

Zhu Meng’s proposal had earned support from many senators, thus there was already an operation being planned to eliminate the threat. However, some of the old members strongly advocated that the Totem Beast was considered a great magical heritage of their nation since ancient times. Furthermore, the Skyscraping Snake had yet to harm anyone’s life, thus as long as Hangzhou’s government did not request an order of expulsion, they had no right to chase the Skyscraping Snake away from West Lake.

“In simple words, this Zhu Meng is your god’s greatest enemy,” Mo Fan whispered back, as he glanced at the man with the beard.

“Mm, he has come straight here to make a punitive charge against us just when the casualties were found… as if he had been waiting long enough,” said Tangyue.

“But, why are you so confident that the Skyscraping Snake is being framed?” Mo Fan was confused.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan did agree that it was too dangerous to let such a gigantic beast reside in the city. If Tangyue had not told him about the inheritance of their tribe, he would actually lean toward Zhu Meng’s proposal.

“The big guy is poisonous, but he doesn’t spread it randomly, nor would he use it against humans. If he were releasing his poison, you won’t find a single thing alive in the vicinity of West Lake. A week ago, we sent someone to investigate. The place where he appeared was a construction area where a skyscraper is being built. No one was there when it appeared. Its gigantic size didn’t even crush anyone there, let alone poisoning anyone!” Tangyue blurted out angrily.

Tangyue was more familiar with the Skyscraping Snake than anyone else. He would never kill without a reason, especially humans that worshiped him.

The Skyscraping Snake was definitely not responsible for the corpses that were found a week later!

“Most importantly, the Skyscraping Snake excretes a fluid that helps with his ecdysis during this period, thus it wouldn’t be poisonous throughout this period. Therefore, someone must have framed up the big guy with the two corpses that had appeared out of nowhere.” Tangyue was extremely confident.

“I see,” Mo Fan nodded.

The Skyscraping Snake was not poisonous during the ecdysis, but two people had been killed by poison. Mo Fan did not think that Tangyue would come up with a lie that could be validated very easily.

It turned out that someone was indeed purposely framing up the Skyscraping Snake.

Meanwhile, the incident that had lost the public’s attention was revived once again due to the casualties. Many people demanded the government to explain themselves. Some even accused the government of hiding the truth.

“So, you think he’s behind it?” Mo Fan glanced at the senator called Zhu Meng and whispered.

“It must be him!” said Tangyue confidently.

The Skyscraping Snake was considered a huge thorn in Zhu Meng’s eyes, as its existence alone was a great slap to his face. He had earned his reputation solely from championing his threat-elimination strategy!

“Relax, Senator Zhu Meng, I believe that you’re well aware of the Skyscraping Snake’s capabilities. The situation would be a lot worse if you were to trouble him with such a strong murderous intent. We have to take it slowly,” said an aged elder of the Magic Court with a smile.

“Enough with the nonsense, you won’t be able to make excuses for him this time!” Zhu Meng demanded.

“Make excuses, why would we need to do that? The Black Totem Snake has been living in this city for God knows how many years. It’s his habitat. I seriously don’t understand what right we have to drive him away?” An elder who was obviously on the side of protecting the Totem Beast said in a righteous tone.

“It’s your Totem. It has nothing to do with us. All I care about is whether this beast will pose a threat to us!” said Zhu Meng.

“I think you’re not worried about the Black Totem Snake disrupting peace. You’re just concerned that as long as he’s still here, your threat-elimination strategy would never be in full swing, thus it won’t be able to get you more supporters, which means you will never become the President of the Magic Palace!”

Zhu Meng glanced at the old man with a goatee and burst out laughing.

The elder with the goatee harrumphed coldly in return. No one in the meeting dared to offend this senator from the Enforcement Union, but he, Luo Mian, was never afraid of him.

Luo Mian was also a senator himself, but he would never allow the Black Totem Snake to be sacrificed as a stepping stone for someone pursuing power!

“I’ll make this clear, Senator Luo Mian. The demon god that they worshipped is harming humans. If you think I’m purposely picking on him, go ahead and try calming the public after the terror that arose recently. Comfort the people living in this city. I bet you can publicly admit that you’re worshipping a gigantic snake, and see what they would think!” said Zhu Meng.

The guardian of the Totem Beast, Tangyue finally ran out of patience and blurted out, “The Black Totem Snake would never harm anyone. How do you prove that the two corpses were his doing?”

“Where did this brat come from? Do you have the right to speak here!” a Palace Guard standing beside Senator Zhu Meng snapped.

Zhu Meng cast a glance at Tangyue and immediately recognized her. He waved his hand, signaling the Royal Guard to stand down.

“Everything has to come with the evidence. Don’t you think it’s hilarious accusing the Black Totem Snake for the deaths of two random corpses you found?” snapped Tangyue.

“Tangyue, enough with that, back off.” The Head of the Magic Court, Tang Zhong rose to his feet and glanced at Zhu Meng, “My niece is right. The accusation needs to be backed up with evidence. If our Totem Beast truly wants to kill, I don’t think he would leave the corpses behind, either. Why would there be two rotten corpses that were only discovered a week after the incident… Or maybe you think you can treat us like retards and just falsely accuse our Totem Beast of being responsible for the deaths of the two corpses!”

“That’s right, we have to investigate the matter further,” said a mediator.

“Investigations aren’t my specialty. My job is to eliminate any possible threats. The fact that he had shown himself in the busy city is enough to list him as our highest priority target. You have two days to hand over the Black Totem Snake, or I’ll deal with him myself!” Zhu Meng pointed with two fingers in a fairly strong attitude.

“You’re unbelievable. Stop using your bullshit threat-elimination strategy to condemn our Totem Beast!” the old man with the goatee roared furiously.

“I’m a senator. I have the highest authority granted by the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Magic Palace. Now, if I say he’s a threat, he is a threat!” Zhu Meng had no intention to waste his time further with the stubborn people defending their Totem Beast.

The Black Totem Snake had posed a threat to the city with its sudden appearance. There were casualties being discovered. The people would demand an explanation from the government. Be it a decree or the will of the people, the Black Totem Snake would be eliminated!

—

Zhu Meng brought his Royal Guards and left, leaving the room of people speechless.

Those who were neutral and leaning toward the Oriental Pearl Tower and Magic Palace took their leave.

The outcome was basically decided. Zhu Meng had come with a strong statement and evidence. The Black Totem Snake would not be able to escape this time.

Most of the people attending the meeting had left, with only the Head of the Magic Court, Tang Zhong; the old man with the goatee, Luo Mian; the man with the long black hair, Heiyu; Tangyue, and Mo Fan left.

“I didn’t expect it to turn out like this, when we’ve been extremely cautious protecting it,” Tang Zhong sighed. He looked rather tired.

“What should we do now? Zhu Meng is resolved to deal with the Totem Beast. He has the upper hand this time. Even if we were to submit a written statement to a higher authority, we won’t be able to calm the crowd,” said Heiyu.

“I think that Zhu Meng is just trying to act tough. If he wants to take on the Totem Beast, just let him do it. If he could outmatch the Black Totem Snake, he would have already done so ages ago, why would he wait until today… he’s just scared of the Totem Beast’s strength,” said Senator Luo Mian, while stroking his goatee.

“Senator Luo, you might not know this… the Totem Beast undergoes ecdysis every ten years. He only showed himself in the city because he is rather hot-tempered during this period. His strength would be significantly weaker during ecdysis,” said Tang Zhong.

“Are you implying that he will be having his ecdysis soon?” Luo Mian was stunned.

“Absolutely.”

“That’s troublesome. This Zhu Meng knew how to pick the right time…”

“We think there’s a traitor among us,” said Heiyu in a soft voice.

It was too much of a coincidence. Zhu Meng had been demanding because he was well prepared.

It was most likely that the traitor had told Zhu Meng about the ecdysis.

“Tangyue, I want you to bring the Totem Beast away in advance, and find a safe place for him to finish his ecdysis,” said Tang Zhong.

“Mm, got it,” Tangyue nodded.

“I’ll be responsible for their safety, then,” said Heiyu.

Tang Zhong shook his head and said, “The Totem Beast is very sensitive during this period. He will be hostile toward any Commander-level demon beast or Advanced Magicians within twenty li of him. Tang Zhong is the only person he will allow within this distance…”

Tang Zhong specifically glanced at Mo Fan and immediately saw his cultivation without asking. “This young Magician isn’t Advanced Level yet, so it shouldn’t be a problem for him.”

“Him? How could we let an outsider be in charge of something so important? Besides, would an Intermediate Magician be any use to us? The Royal Guards that Zhu Meng brought are all experts.” Heiyu immediately opposed the suggestion.

“Heiyu, you’re wrong about that. This young Magician might actually be a great use to us,” stated Tang Zhong.

Mo Fan, naturally, was utterly confused as he listened to the conversation.

After leaving the meeting room, Mo Fan and Tangyue headed straight to the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon.

This time, Tangyue brought an extra black orb with her. Tang Zhong called it the Totem Orb, a special container to keep a Totem Beast in it.

The Totem Orb was extremely spacious inside. It was more than enough to provide the Skyscraping Snake with a temporary habitat.

The Totem Orb was, in fact, a type of Space Container, but most of them were not able to contain a living creature inside. The Totem Orb was modified with plenty of life energy, which was sufficient for the Skyscraping Snake to stay inside it.

If the life energy was depleted, the Totem Beast would be forced to come out from the orb. Otherwise, it would suffocate inside it.

Zhu Meng did not know a thing like the Totem Orb existed in this world. They were organizing people to annihilate the beast, and had most of their surveillance on Tang Zhong and the experts under him. Little did he know, Tang Zhong had already come up with a plan. Tangyue and Mo Fan would use the Totem Orb to move the Skyscraping Snake secretly!

If Zhu Meng was only planning to drive the Black Totem Snake away, things would not be so complicated, but the truth was, he was trying to eliminate the snake once and for all…

There was no way he would allow a beast that had a close bond with the city to live. Maybe it would return with a beast horde someday!

The weeds would have to be uprooted to fully kill them. Tang Zhong knew that Zhu Meng was trying to take advantage of the Totem Beast’s ecdysis to kill it!

Therefore, he had to let Tangyue bring the Totem Beast away.

Once the ecdysis finished, Zhu Meng would not dare to touch the Totem Beast even if he were given ten sets of guts.

——

“Big guy, that Zhu Meng is trying to harm you again. I’ll bring you away now, somewhere safe where you can rest up… big guy, can you hear me?” Tangyue jumped to a spot on the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon and called out softly.

Mo Fan was waiting at the island. As a matter of fact, he was still a little bit scared of the Black Totem Snake.

The water began to bubble. The sight of it was enough to tell how enormous the surfacing thing was.

A shocking black shadow slowly surfaced from the silver lake under the illumination of the moonlight. Mo Fan could not believe that the small section of the lake was able to hold such a massive creature.

Could it be that the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon actually had a different space inside it?

The shadow became clearer and slowly rose from the water.

The giant snake head finally appeared. His scaly body was glowing slightly under the moonlight…

Tangyue wore a smile when she saw the Black Totem Snake. She did not show a single hint of fear. She even reached out her hand and fondled the Black Totem Snake’s head.

The Black Totem Snake’s head was the size of a big house. His flat nostrils were the size of a small cave, while his mouth was even bigger. His long tongue was terrifying enough to make someone wet their pants.

Tangyue was absolutely daring. She even jumped onto the Black Totem Snake’s head and started talking to him.

The mature, sexy Miss Tangyue had turned into a cheerful little girl full of energy when the Black Totem Snake appeared.

“He’s my student, a disobedient and bad student. His name is Mo Fan.” Tangyue stood on the Black Totem Snake’s head and pointed in Mo Fan’s direction.

The Black Totem Snake turned slightly. His lantern-sized eyes stared right at Mo Fan as his tongue poked out in Mo Fan’ direction. Its length was fairly stunning.

“Mo Fan, he seems to remember you!” Tangyue giggled when he saw Mo Fan retreating.

“Sis… nope, Madam, can we please get on with our business,” Mo Fan answered with a long face.

“Relax, I have to communicate with him slowly. He’s very sensitive during this time. Even I have to spend some time communicating with him,” said Tangyue.

“Ok, fine, go on,” said Mo Fan.

——

The moonlight was bright as usual. The blue-silver glow shone upon the sacred lake, resulting in a spectacular scene that night.

Under the moonlight, a glamorous woman was sitting on a giant creature’s head, her curly hair slightly disheveled. Her stunning physique was even more attractive under the moonlight. She was speaking softly, like a youth telling their elder about the things that had happened in their daily lives, while the later listened quietly.

The Skyscraping Snake was different from the one that had brought great fear to the people. He was only revealing half of his giant head in front of Tangyue. When Tangyue paused, his lantern eyes would roll upward slightly, as if he were waiting for her to continue the tale…

Mo Fan was astounded by the sight in front of him and could somehow imagine the picture of Tangyue chatting happily with the Skyscraping Snake when she was still little!

Growing up accompanied by such an extraordinary elder would surely drive away the loneliness and fear of a little girl who had lost her father.

“Alright, he agreed,” Tangyue yelled at Mo Fan with a peaceful gesture.

“Sister Fahai, please capture the creature at once,” prayed Mo Fan.

Tangyue could not hear Mo Fan’s mumbling properly. She proceeded to direct the Black Totem Snake into the Totem Orb.

The Totem Orb was already filled with the presence of a Totem Beast, so the Skyscraping Snake did not reject it. However, Mo Fan was fairly interested to see how such a gigantic creature was going to enter the tiny orb…

Speaking of which, the Skyscraping Snake was not as huge as he used to be when they first met. Why was that?

“It shrinks during the ecdysis,” explained Tangyue to Mo Fan.

“Oh, so will it turn into a little snake?” he asked, mainly because he was still unable to accept the Skyscraping Snake’s unbelievable size. Even the Xuanwu Giant Lizard would be extremely tiny standing in front of the Black Totem Snake, let alone the Centipede!

“Possibly!”

“I can’t even imagine it. Forget it, hurry up and capture him, so we can get the hell out of here,” urged Mo Fan.

Huh, so I’m running away with a girl again?

But, seems like it’s way more exciting this time, not because he was bringing a woman instead of a little girl, but rather because he was escorting a skyscraping Snake Boss!

Should he change the background music to The Beautiful Scenery of West Lake , or A Day in March ?

========================

{TL Note: These are soundtracks from the TV Series “New Legend of Madame White Snake”
The Beautiful Scenery of West Lake: https://www.bilibili.com/video/av20624408/
A Day in March: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGtWjf9mRp0 }

“Hello, Xinxia, your brother I will be going away for some time. Please take care of yourself…” Mo Fan gave Xinxia a call after Tangyue had finished convincing the Snake Boss.

“Alright, you should take care, too.” Xinxia’s tone had with a hint of worry.

“Don’t worry… are you at your apartment? Why is it so noisy in the background?” Mo Fan asked when he heard some girls’ panicked voice from the other end.

“I’m at the student lodge. Some students had contracted a strange disease. I’m healing them. However, the Healing Magic seems to be ineffective against the disease. There have been quite a number of students falling sick to the disease recently. Furthermore, the school is quarantining the patients, too,” said Xinxia.

Xinxia was a student of the School of Healing, thus she would occasionally help the school out when required.

“Do be careful, a strange disease like that is always contagious,” advised Mo Fan.

“Mm!”

After hanging up the call, Mo Fan realized that Tangyue had already stored the Skyscraping Snake inside the Totem Orb. The Totem Orb initially had a blue-yellow glow, but it now had turned blue-black in color. He could faintly see something wriggling inside the orb.

“It actually fits?” Mo Fan glanced at the Totem Orb curiously and rolled it between his fingers.

“Now isn’t the time to play, we have to get out of here. Zhu Meng’s people will seal this place off soon,” said Tangyue.

Mo Fan nodded. They left the island with the boat, and headed straight to the west of Hangzhou City.

——-

Tangyue had already come up with an escape path. She was planning to bring the Skyscraping Snake to a place called the White Town, close to the boundary of the safe zone.

The White Town was far to the west of Hangzhou. It was a fair distance away from the city. The White Mountain close to White City had a concealed cave. Only the head of the tribe of the Totem Guardians protecting the Totem Beast knew about the cave, as it was used as the last resort to protect the Totem Beast.

The journey to White Mountain was neither too long nor too short, and Mo Fan’s job was to escort Tangyue and the Skyscraping Snake to the White Mountain Thousand Caves.

The White Mountain Thousand Caves consisted of interconnected caves and mountains. The entire area had yet to be explored. It was the perfect place to hide the Skyscraping Snake. It would not even matter if Zhu Meng’s people managed to find the entrance of the cave, as the maze-like caves would totally confuse them inside.

“Alright, let’s go!”

“Time to head out!”

The two took advantage of the night time and silently left Hangzhou City with the Skyscraping Snake. They headed straight west from the city.

——

Inside the elegant pavilion of a villa, Zhu Meng furiously smashed the expensive teacup in his hand. He was infuriated seeing his subordinates with their heads lowered as they stood in front of him.

“Useless fools! Are you telling me that gigantic snake just vanished into thin air like that? I asked you to keep an eye on the whole tribe of Totem Guardians, and what were you actually doing?” roared Zhu Meng scathingly, pointing his finger at the people.

“Councilman, please have mercy. We did follow your order and keep every important member of the Totem Tribe under surveillance, but we didn’t expect they would leave a girl called Tangyue in charge of the Black Totem Snake. Her strength isn’t too outstanding in their tribe, so we didn’t send someone after her in time…” said Wu Pingjing, the Head of the Royal Guards.

“This Tangyue dares to oppose me when she’s a member of the Magic Court. Send out a warrant after her! If the Enforcement Union in Hangzhou says anything, have them all arrested!” snapped Zhu Meng.

He did not expect his plan would be disrupted by an insignificant woman.

“Coucilman Zhu, stop blaming your people.” An old man wearing a classic embroidered gown walked into the pavilion with a teapot. His goatee was swaying slightly with his movements.

The Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing was startled. He stared blankly at Councilman Luo, who was known for going against Councilman Zhu. He could not understand why he would appear in Councilman Zhu’s mansion.

“Wu Pingjing, you’re still too naive. You’re still treating everything as black and white…” Luo Mian said in an elderly manner, while fondling his beard.

“Councilman Luo Mian is one of the supporters of my proposal to eliminate Hangzhou’s potential threat. However, considering his influence in Hangzhou’s Enforcement Union, he doesn’t want to fall out with the people of the Totem Tribe,” explained Zhu Meng.

Wu Pingjing opened his mouth wide. He felt like saying something, but he could not find the words.

The relationship between the Councilmen was too complicated. They were strongly arguing with one another during the meeting, thus even Wu Pingjing had assumed that Luo Mian was on the other side. Who knew that he had already colluded with Councilman Zhu Meng?

Did this mean the news about the Black Totem Snake’s ecdysis had come from Councilman Luo and his subordinates?

“As a matter of fact, after the meeting yesterday, I already knew that girl Tangyue would be taking the Black Totem Snake. Unfortunately, the Head of the Magic Court, Tang Zhong seems to be suspicious toward me, and dragged me with him to play chess all night,” Luo Mian smiled.

“Enough with the nonsense, I’ve asked you here to tell us the truth. I’ve already sent out my people to keep an eye on the beast, and yet I still don’t understand how she managed to sneak past us without us noticing,” said Zhu Meng.

Wu Pingjing nodded too.

The same question had greatly bothered him too. To be on the safe side, not only did he send people to spy on Tang Zhong, Heiyu, and the people of the Totem Tribe, they had also set up a perimeter around West Lake. Tangyue was barely an Advanced Magician. It would be impossible for her to escape without alerting their people.

“I have just learned from my subordinate, too. Although the Black Totem Snake’s strength will significantly decrease during the ecdysis, his senses are actually sharper. Any Commander-level demon beast or Advanced Magicians who comes within twenty kilometers of the creature will be detected. It’s an important measure to keep himself safe, as it allows him to quickly detect any potential threat and escape from his enemies. That Tangyue must have used his ability to sneak past your people, ” said Luo Mian.

Zhu Meng raised his brows in astonishment.

The Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing also raised his head with a surprised look.

“The Black Totem Snake is considered fairly strong even among the Ruler-level creatures. How could he not possess any outstanding capabilities? Therefore, the number of people you’re sending after them won’t make a difference. The Black Totem Snake will easily sense their presence,” added Luo Mian.

“So you’re implying…” said Zhu Meng.

“The Magic Court has lots of interns. You can send them instead. Just keep them busy instead of trying to capture them, and wait until your Royal Guards arrive. That Tangyue would have no chance of escaping from us!” Luo Mian fondled his goatee, as if he had already thought of a plan long ago.

Zhu Meng fondled his thick beard.

The truth was, it was not his first affair with the Black Totem Snake. He was well aware of its outstanding senses. Since his Royal Guards were unable to track the Totem down, it was indeed a better idea to send the interns after him.

The Magic Courts had quite a number of interns, and not only interns, but those who were on probation before officially joining the Magic Courts, too.

He would not believe that a group of elites was not enough to handle Tangyue, who had just become a member of the Magic Courts!

“Go, get every single person that’s available and make sure you bring them back here,” ordered Zhu Meng.

The Royal Guards saluted before proceeding with the order. They began to arrange every intern and those that were on probation.

——

In Zhejiang Institute’s campus, located in Jinxi, a man yelled out in excitement in the student lodge, “Brother, are you serious about that?!”

“How could I lie to you? This operation can only be done by interns and people on probation. I immediately listed your name when I heard the news from my superior…” a rough voice said on the other end.

“Thank you so much, I’ve always wanted to join the Magic Courts! Even if I’m only considered on probation now, it would still give me a great advantage competing for a spot on the main campus,” Liu Yilin blurted out in excitement.

“It’s a very precious chance for you. I heard that if you performed well, you will be promoted straight to an official member of the Magic Court, with a bright future ahead!” agreed the man on the other end.

“An official member of the Magic Court… this… brother, what operation is it exactly?” asked Liu Yilin.

“I don’t know yet, but I was told that it’s something to do with the Skyscraping Snake. Don’t ask too many questions. Pack your stuff and come to me at once. Your brother is only an intern, too. It’s already hard enough to get you a spot.”

“Right, I’ll be there soon.”

Becoming a member of the Magic Court straight away. The title alone was a guarantee that the Enforcement Union would fully support him to become an Advanced Magician!

What was the biggest difference between Magicians? The amount of effort they put in their cultivation?

Of course not! What a Magician really needed was resources, a formidable background or faction that was willing to train you!

The Enforcement Union was almost every student’s ambition. Whenever Liu Yilin thought about the possibility of becoming an official member of the Magic Court if he performed well, he could feel his little galaxy exploding!

He would not have such a great chance at leaping into the dragon door again, thus he had to make good use of it!

“Liu Yilin, where are you going?”

“I’ve been told to do a mission for the Enforcement Union,” replied Liu Yilin in a proud tone.

“Bullshit, you’re only on probation. Even though it sounds rather cool among the students, I’m pretty sure you’re far away from becoming an official member of the Magic Court. Why would they send you on a mission?” the man with brown hair asked with a smile.

“I can tell you that if the mission is a success, I’ll soon be promoted to an intern, or if I’m lucky enough, I can even become an official member. When the time comes, who else in this Zhejiang Institute is worthy to be compared with me?” answered Liu Yilin.

“Are you sure about that?” The man saw Liu Yilin was being rather serious about it.

“Of course!”

——

Heading west, Mo Fan did not dare to ride his beloved mount, knowing that he could not afford to attract any attention. He had no choice but to leave Hangzhou City with Tangyue on foot.

The sky was slightly lit when they arrived at the outskirts of the city. Mo Fan said to Tangyue when he saw the sweat on her forehead and her nervous look, “Your god is better than my little loli.”

“What little loli?” asked Tangyue.

“Lingling from the Clearsky Hunter Agency, my partner. It’s been a while since I last met her. I do miss her now,” said Mo Fan.

“Oh, are you talking about the little girl Leng Qing? She’s an extremely talent among the people in the Magic Court. Among the girls in the Magic Court, I’m the most impressed by her. I was occupied when the Black Vatican was targeting you, so I asked Leng Qing to seek help from the Clearsky Hunter Agency, but I didn’t expect you to be a hunter under them… Speaking of which, they only recruit the best elites, why would they let you join?” said Tangyue.

“I don’t like the sound of that. It feels like you’re saying that I’m normal,” protested Mo Fan.

Tangyue smiled. Her nervous face slightly relaxed. She glanced at the Totem Orb, then at the magnificent Hangzhou City behind them.

“Miss Tangyue, don’t you worry. With me, Mo Fan, here, I’ll make sure you both arrive at the White Mountain Thousand Caves safely.” Mo Fan softly patted Tangyue’s shoulder.

“Thank you…” Tangyue felt a little sorry for him.

She never thought it would turn out like this. The Enforcement Union would have sent out a warrant after them, and Mo Fan was only involved in this mess because of her.

Tangyue thought Mo Fan would only escort the Black Totem Snake to the White Mountain Thousand Caves with her. He was an outsider, and someone she could trust, thus it would help them avoid the traitor in her tribe. To her surprise, Zhu Meng was already given power by the two organizations with the highest authority in the nation. As a result, Mo Fan had no choice but to face the people of the Enforcement Union with her.

“Miss Tangyue, in my opinion, I think you can only repay my sacrifice of putting my life at stake by pledging to marry me,” said Mo Fan with a stern look.

Tsk tsk, the two mountains with the urge to burst out from her buttoned shirt, and the booty so firm that not a single wrinkle could be seen on her skirt. Mo Fan had already spent quite some time indulging in his lewd imaginations when he attended her classes back in the days. He could not help but recall the intense situation in the backseat of the taxi. If he failed to secure such extraordinary beauty, Mo Fan felt like he would be letting his father Mo Jiaxin down by not producing enough kids for the Mo Family!

“If you managed to help the big guy escape from the danger…” Tangyue bit her red lips and said after a slight hesitation, “I’ll promise you.”

Mo Fan’s jaw almost dropped to the ground. Was Miss Tangyue actually thinking of pledging to marry him?

“Miss Tangyue, that has to be a joke, right?” he asked hurriedly.

Tangyue stared into Mo Fan’s eyes seriously, but she soon shifted her focus and said sincerely, “My father left me at a very young age, I remember he once said that even if he’s not around, he would be watching me like a star in the sky, protecting me… I didn’t know what he meant back then, until the god’s figure slowly surfaced from the West Lake.

“Mo Fan, maybe you find it hard to believe that the god is actually guarding the city, and I do admit that I’m clueless if he’s done anything harmful in the past. The people of our tribe are only obeying the teachings passed down to us from our ancestors, but at least I’m confident that he’s looking after me. He has done so for many years, and now when he’s the most vulnerable, I really want to try my best to protect him to overcome the current situation. He’s really important to me, and you’re willing to take such a huge risk just to help me, so I don’t think any request from you can actually outweigh how much you’re helping me.”

Mo Fan softly patted Tangyue’s shoulder to comfort her. He could easily tell that the Snake Boos was protecting her like her father, he was her family.

Therefore, he should not be taking advantage of someone else’s precarious situation!

It was not like Mo Fan wasn’t extremely touched by Tangyue’s words, but he assumed that if he were to do anything harmful to Tangyue, the Snake Boss which had been looking after her would swallow him with a single bite, not even leaving his bones behind.

It was wise for him to examine his attitude closely. Sometimes, you shouldn’t totally believe a woman’s words…

The White Town was once a relay station, but as it slowly became a transportation hub for several safe zones, it had gradually developed from a relay station into a town.

Towns like this, located close to the boundaries of safe zones and the fortresses of the military were mixed with good and bad people. Businessmen, hunters, Battlemages, members of Magic Associations, students on training, people from renowned families… and also some wanted criminals or people of the Enforcement Union!

Normally, the White Town would not be on high alert. As a matter of fact, it could be considered a black market, not under the control of any faction. Either the hunters or the military would be trading their loot here…

“What’s going on? They are checking everyone?” Mo Fan blurted out when he saw the people lining up at the entrance of the town.

“Young man, you might be unaware. There has been a deadly plague recently. Many people in the town are quarantined. They now have to check everyone who’s planning to enter the town, to check if anyone is bringing the disease into the town,” said a man with a dark skin tone, who seemed to be a hunter.

“Oh, oh, I thought something more serious was happening,” Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh.

They were opposing Councilman Zhu Meng since they were trying to escape with the Black Totem Snake, but that alone was not serious enough to be considered a serious offense. Therefore, it would be quite crazy if the inspection were set up for them specifically. Besides, the White Town was free from any governing body. Therefore, the Enforcement Union would have to send their people to guard the entrances. They had no reason to ask the people of the town to help their Threat-Eliminating Strategy.

Both Mo Fan and Tangyue were permitted to pass after a brief checkup. They did not even bother verifying their identities.

—

Upon arriving at White Town, Mo Fan and Tangyue immediately noticed something strange about it.

Usually, the streets would be filled with vendors, stalls, shops, etc like a market. The crowd would be fairly massive, too. After all, the place was suitable for resting and trading with the majority of the Magicians who regularly contacted the demon beasts.

Today, the streets were completely empty. Not a single stall could be seen. Shops were still open, but not many people were seen coming in or out of them. The venues for auctions were slightly better, but it was still a huge difference from the usual numbers.

Mo Fan and Tangyue were worn out from the journey. They quickly found a place to rest, one that did not require any form of identification.

The place seemed rather normal. As Mo Fan was waiting for the key at the reception desk, he blurted out when he saw the girl in duty wearing a white mask, “The plague seems very serious.”

The girl glanced at Mo Fan with an alert look, as if she were quite shy with strangers.

It took her quite some time to find the key. She did not speak a single word throughout the process.

The woman who seemed to be the owner of the place said with a smile, “Isn’t that right? The plague has been everywhere since that giant snake appeared. I’m sure that the snake was real instead of a mere illusion. As always, the government is reluctant to tell us the truth.”

“How can you tell the snake is responsible for the plague?” asked Mo Fan in a confused tone.

“The plague only happened around a week ago. I’m not a Magician, but I’m still aware that most snakes are poisonous. Think about it: such a giant snake, and when its poison spreads out, doesn’t that turn into a plague? I think we should find the snake as soon as possible to stop the plague from spreading any further. Otherwise, there will be casualties soon enough!” said the owner.

“Mum, didn’t you hear it from someone else too?” the girl with the mask finally spoke.

“It’s most likely the truth. There’s nothing so coincidental,” answered the owner.

Mo Fan chatted with them for a while before going upstairs with the key. Tangyue’s identity was quite sensitive for the time being, thus she did not show herself at the lobby. She quickly went upstairs, saying that she was in need of the toilet as an excuse.

Mo Fan went upstairs to Tangyue and said, “Did you hear what they were saying?”

Tangyue nodded silently while biting her lips.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Mo Fan subconsciously asked when she saw Tangyue’s reaction.

Tangyue did not respond. Mo Fan could tell that she was feeling uneasy from her eyes.

“Forget it, let’s go inside. You must be tired too,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan used the key to open the door. Tangyue entered the room with a load on her mind. She turned and said to Mo Fan, “You should go back to your room. I’ll need some time alone.”

“Well, the owner has mentioned that this is the only room left,” Mo Fan said with an awkward expression and scratched his head.

Tangyue raised her head and glanced at the shameless Mo Fan before saying in an amused yet annoyed tone, “Do you think I would believe it when the town is so deserted?”

“It’s easier for us to look after one another when we stay together,” said Mo Fan.

“Off you go, get yourself another room. Do you think I have no idea what you’re thinking!”

“Miss Tangyue…”

The door slammed closed with a loud bang. Mo Fan could even hear a click from the lock. It seemed like his attempt of following the scene in ancient television dramas was not working.

Mo Fan helplessly went to get himself another room. He dropped heavily onto the bed and fell asleep without being concerned about his hygiene.

——

In the room next door, Tangyue moved the chair to the balcony.

The place was renovated into an inn from an apartment, thus every room had its own balcony.

The day was getting brighter. The usually-prosperous town was now riven with fear. Several figures could be seen moving on the streets, but they were all wearing masks and seemed to be in a rush.

There were sanitary stations, Red Cross, medical personnel wrapped in tightly sealed suits, and ambulances whistling past…

Tangyue had been occupied with the incident regarding the Skyscraping Snake lately, thus she was unaware of the plague around Hangzhou…

“Mo Fan, are you asleep?” Tangyue called out at the room beside the balcony after a prolonged hesitation.

“No, not at all!” Mo Fan quickly sprang up from the bed.

“What are you trying to do, jumping over here!” Tangyue glared at Mo Fan, who had jumped over from his balcony to hers.

“Aren’t you worried that someone would eavesdrop on our conservation?” Mo Fan replied

“I don’t want to lie to you.”

“So the plague has something to do with your god?” asked Mo Fan.

“I…I don’t know,” answered Tangyue.

“But you told me that he’s not poisonous during the ecdysis…”

“That is the truth. He is indeed not poisonous during this time.”

“He’s not poisonous, but he could be spreading a plague. Your chief has asked you to bring him away not only to run away from Zhu Meng, but to prevent the plague from spreading to the people in the city?” Mo Fan made his inference with a wry smile.

Tangyue bit her lips even more. After a few moments, she finally raised her head and said firmly, “I believe he has nothing to do with the plague.”

“But that’s from you, Miss Tangyue…” Mo Fan uttered a sigh, not knowing what to say.

“Mo Fan, I…I don’t know what I shall do.” Tangyue totally lost her mind.

“Be rational, maybe it’s better to hand him over to the Councilman. Just as the owner had mentioned, people might start dying in the next few days. You’ve seen the situation of the town, too. If the plague were actually deadly, hundreds or even thousands of people would die. Miss Tangyue, I don’t think you could bear the consequences.”

Unfortunately, Mo Fan and Tangyue were trapped in White Town.

The town was in full lockdown shortly after they arrived. No one was allowed to leave the town to avoid the plague from spreading.

Mo Fan and Tangyue suddenly found themselves in an awkward position. They were planning to rest briefly at White Town before bringing the Skyscraping Snake to White Mountain.

Regardless if the Skyscraping Snake were responsible for the plague, they could not let the snake stay in the town. Sending him away was the best thing to do now.

Who knew the town would be in lockdown so soon? With the established barrier, anyone who tried to leave without permission would be detected instantly, making the two of them very anxious.

“Screw it, we have to barge our way out. If our god is the cause of the plague, him staying here any further would only make the situation worse!” said Tangyue firmly.

“Mm, we’ll move once it gets dark, but we would surely startle the Battlemages in the town, and even expose our locations,” Mo Fan agreed.

“It’s fine. The big guy will tell us the location of the Royal Guards and the people of the Magic Court. They won’t be able to catch up to us,” said Tangyue.

——

That night, Mo Fan and Tangyue made their move.

The town was surrounded by walls and a magical barrier. Anything going in and out of the barrier would alert the Battlemages on patrol.

Mo Fan did not care too much. He summoned the Swift Star Wolf to carry him and Tangyue as they broke through the barrier.

The moon was bright, but there were few stars. The streets of White Town were mostly deserted. Everyone was too scared to go outside due to the plague. Meanwhile, Hangzhou City was fairly normal during the day, but at night, an outbreak took place as hundreds of people fell ill to the plague. The news spread rapidly, leaving the people in total panic.

The pace of the spread was a lot faster than anyone could have imagined. Every pharmacist was dumbfounded, as they had never seen such an aggressive disease. Healing Magic was completely useless against it, while the usual prescription against similar diseases somehow sped up the virus penetrating the recipient’s body instead!

Most plagues would have a period of concealment before breaking out. The plague would then worsen slowly and spread, before resulting in a massive death count.

However, this particular plague did not have a period of concealment at all. It went straight to an outbreak.

A plague that spread rapidly would take a longer time for the condition to worsen. Therefore, they should have had enough time to find the right antibody. Yet, not only was the plague spreading rapidly, the condition of the patients also worsened at a crazy pace. A patient who had only contracted the plague a week ago now had blue blisters all across their body, resulting in an extraordinarily eerie sight. They would not be able to see the sunlight the next day if they did not receive treatment in time.

——

An hour after Mo Fan and Tangyue brought the biggest suspect of the plague away from White Town, the first three patients who had caught the plague died on their hospital beds.

The deaths had triggered an uproar in the medical circles. Many experts were summoned to the Magic Association’s hospital. They gathered around the corpses with gas masks. They were staring at the totally corroded corpses on the beds.

The bodies began to corrode when the blisters burst open. They still looked human in the day, and now their appearance had changed beyond recognition!

“Mr. Lu, what do you think?” asked Zhu Meng in a deep tone.

Mr. Lu waved his hand, signaling the nurses to cover up the corpses. Even he, who had seen many weird diseases before, found the sight unbearable.

“The plague is one of the scariest I’ve seen in the past few decades. We’ve calculated the facts. It only took seven days for a person to catch the disease, fall ill and end up like this. Seven days…it’s too short for us to react!” Mr. Lu was the representative of the pharmacists. As an expert of Healing Magic, he was dumbfounded by the plague!

“Head of the Magic Court, I’m sure that you’re aware that more than a thousand people are affected by the plague?” Zhu Meng glanced at Tang Zhong.

“I know,” Tang Zhong nodded.

“Look at the three corpses, do you think I, Zhu Meng would use three lives just to frame your god?” Zhu Meng pointed at the three corpses covered in white blankets and snapped, “I’m not low enough to use such a petty method. If you think your god is innocent, then you should be able to come up with an explanation for these corpses!”

The Head of the Magic Court fell silent.

The outcome was totally unacceptable to Tang Zhong. Their tribe had assumed that the two corpses that were discovered a week later were something that Zhu Meng had set up, but when he saw the people affected by the plague died similar deaths to the first two corpses, he was dumbfounded too!

Zhu Meng isn’t responsible for it…

Could it really be the Black Totem Snake?

Had the Black Totem Snake lost control of his savagery during the ecdysis?

The news had already spread wildly across the media. Everyone had their eyes on Hangzhou. The people that had died to the plague was sharing the same symptoms as those who were said to be killed by the Black Totem Snake. The terror would surely initiate a protest among the people to hunt down the Black Totem Snake!

When that happened, even if the Totem Tribe were to make public the truth about the Totem Beast, the Black Totem Snake would still be in grave danger. Even if the government and the Enforcement Union were against it, the pressure from the people would still force them to eliminate the Black Totem Snake.

“The Black Totem Snake has stayed in the West Lake for a very long time, but a plague like this has never happened… I think I’ll have to further investigate it,” said Tang Zhong with a stern voice.

“Tang Zhong!” yelled Zhu Meng furiously. The beard on his face shook. He pointed his finger at the Head of the Magic Court and roared, “Even now you’re still trying to protect the Black Totem Snake, are you seriously aware of the situation? There are 1,324 people affected by the plague, and in a week’s time, they will end up like these corpses. As the Head of the Magic Court, are you really going to blindly follow the ridiculous teachings of your ancestors and watch them die!?

“Maybe it looks like the Black Totem Snake is staying in our city, but the truth is he had long existed for God knows how many centuries before humans were here. Our ancestors were only able to survive in the demon beasts’ territories under his protection, which allowed them to build a city here to live and work in peace. The history might not have this recorded, but our tribe has made sure that it gets passed down to every generation. I do agree that the Black Totem Snake is the greatest suspect for the plague, but please give me some time. I’ll let Tangyue bring you some of his fluid during the ecdysis. We could possibly prevent the plague from spreading if we could produce some kind of antibody from it, but please don’t eradicate it!” said Tang Zhong.

{TL Note: Yi Zhiping is a noble, high-achieving Taoist in the history who has helped lots of people in the chaos of war and victims of natural disasters, but he somehow becomes a bad guy in Jin Yong’s wuxia novels. FYI, the reference will only appear in the next chapter.}

After everything that had happened, Tang Zhong as the chief of the Totem Tribe could at best protect the Black Totem Snake’s life.

Even if it were responsible for the plague, he would still not allow them to kill the Black Totem Snake. His existence was extremely meaningful to all of Hangzhou. Without the Black Totem Snake, the city would have suffered greatly from the wars that had taken place, or would even have been wiped out of existence.

Tang Zhong only had one request, to keep him alive. If he had to be driven away, so be it. Anything was better than being killed by humans.

“Head of the Magic Court, you think I am too generous. The Threat-Elimination Strategy simply means uprooting all potential threats. How are you sure that the Black Totem Snake will not return and avenge himself? How will you guarantee that he wouldn’t unleash his wrath on us for driving him away? Once he’s done with the ecdysis, the Black Totem Snake’s strength is unmatchable. Do you think you can still comfort him with your worship? I’m sorry, I don’t treat the lives of people as a joke. I will kill the Black Totem Snake at all costs!” declared Zhu Meng firmly.

“Then please forgive me for not telling you where the Black Totem Snake is. Arrest me or let me take full responsibility for the plague if you need to, but I still won’t tell you his location.” The Head of the Magic Court was determined too.

He knew the history of the city better than anyone else. Their god was the grace of the city, not a plague, and he was extremely confident about it!

Even if he had done something harmful, as long as it was not a great calamity, the humans had no right to exterminate him!

“Humph, so you think I won’t know if you don’t tell me? My informers have just told me that your niece Tangyue and a man were spotted at White Town. By tomorrow, I will display his head right here at the busiest district where he appeared previously, to show people the truth, and the peace they have asked for!” snapped Zhu Meng in a righteous tone.

Tang Zhong immediately frowned. White Town…

It turned out that Tangyue and Mo Fan’s locations were exposed. Hopefully, they could escape from Zhu Meng’s Royal Guards with the Black Totem Snake’s sharp senses.

——

White Town, a man wearing the outfit of the Head of the Royal Guards stood on the lookout post of the town and stared at the mountains in the distance.

“Captain, shall we pursue them?” asked a guard.

“Hold your ground, the interns and the people on probation are already chasing after them. We’ll wait for their updates here,” said Wu Pingjing, the Head of the Royal Guards.

“Captain, I heard that the Black Totem Snake is rather powerful. Even with all of us attacking him, we wouldn’t be able to pin him down, without Councilman Zhu Meng’s help…” the guard said in a soft voice.

“Don’t you worry, the Black Totem Snake is fairly weak during its ecdysis, the same as an ordinary demon beast. The snake has been around for a very long time. He has defied the laws of nature, thus he will have to bear the consequences. The ecdysis serves as a punishment to him,” said Wu Pingjing.

“What a relief… so we just have to deal with that girl called Tangyue and the man with her. What is his strength like?” asked the guard.

“He’s just an Intermediate Magician,” Wu Pingjing smiled.

“Oh, so an intern of the Magic Court could easily handle him.”

——

White Mountain mainly consisted of dried rocks. There were not many plants. The rugged terrain served as a natural boundary between the territories of the humans and the demon beasts.

In the foothills of the mountain was a valley with tall grass without a single tree. As the night breeze swept past, the grass swayed slightly like a tide, resulting in a spectacular view.

A wolf emitting a faint blue glow sprinted across the grassy field. His speed swept across the dark land like a meteor.

“Quick, faster!” Tangyue took a glance at the shadowy figures chasing behind them and blurted out in panic.

“This is the fastest he can run… watch out ahead!” yelled Mo Fan.

Following his words, an unexpected occurrence suddenly took place in the grass ahead. Several vines grew rapidly into a giant cage, waiting for Mo Fan and his crew to run right into the trap themselves.

Meanwhile, more vines were growing from the ground. Some turned into chains wrapping around the Swift Star Wolf’s limbs, while the others hardened and slapped in the Swift Star Wolf’s direction with great strength.

The Swift Star Wolf rapidly dodged aside. To his surprise, more vines began to appear. Each slash was strong enough to leave a deep ravine on the ground.

There were too many vines for the Swift Star Wolf to handle. A hardened vine struck the beast’s head, leaving a bloody cut on his face.

The Swift Star Wolf tumbled sideways after being knocked off-balance by the force. Mo Fan and Tangyue fell off and rolled on the ground.

The flexible vines extended toward the Swift Star Wolf and rapidly tied him down, totally hindering his movement!

Tangyue rose to her feet and said to Mo Fan alertly, “Careful, there’s a rather powerful Plant Element Magician!”

Mo Fan nodded and quickly unleashed his will to sense where the Magician was hiding.

Suddenly, two other vines sprang in their direction. The vines were as sharp as spears as they thrust at them.

Mo Fan was startled. The intern of the Magic Court was being rather ruthless by attacking murderously!

“We should burn the field,” said Mo Fan.

The grass had significantly restricted their vision, while the Plant Element Magician had the upper hand in the current environment by taking control of the plants nearby.

“No, there are others trying to track us down. The fire would expose us,” said Tangyue.

“Is there any way to bait him out?” Mo Fan glanced at his surroundings alertedly.

The grassland was too ideal for a Plant Element Magician. Furthermore, the Magician was not trying to take them down, but rather stalling them so they could not make their way to the mountain.

“Why would I know even if you asked me… Look out behind you!” yelled Tangyue.

Mo Fan turned around and saw several vines crawling toward him.

Mo Fan quickly turned into a black shadow, dissolving under the tall grass. The vines quickly disappeared after missing their target, making it impossible for Tangyue and Mo Fan to interpret where the attacks were coming from.

Tangyue glanced at Mo Fan who slowly appeared from the shadows on the other side and complimented him,”Nice move, someone has become an expert at using the Fleeing Shadow,”

“Thanks to your teaching…” said Mo Fan humbly.

“I’ll give cover you while you use the Fleeing Shadow to find his location. Don’t harm him, just use the Soul Shadow to root him to the ground,” ordered Tangyue.

“Got it!”

Mo Fan and Tangyue were both Magicians with the Shadow Element.

They exchanged glances with one another, and quickly disappeared into the shadows as their enemy executed their next attack. They quickly moved toward the Swift Star Wolf, whose movements were restricted.

The enemy was clearly aware that the two were planning to rescue the Swift Star Wolf, and no longer conserved their energy. They immediately cast an Intermediate Plant Element Spell, summoning the Forest of Kun to surround the Swift Star Wolf, not giving it any chance to escape.

The enemy was very smart, trying to keep them occupied with the Plant Element without showing themselves. It was obvious that they were waiting for backup.

He had made the right decision, since Tangyue was an Advanced Magician. He would be defeated instantly if Tangyue knew his position.

Tangyue continued to move around using the Fleeing Shadow. She was clearly more adept than Mo Fan at using the spell. Her shadow could even split into two mirror images due to her outstanding speed.

The extra shadow quickly replaced Mo Fan’s shadow as she continued to distract the Magician in the Forest of Kun. As long as Tangyue did not show herself, the enemy would assume her shadows to be both her and Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had already escaped the boundary of the Forest of Kun. He used his will to sense the energy nearby and quickly located the Plant Element Magician.

Moving through the tall grass ahead, Mo Fan immediately saw a female intern of the Magic Court hiding in the undergrowth. Her hands were moving rapidly, with faint green glows circling them. Star Patterns and Nebulas rapidly appeared as she cast her Magic…

Mo Fan had to admit that the girl was clearly an expert. Her control of the Plant Element was significantly better than Mu Nujiao!

However, she was totally unaware of Mo Fan, who was closing on her using the Fleeing Shadow.

“You’ll be staying here!” Mo Fan’s figure slowly surfaced as the Nebula of the Shadow Element appeared under his feet.

“Who’s there!?” The female intern of the Magic Court was an expert indeed. As soon as Mo Fan finished drawing the Nebula, she had somehow sensed the presence of the Shadow Element!

“Xiao Longnu, I’m your Yi Zhiping!” Mo Fan uttered an evil laugh. {TL Note: A reference to the Chinese television drama}

A Giant Shadow Spike was summoned between Mo Fan’s fingers. As he uttered the laugh, the spike was already fired and pinned his target down without making a single noise.

“Shameless prick!” the female intern of the Magic Court snapped.

She quickly reacted by controlling the vines nearby to lock onto Mo Fan’s position.

The vines were just about to lunge at their target when she felt a chill piercing through her chest. The Magician immediately shuddered as she felt the cold, as if the spike had nailed right onto her soul. She could not even budge!

Normally, Spells that could impair the movement of their targets would only control their physical bodies, but the Giant Shadow Spike of the Shadow Element could even influence one’s mind. It was Mo Fan’s first time usingthe second-tier Giant Shadow Spike, and he never thought he would be using it on a girl in the wild.

Both her body and mind were entrapped. The girl could not even make any noise. If Mo Fan had the time, he would not mind mimicking the perverted actions of some character in Jinyong’s wuxia novel, but time was running rather short. He still had to serve the woman who had brought a Snake Boss along with her.

“Pretty girl, I’ll see you again when destiny calls,” teased Mo Fan. He quickly dissolved into the shadows and vanished.

The female intern of the Magic Court glared in Mo Fan’s direction. She could barely see his evil smirk in the dark.

——

Upon regrouping with Tangyue and the Swift Star Wolf, Mo Fan saw that she had already freed the beast from the vines.

“He’s injured. We have to continue the journey on foot,” said Tangyue as she pointed at the wounds on the Swift Star Wolf’s legs.

“That chick was pretty good. She managed to injure my Summoned beast,” said Mo Fan.

“Those who are chosen as interns of the Magic Court are doubtless experts of their Elements. You shouldn’t underestimate them,” advised Tangyue.

“Alright!” Mo Fan nodded.

Without the Swift Star Wolf, the two could only advance using Fleeing Shadow.

The area was overgrown with grass as tall as trees, with shadows obvious under the moonlight. As long as they had enough energy, they could easily use the shadows to move quickly.

Their shadows moved quickly through the bushes, as if they were cast by some birds flying hastily in the air.

To their surprise, a few pairs of wings were visible closing up on them from behind, roughly a kilometer away.

There was no chance they were fast enough to outrun those who could fly. Mo Fan could not help but wear a wry smile as he spoke, “Don’t tell me the big guy is asleep? Isn’t he aware of the Magicians with wings? I don’t think I can handle that level.”

“Don’t worry, they aren’t Advanced Magicians. It must be an intern of the Magic Court with Wing Equipment, and a Summoner with a flying beast,” said Tangyue.

Mo Fan did not feel relieved after hearing her explanation. An intern of the Magic Court owning a piece of Wind Equipment!?

Mo Fan clearly knew how expensive Wind Equipment was. It was rather impossible for anyone at the Intermediate Level to possess them. How formidable exactly was the intern’s background, to be given such luxurious Equipment at his current level?

In addition, most of the Summoned beasts that could fly would at least cost fifty million or more! As a Summoner, Mo Fan was well aware of the market prices. The Enforcement Union was clearly a place for crazy people. Someone could actually afford to buy a flying Summoned beast..

“It’s a Razor-Feathered Sparrow. It looks like it’s currently in the Advancing Period,” Tangyue stared at the creature reflecting the moonlight in the sky.

“Advancing Period of the Servant-class?” asked Mo Fan.

“What do you say?”

“…” Mo Fan felt like cursing. A group of interns already possessed such overwhelming strength. Luckily, they were able to avoid contact with the real members of the Magic Court with the Skyscraping Snake’s sharp senses. Otherwise, there was no way he could beat any of them with his current capabilities.

“Mo Fan, I’ve only achieved the Advanced Level recently, so I can only cast some of the Advanced Spells with a Star Atlas Book. I’ll handle the Razor-Feathered Sparrow and the three interns it’s carrying, and you’ll handle the guy with the Wing Equipment,” Tangyue said with a stern look.

“Sure thing, I hate rich pricks like him the most,” said Mo Fan.

An Intermediate Magician with Wind Equipment…

Mo Fan still could not accept it. People like him should be dragged to the ground and the crap beaten out of them!

The Razor-Winged Sparrow’s feathers were remarkably strong, with extremely sharp tips. They looked like densely packed daggers hanging on its wings, glowing elegantly under the moonlight.

The Razor-Feathered Sparrow uttered a shriek in the sky. Its sharp eyes locked onto Mo Fan and Tangyue.

Mo Fan and Tangyue had no intention to keep running. It was obvious that their backup would make their way toward their location in no time. They had to stop them from tailing them any further, thus they would have to defeat them as soon as possible.

As the Razor-Feathered Sparrow drew closer, it was clear that the enemy was being cautious, as they did not initiate the fight straight away.

“Mr. Wu, we’ve found the target. Please send back-up immediately,” Liu Zhongming, mounted on the Razor-Feathered Sparrow, said into the communication device in his hand.

“Great job, keep them busy and tail them. Stop them from reaching White Mountain at all cost. We’ll be there in twenty minutes,” the Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing, said from the other end.

“Affirmative!” Liu Zhongming responded firmly, subconsciously smiling.

Having a Razor-Feathered Sparrow surely made a huge difference. The other interns had no chance of catching up to his flying Summoned beast.

“Brother, what should we do?” Liu Yilin glanced down from above. He could clearly see the man and woman on the ground, so he could not help but feel slightly nervous.

It was Liu Yilin’s first time joining an operation of the Enforcement Union. It was said to be a direct order from Councilman Zhu Meng, thus it was surely a challenging task. As a result, Liu Yilin was fairly intimidated by the targets they were pursuing.

The fact that Zhu Meng had sent his Royal Guards after them was a clear indication that they were no ordinary criminals.

“They are heading straight for White Mountain,” said the man with thick brows who was flying with the Wing Equipment.

“Don’t let them reach the mountain. It’s an order from the Head of the Royal Guards! We have to stop them!” said Liu Zhongming.

“Then let’s head down and detain them!” The man with the thick brows seemed rather confident. He did not even consider their targets’ strength.

Their targets seemed to be only in their twenties. There was no way their strength would be too overwhelming. There was no reason he, Dongfang Ming, should be intimidated by them!

Dongfang Ming was fearless. He withdrew the wings on his back and dove straight to the ground.

His body was engulfed in bright flames, which grew fiercer as he continued to fall rapidly, like the flame friction between a meteor and the air, leaving a long tail of flame behind him.

The fireball slammed into the ground. Dongfang Ming, who was wearing a gray outfit, straightened up with a cold expression. He stood on top of the scorched ground he had just produced and stared at Mo Fan and Tangyue with an arrogant look.

“It’s better that you surrender now that you’ve stumbled into me, Dongfang Ming, as I’ve never shown any mercy to my enemies!” Dongfang Ming stood in front of Mo Fan and Tangyue. The flames engulfing his figure were emanating a unique brilliance.

The aura and the color of the flame clearly indicated that his flame was no ordinary fire!

On second thought, surely a person who could afford Wing Equipment could also afford a Spirit-grade Fire Seed. He would surely be a tough opponent. Mo Fan gave Tangyue a look, telling her to leave this smartass to him.

“Be careful, he’s Dongfang Ming, the most talented Fire Magician among the younger generations of the renowned Dongfang Clan,” whispered Tangyue.

“Dongfang Clan?” The name did ring a bell to Mo Fan. If he weren’t mistaken, he should be grateful to them for giving him the chance to obtain the Rose Flame!

Tangyue and Mo Fan stood further apart, giving Mo Fan enough space to battle against Dongfang Ming.

Her action somehow made Dongfang Ming angry.

Dongfang Ming glanced at Mo Fan proudly with a smirk and spoke in a disdainful tone, “Do you really think you can handle me on your own?”

Dongfang Ming had already inspected Mo Fan’s strength with his awareness. His enemy’s cultivation was slightly lower than his. Among Intermediate Magicians, Dongfang Ming considered himself unbeatable. He could even handle duplicates of the enemy in front of him with ease.

“Of course not,” Mo Fan shook his head.

“You do have a clear picture of your own limitations,” Dongfang Ming laughed.

“I’ll have to defeat you within fifteen minutes.” Mo Fan wore a smile too, the same arrogant smile that Dongfang Ming was wearing.

Mo Fan was clear that the Royal Guards would arrive in around twenty minutes. He would need an extra five minutes to run away from the place, thus he only had fifteen minutes to defeat the guy.

“Imbecile!” Dongfang Ming was infuriated. He was unbeatable against Intermediate Magicians, let alone being defeated in fifteen minutes!

Dongfang Ming took the initiative to attack. A Fire Element Star Pattern appeared on the scorched ground under his feet. The Stars were aligned so fast that instead of Stars connecting with one another, it was the Nebulas connecting to one another.

His Star Pattern was aligned at such a quick speed that even Mo Fan found it hard to believe!

“I forgot to mention, I was born with the ability to cast Fire Spells at a much faster rate!” Dongfang Ming was so full of himself that he blatantly revealed his special talent.

Mo Fan thought his casting speed was already quick enough, but his enemy was already throwing a Fiery Fist in his direction when he was halfway through the channeling.

He had no choice but to stop the channeling. He quickly dissolved into the shadows and dodged aside.

The giant Fiery Fist swept past Mo Fan just inches away from his face. If it were ordinary flame, Mo Fan could resist it without dodging. However, Mo Fan discovered that the outer ring of Dongfang Ming’s flame was a faint blue in color.

What exactly made his flame faint blue?

Mo Fan agilely went out of the range of the Fiery Fist using his Fleeing Shadow. As he was trying to figure out the secret behind his opponent’s flame, he suddenly felt a great heat from the ground. His feet were almost cooked by the intensity of it.

Mo Fan looked down and saw the faint blue flame had already spread to the ground under his feet, setting the plants nearby aflame…

The fire grew bigger as it burned the plants. A moment later, Mo Fan found himself surrounded by the blue flame!

“So it’s some Spirit-grade Soul Seed that will intensify the combustion, able to set a huge area aflame. This blue flame is rather interesting,” murmured Mo Fan.

The temperature of the thick blue flame was not as high as Rose Flame, but it was extremely difficult to extinguish.

The entire area was blazing blue due to the spreading flame, so the shadows were not thick enough for Mo Fan to cast his Fleeing Shadow again. Seeing the flame slowly spreading toward him, Mo Fan made up his mind and slammed his fist onto the ground!

Mo Fan would not believe that his Rose Flame would lose to the blue flame!

A blazing red flame set Mo Fan aflame like a fiend in human shape. A magnificent, fiery rose burst out under his feet as his fist collided with the ground.

The flame completely devoured Mo Fan. Its tongues swayed wildly as it spread in all directions and collided with the blue flames!

“Flame with the color of rose, is this Rose Flame?” Dongfang Ming immediately recognized the flame.

The fire of the Groundbreak surged toward the blue flames with an overwhelming heat. In terms of temperature and ferocity, Rose Flame was considered one of the best among all flames.

The blazing red flame rushed into the burning zone of the faint blue flame and rapidly extinguished it. They were like a pack of wolves stumbling into a fierce tiger, backing off and scattering as they did not dare to face the Rose Flame head on.

Mo Fan further transferred his energy to expand the flame. A fiery rose blossomed on the field, emitting a blinding glow.

The faint blue flame was snuffed at an incredible pace, as the rose-colored flame thoroughly dominated the area.

Unfortunately, the Rose Flame could not last as long as Blue Flame. Each flame possessed different traits. In comparison, Rose Flame was more destructive and ferocious, while Blue Flame was able to last longer and spread rapidly.

As he thought, when Mo Fan drove the blue flames away from his vicinity, they were not thoroughly extinguished. They continued to linger in the surroundings and reignited the dry patch of grass nearby, as if they were waiting for the perfect timing for a comeback.

“So you recognize the flame?” Mo Fan chuckled when he saw the faint blue flames scattering.

“Humph, I guess you are somehow responsible for the deaths of my elder brothers. I will take you down and interrogate you at the Enforcement Union!” Dongfang Ming’s eyes flickered furiously.

Back then, Dongfang Ming was tipped off by an old hunter that some flame with high temperature was discovered close to a village outside of Hangzhou’s boundaries. As a result, the village had suffered a serious drought.

Dongfang Ming was initially planning to acquire the flame for himself, but he could not make it as he had to attend the trial of the Enforcement Union. Therefore, he had given the chance to his elder cousins who were rather talented, instead. To his surprise, they somehow went missing. It took him a tremendous amount of effort to discover the information about Rose Flame, and in the end, it had also disappeared.

Initially, Dongfang Ming thought he would never be able to find the truth. He did not expect he would stumble into the murderer of his few brothers here!

“Dongfang Ming, calm yourself, our goal is to stop them from entering White Mountain. We must wait for backup from the Royal Guards,” blurted out Liu Zhongming.

“I don’t need you to tell me what to do!” Dongfang Ming was infuriated. The flame engulfing his body became stronger.

Mo Fan was just worried that his enemy would choose not to fight him head on to drag the battle out. Everything would be easier for him now that his opponent had gone mad himself.

He stood there and surprisingly, he was not casting an Intermediate Spell.

A rose-colored flame was instantly ignited on his hand after he flipped it, like a magician elegantly summoning a red rose out of nowhere.

“Fire Burst!”

Mo Fan threw the fireball in his hand forward. It drew an arc in the dark sky before landing right at Dongfang Ming’s position.

Mo Fan could not help but admit that Dongfang Ming’s talent was fairly impressive. His casting speed was too quick. He had already finished casting a Star Pattern for an Intermediate Magic while he only finished casting a Basic Spell. If he had sufficient energy… Mo Fan was able to cast Fire Burst continuously, allowing him to launch fireballs like a machine gun. However, this Dongfang Ming was able to launch Fiery Fists rapidly, like a high firing-rate bazooka!

Mo Fan had learned from his previous mistake. He was reluctant to face his enemy with an Intermediate Spell.

“Trying to attack me with a mere Basic Spell? You’re too naive!” Dongfang Ming was not bothered by Mo Fan’s Fire Burst. He continued to align the Star Patterns under his feet.

With the strength of the flame engulfing his body, the Basic-level Fire Burst was unable to inflict any damage to him even if it hit him accurately.

“Who’s being naive here?” uttered Mo Fan with a grin.

Mo Fan clenched his fists and detonated the Fire Burst with his will. It immediately triggered an explosion with a diameter of two meters. The impact forcibly knocked the proud Dongfang Ming a few meters away.

The fireball was fairly huge and astounding. The air nearby buzzed loudly due to the impact of the explosion as wild sparks scattered in all directions.

The effect of Rose Flame made the Fire Burst: Rupture even more violent. Most importantly, the strength of Mo Fan’s Fire Burst: Rupture was comparable to the Fiery Fist produced by an ordinary flame!

The Fire Burst: Rupture’s power had exceeded Dongfang Ming’s expectation. He was lucky that he also possessed the Fire Element. Otherwise, the impact alone could have turned him into a half-cripple!

“Your Fire Burst…” Dongfang Ming rose to his feet with a scorched face. Apart from anger, his eyes were full of astonishment too.

Why is his Fire Burst: Rupture so powerful? That was almost comparable to the power of an Intermediate Spell!

“I guess you’re the first person to have a taste of my fourth-tier Fire Burst,” Mo Fan wore a smile. More fireballs were summoned on his palms at the same pace.

“A fourth-tier Basic Spell…” Dongfang Ming was stunned.

He was rather proud of himself for having Wing Equipment when he was only an Intermediate Magician. He thought he could easily dominate the Intermediate Magicians, but he never thought there was someone even more prodigal than him, to rank up a Basic Spell to the fourth tier!

One could only strengthen a Basic Spell to that level using Soul Essences, and each of them would cost between three million to five million RMB. Normally, in order to guarantee that the Nebulas would fully absorb them, most people would refine them with Soul Essences around the five million price mark.

Therefore, seven Stars would require seven Soul Essences in total, which would sum up to thirty-five million RMB!

He could easily buy a fairly outstanding Soul Seed with that amount of money!

“You’re such an idiot to waste money on something as useless as chicken ribs,” rebuked Dongfang Ming, as if he could not accept the fact that someone was richer than him.

{TL Note: Used in some ancient Chinese literature to describe something that someone is unwilling to dispose of despite being utterly useless as ‘chicken ribs’. As such, it has become a modern slang of describing something useless.}

“You should look at my Soul Seed before describing it as chicken ribs!” said Mo Fan.

Rose Flame had an extremely high temperature. It was one of the most blatantly destructive among all flames, being able to further multiply the damage of a Fire Magic by around 2.5 times.

The fourth-tier Fire Burst did not provide anything special. The only difference was its power was almost doubled compared to the third tier.

Therefore, as the improvements stacked on top of one another, Mo Fan’s Fire Burst was almost five times stronger than an ordinary Fire Burst!

Fire Burst: Rupture was basically the most destructive Basic Spell among all the Elements. After its power was multiplied five times, it was basically comparable to an Intermediate Spell.

On top of that, Mo Fan was so adept at casting Basic Spells that he could throw the fireballs instantly. Even if its power was only half that of an Intermediate Spell, it was more than enough to blast Dongfang Ming until he shut his mouth!

Mo Fan continued to summon fireballs on his hands, which swept across the sky before turning into two-meter explosions close to Dongfang Ming.

Dongfang Ming was wearing Magic Armor, which was obviously nothing cheap, either. It had helped to nullify the impact of many of the Fire Burst: Ruptures.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan’s firing rate was too high. The impact from the explosions gave Dongfang Ming no chance to focus on aligning his Star Patterns.

Dongfang Ming found himself in a rather awkward position. His speed at aligning Star Patterns was significantly faster than anyone else, and sometimes he could even cast an Intermediate Magic faster than someone casting a Basic Spell.

However, he was totally suppressed by Mo Fan. He had no chance of casting an Intermediate Spell, as every time the Star Patterns were about to be completed, his opponent would simply hurl an enhanced Fire Burst in his direction. The explosion would then dazzle his eyes and deafen his ears. Even his Armor could not hold out much longer.

Clenching his teeth, Dongfang Ming finally put his pride aside and quickly backed off a great distance away from Mo Fan.

With a thought, Dongfang Ming summoned his Wing Equipment.

It was a pair of blue wings, the feathers on them extremely obvious. With a beat, Dongfang Ming launched himself into the air.

Dongfang Ming had initially planned to fight Mo Fan head-on, but he ended up being suppressed by his opponent with mere Basic Spells. He had no choice but to activate his Wing Equipment and abuse his advantage of moving in the sky to gain the upper hand of the battle.

Dongfang Ming was still aware of the situation. Once his Armor was broken, he no longer had a chance against Mo Fan!

A Fire Burst’s firing range was limited, after all. As long as Dongfang Ming was in the air, he could target Mo Fan by using his Fiery Fist as meteors.

The Wing Equipment was very expensive, but it indeed made Dongfang Ming unbeatable!

“I admit that you have managed to suppress me with your little trick, but you are still no match for me!” Dongfang Ming was now twenty meters high up in the sky.

“Do you think I’ll let you fly away as you wish?” Mo Fan smiled.

The red Star Patterns stopped appearing. They were replaced by a purple-black Star Pattern that was already completed under Mo Fan’s feet. Lightning arcs began to flicker around Mo Fan.

“Qianjun Thunderbolt: Yaksha!” Mo Fan pointed his finger in Dongfang Ming’s direction. A lightning arc swept across the sky directly at the flying man.

Thunderous clouds quickly appeared, looming over Dongfang Ming’s head from above.

Dongfang Ming totally lost his composure when he saw the clouds.

Lightning… Lightning Element?

He clearly remembered that his opponent had used a Shadow Element Spell to dodge his attacks. Therefore, it was clear that he was cultivating the Shadow Element and the Fire Element. Where did this Lightning Element come from?

“You’re not the only one with an innate talent!” Mo Fan laughed out. The end of the words signaled the lightning striking down.

The lightning was swift and violent. The thick lightning bolt swept across the night sky in a spectacular manner, leaving a trail of sparks behind.

The destructive energy suddenly split apart halfway through the journey, forming the shape of a devil’s claw.

The purple-black lightning claw grabbed at Dongfang Ming ferociously in mid-air. Dongfang Ming was struck by the lightning, failing to react in time…

The lightning set him ablaze. If it weren’t for his Armor, he would have turned into a scorched corpse in the air.

The lightning knocked him to the ground. The force from Qianjun’s special effect almost knocked his bones loose. He slammed into the ground like a pile of mud.

Dongfang Ming tried to rise to his feet, but he was totally out of energy. The purple-black lightning arcs were still crackling on his skin, keeping him paralyzed. Once his Armor was penetrated by the lightning, his weak body was too vulnerable to the lightning arcs.

“I don’t think it has taken fifteen minutes?” Mo Fan grinned. He looked down at Dongfang Ming, who was reluctant to accept the truth.

It went without saying that an Intermediate Magician who owned a piece of Wing Equipment and an expensive Armor Equipment would have quite a formidable background. His pride was on the verge of leaking out from his bones.

However, he was thoroughly humiliated by Mo Fan, who was also an Intermediate Magician. It was definitely a great blow to his soul.

“I…I…I know who you are!” Dongfang Ming clenched his teeth and blurted out in pain.

“Who else would have Double Innate Elements? You’re welcome to avenge yourself,” Mo Fan smilingly said. He did not even bother hiding his identity.

The Enforcement Union could easily check his identity in a matter of seconds. However, the cause of this incident was mainly infighting between the people in the organization. Even Zhu Meng would not be able to charge him with an offense, thus Mo Fan could not care less if his identity were exposed. Others could easily find out regardless of his efforts to try and hide it.

“You just wait!” Dongfang Ming’s eyes could almost spit out flames of fury.

Mo Fan ignored his threats and quickly headed toward Tangyue.

——

Tangyue was fighting against four enemies simultaneously, consisting of three Intermediate Magicians and one Razor-Feathered Sparrow in the Advancing Period.

The three Intermediate Magicians did not pose any threat, but the Razor-Feathered Sparrow was the most troublesome to deal with.

As Mo Fan arrived, Tangyue was already forced to use her Deathstrike Magic Equipment. It had inflicted serious damage to the Razor-Feathered Sparrow, but she was also in a pinch. The three Intermediate Magicians took turns blasting her with Intermediate Spells. Tangyue had no defensive magic, so she could only dodge them with Fleeing Shadow.

“Miss Tangyue, don’t come to me, I have no defensive Spells either. Try and distract those two, and I’ll get rid of the weakest among them,” Mo Fan said to Tangyue, who was fairly close to him.

It went without saying that Mo Fan would not barge into the battle randomly. He had secretly made his way here with Fleeing Shadow.

“Got it!” As soon as Tangyue showed up, three thick ice chains suddenly appeared, locking on to Tangyue’s position. They were trying to crush her bones without mercy.

Tangyue could not afford to lose her focus. She swiftly ran in the opposite direction of the ice chains.

She did not use the Fleeing Shadow, as it was easier to keep the enemies’ attention on her without it.

Tangyue and Mo Fan were both Shadow Element Magicians, thus they were able to share a great synergy with one another. Tangyue had pretended to stumble into a dead end, while Mo Fan sneakily moved forward in the grass to where Liu Yilin was at.

“She’s almost done for. I’ve got her pinned with my Ice Lock!” Liu Yilin blurted out in excitement.

“Don’t hurt her. Her identity is rather special,” said Liu Zhongming.

“Don’t worry, I’ll control my Spell… Brother, does this mean it’s only a matter of time until I became an official member of the Magic Court, once we’ve taken her down?” said Liu Yilin.

Liu Zhongming did not respond. He was focusing on controlling his Earth Wave to prevent Tangyue from escaping.

However, an unfriendly voice suddenly appeared beside Liu Yilin. “Liu Yilin, maybe I was being too soft on you. You’re trying to hurt my woman again!”

Liu Yilin turned around in a panic and saw a familiar face he extremely hated. It was the same person that had brought utter humiliation to his name at school…

He was defeated instantly by a single attack!

However, before Liu Yilin could be enraged, he subconsciously shivered in fear.

How did this guy appear behind me?

Lightning strike!

Liu Yilin did not even have the chance to summon his defensive Equipment. The overwhelming energy violently penetrated his body, as if countless eels had crawled all over him, even into his esophagus and body through his mouth. His inner organs had a clear taste of the lightning.

Liu Yilin did not even have the time to scream out in pain. His entire body turned pale white as his face contorted.

Apart from the pain, his eyes were staring at Mo Fan, looking rather confused, too. How did he appear so silently? Why is his body covered in a layer of shadow? How was Dongfang Ming, who was considered unbeatable among Intermediate Magicians, defeated in less than fifteen minutes?

“Hey, I’m keeping my promise. I’ll beat you up every time I see you!” Mo Fan kicked at Liu Yilin as he lay on the ground.

Liu Yilin was unable to move. The kick left a size 42 shoe mark on his face. The mud under its sole stank. The sticky feeling from it felt like his face was inches away from a manure pit…

Humiliation! Such humiliation!

Liu Yilin hated Mo Fan to the bone. Even skinning him and ripping out his tendons was nowhere enough to vent his anger.

Mo Fan was never afraid of offending people. He was not even worried about the scum of the Black Vatican, let alone Liu Yilin, who was only a university student.

“If you think this is the greatest humiliation you have ever suffered, then you won’t think so in the near future, if you ever try to avenge yourself. To be honest, I have no idea what I’ve stepped on before. The boundary of White Town was set up on a poultry farm. I was in quite a rush, so I didn’t have time to clean my shoes. Actually, your fair, clean face will do just fine!” Mo Fan patted the dust off his shoulders and left.

——

After Liu Yilin was taken out, Tangyue began her counterattack.

She was an Advanced Magician after all, so her casting speed was significantly faster than her opponents.

The blazing red flame produced a fiery ring surrounding Tangyue, which quickly contracted and bound itself onto her right arm.

“Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!” She adeptly cast the third-tier Fiery Fist. Burning lava burst out from her fist.

The fiery pillars were fairly brilliant at night. The nine pillars were constructed following the layout of the Nine Halls. The space between the pillars was filled with wild flames, while rains of fire poured down on the field and scorched the land.

Liu Zhongming and his companion suffered greatly from the heat. Their defensive Equipment was unable to protect them from the high temperature and the violent fire pillars. If Tangyue hadn’t held back, the two would have been burned alive.

Tangyue had tied her hair up. Her pale face reflected the flickering light of the flames. She looked rather haggard.

She withdrew the power of the Nine Pillars, and the grass field soon regained its peace. They managed to get rid of the four interns and probationary members of the Magic Court, but she was more concerned about the Royal Guards.

“Let’s go, they are pretty close to us,” Tangyue said, after taking a glance at the Totem Orb she was carrying.

“Mm.” The Swift Star Wolf was injured, so they had no choice but to proceed to the mountain with Fleeing Shadow.

The mountain was only a short distance away. Using the darkness as the cover, they quickly dissolved the shadows and ventured deep into the bald mountain.

——

A moment later, the Royal Guards arrived at the “crime scene” riding a weird blue bird with wings over ten meters long.

Wu Pingjing pulled a long face when he saw the four people crying out in agony while lying on the ground.

“Didn’t we tell you to only keep them busy!” snapped one of the Royal Guards.

Dongfang Ming endured the pain in his bones as he rose to his feet and reported with a defeated look, “I…I thought their strength was fairly average…”

“Dongfang Ming, do you really think you’re very good? Tangyue is an Advanced Magician, and yet you still think you stood a chance against her?” a judge of the Magic Court, Li Jin, scolded him.

Li Jin was Dongfang Ming’s superior. As a matter of fact, he was in charge of this group of four. He initially thought they would be rewarded greatly for their contribution by locating Tangyue and Mo Fan, but now, what awaited them turned out to be serious punishment once they returned to the Enforcement Union!

“He was defeated by the other kid,” said Liu Zhongming with a cold harrumph.

Liu Zhongming had no intention of taking the blame. He was strictly following the orders given to them. It was Dongfang Ming who suggested they could take the enemies down, as he was overconfident in himself.

“Isn’t that kid an Intermediate Magician too?” asked Li Jin. The question placed Dongfang Ming in a more awkward situation. He had no clue how to answer it.

Wu Pingjing glanced at the battered and exhausted losers and asked with a cold smirk, “Do you really think the young man with Tangyue is some normal Magician?”

Wu Pingjing had checked Mo Fan’s background. He was closely related to the calamity of Bo City and the operation that wiped out the Black Vatican in the Magic City. How could someone like him be a nobody?

“His innate talent, Double Innate Elements, is ranked fifth on the leaderboard. He is the strongest student that the Pearl Institute has ever recruited. He played an important role in stopping two of the major plots set up by the Black Vatican. In terms of talent, he’s more than a level higher than you. In terms of background, do you think the Pearl Institute will lose to your Zhejiang Institute? In terms of strength… you trash couldn’t even last more than fifteen minutes against him. If the people of the so-called renowned Dongfang Clan have nothing but pride, you will never be able to join the Enforcement Union!” Li Jin was utterly furious.

It would still be acceptable if Dongfang Ming had lost to Tangyue, but he had lost to Mo Fan, who was also an Intermediate Magician.

It was not the first time Li Jin had tried to teach Dongfang Ming that there was always someone better than him out there, but he was blinded by to his pride, and made a grave mistake. Even Li Jin, who was a senior in the Enforcement Union, was unable to defend him this time.

“Go back home and treat your wounds. You will no longer call yourself part of the Enforcement Union,” the Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing, said coldly.

The group of four did not dare to make any noise, while Li Jin was too scared to plead for them.

Offending the Head of the Royal Guards was still bearable, but if Councilman Zhu Meng were to put the blame on them, they would no longer be accepted by any Magic Association!

——

“I’ll make him pay when I see him next time!” Dongfang Ming swore, clenching his teeth.

Dongfang Ming was not bothered by the consequences. He was more concerned that he had lost to Mo Fan, who appeared to be in the same generation as he was.

Meanwhile, Liu Yilin had initially planned to avenge himself, but when he learned that even Dongfang Ming had been thoroughly defeated, a great shadow of fear rose in his heart.

He was nothing compared to Dongfang Ming, and yet even he had lost completely. What right did he have to seek his revenge on the guy?

After crossing a few hills, Tangyue took out the Totem Orb.

The life energy inside the Totem Orb had almost depleted, thus she had to release the Skyscraping Snake as soon as possible.

The moment the orb was taken out, a great mist burst out from it.

The mist was blue-black in color. Mo Fan even hid some distance away to observe it, but to his surprise, the mist quickly spread to his area. Within seconds, his vision was shrouded, preventing him from seeing clearly.

In the darkness, Mo Fan could sense something slithering in front of him.

He felt a cold sensation. It appeared that something was pushing at him, forcing him back further.

Mo Fan touched it with his hand and found it to be some cold snake scales. He immediately realized that the big guy was extending his body. Mo Fan quickly ran to a higher rock nearby.

He stood on top of the rock and glanced down. The entire place was shrouded in a blue-black mist, taking up half of the mountain.

In the mist, a giant figure would show himself at times, presenting his firm, sturdy scales. The patterns on the snake’s skin looked like a wall painting to Mo Fan at his distance.

Before, he was observing the big guy through a window on a building. This time, there was nothing between them. A great chill rose from deep down in his soul. Mo Fan did not even dare to look at him any further.

—

A moment later, the blue-black mist finally cleared. An enormous snake lay right on the mountain.

Its body was coiled around the rocks, hung on the walls and spread across the ground. It felt like the mountain was on the verge of collapsing due to its weight.

Mo Fan had jumped onto the rock to make space for the Skyscraping Snake. However, when he glanced down, his entire field vision was occupied by it. It was a stunning view!

“Mo Fan, jump over here. The big guy is bringing us to the cave,” Tangyue boldly stood on the Skyscraping Snake’s head and waved her hand at him.

“Err, I think I’ll escort him from here,” said Mo Fan.

There was a kind of despairing fear one would experience when they stood on a lonely rock, surrounded by snakes underneath!

He was standing on a rock, with a single snake right under him. However, the snake was even more terrifying than thousands of ordinary snakes together. The fear due to the sheer difference in size fully occupied his mind.

“Come over quick. Otherwise, I’ll let the big guy invite you personally,” said Tangyue.

As soon as Tangyue finished her sentence, Mo Fan instantly jumped down from the rock and landed on the snake’s head with a pale face.

The Skyscraping Snake’s head was spacious enough to build a basketball court on. His remarkably large eyes were staring at Mo Fan. He did not even dare to take a deep breath.

“Don’t worry, he knows that you’ve helped him in his most crucial time. He won’t blame you for stepping on his head.” Tangyue let out a charming smile when she saw Mo Fan’s terrified expression.

She initially thought nothing in the world could intimidate Mo Fan. If he were being naughty again, she would just let the big guy teach him how to behave.

The Skyscraping Snake hissed. Mo Fan immediately saw a giant red rug swaying wildly in front of him. He almost fell to the ground… to the snake’s head!

“He’s saying thank you,” said Tangyue with a giggle.

“You’re…you’re welcome…” responded Mo Fan with a forced smile.

“Let’s go, big guy. You’re safe now,” Tangyue liked to sit between the Skyscraping Snake’s eyes, waving her fair legs on the beast’s forehead.

Mo Fan simply closed his eyes, feeling rather uncomfortable.

The Skyscraping Snake slithered across the hills. The backbone of the hills, which seemed quite massive to human eyes was only a little fold on flat ground for the beast. His body remained stable as he moved past it.

Sitting on the Skyscraping Snake’s head, they crossed several hilltops in the blink of an eye, but the truth was, he was moving at a fairly slow pace.

After crossing several hills, a relatively huge mountain finally appeared in front of them.

The huge mountain was their destination. The hills were only like pieces of rocks in the Skyscraping Snake’s eyes, whereas the mountain was huge enough to be called a hill.

It was easy to spot the cave. It was located right at the waist of the white mountain. The Skyscraping Snake climbed along the mountain walls and soon arrived at the entrance of the cave.

It was not necessary to describe the size of the cave, since it was able to contain the Skyscraping Snake within it. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was not too inclined to follow the snake into it. The cave was fully covered in darkness, so it was impossible to tell if there were any beast living inside it. It was said that the cave extended in all directions like a maze. Not only did it connect several mountains together, one could also access the underground realm from the cave. It was not exaggerating to say there was a pack of demon beasts living inside it.

“Big guy, rest up now. We’re heading back,” Tangyue stood on the wall so her line of sight was parallel to the Skyscraping Snake’s head.

The Skyscraping Snake hissed, as if he understood what Tangyue was trying to say.

“Oh, you better give me some of your blood,” said Tangyue.

The Skyscraping Snake bent backward slightly and bit his body with his fangs, leaving two huge holes.

He took a sip and sucked quite an amount of blood from them.

“That’s too much!” Tangyue waved her hand.

Mo Fan was left speechless. The Totem Beast was rather straightforward. The blood he had sucked up alone could give Tangyue a blood bath!

“What are you planning to do with his blood?” Mo Fan was confused.

“The plague is getting serious. We might be able to find the source of the plague from his blood, and use it to produce the serum,” said Tangyue.

The plague had been bothering Tangyue throughout the journey. Now that the Skyscraping Snake was safe, her priority now was to deal with the plague. The Skyscraping Snake’s poison was mainly from his blood, so if she could bring his blood back, assuming that he was truly responsible for the plague, the blood would be useful in finding the cure.

“You’ve got to be kidding. We tried so hard to escape, and now we have to find a way to go back?” Mo Fan was not sure if he should be laughing or crying.

“What else should we do? We can’t just ignore the plague. We don’t have to do anything. The Royal Guards will be here soon. They will bring us back,” said Tangyue.

“…is there a better way? I’m afraid that they will try to get even with us along the way,” said Mo Fan.

“We’re running out of time. A minute wasted might mean another person catching the plague. Let’s hope the blood will work, “said Tangyue.

“If it worked, it would prove that the beast is responsible for the plague. That way, Councilman Zhu Meng will be even more determined to eliminate him.”

In the quarantine zone set up for the plague, rows of beds were arranged under white tents. The beds were filled with patients covered with blisters on their arms and faces. Dark specks were visible on their extremely dry skin, but regardless of how much water they drank, it did not provide relief to the pain they were experiencing. Instead, more unknown liquid burst out from the blisters.

The cries of agony rose one after another in the area. They consisted of the elderly, adults, and kids. The adults were immersed in fear of the unknown plague. They glanced at the Healers walking past them, hoping they would be treated. Unfortunately, even the experts were totally clueless about how they could help them. Meanwhile, the innocent kids were enjoying themselves playing chase between the beds. They clearly had no idea what was awaiting them.

Outside of the quarantine zone, several respectful people in the medical field were seated in a temporary meeting room made from tents. Instead of discussing how they could help the patients, they were actually counting down the time left for the infected people. They had never felt so helpless before.

“Mr. Lu, we only have three days left. The first batch of patients will end up just like the corpses we saw before. The total number is…” said a middle-aged man wearing a white coat.

Mr. Lu raised his hand, signaling him not to say any more. He knew better than anyone else the total of people who were infected the earliest. That alone was not the reason why he was feeling extremely uneasy. The main reason why it all felt like the apocalypse to him was that the number of patients in the second batch and third batch was still multiplying exponentially. The total had gone over the limit they could estimate, as the people were scattered across all corners of Hangzhou City.

“Mr. Lu, if we could find the source of the plague, we would be able to develop the serum to cure it. Everyone knows the gigantic snake is responsible for it, why aren’t we hunting it down yet?” asked the man in the white coat.

As soon as he finished the sentence, the Head of the Magic Court, Tang Zhong entered the tent. Mr. Lu cast a glance at him without saying anything. Mr. Lu was well aware that the snake was not a demon beast. It was the guardian of their city!

Tang Zhong was followed by Councilman Zhu Meng. His expression was a lot more dignified than before, but his gaze was filled with a hint of fury, a clear indication that he had just argued with the Head of the Magic Court.

“Tang Zhong, are you seriously going to wait until the whole of Hangzhou is piled up with corpses!? If you continue to do nothing, your wish will be fulfilled very soon! When that happens, you will be condemned by every person in Hangzhou. I don’t care about my Threat-Eliminating Strategy, I’m not ordering you as a Councilman, I’m just trying to save the people affected by the plague!” Zhu Meng slightly lowered his stance.

Tang Zhong did not seem relaxed at all. He desperately wanted to resolve the matter. His determination was swaying too.

Zhu Meng was about to say something when a Royal Guard quickly approached him and whispered in his ear.

His expression immediately changed as he blurted out in excitement, “Did you bring back the Totem Orb?”

The Royal Guard responded in a soft tone, “We’ve let you down. Please punish us!”

Councilman Zhu Meng almost lost his temper. They had sent out many interns, and yet they still failed to catch the two Magicians. A bunch of idiots!

The Royal Guard, Li Jin lowered his head further and added when Zhu Meng slightly calmed his anger, “We’ve brought Tangyue and Mo Fan back, awaiting your order.”

“Bring them here, now!”

——

A moment later, Tangyue and Mo Fan, who had surrendered themselves, were brought to the quarantine zone. They were both dumbfounded, as they never thought the plague would become so serious in just the past few days.

As they were brought to Zhu Meng, the Councilman glared at the two with a shuddering jaw. He said with a grim laugh, “How nice of you two! If it were possible, I would execute you right on the spot! Should I bring you two on a tour around the area, so you can understand how much of a mistake you’ve made after witnessing how this whole place has turned into hell!”

Mo Fan remained silent.

Tangyue bit her lips. Everything had happened too quickly, and the plague had worsened faster than she could imagine. The whole city had fallen to the plague after they left with the Skyscraping Snake, with everyone’s life at stake. No one had seen a plague that could spread so rapidly, turning a peaceful, modernized city into a terrifying place full of sickness.

She reached out her hand and handed a huge jar of the Skyscraping Snake’s blood to Councilman Zhu Meng, “This is the god’s blood. If he’s the origin of the plague, the blood should be useful to us.”

Zhu Meng signaled at Mr. Lu, who quickly received the blood and went to the lab with his team. They only had three days left to develop a serum.

“Guards, lock them up,” ordered Zhu Meng.

Li Jin immediately took them away.

As soon as they left, a man wearing the outfit of a Commander quickly came into the room. He saluted at Councilman Zhu Meng before whispering a piece of news into his ear.

“What did you just say!?” Councilman Zhu Meng stared at him.

The crowd immediately shifted their attention toward Zhu Meng when they saw his abnormal reaction. They could not imagine what news it would be to bring such a great shock to him.

“We’ve just received the news from the fortress. The situation is extremely critical. Councilman, please hold a meeting to assist us with the ambush,” said the Commander.

“Alright,” Zhu Meng nodded in disbelief, “I’ll send the order at once.”

When Wu Pingjing, the Head of the Royal Guards, saw Zhu Meng’s reaction, he asked, “Councilman, what’s going on?”

“Misfortune does not come singly, for f***s sake!” Councilman Zhu Meng let out a sigh. He did not even have time to tidy his beard, disheveled from the wind.

The Commander realized that everyone in the room was considered authority figures, so he quickly announced the shocking news.

“The fortress close to West Ridge, to the west of Hangzhou City, has just told us that a huge group of White Magic Falcons has appeared. They were hungry, berserk, and fearless. No matter how we’ve attacked them with magic, they show no intention of retreating, and were flying straight toward the city…”

Tang Zhong’s face filled with astonishment!

From what he knew, a huge pack of White Magic Falcons was residing in West Ridge. However, they had always stayed within their territory, compared to the other demon beasts.

Tang Zhong could not understand why the pack of White Magic Falcons would ambush Hangzhou all of a sudden. It was fairly rare for the demon beasts to launch an attack at a city, especially when Hangzhou City was heavily guarded.

“We’ve got a big problem…” said Councilman Zhu Meng.

Tang Zhong nodded with a frown. The entire city was immersed in terror from the plague. The ambush from the demon beasts would only make the situation worse!

To the west of White Mountain lay the West Ridge. The place fully retained its original appearance, with towering mountains and old trees.

For a very long time, the West Ridge was strictly a no-fly zone. Even airlines were told to avoid flying over the region, as it was inhabited by lots of White Magic Falcons.

The White Magic Falcons were extremely violent, with a strong sense of territory, to an extent that they would attack any Commander-level or even Ruler-level demon beast flying over their territory relentlessly. Even a harmless sparrow that lost its way would be considered hostile.

They were fierce, but had great unity. They were the biggest threat to the west of Hangzhou City.

However, despite being fairly close to human’s territory, they had never shown any intentions of infiltrating the safe zone, as if they were content with the current situation as long as their territory remained unharmed.

As the years passed, the West Fortress slowly let their guard down toward the White Magic Falcons. They almost assumed they were behaving themselves. To their surprise, the White Magic Falcons launched an attack while the city was suffering from an outbreak.

The Battlemages grouped up in their platoons at the fortress. They were standing on top of temporary platforms while staring at the demon beasts flying in their direction with numbers as dense as the clouds…

As a matter of fact, it had been many years since they last saw such an incredible number of demon beasts attacking human territory.

“Come, time to clear some pests,” a Commander who looked fairly young waved his hand, signaling his men to mount their Heavenly Eagles.

The White Magic Falcons were not very powerful, but the biggest problem was their flying ability. The Magicians on the ground could not reach them with their attacks.

Flying demon beasts were usually the most difficult to deal with. Luckily, West Fortress was usually stationed with elite Battlemages, with a bunch of Heavenly Eagles on standby. The Battlemages were able to ride the Heavenly Eagles to stop the invasion of the White Magic Falcons.

“It’s been a while since we last enjoyed ourselves a great battle,” the Vice Commander licked his lips, as if he had a great lust for blood.

“Soldiers, move out!” The Commander gave the order.

The Battlemages quickly mounted the Heavenly Eagles and gave the beasts the order to move out.

However, an unexpected event took place.

The Heavenly Eagles remained stationary. None of them were flapping their wings.

Normally, once the order was given, the Heavenly Eagles would soar into the sky straight away. They had been tamed by the Beastmasters for a very long time. Apart from head-on battles, they had always obeyed the orders from the Beastmasters.

“Summon the Beastmasters at once. I want to know what’s wrong with these Heavenly Eagles!” snapped the Commander.

The soldiers were ready to charge into the battlefield and eliminate the demon beasts that dared to infiltrate Hangzhou, yet the Heavenly Eagles stood firmly in their spots, as if they had all reached an agreement.

“Commander, you’re looking for me?” a Beastmaster in uniform appeared.

“Take a look at these Heavenly Eagles, why aren’t they obeying our orders?” said the Commander.

The Beastmaster went up to one of the Heavenly Eagles and placed his hand on its body. He closed his eyes as he tried to sense the feeling that the beast was experiencing.

A moment later, the Beastmaster’s eyes sprang open and glanced toward the flying figures in the distance. He blurted out, “They are afraid!”

“Afraid of what?” scolded the Commander.

“The Heavenly Eagles and the White Magic Falcons belong to the same race. Even though they are tamed by us, they still have the blood of demon beasts flowing inside their bodies. They are unwilling to oppose the White Magic Falcons…” said the Beastmaster.

“Damn it, useless idiots!” scolded the Commander.

“No matter how long we’ve tamed them, they can’t disobey the law of nature. Besides…” The Beastmaster went up to a Heavenly Eagle which seemed to be struggling and placed his hand on its neck.

The Beastmaster’s face turned pale. His eyes were staring at the army of the White Magic Falcons in disbelief, as if he had sensed the great terror in the Heavenly Eagle’s heart.

“Besides what, say it now!” said the Commander impatiently.

Without the help of the Heavenly Eagles, how many Battlemages actually had the ability to fly? This was a very serious problem!

“Once a Commander-level Four -Clawed Magic Eagle appeared, our troops will lose fighting against the demon beasts in the air. The Heavenly Eagles will not dare to go against a Four-Clawed Magic Eagle!” said the Beastmaster.

“I’m well aware of that. If our air defense collapses, the demon beasts can easily fly past us into the city!” said the Commander.

The Beastmaster’s eyes were still full of terror. He shook his head and glanced at the Heavenly Eagle besides him.

The gaze of the Heavenly Eagle turned from submissive to rage. Its black pupils had turned crimson red. It flapped its wings wildly, not to fly into the sky to war, but trying to fling the person on its back down.

Suddenly, every Heavenly Eagle began to scream. Their eyes were staring at the intruders in the distance, as if they were responding to a call.

“What’s going on!”

“I’m losing control of my Heavenly Eagle!”

“So am I!”

The beasts struggled wildly and twisted their bodies. If it weren’t for the chains tying their legs down, they would have already flown into the air.

“They are turning… they are betraying us!” yelled a rather experienced soldier.

“What?” The young Commander quickly glanced at the Heavenly Eagles and saw their pupils changing color. They were resisting violently, some even attacking the soldiers.

“This is bad!” The Beastmaster had totally lost control of the situation.

“What exactly is going on?” yelled the young Commander. The Heavenly Eagles had always been submissive. Why would they start a rebellion today?

“Didn’t I mention that if there was a Commander-level Four Clawed Magic Eagle nearby, these Heavenly Eagles subconsciously fear the demon beast, as they possess a lower lineage! However, if a Ruler-level demon beast of the eagle species were to appear, they would betray us straight away due to its overwhelming presence!” shouted the Beastmaster, his face pale.

Ruler-level! The young Commander totally lost his calm when he heard the term. It was the first time a demon beast of that level was involved in an invasion!

“Quick, kill the Heavenly Eagles now! Otherwise, they will betray us! These beasts with petty lineage will never be able to resist the presence of a Ruler-level demon beast!” blurted out the Beastmaster.

The soldiers were stunned.

They never thought a Ruler-level demon beast would be so terrifying. Even the Heavenly Eagles, who were tamed and trained like soldiers since they were young, stood no chance against the presence of a Ruler-level demon beast.

“What are you all waiting for? Do you want to see the fortress destroyed? Kill the traitorous Heavenly Eagles now!” the Beastmaster roared furiously when he saw the hesitation among the soldiers.

The young Commander clenched his teeth and made the cruel decision. “Kill, kill them all now!”

A seventeen-year-old teenager sat at the edge of the ninth lookout tower of West Fortress.

He was carefully blowing a flute. The melody was utterly pleasant. It had a unique, countryside rhythm.

As the melody played, a gray-white Heavenly Eagle in its growing stage flew out from the trees and landed beside the teenager.

The teenager fondled the gray-white Heavenly Eagle’s head and said with a smile, “Gray, were you secretly hunting down hares? Is it because the food here at the fortress doesn’t suit your taste? Or has that prick Beastmaster been torturing you again… Alright, I know that he’s picking on you because he’s not fond of your impure lineage. I’ll make you something delicious when I have the chance.”

The Heavenly Eagle nodded as if it could understand the teenage boy’s words.

The boy and the eagle played on the lookout tower for a while. Suddenly, a sharp siren was heard coming from the fortress. It immediately burst into an uproar as troops of Battlemages were summoned to the front line.

“What’s going on?” the teenage boy yelled at a messenger soldier passing by the lookout tower.

“Wang Xiaojun, what are you doing up there? Hurry up and hide inside the fortress! A small guy like you will be eaten by the White Magic Falcons fairly quickly,” said the messenger.

“It’s alright, I have Gray protecting me,” said Wang Xiaojun.

Meanwhile, a tall, skinny bloke whose face was full of pockmarks appeared. He raised his head to look at the teenager and demanded, “Protect you? We’ve just received the order from our superiors! All soldiers must kill the Heavenly Eagles they are looking after at once!”

“What are you saying? Why would the army give such a command?” exclaimed Wang Xiaojun in disbelief.

“A Ruler-level demon beast has appeared from West Ridge. Every Heavenly Eagle of the fortress is turning against us. What are you waiting for? Didn’t I tell you to kill your Heavenly Eagle now? Those who disobey the order will be punished by military law!”

Wang Xiaojun was stunned. He glanced at Gray, who was still not mature yet…

How could he possibly kill him with his own hands?

The gray eagle was the only present left him by his elder brother, who had sacrificed his life for the army. He had been taking care of the bird since he was a youngling, the gray eagle was his most important friend and companion.

“Humph, a Heavenly Eagle like that with impure lineage should never have been allowed to stay in the army,” said the Beastmaster with pockmarks.

“No!” Wang Xiaojun suddenly bit his lips, looking at the Heavenly Eagle, and blew his flute.

The eagle obeyed the signal like a soldier as soon as the piercing sound was made.

Following another signal from the flute, the eagle flapped its wings and rapidly soared into the sky.

Even though it was not mature, and its wings were still not fully grown yet, its speed was comparable to the ordinary Heavenly Eagles.

A brief moment later, the gray figure quickly disappeared into the trees.

The Beastmaster with pockmarks was infuriated. He pointed his finger at Wang Xiaojun and snapped, “You little bastard, you dared to disobey a military order. You’re not worthy to stay in the army, just like that crossbreed Heavenly Eagle. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? The beast will turn against us. It will attack the fortress with the White Magic Falcons!”

The teenager Wang Xiaojun lowered his head and fell silent.

He could not understand why the army would make such a cruel decision. He was clueless about why it was given in the first place. However, he and Gray had kept one another in company for a very long time. He was willing to take the punishment instead of doing such a cruel thing to his companion.

As the Beastmaster left furiously, Wang Xiaojun finally raised his head and saw piles of white feathers drifting to the wind in the fortress…

At the taming ground nearby, piles of Heavenly Eagles were lying in pools of blood!

They were struggling in pain. They were begging for mercy in the pools of blood as they uttered cries of agony… The sound of their cries penetrated the teenage boy’s heart like swords!

Each of the Heavenly Eagles was part of his eldest brother’s painstaking efforts, and they were falling right in front of him. The worst thing was, instead of being killed in battle, they had fallen at the hands of their beloved Beastmasters.

The teenage boy did not want to watch any further. He quickly closed his eyes.

They were no tears, yet his heart was bleeding!

——

In the Enforcement Union’s meeting room, as soon as the news from West Fortress was announced, the Head of the Magic Court, the Councilman and the rest fell deadly silent.

No one expected the situation to turn so serious quickly, be it the plague that had taken them by surprise, or the army of White Magic Falcons ambushing Hangzhou for no particular reason.

“The White Magic Falcons are definitely something that the military would not want to face. Not only has our line of defense collapsed, the Heavenly Eagles have also turned into a threat. Luckily, the Head of the Beastmasters told his men to kill all of them decisively. Otherwise, the situation would be much worse,” said an Elder of the Magic Court, Li Tian.

“We’re having internal trouble and outside aggression at the same time. Has Mr. Lu managed to develop the serum for the plague?” asked Zhu Meng.

“We do have the serum, but the blood of the Black Totem Snake is only enough to resist the plague. It’s nowhere enough to cure the patients. We need the Black Totem Snake’s bile or something else,” answered Mr. Lu.

Tang Zhong frowned and glanced at Tangyue, who was being guarded by two Royal Guards, “Head to White Mountain at once, and take some bile from the god.”

Councilman Zhu Meng quickly rose to his feet and said, “If we could invent a resisting serum from his blood, he must be responsible for the plague! Do you have any idea how serious the situation is! How much time do you still want to waste on following your ancient tradition? Your stupidity is going to get lots of people killed!”

Tang Zhong fell silent.

Zhu Meng walked out from his seat and came up to Tangyue with great fury.

Tang Zhong quickly rose to his feet. He thought Councilman Zhu Meng was going to unleash his anger on Tangyue.

Councilman Zhu Meng stood there staring at Tangyue.

A while later, he suddenly lowered his head, as if he had instantly sacked his imposing dignity. He totally lowered his stance, as if he were pleading.

“I can totally understand where you all are coming from, but Hangzhou is currently in a great crisis…” Councilman Zhu Meng’s eyes were bloodshot. It was obvious that he had not slept in many days. “The ambush of the White Magic Falcons is going to be a fierce battle. If we don’t get rid of the plague within a day, Hangzhou would be piled with corpses soon enough. Therefore…”

Councilman Zhu Meng lowered his head further, almost as if he had bent his body ninety degrees at Tangyue. “I beg you, summon the Black Totem Snake back. I promise you, if we manage to find a cure, we will not kill him.”

Tangyue took a few steps backward, staring at Councilman Zhu Meng in disbelief.

As she gathered her thoughts, she looked at Tang Zhong.

Tang Zhong nodded helplessly!

He too was extremely concerned for Hangzhou. He had no intention to be the sinner responsible for the countless lives who were endangered. Since Zhu Meng was willing to compromise by sparing the Black Totem Snake’s life, he would not hesitate any further.

“Alright, I’ll summon him back now. I’ll summon him back to West Lake,” said Tangyue.

West Lake was already chilly in autumn. The surface of the water was cold and shiny.

In the past, the lake used to be crowded with tourists or aged civilians, but it was now completely deserted.

First, everyone was terrified by the plague, so most people preferred to stay indoors if they could. Everyone was scared of catching the plague. Second, every entrance to the lake was sealed off. Members of the public were not permitted to get close to the water or the shores.

The lake was so huge that it felt like a sea.

Along the lengthy Su Causeway of West Lake, the trees slightly swayed as the breeze swept past. At night, they looked like women with astonishing physiques tidying up hair they had just washed.

On the causeway, Councilman Zhu Meng and the Head of the Royal Guards Wu Pingjing were standing at the edge, facing the city.

Their gaze crossed the lake and saw the skyscrapers opposite the water. The reflection of a variety of buildings could be seen on the lake. The city was situated beside the lake, and the lake reflected the famous city. It was a spectacular view!

Dark clouds drifted in the night sky. The faint glow of the moon outlined the shapes of the clouds. The spotlights above some skyscrapers joined the fun and shone their light on the clouds too, making them looked extraordinarily stunning as they hung in the sky above the developed city. Their unique appearance was visible on the surface of the lake too.

Suddenly, a blue-black mist appeared close to the colorful clouds. The faint mist loomed over the land. The night sky turned slightly dim, but a while later, the mist became extremely thick, completely shrouding the moonlight. Even the colorful lights from the city were completely sucked in.

A great darkness swept across the sky.

The pitch-black mist floated above Hangzhou City and slowly approached the deserted West Lake.

On the causeway, Councilman Zhu Meng, Wu Pingjing, Councilman Luo Mian, Li Jin, Tang Zhong, Tangyue, Mo Fan, Li Tian, Leng Qing and the others raised their heads, staring at the black mist looming over the lake.

“So this is how he appeared and disappeared in the busy city out of nowhere…” Leng Qing said calmly.

Leng Qing was a woman who was both cold and alluring at the same time. She was also Little Loli’s sister.

It was Mo Fan’s first time meeting the Eldest Senior Sister of the Clearsky Hunter Agency. To his surprise, Leng Qing was a Vice Elder of the Magic Court, possessing incredible power and status.

“He’s coming.” A smile surfaced on Tangyue’s face.

As she thought, when she blew the pipe made of his snake scales, he would show up regardless of where she was.

He had returned. Even though he had not fully recovered from the ecdysis, he still showed up.

The blue-black mist was now at the center of the lake. Suddenly, a gigantic, long shadow fell into the water, like a black lightning bolt striking the lake!

As the giant snake disappeared into the water, a great wave splashed across the lake.

The water droplets in the air poured down like rain. The tide spread from the center of the lake toward the causeway, almost washing over it!

The crowd on the causeway stared with their eyes open wide. Many of them were seeing the true appearance of the Black Totem Snake for the first time.

It took some time for the water to return to calm. The Black Totem Snake rose from the water, revealing his head and neck as he swam toward the causeway. Despite only showing a small part of his body, it felt like a giant cruise ship was moving towards them!

“Big guy, are you done with your ecdysis?” yelled Tangyue as she looked at the Black Totem Snake in the lake.

The Black Totem Snake slowly approached the causeway. His neck and head were significantly taller than the land. His lantern eyes stared down at the people on the causeway.

Even though he was only looking at Tangyue, everyone felt like he was looking right at them.

“The ecdysis is still not done yet,” Councilman Luo Mian could easily tell from a single glance.

If the Black Totem Snake had finished the ecdysis, the patterns on his body would become very obvious. It would not be as faint as they currently were.

Besides, his presence was not as intimidating as it usually was. Councilman Luo Mian could even tell it was feeling weak.

Councilman Zhu Meng turned around and glanced at Councilman Luo Mian.

Councilman Luo Mian nodded. His eyes flickered with a menacing look!

Councilman Zhu Meng slowly raised his right arm and clenched his fist. It was the gesture assigned to send a signal to his men!

As soon as Zhu Meng sent the signal, countless figures leapt out from the causeway. They were extremely well-trained, hidden at different spots along the path. After Zhu Meng gave the order, it only took them a few seconds to appear on the causeway.

Those who were leading the groups were wearing the outfit of Royal Guards were easily identifiable. They turned out to be Councilman Zhu Meng’s personal army!

As for the rest of the people, most of them were wearing outfits of the Magic Court. The color of their outfits clearly implied that they were under Councilman Luo Mian!

Usually, Judges of the Magic Court would go to different places to carry out the missions assigned to them. It was definitely the first time they had all gathered together.

“Take him down!” yelled Councilman Zhu Meng.

“Activate the Lightning Punishment Formation. We can’t let him escape!” ordered Councilman Luo Mian with a loud voice.

The change of events had taken place too quickly. It took Tang Zhong, Mo Fan, Li Tian, Tang Zhong, and Leng Qing by surprise.

Tangyue’s eyes were filled with disbelief when she saw the Magicians appearing on the causeway.

“What are you doing?” yelled Tangyue.

The two Councilmen had never mentioned these people who were hiding in the dark. It was impossible to believe that they were not planning something else by having so many Advanced Magicians here!

“Tangyue, you’ve done great. We will take over from here,” Councilman Luo Mian said with a smile, fondling his goatee.

“The threat must be eliminated. Once he’s dead, the plague will be gone, too!”

Today would be the day of death for this Totem Snake who had brought them the disaster!

Tangyue was thunderstruck. She never thought the two Councilmen would team up to lie to her… Councilman Luo Mian had always been opposing Councilman Zhu Meng to protect the totem beast!

Mo Fan stared at the causeway in astonishment. He glanced at the huge number of Royal Guards and Judges of the Magic Court. Each of their auras was significantly stronger than his.

Normally, it was rare to see one or two Advanced Magicians. Who knew they would see two groups of them here.

The scene was very spectacular, something that had never taken place before. The Black Totem Snake who revealed his giant head above the lake sensed the hostility from the humans on the causeway. He opened his cave-like mouth and blew a strong wind. The powerful gust destroyed the lines of willows on the causeway. The leaves drifted to the wind, as sprays of water splashed upon the land. It felt like a hurricane had just swept past the place.

“Activate the Lightning Punishment!” demanded Councilman Luo Mian with a loud voice once again.

Suddenly, a strong lightning energy rumbled in the sky above.

Mo Fan raised his head and saw giant purple lightning bolts flashing above the dark clouds. Countless Lightning Stars were connecting together in a rapid pace. It looked like the trailing paths of meteors intertwining with one another, resulting in stunning Star Patterns.

The Star Patterns stacked on top of one another, forming a spectacular Star Constellation.

The Star Constellation stood out in the dark sky with clear vertices. It was extremely three-dimensional and lively.

The Star Constellation symbolized the casting of an Advanced Magic.

Mo Fan initially thought that the casting of that spell, containing an overwhelming lightning energy, had ended, but little did he know, it was only the tip of an iceberg. As the clouds scattered, Mo Fan saw six more Star Constellations formed with two hundred-forty-three stars each, close to the first one he had seen!

Seven Stars were called a Nebula, the symbol of a Basic Spell.

Forty-nine Stars formed seven Nebulas, illustrating a Star Pattern which symbolized an Intermediate Magic.

Two hundred-forty-three Stars formed forty-nine Nebulas, which would then form seven new Star Patterns. The end product was a Star Constellation, an Advanced Magic!

Currently, there were seven Star Constellations in the sky, each alone was enough to amaze the crowd below. As they were connected together in the night sky above the lake, they constructed an astonishing structure with the Stars!

A Star Palace!

The Star Palace that symbolized the Super-level!

Its brilliance was unmatched in the sky above the city. It blazed fabulously in the middle of the darkness, lording over the modern city below!

Mo Fan was dumbfounded!

Even the Star Patterns made of forty-nine Stars that he was extremely familiar with were enough to produce powerful Spells. How destructive would the force of this spell being produced by the Star Palace in the sky be!?

The purple Sky Palace was so huge that it looked extremely close. As the Star Constellations were fully connected together, the overwhelming lightning energy clumped together into stormy clouds. The astounding Lightning Magic began to descend!

The Spell consisted of nine heavenly halberds made of lightning. They were formed by countless lightning arcs piercing through the layers of cloud. Their length and width were like huge pillars supporting the sky…

A stunning purple, from the eye-catching lightning halberds…

A deafening blast took place, as if the sky were shattered into pieces. The powerful lightning struck fiercely from the sky and penetrated the lake in a straight line.

Over in the city, the pedestrians and the residents admiring the view of West Lake on the tall buildings were immediately fixated by the purple flash in the sky. As the lightning halberds descended, their flashy appearance was fully presented to the people.

Spectacular, marvelous; the lightning energy they contained was strong enough to shudder the Heaven and Earth. Even though the world was full of Magic, demon beasts, and mysterious energy, many people still found the view absolutely unbelievable as they witnessed this level of Magic up close!

“Is…is that really Magic?”

“Such a horrifying lightning. It feels like a punishment given by God to the mundane world!”

“What is going on at West Lake? Where did the lightning halberds come from?”

Many people had seen the lightning halberds, regardless of which part of the city they were from. The halberds had torn the dark sky apart. It felt like some energy from the Heavenly realm had accidentally fallen to the Earth…

The nine lightning halberds dropped from the sky and formed a formation with the shape of an enneagram. They stood firmly above the lake like pillars, surrounding the Skyscraping Snake.

They were like giant purple electric pillars, with dense lightning chains spreading across one another. Lightning sparkled fiercely between the pillars!

Lightning, forks, chains… Mo Fan’s vision was inundated with the shocking purple from the lightning energy unleashing from the halberds!

The lightning halberds stood firmly. The Skyscraping Snake furiously stirred up massive waves after learning that he was being suppressed in the center. He even slammed his body into the halberd to break the lightning chains.

However, the lightning halberds were solid as rocks. Each time the Skyscraping Snake slammed into the halberds, the formation would return the favor by whipping the Skyscraping Snake with the lightning chains.

The Black Totem Snake was like a giant python that had fallen into a trap. He struggled violently, but he only ended up injured due to the thorns in the trap. He uttered deafening cries of pain which echoed throughout the entire city.

“Oh my God, am I having a nightmare?”

“Snake, it’s a snake, a…a gigantic snake!”

“The Skyscraping Snake, it’s the same snake that appeared in the city!”

“Holy cow, it really exists! It’s here right in West Lake!”

A great crowd had gathered near the shore, far away from the center of the lake.

As a matter of fact, both the lightning halberds and the Skyscraping Snake were extremely far away, but due to their massive size, they could still clearly see them in the darkness. The purple lightning brightly illuminated the lake, and the terrifying body of the Skyscraping Snake.

The city burst into an uproar. Even though West Lake was sealed off to the public, there were gaps through which the people could still see the Su Causeway. If it were just a normal battle, it would be hidden in the darkness. However, the scale of the battle was too huge and stunning. Everyone could clearly see it from far away. The astonishment on their faces had reached the limit!

The towering lightning halberds stood over the vast lake. The Skyscraping Snake, which had left a scar in the people’s hearts, was currently being suppressed in the middle of the lake right beside the city…

“This…” Mo Fan could not believe what he saw.

“Lightning Punishment Formation-The Seal of Nine Laws! It’s a Lightning Element Super Magic. Once it’s fully established, its power is strong enough to trap a Ruler-level demon beast. Councilman Luo Mian and Councilman Zhu Meng have long prepared for this. They have been planning to kill the Black Totem Snake all along,” said Leng Qing, who was standing beside him.

The lightning struck the Black Totem Snake like merciless whips. The Black Totem Snake had just gotten rid of his most important layer of defense recently, thus he was experiencing tremendous pain. Each bolt of lightning left a deep wound on his body.

He did not give up. He opened his mouth wide and bit on one of the lightning halberds, trying to break it into pieces. However, the lightning turned out to be stronger, penetrating his throat and entering his esophagus. It electrified his inner organs and dealt a great blow to him.

An ordinary Commander-level demon beast would simply be shattered into pieces by the powerful blow. However, the Skyscraping Snake was still able to gather his strength and tore at the lightning halberd once again. In the end, the shock from the lightning paralyzed him, but he was reluctant to give up.

He was infuriated like a tyrant, glaring at the two humans who were responsible. He wanted to escape from the formation just to swallow them into his stomach!

He grew more savage as more wounds began to appear on his body. He was utterly fearless, even if he was facing the extremely destructive Lightning Spell. He wanted to destroy everything, to destroy the lightning that dared to infuriate him!

“Stop it now, I beg you please, stop it!” Tangyue pleaded desperately.

Each time the Black Totem Snake was struck by a lightning bolt, Tangyue could sense her heart being struck by a great blow.

“Begging for mercy?” Councilman Zhu Meng blurted out coldly. He glanced at the terrifying people in the distance who were gathering at the shores around the lake and pointed with his finger. A rather huge crowd had already gathered there.

“Why are you doing this!” snapped Tangyue.

Councilman Zhu Meng was expressionless. He opened his mouth and uttered with a thunderous voice facing the busy city, “People of Hangzhou City, this is the snake beast that appeared before in the city. He is also the source of the plague. He is now residing in West Lake. Unfortunately, some people treated him as a god, thus insisting on protecting him! Today, I, Zhu Meng have decided to eliminate him once and for all to prevent disasters like this from happening in the future. If you agree with me, please let me hear your voice!”

Zhu Meng’s voice was extremely clear, as if it had spread to every little corner in the city. He had used some Magic that Mo Fan had never seen before.

On the other side of the lake, although the Su Causeway was quite a distance away from the shore where the crowd was, as the number of people increased, the crowd suddenly became rather obvious from the distance. Their faces were filled with astonishment, although most of them were still overwhelmed with fear of the unknown beast.

The crowd consisted of students of Magic Schools, ordinary businessmen, old folks who were passing by, normal civilians and quite a number of Magicians who were pursuing justice. They could not believe such a gigantic beast had been residing so close to their city. If they had not seen it with their own eyes today, they would never have believed it to be the truth.

The crowd was terrified and furious. They felt like someone had lied to them, someone who could not care less about their lives!

“Kill him! We have to kill him!”

“How could we possibly let something like that to stay in West Lake. Kill him now!”

“So he is the cause of the plague! He is a great threat to us!”

The voices of the crowd stacked upon one another, echoing across the lake loud and clear at the causeway.

“No, that’s not the truth. He’s not the cause of the plague. He’s actually the guardian of the city. You can’t hurt him!” Tangyue screamed loudly on Su Causeway.

However, her voice alone was no match against the voices of the crowd. Even if her pleading could be heard by the people, they would not show any hint of mercy. Their hearts were overwhelmed with fear and anger. Similar to Councilman Zhu Meng, they only wanted to drive the beast away from their city.

The protests grew louder gradually…

The Black Totem Snake was covered all over with cuts and bruises. His unyielding gaze began to show a hint of fatigue.

He was getting too weak. He was already suffering a punishment from the law of nature due to the ecdysis, and now he was trapped within the destructive lightning formation established by the humans. He no longer had the same spirit of trying to break free from the formation. The lightning bolts continued to strike him recklessly.

He could hear the voices of the crowd coming from the shore. As a matter of fact, he was not too bothered. He endured the pain from the shock of the lightning and slowly turned his head around toward Tangyue.

Tangyue was kneeling helplessly on the edge of the causeway. She seemed extremely tiny in comparison to the rage of the crowd.

If it weren’t for her, the Black Totem Snake would never have left the safest hiding spot during his weakest period.

He had existed for many centuries, thus he was surely more intelligent than humans. He had total trust in her, and yet…she had let him down!

Seeing the bruises and wounds on the Black Totem Snake’s body, whose eyes displayed a hint of fatigue and disappointed, she felt like he was asking her, why had she let him down!

Tangyue was full of tears. There was nothing she could do. She was surrounded by Magicians who were stronger then she was, and the shore was crowded with people demanding the death of the snake. What could she possibly do?

Mo Fan clearly heard her sobs. Similarly, there was nothing Mo Fan could do.

The people of the city were already trapped by the fear of the snake and the plague. Once they found the source of the plague, they would only follow their instincts.

Councilman Zhu Meng was doing something that perfectly suited their requests. Mo Fan believed that he would soon obtain the support of the people of Hangzhou City. No one would care about the despair that one woman was currently suffering.

“Careful, he’s trying to barge out with brute force!” yelled the Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing.

Mo Fan collected his thoughts and saw that the Black Totem Snake, still being tortured tremendously by the lightning, trying to poke his giant head out from the formation.

The wild lightning bolts struck his head fiercely, and yet he continued to charge forward as if he were already numb.

He extended his head as close as possible to the causeway. The Judges of the Magic Court and the Royal Guards quickly backed off. Despite being trapped within the Lightning Punishment Formation, the Black Totem Snake was still very intimidating!

As the people assumed that the Black Totem Snake was desperately trying to break free with his last effort, he slowly moved his head toward Tangyue who was kneeling on the ground in despair…

The snake gently hissed, poking his tongue out from his mouth.

The tip of the tongue appeared in front of Tangyue and gently fondled her face.

Tangyue was stunned.

The tongue was extremely gentle, like a father trying to wipe the tears off her face.

Tangyue raised her head, glancing at the giant head. She stared into the snake’s eyes, which had a gentle look despite the pain and torture he had suffered, before glancing at the tongue which had fondled her face gently. He was trying to comfort her!

At that instant, Tangyue completely broke down and burst out in tears!

Mo Fan was stunned.

He had heard many tales about the Black Totem Snake from Tangyue. The Black Totem Snake was indeed looking after her, just like her senior.

However, Mo Fan was shocked that the Black Totem Snake would care about Tangyue so much. Most demon beasts would have already lost the ability to think rationally after suffering from the bruises and wounds, and would go berserk.

However, the Black Totem Snake did not lose control of himself. In fact, he seemed rather lost when he saw Tangyue bursting into tears.

This was Mo Fan’s first time sensing such emotion from the utterly terrifying gigantic snake. He was treating Tangyue like his own kid, not allowing her to suffer at all. He was scared to hear her crying, even though he was still enduring the pain from the Super Magic Formation!

“Do you believe it? Do you believe a totem beast like that is the source of the plague and the disaster?” said Mo Fan to Eldest Senior Sister Leng Qing beside him.

“Does me believing make any difference?” Leng Qing’s voice was filled with a hint of unwillingness.

As a matter of fact, she was more inclined toward the Totem Guardians side. Unfortunately, the terrified people of the city wanted the Black Totem Snake dead as soon as possible. The Su Causeway was crowded with Advanced Magicians. They were waiting for the Black Totem Snake to become weaker, so they could flank him from all directions and eliminate the Ruler-level demon beast.

——–

On the causeway, Councilman Zhu Meng and Councilman Luo Mian totally ignored the Black Totem Snake’s gentle behavior. They were waiting for the Black Totem Snake to weaken.

“Shall we attack now?” asked Councilman Zhu Meng impatiently.

The West Fortress was under attacked by a pack of White Magic Falcons, a grave threat to the city. Zhu Meng had no time to waste any further. He had to eliminate the Black Totem Snake to get rid of the plague, then hold back the White Magic Falcons.

“Don’t, we can’t afford to underestimate the Black Totem Snake. If you withdraw the Lightning Punishment Formation, more than half of your men would die in order to kill him. His power is still too much for us to handle even though he is currently going through ecdysis!” Councilman Luo Mian was more familiar with the Black Totem Snake than the others.

Councilman Zhu Meng hesitated. He glanced at the Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing beside him.

Wu Pingjing said with a nod, “Councilman, we can’t rush it. Let’s strike after the Lightning Punishment Formation has tortured him a while longer.”

Councilman Zhu Meng lowered his hand and decided to wait it out.

However, a brief moment later, the Royal Guard Li Jin hurriedly came up to Zhu Meng and blurted out without saluting, “Councilman, West Fortress is requesting backup!”

Councilman Zhu Meng frowned. He glanced at the Black Totem Snake which was still trapped within the nine lightning halberds and said, “Give us some time, we need to kill the snake first.”

“It’s an emergency. A Ruler-level demon beast had appeared among the White Magic Falcons. Our line of defense had crumbled due to the betrayal of the Heavenly Eagles. We totally lost our air power. Only Advanced Magicians are able to stop the army of White Magic Falcons. The fortress has summoned every Advanced Magician nearby, but it’s still not enough to hold off the invasion of the White Magic Falcons. Without support, the demon beasts would soon appear in the sky above the city. When that happens…” said Li Jin.

“Is it really that serious?” Councilman Zhu Meng was stunned.

“Without the Heavenly Eagles, the soldiers guarding the fortress are totally useless!” said Li Jin.

The Elder of the Magic Court Li Tian glanced at Councilman Zhu Meng, who was hesitant after hearing the shocking news, “We can’t afford to lose any time. Councilmen, please bring the Judges of the Magic Court and the Royal Guards to the frontline at West Fortress at once!”

“No, we have to kill the beast first!” stated Councilman Luo Mian with a loud tone all of a sudden.

Zhu Meng was puzzled.

“The Black Totem Snake’s endurance is shocking. We might have to wait until late at night before his stamina is depleted. It’s better to attack him by then. If we attack him now, it will result in a great number of casualties. Without enough Advanced Magicians, we won’t be able to provide enough support to the front line. Hangzhou will truly suffer a terrible disaster.

“The Lightning Punishment Formation has the beast trapped. It will not be able to break free from the strongest entrapment Spell among all Super Spells in just one or two days. We should focus on the invasion now, then kill the beast once the city is safe!” said Elder Li Tian.

Councilman Luo Mian pulled a long face. He glanced at the severely injured Black Totem Snake, and took another glance at Councilman Zhu Meng.

Councilman Zhu Meng was the one who had authority over the Magicians. The strength of his Royal Guards was astounding. Therefore, he was the person making the final decision…

“Since we’re running out of time, we should take the risk to kill the beast at once. With the Royal Guards here, he won’t be able to resist much longer,” said Councilman Luo Mian.

“Wait!” Councilman Zhu Meng raised his hand.

“Zhu Meng, we have to kill him now to prevent any changes to the plan,” said Luo Mian.

“To the front line at once!” ordered Zhu Meng sternly.

“This…” Luo Mian reacted strangely.

“Head of the Royal Guards Wu Pingjing, listen up! Bring the Royal Guards to the front line of West Fortress at once! If I see a single White Magic Falcon trespassing into the safe zone, I’ll hold you responsible!” declared Councilman Zhu Meng firmly.

“Affirmative!”

Wu Pingjing leapt into the air and flew into the sky above the causeway as three pairs of wings appeared on his back. Each wing was ample and long, fully extended. Each beat produced a gentle flow, pushing Wu Pingjing into the sky…

“Six wings… This Head of the Royal Guards’ strength is a bit too terrifying!” Mo Fan stared after Wu Pingjing who was disappearing into the sky.

Following Wu Pingjing’s summon, the Royal Guards immediately rose into the sky after him!

The causeway had lots of powerful Magicians on station. They either cast a Wind Element Advanced Spell to summon Wind Wings on their backs, took out their Wing Equipment and adeptly flew into the sky, or Summoned their flying mounts to soar into the sky…

The Royal Guards who were holding their positions on the causeway moments ago had all flown into the distance. They quickly flew west, with Wu Pingjing leading in front. The sight was rather spectacular, making those who had yet to possess any flying ability quite jealous!

Speaking of which, how powerful exactly was the Black Totem Snake that was being trapped within the Lightning Punishment Formation…

The causeway was crowded with many experts, and the Black Totem Snake was already weakened due to the ecdysis and the Lightning Punishment Formation. However, the two Councilmen still assumed it was a great risk to kill it now?

Either way, the Black Totem Snake’s life was spared for now!

Mo Fan was about to walk over to Tangyue when he saw Leng Qing glaring at Councilman Luo Mian, as if she were trying to peek into the cunning old man’s mind.

“Big sis, what’s wrong?” asked Mo Fan.

“I have a feeling that this entire incident isn’t as simple as it looks,” said Leng Qing grimly.

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Mo Fan was smart enough to know that Leng Qing was implying something. He lowered his voice and asked, “Big sis, do you know something?”

“My people have access to some information, and I also spent some time investigating the identities of the first two corpses that were found after the snake appeared in the city. I didn’t find anything useful, but someone seems very suspicious now.” Leng Qing was fairly tall and was currently bearing a sharp gaze. Her aura was quite different from the girls with cold personalities.

Luckily, she was Lingling’s sister. Otherwise, Mo Fan would simply not approach a woman like her.

“Big sis, are you suspicious about… the plague?” Mo Fan noticed something from Leng Qing’s tone.

“Do you want to save the snake?” asked Leng Qing.

Both Li Tian and Leng Qing were leaning towards the side of the Totem Guardians. They had already asked Mr. Lu who was leading the medical team. He mentioned that even though the blood of the Black Totem Snake was able to resist the virus, it was not enough to cure it. It implied that the Black Totem Snake was not the true cause of the plague.

Besides, White Town was severely impacted when the outbreak took place, but the Black Totem Snake was staying at West Lake before. If he were the cause of the plague, the most serious outbreak would have happened to the people close to the lake instead.

The Elder of the Magic Court Li Tian and Leng Qing had both been investigating the incident. They had acquired some leads, but they were unable to sort out who their real targets were.

“I do, but…” Mo Fan glanced at the dispirited Tangyue sitting at on the edge of the causeway.

Mo Fan knew they did not have any convincing proof, but his instinct was telling him that the Black Totem Snake was not evil.

Mo Fan felt rather down, as he had never seen his Miss Tangyue so helpless before.

“My people have been allocated to West Fortress. I didn’t have anyone to help. If you’re willing to assist me, head to White Town at once and see if there’s any trace of other demon beasts,” said Leng Qing.

“I thought someone had already investigated it. Would it make any difference?” said Mo Fan.

White Town was the place of the outbreak, thus the government would have sent Magic Court people over. What could he possibly find there?

“If someone were purposely hiding the truth, or preventing people from finding the true cause, the government’s efforts would have been in vain. I’ve already asked Lingling to go to White Town. You will regroup with her there. Remember, we don’t have much time. Once the White Magic Falcons are driven back, Zhu Meng would surely come and kill the Black Totem Snake straight away. There’s nothing we could do once the beast is dead, and it would be even harder to discover the truth,” said Leng Qing sternly.

“So big sis was already investigating it. Don’t worry, if there is indeed something fishy at White Town, I promise I’ll find it!” declared Mo Fan, tapping his chest.

“Great, we’ll move separately. Please find the truth before they return!” said Leng Qing.

“I’ve no clue where to start from. What shall I do first?” blurted out Mo Fan.

“I’ve already sent the information to Lingling. She will give you the debrief.”

“Fine.”

————-

Leng Qing left quickly. Mo Fan still had no idea what important clue she had discovered a moment ago.

Either way, Mo Fan did agree that something was fishy about the whole incident. If there was more to the plague than what they were seeing on the surface, he was determined to unveil it.

Following Leng Qing’s instructions, Mo Fan arrived at White Town after dark.

White Town was in a complete lockdown. Either entering or leaving the town was incredibly troublesome, very different from the situation a few days ago.

As Mo Fan was troubled trying to find a way to sneak into the town, he received a call from Lingling, who urged him to regroup with her at the main entrance.

As Mo Fan made his way toward the entrance that was heavily guarded, he saw Lingling wearing a black dress with flowers on it standing in a little corner. Her watery eyes were staring at Mo Fan, who had arrived late. Her extremely eye-catching double ponytails increased her charm tremendously. Mo Fan could not help but feel a great urge to hug her and rub her cheeks.

“I knew you wouldn’t die so easily,” Lingling was same as usual. She glanced at Mo Fan for a while, before a smile surfaced on her face.

“You’re getting prettier,” Mo Fan reached out his hand and pinched her cheek.

Lingling immediately twisted her lips. She hated someone pinching her cheeks the most. The girl who was like a little noble princess a moment ago instantly turned into a raging wild cat, reaching out her claws to scratch Mo Fan, as if she were determined to kill Mo Fan at the cost of her own life.

Mo Fan grabbed Lingling’s head with his hand, preventing her arms and legs from reaching him. He chuckled and said, “Alright, time to focus on the real business.”

“Humph, if you dare pinch me again, I’ll chop your hands off!” Lingling squalled like a fierce cub.

“Your sister mentioned that she had given you some information. What was it?” asked Mo Fan.

“Mm, I was actually in charge of the operation, too! Around two months ago, she told me to look into a batch of blood serums being transferred around by the government. The blood serums were supplied to the rest stations, lines of defense and fortresses in Zhejiang Province. You do know that there are endless casualties from fighting demon beasts. Most hunters use a fifth of their income to buy blood serums, to prevent themselves from dying from excessive loss of blood in the wild. The rest stations, lines of defense, and fortresses are places that require a huge amount of blood serums, too…” As usual, Lingling opened her mini laptop and placed it on her legs.

The blood serums were very common yet expensive medical supplies. They were normally used as blood supplies.

Magicians with Healing Magic were less common than other Elements. The Healers could not possibly look after every injured person. Therefore, the serums invented by the Healers were extremely important. Among them, the blood serums had the highest demand. After consuming a blood serum, a Magician’s ability to produce new blood was ten times stronger. Most external wounds could be treated in a short period of time by consuming the blood serum and wrapping them up in bandages, assuming the wounds were not infected.

The blood serums were rather costly. Magicians who spent most of their time fighting in the wild would spend a part of their income on them, thus the providers of blood serums could easily make a huge profit off them…

“What about the blood serums?” asked Mo Fan.

“The blood serums are refined using a special type of blood obtained from demon beasts. The entire process is supposed to be under strict monitoring, and the products have to pass several tests before they are distributed to the rest stations, the military, or sold to the hunters or traders… My sister found out that someone tried to produce blood serums using a different ingredient to replace the special blood, which ended up producing a batch of defective blood serum,” said Lingling.

“Black-hearted vendors?” said Mo Fan in a surprised tone.

“The Magic Association is in charge of the blood serums, and the government would also have a supply of them. It would be a lot easier if only the sellers were involved,” said Lingling.

“Huh?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

Looks like we’ve got vermin in the government and the Magic Association, too!

Translator: XephiZ Editor: Aelryinth

“So the blood serums might have something to do with the plague?” asked Mo Fan.

“We’ll know very soon, after a little investigation. I’ve stolen an ID card as your disguise to sneak into the vault. White Town has been in lockdown since the outbreak, so nothing is allowed to be transported in and out. I bet the defective blood serums are still somewhere in the town,” said Lingling.

“It’s time for the Clearsky Hunter Agency to serve justice today!” Mo Fan was excited.

The blood serums were kept in a military supplies courtyard. Since Mo Fan had the ID card, he simply strutted into the place.

Mo Fan clearly remembered that the place was heavily guarded when he first came to White Town, but since the invasion of the White Magic Falcons, many of the guards had been sent to the frontline instead.

The infiltration was fairly easy. Mo Fan soon observed people in white coats moving boxes from the vaults where the blood serums were kept.

“Many people were injured in the front line. We’ve been sent here to collect the blood serums. Since you’ve got a whole vault of them here, why are you stopping us from taking them!” snapped a soldier who pointed his finger at the guards in white coats close to the vaults.

“I’ve already told you. There isn’t any blood serum here. Someone has already transported them to the front line!” a guard in a white coat responded firmly.

“Do you think I’m blind? I’ve been a medic in the military for many years, and you’re assuming that I can’t recognize the blood serums? Is someone planning to take advantage of the precarious situation to earn a huge profit when the White Magic Falcons is invading us?” snapped the soldier righteously.

“Enough with the slander, we’re merely following our orders,” said the guard, embarassed.

“Humph, order my ass. You pricks are unbelievable, hoarding important supplies to yourself. I will now take all the blood serums in the vaults, and see if anyone dares to confront I, Commander Ming Kuo. Soldiers, take all the blood serums from the vaults!” A man with a black beard stepped forward. His badges alone revealed his identity as a Commander.

The guards in white coats were initially bold and confident, but their confidence quickly shattered when they saw a Commander was involved.

Commander Ming Kuo was ruthless. He led the Battlemages and kicked the doors of the vaults open.

As soon as the doors flung open, bottles of blood serums perfectly lined up on the racks in the vaults. The blood inside the containers showed a unique gloss under the light.

“And you’re telling me these aren’t blood serums!” snapped Commander Ming Kuo furiously.

“Those…” The guards pull a long face.

“Shut up, I’ll turn you into ashes if you speak a word more. Our soldiers are in the midst of a bloodbath at the frontline, while pricks like you were hoarding the supplies!” yelled Commander Ming Kuo.

The guards did not dare to speak further, apart from one who seemed to be medical personnel, “It’s fine if you’re planning to take them, but may I give the Vice Elder of the Magic Court, Wang Yi, a heads-up? These supplies belonged to the Magic Associations and the Enforcement Union, so we still have to follow procedures…”

“Trying to scare me off with a Vice Elder of the Magic Court?” Commander Ming Kuo uttered a disdainful laugh.

He waved his hand signaling his men to take the supplies away, leaving no room of discussion to the medical personnel.

The Battlemages had come in numbers. Although there were quite a number of guards there, they would not dare to oppose the army. They simply stood there exchanging glances with one another as the boxes of blood serums were carried away…

——

The medical personnel wore a gloomy face. He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed a number. His panicked reaction was a clear indication that something had gone wrong.

“Vice Elder of the Magic Court, Wang Yi?” Mo Fan’s lips curled upward. He had obtained a useful piece of information.

It was obvious that there was something wrong with the blood serums. Otherwise, why would they want to stop them from being taken away? The front line was currently under heavy attack, thus it only made sense that supplies like these were sent there straight away.

Mo Fan was currently disguising himself as a medic, too. When he saw Commander Ming Kuo’s people taking the blood serums, he quickly approached them.

“Commander, please wait,” called Mo Fan.

“Who are you? Are you trying to stop me with some big names too?” ridiculed Commander Ming Kuo.

“No, not at all. I have a few soldiers injured, and yet I was unable to find any blood serums in the town. I was planning to take some from here, when I saw your people taking them away,” said Mo Fan.

Commander Ming Kuo glanced at Mo Fan, before looking at his proof of identity and confirmed that he was from the army, too. He waved his hand and ordered one of his men to give Mo Fan a box of the blood serums.

Mo Fan expressed his gratitude, and just as he was about to pay the money, Commander Ming Kuo waved his hand and said, “Don’t worry about it. We’re all risking our lives for the city.”

A box of blood serums was rather costly. Commander Ming Kuo’s words had plucked the strings in Mo Fan’s heart. It turned out that he was a true soldier who cared about the city, even though his way of taking the supplies was rather rude…

—

Mo Fan immediately left the courtyard after obtaining the box of blood serums.

Lingling was waiting at the same spot. Her mouth opened wide when she saw Mo Fan carrying the box toward her.

“Take your time with them, and see if there’s anything wrong…” Mo Fan handed the box of blood serums to Lingling.

Lingling was an expert with medicines. She could analyze the components of the blood serums with simple equipment, but she just needed some time.

“Have you found anything else?” asked Lingling.

“Do you know the Vice Elder of the Magic Court, Wang Yi?” asked Mo Fan.

The medical personnel had mentioned his name to stop the Commander, thus it was possible that he was the person keeping the blood serums inside the vaults!

“My sister should know,” Lingling quickly called Leng Qing with the information.

Leng Qing went silent for quite a long time with heavy breathing.

“Seems like we’re getting real close to the truth behind the plague,” said Leng Qing in a grim voice.

“What should we do now?” asked Mo Fan.

“Mo Fan, Lingling, head over to West Fortress. Track the blood serums down, I believe the truth is rising to the surface real soon!” said Leng Qing.

“Got it, we’ll go now!” Mo Fan nodded.

Things were getting really interesting. Soon, they would know who was responsible for the plague!

Translator: XephiZ Editor: Aelryinth

The light of dawn gently scattered across the surface of West Lake, shining upon the nine lightning halberds as the sky lit up. The people could now get a clearer look at the astonishing Super Magic…

The Lightning Magic had firmly trapped the Skyscraping Snake. His body was covered with bruises. He looked extremely weak.

He still revealed his upper body above the surface of the lake. He would glance at the terrified crowd surrounding the lake at times, and try to break free from the Lightning Punishment Formation. Unfortunately, the formation was extremely solid, and it was impossible for him to barge his way out with his current strength.

On the causeway, Tangyue sat there and kept the Black Totem Snake company. If the Black Totem Snake were to leave the world forever, she wanted to share his last walk with him.

The wounds on the Black Totem Snake were spreading. The lightning from the halberds continued to strike at his body and torture him.

Finally, the Black Totem Snake seemed to have run out of energy. His body slowly curled up as he rested his head on his body. His eyes closed slowly.

“Big guy, are you alright? Please stay with me for a while longer. I’ll think of a way to save you!…” Tangyue screamed at the beast.

The Black Totem Snake opened his heavy eyelids. He glanced at Tangyue and uttered a soft shriek, as if he were just telling Tangyue that he was taking a little nap as he was too tired.

The wounds on the Black Totem Snake festered badly. The lightning arcs penetrated into his skin mercilessly. They would only let him go once he was shattered into pieces.

Tangyue continued to scream at the giant beast to stop him from falling asleep. However, the Black Totem Snake had already shut his eyes, not showing any reaction to her calls.

Tangyue covered her face in her hands, her eyes filled with tears. She stared at the Black Totem Snake, which was slowly being torn apart by the lightning bolts, not knowing if he would fall into a permanent sleep.

————

West Fortress…

The sky was bright and clear, embellished with snowy white clouds. It would be a stunning view, without the blood splattering in the sky and flesh being torn apart.

The sky above the fortress currently held a giant white storm. It loomed over the vast land and the humans’ fortress.

With just a glance, it was impossible to tell that the white storm was actually formed by thousands of White Magic Falcons!

Their screams pierced like thunder, their wings formed a white hurricane. Their eyes were filled with hunger, staring at the city full of humans in the distance.

Meanwhile, Magic Spells were howling over the fortress.

The colors from a variety of Basic Spells were blossoming like fireworks in the sky. A strong pungent odor from the destructive Elements lingered across the land.

A huge number of powerful Magicians were battling in the sky among the countless wings and claws. The brilliance of Sky Palaces being aligned was a spectacular sight.

The sky was filled with lines of meteors, each the funeral of a White Magic Falcon, feathers and bodies burned into ashes, dying the sky a blazing red.

A pair of Eyes of Death was emitting an eerie glow, like it belonged to a Grim Reaper. As they traveled across the sky, the White Magic Falcons nearby would turn into lifeless statues, which eventually smashed to pieces on the ground.

A Shadow Elementalist raised his hands high up in the sky, reversing day and night. When he finished casting the Spell, the whole area was covered in darkness, rendering the sharp eyes of the White Magic Falcons useless.

A gigantic beast leapt into the sky and infiltrated the darkness. A moment later, cries of agony came out non-stop, as the beast brought a nightmare to the White Magic Falcons that were trapped inside the darkness.

Rays of light arrows produced by Plummeting Rays penetrated the bodies of the White Magic Falcons, shooting them down from the sky!

The endless Basic Spells could at most draw a line of defense in the sky above the fortress, preventing the White Magic Falcons from invading the safe zone. Only the Advanced Magicians and their Advanced Magic could deal efficient blows to the invading birds.

As the Royal Guards joined the battle, the White Magic Falcons found themselves in a rather suppressed battle. Countless numbers of them were killed overnight. Their blood and corpses had given the vast land a scarlet baptism.

The Ruler-level demon beast seemed to be aware that the strength of their army was not strong enough to break through the humans’ defense, so it had chosen to withdraw.

As a result, the vast numbers of White Magic Falcons which were spiraling in the sky like a storm returned to the ridge.

However, the situation was still not resolved yet. The demon beasts did not withdraw to their nest, but were resting temporarily in the woods closest to the fortress, waiting to launch their next attack.

——

On a path close to West Fortress, Mo Fanwas wearing a combat medic uniform and strutting down the road with Lingling, who was in a nurse outfit.

They had received the credentials from Leng Qing, so they could easily walk past the security.

Mo Fan raised his head and saw the flocks of White Magic Falcons flying into the distance. He glanced at the deformed corpses falling from the sky close to the fortress.

The fortress used to be a mix of gray and white, and now it was stained with blood and feathers. The battle was horrifying. How many Battlemages were sacrificed to kill so many White Magic Falcons?

Mo Fan did not spend too much time indulging in the sorrow. He followed Leng Qing’s order and tailed the blood serums to the fortress. All they needed to do now was to guard the tree-stump and wait for rabbits.

As soon as they arrived at the storage area, Mo Fan and Lingling used their disguises and claimed they were here to count and check on the blood serums. Unfortunately, most of the supplies were already distributed. There were only a few boxes left in the storage.

“We’re a step late,” said Lingling.

“The battle has just ended. The number of injured is enough to cover a whole field, so the demand for blood serums must be extremely huge…Watch out, someone is coming. They don’t look like people from the fortress…” said Mo Fan.

Lingling quickly shifted her attention toward several figures walking in their direction at a fast pace. “Let’s hide.”

A few men came into the storage in a panic. When they discovered the blood serums had already been taken by the army, they pulled a long face.

“What shall we do? These supplies aren’t supposed to be used…”

“We should tell Councilman Luo Mian at once. Otherwise, it will be a terrible mess,” said Vice Elder of the Magic Court Wang Yi.

They soon left hurriedly.

Mo Fan and Lingling, who were hiding behind a stack of boxes, captured a crucial piece of information.

“Councilman Luo Mian?” blurted out Mo Fan in astonishment.

“Humph, it’s indeed him. My sister has long felt suspicious about him!” said Lingling while clenching her teeth.

Translator: XephiZ Editor: Aelryinth

“The problem is, we still haven’t located the source of the plague?” Mo Fan said with a frown.

The defective blood serums still did not prove anything. At most, Councilman Luo Mian would only be accused of selling ‘fake blood serums’. The plague that brought terror to Hangzhou City had still not resolved completely.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already planted a bug on one of them,” said Little Loli Lingling professionally.

“You’re surely the expert here,” Mo Fan could not help reaching his hand out to pinch Lingling’s face again. Her adorable face immediately turned into a tigress glaring at Mo Fan. He had no choice but to lower it.

The sound coming from the microphone was crisp and clear. The one with a fairly rough voice was none other than the Vice Elder of the Magic Court, Wang Yi.

Wang Yi was bringing his men straight toward Hangzhou’s quarantine zone. He was most likely heading back to meet Councilman Luo Mian.

Mo Fan was also suspicious of Councilman Luo Mian, but Tangyue, Tang Zhong, and Heiyu trusted him and believed he was on the side of the Totem Guardians. To everyone’s surprise, he had switched sides almost instantly and colluded with Zhu Meng.

There’s no fire without smoke. Luo Mian’s decision had immediately intrigued the Elder of the Magic Court, Li Tian. It turned out that Li Tian and Leng Qing had acquired some evidence that suggested the Councilman was up to something…

—————-

Hangzhou’s quarantine zone…

Under the white tents lay rows of beds with patients shrieking on them. It sounded like the cries of ghouls.

As time gradually passed, the wounds festered even more. The antibiotics obtained from the snake’s blood were no longer efficient at stopping the virus from spreading…

“Someone has died. The number will continue to increase in the next twenty-four hours,” a Healer said to Mr. Lu in a soft tone.

“I got it,” Mr. Lu let out a sigh and said slowly, “The virus is still in the patient’s blood. It will eventually end up in their heart and brain. If these two vital organs are infected, we will have to be extremely cautious when treating them…”

“Yeah.”

“Councilman Luo Mian is here at the quarantine zone.”

“What’s he doing?”

Mr. Lu went over to the quarantine zone and saw Councilman Luo Mian and his men walking pass the patients. His freckled face filled with a hint of worry.

Unlike everyone else, he was not wearing a mask…

“Councilman, please save us…” A middle-aged Magician half-sat on the bed while hugging his kid, who seemed to be around ten years old.

Both of their bodies were covered in blisters, especially their faces. They looked fairly hideous.

The Judges of the Magic Court rebuked him when they saw him trying to grab the Councilman’s hand. They tried to push him away.

“Stop it, don’t be so rough!” Luo Mian immediately rebuked his men.

The Councilman with a goatee wore a gentle smile and took the initiative to hold the patient’s hand before saying with a firm tone, “Brother, take a rest here. Once we kill the snake that’s responsible for the plague, you will recover in no time. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough firepower at the moment, so we can’t touch him yet.”

“I heard that a tribe in Hangzhou City is worshiping the snake like a god. Councilman Luo Mian, is that true? If so, the entire tribe must be held responsible. We should hunt them down and burn every one of them alive!” snapped a man who had just caught the plague.

The words immediately infuriated the crowd. Many immediately transformed their sorrow into rage.

“Everyone, please calm down… We are trying our best to resolve the plague. As for the medical fees, I’ve already submitted a request to the government. I’ll handle most of the fees for you, and we’ve already found out who’s responsible for the plague. It will soon be over, so please bear with us for a while longer!” Councilman Luo Mian said sincerely to the patients.

“We will always trust Councilman!”

“That’s right!”

With Luo Mian’s statement, the quarantine zone which was about to have an uproar rapidly calmed down.

Mr. Lu just happened to witness the entire sequence. He went up with a smile and bowed slightly, “Only Councilman has the ability to calm the crowd.”

“What ability, I’m just placing myself in their shoes,” Councilman Luo Mian gave a signal to his men, so he could have some time alone with Mr. Lu. “Mr. Lu, do you have any strong poison? You also know that the snake is responsible for the plague. We’ve trapped him with a Super Lightning Formation, but as most of the experts were sent to the frontline, we can’t execute him in time. Didn’t you mention that the snake’s bile is the key to finding the cure? If you can provide us with some poison to kill the snake, we can easily resolve the situation. Any minute spent waiting could cost a person’s life.”

Mr. Lu understood Councilman Luo Mian’s intention, but he shook his head with a troubled look, “Frankly speaking, the Black Totem Snake is no doubt a specialist with poison. The strongest poison is no different than spring water in his eyes. I don’t think it’s possible to use poison on him.”

Councilman Luo Mian frowned. It was not something he wanted to hear.

“If that’s the case, does Mr. Lu have any idea? I feeluneasy when I see so many people dying on the beds,” asked Luo Mian.

“Well…as a matter of fact, from our latest analysis of the snake’s blood and the virus, we’ve discovered that the snake’s poison and the virus of the plague are not from the same source. In my opinion, Councilman shouldn’t put too much effort into trying to kill the snake,” said Mr. Lu.

“Is that so?” Councilman Luo Mian seemed surprised.

“I have to continue searching for the cure. If you would excuse me,” said Mr. Lu.

——-

Councilman Luo Mian stared at Mr. Lu’s back. The worry on his face slowly turned into panic and anger.

The situation was getting out of his control. First, the military had taken away the blood serums. Now, Mr. Lu had also discovered that the snake had nothing to do with the plague. If they weren’t quick enough, their whole plan would be in vain!

“You!” snapped Councilman Luo Mian coldly.

“Yes.”

“Proceed with the initial plan.”

“Affirmative!”

Translator: XephiZ Editor: Aelryinth

West Fortress…

Many youngsters were carrying mops and buckets to clean the blood stains on the road.

One of the youngsters hurled his mop and yelled furiously, “I want to join the battle. I’m not here to do some cleaning!”

“The corpses must be dealt with in time. Otherwise, it will trigger an outbreak. Hangzhou City is already suffering from one. We can’t allow West Fortress to fall into one too…” said Wang Xiaojun.

Suddenly, a scream of agony was heard coming from the bunker.

The youngsters were stunned. It took them a while to collect their thoughts.

Wang Xiaojun quickly rushed into the bunker and saw a group of Battlemages rushing out in fear.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” asked Wang Xiaojun.

“Plague, it’s the plague. Big Li is covered with blisters!” screamed one of them.

Wang Xiaojun pushed his way inside and saw a half-naked man crouching in the corner, scratching the blisters on his skin. His nails had already pierced the blisters open. Blood with a foul scent flowed out from them, hideous to see.

The soldiers in the bunker were absolutely terrified and ran away.

Everyone was well aware of how contagious the virus was. If someone had caught the virus in the army, soon the whole army would be infected!

“Big Li, are you alright?” Wang Xiaojun worriedly walked up and asked.

“What are you doing here? Stay away from me!” the young Battlemage yelled at the young man.

“Wang Xiaojun, it’s none of your business. Move aside, the medical team will be here soon!” A soldier came up and shoved the youngster aside.

The soldier stood beside the patient, not daring to move any closer.

Wang Xiaojun rubbed his butt as he walked out from the bunker and murmured, “That’s no plague, it’s just the poison after being bitten by the poisonous rat!”

As he was mumbling under his breath, a girl wearing a red and black dress with plum blossoms quickly went up to him. Wang Xiaojun’s eyes widened when he saw the little beauty.

Since when did the fortress have such a gorgeous girl? Look at those adorable double ponytails, and the soft, tender legs under the dress. She would surely grow into a gorgeous beauty!

“Hey, what were you saying just then?” Little Loli approached the youngster and asked in a proud and cold voice.

“How impolite, you should call me brother!” said Wang Xiaojun.

“Save the nonsense, tell me what you’re murmuring just now, why were you saying that it isn’t a plague?” asked Lingling.

“It’s definitely not a plague. I had it when I was out catching some rats before. My hands were covered with the blisters, but once I applied the sap of the Red Falcon Herbs to my skin, it was gone fairly quickly!” Wang Xiaojun glanced at the slightly disdainful little loli and decided to tell the truth.

“Are you sure about that?” Lingling asked in a serious tone. She had been observing where the blood serums were taken to.

She was initially confused about how the blood serums had anything to do with the plague, but everything made sense now!

The source of the plague was the blood serums used for medical purposes. The blisters on the young Battlemage were the evidence. Lingling had seen him taking the blood serum and consuming it before the blisters appeared!

West Fortress had been very cautious to stop the plague from spreading to this place, so it was impossible the plague had come from a different source by accident.

Lingling immediately went to the bunker when she heard that someone was affected by the plague.

However, the youngster had caught her attention, hence why she had approached him.

“Why would I lie to you? I have a gray eagle as a pet, but as his lineage isn’t pure, the Beastmasters aren’t too fond of him. He rarely gets fed enough, so I would secretly go to the woods to catch some hares or rats for him. I stumbled into some kind of poisonous rat beasts once and found myself covered with the same blisters. The eagle then went to grab a Red Falcon Herb from West Ridge, and the blisters were gone in no time. Also, I was no longer be affected by the poisonous rats,” Wang Xiaojun said sternly.

“Do you still have the Red Falcon Herb?” asked Lingling.

“Nope, they don’t grow around here, but they grow like weeds at West Ridge. Normally, we might have a chance of getting some from there, but it’s quite impossible now. The White Magic Falcons are extremely violent nowadays, and might launch their attack anytime now…” said Wang Xiaojun.

“Come with me.” Lingling grabbed Wang Xiaojun’s sleeve and headed straight up the guard tower.

———–

On the tower, Mo Fan was sitting on the edge. His eyes were staring at West Ridge, which had turned from green to white.

More White Magic Falcons had been summoned, as if they were calling for more reinforcements. The mountains were filled with them.

It was quite impossible to tell when they would attack next. The number of White Magic Falcons would surely bring countless casualties to the city.

“Mo Fan, I’ve discovered something important!” Lingling brought Wang Xiaojun to Mo Fan.

Wang Xiaojun immediately saluted when he saw Mo Fan wearing a uniform. “Greetings, sir!”

Lingling told Mo Fan what she had heard.

Mo Fan was not fully convinced. He asked more questions regarding the details.

“The Red Falcon Herb can only be found at West Ridge, but look at it now…the feathers of the White Magic Falcons are covering the mountain like leaves. If we can’t get our hands on the Red Falcon Herbs, how could we possibly prove that he’s telling the truth?” said Mo Fan.

Lingling immediately reached out her hand and slapped Mo Fan’s head when she saw him feeling down. “How stupid are you! If we can’t get close to West Ridge, we could simply ask this guy to catch some poisonous rats and dissect them! All we need to do is to prove that the poisonous rats are the source of the plague!”

Mo Fan’s eyes flickered. He quickly hugged the tiny Linging and kissed her chubby cheek, “HAHA, why didn’t I think of it… kid, what’s your name, go and catch me some poisonous rats. No, I’ll go with you. It will probably take you half a day to kill one.”

“You can find one in the woods just ahead. Come with me, I can lure them out,” said Wang Xiaojun.

Mo Fan nodded. He Summoned the Swift Star Wolf without hesitation.

If the young man was saying the truth, it would be a tremendous breakthrough to finding the truth about the plague!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Following Wang Xiaojun’s guide, Mo Fan and Lingling quickly made their way to the woods, and caught a poisonous rat beast that Wang Xiaojun had mentioned.

Lingling was rather an expert with demon beasts. She immediately recognized it to be a subspecies of the demon rats living in burrows in the jungle.

These Malicious Epidemic Rats were one of the weakest of all Servant-class demon beasts. Mo Fan did fight some of them along the way, and the demon beast was a lot weaker than the Colossal-eyed Ape Rat Mo Fan had encountered in Bo City.

Lingling quickly dissected one of the Malicious Epidemic Rats on the spot dexterously. Both Mo Fan and Wang Xiaojun wore weird looks on their faces, as they could not believe it was something that a little girl looking barely over ten could do.

“Strange, it’s the Mutated Blood. Am I really that lucky?” said Lingling. She glanced at Mo Fan and pointed deeper into the woods, “Go catch some more of these here, and see if they contain any Mutated Blood.”

Mo Fan followed her instructions. Killing some of the rats did not require any effort. To Mo Fan’s astonishment, each of the Malicious Epidemic Ratshad Mutated Blood in them.

Mutated Blood, only a few drops would appear after killing over a hundred demon beasts. It was an important material that had always been low in supply. Hunters had risked their lives in the wild to hunt the demon beasts, just to obtain some Mutated Blood, Mutated Bones, or Mutated Skin from them. Mutated Bones or Mutated Skin were the main crafting material to forge magical equipment, while Mutated Blood was widely used in other areas. The blood serums for healing purposes were refined from Mutated Blood.

Mutated Blood was incredibly rare, hence it was rather unbelievable that every Malicious Epidemic Rat had Mutated Blood.

Mo Fan reflected the findings to Lingling, who was busy dissecting the demon beast. Lingling seemed to have arrived at a conclusion, whose lips curled slightly upward as she spoke, “We finally have a clear picture of the whole incident.”

Mo Fan and Wang Xiaojun sat down beside one another, fully prepared to listen to Lingling’s explanation.

“The Malicious Epidemic Rats are very unique. It’s a rare type of ‘disastrous’ species. They are weak, to an extent that they can’t even protect themselves, as they are placed at the bottom of the food chains. When I read about them in the recordings about their species, I always wondered why they aren’t extinct yet. It turns out that they have a special way to reproduce.

“First, their bodies contain a kind of Diseased Blood, which is very similar to Mutated Blood. It’s impossible to tell the difference without a detailed dissection. Therefore, recalling the series of events that have taken place lately…”

Mo Fan had already noticed how the incidents were linked. He took over and continued, “Someone has been using the rats’ Diseased Blood to mass produce the blood serums, which resulted in the outbreak of the plague.”

Lingling added with a nod, “From the information sister has given me, it turns out that the two rotten corpses in the city bought blood serums from White Town beforehand. The first batch of patients caught the virus from the blood serums made with the Malicious Epidemic Rats blood.”

The production line of the blood serums was strictly handled by the Magic Association. It was almost impossible that someone had retrieved the wrong ingredients to produce the blood serums. Therefore, it was most likely that someone had colluded with the Magic Association to mass produce the defective blood serums.

The blood serums would have the same effect as the ordinary blood serums, but they never thought that the Malicious Epidemic Rats’ blood would hide in the patient’s body before breaking out as a disease. Somehow, the disease had further mutated into an epidemic. As such, it instantly activated the virus in the bodies of those who had consumed the defective blood serums, allowing the plague to spread rapidly, and resulting in the disaster for Hangzhou City.

They had finally discovered the source of the plague!

The whole incident had nothing to do with the Black Totem Snake. The so-called natural disaster was actually man-made!

Their next step was to discover the people responsible for using such an inhumane method to earn a great profit.

Leng Qing and Mo Fan reflected their findings to Leng Qing, who told the two her discoveries, too. It turned out that the person in charge of supervising the first batch of blood serums was Vice Elder Wang Yi’s wife.

Furthermore, even Wang Yi would not have the guts to use the Disease Blood as an alternative ingredient to produce the blood serums. As they investigated further, there was only one person likely to be the culprit… Councilman Luo Mian!

If Councilman Luo Mian were guilty, it explained why he had suddenly colluded with Councilman Zhu Meng!

After all, they needed a scapegoat for the plague. The Black Totem Snake happened to be the perfect candidate, thus he could not wait to execute the Black Totem Snake, just so he could blame it all on the already dead Black Totem Snake.

It was an astounding discovery, which involved an absolutely terrifying conspiracy!

——

Mo Fan, Lingling, Wang Xiaojun, Leng Qing and Tangyue regrouped at West Lake. When Mo Fan told everyone the truth, Tangyue was flushed with rage, her chest rising heavily. She never thought that Councilman Luo Mian was responsible for the plague, and instead of confessing his wrongdoing took advantage of the people’s fear and Councilman Zhu Meng’s strategy to frame the Black Totem Snake. How vicious and devoid of conscience was he!?

“Since we’ve already learned the truth, we should arrest Councilman Luo Mian as soon as possible, ” said Wang Xiaojun.

“A Councilman has far greater power than an Elder of the Magic Court. Arresting him won’t be easy. We should find a way to let Councilman Zhu Meng spare the Black Totem Snake’s life first. The totem beast is already extremely weak. He won’t hold much longer if the torture continues,” said Mo Fan.

Leng Qing nodded. It would be quite difficult to overthrow a Councilman. Besides, they had no solid evidence to prove that he was the mastermind behind the infectious blood serums. They would have to wait until the Elder Li Tian to acquired some important evidence.

Tangyue clenched her fists. Even though they knew who the culprit was, they still could not bring him to justice!

As they were discussing, Leng Qing received a call. A hint of helplessness surfaced on her face as she said, “Vice Elder of the Magic Court Wang Yi has committed suicide to avoid punishment. The news has spread quickly through West Fortress.”

“The blood serums that were transported to West Fortress are defective. The outbreak of the plague is inevitable. If we knew the blood serums were the reason for the plague, we would’ve stopped the blood serums from reaching West Fortress,” said Mo Fan.

“It doesn’t make any difference, even though we’ve learned the truth. Councilman Luo Mian has sacrificed the rook in order to save the queen, blaming it all on Vice Elder Wang Yi. The entire fortress is affected by the plague, thus our defense has tumbled. The army of White Magic Falcons might attack at any time… Hangzhou City is going to have a serious problem,” said Leng Qing.

In the midst of her speech, Leng Qing raised her eyes, staring into the west.

A moment later, an ray of light could be seen in the distance. It was absolutely striking as it sprang into the sky.

The sun was setting in the same direction, the sky was dyed crimson. The combination of the two colors served as a reminder of the upcoming terrifying situation…

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

As the sun fully set, the White Magic Falcons made use of the darkness that slowly covered the land and flew out from their perches.

The sky, dimly lit by what was left of the sun was covered with white feathers. They looked like clouds, huge enough to shroud the entire sky while slowly approaching the fortress. The spectacular view immediately sent chills down everyone’s spine.

The White Magic Falcons had just launched an even fiercer attack. The countless White Magic Falcons seemed to have found a delicacy. They had turned into white ghastly demons with a strong bloodlust, descending upon the human world.

They flew across the mountains and the woods west of the fortress. Meanwhile, the most important line of defense on the human side was currently trapped by terror due to the plague.

The Battlemages gathered themselves, standing on the defense towers in lines. Most of the Basic and Intermediate Magicians were unable to do any serious damage to flying demon beasts. As a matter of fact, the main firepower of West Fortress was made up of the huge number of Basic and Intermediate Magicians.

Currently, the humans had no choice but to send the elites among elites to station the scattered defense towers. The fortress itself was no longer part of the line of defense. The towers were the actual barrier stopping the White Magic Falcons from invading human territory.

Many Magicians were flying in the sky above West Fortress. Without the Heavenly Eagles, some of the Advanced Magicians could not even join the battle. Everyone was wearing a stern expression. They would be lying if they claimed they were not afraid of facing the overwhelming army of White Magic Falcons. They were just too many of them. Even Advanced Magicians were at risk of dying in the battle.

It quickly turned into a standoff between humans and demon beasts. The numbers on the human side were too few. The battle felt rather one-sided on the surface. However, the humans did not dare take a step backward. There were too many helpless civilians behind the line of defense. If the White Magic Falcons crossed the line of defense, they would bring a true massacre to the city.

——

In the main meeting room of West Fortress, Councilman Zhu Meng stood in front of the window providing a clear view of the sky. The expression on his face was extremely grave. He took a puff of a cigarette and extinguished it with a pinch straight away, “Wu Pingjing, follow me to the battle.”

“Councilman, how can you join the battle yourself?” said Royal Guard Li Jin.

“We are left with no choice. If I don’t go, who’s going to handle that Ruler-level beast?” replied the Councilman.

“That’s right, not only do we need to deal with the large numbers of White Magic Falcons, we have to find a way to stop the Ruler-level demon beast, too. Councilman, Wu Pingjing, Elders Tang Zhong and Li Tian, please handle the Ruler-level creature,” agreed Army Adviser Yun Feng.

The four nodded heavily. They were prepared to fight the Ruler-level demon beast to the death.

Elder Court Li Tian glanced at Councilman Zhu Meng before looking at Army Adviser Yun Feng and said, “The White Magic Falcons are deadly serious with their invasion this time. Does anyone not wonder why the demon beasts who stayed at West Ridge peacefully would attack our city all of a sudden?”

“These assholes are intelligent, too. They are simply taking advantage of our situation, since our defense is severely impacted because of the plague. They wouldn’t let such a great opportunity slip past them. They have always wanted to take over our city. The peace we had was just so that we would let our guard down,” said the Army Advisor of West Fortress, Yun Feng.

Councilman Zhu Meng glanced at Li Tian and asked in a serious tone, “Elder Li Tian, you sound like you know something?”

“My subordinate Leng Qing has learned the truth of the plague from several young and brave Magicians. It wasn’t a natural disaster, but man-made!” said Elder Li Tian in a heavy tone.

The plague was not a natural disaster, it was man-made!

The words echoed in the meeting room, leaving everyone in astonishment.

“Elder Li Tian, what do you possibly mean by that?” asked Army Advisor Yun Feng curiously.

“Surely everyone knows that the source of the outbreak at West Fortress was the blood serums that were transported here from White Town. The blood serums contain a kind of Diseased Blood retrieved from the Malicious Epidemic Rats. As the virus broke out in the patients’ bodies, it eventually turned into an epidemic disease…” said Li Tian.

The goateed Councilman Luo Mian interrupted before Li Tian could finish, “Our first priority now is to deal with the White Magic Falcons. We should worry about the plague later.”

Elder Li Tian glanced at the guilty-conscious Councilman Luo Mian and said with a hollow laugh, “Everyone might not know this, but the White Magic Falcons are only invading us because of the plague!

“The Malicious Epidemic Rats are the White Magic Falcon’s favorite food. Also, they can utilize the Diseased Blood of the Malicious Epidemic Rats to improve their bloodline!

“Therefore, when the White Magic Falcons smell the Malicious Epidemic Rats, they hunt them down at all costs. Many people in the city are infected, thus the blood in their bodies has become the Diseased Blood of the Malicious Epidemic Rats!”

Li Tian paused for a brief moment, his gaze never leaving Councilman Luo Mian. Everything was happening because of his greed, yet he was still inside the meeting room while Vice Elder Wang Yi had become his scapegoat. He had also put the blame on the Black Totem Snake. Such an evil-hearted person, Li Tian felt a strong urge to execute the Councilman right on the spot!

“The White Magic Falcons have launched such a heavy attack because they assume every infected patient is a Malicious Epidemic Rat, a delicacy, a resource that will make them stronger!” Elder Li Tian finished furiously.

The others were absolutely astounded when they finished hearing his words.

“Are you telling me that the White Magic Falcons are only attacking us because they are targeting the people affected by the plague?” Councilman Zhu Meng asked in disbelief.

“That’s right! Didn’t you realize that the White Magic Falcons are not trying to destroy the fortress? After we moved all the infected from White Town and the fortress to Hangzhou City, the demon beasts have already set their eyes on the city instead!” Li Tian said heavily.

Hangzhou was currently in a grave situation. Li Tian could not care less about sparing anyone’s sensibilities. He was determined to reveal Councilman Luo Mian’s conspiracy to everyone during the meeting, so they would realize the true cause of the battle!

As a Magician, Li Tian strongly believed that every Magician had the obligation of stopping the demon beasts from infiltrating their territory with their lives at stake, but it did not mean that the Magicians would have to sacrifice their precious lives for a man-made disaster resulting from one man’s greed!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

“Luo Mian… It seems like you’re hiding lots of things from me?” Councilman Zhu Meng seemed to be aware of something. His eyes fixed on Councilman Luo Mian.

Councilman Luo Mian continued to wear a smile. There was hardly any sign of fear on his face. “We’ll settle it later, but right now we have more urgent matters on hand. Our enemies are right before us, should we waste our time further with infighting?”

General Yun Feng nodded. “The army of White Magic Falcons will arrive at our line of defense in two hours. Our defense can mostly hold on for another three hours before they break through and invade Hangzhou City. We have five hours left to either stop the invasion of the White Magic Falcons, or eliminate the Ruler-level demon beast!”

“Precisely!” Councilman Luo Mian quickly nodded, as if he were afraid that someone else would bring up the blood serums again.

Leng Qing stepped forward and said, “If the White Magic Falcons are invading because of the plague, I believe that our first priority is to find the cure to the plague instead. The White Magic Falcons will lose their targets, and it would be easier for us to drive them back.”

“It sounds like you’ve already found the cure to the plague?” said Councilman Luo Mian with a weird grin.

“That’s true. Even Mr. Lu was clueless about how to deal with the plague. How could we possibly find the cure within five hours to resolve the situation?”

“We’ve already found out what the antidote is. It’s a special type of herb which only grows on West Ridge, the Red Falcon Herb. If we could pluck some of them, we can quickly find a cure for the infected,” said Leng Qing.

The crowd immediately focused on Leng Qing, especially Councilman Zhu Meng. His eyes flickered with excitement as he blurted out, “Are you sure that the Red Falcon Herb is the cure for the disease?”

Leng Qing nodded, “Absolutely.”

“Hehe, let’s say the Red Falcon Herb could possibly be the cure for the plague, how can we possibly set foot on West Ridge in the current situation? It’s roosting place for the White Magic Falcons. Are you stupid enough to assume that it’s safe because the White Magic Falcons have all moved out to invade us? Even a battalion would have trouble reaching there in one piece. Do you seriously think we have extra men to spend on such ridiculous speculation?” Councilman Luo Mian laughed grimly.

Leng Qing and the Elder of the Magic Court, Li Tian glared at the gloating Councilman Luo Mian, especially the former, who swore heavily in her heart that she would send him into jail right away after the situation was resolved.

The crowd frowned too. They finally found the solution to the plague, which would also stop the invasion of the White Magic Falcons, but it turned out to be at the most dangerous place.

“Right, the White Magic Falcons are the same species as the Heavenly Eagles. Normally, the White Magic Falcons won’t attack a Heavenly Eagle. If we could send one Heavenly Eagle to sneak into West Ridge and retrieve the Red Falcon Herbs, can’t we easily solve the problem?” General Yun Feng blurted out.

Commander Ming Kuo, who was standing beside General Yun Feng quickly whispered into his ear, “General, you forgot that you ordered all the Heavenly Eagles to be killed…”

General Yun Feng pulled a long face and glared at the Commander, as if he were trying to say “Thanks, but no thanks for the reminder”…

Not a single Heavenly Eagle could be found in the fortress. Even if there were one, it would have turned rebellious due to the presence of the Ruler-level falcon. How could a Heavenly Eagle possibly sneak into West Ridge?

The meeting room soon fell into dead silence, as none of them could come up with a plausible plan to resolve the crisis. Suddenly, a young man barged into the room from the door and slammed into the table. Two infuriated soldiers immediately came in, trying to throw him out of the room. The young man screamed at the top of his lungs, “I have a way to retrieve the Red Falcon Herbs! I have a way to get the antidote!”

General Yun Feng glanced at the kid and snapped, “Where did this brat come from? Drag him out and punish him with the discipline stick.”

“We’re having an important meeting here. Why is a kid allowed to barge in?!” Councilman Luo Mian snapped.

“Wait, this young man helped us to determine the source of the plague. Let’s listen to what he’s trying to say,” interrupted Leng Qing.

“Let him speak, then,” said the Elder of the Magic Court, Li Tian.

Councilman Luo Mian burst into laughter. “I thought I’m only here to discuss how we’re going deal with the situation, and yet not only were you falsely accusing me, you are suggesting that we should listen to a kid. If that’s how useless you are, I will not waste my time further here.”

Councilman Luo Mian rose from his seat and left the room, as if he had nothing to do with the matters on hand.

The people exchanged glances with one another, not knowing what to do.

Leng Qing asked Wang Xiaojun patiently, “You mentioned that you have a way to retrieve the Red Falcon Herbs. What is it?”

Mo Fan and Lingling, who were previously waiting outside of the room with Wang Xiaojun, had entered the room too. Mo Fan was keen to know what he had in mind that would allow them to retrieve the Red Falcon Herbs from the White Magic Falcons’ nests. As Councilman Luo Mian had mentioned, they would need a team of elites to reach West Ridge.

Wang Xiaojun glanced at the authoritative figures whom he had no chance of meeting in his daily life. Despite feeling slightly intimidated, he cleared his throat and said, “There’s still a Heavenly Eagle left in the fortress! He listens to my orders. I’ll ride him to sneak into West Ridge to retrieve the Red Falcon Herbs. I’m the most familiar with him.”

Commander Ming Kuo yelled, “Didn’t we order all Heavenly Eagles executed? Why would you still have one!”

“I disobeyed the order and let the Heavenly Eagle that I raised since I was young go,” replied Wang Xiaojun in a soft voice.

General Yun Feng’s eyes flickered. He had disobeyed the order at the perfect time!

However, the Commander frowned and shook his head, “It’s useless. We’ve lost control of the Heavenly Eagles because of the Ruler-level Falcon. We’re fortunate enough that they didn’t attack us. How could he obey your order still?”

As if he were scared that the soldiers would throw him out of the room, Wang Xiaojun blurted out, “My Heavenly Eagle has a mixed lineage. His plumage is gray, so I can’t really tell what breed he is. I tried to contact him yesterday and managed to get a response, as I thought he was also controlled by the Ruler-level demon beast. However, he actually came to me after the summon, which indicates that he is not under the control of the Ruler-lever demon beast.”

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Everyone’s eyes flickered with hope after hearing Wang Xiaojun’s suggestion. If they could cure the plague, the White Magic Falcons would withdraw after losing their targets. They had always stayed within their territory, thus there must be a reason why they were desperately invading the human territory.

“Commander, maybe we should try out the young man’s idea? The situation wouldn’t be any worse if it failed,” said Elder Li Tian.

The other Commanders in the meeting room agreed, too.

“Alright, Wang Xiaojun, is it? If you manage to retrieve some Red Falcon Herbs, I shall reward you the title ‘Hangzhou Protector’!”

Wang Xiaojun responded with a salute and said, “I’ll make sure I accomplish the mission!”

“Wang Xiaojun, you do know that West Ridge is even more dangerous than the battlefield. There’s a high chance that you will lose your life. Are you sure you want to do it?”

Wang Xiaojun hesitated for a brief moment before saluting again, “I’ll return alive!”

Leng Qing glanced at the firm look on the young man’s face, and recalled Councilman Luo Mian’s indifferent attitude despite what he had done. When compared to the fearless young man, Leng Qing discovered that a Councilman with great authority was a lot worse than a young man who had yet to receive his military rank.

Leng Qing was touched by the young man’s spirit. She glanced at Lingling and said, “Lingling, you shall go with Wang Xiaojun. Make sure he comes back alive!”

Leng Qing glanced at Mo Fan and knew what he had come here for. She spoke to Councilman Zhu Meng, “Councilman, the Black Totem Snake has nothing to do with the plague, could you please let him go and allocate the people guarding West Lake to the frontline? Otherwise, we won’t last until the Red Falcon Herbs are retrieved.”

Councilman Zhu Meng stroked his beard. There was still no evidence proving that the Black Totem Snake was friendly, but according to the news from his men, the Black Totem Snake was on the verge of dying. Even if they were to withdraw the seal, he could not do any harm to them. Considering that Tang Zhong’s tribe could provide strong firepower to the battle, in order for them to fully cooperate with the military, it made more sense to spare the Black Totem Snake’s life.

Councilman Zhu Meng said with a nod, “Alright, we’ll let him go.”

Leng Qing finally smiled for once. She immediately said to Mo Fan, “You will bring Councilman Zhu Meng’s order to West Lake and have them withdraw the Lightning Punishment Formation. Ask them to head to West Fortress at once to defend against the army of White Magic Falcons.”

Mo Fan let out a smile. Their effort was not in vain after all! They finally managed to save the Black Totem Snake. Now, it was only a matter of time until Miss Tangyue devoted her life to him…

Uhh, everyone is extremely worried about the situation. Aren’t I being too heartless thinking about that now?

——

Mo Fan immediately made his way back to the city and went straight to Su Causeway. The nine lightning halberds were still standing firmly on the lake, suppressing the gigantic Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake was the same as the last time he had seen him, his body curled up while he rested his head atop it. He seemed to be in a deep sleep. Mo Fan walked up to Tangyue, who was still guarding him at the same spot.

“He should be alive still, right?” asked Mo Fan.

“I…I don’t know…I can feel that his aura has become extremely weak. If we still can’t find a way to save him…he could fall into an eternal sleep just like that…” said Tangyue with red eyes.

Mo Fan smiled, “Didn’t you realize that something is different?”

Tangyue did not realize what Mo Fan was trying to say. She stared at him blankly. A while later, she saw the nine halberds were slowly disappearing. The nine lightning pillars had totally vanished.

As the energy dissipated, the lake returned to calm.

Tangyue held her excitement as she stared at the disappearing formation in disbelief. She then burst into tears as she glanced at Mo Fan. She did not expect Mo Fan to actually do it. While she was totally helpless, he had saved the Black Totem Snake who she treated like family.

Tangyue who could not withhold her emotion opened up her arms and gave Mo Fan a hug. She was indeed quite lost, not knowing how to express her gratitude.

And Mo Fan had been waiting for this moment all along…

He softly patted Tangyue’s back like a gentleman, while his head dug into her pleasant-smelling hair around her neck and sniffed heavily. His fingers slid slowly downward. During the burst of emotion, no one could guarantee the physical contact between two people would remain appropriate. It was rather normal for accidents to happen. For example, his hands were now pressing on Tangyue’s hips. At a time like this, a woman who was experiencing a great surge of emotion would not be aware of little details like this!

Tangyue hugged Mo Fan for quite a while, and Mo Fan indulged in the great sensation, not willing to release his grip…

A while later, Tangyue redirected her focus onto the Black Totem Snake. The Lightning Punishment Formation was withdrawn, and the totem beast no longer had to suffer being tortured by the lightning. However, his aura was still extremely weak. Tangyue had no idea how to treat his wounds, unless she managed to get more than a hundred Healers here to cast their Healing Magic at the Black Totem Snake simultaneously.

“Miss Tangyue, the Black Totem Snake is in such a serious condition. He had lost a great amount of blood. Do you think blood serums that are made for humans would help?” asked Mo Fan.

“Of course, but with his size, he would need a whole truck of them. Where could we possibly find them?” said Tangyue who glanced at the Black Totem Snake.

Mo Fan fell into deep thought, before he spoke with a stern look, “I do have a way to get a truck of blood serums, but they might be defective…”

Tangyue turned around and seemed to be infuriated, “You asshole, are you trying to give the big guy the blood serums that had caused the plague?”

Mo Fan quickly apologized, “I thought he would be immune to the disease.”

Tangyue was startled, before her eyes flickered. She suddenly gave Mo Fan a kiss on his cheek.

Mo Fan was dumbfounded. He was not fully prepared for it. He had just lost the first kiss of his right cheek, just like that.

Mo Fan exclaimed when he saw Tangyue’s reaction, “No way, are you telling me that this guy is impenetrable to poison?”

Tangyue wore a charming smile and pointed at the Black Totem Snake, “He’s the ancestor of all poisons!!”

Mo Fan felt like dropping to his knees.

He was only having a random thought, and yet it turned out that they could actually feed the Black Totem Snake the blood serums!

Is the snake turning on hacks?

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Wang Xiaojun led the way as he and Lingling ventured deeper through the forest close to West Fortress.

“Are you sure that he has not betrayed you?” asked Lingling in a serious voice.

“I’m not so sure, to be honest, but he did respond to my call the other day. I can summon him with this flute.” Wang Xiaojun took out a small flute.

He placed the flute at the side of his mouth and started playing a tone. The sound was similar to blowing a whistle with a leaf. Although it was fairly sharp, it sounded quite pleasant. Furthermore, it was able to cover a great distance in the forest.

The sound of the flute echoed through the woods. Lingling raised her head to check her surroundings, but could not discover any sign of the gray eagle.

Wang Xiaojun continued to play the flute. After a long time, the only response he could hear was the bugs nearby. He lowered the flute with a slight disappointment and said, “Maybe I’ve thought too simple about the situation. Even Heavenly Eagles with proper lineage could not resist the presence of the Ruler-level creature, let alone a mix breed, which is supposed to have a weaker resistance.”

Lingling comforted, “Why don’t you try it again, maybe he’s far away from here.”

Wang Xiaojun glanced into the distance and raised the flute again. As he was about to blow it, a sharp cry was heard from the trees.

The cry was quite pleasant, and Wang Xiaojun was extremely familiar with it. It was the sound of the gray eagle he had raised from a chick!

Every Heavenly Eagle of West Fortress had been cruelly executed, while his impure lineage had saved his life. To Wang Xiaojun’s surprise, the gray eagle was still very responsive to him. He rapidly flew over to him and landed, before fondling him with his head.

He had not turned against them. He was still the same as always!

Wang Xiaojun hugged the gray eagle excitedly. He patted his head and said, “Do you know, we’re about to do something incredible. We’ve been looked down and mistreated by the others in the army. If we manage to accomplish this mission, the people of West Fortress would have a different view of us. Isn’t this the moment we’ve always been waiting for!?”

The gray eagle cried out excitedly, as if he could understand Wang Xiaojun’s words.

“The mission is very dangerous. If anything goes wrong, both of us will end up dead. I’m very scared too, but I don’t just want to be someone that cooked rice in the army. I want to contribute. Gray Eagle, only you can help me now,” said Wang Xiaojun sincerely, looking at the eagle.

The gray eagle remained silent, and fully extended his wings, as if he were trying to tell Wang Xiaojun that they were going to move out right away.

“Alright, let’s go!” Wang Xiaojun leapt onto the eagle’s back. After stabilizing himself, he said to Lingling, “Wait for me here. I’ll send the Red Falcon Herbs to the fortress straight away after I’ve retrieved them.”

“I’ll guide you to a relatively safe path, but I can’t guarantee your safety. Remember, if you found yourself in any kind of trouble, don’t force it. You can’t handle the White Magic Falcons on your own,” Lingling said to Wang Xiaojun sternly.

Wang Xiaojun smiled. He performed a rather bad salute to Lingling and patted the eagle’s neck. The creature sprang into the sky and vanished from the woods a few seconds later.

Lingling raised her head, watching at the brave young man and the mistreated gray eagle to fly into the distance. No one expected that the fate of Hangzhou City would lie on the shoulders of a seventeen-year-old. Ugh, she forgot that she was seventeen, too…

——-

“Got it, let’s hope he and the eagle will return safely,” Mo Fan hung up the call.

He looked to the west and saw the white clouds of feathered wings getting closer to the city. They seemed to be floating right above the fortress, and from the city, the people could see the explosions of destructive Spells blossoming like fireworks in the dark.

The Magicians of Hangzhou City were in the middle of a bloodbath. Hopefully, they could last until Wang Xiaojun’s return with the Red Falcon Herbs. Otherwise, there would be significantly more casualties soon.

None of it was within Mo Fan’s control. His focus now was helping the Black Totem Snake out.

The batch of blood serums that contained the Diseased Blood was being transported to West Lake. There was plenty of them, thus taking a truckload of the blood serums would not make any difference. Besides, it was obvious that the blood serums were not ideal for humans, so they were perfect for the Black Totem Snake.

————–

It took quite some time just to move the blood serums. They finally arrived at Su Causeway around midnight.

When Mo Fan saw the Black Totem Snake did not seem to be waking up, he quickly jumped onto his head. The blood serums were fairly small, thus it was quite impossible for the Black Totem Snake to consume them himself. Mo Fan had no choice but to push the blood serums into the Black Totem Snake’s mouth through the gaps of his teeth.

Although the blood serums were tiny enough to be inserted into the Black Totem Snake’s mouth through the gap between his teeth, a fairly high-quality blood serum was enough to produce ten times the amount of blood a human had. If the Black Totem Snake were to consume the entire truck of blood serums, he should at least recover two or three blocks of his HP bar, right?

The blood serums were continuously fed to the Black Totem Snake. Mo Fan had no idea how much the blood serums that he had fed to the Black Totem Snake were worth. He soon almost finished feeding the entire truck of blood serums to the beast.

The blood serums were very effective for a Totem Beast, too. It was obvious that the Black Totem Snake’s aura was starting to recover.

As Mo Fan fed the Black Totem Snake the last box of the blood serums, the snake’s eyes suddenly sprang open!

The shocking eyes were staring at the tiny Mo Fan who was standing on his head. Mo Fan stumbled and almost fell into the lake.

The Black Totem Snake uttered a deep voice. Mo Fan’s face immediately turned pale, who slowly turned around and asked Tangyue who was standing on the causeway, “What… what… what is he saying…”

Tangyue giggled and said to Mo Fan with squinted eyes, “He’s asking if you have any more. He’s also thanking you.”

Instead of destroying the blood serums, it was better to give them to the Black Totem Snake so he could recover. Mo Fan gave Leng Qing another call and asked her to send another truckload of the blood serums.

The Black Totem Snake let out another cry.

Before Mo Fan could ask, Tangyue translated with a smile, “The big guy says they are quite delicious. He likes them very much.”

Mo Fan could feel his lips twitching. If anything, these blood serums were like illegally recycled waste cooking oil. He had never seen anyone enjoying himself so much eating illegally recycled cooking oil…

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

“Look out to your north, a group of strong White Magic Falcons is flying in your direction. You should withdraw your presence at once. Don’t let them pick up your scent. Alright, I can’t talk for long, as it would expose your existence too. Once you’re clear, send me a signal,” Lingling’s voice said. Wang Xiaojun immediately glanced to his north.

A huge group of White Magic Falcons was circling the mountains, patrolling their territory. The sharp cries sent chills down Wang Xiaojun’s spine.

Wang Xiaojun held his breath and pinched a small orb in his right hand into pieces. It was a Concealment Pill commonly used in the military to suppress their scent, making it impossible for the demon beasts to pick them up beyond a certain distance.

Wang Xiaojun and his eagle hid under the shrubs and waited patiently while the White Magic Falcons flew by above them. After a while, Wang Xiaojun was just about to proceed to his destination, when he recalled an old soldier in the army once mentioning that the White Magic Falcons always patrolled their territory in a loop. In other words, they would pass by the same place twice before moving on to the next spot. It was the main reason why other species had trouble residing in their territory, as the birds were extremely cautious about guarding their territory.

Wang Xiaojun held his urge back and waited patiently. As he expected, several White Magic Falcons flew past their spot from another direction. If he had decided to move just then, his location would have been compromised.

After avoiding the patrol, Wang Xiaojun mounted the gray eagle and continued with his journey.

—

Wang Xiaojun followed his memory to find the spot where he found the Red Falcon Herbs, passing several mountains along the way.

“It should be somewhere here. I hope I don’t stumble into any White Magic Falcons with higher lineage…” murmured Wang Xiaojun.

A White Magic Falcon with higher lineage would easily identify Gray Eagle’s lineage. The eagle could mix in among the White Magic Falcons, but he would never escape the eyes of Warrior-level or Commander-level creatures.

Wang Xiaojun soon found himself in a familiar environment. He glanced at the slope covered with blazing red plants like flames. The slope was rather steep, with a few White Magic Falcons having a fight nearby.

Wang Xiaojun carefully flew to the slope, hiding inside his eagle’s gray feathers. The White Magic Falcons noticed the Gray Eagle, but they completely ignored him after realizing that he was the same species as them.

Wang Xiaojun directed the Gray Eagle to a spot further away from the White Magic Falcons. He leapt down from the eagle’s back. He used the eagle’s body as cover as he retrieved the Red Falcon Herbs. Over ten thousand people were affected by the plague, thus they would need quite a number of the Red Falcon Herbs. The military had already given him a storage bracelet that could hold lots of stuff. Wang Xiaojun planned to try his best to fill up the space with the Red Falcon Herbs.

He quickly uprooted the herbs, which had thorns like roses on their stems.

He had forgotten to bring a pair of gloves. His hands were covered in wounds and bruises after pulling the herbs out from the ground. He clenched his teeth when he felt the pain, but he could not afford to stop. Countless lives were currently on his shoulders.

Blood was dripping down. Its scent soon drifted on the wind and spread toward the White Magic Falcons nearby. They immediately turned around and approached him.

“Crap, they’ve found me…no… they only smelled the blood on my hand,” mumbled Wang Xiaojun. He hid behind a rock beside him and whispered to the eagle, “Go and lure them away. Come back to me later.”

The eagle flapped his wings and rammed right into one of the White Magic Falcons furiously.

The White Magic Falcon returned the favor. It pecked the eagle’s back with its sharp beak. The gray eagle soon started a fight with the White Magic Falcons.

The gray eagle grabbed hold of an opportunity to fly into the sky. The infuriated White Magic Falcons immediately followed behind him.

“Well done,” Wang Xiaojun mumbled in his heart.

After the White Magic Falcons were lured away, Wang Xiaojun no longer had to keep an eye out on his surroundings. He tore his sleeves and wrapped them around his bleeding hands. He had to make use of the time to retrieve all of the Red Falcon Herbs.

Each time he tried to pull a herb out of the ground, it was the same as trying to break a thistle. Soon, the cloth wrapping around Wang Xiaojun’s palms was torn apart.

Wang Xiaojun could feel his tears bursting out, but he still clenched his teeth and continued to pluck the herbs at the same pace. He had no idea how many herbs he had acquired. The storage ring was almost filled up with the Red Falcon Herbs.

He heard a familiar cry.

Wang Xiaojun was overjoyed. The eagle had returned at the perfect time. It was time for them to retreat.

He quickly jumped onto the eagle’s back. The gray eagle flapped its wings and swiftly flew in the direction of West Fortress. A while later, he could hear the screeching cries of the White Magic Falcons behind him.

“Quick, faster! We can’t let them catch up to us,” Wang Xiaojun said to the gray eagle.

The gray eagle flapped his wings quickly. He was well aware that hiss master would be in danger if the White Magic Falcons caught up to him. Luckily, the White Magic Falcons were only chasing him to pay him back for picking a fight with them. If they knew a human had intruded their territory, they would summon their comrades immediately to seal off their escape.

On the gray eagle’s back, Wang Xiaojun was suffering tremendous pain. His hands were covered in blood. He could no longer move his fingers, as his tendons were almost cut in half. Fortunately, he had managed to acquire lots of the Red Falcon Herbs. All he needed to do was to be more cautious on the way back.

——

West Lake…

Mo Fan glanced at the sky in the west. The battle between the Battlemages and the White Magic Falcons had intensified, drawing closer to Hangzhou City. Not much time was left.

Luckily, he had heard from Lingling that the kid, Wang Xiaojun was on his way back with a full load. He let out a relieved sigh when he heard the news.

If Wang Xiaojun managed to get back in time with the Red Falcon Herbs, the crisis would be resolved in no time.

As for the two truckloads of illegally recycled cooking oil… uhh, blood serums were almost emptied by the Black Totem Snake. He had fallen to sleep all of a sudden. The wounds on his body had festered, as if they were becoming more severe. Mo Fan had no idea if the snake would recover from the injuries.

Tang Zhong had summoned Tangyue away, leaving him guarding the snake that had once scared the shit out of him all on his own.

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Mo Fan mimicked the way Tangyue would sit on the Black Totem Snake’s head. The friendly exchange with the Black Totem Snake after feeding him the illegally recycled cooking oil had eased Mo Fan’s fear of him. Frankly speaking, apart from his gigantic size, the big guy was fairly kind and gentle at heart.

Mo Fan took a closer look at the Black Totem Snake’s body and realized that the festered skin had begun to peel off. Even the wounds that seemed rather deep…were falling off?

“What’s going on? Even the wounds can be peeled off like scars?” Mo Fan was astounded.

He took a stroll along the Black Totem Snake’s body for another half an hour and realized that a lot of the wounds had begun to peel off.

When Mo Fan returned to the Black Totem Snake’s head, he took a glance at the snake’s body and suddenly discovered that something was splitting apart on the beast’s body, as if he were forming a clone.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan, what are you doing?” an adorable little loli yelled at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan turned around and realized it was Lingling. He asked curiously, “Aren’t you helping Wang Xiaojun with his mission? Why are you here?”

Lingling held her tiny laptop in her hands. She responded with her eyes fixed on the screen, “I can monitor him from here, too.”

“The snake is splitting in half. I’m rather curious. Could it be that the force of the lightning has blasted him in half?”

Lingling was rather daring. She simply leapt onto the Black Totem Snake and climbed up with her small limbs, like an overly cute monkey. As she finally reached Mo Fan’s spot, she glanced down at the Black Totem Snake’s body from above and said, “What do you mean he’s splitting in half? Can’t you tell his skin peeling off?”

Mo Fan took a closer look and came to a realization. He said with a smile, “The big snake is finally finishing up with his ecdysis after the series of troubles. It shouldn’t be any trouble from here onward. Tangyue must be very happy.”

“Yeah, if Wang Xiaojun manages to make it back safely, the crisis will be resolved too,” said Lingling as she continued her work on the laptop.

“I hope so.”

Lingling placed the laptop on her legs and suddenly asked in confusion, “Mm, why isn’t he moving?”

“Who’s not moving?”

“Wang Xiaojun, it shows that he has stopped all of a sudden. He’s still on the ground. There aren’t any powerful beasts nearby. He should be flying to West Fortress now,” Lingling was suspicious.

“Did he stumble upon some kind of trouble?” said Mo Fan with a worried look.

Mo Fa was fairly impressed by Wang Xiaojun’s courage. It was incredibly rare to find someone willing to risk their lives for the greater good, not to mention that he was only seventeen years old.

——

In the forest to the west of the fortress, Wang Xiaojun flattened himself to the eagle’s back while glancing ahead alertedly.

Above him, the sky was densely filled with the white wings of the White Magic Falcons. They were like a giant net spreading across the night sky. Every time he glanced up, he could see the White Magic Falcons’ sharp claws and enormous wings, and felt his scalp turning numb.

The White Magic Falcons were diving at their enemies relentlessly. Wang Xiaojun had never experienced a war, nor had he seen so many demon beasts at once. He was using the gray eagle as his cover, and was scared that his presence would be exposed to the terrifying demon beasts.

Ironically, the being blocking his path was not the White Magic Falcons, but the middle-aged man with a goatee!

“Wang Xiaojun, isn’t it? I’m Councilman Luo Mian. You’ve done a great job. Now, hand over the Red Falcon Herbs, I’ll bring them to the quarantine zone at once to save the people.”

Wang Xiaojun stared at the uninvited guest in front of him. He clearly knew that the person was Councilman Luo Mian, a famous public figure in Hangzhou. However, Wang Xiaojun did not trust him. He had learned the truth from Mo Fan and Lingling. He knew that the Councilman was the cause of the plague.

He had no idea why the Councilman would be here, but he could not afford to hand over the extremely important Red Falcon Herbs to someone like him.

“I will bring them to the General myself. If Councilman Luo Mian needs the Red Falcon Herbs urgently, please escort me there.”

Councilman Luo Mian wore a smile. He glanced at Wang Xiaojun and said, “You’re asking me, a Councilman, to escort a kid like you, who doesn’t even have a military rank?”

“What do you want, then?” said Wang Xiaojun.

“If you’re smart enough, you will hand over the bracelet now!” Councilman Luo Mian’s smile gradually turned icy, with a hint of disdain toward the kid.

Normally, Councilman Luo Mian could easily send one of his men to take the herbs from Wang Xiaojun, but considering that the White Magic Falcons had occupied the sky, not everyone could sneak out towards Wang Xiaojun without anyone noticing…

Councilman Luo Mian was a Shadow Element Super-level Magician!

No one in Hangzhou and West Fortress could possibly move freely through a battlefield where both the sky and the ground were currently in the midst of an epic battle.

Although Luo Mian was rather surprised that such an insignificant kid had found the cure to the plague, he figured he should be the one who rescued Hangzhou from its grave situation, instead of a kid.

Even though he already had a scapegoat for the incident, Zhu Meng no longer believed him, so it would be difficult to retain his status as a Councilman.

However, if he could get his hands on the Red Falcon Herbs, he would be the savior of the entire city. Not only would Zhu Meng and the others not dare to accuse him, he could possibly even improve his status further!

Anyone smart enough would be willing to try desperate solutions in desperate situations. This time, the risk only involved dealing with a kid. It could not be any simpler!

“What is it?” Councilman Luo Mian smirked as he observed Wang Xiaojun and the young gray eagle. “Are you thinking of going against me?”

“Are you planning to snatch it away?” replied Wang Xiaojun furiously. He never thought a Councilman would do something like this!

“Listen to me, give me the thing, and I’ll spare your life. I can guarantee you a bright future. Otherwise, you will totally disappear from the world. Trust me, no one will care about your insignificant death!” Councilman Luo Mian’s tone was incredibly chilly.

His figure was covered in a layer of darkness and death. The Councilman who had always worn a gentle smile in front of the public had turned into a greedy, merciless vampire!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

A dark, icy aura surged toward Wang Xiaojun and the gray eagle. The beast was knocked a few steps back, while Wang Xiaojun could feel his body trembling subconsciously. Councilman Luo Mian was extremely powerful. His sharp gaze was penetrating their souls like two long swords.

“I’ll say it one last time. Hand it over!” demanded Councilman Luo Mian in a firm voice.

Wang Xiaojun clenched the storage bracelet tightly. He had no intention of handing it over.

“I forgot to mention, my secondary Element is the Curse Element. I’m sure that you’ve never tasted it before. You must be grateful, as I haven’t used it to kill anyone after becoming a Councilman. Those who died to my Curse Element were a lot stronger than you,” Councilman Luo Mian slowly waved his hand in Wang Xiaojun’s direction.

It was like his hand was trying to hide something. It was a crimson force with a hint of an evil presence.

A spirit in the shape of a giant spider appeared right above Wang Xiaojun and the gray eagle, floating weirdly in the air. Its legs were connected to the same crimson strings wrapped around Councilman Luo Mian’s palm.

The silks surrounded Wang Xiaojun and the gray eagle out of nowhere, and began to draw in. A brief moment later, a huge crimson spiderweb became visible, like a trap that had just been set up, or had been awaiting its prey all along. The eerie spider started reeling in the silks, tightening the grip of the silks on Wang Xiaojun.

Humans were the most vulnerable to the Curse Element. The silks not only rooted their target in place, they were like straws that would suck out a human’s spiritual energy. They were drawing Wang Xiaojun’s soul out at a crazy pace.

“How does it feel? I’m rather old, so I prefer not to commit any sinful acts. Give me the thing, and I’ll immediately free you from the pain,” said Councilman Luo Mian.

Wang Xiaojun struggled wildly. His face had already turned purple from the great pain. He tried to say something, but his throat was clenched tightly by the red silks.

Councilman Luo Mian stared at his prey. The kid seemed to be begging for mercy, but he responded with a grin. He clenched his hand into a claw, like the deadly legs of the evil spider that was going to kill its prey.

Wang Xiaojun’s body suddenly stiffened. His soul was already sucked dry…

His face no longer had the color of blood. His stiffened body suddenly turned weak and feeble.

His eyeballs rolled upward, as if he had been suffocated to death. Apart from terror and pain, his gaze was mostly filled with disbelief!

“How foolish!” Councilman Luo Mian slowly approached Wang Xiaojun’s body and snatched the bracelet from his arm.

He did not cast another glance at Wang Xiaojun, whose soul had been sucked dry. He would not have bothered wasting his time on a nobody like him if he had not find the cure to the plague.

He had acquired what he needed to guarantee his success. He had to make his way to the quarantine zone in the city as soon as possible. With the antidote, he could easily negotiate with the authorities of Hangzhou City.

With his Shadow Element, Councilman Luo Mian wove through the battlefield filled with countless White Magic Falcons and made his way back to the city with ease, leaving the corpse of a young man and a gray eagle screeching painfully behind!

——

Hangzhou’s Westlake…

“Idiot! That idiot!” Lingling screamed on top of the Black Totem Snake’s head. Her face was filled with hatred and anger.

She had heard everything that had taken place in the woods through a special communication device.

She cursed wildly, not at the vicious Councilman Luo Mian, but at the young man Wang Xiaojun.

Why would he resist, why!? He was only a Basic Magician. Why would he bother opposing a fallen Councilman…

Why didn’t he hand the stuff over, at least he would still be alive!

While cursing, Lingling’s eyes were already bloodshot.

Although she felt like scolding Wang Xiaojun for being stupid, he was actually very smart. He had managed to turn on the special communication device when Councilman Luo Mian decided to kill him.

Councilman Lingling would never expect that his violent and vicious act had been recorded, and was sent to Lingling and Mo Fan!

“The Sinister Spider Trap… That’s a spell that will devour one’s soul…” Mo Fan had a blank face.

Mo Fan was extremely familiar with the Sinister Spider Trap. The criminal he and Tangyue hunted down in the past had the terrifying Curse Element, too. He had turned the four Magicians from the Dongfang Clan into empty shells without souls with the same spell.

Wang Xiaojun had suffered the same fate. His cultivation was significantly weaker than the four Magicians. There was no way he stood a chance against the Intermediate Curse Magic!

This Luo Mian was extremely cruel, to use such an evil spell on a youngster!

“Lingling, don’t panic, maybe he…” Mo Fan still had a glimpse of hope.

“Do you think I’m a kid!? Do you think I’ve no idea what the Curse Element is!?” Lingling screamed furiously, “That Councilman, he’s not worthy to be called a human!”

Mo Fan’s heart sank.

Luo Mian was the main culprit of the plague. He initially thought that there was a certain limit to how bad an evil-hearted Councilman would be, but he never thought the Councilman would murder Wang Xiaojun…

How cruel, shameless, evil, and cold-hearted did a person need to be to do such thing?

He had started the plague, which had placed Hangzhou in such great danger. Instead of having regret, he had forced his man to be the scapegoat just so he could stay out of trouble, and even killed the person who had risked his own life to save the lives of the infected.

How could he possibly kill a young man who had such a kind, pure heart?

Mo Fan had thought Lu Nian was the craziest murderer he would ever know in the world, yet he had met someone who was crueler and more abhorrent than that Lu Nian, not to mention that he was a Councilman of the Enforcement Union!

He recalled how Wang Xiaojun had barged into the meeting room, his gaze determined despite the risk he would be facing. His thoughts were filled with Luo Mian’s hypocritical behavior, and the disdainful laugh after he had snatched away the antidote which Wang Xiaojun had retrieved by putting his life at risk. Mo Fan immediately sensed a tremendous fury exploding within his chest!

This Luo Mian…

Even him dying ten thousand times is not enough to repay his sin!

——

One after another, cries were heard from the communication device.

It was the gray eagle’s voice, filled with great sorrow. Mo Fan and Lingling could no longer hold back their tears of sorrow after hearing them.

Translator: XephiZ
Editor: Aelryinth

The sky above West Fortress looked like a giant white net, the dense strings covering the space above the human defenders. Sharp claws collided with destructive spells in the sky, with sharp screeches and blasts echoing everywhere.

The area within ten kilometers around the fortress had turned into a battlefield. The human defenders were completely outnumbered by the White Magic Falcons. Even with every soldier of West Fortress joining the battle, they could at most form square bricks on the ground, and could only attack the White Magic Falcons that were flying relatively low from there.

The battle was split into different levels. At the ground level, the Basic and Intermediate Magicians were trying their best to distract the army of White Magic Falcons,so the birds would take the initiative to dive down and attack them. They had managed to kill quite a number of the White Magic Falcons with that strategy.

The space above the fortress was the main area of the battle, where the Advanced Magicians who were capable of flying were fighting against the army of White Magic Falcons. Each Advanced Spell was capable of killing hundreds of Servant-class demon beasts instantly with their destructive power. Even though the Advanced Magicians were significantly outnumbered, there was no sign of them losing the battle.

As for the higher level among the clouds, that was where the real experts of the humans were battling against the Four-Clawed Magic Eagles.

Be it the Commander-level Four-Clawed Magic Eagles, or the Royal Guard, Commanders, or Judges of the Magic Court from the human side, every death would result in a great impact to the tide of the battle.

There were around ten Four-Clawed Magic Eagle in total. Their size was comparable to the clouds nearby. Their four claws were strong enough to shatter a whole mountain!

Any one of them was enough to pose a great threat to a small city, let alone ten!

Ten Four-Clawed Magic Eagles floated above the clouds, like ten pieces of clouds that had separated themselves from the sea of clouds below. Their icy gazes were staring at the tiny humans who were also floating in the sky.

The Servant-class and Warrior-level White Magic Falcons had no chance of reaching this height, as the strong gusts and cold temperature were unbearable to them.

The Four-Clawed Magic Eagles did not fight against their enemies separately. They were maintaining a triangular formation, covering a huge space…

At an even greater height, right at the center of the formation, a gigantic falcon with silver-colored feathers hovered at the center of the Commander-level demon beasts.

The feathers of this gigantic falcon were different from the rest of the White Magic Falcons. Its perfect silver feathers thoroughly displayed its nobility. The flickers on the surfaces of its feathers served as a clear indication that the feathers were sharper than a steel blade!

The gigantic falcon’s head was the size of a room. The tufts on its head were standing upright, like a silver crown spreading in a fan. Its proud eyes were inspecting the humans who were trying to stop it with great interest!

It was utterly superior, not showing any concern that it was flying in human territory. The ten Four-Clawed Magic Eagles that were escorting it could easily clear all the obstacles along the way, let alone the few tens of thousands lesser falcons below.

“Is…is that the Silver Skyruler?” exclaimed Elder Li Tian in astonishment.

“What else could possibly be escorted by ten Commander-level Four-Clawed Magic Eagles!” replied Tang Zhong with a stern look.

Silver Skyruler!

It had always been the dominator of the sky at West Ridge. The White Magic Falcons that were the civilians of its kingdom alone were enough to form a giant cloud that could shroud the sun!

West Fortress was not solely established to defend against the White Magic Falcons residing at West Ridge. The truth was, the White Magic Falcons had not attacked the humans for a very long time, thus the humans did not put too much attention on them. They had no idea that they had grown to such a terrifying scale, or that the strongest Silver Skyruler even had ten Commander-level demon beasts as its escorts!

A Commander-level demon beast was strong enough to be considered a boss by humans. Exactly how powerful was the Silver Skyruler, to freely command them?

“We’ll have to deal with the ten escorts before focusing on the Silver Skyruler!” Councilman Zhu Meng’s voice entered the ears of the Magicians.

“I’m afraid we won’t have much energy left to stop the Silver Skyruler. Frankly speaking, even all of us together could at most delay its advance,” said General Yun Feng.

“We are left with no choice, let’s kill a few of them. Otherwise, they will assume that they can come and go as they wish!” A ferocious aura blossomed from Councilman Zhu Meng as he took off the noble robe he was wearing!

Upon finishing his speech, the Councilman had already charged toward the ten Four-Clawed Magic Eagle, leaving a red trail of flame behind from his burning wings.

The Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing immediately chased after the Councilman with his three pairs of Wind Wings.

“Zhu Meng’s strength is remarkable!” exclaimed Li Tian.

The Royal Guards were generally stronger than the people of the Enforcement Union. As the Head of the Royal Guards, Wu Pingjing was already considered one of the strongest Magicians, yet he still had trouble catching up to Councilman Zhu Meng. Even the auras of his Elements were slightly weaker than those of Councilman Zhu Meng’s, which was rather unbelievable!

“Let’s target the escorts. We’ll deal with the Silver Skyruler later,” said Tang Zhong. He immediately joined the battle.

——-

The battle between the experts was taking place high up in the sky. As for the space close to the ground, it was a bloodbath between the Servant-class White Magic Falcons and the troops of human Magicians.

A fair distance away from the messy battlefield stood a blue forest. Among the trees there, a gray eagle which was slightly different from the rest of the white demon beasts was circulating in the sky above a rather spacious area. It was uttering furious screeches.

Its cries resembled the sound of a flute, capable of traveling a far distance. However, the sound was fairly sharp, with a hint of sorrow!

It was obvious that the gray eagle was a crossbreed. It was easily distinguished from the White Magic Falcons.

Meanwhile, a group of White Magic Falcons was circling nearby, too. They seemed to have discovered a delicacy. Their eyes were fixed on the ground.

The same sharp cry echoed in the woods, but the White Magic Falcons completely ignored it. One that was particularly hungry withdrew its wings and dived toward the corpse of a young man on the ground!

The gray eagle uttered a furious cry. It used its body and slammed into the White Magic Falcon that was diving from the sky. It crashed into the ground and slid a great distance across the fallen leaves.

The rest of the White Magic Falcons screeched when they saw the crossbreed protecting a human.

The gray eagle stabilized itself and slowly landed before the motionless young man. It spread out its gray wings that were not fully grown yet to protect the youngster.

It raised its head and stared at the White Magic Falcons in anger and firm determination… Its gaze was rather similar to that of its young master.

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Leng Qing slowly walked into an empty room among the soldier bunkers. Most of the Battlemages had joined the war, thus there were not many people left in the camp.

Leng Qing headed to Wang Xiaojun’s room. It was a little storage room, but it was very tidy. The only mess was some gray feathers lying around the place.

“Captain, Wang Xiaojun did not have a military rank, thus we couldn’t arrange a proper bunker for him. His brother was a Heavenly Eagle Battlemage. After he went missing, I arranged for him to stay here to look after him. I appointed him as an apprentice of the Beastmasters… did the kid cause any trouble?” Xu Li, whose face was filled with freckles, asked cautiously.

Leng Qing walked into the room on her heels, and picked up a picture frame on the table.

On the picture, a young Battlemage was pressing his hand down a Wang Xiaojun’s head, who seemed to be at the age of twelve or thirteen. The young man had a charming smile, while Wang Xiaojun seemed quite reluctant. It was most likely that he believed the curse of being unable to grow taller if his head were pressed down too much.

Behind them stood a snowy white Heavenly Eagle. It was huge, magnificent, with a proud bearing.

Meanwhile, Wang Xiaojun was holding a gray egg in his hands in a very careful manner. It was obvious that he was extremely fond of it, the way he was handling it carefully.

“The kid treated the crossbreed Heavenly Eagle preciously, and looked after it until this very day. After all, it was something that his brother had gifted him before he went missing… Normally, we wouldn’t allow a gray Heavenly Eagle here, but since he had lost his only family member, we just let it be. He’s still young, after all. He always said how he would become the strongest Heavenly Eagle Battlemage one day. I knew he had disobeyed a military order, but it wasn’t serious enough to bring you, a Vice Elder of the Magic Court here. If you were thinking of punishing him, please go easy on him, considering he’s still young…” Beastmaster Xu Li had no clue what had happened. He pleaded sincerely.

As a matter of fact, Xu Li and Wang Xiaojun’s brother were not close. Although he was extremely strict and impatient with Wang Xiaojun all the time, he actually felt sorry for the kid. He did not want the kid to be expelled, since he would soon become an official Battlemage when he reached eighteen.

“Pack his stuff up and hand them to me. On top of that, ask your Commander Ming Kuo to commemorate him as a Battlemage. He would understand,” Leng Qing said to the Beastmaster with freckles as he placed the picture frame back onto the desk.

“Heavenly Eagle Battlemage, did you say you’re giving him a military rank?” Xu Li stared at Leng Qing in bewilderment.

However, Xu Li soon realized something. His face turned pale as his voice stiffened with disbelief, “What did you say, com…commemorate?”

Granting a title and commemorating were two different things!

Granting was when the person was given the title, while commemorating was when the person could no longer accept the title in person… because he was dead!

Xu Li was not highly ranked in the army. He had no clue what had happened in the meeting room. When someone like Leng Qing appeared, he thought the kid had caused great trouble instead.

“I’m sorry, we didn’t manage to protect him,” said Leng Qing to Xu Li remorsefully.

Xu Li stood there with a blank face.

He could not accept the truth… just a year more, and he would have become an official Battlemage.

No one would know better how much the kid wanted to become an official soldier than him. Xu Li clearly knew that he wanted to become a Heavenly Eagle Battlemage, following in his brother’s footsteps. Even when the Heavenly Eagle he raised had gray feathers, his determination had never swayed.

Xu Li felt like suffocating. He wanted to know what exactly happened.

“Xu Li, Beastmaster Xu Li, Beastmaster Xu Li…” A yell suddenly came from outside of the bunker. The voice repeated for quite some time until Xu Li collected his thoughts.

“I’m…I’m here,” responded Xu Li softly.

“There’s a red Heavenly Eagle flying toward your guard post. Someone recognized it as the one that you were looking after. We’re not sure if we should kill it on the spot. Come and take a look quick!” yelled the man.

Xu Li was confused. He never recalled raising a red Heavenly Eagle…

“Let’s check it out,” said Leng Qing.

The two quickly left Wang Xiaojun’s room and went straight to the guard post.

The place was crowded with workers and a few soldiers. They were hesitating if they should consider the beast as hostile.

As soon as Leng Qing and Xu Li reached the place, they saw a red Heavenly Eagle flying toward them awkwardly

The beast seemed to be suffering. It felt like it would slam into the ground at times, but it managed to flap its wings and recollect itself.

Finally, the eagle was less than fifty meters away from the guard post.

Xu Li’s eyes widened. They were full of astonishment.

It was true that he could not recall raising any red Heavenly Eagle, as the red covering the beast was actually blood!

It was not a red Heavenly Eagle, but a gray one. Its body was soaked in blood, including its head, its wings, its body, its claws… Not a single body part was free from deep wounds and bruises, not a spot was clear of blood.

The blood was still dripping. It covered its gray feathers, and dyed them thoroughly red!

Xu Li had been in the army for more than ten years. He had seen too many deaths, thus his tears were long dry…

However, when he saw the gray eagle stumbling to land on the platform, when he saw a lifeless young man lying on its back, tears began to burst out from his eyes!

—

Leng Qing was stunned, too.

The gray eagle… It had managed to carry Wang Xiaojun back!

Despite the distance, it had managed to weave through the bloodbath of the battlefield and brought its young master back ‘unharmed’.

Its fresh blood had already dried up!

The gray feathers were dyed completely red!

The crossbreed Heavenly Eagle did not rise again after it landed. It fell to the ground before the crowd. Its half-broken neck turned toward Wang Xiaojun’s body. Its eyes had a blank expression…

It was dead.

Leng Qing had seen many Heavenly Eagles with noble lineage. They had incredible strength and pure white feathers. However, she would only remember the crossbreed, gray-feathered Heavenly Eagle from now on.

Like master, like beast. She could only pay her utter respect with silent tears!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

West Lake, the Su Causeway…

The breeze swept past. It sounded like someone weeping.

Mo Fan and Lingling had listened to the entire process, including the cries that the gray eagle had uttered when it was trying desperately to protect Wang Xiaojun.

Finally, the gray eagle managed to carry the youngster back to West Fortress, but their hearts were not calmed yet.

The Black Totem Snake had fully awakened under Mo Fan and Lingling’s care. As the two were immersed in the great sorrow after losing Wang Xiaojun, the wounds covering the gigantic snake’s body had totally disappeared, replaced by a new layer of flickering black scales…

His skin seemed brand new. The old skin with wounds lay nearby, soaking in the water. Even though the Black Totem Snake was a lot smaller, he no longer looked tired and weak after the ecdysis.

As the ecdysis was finishing, he had also listened to the series of events together with Mo Fan and Lingling.

He let out a cry, as if he was trying to wake up the two humans who were carried away by sorrow.

Mo Fan collected his thoughts and realized that the Black Totem Snake had a new look. The glowing black scales were highlighting the authority of an ancient totem beast. His gigantic figure represented his domineering status!

The Black Totem Snake reached out his tongue with a deep hiss. His eyes were staring into the sky in the west, as if he could sense his enemies in that direction!

That’s right, the Black Totem Snake was framed by Councilman Luo Mian. He almost became the scapegoat for the plague!

“Do you want to take your revenge?” asked Mo Fan as he sensed the Black Totem Snake’s fury.

The Black Totem Snake could understand human language. He slowly rose from the lake, to a height that was able to look down at the whole lake…

The Black Totem Snake opened his mouth and uttered a raging cry, similar to the cry of a true ruler who had survived from a grave situation. He was declaring to the enemies that had tried to kill him that their nightmare had just begun!

The Black Totem Snake unleashed a domineering aura. Following his roar, strong waves rolled across the lake toward the shores.

“Are you done with the ecdysis?” Mo Fan asked in a surprised tone above the Black Totem Snake’s head.

Before this, Mo Fan was still slightly terrified of the snake boss. However, when he sensed a wave of similar anger from the snake, he believed that they had the same goal in mind…

Councilman Luo Mian was extremely powerful, and he was holding the last straw of the city in his hands. If he managed to reach the quarantine zone with the Red Falcon Herbs, his status would skyrocket, and it would be even harder to serve justice for the sake of Wang Xiaojun and the gray eagle.

Mo Fan and Lingling felt like dissecting Councilman Luo Mian right now, and the Black Totem Snake was somehow done with his ecdysis at the perfect time!

“Are you trying to say that you’ll listen to me?” Mo Fan could sense a unique voice from the Black Totem Snake in his soul. He pointed his finger at himself with wide eyes.

The Black Totem Snake responded firmly. The snake boss was clearly aware that Mo Fan had helped him at his weakest state.

Therefore, he was willing to transform himself into the flames of wrath burning in Mo Fan’s heart. He would burn the plague, the conspiracy, and the culprit responsible for the tragedy into ashes!

“Alright, let’s go and kill that son of a bitch!” yelled Mo Fan wildly.

A Councilman? He had abused his overwhelming power and strength to carry out such a vicious conspiracy…

But now, the Black Totem Snake was done with the ecdysis. The dominator had returned. No one would be able to save the asshole’s life!

“Lingling, tell me the location,” said Mo Fan to Lingling beside him.

“He’s currently in the small valley between West Fortress and the quarantine zone. He has almost reached the city,” said Lingling.

Lingling had specifically marked the space bracelet. She could easily determine where Councilman Luo Mian was at. He was trying to sneak into the city after committing such an unforgivable sin…

He had hunted down Wang Xiaojun on his return, and now it was his turn to experience the same fate!

“Alright, big guy, let’s move out!” Mo Fan standing on the Black Totem Snake yelled and pointed to the west.

The Black Totem Snake was fully covered in black scales, which looked like armor plate. He sprang out from the lake into the sky, like a night dragon soaring into the sky…

Other flying beasts would slowly increase their altitude after flapping their wings wildly, but the Black Totem Snake had risen into the clouds directly. Upon reaching the layer of clouds, a waterfall flowing in the reverse direction in the sky appeared on West Lake. The residents nearby stared at the spectacular sight in disbelief.

The Black Totem Snake’s figure was soon shrouded by a colorful mist as he flew into the sky.

Not only was the mist concealing his gigantic body, it was also dragging him toward Hangzhou City. It was the beast’s ability to ride the mist among the clouds!

They quickly swept past the sky above the skyscrapers in the well-developed city. Both Mo Fan and Lingling were sitting on top of the Black Totem Snake’s head. Their hearts beat rapidly, as they had never had a flying experience like this before…

The speed of a Ruler-level beast was incredibly fast. They gradually left the stunning city behind, slowly turning into a night-time scene.

—

Further ahead, the dull sky was filled with many white figures. It was the army of White Magic Falcons.

After a lengthy battle, the army of the White Magic Falcons was finally on the verge of breaking through the boundary of the safe zone and infiltrating the human territory. They were very close to the city.

The Black Totem Snake totally ignored the White Magic Falcons. His cold eyes were looking down at the valley. Just like Mo Fan, he was searching for Councilman Luo Mian.

“He’s right under us, but he seems to be meeting up with some people. Quite a number of them,” Lingling blurted out when she saw the information from her tiny laptop.

“They have outnumbered us, we should…”

Before Mo Fan could finish, the Black Totem Snake withdrew the mist and dived right at the spacious land with his body coiled up!

Outnumbered?

He was a totem beast! A Ruler-level Black Snake tall enough to touch the sky!

The Black Totem Snake considered few things in the entire world to be his worthy opponent, let alone a mere City Councilman!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

A black shadow weaved agilely across the field in the valley below. It was none other than Councilman Luo Mian, who had intercepted Wang Xiaojun. He was quite adept with the Shadow Element. Each time he moved, he could leap past several layers of shadows at once.

“Councilman Luo Mian, we’ve been waiting a long time for you.” A rough-looking man stood among the bushes. He was followed by a few men who were the subordinates of a few other Councilmen. Judging from their auras, each of them was an Advanced Magician.

Councilman Luo Mian slowly walked out from the shadows. With his goatee, his smile granted him a friendly appearance. However, little did everyone know, he had just cold-bloodedly murdered a youngster who was close to becoming Hangzhou City’s hero!

“I’ve got the stuff. You should be relieved. As long as you are with me, you will enjoy endless fortune and outstanding power,” said Councilman Luo Mian with a smile.

The rough-looking man and the other Advanced Magicians grinned, too. One of them spoke up, “Allow us to escort you to the quarantine zone.”

“Escort?” Councilman Luo Mian smirked. It seemed like the person who had repeated the same thing had now turned into a soulless shell.

The rough-looking man said, “Zhang Heng, I can assure you that not many people are worthy enough to be Councilman Luo Mian’s escort. He once killed the greatest number of Commander-level demon beasts among the Magicians of the Enforcement Union. His record is kept on a boulder in the Magic Court’s supreme hall. Until today, not one person has managed to break his record with the same cultivation.”

“Alright, we’ll have time for stories later. Don’t forget that Hangzhou City is still in danger. It’s time for I, Councilman Luo Mian, to be the savior. Once it’s done, more people will be willing to give me their allegiance. Until then, no one can ever pose a threat to my position. I’ll soon become a Chairman! HAHAHA!” Luo Mian burst out laughing.

The crowd followed up with fawning words for him.

Surrounded by the crowd, Councilman Luo Mian was about to depart for the quarantine zone, but he had only taken a few steps when a great tornado made up of purple-black air descended from the sky! It rooted deeply into the ground, shredding the grass into smaller pieces. It soon grew into a great hurricane covering the whole valley!

The thick mist within the tornado slowly spread into the surroundings, turning into a wall of mist blocking the group’s path.

Inside the mist, a blurry, flickering black silhouette slowly appeared. It was as massive as a mountain’s spine!

Its body was extremely lengthy, long enough to intertwine with itself inside the mist. It felt like they were countless giant pythons the size of a mountain slithering in the mist. However, as the mist disappeared, everyone discovered that it was only a single Skyscraping Snake, tall enough to touch the clouds!

The Skyscraping Snake stood upright. He slowly lowered his head, like an emperor staring down at the sinful humans on the ground. His eyes emitted a cold flicker, penetrating their hearts like magical swords and rooting them tot he spot.

On top of his head stood the furious Mo Fan and Lingling. They were here to avenge Wang Xiaojun!

Mo Fan glared at Councilman Luo Mian. To his surprise, he had met the person standing beside the Councilman before.

When he went to the shrine at the center of the lake with Tangyue, a person called Da Sheng was on duty looking after the place. The same person was standing beside Councilman Luo Mian now. It clearly implied that he was the traitor in the Totem Guardians Tribe.

Da Sheng was frozen in place. He never thought their totem beast, the Black Totem Snake, would appear here. He did not have the courage to raise his head. He was absolutely terrified, just like Mo Fan’s reaction when he first saw the beast. He was so petty that he had no chance of resisting the beast.

On the other hand, Councilman Luo Mian was a Super Magician. He was able to hold his ground. He raised his head and said with a cold grin, “Do you still think you’re the same totem beast? Without completing the ecdysis, I alone could easily eliminate you!”

The Black Totem Snake suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a puff of black fog. It struck the ground and produced a powerful black ripple.

The energy ripple shattered the ground. The surrounding space trembled violently. Several men siding with Luo Mian were blown into the air.

They were all Advanced Magicians and reacted quickly, casting defensive Spells or protecting themselves with defensive equipment. However, their efforts were all in vain facing the Black Totem Snake’s overwhelming power.

Their defenses shattered into pieces, just like the ground. They floated in the air like grass stalks, as the force tore at them!

A guy with weaker cultivation was suddenly torn apart when he reached a height of fifty meters, his arms, head, and legs amputated. Fresh blood jetted out from the cuts, sprinkling down in the night sky.

The rest did not last any longer, they had all fallen into hell. Apart from having their limbs amputated, some were smashed into minced meat and were spread across the sky.

Four Magicians were killed instantly. They were utterly helpless against a rather normal breath of the Black Totem Snake, and all suffered horrible deaths.

The only person who had stayed alive was the traitor called Da Sheng. He was one of the Totem Tribe, thus he was well aware of the totem beast’s power. He had used all his energy to defend himself right at the start, thus allowing him to cheat death. However, his body was covered in blood. He was already half-dead when he fell from the sky!

Mo Fan could not believe what he had just seen from on top of the Black Totem Snake’s head.

Each of them was an Advanced Magician, and yet the Black Totem Snake had used a single attack to kill them all. How powerful was the totem beast exactly?

The energy slowly dissipated, leaving a mess behind. The cracks on the ground extended far into the distance, as if a gigantic deity had just stomped down, leaving a deep footprint behind. The ground continued to slowly crack open like a canyon.

The only person who was left unharmed in the area was the Super Magician, Councilman Luo Mian. He pulled a long face and snapped at the Black Totem Snake with a glare, “It should take you half a month more to complete the ecdysis… you’re only burning your life force to temporarily grant yourself outstanding strength, are you trying to kill me even if it will cost your own life?!”

Councilman Luo Mian would never believe that the beast had recovered his full strength!

Translator: XephiZ              Editor: Aelryinth

He still needed half a month to recover? Mo Fan was taken by surprise. Perhaps the illegally recycled cooking oil had brought some unexpected effects?

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was on point. The Diseased Blood in the serums was considered a delicacy to the White Magic Falcons. It was also a nutritious tonic for the Black Totem Snake, as it had replenished the vitality that the beast had lost during his ecdysis.

Councilman Luo Mian could not expect that the sin he had committed had somehow helped the Black Totem Snake with his recovery in return, eventually leading the beast here to take his life.

Councilman Luo Mian pulled a long face. The goatee which he had combed perfectly was disheveled by the gusts of wind. He pointed his finger at the Black Totem Snake, “I’ve spared your life once. Since you’re so desperately asking for your death, I’ll grant you your death wish. Totem beasts? You all should have been buried deep under the ground with the ancient kingdoms, and should have been deemed extinct in the history records. Once you’re dead, the world would have one less totem beast!”

The Black Totem Snake stared down at him with the same proud look. As the Councilman was roaring furiously, he had flung his body hard in his direction.

Councilman Luo Mian managed to react in time. His body sank into the shadow, which soon split into two, then four rapidly. The shadows spread out in four different directions. It was impossible to tell which was real.

Mo Fan was astounded. He had no idea the Councilman was so adept with the Basic Spell, able to split into so many illusionary shadows to trick his enemy. He was clearly still a long way from reaching the man’s level…

Councilman Luo Mian might be able to trick the others, but he could not escape from the Black Totem Snake’s sharp eyes. As his body slapped the ground hard, a tide of soil stirred up, tailing one of the shadows.

The tide slammed into the shadow like a dragon. Councilman Luo Mian quickly leapt out from the shadow in panic, but he was still knocked a few hundred meters away by the impact.

He clenched his teeth as he rose to his feet. He used his fastest speed to cast an Advanced Shadow Element Magic, the Nyx Regime!

As it was already dark to begin with, the Nyx Regime quickly Summoned a curtain that light could not penetrate around the area where the Councilman was standing, to set up his zone.

Councilman Luo Mian was very fast at casting the Spells. He was using the Advanced Spell as his cover. Otherwise, he would not have enough time to cast any Super Spell while trying to defend himself from the Black Totem Snake’s attacks. A Star Palace could only be constructed by aligning seven Star Constellations together. It was a rather complicated process.

The Black Totem Snake suddenly inhaled deeply. Its body bloated slightly, before green puffs of poisonous gas jetted out from the gap between his scales. The poisonous gas did not spread wildly, but it somehow accumulated at certain positions and took the shape of the Black Totem Snake!

The poison transformed into nine enormous snakes, but they were more like destructive hurricanes!

As the Black Totem Snake’s roared, the nine poisonous snakes charged at Councilman Luo Mian’s zone. The area that the Nyx Regime had covered was fairly huge, but it was nothing compared to the size of the poisonous snakes.

One of the poisonous snakes slammed into the curtain and swiftly tore it apart. The poisonous mist surged forward and quickly surrounded Councilman Luo Mian, who was trying to use the darkness as his cover.

The mist was thick as a wall. Councilman Luo Mian was trapped within it, and yet there were eight other poisonous snakes waiting to lunge at him.

The ground trembled vigorously after every collision. The poisonous mist spread across the place. Mo Fan could only see Councilman Luo Mian panicking as he defended himself from the mist.

He seemed to have awakened the Light Element, too. It was the strongest Element against poison, yet his spells were devoured by the snake’s poison almost instantly. The snake poison was too domineering. It left no chances for any prey within it, even if they were a Super Magician.

Luo Mian’s defense quickly crumbled under the attacks from the nine poisonous snakes. The poison penetrated his body, leaving marks on his skin.

Councilman Luo Mian was steps away from the jaws of death. The Black Totem Snake’s poison was almost incurable.

However, the Black Totem Snake was reluctant to let the evildoer die so easily. The Black Totem Snake took a deep breath, inhaling the poison back into his body. The powerful gust dragged Councilman Luo Mian toward the snake’s mouth. The Councilman realized that he was seconds away from being swallowed by the beast. He collected his thoughts and activated his final trump card.

A golden glow burst out from Councilman Luo Mian’s body. The ray of lights formed a golden shield around him, protecting him like a golden house.

When the Black Totem Snake’s fangs bit the sturdy shield, it surprisingly was not shattered into pieces by the great force.

The Black Totem Snake opened his mouth for another bite.

Clank!

He felt like he had just bitten on a diamond. His fangs seemed to have loosened up slightly due to the collision with the sturdy shield. On the other hand, the shield only had a few tiny cracks on its surface.

Councilman Luo Mian was protected by the shield and subconsciously tidied his goatee. A smile surfaced on his pale face. Luckily, the Diamond Shield that the Enforcement Union had given to him had saved his life. Otherwise, he would have been eaten by the Black Totem Snake. The Diamond Shield would last quite a while. It would grant him enough time.

However, the Black Totem Snake suddenly rolled his tongue and swallowed both the Diamond Shield and Councilman Luo Mian into his esophagus and stomach.

It was fine that he could not bite his way through the Diamond Shield. His stomach was capable of digesting everything, including the golden Diamond Shield!

Normally, when a snake devoured its prey, it would still be alive. Killing the Councilman slowly with his stomach acid would still be torture for him. At least, while he was being digested, he had plenty of time to repent for his sin!

Councilman Luo Mian was unwilling to die like that. As he was rolling into the esophagus, he screamed at the two people standing above the snake’s head, “The bracelet that contains the Red Falcon Herbs is still in my hand. If I die, Hangzhou City will suffer being invaded by the White Magic Falcons. A few tens of thousand people would die!

“Spare me, and I’ll give you the bracelet. Your friend is already dead. Avenging him won’t make any difference! Let me go, and I assure you that I’ll give you plenty of glory and power with my status as a Councilman. I’ll give you anything you seek!”

Councilman Luo Mian was afraid. His previous scornful attitude toward the Black Totem Snake was long gone.

He was told many times how powerful the god protecting the city was. Today, after experiencing it first hand, he was well aware of how much of a joke his Super Magic was. He was clearly not on the same level as the beast.

He did not want to die. He had no choice but to beg for mercy, even if it would cost him his dignity…

Translator: XephiZ         Editor: Aelryinth

“He still has the bracelet. It contains the antidote to the plague, which Wang Xiaojun exchanged his life for. If it is together with Councilman Lingling, what shall we do with the infected? How do we deal with the army of White Magic Falcons?” said Lingling worriedly.

They would unleash their anger and get their revenge after killing Councilman Luo Mian, but Hangzhou would suffer serious casualties.

The Black Totem Snake did not care too much. He had swallowed Councilman Luo Mian together with the Diamond Shield deep into his stomach, leaving him no chance of escaping.

Mo Fan was still in deep thoughts, when he heard noise coming from the sky. He raised his head and saw clouds of White Magic Falcons flying in their direction!

They were in the valley close to the city. After the valley, the White Magic Falcons would find the houses, residents, streets, schools, and the main quarantine zone where all the infected were kept. Although the residents nearby had been evacuated to prevent the plague from spreading further, once the White Magic Falcons intruded into the city, these flying demon beats would quickly reap the lives of the helpless residents. There was nothing they could possibly do!

The army of White Magic Falcons was getting closer. Beyond the faint mist, Mo Fan could see a silver creature flapping its wings much higher in the sky. It was leading a few other massive demon beasts and flying toward Hangzhou City.

“What is that? The silver-colored one?” said Mo Fan in deep terror.

“It’s the Silver Skyruler, the dominator of West Ridge. It is the reason why the Heavenly Eagles revolted,” said Lingling.

“Things are getting out of hand. God knows how disastrous it would be if the Ruler-level demon beast invaded the city,” said Mo Fan.

The calamity of Bo City was only the work of a Commander-level Darkwing Wolf, and yet so many people had died. What kind of nightmare would a Ruler-level creature and its army, which was big enough to shroud the night sky, bring to the city?

However, in order to resolve the situation, they needed the Red Falcon Herbs inside the bracelet. Even when Councilman Luo Mian was swallowed into the snake’s stomach, he was still clenching it hard, as it was his final bargaining chip. He would destroy the antidote that Wang Xiaojun had brought back, unless they were willing to let him go.

What could they possibly do?

Mo Fan felt extremely lost.

The Black Totem Snake raised his head and uttered a roar at the White Magic Falcons in the air. The White Magic Falcons rapidly flew past them and headed straight for Hangzhou City. Some of them had begun diving, as if they had discovered delicious prey on the ground.

Humans who were not Magicians were extremely weak. They had no chance of protecting themselves.

The Black Totem Snake was infuriated. Hangzhou was considered his territory. How could he allow the demon beasts to act ruthlessly in his territory?

With a wriggle, he traveled across the valley and moved quickly toward Hangzhou City.

His size was like a mountain. The people of Hangzhou City could clearly see his enormous head and body moving toward them despite the distance between them. A deep ravine was left behind where he passed, lining up parallel to the canals flowing out from the city.

The streets were filled with screams. People who were hiding in the buildings could not hide from the claws of the white demon birds. Casualties began to appear. Luckily, the place was one of the earliest parts to be evacuated, thus the situation was not the worst.

The White Magic Falcons poured down like white raindrops. They scattered across the edge of the city. As they were capable of flying, many Magicians were helpless against them. They could only watch them destroying the city and killing the civilians.

More shockingly, a massive snake had just arrived at the edge of the city. The guards were more afraid of it than the White Magic Falcons.

As the Black Totem Snake arrived at the edge of the city, he opened his mouth and spat out a poisonous mist at the White Magic Falcons. Within a few seconds after inhaling the poison, they had turned into stiff corpses on the ground.

The Black Totem Snake’s poison was strong enough to kill the White Magic Falcons instantly. The groups of demon beasts fell rapidly from the sky and smashed into bloody piles as they hit the ground.

The poisonous mist enveloped the sky close to the edge of the city. It slowly formed a poisonous barrier on its edge to define its territory. If the White Magic Falcons trespassed into it, they would turn into stiff corpses instantly.

Thousands of White Magic Falcons had died in the poisonous mist. The army of White Magic Falcons thought they could abuse their numbers to break through the barrier, but every single one of them ended up dead!

—

The poisonous gas lingered in the sky without spreading toward where the humans were.

The residents thought they were doomed and had prepared themselves for a brutal death. To their surprise, the poisonous mist had stopped the white demon beasts from reaching them. They stared at the Skyscraping Snake who was forcing his way into the city.

“Is he protecting us?” asked an Intermediate Magician. Behind the female Battlemage stood a group of elderly who were being transferred from the aged care center.

These older folks did not receive the order to evacuate in time, as if they had been abandoned in the aged care center. Society had no time to care about their wellbeing, apart from the female Battlemage who had arrived a few moments ago to protect them.

The elderly raised their heads and saw the Skyscraping Snake stopping the invasion of the White Magic Falcons with the poisonous mist. In the midst of their astonishment and joy, they recalled an old tale related to Hangzhou City. It was said that something was protecting the city. It was a gigantic snake who could wall up the city by joining his tail to his head!

—

The Black Totem Snake stood at the edge of the city. He raised his head, staring at the White Magic Falcons that were targeting him. In his eyes, the White Magic Falcons were like a pack of mosquitoes and flies. They were nothing to be afraid of, regardless of their number.

The massive beast continued to spit out poison. The barrier grew thicker. He would not let a single White Magic Falcon break through!

He suddenly raised his head up high after being aware of something. His glistening eyes looked high up into the sky.

The Silver Skyruler was flying right above him!

Similarly, the Silver Skyruler stared at the Black Totem Snake on the ground. It uttered a furious cry, as if it were aware of a great threat. The sharp cry echoed throughout the entire city!

Translator: XephiZ             Editor: Aelryinth

In the sky above the city, Elder Li Tian and Commander Yun Feng were surrounded by a water barrier. Sharp silver feathers were being fired at them like a wild storm. The barrier only managed to protect against a wave of the feathers, before they were shattered into pieces. Their bodies were soon covered with bruises and wounds.

The Silver Skyruler was extremely cunning. It seemed rather familiar with how human Magicians cast their spells. The humans who were fighting it were all Super Magicians, and the only spells that could actually penetrate its armor of feathers were Super Spells!

The demon bird was able to manipulate its feathers at will. They were circling around him like blades, forming a zone of blades as protection. Not only was the zone its unbreakable defense, it could fire them at its targets, too!

The silver feathers were extremely troublesome for the Super Magicians to deal with. Every time they tried to cast a Super Spell, the feathers would lock them down, not giving them any chance to finish constructing the Star Palace!

Constructing a Star Palace was a complicated process, involving connecting seven Star Constellations. Only a few people were able to do it in a short amount of time. At least, Li Tian, Yun Feng, Zhu Meng, Tang Zhong, Zhu Meng, and the others were not able to do it.

They were fairly powerful, and able to cast Advanced Spells almost instantly. Unfortunately, none of them were strong enough to penetrate the Silver Skyruler’s zone of feathers. It was like a defensive tornado revolving around the demon beast. Any destructive Spells ended up shattering after making contact with the zone.

“What should we do? If we don’t find a way to break through its defense, we can’t even inflict any damage to it!” said Elder Li Tian asked, frowning.

Their castings of Super Magic were always interrupted, and the Advanced Spells were totally useless. The Silver Skyruler utilized its zone of feathers perfectly. It was almost unbeatable.

“We have to break it at all cost!” shouted Councilman Zhu Meng furiously.

His Magic was the most destructive among the Super Magicians. Under Wu Pingjing’s protection, he was able to control the powerful Lightning Element, quickly withdrawing a distance away. Five Star Constellations formed in his surroundings!

He had aligned the Stars at an insane pace. The Nebula and Star Patterns of the Star Constellations were swiftly illustrated. It was not something that an ordinary Super Magician could do…

“It seems to be looking at the ground. It’s distracted! Councilman Zhu Meng, this is our chance!” yelled Wu Pingjing.

Wu Pingjing had already braced himself for a rain of feathers pouring at him. To his surprise, the Silver Skyruler had shifted his attention to the ground. It appeared that something there had infuriated it.

Zhu Meng and Wu Pingjing had no time to worry about what was happening on the ground. Zhu Meng was fully focused on drawing the last two Star Constellations!

The seven Star Constellations were constructed. The densely packed stars combined into a magnificent galaxy…

The Nebula had joined the stars together, resulting in a stunning Star Pattern. The combination of the perfectly aligned Star Patterns formed mysterious Star Constellations!

The Star Constellations continued to connect with one another, forming a majestic Star Palace. Dark purple lightning flickered wildly within a hundred meters of Councilman Zhu Meng’s position. He had drawn out a lightning halberd in the sky!

The lightning halberd was flung out fiercely. Its size continued to grow along the way…

One after another, more lightning halberds swept across the sky, forming nine lightning trails.

The lightning rays flew right at the Silver Skyruler’s Feather-Blade Domain. A lightning cage constructed by nine towering pillars appeared, trapping the Silver Skyruler within it.

Although the Lightning Punishment was not as powerful as the formation that had trapped the Black Totem Snake, it was more than enough to keep the Silver Skyruler busy for a while!

The Silver Skyruler was infuriated when it saw the lightning bolts surging toward it from all directions. It tried to barge out of the cage, but realized that the strongest entrapping Spell among all Super Spells was not something it could break out of easily!

Its body began to fall, bringing the lightning cage with it.

The Lightning Punishment fell together with the demon bird. At a certain height, the Silver Skyruler suddenly uttered a shrieking call. The piercing cry echoed in the night sky among the army of White Magic Falcons.

The White Magic Falcons that were trying to break through the poisonous mist quickly altered their course and gathered together, hearing their leader’s summon.

“What is it trying to do, calling it pawns over? Does it think they are strong enough to break the Lightning Punishment?” said Councilman Zhu Meng.

As soon as Councilman Zhu Meng finished his sentence, the army of White Magic Falcons started slamming into the Lightning Punishment like giant white nets.

The first batch of the White Magic Falcons consisted of over a hundred of them in total. It was highly possible that they were grouped according to their nests, judging from their synchronized movements. However, as soon as they made contact with the lightning chains between the lightning halberds, their bodies crumbled instantly and turned into sprinkling blood.

After the first batch of White Magic Falcons was killed, more of them charged in the direction of the Lightning Punishment recklessly. There were Warrior-level demon beasts mixed among them, yet similar to the Servant-class demon beasts, they had no chance against the overwhelming power of the Super Lightning Element Spell.

More White Magic Falcons collided with the Lightning Punishment under the Silver Skyruler’s order, like flying moths diving into a fire. Thousands of them had died within a few seconds. The droplets of blood had turned into a blood mist covering more than a few kilometers. It was a bizarre sight.

Councilman Zhu Meng was stunned. He could not believe the Ruler-level demon beast would send its people to death just so it could break free from the entrapment as soon as possible.

Finally, the seal of the Lightning Punishment began to shudder due to the endless waves of kamikaze birds. Its power gradually diminished. When the Silver Skyruler saw that its plan was working, it uttered another cry, demanding the White Magic Falcons sacrifice themselves.

These low-class creatures were too petty compared to a high-lineage demon beast!

Even though the Lightning Punishment was fairly strong, it could only entrap the Silver Skyruler for a limited time. To prevent itself from getting hurt, the Silver Skyruler had chosen to sacrifice thousands of the White Magic Falcons.

The cold-blooded Silver Skyruler finally escaped from the lightning chains. It rose into the sky once again, its feathers standing upright. Countless silver feathers were immediately fired at the five Super Magicians in the night sky.

The feathers were extremely sharp. Any ordinary defense was unable to resist them. Wu Pingjing was in charge of protecting Councilman Zhu Meng. He had already used defensive equipment and Spells at the same time, but they could not hold off the silver rays.

His body was punctured with holes. The silver rays continued to fly toward Zhu Meng with his blood.

Zhu Meng’s left shoulder was penetrated, leaving a huge bloody hole. He endured the pain and flew toward Wu Pingjing, dragging him away from the rain of feathers with his fastest speed.

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Wu Pingjing was severely injured. If it weren’t for Councilman Zhu Meng dragging him away from the endless silver rays, he would be a deformed corpse by now.

Tang Zhong quickly came over and escorted them away. The holes on Wu Pingjing’s pale body meant he was losing blood at a crazy rate. He glanced at Councilman Zhu Meng with a feeble look and said, “Councilman, I’m afraid we are no match for the demon beast. I’ve lost the ability to fight, and you’re injured too. We should retreat to the city’s defensive barrier.”

“Nonsense! If we retreat now, who’s going to stop this monster! Do you have any idea how destructive any of its attacks are to the city? If the destructive force lands on any hospital or school, thousands of people will die!” declared Councilman Zhu Meng furiously.

Councilman Zhu Meng stared at the Silver Skyruler coldly. He couldn’t have cared less about the bleeding wound on his shoulder.

He was not a cold-blooded authority figure like the Silver Skyruler, who was willing to send thousands of its people to die in vain.

Humans were different because they were sentimental and had feelings. Every life had its own meaning.

As a Councilman, if he did not care about the millions of lives in the city and ran away just to save himself, how different was he than the demon beasts?

So what if he were injured; as long as he stopped the cruel demon beasts from invading the city, as long as he could prevent a huge number of lives from diminishing, even death would be worth it!

“These goddamned demon beasts, I’ll let you know that invading human territory is the stupidest idea you had in your whole life!” Councilman Zhu Meng clenched his teeth and activated the equipment that he had not used before.

Skythunder Royal Armor!

The battle had lasted throughout the night. The sky had slightly lit up in the east.

A bolt of lightning struck down from the sky all of a sudden, lightning up the entire city. It felt like a bolt of punishment sent by God…

The astonishing lightning landed on Councilman Zhu Meng’s body. Plate armor covered with lightning arcs draped over his body, equipping itself from his head to his ankles!

It was a magnificent lightning armor set, like a gift from Heaven. A pair of fiery wings appeared on Councilman Zhu Meng’s back… He had suddenly turned into a fully-equipped knight, with control over the strongest Lightning and Fire Elements!

The Lightning and Fire Elements were the most destructive among all Elements. Councilman Zhu Meng flapped the fiery wings and charged at the Silver Skyruler. He activated another piece of equipment along the flight!

Raging flames burned on his palm. It spread wildly into his surroundings, and transformed into a red pike!

As soon as the pike appeared, a red sun rose between the mountains. Councilman Zhu Meng grabbed the pike and dashed across the sun. The pike burned fiercer as if it had been strengthened by the sunlight. The sky was dyed blazing red.

Councilman Zhu Meng was extremely tiny compared to the Silver Skyruler, but the power he held in his hand was overwhelming. The zone of feathers revolving around his figure quickly burned to ashes after reaching the flames from the pike.

Councilman Zhu Meng dashed into the Silver Skyruler’s domain. The sharp feathered blades tried to avoid contact with the flames to get closer to Councilman Zhu Meng, but they were stopped by the lightning armor.

The fiery figure dashed forward, leaving a burning trail behind. The silver defense was torn apart, as the wildfire burned half of the silver domain. Its outstanding power left Tang Zhong, Li Tian, and Yun Feng with blank faces.

The silver domain was finally broken apart. Councilman Zhu Meng had managed to break through it with the Lightning Royal Armor and the Rising Sun Pike. It was the only progress that had made since the start of the battle.

However, that alone was not enough to take the Silver Skyruler’s life.

The Silver Skyruler stared at Councilman Zhu Meng coldly, its eyes flickering with disdain. It flung its giant wings at him as he was approaching it!

Although Councilman Zhu Meng had broken into the Silver Skyruler’s domain, and even though he was using the fire and lightning on the Silver Skyruler, his power was nowhere enough to penetrate the Silver Skyruler’s defense. As the demon beast’s wing struck him, he immediately turned into a meteor with a mix of purple and red, falling rapidly from the sky!

Councilman Zhu Meng crashed at the edge of the city. The entire street was destroyed from the impact!

Luckily, the place was long evacuated. Otherwise, many innocent lives would have been lost.

Among the debris, the magic pike was now a slowly extinguishing flame. The armor had managed to save his life, but it was shattered into pieces, too.

Councilman Zhu Meng spat out mouthfuls of blood. He struggled to his feet and glared at the Silver Skyruler in the sky…

The dominator of West Ridge was far stronger than he had imagined!

Councilman Zhu Meng cast a helpless glance at the city behind him. He could imagine that the city was going to be reduced to ruins in the near future, the number of lives that would be lost…

And everything had happened because of his inability!

——

Only Commander Yun Feng, Elder Li Tian, and Tang Zhong remained in the sky. Among them, only Yun Feng’s strength was slightly stronger than Councilman Zhu Meng. The rest were still not adept when it came to using Super Magic.

While they were clueless of what to do, a deafening roar was heard from the direction of the city. A black mist rose into the air, carrying a gigantic snake the size of a skyscraper.

The snake broke through the army of White Magic Falcons. None of them dared to get close to him due to the poisonous mist around him. He was flying rapidly to where the Silver Skyruler was.

The Silver Skyruler had placed its attention at the ground throughout the battle. The Black Totem Snake was exactly what it was worried about.

When the Black Totem Snake reached the same height as the Silver Skyruler, it immediately cried out, as if it were scared of the Black Totem Snake getting close to it.

It continuously summoned its white army nearby, which again flew at the Black Totem Snake like moths flying into a flame. They all slammed into the poisonous mist.

The Silver Skyruler had its domain of sharp feathers, which left the Super Magicians totally helpless. Similarly, the Black Totem Snake also had an incomparable domain, the barrier of poisonous gas!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

No matter how hard the white army was charging toward the mist, no matter big the army was and how high their morale was, they all ended up as corpses falling to the ground!

The Black Totem Snake rode the mist and stared at the Silver Skyruler proudly. He did not even bother looking at the army of White Magic Falcons that was charging at him. Thousands of White Magic Falcons had not inflicted any damage to his domain. He reached out his tongue and hissed at the Silver Skyruler, as if he were mocking its idiotic decision of sending its people to death.

The Silver Skyruler realized that its people were dying for no reason. It quickly ordered the White Magic Falcons to back off before firing its sharp feathers at the Black Totem Snake.

Half of the feathers had been burned into ashes by Councilman Zhu Meng’s fiery pike, thus the attack was not as powerful as before. The Black Totem Snake stood above the mist. The sharp feathers only left some markings on his scales. The Black Totem Snake simply stood there and stared at the Silver Skyruler, as if he were waiting for his opponent to attack with all it had.

Suddenly, the Black Totem Snake lunged forward like ray of purple-black lightning. The dense domain of feathers failed to stop him as he struck the Silver Silver Skyruler, bit its wing, and hurled it down to the ground.

——

Many civilians at the edge of the city were fleeing into the city in panic. Every city had a protective formation that would activate when being invaded by demon beasts. It was the refuge center for humans when their settlements were struck by calamity.

The protective formation could only cover a limited space. Usually, a city would only have one. Therefore, escaping to safety when a calamity took place was a challenging task, too.

The streets looked like tiny grids from the sky. The buildings and cars were incredibly tiny, let alone humans.

The people were like tiny black dots from afar. They were only visible when a crowd gathered together. The black dots were too slow compared to the speed of the army of White Magic Falcons. If it weren’t for the barrier of poisonous mist at the edge of the city, they would have become prey for the White Magic Falcons.

“My God, what on Earth is that?” A few students in the midst of the crowd being evacuated saw a silver creature falling from the sky.

The silver creature was covered in feathers. As the sharp feathers reflected the light of the rising sun, it looked like it was wearing armor. Its feathers were the first to land on the ground. A huge area of the low-rises were crushed into pieces. The dust from the impact billowed through the air several streets away!

The city’s west did not have many people left. After the Silver Skyruler slammed onto the ground, it rose to its feet furiously and patted the dust and debris from its body. It seemed to value its cleanliness.

It slowly gathered itself. Its massive size resembled the typical gigantic monsters in movies. The buildings, streets, gardens, hospitals, schools and bridges in the area were like toy models to the demon bird.

The humans had withdrawn far from the area, but when they turned around, they could still see the giant demon bird extending its wings, despite being half a city away. It was a devastating visual impact to the crowd, bringing terror into their hearts!

Inside a school, a female teacher who was helping the students with the evacuation screamed and pointed at the sky. “Something else is falling down!”

The people could easily tell it was a black snake while it was still falling from the sky. As it descended rapidly, they realized that its size was even bigger than it seemed!

The Silver Skyruler was already a gigantic monster, and yet the snake was double its size!

The streets of the city were instantly destroyed by the impact as the snake landed on the ground. The dust swept up high. The people could not believe their eyes!

Humans considered Magic a power that surpassed everything, yet the two gigantic beasts were on a completely different level!

——

Still on top of the Black Totem Snake, Mo Fan and Lingling faces were extremely pale, and they were utterly terrified!

The big guy did not even remind them before he started fighting the Silver Skyruler. He should at least have put them down somewhere. Did he really need to be so violent?

The Black Totem Snake was indeed hot-tempered. He was fully focused on the battle with the cold-blooded Silver Skyruler. Luckily, he still had some conscience, wrapping Mo Fan and Lingling in a few layers of scales to protect them. Otherwise, the collision between the two Ruler-level creatures alone was enough to break them into pieces!

The Black Totem Snake did not give the Silver Skyruler any chance to catch its breath. He swung his tail as the Silver Skyruler was trying to fly into the sky…

The snake tail whipped at the Silver Skyruler as soon as it left the ground, right in its face.

The Silver Skyruler was struck down once again. It let out a furious shriek. A terrifying, destructive sonic wave was unleashed!

The sonic wave traveled toward the Black Totem Snake. Everything nearby was shattered into pieces. Even the snakes sturdy scales began to crack slightly under the destructive force.

The Black Totem Snake was not bothered by it. He lunged forward and flung his tail at the Silver Skyruler once again.

The tail swept past the sonic wave and landed on the Silver Skyruler’s opened beak.

The Silver Skyruler was like a singer being slapped in the face because its voice was too terrible. The sonic wave came to a stop as the demon beast staggered a few steps backward, crushing a toll station under its talons.

“The big guy is so ruthless!” Lingling exclaimed with glistening eyes from their hiding place inside the Black Totem Snake’s scales.

Mo Fan nodded beside her.

When they first rose into the sky, Mo Fan had witnessed how the Silver Skyruler had beaten the crap out of the five Super Magicians.

However, when the Black Totem Snake joined the battle, he first gave the Silver Skyruler a chance to attack with its domain. He then bit its wing and flung the demon beast to the ground, before giving it two great slaps to the face with his tail. The previously disdainful Silver Skyruler could not do anything apart from crying out angrily!

“So many people are watching!” Lingling turned around and saw countless people watching the battle from the center of the city. They had gathered at places and on top of buildings which provided them a better view.

Both the Silver Skyruler and the Black Totem Snake were too enormous. Even from half a city away, they could clearly see the battle between the two creatures!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Somewhere among the debris, Councilman Zhu Meng stared at the Black Totem Snake in disbelief. For many years, he had been trying to eliminate this ‘threat’ from Hangzhou, yet to his surprise, the Black Totem Snake was the one protecting the city in a pinch.

He finally understood why the Totem Tribe had worshiped him like a god. The astonishing strength he had displayed was indeed like a guardian of the city. It was totally unbelievable!

The White Magic Falcons were unable to break through the poisonous barrier, and the Silver Skyruler was so beaten up that it remained outside of the city, not daring to trespass any further. Despite both being Ruler-level, the Black Totem Snake was clearly stronger than the Silver Skyruler.

A highway extended from the city west into the distance. It continued beyond the valley and onward to other cities inland. The Silver Skyruler finally rose to a height of over a few hundred meters, but the Black Totem Snake could easily reach him by straightening his body.

The Black Totem Snake stood a few kilometers away from the Silver Skyruler. He had let the demon beast fly back into the sky. His eyes were staring at it coldly.

The Silver Skyruler was now a thousand meters up. Its speed of ascent was fairly impressive. It could finally return to a height where it could fully unleash its power.

The Black Totem Snake was still on the ground, but his silhouette became blurry, like a reflection on the surface of water which became faint under the presence of a ripple.

He had disappeared!

His gigantic figure had vanished into thin air!

The Silver Skyruler kept an eye out at the Black Totem Snake’s movement as it was rising into the sky. It was rather intimidated by the giant snake. His disappearance did not bring any comfort to it.

As it thought, a black mist suddenly appeared above the demon beast out of nowhere, with the Black Totem Snake inside it!

He could easily move between places with the mist, as if he were swimming freely in the ocean!

The snake was moving in a circular motion with a wide radius, leaving a trail of black mist along the path he took.

The trail was huge enough to cover the entire area within one kilometer of the Silver Skyruler. The outline had markings, runes, and ancient symbols densely covering its surface. From afar, it resembled a pattern full of trigrams looming above the Silver Skyruler!

The illusionary outline began to materialize into numerous stone tablets!

Each of the stone tablets was ten meters long. They held the markings, runes, and symbols from before. The previously glowing Totem Pattern had transformed into a stunning imprint in the sky!

The imprint fell rapidly from the layer of clouds to the space between the sky and the ground. It was extremely striking, and even people at a great distance could still see it clearly.

The imprint struck the Silver Skyruler’s back accurately, like a meteor that had accidentally dropped from the Heaven to the mundane world. The power it contained was unbelievable!

The Silver Skyruler slammed back into the ground. The imprint was strengthened with powerful Earth Element Magic. Its size was already shocking, but the Earth Element Magic had further multiplied its weight!

The ground sank down in a circular shape!

A great pit formed in between two sections of the highway. The road was stained with the Silver Skyruler’s blood.

The demon bird was pressed down to the bottom of the pit!

The Black Totem Snake did not give the Silver Skyruler a chance to fly into the sky. He had actually planned to suppress it to the ground!

“Such a remarkable skill, is this a totem beast’s special attack?” asked Mo Fan with astonishment, staring at the deep pit from atop the Black Totem Snake’s head.

No wonder Tangyue was so confident that the Councilmen would stand no chance against the Black Totem Snake after he was done with his ecdysis. His strength was enough to place him at the apex of the biotic pyramid of the world. With such a totem beast looking after Hangzhou City, who would dare threaten it?

The imprint finally broke into pieces in the pit. The Silver Skyruler climbed out from the pit in a devastated state. Its head, back, and wings were covered in blood. Even many of its sturdy feathers had fallen off. Half of the feathers were destroyed by Councilman Zhu Meng’s bold move. After fighting against the Black Totem Snake that was stronger than it, it was badly injured with cuts and bruises all over its body!

Many people in the city saw the Silver Skyruler’s miserable appearance.

The people were shocked and afraid of the army of white demon birds for a very long time. When they saw their ruler, the Silver Skyruler, suffering severe injuries, they could not help but cheer loudly.

“He is indeed protecting us. The Skyscraping Snake is protecting us!” someone in the city yelled.

“That’s right, we’ve accused him falsely!” said an old man who had witnessed how the Black Totem Snake was being tortured at West Lake.

Back then, the old man and the rest of the crowd had acknowledged Councilman Zhu Meng’s proposal to eliminate the threat of the city. Now, they all realized how stupid they were. If Councilman Zhu Meng had happened to execute the snake, they would most likely be dying at the claws of the White Magic Falcons now.

Tangyue, who was protecting the civilians, glanced at the Black Totem Snake excitedly. Her eyes were filled with tears.

He did not cause the plague, nor did he kill a single human. He might be gigantic, and his powerful presence might be terrifying to a lot of people, but he had hidden under West Lake and secretly protected the city.

The Black Totem Snake had proven himself, and the humans had altered their view of him. This was the best outcome she could hope for!

——

It was obvious that the morale of the army of White Magic Falcons was falling dramatically. The demon beasts knew they had no chance of breaking through the poisonous barrier, thus they were unwilling to continue sacrificing themselves in vain. The corpses of White Magic Falcons had stacked up in piles, resulting in a spectacular scene.

The heavily injured Silver Skyruler no longer dared to invade the city, despite how furious it was. It let out a cry, ordering the army of White Magic Falcons to escort it away.

It soared into the sky and headed west…

“Is it running away?” asked Lingling.

“Of course, its pawns could not even get close to the Black Totem Snake, and the battle with the Black Totem Snake was so one-sided. What else could it do, apart from running away?” replied Mo Fan.

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

The Black Totem Snake was very powerful, without a doubt the strongest creature Mo Fan had ever seen. The Darkwing Wolf, Razortail Drake, Xuanwu Giant Lizard, and Giant Poisonous Centipede were like little bugs compared to the Black Totem Snake. They would impress him if they could survive a mouthful of poison from the snake!

Fortunately, the Black Totem Snake did not possess any evil tendencies. He did not hold a grudge against the humans despite being tortured by the Councilmen and rejected by the people. Otherwise, if the Black Totem Snake were to attack Hangzhou City together with the Silver Skyruler, the city would most likely end up in ruins. Their experts could not even handle a Silver Skyruler, and yet it was badly beaten up by the Black Totem Snake. If the Black Totem Snake turned against them, he did not even need an army. He could easily destroy the place on his own!

The victorious Black Totem Snake did not chase after the Silver Skyruler. The Silver Skyruler had various ways to keep itself alive, thus it was rather meaningless to pursue the demon bird. The totem beast raised his head proudly and uttered a blasting roar!

His voice spread a great distance. Not only did it echo through the forest in the west, but in the valleys, rivers, and woods in other directions, too!

It served as a declaration that he had defeated the dominator of West Ridge, the Silver Skyruler, while warning the rest of the demon beasts that he was residing in the city. Any trespasser would suffer his wrath!

In simpler words, he had declared ownership of Hangzhou!

——

The majestic demeanor of the Black Totem Snake prompted Mo Fan to recall the drawings in the shrine at the center of the lake.

Only those who had witnessed the Black Totem Snake’s strength could tell how strong he actually was. He was just like a god, protecting the beautiful city for so many centuries!

————

As the White Magic Falcons and the Silver Skyruler flew off into the distance, the alert that had everyone in a panic was finally withdrawn.

The people in the emergency safe zone returned to their areas. The defense of West Fortress returned to normal. Many places had recalled the Heavenly Eagles Battlemages to set up defensive perimeters, to ensure that Hangzhou City was no longer in danger.

The biggest problem the humans had in the battle was the Heavenly Eagles…

The ruler of West Ridge had never left its territory before, thus the military never realized that the Heavenly Eagles, which originated from the same species as the White Magic Falcons, would betray them.

The Heavenly Eagles were the most important firepower in the air for the military. When they turned against them, the sky suddenly became free to fly for the demon birds. They could easily bypass the roadblocks that were set up on the ground.

Luckily, the Black Totem Snake had eliminated the threat before it invaded the city. Otherwise, it was horrible to consider the casualties that might have resulted from the mistake they had almost made!

——-

The crowd returned to West Fortress. No one had let their guard down after the retreat of the White Magic Falcons.

North of West Ridge was a huge forest. The demon beasts residing there had always been restless. It was highly possible that they would take advantage of the precarious situation to invade, thus they could not afford to relax after the battle. They had to improve their defensive measures, to prevent the demon beasts from finding an opening!

“Strange, normally, the demon beasts would try and invade us, just to give us some pressure. Why are they fairly quiet this time? I thought the army of White Magic Falcons fought the opening battle for them?” asked General Yun Feng, a confused tone to his voice, from where he stood on the highest observation tower on the fortress.

“I guess the Black Totem Snake has scared them away?” said Tang Zhong.

The Black Totem Snake did not just let out a few roars randomly. Not only did they realize the demon beasts in the west became fairly quiet, the fortresses in the east, south, and north were surprised when they found out that the demon beasts had withdrawn over ten kilometers from their territory!

Councilman Zhu Meng, who had not fully recovered yet, let out a relieved sigh with a complicated expression.

“Zhu Meng…” Elder Li Tian was about to say.

Councilman Zhu Meng waved his hand and said, “Don’t worry, my Threat Elimination Strategy no longer includes the Black Totem Snake. Either way, he has saved us all, and made up for the grave mistake that we made. I should thank him instead!”

Councilman Zhu Meng subconsciously glanced at the Skyscraping Snake staying close to the perimeter of West Fortress.

The Black Totem Snake woke up from his nap as if he were aware of his name being mentioned. He tilted his head toward the observation tower.

His giant head stared at the crowd on the tower, before opening his mouth all of a sudden…

Councilman Zhu Meng instantly tensed. The brilliance of Magic appeared around his figure.

Meanwhile, the Black Totem Snake spat something out from his mouth.

The lump covered in stomach acid rolled to their feet. Mo Fan pinched his nose. It did look somehow familiar to him…

“It looks like a person…” said Tang Zhong with a confused look.

Councilman Zhu Meng’s face was instantly filled with anger. He pointed his finger at the Black Totem Snake and snapped, “You dare to eat a human! I shall serve justice today even if it means putting my life at stake!”

Councilman Zhu Meng demanded, but he did not move. He was no match for the Black Totem Snake at his full strength, let alone when he was still injured!

Mo Fan chuckled when he saw Councilman Zhu Meng’s reaction. “Don’t worry, it’s only Councilman Luo Mian!”

Everyone immediately took a closer look at the figure that was covered in stomach acid, which suddenly began to move. Most of his skin and flesh had corroded. He was crawling on the ground painfully. He grabbed Councilman Zhu Meng’s leg with his hands.

The previously well-respected Councilman had now turned into a half-digested ugly monster. Some among the crowd felt sorry for him, yet Mo Fan, Lingling, and Leng Qing all agreed that he deserved it well.

“Ah, Brother Luo Mian, may I ask why the bracelet we gave to Wang Xiaojun is currently in your hand?” Councilman Zhu Meng asked with a cold smirk.

Councilman Luo Mian pleaded with the crowd to spare his life. He begged at Councilman Zhu Meng’s feet for a long time. When he realized that it was not working, he used all his effort to crawl toward Tangyue. He knew that the Black Totem Snake hugely favored Tangyue. A single sentence from her could easily convince the scary snake to spare his life.

Tangyue slowly knelt down and glanced at Councilman Luo Mian’s corroded face. When everyone thought she had decided to show mercy and spare his life, she simply grabbed the bracelet from his hand and snapped, “This glory that was traded with a brave person’s life does not belong to you!”

Translator: XephiZ                    Editor: Aelryinth

The Red Falcon Herbs that were retrieved from the bracelet were soon transported to the main quarantine zone. Despite the delay, it managed to arrive before the second batch of infected died.

Mr. Lu speedily produced the cure for the plague using the Red Falcon Herbs and distributed it among the infected. Those who were not in severe condition recovered in no time. It would take the others a few days of rest before they were allowed to reunite with their families.

The quarantine zone was filled with tears of joy. The people were extremely worn out from the torture of the plague and the invasion of the demon beasts. They had learned that they should treat life as more precious from the experience.

Little did they know, the main reason they were able to survive from the plague and the invasion was a youngster and a crossbreed Heavenly Eagle.

The heroic Heavenly Eagle was buried in some corner of the land. Similar to the Black Totem Snake who had protected the city secretly for many years, it was also considered the guardian of the city. Regardless of how petty its lineage and strength were, its contribution would be acknowledged by the people for many years.

As for the youngster that the Heavenly Eagle had carried back to West Fortress, he was still in a deep sleep even after everyone had recovered from the plague.

He was only an empty shell without a soul. However, when everything returned to normal, he was given the highest respect by the soldiers of the entire fortress.

Similar to the Heavenly Eagle, he was so weak that he did not even possess a military rank, yet he was willing to sacrifice all he had to save the city.

When the soldiers saw the cold body of the youngster lying on the stand, they clearly realized that respect was not earned by powerful status or high age, nor was it earned by having an outstanding strength. What mattered the most was the pure, innocent heart!

Something that looked extremely terrifying turned out to be the guardian of the city, yet a Magician who seemed rather friendly and gentle turned out to be the cause of the disaster!

The people had many things to learn, reflect on and remember from this incident.

Their only hope was that Hangzhou City would not experience the same tragedy again. On top of that, they also wished they were more people like Wang Xiaojun, who was willing to stand forward and face the terrifying army of White Magic Falcons despite his young age. He did not have a military rank, but he was not scared of the authorities when he clearly knew the right thing to do.

A formidable enemy was not enough to bring doom upon mankind, but the corruption of one’s heart was. It would spread widely among the people and bring destruction upon humanity.

——

“Is there really no way to save him?” Lingling asked as she leaned against the ice bed which was preserving the body. Her eyes flickered with a hint of frustration.

Mr. Lu stroked his mustache with a helpless expression. He shook his head and uttered a sigh, “Some said that the highest Magic of the Healing Element has the ability to revive someone. I myself have yet to achieve such a height, but I believe someone in this world has done so. The problem is, it will only work when his soul is fully preserved. In his situation, his body is in perfect condition, yet half of his soul was taken away. Only one place in this world can save him.”

Lingling blurted out, “Where is it? Tell me!”

Mr. Lu hesitated for a moment, before replying, “The Parthenon Temple.”

A thought crossed Mo Fan’s mind. The Parthenon Temple?

It was the second time he had heard the name. It sounded like a sacred place in a different country. He recalled that Tangyue had mentioned the same name when he asked her how he could possibly save Xu Zhaoting’s life in the past.

What kind of place was it? The highest temple for the Healing Element?

If the Healers there could possibly wake Wang Xiaojun up, couldn’t the government of Hangzhou City ask them a favor to save the kid’s life?

“Shouldn’t we send him to the Parthenon Temple, if we know there’s a chance he could be saved?” asked Lingling.

Mr. Lu waved his hand and spoke, “I don’t know about the details, but I’m sure that it won’t make any difference, even if we brought Wang Xiaojun there. They do have the ability to resurrect one’s soul, but they are very strict about it, and they don’t welcome visitors. Even the President of our country’s Magic Association wouldn’t convince them to save the kid, let alone the city’s government.”

“So there’s no way we can help him?” said Mo Fan.

“We’ll leave him in sleep for now. Maybe a miracle will happen. His soul might recover slowly. No matter how slim the chance is, we’ll take care of him,” said Mr. Lu.

—————-

West Lake…

Su Causeway had a totally different look. Except for the path that was filled with fallen leaves, the place was crowded with visitors. Many people had visited West Lake after the incident, hoping they could see the Black Totem Snake in person.

The Black Totem Snake had suddenly become a tourist attraction, gathering a huge number of tourists here. They completely forgot that the city had just gone through a red alert crisis.

Unfortunately, the Black Totem Snake never showed himself after the battle. The visitors only found themselves staring at the lake’s water.

The news about the Black Totem Snake spread wildly. The people now knew that Hangzhou City had a guardian, explaining why a city that had existed for such a long time had suffered the lowest number of invasions.

When everything returned to normal, there were elderly taking a walk on Su Causeway, couples having dates on the benches and families visiting the city enjoying themselves beside the lake. As the fear that loomed over the city totally disappeared, the city regained its peace… It was all up to the residents to not take the peaceful time for granted.

“Here, this is for you,” Tangyue softly swiped her hair, giving Mo Fan a stunning smile.

Mo Fan received Tangyue’s gift with a confused look. He slowly opened up the wrapping.

“What is this? It’s hard and black?” said Mo Fan.

“It’s what you asked for,” said Tangyue sternly.

Mo Fan could not help but mumble in his heart, What I want is you, why are you giving me instead?

“It’s the Black Totem Snake’s scales. You can use it to forge a set of armor!” said Tangyue.

“Oh, right, just these much? I was planning to forge a few sets of them,” said Mo Fan, who was checking out the scales, which only seemed to be enough for a single set of armor.

“They aren’t scales you can just find, and the scales that peel off during the ecdysis are incredibly hard to refine. I’ve tried very hard to find a good blacksmith, and this is all I get? Give it back if you’re not happy with it!” Tangyue said with a long face.

The materials required to forge magic armor was rather unique. It needed to have a special element inside it in order to be eligible for forging, refining, and enchantment, and had less than a one percent chance to appear. The scales that the Black Totem Snake peeled off basically did not contain this special element…

If the whole skin that the snake had shed was eligible to be forged into armor equipment, they would have produced them in bulk. Magical equipment was incredibly scarce, not only because they were difficult to produce, but because the material was very hard to find, too!

“I’m happy with a set of armor,” Mo Fan chuckled. He would not dare reject Tangyue’s gift!

“Snake scale is a special material, especially the Black Totem Snake’s… I suggest you look for a talented forgemaster at Dongfang Oriental Tower. Not every forgemaster can handle the difficulty of forging a set of armor with these scales,” advised Tangyue.

“Mm, I’ve stayed in Hangzhou for too long. It’s time for me to go back to school!” said Mo Fan with a relaxed smile, placing his hands behind his head.

“You’ve done a lot this time. Hangzhou’s Enforcement Union has proposed granting you a rather unique title,” Tangyue said with a giggle.

“What title?” asked Mo Fan immediately.

“You will know it once you arrive at school, and you’re welcome,” Tangyue replied with a mysterious smile.

Translator: XephiZ                 Editor: Aelryinth

Mo Fan remembered the training at Dongting Lake was around the start of the year, and yet it was almost the end of the year before he was on his way back to school. He could not help but reflect on what he had gone through during this period of time.

First, he fought against a Giant Lizard with the lineage of the dragon race, then stumbled into a murderous Commander who was as merciless as a devil. After that, he lived like a caveman in the wild for a few months and played some mind games with the Xuanwu Giant Lizard and the Giant Poisonous Centipede. Last but not least, he was only planning a visit to a girl at Hangzhou City, yet found himself in a terrible mess.

If he weren’t currently on his way back to Pearl Institute wearing his uniform, he could not help but wonder if he had somehow turned into a walking catastrophe who would stir chaos wherever he went.

Why does it feel like Mars would be a lot safer than Earth?

Screw it, it wouldn’t make any difference if he kept thinking about it. He should go back to his apartment as soon as possible…

He took out the key he hid under a pot and efficiently unlocked the door.

——

“Sister Mu, isn’t that Zhou Shuming a bit too full of himself? He even boasted shamelessly that you’re going to be their Zhou Clan’s daughter in law in front of the public. I know he’s strong, but how dare he put you under the spotlight without your consent? Isn’t he aware that the trend of acting like a tyranny CEO is too old-fashioned? I’ve never seen anyone as shameless and proud as him, apart from that asshole demon king!” Ai Tutu snapped.

Mu Nujiao was sitting on the couch, her slim figure sinking into the sofa slightly. Her head was leaning backward, allowing her hair to fall down along the back of the couch. She looked like a grand swan holding its neck upright.

She rubbed her forehead softly with a rather tired look. She did not respond to Ai Tutu.

Seemingly aware of something, Mu Nujiao turned around and glanced at the entrance with a frown.

The heavy door opened. A young man with a bright smile walked in through the gap. He first glanced at the living room, before taking off his shoes and placing them on the shelves. He hung his backpack on the hooks beside him and took his jacket off.

His flow of actions was enough to imply that he had gotten used to the set up around him. It felt like home to him.

In the living room, the eyes of Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu opened wide. They simply stared at the man who had barged into their apartment for a few seconds.

“Sister Mu, is that a ghost I’m looking at?” Ai Tutu asked in disbelief.

She quickly looked out of the window. The sun was out and bright, its light had lit the room up well. She never knew that a ghost was capable of walking around freely in bright day.

Mu Nujiao stared at the man in silence. Her eyes were filled with complicated feelings.

“So which asshole is more of a jerk than me? Miss Ai Tutu, feel free to tell me his name. I’m obliged to… curse him to death on your behalf,” blurted out Mo Fan indifferently. He was wearing a smile on his face, as if nothing had ever happened.

“You you you…” Ai Tutu could not find the right word as she pointed her finger at Mo Fan. She swallowed a mouthful of saliva to adjust her thoughts, before she finally managed to speak properly, “Aren’t you dead?”

Mo Fan burst out laughing, “Many people have survived jumping off a cliff, so why would I die so easily? Besides, how could I possibly leave the mum and daughter alone? I’m not a man who is willing to give someone else a chance to take advantage of my circumstances.”

“Humph, we’re sisters, not mother and daughter!” Ai Tutu said with a smirk. “Don’t you switch the topic, are you a ghost or human? If you’re a human, why did everyone say you’re dead. If you’re a ghost, how dare you still spy on us sisters, even after you’re dead. You’re a monster! I’m warning you, I’ve awakened the Soul Element. If you dare take another step, I will erase you!” yelled Ai Tutu.

Meanwhile, Mu Nujiao seemed like she had something to say. She nudged Ai Tutu with her elbow.

Ai Tutu spread her arms out and stood in front of her sister, “You shall never lay your hand on us. You better set your eyes on reincarnation instead…”

Mu Nujiao finally ran out of patience. She stepped forward and blocked Ai Tutu with her body.

“Sister, I’m not afraid of him!” said Ai Tutu.

Mu Nujiao let out a cough and whispered blushingly, “Well… Tutu, you better put on your clothes first.”

Ai Tutu was stunned. She slowly lowered her head and realized her fairly large breasts were exposed to the air. They were still trembling slightly due to her heavy breathing!

“AHHHHH!!!” Ai Tutu screamed out in embarrassment, “You pervert, why did you remove my clothes!”

While screaming, Ai Tutu covered her breasts and fled upstairs.

As a woman with 34D breasts, her running was a spectacular view. It was so gorgeous that Mo Fan could feel his nose heating up.

Mu Nujiao tapped her forehead softly after seeing Ai Tutu’s panicked reaction. How slow could this Ai Tutu be?

It had been a while since the two girls were the only ones living in the apartment. It was cold outside, but the apartment was warm with the heaters. Ai Tutu was never bothered with trifles. She always complained that her bras were too tight, thus she would normally take them off after coming back home, and would not bother wearing clothes. She would simply lie on the couch and watch her dramas.

In fact, many girls would do the same when they were home alone. However, they never thought Mo Fan, who was supposed to dead, would barge in all of a sudden. She ended up presenting herself to him half-naked.

“I guess your living habits are better… aren’t you surprised?” Mo Fan and Mu Nujiao were left in the living room.

Mu Nujiao’s eyes flickered with shame and anger. She should be happy knowing Mo Fan had survived, yet she somehow assumed he was doing it on purpose to achieve his evil goal. She replied, “I thought so. A bad guy like you wouldn’t die so easily.”

“So you will speak bitingly too, or maybe the fact that I’m still alive has made you lose your mind, that you can no longer hold yourself back?” Mo Fan squinted theatrically.

Mu Nujiao was not bothered by the remark. Either way, it was a relief knowing that he was still alive. Even if she were to let it go and rebuke him, he would not listen at all.

“Mo Fan!” Ai Tutu’s voice like a lioness exploded from upstairs. The entire unit began to tremble.

Mu Nujiao glanced at the stairs before looking at Mo Fan, “You take care of yourself.”

Mu Nujiao put on her lint slippers and headed for the stairs, leaving behind Mo Fan, who was about to suffer the consequences.

“Shouldn’t you give me a reunion hug?” Mo Fan asked with a wry smile as he watched Mu Nujiao drifting away.

Mu Nujiao was halfway up the stairs. She cast a glance back at him speechlessly, before continuing on her way to her room.

Mo Fan watched the slim curves of her back. What a pity…

——

Mu Nujiao slowly closed the door as she entered her room. She leaned against the door and raised her head upward. She closed her eyes, feeling extremely relieved…

A while later, her red lips curled slightly upwards.

After her eyes sprang open once again, it seemed like the world had become more exciting…

Translator: XephiZ                Editor: Aelryinth

The piercing voice babbled never-endingly beside Mo Fan’s ear…

It had been a while since Ai Tutu went into her room, but her grumbling was too magical. It would not go away easily in a short period of time.

Mo Fan laid down on the couch and let out a relieved sigh.

Boss Zhan Kong must have told something to his friends. Even though they were not assured that he was still alive, at least they knew that he did not die as the public was told.

Many were surely worried about him during this period of time.

It did feel great knowing someone was worried about him. Being content with living a solitary life was in fact just an attempt at self-comforting. Everyone needed a sense of belonging. If your existence did not bring any difference to the others, especially those whom you cared about, you might as well as be dead, or simply find a new place to start over again.

——-

The next dawn, the path to school was covered in leaves that had fallen last night. Some of them had ended up floating on the surface of the lake. It was indeed a great depiction of the typical autumn scenery…

After having a good rest that night, Mo Fan followed his two gorgeous housemates to Pearl Institute in a pleasant mood!

The typical dramas about a tyrannical CEO would always have a girl with a young face and huge breasts on one side, and an elegant, noble beauty on the other. The protagonist would then walk at a domineering pace, with such an arrogant, proud smile on his face that even the bullies in the school had to pay him their respects. His gaze was so full of himself that those who were bold enough to block his path would suffer great consequences of being tortured by one of the hundred methods that he had in mind…

Mo Fan was sure that he was getting very close to wearing the same shoes. The only difference was the two gorgeous ladies beside him showed no cooperation at all. Instead of leaning into his arms on both sides, they were clinging onto each other and walking in front of him.

“Sister Mu, it’s that Lin Yanyu, Zhou Shuming’s pawn!” said Ai Tutu as she pointed at someone ahead.

The person had fairly sharp ears. He immediately turned around and glanced at Ai Tutu and Mu Nujiao, before noticing Mo Fan, who was fairly close to the girls.

“So, Miss Ai has a new follower? I would suggest that you find a better-looking one. Look at him, are you sure he can satisfy you? Or maybe he’s the new protector that you’ve just recruited. Make sure he’s strong enough. I hope he won’t get destroyed by Big Bro Zhou Shuming with a single move.” A male student who was dressed up like a noble approached them. He spoke ruthlessly, as if he were not intimidated by Ai Tutu’s nickname, ‘The Little Witch’.

The guy spoke with a rather impertinent tone. The word ‘sissy’ immediately popped up in Mo Fan’s mind, which he quickly attached to the man’s head in his imagination…

Hang on, this asshole was humiliating him!

Mo Fan immediately felt his temper rising. He went up and stared at the guy who was half a head shorter than him, “What did you just say?!”

The man was not afraid at all. He raised his head, looking at Mo Fan and said mockingly, “Are you angry because I say you’re a follower? Well, let me guess, which renowned family are you from…”

Mo Fan grabbed the man’s fairly elegant bow tie and glared at him, “Open your dog eyes and look at my face carefully, how dare you say that I’m not handsome!”

Ai Tutu felt an urge to snap her heels when she heard Mo Fan’s statement. She wished she could slap him to death right on the spot.

Meanwhile, Mu Nujiao’s lips contorted slightly. She had honestly given up on him.

“Kid, I suggest letting go with your hand now. Otherwise, I will guarantee that you have to pick up your hands with your mouth and plead the Healing Element teachers at the infirmary to reconnect them for you!” Lin Yanyu’s voice turned icy all of a sudden.

He had let Mo Fan dragged his bow tie around, but his eyes flickered coldly. His aura was completely different from his previous sissy appearance!

“Very arrogant. You’ve insulted me first. Normally, I would have thrown you to the ground and used you as a mat. I won’t give you another chance to correct yourself.”

The atmosphere between the two quickly intensified. If it were visible, the people nearby could definitely see two small galaxies colliding into one another intensely.

“Make sure you remember what you’ve said!” said Lin Yanyu coldly.

Meanwhile, a rather tall man came up from behind.

The man had a rather domineering aura. The crowd immediately made way for him with a hint of gloating.

“Yanyu, what’s going on here?” The tall man moved closer. He did behave like a school tyrant, who did not forget to politely nod at Mu Nujiao with a smile while asking the question.

It seemed like he had come to take over the situation!

“Brother Dongfang, you’ve seen it too… I hate people touching my collar the most!” exclaimed Lin Yanyu.

“Everything will be fine once you get used to it,” said Mo Fan with a smile.

Mo Fan was truly a jerk. As soon as the man had mentioned his reverse scale, Mo Fan immediately pulled the bow tie and snatched it away from Lin Yanyu’s neck as if he were plucking a flower.

Lin Yanyu was immediately enraged, but he was dragged away by the guy who had the surname Dongfang.

“You’re dead!” Lin Yanyu pointed at Mo Fan. His anger had risen to a whole new level.

Mo Fan simply threw the bow tie away and cast a challenging gaze at Lin Yanyu, “This bow tie is too fancy for a man. Hey sissy, I’m trying to help.”

Lin Yanyu pulled a long face.

He was about to speak when Mo Fan interrupted, “Don’t tell me you hate people calling you sissy too…”

“I swear I’ll kill you!” Lin Yanyu lunged forward. If it weren’t for the crowd, he would have cast a spell right away.

The man with the name Dongfang quickly grabbed Lin Yanyu and dragged him away from the crowd…

The people immediately gasped in astonishment.

Lin Yanyu never cared about stirring troubles in front of a crowd. Why would he leave like that?

Perhaps this man that was humiliating him had some formidable background?

——

“Strange, did they just leave like that?” said Ai Tutu. She was hoping to see more.

“Mo Fan, do you know Dongfang Ming?” Mu Nujiao stared into Mo Fan’s eyes, as if she had noticed something.

Mo Fan shrugged and responded in an indifferent tone, “I can’t remember. Too many people have lost to me in the past.”

Not far away, Dongfang Ming who was pulling Lin Yanyu away staggered…

Just for a second, Dongfang Ming, who had forever lost his chance at becoming a Judge of the Magic Court, felt like charging back at Mo Fan together with Lin Yanyu, who had totally lost his temper!

Translator: XephiZ           Editor: Aelryinth

Lin Yanyu glanced backward with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Mo Fan was right on point. The two things he hated the most in his life were someone touching his bow tie, or calling him a sissy.

The man had committed a serious offense, enough to grant him the worst death penalty. He would lose his reputation at Pearl Institute if he could not get his revenge.

“Brother Dongfang, why are you stopping me? You just want to preserve your good image in front of Mu Nujiao, but I don’t f**king care,” said Lin Yanyu furiously.

“I don’t want you to take a beating,” said Dongfang Ming.

“Why would I take a beating… wait, are you implying that he’s stronger than me?” It sounded fairly ridiculous to Lin Yanyu.

Only a few students in the entire Pearl Institute were worthy to be his opponent. He would never believe a jerk with no manners could be comparable to him.

Dongfang Ming had his pride, too. He did not want to mention how he was defeated by Mo Fan when he was sent after him and Tangyue previously.

He vaguely answered Lin Yanyu’s question and quickly left the place. Meanwhile, he mumbled to himself, “So that guy is also from Pearl Institute, why haven’t I seen him before?”

Lin Yanyu assumed Dongfang Ming was just trying to be a gentleman in front of Mu Nujiao. Either way, he would never forgive that guy called Mo Fan…

——

Meanwhile, Mo Fan headed straight to the Dean’s Office to report in. Along the way, he could not help but murmur, “I was once the demon king among the new students, yet it seems like everyone has completely forgotten me within half a year’s time. That’s not good news. Even Tom, Dick, and Harry dared threaten to break my hands. Most importantly, he was complaining that I was not handsome enough!”

Mo Fan did not bother knocking. He pushed the door open and barged in. “Dean Xiao, I’m here to report for duty!”

The office was seated with several teachers who had fairly high positions in the school, and some student representatives. Everyone was staring at the impolite Mo Fan with blank faces.

“Which Element are you from? How dare you act so lawlessly in the Dean’s Office? Do you want your name erased?” scolded an Elemental Director.

The few students from the student council were left speechless, too. Even those who were famous representatives for the students had to mind their attitude and words in front of the Dean. They never thought anyone would dare to barge in like that. Surely, the man was tired of having a peaceful life at Pearl Institute!

Dean Xiao was also angered by the sudden interruption. He still had to preserve his authority in front of the teachers and the students. However, his anger quickly vanished when he saw it was Mo Fan.

He waved his hand and said to the teachers and students, “We’ll call it a day. I’ll organize a meeting some other time.”

The teachers and students were stunned. They never recalled Dean Xiao having such a close relationship…

——

The crowd quickly left the office, leaving Mo Fan alone with Dean Xiao.

Dean Xiao wore a blossoming smile, with a hint of relief. His first words were, “Are you alright?”

“Of course, somehow I quite miss you after being gone for half a year,” said Mo Fan with a smile.

His words were sincere. Dean Xiao had been taking good care of him since he came to Pearl Institute. He was definitely a senior worthy of his respect.

“I told Zhan Kong to announce to the public that you were dead, as I was concerned about your safety. Speaking of which, it was quite a miracle that you managed to survive the aftereffect of the Demon Element. It was our fault too, being unable to give you the right protection. After all, your Double Innate Elements is too special,” said Dean Xiao.

“It was my fault for showing it too early. Well, at least I’m still alive now. I managed to come back here to continue my studies,” said Mo Fan.

Dean Xiao nodded. That was truly a relief to everyone.

“Dean Xiao, I shall head back to class if there’s nothing else you have in mind. Oh, by the way, I would like to change to a different Element,” said Mo Fan.

“You’re not planning to stay in the Summoning Element?” Dean Xiao was rather surprised.

“You couldn’t even form a soccer team with the number of people in the Summoning Element, not to mention that there are no girls at all. It’s too boring. Move me to the Fire Element, at least it’s still a popular Element in the school. I believe it will suit me better,” said Mo Fan with a hint of menace.

Dean Xiao shook his head helplessly. He had already caused so many troubles when he was in the relatively deserted Summoning Element. The situation would be much worse if he were transferred into the Fire Element.

That being said, it was not a bad idea, either. Since Mo Fan was willing to train in the Fire Element, he would not mind fulfilling his wish, since it would not bring any harm to let him compete against the other students in the Fire Element.

“Fine, you should spend some time improving your cultivation. When the time comes, I’ll recommend you to the National Team. I’m looking forward to your outstanding performance in the upcoming World College Tournament.”

“World College Tournament… what the heck is that?” asked Mo Fan.

Dean Xiao raised his eyebrows, before speaking with an annoyed yet amused tone, “Are you sure you’re a student? How could you not know about the World College Tournament? The Enforcement Union at Lingyin, Hangzhou, strongly recommended you as a seeded candidate for the National Team. Didn’t you know that?”

Mo Fan dropped his jaw, before he recalled Miss Tangyue’s words prior to his departure, “I never said I wanted to participate in the tournament. It’s just a waste of my time and effort. If I won, the school would say they had done a great job at training me. If I lost, they would say that I’m not good enough.”

Dean Xiao rubbed his temple and said with a headache, “Do you have any idea how hard the renowned clans, Hunter Union, and Magic Associations have tried just to secure a spot? Yet you think it’s a waste of effort. The school will consider it, and once we all agree, there’s no escape for you.”

“This isn’t fair, our school has lots of talents. Why do you have to pick me?” said Mo Fan.

“You won’t have much time until the selection for the National Team takes place. The World College Tournament is also known as the Battle of Venice. You will know its origin eventually. Now, I’ll let the student affairs sort out your transfer… forget it, I’ll do it for you. Just check in at the Fire School,” said Dean Xiao.

“Oh, right, thanks, Dean Xiao.”

“Watch yourself, there are differences between different Element Schools. I can’t help you with everything,” advised Dean Xiao with a worried tone.

Translator: XephiZ                 Editor: Aelryinth

In smaller cities, there were fewer students with the Fire Element in a class, but for Pearl Institute, which had selected great talents across the nation, the Fire Element was rather common.

Most students who were eligible to join the main campus would have achieved the Intermediate Level. At this stage, everyone would have some savings by now, thus if they were really keen on awakening the Fire Element, they would most likely use Guided Awakenings to improve the odds of getting the Element they wanted.

Therefore, there were lots of students with the Fire Element!

Now that his Double Innate Elements talent were exposed, Mo Fan knew that he had nothing left to hide.

After all, the Fire Element was his main Element. It was about time he competed for some resources at the main campus that would let him improve further.

His Fire Element Nebula had ranked up to the third tier. Even though he was still a distance away from owning the Advanced Level Galaxia, things like cultivation accumulated over time, so he should make preparations for his next breakthrough.

The Fire Element students in Pearl Institute were specifically placed under the Fire School. It had more than two thousand students. Over a thousand of them were fairly active at school, with a countless number of graduates in the past.

Mo Fan had picked the right time. It turned out to be the day the results of the monthly test for the Fire School was announced.

The aim of the test was fairly simple, to determine the distribution of the resources. Those with higher ranks would receive more resources. The amount of resources needed from Intermediate Level onward was more or less a bottomless hole. Having abundant resources was crucial to standing out among the students in this long journey of cultivation.

Mo Fan was a transfer student. There were around eleven hundred people taking part in the test. As he had never taken part in any of the tests before, he was ranked at the bottom of the leaderboard. The amount of resources he got from ranking below eleven hundred was rather pitiful…

——-

Mo Fan arrived at the Fire School’s Main Hall. It was crimson red on both the inside and outside. The moment he saw the eye-piercing color, he could subconsciously feel the place burning!

Glancing at the walls and the pillars, he could see the ripples of flames. As he looked at them from a different angle, it seemed like the flames were swaying and burning.

The hall had a flight of seats perfectly aligned together. The place was fully crowded and lively when Mo Fan arrived.

To his relief, there were lots of girls when he glanced ahead. Mo Fan quite enjoyed the view. Somehow the girls had a hot, sexy aura, perhaps because they had all Awakened the Fire Element.

Mo Fan chose his spot together with a group of beautiful girls. He took a deep breath and inhaled a seductive scent, mostly that of roses mixed with some other perfumes. It totally highlighted the desire of the Fire Element girls toward exciting and passionate things!

“Hey, you look rather unfamiliar. Are you from another Element, trying to sneak in to get close to our Ding Yuming? With your looks, it would only happen in your dreams!” a short-haired girl in front turned around and asked disdainfully.

Mo Fan quickly felt his temper rising.

It was the second time on the same day that someone was doubting his looks. How unforgivable. First, it was a sissy man, then a tomboy!

“We’ve taken this spot at the same time. Why shouldn’t it be that you girls are interested in me instead?” asked Mo Fan.

The girls around him turned to him. Their eyes were saying the same words: shameless prick!

To Mo Fan’s surprise, a girl with hair smooth like silk sitting diagonally in front did not turn her head back.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan had his eyes on her since the beginning. Her hair../style was rather attractive. Her hair was braided at the top, like a soft veil covering her head. It gave her a rather elegant and noble aura.

Girls like her usually had better taste. She surely agreed with his words.

“If you’re smart, you should find yourself another spot at the back. Stop being a nuisance here. This place belongs to us. It has been like that for half a year,” said the tomboy.

“What if I don’t?” said Mo Fan with an indifferent attitude.

“Let me tell you, I, Huang Xingli, am ranked three hundredth on the leaderboard for the Fire School. I can easily beat you up. Don’t force me to do it. The guys from the Healing Element charge quite a lot for their service,” said the tomboy who called herself Huang Xingli.

“Xingli, forget it. Don’t stir any trouble,” said the girl who was most likely Ding Yuming.

She did not turn around still. Mo Fan could only see her noble hair../style, which made his heart itch.

“Yuming, you’re too kind to the annoying flies, that’s why they keep coming. You should just beat the shit out of this one, so the rest won’t even bother coming anymore. I seriously don’t understand why someone like you would Awaken the Fire Element,” said the tomboy.

Mo Fan sat aside and listened. He could not wait to see what the girl called Ding Yuming looked like.

Unfortunately, she never turned her head around.

——

A while later, the Elemental Director for the Fire Element, Wei Rong stomped into the hall. He was rather imperious, his entry immediately silenced the hall, despite being filled with more than a thousand students.

He walked to the stage and glanced at the flight of seats, the students of the Fire School.

“Which one of you is Mo Fan?” asked Wei Rong.

Mo Fan was startled. He stood up with a confused look.

Everyone immediately focused their attention on him. It was fairly rare that the Elemental Director would be calling out someone’s name among more than a thousand students.

“So you’re the new transfer student?” asked Wei Rong.

“Yes,” Mo Fan nodded.

“It’s already close to the end of the semester, what were you thinking? This place doesn’t welcome trash who just wander around like you!” said Wei Rong without mercy.

Wei Rong had always been hot-tempered. He strongly objected when he heard a student was transferring into his school.

To his surprise, the student had a rather formidable background. The dean had handled the official paperwork himself, thus he could not even do anything about it. However, different Elemental Schools were under different jurisdictions. Wei Rong did not care how formidable the kid’s background was, he would not show any mercy to him on his territory.

His Fire School might have many students, but only elites were allowed to enroll!

Translator: XephiZ                       Editor: Aelryinth

Mo Fan was left speechless.

Wasn’t this guy a bit too hot-tempered? He was only transferring to a different Element, yet he had called him trash in front of the entire school?

“Well, I’ll be sitting here then, sir,” responded Mo Fan calmly, who was never a weakling.

Mo Fan would not believe this gorilla Elemental Director had the power to chase him away, since Dean Xiao had helped him with the procedures!

Wei Rong raised his eyebrows. How dare this transfer student talk back to him?!

Every student in the Fire School treated him with utter respect, including those in the top ten who had formidable backgrounds and outstanding strength.

“Do you think you’re good?” asked Wei Rong.

“Not bad, at least I’m not trash,” answered Mo Fan.

“The test this month has ended. Consider yourself lucky. Next month, if your ranking is still below a thousand, you shall piss off back to your previous Element. I’m in charge of the distribution of the resources here. I can easily take yours away using the excuse that your performance is too terrible,” said Wei Rong.

“A thousand. Sir, I think you’ve underestimated me?” Mo Fan laughed.

“Humph, prove it to me then,” said Wei Rong in a cold tone.

“I did check around when I first came here, but for me, the Fire School is a little bit… disappointing,” said Mo Fan.

“What are you trying to say?” asked Wei Rong with wide eyes.

“You said that you don’t recruit trash, but why do I feel like they are many that are trash here? Or, maybe that’s your standard…” responded Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was clearly not in a great mood today. Not only did people doubt his looks twice in a day, the Elemental Director had scolded him as trash in front of the students.

What the hell have I done wrong to them?

As the demon king of Pearl Institute, he used to triumph among the new students. With Dean Xiao keeping an eye on him, even the teachers were friendly toward him…

Mo Fan never ceased to amaze people verbally. His words immediately stirred a huge tide among the students!

There were many students that are trash in the hall?

The words were not directed at someone in particular, but it was in fact scolding the entire Fire School, and all its students.

Furthermore, he even scolded the Elemental Director altogether, saying that his teaching method was trash…

Suddenly, the entire hall felt like it was burning. If one were able to summon flames with their gazes, Mo Fan would have been burned into ashes by now!

Mo Fan shrugged helplessly when he saw Elemental Director Wei Rong pulling a long face.

The teacher was the one who had started it all. -He can’t just expect me to compromise and submit to him, can he?-

After the crisis at Hangzhou, Mo Fan had learned that the factors determining if he would be humble toward someone and treat them with respect were not higher age or position, but the wisdom and tolerance expected from an elderly person. Wei Rong had scolded him straight away, as if he had just eaten a bomb before coming here. How could he, who was blessed by the Heavens, not return the favor… alright, Mo Fan did admit that he was not too fond of the scornful Elemental Director, so he did not bother to control his temper!

“Very well, very well,” repeated the Elemental Director as he clenched his teeth. It felt like he had an urge to simply drag Mo Fan away and beat the crap out of him!

The hall was immersed in a great uproar!

“Who do you think you are, you worthless transfer student? How dare you call us trash? Come, let’s have a duel right now. I’ll give up my spot at the four hundredth rank if I fail to knock all your teeth out!”

“I’ve never seen anyone daring to behave atrociously in our Fire School. He might be tired of living, but he should still have a brain!”

“I bet he’s only here to cause some trouble. Zhao Ji, you’re ranked in the top one hundred among the students. Why don’t you blast him with a single attack? I hate attention seekers like him the most.”

Among the students, some could not wait to blast Mo Fan away with a Fiery Fist. Some had already come up to him, demanding him to apologize to everyone with kowtows. However, most of them were just wearing a cold smirk, not too bothered by the ridiculous words of the transfer student.

That made sense, too. Everyone had managed to enroll into Pearl Institute’s main campus. They should be more mature.

Only those who were indeed trash, or too proud, who could not allow someone to be so ignorant, would be infuriated. Either way, most students were too lazy to argue with Mo Fan.

——

“Strange, I’ve already spoken so much, yet she is still not turning around?” murmured Mo Fan as he was placed under the spotlight.

The same attractive back, the same elegant hair../style. Mo Fan was pretty sure that he had ignited the fuse of the bomb in everyone’s heart. Even those with rather calm personalities would still cast a glance at him.

In the end, the girl called Ding Yuming did not even turn around. Meanwhile, the tomboy Huang Xingli was looking at him in disbelief. Her eyes were simply trying to say, Is this guy for real?

Huang Xingli did not hold any grudge against Mo Fan. In fact, her kindness was actually trying to urge the transfer student to leave the Fire School as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would surely suffer the wrath of the students!

“Silence!” Wei Rong’s voice echoed in the hall.

His fiery eyes were staring at Mo Fan. Everyone could sense the strong fiery aura from his body.

The hall immediately fell silent. Only the sound of everyone’s breathing was audible.

“You’re at Pearl Institute, the Fire School. I, Wei Rong have seen too many great talents, but none of them have spoken to me like you did. Very well, I shall see what you have up in your sleeves. The results of every student are listed on the leaderboard, from the first rank, to the one thousand, one hundred and forty-ninth rank,” said Wei Rong with a firm voice.

As Wei Rong was speaking, not a single student dared to make any noise. His presence was echoing in the hall just like his bright voice.

Wei Rong glanced at the students and said, “Zheng Jiahui, stand up.”

Among the crowd, a boy who looked fairly timid slowly rose to his feet.

He did not seem proud when his name was being mentioned, but it felt like he was looking for a place to hide.

“He is ranked last in the Fire School,” said Wei Rong to Mo Fan.

“Dongfang Lie, your turn,” said Wei Rong.

In the last row of the hall, a man who seemed rather uninterested rose to his feet unwillingly. He was wearing a smile, which could not hide his pride at all. He was a great contrast to the student called Zheng Jiahui.

Wei Rong pointed at Dongfang Lie as he said to Mo Fan, “He’s ranked first.”

Translator: XephiZ            Editor: Aelryinth

Wei Rong moved his gaze from Zheng Jiahui to Dongfang Lie as he spoke.

“The difference between them was not only because of talents, background, hardworking, or luck, but the endless competition when eleven hundred and forty-seven students with similar starting points were gathered together. It isn’t just about strength here. If you think there are many people whom you regarded as unworthy between the first and the last rank, I’ll give you a hand. I’ll place you at the one hundredth rank this month, just to let you know the pressure that a student of the Fire School at that rank is bearing every day!” said Wei Rong with a heavy tone.

When he saw the Elemental Director being extremely serious, Mo Fan said with a smile, “I was just not too fond of being judged right away. There’s no need for us to confront each other with daggers.”

“I won’t allow any empty talk in my Fire School. If you think that many I’ve taught are trash, I want you to look at yourself when you’re defeated by them!” Wei Rong did not plan to let Mo Fan go.

Mo Fan was left with no choice, since the Elemental Director was being so stubborn. He was only confused about the reason why the gorilla would place him at the one hundredth rank.

Wei Rong did not bother spending more time on the matter. He would know the outcome in a month.

He began announcing the ranking of the students for the month, before distributing the resources.

As usual, Mo Fan always managed to infuriate the masses. He was rather satisfied after getting all the attention.

—

He tapped on the tomboy Huang Xingli’s shoulder in front of him and asked, “Do you reckon the gorilla’s brain has short-circuited after I’ve triggered him? Why would he place me at the one hundredth rank? It seems like I’m getting quite some resources.”

Huang Xingli rolled her eyes and thought, -So this guy is an idiot after all.-

“Do you really think those with higher ranks live a comfortable life? They have to accept endless challenges from those ranked below them. The higher your rank is, the more challenges you will be given. No one will go easy on you. Even when your energy has been depleted, as long as they challenge you to a duel, if you lose, you will have to swap your ranking with the person who defeated you. Normally as a transfer student, if you do have some capabilities up in your sleeves, you could easily rank up without gathering too much attention. No one would notice your existence, yet you’ve made the worst possible choice. Think about the number of people who want to beat you up now. I don’t think you want to stay any longer in Pearl Institute. I suggest transferring to a different school instead. Otherwise, you will die a horrible death,” Huang Xingli said to Mo Fan.

Huang Xingli sincerely thought that Mo Fan was asking for trouble with his actions. Considering that he would be tortured a lot within the next month, Huang Xingli could not help but give him a piece of advice.

“Damn! So that’s the rules for the ranking? I have to accept the challenges? Doesn’t that mean I would be gang-banged without any chance to rest?” Mo Fan asked in shock.

“You dare talk big without knowing the exact situation? Even the gods can’t save you now!”

Mo Fan rubbed his temples as he felt a sudden headache. He had surely overdone it this time!

He only knew about the leaderboard today, yet to his surprise, the ranking was determined through unrestricted challenges. He could imagine the days with students challenging him to a duel when he was sleeping, eating, or dating some chicks for the next month.

Maybe he should just pay Dean Xiao a visit and ask to transfer him to the Lightning Element. He didn’t feel like he could stay at the Fire Element any longer.

Mo Fan was fairly strong, but without using his full strength, he could not possibly defeat every student in the school!

The main campus of Pearl Institute had many experts. Only Intermediate Magicians were allowed to enroll here. Furthermore, many students in the main campus had relied on the resources given them to achieve the peak of the Intermediate Level. Surely, some of them would have Soul Seeds too!

In terms of strength, Dongfang Ming was actually not weaker than him, and his equipment was a lot fancier than his. He even had something luxurious like the Wing Magical Equipment, let alone a Soul Seed.

If there existed students that were stronger than him, they would be troublesome to deal with.

“So if I’m ranked a hundredth, does that mean those ranked in the top one hundred won’t be challenging me?” asked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan assumed that only those ranked in the top one hundred would pose a threat to him.

“Of course, who would bother challenging those who are ranked lower than themselves? Not only can’t they improve their ranking after winning the duels, it would also be a waste to their energy,” said Huang Xingli.

“Ah, that sounds better,” Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh.

“Better my ass, you arrogant prick… besides, do I know you? Why do you keep asking me questions? Stay away from me, you maniac!” blurted out Huang Xingli furiously when she suddenly realized something.

Mo Fan chuckled. This tomboy was fairly interesting.

——

After the assembly, Mo Fan could easily smell a strong scent of gunpowder.

Luckily, he had fled earlier. The gazes of the students alone were enough to burn him into ashes.

“I thought he’s a big shot, but he ends up running like a coward too!” said Huang Xingli with a cold harrumph when she saw Mo Fan fleeing.

Ding Yuming glanced in the direction which Mo Fan ran to and said softly, “His name sounds slightly familiar.”

“You know him?” Huang Xingli glanced at Ding Yuming with astonishment. The Ding Yuming she knew would not even know the top ten geniuses on the school’s leaderboard. Why would she remember that guy’s name?

Ding Yuming shook her head and fell silent.

—

As soon as the Elemental Director left, the entire hall exploded.

Groups of people rushed to where Mo Fan was sitting at with their sleeves curled up.

“Damn, he ran away!”

“When did he leave? You people sitting close to him, why didn’t you stop him?”

“We… we have no idea when he left either.”

“Humph, what difference will make? Go challenge him, he’s currently ranked at one hundred. Nine out of ten of us could have beaten him easily. He has no choice but to fight us, unless he’s willing to hand over the resources!” said Zhao Ji coldly.

Damn it, he, Zhao Ji was ranked one hundred before the transfer student came!

The difference between the resources given to the hundredth rank and the hundredth and first rank was significant!. Zhao Ji was pushed down to the one hundred and first for no reason, thus words could not describe the grudge he was holding against Mo Fan.

“Qin Song, why don’t you teach that kid a lesson? You would earn some reputation too. There are too many experts in Fire School. If we don’t stand out, who would even know about the existence of our Golden Fire Club?”

“I have no interest in people ranked a hundred or lower,” said the man called Qin Song.

“By the way, didn’t there used to be a Mo Fan with the nickname Demon King among the new students? This guy is pretty smug… is it him?”

“I thought that Mo Fan died when he was on exchange?”

“I don’t think they are the same person. That Mo Fan is from the Summoning Element.”

“Oh, right.”

Translator: XephiZ               Editor: Aelryinth

“Sister Mu, look, the Demon King is being himself again. He publicly called the students in Fire School trash, and even doubted the Elemental Director, Wei Rong’s teaching method… HAHAHA, there’s always something fun when the Demon King is around!” In the Plant School’s lecture hall, Ai Tutu happily read the news on her phone to Mu Nujiao.

Most people in Pearl Institute’s main campus were well-behaved. Occasionally, there were a few students acting scornfully, but Ai Tutu felt like they were just putting up a show!

Mo Fan was completely different. He would always cause something epic to happen. As expected of the Demon King, he had already stirred such chaos on the first day back. The whole school forum was discussing it!

“The people from the renowned clans always try so hard just to earn some reputation in the main campus. They would go as far as putting up all kinds of shows just to grab everyone’s attention. Meanwhile, this guy who doesn’t belong to any faction always manages to enter the limelight…” Mu Nujiao could not help but giggle.

“Yeah, that’s so true. Last month, that Xiao Jiahe from Xiao Clan did a self-directed and fake demon beast hunting, and the so-called epic duel between the pampered sons of Zhou Clan and Li Clan… They were so weak compared to the Demon King!” Ai Tutu laughed.

“But it seems like he has overdone it this time,” Mu Nujiao could not help but feel worried for Mu Nujiao.

The main campus was different from the Azure Pearl Campus. The latter was only for new students, thus everyone had just graduated from high school. They would at most just barely have achieved the Intermediate Level. Even those with a formidable background would not easily expose themselves.

Here at the main campus, not only was everyone an Intermediate Magician, they would have achieved a certain status in society. To an extent, they would be representing different parties and factions, thus there were people with outstanding talents, formidable backgrounds, and incredible strength here.

The rules for the main campus were rather simple, too. As long as they had yet to achieve the Advanced Level, they could stay at the school to cultivate for as long as they wanted.

In other words, you could easily find all sorts of maniacs below the Advanced Level here at the main campus!

In Mu Nujiao’s case, this was her first year at the main campus. Even with her talents, she was only ranked one hundred and forty-fifth. She could not even get into the top one hundred.

That being said, her results were fairly outstanding among the new students.

——

Mo Fan comfortably laid down on the couch and ate some fruits after going back to the apartment.

The place did not have much, except for an abundant supply of snacks and fruits, stocked up by both Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu. Mo Fan was not so fussy about courtesy with his two beloved concubines.

He had only rested for a brief moment when he received a message from Lingling, asking him to pay a visit to the Clearsky Hunter Agency.

Mo Fan finally recalled that he had yet to report for duty to Old Bao after coming back here for quite a long time. The old man would surely know that he had returned to Magic City in one piece.

Mo Fan left his home and hailed a cab.

“When should I sort out the license for the Swift Star Wolf? It’s so inconvenient to hail a cab every time I need to go somewhere… not sure if requesting a license for a Summoned beast would also need to go through a license-plate lottery?” mumbled Mo Fan.

{TL Note: License-plate lottery is a thing in Beijing. People who want to buy a new car have to submit a request to get a license plate. They would then enter a pool, and the winner of the lottery will then be granted the license plate, as a way of implementing road space rationing.}

——-

As he arrived at the Clearsky Hunter Agency, Old Bao looked dispirited as usual, sitting at the bar. Perhaps business was not too good lately. There were no serious jobs, and even the tea he was drinking was no longer the expensive kind.

“Old Bao, I’m back!” greeted Mo Fan with a charming smile.

“Humph, you brat should just die in the wild, so my Clearsky Hunter Agency can recruit a more reliable hunter who never skips his shifts!” replied Old Bao in an unpleasant tone.

“Hehe, please don’t say things like that, I still need to earn some of my living expenses here… By the way, Old Bao, I’ve got some nice material to forge an armor equipment. You’ve got connections, introduce me to a reliable forgemaster, so I can make myself a set of armor. Otherwise, my life will always be in danger,” said Mo Fan.

“An armor set doesn’t come cheap, you sure you have the money?” asked Old Bao while raising his brows.

“I do have some. I just caused little trouble, so it’s going to be somewhat annoying if I don’t have any great equipment.”

Li Man had handled the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s corpse. She had transferred nineteen million RMB to Mo Fan’s account.

There was neither some rare loot nor a Soul Essence. Mo Fan was quite surprised that the corpse was still worth nineteen million RMB.

Well, a Commander-level creature was definitely not easy to hunt. One could easily lose their life fighting against them!

“I’ll give my old friend a call. You just need to bring the materials and money to Dongfang Oriental Tower. Since you’re back, I do have a pile of requests for you and Lingling to handle,” Old Bao brought out a pile of papers.

“Not a problem!” Mo Fan beat his chest, as if he were trying to say that he was willing to take all the responsibilities.

—–

After receiving the requests, Mo Fan had a weird look.

It was not because the requests were extremely difficult, but seriously, what kind of requests were these?

“Head to the sewage to capture a blood-marked Colossal-eyed Ape Rat, I thought any hunter could easily do that. And this, a newly bought tamed beast has run away, a lost and found request? And what the heck is this, help us to retrieve a protection fee… Old Bao, are you seriously that poor, accepting these questionable requests?” Mo Fan almost dropped his jaw to the ground.

Old Bao coughed. “I was out a few days ago, so I asked my friend to manage the place for a while. Who knew he would accept all this rubbish? For the sake of our Clearsky Hunter Agency’s completion rate, you are our only hope… since you’re the weakest hunter we have,” said Old Bao.

“…these requests only add up to a few tens of thousand at most. Isn’t this just a waste of my time?!” cursed Mo Fan.

With his current strength, he could easily handle a request with a reward of a hundred thousand. There might be too many Intermediate Magicians in Pearl Main Campus, but in the general society, Intermediate Magicians were incredibly rare. Their entrance fee was comparable to that of the celebrities!

“Stop complaining and sort them out. I’ll give you a case with big money when there’s one. By the way, your little money isn’t enough to ask my old friend a favor, since his fees are rather costly,” said Old Bao with an awkward look. As a matter of fact, he also agreed that the quests were questionable. They were a humiliation to his gold-class service.

Doing hard labor when he just came back, and the money was only enough to pay his expensive rent and everyday expenses…

Recalling his recent glorious achievements of beating the Razortail Drake, outsmarting the Xuanwu Giant Lizard, rescuing the Black Totem Snake, chasing the Silver Skyruler, and now he had to find someone’s husband’s paramour, look for a lost dog, and attach advertisements on electric poles… such a humiliation to his dignity!

Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan began to feel like he had journeyed down a path with no turning back as he and Lingling got busy doing the questionable requests along the streets. However, when he thought about the Hunter Competition next year, in which the hunters with higher points would be grouped into different levels, he tried to comfort himself that he was doing the quests for the sake of accumulating the points he needed.

Luckily, he had the intelligence capsule, Lingling, with him, which made all the quests extremely easy. Within just a week, he had completely fulfilled all the requests, earning a total of five hundred thousand RMB from the bounties. In the past, it would be considered a huge sum to him, but unfortunately, every transaction he needed to rank up past the Intermediate Level would involve millions, or even tens of millions, for a better outcome. His hopes of finding a Soul Seed for his Shadow Element seemed rather impossible!

—

After settling the quests, Mo Fan returned to school, and quickly found himself with a worse headache. The challenges sent to him had stacked up into a greater pile than the requests in his hunter agency!

Luckily, the challenges were scheduled on the second and fourth weeks of every month. Otherwise, he would have to give his resources up to the challengers.

The resources given by the school were fairly spectacular, including a chance to cultivate inside the Three Step Tower. That was the most attractive reward to Mo Fan, without a doubt. It was the sacred ground for cultivation!

The resources for the hundredth rank were rather satisfying, too. Mo Fan was quite surprised that he was given a Magic Accelerator.

The Magic Tool was fairly unique. It allowed Magicians to align their stars more adeptly, ensuring smooth and less breakable connections. Using the tool to practice would greatly improve learning efficiency. Most importantly, it could shorten the time required to draw and align the stars.

In simpler words, the tool could improve casting speed!

The battles between Magicians seemed complicated, but they were actually very simple. The ones who could cast their magic faster than their opponents would usually gain the upper hand.

If someone like Mo Fan, who had ranked up his Basic Lightning and Fire Spells to the fourth tier, could further improve his casting speed, to the extent that he could cast them by swiping his hands in the air, then he was pretty much unbeatable against Magicians on the same level.

—

On a side note, Mo Fan was fairly surprised when he learned that the school also provided Fire Element Soul Seeds.

Every time the ranking was updated, the students would receive a certain amount of Soul Seed Pieces. Once they collected enough pieces, if they were lucky enough, they could smelt a Fire Soul Seed from them.

Mo Fan now had one Soul Seed Piece with him. Once he saved up to ten pieces, he would have enough pieces for the smelting.

Similarly, the smelting would require different kinds of Fire Element materials. The better the materials, the higher the success rate. If he managed to smelt a Soul Seed, it would improve his strength significantly!

Mo Fan already had the Rose Flame, thus smelting another Fire Soul Seed would not make any difference. As such, he traded the Fire Element Soul Seed Pieces for Shadow Element Soul Seed Pieces. He was eager to improve his Shadow Element with a Soul Seed.

There was no Soul Seed for the Summoning Element, but the resources a Summoner needed were comparable to other Elements, as the lineage, soul, and flesh of their beasts were already a lot to understand and master. Mo Fan’s resources were still very limited. He could not even afford to buy a young beast, thus his Skill Contract Summoning was left wasted still.

—

Speaking of which, Mo Fan was desperately in need of money.

Mo Fan had too many things he wanted to improve upon reaching the Intermediate Level. If he could not find a way to fully utilize all his Elements, how could he possibly conquer the school?

Therefore, Mo Fan really needed the resources that the school had given to him. There was no way he would give up on them. He had to find a way to deal with the challenges.

—

“Students in the top fifty will be given two Soul Seed Pieces and a Fire Element Magic Tool. Ai Tutu, what is this Fire Element Magic Tool useful for?” asked Mo Fan.

“Are you an alien? Everyone knows that the Fire Element Magic Tool is useful for improving the efficiency of your cultivation of the Fire Element. It’s sort of similar to the Nebula Tool. The Nebula Tool improves one’s soul, so that the Magician’s general casting speed can be improved. Meanwhile, the Fire Element Magic Tool specifically targets the Fire Element. It can stack together with the effects of the Nebula Tool. On its own, the benefit it provides is fairly ordinary, but if supported by an outstanding Nebula Tool, it would significantly improve the cultivation of a particular Element!” explained Ai Tutu, who was busy eating her banana.

“I see, so it’s very useful to me. So if I were to cultivate in the Three Step Tower, with both the Nebula Tool and the Fire Element Magic Tool, and focus on the cultivation of the Fire Element, doesn’t that mean it would skyrocket?” said Mo Fan with glistening eyes.

Ai Tutu nodded. Her chubby mouth was corked with half a banana as she mumbled with a blurry voice, “The problem is, it’s already impressive to have either one of them, yet you’re thinking of stacking them together? Isn’t that too good to be true?”

“What rank would I need to get a chance of cultivating in the Three Step Tower?” asked Mo Fan.

“In your Fire School, I guess you’ll need to get in the top fifty to be able to cultivate in the Three Step Tower for one day. The higher your rank is, the longer the time you’ll be given. With your strength, it’s impressive enough that you can hold on to the hundredth rank. Forget about the top fifty, everyone up there is nothing but a maniac. You can only find people that are crazier and richer than you. If you don’t have a complete set of equipment, you don’t even have the guts to tell other people that you’re ranked in the top fifty in the Fire School.

“Look at yourself, a total povo without any presentable equipment. Your Double Innate Elements has given you lots of moves, but if someone’s defensive equipment was particularly strong against your Lightning Element or Fire Element, you are going to lose for sure!” said Ai Tutu.

“That is a great reminder,” Mo Fan nodded seriously.

After all, he was not an RMB player. He lacked equipment the most compared to the fuerdai. His advantage of having the Double Innate Elements was somehow non-existent against someone else’s complete set of equipment. Not everyone was a fool like Dongfang Ming, who would spend a huge amount of money on Wing Magical Equipment which was not particularly useful in a head-on battle against other Magicians.

If he had used the money he spent on the Wing Magical Equipment to buy a powerful shield or magic armor, it would easily have protected him from Mo Fan’s Basic Spells, making it harder for Mo Fan to win their battle!

“Why don’t you volunteer yourself as the Mu Clan’s son-in-law? Sister Mu’s clan does put a lot of effort in training great talents. With your reputation as the demon king, I believe they would be more than willing to provide you a complete set of equipment,” said Ai Tutu with a smile.

“Not a bad idea,” Mo Fan wore an evil smile, as his half-squinted eyes stared at the glamorous Mu Nujiao watering the plants on the balcony.

Translated by XephiZ              Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Nujiao turned around, blushing, and glared at Ai Tutu who had given him the rotten idea. She snapped furiously, “Stop talking rubbish, who would want someone like him who only know how to stir up troubles? It would be a relief if he didn’t ruin our clan’s reputation.”

Ai Tutu quickly leaned closer to Mo Fan when she saw Mu Nujiao trying to justify herself. She whispered with an evil grin, “Demon king, did you notice? Since you’ve come back alive, Sister Mu has been deriding and giving you lots of caustic remarks. I’ve never seen her treat any man like this. If she didn’t actually hate you, she must have fallen in love with you. I did mention the Mu Clan’s son-in-law, but I never said she would be marrying you. The Mu Clan has many daughters.”

Mo Fan quickly nodded after hearing Ai Tutu’s explanation.

Mu Nujiao blushed even more. She never thought the two would collude to set her up. She turned around, not willing to speak to them, while trying to escape from the awkward situation.

“Well, I guess your sacrifice to save her life is working pretty well,” said Ai Tutu.

Mo Fan nodded heavily, before asking with a stern look, “If I’m going to marry her to become their son-in-law, I’ll go even if they aren’t offering me any equipment.”

Ai Tutu rolled her eyes at him and rebuked, “In your dreams!. With Sister Mu’s value, their clan would surely want a young Advanced Magician, who also needs to have a high chance of achieving the Super Level. An Intermediate Magician like you, who doesn’t even have a formidable background, could only marry with an uglier, and less important daughter from one of their side families. Besides, to marry the daughter of a renowned clan, you probably need to fill this room up with high-quality equipment. There’s no way they would give you equipment!”

“So what you’re implying is that even if I were to join a renowned clan, I will most likely end up as a butler, who has to obey the commands of their pampered sons and daughters. Sigh, such an evil class society. Why don’t they look at our wholehearted love toward one another? Why can’t they let go of their feudalism for once?” exclaimed Mo Fan as he raised his head.

Ai Tutu burst out laughing while hugging her stomach when she heard this.

Mu Nujiao, who was on the balcony, could not stay any longer. She initially thought Mo Fan would reflect upon himself when discussing such a serious topic, as it would serve as a great blow to his dignity, yet he was as shameless as usual.

Who the hell loved him wholeheartedly?

Mu Nujiao quickly went back to her room, to avoid falling into their hands again.

That Ai Tutu deserved a beating. When they agreed to rent the place together, she had promised that they would stand against the smug demon king together, yet she had been colluding with him. Lately, her eyes would glisten whenever she heard news related to the demon king.

At this rate, maybe her Ai Clan would take the initiative to recruit him as their son-in-law!

——

As the date of the challenges approached, Mo Fan had spent most of his time cultivating to prepare for the battles. He did not even have extra time to get his armor sorted out. Whenever he went for a meal, he would see people taking pictures of him with their phones, before muttering something like “We shall catch the Fire School’s Zhao Ritian alive!” under their breaths.

{TL Note: Zhao Ritian is a meme figure from a parody song, “My name is Zhao Ritian”. It’s quite complicated to explain the origin, but basically, just think of someone who has done lots of evil deeds.}

Mo Fan was now referred to as the Fire School’s Zhao Ritian. The whole school was well aware of his arrogance and scornful attitude.

His rate of becoming famous totally outmatched the attention seekers who desired their names to be listed on the school’s leaderboard.

However, Mo Fan was the first to disagree!

Which idiot gave him such a weak nickname!

Wait and see, in less than a month, the students of Pearl Institute would know that the infamous demon king had returned!

——

Afternoon, Mo Fan had just come back from the training ground.

The training ground was fairly helpful. Not only did it provide targets that moved on their own for the students to train their accuracy, it also had a small magic platform in the corner, where the students could replenish their energy quickly.

The replenishment of energy required a significant amount of time, yet it would deplete fairly quickly when the students were practicing their Spells. Therefore, the magic platform provided at the training ground greatly boosted the students’ efficiency.

That being said, the training ground was only open to the top three hundred students. The others were only permitted to use the ordinary training grounds. Those who were ranked even lower could not use the training grounds with moving targets.

The special facilities were only available to those ranked highly on the leaderboard. Those ranked lower had no choice but to keep on challenging the students that were stronger if they were eager to have more resources and access to facilities.

After training at the school for the past few days, Mo Fan finally understood why those with low ranks were so keen to challenge him. Leaving the resources aside, even the access to the different facilities was tied to the students’ ranking, too.

Mo Fan began to feel a headache again as soon as he left the training ground. He had learned how useful the hundredth rank was to him, thus he was reluctant to give it up. However, too many people were trying to challenge him. His energy alone was nowhere sufficient to last until he finished all the challenges. How could he possibly keep his ranking?

While walking on the street, a fairly weak-looking male student bumped into his chest around a corner.

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to,” said the weak-looking student.

Mo Fan was confused. He was actually at fault since he was too immersed in his thoughts, but the person kept on apologizing. Mo Fan subconsciously assumed the student to be timid.

“Aren’t you Zheng Jiahui?” Mo Fan recognized the student with the lowest rank.

Zheng Jiahui raised his head and saw the infamous Mo Fan. His face immediately turned pale, who responded with a stammering voice, “Why… why is it… you.. .I… I should stay away from you.”

Mo Fan’s eyes glistened when he saw Zheng Jiahui. He quickly grabbed his hand and smilingly said, “What are you afraid of? They are already looking down on you. You’re no different than me, the public enemy of the whole element.”

“I know that the trash you were describing was me. I…I admit that I’m the weakest, but…but I don’t dare to offend the teacher or challenge the students,” said Zheng Jiahui in a soft tone.

Mo Fan patted heavily on the kid’s back and said, “So do you want to stop yourselves from ranking last? I do agree that it’s quite humiliating.”

“Forget it, I’ve been the last for half a year. Once I finish this year, I’ll leave Pearl Institute,” said Zheng Jiahui.

“Don’t give up on yourself, help me with a favor, and not only I will guarantee you resources that you could ever dream of, I’ll also help you to get out of the last rank. As a reward, I’ll also lend you the Nebula Tool that is given to the hundredth rank, how’s that?” said Mo Fan with gleaming eyes.

When he saw the last ranked of the Fire School, Zheng Jiahui, he immediately came up with an idea.

Translated by XephiZ           Edited by Aelryinth

Zheng Jiahui looked at Mo Fan in disbelief. In his eyes, a good Nebula Tool would only be given to someone strong who had put in a lot of effort. It was incredibly precious. He never thought someone would lend something so precious to him. His eyes stared at Mo Fan for a while, before he shook his head and said, “Don’t play a joke on me, I’m on my way to the training ground for practice.”

“Where is your resolution? You are already ranked last in the Fire School. What’s the point of being so hardworking? You’re a disgrace to the term dunce,” said Mo Fan.

“If I don’t work hard enough, I won’t have any chance to defeat the people ranked higher than me,” said Zheng Jiahui with a stern look.

“I’ll make it clear, your problem is not because of your cultivation. What you lack are resources. Everyone is the same when they first enrolled into Pearl Institute. We are all Intermediate Magicians. If you really want to compare, the difference between those ranked after a thousandth is negligible. I’m sure that you’re only ranked last because you completely forgot how to cast your Spell in a duel.”

“Why do you know that?” asked Zheng Jiahui.

Mo Fan had no intention to waste his time anymore with this Zheng Jiahui. He took out the Nebula Tool given to the hundredth rank student and shoved it into Zheng Jiahui’s hands.

Zheng Jiahui stared at the Nebula Tool for quite a while. He could not understand why someone would give their Nebula Tool to someone else.

—–

Time gradually passed. The challenge week had arrived. The people of the Fire School were rubbing their palms, as they could not wait to teach the asshole who scolded them a lesson.

The students of the Fire School had all gathered in the main hall. They would glance in Mo Fan’s direction at times. As a matter of fact, they were quite surprised when they saw Mo Fan in the hall. Was he really not afraid of being targeted by everyone?

Mo Fan was seated at the same spot behind Huang Xingli and Ding Yuming. Unfortunately, he still did not have the chance to look at the appearance of the Fire School’s goddess.

Huang Xingli turned around with a surprised look and said, “Are you really so tired of living? Today is the first day of the challenge week. Anyone who is ranked lower than you will challenge you to a duel for sure, and you have no choice but to accept them, unless you’re willing to hand over your resources. Many people have set their eyes on your resources. Are you out of your mind?”

“It’s only our second time meeting one another. You don’t have to be so concerned about me,” teased Mo Fan.

“Psycho!” Huang Xingli turned her head around.

Wei Rong stood on the stage as usual. He managed to find Mo Fan among the crowd fairly quickly. He was wearing a grin. He could not wait to see how smug the kid would be today.

“I have the list of names for the challenges that were sent out over the week. They are effective as long as the duels are taking place on the ring here. I believe everyone is well aware of the rules, so I won’t be saying much. Let’s begin,” said Wei Rong.

Every month, the people ranked fairly high on the leaderboard would purposely initiate conflict with one another, to attract a crowd to their duel. The only way for the disciples of the renowned clans to increase their reputation was through endless challenges.

Unfortunately, those who were planning to use the challenges to increase their ranking and reputation at the same time had miscalculated, as Mo Fan had taken all the limelight for himself.

The dueling ground Mo Fan was at was fully crowded with people. In order to let everyone witness his outstanding capabilities, the Elemental Director had specifically chosen a place with a capacity of over a thousand people.

With that in mind, the place was almost fully seated with people. The students from the Fire School had taken half the spots, while the rest were taken by the students from the other Elements.

Wei Rong stood at the spot for the judge. He was here solely to see how his students would beat the crap out of the disdainful kid. Crushing a student’s arrogant pride was something that Wei Rong had done a lot in the school.

“I’ll be hosting the challenges today,” Wei Rong took out the list of names and quickly scanned the lines as he continued, “The hundredth rank student, Mo Fan, two hundred and thirty-one people have challenged you this week. Kid, if you come up to me and apologize, write a repentance letter and apologize to everyone from the Fire School, I’ll let you go, considering you’ve just transferred here.”

“I won’t need it,” said Mo Fan with a firm attitude.

“Fine, first challenger, Zhang Youhe, ranked seven hundred and thirty-sixth!” Wei Rong knew that Mo Fan would not accept his condition.

Following his call, a man with a slightly slanted nose stepped forward from the preparation area. He was wearing a bright smile, whose gaze was scanning the surroundings, as if he was telling the crowd that he was the luckiest person at this moment.

The dueling ground was almost the size of a soccer field. It was also covered in green grass.

“Do you have any idea how many people are jealous of you? We’ve fought so hard just to get more resources, yet you’ve gotten them by pulling a trick with words. Unfortunately, the resources you acquired every month can be taken away when you lose the duels. Now, hand over the resources that do not belong to you. You might be able to save yourself some healing fees,” said Zhang Youhe.

Wei Rong glanced at the two students on the dueling ground and said, “Mo Fan, for your information, Zhang Youhe, who’s ranked seven hundred and thirty-sixth, might be one of the trashy students you mentioned before. If you can’t even beat him, then you will accept my conditions, or leave the Fire School yourself. I’ll admit that there might be some trash in my Fire School, but it doesn’t welcome a student who’s both useless and shameless at the same time, like you.”

Mo Fan turned toward Wei Rong who was provoking him with a smile, “Mr. Wei, isn’t it too early to say those words?”

Wei Rong responded with a cold smirk.

Mo Fan shifted his focus back to his opponent, Zhang Youhe.

His opponent was ranked seven hundred and thirty-sixth, so he should not be too much of a problem to deal with.

—-

“Wei Rong, what’s the point of being sulky with a student? Not only did you place him at the hundredth rank, but you also spread the news across the whole school, so everyone would just challenge him on the same day. Don’t you think that even those ranked in the top one hundred would have troubles preserving their energy?” said the teacher of the Fire School with the white brows, who was in charge of teaching the Materials Class.

“White Brows, you’re going too easy on the students. Every student that managed to enroll into Pearl Institute has some level of pride. Besides, Dean Xiao personally transferred him to the Fire Element. He sure has an unimaginable background… He was used to being fawned upon by everyone around him, and he thinks he’s unmatched because of his abundant resources. If I don’t let him suffer a great fall here, he might die at the hands of the demon beasts because of his attitude,” said Wei Rong, as if he were really concerned for the student.

As a matter of fact, Wei Rong was actually angry at Mo Fan. He was only pretending to be concerned about Mo Fan’s future, just so he had an excuse to teach him a lesson!

How dare he condemn the Fire School and his teaching method in front of the crowd… He was definitely tired of living!

Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth

“The challenge begins now!” Wei Rong declared without listening to Bai Mei’s advice.

The crowd immediately cheered. They enjoyed watching bustling scenes. Besides, Mo Fan had infuriated half of them. They wished they could take Zhang Youhe’s place so they could beat all Mo Fan’s teeth out.

Zhang Youhe’s smile became brighter. He began to draw the Stars while mocking Mo Fan’s stupidity with a carefree tone. The Stars swiftly formed a Star Pattern.

Unfortunately, the smile on his face froze when he was halfway finished with casting the Spell.

“How fast… how could this guy’s casting speed be so fast!” Zhang Youhe was stunned. His eyes were fixed on the flames engulfing Mo Fan.

Hot flames burned around Mo Fan, turning him into a fiery demon. The scorching heat spread to the surroundings with him as the center, sweeping at everyone’s face.

“Trash always talks too much,” said Mo Fan disdainfully.

The flames burned fiercely around his wrist. Wild flickers emitting blinding glows would appear at times.

As he threw a punch, fire jetted out of Mo Fan’s fist like a tiny volcano. The rolling flames turned into the shape of a fan as they journeyed through the air, landing on Zhang Youhe.

Zhang Youhe was dumbfounded. He had only finished half of the Star Pattern!

He desperately activated his defensive equipment. Unfortunately, his equipment was not enough to resist the blast. His whole person was engulfed in flames, as the blast knocked him flying…

Zhang Youhe’s figure flew in an arc and slammed into the ground outside of the boundary. Scorch marks could be seen across his body.

Zhang Youhe’s Fire was only ordinary flames. It did not grant him any resistance to the Fire Element. When he was caught on fire, it immediately burned through a layer of skin…

“Such a trashy student, how could he possibly be ranked seven hundred and thirty-sixth?” Mo Fan raised his fist and blew it like a cowboy, extinguishing the remaining ripples of fire.

Mo Fan was directing his words toward Wei Rong. Since the gorilla teacher was picking on him, Mo Fan had no intention to back off.

Wei Rong’s lips contorted. Perhaps his lungs were expanding?

“The kid is quite impressive,” Bai Mei said with a smile.

“Humph, that’s all he got. There are many people who can send Zhang Youhe flying with a Fiery Fist in the Fire School,” said Wei Rong.

Wei Rong never expected a single challenger alone was enough to deal with Mo Fan. A person who did not have many capabilities up their sleeves would not be so boastful!

“I’ll go ahead and heal him. It looks like it’s going to be a long day for me,” said Bai Mei as he walked toward the boundary of the dueling ground.

“You’re overestimating him!”

—

The next challenger went up. Mo Fan had long prepared for it.

The second challenger was a female student ranked six hundred and forty-fifth. Her strength was not significantly greater than Zhang Youhe, but she was fairly cautious. She knew Mo Fan’s casting speed was outstanding, thus she took a defensive approach right at the start.

“Fire, and Water Elements, girl, aren’t you being a little bit too contradicting?” Mo Fan ignited a puff of Fire Burst in his hand and adeptly aligned the Stars.

“Why do you care?” The girl was unyielding. Water-like ribbons flowed around her.

“If you’re so keen on defense, why don’t you go to the Water School…” Mo Fan hurled the Fire Burst accurately at his opponent.

The female student was casting the Basic Water Spell, Water Barrier. Her Water Barrier had reached the third tier. As long as she was not being attacked continuously, a new defensive barrier would appear close to her.

Mo Fan was purposely teasing the girl. He was timing his Fire Burst perfectly, so that her Water Barrier could recover in time, yet she could not cast her attacking Spell in time.

“The kid is wasting his energy. He could easily defeat his opponent, yet he’s doing this… I knew he was a proud, arrogant good-for-nothing,” Wei Rong harrumphed. He despised Mo Fan’s method.

A duel was a duel. How could he treat it like a joke? If he did the same against demon beasts, he would die a horrible death to creatures that were weaker than him!

The six hundred and forty-fifth ranked student was no match for Mo Fan, after all. She was also aware that Mo Fan was only teasing her. She decided to forfeit the match and left the stage. Before she left, she even glared at the man who had made her into a joke in front of the school!

“Next challenger…”

“Toilet break please!”

“…”

Mo Fan was indeed shameless. He was trying all possible reasons to delay the continuous challenges, just so he could replenish as much energy as possible.

—

“What are you thinking now? If you were to delay the duels again, why don’t you just concede!” snapped Wei Rong.

“Why would I concede? It’s just that I’ve ate too much during my lunch. Are you saying that I can’t have a stomachache?” said Mo Fan in a righteous manner, although it was his third time requesting to go to the restroom.

At this time, Mo Fan had defeated six challengers.

As the ranking of the challengers increased, it took Mo Fan more energy to defeat his opponent. He had already consumed a third of the energy of his Fire Nebula.

It would soon deplete after he cast a few more Intermediate Spells!

“Next one… Zheng Jiahui… mmm?” Wei Rong frowned as soon as he read the name aloud.

What is this last ranked student doing here? The challengers from before were all ranked relatively close to five hundredth, and it was clear that they were a lot weaker than Mo Fan. Zheng Jiahui could not even draw a Star Pattern correctly in a duel. Wasn’t the outcome of the duel obvious?

Zheng Jiahui looked timid as usual. It was his first time standing on the stage in front of such a great crowd. His figure was still trembling as he walked onto the stage.

Mo Fan’s eyes glistened when he saw him, as if he were his savior.

The kid has not let him down. If his turn only came after the attempts from two hundred challengers, wouldn’t that mean he would have to defeat two hundred people before him?

“Why is he the challenger? HAHAHA, is he really serious about trying to take advantage of the situation, just like those idiots who lost?” Someone among the crowd burst into laughter.

“This Mo Fan is quite impressive. He had already defeated Zhao Pingjun who’s ranked five hundred and thirty-eighth. This Zheng Jiahui is going to end up worse than Zhang Youhe!”

“I’ve fought that guy before. He challenged me to a duel in an aggressive manner, yet he could not even draw an Intermediate Star Pattern during the fight. I was standing stationary waiting for him to attack, but he couldn’t do it. It was such a joke. Why would the Pearl Institute’s main campus accept this idiot?”

The Fire School burst into laughter as soon as Zheng Jiahui went up to the stage.

Why would he try to embarrass himself? He had wasted a precious chance for the other challengers to try their luck. Besides, the challengers after him were surely ranked in the top five hundred!

Translator: XephiZ               Editor: Aelryinth

Wei Rong looked at Zheng Jiahui, who looked like an army deserter from a war, even if it were only a duel. He always found him to be a nuisance.

If someone were actually trashy in the Fire School, it would definitely be this Zheng Jiahui!

“Let’s begin, start the battle now,” said Wei Rong impatiently.

Mo Fan stood in front of Zheng Jiahui. He let out a sigh when he saw that the guy almost shrank back completely due to his fear, “What are you afraid of? It was only a show, or something has happened to you in the past, that makes you afraid of dueling.”

“No… nothing like that. I’m not afraid of duels. It’s just…” stammered Zheng Jiahui.

“Forget it, if you can’t cast an Intermediate Spell, use some Basic Spells then. Don’t tell me that you can’t even align the seven Stars. If you were to defeat me with bare fists, it will be too fake of an act,” Mo Fan said to Zheng Jiahui.

“Is this really fine? The students will look down on me,” said Zheng Jiahui with slight hesitation.

Mo Fan laughed when he heard the words, before saying to Zheng Jiahui, “Open your eyes and look at your surroundings. Including the teacher, do you see anyone treating you seriously? Even the girls who are fairly respectful toward everyone are looking at you pitifully. I don’t know if you have anyone you’re secretly in love with in the Fire School, but if you happened to see a hint of pity, mockery, or no emotion from her eyes, don’t you think that you’re already in the worst possible situation? You’ve overestimated yourself. You thought you still had a last hint of dignity in the Fire School, yet to the others, you’re just a laughing stock.”

Zheng Jiahui glanced at Mo Fan. He initially thought Mo Fan was trying to lend him a hand, but his heart felt a chill when he heard the words.

He tried to align the Stars, but the Nebula shattered in just a brief while!

The crow burst out laughing, leaving Zheng Jiahui utterly embarrassed. When he repeated the casting, he made a mistake when he was aligning the fourth Star.

“Your cultivation isn’t weak at all. Why are you so nervous that you can’t even cast a Spell? Honestly, I think you should stop being a Magician. You will find yourself achieving better results when doing something else,” Mo Fan jeered Zheng Jiahui.

Zheng Jiahui pulled a long face when he heard this. His eyes glared at Mo Fan as he spoke in a slightly infuriated tone, “What do you know about me?!”

“Oh, so you desire to be a Magician?” Mo Fan smiled. His words had obviously crossed this person’s line.

He had a desire to become a Magician, yet he was so timid that he could not draw the Stars correctly.

At the training ground, he could align the Stars fairly quickly. His strength was not weak, either, but he was so nervous in front of a crowd that he could not even produce the simplest Nebula.

Nonconfident, timid, Mo Fan could even see the black cloth resembling how he was feeling inferior covering his entire figure. It was not like he had zero presence, but in the crowd’s eyes, he was the greatest laughingstock!

How was it possible for an Intermediate Magician to be so pitiful?

However, this was only possible in the Pearl Institute’s main campus, since being an Intermediate Magician was the lowest requirement to enroll.

“I have plenty of time. Take all the time you need to align the Stars,” Mo Fan was rather carefree. He simply stood there and waited patiently.

Zheng Jiahui began to draw the Stars again. He was desperately trying to overcome this fear in front of a crowd so that he could cast a Spell…

However, no matter how adept he was at the daily training, his mind turned blank when he stood in front of a crowd. Their laughter and disdainful gazes increased the burden on his shoulders when he was drawing the Star Pattern.

“Is this guy here just to enlighten us? He seriously can’t even cast a Basic Spell. How does he even have the guts to take part in the duel? If I were him, I would simply find a spot and bury myself,” cursed Zhao Ji.

“Go, be gone. Stop wasting everyone’s time.”

“Stop treating him like that. He’s only feeling nervous. Let’s give him some more time,” said a girl with a gentle voice.

Those who were hot-tempered were already stirring a scene among the crowd. Most people were simply looking at him with a cold gaze on their seats, thinking that it was fairly hilarious. However, in order to highlight their fairly well-developed control, they did not display it on the surface.

“Zheng Jiahui, if you can’t even cast a Fire Burst, you should just forfeit,” Wei Rong said in a cold voice. Every second the kid stayed on the stage lost him more face. Most importantly, he could not let Mo Fan get what he wanted!

Zheng Jiahui had gotten used to the mocking and being underestimated by the students. However, he panicked even more when he heard Wei Rong’s words. He subconsciously treated the words as an order. He bit his lips and headed for the exit.

Mo Fan immediately went up and grabbed his arm when he saw that something was not right. “What are you doing?”

“I should just give you back the Nebula Tool. I can’t do it,” Zheng Jiahui answerered with a disappointed look.

“Not only are you timid, you’re extremely selfish, too. You do know that we’re currently on the same boat? You might feel better if you obey the inferior demon in your bones, but I’m in a terrible mess. If the duel only involves yourself, you can do whatever you want, but if you leave now, I would have to face all the challenges!” Mo Fan said sternly while holding Zheng Jiahui’s arm.

Mo Fan’s plan was very simple. He had asked the last ranked student to challenge him, to whom he would lose the duel.

Once Mo Fan became the last rank, no one would then be able to challenge him.

After being ranked last, he would then challenge someone in the top fifty in the final day of the challenge. That way, he could easily prevent himself from being challenged one after one another, while still improving his monthly ranking!

The plan was very simple, and its execution was not so difficult. Yet, to Mo Fan’s surprise, he did not expect Zheng Jiahui to be so useless. He could not even cast a Basic Spell.

The rules had stated that without casting any spell, even if the opponent conceded, he would not be deemed the winner!

“I…I didn’t mean it, but I’ve tried. I really did. Sorry, Mo Fan. I know that you really want to help me, but I’m hopeless,” Zheng Jiahui’s voice was slightly trembling. He was on the verge of crying like a little girl.

Mo Fan had learned how timid and weak a person could be.

He glanced at Wei Rong, who had a grin on his face, before looking at the hopeless Zheng Jiahui.

He realized that the Elemental Director had spoken the words on purpose. As a judge, he should not interfere with the duel, yet he was aware of Mo Fan’s plan, so he had spoken to drive the obedient Zheng Jiahui away.

“Hold it right there!” Mo Fan felt slightly angry.

“I…” Zheng Jiahui turned around. As a matter of fact, he had already left the stage.

“You have indeed infuriated me! To put me in such a situation… very well, you’re really the most useless person I’ve ever seen. You’ve left me here, leaving me no choice but to fight against two hundred people.

“Fine, open your eyes and watch carefully. If I, Mo Fan, am knocked down from the stage by anyone today, I’ll f**king admit that I’m a coward just like you. I’ll apologize to that gorilla Elemental Director, and to all the students I’ve condemned in the school!”

Mo Fan was utterly furious. He was not just angry about his situation, but more importantly, he was angry toward Zheng Jiahui, who assumed that everything would be fine after he withdrew from the duel.

Those who ridiculed the weak were not the most hateful, but someone useless like Zheng Jiahui who had lost himself in the midst of his inferior, self-closing and totally obedient traits, could not even show some integrity!

——

Mo Fan collected his thoughts after the furious speech. He glared at the Elemental Director who was so respected by the students.

“Call out the name of the next challenger now!”

Translator: XephiZ            Editor: Aelryinth

The crowd watching the duel burst out laughing, not sure if they were laughing at Zheng Jiahui who could not even cast a Basic Spell due to his mental disorder, or Mo Fan, who was so ignorant that he assumed that he could take two hundred challengers on.

Wei Rong had a dark expression. This ruthless student dared call him a gorilla in front of the crowd!

Teacher Bai Mei tried to hold back his laughter. They did address him using that nickname among the teachers. Sometimes, the students would also call him that behind his back, yet no one had ever called him that in front of the public. This transfer student was truly fearless!

On a side note, Bai Mei was rather intrigued by Mo Fan’s decision. Leaving his ruthless remarks at times, his determination to face the two hundred challengers was very impressive. He could not wait to see how he was going to last that long against so many challengers.

“Next ranked six hundred and seventy-ninth, Lin Gui!” Wei Rong called the next challenger with a furious roar.

He was staring at Mo Fan. Either way, he had to teach this arrogant kid how to control his temper. Otherwise, how could he possibly display his authority as the Elemental Director of the Fire School?

A rough-looking, tanned male student slowly approached the stage.

He glanced at Mo Fan with an expressionless face, “I do admit that as a transfer student, your strength is worthy to be placed in the top three hundredth. That being said, the ranking doesn’t mean much. The duels and real battles were different, too.”

“Damn it, I don’t need you to teach me how to fight!” Mo Fan’s right hand immediately ignited a fierce flame and hurled it forward. The Fire Burst drew a clear arc across the sky and landed on the student called Lin Gui.

Lin Gui had the same look on his face, but his eyes were filled with a hint of disdain… He did not even need to defend himself purposely from the Basic Spell-!

When he saw the color of the flame that was flying in his direction, and sensed its abnormal temperature, his eyes filled with terror.

Just as he realized he had misjudged the threat, the Rose Flame: Fire Burst exploded. The scorching flames lunged at him, and the impact blew him a far distance away.

Lin Gui, who was acting as if he were giving sound advice a moment ago, had turned into half a burning man, falling to the ground at the edge of the stage!

Lin Gui tried to rise to his feet, but his whole body was covered in burning bruises. He glanced at them in pain and disbelief.

“What just happened?” Someone among the spectators yelled. Many people had wide eyes, their gazes fixed onto the seriously injured Li Gui.

“Did he just defeat him with a single attack, and it was only a Basic Spell?” exclaimed Huang Xingli.

Beside her, Ding Yuming’s eyes slightly glistened. When she saw Huang Xingli looking at her as if she were waiting for an answer, she explained, “He must be using some Spirit-grade flame. Its power was a lot stronger than an ordinary Fire Burst. Lin Gui underestimated his opponent’s strength. He didn’t even set up any defense.”

“So Sister Yuming also misjudged the situation? The Fire Burst wouldn’t be this powerful, even if it was strengthened by a Spirit-grade flame,” spoke up Liu Qian.

Huang Xingli turned around. Her tomboy attitude instantly disappeared, as her eyes were filled with embarrassment, and a hint of surprise.

She seemed to realize that her reaction was fairly embarrassing, thus she quickly turned back and nudged Ding Yuming with her elbow, blurting out excitedly, “It’s Liu Qian. It’s my first time watching him from such a close distance. He’s so handsome!”

Ding Yuming was surprisingly calm. She turned around and cast a glance at Liu Qian as she asked, “Are you saying that…”

“Lin Gui was not foolish enough to not set up ANY defense. However, the armor he was wearing had no chance of resisting the power of a Fire Burst that was four times stronger than an ordinary Fire Burst. His Fire Burst has ranked up to the fourth-tier. It doubled the power of the Fire Burst, and together with his Soul Seed…” Liu Qian said with a smile.

Ding Yuming quickly came to a realization. Her eyes were looking at Mo Fan with great astonishment.

In the entire Fire School, those who had a Spirit-grade flame would be ranked close to the front. These better flames basically could not be beaten by someone using an ordinary flame.

However, in order to acquire a Spirit-grade flame from the school, one would need at least a year’s worth of effort, not to mention that only those ranked high up would be given two pieces of a Fire Element Soul Seed.

As such, a Spirit-grade flame was considered rather extravagant to the students of the Fire School. Meanwhile, it was said that to cast a fourth-tier Basic Spell, one would need to strengthen all the seven Stars, and each star needing Soul Essences would cost around five million RMB.

“To rank up to the fourth-tier Fire Burst, he would need thirty-five million RMB. The money alone could get you two Soul Seeds. I never thought someone would actually spend their money like that!” said Liu Qian.

Ding Yuming nodded slightly. Regardless of one’s background, she had never heard any disciple with a background formidable enough to have achieved the fourth-tier of their Basic Spells.

—

“What are you waiting for, call the next one!” Mo Fan yelled at Wei Rong.

Wei Rong collected his thoughts and called the next person’s name with a long face.

Where exactly did this kid come from? Even he, an Advanced Magician, was not willing to rank up his Basic Spell to the fourth-tier, but an Intermediate Magician was already so extravagant…

“Next please…”

Soon, the next challenger walked to the stage. The person was ranked fairly low, over nine hundred. It was obvious that he had followed the crowd to sign up for the challenge, too. He was not too strong, so he had no chance against Mo Fan’s special Fire Burst.

“Next please…”

The next one was a student ranked four hundred and twenty-seventh, a female student whose primary Element was Fire, with the Earth Element as her secondary Element.

The defensive abilities of the Earth Element helped her to dodge Mo Fan’s attacks at the start. Yet, to preserve his limited energy, Mo Fan chose not to use his Intermediate Magic. He realized that his opponent would be quite troublesome to deal with. After a slight hesitation, his left hand summoned the Lightning Mark when his opponent slightly lost her focus.

The Lightning Mark struck suddenly as the female student was trying to dodge the unexpected Fire Burst. It quickly paralyzed her.

She could no longer move freely. Mo Fan immediately blasted her down from the stage with a close-range Fire Burst. She did have defensive equipment, yet the blast of the Fire Burst was still enough to knock her flying.

The female student landed with disheveled hair. She stared at Mo Fan in disbelief.

Mo Fan was quite cunning when he cast the Lightning Strike. He utilized the explosions of the flames to pull a surprise attack on her.

“Next!” snapped Mo Fan furiously, whose anger had yet to disappear.

Translator: XephiZ            Editor: Aelryinth

Mo Fan was pretty much defeating the challengers with the same move.

Basically, the challengers were no match for Mo Fan’s fourth-tier Fire Burst, which was also strengthened by his Soul Seed…

The Rose Flame was simply too violent. It could increase the power of his Fire Element Spells by 2.5 times. On top of that, the strength of his Fire Burst was doubled after it had reached the fourth tier.

His Fire Burst was basically five times stronger than an ordinary Fire Burst, and could instantly kill Servant-class demon beasts, let alone these students who did not even have any outstanding defensive measures.

As long as the students did not have any defensive abilities, Mo Fan could send them down with a Fire Burst. Those who were mocking him began to take a different view of him after seeing his performance.

“Has no one managed to force him to use an Intermediate Spell?” said Wei Rong, clenching his teeth furiously.

Wei Rong was absolutely panicking. The challengers until now were all ranked lower than four hundred. Not a single one of them had a Soul Seed, thus they definitely were at a disadvantage dueling against Mo Fan…

“Oh, Wei Rong, it seems like you’re wrong this time,” Teacher Bai Mei smiled.

Unlike the inflexible, strict Wei Rong, Bai Mei was not so demanding with the students. -Although Mo Fan was being quite disrespectful when he scolded the entire school, none of it would have happened if you, Wei Rong, did not scold him as trash at the beginning.-

“Mr. Wei, can you please be more professional as a judge? I’ve already knocked this student you’ve called up a few times into the air. Next one please!” Mo Fan’s voice came from the dueling ground.

Wei Rong almost lost himself when he heard the words. If the school did not strictly forbid teachers from attacking students, he would have definitely rushed up and taught that disdainful transfer student a lesson.

“Don’t be too full of yourself!” snapped Wei Rong.

“Not quite, I don’t feel any sense of achievement from defeating them at all,” said Mo Fan.

Wei Rong clenched his teeth and glanced at the name list. He tried to find some familiar names among them.

If Wei Rong could remember someone’s name, it was highly possible that the person was capable to a certain degree. The Fire School was in an awkward position. More than thirty challenges had gone up, yet they had yet to force the transfer student to cast an Intermediate Spell. The difference between their strengths was too huge!

“Jia Zhenlong, very well, finally someone that’s capable!” For once, Wei Rong had a smile on his face.

Jia Zhenlong was ranked two hundred and eightieth in Fire School. His ranking was not too remarkable, nor was he considered an expert in the school, but Wei Rong remembered his name.

Jia Zhenlong was a hunter. He did not spend much time in the school. He always went out in groups with other hunters to hunt demon beasts. He was a very experienced Fire Magician.

Unfortunately, in the month before, he had offended Liu Qian, who was ranked in the top fifty. With Liu Qian’s influence, even without getting himself involved, he had let Jia Zhenlong suffer a tough month. His ranking dropped rapidly to two hundred and eighty!

“Five more until Jia Zhenlong. I hope he won’t let me down,” mumbled Wei Rong.

Without any surprise, the five challengers were defeated by Mo Fan with the same trick.

Magic was not as garish and diverse as many Wuxia or Xuanhuan stories. After so many years of exploration and digging, the humans had only discovered limited Magic Elements and Spells, yet each Spell required lots of efforts and time to master.

It took Mo Fan three whole years in high school to master two Basic Spells. Even though he now had learned more Spells, the Fire Burst and Lightning Strike were still his most adept moves…

Once there was a clear difference between strengths, even using just those two Spells that he had practiced all these years alone, he was still unbeatable!

“Next one, ranked two hundred and eightieth, Jia Zhenlong!” yelled Wei Rong with a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.

Jia Zhenlong obviously had some reputation in the Fire School. The crowd immediately burst into an uproar when his name was called.

“Jia Zhenlong, go and defeat that transfer student. Otherwise, he will really think that our Fire School has no expert!”

That’s right, you can easily defeat him with your strength. Help us get our face back!”

“Doesn’t Jia Zhenlong have a Soul Seed, too?”

“That’s even better, he surely has a chance at defeating him!”

The crowd started yelling when they saw Jia Zhenlong heading to the dueling ground.

Initially, Jia Zhenlong was not so popular in the Fire School. However, when more than thirty challengers had been defeated by a transfer student with just Basic Spells, they could feel their reputation was at stake…

The spectators consisted of students from the other Elements. It was rather embarrassing when so many of them were totally outmatched by a transfer student!

Standing on the dueling ground, Jia Zhenlong was fairly surprised, too. Since when was he so popular among the students?…

“It seems like everyone feels threatened by you,” said Jia Zhenlong with a smile to the fairly outstanding transfer student. “I’ve picked on someone’s nerves, so I wasn’t the popular kind.”

“Ah, so we’re in a pretty similar spot. Can you just cast a Spell and concede? I’ll buy you a drink,” said Mo Fan in a carefree voice.

“…” Jia Zhenlong was left speechless.

Damn it, he initially thought the kid was somewhat special, yet he immediately tried to make peace with him after knowing that his strength was not too weak.

“A drink alone isn’t comparable to the reputation I’ll get for defeating you… If I’m not mistaken, there are lots of people ranked higher than me who want to teach you a lesson. It’s fairly difficult to get the teachers and students to remember your name in this school!” said Jia Zhenlong.

Jia Zhenlong was not too well-received, and after being picked on, he could not obtain the ranking he desired, nor could he acquire the resources he needed. Therefore, this served as a great opportunity for the salted fish to turn over. He had to try his best no matter what!

“Come, show me your true strength. Don’t assume that the Basic Spells are enough to defeat me!” said Jia Zhenlong confidently.

“You’re overestimating yourself.” Mo Fan had no intention of using Intermediate Spells.

Mo Fan first cast a Fire Burst. The fierce flame quickly ignited on his right palm, with a bright red outline.

He had to say that after practicing with the Magic Accelerator, it did improve his casting speed by a significant margin.

He should buy another Magic Accelerator when he had the money, to further improve his casting speed!

Not only should he improve his Basic Spells to be able to cast them instantly, he should focus on improving the casting speed of his Intermediate Spells too! Against someone like Dongfang Ming, who had an innate talent to cast Fire Element at twice the speed of everyone else, if he had not happened to level up his Basic Spell to the fourth tier, he would surely have suffered a grave defeat!

Translator: XephiZ          Editor: Aelryinth

“Same trick again? Do you really think I did not prepare anything before coming here?” said Jia Zhenlong.

Mo Fan was fast at casting his Basic Spell. He had already hurled a Fire Burst in his opponent’s direction in the midst of their conversation. Jia Zhenlong did not attempt to dodge it. He stood at the same spot, slowly drawing his Star Pattern.

As the Fire Burst approached Jia Zhenlong, it was blocked in front of him by an invisible force!

The Fire Burst exploded after going out of Mo Fan’s control. The Fire Burst, which was five times stronger than normal, had almost had the power of half an Intermediate Spell. However, when it collided with the invisible wall, it was as if the fierce flames were being sucked away, and they quickly disappeared briefly after the explosion.

The rest of the force turned into a gust sweeping around Jia Zhenlong. It blew his hair up, revealing his confident look.

“I told you that trick wouldn’t work against me! Have a taste of my Magic! Giant Shadow Spike: Twins!” Jia Zhenlong said as the Shadow Element of the Shadow Element appeared under his feet.

A spike engulfed in the Shadow Element aura reached out from his chest. It sprang forward rapidly following his swipe, and disappeared in the air.

Jia Zhenlong was still wearing a smile. The Shadow Element was rare to begin with, and most people were unfamiliar with the Shadow Element. He had only ranked up the Giant Shadow Spike to the second-tier recently.

A first-tier Giant Shadow Spike only locked down the target’s body. On the other hand, if the Giant Shadow Spike: Twins landed on the target, not only would it stop the target from moving, it would also seal its mind, disturbing the alignment of Stars.

If he could stop his opponent from casting Basic Spells, Mo Fan would no longer pose any threat to him.

—

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was slightly startled when he saw the Shadow Element Spell.

“So his secondary Element is the Shadow Element. He’s strange enrolling into the Fire School instead of the Shadow Element. Anyone else would have fallen for his trick, but unfortunately…” Mo Fan’s lips curled up.

Mo Fan was a Shadow Element expert himself. Although his Shadow Element was a rank lower than Jia Zhenlong, he was extremely familiar with the Giant Shadow Spike.

As soon as his opponent completed the Star Pattern, Mo Fan ignited the flames again. The ground close to him was set aflame, lighting up the place brightly.

The fierce flames spread wildly with Mo Fan at the center. The illumination quickly revealed the position of the Giant Shadow Spike.

The strength of the Giant Shadow Spike was its stealth. It might seem to be flying in a certain direction at the beginning, but it might suddenly appear from the back. The key to dodging the relatively high control Spell was to locate it first.

Mo Fan could easily locate the Giant Shadow Spike with the light from the flames. When Mo Fan saw a spike flying toward him in the midst of the flames, he immediately reacted and leapt backward, dodging the Giant Shadow Spike with ease.

“Damn it, how is this guy so experienced!?” Jia Zhenlong cursed furiously.

The key to securing the victory was his Shadow Element. To his surprise, his opponent was extremely familiar with the Shadow Element.

As the spell missed, Jia Zhenlong simply engulfed himself in flames. A fiery Star Pattern was drawn rapidly under his feet. With the curtain of water defending in front of him, he was not worried that his opponent could interrupt his casting.

“Coral Flame: Fiery Fist: Groundbreak!” Jia Zhenlong finished casting his Intermediate Spell.

He had gone all out this time. Not only was he using the flames from his Soul Seed, he was also casting the second-tier Fiery Fist!

His right fist was engulfed in a purple-red ring of flames. Following his roar, the energy from his fist struck at the ground fiercely.

The dueling ground started to heat up as if lava had just sprung up underneath it!

A pillar of flame jetted out where Mo Fan was standing at. The Spirit-grade flames that Jia Zhenlong had control over were burning like a coral reef. The flames of the Groundbreak were remarkably spectacular as they burst out from the ground!

Mo Fan did not underestimate the Spell. His legs were already emitting a crimson glow, a sign that he had activated the Blood Tabi!

His legs were covered in armor the color of blood. Mo Fan leapt into the air with the strength of the Blood Beast.

The power of the Groundbreak reached its peak as its flames almost devoured Mo Fan’s figure. He was scorched by the fire in the air. Fortunately, he was partially immune to Fire Element damage because of his Rose Flame. Otherwise, the fire sparks sprinkling on him would be enough to burn his skin!

After dodging the overwhelming Groundbreak, Mo Fan landed on the ground. Due to the strengthening of the Blood Tabi, the ground where he landed sank slightly. As he did, he lowered his stance, like a leopard ready to pounce at its prey.

Mo Fan sprang forward rapidly and approached Jia Zhenlong’s position swiftly.

He soon discovered a completely transparent water curtain in front of Jia Zhenlong, which was blocking his Fire Burst.

“So that’s all you have!” Mo Fan smiled. Drawing closer to the water curtain, he leapt over it and found himself above Jia Zhenlong.

His legs, strengthened with the power of the Blood Beast, stomped the ground after he plunged down from a height of ten meters. The grassy ground was blasted away by the impact, knocking Jia Zhenlong into the air!

Mo Fan had shown mercy by stomping the ground beside Jia Zhenlong. If he had stomped his head, he would have been crushed into minced meat by the force instantly!

Jia Zhenlong had overestimated himself. As a Shadow Element user, he chose not to hug the shadows, thus he did not even have a chance of casting Fleeing Shadow. If someone like him was fighting against demon beasts in the wild, he had only survived until now because of pure luck!

Jia Zhenlong flew out of the dueling ground under the crowd’s gaze. When he landed on the ground and spat out mouthfuls of blood, everyone could feel a thud in their chests!

In the end, they still could not even force him to cast an Intermediate Spell.

“Another…another loss…” said Bai Mei with a smile. However, when he saw Wei Rong’s expression, he quickly withdrew his smile.

“Such a tra…” Wei Rong was about to curse when he recalled that the term was rather sensitive. He quickly halted his tongue and waved his hand, urging Bai Mei to heal the loser. He did not bother looking at him!

-Damn it, can anyone please defeat this kid?-

Translator: XephiZ            Editor: Aelryinth

“So strong!” Zheng Jiahui glanced at Mo Fan in disbelief.

He initially thought Mo Fan’s strength was not worthy to be placed at the hundredth rank, since he had to rely on his little trick to stop people from challenging him. Yet, when he saw Mo Fan had defeated almost thirty people with only Basic Spells, he could not help but have a different view of him.

When he recalled Mo Fan’s furious words to him, he somehow felt like Mo Fan was going to keep his promise.

“Impossible, no way, he might be strong, but there’s no way he can face two hundred challengers on his own. The ranking of the upcoming challengers would only get higher. Him defeating Jia Zhenlong doesn’t mean he can handle the highly-ranked students continuously,” said Zheng Jiahui, shaking his head.

In Zheng Jiahui’s understanding, no one could possibly fight two hundred people consecutively!

—–

After Jia Zhenlong, who had a Soul Seed, was defeated, the challengers suddenly became totally one-sided, which made Wei Rong very angry. He looked at the list of names, yet he was unfamiliar with all of them. He impatiently read the name of the next challenger, “Xu Hongguang, ranked three hundred and thirty-first!”

Wei Rong no longer expected those ranked after two hundredth to defeat Mo Fan. As a matter of fact, he did not even expect them to force him to use his Intermediate Spells. He turned around and discussed some other topics with Bai Mei. Most importantly, he had no intention to see his students being crushed.

Suddenly, an uproar was heard coming from the crowd, as if something exciting were about to happen.

Wei Rong shifted his focus back to the duel. It turned out that the student called Xu Hongguang had concealed his true strength. Mo Fan was taken by surprise, and was forced to cast an Intermediate Spell.

The Star Pattern under Mo Fan’s feet were brilliant, a pure blazing red. His figure was engulfed in flames with the same color.

The Fiery Fist was hurled forward. The scorching flames lunged at the student called Xu Hongguang.

It appeared that Xu Hongguang was wearing some magical armor, which perfectly resisted Mo Fan’s Basic Spells. Even the Intermediate Fiery Fist’s power was greatly reduced by it.

However, a brief while later, Xu Hongguang still lost the duel. That being said, the three hundred and thirty-first ranked student had given the crowd a great surprise. When everyone thought he was going to be defeated easily with Basic Spells, he had managed to force his opponent to cast an Intermediate Spell!

“How embarrassing, they’ve only forced him to use an Intermediate Spell. They are cheering as if he won the duel!” Bai Mei said with a smirk.

The smile on Wei Rong’s face disappeared instantly.

On second thought, there was indeed nothing to be excited about. They had already sent out thirty-six challengers, yet they had only forced him to use an Intermediate Spell once. They should be embarrassed instead!

Humans were much the same. When they were being bullied to a certain degree, any improvement to the situation would bring comfort to them. Yet, when they thought about it, the situation was far from what they had hoped for.

“Who knew that this Xu Hongguang would be so impressive, he must have hidden his true strength for a very long time. Hopefully, someone ranked in the top two hundred will appear among the challengers. Someone has to teach this guy a lesson!” snapped Huang Xingli.

Ding Yuming glanced at Huang Xingli curiously and giggled, “I thought you were worried about him? Why are you crusading against him together with the rest now? How can you be so wishy-washy?”

Huang Xingli began to stammer. For some reason, she felt extremely unpleasant when she saw Mo Fan had the upper hand.

“It’s reasonable. This transfer student looks rather unstoppable now. He has defeated over thirty challengers with only Basic Spells. Don’t forget, he condemned us as trash to our faces. Based on how everything is turning out, our Fire School is indeed proving to be useless. In order to save us some face, everyone would prefer to see him lose,” said Liu Qian.

Huang Xingli nodded. She was overjoyed, as the famous Liu Qian had just justified her weird reaction. It seemed like he was keeping an eye on her.

“That’s right; if we don’t defeat him soon, our Fire School will become a laughing stock to the others. We can’t even handle a transfer student,” said Huang Xingli.

Ding Yuming remained silent.

Liu Qian did not speak further when he saw that Ding Yuming had chosen to be silent.

—–

The challengers took turns fighting against the transfer student. Those who had relatively low ranks had decided to waste as much of his energy as possible rather than trying to defeat him. They did not even realize that they had lowered their stance against Mo Fan.

Finally, it was the turn of a girl ranked one hundred-ninety.

Mo Fan stood at the center of the stage and observed the rather tall girl in front of him.

Mo Fan preferred someone like Miss Tangyue, who had an outstanding physique despite being fairly tall, instead of a girl who was tall and slender. As such, he had no intention of showing her any mercy.

However, as the battle began, Mo Fan realized how naive his thoughts were.

Mo Fan could handle those who were ranked below four hundredth with Basic Spells, and those ranked higher than four hundredth did have some capabilities up in their sleeves. He would need to put in some extra effort to defeat them. Initially, he assumed that it would be similar to those ranked in the top two hundred, yet he discovered that the girl’s Fire Element cultivation was already comparable to his!

He had the Rose Flame, yet his opponent also had a Fire Element Soul Seed, and one considered above average among the Soul Seeds he had seen before. Its flame had a long-lasting effect, which meant it was extremely difficult to put out.

Left with no choice, Mo Fan finally used his Lightning Element. The fourth-tier Lightning Strike produced a lightning field with paralyzing effect around the girl. She had no chance of escaping, even with her Wind Track.

Mo Fan finally gained the upper hand using his fourth-tier Lightning Strike. He abused the violent nature of the Lightning Element to defeat the female student, wasting a significant amount of his energy.

“Double Soul Seeds, this…this kid…” said Wei Rong with a blank face.

A ranking of one hundred and ninety was fairly impressive, yet Wei Rong found it unacceptable that she was defeated, just like that!

However, since he was already being extravagant by ranking up a Basic Spell to the fourth-tier, it only made sense if he also had a Soul Seed for the other Element, since the resources needed to rank up a Basic Spell to the fourth tier were more than enough to buy two ordinary Soul Seeds!

“Fire and Lightning, how violent! Two Soul Seeds, two fourth-tier Basic Spells, no wonder this transfer student dares to do something so bold. He does have a lot to back up his statement. I’m afraid those without two Soul Seeds will have trouble defeating him,” Bai Mei said with an admiring gaze.

Translator: XephiZ            Editor: Aelryinth

The crowd burst into an uproar when the second Soul Seed was exposed!

When everyone was an Intermediate Magician, having Soul Seeds was the key to differentiating yourself from others.

Those ranked in the top four hundred had a significant advantage on the leaderboard, as everyone at their rank had at least one Soul Seed.

Those with two Soul Seeds were ranked in the top one hundred and forty!

Words were not needed to describe how strong those with two Soul Seeds were. If they had achieved the third-tier of their Intermediate Spells, they could easily be placed in the top fifty. Their strength completely outmatched the rest of the students.

The strength that Mo Fan had displayed could easily place him in the top one hundred and forty. He also had two fourth-tier Basic Spells, thus he could easily defeat those with the same cultivation. His true strength should be within the top one hundred.

No wonder he dared to utter such scornful words. He had no reason to be afraid of consecutive battles, since he could easily defeat those ranked below four hundred with mere Basic Spells!

“This transfer student is very impressive. I feel like the Fire School is running out of challengers… I have heard of duels between different Elements, but I’ve never seen infighting like this before. The Fire School is known for their hot tempers. The students are very proud of themselves, too. It feels good to see the transfer student giving them a slap to their faces!” said a student from the Wind School with a grin.

“The Fire School is going to be famous. They are all picking on a transfer student, yet they found themselves being beaten up by him!”

“What do you mean they’re going to be famous? I’ve already uploaded a clip to the school forum. The post already has more than a thousand replies!”

Several students from the other Elements who were anxious to see the world in disorder had already uploaded video recordings of the duels to the Internet. Suddenly, even those who were not present had their attention fixed on the duels.

“Fifty-sixth challenger!”

“He has now defeated sixty-six people. Who told you that Basic Spells are useless!?”

“The transfer student remains undefeated in his battle against the Fire School. All he hopes for is a loss!”

All kinds of post titles spread wildly on the Internet. It went without saying that everyone had a mobile phone. All they needed was a single click to share the clips on their Weibo, WeChat moments, or the forums they were active on, and the news would quickly spread to the people they knew.

As the news spread on the Internet, those who were bored immediately made their way to the dueling ground. Initially, they were still some vacant seats, but they were promptly filled by the latecomers!

Many initially thought the renowned families were using some marketing strategy to catch their attention, yet when the students of the Fire School revealed the entire incident, they were convinced that it was real!

Mo Fan’s name quickly spread wildly in the school, since he had already defeated sixty-six challengers. The disciples of the renowned families were infuriated. Normally, the first day of the challenging week would have epic battles between those who were ranked in the top one hundred or even top fifty, yet their dueling grounds were fairly empty. They totally lost their motivation to continue the battles.

—

“Phew~” Mo Fan let out a deep breath.

His eyes were fixed on the student in front of him…

This student was an expert ranked one hundred and twenty-fourth, who also had two Soul Seeds. After he adeptly used Earth Wave to dodge his Basic Spells, Mo Fan had no choice but to utilize the full strength of his Fire and Lightning Elements!

Mo Fan found those with both Fire and Earth Elements the most annoying. The Basic Earth Spell, Earth Wave, allowed them to dodge his Fire Burst perfectly, while the Intermediate Earth Spell, Rock Barrier was the perfect counter to his Thunderbolt. Mo Fan was most likely going to waste lots of energy fighting against someone with perfect evasion and defense!

Mo Fan’s energy was already very limited after the prolonged duels.

“You should be content with how far you’ve come. Your ideas about Magic are very unique. You’re willing to spend your resources on Basic Spells. If it weren’t for the low energy cost of the Basic Spells, you wouldn’t be able to come this far…” The one hundred and a twenty-fourth ranked female student, Li Yujie glanced at Mo Fan proudly.

“What are you feeling proud of? Since you’re so confident with your defense, I’ll crush it with brute strength!” Mo Fan was infuriated. He had never seen a girl feeling proud when she was taking advantage of someone’s precarious situation!

Following his furious roar, scorching Rose Flames burst out from Mo Fan’s body like rolling lava. The flames turned into liquid, breaking through Li Yujie’s defense violently.

“Rose Flame: Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!”

Mo Fan had no intention to waste more time with his opponent. If he continued to preserve his strength and energy, it would only cost more of it in the end!

He had to admit that Li Yujie’s defense with the cerulean Earth Soul Seed was fairly outstanding, able to stop every attack he had cast so far…

However, the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls was famous because of how violent it was, Mo Fan would not believe that it was not enough to blast through the Rock Barrier!

As the Fiery Fist struck the ground, the whole place began to tremble.

The surface of the ground burst open, as a shocking fire pillar jetted out with scorching lava!

Following it, the second and third fire pillars appeared simultaneously…

Nine astonishing pillars appeared consecutively, producing a formation of Nine Halls. The dueling ground was blazing red, as the fire pillars combined into a scorching lava pool!

Mo Fan who was engulfed in flames at the center of the Nine Halls uttered a roar. The power of the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls reached its limit, as the fire pillars, the flames and the lava combined into the strongest energy, breaking through Li Yujie’s Soul Seed’s defense!

The cerulean rocks were burned red, and were shattered into pieces by the impact produced by the fire pillars…

Li Yujie had the Earth Element, thus she did not specifically prepare an outstanding defensive equipment. As her second-tier Rock Barrier broke into pieces, she no longer had any defensive measures.

“Quick, save her…” Wei Rong urged Bai Mei to interfere when the situation went out of control.

Bai Mei was also worried that Li Yujie would be turned into ashes by the terrifying flames from the Nine Halls. When he was about to make his move, he suddenly realized that Mo Fan had withdrawn the flames forcibly…

The scorching flames dispersed fairly quickly. The jetting fire pillars disappeared into the ground, leaving a scorched land behind.

In the midst of the remaining flames, Li Yujie backed off in a panic. She blushed when she realized that the destructive attack had vanished.

“I…I lost,” Li Yujie lowered her head. Despite feeling unwilling, she could no longer stay on the stage.

Her opponent had controlled the flames perfectly. If it were someone else who was proud, he would not have withdrawn the power of the Nine Halls in time.

Li Yujie wore a complicated gaze when Mo Fan withdrew his magic.

Not everyone could easily fully withdraw a devastating attack within a second, unless he had no intention to harm her right from the beginning…

Translator: Xephiz

Editor: Aelryinth

Bai Mei and Wei Rong let out a relieved sigh when they saw Li Yujie was perfectly unharmed.

“This student knows his limits,” Bai Mei said to Wei Rong thoughtfully.

Wei Rong coldly harrumphed as a response.

He cast a glance at the heavily panting Mo Fan. It was obvious that his energy was close to depletion after the prolonged battles.

If another expert ranked close to the hundredth appeared, he would most likely be defeated.

Having seventy-nine people defeated by a single person in a row had already cost the Fire School their face. Most importantly, he was only a transfer student!

Not only was the dueling ground crowded with students from the other Elements, even the Elemental Directors were here. Wei Rong had not wanted it to catch so much attention in the first place.

He hesitated for a while, before saying to the seemingly tired Mo Fan on the stage, “Let’s call it an end. Shall we, Mo Fan?”

“What end, call the next one!” said Mo Fan.

“I take back all my words. You have proven your point with your strength,” Wei Rong compromised.

“Do you really think I’m doing this because of what you said?” Mo Fan shifted his focus toward Zheng Jiahui, who was left speechless in astonishment.

A while ago, Mo Fan met a young man at Hangzhou who had only achieved the Basic Level. He was given odd jobs in the military, as he had nowhere to go, but even when facing the army that consisted millions of White Magic Falcons and a Super Magician, he never backed off, not even a single step. Mo Fan was extremely touched by the kid who had now lost his soul, and then he stumbled into Zheng Jiahui, who was in a similar spot as the kid. On top of trying to stop the endless challenges, he also wanted to help him, yet the timidity that Zheng Jiahui had shown him was ridiculous!

Everyone had the right to be scared of death, yet in the school, when there was no threat to his life, he still could not gather his courage or find the determination to take on the challenge before him… It was a selfish reaction, and had nothing to do with being weak or timid!

Normally, Mo Fan would not bother wasting his time on someone who had given up on himself, but when he recalled the sacrifice that Wang Xiaojun had made, he suddenly felt furious toward Zheng Jiahui.

Mo Fan was not trying to bring the Fire School to shame. He was actually trying to put Zheng Jiahui to shame!

“You’ve wasted too much energy from your Fire and Lightning Elements. How are you going to face the rest of the challengers, unless you’re keen to apologize to the whole school,” said Wei Rong.

“Cut the bullshit, hurry up and call the next one!” said Mo Fan.

If any phrase could describe Mo Fan’s situation, it was definitely ‘You have to fulfill the boast you’ve made, even if it means fighting on your knees!’

“I’ve given you the chance. Next, ranked one hundred and eleventh, Liu Qian!” Wei Rong yelled out the name of the next challenger.

—

The girls at the dueling ground screamed when they heard the name.

Liu Qian might not be the strongest in the school, but he was definitely the White Prince in the girls’ heart. He was very handsome, thus all the girls who challenged him did not do so to take his ranking, but to have a chance to stand in front of him.

Even though everyone in the school was a noble Intermediate Magician, and such naive actions should not take place here, the fact was many girls had done it before.

Huang Xingli turned toward Liu Qian with an excited look, before blurting out happily, “So you challenged him, too? That’s great. It’s time to put an end to this, and your reputation is definitely going to improve, too!”

“To be honest, I’m more willing to be the first to challenge him, instead of taking advantage of his precarious situation now. However, someone has to do it in the end, and it just happened to be my turn,” replied Liu Qian with his usual smile.

Huang Xingli nodded. There was a saying that those who were handsome would have better luck, too. It turned out that the saying was true!

The demon king who had defeated seventy-nine students in a row was going to be defeated by a handsome prince. This was definitely the best ending! As a matter of fact, she never expected the transfer student to be this strong when she first saw him.

Liu Qian slowly rose to his feet. Under the fiery gaze of the girls and the jealous gazes of the boys, he slowly walked down to the stage.

He wore a gentle smile and glanced at Mo Fan with gkeaming eyes, “To be honest, I’m fairly impressed by your capabilities. I’m pretty sure that you can easily fight your way into the top fifty, yet unfortunately, you’re about to take my ranking of one hundred and eleventh.”

“Who do you think is more handsome between us?” Mo Fan suddenly asked a strange question.

Liu Qian was stunned. He could only think, -What the heck?-

He hesitated for a while, before saying in a humble tone, “We’ve got our own merits.”

“Hypocrite,” said Mo Fan calmly.

Liu Qian responded with a chuckle, “If I answered me, you would say that I’m arrogant.”

Mo Fan shook his head and said, “I called you a hypocrite because of your first sentence. As for the answer to who’s more handsome, what do you mean by ‘we have our own merits’? Please, my handsomeness totally outmatches yours!”

The smile on Liu Qian’s face stiffened. He immediately thought, -Does this guy have some kind of mental disorder?-

On second thought, Liu Qian slowly accepted it. After all, a man with a high ego was expected to be jealous when the girls were screaming his opponent’s name.

“I won’t waste my time further on those boring questions of yours. Your winning spree ends here,” Liu Qian’s reply was cold. He no longer showed any mercy to the disdainful Mo Fan.

Mo Fan stood there. He did not panic because his energy had depleted. He waited patiently for Wei Rong to declare the start of the battle.

—

Wei Rong was still hesitant. He did not announce the battle to begin straight away, as if he were showing his kindness by giving Mo Fan some extra time to replenish his energy. It was extremely tough to last through so many battles like him.

“Qian Kun, this transfer student from your Lightning School is quite remarkable. Has he come here purposely to kick our asses? I don’t think you’re willing to let such a great talent go,” said Bai Mei, when he saw the Elemental Director of the Lightning School.

“What do you mean, my student?” asked Qian Kun with a confused look.

Wei Rong turned his heard too and asked, “He’s a transfer student, and his secondary Element is Lightning. How is he not your student?”

“I don’t know him!” said the Elemental Director of the Lightning School.

“There are so many students, perhaps you didn’t remember him?” said Bai Mei with a smile.

“Impossible, our Lightning School has far fewer students. I know every single one of them. This kid is not from my Lightning School,” said Qian Kun sternly.

Wei Rong and Bai Mei were astounded. They exchanged glances with one another.

If this guy didn’t transfer from the Lightning School, which Element did he come from?

“Err, I think that student…” The Elemental Director of the Summoning Element seemed to have something to say.

Translator: Xephiz

Editor: Aelryinth

The teachers glanced at the Elemental Director of the Summoning School with puzzled looks. They did not understand why the Summoning School was even related to this.

“Well… from what I can recall, we did have someone called Mo Fan among the new students. I just received his details today,” said Yi Yuquan.

Bai Mei, Wei Rong, and Qian Kun burst out laughing. They all assumed that Yi Yuquan was joking with them.

“So you’re telling me that this kid is an Advanced Magician with three Elements?” said Wei Rong.

Bai Mei nodded too. The Advanced Magicians had all graduated from the school. There was no way Mo Fan would have reached such a high level.

“Take a look yourself, I still have the information in my phone,” Yi Yuquan unlocked his phone and gave it to the teachers.

The documents clearly stated that the student Mo Fan had transferred from the Summoning Element to the Fire Element, and it was approved quite recently.

Following this, the teachers exchanged glances with one another, before staring at the stage where Mo Fan was about to begin his next battle!

——

“Someone arrogant like you will have a hard time surviving in the main campus.” Liu Qian totally gave up on being friendly toward Mo Fan.

“Only those with average strength like you need to fawn upon the others. For me, if someone is not convinced of my strength, we’ll settle it with a fight,” Lunar-white Stars gradually appeared around Mo Fan as he spoke.

The Stars were fairly unique. The glow they emitted was different from the other Elements. The rays only flickered within a certain distance, as if they were protecting the area that belonged to them, aloof yet mysterious.

The Stars connected with one another. There were seven of them, rapidly combining into a slightly curved arc.

The line seemed to be tearing the space apart slowly, revealing the passage to another world. It eventually turned into a gap.

The crowd glanced at Mo Fan’s odd Spell with confused looks. The Summoning Element was extremely unfamiliar to many of them.

As the crowd was wondering how Mo Fan was going to continue with the battle, an intimidating howl was heard coming from the gap!

A strong gust of wind swept the dueling ground, and a beastly aura lingered in the surroundings.

Things like auras were not stoppable by the defensive barriers. The students immediately showed fear on their faces. Those who were rather knowledgeable could tell what it was straight away. It was the presence of a Warrior-level creature!

“Summoning… Summoning Element!” blurted out Wei Rong in astonishment.

A majestic wolf-like creature leapt out from the gap. Its body was covered in runes.

Its size was not enormous, but its physique seemed fairly slender, yet did not lack the presence of strength!

Its long hair drifted in the wind as its sharp claws penetrated the ground. The beast raised its handsome, fierce head.

The stare it was giving to Liu Qian seemed to be hinting that he was not a worthy opponent!

“Damn it, this kid has three Elements!” Wei Rong cursed in shock.

“Could this Mo Fan be the guy ranked fifth on the Innate Talent Leaderboard, the one with Double Innate Elements?” yelled Qian Kun.

“I believe so, but I thought he died during his exchange!”

The teachers were stunned.

They thought Mo Fan’s winning spree was about to come to an end, as the energy of his Fire and Lightning Element had depleted. However, when they saw the magnificent Swift Star Wolf, they had no choice but to reevaluate the possible outcome of the battle.

—

Among the crowd, many who were initially seated rose to their feet. Their eyes, which had almost popped out, clearly displayed their thoughts.

-What the heck is going on!?-

It suddenly felt like they had failed basic algebra!

Three…three Elements?

“Is this guy an Advanced Magician!?” screamed Huang Xingli.

“I finally recalled why his name sounds so familiar.” Ding Yuming’s eyes were fixed on Mo Fan.

“Who exactly is he?” said Huang Xingli.

“The person ranked fifth on the Innate Talent Leaderboard, Double Innate Elements. He used to be very popular in the Azure Pearl Campus. He single-handedly challenged all the students with only his Summoning Element, and was given the title, the Demon King,” said Ding Yuming with gleaming eyes.

As a matter of fact, Ding Yuming never cared about the things that took place at the Azure Pearl Campus. However, her sister was involved in the incident at the stadium. As she recalled that series of events, she remembered that the person who saved her was called Mo Fan.

Therefore, Ding Yuming had spent some time looking up information about Mo Fan. Unfortunately, a short time after he had exposed his Double Innate Elements, he had died during training, yet he had reappeared alive and well, and still as ruthless as usual!

—

On the stage, Liu Qian’s calm, confident look had disappeared.

F**k me!

He should be a lamp with its oil depleted. Where did his third Element come from!?

It would still be fine if he had only summoned an ordinary creature. Liu Qian was not easily intimidated by a Summoned beast. To his surprise, it was a Swift Star Wolf, which had a fairly outstanding lineage among the wolf species. This Summoned beast, which was well-known for his speed, was like an assassin to Magicians without defensive abilities!

ROAR~!

The Swift Star Wolf did not show any mercy to Liu Qian, quickly lunging at a terrifying pace.

The sharp claws danced wildly as they approached Liu Qian, forming a net of blades, trying to shatter everything in front of them into pieces!

Liu Qian was taken by surprise. He quickly summoned his shield equipment.

A round shield appeared in front of Liu Qian. The claws collided with the shield, generating piercing screeches.

Liu Qian was not satisfied with the situation. The shield equipment was more or less his final trump card, yet he was already forced to use it at the beginning. If he were careless in the battle, he would be severely injured by the beast.

Liu Qian had underestimated the Swift Star Wolf’s strength. It was no battle to begin with. The Swift Star Wolf utilized his outstanding speed to attack Liu Qian from different angles. The magic shield was unable to match the wolf’s speed!

Liu Qian tried to attack, but his Magic could not even touch the Swift Star Wolf’s hair, let alone inflicting any damage on him!

At that moment, Liu Qian found himself in a miserable situation!

With his strength, he could easily defeat a few ordinary Intermediate Magicians, yet a Swift Star Wolf that was troublesome for Intermediate Magicians was too much for him to handle.

The fight had turned into a one-sided victory!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The students lost their minds.

The only words that could describe the strength of the Swift Star Wolf were… fierce and violent!

The one hundred and eleventh-ranked Liu Qian was an expert with two Soul Seeds. His mastery of the Spells was greater than Li Yujie, yet not a single Spell managed to hit the Swift Star Wolf before the duration of his shield equipment ran out.

The Swift Star Wolf seemed to be fooling around with his opponent. He purposely waited until the Fiery Fist was executed before dodging it.

The Swift Star Wolf opened his mouth and spat out a wild gust of wind. The strong wind blew the dust, which howled swiftly across the dueling ground.

The wind was a few times stronger than the Intermediate Wind Spell, Wind Disc. Liu Qian, who had lost his defense, could only face it with his bare hands. His fairly average armor only slightly reduced the force of the attack.

The Swift Star Wolf did not give Liu Qian any chance to catch his breath. As the dust was still drifting in the wind, he sprang forward at his greatest pace. His figure was only a flicker in the midst of the sandstorm.

A great shadow loomed over the Swift Star Wolf. The students watching the duel inhaled deeply when they felt the violent beastly aura from the beast.

Once the shadow devoured the Swift Star Wolf, he rammed into the armored Liu Qian. Liu Qian had no time to draw the Stars of his next Intermediate Spell. He was instantly knocked flying when the armed Swift Star Wolf rammed into him like a truck.

Liu Qian slammed heavily into the defensive barrier, spitting out mouthfuls of blood from the impact.

He dropped to the ground. His previously well-groomed hair was now disheveled, while his face was pale white.

He was still conscious, yet it felt like his inner organs had been dislocated from the impact. If it weren’t for his equipment, he might have had trouble even surviving the collision.

The girls who had their eyes fixed on Liu Qian could feel their hearts breaking. It was definitely something they were unwilling to see…

The truth was, having a handsome appearance was not directly proportional to the strength one had. Even though Mo Fan’s Fire and Lightning Elements had depleted, Liu Qian still was unable to defeat one of his Elements… and he was completely messed up!

Liu Qian did not have the courage to continue the duel. He furiously left the stage.

Huang Xingli quickly ran forward, trying to lend a hand to the severely injured Liu Qian.

Liu Qian was feeling extremely unpleasant. He impatiently ignored Huang Xingli’s kindness and disappeared from the crowd. He even rejected Teacher Bai Mei’s offer to treat his wounds!

“His ego is hurt, so he is showing his temper, too.” Bai Mei glanced at the angry Liu Qian and shook his head.

Huang Xingli stood there with a blank face. She was thunderstruck when she saw the hint of disgust in Liu Qian’s eyes.

Huang Xingli returned to her seat in disappointment. The person she admired the most had only cast a disgusted glance at her, and it felt like her entire world had become dimmer.

Ding Yuming sat beside her, not knowing how to comfort her.

A girl like Huang Xingli was used to judging a book by its cover. As a matter of fact, everyone had their own personalities. A fairly good cover did not necessarily mean good character…

Although this world did emphasize looks a lot, it was essential to keep the admiration just on the looks. It was unwise to have high expectations on other aspects too…

—–

Among the spectators, Zheng Jiahui was totally dumbfounded.

Even the famous Liu Qian was defeated. Adding him to the count, the maniac on the stage had already defeated eighty people in a row!

Even those ranked in the top fifty would have trouble doing the same!

Meanwhile, Mo Fan simply sat on the ground and began meditating.

More than half of the challengers were left. If he could not recover some energy in time, it would be impossible for him to handle the upcoming duels. Although there was no way Mo Fan would apologize to each student of the Fire School after he lost, he felt like if he failed to stay true to his words when he had just come back to school, it would ruin his image.

He had to regain his title of the demon king!

“Next… Yu Zhenchao!”

“Sir, can I not go?” The student called Yu Zhenchao began to regret his decision.

If it were a battle between Magicians, Yu Zhenchao would not mind showing his face on the stage. However, he totally lost his courage when he saw Mo Fan’s summoned beast.

Even though the Summoned beast was under Mo Fan’s control, it was still a beast, with no compassion or mercy. If the beast somehow tore his stomach open, he would suffer great pain, even if it did not cost him his life.

“Move your ass up there. Otherwise, I’ll expel you from the Fire School, you useless prick!” Wei Rong cursed him furiously.

Wei Rong could not help but admit that there was indeed lots of trash in his Fire School. Eighty people had gone up, yet they still could not take Mo Fan down. Even if he had Double Innate Elements, the class should not have found itself in such a terrible situation!

The challengers were not ordered based on their ranks. Currently, those ranked higher than two hundred still managed to hold on a little longer. After all, people with double Soul Seeds were capable of fighting a Warrior-level creature…

That being said, “capable of fighting” and “defeating” were two completely different things.

And unfortunately for the challengers, the most outstanding trait of the wolf species was their endurance. The beast did not seem worn out after the continuous battles. It was even recovering its energy during the fights!

As a result, the number of defeated challengers stacked up rapidly. The challenges had now lasted from the morning until night. Some people among the crowd who had gone for meals were surprised when they discovered the place was still fully crowded when they came back!

“Double Innate Elements versus the Fire School, the count is now one hundred and thirty-nine people!”

“The Summoned Beast Swift Star Wolf is almost unbeatable! Those ranked lower than one hundred, please make way!”

“The transfer student is on an impossible mission. The Fire School is losing its face!”

All kinds of topics were spreading between everyone’s mobile phones. Initially, the challenges were only made known between the different Element schools, but now even those outside of the school knew about this. Soon, other institutes would know about it, too!

Most of the new students were familiar with the demon king Mo Fan. They quickly dug out all the news about him in the past. The crowd immediately came to a realization. It turned out that the maniac had not just appeared out of nowhere, but he had somehow returned from death in one piece, and was now trampling the Pearl Institute’s Main Campus in his wrath!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sky had turned dark. The starry night rose above the open-air dueling ground.

The Swift Star Wolf was worthy of his name, as the power of the stars granted him strong recovery capabilities.

The Wolf, which was well known for its endurance and stamina, fought even more fiercely after its special runes began absorbing the power of the stars. The Swift Star Wolf would have a hard time fighting against many challengers at once, but in one-on-one battles, those ranked below one hundred had no chance of defeating him.

As the Swift Star Wolf continued to stack up his stat sheets, Mo Fan took advantage of this time to recover his energy.

He did not cast any Intermediate Spells, as his energy was only sufficient to cast a few of them. However, that was not the case with his Basic Spells.

Those who were ranked slightly higher were often relatively experienced in battles. They were able to kite the Swift Star Wolf around, or even inflict some damage to him. When Mo Fan joined the battle with his extraordinary lightning field, and a Fire Burst with half the power of an Intermediate Spell, his opponents who were ranked beyond one hundred had a hard time against them.

Initially, when it was only going up against Mo Fan, the students had already found it troublesome. Now, with the Summoned Beast and its Summoner teaming up, the situation was a lot worse.

Mo Fan clearly knew he would be fighting for a prolonged time, or maybe he was just too experienced at bullying people. He knew how to preserve his energy so he could still face the rest of the challengers.

————-

The numbers continued to stack up. As a matter of fact, only some of the duels could be considered a fair and just battle. Those beyond the four hundredth rank basically gave up straight away. Those ranked close to two hundred were like practice dummies. Their only hope was on the students with two Soul Seeds that were ranked higher than one hundred and forty, who might be able to end the battle when both the demon king and his Summoned Beast were tired.

“This Mo Fan is an absolute headache. The dean has already told him to keep a low-profile. Instead of avoiding troubles, he simply challenged the entire Fire School. Is this what he thinks ‘keeping a low-profile’ means?” Mr. Gu Han had arrived, rubbing his temples.

-He’s not at the main campus. Why can’t he, a new student be more modest!- Despite his grumbling, when Mr. Gu Han saw Mo Fan standing on the stage, his eyes were filled with relief.

-This kid…

-It’s good that you’re alive.-

As long as he was still stirring up trouble in the school… That’s all he could ask for.

——

Wei Rong could no longer stand watching the duels. If anyone were currently suffering the most mentally, it was definitely this Elemental Director.

He was deeply regretful at this time. What was he thinking, trying to show this kid a bad time right away, just because Dean Xiao had handled the transferral application himself? He ended up giving himself a great headache. How was his Fire School going to retain their reputation in front of the other Elements?

“Next, ranked one hundred and first, Zhao Ji,” Wei Rong yelled out with a tired voice.

Wei Rong had been teaching at the campus for many years, yet it was his first time feeling so dreadful when reading out the challenger’s name. It was like his heart had been sucked dry.

He had forced many arrogant students to submit to his will, yet he had completely lost his temper against this particular transfer student.

As the one hundred and first ranked Zhao Ji walked up to the stage, the eyes of the spectators immediately glinted, especially those from the Fire School, like a flicker of hope in the midst of despair.

“It’s Zhao Ji, he’s surely the strongest among all the challengers!”

Those who were ranked in the top one hundred were not allowed to challenge someone with a lower rank, thus most of them were clenching their teeth, as Mo Fan had stolen all their attention.

“I’ve already known that those ranked below one hundred are a bunch of idiots. Today, this transfer student has finally proven my point. If I, Kun Le were to challenge him, I could easily defeat him and his pet!” a student ranked in the top one hundred said disdainfully.

“That’s right, the experts in the top one hundred were not allowed to challenge him. How infuriating, to see a transfer student doing whatever he wants.”

“To be honest, you so-called experts are all hypocrites. None of you treated him seriously at the beginning, and now you’re boasting!” countered a female student with a rather straightforward character.

Mo Fan had infuriated the entire Fire School without a doubt, yet the students from the other Elements were impressed by his courage and capabilities, unlike those who always pretended how talented they were. Those false-faced people were looking down at him, yet their restlessness had already betrayed their intents.

“Rank one hundred is like the dividing point. If Mr. Wei Rong placed him at the fiftieth rank, this mess would be over by now. Now, we can’t do anything but bear the humiliation together with those low-ranked idiots. Double Innate Elements? I don’t think it’s really that impressive. It’s not like he’s the only person with an innate talent. What do you say, Dongfang Ming?” said a girl with a bowl cut.

Dongfang Ming’s lips twisted, but he said nothing.

The girl obviously had no idea, and added, “Dongfang Ming, why are you so quiet?”

Dongfang Ming rolled his eyes. He was not in the mood to talk.

Initially, he had a great chance of joining the Enforcement Union after graduating from the school. He was already a probationary judge, yet he somehow stumbled into Mo Fan, who destroyed the path that his family had laid down for him.

Dongfang Ming clearly remembered that during his battle against Mo Fan, the latter did not even use his Summoned Beast.

He also had a Shadow Element equipment, which he had not used so far in the duels.

This Mo Fan had only used his Blood Tabi right at the beginning. God knows what luxurious equipment he still had. One who was rich enough to level up his Basic Spells to the fourth-tier could not possibly only have a pair of boots!

“His Summoned Beast is completely exhausted. This Zhao Ji has a high chance of winning the duel. He must be the strongest among all the challengers,” said someone in the crowd.

Zhao Ji did find himself with a huge advantage. The Swift Star Wolf was obviously not as fast as before, and his attacks were weaker.

The Swift Star Wolf was also covered in wounds. Since it was the Fire School, every challenger had the Fire Element, and some of their flames had prolonged burning effects. As the wounds stacked up, it was severe enough to influence his movement.

Mo Fan sent the Swift Star Wolf back to his home dimension, concerned about the Wolf’s recovery.

—

When Mo Fan withdrew the beast, the Elemental Directors were startled.

“Don’t tell me that he still has a Contracted Beast!” Wei Rong was left speechless.

Contract Summoning was the Intermediate Spell of the Summoning Element. Normally, a Contract Summoning would be a few times stronger than a beast Summoned through the Dimensional Summoning.

If Mo Fan had also achieved the Intermediate Level with his Summoning Element and summoned a Contract Beast that was stronger than the Swift Star Wolf, his Fire School was about to be wiped out!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The teachers opened their eyes wide. Bai Mei said, “He has three Elements to cultivate. His Fire and Lightning Elements are quite impressive. If his Summoning Element has also achieved the Intermediate Level, isn’t his cultivation rate a bit too terrifying?”

The teachers let out relieved sighs when they discovered that Mo Fan was not casting the Intermediate Summoning Spell.

They were almost scared to death by this guy. It was a relief that he did not have a Contracted Beast.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan’s Summoning Element had already reached the Intermediate Level. He could also cast the Spell adeptly. The problem was, he did not have enough money to buy a suitable Contracted Beast.

Among the Contracted Beasts he had seen, those that could match the Swift Star Wolf’s strength after they matured were forty million RMB or above. It was rather meaningless to buy a Contracted Beast that was weaker than the Swift Star Wolf.

Zhao Ji was soaked in cold sweat on the dueling ground.

When he discovered that Mo Fan did not have a Contracted Beast, he could not help but chuckle. Everyone already knew about the duels, and if he ended up defeating the demon king, it would be a great boost to his reputation. His clan would take him seriously from now on!

Zhao Ji knew that Mo Fan was running out of energy. He did not give him any chance to catch his breath. The Intermediate Fire Spell was already burning on his right fist.

Meanwhile, his figure was surrounded by glowing shields. The golden glow formed a full circle of protection around him, shielding him inside perfectly.

Despite the power of Mo Fan’s Basic Spells, he was unable to blast Zhao Ji’s Light Element shields away. Zhao Ji was using a Spirit-grade Light Element Soul Seed, granting him a sturdier defense.

Mo Fan hated fighting against Magicians with Fire and Earth Elements. Similarly, Mo Fan was not a fan of the Light Element either, as it perfectly countered his Shadow Element.

“Qianjun: Thunderbolt: Yaksha!”

Mo Fan cast an Intermediate Spell without hesitation. His finger swiped across the night sky, summoning a purple-black storm cloud above Zhao Ji. Following the flicker on his fingertip, a wide thunderbolt plummeted toward the ground.

In the midst of striking down, it forked into several lightning arcs, like a black claw tearing the air apart. The place began to tremble before the formidable power.

The power of Thunderbolt: Yaksha was fairly shocking. It was pretty much Mo Fan’s strongest attack besides the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls. However, it felt like the cunning Zhao Ji was baiting Mo Fan to cast an Intermediate Spell. When he saw the Thunderbolt, he quickly extinguished the fire on his right fist and cast a Light Element Spell.

“Light Protection: Rampart!”

Several golden rays intertwined above Zhao Ji, forming a floating golden wall.

The Thunderbolt struck the glowing wall. However, it felt like its power was being absorbed. The destructive Spell was quickly nullified without causing much destruction.

The purple-black lightning arcs broke down rapidly on the Light Protection: Rampart, soon disappearing from the surface of the wall.

“Trying to defeat me in one blow? How much energy do you have left to fight against me?” Zhao Ji asked with a sinister grin.

Mo Fan was not bothered by Zhao Ji’s provocation. He stood on the spot, like a lamp that was running out of fuel.

“It’s time for you to pay the price,” Zhao Ji’s right fist was engulfed in flames once again.

The flames that were spreading in all directions quickly gathered on his wrist, a strong energy bursting out from it.

“Fiery Fist: Groundbreak!” Zhao Ji also had a Spirit-grade flame. The power of his Fiery Fist: Groundbreak was comparable to Li Yujie’s.

The blazing red flames lit up the entire stage. Mo Fan was forced to use his Departing Nether Shield. He quickly backed off, trying to avoid the region with the strongest power.

The Departing Nether Shield had blocked most of the power, but the scorching flames managed to penetrate it, burning Mo Fan’s favorite shirt into ashes, and revealing his scorched chest.

The flames covered Mo Fan’s figure. If it weren’t for his fire resistance, his body would most likely be beyond recognition after the burning.

The Departing Nether Shield had blocked the tremendous force that could burn him into ashes, yet the lingering burning effect still applied.

Mo Fan was injured. He clenched his teeth in pain as he was burned. A few parts of his body were obviously scorched.

Zhao Ji wore a smile when he saw the damage he had inflicted on his opponent. His victory was just around the corner.

His Light Protection: Rampart had already disappeared. Basically, he only needed to throw his fist at Mo Fan to end the battle.

The scorching flames continued to burn on the stage. Mo Fan stood in the midst of the fire, holding his Departing Nether Shield. The light of the fire revealed a strange grin on his face.

Suddenly, a long spike thrust forward from the Departing Nether Shield!

It was the counterattack of the Departing Nether Shield, the Departing Nether Spike!

It penetrated the scorching flames and appeared in front of Zhao Ji within the blink of an eye.

The Departing Nether Spike was like a cold sword piercing through the night sky. It swept across the burning zone of fire. Zhao Ji had no idea it existed until the icy spike that could penetrate everything was already coming toward him.

“Rock Barrier!” Wei Rong reacted fairly quickly and cast an Earth Spell.

No one had seen him drawing the Stars. A Rock Barrier suddenly emerged in front of Zhao Ji.

The Departing Nether Spike penetrated the Rock Barrier. Its tip was inches away from Zhao Ji’s face.

Zhao Ji broke out in cold sweat, his body froze in place. He stared at the Rock Barrier in front of him in disbelief, before glancing at the Departing Nether Spike that had almost taken his life.

“Zhao Ji, you’re already dead if you’re fighting against a demon beast. You’ve lost the fight,” Wei Rong harrumphed coldly.

Zhao Ji totally lost his mind. He never thought Mo Fan, who had already used up all his energy would lunge back at him like a poisonous scorpion’s last struggle. He had lost the important duel just because he had lowered his guard too early.

He raised his head, and saw the burns on Mo Fan’s body. He gathered his remaining dignity after suffering the loss, and sneered, “Injuring you is more than enough!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The students of the Fire School were desperate. They never thought the strongest student among the challengers, Zhao Ji, would lose too.

Zhao Ji was too careless. It was already a win for him, yet he somehow lost the battle due to a counterattack.

That being said, the shield equipment was rather unique, to be able to counter-attack. No one could have predicted it!

Most importantly, the demon king was indeed injured by Zhao Ji’s Fiery Fist, and was on the verge of losing the duel. Who knew that the shield equipment would cost him the victory!

“This Departing Nether Shield isn’t very sturdy, but the counterattack isn’t bad. At least it was worth my money,” Mo Fan mumbled to himself as he put the Departing Nether Shield away.

He was going to burst into laughter, but the pain from the burns on his body stopped him from doing that. Luckily, his injuries were not too severe. Otherwise, he would be unable to focus enough to align the Stars, and lose the ability to fight.

—-

Zhao Ji walked down from the stage. He was still glaring at Mo Fan behind him viciously. He almost walked into a bulky man whose hair was dyed golden.

The man had a fair skin tone and a tall nose. His facial features were rather outstanding, similar to a Westerner, yet he still retained the looks of an Easterner, unlike Zhao Ji, whose face and skin were covered in strange black marks.

“So you’re here, too…I was so close to winning some reputation for our Zhao Clan. However, I bet he’s having a hard time from the flames. They are going to scorch his skin black if he doesn’t treat them now!” Zhao Ji said to the man with golden hair.

The man was half a head taller than Zhao Ji. He was staring down at Zhao Ji coldly.

Suddenly, the golden-haired man raised his hand and slapped Zhao Ji hard across the face!

The slap was remarkably loud, immediately attracting the attention of the crowd, who was discussing how they could possibly beat the demon king.

“Who’s that guy?”

“Yeah, he dared to hit the hundred and one-ranked Zhao Ji!”

“What’s going on? What just happened? I didn’t see it. Did you say Zhao Ji was hit?”

The crowd burst into an uproar. They clearly saw Zhao Ji taking a few steps backward after being hit. A tooth covered in blood had dropped to the ground, too.

How hard did that man slap him?!

Blood started leaking from Zhao Ji’s mouth. His gaze was filled with anger, yet he did not dare to show it on his face, which was full of disbelief.

“It’s only a duel that I’ve lost…” Zhao Ji protested, withholding his anger.

Those who were familiar with Zhao Ji found it unbelievable. Zhao Ji was the vengeful sort, so it made no sense that he did not fight back after being slapped in the face in front of the crowd. Didn’t he fell ashamed?

“Piss off from my sight, before I turn you into a cripple…” the golden-haired man glared at Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji’s status was clearly a lot lower than that person. Despite being humiliated, he did not dare to say a word more. He glanced at the tooth in front of his foot before leaving furiously.

“Fellow student, it’s unwise to use violence in the school,” Bai Mei said to the golden-haired man in an advising tone.

“Sir, I was attending a family matter. I’m sorry for the inconvenience caused,” the golden-haired man smiled, a completely different appearance from his previous icy look.

Wei Rong was aware of it, too. He was not happy when his student was struck, but when he saw Zhao Ji not daring to fight back, he immediately speculated that this golden-haired man had a formidable background, and decided not to intervene in their business.

Most people were clueless about what had just happened. Meanwhile, on the stage, Mo Fan whose upper body was completely exposed, uttered a laugh…

“It’s been half a year, yet your temper is still the same?” Mo Fan seemed to be extremely close with the golden-haired man. He greeted him from the stage.

“You are the same, too. If I hadn’t come to check out the huge challenges out of boredom, I wouldn’t even know you’d come back to school,” the golden-haired man responded with a laugh too, like old friends meeting one another.

“It was just a challenge,” said Mo Fan.

“I don’t care. All I care is that whoever hurts I, Zhao Manting’s friend, I will show no mercy, regardless of who they are. Besides, he’s just a dog raised by my clan,” declared Zhao Manting.

“Nice hair.”

“I thought the next time I saw you, you would be lying inside a coffin… Impressive, you’re participating in school activities so energetically,” Zhao Manting grinned with gleaming eyes.

The last time he saw Mo Fan, he had long hair reaching the ground, and body was shrouded by a demonic aura because of the experiment that Lu Nian and his crew were obsessed with.

He thought he would never see this guy again, after he turned into a demon to save their lives. To his surprise, Mo Fan was currently standing alive in front of him. Just like how he had taken all the resources from the new students back in the day, he was now challenging more than two hundred students from the Fire School in a row…

After confirming that Mo Fan was still alive, the burden in his heart was lifted.

As for that scum Zhao Ji who had injured his best brother, there was time to deal with him later.

Mo Fan had saved his life, so he was considered Zhao Clan’s benefactor. The Zhao Clan had given Zhao Ji his cultivation and his Soul Seeds, so slapping a tooth out from his mouth was barely even a punishment!

Zhao Manting did not want to disturb Mo Fan’s fun task of challenging the entire Fire School. He quickly found a spot and sat down with a girl who was wearing revealing clothing…

Mo Fan was speechless when he saw that Zhao Manting had another new girlfriend.

“Next, ranked four hundred and sixty-seventh…” Wei Rong read out the challenger’s name.

However, after Zhao Ji’s defeat, the challengers no longer posed any threat to Mo Fan. Those ranked after four hundred were easily defeated.

The number of challengers had exceeded two hundred, and the duels had lasted until late in the night. Normally, the students would be resting or meditating in their rooms, but the place was still fully crowded.

None of the challengers seemed to pose any threat to Mo Fan, even though he no longer had the energy to cast Intermediate Spells. They still could not handle his Basic Spells, despite his injuries.

However, the crowd discovered something that gave them hope. At long last, Mo Fan seemed to be extremely worn out.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan had almost lost his ability to fight after the battle against Zhao Ji. He only managed to win because of the Departing Nether Spike’s counterattack.

“We’ve finally depleted his energy. All we need is someone ranked in the top two hundred!”

“Not even, as long as they aren’t those idiots ranked after six hundred, we can basically finish him off!”

“I don’t understand why you are so excited. He defeated more than two hundred people from your school!” said a student from a different Element.

“Anything is better than getting wiped out completely. Otherwise, the Fire School would surely become a laughing stock.”

Everyone was intimidated by Mo Fan’s capabilities. They were starting to feel scared of the transfer student.

Most importantly, if this guy actually survived all the challenges, their Fire School would never be able to raise their heads in front of the other Elements!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Last challenger, ranked one hundred and seventy-third, Zhou Tong!” shouted Wei Rong after gathering his resolve.

Without anyone noticing, there was only a single challenger remaining. Even Wei Rong was slightly terrified of this transfer student now. Although the challengers took turns fighting him instead of battling against him at the same time, the number of people who he had defeated was enough to stack up into a wall.

When the students of the Fire School learned that the last challenger was ranked higher than two hundred, it felt like a glimpse of hope to them.

Even if Mo Fan managed to cast a Spell in the end, there was no way he would win the battle against an expert ranked in the top two hundred. It turned out that the heavens were still treating them fairly!

“This Zhou Tong is in luck, I should have put my name down too. Maybe I’d would have been the last challenger instead.”

“There’s nothing to be happy about. The transfer student had defeated more than two hundred students from our Fire School. I wouldn’t dare to say I’m from the Fire School anymore.”

“It’s still better than all of us getting wiped out!”

“True, that!”

The one hundred and seventy-third ranked Zhou Tong was everyone’s last hope.

Zhou Tong was a shorty, with an underbite. His appearance was fairly atrocious, yet his tiny eyes had a slightly arrogant look to them

He glanced at Mo Fan and chuckled like a rat before he said to Mo Fan, “I thought I was going to miss the chance to achieve the one hundredth rank since I registered way too late. What a surprise, you managed to last until now.”

Zhou Tong seemed to be talking with Mo Fan in an indifferent manner. The truth was, his deceitful eyes were occasionally looking at someone else.

That person was Liu Qian!

As a matter of fact, the two were merely associates with one another, yet when Liu Qian found out that Zhou Tong’s turn was at the very end, he had asked the last challenger to do him a favor.

Liu Qian wanted Mo Fan to be severely injured, serious enough for him to tie him to a bed for a few months.

If he succeeded, Liu Qian the moneybag would reward him greatly.

Liu Qian was definitely brooding about the transfer student. In Zhou Tong’s opinion, he only needed to do a fairly simple task for a great reward, since the transfer student was so worn out on the surface that he most likely could not even cast another Spell.

—–

Mo Fan stood there with a slightly pale face.

The battles had been going on for too long. His energy was finally depleted. Besides that, his injuries were getting worse. It was fairly impressive that he had managed to hold on until now.

“Mr. Wei Rong, please go ahead with the countdown. Don’t give him too much time to rest,” urged Zhou Tong, as if he could not wait to claim his victory.

Wei Rong nodded and announced the beginning of the battle.

As soon as he finished the announcement, a voice suddenly interrupted, with words directed at Wei Rong.

“That’s enough for today,” The crowd was unaware that Dean Xiao had also arrived at the dueling ground, who spoke out in time to stop the duel.

“Dean Xiao.”

“Dean.”

Some of the teachers politely offered their seats. Meanwhile, even though the Fire School was not under Dean Xiao’s control, he was still the institute’s dean, thus it was reasonable to respect him.

“Mo Fan, you’re coming down, too. There’s no need to make this into a ‘the fish dies or the net splits’ situation. It won’t bring any good to your development here at the Fire School,” Dean Xiao said to Mo Fan.

“Aye, you’re right,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Apologize to Mr. Wei Rong, and to your senior brothers and sisters in the Fire School. After all, you’re a freshman here…” Dean Xiao was obviously here to take control of the situation.

“Err…fine,” Mo Fan was not bullheaded. Since Dean Xiao had made his point clear, it was indeed unwise to continue on with the duel.

Mo Fan faced Wei Rong and apologized with his head lowered, before obeying Dean Xiao’s order by apologizing to the students of the Fire School.

The demon king seemed fairly sincere, yet the apology was neither painful nor itching for him. The students of the Fire School were dumbfounded.

Wasn’t he supposed to apologize to them one at a time? Did Dean Xiao seriously clear the guy’s offense by asking him to make such a simple apology?

“Dean Xiao, if we don’t let him apologize to them one by one, how is the Fire School going to retain its reputation in the Pearl Institute?” said Wei Rong softly.

“Oh Wei Rong, if the duel were to take place, this Zhou Tong won’t stand a chance against Mo Fan,” whispered Dean Xiao to Wei Rong.

Mr. Gu Han nodded. As a matter of fact, he already tried to give Wei Rong a hint.

“He no longer has the energy to fight. How could Zhou Tong possibly lose the duel?” said Wei Rong with his brows raised and a slight hint of anger.

Dean Xiao did not want too many people to know about Mo Fan’s true talent. After all, some things were better to be left secret as they started preparing for the World College Tournament. Exposing too much would not bring any advantage to them. As such, he whispered a few words into Wei Rong’s ears.

Wei Rong was not an idiot too. Even though Dean Xiao had vaguely touched upon it, he immediately broke out in cold sweat!

Wei Rong soon understood why Dean Xiao had come in person to take control of the situation… He was actually helping them to preserve the Fire School’s reputation!

It went without saying that Dean Xiao knew Mo Fan was a maniac who had four Elements. If the duel were to continue on, the stubborn Mo Fan would surely use his Shadow Element. There was no way Zhou Tong would have any chance against him. Considering that Mo Fan was going to represent their school in the World College Tournament, Dean Xiao had no intention of exposing Mo Fan’s fourth Element, since the World College Tournament was extremely important to their nation!

“If that’s the case, the challenges for today have officially come to an end,” Wei Rong did not dare to ask any further.

The few sentences that Dean Xiao had uttered already revealed enough information to him. Wei Rong did not dare to put the reputation of his Fire School at stake. Since Mo Fan had already apologized to him and the students, everyone was given a way out.

“We can’t let it end like this!”

“Let Zhou Tong fight him!”

“Yeah, it’s either the majority in the Fire School are trash just like he said, or he apologizes to every single one of us!”

The students of the Fire School were unsatisfied!

They demanded that Mo Fan apologize singly, as the humiliation they had suffered today was great. Otherwise, how could they possibly retain their face?

“Wasn’t he acting smug just then? Yes, he might be strong, and many of us admit that we are no match against him. Yet, that doesn’t mean we’ll let him trample our dignity and leave it just like that,” said one of the losers.

Mo Fan was initially the public enemy, and it was obvious that he was completely worn out and was obviously going to lose the duel. Most people had no intention of letting him go.

“Hey, those who are from the Fire School, enough with your shamelessness. I would feel too ashamed to even show my temper after over two hundred students from my school were defeated in a row. Are you seriously asking him to apologize to every one of you still? Don’t you feel embarrassed?” scolded Ai Tutu from within the crowd, who had come here early to watch the duels.

“That’s right, maybe he’s kind enough to forfeit the duel as he doesn’t want to put the Fire School in a worse spot, and you guys are still dropping stones on the man who has fallen into a well. Didn’t you hear that Dean Xiao and your Elemental Director have agreed to call it off? Meanwhile, you peeps who are jealous of the glory he has earned today are trying to protect your hilarious loss of dignity!” Many of the students from the other Elements were standing on Mo Fan’s side.

The people of the Fire School had always been proud and arrogant, not showing any respect to the other Elements. It gladdened their hearts to see the transfer student teaching the Fire School a lesson.

The students of the Fire School were even more infuriated after hearing those comments. They were even more determined not to let Mo Fan go so easily.

His apology to the whole school was nowhere enough. Many people were waiting for the scornful guy to lower his head and apologize to them one by one!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Wei Rong pulled a long face when he heard the objections from the students. His already rough look turned even fiercer and more intimidating.

“Enough!” Wei Rong yelled in a rough voice. His voice quickly covered the sound of the crowd, as if none of them dared to make any noise when Wei Rong clenched his brow. The students of the Fire School were fairly respectful of their Elemental Director.

Wei Rong glanced at the students of the Fire School and spoke, “Today, I’m totally disappointed by you all. It’s meaningless for the duel to keep going from this point onward. Initially, I desired every student in the Fire School to become an elite, an outstanding Magician, which is why I was strict to a transfer student whom I assumed had given up on his previous Element halfway.

“However, he has proven to everyone that he’s no weaker than most of the students from the Fire School. If you’re really not satisfied with the result, then fight him in a fair duel in the future, instead of stirring up a scene here to save a little bit of your dignity. Dignity is something you earn with your hands. I hope that one day, a student of our Fire School is able to defeat this transfer student at his peak! That will be the best justification to the school.”

Wei Rong’s words echoed in the students’ minds. Most of them were simply demanding an ending they could accept for the matter on hand, yet they had totally ignored the fact that they had lost the duels. Many began to feel ashamed.

Bai Mei nodded with a slight smile. If Wei Rong had done this earlier, he would have stopped the criticism from the other Elemental Schools.

“Mo Fan, down you go. Your injuries aren’t light at all. Any delay further might affect your recovery,” said Bai Mei.

Mo Fan nodded. He was indeed feeling extremely uncomfortable. Luckily, Dean Xiao had made it in time.

He went down from the stage, and as he passed by Dean Xiao, he murmured, “Old man, why did you come so late?”

Dean Xiao glared at him and responded, “Is it that hard to stay out of trouble?”

Mo Fan chuckled without commenting any further.

“Go ahead and treat your wounds,” Dean Xiao blurted out after he saw Mo Fan’s injuries.

Mo Fan quickly left the dueling ground. No matter how dissatisfied the people of the Fire School or the other Elements were, they had no choice but to leave the place. That being said, talk about the duels that had lasted from the morning to late at night were surely going to spread wildly through the school.

——

“It’s not too bad, the fire resistance granted by your Soul Seed’s flame is fairly strong. Someone else would suffer from lingering effects of the burn for a few months without getting treated in time. The Healing Magic I’ve given you can only treat the wounds on your skin, but there are still some lingering effects in your body. You’ll have to consume some countering medicine for a week,” said Bai Mei, after giving Mo Fan a thorough check-over.

Mo Fan nodded. From what he recalled, the lingering effect of a burn was something he should not underestimate. Otherwise, it might slowly penetrate his inner organs. By that time, Healing Magic would be fairly useless against it. He could only use a significant amount of medicine and other recovery Magic to heal it slowly. The medicine was relatively costly, and something that most hunters spent lots of money on.

“Thanks, Mr. Bai Mei,” said Mo Fan.

“By the way, something is a little strange about your body composition. Did your body go through some kind of irregular modification?” said Bai Mei all of a sudden.

“Is there something wrong about it?” asked Mo Fan.

“I can’t really tell. Normally, the injuries of those who are suffering from a burn will slowly worsen, posing a threat to their lives when the condition worsens to a certain level. However, I discovered that your wounds are already showing signs of recovery when you came down from the stage,” said Bai Mei.

“Isn’t that a good thing? It’s just showing that my body can heal faster.”

Bai Mei shook his head and continued after looking him up and down. “I wouldn’t mention it if it was a normal recovery. Something is a bit strange about your body. If possible, I suggest finding a more proficient Healer to give your body a thorough exam. I can sense some kind of irritable Element inside your body, and it’s not any Magic Element, White Magic or Dimensional Magic that we usually see. If anything, it bears similarities to Black Magic.”

Mo Fan glanced at Mr. Bai Mei in astonishment.

He had once acquired the power of the Demon Element. However, some aged Magicians in the Southern Military had confirmed that most of the residue of the Demon Element in his body had dissipated. This Bai Mei’s cultivation was fairly outstanding, otherwise, he would not be able to sense the remnants of it.

If the Demon Element could be considered an Element, it would surely be listed as a Black Magic.

Mo Fan could not help but be impressed by this teacher.

“Alright, I’ll ask around. Thanks, sir,” answered Mo Fan.

——

Mo Fan was worn out by the time he arrived back at his apartment.

Ai Tutu swung her large breasts around while talking to Mo Fan, who was lying on the couch continuously.

The girl seemed exceedingly excited. Her gleaming eyes were somewhat surprisingly displaying a slight hint of admiration toward Mo Fan.

On the other hand, Mu Nujiao was more worried about his injuries. She blamed him for stirring up trouble just after he had returned to school.

Mo Fan fell asleep halfway without knowing it. He was indeed too tired, but he did enjoy himself in the duels!

———-

Mo Fan woke up at midnight, and saw he was covered in a thick blanket. The previously lively living room was silent.

Mo Fan took a can of cider from the fridge and switched to lying on the balcony, where the air was much fresher.

“The overall strength of the students here at the main campus is a lot stronger than I imagined. Those born with innate Soul Seeds were only ranked slightly over a hundred in the Fire School. Doesn’t that mean lots of people ranked in the top one hundred have a chance to defeat me, and those ranked in the top fifty or even top ten are pretty much a bunch of monsters?” mumbled Mo Fan after taking a sip from the pineapple cider.

He was only in one of the Element Schools in the main campus. If all the Elements were combined, the number of experts would be comparable to the number of hairs on a cow. It was not an easy task for him to stand out among them.

He still had lots of room for improvement!

If he managed to find himself a Contracted Beast, his strength would improve significantly. He should try and level-up his Lightning Nebula to the third tier, too…

Not to mention his Shadow Element, which was still at the first tier. The Giant Shadow Spike: Twins was an extremely useful Spell. Last but not least, equipment: he only had two pieces of equipment. It was said that those ranked in the top fifty each had a set of equipment. If he were to fight against any of them, he would find himself at a disadvantage because of his equipment.

It seemed like he should be cultivating more diligently, to fill up the current gaps in his strength…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Sigh, his cultivation had not improved at all for half a year. It was not a good thing for him.

The competition in the main campus was more intense than what he had imagined, and the distribution of the resources was fairly straightforward.

In order to level up his Lightning Nebula to the third tier, he had to cultivate in the Three Step Tower.

The cultivation speed granted by the Little Loach Pendant was enough for Mo Fan to pass the accumulation period fairly quickly, but to have a breakthrough in his cultivation, he had to rely on external assistance from unique places like the Three Step Tower, which contained a high concentration of the Elemental Energy.

Only those ranked in the top fifty were allowed to cultivate in the Three Step Tower. He was currently ranked one hundredth, still a distance away from reaching his goal.

He also needed a week for his body to recover. Although he had cleared the challenges, there was no way he could challenge someone for the rest of the week…

“I should try and secure a higher rank in the second challenge week!” Mo Fan grabbed the can and emptied the cool cider into his throat after roughly setting his direction in mind.

The lingering effect from the burn was rather annoying. He kept feeling that something was burning in his body, giving him a dull pain. Drinking something icy did not necessarily make any difference, but it just felt so good!

——

The fourth week every month was the second challenge week.

In the first challenge week, Mo Fan was forced to take on consecutive challenges, but half a month later, it was his time to climb the ranking.

The resources given by the school were quite generous. If he could not secure the highest possible rank, his cultivation would fall behind fairly quickly.

After feeling that he had fully recovered after a week’s rest at home, Mo Fan recalled what Old Bao had mentioned and went to the Dongfang Oriental Tower with his beloved snake scales.

With the introductory letter in hand, Mo Fan went to the main hall of the Magic Association, and quickly located the armor forgemaster, Huo Tuo, who was rather famous inside the tower.

Huo Tuo was highly respected. He even had his own luxurious guest room in the Magic Association. Due to the height of the Magic Association’s location in the Oriental Pearl Tower, one could easily capture the most beautiful moment of the Huangpu River through the French windows…

The two most authoritative Magic Associations in the country were the Magic Palace in the capital, Beijing, and the Dongfang Pearl Magicians. Therefore, someone with a guest room like this was definitely no ordinary person. It seemed like this Old Bao was indeed a reclusive expert!

“Hi, I’m Mr. Huo’s disciple, Li Junnan,” said a young man in a neat attire politely.

“Oh, hello, I’m here for Mr. Huo. Is he in?” said Mo Fan as he glanced at the man with the shameless name.

{TL Note: Junnan means ‘handsome man’ in Chinese.}

“He is in, it’s just that his temper isn’t very good…” said Li Junnan softly.

“I understand, but Old Bao has told me that only Mr. Huo Tuo can handle the material I have, so I do hope you can tell him that,” Mo Fan said sternly and sincerely.

A constructor was usually an Earth Magician, while most of the forgemasters were Lightning and Fire Magicians. The rare bones, scales, and skin from demon beasts had a unique composition, which was impossible to break down with ordinary machinery. They had to rely on the forgemasters’ special Fires to smelt them, or Lightning to conduct electrolysis…

The process was similar to gold smelting. In order to turn gold into jewelry, they first smelted the gold, then used magical equipment to cool the gold down and solidify, forming the shape they needed.

Similarly, the material used to craft equipment had to be smelted first. Otherwise, how could the material they obtained from the demon beasts possibly be in usable shapes like boots, armor, bracelets, pendants, rings, and so on?

Besides, since the equipment was bound to the user’s soul, they needed to be activated prior to using them.

In this world, only the rare skin, bones, claws, scales, feathers and such of monstrous beasts contained the energy required to bind them to human souls, hence why many hunters were collecting them by hunting demon beasts in the wild. They were only interested in acquiring materials that could be bound to human souls for crafting equipment.

The scales Mo Fan was holding onto were rare scales of the snake species, but what exactly was the Black Totem Snake’s rank… A boss among bosses, a war machine among Ruler-level creatures! His rare scales was clearly too complicated to be worked by ordinary forgemasters, Old Bao had made that extremely clear to Mo Fan.

This Li Junnan was obviously sent by Huo Tuo to chase him away. Mo Fan went straight to the point instead of beating about the bush.

Li Junnan was not too happy when he heard Mo Fan’s words. He was a disciple taught by Huo Tuo himself, thus he could basically handle everything that his teacher was capable of. Besides, what could a twenty-year-old Magician possibly have, that he could not handle?

“Can you show me your rare scales?” Li Junnan still had enough manners to not fall out immediately. That being said, he was not someone with a great temper, either!

If the guy’s material was deemed worthless by his discerning eye, he would tell him to leave the tower, take the second line of the subway to East Nanjing station, then take the tenth line there to Tiantong Road Station. He would find lots of forgemasters at the stalls on Qipu Road.

{TL Note: Qipu Road is famous for having a clothing wholesale market.}

“Sure thing,” Mo Fan opened his bag and took out the blue-black snake scales.

The truth was, he only had two pieces of the snake scales, but due to the Black Totem Snake’s enormous size, the scales were basically as huge as a piece of garment.

The blue-black scales were placed on the table. They somehow resembled a piece of old leather that was just taken out from the furnace, instead of something glistening like a priceless treasure piece…

Why did it look so horrible? Mo Fan had no clue, since he had received it from Tangyue.

On second thought, if the scales were glistening, why would the Black Totem Snake take them off?

“What the heck is this black piece of shit, can you please…” Li Junnan coldly harrumphed. He was just about to teach Mo Fan how to take the subway, when he suddenly discovered something strange about the scales. They did not even have any snake marks. He should at least let the idiot know, “Have you heard of snake marks?”

“Yeah,” said Mo Fan.

“Your material is garbage.”

“Why is that?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“The rarer the snake, the finer the snake marks. Your scales don’t even have any snake marks on them. It’s totally black. Did you pull it from a Servant-class creature?” asked Li Junnan haughtily.

Mo Fan took a closer look. His material was indeed solid black, without any trace of a snake mark…

However… these were two pieces of the Black Totem Snake’s scales!

The snake marks were usually visible when looking at the whole snake. How could it possibly be visible on just two pieces of scales?

The slight hint of blue on the material was part of the marks!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Can I clarify that these scales aren’t the entire snake?” said Mo Fan.

Li Junnan burst out laughing. It did not matter if the scales took up an entire snake or half a snake, they still had no mark on them, hence they were garbage.

-Oh, I can’t really say they are garbage. These rare scales could be sold for millions, which this petty Magician probably considers a significant sum.-

Unfortunately, the material was far from worthy in his eyes.

Mo Fan pointed at the scales and said, “The mark is right there, the blue spot.”

Li Junnan snapped when he saw the man pestering him endlessly. “Do you think I’m blind? There’s nothing there! Take your stuff and leave!”

Mo Fan almost burst out crying. He tried to explain to the man, yet when he saw the infuriated look on his face, he knew that the man would never believe him.

“What’s with the noise here? Little Li, do you want to get sacked? Don’t you know that your master hates being disturbed the most?” yelled an old man whose brows, mustache, and hair were all purple.

Li Junnan hurriedly apologized to his teacher and glared at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan knew it was difficult to deal with the imp. As such, he quickly uttered, “Mr. Huo, I’m Mo Fan, here after being recommended by Old Bao. I’m well aware of your reputation as a forgemaster in the Magic City, and I’ve visited quite some famous forgemasters, yet they all told me that only Mr. Huo is capable of handling such a unique material, hence I’ve been waiting for you here patiently!”

Li Junnan opened his eyes wide. How shameless was this young man? What did he mean by waiting patiently? He got here less than five minutes ago!

“Enough with the pestering. Do you think my master will be tricked just because you’re fawning over him…” Li Junnan was in the midst of his speech when he heard the door behind being pushed open.

Li Junnan turned around and saw his master walking out in his well-ironed shirt in a demeaning manner. His face was expressionless like that of a reclusive expert, but his eyes were glistening with a hint of pride.

He came up and said disdainfully, “Ling Xi, Gu Sulian, Che Rong, how could you compare those dim-sighted old pricks to me? I guess they are well aware of their limits, knowing that I, Huo Tuo, am specialized in dealing with all kinds of rare materials. What do you have there? Let me take a look.”

Mo Fan was overjoyed when he saw Huo Tuo coming out from the room. Meanwhile, Li Junnan felt like slapping his own head. How did he end up with such an unreliable master?

Li Junnan spoke before Mo Fan could respond, “Master, didn’t you already teach me how to identify the lineage of a snake species? Normally, those with a higher lineage will have more defined snake marks. This material is totally black with no sign of any snake mark. I’m sure that it’s a very common material.”

Huo Tuo walked up to the scales and inspected them carefully, while his expression kept changing rapidly.

“You idiot, didn’t I tell you to put precious materials on the best ice sheets? Why did you put them on the table? Look how dirty the table is, do you know how much extra effort I need to put in if the materials catch even the slightest dust!” Huo Tuo turned around and scolded Li Junnan.

Huo Tuo quickly grabbed an ice sheet and slowly transferred the snake scales onto them. The flicker in his eyes now displayed a hint of greed.

“Such a pity, these aren’t really rare scales. Otherwise, they would be extremely precious,” Huo Tuo let out a sigh in the end.

Mo Fan immediately had a different view of the old man, “How impressive, these scales have been purified. It’s not a real rare material.”

“It’s not too bad, just that the purification could be slightly better, so I can craft a piece of very advanced armor equipment from it!” said Huo Tuo.

Li Junnan almost went crazy.

What in the world? So the material was actually man-made, without any snake mark? It was a fake, something you could find from the street stalls?

“Master, are you sure that you don’t want me to throw him out?” said Li Junnan.

“Throw what out, your stupidity is urging me to throw you out instead! Who told you they didn’t have any snake mark; the mark is so big that it’s covering the entire material!” snapped Huo Tuo.

Li Junnan was utterly confused, and muttered under his breath, “That’s just the color of the skin. A mark is a mark…”

Mo Fan felt sorry for Li Junnan, who was being condemned. He said softly, “What you’re seeing are just two extremely small scales from the snake. Its snake mark is blue, so you’d need a few pieces of them together to see the actual shape of the mark.”

Li Junnan opened his eyes wide and blurted out, “How could a snake be that huge?”

Li Junnan’s exclamation served as a reminder to Huo Tuo, who was still admiring the snake scales. He glanced at Mo Fan in astonishment, and asked, “Could this material possibly be…”

Mo Fan nodded with a smile. He knew the old man was an expert.

“Who would have thought! No wonder Old Bao recommended you here… it’s true that the others are clueless about what to do with it,” said Huo Tuo.

The Black Totem Snake was no longer a secret, thus Huo Tuo easily guessed the origin of the snake scales.

“Then I have a favor to ask Mr. Huo. I want to craft a piece of armor…” said Mo Fan.

“That’s fine, but the queue is currently until the end of next year,” said Huo Tuo.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless. The end of next year?! He might not even have the chance to wear it before the Hunter Competition took place!

“Can’t you make an exception?” asked Mo Fan.

“Sure, just pay me three times the normal price, including the fees for working on public holidays,” Huo Tuo said indifferently, while admiring the material.

Mo Fan’s forehead was covered in frown lines.

“Can’t you do it for free, considering that it’s such a rare material, to fully display your passion in pursuing art instead of money when you decided to become a forgemaster?” Mo Fan asked shamelessly.

“Enough with the nonsense, just pay me the right amount. If you can’t afford the extra fees, come do some work for me, then. Old Bao has quite some talented hunters. It happens that I’m in need of some material, and normal hunters are not brave enough to accept my requests,” said Huo Tuo.

“I have to go to school still.” Mo Fan was unwilling.

“Who said anything about going to the wild, it’s something here in the Magic City,” said Huo Tuo.

“Tell me about it first!” replied Mo Fan.

The Magic City was huge, and was basically an ecosystem. Humans were not the only residents here, there were quite a few demon beasts too. Mo Fan had already learned that from his past experiences.

There was no way Mo Fan could afford paying three times the price, since Old Bao had already told him that the cost to craft a piece of armor, even after his recommendation, was a whopping twenty million RMB. Mo Fan could only afford it after selling the corpse of the Xuanwu Giant Lizard, and adding some from his own pocket!

Three times the price would be sixty million RMB. It was no different than robbing him!

“Have you heard of vampires?” whispered Huo Tuo.

“Like you?” Mo Fan promptly asked in return.

“How impolite, I’m referring to those that act like humans in the day, but prey on women at night! The demon beasts disguise themselves as humans, and need a human’s blood to maintain their power! These vampires originate from the West…” explained Huo Tuo.

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Vampires? Mo Fan had only seen them in novels or movies, and they were normally extraordinarily handsome, just like himself.

“Wait, did you just say they ambush women?” asked Mo Fan.

Huo Tuo nodded and said, “These vampires have their unique tastes. They don’t just attack all women, but choose their prey carefully. The prey is normally gorgeous in our eyes, yet different vampires have different fetishes. Some prefer those with long hair, some prefer virgins, and some like fair, tender skin.”

“Are you sure they only suck their blood?” asked Mo Fan, his brows raised.

“How would I know? I’ve only heard that the blood-sucking process takes quite a while, so they will normally find a remote place to enjoy themselves. As long as the sun has not risen, they can do whatever they want to the women with their fangs,” Huo Tuo said sternly.

“Assholes, who knew that such a bunch of jerks would exist in this world; how dare they not show any respect to me!” snapped Mo Fan.

As the guardian of young women who hid under the night curtains of the large city, Mo Fan would never tolerate the acts of these vampires! If he could not purge and exterminate them, it would be a disgrace to his title as a Magic City law enforcer!

When he saw that Mo Fan was rather intrigued, Huo Tuo added, “I need a fang, a vampire’s fang. I’m still waiting for someone to accept the quest I’ve submitted to the Hunter Union. They don’t believe that these creatures exist, but I’m confident that they are living here in the Magic City, and have already preyed on lots of women.”

“Wait, so, are these vampires humans or demon beasts?” asked Mo Fan.

Huo Tuo laughed and said, “Would it make any difference? Either humans or demon beasts, those who have done something intolerable shall be punished accordingly. Maybe their lineage is similar to humans, but their actions are no different from a demon beast.”

Mo Fan glanced at the old man in astonishment. He never thought the old man would say something worth pondering on.

The old man was right.

“Since no one is taking the quest, it must be ranked fairly high. I’ll get you the vampire’s fang, and you’ll not charge me the extra fees. I’m just a student, a povo,” said Mo Fan.

“Then two fangs,” Huo Tuo spread his fingers.

Mo Fan cursed furiously, “You’re more like a vampire…”

“Are you stupid or brainless; if you get your hands on a vampire, would he only have one fang!?” chided Huo Tuo.

Mo Fan kept his face blank. The old man was absolutely right about that…

“If even the hunters can’t find any clue about these creatures, you have to give me a lead. The Magic City is so huge, and so populated. Where do I even start from?” said Mo Fan.

“I can’t offer much, either. Once, I was taking the subway, but I missed the train, so I ended up waiting there for a very long time. I just happened to see a vampire feeding on his prey, but unfortunately, I couldn’t save her in time. She died due to excessive loss of blood by the time I got her to the hospital. However, the doctors diagnosed that she had died from a sudden heart attack, instead of excessive loss of blood. I told the Hunter Union and the Magic Association that she was attacked by a human-like creature, yet when they checked the surveillance, they didn’t even see the creature. They assumed that I imagined it.

“There might not be a creature like that in our country, but it’s real in the West. They have come here to feed, and I happened to stumble onto one while he was enjoying his prey. I’m not a righteous man, but I tried my best to save the girl, so I thought that would be the end of it, until I learned from an ancient Western manual that the fangs of these vampires are the perfect material…”

“So you’re saying that the only clue is the girl that died?” Mo Fan asked furiously.

Huo Tuo nodded and spoke, “Mm, the quest wouldn’t have such a huge bounty if it were any easier. I’ll give you the girl’s name, and you’re on your own. When you give me the fangs, I’ll give you the armor. Otherwise, you will pay me sixty million RMB, not a cent less.”

“I’ve got one more question.”

“Mm, go ahead.”

“You’re already an expert at sucking money, why did you have to take the subway instead of taking a cab?” said Mo Fan.

Huo Tuo fondled his beard and said, “You have no idea; it’s called being conservative.”

Mo Fan and Huo Tuo had a long discussion. Meanwhile, Li Junnan muttered, “I…I also have a question.”

Neither Mo Fan nor Huo Tuo gave him any attention. Li Junnan seemed utterly troubled.

He still could not understand; what good were snake scales without any snake mark?

——

Mo Fan counted the days; there were only seven days left until the second challenge week. If he was planning to wear the armor during that week, he had seven days to find the vampire, and smack his fangs out.

He definitely needed Lingling’s help for things like this. The quest’s rank was fairly high, since the fees for asking the old man to craft the armor alone were already twenty million RMB. Leaving the old man’s intention of increasing the price to three times the normal value aside, quests with a bounty of ten million and above were normally for Advanced Magicians, and most of them even needed a party of Advanced Magicians.

However, Huo Tuo could surely read Mo Fan’s cultivation. The fact that he was willing to let Mo Fan handle it implied that the vampire’s strength was not too crazy. The biggest problem now was knowing where to find a vampire. In such a populated area, unlike the Mother Scale Skin Phantom which would turn into a monster, Huo Tuo had mentioned that the vampires looked exactly like humans. It was impossible to identify them unless he stumbled onto one while they were feeding.

The Mother Scale Skin Phantom enjoyed drinking human blood, too, but it was difficult to tell how the two were related.

Either way, he should try and complete the quest as soon as possible. With the armor, his strength would improve rapidly, which would then allow him to challenge those with much higher ranks and secure more resources… no, that wasn’t right, how could a man like him allow the vampires to harm the innocent girls in the city?

It was all for the sake of justice!

—–

“Lingling, I’ve got us a job, a big one!” said Mo Fan.

“Where are you? I’ll be there right away!” Lingling’s tone was calm like always, which definitely did not belong to a girl her age. However, the fact that she arrived fairly quickly was a good indication that the little girl was extremely bored!

After Lingling arrived, Mo Fan brought the little loli along and headed to the household of the deceased girl whose death Huo Tuo had witnessed, to see if they could find any useful clues there.

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Lingling split up. Lingling made her way to the police to gather information regarding the victim, and ask for more clues from the policemen and doctors that were in charge of the incident in the past…

On the other hand, Mo Fan simply headed to the girl’s house, to see if he could learn anything new from her family.

——

The incident was not too long ago, it had only been two months. Mo Fan arrived at an old street, where the residents lived above the shops. To enter the house, he would need to squeeze his way through a small alleyway and find his way to the main entrance.

The house had two floors. Its front was facing the street, filled with a few snack shops and a cozy, exquisite boutique.

The second floor had some pots of flowers, with vines along the walls, which added some color to the aged house. It must be a comfortable place to live in…

The house had a small backyard, with some grapevine trellis. The branches hanging on them were swaying gently in the wind.

It looked like a suitable place for a family to live a cozy and happy life, yet the garden and the balcony on the second floor had piles of stuff used for funerals. Mo Fan was unsure why they were still there after two months, and it altered the appearance of the house.

“Hello, is this Liu Xian’s home?” asked Mo Fan.

“Oh, it is. Hi, and you are…” A rather beautiful girl walked out of the house. She was wearing a polite smile, yet her brows were displaying a hint of sorrow.

“I… You you you!!” Mo Fan was dumbfounded when he took a clearer look at the girl. He pointed his finger at the girl and could not find any words.

The girl stared at Mo Fan with a confused look, not sure why he would react like this.

Mo Fan took a few steps backward. He was surprised, as the girl who greeted him was the same girl that Huo Tuo had mentioned was dead!

Mo Fan had looked at her photo before coming here, so he immediately recognized her!

He had also seen the death certificate. It was said that the corpse had been cremated, yet she was alive and standing right in front of him!

Could it be that the legends were real? That those whose blood was sucked dry by the vampires would resurrect on the first full moon, and become one of them?

The girl had a pale face, lacking the color of blood. Her lips were fairly pink and smooth, granting her a pitiful look which urged Mo Fan to feel some tender affection for her. Yet, it might only be a great disguise from the vampire. A female vampire… didn’t that mean she would be interested in handsome men like himself?

“I’m Liu Xian’s sister, Liu Ru. We’re twins,” said the girl, after she finally realized something.

“Ugh…” Mo Fan’s lips twisted. Damn it, his imagination had been getting wilder lately. He should definitely cut down on the American TV shows!

“Twins, oh, that scared the shit out of me.” Mo Fan took a deep breath.

The girl giggled when she saw Mo Fan’s reaction, before she added, “You must be my sister’s friend?”

“Mm, yeah. I heard the news…” said Mo Fan with a nod.

Mo Fan did not reveal his identity as a hunter. Many commoners, including Magicians, had no idea things existed in the city other than humans. There was no need to give them any unnecessary fear, thus most of the time during an investigation, Mo Fan and Lingling would use false identities.

“The house is a bit messy. Let’s chat in the shop here,” Liu Ru did not invite Mo Fan into the house, it being unwise to do so when she was home alone.

Mo Fan nodded. He realized that Liu Ru was a fairly smart girl, but he was unsure what kind of personality her sister had, who passed away in the prime of life…

———

Inside the small cafe, Mo Fan ordered a glass of juice for Liu Ru, and some food for himself. He was in a rush to start his detective work, so he had completely forgot about lunch.

“I saw that your house still has piles of stuff used during the funeral. It has been two months, why hasn’t someone cleared them out yet…” asked Mo Fan.

“There isn’t anyone else in the family. Our relatives left after helping me out with the funeral. I also went away to divert my mind from the grief. I only came back yesterday, so I haven’t had the time to clear them yet,” Liu Ru said softly, with a hint of sorrow.

“Only the two of you were living in the house?” asked Mo Fan.

“Yeah, our parents had passed away a long time ago. My sister stopped going to school so she could work, just so I continue with my studies…” Liu Ru’s voice was trembling slightly.

Mo Fan looked at the girl. The brief sentences were enough for him to imagine the scene where the two girls were relying upon one another. They must have been extremely close.

“I’ll lend you a hand later. You won’t be able to clear them on your own,” offered Mo Fan kindly.

Liu Ru shook her head; it was obvious that she did not want to trouble him. She glanced at him and asked, “I’ve never seen you before. Are you my sister’s colleague?”

Mo Fan had already done his homework, who replied, “Not colleague, but her workplace is right beside mine, so we would talk occasionally.”

“Oh, it’s you, my sister did mention to me before. She said that you’ve always looked after her,” said Liu Ru.

Mo Fan knew Liu Ru was mentioning someone else, so he gladly played along. Even though Liu Ru still seemed slightly depressed, she had endured the most painful period, so Mo Fan cut straight to the topic. “Did your sister die from a heart attack?”

“I guess so; that’s what the doctors told me,” said Liu Ru.

“But I heard she was bitten by something, and she was suffering from severe anemia during the time,” said Mo Fan.

“My sister has always been weak and suffering from anemia occasionally. I don’t think there’s anything strange about that,” said Liu Ru.

“I stumbled into the old man who sent your sister to the hospital. He insisted that he saw something. I’m quite curious, too; your sister seemed well the last time I saw her, yet I was so shocked to hear that she had passed away from a heart attack. I did sense that she was panicking a little a few days ago before she passed away, so I asked her, and she told me something about a stalker. Did she tell you anything about that?” Mo Fan directed the conversation in his own way.

Liu Ru pursed up as she began to recall the past. A while later, she lowered her voice and said with glistening eyes, “I’ve never heard anything about a stalker, but my sister did seem quite cautious a few days before it happened. Two months ago, the weather wasn’t as chilly, so I opened the windows when I came back from school, but she panicked and shut them.”

“It seems like something did happen during those days,” Mo Fan adjusted the glasses on his nose.

Just so he would look more like a famous detective, he even bought a pair of glasses, of course…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Are you saying that my sister’s death is not an accident?” Liu Ru’s eyes had a rather complicated flicker.

Mo Fan nodded before adding, “That old man is a strong Magician, so I’m sure that he’s saying the truth. Besides, did you really think your sister was suffering from a heart disease?”

Liu Ru was immersed in her thoughts for a while before saying, “It’s true that her health wasn’t great, but I only knew about her heart disease after she passed away. I found it unbelievable, too.

“I was actually quite bothered by it. I want to know the truth, so if you happened to recall anything strange about your sister, or someone weird around her, please tell me as soon as possible, especially if the person was a man,” said Mo Fan.

Based on the information provided by Huo Tuo, it turned out that only male vampires would harm a woman. They would always tail their prey for some time, or even make direct contact with them. Mo Fan assumed that any stranger that initiated contact with her prior to her death would be the most suspicious.

“If they were anyone, I believe you fulfill the criteria you’ve mentioned,” said Liu Ru.

Mo Fan felt awkward. It seemed like the person he was disguised as was interested in chasing her sister.

However, they did serve as an important clue. He should investigate that person later, as he might obtain some useful information.

“Is there anyone else, apart from myself?” asked Mo Fan.

Liu Ru shook her head. She glanced at her watch and said, “It’s getting late. I should be heading to school. If there’s anything else, you can find me at Qingyuan Girls College.”

Mo Fan knew he should not ask further, and proceeded to see her off.

Not long after Liu Ru left, Mo Fan’s figure transformed into a black shadow and swept past the vines. He quietly snuck into Liu Xian and Liu Ru’s rooms

The rooms were filled with feminine things, pink, blue, and powder blue.

The rooms had lots of dolls on the beds, the desks, and hanging on the walls. Mo Fan tried to search for clues with his discerning eye, but unfortunately, apart from a variety of lingerie, he did not find anything interesting.

“Looks like I’ll have to see if Lingling managed to find something useful,” he murmured.

——

Mo Fan soon met up with Lingling.

“The corpse was cremated a long time ago. If it were preserved, it would be fairly easy to tell if she were attacked by a vampire. Who would have thought that these concealed creatures were coming to our country? Aren’t the churches responsible for keeping an eye out for them?!” said Lingling.

“Well, did you learn anything useful?” asked Mo Fan.

Lingling flipped through the pages on her laptop and said after organizing her thoughts, “Every document is stating that she died of a heart disease. There was nothing strange about her death. There was nothing fishy about the death certification, either. To be honest, if Huo Tuo didn’t insist that he had witnessed her death, I’m sure that the incident wouldn’t even be considered the doing of a demon beast. No wonder no one was willing to take the quest.”

“It sounds fairly tricky, as we don’t really have any clues. Besides, if the vampire was only picking on a random girl, it would be impossible to locate him with all the people in the city. This is such a headache,” agreed Mo Fan.

“I’ve already gotten the recordings of the surveillance cameras at the subway. I didn’t have time to look at them yet. Hopefully, we would find some clue from them,” said Lingling.

“If we really couldn’t find anything, I guess we’ll have to talk to her sister Liu Ru again,” said Mo Fan.

“I guess that’s the only choice we have.”

Mo Fan and Lingling played the recording of the surveillance cameras at the station where Liu Xian died all of a sudden.

To prevent themselves from missing any details, Mo Fan and Lingling even decided to visit the same station at night, to repeat the incident by tracing her path at the same time.

———-

The station was not too crowded at night.

At the entrance of the station, the stairs leading to the underground was completely empty. It felt quite sinister under the gloomy light, yet they could hear some weird metal clanking in the distance.

“Mo Fan, did you realize? Most of the lines are no longer running at this time. The last train departed five minutes ago, which means everyone would have boarded the train five minutes ago. Liu Xian should know the timetable, too, why would she bother going into the station?” asked Lingling, while carrying her laptop.

The laptop was currently showing the combination of different scenes captured from every camera. They could see Liu Xian slowly walking into the station in her heels on the dark black and white recording. There was no sign of anyone else in her surroundings.

Lingling was mimicking Liu Xian’s footsteps by following her trail from the recordings. Wherever Liu Xian walked to in the recordings, Lingling would follow her path, and even mimic her actions. It was a commonly used tactic by the police for investigation. Most hunter agencies in cities had also mastered this basic technique.

“Indeed, the last train has already departed, yet she’s still going into the station. It doesn’t even feel like she’s trying to catch a train,” said Mo Fan as he pointed at Liu Ru’s sister Liu Xian, who looked exactly the same as her.

“Then she must have been lured into the station,” interpreted Lingling.

“It’s very likely. We’ll look for the surveillance cams that captured the moments before she entered the station. There are shops and traffic lights nearby. Maybe we can find whoever made contact with her before she entered the station,” said Mo Fan.

“It suddenly feels slightly creepy. If a vampire is capable of seducing his prey, commoners would have a hard time protecting themselves,” said Lingling.

Mo Fan recalled the Bewitching Magic Spider at Jinlin Desolated City. The creature also had the ability to manipulate the mind of its prey. The vampire was able to hide in the city and feed on humans, thus it would not be a surprise that he had similar methods of manipulating his prey, too.

“This vampire is a lot smarter than the demon beasts we’ve encountered before. If Liu Xian was actually attacked by a vampire, it also proved that the creature knows how to fake his victim’s cause of death. As long as the victim is diagnosed to have died of a heart attack, the case would never reach the hands of hunters. In other words, the vampire would have no worries. There are millions of people in this city, so it’s nothing strange that a few have died in accidents…

“Mo Fan, look… she suddenly stopped in that spot, as if she had just bumped into someone!” yelled Lingling.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan asked Lingling to replay the recording. As she had observed, Liu Xian suddenly came to a stop halfway, but Mo Fan still could not see anything in front of her after taking a closer look.

Mo Fan saw her take a few more steps forward. The place did not have much light, and the girl slowed down her pace in the shadow, coming to a stop. Unfortunately, a huge pillar was blocking most of her figure. It seemed like she was using the pillar as a support as she was trying to catch her breath, like a patient suffering from a disease breaking out.

However, after replaying the recording a few more times, it felt more like something was grabbing onto the girl, preventing her from moving.

After quite some time, she seemed to be worn out, as if she were suffocating. Her body stiffened as she slowly fell to the ground.

Soon after, the surveillance cam caught Huo Tuo rushing toward the girl in a panic. He did not inspect her condition, but seemed to be chasing after something. He was yelling furiously at the empty station.

Following that, Huo Tuo carried Liu Xian out of the station, but he could not get her to treatment in time.

“It looks like he did see something,” said Mo Fan.

“I’ve already checked the recording. There’s no one hiding by the pillar, yet when half of Liu Xian’s figure was blocked by the pillar, it did seem like something was grabbing her. Mo Fan, you’re a Shadow Magician. Do you think someone might be using a Shadow Element Spell to hide behind the pillar? The recording is in greyscale, so it’s hard to tell if the shadows were moving,” analyzed Liu Xian.

“It’s possible. Places like subway stations would have plenty of shadows, so a Shadow Magician could easily move between them,” Mo Fan nodded.

Those were all the clues provided by the recordings, basically confirming that the culprit had abilities of the Shadow Element.

Mo Fan and Lingling paid the man whom Mo Fan was disguised as a visit, but they discovered that he was only an ordinary shopkeeper. He did not provide any useful information.

Without a lead, Mo Fan and Lingling had no choice but to head to the girl’s college where Liu Ru was studying at, to see if she could provide any more useful information. Otherwise, it was impossible to proceed with the quest.

——

Mo Fan had just learned of the existence of the girls’ college in Shanghai. The place seemed to be educating nurses, stewardesses, and models, hence there were lots of gorgeous students. The people nearby referred to it as Men’s Heaven.

Mo Fan deeply agreed with the saying. Just a few keywords were enough to trigger his unlimited imagination.

Mo Fan saw a class full of beautiful girls when he found Liu Ru’s classroom. He almost forgot why he was there.

“Are you looking for Liu Ru? She went back to her room as she suddenly felt uncomfortable, probably because of her period,” said a rather blunt girl.

The girls nearby giggled when they heard her words. One among them who was fairly busty said, “No one would have period three to four times in a month. I bet she’s sick because of messing with men too much outside of the school.”

“Don’t say it like that, her sister has just passed away.”

“We’re only stating the truth. She has been occasionally asking for leave, and always says no when asked to see a doctor. God knows if she’s contracted some disease.”

It was obvious that Liu Ru was not well received in the class.

On second thought, it seemed fairly reasonable. Liu Ru had a delicate and pretty look, and a good physique. Her melancholy appearance was urging someone to give her tender affection. Mo Fan did have a good first impression of her, and it was quite common for girls like her to be excluded by a group of b**ches.

——

Mo Fan decided to pay her a visit as a friend.

Most of the students were in class at this time. The dorm was under the supervision of an elderly woman, yet Mo Fan managed to sneak inside with the help of his Shadow Element.

Liu Ru’s room was located at the end of the corridor, close to the woods outside of the dorm. Mo Fan did not barge in straight away, he knocked on the door politely.

“Are you skipping classes again… huh, it’s you?” Liu Ru did not seem well, and looked quite surprised when she saw Mo Fan.

“I want to ask you about something, but your classmates told me you were sick, so here I am paying you a visit,” said Mo Fan.

“I’m fine, thanks for your concern. Besides, I’ve already met the friend my sister mentioned beside her workplace, so please stop disturbing me,” said Liu Ru with an alert look.

Mo Fan was startled. He did not expect his disguise to fall apart so quickly.

He let out an awkward smile, and when he was about to explain himself, Liu Ru had shut the door closed.

Mo Fan left helplessly. The situation was rather grim, and it felt extremely difficult to complete the quest. They had no leads at all, and even if they could prove that Liu Xian had died after being bitten by something, they had no chance of capturing the vampire.

——

After meeting up with Lingling at the school gate, Lingling immediately asked about his progress.

“Say, Liu Ru has been unwell recently, could it be…” Liu Ru speculated wildly.

Mo Fan’s eyes gleamed.

Her classmates did mention that she was having periods, which could be linked to anemia.

Perhaps she was not falling sick, but the vampire was secretly sucking her blood without her noticing?

“Huo Tuo did mention that most vampires have their own fetishes. Liu Xian and Liu Ru were twins, so it’s likely that the vampire’s fetish is twins. Therefore, after getting his hands on the elder sister, he has now come to prey on the younger sister!” interpreted Mo Fan.

“So we can find the guy by keeping an eye on Liu Ru,” said Lingling.

Mo Fan felt an urge to give the smart Lingling a kiss after finding a glimpse of hope to complete his quest. Unfortunately, Lingling had already seen through his motives, and blocked her red face with her little palm.

“Please, I still plan to marry in the future,” said Lingling, her face full of disdain.

Mo Fan uttered a hollow laugh.

——

Mo Fan and Lingling waited until night time. They were crouched in the bushes outside of the fence, hoping that a hare would kill itself by crashing into a tree trunk while they waited.

Nothing happened on the first night. Liu Ru stayed in her room, even her meals were brought home by her roommate.

On the second night, there was some movement in the woods, but it turned out to be some student having a secret date with some guy from outside of the school.

“Can’t they find a room?” Mo Fan crouched in the bushes while hearing the out-of-place voices coming from the close distance.

Luckily Lingling was not around, as it was surely not the best scene for her to witness.

During the second half of the night, Mo Fan felt like falling asleep, but he suddenly felt the presence of the Shadow Element lingering in the air.

Mo Fan quickly gathered his focus.

The fish had taken the bait!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was a Shadow Magician, so he could easily detect a stronger than normal presence of the Shadow Element.

The Shadow Element resembled darkness, and ordinary darkness would be driven away by light easily, yet real darkness could absorb light like a black hole, without any glimpse of light.

The light from the school was gloomy, but normally the rays would still scatter through the woods. However, the woods were in complete darkness at this time, and would turn into walls of darkness if the place were slightly darker.

The walls of darkness did not stop one from passing them, but those inside them would lose their sense of direction and return to their original starting point after taking a few more steps.

“He’s an expert of the Shadow Element… I have to find him,” Mo Fan carefully concealed himself in the zone of darkness and waited patiently.

Mo Fan initially thought he would catch a shameless culprit who was trying to infiltrate the girls’ dorm red-handed, but to his surprise, the guy did not seem like he was planning to trespass into the dorm. He was only maintaining the dark zone to conceal himself perfectly.

Mo Fan had no choice but to remain patient. It was obvious that the enemy’s Shadow Element was significantly stronger than his, so exposing his presence would only drive the enemy away.

Two fangs that were worth twenty million RMB!

Some time later, Mo Fan suddenly heard movement from the room at the end of the corridor.

Mo Fan immediately glanced at the balcony and saw a seemingly delicate girl climbing down along the water pipe from the balcony…

-Isn’t that Liu Ru!? -, yelled Mo Fan to himself.

It was indeed Liu Ru, who looked extremely weak. Mo Fan felt like she would fall in any second as she was climbing down the pipe.

Either way, she managed to make it to the ground. She opened a gap in the chainlink fence and easily snuck out into the woods.

The woods were covered in darkness. Her slim figure was soon devoured by the darkness as she ventured deeper, as if she were about to disappear without a trace.

Mo Fan’s heart sank when he sensed that the girl was approaching danger.

“Damn it, the vampire has already bewitched Liu Ru. She must have been unwell because the guy has already been sucking her blood for quite a while!” cursed Mo Fan in his heart.

As the protector of young girls, Mo Fan would not tolerate such an act. How dare the vampire use such a shameless method on the young girls he was protecting!

Liu Ru was walking right into the trap. Luckily, Mo Fan was keeping an eye on her today. Otherwise, he could not tell what would happen to her.

The vampire was more than cold-blooded. He had already sucked the elder sister dry, and now he was already preying on the younger sister Liu Ru instead of laying low…

Mo Fan was not in a rush to make his move. He had still not seen the vampire.

His eyes were still fixed on Liu Ru, as his Shadow Element allowed him to have a clear vision in the dark.

Liu Ru was still heading deeper into the woods. She was wearing a blank face, as if she was sleepwalking.

As she arrived at a small clearing in the woods, the outline of a coat finally appeared from the darkness.

The coat was bright red, its collars up. The person’s sharp jaw and the side of his face were concealed by the collar, with only his pointy nose and strangely glistening eyes exposed.

Mo Fan could not see his face clearly, as a strange mist was concealing it. It was most likely a common method used by the vampires to hide their faces, as they could not afford to expose their appearances, if they had to hide among humans…

—–

Liu Ru placed her hands behind her back as she slowly walked toward the man in the coat. A strange mist was lingering in the darkness, with a unique pleasant scent…

The delicate Liu Ru stood in front of the man in the coat. She slowly raised her head, like a pretty maiden ordered to present herself to the emperor.

The man in the coat slowly spread his arms wide, like a man on a secret date giving his lover a simple hug.

The bewitched Liu Ru took a step forward, diving into the man’s hug. Meanwhile, something flickered between the lips under the man’s collars, something sharp. It turned out to be two exposed fangs reaching the man’s jaw… the fangs that were worth twenty million RMB!

Mo Fan groaned inwardly. As he was about to make his move, he suddenly saw something emitting a cold flicker in Liu Ru’s hands behind her back…

A cold dagger was drawn out from her back. Her eyes that initially had a blank expression flickered with hatred, as she raised the dagger in her hand and thrust it at the firm figure in front without hesitation!

The dagger stabbed deep into the man’s chest where his heart was.

However, there was no sign of blood pouring out from the man’s chest, as if the dagger were stabbing at a corpse.

Mo Fan was stunned. He did not expect Liu Ru to make such a move all of a sudden!

She had placed her hands behind her back. Mo Fan was not aware that she was actually hiding a silver dagger!

“Tsk tsk… what a surprise, to see a commoner like you able to resist my Lunar Charm,” uttered the man in a sinister voice.

He remained standing in his place. The dagger punctured his heart, yet he did not cry out in pain, but was talking to Liu Ru in an intrigued manner.

Liu Ru quickly took a few steps back. Her eyes were filled with anger and hatred.

“Such a pity, the legends you were told about vampires are fake. It’s useless thrusting a silver dagger into our hearts…oh, if you are so fond of my heart, I’ll give it to you. I’ll give you everything that you like, to show how much I like you,” drawled a sinister voice.

Soon after, the man in the coat spread out his claws and grabbed at his heart.

His claws tore his chest open, revealing a bloody hole, from which he grabbed his heart…

It was a fresh heart, still beating audibly at a fast pace.

The heart had a silver dagger sticking into it, without any sign of blood…

“I’ve already given you my heart. You won’t find any man that’s perfect like me!” The man’s tone was eerie.

Liu Ru was still an ordinary girl after all. Despite the overwhelming wrath in her heart driving her to avenge her sister, she was terrified and subconsciously took a few steps back after seeing the vampire’s abnormal actions.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Why would you care about a person who’s already dead? Didn’t your sister work so hard just to earn some money for you to study? Something like money, I can get whatever amount I want, and I can give it to you too,” said the vampire in a seductive voice.

Liu Ru was infuriated by his words. She randomly picked up a branch from the ground and held it like a sword.

The vampire suddenly began to tremble when he saw the sharp branch!

He said with a terrified expression, “Why…why…why did you know we’re afraid of wood? Don’t come any closer, don’t you come any closer!”

Liu Ru glanced at the vampire in confusion, before she heard the vampire bursting into laughter all of a sudden.

His terrified expression was replaced by reckless laughter. He had fully displayed his exaggerated acting skill.

“HAHAHA, we’re unkillable, we can only be killed by ourselves, or the merciless of our beloved women!” the vampire sneered in an icy voice.

“Then you’ll die right now!” retorted Liu Ru in a trembling voice.

“You and your sister look the same, but your personalities are completely different. I didn’t want to kill her, but she was trying to end her life, begging me to bite her neck. She told me that life was extremely boring, no one treated her seriously, and her sister was a burden to her. She said that she could only feel a slight hint of happiness when I bite her, so she asked me out even though she was suffering from severe anemia. Don’t you think she was like a prostitute, relying on drugs to keep herself going?” mused the vampire.

Liu Ru almost went crazy when she heard the words.

That was her beloved sister, yet the person had totally humiliated her!

She held the hilarious branch and charged forward, trying to fight the irritating vampire. However, the vampire was just standing there while watching the stubborn Liu Ru fall into his trap by herself.

This younger sister was a lot more interesting than the elder sister. She was less obedient, so she could possibly be his toy for some time…

When Liu Riu reached the vampire, she realized how stupid she was. Their strengths were definitely not on the same level.

When she thought she would end up just like her elder sister, a blazing fireball suddenly appeared beside her.

The rose-colored flame emitted a brilliant burning light, blowing the mist and darkness in the woods away, as it slammed into the vampire like a giant fist.

The vampire never thought a Fire Magician would be hiding in the woods. The full blast of the Fiery Fist sent him flying dozens of meters away, while setting the place aflame.

The vampire was covered in flames as he slammed to the ground. Yet he would not die so easily, immediately rising to his feet in the flames and staring at Mo Fan in astonishment.

He seemed to have realized something, and immediately used the coat to hide his face.

A vampire would not allow anyone to see their face, as they would not be able to stay in the city any longer after their face was exposed.

His eyes were filled with anger. It turned out that someone was trying to mess with him!

He could not be sure if there were any other Magicians in the woods. He flung up his coat, which instantly turned into black leather and wrapped around him. As the leather flew into the sky, it began to flap rapidly, like the wings of a bat.

He quickly fled into the woods as the Shadow Element swallowed him.

He was extremely fast. When Mo Fan tried to chase after the vampire using Fleeing Shadow, he had already disappeared.

“Damn it, he ran so fast!” cursed Mo Fan.

He could not help but admit that the vampire was a lot better at using the Shadow Element than he was. It was impossible to hold him there under the circumstances.

However, he had no other choice, as Liu Ru would most likely have been murdered if he hesitated any further.

—

Mo Fan walked up to Liu Ru.

She had dropped to the ground helplessly, tears bursting from her eyes.

It was obvious that she was despairing.

Mo Fan felt like comforting her, yet he had no idea what to say. He was surprised by how determined Liu Ru was to avenge her sister, despite her delicate appearance, clearly implying how important her sister was to her.

When Mo Fan recalled how the vampire was mocking the sisters, he also felt extremely angry!

Liu Ru cried in the woods for a long time. She could no longer return to her school, so Mo Fan brought her to his apartment and let her rest in the living room.

Mo Fan managed to find some high-quality blood serums. He knew the girl had purposely let the vampire drink some of her blood, so she could make her move after earning the vampire’s trust.

“Thank you, I’m sorry for acting rudely to you last time,” said Liu Ru pitifully.

“So you already knew your sister’s death was strange! You should have told me. How could a commoner like you possibly stand a chance against that creature?” said Mo Fan.

“I just don’t want to drag other people into the mess, sorry,” said Liu Ru softly.

“Let me handle the vampire, I’m doing it for a quest. But since we’ve alerted him this time, it will be tricky to try and catch him again. He has been hiding his face all the time, so I didn’t manage to get a clear look at his true appearance. Do you know who he is?” asked Mo Fan.

Liu Ru shook her head. She had never seen him before. Maybe her sister might know, but she had passed away.

“Rest up here,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan arranged for her to stay in his room. He would not let her go back to school, as the vampire might try to harm her again out of rage, so he had to protect her.

Mo Fan let out a sigh when he saw Liu Ru falling asleep fairly quickly. Her pale face was still filled with a hint of sorrow.

She had used herself as bait. Anyone else would be terrified knowing that the guy was a vampire. It clearly showed how determined Liu Ru was to avenge her sister!

——

Mo Fan was sitting in the living room when Lingling knocked on the door and entered a moment later.

It was not Lingling’s first time here. She quickly went to the fridge to get a bottle of juice and gulped it down as if she were drinking from a milk bottle.

“How is it? Did you manage to track him down?” asked Mo Fan.

Lingling used her hand to wipe her lips and said, “He almost got away. I tracked him to a private compound, which seems to be a club collecting rare liquors. I was worried there might be something there, so I didn’t dare tail him any further.”

“That’s more than enough. We should think of something brilliant to catch him!” said Mo Fan, his eyes gleaming.

It seemed like there was hope of getting his armor!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

North Country Club…

The club had a spacious bar at the center. The fairly dull environment had crimson red lights on the ground, acting like a layer of glowing red carpet.

The bar had a Western ../style, with the head of a deer hanging above the wall, which was painted with lots of religious patterns. A few silver glasses and cutlery were ready at the end of the bar. Even the bartender was a fairly handsome Westerner.

“What drink would you like?” asked the bartender inside the bar.

“Marina, not too full. I’ve got a better drink to enjoy later,” said a pale-faced customer.

The customer emptied the drink into his throat quickly, without leaving a single drop behind, as if he were trying to boost his courage for whatever he was planning to do later.

“Asshole, who’s trying to mess with me? If I knew the kid was the only person there, I would’ve killed him on the spot. They shouldn’t have seen my face. This is unacceptable! Never have I let prey escape from my palm, and Liu Ru won’t be an exception, either!” murmured the pale-faced man.

The man did not notice a harmless looking Little Loli was sitting not far away from the bar. She was drinking a glass of juice while secretly observing the man.

The place was a club for the rich. There were a few residential areas nearby with mansions, thus occasionally, some of the rich residents would bring their kids to the club. As such, it was not strange to see a kid hanging out in the hall.

The Little Loli was holding a phone in her hand. She seemed to be talking with someone.

“Hey little gorgeous, why are you here on your own?” asked a well-groomed middle-aged man with a smile.

Lingling raised her head, and her eyes had an innocent look instead of her usual intelligent gaze. She pouted and said grumblingly, “I hate learning Magic. There’s an endless amount of questions to answer every day. Why can the adults come here and drink, while we kids have to learn those boring topics? I want to drink too, but that irritating foreigner doesn’t let me order one.”

The middle-aged man burst into laughter, who could not respond to Lingling’s interesting remark at first. He replied after a while, “Kids who don’t listen to adults are naughty. How about this, I haven’t drunk from this glass of wine which I just ordered. I’ll let you take a sip, and you’ll understand how bad the taste it has no matter how expensive the wine is.”

Lingling nodded with the same naive look.

After the middle-aged man left, Lingling glanced back at the pale-faced man at the bar. To her annoyance, the guy had already left without her noticing.

Lingling cursed in her heart, “Goddammit strange uncle, you’ve ruined my plan.”

She did not manage to get a clear look at the vampire’s face. Strangely, the vampire’s face seemed to have an automatic censoring functionality. Every time she tried to look at his face, a cloudy mist would be shrouding his face. If she could get a clear look, she could easily track the vampire down.

On a side note, since he was a regular visitor here, he must be one of the rich people living in this residential area.

“Come, I’ll give you just a sip,” the middle-aged man returned with a smile, having switched the glass of wine into a small cup.

“Uncle, do you know the guy at the bar?” asked Lingling.

“Why are you asking?” said the well-groomed man.

“I heard that girls always come to the bar to hook up with guys. I want to do that, too,” said Lingling.

“Why him? Am I not a man too? Besides, you’re the most interesting little girl I’ve ever seen,” the middle-aged man chuckled.

“You’re right, so do you know him?” asked Lingling.

The middle-aged man’s eyes which were reflecting the light from the bar stared at Lingling, as if he were trying to read her mind. However, all he could see was an innocent, determined expression.

A moment later, he smilingly shook his head, “He looks familiar, but I don’t know who he is.”

“Such a pity, I want to be friends with him,” said Lingling.

The middle-aged man chuckled again, who said to Lingling, “He might not be interested in young girls like you. He must be interested in mature girls, instead of a little girl who came to an adults’ club and vented her spleen because she doesn’t like studying.”

“Alright, I should be going home. My dad will surely come searching for me if he didn’t see me when he went home. Thanks, uncle,” said Lingling, while poking her tongue out.

The middle-aged man glanced at the little cup and asked with his brows raised, “Are you sure you don’t want to take a sip? I’m sure that you won’t want to grow into an adult after having a taste.”

“Maybe not, I heard that drinking alcohol will make your face red. If my father knew, he would lock me up in my room for a month,” Lingling finished the juice in one go and quickly left the place.

The middle-aged man watched the adorable Lingling exit the bar. His gaze seemed calm on the surface, yet it felt like he was wearing an eerie grin.

——

Soon after Lingling left, the pale-faced man previously at the bar slowly walked up to the middle-aged man and said, “Your taste is still the same after all these years.”

After saying this, the pale-faced man finished the wine in the glass at one go.

“Such a pity, she was interested in you instead. I’ve roughly sounded her out. She seems like an ordinary little girl. Of course, if I were to see her again, she won’t be ordinary anymore,” the middle-aged man smiled.

“Why did you let her go then? It’s rare to see such a smart little girl,” said the pale-faced man.

“Wasn’t that your fault?! Someone now has their eyes on you, which means that they are aware of our Blood Tribe’s existence. It’s easy for us to be exposed if we do anything extra during this period. We should stay low for a while, and be cautious with everything,” said the middle-aged man.

“There’s nothing to be scared of, I just happened to stumble into a small Magician. Besides, I haven’t done anything yet,” the pale-faced man said arrogantly.

The middle-aged man suddenly wore a sharp gaze and thrust the knife in front of him at the pale-faced man, before stopping in front of the man’s eyes!

“How many times have I told you, not to let your prey die within a short period of time, and not to pick on the same prey repeatedly? You’ve made someone suspicious, which is going to worsen our situation. I’ve already asked the others to stay low, and I don’t want to lose any more members of our family,” the middle-aged man snarled, his face outraged.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The pale-faced man leaned backward slightly and replied, “I’ll be careful next time. But, the Magician who saved my prey, have you looked into his identity?”

“How the hell am I supposed to do that? You didn’t even get a clear look at his face. Hopefully, it’s just a random Magician passing by. If he was actually targeting us, we are in big trouble,” said the middle-aged man.

“Then I’ll just go and kill him!”

“Are you nuts?! It’s easy to fake the deaths of one or two commoners, but if a Magician died, do you really think the Hunter Union won’t be alerted? Just behave yourself and stay here,” warned the middle-aged man.

“You’ve always been strict to me. Why didn’t you say anything when SHE messed up? You’ve never scolded her. You’ve put everyone on a curfew, but how about her?” the pale-faced man asked discontentedly.

The middle-aged man harrumphed coldly. “You were never as cautious as her. She is in a huge institution, facing a bunch of powerful Magicians, yet she has never drawn any attention. Why would I put her on a curfew?”

The pale-faced man seemed unpleasant, but he did not say anything further.

“That’s enough, Nie Dong, just do what I said. Don’t prey on the younger sister anymore, you will be stepping into their trap. If a Senior Hunter is involved, no one will be able to save you,” said the middle-aged man.

“Got it.”

——

After the middle-aged man left, Nie Dong continued to drink at the bar, his face remaining pale white all along.

He left the club late at night, and drove a luxurious blue sports car to a park on a gloomy hill.

The park was just a short distance to the north from the residential area. One could drive to the top of the hill and park at the side of the road to observe the city, which still offered a beautiful view at night. With the red from the lights and the green from the trees, it was a flourishing scene of prosperity!

Nie Dong sat in the car, waiting patiently. He adjusted the rear mirror and groomed his hair quickly. It was obvious that he was very mindful of his handsome appearance. Many times, he could easily hook up with the girls without relying on any Magic, and such was the case for supper tonight.

A short while later, a white BMW slowly drove into the parking lot.

The remote park was completely deserted at this time of the night, with only a few cars passing by. The white car stopped beside the blue sports car, and a woman in makeup and heels stepped out.

The woman was rather mature. The red outfit made of silk crossed paths in front of her large breasts, before ending up in a ribbon knot around her pale neck, exposing her shoulders and a huge part of her back. She was so sexy that one could not wait to untie the ribbon knot behind her neck.

Nie Dong glanced at the woman. He was still nursing a grievance after being scolded by the senior. The lust in his heart burned stronger when he saw the woman’s sexy appearance. He lifted her off the ground before she could get out from the car, and tossed her into the backseat.

“Mm, so impatient?” giggled the woman, who was enjoying it, yet pretending to be reluctant.

“You’re making me burn!” Nie Dong kissed her body lustily. He was particularly fond of her almost-naked neck.

The man was very skilled. The woman, who was grumbling a few seconds ago, started to moan from the sensation. Her figure tensed as she raised her head while indulging in the pleasure. She could clearly feel the touch from the man’s hot tongue and cool teeth on her sensitive body parts, each bringing a surge of electricity from her neck throughout her whole body to in between her tightly tucked legs…

At the perfect time, a slight piercing pain came from her neck, making her convulse lightly. However, the woman did not look like she was in pain, but in enjoyment. Her mouth slowly opened and uttered a pleased tone.

Nie Dong’s throat was moving, as something was pouring into his stomach.

A moment later, he slowly shifted his focus to other parts. The woman was clearly wearing a pale face, yet the voice she was making was like the pleading purr of a little cat. Nie Dong had a playful grin on, a deeply affectionate look on his face, yet his thoughts were elsewhere.

The taste was not as great as the twins. It was like the difference between Erguotou and premium Maotai.

He began to lose interest in other people’s blood after having a taste of the good ones. He could easily find a lonely woman among the rich with a single gesture. Women like her usually had a self-indulgent past, which greatly affected their purity and temperament, and also influenced the quality of their blood. Only the immature kids from their Blood Tribe would think these women were charming.

-But, how can I trick Liu Ru into coming out again?- , mumbled Nie Dong to himself.

He randomly altered his posture, as if he were only giving vent to his desire. The woman’s endless moaning served as a great contrast to his calm and collected manner. If anything, he would only give away his emotions slightly when he forcibly replaced the woman’s pale face with Liu Ru’s innocent, gentle look in his imagination… It was a pity that he had broken one of them. If he could play with them both at the same time, tsk tsk!

“No, I have to find her. I’ve planted my Nightmare on her, so I can locate her very easily. She can’t possibly be looked after by the Magician all the time?” mumbled Nightmare to himself.

Nie Dong already had a strong attraction to the elder sister, Liu Xian. Otherwise, he would not have sucked her blood dry accidentally by being too indulged in the process. To his surprise, he found Liu Ru even more attractive. Her delicate yet stubborn personality had triggered a strong desire to take control of her in his heart!

As one of the Blood Tribe, shouldn’t he be looking forward to something challenging and exciting?

Those goddamned hunters were too proud of themselves. It was time for them to have a taste of their own methods, to let them know that no prey could ever escape from his watch!

—

“I should be leaving, I have a lecture to give tomorrow. You know, I don’t always…” The woman’s pale face showed a slight flush.

“I know,” Nie Dong did not waste his time further with the woman after giving vent to his frustration. He returned to his car and ignited the engine.

He drove away quickly, even leaping out from the driver’s seat and sitting on top of the car’s roof as it was driving past the empty streets, enjoying the feel of the strong wind. One of his fangs was exposed as he smiled, his pale face looking remarkably eerie in the dark…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The school was always brimming with the energy of youth. Not every student was like Mo Fan, who had already encountered all kinds of terrifying demon beasts when he was still in his high school days.

As the students had never experienced the fear of encountering demon beasts, or been corrupted by society, the Magic Institute retained its sacredness, where everything was full of hope and anticipation.

Sitting on a bench covered in fallen dry leaves, Liu Ru could not help but feel jealous of the students in the Magic Institute.

She was only an ordinary girl, who did not take the noble path of becoming a Magician. When she saw the students who had extraordinary power, it reminded her of the overwhelming strength of the vampire she hated. Liu Ru was regretting that she did not insist on studying at a Magic School, as she would not be as helpless as she currently was.

Mo Fan’s apartment was located in the Pearl Institute. It was Liu Ru’s first time at a Magic Institute. She gloomily found herself in a world where she did not belong. She was feeling a yearning and regretful, but mostly had an overwhelming sense of loneliness from not knowing how to continue on with her life.

The air cooled as the day grew darker. Occasionally, a few guys passing by would approach her after seeing her fairly unique temperament. Normally, Liu Ru would be happy to make friends with some Magicians, who were seen as the pillars of the country, yet she was currently lacking the mood. She could not gather her focus, as every time she closed her eyes, she would see a man in a coat hiding in the darkness, and when her eyes sprang open, it felt like the figure was right in front of her.

“Have you finished your class?” Finally, Liu Ru saw a familiar face walking toward her, bringing a smile to her miserable face.

“I was looking for information. The library here has lots of books about demon beasts, yet I couldn’t find any information about the vampires,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“I’ll lend you a hand. It’s a lot of work if you’re doing it alone,” said Liu Ru, who wanted to do something.

“Alright, I’ll bring you to the library tomorrow,” Mo Fan nodded.

——

On the second day, Mo Fan brought Liu Ru to the library early in the morning. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Ai Tutu had followed them to the library, too.

Ai Tutu was extremely furious. They had made it clear that no one was allowed to bring someone to the apartment without asking for everyone’s permission, yet Mo Fan had brought a girl back, who even spent the night!

One could imagine the terrified look on Ai Tutu’s face when she walked out from her room in her pajamas and saw a girl with a worn-out look walking out from Mo Fan’s room. She was very angry, and immediately told Mu Nujiao about it, to expose Mo Fan’s true character.

Mu Nujiao was relatively calm, but she still could not understand why Mo Fan would bring a girl to the apartment if he were desperately in need of a place.

Mo Fan roughly explained the situation, yet the two girls were not fully convinced by it, especially Ai Tutu, who insisted on following them to the library.

“Excuse me, mistress, I’m at work, so please don’t disturb me,” Mo Fan said sternly to Ai Tutu.

The works that Hunters did most of the time were filled with danger. If necessary, Mo Fan would prefer not to involve anyone he knew in his work. Besides, Liu Ru was being targeted by a vampire hiding in the dark. Mo Fan had already arranged another apartment for Liu Ru, and had moved into it temporarily.

“Who’s disturbing you? Aren’t you looking for information about vampires? I’ll lend a hand, too. Maybe I can help you to catch the vampire too,” retorted Ai Tutu.

Ai Tutu wanted to know if Mo Fan actually shared a secret relationship with Liu Ru. If that was the case, she would convince her Sister Mu to forget about this ungrateful man.

“Nonsense! I don’t want to see you during this period, do you understand?!” Mo Fan’s tone sank, not giving Ai Tutu any chance to mess around.

Ai Tutu was startled when she saw Mo Fan’s fierce expression.

A while later, Ai Tutu punched and kicked Mo Fan wildly, before running away with tears bursting out her eyes.

Mo Fan let out a sigh after chasing Ai Tutu away.

Mo Fan was not worried that Ai Tutu would disturb him, but he knew how dangerous these demon beasts hiding in human territories were. They were mostly vengeful, and could appear from the dark at any time to deal a critical blow to Hunters, or to the people around the Hunters.

Therefore, Mo Fan would never involve anyone close to him while he was doing a job. Although Ai Tutu and Mu Nujiao were strong Intermediate Magicians, their intelligence when going up against some cunning demon beasts hiding in the dark was not even a tenth that of a Hunter Master like Lingling!

These demon beasts which were living among humans knew how to disguise themselves, and most of the time, they could easily murder powerful yet inexperienced Magicians!

——

The library was huge and split into many floors.

The books on the top floor were relatively old and less mainstream. Not many students were on that floor. Mo Fan and Liu Ru began flipping through the books, while waiting for Lingling to get back to them with any findings.

Lingling had been using different ways to spy on the North Country Club, but the vampire never showed up, as if he were aware of something.

Lingling was a little loli, remarkably adorable after leaving her usual smart, doddering manner behind. No one would suspect her regardless of what she was doing, including the demon beasts hiding among the humans.

Who would picture an innocent little loli as an experienced Hunter Master, expert at eliminating demon beasts?

Mo Fan could only wait for Lingling to return with good news, while trying to find information regarding a vampire’s weaknesses…

Mo Fan could never forget the scene where the vampire had pulled his heart out, yet the hole mended itself in a short time. It was unlikely that ordinary ways were any use against a strange creature like that, thus he was hoping that the old books would provide some useful information.

——

Mo Fan was searching a row of bookshelves when he suddenly captured a familiar gorgeous back from the gap between the books.

The same attractive black hair, which instead of being perfectly straight like normal was spread out like mermaid hair, with a blue sparrow headband around the bottom half of her hair. It granted her an inexplicably elegant and calm demeanor. She was fully focused on selecting a book from the rack, unaware of the eyes staring at her through the shelves behind her.

Mo Fan recognized her just by looking at her back.

“Ding Yuming, what a surprise to stumble into her here…” mumbled Mo Fan.

The most unique thing about the Fire Element’s goddess was the fact that she always had a new hair../style, just like how other women always wore different clothes. It gave her a different kind of breathtaking appearance every day…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was surprised when he realized that Huang Xingli, who was always together with Ding Yuming, was absent.

Ding Yuming was searching for some book. Other students rarely came up to the top floor, so it was obvious that Ding Yuming was looking for some rare Magic Books, too. Mo Fan hid behind the shelves after he saw her picking up a book with a blazing red cover…

The girl suddenly turned around, her eyes flickered like a surge of electricity as she spun in Mo Fan’s direction and stared right into his eyes!

“It’s you!” Ding Yuming quickly recognized Mo Fan. Everyone in the Fire School knew who Mo Fan was. He had reclaimed the title of demon king after the recent incident.

“What a coincidence,” Mo Fan smiled.

As a matter of fact, it was Mo Fan’s first time seeing Ding Yuming’s face up front.

She was certainly the goddess of the Fire Element. Leaving her soft, tender skin and adorable nose aside, her charming eyes were enough to make someone feel lost in her beauty.

Perhaps it was because of the Fire Element, but even though she was calm as a lily, she was also emitting a charming, enchanting aura. She would be a lot more attractive when she smiled.

“Are you looking for a book?” asked Ding Yuming.

The fact was, she had noticed his gaze earlier. She was not too bothered by it at the start, and had only turned around when the stare lasted longer than she expected. She never thought the person would be the demon king, Mo Fan, who was so infamous recently. Lately, she had heard his name too many times, as Ding Yuming kept on mentioning him beside her ears…

“Yeah, but I haven’t spent much time at school, so I can’t find what I want,” said Mo Fan.

“What are you looking for?” asked Ding Yuming.

“Books about vampires,” said Mo Fan. It seemed like Ding Yuming was a regular here, as she was quite familiar with the books just now.

“I’ll help you out,” said Ding Yuming.

Mo Fan was a little surprised. He was told that the goddess of their Element was rather unapproachable, yet why was she being so kind to him during their first encounter?

Could it be that she was conquered by his unique charm, under his decadent appearance?

Ding Yuming was indeed familiar with the books on the floor. She soon brought back a stack of books to Mo Fan.

She did not talk to him any further, quickly leaving after casting a glance at Liu Ru.

Mo Fan was unable to discuss life and ambition with her in time. – What a pity- , he thought, as he watched her leave…

—-

After dividing the work with Liu Ru, it turned out that the books which Ding Yuming had found were exactly what Mo Fan was looking for. Many had records about the famous vampires in the past, and provided detailed descriptions of their strengths and weaknesses.

The incidents in the past had proven that the vampires were not afraid of garlic, crosses, or timber. They were actually scared of holy water with strong purification ability. This holy water was definitely not a sacred item of some religion, but a liquid mixed with the Light Element.

Frankly speaking, the vampires were Darkness Creatures. They were not scared of sunlight, but vulnerable to Light Element Magic, which was extremely effective against them!

Apart from that, they could only be killed with very powerful Magic. Basically, it was impossible for any creature, including the undead, to come back to life after being blasted into pieces. If the Light Element was not available, brute force was the only way left.

The books also mentioned how to entrap vampires.

The strongest confining Spell among all Intermediate Magic was the Shadow Element’s Giant Shadow Spike. Not only could it seal the target’s movement, it could also entrap their mind… Unfortunately, vampires were experts at the Shadow Element, and they had no shadow, thus the Giant Shadow Spike was basically useless.

The other effective Spells were the entrapping Spells of the Water, Light, or Lightning Elements.

Mo Fan had yet to achieve such a great height for his Lightning Element, so he had no choice but to look for help in order to deal with the vampire.

Speaking of Light Element, Mo Fan immediately thought of Zhao Manting. His primary Element was Light Element, and his secondary Water Element was also very useful against vampires!

——

Mo Fan found Zhao Manting, who instantly agreed to help without hesitation.

Before, Zhao Manting would surely have negotiated with Mo Fan for benefits, since the task was dangerous and not bringing any good to him. However, since the incident at the abandoned city, Zhao Manting had completely treated Mo Fan like a brother who stayed true to his words!

Zhao Manting was furious, just like Mo Fan, determined to eliminate the vampires that were specifically preying on the girls!

It was already difficult to find a good woman to begin with, as there were many monks, but not much gruel, yet these half-human, half-beasts vampires still dared to bring harm to the human world. There was no way Zhao Manting would tolerate their actions. He would surely bring them to justice!

“Not sure if I’m imagining it, but I kept feeling that the guy is nearby. When I take the stairs, I would see a figure in the shadow under the steps. When I raise my head, I feel like something is standing on the roof. When I walk past the trees, it feels like a pair of eyes are watching me…” Liu Ru seemed terrified, and told Mo Fan this honestly.

When Mo Fan went to look for Zhao Manting, Liu Ru was walking in the school on her own. She immediately told Mo Fan about her fears when he came back.

“The books have mentioned that Nightmare is one of the vampires’ abilities. They can implant it in their prey’s mind, to either place their prey in fear, or force their prey to think constantly of them,” said Mo Fan.

“Or maybe the vampire is thinking constantly of Liu Ru. It’s said that the vampires are very persistent, and won’t give up on their targets easily,” Liu Ru added sternly.

“Either is possible, so we’ll loosen our guard on Liu Ru, and let Zhao Manting pretend to be an admirer to protect her,” Mo Fan revealed his plan.

“Is the guy reliable?” asked Lingling quickly.

“I can’t say for sure. He’s a playboy, I think the threat he poses to Liu Ru isn’t any weaker than the vampire,” said Mo Fan.

“…” Lingling was left speechless.

Liu Ru had no idea what to say either, but as long as she could avenge her sister, she would give Mo Fan her full cooperation.

—–

Mo Fan moved back to his apartment. Meanwhile, Lingling was keeping an eye on Liu Ru with her own methods.

Since Liu Ru had mentioned that the vampire might have snuck into the school to pressure her, Mo Fan and Zhao Manting had agreed to set up a trap for the vampire here at Pearl Institute’s main campus…

After all, Pearl Institute was a place of Magicians. If the fight broke out somewhere else, it might result in the loss of innocent lives. God knew if the vampire would kill indiscriminately when he lost his cool…

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Time gradually passed, the second challenge week had arrived.

As Mo Fan wished, he challenged someone ranked in the top fifty, to earn a chance at entering the Three Step Tower.

The duel went according to plan. Mo Fan ordered the Swift Star Wolf to suppress his opponent, while casting his fourth-tier Basic Spells rapidly, defeating the student ranked forty-eighth with ease and entering the top fifty.

As Mo Fan thought, those ranked in the top fifty had a full set of equipment. If he weren’t abusing his three Elements, he would not be able to win the duel easily, since those ranked in the top fifty were as strong as Mu Ningxue when he fought her during the exchange.

Both Imperial College and Pearl Institute had lots of experts in the main campus. It would take years for the new students to dominate the scene.

Those close to the fiftieth rank were already at this level, let alone the others who were ranked even higher. Either way, without getting a Contracted Beast, leveling up his Lightning Element to the third level, and sorting out his equipment, it would be extremely difficult to get into top ten.

Mo Fan did not continue challenging as he did not want to bite off more than he could chew. After securing the forty-eighth rank, he would be facing stronger challengers. To preserve some strength for the fight against the vampire, Mo Fan did not want to climb too high on the ranking. As long as he had the chance to enter the Three Step Tower, he was not too concerned about the other resources.

More than a week had passed, but the vampire still did not show up. Even Liu Ru thought he might have given up on her, and she was experiencing the illusions because she still could not get over it.

Mo Fan and Lingling did not lower their guard. They would not allow Liu Ru to go back to her old life before killing the vampire.

Since their enemy was being patient, they would wait patiently too. Mo Fan continued to focus on his cultivation, while Zhao Manting kept an eye on Liu Ru. Even though Zhao Manting unsurprisingly broke up with his new girlfriend because of Liu Ru, it did not make any difference to him…

——

“Damn it, this vampire really knows how to stall it out!” Mo Fan cursed unpleasantly as he went back to his apartment.

Was that vampire brainless? If they continued to drag it out, Zhao Manting and Liu Ru’s kid would have already learned how to buy soy sauce. Didn’t they say the vampires would cling to their prey? Mo Fan clearly knew what kind of person Zhao Manting was. He would change his surname to Zhao if nothing were to happen after letting such a delicate girl interact with him every day!

Lying on the couch, Mo Fan began to run out of patience…

What if the vampire never showed up?

It would not make sense for him to protect Liu Ru all the time… oh, she didn’t need his protection anymore. Zhao Manting was more diligent than him at that.

Liu Ru was not as glamorous as Ding Yuming or Mu Nujiao, but she was attractive in her unique way. Even Mo Fan who had seen all sorts of beauties, had a fairly good first impression of her, let alone Zhao Manting, who was never picky when it came to girls.

As Mo Fam was feeling agitated because he was about to lose hope of getting the reward, his phone rang. The call was from Zhao Manting.

“Mo Fan, something happened,” Zhao Manting’s voice sank.

“Asking for an abortion fee?” teased Mo Fan.

“I’m serious, Liu Ru had an accident. You and Lingling should come over now,” Zhao Manting’s voice did not seem to be joking.

Mo Fan frowned. He could easily tell if his friend were joking or not.

He did not overthink it. He contacted Lingling and rushed straight to the place Zhao Manting mentioned.

——

It all happened very quickly. When Mo Fan assumed Liu Ru and Zhao Manting were enjoying a shameless life together, he never thought he would be seeing her as an expressionless, cold corpse.

She was lying in the woods at the institute. When Mo Fan arrived, her skin was extremely pale, and her body was slightly shriveled. Apart from the same delicate face, Mo Fan found it hard to believe that this was the same brave and youthful girl who was trying to avenge her sister.

Zhao Manting’s coat was placed on top of Liu Ru’s body. On her neck were two big holes, most likely the cause of her death…

This time, the vampire did not try to fake her death. It felt like he had purposely left the two holes to ridicule the people protecting her. Mo Fan could even hear the vampire’s mocking laugh mixed with the wind blowing from the woods.

“Sorry, I couldn’t protect her,” Zhao Manting lowered his head. His eyes were free of tears, yet it was easy to tell that he was in self-reproof.

Similarly, Mo Fan felt a stinging on his heart when he saw Liu Ru’s corpse, resulting in a chill. Yet, when he saw the holes, a great fury was ignited in his heart.

Provocation!

The holes were the provocation from the vampire!

The vampire had used Liu Ru’s life to make fun of Mo Fan’s protection and plan, just to let him know that he was absolutely stupid trying to mess with a vampire who was hiding in the dark. However, Mo Fan was not furious because of the blatant provocation, but because the girl’s life was treated so cheaply by the vampire…

Under Liu Ru’s delicate appearance was enough determination and courage that even Magicians would be impressed. She had never troubled Mo Fan while she was under his protection, and would try to avoid disturbing his life. She never expressed her gratitude to Mo Fan and hid it inside her heart, yet joy would leak out from her eyes every time she saw him.

At the start, Mo Fan felt pity for her, and more importantly, he was trying to complete the quest so he could afford the expensive equipment. However, he had treated Liu Ru as a friend in need, and had a true desire to free her from the vampire’s Nightmare…

If the vampire were holding some grudge against him, he would not frown if the vampire had targeted him. However, the vampire had chosen to target Liu Ru, not to prey on her, but to use her as a warning, a provocation.

It was a human life, the life of a young girl!

The books had mentioned that the vampires’ lineage bore similarities to humans. One could see them as humans who had contracted a strange disease.

However, how could the vampire possibly be called human after what he had done?

Mo Fan recalled what Huo Tuo had said to him. Why should he care if the vampires were humans or beasts, rather than what they had done?

Look at what this vampire had done! Someone like him should be executed like a dirty swine!

“Should we notify someone high up in the Hunter Union?” said Zhao Manting.

“It’s useless unless we have some evidence to prove that the vampire is responsible. Look at how big the holes are, they would say that she was attacked by some sharp weapons,” said Mo Fan.

Even Huo Tuo could not convince the Hunter Union that a vampire had committed the crime. What could they possibly do without proper evidence? Besides, the person who died was not a Magician, so the case would be handed over to the police instead.

“What can we do?” said Zhao Manting.

“Tell me what happened.” Mo Fan was like a volcano on the verge of exploding.

No matter where the vampire was hiding, no matter what disguise he was using, Mo Fan would find him and chop him into pieces, and use him as the fertilizer for the bed of white roses in front of Liu Ru’s grave!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

When Lingling arrived, she used her identity as a Hunter Master and asked the police to seal the area while keeping a low profile.

Mo Fan had told the school what happened, but the school was unable to provide any assistance, unless Mo Fan was able to find the vampire…

——

As Mo Fan and Zhao Manting left the crime scene, a man in a black coat who had been watching them from afar uttered a hollow laugh.

“See that, you’re of little importance. These noble Magicians wouldn’t shed a single tear for someone petty like you. They even handed the case to the police, not daring to notify the Hunter Union, as they were afraid of damaging their reputation since they failed to protect you,” said the man, who altered the pace of his speech continuously.

His coat was loose, as he was actually holding a slim girl inside it. The girl’s mouth was muffled, and her body could not move because of some strange power.

Her eyes were wide. She had witnessed how Mo Fan and Zhao Manting reacted when they saw her corpse, so she was not willing to believe the vampire’s bullshit.

She was extremely furious.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manting thought she had died in the woods, since the corpse was right there…

However, she was still alive, and was being held by the detestable vampire!

What did Mo Fan and Zhao Manting see then?

It was her sister!

This vampire had stolen her sister’s corpse, and was well preserved even though it had been three months since she died. God knows what he had in mind, to preserve her sister’s corpse!

Most wickedly, the vampire had used her sister’s corpse to trick Mo Fan and Zhao Manting!

They had tried so hard to protect her even though they were not obliged to. When she recalled their reactions after seeing her corpse, she felt the urge to fight the vampire at all costs…

“Just give up, they will soon forget you completely, and you’ll know how fond I am of you,” Nie Dong said with a weird chuckle.

The chuckle was absolutely irritating to Liu Ru’s ear, but she could not do anything. She was too weak, and could only watch it all happen.

“Does it feel like you’re free now? You must have felt unsettled lately, to miss me so much. Isn’t it a relief that you’re back in my hands?” Nie Dong continued to tease Liu Ru.

Liu Ru’s eyes were filled with tears, yet she was still holding onto the same persistence, “You’re too full of yourself. You’re just like a filthy spirit that kept on disturbing me, that I didn’t even bother treating seriously.”

“How about now? HAHAHAHA, I won’t allow anyone to ignore me! It’s fine, we have lots of time to slowly understand one another… oh, don’t put your hope in death; for our Blood Tribe, death is considered a rebirth!” Nie Dong laughed wildly.

Liu Ru fell silent. She suddenly remembered the ability vampires had to transform humans into their people from the books they had found.

Liu Ru had a feeling that the guy was planning to turn her into a vampire, too!

“Humans are too short-lived, after all. We Blood Tribe are always patient, as our life spans is the same as the world. I don’t mind that you hate me now, but after spending a few years, ten years, or even hundreds of years together, you will realize that your hatred now is just a quarrel,” Nie Dong told her patronizingly.

Liu Ru was unyielding and surprisingly brave, as if the shock from her sister’s death had significantly surpassed her fear. She was fairly stubborn, but if she ended up turning into the thing that she hated the most, she would definitely have a mental breakdown.

The Blood Tribe needed new blood. Once she was turned into one of them, and sent after the two Magicians who were protecting her, Nie Dong thought their expressions would be very amusing!

Those who opposed the Blood Tribe would always find themselves to be the ones falling apart!

————–

Back at the apartment, Zhao Manting told Mo Fan everything in detail.

Zhao Manting knew the capabilities of a vampire, thus he was protecting Liu Ru the same as usual, including bringing her to his classes.

To his surprise, there were two vampires; one lured him away, and the other kidnapped Liu Ru when he lost focus.

Just to be sure, Zhao Manting ordered his attendant to wait outside of the school, so it was impossible for the vampire to transport Liu Ru out of the school, as his attendant was a strong Magician…

To his surprise, the vampire straight away sucked Liu Ru’s blood dry in the woods. The process did not even last a few minutes. Zhao Manting quickly found her location through the tracker on her, yet all that was left was an icy corpse.

“Just a few minutes?” asked Mo Fan sternly.

“Yeah, when I saw her like that, I called you instantly,” said Zhao Manting.

“We didn’t expect there to be two…”

The books mentioned that vampires who were living among humans would usually belong to a family. Being in a family did not mean they were related by blood, but they were all turned into vampires by the same powerful senior and lived in a specific area in the city. The senior would establish rules for them to follow, and teach them how to live among humans and feed themselves while protecting their territory from the invasion of other vampires.

Mo Fan had found a helper, and the cunning vampire did the same, too. Things were getting more complicated.

“I don’t understand, they could easily team up and kill me. If they were trying to murder me, I might be able to drag the fight out until my attendant arrived…” said Zhao Manting.

“They did not target us because we are Magicians. The death of a Magician would immediately alert the Hunter Union and the Magic Court. They still want to keep their disguises so they can continue living in the city. Killing us would burn their own boat,” said Mo Fan.

“Mm, I just feel sorry for Liu Ru, to see such a good girl turn into an icy corpse…” said Zhao Manting with self-reproof.

“Icy?” asked Lingling suddenly.

“Yeah, her blood had dried, so her body had lost its heat. The corpse was cold as ice when I tried to feel her pulse,” said Zhao Manting.

“What is it?” asked Mo Fan, confused at Liling’s expression.

Lingling frowned as she fell into deep thought…

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Lingling spoke after a pause, “A body does get cold after the blood has dried, but I thought it’s only like that because we were late getting there… it sounds like that’s not the case. A body’s temperature doesn’t drop that fast.”

“Maybe it’s because of the vampire?” said Zhao Manting.

Lingling shook her head. She glanced at Mo Fan and spoke in a speculating manner, “To be honest, I’m still confused on certain things,”

“What things?” asked Mo Fan.

“Her sister Liu Xian died from excessive loss of blood, why did the report say she died of a sudden heart attack? All the documents were there to validate her cause of death, and not one of them had any part that was suspicious, but that is exactly why it felt strange, as Old Huo would never lie to us, as he had witnessed the incident himself,” said Liu Xian.

Mo Fan suddenly realized something halfway through her speech!

“We shouldn’t have handed Liu Ru’s corpse to the police…” Mo Fan realized that he had made a mistake.

“Mm, but it’s fine. I think the vampire has exposed himself,” Lingling’s eyes flickered, making her look wise.

—

“Still working at this time? We’re all done for the day,” a relatively gorgeous policewoman asked the young forensic doctor.

The young doctor said with a helpless smile, “A girl was found in the woods at Pearl Institute with holes in her neck. The body was sent here, so I’ll have to perform an autopsy.”

“Isn’t the institute full of Magicians? Why would someone commit a crime there? That sounds rather strange,” mused the policewoman.

“Maybe the Magicians are the ones committing the crime. We’ll know once I finish the autopsy,” the young forensic doctor smiled.

After putting on a big white coat, the doctor went to a dimmed room. It had a white tone, and was filled with many forensic instruments. An autopsy table was placed at the center of the room, where a white cloth was covering a slim body.

The doctor was about to close the door when the policewoman poked her head through it and asked cautiously, “Do you need my help? Maybe we can grab supper if we finish it earlier.”

“Of course, I’m a bit hungry now,” a smile surfaced on the doctor’s face.

The policewoman said with a nod, “Then I’ll grab something for you to eat.”

“It’s fine, just stay here,” Nie Dong’s smile turned into an eerie grin.

Nie Dong suddenly pushed the policewoman against the wall upon finishing the sentence.

The officer felt dizzy as she slammed into the wall. She was just about to struggle when cold lips pressed heavily onto her neck.

She had a good impression of the young, handsome forensic doctor, and was planning to take a step forward tonight, yet she did not expect the guy would respond so roughly to her straight away. He could just do it after a meal, she did not like it rough.

Suddenly, a pair of fangs reached out between the lips and poked into the policwoman’s neck. Her body suddenly tensed, with her face displaying a hint of pain.

The man’s throat moved as blood poured into his stomach through the fangs. Nie Dong was greedily sucking away the woman’s blood.

He had only turned into a vampire quite recently. He still could not control the savage nature and lust for blood well, thus he would forget to keep an eye on his prey’s condition while he was enjoying his meal. At times, he would end up sucking his prey’s life dry.

The senior mentioned that it was a bad habit, as it would potentially grab the attention of Hunters. However, Nie Dong thought the senior was making a big fuss over a minor issue. With their capabilities, they could easily twist the Hunters around their little finger. Why would they be afraid of the Hunters?

The Blood Tribe was a stronger species than homo sapiens. Humans were only their toys and food, but the way his senior had taught him, it felt like people of the Blood Tribe were like thieves living in a little dark corner, who had no choice but to hide and conceal their identities…

How ridiculous!

So what if he sucked his prey’s blood dry, there were millions of people living in the city. It would not make any difference if he killed a person every day!

“No…don’t…” the policewoman cried weakly.

If the vampire was simply sucking the prey’s blood at a crazy pace, the prey would not feel any pleasure, only an overwhelming pain.

The woman’s life force was drained rapidly. She never thought her bold move of asking the doctor out for supper after finally gathering her courage, would turn her into a monster’s supper instead. All her struggles were in vain.

Finally, the blood ran dry.

The policewoman’s face was extremely pale, with a slight hint of blue. Her body seemed to have shriveled, the clothes on her were now loose…

Nie Dong finally drew his lustful fangs out from the girl’s neck, before licking the sweetness left on his lips. His eyes were full of disdain.

“Consider yourself unlucky, as I’ll need a huge amount of fresh blood for a ritual tonight. If you didn’t present yourself, I would simply have picked a target among the women who are on a night shift tonight,” Nie Dong laughed. The fangs poking out from his upper lip slowly withdrew.

Even though the police station had surveillance cameras in every room, including the morgue, he had already set the place up, so no one would know the policewoman had been here, or that she had somehow disappeared tonight.

As a matter of fact, it was his first time preying on someone at his workplace. It turned out that he was quite self-disciplined before!

“Liu Xian, you are still back in my hands. Tsk tsk, a bunch of idiots, being twisted around my finger, and in the end, I still got my hands on both the sisters…” Nie Dong did not bother looking at the female officer. Instead, he slowly approached the table with the corpse which was thought to be Liu Ru.

——

Inside an alley opposite the police station, a wolf-like creature was sprinting at an incredible pace. When some obstacles popped up in front of it, it agilely passed them by running across the wall on either sides.

“Crap, she’s dead,” Lingling, who was riding on the Swift Star Wolf, had her eyes fixed onto her notebook computer.

Mo Fan frowned, too. He initially thought the vampire would avoid taking innocent lives to keep his disguise intact, yet he had killed again after just a short period of time. This vampire was utterly devoid of conscience!

As soon as they speculated on the vampire’s identity, Lingling immediately ran a search in the police’s database and locked onto the young forensic doctor.

Even though he had done something to the cameras, Lingling, a computer whiz, easily hacked into the system and gained access to the surveillance network.

As soon as she got access, she saw the vampire attacking the female officer!

The girl had died a pitiful death, but the recording had turned out to be the most solid evidence, leaving no escape for the vampire!

“Zhao Manting has already handed the recording to the Hunter Union, but we have to take him down as soon as possible. Otherwise, Liu Ru will be in danger!” Lingling said to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nodded. Time was running out. He had to apprehend the loathsome vampire at once and rescue Liu Ru!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

The North Country Club…

The club’s cellar had rows of wine racks, but most of them were empty. Some with seemingly expensive wines were well taken care of, without a single trace of dust.

The cellar was neat and tidy, and very quiet too, totally isolated from the noise of the bar.

Something was ticking rhythmically in the dark.

A round table was placed in the center of the wine cellar. Half of the table was hollow, and a slim-figured girl was strapped on it, as if she were in the midst of an ancient, feudal ritual…

There was a cut on her wrist, and the ticking sound was from the blood dripping down from her veins.

The blood was dripping to the ground, into a strange diagram, forming a cycle in the carved notches.

As the amount of blood increased, the evil presence from the eerie diagram grew stronger. It crazily penetrated Liu Ru’s body and modified her body composition. Her mouth was slightly opened as she was suffering from the pain, and it was clear that her canine teeth were growing longer.

When a human was losing blood at a slow rate, they would be in danger after losing more than forty percent of their blood. Liu Ru could not tell how much blood she had lost, but she was clearly aware that each drop of blood into the eerie diagram below would turn into a strange gaseous substance before returning to her body.

Maybe her blood had deteriorated; either way, the pain was unbearable, like she was immersed in acid.

The surroundings were in complete darkness. The only sounds left were the ticking of the blood and her panting. Time felt incredibly long, and she felt like a hopeless person abandoned in a dark corner waiting for her death.

Kata, kata, kata…

The footsteps were crisp and clear as they echoed in the wine cellar.

Liu Ru slightly regained her consciousness, with a hint of disgust rising in her heart!

She knew who the person was; it must be the vampire, Nie Dong!

He was planning to turn her into his own kind, to let her know that the vampires had a longer lifespan than humans. Most importantly, they could keep their youthful looks forever.

If she ended up turning into something like that, she would not want to live a second longer!

“Liu Ru?” The rather familiar voice of a man appeared.

Liu Ru was startled, and her heart filled with joy.

“I…I’m here, Mo Fan, is that you?” Liu Ru asked weakly.

“It’s me, it’s me!” Mo Fan hurried over to Liu Ru.

When he saw Liu Ru was bleeding, he quickly untied her and treated her wounds.

Luckily, he had brought some blood serums along to replenish her blood. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw Liu Ru’s pale face gradually returning to normal.

Lingling had cleverly suggested he should search the club rather than trying to take the vampire Nie Dong down at the police station.

As they thought, Liu Ru was imprisoned here. Mo Fan had awakened the Shadow Element, so he was fairly sensitive toward places with a strong presence of black magic. He snuck his way into here after discovering that the club had a wine cellar under it!

Either way, he had managed to find Liu Ru. He would be wallowing in deep self-reproof if she were killed by the vampire…

“I’ll bring you out of here first. That vampire should be on his way back…” Mo Fan carried the weak girl in his arms.

Liu Ru had been brought here after she was kidnapped by Nie Dong. Fortunately, the ritual could only infect and modify someone’s blood one drop at a time, which gave Mo Fan and Lingling enough time to save her.

“Thank…thank you, Mo Fan,” Liu Ru sounded like she was almost in tears. The strong girl had finally revealed her weak side. She dug her head into the shoulder of the man whom she had only known since half a month ago.

“I’m a Hunter, it’s my responsibility to save you,” Mo Fan replied sincerely.

Mo Fan was extremely cautious as he walked toward the exit. According to how Lingling had described the place, it seemed to be where the vampires of the same family interacted with one another. As such, there was a chance that other vampires would be around. If he happened to stumble into any of them, it would be troublesome for him to leave the place.

Liu Ru was still sobbing, yet her tears were not flowing out for some reason.

She tightly held onto Mo Fan, who was clearly enjoying the hug. Her cold body subconsciously pulled herself closer when she detected Mo Fan’s fiery, masculine aura.

She did not dare to be too close to Mo Fan, as she was afraid of disturbing his life. After all, he was only protecting her out of kindness, but when a man was willing to help a girl when she was feeling extremely helpless, just a little kind act would be seen as a blessing.

When the man was carrying her, it was the most peaceful time she had for the past few months ever since the vampire had intruded her life, even though it was a bit too much to ask, and the duration was too short…

For some reason, Liu Ru felt an urge to kiss Mo Fan.

Her body felt cold, down to the bones, and she could clearly feel Mo Fan’s body heat, especially from his shoulders, neck, and face that were the closest to her.

Even though she felt worn out, she secretly moved closer, and her initial thought was only to stick her mouth closer so she could give him a kiss…

However, when she inhaled a strong scent similar to that of deadly poison from Mo Fan’s neck, a strong desire electrocuted her body all of a sudden.

Not only did she want Mo Fan to hug her tightly, to give her a crazy kiss, she wanted to have more intimate interactions, and drink his boiling, masculine blood…

——

A pair of soft lips were pressed onto Mo Fan’s neck.

Mo Fan, who was making his way out of the club, shuddered as he felt something poking into the veins in his neck.

Mo Fan subconsciously set himself aflame, to burn the thing that was harming him into ashes. However, when he turned and saw Liu Ru’s attractive face, the Rose Flame which had already climbed to his waist halted suddenly.

Mo Fan stared at Liu Ru, briefly at a loss for words.

He could feel the blood being drawn out from his body, yet when he sensed that Liu Ru was recovering by using his blood, the flames burning on his body slowly dissipated.

A multitude of feelings surged up in his heart, including self-reproof, pity, and anger…

Either way, he could not make the decision to burn this girl, who he had no idea what she had turned into, into ashes…

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

The taste of fresh blood lingered on her lips. Liu Ru would feel dizzy whenever she saw blood in the past, yet blood had somehow become splendid, sticky, sweet, and she seemed to forget the pain, hatred and sorrow accumulated in her heart at that moment!

However, Liu Ru did not indulge in pleasure for too long.

Her body shuddered violently as she came to a realization.

She withdrew the fangs out from Mo Fan’s neck in panic, and touched them with her hand in disbelief!

-God, what was I doing? –

Liu Ru could not believe it. She looked at Mo Fan, who was staring back at her. She could not detect any ripple of emotion from his eyes.

Yet, the more emotionless they seemed, the more Liu Ru felt like she was punctured with holes by the gaze, clueless about how to face him…

Liu Ru struggled to her feet as she broke free from Mo Fan’s hug. She took a few steps backward, as a great sorrow surged within her body. Normally, she would have broken out in tears by now, as she never thought she would be hurting the person who was helping her.

However, not a single drop of tears was shed.

It would be too fake if she simply dug her face into her hands and cried. A dizzy feeling gave her the urge to chuck her body, which no longer felt like her own, deep into an abyss!

-What am I?

-What was I doing?

-Vampire…-

The species that she hated to the guts, she had turned into one of them, and even harmed her friend!

Liu Ru did not dare to look at Mo Fan. She quickly ran into a nearby path among some woods shrouded in darkness.

Maybe she was unaware that her speed kept on increasing in the dark, that she had already run a few hundred meters in an instant…

Mo Fan who was frozen to the spot, tried to chase after her, but was shocked by Liu Ru’s speed too.

Not too long ago, she was only a delicate, ordinary girl, but she had completely changed after receiving the blood.

The color of her pupils, the sharp fangs, the charming red lips on her pale face, her look did not change, yet her figure was shrouded in a mysterious mist, and a totally different dark temperament!

Looking at her back running into the distance, and hearing her despairing cry, Mo Fan felt a surge of sorrow in his heart.

She bore a great hatred toward the vampires, to the extent that she was tried to fight the guy with a dagger, but now she had turned into one herself. Mo Fan could not possibly imagine the despair she was experiencing.

——

“Mo Fan, what’s wrong?” Lingling appeared beside him.

“We were still too late,” said Mo Fan who looked at Lingling and shook his head helplessly.

Lingling immediately realized what had happened after noticing the teeth marks on Mo Fan’s neck, and his pale face.

“What should we do now? The vampire seems to have noticed something, we’ve lost track of him”, asked Lingling.

“I’m quite tired too. Let’s head back,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan felt light-headed after Liu Ru had drunk a significant amount of his blood. It was not ideal to try and hunt the vampire down now, he would decide what to do once he recovered.

In Mo Fan’s opinion, the only thing he could possibly do was exterminate the vampire. As for the rest…he would worry about it later.

——

After returning to the apartment, Mo Fan laid on the couch facing upward.

He had consumed a blood serum, he should recover fairly quickly after a rest.

“Mo Fan, why did you let Liu Ru go?” Zhao Manting was pacing up and down the room worriedly.

“I couldn’t catch up to her,” said Mo Fan.

“Couldn’t catch up?” Zhao Manting was astounded.

“Mm, she was very fast. I’d already used my Blood Tabi when I was getting her out of the club,” said Mo Fan.

“You always say that I will do something to her when I’m protecting her, but I’m not blind. It’s obvious that she has feelings for you, but she’s afraid to trouble you…” said Zhao Manting.

“Don’t let me get my hands on the vampire, or else I would skin him by peeling the layers off one by one!” Mo Fan could not find a way to vent his frustration.

He had almost recovered, so his only thought now was to find the vampire!

“Mo Fan, I’ve located the vampire!” Lingling brought some good news as Mo Fan’s stomach was burning with fury.

Mo Fan rose from the couch, his eyes flickering with murderous intent.

“I’m not Mo Fan if I don’t kill that jerk!” Mo Fan did not want to waste any time, jumping down from the balcony instead of taking the lift.

As he was falling to the bottom floor, his body quickly dissolved into the shadows at the side of the lake, and something swept across the surface of the lake like a nimble nighthawk!

Zhao Manting had just reached the balcony when he saw the enraged Mo Fan landing on the other side of the artificial lake. An elegant wolf-shaped creature leapt out from a gap under the moonlight. In mid-run, Mo Fan quickly jumped onto the Swift Star Wolf’s back…

The creature’s star-colored fur drifted in the wind as he rode into the distance with the furious Mo Fan, disappearing among the busy interconnecting streets!

—

“F**k, wait for me!” yelled Zhao Manting at Mo Fan’s leaving figure.

A Magician whose primary Element was Light and secondary Element was Water would never dare to jump off the building like Mo Fan. He had no choice but to take the elevator.

“Damn, a Magician that still needs to drive, what the heck!” grumbled Zhao Manting.

He started the engine of his car, stepped on the pedal, and drove his car out of the parking lot. Unfortunately, the bar at the pay station dropped down in front of him…

Zhao Manting instantly lost his temper. When he recalled Mo Fan’s furious yet unrestrained expression, he clenched his teeth and stepped on the gas pedal!

The bar was smashed into pieces, landed on the ground and the black car surged ahead…

He could not drift around in shadow form or ride a Summoned beast across the city, but if he did not even have the courage to smash the pay station’s bar to earn some time, he would quit being a Magician straight away!

He was also responsible for the series of events that had turned Liu Ru into a vampire. God knows how long it would take the Hunter Union to send someone over to handle the incident. Mo Fan was already making his way to the vampire, so he should be heading there, too!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

South of Xuhui District, the white lights of a tall, luxurious office building were shining upon the silent business district.

There were lots of office buildings here, most of them around twenty floors tall. The one shining with white lights was the only building with forty floors, more than a hundred meters tall.

The top floor of the building was temporarily empty, since no company had moved in yet. The whole floor only had some work tools prepared for the renovation.

It was late and quiet. The building was completely empty. Even the security guard was half-asleep on the first floor, not noticing an eerie figure moving through the greyscale views captured by the surveillance cameras.

The figure was moving quickly. He rapidly disappeared from one camera, before appearing instantly in another.

He seemed to be looking for something, like a misty gust!

He went all the way to the fortieth floor, the empty floor which only had an outer frame.

The floor was not tall, only slightly more than three meters high. The place felt gloomy, as the light from the city was only able to form some shadows in the floor.

Black coat, sharp and icy face, fresh red lips… Nie Dong was standing in front of the windows, staring at the night view of the modern yet tiny city.

Normally, he would be at the North Country Club, enjoying his delicious prey, but it was no longer possible.

He had been kicked out from the family, and become an abandoned vampire.

The reason was simple: the Hunter Union had set their eyes on him!

In other words, the family no longer cared if the Hunter Union had decided to hunt down Nie Dong. They were weak, timid. They were still living with their tails between their legs even when their capabilities significantly surpassed humans and Magicians. Nie Dong had enough of them, and was somehow relieved that he had left the family. At least no one would speak about those irritating rules beside his ears anymore.

A strange wind blew through the empty floor, swiping the back of Nie Dong’s head.

Nie Dong grinned and spoke without turning his head around, “So you do have some sensibilities still? Why didn’t you continue to wear your disguise in the institute instead? You didn’t want to help me when I asked a few days ago, why are you here now?”

A woman was standing behind Nie Dong. She had a slim figure, with disheveled yet still elegant hair.

The figure moved closer, taking one step at a time very lightly…

“Die, asshole!” the girl let out a shrill cry. Her hands turned into white, sinister claws, grabbing at Nie Dong’s neck like five daggers.

The claws left a cold aftertrail in the air, and deep wounds on Nie Dong’s neck!

Nie Dong did not expect the girl to attack him. Luckily, he had dodged instinctively when he sensed the attack. Otherwise, the claw would have sliced his neck off from his head straight away!

“Are you out of your mind…why is it you!?” Nie Dong held onto his neck and hid aside. Fresh blood poured out from the gaps between his fingers.

In the past, there was no blood when Nie Dong’s heart was stabbed by the dagger, but it began to pour out after his neck was cut open. It turned out that their blood was stored in body parts above the shoulders for vampires, especially the head and neck!

Nie Dong initially thought she was the woman from his family, but when he saw a familiar, yet strange face after turning around, he was left in astonishment and slight disbelief.

“Liu…Liu Ru?” Nie Dong blurted out after staring at the infuriated girl for a moment.

“I’m going to kill you!” repeated Liu Ru as if she had lost the ability to talk, trying to unleash all the anger in her heart.

“You’ve turned into one of the Blood Tribe… impossible, this isn’t possible. Without one from the Blood Tribe giving you their blood, you’ll only turn into a monster!” Nie Dong protested in astonishment.

Pale face, red lips, and exposed sharp fangs. Her previous delicate, adorable look had turned completely savage, pained, and furious. Her glamorous appearance was beyond recognition, her face filled with all sorts of negative emotions!

It was true that Nie Dong was planning to turn Liu Ru into one of the Blood Tribe. He had a deep-seated lust for the girl, and wanted to turn her into one of them so she could always be his companion.

However, he did not get to finish the Blood Tribe’s ritual.

He had murdered the policewoman, as he needed lots of fresh blood to give to Liu Ru for her first meal.

He had only released her blood, which had returned to her body after it was modified by the Blood Diagram, which was only the first step. She would have to inherit the blood of the Blood Tribe, by drinking the blood of someone from the Blood Tribe, to fully evolve into a vampire…

Nie Dong had drunk the middle-aged man’s blood after he had awakened from the ritual, and become a vampire. The middle-aged man then became his senior, whom he could never betray!

Nie Dong wanted to supply the blood, which would make him her senior, so she would never be able to betray him. Unfortunately, he was kicked out of the family on the way back, and when he arrived at the North Country Club, someone had already rescued Liu Ru…

-Whose blood did she drink?-

-Why did she become one of the Blood Tribe, instead of a monster?-

Liu Ru launched her attack while Nie Dong was still confused about everything.

She was obviously unable to control her power adeptly yet, as she was purely using brute force.

Her might was so shocking that she basically tore a pillar of the building apart with a swipe.

In addition to that, her speed was incredible. Nie Dong had to rely on his Shadow Element to change his position rapidly to dodge her attacks, yet she still managed to catch up to him!

The strength of a vampire was dependent on the rare blood they acquired, and also on their senior.

Vampires paid great attention to lineage; the stronger the senior was, the stronger their juniors would be.

However, this Liu Ru had only turned into a vampire a day ago, yet her strength and speed had already surpassed everyone in Nie Dong’s generation. How was this possible?

Liu Ru caught Nie Dong’s coat and slammed him into the hard windows, which began to crack apart.

“Shit!” Nie Dong climbed to his feet with an exceedingly furious expression.

He could not accept that the girl who was supposed to be his servant now had a stronger lineage!

Most importantly, he had totally lost control over Liu Ru! -Whose blood did she drink? Why was her aura slightly different from that of the Blood Tribe?-

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

“Humph, you have no idea how to use your power, do you really think you can kill me!?” roared Nie Dong furiously.

Mists of red blood spread rapidly in the air, floating eerily in front of Nie Dong. The blood surprisingly transformed into a long scythe under Nie Dong’s control…

The bloody scythe sprang forward and slashed at Liu Ru, shattering the steel beams along the way!

Nie Dong grinned cruelly; since he could not have her, he would destroy her instead!

The giant blood scythe formed with blood arrived before Liu Ru. The girl clearly had no clue how to use her speed to dodge it. The scythe struck her waist and knocked her flying.

Liu Ru smashed through a few walls that were left during the renovation. The pieces scattered across the place.

“Even her body is so tough!” Nie Dong almost clenched his fangs to pieces.

His blood scythe was able to kill a Warrior-level creature if they were not defending against it. However, it had only knocked her flying instead of slashing through her waist. It clearly showed how outstanding her defense was.

Nie Dong began to doubt if Liu Ru was actually one of the Blood Tribe!

Liu Ru, her face as pale as a piece of paper, rose to her feet among the debris. Her inhuman eyes were fixed on Nie Dong…

The vampire had killed her sister, the only family member she had, thus Liu Ru had long wanted to kill him with her own hands.

And now, this goddamned creature had turned her into a vampire, too!

When she recalled Mo Fan’s astonished, yet indifferent gaze, and her evil, embarrassed face with a trace of blood on her lips, and only blood slowly leaking out from eyes that could no longer shed tears, it drove her even crazier!

She hated the vampire, hated him for taking away the person dearest to her!

She was on the verge of losing her mind from anger. Her mind was filled with the sole thought of killing the vampire. She was furious that she could no longer face the man whom she had fallen in love with recently because of this vampire, the man who had brought a glimpse of hope to her dull life.

The despair had significantly exceeded the limit she could endure, as if she had been thrown to the valley bottom.

The only reason she did not end her miserable life yet was because she wanted to kill the vampire who had destroyed everything!

—

Liu Ru ignored the wound on her waist. She could not feel the pain due to the overwhelming sorrow she was experiencing.

In the past, she did not even have the courage to harm little animals, and now, she was determined to tear the vampire before her into pieces…

She continued to charge at Nie Dong. On the gloomy floor, a black shadow wove past the obstacles and appeared in front of Nie Dong. Her face looked more savage with the blood leaking out from her eyes, as she reached out with her sharp claws once again.

A chilly gust followed the swipe of the white claws. She was purely venting her hatred blatantly through brute force. The swipes swept past the vampire’s body wildly…

Nie Dong was very agile, he always managed to dodge Liu Ru’s frantic attacks.

Suddenly, Nie Dong came to a stop and pointed his finger at Liu Ru. Countless pairs of wings flapped wildly in the dark.

Screeches were heard as a huge number of bats with sharp wings appeared from all directions!

They were following Nie Dong’s orders, flying at Liu Ru en masse. Each of them left a shallow cut on Liu Ru’s body as they flew past.

More bats began to appear, almost wrapping around Liu Ru, preventing her from moving forward.

“You’re no match for me, same as you were in the past!” Nie Dong sneered with a cold grin.

A lump of blackness appeared on Nie Dong’s palm, emitting an icy, extraordinary glow.

Nie Dong pushed the black substance forward. Its overwhelming energy blasted into Liu Ru, who was still surrounded by the bats.

Liu Ru was knocked far away by the impact. Her body drew an arc in the air before slamming hard into the ground close to the end of the floor.

Her body continued to roll, and only stopped after slamming into the steel glass at the end. She laid on the ground for a long time…

“Humph, stupid woman; what a waste of my effort!” Nie Dong slowly approached Liu Ru’s body, his eyes full of disgust and disdain.

He was still holding his bleeding neck. Blood was extremely precious to the Blood Tribe, thus Liu Ru did inflict serious damage on him.

Nie Dong arrived beside Liu Ru and lifted her with a single hand.

Liu Ru glared at the vampire. Inside her eyes, the vampire was almost burned into ashes by her fury.

“Ungrateful wretch!” Nie Dong was infuriated too. He violently slammed Liu Ru into the wall nearby!

The wall was made of steel glass, and almost cracked apart when Liu Ru’s body slammed into it.

Nie Dong seemed to be torturing Liu Ru on purpose, lifting her again and slamming her into a different section of the wall…

An ordinary human would have broken into pieces by now, but it had only fractured a few of Liu Ru’s bones after her transformation, without endangering her life.

The stronger Liu Ru’s body was, the angrier Nie Dong became. How was his lineage inferior to this bitch’s?

The steel glass shattered following a loud crash!

The sharp glass pieces scattered everywhere. Liu Ru almost fell out from the window, hitting the ground beside the edge, the wind howling inches away. She clenched her teeth and tried to rise to her feet…

“Fiery Fist!”

A blazing, rose-colored flame appeared at the entrance of the floor. Its light instantly lit up the gloomy floor, revealing Nie Dong’s grinning face.

The flames were withdrawn into a bracelet on Mo Fan’s right wrist, on the verge of jetting out!

“Try touching her again!”

The burning fist swept through the darkness, a giant fiery punch traveled across the floor and almost filled the entire area!

The Fiery Fist struck Nie Dong, who could not defend himself in time. His body was slammed hard into the steel glass by the tremendous impact of the Fiery Fist.

The steel glass broke into pieces from the collision, allowing the flames to burst out from the floor like a fiery tongue, lighting up the sky a blazing red!

The vampire was thrown out of the building by Mo Fan’s punch. His body was engulfed in flames, and dropped the full forty floors before slamming into a self-created pit on the street!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Liu Ru raised her head and saw Mo Fan approaching her through the vanishing light from the flame.

She realized something, and quickly covered her face with her hand.

She was afraid that Mo Fan would see her fangs. She had no clue how to hide these loathsome things. She felt like a monster when they were exposed outside of her mouth, and she had also used them to drink Mo Fan’s blood.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it… you’re asking for your death!” The vampire’s furious roar was heard coming from outside the window.

Despite falling from the height, he was not smashed into minced meat. Instead, he had turned into a bat and flown back up to the floor.

The bat’s wings were terrifying, like giant leather stained with oil wrapped around the wings’ bones, like a great long wall when they were fully extended.

Nie Dong angrily flew back to the floor and locked his vicious, glowing eyes on Mo Fan.

This goddamned Magician was the reason everything went wrong, including him being kicked out from the family and losing his favorite prey. Those who dared mess with vampires all ended up with their corpses and souls missing. Since Nie Dong was no longer bound to the rules, he would not care if the person was a Magician or not!

“Claw of Destruction!”

A sticky lump of blood appeared around Nie Dong, which rapidly taking the shape of a giant claw. As Nie Dong swiped his hand forward, the claw made of blood tore at Mo Fan!

The claw swept pass the floor, big enough to hold Mo Fan’s entire figure in it.

Mo Fan did not dare to lower his guard. His body quickly dissolved into the shadows spread by the scattering light.

The claw clenched tightly, trying to pinch Mo Fan into pieces. Unfortunately, it had only caught Mo Fan’s afterimage, as the real Mo Fan had turned into a lump of shadow moving toward another position across the wall.

“Just a little trick!” mocked Nie Dong. He was too familiar with the Shadow Element, thus a simple relocation through the shadow was not enough to escape from his darkness-contaminated eyes!

As Nie Dong swiped his hands, screeches were heard coming from the darkness on the floor.

Cold flickers took place as the sharp wings flapped rapidly, their eyes emitting red glows… it was the Nightblade Bats!

Nie Dong was able to control hundreds of these Nightblade Bats at a time. Their attack could easily shred a living human into pieces!

The Nightblade Bats came from all directions and quickly gathered towards Mo Fan. Mo Fan was aware that the space in the building was limited, which hindered him from using his full strength. He quickly grabbed the severely injured Liu Ru and dashed toward the gap between the steel glass!

The steel glass broke from the collision, and the pieces dropped from the fortieth floor together with Mo Fan…

“Do you think you can run away from me!” Nie Dong’s bellow came from behind them. The roar was followed by the screeches of the Nightblade Bats.

The bats rushed out of the building like a cloud of black gas, chasing after the falling Mo Fan relentlessly.

Their descent was not quick enough. Many parts on Mo Fan’s body was covered in cuts from the Nightblade Bats’ wings…

Liu Ru immediately used her body to protect Mo Fan from the bats’ attack. Even though she was covered in wounds, the Nightblade Bats could only leave shallow cuts on her body without focusing on a certain part. Her body composition was extraordinary compared to normal humans, even stronger than Magicians!

The flock of black creatures followed after Mo Fan, who cast the Fleeing Shadow as he almost landed on the ground. His figure quickly dissolved among the shadows of the buildings, and moved toward the illuminated street!

The street was deserted. The street was full of finance companies, and most of their operating hours were only from nine to five. It was rare to see any pedestrian here once the clock struck seven. The nearest residential area was around half a kilometer away.

The number of cars passing by on the street was almost zero, and the traffic lights on the intersections were mere decorations…

Mo Fan sprinted to the intersection using Fleeing Shadow, and was unable to travel any further when the shadows diminished at the center there.

Meanwhile, the Nightblade Bats were nocturnal creatures. They could easily trace Mo Fan’s location and stayed on his heels. Their inky black bodies were fully exposed under the gloomy streetlights, all packed densely together!

“Still chasing after me? I’ll kill you all!”

Mo Fan stopped running. A fiery Star Pattern was drawn rapidly under his feet, while the flames accumulated on his right fist rapidly.

As the Star Pattern was completed, a blazing force gathered on Mo Fan’s wrist.

“Groundbreak~!”

As the fist struck the ground, the cement at the center of the intersection began to crack open. Boiling lava jetted out into the air, dying the place red!

A fiery, wild, and tempestuous Groundbreak blossomed, centered on Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had thrown the punch right at the ground under him, and the fire bursting out from it covered him whole, as if his entire person was set aflame.

The Nightblade Bats were charging at Mo Fan in a stream, planning to tear him to pieces. However, they were quickly burned into ashes by the flames, despite their numbers!

A huge chunk of them was burned to death and wiped out instantly.

The fire was still drifting wildly. Mo Fan’s body was blazing red from the fire, looking like a volcano that would explode in any second. The remaining Nightblade Bats scattered like absent-minded flies, totally losing any courage to provoke Mo Fan.

Mo Fan spat and raised his eyes, quickly discovering a pair of giant leather wings looming over him.

Between the black wings was a savage face, the sharp fangs poking out from his upper jaw had almost reached the bottom of his jaw.

Nie Dong opened his mouth and bit at Mo Fan’s neck! He was not trying to drink Mo Fan’s blood, he wanted to tear his throat out!

“Light Protection: Sacred Shield!”

As Mo Fan was still thinking about how he was going to dodge the attack, Zhao Manyan’s chant was heard from not far away, where he had just arrived in his car.

The sacred light shield quickly surrounded Mo Fan, forming a barrier which blocked the darkness and the evil creature…

The fangs crashed onto the sacred shield. White smoke quickly rose from Nie Dong’s fangs, and he immediately withdrew in fear.

After all, the Light Element was a vampire’s weakness, clearly shown by Nie Dong’s panicked expression.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I told you to wait for me! See, you almost got yourself killed by coming here alone!” Zhao Manyan had managed to make it in time.

Mo Fan now had the protection of a Sacred Shield. Defended by the powerful Light Element Spell, he was no longer afraid of the vampire’s attack. He quickly drew a Lightning Element Star Pattern.

Since he could not blast the asshole to death with his Fiery Fist, it would not hurt to strike the vampire to death with Lightning. After all, the Lightning Element was somewhat related to the Light Element.

“Qianjun: Thunderbolt: Yaksha!” Mo Fan completed the Star Pattern and pointed his finger at Nie Dong’s head.

A terrifying lightning bolt struck down between the buildings. A brilliant lightning dragon was reflected on the steel glass.

The thunderbolt split into several forks halfway, which looked like a claw.

Nie Dong had a fairly quick reaction, but the lightning had a wide area of effect. As it landed on the vampire, his body began to tremble, tiny sparks flickering on it.

Nie Dong felt like his bones had loosened after he was hit by the lightning. If it weren’t for the outstanding strength of a vampire, the force of the lightning would have been powerful enough to disintegrate him!

“Mo Fan, keep using lightning,” said Zhao Manyan, not far away.

In the meantime, a blue Star Pattern appeared under Zhao Manyan’s feet. The water in the air rapidly gathered in his direction while he was drawing the Star Pattern.

“Rolling Wave: Raging Tide!”

Blue water descended from the sky like a river. The fierce current resulted in a tide that almost occupied the entire street.

The rolling wave swept forward and rapidly drowned Nie Dong, who was still recovering from the damage inflicted by the lightning.

The violent tide dragged him more than a hundred meters away. The impact of the wave had a weakening effect. Nie Dong was soaked in the water for a long time as his body was dragged about by the current. It took him some time to overcome the force of the Water Element Spell, but to his surprise, another purple-black thunderbolt landed on his head!

He was drenched in the water, which helped to conduct the electricity. The vampire had trouble rising to his feet for a prolonged period. His eyes were bloodshot, glaring at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

“How dare you two weak Magicians oppose me!” Nie Dong finally gathered himself and snapped at the two Magicians furiously.

Nie Dong spread his arms and slowly lifted his hands. His claws extended to half a meter long, before they swiped forward in the shape of a cross with great power.

A shockwave with a cross shape swept forward, slashing the streetlight poles on both sides of the road in half. The poles fell, and produced sparkles as the bulbs hit the ground.

“Look after yourself, how could his claws grow so long!?” swore Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan could not find any shadows nearby. In addition to that, the claws were approaching him swiftly, so he would not be able to dodge it with Fleeing Shadow in time.

Mo Fan activated the Departing Nether Shield without hesitation.

A loud screech was heard as the claws collided with the Departing Nether Shield. Hiding behind the shield, Mo Fan was still knocked more than ten meters back.

As the force completely dissipated, Mo Fan rose his head and saw a deep claw mark covering ten meters of the street in front of him.

On the other hand, Zhao Manyan had used the Light Protection: Sacred Shield to defend himself. However, as he was about to cast the next Spell, Nie Dong appeared behind him from nowhere in an eerie manner!

Only then did Zhao Manyan realize his position was covered in shadows. The vampire had used the Shadow Element to teleport himself for the surprise attack.

His half-meter long claws thrust at Zhao Manyan’s chest mercilessly, as if they were going to tear Zhao Manyan’s organs out instantly.

“Water Barrier!”

Zhao Manyan was actually a Magician without any offensive abilities, so all his defensive Spells always helped him to survive longer in danger.

The Water Barrier easily nullified the vampire’s brute force. The stab from the claws was rendered ineffective. Zhao Manyan made use of the opportunity and one-handedly cast the Light Element Basic Spell.

“Brilliant Light: Blind!”

The burning white glow on his palm exploded in front of the vampire. At such a close distance, most demon beasts would experience great pain from their eyes because of the Spell, not to mention a vampire who was naturally afraid of light. Nie Dong felt like the glow was burning his eyes.

“AHHHH!!” Nie Dong covered his eyes with his hands and cried out in pain.

His fangs extended once again, as he was trying to bite Zhao Manyan in a berserk manner.

He could not see Zhao Manyan, yet he could sense his location. His Water Barrier was gone, the bite would easily take half of Zhao Manyan’s life.

Zhao Manyan did not panic when he saw the vampire was desperately trying to bite him. A golden shield with a pattern of guardian wings appeared in front of Zhao Manyan.

The shield was made of some unknown material, its sturdiness comparable to steel. The vampire’s fangs only left shallow teeth marks on it, inflicting great pain in return.

“I’m going to kill you!” Nie Dong was infuriated after being tricked several times in a row.

He used his brute force to lift Zhao Manyan and the shield up, as if he were going to tear Zhao Manyan into pieces.

To his surprise, Zhao Manyan was fully covered in defensive equipment. As a safety measure, Zhao Manyan had activated his shining golden armor after using the golden shield.

The magic armor was obviously of superior quality, majestic in appearance, making him look like a golden warrior.

Nie Dong had no chance of tearing Zhao Manyan apart when the guy was in the armor, regardless of how strong he was. By the time he remembered that he could slash through the golden armor with the power of his blood, Zhao Manyan had already completed a Light Element Intermediate Spell.

The Light Protection: Sacred Shield rapidly wrapped around Zhao Manyan’s figure. The scythe which the vampire had summoned with his blood immediately dissolved into a pool of blood when it made contact with the Sacred Shield!

One, two, three, four layers of defense, and by the time the fourth layer of defense crumbled, he had finished casting the defensive Spell…

Nie Dong felt like he was about to go crazy. He had encountered many Intermediate Magicians, yet he had never seen anyone with as many defensive abilities as Zhao Manyan.

If Zhao Manyan were any other offensive-focused Magician, he would have died many times, yet the vampire still had not touched a single strand of his hair!

It was like the encounter between a fierce tiger and a sturdy turtle. The tiger had no clue what to do next!

Nie Dong was extremely furious yet scared of the burn from the Sacred Shield. He immediately tossed Zhao Manyan into the distance. A Magician like him should be thrown as far away as possible!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was stunned for quite a long time as he watched the fight.

Nie Dong was the vampire, yet why did it feel like he had encountered a ghost when he was battling against Zhao Manyan?

However, Mo Fan did not just stand there while Zhao Manyan was occupied with the fight against the vampire. He had completed his fiery Star Pattern, and his right fist was fully covered in flames.

Mo Fan’s eyes felt like they were burning. He glared at the vampire and threw his fist at the ground angrily.

“Rose Flame: Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!”

The burning energy rapidly surged into the ground. As soon as Nie Dong hurled Zhao Manyan away, the burning pillars with scorching lava burst out from the ground like a giant fire cage.

Nie Dong was about to back away when a fire pillar sprang out from the ground. He dodged to the left, yet he was driven back by another fire pillar. He had nowhere to run. The flames between the pillars washed across him, and he cried out in pain as the fire burned him.

The power of the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls was enough to inflict serious damage to the vampire, who was roaming through the flames, blinded.

Nie Dong ran aimlessly, trying to escape from the fire. He swiped his claws wildly, tearing through the walls of the surrounding buildings. His aimless attacks posed no threat to Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

The flames had not dispersed yet, but Zhao Manyan had already finished casting his Intermediate Spell.

“Light Protection: Rampart!”

Zhao Manyan quickly summoned a wall-like light barrier in the direction Nie Dong was running. The vampire slammed into the wall, and skin that was able to withstand the fire was immediately scorched by the light barrier.

Zhao Manyan cast the same Light Element Intermediate Spell again when he saw how effective it was. The second wall made of light appeared in front of Nie Dong, whose skin was further scorched, leaving him in overwhelming pain!

Nie Dong was already injured to begin with. His neck was torn open by Liu Ru, and still bleeding. Otherwise, he would not be so easily suppressed by the two weak Magicians.

For a vampire, losing his blood was the same as losing his power. The amount of blood lost correlated with how weak he was.

Searing marks from the lightning, burned skin from the fire, scorched wounds from the light, blinded eyes, and vaguely hurting fangs. Nie Dong finally realized that he was currently in a pinch…

Luckily, a vampire’s hearing was better than normal humans. He was able to hear the sound of cars from the bridge not far away, which helped him to regain his sense of direction.

He turned around and quickly grew a pair of wings leathery wings, his body hidden under the jagged bones of the wings. He quickly flew out from the two light barriers, heading in the bridge’s direction.

Mo Fan tried to use Lightning Strike to paralyze Nie Dong, but he was very nimble in his winged form. He weaved his way through the lightning tendrils, dodging them agilely.

The Lightning Strike did not hit him many times, so it was not enough to fully paralyze a creature like the vampire. He was about to draw the Shadow Element Star Pattern under his feet, but gave up when he suddenly remembered that the Giant Shadow Spike was useless against the vampire.

“He’s running away! Quick, find a way to stop him!” blurted out Zhao Manyan.

None of Zhao Manyan’s Spells had the capability of confining and impairing the movement of an enemy. He could only stare at Mo Fan with a blank face. If he were able to cast five Light Protection: Ramparts in an instant, he could forcibly align the light barriers and use them as a cage.

“Don’t worry, he won’t be able to escape,” Mo Fan’s legs glowed crimson, which slowly materialized and wrapped around his legs like a piece of armor.

Mo Fan activated the Blood Tabi and chased after Nie Dong down the empty street.

“The guy is flying and you’re running. How are you going to catch him?” yelled Zhao Manyan.

In the meantime, Zhao Manyan was not willing to give up either. He immediately rushed back to his luxurious car nearby.

He inserted the key and ignited the engine. He was about to step on the pedal when he suddenly saw a golden ray appearing above the vampire in the direction the vampire was heading into.

The ray of light split in a crisscross pattern, forming a golden net.

The golden light net suddenly lunged at Nie Dong, who was forced to return to his original appearance when he touched the light that was enchanted with a sacred force…

The light net wrapped around Nie Dong and fell to the ground. The burning effect from the light almost melted through his face!

“AHHHH!!” Nie Dong struggled wildly. His previous smug, proud look was nowhere to be seen, replaced with him shrieking out like a monster with a horrifying appearance.

The other end of the net had gathered into a string, with the Little Loli’s fair, tender hand holding onto it.

Lingling was wearing a satisfying smile, like a young but cunning little fox. As a Hunter Master, she had no fighting capacity, yet she was a genius at using tracking and hunting magical items.

The vampire could easily dodge the Light Binding Net if it was used at the beginning of a fight, but the net was cast when the prey was trying to run away in a panic, the vampire had nowhere to escape.

Nie Dong seemed to have captured Lingling’s youthful scent, and recalled he had encountered the same scent at the North Country Club before. He sprang in Lingling’s direction, hoping to scare her away with his sinister appearance.

Lingling remained in her position. Her wrist had the net of the Light Element tied to it. The vampire had no chance of escaping from the light net.

“Lingling, move aside!” yelled Mo Fan furiously. He had totally unleashed the rage that had accumulated in his chest for a long time!

Mo Fan activated the active power of the Blood Tabi, and as he approached the vampire, he leapt into the air and gave the creature a flying kick to his face!

Using magic might destroy Lingling’s Light Binding Net, so the physical power of the Blood Tabi had come just in time. Overwhelming force gathered on Mo Fan’s right leg before it smashed into Nie Dong’s face, producing a loud crash.

Nie Dong spun in the air within the Light Binding Net, and flew over thirty meters away. A sedan which was parked illegally on the side of the road was smashed into pieces, showing how powerful the kick was!

Two white fangs broke off, dropping to the side of the smashed vehicle.

Nie Dong’s fangs were already loose when he bit Zhao Manyan’s golden shield, and Mo Fan was aiming his kick right at his fangs!

Once the fangs broke, a vampire was not far away from death, as a vampire had only one way to drink blood!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

After his fangs came off, the vampire had turned into a beaten dog.

His initially well-groomed hair was hanging loosely. The handsome face he was proud of was covered in wounds and bruises. He touched his upper jaw, and when he discovered his fangs were missing, he probed around on the ground in panic.

His eyes had not recovered from the blindness, and the fangs had dropped a great distance away. Even if he managed to find them, he would not be able to put them back!

Nie Dong, who finally realized that his death was approaching, shuddered. He begged Mo Fan to spare his life!

“I will do anything you ask me to do, I’ll give you everything I have, too. Please, spare me, and give me back my fangs… Please, I’m begging you, I won’t hurt anyone else, as long as you can let me go…” Nie Dong’s whole body was severely burned from the Light Binding Net.

Mo Fan picked up the two fangs he desperately needed, his eyes not showing a hint of mercy.

God knew how many innocent lives the vampire had killed in the city. There was no reason at all to spare his life!

“I’ll help you bring an end to this,” Mo Fan said, turning around and glancing at Liu Ru.

Liu Ru nodded. She stared at the whining bastard, wanting to witness the vampire’s death with her own eyes!

The Rose Flame erupted on Mo Fan’s palm, and burned fiercely.

The vampire was losing strength continuously. The Light Binding Net already tortured him greatly, and it went without saying that his body would not be able to endure Mo Fan’s extremely hot Rose Flame.

Mo Fan tossed the flame at the vampire. To ensure that the vampire would not come back to life again, Mo Fan cast a succession of Burning Bones, making sure to burn the vampire’s body to ashes!

The flames grew stronger, already lighting up the entire street blazing red.

The battle had only lasted for a short period of time. A fire truck had made its way to the scene when it first started, but when the firefighters discovered the flames were the doing of a Magician, they parked the truck a nice safe distance away…

Both the police or the firefighters knew there were Hunters in the city, and of the existence of demon beasts hiding among humans. As such, when a battle between Hunters and demon beasts erupted, the police would evacuate the crowd nearby, and seal the area.

Both Mo Fan and Lingling carried a Hunter License with them, and the latter had also contacted the police prior to coming here, thus the incident did not result in a big panic.

The flames burned vigorously on Nie Dong’s body. Any ordinary human would have turned into a pile of ashes by now, but Nie Dong was still struggling and groaning in the fire…

They could see that the vampire’s body was undergoing a horrendous transformation in the fire. Jagged wings grew out from his back, while his body began to expand. His claws and limbs turned monstrous, with a long tail waving amid the flames.

The Blood Tribes were split into two categories, one consisting of vampires with human lineage. These vampires looked the same as humans when they were not hunting, and would live among humans while obeying a set of rules to prevent themselves from being discovered by the Hunters and churches. The other kind was known as vampiric monsters!

Vampiric monsters were something that the vampires would turn into when they were overwhelmed by evil after indulging in the pleasure of killing, randomly drinking blood, and taking drugs. They would gradually lose their human lineage, and slowly became evil creatures of darkness. They would reveal their true appearances when their true nature was exposed, turning them into monsters!

Nie Dong’s transformation into a monster had proven that the guy had been roaming between the boundaries of a vampire and a vampiric monster. If they had not eliminated the guy in time, he would eventually have turned into a monster, leading to a disastrous event with great casualties, as vampiric monsters were mindless killing machines!

Nie Dong, whose appearance had changed beyond recognition, struggled wildly in the flames. The firefighters who were driving the trucks immediately backed away after seeing this.

They were ordinary humans after all, they would not dare to face such a terrifying demon beast!

“Still putting up a deathbed struggle?” Mo Fan observed coldly.

The flames burned even hotter under Mo Fan’s control, even containing the Rupture effect. The monster which Nie Dong had turned into was disintegrating in the rupturing flames…

His arms fell off and fell to ashes. His head exploded and more sparks erupted. His body and limbs were scorched by the flames, which could not endure any further.

Finally, Nie Dong collapsed to the ground!

The fire had already spread to half of the street when the terrifying monster finally let out its final breath. The strong evil presence slowly dissipated among the blazing flames.

“Mo Fan, watch out for his soul,” reminded Lingling.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got the best tool possible to deal with a dead soul!” responded Mo Fan grimly.

Shortly after the vampire’s death, a dark red soul like a little firefly slowly rose up from the flames…

After losing its flesh, the vampire’s soul was just a lone spirit without any power. However, Mo Fan’s heart was swamped with joy when he discovered the soul.

He was overjoyed; he had finally secured another complete Warrior-level Soul Essence!

Since capturing the Soul Essence of the Mother Scale Skin Phantom, Mo Fan had not obtained any Warrior-level Soul Essence. Even when he was massacring the demon beasts as the Deathbringer of Dongting Lake in the past, the chance of finding a Warrior-level Soul Essence was too slim. The vampires were a somewhat special kind of Warrior-level creature, thus the drop rate of a Soul Essence was significantly higher than that of ordinary demon beasts.

The Soul Essence of the Mother Scale Skin Phantom was sold at a crazy price, and the vampire’s Soul Essence had even better quality. He was going to be rich again!

However, Mo Fan found it strange that the Soul Essence was dark red in color…

In the past, the souls that Mo Fan encountered had more of a dark green glow, both humans and demon beasts. The light was a unique trait of the souls, but it was his first time seeing a dark red glow like Nie Dong’s soul, and wondered why was that the case…

“Wait!” Lingling stopped Mo Fan all of a sudden.

After the battle came to an end, Lingling seemed worn out and was close to falling asleep.

After the quest was completed, she could finally go home to get the rest she deserved. She was not particularly interested in vampires. She was a Hunter Master after all, thus she had seen all kinds of weird monsters before…

However, when Mo Fan was about to retrieve Nie Dong’s unique soul, Lingling opened her eyes wide. Her limpid pupils flickered with irresistible anger!

Her body slightly shuddered, as if she had found the thing she had always been looking for. Apart from the unexpected anger, her face was surprisingly filled with a compulsive excitement too!

Her fierce, compelling excitement was something nobody expected to appear on her adorable face…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What is it?” asked Mo Fan.

It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing the Little Loli wearing an expression like that. He could not help but feel worried.

Lingling did not hear him. She was simply staring at Nie Dong’s dark red soul, which was nothing like the usual green or blue souls Mo Fan had seen before. The eerie red seemed to have placed Lingling under a curse, she was wearing a twisted grin on her face!

Mo Fan could not understand why a ten-year-old girl would suddenly wear such an expression.

Perhaps he did not really understand the Little Loli to begin with; he never knew why she insisted on being a Hunter at the Clearsky Hunter Agency instead of going to school like everyone did at her age. He did not understand how she earned the title ‘Hunter Master’, when so many Magicians found it extremely difficult to earn the same title, nor did he know why she was so mature and intelligent behind her cute, adorable appearance…

Lingling remained silent. She did not budge when Mo Fan stored Nie Dong’s soul inside his Little Loach Pendant. She was deep in thought with her head lowered, and her expression kept on changing rapidly.

“What’s going on? Is there something you can’t tell me?” Mo Fan placed his hand on Lingling’s shoulder after he finished stashing away Nie Dong’s soul.

Lingling seemed to be recalling something. When she raised her young, yet mature face, Mo Fan captured a glimpse of hatred from her eyes.

“I’ve been looking for souls with a different color like this one,” Lingling said to Mo Fan grimly.

“Is there anything special about the soul?” asked Mo Fan.

“My last partner disappeared because of a dark red soul like this one,” said Lingling.

“Your last partner?” Mo Fan could vaguely recall something, but he could not remember who mentioned it.

Lingling fell silent again, so Mo Fan continued to ask, “Should I show you the soul again?”

“It’s fine. I already knew the guy is still hiding somewhere, and I now know the person I should look for to get more information,” said Lingling.

Mo Fan was confused. Since Lingling was not willing to share, he did not pursue further. His only choice was to ask Old Bao about it later.

Mo Fan had decided to investigate further. Lingling was his companion, and the little girl had helped him with many things. Most importantly, she was never interested in the rewards, thus he basically got most of the commission from the quests.

Lingling was very keen on doing Hunter’s work. Initially, Mo Fan thought Lingling was doing it because of her interest in helping out with the family business, but it seemed like there were more reasons for it based on her strange reaction today.

After settling the matter on hand, he would have to pay Old Bao a visit to learn the details.

—

Mo Fan turned around and walked toward Zhao Manyan and Liu Ru.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, Liu Ru, who was previously covered in wounds and bruises, had already recovered on her own. Not a trace of scars was left on her body.

Looking at her, Mo Fan intentionally wore a calm smile and said, “A vampire can still be considered a human, so you shouldn’t think too much about it.”

Liu Ru raised her head and glanced at Mo Fan. She could barely withdraw her fangs now. It was difficult to tell if she had accepted the truth that she had turned into a vampire, or she had totally lost hope to begin with. She wore a pitiful smile and said, “Being able to avenge my sister is enough, I don’t really care what’s going to happen to me.”

“Even though I feel like telling you that your sister would prefer you to live a strong and peaceful life, you have made your own choice, and what’s done can’t be undone. You’re no longer the same old you, so I hope you can continue to move forward.” Mo Fan tried very hard to find some comforting words.

As a matter of fact, any chicken soup for the soul kind of advice was utterly meaningless. He would never understand what she was going through, since he was not the one involved in the incident.

The smile on Liu Ru’s face blossomed, not because Mo Fan’s words were resonating with the thoughts she had in mind, but as he had mentioned, she already knew the life she was going to live moving forward, a human life when she could no longer be called one.

She rose to her feet and slowly walked toward the darkness into the distance, heading for the boundaries of the city.

Mo Fan watched her go in silence. He did not ask her to stay, nor did he act like a saint and made a righteous declaration to warn her that he would still exterminate her when she lost her control.

Liu Ru’s figure slowly turned blurry as she ventured deep into the darkness. The dark yet endless road would give her enough time to figure out her new way of living. Mo Fan could not provide any assistance to her.

“Are you seriously letting her go, just like that?” Zhao Manyan said with great pity.

“What else do you want me to do? Recruit her as a bed-warmer? I’m more than happy to do it…” said Mo Fan.

“True that, she was already reluctant to disturb your life when she was still a human, let alone now… Forget it, let her be. I only hope that she won’t lose her inherent qualities to the greed for blood. Even if she cannot control the urge, she should just come to us instead. How could we ignore our call of destiny?” said Zhao Manyan, which clearly implied that he knew the rumors stating that the Blood Tribe would always be doing something else when they were drinking their prey’s blood!

Mo Fan nodded, as he did agree with Zhao Manyan’s statement.

Either way, the incident had come to an end. As for the vampire family that Nie Dong had come from, it was beyond Mo Fan’s control.

The Hunter Union had already been alerted. They would surely conduct a thorough search in the city, and treat all the people who had died a strange death as possible prey of the vampires in the past. Therefore, the vampire family would most likely keep a low profile for a period of time.

Mo Fan had gotten the fangs he needed, and helped Liu Ru take her revenge. It was basically the best ending he could hope for, and now it was time to hand over the fangs to Huo Tuo.

Initially, Mo Fan was planning to challenge higher-ranked students after getting his equipment. He had already missed the second challenge week, thus he could only climb the rankings in the following month.

He could sell the Warrior-level Soul Essence to earn a huge sum of money, and combined with the money he had received from the previous Commander-level corpse, he should have enough money to get himself a Contracted Beast.

Getting a Contracted Beast was the best way to improve his strength significantly for the time being. With the Contracted Beast, he would be able to climb to a higher rank, and earn more time to cultivate in the Three Step Tower, which would then allow his Lightning and Shadow Nebulas to improve further!

The process of improving strength was like rolling a snowball. Once the snowball started rolling with a push, it would grow bigger the more distance it covered. What Mo Fan needed the most now was a Contracted Beast to give his cultivation that had come to a halt for a while a little push from the back!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Tsk tsk tsk, I didn’t expect you would actually get the fangs for me. The Hunter Masters I’ve hired before couldn’t even find a vampire’s hair. You have some real skills, I’ll give you that, very impressive!” Huo Tuo’s eyes flickered when he saw the fangs Mo Fan was handing to him.

Creatures like the vampires were quite rare. If Huo Tuo had not happened to stumble onto one who was bold enough to target a pair of twin sisters in a short period of time, Mo Fan would not have been able to find him even after searching the depths of the skies.

No wonder Huo Tuo was willing to trade for two vampire’s fangs instead of the usual expensive fares he charged.

Mo Fan had no clue why Huo Tuo needed a vampire’s fangs. He was only concerned about when he could get his hands on the new equipment, so he could challenge the students ranked in the top thirty.

Being placed in the top thirty would allow him to cultivate in the Three Step Tower for three days and three nights. Since Mo Fan had four Elements now, his rate of cultivation would be double that of an ordinary Intermediate Magician on the third-floor of the Three Step Tower. He urgently needed to improve his Lightning Element to level three, and he had spent a great deal of time meditating to prepare himself. All he needed now was a breakthrough with the help of the Three Step Tower.

“So when can you give me my armor? I’m hoping to climb the ranking with it,” Mo Fan said to the vampiric old man.

The old man was extremely stubborn when no personal interest was involved, but when he received the fangs, he immediately wore a benevolent and kind countenance.

“Patience, young man. I’ll deliver the armor you’ve been dreaming of into your hands by the next challenge week,” said Huo Tuo with a smile.

Mo Fan was finally at ease after the old man had given his promise.

Mo Fan was not in a rush to sell the vampire’s Soul Essence. The truth was, Zhao Manyan’s family owned a rather reliable marketplace in the city. Zhao Manyan was more than willing to help him sell the treasure, yet Mo Fan thought it was necessary to hold onto the Soul Essence for a while longer after he recalled Lingling’s reaction, and he learned what was special about the dark red color of the soul.

————-

Mo Fan could not reach Lingling for a few days, nor did he know what the girl was desperately looking for. His thoughts were totally preoccupied by the strange incident.

Mo Fan paid a visit to the Clearsky Hunter Agency, as he wanted to ask Old Bao for more details. To his surprise, he saw a woman with outstanding curves in a sexy, leather outfit and an attractive, dignified look seated inside, emanating a cold aura.

“Senior Sister Leng Qing, it’s a surprise to see you here,” Mo Fan greeted Leng Qing in astonishment.

They had not met since the incident at Hangzhou. It went without saying that the incident involving a corrupted Councilman had resulted in lots of work cleaning the mess up. Leng Qing, who was a Vice Elder of the Magic Court, had a lot on her plate.

Leng Qing glanced at Mo Fan and smiled faintly. It seemed she had a fairly good impression of Mo Fan.

“Just paying a visit, but I guess I’m out of luck, since no one is here,” Leng Qing scanned the old building, which was a mix of a coffee shop and a teahouse, as if each of the things placed and hung, and the sounds they made, were loaded with a lot of memories for her.

“Strange, where did everyone go? Even Old Bao isn’t here,” Mo Fan wondered helplessly.

“What is it? It looks like something is bothering you?” Leng Qing asked casually.

Mo Fan glanced at Leng Qing, and remembered that this attractive, powerful Vice Elder of the Magic Court was Lingling’s sister. Surely, she would know more than Old Bao.

Mo Fan quickly told her how he and Lingling had hunted the vampire down, and emphasized the strange red light that Nie Dong’s soul was emitting.

Leng Qing gave Mo Fan a surprised look with glittering eyes, before asking, “Are you sure that the soul has a dark red glow?”

Mo Fan nodded. He could tell that there was something extremely important about it from Leng Qing’s reaction, so he pursued the matter further.

The truth was, Lingling was still very young. He could not help but worry when he recalled the slightly twisted expression on her face.

“Lingling told me it has something to do with her previous partner. Didn’t her partner die?” Mo Fan probed.

Leng Qing let out a hollow laugh, with a hint of sorrow on her face.

When Leng Qing did not answer his question, Mo Fan asked softly, “Is it something we shouldn’t be discussing?”

Leng Qing spoke after a moment of silence, “It’s not any secret, it’s just that the partner you mentioned… he’s someone special to us, as he was our late father.”

Mo Fan jaw dropped in bewilderment.

He could tell that the person was extremely important to Lingling, yet he never thought the person was actually her father!

“Lingling has been extremely talented since a very young age. She has a great interest in the art of hunting, so my father brought her alone when he was carrying out the non-dangerous quests, and taught her what it takes to be a great Hunter. Lingling has been following him around since a very young age, so he was not only a father, but a teacher, a friend, and most importantly, a partner. This place used to be full of their laughter, and every time they were on a quest, Leng Qing would run around happily, telling everyone about it with her little canine teeth poking out from her grin. The father and daughter made a good team, and even on some difficult quests, Lingling was able to provide some useful clues to her experienced father…” Leng Qing explained in a gloomy voice.

Although Leng Qing had only vaguely described the relationship between Lingling and her father, Mo Fan immediately pictured the gentle scene of a patient Hunter teaching his smart, energetic little princess.

Lingling was surely an active little elf back in the days, dancing elegantly in the lively Clearsky Hunter Agency.

When Mo Fan first met her, she was already a Hunter Master. She had grown from an innocent little girl to an outstanding, fearless Hunter, and it went without saying that her father had taught her a great deal, and looked after her with tender love and care.

Lingling had only mentioned about her previous partner vaguely, at most. Maybe in her little heart, she had never accepted the fact that her father had passed away!

“So what does the dark red soul to do with your father’s death?” asked Mo Fan.

“It’s most likely the only clue we have regarding the truth, as our father’s soul was also dark red when he passed away, as if he was placed under a curse,” said Leng Qing.

“I’ve only seen green and blue souls before. It’s true that I’ve never seen a dark red one before, which means it must be some special kind of death mark?” inferred Mo Fan.

Leng Qing nodded heavily.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“But Lingling is still too young, I’ve been doing some investigations over the past few years, and I’ve discovered that those who could produce a special death mark like that were no ordinary creatures, to the extent that I didn’t even dare to look into it further, as I’ve begun to feel that something is threatening my life,” said Leng Qing sternly.

Mo Fan was astounded. Leng Qing was a Vice Elder of the Magic Court, yet even she could not solve the case despite her power and strength?

What exactly were the things that would produce these dark red souls? Judging from Leng Qing’s words, he was clearly aware that Lingling’s father was a very outstanding Hunter!

“So about the investigations that Lingling is doing… she is so keen to hunt down demon beasts, and accept all kinds of quests, just to collect more information?” Mo Fan asked.

“Indeed. My identity is rather special, so once I go any deeper, the factions hiding in the dark would start interfering. It’s more effective for Lingling to find clues from incidents related to demon beasts. After all, when I’m involved, things became different. Anything that’s related would be wiped clean,” said Leng Qing.

Mo Fan frowned. He could tell that the whole thing involved a huge secret.

However, Mo Fan was only worried about Leng Qing’s safety. If Leng Qing had mentioned that the factions hiding in the dark would interfere once they investigated too deeply into the matter, didn’t that mean Lingling would eventually stumble into them?

“Lingling isn’t as simple as you think she is, just let her be. Even if we tried to stop her, she would still do it… she’s only investigating the dark red soul, so it’s not too big of a deal,” Leng Qing said calmly.

“Senior Sister Leng Qing, it sounds like you know something discrete,” said Mo Fan.

“Would it make any difference? Doing anything before you’re powerful enough would only get yourself killed,” said Leng Qing.

—-

Leng Qing did not discuss the topic any further, but Mo Fan was already intrigued.

Mo Fan proceeded to find out more information about Lingling’s father, and to his great surprise, her father, Qin Zhan, was a Senior Hunter!

The only time Mo Fan had met a Senior Hunter was during the incident of the Mother Scale Skin Phantom. He could never forget the astonishing sight of the giant blue beast stomping the stadium from above. The Senior Hunter was incredibly dignified, their presence accompanied by an imperious aura and epic background music!

How terrifying was a quest that killed a Senior Hunter without leaving any trace?

As Mo Fan tried to investigate further, he could no longer find anything useful. He was only an Advanced Hunter, thus the information he had access to was fairly limited…

Mo Fan tried asking Professor Qiu Yuhua, to see if he knew anything about the death mark.

The dark red mark was very unique. If he could understand the reason behind the color change of one’s soul, he might be able to find more useful clues.

Unfortunately, even someone knowledgeable like Professor Qiu Yuhua was utterly clueless. He just raised his brows and asked curiously, “Since when can a soul be dark red?”

In the end, Mo Fan still could not find any useful information. Left with no choice, he decided to sell the Warrior-level Soul Essence.

There was no point in keeping it, since he was desperately in need of money to get himself a Contracted Beast. It was said that a Contracted Beast was a real money-burning commitment.

—-

The vampire’s Soul Essence was sold at a fairly high price: twenty-five million RMB, a huge sum of money.

Combined with the money he had earned from selling the Xuanwu Giant Lizard’s corpse, he now had around forty million RMB. Even though the best Contracted Beasts were priced at around fifty million RMB, Mo Fan had no time to wait any further. It was best to improve his strength as soon as possible!

Mo Fan picked his lucky day. He always thought he had the plot armor and the temperament of a main protagonist. If the others were able to stumble upon dragon eggs, ancient phoenixes, or younglings of powerful beasts by only spending the money needed to buy a pigeon egg, his luck should not be any worse.

“Zhao Manyan, what is going on there? Why does it look like they are trading some kind of scrolls? Are you guys selling Star Atlas Books?” asked Mo Fan.

When Mo Fan arrived at the Zhao Family’s marketplace, he immediately discovered some fascinating stuff.

The auction was very high-class, yet there were not many people around. Most of the items had quickly gone over ten million RMB, thus it was quite difficult for an auction like this to be crowded with people.

However, Mo Fan saw that the hall at the back of the auction was relatively lively, with a huge crowd.

“Oh, those aren’t magic scrolls, it’s like a lottery,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Jackpots? Are you kidding me? Those people are all Magicians!” exclaimed Mo Fan.

“Allow me to explain. Most of the quests listed at the Hunter Union have reliable sources of information, hence the person submitting the quest only needs to sign the contract, and pay the commission, so that the Hunters won’t be wasting their time and effort. However, most people will find some clues and traces while they were hunting in the wild, which aren’t necessarily reliable. Such information isn’t valid enough to be submitted as a quest, so they will store this valuable, yet uncertain information in the scrolls, and sell them accordingly,” explained Zhao Manyan.

“Are you serious? Do people actually buy them?” asked Mo Fan.

It was most likely that the information was mere speculations or rumors. Most of the time, people would just share them around, but they were actually selling them like a lottery. Were these Magicians running out of ideas on how to spend their money?

“Brother, we’re now in the information age. Surviving alone is not enough for the Hunters, it’s all about getting reliable information and tips! You’ve seen it yourself, the people are lining up to buy them,” said Zhao Manyan calmly as he glanced at the crowd at the back of the hall.

“It does sound like a lottery, now that you’ve mentioned it. If the tip is real, it would be a win, as they would save the money needed to get reliable information or post a quest. But if the information is fake, or outdated, it would be a waste of effort,” said Mo Fan.

“Every Magician has some money to spare, and everyone likes the idea of winning a lottery. Besides, these Secret Tipping Scrolls aren’t expensive at all. Many people would buy a few in a row, and even if the information wasn’t exactly what they were looking for, just treat it as a chance to learn something. If you’re lucky enough to buy two scrolls that have relevant information, it’s very likely to be a piece of real information. Those who buy them as soon as possible usually have a higher chance of earning a profit! Which places are showing the presence of Soul Seed Pieces or Soul Seeds? Where are the places that the rare demon beasts have been spotted a number of times? Which places have a strong Elemental presence that is possibly hinting at the existence of some rare materials…” Zhao Manyan went on.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Many pieces of information are plain rumors, yet after filtering them out carefully, and selling the scrolls at a higher price, most of the Magicians will try their best to put in some accurate details. After all, if most of the information they provide is fake, they can only sell their scrolls at a very cheap price. When it reaches a certain threshold, the marketplace will forbid them from being a tipper. The minimum requirement to become a tipper is the Advanced Hunter rank, while most of the tippers are Hunter Masters. There are quite a few Senior Hunters, too,” said Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan had definitely learned something new.

If the news was from Hunter Masters or Senior Hunters, the information that the scrolls contained would be extremely valuable!

Experts like Senior Hunters would normally carry out the highest-ranked quests, and they would discover the presence of Soul Seeds or demon beasts along the way. Even if they knew there was something valuable, they would not bother wasting their time on it, but it was a waste to simply hold onto the information. Therefore, it made more sense to write down the information on a Secret Tipping Scroll, and sell it to others for some extra cash. Meanwhile, it would also benefit the lower-ranked Hunters who were interested in the piece of information, resulting in a win-win situation.

Therefore, the Secret Tipping Scrolls were indeed quite meaningful!

“Why don’t you go and buy a few of them? I’ll have them give you a discount,” offered Zhao Manyan.

Since Mo Fan was also a Hunter, instead of spending his time on the generic quests from the Hunter Union, he could try his luck through the Secret Tipping Scrolls instead.

“Alright, I’ll buy a few, how much does one cost?” asked Mo Fan.

“The price varies, the expensive ones can go up to ten million, while the cheap ones can go all the way down to a few thousand. Tell me your range, and I’ll get a few for you,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Let’s try a few with a price around ten thousand,” Mo Fan was fairly rich for the time being, so he decided to try his luck.

“Not a problem.”

After all, the marketplace was one of the Zhao Family’s property, thus Zhao Manyan did have some special rights here. He quickly got a few Secret Tipping Scrolls for Mo Fan.

The Secret Tipping Scrolls were quite elegant, since their target audience was Magicians, who spent a lot of money on luxuries. After all, a commoner would prefer to spend a few tens of thousand on a branded bag, instead of a piece of information which was not guaranteed to be reliable.

“Open them up yourself,” Zhao Manyan managed to get three Secret Tipping Scrolls. All of them were light blue in color, while those that were more costly were silver and gold!

The information provided by Senior Hunters was fairly reliable, so many people were willing to spend a huge sum of money on them.

Mo Fan opened the scrolls and read the contents.

” A Sword-Fin Ocean Demon has been spotted at Huangpu River. There is a higher chance to find it in April. ”

Zhao Manyan stuck his head closer and burst out laughing, “The Sword-Fin Ocean Demon is an infamous kind of demon beast living in the oceans. Their sword fins are sold with insane prices in the market. The sword fins are an important material to further improve the power of Deathstrike Magic Equipment… The problem is, can we actually find it in Huangpu River? I thought most of them were residing somewhere deep in the Pacific Ocean.”

“Fishing? I’m not interested at all. Sigh, what a waste of money,” said Mo Fan pitifully.

“It’s fine, we still have two more,” said Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan nodded and opened another Secret Tipping Scroll, and subconsciously read it out.

” North Burning Valley, there are signs of a new Flame Belle being born .”

“Damn, this is a valuable piece of information!” Zhao Manyan screamed before Mo Fan could react.

“How is that?” asked Mo Fan.

“The North Burning Valley is a very famous Fire Element region in our country, which is very close to Dunhuang. There, you can find a famous demon beast, a creature that is born with the fire of nature, an Elemental Beast… The Flame Belle is considered the rarest among all Elemental Beasts, its value is priceless on the market. However, if anyone were selling a Flame Belle’s youngling at an auction, I bet that every famous renowned clan in Shanghai would attend it!” said Zhao Manyan with excitement.

“That serious?” asked Mo Fan in shock.

“Sigh, are you illiterate… well, it’s hard to tell if the information is reliable or not,” said Zhao Manyan.

“That’s my Secret Tipping Scroll, what are you being so excited for?” said Mo Fan unpleasantly.

“F**k me, are you seriously unaware of how special a demon beast like the Flame Belle is? Its strength is more than a few times stronger than that of an ordinary beast… The Elemental Beasts have been the dream Contracted Beasts for Summoners, and this Flame Belle is one of the best Elemental Beasts you could ever find. Simply speaking, if you managed to get a Flame Belle as your Contracted Beast, you’re going to be famous! You can easily get into the top ten with the Flame Belle!” said Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan could tell that this Flame Belle was indeed very powerful judging from Zhao Manyan’s reaction. The problem was, how did he know if the piece of information was reliable? Don’t tell him that he had to pay a visit to the area around Dunhuang City?

“I’m quite interested in this Flame Belle. Do you have any way to obtain more information about it?” Mo Fan asked quickly.

Mo Fan had heard of Elemental Beasts before. If a Summoner could sign a contract with an Elemental Beast, they would obtain a boost for the respective Element too.

For example, since Mo Fan’s primary Element was Fire, if he managed to get a Flame Belle as his Contracted Beast, his Fire Element would either become stronger, or have some special burning effect.

“Simple, spending lots of money… there are filtered Secret Tipping Scrolls that you can get, which are more expensive than the normal ones. If you bought all the ones related to the valley close to Dunhuang City, and if many of the tips are correlated to one another, the pieces of information might be stating the truth,” said Zhao Manyan.

“How much money would I be spending? This is only to get the information!” said Mo Fan speechlessly.

“It’s basically gambling. If you think the information is right, you should not just buy more of them, instead, you should buy all of them! Once you’ve proven that it’s real, you will have fewer competitors compared to the quests that were submitted to the Hunter Union. All you have to worry about is how you’re going to get it. In my opinion, this Flame Belle is perfect to be your Contracted Beast, since your Rose Flame is already extremely violent among the flames, and with the boost from your contract with the Flame Belle, your flame is going to be insane, pretty much unmatchable among flames that aren’t Soul-graded!”

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was fairly intrigued.

Many students in the school had Fire Soul Seeds, thus his Rose Flame alone no longer granted him an edge. If he could further improve his Fire Element with a Contracted Beast, it would be the perfect outcome!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You can raise the Flame Belle, every time you feed her a Soul Seed Piece in her youth, there’s a higher chance that she would develop a Soul-grade flame as she ranks up. By then, your Contracted Beast is going to be terrifying; even Advanced Magicians would be scared to fight her!” Zhao Manyan became more excited the more he spoke. It was clear that he too had not expected Mo Fan’s Secret Tipping Scroll to contain information about a Flame Belle!

These Secret Tipping Scrolls were truly a great place to find a fortune!

Frankly speaking, Mo Fan was not too interested in the Contracted Beasts that were auctioned in the marketplace. It felt like they were not as useful as his Swift Star Wolf. It would be a waste of money if he could not get a significantly stronger Contracted Beast after spending forty million RMB.

As such, the Flame Belle that Zhao Manyan had mentioned was quite ideal… If he was planning to get one, he wanted to get something great!

He finally decided to spend the money. He had to get all the information he could about the Flame Belle!

—

The community of the Hunters had lots of rumors being shared around every day. Most of the rumors were traded in the Hunter Union, yet some special places would also provide valuable information. Similar to the inns in the milieu of Wuxia tales, where cultivators always discussed and traded the rumors they heard, the Hunters also had their places of gathering too…

Zhao Manyan seemed to be quite an expert about things like this. He quickly sent his men to these places to search for the information, and let Mo Fan buy the Secret Tipping Scrolls from specific locations, to see if he could find anything related to the Flame Belle.

“My money is getting used up at a crazy rate considering I’m only buying a few lines of words…” In the room, Mo Fan felt his heart aching as he glanced at the scrolls piling up on the table in front of him.

The truth was, it did feel like a lottery. The only difference was, he would know if he had won the jackpot, but he needed a huge sum of money for it…

“This piece of information is valuable. This group of Hunters trespassed into a Flame Belle’s territory when they were looking for a Soul Seed, and were fiercely attacked by the Flame Belle. This means that the Flame Belle is very cautious and hot-tempered, which makes sense if she was about to give birth,” said Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan had learned a great deal about the North Burning Valley from the scrolls, including the places where the Flame Belle was active. Not many Hunters would be hunting around the area, as not everyone could handle the extreme heat.

However, Dunhuang was one of the go-to places for Hunters to search for treasure, as there were lots of ancient artifacts waiting to be discovered, even though the place was roaming with demon beasts.

“We’ve now learned the location, the path to take, the danger level and the treasure waiting for us. What we lack is an on-the-spot investigation,” said Mo Fan.

The Secret Tipping Scrolls had provided lots of extra information. If they were actually planning a visit to the Burning Valley, the information would save them lots of trouble. After all, the place was located in the demon beasts’ territory, and it would be troublesome for humans without any tricks.

“So you’ve decided to go, with only the information we have?” asked Zhao Manyan curiously.

“Just a field trip, it won’t bring any harm to us, just treat it as a training…” said Mo Fan.

“Don’t mention the word ‘training’,” said Zhao Manyan with a long face.

“HAHA, I remember that the North Burning Valley isn’t far away. If we fly to Gansu and skip Dunhuang City, we should arrive at the North Burning Valley fairly quickly. The trip won’t take more than half a month. I’ll have plenty of time to rest up to prepare myself for the second challenge week for next month!” said Mo Fan.

“You seriously do whatever comes to your mind,” Zhao Manyan said helplessly.

Most Hunters would spend some time preparing themselves so they would not return empty-handed. Only a few like Mo Fan would set out for an adventure straight away.

That being said, it was more practical to visit the place than trying to find clues from the unreliable pieces of information.

“I wish you all the best then. I hope you’ll bring a Flame Belle back, and crush all students at the Pearl Institute’s Main Campus!” Zhao Manyan gave Mo Fan his blessing.

“Wish my ass, did I say I’m going alone?” said Mo Fan, raising his eyebrows.

“Crap, don’t tell me you’re thinking of dragging me along, too?” Zhao Manyan asked in surprise.

“What do you say?”

“…”

Mo Fan had finally learned the meaning of ‘a turtle shell defense’ during their battle with the vampire. The adventure would be significantly less dangerous with Zhao Manyan tagging along. It was obvious that finding the child of a Flame Belle was going to be a difficult task. Mo Fan did not think he could handle it without the help of some elites.

After a series of intimidation and bribery, Mo Fan finally convinced Zhao Manyan to come along.

Zhao Manyan was not a fan of involving himself in dangerous situations, yet considering his cultivation had been stagnant for quite some time recently, he might somehow benefit from the trip.

After all, if it were too dangerous, they would just give up and come back. The journey would not take much time at all.

“Just the two of us isn’t enough, we should look for more people, someone that we can trust,” said Zhao Manyan sternly.

Going to the North Burning Valley was no joke; it would be naive to rely on themselves. They needed a team that could fight, defend, retreat, and flee!

“I’ve asked Lingling, and she seems quite interested, we’ll bring her along,” said Mo Fan.

Lingling was their intelligence capsule, and also an experienced Hunter. With her in the team, it would save them a lot of trouble.

“Mm, mm, we need someone to do the planning. Our operation will be more efficient with her help,” Zhao Manyan agreed.

Zhao Manyan was fairly impressed by Lingling after the incident of the Mother Scale Skin Phantom and the vampire hunt. She was surely better than those unreliable old Hunters.

Mo Fan dialed a number and asked for Zhang Xiaohou.

If there was anyone he could trust, Zhang Xiaohou was surely top on the list. Zhang Xiaohou was courageous, honest, and smart when facing demon beasts. If it weren’t for his help when dealing with the Xuanwu Giant Lizard and the Giant Poisonous Centipede, they would not have been able to carry out their plan. Those were Commander-level creatures, yet Zhang Xiaohou was bold enough to agree to it. He would not blink if Mo Fan asked him to come along to the North Burning Valley.

In addition, Gansu happened to be right beside Xiaxi, thus Zhang Xiaohou could easily meet up with them.

“We also need a Healer. The Burning Valley is infamous for to its danger level. There’s a high chance we might lose a limb or break a leg there. Casualties are inevitable without a Healer,” emphasized Zhao Manyan.

“Do you think Healers are like cabbages, that you can simply grab from the streets?”

“How about Bai Tingting, have you asked her?”

“I haven’t seen her since I’ve come back to school, I should pay her a visit some time… You have broad connections, aren’t there any Healers that you can trust?” said Mo Fan.

“Unfortunately, no, apart from those Buddhas from my family, but there’s no way I can afford to bring them along,” said Zhao Manyan.

Healers were luxuries for every group of Hunters. The adventure they were planning was fairly unique, hence they could only invite those that were trustworthy. How could they possibly find one that fit the criteria? Bai Tingting had not returned to school since the incident.

“Our group isn’t as complete as those experienced groups, so we definitely need a Healer. Without one, we should just call it off. It’s good if we get it, but it won’t bring any good if we’re dead,” Zhao Manyan said seriously.

Mo Fan felt a headache too. Healers were the hardest to find in the world, but the more he learned about the Flame Belle, the more he wanted one to be his Contracted Beast…

“By the way,” a sudden thought crossed Zhao Manyan’s mind. He tapped on Mo Fan’s shoulder and asked, “Isn’t your sister Xinxia a Healer, whose primary Element is the Healing Element, and secondary the Psychic Element? Unlike demon beasts, those Elemental Beasts are not necessarily hostile toward humans. With your sister’s Psychic Element, we could easily convince them to let us pass, which would make our adventure a lot easier!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When Mo Fan heard the suggestion of bringing Xinxia along, his first reaction was to shake his head.

“You clearly understand her situation; how is that even possible?” said Mo Fan.

“You have the Swift Star Wolf. He could carry her around, and even look after her safety. The Burning Valley isn’t the safest place to go to, and I was thinking about asking you to find a Psychic, too… Magicians with Psychic Element are scarce as well, and most of them wouldn’t be willing to go with us,” said Zhao Manyan.

The girl’s impaired movement would not be too much of a deal. With Mo Fan’s Summoned Beast carrying her, it was actually safer than walking on her own.

“Even so… she has spent most of her time in school. She won’t have any experience when it comes to dealing with demon beasts.” Mo Fan was still reluctant.

“Alright, I know you don’t want to place her in danger. That’s just my suggestion, you’re the one making the call,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Mm, we’ll send all the information to Lingling. She will know what we lack and what we should be doing next better than us,” said Mo Fan.

…

To Mo Fan’s relief, Lingling was not too obsessed with the dark red soul. She was well aware that her father’s death was something unusual, so she could not afford to be overly hasty.

Lingling had returned to her normal behavior, and her eyes flickered when she heard that Mo Fan was planning an adventure to the Burning Valley.

Dunhuang was famous in their country, as it was the habitat for many ancient demon beasts, those with the purest lineage and longest history. It was also the most brilliant milestone of their country’s Magic Civilization. Hunters always went there to search for the ancient civilization, and those that were lucky would discover a huge amount of artifacts or equipment…

Unfortunately, the Dunhuang region had long become the demon beasts’ habitat, especially the infamous and savage Sand Tiger Horde.

In the south, the One-eyed Magic Wolves were described as savage, and posed a huge threat to mankind, yet they were relatively insignificant compared to the Sand Tiger Horde. The Demon Tiger species had always been domineering and barbarous…

The Burning Valley was located to the east of the Dunhuang region, in the barren sands of the Gobi Desert, where loess swept across the sky, not to mention the extreme heat and hot winds. Even Hunters in foreign countries knew about the place.

The Burning Valley was included in the Dunhuang region, and apart from Dunhuang City, which Mo Fan was familiar with, the Dunhuang region was a lot bigger, occupying almost half of the Gansu province. The Burning Valley was in fact located close to Gansu’s Jiayuguan.

Mo Fan had limited geographical knowledge, yet he immediately came to an understanding when Jiayuguan was mentioned, having a clearer picture of where the place was.

Although the Dunhuang region was fairly dangerous, there were still cities established in certain parts. They could simply fly to Dunhuang Airport and head north-east to their destination, the Burning Valley.

Lingling had been making preparations for the past few days. It seemed like it was her first time going to the desert too, and she looked excited to go on the adventure to the barren sands.

As a matter of fact, Lingling’s father had told her stories about his adventures in the Dunhuang region. She had imagined how the place would look since she was young, and the incident with the dark red soul made her miss her father more, so she decided to visit Dunhuang when Mo Fan told her the plan.

Mo Fan was extremely lucky to have Lingling as his partner. The other experienced Hunters would take a huge part of the commission, whereas, in Mo Fan’s case, he had full control over the rewards. According to Lingling’s explanation, once her fighter grew stronger, they would be able to take on higher-ranked quests!

—-

Mo Fan spent a few days at school before he got a response from Lingling. It appeared that she was almost done with the preparations.

“I’ve looked into it. We’ll have to cross a place known as the Drifting Sand River if our destination is the North Burning Valley. The Drifting Sand River is basically some kind of boundary, and if we don’t cross it, we’ll have to come into contact with Dunhuang’s overlord, the Sand Tiger Horde, which is quite unrealistic…” Lingling showed the map she had drawn out for them.

The map strictly followed the standards, with markings about the density of demon beasts. Such details were extremely important for Hunters, as they were basically dead if they trespassed into areas with a high density of demon beasts.

“How do we cross this Drifting Sand River? If someone managed to get into the North Burning Valley and saw the Flame Belle, there must be some way to cross it.”

“The Drifting Sand River is occupied by the Elephant Sand Soldiers, a kind of Earth Elemental Beast that has been around for hundreds of years. These Elephant Sand Soldiers aren’t particularly strong on their own, but they always stay in herds. They are densely packed across the entire Drifting Sand River, and are the biggest challenge to Hunters who are planning to visit the North Burning Valley!” Lingling swiped her hand across, and an illustration of an Elephant Sand Soldier popped up on the screen.

“Force our way across?” Mo Fan was a simple and violent man.

“Don’t even think about it, even an army can’t do it. The Hunters who made it to the North Burning Valley aren’t elites, but they’ve used some undisclosed methods to cross the Sand Drifting River… I’ve tried at least twenty different scenarios, and none of them would work. The only way, and probably the safest way, is to find a Psychic,” Lingling said sternly.

Zhao Manyan immediately nodded. A Psychic was too important when journeying across these Elemental Beasts’ territories. Many groups were willing to offer half of their loot to a Psychic to join their party, which clearly implied how important a Psychic was in the Dunhuang region.

The rarity of a Psychic was only second to a Healer. Most of them could not be found among the Hunters, as they were kept safe by renowned families, or hired as an ‘official’ by the Magic Associations.

Their party had nothing to offer a Psychic, so Lingling’s immediately suggested that Mo Fan should bring Xinxia along.

Xinxia was the only candidate for the adventure. First, her Psychic Element would guarantee the safety of their journey, and second, her primary Element was Healing, another insurance for the group’s safety.

However, Mo Fan was willing to give up on the plan rather than putting Xinxia in danger.

“I’ve already told Sister Xinxia about it, she’s very willing to go.” Lingling had already acted before reporting.

Mo Fan could only smile wryly.

Speaking of which, the Elements that Xinxia had awakened were too unique. Not only did she awaken the Healing Element, she even awakened the Psychic Element as her secondary Element. She might not have any fighting capacity, but she was no doubt a hot prospect for many parties. Countless factions in Hangzhou had been trying to recruit her!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In the evening, Zhang Xiaohou also gave his response. The guy had made it clear that he would be there, even if it meant him being disciplined.

Zhang Xiaohou was all clear, so all that was left was his decision about bringing Xinxia along.

At night, Mo Fan was just about to call Zhang Xiaohou to stop preparing, as he had decided to call off the adventure. Unfortunately, Xinxia had given him a call instead.

Mo Fan knew if it were something he needed, and if Xinxia could help, she would not hesitate to help him, even if it meant placing herself in danger by going to the Dunhuang region.

However, Mo Fan was not willing to do so. He was already self-reproving that Xinxia’s movement was impaired. If something were to go wrong with her, he would never forgive himself.

Mo Fan told Xinxia his thoughts.

“Brother Mo Fan, you’ve been taken good care of me for so long, so I can do whatever I want without worrying too much. If you insist on not letting me go, I’ll listen to you, but when I heard about your accident last time, I felt so sad. I’ve saved many people with my Healing Element, but I can’t do anything for you. All I could do is worry and pray for you. I want to be by your side, I want to be closer to you. I don’t want to wait somewhere alone by myself, and left in meaningless, deep regret when something happens and I won’t able to help you in any way…” Xinxia’s voice was soft, yet firm.

Xinxia was born with a gentle character. Her impaired movement made her look pitiful, but Mo Fan knew she was bright and strong on the inside. When she was abandoned in the supermarket during the calamity of Bo City, if she actually accepted her fate, she would not have hidden inside the cold fridge when the chances of her surviving were so slim.

Mo Fan felt Xinxia’s words knocking some sense into him. He had focused too much on protecting Xinxia, not allowing any foul air to drift closer to her sacred body.

Maybe it was true that he had protected her from the wind and rain like a big tree, but he had also blocked the brilliance that belonged to her, and the scent she wanted to emit for him…

After a long pause, Mo Fan finally agreed that he should respect Xinxia’s decision. She was willing to be protected because of her trust and respect of him, yet she was even more willing to stay by his side and contribute more.

As Mo Fan nodded and agreed that Xinxia could come along, her pleasant giggle came from the other end of the call, clearly anticipating the adventure.

Because of her situation, even training was impossible for her, let alone any adventure in the wild. Her impaired movement gave her a strong desire to go out and see the world, the vast skies and lands. She was not weary of her familiar environment, it was just a natural yearning.

After hearing Xinxia’s laughter, the last hint of worry in Mo Fan’s heart gradually dissipated. Being able to experience the desert, which was completely different from the south, was most likely a luxury for the girl. He should not lock her up, but fulfill her dreams as much as possible…

—

Mo Fan had basically decided on the team members: the intelligence capsule Lingling, the fearless forward Zhang Xiaohou, and the super support Xinxia.

Zhao Manyan had also brought along a trustworthy Magician, also from the Zhao Family, called Chen Yi, an Earth Magician.

The desert was filled with Earth Elemental power, followed by Fire Element. Even though Zhang Xiaohou’s secondary Earth Element fulfilled the basic requirement of needing an Earth Magician, it was safer to bring another Earth Magician along.

Chen Yi was Zhao Manyan’s cousin, a student from the Imperial College’s Main Campus. When Zhao Manyan was busy collecting information about the Burning Valley and the Flame Belle, she heard that Zhao Manyan was going to the Dunhuang region, and she immediately recommended herself.

Zhao Manyan had made it clear that she would probably not get any reward for going with them, yet Chen Yi was still keen to tag along. Considering that his cousin was ranked fairly high in the Imperial College’s main campus, and was a reliable person too, Zhao Manyan decided to put her name down for the party.

If Zhao Manyan thought she was trustworthy, Mo Fan was willing to trust her, too. That summed up the members of the party, a party of six.

The party did not consist of many people, yet it was good enough to be called an elite party. Even if they could not find a Flame Belle’s child, they would still benefit from the trip to the Dunhuang region. The best way for Magicians to improve was by training themselves in demon beasts’ territories.

——

The party of six made their respective preparations according to Lingling’s arrangements. A bunch of young, hot-blooded Magicians was on their way to Dunhuang.

As soon as they arrived in Dunhuang, they were immediately welcomed by the unique charm of the barren lands.

Looking ahead, there was nothing but yellow sand extending into the horizon. The hills in the desert were brown and stacking on top of one another, with varying heights.

Unlike the flatlands in the southeast, the lands here were split into different layers. As they were moving along, the bright sun would suddenly disappear as the place ahead was covered in a shade that their eyes were not used to. As they raised their heads, they would discover it to be a fault, extending in both ways like a wall, while the path ahead was right above it!

Even though the whole party consisted of Magicians, not everyone had the ability to teleport around. They were riding the Wind Camels raised by the locals, and slowly approached the infamous Burning Valley!

The distance was not far, yet for some reason, the density of demon beasts skyrocketed after they passed the first fault!

The locals referred to the fault as the boundary line, and the direction that Mo Fan and his crew had come from was considered the territory of Dunhuang City, where the safe zone was established. However, if they crossed the boundary line and ventured deeper, they would find themselves surrounded by danger.

Many kinds of creatures resided in the Gobi Desert, its rich Earth and Fire Elements resulted in a huge amount of Elemental Beasts, and on top of that, the danger posed by the ruler species, the Sand Tiger Horde, across the area left the Hunters with no choice but to be extremely cautious once they crossed the boundary line.

As they arrived at the boundary line, the Wind Camels were not as useful. These camels that were no stronger than ordinary poultry were extremely terrified when they captured a slight scent of demon beasts, not daring to cross the boundary line.

The group set the Wind Camels free and climbed down to the descending barren lands. Intimidating cries would occasionally be heard from the desert, like soldiers on patrol signaling their restless comrades that their prey was walking right into the trap!

They proceeded less than five kilometers forward when a powerful roaring gust with sand drifting in it approached the group from between two hills.

The roar was deafening, and the sand hills began to sink rapidly!

“How unlucky, we’ve stumbled into the ruler species in this region when we’ve just arrived!” cursed Zhao Manyan, who quickly identified the creature through their roars.

“It’s a Sand Howl Tiger, a relatively fierce creature among Warrior-level demon beasts. Be careful,” Lingling said to the others.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Sand Howl Tiger was obviously heading toward their party, after they had just infiltrated the demon beasts’ territory. Its large, glistening, green eyes could be seen from a good distance away, and the sand drifting in the wind was unable to conceal its menacing gaze!

At the Dongting Lake area, they had first stumbled into a bunch of idiotic Giant Lizards which were only Servant-class. However, the Dunhuang region was truly intimidating; they had already encountered a Warrior-level creature after just stepping out of the safe zone!

If the density of Warrior-level creatures was so high, wouldn’t the Servant-class creatures have trouble surviving here?

“It’s hungry, and irascible. It will be difficult to comfort it, but it feels like it’s in pain, maybe it’s injured somewhere,” said Xinxia who was sitting on the Swift Star Wolf and glancing at the Sand Howl Tiger alertly.

Xinxia had not faced a demon beast since the incident at Bo City. Her expression was not as calm as the others, but since her secondary Element was Psychic, she should be able to get used to it fairly quickly compared to others!

“It means we can’t skip the battle, draw your swords!” Likewise, Mo Fan was irascible, too.

It was his first time bringing his beloved Xinxia on a tour, so it was time to show her his capabilities, too.

To everyone’s surprise, Zhang Xiaohou was more impetuous than Mo Fan, and was already charging forward since both his Elements had movement spells. He could not wait to face a member of the infamous Sand Tiger Horde.

“Damn, where did you find this kid? How ballsy is he?!” cursed Zhao Manyan.

Other Magicians would most likely shit their pants when they saw a Warrior-level creature. He had never seen anyone rushing up like Zhang Xiaohou, or at least he would not dare to do the same himself!

“Fight at will, but keep an eye out for the blood sweat its body will excrete when the situation is grim. It’s the sign that the beast is about to go berserk. Don’t die to its attempting one last attack!” Lingling reminded them.

Zhang Xiaohou was the perfect example of someone impatient to fight. As a matter of fact, he was somewhat influenced by Mo Fan’s personality: completely fearless, and smart with little tricks, yet not so intelligent overall.

He charged at the Sand Howl Tiger with a roar, even though they were only fifty meters apart.

The menacing-looking Sand Howl Tiger was around four meters long and had high shoulders, as if the bones were poking out from its skin.

Its limbs were a lot stronger than the Swift Star Wolf, and its claws were sharp and powerful. A fierce head covered in sand-colored hair leaned forward.

The Sand Howl Tiger glared at Zhang Xiaohou. Its gaze seemed to be flickering with a hint of doubt.

Perhaps the Sand Howl Tiger had been hunting its prey around this area for many years, yet it had never seen a human racing toward it excitedly. Shouldn’t he be running for his life instead?

The Sand Howl Tiger did have some intelligence. It finally uttered a furious roar and lunged at the skinny human when it realized that he was not afraid of it, and dared to challenge the dignity of its horde.

The human did not have much flesh, but the tiger would not mind chewing on his bones!

The Sand Howl Tiger’s explosiveness was quite shocking. It spread its limbs apart and lunged forward, creating a wake of sand plumes rising behind it. The Sand Howl Tiger arrived in front of Zhang Xiaohou before the sand drifted into the air, turning into a furious red shadow ramming in Zhang Xiaohou’s direction.

Zhang Xiaohou’s face paled. He had been told that the Sand Howl Tigers were described as relatively savage and fierce demon beasts from the desert, yet he never thought their explosiveness would be this outstanding!

Fifty meters was the minimum safe distance for Zhang Xiaohou when fighting against a Warrior-level creature. It would give him enough time to react and cast his Spells. When training in the army, he had never given any Warrior-level creature the chance to outmaneuver him at such distance!

However, the Sand Howl Tiger was a lot quicker than he had imagined. Luckily, he was a well-trained Battlemage. The countless dangerous missions in the past had equipped him with the ability to remain calm when his life was in danger!

He cast Wind Track and Earth Wave simultaneously. A powerful gust swept forward and left a clear trail behind it. The gust carried Zhang Xiaohou to his left swiftly. Meanwhile, he was controlling the sand under his feet, accelerating his movement and sending him to his destination quickly.

Even though the Sand Howl Tiger was savage, with outstanding explosiveness, it turned out that it was not as nimble and agile as the Swift Star Wolf, which could alter his direction rapidly. After missing the pounce, its body slid a great distance away, and by the time it turned around, it was fifty meters away from Zhang Xiaohou again.

It gathered its strength once again and dashed at Zhang Xiaohou at the same pace. However, it did not notice that the sand under its feet had already changed color.

The sand had turned brown, with a slight stickiness. The sandhill appeared to be sinking down, the sand undulating and being drawn into a deep hole.

The sandhill grew steeper gradually as an obvious quicksand hole was formed between Zhang Xiaohou and the Sand Howl Tiger, rapidly expanding in size!

When the dry sand became thicker, the limbs of the Sand Howl Tiger sank deeper into it, requiring a lot more effort to drag them out. It was running with the same force, yet it took the creature three times the duration to cover the same distance.

The stickiness of the sand obviously slowed down the Sand Howl Tiger. In addition to that, as the sandhill continued to collapse, it was no longer trying to hinder the Sand Howl Tiger’s movement, but beginning to draw it into the center of the quicksand.

“I thought the guy was being reckless, but he was actually laying a quicksand trap, and baiting the Sand Howl Tiger to jump into it!” Zhao Manyan smiled.

The scariest part about the Sand Howl Tiger was the explosiveness that could take its foes by surprise, and the violent pounces which one could not dodge even when they were well-prepared.

Zhang Xiaohou had used himself as bait, tricking the Sand Howl Tiger into landing in the quicksand. Even though that alone was not enough to bury the beast under the sand, it had significantly weakened the threat the savage beast posed to the party.

With Zhang Xiaohou initiating the fight, Mo Fan and Chen Yi quickly joined the battle.

On the one hand, Chen Yi, whose primary Element was Earth, smartly cast a Rock Barrier above the quicksand pit the Sand Howl Tiger was trying to jump out from. The Rock Barrier kept the Sand Howl Tiger inside the rapidly flowing sand like a wall.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Sand Howl Tiger was surprisingly brawny. Even when its limbs sank into the Flowing Mud from Zhang Xiaohou’s Soul Seed, it still managed to leap into the air and landed on top of the Rock Barrier…

The Rock Barrier was ten meters tall and jagged in an irregular pattern. The Sand Howl Tiger was standing atop it, its eyes fixed on Zhang Xiaohou. who was the closest to it.

It leapt from the high ground, its figure still covered in a thick blood shadow. Mo Fan was rather familiar with the power from that layer of crimson shadow, as the might from his Blood Tabi was fairly similar to it.

The shadow granted the Sand Howl Tiger formidable strength. Normally, demon beasts like it could utilize its strength better on the sturdier ground of the Gobi Desert. The creature was most likely starving if it came all the way to these sandy hills searching for food.

The jagged Rock Barrier served as a perfect springboard for the Sand Howl Tiger. It lunged forward swiftly and fiercely: Zhang Xiaohou had once again underestimated the creature’s speed!

He was already in the midst of casting the Spells, yet neither the Wind Track or the Earth Wave was quick enough to escape from the Sand Howl Tiger ‘s pounce.

The Sand Howl Tiger was inches away. Zhang Xiaohou could see the fangs in its giant mouth, and a foul stench swept in his direction, with an overwhelming sense of fear.

“Light Protection: Sacred Shield!”

Zhang Xiaohou, who was standing not far away, reacted quickly. His Light Element Spell immediately formed extremely sturdy-looking shields surrounding Zhang Xiaohou.

The Sand Howl Tiger slammed into the Sacred Shield, and it felt like it had crashed into a metal ball. It knocked Zhang Xiaohou a distance back, while shaking its head on the spot, like it had a concussion.

Zhang Xiaohou was perfectly unharmed. He cast a grateful look at Zhao Manyan, who responded by patting his chest, signaling him: Go ahead and do whatever you want, I’ll look after your safety.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded, and was convinced that everyone that Mo Fan had assembled was an elite among Magicians. They knew how to work together without unnecessary signaling, which relieved him greatly.

The truth was, Zhang Xiaohou did not have any offensive capacity. His main role in the army was the vanguard in charge of disrupting the enemy’s tempo.

In simpler words, he was in charge of ‘aggroing the mobs’!

As the demon beasts put their attention on him, it would allow the other Magicians to cast their spells without being interrupted.

With Zhang Xiaohou as the vanguard, Mo Fan and Chen Yi immediately cast their Intermediate Spells. The Sand Howl Tiger, still dizzy from the previous collision, immediately faced two powerful attacks, which it dodged in a panic.

The Sand Howl Tiger’s evasion was fairly outstanding. Out of the two Intermediate Magicians, only Mo Fan’s relatively swift Thunderbolt was effective, knocking the Sand Howl Tiger back into the quicksand that Zhang Xiaohou had set up. Half of the Sand Howl Tiger’s body sank into the sand before it could recover and crawl out from the pit.

The sand had a high viscosity, mainly because of the Earth Element Soul Seed they had obtained from the Xizhao Valley.

The Sand Howl Tiger was unable to move freely, as half of its body had sunk into the sand. It was like a beast captured in the trap set up by Hunters. No matter how fierce it was struggling, it made no difference, as the more it struggled, the faster it was sinking into the sand.

“Giant Shadow Spike!”

Mo Fan had no intention of hiding his strength, and immediately cast the Shadow Element Spell.

The Giant Shadow Spike nailed the Sand Howl Tiger’s struggling shadow. A dark energy transformed into a binding gas, chaining the Sand Howl Tiger’s shadow.

The Sand Howl Tiger could no longer move, only watch its own body sink slowly into the sand.

The quicksand pit and the Giant Shadow Spike were a perfect combo. The muscular Sand Howl Tiger had no chance of utilizing its strength, and was soon eliminated by the party.

“It seems like the infamous Dunhuang Demon Tiger isn’t as terrifying as I imagined,” Zhang Xiaohou smiled.

“The sand here is soft, so your Earth Element Soul Seed’s power is significantly increased. The Sand Howl Tiger was kited to its death before it could utilize its full strength,” agreed Lingling.

“Let’s see if the Sand Howl Tiger had some kind of rare boned or skin, those are the valuable things,” Mo Fan said with gleaming eyes.

Mo Fan had killed lots of demon beasts, thus he was not as pleased as Zhang Xiaohou after eliminating a Warrior-level creature. He was more concerned about money.

Unfortunately, the Sand Howl Tiger did not have what Mo Fan was looking for. Even its soul was only an ordinary Soul Remnant.

He stored the Soul Remnant inside the Little Loach Pendant, treating it as a raw material to refine Soul Essences, as he was aiming to improve his Shadow Element Basic Spell to the fourth tier.

“Say, Mo Fan, why didn’t you try improving your Basic Spells to the fifth tier?” asked Zhao Manyan, raising his eyebrows.

Chen Yi, who was standing beside them, opened her eyes wide. The fifth tier?

-Does that mean this guy has already improved his Basic Spells to the fourth tier?-

The Zhao Family was considered a famous business-renowned family in the Magic Community. One could find marketplaces that belonged to their family in most cities across the provinces, thus many people referred to their family as a Tuhao.

{TN reminder: Tuhao means the same as silkpants, nouveau rich, idle wealthy, spendthrift useless fop, etc}

Despite that, she had never seen any renowned family that was willing to invest in improving someone’s Basic Spells to the fourth tier, let alone the fifth tier, which was basically a fantasy!

“Screw you, leveling up a Basic Spell from the fourth tier to the fifth tier requires a total of seven Warrior-level Soul Essences. Give me the money, and I’ll improve them right away!” cursed Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan had made it sound easy, but if the higher tiers only needed Servant-class Soul Essences, he would actually consider living deep in the woods for a while, improving his Basic Spells further. However, the resources needed for the fifth tier were too dumbfounding. Seven Warrior-level Soul Essences would sum up to more than a hundred million, which was enough to get himself the Wing Magical Equipment for Xinxia!

On top of that, the odds of finding a Warrior-level Soul Essence were a lot lower. Even if Mo Fan managed to collect over a hundred Warrior-level Soul Remnants, it was not enough to refine a complete Soul Essence. Improving his Basic Spells to the fifth tier was a strenuous commitment!

“Let’s move on, stop wasting time here! You’ll have plenty of work to do at the Drifting Sand River!” emphasized Lingling.

The most dangerous part of their adventure was the Drifting Sand River. Even though they had brought Xinxia the Psychic along, it did not guarantee that they could cross the place unharmed!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The party had only briefly proceeded on with their journey when they saw a group of people rushing toward them through a cloud of sand ahead.

As the group came closer, Mo Fan’s crew realized that they were also a party of Hunters, who seemed relatively young. They had to be quite talented among Magicians.

When they arrived and saw the Sand Howl Tiger’s corpse, their expressions immediately sank. A female Magician who was slightly tanned among them approached Mo Fan’s group furiously and snapped while pointing her finger at them, “How shameless are you guys! We’ve been hunting the Sand Howl Tiger for half a day and injured it, yet you guys have stolen our prey after we lost track of it for a while. Don’t you know that as Hunters, you’re not supposed to take other people’s prey!?”

The tanned female Magician spoke imposingly, her voice sharp and screeching, making everyone feel uncomfortable.

“Aunty, the Sand Howl Tiger was already charging at us when we saw it. Are you telling me that we’re supposed to let the beast eat us alive if we’re not allowed to kill it?” Zhao Manyan was the first to blurt out unpleasantly.

“Who are you calling an aunty? I’m not even thirty!” The tanned female Magician was infuriated.

“Oh, but your temperament is the same as those aunties dancing at the public squares when their spot has been taken.” Mo Fan was fond of making sarcastic remarks too. He immediately joined in and sang a duet with Zhao Manyan.

The tanned female Magician pulled a long face, and seemed to have an urge to teach the two disrespectful guys a lesson.

However, the rather manly leader with a black beard stepped forward and stopped her.

He preferred not to start a fight here, since they were currently in the demon beasts’ territory. It was better for the Hunters to help one another, even though they felt it unfair that their prey was stolen just like that. They had injured the Sand Howl Tiger in the first place, thus the creature’s strength was no longer at its peak…

“No wonder the Sand Howl Tiger was so easy to deal with,” Zhang Xiaohou realized.

When fighting the Sand Howl Tiger, Zhang Xiaohou had already noticed that the beast was covered in wounds and bruises, so he thought the beast had fought against some other creature before. It turned out that it had fought a group of Hunters, and fled when it realized that it was no match for them. Somehow, it had stumbled into Mo Fan’s party, who ended up taking advantage of the situation.

“My brothers, we fought the Sand Howl Tiger for quite a while. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to kill it so easily. How about this, let us take a look if the Sand Howl Tiger’s corpse has any rare bones, rare blood, rare skin or something else, and we’ll split the loot in half,” said the leader with a black beard in a friendly manner.

However, Mo Fan was not happy.

These idiots had lost track of their prey, and demanded that the prey was theirs after such a long time, and even asked them to split the loot in half!

In their dreams!

The Sand Howl Tiger was quite infamous, and its corpse was quite valuable too. Even without the rare loot, a corpse in good condition would still worth around a hundred to two hundred thousand RMB!

Mo Fan would not mind discussing other things, but when it came to money, Mo Fan was not willing to give a single cent to others!

“How shameless, and you call yourself Hunters, humph!” Lingling was not fond of the demand either.

“Mm, little girl, who do you think you’re talking to, the prey was ours to begin with! Come down, come down here and I’ll teach how you should behave yourself!” the tanned female Magician was enraged, snapping while pointing at Lingling.

“We’re just following the rules set by Hunters, how is this being shameless?” The leader with a black beard pulled a long face.

“Hasn’t someone taught you to respect your seniors?!” retorted Lingling.

“Seniors? Hahahaha, you’re funny, look at how young you are, you must be a bunch of kids running away from your high school and fooling around. If we didn’t injure the Sand Howl Tiger beforehand, you all would be a pile of bones by now. You should be thanking us, the Sand Howl Tiger isn’t some creature that can be handled by someone with only talks like you…” the tanned female Magician mocked them.

She was extremely annoying, and mumbling non-stop. Meanwhile, Lingling took out her Hunter badge and showed it to her.

The tanned female Magician opened her eyes wide, her mouth could not put on the breaks in time.

She was staring at Lingling in disbelief, shifting her focus back and forth to the Hunter badge.

A Hunter badge was similar to magic equipment, and could only be bound to a Magician’s soul. It was impossible to fake it.

The group of Hunters was only a bunch of Advanced Hunters, who still had to gain a mountain of points to achieve the ranks of Hunter Master.

On top of that, the Hunter Union had requested that lower-ranked Hunters respect their seniors. They were not allowed to compete with the higher-ranked Hunters for their prey, nor were they allowed to disrespect their seniors…

The tanned female Magician was wearing a fascinating expression, and could not find words for a long time.

The unpleasant expression on their leader’s face stiffened too.

If the little girl was already a Hunter Master, how about the others in her party? They had underestimated these people!

No wonder the Sand Howl Tiger had already turned into a corpse after they had only lost track of it for a short period of time!

——

The leader with a black beard and the tanned female Magician quickly ran away with their crew after embarrassing themselves.

It was their fault for being greedy, demanding Mo Fan’s crew to split the loot when they had lost track of their prey in the first place. They were unlucky enough to stumble onto a freak like Lingling.

It was only an insignificant interlude. The party proceeded with their journey along the pulsating sandhill.

The desert was not as boundless as it seemed. After more than a day’s journey, the vast sands had turned into a barren, rocky land ahead.

The odds of stumbling into a Sand Howl Tiger increased on the rocky terrain. The group tried their best to avoid the beasts, yet they had no choice but to fight when the battle was inevitable.

With Zhang Xiaohou in the team, the stuff he had learned in the army proved to be extremely useful. He was able to nimbly lure the Sand Howl Tigers away when it was impossible to avoid contact with them.

It was tough for the team to face three Sand Howl Tigers simultaneously, thus most of the time, Zhang Xiaohou would be sprinting across the rocky terrain, luring the idiotic Sand Howl Tigers after him, so the team was able to move forward safely.

The journey was thus mostly free of danger, and they eventually arrived at the Drifting Sand River.

The Drifting Sand River was, in fact, a dry valley running down from the high grounds nearby, which had become incredibly wide under the erosion of the wind. Even on the map, the Drifting Sand River resembled a long soil-colored snake winding through the Drifting Sand River region. Its length extended through half of Gansu, and its narrowest part was still more than ten kilometers wide!

Translated by Tofu

Edited by Aelryinth

Throughout this long Drifting Sand River dwelled horrifying creatures called the White Sand Demon. Looking ahead while standing on the edge of the Gobi Desert was a descending dry slope.

Although they called it a river, it seemed more like an ocean in everyone’s eyes as it followed the descending continental shelf. This sand was covered in very thin and winding white sand silt. The sizes of these silt dunes looked like waves within a white ocean.

“Didn’t they say that this place had White Sand Demons dwelling around? Why haven’t I seen a single one of them?” Zhang Xiaohou used his hand to shade his eyes as he surveyed the area from an elevated position.

Everyone also had some doubts in their hearts. At this moment, they could still see the white silt a couple of kilometers away from them. There was nothing moving within the silt. Other than the occasional layer of white waves being blown by the wind, there was nothing else moving.

At this moment, Lingling finished extracting the internal organs of the Sand Howl Tiger. She gave them to Zhang Xiaohou, who was standing next to her, and said, “Here, throw this into the distance.”

Zhang Xiaohou gathered his strength and threw the innards far into the river of dust and sand. After they landed, waves of silt suddenly exploded forth within the tranquil white scene.

Several three meter tall giant-like creatures stood up while supporting themselves with broadswords made from sand. They all began to surround the smelly, bloody organs. After they cautiously examined them, they all turned back into sand that sprinkled all over the Drifting Sand River.

The entire process took just a couple of seconds. The serene ground with white sand had suddenly turned into over forty white giants with broadswords, who then returned back to the sands and restored the peaceful scene. This shocked everyone.

“There were quite a number of creatures appearing from just such a small disturbance. If a whole group of us were to go there, wouldn’t there be a whole White Sand Demon squad appearing?” Zhang Xiaohou asked, his shock totally visible.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan nodded their heads after nearly peeing themselves from surprise.

Fortunately, they didn’t step right in. Who would’ve expected so many White Sand Demons to explode forth in front of them?

“Let’s set a camp by the riverside and rest. It’s about to become dark, it won’t be too late if we were to set out first thing tomorrow,” Lingling advised.

————

No one was better at setting up the camp than Zhang Xiaohou.

It was as though this guy was on steroid. He would have leftover energy every single day, and it seemed like he was familiar with doing everything.

While everyone was resting, Zhang Xiaohou had already finished setting up the tent for everyone. There were two tents in total, and separated by gender.

Mo Fan walked up to the Swift Star Wolf. He used his hand to comb the fur on the Swift Star Wolf’s neck while he asked Xinxia, who was sitting on top of the Wolf, “Are you tired?”

Xinxia shook her head. Just when she was about to open her mouth, the Swift Star Wolf raised his head in annoyance, as if he was saying that should’ve been a question asked of him!

Mo Fan couldn’t help but smile as he patted the Swift Star Wolf’s head.

The Swift Star Wolf was doing lots of labor. Not only did he carry Xinxia, he also had to carry the little undeveloped loli, Lingling. Lingling was petite, while Xinxia’s physique was very slim. The two girls together were probably not as heavy as Mo Fan. What the Swift Star Wolf found was very annoying was that he could not fight in the same way as he usually did.

“Those White Sand Demon looks like they only want to protect their own territory. Their characteristics are not as vicious as the Sand Roaring Tiger, I should be able to appease them,” Xinxia said with a smile on her face.

Seeing the beads of sweat on her forehead, Mo Fan still took pity on her. However, he was able to tell that she was very happy. She had come to a place that she had never been to before, and it was also her first time being able to fight with Mo Fan shoulder-to-shoulder.

—

The curtain of the night descended quickly.

The temperature difference between day and night in Gobi Desert was extremely big. As the last little bit of heat retreated from this white ground, a hint of cold silently assaulted them.

The three girls were already sleeping inside the tent. The three guys were alternating the duty of night watch.

Mo Fan was in charge of the latter period of the night. When he woke up, he immediately felt as though he was in a different world. This kind of cold, along with the unrestrained vicious wind striking his body, felt like a blade was cutting right through his skin.

Mo Fan lit up a ball of fire, and then casually threw it onto the ground to form a small bonfire.

He was bored as he repeatedly extinguished the fire and reignited it, and this continued for about an hour. Suddenly, Mo Fan heard something moving in the distance.

Although he had excellent night vision, the sky was still filled with white dust. This lowered visibility by a lot.

Mo Fan woke Zhang Xiaohou up and had him guard the tents. He started toward the area the sounds came from.

The noises in the distance sounded like footsteps. They came one after another; who knew how many creatures were currently walking through the Gobi Desert.

—

Mo Fan arrived at a stone wall. He didn’t go through it, instead looking through the small cracks in the stone. Fortunately, his field of view to the front was not blocked by the white dust. He could clearly see a small group of Sand Roaring Tigers moving beneath the moonlight.

Their roars were ear-splitting. As their feet hit the ground, the ground trembled constantly.

As he looked further along, he saw a group of Hunter Magicians running for their lives, clearly extremely frightened.

There was a total of about six or seven Sand Roaring Tigers. If such a group appeared, they would also force Mo Fan’s squad to scatter and run.

Mo Fan was able to clearly identify two of the people in the Hunter Magician squad. It was the mean girl with tanned skin and the leader with the black beard.

They already lost their path in their panic, their escape route bringing them toward the Drifting Sand River.

Not too long after, they finally hit the white silt of the Drifting Sand River. They did not stop at all as they ran four to five hundred meters deep into the area.

At the same time, the Sand Roaring Tigers that pursued them suddenly halted by the river’s edge, all standing at a place at the very edge. Even though it looked like they really wanted to wolf down those human Magicians, they did not dare to take even a single step forward.

They were all staring restlessly. They were filled with regret and anger, feeling like ducks had escaped from their mouths.

Just when Mo Fan was puzzled over why those Sand Howl Tigers, known to be so vicious in nature, had suddenly stopped pursuing them, a terrifying scene appeared in the Drifting Sand River, shocking him yet again.

He saw rows of White Sand Demons rising from the white sands. The sand in their hands had turned into large broadswords as they chopped down on the group of Hunter Magicians…

The Hunters let out wild screams before the skies were instantly filled with blood!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The three-meter tall White Sand Demons were lined up in four and five rows, completely surrounding the Hunters that had trespassed into the Drifting Sand River, leaving them no way to escape.

Rows of white sand sabers dropped onto the targets. These sabers were not sharp like normal weapons, but extremely blunt, more like clubs. The slashes were actually smashing the Hunters instead.

As a result, it turned into a gory scene, with flesh and blood flying everywhere!

The moonlight was a mix of blue and white, while the Drifting Sand River was white like rice, making the pools of blood on the ground even more obvious and terrifying!

Mo Fan eyes popped open. Even though he did not have the urge to save the Hunters, they had died an extremely quick death. The defense from their Spells was not weak, yet they still stood no chance against the weapons of the White Sand Demons!

Their defense was crushed instantly, as their cries of agony echoed in the wide desert!

“My God!” Zhao Manyan’s soft exclamation came from behind Mo Fan.

Mo Fan turned around and saw everyone had woken up and followed him from their tents.

Xinxia and Chen Yi covered their mouths with their hands, while Lingling stared with her eyes wide. It was obvious that they had witnessed everything.

The Drifting Sand River was a lot more terrifying than they had imagined. The Hunters were like commoners jumping into a river filled with violent sharks, and were torn to pieces within seconds.

“Why don’t we treat this as a holiday trip to Dunhuang? Let’s go back to where we belong,” murmured Zhao Manyan, feeling his scalp turning numb and his limbs going soft.

Zhao Manyan had learned from the Secret Tipping Scrolls that the Drifting Sand River was considered one of the most dangerous forbidden areas in the Dunhuang region. Many Hunters had lost their lives here, but when Zhao Manyan witnessed it with his own eyes, he could clearly feel his soul trembling in fear. If it weren’t for the Hunters that were chased into the Drifting Sand River by the Sand Howl Tigers, their party would have ended up as the one enjoying a quick trip to the netherworld.

“Don’t we…don’t we still have Xinxia with us? Maybe…maybe it won’t be that bad…” Even the fearless Zhang Xiaohou began to stammer.

Chen Yi and Xinxia remained silent for quite a long time, needing some time to recover after witnessing such a gory scene. Sometime later, Chen Yi looked at Xinxia with wide eyes and said, “Can your Psychic Element really calm the demon beasts down? If something goes wrong, won’t we end up like them?”

Xinxia nodded seriously after a brief thought and said softly, “The White Sand Demons in that area are irascible because it’s stained with blood, so it’s not the best idea to go through that area. However, as long as we are walking through the areas that do not have the smell of blood, I can guarantee that they won’t attack us.”

“Even if you say so, I’m still uncomfortable. We’ll all be dead if something goes wrong,” said Zhao Manyan coldly.

Lingling cast a disdainful gaze at the two cowards and spoke calmly, “That bunch of idiots dug their own graves when they startled so many Sand Howl Tigers at the same time, and on top of that, they were stupid enough to trespass into the Drifting Sand River. They might have a chance at surviving if they decided to fight against the Sand Howl Tigers, but once they stepped into the Drifting Sand River and caused such a scene, it was no different than jumping into Hell themselves. All we need to do is be extremely cautious, and with Sister Xinxia’s Psychic Element, we will only be crossing a dried river.”

Meanwhile, Xinxia had recovered from her fear. She said confidently, “It won’t be a problem if we follow the original plan. However, you all must remember, don’t cast any spells without my permission in the Drifting Sand River. Once they sensed the ripple of a destructive spell, they will instinctively attack us. When that happens, we’ll lose control of the situation.”

Zhao Manyan and Chen Yi nodded. They clearly knew that it was unrealistic to try fighting the demon beasts in the Drifting Sand River, but with a Psychic, everything would be fine.

Everyone went back to the tents with a perturbed mind, and none of them managed to get a good night’s sleep.

After all, the Drifting Sand River was only less than twenty meters from them. Who knew if the terrifying White Sand Demons would attack those on the shore in the morning…

—————

Everyone bore their uneasiness until morning, as the red sun rising in the east shone its rays down on the Drifting Sand River. The blood of the group of Hunters had dried up in the wind, but the stains were as clear as before under the crimson light, reminding them that the enormous white sand river was not as calm as it appeared, but rather a place with a slim chance of survival!

“Why don’t someone among us go and try it out? It’s better than the whole squad getting wiped out,” Zhao Manyan asked weakly.

“I think that’s a great idea, as everyone would be convinced that the plan works. The question is, who’s going to do it?” replied Mo Fan, with a hint of mischievousness.

Zhang Xiaohou clearly knew it was not the best time to volunteer himself. He gave Zhao Manyan the chance to do the honor.

Zhao Manyan felt like giving himself a slap to the face. Was he too bored after filling his stomach, what was he thinking, voicing such a suggestion?

He still had a glimpse of hope, and said to Zhang Xiaohou smilingly, “You’re a brave soldier, with two movement Spells. You can run away if something goes wrong, I’ll let you do it.”

Zhang Xiaohou waved his hands and said to Zhang Xiaohou sternly, “Brother Fan has told me that your defense is like a thousand-years-old turtle. I bet even if the White Sand Demons appeared, your defense is able to last long enough for us to come and rescue you.”

Zhao Manyan glanced at Mo Fan pleadingly.

Mo Fan shrugged and said with seriously, “I’m the party’s DPS, I’m sure that either of you two is a better candidate.”

Zhao Manyan wore a helpless look and turned around, glancing at Xinxia.

“Go for it, it will be fine, as long as you remember that you must not cast any spell until I tell you otherwise, as it will only place you in grave danger…” Xinxia said gently.

Zhao Manyan braced himself and walked toward the Drifting Sand River. Anxiety was not the only thing he was feeling at that instant.

He tiptoed his way forward, each step on the sand making his heart beat vigorously!

He could hear the howling of the wind coming in his direction. In his eyes, it did not feel like a dried river, but a terrifying path to the netherworld.

He had only taken a few steps when tides of white sand rose from his surroundings!

More than ten White Sand Demons appeared beside him out of nowhere!

They stood imperiously, their bulky figures resembling samurai in white armor!

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan’s face turned pale as his eyes opened wide, filled with horror.

There were around thirty White Sand Demons nearby, and their shining sand sabers were only inches away from him. Zhao Manyan shivered when he recalled the deaths of the Magicians.

Didn’t they say everything was going to be alright? Why did so many demon beasts show themselves when he had only taken a few steps?

Zhao Manyan could not even make any sound, it felt like something was stuck in his throat.

He almost subconsciously activated his armor equipment and cast a defensive Spell…

However, he immediately remembered Xinxia’s words in the midst of his panic.

He was quite impressed by himself, as anyone else would have totally shit their pants by now. How could anyone possibly remember her warning?

If he weren’t worried that casting a spell would make the situation a lot worse, Zhao Manyan would have been more than happy to cast a few layers of Light Protection: Sacred Shield on himself. He would only find some peace when his figure was wrapped inside the golden shield!

Zhao Manyan clenched his teeth, his figure tensed.

He did not dare to cast a spell, and simply stood in the middle of the White Sand Demons.

Compared to the three-meters-tall White Sand Demons, Zhao Manyan was like a midget with tender bones and flesh, who could not possibly withstand the blows from the cruel sand sabers.

Zhao Manyan managed to hold his ground in the end, but the others could not help but feel worried, especially Chen Yi, who almost rushed forward to save him…

Meanwhile, Xinxia was like a sky blue lotus, standing still on a river in the desert. Her long hair drifted in the strong wind blowing right in her direction, a pleasant scent rising around her.

Her gentle face was filled with a stern look never seen before, her eyes were fixed on Zhao Manyan’s position…

Suddenly, she closed her eyes and placed her arms on top of one another in front of her chest, as if she were trying to transmit a message with her soul in a way that was undetectable to ordinary people!

Mo Fan, who was standing beside her, could only sense an energy ripple, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not identify the power that Xinxia was emanating. Perhaps it was the so-called invisible power from one’s soul!

“Pacify!”

Xinxia channeled the Psychic Element spell. As the Star Pattern was completed, faint ripples, like those on the surface of clear water, appeared under her feet.

Xinxia’s petite figure was lifted by some unknown force, with her feet dangling right above the ground, like a forest elf who was standing above the calm surface of a lake on her toes…

The ripples on the calm lake gradually spread outward, arriving just before the White Sand Demons were about to raise their sabers for some meat smashing. Zhao Manyan was on the verge of falling to the ground as his legs went weak!

The White Sand Demons had a pair of deep, hollow eyes on their sand-made faces, and inside them was a violent, dark red flicker of light. They hated other creatures disturbing their lives the most, so if anything was brave enough to step into the Drifting Sand River, they were sure to fling their sabers at the trespassers.

However, when the ripples landed on their bodies, their fierce and savage aura completely disappeared, as if it had been cleansed by a sacred wind.

The sabers that were halfway through a blow came to a stop. The creatures shook their heads and glanced at their surroundings with confused expressions.

The White Sand Demons exchanged glances with one another, as if they were trying to figure out why they were swinging their sabers, before turning into fine sand particles and falling away as the wind swept past, dissipating back into Zhao Manyan’s surroundings in the Drifting Sand River!

Zhao Manyan sat on the ground in the midst of the blowing sand.

He could almost feel his pants getting wet, yet he managed to hold the urge back, as he was much more courageous after the incident at Jinlin City.

He raised his head, glancing at the crew on the shore and forced a smile, before raising his thumb at Xinxia!

It was Zhao Manyan’s first time experiencing the miraculous Psychic Element. The violent White Sand Demons had completely lost their urge to kill. It was definitely the best camouflage that any Magician could wish, letting them roam freely in the wild!

Unfortunately, the Psychic Element Spell was not effective against all kinds of demon beasts. As an example, the savage Sand Howl Tigers were immune to the Psychic Element…

“How long are you going to wait before coming down here?” yelled Zhao Manyan unpleasantly.

“I thought you were going to die for sure,” teased Mo Fan.

Mo Fan put Xinxia onto the Swift Star Wolf’s back, so she could sit on top of the beast.

She could stand on her own, but she would feel extremely worn out after standing for too long, thus it was better for her sit on the mount.

The lazy Lingling had also climbed up on the beast. When she saw the Swift Star Wolf groaning under his breath, she knocked on the Swift Star Wolf’s head and asked, “Is someone complaining?”

The Swift Star Wolf did not dare to offend the little naughty elf that had all kinds of ways to bully a Summoned Beast. He quickly behaved himself and proceeded to the Drifting Sand River once Lingling and Xinxia finished adjusting their seats on him.

Perhaps he too was spooked by the Drifting Sand River. His steps were extremely light, not daring to make any noise, afraid to trigger the White Sand Demons under his feet.

“Xinxia, if you keep on channeling the Psychic Spell, doesn’t that cost a lot of your energy?” asked Mo Fan.

Xinxia shook her head and said, “The demon beasts here in the Drifting Sand River aren’t as densely packed as it seems. They only gather at a specific area when someone trespasses into their territory… I’ve Pacified the White Sand Demons in this area, so they won’t attack us. I’ll cast the Spell again when we arrive in the territory of a different group of White Sand Demons.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh.

“However, we didn’t really estimate how long it will take us to cross the Drifting Sand River. I’m not sure if my energy can last until we have crossed the river,” said Xinxia.

As soon as Xinxia finished the words, Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan, who were enjoying their stroll upfront, suddenly halted in their tracks.

Clearly, they were both imagining the scene of them standing in the middle of the Drifting Sand River when Xinxia’s energy depleted. It would surely bring them straight to the jaws of death!

“The river is fairly wide, why don’t we…”

“If you’re afraid, just wait for us back on the shore,” mocked Mo Fan.

“Not a chance, I’m just saying that I do have some potions here for your sister Xinxia to replenish her energy, just in case.” Zhao Manyan had no intention of holding onto his valuable belongings, and obediently handed them to Xinxia.

Now that everyone’s life was relying on Xinxia, Zhao Manyan immediately treated her like a goddess.

Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

The party of six humans and a wolf had already traveled a kilometer across the Drifting Sand River without them knowing. For some reason, as they moved further away from the bank behind them, they could not help but feel uneasy.

As they continued to journey forward, they could no longer see the shore when they turned back to look. They could only see white sands in their surroundings, with the same white sand particles lingering in the sky.

“I was told that the fine sand particles in the Drifting Sand River are heavier than usual, so the wind cannot blow them into the air. The white particles lingering in the air which we assume to be sand are actually the ashes of dead bodies, as they are lighter,” Zhang Xiaohou spoke up, remembering something about the Drifting Sand River that some of his old comrades had mentioned before when he saw the nervous looks on everyone’s faces, trying to improve the mood.

Chen Yi and Xinxia’s faces turned pale when they learned that the sand particles that would occasionally brush their faces were actually ashes of dead bodies, making them extremely uneasy.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan both glared at Zhang Xiaohou, who had to mention something so inappropriate in a situation like this.

When Zhang Xiaohou realized that his intention to lift up the mood ended up worsening the situation, he uttered a hollow laugh and quickly shut his mouth.

Unfortunately, a gust of white sand was blowing in Xinxia’s direction, and she subconsciously dodged aside when she thought it was the ashes of dead bodies, interrupting the channeling of her Psychic Spell.

Within a few seconds, tides of sand suddenly rolled in towards the party’s front and back with dull roars. It was obvious that something was drilling out from the sand beneath them!

The tides covered a few hundred meters, boiling around them, resulting in a terrifying sight when glancing into the distance!

From the tides of sand, enormous creatures over five meters tall rose from the ground.

They were bigger and scarier than the ones the party had seen before. The sand sabers in the hands of the creatures were over three meters long, nearly twice the height of a human. The group could not help but shiver in fear at the horrifying sight of the giant creatures holding such long sabers in their hands!

Cold sweat slid down along the back of Mo Fan’s neck, who subconsciously swallowed.

His mental stability was considered outstanding among the Magicians at his level, yet when close to a hundred White Sand Giants appeared out of nowhere, his hair immediately stood on end, as if he were standing in the deep abyss of Hell surrounded by devils.

Xinxia quickly closed her eyes and focused on finishing the Star Pattern of the Psychic Spell. She knew that if she messed up again, the whole squad would be wiped out here.

She could not afford to lose even the slightest focus.

It felt like Zhao Manyan and Zhang Xiaohou had turned into statues too, even holding their breaths. Meanwhile, Chen Yi, whose scalp had turned numb when she experienced an overwhelming fear she had never felt before, instinctively tried to cast a Spell to protect herself.

Mo Fan quickly tackled her to the ground without hesitation. “Are you trying to get all of us killed? Hide your Magic’s presence at once!” he yelled at her.

Chen Yi regained some of her rationality, but her heart was still racing when she saw the White Sand Giants surrounding the party like a bastion of iron.

“Comfort!”

Without letting the team down, Xinxia successfully cast the Psychic Spell. Her voice seemed to be enchanted, which not only dampened the evil-foreboding presence of the White Sand Giants, but also calmed the fear in everyone’s heart at the horrifying sight.

The group was left breathless. They never thought they would encounter even bigger White Sand Giants as they ventured deeper into the Drifting Sand River.

Although the White Sand Giants were not emanating Warrior-level auras, it went without saying that they were stronger than the White Sand Demons they had encountered previously. The area for a few hundred meters around the party was filled by the White Sand Giants, without any gap between them. It felt like they were surrounded by a magnificent sand castle built of the white sand.

Luckily, the three-meter-long sand sabers were not put to use. The threatening auras emitting from the creatures swiftly dissipated.

As the hostility went away, their bodies suddenly turned into soft sand and fell to the ground, returning to the boundless sand river.

The enormous White Sand Giants fell to the ground like dominoes, sweeping a huge wave of dust into the sky. The spectacular sight left the six humans that were standing in the midst of it bewildered.

The White Sand Giants completely disappeared a moment later, yet everyone’s hearts were still beating rapidly.

They glanced at one another’s pale faces, as they were still badly shaken despite being lucky enough to avoid the disaster. After some time, they finally uttered a relieved sigh each.

“Houzi, I don’t want to hear any nonsense from you again,” warned Mo Fan furiously.

Zhang Xiaohou came to a realization too. He swore that he would never say something weird to try lifting the mood ever again for the rest of his life.

Xinxia’s face was slightly pale too, her cheeks covered in sweat. She spoke softly, “The White Sand Giants here have a purer lineage, and are more intelligent. I have to cast Comfort longer to erase their hostility, so try your best to protect me, to avoid my channeling being interrupted.”

The group immediately nodded, while Zhang Xiaohou placed his hands in front of his mouth, as if he were trying to zip it up.

—

As the group continued forward, Mo Fan realized that Xinxia had been casting the Psychic Spell much more frequently, which implied that the creatures hiding in the Drifting Sand River nearby were more irascible. Mo Fan began to worry if Xinxia had enough energy to last.

Xinxia’s face turned slightly pale from fatigue. The prolonged periods of casting the Psychic Spell had affected her to a certain degree. It was hard to tell how much longer she could last.

“Can you see the path ahead?” Xinxia asked Lingling softly, who was sitting behind her.

Lingling opened the map on her laptop and shook her head slightly, “The path we’ve taken isn’t perfectly straight, we still have another three to four kilometers to go.”

“I’m afraid my energy won’t last until then,” said Xinxia.

“How far do you think you can last?” asked Lingling immediately.

“At most two kilometers,” said Xinxia.

The conversation between Lingling and Xinxia was clear to the others in the party too, and Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, Zhao Manyan and Chen Yi were wearing somewhat interesting expressions on their faces.

At most two kilometers?

That was bad. The Drifting Sand River was pretty much a giant river filled with countless demon beasts. Without the Psychic Spell, there was no chance they could survive against the countless White Sand Giants.

Most terrifyingly, retreating was no longer an option, as they were at least ten kilometers from the bank they had come from.

They had no choice but to continue moving forward!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Xinxia’s Psychic Spell could only last for another two kilometers, yet they still had another three to four kilometers to go. Didn’t that mean they would eventually be surrounded by the White Sand Giants?

Lingling frowned, as she did not expect the path they were taking was straying away from a straight line. The situation suddenly became extremely tricky.

“Should we just rush out from this place for the last one or two kilometers? We should be safe if we reach the banks. One or two kilometers won’t take us much time if we run at full speed,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

Mo Fan slapped the back of Zhang Xiaohou’s head and scolded him, “Did you forget what happened just a short time ago? The White Sand Giants line up like an impenetrable wall. It’s like a sand fortress.”

“That’s true, it’s not realistic to try and barge our way out. We should come up with a plan,” said Zhao Manyan.

“This Drifting Sand River does not have unlimited demon beasts, it’s just that those within a few kilometers will gather rapidly when someone is trespassing into their territory. That means, if we could somehow bait them to somewhere else, we can proceed on without the Psychic Element: Pacify Spell for some distance.”

“The problem is, how can we lure them away? Don’t tell me we’re simply throwing some bloody organs far away like what Lingling did. I don’t think these White Sand Giants are that stupid…” spoke up Chen Yi.

—————-

After discussion, the group came up with a plan.

They would send someone fast with high evasion away from the team to wake all the White Sand Demons within a few kilometers, and after the demon beasts were a certain distance away, they would find a way to regroup with that person.

However, the plan was extremely dangerous. The person away from the team would not even have the chance to escape from the surround, and would die a horrible death to the demon beasts.

The group could not think of a better plan. They did not stop moving, as Xinxia’s energy was still being expended. The party had traveled another kilometer. Without a better plan, they had no choice but to let Zhang Xiaohou take the risk.

“I think it’s not feasible to only let a single person be the bait. The guy is dead for sure. Since we’re going to wake up all the White Sand Demons within a few kilometers, we might as well spread them apart. We won’t stand a chance if they gather together, but if we could split them up by letting someone quick kite them around, and someone with high defense to keep them occupied for some time, and those with high damage can eliminate the White Sand Demons as quick as possible to clear a path. Sister Xinxia’s Psychic Spell can hold some of them off, too; that way, we’ll conserve more of her energy,” said Lingling.

Everyone nodded when they heard the proposal from the party’s brain.

Instead of placing someone’s life in danger as the bait, they preferred to face the situation as a whole by utilizing the party’s strength.

It would be easier for everyone to deal with the White Sand Demons once the Demons were split up, but everyone had their specific role in the plan, and not the slightest mistake could be allowed. If someone died or made a wrong move, the others would most likely suffer the same fate.

Everyone could only take on a limited number of White Sand Giants at a time. As a matter of fact, the number of White Sand Giants assigned to each member of the party had already exceeded their limit.

Either way, the plan was the most achievable one they could think of. The closer they stayed together, the more White Sand Giants were going to appear. Their white sand sabers were too powerful to defend against, unless they were all defensive Magicians.

—

“I’ll be heading off then. Please keep an eye on the time. If not, once I wake all the White Sand Giants up, it’s my corpse that you’ll be retrieving,” said Zhang Xiaohou nervously, his forehead covered in sweat while standing at the edge of the party.

Zhao Manyan replied sternly, “Don’t you worry. If that’s what happens, we won’t have the guts to retrieve your corpse, either.”

Zhang Xiaohou secretly gave Zhao Manyan the middle finger.

“Everyone, head to your spots. The White Sand Giants in this area are still being pacified, so you can still move around freely. It will be too late once the effect wears out,” Lingling reminded them.

Xinxia was trying to earn more time for the party. She raised her hand high up in the air, and when she placed it down, it was the signal that her Psychic Spell’s effect had worn out. At that time, everyone would have to focus on fighting against the White Sand Giants!

The team was split up into five groups.

Zhang Xiaohou was the furthest away from the rest of the party. Zhao Manyan was around five hundred meters away, while Mo Fan was in the opposite direction from him, around seven hundred meters from Xinxia. As for Chen Yi, she was standing in the direction the party was moving, with Mo Fan’s Swift Star Wolf.

Xinxia and Lingling were right in the middle of everyone. With the Psychic Element, Xinxia was able to hold a large area of the White Sand Giants off. If anyone from the team could no longer hold their ground, they could move closer to her to guarantee their safety, but it would increase Xinxia’s burden.

—

“I shouldn’t have come in such a rush. If I waited until I’ve got the armor from Huo Tuo, it would be a lot easier to fight these White Sand Giants,” mumbled Mo Fan, walking across the white sand.

Everyone within a few hundred meters was filled with the white sand. It seemed to be clean and elegant, yet when he thought of the countless corpses lying under the ground, and the White Sand Giants that could appear in any second and kill without hesitation, he could feel his hair standing on end!

Mo Fan glanced into the distance, where Zhang Xiaohou was standing. The guy was like a criminal standing on the execution ground waiting for his death, extremely nervous.

After all, they had only come up with the plan, they had no idea if it would work.

Everyone shifted their gazes toward the center, where Xinxia was standing. As Xinxia slowly lowered her hand, they could feel their hearts tightening!

Their breathing slowed down, as they could feel a spasm in their legs, yet it was only the touch of the sand drifting in the wind.

The sun was hanging on the horizon, its last hint of calming rays withdrawing into the darkness. Meanwhile, Xinxia’s pale and skinny right hand dropped to her side.

Like a goddess of light who had abandoned the land, handing it over to be ruled by evil and slaughter… no one knew what was going to happen next!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Loud thuds were heard coming from the sand, which felt like the drums of death in the quiet evening.

White sand swept into the air, like countless dragons rolling in the white sand river, to a height that could shroud the sky…

A sinister, cold aura swept across the place, as the White Sand Giants rose from the white sand, like devils from the palaces of Hell, climbing out from the ground.

They were each holding a three-meter-long giant sand saber in their hands. Their bodies of sand did not look weak or vulnerable, and as the sand packed densely together, it looked like they were clad in sturdy armor plates.

Their eyes were filled with menace. The thing that they hated the most was their sleep being disturbed by other living things.

Bloodshot eyes, thunderous roars!

The Magicians felt like something was exploding in their heads at the deafening noise, but before their hearts were overwhelmed by fear, the countless White Sand Giants filled their sight.

Once these Elemental Beasts became hostile, they were a lot scarier than demon beasts of flesh and bone, as they were fairly reckless.

The tides of sand exploded simultaneously. The fine sand drifting in the air prevented the Magicians from learning how the others were doing.

As they recalled the plan they had agreed on, and the fact that any failure would place the others in danger too, everyone immediately took their roles seriously.

“Crap, Zhao Manyan is targeted by the most White Sand Giants!” yelled Lingling, who was in the safest spot right in the center of everyone.

Ideally, according to their plan, they assumed the number of White Sand Giants would be equally distributed to everyone’s position when they split up. The truth was, these White Sand Giants were not robots, thus they did not simply follow the script. It was obvious that Zhang Manyan’s area had the highest number of White Sand Giants, and they were all gathering toward Zhang Manyan’s position instead of targeting Mo Fan or Zhang Xiaohou.

– I guess it’s a reflection of one’s moral quality… -, crossed Mo Fan’s mind.

However, Mo Fan knew that now was not the time to ridicule the guy. It did not matter if Zhao Manyan was the weakest among them, he had to find a way to ease his burden. Otherwise, the playboy would simply turn into a lump of meat in a few minutes!

Line after line, these White Sand Giants were exactly like some well-trained soldiers, and would always appear in an orderly fashion.

The creatures were so perfectly aligned in rows that they were pretty much layers of walls. Once they attacked with their sabers, their target would not have enough space to dodge. It was the perfect body-crushing saber formation!

Zhao Manyan looked at the White Sand Giants surrounding him. As his vision was blocked, he had no idea that he was in the worst position out of everyone else.

He tried to remain calm, by casting a Water Barrier first, which summoned a layer of water to circle around his body.

The Water Barrier was a very effective defensive Spell. The unique effect from its third tier, Circulation, allowed the Magician to continue stacking up layers of the same defensive Spell around himself…

Zhao Manyan had stacked three layers of Water Barrier on him when the White Sand Giants appeared. Three layers was his limit, while those with better control of the Water Element could go four or even five layers. Most of the time, they would need to rely on a Water Element Magic Tool!

The three layers of Water Barrier: Circulation was enough to defend Zhao Manyan from the White Sand Giants attacks. However, Zhao Manyan had underestimated the White Sand Giants’ strength and numbers. When the sand sabers that were looming over him struck down, his Water Barrier: Circulation immediately turned into droplets…

Zhao Manyan’s face turned pale. Luckily, he was already forming a Star Pattern.

Zhao Manyan’s fundamentals were quite solid. If he was like the previous group of Hunters, whose Star Patterns were disrupted when they panicked, the second wave of attacks would easily smash him into a lump of meat.

“Light Protection: Sacred Shield!”

Zhao Manyan did not cast the second-tier of the Light Protection, as the Light Protection: Rampart was more suitable for defending against attacks coming from the same direction. Meanwhile, even though the Light Protection: Sacred Shield was weaker than the Light Protection: Rampart, it was able to protect his whole body!

The sacred light produced some slight heat, as it perfectly wrapped around Zhao Manyan’s figure, who let out a relieved sigh after hiding behind the sacred shield. He finally realized through the gaps between the White Sand Giants that the numbers surrounding him were uncountable!

These White Sand Giants were not strong when they were alone, yet they seemed to know battle formations in skirmishes used by the warriors in the ancient times, which involved taking turns to execute their attacks!

As a result, after hacking with their sand sabers, the White Sand Giants that were slowly reforming their weapons switched positions with those behind them who were ready to attack. The area Zhao Manyan was at immediately turned into a giant pit after receiving three waves of attacks in a row, while Zhao Manyan who was holding his ground with his defense was almost covered in the sand.

“Help! Help me!” screamed Zhao Manyan into the communication device.

His surroundings were covered in blasts, his voice simply did not reach too far. Everyone else was surrounded in the same loud blasts too, which either consisted of rolling sand gusts, the explosive blows of the sand sabers, or the deafening roars of the White Sand Giants…

The only people aware of Zhao Manyan’s current situation were Lingling and Xinxia, who were monitoring the tide of the battle.

Xinxia stood on the ground, her eyes fixed in Zhao Manyan’s direction. She was thinking of spreading her Psychic Spell in his direction, to help him Pacify some of the White Sand Giants.

“Don’t do it, it’s difficult to pacify the triggered White Sand Giants. If we start using up your energy now, the path ahead will be more troublesome!” Lingling quickly stopped the kind-hearted Xinxia.

Xinxia bit her pink lips, and could not help but feel worried about Zhao Manyan.

“Don’t worry, he won’t die so easily,” said Lingling.

“Mmm,” Xinxia nodded, choosing to believe Lingling. She subconsciously glanced in Mo Fan’s direction.

She worried about Mo Fan subconsciously, it had almost become second nature.

Luckily, the number of White Sand Giants that had appeared at her brother Mo Fan’s position were not as many as those in Zhao Manyan’s area…

If Zhao Manyan, who was currently surrounded by the White Sand Giants, knew what the two girls were thinking, he would have had the urge to simply kill himself by slamming his head into a White Sand Giant’s body!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As Lingling predicted, even though Zhao Manyan was panicking slightly at the start after receiving the waves of attacks from the White Sand Giants, his defensive Spells were able to stabilize the situation. The enormous size and large number of the White Sand Giants were blocking one another, and they had no ranged attacks.

Besides, a defensive Magician like Zhao Manyan could not possibly eliminate the White Sand Giants surrounding him, thus it would not matter how many circles of them there were. The ones that were attacking were only from the first and second circles. As long as the White Sand Giants could not break his defense with a single wave of attacks, he could still hold them off for a certain amount of time!

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohou was in a much more favorable situation. The fact that so many White Sand Giants were at Zhao Manyan’s area also meant that there were fewer White Sand Giants in his!.

Similar to Zhao Manyan, Zhang Xiaohou did not have any destructive Spells he would use. Therefore, instead of wasting his energy trying to kill the White Sand Giants, he was simply kiting them around in circles.

The white sandy ground allowed Zhang Xiaohou to cast Earth Wave at his will. In addition to that, his Earth Element Spells also had special effects because of his Soul Seed.

The White Sand Giants were not very quick. Even raising their heavy sand sabers alone would take a whole two seconds, which gave the agile Zhang Xiaohou lots of time to react.

Clank!

Clank!

The bulky sand sabers were slashing in Zhang Xiaohou’s direction, yet they could only hit the gusts left in his wake. There were only three movement Spells among all Basic Spells, and Zhang Xiaohou had two of them!

On top of that, Zhang Xiaohou was wearing a pretty good pair of Magical Boots. With so many ways of moving around, he was one of the few Magicians that could weave his way through the demon beasts.

Zhang Xiaohou maintained his speed as he ran. When he turned around and saw the clumsy White Sand Giants had been left a hundred meters behind, and was just about to feel pleased with his speed, clouds of white sand jetted into the air ahead of him suddenly!

Ten White Sand Giants rose from the ground, using their bodies to build a twenty-meters-long wall!

Zhang Xiaohou suddenly realized that the White Sand Giants would not stupidly chase after him with their feet. They could easily move through the sand under the surface and quickly arrive at their destination. Otherwise, how was it possible for the White Sand Giants to quickly gather at an enemy’s position?

The long sabers waved wildly, slashing in Zhang Xiaohou’s direction. With enemies on his trail, he could not afford to alter his path, so he swiftly drew a Star Pattern under his feet.

“Rock Barrier!”

Zhang Xiaohou halted his running, skidding toward the White Sand Giants, and pushed his hands forward. A Rock Barrier wall formed with the Soul Seed Flowing Mud emerged from the ground! As the Rock Barrier rose to protect Zhang Xiaohou, the ten sand sabers that were hacking at him collided with the spell!

Under the White Sand Giants’ shocking strength and the blunt blows from the sand sabers, the Spirit-grade Earth Element Defensive Spell was soon shattered into pieces.

Zhang Xiaohou’s heart raced when his defense crumbled. A blue swirl suddenly wrapped around his feet in the shape of a pair of boots.

The wind boots boosted Zhang Xiaohou to his limit, raising an aftertrail of sand behind him. The White Sand Giants pursuing after him were planning to crush him into minced meat, but ended up slamming into the wall of White Sand Giants ahead of him.

As a loud crash similar to a traffic accident came from behind him, Zhang Xiaohou broke into a frightened sweat.

Fortunately, he was able to put the magic Boots that he had recently acquired to use. If he was cornered by the White Sand Giants, he would die to their sand sabers despite the variety of movement Spells he had.

While catching his breath, Zhang Xiaohou glanced in Mo Fan’s direction to check how he was doing.

—

Unlike Zhao Manyan and Zhang Xiaohou’s approach, Mo Fan was focusing on killing!

Mo Fan had plenty of offensive Spells. There was no need for him to delay fighting against the White Sand Giants. Even their thick sand armor plates stood no chance against the destructive power of the Lightning and Fire Elements.

The full power of Fiery Fist: Nine Halls was displayed against demon beasts that lined up in rows. Every time Mo Fan cast the Spell, the White Sand Giants would fall to the ground in chunks!

However, Mo Fan needed some time to cast the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls, so he had to switch between different Spells before he had enough time to illustrate the Star Pattern. Luckily, the battle broke out as the sun was setting, allowing him to utilize his Shadow Element. Otherwise, with so many White Sand Giants flanking him at the same time, he would never have the chance to complete the complicated Star Pattern.

It was not like Mo Fan had never experienced being surrounded by demon beasts before. When he was in the middle of the Giant Lizards back in Jinlin City, he had used his fourth-tier Lightning Strike to create a paralyzing Electric Field around him.

Unhappily, the paralyzing effect of Lightning Strike was not effective against these White Sand Demons. The Elemental Beasts did not have flesh or blood, so the damage inflicted by the Lightning Element was reduced to a certain degree. As such, Mo Fan was only using the Lightning Spells to penetrate their armor plates for a killing blow.

The most effective Element was Fire. Even though a single fourth-tier Fire Burst alone was not enough to inflict serious damage to the White Sand Giants, it was able to disrupt their formation briefly, and a few more would blast them into pieces.

Every time he killed a White Sand Giant, the Little Loach Pendant would retrieve their Soul Remnant. Mo Fan quickly killed at least ten White Sand Giants. It appeared that the Soul Remnants from the White Sand Giants were relatively high-quality. Initially, Mo Fan needed thirty Servant-class Soul Remnants to refine a Soul Essence, but after collecting ten Soul Remnants of the White Sand Giants, the Little Loach Pendant produced a Servant-class Soul Essence!

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan had already strengthened five of the Stars in the Shadow Element Nebula. He could strengthen another with the freshly acquired Soul Essence, which meant he was only one Soul Essence away from improving the Shadow Element Basic Spell, Fleeing Shadow, to the fourth tier!

That being said, he would need to kill around forty more White Sand Giants to refine another Servant-class Soul Essence and rank up his Fleeing Shadow.

If he could level up the Spell, it would be a glimpse of hope that could change the tide of this difficult battle!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan never assumed himself to be outstanding when it came to luck. The main protagonist in many TV dramas and novels would always acquire a manual of some peerless Martial Arts after jumping off a cliff, or discovering some rare drop from killing an ordinary wild pheasant that turned out to be a rare golden pheasant. However, it appeared that he was pleasing to the eyes of the Goddess of Luck for once.

Mo Fan was a Servant-class Soul Essence away from ranking up his Shadow Element Fleeing Shadow to the fourth tier, and to his astonishment, the fourth White Sand Giant he killed somehow dropped a Servant-class Soul Essence!

It was only his second time having such good luck. It was extremely rare for a demon beast to drop a Soul Essence, despite the number of demon beasts he had killed in the past.

Normally, Mo Fan would sell the natural Servant-class Soul Essence for money. After all, he could not withdraw the Soul Essences that the Little Loach Pendant had refined, thus he could only use them to strengthen his Spells. The natural ones were sold for money, and the artificial ones were used to strengthen his Spells, since he was able to slowly collect Soul Remnants and refine them into Soul Essences.

Currently, Mo Fan was just a Soul Essence short. Knowing that the party was in a dangerous position, it was better to improve his Spells, to provide some relief for the difficult situation!

The White Sand Giants obviously had a purer lineage among Servant-class demon beasts, hence their Soul Remnants were of higher quality, with a higher chance of dropping Soul Essences.

Mo Fan used his Fleeing Shadow to move to a safer spot. After buying himself some time, he quickly diverted some attention to strengthening the last two Basic Stars of his Shadow Element.

The transformation of the Stars in the Spiritual World seemed like a time-consuming process, but it actually happened almost instantly. As the White Sand Giants chopped with their sand sabers in Mo Fan’s direction, his figure sank into the shadow of the clouds once again.

The White Sand Giants were not brainless. When they learned that Mo Fan would always turn into a lump of shadow after casting Fleeing Shadow, they began to chase after the shadows to drive Mo Fan out. Their good teamwork was displayed as they worked together to block the direction Mo Fan was moving towards.

They raised their sabers, and as they chopped down, they immediately raised a tide of sand. The sand gust tumbled around the sabers, doubling the power of their attacks!

If a Shadow Magician was attacked while under Fleeing Shadow’s effect, the damage inflicted to the Magician was higher. Mo Fan, who had turned into the shadows, had nowhere to escape to.

As the sand sabers struck the shadow fiercely, it exploded into pieces and was swept away by the shockwave. If someone were hiding in the shadow, they would be dead for sure!

The White Sand Giants had stiff grins after they finally eliminated the annoying Magician. They did enjoy having an intruder’s blood smeared on the sand.

“Rose Flame Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!”

Mo Fan’s attempt at a dignified voice suddenly appeared from another direction!

The White Sand Giants quickly turned around and stared at Mo Fan, who was supposed to be dead, yet still appeared out of nowhere. They were totally confused about how he had escaped, even though they had been chasing after the shadow all along.

Mo Fan’s figure was engulfed in bright, rose-colored flames. The light from the flames revealed a smile with a hint of smugness on his face.

The White Sand Giants could never expect Mo Fan to level up his Fleeing Shadow to the fourth tier in the middle of the battle!

The four-tier Fleeing Shadow was very useful. It allowed him to summon a deceiving shadow to confuse the enemy, while his true self could hide at the same spot and moved to their blind spot while their attention was driven away.

The fake shadow had managed to catch his enemies’ attention, giving him enough time to cast his strongest destructive Spell!

The flames around Mo Fan’s body quickly gathered on his hand as he stared at the group of White Sand Giants. As the energy reached a limit, Mo Fan drove the overwhelming energy in his fist into the ground!

The surging magma penetrated the sand and swiftly split into nine streams.

The White Sand Giants had grouped up when they tried to stop Mo Fan’s shadow, and now the sands around them were burning red from the heat of the Fiery Fist.

Nine scorching pillars jetted out from the ground in a row, with burning molten stone shooting into the air. Flames like serpents spread wildly between the nine pillars. The extreme temperature and the imperious aura of the flames felt like Purgatory, leaving no room for anything to live.

Even though the White Sand Giants were huge in size, their bodies were made of sand. The power of the fire pillars was strong enough to scatter them, while the flames quickly destroyed their life force.

The attack of the Fiery Fist: Nine Pillars was shocking. When many demon beasts were gathered in an area, it could destroy them all without mercy.

Even the White Sand Giants, whose bodies were as sturdy as the flesh of a Warrior-level creature, stood no chance against the destructive Fire Spell. All the White Sand Giants that were caught in the flames of the nine fire pillars were annihilated. The twenty White Sand Giants turned into Soul Remnants and were drawn into Mo Fan’s pendant!

Twenty Soul Remnants of the White Sand Giants were equivalent to sixty Soul Remnants of ordinary Servant-class demon beasts. As such, Mo Fan was halfway to refining his next Servant-class Soul Essence already!

He had already improved three of his Basic Spells to the fourth-tier, but if he could strengthen all forty-nine Stars of his Nebula, it would improve his Intermediate Spell to the fourth-tier too!

The Fiery Fist: Nine Halls power was already this shocking, and if he managed to improve it further, it would surely bring him lots of success!

He had strengthened seven out of the forty-nine Fire Element Stars, which meant there were only forty-two left to strengthen. It was a fairly big project, which Mo Fan could not wait to see succeed!

The Fiery Fist: Nine Halls completely turned the tide of his fight. For someone with many offensive Spells, once he seized the initiative, he could cast his Intermediate Spells fearlessly, and the White Sand Giants stood no chance at all.

Meanwhile, around five hundred meters away from Mo Fan, the cooperation between Chen Yi and the Swift Star Wolf was still not enough to escape from the White Sand Giants’ surround. They seemed to be in a tough spot, and had only eliminated ten White Sand Giants so far.

Chen Yi was shocked when she saw that Mo Fan had killed all of the White Sand Giants in his area from a quick glimpse!

-How is the guy’s strength so terrifying!?-

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Chen Yi was an expert with a fairly high rank at Imperial College. She was clearly aware of how troublesome it was to deal with these ‘well-trained’ White Sand Giants, even if she had a Swift Star Wolf on her side, too.

The Warrior-level Swift Star Wolf belonged to Mo Fan, yet even without his Summoned beast’s help, he had completely wiped out the White Sand Giants in his area. It was unbelievable!

“Mo Fan, head over to Zhao Manyan after you’re done with your side. I think he’s going to need some help very soon,” ordered Lingling, who was still positioned right at the center of the formation.

Mo Fan nodded. He knew that now was not the time to fool around. He quickly eliminated the remaining White Sand Giants and cast Fleeing Shadow to move toward Zhao Manyan as fast as he could.

“Wait, Brother Mo Fan,” called Xinxia as Mo Fan was passing by the girls.

Mo Fan came to a stop. He glanced at Xinxia with a confused look as his body slowly rose from the shadow.

Before Mo Fan could ask, a milky white butterfly spirit with a unique glow floated toward him. The butterfly spirit seemed to be able to smell the blood from his wounds, and it stopped for a while on Mo Fan’s shoulder before flying to his back.

Mo Fan’s back was covered with several wounds from the impact of the spitting sands. His other body parts were also injured without him realizing it. The special healing spirit quickly cleansed the wounds of some filthy residues, and boosted their recovery speed.

The healing was done fairly quickly, as if the spirit had only flapped its wings and healed the wounds with a very brief touch.

However, during the healing process, the light green glow of the spirit turned dimmer gradually. It was not as bright as it first was.

“This Healing Spirit will be following you around. It will mend your wounds as soon as you’re injured, but every time it does that, its glow will become dimmer. The magic will end when it loses its glimmer completely,” explained Xinxia with a blossom of a smile, stirring a ripple in Mo Fan’s heart.

Mo Fan glanced at the Healing Spirit on his shoulder.

No wonder everyone treated a Healer like Sister Guanyin. The Intermediate Healing Spell was too incredible, able to follow a Magician around throughout a battle, treating any wounds that were left carelessly.

{TL Note: Guanyin here refers to the very popular Buddhist bodhisattva/goddess associated with compassion.}

Treating even light wounds was critical at times, as the pain they brought would more or less affect a Magician’s fighting capacity. Not only would it add extra burden to one’s mental state, it would also affect the rate of drawing Star Patterns, which could possibly lead to a serious mistake if the pain ended up interrupting the channeling.

With the Healing Spirit, the battle he had just fought would not affect his performance. He could still continue to fight in his best condition, and as long as the Healing Spirit was following him around, he could maintain his condition, even if he received more damage.

“Zhao Manyan, I’m coming to save you!” yelled Mo Fan as he completely recovered.

He rushed toward Zhao Manyan with a heroic spirit, yet when he saw more than a hundred White Sand Giants surrounding the man, he completely lost his spirit!

“Damn, did you break into the White Sand Giants’ nest? Why didn’t you tell us there were so many of them here?” Mo Fan used the communication device to talk to Zhao Manyan, who was surrounded by layers of White Sand Giants.

Zhao Manyan’s defense was shockingly solid, almost comparable to an entire team’s defense. If the defenses of the group of Hunters that previously stumbled into the Drifting Sand River by accident had Zhao Manyan’s thousand-year-old turtle protection, they would not have died such horrid deaths.

“Enough with your f**king sarcasm, if you don’t get me out of here in at most three minutes, I’ll annoy the f**k out of you all when I turn into a ghost!” The communication device was transmitting lots of noise, but they could still hear Zhao Manyan’s resentful scream.

“Honestly, I really want to save you, but the problem is, how do I even make my way through those thick walls of White Sand Giants? Why didn’t you buy a Wing Magical Equipment as a safety precaution when your family is so rich? You’re so afraid of death, you should have spent the money instead!” Mo Fan said helplessly.

Even if he tried to blow the White Sand Giants’ formation up like a magic cannon, he would not be able to blast a big enough hole to get Zhao Manyan out of their envelopment.

“Should I help him?” Xinxia’s worried voice came through the communication device.

The only way to get Zhao Manyan out of the pinch was through Xinxia’s Pacify.

“Brother Fan, I’m here to help!” Zhang Xiaohou’s voice interjected.

The voice did not come from the communication device. As Mo Fan turned around, Zhang Xiaohou was already not far away from him.

Mo Fan immediately wore a smile when he saw Zhang Xiaohou. Just in time!

However, his smile quickly disappeared as soon as the thought crossed his mind.

Zhang Xiaohou was indeed here, but he was also bringing a group of White Sand Giants with him! Mo Fan was already having a headache from the current situation, yet the guy had to make the situation worse by bringing more White Sand Giants to him. Mo Fan only refrained from cursing on the spot because he was familiar with Zhang Xiaohou’s parents!

On the other hand, if Zhao Manyan knew about the situation, he would surely have the urge to kill Zhang Xiaohou. How could he further entrap his teammate like that!

Mo Fan glanced at the White Sand Giants pursuing Zhang Xiaohou in the clouds of sand. Left with no choice, Mo Fan decided to ask Xinxia to cast her Psychic Spell. Otherwise, Zhao Manyan would be a dead man. He would think of some plan to get rid of the White Sand Giants later after saving his life.

“Check this out!” said Zhang Xiaohou in a confident tone, totally oblivious to the fact he was further entrapping his teammates.

He maintained his speed and turned a sharp corner right in front of Mo Fan, leading the group of White Sand Giants right into the walls of White Sand Giants, like adding oil to a fire.

Zhang Xiaohou continued to run at the walls of White Sand Giants. Mo Fan could not help but think when he glanced at the White Sand Giants that still showed no sign of decreasing their speed, -Does that idiot Zhang Xiaohou really think that the following White Sand Giants will simply slam into the walls of the other White Sand Giants? Isn’t he being too naive?!-

However, Mo Fan immediately dropped his jaw when he saw the unbelievable… because that was exactly what happened! The wave of pursuing White Sand Giants slammed into their comrades at full speed!

They clearly saw their comrades, yet none of them bothered stepping on the brakes!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Just like bowling, the ranks of White Sand Giants were knocked to the ground simultaneously. Similarly, the White Sand Giants that knocked into them were also scattered everywhere, some shattering into pieces, as the impact was too strong!

It felt like the scene of a serious accident on a highway full of vehicles, with the remnants of the White Sand Giants flying in the air, a devastating but hilarious sight.

Mo Fan could not believe his eyes when he saw the White Sand Giants in a total mess!

If they knew the White Sand Giants’s intelligence was so astonishing in the first place, why would they spend so much effort trying to split them up and defeat them in groups?

After taking a closer look, Mo Fan discovered that the sand Zhang Xiaohou was traveling on was rolling like a tide.

Judging by the color of the sand, it must be Zhang Xiaohou’s Earth Element Soul Seed: Flowing Mud. Mo Fan immediately came to a realization.

It turned out that it was not the White Sand Giants were brainless, but Zhang Xiaohou had cast Earth Wave with a large area-of-effect. The White Sand Giants were planning to stop when they approached the walls of their kin, yet Zhang Xiaohou had planned otherwise. He used the Earth Wave to continue pushing them forward, sending them right into their comrades.

The White Sand Giants were quite heavy, needing to slide a certain distance when they tried to come to a stop after running. Zhang Xiaohou had abused their clumsy movement and agilely used his Earth Wave to create a serious ‘traffic accident’.

Imagine only the terrain not only being slippery, but also pushing you forward. The running White Sand Giants lost control of their bodies, and smashed a hole into the walls of the others!

“Once I cover the sand with Flowing Mud, the White Sand Giants aren’t able to dive into the sand, and their movement becomes clumsy,” Zhang Xiaohou said proudly, looking at his masterpiece with a smile.

Mo Fan raised his thumb to Zhang Xiaohou. It seemed like Zhang Xiaohou had learned a great deal from Zhan Kong in the army. He was no longer the same high-school kid that could not even handle a Servant-class demon beast!

“Come, time to charge forward!” Mo Fan shouted.

Zhang Xiaohou’s brilliant performance had aroused Mo Fan’s competitive spirit. The White Sand Giants in the Drifting Sand River was not as scary as they thought. It was not difficult to fight them once they found a way to deal with their numbers.

“Brother Fan, I’ll cover you, give them all you’ve got!” said Zhang Xiaohou to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan felt at ease hearing Zhang Xiaohou’s words. Like soldiers fighting in a war always said, this was a man he could entrust his back to.

Mo Fan did not have many friends like that, but Zhang Xiaohou was definitely one of them!

“Qianjun: Thunderbolt: Yaksha!”

Mo Fan simply closed his eyes, to avoid his channeling from being disturbed by the raging White Sand Giants. It allowed him to draw the Star Pattern at a quicker pace.

When his eyes sprang open, they were flickering with purple-black lightning.

A Rock Barrier with a slight arc sprang up from the ground, and the White Sand Giants slammed into it. However, a Rock Barrier strengthened by the Flowing Mud Soul Seed was not something that two or three White Sand Giants could break apart easily.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan had finished casting his Lightning Spell. The brilliant lightning bolt in the night sky was followed by a driving crack!

Unlike a Fiery Fist, the Thunderbolt would blast an enemy into ashes as soon as the lightning made contact with its target. There was no such thing as a deathbed struggle.

The five White Sand Giants were instantly disintegrated by the lightning, their life force vanishing.

Continue pressing forward, the two finally saw Zhao Manyan’s figure hiding inside his Sacred Shield.

Zhao Manyan was aware that his goddamned rescuers had finally arrived. Knowing that his Sacred Shield could last a while longer, he immediately cast the Water spell, Rolling Wave. The fierce wave swept out in the direction of his rescuers.

The White Sand Giants were extremely heavy, and if there were more standing in the direction the wave was rolling in, it would not have had any effect. However, they had lost ground due to Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou’s sudden invasion, so the Water spell, which was very effective at disrupting an enemy’s formation, produced a surprising outcome: the tide knocked down all the White Sand Giants in its path!

The rest of the White Sand Giants were swept toward Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan by the tide. Zhang Xiaohou nimbly used the bodies of the White Sand Giants as stepping stones as he leapt forward fearlessly.

Mo Fan activated the power of the Blood Tabi and mimicked Zhang Xiaohou’s action of jumping on the bodies in the water. Even though he was not as smooth as Zhang Xiaohou, he still managed to reach Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan was extremely touched when he saw Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou arriving like airborne reinforcements.

“How do you feel? You still can fight?” Zhang Xiaohou glanced at the miserable Zhao Manyan.

“Of course, I’ll handle the defense. I’ll write my name backward if they manage to touch even a single strand of your hair. All you need to do is wipe out these assholes!” groaned Zhao Manyan who had been holding back his grudge for quite some time.

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou both put on stern faces when they saw this rare reaction from Zhao Manyan. They immediately focused their attention on the White Sand Giants surrounding them!

The White Sand Giants were relentless too, showing no fear at all. They moved like they would drag whoever trespassed into their territory into Hell, even at the cost of their whole army.

Just in time, too; Mo Fan was hoping to rely on the White Sand Giants to collect the Soul Remnants for his fourth-tier Fire Spell. Every legendary Magician had gone through the same journey of killing demon beasts and stacking up their corpses in piles as their stepping stones toward the sacred altar!

With his unique Little Loach Pendant, not only would fighting the demon beasts give him experience to grow, he was more interested in their filthy Soul Remnants, which served as the building blocks to strengthen his Spells!

Each of the White Sand Giants’ Soul Remnant was equivalent to three ordinary Servant-class Soul Remnants; there was no better place to collect Soul Remnants!

“Houzi, you’ll handle those guys. I’ll split a shadow to bait those in the left away, and once they split up, Zhao Manyan, you and I will eliminate the White Sand Giants in front of us,” ordered Mo Fan.

Compared to the White Sand Giants, whose figures were like walls, each holding a giant saber with menacing expressions, the three young men surrounded in the middle were rather tiny, like three lambs that had stumbled into a pack of wolves.

However, the three were counting on one another, with no signs of fear on their grim faces!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Fleeing Shadow: Illusion!”

Mo Fan used the dim light of the night to cast his Shadow Spell. As his body disappeared into the shadows, it swiftly split into another dark lump of human-shaped shadow, and moved into the distance across the ground.

When the White Sand Giants saw someone trying to escape in the shadows, they raised their sabers and chased after the shadow without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohou quickly headed in another direction, branching away from Mo Fan’s illusion, and brought another group of White Sand Giants with him, easing up the party’s burden.

“Time to do some cleaning!” Zhao Manyan smiled when he saw the clumsy White Sand Giants following the script.

“Right away!” Mo Fan’s figure was engulfed in flames.

With Zhao Manyan in charge of defense, Mo Fan did not need to worry at all. He could simply cast Spells and draw Star Patterns.

The simple, violent Fiery Fist: Nine Halls was still the best attack against these White Sand Giants. As the energy was gathered at the tip of his fist, the punch could easily overwhelm any White Sand Giants within a hundred meters with burning lava!

The fiery pillars sprang up from the ground, and their flames immediately spread across the White Sand Giants that were shattered into pieces previously.

The White Sand Giants that initially resembled a white wall had now crumbled to the ground, forming a pile of debris!

“You sure are the violent one!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed when he saw a third of the White Sand Giants get eliminated in an instant.

While everyone else in the party only had two Elements and four Spells, Mo Fan’s four destructive Spells were incredibly precious, without a doubt. The firepower he had was equivalent to a whole team, utterly ridiculous!

Zhao Manyan did not just stand there and watch. His hand was holding an ethereal sword that glowed a soft gold. It was one of the few attacking moves he had, an expensive Deathstrike Magic Equipment!

Aiming to vent all the grudges he had swallowed into his stomach, Zhao Manyan waved the golden ethereal sword at the White Sand Giant in front of him!

Although the ethereal sword was only a transfiguration of the Light Element, its sharpness was comparable to many outstanding weapons. The slash alone cut the White Sand Giant in half, and more shockingly, it fired a slashing arc forwards, which cut all the White Sand Giants in a straight line ahead of it in half. The White Sand Giants that were relatively lucky only had their arms or limbs severed instead!

The power of the sword was shocking. Zhao Manyan had purposely slashed in the line where more White Sand Giants were standing, and the outcome was better than he had expected.

However, he somehow felt it to be a pity. If it weren’t for the fact that his cultivation was not strong enough, he would have brought some stronger Deathstrike Magic Equipment at home. The Hundred Shadows Sword in the shape of a fan could easily wipe out the White Sand Giants with a single blow!

“I knew you would have some trump cards still,” teased Mo Fan when he saw Zhao Manyan attacking violently.

“Another group is coming in your direction, focus!” Zhao Manyan was clearly not in the mood to be surrounded again.

Mo Fan glanced at the White Sand Giants that were stepping into the remaining flames. These creatures were rather special in terms of how fearless they were, as if they knew nothing about death.

That being said, he was more than happy to take all their souls.

Before he was aware of it, another Servant-class Soul Essence was refined, like parts continuously being fed into a machine, refining them into useful stuff. Mo Fan did not mind that the White Sand Giants kept on coming to die.

“Maybe I can come here and farm endlessly when I’m stronger, I bet I won’t need much time to achieve the fourth-tier Fiery Fist,” mumbled Mo Fan to himself as he was casting his Spells.

The souls here were better, and even though the creatures were harder to kill, it was not a death trap, based on what the party had experienced today. After learning the creatures’ patterns, and with a certain strength, he could easily cash in the White Sand Giants that were charging in his direction!

“Brother Fan, I’m bringing them to you, it’s your turn to shine,” Zhang Xiaohou’s loud voice came from the communication device.

Mo Fan turned around and saw Zhang Xiaohou bringing a huge group of White Sand Giants toward him, a huge trail of dust behind them.

“Are you out of your mind? They will simply trample us into minced meat if they continued to run at us like that!” screamed Zhao Manyan wildly.

On the other hand, Mo Fan was extremely calm. His eyes were burning with blazing red flames. Zhang Xiaohou had clearly disrupted their formations, which led to the White Sand Giants knocking into one another while running at a disorganized pace. They were on the verge of pushing one another over.

As Zhang Xiaohou was bringing them toward Mo Fan, a Rock Barrier suddenly rose from the ground.

The Rock Barrier blocked the White Sand Giants, like a bunch of running bulls suddenly slamming into steel gates.

“Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!”

Mo Fan threw his fist into the ground. The scorching fire pillars immediately appeared among the White Sand Giants, who had totally lost any discipline.

The Fiery Fist: Nine Halls was a large area-of-effect Spell to begin with. Zhang Xiaohou had totally displayed his talent at ‘aggroing’ the mobs, allowing Mo Fan to eliminate them all with his Fiery Fist: Nine Halls effectively.

The Soul Remnants flew into Mo Fan’s pendant. He could vaguely remember how he killed hundreds of Giant Lizards at Dongting Lake with one single swipe of his claw when he was demonized, but that was not a power he could control, after all.

Meanwhile, he was enjoying teaming up with Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan. If he had such power and reliable teammates during the calamity of Bo City, there was no need for him to be afraid of the One-eyed Magic Wolves, no matter how many there were. He could have lowered the number of casualties during the disaster greatly…

—

Some distance away, Lingling, Xinxia and Chen Yi had already regrouped. Chen Yi was initially in a pinch, yet for some reason, the White Sand Giants in her surroundings had slowly disappeared, as if they had all headed for Zhao Manyan, Mo Fan, and Zhang Xiaohou.

The three girls basically did not need to do anything. They were simply observing the battle from the distance.

One of the three men had agility and speed to kite the enemy and disrupt their formation; one was an expert on defense and holding ground, preventing the demon beasts from getting closer; and one was full of destructive Spells, a pure offensive Magician!

When everyone in a party was so outstanding that they could resemble a whole team of Magicians, their combined strength was a lot more shocking!

The White Sand Giants were split up into many groups, and even if they gathered together, unless they could break through Zhao Manyan’s defense in one go, or kill Zhang Xiaohou who was running around like a monkey, it was only a matter of time until Mo Fan blasted them to pieces!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Maybe they donn’t even realize that they have cleared almost every White Sand Giant in the area…” Chen Yi was still immersed in shock, staring at the battlefield in disbelief.

The battle had lasted for quite some time, and her help was no longer needed. She believed that her joining the battle would not make any difference, either.

The trio learned how to better utilize each other’s strengths as the battle continued, resulting in better teamwork. In the beginning, they had to slowly fight their way out of the surrounding White Sand Giants. However, it felt like the White Sand Giants had become the prey instead, as Zhang Xiaohou, Zhao Manyan, and Mo Fan took the initiative to eliminate them in groups!

The waves of sand that had previously rolled across the entire Drifting Sand River could only be seen around where the trio was now. It was only a matter of time until the place quieted down, as the White Sand Giants no longer posed any threat to the party.

“It seems like our journey ahead is going to be a lot easier,” said Lingling.

The White Sand Giants lost the battle as she finished her sentence. The trio went on to do some cleaning…

They had discovered an efficient way to deal with the White Sand Giants from this battle, so the creatures no longer posed any threat to the party despite their numbers.

The Drifting Sand River was intimidating, but it was not a death trap. The real experts who were bold enough could still cross it.

—-

It was late at night, but the place was not completely dark.

The white sand on the ground had turned into an empty background, with brilliant stars decorating the beautiful night sky. One could only see such majestic yet elegant scenery with their own eyes here at the Dunhuang region…

After the epic battle, the Drifting Sand River fell silent.

Xinxia was casting her gentle Healing Magic to treat the men’s wounds. Her Psychic Element energy was limited, but her Healing Element energy was abundant. She could continue to replenish the trio’s energy as long as hers was not fully expended.

“Nice, I never had such an experience killing demon beasts before!” Zhao Manyan grinned, about to burst out laughing, except the wound on his face split open.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded in agreement. The battles he had fought with his comrades in the army were not as pleasing as this one.

Mo Fan placed his hands on the back of his head and laid down on the soft sand, staring into the beautiful night sky. He was enjoying the aftertaste of eliminating so many demon beasts, while counting the number of Servant-class Soul Essences he had acquired from the battle!

After including the first two Soul Essences, it turned out that he had refined five in total. If he could sell them, they would be worth twenty-five million RMB, an incredible sum!

Mo Fan did not overthink it. He immediately used the three Soul Essences to refine his Fire Element Stars.

In addition to the seven he had strengthened before, ten more of his Fire Element Stars were improved. Even though he was still a great distance away from strengthening all forty-nine Stars, he was confident that he would eventually level up his Fiery Fist to the fourth tier one day!

Mo Fan knew the journey to becoming an Advanced Magician was a long one. If he managed to improve his Fiery Fist to the fourth tier prior to leveling up to the Advanced Level, the power of his Fiery Fist would be half that of an Advanced Spell, and together with the Spells from his other Elements, even an Advanced Magician would have trouble defeating him easily!

And in addition, the purpose of their adventure was to find the Flame Belle! If he could get himself a Flame Belle, his strength would further improve!

“You seem to be wearing it all the time,” Xinxia’s gentle voice came from his side.

Mo Fan turned his head slightly and saw Xinxia sitting down beside him after she finished treating the wounds of the others.

As he was lying on the ground with his collar loosened up, the Little Loach Pendant, which had been hidden on his chest, was revealed. The observant Xinxia immediately noticed it.

“Yeah, although I have no idea where it came from, I think it’s able to bring me good luck,” Mo Fan replied with a smile.

“It’s special,” Xinxia observed, also smiling. Her magic sense was a lot sharper than other Magicians due to her Psychic Element, hence she could detect a special power inside the pendant, but she could not explain in detail.

She did not ask further about the Little Loach Pendant. Her understanding was that Mo Fan would tell her if he wanted to, thus it would be meaningless to ask about it.

The others might assume that Xinxia’s thinking was rather old-fashioned, yet they forgot that Mo Fan had been brainwashing her since she was young. Therefore, Mo Fan with the great vision was no doubt the one benefiting the most from his ‘cultivation project’!

It did not mean that Xinxia was lacking in her own thinking. Her outstanding results and reputation in her school were proof that she was extremely intelligent, but whenever she was with her Brother Mo Fan, she would instinctively become obedient, and find herself at the mercy of the man.

For example, when the jerk decided to abuse the fact that everyone was resting and slowly moved his hand along the girl’s waist toward her round bottom, Xinxia had ten thousand different ways of escaping from the shameless act, yet when she realized that the hand was her Brother Mo Fan’s claw, she immediately blushed. She wanted to slap the hand away, but she lacked the courage to do so, thus she could only look around with her panicking eyes, afraid that someone would see it…

However, the baddie Mo Fan was staring sternly into the sky, like an educated young man pondering the laws of nature, about life; but he was in fact doing an infuriating lewd act by abusing the blind spot in everyone’s field of vision!

Luckily, Xinxia never showed any temper when she was with Mo Fan. If she were Mu Ningxue or Tangyue, she would have blasted Mo Fan into the sky with Ice or Fire!

Mo Fan showed no intention of repenting his deeds. He was enjoying the soft touch, the shocking bounce. His hand continued to slide downward, almost covering half of her buttock.

Xinxia’s face was so red that steam was on the verge of rising from the boiling temperature. She wanted to stand up…

However, standing up was quite a challenge for her. Besides, if she rose to her feet now, the others would see Mo Fan’s hand on her body, and it would be even more embarrassing… The baddie Mo Fan was using her to block the others’ vision!

Feeling extremely uncomfortable and the heat rising up in her body, Xinxia was not even in the mood to roll her eyes at Mo Fan. She tried very hard to calm her thoughts, pretending that nothing was happening.

More frustratingly, Mo Fan was simply discussing some normal topics with her like nothing was happening, perfectly disguising his shameless act under the beautiful night sky!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

The party crossed the Drifting Sand River safely, and was welcomed by a barren land which felt like it had been scorched by flames.

This was the North Burning Valley, a unique place with lots of mysteries, yet to be fully explored by humans.

The Hunters were spread across many places in the country, and had repeatedly explored most of the relatively famous demon beasts’ territories, thus it was quite difficult to find any resources or treasures there.

In comparison, the North Burning Valley was split up into a corner by the giant Drifting Sand River, so not many Magicians managed to arrive in one piece. It was considered a fertile land, with many resources that the Magicians were willing to risk their lives to secure.

The surface area of the North Burning Valley was unknown for now. According to the information Mo Fan had gathered after spending nine million RMB, the Flame Belle was residing in the north area of the North Burning Valley.

The North Burning Valley had the shape of a basin. The land looked flat in the distance, but someone had already inspected the place before. It turned out that the elevation kept on decreasing when heading toward the middle of the North Burning Valley. The whole place was like a fire pit, the soil around the party was brown-red, and according to the rumors, the area in the center was a burning land.

Flames were sprouting out from the surface, looking like red stalks of grass scattered across the place in lumps. Those without any fire resistance would not be able to travel on it.

The North Burning Valley was also known as the Brazier of China, as there was a high-quality Fire Seed hidden somewhere under the valley.

Even if the area was not produced by the Tiandi Fire Seed as the rumors mentioned, such a place with an abnormal level of Elemental energy would have nurtured lots of Soul Seeds, even those of Soul-grade.

Mo Fan knew that the Tiandi-grade Soul Seed was not something to be found easily. Many powerful Magicians had explored the place, yet none of them had found the legendary Tiandi-grade Soul Seed. How could an Intermediate Magician like him possibly find it?

{TL Note: Tiandi here means Heaven and Earth}

It was wiser to focus on searching for the Flame Belle. Being able to get himself a Flame Belle would be a huge win!

Now that the party had arrived at the North Burning Valley, it was all up to Lingling to decide what everyone would be doing. She flipped through some information in her notebook and did some strange calculations.

“Hey runners, bury these things in the ground,” Lingling took out four cone-shaped devices from her bag.

The devices looked like spinning tops, yet their surfaces were coated in some kind of metal, giving them an advanced look.

“Aren’t these Element Sensors? Are we trying to figure out the Elemental densities in this area?” Zhang Xiaohou quickly identified the device with his army experience.

“I’ve learned the behavior of creatures like Flame Belle from the books. They prefer to stay in places where the density of Fire Element is five times higher than the normal level. However, when they are producing offspring, in order to let the new child experience a strong Fire Awakening, the mother of the Flame Belle will live close to a Fire Element Soul Seed. Therefore, if we can find the Soul Seed, we won’t be far away from the Flame Belle,” said Lingling.

Mo Fan nodded in agreement. The huge sum of money he had spent was not in vain. It actually helped them to target specific locations, as the Flame Belle had fairly consistent living habits. They did not like to move their lairs for no reason.

A Soul Seed was somewhat unique too, as each area could only have one at a time. Therefore, if they managed to locate the Fire Element Soul Seed in the area, they would most likely find the Flame Belle, too. It was the simplest, yet most effective way.

The Element Sensors were the perfect tools to locate Soul Seed or Soul Seed Pieces, as they were able to determine if a Soul Seed were nearby by analyzing the Elemental Densities in the area.

At Lingling’s request, everyone placed the Element Sensors at certain locations.

These Element Sensors were quite handy, but it was risky to use them, too. Similar to analyzing the density of demon beasts in Jinlin City, the devices would serve as GPS transmitters when buried under the ground, exposing their locations to the demon beasts nearby. The signal would easily attract the demon beasts that were dying of boredom in the area.

As such, every time they used the Element Sensors, it would be a battle of defending Athena, lasting for as much time the devices needed. Many Hunters ended up being wiped out by the demon beasts, as they did not control their time well, or estimate the difficulty of fighting the local demon beasts accurately.

Luckily, the devices for analyzing the densities of Elements did not need a huge amount of time. The party could easily withdraw before the demon beasts swarmed at them like a nest of bees, so they would not find themselves in danger.

The inspection they were conducting was just to probe the reaction of the demon beasts. However, if they were planning to locate the Soul Seed accurately, a ‘Device Defense’ battle was inevitable.

After all, the longer the devices were buried in the ground, the wider the area they could analyze, which would help them to locate the Soul Seed that was hidden under the ground. Without using the devices, it would be the same as finding a needle in a haystack.

“We’ll go this way; hurry up, some of the demon beasts have already been attracted here!” exclaimed Lingling.

The party retrieved the devices and set out immediately. When Mo Fan saw Chen Yi packing up the Element Sensor at a rather slow pace, he could not help but feel confused.

Chen Yi was Zhao Manyan’s cousin. The fact that Zhao Manyan had brought her along was enough to prove that she was reliable and trustworthy. However, there was one thing that Mo Fan did not understand. Lingling, Xinxia, Zhang Xiaohou, and Zhao Manyan were close to him, and they were willing to risk their lives and come along just to help him secure a Flame Belle, even if they would most likely end up empty-handed themselves.

On the other hand, this Chen Yi had agreed to tag along without asking for anything in return. No one would waste their time on something strenuous and unrewarding, and since she was a student of the Imperial College, the competition was surely intense there. It was unconvincing that she would want to waste her precious time on an adventure that would not bring any good to her in return.

However, Mo Fan did not ask about the details, as he assumed that she would not tell him the truth. He had no choice but to wait and see if she were up to something else, or maybe she did have her target here, but she found it difficult to share with the others.

“Look, something is burning ahead, and the fire is extremely high!” said Zhang Xiaohou, who was pointing ahead of them.

The crew followed his gaze and did see the tall fire that he was mentioning…

The problem was, why did it feel like the fire was spreading continuously. When they first saw it, they assumed it to be a fire very far away, but it was undulating like mountains, and suddenly grew bigger!

“Does…does anyone feel like it has grown bigger again? It feels like it’s burning all the way into the sky…” said someone in the party.

Mo Fan took a closer look, and as the rolling flames grew bigger, his face was filled with an astounded look as he suddenly realized something!

“It’s not growing bigger, it’s moving in our direction! Run!” screamed Mo Fan.

The fire was absolutely terrifying. It started on the horizon in the distance, and seemed like a flickering glow at first. However, as it consumed the horizon and spread toward the party at a crazy pace, everyone finally realized how shocking the fire was!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Despite not knowing how far away the fire was, the party could already feel its extreme heat wave as it was still approaching them, making their skin dry and throats parched.

Mo Fan knew that when something was far away, yet its size already covered most of their vision, it implied that the actual size of the thing was ten times bigger than what they were currently seeing.

The rolling flames on the horizon were now as big as mountains, and once they arrived, it would be a terrifying Fire Calamity!

“Let’s be real; when that thing gets close, does anyone think we can possibly hide from it? This is a barren land, with nowhere to hide,” Zhao Manyan stared at the rolling waves of fire in astonishment.

The same as everyone else, his eyes were blazing red from the reflection of the fire, and also filled with the fear toward the unknown coming from deep inside his heart.

“So let’s run in the opposite direction. Anything is better than standing here and getting devoured. The force is pure destruction; it feels like the punishment that nature is giving to living things, like the wrath of God to mankind!” said Chen Yi, her voice trembling.

The party did not hesitate any further. Even though they had no idea where the fire came from, their instinctive fear and instinct to survive completely overwhelmed their curiosity!

The group began to run in the opposite direction, and confirmed that the raging fire was approaching in their direction. Luckily for them, the Fire Calamity was still a great distance away.

—-

After running for a few kilometers, the ground began to shake. The party immediately saw clouds of dust rising into the air behind them; a huge pack of creatures was sprinting their way!

Within the clouds of dust, the party vaguely saw figures like bulls, with most of their body parts, including their heads, limbs, and some of their joints, covered in strong armor plates. The armor was brown-red overall, most likely due to the occasional tempering by fire.

Their numbers were shocking, and their stomping iron hooves made the ground quake violently!

“What are those? Don’t tell me they are chasing after us,” Zhao Manyan was startled when he turned around to take a glance.

The creatures with brown armor had a frightening, majestic temperament; it was clear that they were no ordinary creatures.

“Those must be the Killing Armor Beasts; they are well-known for their outstanding defense among the Warrior-level creatures. Unlike the Warrior-level creatures that are capable of leading one or two nests, or are solitary, these Killing Armor Beasts prefer to stay in herds. Their armor is very suitable for making magic armor, but you will find yourself facing an entire herd if you try killing one of them!” Lingling quickly identified the running creatures.

Mo Fan could feel his heart racing after hearing her explanation. A herd of Warrior-level creatures; its fighting capacity must be comparable to an army of soldiers! Despite that, they were fleeing like a pack of terrified birds. Didn’t that mean the Fire Calamity in the distance was even more terrifying?

If these Killing Armor Beasts were trampling over groups of demon beasts, it would be a massacre. Mo Fan never thought such creatures would be running so cowardly from something else.

——

Mo Fan and his crew were running too. They finally approached the Drifting Sand River. They initially thought they had overcome the biggest threat after crossing the Drifting Sand River. Little did they know the North Burning Valley was even less welcoming than the Drifting Sand River, straightaway summoning the fury of Heaven to descend from the sky!

They had rested up before heading into the North Burning Valley, so Xinxia’s energy had been replenished. Therefore, it was perfectly safe for them to flee into the Drifting Sand River.

Meanwhile, the herd of Killing Armor Beasts which was absolutely terrified by the Fire Calamity was also aware that the Drifting Sand River was a death zone. They began to panic when they arrived at the shore, not daring to move forward.

“When the creatures trespassing into the Drifting Sand River have a stronger presence or higher numbers, it will awaken more and stronger White Sand Demons in the Drifting Sand River, too. As such, we should stay a certain distance away from the Killing Armor Beasts. Their presence and numbers should wake the Warrior-level Skeletal Generals. Those creatures are not something we stand a chance against,” advised Xinxia.

Everyone nodded. No one dared to follow the panicking Killing Armor Beasts into the Drifting Sand River.

As the party returned to the Drifting Sand River, since they only had a few members, and their aura was a lot weaker than the Killing Armor Beasts, their safety was guaranteed in the Drifting Sand River with Xinxia’s Psychic Element.

On the other hand, the Killing Armor Beasts were not as lucky. They were forced to make a decision; should they fled into the Drifting Sand River toward the west, or try facing the Fire Calamity?

Mo Fan and the others had no time to figure it out, as they continued to run toward the west after crossing the Drifting Sand River’s boundary.

—–

As they arrived deep into the Drifting Sand River, the Fire Calamity at the horizon finally showed some sign of dissipating. However, everyone was confident that the shocking flames were fully spread across the already-scorched land. The Drifting Sand River was most likely the only place that was not affected.

Hot wind continued to blow in from the distance. Everyone was having a hard time in the heat.

They managed to escape from the horrifying flames, but even the remaining heat from the hot wind was unbearable.

Looking in the direction of the North Burning Valley, the whole place was blazing red, like a kingdom of fire, burning in an ocean of flames!

“I was told that the Drifting Sand River is a river of the dead. The number of White Sand Demons correlates to the number of creatures that have died here. I was confused about how the huge river has such a high density of White Sand Demons, as it needs the same amount of lives dying here…” Lingling glanced at the North Burning Valley and spoke in a thrilled tone. “I believe one of the most important factors is the Fire Calamity we have just seen, which forces the creatures to jump into the Drifting Sand River like a death sentence. As time goes by, the Drifting Sand River becomes ever more terrifying.”

“Why don’t we leave this place? The Fire Calamity is seriously too scary. If we happened to go deeper into the North Burning Valley, doesn’t that mean we won’t have a chance of getting out alive?” Zhao Manyan was the first to suggest.

No one had expected the Fire Calamity to occur, as none of them had any information about it. Someone else who had experienced it before should have recorded it down in the books…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Dunhuang City…

To the north of the city was the Dunhuang City’s military headquarters. As a strange heat wave surged across the place, the higher-ups in the headquarters immediately held an emergency meeting.

The authorities immediately gathered at the round table. A tanned man with a huge army cap stood in the middle, holding some fresh information he had just received.

“According to my men’s report, a huge Fire Calamity has just occurred in the North Burning Valley, eliminating countless creatures residing in the valley…” said the tanned Commander.

Upon hearing this, the rest of the Commanders in the meeting were filled with joy.

How could they possibly not know about the North Burning Valley, after spending such a long time at Dunhuang? Although the biggest threat to Dunhuang City was the Dunhuang Demon Tigers, even the Hunters who were not stationed here for a long time knew that the North Burning Valley separated by the Drifting Sand River was a mysterious barren land, with countless unimaginable resources and treasure.

Due to the difficulty of crossing the Drifting Sand River, the North Burning Valley was unspoiled, with many resources waiting to be retrieved.

In addition to that, it was said that the North Burning Valley had a unique event, occurring after a Fire Calamity took place. The baptism of fire would trigger the growth of resources, like sprouting bamboo shoots after a rain. Not only would it increase the value of any existing resources, it would also produce new valuable materials…

The Fire Calamity was a symbol of death, considered the most terrifying wrath of nature, yet to those who had survived the calamity, what awaited them in the North Burning Valley was a grand feast for them to enjoy thoroughly!

“Why are we wasting our time here? I’ll move out at once with my men!” An impatient Commander slammed his hand on the table and rose to his feet like a spring.

No one knew more about how profitable the North Burning Valley was than them.

“What men? Who’s going to defend the city? Allow me to explore the place. After all, I’m more familiar with the place than you old men who have stayed indoors for a very long time,” said a male Commander in his thirties, who seemed to have a wild temperament.

“Enough, I’ll decide who we’re sending, there’s no point of fighting over it. Besides, it’s obvious that the Magic Association will be sending someone over too, not to mention the old elite Hunters from the Hunter Union. Perhaps they have already packed their bags and are now figuring out how they will cross the Drifting Sand River while we’re still discussing who to send here…” said the tanned Commander.

Everyone calmed down when the Drifting Sand River was mentioned.

The Drifting Sand River was a strange place. When the presence of the invaders was higher, it was easier to wake up more and stronger White Sand Demons, and having more people would not necessarily solve the issue…

Throughout history, no one had dared to fight the Drifting Sand River with numbers.

Therefore, those who were sent to the North Burning Valley had to be fairly outstanding, their strength only the secondary factor. Most importantly, they had to be able to protect themselves in the North Burning Valley.

The ones who arrived at the North Burning Valley earlier would find more resources. Time was gold!

The Dunhuang City’s headquarters was different from the other headquarters. They did not have any Heavenly Eagles Battlemages, as the Heavenly Eagles were unfit to survive in this environment. They would have to shed all their feathers in the heat.

The absence of Heavenly Eagles also meant that they were no Beastmasters, which further meant that there were no Magicians with the Psychic Element. They would have to spend a fortune to hire a Psychic Magician now…

The experienced Hunters in the Hunter Union were able to get the latest information fairly quickly. Every Psychic Magician in the entire Dunhuang City was most likely reserved by now. The military could not afford to wait any further. If they were left with no choice, they could only drive their way across the Drifting Sand River with brute force!

Either way, they could not let the other factions get a head start, as all the good stuff would be taken away!

—————

“I heard that this Fire Calamity only appears once every few years in the North Burning Valley, and the scale of those in the past wasn’t as big as this one. Now that we’ve managed to escape from the Fire Calamity, it should be very safe for us to head into the North Burning Valley. Most importantly, the Fire Calamity is like a baptism for the North Burning Valley, which either kills or drives away the creatures without pure fire lineages. As a result, the North Burning Valley would be filled with lots of valuable resources after the baptism,” said Chen Yi.

It seemed like Chen Yi was hoping that the party would not give up here.

Mo Fan and Lingling quickly fixed their eyes on Chen Yi with a suspicious look.

Mo Fan had only learned about the North Burning Valley from the Secret Tipping Scrolls. Not many people knew the details of the place.

Meanwhile, Lingling was like a library herself. She could easily find lots of information from her laptop. Lingling had the ambition of collecting the most complete information about demon beasts and forbidden lands, hence she would always record her new findings in her laptop.

Even Lingling had never heard about the Fire Calamity of the North Burning Valley. Why would Chen Yi, who had suddenly decided to join the team, know about it in detail?

“Why are you looking at me like that… I’ve done some homework before coming here,” Chen Yi was obviously not very good at scheming, as her tone weakened after realizing how they were looking at her.

“Someone from my family must have visited this place before,” Zhao Manyan justified his cousin’s explanation.

“You mentioned that more treasure will be produced after the place has received the baptism of the Fire Calamity. Is that true?” Lingling asked sternly.

Chen Yi nodded after a moment of hesitation.

“The Fire Calamity turns the North Burning Valley into a fertile land, and it goes without saying that once the outside world knows the North Burning Valley has just gone through a huge Fire Calamity, those who know the secret will come here to hunt for the treasure. Therefore, most people are unwilling to share the secret of the fire tribulation,” said Chen Yi.

The Fire Calamity indeed felt like the wrath of God toward mankind. Not only did the spectacular fire produced by nature have a strong scent of death, but its overwhelming energy was also pouring into this brazier-shaped land…

Many unique plants, magic ores, Soul Seeds, and so forth were produced by nature after it had absorbed energy. Perhaps the Fire Calamity was seen as a terrifying disaster to creatures who were not purely Fire-Elemental, but it was definitely irrigation to some of the unique existences!

Magic Resources were extremely valuable, so it was not exaggerating to describe the North Burning Valley after going through the Fire Calamity as a land full of gold!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When the Fire Calamity took place, various factions began to take action!

Mo Fan’s party, who was currently at the Drifting Sand River was totally unaware that a huge bunch of people was rushing their way to the North Burning Valley.

It was none of the party’s concern for the time being, as the demon beasts in the Drifting Sand River had suddenly become agitated. If they stayed any longer in the Drifting Sand River, even Xinxia’s Psychic Element would be useless against the White Sand Demons.

“Damn, what is going on here!” cursed Zhao Manyan unpleasantly.

First, they were almost devoured by the Fire Calamity at the North Burning Valley, and when they finally made it back to the Drifting Sand River, the demon beasts here were going out of control.

“Are we heading back or going to the North Burning Valley? We have to make a decision now!” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“It’s too late to turn back now, we should head to the Burning Valley as soon as possible…” said Xinxia with a frown.

The crowd felt their hearts going half-cold when they heard Xinxia’s words. The Fire Calamity had completely disrupted their initial plan. That place was a lot more dangerous than they had expected. In Mo Fan’s opinion, it was not worth it to place everyone’s life in danger when the existence of the Flame Belle was still an unknown for the time being.

As such, even though Chen Yi had insisted on continuing on with the adventure, everyone else had lost the interest in searching for the Flame Belle.

To their surprise, even the Drifting Sand River was rebelling too, as Xinxia’s Psychic Element seemed to be losing its effect. From their current location, the distance back to Dunhuang was at least ten kilometers. The time left would not be enough for them to reach safety, and they would most likely be trapped in the middle of the Drifting Sand River.

They might be able to deal with the White Sand Giants in a small area, but Heaven knew how many White Sand Giants would appear in the center of the Drifting Sand River. Once the Psychic Element lost its effect, the White Sand Giants could easily wear the party down with their numbers.

“It’s not possible to go back now, our only option is the North Burning Valley. Let’s hope the Fire Calamity won’t happen again,” said Mo Fan as he quickly made the call.

“Don’t worry, the Fire Calamity has never happened twice in a year, and I think it will be even longer this time,” said Chen Yi confidently.

“We’ll talk later; let’s leave this horrifying Drifting Sand River!” said Lingling.

The party quickly proceeded forward. Xinxia was currently sitting on the Swift Star Wolf’s back with her eyes closed, fully focused on clearing the path for the party. The frown on her face clearly implied the resistance she was receiving from the restless White Sand Giants as she tried to pacify them.

Luckily, the group had not gone too deep into the Drifting Sand River. The barren land of the North Burning Valley soon appeared in front of them.

—

When they arrived at the shore, they could see a pile of corpses stacked up into a pile in a shocking manner!

Mo Fan clearly remembered that the Warrior-level Killing Armor Beasts were roaming around this area before they escaped into the Drifting Sand River.

It was obvious that the creatures were devoured by the fire while they were hesitating. They were turned into skeletons without any sign of struggling before they could jump into the Drifting Sand River.

“I have to say that I’m done with this place. If I knew it was so scary, I wouldn’t agree to come even if I was beaten to death!” said Zhao Manyan, who felt a chill going down his spine.

The Killing Armor Beasts were as strong as an army troop, yet they were burned instantly into a pile of bones, clearly highlighting how scary the Fire Calamity was.

“Stop bitching like a little girl there; we’re already here, might as well listen to Chen Yi and try searching for the good stuff. Otherwise, how could we possibly profit from all the risk we took just to get here?” Mo Fan mocked him.

“Let’s follow the initial plan by finding the Fire Element Soul Seeds nearby. However, if what Chen Yi mentioned was true, there will be many fresh resources after the Fire Calamity, thus the number of Soul Seeds will increase, which makes it harder to locate the Flame Belle,” said Lingling.

“I don’t think that’s bad news for us,” said Xinxia, who was aware of how nervous everyone was.

Xinxia’s words served as a reminder to everyone.

That’s right, why did they have to look for the Flame Belle?

If they managed to find a few Soul Seeds, or some Fire Element resources which were even rarer, it would still be a win for them. It was rare to find such a good opportunity.

The North Burning Valley had just undergone a Fire Calamity. As such, they would be the only ones here in the greatest Brazier of China. Didn’t that mean they were pioneers, exploring the fertile land?

As they pictured a land full of gold, the fear they had toward the Fire Calamity immediately shrank by half.

“Forget about the plan, let’s go!” Zhao Manyan might be afraid of death, but he adored money as much as he favored his life. It was probably a trait for everyone in the Zhao Family, and the reason why the family was extremely wealthy!

—

As they ventured deeper into the North Burning Valley with some anticipation, they could feel that the place was incredibly still, as they were unable to see any demon beasts roaming within their range of vision.

After traveling for two kilometers, Mo Fan had already found some Soul Seed Pieces, almost exposed on the surface of the ground.

There were three Soul Seed Pieces. Mo Fan clearly remembered that each such Piece had a price of three to eight hundred thousand on the market. The Soul Seed Pieces he had found were rather high-quality; he could easily sell them for five hundred thousand each!

The place was indeed full of gold if he were able to pick up Soul Seed Pieces from the ground. Oh, it should be full of diamonds!

“Let’s gather as many resources as we can. We’ll split the profit evenly among us later,” said Mo Fan.

“Soul Seed Pieces aren’t bad, but I think there is more valuable stuff around here. Let’s make use of the fact that we’re the first group here to find all the valuable resources. We shouldn’t be wasting too much time on little things like this,” said Lingling.

Zhao Manyan was startled. They had fought and challenged one another at school just to climb higher in the ranking for some Soul Seed Pieces, yet the same Soul Seed Pieces were somehow the least valuable at this place!

As the thought of finding many Soul Seeds, or the things that were more valuable than Soul Seeds crossed Zhao Manyan’s mind, he immediately became energetic, a completely different person from the one who had insisted on going back after seeing the Fire Calamity. He was now walking in front of the party with gleaming eyes!

“Place the Element Sensors here, there shouldn’t be any demon beasts nearby, we’re safe to use them here to analyze to a great distance,” said Lingling.

The others knew it was only a matter of time until they found some Soul Seeds. They quickly buried the Element Sensors into the ground at the most efficient pace they possibly could!

A Soul Seed was priced around fifteen to thirty million, the price for Fire Element ones averaged more than twenty million…

If they could find a few of them, everyone would be rich!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The number of demon beasts in the North Burning Valley had significantly decreased due to the Fire Calamity. Even after the Element Sensors were buried under the ground for two hours, there was no sign of demon beast being attracted to them.

It was most likely that the demon beasts had yet to recover from their fear of the Fire Calamity. The demon beasts were all hiding in their lairs, not daring to come out of safety.

The longer the devices were placed in the ground, the further they were able to scan, which would greatly reduce the time needed to search for the Soul Seeds. The four Element Sensors were positioned in four different directions. The party easily determined the right direction, and as they proceeded further, they could feel the ground turning hotter. It was a sign that they were approaching a Soul Seed.

“This is it! Zhang Xiaohou, Chen Yi, use your Earth Element to quickly locate the Soul Seed around here,” Mo Fan told the two excitedly.

Zhang Xiaohou was fairly naive. He would do anything that Mo Fan told him. If he had a hoe, he would start digging promptly.

Chen Yi was rather calm. Perhaps she knew that the Soul Seeds were not valuable compared to the other stuff that was produced in the Burning Valley after the Fire Calamity.

Zhang Xiaohou was fully prepared. He could not wait to dig into the ground when they arrived at the place. However, Chen Yi tapped on his shoulder softly, signaling the man who had totally lost his ability to think after seeing some gold nearby to take a look ahead.

A moment ago, the place ahead was shrouded by a cloud of sand, which greatly reduced the visibility. As the cloud of sand cleared slowly, it revealed a huge pit, like that produced by a meteorite in front.

The diameter of the pit was around one kilometer. It was shaped like a tiny basin, but shockingly huge!

Its inside was extremely dry, and its surface was cracking open, with flames flickering out of the little gaps. The inner part of the flame was yellow in color, looking like stalks of wheat swaying in the wind!

There must be a Soul Seed nearby, as only a Soul Seed was able to change the color of fire!

Zhang Xiaohou glanced ahead before rubbing his eyes in disbelief. He discovered a yellow Fire Element Soul Seed floating at the center of the pit around two meters above the ground.

Although Zhang Xiaohou had not found many Soul Seeds before, the others in the army had always mentioned how difficult it was to locate a Soul Seed. He had never heard of a Soul Seed that was right before someone’s eyes.

“Isn’t… isn’t this a bit too easy?” Zhang Xiaohou could not believe it.

Mo Fan stood at the edge of the kilometer-wide pit. It was obvious that the Fire Element Soul Seed was freshly produced. Most likely, a huge amount of the Fire Calamity’s force had accumulated in this area. The ground was unable to withstand the force, so the ground around it began to collapse and sink.

Furthermore, it had filled the place with Fire Essence. It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing a yellow flame. He could not tell what kind of special effect it had.

Normally, every Soul Seed would have some kind of special effect. The Rose Flame which Mo Fan had increased the damage of his Fire Spells by 250%!

Different Soul Seeds had different effects. Some with an outstanding effect could be sold at a higher price. For example, the Flowing Mud which Zhang Xiaohou acquired was very high-quality among the Earth Element Soul Seeds. It could be sold for a price of around thirty million RMB.

Each Soul Seed had a certain level of intelligence. The yellow Soul Seed seemed fairly magical, thus they should be able to sell it for a fairly high price.

“The whole place is covered in those underground flames that could easily burn a human into ashes. They will burn anyone who tries to make it to the center to death,” said Xinxia.

Zhao Manyan and Zhang Xiaohou turned toward the restless Mo Fan simultaneously. He was the only Fire Magician here, which meant he would have a certain degree of Fire Resistance.

Mo Fan did not waste time discussing with the others. He jumped into the pit full of the yellow flames. It was unbelievable to see a Soul Seed simply exposed in the air, and more shockingly, there were no creatures guarding the Soul Seed nearby.

Creatures like the demon beasts were unable to refine Soul Seeds like humans to gain their power. They had to consume the energy of the Soul Seeds, and they could only refine them after their bodies fully adapted to their power, turning them into their own power.

It was quite a lengthy process, thus whenever a Soul Seed appeared, if a demon beast happened to find it first, it would guard the Soul Seed.

Mo Fan went deeper into the small basin and quickly arrived at the center. Less than a few dozen meters away from the yellow Soul Seed, he came to a stop, and cautiously checked his surroundings.

When nature was kind enough to put such a precious Soul Seed right in front of Mo Fan, it felt like a goddess whom he was fond of suddenly took off her clothes and used her hands to comb her hair. He felt extremely tempted, yet at the same time was worried that when he lunged forward, he would wake up from the wet dream.

Therefore, even when he was about to pounce at the Soul Seed like a starving wolf, he subconsciously hesitated at the very last second.

He could not find anything in the surroundings apart from the stronger flames. The Fire Resistance from his Rose Flame was enough to make him immune to the flames.

Finally, he continued walking forward, and immediately felt an extreme heat blowing into his face. Mo Fan instantly felt its struggle to protect its virginity.

The only problem was, its chastity was meaningless, as it stood no chance against Mo Fan’s evil claw.

—

Mo Fan carefully placed the Soul Seed into the container. Apart from feeling somewhat uncomfortable due to the heat from the yellow flames in the surroundings, the process was rather smooth.

He was still imagining that once he tried to retrieve the Soul Seed, a monster with three heads and six arms would burst out from the ground and chase after him relentlessly. The truth was, nothing happened. It was quite the opposite, as the yellow flames around him were slowly extinguished after the Soul Seed was stashed inside the container.

“I now believe that the Fire Calamity is indeed like holding a grand feast in this Burning Valley…” Zhao Manyan exclaimed when he saw Mo Fan acquiring the Soul Seed with such ease.

If such an outstanding Soul Seed could be found so easily, it was obvious that a Soul Seed was only a small entree in this feast!

God knew what kind of treasure they would find as they venture deeper into the place!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This Soul Seed must be the Alumen Fire, a high-quality fire commonly used to forge equipment. I think the forgemasters would be willing to buy it for a good price!” Lingling identified it with a smile.

“To be honest, I still can’t believe it; it’s a Soul Seed, one that is supposed to be priceless…” said Zhang Xiaohou, his face rather blank.

Mo Fan glanced at the yellow Soul Seed inside the container. He clearly remembered the situation of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, when he was competing for the Rose Flame. He was so close to dying to the maniac killer, hence he was left speechless by how easy it was to acquire the Alumen Fire.

“I think we shouldn’t just focus on Soul Seeds. You might assume that the Burning Valley is famous for its fire, but there are lots of rare natural resources that will only blossom at a certain temperature. Therefore, the Fire Calamity was irrigation for them…” Chen Yi was clearly not interested in the Alumen Fire, and seemed to be in a rush to look for something else.

Mo Fan glanced at Chen Yi. He had a strong feeling that the girl was not as simple-minded as she seemed when she first joined the team.

“Chen Yi, we’re all in the same team, going through fire and water together. Why don’t you tell us everything you know?” said Xinxia.

“What…what…what could I possibly know? I just… I just think that we should aim higher… something like that,” Chen Yi was obviously not an expert at lying. She immediately panicked when someone questioned her.

Her reaction had no doubt made everyone feel suspicious, especially Zhao Manyan, who had only brought her along because she was family, and he had complete trust in her.

Zhao Manyan looked at Chen Yi, and agreed that she should not be hiding something from the party. He said to her sternly, “I already told you before we came here, you can trust these people. We can tell that you know more about the Burning Valley even when we had long prepared for this… and it feels like you’re trying to lead us to search for something else.”

“No… I didn’t,” Chen Yi’s voice was soft as a mosquito’s when everyone looked at her.

Chen Yi was not very pretty, but her confidence did add some charm to her. She was also not bossy like those from renowned families, so everyone had a fairly good first impression of her. However, her behavior now forced the others to feel suspicious toward her. She was clearly hiding something, and was trying to guide the team indirectly, yet she had made it so obvious.

Xinxia exchanged glances with Mo Fan when Chen Yi was unwilling to spill the beans.

‘She’s feeling very uneasy, she’s definitely hiding something,’ Xinxia’s voice suddenly echoed in Mo Fan’s ears, sounding rather hollow.

Mo Fan stared at Xinxia in great shock. She was not speaking; why was he able to hear her voice?

‘As I’ve awakened the Psychic Element, if I gather my focus to listen, I can feel a person’s emotions and roughly hear their thoughts. I can sense that Chen Yi is extremely anxious. She wants us to move on as quick as possible, as if there’s something she really needs ahead,’ Xinxia’s voice appeared in Mo Fan’s mind once again.

-Alright, being able to read someone’s mind, isn’t this Psychic Element a bit too…-

Didn’t that mean if he were imagining something lewd, Xinxia would be able to read his mind too? The truth was, Mo Fan had already planned to set up his own tent at night and lure Xinxia to do something off the scale. He felt thrilled and excited when he was secretly touching her last time…

“Can you hear what her secret is?” Mo Fan walked up to Xinxia and whispered into her ear.

Xinxia shook her head and said, “I can only feel her emotions and roughly read her mind. A person’s brain is very chaotic when they are trying to figure something out. If I really want to know her thoughts, I’ll have to cast Mind Control on her, and force her to focus on only one thing, so I could understand better. Otherwise, even a Psychic’s mind would be in disarray.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea for now. Chen Yi is still Zhao Manyan’s cousin, let’s see if Zhao Manyan was able to convince her,” said Mo Fan.

As the two were discussing, Zhao Manyan had already dragged Chen Yi to the side.

A while later, Chen Yi came back with her head lowered.

She apologized to the party and told everyone what she knew about the North Burning Valley.

The others quickly gathered their attention, since her information was related to things that were more valuable than Soul Seeds. Any Magician would be intrigued by it.

“I have a family member, whose whole body was seriously burned. Not only were her looks destroyed, but not a single part of her skin is in good condition. No matter how many Healers we hired, none of them could restore her original appearance…” Chen Yi said slowly.

“Are you talking about the uncle that doesn’t have the same surname, Lu Jianli?” Zhao Manyan quickly pictured the man who was always wrapped in white bandages in his mind.

The guy lived not that far from his house. Sometimes, when he was meditating on the balcony, he would see the white mummy taking care of the plants in the backyard.

Zhao Manyan was not very familiar with the guy, but he did hear the people in his clan uttering disdainful and sarcastic remarks at him, saying that he was punished by the Heaven and left in his current state because of his sinful misdeeds.

Since a young age, Zhao Manyan had accepted their words. After all, the person did hire lots of Healers to try and heal his wounds, and any normal burn could easily be healed by the Healing Magic, or some special medicine.

“Mm, she…she’s my mother,” said Chen Yi in an extremely soft voice.

“WHAT?” Zhao Manyan jumped into the air.

The others were dumbfounded too. Everyone knew that an uncle was supposed to be a man, how did he become one’s mother out of nowhere? They suddenly felt extremely out of the loop.

“Have you seen her appearance before?” Chen Yi asked him directly.

“Well… no, I only heard… fine, I guess we’ve all been mistaken,” Zhao Manyan had a wry smile when he realized something.

As a matter of fact, Zhao Manyan had never thought the person who was always wrapped in white bandages was a woman. There were many sayings about her in the family, yet to Zhao Manyan’s biggest surprise, she was Chen Yi’s mother. His uncle, Zhao Yulin, had never mentioned anything about her…

“So if she’s your mother, who’s the person we call our aunt?” asked Zhao Manyan.

“You tell me?” Chen Yi did not explain any further and bit her lips. It must be something unbearable.

Zhao Manyan finally came to a realization, and did not dare to ask any further.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan arrived at a speculation from the conversation between the two. When he saw that Zhao Manyan had no idea how to continue the topic, he immediately switched the topic and said, “So the burns she suffered were from the fire here?”

Chen Yi slowly recovered from her anger and spoke as calmly as she could, “It’s the Fire Calamity. Around twelve years ago, my parents came to this North Burning Valley to find a Fire Element Soul Seed, but found themselves in the middle of the Fire Calamity. They tried to run as far as they could, but the Fire Calamity was too fast for them, and they were soon devoured by the fire.”

Chen Yi’s gaze changed as she spoke. She had heard the truth from her mother, who kept on telling her about it over the past ten years. Every time her mother mentioned it, she could clearly sense the sorrow and anger in her mother’s heart, the urge to simply peel the layer of burned skin off, the despair her mother was suffering from.

“That doesn’t make sense; if your parents were caught in the Fire Calamity more than ten years ago, shouldn’t they be dead now? However, Uncle Zhao Yulin is still well and alive, and is living an enjoyable life with his second wife,” said Zhao Manyan.

“My mother’s Secondary Element is Wind. In order to let one of them survive, she had given her Wind Equipment to my father and cast the last Wind Track on him, helping him to return to the family unharmed. The resources he brought back with him helped the family to overcome a difficult situation of the family during that time, which is why his status in the family rose all of a sudden,” said Chen Yi.

The group fell silent when they heard the explanation. They had witnessed the scariness of the Fire Calamity. Humans were nothing compared to the punishment meted out by nature, and their hearts would be overwhelmed with fear knowing there was nothing they could do to stand against the disaster. Their only option was to flee.

It was rare to learn that someone was willing to sacrifice themselves just to get their companion to safety.

“My mother was consumed by the Fire Calamity, but because her Primary Element was Fire, and for some other reasons, she survived. She was saved by a creature whose figure was engulfed in flames. It fed her a unique fruit of the Burning Valley, which just barely prevented her organs from being destroyed by the fire. She lived in the Burning Valley for many years, as her body was in very bad shape. It took her a very long time to finally be able to move, and after stumbling into a group of Hunters who had come to find some treasure, she traded some rare loot to them and asked them to bring her back to Dunhuang.”

“I believe you can all guess what happened after that. My father didn’t want his peaceful life to be disturbed, so he never admitted her identity. He simply gave her a fake one, and arranged for her to live in a house. Even though he tried asking a few famous Healers to treat her on the surface, he never tried his best to help her. It is like he has completely forgotten that he could only enjoy his current life because of my mother’s sacrifice. My mother is living in suffering, and the only drive that keeps her going, is the promise I made that I would find a cure for her.”

The confidence she wore normally was absent when she recalled the past with a hint of hatred. It was obvious that her mother’s circumstances had greatly influenced her.

“So that’s why you are here in the Burning Valley… but your mother used to live here for quite some time. Why didn’t she come and look for the cure herself? I don’t believe you’re here purely to look for the cure too,” said Mo Fan.

“It’s because of the Fire Calamity. The cure to the burns is a kind of fruit that will only appear after the Fire Calamity, and the fruit only lasts for a short period of time. It will wilt in a matter of days. My mother never encountered another Fire Calamity despite staying here for a few years. She did ask my father to send someone over here after a Fire Calamity occurred, but my father never put much effort into it. For many years, he either miscalculated the time of the Fire Calamity, or missed out on the perfect time to retrieve the fruit. As a result, my mother continued to look ghastly, treated like an outsider under the family’s roof.

“I learned how to predict the Fire Calamity from my mother, and I was just figuring out a way to cross the Drifting Sand River when I learned that you were planning this trip to find the Flame Belle, hence why I expressed my interest in tagging along.”

Chen Yi revealed all her secrets. She was reluctant to share them, as it was her family’s matter, something she was unwilling to share with outsiders, even Zhao Manyan, who was from the same family.

However, if Chen Yi did not spill the beans now, her teammates, who had begun to feel suspicious of her, would not be willing to help her when the time came. Without their assistance, she would have no chance at getting the Fire Calamity Fruit, and the chance of curing her mother would be slimmer.

“That explains why you asked us to slow down a bit before entering the Burning Valley, as you were aware that the Fire Calamity was happening?” recalled Lingling.

Previously, when the party decided to continue on with the journey after entering the North Burning Valley, Chen Yi had asked everyone to rest up at the boundaries of the North Burning Valley by saying that she was worn out and injured. She must have been worried that the team would be caught right in the middle of the Fire Calamity.

Chen Yi nodded and added, “I estimated the time correctly, but I never thought the Fire Calamity would be this terrifying. It’s my mistake trying to hide the secret, I’m very sorry. I just hope that you’re willing to help me to look for the Fire Calamity Fruits. Those fruits are extremely valuable, and if we managed to find them, I only need one for my mother. I won’t be taking any of the loot we’ve found. Besides, I heard my mother mentioning the Flame Belle, who seemed to be the guardian of the Fire Calamity Fruit, which means…”

“If we can find the fruits, we should be able to find the Flame Belle too?” Mo Fan’s eyes flickered.

“Mm, I don’t want you to waste too much time on Soul Seeds, as I know the rough location of the Fire Calamity Fruits… I believe many factions will be sending their people here, and some of them knew about the Fire Calamity Fruits, too. They will come for them once they successfully cross the Drifting Sand River,” said Chen Yi.

“We should act fast then, as we won’t have any chance against experts who are one or two levels higher than us,” blurted out Mo Fan.

In terms of money, no one needed it as much as Mo Fan! As a Magician with four Elements, his rate of expending resources was too high compared to other Magicians. Now that they were given such a great opportunity, they had to at least find the Fire Calamity Fruits. It would be even better if they managed to find both the fruits and the Flame Belle!

Xinxia giggled when she saw Mo Fan panicking. “As a matter of fact, the experts whom you mentioned won’t necessarily be able to cross the Drifting Sand River. I can feel that the demon beasts there are extremely restless after the Fire Calamity. I don’t think the Psychic Element alone or a group of powerful Magicians are enough to help them cross the river…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Chen Yi’s mother had stayed in the North Burning Valley for some years. Even though her movements were impaired, she had still learned secrets of the place that most Hunters would never have the chance to learn about.

As Chen Yi recalled her mother’s description of the terrain, the party arrived in front of a flat-topped hill right in the middle of nowhere. Chen Yi told the party that her mother was active around this hill.

“This flat-topped hill feels really out of place. The entire North Burning Valley is flat without any sign of rising terrain or mountains, and then there’s this hill right on the flat ground…” Zhang Xiaohou raised his head, staring at the steep wall of the hill.

It looked more like a volcano, yet unlike most volcanoes, which were wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, the hill was more like a pillar poking into the blue sky.

“Are you sure this place has the Fire Calamity Fruits? Even so, how do we get up there?” asked Mo Fan.

“The inside of this fire pillar is hollow. My mother told me that there’s a gap around the bottom of the hill usable as an entrance. Let’s try finding the gap, to start with,” said Chen Yi.

Going around the huge fire pillar, the party did find a gap leading into it. In comparison to the size of the hill, it was only a small crack, but to humans, it was like a cave open in the stone, which grew more spacious the further their group ventured deeper into it.

The group could sense the path becoming steeper as they went in deeper. The walls in the cave were like half fire crystal and half rocks, with very smooth surfaces. The group managed to pick up some Soul Seed Pieces along the way. The cave felt like a good place to explore, too. If they looked carefully, they would be able to find one or two Soul Seeds.

The sound of metal clanking suddenly echoed in the completely dark cave. As it was deadly silent a moment ago, the sudden noise felt rather spooky.

The clank did not have the usual crisp ring, but it sounded dull and unpleasant, similar to the sound of someone scratching their nails on the blackboard. The cave was already dark to begin with, thus when the group heard the eerie noise that appeared out of nowhere, they could not help but feel rather nervous.

“I guess I’m not the only one that heard that?” Zhang Xiaohou scanned his surroundings with chattering teeth.

“Any idea what that was?” agreed Zhao Manyan.

“Who cares what it is, let’s continue forward. Worrying about it won’t help. If it were hiding in the dark, we’ll never know what it was,” Mo Fan said indifferently.

Mo Fan had assumed that if the creature had the ability to kill them all, it would have done so straight away, instead of trying to scare them with the noise.

On alert now, everyone quickened their pace. The hill was extremely high, even climbing straight up alone would take a long time, let alone following the path in the cave.

The party did hear the same noise again for a few times, but the creature never appeared, thus everyone simply ignored it.

Moving forward in the dark for a long time was boring and it easy to be overwhelmed by fear. Fortunately, everyone in the group was fairly courageous, and did not lose their nerve from the strange noise.

After climbing to a certain height, the gaps along the walls had lava flowing out of them, flowing in the furrows along the path.

The lava served as a light source, allowing the party to get a better look at their surroundings. Zhao Manyan’s Brilliant Light was no longer needed to light up the path. The lava on both sides was enough to light up the cave as bright as day.

“HAHA, the Burning Valley isn’t as intimidating as we thought. Look at the lava flowing on both sides, it seems to be welcoming us with red carpet and lights!” Zhang Xiaohou walked in the front, enjoying a moment of pride and satisfaction.

The lava’s temperature was extremely high. An ordinary human would easily burn into ashes in it, while a Magician could barely protect their flesh. That being said, they would still burn until bones were left if they stayed inside it for too long. Meanwhile, Fire Magicians were able to endure the temperature, but it was totally dependent on their cultivation. Those with high cultivation would not have any problem taking a shower in it…

Mo Fan was clearly not at that level yet. He tried to poke his finger into the lava on the side. It was hot, yet did not pose any threat to his life. Well, it was like putting a finger inside boiling water!

“By the way, did anyone notice that the lava is covering more area?” asked Chen Yi all of a sudden.

It did serve as a reminder to Mo Fan. The path inside the cave was both wide and narrow at different sections, but there was basically enough space for the group. Like the cave of an underground river, the lava was flowing out from the cracks on the walls. At the start, it was bursting out like spring water, and its red glow was directing the group as they moved forward. However, it turned out that the drains on both sides were full of lava, which were even pouring out from some of the sections, flowing toward the path everyone was taking.

“Maybe there’s more lava the higher we go. Don’t worry, the lava will flow down. There’s more than enough space there, it won’t block our path,” said Zhao Manyan.

“That sounds convincing… but what if it’s another reason?” asked Xinxia worriedly.

“What reason?” asked Zhang Xiaohou.

While they were chatting, Mo Fan stood beside the lava drains and observed its flow carefully. He clearly remembered that everyone had mentioned that the lava was flowing slowly before, yet it was already surging toward the lower sections of the cave. Some areas were already covered in the red lava, which began to spread toward the path they were taking.

It had only been less than a minute!

“I think we should leave here at once!” Mo Fan’s expression was totally different than before, his voice determined now.

“Why?” asked both Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan, who were still thinking of the priceless Fire Calamity Fruits.

Chen Yi was not willing to give up either, as the Fire Calamity Fruits were right at the top of the hill.

“Just do what I say!” Mo Fan yelled at the group, as he had no time to explain.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The party did not hesitate when they saw Mo Fan being so serious.

If even someone as greedy as Mo Fan had given up so decisively, it was obvious that something terrifying was about to happen.

“Quick, faster!” Mo Fan moved rapidly with his Shadow Spell, urging his crew to quicken their pace.

The group quickly backtracked and traveled down the hill at their fastest speed despite being utterly confused…

“Holy shit, when did the lava get so high?”

A bright red fire carpet rolled in front of the group all of a sudden, as if it were trying to stop the group from retreating.

“Are you dumb or stupid, the lava isn’t flowing down like rivers in the first place; it’s a huge amount of lava pouring down from right above us!” cursed Mo Fan while running.

The lava was only flowing out from the gaps of the walls and in the drains like sprinkles of spring water when they crossed the same section a moment ago, which posed no threat to the group, but it had now spread to the path…

It clearly implied that the lava was pouring down at them, and its speed and amount was increasing. Otherwise, the lava would not simply spill over from the drains.

It would be fine if only a small amount of the lava was leaking out, but if it were able to accumulate such an amount in a short period of time, once it blocked off the sections that were narrower, the lava would start rising up instead…

When the lava eventually filled the path, the group which was stuck halfway in the cave would be burned alive in the lava, with no chance of escaping!

“Holy crap, this place has become a pond!” screamed Zhang Xiaohou.

“A huge amount of lava is pouring down from above…”

“Did anyone hear that noise?”

“Who the hell has time to care about the noise now,” cursed Zhao Manyan.

“No, it’s a different kind of noise.”

As the group was rushing down the hill, they suddenly felt some rumbling from above them. The sound was a certain distance away from them, so it sounded quite faint.

Chen Yi stopped and listened carefully by sticking her ear closer to the wall.

Her face turned pale white instantly. As she turned around, the others could see her eyes filled with terror!

Words were not needed for her to describe what was happening…

It was lava!

The lava was pouring down the path like a flood. The strong current of lava collided with the walls, producing the terrifying sound that Chen Yi heard when she placed her ear on the wall.

Everyone had experienced the structure of the cave themselves. If a wave of lava was indeed surging toward them from above, they would be dead for sure!

Everyone finally realized why Mo Fan had urged them to leave. If they were any slower, they would have died to the lava by now…

—

However, the group had underestimated the rate of the lava, or maybe they had underestimated the height they had already climbed before it all happened. They had yet to arrive at the bottom after all the running, and many sections already had pools of lava accumulating as they passed by.

Most terrifyingly, the rumbling behind them was becoming clearer. They could feel the passage trembling slightly!

Meanwhile, the eerie metal clank was heard once again. Normally, the group would simply ignore it, but when they discovered the narrow section of the path ahead was blocked off by a creature wrapped in red armor, they immediately cursed in their hearts!

“F**k, what the hell is this thing trying to block us off!” screamed Zhao Manyan.

It was their only way out, and the creature was lying right there. Not only was it blocking their way out, it was also stopping the lava from flowing away, and it was filling up the space!

As the lava could no longer flow down, it began to back up in the other direction. As a result, the area immediately turned into a pool of lava around ten meters across!

It seemed like the fire armor creature was not afraid of the lava. It was simply lying in the corner which was the only way out of the cave, as it slowly revealed two heads wrapped in the same armor…

It had two faces, their beastly features bearing some resemblance to humans. The lava was like a soothing bath for the creature, who was soaked in it while glancing at the group of Magicians with a hint of mockery and gloating!

One of its faces had disdain, and the other a dark expression. The creature was like the Black and White Guards of Impermanence to Mo Fan and his crew!

“This is the end!” screamed Zhang Xiaohou.

The rumbling behind them was getting closer, like the roars of the lava tide…

They initially thought Mo Fan’s quick reaction had saved their lives, yet they did not expect the creature making the eerie noise would add to their misfortunes by blocking their escape.

The lava pool in front of them enlarged gradually, and judging by the armored creature with two faces, it was not something they could kill easily. No one knew what they could possibly do at that instant, they could feel the despair of being trapped inside the death’s jaws!

“Screw it, I’ll smash the shit out of this asshole!” cursed Zhang Xiaohou, about to fight the two-faced armored creature.

“We’ll think about getting our revenge later, follow me!” Lingling said to the group.

“You have a better plan?” asked Mo Fan surprisingly.

“I’m not sure if it works still. I was observing our surroundings carefully when we were running down the cave, and I discovered a spacious hole there. If we hide inside the hole and seal the entrance with the Earth Element, we can temporarily escape from the lava. If the lava ends up filling the entire cave, either we’re going to suffocate in the hole, or the lava flowing into the hole will burn us to death,” said Lingling.

“There’s no better plan now, let’s head to the hole first. Swift Star Wolf, clear the path!” ordered Mo Fan.

“We have to be quick, or else…” said Xinxia.

Xinxia did not finish the sentence, as everyone was clearly aware that if they did not make it to the hole before the lava tide came, they would really be in serious trouble!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Damn it, if we managed to survive this, I swear I’ll cut that son of a bitch into eight pieces!”

There was no point in preserving their strength any longer. The party quickly took out all their secret equipment that was useful.

It felt like the sound of death was right behind their ears, and most terrifyingly, they were running right in its direction. They were not sure if they were just going to crash into it and die in an instant.

This time, everyone felt like they were having a race with the God of Death, as the hole Lingling mentioned was still a distance away.

The entire place was blazing red like fire. The lava had filled up most of the drains, and was spilling over onto the path the group was running on. The liquid splattering into the air as they ran past instantly ignited in the air, which was fairly intimidating to look at.

The rocks on the sides could no longer support the heavy weight, and the lava burst out from the walls in an exploding wave. The lava instantly poured in the direction of the party. Its heat was enough to penetrate their bodies.

“Light Protection: Rampart!”

Zhao Manyan quickly reacted and summoned a light barrier before the lava jetting out from the walls could reach the group.

The lava was stopped by the sacred golden wall, allowing the group to pass the section safely.

The whole place was shaking wildly because of the lava tide. The stronger the vibration, the quicker the walls were collapsing. The lava continued to splatter in the air, burning the group’s skin.

“Are we there yet!?” Mo Fan rushed in front of the party, trying to use his body to block the splattering lava.

He was the only person that was unharmed, as the Rose Flame had granted him some resistance to the lava’s heat. However, he knew that he would also be cooked alive if he was soaked inside the lava.

Lingling, who was sitting on the Swift Star Wolf’s back, had yet to say a word.

She was trying her best to keep her focus, as she had to locate the same hole she had only caught a glimpse of before somewhere in this passage that was being destroyed by the lava!

Finally, her eyes flickered as she yelled at the group, “Turn left over here, quick!”

As soon as Lingling spoke, a blinding red light burst out from the corner ahead, like an enraged beast trying to use its body to fill up the space as it charged in the party’s direction!

The sight was utterly terrifying, as everyone could feel their scalp breaking apart. In just a few seconds, they would be dead with their corpses burned into ashes!

The cave was still some distance away. They would not have enough time to make it.

“You guys go ahead!” yelled Mo Fan, facing the group behind him.

“What are you trying to do?” blurted out Xinxia.

Mo Fan did not respond. His figure was engulfed in rose-colored flame, quickly turning him into a fiery demon.

He stood in place and drew a Star Pattern under his feet. Most people would have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing under the circumstances. The terrifying lava could make anyone’s mind go blank, and all they could do was wait for their death.

Mo Fan forced himself to gather his focus. When he thought of the people whom he regarded as important behind him, he did not dare to let any hint of fear or hesitation enter his heart.

He opened his mouth and uttered a roar. A tremendous force contracted onto a ring of fire on his right wrist.

“Fiery Fist!”

Facing the astonishing lava tide, Mo Fan’s determined face was fully red from the heat, yet he still threw the punch at the magnificent sight!

The lava was rolling in the group’s direction, and according to its speed, it would have swept past the group by now. However, Mo Fan’s fist blasted a hole right in the middle of the flow. The burning liquid flowed past them on the sides, as if the tide had devoured them.

A figure was standing firmly before the lava, his fist exerting a great force as it tried to hold back the lava and split the flow with brute force, allowing the rest to retreat to the hole that Lingling had mentioned.

The power of the fist was able to hold the tide, but as more lava came surging in their direction, the gap that Mo Fan was making was filled up quickly.

Xinxia, Lingling, the Swift Star Wolf, Zhang Xiaohou, Zhao Manyan and Chen Yi managed to jump into the cave at the last second, yet before they could feel relieved, they turned around and saw the figure outside the cave swept away by the red tide.

A loud crash took place. All they could see as they glanced at the entrance of the cave was lava sweeping past like a giant fire dragon!

Compared to the destructive fire dragon, Mo Fan was too small. He was gone too quickly, Xinxia did not even have the chance to see him for the last time. Her mind was still filled with the firm and fearless back who was facing the terrifying lava fire dragon with his fist…

“Mo…Mo Fan!”

The others immediately rushed to the entrance, ready to dash into the flame to save Mo Fan, yet they could not get any closer because of the lava.

The lava crashed into the entrance of the cave as if it had hit some part of the rock. The force knocked them all back into the cave…

The impact from the lava was stunning. It almost collapsed the entrance!

More lava began to pour into the cave. When Xinxia and Lingling saw Zhang Xiaohou trying to jump out of the cave to save Mo Fan, they quickly ordered the Swift Star Wolf to stop him.

The Swift Star Wolf quickly jumped forward and bit Zhang Xiaohou’s shirt, dragging him back from the entrance.

Meanwhile, the glowing red lava began to flow into the cave, forcing the group to back off.

“Quick, seal the entrance!” ordered Lingling.

“Don’t seal it!” yelled Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhao Manyan and Chen Yi were dumbfounded, not knowing who they should listen to.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“He was swept away by the lava, forget about him for now!” Lingling said cold-bloodedly.

Xinxia bit her red lips, as tears almost burst out from her eyes, yet she knew that Lingling was making the right call.

Zhao Manyan clenched his teeth and quickly cast the Light Protection: Rampart without hesitation, forming an arc-shaped barrier sealing off the entrance.

Chen Yi went up to lend a hand, too. She quickly cast the Rock Barrier to add another layer of defense, to brace the barrier further so the lava would not burst into the cave.

It took Zhang Xiaohou quite some time to collect his thoughts, wiping his face even though he was not in tears and casting another layer of Rock Barrier.

The group quickly headed inside the cave. The Magicians who were left in a miserable state by their burns dropped to the ground in low-spirits.

No one talked, the atmosphere felt incredibly heavy.

Finally, Zhang Xiaohou slowly raised his head and glanced at Xinxia.

Xinxia knew what Zhang Xiaohou wanted to ask. She pointed at the Swift Star Wolf and said, “He’s not dead yet… the Swift Star Wolf is still here, so that means he’s still alive.”

The group rose to their feet upon hearing this.

That’s right, the Swift Star Wolf was Mo Fan’s Summoned beast! If Mo Fan was dead, the Swift Star Wolf would be sent back to his dimension. The fact that the Swift Star Wolf was still here meant that Mo Fan was still alive!

“Mo Fan’s primary Element is Fire, the lava won’t kill him in a short period of time. However, if we don’t seal the entrance, everyone here would be dead, and what he did would be totally meaningless,” said Lingling, who always managed to remain calm in an incomprehensible way.

“We need to survive this before we can go search for him. Let’s hope the lava won’t last for long. Otherwise, we’ll simply suffocate to death here,” said Chen Yi.

———-

The pain was unbearable, it felt like his whole body was burning.

He kept on slamming into sturdy rocks as he was swept away by the lava tide. Mo Fan could feel some of his bones breaking during each collision.

The heat of the lava was not enough to burn his body into ashes because of his Fire resistance, but the burning sensation, as if he had fallen into a pot of boiling water, felt like his flesh was getting well cooked.

Mo Fan thought he would soak in the lava until he ran out of air when the tide swept him towards the two-faced creature. However, he could still feel the tide continue flowing down in the midst of his dizziness, as if the creature had left.

Mo Fan had no idea where he was being swept to. He lost consciousness, and was unable to tell how long he had fainted. The continuous collisions had made him feel dizzier, and he fell totally unconscious after a strong hit!

—

The sun was high up in the sky, right in the middle of the brazier-shaped North Burning Valley with the shape of a brazier. The only fire pillar mountain in the North Burning Valley happened to be the closest to the sun. Not many living things could be seen on its peak, yet the plants that required an irrigation of fire had blossomed vigorously, and almost covered the whole surface on top of the mountain.

The plants were blazing red, like an ocean of autumn leaves, densely covering the place.

As the red leaves were falling to the ground, they were like candlelights dropping slowly in the air. If a strong gust happened to blow across the place, the candlelights would drift to the wind in the air, a spectacular sight!

—

A naked man was lying unconscious among the pile of red leaves. Many parts of his skin had festered from the burns, and his face was seriously scorched.

Beside the man, a fiery red, slightly elegant figure was quietly observing him. Her hand was holding a liquid produced from chewing the red leaves, which she fed the unconscious man by pouring it into his mouth.

The liquid seemed to be a great cure for the burns. As the liquid entered the man’s throat, his festering wounds began to recover rapidly.

The energy from the lava was fairly pure, as it did not contain the poison or destructive power of some of the special flames. On the other hand, the unconscious man had a fairly strong Fire resistance. The heat was not the reason he had fainted, but the lack of oxygen.

The sun slanted, and slowly descended into the horizon. The man finally regained his consciousness during the evening.

Mo Fan opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings. He initially thought he was lying in the middle of a fire, but he was relieved when he discovered that it was only red leaves drifting in the wind. The leaves were soft, and as they had absorbed and stored energy from the sunlight, they were like a warm rug in this evening, which had gradually turned cold.

“Why am I here?” Mo Fan was confused. He clearly remembered he had drifted with the lava currents to the bottom of the hill.

As he looked around, he saw the sky around him. He was on the ground covered in red leaves, and occasionally, a cold wind similar to that at a high altitude would sweep past.

“I’m on the hill?” murmured Mo Fan.

He inspected himself, and discovered that there were no visible wounds on his skin, which was totally unbelievable.

As Mo Fan was totally confused, a bright-red human-figured creature slowly approached him. Its movement was strange, as the tip of its toes were slightly raised, and it was hovering above the ground. It was floating toward Mo Fan from a stand of few fiery trees around ten meters high.

It arrived beside Mo Fan, and even though its body was made of fire, to Mo Fan’s surprise, he could not sense any heat coming from the creature.

Mo Fan watched it alertly. He tried to protect himself, yet it felt like all his bones had shattered. Just a slight movement caused great pain across his entire body. He could not even rise to his feet, let alone cast a Spell.

The fiery figure did not attack Mo Fan, but handed a delicious-looking fruit to him. It did not get any closer, as if it were worried that he would be afraid of it.

“For me?” asked Mo Fan in disbelief, as he glanced at the fruit which could both satisfy his hunger and treat his injury.

The fiery figure nodded.

“Are you the one that saved me and brought me here?” asked Mo Fan.

The figure nodded, as if it could totally understand his words.

Mo Fan immediately recalled that Chen Yi had mentioned how her mother was saved by a humanoid fiery creature the day she was swept away by the Fire Calamity.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The fiery figure’s height and size were similar to a human’s, or more precisely, its physique was similar to a woman, one that was quite elegant…

Her appearance was very different compared to Mo Fan’s when his figure was engulfed in flames, such as when he cast the Fiery Fist. His flames were only burning on the outside of Mo Fan’s body like a Super Saiyan mode, but the fiery figure was made of fire herself. Even her face was burning in flames. She did have faint facial features, but they were not as detailed as a human’s.

“Can you understand our language?” exclaimed Mo Fan, staring at the Fiery Sorceress.

The Fiery Sorceress floated beside him with an expression that Mo Fan failed to understand.

“Either way, thanks for saving my life…” Mo Fan laughed.

It was true that one who survived a great disaster was destined to good fortune afterwards. Mo Fan never thought the Fiery Sorceress which saved Chen Yi’s mother in the past would save him too, and brought him to the top of the hill.

The Fiery Sorceress looked at Mo Fan, her lips slightly open, as if she were smiling…

Mo Fan glanced at it, and somehow felt her to be a kind woman, even her smile felt so gentle.

“Right, my friends are still trapped in the cave,” Mo Fan recalled something important.

The Fiery Sorceress shook her head, and communicated with Mo Fan using hand gestures, telling him that the lava would not last for long, thus they would have left long ago. He would not find anyone there now. Most importantly, Mo Fan had broken most of his bones, he would need to rest up with the Fire Cloud Fruit for some time.

Mo Fan knew he could not do anything in his current state. He let out a wry smile, and began to converse with the Fiery Sorceress who understood human language.

The Black Totem Snake understood human speech, too. Therefore, when he stumbled into the extraordinary Fiery Sorceress of the North Burning Valley, he was not unprepared at all.

“Can I ask, are you the Flame Belle?” Mo Fan asked firmly, as he took a closer look at the Fiery Sorceress.

The books had mentioned that the Flame Belle looked similar to a woman, and from afar, her appearance was like a glamorous lady standing in a fire, with a hint of sacred air and authority.

Even though the Fiery Sorceress was slightly different from how the books had described, Mo Fan had a strong feeling that she was the Flame Belle.

The people who had seen the Flame Belle had described her as a terrifying creature. Even though the creature would not chase after humans relentlessly, those who infuriated her and trespassed into her territory would suffer the consequences of her wrath.

If this Fiery Sorceress was actually the Flame Belle, she was in fact quite friendly. She had saved Chen Yi’s mother over ten years ago, and also saved him too.

The Fiery Sorceress shook her head, implying that she was not the Flame Belle.

“Oh, you’re asking me what I’m doing here?” Mo Fan understood the Fiery Sorceress’ question from her gestures and replied honestly, “I’m looking for the Flame Belle. I’m a Summoner, I would like to sign a Flame Belle to be my Contract Beast.”

The Fiery Sorceress shook her head, telling Mo Fan that was not a great idea.

“I’m just trying my luck, it’s fine if I really can’t find her,” said Mo Fan.

The night came like dark curtains, while the stars embellished the night sky like shiny jewels. Lying on top of the hill, Mo Fan felt like he was surrounded by the night sky. Even when he was looking into the distance, he could still see the beautiful starry sky…

It was Mo Fan’s first time having such a unique experience, lying on the top of a mountain while chatting with a fiery creature.

However, the Fiery Sorceress seemed to have some matters to attend to. She let Mo Fan had his rest, so she soon left the mountain…

Mo Fan felt it to be a pity, as he could tell that the Fiery Sorceress was no ordinary creature. He could only wait until her next appearance before he could ask her more questions.

Suddenly, a chilly gust swept past, followed by an intimidating groan.

Mo Fan had not recovered yet, thus he could barely walk. He quickly glanced at his surroundings, to see if there as anything hiding nearby.

The Fiery Sorceress was aware of the intruder earlier than Mo Fan. She scanned the top of the hill with a sharp gaze…

Suddenly, the red leaves were swept away, like something was crawling rapidly through them.

As the leaves drifted into the air, Mo Fan saw a serpentine creature with fiery lines on it crawling toward them rapidly. Although its size was tiny compared to the Black Totem Snake, it was still around fifteen meters long.

Most shockingly, the creature had three heads. The joint under the heads was fairly thick, branching off into three sections!

As the three heads rose into the air, they turned out to have different colors!

The head on the left was dark brown, with skin like thick armor; it was simply a head made of rock!

The head on the middle was fiery red. Its scales had obvious fiery marks, so detailed that one could simply see the lines on them. Its eyes were blazing red, the gaze from them enough to bring fear to its prey!

The head on the right was a mix of blue and green. The dull color was a clear sign of its poisonous nature, with its fangs exposed in the air, posing a great threat!

Mo Fan was shocked when he saw the three-headed snake.

Although the creature was not as huge as the Commander-level demon beasts he had seen before, its three heads with three different Elements clearly implied that it was no ordinary creature, either!

Mo Fan was not smart enough to identify the creature’s level from its rock head and the poisonous head, but according to Huo Tuo’s apprentice, Li Junnan, he did mention that snakes with higher lineage would have detailed lines on them. The fiery head in the middle had outstanding snake lines on it, which was a clear sign of its level!

The three-headed snake had captured the scent of a human. A creature like this posed the greatest threat to humans, and was also considered the most bloodthirsty.

Councilman Zhu Meng was well aware of the danger of snake-type creatures, hence the reason he had considered the Black Totem Snake at the highest potential threat level.

Mo Fan did not think that the fact that he was close with the Black Totem Snake was enough to scare the fairly strong three-headed creature away. He could sense a chill down his spine when the eyes on the three heads stared at him.

He was also unable to protect himself with Magic due to the severe injuries he was suffering from. Yet, even at his peak, he could easily tell that he was no match for the creature, judging by its overwhelming presence!

At that instant, a pleasant but furious cry was heard not far away.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan could feel an extreme heat wave coming from the direction of the cry. He turned around and saw the Fiery Sorceress floating among the Fire Cloud Trees around a few hundred meters away.

She was roaring furiously at the three-headed snake that wanted to snap up and devour Mo Fan. The aura from her fiery figure swept the red leaves into the air!

She was floating in the air, the flames in the outer layer of her body were flapping in the wind too, like a blazing red, noble gown, setting her off like an empress who was born in burning lava. Her sanctity and unmatched dignified bearing were enough to force all creatures in the area to submit to her in fear!

Mo Fan stared at her in astonishment. Just a moment ago, he was assuming the Fiery Sorceress to be a gentle lady, yet the overwhelming aura she was unleashing had allowed Mo Fan to have a different view of her!

The three-headed snake was a dangerous creature, yet it did not dare to move any closer to Mo Fan when facing the Fiery Sorceress’ wrath.

The three-headed snake was utterly terrified. It turned around, its heads seemed to have conflicting ideas on which direction to flee in as it crawled away in panic.

In less than a few seconds, the three-headed snake fled into the Fire Cloud Woods on the hill.

Mo Fan thought that was the end of it, but to his surprise, the packs of Fire Cloud Sparrows in the woods were frightened and flew away into the distance, while the creatures that resided in the woods ran in the opposite direction too!

Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

He initially thought the Fiery Sorceress was a special human-like creature, who could understand human’s tongue after being around for many years, allowing her to develop her intelligence. Little did he know, her lineage was extremely noble, like the ruler of the North Burning Valley!

The three-headed snake, and the packs of Fire Cloud Sparrows that flew away… those were not just some petty Servant-class creatures!

The Fiery Sorceress’ intimidating presence slowly withdrew after a long time. However, it was impossible to tell how long would it take for the Fire Cloud Woods to return to normal.

The Fiery Sorceress slowly floated toward Mo Fan from the distance. As she arrived before him, she had recovered her usual friendliness, which was something that Mo Fan could not understand.

It’s obvious that the Fiery Sorceress was a very powerful creature, but why was she so friendly toward humans?

Mo Fan believed that she was furious at the three-headed snake for trying to eat him.

“Tha…thanks,” blurted out Mo Fan some time later, still in a shock as he glanced at the Fiery Sorceress.

The blurry face of the Fiery Sorceress wore a seemingly apologetic smile, as if she were asking if Mo Fan was hurt.

Mo Fan was perfectly unharmed. It was just that he almost suffocated due to her overwhelming presence.

Mo Fan changed the topic when he saw her holding something cautiously in her hands, “What’s that? Something for me to eat?”

The Fiery Sorceress pulled a long face when she heard the question.

Mo Fan felt awkward, feeling that he had picked the wrong words.

The Fiery Sorceress was holding a transparent fruit in her hands. Both its luster and the pleasant scent were a good indication that the fruit was of superior quality compared to the Fire Cloud Fruit.

“Could this be the Fire Calamity Fruit?” asked Mo Fan randomly.

The Fiery Sorceress hesitated for a while, before nodding to him.

Mo Fan almost dropped his jaw to the ground when he saw her nod!

Damn, he was simply asking thoughtlessly…

Is…is this really the priceless Fire Calamity Fruit that Chen Yi mentioned?

The group could not find it despite searching for it desperately, and here it was right in front of him. Mo Fan was left utterly speechless.

However, he could not tell if he should be happy or sad. He had found the Fire Calamity Fruit, but the thing was obviously precious to the Fiery Sorceress. She might be friendly toward humans, but there was no way she would give it to him.

Besides, the Fiery Sorceress had displayed her ruler-like strength just a moment ago. It was impossible to try and take the Fire Calamity Fruit from her.

“Since you’ve saved my life, I’ll be honest with you. This Fire Calamity Fruit is extremely valuable to us humans, and I believe many of them are making their way here to the Burning Valley to look for it. If this thing is really important for you, you should keep it safe. I know you’re friendly toward humans, but not every human is honest and has a good conscience like me,” said Mo Fan to the Fiery Sorceress.

After all, the Fiery Sorceress had saved his life, thus he was not planning to do something ungrateful. He could tell that the Fiery Sorceress was protecting the Fire Calamity Fruit carefully.

The Fiery Sorceress nodded. She asked about Mo Fan’s condition.

Mo Fan could move around normally, but he had no idea how long it would take to recover from the internal injuries.

The Fiery Sorceress told Mo Fan that the place was not safe, and asked Mo Fan to go with her.

Mo Fan had nowhere to go, and did not have the ability to protect himself either. He had no choice but to follow the Fiery Sorceress.

The Fiery Sorceress led Mo Fan past the dense woods. The woods seemed quite spacious, but since it was on top of a hill, it did not take a long time for them to cross it.

As they approached the edge of the Fire Cloud Woods, they arrived at a slightly uplifted area. The slope was rather gentle, and at the top stood a giant tree, different from the Fire Cloud Trees.

The tree did not have any leaves, the main branches were twisting and winding among one another, forking into lots of twigs. Even without leaves, it looked quite astonishing.

The giant tree stood alone under the starry sky. Its trunks were reaching towards the curtain of night, while the branches were spreading in all directions. From Mo Fan’s angle as he looked upward at the tree, he could see the stars between the gaps of the branches and twigs, as if the tree was topped with brilliant stars. It felt like his heart was being cleansed by the stellar view.

The tree was standing alone on the top of a hill in the Burning Valley. Even though countless Hunters had visited the North Burning Valley, none of them would have thought that such a wonder would exist in this place. It could be described as a miracle in the desert!

Mo Fan followed the Fiery Sorceress to the tree. The Fiery Sorceress slowly placed the Fire Calamity Fruit back into the branches. The fruit was already dazzling to begin with, but it was more stunning surrounded by the stars.

“Is this place where the Fire Calamity Fruit was born?” Mo Fan asked thoughtlessly once again.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Inside the cave within the hill, the boiling lava finally showed some sign of ‘falling’. The five Magicians who were trapped in the cave uttered relieved sighs.

The cave was not huge, and the gas produced by the lava would find its way into the cave at times, thus the oxygen in the cave was running thin. If they continued to stay any longer, they might suffocate to death.

The only thing that comforted everyone was the fact that Mo Fan’s Swift Star Wolf stayed with them throughout the entire process.

It was the sign that Mo Fan was still alive. Xinxia’s gaze never left the Swift Star Wolf. Even when they were closed slightly due to fatigue, they quickly sprang open, as she was afraid that the Swift Star Wolf would simply vanish within the blink of an eye.

“The lava is gone, but we have to wait a little longer. It seems like there isn’t any air coming in,” said Zhao Manyan.

The group of five continued to wait for the cave to be cleared of the lava. Fresh air finally came into the cave from the gaps.

“Come, let’s go and find Mo Fan.”

Coming out from the cave, the group quickly headed for the bottom of the hill.

Since Mo Fan was swept away by the lava, he had surely followed the current to the bottom of the hill. They would be able to locate him by following the flow.

Although lava was liquid, it had an extremely high viscosity, thus its pace of flowing was rather slow. A substance like that would easily accumulate in some place, and once it cooled down, it would solidify into rocks instead.

If they could not locate Mo Fan before the lava cooled down, it would be fairly difficult to search for him.

…

The group rushed to the bottom of the cave, yet they could not see Mo Fan anywhere. The panicking group immediately stumbled into another trouble, which was the Two-faced Turtle Demon that was blocking their path!

As soon as Zhao Manyan saw the creature, he had a strong urge to get his revenge. To his surprise, the creature was the kind that stayed in packs too. When Zhao Manyan was about to slaughter the creature, the same type of creature but bigger suddenly appeared from nowhere. Forget about getting his revenge, the group ended up being chased by the Two-faced Turtle Demons!

The party ran away from the Fire Pillar Hill and returned to the valley filled with rocks and sand. To their surprise, the Two-faced Turtle Demons continued to chase after them relentlessly.

“What now? If we can’t lose them, we won’t have enough time to look for Mo Fan,” said Zhang Xiaohou worriedly.

“It looks like a group of people is coming in our direction. Screw it, let’s run toward them,” said Zhao Manyan as he pointed in a direction.

The group of five ran in the direction of another group. When Zhao Manyan saw their leader was a middle-aged man whose hair was combed into braids, his face was filled with shock.

Chen Yi’s expression became rather complicated when she saw the middle-aged man.

“Uncle, why are you here?” said Zhao Manyan, glancing at the man.

The man with braids frowned, before glancing at Chen Yi who stood beside Zhao Manyan with her head lowered. He harrumphed coldly and said, “Nonsense, this is no place for kids!”

“Uncle, save it for later. Please help us get rid of the creatures chasing behind us. One of our friends is still in danger,” said Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Yulin was aware of the Two-faced Turtle Demons, whose bodies seemed to be covered in metal. He jumped down from his mount with a hint of disdain on his face.

A few Star Patterns appeared around his body. The Star Patterns were drawn simultaneously, and were completed at a shocking pace. The Star Patterns joined together, forming a three-dimensional drawing surrounding him!

The brown Star Constellation was fully constructed. A brown flicker was emitted from Zhao Yulin’s eyes, and as the glow reached its strongest brilliance, a force spread in the direction of the Two-faced Turtle Demons in the shape of a fan.

A brown shadow extended into the distance like a claw, and both the loose sand and the cacti along the way were turned into grey-white rocks instantly!

Petrify, the Advanced Spell of the Earth Element!

It was obvious that the Two-faced Turtle Demon charging right at the front had never seen the unique force before. It tried to resist it with its sturdy armor, yet as the brown shadow swept past it, it was turned into a dead statue!

The other Two-faced Turtle Demons were slightly behind, and were utterly terrified when they witnessed the power of the Petrify. The frightened creatures left their petrified comrade behind and fled in the direction of the Fire Pillar Hill.

“Nice one, uncle!” Zhao Manyan went up to the petrified Two-faced Turtle Demon when the others fled into the distance.

He threw a kick at the petrified beast and broke it into pieces. Zhao Manyan continued to stomp the pieces as if the kick alone was nowhere enough to vent his frustrations, “That’s for trying to drop the lava on us when we were trapped in the well, that’s for trying to block our path! I told you I’m going to cut you into pieces. Look how many pieces you’ve turned into!”

“Stop wasting time, let’s go look for Mo Fan now!,” reminded Zhang Xiaohou.

The group was about to leave when Zhao Yulin stopped them, “Where do you think you’re going? Stay with my group. It’s impossible to send you back to the safe zone. Who is it that you’re trying to save? With your capabilities, you can’t even retrieve your friend’s corpse.”

Lingling glanced at Xinxia and said with a nod, “It’s easier for us to find Mo Fan with their help.”

The five returned to Zhao Yulin’s group. Chen Yi’s head remained lowered, and as she walked to the middle of the group, she surprisingly discovered a person wrapped in white cloth on a red horse. The person’s pair of black eyes were staring right at her.

Chen Yi said in disbelief, “Mother, why are you here?”

The person wrapped in white cloth nodded slightly. She summoned Chen Yi to her side, but she did not speak a single word.

Chen Yi glanced at her father leading the group in joy. She initially thought her heartless father had given up on searching for the Fire Calamity Fruit, and only knew to enjoy his life in the wealthy Zhao Family. She never thought his father would bring her mother here himself after the Fire Calamity.

However, the group of people that her father had brought were not too outstanding. It was most likely that her father was the only Advanced Magician.

The Fire Calamity Fruit was definitely protected by some powerful creature. These people definitely had no chance of fighting it.

The person wrapped in white cloth seemed to be aware of Chen Yi’s worry. She explained softly, “The Drifting Sand River has suddenly become restless, which is most likely due to some unknown evil presence in the west… even the Psychic Magicians are unable to pacify them. Most of the factions have sent capable people whose cultivation is relatively lower to cross the Drifting Sand River safely. Your father is an exception. He’s most likely the only Advanced Magician who has managed to cross the Drifting Sand River.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As soon as Zhao Yulin’s group stepped into the area of the Fire Pillar Hill, a group of soldiers with badges on their chests arrived, too…

Every Hunter knew that unless their strength could outmatch the entire demon beasts’ territory, it was unwise to use any Wing Magical Equipment or fly on a mount.

The surroundings of the North Burning Valley was occupied by the Dunhuang Demon Tigers. Anyone who tried to reach the North Burning Valley using other methods would have to cross the Dunhuang Demon Tigers’ territory. Even a Super Magician would not dare to do that.

Therefore, the only way to enter the North Burning Valley was via the Drifting Sand River. However, the Drifting Sand River was also a no-fly zone. If any creature tried to fly across the Drifting Sand River, a giant Undead Dragon Corpse would rise from the Drifting Sand River and devour any creature trying to fly across it.

First, the military in Dunhuang did not raise Heavenly Eagles, and second, both the Drifting Sand River and the northern boundaries of the North Burning Valley were strictly a no-fly zone!

“We’ll climb it from the outside. The hill might be tall, but it’s hard to tell how dangerous it is trying to go inside it…” said a female Commander with an aquiline nose.

The woman was clearly the person in charge of the expedition. Everyone was obeying her words, not daring to show any reluctance.

“The old Hunter mentioned that the Fire Pillar Hill might look steep, but its surface isn’t as sturdy as it seems. We should be able to cut steps as we climb.”

“Time is running short; we’ll make the move tonight, we can’t let anyone else get a head start on us.”

“Commander Nanyu, what exactly is the Fire Calamity Fruit for? Why are we sent here to search for it?” said a soldier.

“It has many uses… I’ll tell you this, the simplest way of using it, is simply treating it as a reagent when refining a Soul-grade Fire Seed, and the success rate is one hundred percent,” said the female Commander, Nanyu.

“A Soul…Soul-grade material… which has a hundred percent success rate!”

The soldiers’ eyes glittered.

A Soul-grade Fire Seed, something that would multiply the power of every Fire Spell by four times! In addition to that, a Soul-grade Seed would also grant its bearer a domain, and most of the time a Magician would be almost unbeatable within their domain. Its value greatly surpassed that of the resources needed for an Intermediate Magician to rank up to the Advanced Level!

A Soul-grade Seed was incredibly rare, and they were hardly ever found even after thoroughly searching the lands of the demon beasts. Even the famous marketplaces in the greatest cities would only auction a Soul-grade Seed once in a very long while… As such, most of the Soul-grade Seeds were refined using Spirit-grade Seeds, and it was said that the success rate was incredibly slim. Even after adding lots of supporting reagents, the chance of failing was significantly greater than the success rate.

If the Fire Calamity Fruit could indeed improve the success rate to a hundred percent, it was absolutely priceless!

One could still buy Spirit-grade Seeds with money, but Soul-grade Seeds were a completely different story!

—

On the other side of the Fire Pillar Hill, a group of people wearing the blue-yellow explorer outfits of the Hunter Union arrived at the bottom of the hill. They were well prepared for the steep walls. A Magician with crossing scars on his forehead summoned a Mountain-Climbing Beast.

The Mountain-Climbing Beast had special claws that could not only penetrate the walls of the hill, but also provide a strong grip on the steep walls of the Fire Pillar Hill.

The Mountain-Climbing Beast was enormous, thus the group of Hunters simply hung onto the beast and climbed to the top of the Fire Pillar Hill easily.

…

At the waist of the hill around two kilometers away from the Hunters, a group of Magicians with special Earth Element Soul Seeds were walking on the steep walls as if they were on flat ground.

The Magicians continued to walk upward, and tied ropes around the rocks that stuck out from the surface…

They kept on heading up and tying ropes around the rocks, allowing the people of the Magic Association to climb up using the ropes.

—

The world was filled with wonders. The restless Drifting Sand River had stopped many people who were planning to explore the North Burning Valley, but the Hunter Union, Magic Associations and the military managed to find people with outstanding capabilities to overcome the difficulties.

These people were not here just for the Soul Seed Pieces and Soul Seeds scattered across the ground. They were here for the Fire Calamity Fruit!

——

The silent night sky had a hint of dark blue to it, and was veiled by a faint mist in the wee hours, hiding the brilliant Milky Way. The blurry light descended upon the quiet woods on the top of the hill, adding an outstanding beauty to it.

Mo Fan sat on the slope under the Starry Tree and the empty sky, the boundless Burning Valley, and the solitary fiery sorceress…

Looking at the fiery sorceress treating the Fire Calamity Fruit on the Starry Tree with extreme caution, seeing the back of the figure that had existed for an unknown number of years, Mo Fan was suddenly curious about her story.

“Why are you protecting the Fire Calamity Fruit?” asked Mo Fan, who was sitting on the ground having a rest.

The fiery sorceress was able to float freely, with a figure similar to a glamorous lady. She was patrolling around the Fire Calamity Fruit, as if she were afraid that someone would take the fruit away.

She slowly landed beside Mo Fan after hearing his question, and used her unique language to chat with Mo Fan.

“Are you trying to say, I’ll know in a few days?” Mo Fan tried to interpret what she was trying to say.

The fiery sorceress nodded.

“It’s already a fruit, it can’t possibly blossom into a tree and bear fruits?” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan remembered Chen Yi had mentioned that the Fire Calamity Fruit would disappear a short time after it was borne. Her father had sent someone to look for the Fire Calamity Fruit a few times, yet he always missed the time when it was still available.

Why would she try and protect something that would disappear in time?

Or perhaps the Fire Calamity Fruit was like a persimmon, which is more delicious after leaving it for a few more days after it had ripened?

“Oh, are you asking how is my body?” Mo Fan rose to his feet and stretched his body. Apart from some slight pain in his joints, his body was fine. He said to the fiery sorceress who was worried about him with a smile, “I think I’m good now. I should be leaving, my friends must be worried about me.

“Either way, thanks for saving me. If there’s anything you need my help with, feel free to tell me,” said Mo Fan to the fiery sorceress.

The fiery sorceress uttered a pleasant cry, and did not ask Mo Fan to do her any favor, nor did she tried to hold him back.

“I guess it’s goodbye then. Sigh, no sign of the Flame Belle, and the Fire Calamity Fruit is in your hands. Maybe I should just try and search for the Soul Seeds and Soul Seed Pieces and sell them for some cash,” sighed Mo Fan with an open mind.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In the Fire Cloud Woods, Nanyu and her squad were the first to arrive at the top of the hill. They were roaming in the Fire Cloud Woods, as if they had lost their sense of direction.

The truth was, they were clueless about where to go after arriving at the top, thus they could only roam around aimlessly. The elder who once visited the place only told them that the Fire Calamity Fruit was very likely to be found in the woods near a higher temperature.

“Did anyone hear a noise, like something hissing?” asked a tanned soldier.

“Stop spooking everyone, why would any demon beast be here, the temperature is so high,” said the woman walking at the front of the team.

Her forehead was covered in sweat from the heat of the rising sun. It was still night time. If it were midday or afternoon, the place would turn into a furnace, baking them to death.

“Yezi, do you still have some water, give me a sip…Yezi?”

The tanned soldier in front turned around, and realized that behind him was completely empty!

He lowered his head and immediately saw the marks of someone being dragged away through the leaves. He was shocked and panickingly reported to the group.

“Commander Nanyu, Yezi, who was guarding our rear, is missing!” shouted out the tanned soldier.

Nanyu raised her hand, signaling the group to hold their position. She quickly scanned the silent woods.

“Let’s trace our steps and look for her. She might have lost her way in the woods.”

Nanyu shook her head in disagreement. Those who were chosen to join the expedition were the elites from Dunhuang’s headquarters. Not only were they extremely capable, they were absolutely obedient, too. It was impossible for anyone to leave the group without notifying their leader.

“Crap, Xudong is missing too. He was probing the path ahead,” another soldier came back in a panic and reported.

Nanyu was taken by surprise, and immediately told everyone in the party, “We’re outnumbered by the enemy, we have to leave this place at once!”

“Aren’t we going to save Yuezi? How could we abandon our comrades?” asked the tanned soldier.

“If you want all of us to die here, go ahead and look for Yezi’s corpse!” said Nanyu coldly.

The squad immediately decided to leave the woods after receiving her order.

However, as the soldiers were leaving in a hurry, a few others had vanished into thin air too.

Everyone finally realized how terrifying the woods were. Each of was only a few meters away from those who had disappeared, yet it all happened almost instantly without making any sound, nor there was any trace of blood. The only clue was the marks of someone being dragged away through the leaves!

Nanyu was an outstanding Magician. However, she could not sense any presence of demon beasts when her squad members were in danger. It clearly implied that the creature was significantly stronger than them.

Nanyu told the team her speculation. They were even more terrified, while the tanned soldier said in confusion, “If its strength is much stronger than ours, why is it killing us one by one instead of all of us at once?”

“Maybe it’s enjoying the fun of hunting us, like a cat preying on a mouse. If we continue to stay here, it will keep on killing us,” said Nanyu confidently.

“What the heck is this place? I think we’ll be wiped out by the demon beasts hiding in the Fire Cloud Woods before we manage to find the Fire Calamity Fruit!”

——

The leaves of the Fire Cloud Trees favored scorching sunlight. They would also absorb the heat in the air as nutrients for the trees. Each leaf could only absorb a limited amount of sunlight and heat, and seven days was their average lifespan. New leaves would replace them, which was the reason why the top of the hill was covered in the red leaves similar to maple leaves, forming a blazing red carpet. Those walking on it could feel a higher temperature and a different kind of softness compared to the ground.

Mo Fan was slightly regretful when he stepped into the Fire Clouds Woods. The place was like a maze, as each of the trees looked exactly the same, even their size. The ground covered in red fallen leaves prevented someone from recognizing which direction to go in. Mo Fan was unable to locate the cave that would lead him back to the bottom of the hill.

Feeling fatigued, Mo Fan sat on the ground for a quick rest. He was considering returning to the fiery sorceress, to ask her to show him the direction, instead of wasting his time walking in circles aimlessly in the woods.

He was about to rise to his feet, when he felt something sticky on his hands. He raised them up and shockingly discovered that his hands were stained with red liquid. He moved them closer to take a sniff, and his expression instantly changed.

It was blood, and it felt like a human’s blood!

Mo Fan immediately lowered his head and checked the rug of leaves he was sitting on, and realized that the color of the leaves close to him was brighter. He could not tell the difference at a rough glance, but it turned out that the leaves were stained with blood!

Mo Fan quickly looked around and saw a bloody, amputated hand among a pile of leaves. The hand seemed to belong to a woman, judging by its structure.

Mo Fan was used to seeing dead bodies. He discovered that the woman had died not too long ago, and he tried to search for her other body parts, while wondering if some other Magicians had arrived at the Burning Valley.

It took him some effort to find something like a badge, allowing Mo Fan to confirm her identity as a Battlemage.

“Not only is the place like a maze, it also has lots of demon beasts that eat humans. Hopefully Xinxia and the others aren’t here, otherwise, it would be very dangerous,” Mo Fan quickly buried the corpse.

Burying corpses was some moral principle that every Hunter obeyed. As Hunters always found their lives at risk in the wild, they never knew if they would be killed by demon beasts during a hunt, and die in the wild. Therefore, when anyone saw someone’s corpse in the wild, they would not mind doing the easy favor of burying the dead into the ground, making sure someone else would also do the same to them if they ended up with the same fate.

It might sound hilarious, but it was also a sign that every Magician who had decided to become a Hunter was prepared to die.

—

The others might have the urge to find the Fire Calamity Fruit, but Mo Fan had totally lost interest. First, the fiery sorceress guarding the Fire Calamity Fruit was very strong, so trying to take the fruit was the same as committing suicide. Second, she was the one who had saved his life, and he was not an ungrateful person who would fall out with her.

His main focus was to find Xinxia and the others, while looting some native products of the Burning Valley so he could sell them once he returned to Shanghai. He would get himself some equipment, and bully the assholes who were trying to mess with him at school, which was more than enough to make it a profitable adventure!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan simply walked in a direction, and somehow stumbled onto the corpse of another man.

Likewise, it was covered in fresh blood, his body torn into half by the creature, but not eaten. The man was tortured right before his death, as the panicked expression on his face was enough to imply what he had experienced prior to his death.

It was difficult to tell how many Magicians had died in the wild when searching for treasure, yet without these Magicians risking their lives looking for resources in the demon beasts’ territories, humans would be a lot weaker than demon beasts… Mo Fan was a Hunter himself, so he clearly understood the sorrow.

He ignited a fire and set the corpse aflame, just so the body would not be eaten by any other demon beasts.

“Magic Vine: Entangle!”

A feminine icy voice suddenly appeared from the woods. Mo Fan was ambushed after he had just burned the corpse. Luckily, he was not a rookie when it came to real fights. He had already drawn the Shadow Element Star Pattern when he sensed the energy ripple of the Magic.

Blue magic vines grew rapidly under Mo Fan’s feet as if they were alive, lunging upwards and wrapping around Mo Fan’s figure.

However, Mo Fan’s figure slowly dissolved into the shadow of the trees nearby. It was likehe had vanished into thin air, leaving a black shadow on the trunk.

“Who’s there, come out at once!” Mo Fan slowly appeared beside the trunk. Lightning instantly appeared on his palm with a crackle!

“I should be the one asking the question!” Some distance away, a tall woman with yellow hair to her shoulders appeared, staring at Mo Fan coldly.

Mo Fan chuckled when he saw the woman with an aquiline nose and a badge on her chest. “Is the military running out of money, trying to dig up some gold here?”

“We don’t need a useless Hunter like you to judge us!” Nanyu did not continue to attack Mo Fan. Although Mo Fan was not wearing a Hunter’s badge, his temperament clearly revealed his identity.

“Many of your comrades have died. I feel like your squad is going to get wiped out before you could find anything useful.”

Nanyu did not speak, and bit her lips softly.

As Mo Fan had mentioned, their squad had lost too many members here. The Fire Cloud Woods was a lot more terrifying than they had imagined. They could only hide in a safe spot to avoid being massacred…

“How are you unharmed when you’re walking around on your own? It doesn’t look like you’re able to handle the creatures in this area with your cultivation,” said Nanyu.

Mo Fan squinted as he inspected the ‘utterly handsome’ female Commander. His eyes scanned from her hair to the loose army pants…

Her legs were insanely long. The loose army pants could not hide her muscular legs, yet her calves were fairly thin. Her legs were already so long and upright without wearing heels, a beauty indeed!

The woman’s height was outstanding. Mo Fan was not short among men, yet the woman was only one to two centimeters shorter than him. Together with her cold, handsome face, she looked rather dignified when looking down at short boys, urging them to submit to her willingly, yet when facing little girls, her handsomeness would dazzle them, making girls doubt about their sexual orientation!

Her nose was the rare aquiline nose, combined with a pair of glistening, single-eyelid eyes. Mo Fan was not a fan of effeminate men or tomboys, but he found the neutral beauty of the female Commander very attractive, somewhat handsome and breathtaking!

Alright, it doesn’t matter if someone were an effeminate man or a tomboy, what was more important was their looks. He could not care less which way they were leaning, as good looks made the world go round!

Nanyu’s eyes became colder when she was aware of Mo Fan’s unbridled gaze. She quickly tagged Mo Fan as a lecher and immediately became more alert when interacting with him.

“If you’re willing to give up on the mission, you can ask your people to follow me. I’ll bring you to safety,” said Mo Fan.

“We haven’t found the Fire Calamity Fruit…”

Mo Fan burst out laughing before Nanyu could finish. He waved his hand and said, “Forget about it, you can’t even make it through the Fire Cloud Woods, don’t even think about trying to get the Fire Calamity Fruit. I know where it is, but the guardian of the Fire Calamity Fruit isn’t something we can deal with. Killing us would be like killing ants for her. Don’t waste the lives of your people. Just listen to me and leave when you still have the chance, or head down and loot some Soul Seeds or Soul Seed Pieces and report back to your superiors.”

Nanyu frowned. She did not like Mo Fan’s tone, yet she could not help but admit that her squad was being targeted by some deadly creature. Their numbers kept on decreasing, yet she still had no idea what was attacking them.

Mo Fan continued when he saw the Commander being hesitant. “The creature that attacked your squad should be the Three-headed Demon Python, the guy at the top of the food chain in this Fire Cloud Woods.”

Mo Fan had inspected the corpses along the way, and observed that the corpses had died to the same causes: poison, fire, and broken bones. The only creature that could be responsible for their deaths would be the Three-headed Demon Python that had tried to prey on him, too.

“How do you know that?” asked Nanyu with the same alert tone.

“I’ll ask you one more time. Are you going to give up, or continue to stay here and wait for your death?” Mo Fan did not want to waste his time with Nanyu. If they weren’t from the army, or the fact that he was feeling it would be a pity if the gorgeous girl was killed by the demon beast, he would not bother helping them.

The Fiery Sorceress must have warned the Three-headed Demon Python, thus it did not dare to trouble him even when he was roaming in the woods. The others weren’t so lucky…

Nanyu hesitated for a long time, her eyes staring at Mo Fan, trying to see if he were setting them up.

However, as she recalled that staying in the woods any longer would place her people in extreme danger, she finally came to terms and asked Mo Fan, “Can you bring us to safety?”

“Should be, but I have to find my friends first. We’ll leave together,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not like to do things sloppily. After witnessing the Fiery Sorceress’ strength, he immediately gave up on the thought of securing the Fire Calamity Fruit.

“Then… fine, you better not be lying to me,” said Nanyu.

“I was being kind, and also because of your looks,” said Mo Fan teasingly.

Speaking of which, it seemed like it was easy to find great beauties in the army. Li Man and the woman before him were of the best quality compared to the girls at school or the cities. Their empress-like auras and a temperament that could entrance the hearts of young men was not something the girls who spent most of their time figuring what cosmetics, luxurious bags, and clothing to buy could mimic.

“Jerk!” Nanyu glared at Mo Fan. No one dared to speak to her like that in the army!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s thoughts were simple: he would return to the Fiery Sorceress straight away, and ask her to guide him and the soldiers out of the Fire Cloud Woods.

After interacting with the Fire Sorceress for a few days, Mo Fan was confident that she would not reject his simple request. Not only was she kind, she was basically very approachable if he did not mention about the Fire Calamity Fruit.

Nanyu had brought around ten people here to search for the Fire Calamity Fruit, and there were only five left, not a great start at all.

Mo Fan managed to find his way back to the Starry Tree. In other words, he also brought Nanyu and her squad to the Fire Calamity Fruit. However, Mo Fan wanted the military to know that, as long as the Fiery Sorceress was still here protecting the Fire Calamity Fruit, there was no chance they could get their hands on it, as it was pretty much committing suicide trying to do so.

—

“What is this place…” Nanyu was still unwilling to lower her guard when she saw the little slope.

On the slope, the Starry Tree stood alone at the highest place in the valley, with the stars and sun keeping it company.

Not a single Fire Cloud Tree could be spotted across the spacious area, nor was there any creature nearby. The slightly bent trunk of the Starry Tree almost covered the space on the slope, and its dense branches were within the reach of a hand.

“I’ll make this clear; don’t think about doing anything stupid, regardless of what you see. She lives here, and as long as you’re not hostile toward her, she’s very willing to lend anyone in need a hand. I’ll ask her to bring us out,” Mo Fan reminded Nanyu and her crew.

The other soldiers were extremely obedient, probably because they were utterly terrified by the Three-headed Demon Python. They fully obeyed Mo Fan’s words.

“I’ll go ahead and greet her. Don’t worry, she won’t…”

Mo Fan was just about to calm the squad down when a shocking fireball erupted on the Starry Tree.

The fireball was like a blazing sun hanging on top of the tree, burning the surroundings in a fiery red flame. Its fiery tongues could almost reach the ground.

The temperature rose rapidly. The heat was unbearable to begin with, yet it felt like the fireball was going to roast the humans dry.

Nanyu was shocked, and quickly went into a defensive stance. She glared at Mo Fan furiously, as she assumed that Mo Fan had purposely baited them here to harm them.

As Nanyu was about to interrogate Mo Fan, a fiery creature burst out from the fireball.

She stood on the fireball, her figure engulfed in flames. Her outline resembled a woman’s shape, glamorous and dignified.

The fireball under her feet made her temperament colder and unapproachable; none of the Magicians dared to resist her after seeing her appearance!

The flames spurted out in waves. The red fire rings spread forward in an arc, until they reached into the distance and formed astonishing flame clouds!

Raising their heads, the furious, scorching flames almost set the entire sky aflame, like the terrifying scene of an apocalypse!

“Asshole, you dared set us up!” Nanyu felt herself suffocating due to the pressure of the fiery aura. She endured the suppression and roared furiously.

“I would’ve left you guys in the woods if I was trying to harm you…don’t panic, I’ll ask what happened. Someone else must have infuriated her. Damn it, which idiot did that, they almost killed us!” cursed Mo Fan.

The Fiery Sorceress was extremely furious.

When the Three-headed Demon Python tried to eat him, the Fiery Sorceress had unleashed her Ruler aura to express her anger. However, the Fiery Sorceress seemed to have lost her rationality in her anger. Her flames were sprouting into the sky uncontrollably, forming a shocking ocean of flames.

The fireball under her feet was even more shocking. Once it exploded, God knew if Mo Fan and the others would simply be erased together with the Fire Cloud Woods.

Through Mo Fan’s experience with the Black Totem Snake, he had a certain degree of understanding toward the personalities of an extremely powerful creature. He knew that the Fiery Sorceress was not the type of creature that would massacre aimlessly. In fact, she was kinder and more compassionate than the Black Totem Snake.

Someone must have stepped on her tail!

The Fire Calamity Fruit?

The Fire Calamity Fruit on the Starry Tree had disappeared!

The Fire Calamity Fruit was like the Fiery Sorceress’ inverse scale. Now that the Fire Calamity Fruit was gone, it must be the reason why she was so furious.

Mo Fan quickly arrived at that conclusion. When he saw that the Fiery Sorceress was about to throw a destructive fireball in their direction, he quickly jumped forward.

“It’s me, it’s me! I know someone must have stolen your Fire Calamity Fruit, but as I told you, there were people coming here to take away your treasure… your act of killing is meaningless, tell me what happened. Maybe we can help you take the Fire Calamity Fruit back,” Mo Fan calmed his thoughts and tried his best to calm the Fiery Sorceress’ rage in his own language.

The Fiery Sorceress was infuriated. Her first instinct when she saw humans was to butcher them all…

Even when Mo Fan jumped forward, she showed no sign of stopping!

The fireball grew bigger. It was impossible to predict the destruction it would bring once it exploded. Mo Fan knew that even with his Fire Resistance, he had no chance of surviving the blast. His only chance was to convince the Fiery Sorceress!

The Fiery Sorceress was able to understand human language. Her fiery eyes were filled with rage. Just a thought would detonate the shocking fireball.

She glanced at Mo Fan. The flames on her figure burned wildly at a faster pace.

In the end, the flames on her body slowly weakened. She descended from the fireball and landed in front of Mo Fan.

She stared at the soldiers behind Mo Fan coldly. The hearts of the soldiers, including Nanyu were already beating wildly. They did not dare to even move their fingers, let alone try to fight back…

They finally understood why Mo Fan had asked them to forget about getting the Fire Calamity Fruit. The guardian of the Fire Calamity Fruit was too terrifying. She was pretty much the ruler of the Burning Valley!

“Tell me what happened,” Mo Fan calmed his thoughts and asked the Fiery Sorceress sternly.

The Fiery Sorceress did not interact with Mo Fan. She realized that these people were not the same group who had stolen the Fire Calamity Fruit. She glanced toward the west, before her figure flew into the distance.

Mo Fan was about to say something when he shockingly discovered a dark blue spike with an icy aura sticking into the Fiery Sorceress’ back!

The spike had almost penetrated the Fiery Sorceress’s body. It had poked fairly deep into her back.

It was obvious that the icy spike was specifically prepared for the Fiery Sorceress. The chill was suppressing her flame, and seemed to be spreading to the other parts of her body.

Ice Poison!

The icy spike must have been some Magician’s equipment, and since it had penetrated the Fiery Sorceress’ back, it must have been a surprise attack…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The surroundings were completely empty, without any traces nearby. It implied that the incident had taken place quite some time ago. The Fiery Sorceress must have lost consciousness due to the ice poison, and happened to wake up when he arrived, thus she almost vented her anger on an innocent group of people.

Mo Fan had spent almost a day in the Fire Cloud Woods. He did not expect someone would manage to steal the Fire Calamity Fruit and inflict serious damage to the Fiery Sorceress while he was gone.

The icy spike penetrated deep into her flesh. If the spike were pulled out, the Fiery Sorceress’ life might be in danger. Mo Fan was unsure how she managed to hold back the poison to protect her life.

How cruel, such a vicious move!

The person who had stolen the Fire Calamity Fruit must be rather familiar with the Fiery Sorceress, and specifically prepared the equipment to harm her!

Who would abuse the Fiery Sorceress’ kindness toward humans?

The Fiery Sorceress was kind, but she was far from stupid. The person who managed to thrust the deadly spike into her back was probably someone she was willing to let her guard down in front of.

—

“What should we do now?” Nanyu finally trusted Mo Fan’s words when she saw the terrifying Fiery Sorceress leaving the place.

Luckily they were not the first to arrive to steal the Fire Calamity Fruit. The Fiery Sorceress was indeed too powerful.

“What could we do? We’ll have to find the way out ourselves. Look how angry she is, I bet the creatures in the Fire Cloud Woods no longer dare to show themselves,” said Mo Fan with a wry smile.

Mo Fan was extremely worried for Xinxia and the others. He was clueless about their whereabouts. He was hoping that they would not stumble into the infuriated Fiery Sorceress…

“Mm? The Swift Star Wolf has returned to his dimension?”

Mo Fan was too busy handling the Fiery Sorceress. He did not realize that the Swift Star Wolf had returned.

It was most likely that the Swift Star Wolf had run out of energy, and was forced to return to his world. Mo Fan immediately communicated with the Swift Star Wolf and asked him about the group’s whereabouts.

The Swift Star Wolf was utterly worn out. Before he fell asleep, he told Mo Fan that the group was rushing back to Dunhuang City with another group of people.

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh, knowing they were safe. However, Mo Fan was confused about why they were in a panic to go back to Dunhuang City. Besides, the Swift Star Wolf also mentioned something about another group of people. Who would they be?

They were in a rush to go back without waiting for him, could it be…

This goddamned Swift Star Wolf, why is he sleeping now, he still hasn’t told me if they were the ones who stole the Fire Calamity Fruit!

——

Inside the Drifting Sand River, Zhao Yulin’s crew was well-prepared and able to cross the Drifting Sand River safely without the help of a Psychic Magician.

“Luckily I’ve made some precautions. Otherwise, we would have troubles crossing the Drifting Sand River… the Fiery Sorceress has to cross the Drifting Sand River when she leaves the Burning Valley. The ruler of the Drifting Sand River will buy us some time, we should make use of the chance to escape,” the person wrapped in white cloth said with a hint of joy.

“Chen Yi, you’ve done well. The liquid of the Fire Calamity Fruit is able to cure your mother, and the rest of it has other uses too…” Zhao Yulin led the group with a joyful expression.

He did not expect their plan of stealing the Fire Calamity Fruit to be executed so smoothly. Was the Fiery Sorceress really intelligent? Why did he feel like she was fairly stupid to trust them so easily?

“I…” Chen Yi tried to say something, but she could not find the words.

On the other Desert Fire Horse, Lingling sat closer to the front on the saddle while Xinxia sat in the middle of it.

They had witnessed the entire sequence, and they still found it extremely unbelievable.

According to Chen Yi’s explanation, the Fiery Sorceress had saved Chen Yi’s mother before. On top of that, her mother had lived a few years with the Fiery Sorceress. Therefore, when they arrived at the Fire Cloud Woods. it was reasonable for the Fiery Sorceress to welcome them warmly.

However, they never knew the Fiery Sorceress was the Fire Calamity Fruit’s guardian, and they did not expect Chen Yi’s mother would ask Chen Yi to sneakily attack the Fiery Sorceress…

As a matter of fact, Xinxia and Lingling found it hard to agree with the ungrateful act.

However, it was possible that Chen Yi’s mother had a twisted personality because of her despair after her face was destroyed by the burns. She completely ignored the fact that the Fiery Sorceress had saved her life in order to gain a chance at a new life, and planned a trap for the Fiery Sorceress.

“Lingling, what do you think?” whispered Xinxia.

“Something feels strange, I don’t think the whole thing is simple as it seems. However, the Fiery Sorceress is trying to hunt us down. We have to leave this place first,” answered Lingling.

“Mmm,” Xinxia nodded.

—

The group kept fleeing. Zhao Yulin and Chen Yi’s mother, Jiang Feng let out relieved sighs when they finally crossed the Drifting Sand River.

No one dared to oppose the Fiery Sorceress in the North Burning Valley. She was the ruler of the place, with an unmatched strength.

However, things were different after they crossed the Drifting Sand River. The Drifting Sand River had become restless for some unknown reason, thus the Fiery Sorceress would have to consider if she would stand a chance against the Drifting Sand Bone Dragon while she was severely injured!

The presence of the Fiery Sorceress was rather outstanding. Once she came close to the Drifting Sand River, she would awaken the ruler of the Drifting Sand River, the Drifting Sand Bone Dragon, which would buy the group enough time to return to Shanghai!

——

Upon arriving at Dunhuang, Zhao Yulin knew it was unwise to stay any longer. He immediately boarded his private jet, which he had long prepared to leave the place.

The flight path was inside the safe zone. Normally, most flight paths would avoid the demon beasts’ territories, and the flight companies would hire powerful Magicians to eliminate the potential threat along the flight paths. As such, even when the planes were crossing demon beasts’ territories, the plane was still safe as long as it maintained a certain altitude and concealed the energy of the plane’s engines.

To prevent the Fiery Sorceress from tracking their whereabouts via the scent of the Fire Calamity Fruit, Zhao Yulin and Jiang Feng purposely flew towards the south, and stopped at Xiamen for a while, before heading back to Shanghai…

Although the Fiery Sorceress was able to fly, she would have to cross lots of other demon beasts’ territories along the way. The rulers in those territories were not easy to deal with, thus it was impossible for her to make it that far.

If she decided to take the same flight path as the planes in the safe zone, the Magic Associations and the flight companies would be aware of her presence, and would send Super Magicians after her. As such, the group was considered themselves safe when they left Dunhuang.

Zhao Manyan, Lingling, Xinxia and Zhang Xiaohou initially planned to stay and wait for Mo Fan, but Zhao Yulin gave them no room for negotiation and forced them to go with him.

Zhao Yulin’s strength was fairly outstanding, so it was useless for them to try and fight back. They had no choice but to go back to Shanghai.

In simple words, since the husband and wife had infuriated the ruler of the Burning Valley, everyone in the group was forced to leave Dunhuang if they were planning to stay alive, as Dunhuang’s army was probably not strong enough to stop the Fiery Sorceress…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

It all happened so quickly. Zhao Manyan, Zhang Xiaohou, Lingling and Xinxia did not expect it.

They were basically put under house arrest by Zhao Yulin in the Zhao Family’s villa in the south. Simply speaking, none of them was allowed to leave before they were sure that the Fiery Sorceress had given up on getting her revenge.

The party was left with no choice. They could only wait patiently.

It turned out that the Fire Calamity Fruit needed a few more days to fully ripen. Zhao Yulin and Jiang Feng were basically the monsters that had stolen Tang Sanzang, and were afraid that Sun Wukong would come to get his revenge. Unfortunately, they could only eat the monk after his flesh was cooked, and would only feel relieved once the meat was in their stomach!
{TL Note: It’s a reference to ‘Journey to the West’.}

——

Two days later, the group finally received some news about Mo Fan. It turned out that Mo Fan had also returned to Dunhuang City, after learning the group was safe from his Swift Star Wolf…

As he arrived at Dunhuang, he learned that his friends were forced to return to Shanghai with Zhao Yulin, thus he quickly boarded a military supply plane that happened to be departing for Shanghai.

Together with Mo Fan as he returned to Shanghai was the female Commander Nanyu. She was unwilling to give up investigating the person responsible for stealing the Fire Calamity Fruit, thus she followed Mo Fan to Shanghai, too.

The journey from the Fire Pillar Hill to Dunhuang had been a tough one. Luckily, Nanyu had some special capabilities, allowing them to cross the Drifting Sand River safely. Otherwise, they would still be trapped in the North Burning Valley.

————-

The plane ride back to Shanghai did not take long. As they arrived at Hongqiao Airport, Mo Fan went straight to the suburb in the southwest. To his surprise, Zhao Yulin’s mansion was very close to the temporary refugee placements he used to stay at in the past. It was a place called Lehuo Town!

An industrial district lay between Lehuo Town and Shanghai City. Both sides of the road between the two places were filled with all kinds of factories, warehouses, and companies. As such, one could see lots of irregularly shaped buildings, workshops, and houses when glancing into the distance.

Factory workers were the main residents in Lehuo Town, resulting in a deserted town during working hours.

Even though the place was considered a part of Shanghai, the main difference to other towns was that the town lacked the typical peaceful atmosphere, as the residents all lived a repetitive life, like machines…

The entire area was owned by Zhao Yulin. His mansion was on top of a hill, modified into a European ../style abode, with an asphalt road leading to the mansion in winding curves. It had luxuriantly green pine trees, maple trees, a giant fountain, and gardens under the consistent care of gardeners.

Mo Fan had been assigned to live in Lehuo Town before. That house seemed to belong to one of Zhao Yulin’s companies, too. He only learned there was such a luxurious mansion here today; it looked slightly more majestic than the Mu Family’s villa in Bo City. If the town was like a small country, Zhao Yulin was basically the king!

——

Mo Fan went up the hill, and was stopped immediately by some Magicians on patrol when he was heading into the villa.

Mo Fan revealed his identity. After almost an hour of waiting, their superior finally gave them permission to let him pass.

Mo Fan pulled a long face. – What the heck is wrong with these people, trying to return to old ways? Why can’t you just use your phone? They had to spend an hour doing something that could be done in just minutes! Even the sky is getting dark!-

Cars from outside were not allowed to drive into the villa. Mo Fan and Nanyu had to take the cable car, like one normally seen at tourist attractions. The ride lasted for almost half an hour before they arrived at the entrance.

The foothill was under the patrol of Magicians, and the top of the hill had barriers as tall as castle walls. The defense of the private villa was almost comparable to that of a military headquarters. They were in the southwest region of Shanghai, did they really have to go so far?

“I’m so sleepy. Is Master Zhao out of his mind, asking us to guard this place twenty-four hours a day? What hive did he poke this time?” yawned one of the guards.

“Who knows, but I heard from the captain that they have also invited the people of Mu Clan over. He mentioned something about the place being safer with the people of the renowned Ice Elemental clan,” said another shifty-eyed guard.

“Maybe they stepped on the Dongfang Clan’s tail. The Mu Clan and Dongfang Clan have been hostile toward one another for years!”

The conversation between the two guards soon fell into Mo Fan’s ears, allowing him to realize something.

It seemed like Zhao Yulin and his wife were extremely scared of the Fiery Sorceress, going so far as to arm the entire villa. They even invited the people of the Ice Elemental Mu Clan over. It was clear that they were still worried, despite fleeing thousands of li away.

“I’ll bring you to your friends, but Master Zhao has made it clear that you’ll have to stay here for some days too… you’re free to do whatever you want in the villa. We’ve got entertainment facilities, meditation rooms, training grounds and practice courses, too. Fourth Young Master will guide you around!” said Haiyan, the captain of the guards.

“How many Magicians are there in the villa?” asked Mo Fang.

“One hundred and twenty-three. Everyone is allocated here by the clan. We also hired some of the experts from other renowned families that we’re close with. If anything happens, please don’t make a fuss about it. We are under a media blackout. Once everything returns to normal, Master Zhao will reward you greatly,” said Haiyan sternly.

“Don’t worry about the reward.”

——

Hongqiao Airport, a cab was driving at a high speed on the busy highway. Many curses were uttered along the way.

As the cab drove to somewhere remote, the passenger in the back seat demanded to get off the ride, leaving the kind cab driver confused.

“Don’t you have a high fever of 41 Celsius? I’m sending you to the hospital now…” The driver raised his cap.

To his surprise, the passenger forced the door open and jumped into the bushes at the side of the road.

Before the driver could react, the passenger was suddenly engulfed in flames. The fire spread from her feet to her waist, before rising to her head, leaving the driver dumbfounded…

He had never heard of anyone being set aflame from a fever!

The fire on the passenger was like a terrifying demon, which slowly separated from the passenger while it was still burning on her.

The fire slowly took the shape of a glamorous humanoid figure, and the person who had been possessed fell to the ground in a weakened state, totally losing consciousness…

The fiery figure slowly floated into the sky. She did not cast any Magic, yet as her aura spread toward the surroundings, it felt like the highway struck by an energy pulse, stalling all the vehicles and caused their tail lights to blink rapidly…

A few seconds later, the engines of the vehicles burst into flames. The fire immediately spread to the rest of the cars!

Under the night sky, the entire highway was left in a standstill. Thousands of vehicles within a few kilometers suffered spontaneous ignition, resulting in the breathtaking sight of a shocking fire dragon on the highway!

Luckily, the vehicles were not moving at high speed, and the drivers were able to escape in time. Otherwise, many innocent lives would have died in accidents!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lehuo Town, Yulin’s Villa …

The open-air pool was reflecting different colors under the LED lights. The water was extraordinarily clean, with a hint of elegance and nobility when covered in the colorful lighting.

A well-decorated table stood beside the pool, various kinds of snacks and fruits on top of it.

Lingling, Zhang Xiaohou, Zhao Manyan, Chen Yi and Xinxia were seated at the table. The day was fairly cold, so none of them was interested in swimming. They were playing cards with bored looks on their faces.

“I don’t want to play anymore, Xinxia always wins.” Zhang Xiaohou threw the cards onto the table. He did not feel pleasant after losing a huge sum of his allowance in the games.

“Yeah, that’s right, Xinxia, you can’t cheat, you have to interpret other people’s thoughts from their reactions…” said Chen Yi.

Xinxia was slightly embarrassed. She pushed the stack of money back to everyone and said, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

For some reason, Xinxia was able to read everyone’s mind even without casting any Psychic Spells. They couldn’t possibly ask her to close her eyes when playing cards, could they?

“I finally know why the casinos in Macao put ‘ No Psychic Magicians are allowed inside’ before the rule ‘ No underage kids allowed ,’” Zhao Manyan remarked helplessly.

As they were chatting, a few people came out from the pool, all of them also young in age. For some reason, the temperature of the water around them would drop as they were swimming in the pool. It felt like the water was about to freeze, too.

“Some capabilities turn into habits, which are hard to control. It’s like nobody is willing to swim with us in the same pool, no matter how hot the day is,” a handsome man in a swimming trunk with his eight packs exposed approached the group. He picked up a cocktail on the way and emptied it.

“Mu Xiu, no one here is talking to you. You don’t have to remind us of your existence. You’re invited here to guard the place, not to enjoy yourself a vacation. We even paid you!” said Zhao Manyan to the man unpleasantly.

Upon hearing this, another girl with an attractive figure came out of the pool. She flung her hair in a self-assumed elegant manner and giggled like a fox, “This is Shanghai. Do you think the safe zone is a decoration? I don’t think any creature is able to come all the way here. Even if the creature managed to come this far, our Mu Clan is the specialist when dealing with Fire Elemental creatures. The Demon-Sealing Ice Formation is enough to handle everything. I don’t think our help is needed, hehe~”

The group totally ignored Mu Xiu and Mu Tingle, the two unwanted guests. They continued to discuss some other topics.

“By the way, Xinxia, why did the Drifting Sand River become restless all of a sudden? Was it because of the Fire Calamity?” blurted out Zhang Xiaohou when the thought crossed his mind.

Xinxia shook her head and said, “It’s just a coincidence. The Fire Calamity doesn’t affect the peace in the Drifting Sand River. I can feel that it’s because of something in the east, like something huge is about to happen.”

“We are so out of luck. First the Fire Calamity, then the raging Drifting Sand River…” complained Zhao Manyan.

“Something feels strange to me too. Chen Yi, do you know why your mother asked you to harm the Fiery Sorceress? Normally, since she used to be close with the Fiery Sorceress, it would only make sense if she was the one who did it.” Lingling was still bothered by the incident.

“I don’t know, my mum only gave me the Grimsteel Spike and told me when to strike, so I just followed her instructions. It felt too easy to be true.” Chen Yi shook her head as she recalled attacking the Fiery Sorceress.

“Chen Yi, you’ve done something stupid…”

As the group was discussing, a familiar voice barged in. The group did not realize it at first, but as they were about to respond, they suddenly recalled the owner of the voice, leaving them with widened eyes as they turned around and looked behind them…

“Mo Fan!”

“Holy crap, when did you get here? That was quick!”

Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan went up to Mo Fan and gave him hugs and fists excitedly.

Mo Fan pushed the two idiots away and walked up to Xinxia.

He believed that if Xinxia could run, she would be the first to dive into his hug. As such, Mo Fan was lazy to waste his emotion on the two idiots.

Mo Fan cut straight to the topic. He hugged Xinxia in his arms, making the girl blush, but she did not resist and placed her head on his shoulder obediently…

“Mm, and you are?”

“Mo Fan, you piece of shit, the lava has swept you away, but you still managed to bring such a gorgeous lady with you…”

“Piss off!”

Mo Fan was trying to enjoy some time with Xinxia, yet the two idiots had totally disturbed the atmosphere. Xinxia glared at Mo Fan, implying him to explain himself before letting him hug her for another second!

“She’s Nanyu, from the military. She followed me here because she has found some leads about something that she has been investigating for a long time,” explained Mo Fan.

Nanyu did not join the conversation. She found herself a spot and sat down. Only Zhang Xiaohou, who was also a soldier, took the initiative to talk to her. The others did not bother speaking to her.

“Why did you say that Chen Yi has done something stupid?” asked Lingling, who was more concerned about the topic.

“When the lava swept me away, it was the Fiery Sorceress that saved my life. She isn’t hostile toward humans at all…” Mo Fan roughly explained his experience with the Fiery Sorceress to the group.

The group could tell that the Fiery Sorceress was friendly, too. She had approached them and welcomed them. Not only did she gift them with the Fire Cloud Fruits which could provide them some Fire Resistance, she even led them out of the maze-like Fire Cloud Woods.

However, none of them had expected what happened after that, and they were unaware that the Fiery Sorceress had saved Mo Fan’s life too…

“Now that we’ve made her angry, it’s hard to tell what’s going to happen.”

“We’re so far away, I don’t think she would chase us all the way here. It’s not easy to trespass into Shanghai’s safe zone. The fortresses around Shanghai would wipe out any demon beasts that try to invade the city.”

“If that’s the case, Zhao Yulin wouldn’t bother setting up such an incredible defense here, placing the entire hill under alert,” harrumphed Lingling coldly, glancing at the Magicians patrolling the place even at night.

The words immediately reminded the group, and the atmosphere intensified significantly.

——-

At the Southill Park of Lehuo Town, on a grass field with an open vision of the sky, a couple was lying on the ground, hugging one another while watching the night sky and the lit-up town in the distance.

“I don’t care, if you really love me, why couldn’t you prepare a hundred thousand as the betrothal gift to convince my parents?” said a girl with a fringe hair../style and an oval-shaped face.

“I’m already in my twenties. It’s embarrassing to ask my family for the money. You should think about it in my place too, I’ve already given you my wage every month,” said the man in a factory uniform. He was obviously a lad working in the town, who had gone on a date straight after work.

The girl was not willing to listen to his words. She raised her head arrogantly.

A brilliant light swept past the night sky, leaving a trail behind it. The grey clouds of dust created by the factories were fully lit up, resulting in a mysterious, spectacular view!

“Ah, it’s a shooting star!” yelled the girl excitedly. Her face blushed with joy.

“It’s true, quick, make a wish!”

The two immediately closed their eyes and bowed their heads onto their hands sincerely as they made their wishes.

The sky of the city was usually filled with pollution. Even a meteor shower was not visible due to the pollution, let alone a shooting star. It was like a miracle that they were able to see it. Wasn’t that a clear sign that they were one another’s true love?

However, as the two opened their eyes and were about to share their wishes, their eyes widened with doubt and astonishment!

The night sky ahead was blazing red!

The shooting star had descended upon Lehuo Town in just a very short time, turning into a meteorite huge enough to light up the town like day!

The scorching, blazing meteorite fell rapidly from the sky, and even the air began to burn…

Judging by the direction it was heading in, it was most likely going to crash into the hill in Lehuo Town, where the European-../style mansion was!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Meteorite!”

“Run, a meteorite is falling!”

“I can’t start my car’s engine… AH, it’s on fire!”

“The lights in the factory are all gone, quick, anybody, go and turn off the main switch…”

All of Lehuo Town was in a total mess. The people who were working overtime in the factory had no idea what was happening. They only felt a flicker, before all the lights went out!

Machinery that was powered up through combustion all broke down, including the cars on the roads. As the meteorite in the sky approached the ground, machinery that was powered up with Fire Magic Ores were set aflame by spontaneous combustion…

There were many factories in the area, thus there were lots of flammables around the place. Many factories were on fire, setting off piercing alarms. The workers ran away in panic, not caring less about the infrastructure in the factories!

The fire did not spread rapidly, thus it gave them enough time to escape. However, those who managed to run out into the open immediately saw a huge fireball, like the sun falling toward them, setting the entire sky aflame! The workers had no idea where they could possibly run to, and were left dumbfounded in place!

Luckily, the meteorite was only passing by the sky above Lehuo Town. Otherwise, the town would have turned into an ocean of flames, like Hell on Earth!

——

“Oh, mama!” Zhao Manyan raised his head and stared into the sky with disbelief.

The night sky was now brightly illuminated, the hill dyed blazing red by the light of the fire. The group was just discussing how impossible it was for the Fiery Sorceress to appear in the town, when they discovered the outline of a woman standing above the meteorite. She was standing on the meteorite that heralded a great calamity, sliding across the night sky!

Safe zone?

Fortresses?

When the Empress of the Burning Valley was infuriated, human defenses were nothing but mere decorations!

The descending meteorite served as a blatant warning to the humans who dared to touch her reverse scale!

—

The meteorite slammed into the hill and instantly razed half of it to the ground.

The villa was protected by a barrier. The meteorite would be reduced in half by the water-blue barrier. As such, the Fiery Sorceress simply aimed the meteorite at the hill instead…

The people in the villa were utterly dispirited. They simply stood there and watch the areas outside the barrier burn into ashes, completely vanishing from the world.

There were still quite a few Magicians patrolling on the other half of the hill. They had most likely evaporated together with it. They did not have the chance to scream for help, or even have the time to figure out what was happening.

At the pool in the villa, Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, Lingling, Xinxia, Chen Yi, Zhao Manyan, Mu Xiu and Mu Tingle all turned into statues, not believing what had happened outside of the barrier!

Half of the hill…

Half of the hill was gone, just like that!

If the meteorite was aimed at the villa instead, could the petty barrier even stop it?

Would the people in the villa even be alive by now?

A scorched land and some remaining flames replaced the dense plants that existed just a second before. A thick presence of destruction and death swept through in the direction of the barrier.

As the people were staring at this astonishing sight of Hell, the empress of the Burning Valley floated in the sky above the seemingly well-defended villa. Her eyes were burning with flames, yet they were emitting a cold gaze at everything around her.

She had appeared, when everyone was assuming that she could not possibly journey across half of China to reach the easternmost regions. She had chased after the group like a nightmare, and used her utterly destructive power to produce such an astonishing scene!

Her wrath was telling the humans that someone was about to pay a great price for the sins they had committed!

—

The Fiery Sorceress uttered a piercing shriek. Her gaze was fixed on where Mo Fan and the others were standing.

She stepped forward, bringing a wave of heat with her!

Chen Yi fell to the ground in fear at what she had witnessed, her very soul trembling.

She was the one that drove the Grimsteel Spike into the Fiery Sorceress’ back. She had come to get revenge, she must be here to take her revenge!

The Fiery Sorceress floated outside of the barrier. Her eyes squinted as she reached out her hand and grabbed in the direction of Mo Fan’s crew…

When everyone assumed that she would simply murder Chen Yi despite standing outside of the barrier, Xinxia, who was sitting beside Mo Fan, was grabbed by some special force, which dragged her fragile body into the air…

“Xinxia!”

Mo Fan was shocked. He immediately activated the Blood Tabi and chased her out of the barrier simple-mindedly.

Xinxia seemed to be dragged away by some force. Her body quickly crossed the watery barrier, flying toward the Fiery Sorceress…

Mo Fan chased after her madly, who ignited a puff of scorching flame on his hand. It turned into a surging Fiery Fist, blasting at the Fiery Sorceress.

The Fiery Sorceress stood in the air. She cast a cold glance at Mo Fan, and easily spotted the Fiery Fist approaching her.

She waved her hand expressionlessly, easily nullifying Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist with some unknown power.

Mo Fan was speechless. How stupid was he, thinking that he could harm the Burning Valley Sorceress with her Fire Element? He was about to cast his Lightning Spell when he heard Xinxia communicating with her using her Psychic Element.

“Brother Mo Fan, she’s not trying to harm me.”

Mo Fan did not give up. He used the Fleeing Shadow and Blood Tabi at the same time, and quickly leapt onto a pine tree that was still unharmed.

Standing on top of the pine tree, Mo Fan was still a distance away from the Fiery Sorceress who was floating in the air. He looked upward at the Fiery Sorceress and the captured Xinxia.

“Let her go, she has nothing to do with this!” snapped Mo Fan furiously.

Mo Fan’s blood began to boil in the midst of his tantrum. He did not realize that while he was roaring at the Fiery Sorceress, the teeth from his upper jaw were growing longer. His black hair was also growing in length, and was slowly turning white under the illumination of the fire…

“I won’t hurt her. I just want to take my belongings back.” The Fiery Sorceress stood there like an imperious emperor.

She did not speak, yet Mo Fan could hear her voice.

He glanced at Xinxia, and realized that her mouth was open, speaking with a voice that did not belong to her.

“She’s a Psychic Magician, she will speak on my behalf…” said the Fiery Sorceress, her voice coming out of Xinxia’s mouth.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A number of Magicians suddenly appeared above the red-orange rooftop of the mansion, standing in lines as if they had long prepared themselves for the upcoming battle.

However, when the guards saw half of the hill razed to the ground, their eyes still displayed fear. Despite all the battles they had fought in their lives, they had never seen a creature with such destructive power!

The captain of the guards, Haiyan, already had a pitch-black armor on him. The magical armor was made of the substance produced from cooled lava and provided perfect resistance toward Fire. However, Haiyan’s body inside the armor was trembling subconsciously, despite himself. He was clearly aware that the armor he was proud of was merely a decoration in front of the Empress of the Burning Valley!

The flames burning on the Fiery Sorceress lit up the entire scorched land. The flames spread wildly in layers through the surroundings, covering a distance of a few kilometers.

She was floating above the ground, glancing at over hundreds of Magicians in the villa, yet none of them was capable of posing a threat to her.

Her gaze scanned the place and finally saw a woman wrapped in white cloth with braided hair standing beside Zhao Yulin in the attic of a building.

Beside the greedy couple stood an aged man. He did not have a beard, yet his graying hair was dangling, resembling the typical look and outstanding temperament of a cultivator!

“Demon, how dare you trespass into the safe zone!” snapped the man with graying hair furiously.

The man was the helper Zhao Yulin had specifically invited from the Mu Family, the Vice Chieftain of the subfaction under Mu Dao’s lead.

Mu Dao was the third person in line to supremacy in the clan. He had a high status in both the family and the society, on equal footing with a Councilman since he was ranked on the Xuan Ranking.

Meanwhile, the man with graying hair was Mu Dao’s right-hand man, a powerful Ice Magician.

Zhao Yulin was fairly close with Mu Dao. Initially, Zhao Yulin was planning to ask him to help, since he was a Xuan-ranked Ice Magician. Unfortunately, Mu Dao happened to be out of the country, thus he ended up sending Shi Gua, who was also an expert, over.

Zhao Yulin had no idea who Shi Gua was at the start, but when he learned that the guy was an expert who had half his foot in the Super Level, he immediately treated Shi Gua with utter respect. Shi Gua was his only hope to resolve the crisis!

As expected of someone who was very close to achieving the Super Level, Shi Gua seemed rather fearless despite facing the intimidating Fiery Sorceress.

“Fire Calamity Fruit, give me back my Fire Calamity Fruit!” the Fiery Sorceress uttered a piercing scream when she saw Zhao Yulin and the person in white cloth, Jiang Feng.

Her voice came out from Xinxia’s mouth. As Xinxia was a Psychic Magician, her voice was able to penetrate people’s soul and send a chill down their spine after it was enchanted with Magic!

“Enough with the nonsense, she’s injured; she can’t possibly stand a chance against us!” blurted out Jiang Feng immediately, as if she did not want the Fiery Sorceress to talk too much.

Shi Gua knew there was no point communicating with a demon beast. He immediately waved his hand to signal the Ice Magicians who were standing by to ambush their target!

Somewhere in the villa, eight Magicians who were long prepared immediately gathered their focus and accumulated a great surge of Ice Energy, using themselves as the foci when they received Shi Gua’s signal.

A glow in the shape of a white octagon appeared under their feet, like the shape of an enlarged snowflake…

As more energy was accumulated, the power of the octagonal Demon-sealing Ice Formation grew stronger. The hill was currently like a furnace, so hot that the people on it were on the verge of fainting from dehydration. However, as the eight Ice Magicians constructed the formation, snowflakes began to fall from the sky!

Snowflakes as huge as goose feathers fell from the sky!

The white snow gradually became denser, as transparent icy walls were constructed in the midst of the snowfall…

There were eight layers of walls in total, corresponding to the eight Magicians. They were freezing at an incredible pace, to an extent that the eight walls almost combined into an enclosed space entrapping the Fiery Sorceress when the first snowflake landed on the ground.

The Fiery Sorceress pushed her hand to the left, firing a fireball taller than a building at one of the ice walls.

The fireball blasted the wall into pieces, which scattered in all directions and melted in the air.

However, a new ice wall quickly replaced the one destroyed by the fireball. The Fiery Sorceress was planning to escape from the surrounding walls with a tide of flames, yet her body slammed into the freshly constructed ice wall in the process. The frost penetrated her body like swords…

“They have already prepared to fight to the death with you,” Mo Fan who was standing on top of the pine tree let out a sigh on behalf of the Fiery Sorceress when he saw the ice wall.

The Fiery Sorceress had taken Xinxia, still having a glimpse of hope that the couple was aware of the grave mistake they had committed, thus there was a slight chance they would be willing to hand the Fire Calamity Fruit over.

As a matter of fact, the greedy couple was determined to keep possession of the Fire Calamity Fruit. They had no intention of giving it back!

The Fiery Sorceress’ eyes flickered mercilessly. She flicked a spark forward…

As the spark collided with the ice wall, a terrifying blast took place. The entire place trembled violently.

The blast was similar to the Fire Burst: Rupture, yet its power was many times stronger than the Fire Spell. The fire tongues were like enormous serpents wriggling violently as they lunged into the air, turning the snow in the sky into steam!

When the ice wall broke into pieces once again, she gave Xinxia a soft push, returning her to Mo Fan. The creature who no longer had the intention to show any mercy was instantly engulfed in flames…

Her glamorous figure transformed into a giant meteorite and slammed into the water-blue barrier protecting the villa, together with the fiery serpents that had yet to disappear.

The water-blue barrier loomed over the villa in the shape of an oval. The thin layer of the water curtain stood no chance against the Fiery Sorceress in her meteorite form with her full power. The barrier first shuddered vigorously, before crumbling to the damage inflicted by the meteorite…

The barrier shattered into water droplets and poured down, completely evaporating before reaching the ground. The meteorite dove forward and crashed into Zhao Yulin’s beloved mansion…

The mansion was instantly razed to the ground. The fierce flames burned his antique collection to ashes.

Zhao Yulin could feel his heart bleeding, but he knew he would be paying a great price when he decided to oppose the Fiery Sorceress. Since there was no turning back, he could only clench his teeth and rely on the assistance provided by the Mu Family to eliminate her!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What are you standing there for? Are you waiting for the fire to burn you to death!?” snapped Shi Gua at the eight Ice Magicians when he saw the Fiery Sorceress breaking into the villa.

The eight Ice Magicians did not expect the Fiery Sorceress’s strength to be so overwhelming. Their ice walls were destroyed one by one, even when the walls were sturdy enough to trap an Advanced Magician!

They exchanged glances with one another. They no longer dared to underestimate their opponent after witnessing the Fiery Sorceress’ terrifying power. They immediately gathered all the energy and transferred it into the formation’s foci. They even expended the Ice Magic Ores which they had saved up over many years, just to further increase the power of the Demon-sealing Ice Formation!

The Demon-sealing Ice Formation was different from other entrapping formations. It was not merely an entrapping formation, but one with a continuous effect.

The formation would first mark the target and continuously summon ice walls to surround them.

If the target failed to break the ice walls in time, the walls would continue to stack up, increasing the thickness of the walls. When the walls reached a certain thickness, it would completely seal the target within the enclosed space.

Therefore, even when the Fiery Sorceress had entered the villa, the Demon-sealing Ice Formation was still active. More ice appeared around the Fiery Sorceress to build the walls, and regardless of where she was moving, the walls would follow right behind her, until eight walls appeared and enclosed their target…

It was obvious that the Fiery Sorceress had realized how extraordinary the formation was. She was initially planning to attack the couple in the attic, yet when she saw the ice walls about to entrap her, she had no choice but to divert her attention and attack the walls with fire instead.

The pieces continued to fall from the sky. Although the Fiery Sorceress was stuck in the middle of the formation that could freeze her in the ice anytime, it did not necessarily mean that the Fiery Sorceress was unable to unleash her destructive power.

She began to multitask by drawing a fiery ring with her left hand, summoning a fire cloud that loomed over the entire villa and dropped a rain of fire. Her right hand was used as a fist, each punch able to shatter the walls…

“I’ll be your opponent!” Shi Gua leapt into the sky. His movements were surprisingly nimble, reaching a height of twenty meters!

As he reached the highest point, he flung both hands forward. More than ten thick icy chains appeared before him, intertwining into a tall pillar which Shi Gua landed right on top of!

Shi Gua was able to control the Ice Spells as he wished. He did not have Wing Equipment, nor did he have the Wind Wings, yet with his nimble Magic Boots and his agility, he was able to move freely in the air using pillars constructed by ice chains…

He could make the ice chains sturdy and flexible as he wished, allowing him to use them both for offensive and defensive purposes. Shi Gua used Ice Lock to create a domain of chains that granted him the ability to move freely in the air, allowing him to face the Fiery Sorceress.

The Fiery Sorceress was busy breaking the ice walls while defending herself from Shi Gua’s Advanced Spells, so she had no chance to attack the villa.

However, the Fiery Sorceress clearly possessed other power apart from Fire. Her furious gaze emitted a brilliant glow, as her will transformed into a strong force grabbing at the annoying ice chains that Shi Gua had set up!

The force itself was invisible, yet when the ice chains broke into pieces, it was fairly obvious that the force had the shape of a giant hand. It had torn the chains apart with a crushing grip.

The ice chains were the reason Shi Gua was able to fight in the air. Without their support, he soon fell to the ground…

Shi Gua was planning to reconstruct the ice chains when he felt a great pressure descending upon him from above…

“Giant Armor!”

Shi Gua immediately summoned his Armor Equipment in a panic.

As soon as the armor fully covered his body, the invisible weight collapsed upon him. The ground where he was standing sank rapidly!

It felt like he was standing under the foot of a giant. There was a garage around ten meters away from Shi Gua, and half of the garage was gone. The cars inside it ended up as flat metal sheets in the pit.

Shi Gua was right in the center of the force, pressed into the pit. His body was buried between the rocks and soil. His armor was covered in cracks.

As Shi Gua climbed out from the pit, he could not help but feel flustered…

The Fiery Sorceress also possessed the power of the Space Element. The Stomp of Depravity totally took him by surprise. The battle-seasoned Shi Gua was barely able to sense the space around him compressing in time. He would have been crushed into pulp if he was a second slower!

What mess did this Zhao Yulin drag him into!? How did he involve himself with such a devil!?

Shi Gua could feel the ache across his entire body. He tried to catch his breath, yet the infuriated Fiery Sorceress showed no intention of letting him do so.

The Fiery Sorceress placed her palm in front of her mouth and blew softly…

The flames from her breath turned into bright-colored maple leaves floating toward Shi Gua’s position. When the insignificant leaves made contact with the soil, it was like they had encountered something that would set them on fire. The fiery leaves blossomed into clouds of blazing fire…

The raging clouds merged together into an astonishing ocean of flames, which spread in all directions like wild sprinting beasts!

The fiery leaves flared as soon as they touched the ground, devouring the buildings, gardens, ponds and compounds of the European-../style villa into ashes.

The Magicians defending the villa were completely overwhelmed by the flames produced by the Fiery Sorceress. They initially planned to abuse their numbers, yet they were already fleeing for their lives in the midst of the fiery ocean before they could assemble and coordinate their attacks.

Their attacks were completely useless, as the destruction brought upon them by the Fiery Sorceress’ attacks was on a completely different level than theirs. They already had trouble dealing with the fiery leaves floating in the air.

Meanwhile, Shi Gua was suffering greatly from the fire, too. His Magic Armor was already breaking apart, allowing the flames to penetrate through the gaps. Even though his primary Element was Ice, the burns still inflicted great pain on him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Ocean of Flames quickly spread to the area of the pool.

Mo Fan carried the slightly unconscious Xinxia back to the area, yet he discovered that the place was already burning with flames.

Luckily the flames here were not as fierce as the ones in the battle, Mo Fan could still resist them with his Rose Flame.

He held Xinxia close to him as he moved past the walls of fire. He finally saw Zhang Xiaohou and the others who were backing off to safety. Unlike him, they did not have the Fire Resistance provided by a Fire Seed. The flames were still deadly to them.

“Is she alright?” asked Zhao Manyan when she saw Xinxia slightly unconscious.

“She’s fine, it’s likely that the Fiery Sorceress’ psionic power is too strong. It was a heavy burden for Xinxia to handle it,” said Mo Fan.

Xinxia was murmuring with her eyes closed. Her mouth continued to babble, as if she were sleep talking. Mo Fan could make sense of some of it, but the words were structured weirdly. He could not understand if Xinxia was trying to tell him something, or if it was a side effect of the emotion left by the Fiery Sorceress.

“Let’s leave this place, I don’t want to get dragged into this mess,” suggested Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan shared the same thought, too. They never had anything to do with the incident, and the Fiery Sorceress was incredibly powerful. She would hurt them by accident if she completely lost her temper…

“Where’s Chen Yi? I don’t see her!” asked Mo Fan when he saw someone missing.

“She must have gone to her parents. This Chen Yi; she was the one that attacked the Fiery Sorceress. The creature surely hates her. What could she possibly do going there? She’s going to get herself killed,” cursed Zhao Manyan.

“No…that’s not it…” Xinxia murmured something half-consciously.

She was denying continuously, as if she were trying to tell something to the group.

However, she was only shaking her head and babbling continuously.

“There’s nothing we can do, let’s leave this place first…” Mo Fan carried Xinxia and left without wasting any time further.

Just as the group was about to move, a blinding fireball swept past above them.

The projectile had obviously come from the battle, yet its force was shocking. It slammed into the resting hall beside the pool…

The hall was connected to four other buildings, which happened to surround the open-air pool. As the fireball landed, the direction the group was planning to escape into immediately turned into an ocean of flames. The fire was taller than the buildings. They were lucky the fire did not devour them, let alone trying to cross the fire to safety.

“Damn, we’re trapped!” cursed Zhang Xiaohou.

“Rolling Wave!”

Zhao Manyan did not give up. He waved his hand and used the water from the pool to produce a surging tide rolling toward the blaze covering the resting hall…

However, the strength of the fire completely exceeded his imagination. No one could tell what level the Fiery Sorceress’ fire was. Not only did the water fail to put it out, the whole tide evaporated into steam within a short period of time, leaving Zhao Manyan with his eyes wide and jaw dropped.

“Save up some of your energy to open a path for us. The way is blocked, come this way!” Mo Fan told Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan helplessly followed the group toward a path that was not covered in fire. However, the path was leading them away from the battle. None of them could guarantee that it would not turn into an ocean of flames in the near future…

——

Two thirds of the villa was on fire. Many Magicians had died to the inextinguishable flames.

The Fiery Sorceress had gone completely mad, showing no mercy to the humans. She simply let them burn to ashes in her fury.

She broke through the defenses along the way as she approached the attic where Zhao Yulin and his wife were.

She could sense the Fire Calamity Fruit on Jiang Feng. The greedy woman was waiting for the fruit to ripen so she could immediately expend it to restore her face, something that she had desired for over ten years.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yulin was unwilling to give up on the Fire Calamity Fruit, either. He desperately needed it to refine a Soul-grade Fire Seed, as it would grant him more authority in the family. He was not willing to simply obey his younger brothers. The family’s heritage belonged to him, Zhao Yulin! He was supposed to be the CEO of the family’s business in the Magic Industry, instead of spending his time enjoying retired life in Lehuo Town!

“Father, mother!” Chen Yi safely arrived at the attic under the escort of a few guards.

“What are you doing here?” Zhao Yulin frowned with a hint of anger.

“I called her here,” said Jiang Feng.

Zhao Yulin coldly harrumphed, clueless about what Jiang Feng was planning.

Shi Gua had escaped from the ocean of flames and returned to the attic. His hair was almost burned away by flames, and his body was covered in burns. His Armor Equipment had vanished, too, leaving him in a miserable state.

“Mr. Shi, are you alright?” asked Zhao Yulin.

“The creature won’t have her way for long. The Demon-sealing Ice Formation is about to unleash its strongest wave of attacks. It will simply freeze her inside its walls!” said Shi Gua coldly.

He had involved himself in the battle to earn some time. The Demon-sealing Ice Formation had great power against Fire Element creatures. It would unleash its true force once the Magicians maintaining the formation survived past the accumulation stage.

“That’s great. Once the situation is resolved, I’ll reward you greatly,” said Zhao Yulin, whose grim face was finally replaced with a smile.

“That being said, the freeze is only going to buy us some time. I’ve realized how powerful the creature was when I fought against her. She uses the Calamity Fire when she attacks, but she also has Dark Flame protecting her. The freeze can only suppress her Calamity Fire at most, stopping her from attacking us, but the Dark Flame won’t be eliminated. It’s like a domain that none of us can get close to,” said Shi Gua.

“Does that mean, even after we freeze her, as long as the domain of Dark Flame is still there, we won’t be able to kill her? Are you saying that the Grimsteel Spike we’ve specifically prepared for her is useless?” The smile on Zhao Yulin’s face vanished.

“Mm, the Dark Flame is stronger than the Calamity Fire; even I have no chance of getting close. This is an extremely powerful creature we’re fighting against!” said Shi Gua.

Zhao Yulin’s face turned grim once again. He could not think of any way to break through the Fiery Sorceress’ domain of Dark Flame.

High-level creatures were strong because Magicians had no chance of dealing with their unique domains!

“Mr. Shi, it won’t be a problem. As long as you’re able to freeze her, I have my way to kill her!” said Jiang Feng, who was still wrapped in white cloth.

Under the cloth, her eyes emitted a vicious gleam…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Magicians who had experienced wars against the demon beasts would knew one thing; the humans were usually the ones being invaded by the demon beasts, who outnumbered them by hundreds, or even thousands of times.

The ratio of talented Magicians among humans was not extremely high to begin with, and the strength of a Magician usually could not match the strength of a demon beast.

The reason why humans were able to fight against the demon beasts for many years was not only because of their intelligence when fighting against wild creatures, but most importantly because humans knew how to utilize natural resources to construct various formations that were a lot stronger than themselves!

Formations and barriers; these things gave humans a chance to overturn battles when there was a great difference in strength between the two sides, keeping the rulers among the demon beasts who could easily raze a city to the ground at bay.

Equipment, weapons, formations, and barriers; these were the crystals of wisdom that mankind had produced throughout history. Words were not needed to describe the usefulness of equipment and weapons, as they were the only way to strengthen human’s fragile flesh. Formations allowed the weak to win the fight against the strong.

Using magic ores that were filled with the essence of Heaven and Earth as their source of energy, and Magicians as the foci for the formations…

The principles of formations were fairly similar to drawing Stars, Star Patterns, and Star Constellations. If a Magician was considered as a Star Pattern, the eight ice walls corresponded by the eight Advanced Magicians could be considered a giant Star Constellation made of eight Star Patterns!

The Star Constellation was unique. Although it was still described as an Advanced Spell, its power was significantly stronger than the usual Advanced Spells.

Initially, snow the size of goose feathers were falling from the sky, but the snow had now turned into ice crystals, which were able to combine into walls every second.

The walls were extremely thick, and were strictly aligning themselves into an octagonal shape. The Calamity Fire from the Fiery Sorceress initially covered a radius of a hundred meters, setting everything close to her aflame. However, as the ice crystals landed on the ground, the walls immediately trapped the flames. Five out of the eight ice walls were completed!

The Fiery Sorceress turned around and saw the ice walls just ten meters away, too thick to blast open!

It was like her flames were trapped inside a cage, the ice was melting at a slower pace than it was freezing…

The Fiery Sorceress finally realized that the Demon-sealing Ice Formation was not to be underestimated. She glanced at the villa half-destroyed by the flames and discovered eight Ice Magicians with rather impressive cultivation were standing in their respective positions in the center of the villa. They were surrounded with brilliant stars, densely packed into a stellar Star Pattern.

Each of the Magicians had turned into a Star Pattern, which intertwined with the other Magicians, forming an Ice Element Star Constellation consisting of eight Magicians!

The Star Constellation was octagonal, looking like an eight-sided starry box.

The Fiery Sorceress immediately uttered a piercing screech after learning the source of the ice walls.

She grabbed in the direction of a building nearby and pulled it out of the ground, and it instantly flew into the air…

The Fiery Sorceress blew at the building, setting the floating structure on fire.

The burning building under her control flew right at the eight Magicians…

“Do you seriously think I’m unprepared?” Zhao Yulin suddenly burst out laughing.

The burning building that was flying toward the formation seemed to collide with an invisible wall around thirty meters away, shredding into pieces in midair…

The burning pieces were stopped by some special object. The Fiery Sorceress could vaguely see a barrier with a slight arc close to the eight Ice Magicians, protecting them. Both the spreading flames and the projectiles flying toward them were completely blocked by the barrier.

A barrier!

The formation was protected by a barrier!

Zhao Yulin was clearly aware that it was unrealistic to set up a barrier that could protect the entire villa. The barrier would be too fragile, but if he reduced its area to just the size of the formation to protect the Magicians, it would make them unbeatable.

The Fiery Sorceress was unaware that the Demon-sealing Ice Formation would become stronger gradually. It was too late to try and destroy it now.

The ice walls were being constructed at a faster pace, like steel walls appearing instantly out of nowhere. The walls were trapping the Fiery Sorceress no matter which direction she was moving in.

The Calamity Fire was only covering an area within ten meters of the Fiery Sorceress now. Normally, the flames engulfing her body would prevent her from being harmed by the icy aura, but since her back had been stabbed by the spike, allowing the ice poison to penetrate her body, the damage began to spread across her body, suppressing her Calamity Fire.

When she was driven by rage, her injury was veiled by her emotion. She could not sense the effect of the Grimsteel Spike, but as the battle continued, and the formation became stronger gradually, her flames were suppressed even further…

More ice crystals like glass pieces appeared in the air, which combined together into a transparent ice wall.

It was the final ice wall. The Fiery Sorceress could no longer produce destructive flames due to her injury. She could only watch the ice stacking up and seal up the remaining space around her…

The octagonal ice trap was fully constructed, and was shrinking toward the center. It turned into a transparent steel cage, putting the Fiery Sorceress under a total freeze. The Calamity Fire on her body was extinguished too.

“It works!” Zhao Yulin was overjoyed.

Shi Gua uttered a relieved sigh. He turned around, glancing at the eight Advanced Magicians, but his face was still lacking a smile.

As the eight Magicians fulfilled their roles, they fell to the ground from fatigue or losing consciousness. If the Fiery Sorceress could have held on a little longer, they would be the ones losing the battle.

“The Grimsteel Spike played a huge part in it!” said Jiang Feng excitedly.

Without the ambush, it would have been troublesome to try and take down the Fiery Sorceress.

“I’ve done what I need to, I’ll leave the rest to you,” Shi Gua said to Zhao Yulin and Jiang Feng.

Zhao Yulin glanced at Jiang Feng. He was curious about how she was going to overcome the Fiery Sorceress’ Dark Flame. The domain was strong enough to burn an Advanced Magician into ashes instantly.

“Chen Yi, remember the Deathstrike Magic Equipment, Breaking Profaner?” Jiang Feng asked her daughter.

Chen Yi nodded.

“The Breaking Profaner can make the ice poison of the Grimsteel Spike flare up, making it deadly. Stab her with the Breaking Profaner, and she’ll be dead soon!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Chen Yi stared at her mother Jiang Feng in disbelief. She could not understand why Jiang Feng would ask her to do such a thing. However, the white cloth was covering her mother’s face. Chen Yi was unable to see her mother’s expression.

“Are you out of your mind? How could you ask her to do that?” yelled Zhao Yulin.

Even an Advanced Magician would be burned to ashes when moving closer to the Fiery Sorceress. Chen Yi would simply walk to her death. The fact that the sneak attack had worked the first time did not mean the Fiery Sorceress, who was on alert this time, would spare Chen Yi’s life!

“Just believe me,” said Jiang Feng confidently.

“But I…” Chen Yi hesitated. For a second, she couldn’t think.

“Chen Yi, listen to me. Do it quick, we can only freeze her for a short time. Do you seriously want to see everyone here killed by this Fire demon beast? Just do what I say, and you’ll be fine. Kill her, and there won’t be any more casualties. The Fire Calamity Fruit will also replenish my health, your father’s status will also rise…” Jiang Feng said, with a hint of excitement.

Chen Yi bit her lips.

She believed that her mother would not lie to her. An icy spike appeared in her hand.

The spike was similar to a spear, but both ends were sharp. One could only hold the spike with both hands somewhere in the middle. The icy flicker from the sharp edges implied that the Weapon contained a deadly poison!

“Walk forward, don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Walk up to her, and stab her in the heart!” urged Jiang Feng.

Chen Yi seemed to be very obedient when it came to listening to her mother. She actually held the icy equipment and walked toward the Fiery Sorceress, who was frozen in ice.

The Fiery Sorceress was like a statue, completely stationary in her position. The ice was transparent, so she could see Chen Yi walking toward her. The girl was less than a hundred meters from her.

The Dark Flame was able to destroy everything within a hundred meters. Normally, if Chen Yi took a few more steps forward, the domain of Dark Flame would burn her into ashes.

“You weren’t like this before,” Zhao Yulin turned his head and glanced at Jiang Feng, who was wrapped in white cloth.

“A person will always change,” said Jiang Feng.

“But what if the Dark Flame actually burns Chen Yi to death?” said Zhao Yulin with a deep voice.

“It won’t.”

“You’re that confident?”

“I won’t play around with your daughter’s life.”

“She’s your daughter too,” reminded Zhao Yulin.

——

The Fiery Sorceress was frozen. The ocean of flames that was spreading wildly was finally under control.

Mo Fan and his group were finding a way out of the place, yet they realized that only the area where Zhao Yulin, Jiang Feng, Shi Gua, and the others were standing was free of fire. They were trying to cross the place when they saw Chen Yi walking toward the Fiery Sorceress.

“Brother, wai…wait…” The half-conscious Xinxia suddenly uttered softly.

“What is it?” asked Mo Fan with a confused look.

“Stop…Chen Yi, stop her…” Xinxia seemed to be extremely weak. The overwhelming mental pressure had left her in a half-dreaming state. She still could not regain full consciousness, and was still mumbling her words.

Xinxia’s voice was very blurred. She seemed to be saying something else, yet the group could not figure out what she was saying.

Mo Fan could roughly make some sense of it. Xinxia was asking him to stop Chen Yi when she saw what Chen Yi was trying to do in her current half-conscious state.

“Look after her,” Mo Fan placed Xinxia down and hurried over to Chen Yi.

It seemed like Xinxia was trying to tell the group something extremely important.

However, she just could not wake up. It was like she had fallen into someone’s dream. The fact that she was trying so hard easily implied how important it was.

—

“Chen Yi, don’t go over, you will be burned to death!” Mo Fan yelled at Chen Yi from a hundred meters away.

Chen Yi halted in her steps. She turned around and looked at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had spent some time with the Fiery Sorceress. He knew that the Fiery Sorceress had two kinds of flames. Chen Yi had managed to harm the Fiery Sorceress as she was being careless, but it did not necessarily mean the Fiery Sorceress would simply let Chen Yi do it again. The girl was about to get herself killed!

“Don’t listen to him. Just do as you’re told, and you’ll be fine. Are you seriously not listening to me?!” Jiang Feng let out a sharp scream when she saw Chen Yi hesitating.

Jiang Feng turned toward Mo Fan and snapped, “Mind your own business!”

Mo Fan had no intention of involving himself with other’s business, but the Fiery Sorceress did save his life. He could not simply stand there and watch this happen.

It was most likely that Jiang Feng had found a way to make Chen Yi immune to the Fiery Sorceress’ Dark Flame. It was hard to tell how long Jiang Feng had been planning this, from the ambush, to the transfer, and the defensive formation, and the final killing blow to be executed by Chen Yi. It felt like she had arranged it all!

Chen Yi ended up listening to her mother. She stepped into the Fiery Sorceress’ domain…

It took her great effort to take the step, as it was no different than stepping into the jaws of death. However, she desperately wanted to help her mother escape the sea of agony. She had already suffered for over ten years. If the Fiery Sorceress was willing to give up on the Fire Calamity Fruit, she would not hurt the creature…

Zhao Yulin and Shi Gua felt their hearts skipping a beat. Chen Yi had stepped into the Fiery Sorceress’ domain, and there was a chance she would be burned into ashes in the next second!

However, it did not happen.

Chen Yi was still alive. She was able to step into the Fiery Sorceress’ domain perfectly unharmed.

Chen Yi opened her eyes and glanced at her body in disbelief.

“Go, she’s breaking out from the ice!” yelled Jiang Feng.

Chen Yi was overjoyed. As she thought, her mother would not lie to her. Although she could not tell what the reason was, she would worry about it after killing the Fiery Sorceress.

Chen Yi clenched the Breaking Profaner tightly. The distance of a hundred meters did not take long to cross. She quickened her pace, and made sure the sharp tip of the Breaking Profaner was aimed at the Fiery Sorceress’ heart!

——

Mo Fan stared at the scene with astonishment not far away.

-Chen Yi was able to step into the Fiery Sorceress’ strongest domain?

-Does her body really have some unique resistance?

-No, that’s not right!-

-Chen Yi was not immune to the Dark Flame!-

“Chen Yi, stop now!” Mo Fan came to an understanding in the shortest time. He burst out screaming at Chen Yi, “She…”

“Enough with that!” Jiang Feng screamed from the attic.

Under the white cloth, her eyes emitted an eerie glow. It felt like her eyes were able to penetrate one’s body, deep into the soul, which would tremble slightly under the gaze.

Psychic Element!

Chen Yi’s mother was a Psychic Magician, too!

Mo Fan tried to stop Chen Yi, yet when the Psychic Spell struck him, he lost control of his body, and was not able to make any noise.

“What are you waiting for, kill her!”

Jiang Feng screamed wildly. After casting the Mind Control on Mo Fan, she proceeded to cast a powerful Psychic Spell on Chen Yi.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Chen Yi had arrived before the Fiery Sorceress. She looked into the Fiery Sorceress’ eyes, and recalled the sneak attack she had executed at the top of the hill.

The attack was extremely successful. The Fiery Sorceress was completely unaware of the attack, but what confused Chen Yi the most was that, the Fiery Sorceress did not faint instantly when she was attacked. She had more than enough time to burn her into ashes before falling unconscious...

But she didn’t.

Jiang Feng did not give Chen Yi a chance to think. As the Mind Control Spell was cast, Chen Yi’s hesitant look was replaced with an enraged expression, and bloodshot, murderous eyes!

The Breaking Profaner thrust forward at full force, as Chen Yi raised it with both hands and stabbed at the Fiery Sorceress’ heart!

The ice shattered, the front tip of the Breaking Profaner poking into the Fiery Sorceress’ body like a long spear. Apart from penetrating through her skin, there was also the sound of some metal clanking…

It was the Grimsteel Spike. The spike that Chen Yi had stuck into the Fiery Sorceress’ back had not been removed yet, and was still inside the Fiery Sorceress’ body. However, when the Breaking Profaner penetrated her body, it also knocked the Grimsteel Spike out, resulting in the clank of metal!

The Fiery Sorceress raised her head and let out a painful screech.

The ice surrounding her was shattered into pieces, scattering in all directions and cutting Chen Yi’s skin.

The enraged Calamity Fire surged in all directions like an infuriated beast, instantly producing an ocean of flame, evaporating everything within its reach!

Chen Yi abruptly regained control of her mind. She was dumbfounded when she saw the flames rolling toward her.

The Fiery Sorceress had broken free from the ice cage, which meant she had nowhere to escape to!

Her body might be immune to the Dark Flame, yet it would never be able to protect her against the Calamity Fire. The ocean of flame was more than enough to burn her into a pile of bones.

As the fire swept in Chen Yi’s direction, she closed her eyes hopelessly.

However, after a long time, she still did not feel the heat…

She opened her eyes and discovered her surroundings were covered in flames, but not the tiniest fire could be seen in her area. There was a weird space in the midst of the ocean of flames.

The Fiery Sorceress was standing right in front of her. Just a simple thought, and the Fiery Sorceress could easily burn her into ashes. However, Chen Yi could only see the Fiery Sorceress holding the Breaking Profaner with one hand, and controlling the enraged Calamity Fire with the other, driving them away from her…

Chen Yi was stunned!

She could not believe what she was seeing…

The ocean of flames was burning fiercely, even the clouds in the sky were set aflame, yet not a single flame had spread to her spot!

-Why is this the case?!

-Why is this happening!?-

——

“Psychic Element…why do you possess the Psychic Element?!” screamed Zhao Yulin up in the attic.

Jiang Feng had long become an Advanced Magician, and could be considered a genius, but after the Fire Calamity, her cultivation had never improved due to the fire poison she was suffering from over the years!

Zhao Yulin clearly remembered Jiang Feng’s Primary Element was Fire, while her secondary Elements were Earth and Space. There was no way Jiang Feng could possess the power of the Psychic Element!

“You idiots, that b**ch is not Jiang Feng!” snapped Mo Fan furiously as he regained control of himself.

The person in white cloth stood there, her eyes emitting a vicious glow, like the evil Scorpion Demoness.

{TL Note: Scorpion Demoness is one of the villains in Journey to the West.}

She did not speak, but uttered a burst of sinister laughter, looking at the Fiery Sorceress who had been impaled by the spike…

Mo Fan’s figure was burning in rage. He finally understood what Xinxia was trying to tell everyone when he saw Chen Yi walking toward the Fiery Sorceress’ domain.

“If she isn’t, then who’s…” Chen Yi was lost in thought, standing in the midst of the flames.

Yes, when the person in the white cloth cast the Psychic Spell on her, she knew the woman was not her mother!

She was extremely familiar with her mother, and clearly remembered the Elements she had awakened. Her mother had never awakened the Psychic Element…

Primary Element was Fire, and secondary Elements were Earth and Space.

The Fiery Sorceress seemed to have the power of the Space Element, too…

Chen Yi’s mind buzzed as if it had just exploded!

-Why was she asked to attack the Fiery Sorceress?

-Why did the Fiery Sorceress only grab Xinxia away when she could easily avenge herself?

-Why…-

“Chen Yi, are you blind? Didn’t you see that it was her withdrawing her domain of Dark Flame all along? You idiot, you dumbass girl, if she really wanted to kill you, she could easily burn ten thousand of you into ashes…” Mo Fan burst out cursing furiously.

If Chen Yi was smarter, if she were more observant, she would have discovered that the Fiery Sorceress was controlling the Dark Flame!

The person in white bandages knew that Chen Yi was the only person that could kill the Fiery Sorceress, as the Fiery Sorceress was the true Jiang Feng, Chen Yi’s mother!

As Chen Yi’s mother, why would she harm her own daughter!?

The Fiery Sorceress was friendly toward humans…

It was because she used to be a human!

She was extremely powerful, yet she was injured by Chen Yi?

It was because no one knew that she had totally lost her mind when she saw Chen Yi. She was panicking as she felt like hugging her daughter who had grown up, yet when she saw her hands and body burning in flames, she could only turn around in disappointment…

At that instant, the Grimsteel Spike stabbed her in the back. Her heart did not break, yet the pain was a thousand times stronger than her heart breaking!

“How is this possible? How is this possible! Everything she told me was fake?” Chen Yi was on the verge of losing her mind. She looked at the Fiery Sorceress, whose eyes showed no hint of hostility or anger.

The Fiery Sorceress was watching Chen Yi, yet she could not speak, even though she had so much to say.

“She was devoured by the flames of the Fire Calamity Fruit, and had managed to survive after a fiery figure fed her a Fire Calamity Fruit. It was indeed your mother’s story, yet only half of it was told,” Xinxia approached them with Nanyu’s support. Her voice rang in everyone’s ears.

The first thing that the Fiery Sorceress did was take Xinxia away, as she tried to tell everyone the truth…

However, the evil woman in the white cloth did not give her the chance. She immediately asked the people to attack her.

After Xinxia was connected with the Fiery Sorceress, she immediately learned the truth, yet she was placed under a curse, the Nightmare Curse!

The curse was cast by the person in white cloth, to stop Xinxia from regaining consciousness so she could not reveal the truth. Her cultivation greatly surpassed what everyone expected, hence it was difficult to learn her true nature, until Mo Fan came to stop her, and forced her to expose her Psychic Element!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The woman wrapped in white cloth simply stood there. If her face was not covered, one would see an extremely ugly face, her facial features completely twisted from her grin!

She did not stop Xinxia. She uttered a burst of cold laughter, and spoke with a disdainful tone, “My curse should have killed you, it seems like your soul is rather unique…”

Considering how the situation was now, the person in white cloth no longer cared if Xinxia was revealing the truth to everyone, as she had already won by eliminating the Fiery Sorceress, Jiang Feng. No one else could stop her from claiming possession of the Fire Calamity Fruit!

“She was devoured by the flames of the Fire Calamity; the Fire Calamity Fruit can’t actually help her fully recover, thus she could only forfeit her flesh, and attach her soul to a new life, living in her current form as we all are seeing…” Xinxia’s voice was soft, yet she had used the Psychic Spell to make sure that everyone could hear her.

“Who is she, then?” Zhao Yulin had already distanced himself from the person in white cloth. He pointed at the woman and said, “How did she know everything about Jiang Feng?”

Zhao Yulin was not an idiot. It went without saying that he had verified her identity.

The person in white cloth knew everything that had happened between him and his wife, even the little secrets that Zhao Yulin had never told anyone before.

“Psychic Element…she has the Psychic Element and the Curse Element!” Instead of Xinxia, Nanyu who was holding her spoke out.

The female Commander Nanyu was staring at the person in white cloth and said coldly, “She’s the Demoness whom the military has listed as wanted even today, the disgrace of the Dunhuang Military!”

The Demoness uttered a burst of sharp laughter. She was very surprised that someone actually knew her real identity. It had been more than ten years since someone had called her that.

“So someone still remembers me; I guess all my effort of trying to stay alive in this completely burned body has been worthwhile!”

“She’s a traitor of the Dunhuang Military whom we have listed as wanted for over ten years. We thought she was dead, but it turned out that she has been living in a different identity…” Nanyu had come all the way to Shanghai because she had found something that belonged to the Demoness under the Starry Tree.

However, she was not confident about it, but as it was related to the death of her most respected military instructor, hence she had decided to come and search for clues.

As a matter of fact, she did not expect this to happen. She was not suspicious toward the person in white cloth’s identity, and she never thought that the real Jiang Feng was actually the Fiery Sorceress.

Obviously, the Demoness who was adept with the Psychic Element and the Curse Element had learned everything about the Fiery Sorceress, including her memories, allowing her to live in Zhao Family using the disguise of Jiang Feng.

It would be fine if the woman had simply disguised herself as Jiang Feng and spent the rest of her life in peace. However, she had been planning all the things that had happened today, just so she could get a new life with the Fire Calamity Fruit.

When the Fire Calamity occurred, her plan was put into operation.

She knew Jiang Feng had turned into the Fiery Sorceress, and was protecting the Fire Calamity Fruit. Meanwhile, she knew that Jiang Feng absolutely missed her daughter, hence she had purposely brainwashed Chen Yi so the girl was determined to acquire the Fire Calamity Fruit…

As a matter of fact, if Chen Yi did not follow Mo Fan and the others to the Burning Valley, she would have personally brought her there for her plan to work, as the only weakness that the Fiery Sorceress had was Chen Yi!

Therefore, she had been waiting for many years, her plan being to let the daughter kill her own mother. Everyone who had now learned the truth shivered in fear. The cold penetrated their bones, to the extent that they were all having goosebumps.

“She saved your life when you were burned by the Fire Calamity, and tried all she could to sustain your life. Yet, you still set her up with such a vicious method. Your heart is that of a deadly snake or scorpion. No, you’re an actual snake or scorpion, who did not have any compassion!” Xinxia held her body that was placed under a curse a moment ago together, and swore at her furiously, trembling in anger.

Being ungrateful was already a beastly act, yet the Demoness had forced Fiery Sorceress’ daughter to stab her in the heart… twice!

When everyone was experiencing great sorrow, the woman was laughing instead… her sharp laughter was possibly the worst sound ever in this world. Even the person who was responsible for the stabs was suffering greatly.

The Fiery Sorceress had withdrawn the Dark Flame when Chen Yi stepped into her domain.

She was not willing to harm her daughter, even if it would cost her her life!

Even when the Breaking Profaner pierced through her heart, thus making her lose control of the Calamity Fire and it burst out from her body, she still used her hand to create a safe area, not allowing any flames to burn Chen Yi’s skin…

Everything that happened was not enough to earn the tiniest compassion from the Demoness. If she had the slightest kindness, none of this would have happened!

As such, Xinxia had scolded her right. The woman did not have the heart of snakes and scorpions, but she was one of them instead, which was hundreds or thousands of times scarier than the demon beasts!

…

An eye-astonishing ocean of flames, with space in the middle that was perfectly safe.

Chen Yi did recall something when she was very young. During a heavy rain, she was hiding in her mother’s hug. Her mother did not let a single drop of the icy rain fall on her child. She had never forgotten the warmth of her mother, thus she always wanted to do something for her mother who had suffered greatly.

However, things were not as she thought…

She had killed her with her own hands instead.

Toward the end of her mother’s life, her mother was still protecting her just as usual, not allowing her to receive any kind of injury.

Inside the space where there were no burning flames, Chen Yi knelt on her knees. Her great sorrow had turned into tremendous anger toward the Demoness!

—

“She’s…she’s still the same… she never changed…” Zhao Yulin seemed to have lost his mind, and was mumbling the same sentence over and over again.

A moment later, Zhao Yulin had told that to the person in white cloth, saying that she had changed.

She had told him that every human would change eventually, which gave Zhao Yulin great relief, as he too admitted that he had changed too.

However, he felt extremely shameful, with an urge to tear his ridiculous flesh to pieces!

The Jiang Feng whom he was familiar with had never changed. She had sacrificed herself for him to live.

And now, she was doing the same thing again.

She had suffered the torture of the burns, which forced her to forfeit her flesh. She had been living under an ancient tree alone for ten years. No matter how strong her power was now, her soul had never been contaminated.

Meanwhile, as Zhao Yulin looked at himself…

He was no different than the demon beasts!

When the Demoness urged Chen Yi to kill the Fiery Sorceress, if he had tried to stop her, he would have actually prevented this great disaster from taking place. He was completely blinded by personal interest!

“Fire Calamity Fruit, the Fire Calamity Fruit might still be able to save her life!” Zhao Yulin screamed as a thought crossed his mind.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Fire Calamity Fruit!

Since the Fire Calamity Fruit had saved her life before, it meant that the Fire Calamity Fruit did have some revitalizing effect. It was possible to sustain her life if they were able to retrieve the Fire Calamity Fruit before she died!

Zhao Yulin had brought the group who was deep in sorrow and anger back to reality!

That’s right, there’s still the Fire Calamity Fruit!

Since they knew who their real enemy was now, they still stood a chance if they were able to take down the Demoness together.

“Zhao Yulin, do you really think I’m not prepared for this now that I’m willing to expose my true identity?” said the Demoness in the attic with an eerie giggle.

“You bitch…” Zhao Yulin was about to make his move when he suddenly felt like his body was being held by something enormous. Not only was he unable to move, his mind was under the pressure of some evil presence!

“Demon Torture!”

“Enjoy your time repenting, try and think of how you should apologize to the mother and daughter in Hell,” the Demoness laughed sinisterly once again.

Zhao Yulin looked extremely terrified. He looked around him and saw an enormous ghastly figure standing behind him!

The ghastly demon was standing tall and straight, pitch black like an evil spirit.

It bent over and grabbed Zhao Yulin with its hands, closing tight.

Zhao Yulin could not feel any pain from his body, yet he felt like his soul was being clenched tightly, making him scream in agony…

“I won’t let you have your way either…” yelled Shi Gua furiously, planning to take down the Demoness himself.

“Old man, I have a treat for you too!” The Demoness was fully prepared.

As Shi Gua and Zhao Yulin were busy handling the Fiery Sorceress, the Demoness had already cast lots of Curse Spells on them.

Shi Gua was the most difficult to deal with among them, thus it went without saying that the Demoness had prepared a huge gift for him!

“Mind Control!”

The Demoness’ eyes flickered as she controlled the Magicians who had lost consciousness.

The Magicians were completely exhausted both mentally and physically, hence they had no resistance against the Advanced Psychic Spell. The eight Magicians rose to their feet like zombies, before pouncing at Shi Gua…

These eight Magicians who were being controlled were fairly outstanding in terms of strength. Even though Shi Gua had half his foot into the Super Level, it was fairly troublesome for him to fight them all at once.

“You’re forcing them to overdraft their energy to cast Spells, damn you!” yelled Shi Gua.

The Magicians had spent all their energy on the Demon-sealing Ice Formation. They were now expending their life forces as the Demoness forced them to cast Spells in their current state!

“Which is why you should be very careful when fighting against them. They will die easily if you hurt them, and even if you don’t, they will still die of fatigue!” The Demoness’ figure rippled with her laughter.

Most of the experts in the villa were either crippled or exhausted from the fight against the Fiery Sorceress. Zhao Yulin and Shi Gua, who were all that was left, were set up by the Demoness, and were in a pinch before they could make a move against her!

The Demoness’ greatest threat was the Fiery Sorceress. Since Chen Yi had eliminated the Fiery Sorceress for her, she could easily handle the rest.

The Demoness never stopped laughing. She was very satisfied with how her plan worked out, as all her problems had been settled. The only thing left was to wait for the Fire Calamity Fruit to ripen, and eat it with one bite…

Speaking of which, the Fire Calamity Fruit should be ripening any time now…

Jiang Feng was granted such an overwhelming power after eating the Fire Calamity Fruit. Would she become an unstoppable demon after eating the Fire Calamity Fruit, too?

“Thunderbolt: Yaksha!”

The Demoness was figuring how she would enjoy the Fire Calamity Fruit when a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, forking into five arcs and lunging at her like a claw!

The attic was shattered into pieces by the lightning strike. Five scorched pits stood out on the building. If the Demoness had not reacted in time and established a defense, she would have been disintegrated by the lightning too!

The Demoness jumped out from the attic that was now a pile of debris and landed on the ground. She glared at the person who had attacked her.

“Kid, you’re tired of living!” the Demoness screamed, totally sounding like a ghost!

The real threats were all eliminated. The Demoness thought she could simply enjoy the outcome, yet a little Intermediate Magician dared to challenge her? She had never treated a minor character like him seriously.

“What do I have to say to a burned monster like you? Hurry up and die, so you can reincarnate as an animal with smoother skin!”

“Fiery Fist!!” Mo Fan’s fists ignited as he threw punches at the Demoness furiously!

The Demoness immediately dodged aside. When she turned around and realized that the kid was being serious, she burst into a disdainful laugh, “I’m too lazy to kill you, yet you’re stupid enough to come asking for your death…”

“Wind Disc: Sky Snare!”

Before the Demoness could finish, a gust of tornado appeared and swept across the flames. It loomed over the area where the Demoness was standing, and raised strong walls of wind!

Unfortunately, before the walls were established, the Demoness let out a piercing cry. A force originating from her soul struck where Zhang Xiaohou was standing, suppressing Zhang Xiaohou’s mind forcibly, stopping him from controlling the wind.

The strange wave of energy was not single-targeting. It was able to spread to the nearby targets like a chain of lighting. As a result, Zhao Manyan and Nanyu, who were both casting Spells, were struck by the force, preventing them from being able to focus, let alone drawing their Star Patterns…

“Spirit Wall!” Xinxia’s voice rose.

Her soft hair drifted despite the absence of wind. Her eyes were closed, while her arms were fully extended.

An invisible Spirit Wall appeared in front of the group rapidly. The Soul Impact cast by the Demoness was nullified when it collided with the Spirit Wall…

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohou had regained control of his Wind Spell. The Sky Snare continued to contract.

The drawings of Star Patterns of the others were no longer disturbed, and were completing at a fast pace.

“Nice one, Xinxia!” cried Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan simultaneously.

Mo Fan turned around and saw the pale-faced Xinxia with her eyes open and a faint smile on her face.

“I’ll handle the disturbance from her Psychic Element,” said Xinxia.

“Mm,” nodded Mo Fan heavily. Without a certain degree of protection, it was impossible to cast any useful Spell against a Magician who had both the Psychic and Curse Elements.

“She needs to focus on controlling the Demon Torture, and the eight Advanced Magicians. She won’t be able to use her Psychic Element and Curse Element on us. We can defeat her if we work together!” Xinxia told the group.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Demoness was agitated!

She had set up a plan to kill the incredibly powerful Fiery Sorceress, while both Zhao Yulin and Shi Gua were unable to break free from her control. She initially thought the rest of the weaklings would run for their lives. To her surprise, they had teamed up against her instead.

“Who do you think you are!?” screamed the Demoness. The cloth on her face was ripped apart as the force she exerted was too strong…

The white cloth fell to the ground, revealing a face that had changed beyond recognition. Her scorched facial features were eerily melted together; it was the face of a monster.

However, regardless of how ugly, disgusting, and miserable she had become, no one would show her any compassion, as inside the disgusting body lay an even more corrupt heart that was fully rotten!

“Her third Element was Earth, watch out for her eyes!”Nanyu reminded them immediately.

The Demoness used to be an infamous criminal around Dunhuang region. Many Magicians had died at her hands, including the military instructor whom Nanyu respected the most, so she already knew the Demoness’ Elements.

The Demoness was already diverting her attention to handle two sides. She was using her Curse Element to control Zhao Yulin, and her Psychic Element to control the eight Magicians to handle Shi Gua. The only Element left was the Earth Element.

The Earth Element did not have many destructive Spells. The Basic Spell was Earth Element, the Intermediate Spell was Rock Barrier. One was used for movement, while the other was for defense. However, the Advanced Spell Petrify was an absolutely terrifying killing Spell!

The only ones left that were still able to battle were the young Intermediate Magicians. Petrify was extremely deadly to them. Once they were turned into statues, they would not be able to preserve their lives.

As Nanyu predicted, the Demoness jumped onto the burning debris in another direction. The brown Star Patterns were forming a three-dimensional structure surrounding the Demoness. As each of the Stars and their orbits began to emit a tremendous glow, the Demoness’ eyes had turned into the terrifying eyes of Medusa!

Eyes of Medusa, able to turn anyone staring into them into lifeless statues!

The Demoness’ Petrify was fired in an arc. The group could see a layer of gray-white shadow spreading in their direction rapidly. Both the wooden debris on the ground and the water sprinkling out from the fountain was completely turned into stone, including the water drops!

The force of Petrify spread rapidly, aiming to turn Mo Fan, Xinxia and Zhao Manyan into lifeless statues. The gray-white shadow was less than a hundred meters away.

“Stand behind me!” Zhao Manyan stepped in front of Mo Fan and Xinxia.

A golden glow burst out freely. Zhao Manyan adeptly controlled the light to form a barrier in front of him.

The golden barrier stood in front of the group. As the shadow of Petrify made contact with the barrier, the glowing transparent wall shuddered vigorously, its light dimming…

Although the force of Petrify was showing some sign of slowing down, the Light Protection: Rampart was not enough to resist the Advanced Spell. It was on the verge of collapsing!

Zhao Manyan knew the Light Protection: Rampart alone was unable to finish the job. He immediately summoned his precious Shield Equipment.

As soon as the light wall disappeared, the Shield Equipment replaced it. The arc-shaped energy had already extinguished the fire in their surroundings. The debris scattering across the ground was dyed gray-white. Their spot was the only place unaffected!

“Departing Nether Shield!”

Mo Fan immediately summoned his Shield Equipment when he saw Zhao Manyan in a pinch.

The two shields barely stopped the Petrify from advancing forward. However, the two valuable shields had also turned into solid rocks. The slightest force would shatter them into pieces.

“Water Barrier: Circulation!”

Zhao Manyan cast a defensive Water Spell, trying to stop the claw of the Petrify from extending any further. His forehead was covered in sweat, clearly showing the great effort he was putting in to hold his ground!

“Rock Barrier!”

Zhang Xiaohou set up his defense too, knowing that they were still in danger.

“Ice Lock!”

“Ice Lock!”

At the same time, the voices of a man and a woman appeared from the other side. A few thick ice chains lunged in their direction to protect them, clanking noisily to protect them!

“You guys…” Zhao Manyan glanced at Mu Xiu and Mu Tingle with joy when he saw the ice chains.

Mu Xiu was proud and arrogant. He and Zhao Manyan were descendants of their respective renowned families, and were not fond of one another. Despite that, the doings of the Demoness raised their hackles. They could not stand it any longer.

“You guys have no chance against an Advanced Magician, but it will be a different story with our help,” said Mu Xiu with a cold harrumph.

“Shit, will you die if you stop acting so cocky? Your Ice Element is effective against her Earth Element, do it quick!” cursed Zhao Manyan.

The defense of the Earth Element was able to resist most of the destructive Spells, including the imperious Lightning Element, yet it was fairly ineffective against the penetrating frost of Ice Element Spells, as the frost would freeze the rocks, too!

The brother and sister of Mu Clan cast Ice Spread simultaneously. Both of them had Ice Seeds, thus when the frost descended upon the place and produced a crackling noise, the power of the Petrify clearly diminished…

The Demoness’ face shuddered when she saw that even the two kids from the Mu Clan were challenging her!

“Very well, I’ll dip the Fire Calamity Fruit in your blood before eating it!” The Demoness’ voice was screechy, and due to her Psychic Element, it felt like a ghost was screaming right into their ears!

The young Magicians immediately covered their ears when they heard the cry.

However, the cry was not just a normal sound, but a curse implanted in their souls. Even the deaf could not stop themselves from hearing the scream.

“It’s fear… bear with me for a second,” reminded Xinxia when she realized that the Demoness had cast another Psychic Spell on the group.

Without the threat from Psychic Element, Xinxia was able to draw her Star Patterns with ease. As the seven Stars aligned together, the channeling of her Psychic Spell was completed.

“Spirit Ripple: Pacify!”

The Basic Psychic Spell, Spirit Ripple!

The ripple with calming effect slowly filled the disturbed hearts of the group. They were unable to focus to cast the Spells due to the ghastly cries in their hearts, but the soothing ripple was like a sacred melody, cleansing the demons in their hearts, including the strange fear they were experiencing.

“You dare mess it up, you little bitch!” screamed the Demoness when she saw that her Psychic Spell was nullified by Xinxia once again, her eyes full of hatred.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The reason why she was not treating the Intermediate Magicians seriously was because her Psychic Element was more than enough to stop them from casting a single Spell.

To her surprise, the girl with impaired movement kept on nullifying her Psychic attacks. She could easily deal with the Psychic Magician who was a level lower than her if she were able to cast Mind Control. Unfortunately, she was using the Spell to control the Magicians, thus she could no longer use the Advanced Spell Mind Control…

Meanwhile, the Basic and Intermediate Spells would most likely be nullified by the annoying little bitch!

“Healing Spirit!”

As the Demoness was figuring out a way to deal with Xinxia, the girl drew a Star Pattern, emitting a glow with a mix of milky white and faint green which transformed into a colorful butterfly spirit…

The glowing butterfly spirit slowly flew toward the Fiery Sorceress. The unique little creature was hunting wounds like pollen. It soon landed on the stab wound on the Fiery Sorceress’ heart.

“Just hang in there for a little longer,” Xinxia knew her Healing Spirit was unable to revitalize the Fiery Sorceress, but it could slow down the pace of the Fiery Sorceress’ life force being drained away.

The Fiery Sorceress was floating in mid-air, her body stiff. Her burning face seemed to wear a poignant smile, trying to express her gratitude to Xinxia.

“Healing Spirit!” Xinxia did not waste any time. As soon as she completed the Healing Element Star Pattern, she proceeded to cast the same Intermediate Spell again.

The same glow intertwined on her hand. With a soft push, the Healing Spirit flew toward Shi Gua, who was in the midst of a tough battle…

Shi Gua was already injured after the battle against the Fiery Sorceress. The healing serums he brought were not effective to treat his wounds, yet he was forced to fight against his own men. He was worn out from the battle as he was holding himself back from killing his men.

To his surprise, the girl with the Psychic Element turned out to be a Healer, too. From the way she was able to summon two Healing Spirits, the Healing Element must be her primary Element!

Shi Gua was desperately in need of the Healing Spirit. His burns were extremely painful, to the extent that his channeling of Spells was almost interrupted at times. The Ice Lock he was supposed to cast easily became inaccurate due to his injuries. With the Healing Spirit mending his wounds and providing him with some relief, it would be easier for him to deal with his men who were being controlled!

“Bitch, I should have cast a death curse on you, just so you wouldn’t be able to wake up for the rest of your life!” screamed the Demoness.

Not only did Xinxia’s Healing Spirit sustain the Fiery Sorceress’ life, it had also lifted some pressure from Shi Gua’s shoulders. Both the Fiery Sorceress or Shi Gua could pose a huge threat to the Demoness. She had come up with a cautious plan to eliminate all her threats, and all she had to do now was to wipe out the rest of the weaklings. Yet, she never thought a girl who could not even walk would trip her so hard!

The Demoness was utterly furious. She was forced to dodge the Spells thrown at her by Zhang Xiaohou, Nanyu, the brother and sister of the Mu Clan, and Mo Fan!

However, their numbers had given them an edge. The destructive energies from the Wind Disc, Fiery Fist, Ice Lock, Lightning Strike, and Ice Spread kept on coming. Even with her Earth Element’s defense, she was unable to protect herself from all of the destructive Spells.

The Demoness did not have an Earth Seed, so her Rock Barrier was not very outstanding. After a few waves of the Intermediate Spells, the Demoness had no choice but to summon her Shield Equipment.

While evading the attacks, the Demoness purposely glanced at Zhao Yulin, who was suffocating from the grip of the demon.

She initially planned to take Zhao Yulin’s life, but under the circumstances, it would be difficult for her to wipe out the young Magicians without freeing up her Curse Element.

“Sinister Spider Trap!”

The Demoness spared Zhao Yulin’s life. She withdrew the pitch black demon.

Dark red strings appeared on her palm, as tiny as a spider’s silk.

Following a wave, an eerie crimson flicker appeared above Mo Fan. A ghost-like spider suddenly crawled out from the gap in the air!

The spider was less than ten meters away from Mo Fan’s head. It was extending its sharp and long claws, looming over Mo Fan’s figure.

The spider’s claws were synchronized with the Demoness’ actions. As the Demoness pulled the strings rapidly, the crimson red silks surrounded Mo Fan’s figure and wrapped around him and his soul!

The Life-devouring Silk was able to drain its target’s life force away and devour the target’s soul, and would eventually kill the target. In a few moments, Mo Fan would end up just like Wang Xiaojun, who had fallen into permanent sleep!

Mo Fan was astounded. He was totally unaware that the Demoness had set up the spider silk around him.

The Intermediate Spell of the Curse Element, Sinister Spider Trap was like a trap Spell. Although it seemed like it was able to attack its prey out of nowhere, it needed to be set up beforehand, and wait for the prey to walk into it.

Mo Fan never saw the Demoness setting up the death trap. He felt a chill go down his spine. The Demoness was so adept at using the Curse Element that he was completely unaware of it!

“Brother Mo Fan, don’t panic,” Xinxia’s voice entered Mo Fan’s heart.

Mo Fan clearly knew how dangerous the Sinister Spider Trap. He could feel the energy of his soul being drained away as he was trying to break free from the Spell.

However, when Mo Fan heard Xinxia’s voice, he realized that he was overly nervous. The Psychic Element was able to nullify the Curse Element. Once Xinxia constructed a Spirit Wall between him and the spider silk, it would stop his life and soul from being drained away.

As Xinxia drew the Star Pattern once again, the Demoness wore an eerie grin as if everything were going according to her plan!

“Mind Control!”

The eyes of the Demoness suddenly flickered. The terrifying will was implanted inside Mo Fan’s eyes, trying to control his mind with brute force.

Mo Fan could feel his body twitching. He could hear a sound inside his ears telling him that the Demoness was right beside him.

Mo Fan turned around and saw the Demoness standing beside him without him knowing. She was drawing some dangerous Star Pattern-

—-

“Watch out, her Mind Control has switched targets!” yelled Shi Gua, who had been lured a certain distance away.

Xinxia, who was focusing on drawing her Star Pattern, did not expect the Demoness was actually targeting her, even though the trap was focusing on Mo Fan!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Xinxia was casting Spirit Wall to stop the spider from penetrating Mo Fan’s soul, yet the Demoness had abused her fast casting speed to control Mo Fan’s mind as he was trapped by the spider, intending to kill Xinxia, who was posing the greatest threat to her.

Xinxia’s Spirit Wall was able to defend her from the Curse and Psychic Element, yet it was useless against Mo Fan’s Fire and Lightning Elements. It did not matter if she were stopping or continuing the channeling, she would die either way!

“Xinxia, watch out!” screamed Zhao Manyan and Zhang Xiaohou.

They did not expect the Demoness to control Mo Fan to hurt Xinxia. It was too late for them to react in time to protect Xinxia with defensive Spells. Mo Fan was too quick at casting the Basic Spell Fire Burst. A fireball was simply ignited in his right hand as soon as he flipped it!

Mo Fan’s Basic Spell was shockingly powerful. Xinxia would not able to survive it at such a close distance!

The group felt a chill down their spine after learning how vicious the Demoness was. They immediately glanced in Mo Fan’s direction, and saw his bloodshot eyes, looking completely like he had lost control of himself.

As a matter of fact, Xinxia had somehow turned into the Demoness in Mo Fan’s eyes. She was uttering a screechy laugh…

Mo Fan’s hands were trembling, it was possible that his body was subconsciously stopping him from doing it.

In the nick of time, the Fiery Sorceress who was the closest to Mo Fan let out a cry.

Xinxia’s Healing Spirit finally worked, allowing the Fiery Sorceress, who was on the verge of dying, to recover some of her energy. Her body turned into a puff of flame, slamming right at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s hand, which he raised into the air, stiffened eerily. The color of his pupils changed rapidly, as if he were resisting being controlled by the Demoness.

The Demoness was furious when she saw the Fiery Sorceress slamming into Mo Fan.

“Die! Die! Die! You will all die!” screamed the Demoness.

Normally, she was supposed to be able to control the mind of an Intermediate Magician instantly, and even order him to fire Spells at his family members.

However, for some reason, the kid’s mind was a lot stronger than that of an ordinary Intermediate Magician. He managed to struggle for a few more seconds…

The Demoness did not know about the Focus Necklace on Mo Fan’s neck, which partially protected him from her Mind Control.

The truth was, the Focus Necklace was nowhere enough to protect one from being controlled by an Advanced Psychic Magician. Since Mo Fan had four Elements in total, his willpower was a lot stronger than any ordinary Intermediate Magician.

The Focus Necklace and his four Elements made him the hardest to control among the group. Also, he was not worn out like the eight Magicians…

The Demoness was focused on trying to get rid of Xinxia, yet she had not expected Mo Fan to have four Elements and the Focus Necklace.

When she strengthened the Spell once again to overcome Mo Fan’s resistance, the Fiery Sorceress had already entered Mo Fan’s body…

Mo Fan was not sent flying by the collision. It felt like a shadow clone that initially belonged to Mo Fan had returned to his true self.

Possession! The exact capability that had allowed the Fiery Sorceress to make it so far into the safe zone.

She was desperately trying to possess Mo Fan, so she could oppose the Demoness’ Mind Control with her strong spirit.

The Demoness dared to control the worn out Magicians and Mo Fan, who was still an Intermediate Magician, but she would never dare to control the Fiery Sorceress, as her extraordinary spirit would simply reflect it with a force capable of shattering the Demoness’ mind.

—-

The Fiery Sorceress had taken over Mo Fan’s body. The man who already had Fire as his primary Element was set aflame. The ocean of flames that was dying slowly suddenly blossomed, painting the surroundings red!

The heat from the flames surged in all directions, like an enraged dragon roaming wildly in the area.

Flames sprouted out from Mo Fan’s eyes as he stepped forward under the Fiery Sorceress’ control. Pillar of flames burst out from the ground before him.

It felt like the flames in his surroundings were welcoming their emperor. The formidable aura forced the Demoness to back off!

“You bunch of pricks, I’ll kill you all one by one!” cursed the Demoness when she realized that the situation was no longer in her favor.

Since the Fiery Sorceress had possessed Mo Fan, the power of his Fire had grown significantly. The Demoness was extremely cunning. She clearly knew that she no longer stood a chance against either Shi Gua, who was freed from the battle, or Mo Fan, who was currently engulfed in raging flames. She immediately decided to run away.

The Fire Calamity Fruit was still in her hands. She could easily get her revenge once she ate the Fire Calamity Fruit. It was unnecessary for her to rush it.

“She’s running away!’ yelled Zhang Xiaohou.

The Demoness was quite an expert at running too. Her speed was fairly shocking with the combination of Earth Wave and some other equipment.

“Humph, justice always prevails.”

When everyone was momentarily stunned, the charming yet proud voice of a little loli rang out.

A net made of intertwining light rays descended from the sky, which landed right where the Demoness was running into.

The net seemed to have been waiting for her for quite some time. It was already looming over her as she started running. The Demoness was totally unaware of it ran into the net and fell rolling to the ground.

Zhao Manyan was stunned.

Wasn’t that thing the golden light net she used to ensnare the vampire Nie Dong? It had a strong burning effect, which would leave scorched marks on the prey’s skin like an iron stamp!

“AHHHH!!!”

As he thought, the Demoness’ cries of agony came fairly quickly.

The Demoness had been burned by the Fire Calamity before, hence she was very afraid of anything that burned! The light net scorched her already scarred skin, generating incredible pain.

“You…you… I’m going to kill you!”

When the Demoness saw it was a seemingly harmless little loli standing on the other side of the net, she almost lost her mind!

She had already made a mistake when she underestimated Mo Fan’s crew’s strength and determination. Who would dare think that a little girl around the age of twelve would set a trap for her!?

The Demoness was always the one setting traps for the others. Countless Commanders and Advanced Magicians had died at her hands, yet she ended up being ensnared by a light net set up by a little girl… how humiliating!

Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw the Demoness being trapped.

The young Magicians were fully focused on the fight, afraid of being manipulated by the Demoness’ outstanding capabilities. No one knew where Lingling, who had been staying with them all along, was. Besides, Lingling knew how to protect herself better than anyone else.

To their surprise, Lingling had been hiding, waiting for the Demoness to flee, just so she could catch the Demoness with the net!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What are you waiting for, kill her!” Lingling yelled at Mo Fan.

Lingling was a genius loli with remarkable senses. She knew how terrifying the Demoness’ ability to control one’s mind and place curses were, so she did not hold on to the net like when she was capturing the vampire before.

She immediately fled into the distance after stopping the Demoness from escaping. Her little figure was running fairly quickly with the help of some special equipment. The vicious Demoness was just about to take her revenge when she realized that the little girl had completely vanished from her sight.

It was impossible for her to look for the little loli who had completely ruined her infamous reputation, as flames were rolling toward her like a tsunami!

Mo Fan was unable to float in the air like the Fiery Sorceress, but he was able to move with a wave of flames!

Standing on top of the wave of flames, the demon king Mo Fan was engulfed in fierce flames…

Either Mo Fan’s fury or the Fiery Sorceress’ hatred had now transformed into a fiery battle axe rolling into the sky. The astonishing fire almost slashed the sky in half!

As the fiery battle axe swung down, the air was set aflame.

“No one will die, except you, evil prick!” Mo Fan snapped furiously as his emotions merged with the Fiery Sorceress’ into one.

The fiery battle axe was like a death sentence falling down on the Demoness, aiming to send the vicious sinner down to the eighteenth floor of Hell! As the flames accumulated to the limit, its sharpness was similar to that of a real axe!

The fiery axe landed on the Demoness’ body under her piercing screech, splitting the ugly Demoness in half at the waist.

The Demoness did not die straight away after she was hacked in half. The flames spread from her waist to her head and her legs, burying her in incredible pain from the burns!

The Demoness screamed wildly. She was afraid of fire the most; it was definitely the cruelest way for her to die!

However, despite her scream, no one showed her any compassion. The suffering she was enduring was nothing compared to the pain that Jiang Feng and Chen Yi, the mother and daughter, had gone through!

—

Normally, the Little Loach Pendant would absorb the deceased spirits nearby and refined them into Soul Essences. However, as the spirit of the burned corpse that was slashed in half rose into the air, the Little Loach Pendant remained silent.

Even the Little Loach Pendant was extremely disgusted by her dirty soul. It was better for it to simply be erased from the world!

The fire was still burning. The light from it lit up the huge villa, which had been turned into a pile of debris. All that was left was a total mess.

The Fiery Sorceress slowly exited Mo Fan’s body. Mo Fan did not feel uncomfortable. He turned around and saw the Fiery Sorceress’ pale face.

She was already severely injured back at the Fire Pillar Hill, yet she had still followed them all the way here and experienced a tough battle. She was most likely expending her remaining life force.

Now that the Demoness was dead, the Fiery Sorceress was also approaching the end of her life.

Mo Fan searched the Demoness’ corpse and quickly found the Fire Calamity Fruit inside her space bracelet.

“Save her quick,” blurted out Lingling.

Mo Fan handed the Fire Calamity Fruit to the Fiery Sorceress, who reached out her hands and held the Fire Calamity Fruit cautiously.

“Eat it quick,” said Mo Fan to the Fiery Sorceress.

The Fire Calamity Fruit was the only way to save her life. Now that the Demoness was dead, everything would be back to normal once the Fiery Sorceress ate the Fire Calamity Fruit.

However, the Fiery Sorceress shook her head.

She held the Fire Calamity Fruit and stared at it with a gentle and loving look.

Everyone was utterly confused by the scene. The Fire Calamity Fruit was priceless, yet it was not as precious as the Fiery Sorceress’ life. Why would the Fiery Sorceress rather die instead of eating the Fire Calamity Fruit?

Mo Fan stared at the Fiery Sorceress in confusion. The Fiery Sorceress was still holding the Fire Calamity Fruit, as if she were waiting for something.

Mo Fan was about to say something when the Fiery Sorceress gently blew all her remaining energy at the Fire Calamity Fruit…

The breeze swept past him. Mo Fan could sense the Fiery Sorceress’ remaining life force in it. He was so shocked that he totally forgot to stop her!

-Is the Fiery Sorceress out of her mind? Why didn’t she just eat the Fire Calamity Fruit to sustain her life? Why would she blow her last breath that contained her remaining life force on the fruit? It’s only a fruit, she can still get one after the next Fire Calamity!-

“What are you doing?” asked Mo Fan.

The Fiery Sorceress did not answer. She gently held the Fire Calamity Fruit in her hands…

Suddenly, the sturdy shell of the Fire Calamity Fruit cracked open. A part of it sprang up and fell to the ground.

A tiny hand reached out from the shell. The creature inside the fruit seemed extremely eager to see the outside world, as its hand was grabbing out wildly, trying to smash the shell open.

The little arm was around the thickness of Mo Fan’s finger, yet it had the properties of fire, but was weak like candlelight. It felt like the air of a heavy breath alone was enough to extinguish it.

“Is this…” Mo Fan stared at the Fire Calamity Fruit that had been broken into pieces in astonishment.

The little creature inside the Fire Calamity Fruit had broken free from the Fruit’s layer of protection. Unlike most creatures that would be crying in a fairly weak state, the unique creature that was made of fire seemed to be quite energetic. After breaking out of the shell, it picked up the pieces of the Fire Calamity Fruit and chewed on them like a squirrel!

Tiny arms, small legs, and a small, round body. The tiny, elegant creature looked like a porcelain doll, and it sounded like a kitten who had just been fed!

“It’s the Flame Belle,” came Xinxia’s calm voice.

Mo Fan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The Flame Belle that he was looking for desperately had been hiding inside the Fire Calamity Fruit all along…

That was not right!

The Fire Calamity Fruit was the Flame Belle itself. The unique creature was born from the Fire Calamity Fruit!

Mo Fan finally remembered that Chen Yi had mentioned how one would have to look for the Fire Calamity Fruit immediately after the Fire Calamity, as it would disappear fairly quickly…

It was obvious that the Fire Calamity Fruit did not disappear, but was the end of the embryo stage for a creature that had hatched, and that creature was the Flame Belle!

The Fiery Sorceress was not just protecting some priceless treasure, but an actual life… a youngling.

“The Fire Calamity only happens once after many years, and the Starry Tree only bears a Fire Calamity Fruit after the Fire Calamity, which is the Flame Belle in her embryo stage. Jiang Feng was saved by an aged Flame Belle, who sacrificed a Flame Belle that was not born yet in exchange for her life…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Her soul was saved because of the sacrifice of another life. She stayed at the Fire Pillar Hill ever since, at the Starry Tree to guard the new life after the Fire Calamity. The little creature is too fragile, and many demon beasts and humans desired its power. Without a guardian, it would be easily taken away, and the Flame Belle, as a rare species, would forever disappear from this world…” Xinxia revealed everything she knew.

The Fiery Sorceress had chased them all the way here to secure the lineage of the Flame Belle.

The Flame Belle was born on the Starry Tree in the fiery brazier in the middle of a desert. The world was huge, with countless species, yet only the Flame Belle violated the natural way of producing offspring. It relied on a special way to keep their lineage, which guaranteed them to be the purest form of life, blessed by nature.

The little Flame Belle ran around restlessly. The debris across the place became her joyful playground, completely unaware of the destruction, death and conspiracy just a few moments ago…

Mo Fan always thought he was a heartless man. All the deaths he had witnessed in the past had made him numb when it came to a situation like this, yet when he saw the Fiery Sorceress’ fire dying slowly and the little creature jumping around in such a lively manner, he suddenly found himself choking with sobs.

The Flame Belle did not realize that the Fiery Sorceress whose life was coming to an end was her mother. She stood there blinking her big eyes and uttered a confused moan similar to that of a kitten.

She had no idea how difficult her birth was.

The Fiery Sorceress’ life came to an end. Mo Fan believed that her eyes were full of relief when she saw the Flame Belle being born healthy. She would never regret what she had done. If there was anything she felt not satisfied, it was the fact that she only had limited time to look at the little creature…

The Flame Belle cried softly. She had the ability to float in the air. The tired creature flew into Mo Fan’s arms.

Mo Fan was surprised. It felt like the little creature had been circulating around him since she was born. Did she mistakenly assume he was her father?

“She left a marking in your soul when she possessed you. The Flame Belle will be treating you like her parent. Brother Mo Fan, Jiang Feng hopes that you will take good care of the little Flame Belle…” said Xinxia.

Mo Fan cast a glance at the little flame porcelain doll lying in his arms, then at the slowly fading Fiery Sorceress…

He was indeed hoping that he would get a Flame Belle youngling as his Contracted Beast, yet he never thought it would turn out like this.

Mo Fan took a deep breath as he was aware of the great responsibility entrusted to him.

“If her soul is still around, please tell her that when the Fire Calamity happens again, I’ll bring the Flame Belle to the Starry Tree, and help her guard her lineage,” Mo Fan told Xinxia.

Xinxia shook her head and said, “That was the last Fire Calamity, and she is the last Flame Belle.”

“Why?” Mo Fan exclaimed in surprise.

Xinxia did not answer, as she only learned that from the disjointed memories of the Fiery Sorceress. The Fire Calamity would never happen again, nor would the Starry Tree bear any Fire Calamity Fruit. The little creature was the last Flame Belle, and once she died, her species would become extinct.

“Fine… I’ll take good care of this little thing,” Mo Fan nodded sternly.

He initially thought the hope of getting a Flame Belle was lost, yet he still ended up getting one.

The truth was, the information about the Flame Belle supplied by the Hunters was mere rumors and speculations. The Flame Belle they had seen over the past few years was actually the Fiery Sorceress Jiang Feng. The real Flame Belle lying in his arms was as light as a kitten, and as adorable as a porcelain doll. The flames surrounding her were weak and barely emitted any heat.

Mo Fan drew the Summoning Star Pattern after calming his thoughts.

Mo Fan had never cast the Intermediate Summoning Spell despite ranking up to Intermediate a long time ago. Not only was he slow at casting the Spell, he even failed a few times.

It did not make too much of a difference. As he slowly completed the Summoning Star Pattern, he placed the Contract Seal on the Flame Belle.

The Flame Belle did not reject his energy. She rolled over and received the seal, before falling asleep again, as if she were telling Mo Fan not to wake a little baby up until it was time for food.

“By the way, what are you going to do if the Flame Belle drinks milk?” Zhao Manyan went up to Mo Fan and asked jealously.

Mo Fan straightened his face and mouthed his reply silently, as he was concerned of disturbing the Flame Belle’s sleep: Piss off!

“I think she eats Soul Seed Pieces, and they have to be Fire Elemental too,” said Nanyu confidently.

“WHAT?” Mo Fan was left dumbfounded.

Soul Seed Pieces!

Soul Seed Pieces are extremely costly. He would rather feed the Flame Belle milk. A nanny would only cost a little bit of money every month. Besides, he still had gorgeous beauties like Xinxia, Tangyue, Mu Nujiao, and the others to feed her…

“Brother Fan, do you have enough money to buy milk powder to feed her?” Zhang Xiaohou asked softly.

Mo Fan’s face went dark.

Judging from how the Flame Belle had eaten all the pieces of the Fire Calamity Fruit in only a few minutes, God knows how many Soul Seed Pieces he needed to feed her every day. How much money would he have to invest before she became mature?!

“Luckily we saved up some supply at the North Burning Valley.”

“I don’t think it’s enough. I heard that the Flame Belle also eats Soul Seeds, since Soul Seed Pieces aren’t filling enough.”

“That’s right, it’s said that the Flame Belle will possess a higher level flame once she matures if you feed her Soul Seeds. Mo Fan, I’m sure that a povo like you won’t be able to raise her appropriately. Give her to me, my family has more than enough resources…”

Mo Fan gave Zhao Manyan a full screen of the same phrase: Piss off!

“The Flame Belle’s lineage is extraordinary, her strength is surely formidable if you raise her well. Mo Fan, even if you have to sell all your possessions, you have to take good care of her. Don’t worry about living a tough life, it will soon pay off!”

“It’s time for me to get back to the army; otherwise I’ll get brought up as a deserter,” sighed Zhang Xiaohou.

“Houzi, I can’t let you go back empty-handed, take this Soul Seed…”

“Brother Fan, I already found a diamond rock when you were swept away by the lava. I can sell it for a good price, you should keep the Soul Seed to feed your little Flame Belle.”

“…” Mo Fan squinted.

This son of a bitch Zhang Xiaohou, he still had the mood to dig up a diamond rock when he was swept away by the lava.

“I’ll be taking this.” Zhao Manyan took the contents of the Demoness’ space ring. There was not much, but it was still profit.

Xinxia took a piece of Psychic Equipment that the Demoness was wearing, which seemed to be fairly valuable.

Even though their profit was not as great as Mo Fan’s, their loot was actual money and equipment, unlike Mo Fan, who still had to invest further before reaping the harvest. He was already a bottomless hole in need of resources, and now he had to raise a little Flame Belle that ate Fire Seeds and Fire Seed Pieces…

It seemed like he had to accept more quests. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to feed his family!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Last night, Lehuo Town was struck by a meteorite, which resulted in a huge fire. Chairman Zhao Yulin’s villa suffered a great loss…”

“The weird meteorite contained a mysterious energy, lots of vehicles broke down because of it.”

“Lehuo Town is on fire due to the meteorite. The workers were evacuated in time, thus there was no casualty, which could have been a lot worse…”

—

A few days later, the news was still being reported. Even though Lehuo Town was fairly distant from the city, the news reporters still managed to get some information.

“Zhao Yulin does have some power, controlling the news and manipulating it into an accident. I guess the incident did wake him up.” Mo Fan turned off the television. The news being fed to the public was somehow acceptable.

Xinxia nodded. The Fiery Sorceress Jiang Feng was protecting the lineage of Flame Belle. Now that the Flame Belle was born healthy, her duty had been fulfilled.

“Brother Mo Fan, I’m going back to school. I’ve been out for such a long time, my teachers are going to scold me,” said Xinxia.

“Mm, I’ll send you back.”

——

The return journey between Hangzhou and Shanghai only took half a day. Mo Fan sent Xinxia back to school, and returned to the Pearl Institute.

Zhang Xiaohou and Nanyu went back to their headquarters, especially the former who had left urgently, as if something tricky was waiting for him back in the army.

Mo Fan was going to ask Zhang Xiaohou to stay in Shanghai for a few days and enjoy himself, but he had no choice but to let Zhang Xiaohou go because of the urgent matter.

After settling the tasks on hand, Mo Fan paid Huo Tuo a visit.

Considering the length of time, his Armor Equipment should be done by now. Mo Fan was waiting to wear it so he could climb the rankings. His cultivation was too weak, there was no chance he could defeat stronger demon beasts and Magicians if he did not improve anytime soon…

—

When he arrived at the Opal Tower, he went straight to Huo Tuo’s shop and saw the guy with the shameless name Li Junnan dozing off at the counter.

“Why is it you again… by the way, your snake scales didn’t even have lines, how are they good?!” Li Junnan stopped Mo Fan.

The question had troubled him every night since then!

Mo Fan rolled his eyes, not wanting to speak to the apprentice with a very touching IQ.

“Where’s my stuff?” asked Mo Fan.

“Is it Mo Fan? Thanks to the two fangs you’ve found, I’ve invented something remarkable, do you want to take a… huh, what’s the little fire on your shoulder?” Huo Tuo went up to Mo Fan with squinted eyes.

“My Contracted Beast.” Mo Fan was left speechless. He grabbed the little Flame Belle jumping around his shoulders and flicked the little, adorable porcelain doll on her head to teach her a lesson. “Didn’t I tell you not to come out on your own? It’s fine if you burn someone, but it’s no good if you ended up burning the flowers and plants.”

“Ling~” The Flame Belle lowered her head. She almost broke into tears, feeling wronged.

Mo Fan felt helpless. Other people’s Contracted Beasts would stay in the Contracted Space, and only appear when they were summoned.

The Flame Belle, on the other hand, appeared to have some weird power, allowing her to move freely between the Contracted Space and reality. Mo Fan could not do anything about it.

“This…this… this must be the Flame Belle!” Suddenly, Huo Tuo’s eyes glistened like a pervert pedophile seeing an adorable little loli. He was so close to lunging at her!

“Hey hey, watch yourself old man!” said Mo Fan sternly, stopping Huo Tuo, who was trying to hug the little creature.

Huo Tuo coughed awkwardly. “My bad, I was too excited. Kid, give me a price, I’ll buy the Flame Belle from you. Whatever the price you say!” Huo Tuo’s face was flushed; he did not even act like this when he saw the vampire’s fangs!

Little did Mo Fan know, the Flame Belle was basically the dream pet of every Forgemaster!

Normally only Magicians with either Fire or Lightning Elements were able to become a Forgemaster, but the best Forgemasters were always Summoners with Fire Element Contracted Beasts, as they were able to help them in the process of forging Equipment.

Different materials were processed by flames with different effects, so by gaining control of a different type of fire, a Forgemaster would be able to insert more power into the process, and forge higher quality Equipment. Huo Tuo was a Three-flame Forgemaster, as he had three different types of fire to forge with!

A creature like a Flame Belle usually had two different types of fire. In other words, if Huo Tuo was able to get a Flame Belle and train her, he would become a Four-Flame Forgemaster, making him a world-renowned Forgemaster!

The only problem was, a creature like the Flame Belle did not come easily. Most people only heard about it from rumors, instead of seeing a real one. Those who had seen one were not strong enough to take her down, let alone get their hands on a Flame Belle’s youngling!

In order to become a world famous forgemaster, the stingy Huo Tuo was willing to expend half of his possessions in exchange for a Flame Belle!

As such, Huo Tuo almost went crazy when he saw Mo Fan with a Flame Belle. He simply asked Mo Fan to give him a price, and he would not blink even if the kid asked for hundreds of millions!

“Calm down, calm down, I’ll offer you a thousand million to sell your granddaughter to me? Will you do it? This Flame Belle is not for sale, just give it up!” Mo Fan shoved the mad old man away.

“Mo Fan, oh no, Brother Mo Fan, just sell her to me. I’ll pay any price you say!” The old man was unstoppable, acting shamelessly. The only step he lacked was hugging Mo Fan’s legs, begging him for the Flame Belle.

Li Junnan was dumbfounded.

He still did not understand the snake scales, and now another shocking question had popped up. Why was his master, who disregarded so many valuable treasures, so obsessed with a little fire porcelain doll? Where was his dignity as a Forgemaster?

—

Mo Fan was totally helpless against the old man Huo Tuo. He quickly put the Flame Belle away.

Huo Tuo could not do anything, either. Mo Fan simply did not want to sell it, regardless of what he was willing to offer!

To fawn upon Mo Fan, Huo Tuo quickly handed the Black Snake Armor to him. The old man, who was initially intending to scam some extra fees from the kid, immediately decided against it.

“How about this; since she’s already your Contracted Beast, it would be quite troublesome to sell her to me. I’ll take you in as my apprentice. With the Flame Belle, you can easily become a Four-Flame Forgemaster… As for the learning fees, I’ll give you a discount,” said Huo Tuo sternly.

“See ya!” Mo Fan took the armor and left. – Crazy man, who would want to be his apprentice?!-

Mo Fan was aiming to become the greatest Magician of all time. He had no interest in forging whatsoever!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Forgemasters were usually Lightning and Fire Magicians.

Since Mo Fan had both Fire and Lightning, he was considered extremely suitable to becoming a Forgemaster, but the art of forging was very profound. Not only would one need to learn lots of information about crafting and materials, including breaking them down, refining them, and then combining them, they would also need to choose their Soul Seeds wisely.

Mo Fan was not into learning life skills and spending his time on random stuff. He preferred killing monsters and PvP battles. Although he would save lots of money by becoming a Forgemaster himself, and he could even make a living doing it, it required a great investment of time. Mo Fan was already running short on time to cultivate, there was no way he would waste more time on other stuff.

His priority now was to improve his four Elements to the highest limit of the Intermediate Level, before he started thinking about breaking through to the Advanced Level!

—

After Mo Fan returned to school, he was granted the chance to cultivate inside the Three Step Tower for a day.

A single day was too short for Mo Fan. Even if he forcefully made his way to the third floor where the energy was more abundant, it would only stabilize the foundation of his Lightning Element. It was nowhere enough for him to break through.

As such, Mo Fan started to challenge those ranked in the top twenty.

The students in the top twenty were allowed to cultivate in the Three Step Tower for three days every month. Lately, he had spent most of his time on questing and exploring in the wild. His fighting capacity was fairly outstanding, but his cultivation was a lot weaker than those ranked higher on the leaderboard. After all, they were given three days to cultivate in the Three Step Tower every month. Those few days alone were enough to make a huge difference!

—

Mo Fan did not leave his house unless necessary for two months. Apart from meditating diligently, he also relied on the Three Step Tower to force a breakthrough, and finally managed to improve his Shadow Element Nebula to the second level.

Mo Fan’s next target was the Lightning Element, which had idled at the second level for quite some time. He would find himself at a disadvantage against those whose two Elements had both achieved the third level.

The good news was, over the past two months, the little Flame Belle did grow slightly. In the past, Mo Fan only needed to open his hand for the little creature to sleep on his palm. Now, he needed two hands to hold her.

The little Flame Belle still looked like an adorable porcelain doll. If it weren’t for the flames burning on her body, she would look no different than a little girl around the age of two.

“The Flame Belle is growing quite fast. However, I’ll be challenging the guys in the top twenty next month. She’s still too weak against them,” Mo Fan said to himself with a frown as he sat at the Clearsky Hunter Agency’ bar.

Each of the students ranked in the top twenty was a maniac. Mo Fan already felt the great pressure when he fought against those in the top fifty. As he prepared to challenge those in the top twenty, he was hoping to have more safety measures, in addition to the Black Snake Armor.

“The phases of a Contracted Beast are somewhat similar to a demon beast, which include the Youth Phase, the Adult Phase, and the Peak Phase. A creature with a weaker lineage will go through the phases much quicker. A creature like the One-eyed Magic Wolf only needs half a year to reach the Adult Phase from birth without the support of any item. It’s even faster than an ordinary pet dog.

“Your Flame Belle’s lineage is rather impressive; it has been two months, but she still hasn’t reached the Youth Stage. She’s still in her Infant Phase, despite the fact that she has already eaten lots of Soul Seed Pieces…” Lingling informed him as she flipped through the pages of a book.

“Not even the Youth Stage?” Mo Fan was left speechless.

“The growing pace of the creatures that sign a contract with Summoners is affected by the supply of energy your Nebula is providing. As such, the time it takes for her to grow is a lot shorter…” added Lingling.

“…you should just tell me how long she will need to reach the Youth Stage,” Mo Fan rested his chin on his hand and wryly glanced at the little Flame Belle running happily along the bar’s table.

The Flame Belle looked fairly plump, which was likely because she had been eating well for the past two months. She was almost like a little fireball, who would not feel any pain when falling to the ground. She could easily bounce half the distance she fell from back into the air!

“Based on my calculations, it would normally take her three to five years to grow from the Infant Phase to the Youth Phase. Her pace of growth is very similar to that of humans…” Lingling raised her fingers.

“Alright, I guess I’ve pretty much adopted a daughter. I’ll be an old man when she finally has some great achievements!”

“You’ve been feeding her Soul Seed Pieces, which should shorten the time it takes to a third normal. This means she will only need around twelve to seventeen months to reach the Youth Phase. Her growing pace will be increased by another three times because of the energy from your Summoning Element. As a result, it should only take her four to five months to reach the Youth Phase, which means the shortest possible time for her to reach the Youth Phase is a month, or three months at the latest.” Lingling instantly broke down the information like a king of data.

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh. It was still acceptable after hearing the analysis. It would be troublesome if she needed three to five years to only reach the Youth Phase.

“Once she reaches the Youth Phase, you can start feeding her Soul Seeds,” said Lingling.

“…” Mo Fan was speechless.

Twenty million for a tin of milk powder! How could he possibly afford to look after her?

“Of course a creature with stronger lineage needs a huge amount of resources, but the benefits you get in return are huge, too! I roughly estimate, based on the rate of growth from the amount of Soul Seed Pieces you’re feeding her, the Flame Belle should be as strong as the Swift Star Wolf when she reaches the Youth Phase,” added Lingling.

“Warrior-level at the Youth Phase?” Mo Fan was stunned.

“That’s right, her strength will be Warrior-level during her Youth Phase,” Lingling declared confidently.

Mo Fan was speechless for quite some time!

The Swift Star Wolf was already in his Adult Phase, yet his strength was around the early Warrior-level stage, still some distance away from the stronger Warrior-level creatures.

Despite that, even a Fire Magician in the top one hundred would have trouble fighting against him alone!

According to Lingling, the Flame Belle’s strength would be around the middle stage of the Warrior-level when she reached the Youth Phase, which meant that those ranked in the top fifty would not be able to defeat her, without him needing to do anything!

Youth Phase, that was only the Youth Phase!

– Doesn’t that mean when the little Flame Belle reached the Peak Phase, or even the Adult Phase, even the Commander-level creatures would have to avoid her?!-

“Come, have some Soul Seed Pieces, your dad is loaded with money, you can have as many Soul Seed Pieces as you want, eat more,” Mo Fan took out a handful of Soul Seed Pieces from his pocket.

The Soul Seed Pieces were all that remained from those they had collected from the Burning Valley. Mo Fan could not wait to let the little Flame Belle eat them, even though each piece was more expensive than diamonds, just so she could reach the Youth Phase earlier…

The little Flame Belle ate the Soul Seed Pieces like chocolate. She bit half of each piece and on munched it with puffed cheeks. Her eyes were squinted like fiery crescents as she indulged happily.

Mo Fan fondled the little Flame Belle’s head with a smile on his face.

“A rich merchant’s mansion is haunted, the reward is one million. Are you interested?”

“Yes!”

“A group of herb vendors wants to get some herbs outside of the safe zone. They’re asking for a Magician to escort them. The reward is great, but they are only asking for a Hunter Master. Are you interested?”

“Aren’t you a Hunter Master? Accept it!”

Mo Fan was extremely pumped. As long as the quest gave money as a reward, he accepted all of them without hesitation, regardless of their difficulty.

It was all for the sake of the kid!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Late night…

The city that was normally lit up with dazzling lights somehow seemed quiet in the midst of the icy wind.

Inside the apartment, Mo Fan pushed the door open tiredly and glanced at the clothes, packages of snacks, and socks that were scattered across the floor…

Not in the mood to tidy them up, Mo Fan toppled over onto the bed and fell asleep.

The quest put up by the herb vendors was extremely difficult. If it weren’t for his Black Snake Armor, it might have been the end of him.

Either way, he did not let the Clearsky Hunter Agency down, and managed to complete the quest.

Mo Fan had totally expended all his energy, thus he went to bed straightaway, without realizing that the window was open.

—

He slept throughout the night and was woken up by the blinding sunlight slapping him to the face.

The little Flame Belle woke up earlier than Mo Fan. She was walking around on the bed, and would trample Mo Fan’s face at times. Her fiery feet left scorched marks on his face, waking him up from his half-asleep state.

Mo Fan picked up the naughty Flame Belle and flicked her forehead. The little creature immediately cried out and waved her limbs in the air wildly.

Mo Fan finally calmed her down after feeding her a Soul Seed Piece, before falling back onto the bed after feeling how sore he was.

A few seconds later, Mo Fan flung the blanket open and stared at the clean room in bewilderment.

He might be worn out, but it did not give him amnesia. Mo Fan clearly remembered how messy his room was prior to going to sleep. Why did it completely change after a night? He could still detect a faint pleasant scent lingering in the room.

Mo Fan glanced at the little Flame Belle who was munching her ‘chocolate’ in confusion, before shaking his head in disagreement. It would be a relief if she didn’t burn the room down around him. How could she possibly tidy it up? Since Xinxia had left, he had not cleaned up. Lots of unsightly stuff had stacked up over the past two months…

“Liu Ru?” Mo Fan suddenly recalled something. He glanced at the closed window.

Mo Fan touched his neck and felt something piercing him slightly. He looked into the mirror and discovered a tiny kiss on his neck. There was no hole…

Liu Ru seemed to know that Mo Fan had gone through some tough battles, thus he was extremely worn out. She did not drink his blood.

Over the past two months, Mo Fan was aware that his neck would sprout tiny holes every now and then.

He was guessing it was Liu Ru. She seemed to only be able to drink only his blood to stay alive, yet she was not willing to face him, thus she would only visit him while he was asleep…

She never overdid it, and never showed the greed of a vampire. For a healthy human, losing some blood would actually promote blood circulation, like donating it. Liu Ru would always control her desire without affecting Mo Fan’s health.

Looking at the closed window and the mark on his neck, Mo Fan let out a wry smile.

Mo Fan knew she was still in the city, and watching over him secretly. However, Mo Fan never thought she would choose this path.

Even though she would need to drink his blood in order to survive, she was still unwilling to step into his world and disturb his life…

——

The Nanling Mountains…

Even when one was flying high up in the sky, there was no visible end to the mountains.

Two pairs of Wind Wings spread open, gliding below the layer of the clouds. The wings slashed the white clouds apart, leaving an obvious trail behind.

The owner of the wings was a long-haired man with a stubbled face. He was wearing a torn military jacket, dried blood stains on it.

Below him was a boundless mountain range, glowing eyes poking out between the trees and staring at the human who dared to trespass over their territory. However, despite a great number of demon wolves having gathered, none of them dared to attack the human… because the human was holding an enormous wolf head in his right hand!

The wolf head had two horns and lines indicating a noble lineage on its forehead. Its fangs were exposed to the air.

It was beheaded around the middle part of its neck, blood still coming out from the cut, dripping onto the mountains. As the human flew forward, it left a trail of blood on the ground, from one mountain to the next!

The demon wolves living in the area did not dare to try and kill the human, as the head he was holding in his hand belonged to their ruler, the Darkwing Wolf!

The man had invaded the demon wolves’ territory, and ended up bringing the Darkwing Wolf’s head back to Bo City.

———————

When the hero Zhan Kong arrived at Bo City, the civilians found themselves tearing up, their hearts filled with respect toward the Battlemage.

“Zhan Kong, you have disobeyed your orders. Didn’t I tell you that we’d find some way to eliminate the Demon Wolves Horde, but you insisted on doing it your own way. If you die, Bo City will be in danger…” scolded the new Commander protecting Bo City, Jiang Yu.

Zhan Kong threw the Darkwing Wolf’s head to the ground and said coldly, “If I continue to wait for a coward like you to do it, how long will it take before the dead of Bo City finds their peace?”

“What did you say!” snapped Jiang Yu.

“You can punish me however you want, I’ll accept it when the time comes.” Zhan Kong did not stop there. His Wind Wings prepared to send him back into the sky.

“Where are you going!?” snapped Jiang Yu when he saw that Zhan Kong was not paying any attention to him.

“I”m going to look for Salan,” said Zhan Kong.

“The Black Vatican’s Red Cardinal?” Jiang Yu was stunned.

Salan! A name that would make many authorities of the Magic Associations shiver in fear!

Zhan Kong did not explain further. He flew into the distance despite the injuries to his body…

The greatest threat to Bo City had been eliminated, thus he would leave the rest to Jiang Yu.

———

Zhan Kong’s eyes were staring to the northwest, filled with murderous intent.

Not only did Zhan Kong kill the Darkwing Wolf at the Nanling Mountains, he had also discovered a shocking conspiracy!

Bo City was never Salan’s real target!

“Yu’Er, if I can survive this, I’ll look for you under the gaps of Tianshan Mountain…

“If not, please forgive me for not keeping my promise.”

“You know I, Zhan Kong, am never intimidated by anyone, but this Salan, his evil is something that no one has ever seen before. The fear he brings is enough to penetrate my bones…”

Zhan Kong wore a dark expression, his hand clenched tightly around a broken necklace.

The sky and the ground were connected into one. The road ahead was filled with uncertainty.

He knew that the closer he was to that person, the closer he would be to death, but he was left with no choice. His figure grew smaller as he flew into the distance on his hunt…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

“Such an annoying Electric Field, my Ferocious Ant Scorpion can’t get close to him!”

Dongfang Ming was anxious now.

Back at Hangzhou, he had been destroyed by this guy’s fourth-tier Basic Spell. Now that he was being challenged by him in a ranking battle, he felt like the fight was even harder!

Dongfang Ming had purposely traded his Wing Equipment for an outstanding suit of armor to prepare himself for the duel, as it served as a guarantee that he would be able to face Mo Fan’s Basic Spell.

However, not only did Mo Fan not use his Fire Spell, he had used his fourth-tier Lightning Strike to create an Electric Field. Dongfang Ming’s second Element was the Summoning Element, yet it was completely useless against Mo Fan!

His Ferocious Ant Scorpion was a unique Summoned Beast.

The fighting ability of a single Ferocious Ant Scorpion was similar to that of a Servant-class creature, but even a Warrior-level creature would have to back off when fighting against a pack of Ferocious Ant Scorpions.

Dongfang Ming’s Contracted Beast was the Ferocious Ant Scorpion Warrior. Its strength was nothing outstanding, but he was able to summon more than twenty of them at once to attack his target.

It was basically Dongfang Ming’s trump card, one that he had prepared specifically to fight against Mo Fan…

Unfortunately, he did not realize that Mo Fan was not afraid of a group fight.

The fourth-tier Lightning Strike was basically a tiny Domain. Mo Fan was able to abuse the Electric Field to prevent himself from being flanked back when he fought the Giant Lizards. The number of the Ferocious Ant Scorpions was not as great as the Giant Lizards, hence there was no reason for Mo Fan to be afraid!

“The nineteenth rank is mine!” A smile blossomed on Mo Fan’s face.

“Thunderbolt!”

He pointed his finger at the sky, triggering a thunderbolt to descend out of nowhere and strike Dongfang Ming’s ocean blue armor.

The lightning blasted the thick armor open. Arcs splintered into the surroundings. Dongfang Ming’s height somehow shortened; he turned out to have dropped to his knees from the overwhelming impact!

Dongfang Ming’s legs were trembling badly. The armor had already blocked a few Lightning Strikes for him, and had finally gone over its limit. The energy of the lightning penetrated his body through the gaps of the armor. He could feel his bones almost falling apart!

He could not accept his defeat. Dongfang Ming initially thought he could redeem himself from the humiliation he had suffered in Hangzhou, yet he had lost once again!

The truth was, Dongfang Ming had an innate talent, which allowed him to draw Star Patterns for the Fire Element twice as fast as ordinary Magician. It was a huge advantage for him, which together with his rich background was enough to secure him a spot in the top three in Pearl Institute. However, he was stuck at rank nineteen instead.

After losing the battle, he had no choice but to hand over his nineteenth rank. Meanwhile, his rank dropped all the way to forty-fifth!

“That lazy prick lost, just as I thought,” smiled a young man in the spectator seats.

“Dongfang Lie, how long will it take for you to defeat this Double Innate Elements guy?” said Zhou Shuming beside him.

Dongfang Lie raised his head as if he were in a deep thought. A few seconds later, he finally spoke up, “Based on what he has shown until now… probably one or two rounds of attacks.”

Zhou Shuming was startled, before he burst out laughing and tapped Dongfang Lie on the shoulder, “I’ll remember that.”

“It doesn’t mean anything, since there are a few more behind me who he can’t surpass. I don’t think you’ll see me defeating him anytime soon,” said Dongfang Lie.

“True, but I have something to tell you, related to this Double Innate Elements kid,” said Zhou Shuming.

“Oh?” Dongfang Lie raised his eyebrows.

“He has taken a provisional spot,” said Zhou Shuming mysteriously.

“The selection hasn’t started yet. How could he possibly get a spot?” Dongfang Lie was not too happy at the news.

Even with his strength, he was not qualified to get a provisional spot. There was no way this Double Innate Elements guy was able to do so!

“Councilman Zhu Meng, the Lingyin Enforcement Union, and Hangzhou’s City Council all recommended him. I only heard about it coincidentally,” said Zhou Shuming.

“Sounds like a big shot.”

“Not really, I’ve already investigated his background. He was only extremely lucky to help Hangzhou resolve a plague. The Enforcement Union is inclined to recommend him as a candidate for the Huang Ranking. If there isn’t any young Magician that has a higher achievement than him, he’s most likely going to enter,” said Zhou Shuming.

Dongfang Lie finally withdrew his scornful attitude. He glanced at Mo Fan, who was walking down from the dueling ground.

The Huang Ranking! This guy was a provisional candidate of the Huang Ranking?!

There were many talented young Magicians in a country, and most of them went to different famous schools in different places. Normally, it was difficult for them to get the chance to fight against one another. Therefore, how would people evaluate their talents?

Each Element in the schools had their own rankings, while some had rankings for the entire school. Meanwhile, the Hunter Union had the Hunter Ranking…

These rankings were only applicable to their respective environments. It was not enough to become the standard for evaluating one’s strength. As a result, the Magic Associations across the five continents had constructed four rankings, designed through precise filtering and evaluation!

The four World Rankings, which were translated into: Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang!

The Tian Ranking, Di Ranking, and Xuan Ranking consisted of experts from different levels. Most of the Magicians listed on these rankings had wide reputations and outstanding strength. Mu Dao, whom Shi Gua had sworn his loyalty to, was a Magician of the Xuan Ranking. Even without any title, his status was on par with a Councilman.

The Huang Ranking, on the other hand, was for young Magicians.

Protecting the Underground Holy Spring during Bo City’s calamity, wiping out the Black Vatican in Shanghai, and resolving the plague of Hangzhou City; Mo Fan was involved, and even played a critical role in all of them.

The Huang Ranking would update once every four years, and the Magician recommended to be listed on the Huang Ranking in the China region was… Mo Fan!

Basically, Mo Fan already had a spot reserved in the World College Tournament. Most importantly, his name was submitted to the National Magic Association, and after going through the Asia Continent Magic Association, his name would be listed on the Huang Ranking.

Mo Fan was pretty much a grass-roots Magician. He would never learn about the four World Rankings if no one told him about them.

To an extent, he would not even know he was already quite famous among the young Magicians in the country. Once the announcement regarding the change of Huang Ranking was made, even those from other countries would learn about him.

Both Zhou Shuming and Dongfang Lie considered themselves among the top talents among young Magicians in the country. They were eagerly anticipating taking part in the World College Tournament and entering the Huang Ranking. When they learned the guy with Double Innate Elements had already secured a spot in both of them, it was difficult for them to laugh at him anymore!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Can’t do anything about that, his contributions are not replicable. I’m sure that you’re feeling the same way as I am. What right does a guy who struggles to secure the nineteenth rank have to step on us?” laughed Zhou Shuming.

Dongfang Lie went silent for a while, before he said with a smile, “Things aren’t that complicated. Both the World College Tournament and the Huang Ranking evaluates one based on their strength. We just need to defeat him. The people of the Magic Association will also take a defeat in the school’s ranking into account.”

“You’re right. I’ve never heard of anyone listed on the Huang Ranking being crushed by his opponents at school! His contributions to society might be impressive, but he’s too weak to be listed on the ranking!” Zhou Shuming was relieved after he heard Dongfang Lie’s words.

——

Mo Fan had no idea someone was already targeting him. Through the repeated duels, he realized that his strength was not too outstanding. He had to rely on the Three Step Tower to improve his cultivation. Otherwise, he would lose horribly against those with half a foot into the Advanced Level!

After Mo Fan secured the nineteenth spot, he was granted the chance to train in the Three Step Tower for five days.

Mo Fan focused on cultivating his Lightning Element Nebula.

Mo Fan went to the third floor of the Three Step Tower and barely stayed there for two days. He finally improved his Lightning Nebula to the third level after crazily absorbing the Lightning Element there.

As for the remaining three days, he focused on the Shadow Element.

His Shadow Element had remained stagnant for quite some time. To his relief, he was able to improve his Shadow Element to the second level before the period of five days came to an end…

If his cultivation had not dropped a level because of him demonizing, he would not have fallen so far behind compared to those ranked in the top twenty. All four of his Elements would have reached the third level!

Mo Fan had many Elements, thus he had to spend extra effort to cultivate them. For those ranked higher up in the ranking, spending a longer time in the Three Step Tower would not benefit them as much, yet Mo Fan was still focusing on improving his other Elements. His Fire Element, which was currently at the third level, was not able to benefit as much as it did when he first entered the Three Step Tower. However, both the Shadow Element and the Summoning Element were being cultivated in the Three Step Tower for the first time, so the results were fairly impressive.

Mo Fan had to climb higher up in the rankings so he could cultivate in the Three Step Tower longer, just so all his four Elements could improve at the same time!

The Flame Belle’s growth rate would increase to fourfold when his Summoning Element reached the second level.

This was extremely important to Mo Fan, as the quicker the Flame Belle was able to reach her Adolescent Phase, the faster he would have a Ruler-level Contracted Beast!

His Lightning Element was currently at the third level, while the Shadow Element was at the second level. The next time he visited the Three Step Tower, he would improve his Summoning Element to the second level!

——

Mo Fan was in a good mood when he came out from the Three Step Tower.

He had spent most of his time training in the wild, and was fairly experienced at battle and completing missions, unlike the Magicians who cultivated at school most of the time. As such, the benefits he received during every visit to the Three Step Tower were relatively impressive, too.

It was similar to a Martial Artist… the Three Step Tower was like rinsing their body in herbs.

Although rising their body in herbs every day did improve their physical attributes, it was not as significant as the hidden potential awakened by those who fought a series of battles, then rinsed bodies stained with sweat and blood in herbs.

As such, lately, whenever Mo Fan visited the Three Step Tower, his cultivation would improve!

Both his Fire and Lightning were at the third level, and the reason why Mo Fan was able to fight against students higher on the ranking. His next step was to improve his Summoning Element to the second level.

The Summoning Element was the one that Mo Fan had spent the least amount of time on. As such, he would need to spend at least seven days in the Three Step Tower to improve it to the second level in one go.

Only those ranked in the top ten were given a chance to cultivate in the Three Step Tower for seven days!

“Mo Fan, are you sure you’re not going to take it slowly? Trying to jump from rank nineteen to ten is a bit ambitious!” Ai Tutu warned him seriously when she learned of his intentions.

“Each rank in the top thirty is difficult enough, let alone jumping from nineteenth to tenth. You should try fighting rank fifteen first before going any further,” Mu Nujiao shared the same thoughts as Ai Tutu. Mo Fan was definitely being too aggressive!

Mu Nujiao’s strength had improved at a crazy rate over the past year as well. She was now ranked forty-seventh in the Plant School, and still climbing her way up.

Mu Nujiao thought she was fast at climbing the ranks. Meanwhile, Mo Fan was trying to get into the top ten!

Those ranked in top ten, if she could describe them… they were simply a bunch of monsters!

“That’s wasting too much time! The earlier I can get into top ten, the earlier I can get my hands on the resources… they give lots of Soul Seed Pieces, too. You have no idea how poor I am right now,” Mo Fan smiled wryly, glaring at the little Flame Belle playing with his hair!

“I can’t say otherwise… from what I know, everyone in the top ten has their own innate talent. If you want to challenge them, you should learn what their innate talents are beforehand,” Mu Nujiao advised when she realized that she could not convince Mo Fan otherwise.

“Innate talents?”

“Mm, something similar to your Double Innate Elements. Even though they aren’t as bizarre as your Double Innate Elements, those who are ranked higher usually have greater innate talents,” said Mu Nujiao.

Now that Mu Nujiao had mentioned it, Mo Fan finally recalled that Dongfang Ming also had an innate talent, which allowed him to draw the Star Patterns at twice the speed of everyone else… However, the guy was too lazy, he did not utilize the potential of his outstanding innate talent.

Innate talents were fairly rare to come by. Normally, those who had one would have a huge advantage over others if they were not putting it to waste. Mo Fan had yet to encounter many who had one, but on second thought, he was now at the Pearl Institute, one of the most famous Magic Institutes in the country. Therefore, it was reasonable to find all sorts of maniacs here…

Most of those ranked in the top ten had an innate talent!

No wonder people kept telling him that it was impossible to win against those in the top ten. Their innate talents had already given them a huge advantage, and if they actually worked hard, how could other Magicians stand any chance against them?

According to Mu Nujiao, since Mo Fan was still a new student, even with his dominating innate talent, there was no rush to challenge the top ten students, as they were most likely seniors in the school, who had taken control of the resources for many years.

They had outstanding cultivations, a full set of equipment, and Soul Seeds for both their Elements. They were basically unbeatable at the Intermediate Level. If he were to stumble into one with an innate talent, he basically had no chance of winning!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The cultivation regression as a side effect of demonizing had resulted in Mo Fan struggling to keep up with the others.

Mo Fan did not want to waste any more of his time, so he still decided to challenge the top ten students.

Mo Fan’s challenge startled the entire Fire School. The news spread crazily fast, and the next thing Mo Fan knew, everyone had given him the title, ‘Rank-climbing Demon King’!

Among the newer students, Mu Nujiao had been the fastest at climbing the ranking. She was the only one in the top fifty, yet when compared to the Demon King, she was forty ranks behind!

“Mo Fan, do you seriously have to go so far? I’m still ranked above two hundred. Where will my face be when you enter the top ten?” Zhao Manyan said in despair.

“Forget about climbing the ranking,” mocked Mo Fan.

What Elements did this guy have?

Light and Water! Mo Fan knew that most people who Awakened one of these two Elements ended up going to the balcony!

{TL Note: Going to the balcony is slang to describe those who are miserable and thinking of commiting suicide.}

If anything, Mo Fan believed that he would have a hard time defeating Zhao Manyan in a battle, but… everyone else would have the same trouble, too.

He was pretty much a turtle with a hard shell. The only way he could win was to wait until his opponent expended all his energy!

It was truly a miracle that he had managed to secure his current rank. Mo Fan found it interesting trying to picture the students’ expressions when they were challenged by him.

“I aim to participate in the World College Tournament. I could not care less about the ranking here,” Zhao Manyan said proudly.

“Is the World College Tournament fun?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s not just fun. Once you’re selected, the school will sponsor you on a trip to other countries for training. Think about it: not only will your team have a few beauties, you will also meet the hotties from other countries. Therefore, even if you lost all the battles at the City of Water, Venice, you will still become a legend, spreading your seed across the world!” Zhao Manyan plotted ambitiously.

“Spreading my seed across the world!” Mo Fan felt himself lighting up when he heard those words.

Zhao Manyan was truly insightful. Just preying on the beauties in his own country was far from a permanent solution, since there were so many girls across the world waiting for them… mm, mm, the World College Tournament, it was very exciting!

“Alright, it’s decided then. Let’s fight our way to the World College Tournament!” Mo Fan reached an agreement with Zhao Manyan instantly.

What difference was there between a man without goals and a salted fish? {TL Note: A famous line from Stephen Chow’s movie}

Mo Fan suddenly had a new life goal when he learned the benefits of taking part in the World College Tournament from Zhao Manyan!

“The selection for the World College Tournament is pretty tough. Even our Pearl Institute only has limited spots available, but you won’t need to worry about that, since you’re already a provisional candidate. As for me, I’ll have to work a lot harder. If I fail to secure a spot, I’ll miss the chance to enjoy the dazzling world with its myriad temptations,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Oh, I almost forgot about that. Dean Xiao did mention it to me before…” Mo Fan finally recalled he did have a spot already. He was basically set for the World College Tournament.

“You are the true winner of Hangzhou’s plague; why wasn’t I as lucky as you?”

“Lucky?” Mo Fan was left speechless. Either the Silver Skyruler or the Black Totem Snake could smash him into minced meat with a single slap. If it happened all over again, Mo Fan would never involve himself in it!

—————-

The unique season had arrived again: the time when people would wear T-shirts, sweaters, slippers, and boots. As they passed by one another on the street, they would all assume other people were idiots.

At this time, all you needed was pure confidence. Despite the falling snow under the bright sun, and the chilly nights across the seasons, you only needed to stay perfectly calm, until the others began to doubt their own attire, and felt skeptical about their lives!

Mo Fan was a man of confidence, not because he had the Fire Element, but because the Flame Belle was equivalent to a small portable furnace. She was pretty much her dad’s caring little blanket… so caring that not only did she burn someone’s breakfast stall, she even burned the money he was paying to compensate the loss into ashes, leaving Mo Fan absolutely bewildered!

“Off you go, I’ll remember you,” said the woman who was the owner of the breakfast stall sternly.

“I promise I’ll pay tomorrow!” Mo Fan grabbed the little Flame Belle and apologized.

“Guess I’ll be taking a day off today. I heard that you’re challenging someone in the top ten in the Fire School. Bring my son with you to the duel so he could learn a thing or two from the battle between two talented Magicians, and I’ll forgive you for burning my stall today,” said the owner who was holding a spatula in her hand.

“Not a problem… err, even you know about that?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

Wasn’t he just challenging someone in the top ten? Why would the owner of a breakfast stall know about it? Wasn’t that a bit too exaggerated?

“You can find any kind of news here at my breakfast stall. Most of them are first-hand too, since the students often gather here to eat breakfast…” the owner said proudly.

Mo Fan had been eating his breakfast here lately, thus he eventually became close with the owner.

However, he had overdone it today. The Flame Belle had been misbehaving lately too, unable to control her flames properly, setting everything she saw on fire, including Mo Fan’s debit card. He had no choice but to request a replacement one from the bank.

Most importantly, the little Flame Belle was in a bad mood, too. He did not even scold her, but merely mentioned her misbehavior, but the Flame Belle was already promising to run away from home. As a result, Mo Fan could only comfort the little Flame Belle who had burned the breakfast stall by saying, “You’ve improved this month, burning one less stall compared to last month.”

The little Flame Belle finally returned to the Contracted Space happily to take a nap.

Mo Fan immediately let out a relieved sigh after she was gone. What had happened to her lately, was she possessed by the Eight-Nation Alliance?!

{TL Note: I think the author is trying to refer to the burning down of the Old Summer Palace, which for some reason many people mistakenly thought the Eight-Nation Alliance was responsible for. The truth was, it was burned down by the English and French during the Second Opium War.}

——

Mo Fan was clearly aware of the abnormal gazes the students were casting at him when he arrived at the Fire School.

He could vaguely tell that everyone had tagged him with ‘the guy asking for a death wish’. If the tags could somehow be materialized, Mo Fan felt like they would cover his entire body like a mummy…

Mo Fan continued to show his usual calm and confidence. He was preoccupied with the strange behavior of the Flame Belle and the time left until he had the chance to enter the Three Step Tower again.

“Are you done researching?” Ai Tutu’s voice suddenly interjected into his thoughts. Mo Fan almost thought he went into the wrong class.

“Why are you here?” Mo Fan glanced at Ai Tutu and Mu Nujiao in surprise.

“Waiting to see you getting smashed… Don’t change the topic, have you found out what your opponent’s innate talent is?” said Ai Tutu.

“What innate talent?” Mo Fan seemed lost.

Mu Nujiao rolled her eyes and said sternly, “Didn’t we tell you that most of the students in the top ten have innate talents?”

“I knew this maniac wouldn’t prepare for it. I’ve done the research for you. Ding Yumian’s innate talent is…” Ai Tutu smiled.

“Ding Yumian is my opponent?” interrupted Mo Fan in astonishment.

Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu almost lost their minds when they heard his exclamation. Even now, this idiot still didn’t know who his opponent was?!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu never wanted to talk to Mo Fan again. This idiot had not listened to their warning or advice at all!

Top ten, top ten, top ten, he’s challenging someone in the top ten, not just some random rookie. Is he really that brainless not to even look at his opponent’s name when he sent out the challenge?!

“Calm down, calm down… hehe,” blurted out Mo Fan when he saw the outraged reaction from the two girls.

“Let’s go, let him suffer himself!” The angry Mu Nujiao grabbed Ai Tutu and left.

“Humph, we even wanted to collect the information for you, I can’t wait to see you being defeated by a girl!” Ai Tutu did not show any mercy either.

Mo Fan felt his balls hurting. He simply wrote his opponent’s rank down without caring who the person was. He never knew the goddess of their Fire School was the expert ranked tenth… great…

It’s all the Flame Belle’s fault. Mo Fan felt like he was losing his sanity lately. Raising a kid was indeed tough!

“Mo Fan, I’m telling you, don’t you think that you’re good just because you successfully challenged the whole Fire School. The students in the top ten are completely different than the students lower than one hundredth rank. Ding Yumian’s strength is actually stronger than her current rank. You’re dead for sure trying to challenge her!” Huang Xingli walked up and slammed her hand on Mo Fan’s desk.

“It doesn’t hurt to try,” said Mo Fan hollowly.

“Try? Who do you think our Ding Yumian is, for you to practice on? Those who want to challenge her have to consider for a month before sending out the notice!” yelled Huang Xingli.

“…” Mo Fan was speechless. He could not help but shake his head when he saw Huang Xingli’s furious face. It seemed like he had offended… three and a half girls today…

——

A huge crowd had gathered outside of the dueling ground. Normally, the duels related to someone in the top ten would attract lots of spectators, including Magicians from outside of the school.

However, the dueling ground was not open to the public. Not everyone was allowed to enter.

Mo Fan was rather famous due to his outstanding performance among the new students. Apart from earning the title Demon King, he even challenged the entire Fire School after he somehow came back to life. The news about his Double Innate Elements was spread widely too, thus many had come to watch his duel…

However, more students had come to watch Ding Yumian. Not only was she ranked top ten in the Fire School, she was also one of the Pearl Institute’s top ten beauties.

People in China simply liked to create lists of top ten for everything: top ten experts of Pearl Institute, top ten most handsome men in Pearl Institute, top ten beauties of Pearl Institute, etc.

Ding Yumian was easily qualified to enter the list, and was quite famous due to her outstanding strength, too.

The news about the Demon King challenging the goddess of the Fire School spread wildly among the students, and even the owner of the breakfast stall knew about it, so it was not surprising that the dueling ground was crowded with people.

—

Mr. Qiu Yuhua immediately came over when he saw that Mo Fan was stirring up a scene again. He asked curiously when he saw that Mo Fan was still not heading for the stage, “Mo Fan, why are you still outside? You’re the main protagonist today, many people are waiting for you.”

“I’ll go in a second,” replied Mo Fan.

“Alright, your opponent is quite strong today. Try not to lose too hard…” Mr. Qiu Yuhua clapped on Mo Fan’s shoulder.

Not long after Qiu Yuhua entered the place, Mo Fan brought a young man around the age of eighteen into the dueling ground.

The young man seemed rather inexperienced with huge occasions like this. He looked quite nervous and excited, and seemed to have lots of questions, yet was not sure how to ask them.

—

As the two entered the dueling ground, Mo Fan realized that there were more spectators than he had expected. Almost every seat in every row was filled up.

There were duels every day, yet the place was pretty much empty when other students were participating in the duels. At times, there would only be one student as a spectator to testify to the outcome of the battle.

However, it was a different story for the duels that involved students in the top ten. Those were spectacular sights.

On top of that, the top ten students were highly respected outside of the school, too. Any change to the ranking would attract the attention of lots of people!

The barrier was established. Ding Yumian seemed to treat the duel more seriously than Mo Fan. She was already on the stage when Mo Fan arrived, like a beautiful white rose, innocent yet glamorous. Her hair that was tied up in a bun, with fringes hanging in front of her chest, every bit as attractive as usual!

If Mo Fan knew Ding Yumian was ranked tenth, he would have skipped her and challenged the ninth rank instead…

A beautiful woman would naturally have a weakening aura, stopping her opponent from being too harsh on her. Mo Fan was a man who had protective feelings for the fairer sex. He was aiming to get stronger by winning the duels, hence he preferred not to be restricted by his principles.

Most interestingly, it felt like Ding Yumian was able to read Mo Fan’s mind. Her pale face wore a determined look as she said to Mo Fan, “You better use all your strength.”

Mo Fan was astonished. Was his expression really so obvious? Or, was the woman so good at reading one’s expression?

Mo Fan finally knew the reason when the duel began. His intention to go easy on the girl was gone instantly, as his expression was replaced by a stern look!

“Soul Impact!”

Ding Yumian was extremely fast at drawing her Star Pattern. The unique energy of the Psychic Element struck Mo Fan’s mind fiercely while the judge’s voice was still echoing in the noisy dueling ground.

Mo Fan initially planned to use his fourth-tier Lightning Strike to secure the advantage. To his surprise, his opponent was faster. The Soul Impact immediately interrupted his channeling, leaving him dazzled for around two seconds.

“Psychic Element, f**k me!” cursed Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had just learned how powerful the Psychic Element was a while ago. He never thought he would instantly bump into a powerful Psychic Magician in his first duel against someone in the top ten!

The scariest thing about a strong Psychic Magician was their casting speed. If her Soul Impact was faster than every Spell he had, he would never be able to cast an effective Spell throughout the entire battle!

Mo Fan’s ../style was pure brute force. His outstanding Basic Spells had helped him to dominate opponents with similar strength to him. However, if he could not even finish drawing a Star Pattern, he was pretty much useless!

“Swift Star-”

“Soul Impact!”

“-Wolf…wolf, f**k me!”

Mo Fan immediately had a bad feeling.

Mo Fan was trying to summon the Swift Star Wolf to lift the burden of not being able to cast any Spell, yet he did not even have the chance to cast a Basic Summoning Spell!

He was seriously in a bad position!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had overdone it this time!

He finally knew how dumb it was not to research his opponent before the battle. However, even if he knew about her Psychic Element, he would only be less surprised and miserable. Either way, he was totally clueless about how to fight against a Psychic Magician!

Ding Yumian’s casting speed was extremely fast, almost instantaneous. Mo Fan could not even draw the Star Orbits, let alone the Star Patterns!

No wonder the girl was able to roughly read his mind, the Psychic Element made her almost unbeatable in most duels.

“Fiery Fist!”

Ding Yumian did not give Mo Fan any chance to cast his Fire Spells. Meanwhile, she took hold of the opportunity to finish a Fire Element Star Pattern while Mo Fan was still affected by the Soul Impact.

Her fringes drifted in the wind before her forehead as a surge of heat energy spread out from the center of the dueling ground to the edges of the boundary. A huge fiery bracelet appeared on her wrist following a groan.

As the Fiery Fist approached Mo Fan, the Spell somehow covered a greater surface area than usual, looming over an area a few tens of meters wide across from where Mo Fan was standing.

“How is her Fiery Fist covering such a huge area?” Mo Fan cried out in astonishment.

He was around a hundred meters away from Ding Yumian. Normally, a Fiery Fist could mostly cover an area with a diameter of twenty meters from a hundred meters away. However, Mo Fan discovered that even though the diameter of the Fiery Fist was not as crazy as forty meters across, the area it covered was still significantly bigger!

It was impossible for him to escape from the Fiery Fist’s range with his bare feet.

Mo Fan, who had no chance of casting any Spell, was forced to activate the Blood Tabi. Despite that, the flames still managed to reach Mo Fan, who just made it out of the range of the Spell, as he clenched his teeth from the pain of the burn!

He managed to dodge the attack, yet his forehead was covered in sweat when he looked back and saw the burning pit with a diameter of close to forty meters.

“Is this her innate talent? The area of her Fire Spell was almost double that of any ordinary Magician!”

Mo Fan was astounded. He did not dare to underestimate his opponent any further.

That being said, him being serious did not make any difference at all. Ding Yumian’s fighting ../style was invincible…

Mo Fan was able to dodge the attacks while his Blood Tabi was still effective, but once it was on cooldown, he would have a hard time dodging her Fiery Fist.

“Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!”

Normally, Ding Yumian was like a fragile water lily, but her temperament when fighting was imposing and aggressive, not giving Mo Fan any chance to catch his breath.

She had begun to draw a Star Pattern once again. The outline of the Star Pattern was already completed under her feet. With only a few more strokes to finish the remaining Star Orbits, she would awaken the formidable power of the Nine Halls!

The effect of the Soul Impact finally wore off. However, when Mo Fan was finally able to cast a Spell, Ding Yumian would be less than seconds away from completing her channeling. The time was nowhere enough for him to cast an Intermediate Spell…

Mo Fan only had a chance to cast a Basic Spell. When he saw Ding Yumian on the verge of completing the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls, Mo Fan almost lost his calm and used his Shadow Element.

The Fleeing Shadow was his only chance to escape to somewhere safe…

“No way, I won’t use my trump card even if I lose the battle!” Mo Fan forfeited the thought of using his Shadow Element in front of the crowd. He drew the Star Pattern of the Summoning Element at his fastest speed.

“Dimensional Summoning: Swift Star Wolf!”

Seven lunar-white Stars appeared before Mo Fan. A gap was torn apart as the Stars were joined together in orbits.

A magnificent wolf leapt out from the gap. His starry blue hair drifted elegantly in the heat wave.

“Stop howling, start running!” Mo Fan yelled at the Swift Star Wolf who was still trying to declare his presence.

The just-arrived Swift Star Wolf was totally clueless about the situation. However, when he saw a woman not far away slamming her Fiery Fist full of energy onto the ground, and he sensed the overwhelming energy below the ground, he immediately fled into the distance!

The Fire Pillars were twice as thick of the normal Fiery Fist: Nine Halls. The fiery flames surged ferociously as the Fire Pillars rose into the air from the ground!

The Fiery Fist: Nine Halls was a destructive Spell with a huge area-of-effect to begin with, hence the flames produced by the Fire Pillars devoured almost half of the dueling ground instantly…

Together with Ding Yumian’s innate talent, the crowd simply saw the dueling ground covered in a blazing red burst of flames; it was impossible to find a safe spot!

The Swift Star Wolf carried Mo Fan away, fleeing like a coward. The beast groaned in pain as he suffered damage from the fierce flames.

Fortunately, the Swift Star Wolf was a very agile creature. He barely found the gaps between the Fire Pillars and rolling flames. Mo Fan was wise to Summon the Swift Star Wolf when he only had the chance of casting a Basic Spell. Otherwise, he would never have been able to escape from a Nine Halls with twice the area!

“Humph, if it weren’t for his Double Innate Elements, he would have lost by now!” Huang Xingli blurted out in dissatisfaction from up among the spectators.

Without the Summoning Element, Mo Fan would have lost the duel after being forced into a corner.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan, who was crying out in pain because of the flames, had finally experienced the strength of those in the top ten. The mountain-like pressure had not given him have a chance to catch a breath yet.

“The Focus necklace is able to protect me from her Soul Impact once. Ding Yumian won’t know this… I have only one chance to win this battle!” Despite the position Mo Fan was in, his experience in battle kept him from losing his calm.

It was difficult to utilize all his Elements when fighting against Ding Yumian. Luckily, the Focus necklace which Dean Xiao had given him was able to resist a Psychic attack once.

It was Mo Fan’s greatest defense. He had to plan his attack carefully to win the duel with it. Otherwise, if he failed to inflict serious damage to Ding Yumian with the opportunity given by the Focus necklace, it was better for him to concede!

– I have no choice but to let the duel drag on, and wait until Ding Yumian begins to panic…The Swift Star Wolf can lift the burden off for the time being …- thought Mo Fan.

The Swift Star Wolf was already injured from the burns, which severely impacted his speed.

However, the Swift Star Wolf was still able to provide assistance. After all, Ding Yumian’s Soul Impact was not so effective against him!

“Swift Star Wolf, keep her busy!” Mo Fanordered.

The Swift Star Wolf sprinted forward. He seemed fairly agitated after being burned, and was planning to get his revenge on Ding Yumian…

Ding Yumian remained calm facing the ferocious wolf. She suddenly closed her eyes and drew a Star Pattern rapidly under her feet.

“Spirit Ripple: Pacify!”

Ding Yumian’s eyes sprang open, her pupils clear like water, and a gentle ripple slowly spread into the eyes of the angry Swift Star Wolf.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Swift Star Wolf was sprinting in an imposing manner with winds racing around him, like an arrow being released from a bow…

As the first rippling wave crossed the Swift Star Wolf, the creature maintained his pace, yet his eyes flickered with a hint of doubt.

As the second wave came by, the Swift Star Wolf’s savagery was erased, replaced by a gentler look.

As the third wave of ripple struck, the Swift Star Wolf suddenly slowed down and lost half of his imposing manner.

Finally, the Swift Star Wolf arrived before the Ding Yumian as the fourth wave of ripple was produced. The ferocious look that the Swift Star Wolf previously had completely disappeared. Even the claw he had raised to execute the attack had dropped to the ground in the process…

“Good doggie,” Ding Yumian reached out her hand and fondled the disheveled hair on the Swift Star Wolf’s neck.

The Swift Star Wolf was no longer a fierce creature, but had completely turned into a husky. He stuck out his tongue and seemed extremely comfortable when the girl fondled his hair!

“Go play by yourself,” whispered Ding Yumian to the Swift Star Wolf.

The Swift Star Wolf was extraordinarily obedient. He waved his stiff tail and ran outside of the boundary and sat on the ground, like an enormous sled dog. The only thing missing was a collar on his neck!

Mo Fan wore a disgusted look when he saw it happen. Was that Summoned Beast really his fierce, belligerent Swift Star Wolf?

Before at the Drifting Sand River, Xinxia had been casting Psychic Element: Pacify all along. Mo Fan had already thought that the Spell was too good to be true, yet he never knew it was so incredible. She somehow turned his ferocious Summoning Beast into a meek dog…

“Can’t you be any more useful?” Mo Fan could not stand it any longer. He sent the Swift Star Wolf back to his own dimension.

The truth was, he was afraid that Ding Yumian would somehow convince his Swift Star Wolf to bite him instead!

Luckily, Ding Yumian was not an Advanced Magician like the Demoness. Otherwise, if she cast the Psychic Element’s Mind Control on the Swift Star Wolf, a creature would actually betray its master!

The Swift Star Wolf was hopeless, Mo Fan had no choice but to focus on his plan on utilizing the Focus necklace. It was his only way to win the duel…

—

“Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!”

Ding Yumian was a madwoman when it came to duels. As the Fiery Fist that was twice its usual size slammed into the ground, the faint brown flames produced by the nine Fire Pillars covered the entire area!

The Fire Seed producing the faint-brown flames was not as powerful as the Rose Flame, yet Ding Yumian’s outstanding innate talent left Mo Fan with no room to escape!

A Fire Pillar suddenly jetted out from the ground underneath Mo Fan. He initially thought he had already left the coverage of the Spell, yet the Fire Pillar that was twice as thick as normal took Mo Fan by surprise. When Mo Fan realized that he was still in the range of the Spell, the Fire Pillar had already knocked him into the air.

Falling from the sky, Mo Fan suffered the burns of the flames nearby. The clothes on his upper body were burned into ashes, exposing his scorched skin.

Mo Fan felt himself suffering from a concussion as he landed on the ground, yet he rose to his feet like an invincible cockroach despite the remaining flames produced by the Fire Pillars still burning around him. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Ding Yumian glanced at Mo Fan with a hint of astonishment.

“You’re still not using your Equipment to protect you under such circumstances?” she asked him.

She could not tell if it was because of Mo Fan’s outstanding Fire Resistance from his Soul Seed, or the fact that having three Elements actually made him stronger, that he was still able to stand up after being struck by the Fire Pillar. Normally, her opponents would be half-crippled after suffering a direct hit from the Fire Pillar.

“How could I say no since you’re so eager to see my body?” Mo Fan replied with a grin.

“You’ve got a smooth tongue, but you won’t be able to stand for the next month if you don’t use your Equipment to protect yourself from my next attack,” said Ding Yumian coldly.

Mo Fan remained in his spot. He had already started to draw a Star Pattern.

Two blazing red Star Orbits intersected one another, forming the outline of a fiery Star Pattern. Countless Stars began to appear around them, as a bright line connected them together…

“It’s no use!” Ding Yumian knew Mo Fan had been driven into a dead end.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan knew his Equipment would not make any difference, since he was unable to cast any Spells. The Armor would only buy him some time.

Ding Yumian thought Mo Fan had given up when she saw him casting the Spell.

She had given Mo Fan some time to draw a Star Pattern, as she was trying to see what the guy was up to.

However, as the fourth Orbit was completed, Ding Yumian had no intention of letting him continue further.

Her Psychic Star Orbits was completed almost instantly. The Soul Impact produced an invisible ray of energy, dashing in Mo Fan’s direction at lightning speed.

Mo Fan’s body was unharmed, but his mind immediately suffered a great blow. The Stars that were being aligned rapidly suddenly fled in all directions at the impact of the Psychic Attack, completely ignoring his control!

“Focus!”

The necklace on Mo Fan’s chest suddenly emitted an ocean-blue glow.

The energy entered Mo Fan’s mind. Instead of constructing a mental wall to protect him against the attack, it entered deep into his mind and improved his focus!

The Soul Impact simply worked by inflicting a paralyzing pain on one’s mind, in order to stop the Magician from being able to control their energy due to the pain. However, the Focus Necklace was able to improve its bearer’s focus significantly. The pain was not reduced, but the Magician’s endurance was improved.

The Stars fled in fear, yet Mo Fan used brute force to force them back into positions.

The Star Pattern almost crumbled while the fifth Orbit was being constructed. However, the help from the Focus necklace managed to pull the Stars back in time. The fifth Orbit was finally completed, and the sixth Orbit started to form.

“A Focus Magic Tool?” Ding Yumian finally realized why Mo Fan dared to cast a Spell in front of her.

It was too late to cast another Soul Impact. Besides, under the effects of the Focus Necklace, the Soul Impact might not be enough to interrupt the channeling.

“It’s my turn to attack!” Mo Fan was engulfed in wild, blazing flames. Even the air surrounding him was set aflame.

“Rose Flame!

“Fiery Fist!

“Nine Halls!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The area of Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist: Nine Halls was obviously smaller than Ding Yumian’s, yet its power was greater!

The high-temperature flames spread to the barrier. The spectators could clearly feel the heat and the strength of the Rose Flame that belonged to the brute force Magician on the dueling ground.

Ding Yumian, standing in the midst of the Fiery First: Nine Halls, did not hesitate. A suit of light Armor quickly wrapped around her. The Armor was blue, with a soft, smooth surface. It was not made of the skin and bones of demon beasts, but from some kind of plants.

Perhaps since she was a Fire Magician, the armor did not appear to be fire-resistant. As a matter of fact, it did not provide any protection against Mo Fan’s Spell, whose power was multiplied two and a half times by the Rose Flame. Ding Yumian had no choice but to back off to the edge of the boundary, outside of the range of the flames.

Mo Fan was well aware of Ding Yumian’s fighting capacity. Now that he had finally begun his counterattack, he had no intention of giving Ding Yumian a chance to cast Soul Impact again.

While his Fiery Fist: Nine Halls was still in effect, while the Focus necklace was still effective, Mo Fan began to draw another Star Pattern.

Purple-black Lightning Orbits flickered around Mo Fan’s body, which rapidly combined into a fierce Star Pattern.

“Qianjun!”

“Thunderbolt!”

“Wild Strikes!”

The Lightning Star Pattern was still under Mo Fan’s feet, yet the crazily violent lightning energy had already gathered above Ding Yumian.

A huge stormy cloud floated above the girl, with bolts flickering like serpents within it. As Mo Fan pointed his finger, the black lightning ray fiercely on Ding Yumian.

The entire place shook wildly under Qianjun’s space-vibrating effect!

More lightning strikes descended to the ground, striking Ding Yumian’s armor and the ground around her. A huge part of the dueling area was shattered into pieces, spattering in the air.

Ding Yumian basically had no movement Spells. She could only resist with her Armor and Shield Equipment. However, the third level Intermediate Lightning Spell was stronger than the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls, especially when Ding Yumian was the only target enduring the damage. Her Armor was almost shattered into pieces by the lightning strikes…

The wild lightning strikes turned Ding Yumian’s surroundings into electric fields. After remaining passive trying to defend herself, Ding Yumian’s entire body turned numb!

The arcs of electricity cracked loudly. The whole corner of the stage was destroyed beyond recognition. Ding Yumian, who was still protected by her Shield and Armor, was trembling hard.

Her Armor was already ineffective against Mo Fan’s Nine Halls, so it stood no chance against the penetrating, ferocious power of the lightning.

Pieces of blue armor slowly peeled away from her. Ding Yumian tried to brace herself with a pale expression.

“You can no longer defend yourself,” Mo Fan stepped forward. Lightning Strikes in the shape of serpents floated around him.

At Mo Fan’s command, the lightning serpents lunged at Ding Yumian fiercely. Her destroyed Armor was nowhere enough to defend her against the Lightning Strikes.

“You were willing to suffer from the burns despite being able to use your Focus necklace earlier, waiting for the chance to execute your counterattack,” observed Ding Yumian, breathing heavily.

Determined, reckless!

This was Ding Yumian’s appraisal toward Mo Fan. Having both Lightning and Fire Elements had turned Mo Fan into a killing machine. He was able to follow up the destructive Fiery Fist: Nine Halls with an even stronger Lightning Strike: Wild Strikes!

Lightning was even more ruthless than Fire. Ding Yumian had rarely encountered opponents with a such a heavy offensive focus. Her Armor was designed to be soft and nimble, allowing her, since she did not have any movement Spells, to move freely and not require her to remain stationary.

Normally, the expensive Armor was enough to block a wave of full attacks from her opponents, yet the light Armor stood no chance against a pure brute-force Magician!

Once Mo Fan landed his attacks, Ding Yumian had no chance of fighting back!

—

“The two most destructive Spells in the Intermediate Level… (sigh) if Ding Yumian had heavy Armor, Mo Fan would be the one losing the duel.”

“There aren’t so many ifs, it’s a victory for him!”

“You’re right… but this Demon King has already leveled up two of his Elements to the third level. What a surprise!”…

—

The outcome was decided. Mo Fan was extremely passive at the start of the battle. Either his Spells were interrupted by the Soul Impact, or he was burned by Ding Yumian’s fire.

Unfortunately, since Ding Yumian’s secondary Element was Psychic, it also implied that her offense was quite simple. It was fairly difficult to defeat Mo Fan, who had a high resistance to fire, in a short period of time.

Most importantly, Mo Fan, who had pretended he had no chance of fighting back, suddenly activated the Focus Magic Tool, and utilized both his Lightning and Fire to land destructive blows and shatter Ding Yumian’s defense. Ding Yumian had assumed that she had already won the battle, but she was overwhelmed in the end!

Mo Fan only had one chance to strike back… but he only needed one chance!

—

“Mo Fan is the winner!”

Wei Rong declared the outcome of the duel, leaving the crowd bewildered.

Those who cheered the loudest were all new students. The highest that any other new student had managed to get was Mu Nujiao, who just crossed the fiftieth rank. Yet, as expected of the Demon King Mo Fan, he had defeated an expert in the top ten!

Everyone had witnessed Ding Yumian’s strength. The truth was, even those who considered themselves experts would lose before casting a single Spell. Even with a Focus Magic Tool, they would not be able to counterattack using the combo of the two strongest killing Spells in the Intermediate Level!

The truth was, Mo Fan was extremely relieved after securing the win.

If he had not improved his Lightning Nebula to the third level last month, he would surely have lost the duel against anyone in the top ten. Thunderbolt: Yaksha’s strength was not as formidable as the Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes!

“My fire has hidden side effects. Use this, it will eliminate the threat.” Ding Yumian took a brief rest to recover slightly before throwing a faint brown serum into Mo Fan’s hands. Its color was similar to the color of her flames.

Mo Fan was covered in wounds. On the other hand, Ding Yumian did not seem injured, apart from her fatigued look…

“Thanks!” Mo Fan received the serum, and drank it in one go.

Ding Yumian glanced at him with a blank expression.

Mo Fan thought she was attracted by his straightforwardness, not to mention that his perfect body was still exposed. He immediately wore a seemingly attractive smile that he thought was enough to charm thousands of girls.

Ding Yumian was startled, but took out another serum and said calmly, “This thing… is meant for external application.”

The blossoming smile on Mo Fan’s face suddenly stiffened…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“AH!!”

“Ouch!”

“That hurts… softer, softer!”

Mo Fan’s cries of agony from the infirmary continued to echo down the halls.

Teacher Bai Mei checked Mo Fan’s wounds once again, making sure he did not miss anything, before allowing Mo Fan to put on his clothes.

“The serum that Ding Yumian gave you was quite effective. It completely got rid of the hidden side effects in your body. That being said, the burns are quite serious… it seems like your flesh is quite solid. Any other Magician would have fallen unconscious from the pain,” said Bai Mei.

“Maybe my body is becoming resistant since I have been burned many times before?” conjectured Mo Fan.

“Maybe.”

“Teacher Bai Mei, can you please treat my useless Summoned Beast, too? He’s injured as well.”

“I’m not a vet!” said Bai Mei said with a dark face.

—-

Mo Fan almost felt like he had risen as one of the conquerors of the school after securing the tenth rank. Every student, both new or old, recognized him. Some stayed away from him, some purposely fawned upon him to get closer to him.

Among the older students, Mo Fan was described as arrogant and proud. Among the new students, Mo Fan was highly respected, and almost treated as their leader. After all, Mo Fan was the representative of their batch who had secured a spot in the top ten!

Usually, it was quite common for the new students to be picked on by the old students, be it from not being aware of the rules, or not experienced enough to handle the duels. Their resources would be taken away, too. However, Mo Fan’s achievements completely motivated the new students.

There were factions among the students too, but Mo Fan did not join any of them. As such, many factions were holding out an olive branch to Mo Fan, sending out their people to try and convince Mo Fan to join them.

Luckily, a lot of the factions was well aware that Mo Fan had no intention to join any of them. The average ones simply took note of him, while the reputable ones knew that Mo Fan was living in the same apartment as the Mu Family’s daughter, thus they simply did not bother to waste their time on him.

—

However, the peaceful days did not last long. Some strong factions began to reach out their hands towards Mo Fan.

Someone even took hold of the opportunity to reveal that Mo Fan was chosen to be a provisional candidate for the World College Tournament by the higher levels internally. It immediately placed Mo Fan in the center of the limelight once again.

The top ten in the Fire School were basically ranked in the top one hundred of the entire Pearl Institute.

The experts in Pearl Institute agreed that the new student was fairly talented, yet he was still a distance away from being comparable to the top-tier students in Pearl Institute.

Those that were concerned about the World College Tournament knew clearly that the candidates selected to represent their country must have strong leadership. Even the top three in every Element could not make it, so why was a new student worthy of being given a spot?

The guy had only entered the top ten in his Element School. It was uncertain if he was even ranked in the top one hundred in the whole institute, yet none of the students ranked top ten in the Institute were selected as provisional candidates. What right did he have to be selected?

Could it be that he was the true son of the Director of the Magic Education Department?! {TN: This means nepotism at work.}

—

“Have you heard? Demon King Mo Fan is a provisional candidate. He’s been given a spot to take part in the World College Tournament.”

“Bullshit, the candidates representing our country are the strongest that have been selected among all famous institutes, to represent our country and compete against the world! Let’s not even mention that Mo Fan has just entered the top ten in his Element School. Even if he’s top ten in the entire institute, the top one and two from the other institutes are also competing for the spot. He’s so far away from making the list.”

“I think so too, but it was said that the source is reliable.”

“Reliable sources, experts… those are the ones you shouldn’t believe at all!”…

Lots of news was spread wildly in the school. Everyone was discussing Mo Fan’s achievement of securing a spot in the top ten, but the news of him being a provisional candidate for the World College Tournament completely took over.

Mo Fan was initially enjoying being respected by the new students and teachers, but when the news broke out, every student’s eyes became bloodshot when they were looking at him, as if a plague had just broken out in the school!

“Standing so high up from all the flattering, it’s only a matter of time until you fall to your death!”

“A guy like you is a provisional candidate? Even those from the same institute can beat you up, let alone the experts from other institutes!”

“So that’s the provisional candidate? He looks normal to me.”…

Mo Fan was totally annoyed by the voices around him. He felt a strong urge to find the person who leaked the news and beat the crap out of him!

However, it also showed how important the spot was to everyone. Both the experts who were competing for the spot and those who were envious at him despite having no chance to make it at all cared a lot about the World College Tournament!

On second thought, it made total sense. The World College Tournament was held conjunctively by the Magic Associations of all five continents, and the most renowned institutes of magic across the world. Even though the teachers were not willing to solely rely on the outcome of the tournament to criticize the performance of each country, the young Magicians were extremely passionate and competitive, hence the World College Tournament every year was super exciting, grabbing the attention of the whole world!

The disciples of renowned families tried desperately to earn their reputations in their schools, yet nothing was as significant as taking part in the World College Tournament. Even as a reserve participant, the family which the participant was from would still benefit a lot from it!

Normally, the factions would only put extra focus on Mo Fan because he had shown outstanding performance at school. However, after the news about him being a provisional candidate was made public, Mo Fan suddenly became a hot product. Every faction was keen to convince him to join them, even though they had not confirmed the validity of the news.

As a result, the people at school were jealous of him, but the factions outside of school were extending their olive branches. Meanwhile, Mo Fan’s only desire was to be a quiet, handsome man.

Mo Fan only learned some time later that Tang Zhong, the Head of the Magic Court, was one of the authorities who had a vote in selecting the candidates. Tangyue had already mentioned to Mo Fan about some gift she had prepared for him, which was simply the fact that she already knew her grandfather was voting for Mo Fan to be selected.

Somewhat coincidentally, someone who had a vote in selecting the candidates from the Magic Palace had retired, thus he had given his vote to Councilman Zhu Meng. Meanwhile, as a Councilman, Zhu Meng also had a vote in his hand. As a result, the person in charge of the Magic Palace, whom Mo Fan scolded a few times, ended up with two votes.

Basically, any student with four votes was very likely confirmed to be selected.

Tang Zhong had voted for Mo Fan, and Councilman Zhu Meng, who felt the urge to redeem himself from his mistake of trying to kill the Black Totem Snake, ended up giving the two votes to Mo Fan, too. As a result, Mo Fan, who now had three votes, was basically a provisional candidate!

As the selection for the World College Tournament was about to take place, as all the top students in those famous institutes were competing fiercely for a spot, one could simply imagine the hilarious expressions they had when they learned that someone was chosen internally as a candidate!

For example, Dongfang Lie, who was ranked first on the Fire School’s ranking, was still trying to earn his nomination!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was a grass-roots Magician and had not joined any faction so far. As a result, when he learned from Dean Xiao that he had a spot in the World College Tournament, he did not show any reaction.

Later, as the selection for the World College Tournament began, he finally realized how incredible it was to be selected as a provisional candidate. The opportunity was priceless!

Mo Fan, who was still climbing his way up the ranking, suddenly found himself being flattered, yet he was feeling more worry than joy.

However, he was someone who took things as they came. Despite the noise around him, he continued to focus on his cultivation.

After defeating the tenth-ranked Ding Yumian, he now had the chance to cultivate for seven days in the Three Step Tower every month. His Summoning Element was still at the first level, so the energy available to feed the kid was nowhere enough. He had to improve it to the next level so the energy was sufficient to feed his little Flame Belle.

Once his little Flame Belle grew up, would Mo Fan still need to care about the envy and mockery of others?

He would simply let the little Flame Belle bite whoever doubted him. Those idiots, not focusing on their cultivation, but defaming him instead, were just jealous because he was making a living off his face!

Mo Fan did not care too much about the nonsense. He stayed well-behaved at school and focused on improving his cultivation.

There were many students in the school who had half their foot into the Advanced Level. Meanwhile, the threshold of the Advanced Level was still not within his reach. How long would it take for him to become an Advanced Magician, gaining him access to the stronger Advanced Spells?

———

As autumn arrived, the winds in the middle region of China began to chill. The area within a hundred kilometers of the Ancient Capital was covered in withered grass, the whole place looked dull over its vast area, with not a hint of color.

{TL Note: The Ancient Capital might be referring to Xi’an, once known as Chang’an}

The Ancient Capital was covered in a mix of grey, brown, and copper tones. Some of the brighter structures were glossed over.

The city had paths leading straight to the center, each widening as it approached the center of the place, radiating symmetrically from the clock tower.

The Magic Association of the Ancient Capital was established in the clock tower. The location of the Magic Association was always a landmark for each city, or more precisely, the landmarks were always occupied by the Magic Association. As a result, the Ancient Capital still had a huge population crowding its streets.

The Hunter Union was located at the drum tower, only a thousand meters away from the Magic Association. The two towers stood by one another across the distance, like two giant statues guarding the city…

The military’s camp was outside of the city. There were many threats in the vicinity of the Ancient Capital. The world famous Undead Burial Mount and the demon beasts in Qinling Mountains had kept the entire city on its toes for generations.

It was said that whether in the city or outside it, one would surely find corpses after digging a hundred meters into the ground.

Corpses were not a problem, since they were only the remains of warriors who had died in battles in ancient times. The problem were those clinging to the past despite having turned into skeletons.

The undead had no memory of their past, nor did they have consciences. They merely had savagery similar to beasts and a natural instinct to kill. They would lunge crazily at anything alive within a certain distance.

As such, the Hunter Union, Magic Association and army were entrusted with an eternal mission: to help the undead with their ‘transgressions’.

——

Zhang Xiaohou left Shanghai in a hurry. As soon as he arrived at the headquarters in Lintong, he was immediately sent out on an annihilation mission.

It had been a while since Zhang Xiaohou was sent to the middle region for training. He was responsible for surveillance, learning from the experienced soldiers and focusing on improving his cultivation. Even though the army did send him on a few missions, none of them were particularly difficult.

Zhang Xiaohou received orders as soon as he landed. It was a rescue operation, to retrieve a scouting squad stranded in Xianchi.

The squad had departed around half a month ago, to investigate some restless recent activity in Xianchi. In addition to checking out the rate of growth of the undead, they were also ordered to evacuate the remaining villages around the area.

The people living in this region shared the same land as the undead. Even though they were not Magicians, they had their own traditional ways of avoiding contact with the undead. Some of the fearless tribes even relied on the Land of the Undead to keep their villages going.

It was not rare to find these tribes in the current era, some of which had existed for almost a thousand years. The undead was just like ordinary beasts to these tribes. With the right methods, even if the undead were extremely savage and killing anything in sight, the people were able to guarantee their own safety.

Lately, the odd behavior of the Drifting Sand River had somehow triggered a weird trend. The creatures sleeping under the ground had been quite active during the past month.

Being more active resulted in more killing. The weird behavior of the Drifting Sand River somehow made the Land of the Undead lose its usual calm. Many of the villages that had relied on their traditional methods to live among the undead had faced utter destruction. Four of them had been wiped off the map during this period.

The Magic Association and Hunter Union were treating the matter with extreme care. They immediately sent out people to investigate. Once they analyzed the situation and determined it to be dangerous, they would immediately evacuate the villages nearby!

However, the scouting squad had discovered a weird wind sweeping the area around Xianchi. Despite being sent to investigate the place and evacuate the villages, they suddenly went missing in action.

Even though Zhang Xiaohou was being sent on a rescue operation, the squad had already been missing for almost two months. Basically, the rescue team’s job was to verify the cause of death of the squad, and retrieve their corpses, then report back to the Magic Association and Hunter Union.

——

“What are our superiors thinking, sending us off on an operation like this? We’re asked to look for a scouting squad that’s been missing over two months…what were they doing earlier?!” cursed the team’s scout, Wang Tong.

Zhang Xiaohou’s team consisted of nine people. Unlike the usual structure of a team led by a commander, it was more like a spec ops team. The team was formed by outstanding soldiers entrusted to carry out difficult missions, like special forces.

Everyone in the team was capable of being a commander. The team had two scouts responsible for scouting the path ahead, luring the demon beasts away and disrupting their enemy’s groups. Zhang Xiaohou was one of the scouts, and Wang Tong was the other.

Wang Tong and Zhang Xiaohou were ahead of the rest of the team. Wang Tong was full of complaints. He had been swearing non-stop to Zhang Xiaohou since the team departed.

“Qin Hu is definitely enjoying himself on the Heavenly Eagle. He doesn’t even need to talk,” said Wang Tong, raising his head and glancing at the snowy-white Heavenly Eagle soaring above them.

Qin Hu was the team’s captain and commander, who was also a Heavenly Eagle Battlemage. The others had no choice but to walk, while he was able to ride the Heavenly Eagle.

“Stop talking, or you can tell the superior that you want to quit and are willing to bear the punishment. Otherwise, you should just focus on completing the mission, instead of talking non-stop,” Zhang Xiaohou was slightly more positive.

“I just like to grumble! If I don’t grumble for a day, I’ll feel extremely uncomfortable!” protested Wang Tong.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Hello, Brother Fan…”

“You’re asking about Boss Zhan Kong? I don’t know either, I had completely forgotten about him if you hadn’t mentioned him. I haven’t heard from him for a long time!”

“I’m in the middle of a mission, so I won’t be able to contact him for some time, but I heard that he went missing after returning to Bo City with the Darkwing Wolf’s head.”

“Alright, I’ll call you immediately if I hear anything from him, but I will be on a mission for some time, I don’t know when I’ll be back at headquarters.”

“How’s the Flame Belle doing?”

“I’m fine, I’m the best at running in the whole team. How could I possibly not outrun my enemy if I can’t beat them in a fight? We’re all soldiers, so none of us will desert the others. Those who manage to make it back safely will report on the situation back to headquarters. Even if the others are dead, I’ll still be fine.”

Zhang Xiaohou was talking to Mo Fan with his earpiece. They had not arrived at the area around Xianchi yet, thus they were not required to stay on high alert.

After hanging up on the call, Wang Tong glanced at him with a gloomy look and blurted out unpleasantly, “Who were you cursing to be dead? I can guarantee that if someone’s going to lose their life on this mission, it will be you for sure!”

“Hehe, I was just using it as an example,” said Zhang Xiaohou, scratching his head.

“You can’t even use it as an example… who’s the guy on the phone, I heard you call him brother. Didn’t you say you’re an only child?” Wang Tong continued on with the conversation in boredom.

“We grew up on the same street. He’s just like my brother, looking after me since I was little, even now,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“You’re a soldier, talented among the Intermediate Magicians. Why do you sound like you’re still a kid, being looked after?” said Wang Tong.

“He’s a lot stronger than me.”

“Alright, alright, we’ve got plenty of those talented maniacs in the army, yet none of them were able to clean up these filthy things…”

——

The nine-man team gradually made their way toward Xianchi.

Xianchi was merely the name of a place where there were rarely any plants on the surface. The soil was soft, and usually covered in thin white sand…

The white sand was in fact the dust from corpses that had undergone long exposure to the sun and wind. It looked exactly the same as salt sprinkled over the ground. The locals did not call it salt literally, but referred to the place as the salty land.

{TL Note: Xianchi in Chinese means ‘salty pond’. Apparently, in some Chinese poems, it refers to a pond where beautiful girls bathed during ancient times.}

Xianchi was the land between the Qinling Mountains and Xi’an Territory. Since the place was slightly sunken, it looked like a pond on the map, hence it was called Xianchi (Salty Pond).

A lengthy safe zone was constructed along the northeast border of Xianchi. Usually, the safe zone mostly consisted of boundaries set up with fortresses, depots, watchtowers, and supply stations, with cooperation between the army, Hunters, and Magic Association guarding the boundary.

However, the demon beasts in the vicinity of the Ancient Capital were fairly different, so the safe zone of the Ancient Capital was not very stable, only consisting of a long wall around the boundary area.

The wall, constructed by Earth Magicians, served as a layer of defense. As the walls were moved around quite often according to the activity of the undead, some of the villages that were initially within the safe zone would suddenly be excluded from it at times.

If a village was located along the coastline in the south or north, it was extremely dangerous to be outside of the safe zone. The village would be trampled to ashes within a few years, leaving not a single survivor behind.

Meanwhile, the villages located on the edge around the Ancient Capital had their unique methods of avoiding the undead. Hence, there were still villages outside of the safe zone… quite a lot of them, actually. These villages were commonly referred to as the Villages of Miracles by the Magic Associations in other countries, since the villagers were utterly fearless, living outside of the safe zone!

—

“Our first destination is here, the Sunny Goat Village. It’s located around the foothills of the Qinling Mountains, with around thirty villagers.” Captain Qin Hu had come down from the sky holding a seemingly new map in his hand.

It was extremely important to get their hands on the latest maps if possible, as only the new maps contained information about the recent changes to the landscape in the area. As for old maps… eleven out of ten would result in a trap!

“The name of the village sounds quite cheerful,” said the ‘naughty kid’ in the team, Lu Hongjing.

“Enough with the nonsense,” Qin Hu straightened his face, not giving the others a chance to express their comments.

“The Sunny Goat Village is around four kilometers away from here. The sun is setting soon; shouldn’t we think of a plan?” proposed the female Battlemage in the team, Shi Shaoju.

“Let’s go straight to the village. I don’t think it’s that complicated. Are you telling me we can’t handle a bunch of weaklings? We’ll just kill every single one of them when they appear!” said Lu Hongjing.

“Don’t be naive! Did you forget that this place has already been inspected before, it’s categorized as an orange zone!” Qin Hu was obviously a cautious leader, and immediately spoke up sternly when he saw his team dropping their guard.

“It’s just orange zone, I spent lots of time roaming the red zones…” interrupted Wang Tong.

The people of the Hunter Union were in charge of discovering the distribution of the demon beasts in the area, and tagged the areas with different colors to represent the density of demon beasts.

The higher the density of demon beasts in the area, the stronger the color used to tag it. The colors started from white to orange, then red, and finally black, correlating to the color of alerts.

Green was used to tag the areas in a safe zone.

White meant there were only a few demon beasts roaming in the area.

An orange zone implied that there were packs of demon beasts residing in the area, so it belonged to a dangerous zone. Only experienced Hunters, special squads and powerful Magicians were allowed to enter the area.

Red, or simply a blood-colored zone, represented death. It was extremely easy to be flanked by packs of demon beasts, as the number of demon beasts in the area was like a surging tide.

There was still purple between red and black. A red zone referred to a kingdom of demon beasts. Even Super Magicians had no chance of making it back alive from a purple zone.

As for a black zone, any life form was forbidden within it. No one had ever gone to a black zone before, and it seemed like even the demon beasts did not dare to enter one, either.

Green, white, orange, red, purple, black. There were six colors in total, and the last four correlated to the four types of alerts.

The red alert that Bo City was placed under was the second level alert for a city.

The Ancient Capital was located near the Kingdom of Undead, hence it was the city with the most alerts raised in the entire country. The alert was so common to the residents of the city that it was simply treated as an alarm to wake them up every morning. Those who were drinking tea continued to enjoy their tea, those gossiping continued to gossip, and those who were responsible for protecting the city made their way to the battlefield!

That being said, due to the unique traits of the region, when the sun was high up in the sky, the electronic map only displayed green and white zones, and occasionally an orange zone when the beasts from Qinling Mountains got lost and trespassed into the zone…

However, as soon as the sun set into the horizon, when the light protecting the land was withdrawn, all the zones across the map, apart from the safe zone of the Ancient Capital, were turned entirely red!

Once night fell, humans no longer reigned across the land…

——

Currently, the special team from Lintong headquarters was outside of the safe zone. The final glimpse of sunlight had disappeared, leaving the scent of death lingering in the air nearby…

A strange noise was heard coming from under the white-covered ground. It sounded like someone munching on something, or something beating…

Zhang Xiaohou was the first person to step into the Land of the Undead. He was extremely nervous, his alert scanning his surroundings…

All of a sudden, pairs of dried, rotten, arms poked out from the ground and began to wave and grab wildly in the air less than five meters away from him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“My leg, my leg!” someone began to scream suddenly. The cry of agony echoed in the darkness which had just descended upon the place.

Zhang Xiaohou turned around and discovered Lu Hongjing standing right on top of a pile of rotten arms, which were holding tightly onto his legs. The hands grabbing onto Lu Hongjing’s feet were as strong as steel, totally impairing his movement.

The rotten hands and claws were scratching and tearing at Lu Hongjing’s legs. One of the corpses that was seriously starving sprang out from the ground and stuck its head onto Lu Hongjing’s hamstring and bit it…

The group was unable to react in time. When they finally realized they should be saving the poor lad, all that remained under Lu Hongjing’s knees were bloody white bones. He was falling backward in extreme pain!

“Don’t fall!” yelled the captain Qin Hu.

Once Lu Hongjing fell to the ground, he would turn into a pile of bones. The bites and scratches of the corpses were faster than a school of piranhas!

“Earth Wave!”

Zhang Xiaohou was the first to react. He quickly cast the Spell.

He manipulated the soil in the area and utilized the second characteristic of the Flowing Mud to turn the soft soil into solid rock.

The Flowing Mud was able to turn soil into swamp or quicksand to entrap his targets and impair their movement. When reversed, it was able to harden the soil into rocks, too! Zhang Xiaohou forcibly turned the ground Lu Hongjing was standing on into solid rocks, trapping the claws of the corpses and stopping them from moving freely!

His Earth Seed was extremely effective in a situation like this. The claws stopped attacking Lu Hongjing and started smashing the suddenly-solid soil instead. Lu Hongjing finally hit his limit and fell to the ground. Luckily, he was lying on the hardened soil. Otherwise, he would have instantly lost his life!

“Save him,” said Qin Hu ordered Wang Tong.

Wang Tong was stunned for a second, before he quickly dashing toward Lu Hongjing.

The bones below Lu Hongjing’s knees no longer had any flesh. Wang Tong straightaway carried him back to the team…

The cries of the undead, which sounded like their mouths were filled with soil, rose once again as their eerie heads poked out from the ground. Their bloodshot eyes were glaring at the nine living humans. The scent of blood had driven them berserk, and they could not wait to break out from the ground and enjoy their meal.

The buried undead mostly looked like humans. The Ancient Capital had gone through lots of dynasties and huge wars between humans and demon beasts. The number of humans who died here significantly surpassed that of demon beasts. With all the deaths in the area, the ground was no longer made of ordinary soil, but filled with a deathly aura that nurtured the dead. Once the sun disappeared, the undead would poke out from the ground like the shoots of fertilized plants. Even if they were destroyed, they would rise again after the next season arrived!

Due to some unknown curse that the land was under, both the demon beasts and the humans that died here would resemble humans after they turned into the undead…

Even though they had bones of the demon beasts, the bones would somehow be structured into a weird-looking skeleton giant. Their head was still the same head of the demon beast that was half-rotting under the ground, but their bones would be rearranged into the shape of a human.

Some looked like a beast with a rotten body and four limbs standing on the ground, yet the head was a rotting human head…

Either way, the undead would do all they could to assemble their dead body parts into a human figure, be it half-human, half-beast, or the combination of a few dead bodies, or a giant human corpse made purely from the bones of demon beasts!

The undead that the group of nine had bumped into so far all had the appearance of humans. It was most likely due to the villagers that had died here lately, the nutrients in the ground had stacked up, so as soon as their new bodies were constructed, they immediately burst out from the ground and attacked their prey.

“Kid, nice reaction speed, you managed to save this overconfident guy!” Qin Hu said to Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou forced a smile on his face. It was all possible because of the Earth Seed he acquired at Xizhao Valley, the Flowing Mud. Zhang Xiaohou was able to suppress anything coming out from the ground with it.

“Let’s move forward. We’ll be safer once we reached the Sunny Goat Village. These things took us by surprise by showing up before the place was completely dark. Perhaps the thick aura of death has blocked off the remaining sunlight,” said the female Battlemage, Shi Shaoju.

The team did not have a Healer, hence the others could only wrap his legs up to stop the bleeding.

Lu Hongjing lost a significant amount of blood, so it was important to treat his wounds as soon as possible. The serums they had brought with them could merely help him last a little longer. If they dragged the time out, not only would Lu Hongjing die due to excessive loss of blood, he would simply be killed by the poison from the undead!

“I’ll lead the way!” volunteered Zhang Xiaohou bravely.

“Alright, your Soul Seed is able to slow them down when they try to come out from the ground.”

“Holy crap, lots of undead are heading toward us…”

“Why are they so many? Even a red zone would not have this many undead when night has just arrived.”

“It’s most likely that lots of people died nearby recently.”

The team took some time to prepare themselves. Although the ambush had taken them by surprise, everyone quickly calmed down and started drawing various Star Patterns under their feet. The energies of the Ice, Fire, Lightning, and Wind Elements lunged at the filthy creatures and utterly destroyed them!

“Forest of Kun!”

The female Battlemage Shi Shaoju was a Plant Magician. As the path ahead was blocked by a pack of a dozen walking corpses, Shi Shaoju quickly cast the Intermediate Plant Spell to entrap them.

The branches from the Forest of Kun immediately wrapped around the undead and formed a thick cage. The undead had a limited level of intelligence. They simply tried to bite anything that they came across, resulting in a weird scene similar to the game Plant versus Zombies, where the zombies were biting through the wall-nuts…

The only difference was, the zombies were not as lost and adorable as those in the game. The appearance of the savage creatures was, well, ghastly. They would simply chew any person nearby into bones, something that Lu Hongjing had already experienced first-hand!

“Let’s go, it’s impossible to kill them all!” yelled Shi Shaoju when she saw the team was still trying to eliminate the creatures.

The team quickly withdrew their Spells and followed behind Zhang Xiaohou.

As Zhang Xiaohou led the way, the soil of the area he walked on would simply harden instantly, preventing someone from being dragged into the soil again.

It was still four kilometers away from the village. They should be able to arrive safely if they moved at full speed.

The villagers had their ways of avoiding contact with the undead. Once they arrived at the village, they would be able to escape being surrounded by the creatures.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Magic Vine: Entangle!”

Shi Shaoju’s hands were agile as she waved them around; flexible vines were summoned instantly around her, turning into sturdy ropes entangling the legs of the giant creature before her!

They were nowhere near the village, and the Zombies had managed to surround them. Now, the squad of nine was fighting for their lives!

The enormous creature leading the Zombies had a body similar to a giant ox. The rotten flesh on its body was falling to the ground, from which wriggling worms burst out. Plague-bearing worms crawled toward the soldiers.

The Magic Vines had trapped the creature’s legs, but its hatchet-like arms hacked down wildly. The impact almost broke the ground open!

Brown Rock Barriers were established around the soldiers in an arc to protect them, but the situation did not look favorable. Lots of undead were breaking their way through the barrier to reach their prey on the other side!

Their sharp claws were able to slice through the stone like it was mud. They almost broke through the Rock Barrier. The rotting corpses had no sense of pain; some even slammed their skulls into the Rock Barrier, resulting in their heads falling apart and their brains splattering everywhere. However, their claws continued to dig through the stone!

Zhang Xiaohou’s forehead was covered in sweat. He had encountered many kinds of demon beasts before, savage, cunning, and cold-blooded, but this was his first time encountering a demented horde like these walking corpses.

The corpses had no sense of pain, no consciousness, no fear. They were merely chasing and tearing apart any living things nearby. Their only weakness was sunlight, but the day had fallen dark a few moments ago. By the time the sunlight came, their group would have turned into more undead…

“What should we do? Once these things break through our defense, we’ll simply be slaughtered by that giant corpse!” yelled Wang Tong.

Similar to demon beasts, the Undead were also categorized into Servant-class, Warrior-level, Commander-level, and Ruler-level…

The Undead attacking them were only the common Zombie Undead. They were most likely dead for less than ten years. Their buried bodies had not fully rotted yet.

The rank of the Zombie Undead was the lowest, the Servant-class, yet their numbers were overwhelming. They always attacked their prey in groups, so it was extremely dangerous to stumble into them in the wild.

Within the groups of Zombies, those that were buried longer and had absorbed more essence of death would evolve into generals among the walking corpses.

The huge creature with a body of a strong ox, a tiny head and limbs like hatchets was an infamous Corpse General. It was categorized as a Warrior-level creature, yet it was definitely stronger than an ordinary Warrior-level demon beast.

Normally, it was possible to inflict damage on demon beasts. When their legs were attacked, it would affect their speed and movement. If their limbs were attacked, it would weaken their attack. If their critical parts were damaged, their body would become weak and force them to retreat.

However, there was no such thing as being injured for these corpses. Even when destructive Spells penetrated their abdomens or blasted their limbs apart, they were still mobile as long as there was still energy in the body parts. Even a broken arm on the ground would still rise on its own and grab onto its prey.

A Corpse General was able to take on three Warrior-level demon beasts because of this!

Most importantly, this particular one they had stumbled into turned out to be a superior Corpse General, which had been nurtured in this land for more than ten years!

Trying to fight against it was no different than asking for death. Even if they managed to kill the Corpse General by teaming up, they would still be bitten to death by the horde of hundreds of Zombies surrounding them.

They had no choice but to run… there was slightly over a kilometer left until they reached Sunny Goat Village. They were able to see the wooden fences around the village once they crossed the little hill before them. They had to escape from these filthy creatures.

“Sink, you bastards!”

“Flowing Mud: Earth Wave!”

Zhang Xiaohou’s hands glowed brown. He channeled the Spell for quite some time, stacking up a few Earth Spells on top of one another, before slamming the energy into the ground!

The nine of them were all in the same area. Everywhere apart from the ground they were standing on suddenly became slimy. They could easily tell that the soft soil had turned into mud, and some even had the shape of a whirlpool…

Anything standing on mud would naturally sink, and together with the spinning and sinking motion, it was similar to quicksand; a huge number of Zombies were now half-sunken into the ground!

When Zhang Xiaohou had arrived at the Ancient Capital, he immediately sold the diamond he found at the Burning Valley and bought himself an Earth Element Magic Tool. It allowed him to stack up his Basic Earth Spell to a certain degree before releasing it, multiplying the effects of Earth Wave!

Although it would take a longer time to channel, it was more effective than casting the same spell many times!

The Earth Wave cast with the Earth Seed Flowing Mud had a shocking outcome. As lots of the Zombies sank into the mud, Zhang Xiaohou immediately hardened the ground to stop them from coming back up!

In the end, the Zombies were stuck in the ground with half their bodies on the surface and half below. They could neither rise to the surface nor sink into the ground!

The group was overjoyed. As they were about to give some compliments, Shi Shaoju screamed, “Run, quick!”

The Corpse General had already broken through the last line of defense. Due to its enormous size, the muck produced by the Flowing Mud Seed could barely cover its ankles. Even when the mud turned as hard as concrete, it was nowhere enough to hinder its movement!

Blood splattered as its hatchets swung wildly. It was impossible to tell who was injured in the midst of the chaos. They could only take hold of the chance to run down the hill.

The furious roar of the Hatchet Corpse General rose behind them. The soldiers felt a chill running down their spines as they felt the gust of it sweeping across their back!

However, no one dared to turn around; they could only run with all their might. Under the icy brilliance of the moon, they could vaguely see black shadows charging in their direction while uttering hungry cries!

Unlike the slow-moving Zombies in the movies, both the Corpse General and the Zombies were extremely fast while their legs were still intact. A Magician running at full speed would still be easily caught by them without relying on movement Spells or Boots Equipment…

In addition to that, their jumping ability was shocking. They could easily leap over ten meters, even the Servant-class Zombies. As such, the Undeads chasing after the group were not slowly dragging their legs, but sprinting and leaping like wild beasts!

“AHHHHHH!”

A painful screech came from behind. It seemed like someone was caught by the Undead, resulting in a cry for help.

“Forget them! If not, our whole squad will be wiped out!” ordered captain Qin Hu mercilessly.

The group did not dare to turn around. They could only hope that the one caught was not a friend.

“She’s not dead yet!” Zhang Xiaohou turned around and saw the person to be the other Battlemaga in their group, Jia Xi!

The Battlemaga Jia Xi was entangled by the long tongue of the Corpse General. She was an Ice Magician, hence she barely sealed off the Corpse General’s movement with Ice Lock. Otherwise, the Corpse General would simply have swallowed her with one bite!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Idiot, don’t go!” Wang Tong yelled at Zhang Xiaohou.

However, Zhang Xiaohou had already stepped on the emergency brake and turned around to save Jia Xi.

The Battlemaga struggled to break free. The Corpse General had shattered her ice chains to pieces. As the ice was still scattering in the air, the Corpse General dashed toward the Battlemaga like a runaway car.

Jia Xi uttered a prayer. When she saw Zhang Xiaohou turning around to save her, she barely showed a change of expression. As she reached out her hand for Zhang Xiaohou to pull her away, the enormous creature withdrew its tongue and dragged her through the air, right toward its murderous mouth!

The Corpse General bit down greedily, as if it were munching on a juicy fruit, bright red liquid sprayed through the air.

A few drops of the blood landed on Zhang Xiaohou’s face. His eyes widened as his face filled with disbelief.

“Run, you idiot!”

Wang Tong’s voice entered Zhang Xiaohou’s ears. As he collected his thoughts, he saw the Corpse General’s bloodshot eyes fixed on him.

“Sor…sorry,” mumbled Zhang Xiaohou softly as he summoned a gust of wind under his feet, carrying him into the distance like an arrow being fired.

Zhang Xiaohou was extremely fast. The Hatchet Corpse General had no chance of catching him. Meanwhile, the Zombies flanking him from other directions were unable to predict his path. Before the walking corpses could totally surround him, Zhang Xiaohou had already broken through with Wind Track and caught up to the team.

—

“Wipe it off,” Shi Shaoju handed a handkerchief to Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou did not receive it. He wiped his face with his sleeves. The fresh blood of Jia Xi was all over them; Zhang Xiaohou had never even had the chance to talk to her.

“I thought you’d already gotten used to this, based on your outstanding performance. I assumed you would abandon those that are impossible to save. It was very likely that you would pay with your life by turning around there. The squads here are different from the squads from other places. You should abandon those who are trapped by the Undead. Turn around, and you’ll put the entire squad in danger!” the captain Qin Hu came over and glanced down at Zhang Xiaohou, who was taking his rest on the ground.

Zhang Xiaohou remained silent. He was indeed a ‘transfer student’ from the south to the middle region, the Ancient Capital…

“Don’t do something stupid like that next time, and don’t disobey the orders given to you,” said Qin Hu.

Zhang Xiaohou was still silent, still not reconciled to the death of his comrade… If he could have acted quicker, he might have had a chance of saving her before she was dragged away by the Corpse General.

“There’s no sign of the Undead nearby. Sunny Goat Village is just ahead, I can see their fences…” said Wang Tong.

“Alright, let’s head to the village at once.”

—

Sunny Goat Village was only a few kilometers away from the Qinling Mountains, located in the foothills of the infamous mountain range.

The village was not big, constructed along a river flowing down from the mountain. The structures were basically made of wood. It felt like the squad had gone back in time the moment they set foot into the village. There was no sign of Magic Technology that had been developed in the past century. No streetlights, no electrical wires, even the mobile reception here was close to zero.

“Demon beasts are quite sensitive toward our technology. Perhaps the village has banned it so they won’t attract the demon beasts and Undead here,” the observant Shi Shaoju quickly conjectured as they entered the village.

The village was extraordinarily quiet at night. Not a single lamp was lit. The only source of light was the dull yellow moon hanging high up in the sky.

The group could hear the sound of the river clearly. The village was deadly silent, it did not look like someone lived here.

“You guys… remove everything you shouldn’t be bringing with you before entering the village, that includes any trace of blood on you…” said an aged voice from the guard tower at the entrance of the village.

The guard tower was manned every night, as a safety precaution.

“Old man, we’re soldiers from Lintong headquarters. We were ambushed by the Undead along the way here. We’ve already got casualties and injured with us. Please let us enter the village, so we can attend to our comrades,” said Shi Shaoju to the old man guarding the village.

“Which is why I say, throw away everything you shouldn’t be bringing in. It will bring bad luck and disaster to our village,” insisted the old man.

The group looked at one another. They had no choice but to comply.

“That thing too.”

“It’s the only communication device for us to contact the headquarters. It’s specially designed, it won’t attract the attention of demon beasts,” said Qin Hu.

“No way; otherwise, you won’t be entering the village.”

“Just follow his instructions. There’s a reason they are able to live among the Undead for so many years…” said Shi Shaoju.

The group immediately removed all their communication devices. The old man simply set the pile on fire, leaving the group with dull looks on their faces. Now that they had lost their communication devices, no one would know if the entire squad was wiped out in the end…

It seemed like the scouting squad was told to come to this village too. If their communication devices were destroyed too, it would be a miracle if they did not go missing!

“Alright, come in. The journey here looked tough, judging from your looks and injuries. Clean yourself up at the river…oh, try not to go upstream, we still want to drink the water,” said the old man.

The old man brought the group of eight to the back of the village.

The village was not huge, possibly smaller than a villa owned by a wealthy person. It only took them ten minutes to reach the back of the village.

The village was quiet, and they had yet to see anyone apart from the old man. They began to feel uneasy.

“The whole area is occupied by the Undead, yet the village is located right in the center of it. On top of that, I haven’t seen anything alive in this place. Is this actually a ghost town? It makes sense that the Undead are not interested in the dead…” whispered Wang Tong to Zhang Xiaohou.

“Enough, the villagers are most likely asleep. This place has no television, no phones, no Internet, what can they possibly do apart from sleeping?” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“Oh, you’re right about that. By the way, the old man has just burned my Kidney Six too. I should have sent my missus a message before entering the village, so she won’t think that I’m dead here…what a pity.”

{TL Note: Kidney Six here is referring to the iPhone Six. The reason why it’s kidney, well, there are actual cases in China where people sold one of their kidneys just to buy a new iPhone, and it has somehow turned into a meme.}

Zhang Xiaohou rolled his eyes, not wanting to waste his time talking to Wang Tong. He proceeded to study the village.

Speaking of which, Sunny Goat Village looked just like a normal village with a primitive life../style. However, he did discover a strange sight; each of the wooden huts was decorated with a stalk of Dog’s Paw.

Dog’s Paw was its common name, its real name was the Ash Plum Flower.

Zhang Xiaohou had only learned about the Ash Plum Flower after he came to the Ancient Capital. For some reason, he felt like he had seen the Ash Plum Flower before.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Use this to cleanse the poison away, but without a Healer, it’s not possible for his legs to recover,” the old man sitting on a wooden stool and smoking a cigar told them.

Wang Tong handed him an automatic lighter and a Chunghwa cigar, but the old man shook his head. The villagers were neither stubborn nor behind in technology, but they had to rely on the traditional life../style to maintain the serenity of the village.

The old man told the group that there was no empty hut for them. They had no choice but to stay in a shed for the night.

They were all soldiers who had endured tough training, hence the shed was very comfortable as long as they didn’t have to worry about the Undead.

“We’ll talk in the day. Just a reminder, don’t simply run off anywhere, especially leaving the village. I’ll tell the chief that you’re here…” the old man said, before leaving the group.

The soldiers laid down on the slightly damp ground of the shed. They were too worn out to chat with one another. They spread out their clothes on the ground and went to sleep.

Most of them had gotten used to witnessing blood and death. It was a close call tonight, but it did not stop them from falling asleep.

Everyone fell asleep without appointing anyone to stand guard.

Zhang Xiaohou woke up a few times throughout the night because of the cold. The first time he woke up, the moon was still high up in the sky. The second time, the moon was slightly slanted. The third time, his surroundings were in complete darkness, so quiet that it was kind of scary, yet his fatigue immediately dragged him back into a deep sleep.

When his eyes next sprang open, it was already daytime.

—

“Come over here you son of a bitch, who told you to wash your feet in the upstream, I’ll skin you alive!”

“Going to do the laundry? Let me tag along, my husband is lazy, but somehow he’s very active at changing his clothes.”

The beating of a gong woke the group up. As they opened their eyes, they could see kids running around, women busy with their chores and old folks taking a stroll around the village…

The village was deadly quiet last night, but it was rather lively in the day, just like an ordinary village.

When everyone woke up, some of the kids with runny noses gathered around the shed and observed the soldiers like they were foreigners.

“You’re all awake, head to the village hall. The chief wants to see you,” The old man who was standing guard last night seemed fairly energetic still. He brought the group to eat breakfast before going to the village hall.

The hall was not big. It had a small front yard, with a huge pond filled with clear water. The bottom of the pond had lots of pebbles. If one were to take a closer look, they would discover red letters engraved on the surface of the pebbles, which looked like names.

“In our village, either the youngsters or old folks, those who are leaving would write their names on the pebbles and throw them into the pond. It prevents them from turning into those things outside,” explained the old man indifferently.

They arrived at the village hall after they crossed the yard.

A few old men sat on the wooden chairs with carefree looks. None of them seem afraid, despite living among the Undead.

A middle-aged man was seated in the leading position. His forehead was filled with wrinkles. He looked rather old, even with his smile. Even his good skincare was unable to hide his age.

“I’m the chief of this village. You can call me Fang Gu,” said the man who called himself Fang Gu.

“Our chief is impressive, he’s a Magician,” complimented the old man who had stood guard.

“I’m nothing compared to the experts from the army,” replied Fang Gu with a smile, sounding quite humble.

“Experts? One dead and one severely injured before they arrived,” blurted out the old man.

Fang Gu gave the old man a stare. The old man was aware that he had said something unpleasant to the ears. He immediately excused himself, most likely heading home to take a rest.

“Sorry about that; the old man is just being talkative. It’s been dull lately, as the Undead appear even before the sky turns completely dark. The creatures are extremely savage, too. You must be very careful no matter what mission you’re on.” Fang Gu advised in a friendly manner.

“Thanks for the reminder. The truth is, we’re here to rescue a scouting squad. We’re told to report back if we found any news, if you happen to know something…” said the captain Qin Hu.

“Oh, them… they came to the village before, and left after giving us some warnings. They did not stay for long. They must have headed for the other villages,” answered Fang Gu immediately, remembering the squad.

“Were they fine when they came here?” asked Shi Shaoju.

“Yeah, there were nine of them, none of them were missing.”

“They must have gotten rid of their communication devices when they came into your village. We lost contact with them around this area, please tell us if you know where they went,” said Qin Hu.

“You can’t bring your communication devices into the village, it’s the same for the other villages, too. As for where they went…it should be Hua Village in the west. I heard someone mention it,” said the chief.

“Oh, thanks.”

After the conversation with the chief came to an end, a balding old man sitting beside him spoke up slowly, “Since you’re here, just let you know that we don’t want the army to send another squad to look for you here too…by the way, it will take at least two days to reach Hua Village from here,”

“We’re Magicians.”

“That applies to Magicians,” emphasized the balding old man.

Qin Hu and Shi Shaoju frowned immediately. It meant that they had no choice but to spend a night in the wild if they decided to go to Hua Village!

Initially, they thought they would not have any problem staying a night in the wild, but after what happened last night, they had no intention of taking that risk.

“Chief, the Undead have been restless lately, we probably won’t stand any chance against them, but we have to complete the mission entrusted to us. Please tell us the trick to avoid the Undead… it’s clear that your village is safe in the Land of the Undead, and I even heard rumors about villagers journeying in the wild safely at night. I believe you must have some special trick passed down for generations…” asked Shi Shaoju sternly.

“No, it’s the secret of our village. We can’t tell outsiders,” the old man declined instantly.

“Besides, even if we told you the trick, you can’t use it, anyway. You have to think of some other way,” said another old man.

Fang Gu seemed eager to help, but he was wearing a helpful look too.

After a while, he suddenly spoke, ” We can’t tell you the village’s secret, but there’s another way you can try… the only thing is, if anything goes wrong, you’ll end up being surrounded by the walking corpses.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Prior to this, Zhang Xiaohou never thought nightfall would be so dreadful. As the sun slowly set on the horizon, the remaining peace in his heart was dissipating at the same rate/ A great fear loomed over the vast land…

“It’s…it’s dark again,” someone among the group had to say. Everyone felt their legs weakening for a second, as if countless filthy claws had suddenly grabbed onto them.

“Let’s hope that we were just unlucky last time, finding ourselves close to a burial pit,” murmured Shi Shaoju.

“Brace yourselves; I don’t want us to be ambushed again like last time,” warned Qin Hu.

The mountains in the south were very tall, like a giant black dragon lying across the land on their left, covering a distance of a few kilometers…

The group departed straight to the west. The sun was like the hour hand of a clock, serving as a timer. Its brilliance was red, like the color of blood, scattered across the mountains in the distance, and on the black soil the group was stepping on.

Darkness had already filled the place behind them, as if there was no turning back from this point onward. The smell of rotting flesh and the dead lingered in the air.

The group still remembered when they first set foot onto this land, they were still joking around and laughing, not treating the Undead seriously. However, none of them were speaking along the way now. Their footsteps felt heavier, and their hearts began to race all of a sudden.

“Will the trick that the chief told us actually work?” Wang Tong asked uneasily.

The chief had told the group that the Undead did not rely on their vision to track their prey. Some of the zombies’ heads were completely smashed, leaving them with no eyes. However, they could capture the scent of any living thing…

The Undead had extremely bad vision, especially the low-grade ones, but whenever something alive walked past, every Undead within a few hundred meters would be attracted. It was because they were able to capture the scent of the living.

Places filled with the Undead lingered with a deathly aura. Even their breath held the scent of death.

The breath blown out by a living thing was alive. Science said the majority of it consisted of carbon dioxide.

The Undead had bad vision and average hearing, yet due to the scent of death, they could easily smell any living thing within a few hundred meters. The scent of something alive was like a plate of delicacies to them. They could smell it from a great distance away…

The Undead were always starving, and a living thing always needed to breathe. As a result, the Undead nearby would simply follow the ‘pleasant aroma’ to their next meal.

The only way to avoid the Undead was to deal with the problem of breathing.

Servant-class Undead lacked intelligence, hence as long as a human concealed their breathing or slightly modified it, it was difficult for the Undead to locate them.

As for the Warrior-level Undead, their senses of smell and hearing were a lot stronger, with average vision. Therefore, if they stumbled into a Warrior-level creature, not only would they have to deal with their breathing, they had to be extremely still, too…

“This thing looks just like garlic. I wonder how bad it’s going to taste,” said one of the soldiers, Bi Lu.

“It’s turning dark. Eat it, one each!” ordered Captain Qin Hu.

The group followed the captain’s order. They quickly took out something with a shape similar to garlic, but pitch-black in color, out from their bags.

The thing was called Ash Garlic, one of the few crops that would grow in the Land of the Undead.

Its taste was a lot worse than garlic. Once they ate it, the breath they exhaled was extremely foul. However, the locals carried a few with them at all times, as a safety precaution…

Once they ate the Ash Garlic, their breath would turn foul, strong enough to cover their scent. The Undead would simply mistake them as their own kind who forgot to brush their teeth at night, and would not chase after them.

In ancient times, there was a saying that garlic was able to keep devils away. It was most likely because the devils would not want to get close to you after smelling the garlic…

As soon as night fell, everyone ate an Ash Garlic each, and immediately came the sound of retching.

“F**k, it’s worse than eating poop!”

“You sound like you’ve tried poop before.”

“It’s disgusting… allow me to puke for a while.”

Everyone was a soldier in the group, who had eaten all kinds of things when surviving in the wild, yet they all still felt like vomiting after eating the Ash Garlic, showing how bad it tasted!

“Hang in there, if you don’t want to die…”

“Captain, please don’t face me when you talk.”

“Shh, quiet!”

Shi Shaoju suddenly urged the group with an alert look.

Everyone immediately paled and held their breaths.

The ground began to loosen up, like someone trying to crawl out from their grave. They could clearly hear the sound of something knocking on a coffin.

Everyone glanced at one another, before staring at the ground under their feet.

Suddenly, a head covered in worms poked out from the soil!

Its hair was dry, and only half of the scalp remained, exposing a shiny skull, an eerie sight…

The head appeared right beside a Battlemaga, Xiao Jing, her face as pale as a sheet of paper. She subconsciously wanted to draw a Star Pattern to blast the disgusting head away, yet Shi Shaoju quickly grabbed her and stopped her from doing so.

Shi Shaoju had made a wise choice, as a few other heads with half-exposed skulls crawled out from the ground…

In just a few minutes, more zombies rose up from the soil. They were enjoying the ‘darkbath’ and breathing the dead air. If their eyes looked slightly more alive, they could be mistaken as a pack of creatures coming out to enjoy some fresh air!

The group of eight turned into statues. They could feel their hearts pounding, like they would pop out at any second.

Two zombies had crawled out of the ground close to Zhang Xiaohou, right in front of and behind Wang Tong…

Zhang Xiaohou was so close that he could see the empty hole at the back of the zombie’s skull. It was obvious that the person had died when his brain was punctured by something sharp.

He did not dare to move, nor breathe.

However, it was impossible for anyone to not breathe. Even if he could hold his breath for a minute, he would simply die from suffocating if he held it any longer.

Finally, Zhang Xiaohou reached his limit. He started to exhale some air through his nose…

As soon as he exhaled, the zombie in front of him turned around instantly. Its bloodshot eyes were staring right at Zhang Xiaohou, and it raised the rusted saber it was holding, too!

Zhang Xiaohou’s heart skipped a beat!

The two zombies were not enough to pose any threat to him. A simple Wind Disc would blast them into the sky…

The problem was, there were at least a hundred zombies around them. If he attacked, the zombies would simply sense the energy from his Magic, and completely surround them!

Zhang Xiaohou did not dare to move, but he was already at his limit. He had no idea if the Ash Garlic was working effectively. No one could possibly stay calm under the circumstances; surrounded by the Undead, the filthy creatures could easily strip them to the bones in seconds!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou’s face turned blue from holding his breath too long.

He finally exhaled a mouthful, as he would lose consciousness if he did not breathe.

The zombie in front glanced at Zhang Xiaohou confusingly, as if it was completely unaware of the guy that had somehow appeared behind it.

The zombie lowered the rusty saber, and did not attack Zhang Xiaohou.

Meanwhile, the zombie behind Zhang Xiaohou completely ignored him, and continued to roam aimlessly. It would glance into the distance at times, or lower its head, trying to find the arm it lost yesterday.

“Phew~!”

Zhang Xiaohou let out a relieved sigh. The others could feel their legs cramping because of the tension, and they almost fell to the ground.

The trick worked!

Neither the skeletons nor the zombies attacked them. They were simply glancing at the humans who were uttering the foul breath in confusion. However, these Undead did not possess any intelligence. As long as the thing was not alive, it was meaningless to attack them. Maybe they were just stinky?

Captain Qin Hu raised his head without saying a word, signaling the group to continue forward in formation.

The group quickly gathered. They were still alert at the start, afraid that something would go wrong. However, as they walked past the Undead at very close range, the zombies would only groan at them in warning for straying too close, without lunging at them. As such, they began to lower their guard.

“If we knew about this trick all along, why would we still be afraid of the Undead?” Wang Tong seemed elated from the success.

“These Ash Garlics are extremely rare. You might find them on the black market, but there won’t be many. The chief has spared us some of their stock they had saved up…” said Shi Shaoju.

“Either way, it’s good that we don’t have to fight those things. Once we locate the bodies of the scouting squad, we’ll go back at once,” said Bi Lu.

“It seems like us talking won’t attract their attention, either…”

The group realized that it was fine talking in front of the Undead. As long as their breath was covered by the foul scent of the Ash Garlic, the Undead would not notice their presence.

However, everyone began to panic slightly as they continued along the journey across the vast land. Every few steps would lead them to a few more Undead…

The density of the Undead had completely surpassed their estimation. Every one hundred square meters would have one or two Undead roaming around. By that standard, the whole area would be showing as bloody red on the electronic map!

As they proceeded, they suddenly saw a group of several dozens zombies ahead…

The zombies were stacked together like a wall, standing right in the path they were heading in. The zombies slowly dragged their bodies along, uttering unpleasant cries.

Before any living thing captured their attention, the zombies would simply roam around aimlessly, like walking corpses.

“Let’s just walk past them. They won’t attack us anyway,” Wang Tong led the way with a smile.

However, when Wang Tong was less than twenty meters away, the group of zombies suddenly turned around and stared at Wang Tong with bloodshot eyes…

Wang Tong was stunned!

The zombies began to scream and charged in Wang Tong’s direction.

As the zombies sprinted across the land, it swept a huge cloud of dust into the air!

“Quick, the Ash Garlic!” yelled Shi Shaoju.

Luckily, Wang Tong reacted fairly quickly. He took out an Ash Garlic and munched it.

The effects worked fairly quickly. Wang Tong was almost knocked out by his own foul breath.

The zombies were right in front of Wang Tong, yet they suddenly lost their target and came to a stop. They simply stared at one another in a foolish manner.

A moment later, the zombies returned to their aimless roaming as if they had forgotten why they were running in the first place.

Wang Tong stood in the middle of the zombies, having almost wet his pants in fear.

As everything returned to normal, Wang Tong finally burst out cursing, “This stinky thing only lasts for such a short time?”

“We don’t have a lot of the Ash Garlics, and it seems like they don’t last long either. We have to make use of the time,” said Shi Shaoju with a frown.

Since the effect of the Ash Garlic ended for Wang Tong, it would be the same for everyone. The others quickly took out an Ash Garlic and ate it…

——

The cold moon hanging high up in the sky shone down, observing the moving dead.

The land was cold but restless, as the Undead who had overslept would rise from the ground and roam aimlessly like a homeless scavenger.

When there was nothing alive for them to feed on, the Undead would pick up stuff or dig things up from the ground. The broken limbs they found would always come in handy. Occasionally, they would dig up a burial pit and found themselves a nutritional habitat. Spend a few years there, and they might even evolve into stronger Undead…

Along the journey, the group had witnessed the vicissitudes of life. They had no idea why these things would even exist in their world.

A tide suddenly erupted ahead, sweeping the black soil into the air, fairly shocking under the moonlight.

The tide was dragging dead bodies, torn clothes, and zombies that happened to be in the area forward.

The whole ground began to vibrate, as an Undead with a body as strong as an ox crawled out from the hole…

The Undead poked out of the soil, revealing sturdy muscles as impenetrable as armor plates.

Its limbs were thick and sturdy. It had four limbs in total, and somehow two of them had were fused with hatchets stained with blood. The other two were like long sabers. It was no different than a meat mincer when it started to swing the weapons!

“It’s the Hatchet Corpse General!” blurted out Wang Tong in shock.

“Has it been following us around?”

“Or perhaps we were still inside its territory all along!”

The group of eight subconsciously backed off when they saw it. The Corpse General was the actual reason they almost got wiped out in the first place, and now, the giant creature had appeared once again.

“Don’t panic, we’ve eaten the Ash Garlic, it won’t notice us… right, don’t move, stay right where you are. The chief has mentioned that the Warrior-level Undead have good hearing, they can tell if we are Undead based on our movements. So don’t move, and you’ll be fine,” said Shi Shaoju.

The group clearly remembered the chief’s warning. They turned into statues, staring at the Hatchet Corpse General in astonishment.

Zhang Xiaohou did not move his gaze. He realized that the Undead’s head was gone, but as he took a closer look, it did not seem like it was beheaded.

The others were aware that the Hatchet Corpse General looked slightly different than before, but none of them made a noise. God knew if talking would attract the Hatchet Corpse General’s attention.

The sound of something digging its way up from its flesh was heard.

An out of proportion head slowly stuck out from the neck of the Corpse General.

Disgusting black hair stained with blood appeared first, clumping on the Corpse General’s neck.

A head appeared after, which looked the same as a human’s.

Finally…

The head turned one hundred and eighty degrees, revealing a face covered in blood and ichor, but most importantly full of gall and hatred!

“Why…why…why did you leave me!?” its mouth opened, shrieking hateful words.

The group could feel their scalps exploding on seeing this. The head that had popped out from the Hatchet Corpse General’s body was the dead Battlemaga, Jia Xi!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There were two ways for the Undead to evolve. First, using the presence of death to nurture themselves, like the fermentation of alcohol, allowing their strength to grow as time went by.

Second, by merging with and devouring others!

Combining the body parts of dead corpses to their own bodies with brute force would grant them the capabilities of the corpses when they were alive to a certain degree!

The Corpse General had used Jia Xi’s head to grant itself a human’s vision. Since she had only died recently, her hatred still remained, hence she had come looking for the team as night arrived.

Ash Garlic, staying still, none of them were effective against a Corpse General consumed by strong hatred, as she could still recognize their faces within a day of her death!

“Come…stay with me! I want you all to come stay with me!” the head on the Corpse General screeched at them with terrifying hatred.

The Corpse General had the ability to command the Undead. Following the scream, the zombies within a few hundred meters away obeyed its summon, sharing the same target as the Corpse General!

The zombies too began to scream, their rotten legs that were initially dragged around like puppets suddenly received a strong burst of energy, turning them into the most savage beasts, which charged toward the humans and surrounded them…

Countless black figures were running at them. The density of the Undead in the area was high to begin with. The entire place trembled as the summoning took place. The Undead had gone totally mad. The eight soldiers that were hiding in the middle of the Undead suddenly became the freshest meat available!

“Run, quick!” yelled Qin Hu.

There was more Undead around them than previously, including a Corpse General driven by hatred. They had no chance of fighting them whatsoever…

The eight soldiers quickly fled into the distance, casting Magic continuously as they ran, summoning wild fiery fists and erupting tornadoes. Despite the bodies scattering in the air together with the splatter of blood and liquid, the zombies were still chasing them relentlessly!

“AHHHH~!”

As the group was running, no one had time to look after Lu Hongjing, whose legs no longer had any flesh.

Lu Hongjing was a Water Magician. He barely had a Water Barrier protecting him from the Undead…

However, there were simply too many crashing onto him, like rugby players stacking on top of one another as they fought for the ball. More zombies desperately tried to squeeze themselves between the gaps.

Lu Hongjing’s cries were completely blocked off. The group could only see a pile of zombies where he was. They saw parts of his flesh being thrown out from the pile, which were immediately taken away by the zombies nearby. Not a single drop of blood was left, as the zombies even fell to their knees to suck it all up.

“Don’t look back!” Shi Shaoju snapped at Zhang Xiaohou.

The greatest taboo in the Land of the Undead was turning back.

Even if their blood-related brothers had fallen, they were not allowed to turn back and rescue them. The most they could do was to simply come back and retrieve their corpses during the day, just so they would not turn into more Undead…

“There’s no such thing as rescuing in this land. The rescue team is basically the corpse retrieving team!” emphasized Shi Shaoju.

Zhang Xiaohou bit his lips and continued to run.

The zombies showed no sign of decreasing. There were always new ones blocking the path ahead.

The Undead seemed to have unlimited energy. Even those that were left a long ways behind were still chasing after them.

“I…I’ve got you… come… stay with me!”

A terrifying voice was heard. Zhang Xiaohou turned around and realized that Captain Qin Hu had somehow been left behind…

Two zombies were grabbing onto his legs. A moment later, one of the Hatchet Corpse General’s arms stabbed through his body.

The arm slowly raised into the air. Impaled by the arm, Qin Hu was lifted into the air, hanging right in front of Jia Xi’s face.

Jia Xi burst into an eerie laughter, as if she were going to tear Qin Hu apart with her own mouth.

Qin Hu turned around. The captain glanced at Zhang Xiaohou with his final breath.

His mouth was filled with blood. Despite the great pain, he was still trying to tell Zhang Xiaohou something.

“Don’t… turn… back!” Qin Hu used his remaining breath to tell Zhang Xiaohou.

The following second, Qin Hu was torn apart by Hatchet Corpse General’s three other limbs. Only the head was left in good condition, and set aside by the Corpse General.

“Damn it, damn it!”

Zhang Xiaohou lowered his head and kept on running…

His face was hurting from the wind slapping his face. Zhang Xiaohou had no idea how fast he was going. Either way, the zombies were merely puppets blocking his path.

The zombies could not stop him, even the Warrior-level Corpse General had no chance to catch him…

However, his only attack was Wind Disc. He was unable to save anyone, let alone blasting the zombies surrounding his comrades away.

He initially thought he had grown stronger, that he was able to face tougher challenges and able to save the people he wanted to save. In the end, he was still the same, so tiny that running was the only thing he could do.

It would be great if Mo Fan was here. He would simply use his strongest destructive Spells to kill all the zombies. He would find a way to eliminate even the powerful Corpse General!

Two Elements were nowhere enough to deal with the Undead.

Zhang Xiaohou had never had such a strong urge to become an Advanced Magician.

After becoming an Advanced Magician, he would have access to three Elements. He would at least have some Spells he could use to fight the zombies!

He would be able to cast the Advanced Spells, either the Eyes of the Rock Demon: Petrify, and the Wind Wings of the Wind Element would help a great deal, at least he would not be running like a coward…

“Zhang Xiaohou, don’t go that way!” yelled Shi Shaoju.

Zhang Xiaohou quickly collected his thoughts and realized that the ground in front of him was collapsing…

First, the soil loosened up. Next, the ground began to sink. It felt like the ground was hollow underneath, and as the surface began to vibrate, the thin layer suddenly collapsed, revealing a pitch-black abyss right in front of him!

There were several zombies on the ground, but as the abyss appeared, they all dropped into it.

The angled moonlight was barely shining upon the walls of the deep abyss. Half of it was visible, while the other half was completely dark. The only sound was the cries of the zombies as they fell into darkness…

Loud cries of the Undead suddenly rose in the pit, as the ground began to tremble wildly.

“What…what’s this?”

Zhang Xiaohou halted right in front of the abyss, sliding right to the edge of the pit as his speed was too high.

He glanced down in astonishment, and saw the most terrifying sight he ever saw in his life…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The red eyes below were packed together densely. They were not a dazzling sight like the stars in the sky, but so crowded together that one could simply feel goosebumps across their body and their heart being penetrated by the extremely greedy and savage gazes!

The abyss was very dark, but Zhang Xiaohou could still see countless bodies and limbs squirming down in the pit. They were stacked together, layer after layer, the zombies were climbing on top of one another like moving mountains…

The abyss was huge, yet he could not see even the slightest sign of the soil. All of it was filled with zombies, numbing his scalp!

The few zombies that were initially on the surface before it collapsed had dropped into the pit like raindrops falling into the ocean, lost completely among the rest of the Undead…

Thousands!

Tens of thousands!

With so many Undead gathered in a single pit, it was like lifting up the lid of a burning pot, resembling the eighteenth-floor of Hell, where countless souls were being tortured. The dreadful scene was thrown open to the mundane world, displaying the torture and pain that the souls were suffering. Their tremendous hatred had materialized into a giant fountain of black vapor rising into the sky!

Zhang Xiaohou was completely stunned in [lace. He was the closest to the abyss. Just a few more steps, he would have fallen into it…

Now, he realized that he would prefer to be butchered by the Hatchet Corpse General rather than falling into this pit filled with zombies. It was no different than finding himself in Hell!

Zhang Xiaohou had nowhere to run with the Hatchet Corpse General chasing behind him. He would not make it in time running around the edge of the pit.

Jia Xi’s dark face was approaching him with her long tongue writhing the air, as if she was going to suck his blood dry.

The hatchets swung wildly. Zhang Xiaohou clenched his teeth. With his back against the pit of zombies, he had no choice but to have a final showdown with the Hatchet Corpse General.

However, as he had just prepared to fight to his death, the Hatchet Corpse General suddenly moved into a different direction and chased after Shi Shaoju…

An eerie laugh burst into his ears. Zhang Xiaohou had never experienced the feeling of unable to move his feet due to overwhelming fear before. It was not just because the deadly Hatchet Corpse General had just spared his life, but the fact that a Hell on Earth was right behind him, the burning pot with countless zombies!

He fell to his knees weakly. It took him some time to gather his strength again and rose to his feet.

He could sense the tremendous aura of death right behind him, which would most likely drag any living thing nearby into it. Zhang Xiaohou did not want to die in this place…

Without the Hatchet Corpse General chasing after him, Zhang Xiaohou was finally able to run back in the direction they had just come from.

He could not see where the others were, or tell if they were dead or had actually managed to escape. The elites specifically picked to form the special team had collapsed at the first blow from the Undead. They were merely prey in the end!

——-

The Magic Association, in the clock tower…

In a rather old-../style office, a young woman on monitoring duty rushed toward the meeting room with an electronic screen on her hand.

“Black! Black!” screamed the woman as she barged into the room.

“Calm down, what is this about?” said the Vice Chairman of the Ancient Capital’s Magic Association.

“Black, there are black dots in this area… it’s a Dark Abyss!” said the woman as she pointed at the electronic screen.

The screen was an electronic map, showing the vicinity of the Ancient Capital and the areas nearby…

It was now midnight, the areas outside of the Ancient Capital were displaying as blood red on the map. The color was bright and astonishing, implying that the Undead was a lot more restless than usual.

On top of that, in the middle of the red areas, a black dot suddenly flickered.

Black implied that it was a forbidden land for humans!

A purple area was already considered a kingdom of demon beasts, where even the Supreme Magicians had little chance of surviving. Above that, a black area meant that any living thing had zero chance of surviving.

Somehow, in the midst of the red, a black dot had appeared!

It was a sign that the most terrifying thing in the Land of the Undead had appeared.

“Is there something wrong with the device? Why would there be black? It literally means the Undead are stacking up into mountains,” a young member of the Magic Association scoffed with a smile, before looking at the Vice Chairman Peng Yu. He quickly withdrew the smile on his face when he saw the stern look on the Vice Chairman’s face.

“You know nothing! This means that the Dark Abyss has appeared!” the woman shot back, her voice rising as her control wavered.

“Dark Abyss? I’ve been here for quite some time, but I’ve never heard of that…,” replied the young man uncertainly.

Vice Chairman Peng Yu exhaled deeply after some time and said, “Did you say that the area would only be black when the zombies are stacking up into mountains?”

“Yeah, no matter how dense the zombies are, there’s no way it would reach that level,” said the young man.

“The truth is, that’s exactly what the Dark Abyss looks like. It’s also known as the Ten Thousand Corpses Pit, or the Abyss of Hell. The device won’t make a mistake, a Dark Abyss has indeed appeared to the west of Sunny Goat Village…”

“No…no way?” the young man’s face stiffened.

“Tell the other factions that a Dark Abyss has appeared! Even this thing has shown itself in the Land of the Undead. If we can’t find the reason behind it, this whole place is going to turn into Hell!” said Vice Chairman Peng Yu sternly.

It was common for the Undead to roam around the Ancient Capital. For thousands of years, humans here had learned how to co-exist with the Undead.

However, since the extraordinary behavior of the Drifting Sand River, this land had gone out of control as well. More Undead began to appear before nightfall, and high-level creatures were spotted in human territories. Even this pit, the closest thing to what Hell, looked like it had appeared. Wasn’t all this enough to imply that something big was about to happen?

The Ancient Capital had stood firmly for thousands of years despite the Undead having their eyes on the city all along. The people here had learned how to defend themselves and fight against the Undead in a never-ending war that had lasted for a few thousand years…

Undead appearing in the daytime, the restless zombies, the appearance of the Dark Abyss… there had to be a reason behind it all!

——

It was said that the river flowing from the mountain close to the Sunny Goat Village was the cleanest around dawn, perfect for brewing tea.

Su Xiaoluo would rise from her bed when the sun had just risen to fetch water from the river. She would carry buckets of it back and pour them into the tanks at her house. Not only did her dad need the water to brew some nice tea, the water was crucial for bathing, too.

On this day, she had gone to retrieve some water as usual. Even though she could hear the cries of zombies in the distance, she was not afraid.

She scooped the water up and immediately discovered the water was red when she was about to pour it into the bucket.

The water had the smell of blood. Su Xiaoluo frowned in annoyance, assuming that a stupid zombie had ended up in the upstream again…

She glanced upward at the upstream and saw a man covered in blood lying on the ground. Half of his body was in the water.

The blood continued to flow from his body. The man had died a terrible death!

Su Xiaoluo was rather daring, having lived so close to the undead all her life. She walked up to the body and flipped it over.

“He’s still breathing… someone, help!” Su Xiaoluo immediately called for the villagers when she discovered that the man was still barely breathing.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lintong Headquarters…

The military instructor Fei Jiao had assigned to coach the special forces soldiers sat down on the training ground, right under the flag.

“Where did the news come from?”

“One of the villages outside of the safe zone, I think it’s called Hua Village. The villagers said that they saw torn clothes on ripped-apart bodies when they walked past them somewhere nearby during the day. Judging from the clothes, we can basically say that the squad… was completely wiped out,” said the soldier who was delivering the information.

“Huh, rescue team, rescue team… that was more like a suicide team. Which asshole was it that sent my men out there!?” cursed Fei Jiao as he quickly rose to his feet.

“Instructor, calm down…”

“How can I? Those who died are my students, my students! What do I tell Zhan Kong now!?” yelled Fei Jiao furiously.

He pointed at the buildings nearby and started cursing, from his superior to his subordinates, as if he had gone mad.

The Commanders in the meeting room did not dare to show themselves. Fei Jiao was firing the shots at pretty much everyone.

“Go, assemble a team… Bring them back, either alive or dead!” said Fei Jiao to the solder.

“Instructor, please calm down. They have most likely stumbled into a Dark Abyss. Otherwise, they would not be wiped out even if they merely bumped into a Corpse General!”

“What…what did you say?” Fei Jiao was startled.

“The Dark Abyss, they were chased by something, and somehow ended up close to a Dark Abyss. Even those with Wind Elements did not survive!”

“Dark…Dark Abyss… Why is that thing appearing?” blurted out the instructor, his eyes wide and face blank.

Dark Abyss…it was exactly like Hell. Even the strongest Magician in the entire Ancient Capital had no chance of surviving after falling into one.

Fei Jiao would not blink if he was told to enter the dragon’s pond or the tiger’s lair, but the Dark Abyss, it was not just a simple death, but falling straight into Hell… {TL Note: Dragon’s pond, tiger’s lair = an idiom used to describe dangerous places}

“Instructor, instead of making a scene here, you should notify the families of the dead. I’ve checked his background; Zhang Xiaohou came from Bo City. He grew up without his parents. It was his grandmother who raised him. Even though she survived the calamity of Bo City, she’s approaching the end of her life… As for Zhang Xiaohou, you might want to tell him yourself. He also has a close friend, who should be the closest to him apart from his grandmother. Should I tell them the news?” asked the soldier.

“Zhan Kong has gone missing, how am I supposed to find him? As for his grandmother… don’t tell her yet, she’s already so old,” Fei Jiao continued after a sigh, “As for his friend… I’ll try to find Zhan Kong first. If I can’t find him, we’ll let his friend know.”

“Instructor, don’t do anything stupid, that’s the Dark Abyss, God knows how many lives would be needed to fill it up…”

“I know that! Piss off from my sight, every time I see you, there’s always bad news!”

————–

The Magic City…

Cold wind blew overhead. The city was filled with coughs everywhere, most likely due to the new flu that was spreading around.

“Why don’t you close the window when you go to bed?” asked Ai Tutu as she glanced into Mo Fan’s room.

“I’m a Fire Magician, and I also have a little mobile furnace lying beside me. I prefer the fresh air when the window’s open!” Mo Fan sat in front of the computer and scrolled across the web pages, looking for interesting news related to the Ancient Capital.

The world was full of disastrous events. In his original world, there were natural disasters, but in this world, the disasters were usually invasions of demon beasts.

Ai Tutu proceeded to mock Mo Fan when she saw the guy suddenly became interested in affairs in the country.

Mo Fan turned off the computer and looked back at Ai Tutu. His gaze blithely swept past her busty chest before he replied sternly, “Did you just say that everyone ranked in the top twenty in every school has a chance to enter the Nomination Preliminaries for the World College Tournament?”

“Yeah, didn’t you notice that Sister Mu has been cultivating in seclusion for a long time already?” said Ai Tutu.

“She did improve very quickly,” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan was fairly impressed by Mu Nujiao’s determination. He did not see her much for the past few months, and every time they met, the girl always asked for a duel.

It was most likely because the formidable faction supporting Mu Nujiao had decided to focus on helping her enter the World College Tournament. Not only did she have two high-quality Soul Seeds, all the Equipment she was wearing was luxurious too. Ai Tutu had also told him that Mu Nujiao still had a trump card up in her sleeves. She was preparing to use it as a surprise move during the Nomination Preliminaries.

Mo Fan was looking forward to seeing it.

Thinking about it, Mu Nujiao’s Mu Clan was one of the four great clans in Magic City. It went without saying that they would want to compete for the spot.

Similarly, the extremely wealthy Zhao Clan was in a similar situation, too…

Even the playboy Zhao Manyan had turned into a different person, always busy with some secret training.

Zhao Manyan was most likely not going to compete for the spot offered by the Institute. However, even if he were trying to earn a spot somewhere else, he still had to work extremely hard.

Regardless of having a formidable faction supporting them, the number of competitors was like a vast ocean. Without a certain level of capability, they had no chance of standing out among the candidates…

Basically, everyone who was planning to compete for the chance of being nominated for the World College Tournament had turned into a cultivation lunatic.

As for Ai Tutu…

This young mistress from a wealthy family had a huge bust, but little to no goals. She continued to enjoy life, but since her close friend had devoted herself on the path of cultivation, she was bored to death.

Mo Fan was a seeded candidate, thus he could skip the Nomination Preliminaries if he wanted to…

The others had all gone to cultivate, only Mo Fan was still slacking around, which was why Ai Tutu had been staying with Mo Fan lately, hoping that he would find something fun for her to do.

“Speaking of which, I suggest you take part in the Nomination Preliminaries, too,” Ai Tutu was not planning to take part in them, but she was fairly familiar with the event.

“Why is that?” asked Mo Fan.

“You currently have three votes, which is basically no different than a provisional candidate, yet you still need to get a fourth vote somehow. If you manage to get the nomination, you basically earn yourself another vote. First, no one will be able to stop you from securing a spot, and second, you can also shut the mouths of those who are doubting you,” Ai Tutu declared.

Mo Fan nodded. He agreed with her reasoning.

Not everyone was aware of how he got the three votes in the first place, thus they would assume that he was merely being favored by someone. As a result, they would not be convinced of his qualifications.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan had always liked fighting. The Nomination Preliminaries would definitely involve the strongest students in the entire Institute. If he did not take hold of the opportunity and trample some of those disrespectful idiots, wouldn’t he simply let the Black Snake Armor, which he still hadn’t used, and the Flame Belle, who had finally reached her Youth Stage, down?

As the saying went, a dragon gave birth to dragons, a phoenix gave birth to phoenixes, and the sons of mice were experts at digging holes. Even though Mo Fan did not give birth to the Flame Belle, out of all his resources, she was somehow better at stirring up trouble than her father!

The little Flame Belle was a huge fan of getting into fights!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Nomination Preliminaries!

Pearl Institute had ten nominations in total. Those who were nominated still needed to go through another two rounds of competition before deciding the candidates.

The rules of the Nomination Preliminaries were fairly simple: it would simply gather those in the top twenty in every Element School to duel with one another.

Most interestingly, the duel was not only one versus one, but four versus four, with randomly assigned teams.

Each student who was participating in the Nomination Preliminaries would team up with three other participants temporarily and fight against three other teams.

Although the outcome of the battle would affect their chance of being selected, losing the battle did not mean all hope was lost.

The overall rankings inside the Institute was not decided through battles between the different Elements, since one Element would be more effective against some Elements, and ineffective or neutral against the others. Everyone in the Institute was an Intermediate Magician, so they would only have two Elements at most. Those with only defensive or healing Elements would never be able to climb the rankings, yet those Magicians were always the most important persons in a team…

As a result, the Institute had made the Nomination Preliminaries a team battle instead. Every duel would have three referees, and each of them had eight points to spare. Regardless of the outcome of the battle, those who performed better would be given more points.

The participants with the highest points would be nominated, and the higher-ups would decide the final ten nominations.

Nominations simply meant the candidate had earned a vote.

Only those with four votes were able to represent the country in the World College Tournament. As for the source of the other three votes, it was a lot more complicated. They could come through the support from renowned families, Magic Associations, or the military …it basically depended on the student’s capability and reputation!

Mo Fan already had three votes, yet those were more like tokens of appreciation, and he was quite lucky to get them, too…

Therefore, it was important for him to earn the nomination, too!

He was extremely excited when he learned about the structure of the tournament. A one-on-one battle was fun, but it basically came down to who had the higher cultivation and equipment most of the time.

A group battle was more reliant on the skills of the participants, how to utilize their Magic perfectly, which could even grant them a chance to turn the tables!

Just like how he had worked together with Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan at the Drifting Sand River, this felt extremely good!

The World College Tournament was obviously based on teamwork, too, hence the preliminaries would also be testing the participants’ abilities when working in a team.

——

Ai Tutu had become Mo Fan’s little tail. The girl was a fun seeker, and assumed that she would always find something interesting when following Mo Fan around, hence she energetically signed up for the Nomination Preliminaries on Mo Fan’s behalf and helped him take the draw, too…

Mo Fan spent most of his time cultivating. His ears were shut off from matters outside of the window, yet he would still hear about all sorts of nonsense from Ai Tutu’s mouth that never stopped talking, including how the granddaughter of the school’s guard had fallen in love with some renowned family’s Young Master…

Ai Tutu was dying from boredom, so she was fairly passionate about signing Mo Fan up for the Nomination Preliminaries.

After finishing the draw, she quickly visited the Institute’s forum.

Once the draw was done, most participants would reveal their numbers on the forum, and would organize a meet-up fairly quickly just to learn what Elements each teammate had and practice together if needed.

Ai Tutu had made herself Mo Fan’s secretary. When she saw someone assembling those with the same number, she quickly put on some makeup and went to meet the rest of the team.

Mo Fan’s teammates had gathered at the field. When Ai Tutu arrived in her slightly exposed outfit, the other three had long been waiting for her.

“Is your team number eleven?” said a male student among the three.

“Ah, I know you, you’re the handsome leader of the Lightning School, Gu Jian!” Ai Tutu’s eyes flickered when she took a closer look at the student.

The guy called Gu Jian wore a stiff expression as he glanced at Ai Tutu.

Beautiful women, busty women, Gu Jian had seen lots of them. He had no interest in women for the time being…oh, it’s only because his mind was occupied with thoughts of securing the nomination. Even when a woman was lying naked in his bed, he had promised himself that he would focus on cultivating instead!

Gu Jian did not have a good first impression of Ai Tutu, as he was worried that she was a vase. It was not ideal to lose their first duel. Even though the outcome did not matter, only by winning would he be able to showcase his exceptionalness!

{TL Note: A vase here means someone who’s completely useless, and can only be used as decoration}

“Since everyone’s here, let’s first talk about the Elements we have,” said Gu Jian to the others like a captain.

“Err…” Ai Tutu was only here on behalf of Mo Fan, who had gone to the Three Step Tower to cultivate. She definitely needed to explain that to the team.

Gu Jian immediately frowned and said, “Are you actually one of team eleven? Don’t waste our time here, we still need to practice.”

“…err…yeah, yeah I am,” said Ai Tutu in a panic.

Ai Tutu had long heard Gu Jian’s famous name. The reason was that her aunt had asked her to meet the son from Gu Family during the Lunar New Year…

The meeting was basically a blind date.

It was very common between renowned families, since Ai Tutu was already at an age suitable for marriage. She was not passionate with her cultivation, and was merely wasting her time fooling around. Her family had decided to let her marry someone instead, so she could have a change of heart.

Unfortunately, this Gu Jian was the one that her family was fond of. Ai Tutu had never thought Mo Fan would be grouped with the man who might be her fiancée in the near future.

The man was extremely handsome and talented, one of the top students in the Lightning School. He did meet most of Ai Tutu’s requirements. On second thought, Ai Tutu decided not to tell them she was only here on behalf of someone yet. She wanted to observe Gu Jian more with the opportunity given to her.

“So what Elements do you have?” asked Gu Jian.

“My primary Element is Plant, and my secondary Element is Light,” answered Ai Tutu.

“Oh, not bad, since our team doesn’t need more offensive Magic,” Gu Jian’s expression improved slightly.

“Alright, let’s start the training, it’s better to be prepared.”

“Good, let’s work together as a team!” Ai Tutu said with a blossoming smile.

——

Mo Fan who was currently cultivating in the Three Step Tower never thought Ai Tutu would go so far…

Even after Mo Fan left the Three Step Tower, Ai Tutu still did not tell Mo Fan about the tournament. Little did he know, Ai Tutu had already impersonated him just so she could spend some time with the man she was interested in!

Or more precisely, Mo Fan should have expected things to go wrong when he asked Ai Tutu, whose brain was full of papaya, to help him…

Not only was Ai Tutu’s brain inversely proportional to the size of her breast, there was nothing she would not do…

——

“Swift Star Wolf, why are you running away, where’s your savagery as a wolf?”

“Awoooo~!” Swift Star Wolf ran to the corner of the training ground, fighting a strong urge to burst into tears. It was the only place not covered in flames!

The entire place was set aflame. A little girl with an appearance like a porcelain doll floated above the fierce flames, her petite figure totally made of fire. She was laughing pleasantly, yet the sound of it was like a signal of destruction for the Swift Star Wolf!

“Swift Star Wolf, fight like a man, go… ah, ah, little Flame Belle, go burn your Uncle Wolf, why are you burning your father instead!…”

“Stop, stop, little Flame Belle, it’s your fight, not mine, stop possessing my body. Holy shit, Swift Star Wolf, come back here, I’m not going to fight you when she possesses me, why are you running… Dimensional Summoning, humph, where do you think you’re running to!?…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In a luxurious Western-../style restaurant, Dongfang Lie slowly finished up his dessert, wiped his mouth, and said to the person opposite him, “Is that so, he lost the first battle?”

“Maybe we’ve been putting too much attention on him. It seems like the kid said to be a provisional candidate doesn’t have anything up his sleeves,” replied Zhou Shuming with a disdainful grin.

“I wasn’t really bothered by him, but you, the woman you’re interested in is staying in the same house as him, God knows what would happen between them,” said Dongfang Lie.

Zhou Shuming’s face turned dark as he glared at Dongfang Lie.

The two were concerned whether Mo Fan was able to secure the nomination, since it would determine if he was chosen for the World College Tournament.

However, the good news was, Mo Fan had lost in the first battle…

The losses would not be recorded on the score sheet, yet without winning, it was difficult to earn enough points.

Basically, they had overestimated the guy.

As Dongfang Lie had mentioned, if he were in a serious battle against the kid, he would easily defeat him in a few rounds.

“How about the next battle, who are his opponents?” asked Dongfang Lie.

“Bai Yulang from the Magic Association, as for the other three…nothing outstanding, but since they are in the top twenty, they won’t be weak either.”

“Bai Yulang, he’s a tough opponent.”

——–

The same night, on the same field…

The four students from Team Eleven who lost their first battle sat on the grass with unpleasant looks.

Their opponent team did not have anyone famous, yet they still lost the battle. As such, it was likely that none of them had earned lots of points from it.

Gu Jian had a gloomy look. He initially thought since his teammates were all in the top twenty in their Element School, they would be somewhat reliable. To his surprise, even though they were fairly strong in one-on-one duels, they were slow when fighting in a team, nothing but burdens to him.

He could easily suppress their opponents with a huge Lightning Spell. If they were any good, they would not have lost the battle.

Gu Jian felt rather hopeless when he recalled that he still needed to fight another two battles in the same team.

“Mo Fan, what’s wrong with you? Why did you try to trap them with the Forest of Kun? That guy had the Shadow Element, how could you possibly trap him?” scolded Gu Jian.

Ai Tutu lowered her head, not daring to say a word.

She did bear a huge responsibility for the team’s loss. If she had managed to trap the Water Magician with her Forest of Kun and prevented him from casting Rolling Wave, it would not have shattered their formation.

However, Ai Tutu cast it on a Shadow Magician…

The Plant Element was almost useless against the Shadow Element. A simple Fleeing Shadow was enough to dodge the Spell.

“Besides, I never know we also had a girl called Mo Fan in our school,” said Liu Xing with a weird look.

“Are you talking about that Mo Fan who is said to be a provisional candidate? Hehe, I don’t think the guy has anything to offer apart from being lucky. I’m glad he’s not in our team… well, this girl Mo Fan… isn’t any good either!” Li Jie showed no mercy either.

“Alright, that’s enough. Just make sure there won’t be any mistakes in the next battle,” said Gu Jian.

The others did not comment on anything.

Ai Tutu also promised that she would not make any mistakes in the next battle.

——

Ai Tutu returned to the apartment in a bad mood. Her mouth did not stop murmuring.

She admitted that she was not strong. Her strength was still a certain distance away from the top twenty in every school, yet they could not simply blame it all on her!

“I’ll surprise them tomorrow!” said Ai Tutu.

“Surprise who?” asked Mo Fan, walking in from the balcony with a chicken rib in his mouth.

He had only taken a single bite of the chicken rib, but the Flame Belle who had smelled it immediately ran into the room. Mo Fan tried to take another bite, but all he got was air. The Flame Belle had already taken the chicken rib away. She crouched in a little corner and began munching it, sounding like a little mouse biting its food.

“No… nothing, you must have heard it wrong, haha!” Ai Tutu did not dare tell Mo Fan the truth.

“You’re acting strange. By the way, I heard that the Nomination Preliminaries have already started. When is my turn?”

“Oh, oh, your number is fairly behind,” said Ai Tutu.

Mo Fan stared at Ai Tutu. Somehow, he felt like the girl was hiding something from him, yet she had always been strange since day one, so it was meaningless to ask any further.

——

The following day, Ai Tutu woke up fairly early.

Time had been running short. As a result, the institute had arranged two battles to take place simultaneously. As a result, the team had two battles in the morning, with almost no interval in between.

Similarly, their opponents would be fighting their battles consecutively, too. As such, the team would have to decide if they were going to go all out in the first battle, or preserving some energy to handle the second battle.

Ai Tutu purposely asked her family to prepare a Deathstrike Magic Equipment for her, so she could perform well today…

Mo Fan had woken up just as Ai Tutu left the apartment. From his room, he happened to see Ai Tutu leaving in her shoes. It was rare to see her not wearing her heels.

“It’s obvious that she’s prepared for a fight…” Mo Fan began to ponder with his jaw in his hand.

After a slight hesitation, Mo Fan decided to take a look. The woman had been acting too strange lately…

Mo Fan followed behind Ai Tutu, but somehow lost her on the way. The school was so huge that he had no clue where to look for her.

Most importantly, he had spent almost two years in Pearl Institute, yet he suddenly realized that he had lost his sense of direction. He was running in circles for quite some time, yet he still could not find his way.

Trees, paths, classrooms, laboratories, training grounds…where the Hell was he now?

“Ah, that’s the library. I finally found a landmark,” Mo Fan finally recognized a familiar structure after passing a small wood plot.

As Mo Fan arrived at the entrance of the library, he coincidentally stumbled into a woman whose black smooth hair had lots of little crystals dangling on it. She was holding a stack of books in her chest…

“Mo Fan?” the woman blurted out in confusion when she saw him.

“Ding Yumian, you’re always at the library…” Mo Fan let out an awkward smile.

“Don’t you have a duel today?” said Ding Yumian, blinking her eyes.

“Do I? Is it in the afternoon or at night?” asked Mo Fan, raising his brows.

Ding Yumian shook her head. She raised her head to take a glance at the clock on the wall and said, “It’s happening now, oh, it already started ten minutes ago.”

“…” Mo Fan smacked his lips. He was suddenly at a loss for words.

Ai Tutu!

That bitch!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ding Yumian was rather impressed by Mo Fan…

As a student of Pearl Institute, he had spent almost two years here, either in the outer campus or the main campus, but he had still managed to get lost!

Most importantly, the participants of the Nomination Preliminaries would take a shower and offer some incense sticks ahead of time to prepare for the duels, but Mo Fan did not even know he had a match today!

When she led the guy with a poor sense of direction to the dueling ground, the match had almost come to an end.

“Your team is fighting the duel with only three people. They must have a huge grudge against you now,” Ding Yumian entered the stadium with Mo Fan.

However, as Ding Yumian glanced at the dueling ground, she was left speechless instantly.

Four people!

There were four people on the dueling ground, not one was missing!

However, Mo Fan was standing right beside her. Who was the person replacing him in the battle?

Mo Fan’s face had fallen dark. He could feel millions of copies of the word ‘f**k’ galloping through his heart.

“Did she impersonate you to participate in the battle?” Ding Yumian found herself a comfortable seat. She seemed fairly intrigued. Her charming eyes were gleaming, as she waited to see how the situation would develop.

Mo Fan’s expression could not turn any worse, but the match was still ongoing. He could not simply jump into the battle and drag Ai Tutu out of it to smack her ass. He could only watch the battle miserably, hoping that Ai Tutu would not mess it up too much.

As he thought, nothing good came out of it when he asked the woman to help him with something. He had underestimated the size of the hole in her brain. God must have knocked over the cup containing wisdom when He was creating her, and gave her large breasts to compensate her for her loss…

“They are in a pinch,” Ding Yumian calmly commented as she watched the battle.

“Mm, it’s very obvious,” Mo Fan nodded.

——

On the dueling ground, Gu Jian’s expression was extremely gloomy. He was seriously suspecting the girl called Mo Fan had simply come here to act cute!

Was the Plant Element seriously her primary Element? She pretty much had zero accuracy when using the Magic Vine. Their opponents could easily dodge her spell without relying on Wind Track or Earth Wave.

“Brilliant Light: Blind!”

Ai Tutu was aware that she was unable to use her Plant Element effectively, hence she stopped relying on it. When she saw Gu Jian was trapped between enemies, she immediately thought of using the Light Spell to blind the enemy, allowing Gu Jian to escape.

However, the Brilliant Light: Blind was unable to distinguish friend from foe. Not only would it blind the enemy, it would also blind her allies, too. It required the Light Magician to have good control of the distance and angle to work as they intended…

Gu Jian’s wrist was glowing with a Lightning Strike. He was planning to paralyze one of his opponents with the Spell, and use his Boots Equipment to escape from their flanking him. To his shock, Ai Tutu’s Brilliant Light suddenly blinded him. He totally lost sight of his target.

While Gu Jian was blinded, a thick ice chain slapped him fiercely. His eyes were still burning in pain, so there was no chance for him to dodge the attack. The chain struck his abdomen with great force and sent him flying…

He was wearing magic armor, which was also his last line of defense.

After Gu Jian was injured, their team no longer had enough firepower. They were defeated rather quickly.

The outcome was decided. They had lost the battle again.

“Team sixteen, win!”

Following the declaration by the referee, the students from team sixteen immediately burst out in smiles.

Their captain Bai Yulang burst out laughing, as if he were mocking Gu Jian. He kept on making some weird noises.

Gu Jian did not get along well with Bai Yulang. The defeat totally detonated the fury in his chest.

“Are you out of your mind!? Didn’t you know that the Brilliant Light would blind me too?”

“Did you make it to the top twenty by climbing into your opponents’ bed?”

“Dumb like pig, I don’t want to see you again!”

Gu Jian pointed at Ai Tutu and vented his anger through a torrent of curses. He could not care less after he was overwhelmed by anger.

He had lost two of the three most important matches in the Nomination Preliminaries. He was getting further away from securing the nomination, and it was all thanks to this dumb woman!

The first loss, he put up with. The second loss, he could not bear it any longer, even when the crowd was looking and the person he was scolding was a girl!

Annoying, so damn annoying!

Gu Jian’s voice was echoing throughout the dueling ground as he fully expressed the thoughts in his mind.

The place was not too crowded, yet everyone clearly heard what he said.

His teammates, Li Jie and Liu Xing were stunned. They were feeling angry too, yet they would not scold the girl straightaway, right in front of the crowd.

The truth was, the girl did perform better in the second battle. The Brilliant Light in the end was only because Gu Jian was in a pinch…

The whole place fell deadly quiet at Gu Jian’s sudden roar.

Soon, the sound of crying broke the silence.

Ai Tutu was stunned for a few seconds, before she buried her face in her hands and burst into tears.

Gu Jian’s words were extremely unpleasant to the ears, basically stabbing her right in the heart. Even Ai Tutu, who was always fooling around, completely broke down in front of the crowd.

She knew that she was treating it as something fun to do when she decided to impersonate their teammate.

However, when she saw their depressed expressions after losing the first battle, she no longer treated it as a joke. She was very serious in the second battle, and even had her family spend a fortune to prepare a Deathstrike Magic Equipment for her.

The Deathstrike Magic Equipment did come in handy, but their opponents were stronger than the team in the last match. Their team’s overall strength was weaker.

As they lost the battle, she initially thought Gu Jian would try and comfort her since her performance today was a lot better, yet to her surprise, all she got was a scolding. As the sound pierced through her heart, tears burst out from her eyes.

“What the hell are you crying for? Piss off! Don’t let me see you again!” snapped Gu Jian.

He had already assumed the girl would be a burden when he first saw her. He never thought she would be even more useless than he had thought.

“Gu Jian…forget it…”

“Yeah, we still have the third match coming up. She was just trying to help you out,” advised Li Jie.

“What’s the point of fighting the third match when this woman is on our team!?” Gu Jian was still consumed by anger.

Ai Tutu could no longer picture that the man condemning her so loudly was someone that her family was fond of. Her only thought now was to leave the place.

Holding her face, Ai Tutu ran toward the exit in disappointment and bumped into someone’s chest…

The chest was not wide, yet it felt very sturdy. She was about to walk around when the person spread his arms and hugged her.

Ai Tutu raised her head and realized that the person was Mo Fan.

She felt like she was being electrocuted…

When she recalled how Mo Fan had witnessed the scolding and her foolish act of impersonating him, she suddenly felt too ashamed to show her face.

Gu Jian was just someone that her family was fond of. She could simply ignore him by hardening her heart, but Mo Fan was her friend, her housemate, and she was scared that Mo Fan would scold her, too…

After all, because of her, he had now lost two important battles!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…I didn’t mean it…” Ai Tutu was like a hurt little stray cat, no longer showing her usual playfulness as she apologized to Mo Fan with red eyes.

She would not apologize to Gu Jian. She had never treated someone like him seriously, but it was not the same for Mo Fan. He was her friend!

Glancing at the hurt Ai Tutu, Mo Fan patted on her head. He had no intention of blaming her.

They had known each other for quite some time. Mo Fan was extremely familiar with Ai Tutu’s personality, thus even when she foolishly impersonated him in the battles, he would simply feel speechless and would only give her a fair warning…

But she was a woman, after all. Even if she had done something wrong, she did not deserve to be scolded in front of the crowd like Gu Jian had!

Mo Fan would never do that to Ai Tutu, even if the girl had screwed up all three of the matches. He would never use foul language on her. Him being close to Ai Tutu was only part of the reason, but most importantly, a man should never behave like scum to a woman!

“Don’t cry, it’s ok,” Mo Fan sighed.

“You…you don’t blame me?” Ai Tutu raised her head. Her red eyes stared at Mo Fan in disbelief.

“You did cross the line this time, but it’s not the end of the world… besides, did you forget, I’m already a provisional candidate. There’s a chance I wouldn’t even be here for the Nomination Preliminaries if you hadn’t suggested it,” Mo Fan smiled.

Ai Tutu glanced at the man. At such a close distance, she suddenly discovered that the Demon King was as warm as the sun when he was smiling, very handsome, shining warmth into her heart…

“But, I still have to apologize to you. Sorry, I’ll try to make up for it,” Ai Tutu said firmly.

“Alright, I accept that, but…” Mo Fan turned his head slightly, locking his gaze onto Gu Jian who was still cursing at his teammates, “But, I’ll even the score first, and we’ll talk about how you’ll make up for it.”

Mo Fan let go of the stray cat Ai Tutu and had her sit down to take a rest.

Ding Yumian sat in her seat quietly. She handed Ai Tutu a bottle of water, having her calm down first. She then switched her focus back to Mo Fan, who was walking toward Gu Jian.

She was curious to see what Mo Fan had in mind. She was a Psychic Magician, hence she was able to sense the anger in Mo Fan’s calm black eyes, hidden under his indifferent expression.

—

“You’re Gu Jian?” Mo Fan walked up to Gu Jian and asked calmly.

“What do you want? Are you here for that woman?” Gu Jian was not blind. He clearly saw Ai Tutu falling into the man’s arms, but his eyes were full of disdain.

It was most likely that the girl had used her body to climb into the top twenty. It was reasonable some man would step forward to protect her.

“Nothing much, I just want to tell you that if you start crawling to her from where I am, and give yourself three loud slaps to the face and apologize to her, I’ll forgive what you’ve said to her! On top of that, I would like to say, go f**k yourself!” Mo Fan stood in front of Gu Jian. He purposely emphasized the last few words, enough for the entire crowd to hear it clearly!

Gu Jian’s face fell dark immediately.

He was still overwhelmed by anger. He pointed at Mo Fan and snapped, “Who the f**k do you think you are? You better piss off as far as you can before I have the urge to cripple someone!”

“It’s clear that you can’t win the battle yourself, yet you still blamed it on a girl… the difference between you and a dog is, at least a dog is born through regular intercourse, yet a cross breed like you… must be something your mum farted out after she turned pregnant from eating some shit!” replied Mo Fan.

The cursing popped the eyes of Ding Yumian and Ai Tutu wide open.

First, they could not understand the logic of the statement. Second, they were astonished by Mo Fan’s skill at cursing.

Everyone at the scene was a Magician, a student of an Institute that was a pillar of the nation, yet the man said something so wild, unpleasant, and illogical when cursing someone… but why did it feel rather pleasant to their ears?

The whole place fell quiet all of a sudden, the filthy words still echoing in their ears. Some of the girls were utterly confused by what he had said, and turned to the wicked boys nearby to get an explanation.

“You…you…” Gu Jian had used up all the foul language in his vocabulary. He was at a loss for words to return the favor. He could feel blood rising in his throat from the grudge in his chest.

Mo Fan was raised by common people. A person like Gu Jian was no match for him.

“Getting cocky when you only know how to scold someone, come face me in a duel instead. I’ll make you regret insulting me today!” swore Gu Jian, his finger pointing at Mo Fan as he finally collected his thoughts.

“You do know that scolding a person isn’t something to be proud of, but weren’t you the one feeling good when you were scolding my friend Ai Tutu?” said Mo Fan with a smirk.

Gu Jian felt like he had simply dropped the rock he was carrying onto his feet. His expression fell dark when he saw the crowd laughing at him.

However, he would never admit his wrong, “Was I wrong? It’s true that her strength isn’t worthy to take part in the Nomination Preliminaries. Why can’t I scold a let-down like her?”

“You lost because you’re bad, you never stood a chance against them!” said Mo Fan.

“Hehe, so you think you’re good? I’ll make this clear, if it weren’t the rules that prohibit the students to duel against one another outside of the assigned matches during the Nomination Preliminaries, I would have smashed you into a coma by now. You should be glad that the rules have protected you this time, since I don’t want to destroy my future because of a trash like you! There’s no way we could win as long as that stupid woman is on our team!” said Gu Jian.

Mo Fan was aware how much of a scum this Gu Jian was, yet the referees were still watching them. They would simply interfere and stop the fight if he tried to beat this scum up, and it was obvious that Gu Jian would simply stay close to the referees.

He uttered a hollow laugh and said to Gu Jian, “You’ve said it yourself, dare to make a bet with me?”

“I don’t mind saying it again, everyone here can testify it, this woman is the reason we lost… what’s the bet for?” Gu Jian was obviously trying to protect his image.

“I’ll fight the third battle in your place with the same teammates, those two guys and her… if I win, you’ll f**king do what I say, crawl to where she is, slap yourself three times in the face and apologize to her!” Mo Fan was extremely disgusted by the scum.

What an asshole! If the referees weren’t around, he would have beaten the crap out of the guy.

Gu Jian was stunned…

Gu Jian glanced at his surroundings and saw that everyone was looking at him. He could not decline the man’s dare, as he would simply be denying his own words.

“Alright, but if you lose… oh, I remember that there’s a lawn in front of my apartment. Lots of annoying people would walk their dogs there, so there are dog poops everywhere. You can split them with that stupid woman and eat them all,” snapped Gu Jian.

“Gu Jian, your condition is even more unreasonable.” His teammate Li Jie could not stand him any further.

Gu Jian glared back at him.

Mo Fan did not care, since he would simply accept any condition given to him… A few months ago, Mo Fan would not have acted so recklessly, but he was feeling very confident now that the Flame Belle had reached her Youth Stage!

“Very well… referees, please help to testify to this bet, too,” Mo Fan turned around and said to the referees.

The three referees were actually some young teachers of the Institute. Although they were pretending to feel helpless when the students were quarreling, they were actually looking forward to it in their hearts… damn, it was much more exciting to be the referee for fights like this!

Speaking of which, this student who came in after the fight… He was a real man!

That being said, they could not simply ignore the rules. One of the referees spoke up, “It’s something personal between you, and fine as long as you both accept it, but we won’t be giving you high points for your performance. We’ll still follow the standard when judging your opponents. If you’re fine with that, we won’t mind.”

“That’s fine by me, since we won’t be able to fight the third match even without this mess,” said Li Jie.

Liu Xing nodded too, implying that he would rather fight the last battle with the wild man on his team than forfeiting it. Besides, for some reason, the fellow looked rather familiar to him…

++++++++++++

Editor’s Note : They rolled a Natural 1 on the perception check when he said ‘Ai Tutu’, and didn’t realize she was a fake, yes… And why the refs would let someone not on the team sub in for a nomination match… ah, whatever.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, are you sure about that?” Ai Tutu asked timidly.

“Don’t worry,” said Mo Fan, thumping his chest confidently.

Even though Ai Tutu wanted to give Mo Fan full marks on his pretentious act, she knew that every student in the top twenty was not easy to deal with after taking part in the two battles. It would be difficult to win with her on the team.

Either way, the matches were still continuing. Not long after, their new opponents appeared before them.

It was obvious that they had just arrived at the place, completely unaware of the situation. A man whose hair was dyed blue with his hands in the pockets walked up to Gu Jian and clapped his shoulder with a smile. “Brother, I will not show any mercy today. Consider yourself unlucky since your opponents are assigned through drawing.”

Gu Jian’s eyes glistened when he saw the man. He said, “So you’re my opponent in the third match… but I’m not the unlucky one.” Gu Jian sent a hostile look at Mo Fan and Ai Tutu.

Li Jie and Liu Xing’s faces turned pale when they saw the man with blue hair.

“This is bad; it’s Xu Mingcong, that guy is stronger than Bai Yulang!” blurted out Li Jie.

“Shit, this is over, losing three matches in a row…even though I wasn’t hoping to secure a nomination among all the experts, I don’t want to lose like this. I can’t explain myself if the result is this bad!” Liu Xing was wearing a gloomy expression too.

“Don’t give up yet, let’s work together!” Mo Fan reassured him.

“You might not know, but that Xu Mingcong is in the top five of the Wind School. His Wind Element will simply stop all our Spells from touching him. He’s unbeatable; how are we going to win?” said Liu Xing.

“You’ll never know if you don’t try.”

—

Meanwhile, Xu Mingcong had learned the situation from Gu Jian. He was staring at Mo Fan with a disdainful grin.

“Kid, I’ve seen lots of wild-mannered people in Pearl Institute, but I’ve not seen anyone like you. Oh, you don’t need to tell me your name, I don’t have time to remember the names of little shrimps and prawns,” said Xu Mingcong, digging into his ear with his pinky finger. He did not even bother looking at Mo Fan as he spoke.

“You might be a retard if you can’t even remember the guys who beat the crap out of you.”

“HAHAHA, only a few…”

“Only a few students in the entire Pearl Institute would dare to say that to you? Enough with the bullshit, can’t you say something else?” interrupted Mo Fan.

Xu Mingcong was stunned for a moment. Damn, this kid isn’t following the script!

He was indeed trying to say that line, yet Mo Fan had beaten him to it. He had no choice but to snap with a dark expression, “Humph, I can’t wait to see you lick the lawn clean!”

—

Xu Mingcong’s teammates were experts from other Element Schools too, and fairly close with him. They too were uttering hollow laughs when they saw how arrogant Mo Fan was.

The group of four went to their position on the stage. Judging from their formation, Xu Mingcong was their forward. It was difficult to tell what Elements the other two Magicians had, but the slightly plump woman at the back must be the support of their team.

Mo Fan led his team onto the stage. He suddenly recalled something as he was about to go into the formation. He quickly turned around and asked Liu Xing and Li Jie, “By the way, what Elements are you two?”

Liu Xing and Li Jie palmed their faces, as if they were trying to say ‘Why the hell are you only asking now?’

“My Primary is Water, and my Secondary is Ice,” said Li Jie.

“My Primary is Wind, secondary is Fire,” said Liu Xing.

Ai Tutu simply stood there without telling Mo Fan her Elements, since he already knew what she had.

“Mine is Fire and Lightning,” said Mo Fan to his teammates.

“Oh, oh, very similar to Gu Jian.”

“You two, fire at will when the battle starts; Ai Tutu, try and use your Light Spells to protect us. Our defense is fairly weak,” said Mo Fan.

Ai Tutu nodded. For the very first time, she was extremely obedient.

—

The three referees had finished their preparations. They declared the start of the battle once the participants were in position.

Xu Mingcong was extremely full of himself. Even after the battle had started, he still had his hands in the pockets, not showing any respect to his opponents.

Liu Xing was the first to complete a Fire Element Star Orbit. A Fire Burst appeared on his palm, which he threw right at Xu Mingcong, who was standing closest to him.

Liu Xing’s fundamentals were solid, and he was able to cast the Fire Burst slightly faster than Mo Fan. Those ranked in the top twenty were not to be underestimated, indeed! The guy was able to complete the Star Orbit so quickly, even though Fire was his second Element…

The Fire Burst in the form of a fireball swept an arc across the air and landed accurately on Xu Mingcong.

Xu Mingcong did not raise his head, nor did he pull his hands out of the pockets, yet his figure suddenly became blurry. As the Fire Burst exploded at where he was standing, the guy had already moved ten meters away. The flames were only devouring the afterimage he left behind.

A grin slowly surfaced on Xu Mingcong’s face. It felt like he was simply standing there, asking to be attacked. Liu Xing who assumed it was mere luck cast the Fire Burst: Rupture once again, but the outcome was the same. Xu Mingcong seemed to be fooling around with Liu Xing, as he only dodged the Spell right at the last second.

“Go on, you should all attack at the same time. Do you really think that slow Basic Spell is going to touch me?” sneered Xu Mingcong scornfully.

Li Jie soon joined the attack. He was planning to use his Ice Spread to hinder Xu Mingcong’s movements, before using Ice Lock to deal a critical blow to him…

However, Xu Mingcong was able to dodge that with ease too. Even after Li Jie had cast an Intermediate Ice Spell, he was able to weave among the Spells easily with another Basic Spell, Fleeing Shadow.

The combination of Shadow Element and Wind Track made his movements totally unpredictable.

Liu Xing and Li Jie had started using their Intermediate Spells, yet Xu Mingcong continued to challenge them with his Fleeing Shadow and Wind Track. His hands remained in his pockets throughout the battle, some girls were cheering for him because of how cool he looked.

“That guy’s movement is almost on par with Zhang Xiaohou’s,” murmured Mo Fan.

However, Mo Fan had already come up with an evil idea. His eyes flickered, cunning as a fox.

A burst of flame ignited on Mo Fan’s palm. He did not draw a Star Pattern, as its aura was too obvious, which would easily attract his opponents’ attention.

He was also using Fire Burst. Mo Fan threw the spell forward, secretly blending it with Liu Xing and Li Jie’s attacks.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

White frost began to cover the dueling ground. As such, it was very easy to see the bright fireballs flying across the place.

Xu Mingcong had already noticed the fireball being used as a sneak attack on him. He quickly determined how he would dodge the fireball easily while being surrounded by the Ice Lock…

The Fire Burst was cast at the perfect time, right between the gap he was backing into as the Ice Lock came from both sides…

Other Magicians would most likely summon their defensive equipment, but Xucong was no ordinary Magician. He would still remain confident in the midst of the attacks raining down!

“I’ll give you a Water Barrier,” said the plump woman at the back of the team.

“No, it’s fine,” replied Xu Mingcong, as he dodged the attacks.

Ice Lock flew wildly through the lingering frost, like two thick, sturdy chains. A single hit was strong enough to break a few bones.

Xu Mingcong smartly used the Wind Track to lean forward slightly, like he was going to dodge the attacks by dashing forward. Li Jie saw his direction change, and quickly manipulated the Ice Lock’s target area.

To his surprise, Xu Mingcong immediately changed the direction of Wind Track, or more precisely, he had already set up another Wind Track beforehand. He suddenly changed direction and slid backward nimbly with the help of the wind.

His hands were still in the pockets. His movement of sliding across the ground was elegant, like a Prince of the Wind, urging the girls among the spectators to scream at the top of their lungs!

“That’s not the end yet…” Xu Mingcong enjoyed the limelight and the screams. His face was wearing a confident smile.

He slid backward to dodge the Ice Lock, before slanting to his right all of a sudden.

A Fire Burst had descended from above him, as if it had long been waiting for him.

“I’ve already told you, this Basic Spell is useless…”

Xu Mingcong was good at changing the direction of his movements. He quickly moved in another direction to escape from the Fire Burst’s area of effect.

There was a loud explosion, the seemingly ordinary Fire Burst exploding as it landed on the ground, producing a large cloud of flames!

The fiery tongues in the cloud extended ten meters into its surroundings, like giant flaming serpents wriggling their tails.

The shockwave from the explosion was shocking, too! Even the two ice chains were knocked slightly away.

Xu Mingcong was confident that he was right outside of the Fire Burst’s coverage, but he never thought that the Fire Burst was not just the ordinary kind. Its area of effect surprised him, surpassing twenty meters!

An ordinary Fire Burst, even with a Soul Seed, would only cover a diameter of ten meters!

Xu Mingcong was around twelve meters away from the explosion. Not only was he safe from the Fire Burst, planning to let his hair dance elegantly to the gusts produced by the explosion.

However, the flames did not stop at a distance of ten meters. They knocked him into the air and slammed him into the ground, burning with flames!

His blue hair was disheveled, and now slightly burnt too.

As his hands were in his pockets, he did not have the time to draw them out, and ended up falling to the ground face down, giving the ground a kiss. He could feel the blood burst out from his nose.

“F**k…f**k me!”

Xu Mingcong did not suffer a serious injury, yet the fall totally took away the handsome image he was establishing right from the beginning. He almost went crazy when he rose to his feet, his face covered in ash.

“I was just wondering why that guy looked so familiar! I think he’s the Demon King from the Fire School, Mo Fan, the guy who leveled up his Basic Spells to the fourth-tier!” said the plump woman.

“And you’re telling me now!?” yelled Xu Mingcong.

For f**k’s sake, he had never seen any Basic Spell as powerful as that Fire Burst! It was almost comparable to an Intermediate Spell! Xu Mingcong had faced countless opponents in the past, yet he never met anyone who would simply waste their money on Basic Spells!

“His Fire is the Rose Flame, multiplying the power of his Fire Spells by two and a half times! The fourth-tier of the Fire Burst increases the power further, too! As a result, his Fire Burst should be five times stronger than an ordinary Fire Burst! It’s pretty much half an Intermediate Spell,” the woman informed them.

“Guess I misjudged it. I’ve been attracting their attention for so long, don’t tell me none of you did anything!” said Xu Mingcong.

“No way, didn’t you see that my Ice Lock is already… hehehe,” the Battlemaga wearing bright red lipstick giggled.

“I’ll leave that infamous Mo Fan to you. Rumors have described him as a destruction machine. We’ll focus on the others,” said the muscular Earth Element student.

When Xu Mingcong learned that his teammates were already making their moves, he quickly cast the thought of him being embarrassed in front of the crowd away.

He could still feel the pain from the fall, yet it was nothing significant. He had decided to fight seriously, since his previous indifferent attitude would not earn him lots of points from the referees…

“So what if he’s stacked with destructive Spells, I can easily take him down still!” Xu Mingcong tried to rebuild his confidence. A black aura flowed between his fingers as he and slowly turned into something sharp!

“Giant Shadow Spike: Shadow Rose Thorns!”

Xu Mingcong spread his fingers apart. The black auras materialized into black spikes, which he was holding between his fingers…

There were three spikes in total. Xu Mingcong threw the spikes out, and they disappeared into the air, waiting to strike on his command.

Unlike the first-tier and second-tier Giant Shadow Spike, the third-tier Giant Shadow Spike was even more unpredictable. The three spikes were able to hide in the shadows for a certain period. Once they were set up, a single thought could easily fire one of the spikes at a target…

The first spike would stop the target’s movement, the second spike would seal off the target’s thoughts, and the third would seal off the soul…

Basically, anyone who was hit by the first Giant Shadow Spike would no longer be able to move.

If the second spike landed it would seal off the target’s thoughts, preventing the target from casting any Spells.

The third spike was the deadliest. It would penetrate one’s soul, inflicting serious damage to the target, who would suffer great pain. If the injury was not treated in time, allowing the force to corrode the soul, it would be the same as diminishing the target’s life span, something irreversible!

Mo Fan was unable to level up his Shadow Element Intermediate Spell to the third tier yet, but he was more familiar with its terrifying effects than anyone else.

Currently, the Giant Shadow Spikes were hidden somewhere nearby. Mo Fan would have to be on the alert for quite some time, since he had no idea when the Giant Shadow Spikes would attack.

That being said, the Giant Shadow Spikes were unable to move around freely. They had to rely on the shadows to hide their presence. Firing them under a bright light would significantly reduce their power!

“Don’t worry about giving me Light Protection… that Xu Mingcong isn’t stupid enough to use his Giant Shadow Spikes right away. Protect them instead,” Mo Fan quickly stopped Ai Tutu when he saw her about to cast Light Protection on him.

The duration of Light Protection: Sacred Shield was shorter than the Giant Shadow Spikes. Xu Mingcong could simply wait until the protection wore off before making his move. Ai Tutu would simply waste the precious defensive Spell on him.

Ai Tutu nodded and placed her focus on Liu Xing and Li Jie instead.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

“Hey, I have just arrived, but I saw that girl crying; do you mind telling me what happened?”

Ding Yumian was focused on the match when a polite yet deep voice spoke up behind her. Ding Yumian initially thought it was someone trying to start a conversation with her using the topic. She always found herself in similar situations, yet when she turned around, she did not see any hint of what she had assumed from the person’s eyes, so she proceeded to tell him what had gone on.

Ding Yumian knew if a man was trying to pick her up, yet the man talking to her had a weird gaze… it had a determination and coldness that did not belong to someone of his age.

“I see, thanks.” The man fell silent after listening to Ding Yumian’s rough explanation.

As he placed his attention on the match, Ding Yumian no longer felt his existence, as if he had turned into a black statue.

Ding Yumian ignored him and focused on the match.

Mo Fan was still facing a problem, which was the Giant Shadow Spikes hiding somewhere in the dueling ground…

The Giant Shadow Spike could be deadly. It was the strongest imprisoning Spell among all Intermediate Spells, but it was tricky to land the attack accurately. Many experienced people would avoid the places covered in shadows, giving them enough time to dodge the Giant Shadow Spikes when they showed up.

However, Ding Yumian was clearly aware that a true expert would not rely on the Giant Shadow Spike to overwhelm their opponent, but would use it more to pin them down…

Now!

—

Mo Fan was surrounded by flickers of lightning; the sound they made was enough to send a chill down his opponent’s spine.

Since he wielded the Lightning Seed Qianjun, if Mo Fan was given a chance to cast the third-tier Thunderbolt, Wild Strikes, Xu Mingcong’s team would suffer severe damage, as on top of defensive Spells, they would be forced to use their defensive equipment too!

After all, the Spell was the strongest destructive Spell in the Intermediate Level; no one would dare to underestimate its power.

However, as Mo Fan was close to finishing the Star Pattern under his teammates’ cover, a sharp spike burst out from the shadow under the frost and flew right at him!

“The Water Barrier won’t be able to stop it, watch out!” said Li Jie to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan knew Ai Tutu had already used Light Protection on Liu Xing to protect her from the Ice Lock. He seemed well prepared for the attack, who instantly withdrawing the half-completed Star Pattern and hopping back nimbly, dodging the rather obvious Giant Shadow Spike.

“Running out of patience already?” Mo Fan asked with a mocking smile.

A Giant Shadow Spike was different than other Spells. It was not readily available after completing the Star Pattern. Therefore, once he dodged all three of the spikes, the threat that Xu Mingcong posed to him would be cut in half.

“It’s not a waste if it stopped your Lightning Star Pattern!” Xu Mingcong burst into laughter too. However, the smile on his face did not seem relaxed; he had just discovered that Mo Fan’s attack was a level higher than Gu Jian!

Following that thought, Xu Mingcong’s eyes glittered in the middle of his words!

The second spike was fired as soon as Mo Fan dodged the first one.

Even though the Giant Shadow Spike was effective when used to pin down an enemy, it would basically put an end to the battle if he managed to land it. Xu Mingcong was hoping to defeat Mo Fan as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan was already keeping an eye out for the second spike, while Xu Mingcong thought he had fired at the perfect time. Mo Fan had described his opponent as impatient not because he was in a rush to disrupt his Lightning Star Pattern, but for the fact that he was expending two of the spikes in a row!

As a Shadow Magician, Mo Fan’s familiarity with using the shadows around him was not any weaker than Xu Mingcong. He knew that his opponent was not only trying to interrupt his channeling…

A burst of flame ignited on Mo Fan’s palm, which he threw straight into the air.

The light from the fire quickly exposed the shadow spike that was flying at him rapidly, significantly weakening its power

Once Mo Fan was able to see its path, it was fairly easy to dodge it. He simply stepped aside and let the second spike fly past him!

“You’ve got your final spike left. Do use it wisely… of course, I’ll be quite speechless if you use it to disrupt my next Spell,” Mo Fan backed off slightly, allowing Li Jie to cover him with both Water and Ice Elements.

New stars began to appear around Mo Fan’s figure, which began to glow in the color of the moon with a presence that did not originate from this world.

The stars were aligned rapidly, tearing the space apart…

“That guy is trying to Summon!” said the slightly plump woman.

“Crap, I totally forgot his Double Innate Elements!” cursed Xu Mingcong.

After learning that their opponent was Mo Fan, they were not too surprised by his Double Innate Elements, yet when they actually fought against him, they were extremely irritated by it.

Xu Mingcong only had the last shadow spike left. Using it to interrupt the channeling of a Basic Spell would be overkilling it, yet even if he succeeded, Mo Fan could simply cast the Spell again, since it was only a Basic Spell!

Despite the Spell being only at the Basic Level, Mo Fan had Summoned the Swift Star Wolf, a Summoned Beast whose strength was just below an average Warrior-level creature!

Close combat had always been most Magicians’ weakness. The Swift Star Wolf was not strong enough to dominate among Warrior-level creatures, yet he was more than enough to keep a student in the top twenty busy!

“My Swift Star Wolf is proud of his speed, too! You can have some fun with him,” Mo Fan said from in the middle of the team. He fondled the Swift Star Wolf’s hair with a smile.

The Swift Star Wolf was very excited. As long as he was not Summoned to fight the Flame Belle, he was still his usual ferocious self.

The Swift Star Wolf had spent a long time with Mo Fan, so he had also become as cunning as a fox. He knew that his master was fighting against strong opponents, and each had the ability to face a Warrior-level creature on their own, so he did not make a move impatiently. He ran to the side with his outstanding speed, waiting to strike when his targets lowered their guard!

Just a moment ago, Xu Mingcong’s Giant Shadow Spike was targeting Mo Fan’s team in the dark, forcing them to be alert at all times.

Now, the tables had turned. Duels usually consisted of nullifying the Spells between opponents, yet a Warrior-level creature had suddenly joined the battle. His presence was a lot more intimidating than a Giant Shadow Spike. As soon as their defense crumbled, or they lowered their guard slightly, the Swift Star Wolf would lunge at them instantly!

“I’ve always hated the Summoning Element!” swore the muscular student with the Earth Element.

Not only was the guy’s Basic Spell half as powerful as an Intermediate Spell, and he possessed the destructive Lightning Element, he had even Summoned a wolf out to secure the upper hand by abusing their numbers!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I totally forgot you still had the Summoning Element…”

“Nice, well done!”

Liu Xing and Li Jie immediately smiled.

The Summon gave them the upper hand. One of their opponents would have to deal with the Swift Star Wolf, allowing Mo Fan’s team to cast any Spell they wanted.

The clash between the Basic Spells was simply trying to earn themselves a chance to cast their Intermediate Spells. As soon as the Swift Star Wolf was Summoned, they immediately drew their Star Patterns.

“Rolling Wave!”

Li Jie was a fairly big guy. His aura when roaring was somewhat intimidating.

As he raised his hands up, a surging river appeared behind him out of nowhere. The water of came from both sides and merged into a surging tide in front of him.

Water splashed across the place as the force of the wave surged forward. The Rolling Wave swept across the dueling ground like a water serpent, crashing down right onto where Xu Mingcong and his team were standing.

“Rock Barrier!”

The muscular student reacted fairly quickly. He immediately stood in front of the team and summoned a layer of stone like a small hill to block the wave.

The wave struck the rock and sprayed ten meters high into the sky.

“Humph, is that all you got?” the muscular student standing behind the Rock Barrier held his hands up high.

“Watch out for the wolf!” screamed the student with red lips.

The muscular man turned to his side and saw the Swift Star Wolf charging in his direction as the water rained down from the air. The fangs in his mouth suddenly enlarged by at least ten times…

The wolf bit down fiercely, shattering the Rock Barrier into pieces. The muscular student was left with a pale face. He panicked and summoned his Armor Equipment to protect himself.

Using the Armor Equipment meant he had revealed his trump card.

The Swift Star Wolf was rather smart. As soon as he saw his target summoning the Armor Equipment, he stopped pressuring him and withdrew temporarily.

A few ice chains came forward, almost catching the Swift Star Wolf off guard. Luckily, the Swift Star Wolf had fled decisively, to avoid being flanked by other Magicians.

“That son of a bitch!” cursed the maga with red lips.

The Swift Star Wolf was too fast for the Ice Lock. She had finally completed her Star Pattern, yet the Spell was only able to stop the creature from attacking for the moment. Most importantly, the muscular guy had already summoned his Armor Equipment…

And… after their attention was attracted by the Swift Star Wolf, their opponents would have already completed a few Star Patterns!

“F**k me, didn’t I ask you to look out for Mo Fan!?” screamed Xu Mingcong suddenly.

Everyone was focused on the Swift Star Wolf. By the time they collected their thoughts, Mo Fan had already completed the terrifying Lightning Star Pattern.

Mo Fan’s figure was covered in flickering purple lightning. He looked like a devil as the lightning danced wildly around him.

His lips curled up. A Magician who had mastered the power of lightning displayed an imperious aura. Once he completed the Star Pattern, the outcome of the battle against someone in the same level would be half-decided.

“Qianjun: Thunderbolt…”

“Don’t you dare!” yelled Xu Mingcong furiously. He curled his finger and fired the last shadow spike.

“I got this: Brilliant Light!” Ai Tutu intervened in the nick of time.

A white glow blossomed above Mo Fan. The blinding rays shone down on him and completely illuminated Mo Fan’s area, so brightly that it was impossible to see anything clearly!

The strong light immediately revealed the shadow thorn flying at him. Its speed quickly decreased, and it was melted away by the light mere inches away from Mo Fan!

Gu Jian, who was almost blinded by the light, almost jumped out from his seat…

What the heck, that woman couldn’t even control her Brilliant Light in the last match. After teaming up with Mo Fan, she was smart enough to use the Brilliant Light to create a light zone around Mo Fan, nullifying the last Thorn of the Shadow Rose!

The Brilliant Light came at the perfect time, as if she had long predicted its timing.

“Crap!”

“This is bad!”

“Equipment, use your equipment!”

The moment the shadow spike disappeared, the faces of Xu Mingcong’s team turned pale white.

The strongest Intermediate Spell was definitely not something they could simply ignore!

“Enjoy the wrath of lightning…”

Mo Fan stood still as he focused on controlling the storm cloud appearing above the dueling grounds.

He pointed his finger at the sky, his eyes glittering, and a lightning strike landed in between Xu Mingcong’s team. The blast immediately shattered the stage and knocked the pieces into the air!

“Again!”

Mo Fan uttered, calling down another purple-black lightning strike to land on the dueling ground, right on Xu Mingcong’s head.

Xu Mingcong was hoping to dodge it with his impressive agility, but as two other lightning strikes descended, he was left with no room to escape.

He finally activated his Armor Equipment, yet even though it managed to resist the outstanding power of the lightning, he felt like his bones were almost collapsing from the space-trembling effect.

The space-trembling effect of the Lightning Seed Qianjun was still not very obvious when it was applied to the first and second-tier Thunderbolt. However, the effect was a lot more terrifying when applied to the third-tier Thunderbolt, Wild Strikes…

A single lightning strike was enough to make the space nearby tremble. As more lightning strikes descended, the effect would stack up continuously. Even if the target’s Armor managed to resist most of the damage from the lightning strikes, the remaining space-trembling effect was troublesome to deal with, too. Xu Mingcong and his team were no longer able to stand properly after being struck by the lightning!

The slightly plump woman was in a better position. Her defense was better than the others too, plus she was standing relatively far away from the rest of the team, hence she was not directly struck by the deadly lightning.

Meanwhile, the rest of her team had basically used all their Shields and Armor Equipment to protect themselves.

Armor Equipment was generally more costly, and not everyone could afford good armor, hence they were forced to use their Shields, too…

“Rose Flame, Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!”

However, the scary voice appeared once again.

When Mo Fan started to attack, no matter how many people were there, or how many layers of defense they had, they had no choice but to flee like rats!

After the lightning came fierce flames jetting out from pillars of fire, which were definitely more than enough to leave a great impression on those caught within!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!

When the nine fire pillars burst out from the ground, Xu Mingcong and his team were completely roasted by the flames.

They had already expended their Shield Equipment and Armor Equipment to protect themselves from the lightning strikes. The Nine Halls broke down their remaining defense.

The shocking destructive force destroyed almost the entire dueling ground. Even the safety barrier at the edge began to shake as the fire tongues fire between the pillars continued to dance wildly…

The watching Gu Jian was stunned. He also had the Lightning and Fire Elements, thus making him a full-offensive Magician. However, he was dumbfounded by the formidable power of the same Spells of his two Elements when Mo Fan was the caster!

Soul Seeds!

Gu Jian realized that the difference between their Soul Seeds had resulted in the tremendous difference in their strength!

Mo Fan’s Rose Flame was simple yet violent, multiplying the power of any Fire Spell by 2.5 times. Meanwhile, the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls was simple and violent, too. Hence, it was the best Spell to utilize the boost in power from the Rose Flame.

Meanwhile, the strength of Mo Fan’s Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes was somewhat similar to Gu Jian’s, yet the space-trembling effect had left its targets in a miserable state despite the protection of their defensive equipment.

The slight difference between their Soul Seeds had resulted in an unexpected outcome. It felt like the battle had already ended after the Lightning and Fire.

Their opponents had basically used all their defensive equipment, while Mo Fan’s team was still holding onto theirs. It was impossible for Mo Fan’s team to lose when their opponents could barely stand up after being blasted by the two destructive Spells.

As the situation cleared up, Gu Jian’s expression turned unpleasant.

“Did we actually win?” Li Jie and Liu Xing stared at Mo Fan in disbelief.

“HAHA, we won, Mo Fan, you’re so cool!” Ai Tutu jumped into the air and gave Mo Fan a kiss on his face.

Ai Tutu literally had a young face with enormous breasts. As she went forward to kiss Mo Fan on the cheek, her pair of giant rabbits was pressing Mo Fan’s chest hard. The shocking bounce almost resulted in blood jetting out from his nose.

{TL Note: Giant rabbits = boobs.}

That was f**king exciting!

Ai Tutu was aware that she had overdone it. Even though she was blushing, she managed to gather herself and said sternly, “I was just overwhelmed with joy. It doesn’t mean anything, don’t you think too much!”

Mo Fan wore an evil grin without saying anything.

—

The three referees soon declared the outcome. Xu Mingcong’s team basically stood no chance after Mo Fan’s two consecutive third-tier Intermediate Spells. The battle had become one-sided.

As a matter of fact, Liu Xing, Li Jie, and Ai Tutu were not weak. Once Mo Fan got the upper hand using his overwhelming power, Xu Mingcong and his team basically had no chance to fight back. Besides, Ai Tutu’s Deathstrike Magic Equipment was insanely powerful, even comparable to Mo Fan’s Intermediate Spell at full power.

—

“Xu Mingcong, why the hell did you lose the battle?” Gu Jian had almost gone crazy, and yelled at Xu Mingcong.

“Humph, you’d lose too if you were in it!” Xu Mingcong was already in a bad mood after losing the match, yet Gu Jian still yelled at him.

What could Xu Mingcong possibly do?

He only had the Wind and Shadow Elements. He could at most pin his opponents down and harass them!

Meanwhile, the guy they were facing had Lightning and Fire Elements, the two most violent Elements one could possibly hope for, and was also able to summon a Swift Star Wolf! How could they possibly stand a chance!?

This Mo Fan’s strength was indeed outstanding, as expected of someone in the top ten of the Fire School.

“A mere battle is nowhere enough to prove yourself, just you wait!” said Xu Mingcong, pointing his finger at Ming Cong.

In contrast to how Xu Mingcong looked when he first entered the dueling ground, his face was covered in ash and his clothes were ragged. His hair resembled that of a beggar, and he could no longer be described as handsome. The girls who screamed previously could not believe he was the same handsome, cool dude who had nonchalantly kept his hands in his pockets.

Xu Mingcong did not want to embarrass himself any further. He turned and left the place.

As he left, Gu Jian’s mind went blank.

Meanwhile, Ai Tutu totally turned into an immature kid, hurrying to the seat she was sitting in before. She twisted her waist slightly and sat down in a perfectly upright posture!

Now that they had won the match, it implied that she was not the sole reason they lost the previous match. Gu Jian might be good at one-on-one duels, but he insisted on doing everything his way in a team battle, a great contrast to Mo Fan, who knew how to utilize everyone’s Elements efficiently!

In Ai Tutu’s opinion, Mo Fan was shockingly strong, yet besides the advantage of having the combination of Fire and Lightning, he knew how to communicate with his team…

How to deal with their opponents, how to nullify their attacks, when to withdraw strategically, when to counterattack! In terms of fighting capacity, Mo Fan was a lot stronger than Gu Jian, who only knew how to scold people!

Ai Tutu let out a smile and glanced at Gu Jian, her eyes squinting. She would not show any mercy to Gu Jian. He would do what he was supposed to, and that was what he deserved for scolding her!

“What are you waiting for, crawl to her,” said Mo Fan, whose dictionary never had the word ‘mercy’ in it.

Gu Jian almost broke his teeth from clenching them too hard.

What the heck was happening, isn’t Xu Mingcong stronger than Bai Yulang, how could they possibly lose the match!?

With everyone watching Gu Jian, he did not dare to go back on his word. He knelt on the ground with a dark face…

He crawled forward and immediately felt a great humiliation strike him like a rolling wave. He had a great urge to rise to his feet and duel Mo Fan to death.

In the end, Gu Jian chose to continue crawling forward, his eyes full of hatred.

The distance was not far, yet the crawl was more tortuous than crawling toward the Yellow Springs. When he finally made it to where that bitch was sitting, he saw her smiling at him proudly.

Ai Tutu had no reason to go soft on Gu Jian, and gave him a loud slap to the face.

Gu Jian could feel his face burning. He never thought he would actually be slapped by the girl for scolding her before the day was even over!

“This slap is to stop you scum from barking at people again! I’m still a virgin!” Ai Tutu gave him another slap with the back of her hand, completely showing her evilness. The crowd subconsciously took a deep breath when they saw this.

You should never infuriate a woman! The man’s handsome face was already swelling after the two slaps. Since when had the arrogant Gu Jian ever suffered such humiliation in his entire life?

“As for this final slap…”

Ai Tutu raised her hand, and was about to use all her might to slap the man to his death.

However, as her hand reached the highest point, a tanned hand suddenly grabbed her wrist like a pair of pincers, not allowing her to fling it.

Gu Jian had already closed his eyes, already thinking of a way to avenge himself in the future. However, his wretched heart was suddenly filled with a hint of joy.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ai Tutu was startled. She spun around to see who had stopped her from hitting Gu Jian.

However, her expression changed instantly when she saw the tanned face behind her.

Gu Jian raised his head and saw a man standing behind Ai Tutu, firm like a black treasure sword. His expressionless face was intimidatingly dignified.

Why would he have such an aura when he was the same age as himself?

“Sorry, my sister lacks some manners…” The tanned man did not let go of Ai Tutu’s hand. His face had no expression as he apologized to Gu Jian.

“You…you’re… Ai Jiangtu!” Gu Jian recognized the person. He glanced at the girl who had given him two slaps in the face in disbelief and said, “She…she’s your sister?”

“Brother, I…” Ai Tutu completely withdrew her little demoness temperament, as if she had just seen her strict father. She was as obedient as a little kitten being taught a lesson.

Ai Tutu nodded and slowly let go of Ai Tutu’s hand.

He walked up to Gu Jian and said, “My father has led the army in fighting against the demon beasts for many years, hence he had been loose on my sister, if she has done anything wrong…”

Gu Jian’s face regained some expression when he heard those words.

It seemed like Ai Jiangtu did not want to cross the line with his Gu Family, yet why didn’t he stop her earlier? He had already crawled on the ground and taken two slaps to the face!

“Humph, I admit my defeat since I lost the bet, but the elders in my family won’t get over this easily, since her impersonating my teammate has now cost me my nomination!” Gu Jian had regained his confidence. He had to get his face back.

“My father has a vote, I’ll let him know, as a compensation for your loss,” said Ai Jiangtu in a seemingly humble manner.

The words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd.

Those with the ability to vote were surely authorities of the country. Even some Councilmen or the Chairman of Magic Associations could not guarantee they would get a vote. What kind of background did this Ai Jiangtu have, that his father would have a vote in his hand!?

“Are you serious?” Gu Jian’s eyes glittered.

If he could secure the vote, he would end up the winner even after suffering the three slaps!

“I already have four votes as a representative of the military academy, so my father’s vote won’t make any difference…” said Ai Jiangtu.

The crowd went crazy as soon as he finished the sentence.

Four votes! That guy had four votes!

He was the real provisional candidate!

Even Mo Fan was taken by surprise, and immediately reevaluated the tanned young man who had the temperament of a real Battlemage.

Even someone special like him only had three votes, making him a half-provisional candidate. He was told that someone else was already selected as a provisional candidate, yet he never thought it would be Ai Tutu’s brother, representing the military academy!

The candidates of the World College Tournament were selected from the students of all the higher learning institutes, including the military academy!

“I did hear someone mention that… since you’re willing to do that, I’ll consider it even,” said Gu Jian. He seemed to be barely satisfied with the offer, yet his heart was already pounding wildly.

Even a thousand pieces of gold was not enough to get a vote. Gu Jian was well aware of the vote’s value.

“Oh, I didn’t say it’s even yet,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“What do you want now? I’ve already let her slap me in the face because of my bet with Mo Fan. However, you do know the rules between the renowned families; she has made me lose my nomination! Our Gu Family won’t get over it easily, if it weren’t for the vote from your father…” blurted out Gu Jian, who was scared that Ai Jiangtu would retract his offer.

Ai Jiangtu glanced at Ai Tutu, who was shaking her head, trying to tell him not to turn it into a mess.

However, Ai Jiangtu simply responded with a grin. His eyes were like two swords, stabbing at Gu Jian as he turned away from Ai Tutu!

Gu Jian subconsciously took a few steps back after receiving that glare.

“I can compensate your loss for her wrong, yet the words you’ve said to humiliate her…”

It felt like Ai Jiangtu had completely turned into a different person. A terrifying energy was leaking out from his tanned body.

As he grabbed the air in front of him, Gu Jian was lifted from the ground by an invisible hand, easier than grabbing a little chick!

Gu Jian’s feet left the ground, as if something was holding onto his throat. Blue veins began to surface on his face.

The change of scene was so quick that the crowd surrounding them quickly backed off.

Ai Jiangtu was like a black devil controlling the place. He was only holding his hand in front of him, yet he had already lifted Gu Jian half a meter off the ground. The black energy rolled wildly, so cold that the students felt like they were soaked in freezing water.

“Hey, stop it, please don’t cause any trouble here,” the three referees quickly intervened as they sensed the murderous aura.

One of the referees was already drawing a Star Pattern, intending to stop Ai Jiangtu..

“It’s none of your business!” snapped Ai Jiangtu, pushing his other hand in the direction of the three referees.

An invisible wave of energy swept forward in the air, pushing the three referees over ten meters away. If they had not slammed into the barrier on the dueling ground, the force was enough to inflict some minor injuries to them.

Mo Fan and Ding Yumian were stunned.

If the guy was a candidate, it implied that his age was close to theirs. On top of that, he was a student from the military academy.

Meanwhile, the three referees were most likely Advanced Magicians. Even if they had not achieved the Advanced Level yet, they would not be far away from it, yet they were simply knocked away so easily by Ai Jiangtu’s soft push!

“What…what are you trying to do? I’m telling you, you don’t want to mess with our Gu Family!” Gu Jian’s voice was trembling. It was difficult for him to talk while something was clenching his throat.

“Talking about family now? Our Ai Family are all soldiers, who risk their lives to protect humanity’s territory north of the Great Wall. The only daughter who isn’t involved with the army was sent here to Pearl Institute, and even my father did not dare to scold her. If it weren’t for the fact that killing you would cost me my spot in the World College Tournament, I’d let those rotten eggs from your Gu Family come and retrieve your corpse instead!” Ai Jiangtu’s roar was like a demon, leaving the crowd’s ears buzzing!

Gu Jian was scared to death, yet Ai Jiangtu was obviously a fearless man. Something similar to a Star Pattern or Star Orbit flickered under Ai Jiangtu’s feet. Gu Jian was slammed into the ground as if he had just received a great blow from above!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The pressure on Gu Jian was almost half a ton in weight, almost crushing him flat. The ground had sunken in the shape of a human figure, with blood splattering to the side.

Gu Jian was very close to reaching the peak of the Intermediate Level, yet he was completely unable to fight back against Ai Jiangtu. If he had not summoned his Armor Equipment at the end, the pressure would simply have crushed him to a pulp!

Ai Jiangtu did not show any mercy with the attack. He did not seem to care if Gu Jian still had his Armor Equipment available.

If Gu Jian’s Armor Equipment had still been on cooldown, he would be dead by now.

Powdered cement scattered in the air as a cloud of dust swept across the place. The crowd fell silent, no one daring to stand out and interfere, nor did they dare to check on Gu Jian.

The strength that Ai Jiangtu had displayed was not on the same level as students like them. Many people could not even see him controlling it!

Mo Fan slowly uttered, “Space…Space Element!”

Mo Fan would have been totally confused if he had not witnessed the Fiery Sorceress, Jiang Feng, using it. Dimensional Type Magic: Space Element!

The Summoning Element was also considered a Dimensional Type Magic, but only Advanced Magicians had an extremely low chance to Awaken it.

Elemental Magic was the most common, which everyone would learn during high school, and continue to improve in tertiary studies.

However, students would also learn about White Magic, Black Magic, and Dimensional Magic.

It was uncommon for Basic and Intermediate Magicians to have any chance of seeing White Magic, Black Magic, or Dimensional Magic, and among them, the Space Element was one of the rarest!

Ai Jiangtu’s Space Element was too overwhelming. Even the three referees were stunned.

Mo Fan was fairly curious about how capable the other person who was selected as a provisional candidate was, yet when he finally had the chance to meet the person, the fellow was absolutely unbelievable!

Gu Jian was stuck in the ground, not sure if he was dead or alive, although he did look like he had lost half his health there.

Mo Fan finally collected his thoughts after a long moment. He discovered that the devil-like Ai Jiangtu had now transformed into a loving sis-con brother, fondling his sister Ai Tutu’s head, fully expressing his love for her.

“Is…is he dead?” asked Ai Tutu softly.

“He will be if he doesn’t get treated soon,” replied Ai Jiangtu.

“…”

Mo Fan was totally impressed by this violent, biased Ai Jiangtu. He quickly gave the referees a look.

The referees were still recovering from their bewilderment. It took them quite some time to drag Gu Jian out of the ground and sent him hurriedly off to the infirmary. If any student died when they were on duty, they would have to shoulder a huge responsibility!

“There are too many people here, let’s go,” said Ai Jiangtu, glancing at their surroundings.

However, before he could go, the students nearby instantly vanished, scared that the maniac would simply wipe them out to get some quiet time.

After seeing Gu Jian’s outcome, both Li Jie and Liu Xing were relieved that they had not scolded Ai Tutu despite holding a grudge against her.

—

Everyone left together, Ai Jiangtu inviting them to get some drinks as if nothing had happened.

Ai Jiangtu was obviously an alcoholic. He had emptied a few bowls before they hardly discussed anything. However, he was not as stern as he was when they first met him, no different than an ordinary young man.

Perhaps only when drinking was he able to take off the stern temperament of a soldier.

“Oh, so you’re Mo Fan.” Ai Jiangtu glanced at Mo Fan in surprise.

There were only two provisional candidates so far, and one of them was Ai Jiangtu from the military academy. As such, Ai Jiangtu was quite curious who the other person was. To his surprise, the guy turned out to be his sister’s housemate.

“Mm, I wouldn’t have bothered with all that if I knew she had a brother like you,” smiled Mo Fan.

Ai Jiangtu was even crueler when it came to avenging his sister!

“It’s not the same, you did it as a friend, I did it as her brother…” Ai Jiangtu said sternly while shaking his head.

“Alright.” Mo Fan could only smile wryly. Based on Ai Jiangtu’s logic, if every one of Ai Tutu’s friends and relatives were to teach Gu Jian a lesson, how many times would he have to die to make it even?

“Either way, I’m happy to meet you in advance. I’m very strict with my team, I don’t look at strength only, but also one’s courage and character. It does seem that you’ve qualified,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“Your team?” the observant Ding Yumian quickly repeated.

Ai Jiangtu was stunned for a moment, before he quickly waved his hand and switched the topic.

It seemed like Ai Jiangtu had leaked out some information after having a few drinks.

Mo Fan was not stupid. He immediately understood the meaning behind Ai Jiangtu’s words.

This guy was the captain for the national team! Not only was he a provisional candidate, he was even given a role!

On second thought, it was far from a surprise. This guy from the military academy had regularly roamed between the boundaries of life and death, thus he was definitely very experienced with fighting. His ability to command and discipline surely outmatched the rest of the students, not to mention he was stronger than other people at the same age, and his mysterious Space Element…

If someone like him was the captain for the national team, Mo Fan was quite looking forward to the World College Tournament. How many peerless geniuses and strong opponents would he meet?!

—

After some time, Ai Tutu dragged her brother away to enjoy some time together in Shanghai. Ai Jiangtu had come to visit his sister despite his busy schedule, hence the others had no intention of disturbing them.

After Mo Fan arrived back at his apartment, he sank into the couch and mumbled to himself, “Who would have thought…”

“About what?” Mu Nujiao came out from behind the bar like a ghost. Her pale hand was holding a glass of bright red wine.

“Oh, do you know Ai Tutu’s brother?” said Mo Fan.

“Are you referring to Ai Jiangtu?” Mu Nujiao asked, her voice holding great respect.

“Yeah, that guy is so strong.”

“Indeed, I heard lots of legends about him when I was younger. He’s a maniac; he went to the military academy, killed lots of demon beasts, and was still a lot stronger than us students who spent lots of time cultivating,” Mu Nujiao seemed fairly tired. She sat on the other couch and put the glass aside.

“What’s with you, drinking wine?” asked Mo Fan, as he realized something did not feel right about Mu Nujiao.

Mu Nujiao let out a wry smile and sighed, “What else could it be… I don’t think I will be able to secure a nomination. Without it, my family won’t invest further in me.”

Mu Nujiao took another sip. To her surprise, Mo Fan silently took the glass away and emptied it.

Mu Nujiao’s eye widened, with a hint of embarrassment.

This shameless man, that was her glass!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Drinking won’t be of any help,” Mo Fan secretly enjoyed the pleasant scent of the girl’s lips he captured off the edge of the glass.

“I was just resting, the wine helps me sleep,” Mu Nujiao was still feeling embarrassed, asking herself why she had to stay in the same apartment as a shameless jerk like him.

“Oh, oh, I thought you were feeling down, I was trying to give you a motivational speech…” said Mo Fan with an awkward smile.

Mu Nujiao twisted her lips. It was rare to see such a reaction from her, perhaps she had already had a few glasses of wine before Mo Fan came home.

“Then say something motivational, I want to hear it.” Mu Nujiao sank into the couch, seeming to have slightly lowered her guard. She simply laid there comfortably.

The girl had a charming aura under the effects of alcohol. Mo Fan almost started drooling when he saw the cleavage through her slightly opened collar.

Damn, since he started living with the two girls, his usage of toilet rolls had been increasing a lot. When could he actually be a man and not sacrifice his millions of children all the time?!

“Why aren’t you talking?” Mu Nujiao slightly raised her head and looked at Mo Fan with a sleepy look.

However, she just happened to see Mo Fan who was like a wolf drooling at a little lamb. She immediately realized her inappropriate posture. It instantly woke her up, and she quickly sat upright and glared at Mo Fan!

“Pervert!” cursed Mu Nujiao.

“Hehe…” Mo Fan wore an eerie grin.

Mu Nujiao was just about to leave when Mo Fan stopped her.

The truth was, Mo Fan could tell that Mu Nujiao was bothered by the World College Tournament. Otherwise, she would not be drinking, or ask for some motivation. Mo Fan knew the girl was a lot more hardworking than he was every day.

“Is the World College Tournament so important to you?” asked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had not seen Mu Nujiao a lot for the past few months, which implied that she had pretty much spent all her time on training and cultivation.

“Mm…” Mu Nujiao glanced at Mo Fan and saw the confused look on the guy’s face. She let out a wry smile and said, “You’re not from any of the renowned families, so you might not understand the details.”

“I’m free tonight,” Mo Fan lobbed back.

“There are two kinds of disciples in a renowned family, one of which usually goes around fooling around aimlessly, with no goals whatsoever. Those are often looked down upon by the people in the families, but whenever the family is at stake, they are the ones sacrificed. They have no choice but to do anything that the family asks them to, be it marriage, or relocated to somewhere, they won’t dare to disobey the orders given to them… In simpler words, the family is giving you food and shelter, hence you must listen to their order, no matter what!” Mu Nujiao emphasized the last few words.

Mo Fan opened his mouth tried to say something, but he could not find the words.

“The other type is those who utilize the resources provided by the family to improve their cultivation. It works like a loan; to become better than everyone else, you’ll ask for the resources you need. It does give you a head start, but in return, you have to pay the price by having impressive achievements in the future. Otherwise, they will take control of everything… making you do all kinds of things for them. Most of them are barely acceptable, but the most common, yet worst thing, is arranged marriage. It’s common for the renowned families to work together sometimes, yet they won’t trust each other, so they will use marriage to tie the bonds, pretty much the arranged marriage you’ve seen a lot in movies and novels,” Mu Nujiao did drink quite a lot today. She would not normally have describes the renowned families like she did today.

Mo Fan paid full attention when he listened, as it was true that he had not looked at the disciples of the renowned families from a different view. He initially thought they were just proud and arrogant people to the commoners.

“So you mean, those disciples are forced into an arranged marriage because of their own fault?” said Mo Fan.

“It applies to most of them, yet there’s still exception, like Ai Tutu,” said Mu Nujiao with a hint of envy.

Mo Fan was always curious why a girl like Mu Nujiao would be close friends with that lunatic Ai Tutu. It turned out that there were other reasons behind it.

Ai Tutu was always jealous of Mu Nujiao’s appearance and physique, as she had the temperament of a goddess. All men would lose their minds when they saw her…

“And clearly, Mu Ningxue is in the same situation as me,” Mu Nujiao suddenly locked her gaze onto Mo Fan, as if she could read his mind.

Mo Fan never thought Mu Nujiao would suddenly mention his wife. He chuckled awkwardly and said, “Why are you talking about her now?”

“Weren’t you concerned about her?” asked Mu Nujiao.

“About what?” asked Mo Fan, confused.

“She won the nomination of the Imperial College, the news only came out today,” said Mu Nujiao.

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide in bewilderment.

Seriously, that Mu Ningxue?

The Nomination Preliminaries at the capital was assumed to be more intense than here, but she managed to secure the nomination despite being a new student. It seemed like her strength had vastly improved over the days since he last saw her…

Oh …

No wonder Mu Nujiao was feeling down today, and looked in need of some comfort. It was because she had learned that Mu Ningxue, who was in the same batch as her, had secured the nomination!

They were both proud women with glamorous looks, from renowned families, and treated as goddesses in their schools. However, Mu Ningxue had secured the nomination, while Mu Nujiao was facing elimination!

Mo Fan was planning to comfort her by saying that she was only a new student this year, but the words stuck in his throat.

Mu Nujiao was comparing herself to a maniac like Mu Ningxue.

“I can still ask for more resources from the family, so I can improve my strength during the preliminaries, but… I’m a bit scared,” Mu Nujiao went back to the topic, revealing her biggest worry.

“You’re afraid that if you ask again and fail to reach their expectations, you’ll lose your freedom, too?” said Mo Fan.

Mu Nujiao bit her lips and nodded.

She would not admit defeat. If Mu Ningxue was able to do it, she felt like she could do it too, yet she was afraid. If she asked again, she would become a puppet to the family. She would normally not mind obeying their orders, but what if they told her to marry someone she didn’t even like?

Since Mu Nujiao was seriously asking for his opinion, Mo Fan would try his best to help her. He replied after a slight pause, “If you’re scared, just give up.”

“Why?” Mu Nujiao was stunned, wanting to hear his answer.

“You don’t have to try so hard…” said Mo Fan with a blossoming smile. “I can afford to take care of you.”

Mu Nujiao rose to her feet and left angrily.

That scum, that piece of shit, she should have known that it was stupid to ask that guy hoping he would give her some guidance! What a waste of her anticipation!

Mu Nujiao stomped up the stairs as she headed up, trying to vent her anger.

She soon heard Mo Fan’s voice coming from behind her. “I’m being serious, Jiao Jiao.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was enjoying his time fighting duels, stirring up trouble, cultivating, and teasing the goddesses in his school every day!

Mo Fan had already given Mu Nujiao the best option he could come up with, yet it was up to her to decide if she would listen to him. It was the manliest suggestion he could ever give to her!

However, as her housemate, Mo Fan was familiar with Mu Nujiao’s personality. She would not give up so easily. Hopefully, she would not simply try to achieve some quick success and end up handing herself to the family, as it would be difficult to redeem herself later.

Mu Nujiao did remind Mo Fan of his conversation with Mu Ningxue close to the run-down church at the abandoned city. It was obvious that Mu Nujiao had also borrowed hugely from the family, otherwise her cultivation would not have improved at such a terrifying pace…

Hopefully the loan she took wasn’t too great, or else he would have to pay a great price to redeem her…

At least Xinxia was behaving well; he only needed to pay her school fees and living costs, which she did not even use a lot of. The truth was, she was able to earn her own pocket money with her Healing Element at a crazy rate. The debit card he gave to cover her living expenses probably had more money than it used to have. When she came visiting the month ago, she even bought lots of imported ‘milk powder’ for little Flame Belle. She was already helping to feed the family!

Speaking of money…

Mo Fan felt his heart clenching.

He did not have much of his savings left after spending it on the Flame Belle.

The only thing Mo Fan had left was the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast’s Seed. He was originally going to keep it until later, yet he had no choice but to sell it now. He bought a Shadow Element Soul Seed, and used the rest on Soul Seed Pieces.

After calculating his savings and considering that he would need more money than ever since he now had more wives than ever, he no longer dared to waste his time at home. He immediately gave Lingling a call.

“Little girl, got any work to do?”

“We’ll have to leave the city, you up for it?”

“How many days?”

“Around three.”

“That’s fine, my next match is in five days. How much money?”

“Not much, but there’s a lot of demon beasts.”

“Cool, I’m in need of Soul Essences, too.”

Speaking of Soul Essences, Mo Fan had already leveled up twenty-nine of the Stars in his Fire Nebula. He was halfway to getting his fourth-tier Fiery Fist. Therefore, he was fairly eager when there was a quest to kill lots of demon beasts.

——

The Magic City was covered in white fog, which made the tall buildings look like they were floating above the clouds in Heaven.

The same fog loomed over the Pearl Institute; one could hardly see their fingers after reaching their hands out.

Mo Fan had no sense of direction to begin with. When all the landmarks in the spacious school ground disappeared from his vision, he was completely lost in the middle of nowhere.

“F**k, my phone was smashed during the quest. Perfect timing, I can’t even look for help…” complained Mo Fan as he roamed aimlessly around the school ground.

It took him some time to find the dueling ground. His teammates had broken into a sweat before he barely made it in time. They thought he was going to bail on them.

“Lots of people this time.” Mo Fan scanned his surroundings and discovered that the place was bigger than usual. Even the seats were filled, with a higher number of referees than the previous matches.

“Our opponents are strong,” Bai Yulang said to Mo Fan.

The teams were reshuffled after three matches. Mo Fan was in luck this time, as he was on the same team as Bai Yulang.

This Bai Yulang was Gu Jian’s opponent during their second match, and his strength was quite impressive. Mo Fan’s luck was not so bad that he was grouped up with only lower-ranked students.

Mo Fan had already fought two matches with his new team, and won both of them by totally crushing their opponents. The team had a great time working together.

Today was the third match, and it seemed like they were fighting against a strong team.

“Who’s in their team?” asked Mo Fan.

Instead of saying all the names, Bai Yulang only said one, “Dongfang Lie!”

The fog finally cleared slightly, allowing Mo Fan to see a man with a scornful grin sitting on the other side. The man was not tall, and if it weren’t for his reputation, those who saw him the first time would assume him was a hedonistic son from a renowned family. He was none other than Dongfang Lie!

Mo Fan already knew who Dongfang Lie was. When he first came to the Fire School, even Wei Rong purposely called his name out in the hall.

The rankings of the Fire School kept on changing, yet the guy named Dongfang Lie was able to secure his spot in the first rank for a very long time, a clear indication that he was worthy of the rank!

Luckily, Mo Fan’s teammates were fairly strong, thus they still had a chance to win the match.

“No wonder there are so many people here; guess they think the match is going to be exciting.” Mo Fan scanned the surrounding area and saw lots of students ranked highly in their Element Schools.

The match was highly anticipated. Everyone was basically ranked in the top five of their respective Element Schools on both Mo Fan’s team and Dongfang Lie’s team, a true battle between the top elites. A match like this would easily attract those who were interested in researching their potential opponents, while the others were here to enjoy the spectacular duels between the students.

“Take a rest, we’ll start soon,” Bai Yulang reminded the team as the commander.

The other two seemed fairly serious about the match.

Mo Fan was indifferent as usual. He took out his phone to accept a call from Lingling.

“Mo Fan, I’ve transferred the endpoint of your old phone to your new one, don’t hang up yet,” said Lingling.

“The match is starting soon,” said Mo Fan.

“It won’t take long, the data card in your old phone was completely smashed, we have to do it now. Besides, your phone also records the points you’ve accumulated as a Hunter, it will affect your Hunter rank if it were lost… I took a look at your points, you will be a Hunter Master if you continue to work at your current pace, allowing you to accept quests that are more difficult,” Lingling said.

“Alright,” Mo Fan nodded. Once the match started, he would have to leave his phone in his bag.

However, for the sake of his data, he had no choice but to hold it in his hand. He could simply put it back when the referees told him to.

“By the way, it looks like your phone has received some important message, you should take a look at it,” said Lingling.

“What’s it about?” asked Mo Fan.

“I didn’t take a clear look, it looks like it’s something about Zhang Xiaohou, you should check it once it’s transferred to your new phone,” said Lingling.

“Alright.”

After Lingling mentioned it, Mo Fan just realized that it had been a while since the monkey last gave him a call. That guy would usually call him once in a while, to catch up with one another. He wondered how his brother was doing with his mission? Hadn’t it been a month?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As the data was being transferred into Mo Fan’s new phone, the referee asked the participants to take their positions.

Bai Yulang led the way with the other two teammates into the barrier.

Mo Fan slowly followed them, watching the progress bar on his phone. It was already at ninety percent, and would be done within a minute.

Mo Fan had lots of important messages in his phone. For example, the NSFW text and voice messages with Xinxia; it contained all his precious collections!

On the other hand, Dongfang Lie and his teammates were already on the stage. Dongfang Lie’s expression showed a slight change. Even though he still looked indifferent, he would occasionally glance in Mo Fan’s direction.

He and Zhou Shuming had been observing Mo Fan for quite some time. The guy had given them quite some surprises. He initially assumed the new student would only be able to rank around twenty to thirty, yet it seemed like he had begun to pose a threat to the top people on the leaderboard.

It was rare to see a new student with such strength!

“You somehow are matched against him this time. I haven’t forgotten that you said you would defeat him in one or two rounds,” Zhou Shuming said mockingly.

Even though the teams were assigned through drawings, the system was still prone to cheating. Zhou Shuming would only need to pull some tricks behind the scene to be teamed up with whoever he wanted.

With both of them on the same team, and two other strong students, they were basically unbeatable!

“Don’t worry; if no one is in the way, my Fiery Fist will instantly knock him out,” said Dongfang Lie with a confident smile.

“True that, since your innate talent is a rank higher than his Double Innate Elements,” agreed Zhou Shuming.

—

“Dongfang Lie, his innate talent, Mutated Fire Stars, is ranked fourth on the leaderboard. It makes his Fire Spells a tier higher,” Bai Yulang said softly to his teammates. As one of the top students in the school, Bai Yulang was all too familiar with Dongfang Lie’s strength.

The guy was not only terrifying because of his cultivation, but his shocking innate talent. Any Fire Spell he cast would be a tier higher than its actual grade…

In other words, if Dongfang Lie’s current cultivation was at the third Intermediate Level, his Fiery Fist would be level four instead!

Even Mo Fan was surprised by Lie’s innate talent.

He had strengthened twenty-nine of his Fire Stars, only twenty were left for him to cast the fourth-tier Fiery Fist, but Dongfang Lie did not even need any Soul Essence to strengthen his Stars! As long as his cultivation was at the third level, his innate talent would simply improve the Spell to the fourth level!

The third-tier Fiery Fist was already strong enough to crush any other Spells from the same level, let alone the fourth-tier. It was likely that no defensive equipment would be able to resist it!

“His Wind Element is quite normal, but don’t let him cast Fiery Fist at all costs, or else we will simply lose the match,” emphasized Bai Yulang.

“I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Mo Fan, the combination of your Lightning and Fire won’t be any weaker than Dongfang Lie’s Spell, but he only needs to complete a Star Pattern to destroy our team, so… huh, what’s that thing on your shoulder?”

Bai Yulang was just about to go over his plan when he discovered a sudden flame rising on Mo Fan’s shoulder. It looked like a burning ball at first, but as he took a closer look, he realized it was an adorable little fire creature!

“Oh, it’s my Contracted Beast… little Flame Belle, who gave you permission to come out here!” Mo Fan speechlessly grabbed the little Flame Belle off his shoulder, like he was going to smack her ass.

The little Flame Belle looked extremely wronged. She was obviously telling Mo Fan, I want to help daddy fight your strong opponents!

“Since it’s your Contract Summoning, it’s fine to let her out first, but… is your Contract Summoning not grown yet?” said Bai Yulang.

“Mm, she’s in the Youth Stage…” said Mo Fan.

“Youth…Youth Stage… is she here for show?” Bai Yulang asked speechlessly.

Although none of them were Summoners, they did learn about Summoning Element in their classes. What could a Contracted Beast in the Youth Stage possibly do?

“I think you should Summon your Swift Star Wolf instead…”

“It’s fine, I can Summon the Swift Star Wolf with a Basic Spell, but I need to draw a Star Pattern to Summon this girl, so it’s better to let her out first,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan immediately realized that he was talking nonsense. The Flame Belle could simply come out from her Contracted Space without relying on the Star Pattern!

The rules only allowed Summoners to have one Summoned Beast out before the match started. If they planned to Summon more, they would have to find the time once the referee declared the start of the battle.

“That sounds right, but try to Summon the wolf as soon as possible to pin down our opponents, since…”

“Since if we let Dongfang Lie attack us, we are screwed.”

“Captain, you’ve mentioned it more than ten times.”

“Damn you, better safe than sorry!”

—

Mo Fan scanned the crowd. Now that the fog had cleared, he could see lots of familiar faces around him.

Mu Nujiao, whom he was planning to keep as his mistress, was here, Ai Tutu sitting beside her. It seemed like her brother had gone back to the army.

The good student Ding Yumian was here too, with the tomboy Huang Xingli beside her, while the guy who self-claimed to be handsome was nearby, too. He was still bothering Ding Yumian, like usual.

Zhao Manyan was here too, sitting fairly close to the stage. The guy had been gone for quite some time. Mo Fan almost forgot what he looked like. More shockingly, he did not have a new girlfriend sitting beside him…

The guy whose bow tie he threw away was here, too. Mo Fan completely forgot what his name was. He was obviously on the same side as Zhou Shuming and Dongfang Lie, looking forward to seeing Mo Fan lose with a cold grin.

His old friends Shen Mingxiao and fatty Luo Song were here, too. Those two had been fairly close with one another after coming to the main campus, not sure if something beyond friendship had happened between them when they were running away from the ruined city…

Even though his first wife had put her life at stake and used the Ice Crystal Bow to save their worthless asses, they were still quite hostile toward him. Unfortunately, his strength had greatly surpassed theirs, so they would seldom appear in front of him.

“Prepare for battle…”

The data transmission finished right as the referee spoke.

Mo Fan glanced at the main referee and saw that he was still clearing his thoughts. He quickly glanced at his phone when the messages popped up…

Mo Fan was only going to take a quick look and threw the phone to Ai Tutu. However, the first message that popped up on the screen happened to be related to Zhang Xiaohou.

“Did Houzi get promoted again, making it look so serious…” mumbled Mo Fan to himself.

As he opened the message, he heard the referee snapping at him, telling him to put the phone away.

However, as he opened the message, the single line of words caused him to tremble as if he were struck by lightning… his eyes went totally blank, as if he had just lost his soul!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The Undead are stirring up chaos around the Ancient Capital; the rescue team which Zhang Xiaohou was a part of has been lost!”

Lost!

The words stabbed Mo Fan’s heart like a cold sword, even his blood stopped flowing.

The chill penetrated his soul, sending him falling into the world of great despair, which he could not free himself from!

Mo Fan stood blankly in place. The voice of the referee’s countdown echoed around his ears, yet it felt like he could not hear anything. His mind was filled with the painful words.

Zhang Xiaohou is dead?

Is he really dead?

Didn’t that jerk tell me that with the Wind Element and Earth Element, even if everyone in the team was dead, he would still be alive?

—

The place was covered in the same loud cheering. Even before the match started, their anticipation towards the spectacular showdown between the experts was enough for their blood to boil.

Everyone had their own views of the possible outcome, and were trying to convince the others with facts.

However, even as everyone was looking forward to seeing the epic battle between the top students in Pearl Institute, someone’s mind had already gone blank.

Bai Yulang soon discovered that something was not right. He quickly said to the main referee of the match, “Referee, wait…”

“What is it?” the referee asked sternly.

“Humph, trying to run away? I’ve been waiting a long time for this day!” said Dongfang Lie with a cold grin.

The truth was, anyone could tell that something was not right. The participants were supposed to be standing in their positions on the stage, yet Mo Fan was still at the edge staring at his phone, his grip on it loosening.

“Since the countdown has already started, there’s nothing else to be said. Fight!” said Zhou Shuming.

Zhou Shuming had no personal grudge against Mo Fan, yet the girl he was fond of was living in the same apartment with him. Even though she was only his housemate, who would know what their relationship actually was, since they were spending lots of time together?

It was not like Zhou Shuming had not tried to warn Mo Fan, yet the Demon King had never treated the school tyrant Zhou Shuming seriously.

Meanwhile, Dongfang Lie was not interested in fighting over girls. He was more troubled over why the others had to compete fiercely for just one vote when this guy already had three votes in his hand. How was he worthy?

The referee had already declared the match was going to begin. If they were able to officially defeat this person, who was a provisional candidate, he, Dongfang Lie, would also be worthy to represent the national team…

Besides, against a guy like Mo Fan, he could simply crush him with a punch!

“Trying to put up an act? Even if you’re planning to forfeit the match, I won’t let you go without eating my fist!” Dongfang Lie had long looked forward to this day!

His fist instantly erupted in blazing flames. The overwhelming heat spread a meter away into his surroundings.

Unreasonable!

Dongfang Lie did not care if his opponents were not ready. Since they were already on the stage, and the referee had declared the start, he was simply going to vent all his accumulated anger during this match! He was going to let everyone know that the so-called provisional candidate was no match for him!

The Star Pattern turned into a burning formation under Dongfang Lie’s feet. Raging flames rose from the ground, making him look unstoppable!

“Damn it, didn’t I tell you to wait?” snapped Bai Yulang furiously.

“Don’t stand in the way, it’s between him and me!” Dongfang Lie completely ignored Bai Yulang’s existence. His eyes were fixed on Mo Fan.

“Asshole, what are you doing!?” yelled Bai Yulang furiously.

Dongfang Lie was completely out of his mind. Mo Fan was obviously not in the mood to fight because something had happened, yet this ass was still trying to attack him! If Mo Fan did not put on his armor in time, it was likely that he would be burned to ashes before he recovered from the shock!

This Dongfang Lie was not simply holding a grudge against him. He was trying to kill the guy!

Even Zhou Shuming was shocked by the sight. He did throw oil onto the flames to provoke Dongfang Lie, yet he had no idea the guy’s hatred toward Mo Fan was so strong. Could it be that one of the votes that Mo Fan had was supposed to be his?

Zhou Shuming’s speculation was on point. Councilman Zhu Meng used to be in charge of the Enforcement Union, hence the Dongfang Family, which was mainly active in Hangzhou, was fairly close to Zhu Meng. Initially, his vote was supposed to go to Dongfang Lie!

Zhou Shuming’s thoughts were fairly simple. He had been trying to provoke Dongfang Lie to teach Mo Fan a lesson on his behalf.

Little did he know that, even without his provocation, Dongfang Lie would not forgive Mo Fan, either!

Dongfang Lie’s flames rolled fiercely. His innate talent made his Fiery Fist much stronger then an ordinary Fiery Fist. As soon as his punch was thrown, everyone could immediately see the nine fiery dragons coiling around the nine pillars rising from the ground!

The nine dragons separated from the pillars and flew across the stage, intertwining with one another. The raging flames unleashed from them were so powerful that the stage, which was larger than a football field, was shaking vigorously.

Fourth-tier Fiery Fist!

Normally, the nine fiery pillars would appear in fixed locations, but the fourth-tier Fiery Fist turned the pillars into flame dragons, which swept forward like a shockwave. It easily devoured half of the dueling ground, raging in Mo Fan’s direction.

“Mo Fan!”

“Mo Fan!”

“Dodge it!”

Ai Tutu, Mu Nujiao and Zhao Manyan rose to their feet and yelled out in shock.

What was Mo Fan doing? The flames were about to crush him!

The little Flame Belle was still on Mo Fan’s shoulder. She cried out in panic in Mo Fan’s ears as the danger approached.

Mo Fan’s gaze was blank, yet it did not mean that he was completely unaware of what was happening around him.

He knew that the referee had started the match. He heard Bai Yulang calling for a timeout. He also sensed the hatred inDongfang Lie’s attack, and the feeling of death approaching him.

He seemed lost in his thoughts because he could not accept the truth, but more importantly, he was no longer in the mood to conceal his strength against his opponents!

“Piss off, will ya!”

Blue veins surfaced on his face as he uttered a thunderous roar, venting the anger from the bad news.

The little Flame Belle immediately acknowledged Mo Fan’s intentions, flowing into Mo Fan’s body to possess him!

The flames spread wildly, as if countless fiery demons were resting on his body. The power of the Rose Flame was on full display in Mo Fan’s flames, bearing a stronger presence than Dongfang Lie’s fires!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Fiery Fist!”

Same move, same magic, Mo Fan was trying to return the shameless Dongfang Lie’s favor with the same attack!

His decision seemed rather idiotic to everyone. Dongfang Lie’s innate talent basically guaranteed he would dominate others of the same level. No one would dare try to overwhelm his spell head-on.

His Fiery Fist was pretty much the strongest in the entire Pearl Institute, an unstoppable move. Even a whole team would be crushed by it, let alone a single person.

If Mo Fan was seriously fighting back with Fiery Fist, even if he managed to survive it, he would still be turned into a cripple from the blast!

After all, Dongfang Lie had attacked first. The fiery dragons had already surrounded Mo Fan from different directions. The crowd could only see the tails of the dragons as they rolled over his position, there was no chance they could see the miniscule Mo Fan within.

Fire clouds rose into the air. Even Bai Yulang and the others not far away were forced to set up their defenses to protect themselves from the leaking energy of the Fiery Fist.

Despite the distance, they could feel the overwhelming heat from the Spell, let alone Mo Fan, who was in the middle of the fiery dragons!

The crowd’s eyes widened as the spell landed on its target.

They did not see Mo Fan set up his defense right before he was devoured by the flames. Even though Fire was his Primary Element, his resistance alone was not enough to make any difference.

—

The burning ground left the crowd in bewilderment, but a few seconds later, another imperious presence of fire erupted within Dongfang Lie’s flames!

It was blazing red!

It looked similar to the Rose Flame which Mo Fan always used, yet its color was brighter, like the color of blood!

The crowd could vaguely see a figure seemingly fresh out of the furnace within the flames. The bloody flames began to lunge at the gray-red flames nearby!

The shadow of the fist burst forward like an arrow firing through the fog and swept them away, returning a clear view to the place…

There were neither fiery pillars nor fire dragons. The blood-colored flames accumulated on the tip of the punch and burst forward. Despite the large area of the gray-red flames, the bright red hue remained the same, penetrating everything in the way…

It was like a meteor sweeping across the sky, a meteorite that had broken into the atmosphere!

Perhaps the attack could no longer be called Fiery Fist, but Meteorite Fist instead!

Mo Fan’s roar slowly overtook the howling of the flames. The bright red flames engulfing his body had completely evaporated Dongfang Lie’s fire!

Yes, evaporated!

When a different source of fire was so strong, it would simply crush the weaker flames.

As Dongfang Lie’s Ash Flame was evaporated by the Rose Flame, the entire dueling ground turned as red as blood. Mo Fan, who was standing right in the center was still engulfed in flames. The color of his skin was inhuman!

The strength of the Demon King was truly unstoppable!

Zhao Manyan, who had been worried about Mo Fan, immediately recalled the scene where Mo Fan was possessed by the Fiery Sorceress.

Mo Fan looked exactly the same now. If the Fiery Sorceress had the ability to possess him, did that mean the little Flame Belle could do the same thing, too?!

It’s the little Flame Belle, it must be her!

Being possessed by the little Flame Belle had boosted the power of his Fire Element!

Dongfang Lie thought his fourth-tier Fiery Fist was able to dominate the scene, but little did he know, Mo Fan, who had earned the favor of the creature born from the Fire Calamity, was the real domina of Fire!

Dongfang Ming had messed with the wrong person!

The Meteorite Fist was extremely fast. The sequence had only lasted for a few seconds, including Mo Fan being devoured by the fire, his Rose Flame evaporating the fires, and him throwing the Meteorite Fist at Dongfang Lie.

Dongfang Lie simply stood there, completely dumbstruck…

His eyes were filled with astonishment, fear, and disbelief!

He had always been proud of his strength, but his Fiery Fist was simply quenched, his fiery dragons were punctured. Most terrifyingly, the person’s Meteorite Fist was flying right at him, trailing a spectacular fire tail.

The Meteorite Fist landed on Dongfang Lie’s shield and armor. The two pieces of defensive Equipment were completely destroyed by the overwhelming force. They broke into pieces, scattering on the ground.

Dongfang Lie’s body stiffened. The next second, he was blasted away by the force, as if a missile had just hit his abdomen, spitting out mouthfuls of blood in the air.

A red arc was drawn in the sky as Dongfang Lie was sent flying, leaving the crowd speechless.

In the end, Dongfang Lie was caught by the soft barrier, and slid down it like a boneless puppet. His hair was disheveled as he landed on the ground.

He struggled to his feet and raised his head. His gaze toward the man on fire was filled with pain, humiliation, astonishment, and disbelief.

“One or two rounds…” Zhou Shuming was stunned, and totally forgot to help his friend up. He clearly remembered Dongfang Lie’s arrogant words.

Wasn’t this Mo Fan’s innate talent just Double Innate Elements? Why did he have such terrifying strength? Was this the true strength of a provisional candidate?

The place went silent for a long time.

No one could believe what they had just seen. They even doubted if the person lying on the ground and spitting blood out was actually the first rank in the Fire School, Dongfang Lie.

In the end, they all stared at Mo Fan with wide eyes, as if they were looking at a monster.

The flames engulfing Mo Fan’s body died away slowly.

The crowd could not remember the force he was using, but it basically surpassed their understanding.

A provisional candidate…

That’s the strength of a provisional candidate!

If there was anyone among the crowd who doubted Mo Fan’s capabilities, they no longer had the same thoughts.

“Mo…Mo Fan?”

Mu Nujiao, Zhao Manyan, and Ai Tutu, who were supposed to be the closest to Mo Fan, suddenly felt unfamiliar with the guy standing on the stage… or perhaps this was his true strength, which he had been hiding for months?!

Then, what was the reason that stopped him from hiding it any further?

What was the sorrow showing in his eyes when the flames disappeared?

Mo Fan slowly released his clutched fists. His new phone had been crushed into dust, and it slowly fell to the ground between the gaps of his fingers.

Mo Fan took a deep breath, yet he never looked in Dongfang Lie’s direction.

“Mo Fan… where are you going?”

“The match is still on…”

While the crowd was lost in their astonishment, Mo Fan had already left the stage. Everyone was clueless what the guy was up to, as all they had toward him was respect and fear.

Mo Fan ignored his teammates’ calls, yet he finally collected his thoughts when Mu Nujiao and Zhao Manyan stopped him.

“What’s going on?” asked Zhao Manyan.

“I’m going to the Ancient Capital,” said Mo Fan firmly, after calming his thoughts.

“The restless Undead.”

“I know.”

“What about the World College Tournament?”

“I’ll deal with it after I come back.”

“We’ll go with you.”

Mo Fan shook his head.

He understood Mu Nujiao and Zhao Manyan’s willingness to help, yet it was his personal matter, he did not want to hold up their future because of it.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

All of Pearl Institute was in an uproar.

The news about the match that took place in the morning was spread in different versions around the school. Mo Fan, who was already a famous figure in the school, suddenly became a legendary figure.

Many people were looking forward to seeing the outcome of the nomination preliminaries.

However, those who were close with Mo Fan, including Mo Fan’s teammates, knew that he would not show up in any of the upcoming matches, as he would soon be leaving Magic City for the scary Ancient Capital.

Many people had moved away from the Ancient Capital, as countless lives had been lost to the Undead due to the recent chaos. Some had described it as the worst calamity in a thousand years, while some assumed that people were just being exaggerating…

However, even the talented Hunters who had returned from their investigations were not willing to mention anything. Even the proposer of the Threat-Elimination Strategy, Zhu Meng, had come to take command of the situation, a clear indication that the invasion of the Undead was not just mere rumors.

No one could actually explain what was happening at the Ancient Capital.

Mo Fan was not going there to solve the scary mystery, but to look for a person…the friend that he grew up with, the buddy that came all the way to Dongting Lake just to look for him when he had turned into a demon.

The two Soul Essences which the guy had bought after spending all his savings… Mo Fan still had them with him.

It was true that the message on his phone was a notice of death.

Yet, when his friend was involved, Mo Fan’s principle was: He would not give up until he saw his friend in person, whether he was alive or dead!

The sentence alone was not enough to declare his closest friend dead, nor was it enough to imply that his friend had disappeared forever from this world. They were both survivors of Bo City’s calamity, hence they knew how precious lives were after the blood that was shed and the sacrifices that were made.

Even if his friend was dead, even if his body no longer existed, he had to confirm the truth himself!

If he was still alive in some unknown corner of the world, even if he was in the middle of the ocean of undead, he would clear the path and bring him back alive! It was a promise between them, and Zhang Xiaohou had already fulfilled it once!

It was his turn now…

—

The fog of darkness was looming over the modern city. Mo Fan suddenly recalled Ai Jiangtu’s words as he was walking down the street.

Battlemages always had their lives at risk when they fought against demon beasts. Zhang Xiaohou also shared the same risk, yet Mo Fan had never thought about it.

He tried to convince Zhang Xiaohou to leave ever since the guy had decided to join the army, yet when he recalled the sight of Zhang Xiaohou bursting into tears with He Yu in his arms… as his elder brother, he knew that he would never be able to change Zhang Xiaohou’s mind.

Zhang Xiaohou had grown a lot over the past few years. He was calm at handling matters and able to stay collected when fighting against demon beasts. He was a brilliant Battlemage, but he would always retain his kid-like behavior when Mo Fan was around, wanting to show off his achievements and completely obeying Mo Fan’s words.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan knew that the guy only wanted to be acknowledged by him.

The streetlight shone down upon Mo Fan, dragging his shadow across the ground…

It was late at night, and only a few lights were on. The streets were quiet enough to hear the footsteps of the pedestrians walking by.

The yellow streetlight was shining down upon quite a few things; the cars that were parked illegally on the streets, the clean roads, the lonely figures on the streets… and in the darkness where the light could not reach, a glamorous woman with a slender figure was standing on top of the streetlight. She was staring at the lonely man walking under the lights.

Suddenly, the lonely figure stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned around and glanced at the darkness above the streetlight.

“Don’t forget, I too have the Shadow Element,” Mo Fan called out to the strange woman with a smile.

The woman began to panic, quickly turning around to flee into the dark.

“Don’t go,” Mo Fan stopped her.

The woman standing on the pole shuddered, yet she did not show herself. She was simply staring at Mo Fan with her glistening eyes.

“I need your help,” said Mo Fan.

“Me?” answered a cautious, crisp voice.

Mo Fan nodded.

The woman in the dark seemed almost overjoyed, almost falling from the pole.

“What do you need my help for?” Her voice was fairly clear in the silent night.

“I’m going to the Ancient Capital. It’s the territory of the Undead, from what I know…” Mo Fan did not continue his sentence.

“Vampires are considered a type of Undead,” finished the woman.

“Mm, so I hope you’ll come with me,” said Mo Fan sternly.

“You’re my senior, you can just ask me to do anything,” the woman seemed to be very happy. Her eyes were already glittering in excitement.

“Al…alright,” Mo Fan felt strange when she called him a senior.

Liu Ru slowly floated down to the ground. She was already a beauty before turning into a vampire. It was likely that the boys living on the same street had a crush on her. However, after turning into a vampire, her temperament underwent an obvious change. Her physique was no longer as skinny as before. She was currently in between the stages of youth and maturity, innocent, yet seductive.

Her pleasant scent would simply hook a man’s soul away without noticing, wisping up from her youthful skin.

The expected lifelessness of a vampire was missing. Instead, it added a hint of nobility to Liu Ru, who had once been an ordinary girl.

She was charming; Mo Fan had to admit that she was a lot more attractive than before.

When the thought of the woman occasionally sneaking into his room, lying beside him and pressing her red lips to his neck, crossed his mind, he could sense his blood vessels pulsing.

“What’s happened to you?” Liu Ru asked softly as she stepped closer.

“Ah, nothing… by the way, are there any vampires bullying you around here? If so, just let me know,” Mo Fan quickly switched the topic to hide his embarrassment.

“There used to be some, but they do not dare to come into this area lately.”

“Why is that? Is a strong vampire controlling this area?” asked Mo Fan, his eyebrows raised.

Liu Ru glanced at Mo Fan and blinked innocently.

“Uh… it’s you?” asked Mo Fan in astonishment, as he collected his thoughts.

Liu Ru let out an embarrassed grin.

Normally, rookie vampires would be bullied by their seniors, especially someone like Liu Ru, who looked like the kind girl next door.

Liu Ru did get harassed quite often at the start, and the gentle girl had tried her best to forbear; yet she realized that it just spurred them on to do more.

Left with no choice, she was forced to use violence.

Since then, she had discovered that her strength was fairly remarkable among the vampires!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The stormy clouds were dense as black silk, covering the sunlight.

There was no rain, yet the sky was dark. The gray and wilting plants from the current season made the place look dead.

As the final flight slowly descended from the stormy clouds, the passengers on board mostly consisted of the last batch of tourists who dared to come to the Ancient Capital in the middle of the chaos stirred up by the Undead.

“Even the flights have stopped, luckily we made it on the last one,” Liu Ru sighed as they came out from the plane.

Her attractive eyes looked around Xianyang Airport.

Strictly speaking, it was her first time traveling to somewhere far away, and her destination was the Ancient Capital, a city with a whole different reputation than the Magic City, Shanghai!

A man in a uniform stopped the two at the entrance and said sternly, “Sorry, every passenger is required to prove their identity to us and explain their purpose of coming here.”

“Am I out of the country now?” Mo Fan frowned. He never knew the check existed.

“Emergency period, please cooperate,” said the man.

“We’re here for travel, she’s my young lover, so I don’t want anyone to know who she is,” rejected Mo Fan.

Liu Ru’s face blushed when he heard his response.

Can’t he think of a better lie? Why young lover!?

The man’s face stiffened, he had never seen anyone act so righteously when he was traveling with a lover.

Liu Ru did not have any way to prove her identity. Officially, she was already declared dead, all thanks to forensic doctor Nie Dong.

After that, she was turned into a vampire, forcing her to leave her old life. They had yet to make her a new identity.

As for boarding the plane… Liu Ru had used her old identification card. The funny thing was, there seemed to be some loopholes in the airline, as a dead person was able to board the plane with their identity card.

Although vampires were considered a kind of undead, from Mo Fan’s observation over the time he had spent with her recently, her presence felt exactly like a human, the only difference being that she could only digest blood. She even retained the youthful spirit and energy of a teenage girl!

——

It was still daytime, and the undead was sleeping in their tombs.

Xianyang was a certain distance away from the Ancient Capital. Mo Fan and Liu Ru were too lazy to hail a taxi. They simply summoned the Swift Star Wolf and rode him to the Ancient Capital Xi’an along the side of the highway.

They could easily tell that the Ancient Capital was on alert, as even the outer city walls were being patrolled and work was being done on them.

The Ancient Capital of Xi’an had the old city walls. Inside the old city walls was the city center, and outside of them were other districts, like Yanta, Beilin, etc. The places inside the old city walls were mostly attractions for tourists…

Currently, a bigger outer wall was being constructed outside of the old city walls. The coverage of the outer wall was five times bigger than the inner wall, as most people living in the outskirts had moved here instead.

“This is my first time seeing such a giant-sized safe zone,” Liu Ru looked up, glancing at the mountain-like wall.

“Not sure how many Earth Magicians are needed to build it, it’s indeed spectacular… It also implies how grim the situation is. It’s likely that the territory outside of the walls is off-limits to the residents,” said Mo Fan.

The outer wall was an enormous project. From where Mo Fan was standing, he could not even see the end of the wall in either direction.

He remembered that the perimeter of the inner wall was only around fourteen kilometers, but he was clueless about the perimeter of the outer wall, which would completely surround the entire city.

The entrance was guarded by the people of the Magic Association, while the Battlemages were in charge of the checkpoints.

During the day, the inspection was not too strict, but as evening approached, the military would not allow anyone to leave the city, as commoners who were outside of the wall were basically food for the Undead.

After crossing the heavily-guarded outer wall, the situation inside the wall looked fairly normal. It was no different than any other city. However, the streets were fairly lively and crowded as people from the outskirts had moved here.

With the new outer wall protecting the civilians like an enormous dragon, the people were not so worried about the chaos happening outside of the wall. Perhaps they had gotten used to similar situations, hence they just focused on their lives!

——

Mo Fan did not stay too long in the districts. He headed straight for the Clock Tower Magic Association.

The Clock Tower Magic Association and the Bell Tower Hunter Union were basically right at the center of the city, standing firmly even in stormy rains. Mo Fan was initially planning to learn more about the situation from Zhang Xiaohou’s headquarters, but he decided to ask the person who had sent the death news to him instead…

The guy told Mo Fan that Zhang Xiaohou had gone missing in action during a rescue operation. They had yet to locate his corpse, since they decided not to send anyone else out there. However, he was sure that the incident took place between Sunny Goat Village and Hua Village.

The miracle villages were the only ones left outside of the walls. The villages were still unharmed even today, but as they did not use any modern technology, communication between the villages and the Ancient Capital would take a very long time…

The news about the squad being wiped out was delivered to the army by a villager. The army was not able to validate it.

—

Mo Fan talked to Zhang Xiaohou’s instructor Fei Jiao for a fairly long time. The instructor basically told Mo Fan everything. It was obvious that the instructor was very concerned about Zhang Xiaohou too, yet because of the important mission on hand, he did not have the chance to go and seek the truth.

“Where do we go now?” asked Liu Ru.

“We’ll find a few experienced Hunters to go to Sunny Goat Village with us,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was unfamiliar with the place, and most of the time the Undead were scarier to deal with than demon beasts. Whether he was trying to investigate the truth or rescue someone, he would need a reliable team.

Mo Fan was hoping to find some experts from the Magic Association, yet none of them seemed interested in going outside of the walls. In the end, Mo Fan had no choice but to look for members in the Bell Tower Hunter Union…

He could easily find a handful of fearless Hunters!

——

The lobby was crowded.

You could always find Hunters at dangerous places, as the more dangerous a place was, the more treasure it would contain. The Hunter Union at Ancient Capital was fairly active!

Mo Fan glanced at the rolling screen filled with quests, and discovered that lots of them were listed as ‘rescue’…

Since the chaos started, many people were still in danger outside of the walls. Therefore, those who were safe inside the walls would submit quests to rescue them.

“It’s basically all rescues, looks like many people are in danger…” said Liu Ru.

“I won’t call them rescues, it’s more like corpse retrieval,” corrected a hoarse voice.

Liu Ru turned around and saw an adventurous-looking shorty standing nearby. Even with her height, she had to lower her gaze to see his face.

The shorty cleared his throat and said sternly, “Those who submitted the quests are only hoping that their close ones won’t turn into those filthy things outside of the walls. Therefore, our Hunter Union of the Ancient Capital will soon turn into the Corpse Retrieval Union!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Well, where do I start, I have a friend missing out there…” asked Mo Fan, glancing at the shorty.

“I can tell that it’s your first time here at the Ancient Capital, do you know the rules among the Hunters here?” said the shorty disdainfully, proud because he was experienced here.

“Not at all,” Mo Fan humbly asked for advice.

“The Hunters who are alive here have all abandoned their teammates before… the most common saying around here is: Don’t look back, retrieve their corpses during the day!” said the shorty.

“Aren’t you supposed to help your teammate when they are in trouble?” asked Liu Ru confusingly.

Even though she was not a Hunter herself, even she knew that there was a code of conduct maintained among the Hunters. No betraying, no deserting!

“I’m sorry, it doesn’t apply here,” the shorty smiled.

“Then what do you mean by Corpse Retrieval Alliance?” asked Liu Ru further.

“Those who are left outside the wall overnight are surely dead. Sending someone to rescue them can sound heroic, but their job is pretty much to retrieve their bodies, so they won’t end up as the Undead. So you should give up on trying to save someone, it’s impressive enough if you manage to find one or two parts of your friend’s remains,” explained the shorty as he fondled his mustache.

“How could that be?”

“I’m not here to scare you, it’s been the same for a long time, let alone now…” the shorty glanced at Liu Ru. His height was just right to stare at her breasts, not too big, but firm and elegant in shape!

“If you came and talked to us, does that mean you have an idea?” said Mo Fan.

“Hehe… brother, you’re smart,” the shorty smiled. His curling mustache implied that he was fairly pleased with himself.

“That might be the case,” Mo Fan wore a smile too.

“I know there are lots of smart people around, and not many would believe someone like me. Go ahead and browse around, if anyone is willing to go with you, feel free. I would remind you though, even if you offer them money, they won’t necessarily go with you,” the shorty burst into laughter and walked away.

Mo Fan and Liu Ru did not believe the shorty, as he looked just like a typical mountebank.

——

The two proceeded to walk around the place, yet even when Mo Fan showed his strength or his Hunter badge, or offered a huge reward to the people, everyone’s face sank as soon as they heard the name Sunny Goat Village. None of them dared to accept the offer, no matter how much money was offered.

Mo Fan then found out that a Dark Abyss had appeared close to Sunny Goat Village. Even though he had no clue what it was, it was obvious that everyone was scared of it.

Left with no choice, the two went back to the shorty, who had already expected their return. He was sitting cross-legged smoking a cigar while his eyes raked over the attractive Liu Ru.

“So how was it?” asked the shorty.

“As you mentioned,” replied Mo Fan with a wry smile.

“Let’s talk about the price then.” The shorty cut straight to the topic.

“My friend is important to me, just give me a price. I don’t care about money,” Mo Fan did not waste any time.

Anyone who was willing to be their guide would surely ask for a reward in return. Mo Fan had prepared himself mentally.

The shorty raised a finger.

“One million, deal,” agreed Mo Fan pleasantly.

“Do you think I’m a beggar? Ten million!” the shorty sat down again.

Mo Fan was stunned. He glanced at Liu Ru and said calmly, “We should go on our own.”

Liu Ru was left speechless. Didn’t some guy just say his friend is important and he doesn’t care about money just a few seconds ago?

“If we go ourselves, we won’t know how to get there. We might even end up right in the middle of the undead’s tombs. It sounds expensive, yet he’s the only one willing to go there…I do have some money with me. I was going to give it to you, since I can’t spend them,” Liu Ru pulled Mo Fan aside and handed him a debit card.

“Oh Liu Ru, that’s not how you should spend your money… mm, where did you get so much money?” asked Mo Fan.

“Those little vampires gave it to me. They were quite rich,” explained Liu Ru softly.

“Oh, some ill-gotten gains, I’ll take it.”

“…” Liu Ru giggled when she saw Mo Fan taking the money so sternly.

She thought Mo Fan would righteously reject it, yet it turned out that the guy was a money-lover, a bad guy.

There was no way Mo Fan was able to pay ten million RMB. He had no money at all. Little Flame Belle was the most expensive child to raise in the world, and he had pretty much spent all his savings.

That being said, the benefits he got in return were shocking too. Without the Flame Belle, Mo Fan would never have been able to defeat Dongfang Lie, who had the fourth-tier Fiery Fist!

Liu Ru’s money had resolved Mo Fan’s emergency at the perfect time.

The shorty gave Mo Fan a disdainful look when he took the card.

The shorty thought Mo Fan was more impressive when such a beauty was following him around, yet it appeared that he was living off the woman instead.

Speaking of which, the gorgeous girl was fairly rich. She did not even blink twice when giving the ten million away. Even the old Hunters who had worked at the Ancient Capital for many years would not be able to save so much…

“Twenty percent discount!” bargained Mo Fan.

“No way!” The shorty remained firm.

Only he and his brother knew the trick, and he believed that there was someone who wanted to go to the Sunny Goat Village, hence no discount!

“Does it include protection?” asked Mo Fan.

“No, my brother and I are only average Hunters, so you must know how to protect yourself. I can prevent you from being surrounded by the undead at night, but I can’t guarantee they won’t attack you,” said the shorty.

“We can protect ourselves,” declared Liu Ru.

“One more condition, you won’t be the only client, there will be other people with us,” said the shorty.

“There’s still a condition? F**k,” cursed Mo Fan.

He had never seen such a black-hearted guide, definitely the most expensive in the world!

“Friend, we’re risking our lives for this, with a Hunter Master vouching for us. The price is only like this because we’re planning to escort more people. It’s fine if you want to book the whole service, twenty million,” said the shorty.

“Piss off, go get your customers,” Mo Fan had no intention to waste his time with the shorty.

Mo Fan had already confirmed the shorty’s identity before finding him. He was an Advanced Hunter, with no bad records.

The Hunter Master vouching for the shorty was clean, too.

The quests could only be submitted with signatures. It was unlikely that someone would try to scam someone with all the Intermediate and Advanced Hunters around, unless they were trying to destroy their income. Mo Fan was well aware of this.

On top of that, the ten million would be paid to the Hunter Union first, and would only be handed to the Hunters after the quest was completed. There was no such thing as reviews for the Hunters, as people need merely look at their completion rate!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The two proceeded to find a place to rest for the night. The number of tourists had declined significantly due to the chaos stirred up by the undead. Even the luxurious hotels were incredibly cheap.

They would depart the next day. Mo Fan was not in a rush to go to bed. He asked Liu Ru to tag along as he headed to the outer walls.

The Kingdom of Undead was infamous across the world, yet Mo Fan had never seen it before. He was trying to prepare himself mentally for tomorrow.

The outer walls were incredibly tall, surrounding the city like steel barrels. Mo Fan used his identity of a Hunter to go to the top of the walls. When he reached the top, he was astonished to discover that the number of guards was ten times higher than the number he saw in the morning.

A cold breeze swept past from the distance, bringing the rotten scent of graveyard soil. The guards referred to it as the smell of death.

The tall walls extending into the horizon stood still on the land, like they had intercepted the pitch-black land right in the center. However, if one were observing from high up in the sky, they would discover that countless people were moving inside the walls, and similarly, there were countless figures roaming aimlessly outside the walls, too…

The clouds were like black silk, densely crowded together. As darkness loomed over the land nurtured by the dew of death, many unknown creatures started to climb out from graves hidden under the ground for decades, and observed their surroundings with green, glowing eyes.

A few inhalations later, they had captured the scent of something alive from upwind… a huge bunch of them!

Suddenly, the roaming undead sprang toward the Ancient Capital as if they were possessed by demons!

Their black figures looked like a crowd of refugees lunging at food. However, when they gathered together and slammed into the walls like a rolling tide, their savage faces and hungry eyes made the scalps of the Magicians on top of the walls turn numb!

The cries of the undead rose. Despite the walls in between, the people at the center of the city were still able to hear the unique wailing cries of the dead clearly.

The undead grouped up at the walls, trying to break through the defensive barrier that was stopping them from feeding themselves with their claws and teeth. Some even tried to ram the walls with brute force, and ended up smashing themselves into pieces, with blood splattering everywhere!

“I can feel my legs shivering,” said Liu Ru nervously, standing at the edge of the walls.

Mo Fan cast a side glance at Liu Ru and teased her, “Strictly speaking, you’re an undead too.”

Liu Ru puffed her cheeks unhappily, as if she were implying, Even if I’m an undead, I’m still a pretty undead!

“Why are there so many of them?” Liu Ru glanced into the distance.

The walls extended into the distance like mountains, and similarly, she could see packs of undead along the walls…

The undead had stacked up into human pyramids at certain spots, where they were stepping on one another, trying to climb over the walls.

The guards had no intention of letting them pass. Soon, the groups of Magicians began to launch their Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Wind Spells in all sorts of colors at the undead. Chunks of flesh and blood scattered in the air, a spectacular, terrifying sight!

“Those who have no business here please leave!” a loud voice which came out of nowhere demanded.

Mo Fan and Liu Ru no longer had the chance to watch the battle. They were chased away, but right before they went down the walls, Mo Fan saw a giant shadow appearing in the horizon!

The shadow was surrounded by lots of moving figures, spreading out like a wave. Even though he was unable to see clearly, he could easily tell how dense the undead was.

The shadow uttered a roar into the sky, penetrating the sky like rolling thunder, and leaving the walls trembling.

If the Ancient Capital was a city, the shadow in the distance was a conqueror, commanding his army to launch a full assault at the city!

The sight stayed with Mo Fan for the rest of the night.

Everyone thought wars were far away from them, little did they know, this Ancient Capital that had remained standing for centuries had never stopped fighting wars.

A war between the dead and the living!

Mo Fan was unable to calm his astonishment for a long time.

——

The night was short to those who had fallen asleep early.

The night was endless for those still awake, as the battle outside the walls was still ongoing.

Mo Fan had trouble falling asleep, but he somehow made it to daytime.

The quaking from the distance had disappeared. Mo Fan opened the window. His gaze skipped the densely packed streets and alleys that were interconnected like a giant network and glanced at the long walls looming up in the fog. It felt like some parts had a gap between them, yet it was no different than last night.

Mo Fan was unable to see anything ten kilometers away clearly. He only knew that the battle had ended.

“Didn’t have a good sleep?” Liu Ru asked Mo Fan from the balcony beside.

“I don’t think anyone can sleep well, apart from those who have stayed here for some time. I shouldn’t have gone to the walls last night. I kept having a nightmare that the undead had broken through the outer walls,” said Mo Fan.

“It’s fine, we’re still inside them. Even if the outer walls collapsed, aren’t the inner walls still a line of defense?” said Liu Ru.

“Young girl, enough with the nonsense. The outer walls are guarded by thousands of Earth Magicians, how could they be broken through so easily? Once it collapsed, how many people are going to die? You can eat any food as you wish, but you shouldn’t say something like that!” said an old woman, who turned out to be the resident below them trimming the plants.

The place was fairly interesting. The lower levels consisted of service apartments, while the upper levels functioned like a hotel.

“Sorry,” said Liu Ru, sticking her tongue out.

“The young ones are so hopeless, they’ve all forfeited the spirit of protecting the traditions of the ancestors. All they know is staying inside the city and letting other people die for their sake…” mumbled the old woman.

Mo Fan and Liu Ru did not bother listening. They prepared themselves and headed for the outer walls to meet the shorty.

——

As they arrived at the south gate, Mo Fan was unable to find the shorty among the crowd, until he finally saw the top of his head jumping around after calling out for him.

He glanced in the direction of the shorty and saw a few people were gathered around him.

The other people looked ordinary, apart from a woman wearing a black veil that captured his attention.

Everyone would simply wear a mask nowadays, yet the girl was wearing a veil. Her appearance resembled a character from the ancient TV drama. Mo Fan could not tell if she was just trying to hide her face, or she was simply not a fan of the rotten smell coming from outside the walls.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Apart from the graceful girl wearing a black silk veil, there was a pair of brothers following behind her. Instead of saying they were her friends, they looked more like servants.

Including Shorty and a muscular guy who was his friend, the group had seven people in total: five men, two women.

The morning breeze swept past, bringing a weird smell with it. However, for some reason, when the sunlight shone down upon the place, the smell of the dead faded completely, as if the battle last night had never taken place.

The south gate was open in the day. The group only needed to put their details down.

As they left the outer walls, they followed the shorty’s instructions and headed for Sunny Goat Village.

The walls in the south faced the Qinling Mountains. Either flying or driving a vehicle would be deemed disrespectful to the demon beasts of Qinling Mountains, hence those who headed south had no choice but to walk.

——

Mo Fan was extremely curious about the woman with the extraordinary outfit.

It was not that there was anything strange about the girl. The truth was, her outfit was too attractive. Despite the cold weather, she was wearing a silk dress embroidered with colorful peacocks, with a soft red cape draped over her shoulder. Each step she took would reveal her S-shaped physique and curves in a rhythmic manner.

Mo Fan walked behind her. He found it hard to move his eyes away from the perfectly-fitting smooth silk dress, bereft of wrinkles. From her waist to her legs to her jade-white feet… it felt like every single part of her body was filled with charms, hooking his soul away!

Mo Fan was fairly experienced, and had seen many gorgeous girls in his life. He even had one keeping him company, but the charm he felt from the woman grew stronger as time passed.

“Hey, Shorty, where did you find this woman?” Mo Fan finally ran out of patience and asked the black-hearted guide.

“She was willing to pay me the money as soon as I mentioned what our destination was, so I brought her along,” said Shorty, secretly peeking at the woman as he spoke. His eyes flickered with great lust as he asked Mo Fan with a grin, one that every man would understand, “Why, she’s hooking your soul away, too?”

“I was just being curious, I feel like she is no ordinary person,” said Mo Fan.

“Of course. Everyone calls me Shorty, yet I’ve seen more gorgeous women than any handsome man; good-looking, good physique, good skills, I’ve met all kinds of them, yet this woman… tsk tsk, I don’t care what she looks like, but I’d be willing to not touch any other woman if she let me do it with her once,” Shorty said pervertedly. He was not hiding any of his lewd thoughts, as he assumed that Mo Fan was the same kind.

“Can’t your mind be a bit healthier?” Mo Fan protested righteously.

“I’m not healthy, yet who keeps following behind the woman’s ass?”

“Err… how long until we arrive at Sunny Goat Village?” asked Mo Fan calmly.

The Shorty was speechless by Mo Fan’s attempt to act righteously even though he was a pervert, too. He shook his head and said, “You shouldn’t be asking about how long until we arrive at Sunny Goat Village, but how long until it gets dark.” Shorty then pointed his finger into the distance, where the sun was setting on the horizon.

“Holy shit, the sun is setting already?” cursed Mo Fan. Did time really pass that quick?…

“It’s winter now, the night is longer than the day. Are you seriously that dumb?” asked Shorty.

“You haven’t told me the woman’s background.”

“Go and ask her yourself if you want to!”

——–

Mo Fan had no choice but to go back to his position.

Liu Ru said to Mo Fan softly, “Something’s strange about the woman’s presence.”

“Ah, that’s right, presence,” Mo Fan came to a realization.

Mo Fan was not just thinking about something lewd while he was staring at the black-silk woman. It was more because he had sensed something out of place…

“She must be practicing Black Magic,” said Liu Ru.

The Magic that one cultivated would easily influence their aura and temperament. Liu Ru’s speculation was on point, since apart from her seductive temperament, he was also sensing a dark aura from her. Mo Fan also had the Shadow Element, so he did know a thing or two about Black Magic. Meanwhile, Liu Ru was a Darkness Creature herself, so her nose was more sensitive than Mo Fan’s.

That being said, those who practiced Black Magic were not necessarily the bad guys. As long as they followed the code of conduct set by the Magic Association, they were free to practice it.

“She must be very pretty,” added Liu Ru.

“You can tell that too?” asked Mo Fan curiously.

“Mm,” Liu Ru was observing the woman with a hint of admiration. Mo Fan quickly took note when he saw her reaction.

—

The sky gradually turned dimmer. In the season where nights were longer than days, the sun, who woke up at five, was close to climbing into his wife’s pitch-black bed.

Mo Fan and Liu Ru had both seen the undead, so the silence before the darkness came was extremely intimidating…

The land was vast, it was impossible to tell if they were right on top of the undead’s territory. It was the very reason why it was necessary to hide a guide, since the weeds on their graves would be two meters high next year if they came themselves.

“Here, eat these.” The muscular man took out something like gray garlic cloves from his bag.

The man had a bulky figure, yet he looked like a commoner since they could not sense any presence of Magic from him, but somehow he was also missing the living presence of a human.

“Something to eat, you should have said so earlier, I’m starving…” Mo Fan quickly went up to receive the ‘food’.

The gray thing looked like sweet potato, or an enlarged garlic clove. He simply took a bite without overthinking it.

The following second, Mo Fan immediately spat it out from his mouth onto the ground.

“F**k, is that poop that you just gave me!” cursed Mo Fan.

“That’s Ash Garlic, it can cover your living breath! With it, the undead won’t attack you. We only have a limited supply, and you’ve just spat one out. If we can’t survive the night, it’s all on you,” explained Shorty immediately.

“Its taste is so disgusting, I would rather fight the undead than eating something like that,” said Mo Fan.

The eyes of the woman in black silk flickered, as if she were impressed by Mo Fan’s determination.

“Don’t be too confident now… shh, listen,” the shorty signaled the group to keep quiet.

“Listen to what?”

“Under the ground, in the soil…”

Everyone fell quiet. Even though the sky was not fully dark yet, the white sand under their feet began to tremble…

It seemed like the vegetables that an old farmer planted were finally sprouting, yet the stern look on Shorty’s face had already told everyone what was about to happen!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Shorty gulped.

He had spent lots of years in the Land of the Undead, yet every time when night arrived, his heart would start pounding heavily. Even when he was away from the Ancient Capital, he would still experience fear and uneasiness at night.

“Eat the Ash Garlic now!” Shorty reminded the group.

The woman in black silk and her two companions did not hesitate. They immediately ate the Ash Garlic.

Liu Ru had also eaten one, only Mo Fan was still struggling to make a decision.

The sound of something grumbling with their mouth filled up could be heard coming from the ground. Mo Fan turned around and saw a head full of worms poking out from the ground. Its eyes were dangling out, same with its jaw…

It looked like the thing was stuck in the ground, only its head coming out of the ground, with its body still trapped beneath. Its reaction when it saw Mo Fan was like a starving human who had seen a golden chicken wing. It desperately tried to wriggle its way toward Mo Fan!

“How dare you try to harm your Grandpa Mo!” Mo Fan kicked the head of the undead without mercy.

The head was likely not attached to the neck. The kick immediately sent the head off as a projectile. The skull ended up slamming into a rock and splattered everywhere.

The sound of many deep moans surrounded him

Suddenly, a huge section of the ground broke apart, revealing a huge tomb less than ten meters away from Mo Fan.

The tombs seemed fairly aged, even the cement had begun to rot. The half-corpse, half-skeletal creatures inside the tombs rose with bloodshot eyes after being summoned by the head that Mo Fan had kicked!

The bones of the creatures were fairly black, implying that they had been poisoned to death long ago. Meanwhile, the tools scattering across the place implied that they were buried together with some general in ancient times. Mo Fan initially thought there were over twenty of them, yet there was a burial cave beneath the tombs the skeletons were appearing from endlessly, each covered in blood and with a savage look!

Mo Fan’s fist instantly erupted in flames as he swung it in the air…

Since the skeletons were all coming out from the cave, he could simply blast the cave with his Fiery Fist!

“Mo Fan, look around you!” Liu Ru immediately shouted.

Mo Fan turned around and saw seven or eight tombs just like the one in front of him less than a few hundred meters away…

The skeletons were gathering like soldiers. Their eyes were staring at the only person that was still exhaling living breath, like stars in the sky. The sight was so stunning that Mo Fan instantly stiffened in place.

“Actually, the thing doesn’t taste as bad as I thought!” Mo Fan threw the Ash Garlic into his mouth with the worst expression he had ever made.

Shorty grinned disdainfully. He glanced at the skeletons surrounding them and said, “We should probably leave this place as soon as possible. It must be the grave of some minister during the Qing Dynasty, judging from the number of people and workers that were buried with him. It’s almost at the scale of an emperor’s tomb… we can easily deal with these skeletons, but those ministers were strong Magicians when they were alive. If they actually turned into Undead Generals, we’re pretty much dead.”

“Can you please stand further away from me when you speak?” added Mo Fan.

The effects of Ash Garlic were almost instantaneous. The foul breath was so extreme that even the undead would accuse them of not brushing their teeth. Any undead who were obsessed with cleanliness would simply avoid coming close to them.

The woman in black silk spoke for the first time as the group was weaving through the packs of undead. Her voice was so pleasant that it felt like a melody descending from the sky. The only thing lacking was emotion, or perhaps her otherworldliness was the reason why it was so alluring.

“Is it always like this here?” she asked.

Shorty was surprised by the question, and quickly answered. “Not quite, but since the Drifting Sand River became restless, the presence of death here has grown stronger, too. Some say that the new era of the undead has arrived. It’s possible, since if the undead has a new ruler, it’s reasonable for this to happen.”

“A new ruler?” asked the black silk woman.

“No one has seen him before, but everyone knows he exists… they call him the Undead Emperor. Rumors say he was the emperor of the Tang Dynasty,” Shorty replied quickly, showing off how knowledgeable he was.

“How many years has it been since your Tang Dynasty?” asked the black silk woman.

“Our?” Shorty was startled.

Mo Fan’s eyes flickered too. He finally noticed something from the woman’s speech. First, she was not a local; no wonder her Chinese sounded unnatural.

“Over a thousand years,” Shorty did not specify the actual year.

“A thousand year emperor…” the woman mumbled to herself, without asking any further questions.

The woman did not ask further, but Shorty was trying to show off. He added, “Exactly, the undead’s strength is dependent on the years they have lasted. The longer they exist, the stronger they are. It is impossible to tell what kind of monster will be born after being nurtured by the presence of death for a thousand years.”

The history of this world was the same as the world he came from. The knowledgeable Mo Fan immediately recalled that the Tang Dynasty’s capital was here at Xi’an, too. If this whole place had turned into the Land of Undead, it was possible for the emperors during the ancient times to turn into undead too…

“These goddamned emperors in ancient times. They have been dead for so many years, yet they still want to conquer the underworld and our world at night!” cursed Mo Fan.

“It’s common to build an emperor’s tomb at places deemed favorable through feng shui, so it’s not a surprise that they would turn into undead after absorbing the energy of the Heaven and Earth. Everyone is saying that the undead has a new ruler, which I find very amusing. It sounds like they knew who the ruler was before. I bet even the undead don’t know, let alone us humans,” replied Shorty.

“Is there really no one that has seen this ruler of the undead before?” asked Liu Ru.

Shorty shook his head and said honestly, “Even the strongest Magician has never met him before. Speaking of which, a few foreigners who claimed to be from the Holy Judgment Court, each of them a strong Magician, did not come back alive. I heard that they all ended up turning into undead… those foreigners only know how to add to our misery!”

Shorty suddenly realized that the black silk woman was not a local, too. He corrected himself with a hollow laugh, “I’m not referring to you.”

“It’s fine, I’m happy to hear jokes about the Holy Judgment Court.” The black silk woman’s eyes flickered with a hint of gloating.

Holy Judgment Court?

Mo Fan felt like he had heard the name before; a Magic Organization in Europe, an existence similar to the Enforcement Union in China.

The Enforcement Union was responsible for arresting and executing evil Magicians. However, the Holy Judgment Court’s purpose sounded like Ultraman: to protect the world’s peace.

“I will probably meet some of the people from other countries’ organizations during the World College Tournament,” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The area around Xianchi was always covered in thin sand. Rumors said that the sands would be absorbed by the undead like nutrients after being exposed to the presence of death for some time.

Along the journey, Mo Fan did discover quite a number of undead were collecting the white sand that had stored some energy of the moon and death, like trying to scoop up gold in waves.

These undead were a fair distance away from the outer walls of the city. They were roaming aimlessly, trying to find anything useful for themselves, like scavenging bones and body remains that were chewed up by wild dogs…

“With such an effective way to avoid contact with the undead, doesn’t that mean they aren’t as scary as we thought?” asked one of the companions of the black silk woman with a thick beard.

“Ash Garlic is harder to find than gold. They simply cannot be planted, as they only grow in bunches at places crowded with undead, relying on the dead as their source of nutrients. Only the people from the villages outside the walls know how to retrieve them. However, the number of Ash Garlic produced every year is limited. If it weren’t for my brother here, who’s a half-blood from one of the villages, there’s no way we could get our hands on them,” smiled Shorty.

The muscular man also wore a smile, his eyes sneakily cast a glance at the black silk woman. It was likely that neither of them had ever seen a beauty like her before.

“The Sunny Goat Village is not far ahead. The night is still long, we should rest there for now,” said Shorty, pointing at a hill nearby.

“Every village has its rules. You all should obey them if you’re planning to enter one,” the muscular man reminded them. The group nodded in agreement.

They successfully arrived at the hill. As they proceeded down the hill, everyone was expecting to see a human village right in the middle of the Land of the Undead. However, as they glanced down the hill, all that was left between the rivers and the mountains were piles of logs. There was no sign of a village!

They quickly glanced in other directions, yet all they saw was black soil. There was nothing else, apart from a few lower grounds leading to some caves!

“Are you trying to trick us?” snapped the man with the beard.

“I…I have no idea what’s going on!” Shorty seemed dumbfounded, and glanced at the muscular man.

The muscular man’s eyes were filled with astonishment, too, as if he could not believe his eyes.

He started running down the slope.

Not a single hut could be seen among the piles of logs scattering across the place, let alone a village!

However, the muscular man acted as if he had gone mad. He completely ignored the zombies that were roaming nearby.

“The map did say that Sunny Goat Village is right here…” said Liu Ru, after she checked the map.

“Yeah, it’s impossible that the map is wrong. I swear I wasn’t lying!” blurted out Shorty.

“Where’s the village, then?”

“I don’t know.”

“Unless…”

They were easily convinced that Sunny Goat Village was supposed to be here based on the reaction of the muscular man. Yet, the entire village had somehow disappeared.

If there were still fences around the boundary or debris and stuff scattered across the place, it would easily prove the existence of a village prior to their arrival, yet all that was left were some logs, and the rest was pitch-black soil, nothing else.

“Does this mean that the village has fallen victim to the undead, too?” asked Liu Ru.

“Perhaps, maybe the new ruler of the undead didn’t bother giving any face to these locals…”

The group headed down the hill and discovered that the place where the village was supposed to be had obvious burn marks. The piles of logs were likely used as the fuel. A soft breeze swept a cloud of ash into the air.

“There isn’t any dead body, but there are burn marks everywhere. It’s hard to tell what happened here,” the bearded man told the black silk woman.

“Even if anything happened, we won’t see any corpses here,” Mo Fan pointed at the undead roaming nearby.

The villagers would have turned into undead if they were dead. The place was covered in ash, and it was impossible to see any trace of blood.

“What should we do now?” said the black silk woman’s other companion.

“We can only head for the next village, but if the next one is also the same…” said the black silk woman.

Shorty nodded as he shared the same thought.

Mo Fan and Liu Ru had no other suggestion, hence they both nodded in agreement.

“Let’s go, come, you won’t find anything here. It’s likely that they have moved, don’t lose hope yet,” Shorty said to the muscular man.

The muscular man was rational enough. He proceeded to lead the way when he realized that there was no trace of the dead villagers nearby. The group departed for Hua Village.

“It will take us around two days to reach Hua Village from here. We were supposed to rest up at Sunny Goat Village during the night to preserve the amount of Ash Garlic we have… it looks like we’ll run out of them on our way to Hua Village,” said Shorty sternly.

Obviously, the shortage of Ash Garlic was a very serious problem for the group.

Shorty suggested the group return to the Ancient Capital first and wait until the muscular man could get more supply Ash Garlic from his people. However, the muscular man implied that he would need at least a few months to get more…

“Forget it, it’s going to waste too much time if we head back now. Just lead the way,” said the man with the mustache.

Mo Fan and Liu Ru had the same thought, too. It was impossible to tell what would happen if they were to drag things on further.

“Don’t worry,” the black silk woman said. She glanced at Shorty and said pleasantly, “I realize that not all areas are crowded with the undead along the way here. We’ll try not to rely on the Ash Garlic later, unless we’re surrounded by too many undead at once,”

“That sounds like a good idea,” said Shorty.

Mo Fan nodded too, exclaiming inside, It’s rare to see a busty woman with a brain!

——

At to the black silk woman’s suggestion, the group did not eat any more Ash Garlic during the second half of the night…

When they were around three to four li away from Sunny Goat Village, they could feel the unfriendly gaze from the undead nearby.

The undead was roaming around aimlessly in groups of two or three. They were mostly zombies, nothing extraordinary apart from their terrifying looks.

“Here they come,” hissed Shorty.

A zombie who was using a rock to grind his teeth seemed to have scented human flesh. His head rotated stiffly and his green glowing eyes locked onto the black silk woman, who was the closest to him.

The black silk woman’s eyes did not show any emotion, not even the usual panic and disgust an ordinary woman would show when facing the filthy creature.

Her companion with the beard stepped forward. An icy Star Pattern appeared under his feet like frost…

“Ice Lock!” As the man raised his hands, the frost produced a thick chain.

The chain lunged at the zombie that was trying to attack the black silk woman and immediately tied him up.

“Bone Husk!”

The man clenched his fist, controlling the ice chain to clench tightly!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sound produced when bones were crushed gave the group goosebumps.

In a few seconds, the zombie had simply turned into a lump of frozen meat. Although it did not die completely, it was no longer able to move.

“A Li, don’t waste your energy,” said the black silk woman when she saw the man with the beard used an Intermediate Spell to kill a mere zombie.

The man called A Li immediately performed a strange gesture in a seemingly obedient manner.

“By the way, we’ve spent a long time on this journey, yet we still don’t know what to call each other?” asked Shorty with a chuckle. He was long aware that the woman’s identity was nothing ordinary.

“Ye Meng’e, Ye as in ye zi (leaf), Meng as in meng jing (dream), and e as in e’nuo (elegant), you can call me Meng’e.” The black silk woman seemed fairly serious when introducing herself, as if she was afraid that she would make a mistake.

{TL Note: ‘e’ here pronounced like ‘uhh’}

Mo Fan chuckled when he heard the name, “Is this a Chinese name you just came up with?”

The black silk woman did not answer the question, but asked, “Is there something strange about the name?”

“E as in e’nuo… Meng’e, it’s rare to see a Chinese with this name. To be honest, Cuihua sounds better. You can even add it to your surname, like Elizabeth Cuihua, to show that you’re knowledgeable in both cultures,” Mo Fan said wisely.

{TL Note: Cuihua is a very common name for females in the 70s, and the name has become an Internet meme in China.}

Shorty, muscular man, and Liu Ru were Chinese, hence they almost vomited the Ash Garlic out when they heard Mo Fan’s words! The guy was simply pulling a joke on the woman from foreign countries!

Meanwhile, the black silk woman nodded as if she had learned a great deal from it, assuming that she would consider Mo Fan’s suggestion. It was most likely that her two companions were not Chinese, either. It was impressive enough that they knew how to speak Chinese, but they would never understand the meaning behind the name.

“Don’t listen to him, sister, you have a nice name!” Liu Ru quickly betrayed Mo Fan.

The black silk woman giggled, she did not seem too bothered by the joke.

“Uhh, can we call you that, too?” asked the man with the beard, A Li.

The black silk woman simply cast a glance at the man, who immediately shrugged, not daring to say anything further.

—

Along the journey, Shorty and the two subordinates following Meng’e were dealing with most of the roaming undead.

They were quite lucky, as they had yet to stumble into a burial ground. The group remained safe until dawn was approaching, allowing them to preserve the Ash Garlic.

“One more hour until daytime,” said Shorty, glancing at his watch.

“I thought the undead of the Ancient Capital are terrifying, yet aren’t they just a bunch of brain-dead zombies?” said A Li with a grin.

“Bro, please don’t say that the Land of the Undead is cursed. You shouldn’t say something like that!” said the muscular man.

A Li continued to wear his grin, simply ignoring the warning.

The ground ahead was loose and fully pitch-black. Meanwhile, the sky was covered in thick clouds.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, instantly revealing the dull stormy clouds connected to the pitch-black land into the distance, as if the group was walking in endless darkness.

The air suddenly felt a lot heavier. Thunder claps began to echo above the clouds, followed by huge raindrops falling to the ground. Their impact was strong enough to splatter the mud!

“Shit, it’s raining!” cursed Shorty.

Right after he finished the sentence, heavy rain poured down, followed by flashes of lightning refracted across the sky by the raindrops.

The water was pouring heavily. Stepping on the loose ground suddenly felt like walking in mud.

Another flash lightning flickered in the sky, revealing a blood-red tide sweeping in their direction.

The water splashed close to their feet out of nowhere and scared the group, yet the heavy rain was preventing them from seeing what was ahead. They could not tell whether it was time for them to eat the Ash Garlic.

“Quick, the rain can wash away the foul breath from the Ash Garlic!” the muscular man told them.

“Does that mean the Ash Garlic is ineffective on rainy days?” asked Mo Fan.

“That’s right!”

Mo Fan instantly felt like swearing, but the rain was too strong. He was totally not in the mood to complain, as he had to find a shelter from the rain as soon as possible.

“Do we seriously not have any Water Magicians?” asked Mo Fan.

Unfortunately, no one responded.

A Water Magician would have cast Water Barrier: Circulation on everyone in the group, preventing the rain from touching them.

The two subordinates of the black silk woman reacted quickly. Even though they did not bring an umbrella with them, they quickly took off their jackets and used them to shield Meng’e from the rain, highlighting her extraordinary identity.

“Damn it, the blood water is rising, it’s most likely that there’s a powerful undead nearby!” Shorty interpreted based on his experience.

“Are you serious? Look at this rain; we would simply be covered in mud trying to fight here!” grumbled Mo Fan.

“What did I say, this Land of the Undead is cursed. Don’t say anything stupid!” the muscular man blamed it on A Li’s smart remark.

The group moved forward through the mud at a gradually increasing pace.

The place they were currently at was in a valley. They had no chance of finding shelter, unless they headed for the Qinling Mountains.

The demon beasts in Qinling Mountains did welcome humans. It was likely that they had already preheated the oil and pot, and were only waiting for humans to walk into them.

Suddenly, roars that could make one’s heart pound heavily came from their sides.

Liu Ru was the closest to the sound. She turned her head around and immediately shivered in fear!

In the midst of the rain, a strong zombie like an ox came closer, with Liu Ru as its target!

The creature had a few arms, each holding a rusty hatchet. The raindrops washed the blood stains on the hatchets away, making the creature look even more terrifying, as it was impossible to tell how many humans had the hatchets killed!

The creature had a body as strong as an ox and hideous limbs, yet most terrifyingly, its enormous body had a tiny woman’s head whose hair was dangling messily in front, with a sinister, evil face under the hair!

The woman’s head opened her mouth and uttered a blurry, unpleasant scream, “Why…why did you leave me!?!”

The voice sounded completely out of place. Even though it was speaking a human language, it was filled with the extreme hatred of the devil!

“Holy crap, who the heck are you!?” Mo Fan quickly pulled Liu Ru to his side.

The group stared at the Hatchet Corpse General, goosebumps rising all over their bodies. It was impossible to tell how many dead bodies were used to construct the Hatchet Corpse General to give it such a hideous appearance!

“Corpse General, it’s a Giant Corpse General! We’re done, it’s over!” Shorty stared at the Corpse General in fear, fighting a strong urge to flee for his life.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Shit, lots of zombies are heading in our direction. They seem to be following this Corpse General’s order!” yelled A Li.

“Don’t panic; A Xing, A Li, you two handle the zombies,” said the black silk woman Meng’e.

Her hair was soaking wet from the rain. Even her black veil had almost fallen off from her attractive face.

Everyone thought they would never have the chance to see her face because of the veil, yet she did not seem to be bothered. She tore the veil off and threw it to the ground, revealing a jade-white, perfect face…

It did not turn out to be a full western face. Without taking a closer look, it did not have any huge difference compared to the looks of an Eastern woman, but her eyes were glittering like stars. Her eyelashes, with raindrops dangling at the edges, were extraordinarily attractive!

Mo Fan had long dreamt of seeing her face, and his wish had just come true, yet since the filthy Corpse General, serving as a great contrast to the woman’s beauty, was standing right before them, he had no time to indulge in her gorgeous looks…

Meng’e seemed to know Mo Fan’s strength. After sending her two subordinates to handle the zombies, she quickly went up to Mo Fan and Liu Ru and said firmly, “We’ll deal with it together!”

“Run, run you fools, there’s no way you can fight against a Giant Corpse General!” Shorty still showed a slight bit of conscience by not running for his life straightaway.

Shorty had spent years in the Ancient Capital. He was well aware of how terrifying a Corpse General was.

Most Undead were Servant-class, yet even a team of Intermediate Magicians could easily be overwhelmed by their numbers.

However, agitating a Corpse General was closer to a death sentence. The Corpse General could summon all the Undead within a kilometer to it. Even if they were able to kill several hundred Undead, there was no way they could hold off thousands of zombies rushing toward them like a surging current.

A Corpse General would be a nightmare for Intermediate Magicians, let alone this Giant Corpse General before them that had been nurtured by the Land of the Undead for decades!

Normally, only Advanced Magicians could handle a Giant Corpse General. Even a team consisting of the elites among Intermediate Magicians would be wiped out too!

“The whole place is filled with Undead. The rain has cut off the route we’re taking. We have nowhere to run to either, it will only be a matter of time until we’re caught. It’s almost dawn, let’s hold them off until then…” said Mo Fan.

Meng’e shared the same thought as Mo Fan. Running was meaningless in a situation like this. Not only was the Giant Corpse General enormous, its speed was incredible, too. A single roar would attract the Undead in the surroundings to intercept them. There was no way they could possibly escape from the creature.

The only choice was to eliminate the Giant Corpse General before a vast number of Undead arrived!

“Liu Ru, lure the zombies in that direction away,” said Mo Fan to Liu Ru after casting a glance in a certain direction in the rain.

Liu Ru nodded. She quickly disappeared into the rain.

“Can she handle it?” said the muscular man in astonishment when he saw the seemingly weak woman charging in the direction of the Undead by herself.

“Don’t worry, she’s not as weak as you have imagined,” said Mo Fan.

It was likely that Liu Ru’s current strength was stronger than the vampire Nie Dong. When she had first turned into a vampire, she was able to inflict serious damage to Nie Dong. Now that she had gotten used to the power, these zombies stood no chance against her!

Besides, even if she were overwhelmed by the zombies, the Undead would stop attacking her once she withdrew her presence. Strictly speaking, the breath she exhaled was not living, either.

“Come, come keep me company!” The Hatchet Corpse General’s hideous face twisted. The words it uttered sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

The cold rain poured down heavily. The Giant Corpse General swung its hatchets wildly at Mo Fan and Meng’e with pure brute force. The creature was not relying on the hatchets’ sharpness to murder its target, but simply using their weight to crush its prey!

“Fleeing Shadow!”

“Fleeing Shadow!”

Mo Fan uttered the chant of the Spell. His figure blended with the shadow and sank into the ground in the rain, and quickly moved over twenty meters away.

Similarly, Meng’e also possessed the Shadow Element. Her Fleeing Shadow was third-tier, hence her speed was slightly slower than Mo Fan’s, and the Spell did not summon two shadows.

After creating some distance from the Hatchet Corpse General, Mo Fan glanced at Meng’e and could only see her blurry gorgeous face in the rain, “Try and control its movement with Giant Shadow Spike, I’ll attract its attention.”

Meng’e nodded. Her glamorous figure vanished into thin air once again.

“Lightning Strike!”

Mo Fan instantly cast the Basic Lightning Spell. The fourth-tier Lightning Strike produced several lightning eels close to the target, while the rain conducted the electricity too, resulting in a succession of crackling noises!

Mo Fan controlled the Lightning Strike and created an electric field in the direction the Hatchet Corpse General was heading. The space-shaking effect of the purple-black lightning flickers spread the lightning arcs even further.

The Hatchet Corpse General was just about to lunge at Mo Fan when it set its foot into the electric field. Its soaking wet body helped to conduct the electricity into it.

Unfortunately, the bones and muscles of Undead were dead to begin with. On top of that, the Hatchet Corpse General had fairly thick and sturdy skin. The paralyzing effect was not effective enough to immobilize the creature, it only slowed it down.

The Hatchet Corpse General was fairly invulnerable. Even a fourth-tier Basic Spell was nowhere near enough to stop it. It charged at Mo Fan wildly after receiving the Lightning Strike, swinging the giant hatchets like a meat lawnmower!

“Blood Tabi!”

Mo Fan did not preserve his strength. He used his Boot Equipment straightaway.

Accumulating the force under the feet, Mo Fan leapt sideways into the air over ten meters away, dodging the Giant Corpse General’s tank-like charge.

However, as soon as Mo Fan landed on the ground, the Hatchet Corpse General had already recovered from its momentum and arrived before him. It lashed out with the four hatchets!

Mo Fan was astounded by the Corpse General’s speed. As Shorty mentioned, even a team of Intermediate Magicians was not enough to take the creature down.

Luckily Mo Fan was prepared for it, as the place he landed was dark enough for him to cast the Fleeing Shadow.

As soon as the Corpse General swung its hatchets down, Mo Fan sank into the ground in the form of a shadow…

The shadow quickly split into two. One of them moved into the distance like a black stray cat running past at night.

The Giant Corpse General quickly assumed the human was trying to run away as soon as it saw the shadow moving away quickly. It started running after the shadow before its swinging arms came to a stop, and proceeded to smash the shadow into pieces a few seconds later…

“This Giant Corpse General is most likely stronger than the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast!” Mo Fan’s came out from the shadow and fixed his eyes on the Giant Corpse General!

Warrior-level creatures could be further categorized into different levels. Back then, the group had consisted of students who were all Intermediate Magicians, yet they were almost wiped out by the traps set up by the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast in the abandoned Jinlin City…

In comparison, the Giant Corpse General was even stronger than the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast that relied on traps to hunt its prey. Its fighting capacity was shocking; even experienced Hunters were no match for it!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Giant Corpse General immediately turned around after realizing that it had picked the wrong target. The woman’s head let out a shriek at Mo Fan.

The cold breeze swept past Mo Fan’s face along with some raindrops. The Blood Tabi was still activated, he was able to dodge the Corpse General’s attack from the current distance.

The Corpse General stomped forward and swung its axes wildly. Several zombies nearby were simply slashed into pieces without noticing…

“Giant Shadow Spike!”

Meng’e finally finished casting her Intermediate Shadow Spell as the Corpse General was just about to charge forward.

She released an icy aura of the Shadow Element. The dark energy was a lot stronger than the power that Mo Fan possessed. It was obvious that Meng’e had a relatively high-quality Shadow Seed!

The three Giant Shadow Spikes disappeared into the rain.

Meng’e did not delay the Giant Shadow Spikes. She knew that the situation was not in their favor, so she quickly fired the three Giant Shadow Spikes at the Corpse General!

Mo Fan’s Basic Lightning Spell was unable to paralyze the Giant Corpse General, but the Giant Shadow Spikes were extremely effective when used to immobilize their target!

The first Giant Shadow Spike immediately nailed the Corpse General to its position, preventing it from moving around. It felt like the spike had penetrated its waist and stuck into the ground. The Corpse General was unable to break free from the spike despite struggling wildly.

After the second Giant Shadow Spike landed, the Corpse General had trouble making noise. Its arms stopped all of a sudden in mid-movement. Its bloodshot eyes were glaring at Meng’e.

As the third spike landed, the Corpse General shivered in pain, as if it had suffered a great blow to its spirit!

The Giant Shadow Spike was effective against the ferocious Corpse General, giving Mo Fan some time to catch his breath. He proceeded to draw a Lightning Star Pattern!

“Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes!”

Mo Fan was surrounded by flickers of electricity. As he pointed at the Corpse General’s head, several purple lightning strikes descended fiercely.

The fierce lightning blasted the Corpse General’s body open. The flesh that was as hard as a tank scattered in the air, leaving a huge hole in the creature’s body.

Following a few other lightning strikes, the Corpse General’s body was clearly being blown apart, blood pouring out like a fountain.

Any other creature would be half-dead after suffering the successive blows, yet the damage to the undead creature was minimal.

They could simply replenish the flesh and skin they had lost by devouring other creatures. As long as the joints supporting their movement were intact, they would still be very much alive.

The Corpse General wriggled its blood-soaked body. The Giant Shadow Spike began to loosen up under the enormous pressure.

The power of the Giant Shadow Spikes was limited. If a creature’s strength reached a certain level, it would simply break free from the Giant Shadow Spikes.

The Corpse General soon freed itself from the Giant Shadow Spikes. The creature seemed to be humiliated by the injury it had just suffered. The woman’s head on its body suddenly lashed out with a long tongue.

The tongue flicked towards Mo Fan. Even Mo Fan’s Blood Tabi was not quick enough to dodge the extended tongue!

The tongue wrapped around Mo Fan’s left foot and hoisted him into the air upside down.

Mo Fan lost his balance. He could sense the Corpse General approaching him.

Once the tongue dragged him to the Corpse General’s side, he would either be chopped into minced meat or bitten to death by the woman’s head.

The woman’s head was no longer just a normal human’s head. Her mouth had taken up almost half of the entire face, it felt like her forehead had cracked open all the way to the back of her skull…

Meng’e was suddenly lost, not knowing how to save Mo Fan when she saw him being dragged away. She could only hear Mo Fan yelling in the air, “Use some other Magic!”

Meng’e immediately drew a Star Pattern without hesitation.

A thought crossed Mo Fan’s mind as he was dragged closer to the Corpse General. His figure was immediately covered in a blue-black glow!

The glow was not produced by radiation. It was actually coiling around Mo Fan’s joints like a soft ribbon. Initially, only one or two wisps of the blue-black glow were wrapping around his body, but his entire figure was soon encapsulated by the light!

The Corpse General raised two of its axes and flung them in Mo Fan’s direction.

A brilliant light scattered in the air. The hatchets struck his chest. Any human would simply be torn apart by the enormous force…

However, instead of the sound of flesh being torn apart, a piercing metallic screech rang out when the hatchets landed on Mo Fan!

Mo Fan slammed to the ground right in front of the Corpse General’s feet. When the creature realized that the guy was still alive, it furiously raised its hammer foot and stomped down on his abdomen.

Mo Fan was suffering from slight dizziness, yet he was still able to complete the Shadow Element Star Pattern in the short amount of time he had. His figure sank into the shadow just as the Corpse General was trying to stomp him flat. He quickly moved to the side.

The Corpse General’s stomp missed. On top of that, it could not tell which of the two shadows was the real Mo Fan. As a result, it swung all four arms around, two hatchets slashing at the shadow on the left and two others at the right!

Mo Fan had just crawled out from the shadow when he was struck by the hacking axes.

The weapon dealt a great blow to the guy before he could even establish a foothold, sending him flying in an arc in the rain, slamming into a pit as he landed on the muddy ground.

“Holy f**k!”

Mo Fan rose to his feet in pain. He could feel the taste of blood surging in his throat.

He looked down and saw several deep scratches on the Black Snake Armor. The material of the armor was relatively soft. Although the Corpse General did not break a hole in it, the force still penetrated the armor into Mo Fan’s body. It felt like all his organs were almost dislocated!

Meng’e glanced at Mo Fan in astonishment.

It was clear that the man’s blue-black snake scale magic Armor was incredibly high-quality. It was still in one piece after receiving a direct blow from the Corpse General!

“Dimensional Summoning!”

A lunar-white gap appeared in front of Meng’e.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sound of rapid galloping came from the gap, sounding like it was approaching from a great distance…

The next second, Mo Fan who was still recovering from the blow, saw a great black horse leaping out from the lunar-white gap. Its body was covered in dense black hair, with a black mist floating around it.

The horse had a single horn, which was also black in color, emitting a flicker of black lightning.

A figure wearing black armor was sitting on the back of the horse. It looked similar to a human, yet the heavy, European-../style armor was completely empty inside!

“What the hell is this?” asked the astonished Mo Fan.

He was also a Summoner, yet his Dimensional Summoning was only able to Summon a wolf-type creature. It was quite impressive that he had managed to level up his beast to his current stage. To Mo Fan’s surprise, the girl’s Dimensional Summoning had Summoned an even rarer creature.

A Dark Knight?

The figure indeed resembled a warrior sitting on an elegant black horse, holding a half-crescent scimitar in his hand. However, for some reason, the raindrops were evaporated instantly when they landed on it.

“Dark Knight!”

Meng’e immediately ordered the imperious Dark Knight to deal with the Giant Corpse General.

Mo Fan did not summon the Swift Star Wolf, as his Summoned Creature was no match for the Giant Corpse General. It was likely that the creature would die in the fight, but the Dark Knight whom Meng’e had Summoned looked fairly promising. But since Dimensional Summoning was only a Basic Spell, there would be a limit to the Summoned Creature’s strength.

It was possible that the woman was only trying to buy them some time!

Mo Fan could still feel his blood rumbling inside his body. The Black Snake Magic Armor had negated most of the damage, yet the same principle applied; the Magician still had to endure the force from the hit.

Mo Fan, who was unable to move for the time being was watching Meng’e from afar, hoping that she could hold on until he recovered.

The horse uttered a shriek and raised its front limbs as the knight signaled from atop the saddle.

The stomp sent the muddy water splattering. However, the horse had already turned into a black arrow dashing forward with a wild gust of wind at the Giant Corpse General before the droplets even landed.

The knight on the horse held the scimitar with a reverse grip and leaned forward…

Meanwhile, the Giant Corpse General raised its four arms, waiting for the unique Darkness Creature to present itself!

The knight and the horse almost became one, sweeping through the rain like a black arrow.

The Giant Corpse General was just about to fling its arms down, but the Dark Knight was already behind it…

The scimitar was drawn out from its sheath, leaving a long slash in the rain. The Giant Corpse General had yet to realize that its body was already left with a giant hole. Its sturdy body shuddered for a second, before blood and water poured out from it!

Mo Fan took a deep breath.

Wasn’t this Dark Knight a bit too quick? It simply finished the attack within the blink of an eye!

The Swift Star Wolf was well-known for his speed, yet he was still a few levels lower than the Dark Knight. The Giant Corpse General was already left with a great hole before it managed to bring its arms down!

The Dark Knight did not stop and remain in his cool posture, quickly turning the horse around after finishing his blow. He utilized the momentum of the spin to execute a slash to the General’s back!

The black half-crescent sword slashed forward, the view even more stunning in the rain.

The sharp edge landed on one of the Giant Corpse General’s limbs. Its limb, with flesh as hard as rock, was cleanly amputated after making contact with the blade.

As the Giant Corpse General’s arm fell to the ground, the filthy creature uttered a seemingly pained or furious cry. It raised its other three limbs and charged at the Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight was incredibly fast with his sword. Despite facing the sequence of wild attacks from the three arms, it looked like he was drawing a web with the movements of his sword, completely nullifying the attacks from the Giant Corpse General.

Mo Fan was left speechless. Isn’t this Dark Knight somehow too powerful? Not only did he inflict serious damage to the Giant Corpse General with only two attacks, he could defend himself against the filthy creature’s attacks!

“Try to recover quickly, my cultivation isn’t strong enough. I can only Summon him for a limited time,” Meng’e reminded Mo Fan.

Mo Fan felt better after hearing the words.

Meng’e had obviously cast a Basic Summoning Spell, yet if a Basic Spell alone could summon such a powerful Darkness Creature, she would not be afraid of the Giant Corpse General.

As he thought, an exceedingly strong Summoned Creature would have limitations. Not only was the Dark Knight able to fight fearlessly against the Giant Corpse General, he had the upper hand in the battle, too! It implied that the Dark Knight was one of the strongest species in the Summoning Dimension, and usually, it was fairly difficult to control such creatures!

“&lt;Sword Burst Ultimate!&gt;” the Dark Knight uttered in English. Mo Fan did not understand him, but he could easily tell that the knight was speaking in the human tongue!

A few rounds later, the Dark Knight moved nimbly and secured the perfect chance for a counterattack. He struck at lightning speed and immediately pulled back…

A few moments later, the arm where the hit landed suddenly burst apart with the formidable energy of darkness. The energy exploded and blasted another limb of the Giant Corpse General to pieces!

The Dark Knight had amputated another arm of the Giant Corpse General!

The Giant Corpse General was now covered in wounds. As Mo Fan was hoping the Dark Knight could simply finish the Giant Corpse General off, the knight suddenly sheathed his sword and galloped off into the distance!

His figure slowly merged with the darkness in the rain. Even though he was fairly close, it looked like he had gone into a different dimension, slowly vanishing into thin air…

If it weren’t for the blood, amputated limbs and sword marks around him, it felt like the Dark Knight had not even appeared. He had simply come and gone in a mysterious way!

The time was too short!

The Dark Knight was powerful, yet the duration he could stay was less than a tenth of the Swift Star Wolf!

“It’s seriously injured. Don’t give it any chance to come close to us,” said Meng’e.

“My turn!” Mo Fan decisively drew another Lightning Star Pattern.

“Thunderbolt!”

Stormy clouds appeared above. Mo Fan, who had managed to catch his breath, immediately unleashed the full strength of the Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes.

The power of the lightning was more than enough to inflict damage to the Giant Corpse General, and slammed its enormous body to the ground, leaving the creature covered in blood and holes trembling in fear!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Giant Corpse General’s blood and liquid were splattering across the place. Its wild attacks had finally weakened.

The rain still fell heavily. Suddenly, a huge lump of mud sprouted into the air. Mo Fan was just about to cast a Lightning Spell to inflict serious damage on the Giant Corpse General. To his surprise, several zombies covered in mud suddenly appeared nearby. The zombies were heading for Mo Fan with their filthy mouths at surprising speed!

Mo Fan turned around and saw the zombies breaking through the defense set up by A Li and A Xing. The wave of them was rolling forward like a black current.

Mo Fan had no choice but to interrupt his Intermediate Spell. His figure was surrounded by a Lightning Strike, creating an electric field around him!

The electric field covered the area within thirty meters of Mo Fan’s feet. The zombies that were lunging at him were paralyzed instantly…

Lightning Strike was ineffective against the Warrior-level Giant Corpse General, yet it was more than enough to handle these Servant-class undead!

A huge number of Undead were immobilized by Mo Fan’s electric field. The lightning serpents dashed across the ground and struck the zombies. Those that were close to Mo Fan were quickly scorched by lightning!

“There’s too many of them, we can’t hold on any longer!” yelled A Li.

His voice had come from a huge group of zombies. It seemed he was completely surrounded by the Undead.

“Same here,” Liu Ru’s voice said from the distance at the same time.

There were simply too many zombies after every undead within a kilometer was summoned here. The longer the fight went on, the more zombies would show up. On top of that, the Giant Corpse General never stopped uttering cries, summoning the zombies nearby as cannon fodder!

The team was completely surrounded by the undead. Despite the upper hand that the Dark Knight had granted them, the team soon found themselves in a pinch.

“Didn’t I ask you to run away before? Great, none of us can leave now!” complained Shorty.

The Giant Corpse General did not charge at them recklessly. It had suffered quite serious injuries. It continued to cry endlessly and watched from afar, waiting for the zombies to wear out the team!

The zombies uttered cries and shoved one another around to get closer to their target. Some even crawled onto the bodies of others.

Mo Fan was able to keep the situation under control with the electric field. Meng’e was standing close to Mo Fan, relying on his electric field to provide her with some relief. However, she wore a huge frown still, as the situation was fairly grim for the team.

She glanced at the sky and saw a thin ray of light barely making it through the rain!

“It will be daytime soon!” she reminded everyone.

Mo Fan glanced at the Giant Corpse General in the distance, and saw the creature wearing a vicious grin as it uttered an unsatisfied cry. The frenzied undead suddenly halted in place.

Faint sunlight shone down upon the place. The presence of death quickly dissipated.

Without the presence of death, the undead were like stranded fish, and began to jump around in a panic!

They uttered terrified cries and covered their heads, extremely vulnerable to sunlight, and proceeded to dig into the ground…

The Undead entrapping A Li and A Xing quickly ran away. As a matter of fact, it had been daytime for quite a while, yet the thick clouds and rain had delayed it.

Regardless of how weak the sunlight was, it was still light. Most importantly, once the presence of death which they breathed in dissipated, they would soon die to the sunlight if they did not return to the underground or back to their tombs!

The zombies flowed away like a falling tide, similar to how they came. The undead had given Mo Fan and his crew a horrifying experience. If the darkness had only lasted just a little longer, they would simply have died to the surrounding zombies!

“Thank Heaven…” swore Shorty, who was too lazy to wipe the sweat off his face.

Meng’e’s two subordinates, A Li and A Xing, no longer looked relaxed as before. They regrouped with Meng’e, not knowing what to do with the injuries they had. They simply lowered their heads and apologized for failing to protect their master.

Meng’e did not comment on it. She glanced at her rain-soaked clothes and her disheveled hair.

“Let’s find a place to hide from the rain first. It’s too cold. It’s easy to get sick like this,” said Liu Ru.

“It’s still some distance to Hua Village,” said the muscular man.

“Head for the Qinling Mountains, there should be a cave somewhere, we can stay there for now…” suggested Shorty.

“The demon beasts of Qinling Mountains aren’t easy to deal with…”

“Don’t worry, I know a place without them,” said Shorty.

——

The team followed Shorty towards the Qinling Mountains. The place was like a natural barrier, standing upright and firm. It was quite difficult to find a cave based on the structure of the mountain walls. After all, the walls were fairly steep. Not everyone could walk on the steep walls.

However, Shorty managed to lead everyone to a cave. It was located halfway along the walls, and could only be reached by climbing up some vines…

“There used to be a Blood Beast here. Our team killed the beast around a year ago, so there shouldn’t be any demon beasts living inside it,” Shorty spread apart the weeds covering the entrance of the cave.

A Xing snapped his fingers and summoned a puff of flame at the tip of his finger.

The flame lit up the cave. Even though there was a foul smell inside the cave, the air was fairly dry. It was a lot better than staying in the rain outside.

“You two, guard the entrance,” Meng’e said to her subordinates calmly.

The two nodded and guarded the path, not allowing anyone to go any deeper into the cave. Only Liu Ru, who was also a woman, was allowed to go past.

The eyes of Shorty and Mo Fan, the two perverts, flickered. They stood on their toes, trying to peek into the cave over the two subordinates…

Unfortunately, it was completely dark inside. It turned out that Meng’e had summoned a dark curtain, preventing Mo Fan, who also possessed the Shadow Element, from peeking inside.

The cave was quiet, with two men guarding the path and three other men waiting at the entrance. They could hear rustling from the cave as clothes slid across the women’s soft, tender skin. The men simply stared at one another, feeling their throats and mouths turning dry…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Try to peek again and I’ll dig your eye out!” snapped A Xing when he saw Shorty’s lewd acts.

“Who’s peeking? I’m just feeling a bit tired. By the way, that was such a close call, I thought we were done for!” Shorty sat on the ground, as if he was trying to imply that it was not worth it to go so far just for the money.

“It wasn’t supposed to be that bad, but the rain delayed the daylight,” said Mo Fan.

Not only was the Giant Corpse General powerful, it was also able to summon zombies to attack them. He initially thought they had a chance to eliminate the enormous creature, yet they were so close to being overwhelmed by the zombie horde!

The Land of the Undead was indeed terrifying. Even with their team’s strength, they were almost wiped out by the undead!

“We shouldn’t risk it since it’s still raining. The Ash Garlic isn’t working,” said the muscular man sternly.

“We can’t simply hide here if the rain somehow doesn’t stop anytime soon?” said Mo Fan.

“We should still wait for a while… right, those who are hurt should treat their wounds now, even if it’s only a little scratch. Those zombies are poisonous, the wounds will fester in a few hours!” said the experienced Shorty.

“Do we seriously have to wait until they are done changing? We’re all grown-ups, let’s just change here. The cold is bothering me,” suggested Mo Fan.

Everyone agreed with Mo Fan. They quickly took off their clothes and took out fresh clothes from the airtight packages in their bags.

—

The crackling from the bonfire was the only sound in the cave. Everyone was fairly tired from the epic battle. After treating their wounds and changing into dry clothes, they all laid down on some dry grass to rest up. Everyone was too tired to speak.

Meng’e had put on a new veil. It was a charming purple this time, concealing her attractive face.

“What are you doing here in the Land of the Undead?” asked Mo Fan.

Meng’e blinked and said softly with a faint smile, “We’ve got an uncooperative associate here, so we’re here to talk to him.”

“Oh, what organization are you from?” asked Mo Fan.

“Parthenon.”

“I think I’ve heard of it before.” Mo Fan fell into deep thought.

“Mm, it’s quite famous,” Meng’e nodded.

“Don’t tell me you’re a saintess, goddess, princess or something like that I’ve seen a lot of them on the TV, who cover their face and dress up in casual clothes to visit the commoners?” Mo Fan asked with a smile.

Meng’e was not the icy type. Even though her temperament felt like she was above the common populace, she was still willing to answer his questions.

The woman smiled and shook her head when she heard Mo Fan’s wild speculation, “I’m not that sacred. Hiding my face is only my personal preference, I think the veil is pretty.”

“Our country’s air quality isn’t great… wearing a veil won’t make any difference, even a mask is useless,” said Mo Fan.

Meng’e giggled softly. Her voice, holding a mix of charm and sanctity, echoed in the cave.

Shorty sat on the side, watching Mo Fan teasing Meng’e with a dull expression.

He finally ran out of patience, pulling Mo Fan to the side and whispering, “Brother, it’s I who found the woman first. Shouldn’t you behave yourself?”

“Brother, are you seriously stopping me when you’re trying to put up an act?” responded Mo Fan mercilessly.

Meng’e was fairly attractive, and together with her mysterious identity, why would a normal man like Mo Fan not have the right to communicate with her. It was obvious that the woman did enjoy chatting with an Eastern man who was both handsome and knowledgeable, like him!

“You’ve brought one yourself. You should look after her feelings instead. Can’t you leave Meng’e to me?” whispered Shorty.

“Idiot, who would complain about having too many girls? It’s quite a journey for her to travel all the way here to China, I should let her experience the charm and humor of a Chinese man!” shot back Mo Fan.

——

The rain poured down heavily. Hua Village looked blurry in the rain.

Gray sky, gray land, and a lonely village standing between the sky and the ground. All the colors it had were washed away by the rain.

However, even though the village was quite old, the wooden logs were constructed skillfully, able to withstand the wet and the icy wind. Each structure, whether it was a big compound with a front yard, or so small that it only had a single room, was incredibly warm once the furnace inside was lit.

“Stupid, why did you insist on plucking them when it’s raining? Look at yourself, hurry in and dry yourself…” a young girl around the age of twenty stood under the roof, stomping her foot. Her face was red, either from the blame or feeling shy.

In the rain, a skinny young man wearing a smile approached the entrance. He seemed hesitant to enter the house, as he was afraid that the mud on him would make the place dirty.

“Come on in, you’re going to get sick from the cold. You were in such bad shape before, too!” Su Xiaoluo dragged the young man into the house and quickly took his clothes off. As the man’s shoulders and the shocking scars on his chest were exposed, the girl stomped the ground again and murmured, “Do it yourself; I’ve been looking after you for quite some time. It’s not like I’ve not seen your naked body before!”

The skinny young man rubbed his head and let out an awkward smile.

The man quickly changed into some fresh clothes. Even though they were all made of sackcloth, they were very warm.

“These herbs are enough,” she sighed. “The plague around Xianchi is becoming more severe. The rain is speeding up the rate of it spreading, too. A few villages are already contaminated. Adults are still able to last quite some time, but the kids and the old folks are suffering greatly. Their bodies are a lot weaker… I won’t be looking after you now, I have to prepare the medicine,” Su Xiaoluo smiled at the young man and went into another room to prepare the herbs.

The skinny young man sat beside the furnace and gave her a smile.

Su Xiaoluo giggled and said, “Is smiling all you can do? You should try your best to remember who you are instead, you can’t live at my house for so long, the others would…would misunderstand it…” Su Xiaoluo’s voice became softer, as she felt rather embarrassed when saying that.

“Forget it, try and think about your past here.”

Su Xiaoluo turned around and walked toward the exit. However, after taking a few steps, she turned back and glanced at the shocking scar on the back of the young man’s head and uttered a sigh.

She had no idea what the man had gone through. The man was covered in wounds when she first saved him, but what shocked her the most was the blow to his head, which had almost cracked his skull open!

He was lucky enough to stumble into her, as she was a doctor. Otherwise, he would be dead by now!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Xiao Luo, is the medicine ready yet?” said a middle-aged man.

“It’s almost ready, come and sit by the fireplace,” Su Xiaoluo’s voice responded from inside the hut.

“Sure, I heard from Old Yang that you’ve already come up with a medicine. That brought joy to everyone. You know, since Uncle Guan passed away, we’re completely clueless when anyone contracts a disease. Luckily, we still have you…” the man smiled.

“Well, you should thank Fu Da instead. He still went to collect the herbs even though it’s raining so heavily outside,” said Su Xiaoluo.

{TL Note: Fu Da here means “big fortune”.}

“Oh, oh, I’ll go talk to Fu Da.”

Inside the hut, the fire in the furnace would crack at times, and sparks would jump out from the furnace and leave scorched marks nearby.

The middle-aged man was wearing a woven rush raincoat. He placed it in a bamboo basket, revealing a fairly well-preserved face, full of wrinkles when he was smiling, allowing anyone to easily guess his age.

“Fu Da, you’re a lucky man,” said the man Xie Sang with a smile, grabbing the skinny young man’s shoulder.

“It hurts,” the young man slowly turned around and said in an emotionless tone.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you have wounds here too,” Xie Sang smiled as he took a seat opposite the young man.

The young man sat there with a blank face, showing no response to Xie Sang’s words.

The man let out a sigh and asked, “Did he lost his memory, or completely turn into an idiot?”

“I don’t know, but he sure looks dumb,” replied Su Xiaoluo.

“It’s fine if he had only lost his memory, since he either suffered a great shock, or a great blow to the head. There’s still a chance that he will recover, but if he’s actually turned into an idiot, the chance of him recovering is very slim,” said Xie Sang.

“The medicine is ready!” Su Xiaoluo carried a bowl of pitch-black medicine over.

Xie Sang received the bowl, but almost knocked it over. Su Xiaoluo immediately reminded him that the medicine was still hot.

“Still so clumsy at your age, how could you possibly take good care of the village!?” Su Xiaoluo mocked him.

“Hehe, don’t blame me for not reminding you, you’re not young anymore; if you continue to stay in the same house with this guy…”

“Hurry up and deliver the medicine!”

“Alright.”

Su Xiaoluo patted her sore shoulders after Xie Sang left.

She glanced at Zhang Xiaohou, who was sitting in front of the fireplace like a wooden log and harrumphed when she saw that the guy was not paying any attention to her.

After a few harrumphs, Zhang Xiaohou still did not show any response. The girl immediately stomped her foot and turned around, not bother to waste any more time.

“Crap! This is bad!”

“Hide, everyone hide!”

A cry of panic came from outside.

Su Xiaoluo quickly pushed the windows open and saw Madam Xie running into the village in a panic. She was in such a rush that she even tripped and fell to the muddy ground.

“Madam Xie, what happened!?” exclaimed Su Xiaoluo.

“Undead, there’s an undead at the village’s entrance… the old man was eaten alive!…” the woman trembled.

“I’ll go and take a look…” Su Xiaoluo immediately put on her raincoat and went outside.

Zhang Xiaohou quickly followed behind when he saw her running out, as if he were afraid that something would happen to her.

More cries of panic from the villagers were heard. Those who were timid immediately fled deep into the village…

Su Xiaoluo and Zhang Xiaohou ran to the village’s entrance and saw the path covered in red stains. The blood had mixed with the rain, forming a little stream flowing out of the village.

A few young, strong villagers were standing in the rain with hoes and sickles. They did not dare to get any closer to the entrance, and were simply staring at the zombie that was eating the old man guarding the entrance…

“What happened? Didn’t he drink the water from the Kun Well?” Su Xiaoluo’s face turned pale after witnessing the gory scene.

“Of course he did, yet something’s wrong with this undead. It still attacked us… it’s most likely a mutated undead!” said a trembling villager with a hoe.

“It must be a curse, our Hua Village is cursed! Old He died to the undead a week ago, and another one died at night three days ago. Now, the undead are attacking us in the evening. Eventually, they will simply barge into the village… and eat all of us alive! It’s a curse, I told you we shouldn’t be involved in it, we’re cursed!” said another middle-aged villager who was completely terrified.

The zombie was extremely savage. It seemed unsatisfied after eating the old man’s organs, immediately pouncing at another villager that was trying to chase him away.

The young villager did not even have the chance to swing his sickle when the zombie simply bit his head off. Fresh blood jetted out from the stump, a shocking sight in the rain!

The villagers had relied on a unique way to avoid being attacked by the undead, yet when something went wrong, they could not even stop a zombie!

“Run!”

The rest of the villagers immediately fled into the village.

“We can’t let the zombie get inside the village!” Su Xiaoluo tried to tell the villagers, yet they had all run into the village straight away.

Su Xiaoluo clenched her teeth and made her way to the wooden barrier…

The zombie had yet to enter the village. If she could drop the wooden barrier at the entrance, she would be able to resolve the situation. The barrier was made of Ash Wood, something that the undead were not fond of. They would simply stay away from the village…

Su Xiaoluo ran toward the switch, yet the zombie’s glowing eyes were already fixed on her.

The zombie let go of the young villager that it had eaten half of and lunged at Su Xiaoluo like a starving stray dog.

“What are you doing? Are you out of your mind?” screamed a woman.

Su Xiaoluo turned around and saw the zombie running at her. Its speed was so shocking that it felt like it was right behind her within the blink of an eye.

“Fire Burst!”

“Rupture!”

In the nick of time, a puff of flame erupted in the rain and landed accurately on the zombie.

The fireball exploded and blasted the zombie away. Its body was shattered into pieces by the impact.

“You all have no chance against the undead, leave now!” said a young man with a frown.

The villagers who were running away reacted as if the young man was their life savior…

“Praise God, Hong Jun, you’re in the village. We’re safe!”

“Hong Jun, the zombie is quite fierce, shouldn’t you have waited for your father before trying to kill it?” the villagers quickly backed off and stood behind the young man called Hong Jun.

“Humph, it’s only a zombie, I can handle it myself!” declared Hong Jun, a hint of pride on his face!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A second fireball flew at the zombie that had killed two villagers. The explosion even burned the wooden barrier nearby.

The rain had weakened the power of the flames. The fire on the zombie was soon extinguished. The young man called Hong Jun spat on the ground disdainfully…

If it weren’t for the rain, his two Fire Bursts would have blasted the zombie to pieces!

The zombie did not die yet. It struggled to his feet and screamed at Hong Jun with its bloody mouth.

Its body was completely out of shape, yet that did not lower its speed. It simply dashed toward Hong Jun, running on all four limbs…

Another Fire Burst appeared on Hong Jun’s palm. Unfortunately, the Fire Burst missed the fast-moving zombie, which had already arrived in front of Hong Jun, leaving his face pale!

“Back off!” barked the voice of an old man. It was the village’s chief, the man who had come to take the medicine before, Xie Sang!

Xie Sang had rolling waves of energy around him. Following his cry, a surging tide swept toward the zombie.

The zombie was struck down by the raging tides in the air. It was completely immobilized by the rolling water, which swept it all the way outside of the barrier.

The wooden barrier was destroyed by the force. Meanwhile, the zombie was also swept far away, no longer posing a threat to the village.

The villagers let out a relieved sigh after seeing this. Luckily, their chief was an Intermediate Magician! Otherwise, they would be helpless against a mutated undead…

“Your pride almost cost you your life!” harrumphed Xie Sang coldly as he walked past Hong Jun.

Hong Jun quickly collected his thoughts, yet he showed no signs of remorse. He completely ignored the chief’s words and walked toward Su Xiaoluo. However, his eyes flickered with anger when he saw the wild man who had appeared out of nowhere helping Su Xiaoluo up from the ground.

He was the one that saved her, yet how did this guy get all the credit?

“It’s been years since we last saw a mutated undead… why would they appear out of nowhere?” Su Xiaoluo glanced after the undead that had been swept away by the magic.

“Who knows, but Xiao Luo, don’t you worry, with me here, the undead won’t hurt you!” declared Hong Jun.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohou had grabbed a black umbrella out of nowhere and was about to raise it above Su Xiaoluo’s head. To his surprise, Hong Jun snatched the umbrella away from him after thanking him rudely. The guy then shared the umbrella with Su Xiaoluo, pushing Zhang Xiaohou aside.

Su Xiaoluo was so occupied with the undead that she was unaware of all this. However, Hong Jun grinned and glanced at Zhang Xiaohou mockingly.

“I should go and take a look at the undead’s body,” Su Xiaoluo said firmly.

“I’ll go with you,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“You should just stay in the village. You’re just a dumbass who can’t even remember who you are. Didn’t you see how dangerous the undead was? I bet you will be the first to run when another zombie appears,” Hong Jun shoved Zhang Xiaohou aside and summoned a fireball on his palm, as if he were putting up a show.

“Stop with the childish act!” Su Xiaoluo rolled her eyes. She put on the raincoat and headed outside the barrier.

“Xiaoluo, don’t go, it’s too dangerous!…” warned Madam Xie.

A fairly tanned old man said noddingly, “Yeah, it’s too dangerous to go out of the village now.”

“It must be a curse, I told you we’re cursed!” screamed the same villager with a sharp face.

“Gouzi, can you stop scaring yourself?” said Hong Jun.

Xie Sang stood on the side. Most villagers had arrived at the entrance, and immediately panicked when they saw the two corpses on the ground. They quickly gathered around their chief.

The villagers had grown up drinking from the well. As long as they drank from the well every month, they would not be attacked by the undead, thus the village did not need the protection of Magicians… but considering that the place was fairly close to Qinling Mountains, there might be demon beasts looking for food, too. The water from the well was not effective against the demon beasts, hence normally the village would have one or two Magicians, and they would be appointed chief most of the time…

Now that a mutated undead had appeared, the Magicians who were the only way to deal with the undead became extremely important to the village.

“Xiaoluo, go and see what’s wrong with that zombie. Hong Jun, you two, just in case there are zombies like it out there. Fu Da, you should stay here. You’re not from our village, so you haven’t been drinking the water from the well. The ordinary zombies would attack you, too,” said Xie Sang.

The chief Xie Sang called a few other fearless young men to go with them. Su Xiaoluo led them out and headed for the hole where the broken barrier was swept away by the rolling waves.

The zombie ended up quite far away, at least one or two hundred meters from the village. The villagers usually would avoid coming out at night. Even though the undead would not attack them, who could possibly guarantee that they wouldn’t stumble into creatures that simply killed anything they saw?

The others were too afraid to leave the village. They simply stood at the barrier and watched the group leave.

It was around evening, their range of vision was fairly low due to the rain. They could at best see three to four hundred meters into the distance. However, it would turn completely dark in a few minutes.

Su Xiaoluo, Hong Jun and three other young men approached the rotten corpse. Su Xiaoluo was a doctor, thus she was not too afraid of a dead body. She knelt down and began to inspect the corpse.

“Can…can you hurry up?”

“It’s just a dead body, nothing fascinating…”

Two of the young men spoke out nervously, too scared to stay here in the outside.

Hong Jun said with a laugh, “Why are you two so scared when I’m here?”

“Yeah, that’s right, Brother Hong Jun is a Fire Magician, a third-level Basic Magician!”

“Isn’t that quite impressive, even in the outside world?” wondered another young man.

“I think so.”

Su Xiaoluo frowned as she slowly rose to her feet. The others immediately asked her about the reason that the zombie had attacked them.

“It’s only an ordinary zombie,” concluded Su Xiaoluo.

“How’s that possible? We’ve been drinking the water from the well for generations. We should be protected. Every family in our village has just gone through the Rituals of the Well God. Why would a normal undead attack us?” asked one of the young men.

Su Xiaoluo fell silent, as she could not find an answer for the question.

Hong Jun was not too bothered by it. He was just about to comfort the girl when an eerie voice came from nearby in the midst of the rain…

It sounded like someone dragging their feet, something munching on rotten flesh, joints crackling, etc. The sound grew louder from all directions.

“Oh heavens!” one of the young men screamed. Hong Jun turned around and saw countless pairs of bloodshot eyes staring at them!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Before anyone could react, a fast zombie lunged forward and grabbed one of the young men dragging him a few meters away.

“Help… help… AHHH!” The young man could not even scream for help in time, as a few other zombies lunged at him and instantly tore him apart.

The other two young men were dumbfounded. They quickly fled toward the village.

The place was completely filled with mud. They did not even have the time to wipe the mud that covered their faces after they tripped a few times as they were running toward the wooden barrier.

However, the undead were too fast for them. A few zombies were already flanking them from both sides. A young man’s arms were caught by the zombies, and the next thing he knew, his arms had been pulled off, with fresh blood jetting out from the cuts!

“Help, help me!” the other young man yelled as he barely made it to the wooden barrier, seeming completely lost.

The sky turned darker as the rain grew stronger. The villagers at the wooden barrier were unaware of what was happening. They only realized that the village was surrounded by mutated zombies when one of the young men returned, his body covered in his comrades’ blood!

“Dad, help…help me!”

Soon, Hong Jun who had scratches all over, made it back too. He had completely lost his previous confident look. He was no different than the young man who had also survived.

“Go away, back off!” yelled Xie Sang who drew a blue Star Orbit in front of him. It rapidly turned into a water barrier encapsulating Hong Jun’s figure.

Hong Jun was relieved after receiving the protection of the Water Barrier. He swallowed hard and yelled, “There are too many of them, the undead, they…they…”

The villagers were in a complete panic. It was still acceptable that a mutated zombie had appeared, yet how was it possible that the village was now surrounded by zombies? Weren’t they being protected by the God of the Well? Didn’t that mean they are simply a herd of sheep in the middle of the wolves’ territory?

“Xiaoluo? Where’s Su Xiaoluo?” Zhang Xiaohou grabbed Hong Jun and snapped furiously.

“I…I don’t know, she should be… behind…” Hong Jun fell to the ground. A weird stench was coming from his pants…

Zhang Xiaohou shoved Hong Jun away and rushed toward the wooden barrier.

“Fu Da, don’t go!”

“Idiot, are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“Chief, chief, the zombies are coming!”

Xie Sang was about to pull Zhang Xiaohou back when he turned around and saw a few zombies with long claws climbing up the wooden barrier. Their glowing eyes were staring at the village full of living humans.

Starving cries filled the place as more undead turned up at the village’s wooden barrier. The villagers were totally dumbfounded, as they had no idea how to deal with these terrifying creatures.

—

“Fu Da? Where are you going!”

In the rain, a petite figure slowly appeared at the side of the wooden barrier. She turned around and saw Zhang Xiaohou rushing out from the village.

Zhang Xiaohou quickly halted in his tracks. He was overjoyed knowing that Su Xiaoluo had returned safely.

“I’m relieved that you’re alright,” Zhang Xiaohou went up to the girl, so nervous that he seemed quite lost as to what to do.

“I’ve lured them away with some bait. Let’s head back to the village. It feels like we’re no longer under the protection of the God of the Well. We’re completely surrounded by the undead,” Su Xiaoluo dragged Zhang Xiaohou with her into the village.

However, as soon as they arrived at the village, a few zombies were on the muddy path tearing the helpless villagers apart with their claws and feasting on their organs!

Su Xiaoluo was completely stunned by the sight. Even the wooden barrier had become useless. Did the Ash Wood that would drive the zombies away lose its effectiveness too?

The village was covered in cries of agony. Fresh blood was splattered across the place. Tears began to fall from Su Xiaoluo’s eyes as she watched the familiar figures falling to the ground…

“What’s happening? Why is this happening?” Su Xiaoluo burst into tears. She could not endure the sorrow as she witnessed the massacre.

Everyone in the village was like family to her, yet they were now lying in pools of blood in the mud, being fed on by the savage zombies. Their skin was peeled off, their flesh was chewed away, even their skulls were not spared, cracked open so the brains within could be devoured.

The villagers had protected by the God of the Well for generations. The undead that everyone was afraid of were merely animals roaming aimlessly around their village. Some said that they were the descendants of some deity, hence the filthy creatures did not dare to invade the sacred village.

And now?

Were they abandoned by the God that had been looking after them all along? Was He simply allowing these filthy creatures to trample the lives of his devout believers?

The rain poured down heavily. There was nowhere to run to from the rain, similar to the invasion of the undead, not a hint of mercy was being shown by the cruel creatures!

Zhang Xiaohou stood beside Su Xiaoluo who was half-kneeling in the mud in the middle of the rain. He raised his head, staring into the sky with a blank face…

“Wind…wind…”

Su Xiaoluo helplessly raised her head. She glanced at Zhang Xiaohou, who was standing there like a log. She could not understand what the guy was mumbling to himself.

“Fu Da, you should run, you’re not from our village. Perhaps our village is indeed under a curse, the undead are only here to hunt us down…” said Su Xiaoluo softly.

“Wind…”

Zhang Xiaohou stood in the same spot. Su Xiaoluo did not notice a faint blue Star Orbit forming under his feet.

However, the process seemed extremely strenuous, as if the memory in his mind had reached a block. The Star Pattern was breaking intermittently.

“Wind…Wind Disc!”

Finally, the Star Pattern showed up in his mind!

A random gust was Summoned around Zhang Xiaohou. As he subconsciously raised his hand, the rain in the air began to spiral and spin rapidly in a helix!

It was wind!

A powerful wind obstructed the path of the rain. The raindrops were crazily sucked in by the tornado, turning it into a water dragon tornado!

The Wind Disc appeared on the village’s path, drawing the zombies that were massacring the villagers into it.

The tornado swept forward, uprooting the wooden huts. Patches of grass and logs were drawn into the Wind Disc too, smashing the zombies into pieces as they spun inside the tornado!

The wind was extremely fierce, yet it did not harm any of the villagers. It was only moving toward the zombies!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Not many zombies had invaded the village, yet just the few of them were enough to bring a slaughter upon the village. Chief Xie Sang was unable to save so many people at once…

However, the wild tornado immediately swept the four zombies into the air and turned them into minced meat!

“This… this…”

The villagers who were saved by the Tornado stared at Zhang Xiaohou in disbelief.

Su Xiaoluo was also looking at Zhang Xiaohou in astonishment as he controlled the wind…

She did speculate that Zhang Xiaohou was a Hunter who had come out on an adventure, yet she never thought he would be an Intermediate Magician!

Chief Xie Sang was actually having some trouble killing the zombies. He was unable to kill the zombies in a short period of time, yet Zhang Xiaohou’s Wind Disc simply slaughtered the four zombies in an instant!

“Wind Disc, Sky Snare!” Zhang Xiaohou drew another Star Pattern, summoning a stronger tornado.

The fierce winds formed a thick wind wall, with the villagers inside it.

Zhang Xiaohou controlled the wind wall, not letting the wind contract any further. The villagers standing inside the wall were protected by the tornado. The zombies were instantly torn into pieces when they lunged at the wind wall created by his Sky Snare!

The zombies were stupid. They only knew to pounce at any living target. The Wind Disc: Sky Snare was protecting a dozen villagers, yet the hungrier the zombies were, the stronger the urge drove them to slam into the wind wall and kill themselves.

Almost ten zombies were fully annihilated by the Wind Disc: Sky Snare, returning the place to calm.

—

The two Wind Spells faded from the sky after killing more than a dozen zombies that had invaded the village. The villagers almost had the urge to drop to their knees and express their gratitude to the God of Wind.

When Chief Xie Sang killed the last zombie, he glanced at the skinny young man whom he had called a retard in disbelief.

Xie Sang knew he had no chance of facing all the undead by himself. The moment the zombies invaded the village, he knew the whole village was going to be massacred. To his surprise, the creatures that were going to destroy the village were wiped out by the kid!

Xie Sang knew the kid was most likely a Magician, yet he never heard of anyone at his age with such outstanding strength!

“What the hell are you crying for, is it time for that now? Hide in the well quick!” yelled Chief Xie Sang at the villagers who had no way of protecting themselves.

The invasion did not last long, yet a dozen villagers were dead, with many more injured.

The Heavens knew if there were more undead waiting outside. As the chief, he had to make the decision.

There was a cave in the wall, a place to take refuge whenever an emergency took place. The cave was tightly sealed, hidden between layers of rocks, where the undead was unable to reach. They just needed to bring food, water and things to warm them up in the cave.

——

With no time to mourn for the dead, the villagers quickly packed their stuff and fled to the cave in the well.

It was not completely dark yet, but the village was deserted. Only a stream of blood in the middle of the village was left.

They did not have the time to deal with the corpses. The dead bodies of those who had died a horrible death were soaked in water…

Most strangely, apart from the zombies that had invaded the village, there were not any zombies making their way toward the village. The truth was, there were still lots of undead crawling out from the ground, yet none of them seemed interested in the village. Even when they caught the scent of blood coming from beyond the wooden barrier, they still roamed around aimlessly.

The rain lightened up, the raindrops like needles.

Outside the village, a gray woven raincoat became visible in the curtains of rain.

A huge bamboo straw hat covered the person’s face. One could barely see his slightly pointy jaw.

The man walked toward the entrance of the village and glanced at the pools of blood ahead…

“There’s another Magician…” said the man in an icy voice.

Beside the man stood a few bulky zombies uttering some unpleasant cries. They were only a few meters away, yet they were not attacking him, but were standing a few steps behind him, like subordinates.

“The corpses are your prizes,” said the man emotionlessly.

Following the words, the zombies lunged at the dead bodies scattered across the village like hounds!

“Do they seriously think they’re going to be safe in the cave inside the well? HAHAHAHA!”

The man turned around and disappeared into the rain. His sinister laughter merged with the rain and echoed in the sky above the village.

——

The rain lasted for three days straight. Luckily, Mo Fan was an optimistic man. He simply used a branch to draw squares on the ground and played five-in-a-row with Liu Ru to get rid of the boredom.

“The rain is stopping, we can continue on with our journey.” A Li came in from the entrance and said to the group.

“What, are you still thinking of going to Hua Village?” Shorty looked at everyone.

“We have to,” said Mo Fan.

Meng’e nodded too.

“Listen up, I know you two are strong, but I heard that there’s a Dark Abyss close to Hua Village. If we carelessly step into it, even a hundred lives won’t be enough to save you!” said Shorty.

“Either you give us the money back, or lead the way,” said Mo Fan straightaway.

“No refund!” said Shorty.

“Then get on with it.”

“I have to pay a visit to Hua Village too. It’s been many years since I last returned to Sunny Goat Village. Even though I don’t understand why my uncle stopped me from going back every time, I feel like I have to find out the truth now that the village has disappeared,” the muscular man declared sternly.

The muscular man was called Fang Youmiao. When the shameless Mo Fan learned his name, he almost laughed for an hour.

{TL Note: Youmiao here means young sapling.}

Fang Youmiao was from Sunny Goat Village. He was not fond of the village’s traditional life../style, hence he spent some years in the city. However, when he paid a visit back to the village a few years ago, his uncle told him not to go back anymore. Initially, Fang Youmiao thought the villagers were chasing him away, assuming that he had betrayed their traditional belief, thus he ended up staying in the Ancient Capital. However, he did not expect that the entire village would simply vanish into thin air!

He still treated the villagers as his family, so he felt the urge to seek the truth, and the only way was to visit Hua Village.

Only Shorty had the urge to go back, hence he was basically forced to follow the group.

—

The journey to Hua Village was surprisingly calm. They did stumble into packs of zombies, yet they easily maneuvered past them with the Ash Garlic.

However, when they arrived at Hua Village, the group was completely dumbfounded when they saw that the village was deserted, too!

Why were the people of Hua Village missing too?!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group went into the village and saw the mess on the path, run-down wooden huts, patches of grass scattering across the place, and brown-colored bloodstains…

Obviously, the place was under attack recently, but why was the village completely empty?

“Sigh, I’m so thirsty. Let’s hope the well is clean,” Shorty went over to the well at the middle of the village.

He poked his head out and looked into the well, but all he saw was darkness. As he was figuring out a way to get a drink, a face suddenly came up and stopped right in front of Shorty.

The two faces turned pale instantly, with Shorty falling back to the ground while a loud thud came from the well!

The group turned around and immediately knew that there was someone in the well based on Shorty’s reaction.

—

As they pulled the man in the well up, the young man who was soaked through let out a relieved sigh when he learned that they were all living humans.

“Are you Hong Jun?” the muscular man quickly stepped forward after he recognized the young man.

“And you are… oh, you’re Youmiao from the other village!” Hong Jun recognized the muscular man.

“What happened here? Why isn’t there anyone else? Do you know where the people of our Sunny Goat Village are?” said Fang Youmiao.

“I don’t know where your people are, but I’ll have to tell the others in the well. They are most likely going to suffocate if they don’t come out soon,” said Hong Jun.

—

The well was not huge, yet Mo Fan was completely dumbfounded when more than a hundred people climbed out of it. How deep was the well, to be able to contain so many people?

The villagers took turns climbing out from the well and gathered around the place. They did not dare to leave the area.

Finally, when a man and a woman both climbed out from the well, Mo Fan stared at the young man, his eyes wide.

Mo Fan thought the man would walk up to him, yet he was simply standing beside the woman. The man did not even show any reaction when he walked past Mo Fan, as if they were complete strangers.

Mo Fan was stunned for a moment, recovering from the shock. He quickly grabbed Zhang Xiaohou’s arm before he walked any further.

“What…what are you doing?” said Su Xiaoluo, glancing at the outsider that was grabbing onto Zhang Xiaohou.

“You don’t know me?” Mo Fan asked Zhang Xiaohou, surprise all over his face.

Zhang Xiaohou was staring back at Mo Fan too, his face confused.

“You know him?” Su Xiaoluo blurted out with a surge of joy.

Mo Fan opened his mouth. He glanced at Zhang Xiaohou with a blank face, then at the woman, who was reacting weirdly. Could this be the so-called amnesia?

The person was Zhang Xiaohou without a doubt. Even though he was even skinnier than before, but Mo Fan could recognize him just by looking at the hair on his legs.

Mo Fan stared at Zhang Xiaohou, who did not recognize him. Even though the guy had lost his memory, Mo Fan still pulled him into his arms and gave him a huge hug.

“Everything’s fine as long as you’re alive. Everything’s f**king fine!” Mo Fan patted the guy on the back and took a deep breath.

——

The sunlight pierced through the gray clouds in the sky, shining dimly upon the village.

The rain had stopped, yet the clouds did not clear up, gathering above the Xianchi area as usual.

“Fu Da…oh, Zhang Xiaohou, I thought you were going to be a log for the rest of your life. Someone is here to bring you back,” said Su Xiaoluo with a blossoming smile.

“I’m not leaving,” blurted out Zhang Xiaohou, as if he was afraid of losing something.

“Why? Your friend says you’re a soldier. He’s going to bring you back to receive treatment. Maybe they have a way to cure your amnesia?” said Su Xiaoluo.

“I…” Zhang Xiaohou did not understand how to express his thoughts. He simply looked at Su Xiaoluo.

Mo Fan stood aside. He could easily tell that the memory-less Zhang Xiaohou was heavily reliant on the girl.

On second thought, after Mo Fan looked at the scars on Zhang Xiaohou, especially the long cut on the back of his head, he knew that the guy was only lucky enough to survive because Su Xiaoluo had found him.

Hong Jun went up to Zhang Xiaohou and Su Xiaoluo and said to them, “What’s with the leaving and not leaving, we’ve all decided. We should make our way to the Ancient Capital while it’s still daytime…”

“Are we leaving the village?” asked Su Xiaoluo.

“Yeah, the village is no longer safe. We’re all going to die here if we stay any longer,” said Hong Jun.

Hong Jun then pointed in a direction, where Chief Xie Sang was taking the villagers to pack their stuff.

“I agree that you all should leave this place too,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Alright, Zhang Xiaohou, we’ll go together,” Su Xiaoluo wore a smile.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded continuously. It seemed like he had totally turned into Su Xiaoluo’s subordinate. He would simply go wherever she went.

Mo Fan shook his head helplessly when he saw Zhang Xiaohou’s reaction.

I’ve come all the way here looking for you, and here you are picking up chicks!

——

The villagers failed to come to an agreement. Those who were stubborn insisted on staying. They would rather stay in the well than leave the village.

In their opinion, they would die even faster if they left the village!

Chief Xie Sang had decided to leave, hence he could simply gather those who were willing to leave.

However, the number of people that were willing to leave was less than he had expected. Most people had chosen to stay.

“Look at the village, are you going to stay and wait for your deaths!?” Su Xiaoluo anxiously told the stubborn villagers.

“Yeah, let’s all leave together. You’ll only be killed by the undead. We’re no longer protected,” said the young man called Gouzi.

“We’ve decided,” a middle-aged man simply sat on the ground beside the well.

“The journey to Ancient Capital would take at least two to three days, which means we’ll need to spend at least two nights out in the wild. That’s pretty much suicide,” said a woman.

“Zhang Xiaohou’s friends will escort us to the Ancient Capital. We’ll be safe once we reach the outer walls,” Su Xiaoluo continued to persuade them.

“How could a few kids possibly handle those creatures out there? We won’t be leaving!”

“We’re running out of time. If you guys are leaving, you should go ahead, wasting more time here would make the journey more dangerous…” said an old man.

Su Xiaoluo bit her lips, not knowing what to do.

Those who stayed would surely end up dead. The undead did not even care if they were drinking the water from the well. They had completely ignored the barrier made of Ash Wood. Hiding inside the well was only a temporary solution. It would not protect them forever.

“It’s useless trying to convince them, since they have made their decision. Those who are leaving should gather at the entrance. We’ll leave in ten minutes. Make sure you bring enough Ash Garlic with you!” said Chief Xie Sang decisively.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There were around thirty people willing to leave the village, most of them young people.

Xie Sang let out a sigh when he saw that so many had decided to stay in the village.

Su Xiaoluo tried to convince them, yet they were only urged to leave sooner.

Left with no choice, those who had decided to leave packed their stuff and departed for the Ancient Capital.

Mo Fan was rather confused as they headed for the entrance. The people of the villages were supposed to be under the effect of Ash Garlic naturally. For example, while their group was involved in the intense battle, the muscular man was perfectly unharmed. None of the undead bothered to attack him.

If that were the case, wouldn’t they be safe on their way to the Ancient Capital? Why did everyone seem so nervous, regardless whether they were leaving the village or not?

“I told you the village is cursed. You’re going to die if you stay here, let’s go,” said the young man called Gouzi.

“Gouzi, enough with your bullshit,” scolded Xie Sang.

“Leaving the village means abandoning the teaching of our ancestors. You won’t even survive the night, you should just stay in the village. We are still protected by the God of the Well…” grumbled an old lady before the group left.

Many with traditional thinking decided to stay. As a result, the number of people leaving the village was reduced further.

Mo Fan was unable to make the correct call. He could not tell if staying at the village or going to the Ancient Capital was safer for the villagers. He had no right to decide for the villagers. All he knew was that he would help escort Su Xiaoluo’s people back to the Ancient Capital, since she had saved his brother’s life.

There were around thirty people in the group. To Mo Fan, Liu Ru, Fang Youmiao and Shorty, they were simply going back along the same route.

Meng’e and her two subordinates did not stay at Hua Village for long. They were not interested in escorting the villagers, hence they bid farewells to the group and left on their own.

As Meng’e left, Mo Fan was still curious about why the three had come to this chaotic land. What were they trying to find and achieve?…

——

The current season had a shorter daytime and a longer nighttime. On top of that, the cloudy weather further strengthened the presence of death.

The stronger the presence of death, the greater the number of undead that would appear. Without needing food, the undead could only rely on the presence of death to evolve further. It was the same with demon beasts who needed to become stronger.

The villagers were in good shape physically. The group made significant progress during the day.

It was safe during the day, hence everyone was rather relaxed during the journey. However, after three in the afternoon, an uneasy feeling began to loom over the group, which continued to grow stronger as time passed.

None of the villagers could tell if they were still under the protection of the God of the Well. They had no idea if Zhang Xiaohou’s friend was reliable, either.

“Let’s take this route. We don’t have to pass by Sunny Goat Village,” said Chief Xie Sang to Mo Fan.

“Is it quicker this way?” Mo Fan glanced at the map and saw that by taking a straight route, they would still pass by Sunny Goat Village.

“That route is passing through a pulsating terrain. It might look shorter on the map, but it’s going to take a longer time. Trust me, I know this place better,” replied the chief.

Mo Fan nodded and followed Chief Xie Sang’s guidance.

—

The day gradually turned dark. The villagers obviously trusted Chief Xie Sang and Hong Jun more. They walking closer to the two. It would not be surprising if they ended up hugging them tightly.

Su Xiaoluo was surrounded by a few people, too. The girl was quite reputable in the village. Some of them subconsciously followed her around. Most importantly, the retarded man whom Su Xiaoluo had saved was incredibly strong. He had simply wiped out the zombies that had invaded the village with two Wind Spells!

“Liu Ru, look after the kids at the back,” said Mo Fan.

Liu Ru nodded and said, “Take care of yourself.”

“We’ll check the situation out. We have Ash Garlic, and the villagers are under the protection of their god. If the undead doesn’t attack us, we’ll just walk past them.”

“Acknowledged.”

The route that the chief had selected was indeed a lot smoother.

As the night inevitably arrived, the starving cries of undead came from all directions.

“Err, Brother Mo Fan, if the undead does attack us, we won’t be able to protect so many people,” Shorty came up to Mo Fan and whispered.

Mo Fan was well aware of it too. He was merely hoping that the villagers were still protected by their god.

“It feels like… they are not focusing on us,” Shorty glanced at the undead who had woken up the earliest.

“Mm,” Mo Fan held his breath.

The group proceeded. Normally, the presence of such a large group would surely attract the undead, yet even when the group had traveled a kilometer, the undead still did not show any reactions. It clearly implied that both Ash Garlic and the protection were still effective.

When the villagers saw the undead were ignoring them like usual, they immediately let out a relieved sigh. Their pace became more relaxed. Otherwise, it felt like each of their steps was walking on nails.

“Strange… if we are still protected, why would the zombies invade our village?” Su Xiaoluo was utterly confused.

“This means those zombies were mutated. It feels like it’s meaningless for us to move away from the village now,” admitted Hong Jun.

Hong Jun would follow Su Xiaoluo wherever she went, as if the guy had completely forgotten that he had fled for his life on his own when they were in danger before. Su Xiaoluo never had a good impression of him, and now, his existence alone was annoying to her.

“That’s enough. Either way, we’ll be safe when we reach the Ancient Capital,” Chief Xie Sang was determined to move away.

Mo Fan glanced at Chief Xie Sang. He somehow felt that the chief was hiding something. After all, the chief of a village would usually obey the rules of the village strictly…

——

The group was unharmed throughout the night. As everyone was relieved that the undead did not attack them during the night, they were even more confused about why their village was attacked.

The night did not pose any threat, and the clouds had cleared away the next day. After a brief rest, the group continued their journey to the Ancient Capital.

“Brother Mo Fan, what do you say?” Shorty nudged Mo Fan and whispered.

“How would I know, I’m not familiar with this place,” Mo Fan glanced at Shorty, who seemed to have something to say. He raised his eyebrows and asked, “Have you noticed something?”

“Hehe, to be honest, I do know something, and it’s from before I met Fang Youmiao…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Just say it!” said Mo Fan in an unpleasant tone.

“Do you remember the cave we used to hide from the rain?” Shorty purposely glanced at the villagers and asked after knowing that they were all at the back.

“Yeah, the one that you found when you’re hunting a Blood Beast, what’s wrong?”

“After killing the Blood Beast, we decided to rest up at Sunny Goat Village. However, we stumbled into a scouting team on the way there who had just left Sunny Goat Village. They gave us some replenishment, so we returned to Ancient Capital straightaway using this path. Not long after we returned to the Ancient Capital, we heard that the scouting team went missing…” Shorty lowered his voice, as if he did not want anyone to hear him. He was at ease when he realized that only the guy who had lost his memory was close to Mo Fan.

“Mm, it’s most likely that they were killed by the undead in the wild. My brother’s squad was ambushed by the undead along their journey too,” Mo Fan glanced at Zhang Xiaohou beside him.

“Mm, I assumed so too, but do you know what the scouting team told us when they bumped into us?” Shorty wore an evil smile.

“What did they say?” asked Mo Fan.

“They told us Sunny Goat Village is completely empty. They told us there’s no point in going there,” said Shorty.

Mo Fan was utterly confused.

However, Zhang Xiaohou, who was also listening to the whispers between the two, shuddered violently as his blank eyes widened!

“Don’t you think it’s strange? The chief is also avoiding the path to Sunny Goat Village. It’s obvious that the chief doesn’t want us to go there,” added Shorty.

Mo Fan glanced at Xie Sang and fell into deep thoughts.

—

The group continued on with the journey. Everyone was still unharmed during the second night.

They were fairly close to Ancient Capital after the second night. They would arrive close to the Ancient Capital today.

“It’s daytime, we’ll move on once everyone is ready. We should arrive at the Ancient Capital before night time,” yelled Hong Jun, waking everyone up.

“Hong Jun, you spent a few years learning Magic outside of the village. Are you able to find places for us to live once we arrive in the Ancient Capital?” asked a woman.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry!” Hong Jun patted his chest, implying that he would handle everything.

“Sigh, feels like we’re safe now. I thought we were abandoned by the God of the Well.”

“Gouzi, look at how you’ve scared everyone, humph!”

The villagers felt more at ease, each wearing a faint smile on their face.

The group had stayed safe for two nights straight, and their journey would come to an end after today. Their lives were no longer in danger.

Since it was daytime, everyone was more scattered across the place. Mo Fan remained at the front of the group…

Shorty never stopped talking. The guy came up to Mo Fan to boast about his achievements. Mo Fan snorted disdainfully at Shorty and simply boasted about his achievements in Bo City…

“So you’re from Bo City! I do know a few friends from there,” exclaimed Shorty, surprised.

“How do you know people from Bo City?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Oh, I talked to them a lot. They were brought here to stay in the Ancient Capital after the calamity. They were told to live in the outskirts in the past, but a rich young man called Mu Bai bought a street to sell Magic Ores, so the refugees from Bo City ended up working for him,” said Shorty.

Mo Fan was startled, but then recalled the arrangements made after the calamity.

The refugees of Bo City were arranged in batches. The first batch was allocated to the outskirts of Shanghai, while the second batch was sent to the Ancient Capital. Mo Fan chose Shanghai, and he was arranged to stay at the edge of the city as he hoped for. Now that Shorty had mentioned it, he immediately recalled that the other batch was sent here to the Ancient Capital!

It was rare to bump into people from his hometown. He would have to pay them a visit soon…

“I would also sell Magic Ores to their stores sometimes…” said Shorty.

“AHHHH~!” Suddenly, a cry of agony came from behind them!

The scream was distorted due to great pain. The sudden sound simply gave the entire group a great scare.

Shorty instantly stopped talking, while Mo Fan quickly turned around and saw blood mist spraying in the sky, followed by the villagers screaming and fleeing in a panic!

“Undead, it’s the undead!”

“My uncle is being dragged away, dead, he’s dead!”

“AH~!”

Another terrifying screech appeared. A woman who was running away in fear fell to the ground after tripping. A long claw burst out from the loose ground. Its incredible force instantly penetrated the woman’s body, leaving those who witnessed it with an uneasy feeling in their stomachs!

“There’s one here!”

“Help me! Help!”

“Don’t panic, everyone stay calm…”

The villagers who ran the furthest were the easiest prey for the undead. Mo Fan quickly scanned the place and saw the undead that were assumed to be nocturnal climbing out from the ground and attacking the fleeing villagers.

It had only been a few seconds, yet the whole place had blood splattering everywhere!

“Holy crap, these undead are insane, killing people in the day!” screamed Shorty.

“Head to the side; Liu Ru, protect the kids, don’t let them run away in panic,” yelled Mo Fan.

More undead were appearing from the ground. The protection the villagers were under was completely useless. As a matter of fact, the undead were only targeting the villagers.

Normally, the undead would feed on their targets after entrapping them. The zombies in the surroundings would simply stack on top of another following the scent of fresh blood. However, the undead that were attacking them were not feeding instead. They continued to hunt the next target down. It was a bloody massacre!

“Lightning Strike!”

“Swift Star Wolf!”

“Giant Shadow Spike!”

Mo Fan was furious when he saw the villagers being murdered. He was not in the mood to preserve his strength. He simply used every move he could.

However, the villagers had already lost their minds and were running in all directions.

Even Mo Fan was unable to save everyone under such circumstances. He could only watch them being torn into pieces by the zombies.

“Houzi, Rock…”

“Rock Barrier!”

Mo Fan was just about to tell Zhang Xiaohou to cast the Spell, but it seemed like the amnesia did not take away his rationality. He followed his instincts and cast the Intermediate Earth Spell.

Two consecutive Rock Barriers quickly formed walls around the group, stopping the villagers from running too far away while blocking the zombies from coming in.

Mo Fan jumped onto the barrier and screamed at Liu Ru who was still outside the walls, “Liu Ru, gather all the kids inside the barrier. Zhang Xiaohou has strengthened the ground in this area. There won’t be any undead coming out!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It had all happened so quick. Everyone was taken by surprise.

Who would have thought that the undead that would only appear at night would ambush them in the day, and seemed extremely keen to murder them.

After Mo Fan finally managed to get the situation under control, half of the villagers had died.

Mo Fan had started killing the zombies as soon as the ambush took place. If the villagers had not run in all directions and stayed together, the only casualties would have been the ones that were attacked first. Mo Fan could simply blast most of the zombies coming out from the ground with a single Spell.

Unfortunately, despite warning the villagers not to panic when anything happened, they had totally forgotten about it. Their instinct to run simply lead them to dead ends.

Zhang Xiaohou’s Rock Barrier was fairly effective. He had somehow set up a wall surrounding the group in a circle. The villagers would be safe as long as they stayed inside the circle, as the undead would have to climb a wall that was around seven to eight meters high!

The chief and Shorty stood on top of the wall to prevent the undead from making it to the top. The zombies’ jumping ability was only average, but their claws were very sharp, allowing them to climb the wall quickly. The two were responsible for killing the zombies that were climbing the wall.

Zhang Xiaohou was inside the circle. Apart from maintaining the Rock Barrier, he was also keeping an eye out for any zombie trying to enter the circle.

Mo Fan and Liu Ru were outside of the wall. Several villagers were still running wildly in the open. They were trying to save them.

Not far away, Liu Ru was lifting the villager called Gouzi up as if she were picking up a little chick. The villager did seem like he was given quite a nice name, since dogs were tough to kill. A few other zombies were chasing after another middle-aged villager, yet none of them seemed to be interested with that guy after Liu Ru came to rescue him.

{TL Note: The name ‘Gouzi’ here means dog.}

“Help…help me!” a young kid screamed. His legs were torn apart by a zombie. The deep wound had reached his bones.

Grabbing Gouzi with a hand, Liu Ru leapt forward and glided in the air before landing right before the kid.

Liu Ru let go of Gouzi. She clenched her hands into claws and swept sideways. Ten crimson flickers like blood-colored slickers slashed at the three zombies that were running toward them.

The three zombies were slashed into several sections by the blood-colored sickles. Their bodies stiffened and fell beside Liu Ru.

“Kid, stay behind me,” Liu Ru helped the kid to his feet.

At that instant, Gouzi glanced at the young man and immediately had a weird expression.

He pointed his trembling finger at the kid who Liu Ru was helping and yelled, “He…he’s not from our village!”

However, it was too late when Gouzi screamed. As soon as Liu Ru went over to help the kid, an eerie grin appeared on his pale face. He reached the hand he was hiding with his body forward, which only had white bones left…

The hand with only white bones was sharp as a dagger, stabbing fiercely at Liu Ru’s heart!

An icy flicker flashed across the air. Liu Ru was so close to the young kid. There was no way she could react in time. The kid’s hand went right into Liu Ru’s chest through her heart.

Liu Ru’s face was filled with disbelief.

She did not expect the kid to be an undead too, and one that possessed such a vicious mind!

The kid was a different kind of undead compared to the zombies.

“That’s what you get for being a busybody, now die,” the undead kid burst out laughing. He pulled his hand out from Liu Ru’s chest and was about to enjoy her fresh blood…

However, as he withdrew the hand toward him, he was shocked to discover that the hand did not have a single drop of blood on it.

The kid was stunned. He could not understand; why was there no sign of blood on his hand after he had stabbed the woman’s heart with it/ He was not moving his hand that quickly.

“Knowing how to trick someone at your age, with such a vicious manner,” Liu Ru stared at the undead kid without showing any sign of pain. Her eyes were displaying a hint of disappointment instead.

“How…how is this possible!” the undead kid screamed as if he had just seen a ghost.

“Sister will now send you to reincarnation. Stop trying to hurt people,” Liu Ru smiled, completely displaying the natural charm of the Blood Tribe.

The stab into Liu Ru’s heart did not hinder her movement. She simply grabbed the undead kid by his throat and suddenly applied great force.

The undead kid was still experiencing great fear when his neck was snapped by Liu Ru. His head slanted sideways with the same terrified expression…

Liu Ru’s smile did not disappear when she glanced at the undead kid who died after his neck was snapped.

“Stop teasing me; I’ve never seen an undead that would die after breaking their neck…” Liu Ru’s eyes curved into crescents when she saw the undead kid pretending to be dead.

Saying this, Liu Ru slowly moved her hand to the undead kid’s skull, as if she were going to fondle his head gently.

“No, no!” the undead kid pleaded horrifyingly when he realized Liu Ru’s intention.

Liu Ru did not show any mercy. Her index finger turned into a long claw, which extended and penetrated the undead kid’s head from above…

The undead had something like a crystal that allowed them to move, similar to a human’s heart. As long as the crystal was not destroyed, the undead would not die…

Liu Ru soon discovered the Undead Crystal in the undead kid’s brain. She simply crushed the crystal with her claw and sent the living dead to the underworld!

The crystal was pierced by the claw, leaving the undead kid crying in agony.

Black gas immediately came out from the holes on his face, as if it had drawn all the energy from his body. The undead kid turned into a dried corpse within a few seconds.

After confirming that the undead kid was dead, Liu Ru rose to her feet and fell into deep thought.

She did not understand. The undead she had encountered before were all zombies and skeletons. Why would a living dead appear out of nowhere…

“Follow me, don’t run away on your own,” Liu Ru said to Gouzi, who was standing behind him.

Gouzi stood in his place. He did not dare to move a step, as if he was completely frozen.

Just a moment ago, he thought he was safe, yet the woman… the woman…

What did she mean she had never seen an undead that died after she had broken their neck…

Her heart was punctured just then!

Gouzi simply felt like he was going to have a mental breakdown. It was one new nightmare after another!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was using both his hands, the purple lightning and blazing red flames intertwined with one another.

He was now able to cast a Fire Burst right after completing a Lightning Strike. With the strength of his fourth-tier Spells, he could basically kill the Servant-class zombies instantly!

Mo Fan arrived before a villager whose legs were bitten off by the zombies and snapped furiously, “Damn it, what did I tell you all, don’t f**king panic!”

Mo Fan knelt down and carried the villager who was covered in blood on his back. The young man’s face was covered in the mix of mucus from his nose and tears. His body was shivering in extreme pain.

“Hold on, the Healers at the city can treat your legs!” said Mo Fan impatiently.

Mo Fan was annoyed, too. The truth was, the zombies were not even that strong. He alone could easily wipe them out. The villagers were only scaring themselves. Those who were not attacked simply ran out of Mo Fan’s range, resulting in lots of casualties.

Even though he was used to seeing people dying, it still did not feel great witnessing so many innocent villagers losing their lives.

Mo Fan vented his anger on the zombies that had come out in the day to murder the villagers. He could have blasted the zombies into pieces with Fire Burst alone, yet he had the urge to use his Intermediate Lightning Spell instead.

Forks of lightning descended from the sky. The zombies who were still targeting the villagers were shredded into pieces, turning into blood mist sprinkling in the air.

After the lightning blasts, Liu Ru came up to Mo Fan with two other villagers.

She observed the surroundings and said, “I only managed to save two of them. The kids are fine, though.”

Mo Fan glanced at three other villagers that were also injured beside him. He was still carrying the young man whose legs were bitten off on his back, too.

He glanced at the corpses across the place and uttered a sigh, “Let’s go, we tried our best.”

Mo Fan and Liu Ru handed the villagers whom they saved over to Su Xiaoluo. Su Xiaoluo had brought some medicine along, and she barely managed to save their lives.

The crowd sat together. No one spoke. The atmosphere grew very heavy, with a few kids who were sobbing in fear. After all, those who died were their aunts and uncles.

Liu Ru sat beside Mo Fan. She nudged him softly and whispered, “I stumbled into an undead kid.”

Mo Fan raised his eyes, signaling Liu Ru to continue.

Liu Ru quickly told Mo Fan about her experience with the undead kid. Mo Fan’s expression turned stern after hearing her words, and he subconsciously glanced at the chief not far away.

For some reason, he kept feeling that the chief was somehow involved. It strange that the undead would attack them in the day…

“Should we investigate it?” asked Liu Ru.

“There’s nothing to investigate. We’ll escort them to the Ancient Capital, and they’ll do whatever they want!” Mo Fan was not in the mood to involve himself in the mess.

“Mm, they should be safe at the Ancient Capital,” Liu Ru nodded.

—

A while later, the undead stopped appearing. After taking a look at the sky, Mo Fan felt like they should not continue wasting their time here.

If the undead could come out in the day to attack them, hiding in the Rock Barrier was definitely not the way to go. They had to make it to the Ancient Capital before it turned dark. Who knew if a huge bunch of undead would ambush them at night!?

The group continued on with their journey. This time, Mo Fan simply had the urge to tie the villagers together with an iron chain, so they would not run wildly if something were to happen again.

After the previous ambush, everyone had acknowledged Mo Fan’s strength, since none of them were blind. They were relieved after witnessing Mo Fan’s ability to kill the zombies instantly with a single spell.

The day gradually turned dark along the journey. Luckily, they could finally see the magnificent walls on the horizon under the gloomy clouds.

Since it was still daytime, the walls still had Magicians patrolling the area. The group uttered relieved sighs after seeing someone alive. They quickened their pace and headed into the city.

——

As they arrived at the entrance, a group of Battlemages was on duty.

“Are you all from Hua Village?” a Battlemage looked at them, amazed.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m the chief,” Xie Sang took out a stamp symbolizing his identity as the village’s chief.

“The whole city has been discussing the villages outside the city,” spoke up another young Battlemage.

“Discussing us, why’s that?” Hong Jun glanced at them, confused and curious.

The Battlemage smacked his lips and handed a newspaper to the chief.

The chief received it and immediately saw the headline!

“Six villages in the Xianchi area was wiped out by the undead. There are close to no survivors!”

The chief was dumbfounded. He initially thought only their Hua Village was invaded. Little did he know, the rest of the villages were already destroyed. Due to the lack of communication, they would not know the truth if they had not come to the Ancient Capital.

On a side note, the chief was even more confused after learning the news, as if he had failed to come up with an explanation for something.

“We’ll be going, you all should settle down yourself.” Mo Fan felt even more suspicious seeing the chief’s reaction. He did not want to be involved in the mess.

“Thank you, you’re already such a strong Magician when your age is just about the same as Hong Jun’s,” said a woman to Mo Fan excitedly.

Su Xiaoluo had recovered from her astonishment after learning the news about other villages. She quickly went up and expressed her gratitude to Mo Fan and Liu Ru. “Without your help, we might have ended up the same as the other villages. Thank you so much.”

As Mo Fan was about to leave, he suddenly recalled a problem.

Zhang Xiaohou only knew Su Xiaoluo. Mo Fan was planning on bringing him to Xinxia and letting her try to heal him, yet the idiot did not want to go anywhere. He only wanted to stay with Su Xiaoluo, acting like an unreasonable kid.

Mo Fan was left with no choice. He said in a helpless tone, “I’ll let the military know about his condition. I’ll let him stay with you for now.”

Since they had made it to the Ancient Capital, Zhang Xiaohou should be fine for the time being. It was also a good place to leave him to Su Xiaoluo since she could take care of his injuries, too.

The people from Hua Village left with Hong Jun. It was likely that the Magic Association would arrange a place for them to stay. It was something Mo Fan did not need to worry about.

—

Mo Fan tried to contact Zhang Xiaohou’s instructor Fei Jiao, yet he was told that Fei Jiao was on a mission. It would take at least a day for him to return.

Mo Fan did not feel at ease, knowing that Zhang Xiaohou had not recovered his memory nor returned to the army. He simply decided to stay a few more days in the Ancient Capital to settle the things on hand.

“Where are we going?” Liu Ru stayed with Mo Fan. She was obviously curious about the Ancient Capital, and kept looking at her surroundings.

“I’m going to meet the people from my hometown,” said Mo Fan.

“There are people here from your hometown?” asked Liu Ru.

“I’m sure that a few other cities have people from Bo City, too.”

“That’s true, after the calamity, the people from your city were sent to live in a few different cities…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Following Shorty’s instructions, Mo Fan found the street occupied by people from Bo City.

The street was not very long. It was simply an alley between two main streets, mainly selling Magic Goods.

Mo Fan went to a famous Magic School, where most students were Intermediate Magicians. Every Intermediate Magician was considered fairly reputable in society. As a matter of fact, there were countless people and Magicians struggling to make a living at the bottom level of society. They were engaged in small businesses related to Magic, such as trading Magic Equipment, selling Magic Ores, supplying useful body parts of demon beasts…

Huili Street was basically filled with these kinds of stalls and shops, selling all kinds of basic Magic Equipment. The price range was between five hundred to ten thousand RMB, since it was fairly difficult to evaluate the price of second-hand Equipment. A place like this was similar to the antique street, where new Magicians would come to try their luck. They would find some impressive Equipment at times, which would significantly improve their strength!

Mo Fan was not hoping to meet everyone from Bo City, since he never knew all of them to begin with. He was only interested to see how they were doing…

After walking past a few shops, Mo Fan discovered that most of the workers and owners were from Bo City. Their accent from the South was too strong. It did seem like they were enjoying themselves here, each with a smile on their face.

“Holy crap, what kinds of goods are these? A pile of rubbish, did I seriously waste over a hundred thousand for this shit? Give me back my money!” a slightly hoarse voice echoed in the shop. The voice did not sound quite pleasant.

However, the voice was familiar to Mo Fan. He glanced over and saw that the owner of the store had a tanned face, small eyes, and a shrunken nose. Even though his face had changed slightly, he did not look different than his high school self.

“Zhao Tuizi!” Mo Fan smilingly greeted the man.

Zhao Kunsan was overwhelmed by anger, as his men had just brought back a pile of rubbish. He was having a headache trying to come up with a way to sell the garbage when he heard someone calling his nickname, which instantly drove him mad!

He had always been following Mu Bai around. The guy had treated him as half a brother, not just a petty subordinate, yet someone still dared to call him by the unpleasant nickname.

“Are you looking for trouble here? Do you believe I’ll crush you with a single spell? I’m telling you, I’m a Magician, a third-level Basic Magician!” Zhao Kunsan burst out at Mo Fan who was walking into the store.

However, his voice gradually turned soft. His eyes were staring at Mo Fan, as if he had just seen a ghost.

“Shit, it’s you!” Zhao Kunsan’s eyes widened. It took him quite some time to collect his thoughts.

Mo Fan!

Why was Mo Fan here? He had never seen the guy since the calamity of Bo City. The guy was extremely famous now after achieving greatness in Pearl Institute.

Zhao Kunsan did not waste too much attention on Mo Fan, since he had always underestimated the guy.

However, Zhao Kunsan knew that Mu Bai had been taking note of how Mo Fan was doing. Every time Mu Bai learned something about Mo Fan, he would simply cultivate in seclusion just so he could surpass Mo Fan and get his revenge.

“It’s me, it’s been a while,” Mo Fan wore a charming smile, yet his palm was surrounded by lightning flickers. If the guy spoke another foul word to him, he would not mind teaching him a lesson, just like old times!

“Boss, should I call people over to throw this guy out? Doesn’t he know whose territory is this?” blurted out the worker when he saw his superior’s reaction.

“Piss off, it’s none of your business,” said Zhao Kunsan impatiently.

Is he serious? Even the Magicians in the entire street were no match for Mo Fan. Zhao Kunsan was not dumb, and was well aware of Mo Fan’s strength.

“It seems like you’re enjoying yourself here,” Mo Fan withdrew the lightning and patted Zhao Kunsan’s shoulders heavily.

Zhao Kunsan put on an ugly smile and answered his questions unwillingly.

—

As expected of Zhao Kunsan the obedient subordinate, he quickly told Mu Bai about Mo Fan’s arrival.

Mu Bai was quick to respond, too. Mo Fan had only enjoyed a few sips of tea in the shop when the guy walked in expressionlessly.

“Green Tea Man, it’s been a while,” Mo Fan observed Mu Bai.

As always, Mu Bai was well-dressed and groomed. He basically still looked he was from a wealthy family.

However, Mo Fan noticed that the arrogance and pride the guy used to display between his brows had disappeared, replaced with a hint of steadiness. It did seem like he had changed after the calamity of Bo City.

According to Shorty, Mu Bai had bought the entire street. It seemed like Mu Bai was quite good at doing business, as the street did not look cheap at all.

From what he had observed, Mu Bai was focusing on his cultivation, while his subordinate Zhao Kunsan handled the businesses in the street. Most of the people that had moved here from Bo City were working for him. It was a rare good deed that the guy had done, helping the people of Bo City to look after themselves.

Initially, Mu Bai was fairly calm when he walked in, yet his face immediately sank when he heard the nickname ‘Green Tea Man’, and he began to curse Mo Fan in his heart.

Liu Ru sat by, observing the two men. Somehow, she felt like the relationship between the two old friends was incredibly strange.

“Since you’re here, I will ask Zhou Ming to hang out with us tonight.” Mu Bai was still not as shameless as the person sitting in front of him. He was not in the mood to argue with a maniac like Mo Fan.

“Zhou Ming is here too?” Mo Fan asked, astonished.

Speaking of which, he had not talked to Zhou Ming for so long. The calamity of Bo City basically separated everyone. Mo Fan had no idea where they went to, nor did he know how to contact them.

“She’s studying in Ancient Capital Institute, same as me. She has been cultivating in seclusion a lot because of the preliminaries. It’s been a while since I last saw her,” said Mu Bai, after taking a sip of his tea.

“Oh?”

“Of course, she basically has no hope of getting a nomination.”

Mo Fan nodded. It was not easy to win the nomination preliminaries. Besides, Zhou Ming came from an average family. It was too difficult to be ranked top ten in Ancient Capital Institute with merely hard work.

“Oh, Wang Pangzi is here too. We should ask him too,” blurted out Zhao Kunsan, after he recalled something.

“Sure.”

Everyone had survived the calamity of Bo City, thus they did go through a lot together. The little grudges they had at school were nothing significant, although Mo Fan could tell that Mu Bai was still not willing to admit his defeat.

“I’ve booked a place. They both agreed to come knowing that you’ve come to the Ancient Capital,” said Mu Bai a bit later, after putting his phone aside.

“Green… Mu Bai, are you doing this for the Mu Family, or yourself?” Mo Fan took a look at the shop. He realized that the shop was not cheap at all.

“Myself, the Mu Family… humph, they are treating us like beggars,” Mu Bai harrumphed coldly, obviously holding a grudge against the Mu Family.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan raised his eyebrows, intrigued by the topic.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you about it. Basically, the main Mu Family has no respect for a little branch family like us. Their only interest is Mu Ningxue, because of her innate talent…” said Mu Bai.

“Her innate talent is very strong, indeed!” Mo Fan agreed.

Mu Ningxue’s innate talent was not as simple as he had seen before. He still could not forget the overwhelming power of the Ice Crystal Bow.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In a local Xiaxi cuisine restaurant, Mo Fan, Mu Bai, Zhao Kunsan, Wang Pangzi, and Zhou Ming were seated together. This was most likely the first gathering between the old classmates from high school since the calamity of Bo City. Mo Fan was relieved to see their familiar faces.

“Mo Fan, isn’t your girlfriend coming too?” asked Zhao Kunsan.

“Oh, she already went back,” Mo Fan knew Zhao Kunsan was referring to Liu Ru.

Liu Ru had never met Mo Fan’s friends. Besides, they would most likely talk about their past during the time in high school, thus she felt like it was better not to join the dinner. She went to visit Su Xiaoluo instead, checking on the settlement of the villagers.

“You have a girlfriend now?” asked Zhou Ming, blinking her large eyes.

“Not really… by the way, our Zhou Ming has grown prettier. Why didn’t any of you target her?” asked Mo Fan.

Wang Pangzi and Zhao Kunsan uttered hollow laughs. They did want to chase her, yet none of them was an Intermediate Magician. They might even be stuck in the Basic Level for the rest of their lives. On the other hand, Zhou Ming was already a top student in the Ancient Capital Institute.

“How was your training in the Goose Tower?” asked Mu Bai.

Zhou Ming was dressed in casual clothes today, yet her eyes still had the usual determination and pride of a youthful girl in them. One could easily tell that she was excited to see Mo Fan after such a long time, as she kept asking him questions.

“How can we talk about cultivation in front of Mo Fan?” Zhou Ming raised her tone and rolled her eyes.

“Why not, it’s fine… I’ve got more Elements to train, so my cultivation is a bit mixed up,” said Mo Fan humbly.

“Really, let me see what your level is now.” It felt like Zhou Ming had purposely led the conversation until now, and blurted out quicklyafter Mo Fan took the bait.

Zhou Ming quickly inspected him.

Mo Fan did not prepare himself. He could sense Zhou Ming’s will roaming wildly in his Spiritual World. The process would not do any harm to him, as long as the person was not a Psychic.

“Huh, it’s only a Level Two Nebula!” Zhou Ming’s will was interrupted by Mo Fan as she was sensing one of Mo Fan’s Nebulas, leaving the girl pouting unhappily.

“Hehe, I never said I’m strong,” Mo Fan wore a humble smile.

“Damn, a Level Two Nebula is already very strong!” cried Wang Pangzi, who looked as if he had lost completely.

“Zhou Ming, does that mean you’ve reached Level Three?” asked Mu Bai, raising his brows.

“No way! Once I learn the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls, I’ll be able to handle the Corpse Generals. My ranking will climb higher, too!” said Zhou Ming.

Curious after hearing Zhou Ming’s grumble, Mo Fan asked, “Wait, your ranking is decided by defeating Corpse Generals?”

“The undead, to be precise,” Mu Bai corrected. He continued on when he saw the same confused look on Mo Fan’s face. “Instead of having the students fighting one another in meaningless duels, it’s better to simply let the students put their efforts into dealing with the undead. It’s simply impossible to kill all the undead around here. The institute has decided to give the students scores based on the number of undead they have killed. Those with higher scores are ranked higher. As a result, those who are trying to get into the Nomination Preliminaries wait outside the walls like they are on steroids.”

Mo Fan nodded. It turned out that different institutes had different systems. The institute here in the Ancient Capital was rather intriguing, ranking the students based on the undead they had eliminated.

“Apart from the rankings, the students are asked to go on duty on the outer walls every now and then. It’s my turn tonight, but since you’re here, I snuck alll the way here from very far away instead…” added Zhou Ming unpleasantly.

“I”m flattered, then,” Mo Fan chuckled.

“Have you collected enough scores? If you didn’t have enough, you won’t get the resources from the school,” said Mu Bai.

“The monthly resources aren’t really a big deal. It’s rare for us to be able to gather together. In fact, I did miss you all,” said Zhou Ming.

Everyone fell silent after hearing the words, but somehow, they all agreed with Zhou Ming.

In high school, everyone would Awaken their Magic, study about Magic, and work hard together to achieve better results. They would go train in the wilds together, but many years had passed in the blink of an eye. As Magicians, especially after they achieved the higher levels, their lives were not without sorrow and anxiety, as they had once expected. Instead, they engaged in even more life and death situations.

It did make sense. Headmaster Zhu had told everyone the responsibilities of a Magician since day one of stepping into their high school.

Commoners might be able to live a peaceful life, but that was not the case for Magicians!

Mo Fan had witnessed countless deaths in the past few years. He had witnessed the deaths of the villagers just yesterday, but he still had to eat, sleep, and continue on with his life. What could he do?

“By the way, didn’t Xu Zhaoting go to the same school as you?” Zhao Kunsan interrupted Zhou Ming’s topic after he recalled something.

Mu Bai glared at Zhao Kunsan, as he was well aware of what happened to Xu Zhaoting.

Does he really have to mention it now!?

Wang Pangzi and Xu Zhaoting were extremely close to one another. When Zhao Kunsan mentioned Xu Zhaoting’s name, everyone could see the fat on Wang Pangzi’s face shuddering.

After taking a deep breath, Wang Pangzi asked Mo Fan sternly, “After all this time, I still have no idea how my brother died. Mo Fan, you surely know about it, right? It’s fine, I just want to know the truth.”

Mo Fan’s heart sank as he recalled the incident related to Xu Zhaoting. He tried his best to remain calm and replied, “I burned him.”

“You… burned him?” Everyone looked at Mo Fan with wide eyes.

Mo Fan told everyone the whole incident, leaving them speechless for a very long time.

“Sigh, forget it, I bet he would still choose the same thing if he were given another chance. I know him too well,” sighed Wang Pangzi.

“The Black Vatican is too damnable! If I have the chance, I’ll kill them all too!” declared Zhou Ming, clenching her teeth.

The whole room was filled with anger and hatred when the Black Vatican was mentioned. They clearly knew that they were no match for the Black Vatican with their current strength. They could only try harder to improve their cultivation, and eliminate the Black Vatican when they started stirring up chaos again.

“Damn it, I’m furious just thinking about them! Zhou Ming, aren’t you on duty tonight? Why don’t we go to the walls with you and vent our anger on the undead. Consider it as us doing a favor for the Ancient Capital and the country too!” suggested Wang Pangzi.

“So we’re not going to karaoke?” said Zhao Kunsan.

“Karaoke my ass, it’s meaningless that we simply have to eat and go singing karaoke like everyone else when we gather with old classmates. It’s more exciting to kill the undead and level up. We’re Magicians!” said Wang Pangzi righteously.

“I don’t mind.”

“My hands are itching too,” said Mo Fan with a short laugh.

Mo Fan still had a grudge against the undead due to what had happened to the villagers. He could not wait to kill some undead to get his revenge!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

After dinner, the group followed Zhou Ming to the outer walls.

She was assigned to the corner of the walls northwest of the city. The number of undead here was not as high as the number of undead at the front, hence it was more suitable for students to train and climb the rankings.

The group followed Zhou Ming to her spot. The place nearby was a residential area consisting of mostly small old houses. Looking down from a great height, one could see streets covering the entire area, splitting the area into four equal squares like pieces of tofu.

Zhou Ming’s spot was the intersection between the west walls and the north walls. The walls were wide, with roads along the top. They could easily drive a few vehicles parallel to one another on the walls.

The walls were perfectly straight, too. Standing at the corner and glancing in any direction, the walls simply felt like a highway, with dense residential buildings on one side continuing into the distance.

The walls were very long too, with no visible end in the distance. One could simply see the two lines of lights growing denser, until they disappeared into the darkness.

During night time, the walls were guarded by groups of Magicians. Occasionally, the glows from spells would flare in the dark, like fireworks exploding in the sky, followed by loud blasts on the ground, where flesh and blood were splattered in the dark.

“This is the corner guard tower. The other students should be inside,” Zhou Ming led the group to the building.

The guard tower was constructed right at the intersection between the walls. It was most likely used for rest and replenishment. An observation tower was built at the top of the place, with a Heavenly Eagle Battlemage on duty. The white Heavenly Eagle was sitting at the top of the observation tower with its wings withdrawn, but its sharp eyes were fixed on the darkness.

As they entered the guard tower, they could see people walking around. The crowd consisted of Magicians from the Magic Associations, Hunters, Battlemages, Trainees, Students… It simply felt like a small supply station, with stalls selling medicine, Equipment, and fresh loot.

After weaving through the crowd, Zhou Ming led the group to another room.

A few people were seated in the room. One could easily tell they were from the Institute from their outfits. They even had their school badges pinned to their chests.

Every Institute had their own badges, and the color of the badges usually reflected the Element School the students were in. On top of that, the lines on the badges indicated their levels.

Similarly to the badges, the Magic Association, Hunter Union, and the military also had badges to indicate their people’s identities and levels. It was essential for Magicians to team up, be it for completing quests or missions. Most people would wear the badges on their chests so people could easily see them.

Zhou Ming was wearing her school badge all along. The badge had the shape of a flame, implying that she was an Intermediate Fire Magician. The two lines at the middle meant her Fire Element Nebula was level two, thus showing that she was a level-two Intermediate Fire Magician.

Zhou Ming was curious to see Mo Fan’s badge at dinner, yet the guy was not wearing anything. She had no choice but to inspect his cultivation instead.

Mo Fan had discovered that most people in the city would wear their badge, as if there was some kind of rule.

As Zhou Ming was about to introduce the others to her classmates, when an unfriendly voice spoke.

“Those without badges should leave at once. Unauthorized personnels are not allowed here!” The person speaking was a slightly plump young man sitting in the middle. He was fairly well-clothed, wearing an obviously proud look.

“Senior Jiang Li, they are my classmates back in high school. They are all Magicians. They have come here to help me with my duty,” Zhou Ming said to the plump young man quickly.

“Tell them to wear their badges then; the Magic Association wants everyone to strictly follow the rules, otherwise we’ll be scolded by their people,” interjected a handsome man wearing a scarf.

Mu Bai was well aware of the rules around here. He glanced at Wang Pangzi and Zhao Kunsan and said, “Did you bring your badges?”

The two quickly took out their badges and pinned them on their chests.

They were both Basic Magicians, thus their badges were clearly different from the others.

The guy called Jiang Li frowned and said, “Our team is heading outside the walls tonight. You have to be at least Intermediate Magicians. Are you two planning to feed the undead tonight?”

Zhao Kunsan and Wang Pangzi blushed after hearing the words, and were clueless about whether they should stay or leave.

“It’s fine, you two will support us close to the walls, we’ll take over when we’re heading out,” said Mu Bai to the two.

“Alright, sure,” Zhao Kunsan nodded.

After allocating the two’s job, the student called Jiang Li did not comment any further. He was just about to withdraw his unsatisfied gaze when he caught a glimpse of Mo Fan, who still had not put on his badge. He immediately glared at Mo Fan and said, “Didn’t you hear what I said, are you deaf? Do you think it’s fun outside the walls?”

Zhou Ming quickly interrupted before Jiang Li could finish, before giving Mo Fan an apologetic smile.

“Your friend isn’t friendly at all,” Mo Fan smiled indifferently, and simply took out a badge from his pocket.

Since Mo Fan only needed to wear the badge to prove his identity, he was not arrogant enough to take all four of his badges out. He randomly picked one and pulled it out, which turned out to be the Shadow Element’s badge.

“Second-level Intermediate Magician? So you’re good.” The handsome student seemed fairly easy-going, saying that with a smile.

“He’s the representative of the new students of Pearl Institute!” Zhou Ming added.

“The representative of new students from Pearl Institute is only a second-level Intermediate Magician? Guess that’s the standard of Pearl Institute,” mocked Jiang Li, who showed no respect to Mo Fan’s second-level Shadow Element.

“Alright, that’s enough. We should wait until we receive our orders. They should be arriving any time now,” said a man in his thirties wearing a Hunter’s badge.

The man seemed to be the captain of the team consisting of students, as they would need a fairly experienced person to give them guidance when dealing with the undead.

—

Wang Pangzi came up to Mo Fan and whispered, “Mo Fan, please don’t scare me like that; your supporting Element, the Shadow Element is already level two in the Intermediate Level. Does that mean your two main Elements…”

“They are slightly higher,” Mo Fan answered Wang Pangzi’s question honestly.

Wang Pangzi was left dumbfounded!

However, he soon wore an evil grin and said, “Zhou Ming’s senior is being too full of himself. When you show him your true strength… hehehehe, taking out the badge of your supporting Element, Mo Fan, you’re truly an expert, nice fronting!”

“I wasn’t fronting, I simply picked one…”

“Tsk tsk, simply picked one…”

“Alright, I do feel like I’ve overdone it…”

“It’s fine, you do have the right to do so!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Dark clouds hung low in the sky, it felt like they could almost touch the top of the observation tower.

A man in uniform was sitting inside the observation tower, an unlit cigarette in his mouth. His eyes were lazily scanning the dusky land ahead.

A few skeletons were roaming aimlessly, while a few zombies were leaning against the walls, trying to climb them. A few fairly quick undead were sprinting around. These were like small animals in the eyes of the soldiers, hence the man simply did not put too much attention on them.

Suddenly, the Heavenly Eagle circling around the observation tower let out a warning cry.

The soldier quickly spat out the cigarette in his mouth and locked his gaze in the direction the Heavenly Eagle had warned him about.

Two deep groans echoed in the darkness, followed by a huge section of the solid ground being shoved aside. A creature with horns like bulls, but in the wrong direction, rose from the gap.

When it stomped its feet on the ground, it immediately blew away the dust all around it.

The sinister bones were making a terrifying crackling noise as the creature moved. Its bloodshot eyes were like two LED lamps, emitting an eerie glow!

The creature immediately saw the Heavenly Eagle soaring in the sky as soon as it woke up from its sleep. It was enraged and tossed a giant rock into the sky.

The Heavenly Eagle reacted swiftly, altering its path and dodging the rock.

The Heavenly Eagle did not dare to stay any longer. It quickly returned to the observation tower.

The man in uniform observed the creature’s direction of movement and frowned. He brought a communication device to his lips and said sternly, “Attention, a Warrior-level undead has appeared in the northeast. Attention, a Warrior-level undead has appeared in the northeast. It seems like it’s trying to destroy the walls. Eliminate it at once!”

——

The voice soon spread into the tower, including the room the students were waiting in.

The Hunter in his thirties immediately rose to his feet. He glanced at the group, who had fully prepared themselves, and said, “It’s a Warrior-level undead! The other teams were all entrusted with missions. It seems like we’ll have to deal with it.”

“Humph, it’s meaningless to only fight against the Servant-class undead. They should have let us fight against Warrior-level creatures long ago,” Jiang Li laughed with great anticipation.

“We’ll receive lots of merits if we can kill a Warrior-level undead!” said the female student wearing a hat excitedly.

“Warrior-level undead are fairly savage, we have to be more cautious,” warned the Hunter.

“It won’t be a problem for us. Our only worry is that these guys who just joined us are only a bunch of rookies. They are likely going to wet their pants soon,” replied Jiang Li.

——

The team had seven people: the Hunter who was the team’s leader, the irritating Jiang Li, the handsome man, the girl wearing a hat, Zhou Ming, Mo Fan, and Mu Bai. Wang Pangzi and Zhao Kunsan were staying close to the walls. They were too weak to fight against a Warrior-level undead.

As the seven finished preparing themselves, the Heavenly Eagle Battlemage flew over to them. He glanced at the team and said sternly, “Eliminate the creature as soon as possible. We can’t let it get close to the walls.”

“Don’t worry, the seven of us are all Intermediate Magicians. We won’t have any problem dealing with a Warrior-level undead,” said the Hunter leader.

The team only had five people before. With Mo Fan and Mu Bai in the team, it would be a lot easier to take down a Warrior-level undead.

“Alright, I’ll ask a group of Magicians on the walls to open a path for your team. I’ll leave the rest to you,” said the Battlemage.

A white glowing light appeared on the Battlemage’s hand, which he fired into the sky above the walls.

Once the signal was sent out, a group of Magicians quickly gathered. The uniformed soldiers seemed fairly well-trained, who quickly lining up on the walls.

“Straight ahead, fire!”

The Battlemage in the air gave the group of Magicians the order.

The Magicians immediately drew their Star Patterns. Bright red glows encapsulated them as they finished casting Fire Bursts.

The group consisted of thirty people, each a Fire Magician. Every one of them was holding a ball of restless flame in their hand.

Thirty fireballs were thrown down the walls at the same time, resulting in a small meteor shower pouring down. The undead close to the walls were instantly burned into ashes…

“Continue!”

Another thirty Fire Bursts were launched further away from the walls. The fire immediately dyed the black land red, setting the ground aflame, like a burning red carpet. The undead gathering close to the walls were burned to death.

“Alright, let’s move out!”

The leader waved his hand when he saw the path was cleared, and was the first to jump down from the tall walls.

The others were quite courageous, too, quickly following their leader and jumping down from the walls.

The remaining flames were still burning the ground close to their feet. The group of Fire Magicians on the walls had opened a path for them, allowing them to reach the Warrior-level undead fairly quickly.

Their advance was incredibly smooth, but soon everyone had walked out of the range of the Fire Magicians. They would have to clear the rest of the path themselves.

Everyone in the team was an Intermediate Magician, and adept at using Basic Spells. In order to preserve energy, they were using Basic Spells to handle the zombies and skeletons lunging at them, and occasionally an Intermediate Spell to clear a huge group of undead.

“It’s a Fierce Bone Undead General. It doesn’t have any unique moves, but its body is solid like steel because of its bones, which also grant it a formidable strength…” The experienced Hunter soon identified the type of the Warrior-level undead.

Fierce Bone Undead General, a variant that was considered fairly savage among the undead skeletons. Normally, a team of elite Intermediate Magicians was needed to eliminate it.

As a matter of fact, the Fierce Bone Undead General was already quite close to the walls. It was at most three hundred meters away. As the seven Magicians were charging in its direction, it was also charging at the team.

In the dark, a pair of bloodshot eyes appeared first. As everyone assumed the creature was still some distance away, its sinister white bones were already racing in the team’s direction like a truck!

“Defensive position, maintain the formation, Rock Barrier!” yelled the Hunter.

Even though the Fierce Bone Undead General had yet to collide with anyone, the visual impact of its aggressive attack swept into the team’s minds like a tide of terror!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The large Rock Barrier was crushed into pieces when the Fierce Bone Undead General slammed into it. It was obviously not sturdy enough, as the Warrior-level creature’s bones were a few times stronger than the rocks!

“Damn it, spread out, quick!” the leader immediately yelled at his team behind him when he saw that something was not right.

While giving the order, the leader slammed his hands on the ground, spreading the layer of black soil apart rapidly like a wave…

The wave helped the team to spread out as the ferocious Fierce Bone Undead General went past the team members in the middle. Long bones like horns on its shoulders suddenly left its body and flew at the scattering Magicians like huge spikes!

“My hand! My hand!” the girl wearing a hat instantly screamed.

A spike like a long spear had penetrated her arm and nailed her to the ground. Fresh blood poured out from her arm and flowed to her hand.

“Damn it, something isn’t right about this Fierce Bone Undead General!” The leader glanced at his team member and cursed in his heart.

Mu Bai was the closest to the girl. He jumped in front of the girl and grabbed the spike with his hand covered in frost. The frost rapidly spread along the spike. Not only did it freeze the spike, but it also froze the cut on the girl’s arm.

Mu Bai clenched his hand into a fist, shattering the two segments of the spike into pieces, leaving the part that had punctured the girl’s hand as it was to stop the bleeding.

The bones of a Warrior-level undead were usually poisonous. If the poison was allowed to spread to the rest of her body, not only would she lose her arm, her life would be at risk too…

“How do you feel?” Mu Bai asked the girl.

The girl’s pale face slightly recovered. She could no longer feel her arm and the wound as they were frozen. She was able to calm down after the pain disappeared, “Much better!”

Mu Bai asked the girl to stand further away. He turned around and faced the Fierce Bone Undead General. A Star Pattern was drawn adeptly under his feet. A moment later, three ice chains simultaneously appeared on his sides.

The ice chains danced wildly as they flew at the Fierce Bone Undead General. The chains quickly wrapped around the undead’s lower limbs, arms, and waist to hinder its movement.

The Fierce Bone Undead General’s strength was shocking. It forcibly broke free from the chains before the frost could even penetrate its body. The pieces of broken ice chains splintered across the place.

“Back off, I’ll let it have a piece of my Wind Disc!” yelled Jiang Li.

A strong gust containing dark streaks of energy rose like a giant black serpent and swept forward rapidly.

The strong wind slammed into the Fierce Bone Undead General’s body with great might. The creature did not dodge the attack, but opened its arms and slapped in the direction of the black gust!

The strong black gust began to twist. As the formidable force of the wind collided with the gust, the wind instantly broke down into different flurries of air and swept through the surroundings.

A few other Spells were fired at the Fierce Bone Undead General, including a blazing red Fiery Fist: Groundbreak, a purple Thunderbolt, a green Magic Vine, and the leader’s Ice Lock: Bone Husk…

Any other Warrior-level creature would be covered in wounds and bruises after receiving so many Intermediate Spells, even if it were still alive… yet as the flames, shackles of ice, and broken vines fell to the ground, the team discovered that the Fierce Bone Undead General’s bones as sturdy as steel, as if the spells were completely useless against the creature!

“What kind of defense is that!?” yelled Zhou Ming.

Skeletons were usually harder to deal with compared to zombies, as skeletons had gotten rid of the useless flesh after refining a certain amount of energy of the dead, resulting in sturdier bones. In terms of lineage, skeletons usually had a higher lineage than zombies, hence a Warrior-level skeleton was more difficult to handle than a Warrior-level zombie.

Everyone had fought against more Warrior-level zombies than Warrior-level skeletons. However, the skeleton before them was a lot trickier to deal with. They simply were clueless about how to fight it.

“Our spells are not strong enough to inflict damage to it. Let’s back off a little and think of some other plan,” said the leader decisively.

“But what happens if it gets close to the walls? It could easily break a hole in the walls with its strength!” blurted out Zhou Ming.

“Zhou Ming, watch out!”

Zhou Ming was still in the middle of speaking when the Fierce Bone Undead General suddenly drew out a sharp spike from its body and hurled it at her!

Zhou Ming did not think the Fierce Bone Undead General would still be able to attack her, given the distance between them. She was caught completely off guard. Even if she were able to summon her Shield Equipment, she could not tell if it was strong enough to defend her from the spike!

As Zhou Ming’s thoughts were frozen, a lump of black shadow suddenly appeared in front of her.

Zhou Ming flinched, discovering that Mo Fan had eerily risen from the shadow and was now standing in front of her.

“Departing Nether Shield!” Mo Fan pushed one of his arms forward.

A blue glow immediately gathered on his hand, taking the shape of a shield and quickly materializing!

The Departing Nether Shield with a blue metallic luster appeared in front of Mo Fan. The shield stuck into the ground, just tall enough to shield a human behind it.

The sharp spike collided with the shield. Its penetrative force was extremely shocking. Mo Fan’s Departing Nether Shield was considered high-quality Equipment, yet the spike managed to dig into the shield and almost penetrated it!

Mo Fan who was standing behind the shield could see the tip of the spike in front of him. His eyes totally widened.

“Damn it, you’re not the only one with spikes!”

Any strong impact would trigger the Departing Nether Shield’s counterattack.

A dark blue spike suddenly flew out from the Departing Nether Shield, which flew right at the Fierce Bone Undead General’s face in a cold flicker of light!

The Departing Nether Spike coincidentally stabbed into the Fierce Bone Undead General’s left eye and was stuck inside it…

That eye of the Fierce Bone Undead General, which was previously glowing like an LED, simply turned dim. The creature, which could not feel any pain, was not too bothered when one of its eyes went out. It simply tensed its legs and dashed ahead!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“F**k me!” cursed Mo Fan when he realized that the Fierce Bone Undead General was targeting him.

When the others were firing Intermediate Spells at the creature, it only tried to ram them brainlessly, yet the creature simply charged toward him as if it had found its long-lost father, when he only triggered the defensive counterattack of the Departing Nether Shield!

Mo Fan was planning to kite the Fierce Bone Undead General using his Fleeing Shadow. However, when he remembered that Zhou Ming was still standing behind him, it would be a disaster if the Fierce Bone Undead General attacked Zhou Ming instead when he ran away.

“Black Snake Magic Armor!” Mo Fan had no choice, but to be a hero once again, turning himself into a sturdy shield to protect his high school classmate.

After the Black Snake Magic Armor was summoned, Mo Fan was immediately surrounded by several faint black snakes. As they extended their bodies, his whole body was covered in black scales, from head to toes, a full suit!

The Black Snake Magic Armor was not ordinary, granting Mo Fan an imperious appearance. Zhou Ming, who was standing behind him, was stunned, as if she had just watched Saint Seiya putting on his golden armor in a marvelous way…

However, in less than a second, the furious Fierce Bone Undead General had reached Mo Fan. It raised skeletal arms as hard as steel hammers and smashed down fiercely!

“Save him, quick!” screamed Mu Bai in a panic.

Why wasn’t anyone casting spells to interrupt the Fierce Bone Undead General’s attack? Even though Mo Fan was wearing armor, the Fierce Bone Undead General’s strength was too formidable. The armor would simply be crushed into scraps. The weak body of a Magician would not be able to survive the impact!

The ground had cratered under the Fierce Bone Undead General’s attack. The creature pulled its arms back in satisfaction. It glanced into the hole with its remaining right eye where the human was supposed to be turned into minced meat…

A human figure had been knocked deep into the ground. The black armor plate was still emitting a reflective flicker!

Not dead yet?  ( Boxno vel. co m )

The Fierce Bone Undead General was slightly confused, despite being an undead. The swing alone could easily smash a Warrior-level demon beast half-dead, let alone a human!

The Fierce Bone Undead General was agitated; it uttered a roar and dragged Mo Fan out from the hole.

The creature’s palm was enormous, big enough to grab him by the chest. As if the creature was worried that the ground was not solid enough, it raised its other arm and swung it wildly at the hand holding Mo Fan!

As the other hand approached its target, the creature quickly let go of its grip on the first hand, as it was trying to smash Mo Fan between its palms!

The bones collided with one another. The tip of the bones began to crack, with bone splinters falling everywhere…

Following the self-damaging attack, the Fierce Bone Undead General finally pulled its hands apart. However, the Fierce Bone Undead General’s red eye immediately emitted an enraged glow!

The human covered in armor was not crushed by its attack, nor was his flesh and blood splattered in its palms. The sturdy armor simply left a huge crack in its palms from the overwhelming impact.

As the creature tried to exert more force, its bones began to shatter where the cracks were. A few segments of its bones broke into pieces and fell to the ground!

The leader, Mu Bai, Zhou Ming, Jiang Li, the girl wearing a hat, and the handsome man almost felt like their jaws were dropping together with the creature’s broken bones!

“What…what kind of defense is that!?” uttered Zhou Ming again. She had most likely forgotten that she had used the same words to describe the Fierce Bone Undead General’s defense!

“Such incredible armor!”

“It feels like the Fierce Bone Undead General can’t do anything about it…”

The Fierce Bone Undead General failed to smack Mo Fan to death even after it had smashed its own palms into pieces. Mo Fan’s armor was simply too unbelievable…

Mo Fan remained motile as he escaped from between the creature’s palms. He immediately cursed when he realized that everyone was looking at him as if he were a monster!

The Fierce Bone Undead General’s strength was not enough to break his sturdy armor, yet he had still suffered the impact from the collision. He was feeling extremely dizzy and his bones were on the verge of collapsing…

The Fierce Bone Undead General let out a great roar, as if it had gone mad from humiliation.

Initially, its goal was to pursue the scent of fresh living humans coming from inside the walls, but now, its only focus was to smash the human before it into pieces!

“What are you waiting for? Mu Bai, use your Ice Spells to freeze its legs! We’ll attack its legs so it won’t be able to charge at us further!” yelled Mo Fan.

Mu Bai came to a realization after hearing Mo Fan’s suggestion.

That’s right, he did freeze the bone spike and shatter it into pieces, yet why didn’t he try to freeze the lower limbs of the Fierce Bone Undead General?

Anything extremely sturdy, like bones, would become extremely fragile after they were frozen!

Mo Fan’s suggestion immediately woke the team up. The Hunter leader, who also had the Ice Element, immediately cast the spell to freeze the Fierce Bone Undead General’s lower limbs while the creature was feeling defeated after failing to crush Mo Fan.

The Fierce Bone Undead General’s lower limbs were rather thin, even though they had to support such a massive body weight. It was the most vulnerable part of the creature!

The effect of an Ice Spread lasted fairly long. Many people would ignore the spell that did not pose any threat when it was first cast, yet as time passed and combined with Ice Lock, the frost would turn out to be extremely effective.

Mu Bai and the leader’s Ice Spells gradually became effective, too. The frost continued to penetrate the Fierce Bone Undead General’s bones, joints, and legs!

“More firepower!” Mo Fan had been observing the Fierce Bone Undead General’s lower limbs. He discovered that the creature’s movement was not as easy as before. Each step it took seemed to require great effort…

“Alright, now…Thunderbolt!”

Mo Fan quickly completed the Lightning Star Pattern and pointed in the sky above the Fierce Bone Undead General.

Stormy clouds appeared immediately, and following the purple-black flicker in Mo Fan’s eyes, a shocking purple lightning bolt struck down with great power.

The lightning bolt was perfectly straight, yet it somehow swept past the Fierce Bone Undead General without landing on the creature’s body.

“Holy crap, how did you even miss that?”

“The hell, are you stupid? Did you seriously miss that?” scolded Jiang Li instantly.

“Idiot, shut the f**k up!” shouted Mo Fan.

The Fierce Bone Undead General’s lower limbs suddenly emitted a loud crack.

Lots of cracks began to appear around the joints on the Fierce Bone Undead General’s legs, and continued to spread along its limbs.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

With a great crack, the Fierce Bone Undead General’s lower limbs broke into pieces as the Thunderbolt swept past its legs. Its body simply collapsed under its own weight!

The Fierce Bone Undead General fell to the ground as it lost its support, like a building made of stone crumbling down to the ground.

“So your Lightning Seed has a space-trembling effect…” exclaimed the leader joyfully as he alertly noticed something out of the ordinary.

Anything fragile was unable to withstand any high-frequency vibration. Mo Fan’s Thunderbolt was not aiming at the Fierce Bone Undead General, as it was not strong enough to inflict any damage to its sturdy bones.

However, if the Thunderbolt swept past the Fierce Bone Undead General nearby, it would simply vibrate the space and the ground nearby, resulting in a shockwave that would shatter the fragile frozen lower limbs of the Fierce Bone Undead General.

Since the Fierce Bone Undead General’s legs were destroyed, its body alone could no longer pose any threat to the team. Meanwhile, the frost had penetrated deeper into the creature’s body, freezing the remaining joints of the immobilized creature.

As frost completely covered the creature’s body, another heavy blow alone would simply shatter the creature into pieces…

“Mo Fan, you’re so damn good,” Zhou Ming’s eyes flickered, the typical behavior of a young girl adoring someone.

“Hey kid, are you seriously just a student? It’s rare to see a student able to defeat powerful creatures so cleverly,” the leader complimented him sincerely.

————

The team returned with glory after defeating the Warrior-level undead.

There were many Magicians on the walls, although most of them were Basic Magicians. They noticed the battle not far away from the walls while they were defending the walls against the undead. They initially thought the team would be forced to withdraw as the Fierce Bone Undead General was extremely strong, yet to their surprise, the team managed to defeat it so quickly…

“Impressive, very impressive; the Fierce Bone Undead General is almost as strong as a Big Skeleton General, yet you still managed to defeat it!” complimented the Hunters close to the walls.

“It’s all thanks to this new student,” the leader humbly patted Mo Fan’s shoulder.

Zhao Kunsan and Wang Pangzi never stopped complimenting Mo Fan, either.

Zhao Kunsan was a typical vengeful person, who immediately spoke in a weird tone, “Unlike someone else, who likes to criticize people when he’s totally useless! All he did was cast some ineffective spells, I could probably do the same too!”  ( Boxno vel. co m )

“Yeah, that’s right!” Wang Pangzi added, “I told you, having a higher level doesn’t mean you’re good at killing demon beasts.”

Interesting colors played over Jiang Li’s face. He had a strong urge to simply tear the two’s mouths apart.

However, it was true that he did not contribute much. He could not find any words to rebuke their accusations, and could only glare at Mo Fan.

Zhao Kunsan and Wang Pangzi were so vengeful that they kept paying the grudge they bore back to Jiang Li ten times over, and he ended up leaving in anger.

“Was that a bit too much?” asked Mu Bai.

“I don’t think so; you shouldn’t be too merciful against people like him.” Mo Fan thought Zhao Kunsan and Wang Pangzi did a great job.

“My score is going to rise a lot after killing the Skeleton General, hehe!” Zhou Ming was in a great mood. Not only was she able to receive the same amount of resources for the month, she might be rewarded with more instead.

Mo Fan smiled, too. As he was about to speak, his side glance caught a glimpse of the walls being covered in a huge blood-colored glow.

The blood-colored glow was followed by a loud bell ringing, which echoed over the outer walls, startling everyone!

“What was that?” Mo Fan asked, confused.

“Something big has appeared, that was a warning!” explained the leader.

“Something big?” asked Mo Fan.

The ringing of the bell lasted for quite some time. It kept people alert, as if it contained some unique power.

“I don’t know… mmm, that’s the signal for us to gather together. It’s asking all the Magicians that were not on duty to gather on the north wall!” The leader raised his eyes and watched a few white lights flickering in the sky.

Mo Fan had also seen the white lights, which were shining brightly, like fireworks. He was not from the Ancient Capital, so he had no idea what the signal meant.

“It feels like something is happening, they need support from Magicians,” added Mu Bai, as he glanced at the long walls.

“Let’s head over, I haven’t done anything today!” Jiang Li was eager to show his capabilities.

“Four signals in a row, that means it’s an emergency! The girl who’s injured should stay here. Everyone else will head over at once. They must have trouble getting people over in time, hence they were forced to use the Brilliant Light to signal the others, hoping the Intermediate Magicians nearby could lend a hand,” deduced the leader sternly.

“Mo Fan, should we go and take a look?” asked Zhou Ming.

The signal was similar to an SOS signal. Normally, it was up to the Magicians to decide if they were willing to help, but when the signal consisted of four consecutive flares, the Magicians from Institutes, Magic Associations, the Hunter Union, and the renowned families were obliged to lend a hand. Those who purposely decided not to help and left would be expelled from their respective factions.

“People won’t use Assembly Signals in normal circumstances. Something big must have happened,” said Mu Bai.

“Come, let’s go.”

“Mmm, to the tower on the northern walls!”

——

The main tower of the walls in the north was located at the entrance of the northern walls. The tower was a lot bigger than the corner towers. It simply felt like a magnificent pagoda standing firmly atop the walls!

The Assembly Signal was fired from here. When Mo Fan and the others arrived, the place was already crowded with Magicians. Most of them were Basic Magicians, based on the badges they were wearing on their chests.

There were only a few Intermediate Magicians available at this time, as most of them were currently on duty. Students like Zhou Ming, Mu Bai, and the others were considered a special kind.

“All Magicians in the Intermediate Level and above should gather at the top of the walls. The other will remain here on standby,” a loud voice rang out, echoing in the ears of the Magicians.

The few Intermediate Magicians immediately made their way up into a hall that was open on both ends, where they could see the darkness looming over the vast land in the distance.

“Are these all we have?” asked a deep voice.

A man with a beard and an extraordinary temperament walked down from the stairs leading to somewhere higher in the tower, followed by a Royal Guard and a Commander.

“Greetings, Councilman!”

“Greetings, Councilman!”

A few Intermediate Magicians who were fairly active around the area immediately greeted him respectfully.

Mo Fan glanced ahead. He immediately recognized the person just by the beard on the person’s face. His eyes widened.

Councilman Zhu Meng was glancing at the group of Magicians too, and his eyes also widened as he just happened to exchange glances with Mo Fan.

“It’s you again, the kid with bad luck!” Councilman Zhu Meng was stunned for a second.

“I did feel like it’s quite bad luck to stumble into you!” replied Mo Fan.

“How bold!” The Commander glared at Mo Fan when he saw the young Magician being disrespectful.

Zhu Meng waved his hand. He had gotten used to being scolded by the daring kid back in Hangzhou. He never assumed the kid would respect him. He did not continue on the topic, as it seemed like he had something urgent to say.

However, the leader, Zhou Ming, Mu Bai, and even Jiang Li were looking at Mo Fan in bewilderment. They could not understand why Mo Fan, who was only an Intermediate Magician, would know someone like Councilman Zhu Meng!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m glad that you’re all here, but I have something unfortunate to tell you,” said Councilman Zhu Meng expressionlessly.

As he spoke, he walked toward the edge of the hall in his black boots, standing close to the barrier engraved with patterns of dragons and phoenixes.

He paused his speech, the group could only see his fairly depressed back.

“A Dark Abyss has appeared thirty kilometers to the north!” Councilman Zhu Meng finally finished.

As he mentioned the Dark Abyss, he was saying it with a sigh, as if he was not willing to say the term too loudly.

“Dark Abyss?”

“Why would something like that appear so close to the city? Is there a mistake?” yelled one of the Hunters.

“Heavens, only thirty kilometers away! Are we seriously going to be overrun by the undead!?” yelled a middle-aged Magician.

Mo Fan scanned his surroundings and discovered that everyone’s expressions had changed. He was clueless what the term ‘Dark Abyss’ meant since he had come from a different place. He had no choice but to ask the leader of the team, Zhong Zishan.

“What’s a Dark Abyss? Why did everyone panic after hearing it?” he asked quickly.

Zhong Zishan recovered from his astonishment. It seemed like he was also having a hard time believing the information.

“Do you know what I thought the most terrifying thing in this world was?” asked Zhong Zishan instead.

“What?” asked Mo Fan.

“It was a Commander-level undead that bit one of my arms off. That thing almost killed me…” said Zhong Zishan, who added after his face twisted badly, “But I no longer have the same thought after I saw a Dark Abyss.”

Zhong Zishan recalled his past. He remembered the scene so clearly that his eyes were filled with wisps of blood from fear!

“The Dark Abyss can be described as a burning pot of Hell with its lid removed. You can clearly see the edge of Hell when you stand close to the edge. Hundreds of ghosts uttering cries of hatred, thousands of zombies munching at anything that is moving, including their own kind. Ten thousand demons, waving their claws waiting for fresh blood to be poured on them…I was unlucky enough to encounter the smallest Dark Abyss possible when I first became a Hunter. My friend, whom I grew up with since childhood, fell into it. I watched him fall, watched the countless hands drag him down as the undead crawled onto him, forming a giant ball of undead. At that time, I was sure that if anyone mentioned that going to Hell was the greatest curse and punishment ever, falling into a Dark Abyss was on a similar level. The only thought I had left back then was to pray that I wouldn’t fall into it, too.”

Mo Fan could feel goosebumps all over his body after hearing Zhong Zishan’s description!

“The Dark Abyss is the entrance to Hell. Maybe it wouldn’t be as terrifying if it simply remained in the same place, but it also has a shocking trait,” added Mu Bai.

“What trait?” asked Mo Fan.

“Not only will it continue to expand after devouring lives, it’s Space Unpredictability is the biggest problem too,” said Mu Bai.

“What’s Space Unpredictability?”

“It means you will never know where it will appear, and where it will move to in the next second!” said Zhong Zishan.

“How…how is that possible?” Mo Fan stammered.

Mo Fan understood that the Dark Abyss was a hole filled with countless undead, it was reasonable for it to be capable of devouring anything nearby. However, it was unbelievable that such a hole would also drift in space to elsewhere. That didn’t make sense at all!

“When the hatred of the Dark Abyss reaches a certain level, the space will crumble and break down, which will allow the Dark Abyss to teleport elsewhere. As for how it does that, we are still totally clueless. Not many people have walked out from a Dark Abyss. Even a Forbidden Magician would die in the burning lava of hell,” said a hoarse voice. The person speaking was none other than Councilman Zhu Meng who had a worried look.

“The energy is strong enough to affect space…” Mo Fan fell into deep thought.

It was Mo Fan’s first time learning about something related to space. However, since the Space Element existed, it was possible for something to drift in space too!

Mo Fan did not expect that the Land of the Undead would have a Dark Abyss that even magic could not explain. However, in the world he came from, there were many things that Science could not explain, either…

“If the Dark Abyss is unpredictable, why are we worrying, then? Is it because the Dark Abyss will expand thirty kilometers and devour this whole place too? Is it really that crazy?!” asked Mo Fan.

“Expanding thirty kilometers isn’t possible, otherwise, it wouldn’t just be the entrance to Hell, it would simply be Hell on Earth…but the last time the Dark Abyss appeared…” Zhong Zishan trailed off.

“That’s right, the last time the Dark Abyss appeared, it was more than a hundred kilometers away from the city,” Councilman Zhu Meng took over when he heard the people mentioning it. “As a matter of fact, around half a year ago, the Dark Abyss also appeared in a valley around six hundred kilometers away. Not many people know about it since it was so far away, and quite close to the Drifting Sand River.”

Mo Fan was startled. He immediately asked Councilman Zhu Meng about the exact time.

“It’s the same day!” Mo Fan was shocked.

Around half a year ago, that was when Mo Fan was at the Burning Valley, northwest of the Drifting Sand River.

The Fire Calamity had cleansed the Burning Valley back then, but at the same time, another strange phenomenon occurred: the restlessness of the Drifting Sand River!

Everyone thought it was some side-effect of the Fire Calamity, yet Xinxia, who was a Psychic, was extremely confident that the creatures were not panicking because of the Fire Calamity!

It turned out that the reason was because of the Dark Abyss!

The day that the Dark Abyss had appeared to the west of the Drifting Sand River was the same day Mo Fan and the others were experiencing the strange behavior of the Drifting Sand River!

The Drifting Sand River was a terrifying place, as no one knew how many White Sand Demons were buried under the white sand. However, Mo Fan was astounded by the fact that a small Dark Abyss had made the whole population of the Drifting Sand River, which covered over half a province, restless!

“So the second time it appeared…” prodded Mo Fan.

“That was three months ago, around the Xianchi area, and my students just happened to be there!” spoke up a soldier wearing a black cape coming down the stairs, looking at Mo Fan.

“You are?” Mo Fan was confused when he saw the man looking at him.

“He’s the Chief Military Instructor of the Ancient Capital military; you seriously don’t know any of them?” asked Jiang Li, saluting Fei Jiao.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Fei Jiao ignored Jiang Li, who was trying to fawn upon him, and went up to Mo Fan.

“I was the one who contacted you, Zhang Xiaohou is my student,” Fei Jiao wore a smile. It was obvious that he had received the latest news from Mo Fan.

“Oh, oh, sorry; I didn’t recognize your voice,” Mo Fan smiled awkwardly.

Mo Fan did contact him through the phone, yet to his surprise, the guy looked fairly young despite his aged voice. He was in his thirties, yet he was already the Chief Military Instructor of the Ancient Capital military. This Fei Jiao was definitely no ordinary person!

“It’s fine. To be honest, I was quite impressed; no one would dare go there within a year knowing that a Dark Abyss has appeared, but you went, and you even brought my student back…” said Fei Jiao.

“Was? I bet you didn’t know an outsider like me had no idea what a Dark Abyss was!” replied Mo Fan.

“HAHAHA! I didn’t mean that, but my student didn’t mention you only once. His admiration of you greatly surpassed that toward me and other instructors here. But, you’re no ordinary person yourself either; I’ve heard many stories about you,” Fei Jiao extended his hand and gave Mo Fan a friendly handshake.

There were at least forty Magicians in the room, with the majority of them being Intermediate Magicians. There were also a few Advanced Magicians, too. They could not help but wonder who the kid was. Not only did the Councilman know him, even the Chief Military Instructor of the Ancient Capital was complimenting him, yet it seemed like he was only an Intermediate Magician based on his badge!

Mo Fan wore a humble smile, yet he realized that the people nearby were looking at him with envy. He did not dare to chat with Fei Jiao any further and quickly switched the topic to the business at hand.

Fei Jiao took over Zhu Meng’s role and explained, “The second Dark Abyss appeared around a hundred kilometers away from the city. My student was caught in it, and almost lost his life. As for the third time… it was only thirty kilometers away from the outer walls, a place that was still considered the city’s outskirts just a little while time ago!”

“It’s getting closer every time!” said a Hunter.

“Exactly, every time the Dark Abyss appears, it’s closer to our city…”

“Didn’t they say the Dark Abyss appears in random places? Could it be a coincidence?” said Zhong Zishan.

“We do hope that it’s a coincidence, but considering that it has happened three times in a row, we have the urge to think otherwise,” said the Commander beside Zhu Meng, who had been silent for a long time.

The Commander was mainly responsible for the defense of the outer walls. Every Battlemage on the ten-plus kilometer long northern walls was under his command.

“So you’ve gathered us here to deal with the Dark Abyss? There’s no way we can do anything against it. We’re only a bunch of Intermediate Magicians,” said someone.

“The place where Dark Abyss once appeared will have a strong presence of death, so many Warrior-level or Commander-level undead will gather there fairly soon… I hope everyone here will guard the walls tonight. Once the higher-ranked undead show any signs of approaching the walls, you will eliminate them at once!” said Councilman Zhu Meng.

“I don’t mind as long as you’re not sending us to investigate the Dark Abyss,” said a student.

“Don’t worry Councilman, we might not be able to do anything to the Dark Abyss, but we’ll surely eliminate the demon beasts trying to stir up chaos when the Dark Abyss appears. It’s our job!”

“I’m fine with that, I will guard throughout the night!”

“Count me in!”

“Me too.”

The Magicians were relieved when they learned that they were not messing with the Dark Abyss.

Everyone had come to here to contribute in the war against the undead. They would not mind guarding the walls for the night. Since there were around forty Intermediate Magicians and four or five Advanced Magicians, they could still hold a Ruler-level creature off.

As everyone expressed their willingness to lend a hand, a deep roar rocked the dim sky in the north, shaking the walls vigorously!

Everyone felt a sudden pain in their ears, as if a great shockwave coming from the horizon had just slammed into the walls.

Councilman Zhu Meng, Instructor Fei Jiao and the Commander of the North Walls were startled. They immediately glanced at a black figure in the distance…

Mo Fan followed their gaze and saw the same pitch-black figure that he had seen when he first went up to the walls. This time, he was able to get a clearer look as he was closer, with a greater visual impact!

“It’s the creature again; it’s trying to break through the walls since more undead have gathered due to the Dark Abyss!” exclaimed Zhu Meng furiously.

“This is bad! The Undead Ruler is already commanding an army of ten million undead. It’s pretty much unstoppable with the Dark Abyss nearby. We have to request backup!” declared the military advisor.

“We are running out of men,” replied Commander Lu Xu.

“It won’t work, our force isn’t strong enough. The undead never stop coming! If we can’t hold the night, the northern walls will fall to the Undead Ruler, and the city’s north will be covered in blood,” stated Fei Jiao.

“It seems like we’ll have to commence the plan we decided on earlier,” Zhu Meng frowned.

“Councilman, that’s too risky! We’ll be trapped among the undead if anything goes wrong!” protested the advisor.

“Advisor Zhu, as long as I, Zhu Meng, am in this city, I will not allow a single undead to break through! We might not have enough men to defend against the invasion, but we have the chance to kill the Undead General!” promised Zhu Meng righteously.

The reason why Zhu Meng was sitting in the highest position in the country’s Magic Association was not because he was in control of many renowned families or he was supported by many factions behind the scenes, but because he would always step forward during every disaster, leading the men. It was something that the authorities rotting in their chairs in the meetings between higher-ups as they talked about stratagems on paper could never do.

He had secured his current position with his boldness!

“No way, that won’t work; if the plan fails, who’s going to take command of the walls? Everything will fall into a mess!” Advisor Zhu was definitely against the idea of putting their lives at risk.

Councilman Zhu Meng liked to lead his men in a charge, yet it did not mean he could place everyone else in danger just because he was a Councilman.

“So how do you think we’re going to stop the Phantom Tyrant Emperor’s attack?” asked Zhu Meng in return.

“We will come up with one!”

“They will be less than three kilometers away in less than an hour,” said Zhu Meng.

“I’m still against it!” Advisor Zhu had no intention of compromising.

“What if I’m included, too?” Among the Magicians that had gathered, a man in a black fur coat and sharp eyebrows stepped forward, bearing a faint, yet confident smile.

The others switched their gaze to that person. Some from the Hunter Union recognized the person straightaway, leaving them astonished.

Mo Fan glanced at the guy, and felt him to be extremely familiar!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“A Senior Hunter!”

“Oh, Senior Hunter, when did you come to the Ancient Capital?”

“Who’s this? Why are you calling him a Senior Hunter?” Someone from the Magic Association nudged a Hunter beside him.

“You don’t know Senior Hunter Du Xiao? He’s an expert on the Xuan Ranking…” replied the Hunter, with a hint of admiration.

Mo Fan did know who the person was. When the Mother Scale Skin Phantom was stirring up chaos in Pearl Institute’s auditorium, this guy was the one who descended from the sky riding a blue creature with large horns. He totally remembered how imperious the sight was.

Meanwhile, his subordinate was a feminine man wearing a leather jacket, who was somehow related to the Clearsky Hunter Agency. Lingling always referred to him as Yao Nan.

( Boxno vel. co m )   Mo Fan glanced around and saw Yao Nan, who was as skinny as a woman, and wearing a faint blue jacket. He did not step forward into the limelight after Senior Hunter Du Xiao, but went up to Mo Fan instead and smiled, “So, tired of killing demon beasts, so you came to try killing undead instead?”

Mo Fan shrugged and said, “I didn’t expect to stumble into so many familiar faces here in the Ancient Capital.”

“Well, since the undead are stirring up chaos here, didn’t you think that us few who like to poke our noses into other people’s business would also be here?” laughed Yao Nan.

Mo Fan did not chat with Yao Nan, but fixed his eyes on Senior Hunter Du Xiao instead. He had met this respected Senior Hunter a long time ago, yet he had never witnessed his true strength. He most likely would have the chance to do so in this upcoming battle to protect the walls.

As expected, Senior Hunter Du Xiao was very influential. Advisor Zhu, who had firmly insisted on not putting the lives of the leaders here at risk, felt at ease when he saw the guy.

“HAHAHAHA, you came at the right time!” Zhu Meng went up to greet Du Xiao.

“If I knew a Gathering Signal would summon the famous Senior Hunter Du Xiao here, I would simply give up on my Plant Element and focus on my Light Element instead!” the instructor smiled.

“Advisor Zhu, I can’t guarantee that everyone will be unharmed during the battle against the Undead Ruler, but at least our chance of winning is higher now. At the very least, I will bring some of them back alive. The Dark Abyss has appeared, and the Phantom Tyrant Emperor is commanding the undead inside the Dark Abyss. If we don’t kill it immediately, more Warrior-level and Commander-level undead will be awakened. It will simply break a huge hole open in the Northern Walls!” Senior Hunter Du Xiao cut straight to the topic with a stern look.

“With you here…” Advisor Zhu compromised in the end. It was true that he could not find another way to resolve the situation within an hour. He had no choice but to proceed with the strategy that they had prepared earlier!

“Alright, we have enough Super Magicians here. It’s time to allocate the men!” said Fei Jiao.

“The Phantom Tyrant Emperor has a bunch of Skeleton Generals, Zombie Generals, and Phantom Generals protecting it. The Skeleton Generals and Zombie Generals are not a big deal for us. We can easily stomp our way through, but the White Serene Ghosts led by the Commander-level Ghost Officials will be huge trouble to us if their numbers are too overwhelming. If I’m not mistaken, I don’t think any of us here have control over the Psychic Element?” said Lu Xu.

“That’s our biggest threat in eliminating the Phantom Tyrant Emperor. Either way, we still have to eliminate the creature. In our original plan, it’s the most difficult part of the plan, but…” said Zhu Meng, while stroking his beard.

Councilman Zhu Meng turned around and glanced at the forty-some Magicians who had expressed their willingness to participate in the battle.

“Everyone, I’m sorry, but the situation is much worse than we described earlier. We’ll need your help to eliminate the Phantom Tyrant Emperor. Of course, us Super Magicians will handle the Phantom Tyrant Emperor. We only need you to get rid of the biggest threat: the White Serene Ghost Officials and the White Serene Ghosts under their command!” said Councilman Zhu Meng.

The group remained silent. The truth was, they had clearly heard the conversation between the leaders. However, going out of the city and fighting against the undead was a whole different story than defending the walls. It would most likely be a one-way trip!

“Everyone, our operation here is precisely planned. If it weren’t for the fact that every soldier available was allocated to protect the walls, we wouldn’t be gathering everyone here with four Gathering Signals. Don’t worry, you won’t be fighting the Commander-level creatures, nor are you being asked to fight packs of Warrior-level creatures. You just need to keep an eye on the Light Formations and make sure they work, so we can defend ourselves from the Psychic disturbances of the White Serene Ghosts…” the Commander explained in detail when he saw the hesitation among the Magicians.

“Councilman Zhu Meng is going out there fighting in the front line, how can we back off now?” a retired Battlemage stepped forward.

“The city lies behind the city walls, where my parents and family are… so, please count me in. I don’t feel like leaving such an important task in someone else’s hands,” a Hunter with scars on his face stepped forward boldly, too.

The students were the most passionate, as fighting side by side with Super Magicians was considered a huge glory for them. Several of them quickly signed up.

“I’m joining too!”

“If I want to back away, I would have done so when I saw the signal. Count me in.”

Zhong Zishan glanced at the students under his lead. He was about to ask their opinions when Jiang Li, who wanted to contribute, and Zhou Ming, who was fairly righteous, volunteered for the battle.

Mu Bai hesitated for a while before deciding to join, too.

The handsome student, on th eother hand, did not speak. He seemed to have no intention of putting his life at risk.

It was something they could not force anyone to take part in. Zhong Zishan did not say anything. He patted the man’s shoulder, signaling him to leave the place if he did not want to join the operation.

“Zhong Zishan, how about you?” asked Zhou Ming.

“I promised your teacher to look after you. I’ll go for sure,” Zhong Zishan smiled.

“How diligent, but I feel like our teacher won’t be fond of you still!” mocked Jiang Li.

“It doesn’t matter. I’m a man of my words.” Zhong Zishan glanced at Mo Fan instead.

Mo Fan shrugged and said, “I’m here on vacation, so I wish you all good luck.”

“Seriously, Mo Fan?” said Zhou Ming disappointedly.

Mo Fan did not explain further. He was not obliged to save the world. Besides, even though the walls were guarded by Magicians, they would still need more help here. It was enough for him to fulfill his role as a Magician. He would leave the risky operation to those who were passionate enough to contribute and protect their nation while putting their lives at risk.

“Humph, I thought you’re impressive, but you’re still a coward nonetheless! You’re not worthy to be called a Magician!” said Jiang Li, as if he had suddenly become superior to Mo Fan.

“Asshole, if you say another word, I don’t mind hanging your head out on the walls to drive evil away before the undead dig your intestines out!” Mo Fan spat at Jiang Li coldly.

“Alright, everyone can make their own choices!” Zhong Zishan quickly interfered.

Meanwhile, Yao Nan, who was standing aside uttered a weird chuckle.

“What are you laughing at!?” snapped Jiang Li, his face colorful.

Yao Nan remained laughing. After a while, he finally said to Jiang Li, “Hey fatty, if everyone who the man you just scolded as a coward has saved simply spit at you, it would be enough to roll you away like a Rolling Wave spell!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Jiang Li glanced at the feminine man and yelled unpleasantly, “Who do you think you are?”

“I’m Yao Nan, kid, watch your mouth. Otherwise, the method Mo Fan just told you is merely a child’s trick to me,” Yao Nan smiled back.

The Super Magicians had finished discussing the strategy of when to commence the operation, when to send out the group of Magicians to activate the Light Formations, and when to annihilate the White Serene Ghost Officials!

“The Advanced Magicians will keep the Commander-level undead busy. The Phantom Tyrant Emperor will be protected by quite a number of Undead Officials. Remember, don’t try to kill them. You just need to keep them busy…” said Commander Lu Xu.

There were four or five Advanced Magicians who had responded to the summons to the tower. On top of that, they would send out half of the Advanced Magicians guarding the walls, too. As such, there would be more than twenty Advanced Magicians joining the battle. The rest were required to protect the walls from the undead!

The number of Intermediate Magicians was the highest. They were at least two hundred of them, including the Battlemages. Their main role was to supply cover fire and split the undead army into smaller groups.

The most crucial part of the plan was to eliminate the White Serene Ghost Officials and their army of White Serene Ghosts. They did not need to sacrifice their lives in exchange for victory.

“Yao Nan, you will lead these Magicians. Make sure they are safe from the undead before they finish establishing the formations,”Zhu Meng said to Yao Nan.

“Not a problem, but I’ve got a little request,” Yao Nan saluted with a smile.

“What is it?” asked Councilman Zhu Meng.

“Put that kid Mo Fan under me.” Yao Nan’s eyes flickered playfully.

Hearing this, Mo Fan had the urge to give Yao Nan two words: F**k you! “I’m sorry, I didn’t say I was joining the operation,” he piped up shamelessly.

Councilman Zhu Meng immediately glared at Mo Fan and dragged him out of the crowd.

“Kid, I’m telling you, here is no Hangzhou! Without the giant snake, you have no place to negotiate with me! Enough with your nonsense and get your ass into the group!” Councilman Zhu Meng was completely using the opportunity to get his revenge. He would not interfere if anyone else was not willing to participate, but in Mo Fan’s case… Zhu Meng had no intention of going easy on him!

How capable was this kid at Hangzhou, riding the Totem Snake when he was fighting against the Silver Skyruler? Even a Councilman like him had never made such a bold move! The key to winning the battle was the safety of the Magicians in charge of the Light Formations. With someone as resourceful and shameless as Mo Fan, they would have a higher chance of winning the battle!

“Take him, use him however you want. If he dares to run away, I’ll write a letter to Pearl Institute immediately and ask the dean to expel him!” Councilman Zhu Meng shoved Mo Fan toward Yao Nan.

“Thank you, Councilman…” Yao Nan burst out laughing in an eerie manner.

Yao Nan ignored Mo Fan’s grumbling and proceeded to count his men.

Yao Nan was fairly reputable among the Hunters, thus they were more than willing to be placed under his command. The number of Hunters was the highest, but when the remaining students, people from the Magic Associations, and other factions learned that Yao Nan was an Advanced Magician, no one had any objections.

——

Mo Fan had to say, it was his first time being involved in a war…

The wars here no longer involved killing between humans for personal gains and benefits, but wars between the dead and the living. It had been the same for a few thousand years!

When Zhan Kong asked Mo Fan to join the army, he had always rejected the offer.

He was not a fan of war, not because he did not want to protect the people behind the walls, but he did not like the sense of being miniscule… even when as an Intermediate Magician, he was playing a very minor role in the fight.

There were more than two hundred Intermediate Magicians involved in the operation. Even with his Double Innate Element, having him in the war would not make any difference. He was not the only factor deciding the outcome of the war, yet there was a high risk that he would be killed in it!

A situation that Mo Fan had no control over… it was something he really disliked!

——

Lumps of black clouds connected to the vast land ruled by the undead in the distance, the same direction the pitch-black figure was approaching the walls from. It was the same sight that Mo Fan had seen before: the creature had undead like surging tides around it, like angry mobs consisting of starving, homeless civilians usurping their ruler under the lead of a new leader, just so they could live inside the warm, cozy walls!

The longer the Dark Abyss lasted, the stronger the hatred and presence of death it would produce, so strong that some of the zombies, skeletons, and phantoms would evolve earlier than expected. The undead Officials that were supposed to sleep for another ten to hundred years would also open their coffins and show up in this icy world.

The undead were stricter when it came to ranks. The higher-leveled ones could command the low-leveled ones however they wanted, as the low-leveled undead simply had no brains, nor any goals. If there was a voice guiding them, they were than willing to obey, with no fear of death, only thirst and hunger driving them toward the living things!

A stronger hatred would gather a higher number of undead, hence resulting in a stronger presence of death. Even the humans standing on the walls tens of kilometers away could smell the stench of rotting flesh sweeping toward them like a sea breeze.

Thunderous cries came endlessly from the distance. At the start, they were only strong enough to make the walls shudder slightly, but as time passed, the roars became deafening, feeling like they were going to break one’s eardrums. When trying to express your fear to the companion standing beside you, there was a chance that they could not even hear you!

——

The magnificent tower stood right at the center of the northern walls, over two hundred Intermediate Level or above Magicians gathered there.

After giving the order, with Councilman Zhu Meng, Commander Lu Xu, Chief Military Instructor Fei Jiao, and Senior Hunter Du Xiao in the lead, the group of Magicians left that perfect line of defense against the undead and charged toward the pitch-black figure bringing fear to humanity.

Unlike Mo Fan, who was simply scared of dying, many Magicians that strove for glory were already imagining themselves being rewarded greatly after securing the battle’s victory. They could tell their friends that they had taken part in a war against a Ruler-level creature!

A war to kill a Ruler-level creature…

If the Magician were lower than that, they would even share the news to earn some complimentary comments from their friends.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Young men should make more contributions so you will stand out in front of the higher-ups, giving you unlimited possibilities.” Yao Nan was different than the other Magicians. Even after setting his feet in the land full of undead, he was still able to smile calmly.

Mo Fan was the same, too. Even though he was against the idea of joining the war, it did not mean he would simply shit his pants once he was involved. The number of powerful demon beasts he had fought was not any lower than those encountered by an Advanced Magician.

But he was still not satisfied with the situation!

( Boxno vel. co m )   Society obeyed the rule of law. How could they simply ignore his rights?

Even if they wanted him to join the war, they could simply try and convince him nicely, or promise him some benefits, and he would be more than happy to join in. The situation was going to turn chaotic when the battle started. He was only filling in the numbers, since he could not make any difference in deciding the outcome. He had no trouble running if he could not win the fight. Magicians with the Shadow Element were able to move freely in the night, like a fish in water.

“The little guy on your shoulder seems more excited for the operation than you. Alright, Vice Captain, I’ll leave these arrogant and obstinate Magicians to you. An Advanced Magician like me isn’t the kind of brilliant leader that will try to save you when you’re surrounded by a bunch of low-level undead. I’m only responsible for dealing with the Commander-level undead. Remember, if a Commander-level inflicts any damage to you, even if we win the battle in the end, I’ll still perform a harakiri and apologize to you, but if I see you kids being lazy and not giving it your all…” hinted Yao Nan as he glanced at Mo Fan. The first half of his speech was uttered indifferently, but the second half was spoken in an icy and stern tone.

“Alright, don’t try and scare me with that. Since I’m already here, unless the war is as good as lost, I won’t run away.”

“What do you mean by as good as lost? Like you shitting your pants when you see a few Warrior-level undead?” Jiang Li’s annoying voice appeared out of nowhere again.

“I will make the call myself,” said Mo Fan.

“I think you’re just trying to find an excuse to be a deserter,” Jiang Li said disdainfully.

Mo Fan was lazy to argue about the bottom line of his morality with the brainless guy whose figure was glowing from the layer of pig fat on him. He took out a Fire Soul Seed Piece from his pocket and snapped it in half. He fed one half to the little Flame Belle on his shoulder that was close to humming songs in her good mood, and put the other half in his own mouth and munched it…

In the past, whenever he was deep in thought, he loved to munch on a stalk of green foxtail. His gloomy, dispirited, and indifferent character even made a beauty like Mu Ningxue fall for him, and she asked him to run away with her. People had long said that women were as difficult to deal with as wars, so Mo Fan thought he should act natural and unrestrained, just so no one would know that his heart was beating faster.

He had to say that undead were more terrifying than demon beasts!

Not only were they surrounded by darkness, the endless undead would also come out from the ground beneath them, leaving them with no sense of security. The further away they were from the walls, the more the Magicians began to panic. Mo Fan assumed that he had the strongest mind on the team apart from Yao Nan, hence if he was having such a reaction, the rest of the Magicians would feel their legs shivering and be on the verge of wetting their pants…

“Thirty-four, only fifteen more until forty-nine. The only good thing about joining this battle is providing me an opportunity to collect enough Soul Essences,” Mo Fan gave the Soul Seed Piece covered in his saliva, that he had been munching on like chewing gum until it had lost its flavor, to the little Flame Belle on his shoulder.

The little Flame Belle did not mind her father’s disgusting act. She simply swallowed it as if it were pudding. The swaying flame erupting from her figure was a clear sign that her mood had further improved.

Suddenly, the little Flame Belle uttered a long, slightly piercing cry.

Mo Fan and the little Flame Belle were bound to one another through a contract signed with their souls, hence he could understand what little Flame Belle was trying to say. He frowned and glanced at the icy black land nearby alertly.

The place was covered in wilted grass. The temperature was lower, as it was now approaching winter. Even though there had yet to be a snowfall, the land around the Ancient Capital was pretty much barren.

The wilted weeds were swaying slightly. The dried ground began to crack open slowly, so weak that it was not making any noise, yet the observant little Flame Belle noticed the difference, letting Mo Fan notice it too!

“Something’s there!” Mo Fan told Yao Nan.

Yao Nan had assigned Mo Fan to be the Vice Captain of the team. Therefore, Mo Fan had thirty Intermediate Magicians under his command. As a responsible captain, Mo Fan hoped that everyone would be able to finish the operation unharmed.

“It’s not coming out,” Yao Nan waited for a while, before urging the people to proceed forward, seeing that there were no undead coming out from the loosened ground.

“Could it be an ambush?” asked Mo Fan.

“HAHAHA, kid, I think you’ve grown dumber, spending too much time in your institute. Undead are only a bunch of brainless creatures. Even if there are only one or two of them, they will still attack a Super Magician boldly. I don’t think they have brains to set up an ambush,” said a man with a scar in the shape of a cross on his face.

“Is that so? I’ve encountered undead that know how to ambush us,” replied Mo Fan.

“The real undead, even the Officials and Rulers among them, have no intelligence at all…” said Yao Nan confidently.

Mo Fan stopped commenting further, yet he kept recalling the undead kid that Liu Ru had mentioned to him.

That being said, Mo Fan did not realize that the two incidents were related. He simply realized the truth behind the undead that had ambushed Hua Village all of a sudden, yet he was still confused by a question.

“Where are the Light Magicians we are supposed to protect?” asked Mo Fan.

“They will be here later. The other teams are distracting the undead army. I bet our superiors are waiting for the perfect time to strike, to kill that undead emperor!” said a soldier with a square face.

“Which means, if Zhu Meng and the others fail to kill the undead emperor, we’re pretty much trapped among the undead army?” asked Mo Fan.

“That would be the case, but as long as we can eliminate the White Serene Ghost Officials, they will surely kill the undead emperor, and they will send backups, too. Even without backups, the Super Magicians are more than enough to wipe out the undead army.” Zhou Ming seemed fairly confident that the plan would work.

“You’re scared, but I don’t think you’re that kind of person,” said Mu Bai.

“I just don’t like that my life isn’t in my control,” said Mo Fan.

“Who would like that?” agreed Zhou Ming.

“By the way, the undead only appear at night, so what are they doing during the day?” asked Mo Fan.

Yao Nan turned around and said, “I think if the government gives every undead’s household access to wi-fi; they probably won’t trouble us any further out of boredom… what, isn’t that funny? I’m just trying to ease everyone’s nerves!”

“Hehe…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

City West, inside the outer walls…

The misty night loomed over the lights coming from the households. The blurry lights were not bright enough for the people to see the night scenery of the city.

The place had grown colder. The city was frequently covered in fog in winter. The Heavens knew if the next heavy rain would simply turn into a huge snowfall. It would provide some relief to the civilians, since the snow would harden the ground, making it more difficult for the undead to crawl out from the ground and stir up trouble.

Most of the buildings in this area were old houses. The occasional tall buildings seemed rather out of place.

( Boxno vel. co m )   Between the roofs of the buildings, a skinny figure swept across the sky like a purple bat. Her purple coat made it look like she was gliding between the buildings. The crowd on the street was unaware of her presence.

She stopped on the roof of a compound. The compound was not huge, yet it had quite a number of people living inside, who were none other than the people from Hua Village.

Chief Xie Sang was sitting on the stairs, smoking an antique pipe.

Su Xiaoluo slowly walked up to the chief and stared at the old man with suspicious eyes.

“Since my dad betrayed the village and left, you’re the person I respected the most… but, I can’t help but feel suspicious!” said Su Xiaoluo.

“Suspicious? What are you feeling suspicious of?” Chief Xie Sang pretended to be confused.

Up on the roof, Liu Ru was about to check on the villagers when she stumbled into the conversation. When she heard Su Xiaoluo’s words, she decided against jumping down from the roof. Her skinny figure slowly dissolved into the shadows, only a pair of slightly glittering eyes left.

“I heard from Gouzi that he has seen the people of the Sunny Goat Village,” continued Su Xiaoluo.

“Gouzi has always been out of his mind. You shouldn’t take his words seriously,” said Xie Sang.

“I’ve also heard other things, too, and they are all related to the Sunny Goat Village… Aren’t you going to tell me where the people of Sunny Goat Village went?” asked Su Xiaoluo.

“Girl, haven’t you read the news? Six of the villages in Xianchi Area were destroyed all of a sudden. You did see how the undead attacked us, even with the barrier around the village… I bet Sunny Goat Village suffered the same fate, so why are you asking me now?” said Xie Sang.

“Sunny Goat Village disappeared long ago, right?” asked Su Xiaoluo.

“Oh Xiaoluo…” Xie Sang let out a sigh.

“The people of our village didn’t disappear, see… aren’t I standing here now?” a voice interrupted her out of nowhere.

A man in a black outfit was standing close to the well at the center of the compound.

The man was like a ghost. He slowly walked forward, and burst out laughing when he saw Chief Xie Sang retreating in fear.

“Chief Xie, I’m not a ghost; why are you afraid of me?” said the man.

“You… why are you here?” Xie Sang’s face turned pale white, worse than if he had seen a ghost.

Su Xiaoluo turned around and feltthe face under the black hat to be rather familiar. “You are?” she asked.

“Fang Gu,” Fang Gu took off his hat, revealing his face.

Fang Gu glanced at Zhang Xiaohou, who had a blank face, as if he were trying to confirm something. His gaze focused on Xie Sang again after he did not see any reaction from Zhang Xiaohou, and continued with a sinister grin, “Don’t be afraid, I’m only here for one thing: who’s the asshole that killed my son? You tell me, and I might spare your life.”

“Your son… didn’t your son die a long time ago?” Xie Sang’s voice was already trembling from the terror he was experiencing.

The mad Gouzi ran out and blurted out everything he knew, as if he were asking for mercy, “It’s that girl… the girl, she came with the idiot’s friend! I saw her hands growing into claws, and…and it penetrated Fang Liu’s head!”

“Gouzi, the person you saw from Hua Village was Fang Liu? But…but didn’t you…” asked Su Xiaoluo.

“Everyone is from the same tribe, it’s rare for us all to be here, so I guess a reunion won’t hurt. Give me a second, I’ll call them here…” Fang Gu burst into sudden laughter.

In the midst of the laughter, Fang Gu had begun to draw a Star Pattern, which was the color of black blood. It was not just black like the Shadow Element, nor was it bright like the Fire Element, but a dark red with a hint of evil!

A dark aura lingered in the air, with a strong scent of blood. The dark red Star Pattern felt like the blood sacrifice offered by a priest, as it immediately emitted a tremendous bloody glow after it was completed!

Black gas immediately filled the compound with the presence of death, and following it, several figures appeared at the center of the compound, where only Fang Gu was standing before.

No one knew where the people came from. They appeared out of nowhere like phantoms, or like the beasts Summoned through Dimensional Summoning… or perhaps Fang Gu had simply opened the Gates of Hell, and dragged them out from the Netherworld…

The people looked pretty much alive. Apart from their pale faces with blood lines, they looked pretty much the same as ordinary humans.

Fang Youmiao came out from one of the buildings in the compound after hearing the noise outside. However, he immediately discovered the familiar faces of the ‘people’ in the compound. They looked pretty much the same as when he left the village. Fang Youmiao was so excited that he felt a strong urge to hug the villagers whom he treated like his family…

“Don’t go!” yelled Su Xiaoluo suddenly.

Fang Youmiao halted in his tracks. He glanced at Su Xiaoluo in confusion. He did not understand why she was trying to stop him. The people from Sunny Goat Village had moved to the Ancient Capital, and he was finally able to meet them. Shouldn’t they be happy that he was finally able to reunite with them?

“Can’t you tell…” Su Xiaoluo had a stern face. She tried her very best to calm down from her overwhelming fear, “They are all dead!”

They are all dead!

Fang Youmiao did not believe it when he heard the words. However, when he took a closer look at the familiar villagers, he eventually shivered in fear!

On a cold night like this, any breath they exhaled under the available light in the compound would turn into white mist.

Su Xiaoluo was panting heavily, breathing out white mist.

Xie Sang was breathing heavily in a panic, yet there was still white mist coming out.

The same went with the amnesiac Zhang Xiaohou; everyone’s breath was turning into white mist as it came out…

However, the people from his village who had eerily appeared in the compound… they might look alive on the surface, yet none of them were breathing out white mist. There was only a strange dark red mist circulating around their mouth, nose, and ears, as if it was nurturing the dead villagers

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

There was a strong presence of death: everything within the Magicians’ range of vision was devoured by the same black tide that consisted of black rotten corpses. It seemed like the hatred from the Dark Abyss served as a great nutrient for them: each undead was wearing black armor, resulting in a formidable army.

“Little Loach, time to eat at will, but help me to pray that nothing wrong will happen to those righteous leaders. Otherwise, if your father dies here, other people who find you will assume you to be a piece of junk and smelt you, so you won’t be able to eat more souls anymore!” Mo Fan grabbed the pendant hanging in front of his chest as if he was having a pleasant conversation with it.

Little Loach would never let his father talk to himself like an idiot. The pendant shuddered, implying that it had clearly heard him.

“These undead seem like they could provide more…” mumbled Mo Fan.

When Mo Fan was fighting the undead on his way to the villages, he discovered that the Little Loach Pendant really enjoyed eating the final soul wisps that the undead turned into. It refined the Servant-class Soul Essences at a faster rate. Otherwise, Mo Fan would not have strengthened thirty-three of his Fire Element Stars.

The greatest benefit Mo Fan could possibly get from taking part in this battle was without a doubt these Soul Essences. Either the Soul Essences refined from the Soul Remnants, or the rare Soul Essences that the undead dropped, would simply be collected by the Little Loach…

Therefore, when Mo Fan saw the overwhelming number of Servant-class zombies, he strongly believed that they would all turn into food for the Little Loach. No wonder the Little Loach Pendant seemed to be so excited today!

“Kill, kill’em all!” the man with the cross-shaped scar screamed while an Ice Star Pattern surfaced under his feet.

Four icy chains circled the man within the blink of an eye. The guy was a very experienced Ice Magician, and his control over Ice Lock had reached an extreme level. As he leapt into the air among the icy chains that were dancing wildly in front of him, he adeptly stepped on the flying ice chains in a stern and confident manner, which sent him straight at the group of rotting black corpses…

The black zombies were everywhere. Even when glancing into the distance, they could not see the end of the army. Not everyone was able to charge forward so courageously when facing such a large group of zombies!

The man with the cross-shaped scar helped motivate the Magicians. When the others saw his courageous move, they quickly started utilizing their Magic as they clashed with the black undead.

“You should just stay underground and rot to turn into nutrients for the plants if you’re dead! Don’t come out and trouble those who are still alive!” said a magnificent Battlemaga whose long robe was drifting in the wind as she moved.

Thick magic vines immediately grew out from the soil her finger was pointing at. The vines were covered in dense thorns, which would immediately peel off a layer of skin when they wrapped around a demon beast. However, it simply would not work the same way against undead that had no sense of pain. Even when their bodies were torn into two parts, their upper body would still crawl forward with their sharp claws, as if they would win by simply crawling in front of their target. Unfortunately, the Battlemaga controlling the magic vines would simply stomp on their brains with her heels!

“An empress type,” Mo Fan grumbled in his heart. He tried to take hold of the opportunity to ask her name since he was only a short distance away from her.

The Battlemaga glared at Mo Fan with a proud and icy look that told him that she had no time to befriend him on the battlefield.

“Her name is Qing Lajiao, she’s from the Magic Association. She’s not in the Enforcement Union, yet she’s more violent than those who are. She once led a group of students in their training, and one of the foppish students from a renowned family was lashed by her magic vines for over an hour. His clothes were completely ragged… she’s ranked number seven on the Undead Leaderboard, killing 1,330 Servant-class undead and 78 Warrior-level undead, in just the past five years!” a familiar voice with a hint of pervertedness appeared.

{TL Note: ‘Lajiao’ here means chili.}

Mo Fan turned around and was greatly astonished when he saw a man who was so close to kissing his knees talking to him with an eerie grin.

“Shorty, why are you here?” asked Mo Fan in astonishment.

“I’ve always been here. Damn you, didn’t I tell you that I live just across the street from where people of Bo City are? I came straight away when I saw the signal!” protested Shorty with wide eyes.

“Oh, sorry, It’s pretty hard to see you among the crowd, unless you try to get my attention,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Please, even though I’m trying to make money through various strange methods, I did swear the oath once at the Hunter Union, to be a righteous Magician for world’s peace…”

“Speak human, please!”

“The Hunters who participated in this operation will be given the title ‘Honorable Hunter’, something that I can sell for at least eight million!”

“You should be a businessman, not a Magician. I despise you!” said Mo Fan.

“Brother, I was at the tower too, I saw the Councilman drag you into the team. You didn’t even volunteer!”

“Err… oh, what was the Undead Ranking you mentioned before? What’s with the chili or capsicum?” Mo Fan was a past expert at switching the topic.

{TL Note: The girl’s name is Qing Lajiao, where ‘qing jiao’ means capsicum and ‘la jiao’ means chili.}

Shorty immediately wore a disdainful look. While his eyes were fixed on their comrades that were fighting the undead ahead, he continued, “It’s the leaderboard for Intermediate Magicians. Every faction has it; it is based on the number of undead everyone has killed. That Qing Lajiao you tried to flirt with is ranked seventh, killing over a thousand undead. It’s an achievement that ordinary Magicians have a hard time getting… asshole, a little zombie like you dares to ambush me, stomping you to death would simply make my shoes dirty!”

Mo Fan lowered his head and saw a zombie with only half an arm left trying to grab Shorty’s ankle. It immediately infuriated Shorty, whose five-foot-figure jumped into the air furiously.

{TL Note: The foot here is referring to a Chinese foot, which is around one-third of a meter.}

“I see, so we do have some experts in this randomly assembled team… eat this, eat it, this fiery dragon fruit has a great taste,” said Mo Fan as he shoved a Fire Burst into the mouth of one of the zombies nearby. He was so gentle that it felt like he was a kind man feeding a refugee starving on the street.

The Fire Burst ate through it rapidly. The zombie immediately erupted in flames as the Fire Burst entered its throat and burned into a pile of ashes. Not even the bones were left.

The Little Loach Pendant puffed its cheeks and sucked the wisp of green soul away after the undead was killed.

“Brother Mo Fan, you ain’t ba, either. If I knew you were the one with Double Innate Elements ranked fifth on the Innate Talents Leaderboard, I would have given you a… Brilliant Light! Allow me to help you to transcend… oh, I wasn’t referring to you, Brother Mo Fan; I was trying to say that I would have given you a five percent discount!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Five percent, hehe, the world is so big, why don’t you go and have a look?” mocked Mo Fan with a hollow laugh.

“What do you mean, I enjoy staying in the Ancient Capital! My parents have passed away, but I do have a wife! I bet my son will be born once the war ends. My wife is tall, so my son is most likely going to be a handsome, tall Magician. I’m going to let him join the Enforcement Union…” continued Shorty.

“I mean you should piss off. It’s scary talking with someone without knowledge. Oh, your wife is about to give birth?” Mo Fan asked in surprise.

“Well… hang on, let me slay these goddamn zombies first. Every single one of them is so tall and huge, even a bunch of zombies is trying to mock me,” Shorty quickly summoned a puff of flames. Mo Fan had no idea he was a Fire Magician…

That being said, every Magician would Awaken two Elements after reaching the Intermediate Level. On top of that, apart from Lightning, it was possible to awaken specific Element through Guided Awakenings. As a result, the Fire Element was not as rare among Intermediate Magicians. After all, Fire Element was the most destructive Elemental Magic. Most Intermediate Magicians that were wealthy enough would spend a fortune to Awaken the Fire Element as their second Element!

Mo Fan could easily tell that Shorty was just here to fill the numbers, hence why he was hanging around with the Vice Captain instead of charging with the frontier. The guy had yet to cast an Intermediate Spell.

However, when Shorty was going against the zombies that were relatively huge and tall, he simply used Fiery Fist to blast them away!

Shorty completely vented his hatred and grudge toward his own DNA on the zombies’ faces. The punch he threw was incredibly powerful, instantly killing the huge zombies. He continued with the joy of fulfilling a man’s role of having descendants, “It’s a boy, I secretly brought her to do the scanning. I know everyone likes to call me Shorty, which I don’t really mind, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want a son that would completely shut them down. With the savings I have built up over the years, I’m pretty sure I can guarantee him a head start!”

“I didn’t expect you to be a real man aiming to alter your destiny, but based on the American TV Series I’ve watched so far, basically everyone that mentioned your son being born after you returned from the war, or those that have decided to retire after their current operation, they normally end up dead in the end. Your words of describing how much you’re looking toward to your future will pretty much become your final words…” said Mo Fan sternly.

“Pooh, curse me dead? Shorty, I, still have a long life ahead. I’ve killed eight hundred of these assholes, if the count hasn’t reached a thousand yet,” Shorty blurted out anxiously, feeling the urge to throw a punch at Mo Fan’s knees.

“Why aren’t you ranked on the Undead Ranking then?” Mo Fan had no intention to give up.

“What were you saying just then…”

“Which one?”

“Something about the world is so big, I’m giving it back to you!”

“Have you two assholes finished chatting? A Cloth-wrapped Corpse General is coming toward us at five o’clock. Take one or two men with you and eliminate it,” Yao Nan’s voice appeared out of nowhere.

As the captain of the team, Yao Nan had already seen his two comrades with low morale goofing off in the fight, but he was not too bothered by it, since there would eventually be a chance where they would need to try their very best!

“Captain, that’s a Corpse General; I don’t think the few of us are enough to handle it. Besides, even if we could eliminate it, our army is advancing so rapidly, what would happen if we were left behind?” complained Shorty.

“Then just wait for your death, don’t disobey my order. I’m not joking with you. You… the woman, and the guy with the scar, go and help your Vice Captain kill the Corpse General!” Yao Nan’s voice instantly turned cold, leaving them no room to negotiate.

Scar Face and Qing Lajiao withdrew from the battle. Both of them seemed fairly well-trained. They were a lot more obedient than the two slickers, Mo Fan and Shorty.

“I don’t mind going, but they have to listen to me. I don’t want a student fooling around just trying to earn some glory commanding me and leading us to death,” said the Magic Vine Battlemaga without mercy.

“It’s an order, don’t you negotiate with me. Apart from me, your Vice Captain is the only one giving orders,” Yao Nan glanced at the Battlemaga coldly, as if he had always been cold towards women.

The Battlemaga definitely had a grudge, since she was being put under an inexperienced young Magician who was still studying at school even though she was ranked seventh on the Undead Ranking. However, she had no choice but to nod, as she did not have the guts to disobey the order.

The man with the cross-shaped scar was not too bothered, his expression implying that he only wanted to kill the undead. He was no longer satisfied killing little zombies since he could simply charge into a bunch of them and return perfectly unharmed. It might be more interesting fighting a Corpse General.

“Yao Nan, if you don’t wait for us, you’re going to die for sure!” snapped Mo Fan at Yao Nan, while glancing at the black tide of undead surrounding them.

“If you are left behind, I do look forward to seeing you avenge yourself, but you’re most likely going to be stopped outside the outer walls… you have twenty minutes, since we need around twenty minutes to clear the obstacle ahead. If you haven’t come back by then, you should look for a way to stay alive yourself,” replied Yao Nan indifferently.

Yao Nan tapped the wings on his back and hovered above the team at a consistent height. He was the only one that could fly on the team.

As soon as Yao Nan left, Shorty immediately grumbled, “I knew from the beginning that joining the operation was risky. If our team stumbles into a Commander-level creature, I don’t think Yao Nan, who’s the only Advanced Magician here, can help us stop the creature.”

“We should hurry up and kill that Cloth-wrapped Corpse General instead of wasting time complaining here,” Qing Lajiao interrupted with a cold harrumph.

Scar Face followed behind Qing Lajiao. Along the way, he conveniently stomped two of the frozen zombies into pieces with a pleasant chuckle.

—

Assuming the army was advancing toward twelve o’clock, five o’clock was pretty much the opposite direction of where the army was heading.

As Mo Fan, Shorty, Scar Face, and Qing Lajiao backed off to the tail of the team, they immediately saw gray-white winding sheets scattering across the place. The sheets looked like skin peeled off from a monster, which were still wiggling on their own.

“Where is it?” Shorty stood on his toes as he tried to find the creature.

There was a group of zombies behind them, yet they were completely scattered. After all, a group of Intermediate Magicians had just advanced through the area. Those that managed to survive the continuous blasts of their spells were most likely the elites among the zombies.

“Is our target that mummy, the one standing on the little slope? It looks like it’s performing a Flowing Sleeves Dance…” Mo Fan, who was able to see further in the dark, pointed at the little slope nearby.

“Mummies are found at the Pyramid in Egypt. Even though the Kingdom of the Undead at the Pyramid in Egypt and the Land of the Undead of the Ancient Capital are equally famous in the world, our zombies here are definitely leading the world in terms of their shape, aesthetic, and elegance,” said Shorty.

“The Pyramid? There’s a Kingdom of Undead there too?” said Mo Fan in astonishment.

“Of course! Was your Demon Beast Class taught by a teacher on probation?” replied Shorty.

“To be honest, I’ve only transversed to this world not long ago.”

Mo Fan and Shorty never stopped talking. Meanwhile, Qing Lajiao’s forehead was already full of black lines. She totally lost interest in teaming up with them. She took the initiative to make her way toward the slope, hoping to eliminate the Corpse General as soon as possible!

Scar Face glanced at Mo Fan and Shorty, before charging forward, riding the ice chains with a chuckle.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I literally have no clue why that feminine man would appoint such an idiot as our Vice Captain; shouldn’t the Vice Captain be a Magician who had gone through hundreds of battles like me?!” Qing Lajiao’s hatred was almost on par with the Dark Abyss’s.

Using the terms of the scientific society that Mo Fan had come from, the members of the Magic Association were like public functionaries and government officials. Every Magician with or without titles or factions was under their control. If she were assigned as the Vice Captain for the team and successfully completed the important mission, it would only be days until she got promoted. After all, she had spent too much time in the Intermediate Level. If she were given resources that were actually useful to her for once, she was confident that she would break through the barrier of the Intermediate Level, gain control of her third Element and the stronger Advanced Spells!

“Yu Qingsu, why are you being mad over two Magicians who are only here to fill the numbers? Let’s get rid of this Corpse General first. Its strength approaches that of a Giant Corpse General,” said Scar Face.

Yu Qingsu could not stomach the grudge, yet a mission was a mission. Not only would she be punished if she failed to accomplish it, the whole team would be surrounded by the army of undead, too!

Glancing at her surroundings, a new tide of undead was rolling in their direction. If they were left behind, there was no way they could possibly find a way out. The undead would simply stack up like layers of walls. The only way to survive was to regroup with the army!

“Die!” Yu Qingsu seemed to be venting all the hatred in her heart onto the Corpse General wrapped in winding sheets. Purple flickers of lightning danced on her right palm, and swiftly transformed into countless lightning serpents striking the Corpse General, scorching the air they traveled across.

The lightning struck the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General like whips, but the undead creature was shockingly fast. The Lightning Strikes ended up hitting the slope where the creature stood a moment ago, leaving scorched marks on the ground.  ( B oxnovel.c om )

The Cloth-wrapped Corpse General’s gray-white shadow suddenly appeared behind Yu Qingsu with a flicker. Its arms were as nimble as a living human as they waved around, whipping the winding sheet forward and wrapping around her body!

“Don’t get caught by the winding sheet. Otherwise, it will swap its body with yours!” reminded Scar Face quickly.

Scar Face was an Ice Magician. His ice spells needed some time for preparation. The Corpse General was not just a mere Servant-class zombie. He did not dare to charge at it ruthlessly with the ice chains.

“Magic Vine!” Yu Qingsu was definitely stronger than that. She leapt a great distance backward with quick reflexes while controlling her Magic Vine to grow out of the ground.

The Magic Vine grew surprisingly fast. It was most likely due to a Plant Seed that had improved the growing power of her Magic Vine. The vines rapidly constructed a wall right before the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General lunged at Yu Qingsu…

The winding sheets were flexible, but was hard to break free from once they caught their target. However, it was simply meaningless for them to wrap around the wall constructed by the vines. As such, the winding sheets simply returned to their owner’s body!

The Cloth-wrapped Cloth General was not brain-dead. It quickly threw a punch at Yu Qingsu after retrieving its winding sheets.

The winding sheets still played a major role in its attacks. The sheets spread out from the undead and spiraled through the air in the shape of screws. The screws expanded rapidly into a horizontal vortex, giving the impression of a monster with only a giant mouth and an esophagus looking to devour Yu Qingsu together with the wall of vines!

“So many sheets, just in time for me to stay warm in winter! Fiery Fist!” uttered Shorty teasingly, whose little fist turned into the tiny opening of a volcano, firing blazing flames at the winding sheets in the air…

The gray-white winding sheets were all set afire. The remaining sheets slowly drifted to the ground.

Yu Qingsu immediately broke free from the winding sheets. She glanced at Shorty, whose fist was still on fire and said coldly, “You should have blasted the Corpse General instead!”

“Don’t worry, it’s my turn… Fiery Fist: Groundbreak!” Mo Fan spoke up.

As Mo Fan slammed his fist on the ground, he directed his fiery energy down. When the surface could no longer endure the erupting flames, the place where the Corpse General stood was instantly devoured by rose-colored flames bursting out from the ground. The spectacular fire swept the black mists in the surroundings away!

The flames of the Groundbreak raged fiercely. When it came to a single target, Groundbreak was a lot more effective than a single pillar of the Nine Halls.

Mo Fan flames burned fiercely ahead of them. He believed that the Groundbreak would inflict serious damage on the Corpse General, yet the confident smile about to surface on his face suddenly disappeared, as it was replaced with astonishment when he discovered the Corpse General was approaching him rapidly!

“Damn it, this asshole is pretty quick!” Mo Fan finally realized that he had only blasted the afterimage left by the Corpse General with his spell.

If he was aware of the creature’s speed, he would have served it with Fiery Fist: Nine Halls instead, leaving it with no chance of dodging the spell!

“It’s hard to land your spells on agile zombies like this, but their bodies are not as sturdy as the enormous Corpse Generals, so if you manage to land a destructive spell on it, it’s pretty much half-crippled,” Shorty said immediately, as he was also an experienced Hunter.

“You don’t need to tell us that… Forest of Kun!” said Yu Qingsu disdainfully.  ( B oxnovel.c om )

The Plant Element was Yu Qingsu’s main Element. Her Plant Seed had the ability to speed up the growth of the Forest of Kun.

Normally, the enormous Forest of Kun would require some time to be constructed and set in place. However, her Forest of Kun was readily available to sprout from the ground anytime, entrapping the Corpse General in a giant cage of plants before it could reach Mo Fan.

“Ice Lock!” Scar Face adeptly utilized the opportunity. He quickly cast his Ice Lock when the Corpse General’s range of movement was limited.

The flying speed of the ice chains was not as fast as the Corpse General could move, but the creature no longer had any space to dodge the attack. When the four ice chains entered the Forest of Kun, the Corpse General kept ramming into the walls while it was pursued by the ice chains.

“Pin it down tight, I’ll blast it to death!” Shorty rolled up his sleeves, as if it was his time to shine.

“Forget about using the Fiery Fist, you will only destroy her forest!” Mo Fan stopped Shorty.

Yu Qingsu who had been very aggressive with her attacks had already drawn another Star Pattern. Wild purple lightning arcs flickered endlessly around her figure, making her look even more imperious and unstoppable

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A great bunch of lightning forked out into their surroundings. As the thickest Lightning Strike among them landed on its target, the lightning forks spread more vigorously in the air, forking into more branches and further strengthening the effects of the attack!

As a result, the Lightning Strike blasted a hole through the Corpse General’s body. The flesh under the gray-white winding sheets was scorched black. Half of its shoulder was gone.

The Cloth-wrapped Corpse General was indeed different from the Giant Corpse General, which had a body like an ox. When Mo Fan was fighting against the Giant Corpse General, even his third-tier Lightning Strikes were ineffective against it. Meanwhile, it turned out that even though the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General was shockingly fast, it was not too difficult to kill it after restricting its movements.

The Cloth-wrapped Corpse General did not seem harmed after suffering the damage. Its eyes emitted a crimson glow as its body began to spin rapidly on the same spot…

It continued to spin at a faster speed, turning itself into a metallic drill, digging into the ground…

The Forest of Kun did not have roots under the ground. Even if there were roots produced by the spell, they were fairly fragile. As such, if the target was capable of digging into the ground, the Forest of Kun would lose its effectiveness.

Soon, the new hole was the only thing left in the Forest of Kun. The Corpse General had disappeared without a single trace.

“Damn it, we let it run away!” said Scar Face furiously.

“Isn’t that good news for us? We can now regroup with the army. It feels like they have already gone far away,” Shorty turned around and glanced at the army advancing into the distance.

Yu Qingsu was not too satisfied with the outcome. If she knew the creature was capable of digging into the ground, she would have tied it up with vines first. The Cloth-wrapped Corpse General was a fairly rare kind she had never encountered before, with many unexpected capabilities. If she were able to secure its undead crystal, it would improve her ranking!

A soft, strange sound came from behind Scar Face, like someone was stepping on ice.

“Did any of you hear…”

Shorty was just about to speak when the ground half-frozen by Scar Face suddenly cracked open. Two winding sheets lunged out from the gap suddenly!

The winding sheets flew at Scar Face. They intertwined and instantly wrapped around the man’s throat. However, the big man was able to react quickly. His figure was covered in light the moment he was ambushed.

The light brown glow rapidly transformed into plate armor, turning him into a brown-armored knight.

However, the winding sheets were not intended to inflict any damage to begin with. Even though Scar Face was protected by the armor, he was still dragged away by the winding sheets around his neck.

While everyone was still reacting, Scar Face had already been dragged over ten meters away, into a yawning tomb that none of them was even aware of in the first place!

“Save him, save him quick!” Yu Qingsu panicked. She immediately chased after Scar Face.

Unfortunately, Yu Qingsu did not have any movement spells. She had no chance of catching up to Scar Face, who was being dragged away rapidly.

The whole sequence had only lasted a second. Both Mo Fan and Shorty had no clue what spell they could cast to save the man.

“He was dragged into the cave. How are we going to save him? Are you implying that we should all jump into it?” Shorty went up to the cave, and discovered that it was completely dark inside.

Vision was not their true concern, but the cave seemed to be extremely narrow. Magicians who were most vulnerable when their enemies were within melee range; if they did not have defensive spells like turtle shells to protect them, they would simply be overwhelmed by mere zombies pouncing at them!

“If you two aren’t going, I’ll go myself!” Yu Qingsu clenched her teeth and jumped into the cave.

Mo Fan and Shorty were left wide-eyed at the entrance. They had no clue what was down there at all. Wasn’t it simply committing suicide jumping down like that?

“What should we do? Are we going down too?” Shorty looked at Mo Fan, unable to make a decision.

“What choice do we have, let’s go down and save them… little Flame Belle, come out!” yelled Mo Fan.

Mo Fan began to cast the Intermediate Star Pattern of the Summoning Element, yet when he was only halfway drawing the Star Pattern, the little Flame Belle had already come out herself, extending her fist into the sky, as if she had come out to save the world.

Mo Fan felt a surge of disgust. He should not have let her watch Ultraman. His Contracted Beast was now suffering from eighth-grader syndrome!

Shorty was completely shocked at her display.

He was not stunned after witnessing Mo Fan’s third Element, as those who kept an eye on the rankings surely knew that Mo Fan, who was ranked fifth on the Innate Talent Leaderboard, had three Elements. The problem was, how the Hell did Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast come out when he had only drawn half of the Star Pattern?

It didn’t make any sense!

“The creature most likely has a lineage related to the Space Element, so she can come and go as she pleases,” explained Mo Fan helplessly.

“Oh, I see… I’m not too fond of going down there. I’m afraid that I won’t have the chance to see my son who’s going to be born soon,” Shorty expressed his real thoughts.

“Cut the bullshit!’ Mo Fan did not give Shorty any chance to complain. He lifted Shorty up and asked Flame Belle to light the path ahead, before jumping into the cave after taking a deep breath.

“Don’t…don’t do it…”

Shorty was too tiny compared to Mo Fan, who was simply a wild man, dragging Shorty with him into the cave.

The path was straight, more like a well instead of a cave. The place was not covered with soil, but rotting bricks from ancient times. It seemed like someone did build the tomb here in the past!

“Crap, how are we not at the bottom yet!” Shorty was already screaming like a sissy as they fell endlessly in complete darkness.

Little Flame Belle was right below them. The fire erupting from her body was lighting the path, yet there was still no sign of the bottom.

Finally, a chamber came into sight. Mo Fan squatted slightly as he landed, trying to provide some cushion for the impact.

Shorty was not as comfortable as Mo Fan, whose legs were numb from the landing. He immediately cursed t in pain.

“Where’s Yu Qingsu?” Mo Fan scanned their surroundings, but found no trace of Qing Lajiao.

“I bet she was dragged away, too. It’s not difficult to try and kill the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General on the surface, but now that we’re in its territory, we’re most likely doomed!” said Shorty, who had been incredibly unwilling to come down here.

“I thought we were going to see undead everywhere down here. In fact, it’s quite spacious!” Mo Fan used the light emitted by Flame Belle, the moving light bulb, to check his surroundings.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m telling you, if my wife becomes a widow, and my son loses his father, it’s all your fault. Them jumping into this cave is simply the same as committing suicide by jumping off a building…” Shorty did not stop mumbling.

Mo Fan let the little Flame Belle lead the way. Her senses were slightly sharper than a Magician’s.

The little Flame Belle seemed extraordinarily excited, as it was her first time being in such a fascinating cave. She waved the fiery robe on her body around and proceeded to guide them on.

“Stay close!” Mo Fan urged Shorty.

There was no way Shorty would dare to stay on his own. He quickly caught up to Mo Fan and his little pet.

The tomb was extremely spacious, and a lot wider than they had imagined. However, due to the thick presence of death, the light from the flames was unable to spread any distance away.

The light produced by the flames could be used as a light source, yet it did not contain the power of the Light Element, which had the effect of driving darkness away or purifying it. Not only would a single Brilliant Light clear the presence of death and miasma away, it would also light up the entire chamber!

“Let go of him, you disgusting corpse!” an agitated scream came from the darkness ahead.

Mo Fan took a closer look and discovered the person to be Yu Qingsu. Her outstanding curves were surrounded by infuriated lightning arcs, producing loud cracks in the air.

Mo Fan glanced further ahead and saw a slightly moldy blue pillar. The pillar seemed to be the main support of the chamber, like the trunk of an ancient towering tree rising to the top to support the ceiling.

( B oxnovel.c om )   Halfway up the pillar, Scar Face was dangling in the air with winding sheets wrapping tightly around his neck. His limbs were tied up, too. Even with his armor, he would simply suffocate to death once he ran out of oxygen after being strangled for too long!

Some distance away from the pillar, the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General was hanging upside down like Spiderman in the air. Its pair of icy, cunning eyes were staring at Yu Qingsu with a hint of mockery. Black blood was still dripping from the wound after its shoulders were blasted open by the lightning, yet the creature did not seem to care.

The Cloth-wrapped Corpse General uttered a weird chuckle, like a cunning fox which had caught its prey.

“Why the hell are you wasting your time talking to it? Let’s kill it and regroup with the army!” Shorty ran forward, panting heavily.

Mo Fan did not want to waste any further time, either. He fixed his gaze on the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General, which was uttering a weird chuckle. It was obvious that the creature possessed some degree of intelligence, and was waiting for Scar Face’s armor to fail. Once the armor disappeared, the creature could easily strangle him to death!

“Little Flame Belle, exterminate it!” said Mo Fan.

Little Flame Belle was extremely excited. She flew straight at the Corpse General with a pleasant chime. The flames on her body grew stronger and bigger in the process.

“What the hell is a Summoned Beast in her Youth Phase going to do? Are you treating our lives as a joke?!” Yu Qingsu screamed after seeing this.

Mo Fan ignored her scream. His eyes continued to scan their surroundings.

For some reason, he kept feeling that the cave tomb was not as simple and empty as it seemed.

The emptiness was still reasonable, since most zombies had gone to the surface to enjoy themselves a ‘nightbath’, thus leaving the cave empty. However, the presence of death was too strong to be comforting. Mo Fan’s Shadow Element was sensing an unusual presence in the dark.

As Little Flame Belle flew higher in the air, the Calamity Fire erupting from her body grew stronger. She had turned from a little puff of flame into a rolling fireball with a diameter of over two meters!

The fireball flew right at the Corpse General. The agile creature immediately reacted and switched positions in the air, yet the fireball that Flame Belle had turned into was agile too, since it was the Flame Belle herself!

The fireball with a diameter of two meters halted in the air for a second, before it flew right in the direction that the Corpse General was moving!

While the fireball was altering its path, its diameter grew another meter, and was now three meters across!

The Corpse General continued to dodge the fireball. The winding sheets it left behind were burned into ashes within seconds. It was likely that the intelligent Corpse General never thought the little fiery creature would possess such an overwhelming power, turning into such a huge fireball!

At the center of the fireball, little Flame Belle uttered a frustrated cry, as if she were trying to say, ‘Stop running, come and fight an enjoyable battle with me!’

The Corpse General was most likely a living dead, instead of an undead without any sense of intelligence. It felt extremely humiliated being challenged by little Flame Belle, yet it had no choice but to keep running. Its greatest weapon, the winding sheets, were utterly useless against the Calamity Fire. On top of that, the fireball that little Flame Belle had turned into now had a diameter of four meters!

( B oxnovel.c om )    A fireball with a diameter of four meters was utterly horrifying, as its width was twice that of an SUV. Even a Giant Corpse General with a sturdy defense stood no chance against it!

“What are you waiting for, standing there? Go and save him!” yelled Mo Fan when he saw Yu Qingsu standing there stunned.

Yu Qingsu’s eyes widened at the sight before her. A little fiery ‘Calabash Sister’ in her Youth Phase was driving the cunning Cloth-wrapped Corpse General all over the chamber. It was similar to a little girl who just started going to kindergarten chasing after an adult gangster on the street with a lighter in her hand!

{TL Note: It’s a reference to ‘Calabash Brothers’. Search it up if you want to get a clearer picture.}

Yu Qingsu quickly controlled her Magic Vines to save Scar Face upon recovering. Blue veins had already surfaced on his face. If they had not saved him, he would definitely have run out of breath.

As Yu Qingsu was focused on saving the hostage with the Magic Vines, an eerie shadow appeared behind her.

The shadow simply rose to its feet behind her. Its outline resembled a devilish goat standing there. Even its downward-curling horns resembled those of a devil!

The shadow of the goat-horned creature was holding a sharp object similar to a dagger in its hand. It was trying to silently slice Yu Qingsu’s throat open…

Yu Qingsu was completely unaware of the creature’s presence, since it was merely a lump of shadow. She even assumed it to be Shorty’s shadow cast by the blazing flames, yet the shadow was none other than a demon beast, one that was fond of slicing its prey’s throat!

“Light Protection: Sacred Shield!”

Shorty cast a Light Spell in the nick of time!

The Light Element was too effective against Dark demon beasts. Even when it was only a pure defensive spell, the light emitted by the Sacred Shield surrounding Yu Qingsu felt like a soldering iron as it made contact with the creature, which began to utter a weird screech as it was burned!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Yu Qingsu finally realized that the God of Death’s kiss had just swept past her throat when she heard the cry behind her. Her body subconsciously shivered.

“What…what was that!?” Yu Qingsu had fought against countless undead, yet she had never heard of a creature with goat horns that was able to turn into a lump of shadow.

The creature had suffered quite a serious injury from the Sacred Shield. It fled into the shadows of the chamber while uttering a cry of agony. Yu Qingsu barely saw its savage appearance when she turned her head around.

“Hehe, you should thank me for being more knowledgeable than most of the so-called experts on the rankings! That creature is a Throat-slicing Horned Demon, one of the most dangerous kinds among the Phantom Generals. Their ability to utilize the shadows to launch their ambushes greatly surpass any Shadow Magician you’ve met before. It could even crawl out from the shadows and onto your back without you noticing, and slowly slice your throat open. Many strong Magicians like you have died to those creatures; they usually don’t prey on ordinary Magicians, but select their targets from the elites. If the undead have a leaderboard, that Throat-slicing Horned Demon is surely ranked close to the top!” explained Shorty.

Mo Fan nodded slightly. No wonder he kept feeling that the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General was trying to set them up. It turned out that it was simply posing in front of them after it had tons of opportunities to finish Scar Face whom it captured as a hostage. It was purposely trying to catch their attention just so the Throat-slicing Horned Demon could eliminate its greatest threat, Yu Qingsu!

Unfortunately, the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General had made mistakes, too. It was likely that it was planning to keep all of the Magicians busy, so they would not be able to keep an eye out for the surprise attack from the Throat-slicing Horned Demon. To its surprise, the little Flame Belle that Mo Fan had Summoned was enough to drive the creature into running wildly around the chamber, giving Shorty plenty of time to observe their surroundings. His Light Element made him more sensitive toward the darkness in his surroundings, as the two Elements naturally repelled one other!

The perfectly-timed Light Protection: Sacred Shield totally nullified the plans of the two cunning undead. It was impossible to tell how many Magicians the two creatures had killed using the same deadly trick!

“The Cloth-wrapped Corpse General is most likely not an undead, but a living dead instead. That thing is going to be a disaster if it’s left alive. We should kill it at all costs. Same goes with that Throat-slicing Horned Demon too. If it somehow sneaked behind our troop, it would simply slit many of their throats open while they were busy drawing Star Patterns!” Mo Fan said to the others.

Mo Fan finally understood Yao Nan’s intentions. Their captain had most likely sensed that something was weird about the Corpse General, and had purposely sent those who were relatively reliable in his troop to handle the creature.

Yao Nan was quite a capable Hunter, able to identify potential threats that would lead his entire team to destruction while in the middle of the mess!

“Shorty, Scar Face, Qing Lajiao, you three handle the Throat-slicing Horned Demon. Leave the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General to me and my daughter,” Mo Fan ordered as the team’s Vice Captain.

Yu Qingsu was not as stubborn as before, after witnessing the strength of Mo Fan’s Summoned beast. Besides, she was not going to allow the creature that almost took her life to run away!

“With me here, I bet that asshole won’t have many corners to hide after I light the place up with a few Brilliant Lights!” said Shorty heroically.

Many people assumed that the Light Element was not as useful as the other Elements. The Light Protection: Sacred Shield was not as sturdy, nor did it have a huge area of coverage when compared to the Rock Barrier. The truth was, only mediocre Magicians would think that the Light Element was useless. In special circumstances, for example, when fighting against the Throat-slicing Horned Demon, the usefulness of the Light Element was fully displayed.

As for the other Elements, no matter how destructive and effective they were at controlling their enemies, none of them could pose a threat to the Throat-slicing Horned Demon, since they could not even spot the creature. It was simply impossible to inflict any damage on the creature, unless their spells could cover the entire chamber. In addition to that, the creature would continue to hide in the shadows close to the Magicians and tail them. As soon as they lowered their guard, blood would be jetting out of their throats!

Shorty had gone through a lot as a Hunter, and heard lots of stories. He once heard that a group of over ten Hunters consisting of the elites had gone to exterminate the undead in a tomb. They managed to clean the tomb of the undead and were on their way back full of loot from the victorious battle. However, they were killed one by one on the way back. When the team made it to the safe zone, only one person from the team of elite Magicians had survived the Throat-slicing Horned Demon!

It was the first time Shorty had heard of the vicious Phantom General. Everyone in the team was capable of killing a Warrior-level undead on their own, yet they all ended up dying to the Throat-slicing Horned Demon. They were aware of the creature targeting them, yet they simply could not do anything about it, but watch their comrades die one after another.

Their greatest misfortune was that none of the Magicians in the team was a Light Magician.

If they had just one Light Magician, they could have prevented the tragedy from happening!

Shorty was unwilling to earn a living in other cities, as he knew that Light Magicians were more valuable in the Ancient Capital, especially someone like him, whose Light Element was his Primary Element!

Shorty admitted that it was his first time encountering a Throat-slicing Horned Demon, yet any Light Magician was like a bane to Dark Creatures like the Throat-slicing Horned Demon. A Brilliant Light with exceedingly huge coverage could simply light up the whole chamber. No matter where the Throat-slicing Horned Demon was hiding, when the white glow descended upon the place, it would clearly reveal its position!

“Brilliant Light!” A ball of light appeared on Shorty’s palm.

As he threw the spell into the air, the ball of light immediately turned into countless rays, pouring down in the chamber. The light quickly purified the strong presence of death, driving the darkness away.

Yu Qingsu scanned her surroundings, searching for the Throat-slicing Horned Demon.

The light was extremely bright, enough for her to see the entire chamber clearly. However, even when the light had filled every corner in the chamber, she still failed to spot the Throat-slicing Horned Demon.

“Has it run away using other passage?” asked Yu Qingsu with a frown.

“Humph, that asshole dares to outsmart us? If we can’t see it after lighting up the whole chamber, it means that it’s hiding behind the pillar!” Shorty grinned, looking down at the sly trick that the Throat-slicing Horned Demon was using on them.

Yu Qingsu did not waste any time further. She quickly directed the lightning about her hand toward the spot behind the pillar. The lightning arcs conducted rapidly along the ground, surging toward the pillar.

The unexpected curves of the lightning arcs implied that something was hiding behind the pillar. As more lightning arcs arrived at the spot, they quickly framed the silhouette of the creature…

Lightning Strike was only a Basic Spell, after all, thus its paralyzing effect was not strong enough to handle the Throat-slicing Horned Demon. The creature immediately ran away when it realized that its position was compromised!

“I’ll keep casting Brilliant Light to prevent it from running away using the shadows. You two will hunt it down. As long as the creature is unable to flee into the shadows, it’s no different than a Servant-class undead,” said Shorty with a smile

Scar Face, who had finally caught his breath raised his thumb, at Shorty.

Both he and Yu Qingsu chased after the Throat-slicing Horned Demon, as the hatred they bore had reached the limit after they almost lost their lives!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A loud crash echoed in the chamber. It turned out that the fireball, now five meters across, that the little Flame Belle had turned into had just slammed into the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General. The creature had no place to escape to after it was forced into a corner in the chamber.

The fireball exploded. It felt like a Fire Burst: Rupture, with its power multiplied by around ten times. Half of the spacious chamber was devoured by the erupting flames, while the place felt like it was about to collapse!

The chamber quaked vigorously. Dust and grit continued to fall from above as cracks began to cross the sturdy walls. Meanwhile, the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General was entirely engulfed in flames within a pile of burning debris.

The Cloth-wrapped Corpse General was just too unlucky. Normally, with its speed, it was hard to land any destructive spell on it, yet the area of little Flame Belle’s fireball was just too terrifying. With the limited space in the chamber, it was only a matter of time until the fireball struck it!

Little Flame Belle was overjoyed. She zipped past the sea of flames she had just created and flew over to where the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General was laying.

( Box novel.c om ) The little creature was rather naive. She was simply going to check if her target was dead. If not, she would not mind using a stronger Calamity Fire to send the creature into the afterlife.

To her surprise, the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General was so cunning that it was actually faking its death. When the little Flame Belle went up to it, the winding sheets around its arm immediately took the shape of a drill, stabbing at little Flame Belle viciously!

The attack totally caught little Flame Belle off guard. There was no way she could possibly dodge it, yet the cunning Mo Fan would never allow such a thing to happen. His fist erupted in flames that streaked through the air and flew right at the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General that had just sprung up from the ground.

The Cloth-wrapped Corpse General was knocked flying while it was still in midair. Its body slammed into the walls of the chamber. The impact ended up producing a deep hole, where the Corpse General was quickly burned to ashes under the combination of different flames.

The Cloth-wrapped Corpse General’s defense was not as outstanding as other kinds of Corpse Generals. Mo Fan’s punch was strong enough to blast it to death.

As Mo Fan took a few steps forward, a wisp of dark green fragmented soul drifted toward the Little Loach Pendant, implying that the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General was indeed dead.

It was a Warrior-level Soul Remnant! As a matter of fact, there were quite a number of Warrior-level Soul Remnants floating on the Nether River in the Little Loach Pendant. When the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General’s Soul Remnant joined the rest of the Soul Remnants, they immediately gathered together and combined into a dark-blue amber in the shape of a water droplet!

Soul Essence!

The Little Loach Pendant had refined a Soul Essence!

Most importantly, it was refined with close to a hundred Warrior-level Soul Remnants, hence the product was a Warrior-level Soul Essence, bringing Mo Fan great joy!

It turned out that not only was the Little Loach able to refine Servant-class Soul Remnants, it could also refine Warrior-level Soul Remnants into Soul Essences!

The average price of a Warrior-level Soul Essence was around twenty million RMB. Mo Fan’s savings were almost empty from feeding his little Flame Belle. Despite that, he was still unwilling to sell the Pseudomorphing Demon Beast’s Seed. He even had to rely on Liu Ru to pay the twenty million to Shorty. Now that he finally had the chance to earn twenty million, how fascinating… oh, wait a second!

“Damn it, I almost forgot. I can’t take the Soul Essences that Little Loach has refined out from the pendant. I can only use them to strengthen my Stars,” he cursed instantly.

His joy was all in vain. He could not even trade the Soul Essences for money!

“Speaking of which, can I even strengthen the Stars with a Warrior-level Soul Essence…” the question suddenly crossed Mo Fan’s mind.

Since he had no way of selling the Soul Essence, he simply decided to spend it on an experiment. He immediately used the freshly refined Soul Essence to strengthen the thirty-fourth Star of his Nebula.

The naughty Star was flying around wildly in the blazing red Nebula. Mo Fan’s control over the Stars was like a fisher handling a tank of fish. He was so experienced that he could instantly grab any fish in the tank that he wished.

( Box novel.c om )    “Come, here’s some nutrients for you to grow stronger!”

Mo Fan fed the Warrior-level Soul Essence to the Star he had not yet strengthened. The Star rapidly absorbed the energy of the Soul Essence, becoming incredibly bright, and on top of that, it also had an extra flickering glow around it!

Mo Fan initially thought the Warrior-level Soul Essence would be consumed in the process, yet the Soul Essence was still there after its energy was absorbed by the Star. The only difference was its color was slightly dimmer.

“So desu ne, a Warrior-level Soul Essence contains more energy, which is enough to strengthen more than one Star…”

{TL Note: All weebs should know what so desu ne means}

Mo Fan felt a great surge of joy. There were only fifteen Stars left to be strengthened. He would be able to strengthen a few more Stars with the Warrior-level Soul Essence!

Mo Fan immediately proceeded to strengthen the thirty-fifth Star with the Warrior-level Soul Essence. The process finished rather smoothly. Not long after, the thirty-fifth Star was shining brightly, like its thirty-four other siblings!

Moving forward, the thirty-sixth Star was successfully strengthened, too!

More onward, the thirty-seventh Star had no problem leveling up too. The energy that a Warrior-level Soul Essence contained was superb indeed!

Here came the thirty-eighth Star. The Soul Essence was almost entirely transparent. As Mo Fan finished strengthening the thirty-eighth Star, the Warrior-level Soul Essence finally dissipated…

Five Stars!

A Warrior-level Soul Essence was just enough to strengthen five Stars!

However, different Warrior-level Soul Essences had different levels of quality too, leading to each Soul Essence containing a different amount of energy. Those with a lower quality were only enough to strengthen four Stars, while those that were superior would be able to strengthen six Stars. Clearly, the Soul Essences refined by the Little Loach were considered average!

The count had now reached thirty-eight, only eleven more left to strengthening all forty-nine Stars, which would significantly improve Mo Fan’s magic. It was extremely important to him!

The power of a fourth-tier Fiery Fist was truly outstanding. Otherwise, Dongfang Lie would not have been able to occupy the first rank for so long. The truth was, Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist was only slightly stronger than a fourth-tier Fiery Fist when he was possessed by the Flame Belle. Mo Fan simply took Dongfang Lie by surprise, since Dongfang Lie never thought his spell would be overwhelmed by Mo Fan’s.

Therefore, if Mo Fan was also able to cast the fourth-tier Fiery Fist, allowing him to fire nine fiery dragons from his fist, and together with the extra power from being possessed by the Flame Belle, his Fiery Fist’s power would be close to an Advanced Spell. In addition, Mo Fan’s Fire Seed was also able to multiply the strength of his Fire Spells!

Think about that, when his Intermediate Spell was almost as destructive as an Advanced Spell, wouldn’t most of his enemies be trembling in fear when facing him?

He had to strengthen the remaining eleven Stars as soon as possible! He was hoping that he would earn more benefits from the war against the undead, allowing him to learn a new formidable spill and dominate the Intermediate Level!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Keep running if you can, your grandpa Shorty doesn’t mind playing with you until your death!” grumbled Shorty while casting a Light Protection: Rampart.

The Light Protection: Rampart was like a cage that the Throat-slicing Horned Demon could not afford to touch. After Shorty trapped the creature with three consecutive Light Protection: Rampart, it was done for.

Yu Qingsu, who was overwhelmed with hatred, immediately threw a Lightning Strike into the cage, landing it on top of the Throat-slicing Horned Demon.

The Throat-slicing Horned Demon’s defense was even weaker than the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General. Its body was severely injured after a mere Lightning Strike. It was pretty much half-dead lying there in the cage, losing all hope of fleeing for its life.

“Allow me to help the creature find its peace!” Shorty followed up by throwing a Brilliant Light into the cage.

A Magician should always conserve their energy, especially when a Basic Light Spell was more than enough to finish the creature.

The rays of light emitted by the glowing ball were like incredibly sharp swords to the Throat-slicing Horned Demon. The rays instantly punctured the creature’s shadowy figure, leaving countless holes in it.

The Throat-slicing Horned Demon did not last for more than a few minutes, its body soon shattering into smaller black pieces. In the end, all that remained was a black piece of canvas falling to the ground… it turned out that the phantom was actually possessing the canvas!

Shorty’s eyes glittered when he saw the Ghost Canvas. However, the cunning man did not express his excitement in his expression. He simply picked up the canvas with an indifferent look and grumbled, “All it dropped is this thing that looks like a piece of loincloth. What the hell can we even use it for? Perhaps someone will actually buy it from me.”

Shorty had already snuck the Ghost Canvas into his pocket in the middle of his speech.

Unfortunately, a huge hand immediately grabbed his wrist. He looked up and saw Scar Face looking at him with a smile that revealed his tobacco-stained yellow teeth.

“Bro, that thing is actually quite valuable. Since you already knew what the Throat-slicing Horned Demon is, you would know how valuable its Ghost Canvas is, too,” said Scar Face.

Shorty immediately pulled a long face.

This man, who looked like a hefty version of Rurouni Kenshin, almost lost his life a few moments ago, yet he was still thinking about the Ghost Canvas. If Shorty managed to keep the Ghost Canvas to himself, he would earn a great profit even without considering the other loot he would get for the rest of the night!

“Hehe, it’s not like that, I’m not too sure about its value. How about this, I can sell this thing at a good price. I’ll take it, and compensate you all with other things. How does that sound?” said Shorty with us.

“It depends on what you’re planning to give us. All three of us are included,” Yu Qingsu was not someone that could be fooled easily either.

“One Soul Seed Piece?”

“Are you treating me like an idiot! Give me the thing, now…” said Scar Face furiously.

“Alright, alright, five million, I’ll give everyone five million. You can only sell it for twenty million at most. I’ll give each of you five million. It’s a fair deal!” said Shorty.

“That sounds more like it.”

Shorty fell his balls hurting. He should not have saved the guy. The profit was not as impressive after it was split among four people.

Shorty was a man of his words, too. He immediately gave everyone Soul Seed Pieces and Magic Ores that would sum up to a value of five million according to the market price.

“This Servant-class Soul Essence is for you. It’s worth more or less five million,” Shorty handed a Soul Essence to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was stunned for a moment. How did the guy know he was in need of Soul Essences?

Normally, Mo Fan would never spend the Soul Essences that he could trade for money on strengthening his Stars. However, since he was so close to strengthening all forty-nine Stars, he decisively used the Soul Essence to strengthen his next Star instead.

Only ten Stars remained until he could cast the fourth-tier Fiery Fist!

After leaving the chamber, he would have to put more effort into collecting the Soul Remnants of the undead. It was quicker to collect Soul Remnants when killing the undead, as they would always die in packs…

——-

The group made their way out of the sunken tomb after splitting the loot.

Everyone was given a great scare as soon as they came out of the cave.

The whole area was surrounded by pitch-black figures. Zombies had filled the place when they were busy dealing with the cunning Corpse General and Phantom General. They subconsciously took a deep breath when their entire field of view was filled with the faces, bodies, and limbs of the undead.

“Quick, let’s leave this place!” Shorty was no longer thought about the Ghost Canvas when he realized that the situation they were in.

“Little Flame Belle, clear the path!” Mo Fan immediately ordered.

Little Flame Belle was flying around three to four meters above the ground. She puffed out her cheeks and spat out blazing flames ahead of them quickly.

The flames poured down from the sky like a river. The rolling tide swept forward and laid a blazing red carpet on the surface. The Servant-class undead within the area of the flames were either burned beyond recognition, or fled for their lives in all directions.

The Calamity Fire was much more imperious than the Rose Flame. Besides, little Flame Belle was still in her Youth Phase, and was still unable to fully exploit the power of the Calamity Fire!

“Awesome, your Contracted Beast is comparable to four or five Intermediate Fire Magicians,” Shorty raised his thumb to Mo Fan.

“Enough flattering, hurry up and use your Brilliant Light to blind the zombies behind us. They are f**king fast runners!” cursed Mo Fan.

In addition to the flames clearing the path, Mo Fan and Yu Qingsu, who were both Lightning Magicians, were also able to paralyze a huge number of zombies with their Lightning Strikes.

That being said, only Mo Fan’s Lightning Strike was able to paralyze a crowd of zombies. The fourth-tier Lightning Strike was much stronger than Yu Qingsu’s Lightning Strike. The zombies that enjoyed stacking up into human pyramids had no chance of getting close to the group.

“I see it, the army is just ahead!” yelled Scar Face.

Holding an ice chain in each of his hands, Scar Face flung the ice chains sideways with great might, knocking the zombies on both sides to the ground!

They were more than a kilometer away from the army. The four Magicians did not hesitate to use their Boots Equipment as they sprinted toward the army across the land of black sand while drawing Star Patterns continuously.

A Magic Vine burst out from the ground and entangled the legs of two zombies. The four had no time to waste on the two zombies who were trying to crawl forward with their hands. They simply ran past them quickly.

Shorty’s Brilliant Light exploded on the other side. The light was so strong that it stopped another four to five zombies from moving any closer, as they tried to shield their eyes. When the zombies finally regained their vision after the light dimmed gradually, the four Magicians were already a hundred meters away from them, surrounded by another pack of undead!

“My turn! Wind Disc: Sky Snare!” uttered Scar Face imperiously, controlling the airflow nearby with his hands.

The wind spin rapidly with the group in the center. It grew from a slight breeze at the start into Sky Snare wind walls that were strong enough to crush anything into pieces!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Not only did the wind wall protect them, it also swept the packs of zombies lunging at them into the air.

The faster the wind was spinning, the greater the tearing force it produced. With so many Servant-class zombies jumping at the wind wall, it simply crushed the undead into paste like a giant meat mincer. Soon, pieces of flesh and bodies were scattered on the outside of the wall…

“Let’s go, we can’t stay any longer!” Mo Fan quickly retrieved the Soul Remnants of the zombies and urged his team along.

The Wind Disc gradually dispersed, leaving fresh blood and pulped flesh scattered across the land. It had cleared a spacious path ahead, yet when the team had run less than fifty meters, they quickly found themselves surrounded by new packs of zombies!

Each of the packs consisted of more than twenty zombies. Their speed was two to three times that of an ordinary human. Some of their kinds with different traits could run even faster, flickering like black shadows!

“Damn it, there are too many of them!” cursed Shorty.

“We can’t stop! The zombies are rolling toward us like a surging tide. Once they roll over the path between us and the army, there’s no way we can regroup with them anymore. After all, the army is clearing the zombies faster than us four!” Mo Fan said urgently.

Because of how grave the situation was, Mo Fan did not dare to preserve his strength further.

He glanced in the three different directions there zombies were charging at them from and roughly estimated there to be sixty to seventy zombies attacking them simultaneously. Within a few more seconds, more than a hundred other zombies would arrive too…

“Stand closer to me, I’ll destroy them all in one go!” said Mo Fan furiously.

“I’ll cover you!” said Shorty immediately.

The Star Pattern appeared under Mo Fan’s feet. Its blazing red color easily captured everyone’s attention as usual, as if he were standing on a fiery ring that was burning fiercely…

“Fiery Fist! Nine Halls!” Mo Fan slammed his fist into the ground, inserting the rolling heat into the black soil.

The team was surrounded by pitch-black darkness, yet at this very moment, , nine fiery pillars burst out from the land covered by zombies and darkness in the shape of the Nine Halls.

Raging flames danced between the pillars, as explosions, heat waves, and tongues of fire covered everything within a hundred meters!

Basically, as soon as the packs of zombies stepped into the area of the spell, they were welcomed by blazing fire pillars that instantly evaporated the zombies, not even their ashes were left behind!

The fiery pillars were utterly astonishing. Seeing the whole area was covered in violent flames, and Mo Fan, whose figure had turned bright red after he erupted in flames, Scar Face and Yu Qingsu understood the reason why Yao Nan had appointed him as the Vice Captain…

Violent!

Extremely violent!

Scar Face’s Sky Snare had only killed twenty zombies before, while Mo Fan’s single Fiery Fist: Nine Halls had killed over fifty zombies in one go. It quickly resolved the difficulty they were at from being surrounded by the zombies. The remaining zombies had only survived because they were moving at a relatively slower pace, and so were not within the coverage of the spell.

“Let’s go!” uttered Mo Fan, in high spirits as he glanced at the scorched land in his surroundings.

The Little Loach Pendant acted fairly quickly too. The zombies that Mo Fan had eliminated had all turned into blue-green light dots floating into its Nether River.

Around eighty Soul Remnants of the undead would be enough to refine a Soul Essence. Basically, the undead that Scar Face and Mo Fan had eliminated were enough to refine another Soul Essence!

Collecting Soul Remnants this way was extremely efficient, yet Mo Fan did not want to be too greedy, as it was only a matter of time until his energy was depleted. Besides, the number of undead were still increasing, thus resulting in denser packs of zombies lunging at them endlessly. If they made a mistake when casting their Intermediate Spells , it was only a matter of seconds until the zombies brought them to the ground and stacked ten layers of zombies on top of them!

With no time to strengthen the Star, Mo Fan led the team and continued sprinting forwards.

“Little Flame Belle, spit fire!”

Little Flame Belle puffed her cheeks again, spitting a bright red burning carpet across the path ahead more than a hundred meters long.

The zombies in a straight line ahead of her melted instantly in the flames once again, before turning into blue-green light dots flying toward Mo Fan’s Little Loach Pendant.

“Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes!” Yu Qingsu’s eyes emitted a purple glint of light.

She pointed her finger at the path behind them, producing a huge stormy cloud up high from which thick Lightning Strikes descended. The zombies chasing after them had no choice but to cross the lightning zone. Fortunately, the zombies had little to no intelligence. They were completely clueless about dodging or avoiding the dangerous zone. As they stepped into the area, the Lightning Strikes striking them immediately blew them into a bloody mist in the air.

“I can see them, I can see them… hurry up!” blurted out Shorty. He finally saw the army around three hundred meters away.

It looked like Zhou Ming and Mu Bai were assigned to the back of the army to annihilate the zombies pursuing the army. When Mu Bai, Shorty, Yu Qingsu and Scar Face were clearing a path toward them, they suddenly felt the pressure being lifted from their shoulders, as the zombies had instead gone to surround the group of four instead.

“They are back, clear the path for them, clear the path!” Zhou Ming yelled at the other Magicians when she discovered them catching up.

One of the Hunters opened his mouth and eyes wide when he saw the zombies being murdered en masse behind the army. It took him some time to collect his thoughts and said, “Those four are fierce as tigers; their firepower is basically the same as a huge troop!”

“Yeah, if I was left behind like that, I would be eaten by the undead without leaving any bones behind in just a matter of seconds.”

“Enough with the bullshit, let’s clear a path for them!”

“Not a problem, watch this, Rolling Wave!”

“Blood-lined Beast, go get them,” said a Summoner, casting Contract Summoning.

A five-meter-tall muscular beast soon dashed ahead. As soon as the creature appeared, the undead nearby simply turned into midgets. A single grab would crush a zombie to death, a single swing of its limbs would knock a zombie flying, and a single bite would swallow one…

The Blood-lined Beast charged into the pile of zombies. The creature was extremely effective against them. After all, Magicians preferred to stay in groups instead of being split up into smaller groups and finding themselves surrounded by the zombies, but a Warrior-level creature like the Blood-lined Beast was a completely different story. Its flesh was sturdy and its limbs were powerful. It would probably take the zombies half a day to kill the creature, even if it were standing in one spot.

“Mission accomplished, everyone, full speed ahead!” Yao Nan’s voice came from the sky.

They’d been out here exactly twenty minutes. When Yao Nan saw Mo Fan’s team approaching the army, he smiled too. It seemed like the people he had chosen did have some tricks up their sleeves. It was not easy to kill a Corpse General and regroup with the army after only twenty minutes. Besides, they even had to fight their way out to regroup with the army a kilometer away!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Yao Nan was spiraling in the air above the army’s perimeter. His gaze was fixed ahead, as he finally saw a group of phantom-like creatures in white among the dense army of undead!

The creatures in white clothes had pale faces. Their half-illusionary figures were able to move past anything. On top of that, they were not walking along but hovering in the air…

“I see you!” Yao Nan grinned coldly.

The army was advancing at full speed. The Fire Magicians had become the main firepower for the whole army. As Fiery Fists with wide coverage were thrown forward, there was burning blood and flesh scattering everywhere in the air. The fiery explosions left the scorched land with countless blast craters.

“The group of Light Magicians is in front of us regrouping with other troops!” called down Heavenly Eagle Battlemage who was spiraling in the air above the army.

They could see troops of Magicians in various directions among the black tide of zombies. The colorful glow when spells were cast served as the brightest flags to identify the friendlies, telling the other troops that they were moving toward their assigned destination!

At the Intermediate Level, Fire Magicians still played an important role, since the Fire Element was not as difficult to Awaken as the Lightning Element. On top of that, the Fire Element was the most effective in a wide-scale war like this due to its wide area of effect. The blazing red fire carpet laid out as the troops began to merge with one another was like a path towards hope for the humans.

The undead’s greatest weakness was Light, followed by Fire. As flames erupted and burned the land, the brain-dead Servant-class zombies would simply walk into the flames and set themselves on fire.

The magical flames could last for some time. A zombie on fire would eventually be turned into a scorched corpse, no longer posing any threat to the living.

The bright flames were the only comfort the human army could find when they were right in the middle of the undead army. Everyone was searching for the light produced by the spells, the righteous flames that countless Intermediate Magicians had summoned, just so they would not lose their direction on the path toward death!

“The other troops have arrived at their positions. Take a look at how slow your men are…” said Yao Nan.

“The other troops consisted of well-trained Battlemages. They are a lot better compared to us that were put together at the very last second!” replied Jiang Li unpleasantly.

Yao Nan ignored Jiang Li’s grumble. His eyes were suddenly fixed on a huge black mist rising from the undead army.

The black mist was rolling toward the humans like a sandstorm. Its target was the Magicians that had yet to arrive at their positions. Yao Nan discovered that the undead were actually clearing a path for the black sandstorm!

“Something big is coming!” screamed the Heavenly Eagle Battlemage in the sky.

As soon as the Heavenly Eagle Battlemage gave the heads up, a flesh-colored tentacle sprang out from the black sandstorm into the air!

It looked like a tongue, or an arm, or more like a lump of meat able to extend infinitely. The weird thing was incredibly fast. Before anyone could react, it stabbed right through the Heavenly Eagle that the Battlemage was riding on.

The Heavenly Eagle did not even have time to cry out in pain. Its body stiffened after suffering the deadly blow, and started twitching out of nowhere soon after.

The fleshy tentacle suddenly pulsed like a huge straw. It was obvious that something was being transferred to the black sandstorm. At the same time, the Heavenly Eagle withered and dried out.

Its feathers had also lost their color, as if there was simply a layer of skin covered in feathers that had rotted for many years on a corpse with only its skeleton left. The Heavenly Eagle’s life force was completely sucked dry within a few seconds, now looking like it was air-dried after hanging for many years at a certain spot!

The Heavenly Eagle Battlemage fell from his mount with a pale face full of terror. “It’s…it’s a Corpse Official!”

The Heavenly Eagle Battlemage was lucky to survive the attack, but his Heavenly Eagle was thoroughly dead. If the tentacle had punctured any of his body parts, he would have been turned into a dried corpse too!

“A Commander-level undead? Are you serious? We actually stumbled into a Commander-level undead?” a retired Battlemage bleated out.

They were not afraid of Corpse Generals, since as long as they all cast Intermediate Spells focusing on the same target, they would instantly eliminate the Corpse General without leaving its bones behind. After all, their team consisted of over forty talented Intermediate Magicians, and more than ten of them possessed the Fire Element!

However, a Corpse Official was a completely different story. Even if they had twice the number of Intermediate Magicians, a single Commander-level undead would crush the seemingly unbeatable group of Intermediate Magicians within a few minutes.

Once a group lost its formation, the undead army would surround the Magicians. It would not be long until the Magicians died under the filthy, disgusting fangs of the undead!

“We’re only a few steps away from regrouping with the other squads, but we happened to stumble into a Corpse Official here! What do we do now? We only have an Advanced Magician in our group. Even though we might stand a chance if we all focus on killing the Corpse Official, there are still several hundreds or even thousands of zombies flanking us from all directions. If all our firepower is used to handle the Commander-level undead, the zombies will eventually drag us away…” one of the Magicians from the Magic Association blurted out in fear.

Commander-level undead were a nightmare to them. Just a single one was enough to bring death upon the whole team.

“What should we do now? Are we going to die here? I don’t want to die!”

“Send a signal, quick, let’s ask the other squads for help. They have lots of Advanced Magicians!”

“Captain, send a signal to ask for help quickly. The black sandstorm is getting closer. I don’t want my life force being sucked dry like that…”

The Magicians were already panicking. The death of the Heavenly Eagle haunted every single one of them. They could not help but shiver when they imagined their blood, flesh, and organs being sucked dry by the tentacle like a straw!

“Humph, useless pricks, not only are you all slow when advancing, you’re also cowardly compared to the regular army. If I knew how useless you all were since the beginning, I wouldn’t have bothered firing the Assembling Signal… continue to press forward!” mocked Yao Nan while flapping his wings.

“Captain, that is easy for you to say…”

“If you have the time to speak nonsense there, why don’t you draw a few more Star Patterns instead! I’ll deal with the Corpse Official in the black sandstorm. Just focus on advancing forward!” Yao Nan said in a cold voice instead of his usual feminine manner. He glanced across the crowd. When he saw Mo Fan’s group regrouping with the troop, he immediately said, “Vice Captain, come with me, let’s go kill that Corpse Official!”

“F**k you, I just came back!” yelled Mo Fan like an enraged lion, still panting heavily.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Yao Nan did not waste time talking to Mo Fan. He glided over to Mo Fan with a flap of his wings and lifted him into the air by grabbing the back of his coat.

“All you need to do is to charge forward, forward, forward!” Yao Nan said to the squad.

( Box novel.c om )   Yao Nan flew higher into the sky, bringing Mo Fan along with him. Black corpse aura covered the whole area. Everyone could only see the two flying away above the densely-packed undead army and taking the initiative to attack the Corpse Official in the black sandstorm!

“Those two… I bet they don’t even know how they are going to die?” swore Jiang Li.

“Yeah, that’s a Commander-level undead, one that even a team of Advanced Magicians would have trouble killing, let alone a single Advanced Magician, and an Intermediate Magician,” said Zhou Ming, extremely worried.

“Someone has to sacrifice their lives in a war like this. It’s reasonable for them as Captain and Vice Captain to step forward under the circumstances. We shall not put their effort in vain. Let’s regroup with the army!”

“That’s right, we shall not let our two captains down!”

“Charge, kill those filthy creatures!”

“If I survive this, I might even make it to the Undead Ranking, HAHAHA!”

Obviously, Yao Nan and Mo Fan’s action of taking the initiative to attack had eliminated their fear of the Commander-level creature. It had helped to raise the troop’s morale significantly.

On the other hand, Mo Fan was feeling extremely unpleasant. He was forced into the dragon’s swamp and lion’s den even though he had just accomplished a difficult mission!

Yao Nan had dragged him away before he could even catch his breath. He felt the urge to ask Yao Nan whether his previous statement of leaving the Commander-level creature to him was pure bullshit!

When Mo Fan was forced to join the war, he already mentioned that he would only handle Servant-class and Warrior-level undead. If there were Commander-level undead that no one could handle, he would be the first one to fly back to the walls with his Fleeing Shadow…

In the end, he was flying above the undead army consisting of thousands of zombies. His miniscule figure was approaching the black sandstorm, which loomed over them like a mountain. He could barely see some black tentacle-like objects twisting around inside the sandstorm!

“Yao Nan, we aren’t even close to begin with. Let me go, and I’ll still treat you as my friend. Otherwise, if I ended up turning into an undead, I will f**king rape all your boyfriends!” cursed Mo Fan.

“Even though I look feminine, my sexual orientation is still normal,” said Yao Nan with a smile, one that was no different than the smile of a cunning fox.

“What are you actually thinking of doing? I’m just an Intermediate Magician! Don’t treat me like an expert like you who can fly, jump and kill hundreds of undead with a single spell!” Mo Fan was infuriated.

“Enough with the acting! Four Elements, and two Summoned Creatures, I know you don’t want to use all you have when there are people around. I’ve brought you along on purpose so you can fully utilize all you have… look, there are so many Corpse Generals down there. I’m still keeping my promise, I’ll handle the Corpse Official myself, but I need you to keep the Corpse Generals busy,” said Yao Nan.

Yao Nan flapped his wings and spun around nimbly in the air.

Three to four fleshy tentacles, the same as the one that had attacked the eagle before, sprang at them, yet Yao Nan managed to dodge them all with ease. One of the tentacles even swept past Mo Fan’s lower body, forcing Mo Fan to withdraw his legs by obstructing Newton’s Law of Motion…

The eerie fleshy tentacle was not capable of turning corners. It missed Mo Fan’s pants by mere centimeters. Mo Fan could feel the area between his legs twitching. His expression was no longer describable with just one or two foul words!

“Kill the Corpse Official, and its Soul Remnant is mine!” Mo Fan began to negotiate as he knew that there was no turning back.

“Not a problem, I happen to have an undead container with me, I’ll keep it for you…as long as you can survive those Poison Tumor Corpse Generals,” said Yao Nan smiled.

“What Poison Tumor Corpse Generals? I… f**k me!”

Mo Fan was about to say “I don’t see them” when Yao Nan let go and dropped Mo Fan onto a tiny slope on the ground. Undulating rises could be seen across the place, yet many places were still crawling with undead. Mo Fan falling from the height of a hundred meters to the ground was like parachuting into a giant pool filled with alligators…

Initially, the alligators were simply enjoying their sunbath on their own. However, Mo Fan’s sudden appearance immediately startled them, and their eyes glittered as they began to gather toward him!

Mo Fan did not even have the time to greet Yao Nan’s ancestors. To cushion his landing, he quickly cast Fleeing Shadow, and his body merged with the shadows…

{TL Note: Greet one’s ancestors here mean cursing someone.}

Lucky for him, it was still night time, with a strong presence of death. He could use Fleeing Shadow whenever he wanted. Otherwise, even if he were not bitten to death by the zombies when he landed, he would at least break a leg or two!

“Swift Star Wolf, little Flame Belle, hurry come out and save me!” Mo Fan had a grim look when he saw the zombies gathering toward him.

It was no longer a joke this time. He was all alone among the undead. Although most of the undead were attracted by the army of Magicians, the number of undead in his area was still shocking. Most importantly, the Commander-level Corpse Official was not far ahead, and there were lots of Corpse Generals around it. He had seen at least five Corpse Generals mixed with smaller packs of undead coming toward him with just a rough glance.  ( Box novel.c om )

“Swift Star Wolf, you handle that limping one. Try and lure it to the bottom of the hill, the other undead will have a hard time going there, so you can focus on dealing with it.”

“Little Flame Belle, build fire walls around with me at the center, I want them to cover a wide area, and burn endlessly. The stronger the better!”

Mo Fan used the remaining time he had left to catch his breath and allocate tasks for his two Summoned Beasts. The Swift Star Wolf would not have any problem handling a little Corpse General on his own. Meanwhile, the little Flame Belle was capable of handling a big Corpse General too, yet Mo Fan would not let her fight against one by herself, as he needed her to protect him, keeping the Servant-class zombies at least two hundred meters away at all times… that way, Mo Fan would be able to fully focus on dealing with the Corpse Generals!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Little Flame Belle had grown up after eating Soul Seed Pieces. There was no limit to the flames she could spit from her body.

Whenever she puffed up her cheeks, the little Flame Belle would spit out flames like a huge red carpet…

Little Flame Belle kept on spitting out flames, covering everything within two hundred meters around Mo Fan. These were flames that could last for a long period of time. The flames were tiny at the start, like weeds that had just sprouted. However, their strength was their ability to last, allowing them to grow stronger as they burned!

The flames spread into the surrounding area, forming fiery grass carpets everywhere. It totally resembled some fire rituals when seen from the sky, showcasing little Flame Belle’s artistic talent, which she had developed after watching anime since she was very young!

The flames covered a wide area, with lots of fire sprouts. It would take some time for them to grow into fire saplings. However, the zombies would not simply wait until Mo Fan was done constructing his fire walls. They sprinted across the fiery carpets that were still unable to pose any threat to them toward Mo Fan.    ( Box novel.c om )

One mutated zombie in particular was excessively quick, leaving a trail of wind behind. It leapt into the air when it was still ten meters away from Mo Fan, extending its sharp claws at him.

Mo Fan’s arms were covered in lightning. When he caught a glimpse of the agile zombie, he immediately pushed his hands forward, directing the Lightning Strikes to attack the creature lunging at him.

The agile zombie was struck by lightning in midair. The living ropes of electricity scorched the creature, leaving it twitching on the ground at Mo Fan’s feet…

Regardless of how agile the zombie was, it was completely useless after its limbs were paralyzed. Mo Fan kicked the creature away, and it fell onto one of the fiery carpets nearby. The weak flames slowly crawled over the creature’s body…

The fire sprouts made contact with a burnable substance, allowing the fire to grow stronger after devouring the zombie’s body. Just a second ago, the fire sprouts were only the height of weeds, but now, they had instantly grown to half a meter!

The Little Loach Pendant quickly collected the zombie’s Soul Remnant. Its continuous buzz was like an electric stick, pleading and asking Mo Fan to kill more creatures!

Mo Fan scanned his surroundings and immediately discovered two zombies making their way toward him across the fiery carpets around a hundred meters away. They completely disregarded the fact that their feet that had caught on fire, showing no intentions of looping around the flames…

Straightforward creatures like these zombies were Mo Fan’s favorites. If they were any other species of demon creatures that lived in packs, even the slow Giant Lizards, they would never try to cross the fire carpets, as the pain from the burns would simply drive them away. However, the undead were different, they had no sense of pain. Their movements were like machines, allowing Mo Fan to use a perfect plan to deal with them.

“Fire Burst!”

After Mo Fan waved his right hand, a streak of flame landed accurately on the fiery carpet, drawing a hundred meter arc in the sky!

In the following second, the fire erupted into a bigger fire with a diameter of almost two meters. The two zombies, who happened to be standing relatively close to one another, were blasted into pieces. Their flaming body parts scattered across the fire carpet…

The fire sprouts suddenly rose a meter high, like plants that had just absorbed nutrients. Even though it was still some distance away from achieving the fire walls he planned, with another Fire Burst and zombies as the fuel, the walls would soon be built up.

Little Flame Belle flew around Mo Fan like a little fairy, spreading more carpets of hungry fires across the place.

Mo Fan continued to cast Fire Burst from his palms and throw them at the places covered by the fire carpets…

The fire sprouts continued to grow into fire walls almost two meters tall around fifty meters away from Mo Fan. The walls also had the ability to spread further, helping the carpets nearby to grow stronger, too. It was safe to say that Mo Fan had managed to construct an effective defensive line of fire around himself…

“Burn, keep on burning!” Mo Fan asked the little Flame Belle to produce more flames while he kept on throwing Fire Burst onto the fiery carpets.

The Fire Burst helped the flames to grow by blasting the zombies charging toward them into pieces, providing fuel for the fire sprouts…

The fire sprouts grew into shoots and gradually became fire trees. Under all the effort that the father Mo Fan and daughter Flame Belle put in, a wall of flames was finally constructed around them. As a matter of fact, the flames were more like rows of trees setting up defensive perimeters around them. The zombies were rapidly set aflame when they sprinted into the fire brainlessly.

Although there existed zombies that were quicker or had skin that was not flammable, they still turned into fiery figures when trying to cross the layers of defense.

The flames were deadly for the zombies, yet Mo Fan was not even afraid of the fire due to his outstanding Fire Resistance. On top of that, with the little Flame Belle beside him, Mo Fan could simply weave through the flames freely. On the other hand, unless the zombies had enough numbers to simply trample the flames and extinguish them, they would simply be burned to death in the forest of flames.

Mo Fan had no intention of fighting the zombies head-on. He continued to weave through the flames while building the fire walls, erecting barriers to guarantee his safety.

If the number of zombies suddenly became overwhelming, Mo Fan would not mind sending a Fiery Fist: Nine Halls across the place. The surging fiery pillars would detonate the heat accumulating in the forest of flames, which not only would eliminate the zombies that had stacked up over a period of time, it would also help the flames to grow stronger…

The Corpse Generals had already made their way to the fire walls. It was somehow impossible for the flames alone to destroy their flesh, but the burning effect of the flames was continuous. The sturdy flesh of the Corpse Generals could easily endure the damage dealt by the flames, but when Mo Fan started blasting them with Intermediate Spells, inflicting severe damage, the burning effect would drain their life force at a much quicker rate!

Little Flame Belle never stopped spitting out plant-like fire sprouts that were able to grow at a shocking rate. The zombies entering the flames were simply like logs fed into the flames as fuel. When the fire fully evolved into a dense forest of flames, green Soul Remnants were continuously floating toward Mo Fan from all directions, without him casting a single Spell.

In the beginning, the green light dots flying toward Mo Fan were like fireflies, yet as the fire grew stronger and the number of zombies increased, the light dots became denser, and at times, would simply form a line of glowing dots in the air…

The Little Loach Pendant crazily absorbed the Soul Remnants and refined them into Soul Essences. Mo Fan initially thought it would take him a while to refine ten Soul Essences, yet at the rate he was collecting the Soul Remnants, it was possible that he could finish his Stars tonight!

“Luckily little Flame Belle is able to produce fire sprouts of the Calamity Fire! Otherwise, I wouldn’t even last a few minutes against so many zombies… the fire is now as strong as a group of Fire Magicians casting Fire Bursts continuously. I should eliminate the Poison Tumor Corpse Generals as soon as possible!” Mo Fan was currently standing in the middle of a sea of flames.

He was well aware that the flames were only effective against the brainless zombies. His real enemies were the three Poison Tumor Corpse Generals, still observing the situation from outside the fire!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Soul Essence?”

“I was just wondering, the zombies should be dropping a natural Soul Essence after I’ve killed so many of them. The forty-fourth Star is done!”

Mo Fan was in a great mood. When he saw countless zombies lunging into the flames, turning into green light dots floating into his Pendant, he simply felt like countless gold coins were floating toward him!

He had now strengthened the forty-fourth Star, only five were left until the next breakthrough. He was both excited and anticipating that happening.

A fourth-tier Fiery Fist, when little Flame Belle’s was possessing him, would simply destroy everything. He remembered that when he encountered Commander Lu Nian, it was Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow with an outstanding power that had saved everyone’s life. Otherwise, they would have died at the hands of that devilish murderer. If he completely strengthened all his Stars, it would grant him a chance when fighting against an Advanced Magician!

( B oxnovel.c om )    Horrifying cries came from the crackling flames. Mo Fan was still enjoying the process of watching the Little Loach Pendant collecting the souls when a monster whose entire body was unleashing a deadly blue poison rammed into the walls of fire like a jeep. Its momentum was incredibly shocking, and even the raging flames could not stop it!

“Poison Tumor Corpse General! Little Flame Belle, I’ll leave the zombies to you! Just keep on adding fire!” Mo Fan reminded her.

A bloody light appeared under Mo Fan’s feet, swiftly covering his lower legs like armor.

Mo Fan stomped his foot and leapt five meters into the air. The Poison Tumor Corpse General charged past and below him, knocking a few zombies that were caught on fire flying!

Mo Fan landed on the ground softly. To his surprise, the Poison Tumor Corpse General immediately came to a stop and turned to charge at him once again, a gust of wind sweeping behind it. This time, the corpse poison surrounding the creature was even more condensed. It was like a missile filled with poison gas being fired at him!

Mo Fan dodged sideways and at the same time, a black shadowy aura appeared between his fingers. When the Poison Tumor Corpse General was charging at him like an ox again, Mo Fan flung the power of shadows at the creature!

Two black Shadow Spikes, each of a different size, were thrown out. The bigger spike was thin like a sword, landing on the Poison Tumor Corpse General’s waist accurately, nailing it in place!

Following behind that was the smaller Shadow Spike. It pierced the Poison Tumor Corpse General’s body and swiftly turned into a few Shadow Chains, sealing the Poison Tumor Corpse General’s soul!

“Try ramming me again, time to use you as target practice!” Mo Fan uttered a hollow laugh when he saw the Poison Tumor Corpse General nailed in place.

Mo Fan was just about to kill the creature with Lightning when a horrifying shriek came from behind him.

Mo Fan turned around and saw a line of green poisonous liquid spraying toward him. Leaving aside how corrosive the poison was, the speed it was traveling at was enough to penetrate a wall of bricks!

“Departing Nether Shield!” Mo Fan half-panicked. He could sense how dangerous the poison was, and immediately summoned the Departing Nether Shield!

The polygon-shaped dark blue Departing Nether Shield appeared in front of him, and the corrosive poison splattered across it. Mo Fan could hear the sound of water dropping into a pot of boiling oil!

The Departing Nether Shield was made of some unique metal, allowing it to resist various kinds of attacks, including magic, yet when it came into contact with the corrosive poison, the polygon-shaped shield simply melted and turned into a shape beyond recognition!

Mo Fan was given a great scare. If the Poison Tumor Corpse General’s poison was corrosive enough to melt the Departing Nether Shield, didn’t that mean it could easily melt his bones once it hit him?

The Departing Nether Shield was no longer usable. Mo Fan did not even have the chance to trigger its Departing Nether Spike.

As soon as Mo Fan learned how deadly the Corpse General was, he did not dare to preserve his strength any further. He immediately summoned the Black Snake Armor!

Extending his hands sideways, he summoned the Equipment mark in his soul. Blue-black snake scales covered him, turning into wriggling objects that attached to his body.

The brilliance gradually dimmed after they turned into armor, fully covering him. The armor was dazzling in the firelight, containing a hint of evil in addition to the imperiousness it was displaying.

Apart from Wing Magical Equipment that could last a relatively long time, other Equipment could only last for a certain period of time. As a result, Magicians would not equip their Armor at the start of a battle, but Summon it when needed…

However, Mo Fan was well aware that he was fighting against three Corpse Generals at once. One of them was as muscular as a tank, with shocking strength. The creature kept on charging at him. If it hit him, the collision would surely shatter every bone in his body.

Another one was standing in the fire. Its poison was utterly deadly. Even the Departing Nether Shield, made of magical metal, was unable to last more than a few seconds; there was no way Mo Fan could allow himself to be touched by it.

The last Corpse General had yet to appear. It was most likely something cunning like the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General, waiting to give him a deadly blow when he lowered his guard. In such a situation, every minute not wearing the Black Snake Magic Armor would place his life at great risk!

Mo Fan had to admit that the Black Totem Snake had given him a godly gift. Not only did the armor made of his scales have a shocking defense, the soft snake scales would not influence his movements at all, giving Mo Fan the ability to protect himself even though he did not possess any defensive spells!

“I should get rid of the one with poison first, it is posing the greatest threat to me!” Mo Fan locked his gaze on the poison-spitting Corpse General.

The Poison-spitting Corpse General was a lot different than the muscular one, whose body was covered with Poison Tumors. Mo Fan believed it would be the easiest to kill among the three Corpse Generals.

A deafening roar came from behind him, extinguishing a part of the fire walls nearby. The Corpse General with Poison Tumors had broken free from Mo Fan’s Giant Shadow Spikes. The shadowy black aura around its body had totally dissipated.

The Giant Shadow Spikes were effective at sealing a target’s movement, yet the effect would only last a very limited time when used on a formidable creature like the Corpse General. Those with outstanding strength could even force the Giant Shadow Spikes out using their presence alone!

With enemies both in front and behind him, Mo Fan drew a Star Pattern as fast as possible!

Drawing Star Patterns was a great test of a Magician’s mental state. If the Magician was too desperate, they would simply break the links between the Stars, forcing the Magician to start over.

Mo Fan was well aware of his casting speed. The situation did not give him any time to spare, he had to be quick, he must be able to cast Intermediate Spells at the same speed as he cast Basic Spells…

He would never be able to achieve the speed he wanted by joining the Stars. Mo Fan had to learn to draw an entire Nebula with each thought!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Drawing a Nebula with a thought!

It was basically the fastest casting speed possible for Intermediate Level. People like Councilman Zhu Meng and Senior Hunters could easily draw a Star Pattern with a single thought. Otherwise, how could they possibly complete giant Star Palaces consisting of seven Star Constellations, each consisting of seven Star Patterns?

It was impossible for Mo Fan to draw a Star Pattern with a thought, yet it was time for him to master the skill of drawing a Nebula with a thought. It would let him to finish an Intermediate Spell within a single breath’s time, so that he could fight more than one Warrior-level creature at the same time, similar to the current situation he was in!

Drawing a Nebula with a single thought basically meant drawing seven Stars at the same time. Many people would rely on Magic Tools to help them practice, and the truth was, many Magicians from Pearl Institute already had a faster casting speed than he did…

In Mo Fan’s Spiritual World, the darting Stars swiftly drew a brilliant arc under Mo Fan’s control. When a Star was traveling at a certain speed, it would simply form a continuous shining track across space!

Following the same pattern, the six other tracks had to be completed simultaneously, too. Mo Fan closed his eyes. As he fully focused on drawing the Nebula, it was like time had slowed down gradually, and so did the speed of the Corpse Generals.

Third, fourth, fifth, sixth!

Each of the Nebulas was completed almost instantly, to an extent that there were no longer Stars in Mo Fan’s Spiritual World, but brilliant Nebulas crossing paths with one another!

The seventh Nebula was completed within a single thought, too. When the Star Pattern was fully drawn, its brilliance was several times stronger than that emitted during the building process. It was so strong that Mo Fan’s body was covered in a magical light!

In Mo Fan’s Spiritual World, the seven thoughts felt like a prolonged race against time, yet in reality, the two Corpse Generals had advanced less than a hundred meters. With their speed, they could easily move forward a hundred meters in the blink of an eye!

“Qianjun: Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes!”

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered. He pointed his index finger at the sky, directing the lightning bolts now descending from above.

There was a flicker of lightning across the fiery ground, and a purple-black lightning dragon descended and struck the Poison-spitting Corpse General in a spectacular explosion.

The Poison-spitting Corpse General was not as quick as the Cloth-wrapped Corpse General, and Mo Fan had cast the Intermediate Spell so rapidly that it was struck by the bolt of lightning while it was still thinking of spitting poison at him again. The creature fell flat to the ground at the impact, both its body and the soil nearby scorched black.

Another ray of lightning appeared with a sharp screech. The Lightning Strikes descended continuously, each landing on the Poison-spitting Corpse General’s back.

The Poison-spitting Corpse General was just about to rise to its feet when its limbs lost their strength from the paralyzing effect. It was slammed back into the ground again even deeper. Its back was totally scorched black!

The Poison Tumor Corpse General was charging at Mo Fan with a black gust of wind behind it, preventing Mo Fan from finishing the Spell. He quickly activated the Blood Tabi and leapt sideways to a nearby slope.

A two-meter-tall black boulder was standing on the slope. When he saw the fierce Corpse General charging at him again, he raised his leg, and kicked the boulder that was taller than a human…

The Blood Tabi granted Mo Fan’s kick great power. The boulder was sent flying at the Corpse General, knocking the creature to the ground.

However, the Corpse General had thick skin and sturdy flesh. Other demon creatures would have suffered a great injury after being hit by the boulder, yet the Corpse General simply rose to its feet as if it were perfectly unharmed. It shook off the broken pieces of the boulder from itself and roared with its big stinking mouth!

The roar produced a strong gust sweeping the dust and sand on the ground forward, which extinguishing the flames in its path, unleashing its poison into the rolling sandstorm heading toward Mo Fan!

Both the force of the black sandstorm and the poison it contained was too deadly for Mo Fan to take any risks. Unfortunately, he did not have the Light Element to nullify the poison spreading toward him…

Mo Fan immediately turned around and ran. The Blood Tabi could still last for some time. He had to escape from the area of the poisonous sandstorm as soon as possible!

The poisonous wind drew closer to Mo Fan. The Blood Tabi was not fast enough to outrun it. When Mo Fan was close to the edge of the fire walls, the poisonous mist finally swept past him from behind. The pitch-black gas completely extinguished the flames nearby.

Mo Fan held his breath and cursed in his heart.

Mo Fan had no idea how deadly the poison gas was. He had heard Shorty mention that once the undead’s poison entered one’s lungs, the person would be covered in poison spots across the body. Within half an hour, the victim’s skin would fester and peel off on its own. In an hour, the person would die, turning into a pool of black slime!

Mo Fan was completely surrounded by the poison. Holding his breath any further would not make any difference.

As he was trying to figure out a plan, the Black Snake Magic Armor suddenly emitted a dark blue light from its surface.

The black poison gas was able to penetrate through one’s pores, so it would still poison Mo Fan even if he didn’t breathe it in. However, Mo Fan quickly discovered that the glow emitted by the Black Snake Magic Armor was actually absorbing the poison gas…

The poison gas was initially going to enter Mo Fan’s body through the gaps on the armor, yet to his surprise, the glow on the armor’s surface was rapidly absorbing the poison gas instead!

“That’s right, the Black Totem Snake is like the primal source of all poison! Miss Tangyue mentioned that the Black Totem Snake could eat anything poisonous, hence why the armor is able to absorb the poison gas! In addition to that, in less than half an hour, the poisonous substance would turn into nutrients for the snake skin to absorb, making its scales smoother and brighter…”

Mo Fan was overjoyed when he discovered that his armor was absorbing and purifying the poison. Perhaps even Huo Tuo, who had forged the armor, was clueless about this extraordinary capability!

The poison was absorbed incredibly fast. When the black gas completely dissipated, Mo Fan’s Black Snake Magic Armor was in fact shinier. The blue-black flicker it reflected felt icier and deadlier!

“It’s your turn to suffer!” Mo Fan smiled widely. After mastering the ability to draw a Nebula with a single thought, he could now finish an Intermediate Spell within a single breath’s time.

“Little Flame Belle, possess!”

Mo Fan’s body was already engulfed in fierce flames. As the little Flame Belle rammed into his chest, flames from the combined Calamity Fire and Rose Flame surged upward and rolled in all directions, with Mo Fan at the center! The heat waves reignited the fire sprouts across the land, which burned fiercely.

“Meteorite Fist!” Mo Fan roared as he threw a punch out.

An astonishing force, like a meteorite lighting up the dim evening, shot out and instantly struck the Poison Tumor Corpse General!

The flash of light disappeared instantly, replaced by a trail of flames. The force of the Meteorite Fist exploded on the Corpse General’s body as it punctured its thick skin…

A hole!

The hole filled the Corpse General’s abdomen. Mo Fan could even see the flames burning behind the Corpse General through the hole!

The Corpse General fell to the ground slowly, and was devoured by the Rose Flame and the Calamity Fire greedily…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelrinyth

“Did I overestimate these filthy creatures’ defense, or underestimate the strength of the Meteorite Fist?” mumbled Mo Fan subconsciously when he saw the Corpse General turning into a giant, pitch-black hunk of coal from the fire.

It turned out that things never worked according to plan. Mo Fan had been planning to deal with the Poison-spitting Corpse General first, as it felt like the creature had the weakest defense. However, after its poison no longer posed any threat to him because of his armor, he simply blasted the other Corpse General dead with a single Meteorite Fist!

On second thought, the Corpse General was indeed a lot weaker than the Hatchet Corpse General. Apart from its attempts to ram into him, the poisonous gust it unleashed simply had no effect on Mo Fan now. It was not too surprising that a Meteorite Fist stronger than a fourth-tier Fiery Fist was enough to end the creature’s life!

After getting rid of the Corpse General with the flesh tumors, Mo Fan had pretty much secured his vicinity. As he was about to switch his focus to the Poison-spitting Corpse General, he suddenly felt something clutching tightly to his feet…

Glancing down, Mo Fan discovered that two black metallic hands were poking out from the ground and grabbing onto his ankles. Their grip was so strong that they could almost snap his ankles in half!

Mo Fan was astounded. The creature must be the third Corpse General!

No wonder he failed to detect its presence anywhere, as it had been hiding underground all along. That way, it could also stay away from the flames!

It was a Corpse General with a brain. Luckily, he had put on the full Black Snake Magic Armor in time. Otherwise, its hands would have broken his ankles straightaway!

“Lightning Strike!”

Mo Fan flickered with electricity, and lightning arcs drilled into the ground rapidly at his command. The fourth-tier Lightning Strike was able to fork into lots of lightning arcs, which were basically schools of purple lightning eels…

As soon as the electricity was conducted into the ground, a cry from the Corpse General arose almost instantly. The brief paralysis forced the creature to loosen its grip on Mo Fan’s feet.

Mo Fan used the remaining power of the Blood Tabi to leap into the air, dragging the Ground-digging Corpse General out from the soil with brute force.

The Corpse General was still holding onto Mo Fan’s feet. However, the lightning coming from Mo Fan grew stronger in the air. The creature finally lost its grip on his ankles due to the paralysis, and fell onto a slope, rolling down to the bottom.

Mo Fan glanced downward and saw that the creature was a brown Corpse General with only half a body…

The Corpse General only had a body above the waistline. Its body structure was similar to a human, yet its limbs were extraordinarily thick, like black iron. It could both move and jump using its strong iron arms!

The lightning covering the creature’s body could not last for long, and was quickly gone. The Corpse General immediately charged at Mo Fan like an enormous ape. Its body was hurled into the air, and as it came down, it slammed its iron fists into the ground, producing a shockwave!

Mo Fan’s Blood Tabi had disappeared after running out of energy. He was unable to use Fleeing Shadow either, as the area was well lit because of the flames. The shockwave that the Corpse General fired smashed onto his chest, sending him flying a few dozen meters away…

Following a series of tumbles, Mo Fan landed in some flames. He spat out a mouthful of sand and rose to his feet, holding his chest.

The Black Snake Magic Armor was godly when it came to its defense. The Corpse General was unable to break through the armor, but the impact from the collision could still inflict damage to Mo Fan’s organs.

Mo Fan was about to cast a spell for the counterattack when a burst of poison rain fell from the sky. He immediately dodged aside to hide from it.

Even though the Black Snake Magic Armor was impenetrable by poison, the poison rain had a strong corrosive ability, which could melt anything into a pool of black water. It was hard to tell if anything would go wrong if he were sprinkled by the poison rain.

—

“Water Curtain!”

A dark blue, half-transparent barrier fell like a waterfall into the black sandstorm. A dozen black tentacles that came out from the black sandstorm ended up colliding into the Water Curtain, stopping them from getting any closer to the flying Yao Nan!

Yao Nan stayed behind the Water Curtain. His eyes were staring at the creature hiding in the black sandstorm!

It was an enormous creature, like a human swollen out of shape from obesity, further enlarged a few times. Its stomach was covered in blue veins had taken up two-thirds of its body. Its head was full of tumors and lumps. Its limbs were replaced with tentacles that could poke out from its flesh, capable of extending and contracting at will!

It was impossible to tell how many living things’ life force had been drained away by the creature. How else could it become so big and fleshy, its dangling flesh almost reaching the ground.

“So that’s all you’ve got!”

Yao Nan grinned coldly. With the protection of the Water Curtain, he no longer needed to keep an eye out for an ambush by the flesh tentacles. He began to draw a Star Constellation!

It was the color of frost. One after another, Star Patterns filled with Stars began to appear around Yao Nan, the Star Patterns were connected into Star Orbits, resulting in a magical Star Constellation fully surrounding Yao Nan!

An Ice Star Constellation, an Advanced Spell!

“Icebound Coffin!” Yao Nan’s gaze turned sharp. The icy glow flickered inside his eyes as frost gathered above the black sandstorm…

High up in the sky, where the frost was accumulating, the chime of a funeral bell appeared, followed by a frosty object descending perfectly straight from the sky!

It was a coffin, an icebound coffin!

The coffin falling from the sky was not sealed tight yet. The heavy object slammed hard onto the Corpse Official. The collision immediately caused the ground to crack, pieces flying in the air!

While the pieces were still floating in the air, strong icy energy spread into the Corpse Official’s surroundings, with the coffin at the center. The splinters turned into ice crystals in the air, while the ground was frozen completely. The Corpse Official’s giant figure was also encapsulated by the huge Icebound Coffin, as if it was sealed off for eternity!

The Icebound Coffin was basically like a glacier mountain in the shape of a coffin. It stood there with a sinister presence, the whole place shivering because of it.

The Corpse Official sealed inside the coffin had no chance of escaping, as the ice crystals were stronger than rocks refined with lava. They were basically indestructible.

Yao Nan glanced at the enormous Corpse Official and panted heavily.

“Luckily, I acquired the Soul-grade Ice Seed, Tear Crystal. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to take this Corpse Official down,” Yao Nan glanced at the sturdy Icebound Coffin. His pale face barely had a smile on it.

“My blood poison has already destroyed the inside of its body, and now it is thoroughly frozen there. Even if the frost didn’t kill it, the blood poison will eventually destroy the undead crystal inside its body, too…

“Poison Element and Ice Element are Elements that are effective in longer battles. If I can level up to Super Level like Du Xiao, please let me awaken a more violent Element, like Fire or Lightning. Otherwise, it’s always troublesome to fight creatures like this one,” he sighed.

“That kid Mo Fan is even crazier. He already has four Elements now! Once he reaches Advanced Level, he’s basically a squad of Magicians with the number of Advanced Spells he will have!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Breathing out, white mist spread to the side of the lips. The weather was getting colder, it would start snowing in less than a month.

Yao Nan glanced at the frozen Corpse Official and discovered that its veins were blocked because of the frost. The poison had penetrated through the creature’s greasy and transparent fat, making its way toward the undead crystal inside its stomach…

A huge chunk of ice fell from the huge Icebound Coffin. The piece that broke off was made of the Corpse Official’s frozen flesh.

Soon, other body parts reacted the same way, huge chunks of frozen meat fell to the ground.

“I’ll be taking the Soul Remnant!” Yao Nan took out an undead container and acquired the Soul Remnant of the frozen creature.

Wings appeared on his back. With a soft flap, the wings lifted Yao Nan into the gray sky. The black sandstorm behind him gradually dispersed after the death of the Corpse Official, no longer posing any threat to the army.

Flying above a huge pack of zombies, Mo Fan saw flames burning across a large area on the ground. The flames were not far away from where he was fighting the battle, too. As he recalled, he did remember that he had thrown the kid Mo Fan down around here?

As he glanced down, he could see scorched corpses everywhere, and in addition to that, he could also see Mo Fan standing in the circles of flames, with a wolf-type creature whose body was covered with scratches and poison standing beside him.

“Not bad, you’re still alive! Any other Intermediate Magician wouldn’t have lasted even a few minutes after falling into the middle of zombies like that!” Yao Nan landed and handed a seemingly expensive serum to Mo Fan, “Use this, or else your Summoned Beast will die soon after the wounds fester!”

Mo Fan quickly applied the serum to the wounds that were affected by the poison. He was not feeling too pleasant after seeing his wolf’s dying expression.

The Swift Star Wolf had been fighting against a Poison Tumor Corpse General on its own. On top of that, there were hundreds of zombies trying to tear him apart, too. He could not stay in the flames as he was not immune to Fire, thus the battle was incredibly tough for him!

After applying the antidote on the Swift Star Wolf’s body, the shocking wounds soon showed signs of recovering on their own. Mo Fan was instantly relieved.

The Swift Star Wolf was a creature with outstanding self-healing ability. Many of the minor injuries would simply recover after the end of a battle, but when affected by the poison, the Swift Star Wolf would lose his life force too fast.

“Your antidote is pretty good, where did you buy it?” asked Mo Fan when he saw that the poison affecting the Swift Star Wolf was almost cleansed.

“I made it myself,” replied Yao Nan with a smile.

“You’re a pharmacist?” Mo Fan asked in astonishment, looking at Yao Nan.

“Yeah, my third Element is Poison,” said Yao Nan.

“Poison?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened. It was his first time hearing about that Element.

“Black Magic: Poison Element. Seems like you’re quite the ignorant one, but it’s true that this Element is very rare in our nation. It’s more common in foreign countries,” said Yao Nan.

“Right, I’ve never seen a Magician with Poison Element before. By the way, I’ve never seen the infamous Undead Element from the list of Black Magic Elements, either. Is it an Element that’s more common in foreign countries, too?” Mo Fan continued to treat the Swift Star Wolf’s wounds.

“You can find Undead Element in our country too, but because the Magic deals with dead things most of the time, it’s easy to violate the code of conduct established by the Magic Association. Normally, Magicians with Undead Element don’t usually show themselves… Besides, some Elements can only be Awakened at higher levels, such as Secondary Magic like the Space Element, Music Element, Chaos Element, and so forth. Basically, Basic and Intermediate Magicians will only be looking at Elemental Magic, but at Advanced Level, they have more chance of interacting with Black Magic, White Magic, and Secondary Magic,” said Yao Nan.

Mo Fan nodded. It turned out that he was still at the bottom of the Magic Pyramid. The vast world of Magic was still not something he could peek at now!

Mo Fan did admit that his life motto of trying to maintain the world’s peace and protect the millions of girls in the cities was overly fake. However, the drive to pursue greater Magic was long implanted deep inside his heart. He could not help but feel excited when he heard Yao Nan mentioning that he had a chance of Awakening other types of Magic after reaching the Advanced Level.

What cool Elements would he Awaken with his Double Innate Elements at the Advanced Level?

“I can see that your Fire Element Nebula is pretty much saturated. You’re not that far away from achieving the Advanced Level. Keep it up! Oh, here is the Soul Remnant you asked for, as your reward for helping me to deal with the little mobs,” Yao Nan shoved the container into Mo Fan’s hands.

Mo Fan did not reject it. He secretly placed the Commander-level Soul Remnant into the Little Loach Pendant when Yao Nan was not paying attention to him…

Both the Iron Arms Corpse General and the Poison-spitting Corpse General did not drop any Soul Essence. The zombies burned to their death by the flames did not drop any natural Soul Essences, either. He initially thought he would be able to level his Fire Element up to the fourth level, but he was still four Stars short!

It was hard to tell if the Little Loach could refine any Soul Essence from the Commander-level Soul Remnant. Even Servant-class Soul Essences were sufficient.

“Let’s go, the Light Formations are activated. They are most likely going to be surrounded by countless zombies and Corpse Generals. We won’t have any chance of regrouping with the army. Let’s head back to the walls and watch there,” Yao Nan lifted Mo Fan up as his wings began to beat rapidly.

Yao Nan had fulfilled his role after escorting the squad to the destination. He would leave the rest to the Commanders and the experts among the Hunters…

Mo Fan was worn out from the previous battle, too. Apart from his Shadow Element, the energy of his other three Elements was basically depleted. That old jerk Zhu Meng would no longer be able to blame him for not contributing…

—–

Flying through the air, Mo Fan was able to observe a wider area. He shockingly discovered that not only did the number of zombies show no signs of going down, there were more Corpse Generals than before, too!

Corpse Generals already posed a great threat to many Magicians. Mo Fan was able to see lots of Corpse Generals making their way toward the army…

Mo Fan thought handling five Small Corpse Generals on his own was his limit, yet there were even Giant Corpse Generals among the dozens of Corpse Generals making their way toward the army. He immediately felt his scalp turning numb!

Glancing further into the distance, he could see a few creatures as huge as hills among the army of undead. Their roars were clear even from the walls a few dozen kilometers away. Every attack they made would shake the sky and cause the ground to sink…

Commander-level undead, those Commander-level undead giants were standing among the dense army of undead. The spells hitting them in the form of colorful rainbows were merely making them sway slightly!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How many Commander-level undead are there?” Mo Fan scanned the area. Every one thousand meters on the vast hate-filled land had at least one of the enormous undead commanders…

How many Advanced Magicians were there?

Mo Fan could see six or seven Advanced Magicians fighting against a magnificent Skeleton Official. Even from a great distance, he could feel the destructive auras that the Advanced Spells produced when landing on the enormous Skeleton Official, yet they could not inflict any damage to it. When the Skeleton Official roared and fired a rain of a thousand bone arrows, a blood mist burst out from the squad of Intermediate Magicians it targeted. It was impossible to tell how many Magicians had died from the attack…

“Not every Advanced Magician is capable of fighting alone. Besides, that enormous Bone Official is strong enough to be considered a Big Commander…” Yao Nan said in a deep voice, realizing why Mo Fan was astounded.

Mo Fan did not speak. In a war at this scale, every Magician was only playing a minor role. Even someone as strong as an Advanced Magician didn’t make any difference to the outcome of the battle.

However, if they had simply declined to take part in the war because of that, the walls behind them would have been run down ages ago, and the city turned into a feast for the undead!

As Mo Fan was thinking, the dark clouds in the distance suddenly emitted a golden light. Rays of golden light penetrating the presence of death descended upon the place, and the mood swiftly changed!

In the following moment, Mo Fan saw a giant golden sword descending from the sky!

It was a sacred sword made of golden light. The sword was so huge that it felt like it could stand between Heaven and Earth. It was also the source of the golden rays from before…

With a hum that made the whole place quiver, the sacred sword that had descended from the sky fell to the ground perfectly straight, landing on that enormous Bone Official whose size was comparable to that of a small mountain.

The enormous Bone Official was nailed to the black land. Its sturdy bones began to shatter into pieces under the overwhelming presence of the sword of light.

The mountain of bones collapsed while the light sword stood firmly upright on the ground. The Bone Official that was initially deemed unbeatable instantly lost its life and turned into a pile of white bones!

Mo Fan witnessed the entire sequence. It took him a long time to calm down from the astonishment of witnessing the sword killing the creature with a single blow!

“What…what kind of Magic is that?!” Mo Fan asked in shock.

Just a moment ago, Mo Fan thought Magicians were simply too tiny in a battle of this scale, as even Advanced Magicians were unable to make any difference to the situation. However, the sword that came out of nowhere immediately changed his thinking!

The enormous Bone Official was a Big Commander-level creature, one so strong that even six or seven Advanced Magicians were unable to inflict any damage to… yet it was killed instantly by a sacred sword falling from the sky. Words alone could not describe the shock Mo Fan was experiencing!

“Light Element Super Spell… Holy Essence: Demon Judgment Sword!” Yao Nan’s eyes flickered passionately.

A Super Spell, something that he had always wanted to achieve. However, the path of cultivation was a long journey. Even he did not have the confidence that he would achieve the Super Level before he died, and master the destructive power capable of bringing judgment down upon the demon beasts!

“Holy Essence: Demon Judgment Sword!” The astonishment in Mo Fan’s heart slowly dissipated, replaced with strong excitement.

This right here is what Magic f**king should be, bringing the demons to justice with a single sword, showing no mercy whatsoever!

“Let’s go, Du Xiao is most likely going to massacre all the Commander-level creatures that are posing a threat to the army. Holy Essence is the strongest single-target Magic among the Super Spells. He’s the perfect one to kill the officials around the Phantom Tyrant Emperor. The end for the Phantom Tyrant Emperor will happen soon after the White Serene Ghost Officials and the White Serene Ghosts are wiped out.” Yao Nan headed for the walls, bringing Mo Fan together with him.

As they were getting further away from the battlefield, Mo Fan’s mind was still occupied with the scene of that enormous Skeleton Official being killed instantly by the sword!

Recalling when he was still at Tian Lan Magic High, many students were utterly disappointed when they Awakened the Light Element. If they saw what he just saw, they would never think that the Light Element was the worst Element…

“Yao Nan, the textbooks we studied mentioned that Super Level is the highest level possible. Are there more levels above the Super Level?” asked Mo Fan curiously.

“You haven’t even reached the Advanced Level…”

“Can’t I ask?” Mo Fan did not let Yao Nan finish his sentence.

“There are. If you have the chance to visit the World Five Continents’ Magic Association, there’s a chance you might see a Magician above the Super Level. Their power is no longer described as Magic, but Forbidden Curse,” answered Yao Nan. He shook his head with a smile when he saw the passionate look on Mo Fan’s face and immediately switched the topic, “It’s going to rain soon. It’s most likely the last rain for this season. When the snow comes, the undead will be frozen under the ground, providing the city with some relief.”

—

Yao Nan would be a great weather forecaster if he stopped being a Magician. A cold rain started pouring down over the vast corpse-covered land not long after.

The city was the first to receive the rain, which was only a tiny drizzle at the start.

The night had still not ended. The guards on the walls were having a hard time. They preferred to wear raincoats or straw rain capes than protect themselves from the rain with a spell. Here at the walls, the temperature was close to zero and already unbearable, not to mention how troublesome the cold was to the Magicians still fighting against the Phantom Tyrant Emperor around twenty kilometers away.

Mo Fan and Yao Nan had returned to the walls in advance. They stood in the tower watching the loud battles in the distance. All they could do after doing their part was pray.

“Why do you look so down? Without any surprises, the battle should come to an end fairly quickly. With Du Xiao there, the Phantom Tyrant Emperor won’t have any chance of living.” Yao Nan seemed extremely confident of his superior. He leaned against the rail, trying to rest up while chatting with Mo Fan.

“I just don’t like rain for some reason,” Mo Fan replied.

“I like rain though. Mo Fan, I think you need a breakthrough. Trying to rank up to the Advanced Level through meditation alone isn’t likely, and I believe you also relied on some external support when leveling up to the Intermediate Level…” Yao Nan said sternly to Mo Fan.

No one could understand Mo Fan’s potential better than Yao Nan. Not only would Mo Fan be able to cast many Advanced Spells, he would Awaken two new Elements too!

Six Elements! There was no one in the world that would have more Elements than him!

“You seem very concerned about my progress,” said Mo Fan.

Yao Nan was closely tied to the Clearsky Hunter Agency. It was possible that Lingling or Old Bao had told him about the truth of his Double Innate Elements. It did not just grant him one extra Element, but one Extra Element at every level!

“The Elements and spells you have during the Basic and Intermediate Levels are fairly limited. They simply give you an edge over other Magicians. But once you reach the Advanced Level, your strength will skyrocket! With six Elements on the same person, and the effects of Spirit-grade Seeds or Soul-grade Seeds for different Elements, it’s not as simple as having the spells of two Advanced Magicians!” Yao Nan declared.

“It all sounds good on paper, but do you understand how much money I’ll need?” responded Mo Fan.

“That’s true too, hahaha! But I still recommend you focus on improving your Fire Element to the Advanced Level. You would then be able to Awaken your fifth and sixth Elements, giving you one more Element than a Forbidden Magician! Tsk tsk, if I were the Black Vatican, I would choke you to death at all costs! Otherwise, you alone could simply wipe out their entire organization one day!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was late at night, yet the scent of blood lingered in the old residence.

A cry of agony came from the residence. The villager called Gouzi had one of his arms torn off by a living dead. The sound of the bones snapping mixed with the loud cry, a chilling sight.

“Damn it!” Liu Ru glared at Fang Gu, who was standing close to the well, in extreme anger.

Fang Gu was an evil Necromancer! The guy had revived the people of the Sunny Goat Village who were supposed to be dead, and turned them all into living dead!

“Let everyone go, we have always been on good terms! We have not done anything to you, why are you killing us like this?” asked Su Xiaoluo with a trembling voice.

Zhang Xiaohou stood beside her to guarantee her safety. However, the rest of the villagers had been torn apart by the living dead. Their amputated body parts were scattered in pools of blood, covering the entire place!

“On good terms? Not done anything to me? HAHAHA, only a naive little girl like you has no idea what happened… that makes sense, because I was told that you’d gone to Qinling Mountains to pluck some herbs. You are totally clueless about the shameless act that your beloved chief, uncles, and aunties did!” Fang Gu burst out laughing.

The presence of the dead continued to linger in the area, allowing the undead to grow stronger. At the start, Liu Ru could barely protect the villagers, but as the living dead grew stronger and fiercer, Liu Ru, who was overwhelmed by their numbers, was constantly knocked back, too. She had no choice but to watch the villagers get snapped in half and torn apart.

Fang Gu used extremely cruel methods. He asked the living dead to tear the villagers to pieces while they were still alive, just so they would suffer the pain right before their death!

“Ask what your chief did when we came to your village after the water in our Kun Well was running out!” said Fang Gu with a hollow laugh.

Xie Sang wore a twisted expression. He never thought that this bunch of people who had died would come back to avenge themselves. As he saw half of the people from his village killed by the lunatic, he, as the protector of the Kun Well, no longer had the face to meet his ancestors after he passed away!

“Let the others go, I’m the one that chased you all away…” Xie Sang glanced at the bodies scattered across the place, then at the children who were rooted to the ground in fear.

“Let go of the others? What did you do when I asked you to let a few of the children stay? Without the protection of the water, we would simply be torn to pieces by those filthy wild undead… do you understand what I was experiencing when I watched the people around me waiting for their turn to die?” Fang Gu’s face resembled that of a devil, one only those bearing extreme hatred could wear.

In the middle of his speech, two other living dead with appearance of young kids lunged at Zhang Xiaohou, but they were stopped by a rising Rock Barrier.

Fang Gu was not too bothered by it. He continued to speak with a voice full of hate, “Despair, the same thing you’re feeling now! When I had to kill them all one by one as the sun was setting with my own hands, I told myself that I’d let the people of your village suffer the same fate, that feeling of despair while you’re waiting for your death!”

“Wh…what…you killed the people from your own village?” Su Xiaoluo blurted out in disbelief.

Liu Ru was also astounded after hearing that Fang Gu was the one who killed his own people.

“What else could I do, instead of letting those filthy undead eat them and turn them into piles of bones! I would rather turn them into living dead under my control…it’s the only way I could think of as a Necromancer!” said Fang Gu.

He had killed everyone himself, including his children and wife!

Liu Ru no longer knew how to judge the situation…

Obviously, it was inhumane for the people of Hua Village to reject the people of Sunny Goat Village who had lost the protection of the God of the Well, eventually forcing the chief Fang Gu to turn everyone into living dead before night arrived. Liu Ru could not imagine the terrifying scene of Fang Gu killing his own people!

He killed them, turned them into living dead and waited for his chance to get revenge…

No wonder the people of Hua Village were still attacked by the undead when they were still under the protection of the God of the Well; the undead were actually controlled by Fang Gu, who was a Necromancer!

The ambush during the daytime, it was most likely Fang Gu using some trick so that the undead could also appear during the day…

“I used the remaining supply of water from the Kun Well when refining them into living dead. The old ancestor blessed us in the end. My undead people are able to move in the day thanks to the water from the Kun Well… But unfortunately, some Magicians decided to intervene with our business. Otherwise, there’s no way you would have made it to the Ancient Capital!” added Fang Gu. The grudge and hatred he bore had turned him into a devil. He wanted to vent it all out today by avenging his people, at the cost of the lives of everyone from Hua Village!

Liu Ru came to a realization.

Undead would only appear at night or somewhere where the presence of death was strong enough to shroud the sunlight… but it was very hard for the presence of death to accumulate under the sunlight.

Previously when the ambush took place, there was no sign of the presence of death nearby, and it happened when the sky was still bright. Normally, even a Necromancer was unable to control their undead in the day. It turned out that it was only possible because of the effects of the well water that had protected the people from villages living in the danger zone for generations!

The greatest weakness of a Necromancer was their inability to summon their undead during the day. Otherwise, the Undead Element would be more useful than the Summoning Element… Since Fang Gu had found a way to overcome the weakness, it allowed him to act ruthlessly with his army of undead!

“Su Xiaoluo, and you two outsiders. It’s something to be settled between us and Hua Village. I’ll spare your lives if you don’t try to involve yourself, but if you still try to stop me, I’ll kill you too!” said Fang Gu.

“Humph, you’ve already lost your mind. Otherwise, why would you erase the other villages too?!” retorted Liu Ru coldly.

Liu Ru would not say anything if Fang Gu was only trying to get his revenge, since Hua Village was in the wrong in the first place.

However, not only was this Fang Gu trying to eliminate Hua Village, he had also killed everyone from the other villages! It made clear that this guy had completely lost his mind, yet he was still shameless enough to say that he was only trying to avenge his people!

“I’ve only killed people from Hua Village!” declared Fang Gu.

“It turns out that not only are you insane, you’re a hypocrite too!” cursed Liu Ru.

The news about the other villages being erased had come not long after they had arrived at the Ancient Capital. The people of villages located in the danger zone were under the protection of the God of the Well, thus the undead would not attack them. Who could possibly kill them, apart from a Necromancer like Fang Gu?

“Humph, whatever you say! Since you’re trying to protect them, I’ll bury you together with them!” spat Fang Gu with a vicious look.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Fang Youmiao sat on the ground, his mind on the verge of breaking down.

He had speculated that something had happened to Sunny Goat Village. Perhaps they were ransacked by a beast horde. He even thought about the worst possibility that they had all died, but when he learned that the chief Fang Gu had actually killed them all and turned them into living dead, he could not help but feel his soul shivering in fear!

Liu Ru was unable to protect everyone, especially when the living dead grew stronger with the presence of death. She could not free herself when seven or eight living dead surrounded her and attacked at the same time. Zhang Xiaohou was unable to handle the remaining living dead on his own…

“Damn it!” Liu Ru clenched her teeth. A lump of blackness appeared on her palm, which she slammed into the chest of a muscular living dead.

The black clump possessed the ability to devour. When it entered the living dead’s chest, it immediately devoured everything nearby, leaving a huge hole in the zombie’s chest, revealing the dead flesh within.

However, Liu Ru had miscalculated the position of its Undead Crystal. The creature was still able to move freely. Its arms were like steel as they struck Liu Ru’s abdomen…

Liu Ru was sent flying by the hit. Her figure arced ten meters away, before coming to a stop when her ankles touched the bottom of some stairs.

Before Liu Ru could stabilize herself, three living dead with the appearance of youngsters rushed toward her. They were as nimble as monkeys, but they also had extremely sharp claws…

Liu Ru leapt into the air with a kick, and landed on the roof of a building with a backflip.

She reached out her hand and bit down between her thumb and index finger. A few fresh drops of blood started falling from the cut…

Before the blood reached the ground, the drops suddenly sprang forward under Liu Ru’s control, turning into several crimson lines piercing the three young undead kids’ bodies!

“Puppet Control!”

Liu Ru grabbed the lines of blood her fingers, like strings controlling marionettes. The three undead kids’ first appeared to be uncoordinated. However, they soon lunged at three other living dead and attacked with stiff movements!

Fang Gu frowned. The woman was troublesome to deal with. By controlling three of his living dead, she had basically suppressed six of his minions at once!

The outsider, who was a Battlemage was also not weak, either. He was able to keep three or four living dead busy at once. If the fight were to drag on like this, he would not have time to run away once the Hunters patrolling the city arrived!

“Humph, I’ll just kill one more!”

A black gas rose from Fang Gu’s palm, and spiraled toward one of the muscular living dead nearby.

The muscular zombie’s eyes suddenly became bloodshot. Its veins seemed like they were about to burst open from its skin, while its bones emitted rapid crackling noises…

In just a few seconds, the muscular living dead suddenly grew bigger in size. Its dark blue body resembled the hue of blue iron, sturdy and savage!

The muscular living dead quickly made its move, knocking down Zhang Xiaohou’s Rock Barrier fiercely. A huge chunk of the wall crumbled to the ground, yet the creature was perfectly unharmed!

It rammed into the last line of defense and grabbed onto a villager trying to run away. The strength of his arms was like steel, so overwhelming that it simply snapped the villager’s neck in half!

Fang Gu knew that the City Hunters were almost here. He could not care less about torturing the villagers before killing them. His aim was to butcher every single one of them! Otherwise, once they escaped somewhere safe, it would be even harder for him to target them. Most importantly, he was lucky that the Magician with Fire and Lightning was not around. Otherwise, his army of the dead would simply have been wiped out completely!

When Liu Ru heard the eerie sound produced by the villager’s neck snapping, her blood fangs were exposed as an uncontrollable rage surged in her chest.

Before Liu Ru was turned into a vampire, she was just an ordinary girl. Back then, even when a stray cat or dog died, she would feel sad for quite a while, let alone the life of a human, no different than other teenage girls. Even though she had become a nightwalker, one of the Blood Tribe who were commonly involved in darkness, gore, and death, it did not necessarily mean she was heartless enough to ignore the death of innocent people happening right in front of her!

The well water of Sunny Goat Village running dry was most likely just a natural disaster. The people of Hua Village had decided not to help them as they were too concerned about their limited supply of well water. The villagers had to rely on the protection of the God of the Well to stay alive. If they had not chased the other villagers away, they would have been the ones dying in the end.

Even though the people of Hua Village were inhumane, they were left with no other choice. However, Fang Gu had blamed them for the death of his people. Despite being a Magician, he abused the power of the Undead Element and stopped his people from finding peace, controlling them to bring disaster upon other people. His actions were unforgivable!

Liu Ru scanned the place and discovered that there were only four or five villagers remaining. While still controlling the three undead kids, she smoothly glided down onto the back of the enraged muscular zombie…

Her fragile body was almost attached to its big back. When it swung around, Liu Ru quickly followed its movement, allowing her to stick to its back weirdly!

When it switched its target to the next villager, Liu Ru suddenly held herself in place. Her exposed white fangs struck the living dead’s neck like snakes!

The muscular living dead swiftly reacted, throwing its steely arms wildly at her…

Some of Liu Ru’s bones fractured and were smashed into pieces by the blows, yet she did not loosen her bite. Her poisonous saliva spread rapidly inside its body.

A few seconds ago, the living dead was utterly fierce and savage, trying to get Liu Ru off its back. However, a short breath later, its body began to stiffen like an aged coil spring.

The Blood Tribe was able to secrete two types of poison when enjoying their meals. One of them was effective at corrupting the target’s blood, destroying the tissues and organs inside the body in a short period of time… which included the important Undead Crystal, too…

Therefore, when someone from the Blood Tribe managed to bite their prey, it would almost be impossible for them to escape.

Liu Ru knew it was difficult for her to eliminate a zombie whose body was as hard as steel in a short time. The quickest way was to rely on the Blood Tribe’s brute force method. Any other capabilities that the Blood Tribe possessed were incomparable to their fangs. Even when fighting against a much higher-leveled creature, a bite that lasted for only a few seconds would simply drain the life of their target away rapidly.

Liu Ru killed the powerful zombie at the cost of a few of her bones. It was enough to save the villagers that had escaped from the residence. They were just kids, there was no way Liu Ru would allow Fang Gu to kill them all!

“So, you’re a monster too…” Fang Gu glanced at Liu Ru, whose mouth was smeared with blood, grinning coldly.

“What one is doesn’t make them a monster, it’s more about what they do!” Liu Ru wiped the blood from her lips and stared at Fang Gu.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This is it!”

Such a strong presence of death, how did the undead get into the city!”

“Surround the place quick, surround the place…”

A loud noise came from outside the residence, as if many Magicians had arrived.

Not long after, milky white light rays shone into the sky. The purifying light shining upon the place thoroughly cleansed away the presence of death.

“Damn it, they’re here so quick!” cursed Fang Gu anxiously.

Fang Gu glanced at his surroundings and realized that he had only killed around seven or eight of the villagers. On top of that, those who had driven his people away, including Chief Xie Sang, were still alive!

Fang Gu glared at Liu Ru viciously. If it weren’t for this woman interfering with his business, the Magician that had become an idiot would not be able to hold his living dead off…

Since they were inside the city, the number of undead that Fang Mu managed to sneak inside was very limited. If they were in the wild, as long as the Magician with Lightning and Fire was not around, he would have had no problem killing everyone here!

“I would like to see if you can protect them forever!” Fang Gu knew that the place was surrounded by the City Hunters. He immediately backed off and hid inside the thick presence of death.

“I won’t need to protect them forever, if I kill a maniac like you here right now!” spat Liu Ru coldly.

“That depends whether you have the strength to do so!” Fang Gu’s voice came from the thick cloud of death. However, when Liu Ru moved to stop Fang Gu, he had eerily vanished into thin air.

It was obvious that Fang Gu had already prepared to escape beforehand. After all, he knew the City Hunters were not to be underestimated.

Liu Ru did not pursue further. She was fairly injured herself. She had given her best by protecting the kids and the few old villagers.

Liu Ru went up to Xie Sang, whose arms were torn off. She didn’t know how he had managed to survive after being chased by two living dead.

“Chief, are you alright?” Liu Ru reached out her hand to help the man.

The chief immediately shrugged and wore a terrified expression when he saw Liu Ru, whose mouth was still stained with blood.

He had witnessed the scene of Liu Ru killing the zombie after she bit it with her fangs. On top of that, the chief clearly remembered that Gouzi did mention how the woman was still alive even when her heart was stabbed right through. Xie Sang initially thought Gouzi was just making it up since he had been acting strange lately, yet the woman turned out to be one of the living dead, too!

The chief had only left the village a few times. He was totally clueless about the existence of Blood Tribe. He was utterly terrified when he thought of undead, living dead, or anything similar.

Liu Ru’s pale face wore a self-mocking grin when she saw the terror on the chief’s face. She quickly backed off a little.

The sound of footsteps approached the entrance of the residence, followed by a group of Hunters in uniforms barging into the place…

The Hunters were startled when they saw the corpses scattered across the place. They never thought the situation would be so bizarre.

“It’s undead… no, it feels more like living dead,” the experienced captain with thick eyebrows immediately made the call.

“It looks like they have escaped,” said a female Hunter in a red robe.

“You guys there, go and save the survivors. The others, search the place and see if there’s any undead left behind,” the captain with thick brows walked up to the chief and the villagers.

The captain tried to ask what happened, yet the Chief was still wearing a blank face.

Su Xiaoluo was relatively collected. She quickly asked the Hunters to search for the kids that had run away, just so nothing dangerous would happen to them.

“You’re quite injured. Should I ask someone to send you to the hospital?” asked the captain concernedly as he went up to Liu Ru.

“It’s fine, it won’t be…”

“She’s undead, she’s undead. She’s got fangs!” Chief Xie Sang burst out screaming before Liu Ru could finish her sentence.

“Chief!” yelled Su Xiaoluo, trying to stop the chief’s outrageous cry.

“She’s undead, she’s the same as them. She’s going to kill us, all of us…” Xie Sang pointed his finger at Liu Ru and screamed in terror.

The captain was stunned for a moment. He immediately inspected the wounds on Liu Ru’s body and discovered that there was no trace of blood despite her serious injuries…

The female Hunter fixed her gaze on Liu Ru too and said coldly, “No wonder her mouth is stained with blood! It isn’t even hers; someone, take her down!”

It all happened so quickly. Liu Ru never thought Xie Sang would fall out with her all of a sudden. When she saw the female Hunter’s figure emitting a golden glow, she subconsciously backed off as she was extremely vulnerable to the burn from the strong light…

The captain was convinced that the woman was not human when he saw her inhuman speed!

“Kill her, such a vicious woman!” the captain quickly assumed that Liu Ru was responsible for all the dead bodies around the place. Every Hunter in the residence immediately saw Liu Ru as their target!

“Stop, hold on, she was helping us… she didn’t kill the people!” yelled Su Xiaoluo.

“It doesn’t matter what she did, the City Hunters have authority to kill anything that’s not classified as a human!” The Huntress showed no mercy. As soon as she was sure that Liu Ru was not human, she had no intention of letting her live!

Chains of ice burst out from the ground and lunged at Liu Ru rapidly. The chains knocked Liu Ru down to the ground as she was leaping into the air and quickly entangled her.

Flames swept through the darkness. A giant Fiery Fist came right after the first attack. Liu Ru, still entangled in the ice chains, had no chance of dodging the attack. She was sent flying by the Fiery Fist into the houses, which completely collapsed into debris.

Before the flames from the Fiery Fist dissipated, a raging gust surrounded the debris, forming wind walls around the place and crushed everything inside it into pieces. Liu Ru had no time to rise to her feet, and was immediately dragged into the wind. Her weak figure seemed miniscule, like a stalk of grass.

Zhang Xiaohou and Su Xiaoluo tried to help when they saw the situation, yet there were simply too many Hunters. One Intermediate Spell after another was cast continuously. The Rock Barrier that Zhang Xiaohou summoned to protect Liu Ru was instantly crushed into pieces.

“If you two try to interfere again, we’ll take you both down, too! The City Hunters will never allow something like her to exist in the city! You’ll be considered a threat if you continue to protect her!” the captain snapped at Zhang Xiaohou and Su Xiaoluo.

“Leave them to me,” a Huntress in a red robe smiled. Dark shadows covered her hands, and she flung them out, firing two Giant Shadow Spikes at Zhang Xiaohou and Su Xiaoluo.

Both of them were nailed by the Giant Shadow Spikes to the spot. Zhang Xiaohou’s mind was immediately sealed by the Spike, preventing him from casting any further spells!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Su Xiaoluo almost burst into tears when she was nailed to the spot.

She could not understand why the Chief would do such a thing. If it weren’t for Liu Ru putting her life at stake to protect them, everyone would have died to Fang Gu!

So what if she were an undead? She had sacrificed herself to protect the villagers when she was not even obliged to do so! In the end, the chief returned her kindness with ingratitude instead. If the chief was trying to protect his people when he decided not to help the people from Sunny Goat Village, what was he trying to achieve now?

When Su Xiaoluo saw the different spells sweeping past her and blasted the debris that Liu Ru was trapped in, she could feel her heart clenching tightly…

“That’s enough, we need her corpse to report back, too many people have died here!” The captain with the thick brows gave the command to stop the consecutive attacks.

“She didn’t even kill the people here!” snapped Su Xiaoluo furiously.

“It doesn’t matter, we’ve caught one at least,” said the Huntress calmly.

“You… how can you do this? Many innocent lives were lost because you came late, and now you’re trying to accuse her falsely instead!” yelled Su Xiaoluo.

“We came late? If we didn’t make it in time, the woman would have killed all of you, you won’t be alive now to scold us!” said the Huntress.

“Chief, say something, tell them that…”

The chief Xie Sang remained silent. He lowered his head with a complicated look.

“Mm, where’s the body?”

“Did we just blast her into ashes?” said one of the Hunters.

“Impossible, the woman was extraordinarily strong. She didn’t even budge when my Fiery Fist landed on her…”

The Hunters kept searching the debris, yet they failed to find anything apart from some torn clothes. The captain with thick brows immediately shoved the people aside and looked for the body himself, yet he found nothing either.

“Did she run away?” said the Huntress in astonishment.

“Humph, she won’t escape from us. Tell the others to hunt her down! We can’t let her stay in the Ancient Capital…” snapped the captain furiously.

——

Cold drizzle poured down from the clear sky, landing on some ancient little alleyway.

The windows and doors in the alleyway were shut tightly. There was no sign of any pedestrians nearby in the dark…

A glamorous silhouette slowly appeared from the shadows. Her hair was disheveled from the rain. Her clothes were in a messy state. Her exposed skin was covered in wounds.

She staggered forward holding onto the walls. She would cough heavily at times, spitting out mouthfuls of blood.

“HAHAHA, I’m telling you, that chick was smart not to drink the glass that I drugged. Otherwise, I would have dragged her into a corner now and sent her to cloud nine!” a rough voice spoke in the alley.

“How about us, I loved that chick’s legs, they are so long. I wonder how it would feel when they wrapped around my waist. Tsk tsk… boss, boss, look!” said the young man wearing an earring pointing at the sexy back in the pitch-black alley.

“She seems drunk. I’m getting a boner just by looking at her. That waist, those legs, that ass!”

“The chick from before managed to escape, but now we’ve found a better one. Look at her clothes… it feels like she already had a rough time before.” The young man with an earring was fully excited.

“Come, let’s follow her. I’ve never tried doing it in the rain, let alone with someone so sexy!”

The few young men with a strong smell of alcohol about them hurried forward. The one leading the way with a gold chain around his neck went up to Liu Ru and stared at her face.

He was completely astounded after taking a glance. A true beauty; not only was she pretty, she even had the alluring weak temperament. Her exposed collar bones were invoking a strong desire to ‘protect’ her!

“Hey gorgeous, are you drunk? Our place is just ahead, do you want to come with us to take a rest?” said the man with the gold chain holding an umbrella in his hand.

“Yeah, yeah!” The other two were so excited that they had a strong urge to pounce on her. She was simply too attractive!

Liu Ru took a deep breath. Her eyes suddenly emitted an inhuman flicker of light…

She glanced at the little gangsters trying to take advantage of her coldly. If she were just a weak woman, the Heavens knew what they would do to her…

“Scum!” cursed Liu Ru coldly.

“Yo, how did you know that we’re going to do something bad to you!” The young man with an earring burst out laughing.

“Let…let me first…” The other young man reached his hand out toward Liu Ru. He could not wait to fondle her long legs!

Liu Ru immediately turned around, revealing the fangs under her red upper lip. The sharp fangs flickered coldly in the dark alleyway. Together with her pair of inhuman eyes, they gave her an eerie, intimidating appearance!

The young man trying to touch Liu Ru’s legs were stunned. He stood still in his spot, as if he had lost his soul.

With two more flickers from Liu Ru’s eyes, she fired the same spell at the other two gangsters. The men with perverted grins immediately shuddered, before their faces were replaced with blank expressions, like puppets.

“Bring me to where you live,” demanded Liu Ru coldly.

“Yes…” The three had completely turned into brainless walking flesh. They mechanically escorted Liu Ru like an empress to the end of the alleyway…

Liu Ru’s blood fangs were still exposed under her lips. She glanced at the three men’s necks…

The Blood Tribe had a stronger urge to drink blood after suffering from serious injuries. She could already smell their alcohol-heavy blood. Basically, if she drank their blood, she would immediately recover from the injuries she had.

Liu Ru took a deep breath and withheld the urge to drink the filthy blood in the end.

She felt disgusted at just the thought of touching the three scum, let alone drinking their blood by sticking her lips onto their necks!

——

As she arrived at the end of the alleyway, she saw a house in fairly good condition. Liu Ru controlled them to escort her into one of the rooms, before sending one of them to buy her clean clothes and the other one to get her blood serums.

The clothes came fairly quickly, but the blood serums were too expensive. Also, anyone trying to buy blood serums would have to record their names and be approved by a Magician. An ordinary gangster would surely not able to buy one, leaving Liu Ru in a difficult position.

She had lost quite a fair amount of her primary blood. She would remain in a weakened state if she did not replenish kt. Not only would she recover at a very slow rate, it would even affect her actions.

“Who’s there?” When Liu Ru was feeling lost thinking about what to do, she heard someone moving in the garden.

The person was very nimble, and Liu Ru barely heard them. The truth was, it was almost impossible for a human to avoid being detected by her.

Liu Ru ran outside and discovered the garden to be empty, apart from a few packages containing something red under the shed…

“Blood serums?’ Liu Ru looked at them in astonishment.

She immediately looked around, wanting to know who had placed something she needed so desperately here, but the place was completely empty.

“Who exactly did this? How did he or she know I needed these… does this mean the person has been following me all along?” mumbled Liu Ru in confusion, staring at the blood serums.

Unable to arrive at a conclusion, Liu Ru quickly consumed them.

If the person was trying to harm her, he or she could have done so already. She was in an extremely weak state, even an ordinary Intermediate Magician could end her life right now…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The gray tower stood firmly in the middle of the long wall, ignoring the clouds and rain. It was hard to tell how many years it had stood here, enduring the rain and wind, to reach its current color.

The wall was still guarded by lots of Magicians. They prayed for daytime to arrive quickly when they heard the bells chiming in the distance.

A rain like this would always delay the arrival of sunlight. Sometimes, some of the Magicians fighting a war would end up not returning because of that small difference in time.

“Everyone is worn out…” Yao Nan sighed.

“How long has this situation lasted?” Mo Fan asked.

“It starts around the end of summer. It’s been quite a few months, but we still haven’t found the real reason,” said Yao Nan.

“We can’t just let it be like this. It’s simply a party for them here every night, while the people have to hide in the city and the Magicians have to guard the walls?” Mo Fan wondered.

The situation here in the Ancient Capital was more terrifying than Mo Fan had imagined. Perhaps even those who had spent a long time living in this city were also living in fear.

“What is it, why the panic?” Advisor Zhu asked a soldier hurrying his way over.

“One of the squads is surrounded by a bunch of skeletons. We have no men left to spare,” said the soldier.

“Whose squad is it?” asked Advisor Zhu.

“It’s Wang Mang’s…”

Advisor Zhu turned his gaze toward Yao Nan and Mo Fan. There were indeed not many people they could send out. The walls were under attack from various directions, while the majority of the army was sent out to eliminate the Phantom Tyrant Emperor. There was no man left to assemble a rescue team.

Besides, a rescue team normally needed to consist of a higher number of stronger Magicians.

“We two basically have no energy left. We’re simply going to die if we go,” said Yao Nan straightforwardly, aware of Advisor Zhu’s intention.

Mo Fan’s energy had yet to recover, too. If he were to jump down the wall now, not only would he be unable to save anyone, he would even put his own life in danger. The same went with Yao Nan; he did still have some energy left, yet he had not recovered from the injuries he suffered when fighting against the Corpse Official. There was nothing he could do, either.

“Ask them to hold on for awhile, it’s almost daytime,” Advisor Zhu sighed.

“Affirmative,” said the soldier nodded.

——

The squad under Wang Mang’s lead that the soldier mentioned was actually not too far away from the walls. For someone like Mo Fan, who was able to see in the dark, he could see an area covered in white dots in the distance from up on the walls.

The white dots were the skeletons. A huge area of white dots simply meant the place was overrun by skeletal creatures. The occasional flicker of light in the distance simply implied that the squad was fighting back stubbornly.

When Mo Fan’s gaze was fixed on the area, a cheer of joy came from a different direction.

Yao Nan immediately glanced in that direction too. When he saw white rays rising into the sky, he immediately smiled, “They did it!”

“Who?” asked Mo Fan.

“The Phantom Tyrant Emperor is eliminated! Our army is withdrawing back to the walls!” Advisor Zhu’s anxious face finally smiled for once. It was obvious that he hd been deeply worried about it for the entire night.

After all, they had sent quite a number of Super Level Magicians out. If something were to happen to them, the northern walls would be in serious trouble!

The white rays gradually drew closer to the walls. As soon as the Phantom Tyrant Emperor died, the undead completely lost their backing. The Commander-level undead no longer posed any threat, especially when Super Magicians were free to lend a hand, too…

“Nice, great job, well done!” yelled Advisor Zhu when he saw the army making their way back to the walls.

The Commanders in charge of guarding the walls danced for joy too. For the past month and more, they had always been on their toes because of the Phantom Tyrant Emperor. The vicious undead were the greatest threat to the northern walls. They had almost made a huge hole in the walls a few times.

Now that the threat was finally eliminated, the soldiers in charge of guarding the northern walls were relieved.

Dull clouds gathered in the east. Sunlight came late, as expected, but the people on the northern walls were cheering loudly, to welcome the new day, and also to welcome the heroes returning from their victory…

Magicians gradually arrived at the walls. Some that were quicker had even returned to the tower.

A man with a pair of fiery wings on his back swept past the sky in the rain, leaving a long trail of fire behind, like a burning meteorite!

The fiery wings beat rapidly as the figure headed for the walls quickly. Even though the person was covered in wounds, it did not take away any of his authority and pride.

Mo Fan recognized the fiery wings. It was none other than Councilman Zhu Meng!

His fiery wings lit up the gray tower. He landed on the tower, a heat wave sweeping over the crowd. While his beard was still drifting in the wind, he had already landed stably in front of Advisor Zhu and the rest of the Commanders…

“Where’s my superior; don’t tell me he sacrificed himself?” Yao Nan asked immediately when he saw Zhu Meng.

“He did survive, but the question is when he’s able to rise from bed. That guy is totally out of his mind… but without his risky move, it’s likely that the Phantom Tyrant Emperor would have escaped safely!” Zhu Meng panted heavily trying to catch his breath. When he caught a glimpse of Mo Fan, he immediately wore a frown and snapped, “Did this kid desert his squad? He’s definitely going to suffer the consequences if he’s a soldier!”

“The number of undead I killed is higher than the Magicians that you’ve gathered today!” said Mo Fan unpleasantly.

“He did great today, helping me kill a Corpse Official,” Yao Nan complimented Mo Fan for once.

“Humph, that sounds more like it!” Zhu Meng nodded and glanced into the distance, “The others will be back eventually. The casualties aren’t too terrible this time. It’s our victory!”

“Councilman, you should go and rest. Your injuries aren’t light, either,” Advisor Zhu sent a Battlemaga over to take care of the Councilman.

The Battlemaga was obviously a Healer, wearing a white robe. She escorted Councilman Zhu Meng to the third floor to rest up.

Zhu Meng noticed the area covered in white dots in the distance. He pointed at the area and asked, “What’s going on there? Is someone trapped?”

“Yeah, it’s a small squad. They are surrounded by the skeletons, but it will be daytime soon. It won’t be a huge problem,” said Advisor Zhu.

Zhu Meng studied the sky and realized that the sunlight was indeed poking out from the gray clouds. It would be daytime by the time he could reach the squad. He decided to take care of his wounds instead, since it was impossible to tell what else they might encounter the following night. He had to recover from the injuries as soon as possible, since he was still needed to protect the northern walls.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Any Magician who spent some time at the Ancient Capital would know that the skeletons were scarier than the zombies.

Their bones were hard as iron and their strength was enough to tear a living human to pieces. Most terrifyingly, they were a lot harder to kill than zombies. It appeared that shattering them was not effective either, as they would soon assemble their bodies again using any bone for the same joint they could find on the ground.

Such white skeletons were exactly the creatures that Wang Mang’s squad had encountered. They had even blasted the skulls off the skeletons off for more than one time, yet these undead simply picked up someone else’s head and screwed it onto their body and moved toward them again.

“Damn it, we shouldn’t have stepped out of that zone. The army has already gone back to the walls, while we who came to escort them are trapped here!” cursed a Magician with a caved-in nose.

“Hold on, it’s almost daytime, we’ll be able to head back soon,” said Wang Mang.

“When the day comes, I’ll go home straight away, take a nice little ht shower, and sleep for two days straight!”

“Where’s Xiao Ding, where did he go… asshole, I told you all to look after him!” cursed Wang Mang instantly.

Wang Mang looked over the walls of skeletons and discovered a corpse whose limbs, head and body were separated. The corpse was being trampled continuously by the skeletons, even his head was kicked back and forth between their feet!

The head was Xiao Ding’s; Wang Mang’s face fell incredibly white after seeing it.

He already promised his wife that he would take good care of her brother, yet he had only dropped his guard down for a moment, and her brother had ended up like that. His wife would faint instantly when she saw him like this.

“Li Cong is also… damn it, why is it still not daytime yet?! Shouldn’t these undead be going back to their tombs already? I’m going to dig their graves out!” snapped the man with the caved-in nose furiously.

“The day…the day…” A Magician whose hair was dyed black and brown suddenly glanced into the east with a blank face, as if he had entirely lost his soul.

“Clench your teeth and hold on for a little longer. The day has come, it’s already daytime! Don’t get crushed by the door when you’ve already made it to the gates of Hell!” yelled Wang Mang.

They could not give up like this, otherwise the entire squad would be wiped out. It would only take a matter of seconds for the skeletons to kill them all!

“Asshole, what are you still waiting for? Quickly cast a Light Protection to help the others even if it means sucking your brain juice dry, do you want to die here?” yelled the man with the caved-in nose.

The Magician with black-brown hair pointed to the east…

“Cap…captain…” said the man with black-brown hair in a trembling voice.

“Shut up you two!”

“The day… it’s already bright,” the man pointed to the sky at the faint light, where they could also see the light drizzle.

“What did you say!” both Wang Mang and the man with caved-in nose yelled in disbelief.

A rusted sword suddenly swept past, separating the black-brown-haired man’s head from his body. The head made a few spins in the air before falling to the muddy ground.

The mud on the ground dyed his hair again, yet his face did not show any reaction to the sudden death. It was still filled with disbelief.

He could not believe that the undead were still around when sunlight had already come.

“It’s…it’s really daytime,” Wang Mang stood there like an empty shell.

The sinister white skeletons were still everywhere. Not only was there light, but the day was bright enough for him to see their surroundings clearly, yet the undead showed no sign of retreating.

“Why? Why is this happening?” The man with the caved-in nose stared at the surrounding undead with a dispirited expression.

Everyone thought the fighting would come to an end when daytime came. Some even thought of how they would enjoy things after going back to the city, yet it turned out that even the sunlight they worshiped the most had abandoned them. It simply threw them into a deep abyss of no return, one that they would never climb out of.

“AHHH!!!”

Cries of agony came from different directions. Fresh blood stained the white bones of the skeletons, granting them an eerily evil look!

Wang Mang turned around and discovered the man who was grumbling about going home to take a hot shower had been cut in half. His body was chopped in half by a Skeleton General with an axe. Even though Wang Mang had gotten used to witnessing deaths, his scalp still turned numb when death was only inches away!

The sky was bright, it was really daytime…

Why aren’t the undead leaving yet? They had never heard of undead being active in the day for thousands of years! Why were the undead still able to move freely and kill his men under the sunlight?

A rusty sword slashed down, followed by many other bone swords, chopping apart Wang Mang and the remaining members of his squad.

Each of them was wearing a blank face, as they still did not understand what was happening even as death came!

The rain continued to fall, diluting the blood and forming streams of crimson flowing across the muddy land.

The undead stepped on the pools of blood. The land covered in fresh blood was like a soft, bright carpet welcoming them. It was simply so marvelous and fascinating, so they continued to cut the dead men open, to make the river of blood even more glittering!

——

The dawn had arrived, yet the clouds and the rain had made everything dull. Despite that, the night had still come to an end. Daytime had come; it was now dawn, the time when the fighting was supposed to come to an end…

The bell chime was already echoing in the city. Residents were filling the streets in their daily routines, assuming that the tall walls and the sunlight would protect them from the terrifying undead, yet little did they know, the undead had not left the walls. They were still out there, with eyes emitting vicious glints of light.

The long walls were dozens of kilometers in length. When the bell chimes sounded and the sunlight appeared, the guards who were tense for the entire night finally felt relieved after surviving the night…

However, when they turned around and looked at the land that was supposed to return to calm, they shockingly discovered that the nightmare was not over. The number of undead trying to run the walls down did not decrease, but increased instead!

“Can anyone tell me what the heck is going on here?” Zhu Meng, whose wounds were still being treated, rushed down the stairs. He stared at the undead that were still around despite the presence of sunlight in great astonishment!

Advisor Zhu, Yao Nan, and the Commanders were in the tower, too. Their eyes were filled with astonishment and fear!

They could no longer understand the scene before them with common sense.

The undead!

The whole land was full of undead, surging toward the walls like a black tide! Danger was imminent!

Sunlight shone down upon the place as the rain continued to fall. No one had seen undead being active in the daytime for the past thousand years…

“I told you, I don’t like rain,” Mo Fan observed the city and the land wet from the rain.

The scene was very familiar!

Just like Bo City where he grew up in, the scariest nightmare was really happening again!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Isn’t it over yet?” Commander Lu Xu landed on the tower. His eyes were completely bloodshot.

His right arm was missing. Fresh blood from the cut stained the white cloth wrapping around it. He was supposed to wear a twisted smile, yet the smile he hid under his skinny face was gone, replaced by the terror and disbelief of finding that he had not woken up from the nightmare!

Chief Military Instructor Fei Jiao, Senior Hunter Du Xiao, Commander Lu Xu and Councilman Zhu Meng, four Super Magicians were looking at the land lit up by the sunlight, at the undead that were still perfectly fine in the light, while more of them violated their common sense as they burst out from the ground, acting as if the dark, bloody feast had just begun…

A cry like death knell came from the direction of the northern walls. The four’s gaze passed through the drizzle and saw a giant creature with large skeletal wings flying towards them from up close to the clouds…

Its grew bigger as it approached the walls. Its size was comparable to the tower on the northern walls. When its wings were fully extended, they produced a huge shadow, looming over a place like a cloud!

People had no idea what it was, but when its eyes glanced at the tiny walls and humans in the city, terror began to spread rapidly like a plague, instantly covering half of the City North!

Mo Fan looked up in astonishment. The bone-winged creature’s body looked like it was molded from mercury, clearly visible even when the creature was still miles away. It felt like even the smallest bone with a pointy end could easily puncture every Magician on the walls!

“Nether Bone Ruler!” Commander Lu Xu finally uttered slowly after some time.

Even as a Super Magician, he still felt a chill running down his spine when he mentioned the name, let alone seeing the scariest ruler of the undead known with his own eyes!

The Phantom Tyrant Emperor was a phantom, the ruler of the phantoms. Whenever it appeared, it would have lots of phantoms surrounding it!

The Nether Bone Ruler was a skeleton, a ruler of the skeletons!

It was a super undead even more infamous than the Phantom Tyrant Emperor!

Why…why did it wake up in the daytime?

With a roar like a death knell, the Nether Bone Ruler came to a stop a few kilometers away from the walls, floating in the air. The primary head out of its three was raised up high. Through the gaps between the bones around its throat, people could see black energy flickering inside its mouth!

The sharp glow turned into a blast wave. The black death ray shot forward with a howl.

Space began to tremble. The death ray traveled perfectly straight through the rain and the area outside of the walls. In just a few seconds, the blast wave struck the wall a kilometer to the left of the tower!

Darkness spread on its surface and devoured the sunlight.

The northern walls turned dark gray where the death ray made contact with them, and in the next second, the sturdy rocks were entirely devoured by the darkness!

It was a sound so loud that everything simply turned deadly quiet. Mo Fan was overwhelmed by the silence, yet his eardrums were on the verge of bursting from the vibrations…

The death ray had taken away everyone’s sight. They only knew that the giant walls were eaten away by something right before the darkness blinded them.

The darkness did not last for long. When the light finally returned, the people on the tower reacted as if their souls were destroyed. With blank faces, they simply could not believe what they were seeing…

The walls had disappeared!

A huge section of the walls that was previously standing there like a mountain range had disappeared. Tiny particles like dust slowly rose into the air, like wisps of floating steam. The truth was, the walls did not just disappear, but they were turned into the tiny particles that were so light that they simply drifted into the air as the wind blew!

“Ass…asshole!” In the tower, a line of tears ran down the cheeks of a man who was covered in dust.

“I’m going to kill it, I’m going to f**king kill it!” he ran out like he had gone mad, screaming in a hoarse voice.

When Mo Fan saw the man was seriously charging out of the tower, he immediately appeared beside the man with Fleeing Shadow and grabbed onto him tightly.

“Are you trying to kill yourself! You’re just a cockroach that can be killed with a single stomp by it!” snapped Mo Fan.

“Don’t you f**king worry about me, let go!” yelled Shorty.

Mo Fan was clearly aware that Shorty was just going to get himself killed going down the tower. He cast Giant Shadow Spike and restrained him close to the railing on the walls so the man would not do anything stupid.

Shorty was still struggling. He even tried to overcome Mo Fan’s Giant Shadow Spike with his will, yet Mo Fan’s Giant Shadow Spike was not something that could be easily overpowered, at least not when Shorty was not using any effective methods.

“Let go of me, I’m begging you, let me go…” yelled Shorty at the top of his voice.

Mo Fan stood there and remained silent.

Maybe Shorty did not mention anything, yet Mo Fan could easily tell from his extreme sorrow that there was a hospital close to the part of the walls that was destroyed…

The death ray did not just destroy the wall. It also bulldozed the section from the wall to the hospital, like an enormous beast trampling across the place mercilessly!

The wall had disappeared. The street had vanished, including the hospital, and Shorty’s wife who was in labor…

“Mo Fan, I’m begging you, let go of me…if you still think me as your friend,” pleaded Shorty sorrowfully in tears, as he knew he could not break free from Mo Fan’s spell.

“I never thought of you as a friend, either.” Mo Fan would not withdraw the Giant Shadow Spike.

Even Zhu Meng, Du Xiao, Lu Xu, or Fei Jiao had no chance of stopping the death ray. Shorty would only add himself to the list of casualties. Perhaps adding one more death to the street that had now turned into dust would make no difference, but there were many things that an Intermediate Magician could still do…

It was no longer a nightmare, but a real disaster, just like what had happened to Bo City. Back then, any Intermediate Magician was extremely important. Although an Intermediate Magician could not turn the tables, they could still save a few lives!

An eerie purple glow arose slowly. It gradually loomed over the northern part of the city. Girls with special taste seemed to favor purple, thinking that the sight of a whole area covered in purple would be dazzling… But, they would have to think twice about what they wished for, as the purple currently looming over the area was just a pleasing illusion right before death arrived. It would simply be their last desire in the world, before all hopes were lost.

“Purple… a purple alert…”

Mo Fan glanced into the distance. He could only see the buildings and streets in a square layout beyond, the area covered in the nightmarish purple.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The purple of death loomed over every corner in the city. Some old folk who had just woken up at dawn rubbed their eyes and said with a smile to his neighbor, “Hey Old Xu, I don’t think I have many days left, my eyes are going nuts early in the morning…”

However, seeing that the old man next door also had a terrified look, the old man that had just woken up immediately realized something!

The kids who had yet to reach the age to go to school were crying. The adults simply ignored their cries and carried on with their routines. However, they discovered that the street just two blocks away had completely vanished. Not long afterwards, a purple glow descended from the sky. Their faces were completely blank, like never before!

The teenagers who had gone to bed late rolled over in their beds, trying to get back to sleep. In the end, they finally ran out of patience and opened their windows to check on what was going on out there. They simply saw purple and people running in its light. Cars jammed the streets. People abandoned their cars and ran on foot. Officials in uniforms were evacuating the civilians. Their first reaction was wondering whether they were having a dream, but when countless calls started ringing on their phones, they were thunderstruck…

Purple, the alert that even the old folks who had spent half a century living in the Ancient Capital had never seen before!

—-

A new day was being welcomed with a boundless aura of death.

Up on the tower, Mo Fan heard cries of the undead in the distance. They were more shocking than those emitted that night!

Beside him, Shorty, who had finally calmed down, dropped to his knees. Tears ran down his cheek as he cried in grief.

He was sobbing and mumbling, like he was seeking Mo Fan’s comfort. “I was at the hospital last night, I heard that it was the best hospital for women in childbirth… I saw the gathering signal from the window, that’s why I’m here. Normally, I wouldn’t come, but…but I thought that when it all comes to an end, I can tell my son that on the day he was born, his dad was so brave… but now… it’s all gone…”

“He might be a daughter,” said Mo Fan, who was the worst when it came to comforting people.

“Shut the f**k up!” yelled Shorty.

“Maybe they are not dead, maybe she had premature labor, and they went home earlier, since we were fighting for such a long time…” added Mo Fan.

The words barely calmed Shorty down.

The whole tower was exhausted. Everyone had just gone through a great victorious fight that they assumed would surely be recorded in the history of mankind. However, what followed it was despair crashing down on them like a tsunami. No one knew what they should do, be it protecting the walls that were already blasted open, or leaving with the civilians that were clumped together like porridge in a pot. Beyond them, the undead outnumbered the living several times over. They were no longer roaming aimlessly, but advancing like an ocean.

A massive skeletal creature with bone wings was circling around in the sky, glancing down at the city that it could easily annihilate like ants. Humans were too petty in its eyes, it could even eliminate Magicians with ease…

It let out a roar from high in the sky, commanding the undead to rise from their graves. Their sinister white bones were everywhere!

In the far distance, an enormous zombie like a mountain appeared out of nowhere among the sea of undead. The quake produced from each step it took spread all the way to the city. The city walls that were as sturdy as a steel barrel were trembling under its footsteps!

The Mountain Zombie was responding to the Nether Bone Ruler’s cry. Its figure was like a towering banner, millions of zombies crowding around it. The numbers of those crawling out from the ground and coming from the distance in the north was enough to fill the horizon…

The drizzle had become heavier, forming a gray curtain between the Heaven and Earth. Together with the endless undead, a giant web was formin, slowly drawing in toward the city!

“Du Xiao, don’t be ridiculous…” Advisor Zhu hauled Senior Hunter Du Xiao back.

The three leaders – Zhu Meng, Fei Jiao, and Lu Xu – were in a bad shape, like all the others. They did not even have the chance to treat their injuries.

The Phantom Tyrant Emperor was only a small ruler among the undead, yet it took four of them to barely kill it, at the cost of severe injuries. Meanwhile, the Nether Bone Ruler was a lot stronger than the Phantom Tyrant Emperor. Even at full strength, they had little chance of defeating it, let alone when they were all worn out and injured…

Now the Mountain Zombie around fifty kilometers away too; that was the real big ruler!

“That guy is most likely from the same era as the Black Totem Snake. Listen to the orders from higher up: immediately retreat to the barrier inside the city. Any of us dying here will result in ten times the casualties in the future!” Zhu Meng displayed his calm as a Councilman.

However, the veins on his fist were knotted. He was the initiator of the Threat-Elimination Strategy, yet he was totally unaware of this disaster before it had happened.

How was this possible?

Why were the undead able to move freely in the daytime, and there are more of them than at night!

So many undead have appeared out of nowhere; does this mean the king of the Kingdom of Undead has risen, the thing that has been asleep for thousands of years just happened to rise today…

“Zhu Meng…” Mo Fan called out to Councilman Zhu Meng with a stern face.

“You should run too, leave the walls. Let’s hope that the barrier is enough to protect us this time…” Zhu Meng let out a sigh. He seemed very old all of a sudden.

It had been so long since so many undead appeared close to the Ancient Capital. They should have expected this to happen when the undead had been misbehaving lately, yet they were hoping it was only a coincidence.

Where could the people run to during a purple alert?

What chance did they have to survive?

Even the Magicians had trouble staying alive with the God of Death hunting them down, let alone the commoners…

Even if he wanted to step forward bravely to save the residents on the streets, he sometimes did not even have the right to die a martyr’s death, because of his position. He had to stay alive, or the people would lose all hope.

“I know I should be running, but I have to tell you what I feel..” Mo Fan lowered his voice. His face was harder than ever before.

“Go ahead,” said Zhu Meng with a deep look.

“Bo City, you must know I come from Bo City… I don’t care if you believe me or not, but I can smell the Black Vatican!” Mo Fan said coldly.

“The Black Vatican! Why so?” Zhu Meng was astounded.

“The rain!” said Mo Fan.

Zhu Meng was startled.

The rain?

Was he saying that the undead were only able to remain active in the sunlight because of the rain that had just started not long ago?

The Ancient Capital had been drenched in rain before, yet he never heard the undead would turn so wild…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I don’t know how the Black Vatican did it, but it’s exactly the same method they used on Bo City! It happened out of nowhere, and it was during a heavy rain too, enraging all the demon creatures! Perhaps you might think that the rain was just a coincidence, but I think they are related. Something like this doesn’t happen for no reason; natural disasters like these must have a human conspiracy behind them!” said Mo Fan.

The Ancient Capital had been safe for so many years. Mo Fan would not believe that the current century was this full of disasters. If it wasn’t because God wanted to punish humans, then it must be some sort of conspiracy aiming to lead mankind to destruction!

Mo Fan admitted that he had no proof to justify his statement, he was only following his instincts…

However, after the calamity of Bo City, and being involved in the Black Vatican’s conspiracy once, if he hadn’t held onto the Underground Holy Spring that the Black Vatican desperately wanted to acquire, they would still be hidden in the dark among the people, no one could have torn their mask off!

“Come with us, otherwise you might not make it to the inner walls safely…” Zhu Meng believed Mo Fan’s words.

Not long ago, Zhu Meng had spent some time trying to learn what the Black Vatican was up to. They had been behaving strangely in many places across the nation, yet they were extremely quiet here around the Ancient Capital, as if they had been wiped out, just like the Magic City.

However, the quieter they were, the more likely it was that they were up to something, as they were so cautious that they could not allow any of their Blue Deacons or Gray Priests to leak their conspiracy.

Mo Fan shook his head. He did not tell Zhu Meng about his experience just so Zhu Meng would bring him along. He was only hoping that his information would help the higher-ups to make the right call.

“Then why are you staying here? The army of undead is going to overrun the outer walls soon. Everything outside of the inner walls’ barrier is lost. The purple alert means that even Magicians can not survive inside the barrier!” Zhu Meng grabbed Mo Fan up. It was clear that he was going to bring Mo Fan along with brute force.

“I still have some friends in City North. I’ll withdraw to the barrier with them…” Mo Fan said sternly.

Zhu Meng loosened his grip when he saw the determined look in Mo Fan’s eyes.

“I’ll send someone…”

“It’s fine, I can take care of them myself. Your men are precious now, go and save the people you should. The effort I’ve put in over these years isn’t just so I can do nothing in a disaster like what happened to Bo City…” said Mo Fan.

Yao Nan stood beside Mo Fan. He glanced at Mo Fan and said, “It’s true that the people of Bo City are extremely courageous when anyone mentions the Black Vatican.”

“We still don’t know if they are involved,” said Mo Fan.

“It’s very likely, the information that the Clearsky Hunter Agency has collected trying to hunt Salan down all leads here to Ancient Capital, but we were too late,” Yao Nan tapped Mo Fan on the shoulder, and came to a realization. “Who would have thought that it would turn out like this. I’ve been hearing how scary the Red Cardinal Salan is, and now when standing on these walls that will be overrun by the army of undead soon…I’m afraid I will never forget the name.”

“Salan…” Mo Fan repeated the name, thinking deeply. It was not the first time he heard it.

“My energy hasn’t recovered yet, I won’t be able to help. See you on the inner walls,” said Yao Nan to Mo Fan.

“Mm, see you in the walls.”

The truth was, many people were also telling each other they would see them on the walls.

The Magicians had gathered together to secure a victory for the battle, yet they were going to lose half of the city.

Everyone had people they wanted to look for in the chaos. Instead of losing hope here, they would rather head out as soon as possible. Therefore, the few words were all that mattered…

It was a blessing, a hope, but more like bidding farewell.

——-

In addition to the northern walls, the same purple alert was sounded in three other directions.

The outer walls could not hold any longer.

After all, the outer walls were surrounding the whole city. It was difficult to defend all directions at the same time due to its wide area. On top of that, the number of undead had long surpassed that of the living. If they continued to hold their positions on the walls, everyone would be devoured and surrounded by the sea of undead.

When the purple alert was sounded, it meant everyone was required to retreat back to the barrier as fast as possible.

Mo Fan remembered that during a Blood Alert, the commoners basically had zero chance of surviving outside the barrier. Even Magicians would have trouble surviving…

Run! The whole Ancient Capital had come to an agreement that they should retreat and flee for their lives!

Every city had a last line of defense, its barrier. The Ancient Capital’s barrier was the inner walls, with a perimeter of fourteen kilometers. Above the densely packed streets and zones, one could barely see the golden flicker from the barrier above the inner walls.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan could see people in the form of black dots fleeing toward the inner walls. The roads were jammed with vehicles, and helicopters were in the sky providing assistance…

Bo City was even smaller than the City North of the Ancient Capital. The city had been around for centuries, its population was almost a hundred times that of Bo City.

And now, the entire population was racing against time. How many of them would reach the inner walls before they were devoured by the army of undead?

——

The sound of the ground quaking mixed with the shocking cries and swept from behind like a storm.

Not many people dared to turn around. The number of undead was a lot greater than what the Magicians had imagined. The force generated from their march toward the city alone was enough to set the walls and buildings on the verge of collapse.

Mo Fan summoned his courage and turned around to take a glance…

Black!

White!

Gray!

Zombies, Corpse Generals, Skeletons, Skeleton Generals, Phantoms, and Phantom Generals covered the entire area densely. The ground was trembling as they moved!

Creatures of enormous size stood out among the undead. Anyone could easily see them in the black tide of undead like a crane in a flock of chicken. The tide consisting of zombies, phantoms, and skeletons would split in half and continue flowing around them as if they were reefs in a river.

The most terrifying sight was still the Nether Bone Ruler circling around in the air, who had destroyed the walls with a single breath of death!

It was an intelligent creature, fully focused on destroying the walls that were stopping its people from entering the city. A few kilometers of the northern walls had collapsed. The towers crumbled to the ground one after another. The line of defense that humans had relied on to protect them could not withstand a single blow from it!

Mo Fan had no idea what terrifying creatures had appeared in the other directions, but from Zhu Meng, Du Xiao, Fei Jiao, and the others’ terrified expressions, he could tell that the skeleton ruler was still not the most terrifying creature. The actual creature that had forced the Super Magicians to run for their lives was the Mountain Giant Zombie that was capable of commanding all undead!

The creature was standing in the midst of the tide of undead like a mountain. Its eyes, so high and proud in the sky, were emitting an icy glow, staring at the city that was in grave danger a few dozen kilometers away!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Mountain Zombie took a step forward. Its movement was fairly slow, yet each step it took brought it much closer to the city.

The head in the rain was moving closer. Somehow, the creature had already advanced over ten kilometers. If there was anything providing some relief to the humans, it would be the discovery that the creature halted its movement for some reason around ten kilometers away from the walls.

A fat Corpse Official, looking like a lump of flesh, stood close to the creature’s feet. Its size was like a hill, yet it only reached to just below the Mountain Zombie’s knees.

The Flesh Mound Corpse Official had a giant mouth. It opened its mouth and swallowed the surrounding skeletons, zombies and phantoms inside. It managed to hold more than a thousand undead!

Mo Fan did not dare to watch any further upon seeing this. Even though he was clueless about why the Corpse Official was eating the undead, there was no time for him to think about it. He had to find Liu Ru, Zhang Xiaohou, and the others as soon as possible, and retreat to the inner walls together!

“Mo Fan, what should we do now?” Zhou Ming glanced at Mo Fan with a hint of panic.

“Come with me,” said Mo Fan sternly.

“I must go to Bo City Street. I don’t want to be involved in the same thing twice,” Mu Bai said in a deep voice.

“Yeah, Mo Fan, we can’t leave them behind,” said Zhou Ming.

“Mm, let’s head to Bo City Street first,” Mo Fan nodded.

As Mu Bai had stated, the people of Bo City had already gone through a similar disaster once. They had barely survived the first time; it would be too cruel if they died in this one!

Mo Fan knew he could only bring a limited number of people along. However, since Zhang Xiaohou and Liu Ru were going in the same direction too, he could not leave them behind!

“Count me in,” Shorty said to Mo Fan, slowly getting to his feet.

Mo Fan glanced at Shorty, who was still overwhelmed with grief, and nodded.

It seemed like he had thought it through. The dead could not be resurrected. It was important to look after himself in chaos like this, before he had the ability to look after others.

“Then let’s hurry up! A bunch of undead that was roaming close to the walls has already invaded the city. The walls were heavily damaged, more undead are going to break through. Mu Bai, do you have any relatives in City North?” said Zhou Ming.

“Only my uncle, but I believe he’s quite close to the inner walls. He mentioned that he was heading into the inner walls to attend to some business,” said Mu Bai.

“Mm, that’s good to know. To Bo City Street, let’s hope they are not too scattered across the place!”

“Bo City Street is a fair distance away from the inner walls. With how the traffic is tied-up now, they won’t be able to reach the inner walls safely,” the worried Zhou Ming told him.

———

Transportation was completely at a standstill. Even Magicians were forced to travel on foot.

Even with Wind Magicians, everyone was still moving slowly. Meanwhile, the undead that had invaded the city were chasing after them at full speed. These bloodthirsty creatures would simply chase after anything alive and tear them apart. Fresh blood mixed with rain soon dyed the area close to the beleaguered walls red.

Several teams of Magicians were evacuating the civilians, yet regardless of how hard they were blasting the undead with Magic, the undead were rushing into the city through the gap faster than they were dying. The Battlemages were gradually losing ground…

Although it did help slow down the invasion, Mo Fan was well aware that those fighting could at most buy a little time for the civilians.

When the Nether Bone Ruler’s army of skeletons or the Mountain Zombie’s tide of zombies arrived, every Magician would be torn into pieces…

—-

Mo Fan, Zhou Ming, Mu Bai, and Shorty hurried over to Bo City Street. Everyone in the group was an Intermediate Magician, thus they were a lot fitter than the commoners. Since the streets were stuffed full of cars and fleeing crowds, the roofs became their path instead. The densely packed buildings allowed them to run along the walls and travel across rooftops.

“Mo Fan, isn’t your energy fully recovered yet? I’ve got some serums here that will help your recovery,” Mu Bai took out some serums he had brought along and handed them to Mo Fan.

“Thanks a lot!” Mo Fan was in dire need of energy.

As a Magician with four Elements, he had twice the amount of energy compared to an ordinary Magician, so it was rare for him to deplete his energy. Luckily, he had retreated to the walls with Yao Nan earlier, allowing him to rest up for a little bit. Otherwise, his energy would be pretty much empty now. He would most likely die to the undead, let alone be able to save others.

As they passed by the hospital that was bulldozed to the ground, Mo Fan purposely glanced at Shorty.

Shorty did not hesitate at all. It was clear that he had experienced situations of life and death too often. He had only lost his mind just then because it was someone extremely important to him.

There was nothing Shorty could do after a person’s death. Since he was still alive, he had to try his best to stay that way.

“At our speed, we should be able to retreat to the inner walls before this whole place is overrun by the undead,” said Shorty.

Shorty was more familiar with the Ancient Capital than anyone else there. With him leading the way, the group would reach Bo City Street in the shortest time, and could escort the people of Bo City to the safe zone.

“That’s a relief. I feel sorry for the people that live close to the outer walls…” Zhou Ming was full of sorrow as she witnessed the death of countless innocent people.

It was likely that in less than an hour after the purple alert was sounded, the casualties close to the outer walls had already surpassed the total casualties of the calamity of Bo City. On top of that, the number was increasing rapidly as they spoke!

“What’s that thing in the sky!”

“Is that a lump of meat? How is it as huge as a building?”

“It has eyes, oh my, it looks so terrifying…”

The crowd on the streets cried in panic, prompting the others to raise their heads and stare at the giant object sweeping past in the sky above the buildings!

Mo Fan also raised his head and discovered the giant lump of flesh just as it crashed onto the intersection not far away, like a meaty meteorite.

The intersection was full of vehicles, but when the lump of flesh landed on the ground, it occupied the entire intersection, smashing the surrounding buildings into pieces with the impact!

Mo Fan stared at the giant mound of flesh in astonishment… the thing looked very familiar to him! Wasn’t it the Flesh Mound Corpse Official that ate more than a thousand undead close to the Mountain Zombie’s feet from before!?

The Flesh Mound Corpse Official had dropped out of the sky. Did that mean the Mountain Zombie had tossed it into the city… that creature was more than ten kilometers away!

As Mo Fan watched stunned with wide eyes, a bad feeling crossed his heart…

As he thought, the Flesh Mound Corpse General that he was staring at suddenly opened its mouth, and the countless skeletons, zombies, and phantoms it had eaten before burst out from its stomach like a surging tide!

The streets promptly filled with screams. The crowd that had finally started to retreat in order began to panic again, trampling, shoving and pushing one another…

Mo Fan was aghast!

He looked up into the sky. The same kinds of giant Flesh Mound Corpse Generals were hurtling in from the distance and crashing into city randomly, like great bombs of flesh!

Mo Fan felt his scalp going numb. No one expected that the Mountain Zombie would simply toss these Flesh Mound Corpse Generals into the city, transporting thousands of undead onto the streets…

It was going to deal a deadly blow to the civilians who were fleeing for their lives!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The streets ahead are filled with undead, what’s going on?!” yelled Mu Bai.

The remaining walls should be able to hold the undead army off for some time, yet why were the streets already filled with so many phantoms, zombies, and skeletons? They were simply chasing and tearing away at any human they stumbled into. The streets were immediately covered in corpses…

“Run, quick, or else the Corpse Official will be targeting us!” Shorty yelled at the other three.

As he shouted, the eyes of the Flesh Mound Corpse Official, which had just disgorged over a thousand undead, slowly moved in their direction. It was clear that the creature was able to specifically detect the presence of Magicians!

The group knew that they stood no chance against a Commander-level undead with their current strength. They were left with no choice but to flee for their lives. If the Corpse Official decided to hunt them down, it would be too late for them to run away!

The four immediately headed for the alleyway nearby, using the buildings for cover.

Above them, only a tiny glimpse of the sky could be seen in the tiny alleyway. They could still catch a glimpse of the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials hurtling across the rainy sky, being thrown deeper into the city.

If each of the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials were able to carry over a thousand undead inside them, in just a few minutes, the undead would simply fill every corner of the city…

The scene was absolutely terrifying. Even Magicians had to flee like mice. It was not an exaggeration to describe the Ancient Capital as on the verge of being overrun.

—–

The rain continued to fall, but the giant golden barrier looming over the inner city provided no resistance to the raindrops. It continued to fall on the streets, covering the historical buildings in the Ancient Capital…

A bell tower stood at the heart of the city. A golden beam of light was rising off it into the sky, serving as the main pillar of the golden barrier opening up like an umbrella above. The arc-shaped light fell right on the perimeter of the inner walls. In addition to that, the four corners of the walls also had Light Formations supporting it.

The entrance to the inner city was wide open. A huge crowd was pushing their way through the entrance. The only reason they were able to escape was because they were not far from the inner walls when the purple alert was sounded.

The inner walls were not huge, but they were protected by the magic barrier. The seemingly ordinary walls were fairly sturdy. Even Commander-level creatures would have a hard time knocking them down.

At the north entrance of the inner walls, the An Yuan Gate that was normally not open to the public was currently occupied by many Magicians. The authorities standing on the observation corridor above the An Yuan Gate were frowning while they waited for the Magic Association to make a decision.

Below the tower, loud curses were rising.

Even the most unpleasant words were being shouted now. When the terrified crowd saw the people standing in the tower on standby, they simply assumed the authorities had no intention of eliminating the undead invading the city. They felt that these Magicians were not worthy of respect, they were only a bunch of cold-blooded animals concerned about looking after themselves…

“Captain, the people are just going to be more disappointed if we wait any longer!” blurted out a young Imperial Magician in panic.

Their curses were extremely unpleasant to the ears, leaving the Magician who was not as focused as the others flushed red.

Weren’t Magicians suppose to step forward at times like this, especially the Imperial Magicians, referred to as The Honorable Magicians by the people of the Ancient Capital!?

The Imperial Magicians were the elite members from the Magic Association, comparable to the Magicians of the Magic Palace. Every single Imperial Magician was an elite specifically chosen from different places. Their squad was also known as the Shield of the City.

However, these Imperial Magicians were ordered to stand here at the inner walls instead. They could not do anything apart from watching the city fall to massive destruction, while the undead were devouring the outer walls like a black tide, covering the streets, the buildings, the open areas, and the crowd…

“Zuo Feng, stay calm!” snapped another Imperial Magician.

“But aren’t you seeing this too? If we continue to hide here instead of driving the undead out of the city, we are not worthy to be called Imperial Magicians!” yelled Zuo Feng in agitation.

The purple and gold-robed captain of the Imperial Magicians simply cast a cold glance at the man called Zuo Feng without saying a word.

A messenger rushed up to the Magicians quickly and blurted out a few words into the ears of the captain.

The captain raised his head. His sharp eyes glanced at the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials scattered across the streets, the parks, the shopping malls, and the buildings coldly!

“All Imperial Magicians, listen up!” the captain suddenly spoke up, his voice ringing out as firmly as the sound of iron being forged!

At that instant, the Magicians in purple robes came to attention. Even the cold raindrops falling from the sky were turning into ice before their auras!

Only Advanced Magicians were allowed to join the Imperial Magicians. How terrifying was the aura produced when a bunch of Advanced Magicians focused?

“Eliminate the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials!” the captain ordered loudly.

As soon as the command was given, it turned out that a third of the Imperial Magicians had the ability to fly. They either drew Star Constellation to summon Wind Wings, or activated their Wing Magical Equipment and soar into the sky. The well-trained Magicians instantly formed into groups of three and flew straight for the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials!

Corpse Officials were creatures that normally required a group of Advanced Magicians to eliminate them, yet these Imperial Magicians in purple robes only split into groups of three. They were utterly fearless facing the Corpse Officials that continued to fall from the sky!

An Advanced Magician would either possess the ability to fly or have mounts to travel around. Those who were unable to fly were not slow, either. They were traveling across the roofs and the tall buildings, flying across the skies above the crowd…

As soon as the Imperial Magicians moved out, a loud cheer immediately arose. The purple-robed Advanced Magicians flew into the distance and soon arrived in all corners of the huge city.

The captain of the Imperial Magicians stayed on the tower. His gaze never left the scene before him.

The messenger from before was still standing beside him. He could not help but ask, “Lu Huan, if I’m not mistaken, your family should be in City South.”

“Mm,” Captain Lu Huan nodded.

“Any news?” asked the messenger.

Lu Huan shook his head.

The messenger fell silent. He glanced at Lu Huan’s determined face, which was still filled with worry.

Most of the time, those in crucial positions were the ones without the freedom to act independently.

As the strongest Super Magician at An Yuan Gate, his job was to kill the bone creature in the sky when it approached…

Apart from that, he was not allowed to go anywhere, or do anything!

He had seen lots of fresh blood being shed, and the piles of bodies on the ground. As a Super Magician, he could have saved them easily with a Super Spell, yet he could not do it. Expending his energy might save those people’s lives, but it might also make him lose to the Nether Bone Ruler.

Once he lost, it would no longer just be a group of people dying, but the whole city!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Damn it, how many of these filthy things are there?” cursed Shorty.

The crowd on the intersecting streets in the city was in a great mess. Even the weakest zombie standing on the street would create a huge panic among the civilians. In addition to that, the fear was contagious, making it harder for the people to evacuate and retreat in good order.

If the people were running for their lives on their own, it would make it harder for the Magicians to look after them.

In this situation, the only thing that the Magicians could do was to eliminate the invaders. The streets, alleyways and shops were overrun by the undead. The enormous Mountain Zombie had tossed tens of thousands of zombies to different places. Each of the Corpse Officials was transporting more than a thousand undead with them. As the undead pursued the people and killed them on sight, life had suddenly become a race and a gamble. Those who were slower would be dragged away by the zombies, and nobody knew if a phantom, its mouth already filled with fresh blood, would be waiting for them at the next junction!

Mo Fan, Zhou Ming, Mu Bai and Shorty had passed several streets. Basically, they could see undead along all the wider streets.

They would try their best to eliminate the undead when they could, yet their energy was limited. Most of the time, they had no choice but to avoid contact with the undead when they were preying on people in large numbers…

It was tough and painful to make the decision. They felt sad and cruel abandoning the civilians, yet there was nothing they could do. In a war like this, everyone was a victim of the disaster. Not only were their lives cheap in the eyes of the undead creatures, even the other people could not help but feel the same way too.

—

“Hurry up, we’ll arrive at Bo City Street after crossing this flyover bridge. I think this area is still safe from the undead,” said Zhou Ming, pointing at a row of densely packed buildings.

“If you headed here following the path you wanted to take initially, it would have taken you more than half an hour longer! Go, bring your people to safety while this place is not crawling with undead yet!” said Shorty.

Mu Bai led the way. He was about to use his Magic Boots to cross the unstable area quickly when Mo Fan stopped him.

“Try not to use your Equipment unless it’s necessary, it might save your life.” Mo Fan was more experienced than Mu Bai, after all.

Mu Bai nodded. Even though he was quite worn out from all the running, he did not use his Boots in the end.

Suddenly, a loud crash came from the half-kilometer long flyover bridge ahead of them!

The four Magicians looked up and discovered a phantom with sharp black wings was now standing on the bridge. Its figure was covered in gray fur. The creature had incredible strength, easily raising a sedan on the bridge with one hand.

The loud crash was the sound produced when it threw the car to the ground. The black sedan was destroyed instantly, and even erupted in flames.

“Help…help, help me…” A cry of agony came from a red vehicle.

Mo Fan glanced ahead and saw the phantom with wings picking up another vehicle. Through the windshield, they could see a woman with disheveled hair poking her head out, her face pale as she screamed for help!

Before anyone could react, the phantom tossed the vehicle over the side of the bridge, and it fell together with the scream of terror from the woman!

“There’s someone in the car!” Zhou Ming was terrified. The place that the vehicle was falling to was less than ten meters away from them!

“Damn it, let’s kill this asshole!” cursed Mo Fan.

In the nick of time, Mo Fan’s figure sank into the shadows from the bridge overhead and quickly went inside the rapidly falling red car…

“Mo Fan!”

“Holy crap, is he trying to kill himself?!” yelled Shorty.

The car was falling from the bridge. It would only take less than two seconds for it to reach the ground. If Mo Fan snuck inside the vehicle with Fleeing Shadow, wouldn’t he be crushed to pieces together with the woman?!

Another loud crash took place. The new red sedan instantly turned into a pile of scrap as it landed on the ground. The parts scattered across the place, some even rolling to the feet of the three Magicians.

At the same time, a pool of black shadow swept past them and stopped under the overpass…

The shadow became clearer; Mo Fan in his black shirt slowly walked out from it, holding a woman who had fallen unconscious in his arms.

“Impressive!” Shorty gave Mo Fan a thumbs-up.

The falling car had its own shadow as it approached the ground, which Mo Fan relied on to quickly escape from the vehicle with Fleeing Shadow before it slammed into the ground. Not only did he have to cast Fleeing Shadow twice within seconds, the courage and agile thinking he displayed was not something that an ordinary Magician had!

“You’re able to draw a Star Orbit with a single thought now?” As expected of the top student Mu Bai, he immediately determined Mo Fan’s cultivation.

Only by mastering the ability to draw a Star Orbit with a single thought would Mo Fan be able to finish casting a Basic Spell in an instant, allowing him to use Fleeing Shadow consecutively.

“Mm, let’s talk about that later. We should kill this phantom first. Otherwise, many people will be killed by it,” Mo Fan pointed upward.

Mo Fan placed the woman under the bridge, and she regained consciousness in just a brief moment. As she was about to express her tearful gratitude, Mo Fan had already turned into a streak of shadow making his way up the bridge…

“Follow me!” Mu Bai quickly cast Ice Lock. The icy chains crossed paths with one another under his control, forming an ice ladder on the pillar of the bridge.

Zhou Ming and Shorty followed Mu Bai up the ladder, going after Mo Fan who had reached the top of the bridge.

“That’s a Demon of Disaster. It likes to hide in the dark like a bat, and flit in the air above its prey, leaving a huge hole in its target’s head. In the next second, brain fluid mixed with blood jets out from the hole,” Zhou Ming was an expert when it came to identifying demon creatures. She could easily identify any creature with a single glance.

“Don’t scare me like that!” Shorty was an experienced Hunter, yet he had never heard of anything like that!

“Either way, just be careful of its index finger. It will suddenly extend forward like a shadow hook. Once it touches your head, you’re dead. Even Magic Armor won’t be able to protect you,” warned Zhou Ming.

Mo Fan heard Zhou Ming’s advice, too. When he arrived on the bridge, he carefully studied the Demon of Disaster’s hand, and noticed that the creature’s hand had one finger which was very long and thin. It could indeed be described as a hook!

“You mentioned that it likes to hide in the dark. Does that mean it has the Shadow Element?” Mo Fan frowned. He could vaguely sense a dark aura from the Demon of Disaster.

“Yeah, so your Giant Shadow Spikes are useless against it. We have to trap it with Mu Bai’s Ice Lock. By the way, this creature is an expert at running away, so we can’t let it learn that we are able to kill it. Otherwise, it will just run away when it senses something isn’t right, and will keep annoying us from above throughout our journey,” explained Zhou Ming.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Creatures like this Demon of Disaster were definitely the deadliest at night. They would circle around in the sky, hiding in the dark, and then deal Magicians a deadly blow. However, during the daytime, its movements were obviously greatly hindered.

The cunning Demon of Disaster would immediately beat its wings to produce a black mist when it saw a group of Magicians trying to flank it.

The mist was similar to the Advanced Spell of Shadow Element, Nyx Regime, yet neither its effect nor coverage were comparable to Nyx Regime.

It would want to create a space that was favorable for it to fight in, yet its tactic was simply useless when there was a Light Magician around!

“Brilliant Light: Purify!” Shorty was an experienced Hunter. As soon as he saw the Demon of Disaster trying to stir up trouble, a milky-white light blossomed on his palm.

He tossed the light right into the center of the black mist. The golden light rays shining forth thoroughly purified the mist, which was similar to the gas produced from a car’s exhaust. Even the stench was gone. Most importantly, they were able to see the creature clearly under the bright light!

“Ice Lock!” Mu Bai cast his Intermediate Ice Spell again.

The frost surrounding him was clear and transparent, beautiful like crystal. It was obvious that the Ice Seed he had was not something ordinary, either.

Four long ice chains appeared simultaneously. Mu Bai controlled them to intertwine swiftly above the Demon of Disaster, forming a web of metallic chains the color of ice looming over it.

The creature was just about to fly into the air to dodge the spells cast by the group when the Ice Lock pressed down on it heavily, dragging it back to the ground!

The ice chains had the effect of Ice Spread. Once it made contact with its target’s skin, the freezing frost would swiftly spread across and penetrate the target’s body. On top of that, it seemed like Mu Bai’s Ice Seed had further increased the effect. The just-wrapped Demon of Disaster was immediately covered in frost by the chains, thoroughly freezing its two arms!

“It can no longer use Fleeing Shadow or fly, it won’t pose any threat to us anymore!” Zhou Ming was overjoyed when she saw Shorty and Mu Bai’s professionalism. They immediately sealed off the Demon of Disaster’s annoying capabilities.

Teaming up with reliable people felt totally different. If they simply gave the Demon of Disaster time to produce the mist or fly into the sky, it would be troublesome to kill it!

“Mo Fan, your turn!” said Shorty.

Mo Fan had already mastered the ability to draw a Star Orbit with a single thought. He no longer needed a long time to finish channeling an Intermediate Spell.

Purple-black Star Orbits connected with one another smoothly, combining into a brilliant Star Pattern…

The restless energy of Lightning appeared. They could even feel the air being scorched by it. When Mo Fan fixed his gaze on the Demon of Disaster, a shocking ray of lightning came down perfectly straight. It lit up the flyover bridge and landed accurately on the Demon of Disaster, right between its wings!

Regardless of how overwhelming the Demon of Disaster’s strength was, the Brilliant Light had blinded it, while the Ice Chain had sealed off its movements. It had completely turned into target practice for Mo Fan!

The damage inflicted when all the Lightning Strikes of the spell Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes landed on the same target was absolutely terrifying. When the third, fourth, and fifth purple-black lightning rays landed on the Demon of Disaster, its body sank into the ground as the impact simply blew a hole in the bridge. Its back was festered and scorched black…

The creature was still alive, yet it had a hard time trying to rise to its feet. The space-trembling effect of Mo Fan’s lightning had impaired its movement. Even though the undead could not feel any pain, the damage inflicted to their important body parts would still affect their ability to move.

“How violent, I’ve never seen anyone that can almost kill a Warrior-level creature with a single Intermediate Spell!” Shorty raised his thumb at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was a typical full DPS Magician. During the group battles in Pearl Institute, whenever he was given a chance to attack, he would simply crush his opponents, and it was the same for Warrior-level creatures. Any other group of Intermediate Magicians would have to work together to barely kill a Warrior-level creature, yet someone like Mo Fan, whose Lightning Element had reached the third level and was further strengthened by a Soul Seed, a single Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes was equivalent to the damage output of a small team!

Zhou Ming was not just standing there to leech xp; she quickly followed up with a Fiery Fist: Groundbreak. The blossoming flames of death devoured the place where the Demon of Disaster was laying, blasting a huge hole into the overpass.

The flames burned fiercely, burning the Demon of Disaster’s wings into ashes. Its figure, burning in the flames, struggled wildly, shoving the vehicles nearby away like toys while uttering a piercing screech.

“Still trying to run away!” Mu Bai controlled the ice chains to weave through the vehicles nimbly and wrapped around the Demon of Disaster’s legs.

As he raised his hand, the ice chains dragged the Demon of Disaster back with brute force. It was quickly turned into black charcoal. Zhou Ming’s flames had an extended burn time, burning longer than normal fires. They simply burned the Demon of Disaster to ash.

“I’ll be taking the undead crystal, that thing is quite useful!” Shorty went up to the Demon of Disaster boldly when he confirmed that the creature was dead.

As expected of an experienced Hunter, the guy adeptly retrieved the undead crystal from the creature’s corpse. The undead crystals of undead that were killed by Lightning or Fire would usually be in good condition…

Undead crystals were basically Magic Ores which contained the energy accumulated by the undead after refining the presence of death for decades. The undead crystals of Servant-class undead were basically useless, but those from Warrior-level creatures were rather valuable.

“Take this, it can replenish your energy. It works with any Element, and is more effective than serums.” Shorty broke the undead crystal in half and handed one half to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s eyes flickered. Energy was his main concern for the time being, especially his Summoning Element. The Nebula of his Summoning Element was a lot dimmer since both the Swift Star Wolf and Flame Belle had fought a long battle. He would become helpless soon if they kept stumbling into undead along the way.

“So this thing is actually quite useful!” Mo Fan placed the undead crystal on his palm. When he directed his will into it, a fresh source of energy flowed back into his body.

Mo Fan decisively inserted the energy into his Summoning Element’s Nebula. The energy of the Summoning Element was little Flame Belle and Swift Star Wolf’s energy intake. Both of them were resting up after they were worn out from the previous battle, yet Mo Fan was unable to provide any energy to them! They were going to encounter more undead along the way. Without their assistance, Mo Fan was not too convinced of the group’s safety!

“There’s a side effect though, when you consume it the first time in a day, it will replenish a quarter of your energy. The second time would only replenish an eighth of your energy, and the third time, the effect would reduce by half again… the energy you can recover from the fifth or sixth time is pretty much negligible,” said Shorty.

“Mm, we’re still a distance away from the inner walls. Let’s try our best to conserve our energy!” Mo Fan said grimly to the others.

Zhou Ming and Mu Bai nodded. They were well aware of how serious the situation was!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Bo City Street was mainly filled with three-story buildings. The first floors were shops facing the street, the second floors were for storage, and the third floors were for residential purposes.

The street was a complete mess. Many buildings were run-down, while toward the end of the street stood a fortified building with a sturdy cage inside, used to hold captured demon creatures.

The cage was spacious, close to the size of a room. Inside it stood half a dozen people, including Wang Sanpang and Zhao Kunsan.

“Please stop crying, I’m begging you! If your noise attracts the undead, we are all going to die!” said Wang Sanpang to the teenage girl beside him.

The girl was sobbing, trying her best not to make any sound, yet her large eyes were filled with tears and terror.

“We can’t just stay here, either; should we try and run away?” said a young man in a black rider jacket.

“Holy crap, didn’t I tell you already, the whole place out there is overrun with zombies! We can’t go there, everyone that went is dead!” blurted out Zhao Kunsan.

Last night at the walls, when Mo Fan and the others went to the tower for the gathering signal, Zhao Kunsan and Wang Sanpang had come home. Who could have thought something so bizarre would happen the next morning?

They were just about to retreat when a giant lump of flesh swept across the sky and landed right on the main street. The street was rather large, but had only a small number of alleyways. The place was already crawling with black zombies and white skeletons. The people who had left in that direction were all dead!

Therefore, Zhao Kunsan and Wang Sanpang tried to gather the people of Bo City here to hide in the cage. However, they only managed to find a few people; the others had already gone missing.

Suddenly, the cry of a zombie came from outside the building.

The faces of the people in the cage fell. Even their breathing halted.

“Don’t come here, don’t come here, go somewhere else, please!” Zhao Kunsan started praying to his god.

However, whatever he prayed for didn’t happen; the zombie smelled fresh living meat and rammed the door open. It ran straight at the cage even though the iron sheet was piercing into its body.

“Damn it, kill it!” cursed Wang Sanpang.

“It’s only one of them, we can kill it together!” Zhao Kunsan let out a relieved sigh.

The two immediately stepped out from the cage. Zhao Kunsan glanced at Wang Sanpang and said, “I’ll keep it busy. You will look for a chance to kill it!”

Wang Sanpang glanced at Zhao Kunsan and responded, “That’s what I wanted to say!”

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A chill ran down their spines simultaneously.

“F**k, one of us has the Wind Element, and the other has the Earth Element. Both our spells are movement spells. How the heck are we going to kill it!?” screamed Zhao Kunsan.

The zombie was already rushing at them. The creature’s speed was two or three times faster than a human’s, which was why commoners were basically dead when they were targeted by the zombies.

The two reacted quickly, immediately casting a third-tier Earth Wave and Wind Track respectively.

Zhao Kunsan ran around the room wildly, and the zombie chased after him…

“Eat this!” As soon as Wang Sanpang cast his Earth Wave, his figure shifted eerily behind the undead. A golden light suddenly blossomed on his palm, swiftly turning into a sharp spike. He stabbed the spike right into the back of the zombie’s head when it was not paying attention!

The glowing spike was deadly against the undead. Even though he did not stab where its undead crystal was, he still managed to kill the zombie with the attack.

As the zombie slowly fell to the ground, Zhao Kunsan uttered a relieved sigh and raised his thumb at Wang Sanpang, “I didn’t know you had a weapon to defend yourself.”

The five people hiding in the cage were relieved too. It turned out that Magicians were still the most reliable at crucial times.

Wang Sanpang retrieved his light spike and glanced outside of the door that had been slammed open. His face turned pale white in the next second.

“Holy crap! Quick, into the cage!” he screamed.

As soon as he uttered the words, the damaged door was suddenly knocked down by a huge impact, followed by several zombies surging into the building. They almost filled up the room, each with sharp fangs and hands stained with fresh blood. It was a scene scary enough for the people to feel their scalps going numb!

The two Magicians quickly fled inside the cage and sealed the door with chains.

The zombies were extremely quick. As they rammed into the cage, it began to buzz slightly.

Some even jumped onto the cage and extended their arms into it, trying to grab the people inside.

The cage was now fully surrounded by zombies, biting and waving their arms trying to get at the people inside and eat them alive.

“This is the end, there are so many of them!” Zhao Kunsan fell to the ground in despair.

“The cage can still last for a while…” said Wang Sanpang.

“It’s only a matter of time before we’re eaten!” The young man in the rider jacket wet his pants!

The undead were the most relentless creatures. Even though the cage was made of special materials, it still could not stand being pounded by the zombies continuously. The bars began to show signs of cracking. One of the zombies even threaded half of its body through the gap!

“Lightning Strike!”

As the trapped people were overwhelmed with despair, an imperious voice sounded from outside the building.

A great swathe lightning serpents wriggled toward the cage and spread through the zombies.

The cage was conductive, so the lightning arcs were transmitted back and forth between the zombies and the cage. Those that were grabbing onto the cage were twitching intensely from the lightning shock!

The Lightning Strike was rather extraordinary, leaving the zombies fully paralyzed on the ground. Their eyes were still staring at the cage in greed, yet they could no longer move their bodies.

The people inside the cage were unharmed, just terrified at seeing the lightning flickering close to them.

When the zombies fell to the ground, the people saw Mo Fan in a black long-sleeve shirt walking into the broken doorway. His hands still had lightning arcs circling them. He was the person who had instantly suppressed the zombies!

“Mo Fan!”

Zhao Kunsan and Wang Sanpang almost dropped to their knees to express their gratitude to the heavens. The rescue had come at such a perfect time!

Meanwhile, the teenage girl and the young man who wet his pants stared at Mo Fan in disbelief. They never thought a single spell would be able to immobilize so many zombies!

“Finish them, or else they will rise again very soon,” Mo Fan’s arms still had Lightning on them. The lightning arcs continued to paralyze the zombies.

After all, the fourth-tier Lightning Strike, which was capable of producing a paralyzing electric field, was the most suitable to handle these zombies with their stiff joints.

Zhou Ming did not show any mercy. She cast a Fire Burst: Burning Bones on each of the zombies on the ground, burning them into ashes while they were still immobilized.

“Just these few?” Mu Bai walked into the room and frowned when he discovered that there were only seven people in the cage, including Zhao Kunsan and Wang Sanpang.

“The others are scattered across the place…”

“We’ll take as many as we can. It’s impossible to try to search for everyone! Let’s go!” said Shorty.

“We can’t take the path ahead,” Wang Sanpang, who was relatively collected, told everyone the situation.

Mo Fan felt his head aching when he heard Wang Sanpang’s words.

It was obvious that there was a Flesh Mound Corpse Official right on the main street ahead, with over a thousand undead in the area. It was impossible to proceed forward without going a long way around it.

“Let’s take a look first. It should be fine as long as we don’t fight the Corpse Official. If we try to go around it, the army of undead behind might catch up to us,” said Mo Fan.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was a fairly spacious street, with shops, shopping malls, office buildings and structures along the way. However, they were not many alleyways on the sides, while the main path toward the An Yuan Gate was occupied by the undead.

It went without saying that the street would have the highest number of civilians, thus the majority of the undead headed straight for it. As a result, the whole street was basically filled with undead. On top of that, a Flesh Mound Coprse Official the size of a building was sitting right in the middle of the street, like a mountain of flesh. Even Magicians would have a hard time trying to pass it.

Mo Fan and his crew were not afraid of facing a crowd of zombies. They could easily handle Warrior-level undead too, but in the case of the Flesh Mound Corpse Official, they would still die even if they were given ten thousand lives.

They carefully approached the street and discovered that the whole place was indeed crawling with all kinds of skeletons, zombies, and phantoms. Most terrifyingly, there were quite a few Corpse Generals and Skeleton Generals among them!

The street was stained with blood, with dead bodies spread across the place. It was simply a scene of the apocalypse.

“This is nothing but a dead street,” said Shorty, up on the balcony of a building, with a trembling voice.

Glancing down from above, they could see people who were totally unaware of the situation making their way toward the street. Even Magicians would not be able to survive after running into the undead, let alone civilians!

“There are too many of them, it will be hard for us to make our way through with just the few of us,” Mu Bai pointed out.

“It’s possible that there are other Magicians nearby. We can find them and team up. Otherwise, we’re all going to die here,” said Shorty.

Mo Fan nodded. The undead on the street were too dense. It would be a tough fight trying to make their way through.

Their biggest problem was the Flesh Mound Corpse Official. Once they caught its attention, they would all die here.

“I’ll go and look for people,” Shorty was decisive in situations like this. He quickly vanished from the group.

“I’ll take a look at the situation ahead. Mu Bai, Zhou Ming, you two stay here to protect them,” said Mo Fan, who did not want to wait there and do nothing.

There were civilians in their group. It was not reasonable to simply barge their way through. They would have to clear a path so the people of Bo City Street could make it to the other end safely.

“Alright, be careful,” said Zhou Ming.

Mo Fan was already gone when his words were still echoing through the building they were hiding in.

—

It was extremely easy for Mo Fan to move around in an area with many buildings like this. He could move freely as long as there were shadows. The overlapping shadows of the buildings and the blind corners served as stepping stones for Mo Fan, allowing him to move forward freely…

Mo Fan jumped down from a balcony, holding onto the iron bars of a window, before propelling himself to another balcony on a shorter building.

The balcony was in the dark as the tall office building beside it had blocked off the sunlight. Mo Fan’s figure sank into the shadows like falling into water as he arrived on the balcony. He went missing for a few seconds.

Not long after, Mo Fan appeared from the other side of the balcony. His eyes were observing the death street only a building away.

Mo Fan lowered his eyes and glanced at the alleyway drenched in rain. He fell freely from the balcony and landed on the umbrella outside of a coffee shop…

Mo Fan utilized the bounce of the umbrella to land safely on the ground. To his surprise, he saw a phantom under the umbrella when he turned around.

The phantom had horns on its head, with a pointy, long jaw. Fangs poked out from its mouth like a boar, and its face was entirely red.

It was roaming aimlessly in the area when a human fell from the sky after the umbrella shuddered for a moment. The phantom stared right into Mo Fan’s eyes, with a blossoming lust rising in it!

“Lightning Strike!”

The phantom uttered a weird cry and lunged at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nimbly hopped aside, dodging the pounce, and fired lightning from his palm.

The lightning arcs cracked loudly as they crawled over the phantom. The shock from the lightning arcs scorched the skin of the phantom and left it twitching on the ground, as if it were performing a fascinating dance of electricity.

Mo Fan’s Lightning Strike was quite powerful. Meanwhile, the phantom turned out to be fairly weak. The lightning arcs took its life as soon as they penetrated the creature’s body. A small Soul Remnant floated into the Little Loach Pendant.

“It’s dead already?” Mo Fan was quite surprised, but he did not overthink it.

The building ahead was the only thing between him and the dead street. There was a coffee shop right behind the building. Mo Fan simply hid inside the coffee shop and slowly made his way forward to check out the situation on the dead street.

—

After passing the coffee shop, Mo Fan arrived in a huge hall.

There were a few skeletons roaming aimlessly inside the hall. Mo Fan did not engage, turning into a shadow sweeping across the ceiling to pass them by.

Further ahead was the dead street. The windows of the shop facing the street were smashed, leaving glass scattered across the floor. Inside the shop was the corpse of a man whose face was bitten beyond recognition. Judging from his clothes, he was most likely the worker in the shop.

A few mannequins were knocked down in the display corner. Mo Fan hid behind the mannequins. The Fleeing Shadow allowed him to merge with the dim background and conceal his presence. The low-ranked undead would not be able to discover his presence for a while.

Outside the window was the dead street. The place was slightly wider than Mo Fan first observed from the balcony. He could not cross the street with Fleeing Shadow even if he wanted to.

At a rough glance, there were more than two hundred zombies, skeletons, and phantoms, with three to four Warrior-level undead nearby. Even a group of elite Intermediate Magicians would have a hard time clearing a path.

There was nothing he could do. The place where the Flesh Mound Corpse Official landed would be crawling with undead. Mo Fan could only hope that Shorty managed to find some reliable Magicians. They would only have a chance of crossing the street by working together.

Mo Fan checked his surroundings and discovered a cross-section with less undead. It turned out to be a zebra crossing.

After the zebra crossing was a narrow pedestrian walk. If the group could somehow make it to the pedestrian walk, the undead chasing them from behind would be restricted by the buildings on both sides, helping the group escape.

“Mm? A Magician that can fly?” Mo Fan was about to leave when he saw a Magician in a purple outfit standing on the restaurant opposite the shop he was in.

Wind Wings were rotating behind the man’s back. Even though the wings were not beating, the air surrounding the man was spinning rapidly.

The man in purple outfit seemed to have come here to observe the situation too. His gaze crossed the street and locked onto Mo Fan, who was disguising himself as a mannequin!

“How many people do you have, Shadow Magician?” the man’s voice suddenly came from across the street. It was so clear to Mo Fan that it felt like the man was talking right beside him.

Mo Fan was startled, before recalling that Xinxia had used the same method to talk to him before.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The guy could transmit his voice, but how was Mo Fan going to respond back?

Would they have to take out their phones, open up WeChat and shake at the same time to add each other as friends? Perhaps the Advanced Wind Magician in the purple outfit could tell Mo Fan his phone number…

The truth was, either way was terrible. The demon creatures were extremely sensitive toward any form of signal. Even sending someone an emoji would simply give the demon creatures nearby a GPS coordinate, urging them to rush toward the signal.

“We have four Intermediate Magicians, two Basic Magicians and five civilians, but one of us is trying to gather the people nearby,” Mo Fan had no clue how to respond. He simply mumbled to himself, not sure if the Advanced Magician could hear him.

Mo Fan had guessed right. The Magician soon responded.

“Try and gather as many people as you can. My other two comrades and I will handle the Flesh Mound Corpse Official, so you can take hold of the opportunity to cross the street together with the others… Make sure you have enough Intermediate Magicians, as we’ll have to focus on dealing with the Flesh Mound Corpse Official, you will have to deal with the Servant-class and Warrior-level undead on your own,” said the Magician in the purple robe.

“Not a problem, I’ll immediately bring the message back, and gather the people here to cross the street,” replied Mo Fan.

“Thanks, if someone is hesitating, tell them that we are the Imperial Magicians. My name is Zuo Feng, I hope they won’t miss this chance to escape!” said the Magician.

“Imperial Magicians… oh, ok!”

—

Mo Fan immediately returned to the place everyone was hiding at. To Mo Fan’s astonishment, there were less than ten people when he left, but the room was now filled with people. There were forty to fifty more people!

Mo Fan had to admit that he was impressed by Shorty’s ability to gather people. He had managed to convince four or five groups of people to join them. On top of that, most of the people were Magicians, only twenty of them were civilians!

Obviously, Shorty had purposely recruited groups with more Magicians. Based on Mo Fan’s understanding, Shorty was not the kind of person that would do a good deed.

The civilians would easily become a burden if there were too many of them. Indeed, Shorty never assumed himself to be a righteous Magician with the obligation to save everyone’s life.

“Someone who referred to himself as an Imperial Magician is on the other side of the street. He is asking us to gather as many people as we can and make our way across the street while they are dealing with the Flesh Mound Corpse Official,” Mo Fan informed the crowd inside the room.

“Imperial Magicians, they are here. We’re saved!” yelled a middle-aged Magician with a beanie in relief.

“Awesome, it seems like the Imperial Magicians are finally making their moves. I told you not to give up!” said a Battlemaga with thick makeup.

“With the Imperial Magicians clearing a path for us, we should be able to make it safely…”

“No no no, listen to me, the Imperial Magicians will handle the Corpse Official, but they have no time to handle the undead on the street. We’ll have to face them on our own,” repeated Mo Fan grimly.

“No way, aren’t they here to save us?” One of the teenage girls started sobbing.

“Don’t panic, don’t panic!. We have many Magicians here too, so as long as we stay in order and wait for the perfect chance to cross, we still have a hope of surviving. I’m an Intermediate Plant Magician. Just trust us,” said the Battlemaga with thick makeup.

“Yeah, don’t underestimate us, didn’t that Shorty over there say that too? They have four Intermediate Magicians from their group, and each one is an expert too. Even though I’m only at the Basic Level, my Element is Fire. If those undead dare to come, I’ll let them have a piece of my Fire Burst: Rupture!”

The group was quite good overall, and everyone was aware that they had to work together in order to cross the street safely, so they were willing to comply with the arrangement.

Shorty, Zhou Ming, Mo Fan, and Mu Bai’s group were all Intermediate Magicians. They were the strongest among them. Therefore, the other groups were willing to follow their orders.

“Mu Bai, what do you think?” asked Mo Fan.

“I think we need more people,” said Mu Bai frankly.

“Yeah, strength in numbers,” Zhou Ming nodded.

“No, no, that doesn’t work in this situation, but everyone here should know about termite survival theory?” Mu Bai immediately displayed his wisdom as a top student.

“Termite survival theory? I didn’t really study a lot, I have no idea what that means,” said the middle-aged man in the beanie.

“A group of termites is moving their habitat, but the path ahead iss suddenly set aflame. If they simply try to cross the fire on their own, they will be burned to death. Therefore, the termites hugged together into a huge ball of termites and rolled toward the flames… soon, the termites on the outer layer died, followed by the next few layers, but the majority of them managed to cross the wall of fire,” explained Mu Bai to the crowd calmly.

The room fell silent instantly. Everyone’s face turned grim.

“He’s right, it’s impossible for everyone to cross the street safely. We have to accept the reality. There are just too few of us, so we can’t form a thick ball still like the termites. We’re all going to die if we try to cross the street, but if we have enough people, some might die, but the rest would still reach the other end safely,” said a man with a mustache.

The man was wearing a formal suit. He was most likely the CEO of some company based in one of the office buildings nearby. He was a civilian, yet his awareness was a lot better than the others who were extremely worried.

Apart from luck, civilians involved in a disaster like this had to have good awareness. If they did not make use of the chances given to them to escape and retreat, they would most likely end up dead!

“I guess that’s the only way, I know a group of people hiding on the roof of an apartment, I’ll call them over.”

“There should be another group in the basement of the parking lot, but they don’t have any Magicians. Should I call them along too?”

“The handsome guy was very clear; there would be sacrifices, but the key is to have as many people as we can. The more people we have, the lower the chance of us dying. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t Magicians, we just need living humans. Call them along!” exclaimed a woman in leather pants who looked like a model.

“Just tell them to join us if they want to escape this place. This is the last train, but safety isn’t guaranteed… those who think otherwise should just wait here,” Shorty told the people who went to recruit more people.

——

The crowd proceeded to search for more people. In order to increase the chance of them surviving, they tried their very best to gather the people nearby.

It would be better if there were more Magicians, since they could hold off the undead for a little longer, but it was fine if there were not, since they would simply be a flock of sheep crossing the river, with some among them getting eaten by the crocodiles!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan stood on a tall balcony and glanced down. He saw that the crowd was already squeezing their way out of the building.

Their tiny heads were swarming forward with a loud noise, as if a huge protest was going on with boards and banners waving “Say No to the Undead!”

He roughly estimated the crowd numbered at least seven hundred people!

There were not many Magicians in the crowd. Previously, there were only thirty Magicians in the building, but after recruiting six hundred more people, there were ninety Magicians in total, less than a hundred. On top of that, most of them were only Basic Magicians.

There were only seventeen Intermediate Magicians, including himself, Shorty, Zhou Ming, and Mu Bai.

As for the other thirteen Magicians, only two of them had Soul Seeds. Therefore, it was extremely impractical for them to try clearing a path through over a thousand undead.

The world had always been cruel. Mo Fan felt like he had done everything he could. He could only pray that fewer people would die when they were trying to cross to the other side of the street on the zebra-crossing…

The thousand undead were scattered along the dead street, therefore not everyone would be immediately targeted by an undead. Mo Fan speculated that around a hundred people would be dragged into the water by the crocodiles.

A one-seventh chance of dying. Apart from those whose brains had already gone blank because of overwhelming fear, most people would rather bet their lives on it instead.

When Mo Fan was thinking about how petty the human race was, a quarrel broke out on the surface.

“Don’t let me repeat it again; let people with infants stay in the middle!” said Shorty coldly as he grabbed a man in a leather jacket.

“What right does he have, he’s an adult too! Is it just because he’s carrying a baby? I would have picked up an infant along the way too! I’ve seen many kids who no one even cares about!” challenged the man in the leather jacket.

“Are you daring me to throw you onto the street now?” Shorty did not waste any time with the man. He simply dragged him out from the crowd.

“Alright, alright, I’ll listen to you, I’ll let him go inside…” The man in the leather jacket was no match for Shorty. He had never seen such an immoral Magician.

“Damn it, you just have to force me to be rough with you. Everyone, listen up; kids who are shorter than one twenty centimeters will stay in the middle. Those who are on the outside, shut the f**k up, since us Magicians who are risking our lives for you without getting paid will be on the outermost layer!” yelled Shorty furiously.

“But people who are carrying kids when they are adults themselves…” someone blurted out among the crowd.

It was difficult to control the situation involving so many people. Everyone was seeing their own life as precious, no one would want to be on the outer layers, since they were the easiest targets.

“I’ll leave this little guy to you,” To stop the crowd from rioting, the man carrying the little boy expressionlessly handed the kid to one of the elderly women.

The woman was wearing dancing shoes. She had most likely woken up early in the morning to attend a dance in the public square. The woman received the crying kid and said, “I still haven’t heard from my poor grandchild. Don’t worry, I’ll look after your son.”

The man with gray hair nodded. He proceeded to the outermost layer without commenting further.

“Humph, are you satisfied now? If so, then shut the f**k up. Us Wind Magicians worked hard to keep the undead away just so everyone can group up here. I don’t want you attracting their attention again,” Shorty snarled unpleasantly.

After venting his grudge, Shorty raised his head and gave Mo Fan a signal, telling him that the crowd was about to cross the street!

A crowd of seven hundred people… the truth was, it did not really matter who was on the inner or outer layers. The people would surely panic while crossing the street, the situation was going to be messy. It was purely a matter of luck when it came down to who would survive in the end…

“Mo Fa, I’ll leave the high ground to you.” Mu Bai, who had somehow become the leader of the group without him noticing, said to Mo Fan up on the balcony.

“Mm,” Mo Fan nodded.

The truth was, Mo Fan was not a natural leader. He was able to make quick decisions in his own view, thus he had no problem leading a small group of Magicians. However, he was not very capable of leading a large group like this.

For those who kept complaining, if Mo Fan felt annoyed, he would simply end those idiots’ lives before the undead were involved.

—

“By the way, shouldn’t I be covering the high ground? My primary Element is Wind, and my secondary Element is Water. Either the Wind Disc or the Rolling Wave has a huge coverage area to sweep the undead away, I’m more suitable for the job,” said an ordinary-looking Magician, who obviously came from a renowned family.

“Du Lekang, stop trying to make decisions on your own. Let’s focus on crossing the street,” said the girl with him.

“I’m just worried, he looks like he’s only in the twenties. How strong could he be, at least I’m-” said Du Lekang.

“Enough with your crap, the people are moving, we Magicians should focus on protecting them.”

Du Lekang glanced up at Mo Fan on the higher ground. He was not too convinced about leaving such an important role to Mo Fan.

—

Mo Fan was not too bothered. He was responsible for eliminating huge groups of undead and communicating with the Imperial Magician Zuo Feng from before.

With such a large crowd, it was impossible to hide their presence for long. They would soon attract the attention of the Flesh Mound Corpse Official in the middle of the street. Once the Corpse Official started making its way toward them, there would not be one to two hundred casualties, it was possible that the whole group would be wiped out!

Therefore, they had to wait until the Imperial Magicians engaged the Corpse General and lured it and some other Warrior-level undead far away from the crowd. Otherwise, they would have trouble crossing the street safely.

“Shadow Magician, we’re about to engage, ask your people to prepare themselves. Remember, you have to be quick, we can’t guarantee that the Corpse Official won’t turn around and focus on the crowd instead!” Zuo Feng voice came.

His voice was still echoing in Mo Fan’s ears when a sudden gust swept across the street, breaking the glasses on the nearby buildings!

Mo Fan glanced ahead and immediately saw the Imperial Magician named Zuo Feng!

The Wind Wings on his back were extraordinarily glamorous, almost four meters long when fully extended. A gust in the shape of a spiral followed behind his figure…

As Zuo Feng beat his wings, he glided rapidly across the buildings utilizing the Wind Track the wings had produced. Even the puddles on the ground could only reflect a blurry figure!

The undead on the ground felt something sweeping past above them. As they slowly turned their heads around, the Imperial Magician had already flown a hundred meters past them. The group of idiotic creatures finally chased after him!

“This Zuo Feng purposely lured a group of undead away just so it’s safer for the people to cross the street. He’s a nice guy!” exclaimed Mo Fan.

A moment later, while the undead was less dense, Mo Fan gave Mu Bai the signal.

Mu Bai finally ‘blew the horn’ to signal the people to advance forward. The people in front did not want to move at the start, but when the people behind shoved them forward, they were forced to move, as they would be trampled to death if they remained still…

As such, the crowd began to move forward. Seven hundred people had suddenly turned into a suicide squad as they rushed out from the building, straight toward the street that was crawling with undead!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As the winds swept past the street, even the raindrops were falling at a slant.

Zuo Feng flew past the street while maintaining the same altitude. He could see the enormous lump of flesh in the middle of the avenue.

The Corpse General had a pair of muscular legs, like those of a toad. At the same time, it could withdraw its legs and turn itself into a round ball of flesh, which could easily collapse the buildings on both sides of the street when it was rolling. Half of the buildings that were standing before had collapsed!

The Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s movement speed was fairly slow. Its mouth occupied half of its entire body, like the huge entrance of a mountain, with a bottomless belly.

As a matter of fact, the size of the Flesh Mound Corpse Official was similar to a giant house, yet its belly was rather unique, as if it would not expand even if containing over a thousand undead inside.

Zuo Feng was less than two hundred meters away from the Flesh Mound Corpse Official when he halted. He was not intimidated by the Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s terrifying appearance or strength, but many Phantom Generals covered in blood-stained gray clothes had suddenly appeared in front of him.

There were more than ten Phantom Generals in total, each circling the Flesh Mound Corpse Official continuously, like a pet spirit. To Zuo Feng, it simply looked like a bunch of flies flying over a giant lump of poop.

The Phantom Generals kept on producing the gas of death. The presence of death was so thick that any living thing nearby could no longer breathe.

At the start, Zuo Feng’s vision was shrouded by the black gas, preventing him from seeing what the Flesh Mound Corpse Official was up to. When he finally arrived before the creature, he subconsciously gasped!

The Flesh Mound Corpse Official remained in place, but the Phantom Generals had turned into workers moving dead bodies to the Corpse Official. The corpses of dead people mauled beyond recognition were placed in front of the Flesh Mound Corpse Official. Meanwhile, the Flesh Mound Corpse Official opened its mouth and swallowed the dead bodies or even some that were still holding onto their last breath into its belly.

Its long tongue was like a production belt in a factory, transporting corpses and living humans alike into its stomach…

Meanwhile, below the Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s main jaws was another smaller mouth that kept on spitting something out, which turned out to be skeletons!

These skeletons were obviously freshly produced. They were totally clueless about how to move their bodies at the start. However, the skeletons soon became new members of the undead family and began searching for living things nearby.

“It’s refining the corpses to produce skeletons!” Zuo Feng shivered in fear.

No wonder the Flesh Mound Corpse Official remained stationary. It turned out that it was producing skeletons continuously!

Everyone killed by the Phantom Generals was carried away and placed in front of the Flesh Mound Corpse Official. Meanwhile, the Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s stomach was obviously a place with the utmost presence of yin. Even living humans would be turned into skeletons within a short period of time after they were thrown inside it, let alone dead people…

No wonder the number of undead on the street kept on increasing. Any Magicians were also worn out after handling the undead across the city. These Flesh Mound Corpse Officials were actually turning the people of the city into undead, like mobile factories!

“We have to let the higher-ups know about this, or else the whole city is going to be turned into undead!” Zuo Feng said to his two comrades grimly.

“Normal communication device are no longer usable. This whole place is filled with the strong presence of death.

“This is extremely important, you should go back to the inner city at once and tell the higher-ups to send Advanced Magicians out to eliminate these Flesh Mound Corpse Officials as soon as possible!” said Zuo Feng.

The other two Imperial Magicians did not expect that the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials were capable of producing skeletons, either. The city had millions of people. At the rate that the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials were turning people into skeletons, the whole city would be overrun with an army of skeletons before the tide of undead reached the city!

“I’ll go back at once, but you two will have to handle it alone…” said the Imperial Magician with Magic Wings on his back.

“Don’t worry, we can handle it,” said Zuo Feng.

The Flesh Mound Corpse Officials were definitely a huge threat to the city. The longer they were around, the threat they would have to face would grow to be even more unimaginable.

The Winged Magician nodded. He immediately retreated and flew toward the inner walls through an alleyway.

—-

As soon as the Imperial Magician left, Mo Fan, who was at a greater height soon learned the situation.

“What’s happening?!” Mo Fan yelled at Zuo Feng, hoping that the Imperial Magician could hear him across the distance.

“The Flesh Mound Corpse Officials are continuously producing skeletons! The reason why this whole place is crawling with skeletons is because that creature is able to turn any dead or living humans into a skeleton after devouring them!” replied Zuo Feng, using the Psychic Element.

Mo Fan was shocked.

From his position, he could only see a black mist surrounding the Flesh Mound Corpse Official. He was unable to see what the creature was doing clearly, although it was clear that its surroundings were crawling with an army of skeletons. It turned out that the creature was producing them from corpses!

The new finding was simply too terrifying!

It was disastrous enough that the people of the city had died at the hands of the undead, yet even their bodies were forcibly turned into skeletons instead of being buried…

The freshly produced skeletons would continue to kill, and the dead would be tossed into the Corpse Official’s stomach to produce new skeletons. The cycle would repeat endlessly. The people of the Ancient Capital were all going to be turned into undead in no time!

How terrifying was that!?

“Tell the people to cross the street as soon as possible. If all seven hundred people die here, they will form an army of skeletons. My comrade has gone back to request backup, so you have to hurry too!” Zuo Feng’s voice was slightly trembling. It seemed like the Advanced Magician was also feeling the urgency!

Anyone would feel a chill deep in their soul after they learned how the undead were able to reinforce their army through the deaths of the living!

“I… got it!” Mo Fan finally recovered from his astonishment.

His gaze shifted back to the crowd crossing the street. However, for some reason, all Mo Fan could see was a bunch of white skeletons…

No way, he would not let them die here! Otherwise, the army of skeletons would surely deal a devastating blow to any survivors!

—

“Quick! Quick! The zombies are coming, to the other side of the street. There are Magicians there waiting for us!” Mu Bai stood on top of a bus and yelled at the crowd.

“Earth Magicians, faster, push the vehicles on the road aside, push them further!” yelled Zhou Ming at the Magicians beside her as she led the way.

The long zebra-crossing was stacked with vehicles. Their plan was to let the Earth Magicians clear a path by pushing the vehicles out of the way. Not only would it give the people a clear path to escape to the other side, the vehicles would also form barriers on both sides and slow down the undead!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Ice Lock, use Ice Lock to tie the vehicles together as barriers!” Shorty ordered in a loud voice.

The disciple of some renowned family, named Du Lekang, was also an Ice Magician, same as Mu Bai. They both used their ice chains to tie the vehicles scattered on the streets together, stacking them up into a tall barrier.

{TL Note: I thought he was a Wind + Water Magician a few chapters ago. Author please…}

The group did have a fair number of Magicians. It was not too difficult for them to clear a path and stack the vehicles on both sides. Basically, the barriers were completed by the time the crowd at the front reached the zebra-crossing!

Soon, people started crossing the street like a slowly flowing river. The people in the front were mostly men in their robust years. They were able to speed up the flow behind without blocking the way ahead.

The women and children were in the middle, surrounded by the men. At the start, everyone tried their best to stay in formation to protect the women and kids so they would not lose their way among the crowd. However, when the cries of undead rose from all directions, and undead approached the barriers on both sides, the crowd immediately turned into a mess. Anyone who fell to the ground would be trampled by countless feet, it did not matter if they were old people, kids, or women.

“Those who tripped, try your best to curl yourself up, use your hands to protect your heads and chest!” Shorty yelled when he saw many people falling to the ground.

It always felt the safest staying in a crowd, but when everyone was panicking, it was scarier than fighting against the undead. The Magicians were able to hold the undead off with their spells, yet they could not use their spells to save the people on the ground.

“Forget about the people on the ground, a bunch of them are coming, there are too many of them!” the Magician with thick makeup screamed at Shorty.

The Magicians were all standing on top of the wall of cars, yet packs of undead were already lunging at them before the crowd was even halfway across the street. The cars, buses, and jeeps were unable to slow them down at all, as they could simply hop between the roofs of the cars. Each leap moved them ten meters closer to the crowd. Their physical capabilities were far higher than a human’s!

Most terrifyingly, the number of zombies, skeletons, and phantoms was overwhelming. The cries and screams of the crowd, and the ground shaking as they ran, attracted every undead within a kilometer toward them!

“Ten o’clock, thirty of them, thirty zombies are coming!” screamed the Battlemaga with thick makeup, paling.

Shorty and the woman were responsible for guarding in that direction, yet they were both busy handling a group of phantoms nearby. They would not be able to hold the zombies off.

“Mo Fan, are you waiting for New Year!” yelled Shorty at the top of his lungs.

A few seconds after the yell, a blazing fireball descended from above and exploded right in the middle of the zombies!

Not only did the flames rose up in a huge mushroom cloud, it even detonated the vehicles nearby. The flames spread rapidly as sharp fragments of the exploded vehicles flew in all directions. The zombies were either scorched black or punctured by the fragments…

“I’ll leave the rest to you, there are more coming from the other side,” Mo Fan’s voice came from above.

Shorty spat on the ground and slammed his Fiery Fist at the ground, producing a magnificent Groundbreak that launched the remaining zombies into the sky.

“Why is your second-tier Fiery Fist: Groundbreak weaker than that guy’s first-tier Fiery Fist: Exploding Heaven?” asked the Battlemaga with thick makeup.

“Shut up!” Shorty felt humiliated when he realized that his spell had killed less than ten zombies.

—

At the front of the crowd, the ice chains of Mu Bai and Du Lekang danced in the sky above the crowd, knocking away the undead that were trying to jump into the crowd.

Du Lekang was still too naive because of his youth, still trying to compete with others in a situation like this. He was trying to control five ice chains at once…

However, he had to focus more in order to control a higher number of ice chains. He did not realize that a phantom was sneaking toward him quickly.

“Du Lekang, a Phantom General!” Luckily, his girlfriend reminded him after noticing the creature in time.

Du Lekang turned around and discovered a creature with legs like a spider had crawled onto the bus. It immediately lashed out at him!

Du Lekang was fairly quick with his reactions. He immediately summoned an ice chain back, trying to wrap it around the Phantom General.

To his surprise, the Phantom General was extremely agile. It spun around the bus, dodging the ice chain with ease, before six limbs with icy edges were raised to stab through him.

Du Lekang summoned his Shield Equipment in panic. It was a shield made of deep ocean blue orbs densely packed together. Its defense was not particularly outstanding. It managed to save Du Lekang’s life, yet six bloody holes were left on his body.

The wounds were close to Du Lekang’s arteries. His blood immediately jetted out from the holes!

“Lekang! Someone save him!” Du Lekang’s girlfriend screamed out in panic.

The number of undead was not less than the crowd. Even Mu Bai, who was the closest to him was being kept busy by twenty skeletons nearby. He did not have a chance to cast a spell to help Du Lekang.

The Phantom General’s savage face had a vicious look when it realized its attack had only inflicted serious injuries to its target. It adjusted its position and purposely waited for the Shield Equipment to disappear before giving him a fatal blow.

The Shield Equipment did not last long. The Phantom General crouched slightly to accumulate its strength!

Suddenly, a purple-black lightning bolt appeared in the sky above the Spider Phantom General. Its was almost as tall as the building next to it!

The lightning struck the Spider Phantom General. The cunning creature sank into the roof on the bus. Before it could recover, another lightning bolt struck the creature again!

The roof of the bus exploded as the creature was blasted into the bus. Its body was scorched black.

The elegant yet destructive lightning appeared again. It passed through the hole on the bus’ roof and landed on the Spider Phantom General.

The Spider Phantom General trembled, its bones thoroughly shattered.

When the cunning creature thought it had all come to an end, more Lightning Strikes landed on it mercilessly!

The bottom of the bus was blasted open. The Spider Phantom General fell through the hole to the ground. Even the surface was cracked open…

The continuous Lightning Strikes were utterly imperious, blasting the creature from the roof of the bus to the ground. Its back was punctured by the lightning rays, its limbs were doing a final dance as its life force drained away.

Meanwhile, Du Lekang was still bleeding heavily on the roof of the bus. He raised his head and glanced at the young man in the black outfit in disbelief.

“Lightning Element… so he’s a Lightning Magician!” Du Lekang finally understood why everyone had let him take the higher ground.

“That guy up there, his firepower is as strong as a small team of Magicians!” Mu Bai stated after seeing Du Lekang’s reaction.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A green Soul Remnant floated out from the bottom of the bus and was slowly drawn inside the Little Loach Pendant.

It was quite effective to refine Warrior-level Soul Remnants into Servant-class Soul Essences. Mo Fan, who was focusing on killing the undead, somehow discovered that another Soul Essence had been refined.

Lately, the battle and killing had been ongoing for quite some time. The Little Loach had been working twenty-four hours everyday to refine Soul Essences for Mo Fan. The number of Soul Essences had risen rapidly.

More undead continued to make their way toward the crowd. Mo Fan glanced at the people and discovered that some of the men in their robust years who were leading the way had reached the other side of the street. The whole zebra-crossing was filled with people, Mo Fan could only see their heads pushing against one another…

However, even with over ninety Magicians protecting the barriers, some phantoms with eerie movement ../styles managed to sneak past the defense and land among the crowd.

These phantoms had sharp claws. Following every icy slash, some people would fall to the ground with blood jetting out from the cuts. They had no chance of defending themselves.

Luckily, the momentum as the crowd moved together was quite strong, too. These phantoms only dared kill the people on the outer layer, so they could only kill a limited number of people.

The low-level undead were creatures that were both greedy and stupid. If some zombies or phantoms managed to kill a human, the others who smelled the fresh blood would simply lunge at the fresh corpse. Therefore, the death of a single person would always buy time for the others, until the undead had finished enjoying the fresh meat, blood, and delicious organs from the corpse…

Mo Fan could not do anything to the undead that had snuck into the crowd. Even though he could kill them instantly with a Fiery Fist, he would end up killing more people than the undead. The situation was basically the survival of termites, as Mu Bai had mentioned…

As more undead snuck past the defense, more bodies fell to the ground. Each second someone screamed for help as they dropped to the pools of blood on the ground. Meanwhile, other people safely reached the other side of the street.

Mo Fan had long learned the cruelty of this world. The truth was, every battle that happened in this world would have casualties comparable to this invasion of the undead.

Mo Fan pinched the black Undead Crystal he had acquired to pieces. Wisps of energy flowed into his Lightning Nebula under his control…

An eighth!

It was Mo Fan’s second time using a Warrior-level Undead Crystal to replenish his energy. As Shorty had mentioned, he could only replenish an eighth of his energy.

Taking a deep breath, Mo Fan drew a Star Pattern without any expression. The ability to draw a Star Orbit with a thought allowed him to cast Basic Spells instantly.

His hands were flickering with lightning. He tossed the lightning right at the zombies outside the barriers. The lightning arcs quickly formed electric fields, spreading between the zombies.

However, they were simply too many zombies. The effect of the shock was significantly reduced when more zombies were caught in the field. As such, they were not actually fully paralyzed. The zombies rammed into the barriers made of vehicles and soon broke a hole through. More undead surged through the defense and immediately lunged at the crowd!

Mo Fan was initially going to turn around, but when he heard the screams of kids, he clenched his teeth with a pale face and forcefully drew another Star Orbit…

The moon-colored Star Orbit tore a gap in the air, from which a wounded wolf leapt out and landed close to the gap where the zombies had broken through.

“Kill them all!” Mo Fan gave the order to the Swift Star Wolf!

The Swift Star Wolf landed among the undead. It turned into a ray of light falling in the air and stomped the ground with great might, knocking more than ten zombies into the air.

The Swift Star Wolf created some space and uttered a roar into the sky, summoning strong winds and sweeping the dust nearby into a wild storm with the Swift Star Wolf in the center.

The pieces of rocks hit the zombies hard, yet they had no sense of pain. However, as the tornado grew stronger, the zombies were lifted off the ground and tossed into the air, before being torn apart by the strong wind or the wolf’s claws.

The storm of dust was gradually dyed red, as countless of zombies and phantoms were torn to pieces.

The storm finally dissipated, followed by a rain of blood pouring down from the sky.

The kids and teenagers who were left behind the crowd turned around in shock and discovered that the zombies were all gone. The only things that were left were amputated limbs, inner organs, and lumps of meat and blood…

In the middle of the rain of blood stood a handsome wolf whose hair was dyed red. It was panting heavily, puffing out white air.

Scars, new cuts, and festering wounds were all across the beast’s body, yet it continued to follow behind the crowd. Whenever a zombie or phantom was close, it would tear at the undead and rip it in half.

“He…heal!”

A young teenager bit his lips after calling out the spell’s name. Sacred white stars were connected slowly one by one, and started to shake, especially when the count reached the sixth and seventh Stars. The whole Star Orbit could crumble at anytime.

The teenager had a determined gaze. His forehead was covered in sweat as he finished channeling the Basic Spell.

The glow of the Healing Spell finally appeared on his palm like fireflies. The young teenager with tender skin joyfully tossed the spell toward the Swift Star Wolf.

When the long wound on the Swift Star Wolf’s back was sprinkled with the glowing light, it quickly recovered. The half a meter long cut was soon as thin as a string of hair.

The wound was on the lower back of the Swift Star Wolf. Each time the Swift Star Wolf swung its claws, it would feel a tearing pain from the wound. Although the Healing Spell was quite weak, it did help the Swift Star Wolf get rid of its greatest threat.

The young teenager was very excited. When he turned around, he suddenly saw a man appeared eerily from a shadow…

The teenager recognized him. He was the young Magician that was killing packs of undead from above. His eyes flickered with respect and admiration.

“It’s…it’s my first time casting the spell,” said the young teenager with the Healing Element.

“What year are you in?”

“Year ten. Let me help you, I can heal your Summoned Beast. Your Summoned Beast is so strong, he killed so many undead within a few seconds,” said the young teenager.

“Hurry up and catch up to the others. Only a few people in the whole city are able to Awaken the Healing Element as their primary Element, don’t die too easily,” replied Mo Fan calmly.

“But I can…”

“Save your passion until you reach the inner city. Healing a Magician basically means you’ve healed a crowd of people,” Mo Fan did not speak further to the teenager. He immediately ordered the Swift Star Wolf to bring him to safety.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The end of the crowd had gradually reached the middle of the street. It was no longer meaningful for Mo Fan to stay at the higher ground. Speaking of which, they had not arranged people to cover the rear, since they were in a rush planning.

Left with no choice, Mo Fan jumped down from the higher ground and protected the rear of the crowd.

The truth was, they did not specifically appoint people to cover the retreat as Magicians were people too. It was definitely the most dangerous job, and anyone who was planning to stay alive would not want to fill a position that could be surrounded by undead at any second.

The back of the crowd was indeed the most dangerous, as the casualties were higher than being on the sides. If it weren’t for Mo Fan and the Swift Star Wolf guarding the rear, everyone at the back would have been overtaken by the skeletons and phantoms in the middle of the street.

Once people were split from the crowd, there was no chance of them surviving.

Mo Fan pinched another Undead Crystal into pieces, which only restored a sixteenth of his energy, almost negligible.

The energy was not even enough to draw an Intermediate Star Pattern. It was barely enough to cast a Lightning Strike to slow down the pace of the undead catching up from behind.

Luckily, the Swift Star Wolf was around to eliminate the undead getting closer to him, allowing him to focus on channeling spells without worrying too much.

—

A huge roar came from not far away down the street.

Following the roar, a wild black gust surged in the direction the crowd was fleeing into. The vehicles on both sides were swept away.

As soon as the vehicles were swept away, it cleared a huge path for an enormous body. Mo Fan turned around and was stunned when he saw the black gust had started from a hundred meters away. His face immediately turned grim.

-Flesh Mound Corpse Official!

-It’s the Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s breath!

-Damn it, did the two Advanced Magicians fail to suppress it?-

A Warrior-level creature that made it to the crowd would simply reap human lives like a crop harvester. If a Commander-level creature reached the crowd, not only were the few hundred people who were still crossing the street going to die, even those who made it to the other end were in danger!

When Mo Fan recalled how the Flesh Mound Corpse Official was able to turn the bodies it swallowed into skeletons, he immediately felt his hair standing on end!

“Shadow Magician, evacuate the crowd at once. We two are pinned down. The Corpse Official is going to kill everyone!” Zuo Feng’s voice came into Mo Fan’s mind with a hint of fear and self-accusation.

“Damn it, you shouldn’t have sent your comrade away!” cursed Mo Fan.

“If we didn’t bring back the information, more people would die!” said Zuo Feng.

“It’s coming!” screamed Mo Fan.

The breath of darkness stopped around fifty meters away from the crowd. The Flesh Mound Corpse Official was obviously not planning to use it to attack the crowd. It was only trying to clear the vehicles along the path.

The Flesh Mound Corpse Official extended its strong back limbs. Even though its mass was huge, it actually moved forward by leaping like a frog. Each leap would cover between fifty to sixty meters. As such, it only needed a few leaps to travel a distance of a few hundred meters!

“Run, there’s no point of risking your life too!” Imperial Magician Zuo Feng chased behind the creature. Unfortunately, he did not have any spells that could stop the Flesh Mound Corpse Official.

Every time the Flesh Mound Corpse Official leapt forward, the street and the buildings on two sides of the street rocked wildly.

Its size and its jumping ability gave Mo Fan the feeling that a mountain was charging right at him with the speed of a race car. The visual impact of seeing such an enormous body approaching him made his heart race!

-Run!- was the only thought that crossed Mo Fan’s mind. The creature was not something he could handle with his current strength!

But, there were still over three hundred people on the street!

The Flesh Mound Corpse Official could devour over a hundred people at a time, while a single breath of darkness would kill another hundred. The remaining six hundred people were not enough to slow the Flesh Mound Corpse Official down at all!

“Run, staying alive is better than nothing, don’t hesitate, run!” Zuo Feng yelled into Mo Fan’s mind using Psychic Voice.

Anything else would no longer matter if they were dead. Zuo Feng knew he was to blame, yet he did not want the Magicians who were kind enough to escort the commoners to die, too.

If the Magicians ran on their own, they had a higher chance at surviving. The Flesh Mound Corpse Official was aiming for the crowd. It was planning to turn the seven hundred people into skeletons, but the Magicians didn’t have to die!

—

The young teenager with the Healing Element stared at the Flesh Mound Corpse Official leaping toward the crowd in fear. His heart was overwhelmed with despair.

Does a human actually stand a chance against an undead creature like that?

No matter how powerful a Magician was, there was no way they could do anything to something so big!

The crowd was completely terrified. They had already seen the Flesh Mound Corpse Official coming.

No one could miss the huge creature approaching them. The zombies, phantoms and skeletons were no longer scary compared to the Flesh Mound Corpse Official. Anyone would simply flee subconsciously when facing the undead, but in the case of the Flesh Mound Corpse Official, their minds were completely blank. The despair was so overwhelming that they felt like they were already dead.

The crowd stopped screaming, falling into dead silence.

The people on the outer layer had given up on defending themselves. Their throats were bitten in half while they were still immersed in despair. As their life was drained away, they actually felt slightly relieved that it was better to die this way, instead of suffering both mentally and physically in the upcoming situation!

“Yell, yell, yell, you only know how to f**king yell, can’t you reputable Imperial Magicians be reliable for once!” Mo Fan was enraged as his ears kept hearing Zuo Feng urging him to run for his life.

“What… what did you say?” Imperial Magician Zuo Feng was stunned when he heard Mo Fan’s accusation.

Zuo Feng did not hear it through the Psychic Voice. Mo Fan’s roar was so loud that he could hear it despite the distance between them.

Mo Fan totally ignored Zuo Feng’s advice. When he uttered the roar, little Flame Belle had already come out from the Contracted Space. The little creature was totally aware of the rage burning inside her father’s heart!

“Possess!” Mo Fan ordered her.

Even though the little Flame Belle was still overwhelmed by fatigue, she still surrounded herself in the Calamity Fire and rushed into Mo Fan’s chest.

The Calamity Fire instantly exploded over Mo Fan, fierce flames spreading around him.

The fire burned wildly, yet the fire-shrouded Mo Fan had his eyes closed.

His thoughts went into the space inside the Little Loach Pendant at lightning speed.

Mo Fan took out the Soul Essence most recently refined and inserted it into the Fire Nebula in his Spiritual World as fast as he could.

The Fire Nebula was dim due to the lack of energy, but its forty-eight strengthened stars were blazing red, like fiery crystals!

As Mo Fan inserted the Soul Essence into the last Star, the whole Nebula immediately emitted a blinding red glow. All forty-nine Stars were entirely bright red with a fiery power that many yearned for!

Inside the Spiritual World, all forty-nine Stars were set aflame…

On the outside, Mo Fan’s figure was covered in wild flames like a fire demon. He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand, the energy on his right wrist about to burst out from his body at any second!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The bright red from the Rose Flame combined with the brown and scarlet of the Calamity Fire. The flames surged forward across the street, turning the raindrops falling from the sky into white mist.

The spell that Mo Fan cast when possessed by the little Flame Belle was none other than the terrifying Meteorite Fist. It swept along the street like a meteor as the brilliant, destructive sparks scattered everywhere. However, since all forty-nine Stars were strengthened, the flames produced during the drawing of the Star Pattern were much fiercer and wilder!

It was neither Nine Palaces, nor Meteorite Fist. Mo Fan’s arms were wound about by several tiny fire dragons. It felt like these vivid and lifelike dragons were about to lunge forward from his arms!

“Meteorite Fist!”

“Nine Dragons!”

The flames exploded from Mo Fan as he threw his right fist at the Flesh Mound Corpse Official, the accumulated energy level approaching its limit!

Following the punch, nine fire dragons engulfed in blinding flames jetted out from his arm with a flare of bright flames. The loud, howling flames sounded like cries of dragons echoing down the whole street!

The dragons lunged forth, leaving a trail of fierce flames on the street. The river of flames rolled ahead between the buildings, while the glass windows shattered into pieces as it passed.

The Flesh Mound Corpse Official was currently in mid-air, its bulging eyes staring at the crowd, driven by the desire to produce more skeletons. However, it saw formidable flames consisting of a bright red and red-brown fire engulfing the figure of an unremarkable Magician, before nine spectacular fiery dragons flew right at it!

The sound produced by the flames stacked together into a huge explosion. All nine fire dragons rammed into the Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s body simultaneously. The tremendous impact immediately knocked the enormous creature flying into the distance!

The flames burst into their surroundings. The nine fiery dragons turned into several hundred tongues of fire after they collided with the creature. The flames danced wildly along the spacious street, turning it into a blazing red fiery river covering over a hundred meters!

Meanwhile, the Flesh Mound Corpse Official flew in the opposite direction of the crowd, rolling like a wrecking ball a few hundred meters further, smashing the vehicles on the street flat along the way.

The flames were still burning fiercely on it, especially its stomach where the hit had landed. It appeared that its thick, sturdy stomach had a hole blasted in it, where the flames were still burning. The wound was nothing serious compared to the Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s size, yet it still left the creature in incredible pain despite its thick hide!

Imperial Magician Zuo Feng beat his Wind Wings and turned around in astonishment.

Just a moment ago, the Flesh Mound Corpse Official had flown across the sky just half a meter above him. Wasn’t the Flesh Mound Corpse Official less than a hundred meters away from the crowd?

Zuo Feng glanced at the young Shadow Magician in disbelief. His figure was still shrouded in wild flames…

Did he really knock the Flesh Mound Corpse Official flying with a single punch?

That’s a Flesh Mound Corpse Official; even an Intermediate Spell was not enough to hurt its skin, how could the Intermediate Magician possibly deal such a serious blow to the creature!?

“Fourth-tier Fiery Fist?” Zuo Feng soon collected his thoughts, yet quickly denied his own speculation.

Even though a fourth-tier Fiery Fist was fairly powerful, it still was not as astonishing as the nine fiery dragons. The spell was already comparable to an Advanced Fire Spell!

“Zuo Feng, what are you waiting for? It’s injured, hurry up and cast Mind Control!” blurted out the other Imperial Magician.

Zuo Feng finally recovered from his shock. The Flesh Mound Corpse Official had been knocked flying by the blast. It was still dizzy from the collision, and hurting from the wound on its stomach. It was the perfect time to cast Mind Control. Even if he could only control it for a few seconds, it was enough to crush the Phantom Generals close to it!

The two Advanced Magicians knew to take advantage of the opportunity. They immediately utilized this moment to control the Flesh Mound Corpse Official.

Zuo Feng managed to take control the Flesh Mound Corpse Official. It began to charge in the opposite direction of the crowd, dealing a destructive blow to the Phantom Generals and skeletons that were following it. Scores of undead were rapidly crushed to pieces by the massive creature!

As the danger was resolved, the crowd that had come to a standstill burst out cheering!

All those with a sense of relief after surviving, or those that were overwhelmed by the lingering fear after barely escaping the jaws of death, had experienced fear, then despair, and finally hope after realizing their lives were saved. They could no longer keep their emotions under control after going through such immense torment!

Meanwhile, the Magicians who were on the verge of giving up were looking at Mo Fan as if he was a monster!

The guy had just sent a Commander-level undead flying with a single punch; what else could he be, if he wasn’t a monster?

The river of flames across the street had burned countless undead to death. It simply eliminated the threat endangering the crowd!

Was he seriously just an Intermediate Magician?!

“Wha…what are you all waiting for? Do you want to die?! Start running!” yelled Shorty, who was the first to gather his wits.

As a matter of fact, even Shorty had only recovered from his great astonishment himself.

He was the kind of Magician that liked to collect all sorts of information. He had heard many times about how outstanding Mo Fan’s Double Innate Elements was, which alone guaranteed Mo Fan a spot representing their country in the World College Tournament. To his surprise, the guy was as strong as a monster!

“My God, a Commander-level undead… was the creature he blasted really a Corpse Official?” screamed someone among the Magicians.

The Magicians were split into two groups. One consisted of people who were screaming OMG like the person before.

The other group was completely stunned. They had yet to recover from their overwhelming fear of the Flesh Mound Corpse Official when they witnessed an Intermediate Magician blasting the Flesh Mound Corpse Official away.

To everyone who was screaming or had fallen mute, Mo Fan’s punch had left great astonishment deep in their souls. They simply could not calm down for a very long time!

——

The crowd safely crossed the dead street, pushing their way into the pedestrian walk on the other side.

Magicians were setting up barriers to stop the undead from catching up from behind. Meanwhile, there were also quite a few Magicians on the other end, who quickly lent a hand when they saw such a huge crowd coming in their direction.

The crowd continued to advance, before scattering into different streets and alleyways. The area was still not occupied by undead. The evacuation from here on was a lot smoother since they had crossed the deadly street. The people did not stay for long, quickly fleeing to the inner walls.

However, no one would ever forget their astonishment from witnessing the punch from the young Magician in the black shirt!

—

Meanwhile, somewhere close to the zebra-crossing, Mo Fan was panting heavily. His face was pale white after expending too much energy, yet his expression showed no sign of fatigue. Instead, he had a vicious grin, like an imperious CEO!

He swung his arm around, as it had gotten sore after he kept the posture for too long…

Mo Fan felt like bursting out laughing after feeling the formidable strength of the Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons!

At last, he had finally learned the move he had been looking forward to for a very long time!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Meteorite Fist’s strength was already overwhelming when Mo Fan was possessed by the Flame Belle. Even Dongfang Lie’s fourth-tier Fiery Fist was no match for it!

Now, Mo Fan had also mastered the fourth-tier Fiery Fist. The 2.5 times multiplier from the Rose Flame made the Fiery Fist: Nine Serpents even fiercer!

When combining the fourth-tier Fiery Fist and little Flame Belle’s Possess, the Meteorite Fist: Nine Serpents was simply too violent; even a Commander-level undead would have a hard time against it!

Either way, it was clear that the Meteorite Fist: Nine Serpent’s damage had reached the level of an Advanced Spell.

Mo Fan had already felt that when all his forty-nine Stars were strengthened, the combination of the little Flame Belle’s Possess and the fourth-tier Fiery Fist was definitely comparable to an Advanced Spell. To his surprise, the damage was even stronger than he had imagined. It surely had no match in the Intermediate Level!

“I’ll leave the rest to you two,” yelled Mo Fan. He quickly caught up to the crowd, not daring to stay on the street any further.

Mo Fan acted like he was an expert who had been living in seclusion, stepping forward in the nick of time to change the outcome of the battle, before letting the two Imperial Magician subordinates clear up the rest of the mess. The truth was, his energy was completely depleted. If he did not find a place to rest up soon, even the smallest undead, or a little skeleton, was enough to take his life away.

However, the two Imperial Magicians had to admit that Mo Fan’s punch had helped them a great deal, giving Zuo Feng the chance to control the Flesh Mound Corpse Official for five seconds.

Even if it was only five seconds, a Commander-level creature could easily destroy an army of undead within one to two seconds. The five seconds were enough to force the Flesh Mound Corpse Official to roll into a ball and crush a few hundred of the skeletons it had produced!

The little skeletons were quite pitiful. Just a moment ago, they were charging with their king to hunt the living humans, but their king suddenly went mad after it was knocked flying by the Magician, and rolled in their direction instead. Since the undead had basically died once before, no one cared how distressed they were. Regardless, even using all their limbs trying to run away, they still could not escape the shadow looming over them as their king rolled toward them.

The wide street was covered in pieces of skeletons. The phantoms, which possessed a dim intelligence, fled into the distance when they saw the Corpse Official turning hostile.

Without the disturbance from the little phantoms and undead generals, the two Imperial Magicians were able to cast Advanced Spells consecutively. The impact almost crumbled the entire street!

“Zuo Feng, who was that guy?” The square-faced Imperial Magician was an Earth Magician. He successfully turned the Flesh Mound Corpse Official into stone using the Eyes of the Rock Demon. He let out a relieved sigh before recalling the young Fire Magician.

“I have no idea, either; I thought he was just a university student with the Shadow Element!” Zuo Feng turned around, but failed to find the young man.

“Who would have thought it was him helping us to control the situation. Otherwise, we would have left the people to disaster,” murmured the square-faced Imperial Magician.

Zuo Feng nodded.

As a matter of fact, the three Imperial Magicians would not have had much trouble killing the Flesh Mound Corpse Official, but it was too important to let the higher-ups know about the Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s terrifying ability. Without the third Imperial Magician, it had almost slaughtered the crowd of civilians.

Luckily, the university student with Shadow Element was monstrously strong, and blasted the Flesh Mound Corpse Official away using just an Intermediate Spell!

“Could it be that he has a Soul-grade fire?” The square-faced Imperial Magician glanced at the Flesh Mound Corpse Official, making sure that the creature was unable to break free from being petrified.

“No, I was quite close to him. It must be some rare Magic Tool, which is able to boost his fourth-tier Fiery Fist significantly,” replied Zuo Feng.

Zuo Feng only saw Mo Fan being engulfed in flames suddenly. He did not see the little Flame Belle entering Mo Fan, so he could only explain it as some kind of Magic Tool.

“Fourth-tier Fiery Fist…that’s forty-nine Soul Essences! If one Soul Essence is between four to five million RMB… is he the son of some incredible renowned family?” asked the square-faced Imperial Magician in astonishment.

An Imperial Magician like him had to save up many years just to buy Magic Wings, which were priced around a hundred million. Meanwhile, the young man had already leveled up his Fire Element to the fourth-tier; he would need more than two hundred million to do that!

Anything over ten million was considered a great sum to Advanced Magicians, let alone anything over a hundred million. Nevertheless, there was no way for an Imperial Magician like him to have so much money.

Having money didn’t mean you could simply spend it like that!

“Either way, his fourth-tier Fiery Fist saved everyone’s life,” said Zuo Feng calmly.

It was rare for anyone to raise their Basic Spells to the fourth-tier, let alone a fourth-tier Intermediate Spell, which would require a huge amount of resources. Even someone with an extraordinary natural talent, like Dongfang Lie, could barely cast the fourth-tier Fiery Fist. Someone that had actually raised an Intermediate Spell to the fourth-tier… Mo Fan was most likely the only one in all of China!

And now, these two Imperial Magicians had just happened to stumble into a man with a fourth-tier Fiery Fist. Shouldn’t they be burning incenses and bowing down to express their gratitude to Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion?

“After killing this son of a bitch, let’s go look for him. We need someone strong like him in times like this!,” exclaimed the square-faced Imperial Magician.

“Forget it, he’s still an Intermediate Magician, I can feel his mind weakening. His energy must have depleted. It’s likely that he didn’t even have the chance to rest after the battle along the walls…” Zuo Feng was able to sense some information through his Psychic Element.

“Alright, once the danger is resolved, we should go and thank him.”

“Mm, if we manage to resolve the danger…” Zuo Feng glanced at the city being drenched by the rain. He obviously was not too optimistic about their fate.

——

Mo Fan was completely worn out, as it was true that he had been involved in battles since the night before.

The Swift Star Wolf could still barely move after being healed. Mo Fan simply laid down on its back and fell asleep. If anything, his Summoned Beast would just wake him up.

Mo Fan did not follow the crowd. He had done all he could, and all he could not, too. He would leave the people to their own fates, since he was not Sun Wukong trying to escort them along their Journey to the West.

—

Mu Bai and Zhou Ming were more compassionate. There were people from Bo City among the crowd, so they decided to escort them all the way to the inner city.

Mo Fan did not head for the inner city. He had to look for Liu Ru still.

The Swift Star Wolf told Mo Fan that Liu Ru was in a different direction. Mo Fan said goodbye to Zhou Ming and Mu Bai and proceeded to search for Liu Ru by asking the Swift Star Wolf to follow her scent.

Shorty did not follow Mo Fan either. He had gone to search for his Hunter friends. The group split up after telling everyone that they would see each other behind the inner walls.

It was better for Mo Fan to act alone. After all, the Swift Star Wolf had a sensitive nose, helping him to avoid unnecessary fights.

The Swift Star Wolf slowly avoided the undead, considering that Mo Fan’s energy was gone. Once they located Liu Ru, Mo Fan’s safety would be secured, as Liu Ru was not weak, either.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Swift Star Wolf remembered Liu Ru’s scent, and slowly advanced forward carrying the fast asleep Mo Fan.

The area was still free of the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials and the undead in their stomachs. Their journey was fairly safe.

Mo Fan was actually soundly asleep on the Swift Star Wolf’s furry back.

He was too tired. If he did not replenish some of his energy, he could not even cast a Basic Spell. It was too cruel for him to die after he had just learned a new move!

The Swift Star Wolf brought Mo Fan to an old residential area. Most of the inhabitants were already evacuated. There were people moving in the corners of the alleyways before disappearing quickly…they were most likely the people that had fled here from other places, seeking a place to hide from the undead temporarily in a relatively safer area.

As a matter of fact, the army of undead led by the Nether Bone Ruler and the Mountain Zombie was the deadliest. It was likely that the black ocean had reached the outer walls, and was slowly devouring the line of defense.

In no time, the whole city was going to turn into the undead’s territory, with the inner city stranded like a lonely island surrounded by the ocean of undead!

Mo Fan had to locate the people he was searching for before the ocean of undead devoured this place. He did not want to wait for the news from inside the walls, gnawing with worry.

He did not learn Magic and pursue the higher levels just to seek fascinating power, but most importantly, to protect the people close to him in this dangerous, hostile world…

——

Upon arriving at an alleyway built with bricks, the Swift Star Wolf went straight for the building at the end.

The Swift Star Wolf did not take the normal path. He leapt over the entrance by kicking off the walls and landed inside the residence.

Mo Fan was awakened by the sudden wild movement.

“She’s here?” Mo Fan washed his face with the rain. It was impossible to get a good sleep on a moving car, let alone in a situation when the undead could appear at anytime.

Before the Swift Star Wolf could respond, the door swung open. Liu Ru, dressed in fresh clothes like the girl next door stood by the door for a moment before she joyfully ran forward and fell into Mo Fan’s arms, like a sparrow returning to her nest.

If the Blood Tribe was able to shed tears, with her excited reaction, they would surely be found on her pale-white face.

“Did someone bully you?” asked Mo Fan with a frown as he sensed that something did not feel right about Liu Ru.

He glanced at the surroundings and saw a few men who looked like rascals tied up to the pillars. He immediately became furious!

The three men were dumbfounded. If they were not tied up, they would drop to their knees before Liu Ru and scream out that they were innocent.

They would not dare to bully Liu Ru. As a matter of fact, Liu Ru was the one that had bullied them, until they began to beg her for mercy.

“It’s not them…we’ll talk inside,” Liu Ru led Mo Fan into the house, which surprisingly had a Kang bed-stove in it. It was very warm, which felt very soothing to the fatigued Mo Fan. The cold rain never stopped falling, even a Fire Magician would find it unbearable.

{TL Note: Search ‘Kang bed-stove’ on Google if you want to know what it looks like.}

“You look very weak,” said Mo Fan.

“Mm, I lost a fair amount of my origin blood after I was injured,” Liu Ru nodded and told Mo Fan the sequence of events, from Fang Gu showing up, to her protecting the villagers of Hua Village.

Liu Ru knew Mo Fan would come looking for her, so she did not leave even when the purple alert was sounded. She simply waited for him here, as she was still weak and not as strong as before. She did not dare to go out there searching for him.

“I thought I would be safer after I found you…” said Mo Fan with a wry smile.

Mo Fan’s current feeling was like someone paying his long-distance girlfriend a visit during the seven days holiday around the National Day, and planning to do shameless things together. However, his girlfriend’s period happened to pay her a visit at the same time, too…

“But with you here, I can recover quickly!” Liu Ru’s eyes flickered when she saw Mo Fan’s reaction, like an empress getting excited after successfully luring a little fresh meat into her trap!

{TL Note: Search ‘little fresh meat’ if you don’t know what it means, it’s an Internet buzz word in China.}

Before Mo Fan could understand what she meant, an alluring scent assailed his nose, followed by hot lips kissing his neck. The sensation was so pleasant that it felt like he was electrified.

Liu Ru could not wait any longer. She was a member of the Blood Tribe after all, hence she could not withstand the desire to drink fresh blood. She was already controlling herself not to drink the blood of those filthy men, but her red Yakult was now standing in front of her, and she could no longer restrain the urge.

{Ed. Note: It’s a daily probiotic drink}

“Wait until I lie down… oh!” Mo Fan’s body suddenly felt numb before he could finish the sentence.

Normally, Mo Fan only offered his blood while he was asleep. Liu Ru, who had feelings for him was not willing to wake him up from his sleep, but they were in an urgent situation now. Blood serums could at most help the Blood Tribe adjust their condition, they were nowhere as effective as fresh blood. Besides, Liu Ru had only become a Blood Tribe after drinking Mo Fan’s blood, so it was more or less her origin blood.

When Mo Fan first met Liu Ru she looked a little haggard; his first impression of her was elegant and graceful, like an orchid… but she extremely thirsty after losing too much blood and now as crazed as a leopard. She pushed Mo Fan against the wall and sucked his blood wildly!

Although he was losing blood, a certain part of his body did not seem to lack blood at all. In the past, Mo Fan had always ambushed Xinxia like a starving wolf pouncing on a sheep when she was not paying any attention. He would push her down on the couch or bed and do everything evil possible, yet he was in her shoes today, and it felt… it felt quite pleasant. No wonder Xinxia never resisted… oh, she could not resist even if she wanted to…

The sound of the raindrops tapping on the roof came clearly. The roars of the starving zombies would echoed in the alleyway at times. The clouds of death with no visible end loomed over the place, almost overwhelming the tall buildings across the city…but it did not stop the man and the woman in the cozy, warm hut sticking together closely on the wall.

Mo Fan raised his head, as he thought a storm was about to come. He was just about to throw the calamity that he was involved in out of his mind when everything came to a stop.

“It’s over?”

Mo Fan lowered his head in confusion and looked down at Liu Ru, who had yet to fully enjoy herself.

“What do you think?” Liu Ru glanced back at Mo Fan. Her lips, which were pale initially, were now bright red.

“Oh, that was fast,” Mo Fan said awkwardly.

“You’re tired too, I don’t dare to drink too much of your blood…” Liu Ru said in a serious manner. “Besides, weren’t you trying to poke me with your fingers?”

Saying this, Liu Ru suddenly discovered Mo Fan’s hands raised up on both sides of her. They exchanged glances with one another, and Liu Ru instantly blushed.

Mo Fan uttered a hollow laugh. He looked at the outside. -The weather today… isn’t bad, quite chilly though-. His finger? It would take at least two of his fingers to make up to his size!

“Your…your energy feels empty, I… I can help you…” Liu Ru’s voice was soft as a mosquito.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When Liu Ru mentioned that she could help him with the recovery, Mo Fan subconsciously recalled the scenes of man and woman cultivating together by utilizing the balance of Yin and Yang from both sides in Wuxia or Xianxia stories. Since the Blood Tribe had originated from the west, it was likely that they had their own secret arts too.

Mo Fan seemed fairly collected on the surface, but he was actually overjoyed inside, with an expression saying, “I’m going to lie down. You can do whatever you want, I don’t really understand the details.”

“I’ll go and catch a few phantoms back. I can draw the energy of their souls and replenish the energy of your Spiritual World. You should be able to recover fairly quickly,” said Liu Ru.

“Oh, is your body alright now?” said Mo Fan, raising his brows.

“Yeah, it’s fine now,” replied Liu Ru, showing Mo Fan the scar on her arm. The arm that was obviously burned before was now tender and smooth as jade!

Mo Fan kept hearing how extraordinary the Blood Tribe’s recuperative ability was, and now he finally believed it. The woman who looked weak just a moment ago suddenly became as strong and healthy as a cat, and nimbly flew out of the house.

Mo Fan was indeed tired. Although his mind was occupied with lewd thoughts still, his sleepiness grew stronger with the warmth. He laid down on the bed and fell deeply asleep.

Normally, Mo Fan would be slightly more alert, since the city was no longer safe. However, his only thought after being spiritually worn out was to get himself a good sleep. He completely forgot about the heavy rain and chilly rain outside, the zombies roaming on the streets, and the Nether Bone Ruler!

——

Dark clouds invaded the Ancient Capital, bringing utter destruction to the city.

Cold rain poured down like arrows, corroding the foundation of the Ancient Capital.

Most terrifyingly, the undead climbing out from the tombs, cemeteries, burial grounds, and barrows were not willing to leave, filling the land that was soaking wet from the rain. The previously magnificent outer walls were like a fragile dam, standing no chance against the fierce tide of undead!

The outer walls were thoroughly destroyed. The thick walls stacked up with bricks collapsed, the tall towers fell tumbling to the ground, not to mention the buildings on the streets…

When observing from the inner walls, the area over ten kilometers from the Ancient Capital was completely covered by the black ocean. The tide of undead burst through the buildings, streets, public squares, parks, schools, hospitals to the ground, and not a single corpse was left!

The undead finally invaded the city from all directions. The scariest thing was not the pace at which the ocean of undead was devouring the city, but the fact that after the black tide had entered the city, the whole land was still covered in black moving figures with no visible ends. One could not help but doubt if humans were the actual invaders of this land…

“Pack, horde, kingdom…an undead kingdom. An undead kingdom,” an aged voice mumbled softly on the observation tower, sounding more like a prayer of death uttered for the city’s sake.

Could it be that the Ancient Capital, which had existed for thousands of years, was finally going to be erased from history on this rainy day?

The undead extending all the way into the horizon had already overrun the city. Was this golden barrier really able to stop the invasion of the countless undead?

Besides, what exactly had awakened every undead from up to over a thousand years ago, resulting in this undead calamity that had brought so much despair to the living?

“Being able to control so many undead… was the king of this undead kingdom awakened?” asked Councilman Zhu Meng with an extremely pale face.

“What matters is which era is this king of the undead kingdom from, I hope it’s not that,” replied the president of the Clock Tower Magic Association, Han Ji, with a sigh.

“President, are you referring to…” asked Commander Lu Xu with a frown.

“Something with the same age as this city,” Han Ji did not answer the question, as he was extremely reluctant to believe his speculation.

“It’s impossible to kill all the undead. The barrier of the inner city won’t last for long either, especially when the Ruler-level undead are attacking it… The strongest undead we have seen so far is the Mountain Zombie. It keeps pitching the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials into the city from the north,” said the elder of the Hunter Union, Ling Xi.

Ling Xi was still an attractive Battlemaga despite her age. Her fair skin implied that she had put in a great effort in skin care, yet the crow’s feet at the corner of her eyes were obvious, as if all her age and experience had settled there. She did not show any fear like other Battlemagas, nor did she act calm and collected like an authority figure. She was simply stating the facts expressionlessly.

“We’ll leave the Mountain Zombie to the captain of the Imperial Magicians. He’s the strongest among us. I believe even the Mountain Zombie is intimidated by him, since they have fought each other in the past,” said Han Ji.

“My people will deal with the Demon Horns Phantom Lord in the south,” said Ling Xi.

“What about the west? Has the creature showed itself?” asked Zhu Meng.

“It must be some phantom that excels at staying hidden. We haven’t seen its true appearance, but the whole place was overrun by phantoms, Phantom Generals, and Phantom Officials. We couldn’t see anything at all, but the place was already covered in corpses,” reported the patriarch of the Li Clan, Li Yujian.

It was common for the factions to compete with one another, but in times like this, every faction would stand together to share both the honor and disgrace.

A pharmacist in a white coat came up hurriedly, and spoke out without being called on, “Councilman Zhu Meng, your speculation is right, there’s something wrong with the rain! Our pharmaceutical experts have detected something known as the Dew of Nine Serenities. If the undead were active in the day, there must be a strong presence of death allowing them to breathe normally, but when the rain pours down, the Dew of Nine Serenities is providing them energy!…”.

“It’s really the rain?” Zhu Meng was astounded.

“The rain is causing it?” Han Ji glanced at the rain in disbelief.

The whole Ancient Capital was the least alert at dawn. If the army of undead had launched the attack at night instead, the city would not have crumbled so quickly.

The rain had allowed the undead to move in the day. How vicious was the person behind the scheme, to use the rain just after the outer walls had gone through an exhaustive battle the night before!

“It’s really the same as the Calamity of Bo City.” Zhu Meng’s voice sank.

-The Black Vatican, it must be them!-

“It’s not the same…” an unfamiliar voice joined the conversation between the authorities.

The crowd turned around and saw a man wrapped in tight clothes slowly walking towards them. His glittering eyes seemed to know the truth to everything.

“Who are you?” asked Han Ji with an indifferent glance.

The man obviously did not plan to reveal his identity. He glanced at the people in the tower without answering Han Ji’s question and continued, “Bo City was only Salan’s experimental ground.”

The man paused briefly. He added after seeing the confusion on everyone’s face, “It was only a test run for this cautiously planned disaster here at the Ancient Capital!”

A test run!

The Calamity of Bo City was only a test run!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The rain was falling and the wind was howling, but the tower on the walls was awfully quiet.

After some time, Zhu Meng glanced at the person completely wrapped up in tight clothes and repeated with utter disbelief, “Test…test run?”

A calamity, the blood of countless innocent lives shed as demon creatures invaded the city and massacred it turned out to be a test run for a bigger conspiracy targeting the Ancient Capital!

Everyone present was someone with great authority, higher-ups or reputable Magicians, yet they immediately felt a chill running down their spine upon hearing the words!

A test run…

Sacrificing thousands upon thousands of lives just for a rehearsal; was there anything crueler than that in the world!?

The cold rain poured down heavily. Everyone stared at the masked man who had just revealed the truth. It took them a while to calm the shock and fear in their hearts.

“The ancient king isn’t fully awakened yet, but the undead rulers are already invading the Ancient Capital in the rain, ready to turn the whole place into a kingdom of undead as a great gift for the Ancient King awakening from a sleep that had lasted over a thousand year The eight undead rulers are led by the Mountain Zombie, but the creature is extremely cunning. It will not easily step into the city itself. It’s extremely difficult to cross the sea of undead to attack it. If everything goes according to plan, the eight undead rulers will first take over the land outside of the inner walls and wait until the Ancient King wakes up, then destroy the barrier of the inner city,” explained the mysterious man in gray-white clothes.

The people had no idea who the person was, but since he had managed to show up here, it meant that he had obtained permission from some authority.

“The situation is already this grim before the king of the undead has even woken up. Will the Ancient Capital stand any chance?” asked Elder Ling Xi from the Hunter Union.

“It’s not the king of the undead, but the Ancient King. The king of the undead has no control over the eight undead rulers. It must be the Ancient King, the person who created this Land of the Undead!” the mysterious man declared with utter confidence.

“The Ancient King?”

The very person who had created the Land of the Undead! If one looked back in time, the undead never existed before those who died two thousand years ago suddenly came back to life, spreading like a plague. The undead started roaming out of their tombs and mausoleums, and were now walking on the surface pompously!

The origin of the undead was most likely not a secret anymore…

“What help would we get from knowing all this, I’m more interested to know how we can stop this disaster,” said Ling Xi, who was studying the mysterious person calmly.

“I’m afraid the rain is only the first part of what the Black Vatican is planning. Their next step is to awaken the Ancient King. Once he wakes up, it will bring a bloodbath to the inner city! First of all, we must stop this rain!” said the mysterious man.

“We don’t even know where the Dew of Nine Serenities came from, how do we stop it? Is it even possible to stop the rain?” said Li Yujian.

“The villages were not wiped out by the undead. It was in fact the Black Vatican. The Dew of Nine Serenities is refined from the Water of Kun. The rain during the Calamity of Bo City was mixed with the Enraging Spring, which had the opposite effect of the Underground Holy Spring, provoking the Demon Wolves Horde into invading Bo City.

“The Dew of Nine Serenities is made from the Water of Kun by the same alchemist, allowing it to merge with the rain perfectly. When the rain comes, it also brings a disaster! It’s the exact reason why they needed a test run,” the mysterious man pointed out for them.

The authorities were somewhat familiar with the details of the calamity that had destroyed Bo City. On the surface, it felt like the two incidents were not related, apart from the fact that they both occurred on rainy days. However, after considering the little details, it was obvious that it had been a conspiracy all along!

The problem was, who would even notice it before the current disaster?

Not only was Red Cardinal Salan extremely vicious, the whole situation had caught everyone by surprise. They were simply overwhelmed by despair when they finally realized what was happening!

Conducting a test run on one city, before targeting the Ancient Capital that had existed over a thousand years. It had been perfectly calm until the storm arrived. Not only did God give the cardinal of Black Vatican a heart as evil as the devil’s, he also gave Salan an unmatched intellect, the true reason why the name Salan could make one shiver!

The Enforcement Union had tried to hunt Salan down for many years, yet the most they had done was capturing some of the Blue Deacons under him.

The real Salan always hid in the dark, his devilish, cunning eyes watching the ancient city struggling in the deadly disaster while laughing darkly…

“The villages… who would have thought that the villages…” murmured Chief Military Instructor Fei Jiao with a blank face.

“Not long ago, Hua Village was under attack. I thought the Black Vatican was behind it, but it turned out to be a personal grudge between one of the villages’ chiefs and Hua Village. Both the Black Vatican and I were misguided. As the identities of the people in Black Vatican are kept secret at all times, the higher-ups in the Black Vatican thought it was their underlings butchering Hua Village… which means, there’s still a supply of the Water of Kun that did not end up in the Black Vatican’s hands, and is now in the possession of a Necromancer by the name of Fang Gu!” stated the mysterious man.

“The Water of Kun is able to nullify the Dew of Nine Serenities?” Zhu Meng opened his eyes wide, even his face blushing slightly!

“That’s right, the water of the Kun Wells can neutralize the rage and hatred from the Dew of Nine Serenities, like an acid mixed with an alkaline. Unfortunately, I always thought Fang Gu was a member of the Black Vatican, so to avoid exposing myself, I didn’t approach him. Now that the disaster has happened, I can no longer locate him,” said the mysterious man.

“But, it’s only a portion of the Water of Kun. I don’t think it’s enough to neutralize such a heavy rain. After all, they have refined the Dew of Nine Serenities using the Water of Kun collected from seven villages. It’s going to last for a few days,” deduced Chief Military Instructor Fei Jia.

“The key to stopping this disaster is the Ancient King. The Water of Kun can neutralize the rain for half a day, and during this period when the undead are asleep, we’ll locate the imperial tomb and seal the Ancient King away, putting an end to this calamity!” declared the mysterious man.

The people exchanged glances with one another. It seemed like they had no choice but to believe this man who was not willing to reveal his identity.

Everyone present was not stupid. If the man was not a friendly, there was no need for him to show up and tell them everything, since they initially had no clue that the Black Vatican was involved, let alone the details of the Black Vatican’s conspiracy.

“We are willing to believe you, but we still don’t know who you are. Why don’t you take off your mask?” asked Ling Xi.

The mysterious man shook his head and said firmly, “I’m sorry, I can’t tell if anyone here is on Salan’s side, or should I say, if someone here is actually Salan himself!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How dare you suspect us? Is this a joke? Everyone here holds a high position, how can we possibly be someone from the Black Vatican? You’re overestimating them!” said Li Yujian furiously.

“The people of the Black Vatican will react soon, looking for the Necromancer called Fang Gu in this city too, so we have to find him before they do. Otherwise, with the undead active both in the day and at night, we won’t have any chance of locating the Ancient King’s imperial tomb,” said the mysterious man.

“Let’s not waste any time, I’ll notify the Imperial Magicians now.” Han Ji chose to believe the mysterious man. The truth was, he had been wearing a poker face throughout the conversation, and he would at times exchange glances with the mysterious man.

If the Magic Association did nothing to stop the Black Vatican from acting freely, he was no longer worthy to be the president. He would also be ashamed to face the few millions of civilians of the Ancient Capital.

He had arranged for the mysterious man to show up here.

It was time to reveal the truth, to find the key to this huge conspiracy, and crush it all at once.

“It seems like my man has found him,” the mysterious man wore a smile.

“Mm, let’s get our hands on the Water of Kun first,” Zhu Meng could not come up with a better suggestion.

“I’ll go ahead and meet my man first. Please wait here,” said the mysterious man.

The crowd nodded and waited patiently for the man’s return.

When the guy left, Councilman Zhu Meng, who had noticed something, asked Han Ji softly, “One of your men?”

Han Ji slightly nodded without making it too obvious.

“The Enforcement Union?” asked Zhu Meng further.

Han Ji shook his head and said, “The Enforcement Union is most likely being watched. I’ve appointed someone from the outside to do it. Someone noticed the conspiracy before, but we didn’t expect it to be so sudden and troublesome to handle. The Black Vatican is going all out this time.”

“The city is suffering such a great disaster, and yet there is someone betraying us from the inside. We’ve let out guards down,” Zhu Meng sighed.

The two whispered while scanning the people surrounding them.

There were two elders from the Hunter Union, two Senior Hunters, three presidents of the Magic Associations, two Commanders, Chief Military Instructor Fei Jiao, and two experts from the Li Clan. Everyone here held great power in their hands. If the Black Vatican had already extended their influence to this level, it would be utterly terrifying!

——

The rain kept on falling, tapping on the buildings of the city. Its chill passed through the concrete and penetrated human bones unbearably.

“We’ve found a corpse in the alleyway to the south of the Clock Tower. It resembles the mysterious man that was here just a moment ago,” an Imperial Magician dropped down from the sky and said to the people in the tower, his face drenched in the rain.

“What!?” The people were stunned, and immediately asked the Imperial Magician to lead the way.

They arrived at the alleyway not long after and found a man covered in tight clothes lying on the ground. His body was covered in a faint ghastly aura, leaving an empty shell behind.

“This…this…how dare they kill him right in front of us! Those scum of the Black Vatican are way too ruthless!” snapped Zhu Meng.

Someone had finally learned the truth and was sorting a way to resolve the situation, yet he had died just a few minutes later. Didn’t that simply mean the Black Vatican was right around them? How shocking was this truth!

“President, what do we do now?” asked General Lu Xu.

“We’ve seriously underestimated the Black Vatican,” added Elder Ling Xi.

“Now that we’ve lost our only hope to find Fang Gu, how are we going to find him now? The city is so big, and in such a chaotic state. If the people of the Black Vatican found him before us, all hope would be lost,” said Chief Military Instructor Fei Jiao.

As the people were lost in their thoughts, a man in gray-white clothes slowly walked out from the side. His eyes were looking at the corpse on the ground sadly.

“I really don’t want to believe this, but as I mentioned to everyone, someone here is in fact on Salan’s side, or Salan himself is here. Therefore, please forgive me for sending people to keep everyone here under surveillance, just so someone won’t leak the information about our next step to the enemy!” the man said from behind the crowd. His voice was exactly the same as before.

Zhu Meng was stunned too. He looked at the corpse, before looking at the mysterious man that was alive behind him.

“You’re not dead?” Ling Xi was stunned, before collecting her thoughts quickly.

“Before revealing the truth to you, I asked my man to wear the same clothes as me. As I left the Clock Tower, I remained hidden and asked him to collect the information in my place. I really hoped that he could return safely, but the outcome left me disappointed,” the mysterious man walked past the crowd and approached the man that was now an empty shell.

The saddest thing was the fact that you knew someone would die walking out there, even though he was willing to take the risk…

The patriarch of the Li Clan was the most shocked among the crowd. Even now, he had yet to recover from it. He had only accused the mysterious man just a moment ago, yet the truth was right before his eyes; someone among them was actually one of the Black Vatican!

Who could it be, then?

“If I’m not mistaken, the person hiding among us is most likely Salan. Without feeling confident, I wouldn’t have sacrificed my man like that. President, I’ll let you give the order instead,” the mysterious man saluted at Han Ji respectfully.

Han Ji nodded. He was well aware of the arrangement.

“The Ancient Capital is now in grave danger. I, as the president of the Clock Tower Magic Association am only doing this since we’re left with no choice. What he said was all true, we don’t have much time left…so, I apologize in advance!” As soon as Han Ji waved his hand, purple figures immediately appeared from the corners of the alleyway.

The Imperial Magicians quickly surrounded the group of authorities. Everyone was so stunned that they had no idea what to say.

“I know that there’s only one Salan, but for the sake of our operation, I can only ask you to bear with me. Once the disaster is resolved, I’ll apologize to you in person!” Han Ji waved his hand again. A purple Soul Chain flew in his direction and swiftly tied the people together.

Elder Ling Xi from the Hunter Union took a deep breath and looked at Han Ji with a firm gaze, “President, I hope you didn’t make a mistake. Without us, there’s no one that can handle the eight undead rulers.”

“Without taking this risky step, the Ancient Capital will face elimination. My men will try their best to find Fang Gu as quickly as possible, and send the army of undead back to sleep temporarily…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It had been a while since Mo Fan last had this feeling. The unique tempo as the rain was tapping on the bricks and the roof of the residence served as a lullaby sending him to sleep. He had never felt the same way after his father Mo Jiaxin sold the old house just so he could become a Magician.

Mo Fan was in a very deep sleep. He did wake up for a moment, but fell right back into it. It was the kinds of sleep where you could no longer distinguish if it was day or night, or even remember who he was. He was utterly relaxed, his mind blank after he woke up, but the surge of memories returned about him being a Magician, his Double Innate Elements, the Calamity of Bo City, Pearl Institute, him turning into a demon, the Black Totem Snake and the calamity of Ancient Capital…wait, what’s after the calamity?

Oh, it still had not ended yet. He was still right in the middle of the terrifying disaster…

At this thought, Mo Fan was fully awake all of a sudden. He opened his heavy eyelids and glanced at his surroundings, and saw Liu Ru lying beside him, like she was taking care of a patient.

“How do you feel?” Liu Ru had a gentle smile when she saw Mo Fan waking up. Despite her alluring lips and eyes flickering with the charm of Blood Tribe, the innocence in her bones was still on full display.

“I don’t know, it feels like I was having a long dream,” said Mo Fan.

It felt exactly like how he had fallen asleep on the hill behind the school, before realizing that he had traversed to this world. Mo Fan was suddenly afraid that everything until now was only a ridiculous dream, yet when he thought how the city was being devoured by the undead, maybe it would be better if it were a dream, since there were too many people dying now.

“I’ve fed you the energy acquired from a few Phantom Generals through blood, so the process might have been resulted in some impact to your soul, sending you into a deep sleep,” explained Liu Ru.

“I see, I thought I’d traversed again,” said Mo Fan.

“Why again?” asked Liu Ru, like she was following a script.

“Hehe, let’s not talk about that, I can feel that my energy has recovered… By the way, where are Zhang Xiaohou and the others?” blurted out Mo Fan.

“Don’t worry, I’ve left a little bat mark on Zhang Xiaohou. It will bring us to where they are,” Liu Ru slowly opened her palm, where lay a transparent red bat like a crystal.

Bats were normally ugly, but this one in Liu Ru’s hand was incredibly adorable, like a fat hamster with a bow tie.

“Where’s the army of undead now?” Mo Fan was more concerned about this. The army of undead was like a tsunami of death. There was simply no chance of survival if they were caught in it.

“It’s around six kilometers away from the inner walls. I think we are around four kilometers away from the inner walls,” said Liu Ru.

“…” Somehow Mo Fan felt that Liu Ru was too calm when describing the situation to him.

Holy shit, the army of undead is only two kilometers away!

——

Liu Ru was extremely quick. She dragged Mo Fan across the streets and buildings as she sprinted at her full speed…

Mo Fan turned his head around boldly and felt his scalp turning numb!

The army of undead had already eaten half of the Ancient Capital. The outer walls were lost in the black ocean. The rolling tide of flesh simply covered everything he could see. Even when he tried his very best to look further into the distance, all he could see were zombies and skeletons that made the deepest part of his soul shiver!

The City North no longer existed!

“Sister Liu Ru, if you actually woke me up slightly later, I would have died sleeping,” Mo Fan commented as he slowly turned his head back.

“Well, it’s just that you looked so tired,” said Liu Ru, feeling a little ashamed.

“Staying alive is more important… huh, where did your little bat go?” asked Mo Fan.

“I think it has found Zhang Xiaohou and the others. Follow me,” Liu Ru dragged Mo Fan as she crossed a bridge like it was a hurdle. Meanwhile, Mo Fan was left unbalanced in the air, completely losing his center of gravity.

Liu Ru leapt into the sky, kicking the bridge so softly that it was like a dragonfly tapping the surface of the water. It was like Mo Fan was weightless to her…

“Can we not walk on the street lamps?!” Mo Fan was shaken by all the jumping.

Liu Ru was surely an expert at Maplestory or Super Mario. The street lamps lined up had somehow become her highway. The undead roaming on the streets and the abandoned vehicles were no impediment to her speed.

Even though it felt easy and efficient, she should really consider the weak flesh of Magicians. ‘Riding’ Liu Ru was even riskier and exciting than riding the Swift Star Wolf!

“Strange, they seemed to have stopped here for some time. I wonder what’s going on,” Liu Ru turned the corner and discovered a small park ahead.

It was now winter, and the park was full of naked trees with their clothes off, revealing their rough brown skin. There were also sculptures, fake hills, flower bushes, and a pond in the park. It looked slightly European, a rather out-of-the-place spot in this city full of ancient Chinese history.

As they arrived at the park that was standing out from the scenery in the surroundings, they quickly saw a few villagers of Hua Village hiding in the small hills, their bodies curled up.

Strangely, there were some zombies nearby. They were only a few tens of meters away from the villagers, yet they totally ignored their existence. Anyone else would have been dragged out of there and eaten alive!

“It seems like these undead won’t attack the people of the villagers either,” said Mo Fan in surprise as he observed from the distance.

“But the effect doesn’t last forever. They have to accept the baptism of the water from the Kun Wells every month. Otherwise, the effect will wear off eventually,” said Liu Ru.

“What are they doing hiding there? The undead are obviously not posing any threat to them,” Mo Fan was confused.

“Let’s go and ask,” said Liu Ru.

“No, stay here and watch, something doesn’t feel right…” said Mo Fan.

Liu Ru pondered for a moment, before she held her palm close to her lips and blew softly.

Her breath was red, like the color of wine, which quickly transformed into a few tiny bats which flew away like normal bugs.

“I’ve sent them to take a look, I can smell something pungent,” whispered Liu Ru.

“Mm, let’s be careful.”

“Oh, by the way, after you found me, I keep feeling that someone is following us,” said Liu Ru.

Mo Fan was stunned, before he said, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

“Initially, I thought it was the same person that gave me the blood serums, but the guy somehow exposed his presence trying to catch up to us,” said Liu Ru.

“The person that gave you blood serums?” Mo Fan was startled again before he could recover from the previous shock.

“Ah, didn’t I tell you?” asked Liu Ru with a dumbfounded look.

“I feel like you’re the one with amnesia!” Mo Fan was left speechless.

“I thought I already told you. Too much is going on, my mind is kind of messed up. Besides, I didn’t think it was that important, my bad!” Liu Ru stuck her tongue out at Mo Fan.

“It’s kinda important…” Mo Fan was going to mock Liu Ru more when a sudden thought crossed his mind, halting his speech halfway!

Liu Ru thought she had committed a serious mistake when she saw the grim expression on Mo Fan’s face. She did not dare to look Mo Fan in the eyes.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Liu Ru, did you say that someone gave you blood serums?” asked Mo Fan sternly.

“Yeah, the guy is good at concealing his presence. The truth is, I noticed him when we entered Hua Village, but I was only sure when he sent me the blood serums,” Liu Ru nodded.

“Someone has been following us?” Mo Fan’s heart sank.

“I don’t think it’s us; he’s following the people of Hua Village. Since he gave me the blood serums, maybe he’s not an enemy. Otherwise, I would have been dead,” said Liu Ru.

“What about the person following us now?” Mo Fan asked.

“I think it’s…”

“It’s me!” Before Liu Ru could answer, the voice of a middle-aged man interrupted.

The two turned around and saw a man in a hooded raincoat walking out from behind a huge sculpture. His sideburns were white, but his hair was black. His face was like a young man in his thirties, yet his eyes were full of the signs of age.

“You’re…” Mo Fan glanced at the man in astonishment.

Mo Fan had a slight impression of the man. He was the one holding the child in the crowd of seven hundred people. He had handed the child to a woman before standing on the outer layer. Mo Fan was clueless about why the man had been following him. -Don’t tell me the man was trying to repay his kindness for saving the crowd’s life?-

“Fang Gu!” Liu Ru glared at the man.

The evil Necromancer had murdered the villagers of Hua Village. Liu Ru did not have a good impression of him. She even felt like the man was somewhat a maniac!

“So he’s Fang Gu?” Mo Fan was even more surprised.

Impressive! This Fang Gu had blended in with the crowd and pretended to be a commoner by holding an infant as a disguise.

“Girl, I think you should think carefully before unleashing your anger. I’m not the one trying to kill you. I’m not the one who betrayed you to the City Hunters, either. I only want the people of Hua Village dead, I won’t kill anyone unless they try to stop me!” Fang Gu slowly walked towards them.

He did not bring any undead with him, as if he was trying to tell them he was not an enemy.

“Liu Ru, stay calm, let’s hear what he has to say… I think the whole thing is more complicated than I thought,” Mo Fan said to Liu Ru.

Liu Ru, who always listened to Mo Fan, could only place her hostility aside for now.

“I have to make something clear, I’ve nothing to do with the death of the other villages,” said Fang Gu seriously.

“Who else could it be?!” Liu Ru demanded, her eyes wide.

“The Black Vatican,” replied Fang Gu calmly. He purposely glanced at Mo Fan, as he expected Mo Fan to react differently when he heard the name Black Vatican.

“Go on,” Mo Fan said grimly.

“I inserted the Water of Kun into my undead’s bodies, and unintentionally discovered that the Water of Kun can let my undead appear during the day. Obviously, the Black Vatican somehow knew the secret. They chose a suitable time to butcher the other six villages to acquire the Water of Kun. They then let their alchemists refine the Dew of Nine Serenities using the Water of Kun, and mixed it into the rain to invoke this undead disaster,” explained Fang Gu.

Mo Fan listened seriously. Fang Gu’s statement perfectly fit his speculation about the rain!

Most importantly, the Black Vatican had also used the Underground Holy Spring to refine the Enraging Spring, resulting in the Calamity of Bo City!

“After you escorted the people of Hua Village away, I killed the remaining people at Hua Village and took the Water of Kun,” Fang Gu confessed.

“Was that really necessary?” asked Mo Fan.

“Hatred can only be magnified, it can never be put down…oh, your little scouts are back, you should check out the information they brought back,” Fang Gu pointed at the little red bats flying in the air.

Liu Ru received them with her hand and placed the little bats close to her ears to listen to their soft murmurs.

A moment later, Liu Ru looked at Mo Fan in confusion and whispered, “It seems like they are being held captive. There’s some kind of black mutated monkey-like creature hiding behind the fake mountains, as if they are waiting for someone to take the bait.”

“Black mutated monkey-like creature?” The description felt extremely familiar to Mo Fan.

“They are Dark Beast Monsters and the Cursed Beasts. I’ve already made contact with them. It seems like they mistakenly assumed that I’m on their side, but now they have realized it isn’t the case. They want me to hand over the Water of Kun, but unfortunately, I’ve already inserted the Water of Kun into my undead’s bodies, and they are my people…” said Fang Gu.

“So you’re telling me all this because you want to team up with me to deal with the Black Vatican?” asked Mo Fan.

“Mm, I saw you with the people of Bo City, and found out that you’re from Bo City, too. I have to tell you something. The truth is, the Water of Well in my village started going missing around ten years ago. I didn’t know why, but it seems like some traitors gave it to the Black Vatican for their experiments. Three years ago, the water inside the well suddenly dried up. A huge supply of the Water of Kun went missing…and not long after, the Calamity of Bo City took place,” said Fang Gu.

“Are you trying to say that they used Bo City as a testing ground?” asked Mo Fan, his eyes suddenly turning bloodshot.

“Exactly!” Fang Gu nodded.

Liu Ru was stunned by the words. The whole country knew about the Calamity of Bo City, yet it turned out that it was only a test run for the Black Vatican!

Were human lives even less significant than livestock in the eyes of the Black Vatican, that they could simply kill so many innocent people just to achieve their goal!?

Even Liu Ru, who was not involved in the Calamity of Bo City, knew that it was Hell on Earth, let alone someone like Mo Fan who was right in the middle of it…

No wonder Liu Ru could sense a strong murderous aura from Mo Fan after he heard the truth!

That was Mo Fan’s hometown!

“Why are you telling me this?” Mo Fan’s chest was heaving. He tried his very best to keep calm as he asked the question.

“They are holding the people of Hua Village captive to lure me out, and your friend is caught in it, too. I’m suggesting us three to work together, you go save your friend, and I’ll kill the people of Black Vatican trying to hunt me down…” Fang Gu revealed his motive.

As long as the Black Vatican was still on his trail, his undead villagers would still be targeted.

Fang Gu had failed to protect his villagers when they were alive, but now that they were dead, he would not allow anyone to harm them further!

“What do you think?” Fang Gu asked further, after seeing Mo Fan remaining silent.

Mo Fan shook his head.

Fang Gu frowned. He assumed Mo Fan would accept his offer, as they both had a common enemy, not to mention that his friend Zhang Xiaohou was being held captive too.

“You help me to save my friend, I’ll kill those sons o’ bitches myself!” Mo Fan’s voice was cold as ice, filled with bone-piercing murderous intent!

-Assholes!

-Assholes, these Black Vatican assholes!

-They used Bo City as a test run!

-Do they really see Bo City as a city of white mice!?-

God might be blind to allow these scum to live in this world, but Mo Fan swore that he would send every single one of them to the eighteenth layer of Hell!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“A bunch of useless pricks!” The tea cup smashed into pieces on the floor as the loud roar sounded from inside a tea house.

As soon as the roar rose, someone poked his head out from the tea house and observed their surroundings, to see if someone else was hiding close to the tea house.

However, the street outside of the tea house was full of people being evacuated. The inner city was simply the same size as any other city zone. If the people from all the other zones were making their way into it, it would most likely fill all the streets and buildings.

As such, one simply saw countless heads moving as huge crowds were pushing their way toward the inner walls in fear!

“Senior, please calm down. A Blue Deacon is on it now; I’m sure that everything will go well according to plan,” the owner of the tea house said with a soothing smile.

“Humph, to send out a Blue Deacon just to deal with such a minor character, what’s the point of feeding those useless pricks?! Once the festival comes to an end, I’ll cripple that dumb ass Black Clergy myself!” swore the man inside the tea house.

“It’s true that he has made a mistake, but you do know that the information about the villages is confined. Somehow, Fang Gu’s sudden appearance happened to synchronize with our pace… since our superiors didn’t really blame us, we should try our best to fix the mistake. Don’t you agree, Deacon Hu Jin?” prodded the owner of the tea house.

“You better make sure that everything is well; let me know at once if there’s any situation, including every single detail!” Deacon Hu Jin rose to his feet and headed for the exit.

“Don’t worry, I’ve never let Senior Salan down before, and I won’t disappoint you, either. My brother is going to bring back the final supply of the Water of Kun.” The owner of the tea house was still smiling like a businessman. When Deacon Hu Jin was about to step out of the door, he slowly added, “There’s something else, Great Deacon.”

“Say it quick!” said Hu Jin.

“According to my people, that kid Mo Fan with the Underground Holy Spring is here too!” said the owner of the tea house.

“Humph, he’s just a kid, we’ll take care of him once the festival ends!” Deacon Hu Jin paused for a moment before waving his hand indifferently.

“He cost us many people in the Magic City… I’m making it clear, wait until the end of the festival. Just focus on dealing with that Fang Gu!”

“Affirmative!”

——-

A few undead were roaming aimlessly at the Foreign Park. When there was no sign of prey nearby, they would move at an extremely slow pace, dragging their incomplete bodies around like machines.

When the undead headed to other places to hunt for food, a young man in a black shirt suddenly appeared on the main path of the garden. He was wearing a dark expression, with blue veins surfacing on his forehead.

Normally, these undead would immediately lunge at their target as soon as they detected the presence of something alive, to fill stomachs that could never be satiated. However, these little undead did not dare to make any bold move after sensing the icy aura from their target!

Mo Fan walked straight toward the park. He was greeted by a water fountain, in which he discovered a corpse savaged beyond recognition soaking in the water.

After the water fountain was a bunch of small mounds and a small wood.

The trees were basically wilted, apart from shrubs that stayed green in all seasons, the same spot where eyes were flickering among the leaves. It was hard to notice them without looking carefully. Liu Ru followed behind Mo Fan, her perception and sense of smell more sensitive than Magicians.

Even though the Cursed Beasts were good at concealing their presence, the truth was, Liu Ru could easily capture their pungent smell from a few hundred meters away!

“Four on the left, three on the right, and a bunch of them ahead, but their auras aren’t as strong as those seven closer to us… Zhang Xiaohou, Su Xiaoluo, and the others are right there at the monument,” Liu Ru whispered into Mo Fan’s ears.

“Mm,” Mo Fan nodded as he continued to walk on the main path indifferently.

The few villagers close to the fake mountains soon saw Mo Fan, their faces filled with astonishment.

“Why is it you?” asked one of the villagers called Li Kai.

“Why can’t it be me? You guys are surely taking your time, staying in the cold rain like this… I’m here looking for Zhang Xiaohou,” Mo Fan’s grim face wore a smile as he greeted the villagers indifferently.

“He…he’s not here, you should leave at once. You have no business here,” blurted out Li Kai.

“You’re lying, isn’t he right there!” Mo Fan stepped forward and immediately looked at the monument in the shape of stairs.

Su Xiaoluo, Zhang Xiaohou, Xie Sang, Hong Jun, and five other villagers were sitting under the monument. They seemed like they were taking a rest…

They too had seen Mo Fan, their faces full of astonishment.

“Seriously, the army of undead is reaching here soon, yet you still have the mood to enjoy a picnic here in the park. Come, time to hit the road,” Mo Fan continued to walk forward.

Liu Ru was following Mo Fan closely. The two sides of the path were covered in tall shrubs. She quickly said, “Seventy… no, eighty… more than that… and there are around… eight, no, seven, no, it’s eight!”

“Is it seven or eight?” asked Mo Fan cautiously, the same smile on his face.

“Eight, one is concealing his presence well, and he’s stronger than the other seven!” said Liu Ru confidently.

Mo Fan continued to walk forward. He could sense movement coming from the shrubs on both sides!

The Cursed Beasts!

In the past, Mo Fan had mostly fought against Dark Beasts, which were slightly stronger than One-eyed Magic Wolves or zombies. They were just a bit more cunning, but these Cursed Beasts were a lot scarier. They were cunning creatures at the Warrior-level!

From Liu Ru’s observation, there were around eighty of the Dark Beast Monsters, clearly a huge number.

On top of that, there were seven Cursed Beasts, not a small number, either!

What shocked Mo Fan the most was the presence that even Liu Ru failed to detect in the first place. Liu Ru could easily sense the presence of all Intermediate Magicians, including Shadow Magicians. Their ability to conceal their presence was basically useless against her, but the fact that something had managed to hide his presence from Liu Ru meant he must be an Advanced Magician!

“With the three of us, we should be able to handle an Advanced Magician. The problem is there are still the Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts to deal with,” said Liu Ru grimly.

“Don’t worry, I have the Swift Star Wolf and little Flame Belle, it’s the five of us,” said Mo Fan.

“Mm, just be careful, we can’t drag the battle on for too long. Otherwise, the army of undead is going to crush us all,” said Liu Ru.

“Which means they will also want it to end quickly,” said Mo Fan.

The army of undead was only three kilometers away. Not only was time running out, the breeze and ghastly howls coming on it were telling them that death was right behind them…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Who is this guy?” a sharp voice asked from behind the monument.

“Damn it, why is he here? He’s Mo Fan, that idiot’s friend. I suggest we take him down first. If Fang Gu realizes that we’re setting up an ambush here for him, we’ll have trouble tracking him down again,” replied another voice.

“Just kill him, I don’t have time to waste on a little shrimp who lost his way,” said the sharp voice coldly.

“What about the girl beside him?”

“I’ll leave her to you, but focus on the matter on hand first!”

“Thanks!” the man was restless from the excitement.

——

Su Xiaoluo and Zhang Xiaohou both saw Mo Fan and Liu Ru walking toward them. It went without saying that they knew the two were walking right into a trap. They tried their very best to warn them, yet they could not utter a single word, as their minds were sealed off.

Finally, as the two reached the monument, Chief Xie Sang received them with a smile.

Liu Ru felt disgusted when she saw Xie Sang’s expression. She had no idea where the guy got his courage from to still smile at her like that. She was suspicious that he was an underling of the Black Vatican.

“So it’s you, that scared us. Fang Gu has been trying to hunt us down…” said Xie Sang.

“Chief, you’re not a good man,” Mo Fan smiled.

“Not a good man, what do you mean?” The chief was startled.

“You’ve been hiding something from us all along. If it weren’t for my brother, I wouldn’t even bother saving your village, yet not only weren’t you grateful, you even colluded with those assholes…” Mo Fan’s smile gradually turned into a cold grin.

Xie Sang’s face was blank, before he spoke after a slight hesitation, “I…I had no other choice.”

“Do it!” a sharp voice commanded from the dense shrubs. The atmosphere turned murderous, as an icy breeze swept past!

A pungent smell assailed their nostrils, like the breeze coming out of a cave that was stacked with rotten meat, feces and corpses; it was utterly disgusting.

A pack of Dark Beast Monsters crawled out from both sides. There were between seventy to eighty of them. They had odd shapes, with only skin and bones. Their tongues were eerily red and long, while their eyes were filled with greed and hatred, like devils from Hell. These Dark Beast Monsters were most likely related to the undead by blood, judging from their ghastly appearance!

“How disgusting,” Liu Ru twisted her lips, her face utterly disgusted.

Many kinds of demon creatures were already ugly and savage, yet they were relatively adorable compared to these Dark Beast Monsters, especially in a situation where they were crawling out in such huge numbers. If she were still the little girl of the past, she would have instantly fainted upon seeing this!

“They used to be humans, but now they were only a bunch of fallen spirits willing to be ordered around like dogs, doing evil things together with their asshole masters,” explained Mo Fan to Liu Ru calmly.

“We should just cleanse something like these together with their souls,” said Liu Ru.

“Kekeke, very precise, it seems like you’re quite familiar with our Black Vatican. Now, if you know how we do things, you should stop resisting so we can tie you up, just so you won’t scare our fish away. If everything goes successfully, maybe I will spare your lives?” the sharp voice spoke once again.

Behind the monument, a woman in dark red mink coat walked out. The coat was so long that it had almost reached the ground.

Despite the cold weather, the mink coat was fairly exposed, revealing long legs covered in red stockings. The heels she was wearing were so sharp that they could almost poke a hole in the tiles of the monument!

The woman was wearing a veil to cover her face.

However, Mo Fan learned something when he saw the woman in the veil. Not every woman wearing a veil was a goddess. Compared to the mixed-blooded angel Ye Meng’e whom he shared a journey together with for a few days, this woman in the dark red mink coat was actually made of a pile of ostrich poop.

“Hey, uncle from the countryside, can you stop playing a transgender role, luckily you have the veil on your face, or else I think I would be vomiting now… I think you should stop being the Black Vatican’s underling. You can start streaming and earn a living by fooling some idiots online,” said Mo Fan.

As soon as his words were spoken, it felt like the air had frozen!

Frost began to cover the thick layer of foundation on the woman’s face, which could easily poke Mo Fan to death when it was scraped off!

The woman in the mink coat had seven Black Clergy standing close to her. They were all wearing black outfits, each wearing a Curse mark that looked like it was crawling with cockroaches and centipedes. The marks were fairly deep; it was obvious that these Cursed Beasts were stronger than the ones Mo Fan had stumbled into in the past!

As the woman unleashed her murderous aura, the seven Cursed Beasts subconsciously moved further away from her. It was clear that they were utterly terrified of the woman.

“Kid, you’re going to use the rest of your life to regret what you’ve just said!” the icy voice of the woman in the mink coat spat. Even the raindrops were turning into ice.

“The truth is always unbearable, you just need some time to get used to it. I bet your men have already gotten used to your appearance after vomiting a few times,” said Mo Fan.

“Take him down, I want him alive, and try not to make a mess here!” demanded the woman murderously.

Mo Fan said to Liu Ru in a similarly disdainful tone when he saw the female deacon giving the order, “Kill’em all, help their souls to find peace. We should accumulate some merit for our next life, so we won’t have a ghastly appearance like hers.”

The woman’s heels stumbled slightly. She almost could not resist the urge to tear Mo Fan to pieces with her own hands.

This reckless idiot; she was promoted to Blue Deacon just recently because of how vicious and cruel she was!

She stared at Mo Fan coldly, yet she did not attack.

The seven Black Clergy and the huge number of Dark Beasts were more than enough to take care of the kid!

Mo Fan did not move either. His eyes stared right into the woman’s eyes. The slight grin on his face was clearly showing his disgust and hatred toward the ugly woman, who looked like a skinny old man playing a transgender role.

Chief Xie Sang was in a total panic. He spoke to Mo Fan in a trembling voice, “How reckless are you, she’s a Blue Deacon of the Black Vatican! …you have no business here, why did you have to barge in, you’re going to place my villagers in danger!

“Yeah, you should just listen to her. We are all dragged into the mess now. She’s trying to catch Fang Gu, and Fang Gu is trying to kill us…she’s helping us!” blurted out Li Kai.

“Don’t make it worse for us, just leave!”

Mo Fan was not angry when he heard the scoldings from the villagers.

They were nothing but a bunch of idiots. Based on the Black Vatican’s usual behavior, once they captured Fang Gu, the villagers who were lucky would be killed on the spot, while the unlucky ones would be turned into more of the Dark Beasts that were crawling on the ground!

However, Mo Fan was indeed quite surprised. This ugly, old woman turned out to be a Blue Deacon, a subordinate under Salan’s command!

Mo Fan was tired of killing only the useless people of the Black Vatican.

The Black Vatican had treated Bo City like a city of white mice, so Mo Fan did not see them as humans, either.

Right on time, the deceased of the Calamity of Bo City needed a sacrifice…

A Blue Deacon was worthy enough to be slain as a sacrificial pig or lamb!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The first Dark Beast that was eager to make a big impression sprang forward. Its long claws emitted an icy flicker in the cold rain, while hooks sharp enough to sever a human’s arteries was hidden under the sharp claws!

Mo Fan remained stationary, while Liu Ru suddenly appeared in front of him.

Liu Ru had also clenched her hands into claws and waved them in the air. Five deep glowing slashes the color of blood swept forward, tearing the impatient Dark Beast into a few segments…

The Dark Beast was still in the air when its body split into several pieces, falling before Liu Ru’s feet. Its filthy blood and organs splattered across the ground!

“Go, all of you!” yelled one of the Black Clergy.

The commands from Black Clergy were infused with a curse. The Dark Beasts who were unwilling to obey them would suffer an enormous pain inflicted on their soul.

Black shadows moved rapidly in the surrounding area. The Dark Beasts who preferred to attack their targets sneakily would make use of the opportunities given to them through the sacrifices of their comrades.

Their speed was like leopards to humans. Both their movements or attacks were too fast for humans to react, but Liu Ru’s agility significantly surpassed that of these Dark Beasts. To her, these Dark Beasts were like mechanical puppets. Not only was their speed when jumping, crawling, pouncing, and scratching extremely slow and stiff, but their approaches when attacking were also too predictable, with similar patterns!

Each time they were going to attack, they would first jump from one spot to another, before pouncing on their target.

Liu Ru easily predicted their movements as they were crawling and leaping. She simply killed each of the creatures instantly before they could do inflict a single scratch!

The Dark Beasts were completely useless despite their numbers. Liu Ru had easily killed a dozen of them with ease.

Suddenly, a quick shadow swept by and appeared when Liu Ru was distracted by four Dark Beasts flanking her from different directions!

The shadow was followed by a Curse Mark, which emitted an evil glow as the figure swept past like a flash of lightning. The mark further increased the creature’s speed.

Liu Ru was unable to dodge in time. Her pale neck was sliced open with a deep cut. Some girl among the villagers immediately screamed.

The woman in the mink coat said to someone beside her with a hollow laugh, “It seems like you can only enjoy her without her body temperature…”

However, the words were still lingering when she shockingly discovered that the girl whose throat was sliced open suddenly exerted great might, grabbing the ankle of the Cursed Beast that ambushed her.

Liu Ru totally ignored the wound on her throat. She grabbed the Cursed Beast in mid-air and slammed it down on the cement road.

The road was cratered. Half of the Cursed Beast’s skull was broken, and brains flowed out.

The Cursed Beast was as tough as a cockroach. It was still alive even after its skull was blown open. However, Liu Ru did not give the cunning creature any chance to escape. A crescent saber made of blood appeared in her hand, and she swung it at the Cursed Beast’s neck!

The blood saber immediately beheaded the Cursed Beast, and Liu Ru kicked the head away like a soccer ball, hitting another Cursed Beast that was planning to attack her.

Following her actions, the cut on Liu Ru’s throat had already healed magically. Not a single drop of blood was seen, and on top of that, the skin was as white and tender as it was before!

The other few Black Clergy were dumbfounded. They had never seen a woman whose throat was sliced open fight like her! Besides, the woman was not even using Magic! Her blood claws, strength, crescent saber, and wind lashes were some impossible power that did not belong to a human!

“Blood…Blood Tribe!” The deacon was fairly knowledgeable. She immediately deduced Liu Ru’s identity, and her eyes widened as she snapped, “Don’t just stand there, attack and kill them at once!”

The Dark Beasts were simply a bunch of flies and mosquitoes harassing a fierce tiger. There was no way they could harm her, so it was only a matter of time until Liu Ru wiped them all out. The Cursed Beasts were the real threats. If Liu Ru was a tiger, those Cursed Beasts would be fierce wolves.

Liu Ru was already aware of the Cursed Beast that had tried to ambush her. She had purposely exposed an opening so that she could eliminate one of the Cursed Beasts!

“Why do I feel like you’ve grown stronger again?” Mo Fan was astounded when he saw Liu Ru killing a Warrior-level Cursed Beast instantly.

“Mm, your blood is rather special. It can help me evolve every once in a while. In order to guarantee the purity of my blood and strength, I decide to only drink your blood…” replied Liu Ru.

“The right milk formula, the kind that you can drink without worrying?” blurted out Mo Fan.

Liu Ru did not have a chance to respond to Mo Fan’s remark, as the other six Cursed Beasts attacked her simultaneously. They were indeed cunning, as they intentionally hid their Cursed marks so they would look the same as ordinary Dark Beasts. They would only trigger the power of the Curses when they were attacking!

“Little Flame Belle, come out and help your Aunt Liu,” said Mo Fan, casting the Contract Summoning.

As he thought, he was only halfway through drawing the Star Pattern when little Flame Belle came out from the Contracted Space on her own. Mo Fan had already anticipated it, thus he simply interrupted the channeling when the fifth Star Orbit was completed. Otherwise, the others would think that he was an unqualified Summoner!

Little Flame Belle hopped out of the Contracted Space with high anticipation, just so she could see the speechless expression on Mo Fan’s face. Unfortunately, Mo Fan was too smart to be tricked. She immediately puffed her cheeks, her eyes saying, “I am very not happy!”

However, little Flame Belle was a very obedient kid, after all. She was only angry for a brief while, as she knew that the bad guys had made her father not happy too… like, extremely not happy!

“Don’t show any mercy,” Mo Fan said to the little Flame Belle.

Little Flame Belle was basically an evil demoness. As soon as she heard the restriction was lifted, the Calamity Fire in the form of fiery storms immediately swept through the surroundings, devouring the restless Dark Beasts within ten meters.

Liu Ru was killing the creatures one after another elegantly, allowing her to perfectly preserve her strength.

Meanwhile, little Flame Belle was being completely unreasonable. She simply had the urge to fully unleash all the flames inside her body, producing a destructive festival of fire similar to the Fire Calamity!

Luckily, Liu Ru had already experienced this before. She immediately leapt into the air when she saw little Flame Belle preparing her attack, just so she was high enough to avoid the flames.

The little Flame Belle had never turned off her friendly fire mode!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The flames were little Flame Belle empress’ people. Any fiery spirits would obey her unconditionally.

The Fire Magic of Magicians followed the rules of Star Patterns. The flames produced would usually be restricted to fixed forms, yet the flames that little Flame Belle used were totally under her control. If she wanted the flames to spin like a tornado, the fire would simply transform into a tornado with her at the center. If she wanted the flames to turn into Godzilla, she had seen in the anime, the fire would take the shape of a fiery monster dashing forward. If she wanted the flames to split into countless fireballs following the Dark Beasts like tails, they would listen to her, forcing the Dark Beasts to flee in all directions from the fires!

Among the eighty Dark Beasts, Liu Ru had already killed over a dozen of them. The remaining fifty were nowhere enough to entertain little Flame Belle…

In just a few moments, half of the Dark Beasts were dead, while the other half had suffered severe burns were a few hundred meters away from her. If they were not being controlled by the Black Clergies, they would have fled for their lives.

Little Flame Belle instantly brought chaos to the place. Such a big mess was the last thing that the female deacon wanted to happen. If Fang Gu happened to turn up at this moment, their entire plan would go down in ruins.

Her face was utterly dark. It was obvious that this Magician’s strength was far stronger than she had imagined!

The female deacon glanced at the army of undead approaching the place. The black ocean was still around two kilometers away, yet it felt like it was already within a few feet, devouring everything it came across!

“A bunch of useless pricks!” cursed the female deacon.

The energy ripple of Advanced Magic was too strong, and would attract the attention of the Imperial Magicians who were looking for Fang Gu, too. It was also the main reason why she was hesitant to attack.

However, she knew she had no choice but to interfere, considering how the situation was turning out. Not only would they miss the chance of capturing Fang Gu, they would all be devoured by the ocean of undead. Not a tiny bit of their bones would be left!

The female deacon raised her head. Her eyes, caked with thick makeup, emitted an icy blue flicker.

The Star Orbits were drawn quickly, forming a Star Pattern under the female deacon’s heels in an instant.

In the following second, another icy white Star Pattern appeared, which blossomed like a giant snowflake glowing brightly above her head.

More Star Patterns continued to appear in different places, before they were connected into an icy Star Constellation!

An Advanced Ice Spell!

The female deacon was an Advanced Magician, as they thought!

In the past, Mo Fan would simply run away without hesitation upon stumbling into a Magician of this level. He had zero chance facing an Advanced Magician. He could not even survive a single Advanced Spell.

This time, when his enemy attacked, he made his move too!

He could not help but admit that the female deacon was drawing Star Patterns faster than he could. Unfortunately, she had to draw seven Star Patterns to complete the Star Constellation, while Mo Fan only needed to complete an Intermediate Spell…

“Little Flame Belle, possess!”

As soon as Mo Fan finished drawing the Star Pattern, raging flames surged upward from his feet. His hair and shirt were lifted in the rising hot air.

“Icebound Coffin…” The female deacon coldly uttered the name of the Advanced Ice Spell, turning the raindrops into ice falling densely from the sky.

“Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons!” Mo Fan was even quicker. The flames he was engulfed in were so strong that the Cursed Beasts did not even dare to get close to him!

The female deacon giggled when she saw Mo Fan’s Star Pattern. Did he really think casting an Intermediate Spell at a faster speed was enough to stop her Icebound Coffin?

Was he assuming that the seven Black Clergy standing beside her were plain decoration? Did he really think they did not have any defensive Spells?

However, as Mo Fan’s fiery aura continued to rise to an extent that even her frosty aura was close to being overwhelmed, she began to panic.

The channeling of the Icebound Coffin was interrupted. The female deacon glanced at the two Black Clergy standing in front of her, who were casting Light Protection and Rock Barrier to protect her, yet she could already sense the destructive aura surging in her direction!

The two Intermediate Spells were nowhere enough to defend her from the attack!

The fiery dragons uttered a huge roar. Even the park was quaking slightly at the blast.

The fiery dragons danced wildly, flying past the Dark Beasts that were running in all directions. The creatures evaporated instantly, even though the fiery dragons did not make any contact with them!

The Dark Beasts close to the dragons were burned into ashes. The energy of the wild flames struck the two Black Clergy blocking in front of the female deacon.

Similarly, the two Black Clergy were burned into ashes despite the defensive Intermediate Spells shielding them. The Light Protection and Rock Barrier did not stand any chance against the fiery dragons!

The fiery dragons lunged forward and reached the Deacon.

The Deacon reacted fairly quickly. She summoned a Zero Ice Shield. Meanwhile, Mo Fan’s Meteorite Fist swept across the sky, burning all the plants along its path, before its strength finally reduced after it collided with the female deacon’s Zero Ice Shield.

The imperious flames split to the sides as they struck the Zero Ice Shield. The Deacon was knocked sliding together with her shield, before slamming into the side of the monument behind her!

The carven base instantly shattered and collapsed to the ground. The path that the woman was knocked flying had a long, deep ravine, with scorched ground along both sides.

Inside the burning undergrowth, the Deacon’s Zero Ice Shield was destroyed, its pieces scattered across her surroundings. She rose to her feet, trembling. Both her hair and mink coat were burned beyond recognition. Meanwhile, her mouth was full of blood, rising from her chest and leaking out from her lips!

Between her and Mo Fan stood scorched land and little sprouts of flames that had left the place in a mess. On top of that, her face was covered in soot and filled with astonishment!

-An Intermediate spell?

-Was that really an Intermediate Spell?

Even though she was an Advanced Magician that had only ranked up quite recently, she was still able to control the power of the Advanced Level and stomp any Intermediate Magicians at will… but somehow, she was now suppressed by an Intermediate Magician! If she had not summoned the Zero Ice Shield in time, she would have ended up just like the two Black Clergy who were defending her!

-Fiery Fist… was that really the Intermediate Fire Spell, Fiery Fist?

-Even Advanced Spells are not much stronger than that!-

“You just had to choose to be an asshole when you could just live as a human. You dogs who obey Salan’s orders, I’ll kill every single one of you!” Mo Fan’s bloodshot eyes burned with rage as the fury in his chest exploded!

A punch alone was nowhere enough for Mo Fan to vent his anger after learning the truth behind the Calamity of Bo City, nor was it enough for him to get over the sorrow he felt when Xu Zhaoting begged him to end his life!

Today, Mo Fan would not let any member of the Black Vatican leave alive, including the Blue Deacon!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The flames erupted once again. Even though it was not as powerful as the first time Mo Fan was possessed by the Flame Belle, the fourth-tier Fiery Fist was already violent and surging. The female deacon was not a very experienced Advanced Magician. Her defense was punctured, and her severely injured body was unlikely to survive Mo Fan’s fourth-tier Fiery Fist!

“Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons!”

Mo Fan was a lot faster at drawing Star Patterns than he was in the past. Being able to draw a Star Orbit with a single thought allowed him to instantly finish a Star Pattern. The blazing red energy of the Rose Flame circled him!

The fiery dragons burst forward and spread out in the shape of a burning fan formed from nine dragons. The lava splattered and the sparks splintered. The plants in the park were burned into ashes, while the raindrops falling from the sky evaporated instantly from the heat unleashed by the Fist…

The woman was enraged and ashamed. The pain in her chest and the burns from the flames were disrupting her channeling speed. She barely summoned out some pieces of ice when the nine fiery dragons lunged at her.

The ice pieces combined into six steely chains the color of ice. They completely intertwined with one another before colliding with the nine dragons.

The female deacon’s Ice Lock was obviously only at the third-tier, and since the collision between the fire and ice was very close to her, she was still caught in the impact of the explosion. Her armor could no longer provide any defense, and the shock wave sent her flying again, almost hurled into the street!

The ice chains broke into pieces inside the flames, and soon melted into water. The woman never expected she would be in such a pinch, even though she was an Advanced Magician!

She had been too careless. If she knew her opponent had the fourth-tier Fiery Fist, she would have used her subordinates as cannon fodder, giving her the chance to finish him with the Advanced Spell Icebound Coffin!

Now, she was in a very disadvantageous position. She had no chance to draw an Ice Star Constellation!

“Damn it, if my Water Element had reached the Advanced Level too, I would have easily defeated this kid!” The woman clumsily climbed over the fence of the park.

The Advanced Water Spell, Water Curtain, was the perfect defensive barrier. If she had the chance to construct a Water Curtain before channeling an Advanced Spell, the kid would have no chance of harming her even if his fist wore out!

She had to admit that her Advanced Level Ice Element was completely suppressed by her opponent’s ability!

“What are you waiting for? Kill him!” Her skin was already festering from the burns. She screamed at her other five subordinates like a monster.

The five Black Clergy were Intermediate Magicians, too. Although they would most likely be killed by the kid with a single punch, anything was better than her, a Blue Deacon, dying!

The five Black Clergy were dumbfounded.

Two of their comrades had already been already blasted into ashes just a few moments ago, even after they were shielded by a Light Protection: Sacred Shield and a Rock Barrier…

The power of the punch that the Fire Magician threw was too destructive for them to handle!

However, if they did not make their move, they would all die, too. As such, they proceeded to command the Cursed Beasts and start drawing Star Patterns.

Five Black Clergy attacking simultaneously was not to be underestimated. Each of them was able to cast Intermediate Spells, but their channeling speed was too slow compared to Mo Fan’s, not to mention their lack of Soul Seeds.

Star Patterns of different colors appeared under their feet. Soon, the brown-haired Black Clergyman completed a Plant Spell. Green vines began to grow from the ground under his feet.

At the same time, a crimson-red shadow appeared behind him. Its icy, emotionless eyes were staring down at the Plant Magician’s head!

The crimson-red shadow attacked at lightning speed. Its skeletal hand grabbed the man’s head and crushed it to pieces, like it was pinching a watermelon!

The Plant Magician was totally clueless about what just happened. His eyes popped out and fell to the ground, still in a widened state, as if he was trying to see what had killed him.

The other four Black Clergy were still busy drawing Star Patterns. Their bodies were splattered with blood before they could react. One of them turned around and shockingly discovered an enraged skeleton standing there!

-Un…undead?

-But when did this undead?…-

The crimson-red steel skeleton was utterly savage. It grabbed another Black Clergyman and tore him in half with brute force.

Not far away, Su Xiaoluo and another villager almost fainted. They had witnessed death before, but never as gruesome as this.

The blood-red skeleton was incredibly fast. After it killed two of the Black Clergy instantly, it suddenly thrust its arm forward. The limb transformed into a long spear, puncturing the chest of another Black Clergyman.

The Black Clergyman was stuck on the skeleton’s arm. He did not die instantly, yet he was flung to the ground by the skeleton like trash, his life force and blood draining away slowly.

The remaining two Black Clergy reacted fairly quickly. They immediately summoned their Cursed Beasts back to protect themselves.

Two Cursed Beasts made it back in time and pounced at the skeleton’s head and legs, trying to destroy it with their sharp claws.

A piercing metallic screech resulted. The two Cursed Beasts basically hit a piece of steel, leaving only faint marks on the skeleton.

The crimson-red skeleton grabbed the head of the Cursed Beast that was running toward it and slammed it in the direction of the other Cursed Beast…

The two Cursed Beasts collided with one another and fell to the cement stairs, which were destroyed. By the time they got back to their feet, the arms of the crimson-red skeleton had swiftly transformed into bone hammers.

The bone hammers rose above its head, and struck down fiercely at the Cursed Beasts stacked on top of one another. The cement of the lot immediately cracked for ten meters around the impact point, like a great spiderweb!

The bone hammers were lifted up and sent down again. A ring of dust drifted into the air, while splinters and bloody flesh splattered across the place!

The crimson-red skeleton leapt into the air. This time, it stretched the bone hammers into a full crescent and with a thunderous roar, slammed them down like a bolt of crimson-red lightning.

The two Cursed Beasts did not have a chance to struggle. As the stairs were smashed into a pit, the minced meat the creatures had turned into simply filled up the hole.

Such violence and rage left the two remaining Black Clergy trembling in fear.

When they finally remembered to run away, the shadow of the bone hammers loomed over them…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Another loud crash took place. The two Black Clergy did not survive either, not even their bodies could be found.

Liu Ru, who was fighting against the other Cursed Beasts, was astounded.

Obviously, the crimson-red steel skeleton was Fang Gu’s undead. If he actually used this skeleton to attack the people of Hua Village, not a single one would have been able to survive. The skeleton’s strength was too overwhelming. Even the Warrior-level Cursed Beasts were killed in just a few blows!

As there were two lesser Cursed Beasts now, Liu Ru suddenly felt the pressure lifted off her shoulders. Meanwhile, the crimson-red skeleton seemed like it had yet to fully enjoy itself, and it continued to charge toward the Cursed Beasts and Dark Beast Monsters and butchered them…

—

Little Flame Belle’s crisp voice appeared beside Mo Fan’s ear. She was telling Daddy Mo Fan that the new missile had been loaded, ready to fire at anytime!

Mo Fan’s lips curled into a cold grin. He was staring at the female deacon, who was still trying to set up her defense.

An Advanced Magician?

He had never seen any Advanced Magician weaker than her!

Having more layers of defense would not make any difference, as long as they were not Advanced Spells. Little Flame Belle’s Meteorite Fist could easily blast her into ashes!

The woman’s face contorted when she saw the other brown flame rising from Mo Fan’s body.

She could barely resist his fourth-tier Fiery Fist, but if Mo Fan were to attack with the Meteorite Fist that was equivalent to an Advanced Spell, even a few extra lives were not enough for her to survive.

Brown, red, the two flames combined together, it was none other than the combination of the Meteorite Fist from little Flame Belle’s Possess and the fourth-tier Fiery Fist, the super Fiery Fist that had sent the Flesh Mound Corpse Official flying!

“Stop…stop it!”

As Mo Fan unleashed his murderous aura, a fairly timid voice appeared. “I’m telling you to stop. Otherwise, your friend is going to die!” the voice grew firmer. He was grabbing onto a magical weapon which looked like a dagger.

The dagger was held right at Zhang Xiaohou’s neck. It could easily slice Zhang Xiaohou’s throat open.

Zhang Xiaohou’s expression remained blank as usual. He did not show too much reaction even when a sharp weapon was held at his throat.

Mo Fan frowned and glanced at the person coldly.

“Hong Jun, what are you doing?!” snapped Su Xiaoluo furiously.

Chief Xie Sang was confused, too. He glanced at Hong Jun, who had suddenly grabbed Zhang Xiaohou and blurted out, “Hong Jun, the Black Vatican are not good people either, what are you doing?”

“Chief, do you not understand still?” Mo Fan wore a mocking grin as he was able to see the truth with a single glance.

“HAHAHAHA, well done, who would have thought that a little Gray Priest would be useful at such crucial times. Nice job, I’ll take you up once we’re done here. You’re smarter than those clergy that died!” the female deacon suddenly burst out laughing.

“Hong Jun, how could you, we are people from the villages, we are obliged to follow the teachings of our ancestors…” Su Xiaoluo was stunned too. She never thought Hong Jun was one of the Black Vatican.

But, Hong Jun had stayed in the village just like anyone else. How did he come into contact with the Black Vatican?

“Humph, don’t even talk to me about the teachings! You’re just a bunch of people living like primitive tribes! Idiots like you who stubbornly follow the teachings of your ancestors have no clue how marvelous the outside world is, and because of you overly conservative people, I was born in that shithole. I can’t fit in, even though I’m a Magician!” yelled Hong Jun.

“Three years…you’ve only left the village for three years, and you’ve turned into something like this…”

“I swore not to go back after the second month I left the village. If it weren’t for the orders given to me, do you really think I would bother going back to the village? What does the village have, apart from a bunch of idiots who either keep talking about the teachings of their ancestors or doing that cheap farm work for their entire lives? The most ridiculous thing is the rule about not being allowed to leave the village because of some god in the wells? F**king bullshit!” Hong Jun vented out all his frustrations toward the village. His face was twisted like a monster.

“But… that doesn’t mean you should join the Black Vatican instead! I even broke the rules given by the ancestors, chased the people of Sunny Goat Village away, and even stole some of the Water of Kun every month, just so your path as a Magician would be smoother, just so you could grow stronger than those who ridiculed you…” said Chief Xie Sang, whose face was full of despair.

“It’s too slow, the benefits that the Water of Kun provided to my cultivation are too slow! You could never imagine what the Black Vatican offered to me!” said Hong Jun.

“Don’t worry, once you are promoted to a Black Clergyman, you can do whatever you want. Money, women, fame, respect, whoever dares to mock you because of your background, you can turn them into Dark Beast Monsters, into your slaves!” the female deacon burst out laughing.

The two flames rising from Mo Fan’s body did not dissipate. He did not expect someone from the village would collude with the Black Vatican. After all, the people of the villages were basically cut off from the rest of the world. It was difficult for the people of Black Vatican to blend in, and it would not do any good to the Black Vatican, either. To his surprise, this Hong Jun, who had only spent three years outside the village to study and become a Magician, was already corrupted!

Or perhaps, the guy always hated his background. He was a slave driven by his desires from the beginning, and the Black Vatican just happened to be able to fulfill his dreams.

“So everything happened because of your greed. How are you going to face the villagers who died!” snapped Su Xiaoluo furiously.

“There are only a bunch of people that lived like slaves doing farm work, who cares if they are dead? They always mentioned how great and sacred the teachings of the ancestors were, yet they were nothing but jokes to outsiders!” said Hong Jun.

Xie Sang could not find any words. He had disobeyed the teachings of his ancestors and put the lives of villagers to an end, just so he could satisfy his son’s desire to become a reputable Magician. He never thought it would come to this…

As he thought about the villagers that Fang Gu had killed to avenge his people, and his son who he didn’t know anymore, he suddenly felt dispirited and fell to the ground, as if he had lost his soul.

“Chief,” Zhang Xiaohou’s voice came.

Chief Xie Sang raised his head. He did not understand why the retarded kid was calling him.

“To be honest, I always thought you were one of the Black Vatican,” said Zhang Xiaohou calmly, whose eyes looked alive for once.

The chief was startled. He did not quite catch what Zhang Xiaohou was trying to say. However, for some reason, he felt that the kid’s tone was not as retarded as before…

“Brother Fan, I’m sorry to drag you into such a mess again,” Zhang Xiaohou ignored Xie Sang’s reaction. He stared at Mo Fan with a smile.

Mo Fan responded with a smile too.

The Calamity Fire and the Rose Flame that remained burning on him suddenly grew stronger. His surroundings was fully immersed in a blinding blazing red.

Those that were supposed to die would still die; did the female deacon really think she could escape with the help of a mere traitor?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Hey, idiot, don’t tell me you still know how to say your last words? Tell him to extinguish his fire now, or you’ll be dead soon!” snapped Hong Jun.

Hong Jun put the sharp dagger closer to Zhang Xiaohou’s throat. It almost sliced into his artery.

Su Xiaoluo’s eyes became bloodshot upon seeing this. She looked at Mo Fan with a pleading gaze, hoping that Mo Fan would not abandon Zhang Xiaohou like that.

However, Mo Fan did not stop attacking. The flames erupted from his body like a volcano, as he threw the terrifying meteorite fist forward!

“Damn it, how dare you ignore me!” Hong Jun’s face contorted.

He pulled the dagger with all his strength, slicing at Zhang Xiaohou’s throat. He wanted to let Mo Fan know the consequences of underestimating him. Everyone who looked down on him must die!

If it weren’t because he kept feeling a pair of eyes watching him all the time, he would have killed this idiot who kept sticking close to Su Xiaoluo. He would not have waited until today.

The dagger swept past. Its momentum could easily slice one’s throat open, the guy had no intention to show any mercy…

However, the fresh blood that was supposed to jet out did not appear. The truth was, the dagger had only sliced across the air. There was no sensation of the dagger stabbing into someone’s flesh!

The furious Hong Jun could only see a flicker before him, followed by a surging gust. Zhang Xiaohou had already disappeared, and he sensed a great chill from behind.

“You’re a hopeless dumb ass, the Black Vatican is full of assholes, yet you’re still willing to be their slave. You who colluded with demon creatures are not worthy to be called a Magician!” Zhang Xiaohou’s voice came from behind him.

Hong Jun felt a chill down his spine. He fiercely stabbed the dagger backwards, yet it only caught the afterimage of Zhang Xiaohou’s movement.

Zhang Xiaohou was already two meters away. His eyes were lively and aware.

Raising his hand, a strong wind suddenly blew in front of Zhang Xiaohou. The rapid gust immediately turned into a tornado sweeping forward.

Hong Jun had no time to react. The wind tossed him into the air.

The wind grew stronger, lifting Hong Jun higher up into the sky. His figure was as tiny as a stalk of grass. Under Zhang Xiaohou’s control, the tornado continued to rise higher, drawing the raindrops nearby into it.

“Don’t kill…” Su Xiaoluo was just about to beg for mercy for Hong Jun’s sake.

However, the wind suddenly turned sharp like sabers, sweeping past Hong Jun’s body, amputating him continuously before he turned into a blood mist.

“I can promise you anything, but I will never spare the life of someone from the Black Vatican!” Zhang Xiaohou said to Su Xiaoluo expressionlessly.

The blood rain poured down, falling behind Zhang Xiaohou, who was quite somber. Su Xiaoluo glanced at him in astonishment, feeling that he was now a different person.

Meanwhile, the meteorite split into nine fiery dragons, devouring the female deacon of the Black Vatican.

The woman screamed in pain, trying to beg for mercy. However, Mo Fan’s intent to kill was as determined as Zhang Xiaohou’s. When he recalled that all of Bo City was treated as a mere test run by the Black Vatican, Mo Fan felt the urge to throw a few more punches at the woman’s corpse.

Little Flame Belle left Mo Fan’s body and landed nimbly on his shoulder.

Mo Fan turned his head sideways. His cold face finally wore a smile, “You did a good job today.”

Little Flame Belle wriggled happily at his words.

Mo Fan slowly walked up to Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou looked at him with a hint of remorse and said, “I’m sorry, Brother Fan…”

“It’s fine, I know you have your own reasons. Now, can you tell me what happened to the village?” Mo Fan did not blame Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou looked at Mo Fan in surprise.

He admitted that he had always pretended to suffer from amnesia, acting like he had turned into an idiot. There was only one reason behind it: to protect himself!

“Brother Fan, when you showed up at Hua Village, I almost lost myself, I never thought you would come, really…” Zhang Xiaohou glanced at Mo Fan. He seemed to be losing control of his emotions.

He was severely injured, only a step away from dying.

He did lose his memory for a while due to the strong blow to his head. He only recovered slowly after he was treated by Su Xiaoluo.

That night where they were chased by the Hatchet Corpse General, the others were either chopped to death, or fell into the Dark Abyss that appeared out of nowhere…

The Hatchet Corpse General was going to push him into the Dark Abyss too, but it ended up sparing his life, perhaps because of his kindness when he turned around, trying to save her.

However, Zhang Xiaohou had discovered an unbelievable sight.

He saw people of the Black Vatican close to the Dark Abyss!

Zhang Xiaohou never thought he would stumble into people of the Black Vatican on the night of the incident, and they were so near the Dark Abyss.

Zhang Xiaohou was going to take a closer look, but he was spotted by them. In the end, he could only flee as fast as he could, suffering a serious injury…

He ran all the way to Hua Village, where Su Xiaoluo saved him.

While he was recovering, he was almost poisoned to death, making him realize that someone in the village had colluded with the Black Vatican. They were trying to silence him!

As such, Zhang Xiaohou could only pretend he was suffering from amnesia as his disguise.

He knew clearly that once the Black Vatican discovered he had seen something he was not supposed to, they would send out Blue Deacons to eliminate him. In order to protect himself, and make sure he could tell the others what he had seen, Zhang Xiaohou had no choice but to put up an act as an idiot!

He had waited so long just to find who the person from the Black Vatican was.

Zhang Xiaohou thought it was only a matter of time until he was killed, yet to his surprise, Mo Fan came to his rescue.

He had come all the way here, to a place separated from the world, crossing the area of Xianchi that no Magician was willing to cross. Zhang Xiaohou felt like he could no longer keep up his act. He had wanted to give Mo Fan a hug, and tell him what he had gone through…

But he did not dare to do so, the person from Black Vatican would be watching him.

He believed that if he showed any sign of recovering the slightest bit of his memory, or even tried to talk to Mo Fan alone, the person would surely notify the higher-ups of the Black Vatican, and would eliminate them before they could make it out of Xianchi.

“But from what I know about the Black Vatican, they wouldn’t just leave a potential threat like you alive, if you really saw something that you were not meant to…” Mo Fan raised his doubts.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think someone else is watching Hua Village apart from the people of the Black Vatican. It’s the reason why they didn’t get too aggressive on me. Otherwise, I would have been dead now,” Zhang Xiaohou admitted sternly.

Mo Fan was stunned, he immediately looked at Liu Ru.

Liu Ru softly nodded and said, “It must be the same person who gave me the blood serums.”

“Then you’ve made the right choice to pretend that you were suffering from amnesia. The Black Vatican would have to send out Blue Deacons to kill you, but since the plan related to the rain is their first priority, the Blue Deacons would not show up so easily, as they had to be even more cautious…” Mo Fan nodded.

That being said, Mo Fan almost broke into a sweat after reevaluating the situation.

Mo Fan did speculate that Zhang Xiaohou was putting up an act as a disguise, but he never thought so many people were actually watching him!

“So what did you see?” Su Xiaoluo finally ran out of patience.

Now that they had gotten rid of the spy Hong Jun, Zhang Xiaohou could finally tell them the truth.

“Mm, what did you see?” Mo Fan’s voice sank.

Zhang Xiaohou had endured such hardships just to protect the information. It must be extremely important, and might be related to this huge conspiracy looming over the city!

“He was wearing a mask, I couldn’t recognize him, but the people of Black Vatican called him Great Deacon Hu Jin,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“Great Deacon Hu Jin?” Mo Fan was confused.

“He’s in charge of all the Blue Deacons of Black Vatican, Salan’s right-hand man. He must have played an extremely important role in this conspiracy…” Fang Gu slowly walked out from the shadows and glanced at the trembling villagers coldly.

“How do you know?” asked Liu Ru.

“I had contact with the Black Vatican before. I purposely left one of their people alive, to learn who was trying to hunt me down. The man was a tough one, so I had no choice but to threaten him with the Undeath, forcing him to spill the beans,” replied Fang Gu.

“But the Black Vatican is very strict about keeping their identities a secret. If that woman was still alive, we might be able to learn more information,” said Liu Ru.

“Forget it, for something as huge as this, the Blue Deacons are only in charge of a small part of the whole thing. They won’t know the details. If we really want to know what their next move is, we’ll have to find this Great Deacon Hu Jin,” said Fang Gu confidently.

“Houzi, why were they trying to kill you? You didn’t even see his face,” said Mo Fan in confusion.

“I heard his voice, and somehow it felt slightly familiar, but I can’t remember who the person is…” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“Familiar?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that I’ve heard the voice in Bo City. It was raining quite heavily that day, but if I can surely identify the person if I can hear his voice again!” said Zhang Xiaohou in a serious tone.

Mo Fan frowned as his breathing intensified.

It turned out that someone from the Black Vatican was right around them!

“I believe he knows me, too. He must be worried that I would recognize his voice, thus he immediately sent his men to silence me. Even after I reached Hua Village, he still asked Hong Jun to spy on me. If I did something that would pose the slightest threat of revealing his identity, he would eliminate me and the people around me at once…” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“So you’ve pretended to stay with me like a retard, just so the spy wouldn’t feel suspicious?” said Su Xiaoluo.

“Well… that’s not it,” Zhang Xiaohou’s face blushed.

“What is it then?” Su Xiaoluo pursued further.

“To repay your kindness for saving his life! We’ll talk about the romance between you two later. Houzi, can’t you remember whose voice it was? If we can learn his identity… you mentioned that he’s from Bo City?” blurted out Mo Fan.

“Yeah, he must be someone from Bo City. Maybe he’s someone we both saw before,” said Zhang Xiaohou confidently.

“But, there were many people that were allocated here to the Ancient Capital. How can we find this Great Deacon Hu Jin?” said Liu Ru.

Liu Ru and Mo Fan had already paid a visit to Bo City Street. Only a small group of people from Bo City were living there, while the others were scattered across the Ancient Capital. The information Zhang Xiaohou had brought back was crucial, yet it was too vague!

“Come, let’s look for Mu Bai, Zhou Ming, and the others. They have spent a longer time in the Ancient Capital. Maybe they can help us find this Great Deacon Hu Jin. On top of that, we should tell Zhu Meng about it, too…” said Mo Fan.

“I’ll come with you, I’ll help too,” said Fang Gu.

“Oh, I thought you were going to kill the rest of them. As the saying goes, drop the butcher’s knife and immediately become a Buddha…” Mo Fan looked at Fang Gu in surprise.

“I’ve already avenged my people. I’ll turn myself in to the Enforcement Union when we reach the inner city, if we managed to survive,” Fang Gu turned his head around for a glance behind them.

A dense mass of black moving figures!

A shocking sight!

The ocean of undead was already less then kilometer away. When the noise from the shaking ground reached a certain level, it felt like the whole place had fallen into dead silence!

When everyone turned around after they were done with the Black Vatican, they could smell the approaching death, darkness, and fear, the sense of being caught in an ocean of despair that could overwhelm their souls!

It felt like their hearts were close to exploding from their fear of the approaching calamity!

The shocking undead tide was strong enough to crush the buildings, parks, streets and schools… and humans were incredibly tiny!

On the other hand, the inner city was covered in a golden barrier. The inner walls had stood tall for over a thousand years, but could it survive this calamity of undead?

——

Everything behind them was turned into nothing.

The army of undead did not need to do anything. They were simply advancing forward, bringing darkness upon the city. It felt like both the sky and the ground were filled with them.

The inner city under the protection of the golden barrier had turned into an isolated island surrounded by a black ocean with no visible end. The tide surged fiercely, shrouding the sky and the sun. The inner city quaked vigorously, and felt like it would be devoured at any second!

The soldiers stood in lines on the walls. Their eyes were full of terror, regardless of their ranks.

The time had come after all!

The undead had overrun the outer city and devoured half of the city. Those who did not escape to the inner city in time were all dead, as there was zero chance for them to survive.

The cries of the undead were so loud that the inner city was shaking constantly, but the world was immersed in dead silence. As the ocean of undead pitch-black flesh, hills of skeletons, and tides of phantoms came closer, the people almost felt their hearts shattering to pieces from the overwhelming shock!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Northern Gate, the crowd was tiny like sand, pushing their way toward the inner walls slowly. However, the black tide had already arrived.

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people, death was lingering in every corner, as destruction like that of an apocalypse descended!

In the past, the people standing on the walls would see the city as a flourishing scene of prosperity. Even though it was not as colorful and luxurious as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the unique atmosphere of the city after the history it had gone through was somewhat attractive. Every brick and tile had its own touching story…

Now, the black storms consisted of the savage undead. The scene of an apocalypse was looming right over the city, crushing the life and buildings into nothing!

Cries and screams filled the cold air, each full of despair!

The zombies, phantoms, and skeletons came in like a tsunami. Both the land and the buildings crumbled, while the sky and clouds lost their usual color!

No one knew the number of people that had failed to reach the inner city safely. However, the sight of the crowded inner city, with so many people in tears while uttering cries of despair was enough to imply that there were still countless people out there…

The inner city gradually fell silent.

No one had the energy or mood to ask around for information about their close ones. The overwhelming calamity had crushed their dignity, integrity, and questioning!

It was Heaven’s will to destroy the city. Once the city was destroyed, it would then lead them into utter destruction!

——

The streets were fully crowded with people. Vehicles were no longer allowed to occupy their usual spots. The people curled up in the corners, crying tears of despair and hiding their heads between their legs. They were clueless whether they should wait patiently for their death, or continue to pray so they could survive the calamity.

Even the expected noise such a huge crowd would normally make was no longer present. The majority of the people already had their souls crushed by the calamity, leaving only empty shells behind.

More tears were shed than the raindrops. The chill in their hearts was stronger than the cold of winter. No one could care less about their personal gain or loss, or if they could stay in spots that were slightly cozier. After all, they had no chance of escaping from the fate of being devoured by the ocean of undead. Perhaps everyone had already fallen into the kingdom of the dead, where humans appeared to be so petty and miniscule.

Zhang Xiaohou kept on taking deep breaths and clenching his fists as he weaved through the crowd on the streets full of people.

Useless, he was so useless!

He had seen the people of Black Vatican planning something close to the Ancient Capital so much earlier, yet why did he not suspect that they were plotting to invoke such a disaster?

Most importantly, he had already heard that Great Deacon Hu Jin’s voice, yet why could he not remember who the person was!?

If they were able to deal with the Black Vatican earlier, they could have avoided this disaster!

The people on the streets were stacked together regardless of age or gender. Everyone had a blank face, not because of the apocalypse surrounding the tiny inner city, but because of the memories of their families and friends being devoured by the undead, robbing them of the motivation to live further.

To many people, even the death of someone close to them was seen as the apocalypse, let alone when they were left all alone in this world.

“What is it?” asked Su Xiaoluo, when she saw Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes reddening.

Zhang Xiaohou wiped his wet eyes and inhaled a mouthful of the sour air before he said, “The year we graduated from high school, when our Bo City was turned into rivers of blood, I told myself that I would not let anything like this happen again. I must become stronger, strong enough to destroy anything that would bring despair to mankind… but after all these years, the same thing is happening again; more people are dead, more Magicians have been sacrificed, and I’m still the same as the old me, unable to do anything. I can only watch it all happen, like a useless piece of trash.”

The sense of feeling tiny was something that Zhang Xiaohou hated to the bones.

The golden barrier protecting the inner city would not last for long. In no time, he would be watching the people around him dying again…

He had already experienced it before. He would rather die than suffer the same torture again.

He wanted to do something. When he saw the people suffering around him, he wanted to help them; anything was better than pettily waiting for their deaths.

“It’s not your fault, it’s just that the Black Vatican are a bunch of cunning lunatics. It’s not like you didn’t do anything either, at least you’ve learned that someone behind this conspiracy is from Bo City. Perhaps we can find out who that Great Deacon Hu Jin is once Mo Fan finds your old classmates,” Su Xiaoluo tried to comfort him.

As soon as Su Xiaoluo finished her sentence, she saw a few people approaching them among the crowd. The person leading them was none other than Mo Fan, still in his same black shirt.

“Mo Fan, over here!” Su Xiaoluo waved her hand.

Mo Fan led Mu Bai, Zhou Ming, Zhao Kunsan, and Wang Sanpang over to them. He glanced at Fang Gu, who had stayed with them and let out a wry smile when he saw Zhang Xiaohou’s bloodshot eyes.

Mu Bai and the others were wearing the same unpleasant looks. They had witnessed the same thing before too. They thought everything was already in the past, yet it turned out that a scarier nightmare had arrived.

“I’ve told them about the situation. Houzi, they are going to say the names of the people they know, and you’ll do some deductions… we have to find out who that Great Deacon Hu Jin is as soon as possible, and inform Councilman Zhu Meng at once so the authorities can react accordingly,” Mo Fan said to Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded grimly.

Mu Bai, Zhou Ming, Zhao Kunsan and Wang Sanpang had grim expressions, too. They had taken a while to calm down after learning the truth from Mo Fan.

“I’ll go first: among the people I know, only Lin Yuxing and Deng Kai are Magicians. I haven’t seen Lin Yuxing for many years. She took great care of me when we first came to the Ancient Capital,” said Zhou Ming.

“Lin Yuxing, she’s here too?” Mo Fan was slightly surprised.

The attractive girl in a white uniform with a strong sense of justice immediately crossed Mo Fan’s mind when her name was mentioned.

It was Lin Yuxing who handed him the Underground Holy Spring at Bo City. She had put her life at stake just to protect the precious Underground Holy Spring. She was definitely one of the reasons why Bo City was not entirely wiped out!

“There’s no way Lin Yuxing is on the Black Vatican’s side,” said Mo Fan confidently.

“How about Deng Kai?” asked Mu Bai.

Deng Kai was a superior in the Hunter Union. He had fought hard to protect Bo City, too.

After Headmaster Xiao died in the calamity, Deng Kai was supposed to replace him as the headmaster of Tian Lan Magic High. However, Bo City was turned into a military station, and Tian Lan Magic High was now a military academy. Deng Kai had moved to the Ancient Capital, too.

“Deng Kai’s voice is quite unique, I still remember it, I don’t think he’s the one,” said Zhang Xiaohou, shaking his head.

“Mu Bai, your turn, you would know most of them,” said Mo Fan.

Mu Bai fell into a thoughtful state. It seemed like he had something to say, but he had no idea where to start.

“Mu Bai, what are you doing, we’re running out of time… don’t you want to find out who the person from Black Vatican is? Don’t forget that they are the ones who destroyed our hometown. We must get our revenge!” yelled Zhou Ming.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Bai reacted even more suspiciously as everyone set their gaze on him.

“Mu Bai, don’t tell me… your cultivation did improve a lot over the years…” Wang Sanpang looked at Mu Bai in fear.

“Hey fatty, enough with your nonsense, there’s no way Mu Bai is one of the Black Vatican. He hated them more than any of us. Don’t think that you’re the only one whose families died at their hands!” yelled Zhao Kunsan with a blushing face.

“I’m sure Mu Bai isn’t, but do you have someone you’re suspicious of?” asked Mo Fan.

Mu Bai was a green tea man without a doubt, but he was definitely not the same kind as Hong Jun, who would twist his personality in order to achieve his personal desires. The guy was extremely self-willed, and most importantly, they had all grown up together. There was no way he would have been brainwashed by the Black Vatican.

“The truth is, I only heard this from my mum a while ago, it’s not like I’m trying to hide something,” Mu Bai’s voice turned slightly deeper.

“Oh?”

Mu Bai was about to tell them his speculations when a few Imperial Magician in purple robes flew towards them from the inner walls.

Initially, they thought the Imperial Magicians were heading toward the Clock Tower Magic Association, but they were surprised when the Magicians landed before them.

The captain of the Imperial Magicians scanned the group and asked coldly, “Pardon me, is Fang Gu here?”

“I am…” Fang Gu did not hide his identity. He slowly walked forward and said with a hollow laugh, “As a sinful man, I’m quite honored that the Captain of the Imperial Magicians, Lu Huan, is here to catch me. To bother wasting your time on a murderer like me, you Imperial Magicians are quite intriguing.”

Fang Gu already mentioned that he would turn himself in to the Enforcement Union.

However, in the middle of such a terrifying disaster, it was a great relief if the city merely managed to survive. The Enforcement Union had no time to waste on a criminal like him.

Fang Gu was simply going with the flow. As a matter of fact, he was quite intrigued to learn who this Great Deacon Hu Jin was, a man trying to give the thousand-year Ancient Capital a burial ceremony!

“You all are coming with me,” Lu Huan waved his hand, ordering his men to take the group with them.

Mo Fan was entirely confused, but considering that these Imperial Magicians would simply bring them to Zhu Meng, he simply let the Magicians take them away.

The Imperial Magicians all had the ability to fly, so they each took two people with them. Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, Su Xiaoluo, Fang Gu, Mu Bai, Zhou Ming, Liu Ru, Wang Sanpang, and Zhao Kunsan were all dragged away.

Initially, Mo Fan thought the Imperial Magicians would bring them to the Clock Tower Magic Association, but they ended up arriving at some residence.

It was hard to find such a spacious residence when the inner city was fully crowded with people. It was obvious that the place was somewhere important…

“Captain, you can go back now. The Nether Bone Ruler is still watching the city. We’ll bring them in,” said one of the Imperial Magicians.

Lu Huan nodded. He quickly flew into the sky and headed for the Northern Gate with a single beat of the enormous pair of white wings on his back.

The inner city was not too big. It did not take much time for the captain of the Imperial Magicians to travel back and forth, yet it was quite shocking that they would send the captain of the Imperial Magicians to hunt Fang Gu down for what he had done.

The status of the captain of the Imperial Magicians was even higher than Councilman Zhu Meng here in the Ancient Capital. He was in charge of the strongest troop of Magicians in the whole Ancient Capital, consisting of the best Advanced Magicians…

The Flesh Mound Corpse Officials had greatly disrupted the evacuation of the people in the outer city. However, the Imperial Magicians still managed to eliminate many Flesh Mound Corpse Officials within a short period of time. Otherwise, at least half of the people who had successfully evacuated to the inner city would have died!

“So he’s Lu Huan… rumors say he’s the strongest man in the Ancient Capital. He once killed an Undead Ruler on his own!” said Zhou Ming, admiringly glancing after the purple figure flying away.

“It’s exaggerating to say he’s the strongest, but he’s definitely in the top three,” said a rather friendly-looking Imperial Magician with a smile. He led the group into the residence.

The residence was in fact fairly crowded. Most of the people were hiding indoors. The beautiful garden was full of boxes containing medicines, leaving only a single path that people could barely walk through.

“Feel free to sit anywhere,” said an old man, walking out before the group reached the building.

The group exchanged glances with one another. Mo Fan was the first to sit down on a box of medicine. The others proceeded to take their seats, although they were still utterly confused by the situation.

“On behalf of the higher-ups in the Magic Association, I must thank you for escorting Fang Gu here,” the black-haired old man gave them a slight bow.

Fang Wu was completely confused too. Even though he had committed murders, was it really necessary to send him here, considering the situation they were in? There was no doubt that this old man was the president of the Clock Tower Magic Association, Han Ji!

First the captain of the Imperial Magicians, and now the president of the Clock Tower Magic Association; everyone was a great authority of the Ancient Capital, whose decisions could decide the fate of the entire city!

“Fang Gu, do you still have a portion of the Water of Kun?” Han Ji switched his gaze on Fang Gu and asked straightforwardly.

“Why are you asking about this? Aren’t you going to punish me for my sins?” asked Fang Gu in confusion.

The Black Vatican was after the Water of Kun. Why were the people of the Magic Association after it too? Even though the Water of Kun was the key to this conspiracy, the disaster had already taken place. What was the point of finding the Water of Kun now?

“We’ll talk about your sins later, saving the lives of millions of people in the inner city is our top priority now. The Water of Kun is the only thing that can neutralize the effect of the Dew of Nine Serenities. We hope you can hand over the Water of Kun, so we can put the undead to sleep,” Han Ji’s voice was calm, yet the stern look in his eyes took away one’s courage to oppose him.

The group was shocked when they heard the information.

It turned out that the Water of Kun was able to neutralize the Dew of Nine Serenities. If they sprinkled the Water of Kun into the clouds, the undead would no longer be able to move in the day. The ocean of undead would simply sink into the soil…

That was a great news!

There was hope to save the city!

Fang Gu never thought about that, but his shocked expression was soon replaced with a hint of hopelessness.

“I’m sorry, really sorry, if I still have the Water of Kun, I would hand it over as a way to cleanse my sins, but I’ve already used the remaining Water of Kun to refine my undead…I’ll summon it out, and if you manage to acquire the Water of Kun from it, I…I won’t mind you killing it,” said Fang Gu honestly.

Following his words, Fang Gu drew a Star Pattern and summoned the crimson-red skeleton in front of the group. It glanced at its surroundings with a blank, bony face.

“Fang Tu, the Water of Kun can save the people of this city, they are going to…” said Fang Gu to the skeleton. Even though his tone was calm, everyone could sense the unwillingness in his words.

“There’s no need for that… it looks like we won’t be able to escape our fate,” Han Ji mumbled to himself after taking a single glance at the skeleton, which seemed to have given his soul a huge blow. “We won’t be able to escape our fate…”

It was impossible to retrieve the Water of Kun even if they smelted the skeleton. Their only hope to neutralize the Dew of Nine Serenities was gone. The city, even protected by the golden barrier, would soon be destroyed, regardless if it was daytime or nighttime!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Oh right, Brother Fan, don’t you have the Underground Holy Spring?” asked Zhang Xiaohou, as a sudden thought crossed his mind.

As soon as Zhang Xiaohou asked the question, the eyes of President Han Ji flickered as he interrupted, “The Underground Holy Spring from Bo City?”

“Yes, the Underground Holy Spring from Bo City!” a masked man in gray-white outfit slowly walked out. His glittering eyes were looking at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan scrutinized the man thoroughly, yet had no idea who he was.

At the same time, Liu Ru moved closer to Mo Fan and whispered to him, “It’s him, he’s the one that gave me the blood serums, and has been following us.”

“You have been keeping an eye on the Black Vatican, but why were you watching the people of Hua Village and Zhang Xiaohou, too?”

“I was entrusted by someone to do so,” said the man.

“Entrusted?” Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were even more confused.

“We’ll discuss it later. Besides, I can’t tell you even if you ask. Mo Fan, do you still have the Underground Holy Spring?” the man remained on the topic.

“I do, but I’m in a similar position to Fang Gu,” Mo Fan said honestly.

If he had known earlier, he would have managed to squeeze some of the remaining Underground Holy Spring out from the Little Loach Pendant. He had used the same trick to bait the Black Vatican into the trap at the Magic City. However, the Underworld River had already taken shape inside the Little Loach Pendant. It was impossible to retrieve any Underground Holy Spring water from it.

“I don’t understand, why does the Underground Holy Spring matter in this situation?” asked Mu Bai curiously.

It was the same question that Mo Fan wanted to ask. They were clearly in need of the Water of Kun, but why would they suddenly be interested in the Underground Holy Spring? Could it be that it had the same effect?

“Brother Fan, the truth is, our Bo City and the villages came from the same ancestor a long time ago,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“More precisely, Bo City was once a tribe just like the villages. They moved far away to the south, and after a thousand years, they slowly grew into a city in the south. Meanwhile, the villages remained isolated from the world, hence they simply remained as villages…” added the mysterious man.

The jaws of Mu Bai, Mu Bai, Zhou Ming, Zhao Kunsan, and Wang Sanpang dropped!

“That was more than a thousand years ago, It’s like saying we are all descendants of the Yellow Emperor. I bet we’re not even related to the people from the villages anymore,” said Wang Sanpang.

The mysterious man nodded. The kid was right about that.

Many years had passed since their ancestors had moved to Bo City. Everyone would be related if you looked back long enough into the past.

However, Mo Fan suddenly recalled what Xinxia had mentioned to him!

Bo City were the descendants of some ancient emperor, who moved to the south and developed his power, starting from a village!

In other words, Xinxia’s teacher had speculated right. The ancestors of the people of Bo City were from the Ancient Capital, and were from the same origin as the people in the villages that were isolated from the world!

“The people of Bo City now have mixed lineage since there were many outsiders that moved to the city. It’s hard to say if anyone still has the pure bloodline now. However, there’s something that can prove that Bo City was from the same origin as the villages. The Underground Holy Spring that the people of Bo City protected for generations was actually the Water of Kun,” said President Han Ji, who had been relatively quiet.

Underground Holy Spring!

Water of Kun!

That’s right, the authorities of Bo City had been protecting the Underground Holy Spring because of some teaching of their ancestors, too. It was exactly the same as the Water of Kun!

Mo Fan slapped his forehead. Why hadn’t he thought about it!

This also explained why the Black Vatican was so eager to acquire the Underground Holy Spring and kept on chasing after him!

The Underground Holy Spring that Bo City had protected for centuries…

The people of Bo City were the descendants of some ancient emperor that had migrated to the south…

The Underground Holy Spring that the Black Vatican tried so hard to acquire…

The Water of Kun and the teachings of ancestors of the villages…

The Enraging Spring and the Dew of Nine Serenities!

The Underground Holy Spring and the Water of Kun…

It turned out that every piece of information was already right in front of him, yet he did not even link them together!

-Little Loach, spit out the Underground Holy Spring at once, you’re in big trouble!-

——

The end was still the same. Mo Fan’s Underground Holy Spring was already refined into the Little Loach’s source of energy ages ago. If they could not retrieve the Water of Kun from Fang Gu’s skeleton, there was no way they could retrieve a single drop of the Underground Holy Spring from the Little Loach Pendant.

Mo Fan desperately wanted to end the disaster too, but they just happened to be out of luck. It was as Han Ji described, they could not escape from their fate!

“It seems like our plan isn’t going to work, the Ancient King is still going to be awakened. Everything will be destroyed,” said Han Ji with a dull expression as if he had already predicted the outcome.

“There’s still hope, if we can find the tomb of the Ancient King.” The mysterious man had no intention of giving up.

“It’s been two thousand years since the end of the Qin Dynasty, but has anyone found his tomb? Well, I guess we’ll find it soon, as he’s going to wake up and become the king of this city that’s going to turn into a kingdom of undead!” said Han Ji.

Qin Dynasty!

The Ancient King!

The undead’s ancestor!

Mo Fan came to a realization when he heard the words.

History…

This world’s history was identical to the world he came from, so the Ancient King they were talking about…

It was the emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Ying Zheng!

-It’s him?

-Ridiculous, this is absolutely ridiculous, how could a person that has been dead for over two thousand years be responsible for this calamity here in the twenty-first century!

-No, no, no, this is a world of magic. The history records in this world clearly stated that the discoverer of the Undead Element was the emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Ying Zheng!

-History even mentioned that he had spent his whole life trying to find the pill of eternal life, just so he could stay alive forever.

-Eternal life…

Before, Mo Fan would simply laugh at the thought of it.

However, he no longer found it amusing.

If the history of the two worlds were identical, if the emperor of the Qin Dynasty Ying Zheng in this world of magic was the inventor of the Undead Element, the greatest threat of this calamity would be his awakening, and the eternal life he sought for was actually turning himself into an invincible undead!

Only when he was awakened would he be able to control this huge army of undead. Its numbers were so overwhelming that it could simply shroud the sky and the sun. The army was so large that it was going to overrun the enormous Ancient Capital like an ocean!

—

Mo Fan was utterly astonished after learning the truth.

The first time he experienced the vastness and fear of this world of magic was during the Calamity of Bo City, when he witnessed humans being freely massacred by the demon beasts. He could no longer evaluate the world with the same understanding he brought with him from his world.

And this time, an emperor from two thousand years ago was making a comeback.

His awakening and crowning ceremony were going to be an unstoppable massacre committed by the undead. The Ancient Capital was the gift the undead had presented to their king who was going to dominate the world. After all, it had once belonged to him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“So we are back to square one now with no idea what to do? Is our fate really in Heaven’s hands?” Han Ji raised his head and glanced outside of the golden barrier.

His eye sockets covered in wrinkles suddenly contracted. His eyeballs almost fell right through them.

The Mountain Zombie…

The Mountain Zombie was already in the City North. Its gigantic figure, which poked straight into the dark clouds, was too strong of a visual impact. Its eyes emitted the glow of death, already sentencing the whole place to death!

“Great Deacon Hu Jin, right, Mu Bai, weren’t you suspicious of someone?!” said Zhou Ming suddenly to Mu Bai as she recalled something.

“Why do you know the name of Salan’s right-hand man?” blurted out the mysterious man in surprise.

As Zhang Xiaohou explained what he had witnessed in the Xianchi area, the mysterious man suddenly came to a realization.

It turned out that him watching over Hua Village had somehow saved Zhang Xiaohou’s life, as it prevented the Black Vatican from doing anything reckless.

“It’s not me being suspicious, I just want to tell you something that my mum unintentionally told me a while ago,” spoke up Mu Bai.

“Then tell us quick, the lives of millions of people are at stake! The slightest clue might be the key to stopping the disaster!” said Mo Fan.

Mu Bai nodded and said with a deep voice, “Yu Ang, I believe you still remember him?”

“Mm, the Black Vatican’s lackey; what about him?” asked Zhou Ming.

“My mum only learned that Yu Ang was a member of the Black Vatican recently. She immediately followed up with a sigh and said, if it wasn’t for my uncle, who provided for him and recommended him to Mu Zhuoyun, he wouldn’t even have had the chance to live a comfortable life,” said Mu Bai.

“It’s true that the Mu Family was the one that brought in Yu Ang, before Mu Zhuoyun adopted him. It’s so frustrating to learn that he was actually serving the Black Vatican!” said Zhao Kunsan, while clenching his teeth.

“Yu Ang was already with the Black Vatican before joining the Mu Family. Mu Bai, are you implying that your uncle was actually the one who brought Yu Ang into your family?” Mo Fan confirmed as he caught the important piece of information.

“I…I don’t know, but I must tell you that the person who relocated the survivors of Bo City to the Ancient Capital was my uncle. He was responsible for it,” emphasized Mu Bai.

“Isn’t your uncle Mu He?” blurted out Zhao Kunsan.

As soon as the name was mentioned, Zhang Xiaohou palpitated with terror, as he suffered a sharp pain that felt like his head was about to explode!

President Han Ji’s eyes flickered. His face was filled with shock when he saw Zhang Xiaohou suddenly in pain.

Han Ji walked up to Zhang Xiaohou and grabbed his wrist. He quickly tore his sleeves open!

A black mark like a centipede was under Zhang Xiaohou’s skin on his arm. It looked like it was trying to dig deeper into his flesh, an extremely terrifying sight.

“Amnesia Bug!” Han Ji exclaimed in shock!

Su Xiaoluo and Mo Fan were stunned too. They were totally unaware of the black centipede inside Zhang Xiaohou’s body. It was difficult to tell how long the black centipede had stayed in his body. It was already as thick as a thumb. The thought of something like it inside someone’s body was incredibly gruesome!

Zhang Xiaohou seemed to be in extreme pain. His lips almost started bleeding as he bit his lips trying to endure the pain.

Han Ji’s body unleashed a milky-white glow, as a Healing Spirit Butterfly with huge wings danced on his fingertips. As Han Ji lifted his finger softly, the Healing Spirit floated into Zhang Xiaohou’s body and collided with the scary black poisonous centipede.

Zhang Xiaohou’s skin nearly turned transparent. A line of poison extended all the way from his wrist to his shoulder, then to the back of his neck, before disappearing into the back of his head…

“It’s the Amnesia Bug, no wonder he couldn’t remember what happened or who the person was. The Amnesia Bug is an eerie Psychic Element creature. It can eat the most important memory hidden deep inside one’s heart. If the person somehow remembers what happened during the day, it also means their life has come to an end!” explained the mysterious man.

“So that means the more memory he recovers…” Su Xiaoluo looked at the mysterious man in astonishment.

“The more he recovered, the closer he was to death! The medicine you’ve treated him with has most likely slowed down the Amnesia Bug’s growth. Otherwise, the poisonous creature would have killed him earlier. It’s a vicious art invented with the combination of the Psychic Element and Curse Element!” Han Ji gasped.

Zhang Xiaohou was in incredible pain, his body soaked in cold sweat. Even his veins were about to burst out from his skin.

The scariest thing was, the Amnesia Bug that looked like a centipede seemed to notice that its life was in danger. It followed the black line and climbed all the way to the back of Zhang Xiaohou’s head after killing the Healing Spirit!

“The Amnesia Bug has already grown into its adult phase. It’s extremely difficult to kill it now. It seems like not only did your friend hear Great Deacon Hu Jin’s voice, he must have learned their secret, too. However, he couldn’t remember it, he only remembered the man’s voice,” said the mysterious man in a deep voice.

Mo Fan and Su Xiaoluo’s hearts flinched when they saw Zhang Xiaohou suffering.

They initially thought Zhang Xiaohou had already fully recovered, he was only pretending to suffer from amnesia in order to protect himself from the Black Vatican. Even Zhang Xiaohou himself had no clue that he had actually forgotten the most important secret he was hiding in his heart. If the deepest memory surged into his mind, it would bring death upon him!

“Mu He, it’s Mu He!” screamed Zhang Xiaohou at the top of his lungs in the midst of the incredible pain, “And…and…”

“Stop it now, or you’re going to die!” yelled Han Ji.

The memory after Zhang Xiaohou encountered the Hatchet Corpse General surged into his mind, like a dream that he had forgotten for a long time. However, the more he thought about it, the stronger the sensation he felt as if his brain was about to explode!

Suddenly, the mysterious man made his move, hitting the back of Zhang Xiaohou’s neck with a hard blow to knock him out.

Zhang Xiaohou fell unconscious. He stopped searching for the lost memory. Meanwhile, the vein filled with the terrifying black poison slowly vanished too.

His body was pale white. Not a trace of blood could be seen on his face. Everyone gasped when they saw the Amnesia Bug!

Suffering from amnesia was not scary, but what was scarier was when you thought you remembered everything, yet you were completely unaware that you had already forgotten the most important part of your life in the past!

“We’re lucky that the president is here, as his third Element is the Healing Element. He only managed to save his life with his Super Level cultivation. Otherwise, Zhang Xiaohou would have died when the poison was triggered.” The mysterious man glanced at the fainted Zhang Xiaohou with huge relief.

Mo Fan’s face was twitching. The Black Vatican was so vicious that there was nothing they would not do.

Zhang Xiaohou managed to save his life once with his wisdom, yet little did everyone know, he was already a dead man. If they had not been summoned here because of Fang Gu, he would be a dead man now.

“Mu He, it’s really you!” Mo Fan clenched his fists as his chest heaved in anger.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mu He is Salan?” Zhou Ming, Zhao Kunsan, Wang Sanpang and Mu Bai were stunned!

It was a very scary thought. Mu He used to be one of the chairmen of Tian Lan Magic High. They were not unfamiliar with him.

Both Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou’s families used to work with the Mu Family. Mo Fan’s father Mo Jiaxin was even Mu He’s driver and assistant. When the thought of Mu He being the evil Salan who would not blink when killing people, they could not help but sense a great chill coming from deep within their souls!

“This…this is unbelievable,” Zhao Kunsan was no longer able to stand still. He staggered a few steps back.

Mu Bai fell completely silent. He was probably having the hardest time accepting the truth.

When his mother mentioned Yu Ang, he thought it was only a mere coincidence, or perhaps Yu Ang only had contact with the Black Vatican after he joined the Mu Family. When Zhang Xiaohou mentioned about the Great Deacon Hu Jin, Mu Bai immediately recalled this.

Mu He had always been kind to him, and he was also the senior that Mu Bai had the most respect for.

As such, Mu Bai was eager to clear his suspicion. Otherwise, how would he be able to regain his peace of mind?

However…the situation was heading for the worse.

It was impossible that the information that Zhang Xiaohou had acquired with his life at stake was unreliable, which meant that his uncle Mu He was actually a member of the Black Vatican. He even placed his pawn Yu Ang beside Mu Zhuoyun, and arranged for the people of Bo City to be reallocated to the Ancient Capital just so he could proceed with their plan…

“We’ve already detained Salan. This Mu He must be Great Deacon Hu Jin!” said the mysterious man sternly.

“Detained? Why haven’t you executed him yet?” said Mo Fan in astonishment.

“We would like to, but executing Salan means we’ll be killing almost ten Super Magicians too. We still don’t know exactly who Salan is yet,” admitted Han Ji.

The mysterious man explained how they had detained the authorities of the Ancient Capital in custody.

It was the only way they could come up with to trap Salan. The truth was, the man in the alleyway was not the only life sacrificed to acquire the information. There were people from the Magic Association’s Enforcement Union who managed to learn Salan’s true identity, but they were all killed.

Therefore, Han Ji and the mysterious man had to make a bet; there was no way they would let the person who was behind the conspiracy that had endangered the lives of millions of people in the Ancient Capital go easily.

“Zhu Meng, Du Xiao, Fei Jiao, and Lu Xu are among them? asked Mo Fan in shock.

Han Ji nodded, “I know Zhu Meng is the least suspicious, but…”

“So what, if we still can’t find out who Salan is?” asked Zhou Ming.

“If that’s the case…” Han Ji let out a sigh. Even he agreed that it was incredibly cruel to make the decision, making him look entirely worn out, “We can only…”

“We’ll execute them all!” said the mysterious man.

The air froze in that instant. Everyone stared at the president of the Magic Association and the mysterious man in disbelief.

Execute them all…

They were going to sacrifice almost ten innocent Super Magicians for the sake of killing one Salan. Wasn’t that way too extreme?!

They might be unfamiliar with the others, but Du Xiao, Zhu Meng, Fei Jiao and Lu Xu had greatly contributed to the Northern Walls. They risked their lives to fight the Phantom Tyrant Emperor.

“Is that… really worth it?” Fang Gu gasped.

“It’s the decision made by the higher-ups. Salan will continue to invoke even greater disasters as long as he’s alive. You have seen it too, how many lives and families were lost in this calamity… We’ve sacrificed a lot just to pin him down among this group of authorities; if we don’t kill him now, we won’t have the same chance again!” said Han Ji, clenching his teeth.

No one knew how great the price the Enforcement Union had paid just to find out who Salan was.

The truth was, they had planned to detain the assembled group of authorities long ago. They had only sent the decoy to confirm their speculation, just so the authorities were willing to be detained too…

They had to sacrifice a man’s life even for a simple goal like that. One could imagine the countless lives that had been sacrificed in order to come so far and keep Salan in custody.

What would anyone other organization do in their place?

Take a look at the ocean of undead, and the people crying in despair, waiting for their deaths in the city. Could they really afford to let Salan go?

The decision was totally unfair to the innocent authorities that were dragged into it, but they were left with no choice.

“The Black Vatican is going to awaken the Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Ying Zheng, next! Once he wakes up, the inner city will be turned into Hell. Do you think it’s worth it to exchange the lives of ten authority figures for the lives of the millions in the city? Do we even have a choice?” the mysterious man trembled as he swore.

He had always been hiding in the dark. His name was not written in the records of the glorious Magic Association. He was doing something similar to the Black Vatican, but the difference was the Black Vatican was bringing destruction to mankind, while he was sacrificing the lives of his people to try and stop the destruction.

After all these years, he had learned the truth, which was the fact that he was simply sacrificing the lives of a smaller group of people in exchange for the survival of the majority. Any mission that involved the survival of a city, or even a nation, was the same!

There was no peace without blood. The decision that the Magic Association made might have obstructed justice and moral principles. They would even be ashamed to face the innocent authorities and their families, yet at least they were doing it for the sake of the people suffering from the disaster Salan had brought on.

“But what if Salan wasn’t scared of dying to begin with? What if he was already planning to die just so he could achieve his goals? And, if, what if, you’ve made the wrong call, and Salan wasn’t even among the group of authorities? If they are all executed, we won’t have anyone to deal with the Ruler-level undead! I’m pretty sure that the barrier won’t last for a few days, even before Ying Zheng is resurrected. Your methods are too extreme!” declared Mu Bai.

“We understand what you’re trying to say, but if you have any doubt regarding our methods, you should come up with a better plan first. Otherwise, anything you say is meaningless. It’s more effective to just proceed with the plan,” said the mysterious man.

“This…” Mu Bai was left speechless.

“When are you planning to proceed with the plan?” asked Mo Fan in a serious tone.

“When the Mountain Zombie starts to attack the barrier,” said Han Ji.

“I agree with Mu Bai. Once the authorities are dead, the Ruler-level undead will massacre the whole city. We can’t just kill them all. Now that we know Mu He is Great Deacon Hu Jin, and since he’s Salan’s right-hand man, he must know who the real Salan is…” said Mo Fan.

“This Great Deacon Hu Jin is in charge of the whole situation on behalf of Salan. The whole city is filled with spies of the Black Vatican. If we send out Imperial Magicians, he would most likely run away,” said the mysterious man.

“We’ll go!” said Mo Fan coldly.

“Yeah, we’ll deal with Mu He!” said Zhou Ming.

“Why would you think this Great Deacon Hu Jin simply let you find him?”

“We won’t be finding him, he’ll come looking for us,” said Mo Fan confidently.

“He might before we sent the Imperial Magicians for you, but I don’t think he would bother finding you now,” said the mysterious man.

“No, he will still come for us. The problem is, how are we going to send the message to him?” said Mo Fan with utter confidence.

“I know the owner of a tea house. He contacts my uncle on a regular basis. I suspect something’s fishy about him, too…I can pretend to take shelter at his tea house, and somehow give him the information. If he’s on the Black Vatican’s side, he will surely pass the message on to my uncle!” Mu Bai’s eyes flickered with a hint of determination.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

…

Everrich Tea House was located on the main road leading to the clock tower. The road was now crowded with people seeking safety, packed so tightly that it was hard to weave through on foot.

The first and second floors of the Tea House were full of people too, indicating that the owner was a sensible man. However, the third floor was not opened to the public.

The third floor was a little attic. One could see the Clock Tower Magic Association through the window.

The loud chime of the bell was sounding. Each chime would emit golden motes into the sky through the main pillar of light, transferring energy to the barrier protecting the city.

The sacred golden glow was being emitted continuously. Perhaps the protection from the ancient bell was the only reason why the people still had a slight glimpse of hope in their hearts. Once the chimes stopped and the golden energy could no longer maintain the barrier, it would all come to an end.

“Humph, that thing is going to turn into a mere decoration in the end!” the owner of the tea house glanced at the clock tower coldly.

As soon as he finished the sentence, a worker hurried his way up to the attic.

“Boss, Mu Bai is downstairs. It seems like he’s here looking for shelter. They were just too many people outside, it’s cold and starving,” said the worker.

“Oh, oh, it’s him. Let him come up. The kid is lucky enough to still be alive. Otherwise, I won’t even know how to report back to Mu He,” said the owner Xue Zang.

The worker soon led Mu Bai to the attic. It was not spacious, but it was well-decorated, slightly resembling the ../style during the ancient Qin Dynasty. Guests could sit on the tatami while enjoying the tea and the sight of the vehicles and crowd coming in and out from the clock tower. Currently, the whole street was simply stacked with people.

“Uncle Xue, you’ve taken in so many people, and even gave them food. You’re such a kind man,” Mu Bai walked in with a smile, no stranger to the man.

“You little imp, I told you not to go outside the outer walls. Look at you, your uncle Mu He and I even thought you were dead out there. It’s good to see you alive and well,” Xue Zang patted Mu Bai’s shoulder.

“Where’s my uncle, is he alright?” blurted out Mu Bai.

“Why are you still calling him uncle, you shouldn’t blame him either. When Mu Zhuoyun was still the person in charge of the family, if he knew you were actually your uncle’s bastard, he would surely have made a huge fuss about it. In the end, your ‘uncle’ could only tell him that you and your mum are his distant cousins,” said Xue Zang sincerely.

“I…I had gotten used to it,” Mu Bai looked lost in his thoughts, yet he did not dare to show it.

“I have no idea where he is now, but he should be safe somewhere, don’t worry. Oh, by the way, I heard from the people who came here looking for a shelter that you and your friends were taken away by the Imperial Magicians. Is everything alright?” said Xue Zang.

Mu Bai’s heart tightened.

He did not expect Xue Zang to be so well-informed. He was now in big trouble. If both Xue Zang and Mu He were from the Black Vatican, they were most likely suspicious of him!

“It has nothing to do with me. The Imperial Magicians simply took the guy called Fang Gu away, they mentioned something about the Water of Kun, but it turned out that the guy has already used it to refine his skeleton,” Mu Bai remained collected and replied calmly.

The truth was, his heart was already beating rapidly.

“I don’t really understand, but nothing else matters as long as you’re fine. Oh, what about your friends? You can call them over too. It’s important to look after one another in a big disaster like this.” Xue Zang’s eyes flickered, but then his expression returned, if he was totally clueless about the situation.

“Oh, they are heading to the museum. They said something about the Underground Holy Spring being related to the Water of Kun, so they are going to verify it,” said Mu Bai.

“Underground Holy Spring… isn’t that the thing from Bo City? Are you saying that your classmate Mo Fan still has it?” Xue Zang squinted his eyes.

“Who knows, but Mo Fan was quite excited when someone mentioned that the villages on the outskirts were related to Bo City. In the end, they decided to visit the museum. I was too lazy to follow them around, so I came here to rest,” Mu Bai said disdainfully.

“Oh? So the Imperial Magician followed them to the museum?” asked Xue Zang.

“I don’t think so, they only came up with the plan after we left the Imperial Magicians… I don’t even know what that the Underground Holy Spring is used for, maybe I’ll ask my uncle when he comes back,” said Mu Bai.

“Mm, mm, oh, Mu Bai, you should rest here. I’ll go and attend to some matters first,” said Xue Zang.

“Alright,” Mu Bai nodded.

When he saw Xue Zang leave the room, he felt like his heart was about to jump out from his chest.

A while later, after his emotions calmed down, his face had a painful expression as his eyes turned bloodshot.

He was currently having mixed feelings, which almost made him feel like he was going to have a mental breakdown at any second.

He really wished that it had all been mere speculation, hoping that Mo Fan and the others would not be able to meet the person they were waiting for. It would simply mean that Mu He was not the Great Deacon Hu Jin of the Black Vatican, and Zhang Xiaohou had made a mistake.

But, if Mu He wasn’t Great Deacon Hu Jin… all the hopes they had would pop like bubbles!

They would proceed with the plan and execute Salan along with the authority figures. No one could possibly face the eight Ruler-level undead that were threatening the safety of the barrier. The millions of people in the city would simply be waiting for their deaths, waiting to be devoured by the tide of death… including himself, his mother, his classmates, his friends.

Either way, it would leave his heart with holes.

Despite that, he still made his choice. At least he could still distinguish the bad from the good!

—-

Somewhere in the corner of an alleyway, two figures were wearing dark ocean blue snow coats with a piece of cloth on their faces. It was obvious that they did not want anyone else to see their faces.

“Are you sure that the Imperial Magicians are not following them?” asked Great Deacon Hu Jin.

“Do you really think the Imperial Magicians are free to escort them when the whole city has turned into an isolated island surrounded by the ocean of undead? Some of the Imperial Magicians even went missing, let alone the authorities that are watching us. I’m sure that the kids have gone to the museum on their own.

“However, if they found out that the Underground Holy Spring is actually the Water of Kun, with the efficacy of the Underground Holy Spring, it would most likely make the rain ineffective for a day or even longer! If the army of undead withdraws for a day, they would have time to evacuate half of the people in this city. If that happens, our plan is basically…” trailed off Xue Zang.

Great Deacon Hu Jin frowned. They had already made a mistake after they failed to take down Fang Gu. However, they were in luck, as Fang Gu had used the Water of Kun to refine his undead. To their surprise, Mo Fan somehow found out the secret of the Underground Holy Spring!

“If that idiot Yu Ang hadn’t messed up twice in a row, we wouldn’t be having these problems!” cursed Great Deacon Hu Jin.

Back in Bo City, as one of the chief plotters, he did not involve himself in the execution of the plan, as it would simply expose himself. However, his underlings were even more useless than he could have imagined. Not only did they fail to take down Bo City, they even lost a Blue Deacon in the Magic City!

This Mo Fan was truly the Black Vatican’s natural enemy!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Then what do we do now, should we take them down?” asked Xue Zang.

“What if it’s just bait?”

“You don’t trust Mu Bai?”

“Trust? Why would I trust him, he has yet to be baptized by the Vatican.”

“Then what do you say we should do? Senior Salan is still not willing to contact us,” blurted out Xue Zang in panic.

The possibility of Mo Fan having the Underground Holy Spring was too deadly to them, as they knew better than anyone the essence that the Water of Kun contained. They had desperately tried to retrieve the Underground Holy Spring, as it was more effective than the Water of Kun. However, the hidden threat they left at Bo City had now turned into the greatest problem in their hands…

“It might be a trap, but even if it is, we’ll still have to go and verify it. If the kid does have the Underground Holy Spring, we’ll have to save Senior Salan,” said Great Deacon Hu Jin.

“Who should we send then?” asked Xue Zang immediately.

Hu Jin said with a smile, “Sacrifice is needed in order to complete our great festival. No one is excluded, not even me.”

—————-.

The museum was located to the south of the clock tower. The old compound was not just a place where ancient findings and documents were stored, but proof of the glorious achievements of the Magic Civilization that had lasted for several thousand years.

When the disaster took place, the ancient artifacts and documents were already stored away in the warehouses. Some of the things were very important. They must be preserved even if the city was destroyed!

The museum was huge, the hall simply felt like an ancient temple. The ceiling was fifteen meters tall, supported by huge pillars.

Similarly, the museum had also turned into a shelter for the people. It was fully crowded, yet compared to the cold and wet streets, it was like Heaven to the crowd.

The place was blanketed by noise. Mo Fan and his crew regretted it as soon as they arrived. If a fight with the Black Vatican broke out here, the lives of these people would be endangered. They had to come up with a plan to evacuate them to other places.

However, to Mo Fan’s surprise, not long after he arrived at the museum, a stranger passed a small piece of paper to him, asking him to go to the roof alone!

As soon as Mo Fan saw the letter, he knew that his target had come fearlessly… yet he still had to meet this Great Deacon Hu Jin!

——

The roof of the museum was covered in tiles, with pointy edges. It did resemble the glory of an ancient palace…

Raindrops fell onto the tiles and flowed into a hole on each side of the roof in a little stream, before turning into a small waterfall falling through the mouth of a dragon’s head onto the ground, right into the pond at the bottom. From afar, it looked like four dragons were crawling on the roof, spitting out streams of water!

The museum had turned into a huge refugee center. The place was fully crowded. The roof was the only place that was relatively empty. The only sound was the rain tapping on the tiles as it fell from the sky.

Mo Fan stood on one of the edges, wearing a huge gray raincoat.

He could see the whole inner city soaked in the rain from here, every street full of people.

As he glanced further ahead over the inner walls, the black, massive army of undead surrounded the city. It had no visible ends. The small undead were stacked densely together like black dots, while those with huge sizes were like toy models among the black dots!

The Mountain Zombie was very close to them!

Mo Fan could already see its figure poking into the clouds of rain, and its cold eyes flickering up among the clouds.

“Mo Fan, it’s been a while. How’s your dad Mo Jiaxin?” a voice came from behind Mo Fan.

Mo Fan slowly turned around and discovered a person standing on the roof. He was also wearing a raincoat. The raindrops fell onto him, highlighting his slightly tall and bulky silhouette.

Under the hoodie was a face with thick eyebrows and a beard, yet his skin was fairly smooth and tender, the typical look of a middle-aged man who had been living an enjoyable life.

Mo Fan had never liked this guy since a very long time ago. It further escalated into hatred when the guy took away his house.

Little did he know, that was not all the reasons he had to hate him. This man was basically hated by the whole world!

“My father is good, he’s got money that he won’t be able to spend, and he even got me a beautiful, young stepmother. He bought a few mansions to have some fun. I guess his middle age is quite successful. I didn’t expect you to really show up here, that’s quite a surprise,” replied Mo Fan calmly.

“Hehe, you were smart enough to identify me, why would I continue to hide? Speaking of which, that kid Zhang Xiaohou is really a tough kid. I don’t understand how he’s still alive now. Oh, that doesn’t matter, it’s meaningless for him to remember what he wasn’t supposed to now. Oh, your dad is a good man. The biggest regret I have in my life is not simply arranging an accident to kill your father. That way, he wouldn’t have had a son who keeps stirring up troubles,” Mu He grinned, showing no intention of hiding his identity.

Mo Fan took a closer look at the face under the hoodie. It was indeed Mu He!

However, he was feeling rather nervous when he saw Mu He showing up so easily. Would the man show up if he didn’t feel extremely confident with his plan?

If he was Great Deacon Hu Jin, he could simply send other deacons here on his behalf. There was no need for him to show up!

“You know, I had so many different ways to kill you before,” said Mu He.

“I believe you don’t want to do that,” said Mo Fan

“You’re right, the people of the Enforcement Union watching in the dark would be suspicious of me. Even if I’m able to execute it perfectly, I wouldn’t want to take any risks, as it’s likely going to affect our grand festival here today… Do you know why I asked you to come to the roof? I want you to keep me company as we witness the remarkable scene that’s about to happen!” Mu He spread his arms wide in an enjoyable manner.

It was like he was not standing in the middle of the rain, nor was he standing in the middle of a city suffering from a great disaster, but a sacred light was shining upon him. He acted as if he was being worshiped by millions of people.

A remarkable scene? Mo Fan felt himself get covered in goosebumps when he heard how Mu He was describing it!

“As a matter of fact, even though I knew you were going to cause some problems at this festival, I still had to play the role of Mu He nicely by not doing any harm to you. Let me tell you, you’re only playing a very minor role in this grand festival,” Mu He continued.

“Are you so confident that I don’t have the Underground Holy Spring on me?” said Mo Fan with a cold grin.

“The sky is turning dark soon. Your Underground Holy Spring will only make a difference in the morning. Do you think this city can last the night?” asked Mu He in return.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan looked into the sky. His heart followed the sun as it sank into the horizon.

It turned out that the day was already coming to an end…

Even though the undead had remained active in the day due to the Dew of Nine Serenities, the sunlight was still able to slow their pace down. However, once the night came, the undead would only become wilder!

That being said, why did Mu He insist that the city would not be able to last the night?

The safety barrier was equivalent to the combined power of countless Magicians. Even with all the Ruler-level undead attacking it, the golden barrier would still last a few days!

Did that mean that the Black Vatican were proceeding with their plan tonight?

What plan could it be? Magicians like Han Ji and Lu Huan were available to handle creatures as strong as the Mountain Zombie. As for the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials and the rest of the powerful undead, they still had Imperial Magicians to deal with them. They would simply defend the inner walls with their Magic.

The possibility of breaking into the inner city in a single night?

That was impossible, unless the Qin Emperor Ying Zheng was resurrected tonight, and his strength would need to surpass the Ruler-level!

Was it possible for an emperor that had died so many years ago to still possess such formidable power?

“It’s obvious that you’ve lured me here to learn Salan’s identity. The truth is, I’ve come here because I want you to deliver a message, too,” Mu He said calmly.

“Do you think I will listen to you?” said Mo Fan.

“It’s up to you. You used Mu Bai to pass the message to me, so I’ll need your help to pass the message to that old man Han Ji. Oh, as for the Underground Holy Spring, I’m betting that you don’t have it. Besides, I’ve already mentioned it. Once the night arrives, your Underground Holy Spring is completely useless. This city won’t survive until the next dawn,” said Mu Bai.

A cold breeze mixed with the rain swept past. It was harder for Mo Fan to see Mu He clearly.

Mo Fan’s heart had sunk to the bottom when he heard Mu He’s words. It seemed like it was meaningless to find out Great Deacon Hu Jin’s identity. Mu He was completely fearless. Judging from the madness he had displayed, even if they took him down, he would not tell them who Salan was, either!

They had only managed to lure him here, which Mu He took advantage of so he could send a message to Han Ji. What did he want to say to the President of the Magic Association?

-Is he trying to negotiate?

-Is the Black Vatican trying to negotiate with the Magic Association?-

The Black Vatican had the upper hand in the current situation. They had already dragged countless people into Hell after the inner city was surrounded by the ocean of undead. What would they want to negotiate for?

Could it be that they already knew about the plan to execute the authorities?

-They were trying to save Salan!

“You want to save Salan?” asked Mo Fan coldly.

“Aren’t you smart? That’s right, we’re going to save Senior Salan. Unfortunately, it seems like Han Ji has decided to kill all of them, even if it means killing ten innocent people. Even we are quite thrilled by this bold move. I have to admit, that’s a very strong move. We can’t let Senior Salan die like that. I want you to tell Han Ji to stop the plan, and we’ll give this city a glimpse of hope… otherwise, if Senior Salan dies, those authorities won’t be the only ones that will die with him. The whole city will be buried with him. They won’t live until the next dawn!” Mu He’s voice came like a cold gust.

Millions of people would be buried with Salan!

Mo Fan’s heart pounded heavily as soon as he heard the words.

For some reason, he believed that the Black Vatican would actually do something like that!

“Do you think Han Ji is willing to negotiate with you? You’ve already killed too many people. Why would they even trust you?” said Mo Fan.

“Oh, they will believe me, because I’m going to tell them where the imperial tomb of the Qin Emperor is…” said Mu He confidently.

Mu He wore his usual disdainful smile when he saw Mo Fan’s hesitation.” Oh Mo Fan, compared to the great Vatican and this grand festival, you’re nothing but a petty messenger. Stop trying to make a decision here, your job is to deliver the message. Otherwise, the only glimpse of hope will be ruined in your hands!” Mu He said with a commanding voice, as if he had everything under his control.

Mo Fan did not waste his time further. The number of hostages that the Black Vatican was controlling was too overwhelming!

Most importantly, he had offered to give them the location of the Ancient King’s imperial tomb!

——–

Under the giant clock of the Clock Tower Magic Association, Mo Fan, Han Ji, the mysterious man, Zhang Xiaohou, Zhou Ming, Mu Bai, Fang Gu, and the others waited patiently. In addition to them, Wang Kai, a leader of the Imperial Magicians; Shi Zheng, an elder of the Enforcement Union; and Yao Ting, a commander of the army, and Chu Jia, an elder of the Hunter Union, were present too.

The Imperial Magicians in their purple outfits stood in straight lines majestically.

The Imperial Magicians were all under Han Ji’s command. As such, the president of the Magic Association was the one with the strongest army of Magicians among the crowd.

The captain of the Imperial Magicians was absent. He had to hold his position, as the Nether Bone Ruler was already launching an assault on the golden barrier.

As a matter of fact, the Mountain Zombie was also approaching the inner walls. It would soon arrive at the golden barrier.

Once the Mountain Zombie reached the golden barrier, the plan would be executed, killing all the authorities that were under custody.

“He’s here. He’s actually showing up in the trench coat of a Blue Deacon!” Elder Shi Zheng from the Enforcement Union glanced down from the tower and saw a man in a blue trench coat making his way up.

He had come alone. However, everyone knew that he was holding the lives of millions of people in his hands!

Mu He had arrived as he said he would. He did not even wear a mask.

It was meaningless to keep his disguise now that the grand festival was taking place. He could finally reveal his face to the public. He really enjoyed how the people were looking at him, like he was the God of Death after he took his mask off.

He ascended the stairs. The whole place was full of Imperial Magicians. They could instantly blast the Great Deacon of the Black Vatican into nothing, yet they did not dare to move before Han Ji gave the order.

“Did you bring Zhang Xiaohou?” Mu He walked up to the crowd. His face was wearing a mocking grin.

Zhang Xiaohou was standing beside Han Ji. The mysterious man was staring at Mu He coldly.

Perhaps both Han Ji and the mysterious man were feeling quite ridiculous. The unforgivable criminal was standing right before them, yet they could not afford to sentence him to death right away. They were in such a desperate situation that they were forced to negotiate with the Black Vatican.

Mu He glanced at Zhang Xiaohou and said, “My Amnesia Bug has already eaten a part of his memory. The truth is, if he fully recovered his memory, he would die before he could speak a word. I will tell you the location of the Qin Emperor’s imperial tomb, and you can verify it with him once he takes the antidote. Of course, you’ll have to release the innocent Councilmen, Elders, and Commanders first.”

Mu He purposely said the word ‘innocent’ in a strange tone, as if he was feeling pity for the innocent people who were close to being killed!

The Magic Association was entrusted with the judicial authority and the right to sentence someone to death. However, it had never been forced into a corner like this. They had completely underestimated the Black Vatican, resulting in a terrible mistake!

Now, it seemed like the Black Vatican had purposely come to torture the Magic Association. The man had turned up with a swagger. It simply felt like he was slapping them right in their faces!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Black Vatican wanted Salan alive!

They had offered to tell them the location of the imperial tomb. The real threat to the city was not the undead that had remained active in the rain, but the other Ruler-level undead that would be awakened once the ancestor of undead, Ying Zheng was fully awakened…

Their final glimpse of hope was to locate the imperial tomb and stop the Ancient King from being resurrected. It would then drive the ocean of undead away!

“Let them go!” Han Ji coldly gave the order.

A group of Imperial Magicians first led Councilman Zhu Meng out from custody. Zhu Meng looked fairly calm, yet he was slightly disappointed knowing that the higher-ups of the Magic Association had decided to get rid of him together with the others, just to eliminate Salan.

The Imperial Magician removed the Spell controlling Councilman Zhu Meng. The councilman tidied his slightly disheveled beard and glanced at Mo Fan beside him helplessly, “I never thought you would be the one saving my life.”

“I don’t think anyone here will have a good ending if either the fish dies or the net splits,” said Mo Fan.

“Who would have thought that the Magic Association would be forced to make a decision like this,” Zhu Meng let out a sigh, and somehow looked a lot more aged than he used to.

“Saving people is harder than killing,” said Mo Fan.

Zhu Meng was stunned, before he smiled wryly.

After Zhu Meng, the rest of the authorities were released one by one.

Han Ji did not release them in a random fashion. He actually kept the most suspicious ones for later.

When Du Xiao slowly walked up to the crowd after the restrictions on him were lifted, Han Ji raised his hand, signaling his men to halt the process.

“You can tell us now,” Han Ji’s voice was filled with strong murderous intent. As the president of the Magic Association, he was held responsible for every decision he made. If the location of the imperial tomb was not the key to saving the lives of millions of people, he would have torn Mu He into pieces long ago!

Mu He showed no sign of panic. He took his time walking to the edge of the balcony and stood in front of the cement railings.

He cast a glance at Zhang Xiaohou and nodded in satisfaction when he discovered that less black gas was being released from his body. He shifted his gaze into the distance in the north.

After a long time, this Great Deacon Hu Jin still remained silent. Han Ji’s murderous intent grew stronger gradually as time went by!

“Patient, you will see it very soon, before the night comes…” Great Deacon Hu Jin simply stood there with his gaze looking to the north.

His gaze was not fixed on the Northern Gate, but the area beyond the An Yuan Gate that was already devoured by the black ocean.

The area used to be Weiyang District. They could barely see the shadows of some tall buildings standing there with countless zombies, skeletons and phantoms moving around them. Almost every building had a pair of eyes emitting a red gleam at the top. The owner of those eyes either had a body strong as steel, or a body large enough to sway the building. It was likely that even Magicians with high positions had never seen so many Commander-level creatures showing up simultaneously!

The night had almost arrived. The constant rain drifted in the wind. The sky was hazier further into the distance, no one knew how many creatures were out there, behind the veil of rain and darkness!

Around three kilometers away from An Yuan Gate, a dark blue tide suddenly appeared between the dark land and the clouds hanging low above the ground. White waves rolled across the air, with howls so loud that the entire inner city could hear them.

It felt like a fierce ocean had simply appeared between the sky and the ground. Its magnificence and splendor were breathtaking, like a tsunami a few kilometers wide rolling over the shore!

Luckily, the tsunami was not heading toward the inner city. The ocean that was pouring down from the sky was rolling in the direction of the undead. Initially, there was no vacant space around An Yuan Gate, as the whole place was occupied by stacks of undead. However, as the waves rolled forward, thousands of undead were devoured by the shocking tsunami as it traveled further away from An Yuan Gate!

The tsunami was a certain distance away from the clock tower, but while it was rolling in the sky and poured down like a few tens of waterfalls, Mo Fan somehow felt like it was happening right in front of him. His astonishment from witnessing a Water Spell comparable to a tsunami was greater than that he had experienced after witnessing the Light Spell, Holy Essence: Demon Judgment Sword!

“Lu Huan is making his move,”Zhu Meng said calmly.

“The captain of the Imperial Magicians?” asked Mo Fan.

“Mm, his strength is on par with Han Ji’s. If I were to fight him, I’d lose miserably in less than ten rounds. He’s strong enough to take on the Nether Bone Ruler alone,” said Zhu Meng.

As soon as Zhu Meng finished his sentence, a piercing screech came from outside the inner walls. The people in the city immediately covered their ears. Every piece of glass of the buildings inside the barrier were shattered into pieces…

Mo Fan raised his head and discovered a huge bony creature descending from the clouds. As it dropped below the clouds, it extended its sinister wings fully. The force of its movements simply cleared away the raindrops nearby, as if someone had just thrown a strong punch at the curtain of rain!

The raindrops struck the curved golden barrier like arrows.

The golden barrier would only stop things that posed a certain level of threat to the city. Normally, the barrier would not stop the raindrops from falling through it, but the raindrops launched by the Nether Bone Ruler landed crisply on the barrier!

How strong exactly was the creature?

“The Nether Bone Ruler won’t stand there and watch once Lu Huan starts to attack. His Super Water Spell, Ocean Emperor Tsunami, can easily eliminate between two to three thousand undead when they are stacked together like that,” said Zhu Meng.

“A Super Spell…” mumbled Mo Fan to himself.

The sky was turning darker. The people on the clock tower could barely see Lu Huan flying around in the rain as he fought the Nether Bone Ruler.

Most Spells that Lu Huan cast were Super Level. He adeptly mixed in some Advanced Spells before channeling the next Super Spell. The light he was emitting was brighter than the entire troop of Magicians on the walls. The energy he produced was enough to blast thousands of undead into nothing!

The people standing on the clock tower were authorities, able to cast Super Spells too. However, no one would dare to fight a Ruler undead outside the golden barrier like Lu Huan!

The whole city was witnessing Lu Huan’s bravery. It brought a glimpse of hope to the city that was currently on the edge of a cliff.

Magician, he was a real Magician! Even the darkness produced by a calamity was unable to hide his brilliance!

“Having such a brave Imperial Magician can be considered a great fortune in the midst of misfortune, it’s a pity that there’s only one Lu Huan…” Great Deacon Hu Jin commented cuttingly.

“It seems like you’re only wasting our time, but it’s time for you to die,” said Han Ji coldly.

“It is my time to die indeed, but are you sure you don’t want to wait a bit longer? The king’s tomb is coming,” said Great Deacon Hu Jin.

Not long after he finished the sentence, he began to tremble as he saw something in the distance. His voice echoed on the clock tower as it went from a deep chuckle to a wild laugh.

“It’s here, it’s here, HAHA, HAHAHAHA!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan really thought Great Deacon Hu Jin had completely lost it. It was dumb to try negotiating with these crazy maniacs.

However, when Mo Fan followed Mu He’s passionate gaze, he somehow felt like his understanding of the world was completely toppled!

Lu Huan was fighting the Nether Bone Ruler in the sky. Waves of energy continuously rippled in the air, but the space they were fighting in was peeling off!

The area drenched in the rain was devoured like wallpaper peeling off from the walls!

The gaps that appeared were immersed in chaos, like a black hole had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, although there was something else in it, apart from darkness.

The space fell apart and twisted. The chaotic black hole slowly spread larger. It expanded from a little black dot into a huge gap under the sky!

It looked like a gap from here, but it was most likely a shocking chasm in the air!

The twisted space extended to the clouds. Even the thick clouds were torn apart, leaving an obvious hole between the sections, as if a piece of the sky had just fallen…

“Is that…” Han Ji’s eyes almost popped out from his sunken eye sockets.

Zhu Meng and Du Xiao were standing close to Mo Fan. They were both staring into the distance in shock. They simply could not believe what they were seeing.

The twisted space gradually fell to the ground. The huge gap of emptiness continued to expand, and gradually turned into a chaotic spinning vortex of blackness!

The ground beneath the gap sank rapidly all of a sudden.

The place was already crawling with undead, yet as the ground sank, over ten thousand undead simply fell into the hole. They could see the undead in the form of black dots pouring into the hole like raindrops…

No one knew how deep exactly the ground had sunken. It totally looked like the entrance to Hell slowly opening up, or some astonishingly large creature opening up its throat!

Cries of phantoms and the roars of undead were rising nonstop!

The most terrifying, chilliest sound in the world appeared from the huge pit that had been formed in just an instant. It was the combination of the cries uttered by tens of thousand phantoms simultaneously. They were truly the cries of Hell, filled with utter despair, hatred, and utmost pain!

Even though they could not see the scene inside the pit, they could simply imagine what it would look like down there from the overwhelming cries of the army of undead!

“It’s the Dark Abyss!” Someone exclaimed all of a sudden, sending chills down the spines of everyone, as their limbs began to tremble and their scalps began to turn numb!

The furnace of Hell!

A place where the zombies were stacked into mountains, the skeletons were covering the surface, and the phantoms as huge as the size of clouds floating around…

It was the legendary black zone: the Dark Abyss!

The hatred and presence of death were so overwhelming that they simply twisted the space. Almost every Magician believed that it was the entrance to Hell. The real Hell was lying right beneath it!

Everyone’s eyes seemed to be attracted to the black hole, their spirits draining away.

However, Hu Jin’s piercing laugh was still echoing in their ears, dealing suffocating blows to their fragile souls.

“HAHAHA, that’s the answer you are looking for… The greatest Necromancer in history has placed his imperial tomb right there, a place scarier than Hell! Feel free to go and negotiate with him, HAHAHAHA!” Mu He burst out laughing.

His face was completely twisted from his laugh, yet his passionate eyes were staring at the Dark Abyss with utmost sincerity, and a hint of excitement as if he was enjoying the spectacular view of a starry sky.

“Are you saying that the Ancient King’s imperial tomb is inside the Dark Abyss?” blurted out the mysterious man in fear. Even with the mask, everyone could see the muscles on his face twitching.

The Dark Abyss, the answer was the Dark Abyss!

“My God, is that even somewhere a human can go!?”

“A black zone, a forbidden place for humans…”

Most people on the clock tower were Super Magicians, yet the timidity they were displaying when facing the Dark Abyss was not much different than the helpless commoners trying to survive from the calamity!

No wonder the Black Vatican was so fearless. No wonder Mu He was willing to trade the answer they sought for Salan’s life. As a matter of fact, knowing the answer did not bring any difference to the situation, unless someone was able to walk out from the Dark Abyss unharmed?

That was simply impossible, even for Han Ji, who was the strongest Magician among them.

“Lu Huan and the Nether Bone Ruler are being dragged toward the Dark Abyss!” someone screamed all of a sudden.

An uproar took place on the clock tower. With their attention drawn by the Dark Abyss, they had completely forgotten that Lu Huan was fighting the Nether Bone Ruler inside the chaotic vortex right above the Dark Abyss!

The dark gap from before had expanded into an actual black hole. They could see the air vortex slowly yet forcibly tearing the space apart. Both Lu Huan and Nether Bone Ruler were caught by the force. They tried to escape from it, yet their bodies were gradually being dragged toward the furnace of Hell underneath them!

That was one of the strongest Super Magicians and a Ruler Skeleton, yet even they could not escape from the power of the black forbidden area?

The people of the city were watching Lu Huan with their heart stuck in their throats. It felt like their thoughts were being dragged into the Dark Abyss together with their hero, like a helpless man stepping into a huge swamp…

Mo Fan was experiencing a tremendous shock too, his eyes wide open. He initially thought Lu Huan could break free from the Dark Abyss with his strength, yet both he and the Nether Bone Ruler were being dragged toward the entrance of Hell.

As soon as they fell into the pit, it somehow felt like the Dark Abyss had grown slightly larger.

Mo Fan stared at the pit. He was still clinging onto the final glimpse of hope, hoping that Lu Huan would still make his way out of the Dark Abyss, yet it did not happen.

Lu Huan had fallen into the pit, so had the Nether Bone Ruler. The Dark Abyss did not distinguish between humans and undead. The Nether Bone Ruler was in a panic, as it too would be turned into nothing inside the pit!

Silence!

The whole place was immersed in dead silence, as if every sound wave was sucked into the bottom of the terrifying abyss!

The curtain of rain remained connected to the clouds. The army of undead was covering the horizon.

Between the gray sky and the dark ground was a space vortex that seemed to be leading to a different world and the terrifying Dark Abyss. It was a scene that no one could comprehend, one that everyone thought could only appear in a nightmare!

“By the way, as a token of sincerity from the Black Vatican, I can also tell you another piece of information. Can you kindly release the rest of the authorities?” Hu Jin smiled after he finished enjoying the spectacular scene.

Han Ji was frozen in his spot. He seemed soulless when he gave the command.

The Imperial Magicians let the rest of the authorities go. Lu Xu, Ling Xi, Li Yujian, and the others were released, one after another. However, when they saw the nightmarish scenery before them, they somehow felt like the place was no better than Hell!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The Dark Abyss is getting closer to the city,” Mo Fan spoke up before Hu Jin could continue.

Mo Fan’s words brought a great shock to the crowd, so strong that even their inner organs were almost shattered by the impact!

The Dark Abyss was moving toward the inner city!

Zhu Meng was the first to react. He quickly recalled the last few appearances of the Dark Abyss.

The first time was at the end of the Drifting Sand River, around seven hundred kilometers to the west of the Ancient Capital.

The second time was at Xianchi, where the villages were located!

The third time was to the north of the city, only thirty kilometers away!

This time, it had simply appeared right in the city. Even though the City North was already devoured by the ocean of undead, it had always been moving toward the city!

If the Dark Abyss that could easily kill the Nether Bone Ruler appeared right on top of the inner city filled with millions of people…

Zhu Meng shuddered. His eyes widened, to the extent that they almost exploded. He did not dare to imagine it further!

“The next space shift of the Dark Abyss will be the time of death for all of you! Whether it be the commoners as common as cockroaches or mice in this city, or you Magicians with high positions, you are going to die! You’re all going to die!

“HAHAHA, what a festival, it is the greatest time ever for our Vatican, and our Senior Salan is about to become a God during this festival! Everyone will kneel in front of the God of Death, Salan’s feet, they will submit to his wisdom and invention!”

Hu Jin’s passionate behavior served as a bright contrast to the silence among the Magicians on the clock tower.

It turned out the Dark Abyss had always been the Black Vatican’s plan!

No wonder Zhang Xiaohou had bumped into Mu He close to the Dark Abyss, as they were behind it all along… looking at the situation, would anyone still think that Salan and his men were just a motley group of people?

This Salan was really the God of Death, the deity of darkness who lived to create death!

Human lives were not just cheap in his eyes. A city that had existed for thousands of years was simply the venue he had chosen for his festival. The undead surrounding the city were escorts for him as he ascended the stairs. Meanwhile, the lives of the millions of people in the city, and the despair and sacrifice of the Super Magicians, were the bright red carpet that he would be stepping on as he ascended the stairs and apotheosized in the midst of the greatest burial of the century, so the whole world would simply tremble and submit to him!

The festival was simply Salan’s Apotheosis Ceremony!

The Dark Abyss was terrifying, yet how scary was it compared to Salan’s heart?

Great Deacon Hu Jin was already worshiping to the north. The people were lost with words, seeing how devout he was. However, the one that brought a greater impact to their minds was Salan, whose heart was just as terrifying as the Dark Abyss. He had conducted the festival just to tell the world that Salan, the God of Death, was standing right here in the Ancient Capital!

Han Ji was feeling regret on top of the despair swarming his heart.

If they proceeded with their plan, the millions of people in the city would die, and so would Salan… the man did not even give everyone the chance to be afraid of him. He was worthy of being called the God of Death, without a doubt!

However, what was the point of feeling regretful now?

With the ocean of undead surrounding the inner city, the Dark Abyss would most likely appear right in the center of the inner city after tomorrow’s dusk. The little city would be consumed by the furnace of Hell, including the millions of people inside it…

As tears rolled down Han Ji’s cheek, he dropped to his knees helplessly. The extremely talented Magician had turned into a decrepit old man at this moment.

“Sa…Salan, just take whatever you want, but… I, Han Ji am begging you… please spare the people in this city!” Han Ji’s voice was trembling.

The reputable president of the Clock Tower Magic Association, the formidable Spells he had mastered throughout his life, were merely froth and shadows. All he had left was a pleading voice.

The authorities looked at Han Ji in disbelief. The man who had never surrendered to the evil influence was begging the Black Vatican for mercy. He was kneeling in front of the Red Cardinal Salan. How miserable did he need to be, and how shattered was his dignity to be able to do such a thing?

The mysterious man stood there with a blank expression.

It turned out that he was never close to learning the Black Vatican’s real conspiracy. He had suffered a complete defeat!

The Ancient King’s imperial tomb was located in the unstoppable Dark Abyss…

The Dark Abyss would eventually drift into the inner city. The whole place was going to be dragged into the abyss of Hell.

The so-called glimpse of hope was actually taking away everyone’s last glimpse of hope, urging them to prepare themselves to sacrifice their lives for the Black Vatican’s grand ceremony.

The mysterious man glanced at the authority figures who had been released. Everyone was wearing the same despair and blank face, yet he knew that one of them was actually laughing in his heart, like a devil that had trampled the city under feet tied with black chains!

“It’s no use, president.” The mysterious man helped Han Ji to his feet.

If Salan’s true goal was to trample the authority and dignity of the Magic Association that had lasted for thousands of years, he had already done it.

It was exactly as Great Deacon Hu Jin had mentioned, Salan was aiming to become a God, a God of Death that would shock the whole world. The festival was necessary; so was the destruction of the whole city.

How long they had been planning the festival?

The Black Vatican had managed to dig up even more secrets than the Magic Association was aware of.

They knew the secrets of the villages, how Bo City was related to the villages, the secrets of the Dark Abyss, and the way to control where it would appear…

Were they really going to wait for their deaths, just like that?

The mysterious man was still supporting Han Ji. His eyes were still fixed on the people who had been released, trying to find something suspicious from their reaction.

Besides, if they knew they were actually going to be executed before they were held in custody, would they really have surrendered that easily?

Everyone had the desire to stay alive. Even if he ordered the Imperial Magicians to capture and execute them, the person that tried to resist would not necessarily be Salan. Both sides would simply suffer losses from the infighting.

As the mysterious man was lost in despair and anger, an Imperial Magician slowly walked up to him and handed him a letter.

The mysterious man opened the letter. His eyes flickered when he saw the symbols that only he could read…

The man had finally brought back the news!

The mysterious man quickly read the message. His expression changed gradually the more he read the content. His hands even started trembling in the end.

Hope, the last line was the real hope they were looking for!

The mysterious man immediately looked at Fang Gu, Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and the others, yet considering that Salan was still among them, he immediately whispered into Han Ji’s ears.

Han Ji’s blank pupils finally recovered.

“Are you serious? Can we trust the man?” asked Han Ji.

“We definitely can!” the mysterious man said confidently!

“But, can they actually do it?” said Han Ji.

“We have no other choice. It’s the only chance we have, no matter how slim it is!” said the mysterious man firmly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As the people were lost in their thoughts, someone blurted out fiercely, “I would rather die trying than wait for my death here!”

“Yeah, it’s better to die fighting than fall into the Dark Abyss!” said Lu Xu.

Even though their efforts might be in vain, if they were given a choice, they would rather charge out of the golden barrier and fight the undead until the end!

“Count me in,” exclaimed Li Yujian.

Feeling depressed and hopeless was not something a Super Magician should do. They should be dying gloriously on the battlefield instead, dragging a few Corpse Officials and Phantom Generals with them, or even kill a Ruler Undead. It would be their glory!

“Everyone, let’s calm down first!” said the mysterious man.

“We’re not calming down! Even if we’re about to die, we are going to die a glorious death! If Salan is really among us putting up an act, we’ll drag him out there with us, and we’ll see whether the asshole or us is going to die first!” cursed the Elder of the Hunter Union.

“Let’s fight our way out of here, but we’re not simply trying to get ourselves killed. We’ve just received some information from a reliable source. The Dark Abyss might be deadly, so deadly that even Lu Huan and the Nether Bone Ruler could not escape from it, yet it doesn’t mean we can’t go into it!” the mysterious man told the people on the clock tower.

The words immediately caught everyone’s attention, and their eyes began to flicker.

-It’s possible to go into the Dark Abyss?

-There’s actually a way to enter the Dark Abyss?-

Even a strong Magician like Lu Huan was sucked into it! They could not even tell if he was still alive. No one was stronger than Lu Huan among them, they would most likely die if they were to jump into the Dark Abyss!

“We can now confirm that the Dark Abyss is the Ancient King’s imperial tomb. He created the pit of death two thousand years ago when he fell into an eternal sleep, just so no one would disturb his peace,” said the mysterious man.

The person who had sent him the letter had verified the piece of information. The fact that the Ancient King’s imperial tomb was located under the Dark Abyss was incredibly shocking. It explained why no one had managed to locate the tomb after so many years!

The ancestor of the undead, Ying Zheng, was the emperor with the greatest ambition ever in the thousands of years old Magic Civilization. His talent in the Earth Element was incredibly shocking. The perfect condition of the Great Wall of China that was still holding the demon creatures off in the north was one of his greatest achievements.

A great talent when alive, but a terrifying ghost when dead. It was the perfect description for the Emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Ying Zheng!

The ability to place his imperial tomb under the Dark Abyss was still shocking to the Magicians from the current era!

“No one, including the strongest Magician, is allowed to step into the imperial tomb, yet there is a group of people that the Dark Abyss won’t reject. They are the people of the villages!” said the mysterious man excitedly, while pointing at Fang Gu.

Everyone quickly shifted their attention to Fang Gu, who was also quite surprised himself. He glanced at the mysterious man with a confused look.

“The undead will not attack the people from the dangerous villages, as they are the descendants of the Ancient King. The Dark Abyss will destroy everything, stopping every living thing that tries to invade the imperial tomb. However, the door of the imperial tomb is always open to the people from the villages,” said the mysterious man.

If they were able to capture a glimpse of light when they completely lost hope, it felt like they suddenly had something to look forward to. It was worth the try, at least it was better than waiting for their death helplessly!

“Are you saying that the people from the villages can enter the Dark Abyss?”

“Is that true? Are you sure about that?”

“How can you be sure of that?” Zhu Meng quickly went forward with a stern look.

“The person who gave me the information is very reliable. It’s true that we can’t verify the information whether the people from the villages are safe to enter the Dark Abyss, but we have to try,” said the mysterious man grimly.

Fang Gu fell silent when he suddenly became everyone’s hope. He finally spoke with a not so confident voice, “Our villages strictly follow our ancestors’ teachings. Everyone from the villages knows about it, but the chiefs are also told to hold on to some secret information. It does mention that we are protected by the Gods, that even if we fell into the kingdom of death, we will still be treated as the most honorable guests. I can’t tell if it’s referring to the Dark Abyss.”

The villages had existed for thousands of years. It was a miracle that they were still holding onto their traditions. It was expected that the things passed down generations after generations would not be perfectly preserved. In the case of Bo City, without the Underground Holy Spring and the people protecting it, no one would even know that Bo City was related to the villages, nor would they realize that they were the descendants of the Ancient King. People would only refer to themselves as children of the Yellow Emperor. It was impressive if anyone actually passed on their bloodline for a few hundred years.

As for two thousand years, it was almost impossible to say for sure!

“But, if you really want me to go down into the Dark Abyss, I can try. I’m already a sinner that has murdered my own tribe. I’m willing to sacrifice my life if it can give the millions of people in this city a chance,” said Fang Gu.

“I’m glad to hear that,” said Han Ji.

“President, I’ll go too,” said Su Xiaoluo.

Su Xiaoluo was also from the villages. If Fang Gu could enter the Dark Abyss safely, she would be safe too.

“The Dark Abyss is far from a safe place, you should just stay in the inner city,” Fang Gu shook his head.

“Fang Gu, can I ask you something?” asked Zhang Xiaohou.

“Go ahead,” said Fang Gu.

“The Ash Plum I saw outside of the houses when I was at the Sunny Goat Village…” Zhang Xiaohou did not finish his sentence.

“The Ash Plum is actually one of our village’s traditions. It means that someone in the household has passed away,” answered Fang Gu calmly.

“Every house has it, does that mean the whole village is dead?” asked Zhang Xiaohou.

“Mm, what you saw were living dead. I just wanted them to make it back to the city and stay there for seven days, before I will cremate them together with the houses. You Battlemages just happened to visit the village during that time… I had no choice but to control the living dead and interact with you, asking you to leave the village as soon as possible. The Ash Plum in front of every house does mean that they were all dead. So you already noticed that?” replied Fang Gu.

“I remember when my grandfather passed away, my family placed it in front of the house, so I felt it was familiar when I was at your village,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“So, you think you too have the lineage of the villages, and you too want to go to the Dark Abyss?” said Fang Gu.

Zhang Xiaohou said with a nod, “If you can go down there, I should be able to go too. Since it’s an imperial tomb, it’s going to be dangerous in there still. We can look after one another.”

“What if you aren’t one of them?” blurted out Zhou Ming.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“If I’m not one of the descendants, so be it. Jumping into the Dark Abyss now is no different than jumping into it when it shifts here into the inner city. Besides, I was standing right beside the Dark Abyss at Xianchi, but the space vortex didn’t suck me into the Dark Abyss. Perhaps that’s a sign that I’m still a pure descendant of the tribe that moved to Bo City,” said Zhang Xiaohou with a forced smile.

“If you’re going, I’ll go with you too,” said Su Xiaoluo with determination.

“Houzi, are you sure about this?” Mo Fan looked at Zhang Xiaohou grimly.

“Brother Fan…” Zhang Xiaohou looked at Mo Fan. He suddenly choked with emotion as he continued to speak, “So many people here are going to die. I just can’t bear to watch it anymore. It’s great to stay alive…when everyone’s alive too. I don’t actually know if the tradition that my family follows has anything to do with the villages, nor do I know if I still have the lineage after so many years…but if I only have one-thousandth, or one ten-thousandth, even if I don’t even have a trace of it… I don’t want to wait until the Dark Abyss devours the city. It’s going to eat the people and all my friends. If the city is destroyed, and everyone is dead, but I somehow survive, I strongly believe that I’ll just kill myself, because I could have… saved everyone’s life!”

When the place was covered in bones and ruins, especially when everyone he was close with had died right beside him while he alone had survived the calamity, he believed that he would not feel relieved at possessing the bloodline of Bo City, but he would forever live in self-condemnation and the shadows of his sin.

Zhang Xiaohou’s voice was shaking as he spoke. He had already witnessed how terrifying the Dark Abyss was. He strongly believed that the most painful way to die was jumping into it.

He was scared. He had never faced fear like this before, yet the words he had spoken were of utmost sincerity.

He had not made the decision because he wanted to show how great a person he was. He just did not want to be the left person alive, even if the chance was only one-thousandth or one ten-thousandth. It was better to die than to live like an empty shell.

Zhang Xiaohou’s words echoed under the clock, in the hearts of the people. Even the Super Magicians with cold faces were touched.

Mo Fan was initially going to convince Zhang Xiaohou to change his mind, yet he was the one being convinced instead.

“Fang Gu, I’ve drunk the Underground Holy Spring. Do you think I’ll be fine jumping into the Dark Abyss?” Mo Fan asked, looking at Fang Gu.

“I wouldn’t know, but according to the information passed down to us, the Underground Holy Spring of your Bo City should be a lot more effective than our Water of Kun… wait, did you drink it all by yourself? I think the undead in the Dark Abyss won’t do any harm to you. The old ancestor is going to chop you into pieces himself!” replied Fang Gu.

“Mo Fan, you’re going too?” Zhou Ming looked at him in great surprise.

“We’re going to die either way, I would rather die trying. Well, we have candidates to jump into the Dark Abyss now, but the question is, how are we going to reach the Dark Abyss? Don’t forget that the Dark Abyss is still a few kilometers away from the An Yuan Gate. The undead across that distance is enough to stack into human pyramids,” said Mo Fan.

The question immediately puzzled the crowd.

The question was on point, the Dark Abyss was located outside of the walls, the whole place was crawling with undead. It was already impossible to reach it!

Zhu Meng snorted into his beard and said righteously, “Humph, do you think we’re just going to stand here and watch?!”

“We’ll clear a path for you!” Du Xiao declared, stepping forward.

“I already have a bet with Li Yujian. Whoever kills less undead is going to be the other person’s servant in Hell. We can start whenever, let’s do it!” Elder Shi Zheng was a straightforward person, too.

“We’re going to survive, but the bet still counts!” Li Yujian responded.

The spirit in Han Ji’s eyes slowly recovered when he saw the authorities willing to contribute.

The information had awakened their spirits after a long silence!

He was only curious what Salan would be feeling right now.

“To prevent Salan from disrupting our plan, I’ll personally escort them until we reach the Dark Abyss!” said Han Ji.

“President, you’re going too?” said the mysterious man in astonishment.

“Salan is here among us. I believe with how vicious he is, he will surely try to murder them in the midst of chaos. I’ll look after them, and I bet Salan won’t have the courage to face me!” said Han Ji in cold voice. He looked like a different person than before.

“Alright, since even the president is willing to fight together with us, what else could we say? Every person that was kept in custody just now will be going out. We’ll leave a few men behind to guard the city, just in case the Ruler undead suddenly decide to attack!” Commander Yao Ting ordered.

“Zhang Xiaohou, well done, we’re proud of you!” Chief Military Instructor Fei Jiao patted Zhang Xiaohou’s shoulder solemnly.

“The Dark Abyss will be shifting very soon. We’ll have to organize the people responsible for clearing the path. We must escort them to the Dark Abyss!”

“People, you are our only hope. If you succeed, you’ll be heroes. If you fail, it won’t matter much, either. We’ll just gather and enjoy ourselves a grand meal in Hell.”

“This is more like it; the more depressed we are, the happier the Black Vatican will be. We won’t let them have their way even if we’re going to die. F**k the Black Vatican, try fighting me on the bell tower now, I’ll torture them until they beg for mercy!”

“President, how about that Hu Jin? He’s still kneeling there?” said the mysterious man.

“That guy must be ready to die for Salan if he dared to show himself. Tie him to the clock, let the whole city see his face…” said the president.

Mu He had indeed prepared to die for Salan. He simply knelt on the ground, like he was worshiping a god. He was completely insane!

It was meaningless to even kill someone like him. It was better to tie him up first.

Once they managed to resolve the situation, they would be sure to make him pay!

—

The Magicians proceeded to seal Mu He’s mind and hang him on the clock with chains.

However, Mu He was ready to sacrifice. He continued grinning madly and mumbling words about the festival, apotheosizing, Salan, God of Death, and so forth, like a maniac.

The people simply ignored him. Everyone shared the same goal now, and they would try their best to achieve it!

—

“Yao Ting, are these people all you can arrange?” asked Han Ji.

“These are the only ones available. We still need people to guard the city. Otherwise, if the safety barrier crumbles when we’re out of the city, the undead will simply invade the inner city. The outcome is still going to be the same…”

“He’s right, we need enough men to defend the city, just so the Black Vatican won’t be able to do much in the midst of chaos,” said Lu Xu.

“It’s nowhere enough, we won’t be able to reach the Dark Abyss with this number,” said the mysterious man.

“I’ve got a plan, but it might involve lots of sacrifices… well, voluntary ones,” said Shi Zheng.

Everyone’s expression changed when they heard Shi Zheng’s suggestion. Some even shook their heads.

However, Shi Zheng still insisted that it was the only way, “I’ve made it clear. It’s voluntary. We should gather the volunteers, and regardless of how many they are, we’ll have to proceed with the plan. Time is running short.”

“Then… we will tell them the truth.”

“The commoners are weak. I doubt they would even volunteer; they are not Magicians, after all.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Han Ji was solely responsible for protecting Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and Fang Gu. They were the only hope for the city. If they were killed on their way to the Dark Abyss, the whole city would die with them.

They had reached An Yuan Gate. The golden barrier was a lot dimmer than it was before, the gold edged with brown. They could clearly see waves of foul breaths unleashed by the countless undead like raging tides, striking the golden barrier and the inner walls!

The walls never stopped shaking. The golden barrier was swaying as waves after waves of undead collided on it.

The presence of the undead was so overwhelming that the people could already feel the destruction even though they were standing inside the barrier. They somehow felt like they would simply be crushed into pieces by the breaths of the army of undead alone!

Mo Fan gasped when he saw the horrifying sight once again.

The sight of the army of undead here was already this terrifying. Would he really have the guts to jump into the Dark Abyss once he reached there?

“Strange, why are there civilians among us?” Fang Gu frowned and pointed to where a huge crowd was coming toward them.

The crowd mainly consisted of men. It arrived at the City North under the Magicians’ guidance.

The sky was now completely dark. They could barely see the dull expressions on the crowd’s faces. Their pace was slow, some were even wearing blank faces, like a group of criminals being escorted to the guillotine.

“Why did they call civilians here? Are they planning to bring them out of the city too?” said Su Xiaoluo in astonishment.

“That is the plan,” said the mysterious man.

“Aren’t they only going to get themselves killed? The undead will butcher them all with ease!” yelled Zhang Xiaohou immediately.

“They will be going out through the small gate first to attract the undead’s attention. The Magicians will then exit through the northern gate and escort you to the Dark Abyss,” said the mysterious man.

“My God, you’re feeding them to the undead. How could you do such a thing? What different are you from the Black Vatican?!” screamed Su Xiaoluo.

“Yeah, it’s the Magicians’ responsibilities to protect them, yet to push them to the undead like that…”

Commander Yao Ting walked up when they saw the furious complaints, “We didn’t give them any order, nor did we force them to do it. They have all volunteered.”

“Volunteered? Didn’t they know they are simply going to die?” said Zhou Ming.

“They know that better than you. We’ve told everyone about the Dark Abyss, and the fact that the city will sink into Hell before dawn. The Magicians will sacrifice their lives for this final fight, so we hope that there are volunteers that are willing to attract the attention of the undead just so we can successfully escort you to the Dark Abyss… their bodies will be torn beyond recognition. The undead will snap their heads off, and suck their blood dry. However, when the people imagined the same thing happening to their families and kids, they decided to volunteer themselves as the bait instead. There are more people that volunteered than I thought,” Commander Yao Ting said with a straight face.

Why couldn’t the civilians sacrifice, if the Magicians were obliged to put their lives at risk?

Yao Ting agreed that the plan was quite inhumane. The so-called voluntary was actually because the people did not have any choice, but the journey to the Dark Abyss was surely going to be a bloodbath. Many Magicians were going to be sacrificed…

“Sorry for comparing you to the Black Vatican,” Su Xiaoluo lowered her head and her voice.

“I didn’t have to tell you this, but I hope you understand how many lives are at stake just to clear the path for you. Being fearless and courageous isn’t enough, I want you to also have the resolution to carry the fate of the millions of people in this city. Sacrificing isn’t necessarily the bravest act, and death is just an escape, running away from your responsibilities. Staying alive, endure the sufferings, fight with all you can for your goal, that is what we’ll be impressed and grateful for the most!” proclaimed Commander Yao Ting firmly.

Don’t keep on mentioning death all day, that is the act of cowards!

Everyone had the right to live on, but they could also choose death…

The night had just fallen. Dawn was far away. Choosing to live or die did not really decide how great a person was. The only thing was to calmly make the choice, knowing what you were carrying on your back.

——

There was a small gate slightly to the east of the northern gate.

The volunteers formed a crowd, lining up at the small gate.

Those who were at the northern gate could see that the small gate that was previously shut had been opened. A Super Magician was leading the way, charging out of the protection of the golden barrier.

The Super Magician was emitting a purple glow. The power of lightning blasted the pack of undead outside the gate and created a gap.

Battlemages in uniforms rushed out from the gate. They stepped on the bodies of the undead and continuously tossed Spells at the army of undead. The glow that the Spells produced was barely visible under the dark breaths of the undead.

Soon, the volunteers followed the Battlemages rushing out of the safety barrier. They stood on the spacious land that had just been cleared by the Magicians.

They were wearing suits, and smart bow ties. Some were tall and handsome, some looked fairly ordinary, yet each one of them was a piece of fresh meat with a savory aroma in the eyes of the undead…

As the crowd grew larger, the presence of living humans immediately attracted the army of undead. They began to surge toward the small gate like rolling tides. The greedy zombies even crawled on top of their comrades who were lunging at the area!

“Not everyone will be eaten, right?” said Su Xiaoluo with a pale face. She had the urge to turn around just so she could not see the bloodshed anymore, yet she forced herself to watch it. She had decided to jump into the Dark Abyss, she had to know the burden she was carrying!

“Once we cross the army of undead, the Battlemages will immediately escort them back into the city through the small gate. There will be lots of casualties, but the majority of the dead are going to be Magicians. We’re only relying on the volunteers to create a strong presence of living humans, to shift the attention of the undead stacked outside of the walls,” replied the mysterious man.

Mo Fan always thought he was a strong, heartless man, yet when he saw the commoners willing to clear a path for them by using themselves as bait, when he saw them being torn into pieces and their fresh blood splattering on the wall, it felt like his breathing had almost halted!

The scene of blood and limbs flying everywhere showed him the resolution of the people in the city to stay alive!

How could he possibly let them down!?

After adjusting his thoughts, Mo Fan shifted his attention back to the journey ahead.

The number of undead did seem to ease up a little. If they were quick enough, they would be able to secure a head start of a kilometer!

“People heading to the Dark Abyss, prepare yourself!” President Han Ji’s voice echoed above the city that was drenched in the storm.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The tower on the walls was crowded with Magicians. Hunters, students, Battlemages, Imperial Magicians; and Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Super Magicians with Lightning, Water, Fire, Wind, Light, and Earth Elements…

“Vanguards, charge!” yelled Han Ji.

As soon as the order was given out, four Super Magicians simultaneously beat their wings. The brilliance of the wings was so outstanding that even when they charged into the ocean of undead, the others could still see the magical glow coming from them!

They dashed forward in four straight lines. The black ocean was clearly being split apart under the destructive force of the four Super Magicians, like four red carpets being laid on top of the black ocean, extending five hundred meters into the distance. It was impossible to tell how many zombies stacked on top of one another were annihilated by the four Super Magicians. Most of them were blasted into nothing instantly!

Following the four Super Magicians clearing the path as vanguards, the whole place suddenly turned blazing red!

Raging flames poured down from the sky like rain. Each burst of flame was the size of a fist as it fell from the sky. The raindrops evaporated instantly in the heat. The stormy clouds were set aflame.

An unknown number of Fire Imperial Magicians had cast the Advanced Fire Spell, Sky Flame Funeral, at the same time. As the rain of flame hit the ground, it turned the land occupied by the undead into a sea of fire, spreading wildly into the surroundings!

“Let’s go!” said Han Ji, waving his hand, signaling the Imperial Magicians to move into a square-shaped formation with Mage, Zhang Xiaohou, Fang Gu, and Su Xiaoluo in the middle. They charged forward onto the land, flames all around them.

The formation consisted of Advanced Magicians. Each one of them was drawing a brilliant Star Constellation. The intertwining Star Patterns accumulated boundless elemental energy. The Wind Magicians were the first ones to finish channeling!

Green gusts of wind appeared around the square-shaped formation, rapidly transforming into a fierce wave that rolled across the flames and split the fiery ocean in half. As the zombies that were burned beyond recognition stumbled into the wind blades, they were cut into flying pieces and scattered across the place.

The wind formed a raft under their feet. The rolling wave dragged the group forward. Mo Fan and his crew were dragged almost five hundred meters ahead by the Imperial Magicians. The inner walls were far behind them within the blink of an eye!

The number of skeletons significantly increased around five hundred meters away from the inner city. The sinister white bones looked like powerful machinery. The skeletons still had space to move their limbs, as the place was not as crowded as where the zombies had been. As soon as they saw Magicians trespassing into their territory, they immediately raised their weapons and charged at their enemies.

The primary attack of the skeletons was the cold weapons they had created using their bones. Gleaming bone swords, long and sharp bone sabers, fists like hammers that produced loud blasts when they slammed the ground, and long arms as sharp as spears, pikes and lances…

The skeletons were of various sizes, but one could tell their age by observing the color and luster of their bones. Mo Fan’s gaze passed the wall of Imperial Magicians ahead of him and discovered that there were lots of Skeleton Generals among the skeletons, to his dismay. Their bones were hard as steel, with icy reflections across the surface. Their eyes were the scariest, glaring at anything alive in hate and murderous intent!

As they opened their mouths, it looked like their lower jaws were about to fall off. Their teeth without gums looked extraordinarily eerie.

A Skeleton Official, its bones as reflective as a piece of steel uttered a roar, ordering the army of skeletons to charge at their enemy. Be it those that leapt into the air, those that were charging straight at them, or those that fired their bones like arrows, there were simply too many of them, leaving them with no room to dodge the attacks.

“Water Curtain!”

“Water Curtain!”

“Water Curtain!”

“Water Curtain!”

The Advanced Water Magicians simultaneously cast the Advanced Water Spell. The brilliance of the blue Star Constellation reached a distance of a kilometer. Every Imperial Magician was encapsulated by the sacred blue light.

Water Curtains that looked like thin waterfalls surrounded the formation. The front, the back, the sides; the Water Curtains had formed a tiny safety barrier around the square formation, with no visible gap between the curtains.

Mo Fan felt like he was being protected inside a watery boundary. The layers of Water Curtains prevented the skeletons from attacking. The barrier remained intact even when bone weapons were hurled at the Water Curtains. Even the attacks of the Warrior-level skeletons were nullified by the Water Curtains!

“Kill the Skeleton Official!” Han Ji commanded in a stern voice.

Mo Fan vaguely sensed a mysterious power of the Shadow Element disappearing from his side like an arrow, going right into the middle of the skeletons.

It was easy to locate the Skeleton Official, due to its enormous size. Before Mo Fan could take a closer look at the Super Magician that was attacking at lightning speed, he heard a loud explosion from the direction of the Skeleton Official.

The Skeleton Official’s appearance was ugly and horrifying. Its shoulders were filled with skulls, like lumps on its skin…

As the skulls fell off its body, its building-sized body exploded too!

“I’ll send you off once I clear the obstacles!” a loud voice came from within the army of skeletons.

Green wind blades appeared in all directions all of a sudden, at least a thousand of them, slashing randomly among the skeletons. The explosions and flickers of solid air instantly killed thousands of skeletons.

The bones were broken into pieces, fell to the ground, and stacked up into a thick layer of ‘snow’. When Mo Fan thought the Spell had come to an end, the thousand blades that seemed to be scattered across the place suddenly gathered in the hand of the shadowy figure from before!

“Thousand Wind Blades!”

“Slaughtering Wind Slash!”

The shadow’s aura grew tremendously, his hands were holding a sword made out of the wind blades that had slaughtered thousands of skeletons just a moment ago!

The slashing sword swept forward, emitting a crazy light together with a fierce airflow. The ocean of skeletons ahead was suddenly split in half by a line. Both the skeletons and their Skeleton Generals were broken into pieces, scattering across the ground!

The power of the Slaughtering Wind Slash left the younger Magicians with wide eyes and gaping mouths. The Spell had completely cleared a few hundred meters of the path ahead!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Well done, Elder Ling Xi!” yelled Han Ji in excitement.

It had been a while since Han Ji had participated in a thrilling battle against demon creatures; basically ever since he was promoted to the president of the Clock Tower Magic Association. The endless demon creatures in their surroundings and the fearless comrades at his side reminded him of the battles he had once fought against the sea creatures at the shorelines of the nation.

“For the Ancient Capital!” The shadowy figure turned out to be a glamorous woman. Her waist was tied with a blue silk cloth. Both her drifting hair and the silk illustrated her determination to kill. She must have been quite a talented beauty back in the days.

The woman was the Elder of the Hunter Union, Ling Xi. Her status was higher than a Senior Hunter. Even though she was on the list of authorities that were initially going to be executed, it did not stop her from having the resolve to clear a path for the sake of the Ancient City.

That spell was the real ultimate of the Wind Element. Zhang Xiaohou’s primary Element was Wind, too. It was his first time experiencing the strength of a Super Wind Spell. The deadly formation consisted of a thousand wind blades, and the Slaughtering Wind Slash had almost slashed the ground in half. Zhang Xiaohou always thought Wind was more about utilizing its agility to harass his enemies, but after witnessing the attack, he could not help but have a new understanding of the Wind Element!

A real Wind Magician would leave nothing alive within several hundred meters. The wind blades would simply cut apart every single enemy within their range!

Zhang Xiaohou was utterly impressed by that strength. His eyes were filled with the anticipation of achieving the Super Level.

“Protection on both sides, full speed ahead!” Han Ji’s voice came into everyone’s ears.

Squads of Magicians with different magical glows appeared on both sides of the Imperial Magicians. Perhaps they were not strong enough to kill hundreds or thousands of undead with a single Spell, but when their Star Orbits and Star Patterns combined together, the storm of Spells they cast could still match the strength of a Super Spell as they blasted the lines of undead coming from both sides!

The place ahead was covered in bones. The Imperial Magicians continued to press forward. Elder Ling Xi had cleared a long path ahead, allowing the Imperial Magicians to advance smoothly.

The Water Curtains were not a static defense, either. They followed the formation as the Magicians moved forward. The blue barriers flowed like waterfalls around Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, Fang Gu, and Su Xiaoluo as they advanced, shoving the undead that managed to break through the defense away!

“Zombies, a large pack of zombies is coming!” some Commander’s voice echoed in the sky above the army of Magicians.

Mo Fan and the others had already traveled a kilometer. The land between the inner walls and them was covered in corpses, the spectacular scene was utterly breathtaking.

Obviously, clearing the path was not enough. They had just finished slaughtering the skeletons, but a large group of zombies was already heading toward them. They were initially attracted to the small gate where the volunteers were. Either the volunteers were all dead, or the undead commanders with higher intelligence had realized that their group was actually the main force, and had sent the zombies after them!

The army of undead was mostly made up of zombies, so the incoming army looked like a black ocean. Whenever they attacked, they would surround their target and isolate it like an island. The path leading back to the city was already blocked off.

“The Mountain Zombie is sending the zombies over here. They are coming, prepare for battle!” The Commander was a Psychic Magician, using Psychic Voice to make sure that everyone could hear him.

Glancing into the distance, even though the black tide of zombies was still a few hundred meters away, it felt like they were about to overrun them. The Light Magicians had barely cleansed the presence of death surrounding them, but a new wave was already spreading in their direction with the zombies!

“Poison, It’s a Poison Storm!”

A poisonous storm was sweeping toward the humans before the army of zombies even arrived. The poisonous mist turned into a storm, which rapidly consumed the groups of Magicians…

The inner city was shaking from the movement of the zombies. The people behind the golden barrier watched the army of Magicians being devoured by the poisonous storm…

Black, black everywhere, even the magical glow surrounding the Magicians had disappeared, let alone their tiny figures. It looked like an enormous poisonous beast had just swallowed the whole army of Magicians into its stomach. The people felt a chill go down their spines as the place fell into dead silence!

“Were…were they wiped out, just like that?”

“I can’t see anything, apart from zombies.”

“So it still comes down to this, leaving the barrier is only going to get us killed.”

The Magicians left behind to guard the city, and the civilians waiting with hope, suddenly fell silent. They could not make any noise despite the strong urge to burst into tears.

The small gate was covered in bodies and fresh blood, and the battle to the north had disappeared inside the poisonous storm. The whole city was dumbfounded.

“There’s light, look, there’s light!” a Battlemage standing on the walls suddenly yelled.

“There’s light indeed…the storm is weakening, oh! It’s disappearing, the poisonous storm is disappearing!” yelled another Battlemage.

More people on the walls soon saw the sacred golden light bursting out from the storm. It was like ten thousand golden rays piercing through the body of an enormous poisonous beast. The poisonous storm slowly dissipated, split apart by the light…

Golden rays shone upon the Magicians. Dense Star Orbits, Star Patterns and Star Constellations had constructed the most spectacular magic formation on the battlefield, its brilliance lighting up the whole place with a formidable aura!

“They are fine. The Light Magicians managed to cleanse the poisonous storm. They are preparing for a counterattack!”

The first voice erupted from the walls, before it spread further into the inner city and across every street and refugee shelter.

The majority of the people were not at the walls, and thus they were unable to see the situation of the battle between the humans and the undead. However, as they listened to the roars of the people on the walls, they could feel their hearts hanging in their throats. The traditional method of spreading the information across the city using shouts made their hearts beat rapidly.

Kill them, kill them all! The ocean of undead was no match for the protectors of mankind. Even though the number of undead was ten, even a hundred times higher than that of the Magicians, it would never extinguish the raging flames inside the Magicians’ hearts after their city was invaded!

“Hail Magicians, Hail Magicians!”

“Hail Magicians! Hail Magicians!”

The Magicians had become the people’s hope. When the undead was massacring them and trampling their homes, only the Magicians were able to butcher these demons!

When the people trapped in the inner city saw the overwhelming number of corpses on the ground and the army of Magicians moving into the distance, they completely vented their anger toward the humiliation from the disaster. No one was willing to be trampled on or surrender to the undead. Even when they were at a disadvantage, even after losing half their city, the Magicians would surely avenge them!

The people were deeply moved by the unyielding Magicians and the path they had cleared, and burst into an uproar hot-bloodedly… who cared if the path could not lead them to dawn!?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The zombies are too many, it will be difficult to break through them,” Councilman Zhu Meng’s voice came from above.

Mo Fan looked up and saw Zhu Meng and his mighty pair of stunning fiery wings flying above.

In addition to that, he was also wearing the same lightning armor he had worn during the battle in Hangzhou. The purple lightning flickering on the metallic surface turned him into a sky knight of Lightning and Fire. As the Imperial Magicians were advancing on foot, a flying phantom would fall from the sky to the ground almost every second, and that was in fact Zhu Meng’s doing!

He did not summon his Spear Equipment this time. Otherwise, the lightning spear would further enhance his image as a lightning-fire flying knight…

“Don’t worry, I got it! Green Eye, let’s go!” said a familiar voice, who turned out to be Senior Hunter Du Xiao.

There was a huge roar, the people on the trembling ground quickly stepped to the side. Mo Fan turned to his side and saw a gigantic blue beast moving past him. The runes on its skin were astonishing. Its muscles were as huge as boulders, its entire body was displaying an overwhelming sense of explosiveness!

Looking up again, Mo Fan saw a man standing on the head of the beast. His hair was drifting in the wind, and his black eyes flickered coldly. The overwhelming number of zombies was nowhere enough to destroy the man’s determination!

The beast lunged forward, smashing the smaller zombies, and rammed into a Corpse General with its giant horns. The Corpse General that was as strong as an ox was punctured by the horns, before it was sent flying into the distance with blood splattering in the air.

Behind Du Xiao and his beast Green Eye, a bunch of Summoned Beasts appeared out of nowhere. Those around four meters tall were Blood-rune Savage Wolves, a White-armor Battle Beetle, aRock-seal Devil, and a Scorpion-tailed Scaled Beast. As for those over five meters, or even ten meters tall, they were the Banyan Demon General, Tyrant Snow Spirit, Rampage Blood Bird…

Du Xiao’s Green Eye was the commander of the Summoned Beasts on the ground. The beasts charged forward and could instantly kill most of the zombies with a single bite or claw swipe. In comparison, the Green Eye was a lot fiercer. The impact produced from a single stomp would turn over a hundred zombies into minced meat. A single swipe of its claw would knock the zombies into the fresh cracks in the ground!

The zombies were poisonous and had no fear of dying. The Magicians would have a hard time utilizing their Magic after they were surrounded. Even when they were firing their Spells continuously to blast the zombies, those that managed to escape from the net would still drag their remaining body parts toward the Magicians. The Summoned Beasts were the perfect solution to tear the zombie walls apart. The clumsy zombies were no match for the fierce Summoned Beasts when it came to close combat!

The thick zombie walls were soon torn open by the Summoned Beasts. Meanwhile, the firepower of the Rampage Blood Bird in the air was on par with Du Xiao’s Green Eye. Mo Fan could not see who was riding the bird as it kept flying right above the army, but every attack it executed would kill over a hundred zombies too…

The Rampage Blood Bird was not the kind that attacked from range. It was a savage predator. During its flight, it would suddenly glow crimson and glide right above the zombies. Flickers of light followed, and blood-colored slashes would appear randomly across the place, each over ten meters long. The sound of the zombies being shredded was audible, and once it came to an end, the limbs, heads, and bodies were suddenly scattered across the area.

“Our path behind is cut off,” said the commander with the Psychic Element. Some of the Magicians immediately turned around and saw the zombies stacking up across the battlefield now covered in white bones.

There were one and a half kilometers from the inner city, but half a kilometer was now covered in zombies. The number of zombies was indeed hard to deal with.

“Then we’ll just charge forward!”

“Forward, we’ll follow Senior Hunter Du Xiao!”

The resolution to break the cauldrons and sink the boats turned the army into a real battle axe, breaking through the walls of zombies with brute force. The gaps in the walls of zombies were filled with the Magicians holding tightly together to one another. The Summoned Beasts were in the front, followed by the Imperial Magicians. The Battlemages were on the side, while the others were protecting the rear!

Finally, Du Xiao’s Green Eye was the first to regroup with the Super Magicians who were appointed as the vanguards. The four Super Magicians were bold and powerful, they had managed to clear the path of thistles and thorns for the troop behind them…

“Where’s Wang Kai?” Du Xiao saw the Super Magicians, but there were only three of them.

“He went ahead to lure a few Corpse Officials away, but it’s likely that he was surrounded by the undead. He should be in that direction, but his situation is grim,” said Commander Yao Ting.

“Should we lend him a hand?”

“We’re running out of time, forward!” said Han Ji.

“But…” Du Xiao was slightly hesitant. It was too irrational to give up on a Super Magician even from the standpoint of their army.

“It’s coming,” said Han Ji sternly.

Du Xiao was stunned for a moment. He raised his head and immediately saw a black mountain in the middle of the undead’s army. The zombies were weaving through between its ankles!

Du Xiao was lost in thought after witnessing the shocking scene!

No wonder Han Ji said that they were running out of time, the Mountain Zombie was making its way toward them!

The real dominator among the undead, even the Super Magicians would shiver after taking a single glance at the creature!

“So that’s the creature from the same era as the Black Totem Snake…” Mo Fan looked up, yet he could only see the Mountain Zombie’s legs, like pillars poking into the sky. The creature could easily destroy a whole street with a single stomp. It could even punch a skyscraper to the ground!

When the creature caught up, the formation of their army would simply be destroyed, leading to lots of casualties among the Magicians!

They would have to utilize the efficiency of the formation to advance a few hundred meters more while they could still use it. They were only two kilometers away from the Dark Abyss…

With a mighty stomp, a deep footprint was left on the ground. The zombies that did not escape in time were slammed to the ground. The Mountain Zombie’s movements looked slow, but it was actually catching up to the Magicians!

Another stomp occurred. The impact from it spread to where the Magicians were, as the ground began to crack open.

“My God, is that really something humans stand a chance against?”

“The Mountain Zombie, it’s coming!”

“We’re smaller than cockroaches in its eyes…”

They had yet to encounter the super creatures that could easily crush their determination. The Magicians began to lose their minds when they saw the Mountain Zombie. The pressure it was inflicting on them had simply turned their faith and hope to nothing!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Stop it!” yelled Han Ji.

If the Mountain Zombie caught up to the Magicians, the consequences would be unbearable. Han Ji was mainly responsible for the safety of Mo Fan and his crew. He would not allow the Black Vatican do any harm to them in the midst of chaos. He believed that the Black Vatican would risk their lives to kill the people that were able to enter the Dark Abyss after learning their plan.

Han Ji was unable to lend a hand. He had to protect the four descendants of the Ancient King. It would be the end if they died!

Luckily, they had quite a few Super Magicians in the Ancient Capital. The number of Advanced Magicians was also enough to form a large squadron. They had brought more than half of the Magicians in the upper class with them. Otherwise, it would be impossible to clear a path through the army of undead.

“Zhu Meng, Ling Xi, Shi Zheng, Yao Ting, Lu Xu, Li Jia, Li Yujian… take two squads of Imperial Magicians and one squad of Hunter Masters with you and stop the Mountain Zombie at all costs! We can’t let it reach the path we’re heading to. Fight it to death!” As the highest commander, Han Ji immediately made a decision.

He had decided to send out seven Super Magicians, two squads of Imperial Magicians and a squad of Hunter Masters, each consisting of around thirty people, and twenty other Advanced Magicians. It was basically a troop of over a hundred Magicians!

A troop of over a hundred Magicians who were all Advanced Level or above; it was definitely a strong force in any battle, yet it was formed just to stop a single creature!

Soon, many of the figures on the ground and in the sky split from the formation and headed for the Mountain Zombie!

The colors of Elemental Magic were the most common among the Magicians. Every Advanced Magician had three Elements, thus it went without saying that multiple Magicians would possess the same Elements. However, different Magicians had different levels of control over the Elements. Even the most common Element, Fire, was represented in different colors, let alone the damage output of their spells!

The Sky-Flame Funeral was the most splendid among the spells. The rain of fire falling from the sky would instantly set a large number of zombies aflame, clearing the obstacles around the Mountain Zombie.

Even though the troop was mainly made up of Advanced Magicians, it did not mean they would only cast Advanced Spells. The process of constructing Star Constellations was fairly complicated. Intermediate Spells were still commonly used by the Magicians. The sky was full of bursts of flames flying across like meteorites. Meanwhile, one Fiery Fist after another exploded on the ground, clearing the darkness and blasting the limbs and bodies of the undead away!

The Mountain Zombie was domineering, too. It did not bring a single Corpse Official along with it, even though all the Corpse Officials were under its command. It had come alone, not paying any attention to the destructive Advanced Spells that were randomly blasting its mountain-sized body. The Spells looked like tiny fireworks trying to scratch it, providing it some relief from an itch it had!

The Advanced Spells were already quite powerful, but the Mountain Zombie’s body was too sturdy. The scratches and marks left on its body were no more than nail scratches…

“Icebound Coffin!”

As some Advanced Magician finished channeling the Spell, an ice coffin slowly descended from the sky, with frost and ice crystals dancing in the surroundings. The combination of the powerful Ice Spell and a Soul-grade Ice Seed could easily freeze a Commander-level creature inside the coffin…

However, the Mountain Zombie glanced at the Spell coldly and raised its hand all of a sudden. It simply grabbed the enormous Icebound Coffin and crushed it to pieces!

The enormous Icebound Coffin was nothing but a little ice cone in its eyes. It completely broke into pieces and fell away between the gaps of the Mountain Zombie’s fingers!

After letting the Magicians attack it at will, the Mountain Zombie suddenly held its arms together and waved them at the space ahead.

The space began to crack like a spider web before breaking into pieces.

A black gap spread rapidly. The Ice Magician with the Soul-grade Ice Seed had obviously become the Mountain Zombie’s main target. As the cracks spread across his figure, the talented Ice Magician was immediately shattered into pieces…

The cracks spread further away. The Wind Magicians in the air immediately fled for their lives. They had no idea how to resist the space cracks. They would simply be torn apart once they were caught in them!

The Mountain Zombie had stunned the Magicians with a single attack, killing and tearing apart the elites among them with ease!

“Don’t panic, the space will produce ripples before the cracks appear. Use the ripples to dodge the cracks. Don’t lose your ground!” yelled Commander Yao Ting.

As a Super Magician with the Space Element, his understanding of the principles related to the Space Element was better than most people’s. The people who were appointed to deal with the Mountain Zombie were knowledgeable elites, too. They immediately calmed down and watched for the ripples when they heard Yao Ting’s reminder.

As Yao Ting mentioned, the unpredictable space cracks did produce ripples before they appeared. It was difficult to resist them with defensive Spells, but as long as they were able to tell where the cracks would appear, they could still dodge the attack with movement spells, preventing them from being torn into pieces…

“Hey you, you have lived long enough!” shouted Commander Yao Ting coldly. The brilliance of his Stars immediately appeared, surrounding him as the Star Patterns were joined together. The Star Constellations were constructed in just a few thoughts.

A moment later, a Star Palace with mysterious energy was built. Its brilliance was quite different; it was a dark silver, with a vague, uncatchable light of the sky, gorgeous like a galaxy…

The Star Palace only appeared for a brief moment. Suddenly, Commander Yao Ting’s figure began to twist, and he disappeared in the following second!

A man in blue coat appeared without a sign between the eyes of the Mountain Zombie. The man flung his coat open and stared into the Mountain Zombie’s eyes!

The Mountain Zombie did not understand why the human dared to appear right before it. Its terrifying eyes suddenly emitted a black glitter, before they fired two rays of light at the man in the blue coat.

The man’s figure twisted again. He instantly vanished into thin air before the rays of light could reach him. He was so quick that his afterimage was left behind like a ghost!

The Mountain Zombie was enraged. Its senses were utterly terrifying, too. It immediately raised its palm and swung it toward its shoulder!

The man in blue coat was already floating behind the creature. It all happened within an instant. He was so quick that there were now two Commander Yao Tings!

Commander Yao Ting was as impressive as the Mountain Zombie. He did not stay more than a second behind the creature. His figure turned illusionary once again. The Mountain Zombie’s swipe split the clouds in half, yet it did not even touch Yao Ting’s clothes!

He appeared once again!

Yao Ting continued to appear and disappear in different locations by either floating, appearing in a flicker, or showing up in a vague form. However, it all occurred within a few seconds!

Finally, Yao Ting appeared in the air right in front of the Mountain Zombie. He spread his arms, his pupils reflecting the dull sky as his hands were lifting some invisible force into the sky…

“Space Compass: Axis of Death!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Commander Yao Ting looked up and stared at the Mountain Zombie.

When he uttered the words, a silver light suddenly erupted at the locations he had appeared at before. The silver light merged into a silver compass hanging in the air, extending from the Mountain Zombie’s forehead to its chest!

Commander Yao Ting performed one last teleportation, but this time, the people clearly saw a black trail running through the center of the compass!

The black axis was parallel to the ground. Before Commander Yao Ting’s afterimage in front of the axis thoroughly disappeared, the real Yao Ting had already moved through the compass and the Mountain Zombie. A shocking death axis appeared on the end, and on the Mountain Zombie’s back, too!

The sound of a string snapping echoed in the air. The death axis had frozen the Mountain Zombie completely for a few seconds, before blood jetted out from both sides of its neck. It turned from a little string to a bursting spring!

The blood poured down like a stream from the sky, dying the whole are red.

The Mountain Zombie uttered a raging roar, yet the death axis had punctured the section between its throat and its chest. The roar simply increased the amount of blood spraying through the air, a spectacular sight!

The Mountain Zombie had been perfectly unharmed even after it was struck by countless Advanced Spells. As a result, the dispirited Magicians immediately regained their morale when they saw Commander Yao Ting’s attack finally inflicting damage on the enormous creature.

The Mountain Zombie was not invincible! The experts among the humans still had a chance to kill it!

“As expected of the Space Element Super Spell!” The rest of the Super Magicians began to draw Star Palaces when they saw Yao Ting taking the limelight.

Only Super Spells were able to inflict real damage on the Mountain Zombie. However, if they were able to break down its steel-hard skin, or leave a clear wound on the Mountain Zombie’s body, they could also focus their Advanced Spells on the vulnerable spot to inflict damage to the creature effectively

However, the attempts to break through its sturdy defense or leave a wound could only be done by Super Magicians!

The Space Compass: Axis of Death had sealed the Mountain Zombie in place for a few seconds, giving the Super Magicians a chance to construct their Star Palaces…

One after another, Star Palaces were constructed. Their brilliance alone almost cleared the dull clouds in the sky.

“I’ll go first!” Zhu Meng’s deep voice sounded. His lightning armor was surrounded by mysterious lightning talismans and dancing runes.

The lightning talismans appeared on Zhu Meng’s palm in an orderly fashion, before transforming into a long spear. The talismans and runes he had summoned accumulated at the tip of the spear…

“Lightning Punishment Formation: Prohibition of the Nine Disciplines!”

Zhu Meng tightened his grip on the lightning spear. Countless ashen-gray lightning chains burst out from both sides in an exaggerated manner, scattering across the air. From afar, it looked like a man surrounded by lightning was grabbing a bunch of lightning bolts in his hand for a weapon!

Zhu Meng launched the lightning spear into the air. The people could barely see its flight path. It suddenly stopped as it reached its highest point and split into nine spears, while growing in the process!

The nine lightning spears hung in the air surrounding the Mountain Zombie, forming a formation with wild lightning flickering within it…

The lightning formation was magnificent, comparable to the tip of a mountain. The Mountain Zombie was about to step forward and stomp furiously on the humans that were causing it to bleed. However, it simply had no chance to move, as the lightning runes around the spears suddenly emitted a blinding glow, summoning countless lightning strikes to land on it!

Only the Super Lightning Spell was able to entrap such a huge creature. Once the formation successfully restrained the creature, the other Super Magicians would follow up and inflict serious damage to it!

The people felt like the Mountain Zombie was right in front of them, even though it was still around two kilometers away. Even the energy ripples from the Super Spells were shocking the Magicians.

The Magicians watched the seven Super Magicians executing their ultimates and attacking the Mountain Zombie from different directions. Ignoring the ground that was trembling from the impacts, Mo Fan was so caught up in the fight that he completely forgot the danger surrounding him.

“Now is our chance, to the Dark Abyss!” ordered Han Ji.

The Imperial Magicians constructed the Wind Tracks once again. There were so many of them that it simply built a wind raft carrying them forward rapidly.

The enormous green beast was as eye-grabbing as usual ahead of them. However, Du Xiao was no longer standing on top of the beast, there was no sign of him, yet they could see a bunch of zombies falling to the ground.

The Mountain Zombie was the biggest threat to the army, yet the seven Super Magicians and the troop of Advanced Magicians had managed to hold it off for now. Their main goal was not to kill the Mountain Zombie, nor was it to fight the countless undead. They were already getting closer to the Dark Abyss!

“President, a huge number of Corpse Generals and Corpse Officials have appeared around six hundred meters ahead. We won’t make it through!” Imperial Magician Zuo Feng came with the information in the midst of chaos.

Standing beside Zuo Feng was Yao Nan in his usual coat. There were simply too many people participating in the operation. Mo Fan had only seen Yao Nan just now. Both of them were well-known figures among the Advanced Magicians. They were clearing the path ahead together with Du Xiao and three other Super Magicians.

“We’re almost at the Dark Abyss, we can’t stop here!” said Han Ji.

“But we are having trouble…” Zuo Feng was just about to describe how tough the situation was when he saw Han Ji’s gaze sharpening.

Zuo Feng immediately fell silent as he understood his superior’s intention. In fact, he somehow was looking forward to it.

“Continue forward,” said Han Ji to the Imperial Magicians around him.

Han Ji had been controlling the formation of the Imperial Magicians. When these Advanced Magicians whom he had fostered with utmost care were in the square formation, their combined strength even surpassed that of a Super Magician…

As the core of the army, the formation was not only responsible for protecting the people within it, it was also required to provide assistance to their comrades in the surroundings with spells!

Han Ji knew the Imperial Magicians were approaching their limit. He was already constructing his Star Constellation while commanding the wind raft!

It was a green Star Constellation. Mo Fan did not even detect the presence of magic until Han Ji finished channeling the Advanced Spell in the following second!

The glow was not as stunning as the brilliance of the Super Spells, yet Han Ji had simply flicked the glow between his fingers forward in an indifferent manner. Mo Fan saw the seed summoned from the Star Constellation floating off into the distance before landing among the army of undead ahead.

Around two seconds later, Mo Fan stared at the enormous black flower that had appeared on the battlefield all of a sudden!

The flower was as huge as a small hill, its petals forming a bloody mouth. The flower was beautiful as it blossomed, but when the petals unfolded, it immediately turned into a monster tearing at the zombies!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The flower had eaten at least three hundred undead. It had completely trapped the undead between its petals, which wriggled continuously as it digested them.

The position of the giant flower was exactly the place that was crawling with zombies that Zuo Feng had just mentioned. It was likely that there were quite a number of Warrior-level undead among the three hundred that were eaten.

One after another, Star Constellations were drawn. Han Ji did not use Super Spells, his speed at constructing Star Constellations was simply too quick. The eerily glowing green seeds continued to appear between his fingers, which he flicked at the wall of zombies ahead.

Not long afterwards, another giant flower blossomed among the stacks of zombies. Every time a flower sprouted, it would eat at least a few hundred zombies straightaway. Some even ate over three hundred zombies with a single bite. The flowers kept the zombies inside the petals regardless of their numbers…

“Forward!” Another giant flower blossomed as Han Ji flicked his finger.

Mo Fan and the others were already in an area filled with the giant flowers. He only realized how big the flowers were when he stood close to them. Their size was comparable to the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials. It was likely that the flower could even eat an entire Flesh Mound Corpse Official.

Once the flowers ate something, they would remain tightly closed. The flower would simply wilt away before the petals opened up again.

Meanwhile, everything that they had eaten would be turned into a pile of lifeless corpses, dead just like the wilted flower!

It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing the Advanced Spell of the Plant Element. Even the thickest wall of zombies stood no chance when Han Ji could simply produce the flowers just by flicking his fingers. His fire rate was the same as Mo Fan tossing his Basic Spells around. The ocean of zombies was clearly becoming less dense than it was before!

When the path was cleared, the Imperial Magicians in the square formation immediately pushed forward.

A chill wind as terrifying as the sharp claws of some devils swept at the Magicians. The wind grew icier as they advanced forward. It felt like their souls were going to be shred into pieces by the ghastly wind!

The howls of the wind sounded like devilish cries. They could tell that they were very close to the Dark Abyss.

Even the undead were too scared to come any closer to the area. There were actually fewer undead after they broke through the wall of zombies.

The wind raft drifted forward. They could finally see the horrifying Dark Abyss, a great chasm that suddenly sank along the ground. It was the source of the ghostly wind that was icy enough to shred human souls.

“We can’t go any further. The vortex is going to drag us all into it!” reported Zuo Feng.

The closer they were to the Dark Abyss, the stronger the wind pulled them on. Their current distance was the limit of the Advanced Magicians. If they were to go any further, they would need a greater force to overcome the pulling force of the vortex!

Han Ji glanced at the Imperial Magicians around him and discovered that the wind raft had already deviated from its course.

It was clear that they could no longer maintain the formation.

“You all should retreat first, I’ll escort them for a little longer!” said Han Ji to Zuo Feng.

Zuo Feng nodded and immediately gave the command, asking the scattered Advanced Magicians to withdraw from the place.

As soon as the order was given, more than half of the people left the troop. Only a few Super Magicians and the Imperial Magicians maintaining the square formation were left.

As they proceeded another four hundred meters forward, the strength of the wind totally surpassed their expectations. Not only was the wind whipping their souls, it was also pulling them in with a strong might. No wonder there was no sign of undead around, most of them were already dragged into the Dark Abyss by the vortex!

“This is the furthest I can escort you… shit, I can’t pull back!”

“I’ll lend you a hand!”

Du Xiao’s Green Eye was also having trouble moving as it wished. It quickly grabbed the Super Magician who was being dragged toward the Dark Abyss.

Du Xiao was in a pinch too. He immediately backed off after securing the man.

“You all should leave too!” Han Ji said to the rest of the Super Magicians.

“President, how about you?”

“I’ll stay a little longer!” Han Ji had already put on his armor. The dark, golden scales were fully wrapped around his figure. He looked remarkably mighty now, instead of his previous hoary appearance!

Han Ji looked at the group of four, who were perfectly fine and smiled in relief, “The wind isn’t doing anything to you. It seems like the entrance to Hell does welcome the descendants of the Ancient King. I hope that you’ll be safe after jumping into the abyss!”

Zhang Xiaohou, Fang Gu and Su Xiaoluo exchanged glances with one another. The wind that even Super Magicians had trouble dealing with had no effect on them at all.

Fang Gu and Su Xiaoluo were fine because they had come from the villages. Zhang Xiaohou had once stood on the edge of the Dark Abyss. If the wind did not pull him into the Dark Abyss before, he was surely going to be fine this time, too.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan could actually feel the threat the wind was posing to him. The others simply felt like a breeze was sweeping at them, but Mo Fan could actually sense the devilish wind swiping its claws at him…

If he was attacked by the wind when the others were perfectly fine, it was obvious that he was not a descendant of the village, nor was he a pure-blood from Bo City.

When Mo Fan was deciding to withdraw from the place, he suddenly felt a layer of vague light coming out from the Little Loach Pendant and wrapping around him.

It appeared that he was the only one that could see the light. It looked like a shrunken Nether River flowing around him in the same way as the Basic Spell Water Barrier. The energy nullified the force of the chill wind, guaranteeing his safety!

Either way, it was all thanks to Little Loach, who had managed to use the Nether River that had been refined from the Underground Holy Spring to protect him, the unauthentic descendant. Otherwise, the wind would have torn him to pieces by now!

“This is the farthest I can go…” Han Ji was the only left in the area. He was only willing to leave after making sure that Salan would no longer be able to do any harm to them.

“The fate of this half-ruined city is in your hands,” Han Ji did not say anything else.

They all knew the situation that the city was in. No further words were needed to clarify.

The group nodded heavily.

Han Ji looked at Mo Fan for the last time and said with utmost sincerity, “Mo Fan, I’ve heard lots of stories about you, I’m only hoping that you can bring us more miracles, that’s all I’m asking for!”

“Well, how should I put it… it all depends on fate!” replied Mo Fan in a helpless yet unconventional manner.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s answer left Han Ji speechless.

Shouldn’t he be swearing a vow to bring back the good news?

However, Han Ji simply let it go after a second thought. No one knew exactly what kind of danger would be awaiting them inside the Dark Abyss. They were even uncertain if a Super Magician like Lu Huan was still alive inside. It was impossible to tell if they would manage to even find the Ancient King…

Han Ji turned around and left.

His magnificent dark golden armor could not conceal how hoary and worn out he was from worrying about the city’s safety.

Mo Fan could not tell if his response had hurt him. Anyway, the Dark Abyss was just in front of him. The path ahead was full of unknowns. From the outside, it was simply a path leading to death. Besides, he was a fake descendant of the Ancient King. He would have been torn into pieces if it weren’t for the Underground Holy Spring!

“Let’s go, we don’t have much time!” said Fang Gu.

Mo Fan nodded. He was about to respond when he caught a glimpse of a skinny figure in the wind.

The figure seemed to be trapped inside the chill wind, swaying like a stalk of grass that was going to be snapped in half in any second…

Mo Fan took a closer look and was dumbfounded.

“It’s Liu Ru!”

“It seems like she could no longer hold on against the wind.”

“That idiot!” cursed Mo Fan. His voice was still drifting in the wind when he already headed toward the girl’s direction in the form of a rapid shadow.

Luckily, Liu Ru was not too far away. Otherwise, the wind would have dragged her into the Dark Abyss. There was simply no way Mo Fan could save her from the vortex once she was dragged away, regardless of how capable he was.

Mo Fan grabbed Liu Ru. He clearly sensed a strong force pulling Liu Ru toward the Dark Abyss.

Mo Fan was sliding across the ground with her because of the force. Fang Gu, Su Xiaoluo, Zhang Xiaohou immediately went forward and lent a hand. The four of them grabbed Liu Ru simultaneously, yet they too were being dragged toward the Dark Abyss.

“Little Loach, some light please!”

Mo Fan simply hugged Liu Ru tighter just so the energy from the Underground Holy Spring could encapsulate her figure too.

Fortunately, Liu Ru was fairly skinny. The glow emitted by Little Loach was meant to only protect a single person. It barely surrounded Liu Ru and placed her under its protection too.

The absorbing force finally disappeared. The group of four let out a relieved sigh.

“Miss, are you trying to get yourself killed?” Mo Fan glared at the woman.

“I…I was just going to see you off…I didn’t expect to get dragged away by the wind…” Liu Ru blushed. Apart from the reason that she was telling a lie, it was also because Mo Fan was hugging her too tightly, she could barely breathe!

“It’s lucky that I’m not a descendant of the Ancient King either! I’m also relying on the Underground Holy Spring. Otherwise, the wind would have torn you apart. President, will you… crap, where did he go?” Mo Fan was about to ask Han Ji to bring Liu Ru back when he realized that the man was already gone.

“It’s impossible to send her back now. Let’s go down together, if your Underground Holy Spring can protect her from the wind, I believe she won’t have any problem jumping into the Dark Abys,” said Fang Gu.

“Mm, let’s go,” said Su Xiaoluo.

Mo Fan was left with no choice, although he was quite touched by Liu Ru’s intention. However, their first priority now was to survive this messy situation before he had time to think about other stuff…

—

As they ventured deeper, the chill wind was now an enormous tornado, shrouding the place in chaos. There was no sign of undead nearby, as if they had entered a different world.

The Dark Abyss would shift again before dawn, thus they had less than a night’s time to resolve the danger. They did not dare to waste any more time.

They initially thought they would not blink twice, as they were carrying a great burden on their shoulders. However, when they actually arrived at the edge of the Dark Abyss and glanced down into it, it felt like their hearts were about to jump out from their bodies. They were feeling extremely unpleasant as if their organs were twisted together, their whole bodies twitching.

Anyone with trypophobia would most likely faint when they saw the scene in the abyss… It was absolutely perfect to describe it as the furnace of Hell. The ghastliest demons, devils, and monsters were stacked in piles, just like a landfill!

Millions of cries, groans and shrieks mixed together. The sound penetrated their souls, their bodies were crawling with pain!

Su Xiaoluo and Fang Gu were from the villages, but even they had extremely pale faces despite being used to seeing undead every day.

If the imperial tomb of their ancestors was actually located under the Dark Abyss, what kind of sins did he commit to be able to produce such a ghastly abyss?!

“Fang Gu, you’re the eldest here, you go…” said Mo Fan.

“I’m going to be honest. I would rather snap my neck in half than jump in there. I’m pretty sure the souls of anyone who dies here will be trapped here forever. The hatred accumulated here over thousands of years is torturing souls who have already died a horrible death. I wonder how scary and twisted the demons are down there,” said Fang Gu.

Jumping down with your eyes closed simply would not work. Their souls were under a strong urge to escape their flesh and flee for their lives!

“I’ll go,” Zhang Xiaohou volunteered when he saw both Fang Gu and Mo Fan being hesitant.

After all, it was not his first time witnessing the scene in the Dark Abyss. Zhang Xiaohou felt a lot better when he stood on the edge of the furnace of Hell for the second time.

That being said, it was only better compared to how he felt last time. The truth was, Zhang Xiaohou could feel the monsters and zombies below him scratching his scalp. If there were a few hundred thousand fewer civilians in the city, Zhang Xiaohou would even consider calling it a day and go home. He even wished that he was the civilians that were used as bait. The way they died was like enjoying a vacation in a hot spring compared to this…

“How about we jump together?”

“Alright.”

Mo Fan was still hugging Liu Ru rightly. Even after taking a deep breath and jumping from the edge, he did not dare loosen his grip.

Liu Ru was not a descendant of the Ancient King, either. She had to rely on the protection of the faint light of the Underground Holy Spring. As Zhang Xiaohou, Fang Gu, and Su Xiaoluo dove into the Dark Abyss, he had no choice but to jump down, carrying Liu Ru in his arms.

Mo Fan did not have time to have any lewd thoughts. It did not matter how closely he was hugging her. Meanwhile, Liu Ru was so scared that she had pretty much fainted.

Countless demons were flying around in the Dark Abyss. They were the source of the wind surrounding the place. Each demon was unleashing a gust of wind as strong as a storm, so when the winds unleashed by over ten thousand demons combined together, one could easily imagine the fate awaiting any living creature that was caught in it.

Mo Fan could no longer see anything around him. Even his thoughts had come to a pause. The chill wind was unable to tear Little Loach’s light barrier apart, yet the hatred it contained simply penetrated everything, bursting into his thoughts and memories…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s mind was inundated with hatred. It felt like thousands of ghosts were whispering, crying and murmuring into his ears gently, asking if he was interested in listening to their stories.

When you heard it the first time, you might feel pitiful toward the ‘girl’ who had fallen into the Dark Abyss. The second time, you might feel she did not deserve to bear the pain, but after hearing it for the third, fourth and fifth times…

She never stopped talking. She would even forcibly insert the sorrowful memory into your mind, just so you could experience the pain and torture, too. However, if you showed any hint of impatience, the ghost would instantly turn into a roaring black figure, completely destroying its previous appearance of a pitiful woman!

“Feel my pain!”

“Come and feel my pain!”

“I’ve spent a long time here. I have many things to say, are you willing to hear them… oh, no, you’re not willing, you’re not willing! How dare you! Do you have any idea how torturing it is!?”

Mo Fan felt like he had entered a messy dream as he was falling into the Dark Abyss. He continuously experienced the past of these ghosts, each so torturing that he simply had the urge to bite his tongue and end his life!

It was a very lengthy process. More than ten thousand ghosts were surrounding him. Each was expressing their pain to him, and even placing him into their nightmares. Endless repetitions of being hung and dying, drowning, beaten to death, or buried alive in their coffins…

Mo Fan felt like he was no longer himself. His past was being overwritten by the ghosts. His memories were being devoured by them, as if he was involved in an endless repetition of some scenes from various horror movies. Even though there were different kinds of experience, he somehow felt each of them to be quite familiar!

The light had protected him from the chill wind, yet his mind was on the verge of crumbling. The faint glow emitted by the Focus necklace was completely useless. The hatred from the ghosts was strong enough to overwhelm everything!

The Dark Abyss was not deep, but its hatred was. It simply felt like a bottomless hole of pain!

——

After endless times of going through the process, going through thousands of years, Mo Fan had no idea how much of his own experience and memory over the past twenty years were left. The moment his eyes sprang open, he doubted it was real!

Gradually, the things that belonged to him slowly came back. However, he simply sat there for a very long time, as he was extremely worn out from the situation before.

A dream…

A lengthy dream…

To his relief, the things that did not belong to his memory slowly dissipated.

“Mo Fan?” asked a gentle voice beside him.

Mo Fan slowly recovered. He glanced at Liu Ru, whose clothes were in disarray. Her attractive face was worried, like a weeping beauty, except there were no tears.

“Liu Ru… you look fine?” Mo Fan was confused when he saw the clear look in Liu Ru’s eyes.

“You were hugging me all along, it has only been seconds since we landed, but you acted strangely just now. You didn’t even react when I called you a few times,” said Liu Ru.

“A few seconds?” Mo Fan smiled wryly…

“The others were feeling dizzy too, but we actually made it to the bottom safely. I thought we were going to be torn into pieces by those creatures and devoured by the zombies. It turns out that there’s a pit at the bottom of the abyss. The zombies did not attack us, so we ended up rolling into the pit, and wound up here…” Liu Ru told him in relief.

Mo Fan finally started checking his surroundings.

He could now tell that the Dark Abyss actually consisted of different layers.

The first layer was the Dark Abyss full of phantoms and mountains of zombies. Most of the time, any living creatures that fell into it would be torn into pieces and turned into one of them. It was a terrifying abyss that even the Nether Bone Ruler and Lu Huan had no chance of surviving…

Meanwhile, below the Dark Abyss, there was another space!

This place was fairly spacious, to the extent that it felt like they had arrived in another world.

Mo Fan was quite confused as he studied his surroundings, but after he calmed down, the place somehow resembled the Summoned Beast Plane, which he entered in the past after casting Dimensional Summoning.

That being said, the space he was in was not as vast as the Summoned Beast Plane. The gray land under his feet looked like a flat hilltop. Glancing into the distance, he saw the whole place was surrounded by a dim sky.

“There’s a white imperial palace there, it must be the imperial tomb we’re looking for,” said Liu Ru as she pointed at something not far away.

Mo Fan immediately looked in that direction. The white palace was rather eye-catching. It was completely made of white jade stones. Its surface was so smooth that they could see the reflection of the sky on it.

Although the white of the palace should make it feel noble and sacred, it looked more like the white decorating a place for the deceased, resulting in an eerie atmosphere. The smooth structure was covered in the strong smell of death.

“Where…where am I?” asked Zhang Xiaohou.

Mo Fan’s attention was so attracted by the white palace tomb that he did not even notice Zhang Xiaohou recovering from the same nightmare he’d had. Mo Fan could easily tell that Zhang Xiaohou had also gone through the same painful experience when he saw the empty look in his eyes.

As a matter of fact, if the memories they shared during the torturing repetition of deaths did not go away, the overwhelming hatred and memories would simply replace their own experience and beliefs, and they would most likely suffer from schizophrenia!

“The Ancient King is remarkably talented with the Space Element. I learned that a small place can actually conceal an enormous space inside it when I first visited the Three Step Tower. That’s only achievable by compressing the space, yet to create a world like this in an abyss that continuously drifts to different places… this is nothing that the world has ever seen before!” While being utterly relieved to be alive, Mo Fan could not help but exclaim his astonishment at discovering the Ancient King’s incredible capabilities at utilizing the Space Element!

The intelligence and capabilities that the Ancient King possessed to place his tomb here somehow made the Magic Civilization two thousand years later seemed petty.

Zhang Xiaohou gasped when he too saw the white palace tomb.

The tomb of the Ancient King!

The imperial tomb really was under the Dark Abyss!

And the person that was buried inside was regarded as the most ambitious emperor of the past five thousand years!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A gray-white outfit, and hair drenched from the raindrops falling from above.

The mysterious man stood on the walls. His eyes watched the Magicians retreating to the city in the distance. He was well aware that it was actually easier to charge out of the city than come back. There were too few that would make it back safely. Even the Super Magicians would fall in the ocean of zombies…

Against the black ocean, the light produced by magic was extremely faint. It would simply be devoured by the thick mist rising from the undead. He could already see troops of Battlemages being overrun in the ocean of undead. The brilliance of their spells grew dimmer.

The lights that suddenly went dark basically implied that the whole troop was wiped out.

On the other side of the battlefield where the Magicians were fighting the Mountain Zombie. He could barely see the clear silhouette of the enormous creature when bright lights shone in the sky. However, even under the dim sky, the mysterious man witnessed the Mountain Zombie killing a Super Magician. He was unable to tell who the person was.

The Mountain Zombie’s strength had surpassed everyone’s expectations. They had no hope of retreating, even if they wanted to. More than half of the troop was dead!

“Should we go and provide support?” asked a Magician who was appointed to defend the city.

The mysterious man shook his head. If they sent more men out there, it was unlikely that the city would stand until dawn.

The sky was completely dark. The brilliance produced by the spells were gradually growing weaker. They had totally lost contact with the army out there. They could only look into the darkness and count the time left until death arrived.

“I think it’s Zuo Feng!” someone yelled.

The mysterious man looked down the walls and saw two Advanced Magicians trapped among the skeletons. They were extremely close to the barrier of the inner walls…

Zuo Feng was accompanied by another man in a coat. They freed themselves from the skeletons and quickly leapt into the inner city.

“How’s the situation?” asked the mysterious man at once.

“We’ve successfully escorted them to the Dark Abyss. We can’t go any further, as the wind is too strong, but I believe they have already jumped into the Dark Abyss,” said Zuo Feng.

“So that means you have no idea if they are still alive or not?” the mysterious man frowned.

“Mmm,” Zuo Feng nodded. The lack of information was the biggest reason to feel worried.

“Senior, someone who referred to himself as the chief of one of the villages is asking to see you. He mentioned something about seeing the imperial tomb,” an Imperial Magician came up in a hurry and reported.

“The imperial tomb? What does that mean? Where is he?”

“In the clock tower!”

The mysterious man glanced at Zuo Feng and Yao Nan. The three were about to make their way to the clock tower when they saw a Super Magician making his way back to the inner city.

Yao Nan was overjoyed when he saw the man. He immediately went up to him.

“Boss, where’s the big guy?” Yao Nan glanced at the pale-faced Du Xiao and asked in confusion.

Du Xiao did not respond. He was wearing a grim expression.

Yao Nan knew the answer from observing Du Xiao’s expression. His words simply stuck in his throat.

The enormous green beast was dead. It was the Summoned Beast that had kept Du Xiao company for many years…

“How are your injuries?” Yao Nan switched the topic.

“Not too bad, it’s just that my soul is greatly affected,” responded Senior Hunter Du Xiao.

A Contracted Beast’s soul was linked to their Summoner’s soul. The death of a Contracted Beast was the same as slashing the Summoner’s soul with a sword. It explained why Du Xiao had an extremely pale face.

“Senior Hunter, come with us to the clock tower. The chief of Hua Village, Xie Sang seems to have learned something about the imperial tomb. He’s waiting for us there…” said the mysterious man.

“I’ll wait here for the president and others, you all should go ahead,” said Du Xiao.

“Alright.”

——–

Initially, Mo Fan thought the things above his head were gray clouds, as it basically looked like a layer of clouds. However, when he discovered something wriggling above him, he was dismayed to discover that those things were not clouds at all. They were the heads and bodies of the ghastly zombies and phantoms!

“The monsters and demons in the furnace of Hell are right above us,” Fang Gu stated for everyone.

Perhaps it had something to do with how the space was constructed, but the clouds in the space they were currently in consisted of the phantoms and zombies in the Dark Abyss. Similarly, the sky beyond the clouds was actually the entrance of the furnace!

More shockingly, a huge chunk of the clouds above would fall from the sky at times, pouring down like rain…

That was the true definition of raining zombies!

“The palace tomb is just ahead. Shall we?” asked Liu Ru.

The ground ahead was rising slightly, forming a path similar to one leading to a villa located in the mountains. As the group walked further ahead, they discovered huge white stairs!

The stairs were extremely wide, about two hundred meters across. It was clear that the stairs were constructed for humans, yet they still required some time just to make their way to the top where the palace tomb was. The stairs lead a long way to the top, like a cliff rising into the sky as they looked up…

The group of five started to climb the stairs. They were relieved when they realized that the zombies pouring down like rain did not land anywhere close to the white palace tomb.

The white of the palace tomb did not fit well into the nasty world of foul rot, deathly stench, and skeletons. If the group didn’t know about the scarier things awaiting them inside, the structure simply looked like a sacred hall built to cleanse the surrounding atmosphere.

The group of five were like ants lost on a white sheet as they continued climbing the stairs. Figures made of stone gradually appeared on both sides as they advanced further. Their appearance somehow reminded Mo Fan of some creatures he had seen before.

Two stone figures were placed on both sides every ten stairs, like guards defending the entrance of the palace, adding a hint of nobility to the lifeless atmosphere.

“Say, do you think they can move?” asked Liu Ru cautiously.

“I think so, I believe they are not just decorations,” said Mo Fan honestly.

Those who had not eaten pork could still identify a running pig. Whenever statues that were life-like were found in some eerie palaces or mysterious tombs, they would come alive in the end. Mo Fan was definitely not fooling around!

{TL Note: A common saying taken from the classic “A Dream of Red Mansions”. It means that even though someone has not experienced something firsthand, they still have some knowledge of it.}

“Brother Fan, don’t you think they look similar to the White Sand Demons?” asked Zhang Xiaohou.

“You think so too? It seems like the history of the Drifting Sand River dates back to that time two thousand years ago,” said Mo Fan.

“They do look scary…” Fang Gu led the way at a faster pace, “But I do want to see this old ancestor that has asked us to protect the Kun Wells for generations.”

“Let’s hope that your old ancestor is a friendly person,” said Mo Fan.

Too many people had died in this calamity; that they had already become numb toward death.

The numbness was quite disheartening, too. Mo Fan only hoped it would come to an end as soon as possible.

“Why is there a copper mirror here?” Zhang Xiaohou raised his head and saw a huge, eerie copper mirror standing apart from the entrance of the palatial tomb!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group continued to ascend the stairs. To their surprise, they managed to reach the entrance before the stone figures came alive.

The unexpected outcome simply gave Mo Fan a loud slap to the face. The man could not help but explain himself, “It’s most likely that the bloodline of the villages has stopped them from coming alive…I’m guessing that some monster is going to jump out from the mirror,” said Mo Fan.

The mirror that Mo Fan was referring to was hanging right on the entrance of the palace tomb. The doors were tightly shut. The architecture consisted of perfect squares and rectangles, with some white cauldrons on the sides.

“I was given a fright as soon as I reached the top of the stairs. I thought the mirror was watching us, as if it were the palace’s eye,” Su Xiaoluo blurted out.

Mo Fan took a closer look and immediately sensed the feeling of being watched as Su Xiaoluo had mentioned, goosebumps rising all over him.

“It does feel like an eye…by the way, Su Xiaoluo, do you think the stairs look familiar to the drawings in the well when we are looking down from here?” Fang Gu asked Su Xiaoluo grimly as a thought crossed his mind.

“The drawing in the well?” Su Xiaoluo was stunned. She immediately turned around and glanced down at the long stairs. Her confused look was gradually replaced with astonishment, “You’re right, it’s the drawing in the well. No wonder I was feeling the stairs were familiar!”

Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and Liu Ru had no clue what the drawing in the well that Fang Gu and Su Xiaoluo were discussing meant. Did that mean the villages were already in possession of the drawings of the imperial tomb?

“The Kun Well in our village is rather special. During a specific time every night, if you look into the well, you’ll see a life-like drawing at its bottom. No, it feels more like the bottom is connected to somewhere else. It’s like seeing a different world through the well. I can only remember seeing white jade stones in the shape of stairs. Aren’t they the stairs we just climbed?” said Su Xiaoluo.

Mo Fan fell speechless for a while. Didn’t that mean the Kun Wells that the villages had protected for generations were the white palace tomb entrances?

The strange drawing they saw at the bottom of the well was the imperial tomb!

“It’s that Wicked Eye Copper Mirror. I believe the image it’s reflecting is actually what we saw at the bottom of the well. You mentioned that it felt like an eye; it is an eye!” Fang Gu pointing at the mirror.

Su Xiaoluo came to a realization too, and her eyes glittered. “That means the drawing we saw at the bottom of the well is real. It’s the scene of our old ancestor’s tomb!”

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou exchanged glances with one another as the other two in their group learned the meaning behind the teachings of their ancestors. They could see the disbelief in one another’s eyes!

A long-distance surveillance camera from two thousand years ago!

The villagers were entrusted to protect the Ancient King’s tomb.

It was likely that the emperor had spent more time and effort on constructing his tomb than he had invested in conquering the six nations. Otherwise, how did he manage to construct such a remarkable kingdom of death in the old times, one that had not been disturbed for over two thousand years?

“I don’t know if this works, but let’s try,” Fang Gu murmured to himself as he took out an old copper mirror out of nowhere.

The copper mirror was only around the size of a palm. Its shape was similar to the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror hanging on the entrance. Fang Gu raised the mirror in his hand and directed it at the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror…

The Wicked Eye Copper Mirror blinked like a huge eye. Its gaze locked onto Fang Gu, Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, Liu Ru and Su Xiaolu!

The white doors started opening slowly all of a sudden, like something was pulling the heavy doors apart. The moment the entrance opened, a strong gust of wind burst out with a howl, almost sending the group flying down the stairs.

It was obvious that the entrance had never been opened since it was shut. The difference in air pressure on both sides was immense!

“Let’s go, the stone figures we saw are moving,” said Fang Gu.

After learning the truth of the drawing in the well, Fang Gu seemed to recall more information about the place.

Mo Fan reflexively turned around as he heard noises coming from the stairs. He glanced back and down, and saw the stone figures coming to life. It was hard to tell how many years they had been asleep for, as they even forgot how to walk properly, and were staggering around like infants.

However, it was not a funny scene at all. Mo Fan could sense the overwhelming auras from the stone figures that were now moving. Each was stronger than the White Sand Giants they had encountered at the Drifting Sand River!

“They are very strong. If we couldn’t open the door, it’s likely that we’d all die to them,” said Fang Gu.

Mo Fan nodded. He could at most handle two or three of the stone figures, but there was a whole bunch of them coming toward the group. They were as many as a pack of zombies!

The group of five did not dare waste any more time. They quickly entered the white palace tomb.

—

The group followed as Fang Gu led the way. He would come to a stop, trying to recall information about the place now and then. It was obvious that the information that their ancestors had passed down was related to the white palace tomb. With the clues, it would be easier for them to locate the Ancient King.

They found themselves in a long corridor filled with art. The carvings hanging on the walls on both sides seemed to be the Ancient King’s personal collection.

“Remember, try not to look at the art. They might be traps set up with the Psychic Element. If you somehow trigger the traps, you will fall into an illusion, a dream, and find yourself trapped within it,” Fang Gu reminded the others, as if he had been here before.

Liu Ru was from the Blood Tribe, thus she was familiar with bewitchment and illusions, yet even her soul was almost hooked away by the carvings. She broke out in cold sweat when she heard Fang Gu’s warning.

“Such a strong bewitching power, and the whole corridor is full of this art. Even a Super Magician would be lost in the art if they aren’t careful enough, trapping them forever in illusions…” said Liu Ru in lingering fear.

She clearly realized how terrifying the power was, as she was familiar with bewitchment and illusions herself. It was a trap set up by the Qin Emperor Ying Zheng to stop outsiders from disturbing his tomb.

He had fallen into a deep sleep for over two thousand years. Apart from the stone figures at the entrance that had existed until today, no other life forms were able to protect his tomb. As such, his tomb would surely be filled with all kinds of traps. The trespassers who were caught in them would lose their way and die eventually…

“By the way, why aren’t we at the end yet, we’ve been walking for quite a while now…” Zhang Xiaohou raised a question that prompted everyone to realize that something did not feel right.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Chief, could this be the Endless Corridor?” said Su Xiaoluo.

Fang Gu nodded. He glanced to the back and said, “Look, we aren’t far from the entrance, either.”

Everyone turned around. As Fang Gu had mentioned, the distance from the entrance was nowhere close to the distance they could cover after walking for over ten minutes.

“If the teachings are accurate, the key to overcoming this place is hidden inside these carvings. If I remember it correctly, it should be this one here,” Su Xiaoluo suddenly walked up to a carving and focused her gaze on a pattern resembling a woman from the ancient era.

She reached out her hand and touched the marks and the woman on the carving softly…

Slowly, Su Xiaoluo’s eyes began to show different kinds of emotion, as if her soul was hooked into the artwork.

“Did she go into the illusion?” Mo Fan glanced at Su Xiaoluo in surprise.

Su Xiaoluo’s expression changed continuously. She would look furious or sad at times. Even though it was changing rapidly, every expression seemed to be real.

“She is interpreting the illusion. This corridor must be a combination of the Psychic and Space Elements. If we can’t find the key to the illusions inside the artworks, we will be trapped here forever…” explained Fang Gu.

Su Xiaoluo stood in her spot. The pace of her expression changing increased. Sometime later, a wisp of light appeared ahead of the corridor. They could now see the end of the corridor, just less than a hundred meters ahead!

Su Xiaoluo’s eyes returned to normal, although her thoughts were still lost as she was recovering from the illusions.

“Are you alright?” asked Zhang Xiaohou.

Su Xiaoluo shook her head and replied, “It turns out that the people from the villages are the only ones allowed to enter. Anyone else would easily be trapped in the illusions, leading to their deaths.”

—

The group found themselves in a spacious hall after reaching the end of the corridor. The place was constructed with white jade. The ground was so smooth that they could see their reflections…

Pillars stood firmly around the place, each one so thick that it would need four or five people to surround it. Their surfaces were full of runes that Mo Fan could not understand.

The hall seemed rather empty. The only sound was the footsteps echoing in the spacious hall.

The group proceeded forward. Mo Fan suddenly felt the Little Loach Pendant vibrating on his neck.

He was surprised. Since the Little Loach Pendant had eaten the Underground Holy Spring, it had never shown any interest in other sources of energy. Mo Fan almost forgot that the pendant was the kind of Magic Tool that was able to evolve further.

Little Loach had finally burst out crying in excitement after so many years. It was trying to tell Mo Fan through its intense vibration that it had found some delicacy nearby!

Mo Fan looked in the direction that the Little Loach Pendant was urging to go and discovered a stone table at the center of the hall, with a crystal-like lotus on it. He sniffed an alluring scent as he approached the table.

“Over here, do you remember seeing this in the drawing at the bottom of the well?” Mo Fan called the others over.

The hall was completely sealed off. There was no other path further into the tomb. Apart from the rather suspicious runes on the pillars, the strange lotus on the table was the only thing that stood out.

“I… guess so…” said Su Xiaoluo with a lack of confidence.

Meanwhile, Fang Gu was staring right at the lotus. He finally spoke when he saw the others looking at him, “I’m afraid we won’t be able to go any deeper. I think this lotus is called the Eternal Lotus. The teachings mentioned that the bridge to the altar will only appear after the Eternal Lotus dies.”

“Eternal Lotus, does something like that exist in this world? When the lotus dies, wouldn’t it die if I tear it into pieces?” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“You can try,” said Fang Gu.

Zhang Xiaohou was relatively straightforward. He simply tore the strange lotus that had a mix of pink and green into pieces in just a few seconds. The petals scattered messily across the ground.

Zhang Xiaohou even stepped on the petals a few times just to make sure it was dead, “See, mission accomplish…”

Before Zhang Xiaohou could finish his sentence, the broken pieces slowly floated up and flew back to the table.

The pieces attached to one another on their own. Even the dust on the petals after Zhang Xiaohou stepped on them was shaken off in the process.

In just a few seconds, the strange lotus reclaimed its old appearance. Not a single crack could be found on the petals. It looked exactly the same as before.

“This…” Zhang Xiaohou was stunned. He immediately repeated his action.

He was even rougher this time, shredding the flower into tiny pieces. He almost chucked the petals into his mouth and chew them.

However, as everyone expected, the strange lotus restored itself once again.

“Back off…Wind Disc: Sky Snare!”

Zhang Xiaohou proceeded to cast the Wind Spell. The strong gust shredded the lotus into dust.

However, even as the wind dissipated, the dust gathered back on the table and combined into the same innocent-looking lotus, leaving Zhang Xiaohou bewildered.

“What shall we do now? We don’t have much time to waste here?” Su Xiaoluo started to panic.

Millions of people were waiting to be saved. If they did not reach the Ancient King in time, it would be all over when the Dark Abyss shifted to its next location.

They had easily overcome the troubles along the journey, yet they had stumbled into the Eternal Lotus that they could not kill, burn or eat…

“It’s no use, it will still recover even if you blast it with a Super Spell,” said Fang Gu.

“We’ve already come so far, is this going to be the end?” Zhang Xiaohou was not satisfied with the outcome. He went up to tear and trample the lotus again.

——

At the clock tower, a copper mirror with the size of a palm was placed on an old table. A group of people surrounded the table, staring into the image inside the copper mirror.

“It’s really them!” Han Ji looked worn out, yet it did not stop him from being overjoyed.

They initially thought there was nothing they could do apart from waiting after Mo Fan and his crew jumped into the Dark Abyss. To their surprise, the chief of Hua Village, Xie Sang came, and offered them the copper mirror. It was showing them the scene of Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, Su Xiaoluo, Fang Gu and Liu Ru surrounding the strange lotus with troubled expressions.

“What plant is that exactly? Why can’t they destroy it?” blurted out Yao Nan.

“It’s most likely the Eternal Lotus that has been extinct for thousands of years. It was described as a sacred object that even Super Spells are unable to destroy. There were Forbidden Magicians that managed to destroy it in the past… but it took them a great effort.” The knowledgeable Han Ji identified the flower before Xie Sang had the chance to speak.

“For…Forbidden Magicians? None of them has even reached the Advanced Level, how could they possibly unleash a power of that level!?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The hall inside the palace tomb…

The strange lotus stood in the same spot in silence. It was impossible to tell how long it had lasted, as it seemed like neither time nor the vicissitudes of life had done anything to it. It simply stood there emitting its fragrance for eternity!

However, as long as it was still alive, the people of the entire inner city would face destruction. The hearts of the people observing the situation were burning with anxiety!

“Let me have a try,” Mo Fan said to Zhang Xiaohou.

“It’s not going to work. There’s no way our strength is enough to destroy this thing,” Fang Gu shook his head dishearteningly.

“How do you know if you don’t try?” Mo Fan grabbed the lotus with a single hand.

He held the Eternal Lotus firmly in his hand. Since the Little Loach Pendant was rather unique, he did not want to show it to anyone. After a slight hesitation, he simply walked toward a blind corner in the hall.

Liu Ru, Fang Gu, Su Xiaoluo and Zhang Xiaohou looked after Mo Fan in confusion. They had no idea where Mo Fan was bringing the lotus to.

Similarly, Han Ji, Yao Nan, Zuo Feng, Du Xiao, Ling Xi and the others were confused when they saw Mo Fan walking out of the visible range of the copper mirror.

Did the kid think he could break a puzzle that had existed over two thousand years by simply throwing the lotus away?

—

Mo Fan slowly took out the Little Loach Pendant as he reached the corner.

The Little Loach Pendant was humming as actively as a vibrator. It was a little monster that was about to lunge out from the layer of rust.

“Take it, take it, you better digest the lotus!” Mo Fan placed the lotus in front of Little Loach impatiently.

Little Loach had the ability to absorb stuff. As soon as the lotus was put in front of it, it immediately turned into a ray of light, which was gradually absorbed into the Little Loach Pendant.

Little Loach finally stopped vibrating after eating the lotus. However, the pendant began to emit an unbelievable glow!

The glow almost lit up the entire hall. The place turned a lot brighter all of a sudden…

Mo Fan stared at the Little Loach Pendant in surprise, then quickly went in to observe the world inside the Little Loach Pendant after a few seconds.

The Nether River formed with the Underground Holy Spring was flowing as quietly as usual. Lots of Soul Remnants were floating on it, but now the strange lotus was among them. It was emitting rings of glowing ripples across the surface of the river.

“What the heck is going on?” Mo Fan’s thoughts were full of question marks. He could not understand why the Little Loach Pendant had placed the Eternal Lotus in the Nether River.

However, a few moments later, Mo Fan discovered that one of the petals on the Eternal Lotus had begun to wilt!

The flower was wilting; the tender leaves first turned yellow, before gradually turning black as it fully wilted!

The second petal started to wilt, following the first.

The process was quite time-consuming, but Mo Fan stared at the wilting petals with his full attention. He was worried that the petals would grow back again. Mo Fan did try to burn the flower with fire when he was walking, but the flower soon recovered, and looked even livelier than before.

After observing the flower for a while, the fourth petal on the flower had wilted, but there was no sign of the wilted petals coming back to life! The flower was dying!

“Nice job!”

Mo Fan was overjoyed. It turned out that the Nether River was the lotus’ nemesis. Speaking of which, how poisonous exactly was the water in the Nether River, that even the unkillable lotus could not withstand it?

As the Little Loach crazily drank in the energy of the lotus, Mo Fan shockingly discovered that the space in the Pendant suddenly grew a lot more spacious. Even the Nether River was wider, with rolling tides. It looked significantly livelier than before!

“A level up?” Mo Fan glanced around the space inside the Little Loach Pendant in disbelief.

Ever since Little Loach drank the Underground Holy Spring, it had no longer showed any interest in Servant-class or the Warrior-level Soul Essences, giving them all to Mo Fan to strengthen his Stars. The Pendant, which would initially take in any source of energy to improve itself, now had a high standard. It would only choose the sources that suited its tastes!

Little Loach finally found a food that suited its standards when it discovered the lotus. It had been trembling in excitement ever since it had detected the presence of the lotus.

Mo Fan did not really have high expectations when he gave the lotus to the Little Loach Pendant. After all, the Pendant had stopped growing after evolving into a top-tier Magic Tool, so Mo Fan’s cultivation speed had remained the same for quite some time. It was not as efficient as it used to be since he now had four Elements. His cultivation would only improve rapidly when he used the Three Step Tower.

For a long time, Mo Fan was hoping that the Little Loach Pendant could evolve further, but it lacked appetite even when he fed it a Warrior-level Soul Essence worth over twenty million RMB. What else could Mo Fan feed it?

The Little Loach Pendant finally found a food that it was interested in. It simply gulped down the strange lotus with a single bite.

On top of that, it finally leveled up, as he hoped!

Damn it, how many years had it been since its last level up? Mo Fan almost burst into tears when he saw the glowing pendant, as it felt like his effort in nurturing Little Loach over the years had finally paid off!

The feedback from the Little Loach Pendant was another reason he was overwhelmed with excitement. He remembered the previous time when the Little Loach Pendant had released an overwhelming energy; it had helped him break through the threshold of the Basic Level after it consumed the Underground Holy Spring, helping him to achieve the Intermediate Level!

Yao Nan had also mentioned recently that Mo Fan’s Fire Element had already reached its limit. What he needed was a strong energy, pushing him into the Advanced Level.

In terms of energy, nothing was as perfect as the energy provided by Little Loach. Mo Fan was overjoyed because he could already sense waves of formidable energy being transferred to him from the world inside the Pendant!

The small lotus seemed to contain an endless supply of mysterious power. As Little Loach was digesting it, a burst of energy rushed into Mo Fan’s Spiritual World!

Mo Fan was no amateur, he quickly took hold of the once-in-a-blue moon opportunity and directed the energy provided by Little Loach into his Fire Nebula.

His Fire Nebula had the highest chance of leveling up now. Mo Fan placed his full attention on the process as he proceeded to try and break through the fortress surrounding the Nebula and further expand the Fire Nebula!

“More, more, it’s not enough!” mumbled Mo Fan.

The barrier surrounding the Nebula was too way too thick and tall. He needed to excite the forty-nine Stars a little more so they could ram the walls down in one go, allowing them to roam in the bigger world out there. He needed more energy!

Because he had four Elements, his soul was able to withstand multiple times the pressure that other Magicians could endure.

It was unlikely that the opportunity would return once it was lost. The gap between the Intermediate Level and Advanced Level was a huge chasm. As the saying went, nothing ventured, nothing gained! If he had not risked his life and jumped into the Dark Abyss searching for the Qin Emperor’s tomb, he would not have obtained the rare Eternal Lotus…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The reason why his Fire Element could not improve further was the barricade surrounding the Fire Nebula. No matter how much effort he put into meditation, the energy would not increase at all.

Mo Fan had sensed the presence of the barricade not long ago. If he did not have three other Elements to focus on too, his cultivation would not have been stuck at the same level for a long time.

He could already cast the third-tier Fiery Fist at Jilin City. The truth was, he had been stuck at the same level for over a year!

Now, Mo Fan had finally obtained enough energy to break through the barricade. It could only be done in one go!

It turned out that the energy provided by the level four Stars was stronger than ordinary Stars, too. The formidable energy from the strengthened forty-nine Stars suddenly became restless, trying to ram its way out of the Nebula.

It was like even the Stars were tired of being restricted within such a confined space. They were demanding more room! The forty-nine Stars suddenly became Mo Fan’s vanguards in breaking down the barricade. Cracks were appearing on the thick walls!

Once there were cracks, it was a lot easier to focus on the weak spots and break down the barricade. Mo Fan held his breath and prepared himself to break down the barricade fiercely when Little Loach provided him the next wave of energy!

The petals of the lotus on the Nether River fully wilted, implying that Little Loach had sucked away all its life force. The green ripples spread further in the newly spacious world. At the same time, surges of green energy were directed into Mo Fan’s Spiritual World!

“It’s coming, here it comes!”

Mo Fan was standing on his toes. He immediately directed the energy into his Fire Nebula.

As soon as the energy arrived, the forty-nine Stars propelled themselves forward wildly, landing consecutive glows on the barricade surrounding the Nebula. It had already started to expand. The Stars were so vigorous that they were on the verge of exploding, this little Nebula could not satisfy their ambitions!

The cracks on the barricade grew larger. Mo Fan held his breath as he gathered all his focus, directing the energy to pour into his Nebula like a waterfall. He was determined to destroy the barricade!

Each time he broke through, he would experience overwhelming pain. The feeling of his head exploding was unbearable, yet even under the pain, he could not afford to lose his attention. He continued to direct the destructive energy into his Nebula, adding to the pressure…

“AHHHH!!!” Mo Fan uttered a deep scream from the depths of his soul due to the pain. His voice echoed in the palace.

Liu Ru was terrified when she heard Mo Fan’s sudden cry, she quickly went up to him, yet Zhang Xiaohou immediately grabbed her from behind.

“He’s breaking through, don’t go,” said Zhang Xiaohou sternly.

As a Magician, he would never forget the process of a breakthrough. Even though he had no idea why Mo Fan would suddenly attempt to destroy the barricade of his cultivation, it was obvious that he was in the middle of the process. Zhang Xiaohou could even feel the restless energy leaking out from his Nebula…

“He seems to be using the energy of the lotus to rank up to the Advanced Level. Such a bold move!” exclaimed Fang Gu, studying Mo Fan, whose body was now covered in green veins.

“Will…will it work?” said Su Xiaoluo in worry.

“Who knows?”

The group watched Mo Fan anxiously. He was still standing in the corner as flames burst out from him from his energy going out of control.

A person’s mind and thoughts were linked to their soul. Their soul needed to grow stronger to strengthen the mind and heart, which was the reason why the process of breaking through was incredibly torturous for Magicians. The growth of their soul was never an easy process…

“It looks like he can’t hold it any longer!” Liu Ru was extremely worried.

“A breakthrough isn’t something that will happen on the first attempt. Those who first experience the pain will immediately give up. The trick is to continue putting your will and your mind through the mill, and once you’re fully prepared, you will then break through to the Advanced Level. Mo Fan might be rushing it,” said Fang Gu.

“I believe Brother Fan can do it. He didn’t frown when he jumped into the Dark Abyss with us. I believe he can easily overcome the spiritual impulse!” Zhang Xiaohou was extremely confident in Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was now at the most important part of the process. The barricade surrounding the Nebula was half-destroyed.

The truth was, Mo Fan had already felt the urge to give up several times during the process. It felt like his soul was going to break into pieces if he decided to hold on even a second more. However, when he thought about the situation he was in, when he recalled how minuscule the humans were in the calamity of undead, when he remembered how vicious the Black Vatican was, when he realized that he would have to wait a very long time until he stumbled into another opportunity to try again (not to mention that he would have to suffer the same pain all over again!), he immediately clenched his teeth and made up his mind to settle it once and for all!

Advanced Level; once he leveled up to the Advanced Level, he would be able to cast the Advanced Spells!

Advanced Fire, Lightning, Summoning and Shadow Spells, once he mastered these powerful spells, he would no longer be afraid of Commander-level creatures!

Most importantly, the fact that he could Awaken more Elements…

If nothing went wrong, he would be able to Awaken two other Elements once he achieved the Advanced Level, which meant he would have six Elements in total!

Six Elements… even Forbidden Magicians only had five Elements, but he had one more than them. If he managed to train all the Elements up at the same time, how formidable would he be?

As Yao Nan had mentioned, Double Innate Elements only granted him a slight advantage in the Basic Level. However, with six Elements, each giving him access to three spells in the Advanced Level, it meant he would have all kinds of defensive, movement, controlling, and destructive spells. How many people left would stand a chance against him?

Advanced Level!

Mo Fan’s Advanced Level was a totally different concept than other people’s Advanced Level. Having six Elements would allow him to challenge those with a higher cultivation, something that any other Innate Talents could not possibly achieve!

Yao Nan was right about Mo Fan’s potential. The Double Innate Elements would only make Mo Fan stronger the higher his cultivation was!

He had to achieve the Advanced Level!

Just bear with it a little longer! Even though an Advanced Magician was too insignificant in the huge calamity to make any difference, the stronger he was in the current situation would bring a greater hope to the millions of people in the city!

The Black Vatican was preying on them with a covetous look. How could he possibly send them all to Hell without a more formidable strength?

-Break! Break! Break!

-Just break, you goddamn barricade!-

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan felt like his blood was about to burst from his arteries. His body was flushed red on top of the flames burning fiercely around him. He felt like he was standing right at the edge of an erupting volcano!

“AAAAHHHHHH!!!!”

With a raging roar, the blazing red flames sprang into the air in the form of a fiery phoenix. It struck the ceiling of the hall and produced an astonishing mushroom cloud!

“Was it a success?” Liu Ru yelled in joy when she sensed Mo Fan’s rising aura.

Fang Gu’s eyes and mouth were agape. He did not expect to see the rising fiery phoenix. It was the sign that Mo Fan’s Fire Element had improved from the Intermediate Level to the Advanced Level!

“The Nebula has grown into a Galaxy, three hundred and forty-three Stars!” mumbled Mo Fan in excitement.

The Fire Galaxy floated in Mo Fan’s Spiritual World. It was so much more vast and majestic than the previous compact Nebula. The Stars were lining up in rows as they flowed elegantly in the Spiritual World…

The three hundred and forty-three Stars were densely accumulated in the Galaxy, flying around like the rest of the Stars. Forty-nine of the Stars among them were brighter and more vivid than the rest of the two hundred and ninety-four Stars. They were the forty-nine Stars that Mo Fan had already strengthened. The other two hundred and ninety-four Stars were still in their early stages with a faint glow.

As Mo Fan opened his eyes, he could see the vague silhouette of a Star Constellation revolving around him. It was constructed with three hundred and forty-three connected Stars. In other words, once Mo Fan connected his Stars by following the Star Orbits and Star Patterns, it would merge into a Star Constellation, which would then transform into the wide-area destructive Advanced Spell, Sky-Flame Funeral!

However, the silhouette of the Star Constellation soon dissipated. There was no way Mo Fan could remember it, as he had only caught a glimpse of it. That being said, it was only a matter of time until he figured it out!

————–

At the clock tower, a group of worn-out experts who had returned from the battlefield stood around a copper mirror.

They had already given their best. The only thing they could do now was to pray that the journey Mo Fan and his crew embarked on was a smooth one.

Luckily, Chief Xie Sang had brought them the magical copper mirror, allowing them to watch the group’s progress. Otherwise, they might lose their minds if they had to wait aimlessly.

“How are they doing?” asked Lu Xu, his face pale. He did not even bother treating his injuries.

“The distance that the copper mirror covers is limited. Mo Fan took the lotus to some corner, we don’t know what he’s doing. We did see flames rising, it looks like a fiery phoenix,” said Zuo Feng.

Zuo Feng was a Fire Magician, too. He clearly remembered the fiery phoenix that burst out from him when he broke through to the Advanced Level. They clearly saw the silhouette of the fiery phoenix in the reflection on the smooth ground.

“Mo Fan came back, he’s back, weird… where’s the lotus?”

“Yeah, where did the lotus go!”

“By the way, do you feel something different about Mo Fan?”

The people expressed their thoughts simultaneously. As they were mostly injured and their clothes were damaged, they did not look like a group of powerful people who controlled the fate of the city, but a bunch of beggars surrounding a piece of treasure they found!

“They left, did they find a way out?” said Zuo Feng.

“It must be, too bad we can’t see them in the mirror. The question is, how did Mo Fan kill the lotus that can only be destroyed by the force of a Forbidden Spell?”

“Yeah, that’s unbelievable!”

Frankly speaking, none of the experts here could destroy the Eternal Lotus if they were in Mo Fan’s shoes, which meant that if they were the ones in the palace tomb, they would also be trapped in the hall…

However, Mo Fan had made the lotus disappear with some unknown trick. The people were overjoyed, even if they were still confused!

They watched the group successfully make their way deeper into the tomb. According to Xie Sang, they would soon arrive at the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life. After that, they would find the emperor sitting on the Ancient Altar!

They were getting closer to the Ancient King. Anything was possible once they reached the Ancient King. The city could remain standing, and the people could survive. The army of undead might even retreat from the battle…

“I thought they wouldn’t make it past the front hall. The Eternal Lotus is too magical, but the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life… hopefully they can cross the bridges safely,” sighed Xie Sang with a slight hint of conscience.

Xie Sang had thought it through after Hong Jun’s death. He had decided to atone for his sins, which was why he handed the copper mirror over, just so the Magic Association could see the situation inside the tomb.

As a matter of fact, Xie Sang had only realized that the copper mirror was not just reflecting a simple drawing when he saw Mo Fan and the others climbing up the stairs…

“What are the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life?” asked the mysterious man.

“One can only reach the Blood Emperor Throne by crossing the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life. It is likely the eeriest place in the tomb. Even though the Ancient King allows his descendants to enter the tomb, it feels like he’s not too keen to receive people that are useless or untalented. Apart from the Dark Abyss that stops outsiders from entering the tomb, there are also different tests prepared for his descendants. The Eternal Lotus is there to filter out the weak ones, and the bridges are there to pick the worthy candidate,” said Xie Sang.

The teachings were passed down through generations in the village. The people never knew what they were protecting, but everything was as clear as day as soon as they unraveled the secret of the Dark Abyss and the things that Mo Fan and his crew had gone through.

That being said, learning the truth and reaching the Blood Emperor Throne were two different things.

The atmosphere intensified following Xie Sang’s speech. The group in the tomb was not particularly outstanding. They had most likely destroyed the Eternal Lotus by luck. If the tests awaiting them at the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life were a lot tougher, wouldn’t they all die a horrible death in there?

It was definitely something the group was not hoping to witness. They had bled and sacrificed for the battle; they were not willing to accommodate to the Black Vatican’s Burial Festival. However, the situation seemed grim when they realized that the burden was on a group consisting of young Magicians and a murderer.

It was now the second half of the night. The roars of the undead were even fiercer and louder. The golden barrier never stopped shaking. The enormous Mountain Zombie had already rammed into the barrier more than once. Half of the troop that had engaged the Mountain Zombie was dead.

It seemed like the city swaying in the rain would no longer see the next dawn…

“The good news is, Mo Fan has broken through to the Advanced Level,” said the mysterious man in the silent clock tower suddenly.

“Advanced Level… that’s far from enough, right?” questioned Lu Xu.

“Anyone’s Advanced Level won’t be enough, but his Advanced Level is a different story,” mumbled the mysterious man.

Everyone assumed that the guy was only comforting himself. They did not think it was a good omen. What difference could it possibly make, apart from granting him a greater supply of energy? He couldn’t even draw a Star Constellation… not to mention that he had yet to awaken his new Element.

“Strange, did anyone notice something flickering past the mirror?” said Du Xiao, who was staring at the copper mirror.

“What thing? I wasn’t paying attention.”

“I didn’t see it.”

Du Xiao frowned. His face suddenly a lot grimmer.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The palace tomb…

Statues: the place was filled with vivid and lifelike statues made of white jade, looking extremely similar to a pale woman’s soft, tender skin.

Most importantly, the statues were all women with glamorous and slim figures, each with a different posture: lowering their heads, bowing, kneeling on the ground, or with a smile on their faces. The group felt like they were being welcomed by the emperor’s harem as they walked past them.

Also, none of them were wearing clothes when the sculptures were carved, further implying that they were the pampered women of the emperor. Their alluring expressions and their naked bodies… it was too difficult to just treat them as mere statues…

Even Liu Ru and Su Xiaoluo blushed when they saw the spectacular sight. Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and Fang Gu felt slightly awkward. Their only comment was that the Qin Emperor had a strong interest in all kinds of collections, including women. They did not find a single statue that was repeated, each of them had a unique taste and charm.

Mo Fan nudged Zhang Xiaohou with his elbow and whispered, “Houzi, which one do you like?”

“Brother Fan, I’m not in the mood for this. All I think is trying to meet the Ancient King as soon as possible, many people are still waiting for us…” said Zhang Xiaohou sternly.

“So, which one do you like?” Mo Fan was enjoying it despite the suffering of the city. No matter how grim the situation was, it could not stop the men from pursuing their natural desires.

“Well…” Zhang Xiaohou blushed before he whispered, “I like this one that’s alive.”

Mo Fan looked at Su Xiaoluo beside them and chuckled.

Even the most beautiful statue with the perfect body and peerless beauty was merely a lifeless object. It was nothing compared to a lively girl whose single smile or wink could pluck the strings in a man’s heart.

“Is there no end to this place, just like the corridor?” Su Xiaoluo finally asked.

There were too many jade statues on both sides, yet every one of them was unique in their own way. It felt the same as the endless corridor…

“Err…I think there are just too many of them,” Mo Fan pointed ahead, telling her that there were no more statues ahead.

—-

As Mo Fan mentioned, the statues had come to an end. Mo Fan was in a different mood than Zhang Xiaohou. He basically inspected all the statues along the way. Liu Ru, who was following him, rolled her eyes a couple of times, yet Mo Fan did not feel ashamed of his action. It was his passion for art. Humans should never stop pursuing beautiful things in their lives. Otherwise, what difference was there between them and salted fish?

“Why is it completely dark ahead?” Zhang Xiaohou asked suddenly, further ahead than the others.

“Did the path end?” Fang Gu was stunned.

As they continued forward, the path gradually narrowed as it led them to a jade platform surrounded by darkness, as if they had walked up to the edge of a cliff.

A strong wind was blowing, circling the platform on both sides, as if it would sweep them into the abyss if they took the wrong step.

Zhang Xiaohou was a Wind Magician. He probed the area ahead with his will, but quickly withdrew it in panic and blurted out in shock, “It’s a very high-quality type of wind, I can’t even transmit my will through it. It can easily tear a Ruler-level creature to pieces!”

The strong black wind looked like countless black sickles swiping wildly beside and above them. If it was as scary as Zhang Xiaohou described, the whole space apart from the platform they were standing on was a death zone!

“There is nothing… mmm, bridges!” exclaimed Liu Ru, whose vision was the best of them in the dark.

The path had ended, and they were surrounded by the death wind. They would be at a loss if the bridges did not appear. Luckily, the arching bridges were connected to the edge of the platform. For some reason, they could not see the white bridges when they first arrived at the platform!

The arching bridges were not the kind that was built on small rivers, but similar to the massive flyover bridges. The white bridges extended deeper into the darkness, like flying dragons.

There were ten dragon bridges in total. They could not see the ends when they stared into the distance. However, it seemed like the bridges were not affected by the death wind dancing around like sickles…

In other words, the bridges were the only way to advance forward.

“Come, the bridges are not swept by the black wind. We should be able to reach the Blood Emperor Throne safely,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“Wait!” Su Xiaoluo immediately pulled Zhang Xiaohou back with a nervous look.

Fang Gu had an anxious look, too. He said with a deep voice, “These are most likely the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life.”

“Nine…Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life?” A chill went down Liu Ru’s spine as she heard the name.

Nine to death, one to life!

There were ten bridges here, which meant that only one of the bridges would bring them to the Blood Emperor Throne. The other nine would lead them to death!

Zhang Xiaohou fell speechless in shock. He was actually hoping that Fang Gu and Su Xiaoluo would show him the bridge that would lead them to the Blood Emperor Throne!

“Nine bridges of death, and one bridge of life. Our ancient teachings did mention it, but it did not tell us which one is the right one,” said Fang Gu firmly.

“What do we do now? One out of ten, aren’t the odds a bit too low?” said Liu Ru nervously.

“It’s not necessarily one out of ten. There are five of us here. If each of us chooses a bridge, the odds are two to one,” said Mo Fan rationally.

Fang Gu nodded and said, “He’s right, if each of us chooses a different bridge, it will dramatically increase the odds, but… do you really want to do that?”

Fang Gu did not care much about the approach. He had come to atone for his sins. He would no longer die with regrets after finding the tomb of their old ancestor. However, Mo Fan, Liu Ru, Zhang Xiaohou, and Su Xiaoluo were different. The pairs of Liu Ru and Mo Fan, and Zhang Xiaohou and Su Xiaoluo, were surely inclined to stay together, let alone Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou, who were extremely close to one another.

How were they going to cross the bridges?

By crossing the bridge together, they would share the same fate, but the odds of the millions of people in the city seeing the next dawn were one in ten.

If they split up, it meant they would be separated forever, although the odds of resolving the calamity were two to one.

The Nine Bridges of Death and One of Life, the candidates were forced to make an extremely hard decision, yet the thing was, even if they split up, the odds were still fifty percent!

“You guys make the call,” Fang Gu sat on the ground. He was well aware of how tough it was to make the decision.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group of four fell silent. As they were struggling on how to make the decision, they were unaware of the copper mirror on a boulder behind them…

——–

As long as there was a Wicked Eye Copper Mirror in the area, the people from the villages could observe it through the mirror. As a result, the people in the clock tower were aware of the situation they were in, too.

The truth was, the problem that Mo Fan and his crew had encountered had left the authorities in silence, too. They were extremely worried on their behalf, yet their hearts were burning with anxiety for the city!

“What is there to think about? Just take a bridge each, the odds of fifty percent are good enough!” Chu Jia, an elder of the Hunter Union broke the silence. How he wished that he could transmit his voice into the group’s ears.

“That’s easy for you to say. They have made a huge sacrifice just by being willing to jump into the Dark Abyss, and now, they have to choose if they are going to die alone or together…” said Du Xiao, who was relatively more sentimental.

“But don’t they know the burden they are carrying on their shoulders!” said Chu Jia.

“That’s because of how useless we are, that we have to place this huge burden on the shoulders of these young Magicians. No matter what they choose, we should respect them. I believe neither determination nor their urge to save the world was the reason that brought them so far. In fact, it’s the never-changing friendship between them, facing anything fearlessly as long as they are together. It’s difficult to move forward when you’re all by yourself,” said Du Xiao in a deep voice.

Nobody would be more familiar with the feeling than him. He was all by himself the moment he became a Senior Hunter. The glory, the determination, and the ambition suddenly became meaningless.

Du Xiao could understand the feelings that the group was experiencing. He hoped that the authorities would not try to judge them with their skewed sense of morality and righteousness. They had already sacrificed themselves when they jumped into the Dark Abyss. Either staying together or splitting up, nobody else had the right to condemn them!

“Mo Fan has come to the Ancient Capital because of Zhang Xiaohou, I heard that he was in the middle of the nomination battles…” said Yao Nan.

“Su Xiaoluo saved Zhang Xiaohou’s life.”

“I think that girl jumped into the Dark Abyss because of Mo Fan.”

“Man, I would have a mental breakdown if I was in their shoes…”

“Yeah, the burden is too heavy, it’s suffocating.”

———

The bridges of death!

The bridge of life!

The ten bridges extended into the darkness swayed slightly as they were blown by the black wind. It felt like any of the bridges would lead them to death, or endless darkness.

Regardless of the final decision, their hearts were in pain, as if a knife was twisting in them.

Zhang Xiaohou looked at Mo Fan. He could not decide at all.

He was willing to sacrifice himself, yet if he was told to pick a bridge and watch Mo Fan and Su Xiaoluo pick the other bridges that would separate them eternally, it was no different than killing him right on the spot. He had only jumped into here because he did not want to lose the two most important people in his life!

He had already experienced the sense of losing someone. He was not willing to experience it again!

“Brother Fan… I’ll follow your decision,” said Zhang Xiaohou after taking a deep breath.

Zhang Xiaohou could not make the decision. His only urge was to choose Mo Fan, choosing to believe him completely.

Mo Fan was silent for a long time. He was staring at the ten bridges, as if he was trying to detect any clue from them. However, the bridges were exactly the same, as if they would all lead them to the same destination.

“Fang Gu, is the death from picking the wrong bridge inevitable?” asked Mo Fan sternly.

Mo Fan was unable to remain optimistic in the current situation. The impact of his decision was too bizarre. There was no way he could make the decision easily, when it would either decide the fate of the city, or separate him from his friends forever.

“Maybe it’s only deadly to us? I believe that the Dark Abyss, even if it can murder a Ruler-level creature, isn’t necessarily a death zone, either. I believe a Forbidden Magician could enter and leave as they wished, too… As for the Bridge of Life, it won’t necessarily guarantee our safety, either. Who knows, the old ancestor on the Blood Emperor Throne might actually be scarier than anything else,” said Fang Gu.

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered when he heard Fang Gu’s words. It seemed like he had made up his mind.

Mo Fan looked at Liu Ru, who avoided his eyes. She spoke before Mo Fan could ask, “I’ll listen to you. I’ll do whatever you say.”

Mo Fan nodded and pointed at one of the bridges, “We’ll take this bridge, together.”

Fang Gu was slightly confused when he heard Mo Fan’s decision. He could not understand why Mo Fan would make such a decision. It was obvious that splitting up and taking five bridges would significantly increase the odds. Was Mo Fan really that cold to the millions of lives in the city?

“Are you sure?”

“I just don’t understand why we must obey the rules. No matter how astonishing the capabilities of the man who died more than two thousand years ago are, there would still be times when he was buried or defeated. Picking the wrong bridge doesn’t mean we are going to die!” replied Mo Fan.

Fang Gu was stunned when he heard those words. He said with a wry smile, “I agree with you, but whether you are strong enough to overcome the situation is a totally different story.”

Mo Fan shrugged, “It doesn’t matter, I just don’t feel like following a dead man’s rules. We will face it together; we’ll either live, or die together.”

Mo Fan was already making his move. It was better to proceed forward than to waste their time further here. It would give them more time to resolve the danger, even if they chose the wrong bridge.

“That’s fine, but I won’t be taking the same bridge. Good luck,” said Fang Gu.

——

The authorities had grim looks on their faces.

They did not want Mo Fan and his crew to take the same bridge. It would give them the lowest odds. They were relieved when Fang Gu decided to take a bridge himself, increasing the odds from ten to one to five to one.

A fifth, there was still hope. They could only pray that Heaven would bless the Ancient Capital.

——

The group of four slowly ventured into the darkness as they proceeded forward on the white arch bridge.

As they turned around and glanced backward, the platform had already disappeared. The path ahead was in pitch-black darkness, while the howls of the black wind came from behind. It felt like they were walking on a bridge hanging in the air. They would fall into the abyss at any second…

“Why is there nothing here?” Su Xiaoluo began to panic.

She was from the villages, thus she did know about the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life. She did not have Mo Fan’s courage to challenge the rules. She only felt like they were surely going to die if they had chosen the bridge of death!

“Will it work if we turn back here?” Liu Ru asked softly.

“Most likely not, the Ancient King is the master of the Space Element. I think there was no return the moment we stepped on the bridge,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“I’ve already tried it. It’s useless…” said Mo Fan.

“Brother Fan, I thought you were walking forward quite confidently,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“Confident my ass, we still haven’t reached the altar yet. I’m afraid this is most likely the bridge of death. Buckle up, we have to stay calm no matter what happens. I don’t believe any of the rules the dead man has set. I believe that unity is strength!” said Mo Fan.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The bridge was shrouded in darkness. The group felt more nervous as they proceeded forward.

The worst thing was, Mo Fan and his crew had no idea if they had chosen the Bridge of Life or the Bridge of Death. It felt like there was no end to the bridge.

Mo Fan had enough of how the Qin Emperor had designed his tomb. Why did the dead man make everything feel like an endless loop? They had spent quite some time on the bridge, yet not a single sound was to be heard. If it was the Bridge of Death, hurry up and send the demons and monsters over. What’s the point of making the bridge so long?

Mo Fan cursed continuously in his heart. The funny thing was, something silver did appear ahead, as if the Ancient King was able to hear Mo Fan’s grumbling.

Mo Fan gradually approached and they could make out a silver mirror!

The mirror looked extremely weird. It was somehow standing on the bridge, with silver ripples on its surface. It simply looked like a portal connected to another world.

“Brother Fan, look behind you,” said Zhang Xiaohou suddenly.

Mo Fan was still inspecting the strange silver mirror. He only turned around when he heard Zhang Xiaohou’s words. He was nearly scared to death at the turn, as the arch bridge they were walking on before had suddenly disappeared!

The disappearance of the bridge was not their main concern. The problem was, the black wind sickles were moving toward them at an increasing speed.

“Holy shit, what the heck?!” cursed Mo Fan.

The wind was getting closer. It did not give Mo Fan and the others any time to inspect the mirror further. They immediately grabbed one another’s hands and rushed into the mirror after taking a deep breath!

As they thought, the mirror was a space tunnel. The group of four were blown away by the turbulent flow of space as they drifted to somewhere unknown…

Mo Fan felt extremely heavy-headed. He could only see himself surrounded by the void. If he really had to describe the feeling, it was as if he was sliding down a smooth tunnel at a rapid pace. The motion kept spinning him around!

——

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!...”

Four cries of fear came from a silver vortex that suddenly appeared high up in the air, before two men and two women were ejected from it and fell to the ground.

The silver vortex was a certain distance away from the ground. They did not realize it in the first place, but as soon as they saw the ground was made of sturdy rocks, Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan immediately cast some spells.

The group had a rough landing. The ground below their feet was sturdy, as hard as stone!

The ground was gray. It was so dry that not a single plant could be spotted. The whole surface was filled with cracks!

“I…I don’t think I can see the altar here…” Su Xiaoluo’s face turned pale as she scanned their surroundings.

If they were not brought to the altar, it meant that they had taken the Bridge of Death!

“Another unique space, how many unique spaces did that guy actually put inside his own tomb?” Mo Fan observed their surroundings and discovered that it was only a small, standalone space.

The place was not spacious at all. They could see the curve of the sky when they raised their heads. They could also see the ends of the gray land.

“Is this some kind of cage designed for us to rot in here?” Zhang Xiaohou had also discovered that there was nothing here apart from the land and the sky.

No plants, no animals. They barely believed they were still alive somewhere when they saw the lightning flickering across the sky at times.

“What shall we do now?” asked Liu Ru.

It was obvious that they had taken the Bridge of Death that led them to this weird space.

“I read some books about the Space Element not long ago. A unique space like this must have an exit if it has an entrance. Therefore, there must be an exit somewhere if this place is a standalone space. A space with only an entrance but no exit is dead space. It’s void, which simply means it doesn’t exist,” said Mo Fan.

Zhang Xiaohou, Liu Ru, and Su Xiaoluo failed to understand him well.

Mo Fan added when he saw the confused looks on their faces, “Anyway, a unique space like this must have an entrance and an exit. Don’t worry!”

The group believed in Mo Fan. They picked a direction and proceeded that way. However, even though the gray land was still extending further ahead, they were unable to move forward, as if there was an invisible wall of space in front of them!

Mo Fan tried to use magic. The Fire Burst was able to fly further into the distance, yet he still could not walk past it!

He tried using Fleeing Shadow, but the outcome turned out the same.

“Let’s choose a different direction.”

They went into a different direction and soon discovered something emitting a silver glow in the air!

“A silver realm, that must be the exit!” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

Every space had its rules. Mo Fan was confident that there was an exit, yet he did not expect to find it so quickly.

The thing was not too far away, it was around five kilometers away. They just needed to go straight…

“There’s something in the sky… mm, why is there a silver vortex?” Liu Ru’s sight was sharper than the rest. She immediately discovered something strange in the sky.

Mo Fan raised his head and saw a silver vortex above them. It was floating with the clouds, and seemed to be spinning slowly…

Mo Fan had no clue what it was either, but they only had to make their way toward the exit since they had found it.

“Look, something is falling!” yelled Liu Ru, pointing at the silver vortex.

“They are black, what are they, they are falling like rain?…” said Su Xiaoluo.

Mo Fan was quicker in his thinking. When he saw the things falling from the silver vortex like tiny black raindrops, his expression immediately turned grim!

The things seemed like tiny raindrops from their current distance, but once they were standing under the silver vortex, their size would no longer be the same as raindrops…

“They are undead!” shouted Liu Ru when she finally got a closer look at the things falling from the silver vortex.

“Undead… Heavens, so many of them?” Su Xiaoluo’s eyes were full of disbelief.

She glanced at the land ahead. The things that landed on the ground soon rose to their feet and started walking around awkwardly.

Undead, they were all undead…

The rain falling from the silver vortex was actually raining undead. The zombies, skeletons and phantoms were clustered together like raindrops. Similar to Mo Fan’s group, it seemed like they had just been dragged into this unique space. Their hatred-filled eyes still looked confused…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

…

“What did you say? A silver vortex has dragged away a large number of undead?” said the mysterious man at the Clock Tower Magic Association in confusion.

“Why would there be a silver vortex all of a sudden?” the group of people was dumbfounded.

The outside of the barrier was either drenched from the rain or covered by an ocean of undead. What was this silver vortex?

“It’s a turbulent flow of space, a space tunnel that can drag living forms into it and teleport them to somewhere else,” said Han Ji slowly.

Everyone climbed up to the observation tower. There was indeed a silver vortex spinning in the darkness on the outside of the barrier.

The silver vortex continued to drag the undead nearby into it. The undead that fell into it simply went missing. When the silver vortex disappeared, a huge clear space was left behind.

“Where did the undead go?” said Elder Chu Jia of the Hunter Union.

The silver vortex had only lasted for a short period. However, it had easily sucked around two thousand undead away. Although the number was nothing compared to the size of the undead army, it was still a strange phenomenon!

“So, can we still see how they are doing?” Du Xiao was more concerned about Mo Fan and the others.

They had proceeded onto the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life. There were no copper mirrors on the bridges, thus they had no clue what the youngsters were up to.

“I think so, the Wicked Eye Copper Mirrors in the tomb are possessed by souls. They will follow intruders around. The copper mirror before has already flown toward the bridge that Mo Fan and his crew picked. I believe we can… it’s showing something, look!” blurted out Xie Sang.

Xie Sang’s copper mirror was showing a slightly curved land. As they were observing the place from high above, it felt like they could see the whole land.

“Look, what’s that?”

“Silver… a silver vortex?”

The people were stunned. The same silver vortex that had appeared outside of the city had also appeared in the space. Most shockingly, the undead that it had dragged away were now pouring down like raindrops, landing on the curved land!

“What…what the hell is going on?” Everyone was trying to make sense of this.

They soon discovered Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, Liu Ru, and Su Xiaoluo on the ground, looking fairly tiny from their viewpoint. Initially, they were the only ones on the spacious land, but as the undead poured down like raindrops, the place was suddenly filled with a sinister atmosphere!

“I’m afraid… I’m afraid they have picked the Bridge of Death. They are now in the Space of Death!” Xie Sang stated glumly.

If they had chosen the right bridge, it would have led them straight to the altar. However, they had fallen into a unique space, implying that they had chosen the wrong bridge!

Space of Death!

The people who entered it had no chance of surviving!

“Does that mean they are trapped in there?” asked Yao Nan.

“A unique space must have an entrance and an exit, otherwise it would just be a dead space that’s impossible to enter. The space isn’t huge, roughly the size of the inner city, and there’s nothing else in there. It won’t be hard to find the exit…but, the silver vortex has suddenly brought around two thousand undead into the space, which are going to kill them…” said Han Ji.

“I could easily kill two thousand undead if I was there. Humph, I already said that they should have split up and picked a bridge each. Look what happened, they have ended up in the Space of Death. How can these little kids handle two thousand undead!” harrumphed Chu Jia in exasperation.

“I think they can handle around two thousand undead still,” said Yao Nan.

“I agree, Mo Fan’s strength isn’t comparable to that of an ordinary Intermediate Magician,” said Zuo Feng.

“How can an Intermediate Magician face two thousand undead at once? Do you think I’m stupid!” Chu Jia no longer had any hope. He seemed to be fretting.

The mysterious man and Han Ji both had stern looks on their faces. They felt hopeless after learning that the group had arrived in the Space of Death, not to mention the undead were about to end their lives…

“Chief Xie, does this mean the Bridges of Death aren’t really that terrifying? If they have an Advanced Magician among them, wouldn’t they be able to handle the undead easily?” asked Elder Ling Xi.

She too felt that it was unreliable to place the fate of the city in the hands of a few young Magicians. The situation would be totally different if a Super or Advanced Magician was with them.

“No, that isn’t the case. Describing something to be weak or strong is actually subjective. The dangerous places that the people are referring to will never pose a threat to strong Magicians. However, in the case of the Ancient King’s tomb, even a Forbidden Magician can’t be sure that he could enter the place safely. The reason is, according to the rules that the Ancient King set, the difficulty of the situation is adjusted based on the capabilities of the candidates. Although you’re only seeing a few thousand undead in the Space of Death now, it is only because their strength isn’t high. However, if you were the ones inside the Space of Death, the levels and the number of the undead will increase significantly!” said Xie Sang.

Most people in the tower were Super Magicians. They were more knowledgeable than Xie Sang, hence they immediately understood the situation when they heard Xie Sang’s explanation.

“It seems like the Ancient King isn’t only the founder of the Undead Element and an expert of the Space Element, he’s also an expert of the Chaos Element. I can’t even imagine how many resources he spent constructing the tomb! But I have to say that I’m impressed by his intelligence, even though the tomb was built more than two thousand years ago,” an aged scholar spoke up.

Only the Chaos Element could achieve the things that Xie Sang had mentioned.

Among the Dimensional Magic Elements, the Space Element was the strongest. The Summoning Element was the most diverse, the Music Element was primarily used for supporting and harassing, and the Chaos Element was the eeriest and the most unpredictable. These Dimensional Magic Elements were difficult to understand, let alone the complicated Chaos Element!

However, they were confident that the Ancient King was an expert with the Chaos Element, too!

“Around two thousand undead, hopefully they can make it,” said Han Ji.

“I feel like these undead are only just the beginning… even though the group’s strength isn’t outstanding, they are still in the Space of Death. There’s simply no chance for them to survive,” added Xie Sang.

Everyone fell silent upon hearing Xie Sang’s words. Han Ji subconsciously glanced at the inner city beset by the calamity. His eyes were losing hope…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The rain had lasted for a few days straight. The people in the clock tower were already silent, overwhelmed by the sorrow of finding the group in the Space of Death, and now yet another devastating news had come…

“Half of the army is dead, only a few from the three Hunter squads are alive, the Imperial Magicians are trapped by the Mountain Zombie there…” an Imperial Magician came reporting.

“Sigh, so many are dead, but we still picked the Bridge of Death,” Ling Xi shook her head when she heard the news.

“We should have just fought with all we had, maybe we can still survive until the morning arrived. We still don’t know if the Dark Abyss is going to shift into the inner city. Maybe the Black Vatican is just trying to trick us. Now that we’ve lost so many people, we won’t have a chance to defend the inner city,” said Chu Jia.

“Don’t you think it’s meaningless to say something like that now? We’re only in this situation because we’ve underestimated the Black Vatican. You should say that if the Magic Association, Hunter Union, and all renowned clans had worked together to eliminate the Black Vatican, a disaster like this wouldn’t even happen! I don’t think the Black Vatican is fooling us; the Dark Abyss is going to drift into the city. We already know that the imperial tomb is under the Dark Abyss. It’s the fortunate among all unfortunates. I can already feel death closing in,” responded Du Xiao, who seemed to have a grudge against Chu Jia.

Chu Jia did not feel pleasant upon hearing the words. As he was about to respond, Du Xiao was already not in the mood to quarrel with him further.

He walked to the edge and summoned a pair of wings. The wings had an obvious tear on them. It was obvious that he had been injured before.

“What are you doing?” asked Chu Jia immediately.

“I’m well-rested. I’ll go and save more people,” Du Xiao beat his wings and leapt into the air.

He was extremely quick. The rain nearby was swept away as the wings beat. Not long after, Du Xiao had already vanished into the distance.

——

The Space of Death…

The silver vortex finally disappeared. No more undead were falling from the sky. However, the broad area was now crowded with lots of ugly creatures. Su Xiaoluo and Liu Ru both had extremely pale faces!

They had witnessed the enormous undead army up close, and even cleared a spectacular path to reach the Dark Abyss. However, they were escorted by an army of powerful Magicians, and now, there were only four of them in the space.

Four, just four…

Zhang Xiaohou was an Intermediate Magician, Mo Fan had just leveled up to the Advanced Level, but he still could not cast Advanced Spells as he had yet to learn how to construct a Star Constellation. The breakthrough had only granted him a greater supply of energy. There was no way they could handle so many undead!

“Brother Fan,” Zhang Xiaohou’s forehead was covered in sweat.

The number of undead had exceeded his imagination. It was a lot more than the number of undead he had encountered at Xianchi. The two thousand undead could easily combine into a great tide and devour the four of them.

“Swift Star Wolf, Little Flame Belle, come out here.” Mo Fan immediately drew the Star Orbits and Star Pattern of the Summoning Element.

Him summoning the two creatures instantly implied that he was in a grim situation. He had to try his very best!

The Swift Star Wolf soon appeared beside Mo Fan. His hair was drifting in the wind from the phantom gusts and undead breath. White fangs poked out from the wolf’s lips, almost reaching his lower jaw!

“Protect them,” Mo Fan told the Swift Star Wolf.

Liu Ru was fine on her own. Her close combat strength was a lot higher than the Swift Star Wolf, but Su Xiaoluo desperately needed protection. She was a Poison Magician, and her cultivation was not too high, either. She had spent most of her time on herbs and refining potions.

When Zhang Xiaohou saw that Mo Fan was not talking nonsense anymore, he knew his friend was being utterly serious.

The number of undead was too overwhelming. If anything, the only fortune they had was the fact that Mo Fan had just progressed into an Advanced Fire Magician.

“Little Flame Belle, stay close to Zhang Xiaohou,” said Mo Fan to the little Flame Belle floating beside him.

“Brother Fan, I…”

“Do as I say,” said Mo Fan in a deep voice.

Zhang Xiaohou opened his mouth, but he did not say a word.

“They are here!” Liu Ru lowered her voice too.

The space was not huge. The undead soon caught the smell of living humans. They let out ghastly starving cries and their stiff movements suddenly turned into sprinting, like refugees running toward food!

The zombies were the greediest, running at the front of the pack. The sturdy ground began to crack under their heavy steps!

Mo Fan took a deep breath. His right fist was already burning with a blazing red flame. The fang-shaped flame swayed slightly in the wind.

He stood there waiting for the zombies to enter the range of his Fiery Fist.

“This is the Space of Death, are we going to die here?…” Su Xiaoluo almost bit her lips. She blurted out cowardly.

Space of Death, they were in the Space of Death. There were so many undead, and only the four of them.

They were going to die. The people in the city were going to die, too. They still could not escape their fate. Everyone would die before dawn, their blood splashed across the ground would be that maniac Salan’s red carpet.

“The living path isn’t cleared by walking on it, but killing!” Mo Fan did not turn his head, directing the words at Su Xiaoluo, who had the urge to give up.

“Fiery Fist!!”

The light of the fire flickered. Mo Fan launched the flame on his fist with a blast. Nine fiery dragons flew across the gray land and rammed into the pack of zombies running at the front while wriggling their fiery bodies.

Around sixty zombies were running at the front of the pack, the fastest among the zombies.

The zombies agilely leapt aside when the fiery dragons lunged at them, dodging Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist.

However, the fiery dragons were not just dumbly flying forward. The flames emitted from their bodies were extremely hot. The little sparks alone were enough to set the zombies aflame once they made contact with their bodies!

The strength of the Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons was overwhelming, not to mention its wide coverage. The sixty agile zombies were completely devoured by the flames with no chance of escaping, burned into black ash and blown into the air!

Mo Fan stepped forward and drew the next Star Pattern…

The army of Magicians had cleared a path to the Dark Abyss in the ocean of undead. This time, it was his turn to clear a living path in this Space of Death!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The black ash blown into the air slowly dissipated. Mo Fan subconsciously took a deep breath.

The number of undead that was eliminated by a single cast of Fiery Fist was nowhere enough compared to the total number of undead, but that did not mean Mo Fan would stand there waiting for his death!

Perfect timing, time to kill at will, it took him great effort just to reach the Advanced Level!

Mo Fan charged at the undead at full speed.

The number of undead was too deadly for the people behind him. Mo Fan did not want them to get any closer to his crew. As such, he had no choice but to step forward to stop the tide of undead.

Zhang Xiaohou was shocked when he saw Mo Fan charging into the undead.

Mo Fan’s speed was extremely quick even without the aid of any spell. He was as fast as someone under the effect of the Basic Spell Wind Track!

Upon leveling up to the Advanced Level, not only did it strengthen his mind, his physical attributes improved dramatically too. It was also the reason why Advanced Magicians did not only fight Commander-level creatures distantly. They were not at a disadvantage when fighting close combat too.

Mo Fan had clearly sensed the difference. The physical buffs provided by his Nebula was almost negligible. He had to rely on spells most of the time. Without magic, he was only an ordinary human that was slightly more agile.

However, the Advanced Level was a different story. The physical attributes of an Advanced Magician were entirely different than the Intermediate Level. Their jumping, sprinting, dodging and reaction times were comparable to lower-level demon creatures. Even when jumping right into a pack of demon creatures, it did not necessarily mean that the Magician would have trouble surviving!

Mo Fan had already felt it in the hall. The Fire Nebula had further strengthened his flesh. Therefore, he had decided to kill the undead as sacrifices for his recent level up!

Flipping his hands simultaneously, two bright flames burst alive on his palms. Mo Fan basically finished the two Fire Bursts in an instant.

In terms of speed and reflexes, Mo Fan was faster than the Servant-class undead. He quickly weaved past two poisonous zombies like a sparrow gliding through the woods and slammed the Fire Bursts on his hands on their bodies…

Leaving the flames behind, Mo Fan had already moved a few meters away. With a thought, the two Fire Bursts on the zombies exploded instantly!

It was too easy to kill two Servant-class zombies instantly with the fourth-tier Fire Burst. As a matter of fact, if two undead were standing closely together, a single Fire Burst would be enough to send them both to Hell.

Oh, wait, they were already there…

The two Fire Bursts exploded behind Mo Fan, staggering the skeletons that were following him. Mo Fan did not bother wasting his time on the skeletons. His gaze was fixed on a strong presence that he had sensed.

It was a Skeleton General. It was only as tall as a ten-year-old kid, thus it was easy to disregard its presence. Mo Fan would have had a hard time noticing the skeleton before, but he was now an Advanced Magician. His strong will was able to detect the presence of stronger creatures among the undead almost instantly!

“Giant Shadow Spike!” Mo Fan straightaway charged toward the Skeleton General with black energy circling around his finger.

As Mo Fan shot the black energy forward, it turned into a flickering cold spike, punching into the Skeleton General which thought it had concealed its presence well.

The Skeleton General was only a small Warrior-level creature, its strength was nowhere close to the Hatchet Corpse General. The Giant Shadow Spike completely sealed off its movements as it nailed the creature to the spot. It could not even move its fingers, let alone try to break free from it!

As soon as Mo Fan had the Skeleton General under control, eight skeletons with white bone sabers appeared on both sides. Their hands had turned into the bone sabers to cut anything blocking in their path. The sabers were aimed at different parts of Mo Fan’s body. Two were swung at Mo Fan’s head, while three were slashing at his chest. The rest were aiming at his limbs…

Mo Fan was planning to eliminate the little Skeleton General in one go; his eyes flickered coldly when he discovered the guards trying to protect their general. His pupils glowed purple!

The energy of lightning!

His arms were wrapped in arcs of lightning as electrical discharges surrounded him while producing crackling noises.

“Lightning Strike!”

The lightning arcs spread out and quickly filled the area within twenty meters of Mo Fan like eels, turning the place into an electric field!

The eight skeletons had already raised their bone sabers, yet their speed was no match for the lightning. The paralyzing effect immediately nullified their attacks!

The Lightning Element was indeed overwhelming. Most of the time, Mo Fan subconsciously used the Lightning Strike as a control spell to secure a safe space around him. After all, nothing could compare to its paralyzing effect. On top of that, its damage was fairly outstanding, too. Four of the eight skeletons were killed instantly!

Among the Basic Spells, only the Lightning Element possessed such strength!

The wind started blowing. It grew from a breeze to a green slashing tornado right behind Mo Fan!

The wind dragged the skeletons and the undead following behind Mo Fan into the air and tore them into pieces. Blood and pieces of bones were scattered across the place.

Mo Fan knew it was Zhang Xiaohou’s attack without needing to turn his head around. The enemies behind him were eliminated, allowing him to focus on killing the impaired Skeleton General!

The Warrior-level creatures posed the biggest threat to the group, after all. They would hide among the other undead and ambush them. Those without outstanding defensive equipment would be killed by a single blow…

“Die!” Mo Fan walked up to the Skeleton General and threw a fist at its shiny, smooth skull.

The fist burst into flames as he launched it. When it landed on the Skeleton General’s face, flames like lava burst forward. The impaired Skeleton General was knocked fifty meters away…

His path had other skeletons along it, too. They were also devoured by the flames of the Fiery Fist!

It was obvious that the tiny Skeleton General was not very strong at all. The explosion produced by the Fiery Fist: Exploding Heaven right in its face was enough to kill it…

However, at the place where the Skeleton General’s bones landed in pieces, a two-faced phantom ten meters tall uttered an enraged roar!

Ten meters, it was the height of a three-story building. Its presence and aura were a lot stronger than the Skeleton General. Even their faces were hurting from the wind that was produced by the roar!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The phantom did not lunge at Mo Fan straightaway, but commanded the lower-ranked undead nearby to attack him.

The undead immediately charged toward the group, either leaping, tearing, sprinting, or breathing out poison…

Mo Fan did not panic when he saw the undead approaching him.

“Rose Flame: Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!”

The ground began to tremble as Mo Fan slammed his fist into it. Before the nine astonishing fire pillars even burst out from the ground, something blazing red was already boiling in the cracks!

The pillars rocketed out of the ground one by one, each as thick as the trunk of a huge tree. The pillars were full of blazing lava, ignited sparks across the place as they splattered in the air!

Flames burned the area between the fire pillars. The undead who were caught in the fire had only been only buried underground for a few years, and their bodies were not refined enough to endure the incredible heat. Not a single undead that was caught in the range of the Fiery Fist: Nine Halls survived.

The skeletons turned into ashes while the zombies turned into burned charcoal. The phantoms simply vanished into smoke and dispersed. For someone like Mo Fan, who was equipped with all kinds of destructive spells, he was afraid of neither close combat nor being surrounded, especially when he could easily eliminate a huge group of Servant-class creatures instantly.

The Fiery Fist annihilated the group of thirty undead that the Two-Face Phantom General sent out. They all turned into Soul Remnants floating into the Little Loach Pendant. It seemed like one among them was a Soul Essence. Mo Fan did not take a close look at it, as another group of zombies breathing out poisonous gas were approaching him on the scorched land.

Mo Fan hated poison the most. Although the poison unleashed by these zombies was not too effective against an Advanced Magician, it would still inflict serious damage to his body after a prolonged period. Poison was extremely deadly in his situation since he still had to fight an overwhelming number of undead.

Poisonous zombies, poisonous liquid, poisonous claws… Mo Fan avoided contact with anything poisonous. When he was sprayed with the poisonous liquid, he immediately weaved through the zombies in the form of a shadow and arrived at a relatively spacious area.

“Leave the poison to me!” Su Xiaoluo’s voice came from not far away.

Mo Fan raised his head and soon discovered the green poison mist was being pulled away by something. It was floating toward where Su Xiaoluo was standing.

Su Xiaoluo opened her palm. A wind vortex appeared on her palm, absorbing all the poison of the zombies nearby, including the poisonous liquid that was being sprayed in the air!

Mo Fan had rarely seen a Poison Magician. His grim face barely showed any emotion when he saw Su Xiaoluo getting rid of the troublesome poison with ease!

Without the threat of the poison, Mo Fan was able to focus on killing the undead.

Claws slashed fiercely in Mo Fan’s direction. He could now dodge the attacks with his improved agility. Even when five poisonous zombies were trying to tear him to pieces, he still dodged the attacks with ease without relying on the Fleeing Shadow or the Blood Tabi.

Leaping backwards, Mo Fan created some distance from the five poisonous zombies. The clumsy creatures lunged at him, but they ended up knocking into one another.

Mo Fan took hold of the chance and shoved his arm forward. Several Lightning Strikes struck forward and danced between the five poisonous zombies like eels…

He flipped his right hand. The flame he ignited shone upon his icy face.

He tossed the Fire Burst right in the middle of the five poisonous zombies. When the brilliant fireworks of the explosion went off, the five immobilized poisonous zombies were blasted to pieces!

Mo Fan glanced at the remains of the zombies scattered across the ground. He had eliminated the five poisonous zombies with ease. He could clearly feel the difference in his power after achieving the Advanced Level. Instead of the need to focus when casting Basic Spells, he could now cast them by waving his hands. Together with his improved movement and quick reactions, the Servant-class no longer posed any threat to him. If it weren’t for their overwhelming numbers, the fight would simply be a one-sided massacre!

The Two-Face Phantom General was furious. It finally ran out of patience and charged forward when it saw its guards were completely beaten up by a human.

When the ten-meter-tall creature sprinted forward, the human-sized undead immediately stepped aside, or the creature would simply crush them. The Two-Face Phantom General abused the advantage of its size and rammed forward, stomping a few careless skeletons into pieces!

Mo Fan did not assume that he could withstand the impact after he became an Advanced Magician. He immediately kicked the ground and leapt a few dozen meters away when he saw the phantom targeting him!

The Two-Face Phantom General had thick arms, and clenched its hands into claws. When it saw Mo Fan jumping away, it skidded to try and turn, and slashed at Mo Fan with its claws…

The Two-Face Phantom General could easily grab a human, its claws could poke right through a person’s body. Due to the momentum from its charge, the creature slid across the ground while swinging its claws, leaving Mo Fan with no chance of escaping!

Mo Fan felt a sudden icy gust from his right, which turned out to be the Phantom General’s claws. He quickly leapt backward, barely dodging the attack…

The Phantom General pulled back its claws, but they ended up cutting only air. When it came to a stop and turned back around, Mo Fan was already around forty meters away!

The distance was enough to guarantee Mo Fan’s safety. He slammed his hand on the ground; Lightning Strike went off, and hundreds of lightning arcs flickered wildly and turned the place into an electric field.

Now that the zombies could no longer get close to him, he had eliminated the threat of being flanked from the rear. His pupils flickered as a mysterious purple Star Pattern and Stars connected deep inside them!

His casting speed was extremely fast. The ability to draw Star Orbits with a single thought and the upgrade to his will had further improved his mind, allowing him to finish a Star Pattern in no time.

A restless stormy cloud appeared in the direction he pointed his finger. A piercing screech rose as the Phantom General realized the destructive force accumulating above it!

The lightning descended from the cloud, tearing through the sky in the form of a purple-black bolt. The truth was, when they saw the blinding lightning flash, the energy of the bolt had already landed on the ground, shaking the entire space!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Thunder boomed and rolled; the explosive penetrative power of the lightning left a hole on the Two-Face Phantom General’s face.

The Phantom General had two faces and one mouth. One of the faces was similar to a human’s, while the other one was festered and full of scars. However, when the former was struck by lightning, both of the faces were now festered, fresh blood falling from them. It was likely that the face would be full of scars, just like the other face, once the bleeding stopped.

Obviously, the Phantom General did not like its faces matching that way. Its festered and slightly blown-up head rotated, revealing an eyeball almost falling out from its socket, giving it an eerie appearance.

The Phantom General screamed and stomped forward.

Mo Fan dodged aside, but the enormous Phantom General stomped its foot again before he could stand firmly. The stomp was so powerful that it left a huge pit in the sturdy ground!

Mo Fan did not dodge aside this time. His body sank with the Phantom General’s foot and turned into a puff of shadow. It split into two and fled from the creature’s stomp!

In the Phantom General’s eyes, the two shadows that Mo Fan turned into were like two cockroaches escaping from its stomp. However, it was confused about why there were two of them when there was only one that it stomped on?

When the Phantom General was still figuring out which shadow was its real target, Mo Fan already moved fifty meters away. He pointed his finger at the sky once again, summoning the rest of the lightning that he had not yet unleashed to strike the Two-Face Phantom General’s head!

The Two-Face Phantom General’s head was almost blasted in half by the lightning. Brain liquid leaked out from the hole in its head, while one half of its skull dangled in the air, similar to the dangling eyeball from before.

After all, the creature was an undead. Other demon creatures would be close to death if their heads were blasted open like that!

The Two-Face Phantom General was trembling from the hit. The lightning was quite powerful. Even though the creature’s body was able to withstand the damage, its bones were shaking hard from the shock. As the creature was enormous, it relied heavily on the support of its skeleton, thus further increasing the effect of Qianjun’s space-trembling effect.

Another gorgeous lightning strike descended. The Phantom General almost lost its balance. It suddenly dropped to the ground on its knees.

More lightning strikes descended wildly in succession. Mo Fan wanted the Phantom General dead as soon as possible. More than a thousand undead would be here soon; he had to eliminate those that posed a great threat to him in the quickest possible time!

The Two-Face Phantom General was blasted by the lightning beyond recognition. Its whole body was festering, scorched, with blood splattering everywhere. However, the creature had no sense of pain or acknowledgment that it was suffering from serious injuries. As soon as its bones were no longer under the space-trembling effect, it lunged at Mo Fan and attacked with its claws!

“So that’s where your undead crystal is!” Mo Fan stood his ground with no intention to dodge the incoming attack.

The lightning had blasted a hole in the Two-Face Phantom General’s belly. The scorched hole gaped open, and inside it was a glittering crystal. It was the undead’s weakness!

Not many Warrior-level creatures managed to survive consecutive blasts of Mo Fan’s Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes. It seemed like it would take more than a few Lightning Strikes to kill the Two-Face Phantom General. Luckily, the enraged creature was totally unaware that its weakness was exposed.

“Fiery Fist: Exploding Heaven!”

Mo Fan’s fist erupted in flames as he attacked the ten-meters-tall creature. The blazing red flames burst forward and formed a fiery ring, with Mo Fan in the middle!

The raging flames combined into a fiery fist, aimed at the hole on the Two-Face Phantom General’s belly!

The Two-Face Phantom General’s torso was huge enough to contain the entire Fiery Fist. Not only did the Fiery Fist smash the undead crystal into pieces, it even penetrated the back of its chest…

Once the undead crystal was broken, the creature was just a lump of rotten flesh and bones. The blazing red flames of the Fiery Fist simply set the remains on fire.

Within just a second, the ten-meters-tall creature was burned into a huge pile of ash and blown away by the wind, barely sweeping Mo Fan’s clothes and hair!

—

“This Mo Fan… how strong is he!?” exclaimed the mysterious man in surprise.

Watching from the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror, the people saw around two hundred corpses scattered around Mo Fan. Among them were two Warrior-level undead. He had eliminated all these troublesome creatures on his own, well beyond the capabilities of an ordinary Intermediate Magician.

“He still hasn’t shown all his strength,” said Zuo Feng.

Zuo Feng had witnessed Mo Fan’s shocking punch, which had blasted a Commander-level Flesh Mound Corpse Official flying. If he was using the improved version of the fourth-tier Fiery Fist, it would eliminate a huge pack of undead instantly…

As such, even though around two thousand undead had been sucked into the silver vortex, Zuo Feng still believed in the group of Young Magicians!

“By the way, did you notice something?” said Ling Xi.

“Notice what?”

“He… I think he has four Elements…” said Ling Xi.

“Now that you’ve mentioned it… Fiery Fist, Lightning Strike, Fleeing Shadow, and the two Summoned Beasts at the start. My God, he really has four Elements!” yelled Zuo Feng in astonishment.

Four Elements! Lightning, Fire, Summoning, and Shadow!

Everyone was aware of Mo Fan’s Double Innate Elements, yet they all assumed that Mo Fan would only have three Elements in the Intermediate Level, yet it turned out that he had four in total!

“Doesn’t that mean… he can Awaken two Elements every time he breaks though? He just reached to the Advanced Level, that means…” Lu Xu was stunned too!

Previously, they were immersed in great despair after learning the group ended up in the Space of Death. They assumed the four Magicians had no chance of surviving against two thousand undead. Even when Mo Fan was fighting, they did not pay any attention, and did not realize this fact until Ling Xi suddenly mentioned it!

– Four Elements, he really has four Elements!

-No wonder he’s able to start a bloodbath among the undead. The number of Elements he has is the same as a Super Magician!-

“I agree that we could just give up if it was someone else, but when it’s Mo Fan, these undead might not be able to stop him!” declared Yao Nan.

It was also Han Ji’s time witnessing Mo Fan’s full strength. His eyes flickered with a hint of admiration.

No wonder Zhu Meng was so fond of this young Intermediate Magician. He had four Elements, just like the Super Magicians standing around him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Little Flame Belle, possess!”

“Ying~” Little Flame Belle cried out like a little demoness, blowing her flute joyfully.

Little Flame Belle slammed into Mo Fan’s chest and immediately set his skin on fire. Even his hair was standing up in energy from the flames.

The Calamity Fire formed into a graceful armor plate, turning Mo Fan into a flame devil. Even his pupils were burning with fire!

“Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons!”

With a magnificent aura and raging flames, Mo Fan’s punch launched nine savage fiery dragons forward. The dragons were quick and blazing hot, turning the Servant-class undead they crossed into nothing…

When the nine fiery dragons landed on a Corpse General simultaneously, the Warrior-level undead with hundreds of zombies under its command was burned into ashes and disappeared too. Its enormous figure only left a pile of dust that was blown away by the blast produced from the impact, scattering in the air above the rocky land.

The Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons swept the place. Apart from killing the Corpse General instantly, it even annihilated a hundred more undead. The Super Magicians watching the fight through the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror stared at the ash and dust scattering across the place in disbelief…

-Was that really an Intermediate Spell?-

They never knew the Fiery Fist could possess such remarkable strength!

Killing a Corpse General instantly and burning a hundred undead to death. That was clearly the power of an Advanced Spell!

Zuo Feng subconsciously grinned when he saw the punch. He was astounded just like these power figures when he first saw the super Fiery Fist. This Mo Fan was indeed no ordinary person!

“Only around a thousand undead left; it won’t be a problem if the four Magicians work together,” observed Yao Nan.

Yao Nan was the most familiar with Mo Fan’s strength, although the power of the Fiery Fist did shock him greatly. It was likely that the punch would inflict serious damage to a Commander-level creature. As expected of this violent Magician, no ordinary Magicians could cultivate the Fire Element to his level!

“His Contracted Beast is very special; it’s a rare elemental life form with the ability to possess someone. The Flame Belle is able to grant her master her fire and her ability to control fire. As such, it significantly strengthens the Fire Spells of a Fire Magician…” said Han Ji, who was knowledgeable about the Summoning Element.

Flame Belle!

The others might be unaware, but Han knew the unique creature only existed in the North Burning Valley. Han Ji did not expect that Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast was a Flame Belle, which even Super Magicians desired!

The unique elemental life form brought huge benefits to a Fire Magician. Han Ji could not help but admit that Mo Fan, who everyone had only assumed to be an Intermediate Magician, had greatly surpassed their expectations.

“Yeah, he even improved his Fiery Fist to the fourth-tier. It seems like all his Basic Spells were in the fourth-tier too. I don’t understand how the kid got his hands on so many Soul Essences… the strengthened spells and the fact that he has four Elements, I’m afraid he’s as strong as an Advanced Magician!” said Lu Xu.

“Who would have thought, it seems like we still have hope. There’s still hope!” said a leader of the Imperial Magicians.

“Our sacrifices were worth it!”

Glancing down through the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror, they clearly saw Mo Fan weaving through the pack of undead. His strength was comparable to an elite squad of Intermediate Magicians. He managed to clear a path despite the overwhelming numbers of undead!

The surprise did not stop at Mo Fan’s outstanding strength. As Zhang Xiaohou and Liu Ru joined the fight, the former’s outstanding control of Wind and Earth Elements left the undead with no chance of attacking them. He was able to corral a huge number of undead on his own…

The delegation of tasks was extremely important. For a pure brute force Magician like Mo Fan, if he was given the opportunity to use his Magic at will, he could eliminate hundreds, or even thousands of undead. What Zhang Xiaohou did simply gave Mo Fan the chance to do so!

Initially, they thought Liu Ru was also an ordinary Magician from Bo City, yet they were overjoyed when they saw the incredible strength of the Blood Tribe. The strength and speed that the slender girl displayed were comparable to those of a Corpse General, and together with the unique abilities of the Blood Tribe, she could easily massacre the undead even when she was surrounded by hundreds of them!

Mo Fan was simply a violent cannon. Each of his spells would kill a bunch of undead. Zhang Xiaohou focused on crowd-controlling the undead and luring the Warrior-level creatures away. His occasional attack using Wind Disc and the defense provided by Rock Barrier were extremely effective. Liu Ru had been in close combat all along. Her strength was equivalent to a Warrior-level creature in the Advancing Period. She would rip the heads off the lesser undead off with every swipe of her claws!

The bodies of undead scattered across the place. The ground was covered in broken pieces of undead crystals. They initially thought the two thousand undead were more than enough to shred the group, but the situation was hugely in their favor instead. The number of undead was decreasing rapidly, from one thousand to eight hundred, and further down to five hundred…

——

“Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes!”

Mo Fan pointed at the sky, summoning purple-black wild lightning bolts to descend rapidly. The lightning strikes split into forks halfway in the air and landed on the ground consecutively, producing lightning flashes across the land!

Countless undead were disintegrated instantly by the lightning, others were merely blasted to death…

The lightning strikes left many holes around. The number of undead suddenly seemed a lot fewer. The swaying zombies scattered across the place no longer posed any threat to the group!

Swift Star Wolf realized that it was his turn to shine. The handsome wolf revealed his fangs as the glowing runes on his body produced giant fangs, tearing at the zombies as the Swift Star Wolf snapped his jaws everywhere. The zombies were instantly torn into pieces, their flesh and blood splattering everywhere.

Little Flame Belle puffed her cheeks and breathed out fiercely. In addition to the blazing flames she exhaled, she even produced a huge tornado sweeping forward. As the flames and tornado combined, the damage they caused was no weaker than Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist: Nine Halls. The wind basically dragged the undead into the center of the tornado, where they were burned by the Calamity Fire!

Only a few undead were left. The authorities watching from afar definitely did not expect this to be the outcome.

Since the Space of Death was under the effect of Chaos Element, Mo Fan might actually make it out from the Space of Death with his outstanding strength, and find the altar!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I thought we’re dead for sure, who knew your friend is so strong. He basically killed over a thousand undead on his own!” Su Xiaoluo exclaimed, her eyes gleaming.

Normally, even the strongest Intermediate Magicians could only kill between two to three hundred undead. A Magician like Mo Fan could easily face the Advanced Magicians that had only leveled up recently!

“Of course, you forgot whose big brother he is!” Zhang Xiaohou rubbed his nose with his thumb, as he was feeling quite proud.

Su Xiaoluo rolled her eyes and said, “Considering it’s now the second half of the night, we should quickly find the exit and get out of here. It will be too late for us to reach the altar after the Dark Abyss’s next shift.”

“Mmm, let’s hurry… don’t tell me, that thing is here again!” Zhang Xiaohou had just shown a relieved smile on his face before it froze as he glanced at the sky ahead.

Mo Fan had just started trying to catch his breath when he discovered the energy ripples in the sky, the kind that brought a headache to him.

The ripples were produced by another silver vortex appearing in the sky above them!

The silver vortex was stronger than the one before. The ripples it was producing were detectable more than a few kilometers away.

“Another one?” Mo Fan raised his head and stared at the silver vortex, which was even larger than the previous one.

As they watched, black dots gradually appeared from the vortex which looked like a silver compass. The black dots fell from the sky. It was no longer a drizzle; in just a few moments, the black dots had covered a huge area on the rocky land!

Packs of undead were falling into the Space of Death, each pack consisting of a few hundred undead. Mo Fan thought the silver vortex would disappear after teleporting around two thousand undead into the space, yet it was still spinning, spitting out more undead from the turbulent flow of space…

—

Mo Fan and his crew had no idea where the undead came from, but the authorities guarding the inner city were well aware of the source. The undead were pulled into the vortex from the middle of the ocean of undead outside the city…

The silver vortex had appeared out of nowhere. The first one only had a diameter of a few hundred meters. It had drawn in around two thousand undead from outside of the city. However, its scale was a lot scarier this time. The silver vortex’s diameter was almost a kilometer. A vortex of this scale would rarely appear in the ocean, let alone on the land, and somewhere close to a city!

The silver vortex was a turbulent flow of space. It was impossible for the creatures that were drawn into it to escape. The turbulent flow of space would teleport them to some space in a different dimension.

Obviously, the other end of the silver vortex was the Space of Death Mo Fan and his crew were in!

“Could this be a blessing from God, summoning these silver vortexes to help us eliminate the army of undead? Half of the skeleton army that was intercepting the Imperial Magician’s retreat is gone…” said a Commander on the walls happily.

The ocean of undead was magnificent, yet it was not boundless. The first silver vortex had taken around two thousand undead away, while the second time was even more shocking. It had taken away at least eight thousand skeletons in just a few minutes…

If these silver vortexes appeared a few more times, it would significantly reduce the number of undead close to the barrier. It might even change the fate of the city!

—

“My…my God…” exclaimed Zuo Feng and Yao Nan at the same time.

They were at the observation post above the clock tower. They clearly saw the skeletons being drawn into the silver vortex. The two elite Advanced Magicians were completely stunned by the astonishing sight!

It only lasted a short moment, but it had already devoured a whole pack of skeletons!

After the two collected their thoughts, they quickly made their way into the clock tower.

They were still hoping that it was just a coincidence, hoping that not all the skeletons were brought into the space. However, they immediately realized the truth when they saw the grim expressions on everyone’s face.

They looked at the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror and saw its whole area of sight covered by white skeletons. Even from this height, the whole place within a few dozen square meters was fully occupied by the skeletons. They were so densely packed together that the two Advanced Magicians felt a chill flowing down their spines!

There were just too many of them!

It turned out that a whole pack of skeletons were drawn in by the vortex. An army of almost ten thousand of them!

The silver vortex simply destroyed their hope. Even the slightest hope they had was crushed!

There were only four of those kids, only four…

They had to face an entire pack of almost ten thousand skeletons. When the skeletons spread across the land, they simply looked like a white carpet when viewed from a certain height. The area they covered had no visible end at first glance. Their roars almost shattered the Magicians’ hearts into pieces!

The Space of Death… it turned out that this was the real definition of the place’s name. It was designed to give the intruders a cruel test that they had no chance of passing even if they were a few times, or even ten times stronger. Death was the only way out!

“I told you, everything is only the beginning. The Ancient King won’t spare the lives of the people in the Space of Death so easily. He doesn’t allow the weak to arrive at his altar either…” said Xie Sang slowly.

“It’s not even about being weak or strong. That’s a skeleton army with the scale of a horde. Even the Advanced Magicians, Imperial Magicians, and the older Magicians among us have no chance of wiping them out, let alone a few young Magicians. They… I don’t want to say this, but we have to admit it, they are surely going to die!” Commander Lu Xu’s voice was trembling.

They thought the first silver vortex would bring an end to the Space of Death. After all, killing two thousand skeletons was already over their limit. The second silver vortex simply gave them no chance of surviving!

“We can now put the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror away. Time to prepare for our final retreat,” Han Ji turned around and went up the stairs to the observation post.

He was completely worn out both physically and mentally.

This was the outcome, even though they had struggled at the edge between hope and despair. He felt an urge to shed tears for the sake of the innocent people, yet his eyes were completely dry.

It was the Black Vatican’s great victory, considering the situation they were in. His only hope was to hold the last line of defense, to protect the inner city of the thousand-year-old Ancient Capital, but even his final hope was crushed.

“President…” called the mysterious man. Everyone was feeling extremely unpleasant when they saw Han Ji’s decrepit back.

Everyone was concerned about the city’s fate, yet none of them cared about the city more than Han Ji did. With Han Ji’s strength, he had a chance to escape from the surrounding undead, but the old Magician was willing to live and die together with the city!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The plan is to escape with the minority, but can we actually make it?”

“Go north, and there’s still a chance, even though a lot will die, and those who survived are basically lingering on with their last breath of life. The city is gone, the people are dead, is there really any meaning to live still?” Commander Lu Xu sighed.

“The people who went out are not back yet. Not sure how Du Xiao is doing, Zhu Meng, Yao Ting, Shi Zheng… they are still out there. They don’t want to leave on their own. They are trying to bring more people back to the inner city. The rest of us that stayed are completely worn out, injured, ran out of energy, or in charge of giving orders,” said Fei Jiao.

“Hopefully he can do it…” said the mysterious man all of a sudden.

“Are you referring to Fang Gu?”

The mysterious man shook his head, but he did not respond.

—

A smaller space was usually less stable. When strong sonic waves, stomps, and energy ripples traveled across the place, the whole space would shake hard and begin to collapse like a structure that could not bear its weight.

Mo Fan had no clue what the pillars supporting the space were, but he clearly sensed that the space was about to be destroyed by the overwhelming numbers of the skeleton army!

White skeletons, red eyes…

The skeletons joined together into a huge forest of bones. Their red eyes were flickering coldly, like stars in the sky!

Mo Fan’s heart beat heavily. He had never trembled like he was now even when he was involved in lots of dangerous situations in the past. His blood was close to freezing from the terrifying chill. Every inch of his cells was shrinking in fear.

Zhang Xiaohou, Liu Ru and Su Xiaoluo stood behind Mo Fan. Their hearts were jumping out of their chests. Their breathing had stopped when he saw the astonishing sight before them!

Normally, they would subconsciously figure out a way to handle the situation in front of them to guarantee their survival. However, they had lost the ability to think after seeing the skeleton army. Their minds had gone blank.

“Run, run, run to the back!” Mo Fan’s voice awakened the three people who were lost in a daze.

Zhang Xiaohou, Liu Ru and Su Xiaoluo did not hesitate. They immediately turned around and ran.

The undead army was in front. There was still room behind them, at least it would give them more time before they were devoured by the army skeleton.

The Swift Star Wolf carried Su Xiaoluo and Liu Ru. Zhang Xiaohou was using his Wind Track and Earth Wave. They quickly ran over a few hundred meters away.

However, Zhang Xiaohou soon discovered something out of place. He turned around and saw Mo Fan still standing in the same place.

“Brother Fan!” “Mo Fan!” Liu Ru and Zhang Xiaohou yelled out simultaneously.

“I don’t know how long I can last, but you try your best to find the exit! Don’t say anything; if you’re quick enough, I might be able to survive!…” Mo Fan did not turn his head around. He told them his decision over the loud roars of the undead.

The truth was, Mo Fan knew he was only deceiving himself and the others. They had already checked the direction they came from. There was no exit there, and there was not a lot of space, either. They would hit a wall in a few kilometers. Even though the place outside the wall looked the same, if they tried to break through it with brute force, what lay ahead would be a storm of reality that could tear Super Creatures into pieces!

There was no escape. Mo Fan was well aware of that.

However, Mo Fan was reluctant to sit on the ground and wait for his death. No way!

If God wanted him dead, he would simply throw his fist at Him, let alone these undead!

—

The army of skeletons was huge. They could trample a mountain range into flat land.

More than twenty thousand glowing eyes were densely clustered together. It was Mo Fan’s first time being looked at by almost ten thousand pairs of eyes. Their murderous aura was strong enough to freeze space. Those with weak spirits would even be torn into pieces on the spot!

“BrotherFan, you’ve said it, we’ll live and die together…” Zhang Xiaohou would never leave Mo Fan behind. He wanted to turn back and fight together with Mo Fan.

He would kill as much as he could. He would not allow these skeletons to trample their dignity as Magicians so easily!

“Nightmare!”

Zhang Xiaohou had just turned around when he looked into Liu Ru’s colorful pupils. His immediately felt heavy-headed, as his soul could not resist her power.

Zhang Xiaohou forced himself to stay awake, but the drowsiness grew stronger. He saw Mo Fan walking toward him in his blurred vision, he had decided to run away together with them…

Zhang Xiaohou was relieved, and lowered his guard. His body dropped to the ground as he no longer resisted Liu Ru’s hypnosis.

Liu Ru tossed Zhang Xiaohou onto the Swift Star Wolf. Her beautiful face had an unwilling look.

Mo Fan was Liu Ru’s senior, hence when he gave the command, she had no choice but to obey. Liu Ru wanted to fight beside Mo Fan too, but he did not allow her to.

Mo Fan knew that they had no chance of surviving the skeleton army. Since they still had some room behind, he wanted the others to live longer while he would earn some time for them.

—

“Ling~”

The little Flame Belle stood on Mo Fan’s shoulder. The fearless demoness finally knew how torturous the feeling of being unable to do anything to stop something from happening was.

“Why would I blame you, you’re so young, there are too many of them. It’s just that I’m feeling sorry for your mum. I promised her to bring you to the Burning Valley and protect the Starry Tree after the next Fire Calamity, even though Xinxia mentioned that it’s impossible for the Fire Calamity to happen again…” Mo Fan fondled little Flame Belle’s head.

Little Flame Belle was crying. Pieces of fire crystals were falling down.

She was blaming herself for not practicing more diligently. She was not strong enough to resolve the danger for Mo Fan by annihilating the ocean of skeletons ahead.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was feeling regretful that he did not take better care of the little creature. An overwhelming sense of guilt spread across his body when he recalled the scene of Jiang Feng sacrificing herself to protect the little Flame Belle…

“Ling~”

“Ling!”

Little Flame Belle was crying with all her might, trying to excite the spirit of fire within her.

She was forcing herself to evolve. She believed that if she could grow into the mature phase, she could eliminate more enemies. The creature that was as little as a baby had never felt a stronger desire to have more power!

Mo Fan looked at little Flame Belle and chuckled.

It was impossible; she needed more time and more resources to evolve. It was useless trying to force herself like that…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Don’t cry, they must be enjoying the pleasure of seeing us scared, but we’ll let them know that they should be the one feeling scared!” Mo Fan looked at the little Flame Belle floating in front of him and fondled her chubby, boiling cheeks!

Little Flame Belle reached out her hands and rubbed her eyes, yet the blazing red crystal tears were still falling down. She could not stop crying.

She did not know what would happen next. Her mind was linked with Mo Fan’s. Ever since she was born, she could clearly sense Mo Fan’s emotions, including now.

Mo Fan was scared, and the Flame Belle was even more scared. No one would feel relaxed when death approached. The little Flame Belle was withholding her tears as she understood that even when Mo Fan was scared, he had never given up!

Even against ten thousand skeletons, a whole army of skeletons, even when he was scared, he would still fight until the end instead of sitting there waiting for his death!

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle stopped rubbing the unstoppable crystal tears. She understood Mo Fan’s heart. She turned around and unleashed a wave of flames…

The blazing wave was twenty meters high. Little Flame Belle stood on top of the wave that was rolling toward the ocean of skeletons. Both little Flame Belle’s tiny figure and the twenty-meter high fire wave was minuscule compared to the enormous skeleton army…

The red dot in the middle of white would continue to burn as long as it was still alive. Little Flame Belle wanted to be Mo Fan’s vanguard. She knew both Mo Fan and she were going to die, but she would construct the greatest tomb for themselves with the skeletons before her death!

“Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan could not stop little Flame Belle. He felt like his heart was stabbed by a knife when he saw her charging into the middle of the ocean of skeletons.

Mo Fan tried to catch up to little Flame Belle with Fleeing Shadow, yet the little Flame Belle was too quick. She had already disappeared into the ocean of skeletons in the blink of an eye. Mo Fan could barely see the flames sprouting into the sky in the chaos!

The Calamity Fire soared through the air in the shape of a fiery bird with fully extended wings. As little Flame Belle pointed her short finger, the fiery bird glided along one meter above the ground. Its burning wings knocked row after row of skeletons to the ground, and the brown-red Calamity Fire set them aflame, burning the white skeletons into black ash!

A long, burning carpet spread across the ground. The gorgeous fiery bird finally shrunk in size after flying fifty meters. Every time it set a skeleton on fire, a portion of the flame it was made of would spread to the skeleton. The number of skeletons was just too overwhelming. Even the majestic fiery bird was stopped by the walls of skeletons after covering a short distance.

The skeleton army was enraged after being challenged by the little Flame Belle. The skeletons began to produce bone spikes from their bodies, which they hurled at the little Flame Belle’s location like a rain of bones.

Each bone spike and bone spear was incredibly sharp. They even pierced the rocky ground and stuck upright. The little Flame Belle weaved through the bones while unleashing high-temperature flames to burn the bones into ash.

Initially, the bone spikes and spears could not touch little Flame Belle, but the rate of them pouring down was too high. They could easily extinguish the little Flame Belle’s flames.

It was impossible to tell how many skeletons were attacking little Flame Belle simultaneously. The fire ring circling little Flame Belle fell dim after lasting for only a few seconds. Many bone spikes were flying past her!

Little Flame Belle was made of flames. When she received damage, the flames at her injured parts would disappear. Her body already had several dark spots after only a breath or three. If the dark spots appeared at some of the relatively important parts, she would dissipate.

“Ying!~” Little Flame Belle screeched. It was impractical for an Elemental Creature in her Youth Phase to fight such an overwhelming number of skeletons. Little Flame Belle was injured from the endless attacks. Her fierce Calamity Fire was suppressed by the rain of bones the skeletons were producing!

Her Calamity Fire was not strong enough. If her Calamity Fire was as strong as the Fiery Sorceress’ Calamity Fire, she could easily burn the ocean of skeletons into ash in an instant.

Little Flame Belle initially had the urge to cry for help, yet she clenched her teeth and forcibly excited the fire source inside her body!

She was a fire spirit, a blessed entity nurtured by nature. The heavenly flames would surely annihilate these filthy dead creatures!

Stronger, fiercer, she would surely burn them all into ash!

Little Flame Belle let out a scream. It felt like something detonated inside her tiny body. The brown Calamity Fire turned into fiery feathers and formed a giant pair of fiery wings on her!

One of the fiery wings was flung toward the left, swiping a long fiery line in that direction. It burst into enormous fire tongues as it landed on the ground, spreading to the sides…

The fiery slash covered a distance of thirty meters. The flames that spread out were around seventy meters wide. The legs of the skeletons there caught on fire, and fell to the ground in large groups. Their bones scattered across the place and burned in the flames!

The other fiery wing swiped in the other direction. The slash ignited a line of flames which blossomed into a virtual forest of flames. The skeletons who were caught in the area fell to the ground in groups!

Lots of skeletons were falling to the ground, but even more skeletons were appearing. In just a few seconds, the fiery woods were extinguished after being trampled continuously. Hundreds of white skeletons with bone swords appeared around the Flame Belle, swinging their sword-shaped arms at little Flame Belle, raining stacks of swords and sabers upon her!

Little Flame Belle did not give up. She uttered a cry and extended the wings made of fiery feathers.

Hundred, thousands of pieces of fiery feathers circled little Flame Belle. As she spun around once, she launched the fiery crystals in all directions!

Each of the fiery feathers was explosive. When they made contact with something, they exploded instantly.

It felt like thousands of firecrackers were ignited at the same time. Every fiery feather landed on a skeleton, and the area within two hundred meters from little Flame Belle was covered in little explosions. The simultaneous explosions on the skeletons combined into a huge explosive sphere, resulting in a spectacular, blazing sight!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

{TL Note: Somehow the author skipped the chapter count 677}

“Little Flame Belle!”

A path was cleared through the wall of skeletons. Mo Fan sprinted through the gap, which was soon filled by more skeletons with arms like bone swords. They completely sealed off the path.

Luckily, Mo Fan finally found little Flame Belle after making his way through the woods of skeletons. He was extremely shocked when he saw little Flame Belle surrounded by white bones.

Little Flame Belle had unleashed all her strength, and even more than that, the power was something she had never possessed before.

The spectacular Thousand Piercing Fire Feathers had eliminated hundreds of skeletons in the area. Their bones were burned down to tiny bits, like a layer of sawdust on the ground.

“Ying!~”

Regardless of how determined little Flame Belle was, she was completely worn out when she saw Mo Fan. She quickly flew to him, seeking some spiritual comfort.

However, when she was less than twenty meters away from Mo Fan, something covered in bone sabers suddenly jumped out from the piles of bones on the ground. Its spinning sabers sliced through little Flame Belle’s body!

Little Flame Belle had depleted her energy after executing the Thousand Piercing Flying Feathers. She never thought a Skeleton General would be hiding among the skeletons.

It was too late when Mo Fan saw the Skeleton General jumping out from the piles of bones. He watched little Flame Belle slamming into the ground less than twenty meters away after the bone sabers sliced through her. It looked like her tiny body almost burst open from the impact!

Mo Fan’s eyes became bloodshot after witnessing the scene. Anger erupted in his chest like a volcano, turning into the enraged roar of a beast after reaching his throat!

“Die!”

Mo Fan leapt into the air. His fist erupted into vigorous flames as it scorched through the air, like a tiny meteorite flying right above the ground!

The fist landed accurately on the Skeleton General. The flames bursting out from the fist were exactly the same as the ones that burst out from a volcano. Its wild momentum alone knocked the Skeleton General flying a hundred meters away!

The flames covered the entire Skeleton General. Its head exploded into pieces and landed in pieces in front of Mo Fan. The disparate parts of its body fell to the ground in many places. If the flames were able to burn the Skeleton General’s undead crystal to ash, Mo Fan’s explosive fist would have killed the Skeleton General almost instantly!

Mo Fan did not care if the Skeleton General was still alive. He lifted little Flame Belle from the ground.

Little Flame Belle’s back had a long cut. She was almost sliced in half. Mo Fan’s chest pulsated heavily when he saw the severely injured little Flame Belle; it was about to explode at any second!

The undead did not have any hint of mercy. No matter how much Mo Fan cared about little Flame Belle, they still came endlessly. The Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers had annihilated quite a large number of the skeletons, yet it was still an insignificant number compared to the whole army of skeletons!

The sound produced from the skeletons’ moving joints was rather noisy. Mo Fan knew there were at least a hundred of them within fifty meters from his position without raising his head. The skeletons could instantly chop him into minced meat!

“Die, all of you!” roared Mo Fan.

Purple-black lightning burst out from his body and danced wildly in the area.

Mo Fan did not move from his position. Three astonishing lightning bolts came down consecutively. One of them landed right on the head of a skeleton in its Advancing Period and instantly disintegrated it into white dust!

More lightning danced in the air and descended in forks, leaving the silhouettes of dragons in the air as they continued to bring destruction down upon the place!

The burning smell lingered in the air as white ash of bones drifted to the wind.

The place was covered in continuous lightning strikes, covering the field in electricity. Mo Fan stood right in the middle of the display. The wild lightning shone on his pale face, yet his grim black pupils did not show any hint or thought of giving up!

Like machines, more undead appeared before the ash had completely dissipated. It felt like a tide was coming to devour the place. No matter how hard you tried to kick the tide away, it would still return at a higher level.

“Twenty-nine!” Mo Fan took a deep breath and uttered the strange number!

The skeletons were swarming toward Mo Fan from the front, the back, the sides and the air.. .the skeletons on the ground mostly consisted of four circles, but more skeletons were leaping into the air, falling onto him like a white net!

“Groundbreak!”

Mo Fan slammed his fist onto the ground right beside his feet, inserting Rose Flame into the ground.

The surface could no longer withhold the rumbling energy underneath it, and a gorgeous Groundbreak in the shape of a flower blossomed under Mo Fan’s feet!

The fiery flower burst out from the ground, knocking the skeletons that were trying to kill him away helplessly. Some were knocked back, some were tossed into the air, some were knocked flying. Most of them were set on fire…

“Thirty!”

Mo Fan uttered another number, it felt like he was keeping count.

A piercing screech came from not far away. Mo Fan followed the screech and saw the Skeleton General whose head was blasted open by him standing there. He had no idea how the creature was making the sound, but it was still commanding its subordinates to attack him.

It was obvious that the Skeleton General was greatly humiliated by its defeat. It immediately summoned all its reliable comrades to challenge Mo Fan!

“Take a rest, don’t force yourself,” Mo Fan softly patted little Flame Belle’s back and said gently.

“Ying~” Little Flame Belle hugged Mo Fan’s arm tightly and rested her head on Mo Fan’s back in a peaceful manner. She was no longer afraid, regardless of the number of skeletons surrounding them!

Mo Fan fixed his gaze on the Skeleton General that was waving its arms around!

“Fleeing Shadow: Shuttle!”

Mo Fan stepped forward. His figure suddenly turned blurry and vanished among the shadows of the white skeletons…

A shadow swept past like a black raven. The clumsy skeletons were somehow aware that Mo Fan was hiding in the lump of shadow. They immediately slashed at the shadow with their arms.

The bone sabers left marks on the ground, but they failed to land on the raven’s shadow that Mo Fan had turned into.

Mo Fan silently wove through hundreds of skeletons and appeared right in front of the Skeleton General that had lost its brain.

Mo Fan would never forgive anything that dared to harm his little Flame Belle!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan appeared right in front of the Skeleton General. It was unclear how the creature was able to discover Mo Fan’s whereabouts. It immediately thrust the sharp swords forward. Its reach was over two meters.

There were at least twenty two-meter-long bone spikes. If Mo Fan did not pay attention, he would be stuck on the spikes after they pierced through his body.

Mo Fan jumped backward and escaped the range of the bone spikes.

He pointed his finger at the sky as he landed, summoned a purple-black Star Pattern followed by a lightning dragon descending on the Skeleton General.

Its skull was already missing. This time, the lightning blasted its chest into pieces. One of its ribs fell to the ground beside Mo Fan’s feet.

The Skeleton General was still swaying. It was not dead yet, even after losing its chest!

Mo Fan was too lazy to search for its undead crystal. He drew another lightning Star Pattern and immediately disintegrated the rest of the skeleton’s body!

“Thirty-five!” said Mo Fan coldly while crushing the remains of the Skeleton General by stomping on them.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle cried, not because Mo Fan had just avenged him, but she was trying to warn Mo Fan about something in the sky.

Before Mo Fan could raise his head, a bone spear landed half a centimeter away from his feet. A third of the spear had stuck into the ground. The long spear was still trembling from its enormous momentum!

The sound of sharp weapons slicing through the air was heard as several bone spears around a meter long were launched at Mo Fan from different angles!

Mo Fan quickly dodged aside. Four bone spikes stuck into the ground where he was standing just a moment ago in a row. They were also quivering from their overwhelming momentum after they stuck in the ground.

Mo Fan scanned his surroundings and discovered white bone spikes pouring down at him like arrows.

Before, Mo Fan had barely dodged the attacks by utilizing the slight differences between the landing time of the bone spears. However, the rain of bones was pouring down simultaneously, making it impossible to find a place to hide from the onslaught of bone javelins.

Fleeing Shadow was no longer an option in this situation. Even if he turned into a shadow, the dense bone spikes would simply nail him to death inside the shadow!

Seeing that the situation was not favorable, Mo Fan immediately pulled little Flame Belle from his back into his chest and bowed forward in a half-kneeling posture, preventing the spikes from landing on her.

“Black Snake Armor!”

Underneath the rain of bones, Mo Fan summoned his luxurious armor.

The blue-black scales almost instantly covered Mo Fan’s body, from his head to his toes. The black snake scales were not an extremely rigid material. Even though it looked like Mo Fan was wearing some metal armor, it did not hinder his movement at all.

The bone spikes landed right on Mo Fan. He kept on using his back to take the hits. After all, he was wearing the Black Snake Armor, but little Flame Belle was not.

“Ying~”

Little Flame Belle who was under Mo Fan’s protection cried out. She could hear the piercing sound of the bones surrounding her. Even the ground was being shattered into pieces from the impact, yet she was perfectly safe. Mo Fan’s arms were tightly hugging her tiny body.

“I’m fine, these bone spikes can’t hurt me,” Mo Fan’s back continued to produce a sound similar to sharp metal clanking.

The Black Snake Armor had provided Mo Fan a truly sturdy defense. Even the Giant Corpse General was hopeless when trying to penetrate his defense. There was no way the bone spikes of the Servant-class skeletons could break his armor…

The rain of bones lasted for a long time. Waves after waves of the bone spikes poured onto the ground. Even an elite troop of Intermediate Magicians would have suffered heavy casualties from the attack.

The Black Snake Armor’s defense totally exceeded Mo Fan’s expectations. Mo Fan only felt a little soreness on his back after the bone spikes stopped hitting him. The bone spikes left lots of tiny holes on the Black Snake Armor, but they did not penetrate it.

“Time to get rid of these Bone Spike Skeletons,” Mo Fan glanced around coldly and saw a few groups of Bone Spike Skeletons.

It was obvious that there were Warrior-level creatures commanding the Bone Spikes Skeletons. They were standing in some kind of square formation. When they started tossing their bone spikes, it resulted in the attack that Mo Fan had just received.

Except for the place where Mo Fan was standing, the whole area was pierced through by the bone spikes, forming a layer of broken bones.

The threat that these Bone Spikes Skeletons posed was greater than a Warrior-level creature due to their overwhelming numbers. After all, they had the ability to attack from range. It simply meant that apart from the hundreds of skeletons surrounding Mo Fan, he still had to handle the other hundreds of skeletons attacking him from the distance!

The Black Snake Armor had a breaking point too. A few more volleys of the same attack and every inch of his skin would be pierced through by the bone javelins!

“Ying~” Little Flame Belle nodded after reading Mo Fan’s thoughts.

“Possess! We’ll kill them all at once!” said Mo Fan murderously.

Little Flame Belle was well-rested. Since she was already in Mo Fan’s hug, she no longer needed to fly into Mo Fan’s body. The porcelain doll covered in fire simply dissolved into Mo Fan’s chest.

The Black Snake Armor was fairly responsive. It did not stop the source of flame that little Flame Belle had turned into from entering Mo Fan.

As little Flame Belle completely possessed Mo Fan, his blue-scaled body was engulfed in the brown Calamity Fire. The Black Snake Armor turned crimson red as it heated up!

“Rose Flame, Calamity Fire!”

“Meteorite Fist!”

“Nine Dragons!”

Mo Fan was now covered in an eerie mix of blue and red flames, and threw a powerful punch right at the formation of the Bone Spikes Skeletons!

The fiery dragons danced wildly, bringing terrifying destruction to everything they flew across, turning the army of white skeletons into dust drifting into the air.

The Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons was comparable to an Advanced Spell. Its strength could easily turn Warrior-level undead into a pile of dust, let alone the weak Servant-class skeletons…

Mo Fan was determined to eliminate the Bone Spike Skeletons. The Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons totally annihilated them. The square formation of the Bone Spikes Skeletons completely vanished after the nine fiery dragons dissipated!

“Thirty-nine!”

Faint green light dots like fireflies floated toward Mo Fan, and the pendant on his chest absorbed them all into it.

Somehow, Mo Fan had already strengthened thirty-nine Stars of the Lightning Element. He had collected those Soul Essences just from the undead he had killed!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A sprout of flame swept through the air with a combination of brown and blazing red colors, clearly contrasting between the two kinds of flames.

Mo Fan’s fist was trembling. He had lost count how many times he had launched the flames. The energy of his Fire Element would have depleted long ago if he was still an Intermediate Magician!

Little Flame Belle did not leave Mo Fan’s body, allowing him to utilize some of her power.

Even after killing so many skeletons, the army of skeletons showed no sign of decreasing. Mo Fan raised his head and helplessly discovered that the Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons that was comparable to an Advanced Spell slowly fell dim among the skeletons.

This time, more than ten formations of skeletons were marching toward him. Each formation consisted of about sixty Iron Ball Skeletons!

He had no idea how the skeletons ended up in their current appearance. An extremely heavy bone shaped like a ball had grown on their spine. The bone was the size of an adult’s head. The skeletons were able to remove the ball-shaped bone from their spines and joined it with a long bone on their shoulders. Their attack was simply removing the bone from their shoulder and flinging it around like a flail!

One or two skeletons of this kind were not scary, but when around six hundred of them were waving their flails wildly under the command of some creatures with higher lineage, the situation suddenly became gruesome.

Mo Fan and little Flame Belle had already eliminated almost a thousand undead. Their next opponent was the army of Iron Ball Skeletons. Their white, heavy ball-shaped bones were swinging in the air noisily!

Taking a deep breath, Mo Fan charged toward the formations of skeletons once again.

When possessed by little Flame Belle, Mo Fan too could ride the wave of flames like her…

As he dashed forward, a tide of flames over twenty meters tall rolled forward. Mo Fan nimbly leapt onto the tide, letting the heat drag him forward!

As Mo Fan approached the first formation of Iron Ball Skeletons, he leapt into the air. He had turned a little red just a moment ago, and suddenly unleashed more than ten lumps of fire. These lumps completely encapsulated him, forming a giant meteorite burning fiercely in the air!

The meteorite that Mo Fan had transformed into slammed into the ground, leaving a brilliant trail of fire along its path.

The burning meteorite collided with the formation of skeletons, resulting in a brief, deafening blast. The sound was produced when the ground cracked from the enormous impact!

The next second, pieces of rocks from the shattered ground were propelled in all directions. A terrifying shockwave spread through the surroundings with Mo Fan as the center, knocking the Iron Ball Skeletons flying and spinning into the air!

They were either shattered by the shrapnel or knocked flying by the shockwave, it was only the prelude as the meteorite landed on the ground. The real threat was the fire that had instantly covered an area with the size of a lake!

With the aid of the shockwave, the flames expanded over a hundred meters outward in concentric rings. The rows of Servant-class skeletons shattered simultaneously as soon as the flames touched them!

Mo Fan had rarely fought together with little Flame Belle. He knew that it would result in adverse side-effects to the growth of little Flame Belle, since she was still in the Youth Phase. She had yet to reach the Fiery Sorceress’ level, thus she had yet to master the ability to possess someone. The longer Mo Fan used her ability, the more damage it would cause her.

However, he did not have a choice in the current situation. Not only was little Flame Belle using all her energy to fight the skeletons, Mo Fan was also bearing a greater burden than his body could afford in the fight!

Several formations of Iron Ball Skeletons had surrounded Mo Fan when the first formation was wiped out. They lifted their bone flails and slammed the ground frantically. White bones went flying everywhere around the place.

Mo Fan weaved through the flying bones, but still suffered powerful impacts from the heavy ball-shaped bones. The Black Snake Armor managed to block most of the damage, but the pain still lingered Most importantly, Mo Fan totally lost his balance under the continuous attacks.

“Shadow Clone!”

Mo Fan was tired of being knocked around by the heavy blows. He quickly hid in a shadow which split into a fake decoy moving away rapidly.

The skeletons still had some intelligence. When they saw something moving after losing their target, they immediately chased after the shadow and continued to hurl their ball-shaped bones at it.

Mo Fan remained stationary in his position. When the shadow clone left the area, Mo Fan saw the Iron Ball Skeletons moving toward it. Their bodies were stacked on top of one another into half a mountain!

The scene was rather exaggerated. An ordinary Magician would have no chance of surviving.

“I’ll wipe them out in one blow!”

Little Flame Belle was synchronized with him while possessing him. She accumulated the flames and gave Mo Fan the ability to control their form.

With a thought, Mo Fan discovered that both the Rose Flame and Calamity Fire were completely under his control. Magicians had to rely on the energy of the Stars to unleash the power of Fire Element, but a unique Elemental Creature like little Flame Belle was able to control fire with her thoughts. Little Flame Belle’s supply of energy was limited, but Mo Fan’s fresh new Fire Element Galaxy had granted Mo Fan an abundant supply of energy, allowing him to utilize little Flame Belle’s control over the flames with ease!

“Flame sword!”

Mo Fan focused his thoughts. Even though he was still getting used to it, the energy of the Fire Element gathered in front of him rapidly.

It grew from a little fire sprout to a huge flame. However, the flame did not burn uncontrollably. It simply accumulated in front of Mo Fan and took the shape of a long object!

Like a weapon being forged in a furnace, the flame turned into a ten-meter-long burning sword!

The sword was made of fire; it had the same blood-red color as the Rose Flame, making it quite bright. It also had fiery lines along it that were brown-red in color, carved onto the sword with the Calamity Fire, which modified had the Rose Flame into the shape of a sword…

“Time to kill ’em all!” Mo Fan yelled. The ten-meter-long fiery sword shot forward, heading straight for the Iron Ball Skeletons that were chasing after the shadow.

The power of the sword was overwhelming. Its presence was pure destruction to the skeletons. When the fiery sword slashed at the mountain stacked up by the skeletons, a huge flame immediately devoured them, following a strong flare of light…

Raging flames spread wildly throughout the area. In the middle of the fire, a long ravine created from the slash was visible. Inside the ravine was scorched ground, with skeletons that lost their undead crystals stacked high!

The clustered Iron Ball Skeletons were caught in trouble, too. They were caught on fire, one of which was inextinguishable, which burned them to death in just a few minutes!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Such power… this young man is truly impressive!” In the room outside the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror, Elder Ling Xi broke the silence.

The escape plan was in motion. Most people had left to make preparations. Only a few who placed their hope in the group of young Magicians stayed. However, Elder Ling Xi was severely injured, and she desperately needed a rest. She had no choice but to stay inside the clock tower and observe the situation in the Space of Death.

“I’ve heard that some Elemental Contracted Beasts are able to strengthen the power of the respective element of their master. However, I’ve never seen an Elemental Creature that can directly attach itself to a Magician. His Contracted Beast isn’t something ordinary. The fact that he’s able to kill so many skeletons by himself… even an Advanced Magician isn’t as impressive as he is. This is unbelievable,” mused Zuo Feng.

Zuo Feng had finally witnessed Mo Fan’s true strength. It was utterly ridiculous, to an extent that it simply did not belong to his level. Only a few young Magicians in the whole world would possess such strength at his age.

“If he wasn’t involved in this calamity, his performance at the World College Tournament would definitely shock the world. What a pity…what a pity…”

Mo Fan was still alive after all this time. As more skeletons appeared and surrounded him, the strength he displayed had completely surpassed his limit. The number of skeletons he killed was almost over two thousand, yet the size of the army of skeletons had only shrunk by just a bit.

He was really giving his best. The two thousand undead he killed before were supposed to be the limit of an Intermediate Magician, and now he had survived for so long in the middle of the skeletons. His strength was remarkable!

“Elder Ling Xi, it’s your turn to receive the healing. Your wounds are worsening,” said a messenger.

President Han Ji had slightly recovered his energy. He was mending the wounds of the authorities. It was almost impossible for the people who had jumped into the tomb to come out alive. Even though the escape plan was heartbreaking, it was necessary to proceed with it.

Before the execution of the plan, he had to ensure the well-being of the authority figures.

“I’ll take over, elder; you should go treat your wounds,” said Zuo Feng to Ling Xi.

Ling Xi nodded. She slowly walked down the stairs. Prior to her departure, she looked back at Zuo Feng, as if she had something to say, but had no idea how to say it.

Zuo Feng stared at the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror. He was unaware of Ling Xi’s gaze. When he slowly turned his head and saw Ling Xi’s back, she was already heading down the stairs. The slightly curly hair reaching her shoulders was swaying with her movements.

“She took a glance at you,” Yao Nan informed Zuo Feng.

“Oh…”

“And you looked at her,” added Yao Nan.

“Mmm.”

“Still holding back at this time?” said Yao Nan impatiently.

“Yeah, it no longer matters in a situation like this,” said Zuo Feng in a dull tone.

“That kid is better than you; he never backs off no matter what he’s facing!” said Yao Nan furiously, stabbing a finger at the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror.

“But he’s still going to die,” Zuo Feng looked down at the Space of Death. He was still able to see the vast ocean of skeletons waiting for Mo Fan, who was like a lonely raft in the middle of a black storm. No matter how hard he struggled, how hard he tried, the storm on the ocean was still going to devour him!

“At least he’s not dead yet!” Yao Nan did not like Zuo Feng’s attitude.

—————-

“Explode!”

A larger-scale version of Thousand Piercing Fire Feathers was fired in all directions. The consecutive explosions combined into a huge, fiery bee hive blasting the Iron Ball Skeletons into pieces.

Skulls, arms, and necks flew across the air and scattered, landing on the ground that was now covered in scars.

As a matter of fact, the ground was already covered in a layer of bones of all shapes and sizes, stacked on top of one another after landing on the ground. It looked as if the ground was covered in a layer of blood from afar.

Mo Fan was walking on the rug of bones. When the bones fell from the sky like snowflakes after the Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers, they almost covered Mo Fan’s ankles.

Mo Fan could no longer move from his position. The waves of skeletons came one after another, completely surrounding him. The forest of skeletons was the same regardless of the direction he was looking. He could not tell where the path ahead was, nor could he tell the direction Zhang Xiaohou and the others had retreated to.

However, it did not matter. Since he could not move, he would kill them all here!

Spiraling flames circled Mo Fan’s arms, one on each hand. Mo Fan stood on the pile of skeletons. His black eyes remained energetic as he stared at the new waves of Scissors-hands Skeletons rushing toward him. He was not in a rush to unleash the spiraling flames on his arms.

Mo Fan was all by himself, hence the skeletons naturally piled up when they were trying to attack him. It was the exact thing that Mo Fan was waiting for!

The spiraling flames swept forward and combined together into a fiery gust.

The strength of the fiery winds continued to grow, turning into a fiery tornado in the end. Its diameter was a shocking ten meters, with a height of a hundred meters!

The fiery tornado immediately dragged the Scissors-hands Skeletons into it. They were either torn into pieces by the strong wind, or burned into ash by the heat. It completely depended on the skeletons’ preference…

“Forty-seven!”

“Forty-eight!”

The Soul Remnants floated into the Nether River continuously. Little Loach was intelligent enough to know that its master was currently in a pinch, thus it worked even harder to transform the Soul Remnants into Soul Essences so Mo Fan could strengthen his Stars. It even put the strange lotus that it just absorbed aside and placed all its attention on the Soul Remnants.

“One more, just one more!” Mo Fan yelled in his heart while clenching his teeth.

The number of skeletons that the fiery tornado eliminated was far from enough. Large groups of them were still moving toward Mo Fan from another direction!

Either Mo Fan and little Flame Belle were running short on energy. Even though the energy was gone, it was still a great burden to keep using it!

Mo Fan needed a second source of power, and Lightning was the most reliable apart from Fire.

The number of dead undead had increased from two thousand to enough to lay a carpet of bones on the ground. He had killed almost four thousand skeletons, which was almost enough for him to strengthen all the Stars of his Lightning Element.

Only one left!

Little Loach shuddered as if it was trying to tell Mo Fan that it had run out of Soul Remnants!

Kill, kill, kill!

Mo Fan did not know when he would be fully exhausted. His only thought was to kill. If the undead were able to bleed, the place would be flowing with blood.

His extreme focus left the iciest possible expression on his face. The flicker in his eyes implied that his unwillingness to give up had not diminished!

Be it the Black Vatican, Ancient King, or the army of skeletons, Mo Fan would never accept their death sentence.

He, Mo Fan, would live longer than anyone else, and he would trample everyone that tried to kill him under his feet!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

“Forty-nine!”

The last Soul Essence was finally refined inside the Little Loach Pendant as Mo Fan wished. The forty-nine Stars of the Lightning Element emitted a dazzling brilliance and connected into a Star Pattern in Mo Fan’s spiritual world!

Mo Fan never thought he would level up two of his Intermediate Spells continuously in such a short period of time, nor did he think he would be able to kill more than four thousand undead!

The lightning spread across the area and formed an electric field with crazily dancing arcs. The Scissors-hands Skeletons caught in the electric field were totally immobilized.

However, it was just the natural effect of the Lightning Strike. When too many skeletons were caught in the electric field, the paralyzing effect of the Lightning Strike was not as effective. Mo Fan only managed to control the Scissors-hands Skeletons that were closest to him, using them as walls to block the skeletons coming from behind!

“Thunderbolt!”

The Star Pattern was built in an instant, emitting a strong purple-black light under Mo Fan’s feet. It seemed like the power of Lightning Strike had improved significantly.

“Lightning Disaster!”

A huge storm cloud loomed over the place.

The lightning struck the ground and forked into countless arcs. In the past, either Exploding Apex or Yaksha would immediately crush their target and disintegrate any life form, a powerful but brief attack. However, not only did his lightning now possess the strength of Exploding Apex, it could also fork into countless arcs as it landed on the ground, spreading across the place like a spider web!

The lightning arcs spread horizontally across the ground. Once they made contact with a skeleton, they would immediately pierce through it.

The lightning was spreading wildly. A few arcs would pass by the same place simultaneously. As a result, as long as the skeletons stepped inside the range of the lightning, they would be shocked a few times by the current being conducted back and forth across the place!

More lightning descended from the sky. One shattered a skeleton that was currently in the Advancing Period into pieces before spreading out on the ground wildly. A few dozen of the lightning arcs covered a distance of at least thirty meters. The lightning came and went in a flicker, yet it still formed a Lightning Disaster web able to pierce through everything!

The lightning bolts were still falling from the sky. Its scale was comparable to a Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes.

Each lightning strike turned into a Lightning Disaster web on the ground. The area where Mo Fan was standing had completely turned into a forbidden ground of lightning. The long lightning chains interwoven with one another combined into a brilliant, intimidating sight!

The skeletons were afraid of lightning. Their bones were sturdy, but extremely brittle. The shock from the lightning would instantly shatter them into pieces!

The duration of the Thunderbolt: Lightning Disaster was not long, but Mo Fan was astounded by its power. Puffs of smoke rose into the air as the white skeletons dropped to the ground, and the white rug of bones grew thicker.

Without considering little Flame Belle’s ability to possess, the fourth-tier Thunderbolt: Lightning Disaster turned out to be slightly stronger than the Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons. On top of that, the Lightning Element was more effective against the skeletons, hence Mo Fan’s single Thunderbolt: Lightning Disaster had killed almost two hundred skeletons!

Even though the Scissors-hands Skeletons were densely packed together, giving Mo Fan the perfect opportunity to wipe them out, it was shocking that a single Thunderbolt: Lightning Disaster was able to kill them all!

“Again!”

Mo Fan did not stop there, as the army of skeletons never stopped advancing. The same stormy cloud appeared in the sky, with lightning descending like purple-black dragons splitting into wild serpents roaming across the ground, resulting in a new layer of bones around his feet!

A shockwave rolled out. The scattering pieces of broken bones collided with one another, producing a sound similar to the splash of a wave. As a matter of fact, it sounded rather spooky.

The broken bones fell in bits from the sky. Broken halves of skulls, fingers, ribs, breastbones, fibias, and so on rained on down. The ashes of the dead lingered in the air, drifting into the air as soon as more remains landed on the piles of bones.

An enormous leg landed from the sky onto a bunch of skeletons’ heads, crushing their skulls as if they were as fragile as lime.

Thud!

Another leg stomped the ground, knocking the bones nearby into the air, producing a crisp noise when the bones hit one another.

Thud!

The remnants of some skeletons were crushed into ash!

Mo Fan immediately turned around when the sound got closer and saw a skeleton that was entirely blood-red standing less than three hundred meters away.

The blood skeleton was enormous, with a height of over fifty meters. Mo Fan had to fully raise his head to see its whole body!

{Ed. Note: Uh, no he didn’t. Not at three hundred meters. And… if you think it’s very strange he couldn’t see something as tall as a grain elevator until it was basically twelve of its own steps away from him, when I can see a grain silo at three miles+… oh, nevermind. Chaos magic in the air, people!}

The crimson-red skeleton was called a blood skeleton. It normally implied that the skeleton had spent a long time absorbing and refining the essence of death. It was an aged Skeleton Official!

Blood Skeleton Official!

Mo Fan had killed too many of the skeletons, attracting the attention of the Blood Skeleton Official.

The army consisted of almost ten thousand skeletons, it was the size of a full Pack, thus there had to be a Commander-level creature leading them…

Mo Fan had killed a few thousand Servant-class skeletons and over a hundred Warrior-level skeletons. The Blood Skeleton Official was able to end the fight as soon as it showed up, yet the cunning skeleton did not attack Mo Fan immediately.

It arrived at the battlefield and stood there, looking down at the human that was surrounded by its people.

More rows of skeletons were squeezing their way toward Mo Fan. He had yet to kill even half of the army!

Demon creatures had always been cold-blooded, especially those with higher lineage. They would not hesitate to send their people and soldiers as cannon fodder. The undead were even colder; its army of skeletons was simply some petty trash in its eyes. No matter how many were sacrificed and died, it did not feel any hint of pity. After all, it could have as many skeletons as it wished…

The Blood Skeleton Official was observing Mo Fan. It continued to send its soldiers to attack him, as it was planning to slap the human to death after he ran out of energy!

Mo Fan glanced at the skeleton commander coldly. He could see the disdain and mockery in its bloodshot eyes.

It waved its mighty hand, giving out commands. Soon, Mo Fan was encircled again by the tide of skeletons. Mo Fan initially wanted to use all he had to eliminate the skeleton commander, as its aura was relatively weak, but the skeleton did not give him any chance…

He had killed over five thousand, yet there were still more than five thousand left!

On top of that, the Blood Skeleton Official focused on him was also an impassable, huge mountain!

Mo Fan had killed a significant number of skeletons. The bones under his feet had stacked up into a little hill, spreading out around him to a distance of a few hundred meters…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The old stairs were drenched from the rain, muddy footsteps were left over them as several people hurried their way down.

Not only was the inner city completely surrounded by the undead army, it was also shrouded in the cold rain and darkness. The people were looking forward to sunlight, but in the meantime, they were afraid to look out and see.

No one knew how much time had passed. The clock on the tower was purposely hidden. No one was willing to look at the death timer.

A pair of fiery wings flew toward the clock tower unevenly. The figure under the wings almost missed the platform. Zuo Feng and Yao Nan immediately went up and lent the person a hand.

“Councilman Zuo Feng, are you alright?” asked Zuo Feng.

“We lost,” Zhu Meng had a grim look, and spoke with a deep, decrepit voice.

“The Mountain Zombie…even you all failed to defeat it?” Zuo Feng glanced into the distance, yet he could not see anything in the dark. He could only hear an intimidating roar coming from the direction.

Zhu Meng half-knelt on the floor. The wound on his leg made it difficult for him to stand properly. The fiery wings on his back were torn. The lightning armor was destroyed beyond recognition. A potent Councilman had turned into a defeated general, his eyes completely lacked the will to fight.

“How…how are they doing?” asked Zhu Meng.

Zhu Meng was more concerned about Mo Fan and his crew. Many people had gone out to the battle, but only less than half managed to return in one piece. Zhu Meng witnessed the strongest Magician in their troop, Commander Yao Ting, get crushed to death by the Mountain Zombie.

Zhu Meng was in the last batch that made it back to the city. However, even he had no clue how many people had survived the battle against the Mountain Zombie.

The Mountain Zombie was stronger than they had imagined. Even if the Dark Abyss was not shifting toward the inner city, the Mountain Zombie would still raze the city to the ground!

“I’ll help you over, you can take a look yourself.” Zuo Feng helped Zhu Meng over to the mirror.

Zhu Meng was slightly confused. Yao Nan pointed at Xie Sang and explained to Zhu Meng about the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror.

“HAHAHAHA~ You guys are ridiculous, placing all your hope on a bunch of kids!” a burst of ear-piercing laughter came from above.

Zhu Meng raised his head and glared at Great Deacon Hu Jin, or Mu He, who was still tied under the clock.

Mu He was laughing wildly, like a devil who had enjoyed a feast of tears of sorrow. His evil, twisted face was filled with his deranged passion for the Black Vatican.

In Mu He’s eyes, death was nothing significant. He had waited so long for this festival. Once it came to an end, even if he died, it was only his flesh being destroyed. His soul would ascend to the Black Vatican’s Eternal Courtyard for his contributions. He would soon enjoy things like the gods in Heaven!

Mu He had killed many people, including those that had died in Bo City. Their souls would also end up at the Black Vatican’s Eternal Courtyard as his slaves. His contribution to the Black Vatican would make him a king in the Eternal Courtyard. The others would have to submit to him!

There was no need for him to do anything. He was simply waiting for his death, as he would soon ascend to his reward!

“This maniac, killing him isn’t enough to vent my anger!” snapped Yao Nan, glaring at Mu He.

Zhu Meng totally ignored the guy. He shifted his attention to the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror.

A bolt of purple-black lightning flashed across the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror, generating a giant web as arcs of lightning spread across the ground. In the middle of the lightning stood Mo Fan, who was like a lonely raft in a white storm, being tossed around by the strong currents. The hull was severely damaged, meaning that the raft would sink at any second.

Zhu Meng’s grim eyes were filled with shock upon seeing this!

“Did…did he kill all of those?” Zhu Meng asked in a trembling voice.

“Mm, they ended up in the Space of Death,” said Zuo Feng.

“He killed so many… just by himself?”

The bones spread across the ground, forming a long carpet of white extending into the distance.

On top of that, at the center of the carpet sprawled a hill of bones made up of the skulls, limbs, spines, ribs, breastbones, tibias, toes, and jaws of the skeletons… The bones were all messily piled up into a heaping white hill of bones, a macabre sight!

Mo Fan was engulfed in flames as he stood above the mountain of bones. His precious Black Snake Armor was severely damaged now. A fresh line of blood flowed down from the side of his head, across his face, and dripped to the ground…

He was like an arrow at the end of its flight. Even a soft breeze could easily blow him down from the mountain of bones.

Any other Magician would have closed their eyes and lunged into the pile of bones, seeking an eternal slumber.

But Mo Fan was still standing, his eyes, although overwhelmed by fatigue, were forcing themselves to focus.

“Zhu Meng, it’s good to see you back here…”

Several footsteps came from behind them. The other authorities who had gone to make preparations for the escape plan regrouped at the tower, including Han Ji and the mysterious man.

Ling Xi, Chu Jia, Lu Xu, Fei Jiao, and the others had recovered slightly. They were the main firepower for the escape plan. They would bring a small group of people and escape from the city.

The mysterious man realized Zhu Meng’s feelings when he saw him standing in front of the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror with a blank face. He walked up to Zhu Meng and patted his shoulder before sighing, “They have done a lot for us, and the city. Their names should be on the list of people whom we are escaping with, but we sent them to die in the imperial tomb that is over two thousand years old…”

“Yeah, Zhu Meng, gather yourself together. It’s important to look forward,” Fei Jiao walked up to comfort Zhu Meng, too.

“Being trapped by an army of skeletons, sigh…”

“They…they are not dead yet.” It took Zhu Meng a while to utter the words.

Zhu Meng’s words immediately stunned them.

-Not dead yet?-

That’s impossible, it had been a long time since they left. Even Advanced Magicians would have died a few times in their situation, let alone a few Intermediate Magicians!

“Take a look yourselves!” said Zhu Meng, pointing at the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror.

The people quickly went up to the mirror and saw the mountain of bones that left Zhu Meng in astonishment!

Mo Fan stood on the mountain of bones, flames burning on his hands. Countless skeletons were climbing up the mountain toward him, yet they were blasted into pieces by Mo Fan’s fire.

Anyone could tell that Mo Fan was already at his limit, yet when they saw the mountain of bones under his feet, their eyes began to tear up.

-He’s not dead yet!

-He’s actually not dead yet!-

The people had long given up on Mo Fan and the young magicians, their last glimpse of hope; yet to everyone’s surprise, he was still alive in the Space of Death!

The countless corpses and mountain of bones thoroughly portrayed the unyielding and proud spirit in his heart!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Why…why hasn’t he given up…” Elder Ling Xi’s eyes were wet. She could not believe how a tiny Young Magician was still alive in the Space of Death. The situation he was in was grimmer than the inner city…

The inner city was at least a lonely island surrounded by the black ocean. Meanwhile, he was not even the size of a leaf floating on the ocean!

“Should…should we really run away?” Zhu Meng asked after a while.

Was there really a point to running away?

Could they even run away from the calamity?

They were all currently in a Space of Death, too. If the determination of a young Magician alone was enough to stack up a mountain of bones, what price their enemies would their enemies have to pay to destroy the entire city?

Despair, they were all in despair… then they should continue to fight in despair. If they could not fight their way to dawn, they would die trying in the endless darkness!

Zhu Meng did not feel like running, especially after seeing the scene in the mirror!

“But something must be left behind. Otherwise, we will all be doomed,” said Chu Jia.

“If something must be left behind, let it be this!” Zhu Meng pointed at the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror, at the mountain of bones under Mo Fan’s feet.

If the city was really going to disappear from the world forever, what they should leave behind was not a few Magicians and leaders who were struggling to stay alive while at death’s door, but their unyielding spirit!

Be it the Black Vatican, or the kingdom that had returned to stir chaos after two thousand years; both had come to destroy the city, but they would make them pay a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times the price!

They could not let the Black Vatican prevail so easily. The carefully-planned disaster would leave the whole world in fear. It would provoke cowardly people to submit to evil. They must let the whole world understand that even if the city was wiped out, their determination to survive would stack the corpses of the undead into mountains and pave them into an ocean!

That was what they were supposed to leave behind!

Zhu Meng understood that some people among the authorities would insist on running away. With the strength of Super Magicians, they did have a chance to escape by working together.

Zhu Meng did not want to run away. He had never wanted to run away from the start, and after seeing that Mo Fan was still alive despite the circumstances, he did not have the slightest intention to escape!

“I’ll stay too,” a voice came from the stairs.

Du Xiao was soaked in blood. A cape was draped over his shoulders. One of his arms fell to the side, his palm covered in fresh blood. As for the other arm…it was empty. His other arm was missing.

“Boss!” Yao Nan shivered when he saw Du Xiao.

Du Xiao had returned, but he had left one of his arms out there. His hair was covered in blood. If he had not spoken, the others would have trouble recognizing him as the Senior Hunter, Du Xiao!

“Stop trying to deceive yourself and the others; with just a few of us left, we can’t even eliminate the Mountain Zombie. How could we possibly continue the fight!?” protested Elder Chu Jia anxiously. He had proposed to run away with the minority.

The people that were on the list were mainly the authority figures and the leaders in other areas. As for the civilians who were still praying in the rain, none of them were on the list!

“Are you out of your mind? You’re forfeiting the escape plan just because this kid is still alive? Humph, it’s only a matter of time until he dies, too! Who would know what he has done in the Space of Death? It’s just a few thousand skeletons! It doesn’t matter how many skeletons he managed to kill! Our enemy is the Black Vatican, the Mountain Zombie, the Dark Abyss… look at him, how many minutes more can he survive!” snapped Chu Jia when he saw the others hesitating to reach a conclusion.

“He’s not dead yet; at least he’s still alive,” insisted Zhu Meng.

“Well, well, well…” Chu Jia uttered a hollow laugh, “I don’t mind giving you all a few more minutes to reconsider it. I’ll watch him die myself, just because of this kid… do you know how ridiculous you guys are?”

“HAHAHA, Elder Chu Jia, I totally agree with you. He’s only the son of some truck driver that had to eat dust just to make a living. Meanwhile, you authorities and leaders are placing your hopes in him. This is the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen… if you ask me, I think you all should kneel before Master Salan right now. Once you’re dead, you might still be appointed as the authorities in the Eternal Courtyard, helping Master Salan to rule the Eternal Courtyard!” The maniac Mu He who was tied under the clock burst out laughing.

“Shut the f**k up!” snapped Chu Jia impatiently who waved his hand and fired a few ice bolts into Mu He’s body.

Blood poured out from the wounds where the ice bolts pierced through. However, the man was still laughing like a maniac, as if he could not sense the pain.

“Do you know, that kid only managed to enroll into a Magic High School because of my kind act… look at you, placing your bet on a kid that only became a Magician because of my kindness, HAHA, HAHAHAHA!…” Mu He had gone totally nuts.

As Mu He mentioned, Mo Fan only had the chance to enroll in a Magic High School because of him. He too was shocked after seeing Mo Fan’s current cultivation, yet the kid was still as insignificant as a cockroach in this disaster. No one could escape death when facing Master Salan!

“Crazy, this guy has gone crazy, why can’t we kill him now!?”

“It’s only going to do him a favor!”

“President, what shall we do? You make the call!”

“Yeah, President, make the call for us.”

President Han Ji stood there. His empty eyes had sunken deep into their sockets.

He had no idea what decision he should be making, or if there was any meaning in making a decision, since neither of them would not make any difference in the end.

Han Ji placed his helpless gaze at the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror. Inside the mirror, Mo Fan looked overwhelmed by fatigue, just like everyone else.

The skeletons were still climbing up the mountain of bones, while the Blood Skeleton Official observing him was similar to the Mountain Zombie that they did not stand a chance against…

Should they run, or fight?

Should they save the minority, or leave behind their unyielding spirit?

————-

Han Ji did not know what decision to make, but Mo Fan had always been firm with his decision!

Huge chunks of clattering bones rolled down from the mountain. The bones had stacked up so high that even Mo Fan’s slightest movement would cause lots of bones to roll to the bottom.

Thud!

The hill of bones rattled.

Thud!

The carpet of bones trembled.

The fifty-meter-tall blood-red Skeleton Official finally ran out of patience. Its eyes glowed with a murderous light as it headed toward the hill of bones Mo Fan was standing on.

Mo Fan’s hands were trembling, not because of fear, but because he had reached his limit. His muscles were twitching and cramping from fatigue.

He could not even clench his fist. He tried to wipe the blood on his face, but he ended up smearing it instead…

“Now, it’s your turn to raise your head just to look at me!”

His voice echoed across the place, like the cry of a beast!

He used all his remaining might to clench his fist and throw a punch at the Blood Skeleton Official’s head!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Meteorite Fist!

Nine Dragons!

A fist engulfed in flames, and a corona that turned into dragons followed by a trail of flames; Mo Fan leapt into the air from the top of the mountain of bones and threw a punch at the Blood Skeleton Official right in front of its face!

The Blood Skeleton Official was enormous. If Mo Fan’s fist had not produced the fiery dragons, he was as tiny as a moth in the skeleton’s eyes!

The Blood Skeleton Official was extremely cunning. Even when Mo Fan was at his limit, it was unwilling to attack aggressively…

It raised its arms and crossed them in front of its face in a defensive posture, blocking the energy of the Meteorite Fist and the burning flames with its arms, preventing the attack from landing on its head…

The Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons was a fairly strong attack. The fifty-meters-tall Blood Skeleton Official slid a far distance away from the momentum of the nine fiery dragons!

Meanwhile, Mo Fan’s energy was depleted after throwing the punch.

He lost his balance and fell straight down from the sky.

He was diving from the sky with his head down and his limbs stiff.

BANG!

He slammed into the ground, knocking the bones into the air.

Soon, his body was covered by the piles of bones around him. The last thing he saw was the broken bones that he knocked into the air falling back down onto him.

For some reason, his vision began to turn blurry, and in it, the white bones had turned into sacred, noble feathers.

The elegant feathers gradually clustered together into a pair of beating…

Oh, he still owed her a pair of wings.

The white bones landed on the ground, covering his face.

More bones fell from the sky, covering Mo Fan’s body.

As the last piece of bone landed, the rug of bones fell silent. The sight of it was exceedingly spectacular…

——

Fire Element Galaxy depleted…

Lightning Element Nebula depleted…

Summoning Element Nebula depleted…

Shadow Element Nebula depleted…

Mo Fan felt like he was roaming in his Spiritual World. He was searching for the last glimmer of hope from the Nebulas.

His vast Spiritual World was in total darkness. The whole place was completely still when the Stars were no longer shining.

Mo Fan did not like the sight of it. He started searching around. If the four Nebulas were no longer shining, he had to travel further away to find another source of light. It did not matter what color it was, as long as there was light.

He searched for a long time, and finally saw a hint of silver in the icy universe.

The silver glow was very weak, yet it had a strong mysterious feeling. Mo Fan had never seen the color before, and immediately approached it.

The silver light seemed extremely distant in the silent world, but Mo Fan did not give up. He continued to chase after the light…

Finally, Mo Fan managed to find the source of the light. It was a tiny silver Star roaming aimlessly in the world. The mysterious silver glow he saw was the trail it left behind.

Mo Fan tried to grab the Star, but it was hiding from him.

Mo Fan reached his hand out in front of the Star. After some time, it finally floated toward him.

When the tiny silver Star touched Mo Fan’s palm, he suddenly felt like he had returned to his original place, his own Spiritual World that consisted of his Fire Element Galaxy, Lightning Element Nebula, Summoning Element Nebula and Shadow Element Nebula.

Most shockingly, he had brought the silver Star back with him. It was not in his palm, but it had constructed a Star Dust in his Spiritual World. It even brought six other silver Stars along…

The light was weak, the Star Dust was small, but they had their own spot now!

Star Dust?

A silver-colored Star Dust?

It was a kind of deep silver!…

Mo Fan somehow felt like he had gone back in time to when he placed his hand on the Awakening Stone many years ago…

Time could not flow back. It simply meant that he was having the same feeling from a specific moment…

Awakening?

Was this the Awakening a new Element?

He recalled that the books did mention that apart from using an Awakening Stone to Awaken the Star Dust of a new Element, there was a chance of self-awakening too!

He remembered that Mu Ningxue had gone through self-Awakening too. She had Awakened her outstanding Ice Element when she was only around thirteen…

Mo Fan smiled wryly.

He did not understand what God was thinking, letting him experience a self-Awakening when his life was approaching its end.

Maybe the depletion of the energy of his other Elements had given him the desire for more power. As such, during the self-Awakening, he had further unleashed his potential.

But what difference would it make?

Mo Fan believed that the mysterious silver must belong to a powerful Element, yet it was still a small Star Dust. It was nowhere enough for him to defeat his enemies.

His Double Innate Elements was in fact Double Elements Awakening.

If the silver Star Dust had appeared in his Spiritual World, it meant that another Element would soon appear too, just like his Fire and Lightning Elements…

Mo Fan knew it was meaningless, but he still had an urge to check out his sixth Element.

He kept searching and found the sixth Element in a little corner!

Unlike the silver, sacred Element, the other Element was a mix of evil red, obscure purple, strange lunar color, and a weird hint of black… if he had to describe the mix of colors, it would be blood-black!

It was not the same, pure blackness of the Shadow Element, but the combination of black and the moon, while its red was the combination of red and purple!

Blood-black color!

Mo Fan could identify the color of every Element. He knew what the silver Element was, but he had never seen the blood-black Element. Its color was similar to the color of pouring fresh blood into black ink!

The sixth Element…

What exactly was his sixth Element?

Why wasn’t there any Star or Star Dust?

It was simply hiding in the corner of his Spiritual World. Instead of saying that it was freshly Awakened, it felt more like it had existed for quite some time!

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

It was the sound of his heartbeat. It sounded crisp and clear.

When he fell from the sky, his heartbeat had slowed down. It could no longer supply enough fresh blood to his body, meaning that his body would die soon.

But…

When the blood-black appeared, his heart beat fiercely. Although it was not beating at a high frequency, it was beating stronger!

A powerful liquid flowed out from his heart and was carried to each of his limbs…

It was fresh blood. But for some reason, its color was the same eerie blood-black!

A familiar feeling rose in his heart…

It was violence, savagery, the urge to tear the whole world apart!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Are you satisfied now?” Chu Jia pointed at the pile of bones and mocked them.

The man was already dead. If it weren’t for the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror, who would even know that he was lying in the pile of bones. Who would know how many skeletons he had killed? It was all meaningless!

Everyone was watching the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror. They saw Mo Fan falling from the sky, they saw him buried under the bones, they saw the Commander-level Blood Skeleton Official approaching him.

Obviously, the Blood Skeleton Official would not let Mo Fan just fall into an eternal slumber like that. It was going to crush him into pieces with a stomp!

He had asked for it after trying to fight back fiercely, yet the outcome was no different then if he had given up at the start!

Running away was the only choice left for the city. They should stop wasting their time trying to leave their ridiculous spirit behind. No one would even pity their spirit. Staying alive was more practical. Even if they abandoned the civilians, at least they were still alive. It was unnecessary to follow moral principles in front of utter destruction!

The pile of bones was shaking. The sound of loud footsteps came from the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror. Zhu Meng, Du Xiao, Yao Nan, Zuo Feng, Ling Xi, Han Ji, and the others did not shift their gaze. They were staring at the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror, watching the fifty-meters-tall Blood Skeleton Official stomping towards the fallen Mo Fan’s location!

The whole place was filled with skeletons. The only living flesh was Mo Fan. As such, his fresh blood would surely flow out from the white bones. Its red would be heartbreaking, but worth respecting!

“We’re running out of time… mmm?” Ling Xi was about to say something more when she suddenly saw the bones being hurled into the air in the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror!

Inside the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror, white broken bones were scattering through the sky. The people who were watching the place from their top-down view had no clue what had just happened!

They saw a huge explosion of light that dyed the sky of the Space of Death an eerie blood-black color. It felt like a wicked crescent had appeared in the sky, hinting at the arrival of something!

“What’s going on?” blurted out Zhu Meng.

“No idea, it seems like some force has risen into the sky. Even the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror is shaking from the impact,” said Yao Nan, whose eyes never left the scene on Mirror.

The image was shaking about. When the bones finally fell to the ground like snowflakes, they barely discovered the source of the blood-black light. It had come from the location where the Blood Skeleton Official had stomped down with its foot, where Mo Fan was buried!

The Wicked Eye Copper Mirror was like an eye watching over the Space of Death. To everyone’s surprise, the presence created by the strange glow was strong enough to leave a crack on the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror!

“What…what is that!” Visible from the cracked copper mirror, an eerie figure engulfed in flames was standing in the blinding light!

The thing was a human-shaped figure, yet it was wearing a robe burning with hellish flames. The blood-black tongues of fire continuously transformed into feathers drifting in the wind.

The feathers were not sacred. They were covered in an evil presence, more like the feathers that had fallen from a devil’s wings. Once they flew a distance, the evil fiery feathers would simply disperse in the air.

The blinding glow was under the Blood Skeleton Official’s foot. The feathers were fully spread across the figure, circled by purple lightning that was flickering wildly, covering its body, shoulders, arms, and legs like chains imbued with enormous power…

“What just happened? What kind of monster is that?”

“Where’s Mo Fan, why can’t I see Mo Fan?”

The human-figured monster had long, stiff hair dangling on his back. His hands were long, with sharp claws. His arms were encapsulated by lightning chains, crackling madly.

His face and body were covered in blood-black runes, which looked like they were sealing an even scarier soul within them. It would simply bring doom upon the place once it was unleashed!

“It…it feels like…it feels like the thing is Mo Fan!” blurted out Du Xiao in astonishment when he recalled something.

Yao Nan and Du Xiao exchanged glances with one another. They were quite familiar with the appearance of this monster. In the past, they had captured a test subject that had run away from the military!

“What did you just say? That’s Mo Fan?” asked the mysterious man.

“How can a human turn into something like that!?”

———-

The fiery glow rose and rammed into the Blood Skeleton Official. The Blood Skeleton Official did not even have the chance to land its foot when it was knocked away by a strong impact.

Its fifty-meters-tall body slid backward before finally coming to a stop after some time. The Blood Skeleton Official was rotating its eyes as it stared in confusion at the human who had suddenly unleashed such enormous power.

A penetrating roar rose, one that would even cause a person’s soul to shiver. It was like the voice of the devils from the Netherworld. The roar had come from Mo Fan’s throat, from the demon that was trapped inside the human’s flesh for a long time!

Mo Fan vanished from his spot, together with the blinding glow that was covering him.

Less than a meter away from the swaying Blood Skeleton Official’s face, weird fiery feathers appeared out of nowhere and burned into ash. A ghastly figure walked out from the gap that was burned apart by the feathers. As it clenched its fists, a long and thick bolt of lightning flashed across the sky close to the figure!

The creature flung its lightning arms forward. More lightning began to spread into the surroundings with a flash, reaching a distance of over a kilometer away!

The lightning bolt followed the direction the fist was thrown to. The Blood Skeleton Official crossed its arms again to defend itself, but the damage from the lightning was far stronger than the Meteorite Fist. It immediately penetrated the skeleton’s arms. The skull behind the arms was struck by the lightning, which pierced through it and continued another few hundred meters into the distance!

The skull was blasted open. The undead crystal that was hidden inside it was broken into pieces, too.

The enormous skeleton’s body stiffened, and slowly fell backward…

Mo Fan landed together with the falling skeleton, stepping on the Skeleton Official’s chest with his bare feet. The scorching lightning was still circling his arms.

Sharp fangs grew out from his upper jaw outside his mouth. His face was covered by runes, like a demon’s mask. His pupils were spinning with different lights, looking completely alien. They had a uniquely icy and murderous aura!

His chest, similarly covered in runes, was pulsing, as if an endless raging energy was about to burst out from it. Mo Fan slowly raised his hands and looked at the claws where his nails were supposed to be. He studied the runes on the back of his hands before glancing at the head and undead crystal of the Blood Skeleton Official that he had blasted into pieces…

“The sixth Element… so this is my sixth Element?” murmured Mo Fan in a deeply changed voice.

He initially thought his body was already cleared of the demon blood, but it turned out that it had been hiding in his body, waiting for the day to return when he could finally Awaken new Elements!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This…this…” Elder Chu Jia was stammering. He could not even find the words after some time.

The thing standing inside the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror was not Mo Fan. It was clearly a demon from Hell with Mo Fan’s face!

“That’s a Commander-level skeleton…”

“A single punch!”

That guy was not human. How could a human possibly possess such tremendous strength!?

The group of powerful figures was stunned. They did not expect Mo Fan, who was like a lamp that had run out of fuel, to undergo such a shocking transformation. The Commander-level skeleton that was in such a domineering position was blasted to pieces by a single punch!

“Is he the one that was rumored to survive the Demon Experiment in the rumors?” exclaimed Yao Nan after he suddenly recalled something.

Yao Nan and Du Xiao were helping the military to clean up their mess, and so they did learn a thing or two about the Demon Experiment. Not long after, they heard a bunch of Battlemages was sentenced to death for massacring innocent people for the sake of the Demon Experiment!

Yao Nan and Du Xiao only knew that people were kidnapped as test subjects for the Demon Experiment, and there were rumors about someone surviving it…

However, they never thought the person was Mo Fan!

Du Xiao and Yao Nan had witnessed the extraordinary strength of the Demon Element. As such, they immediately recalled the experiment that was prohibited by the Magic Associations of all five continents after seeing Mo Fan’s transformation!

“Wasn’t the Demon Element banned?”

“What are you saying, what Demon Element?”

“Du Xiao, are you sure about that? Maybe it’s some other power that Mo Fan was hiding which we are unaware of.”

Du Xiao fell silent. The truth was, he was only making the call from Mo Fan’s appearance. If it was truly the Demon Element, the way that Mo Fan behaved was still significantly different than what he had heard about the frightful experiment!

The failed test subjects that Du Xiao and Yao Nan came into contact with all had ghastly appearances, looking scarier than the majority of demon creatures. Some even turned into killing monsters without intelligence!

On the other hand, despite the devilish and intimidating aura that Mo Fan had, he did not seem to have lost his mind…

“Assuming that it’s some power hiding in his body, do you think it’s enough to turn the tables around? Stop wasting your time on this insignificant kid!” Chu Jia was at his limit.

Who cared if he was a demon or not, he was just a mutated Magician! He knew there was something wrong about the kid all along, yet they had sacrificed so many lives just to escort him and his group to the Dark Abyss.

“I’m afraid you are unfamiliar with this Demon Element…” Commander Lu Xu spoke.

As an authority from the military, Lu Xu was the perfect person to comment on the dreadful rumors about the Demon Element.

“Is it necessary to understand it? Take a look at the situation we are in!” yelled Chu Jia.

-A bunch of hopeless people, they are all out of their mind!-

“I don’t care if you want to die, but I don’t. If you think he can escape from the Space of Death, feel free to stay here and wait as long as you want… your ignorance is the reason why the city ended up in this situation. Screw your unyielding characters; you will be buried together with those useless trash that only know how to cry!” cursed Chu Jia.

The real character of a person was easily exposed when they were forced into a corner. Chu Jia had totally spilled the thoughts in his heart.

Chu Jia left impatiently, leaving the hesitant crowd behind.

Chu Jia departed with a few other people who wanted to survive too, including some of the authorities. There was no way they would waste their precious lives on a little Magician. Demon Element?

The real demons were the Black Vatican’s Salan, and the highest ruler of the undead army, the Mountain Zombie. This little Magician was no demon, he was mostly a demon slave!

Sacrificing so many lives just to escort the group of Young Magicians to the Dark Abyss was the stupidest decision they had ever made!

“Chu Jia is leaving with a bunch of people… Ling Xi is leaving with him, too,” said Zuo Feng.

——

The flames circling Demon Mo Fan continuously transformed into devilish, bright fiery feathers, disappearing once they spread into the air.

He lifted his gaze and looked at the remaining skeletons in his surroundings. There were around four thousand of them. Even after losing their leader, the skeletons continued to move in his direction. These brainless creatures had no clue what they were facing!

The soul shadow attaching to his back looked like a wolf demon standing upright. When Mo Fan pointed his long finger forward, the Wolf Shadow impatiently separated from his figure and split into countless pitch-black soul shadows…

The wolf shadows lunged forward like gusts of wind. Their lengthy shadow claws swept in all directions from where Mo Fan was standing, the quick movement of the claws through the air producing shrill cutting shrieks.

The wolves were invisible, only the flickers of the invisibly fast claws could be seen. The skeletons at the front went down first, followed by the army of skeletons behind. The black soul shadows were not only massacring the undead, they were harvesting…

The skeletons were treated like crops. A single slash would eliminate hundreds, or even up to a thousand skeletons in an instant. It all happened in just a few seconds.

The coverage of the soul shadows’ attacks was quite broad. The skeletons around eight hundred meters away who had yet to mentally prepare themselves were torn apart, too. Their white bones once again fell to the ground and combined into a lengthy carpet…

Mo Fan remained in place. The only thing moving was his finger, commanding the Shadow Wolves. It was not his first time controlling the powerful Shadow Wolves. The great massacre that took place at Dongting Lake was the work of his savage Shadow Wolves!

Both the Servant-class skeletons and the Warrior-level skeletons were torn to pieces by a single slash. The claws were as quick as a black gust. It did not matter how many skeletons were left. When Mo Fan only had four Elements, the Wolf Soul Shadow attached to him had eliminated ten thousand Giant Lizards with ease. Now, it had grown much stronger than before. This number of skeletons was nowhere enough for it to sharpen its claws…

Every skeleton that was standing just a moment ago had fallen to the ground.

The Wolf Soul Shadow proceeded to break the bigger bones into smaller pieces, as if it had yet to fully enjoy itself, forcing the skeletons whose undead crystals were already destroyed to experience death again.

“Come back.” Mo Fan took a few steps forward, the carpet of bones clattering.

The shadow wolves sprinted back to Mo Fan from all directions and reattached themselves to Mo Fan’s back in their Soul Shadow form. Although it had not fully vented its desire to kill, it did not dare to disobey its master’s order!

Amid the clattering of the bones, Demon Mo Fan raised his head and looked into the empty sky…

Suddenly, a strange ripple appeared in the direction he was staring at. A silver dot slowly expanded into a spinning vortex!

“How annoying!” Demon Mo Fan harrumphed, and decisively moved toward the silver vortex that was bigger than the ones before it.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Space of Death was never meant to spare the lives of those inside it. There was simply no end to the silver vortexes. The third silver vortex was bigger than the two before; it looked like a silver gap was just torn apart in the sky!

One side of the gap was the Space of Death, the other side was outside the inner city!

As soon as the gate was opened, more undead fell from the sky. The bigger the gap, the higher the number of undead that fell into the space, including those the size of a building!

“Mo…Mo Fan?”

When Mo Fan was staring at the silver vortex, Liu Ru’s voice appeared from not far away.

However, even Liu Ru could not believe her eyes. Was this man with long silver hair and a body covered in demonic runes really the Mo Fan she knew?

“The exit is there,” Mo Fan did not have any expression. He pointed in a direction.

“Oh… okay,” Liu Ru glanced into the distance and saw a silver door. However, between them was the silver vortex, from which countless undead were falling into this space.

“I’ll stop them, head for the exit,” said Demon Mo Fan.

“Stop them, how are you going to…” Demon Mo Fan had already disappeared from in front of Liu Ru’s eyes before she could finish her sentence.

Raising her head once again, she was shocked to see that Mo Fan was riding a wave of flames up toward the silver vortex in the sky!

It was only possible to determine the size of the silver vortex by comparison. The wave of flames that Mo Fan produced was already a few tens of meters wide, and yet when he approached the silver vortex, the flames were only a tiny little red dot.

“Let’s go!” Su Xiaoluo reminded Liu Ru.

“Mmm!” Liu Ru nodded.

Liu Ru had fought her way back while the Blood Skeleton Official was approaching Mo Fan. The direction they had headed into turned out to be a dead end. However, when she made it back, Mo Fan was already covered by the ocean of skeletons.

However, not long after, Liu Ru had witnessed an unbelievable scene.

For some reason, when Mo Fan transformed into his demon form, Liu Ru’s blood began to boil as if it was responding to some call.

“Could this be the reason why my strength greatly surpasses others from the Blood Tribe?” Liu Ru glanced backward while she was running.

She had become a Blood Tribe member after drinking Mo Fan’s blood.

Instead of being as weak as the usual rookies in the Blood Tribe, she ended up with a potential that was even greater than those possessed by the seniors in the Blood Tribe. Was it because of the demon blood that was flowing in Mo Fan’s body?

If so, instead of referring to Mo Fan as her senior, this Demon Mo Fan was her true master!

A rumble came from the sky. A stunning, blazing light burst out from Mo Fan, almost covering the width of the silver vortex. The zombies, phantoms, and skeletons falling from the sky were set aflame, as if they had fallen into a burning ocean.

The burning corpses spread across the sky. They had pretty much turned into ash before they landed on the ground. When Liu Ru, Su Xiaoluo, and Swift Star Wolf were passing through the land covered in ash, they did not see a single undead moving!

They soon arrived in front of the silver mirror. Liu Ru was going to ask Mo Fan to leave with them when she discovered the mirror shaking vigorously. The surface of the mirror was twisting.

“I’ll find another exit!” Mo Fan transmitted his voice into Liu Ru’s heart, as if he could read her mind.

Liu Ru knew they were simply Mo Fan’s burdens if they stayed any longer. Their priority now was to leave the Space of Death and find their way to the altar… Otherwise, everything they had done until now would be in vain.

She did not hesitate any longer. She dashed into the silver mirror together with Su Xiaoluo and the unconscious Zhang Xiaohou.

—

The undead army in the silver vortex was massive. It looked like a fog from afar, but each of the dust particles was an undead creature. The size of the army could simply destroy the space by trampling it.

Mo Fan could not leave with the others. He had sensed that the silver vortex was not only teleporting more undead into the space, it was also producing a strong turbulent flow of space to destroy the Space of Death!

It was meaningless to kill more undead if the Space of Death was about to collapse. The third silver vortex was bringing destruction upon the place, including the bridge leading to the altar…

If Mo Fan left with the others, the bridge that would lead them to the space where the altar was would collapse together with the Space of Death. They would never make it to the Blood Emperor Throne!

It was difficult to stop the destruction of the silver vortex, but he could ease the burden of the space by eliminating the undead. Mo Fan had to wipe out the army of undead. He would have to kill every single undead that the vortex had teleported to the space until Liu Ru and the others left the Space of Death through the bridge…

The undead were falling from the sky like a storm. The flames were no longer strong enough to burn all the undead into ash instantly.

Mo Fan returned to the ground, but he soon propelled himself into the sky once again. This time, there were not just flames, there was lightning flickering around him, too.

The wild lightning formed a web of lightning bolts that seemed to have their own consciousness. Whenever an undead fell from the sky, they would swiftly pierce through its body…

The undead was either turned into fine powder or burned ash!

It was unclear how many undead were killed after being drawn in by the silver vortex. Even those that survived could not last more than a few minutes.

The endless lightning and fire were so strong that the gravitational force was completely twisted. The powder and ash were no longer falling downward, but were rising due to the heat energy from Mo Fan’s fiery waves.

—-

The space full of lightning and fire that Demon Mo Fan had constructed left the group of authorities surrounding the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror in silence.

As Du Xiao mentioned, the power of the Demon Element had exceeded their imagination!

The undead army was made up of over ten thousand undead, yet they were annihilated while they were still falling from the sky!

Was the man really the same person that had just broken through to the Advanced Level?

“President, President!” one of the Imperial Magicians came in yelling at the top of his lungs.

The group was still overwhelmed by the astonishment at witnessing the Demon Element. They even filtered out the Imperial Magician’s voice.

“What…what’s wrong?” It took President Han Ji some time to react.

“God bless the Ancient Capital, a silver vortex has appeared close to the Mountain Zombie. It seems like the Mountain Zombie is being dragged into it!” shouted the Imperial Magician excitedly.

“What did you just say?” screamed Han Ji.

The group immediately collected their thoughts and glanced outside the city.

The sky had started to light up. The Mountain Zombie outside the golden barrier was obviously shorter. After taking a closer look… it turned out that its feet and calves had already been sucked into the enormous silver vortex!

Zhu Meng immediately shifted his attention back to the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror. When he saw a pair of enormous feet dangling from the silver vortex, his face turned extremely pale!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was like an enormous titan had carefully stepped through the sky curtain of the mundane world, its legs dangling from the sky. Mo Fan instantly saw the astonishing legs when he raised his head.

When the legs landed on the ground, the whole space shook vigorously; cracks began to extend across the air, the sky, and the ground like a broken mirror…

Slowly, the lower body of the Mountain Zombie was fully drawn into the silver vortex. Its body was circled with pure black lightning, further increasing the burden of the space, which had already crossed its limit. Several black holes appeared in the space out of nowhere and gradually combined into a huge storm of black holes.

The storm appeared in different spots. They would expand continuously and suck everything into the black holes. Once the space was fully occupied by the storm, it would mean the space was completely destroyed!

Mo Fan glanced at the silver mirror. He had no idea whether Liu Ru and the others had reached the Blood Altar. The Space of Death had gone out of control. He had to leave the place at once!

Leaving through the mirror was no longer possible. The Bridge of Death was most likely torn apart. The only exit was through the silver vortex that had brought disaster upon this place!

If it was only Mo Fan’s first demon Awakening, he would not dare to enter the turbulent flow of space. The strong winds would easily tear his sturdy flesh into pieces in seconds. However, not only was his second demon Awakening stronger, he had also gained control of a new power: the Space Element!

The silver Star Dust was the Space Element!

The silver vortex was the only way out. Even though the power of his Space Element was just a little sprout, he had to try by utilizing all his potential!

Mo Fan landed heavily on the ground. His body sank down, like a muscular wolf demon accumulating its strength.

Mo Fan propelled himself into the sky like a burning arrow. His speed of ascent was shocking, like a meteorite flying in the opposite direction!

His surroundings were full of undead falling down from the sky. The burning arrow that Mo Fan turned into simply pierced through every obstacle and gradually approached the edge of the vortex!

The silver vortex outside the city was a powerful spinning top, dragging any life form nearby into it. However, the silver vortex in the Space of Death was completely the opposite. Mo Fan could feel a strong force pushing him back down to the ground!

The strength of the absorbing force was the same as the pressure Mo Fan was feeling. The eyes of Demon Mo Fan had already changed colors, and a deep glow shown from his silver pupils.

As Mo Fan’s body was covered by a layer of silver light, he sensed the pressure diminishing while he was soaring into the sky. However, the thing that would stop him was not the pressure from the silver vortex, but the Mountain Zombie, half of whose body had entered the Space of Death!

There were not many undead of such an enormous size. Mo Fan knew what the creature whose body was dangling from the silver vortex was.

Mo Fan quickly flew into the silver vortex, before the undead creature that was over a thousand years old noticed his presence.

—

The Mountain Zombie slowly lowered its head. To it, the silver vortex was only a rather deep pond. It could not care less about which space the silver vortex had dragged it into.

The Mountain Zombie seemed to have run out of patience. Its body suddenly unleashed a black energy, gathering the power of lightning on its feet.

The Mountain Zombie jumped even though its feet were dangling in the air in the Space of Death. The fragile sky immediately cracked as the black lightning spread across the place wildly. The energy was forced into the tiny Space of Death, resulting in more cracks that morphed wildly into destructive storms…

Not only did the stomp speed up the destruction of the Space of Death, it also allowed the Mountain Zombie to jump out from the silver vortex.

The creature pulled its lower body out of the silver vortex. It looked like the gargantuan millennia-old undead had simply stepped out of a little swamp which did not affect it by much.

The people in the inner city who thought the Ancient Capital was saved by the Heavens were dumbfounded!

They initially thought the silver vortex would drag the Mountain Zombie away, just like the other undead. To their surprise, the Mountain Zombie simply shattered the silver vortex with a terrifying stomp. If they had known that the space that the silver vortex was connected to was also destroyed by the stomp, it was difficult to imagine what expressions the people would have now!

The Mountain Zombie raised its head. Its face was almost touching the clouds.

The sea of clouds shrouding the sky instantly dispersed when the creature uttered an angry roar. However, the clear sky was soon covered by the foul breath coming out from the creature’s throat, gradually turning into an extremely filthy cloud!

The filthy cloud shrouded the sky. The Mountain Zombie seemed to have run out of patience. Its hate-filled eyes were glaring at the inner city’s golden barrier.

The creature was able to see the entirety of the city at its height. It began to approach the inner city with steps that made the ground tremble.

As the Mountain Zombie drew closer, the people could see a huge mountain standing right in front of the city. It had a spooky face, with a huge, eerie grin, north of the inner city…

It was almost dawn. The sky was faintly lit up. The place was no longer covered in total darkness. The people hiding in the inner city could already see the situation outside the city.

They initially thought the faint light at dawn would bring them some comfort, yet what awaiting them was not the rising sun, but the huge, spooky face of a zombie. Its face was staring down at the millions of petty lives in the city, like some life form of higher civilization inspecting the livestock it was raising. Its arrogant gaze alone brought a great sense of despair to the people. It was not a physical pressure applied to the tiny humans, but one that was able to crush their souls.

Tiny, they were simply too tiny. It felt like this terrifying God of Death could easily annihilate the people of the city with a single breath even if they were all hugging together. Could the golden barrier protect them? Would the Magicians that mankind was proud of really stand a chance against it?

“I…I heard that Commander Yao Ting was killed by that creature!”

“So that thing… is the ruler of the undead that is responsible for this calamity?”

“Are we going to die? Are we still going to die here in the end?”

Panic swept through the crowd. Everything they had gone through was nothing compared to the encounter with the Mountain Zombie. The fortress protecting the humans was just a little model in front of the creature!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s going to attack the barrier!”

“Imperial Magicians, Imperial Magicians!”

“The Imperial Magicians are fighting it…oh, my God!” screamed a woman among the crowd.

Her eyes almost popped out from the sockets in fear. She had just witnessed the Mountain Zombie slap an Imperial Magician in a purple outfit to death against the golden barrier.

Blood and flesh splattered on the barrier. The liquid split into a few lines and flowed down from the barrier. The people had just placed their hope in the Imperial Magicians, but the Imperial Magician was simply smacked to death like a fly!

That was an Imperial Magician with magical armor. The defensive equipment was completely useless. He did not even have the chance to use the Magic he had been practicing for decades. He had died within the blink of an eye. The people did not even see his face clearly, nor did they know his name. His death was utterly meaningless!

If even an Imperial Magician had died like cannon fodder, what would happen to the commoners like them?

The number of casualties immediately stacked up with a single wave of the creature’s arm!

The Mountain Zombie had launched its attack. The enormous cloud above its head was granting it a formidable strength. The golden barrier shook hard when the Mountain Zombie fired black lightning rays at it. The inner city was experiencing a terrifying earthquake!

“Can someone stop it, anyone, please come and stop it…” Zhou Ming stared at the terrifying creature with a blank face among the crowd.

“Seven Super Magicians fought the creature, yet they are either dead or injured now.”

“Even the strongest Imperial Magician, Lu Huan, died with the Nether Bone Ruler. This Mountain Zombie is stronger than the Nether Bone Ruler. The barrier can’t last any longer.”

Every attack from the Mountain Zombie would produce a powerful wind that could easily devour the entire city, hitting the barrier that was on the verge of collapsing. The zombies and Corpse Generals even climbed onto the golden barrier, tearing at it with their horrifying faces. Endless numbers of claws were scratching at the last line of defense for the humans!

Not very long ago, they had witnessed the undead overrunning their homes, the streets and buildings they were familiar with. They thought they could survive the purple alert calamity once they made it to the inner city, but the zombies still managed to climb onto the barrier!

The zombies stacked up into ladders as they climbed the walls and onto the golden barrier protecting the city. The barrier burned them; the zombies festered as soon as they made contact with the barrier, yet the undead did not seem too bothered by it. They continued to climb despite the burns. There were so many of them that they completely blocked the light of dawn shining upon the city!

Many people in the city fainted after witnessing the horrifying scene. They almost went crazy when they realized that the rain pouring onto their faces had passed through the zombies first!

The Mountain Zombie attacked with its full might. A faint crack appeared on the golden barrier!

—

The faint crack suddenly became the weakest point of the barrier. The zombies did not understand the principles of the formations constructed by humans, but they could tell the spot where the burning effect was weaker. As a result, piles of zombies immediately gathered where the crack was.

The zombies kept on biting and tearing at the weak spots. A wisp of poisonous mist was already leaking into the barrier from the cracks!

The zombies were stacked up in piles, and the golden barrier was not very high either. The people could clearly see the disgusting faces of the zombies. They began to flee in panic, fearing that the zombies would fall right onto them at any second.

—

“Don’t panic, everyone, calm down. The barrier won’t break so easily!”

“Stand your ground, stay where you are!”

The Magicians tried to calm the crowd, yet their voices were no match for the fear implanted in the hearts of the people by the zombies. The inner city was in total chaos!

—

Fiery feathers scattered and fell from the sky onto the zombies that were on the golden barrier. Suddenly, the feathers erupted into huge flames and lit off like a burning forest!

Every feather was set aflame simultaneously. The golden barrier immediately turned into an ocean of flames, burning the zombies fiercely.

The zombies were not burned into black charcoal. They were turned into ashes straightaway. The high-temperature flames covered half of the golden barrier and instantly burned more than half of the zombies that were on the golden barrier!

The flames were burning right above the inner city. Everyone could feel the heat coming from the fire as they raised their heads. The light produced by the fire and the boiling rain poured down on the crowded inner city.

—

The Mountain Zombie glared at the flames that had appeared out of nowhere.

It turned its head around, trying to find the villain that had set its minions on fire. It finally discovered a figure with different auras close to the silver vortex.

The guy was tiny like a human, but the Mountain Zombie remembered him. When the Mountain Zombie trampled the space under the silver vortex, it saw the same figure flying out from there.

A strong gust of wind that grew rapidly into a storm swept in the direction of the Mountain Zombie.

Normally, the Mountain Zombie would not be bothered by the presence of any other creatures, as any presence was too insignificant compared to its own. However, it had sensed a dangerous energy concealed inside the tiny figure…

The Mountain Zombie squinted. Its bloodshot eyes suddenly emitted two blood-red death rays!

The death rays were fired right at Mo Fan’s position. The rays immediately left two enormous holes in the area covered in debris. Not only did the death rays penetrate the debris, they continued to drill the ground and produced two bottomless pits!

The death rays were supposedly locked onto Demon Mo Fan, but he had long vanished from the place. All that was left was an afterimage.

—

Raging in his heart, Demon Mo Fan, who had moved to a different spot raised his head and glanced at the immovable Mountain Zombie.

With a simple wave of his hand, the Wolf Soul Shadow draped over his back like a cape suddenly disappeared. An enormous black claw descended from the sky without a sign, landing on the army of zombies…

The zombies were on standby, waiting for their turn to climb onto the golden barrier. However, when the enormous shadow claw landed on them, blood splattered across the sky. It was unclear how many zombies were killed horribly by it!

The shadow claw attacked once again!

Another formation of zombies was smashed into minced meat!

The enormous shadow claw attacked repeatedly, leaving the Battlemages on the walls of the inner city in awe. They could barely see an enormous wolf shadow in the mist. It was stomping through the fragile mundane world like a wolf demon in the midst of a catastrophe. Each stomp would smash thousands of undead into minced meat and send them flying!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Mountain Zombie was totally infuriated. It seemed to be treating its minions more kindly than any other undead. When it saw the minuscule figure killing its army of zombies, it immediately raised its arm and flung it down through the clouds with great power!

The inner city rocked. The Mountain Zombie’s arm came down like a godly hammer from Heaven. The whole area trembled from the impact, as the whole street was smashed into pieces, including the buildings and the road paved with cement…

The street was at least a kilometer long, yet the force exerted by the arm instantly razed everything along it to the ground. Its strength was simply too shocking!

In the middle of the street that had been crushed into dust, a small human-sized figure slowly rose to its feet, as if it was perfectly unharmed.

Purple-black lightning circled around Demon Mo Fan like he was mad.

Demon Mo Fan wiped the blood from his lips. Pupils that gradually turned purple exchanged glances with the Mountain Zombie.

The Mountain Zombie bent down and stared down at the sunken ground it had created. However, all it saw was a pair of cold eyes staring back at it.

He was not dead!

The minuscule human was not dead!

Not many creatures in the world could survive a swing of its arm!

Fierce lightning descended from the sky, tearing a gap between Heaven and Earth, connecting the sky and the ground!

The purple-black lightning landed right on Demon Mo Fan. Instead of a lightning strike, the force of the lightning poured over his demonic, majestic body!

Demon Mo Fan stood in the lightning with his arms spread wide, as if he was receiving a baptism. With a deafening roar, the lightning turned into dozens of purple-black dragons flying within a few hundred meters around Demon Mo Fan!

Half-bending his knees, Demon Mo Fan, circled by the lightning dragons turned himself into an evil bow on the verge of firing!

Demon Mo Fan launched himself into the sky again. The lightning dragons could not match his speed and were following behind him, leaving a long trail of lightning…

His fist flickered with lightning. The runes covering Demon Mo Fan’s body emitted a brilliant, blood-black glow, as the dangerous energy concealed inside his demonic body was fully unleashed!

The punch was thrown right at the Mountain Zombie’s collar bone, where an obvious wound was visible!

The strength of the demon punch was remarkable, and together with the lightning dragons following right behind it, the combination of attacks left a huge hole on the Mountain Zombie’s collar bone!

Initially, the wound was the size of a needle. However, when the lightning dragons struck the same spot, the wound suddenly became clear and deep. One could even see the bones inside!

The Mountain Zombie took a few steps backward. Each step alone covered a few hundred meters. It slowly lowered its head and discovered that the wound on its collar bone was festering from the lightning punch. Fresh blood poured down like a waterfall from it!

The Mountain Zombie was indeed injured when fighting the seven human experts. However, none of them had left a huge hole that had caused it to bleed so freely. It clearly remembered that it had smashed the human who had left the tiny wound on its collar bone dead against a mountain!

——

“Is…is that Mo Fan?” The authorities on the clock tower were dazzled.

The Wicked Eye Copper Mirror had disappeared together with the Space of Death. They initially thought Demon Mo Fan was crushed when the space collapsed. However, they did not expect Demon Mo Fan to return to the outer city through the turbulent flow of space. On top of that, he had started a fight with the Mountain Zombie!

The Mountain Zombie!

They had sent seven Super Magicians to fight the creature, but half of them were dead, while those who came back were too injured to continue fighting.

Now Demon Mo Fan was fighting the Mountain Zombie in the ocean of zombies. He even managed to leave a huge hole along the throat of the Mountain Zombie!

Before the astonished crowd, a human figure swept a long arc across the sky above the inner city and slammed hard onto the top of the golden barrier.

The crowd raised their head and saw Mo Fan, his body covered in runes, rising to his feet. As he was standing up, an enormous palm covering the sky came down, aiming right at Mo Fan, who had fallen onto the golden barrier!

The slap rocked the whole city. Even the barrier was on the verge of breaking. However, Demon Mo Fan had somehow made it to the other side, barely evading the Mountain Zombie’s attack.

The Mountain Zombie was completely infuriated. Its enormous body leapt into the air and landed on the golden barrier…

The Mountain Zombie was stepping on the golden barrier, right above the crowd underneath. Many people in the inner city lost consciousness upon seeing this. The people crowding the streets suddenly fell to the ground.

Only those with a stronger will raised their heads and stared at the intimidating sight with blank faces. It felt like their hearts would explode at any second!

“Holy crap! Isn’t that Mo Fan?!” Zhao Kunsan pointed up. He could clearly see Mo Fan’s rune-covered face at this angle.

“Are you out of your mind, how could he possibly be… holy shit, he does look exactly like Mo Fan!” Wang Sanpang was about to curse as he gathered his courage and glanced upward to take a closer look at the face!

Despite the ghastly expression and savage aura, the face belonged to none other than Mo Fan!

He had long silver hair and mysterious runes across his body. A Wolf Soul Shadow was attached to his back!

The truth was, apart from a face that those who were familiar with Mo Fan could recognize, the guy did not resemble Mo Fan at all. It was like a demon from the underworld that had taken control of Mo Fan’s body to stir up chaos in their world. The Mountain Zombie seemed to have trouble defeating him!

“Where did he go?” asked Zhou Ming panickingly.

“I don’t know, he’s too fast. He just vanished within the blink of an eye!” said Zhao Kunsan.

Demon Mo Fan was extremely hot-tempered, yet it did not mean that he was not using his brain.

The Mountain Zombie greatly surpassed the power of his demon form in terms of strength. He would only get himself killed by trying to defeat the creature with brute force. The best way now was to locate the wounds that the seven Super Magicians had left on the creature’s body. He had to utilize them to inflict serious damage on the Mountain Zombie!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Mountain Zombie raised its head glancing at the thick clouds floating above its head. It took a deep breath, sucking the clouds with rolling thunder into its lungs.

The Mountain Zombie’s chest gradually bloated. The air surrounding the creature became rarefied from the creature’s single inhalation.

The falling rain somehow slowed down. The trees swaying in the inner city became still. The clouds suddenly dispersed, yet it was far from a good omen!

Mo Fan stood at the top of the golden barrier. When he sensed an overwhelming pressure lingering in the air, he subconsciously glanced down at the inner city.

The streets, buildings, alleyways of the inner city were crowded with people of various ages. However, everyone’s gazes were full of helplessness after the suffering they had gone through. It felt like apart from the golden barrier that served as the last line of defense, there was nothing they could place their hope in!

Mo Fan looked at the golden barrier. The barrier was not as bright as before. Countless cracks were scattered across its surface. It was impossible to tell how many more attacks the barrier could take. Perhaps the next one would simply shatter it into pieces.

Mo Fan could not allow the Mountain Zombie to attack the golden barrier. With its destructive power, the golden barrier would not last for long!

Mo Fan clenched his teeth and sprang into the sky above the inner city. The cunning Mountain Zombie intended the fight to take place close to the inner city, as it was planning to kill him while simultaneously dealing serious damage to the inner city’s barrier!

The demon form did not provide Mo Fan with enough strength to take on the Mountain Zombie. However, Mo Fan had control over six Elements in total. The Calamity Fire that the little Flame Belle granted him was his real trump card!

The Mountain Zombie’s enormous eyes flickered with disdain when it saw Mo Fan escaping into the sky.

It totally ignored Mo Fan. Its lungs had accumulated enough death gas to raze the inner city to the ground once it breathed out. The black wind of death would thoroughly destroy the golden barrier protecting the humans.

The death wind in the creature’s lungs had reached its limit. The Mountain Zombie leapt backward, landing less than a kilometer away from the Northern Gate. Its bloated chest shuddered, its throat and mouth turned into a cave of death, and that wild black wind surged out and blasted the barrier of the inner city!

The black wind was extraordinarily powerful. It swept all the remains within two kilometers into the air. Even the undead army in front of it was caught up. The gust of death swept forward like thousands of sabers swinging wildly in the air!

“That son of a bitch!”

Just beneath the clouds, Mo Fan, who was floating high up in the sky, realized that the Mountain Zombie was ignoring his presence.

Mo Fan had planned to distract the Mountain Zombie, to lift the burden from the inner city’s barrier. To his surprise, the Mountain Zombie had never treated him seriously!

Demon Mo Fan was already hot-tempered to begin with. When he saw the Mountain Zombie recklessly breathing out the gust of wind to destroy the barrier, he immediately accumulated all the power of his Fire Element to draw in the Fire Element particles within a few kilometers…

Element particles were extremely tiny, close to a thousand times smaller than a dust particle. It was impossible to see them with naked eyes. However, when anyone gathered the Fire Element particles of a huge space at a certain point, it resulted in a blinding red light!

His contract with the Flame Belle had granted him the ability to control the Fire Element at his will. The fire spirits flying in the sky were formed by thousands or tens of thousands of tiny Fire Element particles. They had turned into red light dots, then into a fiery flare. When all the element particles accumulated around Mo Fan, it immediately burned Mo Fan’s flesh to ashes…

In the raging flames, the silhouette of a new body arose. The flames first forged the main body, followed by the limbs and the head. The rising flames simply attached to his head as burning strands of hair!

The Wolf Soul Shadow had disappeared, replaced by an elegant, burning ring on his back. It looked like a pair of special, fiery wings were closed up…

The appearance Mo Fan’s Demon Element had taken at Jilin City was similar to demon creatures. The Wolf Soul Shadow on his back, the hands that curled into claws, and the fangs poking out from his jaw. Shocking wolf runes had covered the muscles on his body, while his hair was long and silver!

The main reason for his appearance was because Mo Fan’s only Summoned Beast was the Swift Star Wolf. The Magicians involved in the Demon Experiment were inclined to take the appearance of their Summoned Beasts!

However, the Swift Star Wolf was not Mo Fan’s real Contracted Beast, the Flame Belle was! She was a unique, blessed creature, born on the mountain of the Burning Valley between the Stars. When Mo Fan withdrew the Wolf Soul Shadow, the real force that was bound to his soul took control. As such, his previous savage body was burned into ashes, replaced by the transparent, crystal-like appearance of the Fiery Sorceress, with flames engulfing him!

The Little Flame Belle was too young after all. She had yet to master the capabilities that the Fiery Sorceress possessed. However, the Demon Element was like a trade between Mo Fan and the devil. It was granting him temporary, formidable power at the cost of burning his life.

Currently, Mo Fan was like an enormous fireball dangling under the gray clouds. His brilliance totally resembled a blazing sun!

The light of the flames lit up the spacious sky, leaving a huge trail of flames between the dull mist among the clouds!

The brilliance poured down onto the inner city over a huge area. The raindrops completely evaporated into white gas under the high temperature…

The flames poured down, aiming right at the Mountain Zombie that was breathing out the wind of death.

The Mountain Zombie was still leaning forward. When it sensed the formidable energy descending on it, it did not have enough time to act due to the black gas filling up its lungs.

The enormous fireball was like a falling meteor. It slammed fiercely into the Mountain Zombie. The enormous zombie could not withstand the impact. It was knocked flying by the overwhelming impact!

A great ocean of flames swept the outer city. The spectacular sight was suffocating. The people vaguely saw a demonic figure standing right in the middle of the flames that were pouring down from the sky. It was stepping on thousands of corpses from the army of zombies, burned into ashes in an instant!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A light as bright as the sun’s brilliance shone down upon the gray inner city. The iciness and moisture were gone, the zombies scattered in the outer city had disappeared. Even the scariest Mountain Zombie was blasted a few kilometers away from the walls. The people were overwhelmed with astonishment and joy after the prolonged pressure was lifted!

God bless the Ancient Capital! Heaven had heard their prayer! Finally, someone capable had stepped forward to face the Mountain Zombie!

The flames on the ground rose into the air. The ocean of flames lasted for quite some time. Demon Mo Fan stood in the giant pit that he had created. The flames were circling him like countless wild phoenixes, forming a burning domain that even a Corpse General would not dare to step into. The domain covered at least a kilometer around him!

Many zombies were caught in the flames. Weak against fire to begin with, the army of undead that the Mountain Zombie had brought burned away quickly…

The Mountain Zombie seemed to have suffered severe injuries. The seven Super Magicians did leave quite a lot of wounds on it. After receiving the meteorite attack from Demon Mo Fan, its thick flesh began to fester…

Were still burning on its body. The millennia-old zombie groaned in pain. Its eyes were glaring at Demon Mo Fan.

Where did this little creature, who dared to stop the advance of the kingdom of undead, come from?

The Mountain Zombie uttered a roar, but it did not launch its attack at Demon Mo Fan straightaway. As the great ruler of the undead, it had countless Corpse Generals and Corpse Officials under its command. Even though they could not eliminate the monster that came out of nowhere, they could still buy it some time to recover from its injuries!

A variety of weird-looking Corpse Officials immediately stepped forward. They mainly consisted of Flesh Mound Corpse Officials. Their enormous size was equivalent to a big building. Their wide mouths seemed to be chewing something as they continuously spat out skeletons…

After the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials, the number of Blood Corpse Officials was the highest!

Similar to the Blood Skeletons, these dark-red undead with skin as sturdy as steel were mostly Commander-level creatures. Not only were their bones and flesh significantly stronger, even their blood possessed a formidable power!

Within a few moments, a number of Flesh Mound Corpse Officials and Blood Corpse Officials gathered at the Mountain Zombie’s feet with twisted expressions and fierce gazes. They completely ignored the burning flames and used their thick flesh to endure as they charged at Demon Mo Fan.

The Corpse Officials were like heavy tanks as they charged forward, trampling down half of the fire domain surrounding Mo Fan.

The first one to arrive in front of Mo Fan was a Flesh Mound Corpse Official around thirty meters tall. It opened its mouth, revealing rows of fangs like stalactites and lunged at him!

Mo Fan was floating in the air like the Fiery Sorceress in the past. He controlled the fire waves and glided backward.

Another giant mouth appeared in the direction he was gliding as soon as he dodged the Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s bite.

The mouth completely devoured the flames engulfing Mo Fan. The Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s esophagus was extremely thick. It was able to crush anything and refine them into skeletons in its stomach, including Fire, Lightning, and Ice.

The skeletons that were capable of killing and chasing after their target were not only produced from bones. An abundant supply of energy of death had granted the skeletons ‘life’, and this energy came from the digestion of everything that the Flesh Mound Corpse Official had eaten!

The throat and stomach of the Flesh Mound Corpse Official that ate Mo Fan were twitching. It had initiated the digestion process.

However, the Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s body began to expand all of a sudden. It looked slightly bloated at the start, but when a fiery red surfaced on its skin, and it expanded to twice its original size.

The ductility of the Flesh Mound Corpse Official was fairly impressive, as its body could expand up to twice its actual size. It explained why it was able to hold almost a thousand undead in its stomach.

However, the creature’s body continued to expand even faster. Its size was quickly three times its original size, making it look like a giant meat balloon!

BANG!

The body of the Flesh Mound Corpse Official reached its limit and suddenly exploded. Its body parts broke into pieces and scattered across the place as raging flames burst out from its stomach…

Amid the explosion, Demon Mo Fan, still engulfed in flames leapt into the sky. He landed nimbly on a tall signal tower while holding something in his hand.

He shoved the thing in his palm into his mouth. It was a black undead crystal, which Mo Fan bit into pieces and swallowed down.

The Flesh Mound Corpse Official’s huge eyes fell to the ground among its disintegrated flesh. A moment ago, the creature was trying to digest Mo Fan, but now, its undead crystal was eaten by Mo Fan instead!

The energy inside the undead crystal could be used by Mo Fan to replenish his depleting energy. Mo Fan gulped the undead crystal down without considering how filthy it was. He did not forget the enormous side-effects of using the Demon Element. These undead crystals were effective at reducing them. Mo Fan had no intention to put them to waste.

However, Mo Fan was slightly agitated. The Demon Element’s source of energy was his life and soul. If the cunning Mountain Zombie continued to send its Corpse Generals and Corpse Officials as cannon fodder, he would eventually die if the creature kept on dragging the fight longer!

His first priority was to end the fight as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the Soul Remnants in the Little Loach Pendant would be insufficient to sustain his life.

While Mo Fan was thinking, a familiar voice came from behind him. “Mo Fan, the Mountain Zombie’s undead crystal is under his throat!”

Mo Fan turned around and discovered the person to be Councilman Zhu Meng.

The man was among the seven Super Magicians sent to fight the Mountain Zombie. The Demon Element was superb, yet it was not enough to let Mo Fan take on the Mountain Zombie by himself. Without the damage that the seven Super Magicians had inflicted to the Mountain Zombie previously, it would be stronger than it was now.

“We’re here to help!” The mysterious man was outside of the inner city. He was floating high up in the air with three pairs of Wind Wings. The lengthy wings granted him a rather imperious appearance when they were fully extended.

“Yao Ting and the others sacrificed their lives, but they also found the Mountain Zombie’s vulnerability. The Mountain Zombie is an undead. It’s meaningless to destroy its body parts. We have to destroy the undead crystal under its throat!” President Han Ji showed up in a battle robe stained with blood.

Despite the burning flames nearby, President Han Ji seemed perfectly unharmed from the high temperature, showing how extraordinary his cultivation was.

“Leave the Corpse Officials to the Imperial Magicians!” Zuo Feng led the Imperial Magicians and came out of the barrier too.

The Imperial Magicians had suffered great losses in the calamity. Their President, Vice President, and Captain had all died outside the city. The only reputable one left was Zuo Feng.

Only a few tens of Imperial Magicians in purple outfits were standing behind him, a great contrast to the numbers of the Imperial Magicians at the start of the battle.

However, without them, many people would not even have made it to the inner city. The Mountain Zombie that posed the highest threat to the city would not be the only one left of the eight undead rulers!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life began to collapse. The ancient jade used to construct the bridges fell into the deep abyss, before they were shattered into pieces by the black gust.

There was only one bridge left, the one leading to the altar of the tomb.

The altar was covered in pitch-black darkness on a platform that seemed to be floating in the dark for eternity.

The altar had the shape of an ice cap. The stairs made of stones at the bottom were incredibly huge. Each stair was a few times taller than a human. It felt like the stairs were not meant to be climbed by humans, but built from some giant deities instead.

From afar, red ribbons were dangling from the altar on the top corners of the stairs. However, after a closer look, they were no ribbons, but thick blood falling down the stairs like waterfalls.

The top corners of the stairs were constructed in the shape of dragon heads. The waterfalls of blood were pouring out from the dragons’ mouths from a great height. The loud rumbling of the bloodfalls echoed in the area.

Zhang Xiaohou recalled the same dragons spitting out water on the rooftop of the museum in the inner city. However, the ones on the museum were designed as drains for the rain, a spectacular sight on rainy days. In comparison, the dragons here at the altar were fairly spooky. It was hard to tell if it was some kind of red liquid or real, flesh blood… blood that was still flowing after over two thousand years!

As the group climbed the stairs, the size of the altar began to shrink. The path gradually turned narrower the higher they went. The width of the stairs was the same length as a person’s long stride.

“I can see the top; the thing up there must be the Blood Emperor Throne that Fang Gu mentioned!” Su Xiaoluo wiped the sweat off her forehead. Her pale face was filled with a hint of joy.

They had finally arrived at the Blood Emperor Throne, after going through untold hardships!

Hopefully, they were still in time!

With so many lives at stake, even though the altar floating in the endless darkness looked extremely terrifying, the group was determined to risk their lives, even if it meant going through mountains of daggers and sea of flames. Otherwise, the lives of millions of people in the city would become the sacrifices for the Black Vatican and Salan’s festival.

“We’re here, we made it!” Su Xiaoluo said to Zhang Xiaohou behind her in excitement, as she was the first to make it to the top.

Zhang Xiaohou was tired as he made it to the top. He glanced at the top of the altar made of white jade and saw a huge jadeite at the center!

The jadeite was red and transparent with rising edges. It looked a throne with countless swords stuck to it…

The Blood Emperor Throne!

The person sitting on the Blood Emperor Throne must be the Ancient King, Ying Zheng!

Zhang Xiaohou took a deep breath and proceeded forward.

There was indeed someone sitting on the Blood Emperor Throne, but it was hard to tell if the person was alive or dead. He was wearing a black battle robe, obviously a historical artifact. However, it was still had an icy glow, to the extent that Zhang Xiaohou could easily see his own timid reflection as he approached the throne!

The person was sitting on the throne, supporting his jaw with a hand. His body was leaning sideways slightly. The shadows under the cap on his head barely concealed his face. However, the light produced by the fire on the altar revealed his lower jaw and the evil grin he was wearing!

He seemed to be either taking a nap or in deep thought. Either way, he did not look like a dead person!

Zhang Xiaohou’s forehead was fully covered in sweat. He never thought an emperor who had died over two thousand years ago would apply such great pressure to him. In Zhang Xiaohou’s mind, the person could stand up at any second and stare right into his eyes with a gaze that would easily shatter his soul. By then, he would have trouble remaining standing!

“I’m curious…”

Suddenly, the person sitting on the throne spoke!

The voice gave Zhang Xiaohou, Liu Ru and Su Xiaoluo a fright. It felt like their scalps were on the verge of exploding.

“How did you find a way out of the Space of Death?” the voice continued, as the person slowly raised his head.

The light of the fire slowly chased the shadows concealing the person’s face away, revealing a familiar face with two lines of white sideburns. His thick lips were dark purple, with purple runes spreading to his cheeks, granting him a very eerie appearance!

“How…how are you here!” Liu Ru was the first to exclaim.

They were definitely familiar with the face, as it belonged to Fang Gu, who had chosen to pick a bridge on his own!

Zhang Xiaohou was stunned, too.

He could not tell if the person was the Ancient King, Ying Zheng, or Fang Gu who had picked the right bridge, since his aura was totally different than before!

“What’s happening? Why are you sitting here?” said Zhang Xiaohou in disbelief.

“Why can’t I be sitting here?” Fang Gu laughed.

“Where’s the Ancient King?” blurted out Su Xiaoluo.

“I am the one you’re looking for.”

“You’re Fang Gu.”

“Not anymore, everything is as I have speculated. The real Ancient King has already passed away as time went by. All that was left was a battle robe that was attached to his corpse, and the Blood Emperor Throne that can command the kingdom of undead,” Fang Gu rose to his feet. The armored robe he was wearing clanked loudly.

“What do you mean?” asked Zhang Xiaohou.

“The first person to reach here will inherit everything from the Ancient King. His white palace, and his kingdom of undead that his hands raised. He had an endless supply of energy, and unmatchable wisdom…” Fang Gu’s voice with a hint of strange metallic sound echoed at the top of the altar.

“Then what are you doing sitting there? Hurry up and chase the army of undead and the Mountain Zombie away. Stop the Dark Abyss from drifting into the city,” said Su Xiaoluo.

Fang Gu burst out laughing when he heard Su Xiaoluo’s words.

His laughter sounded extremely weird. Even though the sound had come from his throat, it felt like something hiding under his skin was making the noise.

“What are you laughing at?” snapped Su Xiaoluo.

Zhang Xiaohou pulled Su Xiaoluo, signaling her to stand behind him.

Su Xiaoluo immediately realized something when she saw his stern expression. She quickly stepped a few steps back.

“How amusing! My soldiers, my generals and my officials are taking back the city that’s supposed to be mine. Why would I stop them?” Fang Gu’s laughter sounded even spookier.

Zhang Xiaohou, Liu Ru, and Su Xiaoluo were backing off slowly.

They could no longer tell if it was Fang Gu wearing the battle robe, or the Ancient King, Ying Zheng, resurrected through Fang Gu’s body. Either way, his ghastly appearance and his weird voice were implying that he was not friendly!

“Is he Fang Gu or not?” whispered Su Xiaoluo.

“I’m afraid not!” said Liu Ru.

Liu Ru could easily capture the scent of a living human. The truth was, she did not sense a living presence from Fang Gu.

Fang Gu might have assumed that the Ancient King was dead. Once he wore the battle robe, he would inherit everything from the Ancient King. However, from his twisted expression, it turned out that Fang Gu was the one who had been inherited…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What do we do now?” whispered Su Xiaoluo.

It took them great effort to come this far, yet to their surprise, Fang Gu had turned into something like this. He never had the intention to stop the calamity, or maybe he was wicked beyond redemption from the beginning. He was evil all along!

“Blood, I need more blood,” Fang Gu’s eyes suddenly became hollow, as if the pupils were dug out. It felt like a ghost could come out from the sockets at any time!

He rose to his feet. His movements seemed sluggish and stiff, yet his body was unleashing a wild stench of blood. His open mouth implied that he was planning to eat them alive.

“He is turning into a zombie!” Liu Ru swiftly backed off, dragging the other two with her.

At the start, Fang Gu still had a faint human presence. From his words, it seemed like he still retained some of his memory, yet his smell now completely resembled that of a zombie.

He was no longer a living human, but a monster who had rotted away after staying in the tomb for many years. Even his soul had turned into a greedy phantom!

Fang Gu was dead, even his soul was replaced. All that was left was an empty shell that was no different than the zombies outside the tomb.

Fang Gu, still in the battle robe lunged forward, clenching his hands into long claws with blue nails. Su Xiaoluo was his first target.

Fresh blood, more fresh blood was needed! In order to resurrect the Ancient King, more blood of his descendants was needed! The blood of Ancient King in the pure-blooded descendant, Su Xiaoluo was exactly what he needed…

“He still hasn’t acquired the Ancient King’s true power, kill him!” said Liu Ru.

Fang Gu’s aura was extremely evil, but it was not as overwhelming as they had imagined. Perhaps his body and soul were not what the Ancient King really wanted, so he had turned into a zombie-like puppet!

Turning a living human into a zombie was an extremely terrifying Black Magic. When Liu Ru saw Fang Gu lunging at Su Xiaoluo, she immediately grabbed the zombified mage and slammed him to the ground.

Liu Ru’s hands turned into claws, too. She did not show any mercy. She stabbed the sharp claws of the Blood Tribe right into Fang Gu’s heart.

Initially, Liu Ru thought the battle robe had a strong defense. It was unlikely that her attack would inflict any damage to him. To her surprise, her claws easily penetrated the armor and came into contact with Fang Gu’s rotting flesh, piercing through his heart with ease.

The heart inside had already stopped beating, black liquid leaked out from the cut. Liu Ru immediately withdrew her hand and stared at Fang Gu with a confused look.

How weak!

This Fang Gu was extremely weak!

The strength and defense he acquired after turning into a zombie were only comparable to a Servant-class zombie. When Liu Ru saw Fang Gu fall to the ground twitching with a ghastly appearance, she somehow felt pity for him.

Inheriting the Ancient King’s magic, gaining control of the kingdom of undead?

He did not even realize that his life was drained away by the battle robe until only an empty shell was left. Even his soul was gone.

He was a real sacrifice for the Ancient King’s resurrection, one among many over the last two thousand years.

Fang Gu’s black blood flowed out from his body, which gradually separated from the battle robe. A dried corpse fell to the ground.. even his hair had wilted like grass.

Meanwhile, the black battle robe floated back to the Blood Emperor Throne after absorbing Fang Gu’s life force.

Although no one was wearing the armor, it felt like someone alive was sitting in it, with a pair of crimson eyes under the cape staring right deep into their souls, able to see everything in their hearts.

“We shouldn’t put on the robe…” Liu Ru breathed out.

It turned out that the threat was not Fang Gu, who was wearing the battle robe, but the battle robe with the evil aura itself!

While the three were clueless about what to do, the altar suddenly shook.

The black space began to twist, spiral, and bend at times, with gaps appearing out of nowhere. A strong wind was sweeping down from above them.

Zhang Xiaohou raised his head and saw a huge black cloud made of zombies above him. They were flying around like a tornado while uttering groans and cries of agony.

“The altar is rotating… does this mean the Dark Abyss is about to shift in space soon?” asked Liu Ru.

Taking the time into consideration, dawn had already arrived. It was the last time the Dark Abyss would shift to somewhere else. Since the Ancient King was planning to resurrect himself, the inner city was the most ideal place to go. Since he had become the highest ruler of the kingdom of undead, he would surely not allow a living human to stay in his kingdom!

“Blood, Fang Gu was mentioning something about blood, does that mean the Ancient King’s resurrection requires a huge amount of blood? Is he trying to turn the people in the inner city into sacrifices?” blurted out Su Xiaoluo as she thought of something.

If the millions of people fell into the Dark Abyss, it would not just produce a pond of blood. It would be a sea of blood; everyone there would be turned into a sacrifice!

The Black Vatican must have learned the secret somehow and found a way to control the space shift of the Dark Abyss.

Instead of describing the calamity as a Festival of Death, it was more correct to say that they were planning to resurrect the ancestor of the undead, who had died over two thousand years ago, all along!

The altar was shaking. The group could no longer stand easily.

“What do we do now? We’re out of time!” Liu Ru’s mind went blank.

Zhang Xiaohou climbed to his feet and glared at the strange battle robe on the throne.

He had bitten his lips open. Zhang Xiaohou struggled to his feet and cast Wind Track to run to the battle robe on the throne.

“Don’t, don’t do it, you’re going to end up like Fang Gu!” screamed Su Xiaoluo, who knew what Zhang Xiaohou was thinking.

“We don’t have much time left to think about that!” Zhang Xiaohou had no time to think. The place was shifting rapidly, they could not afford to waste a second more.

Rushing up to the battle robe, Zhang Xiaohou immediately sensed a great power urging him to wear the battle robe. It felt like he could resolve everything once he put on the battle robe!

He turned around, looking at Su Xiaoluo, as if he was trying to remember her face. In the following second, Zhang Xiaohou grabbed the battle robe.

The battle robe was able to attach itself to a body. When someone touched it, it would reform and swiftly attach to the person’s body.

Zhang Xiaohou was slightly regretful when he made the decision. The thing was like a demon with its mouth wide open, waiting for him to fall into its mouth…

Being regretful would not change anything. Zhang Xiaohou closed his eyes. He was only hoping that he had the chance to command the undead army before turning into a dried corpse like Fang Gu, even if it only lasted for an instant.

However, when the battle robe was about to wrap around Zhang Xiaohou, a powerful hand grabbed him and tossed him away from the Blood Emperor Throne!

Zhang Xiaohou was thrown away. When he was spinning in the air, he saw a firm back!

He was extremely familiar with the person’s back. When he first joined the Battlemages, it was this man, who was capable of fighting the Darkwing Wolf alone, that astonished him…

Zhang Xiaohou fell to the ground. He yelled at the top of his lungs as his eyes began to tear, “Chief Military Instructor!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Liu Ru and Su Xiaoluo were stunned too. They had not noticed the man until he appeared just now. They could not tell if he had just arrived, or if he was already here for some time.

He was extremely quick. He suddenly showed himself when Zhang Xiaohou was about to be wrapped up by the armor. He pulled Zhang Xiaohou out of the demon’s throat with brute strength…

However, the black battle robe was quite greedy. After losing the chance to use Zhang Xiaohou as a sacrifice, it uttered a wild screech and lunged at the man instead.

The cape flew at the man’s head like a little demon. No matter how hard the man was trying to pull it off, it was stuck onto his scalp.

While the man was struggling with the cape, his legs, torso, and arms were covered by the battle robe. Each armor piece seemed to have its own consciousness. It was impossible to take them off once they were attached!

“AHHHHHH!”

It felt like even the man’s soul was being occupied by the battle robe. The man that saved Zhang Xiaohou let out a scream of agony. His almost dug his fingers into his skin and tore himself in half!

The scream echoed through the hall, leaving the three young adults shivering.

Tears rolled down Zhang Xiaohou’s cheeks when he witnessed the scene. He was supposed to be the one enduring the pain, but the man had taken his spot instead!

His superior did not speak a single word, nor did he give him a single gaze. All Zhang Xiaohou could see was a determined back…

“Chief Military Instructor, Chief Military Instructor…” Zhang Xiaohou wanted to go up to the man to share his pain, yet Liu Ru would not allow him to do anything so stupid.

“Chief Military Instructor… is he Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong, that you and Mo Fan always mentioned?” Liu Ru grabbed onto Zhang Xiaohou tightly.

The battle robe was scarier than they thought. It was entirely a black demon that would fiercely occupy the body of anyone that came into contact with it. If Zhang Xiaohou went up to it now, he would also turn into a meaningless sacrifice!

Zhang Xiaohou never expected Zhan Kong to be here, too. Even though he was full of doubts, he only felt like his heart was being shredded when he saw his Chief Military Instructor being tortured by the demon!

“Do…do you really think you’re that great!?

“Come… eat my soul… once you’ve eaten my soul, you’ll die too!

“You should have gone to Hell ages ago!”

Zhan Kong’s voice was incredibly weird, yet the words in his screams were obviously spoken with his own consciousness.

He was not talking to Zhang Xiaohou, Liu Ru or Su Xiaoluo. The words were directed at the battle robe that was devouring him.

Fang Gu had turned into a dried corpse, just a failed sacrifice. He had failed to gain anything from the battle robe. However, it felt like Zhan Kong had something that the battle robe was scared of, giving his soul a chance to struggle!

“If you want my body… show me some sincerity!” Zhan Kong to said himself, while trying his best to suppress something.

The battle robe was now attached to Zhan Kong’s skin, yet he totally ignored the pain. Amazingly, he tore one of the pieces off, which also ripped a layer of his own skin off, splattering blood everywhere.

The armor piece let out a ghastly screech. It tried to reattach itself to Zhan Kong, yet the man violently kicked the armor piece covered in fresh blood away, before he burst out laughing like a madman.

“Either you obey me completely, or we’ll die together! Eternal life? I’ll now send you to eternal doom!” Zhan Kong tore another armor piece off his leg.

Fresh blood poured out from the wound. Zhan Kong was totally willing to harm himself to threaten the battle robe, and so managed to control the situation. The demon that was draining his soul finally halted.

Su Xiaoluo, Zhang Xiaohou and Liu Ru were stunned. They had witnessed how Fang Gu had turned into a dried corpse. They assumed Zhan Kong, who had taken Zhang Xiaohou’s spot, would end up the same way. To their surprise, he managed to suppress the evil battle robe!

Even so, Liu Ru could clearly sense that the man no longer had the presence of a living human!

——

The Inner City…

A deep clock chime echoed in the Inner City. The ancient clock at the center of the city was shaking from to some overwhelming force.

As soon as the chime sounded, the people of the inner city somehow felt like it was a peaceful dawn as the old times.

The truth was, many people had seen a fiery figure flying toward them. It had torn a gap on the golden barrier and was flying straight at the clock tower.

It seemed to be the expert that was fighting the Mountain Zombie!

Half of Mo Fan’s body was stuck in the giant clock. He struggled out from the clock and fell to the platform of the tower, together with a bunch of debris.

Mo Fan felt like his bones were on the verge of shattering. The Mountain Zombie’s punch was simply too powerful. It had knocked Mo Fan flying for kilometers before slamming right into the clock tower at the center of the inner city!

Luckily, he had struck the giant clock that was imbued with magic. If he had landed among the crowd, the impact would have taken many innocent lives.

Mo Fan spat out the blood in his mouth. He turned around and saw the devoted deacon of the Black Vatican, Mu He.

Mu He was looking at him too. His eyes almost popped out from the sockets.

Is…is that Mo Fan?

The person fighting the Mountain Zombie is Mo Fan!

Demon Mo Fan was rather evil, too. When he saw Mu He hanging on the clock and staring at him in astonishment, his burning face immediately revealed a pair of fangs.

“What were you saying before, that I’m only playing an insignificant role in this festival?” Mo Fan said to Mu He as he was recovering from his wounds.

“What…what exactly are you?” Mu He was dumbfounded.

“Open your eyes and look carefully at how I’m going to ruin your festival!” Mo Fan yelled. His demonic eyes emitted a brilliant flicker.

Flames engulfed his body, while lightning dragons circled him. Two different types of power were surrounding his figure…

Obviously, two types of power were nowhere enough!

In the midst of the flames, a Soul Shadow slowly appeared. It was no longer a ferocious Wolf Shadow, but the silhouette of a glamorous Fire Demoness!

Instead of a demoness, the shadow resembled a goddess born from the flames of Creation. She was murmuring some ancient chants with her eyes closed, granting all her power to the person who had awakened her.

“This must be the appearance of little Flame Belle once she reaches the Adult Phase?” Qin Nan mumbled to himself.

Mo Fan had already sensed the incredible power and potential of a blessed creature like the Flame Belle just from the faint Soul Shadow.

The Fire Demoness Soul Shadow did not fight for Mo Fan, but it granted him the blessing of fire, making the flames engulfing him burn fiercer.

The flames rose into the air from the clock tower. The people in the inner city could see them clearly, let alone Mu He, who was only ten meters away.

Mu He’s eyes widened. He could not believe what he was seeing!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

BANG!

A huge blast took place on the clock tower. The magnificent building almost collapsed from the force as Mo Fan, who had just slammed into it, kicked off it and shot out of the inner city like a brilliant ray of light, returning to the battlefield within the blink of an eye…

The light shocked the Mountain Zombie. It was utterly relieved after getting rid of an annoying pest, yet to its surprise, the demon had returned in just a few seconds!

What kind of body was that!?

A normal human would have died many times over by now, yet the guy was still charging toward him like he was unharmed!

“Cry of the Snow Mistress: Icy Rain of the Sorrowful World!”

President Han Ji finished channeling the third-tier Super Ice Spell under the protection of the other experts!

In the sky, the icy clouds combined into the glamorous figure of a sacred goddess. Her sorrowful tears turned into the most incredible piercingly cold snowstorm of the past hundred years…the air was frozen, the vast land was frozen, all living things were frozen!

The icy rain covered a great distance, most of them landed on the Mountain Zombie, which swiftly turned into a layer of ice covering its body.

The icy rain fell, and the snow stacked up into a mountain. The savage Mountain Zombie seemed to be suppressed by the Icy Rain of the Sorrowful World. Its movement gradually turned stiff as more and more of its body was covered in ice!

The clouds were frozen, the air was frozen, the ground was frozen. The Mountain Zombie standing tall was frozen, too. The process did not last for long…

“Under the throat, destroy its undead crystal!”

President Han Ji raised his pale face. His hair was white like snow, yet he still gathered his strength to say those words to Mo Fan, who was flying back to the battlefield!

Mo Fan swept through the sky. The flames trailing him spread into an ocean of fire…

He glanced at the frozen Mountain Zombie. He could tell that the creature was raising its arms, trying to protect the area under its throat, yet it was frozen by President Han Ji in the process.

Cry of the Snow Mistress: Icy Rain of the Sorrowful World. As expected of the man with the strongest cultivation among them, he had managed to suppress the Mountain Zombie at such a crucial moment!

The Mountain Zombie was breaking into pieces. Cracks began to surface on the ice.

Mo Fan knew it was his perfect chance. The flames engulfing him turned into purple-black lightning!

“Die!”

Mo Fan turned into a weapon covered in raging flames, a Soul Shadow, lightning, and runes as he pierced through the wound under the Mountain Zombie’s throat.

A formidable blood energy rose inside the Mountain Zombie’s body, shattering the ice covering its body with brute force…

However, the moment it broke free from the ice, the destructive light ray mixed with four different colors that Mo Fan had turned into pierced into it, right below the Mountain Zombie’s throat!

Its throat was already exposed after the attacks earlier. This time, it could no longer defend itself from the new attack that Mo Fan had executed with all his might!

Mo Fan simply flew from the front of the Mountain Zombie to the back. After a brief moment of darkness, he exited from the back of the creature’s neck together with a jet of blood under the light of dawn

The Mountain Zombie was trying to defend its weak point before it was frozen. After breaking free from the ice, it subconsciously grabbed its throat with its hands, yet it was completely useless…

It was holding the front of its throat, yet fresh blood was jetting out from the back of its neck…

As soon as Mo Fan landed on the ground, the rain of blood poured down from above and put out the flames and lightning engulfing him.

The Mountain Zombie was swaying wildly. When the group thought it was about to collapse to the ground, the creature picked up a Corpse Official and squeezed it into the hole on its throat!

The spray of blood was stopped instantly. The Mountain Zombie seemed to have earned its second chance at life. It knocked the people around it away with the blood energy and fled north.

“It’s not dead yet!” Han Ji, the mysterious man, Zhu Meng, and the others inhaled deeply.

They were completely worn out from the battle, yet the Mountain Zombie was still alive after suffering such a deadly blow. The Magicians suddenly felt extremely decrepit.

“It’s running away… we have to kill it!” yelled Zhu Meng.

Mo Fan dodged the Mountain Zombie’s stomps. When he saw that the creature was fleeing into the north, he immediately switched the Soul Shadow on his back and chased after the creature by sprinting across the ground.

The Flame Belle Soul Shadow had granted Mo Fan the ability to control fire, while the Wolf Soul Shadow gave Mo Fan strong close combat capabilities.

Mo Fan was incredibly fast. He was sprinting through the ocean of undead like a werewolf. The undead army trying to stop him simply became his stepping stones!

Mo Fan kicked the head of a Flesh Mound Corpse Official with a great force and launched himself into the air, lunging at the Mountain Zombie that was running away.

The Mountain Zombie was running away, yet the ocean of undead was still around. The cunning creature would surely command the undead army to continue the assault on the city. The Mountain Zombie had to die!

In addition to Mo Fan, Councilman Zhu Meng, the mysterious man, Du Xiao, and Han Ji also chased after the Mountain Zombie.

The Mountain Zombie was indeed severely injured, but the death of an undead like the Mountain Zombie at its level was an obscure concept. If they did not kill it thoroughly, it would recover in no time and come back again.

Han Ji coughed heavily before saying to the group, “Kill it!”

Zhu Meng, the mysterious man, and Du Xiao nodded. Mo Fan did not carelessly venture forward when he saw the others chasing after the Mountain Zombie. He gathered the strength of the Wolf Soul Shadow on his legs and kicked forward, launching a fast-moving shockwave in the shape of a black crescent at the Mountain Zombie!

Zhu Meng did not hesitate further. The man whose energy was close to depletion simply took out his lightning spear. It emitted a blinding glow and flew in right behind Mo Fan’s black crescent.

The mysterious man and Du Xiao both cast a Super Light Spell. It was the same enormous light sword that came down from the sky…

This time, the Mountain Zombie had nowhere to run!

The destructive spells flew toward Mountain Zombie simultaneously, leaving it with no escape. Its eyes were filled with a grim light.

Suddenly, the Heaven and Earth shook vigorously!

A strange hole appeared behind the Mountain Zombie that was running away. It was like a black hole that was able to suck any kind of force into it. Mo Fan’s black crescent, Zhu Meng’s lightning spear, or the Demon Judgment Sword… the Hole of Chaos was sucking them all!

“Hole of Chaos…” Han Ji was stunned.

The others were dispirited too. All their attacks were sucked away by the Hole of Chaos that had appeared out of nowhere. They were so close to killing the Mountain Zombie!…

“Such a terrifying strength… it just drew all our attacks away like that!” The mysterious man’s eyes flickered with astonishment.

“There’s someone on the Mountain Zombie!” Mo Fan’s sharp eyes were immediately fixed onto the Mountain Zombie’s head.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Careful, the Hole of Chaos might reflect our attacks with a stronger force!” the mysterious man warned the group.

“We should be careful of the man standing on the Mountain Zombie, his aura…” Han Ji lifted his gaze and stared at the man!

As Han Ji mentioned, everyone here was an expert with sharp senses, and the man who had nullified all their attacks with a single spell had a formidable and mysterious aura, putting them on alert. They could smell danger from the man!

Mo Fan was the closest to the Mountain Zombie. He was standing on the top of a signal tower, the bottom of which was destroyed. It was just tall enough for him to look at the man on the Mountain Zombie at the same height.

The Mountain Zombie was no longer running. The all-powerful zombie seemed to be afraid of the man. Its body slowly knelt down with its head lowered…

The group was completely dumbfounded upon seeing this!

Making the Mountain Zombie drop to its knees?

Who could the person be, strong enough to force the Mountain Zombie, one of the strongest Ruler-level creatures, to kneel?

No wonder even an expert like Han Ji was panicking!

The Mountain Zombie turned around and carried the person toward the group. It seemed extremely willing to be the person’s mount.

As the creature approached them, the dim dawnlight and the rain pouring onto the creature highlighted the outline of a man wearing a black battle robe. His aura was piercingly cold and stern. He glanced at the group of Magicians, before looking at the inner city with a swaying golden barrier in the distance!

“Ancient…Ancient King!” The mysterious man shuddered. His gaze suddenly turned blank!

Even Han Ji was stunned!

In the ancient drawings, the Ancient King was indeed wearing a black battle robe when he passed away. The man’s outfit perfectly resembled the emperor in the past. On top of that, even though the man was glancing down at the living humans, he did not have any living presence!

“He’s awakened…” Zhu Meng said with a dispirited voice.

The Ancient King was awake. It was the end for everything. All living creatures would be turned into undead. The city that had survived over thousands of years would soon become an undead paradise!

The Mountain Zombie came forward. The creature did not dare to unleash its previous overwhelming aura. It was not because of the severe injury under its throat, but it did not dare to act recklessly because of the man standing on it.

Its feet stomped the ground heavily as it walked past the signal tower that Mo Fan was standing on, allowing Mo Fan to see the man’s face clearly!

He did not just see the side of his face. The man turned his head and stared right into Mo Fan’s eyes!

“Chief…Chief Military Instructor…” Mo Fan shivered. He could not believe what he saw.

Zhan Kong!

The face was none other than the Chief Military Instructor, Zhan Kong!

Mo Fan felt his heart crumbling. He could not explain the scene he was seeing before him.

Zhan Kong was staring at Mo Fan. tall in his battle robe. It was hard to tell if he had recognized Mo Fan, or he was simply amused by Mo Fan’s extraordinary demon presence.

Suddenly, the man raised his hand.

The Hole of Chaos that had absorbed everyone’s attacks appeared in front of Mo Fan!

Mo Fan subconsciously thought the man was going to attack him. His figure tensed as he prepared to defend himself from whatever was going to happen.

However, the Hole of Chaos did not spit out the destructive energy that it absorbed previously. It opened up like an eerie door of space. Three figures were pushed out from the spinning vortex.

“Liu Ru, Zhang Xiaohou, Su Xiaoluo!”

Mo Fan instantly recognized the three people. He leapt forward and grabbed two of them with his hands and bit Zhang Xiaohou’s collar with his teeth…

Using the Mountain Zombie’s shoulder as a stepping stone, Mo Fan jumped back to the signal tower while holding the three people.

The three youngsters had fallen unconscious while passing through the chaos vortex. Mo Fan placed them on the tower and shifted his gaze back to the man.

However, Zhan Kong, who seemed like a totally different person no longer had eye contact with Mo Fan. He turned around, only showing his back to the group…

As he turned around, the Mountain Zombie too turned and walked in the opposite direction of the city as if it was given some order.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Each step that the Mountain Zombie took would produce a huge blast. On top of that, a troop among the undead army would sink into the ground every time the Mountain Zombie took a step.

The undead in the City North were the first to withdraw. The majority of the undead army had the ability to move underground. The ocean of undead disappeared into the ground in just a few minutes. Judging from the pattern, it seemed like the whole undead army was moving into the distance following after the Mountain Zombie… or more accurately, the undead were following the man standing atop the Mountain Zombie!

The footsteps sounded further away with each step. Half of the undead were gone. The spectacular withdrawal even postponed the arrival of dawn when their mass covered the rising sun in the distance.

A while later, a Phantom Ruler appeared in the south!

The Phantom Ruler seemed like it had yet to fully enjoy itself. It opened its enormous wings that were similar to those of a bat. The creature beat its wings, gliding across the golden barrier and headed north…

An army of phantoms followed right behind the Phantom Ruler like stormy clouds. When they flew past the inner city above the golden barrier, the whole inner city was immersed in darkness.

A few moments later, the clouds formed by countless phantoms had flown into the distance, returning the dim sunlight to the countless people in the city, many of whom had fainted from fright.

Finally, the army of skeletons withdrew like a fading tide, too.

Of the eight undead rulers, four of them, including the Mountain Zombie, were still alive, and led their armies into the distance. Not a single one dared to stay or pose a threat to the inner city any longer, even though the golden barrier could collapse at any second.

The black ocean gradually disappeared into the north. The ruined city was illuminated by sunlight that was gradually turning brighter, exposing the collapsed buildings, the destroyed streets, the broken bridges, and the areas that were beyond recognition…

Only the inner city was preserved, along with countless people and its intact buildings and structures that had survived the calamity. However, it felt like everyone was completely worn out. Even after the inner city was soaked in sunlight for quite some time, the whole place was still deadly quiet. It took the people a long time before they realized that the calamity was over!…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“We’re alive… we’re still alive!”

“They are gone, the undead, not a single one left!”

“We’ve won, we’ve won!”

The city was suddenly immersed in cheers. The dawnlight was fairly bright, but the gray clouds and rain remained, yet none of it mattered now. As long as the undead army was gone, the city would be safe, as they had all survived the calamity!

The Magicians on the wall fell to the ground feebly. The calamity had drained all their energy. They had all prepared to sacrifice their lives in the battle, yet they never thought they would actually survive until the end and witness the undead tide falling away!

It was unbelievable, even they found it hard to believe what they had seen.

It felt like the tide brought by a great storm was about to devour them, and it was obvious that the rain would continue to fall still, but the black tide suddenly fell away. The water level quickly dropped to their feet and withdrew from the little island they were on…

Many people were lying on the ground looking up into the sky. The raindrops fell on their face felt rather hot, as they could not extinguish the excitement and joy in their hearts!

The people were hugging one another. Cries of relief after surviving the calamity echoed in the city, regardless if they knew one another…

The Magicians outside the city were returning. Some stood still on the spacious ground covered in debris. It took them a while to collect their thoughts.

Mo Fan was still standing on the slanting signal tower. His eyes were staring into the north.

The runes covering his body had disappeared. The silver hair returned to his usual black. The wild lightning and fire were withdrawn deep into his soul. The fight had ended, thus it was time for the demon deep in his soul to go back to sleep. Otherwise, the young man would turn into an old man fairly quickly.

“Where…where are we?” Zhang Xiaohou was the first to wake up, shaking his dizzy head heavily.

He immediately saw Mo Fan sitting on the edge of the signal tower. His face was covered with joy, and he went up and hugged him, at a loss of words.

Mo Fan had yet to recover from the cold-bloodiness of the Demon Element, but when he saw Zhang Xiaohou bursting into tears like his younger brother, he could not help but pat him on the head.

After some time, Zhang Xiaohou finally calmed down. Seeing Mo Fan kept staring into the north, he asked, “Did you see him?”

“He was always looking after us, right?” asked Mo Fan.

There were still many things that they could not explain in the calamity, as it felt like someone was opposing the Black Vatican behind the scenes too.

However, Mo Fan did not have the chance to see him, until the very last moment…

“Mm, he has always been looking after us,” Zhang Xiaohou turned around glancing at the city that was immersed in cheers, and the people that were surrounding Han Ji, Zhu Meng, Du Xiao, and the mysterious man as they returned to the city.

The truth was, Han Ji, Zhu Meng, Du Xiao and the mysterious man had never seen Zhan Kong before, so they did not recognize him.

“Is he considered dead?” asked Mo Fan.

The moment when Zhan Kong turned around, Mo Fan suddenly felt the air around him to turn sour. Even his throat was stuck, he could not find the words even when there were many things he wanted to say.

Mo Fan could easily guess what had happened at the altar without Zhang Xiaohou’s explanation. However, was he really gone like that? Was the man who he respected the most still alive? Was that the Ancient King, or Zhan Kong?

For some reason, Mo Fan’s thoughts were filled with the past. He remembered the extremely difficult mission that the Chief Military Instructor gave them during the training. He remembered how he was shamelessly trying to become Mo Fan’s sworn brother at the Mu Family’s villa. The scene he would never forget, when he led his subordinates to fight the Darkwing Wolf!

During the incident at Jilin City, he had traveled a great distance to save him too!

He was their instructor at their training, but he was more like a mentor on the path of becoming a Magician. He did not teach him a single spell, but he had used his actions to teach him how to become a reliable man!

“The good thing is, we didn’t let him down in this battle against the Black Vatican,” Mo Fan sighed. He slowly withdrew his gaze.

“Mmm!” Zhang Xiaohou nodded heavily.

They were Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong’s students, and they would always be.

The city might have no clue who the person who had driven the undead army away was, but they would forever remember him!

Meanwhile, the Black Vatican had carefully planned their conspiracy, yet they never expected that the Commander of Bo City that they had completely disregarded would be the one disrupting their festival.

Test run?

The unforgivable sin the Black Vatican had committed in Bo City had trained people like Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, Xu Zhaoting, and Zhan Kong, who would give all they had to fight against the Black Vatican, even if it meant sacrificing their lives.

The Black Vatican had brought fear and death to the world, yet to those that had survived the calamities, all they had sown was an inextinguishable fury in their hearts!

A little Bo City had already trained so many people, let alone the Ancient Capital that had existed for thousands of years. Many brave ones among the survivors would step forward. The wild ambition of the Black Vatican to bring chaos upon the world would not stand a chance against the determination of the people who wanted to eradicate the evil organization!

The seeds had been planted, watered with the sad tears of those who had lost their loved ones…

They would surely blossom one day!

—

On the clock tower, Great Deacon Hu Jin still could not believe what had just happened as he hung there in the rain.

The whole city was celebrating, only he looked worse than a dead man.

The festival was gone, implying that he would no longer be sent to paradise. His soul would fall into the burning pot together with the Dark Beast Monsters and become an ugly slave for the rest of his life!

Ta, ta, ta, ta…

It was the sound of heels hitting the concrete. The clock tower was now empty. Mu He did not dare to breathe when he heard the footsteps.

However, it seemed like there were two people walking up the stairs…

“Why did you call me here?” said a woman.

“I believe there’s no one here. I thought we were both going to die… either way, there’s something I have wanted to tell you since a long time ago. About ten years ago, when we first met here, you were still a Hunter Master. I know, I’m not worthy of you, I’m still an ordinary Imperial Magician after ten years… but for the past ten years, you’ve always been the most perfect woman in my heart!” said a man.

“Is that all you have to say?” The woman’s voice sounded rather cold.

“Yeah, I’m not hoping that you would accept me, but I still wanted to tell you my feelings,” said the man firmly.

“Normally, I would accept everyone who’s willing to submit to me, but unfortunately, you’ve spoken this nonsense to me when I’m in my worst mood. I won’t accept your feelings, but I don’t mind accepting… your heart,” said the woman.

“What did you say… AHHH!” the man’s voice turned into a painful scream in the middle of her words.

The clock tower suddenly fell silent. Not a single sound could be heard.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu He was hanging at the same spot, his face completely twisted.

Not long after, he heard the same sound of heels tapping on the bricks, each felt like a sharp blade was stabbing his heart as they came closer.

“Senior…Senior Salan!” Mu He wanted to kneel on the ground, but he was unable to do so.

The woman’s right hand was dripping with blood, and holding a fresh human heart. It was extremely horrifying!

She lifted her cold gaze, staring at Great Deacon Hu Jin hanging before her.

Mu He felt like the cold gaze had simply shattered his soul.

“You helped that kid to enroll in a Magic School?”

“Yes…yes… no…no…” Mu He was at a loss for words.

“You’ve brought up such a monstrous enemy for our Vatican, who even ruined my festival. I should be thankful to you…”

“No, don’t, please don’t, no… AHHHH!”

An utterly forlorn cry echoed from the ancient clock tower, like someone’s soul was being torn into pieces. The cry lingered in the air for some time.

Meanwhile, the people below the clock tower was cheering and celebrating. It looked like a fairly exciting festival was happening…

——

When the tide of undead fell away, backup and support finally arrived.

Countless helicopters were circling in the sky, bringing supplies to the city. Construction crews came in bulk and started rebuilding. However, in order to prevent the undead from attacking again, they first built temporary places within three kilometers of the city walls to settle the people.

The rain finally stopped on the third day. The survivors were settled in the temporary buildings enclosed by tall walls, making them at least look safer on the surface.

Unlike Bo City, the city had coexisted with the undead for a long time. It was rich with resources, and it had existed for thousands of years. Even the greatest storm had failed to destroy it. The city would only be rebuilt after it was torn down, as most people were unwilling to abandon their property.

The reconstruction of the city did not take as long as the people had expected, since half of the rebuilding was done by machinery, while the builders were in charge of the bridges, roads, streets, and buildings. Each building would only require a few Earth Magicians.

The areas within three kilometers from the inner city were rebuilt first. They would slowly expand out from there. As long as the heart was still there, the Ancient Capital would slowly rejuvenate… humans were not as fragile as they had imagined. Despite the sorrow they had been through, those who survived still had to keep moving forward.

——

The meeting room in the bell tower…

Some fruit that was just brought to the city was placed on the meeting table. They looked fairly juicy, they must have been sent here via air transport from the south.

Not many people were seated at the meeting table, but they included Du Xiao, Zhu Meng, Han Ji, the mysterious man, and Yao Nan…

“I’ve looked many places, but I still can’t find Mo Fan,” said the mysterious man.

“The guy doesn’t seem like a kid who is unwilling to leave his name behind after doing a good deed?” teased Zhu Meng.

“It’s all thanks to him. Who would have thought, the Demon Element… tsk tsk, he must be the only person who can support the Demon Element. I’ve called you all here to discuss what we’re going to do with Mo Fan,” said Han Ji.

“The Demon Element is banned by the Magic Associations of the five continents. I’ve asked Mo Fan, he doesn’t want to be the white mouse, so I guess we’ll try our best to conceal the truth,” Zhu Meng expressed his thoughts.

“A superior from the military has contacted me. He told me that Demon Mo Fan was the Deathbringer of Dongting Lake that once stirred up great chaos in Biyi City,” said the mysterious man.

“Which superior?” asked Zhu Meng immediately.

“Must be the one in charge of the southern military district. He told us that it’s best not to let the Magic Associations of the five continents know about Mo Fan,” said the mysterious man.

“Mo Fan wants us to keep it a secret, and the military and the Magic Association have no intention to make it public either, but regarding the Hunter Union… Du Xiao, can you stop Chu Jia and the others from spreading it?” asked Zhu Meng.

Du Xiao shook his head.

He was a Senior Hunter, but the elders were higher-ranked than him. He had no way of sealing their mouths.

“Don’t worry about the Hunter Union. Some old man must know about it, and Mo Fan is working in his shop. With his help, the information won’t spread to somewhere it’s not supposed to,” said Yao Nan.

“I almost forgot about that. Yao Nan, I’ll let you contact the Clearsky Hunter Agency,” said Du Xiao.

“Alright, the military, Hunter Union, and Magic Association should be able to keep it a secret. After all, only a few of us have seen him using the Demon Element. We should be fine. As for Mo Fan’s friends, they won’t have any problem keeping it a secret, either,” Han Ji nodded.

“By the way, Salan must have learned about the Demon Element too, will he possibly…” blurted out the mysterious man as a thought crossed his mind.

“Salan must be trying his best to leave our country now. He was too exposed this time. The Enforcement Union will be uprooting all his remaining underlings. The highest ranks of the Enforcement Union is going to hunt him down. Do you think he has time to waste on Mo Fan?” Han Ji smiled.

“That guy tried to destroy the Ancient Capital by relying on the Ancient King’s kingdom of undead to crown himself the God of Death. I bet he’s running away like a dog now. Once we find out all the Blue Deacons and uproot those that are hiding, in half a month, Salan will just be a general without an army… By the way, Mo Fan is truly the Black Vatican’s nemesis. They failed to acquire the Underground Holy Spring from Bo City because of Mo Fan, and at the Magic City, they were still trying to steal the Underground Holy Spring, but they completely lost everything there. This time, Mo Fan has disrupted their festival too, giving us the chance to get rid of the Black Vatican’s influence in the country. Splendid!” Zhu Meng burst out laughing.

“Yeah, the kid is our secret weapon against the Black Vatican. His Demon Element is already this impressive at his current level. Once his cultivation improves further, he can simply infiltrate the Black Vatican’s main headquarters and erase them from the world!” said the mysterious man excitedly

The Black Vatican was basically the world’s biggest malignant tumor. Many people would burst into tears the day it was finally removed!

“Then we should take good care of this gem,” Han Ji smiled too.

“Should we provide assistance so that it’s easier for him to grow?”

“No no no, that’s not a smart choice. If we help him, his cultivation might stop at the Advanced Level. I believe you all know that we didn’t reach our level by living like a prince, nor is it because we are under outstanding protection…” Du Xiao immediately disagreed with the suggestion.

The people that attended the meeting had more than enough resources to train Mo Fan into an expert, yet it would only spoil him!

Mo Fan was a gem that had grown in the wild. They should just let him be. Every strong Magician had walked the path on their own.

“But we can’t just let him be without keeping an eye on him…” Han Ji was not so carefree.

“I have a good idea,” Zhu Meng laughed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Over a hundred and thirty kilometers away from the Ancient Capital, a steep mountain stood tall with a formidable aura. People could feel a great pressure standing at the foot of it!

The areas in the south were densely populated and had lots of mountains that were connected together by a relatively flat mountain range. In comparison, the mountains here were all towering and steep, resulting in a totally different atmosphere!

The calamity of the Ancient Capital did not spread to Mount Hua. The only unfortunate thing was the cable car had stopped operating. Mo Fan had wondered if the famous Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism were crawling with demon creatures in this world, but it turned out that they were still famous sight-seeing attractions!

Apart from a small number of workers, Mo Fan basically had all of Mount Hua to himself.

It did not matter if the cable car was not working. Mo Fan’s Swift Star Wolf was outstanding at climbing mountains and crossing ridges. The creature was able to sprint at its full speed even when both sides of the path consisted of steep cliffs… it was extremely thrilling!

The paths on the mountains were narrow, with limited footholds, and perfectly straight cliffs leading to bottomless abyss on both sides. Whenever the wind swept past, it felt like they could fall from the cliffs at any second.

The Swift Star Wolf seemed to be enjoying the thrill of sprinting on the steep cliffs. He leapt from the steps straight to the top of a ridge the size of a table. He stood above the clouds and scanned his surroundings. Green vines and pine trees were dangling fro, the mountain walls. As the Swift Star Wolf landed on the peak, pieces of rock dropped from the cliff into an endless fall…

“A perfect place to cultivate and become an immortal…” Mo Fan lifted his gaze and discovered a temple among the steep cliffs.

As he thought, his cultivation declined after using the power of Demon Element!

Almost every Element had dropped a level, leaving Mo Fan with tearless sobs. He had deranked twice in the Intermediate Level!

Luckily, he managed to collect an enormous supply of Soul Remnants and Soul Essences when he was annihilating the undead army. The demon that had granted him power had come to demand souls from him. These Soul Remnants and Soul Essences were all given to it as sacrifices. At least he did not end up a caveman like before, when he was still at Dongting Lake, killing mindlessly while living in the wild.

To explain it scientifically, it was simply returning what he had borrowed!

The enormous power that Mo Fan obtained after breaking through to the Advanced Level was similar to a huge loan he had borrowed from the bank. He was still obligated to pay the money back after he spent all of it!

Therefore, the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences that the Little Loach Pendant collected from the undead he slaughtered were all used to pay back the loan.

It was impossible to rely on the Demon Element to save up Soul Essences. Lucky for him, there were countless undead for him to kill. Otherwise, he would have had to live like a caveman for a while to pay back the loan, or the Demon Bank would take away his lifespan as the penalty!

Mo Fan was well-prepared this time, so the side-effects were not as troublesome, although he was about to go crazy after learning that his cultivation had deteriorated again.

Han Ji had granted Mo Fan some resources so he could recover his cultivation in the shortest time possible, hence why Mo Fan was sent here to Mount Hua, just so he could focus on his cultivation without being distracted by matters of the mundane world. It would not take him much time to get his cultivation back if he was diligent.

The only fortunate thing was, his Fire Galaxy was still there! It did not degrade back into the Fire Nebula because his rank dropped. However, the Fire Galaxy looked extremely dim, like a pool of dead water. Han Ji told Mo Fan that it was still possible to recover the Advanced Fire Galaxy if he cultivated in time. In order to prevent himself from falling back to the Intermediate Level, Mo Fan had decided to go all out to recover his cultivation!

“Ling!~”

Little Flame Belle lay on Mo Fan’s head. She seemed to be enjoying the spectacular scenery around her.

She did not forget the dreadful experience in the Space of Death. As such, she had expressed her determination to work harder and become a good daughter that could defeat all the bad guys for her daddy!

Mo Fan chuckled when he heard the solemn vow made by little Flame Belle. He suddenly recalled the Fiery Sorceress Soul Shadow he saw when he demonized and immediately had great anticipation. He could not wait to see little Flame Belle’s formidable power when she reached the adult phase!

“Mm, let’s work hard together!”

“Awoo~!” Swift Star Wolf cleared his throat and howled just to remind the two of his presence. The creature’s loud call echoed among the steep cliffs of Mount Hua.

—-

After Mo Fan went into seclusion, the Ancient Capital had finished reconstructing.

In the past thousands of years, there would be undead roaming outside the Ancient Capital at night. Only Magicians that were strong enough were capable of moving outside at night. But after the calamity, not a single undead was seen within a few hundred kilometers of the city!

It was not that the undead had completely disappeared, but they simply stayed in their catacombs and tombs obediently, and remained indoors!

Many factions were greatly astounded by the phenomenon. In the past, the undead of the Ancient Capital too had behaved well and remained in their own territory. However, after a certain dynasty, the undead started leaving their territory to infringe on human lands…

They were being restricted!

The resurrection of the Ancient King was supposed to be a disaster, yet to everyone’s surprise, it felt like the undead were now under his control, forced to abide by his rules!

It was definitely good news for the Ancient Capital. The place was famous because of the undead, but if the undead were completely wiped out, many businesses that relied on the undead would come to a halt and destroy the economy. However, if the undead went out of control, it would place the city in grave danger.

As long as the order was maintained, in which the undead and humans remained in their respective areas, it would bring perfect balance and real peace to the Ancient Capital!

After all, with the undead around, the demon creatures of the Qinling Mountains would not dare to infiltrate their lands…

—

The Ancient Capital returned to its old bustling life. Time flowed faster when life was busier…

Spring came after the snowy season.

The Ancient Capital was restored to its initial appearance before the New Year. The lives that were lost were remembered with an empty wine cup. The people moved forward to celebrate the hard-earned new year.

“Such a pity, Mo Fan is still training hard in the temple on Mount Hua in the snow. I bet he won’t leave until he recovers his cultivation. Let’s use this empty cup to represent him… everyone, cheers!” said Wang Sanpang with high spirits.

“HAHAHA, I never expected to spend my New Year’s here. Either way, it’s great to be alive,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“Yeah, how lucky are we to survive two great calamities!” agreed Zhao Kunsan.

“Let’s give Mo Fan a toast, come. Hey, put Mo Fan’s picture on your iPad and set it straight. That’s right, let’s send him our regards.”

“Should we light up three incense sticks, too?”

“Put his photo on grayscale…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Imperial College…

“Snow as skin, ice as bone, three thousand silver silk, and beauty enough to cause the fall of a nation; knowing your reputation is nowhere as good as meeting you in person. I’m Gong Yu, it’s my honor to meet Miss Mu Ningxue here,” said a cultured man politely as he walked up gracefully.

Mu Ningxue walked past the man without casting a glance at him.

Her ears were fed up from hearing the same compliments over and over again. She had zero interest in this man called Gong Yu.

Gong Yu seemed rather patient and gentlemanly. He was not bothered by Mu Ningxue’s bone-chilling attitude. He wore a self-mocking grin and quickly followed after her.

“Regardless of what you think of me, we’re still one another’s teammates for the following year… I almost forgot to mention, I’ve officially become a candidate representing China in the World College Tournament,” added Gong Yu, who was still wearing a smile, as if he was confident that the second half of the sentence was enough to pry open the icy beauty in front of him.

As he thought, Mu Ningxue lifted her gaze and turned toward him…

The smile on Gong Yu’s face blossomed.

He was normally not a show-off, even though it took him great effort just to secure the spot. However, when dealing with a woman like Mu Ningxue, flowery speech would not work against her. Only strength was the most effective to grab her attention.

However, the smile on Gong Yu’s face quickly stiffened when he discovered that Mu Ningxue was not even looking at him, but at a middle-aged man who was walking toward them.

“Xiao Xue, come with dad,” said Mu Zhuoyun sternly, completely ignoring Gong Yu’s presence.

Mu Ningxue nodded and followed Mu Zhuoyun to a classroom nearby.

—

Mu Zhuoyun purposely checked if anyone was nearby as they entered the classroom. He let out a decrepit sigh.

“What’s wrong?” asked Mu Ningxue in confusion.

Even though the past few years had been rough for her father, it was rare to see him react so. He must have stumbled into something troublesome.

“Your uncle Mu He… that son of a bitch was already one of the Black Vatican when he was young. He even became a leader in the Black Vatican. That asshole is a total shame to our family!” Mu Zhuoyun slammed his fist into the wall as his chest heaved.

Mu Ningxue fell silent. This was indeed something she had not expected!

“A while ago, the Patriarchs of many renowned families gathered at Jinfen Building for a meeting. Mu He’s involvement in the Black Vatican caused a great panic between the renowned families. The Patriarchs of many families and tribes have reached a verdict to kick us out from the list of renowned families. Our family is described as a bad egg by others in the clan… It’s… I don’t even…” Mu Zhuoyun started rambling toward the end of his sentence.

He was behaving like this because of fury, but also because of his sense of helplessness. Mu He’s identity had brought great harm to their family!

“So, what do they want from us now?” asked Mu Ningxue calmly. She was calmer than her father had imagined.

“They want you to give your spot in the World College Tournament to Mu Tingying,” sighed Mu Zhuoyun.

“Are they really that shameless?” Mu Ningxue asked coldly.

“It can’t be helped. It’s unfortunate that son of a bitch Mu He was my brother, and your uncle. We’re already in a pinch because of the calamity that took place in Bo City, and now this is giving us a deadly blow… the Enforcement Union will be investigating everyone from our family. I don’t care how the clan is going to pick on us, but I’m worried that the Councilmen in charge of the World College Tournament will not overlook your tainted identity. They might even take your name off the list. Once that happens, all our effort for the past few years will be in vain,” said Mu Zhuoyun.

Mu Zhuoyun had visited every family in the clan to gain as many resources as possible for his daughter, just to secure the spot.

No one was more familiar with Mu Ningxue’s talents than Mu Zhuoyun. She would definitely become the strongest Ice Magician in their country with enough resources.

Mu Ningxue did not let him down, either. She successfully earned a spot to participate in the World College Tournament. However, the bad news of Mu He being the Black Vatican’s Great Deacon had taken them by surprise, totally wasting their efforts over so many years.

They would completely lose their reputation because of him!

No one would dare to have any business relationship with Mu Zhuoyun. No one would be willing to do him favors. The fact that his brother was the Black Vatican’s Great Deacon would be known to everyone he knew in no time!

Mu Zhuoyun could already feel it. The people that he finally got close to were avoiding him. The business that was finally about to return had suffered a sudden, devastating decline once again. The torture and pain he had suffered and the dignity he had lost since the calamity of Bo City were already too much, and yet what awaited him was an even worse nightmare!

“If they have already decided, there’s nothing we can do,” said Mu Ningxue.

“But, you’ve earned the spot through hard work…” protested Mu Zhuoyun.

“If Mu Tingying wants to replace me, we’ll see if she’s actually worthy enough to do so!”

——–

Mid-autumn, the Imperial College was still swept by cold breezes.

The center of the Imperial College was a majestic dueling ground. The whole place had the shape of a pentagram, with four black arcs forming a retractable roof over the top. The seats around the dueling ground could hold up to fifty thousand people!

The dueling ground was rarely opened to the public. Only duels of certain levels were qualified to be held here!

The seats were empty, but ten young Magicians were standing at the middle of the dueling ground in a row. They were wearing cool magic robes, capes and mantles!

“I’m proud to meet all of you that stood out among the students in your respective institutes. You will soon represent our nation and compete against talented Magicians from other countries. Even though I’m inclined to hold a great ceremony to send you off to other countries for training, I’m more inclined to hold it to celebrate the glory you’ll earn for our country in the future. It will be a hundred, a thousand times grander than you expect now, as you are the pride of country!” Dean Song He’s voice echoed in the ears of the young Magicians.

Dean Song He was appointed to lead the national team’s training. When Spring arrived, the selections for the national team of each country would come to an end. The national teams would then be sent to different countries for training, and between Spring and Summer the year after, they would be competing in the World College Tournament that would be held in the City of Canals, Venice!

Although the students were the cream of the crop, the year-long training was extremely important too. It would help each of the young Magicians to improve fundamentally!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Strange, it felt cold all of a sudden, is the weather changing?”

“Isn’t that Mu Ningxue?”

“It looks like she was turned into a substitute, I even heard someone mentioned that she might get kicked out of the team…depending on the Councilmen’s decision.”

Gong Yu stood among the crowd glancing at Mu Ningxue, who was walking toward them with a mocking look.

“Say, Mu Ningxue, did you come to the wrong place? This gathering is only meant for the main team. I know that you’re still a substitute, but who knows, you might not even be on the national team soon…” said a girl whose hair was dyed brown among the crowd.

She was Mu Tingying, the young talent that the Mu Clan had decided to focus their support on.

Mu Tingying really hated Mu Ningxue, as she was chosen as the little bitch’s substitute despite her status in the Mu Clan. Mu Ningxue had been standing on her head for a long time, but Heaven had finally given her a chance, thus Mu Tingying was extremely satisfied with the current circumstances.

Mu Ningxue ignored her remarks. She went straight up to the five advisors.

The five advisors consisted of people with great authority. It did not matter how many votes a candidate had received, they were the ones making the final decision!

Unfortunately, the five advisors were never biased toward anyone. The reason they were appointed as the advisors was because they shared the same goal: to achieve the highest possible ranking in the World College Tournament!

Although it felt like the World College Tournament mainly focused on the competition between young Magicians, it was extremely important to every country, as the ranking of the countries in the tournament was used to determine the distribution of resources…

The World College Tournament was no game. Most importantly, the whole world would be fixing their gaze on it!

“I know I’ve been blacklisted, and I know the reason behind it, but I’ve come here today only for one reason, to let you reevaluate us…” Mu Ningxue stood in front of the advisors and said sternly.

“Reevaluate? Oh Ningxue, I know the incident is extremely unfair to you, but the sins that the Black Vatican committed were simply unforgivable. We’re actually trying to protect you by not letting you participate in the tournament. The grudges of the victims in the calamity of the Ancient Capital were too strong. They might even put the blame on you if you show up in the public representing our country…” advised Dean Song He with tactful words.

Dean Song He knew that Mu Ningxue was more worthy than anyone else to represent their country in the national team. However, the calamity of the Ancient Capital had just been resolved. The people were still blinded by hatred.

“Hence why I’ve asked you to reevaluate me. I hope that this bow can take away your biased opinions toward me!”

“What bow?” The other advisors were confused.

Mu Ningxue did not speak further. She turned around and fixed her gaze on the spacious, empty dueling ground.

Suddenly, her snowy-silver hair rose as her long skirt drifted to the wind. Her glamorous figure looked even more stunning in the cold breeze that had appeared out of nowhere!

Her innate Ice Soul Seed, the hair with the color of snow drifting in the wind and the smooth, tender skin like ice, she was indeed the most perfect Ice Magician. Her focus on the Ice Element, and her aura that seemed to have merged with the ice and snow left the advisors astonished!

However, Mu Ningxue was not here to display her extraordinary beauty. She slowly extended her arms, accumulating the crystalline ice particles from her surroundings, combining into a stunning ice bow!

The bow was lacking a string and arrow, but Mu Ningxue simply pulled her hand back. A transparent, breathtaking arrow appeared between her half-curled index finger and middle finger!

“Is…is this…” Dean Song He and the four national team advisors were stunned!

Mu Ningxue let go of the arrow. Her long hair drifted wildly in the sudden gust of wind and covered a face as exquisite as a work of art.

The ice arrow swept forward and instantly stirred up a howling ice storm in the spacious dueling ground!

The arrow was fired into the air. It drew an arc and landed on the star-shaped dueling ground.

Ice crystals spread rapidly with an overwhelming icy aura. While the people were still stunned by the formidable aura of the arrow that Mu Ningxue had just fired, the whole place was entirely frozen as soon as the arrow landed on the ground!

The icy energy bypassed the barrier and froze the seats. Luckily, the seats were empty, they were covered by ice in the blink of an eye…

Half of the dueling ground was now covered in ice. The reflection was a breathtaking sight with a tremendous visual impact!

The ten students turned their heads, glancing at the astounding sight with blank faces.

They never thought Mu Ningxue, who they assumed to be on par with them, had mastered such a formidable Ice Magic, countless times stronger than their best spells. The five advisors were left speechless, overwhelmed with shock.

Reevaluate…

So that’s what the girl meant!

Absolute strength! She was planning to use her absolute strength to forcibly clear the stain on her name!

She would not give up on becoming a candidate of the national team. She had worked diligently the past few years just for this chance. She initially thought she could easily secure the spot without relying on the Ice Crystal Bow…

“I want to join the team, even if I’m only a substitute,” Mu Ningxue took a deep breath. She tightened her grip and broke the Ice Crystal Bow into powder.

Mu Ningxue clearly knew that it was likely they would remove her from the list of substitutes.

It took the advisors a long time to recover from the shock of witnessing half of the dueling ground being turned into ice. Mu Ningxue’s arrow had completely moved their hearts!

They exchanged glances with one another as if they were discussing among themselves.

Her power over the Ice Element was indeed worthy for them to reevaluate their decision!

“Your strength has indeed moved us. We’ll personally request that the higher-ups secure your spot in the team as a substitute. You will join the others in the training in other countries,” said an advisor with tiger stripes on his forehead.

“Feng Li, the higher-ups have already arranged a substitute to join the team out of nowhere, and now her…” said a short advisor beside the man.

“It won’t make any difference, the training will last for a year, and not every student will remain unharmed throughout the training. Someone might die, someone might get disqualified. It’s fine to let them join the national team for the training,” said Advisor Feng Li.

“I agree, sending twelve or thirteen people on the training won’t make much of a difference,” said Dean Song He smilingly.

“By the way, who’s the other substitute?”

“I never met him before.”

“Neither did I, he was put onto the team without us evaluating his strength. Someone needs to make sure the national government is behaving themselves.”

“Feng Li, are you aware of the kid’s background? How did he manage to bypass the five of us? Even the senior official’s son has to listen to my scolding, who could he possibly be that the higher-ups are being so secretive!” said the shorty.

Feng Li shook his head as he spoke, “I have no clue, either. I only know that the kid is called… Mo Fan.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“I thought you were going to sacrifice yourself again,” Tangyue’s voice, with a weird tone to it, came into Mo Fan’s ears.

Mo Fan purposely stood on his toes at the edge of a cliff. A strong wind was blowing past his ears. Before his feet was a deep abyss shrouded by a white mist.

“Hello, hello, yeah, I’ve eaten, the food here is pretty light, the old taoist told me to abstain from eating meat, but I normally go hunting in the mountains. The mountain beasts are absolutely delicious. Pure natural and pollution-free…” responded Mo Fan in a loud voice.

After testing various cliffs and almost fall off the edge a couple of times, Mo Fan found out that this peak had the best reception across all of the entire Mount Hua.

“Who asked you about food, I’m being serious, you should stay away from those maniacs from the Black Vatican. I’m worried that you’ll be gone all of a sudden,” said Tangyue.

“What? My cultivation? It will soon recover, I’m still in the Advanced Level. Not only did I manage to restore the Nebulas of other Elements, they are now all in the third-tier too. This place is perfect for cultivation. I almost fell in love with it. The only downside is there isn’t any taoist nuns around. Oh, I didn’t even find a female monkey. Miss Tangyue, why don’t you come and spend a few days here with me? Spending too much time in the city full of concrete isn’t good for your health. You should come here to stand close to nature…” It had been a while since Mo Fan last conversed with someone. He kept on talking into the phone.

Tangyue’s forehead was covered in black lines.

She knew the signal in the mountain was bad, but it should not be this bad.

“Oh, I’ve got something to tell you,” said Tangyue sternly.

“Yeah, go on, I can hear you clearly!”

“Do you remember how the big guy showed up in the city?” said Tangyue.

The big guy that Tangyue mentioned was referring to the Black Totem Snake. He was now treated as Hangzhou’s precious possession, attracting lots of tourists to the West Lake. They were not hoping they could see the real Black Totem Snake. They were satisfied enough listening to the tales, enjoying the scenery and watching the giant shadow under the West Lake!

“I do, I almost wet my pants!” Mo Fan managed to hear the sentence clearly.

Mo Fan remembered that he was enjoying a date with Xinxia at the time. He even booked a romantic room for the night through his phone under the table. However, the Black Totem Snake’s sudden appearance between two skyscrapers completely destroyed his plan.

Either way, the Black Totem Snake owed him a hotel room!

“Initially, I thought he only showed up there because of his unstable emotion during the ecdysis. However, the big guy has woken up recently, so I’ve asked him about it,” said Tangyue.

Mo Fan remembered it now. The Black Totem Snake was staring right at the building he was in. More accurately, the snake was staring at his floor, right at him!

The Black Totem Snake only showed himself when he had a dangerous feeling, and for a creature like the Black Totem Snake, not many things were able to make him feel threatened. Mo Fan still did not understand what exactly was in the building that had caught his attention!

“Is it because of the Demon Element in my blood?” asked Mo Fan.

Tangyue and her people were aware of the Demon Element. The Enforcement Union in Hangzhou was his ally. With Tang Zhong in power, they would surely keep it a secret for his sake.

“I thought so too, but it’s obviously not the reason. He told me that someone behind you was making him uneasy. However, he quickly disappeared when he found out that the person was not as dangerous as he thought,” said Tangyue.

“Behind me?” Mo Fan was even more confused.

“Think carefully, do you remember who’s behind you? Big guy says the person was very close to you,” said Tangyue.

“Behind me…at that time…” Mo Fan paused in the middle of his sentence. His face was filled with disbelief.

Soon after, he quickly shook his head.

Impossible, that’s not possible!

The person behind him was Xinxia! Why would she possess an aura that even the Black Totem Snake felt threatened by?

“Think about it, I’m just reminding you,” said Tangyue.

“Mm, I got it,” Mo Fan nodded.

Hanging up the call, the smile on Mo Fan’s face disappeared.

The Black Totem Snake would not lie to them, which meant that he had only shown up because of the person behind him, and Xinxia was the only one behind him!

Why would Xinxia make the Black Totem Snake feel uneasy?

—-

“Hey, old Taoist, I’m heading down the mountain,” said Mo Fan in a serious tone.

“Are you sure you don’t want to spend more time cultivating here? Most of the people have asked to stay longer here,” replied an old man in a taoist outfit.

“I’m reaching the bottleneck, it’s meaningless to cultivate here any further.”

“Mm, you’re right, go on an adventure, it’s a vast world full of wonders. The path of cultivation needs you to go experience and widen your vision…”

“See you again!”

“I wonder; the next time you come, I might have passed away!” said the old man.

“What’s up with that… should I introduce you to a chick?”

Cough, cough ! “I’m a monk…”

“You’re a Taoist!”

“It’s the same as a monk, it’s not my interest, not my interest,” said the old man with an awkward face.

“Hypocrite, but I have to say, you’re quite an interesting old man. You remind me of the old man behind my school in the past. Such a pity, he has already left the world. I’m sure that you two would be good friends if I introduced him to you… forget it, maybe you two will report in to the same King of Hell after you’re dead, time to leave!” Mo Fan smiled.

The old man watched Mo Fan leave with a smile.

As Mo Fan disappeared into the distance, the old man mumbled to himself, “Old friend, you’ve chosen a very interesting young man…”

——

The sky was a clear blue with flickers of blinding sunlight. Below was a giant cotton candy field spreading across like a white land. It felt like it was possible to run on it.

Mo Fan had chosen a seat close to the window on his flight. The scenery outside the window was breathtaking. He could see vague figures soaring into the sky between the clouds and the blue sky. Maybe some beasts were trying to break their record of the highest altitude they could reach!

“Passengers on board, we’ll be landing at Hangzhou International Airport in fifteen minutes. Please put on your seatbelt and…”

The announcement sounded in the plane. Mo Fan could now see the silhouettes of the city under the clouds. From his height, both the skyscrapers and the highways were like models scattered densely on a tabletop drawing…

————-

Mo Fan got off the plane and was about to call the number in his mind when his phone began beeping non-stop with messages containing the scoldings and roars of the authorities, ordering Mo Fan to report in at the national palace!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan felt his bosses were a little fussy. After all, he was the hero of the Ancient Capital, yet not only were none of them grateful for his contribution, they even told him to go places like he was their underling!

Mo Fan was aware that once he checked in at the national palace, he would be going on the training with the national team, which involved traveling to foreign countries.

He was quite excited about it, yet his first priority was here in Hangzhou. He was still worried about what Tangyue had mentioned to him.

He was not suspicious that Xinxia was hiding something from him. Mo Fan had complete trust in Xinxia, but he was worried that she was involved in some great trouble that even she was unaware of.

“Dad, can you tell me more about Xinxia’s mother …mm, mm… alright, I got it…”

—

Mo Fan did not give Xinxia a call. He went straight to her school, planning to give her a great surprise.

However, Mo Fan was unable to find Xinxia. She was not in her bedroom, nor was she in the library. Even calling her phone was not working.

Mo Fan started to panic. The more he thought about it, the stronger the feeling that Xinxia was in trouble grew.

Mo Fan proceeded to look for Xinxia’s mentor. To guarantee her safety, Mo Fan had basically memorized the numbers of the people around her. He dialed the number immediately.

“Oh, Mo Fan, there’s no need to worry about her. She’s in the middle of an interview. It’s normal for the phone to be switched off,” said Xinxia’s mentor smiled.

“Interview? What interview?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Basically, Parthenon Temple College always recruits four students from our country to study one or two years abroad. It’s a great opportunity for every famous institute in our country. It’s as important as the chance of competing in the World College Tournament. Parthenon Temple College seems to be more interested in the students in Hangzhou, so I recommended Xinxia. She must be having an interview with the representative from Parthenon Temple College,” said Mentor Lu.

“Oh, I see…” Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh.

If Xinxia went missing, Mo Fan would activate his Demon mode to search for her across the world.

However, on second thought, something did not sound right…

“Hang on, miss; if Xinxia is selected, doesn’t that mean she would be going to Greece? I heard that the Parthenon Temple is located in Greece, so I believe its college is there, too?” asked Mo Fan immediately.

“Yes, that’s right, but it’s an incredible opportunity. The Parthenon Temple is the sacred ground of the Healing and Psychic Elements in the world. The Parthenon Temple and its college were built at the same place. If I were twenty years younger, I would have applied to study there, too. Xinxia is extremely talented with both the Healing Element or the Psychic Element. I’m confident that she is going to be selected!” Lu Ping’s tone fully expressed her eagerness towards the Parthenon Temple.

Indeed, it was not Mo Fan’s first time hearing about Parthenon Temple. He was proud of Xinxia if such a sacred organization had noticed her talents… but the problem was, she would be studying abroad!

The odds of someone breaking up when studying abroad were significantly higher than that of someone breaking up after graduating. God knows how many bad, shameless, and impolite yet handsome jerks she would meet overseas. Mo Fan believed Xinxia would not be seduced by them so easily, but it was still worrisome!

“No, no way!” Mo Fan immediately rejected the suggestion.

“I know an elder brother has the obligation to look after your younger sister on behalf of your father, but if she really gets selected, there’s no reason not to go. It’s not like she’s going to stay there for the rest of her life. She still has to study here for another two years. She’s only going to finish her studies in Greece. Besides, the things she can learn here are very limited.

“It’s just a year or two, and being it’s very convenient to go to other countries now, you can visit her whenever you want, and she can fly back too,” Lu Ping said earnestly.

She really hoped that Xinxia would be selected. Parthenon Temple was the holiest place for Healers and Psychic Magicians. If Lu Ping were in Xinxia’s shoes now, she would regret it for the rest of her life if she missed the opportunity.

Lu Ping was clearly aware that Xinxia’s talents in the Healing and Psychic Elements were unmatched. She was the perfect candidate to study at Parthenon Temple College. She was extremely confident that her student would grab the attention of the representatives from Parthenon Temple College…

“She has difficulties moving around, and there’s no one looking after her there. No, I strongly disagree,” said Mo Fan firmly.

“Don’t you worry, I’ve chosen two girls to accompany her and look after her twenty-four-seven. They will constantly report back to you!” answered Lu Ping, as if she had already settled it all.

“This…”

“She might be back in a year if she finishes her studies earlier. Otherwise, it’s only two years at most. Do you really want her talents to remain undiscovered? Even though she can still become a talented Healer without attending Parthenon Temple College, she’s going to become one of the best after going there. The truth is, our country really needs world-class Healers. If Xinxia went to Parthenon Temple College, she might be able to bring back the knowledge she learned…” added Lu Ping.

“It’s still a no.”

“Well…” Lu Ping finally ran out of words. She did not expect Mo Fan to be so stubborn.

Normally, anyone who learned about the news would eagerly send the person over, as they would be afraid that the people of Parthenon Temple College would change their minds.

“Have you asked Xinxia her decision?” asked Lu Ping.

“No, I can make the call for her,” replied Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had always been tolerant, but he was overly protective when it came to Xinxia. A no will always be a no!

He was already extremely worried when Xinxia was not around him, and now they were going to let her study abroad? Absolutely ridiculous; he could not care less if the college was the top institute for Healers in the world!

Lu Ping let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry, I know that you’re concerned about the wellbeing of the schools’ Healing Element.” Mo Fan understood the professor’s thoughts.

If Xinxia agreed to study abroad, it would allow Zhejiang Institute to develop a relationship with the Parthenon Temple, allowing them to learn a lot from the latter, which would bring tremendous benefits to the Healing School!

“I should be the one saying sorry. I never expected you to be so firm. As a matter of fact, I’ve lied to you, she wasn’t at an interview. She’s going to a private jet departing for Greece,” said Lu Ping.

“What did you say? She agreed to go by herself?” Mo Fan asked in shock.

Xinxia would definitely discuss such a serious matter with him. Mo Fan did not believe that she would leave the country without telling him.

“The truth is, the representatives of Parthenon Temple have already chosen the candidates. They picked Xinxia instantly. It’s still an interview, but because the people of Parthenon Temple are running short on time, they decided to bring Xinxia straight to Greece after the interview. Xinxia is totally unaware of it. I’m sorry, I made the decision for her, I thought you would agree, since…(sigh), alright, not everyone is the same as me, I’m sorry,” said Lu Ping.

“Crap, where are they taking off, tell me!”

“A private airfield close to Kunshan. I can give you the address, but I don’t know if you can make it in time.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was left speechless by Xinxia’s mentor.

The people of Parthenon Temple should have at least given him a call regardless of how urgent they were. If they did not even bother calling him, there was no way Mo Fan would agree!

Mo Fan could not care less after learning the address. He asked Tangyue to send someone who could fly and had the flying license for Hangzhou to bring him straight to the private airfield that Lu Ping had mentioned.

The person that came did surprise him. It was his Senior Sister, Leng Qing!

Leng Qing had the Wing Magical Equipment. She lifted Mo Fan and brought him to his destination. The strong wind slapping his face made the experience significantly more realistic than flying in a plane.

“Senior Sister Leng Qing, why are you so free today?” teased Mo Fan.

“I thought something important happened, but it turns out that you’re trying to stop your little girlfriend from going overseas. If you ask me to do something like this again, I’ll toss you in the lake to feed the snake,” snapped Leng Qing unpleasantly.

“Come on, we’re one family, I’m no outsider… how is Lingling? It’s been a while since I last saw her, she must be missing me a lot,” said Mo Fan.

“You should be more worried about your little girlfriend. The people of Parthenon Temple have always been arrogant. Once someone catches their eyes, they will snatch the person at once, not wasting any time with others,” said Leng Qing.

“The problem is, Xinxia never agreed to it. What right do they have to take her away? Isn’t that kidnapping?” said the disgruntled Mo Fan.

“They wouldn’t care!”

“Assholes!”

——

Lishan…

A long airstrip extended all the way across the field that was covered in perfect green turf similar to that of a golf course, surrounded by lakes and hills.

At one end of the airstrip was a white private jet with a sun pattern on its body. The plane was moving slowly.

“I’m sorry, but we urgently need to return to Greece now. Miss Ye Xinxia, just come along. Your mentor has already agreed. We’ll notify your family later, too. I know it’s a bit of a rush, but we’ve shown you our utmost sincerity!” exclaimed a middle-aged teacher of Parthenon Temple politely.

“Mr. Glorkian, please allow me to leave if you’re in a rush. I can go back to school myself. As for going to Greece, I have to discuss it with my father and brother first,” Ye Xinxia replied firmly to the teacher of Parthenon Temple.

“We’ll let your family know. Don’t worry, if you wish, we can even send someone over to invite them to Parthenon Temple as our guests, so they will learn the greatness of the college that you’re studying in. I believe they will agree that you’ve made a wise decision. Captain, time to hit the sky. We have to reach Greece before night falls,” said Glorkian.

The man seemed polite, yet his temperament was irresistible, as if everything he said only served as a notice. There was basically no room for discussion!

“Sir, someone is in the sky ahead. They are preventing us from taking off!” said the vice-captain.

“Digaeus, go handle it. Just chase them away. If a fight breaks out here, the people of Lingyin Enforcement Union are going to trouble us,” said the blond, curly-haired Glorkian.

“Got it!”

Xinxia puckered her lips and fell silent.

She could feel that this Glorkian had no interest in listening to her. Regardless of her decision, they would still bring her away.

It was meaningless to say anything further. Xinxia was wondering why these people were in such a rush. Were they actually having some trouble, or was it because of other reasons…

—-

“Damn, isn’t this kidnapping!

“Xinxia! Xinxia!

“Xinxia, are you on the plane?!

“Damn it, listen up, if you don’t stop the plane now, I’ll smash it into pieces!”

Still dangling in the air, Mo Fan yelled at the people in the plane.

Xinxia could hear Mo Fan’s voice, yet she did not have her phone with her and she had difficulty moving around.

When she saw the golden-haired Glorkian going into the pilot cabin, she immediately gathered her voice in her mind and transmitted to Mo Fan, “Brother Mo Fan, I’m here!”

Mo Fan was overjoyed. He blurted out, “Are they taking you away? Are you sure they are from Parthenon Temple? Why are they acting like bandits?”

“They are indeed from Parthenon Temple. The dean and teachers have already confirmed their identities. They are sincerely inviting me to Parthenon Temple College, but I don’t know why they didn’t give me time to consider the offer and have to leave in such a rush,” Xinxia soon responded.

“Don’t worry, I’m here now. They won’t take you anywhere!” said Mo Fan.

“They are very strong. Brother Mo Fan, please be careful!” said Xinxia.

“It’s fine, I have a helper too.”

—

While Mo Fan and Xinxia were talking through telepathy, someone had already flown out from the plane.

The man had Wind Wings on his back, implying that he was a relatively high-cultivation Wind Magician. He was hovering not far away from the plane. His light blue eyes were looking at Mo Fan and Leng Qing with a hint of disdain.

He only glanced at Mo Fan briefly. In his eyes, Mo Fan was just an insignificant character. He placed his attention on Leng Qing, as he could tell that her cultivation was fairly impressive.

“I’m Vice President Leng Qing from the Lingyin Enforcement Union. The girl on your plane, let her go,” Leng Qing revealed her identity.

Both sides were respectable and powerful. A fight between them would escalate quickly.

“I’m sorry, we don’t have time to waste here. Our classes start tomorrow. Since she is chosen, she is obliged to follow our arrangements. If you have any problems, talk to the school. We’ve already told the dean,” said Digaeus

“She didn’t agree, and her family didn’t agree either,” said Leng Qing.

“Please don’t block our plane. Otherwise, we have the right to use violence since you’re obstructing the work of personnel of Parthenon Temple. Time is precious to us,” replied Digaeus.

“Did you forget whose territory it is and who you’re talking to now? Your rules don’t apply here. You’re kidnapping a student in Hangzhou, I have the right to kill you right now!” Leng Qing did not show any mercy. She did not go easy just because she was facing people from the reputable Parthenon Temple!

“This…” Digaeus was stunned. He did not expect the other side to be so stubborn. Normally, people would leave once they used the name Parthenon Temple.

“Stop wasting time with her, blast her away!” Glorkian’s voice appeared from the pilot cabin.

Digaeus nodded. His gaze sharpened as he spoke, “Then I shall witness the strength of China’s Enforcement Union. I’ve been looking forward to this!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Both sides had their swords drawn and bows stretched!

Leng Qing waited for the other side to make his move with an icy, proud stance, taking consideration of the fact the man was a guest visiting their country.

Meanwhile, Digaeus did not show any mercy. He waved his arms forward strongly, forcing the wind to gather from all directions!

The airflow was actually visible since it was surprising golden-brown, one that Mo Fan had never seen before. The golden-brown wind rose and immediately formed a giant wind wall surrounding Mo Fan and Leng Qing

The wind wall contracted swiftly, greatly reducing the available space for the two.

“This guy, he cast the Spell fast!” murmured Mo Fan.

The Intermediate Spell was almost completed within an instant. It was obvious that the man’s cultivation was rather impressive. He was most likely able to finish a Star Pattern with a single thought!

The ability to draw a Star Pattern with a single thought allowed him to cast an Intermediate Spell in an instant, absolutely terrifying!

“You should go down first!”

Leng Qing remained aloof as always. She loosened her grip, dropping Mo Fan.

Luckily, they were not too high up. Otherwise, he would simply fall flat on his back since there was no shadow nearby for Mo Fan to flee into due to the blazing sun right above his head.

As soon as Mo Fan landed, he lifted his gaze and discovered that the brown wind wall had already shrunk to one meter away from Leng Qing. The strong tornado could easily tear a five-meter-tall Warrior-level creature into pieces, let alone a woman like Leng Qing with soft skin and tender flesh!

“Humph!” Leng Qing harrumphed disdainfully. The energy of some unknown Element burst out of her body and shattered the wind surrounding her.

The brown wind dissolved into several streams of air flowing in all directions. Leng Qing’s eyes emitted a dark brown flicker, as if an ancient rock demon that was hiding inside her pupils had suddenly woken up!

“Eyes of the Rock Demon: Sky Muslin!”

The sky was suddenly covered in a layer of dark brown curtain of sand, surrounding Leng Qing gently, like a piece of fabric.

“Go!” The Sky Muslin formed of tiny sand particles followed Leng Qing’s gaze. The sand rapidly gathered into sharp stalagmites around two meters long before shooting at the teacher of the Parthenon Temple!

The stalagmites sprang forward with loud howls. However, Digaeus burst into hollow laughter when he saw the attacks.

“Eyes of the Rock Demon, I can cast the same spell too. Why don’t we find out whose Earth Element is stronger!” Digaeus smiled.

His eyes flickered and gradually turned red-brown, as if something was covering his pupils.

It was obvious that Leng Qing and Digaeus both possessed different kinds of Earth Seeds. Even though they were casting the same spell, the hues and effects of the Earth Seeds were different.

Digaeus’s Eyes of the Rock Demon seemed spookier. Red-brown sand swiftly gathered around him into the same Sky Muslin.

However, Digaeus did not attack. The stalagmites under Leng Qing’s control were already approaching him, and he was forced to defend himself.

The Sky Muslin was able to change its shape freely. With a flicker from the Eyes of the Rock Demon, the sand swiftly gathered in front of Digaeus into an armor plate and defended him from the attack.

The damage of the stalagmites was greatly reduced as they landed on the armor plate. Leng Qing did not waste the rest of Sky Muslin. She immediately disintegrated the stalagmites by turning them into a long whip, thrashing Digaeus with great power!

Digaeus was unable to defend himself. He hadn’t thought Leng Qing’s mastery of the Eyes of the Rock Demon was this outstanding. She managed to disintegrate the Sky Muslin and reshape in almost no time!

The thick whip lashed forward amid the sand that was drifting in the wind. The attack broke down Digaeus’s defense and knocked him to the ground.

Digaeus rose to his feet and glared at Leng Qing in humiliation. “It looks like I’ll have to be more serious!” he swore..

“I haven’t even warmed up yet,” replied Leng Qing indifferently. Digaeus almost failed his channeling upon hearing her response.

—

While Leng Qing and Digaeus were busy fighting one another, Mo Fan made use of the chance to approach the plane.

“People inside the plane, come out at once, or else I’ll blast it open. How dare you kidnap a woman in broad daylight? This is not your home!” snapped Mo Fan, pointing at the plane.

The flames of the Fiery Fist set his fists aflame. It was Mo Fan’s last warning.

The cabin door slowly opened. A middle-aged man with golden hair walked out of it and stared at Mo Fan coldly with golden eyes.

“You dare challenge the Parthenon Temple’s authority?” stated Glorkian coldly.

“Are you a SB?” cursed Mo Fan.

{TL Note: SB = shabi}

Glorkian was not fluent in Chinese, thus he did not really understand what it meant. However, he could easily tell that the guy was humiliating him!

“You just cursed the teaching staff of Parthenon Temple College. We have the right to punish you accordingly!” said Glorkian.

“Go f**k yourself!”

Mo Fan felt like it was impossible to communicate with the retard in front of him. He simply threw a punch at the plane’s wings.

The raging flames of the fourth-tier Fiery Fist lunged at the wings of the plane in the form of nine fiery dragons and blasted them into pieces!

Glorkian raised his brows. No one had ever dared to treat him so disrespectfully in Parthenon Temple. When he saw the wings of the plane falling to the ground in pieces and the glass of red wine that he just poured a moment ago smashing to the floor, he immediately jumped down from the plane!

“Don’t hurt him, or else…” warned Xinxia with a frown when she sensed Glorkian’s overwhelming aura.

“I’m only going to teach him a lesson. Such a disrespectful kid; no one is allowed to disrespect the people of Parthenon Temple!” Glorkian walked toward Mo Fan without turning his head.

Glorkian was already less than ten meters away from Mo Fan. He indifferently raised his hand. It was hard to tell what spell he was casting.

Mo Fan looked at the man cautiously. When he was about to attack preemptively, the field under his feet suddenly cracked open. A thick vine burst out from the ground and grew four meters long within the blink of an eye, before whipping in Mo Fan’s direction with overwhelming force!

Mo Fan failed to react in time. He was knocked over ten meters away.

“There are always twenty misbehaving brats like you on the first day of school that I must teach a lesson to. You’ve destroyed my plane, and interfered with our sacred duty…” Glorkian continued to walk forward. He raised his hand once again, which was emitting a faint, green energy.

Mo Fan looked at the ground, assuming that the strange vine was going to appear again.

“Behind you, idiot!” said Glorkian disdainfully.

A thick vine burst out from the ground less than half a meter behind Mo Fan, and swiped in his direction with great force!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Damn it, what kind of spell is this!”

Mo Fan was knocked flying into the air. He had never encountered the spell before, thus he was clueless about what to do against it.

“It’s the Demon Tree Hand, one of the Advanced Spells of the Plant Element. The tree is rather unique. Brother Mo Fan, be careful…” Xinxia’s voice appeared in his mind.

“I know… f**k me!” Mo Fan was about to respond when he saw thick vines growing rapidly into the sky around him while he was still falling down.

Mo Fan felt like he was falling into a monster’s mouth full of black tentacles instead of to the ground.

He managed to take a glimpse below him and realized that the ground below was no longer the grass field, but thick wriggling vines that had grown into the sky like ancient trees!

The vines were reaching for him like the giant mouth of a man-eating plant. Mo Fan was like a tiny fly to the plants, something that they could devour with a single bite. He was too tiny to even fill the gaps between their teeth!

As Mo Fan continued to fall, the sunlight above him was shrouded by the thick vines. His surroundings were covered in darkness, as if he had fallen into a deep abyss.

He heard something rustling, like something wriggling. Mo Fan lit up a fire in the dark and shockingly discovered countless black worms swarming toward him from all directions!

It was obvious that the vines were unable to digest a living thing, hence these worms were responsible for disintegrating their prey. It was most likely the ability of the foreign kidnapper’s unique Plant Seed.

—

Glorkian elegantly swept the hair covering his forehead to the side. Staring at the kid trapped inside the vines, he suddenly realized that his temper was getting worse as his age increased. He had used such a high-level spell against a little kid…

Glorkian had yet to recover from his self-reflection when the enormous vines of the man-eating plant suddenly expanded and ended up exploding fiercely, with flames bursting out from the inside.

The fire tongues scattered across the sky and fell onto the white, luxurious plane. The stunning private jet was burned beyond recognition.

The scorching wave swept Glorkian’s face, revealing his perfectly-squared face, which was twitching at the same time!

-The plane!-

His private jet!

Glorkian’s chest pulsed with fury as he glared at the young man within the fire.

“I was only going to teach you a lesson, but you insist on crossing the line. I won’t go easy on you!” Glorkian’s golden robe suddenly drifted in the wind as the air suddenly became scorching!

A lightning arc swept past the sky and flickered beside Glorkian.

A few other lightning strikes began to crackle continuously. Glorkian stood on his toes as his body was being lifted by some force, hovering in the air.

The lightning began to appear more rapidly. Glorkian reached out his hand and grabbed the flickering lightning in his hand!

“Go!” Glorkian shoved his hand forward, directing the lightning to lunge at Mo Fan like eels wriggling their bodies.

The lightning arc was incredibly fast. Mo Fan subconsciously leapt backward. The terrifying lightning arc struck the ground and instantly left a scorching-black hole.

Mo Fan realized how overwhelming the lightning arc’s power was. He immediately summoned the Black Snake Armor…

As soon as he put on the Black Snake Armor, a fierce lightning arc sprang forward from Glorkian’s palm. It was swift and imperious, like a howling lightning dragon. Although the Black Snake Armor had resisted most of its damage, Mo Fan was still knocked flying by the impact!

Mo Fan rose to his feet while holding his chest when he saw Glorkian raising his brows.

Glorkian was fairly surprised, too. The armor that the kid was wearing was quite fascinating. It managed to protect the kid from his lightning!

“Humph, it doesn’t matter!” Glorkian harrumphed coldly.

Still levitating, Glorkian shoved his hand forward once again, summoning another rapid lightning arc lunging forward, which knocked Mo Fan flying again.

Mo Fan could feel a great pain coming from his muscles, yet he still rose to his feet and stared at Glorkian with eyes flickering with rage.

“I’m a Super Magician. Do you really think you actually stand a chance against me? You’ll still be no match for me even after a few decades. Piss off right now, or I will make you suffer!” Glorkian was hovering in a domain filled with lightning flickers. He could easily summon lightning arcs with a single wave!

“Enough with your bullshit! I’ll knock you back to India with a single punch!” snarled Mo Fan with a hint of savagery!

These assholes of Parthenon Temple, what right did they have to kidnap someone they are interested in as they wish?

They even used all sorts of nonsense to justify their actions of starting the fight when he confronted them!

Mo Fan was infuriated!

This Glorkian was indeed strong. It was very likely that the man was a Super Magician. He had yet to utilize all his strength.

However, Mo Fan had no intention of wasting his time further. If the guy thought he could act recklessly just because he was a Super Magician, Mo Fan would teach him how to behave himself!

“We’re from Greece, not India!” Glorkian’s blew his mustache up angrily.

Does this kid even have any common geographical knowledge? Since when was their stunning beauty even close to the rough looks of the Indians!

“Mo Fan, control yourself!” Leng Qing’s voice came down from the sky.

Leng Qing had managed to entrap Digaeus with some spell. She immediately landed in front of Mo Fan as she realized that the situation was getting out of hand.

“So you are the Vice President of Lingyin Enforcement Union. I believe you’re more aware of the situation we are in. Tell the kid to stop, or else he’s going to die a horrible death!” Glorkian stopped attacking when he saw Leng Qing showing up to protect Mo Fan.

Glorkian did not notice Mo Fan’s pupils changing colors while he was speaking.

“Mo Fan, don’t do it… control your temper,” Leng Qing could already sense a wild energy leaking out from Mo Fan’s body. She immediately spoke out to calm him down.

Leng Qing was a member of the Clearsky Hunter Agency. How could she not know about the demon blood in Mo Fan’s body!?

If Mo Fan showed these people his Demon Element, they would have to be killed to keep it as a secret. It was definitely something that Leng Qing would want to avoid. Regardless of how reckless these people were, they were still personnel of them Parthenon Temple. It was fine to beat them up, but killing them was a different story!

“Such a stubborn kid, calm yourself. Stop trying to challenge my patience with your insignificant cultivation. You’re not worthy enough to be my opponent…” mocked Glorkian.

“Can you shut up, stop provoking him!” Leng Qing was enraged. She had never seen anyone like him, who abused his identity as the teaching staff of Parthenon Temple to pick on a young Magician while being extremely proud of himself. “Let the girl go, or you will be the ones suffering!”

Even though Leng Qing had never witnessed the Demon Element, she knew how terrifying it was just from Du Xiao’s description. She could not afford to let Glorkian provoke Mo Fan further!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How amusing, do you really think I’m afraid of this kid?” Glorkian laughed.

He felt that the woman was overreacting. She even asked him not to provoke the kid further. So what if he insisted on provoking the kid? What could the kid possibly do? Why would he be afraid of a kid that had only ranked up to the Advanced Level?

The guy had destroyed his plane and messed up his schedule. He was being merciful enough by not skinning him alive!

“Mo Fan, calm down, calm down, I will handle it. I swear to you in the name of the Clearsky Hunter Agency. I won’t let them take Xinxia away,” Leng Qing almost had the urge to kneel before Mo Fan, the concealed demon.

The authorities had done everything possible to keep the Demon Element a secret, mainly because the Magic Associations across the world would never approve of it. On the other hand, someone might conspire against him. With Mo Fan’s incredible talents, fast improvements, and the power of the Demon Element, he would soon become a capable and powerful Magician!

The authorities had high hopes for Mo Fan, which was why they had assigned him to compete in the World College Tournament, to help him improve faster. However, if the Demon Element was exposed before the authorities could reach a verdict with the Magic Associations, it would bring great trouble. Mo Fan would be taken away by the people of Magic Associations. He would never live a normal life again, let alone cultivate!

Leng Qing was trying to calm Mo Fan down verbally, but she was actually considering calling for backup to kill the teaching staff of Parthenon Temple College!

Mo Fan’s pupils were now silver. Deep silver rays were bursting out from them.

Deep inside his eyes, silver pupils reflected Glorkian’s proud, arrogant face, and a strange, enormous mist!

Mo Fan looked past the teacher, redirecting his attention from Glorkian to the mist that had appeared out of nowhere.

The mist was right behind the private jet. Mo Fan had no idea when it had appeared. The mist was not covering a huge area, yet it was so tall that it could almost touch the sky. He could vaguely see an outline in the mist, and the luster of some giant scales!

Upon seeing this, the colors in Mo Fan’s eyes dissipated. The anger on his face vanished as he slowly grinned.

“Very well, even though you’re not a student of Parthenon Temple College, I’ve taught you a lesson on enduring, so you won’t go provoking an enemy that you stand no chance against…” Glorkian nodded in satisfaction when he saw Mo Fan calming down.

Did they seriously think a holy teacher like him enjoyed bullying little kids? Why would he pick on the kid if he hadn’t damaged his plane?

If the kid apologized and compensated him for the loss, he would consider forgiving him!

“Is that so?” Mo Fan’s eyes were smiling, like a totally different person than before. He gently said, “I’ll teach you a lesson about not provoking someone you can’t afford to, too!”

“Oh? Is it because of your background?” Glorkian raised his eyebrows as he was guessing if he had offended the son of some higher-ups in China. That would be troublesome, as some of the Magicians in China possessed immeasurable strength!

“I come from a normal background, but the one behind you is a different story,” said Mo Fan.

The truth was, while Mo Fan was conversing with Glorkian, both Leng Qing and Digaeus were completely frozen where they were standing!

It was like they were petrified. They lifted their heads, but they could barely see half of the creature’s body…

“I would like to see who in China…” Glorkian turned his head around while uttering the words.

Why was it pitch-black all of a sudden? He couldn’t even see anything…

Suddenly, Glorkian started trembling, as if he had just been struck by lightning.

He lifted his gaze in disbelief, seeing an enormous, black body…

As he raised his head further, he could see enormous scales along the body…

Raising his head further, he assumed he would see the creature’s head, yet he was still looking at its body!

Finally, at the top of the mist, Glorkian could barely see the creature’s enormous head by fully tilting his head back…

The snake’s head was slowly moving down toward him from the sky.

Glorkian’s private jet was not even the size of the snake’s mouth. The terrifying snake tongue came out from the mouth with a hiss, spitting liquid at the paralyzed Glorkian.

The thick, sticky fluid totally messed up Glorkian’s golden hair and robe, yet he did not dare to even move his finger!

“Snake…snake…” Digaeus was stammering.

His superior, Glorkian, had already lost his soul from fright. As a holy teacher and a talented Super Magician, there was hardly anything that he would describe as frightening, but here in China, in the place called Hangzhou, he had found one… the scariest creature that he had ever seen in his life!

“Fri…friend, let’s…let’s talk it out nicely…” Digaeus realized that the snake was friendly toward Mo Fan and Leng Qing when he saw that the two were fairly calm.

“Why weren’t you being so sincere just now? My snake brother here is a lot quicker than your private jet. Why don’t you two go inside his stomach, and I’ll ask him to send you back to Greece?” asked Mo Fan with a smile.

“Don’t worry about it, we can go back ourselves,” Digaeus was on the verge of losing himself.

Was he kidding them? Go inside the snake’s stomach? Would they even make it out alive?

“Par..pardon me, let’s discuss this properly. It’s our first time here, so we’re not too familiar with the rules. Young mister, let’s talk about it somewhere else. There’s nothing we can’t settle properly, hehehe, hehehe, don’t you think so, too? Vice President of Lingyin Enforcement Union?” Glorkian did not dare to move. His attitude was completely different from his arrogant behavior a moment ago.

Mo Fan had already expected the change of attitude from Glorkian. The man was a Super Magician, yet a Super Magician was still nothing in the eyes of the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake was on the same level as the Mountain Zombie. Not only would he not treat Glorkian seriously, even if all the experts of Parthenon Temple were here, the Black Totem Snake would still beat the crap out of them!

“Have you learned your lesson?” Mo Fan walked up to Glorkian with a smile and asked in a serious tone.

Glorkian nodded his head repeatedly.

“I did, I did, can you… ask your snake brother to stay…stay further away from me?…” Glorkian asked cautiously.

Mo Fan ignored Glorkian’s plea. He jumped onto the plane and fondled the Black Totem Snake’s nose.

The Black Totem Snake hissed and licked Mo Fan with the tip of his tongue.

Glorkian and his crew were not in luck. They had to challenge Mo Fan here in Hangzhou…

The Black Totem Snake immediately came when he sensed that Mo Fan was in danger. If Mo Fan had not stopped the Black Totem Snake, it would have eaten the Super Magician Glorkian in a single bite!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Lingyin Enforcement Union…

A clear stream flowed down the slanted wall of stones, making the words carved on the wall wet so they would flicker under the sunlight of the setting sun.

In a small bamboo wood, golden light shone down. A simple table and a few seats made of stone stood in the middle. The place was often used as a meeting room by the Enforcement Union to discuss matters with outsiders.

“The plane, do I need to pay for the loss?” Mo Fan tapped his finger on the table and interrogated the two teaching staff of Parthenon Temple College sternly.

“No… there’s no need for that, it’s covered by insurance, don’t worry about it,” said Glorkian with a friendly face.

This time, his smile was sincere. It was no longer the polite yet disrespectful kind. The truth was, he was still occupied by the experience of being brought here by the flying Black Totem Snake.

No wonder the old priests specifically warned them not to stir up any trouble in China. Did the state government seriously not care when there was such an enormous snake in the city? Holy crap!

“Are you still going to take her away?” Mo Fan pointed at Xinxia beside him. He had completely turned into a class teacher with a drink in his hand.

“Err… Brother Mo Fan…”

“Call me teacher!”

“Teacher Mo, Miss Ye Xinxia is indeed very suitable to study at our college. We’re just following orders. The person that has an interest in her is a lot more powerful than us,” said Glorkian in a slightly embarrassed tone.

Ye Xinxia was amused by the man’s attitude. This Glorkian was extremely well-behaved after losing the fight. He was a totally different person compared to his previous proud behavior.

“I don’t really care, my decision is final for the girl. Take a plane and go back to India yourself, and tell that person Xinxia is fine staying in her country. There’s no need for her to go there!” said Mo Fan.

“It’s Greece…” Glorkian emphasized.

“It’s the same!” said Mo Fan.

“I’m afraid we can’t accept that. The truth is, we’re pretty strict at selecting our students. We won’t give up on those we’ve chosen…” Glorkian said firmly, but he immediately glanced in the direction of the West Lake.

“Still not giving up?” asked Mo Fan.

“We don’t want any trouble. We’re sincerely inviting Miss Ye Xinxia to our college. If we fail to bring back the student that the Great Mentor is interested in, we’re doomed,” said Glorkian.

“I guess that concludes our discussion, I’ll ask the Black Totem Snake to send you back to In…oh, Greece,” Mo Fan rose to his feet.

Glorkian and Digaeus wore troubled looks, not knowing what to do.

“Mo Fan, there’s no need to be so harsh. Let’s listen to what they have to say,” advised Tang Zhong.

“Yeah, Teacher Mo, you too know that Miss Ye Xinxia’s legs are troubled by some strange disease. The Parthenon Temple is known for healing all kinds of weird diseases. Perhaps Miss Ye Xinxia can find a way to heal her legs while studying there? At least, the Great Mentor would try her best to help. We’re eager to bring her back just so she can be treated as soon as possible. After all, the Great Mentor is fairly busy. Even her students will only be taught by her a few times,” said Glorkian.

Mo Fan switched his attention to Xinxia, who was looking at him.

“Are you being serious?” demanded Mo Fan.

“We’ve already told Professor Lu about it. Didn’t she mention it at all?” said Glorkian.

Mo Fan shook his head.

Glorkian let out a wry smile. “Teacher Mo, you must believe in the Parthenon Temple. You are still young, so it’s likely that you’re not familiar with the organizations across the world, but you can ask President Tang Zhong here. There’s almost nothing that our Parthenon Temple can’t treat once we have agreed to heal the person. We even have the ability to revive someone if the conditions are met,” said Glorkian.

It was not Mo Fan’s first time hearing about Parthenon Temple. When Xu Zhaoting was turned into a Cursed Beast and Wang Xiaojun’s soul was shattered, they said that only the Parthenon Temple could save them. However, Mo Fan was still unfamiliar with the organization. He needed Tang Zhong to give him some advice.

“Mo Fan, Glorkian is right. Parthenon Temple is actually a lot more impressive than he has said. Lu Ping has spent lots of time trying to cure Ye Xinxia’s disease, but she still can’t figure out anything. I heard that you’ve also asked Han Ji of the Clock Tower Enforcement Union to take a look, yet he has no clue how to treat her, either. If even Han Ji is clueless, I’m afraid you won’t find any effective cure in our country,” said Tang Zhong.

Mo Fan fell silent.

Han Ji was a talented Healer. After the calamity, in order to express his gratitude toward Mo Fan, he had paid a visit to Hangzhou when Mo Fan while still training on the mountain. However, Mo Fan soon heard from Han Ji that he had no idea how to treat Xinxia’s disease, either.

“The Healing School of Parthenon Temple is a lot better than our Magic Association’s. If there’s still no cure there, I believe there’s no better place you can go in this world,” said Tang Zhong.

“Correct, and besides, our Parthenon Temple does not simply treat anyone… but it’s a different story if Miss Ye Xinxia is a student of our college,” said Glorkian.

“Mo Fan, Parthenon Temple is perfect for her. I know you’re worried that no one is looking after her there. If Lu Ping’s guarantee isn’t enough for you, I’ll pay a visit to Parthenon Temple with her. I have an old friend there, I can arrange for Xinxia to live with her. I believe she’s more than willing to have a girl like her to keep her company,” said Tang Zhong firmly.

As the President of Lingyin Enforcement Union, he had the responsibility to settle the dispute. After all, Glorkian was currently representing Parthenon Temple.

Parthenon Temple might be pushy since they wanted to take Xinxia away without this little devil Mo Fan’s agreement, but it was definitely something they could settle with a nice talk. They were both concerned for Xinxia’s wellbeing.

“Xinxia, what do you say?” Mo Fan asked Xinxia for her opinion since he could not make up his mind.

“How long will it take?” asked Xinxia.

“A year at least, two years at most. If your performance is just average, we’ll send you back after a year. Although we’ve invited you sincerely, we won’t let you stay for long if your results are just average. However, it’s going to be longer if your performance is impressive. That way, it will help you learn more things to a higher degree, don’t you agree?” answered Glorkian.

“Mo Fan, I suppose there’s no need to worry about her safety?” asked Tang Zhong.

“Mmm, I trust your arrangement,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Aren’t you going overseas for the training that’s going to last for more than a year? You won’t be coming back anytime soon during the training, and Ye Xinxia will be studying at Parthenon Temple College. When you return, she will almost have finished her studies, too. Maybe her legs will be healed by then. Isn’t that wonderful?” added Tang Zhong.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Glorkian had an astounded face when he heard Tang Zhong’s words.

“So Teacher Mo is a candidate in the national team. No wonder he’s so strong at such a young age. I was shocked, as I thought he was just a random young Magician in China. I guess I was scared by my own false alarm…” sighed Glorkian in relief.

Even though Glorkian completely overwhelmed Mo Fan in the fight, it was necessary to take their age into consideration. Glorkian could easily defeat any other young Magician with a single raise of his hand.

“Err… pardon me for asking, but is…is that snake your Summoned Beast? If it is, I’ll suggest that our college forfeit the World College Tournament instead,” said Digaeus softly.

“He’s the protector of Hangzhou. Mo Fan saved his life before, so whenever Mo Fan is in danger, he will show up immediately,” Tang Zhong smiled.

“I see.” Digaeus let out a relieved sigh, as if he had almost had a heart attack.

If the snake was a Summoned Beast, Mo Fan could crush every opponent in the World Magician Tournament, let alone the World College Tournament. The creature’s strength was just too overwhelming!

China was a scary place. They should probably go back to Greece as soon as they were done here.

“I’ll discuss it with her privately,” said Mo Fan.

——

Mo Fan pushed Xinxia’s chair into the bamboo copse. A few leaves with pointy tips fell from above and dangled in her hair. Mo Fan swept the leaves to the ground while fondling her soft hair.

Slowly, Mo Fan’s hand slid down to her ear, and her heart-shaped face.

The other hand went unnoticed through her long hair. Mo Fan hugged her from behind and indulged in the pleasant scent from the bamboo and the girl’s hair…

Xinxia closed her eyes, enjoying the soothing calm.

“Brother Mo Fan, I think I will go,” Xinxia broke the silence sometime later.

“Why is that?” asked Mo Fan.

“It’s not a bad place.” Xinxia lowered her head, looking at her legs.

“Mm, if someone dares bully you, tell me right away. I’ll tear down their shitty temple,” said Mo Fan.

Xinxia giggled, a flickering light at the edge of her eyes.

Even though Xinxia was a Magician with the Psychic Element, she realized that she was not good at expressing her feelings.

She knew Mo Fan did not like to be stuck in a rut and live a busy, but unfulfilling life. However, sometimes, Mo Fan’s pace was too quick for her. She had no choice but to wait patiently for his return…

Xinxia often dreamt about him returning with cuts and bruises all around his body. He would fall to the ground halfway to her, yet she could not walk to him even if she wanted to. She could only stand there watching.

The Parthenon Temple, Xinxia did not mind going there. After all, it was the sacred temple of every Healer!

If she had the same dream again, she could finally treat his wounds or walk to him…

—

“We’ve decided. She can go to Parthenon Temple,” Mo Fan brought Xinxia back to the table.

Glorkian and Digaeus let out deep, relieved sighs. It was obvious that the Great Mentor was no ordinary person. Otherwise, the two would not be under such great pressure.

“We’ll book the flight tickets now,” said Glorkian.

“Who told you she’s leaving now? You can only come and take her after a week. If you like Hangzhou, you can stay here and look around for a week. The President of the Enforcement Union will cover all your costs. If you don’t, you can go back to India first, and come back after a week to pick her up,” said Mo Fan.

“It’s Greece!” Glorkian’s face darkened as he uttered a deep groan.

“They are the same. I’ll let you decide,” replied Mo Fan.

Glorkian and Digaeus discussed things briefly, before they finally compromised and accepted Mo Fan’s suggestion.

It was likely that the two did not want to go back to be scolded by the Great Mentor, hence they determined they would stay in Hangzhou and pick Xinxia up after a week to bring her to Parthenon Temple.

Tang Zhong suggested they visit West Lake; they could easily spend a few days there to enjoy the scenery.

However, the two foreign guests shook their heads rapidly when the name West Lake was mentioned! They would not even visit that place even if paid to!

—

Tang Zhong would surely entertain the important guests from the Parthenon Temple. Mo Fan was too lazy to waste his time on them.

Mo Fan would have to check in at the national team in a week, which meant he had seven days to enjoy some shameless time with Xinxia.

Mo Fan even figured out where they would go: the famous tourist attraction, Wuzhen. The place was perfect for couples, with lots of stores, coffee shops, bars, retro-../styled inns and motels brimming with a great atmosphere. They would go shopping in the day, enjoy the scenery at night, and have intimate time at night, absolutely perfect!

—

“PA!”

“PA!”

“PA!”

{TL Note: PAPAPA is a Chinese slang for having sex.}

The vague sound came from the gap of the window of a well-decorated room.

“Brother Mo Fan, I told you, we should keep the mosquito lamp on,” Xinxia said in a serious tone.

“It’s fine, I’ll just smack them dead. Seriously, they dare suck my blood, aren’t they scared of mutating?!” Mo Fan’s sleepwear resembled those that were usually worn by mentally-disordered patients. He lunged forward, chasing after a mosquito that had drank his blood.

Someone might ask, why wasn’t he using Magic?

Where would his dignity be if he had to to use Magic to deal with petty mosquitoes!

“It’s here! You little shit, where do you think you’re going!” Mo Fan chased after the mosquito until he reached Xinxia’s bed. It looked like he was chasing after the mosquito, but he actually had some other things in mind. He dove onto Xinxia’s bed atop the defenseless girl. Her hair immediately scattered on the bed.

The room was filled with pleasant chuckles and laughter. Mo Fan abused his chance by touching and kissing the tender, juicy, sweet-smelling skin of the girl. Since Mount Hua was no longer open to tourists, Mo Fan had spent some lonely days on the mountain. It was indeed a sorry time for him.

Xinxia was going abroad to study soon. He had no idea when they would next see one another. As such, since the night was still young… no, since it was such a beautiful night with such a pleasant atmosphere, it was about time for him to get down to business!

——

The old town fell silent under the faint brilliance of the moon. A few boats tied along the river were making soft sounds as they occasionally bumped into the walls.

The windows along the street reflected the moonlight. On an arching bridge under the moon, a young woman was crossing it with nimble steps as her dress drifted in the breeze. The reflection of her small waist and peach bum could be seen on the clear river…

The woman continued walking, yet her figure suddenly vanished into thin air in the middle of the street.

Sometime later, an enormous white moth flew into the sky. Its beating wings produced a slight breeze, leaving ripples on the calm river…

It had a pair of glittering eyes. It purposely checked its surroundings to make sure that no one had seen it.

It landed lightly onto a roof. Its bare feet tapped softly on the tiles before it flew into the distance, disappearing into the fuzzy night within the blink of an eye.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

“Brother Mo Fan, the sun has risen.”

“I know.”

“About that thing, can we find the answer on Baidu?” asked Xinxia softly.

{TL Note: Baidu is both a search engine and a forum, like Google and Reddit.}

Mo Fan scratched his head and put down his phone.

Even saving the world was not a problem for him, yet when it came to becoming a real man, how did he not succeed after an entire night?

What had gone wrong? Xinxia had finally stopped struggling with her eyes closed and her lips sealed, but in the end, he had let himself down as he failed to put it in!

“Let’s take a snooze and go shopping in the afternoon to take our minds off. We’ll try it again at night?” Mo Fan finally compromised, asking Xinxia in a serious voice.

Xinxia nodded and squeezed her way into Mo Fan’s embrace with a hint of fatigue. She soon fell asleep, her hands hugging Mo Fan tightly.

When Mo Fan saw the girl fast asleep, he immediately took out his phone and went on Baidu again, trying to find the answer to his awkward question.

Sigh, they all mentioned something about the lack of foreplay… forget it, time to get some sleep. He was truly a failure as a man, it was better if he had simply died in the Ancient Capital!

—

The sunlight around two or three in the afternoon was extraordinarily soothing. It shone down upon a small orange tree in the garden. The unripe fruits on the branches suddenly became lustrous.

Rapid footsteps could be heard coming from the streets, with the occasional giggles of young girls grabbing the attention of the residents, giving them an urge to peek out of the window to observe their youthful looks.

After dressing up, Mo Fan walked around the street with a totally different feeling compared to yesterday.

Xinxia was rolling the wheelchair herself. She was discussing some of the interesting tales about the ancient town with Mo Fan in a good mood. However, when they arrived at some stairs, she was forced to stop and look at Mo Fan with glittering eyes.

“Brother Mo Fan, can you stop thinking about that problem?” asked Xinxia with a serious yet embarrassed tone.

“Oh, oh, I wasn’t thinking about…” Mo Fan laughed and took a step forward, “Holy crap!”

Mo Fan lost his balance as he took an infirm step. Luckily, he was a lot more agile after he became an Advanced Magician. At least he did not fall on his face after tripping.

He quickly rose to his feet and patted the dust off his clothes. He finally realized that he had to lend Xinxia a hand. He quickly went up and carried both Xinxia and the wheelchair down the stairs.

Some girls nearby were giggling. Mo Fan quickly pushed the wheelchair and left the scene in embarrassment.

Xinxia asked Mo Fan to stop when they arrived at the back of an antique store.

“What is it?” asked Mo Fan with a confused look.

“Look at the ground,” Xinxia pointed at the somewhat moist path.

Mo Fan glanced forward and saw dead little bugs on the ground. If he pushed the wheelchair further, he would be running over them.

Only Xinxia would notice things like these. If Mo Fan was on his own, he would simply trample them and feel disgusted because they would make his shoes dirty!

“Humph, the ones that drank my blood have probably started a plague, killing so many of them!” said Mo Fan with a hint of disdain.

“They look like moths, not mosquitoes. The ones in our room last night were moths too. They don’t drink blood,” corrected Xinxia.

“Who cares what they are… they are just an eyesore!” Mo Fan turned the wheelchair and passed by the little dead bugs before continuing forward.

Wuzhen had quite a lot of little alleyways and shops. Everywhere they went was like a different world. It turned out that the little things that each store was selling were popular among the tourists, which included some antique umbrellas, hairpins, scarves, bracelets, or some modern phone bags, purses, decorations and earrings. The girls could spend a whole day browsing the shops. The dazzling jewels urged them to buy all of them just so they could wear different sets every day…

“What’s going on, what’s going on here, get rid of those disgusting things on the ground. It’s affecting the customers. Why must you slack every day at work!” As soon as they went into a shop, they heard the owner yelling.

A young shop assistant wearing a gray felt cap clumsily took the broom and swept the things into the dustpan.

Mo Fan discovered that the things were flying moths the size of mosquitoes at a glimpse. It seemed like these things were everywhere they went today.

On second thought, it did seem perfectly reasonable. Wuzhen was built along a river, thus the air had fairly high moisture, perfect for little creatures like these flying moths. No matter how many couples were visiting the place, they were still no match for the flying moths’ speed at laying eggs.

“Greetings… oh, oh…” The shop owner was about to greet Mo Fan and Xinxia, yet a strange look appeared in his eyes when he saw Xinxia on a wheelchair. However, he quickly put up a smile and greeted them.

Mo Fan and Xinxia were already used to it. They simply ignored the look.

Xinxia proceeded to choose the hairpins she liked while Mo Fan browsed the shop indifferently. When he saw the corpses of the flying moths in the trashcan, he asked casually, “Hey boss, does your town have many of these things?”

“Yeah, they never stop appearing. The council has already organized a few disinfections, but these things show up again every spring. I hate them the most; I have a strong urge to spray them with insect repellent every time I see them!” replied the shop owner.

“I don’t like them, either,” said Mo Fan.

“(Sigh), who would like them? I remember there was a plague of them some years ago. There were so many moths that they were as dense as the haze in Shanghai and Beijing. The sky was completely blocked off by the moths. It was impossible to see anything. Everyone had to cover up tightly if they wanted to go outdoors. Even the smallest gap would allow them to squeeze into your clothes. Even though they don’t do any harm, it was simply disgusting!” complained the shop owner.

“That ridiculous?” said Mo Fan.

Flying moths as dense as a haze, how many moths would be flying in the sky?

“The disinfections are useless. I tell you that there’s a Moth Woman in our town, but no one believes me. One day, I was drinking with my friends until late at night. When I was walking on the street, I saw a woman with wings like a moth. Her physique was stunning, and she wasn’t wearing many clothes. Her legs were long and white. When I was about to get closer, a bunch of flying moths lunged at me to block my vision. The next thing I knew, she had already disappeared,” interrupted the shop assistant who was sweeping the floor.

The owner smacked the shop assistant on the head and scolded, “You still dare to mention it, you took my money and went drinking and gambling, and now you’re trying to cover it up with such a lousy excuse. I bet you’ve read too many stories, and went crazy thinking about women all the time!”

“I swear I’m telling the truth. Besides, I’m not the only one that says that in this town,” the shop assistant argued while running around the store.

“I’m not your uncle if I believe your nonsense! If I believed it, I would give you the shop!” The owner chased after the shop assistant.

“You’ve said it! I’ll find her tonight and take a picture of her. If she’s real, you’ll give me the shop!” said the shop assistant.

“Humph, go ahead!” snapped the owner.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Drinking some alcohol, enjoying the night breeze, listening to some pleasant melodies, the two had a rather enjoyable night.

The highly-anticipated late-night slowly came. The moonlight shone upon the stone bridge like a layer of frost. However, a cloudy veil slowly loomed over the town. A soft flapping sound echoed in the sky above the town. The clear night suddenly turned cloudy, even the river was no longer clear as before…

——

Mo Fan hardly ever had the chance to go on a holiday, a time without hunting down demon creatures, cultivating, training or being in the presence of magic. He was currently enjoying his vacation with his loved one in a pleasant town, just like an ordinary university student.

Time usually went by faster when it was more enjoyable. Six days were gone fairly quickly. The town seemed to have lots of secrets and interesting things waiting to be discovered, but the two had no choice but to continue during their next visit.

When Mo Fan was about to leave Wuzhen with Xinxia, he happened to spot a few City Hunters at the town entrance. Mo Fan was quite familiar with their logo.

“Did something happen?” asked Xinxia when she saw the City Hunters entering the town in a rush.

“Perhaps,” Mo Fan had no intention to be a busybody. The City Hunters were capable of settling the matter themselves.

——

The two returned to Hangzhou by car. Mo Fan sent Xinxia back to school with a hint of reluctance.

Mo Fan was planning to see her off, yet the authorities were already urging him to report to the national team. He had no choice but to leave Xinxia in the hands of Tang Zhong, Lu Ping, Glorkian, and Digaeus.

“Glorkian, if anyone bullies her there, I’ll hold you responsible!” Mo Fan warned the golden-haired teacher.

“Don’t you worry!” Glorkian gave his promise confidently.

Mo Fan kissed Xinxia on the forehead and smiled, “Call me if you miss me,”

“Mmm, you too,” Xinxia nodded.

—

Mo Fan felt lost, staring at the blue sky on the plane heading to the capital.

Perhaps it was because Xinxia had never been so far away since she came to stay at his home. Mo Fan could not stop worrying, knowing that she was going somewhere far away.

Perhaps his possessive desire toward her was too strong, so he was feeling extremely uncomfortable after parting with her.

On second thought, it was definitely a good thing for her. He would be leaving the country for quite some time. She now had something to keep her busy. It was better than living like a colorful sparrow kept in his overprotective cage…

——

Upon arriving at the capital, the air was still as bad as before. The sky was shrouded by a gray-brown murk, preventing him from seeing the blue sky and the white clouds.

However, Mo Fan was a fairly optimistic person. He was about to embark on his journey of traveling across the world to distribute his seeds. When he remembered that he would be traveling to different countries, visiting some fascinating places, kicking the asses of some foreign dogs who were indulging in their sense of superiority, and picking up some foreign chicks, he could not help but whistle on his way to the national team.

As he arrived at the destination, he immediately saw five aged Magicians with dark expressions standing at the entrance.

One of the advisors was short with a fat belly, and glared at Mo Fan, who was carrying a shoulder bag. He snapped in an unfriendly manner, “So you’re the substitute called Mo Fan!”

“I’m Mo Fan, but when did I become a substitute?” Mo Fan was startled. He looked at Dean Song He in confusion.

Dean Song He was aware of Mo Fan’s situation, thus he smiled as he was about to give him an explanation.

To his surprise, Advisor Feng Li with the tiger stripes on his forehead said coldly, “You should be relieved that you are still a substitute when you joined through the back-door.”

“Mo Fan, you didn’t take part in the final phase of the competition. Even though you have enough votes and nominations, they still can’t make you official because you were absent,” Dean Song He explained to Mo Fan.

“Fine, substitute it is,” Mo Fan shrugged and went over to the other candidates indifferently.

He had only taken a few steps when he was surprised at noticing a few familiar faces.

“Mo Fan, HAHAHA, I was going to say, there’s no way you weren’t on the list! Don’t you forget about the promise between us!” Zhao Manyan was the first to come up to him. His golden hair was perfectly combed!

“Impressive, you actually managed to secure a spot,” Mo Fan patted Zhao Manyan on the shoulder and exclaimed in surprise.

“What is there to be impressed about? He simply relied on the money of his family to secure the votes. He’s no different than a substitute who has joined through the back-door like you,” a voice from among the crowd exclaimed with a strong hint of jealousy.

“There are many people in the team, but only between five to seven of us will be participating in the competition. It’s fine that the extra spots are given to some rich asses. After all, we are supposed to get the best treatment since we are representing the national team in the tournament,” said a woman with a beauty mark near her lips.

Zhao Manyan felt extremely awkward upon hearing the words.

The truth was, he did manage to secure the spot through the financial support of his Zhao Family. The five advisors were clearly aware of it, too. In terms of strength and talents, Zhao Manyan was still a fair distance away from the others who were selected through the standard procedure.

“He’s fairly good-looking, maybe some of the Councilmen have some special interest, HAHAHA…” said a muscular man with a rough appearance.

The man was almost two meters tall. His muscles were about to burst his clothes open. He was like a beast with a human figure. Mo Fan wondered what Elements the man had.

“Brother, it looks like you aren’t too welcome here,” Mo Fan glanced at the three who commented.

The ones that uttered the remarks were a man with a powerful background, the woman with the beauty mark, and the beast-like man.

The others were not too bothered, as it was exactly what the woman with the beauty mark had mentioned. Only between five and seven people would participate in the tournament, but the team that was to go on training consisted of more than ten people. It was expected that someone had joined the team through some other methods.

Zhao Manyan had already made it clear. He was not planning to secure the spot through the school.

However, none of it mattered much to Mo Fan, as long as he was in the team.

The two did not come to earn glory for their country. Their goal was to spread their seeds across the world!

“Considering how handsome and rich I am, it’s normal for people to be jealous. I’m quite used to it already,” Zhao Manyan let out a self-mocking chuckle. Seeing that Mo Fan was didn’t care, he simply ignored the comments from the others.

The two joined the team with arms around each other’s shoulders. However, Mo Fan was surprised when he saw a man and a woman with stern expressions in the team.

The man was not much of a surprise. He was Ai Tutu’s brother, Ai Jiangtu, a Space Element expert. Mo Fan already knew that he was a seeded candidate of the national team, and he would most likely be appointed the captain.

However, Mo Fan was quite surprised to see the woman. He had met her before too, as she was none other than the female Commander he bumped into at the top of the mountain in the Burning Valley, Nanyu!

Nanyu had the same clean, short hair. Her handsome appearance made it easy for people to mistake her gender. It was not because her appearance was leaning towards the masculine, but her stern and imperious aura completely covered up her charm as a woman. Despite that, instead of making her less appealing, it only gave men a stronger urge to pry open her heart.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s been a while,” Mo Fan smiled and greeted Nanyu.

Nanyu simply glanced at Mo Fan without any expression.

On the other hand, Ai Jiangtu nodded at Mo Fan as a way of welcoming him to the team.

“You two, hurry up and line up. Right there,” urged Dean Song He.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan went to the back of the line. It seemed to be the place for substitutes.

Zhao Manyan had already met Nanyu too. As they walked to the back of the line, he whispered into Mo Fan’s ears, “That girl is the second most difficult chick to pick up in this team!”

Mo Fan nodded in agreement. It was indeed challenging to tackle her down. Her pride and unyielding spirit as a soldier would easily crush any man’s dignity. Most importantly, even the girls would stand no chance against her peerless charm!

“Wait, second most difficult?” Mo Fan was startled. He glanced at Zhao Manyan who was wearing a perverted grin and asked, “There’s someone harder than her?”

“There, the one who’s also a substitute like us,” Zhao Manyan pointed at the girl who was standing all by herself, like an ice statue at the back of the line.

Mo Fan was busy talking to Zhao Manyan, thus he did not even notice there was someone standing at the back of the line.

Even though she was standing at the least remarkable spot, her long, silver hair was absolutely breathtaking. Her outstanding figure was covered in a tight-fitting long black dress with pear blossoms on it. Together with her pair of black heels, it was the perfect combination of iciness and beauty, like a black rose blossoming in a world of ice. Its loneliness and nobility granted it a deadly, seductive charm. It had a holiness that one could only observe from a distance, for fear of thorns covered in deadly poison!

Mo Fan could not see her from his previous angle. He immediately had a stunned expression when he took a closer look.

He did not even recognize her. His heart was beating fast, as if it was their first encounter!

Wasn’t…Wasn’t that his first wife!?

“There’s no smoke without fire… the girl is exactly the same as before, no different than a tightly-sealed ice crystal. Even anyone that tries to get close to her would be frozen to death, let alone trying to melt the ice in her heart!” whispered Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan did try to approach and greet Mu Ningxue since they were both on the team that went to Jinlin City for training, but as he thought, Mu Ningxue simply acted like she had never met him before. He had no clue what kind of topic could possibly get her attention… apart from cultivation.

“Off you go, you mere peasants have no chance catching my goddess’ attention. She’s only acting like this because a perfect man like myself has already occupied her heart. Go talk with the others, I shall reunite with my first wife.” Mo Fan completely left Zhao Manyan aside.

Zhao Manyan could not care less, either. He would rather spend his time trying to pry open Nanyu’s steel heart than trying to touch Mu Ningxue’s icy heart. The difficulty to melt it was one reason, but on top of that, Mu Ningxue was even more dangerous than Nanyu. He had not forgotten the astonishing arrow she fired!

——

Mo Fan was a shameless man after all, and he simply went up to the girl.

Before Mo Fan could speak, Mu Ningxue calmly uttered, “You’re not dead still?”

“Oh Xuexue, the ‘still’ is completely unnecessary!” Mo Fan had an unpleasant look.

“Xinxia went to Greece?” asked Mu Ningxue.

“Mmm,” Mo Fan nodded.

“You should spend more time on her,” added Mu Ningxue.

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide.

Damn, the girl was a lot smarter now. She knew he would keep bothering her, thus she decided to strike preemptively!

Humph, she’s too naive if she thought mentioning about Xinxia was enough to make him leave. Mo Fan never felt guilty about dating two women at the same time!

He was far from an ambitious man[ his only life goal was to marry both of them. The country had already started the two-child policy, it was only a matter of time until the two-wife policy was in motion, too! Otherwise, he would consider applying for Arabian citizenship, since they were not as fussy about having two wives!

“Let’s not talk about something so serious, everything will turn out for the best… by the way, since when did you become a substitute?” Mo Fan asked with a confused look.

Mo Fan remembered Mu Nujiao had already told him that Mu Ningxue had secured a spot in the preliminaries, thus she was very likely to become an official candidate.

Mu Ningxue was extremely talented. Even though she was slightly younger than most of the candidates in the team, it did not make sense for her to only end up as a substitute.

“Were you the one that killed Mu He?” asked Mu Ningxue in return.

“I guess I’ve killed him indirectly,” answered Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had completely messed up Mu He’s plan. As a result, Salan ended up killing Mu He in anger. No one had seen it happening, but Salan could no longer keep his disguise. As Han Ji had mentioned, he was most likely trying his best to leave the country, so he had turned into an outcast.

During the time when Mo Fan was cultivating on Mount Hua, the government had cleaned up most of the Black Vatican’s underlings in the country. It was likely that in the next ten years, the Black Vatican would hardly be able to set up an operation in China…

“It’s quite terrifying,” Mu Ningxue took a deep breath. Her voice expressed the fear she felt when she learned that the Black Vatican had even infiltrated her family.

“Yeah, but what’s more terrifying is knowing that Salan has managed to escape the country. Not because he’s still alive out there, but it has shown us how corrupt our country is. Otherwise, there’s no way he could make it out of the country alive,” Mo Fan sighed.

“You did great, you’ve avenged the people of Bo City,” it was rare to hear a compliment from Mu Ningxue, which implied that she was indeed very impressed by Mo Fan’s contribution in the fight against the Black Vatican.

“Oh… so you’ve become a substitute because of Mu He?” Mo Fan immediately came to the realization.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“True, it’s only a matter of time until you become official again with your talents. Look at you, leaving your hands exposed in the cold weather. I’ll help you to warm them up… oh, Ningxue, what kind of person do you think I am? I’m just concerned about you, why are you so angry? Quick, get rid of the frost floating in front of me, I’ll let go of your hands right now. How narrow-minded, it’s nothing worth mentioning.”

Perhaps, it was the reason why Mu Ningxue had decided to strike preemptively.

She was not trying to stop Mo Fan from bothering him, but to stop him from getting fresh with her in the middle of the conversation!

Mo Fan stood close to Mu Ningxue. After all, he was a substitute too.

Mo Fan soon noticed a furious yet jealous gaze staring at him. It belonged to the man wearing a formal attire who had mocked Zhao Manyan before. Mo Fan had already learned that his name was Gong Yu from Zhao Manyan, one of the little shits that were interested in Mu Ningxue.

Mo Fan had always been open-minded. Although Mu Ningxue was his first wife, it did not mean that anyone else was not allowed to admire her.

Therefore, when dealing with Gong Yu or the others like him, Mo Fan learned that the most important thing was to have a proper attitude. Against people like him, all he needed to do was crush and trample them like dirt. It was as easy as that!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Everyone is here.” The advisor with tiger stripes slowly walked forward and glanced at the thirteen people in the line.

The team had thirteen candidates: ten official candidates and three substitutes; Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Ningxue.

“Actually, we should have departed earlier. It wasn’t necessary to wait for a mere substitute,” said Gong Yu indifferently, yet it was obvious that he was referring to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan smiled without refuting it. They would be going on a long training trip as a team. The training was said to last more than a year. Didn’t that simply mean he has plenty of time to deal with this little shit named Gong Yu?

“I strongly advise that no one make any noise once I start to speak!” snapped the advisor.

Gong Yu immediately shut his mouth.

“Your final goal is to compete with the national teams from other countries at the City of Canals, Venice, during what is known as the World College Tournament. The training isn’t just so you can get enough real combat experience and knowledge to prepare yourself for the tournament. You will also need to secure the entry ticket for the World College Tournament. There are almost two hundred countries participating in the World College Tournament, but not every country is qualified to appear on the dueling grounds in the City of Canals…” said Feng Li in a firm tone.

The five advisors took turns to give their advice. Everyone listened to their words very seriously.

There was no grand ceremony to send off the team on their trip. The truth was, no one knew when the team was departing for the training, nor would they know the list of students who were on the team. The candidates would only show themselves in public during the opening ceremony of the World College Tournament at Venice!

——

The sky was blue and clear, the water was flowing freely…

Tides of white waves splashed on the successive coast reefs. It felt like the waves were teasing the rocks softly, instead of hitting them with great force.

Beside the jagged rocks was a little beach where a few fairly aged fisherman boats were floating.

The boats were extremely important to the fishing village nearby. The few families in the village relied on the boats to feed themselves. The waves would misbehave at times, hence they had to tie the boats down firmly, with lots of ropes!

“F**k, f**k, f**k!” an inharmonious voice echoed between the peaceful village and the beach.

“Mo Fan, calm down!” said Zhao Manyan.

“As the national team, they didn’t give us a single cent as the allowance, no private jet, no private coach, no hotel, they even froze our bank accounts. On top of that, they even forbade us from riding planes. What the heck! We’re meant to travel to Japan, are they seriously asking us to swim there?” Mo Fan yelled at the sky and the sea like a grumbling bitter woman!

Didn’t they promise him that food, accommodation, and entertainment would be provided? What about going on a vacation across different countries, enjoying delicacies and picking up chicks?

What did they mean by they are on their own!

They initially thought a luxurious cruise would be picking them up when they were brought to this remote fishing village. They would soon be dancing and drinking on the cruise on their way to Japan. However, after waiting for a day, the only boats by the shore were the wooden fishing boats!

Trying to cross the Pacific Ocean with a wooden boat, are you f**king kidding me!

They didn’t even have oars to row the boat!

“How typical for mediocre people to complain,” the woman with the beauty spot giggled. She was acting like she was above the common populace.

“Alright, Miss Jiang Shaoxu, can you please teach me how we’re going to Japan!” said Mo Fan.

“It’s obviously a test! We’re prohibited from taking a plane, nor are we allowed to take any transport that would require us to reveal our identity. But, we are Magicians, we should be able to find a way when we’re left here in a fishing village…”

“So, how do we go to Japan?” asked Mo Fan.

“A ship, if there’s a fishing village, there must be a port nearby. If there’s a port, there might be a ship heading to Japan. If I’m not mistaken, this part of the country is one of the common stops for ships that sail for Japan…” said Jiang Shaoxu smiled.

The woman really liked to smile. Each of her actions would display her charming personality of being friendly to everyone, yet her voice was filled with a hint of disdain.

Whenever she spoke, it was like she was referring to the others as mere commoners…

“Jiang Shaoxu is right, there should be a port nearby. Either way, we should try and get a map to pinpoint our location,” said Nanyu.

“Oh God, we don’t even have a map?” Mo Fan was on the verge of losing himself.

“There’s nothing we could do, the advisors have set us all up. They told us to leave everything behind, including our mobile phones. They told us that they are sending us to some special training, yet the helicopter brought us to this shitty place instead. No food, no clean clothes, no mobile phones, no computers, not even our identity cards!” said Zhao Manyan with a wry smile.

All their identities had been frozen. Most modern transportation in the country now required identification. They were basically the same as illegal immigrants. They had to avoid the police too, since if they were caught, the police would summon the people responsible for the national team to free them. However, it would also imply that they had failed the training.

Failure would mean serious consequences to the candidates, as they were not the only ones chosen for the national team. There were other backup teams. If their team failed the training, the people in the backup teams would replace them.

In other words, there were plenty of substitutes for the national team!

The only place they could reveal their identity was the Chinese ambassador in Japan… it was their first destination.

This explained why Mo Fan was screaming furiously to vent his grudge. This was no training, this was the path of cultivation for a monk. It was nowhere close to the adventure that he had expected!

“By the way, even if we found a ship heading to Japan, doesn’t that mean we’ll have to smuggle ourselves in?” said Gong Yu.

“Yeah, so we better not get caught. If we got busted, we’ll have to reveal our identities, which means failing the training. Some of us are going to get replaced… and normally they would start from the substitutes,” Jiang Shaoxu looked at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan cheerfully. Of course, she did not forget to glance at Mu Ningxue, too.

“Enough with the nonsense, let’s head over to the fishing village to collect some information,” said Ai Jiangtu.

Ai Jiangtu was appointed the team’s captain by the advisors, hence everyone was obliged to listen to him.

The group immediately stopped talking when Ai Jiangtu gave the order. They immediately headed to the fishing village.

—

This training did catch Mo Fan by surprise, as he was totally unprepared for it. However, they were all Magicians, they should not have any problem finding a way.

Speaking of which, no one had even a single cent on them. Even finding their next meal was a problem, let alone sneaking into Japan…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The little fishing village was not far away. After they crossed the little fences that were merely treated as decorations, the group immediately saw several old houses made of wood and rocks. The structures looked dull and wet from the erosion by the constant wind blowing from the sea.

The group of thirteen blatantly walked into the village. In the end, the people they saw in the village numbered less than their group. The kid who was crouching on the side playing in the mud blinked rapidly, as if he had never seen so many young, attractive brothers and sisters. When the Magicians approached him, he quickly ran into a house and observed them from the window.

“It’s you again, don’t you think you can bully us just because we’re poor and uneducated. I’m telling you, you wouldn’t want to mess with me!” a tanned old man in wooden clogs rushed out with a giant oar in his hand.

The old man stood in the horse stance with glittering eyes and held the giant oar firmly, as if he was prepared to take them on.

A few other young men rushed out with tools under the old fisherman’s lead.

In the end, there were only eight of them in total, numbering even less than the ‘invaders’. Most interestingly, the young men’s eyes widened, as if they had never seen such gorgeous women before.

Although the prettiest woman in their village, who they always fantasized about, had smooth and tender skin too, they totally forgot her after seeing the fairy maidens before them. Their skin was white like jade, their legs were breathtaking, their waists were slim, and their faces…

“Mister, is this some kind of understanding? It’s our first time here, we just want to ask you something,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“Stop putting up an act. You’ve built a few houses with concrete and tricked the villagers who lacked resolve over. You even urged them to convince us to move over, saying that it’s for our own good. Too bad, I know you’re just planning on taking our land!” cursed the old fisherman.

The group of Magicians was indeed well-clothed. After all, every candidate of the national team came from a relatively wealthy background. Even those from ordinary families could easily earn some money with their capabilities.

The old fisherman was able to tell their extraordinary identities. He did not believe anyone other than the cunning real estate agents would purposely pay their village a visit.

The Magicians were left speechless. It would not make sense to tell the villagers that they were kicked out of a helicopter, even though that was exactly what the advisors did to them.

“We’re from an outing tourist group. We were simply following the shoreline here. We only came here to ask for directions, to see if there’s a port nearby,” explained Nanyu, reacting quickly.

“Outing tourist group? What is that?” asked the old fisherman with a confused look.

“Old man, it’s a group of adventurous young men and women going on a trip to somewhere remote. The urbanites love it, saying that it’s thrilling,” said a skinny man.

“Oh, so you’re not estate agents?” asked the old fisherman.

“Of course not, do we really look like one?” said Jiang Shaoxu with a smile, purposely giving the men a few seductive winks.

The men swallowed hard. It felt like their eyes almost flew into the cleavage that Jiang Shaoxu purposely exposed with her low-cut shirt.

“Well…sorry for that, you said you are trying to find the port, right? Just follow the shoreline across the bay for a few dozen of kilometers and you’ll see the Feiniao Harbor soon,” said the old fisherman.

“Thanks, we should get to the port before nighttime,” said Nanyu.

The group nodded. They immediately headed into the direction that the old fisherman pointed to.

The villagers followed behind when the group set off. The men could not lift their gazes from the bouncing buttocks…

“Old man, we forgot to tell them about it,” said the skinny man.

“Right, quick, go and warn them,” said the old fisherman.

“I’ll go, I’ll go!”

“I’ll go, I can run faster, I’ll go…”

—

The group did not walk far when the skinny man caught up to them while panting heavily.

He finally caught up to Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan who were walking at the back of the group. He stopped to catch his breath.

“You walk pretty fast, I had to run so far just to catch up with you,” said the skinny man.

Mo Fan smiled. It was nothing strange since they were all Magicians. Even though they were walking, their pace was a lot faster than ordinary people.

“What’s wrong?” asked Mo Fan.

“Listen to me, there are rumors about sea monsters around here. Many places are under attack, so it’s better that you stay away from the shoreline along your journey. If you see the sea monsters, just run,” said the skinny man.

“Aren’t we inside the safe zone? Why would there be sea monsters still?” Jiang Shaoxu touched the beauty spot beside her lips and stuck her tongue out at the skinny man, as if she was trying to tease him.

The skinny man did not fall for it easily. He said sternly, “The sea monsters have been around for quite some time, but for some reason, the authorities have never sent anyone here to deal with them. I even heard that a few fishermen from the village next to us went missing after they went out fishing.”

“We’re not too scared of the sea monsters. Brother, why don’t you guide us to the port? I promise to reward you greatly,” Jiang Shaoxu tapped the man’s shoulder and said with a smile.

“Well…” The man hesitated for a while before saying with a nod, “Alright, there’s nothing to do in the village, since the chief doesn’t allow us to go fishing in the ocean.”

“What do you eat, if you can’t fish?” Mo Fan asked an important question.

“The stock we kept, but it’s only going to last a few months. I’ll have to ask around in Feiniao City and see when they are going to send someone over to deal with the sea monsters. We can’t even go fishing if they don’t get rid of the sea monsters,” said the skinny man.

“That’s completely unnecessary. You just need to guide me there, and I’ll eliminate the sea monsters for you. It’s as easy as waving my hand,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“I’ll bring you to the harbor; as for the sea monsters, forget it… they aren’t something that ordinary people stand a chance against. I heard Da Hu from the other village mentioned that the sea monsters were around five meters tall. A single bite from them could tear our boats in half, that’s scary!” said the skinny man seriously.

Jiang Shaoxu smiled without continuing the conversation.

The skinny man was called Liu Meng, a typical naive young adult who rarely left the village. It seemed like he was working as a fisherman with his family before completing his studies.

The villages along the shoreline were not wealthy. Many of the fishing villages were rather poor. On top of that, transportation was not as developed, thus the villages were quite feudal.

Jiang Shaoxu was unhappy. She thought with her charm, she could easily seduce a village boy. However, Liu Meng’s ability to control himself was beyond Jiang Shaoxu’s expectation. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan already noticed that even though Liu Meng was well-behaving, he would occasionally glance at Mu Ningxue in her black robe and black boots.

Mo Fan was not too bothered by Liu Meng’s pure admiration of beauty. However, considering someone like Gong Yu, who kept peeking with his perverted eyes, it would only be a matter of time until he dug the man’s eyes out!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I heard that people from the city have weak stamina, who will complain and ask for a rest after walking a few miles. I didn’t expect you all to be in such good shape, I’m already panting heavily, but none of you seems tired at all, not even a drop of sweat!” Liu Meng was utterly impressed.

Even the gorgeous girls in the group were still breathing normally, let alone the others. He did not understand why the villagers always mentioned that the urbanites were pampered. Everyone in the group had better stamina than him!

“Have you heard of Magicians?” Jiang Shaoxu was quite the stubborn one. It was obvious that she wanted to fully seduce the young man. As such, she was more than willing to talk to him and tease him.

“Magicians, of course, someone from our village managed to get enrolled in a magic high school. You couldn’t possibly imagine it, the decorations and the lights, he even married the prettiest girl Lanhua in the village. My uncle also told me that if I become a Magician, I can basically marry any girl in the village that I’m fond of,” Liu Meng spoke up excitedly. It was clear that he highly admired Magicians.

“The girl Lanhua you mentioned, was she as pretty as me?” Jiang Shaoxu twisted her lips in a seductive manner.

Liu Meng had never talked to a woman with such beautiful hair at such a close distance. His tanned skin blushed slightly as he said softly, “Not… not even close.”

“So I’m less pretty?” Jiang Shaoxu went closer and asked despite already knowing the answer.

“She…she’s not as pretty as you,” replied Liu Meng with a slight stammer.

“Liu Meng, let me ask you, if I’m a Magician, a very powerful Magician, does that mean I can choose whichever man I like in the village?” Jiang Shaoxu continued to tease the naive young man.

“I think…” Liu Meng had no idea how to answer the question.

While Liu Meng was lost in his thoughts, Jiang Shaoxu’s giggled like a vixen. Liu Meng was so nervous that he insisted not to raise his head, yet he had a strong urge to take a few peeks…

—

“What was the saying again… even the Saintess is no match for an otaku. This Liu Meng is done for, too young, too naive,” exclaimed Zhao Manyan beside Mo Fan.

{TL Note: Apparently it’s a reference to the anime Fate/Apocrypha, but I never watched it.}

Mo Fan nodded.

It was as Zhao Manyan had described. At the start, Liu Meng only dared to peek at Mu Ningxue secretly, but as Jiang Shaoxu kept teasing him, his lines of defense quickly collapsed. He would soon submit to the vixen and kneel before her tail.

—

Traveling a distance of around thirty kilometers by foot actually took some time.

Liu Meng had no idea that the group consisted of strong Magicians. Even their footsteps were enchanted with the Magic of various Elements, thus their pace was a lot faster than ordinary people.

Liu Meng was already running out of breath. However, Ai Jiangtu still felt like they were wasting too much time walking.

Unfortunately, they needed Liu Meng to lead the way. Otherwise, they would have left him behind long ago.

The group finally saw the bay that the old fisherman mentioned after spending half a day walking.

The bay was stunning. The only downside was the land was covered in weeds, as it was not properly taken care of.

They could see a few buildings as they went deeper inland. Most of them were tall structures curving around the bay, which perfectly showcasing the suites with a scenic view that the real estate agents liked to describe…

The buildings were freshly constructed, but the surroundings were a mess. Occasionally, they would see a bunch of construction workers doing some work nearby. It was very likely that the suites would be sold off at an incredible price based on the surrounding view and the modern development!

As they proceeded forward and crossed a hill, they immediately discovered a city situated fairly close to the ocean. Feiniao City!

Feiniao City was of average size. Its scale was a lot bigger than Bo City, yet it was nothing compared to the metropolis like Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

“That’s the port you’re looking for,” said Liu Meng, pointing at Hai River that was flowing out to the ocean.

It was unusual for a port to be constructed facing the ocean, since accidents would happen if the water was not deep enough.

Feiniao Harbor was obviously an important trading hub. Many large ships were docked at the port. The river was extremely wide, leading straight to the vast ocean, with the other end extending far inland…

“This Hai River is quite fascinating. Normally, a port of this size would be found in a major city, but the place looks a bit cramped,” said Zhao Manyan.

As the next heir in line of the Zhao Financial Group, Zhao Manyan could easily analyze a situation related to development and economy.

In all honesty, the port was perfect; both the way it was flowing into the city or out to the ocean had made it an extremely important transportation tool, allowing ships of any scale to dock at the port.

Normally, with a port of this size, it was unreasonable for the people within two hundred kilometers to be living in poverty. It was strange that the villages and towns they passed by on their way here lacked development!

“Perhaps the city council is incompetent,” said Mo Fan.

“Impossible, even the worst city council can do better than this with such a nice port. If I had enough capital, I would invest in this port right away. I’d put in a huge investment to buy the land. It would easily bring me a great profit in just three to five years. Hell, I would even buy the whole city,” said Zhao Manyan in a serious tone.

“Tsk tsk tsk, as expected of Zhao Financial Group, demanding to buy a city straightaway,” said the beast-like man.

Despite the beast-like man’s appearance, he was extremely narrow-minded. It felt like he was always displeased about something, especially toward Zhao Manyan, who had bought his way onto the team.

“Business opportunity, don’t you understand?” Zhao Manyan harrumphed disdainfully.

“That’s enough, head over to the port and ask if there’s any ships going to Japan,” Ai Jiangtu interrupted the conversation and walked in front of the team.

“It’s useless even if we found a ship. There’s no way they would let us in without checking our identities,” said the beast-like man, Zu Jiming.

“Zu Zhebu, there are things that require you to use your brain,” Mo Fan smiled. He did not think finding a way to sneak onto the ship would be a huge problem for them.

{TL Note: Zhebu here is referring to the Japanese adult video actress Akiho Yoshizawa. Her Chinese name is Ji Zhe Ming Bu, so Zhebu is like an abbreviation.}

“My name is Zu Jiming!” yelled Zu Jiming, black lines across his forehead.

“Mo Fan, do you have any idea how we can solve the problem of our identities?” Ai Jiangtu turned around and asked.

“Everyone has problems that they can’t solve, but as Magicians, we are more than capable to solve these problems for them. In such a huge seaport, I bet not everyone is living a carefree life…we’ll help these people, and in return, they will bring us to Japan, it’s that simple!” Mo Fan was a Hunter. He was well aware that capable Hunters or Magicians to hire were desperately needed in a city like this.

They were completely empty-handed. All they had left was their extraordinary capabilities. The best way to do so was by solving problems for people, be it working as Hunters or mercenaries.

“That’s easy for you to say. Who’s kind enough to send a few people without identities to Japan? Smuggling is a crime!” said Zu Jiming.

“That’s why we have to do things that ordinary people can’t do.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A magnificent pair of twin towers fully made of steel glass stood at the center of Feiniao City. It was the main headquarters of the famous Lin Group. They had built half of the new buildings in the city. They were simply the city tycoons!

Inside the Lin Group’s Building, a man with a mustache in a purple-blue suit was sitting in the meeting room at the highest floor. His gaze was staring out of the French windows. The entirety of Feiniao City was in his view, and further extended to the blue ocean in the distance.

He let out a heavy sigh and returned to his desk. On top of it was a blueprint of the city with a giant, striking red cross drawn over it.

“It looks like we’ve lost this time. If I can’t make it work with Feiniao City, what do I even have to compete with people like Zhao Financial Group? I thought Feiniao City was my hope…it’s all bullshit!” The man furiously picked up the blueprint and tore it into pieces.

The man’s secretary, dressed in a white shirt and a suit skirt, spoke softly when she saw the chairman venting his anger, “The mayor is here to talk…”

“What is there to talk about? That liar told me everything except for the most important thing!” said Chairman Lin with a hollow laugh.

“But we are left with no choice, we can’t just give up now. Or should we talk with the people from the family and ask for some money to deal with our biggest problem?” asked the secretary.

“Did you hit the corner of your bed in the morning? Are you out of your mind? Those old pricks can’t wait to see how I’ve failed, just so they can take away everything that I’ve placed as a mortgage, and you’re still asking me to ask them for money?” cursed Chairman Lin.

The secretary did not dare to speak further.

The meeting room fell silent. When Chairman Lin finally vented his anger, he waved his hand and said, “If the mayor is here to discuss the plan to annihilate the sea monsters, I’ll talk with him. If he’s asking me to build another facility to fawn over his superiors, tell him to piss off!”

——

The secretary walked out of the room while murmuring non-stop.

Chairman Lin had vented his anger on his subordinates after failing to make a profit on his investment. She was scolded almost every day, she even had the urge to resign on the spot!

As soon as she arrived in the hall, she saw a group of well-clothed young people sitting on the sofa. They seemed to be discussing something. Judging from their temperament, they were likely to be wealthy and respectable. However, one of them was obviously a local. Not only was his skin tanned, his jeans were whitened, and his sneakers were so worn out that they had almost left muddy footprints in the hall.

“I say, is it a good idea for us to come to Lin Building like this? They are the wealthiest group in our city. I heard that even the mayor is treating him with great respect,” said Liu Meng uneasily.

“Zhao Manyan, are you sure it’s going to work?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“Trust me, someone in this building definitely needs our help,” said Zhao Manyan confidently.

The secretary was still quite far away, thus she could not hear what the people were discussing. However, she did feel like their presence was an eyesore. She had no idea if they actually had any business coming here.

The mayor would be here soon. It was necessary to chase the miscellaneous personnel away. The secretary summoned a security guard and said, “Go and ask what they are here for.”

The security guard went over and returned fairly quickly, “They said that the owner of this building is in trouble. They have come to help.”

“What the heck?” The secretary was in a bad mood after hearing the words.

-Don’t tell me these young people are fortune tellers, trying to warn us of some incoming disaster!-

“That’s what they said, they even emphasized that there’s nothing they can’t do,” said the security guard.

“Humph, then ask them if they have the courage to kill the sea monsters. Do they seriously have nothing else to do?” said the secretary.

The simple-minded security guard actually went to relay the message.

He soon returned and said to the secretary excitedly, “They said they can.”

The secretary immediately frowned. She took another look at the group of young people. Somehow, she did not feel like they were a bunch of swindlers.

While the secretary was lost in her thoughts, a golden-haired, handsome young man walked up to her with a charming smile. The secretary’s heart skipped a beat.

-This guy, he’s so handsome!-

Zhao Manyan glanced at the tag on the secretary’s chest and after he had confirmed her identity, asked, “Can I ask you a few questions?”

“If there’s nothing urgent, please…” the secretary subconsciously rejected him.

“Your boss must be troubled with something, am I right?” Zhao Manyan asked confidently.

The secretary was startled.

The handsome guy was right, but the thing was, everyone would be troubled by something at all stages in life. Everyone could ask the same thing.

“What are you trying to ask?” said the secretary.

“Most of the real estate development in Feiniao City is under your Lin Group. You’ve even built a perfect dock, aiming to develop it into a transportation hub connecting the north and the south. In the meantime, you’re aiming to appeal to the ships from Japan and Korea, too. However, the city’s economy is suffering. Most of the buildings are new, but there’s no one buying or living in them. No one is willing to invest in your property, either. Your Lin Group is flying your banner on a solitary tree. It’s meaningless if you can’t convince people to buy your property…” Zhao Manyan stated in a clear and logical tone.

“What are you trying to say?” The secretary was not so impressed. Anyone with a certain amount of knowledge could have analyzed the state they were in. After all, everyone knew that the Lin Group was having trouble supporting the city’s economy.

“A city supported by a large financial group, great real estates, a perfect dock, great location, there’s only one reason why the economy is so poor!” Zhao Manyan rubbed his nose, pretending that he was wearing a pair of glasses!

The secretary was stunned by Zhao Manyan’s aura!

“It’s because of the sea monsters! Your sea is extremely dangerous. The sea monsters must have destroyed many ships, scaring the investors away! Your Lin Group is unable to develop further because the sea monsters have stopped your sources of income. Am I right?” asked Zhao Manyan sternly.

The secretary was stunned, but managed to rebut, “Anyone could easily learn the reason if they asked around.”

“Which is why we’ve come to help you settle the problem. See my brothers and sisters behind me? They are all very capable. We’ll get rid of the sea monsters, and in return, you just need to do us a small favor.” Zhao Manyan snapped his fingers proudly.

“Just the fourteen of you?” the secretary was left speechless.

It would take at least a troop of Battlemages to annihilate the sea monsters. Hiring a troop of Magician was extremely costly, and yet they were running short on funds…

Asking fourteen people to annihilate the entire pack of sea monsters that had stopped the city from developing, the secretary only had the urge to ask Zhao Manyan if he was crazy!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In the meeting room at the highest floor of Lin’s Building…

“I hope you’re not wasting my time. There is a whole pack of sea monsters roaming the ocean close to Feiniao City. They first appeared around seven years ago, but their numbers have increased tremendously over the few years. The state council has sent someone to annihilate them, but the effect was close to nothing!” Lin Junxian looked at the group of young Magicians sternly.

In Lin Junxian’s eyes, they looked more like a group of students going on training. Even though the students of some Magic High Schools were fairly talented, they were not as reliable as the Hunters from the Hunter Union, mainly because of their experience and knowledge.

Dealing with demon creatures required intelligence, and experience in real combat, instead of the shiny badges given to the Magicians!

Lin Junxian was from a renowned family. Although he was utterly clueless about magic, he clearly understood their identities as Magicians did not necessarily mean they could fight demon creatures, let alone an entire pack of sea monsters. Without a troop, they would easily be wiped out if they engaged the sea monsters!

“You won’t need to worry about us. We would only accept if because we’re confident in ourselves. It’s unnecessary to doubt our capabilities now. Give us all the information you have on the sea monsters, and prepare some of the necessities we’ve listed. After it’s done, all you need to do is wait here in your office with your secretary,” said Jiang Shaoxu confidently.

“Fine, the favor you asked in return is nothing, but I have to warn you, I didn’t ask you to risk your life. Your parents or schools are not meant to blame me if anything happens. I’ve failed my investment, but I still want my reputation,” said Lin Junxian.

—–

Lin Junxian was fairly generous too. He arranged for the fourteen Magicians to stay at the hotel inside the building, and proceeded to prepare the necessities they needed to annihilate the sea monsters.

The most important thing that anyone needed when going on a hunt was the medical supply. It was necessary to bring around twenty different kinds of antidote alone.

The demon creatures were not the only possible source of poison. Some special environments would be poisonous too, the air they breathed in, the scent of flowers, the mist lingering in the air, the plants that they came into contact with…

Mo Fan was not an expert with these things, but Nanyu definitely was. She quickly put down the things on a list and gave it to Lin Junxian. The things were quite costly, too.

“By the way, do we really need so many things to kill the sea monsters? Aren’t you listing a bit too much?” asked Mo Fan.

“The supply is not only for the sea monsters. We still have a long way to go. It’s to prepare for our journey to Japan, too,” replied Nanyu.

“You sure have the foresight,” Mo Fan raised his thumb at Nanyu.

Their supplies were prepared fairly quickly. The necessary instruments were prepared too, with a sufficient supply of water and preserved food.

They also received a map that clearly illustrated the ocean nearby. Ai Jiangtu immediately started to examine it to come up with a strategy.

—

Although the outside of Feiniao City was the ocean, there were islands scattering across the ocean too.

In the past, each island had its ecosystem preserved. They were placed on the boundaries of the safe zone, and were used as a kind of tourist attractions for adventurous tourists. However, the islands were no longer being developed after several incidents. They were completely abandoned, and as the boundaries of the safe zone shrank toward the inland, these islands ended up becoming part of the territory of the demon creatures.

The shrinking of the safe zone greatly troubled the ships and the fishermen. It also greatly affected transportation to the city. No one was brave enough to come to the city to do business, as the ships full of goods would suddenly go missing. The gleaming silver simply sank to the bottom of the ocean.

The big investors of Feiniao City had all withdrawn over the past few years. Only the Lin Group stayed and tried to support the economy. They tried to use money to make it look like the city’s economy was blossoming, but the truth was, no one was willing to buy the suites with the scenic views and the luxurious buildings!

The mayor was extremely troubled by the city’s economy, too.

The City Council had tried sending people to annihilate the sea monsters. However, their numbers were limited, and the sea monsters were extremely cunning. The Magicians he sent out either returned empty-handed or were ambushed along the journey. After a few tries, no one was willing to sail out to kill the sea monsters!

That being said, if someone offered a great sum, the Hunter Masters would still be interested in taking the quest. The problem was, the Lin Group could no longer afford that sum. The City Council was having financial problems too, and most of the time, the sea monsters remained even after they paid the money…

—

A white ship was sailing slowly on the slightly cloudy ocean, moving away from the boundaries of the safe zone.

Unlike the land, where a safe zone was guarded by watchtowers, keeps, and fortresses, the boundaries of the safe zone on the ocean were maintained by a few lighthouses stationed by a few Battlemages at most. It was far from a proper line of defense.

Luckily, the sea monsters were not as active in the shallows. A small number of Magicians was enough to protect the cities and the towns along the coastline.

Feiniao City was a special case. The sea monsters had been showing up a lot lately.

“During the last operation, the Magicians arrived at a rocky island. They were ambushed by the sea monsters when they were resting at night, resulting in great casualties,” said Ai Tutu as he pointed at an island on the map.

“Which means the sea monsters will most likely show up at that island. By the way, what kind of sea monsters were they? If it’s Deep-Scales Sea Monsters, we should pack up and go home. We are screwed if it is a whole pack of them,” said Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu was a clean-looking student with spectacles. One could easily tell that he was the studious sort from his appearance alone. He could identify a demon creature and its gender by looking at a single hair plucked from a demon creature’s leg, without looking at the illustration of the creature.

The Deep-Scales Sea Monsters he mentioned were the most savage and cruelest kind. It had been years since they last appeared along China’s coastline. News about them being spotted in Japan would occur occasionally, resulting in a panic.

“They are said to be scarlet. It’s impossible for them to be the Deep-Scales Sea Monsters,” said Nanyu.

“By the way, I’m not an expert at fighting in the water. If they drag us into the water, aren’t the ones without Water Element dead for sure?” asked Jiang Yu seriously.

“Me neither,” expressed Mo Fan.

Gong Yu glanced at Mo Fan and said calmly, “No one is counting on a substitute like you.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Not long after crossing the safe zone, the group immediately discovered lots of reefs scattered across the ocean. These reefs were made of coral that had eroded after being exposed to the sun and the wind over a very long time, as their surfaces looked like they had been polished.

Normally, these reefs were not supposed to appear here, mainly because it was likely that the ships arriving at the port would hit them. Perhaps it had been a long time since people were sent to get rid of the reefs because of the falling economy.

“These reefs are called bamboo shoot reefs. It’s quite a surprise to see so many of them here,” the knowledgeable Jiang Yu started to analyze again.

Mo Fan was an eager learner. He immediately went up to Jiang Yu when he heard his explanation.

Mo Fan was the only one interested in listening to Jiang Yu’s never-ending talk about Astronomy and Geography, maybe because it was the field he was lacking the most knowledge of.

“Why are they called the bamboo shoot reefs? They don’t look like bamboo shoots to me,” asked Mo Fan.

“Here, take these goggles and put your head into the water. You will see why they are called the bamboo shoot reefs,” said Jiang Yu.

Mo Fan was bored too, so he simply followed the instructions.

He put on the goggles and suspended himself at the side of the boat with a difficult posture before dropping his head into the water.

The water-vision goggles were quite effective, giving Mo Fan a very clear view under the water.

The water was deep and serene blue with plankton drifting around. The depth within a few hundred meters was serene blue, and beyond that, the water became dark, ocean blue. Further down, it was nothing but darkness…

Swaying in the water, Mo Fan saw a rough, thick shadow extending from where the reefs were to the bottom of the ocean.

They were still not too far out from the land, so Mo Fan could barely see the bottom. The shadow was simply rocks shaped like ridges poking out of the water. The reefs above the surface were their peaks.

Mo Fan discovered lots of similar shadows growing from the bottom of the ocean. Some had only reached halfway from the surface, some were close to the surface, but still under it. Some had only grown a little bit out…

From his distance, it looked like a forest of rocks growing at the bottom of the ocean, a remarkably strange sight!

“The bamboo shoot reefs grow every day. They can absorb impure substances, dust particles, and rubbish in the water and turn them into rocks like bamboo shoots. The rocks eventually grow extremely tall, it’s a very interesting kind of coral!” Jiang Yu explained to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan lifted his head from the water. He washed his face and said, “It’s interesting indeed. It’s my first time seeing rocks that can grow like a plant. Speaking of which, these bamboo shoot reefs above the surface of the water should be around four hundred feet tall. They are actually quite spectacular. The water close to the land is not as clean, either.”

“These bamboo shoot reefs are good stuff since they can purify the water, but most cities don’t like them, since they are the main reason that many ships sink,” explained Jiang Yu.

Mo Fan nodded.

It was fairly understandable. These bamboo shoot reefs were quite scary too. For some ships with a deeper waterline, they might not spot the bamboo shoot reefs on the surface, and the ships might still hit the reefs. It was likely that the growth of these bamboo shoot reefs was one of the factors that greatly hindered the development of the city.

“Steer away, avoid the area ahead, there are lots of dead bamboo shoot reefs there,”Liu Meng said to the sailor urgently.

“Where? The detector isn’t showing anything,” replied the white-uniformed sailor.

“Just listen to me, steer away now!” Liu Meng’s voice turned hoarse as he began to panic.

The sailor steered the ship to alter the course to avoid the area ahead despite being skeptical.

Suddenly, the ship shuddered, alarming everyone after being fairly relaxed along the journey. The air suddenly stiffened.

“What happened?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“The starboard has lost some paint after a little scratch. It’s not a huge problem, but luckily the ship did alter course. Otherwise, the hull would have hit the sharper coral below,” a sailor reported after inspecting the situation.

The sailor in the cabin looked at Liu Meng in astonishment. He immediately reevaluated the fisherman before him.

“Young man, impressive, how did you know there were dead bamboo shoot reefs there?” asked the sailor called Zhao Jing.

“I go fishing with my uncle every day. Even though our boat rarely hits the bamboo shoot reefs, he still taught me how to determine if any of them are nearby. I can’t really tell you how, but either way, I can tell where they are!” Liu Meng had learned the ability at a very young age, thus it was hard for him to explain the details.

The truth was, he was relying on the movement of the waves, the reflection of the sunlight and his experience to make the call. It was a necessary skill for every fisherman. He was more familiar with the sea than anyone else on board.

“Brother, that’s very impressive of you!” Jiang Shaoxu smiled.

“Of course… uhh!” Liu Meng had a pleasant smile before he was shocked to see that Jiang Shaoxu had changed into a bikini. The pieces of cloth that were smaller than his palm were covering the important parts of her stunning body, leaving the rest of her milky-white, tender skin exposed in the air.

Liu Meng had seen a bikini on the television, but he had never seen one in real life. He immediately swallowed hard!

Jiang Shaoxu was smiling like a vixen while holding a cocktail glass in her hand. She totally looked like she was on a vacation. Her buttocks shook while she was walking to the deck. She did not forget to turn around and asked with a smile, “Do you want to help me with the sunscreen?”

Liu Meng nodded slowly…

—

“We’re quite a distance away from the land. There are lots of islands around us, most of them were only a few thousand meters square in size. We should be able to see the Rock Island where the crew encountered the sea monsters.” Ai Jiangtu had come from a military academy. Unlike the rest of his undisciplined teammates, only he and Nanyu were busy figuring out a strategy to handle the sea monsters, as expected!

Based on the information provided by Lin Junxian, there was a whole tribe of sea monsters here. They were still unfamiliar with one another’s capabilities, hence it was impossible to tell if they were able to take on a whole tribe of demon creatures.

Most importantly, they were in the middle of the ocean. Ai Jiangtu had already asked around. Only three members of the team were experienced with fighting underwater, which meant that their fighting capacity would be a lot weaker.

“Let’s set up a camp there. We’ll decide if we are going to use the device to get the creatures’ attention after we’ve prepared ourselves,” said Nanyu.

“It’s unwise to use the device, we still don’t know how many sea monsters are there. If there are over ten thousand of them, we’ll simply die after being trapped by the creatures!” Ai Jiangtu immediately turned down the suggestion.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Demon-gathering Beacon was a device that only the military had access to.

It was fairly easy to use the device. Similar to the Element Sensors, the devices would release energy ripples once they were placed under the ground, attracting most of the demon creatures within a certain distance.

The Demon-gathering Beacon had a stronger signal than the Element Sensors, producing a sound outside of the hearing range of humans. The sound would agitate the demon creatures in the sky, on land, underground, or in the water, provoking them to gather toward the signal.

Normally, if the military was planning to clear an area of demon creatures, the Demon-gathering Beacon would come in handy, provided that the military was utterly confident that their Battlemages were strong enough to take out all the demon creatures. Hunters rarely used a device like this, as they normally went hunting in smaller groups. Using the Demon-gathering Beacon would simply get them killed. Not many Hunters would be willing to take the risk.

Also, use of the Demon-gathering Beacon was prohibited without permission. Nanyu thought the device would be efficient for their goal, so she had asked Lin Junxian to prepare a few of them. Lin Junxian’s connections were quite impressive, since he had actually managed to get a few of the devices.

“If it’s an entire tribe, we should avoid doing something so risky. If a Commander-level demon creature shows up, we’re all going to die,” said Ai Jiangtu.

It was a challenging mission, one that would normally require a group of Advanced Magicians. On top of that, the group would have to be quite experienced. Ai Jiangtu was appointed the captain for the national team, and he could not risk putting the team in danger.

—

The group eventually arrived at the Rock Island. As the name suggested, there was nothing but rocks on the island.

The island was fairly sizable. It would take an ordinary person about two hours to complete a circuit of the island.

The island had quite and amount of stuff on it too, including some destroyed tents, torn clothes, and medical supply boxes. It was likely that they were left here by the previous team that was assigned to fight the sea monsters.

That team had suffered a humiliating defeat. Instead of annihilating the sea monsters, they were forced to flee for their lives in panic, as they were the ones who were hunted. Since then, the local Hunters no longer dared to hunt the sea monsters, even the weaker ones, which explained why Lin Junxian had totally lost hope for the city.

“Look at this gash; the claws of the sea monsters were at least this long!” The observant Jiang Yu had immediately noticed some marks on the rocks.

The marks did resemble those produced from claws, extending from the top of the two-meters-tall rock to its middle, leaving three deep lines on it. The marks implied that the sea monster’s hand had three claws…

“Can you tell what kind of creature it is?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“Three claws, scarlet in color… it’s a rare species. It’s not really described well in the books, but I’m guessing that it’s the Scarlet Soaring Demon!” replied Jiang Yu confidently.

“Scarlet Soaring Demon… never heard of it before. We should understand what they are capable of before starting a fight with them. We need to know what their deadliest moves and attacks are,” offered the brown-haired Mu Tingying.

“To be honest, it’s unlikely that we’re going to find any information about the creature on the Internet. As for their capabilities, our only source is the information provided by Lin Junxian. One thing we’re sure of is that they are not poisonous, but their claws are extremely sharp…”

“Their feet seemed to be huge, there’s a footprint here,” Zhao Manyan called out, having discovered something.

“There’s something that looks like a pile of dried ash here. It must be their stomach acid when its exposed to the air; it was mentioned in the information given to us. The liquid can turn viscous rapidly and ensnare their target,” said Nanyu.

—

As expected of the most talented students from different institutes, they immediately learned a great deal of useful information from the clues provided.

However, someone in particular was totally out of the picture compared to the rest of the group. He had been roaming around the island since they arrived. When everyone was done with their analysis, he came back to the group, dragging a scarlet creature that was half a man tall…

“Err… is the creature that Mo Fan brought back the Scarlet Soaring Demon that you just mentioned?” Zhao Manyan asked softly, astonished.

It took Jiang Yu a while to collect his thoughts. When Mo Fan tossed the dying creature to the group’s feet, Jiang Yu nodded heavily and said, “It is! Mo Fan, where did you find it?”

Nanyu and Ai Jiangtu seemed displeased. If they were in the army, someone like Mo Fan would be dragged away and whipped until his flesh was torn to shreds. He had shown literally zero discipline!

While the others were analyzing the clues left by the Scarlet Soaring Demons since they had just arrived on the island, the guy simply went and brought back one that was still alive. What the heck was he thinking?

“The creature doesn’t seem like it’s that strong, it’s just like a Servant-class creature,” Mu Tingying commented.

“I’m afraid it’s only a young Scarlet Soaring Demon, an adult Scarlet Soaring Demon should be…” Jiang Yu was just about to describe the creature when he saw a scarlet creature over four meters tall jumping out from the rocks in front of them.

The thing had two muscular legs, with strange-looking, sharp scales circling its waist. Its front limbs were thin but long, with three claws tipping them like curved daggers!

Jiang Yu was stunned. An adult Scarlet Soaring Demon appeared as soon as he was about to describe it. He quickly changed his mind and blurted out, “That…that thing standing on the rock is in the adult phase!”

The little Scarlet Soaring Demon surrounded by the Magicians burst out crying as soon as it saw the big Scarlet Soaring Demon. It was obvious that it was asking for help.

The scales around the waist of the Scarlet Soaring Demon rose and opened up like the giant mouth of a fish. It let out a furious roar at the group!

“Humph, a mere Scarlet Soaring Demon dares to act so scornfully, I’ll eliminate you at once!” Zhao Manyan harrumphed coldly.

As soon as he finished the sentence, more than ten figures appeared from behind the rock in a line…

They were enormous and scarlet, all with scales circling their waists. Their bulging eyes were glaring at the invaders!

“Err… let’s attack together and eliminate them!” Zhao Manyan’s aura weakened instantly.

“Their auras are strong,” Nanyu frowned.

Anyone in the team could easily eliminate more than half of a group of ten Servant-class creatures. There was nothing to be afraid of.

However, it was obvious that they had missed something extremely important…

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were not just Servant-class, they were Warrior-level in their adult phase!

“Did you lead them here?” Mu Ningxue asked Mo Fan.

“Hehe, I thought I got rid of them. I didn’t expect them to have such a sharp sense of smell,” Mo Fan let out an awkward laugh.

Liu Meng was just an ordinary fisherman. He had never seen a real sea monster before. No matter how the people from the village had described the sea monsters, it was nothing as fearsome as seeing them standing in a line right in front of him.

The presence of Warrior-level creatures was very intimidating to ordinary people. Liu Meng had already fallen to the ground in fear, soaked in cold sweat!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s rash actions had totally disrupted Nanyu and Ai Jiangtu’s plans to engage the sea monsters cautiously.

However, they were a bunch of proud young Magicians, too. Everyone had gone through the selection process of their respective institutes and the voting process, implying that they were the best from their institutes.

Gong Yu was definitely eager to show off his talents. Mo Fan was still figuring out how to teach the annoying guy a lesson when he took the initiative to walk up to Mo Fan and challenge him. “Hey substitute, how about a bet?”

Mo Fan was not the kind to back down easily. He simply said indifferently, “Sure thing, but let’s go big or go home. I like the feeling when my heart is beating fast,”

Gong Yu smiled. He was extremely troubled when he could not think of a way to get rid of this annoying pest that kept staying close to Mu Ningxue. He immediately thought of using the fight against the Scarlet Soaring Demons to carry out his plan. To his surprise, the guy even asked for a bigger stake! He could not tell where the guy got his confidence from.

“What do you have in mind?” Gong Yu withdrew his thoughts and let Mo Fan make the decision.

“We’ll collect their gall bladders, whoever collects the most gall bladders from those creatures wins. The winner can ask the loser for a favor.” Mo Fan never ran short of wicked thoughts.

“Any favor?” emphasized Gong Yu.

“That’s right, any favor,” Mo Fan nodded.

Gong Yu was quite surprised. The stake would be extremely high if the winner could ask the loser for anything. Did that mean he would have to kill himself if that’s what Mo Fan asked?

“You know that the advisors strictly forbid infighting among ourselves. They will expel us from the national team if they know about it. Are you sure it’s any favor?” Gong Yu needed to make sure.

Gong Yu never thought Mo Fan would seize the initiative when he was the one that suggested the bet. Somehow, he already had the urge to wuss out.

“We’re teammates, of course it shouldn’t involve something too crazy, don’t you agree? Don’t worry, it’s just a harmless favor. It won’t destroy the peaceful relationship between us,” Mo Fan started to bullshit.

“Self-harm?” asked Gong Yu.

“It won’t be… say, do you still want the bet or not? Don’t ask for it if you don’t have the courage, seriously,” Mo Fan looked at Gong Yu with a mocking grin.

-Kid, your Grandpa Mo Fan is going to kick your ass!-

“Bring it on, you think I’m scared? But you must promise that it’s not going to affect our position in the national team,” said Gong Yu rationally.

Gong Yu was not stupid. The national team was their first priority now. He did not want to mess up his future just because they were rivals for Mu Ningxue’s affection.

“Definitely not, I’m still looking forward to amazing the world at the City of Canals! There’s no way I’m going to do anything stupid, but I have not been pleased with you over the past few days, so I’m going to feel unpleasant if I can’t teach you a lesson. Ai Jiangtu won’t let me pick a fight with you for sure, and that maniac’s strength is a bit too scary, I don’t think I can beat him,” said Mo Fan blatantly.

Gong Yu’s expression darkened. He had never seen such an honest asshole!

It sounded like he was any better when he saw Mo Fan sticking with Mu Ningxue like a little Chinese Shar-Pei. -Does this guy even have the dignity of a man? What difference is there between him and a street thug?-

“Alright then, I also found you annoying. Don’t blame me for being too cruel if you end up with fewer gall bladders,” Gong Yu smirked coldly.

—

The bet had begun. The person with fewer gall bladders was the loser.

The undead tribe had undead crystals that contained their life essence and energy. It was the second most valuable loot after their Soul Essences. Meanwhile, the monster tribe had their gall bladders. They could instantly kill a monster by landing their attacks on its gall bladder. The gall bladders acquired from monsters were valuable too, a favorite loot for Hunters.

As soon as the bet took place, Mo Fan and Gong Yu immediately lunged at the Scarlet Soaring Demons like mad dogs.

Gong Yu was quite the cunning type. He had already noticed a Scarlet Soaring Demon that nailed to the ground by a Giant Shadow Spike. He quickly sprinted forward with Wind Track, leaving a blurry afterimage behind. In the blink of an eye, he had already reached the Scarlet Soaring Demon whose movements were hindered by the Giant Shadow Spike…

His palm flickered with brown light, and hardened his arm. The effect spread from his arm to the back of his hand, where sharp claws grew out and slashed forward!

Mo Fan was surprised by the scene. Gong Yu was already using his Claw-type Magic Equipment as soon as the fight broke out. Did he really need to be so serious?

Gong Yu’s blurry figure rapidly sprang forward as he stabbed at the chest of the Scarlet Soaring Demon with his hardened claws.

The claws were half a meter long. They penetrated the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s body without any sign of resistance, its sturdy skin standing no chance against the claws. It was almost torn apart by them!

Gong Yu mercilessly pulled the sharp claws out of the monster’s body. Fresh blue blood jetted out from the wound. The Scarlet Soaring Demon trembled in extreme pain.

“How weak,” Gong Yu wore a disdainful grin. He simply stood in front of the dangerous Scarlet Soaring Demon.

The Scarlet Soaring Demon whose chest was torn a hole apart uttered a screech. It flung its sharp claws at Gong Yu, trying to tear the human into pieces!

Its upper limbs were thin, but they actually possessed remarkable strength. The claws formed a cross slashing through the thick rock in their path.

However, Gong Yu’s reaction was quicker. He had already moved to the back of the Scarlet Soaring Demon the very moment it attacked.

Gong Yu was like a phantom assassin. He purposely waited until the Scarlet Soaring Demon to turn around before he burst into grim laughter.

The claws on the gauntlet struck forward at lightning speed, penetrating the same wound again. This time, Gong Yu grabbed the gall bladder inside the Scarlet Soaring Demon and pulled it out with great force!

Gong Yu was extremely quick with his attack, his movements were like an icy flicker in the eyes of an ordinary person like Liu Meng. The next thing he knew, a gall bladder covered in blood was raised into the air.

“One!” Gong Yu smiled.

After losing the gall bladder, the Scarlet Soaring Demon would surely die in the next few seconds. Gong Yu completely ignored its dying struggles. He quickly vanished as a gust of wind circled him.

The Scarlet Soaring Demon waved its claws wildly, trying to tear the human who took its gall bladder away apart in its rage. However, it began to stagger after taking a few steps…

Soon, the Scarlet Soaring Demon fell from the rocks onto the sands. Its blue blood splattered across the place!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Most Deathstrike Magic Equipment was once-off. Summoning Deathstrike Magic Equipment would grant the Magician a single strong attack, and once its duration came to an end, the Deathstrike Magic Equipment would disappear.

However, the claw gauntlet that Gong Yu was wearing was a unique kind. It seemed like Gong Yu could keep using it as he wished. Its effects were similar to Zhang Xiaohou’s Elements, Wind and Earth, which made it difficult for the enemy to interpret Gong Yu’s movements, allowing him to treat the Warrior-level creatures like fools…

If Gong Yu could use the claw gauntlet, he could easily turn himself into an assassin hiding in the gusts of wind with his outstanding speed, dealing critical blows to the demon creatures while weaving through them.

However, his claw gauntlet was incredibly rare. It was most likely the main reason why Gong Yu was chosen as a candidate of the national team.

There were still risks when using it against demon creatures, but when fighting against Magicians, Wind Magicians like Gong Yu could be absolutely terrifying. His opponents basically stood no chance once he managed to get into melee range.

It was Gong Yu’s first time showing his strength to the team. He pretended to be calm when he noticed his teammates looking in his direction, yet his eyes were filled with pride.

His ../style of utilizing his speed to slaughter demon creatures was indeed extremely rare among Magicians!

“Thunderbolt: Lightning Disaster!”

While Gong Yu was still indulged in his self-admiration, a voice with a hint of savagery came not far away.

Wild purple lightning struck the ground before anyone could prepare themselves. The lightning flash was so bright that the Magicians could not keep their eyes open…

Not only was the purple-black lightning fierce, the lightning spread rapidly throughout the area in the form of lightning arcs when it landed on the rocks. The lightning arcs combined into lightning webs that caught three Scarlet Soaring Demons who failed to react in time. The lightning conducted back and forth between them, leaving scorched marks on their bodies!

Mo Fan’s lightning didn’t stop after a single strike. Another shocking purple-black lightning swept across the sky as he pointed his finger up. More lightning webs formed on the ground. The three Scarlet Soaring Demons were about to flee when they were caught in the repetitive electric shocks once again!

“Just stay there and enjoy the lightning!”

Killing a monster at a time?

That did not suit his attacking ../style of being a magic cannon. An agile wind assassin able to slaughter the demon creatures with swift movements? The easiest way to kill a mere Warrior-level creature was to simply blast them to death!

The Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes was already deadly against weaker Warrior-level creatures, but the Thunderbolt: Lightning Disaster was even deadlier. If the lightning strikes focused on the same group of creatures, it could easily kill a group of three in an instant!

Mo Fan had kidnapped a child Scarlet Soaring Demon, hence the adult Scarlet Soaring Demons’ grudge toward him was obviously bigger. The three Scarlet Soaring Demons had Mo Fan as their target, yet they did not expect his strength to be so overwhelming. It was too late when they realized that they were not his opponents. They were half-crippled after two lightning strikes of the Thunderbolt: Lightning Disaster. Mo Fan immediately followed up with more lightning strikes, leaving them completely impaired on the ground!

“How violent!” Jiang Yu was standing nearby. He was too embarrassed to toss the Brilliant Light: Blind in his hand at the creatures. His Basic Light Spell was too weak compared to Mo Fan’s violent lightning.

“Fourth-tier Lightning Strike, what a richass!” another voice said.

Gong Yu’s unique fighting ../style had surprised the others, yet Mo Fan’s blinding fourth-tier Lightning Strike simply resulted in a stronger visual impact. After all, Mo Fan almost killed three Scarlet Soaring Demons while Gong Yu had just slain one!

“Why run away when you’re already here?”

Mo Fan’s lightning did not stop. Countless lightning marks swiftly appeared on his arm. The lightning was not as fierce as the Lightning Disaster, but it had a strong paralyzing effect!

Mo Fan could cast a Basic Spell just by raising his arm. The Lightning Strike spread in all directions, paralyzing the Scarlet Soaring Demons that were just about to leave the electric field!

A single cast of the fourth-tier Lightning Strike could produce almost a hundred lightning marks. These marks spread evenly among the three Scarlet Soaring Demons, meaning that each of the Scarlet Soaring Demons paralyzed by over thirty lightning marks. On top of that, their bones were already on the verge of shattering after suffering the previous shocks. They soon fell to the ground and could no longer rise to their feet!

“Thunderbolt: Exploding Apex!”

Mo Fan was straightforward with his approach, giving each of the Scarlet Soaring Demons a single cast of the Exploding Apex, which had high single-target damage, sending the three groaning Scarlet Soaring Demons to their deaths!

The three Scarlet Soaring Demons had no chance of fighting back. As a matter of fact, they were extremely close to Mo Fan and were flanking him from different directions. However, Mo Fan easily wiped them out with a single Thunderbolt: Lightning Disaster!

“Three gall bladders. These Scarlet Soaring Demons are weaker than I thought!” Mo Fan acquired the three gall bladders with ease, although they were already scorched black.

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were not powerful, or at least their defense was not impressive at all.

That being said, it was only applicable to Mo Fan. His fourth-tier Thunderbolt was out of the world to begin with. If the damage had not been split between three Scarlet Soaring Demons simultaneously, it was more than enough to kill a weak Warrior-level creature instantly!

“Humph, trying so hard just to kill those creatures,” Gong Yuhumphed in an unpleasant tone.

Gong Yu had yet to use an Intermediate Spell, yet he was agitated when he saw Mo Fan’s efficiency. He immediately headed for his second Scarlet Soaring Demon.

Unfortunately, the four-meter-tall Scarlet Soaring Demon was not as easy as the one he had killed before. Its reactions were quicker, and it could jump nimbly. Gong Yu was not able to get the perfect timing to dig his claws into the creature’s body.

Gong Yu’s primary Element was Wind, and his secondary Element was Earth. His magic was not the offensive kind, yet his attacking ../style was extremely aggressive, mainly because of the claws on his right hand!

Gong Yu immediately gave Zu Jiming who was fairly close to him a signal when he saw Mo Fan moving on to kill more Scarlet Soaring Demons.

Zu Jiming quickly responded by knocking the Scarlet Soaring Demons into the distance with his spells, not giving Mo Fan any chance to kill them with his deadly lightning.

Gong Yu was surely quicker than Mo Fan if they had to kill the Warrior-level creatures one at a time!

Mo Fan was amused when he saw Zu Jiming’s intentions. Knocking the monsters out of the range of his lightning?

Mo Fan admitted that his Lightning Element had limited range, but he was also a Fire Magician!

“Rose Flame!”

“Fiery Fist!”

“Groundbreak!”

Mo Fan did not bother chasing after the creatures. He even ignored the giant rock in his way!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Why did he cast Groundbreak? It was to summon raging flames to burst out from the ground!

Nothing in front of him could not interfere with his attack, including the Rock Barrier that the idiotic muscular man, Zu Jiming, had erected.

Mo Fan was now an Advanced Magician, and his senses were a lot stronger than before with his new understanding of the Space Element’s capabilities. Even with something blocking his vision ahead and stopping him from seeing the Scarlet Soaring Demons that had been blasted away, he could still lock down their positions through his other senses and energy ripples in the air!

After confirming his targets distance, Mo Fan’s eyes flickered with flames. The flames streamed out from the fist he had already slammed into the ground, directing the power of the spell!

A red wave crawled rapidly along the ground. Normally, the path of Groundbreak was invisible, but the rocks of the area were rather unique. The rocks would turn red from the heat produced by the spell, visible as it surged out!

The wave moved at an incredible speed. It reached two hundred meters away within an instant. The Scarlet Soaring Demons that were just knocked flying rose to their feet while shaking their heads. They had just confirmed that their area was clear of danger when they felt a surge of heat coming from beneath their feet…

The sturdy rocks cracked open as flames burst out from the gaps.

Just as the Scarlet Soaring Demon he targeted finally realized what was happening, a fierce energy exploded under its feet.

Lava jetted out of the ground, igniting flames as it scattered in the air. The blazing red flames danced in the air and bloomed like a deadly flower!

The Scarlet Soaring Demon was already severely injured. If Zu Jiming had not knocked them all a great distance away, Mo Fan could easily have killed this creature with a Lightning Strike.

That being said, the Fiery Fist: Groundbreak still ended its life, burning its half-crippled body into charcoal.

“Holy crap, right on target?” Zhao Manyan just happened to witness how the Groundbreak had burned the Scarlet Soaring Demon to death from the high ground.

He glanced at Mo Fan, whose view was blocked by a giant boulder, and reevaluated the distance between him and the Scarlet Soaring Demon.

Zu Jiming’s face fell dark, but he was also astounded by Mo Fan’s accuracy.

A distance of over two hundred meters… how did he land the Fiery Fist without being able to see the Scarlet Soaring Demon? Did his Fiery Fist: Groundbreak has some kind of lock-on system?

“Four!” Mo Fan quickly found the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s corpse and retrieved a scorched gall bladder from it.

He even purposely cast a casual glance at Gong Yu.

Gong Yu was indeed capable, too, and had acquired three gall bladders. If Mo Fan had not killed three right at the start, he would definitely be slower at killing the creatures. Of course, if it weren’t for Zu Jiming, Mo Fan would have killed one more by now…

There were only about a dozen Scarlet Soaring Demons altogether. The strength of these weak Warrior-level creatures was not on the same level as the elites of the national team.

The others were aware that Mo Fan and Gong Yu were competing for the gall bladders. They were simply going through the motions by casting a few Spells and enjoying the showdown between the two.

—

“Last one left, Gong Yu is going to lose the bet if he fails to secure it.”

“It looks like Gong Yu is closer to the Scarlet Soaring Demon.”

“These two maniacs, we didn’t even have the chance to warm ourselves up.”

The rest of the team was already standing aside. Most of the Scarlet Soaring Demons were eliminated. They did not require much effort.

Gong Yu was a gall bladder short. He immediately went all out and summoned his Magic Boots, which doubled his speed!

His teammates could barely see the afterimages of his movement. Gong Yu reached the Scarlet Soaring Demon in the blink of an eye, thrusting his clawed gauntlet at the creature’s abdomen!

The claws tore a long cut on the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s abdomen before it could react. Blue blood jetted out from the wound.

The Scarlet Soaring Demon spat out some white liquid at Gong Yu, as if it was not feeling any pain.

The liquid splattered and turned extremely viscous in the air before pouring down on Gong Yu like a white sticky web.

Gong Yu was too impatient with his approach. He subconsciously dodged aside when he saw the web, but his legs were caught because he was standing too close to the creature. His legs were stuck on the rocks…

“Damn it!”

The liquid had transformed shockingly quick. It was still liquid when the creature spat it out, turning into a glue-like substance in the air. By the time it made contact with the target, it had already solidified and glued Gong Yu’s legs to the ground!

It was a deadly mistake for a Wind Magician’s legs to be caught up like that!

However, Gong Yu was not an inexperienced, weak Magician. He was furious, not because of the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s counterattack, but because he did not secure the gall bladder when he had the opportunity!

Mo Fan smiled when he saw what happened.

It seemed like he had won the bet. He casually walked forward while lifting his right hand. A blazing red flame was already burning on his palm.

He locked his gaze on the Scarlet Soaring Demon and threw a punch at it. The giant fist engulfed in flames flew toward the last Scarlet Soaring Demon…

The Fiery Fist drew an arc in the air. Its projectile was perfectly on point.

However, when it was about to land on the Scarlet Soaring Demon, Ai Jiangtu, who was watching it, frowned and quickly made his move!

“Telekinesis!”

As he grabbed in the direction of the Scarlet Soaring Demon, a strange ripple fluctuated in space and covered the Scarlet Soaring Demon, dragging it toward Ai Jiangtu with great force.

The Scarlet Soaring Demon lost its balance in the air, yet it barely dodged Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist.

The Scarlet Soaring Demon fell to the ground on its back. Ai Jiangtu curled his finger again, dragging the creature toward him.

The Scarlet Soaring Demon had no chance of resisting the force. It was dragged over sixty meters in the air and landed in front of Ai Jiangtu.

The Scarlet Soaring Demon was infuriated. It rose to its feet after breaking free and lunged at Ai Jiangtu fiercely.

The Scarlet Soaring Demon had an impressive jumping power, pouncing forward explosively. It could easily decapitate its target when it scissored its claws.

Ai Jiangtu remained calm. He casually pushed forward with the same hand.

The Scarlet Soaring Demon halted in the air, before flying in the opposite direction.

The Scarlet Soaring Demon slammed into a wall. Its muscular figure was pinned onto the wall, like it was nailed to the rocks.

Ai Jiangtu’s hand was covered in a silver glow. As long as the glow remained, the Scarlet Soaring Demon would remain pinned to the wall with its limbs spread apart.

“Mr. Ai, that’s not cool, but I’m still the winner.” Mo Fan jumped down from the higher ground and glanced at the pitiful Scarlet Soaring Demon.

“Look at its stomach,” Ai Jiangtu told Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was confused. He walked up to take a closer look.

The Scarlet Soaring Demon’s abdomen was torn open by Gong Yu. Blood kept pouring out from the cut. It was nothing out of ordinary…

However, there was a tiny leg dangling from the hole. It seemed to have slid out of the creature’s belly!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ai Jiangtu walked up to the Scarlet Soaring Demon and used his hands to tear open the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s stomach.

“Captain, what are you doing? That’s disgusting!” Mu Tingying covered her nose, not allowing the foul odor coming out of the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s stomach to enter her sacred lungs.

The others were confused too. What was Ai Jiangtu thinking, opening up the creature’s stomach? Was there something important inside?

Ai Jiangtu was not acting roughly. He cautiously tore open the monster’s stomach. He slowly reached his hand inside and took out the little creature whose leg was exposed.

Mo Fan was standing right beside Ai Jiangtu. His face exploded with rage when he saw what his captain took out from the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s stomach!

Ai Jiangtu took a deep breath while holding the thing that was covered by gastric juices, fresh blood, and rotten food.

“Captain, what did you… AHHHH!” Mu Tingying was going to ask the captain what he found when she saw the disgusting corpse of the infant that Ai Jiangtu was holding. Her face immediately turned pale as she let out a scream.

Mu Tingying’s scream immediately attracted everyone’s attention. The atmosphere changed when they saw the corpse of an infant in Ai Jiangtu’s hand. Everyone had different expressions. Most of the girls immediately turned their heads around, not daring to look at it further!

It was utterly gruesome and disgusting…

Ai Jiangtu had found the corpse of a child at most two years old inside the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s stomach.

The infant was swallowed alive by the creature. It had happened quite recently, as the corpse was still well-preserved, although the stomach acids had already corroded its skin.

The Magicians could not believe it! Why would the Scarlet Soaring Demon swallow a child alive? Did the creature attack a village recently and eat the child whole?

Ai Jiangtu’s hands were covered in filth. He slowly walked to the sea and washed off the things sticking to the corpse.

The infant had died of suffocation.

If Ai Jiangtu had not discovered the corpse, it would most likely have been digested by the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s gastric acid. The Magicians felt a chill running down their spine when the thought crossed their mind!

“The child was swallowed whole; he was still alive when he reached the creature’s stomach,” said Ai Jiangtu coldly after washing off the corpse.

The infant’s eyes were open, implying that he was still alive when the creature swallowed him.

“Captain, don’t say anymore…” the girls felt the urge to vomit.

“There’s another one here,” said Mo Fan.

The group turned around and saw Mo Fan carrying the corpse of a kid also covered in filth. The kid was around three years old. The corpse had already been partially dissolved, as if it was skinned. The students felt their scalps turning numb after looking at it.

“Hand it over.” Ai Jiangtu passed the washed corpse to Mo Fan and took the corpse that Mo Fan was holding.

Ai Jiangtu carefully washed the corpse, but it had already rotted severely. It did not matter how hard he tried to wash it, it still looked hideous.

“Let’s bury them,” said Mo Fan with a sigh.

Ai Jiangtu nodded.

“I’ll do it, it’s better to purify them first,” said Zhao Manyan.

——

A strong light landed on the rocks along the shore from the sky, shining upon the two small corpses.

Both the corpse that was well-preserved and the one that was severely rotted were disintegrated and purified by the blinding light. Their small bodies turned into ashes in just a few seconds, drifting away on the wind under the golden light…

A sudden breeze swept the ashes away, flying across the Magicians’ faces.

“It seems like they didn’t tell us everything,” said Jiang Yu with a deep voice.

No one would be in a good mood after what had happened.

“Jiang Yu, Mu Tingying, you two will fly back to Feiniao City now and investigate the places that were attacked by demon creatures in the past few days, especially those with kids,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“Aren’t we going to wipe out the creatures? Everything will be fine once we kill them all,” Mu Tingying was displeased.

“Do you really think the five advisors simply left us in a random fishing village?” asked Ai Jiangtu in return.

Mu Tingying opened her mouth trying to refute it, yet she could not find any words.

Ai Jiangtu’s words shed a light among the group. “Are you saying that it’s a trial that the advisors have prepared for us?” asked Gong Yu.

“I am guessing so. Something serious must have happened here, but the authorities couldn’t figure it out. It’s possible that the advisors want us to solve the strange incident here during our training,” ventured Jiang Yu sternly.

“A trial?” asked Nanyu with a frown.

Ai Jiangtu shook his head and said, “It doesn’t matter if it’s a trial or not, we need to seek out the truth. If we found a Magician or a fisherman who ventured out of the safe zone in the creature’s stomach, we can simply bury their corpses, but if the two corpses, or more that we didn’t discover, are kids…” Ai Jiang’s quiet voice held trembles of great anger…

Kids were supposed to be living in the city inside the safe zone. They could not even walk properly, how could they possibly trespass into the demon creatures’ territories and be swallowed alive by the Scarlet Soaring Demons?

They allowed the demon creatures to occupy most of the territory, allowed them to roam freely on the spacious land. They could accept that the safe zone kept shrinking as the demon creatures continued to invade their land, but they would never allow the demon creatures to treat human infants as food and swallow them alive!

The demon creatures had gone out of control, yet the government of Feiniao City did not do anything!

No wonder the economy was failing and the safe zone kept shrinking. The city had completely lost its dignity; it was no different than a poultry cage being raised by the sea monsters!

Ai Jiangtu was nowhere near this angry when he heard about the sea monsters that had prevented the city’s development. However, he now had the urge to fly back to Feiniao City and find the useless prick in charge of the city’s defenses, and make him open his eyes and see the two corpses they had found inside the sea monsters’ stomachs!

“Captain, don’t worry; there’s no truth that I, Jiang Yu can’t find. I’ll be back soon and tell you everything you want to know,” Jiang Yu said firmly.

“Get me the names of the military personnel in Feiniao City,” said Ai Jiangtu grimly.

“Not a problem!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Jiang Yu and Mu Tingying obeyed their captain’s command and flew back to Feiniao City. The others stayed on the island.

“What are we going to do now?” asked Gong Yu.

“Isn’t that obvious?” said Mo Fan with a hollow laugh. He walked to the side and grabbed the Scarlet Soaring Demon child.

“Does anyone here have the Psychic Element?” asked Mo Fan.

“I do,” responded Jiang Shaoxu.

“Tell this little thing what I’m going to say,” said Mo Fan to Jiang Shaoxu.

“I’m not sure if it can understand me,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

Mo Fan dragged the little Scarlet Soaring Demon to the water. The creature kept screaming in panic.

It had watched the group of terrifying humans killing its people with ease. A little Scarlet Soaring Demon like it, with only the strength of a Servant-class creature, totally stood no chance against them!

It could tell that these humans were infuriated!

“Little creature, go back and tell your chief: since you’ve eaten our children, we’ll soon come to wipe out your whole tribe! Be gone!” Mo Fan’s leg was covered in a bloody glow as he spoke.

Mo Fan kicked the little Scarlet Soaring Demon into the ocean with great force.

The kick was imbued with the power of the Blood Tabi. The little Scarlet Soaring Demon was knocked in a screaming arc over a hundred meters away, before falling into the water.

“Did you pass on the message?” Mo Fan turned around and asked Jiang Shaoxu.

Jiang Shaoxu nodded and said with a smile, “You were quite handsome just then.”

“I’m married,” replied Mo Fan with a serious face.

“I don’t mind.”

“…”

——

As Mo Fan mentioned, the tribe of Scarlet Soaring Demon would suffer the wrath of these Magicians!

Each of them possessed formidable strength, being chosen among the various elite institutes. On top of that, unlike the Magicians with great authority, they were still very young.

Being young meant they were fairly hot-tempered. The city council and the military would consider the risks involved, but these young Magicians were not fussy at all. They would not mind invading the sea monsters’ nest, as these creatures had crossed their lines!

—

Jiang Shaoxu liked to tease the men in the team, yet it was obvious that she did not rely on her charm alone to secure her spot.

When Mo Fan kicked the little Scarlet Soaring Demon into the sea, not only did she pass on Mo Fan’s message to the creature, she also left a Psychic Mark on it.

They only needed to follow the Psychic Mark, since the terrified little Scarlet Soaring Demon would lead them to the Scarlet Soaring Demons’ nest!

Everyone was still feeling the rage. While the little Scarlet Soaring Demon fled for its life, the group had already boarded the ship and quietly followed behind it.

The little creature was quite fast; the ship had to travel at its full speed to maintain the distance.

“The Scarlet Soaring Demons are a kind of amphibian, but their nest is usually located on a rather wet island. Therefore, we won’t need to worry about fighting the creatures underwater,” said Mu Ningxue, finally speaking.

“Have you seen the creature before?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“I read about it in the books, a fairly ancient species. Something worth mentioning is, their fighting capacity underwater is a lot higher than on land. We managed to kill the Scarlet Soaring Demons quite easily because there wasn’t any body of water nearby,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

——.

A few clouds were drifting slowly in the blue sky.

There were a few islands nearby on the ocean. It was hard to tell how long they had existed in this area.

The islands were not large, a lot smaller than the island they were on previously. Each of them was between two to three times the size of an auditorium. Their diameter was less than five hundred meters.

The Magician’s hearts sank when they saw the islands.

If the nest was located on a huge island, they would be able to fight the Scarlet Soaring Demons on land, far away from the water, securing an advantage.

However, on small islands like these, it was impossible to stop the creatures from going into the ocean.

Since they were sea monsters, their sharp claws were not their scariest weapons, but the sea water.

They would be able to execute powerful moves that were several times stronger than their attacks on land. If that was the case, it would be a tough fight to take on the whole nest of Warrior-level Scarlet Soaring Demons with their numbers.

Gong Yu returned to the ship after he was done with the scouting. “I’ve scouted ahead, there are four islands in total. One in the middle, with the other three surrounding it like an irregular triangle. Those three islands are inhabited by Sea Monkey Monsters covered in brown fur. The island in the middle is dominated by the Scarlet Soaring Demons!”

“Why would there be Sea Monkeys here?” Nan Yu was confused.

“The Sea Monkeys are a rather timid species. Every tribe of strong demon creatures in the ocean treats them as their servants. Their fighting capacity is average, but their ability to find food, steal, and flee are quite outstanding. They are quite common in the ocean,” answered Nan Rongni, who came from Yuhai College.

Similar to Mo Fan, Nan Rongni was also from the south. She was quite the talkative type in the team, and was slightly closer to Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue was from the south, too. It seemed like they knew one another before the training. Every time Mo Fan went to improve his relationship with Mu Ningxue, Nan Rongni would automatically back away to give them some privacy. Mo Fan did have a good impression of her… most importantly, the girl was gorgeous too, she looked like the gentle type, her temperament completely different from Jiang Shaoxu, who kept trying to raise her presence in the team.

She was rather familiar with the Sea Monkeys, and immediately told the team what she knew.

Nan Rongni suspected that the Sea Monkeys were responsible for bringing the infants to the Scarlet Soaring Monsters. These creatures were slightly bigger than normal monkeys. They could easily sneak into the safe zone at night and snatch away kids in the remote fishing villages without alerting anyone.

“How many Sea Monkeys are there?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“Between two to three thousand based on my rough estimation. It’s not many, but it’s going to be a hassle,” said Gong Yu.

“How about the Scarlet Soaring Demons?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“That’s harder to estimate, the Scarlet Soaring Demons are a lot more sensitive than the Sea Monkeys. There’s no way I can get too close to their nest. I think there are around two hundred of them,” said Gong Yu.

“No wonder they said the sea monsters are from a pack. More than a hundred Scarlet Soaring Demons is indeed comparable to a pack of demon creatures,” said Nanyu.

“If the strength of every Scarlet Soaring Demon is similar to those we encountered before, we won’t have any problem eliminating them, but if they are stronger in the water, it’s likely that we’ll be pinned down here. We no longer have the advantage…” said Ai Jiangtu.

Being furious did not mean they had lost their rationality. They would not act recklessly…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“If the islands aren’t too far apart, maybe I can freeze the water between the islands,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Freeze the water? Do you need the help of Ice Magicians?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

Mu Ningxue shook her head and said, “I can handle it myself, but I won’t be able to participate in the battle.”

“If we can freeze the water between the four islands, it would greatly restrict the Scarlet Soaring Demons strength. We can handle the rest,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“Cool, let’s get to it!”

“We should escort Mu Ningxue to a suitable position first. Once the water is frozen to a certain thickness, even if the creatures broke a hole on the ice and went underwater, they wouldn’t be able to attack us, either. Brilliant thinking!”

—

The four islands were densely covered in plants. However, most of them were scarlet. From afar, the islands looked like four enormous flames burning on the surface of the ocean.

Gong Yu found a perfect route to sneak into the islands when he went scouting. It was the advantage of having a smaller team, as a whole troop of Battlemages would easily catch the Sea Monkeys’ attention before getting close to the outer islands!

These beast-type creatures possessed a certain level of intelligence among the demon creatures. They knew how to weigh the advantages and disadvantages. When they saw a large group of Magicians approaching, they would jump straight into the boundless ocean, and the humans could only retreat in vain!

The group sneaking into the islands only consisted of ten people. Nan Rongni did not follow them to the islands. She was in charge of looking after the boat, to secure their escape if the situation became too dangerous for them.

The group of ten included Ai Jiangtu, Nanyu, Mu Ningxue, Mo Fan, Gong Yu, Zu Jiming, Li Kaifeng, Zhou Xu, Jiang Shaoxu, and Zhao Manyan. Gong Yu was a typical wind assassin. He had already eliminated the Sea Monkeys patrolling the shore before the others arrived. Li Kaifeng’s fighting ../style was similar to Gong Yu’s, but Li Kaifeng’s Elements were Shadow and Wind. His attacks were not as aggressive as Gong Yu, but his infiltrating ability was more impressive. The weak Sea Monkeys were nailed by Giant Shadow Spikes before they even realized it!

Li Kaifeng fired the Giant Shadow Spikes continuously, sealing the movements of the Sea Monkeys that were tanning on the shore. They could not even make a single sound.

Gong Yu turned into a rapid blur. There was almost no pause between his movements.

The Sea Monkeys only survived for a few seconds, before they fell to the ground after their throats were slit open…

A Sea Monkeyclimbed out from a gap between some rocks. It was shocked to discover that all of its companions were falling to the ground. It was stunned for a moment, before coming to senses and fleeing!

“Damn it, we’ve missed one!” Gong Yu was anxious. He did not expect there was one hiding between the rocks.

The Sea Monkeywas very quick. It was already a few tens of meters away. Its cry was not loud, the sound of the waves were covering it. However, if it ran another hundred meters, the Sea Monkeys in other areas would hear it!

“Blink!”

As Gong Yu’s heart sank, he heard a cold voice behind him!

Gong Yu was startled when he saw a blurry figure appear ahead. Space rippled as the blurry figure slowly turned into Ai Jiangtu’s well-proportioned physique…

Ai Jiangtu was standing on a rock, only around sixty meters away from the fleeing Sea Monkey Monster. He quickly reached out his hand and grabbed at the air, stopping the Sea Monkey in its tracks.

Ai Jiangtu indifferently swiped his hand to the side. The Sea Monkey started flying and was hurled at a coral reef with great strength.

The Sea Monkey hit the reef with its head. Its brains splattered everywhere. It had died a cruel death before having a chance to let out a cry!

—

The group looked on in disbelief, especially those who were still on the boat.

Ai Jiangtu was still on the deck just a second ago. He was at least a hundred meters away from the shore, yet in the next second, he had already appeared on the shore and caught up to the fleeing Sea Monkey!

From the grab, to the toss that instantly killed the creature. The whole process took less than two seconds. The man was indescribably elegant and imperious!

Many in the team had only witnessed the capabilities of their captain for the first time during the training. They were absolutely dazzled by his mastery of the Space Element.

Mo Fan already met Ai Jiangtu before. He never forgot how the man had knocked the teachers of Pearl Institute away when he got angry!

“He’s already an Advanced Magician!” Jiang Shaoxu’s eyes flickered, as if she had found new prey.

“He achieved the Advanced Level quite some time ago,” added Zhou Xu.

“Is that… Blink, such a fascinating ability. He was already a hundred meters away in the blink of an eye, the movement spells of the Wind, Shadow and Earth Elements are nothing compared to it!” yelled Zhao Manyan.

Ai Jiangtu was a cautious man. He closed his eyes and used his Space Element to inspect the area.

He gave Nanyu a hand signal after confirming that no Sea Monkeys were nearby.

Nanyu was most likely the only one that understood Ai Jiangtu’s military sign language. Nanyu told the others that they were clear to go ashore. The boat then moved away from the islands. Nan Rongni used the Disguise Device to conceal its presence.

The Disguise Device was a kind of Light Element camouflaging device. It was similar to an enormous mirror covering the boat. From afar, it looked like there was nothing there. Only the military would have access to devices like these… it too was a prohibited device.

—

After the boat was hidden, Nan Rongni stayed to keep an eye on it while the others successfully sneak onto the islands.

“We’ll proceed to that spot and let Mu Ningxue freeze the water between the islands. Not only will it help us to wipe out the Scarlet Soaring Demons, it will also give us an upper hand in the fight. However, we’ll need a few people to attract the Scarlet Soaring Demons’ attention and lure them away, just so they won’t realize what we’re trying to do until the ice is thick enough,” Nanyu revised the plan with the others.

“If you need some huge action, just leave it to Mo Fan. He has Lightning and Fire, he only needs to fire a few Spells at the islands to provoke the whole pack of Scarlet Soaring Demons…” Zhao Manyan immediately elected Mo Fan to do the job.

“I don’t mind, but I’ll need someone to protect me while I’m channeling the Spells,” said Mo Fan indifferently.

Ai Jiangtu nodded and said, “You two, head over to the other side and attack the nest, the louder the better.”

Zhao Manyan’s face fell dark upon hearing this.

When it came down to blasting a demon creatures’ nest, it was fine if everything went accordingly to the plan. However, if anything went wrong, they would soon find themselves surrounded by the infuriated Scarlet Soaring Demons.

-Mo Fan is such a bitch, to seek revenge for the smallest grievance!-

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Zhao Manyan, did someone tell you this very stupid story before? It’s about two men walking on the street. They both saw a pile of shit on the ground. One of them said, I’ll give you ten thousand RMB if you eat the shit. The other man ate the shit and earned ten thousand RMB. The two continue to walk forward, and saw another pile of shit. The man who ate the shit felt he was mistreated, so he told the other man, I’ll give you ten thousand RMB too if you eat the shit. The man is eager to get his money back, so he ate the shit…” said Mo Fan to Zhao Manyan while they were running.

“You’re referring to how we’re trying to set one another up, but we’ve earned nothing apart from eating two piles of shit, right?” said Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan nodded.

Either way, they were acting like fools.

They were on the run because a large group of Scarlet Soaring Demons was chasing after them.

The island in the middle had the shape of a turtle shell. It had lots of green plants, and a cave right in the center of it. The Scarlet Soaring Demons lived inside the cave. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were in charge of attacking the nest.

Their plan was to bombard the nest and flee before the demon creatures showed up. To their surprise, the Scarlet Soaring Demons happened to be enjoying mud baths outside the cave. When a few Fiery Fists landed on the dwelling place behind them, they immediately chased after Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan in extreme rage.

Mo Fan quickly turned around to count the creatures. There were at least forty of them. They looked like race cars when they were sprinting on their muscular legs, razing the plants to the ground.

After all, they were all Warrior-level creatures. If they were only a bunch of Servant-class creatures, Mo Fan would have wiped out the whole pack by himself. The two of them simply had no chance against forty Warrior-level Scarlet Soaring Demons.

“Stop chasing, stop chasing, your nest is on fire!” Zhao Manyan did not have any movement Spell. He was solely relying on a pair of expensive magic boots.

The problem was, regardless of how expensive the Magic Equipment was, it could only last a certain period of time. Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan were almost at the edge of the island, yet the Scarlet Soaring Demons still had not given up. It would be troublesome if the duration of his magic boots ended!

“F**k me, didn’t they always say beasts would possess a certain level of intelligence? Why are they still chasing after us like a bunch of provoked bulls! Didn’t they see the surroundings of their nest covered in frost? Why are they still chasing us!” cursed Mo Fan.

The two were running like there was no tomorrow, as if they had just poked a hornets’ nest. The story that Mo Fan came up with perfectly described their situation, they were nothing but fools!

“Light Protection: Rampart!”

Zhao Manyan drew the Star Orbits while running. He tossed a Light Spell at the Scarlet Soaring Demons behind him after completing a Star Pattern consisted of seven Star Orbits.

A wall made of golden light appeared between two coconut trees. It looked like a wall of golden steel glass from afar. The Scarlet Soaring Demons failed to step on the brakes in time. They slammed into the wall hard. Blue blood splattered across the wall.

However, these creatures were obviously nimbler than Servant-class creatures. Apart from a few that rammed into the Rampart, the rest of the Scarlet Soaring Demons either went around the wall or jumped onto the trees and started sprinting on them!

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had dark faces.

Aren’t they supposed to be sea monsters? Look at how they moved! They were a disgrace to the reputation of the sea monsters!

The truth was, the Scarlet Soaring Demons were not the only ones in the trees. When Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan approached the edge of the island, they discovered gray monkeys with sharp claws dangling on the trees!

The monkeys’ tails were very strange. Instead of the usual long tails, they were fish tails instead. They even had gills on their bodies.

As a matter of fact, apart from their face and skinny bodies, they had little resemblance compared to a monkey-like beast. The gray fur on their bodies was like seaweeds.

It was likely that these skinny Sea Monkey Monsters were disguising themselves as seaweeds to hunt the weaker creatures for food. They were currently hanging on the trees, like a bunch of monkey heads poking out from a pile of gray clothes on a drying rack!

“Are these Sea Monkey Monsters trying to stop us too!” Zhao Manyan was infuriated.

It was reasonable for them to flee for their lives since they were chased by Warrior-level Scarlet Soaring Demons, yet these Servant-class Sea Monkeys dared to humiliate them too?

The Sea Monkey Monsters were no doubt a bunch of annoying creatures. Instead of blocking Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan’s path directly, they simply pluck a handful of their disgusting gray fur that was like seaweeds and tossed it in their direction.

The fur was wet and extremely sticky. It turned into filth on the ground, but if the fur landed on one’s face, it would make their eyes blind while hindering their breathing.

There were around three hundred Sea Monkeys nearby. They hid on the trees and continued to toss their fur at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan. The two found themselves in an unspeakable misery when the rain of gray seaweed poured down from the sky!

“Water Barrier!”

Zhao Manyan rapidly cast the Water Spell, not only to protect himself, but Mo Fan too. That guy didn’t even have a single defensive Spell!

“These goddamned monkeys, I swear I’m going to destroy them all later!” Mo Fan was utterly disgusted when he felt the gray fur sticking on his hair.

The seaweeds fur had an overwhelming stench, most likely because the Sea Monkeys were soaked in water every day. If Zhao Manyan had not conveniently cast Brilliant Light: Purify on him, he would most likely die of suffocation from the foul odor!

Zhao Manyan’s Water Barrier was unable to provide full protection covering three hundred and sixty degrees. It only consisted of a few water ribbons circling them, thus some areas would be unprotected at times.

As soon as they reached the island’s edge, Mo Fan saw a Sea Monkey poking its head out from a bush less than ten meters away. It had a cunning grin as it tossed a gray mound of filth at Mo Fan’s face!

Mo Fan was immediately enraged. He wasn’t a pushover!

“Come here, you little shit!”

Mo Fan swiftly grabbed in the direction of the Sea Monkey Monster!

An invisible hand grabbed the cunning Sea Monkey’s throat and dragged it toward Mo Fan. The force tossed the creature to Mo Fan’s feet!

Space Element: Telekinesis!

-Is this a dream?- Zhao Manyan’s face was blank. – That’s a Spell of the Space Element! How does Mo Fan know how to cast it?-

Translated by XephIZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Do you seriously think I can’t possibly kill you all?” Mo Fan stomped a Sea Monkey Monster’s head and glared at the rest of the creatures.

Mo Fan was just about to kill the Sea Monkey monster under his foot when the group of a few hundred Sea Monkey monsters in his surroundings cried out. They stopped throwing the disgusting filth at Mo Fan and revealed their flickering claws!

“These little imps are quite united, Mo Fan, we should take cover,” said Zhao Manyan when he saw that the situation was unfavorable.

“I’ll just kill every single one of them. Was I ever scared before?” Mo Fan was determined to kill.

“The Scarlet Soaring Demons are almost here…”

“Oh, guess I’ll spare its life for now…”

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan did not dare to waste too much time on the Sea Monkey monsters. They immediately ran in a different direction.

It was the direction they were supposed to regroup with the others. The truth was, they already felt the icy breeze circling the island, and the grass and plants were covered in frost.

The water of a puddle just happened to freeze when they stepped onto it. It was a sign that Mu Ningxue was already channeling her incredible freezing magic. The water between the islands would soon be turned into ice.

“Mo Fan, did I imagine it?” asked Zhao Manyan when he saw that the Scarlet Soaring Demons were falling behind.

“I’m afraid not, Mu Ningxue’s Ice Element is quite unique! I suppose it does have such a huge coverage area.” Mo Fan thought Zhao Manyan was referring to the water freezing.

As a matter of fact, they were quite a distance away from Mu Ningxue and the others. It was indeed crazy that the energy of her Ice Element could reach them.

“What do you think I’m referring to?! You were using the same magic as Ai Jiangtu to catch the Sea Monkey Monster!” said Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan thought he had seen it wrong. He knew how many Elements Mo Fan always had, including the Shadow Element that Mo Fan always kept as a secret…

“Yeah, it’s the Space Element,” said Mo Fan.

“What do you mean it’s Space Element?” said Zhao Manyan.

“What do you mean ‘what do you mean’?”

“Ai Jiangtu was voted the captain of the team unanimously because of his Space Element. Didn’t you see how cool he was when he blinked and instantly killed the creature? His Telekinesis can easily overwhelm his enemies, and his Blink can easily outmaneuver any movement spell. My father once said to me that if I manage to Awaken the Space Element when I reached the Advanced Level, he will give me half of his possessions. Do you understand how many figures half of his possessions equivalent to… the way you responded just then was like ‘yeah, it’s Space Element, what’s a big deal about it?’, do you know what I f**king mean now?” Zhao Manyan was on the verge of going crazy. He immediately uttered the words like a machine gun. He even had the urge to simply scream in Mo Fan’s ear!

Mo Fan let out a hollow laugh when he saw Zhao Manyan had turned into a Spartan.

Fine, he admitted that he was acting like a pretentious prick!

“Alright, I now officially introduce you… the Element that I’ve Awakened after becoming an Advanced Magician, the coolest Element ever, the Space Element! However, you know I like to act low-key, so can you please keep it a secret… by the way, is your father interested in adopting a son?” said Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan’s face fell dark. He had never seen such a shameless person before!

“Since when did you level up to the Advanced Level… tell me later, they are getting closer. Allow me to give them a Rolling Wave!” said Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan purposely ran closer to the water. He immediately took control of the seawater, which combined into a surging tide over twenty meters tall…

The tide rolled forward, snapping the trees covering the island in half. The broken trunks and branches combined with the tide, which continued to roll toward the Scarlet Soaring Demons.

Zhao Manyan cast the Rolling Wave quite adeptly. Since he was right beside the sea, his Rolling Wave’s strength had doubled, since he did not need to prepare a supply of water.

Zhao Manyan was quite satisfied when he saw the Rolling Wave charging at the Scarlet Soaring Demons like rolling doom. His strength was stronger when he stayed close to any body of water.

“Say… have you forgotten what my big wife mentioned, that these Scarlet Soaring Demons are experts at controlling water too?” Mo Fan asked softly.

The pleasant grin that Zhao Manyan was wearing immediately vanished. He glanced at the wave and realized that it was halted in its tracks!

-The wave stopped rolling? That’s some insane control!-

Taking a closer look, Zhao Manyan discovered that the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s eyes had turned ocean blue. The blue glow their eyes emitted had stopped the Rolling Wave.

Slowly, the Rolling Wave began to flow in the opposite direction.

Zhao Manyan did not care if the wave was rolling in the opposite direction. The eyes of the Scarlet Soaring Demons unleashed a blinding glow, and the wave was now charging toward them like a stampede of angry beasts!

The wave was over thirty meters tall under the Scarlet Soaring Demons’ control. The two young men saw an enormous ocean-blue curtain coming in their direction when they turned around!

“I ranked up to the Advanced Level when I was still in the Ancient Capital…”

“Advanced my ass, lend me a hand, my magic boots have stopped working!” screamed Zhao Manyan, not in the mood to discuss it.

“Why did we even put ourselves in such a mess when neither of us has a movement Spell?”

“Brother, I’m sorry, please use whatever you have to get us out of here, the wave is catching up!”

Mo Fan had no clue what to do. He could at most escape with the Fleeing Shadow.

The problem was the main difference that Fleeing Shadow had compared to other movement Spells: the fact that it could not be used wherever.

He could move freely to places with shadows, yet without shadows, the Spell was worse than running on his feet!

“Telekinesis, use Telekinesis to split the wave, you have the Space Element!” blurted out Zhao Manyan.

“I’ve just learned Telekinesis, there’s a chance that the Star Orbits will break still during the channeling. I can at most grab a monkey. As for anything heavier or forming a wall with my mind… I have no clue how to do that,” answered Mo Fan.

“…”

Mo Fan had indeed awakened the Space Element. However, it was also extremely difficult to master the powerful Space Element!

Not only did it require attention to connect the Star Orbits, it was also necessary for the Magician to use his will to lock onto the target. It was easier to use it on unmoving or light objects. However, a giant wave that was over thirty meters tall and rolling rapidly would simply shatter Mo Fan’s weak mental power!

“You’re an Advanced Magician, just do something! Holy crap, the wave is right above us!” screamed Zhao Manyan like a sissy.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

The thickets at the center island were now frozen. Thick frost covered the surface of the fragile plants, some even snapped from the weight of the ice!

Looking down from high up in the sky, a white ring was circling the islands. The area within the ring had turned snowy white, including frozen rocks, plants that had turned into ice statues, and frozen bodies of water!

The ice inside the ring grew thicker. The whole place was turning into a kingdom of ice. On top of that, the white ring was still expanding into the surroundings. The edges of the islands were gradually covered in frost, too.

A few birds on the islands could no longer withstand the cold. They beat their wings and began to flee.

The birds were feeling extremely unpleasant. It took them quite some time just to locate these warm islands, yet the sky started snowing all of a sudden. They were simply wondering if they had to move further south…

However, they were still beating their wings when a stronger icy force swept across them. Their bodies quickly stiffened and were covered in frost.

In the end, these little creatures became one with the frozen thickets, both frozen in the white drawing!

“Such an incredible control of the Ice Element,” exclaimed Ai Jiangtu, who was watching Mu Ningxue.

The others dropped their jaws too. The islands were freezing a lot faster than they had imagined. No wonder Mu Ningxue said that she alone was enough to handle it!

“The water is turning into ice. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan are stirring up quite a scene, I believe there are around fifty Scarlet Soaring Demons chasing after them,” said Nanyu.

“Mmm!” Ai Jiangtu nodded.

Ai Jiangtu purposely told the team to stay close to Mu Ningxue when the fight broke out.

The closer they were to Mu Ningxue, the stronger the ice energy. It would greatly suppress the Scarlet Soaring Demons’ Water Element capabilities, giving the Magicians an edge over the sea monsters in the upcoming fight.

The others had finished their preparations. They were ready to take on the Scarlet Soaring Demons.

The cries of Scarlet Soaring Demons arrived together with the breeze. A Scarlet Soaring Demon around five meters tall approached them from the direction of the nest.

It had discovered the Magicians’ existence and looked extremely furious. First of all, the Scarlet Soaring Demons would not allow anyone apart from their own species to trespass on their island. Second, these reckless humans dared to freeze their warm nest!

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were not fond of cold weather, especially at freezing temperatures. They preferred warm water and tropical maritime plants!

“They found us, prepare to fight!” said Ai Jiangtu.

“We’ve been waiting for this, allow me to take on this enormous Scarlet Soaring Demon!” Gong Yu’s clothes flapped wildly in the gust of wind that he unleashed. He reached the massive Scarlet Soaring Demon in the blink of an eye.

One could identify the Scarlet Soaring Demons’ strength based on their size. Those that were between three to four meters were weaker. However, those that were five meters were considered Giant Scarlet Soaring Demons. Both the sturdiness of their skin and the length of their claws was stronger than ordinary Scarlet Soaring Demons. Gong Yu was the first to engage the Scarlet Soaring Demon. It was obviously not as easy compared to the ones he faced before. He had barely inflicted some damage to the creature after some time.

The five-meter-tall Scarlet Soaring Demon was howling non-stop. It was obviously summoning its comrades.

Soon, more Scarlet Soaring Demons were heading toward them. These creatures were totally infuriated. They vented their anger on the ice by stomping on it with great force, trying to break it into pieces!

The creatures possessed a certain level of intelligence. They soon realized that Mu Ningxue was the one responsible for changing their islands’ condition. They immediately charged toward her madly…

Mu Ningxue was unable to protect herself while channeling the magic. However, the others would not let any Scarlet Soaring Demon get closer to Mu Ningxue. The fight broke out with Mu Ningxue at the center!

——

The wave was right on top of Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan’s heads. However, for some reason, pieces of ice were falling onto them instead of water.

Zhao Manyan turned around while sprinting and discovered that the tide had weakened.

Taking a closer look, it turned out that the area was already covered in frost. The sea had a thick layer of ice on its surface. The freezing energy had slowed down the pace of the rolling wave…

As they sprinted further ahead, they discovered that the wave was already falling behind. Soon enough, the wave had stopped, frozen like a piece of art. It was extremely shiny when the sunlight shone upon it.

“Is…is it frozen?” Zhao Manyan gaped in disbelief, staring at the scene behind him.

The massive wave was frozen in mid-curl into ice. It had stopped right in its tracks when it was just about to fall onto them.

Not only was the wave frozen, the islands, the water between the islands, and the plants on the island had all turned white as they were frozen and covered in frost. The warm islands had turned into frozen islands, on a frozen sea!

“Isn’t your big wife a bit too insane!” gasped Zhao Manyan.

“Yeah, this is quite crazy!” Mo Fan nodded slowly.

The efficiency of her Ice Magic took everyone by surprise. A huge part of the ocean and the annoying Sea Monkey Monsters were frozen. Was Mu Ningxue the reborn Ice Goddess? How did she freeze the water between the islands on her own?!

The ice on the surface of the ocean connected the four islands into a singly icy island. The Scarlet Soaring Demons were right in the middle of the islands, so it was trickier for them to get any access to the seawater.

The Scarlet Soaring Demons chasing after Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan seemed to have heard the summons of their leader. They stopped chasing after the two and headed toward Mu Ningxue and the others…

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were relieved. However, it did not mean they were done with their job. When they saw the Scarlet Soaring Demons heading to the center of the islands, they sneakily followed behind and harassed the creatures!

“It seems like they have to obey their superior’s order. They didn’t even bother turning around to kill us when we caught their comrades in the back. Hehe, it’s our turn to hunt them down!” Zhao Manyan grinned cunningly.

“Let me see if I can grab the one that’s over three meters tall,” Mo Fan followed behind the group of Scarlet Soaring Demon and used his Space Magic.

Basic Spell of the Space Element: Telekinesis!

Despite being a Basic Spell, Telekinesis was a rather complicated ability. Without mastering it, Mo Fan could at most bend a spoon, move a pencil or grab himself a cup of water. It would be completely useless in fights. However, if he became an expert in using it, he would be able to drive away, capture, and toss his target as he wished. just like Ai Jiangtu, making him invincible!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Come here you little…” Mo Fan fixed his eyes on the three-meter-tall Scarlet Soaring Demon. His pupils were emitting an eerie silver light.

Using the Space Element required great concentration, as drawing the Star Orbit was not the only requirement to cast the Spell. Most importantly, he needed to lock onto his target and manipulate space with his will to achieve his goal!

It was an extremely complicated process that required lots of practice. Therefore, for some time, Mo Fan had tried using Telekinesis to flip some girls’ skirts up. It might sound easy since a little breeze was enough to do the job, but to use the invisible claw and lift the skirt up to a height that only he could see required a certain level of skill!

Mo Fan was currently using Telekinesis: Invisible Claw. It was highly focused on quickness, accuracy, and the strength of the grip!

Mo Fan had no problem with accuracy, but it was obvious that the strength of the grip was nowhere near enough.

As Mo Fan thought, when he cast the Telekinesis: Invisible Claw, the three-meter-tall Scarlet Soaring Demon that was sprinting simply shuddered. It continued to run as if it was hardly affected by the Spell, despite the confused look on its face as it wondered if it had just run into some invisible spider web.

“Bro, it’s not working?” Zhao Manyan had a strange look.

“I can only grab around fifty kilograms now. The three-meter-tall Scarlet Soaring Demon is at least two hundred kilograms. On top of that, it was running at such an incredible speed. It’s too hard for me to drag it back here!” Mo Fan smiled awkwardly.

“Then why did you even bother trying? The Scarlet Soaring Demons are running away!” said Zhao Manyan in displeasure.

“Wasn’t I just practicing diligently? Forget it, I’ll just go and catch those Sea Monkeys, I was pretty good at grabbing them!” said Mo Fan.

“Say, aren’t those Scarlet Soaring Demons heading toward your big wife? Are you sure you have time to fool around with the Sea Monkey Monsters?” said Zhao Manyan.

“Say, why are you still talking nonsense here, hurry up and follow me, we’re going to kill them all!”

Zhao Manyan had finally witnessed Mo Fan’s Space Element. He was unsure if he should be laughing or crying.

That being said, Zhao Manyan knew that the Space Element was one of the hardest Elements to master. In addition to that, it was an Element that could only be Awakened in the Advanced Level, which basically implied that the Magician could only Awaken it and practice it with a certain level of mental strength.

If Mo Fan was willing to spend a great amount of effort on mastering the Space Element, even Basic Telekinesis could be used in countless ways!

—

“It’s so cold!”

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan proceeded to regroup with the team. However, they soon realized the meaning of freezing a place three feet deep!

{TL Note: Freezing a place three feet deep is taken from a proverb. The actual version is, a single day’s frost is not enough to freeze a place three feet deep. It has the same meaning as the idiom ‘Rome was not built in a day’.}

The whole place was covered in ice. Large snowflakes were drifting in the sky. The water between the islands was completely frozen over. The waves on the surface of the ocean had frozen in place, too. It simply looked as if time was frozen, but would resume in the next second.

A wild roar came from the direction of the nest. A scarlet gust of wind swept forward and shattered everything that was frozen into pieces!

Mo Fan glanced in the direction and frowned.

The aura of the Scarlet Soaring Demon was rather formidable. It was clearly not a mere Warrior-level creature!

“There’s a Commander-level creature here, it’s the Scarlet Rending Demon!” someone screamed from not far away.

The situation had escalated into a messy fight. Lots of Scarlet Soaring Demons were spotted on the island of ice. Nanyu was the one who discovered the Commander-level creature, since she was the closest to the nest.

“Nanyu is in danger!” Zhao Manyan ran toward the scream.

Unfortunately, he had already used his magic boots. His running speed was too slow.

Mo Fan headed toward the scream, too. His speed was a lot quicker. He cast Fleeing Shadow a few times when no one was looking. It was more important to save the girl!

—

The scarlet gust of wind approached rapidly. Nanyu was being kept busy by three Scarlet Soaring Demons over four meters tall. When she saw the fierce gust of wind, she decisively summoned her Shield Equipment to protect her from the Scarlet Rending Demon’s attack!

Nanyu’s Shield of Lustrous Wood stood firmly in front of her, but the Scarlet Rending Demon rammed into the shield without hesitation.

The Shield of Lustrous Wood was instantly shattered into pieces. The collision knocked Nanyu flying.

Nanyu remained calm as she was knocked into the air, landing nimbly on the ice. Her semi-long hair was a little disheveled.

There was a woosh of motion, and Nanyu saw a man appear beside her: it was Ai Jiangtu!

“Are you alright?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“I’m fine, can you handle this creature?” asked Nanyu.

“I’ll try,” said Ai Jiangtu.

Nanyu did not push herself. She immediately backed off to the side. However, the Scarlet Soaring Demons had no intention of letting her go, and immediately surrounded her. There were around eight of them, each taller than four meters!

Luckily, Mo Fan came to the rescue in time. He demanded the attention of the creatures with his wild lightning and fierce flames. Each of his Spells was too deadly to ignore!

“Zhao Manyan, cast your defensive Spells on me!” Ai Jiangtu immediately called Zhao Manyan over when he arrived.

“Are you trying to take on the Scarlet Rending Demon?” Zhao Manyan was slightly hesitant. The Commander-level creature would easily break his Intermediate Spells. The Shield of Lustrous Wood that Nanyu was using was considered powerful for Intermediate Magic Equipment, yet it was shattered into pieces by the Scarlet Rending Demon with a single attack!

Ai Jiangtu did not respond. He gathered his focus and used his mental energy to control the giant frozen boulder in front of him.

The boulder was lifted off the ground. The snow covering it fell off as it hovered above the ground.

As a silver glow burst out from Jiangtu’s pupils, the hovering boulder immediately flew at the Scarlet Rending Demon at incredible speed!

The Scarlet Rending Demon did not dodge. It cut with its sharp claws, and swiftly slashed the boulder into pieces!

The Scarlet Rending Demon dashed forward and leapt into the air. It extended its muscular limbs in the air before driving out its arms with great force, aiming its claws at Ai Jiangtu’s head!

Its speed was incredible. It simply turned into a scarlet blur which briefly appeared in the air before it immediately landed on the ground. Its terrifying claws produced a ten-meters-long afterglow that could rend everything they came into contact with.

Ai Jiangtu did not dodge preemptively. The moment the Scarlet Rending Demon landed on the ground, the space he was standing on became blurry. In the next second, he had vanished from the spot and relocated himself onto an ice boulder fifty meters away!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

However, before Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan could recover from the astonishment after witnessing Ai Jiangtu’s Blink, the Scarlet Rending Demon turned into a scarlet gust of wind racing toward Ai Jiangtu’s location!

As expected of a Commander-level creature, it was obvious that the creature could predict where Ai Jiangtu was moving to with his Blink. It never planned to land its previous attack, but it immediately kicked the ground and chased after him!

It all took place too quickly. Even Zhao Manyan, who was supposed to cast defensive Spells on Ai Jiangtu, failed to react in time.

When the Scarlet Rending Demon eerily appeared behind Ai Jiangtu, it was too late to cast a defensive Spell.

“Crap!” cursed Zhao Manyan anxiously.

Both Ai Tutu and Scarlet Rending Demon were too quick for him. They had already exchanged attacks in less than a second. If Zhao Manyan was unable to predict where Ai Jiangtu was moving to, there was no way he could apply a defensive Spell on him!

The Light Protection: Sacred Shield came late, yet Ai Jiangtu had obviously anticipated the Scarlet Rending Demon’s attack. He did not move away, but waited for the creature to get closer.

“Sinister Spider Trap!”

Ai Jiangtu’s hands were wrapped with a strange red spider web. If he had not lifted them on purpose, they could not possibly know that he had already cast a Curse Spell!

A crimson-red spider ghost appeared above Ai Jiangtu. The Scarlet Rending Demon was about to stab Ai Jiangtu’s chest with its claws, yet it felt its arms stuck in the air…

It raised its head and discovered the spider web produced by the crimson-web spider ghost looming over it. Many joints crucial to moving its body were tied up by the firm spider web!

The evil spider ghost began to siphon, drawing out the energy of the creature’s soul through the spider web. It was an utterly terrifying Curse Spell!

Ai Jiangtu immediately backed off. The Scarlet Rending Demon had fallen into the Sinister Spider Trap. It glared at the man with bloodshot eyes and struggled fiercely.

The Scarlet Rending Demon emitted a bloody glow, which immediately transformed into countless crescent-shaped knives flying in all directions.

The blood-colored knives cut the spider web entangling it and shattered the spider ghost above it.

The Scarlet Rending Demon stomped the ground after regaining its freedom. The scarlet scales on its chest pulsated vigorously.

Even though the Sinister Spider Trap did not fully drain away its life force, it had sucked the energy of its soul dry, greatly affecting its lifespan and cultivation. It would have to eat lots of human children just to recover the loss!

The Scarlet Rending Demon uttered a screech. The ice nearby was simply shattered into pieces by the scream!

The ocean was around three hundred meters away. However, the ice at the edge had cracked, and from the crack cold seawater rose at the creature’s scream, combining into a giant droplet!

The Scarlet Rending Demon stomped the ground again, smashing the ice under its feet into pieces. Seawater rose from the crack and jetted into the sky violently, forming a giant water pillar over sixty meters tall!

The ice under Ai Jiangtu’s feet began to crack as a fierce water pillar rose under the crack!

The pressure of the water pillar was absolutely terrifying. It was strong enough to break the rocks and ice into pieces. It could easily break a person’s bones!

Ai Jiangtu quickly backed off, yet the terrifying water pillars kept appearing under his feet. He was forced to Blink a great distance away.

The Scarlet Rending Demon’s eyes glittered. The giant water pillars were twisted into a fierce tide hovering in mid-air!

The powerful tide landed on the ice under the Scarlet Rending Demon’s control and charged in Ai Jiangtu’s direction like a pack of sprinting water beasts.

Ai Jiangtu had a grim look when he saw the water beasts approaching. His eyes emitted a silver flicker.

He was focusing his mind to construct a wall with his mental energy!

The water beasts charged forward but they suddenly splashed aside when they were still ten meters away from Ai Jiangtu. It looked like the tide had hit a cliff, even though there was nothing between Ai Jiangtu and the tide. The wave splashed high into the sky and dispersed into the surroundings.

Not a single drop of water managed to reach Ai Jiangtu’s vicinity despite the incredible momentum of the tide. It felt like there was a thick wall between the fierce water beasts and the man.

However, more water beasts continued to ram into the invisible wall. Ai Jiangtu’s body slowly slid backward. He was extremely tense, not daring to loosen his focus!

The eyes of the Scarlet Rending Demon glittered once again, summoning more water pillars to jet out from the ice and turn into water beasts rolling in Ai Jiangtu’s direction.

Mo Fan’s fists burst into flames when he saw Ai Jiangtu in a pinch!

“Little Flame Belle, possess!” Mo Fan yelled into his Contracted Space.

Little Flame Belle was still enjoying her nap, and rubbed her eyes. She was too lazy to even fly out of her cozy bed and possess Mo Fan. She simply directed her Calamity Fire into Mo Fan’s soul, giving Mo Fan the ability to control her fire.

“Meteorite Fist!”

“Nine Dragons!”

Mo Fan was engulfed in blazing flames which spread rapidly around him. Even his hair looked like tongues of fire.

He threw a punch in the direction of the Scarlet Rending Demon. Nine fiery dragons sprang forward like a meteorite, burning in a mix of brown-red and bright red. The fiery dragons rapidly combined into a burning beam in flight!

The Scarlet Rending Demon did not place too much attention on Mo Fan, it was entirely focused on Ai Jiangtu. Therefore, it was too late for it to control the seawater to protect itself when the fierce Meteorite Fist was right in its face!

The thin water curtain was nowhere enough to block Mo Fan’s overwhelming Meteorite Fist. The explosion engulfed the Scarlet Rending Demon in flames and sent it flying into the distance.

The Scarlet Rending Demon continued to slide a great distance away as it landed on the ground, leaving a long scorched trail through the burning thickets.

Zhao Manyan almost dropped his jaw after witnessing the scene.

The Scarlet Rending Demon was a Commander-level creature. Ordinary Intermediate Spells were useless against it!

However, Mo Fan’s punch had blasted the creature so far away. The scarlet scales from its chest scattered across the ground. The damage of Mo Fan’s attack was way too insane!

“The flame…Mo Fan, isn’t it your daughter’s?” Zhao Manyan immediately recalled the Calamity Fire when he saw the brown flame burning on Mo Fan’s figure.

Didn’t the little Flame Belle have the same kind of flame?

Zhao Manyan never thought the little Flame Belle that Mo Fan had invested all his possessions to raise would grant him such remarkable strength!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Scarlet Rending Demon rose to its feet unsteadily. It quickly grabbed the snow around it and rubbed its on its body to put out the fire.

It lowered its head and saw an obvious crack on the thick carapace on its chest. Its crimson eyes looked blank, then flickered with rage as the creature cast a glance at Mo Fan!

The Scarlet Rending Demon lunged forward like a crimson ray of light. It had dashed out of the frozen thickets in the blink of an eye. It clenched its hand into a fist and threw a punch at Mo Fan’s head!

The creature was trying to return the favor. With the strength of a Commander-level creature, the force of the punch was enough to shatter a huge rock into pieces!

The destructive scarlet gust of wind locked onto Mo Fan’s figure. Mo Fan tried to dodge the attack with Fleeing Shadow, yet somehow the attack was still able to lock onto him. The fierce gust of wind came right into his face. All his vision was filled by the gust of wind, bringing a strong pressure of death with it!

“Black Snake Armor!”

Mo Fan did not dare to hesitate further. He quickly summoned his life-saving Equipment.

The blue-black snake shadow split into ten shadows wrapping around Mo Fan’s arms, neck, head, body, legs. Almost instantly, snake scales covered his entire body, from his teeth to his ankles!

The gust of wind produced by the Scarlet Rending Demon’s struck Mo Fan. Even though he tried to dodge aside, he was still caught inside the terrifying gust of wind. It tried to rend him to shreds!

Luckily, Mo Fan had donned the Black Snake Armor in time. Otherwise, the attack was enough to kill him!

The creature was Commander-level, after all. Its strength far surpassed that of a Warrior-level creature. The ordinary defense Spells of Magicians were a mere decoration to it!

“Mo…Mo Fan!”

Nanyu was completely stunned. She quickly chased after Mo Fan when the gust of wind blew him away.

Mo Fan was knocked quite a far distance away. The scarlet wind continued to inflict damage to his body. Nanyu began to panic she failed to find Mo Fan’s corpse in the area.

Did the gust of wind seriously tear him into pieces?

“I’m…I’m here…” Mo Fan raised his hand from a ravine.

He was climbing up the edge laboriously, before flipping over and making his way back to the surface. He was lying flat on the ground with his face towards the sky.

“That son of a bitch, such a remarkable hit!” Mo Fan panted heavily.

It felt his sternum had been smashed flat by the impact. Every breath he took was hurting him.

“How are you still alive?” Nanyu was dumbfounded. She immediately inspected the Black Snake Armor.

The Black Snake Armor looked slightly sunken, but it did not break into pieces like Nanyu’s Shield of Lustrous Wood, even though most Shield Equipment had a higher resistance than Armor Equipment. Nanyu began to wonder what was Mo Fan’s armor made of. It looked like it could still endure a few more attacks!

“How could I die so easily? I’ve killed more than a handful of Commander-level creatures in the past. Do you really think that thing with a fish head can kill me?” Mo Fan managed to catch his breath.

Nanyu opened her mouth wide. She proceeded to ignore him, knowing that he was fine.

-A handful of Commander-level creatures? Couldn’t he be more logical when he was trying to bluff!-

“Look, I told you he wouldn’t die like that,” Zhao Manyan and Ai Jiangtu belatedly arrived.

Ai Jiangtu let out a relieved sigh when he learned that Mo Fan was fine. He turned around, glancing at the screaming Scarlet Rending Demon and said, “That creature isn’t an easy target. I’ll lure him away while you go and help the others. Kill all Scarlet Soaring Demons as quickly as possible, and we’ll eliminate this Commander-level creature together!”

Mo Fan, Nanyu, and Zhao Manyan nodded.

Ai Jiangtu had Blink, so the Scarlet Rending Demon would have trouble catching him despite its outstanding speed. Soon, Ai Jiangtu found himself in a chase with the Scarlet Rending Demon.

It was obvious that only he could keep the Scarlet Rending Demon busy. As he mentioned, their priority was to get rid of all the Scarlet Soaring Demons. They needed everyone’s help to kill the Commander-level Scarlet Rending Demon!

—

The three quickly left and headed toward Mu Ningxue.

The battlefield had moved to the edge of the islands. A few were already fighting the Scarlet Soaring Demons on the ice above the ocean!

The team stayed close to Mu Ningxue. Gong Yu was the closest to her. His speed was incredibly quick as he moved rapidly from Mu Ningxue’s left to right, and her back at times. Apart from the Scarlet Soaring Demons, the Sea Monkey Monsters had joined the fight too. These cunning creatures tried to seize the opportunity while the other Magicians were kept busy by the Scarlet Soaring Demons to kill Mu Ningxue, who was channeling the Ice Curse!

A ring of corpses was lying close to Mu Ningxue, mostly Gong Yu’s work.

Mo Fan was not happy. He was supposed to be the one looking after Mu Ningxue. This Gong Yu was utterly shameless to keep moving left and right in front of his big wife!

“I should go and get rid of that Gong Yu… oh, I mean I should go and protect Mu Ningxue. I’ll leave the rest to you two,” Mo Fan said to Nanyu and Zhao Manyan.

“Are you seriously fussing about it considering the nature of the situation!” yelled Nanyu.

“Are you jealous?” teased Mo Fan.

Nanyu gave him an icy gaze. Her lips curled up as she uttered, “Piss off!”

—-

Gong Yu had appeared in three different spots in less than two seconds, stopping the Scarlet Soaring Demons that had tried to ambush Mu Ningxue.

“Don’t worry, with I, Gong Yu here, they won’t get any closer to you!” Gong Yu returned to Mu Ningxue’s side with a confident smile.

Mu Ningxue had her eyes closed. She was entirely focused on channeling the Spell.

She was aware of their distance to the ocean. Once the ice was broken, the seawater underneath would be revealed. It was necessary to make the ice thicker, as the Scarlet Soaring Demons would be a pain to deal with if they gained access to water!

“Xuexue, don’t worry, with I Mo Fan here, such an annoying pest will no longer bother you,” Mo Fan appeared with the same confident smile.

Unlike Gong Yu’s cautious approach, Mo Fan boldly walked up to Mu Ningxue and put his hand around her slim waist when she was entirely focused on channeling the Spell, to declare his ownership to Gong Yu!

“Put your filthy hand away!” Gong Yu was infuriated.

Mo Fan simply ignored his demand.

“Do you want to die?” a pleasant yet coldly murderous voice said.

Mo Fan awkwardly withdrew his hand and said, “You should focus more on channeling the Spell.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The ice is breaking, watch out!”

“The seawater is no longer frozen. Damn it, these Scarlet Soaring Demons’ ability to control water is absolutely terrifying. Let’s back off a little!”

“To the island!”

The others not far away began to scream. Knowing that the situation was unfavorable to the team, Mu Ningxue glared at the shameless Mo Fan. She did not have time to punish the rascal for his mischievous act. She immediately closed her eyes to focus on the Spell.

Mu Ningxue was utterly furious. If she wasn’t busy spreading the energy of her domain to the islands, she would immediately focus it on Mo Fan instead. Last time, he had touched her hand, and now, he even touched her waist!

Was a woman’s waist something a man could simply touch?

—

“That son of a bitch, that jerk who took advantage of another’s precarious position!” Gong Yu was totally infuriated.

Mu Ningxue was his favorite sacred goddess. How could he allow anyone to touch her? In his eyes, this Mo Fan was even more abominable than the Scarlet Soaring Demons!

“If you dare take advantage of her again, I swear I’ll chop your hands off!” snapped Gong Yu.

“The truth is, I’ve also taken her first kiss. Do you want to chop my mouth off, too?” Mo Fan shot back.

Before Gong Yu could explode in rage, Mu Ningxue stumbled slightly. The icy frost that took her a strenuous effort to summon simply dissipated when she lost her focus.

The frost scattered across the sky and melted in the air. The ice on the surface of the ocean continued to break into pieces.

“Stay away from me!” said Mu Ningxue, who was already at her limit.

“See, you’ve triggered my Xuexue, can you please stay ten meters away from her from now onward?” said Mo Fan, pointing at Gong Yu.

“I was referring to you!” Mu Ningxue glared at Mo Fan.

She was still in perfect control just a moment ago. The frost was freezing the water at the perfect pace. The ice was almost thick enough to prevent the Scarlet Soaring Demons from breaking the layer of ice, but this maniac Mo Fan had to show up at the most crucial timing, disrupting her focus. When she lost it, she also lost control of the power of her domain!

“Alright, alright, I won’t say anything,” Mo Fan surrendered. He stopped mentioning the past.

The truth was, he did take Mu Ningxue’s first kiss. When they were still kids, they used to play house, and Mo Fan took the role of husband. He insisted that they had to kiss as a sign that they were married, and successfully tricked the girl’s first kiss away.

Unfortunately, Mu Ningxue still remembered it among her blurry memories. She completely lost herself when Mo Fan mentioned it!

—

Mu Ningxue closed her eyes. For some reason, when Mo Fan was staying close to her, it felt like a time bomb was ticking right beside her, making it hard for her to concentrate.

Having this thought, in order to prevent the maniac from doing the shameless act again, Mu Ningxue summoned a wind wall to surround herself.

She slowly began to float up as the wind wall appeared.

Her silver hair drifted elegantly in the wind, and she extended her slender arms. She looked like a sacred fairy embracing the blowing snow. The season would change according to her mood!

As the snow landed on the surface, the seawater that was about to break free was quickly suppressed. The waves were frozen in the midst of splashing.

Mu Ningxue’s domain was even stronger after she readjusted her thoughts, and a thicker ice formed above the frozen water. The sea that almost reclaimed its freedom was entirely frozen again. Even after breaking the ice, the demon creatures could not find any seawater underneath it!

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were just about to counterattack with their ability to control water, yet the waves they had summoned were completely frozen into ice. The Scarlet Soaring Demons screamed furiously!

They did not like the cold, nor did they like the ice. Mu Ningxue had transformed their territory into an island of ice which they could not control. The Scarlet Soaring Demons immediately fixed their furious gaze on the goddess of ice who was floating at the center!

“Damn it, they are all heading toward Mu Ningxue!” Li Kaifeng turned around and saw around fifty Scarlet Soaring Demons making their way toward Mu Ningxue.

The creatures knew that they would have to get rid of the goddess of ice before they could utilize their ability to control water.

Fifty Scarlet Soaring Demons charged at their target, some leaping into the air, others forcibly summoning a wave and gliding on the current like sea gulls. Their claws were placed together, ready to scissor a strike…

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were approaching rapidly in all directions. The other Magicians scattered across the area could not retreat in time to defend Mu Ningxue!

“Stop as many as you can. They have given up on defense to focus on Mu Ningxue. Now is the best time to kill them!” said Jiang Shaoxu who was more concerned about killing the sea monsters.

Jiang Shaoxu was right. It was easier to kill the Scarlet Soaring Demons when they were focused on going after Mu Ningxue!

—

“A bunch of scum!” Mo Fan immediately spat on the ground when he saw the number of Scarlet Soaring Demons charging toward him.

Gong Yu’s lips twisted. However, he was not in the mood to pay attention to Mo Fan’s bad habit. They were simply too many Scarlet Soaring Demons, he could not handle them all by himself.

“Scum…oh, Gong Yu, you handle those in that direction. Leave the rest to me,” commanded Mo Fan.

{TL Note: ‘Scum’ here is pronounced as ‘za yu’, which is similar to ‘Gong Yu’.}

“Humph, trying to show off?” It was true that Gong Yu could only handle a certain direction. His Elements were more suitable for kiting and ambushing enemies. He was not good at handling situations where the enemies were flanking from all directions.

“I haven’t really mastered it, but I guess the spell is perfect for a situation like this!” mumbled Mo Fan.

Mu Ningxue stood closer to Mu Ningxue, who had already landed on the ground after becoming aware of the approaching danger. She opened her eyes and was shocked to discover over fifty Scarlet Soaring Demons charging toward her.

She could not afford to unleash her domain further. Gong Yu and Mo Fan would not be able to stop all these Scarlet Soaring Demons from getting close to her.

She was just about to cast a spell when she suddenly felt light-headed and staggered.

Mo Fan immediately lent her a hand. This time, he did not take advantage of her.

“Take a rest. With me here, they won’t be able to get close to you!” Mo Fan was extremely serious for once.

Mu Ningxue was just about to say something when she saw Mo Fan’s eyes engulfed in flames. The blazing red flames reflected a brilliant, burning Star Constellation!

Star Patterns began to appear around Mo Fan, each connected by seven Star Orbits…

The Star Patterns intertwined with one another. The Star Patterns gradually formed a three-dimensional, splendid and awe-striking Star Constellation!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The construction of the Star Constellation was rather slow. Mo Fan did admit that he was still unfamiliar with the process, but he knew he could at least finish it before the Scarlet Soaring Demons reached them!

Time gradually passed. Seven burning Star Patterns were finally completed. A brilliant and mysterious fiery line connected the Star Patterns, making Mo Fan look like a mad man standing in a burning galaxy…

Star Constellation!

It was constructed by seven Star Patterns, connected with forty-nine Star Orbits, lit up by three hundred and forty-three Fire Element Stars!

The Stars were densely packed together, each shining like a fascinating fire gem.

The Star Orbits intertwined with one another, connecting the Star Patterns in an obscure manner!

At last, the Star Constellation was assembled, carrying a formidable aura that contained a great potential hidden deep inside a human’s soul.

“Sky-Flame Funeral!”

His eyes like blazing flames, Mo Fan slowly raised the Star Constellation. The light of the Star Constellation turned into a strong fire burning on Mo Fan’s palms.

An enormous flame was lifted by Mo Fan’s hands, which gradually rose into the sky!

As Mo Fan pushed the flame with great power, the blazing flames flew into the sky. From afar, it looked like some brilliant fireworks…

However, unlike the fireworks in festivals, it was the nightmarish funeral for his enemies. The flame exploded after reaching a certain height, which immediately expanded into an enormous burning cloud, setting the sky on fire!

“Fall!”

Mo Fan tilted his head back to stare at the burning clouds and used his will to command the rolling flames to fall down from the sky.

A huge fireball fell and landed in front of a Scarlet Soaring Demon. The creature quickly reacted and dodged the fireball by leaping aside.

The creature was just about to mock the spell with a grin when it discovered countless fireballs more above its head!

Fire fell continuously from the burning clouds. It was almost silent at the start, and then it started pouring down heavily with enormous blasts!

The flames set the ground on fire and spread rapidly as they landed. As the sky was entirely filled with the rain of fire, the ground rapidly turned into a vicious ocean of burning flames!

A funeral of flames falling from the sky!

Standing in the middle of the flames, Mo Fan continued to deliver enormous flames into the sky with his hands. The burning clouds did not stop, and the rain of fire showed no signs of weakening.

The Sky-Flame Funeral had a huge area of coverage. The Scarlet Soaring Demons coming from all directions were caught in the flames. Not only were they leaping around and screaming in the ocean of fire, they had to keep an eye on the rain of fire pouring down. The fireballs would spread rapidly when they landed on the ground, but when they landed directly on the creatures, they would set the creatures on fire!

The rain of fire filled the sky and turned into a burning ocean on the ground. The others on the team opened their eyes wide when they saw the blaze.

They initially thought Ai Jiangtu was the only person who could cast Advanced Spells as he wished, yet to their surprise, the man whom they had mocked as the team’s substitute was an Advanced Magician, too!

Sky-Flame Funeral!

The Advanced Spell of the Fire Element, a Spell with a huge AoE and insane damage!

They were not just facing the Scarlet Soaring Demons, there were many Sea Monkeys harassing them during the fight too. The Scarlet Soaring Demons were Warrior-level creatures, thus they could still endure the burning of the ocean of fire for some time. However, the Sea Monkey Monsters were not as lucky. Almost two hundred Sea Monkeys among the Scarlet Soaring Demons were killed by the flames.

Cries of agony rose endlessly. The Sea Monkeys were burned into ashes by the rain of fire. None of them managed to escape it.

The Scarlet Soaring Demons began to flee in all directions after suffering the rain of fire. Those that were far away managed to escape in time. However, those that were only halfway could not even crawl their way out of the Sky-Flame Funeral. Their bodies were scorched black as they fell in the ocean of fire!

Only the center was not caught on fire. Mu Ningxue stood there staring in astonishment at Mo Fan, who looked like a burning mad man.

She could not understand how Mo Fan managed to improve so fast without being supported by any faction. Did the Underground Holy Spring really bring him an infinite good fortune?

Advanced Level!

Not only did he rank up to the Advanced Level, he had also Awakened all three hundred and forty-three Stars! How remarkable!

“That guy… is he seriously just a substitute?” Zu Jiming opened his mouth wide. He almost dropped his jaw onto the ice.

He had never seen such a strong substitute!

Only a few had achieved the Advanced Level on the team, let alone could cast an Advanced Spell.

No one would think that this guy who acted like a clown was an Advanced Magician, just like Ai Jiangtu. His breathtaking Advanced Fire Spell had inflicted serious damage to the Scarlet Soaring Demons!

—–

“What do you think, wasn’t I handsome?” Mo Fan finally stopped delivering fire into the sky. He glanced at the rain of fire pouring down to the ground, before looking at Mu Ningxue’s attractive face, currently lit up by the light of the flames. He could not help but ask the question!

“You’ve melted the ice,” Mu Ningxue pointed out coldly.

Mo Fan was stunned. He quickly observed his surroundings. As the girl mentioned, the raging flames had driven away the lingering frost in the sky. The ice on the ground had melted. Even the ice covering the surface of the ocean began to melt.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, I’ve managed to kill more than ten Scarlet Soaring Demons. The rest of them no longer pose any threat to us,” said Mo Fan with a hollow laugh.

Mo Fan checked his surroundings and realized how overwhelming the damage that the Sky-Flame Funeral had caused. The Spell was still on its first tier, but it had already killed more than ten Warrior-level creatures and intimidated the rest of them. The creatures no longer dared to get any closer to the maniac Mo Fan!

Mo Fan clearly remembered his first time stumbling into a Warrior-level creature at Bo City. The creature almost scared the group to death. They only dared to move after the creature left the area. Now, his single Spell had killed more than ten creatures of the same level, it felt incredibly pleasant!

Over the past few years, Mo Fan had clearly sensed himself growing stronger…

The truth was, he still had lots of room to grow. Once his other Elements reached the Advanced Level, his fighting capacity would skyrocket.

If he also managed to master the mysterious Space Element, it would be even more shocking. He could simply trample on the face of the people he held a grudge against!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Sky-Flame Funeral was absolutely shocking. The others immediately had a whole different view of Mo Fan, the substitute.

However, they quickly discovered that the flames had rapidly increased the temperature of the islands. Many Scarlet Soaring Demons had already escaped into the ocean. Their strength was not weak either, they did not have any trouble breaking a hole in the ice to dive into the water!

Since the team had decided to wipe out the pack of sea monsters, Mo Fan had no intention to spare their lives. They had already found two corpses among the Scarlet Soaring Demons they had stumbled into previously. God knew how many children these Scarlet Soaring Demons eat in the future!

Not even one should be left alive!

Mo Fan decisively chased after the sea monsters when he saw that Mu Ningxue was no longer in danger.

“Giant Shadow Spike: Thorns of the Shadow Rose!”

A puff of black smoke came out of Mo Fan’s finger. It rapidly accumulated and transformed into six shadow thorns, which Mo Fan tossed into the air.

The shadow spikes disappeared in a strange manner, before appearing behind three Scarlet Soaring Demons that were scorched black by the flames. Each Scarlet Soaring Demon was nailed by two shadow spikes, sealing their movements before they could even run for their lives!

Before Mo Fan made it to the creatures, his teammates immediately noticed the three vulnerable Scarlet Soaring Demons that were already suffering from severe injuries. They quickly followed up with destructive Spells and killed the creatures with ease.

“So you also have the Shadow Element; let’s have a friendly duel if we have the chance,” Li Kaifeng turned around to glance at Mo Fan and smiled.

Li Kaifeng had also summoned the same Giant Shadow Spikes to his hand. His casting speed when using the Shadow Element was faster than Mo Fan. On top of that, the Giant Shadow Spikes were stronger due to his unique Shadow Seed!

“Sure thing,” Mo Fan responded.

The black smoke coming off the two Shadow Magicians expanded rapidly as they fired shadow spikes like arrows. Giant Shadow Spike was considered the strongest control-type Spell among the Intermediate Spells. A Warrior-level creature like the Scarlet Soaring Demons had no chance of breaking free after they were nailed by the Giant Shadow Spikes, allowing the other Magicians to easily end their lives.

Normally, it would require more effort to kill a Warrior-level creature. However, these Scarlet Soaring Demons were not pure brawling creatures. They mainly relied on their ability to control water, yet that was completely sealed off by Mu Ningxue’s Domain, greatly weakening their threat level!

After fighting alongside them, Mo Fan finally understood why these people were chosen as the representatives of the national team. Everyone had their own outstanding fighting ../style. They were not scared to take on five Warrior-level creatures at once, and even when they were flanked by more than ten Warrior-level creatures, they still managed to escape from the surround!

Mo Fan roughly estimated the average strength of the national team to be between the peak Intermediate Level and the Advanced Level. Some might even stand a chance against ordinary Advanced Magicians…

However, one thing he knew for sure was that it was unlikely that he and Ai Jiangtu were the only Advanced Magicians in the team. Some of the others might have achieved the Advanced Level, but they needed some time to practice drawing the complicated Star Constellation. Some might have learned how to cast an Advanced Spell, and had yet to reveal their true strength!

Either way, he had to admit that the team basically consisted of a bunch of freaks. Although the Scarlet Soaring Demons were not the strongest Warrior-level creature, there were still more than a hundred of them, and yet they did not stand a chance against this team…

Mo Fan’s Sky-Flame Funeral had eliminated a dozen or so creatures, and his Giant Shadow Spikes helped the team to eliminate about the same amount again. The Warrior-level Soul Remnants kept floating into the Little Loach Pendant, providing Mo Fan with energy.

Mo Fan also learned something new. The Stars that were strengthened by the Servant-class Soul Essences to the fourth tier still had room to improve. However, it would require Warrior-level Soul Essences!

In other words, if Mo Fan collected seven Warrior-level Soul Essences, he could improve the first seven Stars to the fifth-tier, giving him access to fifth-tier Basic Spells.

However, it was somewhat of an overkill. The value of seven Warrior-level Soul Essences was more than a hundred million RMB. It was simply a waste to spend them on strengthening Spells like Fire Burst and Lightning Strike to the fifth-tier, even if it would make the Basic Spells as strong as other people’s Intermediate Spells!

He still had not improved the Giant Shadow Spike to the fourth-tier. Besides, he also needed Soul Essences to improve his Space Element. Did even he have that many Soul Essences for everything?

Mo Fan’s current goal was to improve the Giant Shadow Spikes to the fourth-tier. As for improving the Basic Spells to the fifth-tier… it was just a random thought!

—–

Not long afterwards, most of the Scarlet Soaring Demons had been eliminated. Only about twenty of them managed to escape.

The team did have Magicians that were experts at fighting underwater. They immediately went into the water when the Scarlet Soaring Demons fled into the ocean.

Jiang Shaoxu was even more cunning with her Psychic Element. She simply used Pacify to remove the fear in the Scarlet Soaring Demons heart. It was like giving the Scarlet Soaring Demons anesthesia, and they immediately turned back around to fight the Magicians after their morale was boosted!

Jiang Shaoxu giggled when she saw the Scarlet Soaring Demons fighting back bravely.

Even when the Scarlet Soaring Demons were blasted into pieces, they still could not understand where they had gotten the courage to turn around and fight the humans when they had already lost. Meanwhile, the rest of the Scarlet Soaring Demons burst into tears of gratitude, as they believed those Scarlet Soaring Demons had sacrificed themselves to cover their retreat…

Jiang Shaoxu thoroughly revealed her true nature. She continued to utter the magical giggle which removed the fear in the Scarlet Soaring Demons’ hearts, provoking them to fight once again, but they simply ended up getting themselves killed!

—

Under the effect of Jiang Shaoxu’s Psychic Element, only a few Scarlet Soaring Demons managed to escape in the end. The frozen island was covered in corpses of the Scarlet Soaring Demons, and their blue blood was splattered across the place.

“Forget about the Sea Monkey Monsters, it’s quite troublesome to hunt them down. Besides, they will quickly reproduce after you’ve killed some of them. Don’t bother wasting your time,” Li Kaifeng said to the others.

“Mm, let’s take a rest. It seems like our plan worked, these Scarlet Soaring Demons are too weak when they can’t control the water. I bet they are the weakest Warrior-level creature I’ve ever fought against,” said Zu Jiming.

“It’s all thanks to Mu Ningxue, who managed to freeze the whole island,” flattered Gong Yu.

Mu Ningxue seemed slightly worn out. The prolonged casting was an incredible mental burden for her. Luckily, the fight did not last for too long. Otherwise, she could not have held on for much longer.

Zhao Manyan sat on the ground to rest up. He felt hungry when he saw Mo Fan taking out some jerky and water. He quickly went over and snatched some from him.

“The water is too cold, help me heat it up,” said Zhao Manyan to Mo Fan.

“What am I, a microwave!” Mo Fan snatched the water back and drank it all with a single gulp, before letting out a satisfied sigh.

He was feeling extremely thirsty after getting chased around by the Scarlet Soaring Demons. He finally got to rest.

Now that he had satisfied his hunger and thirst, somehow, it felt like he had forgotten something important.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The mountain range on the other side of the island rumbled all of a sudden.

The group immediately turned their heads toward the sound and saw the mountains collapsing. The rocks fell onto the thawing thickets.

“Err… Mo Fan, did we forget something?” asked Zhao Manyan with a stiff expression when he saw the collapsing mountains.

Mo Fan smacked his leg hard!

“Damn, I forgot to seek revenge from that Sea Monkey!” Mo Fan rose to his feet.

Nanyu had just eliminated the last Scarlet Soaring Demon, and felt her lips twitching.

-Revenge my ass!-

Wasn’t he supposed to bring the team over to fight the Commander-level Scarlet Rending Demon together after getting rid of the Scarlet Soaring Demons? Yet he still had time to eat something here!

“Hehe, I’m joking…let’s hurry over to give Ai Jiangtu some backup,” Mo Fan laughed under his breath. He quickly led the team to the other side of the island.

——

The ice on the other side of the island had broken into pieces. Fierce waves splashed across the place as the sea roared furiously.

Ai Jiangtu nimbly landed on a piece of floating ice on the water. He immediately saw the Scarlet Rending Demon flying at him like a missile before he could secure his foothold. Ai Jiangtu quickly summoned his Magic Shield knowing that he did not have enough time to cast a Space Spell.

With a flicker of brown light, a rock crystal shield in the shape of a gem appeared in front of Ai Jiangtu and materialized!

BANG!

A huge chunk of the thick shield broke into pieces after receiving the powerful blow from the Scarlet Rending Demon. The impact knocked Ai Jiangtu flying.

The Scarlet Rending Demon felt some numbness from its body after ramming into the shield. It was extremely angry, as it had failed to smash the human into pieces together with his shield!

In the distance, Ai Jiangtu landed on another ice floe. It was not as sturdy anymore, it felt like he was about to fall into the icy water as the thin layer of ice that remained would break into pieces at any second.

Ai Jiangtu slid some distance on the ice. When he rose to his feet, a line of blood was rolling down his face!

“Demon Torture!” Ai Jiangtu uttered coldly. His eyes suddenly turned hollow and dim. The aura of the Curse Spell spread rapidly, and lunged at the Scarlet Rending Demon like menacing ghosts…

An enormous phantom appeared behind the Scarlet Rending Demon. It ferociously grabbed the limbs of the Scarlet Rending Demon and pinned the creature onto a pitch-black altar. It looked like it was going to tear the limbs off the creature!

The Scarlet Rending Demon did not react in time. Its limbs were completely pinned down, preventing it from moving!

The enormous phantom grinned with a twisted look and uttered ghastly cries. Its powerful arms extended further, pulling the creature’s limbs. The Scarlet Rending Demon struggled fiercely, yet even its Commander-level strength was helpless against the evil curse!

The Demon Torture grew even scarier. The Scarlet Rending Demon’s eyes flickered with a red light The water under the ice immediately rose and lunged at the phantom.

However, the phantom was illusionary. The water had no effect on it. It applied a greater force, leaving the Scarlet Rending Demon screaming in agony…

The truth was, the Scarlet Rending Demon was not actually being physically harmed at all. Its soul was being torn apart. The pain was greater than having its limbs torn apart physically!

When the Scarlet Rending Demon realized that its physical self was still unharmed, its soul had already suffered a severe damage. The pain spread throughout its entire body, making it stagger…

The soul of a Commander-level creature was extraordinarily powerful. The Demon Torture could at most inflict serious damage to its soul, and not kill it.

However, it was more than enough for Ai Jiangtu. The soul was linked to the mind. It was likely that the Scarlet Rending Demon could no longer control the seawater with its eyes, making it less threatening.

Ai Jiangtu continued to back off. The Scarlet Rending Demon would drag him into the water at any second. Once he fell into the sea, he would be an easy target.

Taking a deep breath, Ai Jiangtu felt his chest filling with blood, making his breathing difficult. He could not afford to make a mistake; he simply stood in the distance staring at the Scarlet Rending Demon.

The Scarlet Rending Demon had just suffered enormous pain. Its soul and mind were badly damaged, and it did not dare to make a move boldly. The human was a lot more difficult to handle than it had imagined. It was glaring at Ai Jiangtu as it tried to catch its breath.

——

“Ai Jiangtu, are you alright?” Nanyu hurriedly made her way over. She frowned when she saw Ai Jiangtu was injured.

“Fine… I’m fine,” Ai Jiangtu barely responded, as he had difficulty breathing.

“As expected of the captain, to be alive still after fighting the Scarlet Rending Demon for so long!” Mo Fan raised his thumb at Ai Jiangtu.

“Are you done throwing salt? You’re an Advanced Magician too, go on and fight the creature!” Nanyu gave Mo Fan a death stare.

“Together, we’ll fight together, it’s not like you didn’t see how slow I am when casting an Advanced Spell. The Scarlet Rending Demon would have killed me more than ten times before I finished my chants,” said Mo Fan modestly.

“I’ve injured its soul with the Demon Torture, it won’t be able to cast any spells, now is the best time to kill it…” Ai Jiangtu reminded them.

The representatives of the national team were indeed super freaks chosen from the entire country. None of them showed any sign of fear, even when they were facing a Commander-level creature. Gong Yu was the first to engage, but this time, he did not simply walk up and attack with his claw gauntlet. After all, a Commander-level creature was definitely stronger than him when fighting at melee range…

He stayed a distance away and began casting Wind Disc. The fierce gust of wind swept over the Scarlet Rending Demon, yet the creature simply stood still as the wind struck its armored scales. It did not even act like it was under attack.

Gong Yu grinned when he saw the Scarlet Rending Demon not treating his attack seriously!

“Poison Cavity!”

Zu Jiming was obviously Gong Yu’s old partner. He spread his poison after Gong Yu cast the Wind Disc.

A wind hole appeared in the center of Zu Jiming’s palm. Countless fine particles flew out of the hole and circled the Scarlet Rending Demon, together with the Wind Disc.

Unlike the fierce wind that was lashing at the Scarlet Rending Demon, the wind produced by the Poison Cavity consisted of tiny poisonous wasps. They were as tiny as dust particles, and were like a soft breeze when they were flying. However, they were little demons that were sensitive to wounds, fresh blood, and open injuries.

The Scarlet Rending Demon’s chestplate had already cracked open. It was the spot where Mo Fan had landed his Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons. Ai Jiangtu had also managed to enlarge the wound, and blue blood was dripping from it.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Poison Cavity: Devouring Wasps simply flew into every opening they could possibly find. Using the Wind Disc as a disguise, thousands of them drilled into the Scarlet Rending Demon’s wounds. The creature was unaware of their existence until they started biting its wounds. It finally discovered that its body was crawling with the Poisonous Wasps!

The Poisonous Wasps were a rather unique existence. They were so tiny that they could simply ignore the classifications of demon creatures, as the wounds of both Servant-class and Warrior-level creatures would fester rapidly after they were bitten by the poisonous wasps. The poison would spread across the creatures, weakening the rest of the creatures’ skin.

Even though the beast-type creatures possessed a certain level of intelligence, it was still below that of humans. Gong Yu and Zu Jiming successfully poisoned the Scarlet Rending Demon through its wounds. All they needed to do was focus their Spells on the poisoned area. Even an Intermediate Spell would inflict serious damage to the Scarlet Rending Demon…

“Giant Shadow Spike: Thorns of the Shadow Rose!”

Li Kaifeng immediately made his move, launching six Giant Shadow Spikes at the Scarlet Rending Demon from six different directions.

The Scarlet Rending Demon agilely leapt into the air. The shadow spikes stuck into the ice where it had been standing.

The Scarlet Rending Demon’s eyes glittered and turned blazing red in the sky. The seawater beneath suddenly became restless and rumbled vigorously…

However, as soon as the first wave was summoned, the Scarlet Rending Demon cried out in pain. The wave quickly fell and dissipated.

“Still trying to summon waves under the effect of my Demon Torture?” Ai Jiangtu grinned coldly.

The Scarlet Rending Demon was still suffering the consequences of underestimating humans.

It landed on the ice and dug a hole into the sea like a fish-man. It dove in quickly and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Xu was an expert at fighting underwater and was just about to chase after the creature when Ai Jiangtu stopped him.

“Don’t go, you’ll walk right into its trap,” said Ai Jiangtu.

Zhou Xu nodded. He withheld the urge to chase after the Commander-level creature.

“Did it manage to escape?” said Zu Jiming.

“I guess so, there are too many of us…”

Before Zhao Manyan could finish, a deafening blast suddenly took place at Mo Fan’s position!

The group immediately turned around and saw a scarlet gust of wind breaking through the ice. It was aimed right at Mo Fan.

The attack caught everyone by surprise. None of them managed to react in time to cast a defensive Spell on Mo Fan.

Luckily, Mo Fan’s senses were fairly sharp. He immediately turned into a lump of shadow, which split into two and moved away rapidly when he sensed something was not right.

The Scarlet Rending Demon glared furiously at Mo Fan, who had shifted forty meters away after missing the attack…

The creature was obviously the vengeful sort. It had not forgotten Mo Fan’s fist blasting its armor open. Luckily, Mo Fan managed to dodge the attack. Otherwise, the gust of wind could easily have turned him into minced meat.

“Don’t go down if you dare!” cursed Mo Fan, pointing at the Scarlet Rending Demon’s head.

A bolt of purple-black lightning descended rapidly. A blinding arc flashed across the sky and lashed right at the Scarlet Rending Demon’s head.

The Scarlet Rending Demon reacted swiftly and dodged aside when the lightning fell. The lightning strike only struck its shadow.

It did not matter if the creature managed to dodge Mo Fan’s Spell, as there were plenty of Magicians around. They immediately targeted the Scarlet Rending Demon with wind, lightning, fire, ice, and rock. The Scarlet Rending Demon managed to dodge some of them, but was hit by the rest, leaving more wounds on it.

When the creature saw another wave of Spells coming in its direction, it quickly turned into a gust of wind, digging into the ice and disappearing into the water.

The seawater had become its territory, allowing it to observe the Magicians closely to find the perfect opportunity to strike.

Another great blast took place. The Scarlet Rending Demon burst out from the ice once again in a gust of wind. Its target this time was Zu Jiming, who had poisoned it. Luckily, Zhao Manyan and Nanyu both cast a layer of protection on him on top of his Armor Equipment. He barely survived with a serious injury…

When the crowd’s attention was fixed on the severely injured Zu Jiming, the Scarlet Rending Demon appeared from under the ice and slashed at Nanyu with its claws.

The slash tore a huge cut on Nanyu’s arm even as she tried to dodge it. Fresh blood flowed out of the wound and dropped to the ground.

“This creature is too cunning, it doesn’t dare to fight us head-on!” cursed Gong Yu furiously.

“We won’t be able to kill it. Return to the ship at once. Otherwise, more people are going to get hurt at this rate,” said Ai Jiangtu.

A Commander-level creature was not an easy target, and the Scarlet Rending Demon was staying underwater and only attacking when it found an opening. The Magicians did not dare to fight the creature underwater either, so they were very passive in the fight.

Instead of waiting for the creature to pick on them one-by-one, it was wiser to retreat for now. After all, they had eliminated most of the Scarlet Soaring Demons. The pack of sea monsters was almost wiped out. As for the Scarlet Rending Demon, they would have to come up with a plan to eliminate it!

Zu Jiming was severely injured. After returning to the ship, he desperately needed Nan Rongni’s help to recover.

The cut on Nanyu’s arm was shocking too, yet the woman was tenacious and unyielding. She did not even frown when blood kept pouring out from the cut, but stayed on high alert while reminding the others that the Scarlet Rending Demon might make a comeback.

“Let’s head back to Feiniao City first!” said Ai Jiangtu, who was slightly worn out too.

“Mmm.”

“The Scarlet Rending Demon is vicious and vengeful. Once it learns that we’ve killed the rest of the Scarlet Soaring Demons, it will definitely come to seek revenge,” Mu Ningxue told the team sternly.

“That’s the reason we are withdrawing now. We have no chance of killing it on the ocean, but if we manage to lure it ashore and seal off its escape, it will make the fight a lot easier!” said Ai Jiangtu.

“That makes sense. It’s true that we don’t have any chance of winning fighting the creature here.”

“But, will the creature really come to Feiniao City? Perhaps it doesn’t have the courage to infiltrate human territory?” said Nanyu.

“Not really, there must be an opening somewhere along Feiniao City’s safe zone if they managed to snatch the children and eat them. We’ll find out where the opening is once Jiang Yu finishes investigating the missing kids. We’ll rest up at the opening and wait for the creature to take the bait.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

After the team returned to the ship, Nan Rongni quickly cast Healing Spells on Zu Jiming when she saw him in serious condition.

Mo Fan realized something when he saw Nan Rongni adeptly casting the Healing Spells.

He had been wondering why the team did not have a Healer. It turned out that Nan Rongni was the Healer for the team. He should definitely befriend her. Well, since she’s already Mu Ningxue’s close friend, it’s very likely that she will be a close friend with him, too!

Zhao Manyan’s eyes glittered. He nudged Mo Fan and whispered, “Have you discovered something? Most girls with the Healing Element have huge cup sizes!”

“It can’t be?” Mo Fan glanced at Nan Rongni, and indeed discovered a shocking mountain range under her woolen jumper. He was too caught up with Mu Ningxue’s slim waist and attractive derriere that he simply ignored the stunning bust of the girl beside her.

Damn it, he was a total failure as a ladykiller. He was ashamed that he had failed to recognize the girl’s beauty.

On second thought, Bai Tingting’s bust was stunning too, and completely overwhelmed the rest of the girls at the same age back in the days.

As for Xinxia… mmm, mmm, Zhao Manyan was right!

—

Zu Jiming quickly recovered from his injuries. The team was rather tired after the fight. Those who were still combat-ready kept an eye on the ocean to prevent the Scarlet Rending Demon from ambushing them. The others rested inside the cabin, preparing themselves for the upcoming hunt!

“It doesn’t look like it’s following us,” said Li Kaifeng, staring at the water behind the ship.

The movement of the ship produced countless v-shaped ripples in its wake. Apart from the slightly stronger waves, he had not discovered any extra movement.

“The creature is injured, so it’s unlikely that it will be following us. The problem is, how can we guarantee that it’s going to come after us?” wondered Ai Jiangtu.

Demon Torture was no ordinary spell. Even a Commander-level creature would need to rest for some time to recover from its effects. However, Ai Jiangtu was more concerned about luring the Scarlet Rending Demon ashore. If the creature did not come to seek revenge, it would remain a great threat to Feiniao City.

“I did implant more hatred into its heart, but it doesn’t guarantee that it will come after us,” agreed Jiang Shaoxu.

“We’ll discuss it after we’re back in Feiniao City. If it doesn’t come for us, we’ll hunt it down. There must be a way to kill it, unless it doesn’t show up again. We’ve almost wiped out its entire pack of Scarlet Soaring Demons. The Commander-level creature would not dare to infiltrate the city, since it’s now a general without an army,” conjectured Nanyu.

“Mmm, guess we have no other choice…”

——

As they returned to Feiniao City, Lin Junxian received the team warmly after learning that they managed to wipe out the Scarlet Soaring Demons.

Ai Jiangtu explained the situation to Lin Junxian and asked him to lend them a hand in setting up a trap for the Scarlet Rending Demon.

“Did you just say you’ve stumbled into a Commander-level creature… and, and you still managed to wipe out the pack of Scarlet Soaring Demons?” Lin Junxian asked in disbelief.

To Lin Junxian, it was a huge relief knowing that someone was willing to annihilate the sea monsters. Even killing one or two was enough to vent his anger, as he never thought the group of young Magicians would actually manage to annihilate the entire pack!

Weren’t these young Magicians a bit too strong to be true? It had only been a day…

Lin Junxian was no ordinary person, either. He looked at the Magicians carefully and realized something. He pointed them and said, “Could it be that you’re the fresh batch of representatives of the national team?”

Judging from their age, strength, student-like temperament, and the rumors that the representatives of the national team had just been decided recently, Lin Junxian immediately linked the group with the training that the national team had to participate in, even though the names and whereabouts of the national team were kept a secret!

That must be it; it totally explained things. Only the representatives of the national team were capable of wiping out a pack of sea monsters that a troop of Magicians would have trouble coping with, and doing so within a single day!

” (cough cough) …I suggest you stop guessing our identities. Either way, can you give us a spacious area, it would be best if it’s along the shore, with enough space to construct a magic barrier. We’ll eliminate the threat for you, you just need to keep your promise!” said Ai Jiangtu.

The advisors had prohibited them from revealing their identities. However, there was nothing they could do if someone had guessed who they were.

As a matter of fact, it was pretty easy to realize who they were. The average age of their group was around twenty-two. Normally, Magicians at their age were mostly inexperienced students, yet they had displayed strength and efficiency comparable to a bunch of Hunter Masters. Wasn’t that enough to imply that they are the best students from their respective institutes?

“Oh, oh, I understand, don’t worry, I’ll do whatever I can to help you!” Lin Junxian was overjoyed.

The national team happened to come here for training when he was just about to withdraw his investment from this hopeless Feiniao City. They were like heavenly soldiers coming to the mundane world, saving the city from its miseries!

Lin Junxian could not find any words to describe his feelings. Once the sea monsters were disposed of, his investments would slowly turn into profits!

Feiniao City was indeed the best harbor anyone could wish for. When the time came, many people would beg him to become business partners with them and rent his land. In addition to that, he could finally sell the condominiums he built, MWAHAHAHA!

Lin Junxian felt like he had died and been returned to life after learning these kids’ identities.

Even though the investment had failed, he still had some money on hand. When he learned that the young Magicians were planning to kill the Commander-level creature, he immediately contacted Li Jingming, the unreliable vice mayor of the city, and asked him to set up the perimeters and assist the Magicians!

The vice mayor was doubtful when he received the news. However, he was dumbfounded when he saw more than a hundred gall bladders of the sea monsters at the place!

The vice mayor immediately went to the islands with a group of Battlemages. When he confirmed that the Scarlet Soaring Demons’ nest was indeed located there, he was lost in thought.

-Holy crap, are these young Magicians really humans? How did they destroy the sea monster’s nest when they only had a dozen people?-

On top of that, there was another reason why the vice mayor went to the islands. He had set up some bait to further provoke the Scarlet Rending Demon, which was hiding somewhere and licking its wounds, to ensure that the creature would come and seek its revenge!

—

The Magicians left all the work in the hands of the vice mayor. He was extremely diligent after learning that the sea monsters were wiped out. He personally made the preparations, set up the traps and the perimeter…

While Mo Fan and the rest of the team were resting at the hotel, Jiang Yu and Mu Tingying, who were investigating the truth in Feiniao City finally returned with some bad news.

“Are you saying that someone in the government is conniving with the sea monsters?” Ai Jiangtu rose to his feet with a murderous aura!

“It’s only my speculation, but it’s true that they have purposely hidden the news about some missing and dead children!” declared Jiang Yu.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Damn it, we even put our life at risk to kill the sea monsters!” snapped Nanyu furiously.

“Have you found out any more information about it? Do you know how many children actually went missing?” asked Ai Jiangtu with a deep voice.

“During the past three years… there were more than a hundred cases, especially in the spring every year. These are some documents that I stole from a department of Feiniao City. I’ve also hired some people to ask around in the villages and towns to prove that the missing cases are real! They claimed that the human traffickers were responsible for the missing children… but the cases should have long been classified to be incidents related to demon creatures since many children have gone missing in spring over the past five years!” said Jiang Yu.

Incidents were mainly classified into two groups: man-made incidents and demon-creatures-made incidents.

Man-made incidents were handled by the police and special forces, while the demon-creatures-made incidents were handled by the Magic Association and the military, like the City Hunters and the Battlemages protecting the city. As for the Hunter Union, whenever an incident happened yet there was not enough proof to indicate that demon creatures were involved, or the city council felt that the Magic Association and the military were too inefficient, they would hire the Hunters to handle the incident!

If more than a hundred children had gone missing during the past three years, and most of the cases happened in a specific period of time without any sign of human traffickers, it went without saying that the cases should have been categorized as demon-creatures-made incidents!

“We investigated further and learned that someone had purposely modified the records, to prevent the cases from being categorized as demon-creatures-made incidents…” Mu Tingying went on.

“This Feiniao City is a total disappointment. Regardless of whether demon creatures are responsible for the missing children, they should have made the news public long ago to gather more information and prevent more children from becoming victims!” Nanyu exclaimed angrily.

“Humph, such a useless city council, I’ll call my father now and…” Jiang Shaoxu was furious too.

However, the others immediately fixed their gaze on her.

Jiang Shaoxu seemed to have realized that the words had slipped out of her mouth. She rolled her eyes and said, “What are you all looking at? Can’t I just complain about it to my dad?”

“Miss, I know your father is some powerful authority, but we are currently in the middle of training with our identities hidden. We should try and solve the problem ourselves,” said Mu Tingying.

“Mmm, it’s better not to expose our identities, but we must learn the truth about the missing children. Jiang Yu, have you investigated Lin Junxian’s background? Can we trust him?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“I did, he’s in charge of the Lin Family’s finances. Apart from some land disputes, he doesn’t have any criminal history. Besides, he helped to build the port and schools in the nearby villages. He also covered the expenses to build many roads. I consider him a fairly kind-hearted investor,” replied Jiang Yu confidently.

“I bet he has nothing to do with the missing children?”

“Unlikely. As a matter of fact, among the missing kids, his cousin, who was recovering in one of the villas here happened to be one of the victims,” said Jiang Yu.

“We better discuss it with Lin Junxian, he’s more familiar with Feiniao City than us,” said Ai Jiangtu.

——

Inside the meeting room on the highest floor…

Lin Junxian sat at the head of the main table. The representatives of the national team sat to his sides.

Jiang Yu had come well-prepared. He had stored all the information he had collected in a portable disk. He presented the information through the projector.

The team was already furious when they heard Jiang Yu’s brief report. However, their expressions turned darker when they saw the pictures of the families whose infants had gone missing!

Most of the victims were fishermen and farmers. They could easily sense their sorrow just by looking at the pictures. To the government, the missing infants were only a small thing among many other cases, but to the families, it was a deadly blow!

Even after waiting for a long period of time, no one had given them an explanation. According to the people that Jiang Yu had hired, these people were still waiting for someone to save their kids and bring them back…

However, Mo Fan and the others clearly knew the fate of these missing children. The people would most likely faint from shock if they were told the truth!

“That’s enough…” Nan Rongni could not afford to watch further. Her eyes had turned bloodshot.

“This is unforgivable!” Lin Junxian clenched his fists tightly.

He had only come to this city as an investor on behalf of his family. His main goal was to invest in the city and make profits.

Since he came to Feiniao City, he had all kinds of business disputes, yet he had basically done everything with a clear conscience. Little did he know there was such a terrifying conspiracy behind the scenes in Feiniao City!

He was totally disappointed with Feiniao City’s city council!

“I’ll contact Li Jingming right away…” said Lin Junxian.

“Mr. Lin, hold on. We are only discussing with you because we have no idea who’s pulling the strings. Vice mayor Li Jingming might be aware of it, but I don’t think he’s the one we’re looking for. After all, a mayor doesn’t necessarily know everything that their subordinates are up to,” said Ai Jiangtu rationally.

“Yes… you’re right, I’ve come to the conclusion too quickly,” said Lin Junxian.

“Jiang Yu, since you’ve come so far, I bet you already have a plan on how to investigate further?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“I do… but it’s a bit inhumane,” said Jiang Yu.

“Go on.”

“The person pulling the strings has erased all traces. It’s hard to track him down with the information we have, unless some kids go missing again. When the new missing case is reported, they will surely try to cover it up, which means I can easily track them down and find out who’s behind it!” said Jiang Yu.

No way, you’re using kids as bait?” Nanyu was the first to reject the suggestion.

“There’s no other way,” said Jiang Yu.

Everyone fell silent.

The situation was more complicated than they thought. However, when they recalled the bodies they found in the stomachs of the Scarlet Soaring Demons, their breathing intensified. If they did not resolve the situation, they would feel extremely guilty!

The meeting room was deadly silent. No one knew what to say.

Lin Junxian’s phone started ringing. He glanced at the number and took some time to calm his mind before picking it up.

He started heading toward the door, but before he could step out of it, he was stunned all of a sudden. His hand started trembling that he almost dropped the phone.

The group glanced at the man. They could faintly hear the sound of a woman crying!

Lin Junxian turned around and looked at them with a pale face.

“What’s wrong?” asked Mo Fan.

“My cousin’s second child… he’s…he’s missing too!” said Lin Junxian with great terror.

The young Magicians had only explained the fate of the missing kids to him just a moment ago. When he thought about his one-year-old nephew who had just celebrated his birthday recently would share the same fate…

Lin Junxian could no longer stand properly. At the other end of the phone, a woman was crying sadly. Everyone in the meeting room gasped in shock!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

Thirty kilometers north of Feiniao City was a villa, which was also the Lin Group’s property.

The place normally had few people. Most of them had come for vacation. It was quite an attractive spot since it was close to the sea, with a beach nearby.

It was only afternoon. Warm sunlight shone upon the sand. The beach flickered in a golden-yellow, forming an elegant view together with the reflecting light on the surface of the sea.

However, at one corner of the beach, a woman fell to the ground holding a phone in her hand. She was sobbing in overwhelming grief!

In recent years, Lin Qi had finally walked out of the despair that had haunted her for three years when her son Xiao Di recently reached the age of one. His innocent smile was the most effective medicine for her.

However, last night, she suddenly thought of her first child Xiao Jin, who was still missing. In order to cherish the memory of her first child, she brought Xiao Di to the place where she was deeply hurt in the past. Little did she know, she would experience the same mental breakdown again!

“Calm down, you have to calm down, listen to me!” Lin Junxian’s voice came from the other end of the phone.

“How can I even calm down, my…my Xiao Di, my son!”

“Do you want anything bad to happen to Xiao Di? He has just gone missing, we might have time still. If you really want to save Xiao Di, calm down and tell me what happened immediately!” said Lin Junxian.

The sobbing woman finally recovered slightly after hearing the words.

Xiao Di was all she had. She would never let anything take her kid away.

Lin Qi managed to collect her thoughts in a few seconds. She immediately told Lin Junxian every possible detail of the incident!

“Alright, I’ll send someone over to pick you up. Find somewhere safe and wait there,” said Lin Junxian.

“Brother, you have to save Xiao Di. I beg you, I’m begging you!” Lin Qi started crying again.

—

Inside the meeting room, Lin Junxian’s face twitched. His eyes were bloodshot too after hearing his cousin’s voice.

He took a deep breath and said with a slightly trembling voice, “I already owe you once, I will never let it happen again, never!”

Ending the call, Lin Junxian’s heavy breathing echoed in the meeting room.

The woman’s cry gave everyone’s heart a heavy blow, especially when they recalled that more than a hundred families were going through the same thing…

“It seems like the Scarlet Soaring Demons like to eat the infants alive,” Mo Fan broke the silence.

“Is there something wrong with you? Did you really have…have to mention it now?!” snapped Gong Yu.

“You’re the only one with a sense of justice here! According to how she described it, the infant was snatched away by a Sea Monkey. The Sea Monkeys must be offering the children to the Scarlet Soaring Demons, and they like to eat them alive, which means the kid would still be alive when the Sea Monkey is bringing him to the Scarlet Soaring Demons. If we can hunt the Sea Monkey down, we can bring back the kid alive!” exclaimed Mo Fan.

“Mo Fan is right, the Sea Monkey has sneaked into the safe zone. It would be extremely cautious when leaving it, which means we still have time!” said Nanyu.

“By the way, Mr. Lin, ask your men to take your cousin to report the case, but don’t tell them that the kid was snatched away by a Sea Monkey. Just say that he’s missing…” said Mo Fan.

“What do you mean?” Lin Junxian was confused.

His cousin clearly said that her son was taken away by a Sea Monkey. Why would they cover it up?

“Telling the truth won’t help. The government already knew the Sea Monkeys are responsible for the missing infants, so they won’t bother doing anything, but we can use this chance to lure our target out. Therefore, we hope that she can lend us a hand, to serve justice on behalf of her son…” said Mo Fan.

Lin Junxian felt ridiculous when he heard the words, yet on second thought, it was somewhat reasonable.

If they did not find out the truth soon, more people would fall victim, just like his cousin! If only he managed to find the culprit when his nephew Xiao Jin went missing, the same tragedy would not happen again. Following his emotions would simply result in more pain!

“Alright, I’ll go now,” Lin Junxian nodded.

“Humph, I’ll find the culprit and tear the person into pieces!” said Jiang Yu coldly.

“Leave Xiao Di to us, we’ll save him before the Sea Monkey reaches the Scarlet Soaring Demons!” said Mo Fan seriously.

Lin Junxian looked at Mo Fan’s determined gaze and took a deep breath.

“Save my nephew, I’m willing to do anything to repay your kindness…” said Lin Junxian.

“It’s fine, if we really stand by and do nothing, we’re no different than those human-eating creatures!” said Mo Fan.

—

Lin Junxian left in a hurry. Jiang Yu and Mu Tingying made their way to the respective departments, waiting for their target to take the bait.

“I have the Magical Wings, I can bring someone with me. Mo Fan, we can’t afford to lose any time. Let’s head to their territory now!” said Zhao Manyan.

“Alright, let’s go!” Mo Fan did not waste further time.

Time was running short, and they were around thirty kilometers away from the Scarlet Soaring Demons’ territory. If the Sea Monkey was any faster, they would not make it in time.

The two went up to the roof. Zhao Manyan closed his eyes. His body immediately glowed golden as golden scales circled around his back and formed a pair of wings. They looked like they were forged from gold!

Mo Fan somehow felt the golden Magic Wings were a bit too glaring. However, before he could react, Zhao Manyan had already grabbed him and jumped off the building that was over fifty floors tall…

“Since when did you own Magical Wings?” Mo Fan asked as they were falling.

“I, Zhao Manyan, have nothing but money,” replied Zhao Manyan immodestly.

“You will have some conscience after we save the kid,” said Mo Fan.

“But, can we make it in time?” said Zhao Manyan.

“Of course!” declared Mo Fan firmly.

Zhao Manyan’s golden wings slowly extended as they fell to the thirtieth floor along the steel glass. He glided across the sky above the buildings of Feiniao City…

The Lin’s Building was a lot taller than the surrounding structures, allowing Zhao Manyan to kick start their flight with great momentum, and they flew toward the ocean at high speed!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sky was clear and blue, not a wisp of cloud was in sight. It looked like an enormous, blue gem.

The sea was deep blue. The vast ocean made it difficult to tell the directions.

As the duo soared in the air between the sky and the ocean, the only references they could find were some islands scattered across the water. However, the islands also served as a challenge to them, as there was a chance that the Sea Monkey was hiding on one of them.

“We have to find the Sea Monkey while it’s still in the safe zone. Once it leaves the safe zone, it will be like searching for a needle in the ocean!” said Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan nodded. He kept telling himself to think calmly.

The area below was still inside the safe zone. Apart from the islands, they also saw a few fishermen. Mo Fan felt that searching for the Sea Monkey without any clue was surely not going to work. Perhaps the experienced fishermen might give them some helpful hints.

“Zhao Manyan, let’s head down,” said Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan picked a boat and slowly landed on it while beating his golden wings.

Surprisingly, the fisherman on the boat was neither an old man nor a young man, but a woman around the age of twenty-five. She was wearing a bamboo hat which covered her tanned face. Her physique was fit and her skin was nicely tanned.

She looked surprised when she saw Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan. It was her first time being so close to a Magician who could fly. However, she quickly collected her thoughts and greeted the two Magicians with a polite smile.

“Should we look for an older fisherman?” Zhao Manyan assumed they would be wasting their time when he realized it was a woman.

Even though the fisherwoman was attractive in her own way, he was not in the mood to flirt with her now.

“I grew up here, so feel free to ask me anything,” the fisherwoman smiled, revealing her white teeth.

Mo Fan used the shortest time possible to explain the situation to the woman, hoping that she could help them to find the Sea Monkey.

“We call the Sea Monkeys you mentioned water ghosts. We’ve been seeing them a lot in this area when we go fishing in the past few years,” said the fisherwoman.

“Can you help us to find the creature?” asked Mo Fan.

“The water ghosts mainly stay on the islands and on land. They can’t swim underwater for too long. If they are heading further away into the ocean, they would most likely rest at some bamboo shoot reefs. Besides, they like to eat the seaweed on the bamboo shoot reefs too…you can try searching for bamboo shoot reefs instead,” said the fisherwoman.

“Are there bamboo shoot reefs nearby?” asked Zhao Manyan.

“There are a bunch of them just outside the safe zone. I can contact the others from my village to tell you where they are, but we won’t dare to leave the safe zone,” said the fisherwoman.

“Alright, thanks,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Don’t mention it, I believe anyone would want to help in this situation,” said the fisherwoman.

—

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan followed the fisher woman’s directions and headed straight to where the bamboo shoot reefs were located.

It was the only bank of bamboo shoot reefs close to the boundaries of the safe zone. As such, it was highly possible that the Sea Monkey was resting here before swimming further away into the ocean.

The bamboo shoot reefs were their only hope left. They only wished that they could make it in time!

After crossing the safe zone, Mo Fan glanced down and realized that the protection of the boundaries was almost negligible. Although larger demon creatures would trigger the alarm, agile creatures like the Sea Monkeys could easily avoid the sensors and infiltrate humans’ territories.

“It seems like it’s just ahead,” said Zhao Manyan, pointing his down.

The seawater grew clearer the further they were from the land. They could see jagged rocks above the surface of the water and giant shadows growing underneath them when looking down from above…

“Let’s take it slowly, we don’t want to alert the Sea Monkey,” said Mo Fan.

The two circled in the air, their eyes on the bamboo shoot reefs.

According to the fisherwoman, the Sea Monkeys could not stay in the water for too long. They would come up to the surface eventually to rest up. Since they were outside of the safe zone, the Sea Monkey would surely rest on these bamboo shoot reefs.

“Something is coming out!” said Zhao Manyan, pointing at a jagged rock.

Mo Fan followed the finger and saw a weird-looking monkey covered in seaweed climbing onto the reef while dragging something out of the water with it!

Zhao Manyan had yet to take a closer look at the thing. He simply dove from the sky together with Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan withdrew his wings like a golden eagle, diving straight at the bamboo shoot reefs.

The Sea Monkey was on alert too. It immediately jumped into the water when it sensed danger approaching from above.

“Still trying to run away!”

Zhao Manyan tossed Mo Fan onto the bamboo shoot reefs and proceeded to dive into the water like a swordfish…

Mo Fan did not dare to go into the water. He stood on the bamboo shoot reef and reminded Zhao Manyan to look out for the kid.

Zhao Manyan was quite reckless when he was mad. He managed to catch the Sea Monkey in just a few seconds. The Servant-class creature did not have the ability to control water, but unlike it, Zhao Manyan was an Intermediate Water Magician. Not only was he able to move and breath underwater, he could also control the water.

Soon, Mo Fan saw Zhao Manyan jumping out from the water in drenched clothes while dragging the Sea Monkey with him.

Zhao Manyan threw the Sea Monkey at the reefs and snapped, “Damn it, the creature was holding a coconut!”

“This is bad,” Mo Fan muttered dully.

Obviously, this Sea Monkey was not the one that had snatched the kid away. It was possible that the creature had already left the reefs and gone further into the ocean.

The problem was, they would never be able to find the kid after the creature left the area!

The innocent Sea Monkey curled up in fear and let out a pitiful cry. It was begging the two humans to spare its life, as if it was aware that it was not the one that they were looking for.

“Not sure if the creature understands us, but I bet the Sea Monkeys are most likely from the same pack. Look at how terrified it is; perhaps it can tell us where the kid is?” Zhao Manyan kicked the Sea Monkey furiously.

The innocent Sea Monkey cried out in fear, as it thought the human was going to kill it. It almost fainted right on the spot.

Mo Fan was left speechless by the creature. Was there any demon creature more timid than this Sea Monkey?

However, Zhao Manyan did remind Mo Fan that he had no clue how to communicate with the demon creature… but the Flame Belle could lend them a hand!

Translated by XephIZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan summoned the little Flame Belle, who had been fairly well-behaved lately, and had stopped acting naughtily. It seemed like she had grown a lot after what happened in the Space of Death.

Little Flame Belle stood on Mo Fan’s shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. She seemed quite excited.

However, when she looked around her and realized that she was surrounded by seawater, she was not happy. As a fire spirit, she hated water the most, especially a vast ocean!

“Try asking the creature if it saw a kid being snatched away recently,” Mo Fan went straight to business without caring about the Little Flame Belle’s feelings.

Little Flame Belle let out a cry and conveyed her thoughts to the creature. Such an ugly beast!

Meanwhile, the Sea Monkey’s eyes glittered in awe when it saw little Flame Belle. Perhaps at their standard, little Flame Belle was like a goddess to them!

Little Flame Belle told Mo Fan there were many kinds of demon creatures. Some able to communicate, while others were beasts that could not talk…

Fortunately, the Sea Monkey belonged to the former, the kind that could communicate!

Soon, under Zhao Manyan’s stern interrogation and little Flame Belle’s goddess-like temperament, the Sea Monkey spilled the beans. Once again, it proved that the Sea Monkey was definitely the most disloyal creature in this world.

Basically, the Sea Monkey was saying, “I saw it, a very annoying guy took the kid away. It’s going to give it to the king. It even boasted about getting a promotion from the king and leaving us all.”

“Ask it if the kid is still alive,” said Mo Fan.

The Sea Monkey squeaked and danced around with gestures, implying that the kid was definitely still alive. Either the Scarlet Soaring Demons or their king would only eat the children alive. Therefore, when the Sea Monkey were bringing the children to them, they had to keep the kids alive at all costs! It even mentioned that there was once an idiot who failed to keep an infant alive. In the end, their king ate a group of Sea Monkeys instead!

Mo Fan was slightly relieved after hearing the Sea Monkey’s explanation. Despite that, he was feeling sorrowful too when he thought about the kids that died…

“Tell it to bring us to its king,” said Mo Fan.

Little Flame Belle spoke to the Sea Monkey, but it immediately cried out to make a stand against it.

Zhao Manyan said to Mo Fan when he saw the creature’s reaction, “I bet it’s too scared to bring us to its king.”

“Little Flame Belle, tell it that we’ve already eliminated the Scarlet Soaring Demons. The Scarlet Rending Demon is the only one left, and it’s only a matter of time until we hunt it down. If the kid is dead, we would not only wipe out the Scarlet Soaring Demons, but the Sea Monkeys too!” said Mo Fan.

In order to intimidate the Sea Monkey, Mo Fan immediately drew a Star Constellation and cast the Advanced Fire Spell at the area ahead!

The Sky-Flame Funeral had a powerful visual display. The rain of fireballs set the whole place on fire. The Sea Monkey trembled in fear when it saw the shocking flames! It never thought a human could be so powerful. The rain of fireballs could easily wipe out their whole nest!

“Bring us there, we’ll kill the Scarlet Rending Demon, and you Sea Monkey will move fifty kilometers away from the safe zone. If you stop harassing the fishermen, we’ll spare your lives. Otherwise, we’ll kill you all to avenge the kids!” demanded Mo Fan.

The Sea Monkey were most likely aware that the Scarlet Soaring Demons had been eliminated. If the creature had some level of intelligence, it would know what to do.

The Sea Monkey uttered a cry. It looked like it had agreed.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan let out a relieved sigh…

They did not care too much about sparing the Sea Monkey’s life, but if it insisted on not showing them the way, the boy Xiao Di would be in grave danger…

Luckily, the Sea Monkeys were different from the majority of the demon creatures. It belonged to the kind that would play up to the stronger side.

—

Mo Fan cast Giant Shadow Spike: Twins on the Sea Monkey. The primary spike had stabbed it through, while the secondary spike was still in his hand.

The power of the Giant Shadow Spike could easily impale a Servant-class creature’s soul. If the Sea Monkey tried to trick them, Mo Fan would not mind firing the secondary spike, which would surely end the creature’s life!

The Sea Monkey was unable to tell directions in the sky. As such, the creature was swimming in the water while Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan followed it from the air.

The Sea Monkey was swimming at remarkable speed. It tried its best to catch up to the Sea Monkey that had kidnapped the kid, since its whole tribe was at stake.

—

They were already over ten kilometers away from the safe zone. There was no sign of any island nearby, water was the only thing they could see in their surroundings.

“Is that thing trying to trick us?” said Zhao Manyan worriedly.

“I don’t think so. Nan Rongni did mention that the Sea Monkey are the kind that simply obey those that are stronger. Most of them will submit to packs of stronger creatures. We’ve eliminated the Scarlet Soaring Demons, so unless they are out of their minds, they would not trick us when their whole pack is at stake… mm? See, there’s something ahead,” said Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan glanced ahead, yet he failed to see anything.

As they flew further, Zhao Manyan finally saw the reefs exposed above the water. Mo Fan was an Advanced Magician, so his eyesight was a lot better than Zhao Manyan’s.

The Sea Monkey in the water was already crying out.

Little Flame Belle immediately told Mo Fan that it had discovered the creature that kidnapped the child. It was very close to the reefs.

“The kid has almost reached the reefs. Full speed ahead!” Mo Fan exclaimed. He had no idea how many creatures were on the reefs, yet he had no time to hesitate!

“These pricks, I can’t wait to see what these filthy creatures look like! I’m going to chop them into pieces!” Zhao Manyan beat his Wings heavily to maximize his speed. He would be able to fly a lot faster if he was not carrying Mo Fan!..

“There, I see it!” exclaimed Mo Fan in joy.

They happened to see a Sea Monkey reaching the reef just as they did. It was cautiously carrying a little boy who was tied up with seaweed. The kid was crying out loud, as if he knew that he was in danger!

“Thank God!” Zhao Manyan uttered a relieved sigh!

Mo Fan did not wait for Zhao Manyan to dive. He jumped down from the sky and landed on the reef with a murderous aura!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was exactly what the timid Sea Monkey had said; the one that kidnapped the kid had a great ambition in mind. It was only inches away from the reefs where its king was resting. It had already imagined how different its life would be compared to the other Sea Monkeys, but a ferocious human somehow fell from the sky and gave it a great scare!

The Sea Monkey rubbed its eyes, thinking that it might have been a hallucination. However, at such a close distance, it could clearly see Mo Fan’s murderous expression!

The Sea Monkey was stunned. Little did it know that its life-endangering trouble had only come because it was being a show-off!

“Telekinesis!”

Mo Fan grabbed out and took the child from the Sea Monkey while its mind was still blank from surprise.

The child wrapped in seaweed was crying out loud. The Sea Monkey did protect the kid cautiously while escorting him here. It even prevented the seawater from soaking his clothes too much.

The kid was most likely terrified by the creature. When he saw Mo Fan, he slowly stopped crying and dove into Mo Fan’s arms seeking protection.

Mo Fan cradled the boy and stared coldly at the Sea Monkey who had stolen him from his mother!

“You can die now!” Mo Fan did not show any mercy. His eyes flashed furiously with a hint of silver.

A strong will came out of his eyes. The Sea Monkey was lifted into the air by an invisible force, which grew stronger after the flash in Mo Fan’s eyes!

The Sea Monkey’s body suddenly exploded, as if it was squashed by two walls. Its blood and organs splattered across the place.

Some fresh blood jetted in Mo Fan’s direction. He raised his arm and blocked it, to prevent the blood from staining the innocent child.

Mo Fan took a deep breath, looking at the remains of the creature on the ground. He then looked at the unharmed kid and slowly calmed down…

Lucky, he made it in time. He could not help those who had died, but at least he managed to stop the ongoing tragedy.

“Mo Fan, look out!” Zhao Manyan’s voice came from the sky.

Mo Fan was standing still. He immediately sensed a strong murderous intent coming from behind before he could turn around.

Normally, Mo Fan would quickly dodge aside with Fleeing Shadow. However, he was sensing a strong presence of death, even Fleeing Shadow would not be able to save him!

Terrifying, the thing behind him was absolutely terrifying. That was Mo Fan’s first reaction!

“Black Snake Armor!”

Mo Fan immediately summoned his defensive equipment. Luckily, the Black Snake Armor was designed for emergency situations like this. Otherwise, Mo Fan would not be able to rely on the armor consecutively in such a short period of time!

Black snake scales rapidly combined together and covered Mo Fan’s entire body…

The Black Snake Armor was somewhat intelligent too. It knew that Mo Fan was being attacked from behind, thus it first covered its back before spreading to the other body parts.

However, before the armor finished covering Mo Fan’s body, a strong blow landed on his back, inflicting an enormous pain. Mo Fan felt like his heart was almost smashed into pieces by the impact!

“Mo Fan!”

Zhao Manyan quickly cast Light Protection: Sacred Shield to encapsulate Mo Fan, but the creature’s strength was too overwhelming. Its attack easily shattered the light shield. The only defense that mattered was Mo Fan’s Black Snake Armor!

Zhao Manyan saw Mo Fan get knocked flying by the attack. His body was spinning in circles in the air as he flew far into the distance. He finally stopped after slamming into a huge rock.

The rock broke into pieces and fell onto Mo Fan.

Mo Fan felt like his backbones were broken. A sharp pain was penetrating his heart…

What exactly was this creature, to possess such a terrifying strength! It was definitely not a Warrior-level Creature!

The five-meters tall Scarlet Rending Demon whose body was glowing in an eerie scarlet roared from where it stood at Mo Fan’s previous spot. It had a twisted expression and bloodshot eyes. Its sharp claws were crossed on its chest as it grinned harshly at Mo Fan!

The Scarlet Rending Demon!

It was the cunning Commander-level sea monster!

It recognized Mo Fan, the human who had broken its chest armor!

It had been waiting for the Sea Monkey’s offering, as it was planning to eat the child alive to nurture its injured body. However, it never thought the same human would appear and disrupt its business once again.

The Scarlet Rending Demon was utterly furious. It had used all its strength to execute the attack, determined to kill the human!

Even though the child would most likely be smashed into minced meat, at least it managed to vent all its anger!

The pieces of rock were loosening up. Slowly, the rocks that were covering Mo Fan rolled off on their own. Some even floated in the air and moved aside.

Not long after, after the rocks were cleared, Mo Fan, covered in blood, climbed to his feet…

Mo Fan stood there and slowly opened up his arms that had almost fractured. He lowered his head looking at the boy. The kid called Xiao Di had blood coming out of his nose from the concussion. He could not tell if the kid was still alive…

Taking a deep breath, Mo Fan’s face was covered in blue veins. His body was trembling in rage!

Mo Fan uttered a furious roar. His bloodshot eyes emitted a raging, eerie silver glow.

The broken rocks and some heavy boulders shuddered at the silver light. They all floated in the air as a silver Star Orbit circled Mo Fan!

The pain and anger helped Mo Fan to concentrate. His will was strong enough to control everything around him!

The rocks were fired like heavy bullets under Mo Fan’s control, flying toward the Scarlet Rending Demon!

The Scarlet Rending Demon stood there and ignored the rocks flying at it. It was more surprised by the human’s vitality, and the fact that he was still alive after suffering its attack.

The rocks landed on the Scarlet Rending Demon who did not even bother dodging them. It was like the rocks were landing on a thick steel plate. Most of the rocks immediately smashed into dust from the overwhelming force of impact, but not a single scratch was left on the Scarlet Rending Demon’s body. The rocks did not even knock the creature back a step.

The attack was nowhere enough to harm a Commander-level sea monster!

However, a giant boulder fell from the sky while the Scarlet Rending Demon was still uttering a hollow laugh…

The boulder was at least five meters across. Its weight was already shocking, yet with the momentum it gained from falling from the sky, even the Scarlet Rending Demon could not withstand it. The creature was slammed to the ground by the boulder, which broke in half after the impact!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Scarlet Rending Demon was unaware of the boulder that was also under Mo Fan’s control. It was feeling dizzy from the knock on its head, and by the time it rose to its feet, it immediately discovered a huge stormy cloud right above its head!

“Lightning Disaster!” Mo Fan commanded the enraged lightning.

Multiple purple-black lightning bolts swept across the clear sky and landed on the Scarlet Rending Demon simultaneously. The lightning spread rapidly into an enormous web, with lightning arcs going back and forth through the Scarlet Rending Demon.

The Scarlet Rending Demon stood in the middle of the paths of lightning. The lightning was nowhere strong enough to penetrate its defense if it had not been injured. However, the armor on its chest was severely damaged, and it had yet to recover from the poison inflicted by the wasps. As such, every time the electricity flowed across its chest, it would shudder!

The lightning inflicted enormous pain, yet it was far from being able to kill the creature. The Scarlet Rending Demon opened its mouth, where some cloudy water was moving around!

The Scarlet Rending Demon’s chest swelled. It spat out a water bolt at Mo Fan after its chest expanded to a certain degree!

Mo Fan was already prepared and hid in the shadows under the rocks, moving quickly to another shadow when the water bolt approached.

The water bolt’s power was shocking, penetrating the thick boulder with ease. The thing could easily shoot through a human’s body!

The Scarlet Rending Demon spat out two water bolts from a mouthful of water.

The water bolts were around four meters long, with incredible speed. The first water bolt was targeting Mo Fan, but the second one was sealing off his escape, leaving him no chance to cast Fleeing Shadow!

“Mo Fan, let me help you!” Zhao Manyan swiftly drew a Star Pattern in the air.

Zhao Manyan had cast two spells simultaneously, Water Barrier and Light Protection. He knew that his spells were most likely too weak to stop the Scarlet Rending Demon’s water bolts, but he could focus on stopping one of them for Mo Fan!

The light shield encapsulated Mo Fan. The shield had barely materialized when the light was shattered into pieces like a glass being smashed by a heavy blow. Dots of light sparkled in the area.

Water Barrier quickly shielded Mo Fan like a ribbon, yet its defense was a lot weaker than the Light Protection. It was nothing but a mere decoration against the water bolt’s ability to penetrate.

Mo Fan knew there was no way he could dodge the attack. He quickly turned around and used his back to take the terrifying hit.

A deep scratch was left on the back of the Black Snake Armor. Mo Fan immediately felt a great pain as the water bolt struck him.

This time, his backbones actually ruptured as Mo Fan heard the sound of his bones breaking.

The Black Snake Armor’s defense had weakened after being used repeatedly. It would soon vanish after its usage had passed its limit, and would require a long time to recover before Mo Fan could use it again.

Mo Fan spat the blood in his mouth on the ground and glanced at the unconscious Xiao Di.

“Zhao Manyan, take the kid. I’m going to kill this son of a bitch!” Mo Fan was infuriated. Fire and lightning danced crazily around him.

Zhao Manyan quickly came down to the ground and received the kid, whose nose was still bleeding, from Mo Fan’s hands.

“I think he’s still alive…” said Zhao Manyan, when he noticed that the kid was still breathing.

“Take him back to receive treatment. The kid is too young, he won’t survive the impact to his lungs if he doesn’t get treated in time,” said Mo Fan.

The Scarlet Rending Demon once again spat out water bolts. This time, the bolts were lining up in the shape of a fan before flying at Mo Fan. The creature was determined to kill Mo Fan once and for all!

Mo Fan’s fist was engulfed in blazing flames while he was talking with Zhao Manyan. The scorching fire under his feet was mixed with a hint of purple-black lightning!

“We don’t stand a chance against it. Come here quick, we’ll leave together,” Zhao Manyan wanted to drag Mo Fan into the air.

However, before Zhao Manyan could finish, flames burst out of Mo Fan’s back and propelled him forward like a rocket, leaving a long trail of flames between the rocks…

“Meteorite Fist!”

“Nine Dragons!”

Mo Fan charged forward right at the water bolts and threw his fist forward!

The water bolts simply evaporated in the heat of the fiery dragons circling Mo Fan!

With a flash, nine meteorites swept across the air and combined into a blazing glow, like the first glimpse of light at dawn that could wipe out any darkness…

The line of water bolts completely evaporated into white steam. However, Mo Fan’s fiery fist did not disappear. It flew right at the Scarlet Rending Demon after destroying the water bolts!

The Meteorite Fist landed heavily on the Scarlet Rending Demon’s face. The Scarlet Rending Demon’s neck tilted to one side, as if its neck was broken. The scales on its face were stained with blue blood as it was knocked to the ground.

The creature staggered back to its feet, and was just about to steady itself when it began to slide backward as the gust of wind from the explosion swept in its direction. The reef behind it was completely smashed into pieces from its momentum!

Zhao Manyan floated in the air and observed Mo Fan’s outstanding punch in disbelief.

-He is going against a Commander-level creature. Is Mo Fan really strong enough to take on a Commander-level creature by himself?

-Mo Fan’s strength is unbelievable!-

“Don’t let the kid die!” Mo Fan raised his head and shouted to Zhao Manyan in utter seriousness.

“Don’t you die either! I’ll bring someone over after I send him to the hospital,” Zhao Manyan nodded back.

Zhao Manyan did not waste any more time further, as Xiao Di’s life was at stake. If he died, all their efforts would be in vain.

Zhao Manyan beat his golden wings and flew into the sky. In order to save the kid, Zhao Manyan even used all his energy just so his Magic Wings could fly faster. The kid’s bleeding was getting worse, while his breathing was getting weaker!

After reaching a certain height, Zhao Manyan could not help casting a glance backward.

The sea was blue as usual. The reef exposed above the water was brown, and on the small reef island Mo Fan was fighting the enraged Commander-level sea monster alone!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan felt something surging inside his chest when he saw how Mo Fan desperately tried to protect the boy when he was being attacked by the Scarlet Rending Demon.

The truth was, he wanted to stay, to fight the Scarlet Rending Demon together with Mo Fan, like true men!

No one would back off just because the enemy was strong. It was the unyielding spirit that a man should have!

Luckily, the reef was not too far away from the safe zone. It was likely that the Scarlet Rending Demon was only resting there to recover from its injuries, so it could seek revenge when the time came.

The Scarlet Rending Demon must be in bad shape since the Sea Monkey had appeared in human territory without being stealthy, and forcibly stole an infant from its mother.

Zhao Manyan used his clothes to wrap around the fragile kid while flying in the sky. He would look at the kid every now and then, as he was afraid that the kid would die suddenly. He was only one year old! Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan always thought themselves to be cold-blooded, they could not care less if someone died, yet they had a hard time staying calm when the life of a child was at stake!

“Little guy, hang in there, we’re almost there…” said Zhao Manyan to the babe whose nose was still bleeding.

—

Finally, when the safe zone was right ahead, Zhao Manyan quickened his pace and flew straight toward Feiniao City.

“Nan Rongni, where are you? Where is Nan Rongni? Tell me now!” Zhao Manyan yelled at the communication device as soon as it regained signal.

“I’m at the port,” blurted out Nan Rongni when she heard Zhao Manyan’s panicking voice.

“Send me a signal, I’ll be there in two minutes. Prepare to save someone, it’s the kid Xiao Di who was kidnapped. He’s suffering from concussion, his life is in danger!” said Zhao Manyan.

“Did you two manage to find him?”

“Yes!”

—

The team had immediately made their way to the port when they received news about the kid from Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan descended from the sky and landed right in front of Nan Rongni. Jiang Shaoxu realized that a crowd had started to gather around them, thus she quickly used Spirit Wall to keep the gawkers away, and to stop them from disturbing Nan Rongni as she treated the kid.

The little boy was in serious condition, judging from Zhao Manyan’s tone!

Nan Rongni and Jiang Shaoxu took off their jackets and placed them on the ground as a temporary cushion. Zhao Manyan slowly placed the infant on the jackets. However, the kid’s face had already turned from pale to blue. Viscous liquid kept on flowing out of his tiny nose, it was heart-aching just to look at him!

“He’s injured on the inside, the Healing Spirit won’t work…” Nan Rongni frowned when she learned the infant’s condition.

It was likely that the kid’s inner organs were damaged. The Healing Spirit was more efficient at treating external injuries or damage to bones. The Basic and Intermediate Healing Spells were not as efficient when treating an internal injury.

Nan Rongni placed her hand on Xiao Di’s chest and slowly moved it around. She had to find out what was injured before treating it.

Jiang Shaoxu was no longer smiling under the current circumstances.

Even though she was not a Healer, she was familiar with its principles. The Healing Element was actually boosting the target’s recovery speed, which meant that the Healing Element worked better when the target had great recovery ability.

Xiao Di was only a child. He did not even have strong immunity against diseases. His ability to recover was definitely the weakest at his age. Even a talented Healer like Nan Rongni was helpless, unless she was an Advanced Magician.

There were only a few Advanced Healers, even in the biggest cities. There was no way they could find one in Feiniao City. Nan Rongni was their only hope to save Xiao Di’s life.

Nan Rongni’s hand suddenly stopped close to Xiao Di’s lungs. When she found where the injury was, she quickly took off a round pendant she was wearing on her neck and placed it close to Xiao Di’s lungs!

The little pendant emitted a gentle glow that gathered above the infant’s lungs. Drops of liquid came out from the pendant and permeated in the infant’s body through his skin…

Nan Rongni closed her eyes and used her senses to treat the wound in Xiao Di’s lungs. The process demanded great focus, like a surgeon operating on a patient. Which part needed the healing liquid, which blood vessels must be unblocked, which part had bled that had to be cleared at once…

“What happened? What’s going on? Didn’t we ask you to save the kid, how did he end up like this…”

Zhao Manyan’s heart was burning with anxiety when an annoying voice spoke up. Zhao Manyan immediately knew the unpleasant voice belonged to Gong Yu without turning around!

Zhao Manyan was pissed. That son of a bitch was still saying unpleasant words under the circumstances. Did he think that his smart remarks were more important than saving the kid’s life? He and Mo Fan had risked their lives to save the kid from the Scarlet Rending Demon, yet he still had to hear Gong Yu’s nonsense!

“Can you piss off, Gong Yu?” Zhao Manyan had no intention to show the idiot any respect. He cursed without mercy.

“You’re asking me to piss off? A mere substitute who only managed to secure the position with money dares to ask me to piss off?” Gong Yu was infuriated.

“Enough, Nan Rongni needs to focus!” Jiang Shaoxu glared at the two.

Zhao Manyan immediately withheld his anger, yet Gong Yu was obviously trying to pick a fight still.

“What happened?” Ai Jiangtu, Nanyu, Mu Ningxue, Li Kaifeng and the others asked after they arrived and saw Nan Rongni healing the boy.

“We stumbled into the Scarlet Rending Demon; the creature wanted to eat infants, so the Sea Monkey went and kidnapped Xiao Di. We intercepted the Sea Monkey at a reef island, yet as soon as Mo Fan recovered Xiao Di, he was immediately ambushed by the Scarlet Rending Demon…” said Zhao Manyan.

“Scarlet Rending Demon… you two stumbled into the creature?” Nanyu was astounded.

Among them, apart from Ai Jiangtu, who still stood a chance against the Scarlet Rending Demon, most people would most likely die if they fought the creature!

And now, according to Zhao Manyan’s description, Mo Fan was ambushed by the Scarlet Rending Demon! It was fortunate that the kid was still alive after what happened!

“How about Mo Fan, is he alright?” asked Mu Ningxue.

Anyone else in the team would die instantly after being ambushed by a Commander-level creature. Mu Ningxue began to panic when she realized that only Zhao Manyan had returned.

“Mo Fan was severely injured trying to protect the little kid. He asked me to bring the dying kid back,” said Zhao Manyan.

“You’re telling me that Mo Fan is there all by himself?”

“My God, he’s going to die for sure! That’s a Commander-level creature!” exclaimed Jiang Shaoxu.

“Quick, go help him!” said Nanyu.

“Humph, I bet we can only retrieve his corpse by the time we reach there,” murmured Gong Yu.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Which direction?” asked Mu Ningxue immediately.

“You’ll see some bamboo shoot reefs after leaving the safe zone. Head east from there, and you’ll find the reef island!” said Zhao Manyan.

The Magic Winds had used up all his energy. He could no longer fly, and only hoped that the others could make it in time.

The truth was, even flying there would take quite a long time. Mo Fan’s armor was almost destroyed, he would not last for long.

After Zhao Manyan gave her directions, Mu Ningxue immediately summoned a wind to circle her elegant figure, which pushed her straight toward the sea…

She jumped onto the water. The waves under her feet immediately turned into ice for her to sprint on.

The wind surged into the distance as Mu Ningxue sprinted across the surface of the sea. The water her feet made contact with instantly froze, creating a long path of ice across the vast ocean.

Her silver hair drifted in the wind. Her feet were shuffling forward as she was hovering above the ice in the wind, leaving a rug made of ice behind her. The others were dazzled by Mu Ningxue’s control of the Ice and Wind Elements.

The others could not fly, thus they simply followed after Mu Ningxue on the path of ice. Even though it was likely that Mo Fan would be dead by the time they reached the island, they could not afford to give up on the smallest glimpse of hope.

—

The calm sea continued to undulate with occasional huge waves splashing on the tiny reefs island like a gigantic beast with its mouth wide open.

On the reefs island, Mo Fan was using his mental energy to resist the scarlet tide rolling in his direction. Unfortunately, he still lacked experience using the Space Element. He had no choice but to summon the Departing Nether Shield…

The Departing Nether Shield was effective at blocking a Warrior-level creature’s attack, but that was obviously not the case against the attack of a Commander-level creature. Luckily, the Scarlet Rending Demon had not recovered from the injury inflicted by Ai Jiangtu’s Demon Torture, which greatly weakened the strength of its magic. Otherwise, it could have easily defeated Mo Fan with its ability to control water!

Mo Fan had focused his attacks on the Scarlet Rending Demon’s chest. It was the creature’s most vulnerable point. Its previous injuries and the poison inflicted by the wasps had provided him with a vulnerability.

The scarlet tide rolled in Mo Fan’s direction. The Departing Nether Shield vanished after the strength of the tide surpassed its limit. Mo Fan immediately used little Flame Belle’s Calamity Fire to forcibly overcome the remaining strength of the wave!

“Flame sword!” Mo Fan yelled. Two different kinds of fire combined into a spiral pattern and formed a blazing long sword ten meters long! The flame sword blazed across the sky and flew straight at the Scarlet Rending Demon’s chest.

The Scarlet Rending Demon shoved its claws forward and summoned the waves splashing on the rocks nearby to form a wall to shield itself from the burning slash!

The flame sword’s strength was greatly weakened by the wall. Since fire was weak against water, the effect of his fire sword was below his expectations…

“Lightning Disaster!”

Mo Fan did not stop there. He pointed his finger at the sky, summoning bolts of fierce lightning.

Lightning strikes descended wildly and landed on the Scarlet Rending Demon. The flickering lightning arcs formed a web around the creature and landed repeatedly on the creature’s body.

The armor covering the Scarlet Rending Demon’s chest shattered into pieces, revealing a severely festered wound.

The poison that Zu Jiming had inflicted on the creature was still working, allowing Mo Fan’s fourth-tier Thunderbolt to deal a serious blow to the Scarlet Rending Demon!

More lightning strikes appeared. The Scarlet Rending Demon roared furiously amid the Lightning Disaster. It tried to summon a great wave to devour Mo Fan, yet the lingering effects of Demon Torture prevented it from casting the spell.

It had failed to kill the human when he was all alone. The Scarlet Rending Demon was even madder when it recalled the death of its tribe. It gave up on magic and charged at Mo Fan in an enraged state. It was planning to tear Mo Fan apart with brute force!

“Don’t you assume that I don’t dare to fight you in close combat!” Mo Fan was similarly aggressive.

Mo Fan was granted most of little Flame Belle’s capabilities when he was possessed. It was unwise to underestimate the effect of the Calamity Fire engulfing him!

“Flame sword!” Mo Fan controlled the flames to form a blazing sword once again!

Holding the ten-meter flame sword in both hands, Mo Fan leapt into the air and flung the sword. It slashed at the Scarlet Rending Demon in a full crescent arc!

The flame sword landed on the ground, and heat waves spread rapidly to both sides, using the ravine produced by the slash as their boundary. The whole reef trembled.

The Scarlet Rending Demon was no longer thinking straight. The slash tore its chest open and left a deep scorching mark on it, extending to its abdomen.

After suffering the blow, it insisted to push forward and dig its claws into Mo Fan’s stomach, then tear him in half.

“Piss off!” The flames engulfing Mo Fan blazed and turned into a pair of fiery wings on his back.

The wings spread, unleashing a great force that spread like a ring of fire. The Scarlet Rending Demon was immediately knocked back by the force while it was trying to move closer.

The burning feathers seemed to have their own consciousness. They rapidly sprang at the Scarlet Rending Demon, which was reeling from the blow. Each feather contained an overwhelming amount of energy, which exploded as soon as it made contact with the Scarlet Rending Demon…

More than a thousand fiery feathers detonated on the Scarlet Rending Demon. The creature’s body was bombarded beyond recognition as scales, pieces of singed meat, and blood splattered across the place!

The Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers was Little Flame Belle’s strongest move. Its effect was even stronger than Mo Fan’s Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons after stacking it with the effect of Mo Fan’s Rose Flame, totally comparable to an Advanced Spell. Normally, the Scarlet Rending Demon could easily resist the attack, yet without the protection of its scarlet armor, it was vulnerable to Fire Spells!

The Scarlet Rending Demon teetered after being hit by the Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers. However, it was surprisingly tenacious, still standing after suffering the powerful blow.

“Little Flame Belle, keep it busy for a while, I’m going to kill it once and for all!” Mo Fan’s face was a little pale at the moment.

It was his first time fighting a high-intensity battle with a Commander-level creature. Luckily, he had learned how to utilize little Flame Belle’s powers in the Space of Death. Otherwise, he definitely stood no chance against the injured Scarlet Rending Demon.

Little Flame Belle quickly flew out of Mo Fan’s body, bringing the brown Calamity Fire with her.

Little Flame Belle’s strength was now equivalent to a Warrior-level creature in the Advancing Period. She was only one step away from reaching the Commander-level. She would not have any problem keeping the seriously injured Scarlet Rending Demon at bay.

“Sky-Flame Funeral!”

Mo Fan knew that he had to use a real Advanced Spell if he really wanted to kill the Scarlet Rending Demon. The Sky-Flame Funeral was his only way to kill the creature.

The Star Patterns were completed quickly. Mo Fan was still rusty at casting the Sky-Flame Funeral, yet he had to complete the Star Constellation at a faster pace, to summon the Advanced Fire Spell down from the sky!

He was totally defenseless. If he did not kill the Scarlet Rending Demon soon, his life would be in danger…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Two tongues of flames slowly rose on Mo Fan’s palms. As the heat of the flames reached its highest point, Mo Fan shoved them into the sky.

The flames rose into the air and set the clouds ablaze. The light of the fire dyed the whole sky red.

“Fall!” Mo Fan uttered, his eyes blazing. A rain of fireballs immediately poured down from the burning clouds.

The rain of fireballs had a huge coverage area. Mo Fan did not need to worry that the Scarlet Rending Demon was outside of the range of the spell. Mo Fan even centered the fire clouds right above the Scarlet Rending Demon to maximize the damage output.

The fireballs immediately turned the reefs into a sea of flames trying to devour the whole island.

The sea was filled with the color of fire. It looked as if the water had been set aflame. The Scarlet Rending Demon was already suffering serious injuries, and the dense fireballs landing on it burned down its remaining armor. The creature was directly suffering the burns from Mo Fan’s strongest Fire Spell.

The Scarlet Rending Demon was in great pain. It kept uttering a piercing screech, and tried to break free from Little Flame Belle’s suppression and flee into the ocean.

Mo Fan controlled the rain of fireballs to drop rapidly in the direction that the Scarlet Rending Demon was heading into. The area immediately surged ferociously. The Scarlet Rending Demon did not dare to risk its life and wove through the ocean of flames, running around frantically, like a headless fly!

The Advanced Spell was incredibly effective against a Commander-level creature. The Scarlet Rending Demon’s body began to turn scorched black, and its struggles gradually weakened. Mo Fan believed that the creature was approaching its death!

Just as Mo Fan thought the creature was about to fall in the ocean of flames, the Scarlet Rending Demon rushed out from the flames with shocking suddenness.

The creature was scorched completely black. Its flesh had festered from the burns, yet the incredible pain had given the Commander-level creature a strong will to live. Since it could not find its way into the water, it had no choice but to go all out and eliminate Mo Fan, who was channeling the spell!

Mo Fan was shocked by the Commander-level creature’s astonishing vitality, able to launch such a strong counterattack in its current condition!

It was the same in every fight between Magicians and demon creatures. No matter how favorable the situation was to any side, the outcome of the fight was still unknown as long as their enemy was still alive. Most Magicians failed to defeat creatures of their level, as these demon creatures’ savage natured surfaced when their lives were endangered!

Mo Fan did not predict the counterattack. The Scarlet Rending Demon was simply too cunning. Its intention to flee into the ocean while being surrounded by the flames was merely a ruse. It never tried to run away, it was determined to kill Mo Fan.

It simply allowed the flames to burn its body beyond recognition. Even when it was dying, it continued to search for Mo Fan’s position to deliver the final blow!

Once it killed Mo Fan, it could immediately jump into the sea and find a place to hide. It would soon recover after some rest. No matter how miserable it was in the fight, it would be the last one standing!

Mo Fan did not have time to dodge the attack. The Black Snake Armor was on cooldown, and he had already used the Departing Nether Shield too.

The long claws slashed down on Mo Fan’s right shoulder, tearing his chest open!

Fresh blood sprayed in the air from the cut. The blackened Scarlet Rending Demon uttered a mad chuckle, as if it had avenged all its people by killing Mo Fan!

Mo Fan’s face twitched when his chest was torn open, yet his eyes flickered icily amid the pain!

“Nine…Nine Dragons!”

The Scarlet Rending Demon did not notice that Mo Fan’s left fist was engulfed in flames!

The Scarlet Rending Demon was just about to dig its claws deeper into Mo Fan’s body to totally destroy his organs when Mo Fan threw his left fist right into the Scarlet Rending Demon’s chest!

The fist exploded at close proximity. Mo Fan could feel his fist penetrating into the Scarlet Rending Demon’s ribs!

The flames burst forward, nine fiery dragons exited through the Scarlet Rending Demon’s back and formed a brilliant flame geyser.

The Scarlet Rending Demon’s claws were stuck in Mo Fan’s flesh, yet they could not go any deeper as the creature’s organs were destroyed first. Its claws stiffened halfway as it lost its remaining life force!

The Scarlet Rending Demon slowly fell backward, its bloodshot stare replaced with a blank look. Perhaps it could never believe how calm the human was, to dare counterattack with his life at stake!

The charred Scarlet Rending Demon fell to the ground, dying after its body twitched a few times. No matter how tenacious the creature was, there was still an end to its life. Mo Fan’s punch at point-blank simply sealed the deal.

The Commander-level sea monster had ruled this area for many years, yet its dominance had ended today.

The shadows looming over the children of Feiniao City had been destroyed!

—

Fresh blood clots fell to the ground, and soon turned into a great pool of blood.

Mo Fan was completely exhausted and fell on his back, exposing the shocking wound on his chest to the sky, as if the sunlight could heal it.

Little Flame Belle flew over to Mo Fan’s side. Her giant eyes began to tear up like bursting taps, yet instead of crying tears, red boiling liquid poured out from her eyes and turned into crystals when they landed on the ground…

“Why are you crying; daddy isn’t going to die, I’m just a bit tired,” Mo Fan painfully extended his left hand and patted little Flame Belle’s head.

Mo Fan chose not to dodge the attack or try setting up some meaningless defense, but he did not just stand there, either. He had decided to play the game of seeing who was going to die first, and he had emerged victorious. He was the one that survived!

It was Mo Fan’s first time killing a Commander-level creature by himself. He experienced a great emotional ride after the difficult fight.

Unlike fighting with the Demon Element’s power, the fight felt much more (ow) realistic to Mo Fan.

That being said, the awakening of the Demon Element did make Mo Fan’s flesh a lot stronger than ordinary people, so even if his chest was torn open… he should still be fine, right?

“Mmm?” Mo Fan discovered a glowing light dot that looked like a crystal flying toward him while he was still thinking about the punch that decided his life and death. More accurately speaking, it was flying toward the Little Loach Pendant.

It was the creature’s Soul Remnant. The Soul Remnant of a Commander-level creature was quite valuable, or so Mo Fan thought.

However, Mo Fan realized something after taking a closer look. -Hang on, that’s not a Soul Remnant. It’s a Soul Essence, a Commander-level Soul Essence!-

“Holy-” Before Mo Fan could cry out the word ‘shit’ in joy and astonishment, he immediately groaned in pain!

-That f**king hurts!-

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A Commander-level Soul Essence!

The thing was shockingly valuable. It was between five to six times more valuable than a Warrior-level Soul Essence, if he wasn’t mistaken.

-A Warrior-level Soul Essence was around twenty million, so five times that… doesn’t that mean it’s a hundred million!?-

Mo Fan was totally thrilled. The pain on his chest immediately disappeared!

He had never seen so much money in his entire life. A hundred million, he was finally a man with over a hundred million…

The representatives in the national team either had incredible strength or luxurious equipment. Even that son of a bitch Zhao Manyan had already got his hands on some Magic Wings. How was it acceptable if he could not get his hands on some worthy weapons or defensive equipment, too? The Heavens had finally shown him some kindness, to prepare such a huge gift for him. The effort he put in to kill the Scarlet Rending Demon was all worth it!

“Mm, little Flame Belle, what are you doing?” Mo Fan heard little Flame Belle high-spirited cry, which sounded like she was giving orders to someone while he was still immersed in his great excitement.

Mo Fan painfully turned his head around and saw an ugly Sea Monkey standing beside him, like a slave with its hands cuffed up. It was slowly placing a strange kind of seaweed in front of little Flame Belle.

Mo Fan did recognize the Sea Monkey. It was the creature that had brought them here!

It turned out that little Flame Belle could not bear to watch Mo Fan bleeding non-stop. She immediately found the hidden Sea Monkey and asked the creature to find some medicine for her daddy Mo Fan.

The Sea Monkey was watching the fight from far away. It was utterly shocked after witnessing Mo Fan killing their vicious king. It immediately went to find some herbs for Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was amused when he saw little Flame Belle waving her arms around at the Sea Monkey like a demanding princess.

Mo Fan sniffed the seaweed to confirm it was a medicinal herb before asking little Flame Belle to apply it to his wounds.

The effort he put in his studies was not in vain. Mo Fan could recognize some common medicinal herbs, and some of them did grow in the ocean. There was even a city that blossomed economically after discovering a huge supply of high-quality medicinal herbs in the sea nearby…

The seaweed also had an anesthesthetic effect, in addition to stopping his bleeding and easing the pain. Mo Fan could feel his consciousness falling away after the medicinal herb was applied to his wounds.

Little Flame Belle was her daddy’s considerate companion. She tapped her chest to imply that she would take good care of him.

Mo Fan nodded. He was indeed worn out. There was no need to worry with the little Flame Belle watching him. He immediately fell asleep…

——

The vast ocean was serenely spectacular. However, if glancing down from a great height, one could see a silver line splitting the blue mirror in half…

Taking a closer look, the silver line turned out to be a path of ice that kept spreading further out, as if the sea water was frozen. However, its range was only limited to a narrow path. If the path was raised above the sea water, it looked more like a long white dam!

Ai Jiangtu, Nanyu, Gong Yu, Zu Jiming, and the others followed behind Mu Ningxue. They followed the ice dam and made their way toward the reef island…

“I can see it, it’s right ahead!” said Ai Jiangtu.

Ai Jiangtu immediately used Blink to reach the island when it came into his sight.

Not long after, Mu Ningxue made it too. She did not like Mo Fan jumping around her like a monkey, yet she honestly did not want anything to happen to him.

Mu Ningxue jumped onto the reefs island and saw Ai Jiangtu standing on a rock with a stern face.

Mu Ningxue walked up to him. She did not see the Scarlet Rending Demon, but she saw Mo Fan lying still on the ground…

It was the worst scene she had imagined, yet it was happening right in front of her. She subconsciously took a deep breath as her vision began to blur.

“We’ve come late,” Ai Jiangtu let out a sigh.

Mu Ningxue did not dare to walk up to the body. She was lost in her thoughts.

He had managed to survive the Calamity of Bo City, the incident in Jilin City, the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, but ended up dying here? Didn’t they always say the bad guys wouldn’t die so easily? Since when did he become so righteous, to sacrifice his life in exchange for a child’s!

The others arrived in turn and fell silent when they saw Mo Fan covered in bruises and his chest torn open.

“Say, am I the only one that thinks he’s still breathing?” asked Li Kaifeng softly.

“Is he? Let me take a look,” Nanyu knelt down beside Mo Fan and put her hand over Mo Fan’s nose.

Soon, she felt a hot breath on her hand. Nanyu stared at Mo Fan in surprise.

Mo Fan happened to open his eyes at the same time and saw Nanyu putting her hand in front of his nose. He glanced around and saw everyone surrounding him as if they were mourning for him. He felt like they were going to cremate him at any second!

“What…what are you all up to!” Mo Fan rose to his feet.

Mo Fan gave the team a good scare.

Mo Fan’s chest was injured, so his breathing was weak. Ai Jiangtu straight away assumed Mo Fan was dead when he saw him lying still on the ground.

The others thought the same, too. On top of that, they had all assumed that Mo Fan would most likely be dead by the time they arrived, since he was going against a Commander-level creature alone. Even though Mo Fan was an Advanced Magician, a recently leveled-up Advanced Magician was only slightly stronger than an Intermediate Magician. Besides, the Scarlet Rending Demon would never give Mo Fan a chance to cast his Advanced Spell…

As such, they all thought Mo Fan was dead meat. It would be a relief if they could recover his corpse.

And now, Mo Fan was alive and well. Everyone’s mind immediately went blank!

-He’s not dead?

-This guy is not dead?-

-How is this possible? Did the Scarlet Rending Demon run away?-

“Why the heck are you lying still there if you’re not dead!” Nanyu snapped furiously after recovering from her surprise.

“I was asleep,” replied Mo Fan honestly.

“…” Everyone was left speechless.

“Look at you, sleeping soundly here. Mu Ningxue was so terrified…” said Nanyu.

Mo Fan finally realized Mu Ningxue had not dared to come any closer, and was standing some distance away.

The girl was extremely cold to him, and claimed that she had no interest in him, yet it seemed like her body was rather honest!

“Where’s the Scarlet Rending Demon? There’s no way that savage beast would spare your life…” Gong Yu asked with mixed feelings.

“The scorched thing you’re standing on is the Scarlet Rending Demon,” said Mo Fan.

Gong Yu was startled. He immediately moved his feet and realized that he was not standing on some burned rocks, but a scorched corpse!

The Scarlet Rending Demon’s corpse hardened soon after its death. It looked just like rocks, so the others did not even notice it.

“This thing is the Scarlet Rending Demon, it’s dead?” asked Zu Jiming in disbelief.

“It’s indeed the creature,” Ai Jiangtu inspected the corpse and confirmed its identity.

Once again, the group fixed their eyes on Mo Fan.

-What…what on Earth?

-Mo Fan is alive, but the Scarlet Rending Demon is dead!

-The Commander-level creature is dead!

-So did Mo Fan kill it?

-By himself?-

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You killed it? Did you kill the Scarlet Rending Demon?” Ai Jiangtu blurted out in disbelief. He did not expect Mo Fan’s strength to be that shocking!

“Is there anyone else here?” asked Mo Fan in return.

“You… how did you do it? It’s an actual Commander-level creature; we couldn’t even do anything to it when we fought it together before!”

“That’s unbelievable, we thought you were dead for sure!”

Mo Fan’s teammates were completely dumbfounded. As Mo Fan said, he was the only one on the island, and the Scarlet Rending Demon’s corpse was lying right there. Who else could it be if it wasn’t him?

Yet, how did he do it? Even a few Advanced Magicians would have had difficulty fighting a Commander-level creature, let alone killing it…

“It seems like the Scarlet Rending Demon was more injured than we thought, I bet we could have killed the creature if we continued to attack the other day,” harrumphed Gong Yu coldly.

Most of the team agreed with Gong Yu’s conclusion.

It was the only explanation possible. The Scarlet Rending Demon was severely injured, and Mo Fan was able to focus on its weak point to kill it. Otherwise, there was no way a Magician their age could solo kill a Commander-level creature!

Even if that was the case, it was still shocking!

When they remembered that Mo Fan was only a substitute, somehow they felt they would feel better if they had discovered Mo Fan’s corpse instead.

Mo Fan was too lazy to explain to them, too. However, Ai Jiangtu never shifted his gaze away from Mo Fan.

He knew the Scarlet Rending Demon’s injuries better than anyone else. The creature was indeed injured, especially the effects of Demon Torture, which stopped the creature from controlling the sea water. However, the Scarlet Rending Demon was still very powerful because of his Commander-level strength and other capabilities. The fact that Mo Fan was able to kill the creature implied that Mo Fan was a lot stronger than he originally thought!

Nanyu had met Mo Fan before. She knew about his Double Innate Elements, thus she could not help but wonder if Mo Fan was hiding some other stronger Elements on purpose?

Nanyu did guess right. Although Mo Fan’s strongest Element was Fire, the truth was that the combination of his Fire and Summoning Elements was even scarier. With little Flame Belle’s Possess, not only did he have two types of fire, he could also acquire little Flame Belle’s ability to transform his appearance and control flames, increasing his combat ability significantly!

—

Now that the Scarlet Rending Demon had been dealt with, the hidden threat was finally resolved.

The team carried Mo Fan back along the same path of ice. Mo Fan could not help but look at Mu Ningxue when he saw the ice that remained solid even now.

Mu Ningxue happened to be looking at him too. She was having mixed feelings after learning that Mo Fan was actually still alive. On the other hand, the strength that Mo Fan had displayed greatly exceeded her expectations. Somehow, the man who she thought she was familiar with suddenly had lots of secrets she was unaware of.

“Don’t worry, the injuries are nothing, I’ll be jumping and hopping around in a few days!” Mo Fan smiled at Mu Ningxue warmly.

The others had told him that Mu Ningxue had rushed here by freezing a path across the sea right away. Mo Fan had no choice but to marry her to repay her kindness.

Mu Ningxue remained silent, returning to her usual cold self.

It was normal for her to worry about Mo Fan, since the relationship between her and Mo Fan had been subtle for a long time. Mu Ningxue did not want Mo Fan to die, but that did not necessarily mean she had feelings for him. She had no time to waste on things like that…

“I’ve given you my promise that I’ll visit your Mu Family with a great betrothal gift. How can I possibly die here? How about after the World College Tournament? Our age is just about right, too,” added Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was like a psycho that could perform a whole drama all by himself. Even if the others remained silent, he could still proceed with the plot as he desired. No one that could stand his shamelessness. Besides, Mo Fan was also familiar with Mu Ningxue’s personality. He strongly believed that just a little shamelessness was nowhere enough to pry open her heart. Only a completely shameless person like him had a chance.

As he thought, Mu Ningxue’s face turned even colder when she heard Mo Fan mention a betrothal gift. She had never met someone who could talk so much nonsense when he was injured! The Scarlet Rending Demon was a Commander-level creature, yet it was so useless that it couldn’t even kill a mere Mo Fan; she couldn’t even enjoy a moment of silence!

Mo Fan had been repeating the same thing for days, thus most people in the team believed that they were friends since childhood who were engaged to one another. Otherwise, Nanyu would not have even told Mo Fan about Mu Ningxue’s reaction. On top of that, Mu Ningxue immediately came to his rescue by building a fifty kilometers long ice bridge as soon as she received the news!

—

Mo Fan was dropped on a bed to rest as the team returned to Feiniao City.

Not long after, Zhao Manyan paid him a visit. His expression said that he had predicted it all. “I knew you wouldn’t die so easily… I know what you want to ask me, Nan Rongni’s healing ability is awesome; the kid Xiao Di would have died if it was any other Intermediate Healer, but Nan Rongni managed to save his life. She even gave him a blessing that will let him grow up healthier than ever.”

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh. At least they managed to save the kid’s life by putting their own at risk.

“You want to know who’s responsible for the cases? It’s more complicated than we initially thought, the truth might even shock the whole nation…” said Zhao Manyan.

“Did we find the truth?” asked Mo Fan.

“Nope, the trace ends here in Feiniao City. We only found the one responsible here in Feiniao City; the Enforcement Union will deal with him… but according to Jiang Yu, it implicates even more people that are out of his reach, so he can only pass it on to the five advisors,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Are you telling me that incidents like this aren’t just happening here in Feiniao City?” Mo Fan asked in surprise.

The missing cases only happened because of the Scarlet Rending Demon and the Scarlet Soaring Demons’ weird obsession with human children. Why was the situation more complicated beyond that?

“The advisors have stopped us from investigating further. They told us that we’ve done them a great favor,” said Zhao Manyan.

For some reason, Mo Fan was not glad to hear that.

Hopefully the people assigned to investigate it were determined to seek out the truth like they had, at least to prevent cases like this from happening again.

“By the way, someone asked the advisors to pass you a thing, something that you kept mentioning at the Ancient Capital,” said Zhao Manyan.

“What is it?” asked Mo Fan.

“A ragged feather robe, but to be honest, that thing is too ragged and ancient… what do you even need it for? They even said it was to repay you for what you did at the Ancient Capital… hey, are you listening to me?” said Zhao Manyan.

“Oh, give it to me, I’ve waited a long time for it,” said Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan had no clue what the ragged robe was for, yet Mo Fan was extremely excited. He never thought old man Han Ji would actually manage to get it for him. The robe was in the sublimest display in the museum. It was one of the rarest objects in the world, with an extraordinary background!

It was only ragged because of its age.

It was called the Celestial Phoenix Feather Robe. Mo Fan was fond of it when he saw its original appearance using computer simulation. He was determined to restore it!

It would be the perfect gift for Xinxia!

Mo Fan had a regret when he was surrounded by the endless skeletons in the Space of Death. Since he had survived it, it was time for him to fulfill it!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan laid on the white bed. He sat upright suddenly, too bored to just lay there.

On his right was a floating vase, trembling as if it would fall to the ground at any second. In front of him was a remote control for the television. No one was using it, yet the channels kept switching rapidly. On his left was a pen scribbling on a piece of paper…

(Knock knock)

Someone was knocking on his door. Mo Fan immediately stopped using Telekinesis. The vase dropped to the ground and smashed into pieces. The remote control fell on the table, and the pen fell on the paper. Everything returned to normal.

Lin Junxian, dressed in another fine suit, came in with a woman around twenty-seven years old. They smiled when they saw Mo Fan was awake.

“This is my cousin, Lin Qi,” introduced Lin Junxian.

“Thank you so much, I wouldn’t know what I would do if I lost Xiao Di. Please let us know if we can help you in any way. Our Lin Clan is also a renowned clan; we are extremely grateful, we must repay your great kindness!” Lin Qi said to Mo Fan sincerely.

“Well…” Mo Fan was just about to mention a little favor. The truth was, he already knew the Lin Family was comparable to the Zhao Family in terms of financial capabilities.

“It’s fine, take your time, the Lin Family owes you a favor. We’ll do anything to repay your kindness!” said Lin Junxian.

“Sure, we’ll discuss it in the future. Those goddamned advisors have purposely frozen our bank accounts. I bet they are going to take away whatever you give me now, too,” sighed Mo Fan.

“HAHA, we know that, so I’ve already made the preparations. I’ve found you a ship that will bring you safely to Japan. However, you and your team must be cautious, don’t stir up any unnecessary trouble. It will be troublesome for people without an identity like you,” said Lin Junxian grinned.

“Kind sir, please rest well. Let us know if you need any help,” Lin Qi reminded him again.

“Don’t worry, I’m not your typical unsung hero. I’ll surely ask for your help,” said Mo Fan.

Lin Qi and Lin Junxian were amused by Mo Fan’s honesty. They felt more at ease after hearing his words.

——

Mo Fan asked about the missing cases after he left the hospital, but Jiang Yu only repeated what Zhao Manyan had mentioned. They had only found the culprit in Feiniao City before the trail was lost.

The rest was totally out of their reach. Since the advisors were aware of it, the Magic Association would definitely take full responsibility for investigating it.

Lin Junxian was a reliable businessman. After the truth about the missing infants was revealed, he immediately set up a fund to support the families who were victims on behalf of the Lin Group. He immediately received the support of the residents in Feiniao City.

The hidden threat of Feiniao City was cleared. The city would soon recover with Lin Junxian’s contributions!

——-

After Mo Fan fully recovered, the group boarded the ship and departed for the Pacific Ocean…

Feiniao City did not have any heavy industries, so the sky and sea were exceedingly blue. As they slowly left the safe zone, everyone immediately felt better after enjoying the scenic view of the connected sky and sea.

The girls on the team were all beauties. Jiang Shaoxu was wearing a sexy bikini, as usual.

The two assholes, Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan, never concealed their perverted gazes. They almost buried their eyes inside Jiang Shaoxu’s deep cleavage. The two hills of jade-white skin were too alluring.

“Humph!” Gong Yu harrumphed when he saw the two shameless pricks with their shameless actions, as if he was self-contained.

“The asshole is putting on an act again!” Zhao Manyan had completely fallen out with Gong Yu. He did not even give him a friendly look.

“Time to play with him,” Mo Fan grinned. “Yo, Gong Yu, I believe you haven’t kept your promise after losing the bet last time.”

“Since when did I lose?!” said Gong Yu furiously.

“I had four gall bladders, you had three; wasn’t it obvious that you’ve lost the bet? Just say it if you want to act dumb, I guess a manly bet like that doesn’t suit you at all,” mocked Mo Fan.

Gong Yu’s expression turned unpleasant. He demanded in a sour voice, “Say it, what do you want?!”

Mo Fan was waiting for Gong Yu to say that, and asked Gong Yu to come closer.

Gong Yu had a bad feeling when he saw the vicious look on Mo Fan’s face…

As Gong Yu thought, he shook his head fiercely after he finished listening to Mo Fan.

“Fine, don’t you pretend that you’re superior again in front of me, you have no guts,” said Mo Fan indifferently.

Gong Yu was furious. He clenched his teeth and said, “I’ll surely ask you to do something worse next time!”

“Bring it on, I like the feeling of my heart racing!” boasted Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan had no idea what Mo Fan asked Gong Yu to do. He asked Mo Fan when he saw Gong Yu heading for the deck.

“Watch closely, the view is only going to last for a moment, don’t miss it!” Mo Fan said to Zhao Manyan mysteriously.

Zhao Manyan was even more confused. He was just about to ask when he heard Jiang Shaoxu’s scream coming from the deck.

Zhao Manyan glanced toward the sound and saw Gong Yu peeling Jiang Shaoxu’s bikini off as he tripped, revealing two large boobs that trembled as if they were experiencing a great scare…

Unfortunately, Zhao Manyan reacted a bit too late. Jiang Shaoxu had already covered the important parts with her hand, yet her tiny hands were nowhere enough to cover all of them. Zhao Manyan’s certain body part was already saluting!

“Splendid!” Zhao Manyan was almost drooling.

Mo Fan had an evil grin. Unlike Zhao Manyan, who only saw Jiang Shaoxu after her scream, he had witnessed the entire sequence. Tsk tsk, the woman’s body was so hot, she didn’t even stack anything underneath…

It was such a pity that Gong Yu was not fully committed to it. He had only peeled the bikini down halfway. Otherwise, they could have enjoyed the view for a bit longer.

“Die, you scum!” Jiang Shaoxu’s screeched from the deck.

Gong Yu immediately ran away. Luckily, Jiang Shaoxu’s main element was Psychic. Otherwise, the ship would not be able to withstand her rage.

“I…I didn’t mean it, I slipped, I slipped!”

“Shameless prick, I’m not Jiang Shaoxu if I don’t chop your hands off!”

“I really didn’t do it on purpose… why are you using magic!?”

Gong Yu was chased across the whole ship. No one dared to help him under the circumstances.

Zhao Manyan was almost choking from laughter. He gave Mo Fan a thumbs up. It was such a dirty move, yet he liked it.

Mo Fan laid back on the chair comfortably and hummed pleasantly.

Japan was going to be great… it was the birthplace of countless precious seeds!

{TL Note: I feel like an explanation is needed here. In Chinese, there’s a modern slang of describing ‘sperm’ as seed. Here, it’s referring to how a lot of men ‘produce seeds’ from watching Japanese adult movies.}

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Azure green sky, golden desert…

A towering giant was walking at a steady pace. Each step it took was enough to raze a sand dune to the ground, knocking the sand into the air.

The giant’s head reached the sky while its feet stood on the sand. It was like a moving mountain. The savage hordes of scorpions and snakes residing in the desert immediately backed off when they saw the enormous trespasser…

The Wild Snake Scorpions were the scariest demon creature in the Taklamakan Desert. Their average strength was around the Warrior-level, and deeper into the desert were lots of Commander-level Deadly Plague Snake Scorpions. If one were to describe the most mysterious and dangerous place full of treasure in China, the Taklamakan Desert was definitely one of them. Every year, a dozen or more foreign Magicians would die here. The survival rate was exceedingly low!

The place was infamous because of how dangerous it was, yet many people still came to try their luck. After all, the place was called the Golden Desert. The risks were high, but the potential rewards were high, too!

However, the Taklamakan Desert now had an uninvited guest. Its enormous figure, as huge as a mountain, made the Snake Scorpion Horde tremble in fear. None of the creatures dared to show any resistance when their precious territory was invaded…

The packs of Wild Snake Scorpions immediately withdrew, yet a horde had powerful existences, too.

As the Mountain Zombie ventured deeper into the territory of the Wild Snake Scorpions, over ten Deadly Plague Snake Scorpions appeared on a sandy hill, each over fifty meters tall and thoroughly pitch-black. Their tails and pincers were bright red, implying that they were stained with a deadly poison…

A Deadly Plague Snake Scorpion was enough to take up an entire sand dune. Its body almost caused the sand dune to collapse under its weight. The desert wolves running away nearby were like little worms.

More than ten of the same Commander-level creatures had appeared. They were crowding around something in a strange arc.

Suddenly, four other sand dunes at the center of the group shook vigorously as they rose up.

The sand dunes rose slowly. It turned out that there was an enormous creature three times the size of a Deadly Plague Snake Scorpion under the sand dunes. The sand dunes slowly turned into a sandstorm as they reached a certain height, pouring down along the creature’s shiny, pitch-black body.

Eight sharp and long scorpion legs poked into the sand. The distance between its front limbs and rear limbs was greater than the length of a soccer field!

Its arms wielded a pair of terrifying pincers. Even the slightest cut could snap a sandhill in half!

The thing surrounded by the Deadly Plague Snake Scorpions was obviously the ruler of the desert. It had been many years since any creature dared to challenge its authority. Most of the white bones buried under the desert were its masterpiece!

Hell Scorpion!

It was the infamous Hell Scorpion!

And now, the Hell Scorpion was being threatened. It had brought its Commanders along to surround the invader.

The invader’s size was shocking. The Hell Scorpion was already huge, yet it was still a lot smaller than the mountain-like zombie!

The Hell Scorpion let out a furious roar at the invader, telling the creature that it had trespassed into its territory.

The Mountain Zombie came to a stop. It looked down at the ruler of the Taklamakan Desert coldly. Instead of starting a fight, it seemed like it was awaiting orders from the man standing on its head. It did not dare to act rashly without receiving an order.

The Hell Scorpion was extremely proud, too. It was about to start a fight with its tough opponent when its eyes widened after discovering another being standing on its opponent’s head. It fixed its unblinking eyes on the tiny human figure.

The man standing on the mountain-like creature glanced down. His pitch-black eyes emitted a terrifying, cold light onto the sand with his gaze!

The Hell Scorpion subconsciously took a few steps back.

Meanwhile, the Commander-level Deadly Plague Snake Scorpions nearby were trembling in fear. Some that were weaker even burrowed into the sand and did not dare to show themselves again.

Not only did they have a Ruler-level creature protecting them, they were Commander-level creatures too, yet their battle intent completely dispersed after feeling that murderous gaze…

The Mountain Zombie resumed walking and stepped past the Hell Scorpion.

The Hell Scorpion stood there, yet it did not dare to utter the same challenging cry, let alone attack the Mountain Zombie that was right in front of it.

The desert continued to tremble under the heavy footsteps. The Mountain Zombie slowly disappeared into the distance, yet the Hell Scorpion still did not dare to make any move.

The Mountain Zombie was heading for Tianshan Mountain. After it disappeared for some time, the Hell Scorpion finally turned around and stared into that direction. The fear it felt from the man was still lingering deep inside its soul!

——

The same vastness as a desert, yet the Pacific Ocean was a spectacular blue, an entrancing color, with a hint of intimidating mysteriousness.

Neither an island nor a cloud could be seen nearby, as if they had sunken into a giant blue canvas, making it impossible to tell the directions. Only the endless waves were pushing the ship forward!

Mo Fan had come from the mountains. It was his first time going out to sea. In fact, he was quite excited at the start, yet he simply spent most of his time playing cards with the others…

No humans, no sea monsters, no islands, all there was was water… the days were unendurable.

Mo Fan did not understand. Did they really have to go so far for the training? Wasn’t it more efficient to take a plane to Japan? In the end, he could only play cards or cultivate on the ship, it was utterly boring!

“By the way, can’t you Water Magicians make the ship go faster?” suggested Mo Fan, who had run out of patience.

“It’s not difficult, but it’s tiring,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Just treat it as a way to cultivate, how long is it going to take to reach Japan at this rate?” Mo Fan prodded them.

“We’ll have a go!”

The others agreed that the ship was too slow. Those with the Water Element took turns to cast their spells, transforming the ship into a speedboat sprinting across the ocean like an arrow.

It felt great standing on the deck, watching the waves splitting in half as the water splashed on their faces!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The ship was a lot faster after it was turned into a speedboat, yet the journey was still extremely long compared to taking a plane.

“Zhao Manyan, let’s fly up there to see if there’s any island nearby. I can’t stand it anymore,” Every day on the boat felt like a year to Mo Fan.

“Sure, you’re coming with me?” asked Zhao Manyan.

“Let’s go.”

Zhao Manyan brought Mo Fan into the sky. It happened to be a clear day. They could easily see the whole area with a single glance.

The sea was like an arc when glancing down from a great height. The two tried their best to fly higher, yet they still did not see any signs of land in the distance.

“Go higher, so that we can see even further,” Mo Fan told Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan beat his golden wings fiercely and soared into the sky. The ship was now only a little white dot in their eyes.

Mo Fan tried his best to peer into the distance, and finally saw a meandering black shoreline on the horizon.

“We’re almost there, I can finally see land, it’s a long shoreline. It’s definitely not an island!” said Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan could not see that far. He had no choice but to believe Mo Fan’s words.

He glanced down to check if the ship was heading in the right direction, and suddenly discovered something black suddenly appearing in the blue canvas of the ocean.

He tried taking a closer look, yet it was still a blur, so he had no choice but to ask Mo Fan, “Look at the sea water, why do I feel like it’s turning black.”

Mo Fan glanced down and discovered that there was a black shadow close to the white ship, it was not the water turning black. The shadow and the ship were stacked on top of one another.

Mo Fan did not think too much about the shadow, yet on second thought, he immediately realized that something was not right. He was utterly terrified by the thought!

Even though the ship that Lin Junxian gave them was not a huge cruise liner or anything, it was still more than thirty meters long, similar to three buses in a line. However, compared to the black shadow, the ship was like a little white dot on a piece of black paper. It clearly highlighted the size of the thing under the water!

Mo Fan subconsciously looked above him to see if it was the shadow of a cloud, yet the sky was perfectly clear. Not even the slightest vapor could be seen, let alone clouds, which meant that there must be something in the water!

It was an enormous shadow under the water!

“Zhao Manyan, we need to head down at once!” yelled Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan did not react in time, yet when he saw Mo Fan’s stern expression, he immediately withdrew the wings and dove from the sky with Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s heart beat rapidly. He could not believe his eyes!

What exactly was the thing in the water?

It was very close to the surface of the ocean. Otherwise, he would not be able to see it through the water!

Meanwhile, the people on the ship were totally unaware of the situation. The ship continued to drive forward…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan landed heavily on the deck, almost breaking holes in the deck’s floor.

Nanyu immediately criticized the two, yet they ignored her and went over to the railing and stared into the water.

The sea water was very clear, allowing them to see quite deep into it. The black shadow was still under the ship. They finally realized how enormous the thing was when they were back on the ship. It felt like the whole ship had entered a black area. A great terror filled their hearts when they saw the black shadow extending into the distance!

“Holy shit, what the heck is that!?” screamed Jiang Yu.

His scream immediately attracted everyone’s attention. They quickly gathered at the railings and discovered an enormous shadow in the water. It looked like a huge abyss that could suck the whole ship into it at any second!

Cold sweat slid down their necks. Even though they did not sense any aura from the thing in the water, they still felt a great pressure, as if their lives were completely under its control!

No one was talking. Their eyes widened as their bodies stiffened.

None of them dared to take a closer look at the thing in the water, as they were worried that it would turn out to be a giant mouth devouring them or an enormous claw smashing their ship into pieces. It was not mere imagination; they strongly believed the creature in the water could do it!

“What…what the hell is that thing?” asked Zhao Manyan, his face stiff.

Mo Fan took a deep breath and slowly shook his head, “It looks like it’s diving deeper into the water.”

The shadow in the water gradually blurred. The fear looming in everyone’s heart slowly dissipated.

Sometime later, the water finally returned to normal. Glancing into the distance, it was the same dark blue everywhere.

However, for some reason, whenever they looked at the sea water or tried to look deeper into it, the fear would return out of nowhere. They could not stop thinking about the giant shadow!

On the ship, everyone was exhausted from tension. Jiang Yu even collapsed on the deck!

The ship continued to move forward, yet the people aboard remained silent for a long time. Sometime later, Jiang Yu finally rose to his feet and glanced at the people around him.

“For some reason, I suddenly felt like a frog at the bottom of a well,” said Jiang Yu.

There were too many things that were still unexplored in this world. Jiang Yu thought he had learned about most of the demon creatures, and he could easily identify their kind just by looking at their shadows.

However, he had no clue what the shadow was. He could not even see its whole appearance…

He did not know what the creature was, apart from the fact that it was not recorded, and it was right here in the Yellow Sea!

“I’m afraid it’s one of the reasons the advisors sent us here for training, but… a creature of that size, it’s at least… at least Ruler-level, right?” asked Nanyu.

“It’s hard to say; we don’t even know if it’s a living creature. Strange, a Ruler-level creature should have a strong presence, yet I didn’t feel anything from it,” said Mo Fan.

Gong Yu sneered at Mo Fan’s words and said disdainfully, “You’re talking as if you’ve seen a Ruler-level creature before. Based on what I know, it’s easy for a Ruler-level creature to conceal its presence.”

Gong Yu was simply asking to be humiliated. Not only had Mo Fan seen a Ruler-level creature, he had even fought more than one before.

For example, the Black Totem Snake in Hangzhou was just like his guardian beast. If Mo Fan poked his finger in Hangzhou’s territory, the creature would immediately show up and tear at the thistle. Judging from the fight between the Black Totem Snake and the Silver Skyruler, the Black Totem Snake was one of the strongest at the Ruler-level.

Leaving the Black Totem Snake aside, it time to talk about the Mountain Zombie…

The Mountain Zombie was the leader of the eight Ruler-level creatures of the Ancient Capital, yet didn’t Mo Fan still beat the crap out of it?

Of course Mo Fan knew what Ruler-level creatures were! The shadow in the water was incredibly huge, thus it was reasonable to describe it as a Ruler-level creature, yet Mo Fan was confused by its living presence…

“Either way, it’s gone now. I almost shit my pants!” said Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan nodded. Regardless of what it was, it had indeed disappeared. It did not show any hint of hostility to them, yet the terrifying encounter served as a great lesson to Mo Fan and the others. The vast world was full of unknown things, and they could not help but wonder how many enormous and powerful life forms and unknown places were yet to be discovered…

——

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had already seen the shoreline when they were flying. After the team had their frightening experience, the ship somehow sailed slightly off course, so it took longer to reach the harbor.

Since the ship was already registered and even had its name written in Japanese, it successfully entered Japan’s maritime space.

They immediately saw some fishing boats after entering the safe zone. There were two types; one was modern fishing vessels that relied on machinery to catch thousands of fish and deliver them into a freezer. The other kind was the primitive boats that each had one or two fishermen and some simple tools. There were lots of similar fishing boats back at Feiniao City.

Japan had primitive fishing boats too, yet the majority of them were the modern ones. The place was well known for its seafood, so the fishing industry was quite developed.

The area inside the safe zone was full of fishing boats. The boats were mostly painted gray, so the white ship from China was fairly eye-catching when it entered the area.

After the team arrived at the port and stepped onto land, Mo Fan immediately felt relieved.

For some reason, he did not feel safe at sea. Their recent encounter with the unknown creature proved that the sea was extremely dangerous. He had almost wet his pants. Also, the land did not shake continuously, unlike the ocean, and it was easier to identify directions!

As they were on the ship for too long, they were all walking as if they were drunk.

“Does anyone know how to speak Japanese?” Mo Fan soon asked.

“I do, I like to watch Japanese dramas,” Jiang Shaoxu smiled.

“Oh, me too,” said Mo Fan.

Jiang Shaoxu was not a naive girl either. She immediately rolled her eyes and snapped when she saw Mo Fan’s evil grin, “Pervert!”

Mo Fan rubbed his nose. What was wrong with liking Detective Conan?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Let’s find a resting place, we shouldn’t stay here for too long. It will be troublesome if they suspect us of being some illegal immigrants from China,” said Ai Jiangtu.

Speak of the devil, and he will come. As soon as Ai Jiangtu finished talking, a few Japanese that looked like inspectors approached them. They took a glance at the ship that was docked at the harbor and began to ask some questions.

Jiang Shaoxu realized that something did not seem right. She quickly urged the rest to keep quiet and took the initiative to chat with the inspectors.

Jiang Shaoxu was quite fluent in Japanese. and her tone, manner of speaking and temperament immediately turned her into an attractive, glamorous Japanese woman. Her eyes even flickered innocently, with alluring glitter.

“We are from the Lin Group’s ship. We have the permit to come ashore,” said Jiang Shaoxu to an inspector with a mustache.

The inspector looked at the others suspiciously. He walked up to them and started asking questions.

He was asking Jiang Yu, who kept nodding and smiling without saying a word.

They would immediately expose their identities if they said a single word. Even though they knew a few basic international phrases, they were disguised as Japanese. Speaking English would instantly tell the inspectors they were foreigners. Of course, Jiang Yu basically kept repeating to himself, Asshole, stop asking me questions!

The inspector felt even more suspicious. He proceeded to ask Nanyu questions, who remained silent, too.

The other inspectors also noticed something was wrong with them. They quickly exchanged glances with one another, as if they were about to get physical!

“Hey, why are you even asking them questions? Didn’t I mention that I’m a teacher of an institute for the deaf and mute? They are a bunch of deaf and mute students from a wealthy background. They won’t be able to understand you, you have to use sign language!” Jiang Shaoxu said to the inspectors, rolling her charming eyes.

Jiang Shaoxu immediately made some hand gestures at Nanyu. The hand gestures were commonly used among Battlemages. Nanyu quickly reacted and responded with hand gestures, too.

The inspectors could not understand sign language. Half of their doubts were cleared after hearing Jiang Shaoxu’s explanation.

Not long after, the captain of the ship handed the inspectors the permit. The inspectors finally let them go.

——

“Damn it, I really have the urge to beat them up!” said Mo Fan unpleasantly.

There were so many people entering and leaving the harbor, yet the inspectors happened to pick on them. There only did so because the girls in their group were gorgeous, a bunch of perverts!

“Alright, we’ve just arrived, and we don’t have valid identities, so let’s try not to stir up any trouble with the police or Japan’s Magic Association. Otherwise, it will be nothing but trouble,” said Nanyu.

“Yeah, we should head to the place that the advisors mentioned. Not sure how far it is from Tokyo.”

Mo Fan did not share the same thoughts as them. He had finally made it overseas; if he did not stir some trouble, how could he possibly return to his country and face his people with glory?

——

The team left the dock and passed the security. They were basically safe after reaching Xixiong City. The police in Japan was not so free that they would check everyone’s identity. In other people’s eyes, they were just a group of young adults.

Hotels and inns were basically no-gos, needing some kind of identification. There was no illegal inn in this city that was located close to the sea.

Left with no choice, the abject geniuses could only find a temple on the waist of a mountain. The temple agreed to let them stay for the night after receiving a sizable donation from them.

The temple was called Yanming Temple, a typical Japanese temple. The symbolic stone frame was located at the foot of the hill, with stairs made of marble leading up to the temple. The temple was not particularly huge, and there were not many visitors around. Apart from a few monks, the illegal aliens were the only ones in the temple!

The temple had two stone-carved turtles at the front, their size similar to guardian lion statues. The others proceeded to take a rest on the comfortable beds, yet Mo Fan chose to sit on the back of a stone turtle. From there, he could see all of Xixiong City, the jagged shoreline, and the Pacific Ocean extending into the east. In simple words, it was a temple with a scenic view of the sea on the waist of a mountain!

In their country, temples usually had lots of visitors. The monks were usually well-fed as a result, yet somehow, this Yanming Temple was cold and cheerless. Weren’t urban residents more inclined to visit a quiet and secluded place like this? Or perhaps the monks had somehow ruined the reputation of the temple?

“You… what do you think you’re doing? Come down quick, you can’t sit on the Sacred Ghost, I’ve never seen such a disrespectful visitor!” a fairly good-looking monk came up and scolded Mo Fan.

The monk was speaking in Japanese, hence Mo Fan could not understand him. However, judging from his wild reaction and how he was waving his hands around, Mo Fan believed that he must be complimenting his exceedingly handsome appearance!

“Do you even talk?” The young monk was quite agitated. His tone was slightly furious.

Mo Fan finally understood what he was mad about. He quickly jumped down from the stone turtle and spoke in English, the international language, “Your temple doesn’t have many people, and I feel like the decorations are quite unique. The location is pretty nice too, facing the sea, a stable Wifi connection…”

“You’re not a local?” the young monk replied in English too. He was rather fluent, implying that he had achieved a good result in English when he was still a student, before he became a monk.

“I’m from China, I’m here to experience the Japanese culture,” Mo Fan replied without hesitation.

The monk was not the police. He would not care if Mo Fan was an illegal alien or a legal visitor.

“Are you sure you’re not here to disrespect our culture instead? You were sitting on the Sacred Turtle, it’s utterly disrespectful. You’ll receive the Punishment of the Ocean if you head out to the sea!” said the righteous monk.

Mo Fan squinted his eyes and glanced at the monk. The monk was around his age and fairly good-looking. His eyebrows were frowning sternly, yet he was clearly proud and arrogant.

“It’s just a statue for decoration purposes. You don’t have to be so serious. You haven’t answered my questions yet; why is the temple so deserted? I even heard some rumors from the people around here before we came here for the night,” said Mo Fan curiously.

“Humph, those idiots are just like you, they ignored our warnings and offended the Sacred Turtle with disrespectful words and acts. They don’t believe the Punishment of the Ocean, yet when something bad happened, they accused us of being responsible instead. They said that we’ve cursed us, and said that we’re a bunch of evil monks. How idiotic!” snorted the monk.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan realized that the monk was the kind that considered evils as deadly foes. He did not purposely hide his emotions, or pretended to be big-hearted and serene like the monks in Mo Fan’s country, who chattered about helping people in distress… Mo Fan found it hard to communicate with him!

“What exactly is the Punishment of the Ocean you mentioned?” asked Mo Fan curiously.

“The sea to the horizon, including the areas you can’t see, are all under the Sacred Turtle’s control. All our living relies on the ocean, how can we disrespect the father of the ocean… asshole, stop leaning against it!” snapped the monk.

“Oh, my bad,” Mo Fan straightened up and signaled the monk to continue.

“I’m done. Anyway, stop touching the Sacred Turtle, and don’t disrespect it. Otherwise, the next time you go out to the sea, you will find yourself in a great disaster, I guarantee it!” said the young monk.

“That’s it? I was looking forward to a sad story. By the way, monk, what is your name?” asked Mo Fan.

“Nara Orisora!” declared the monk, before leaving with a book in his hand.

Mo Fan watched the monk in his long blue robe and white pants leave. However, the monk did not walk far before a teenage girl with a tall ponytail slowly walked up the stairs.

The girl had an adorable face. Even without smiling, she still had two charming dimples.

Her physique was petite, and relatively young compared to Jiang Shaoxu and Mu Ningxue. However, her vulnerable and slender appearance made it hard not to have a good impression of her.

The Japanese teenaged girl looked no different than the girls in China. If anything, the young girl’s makeup was lighter, and she had applied an alluring pink lip gloss, unlike the girls from his country, who still had no idea how to apply foundation. It was rare to see girls around her age who could apply make-up so naturally.

The girl walked up the stairs and immediately saw Nara Orisora. The smile on her face blossomed like flowers, fully displaying her youthful charm.

“Orisora-kun, good afternoon! I’ve plucked some flowers; you can dry them and brew some tea. It’s got great taste!” The girl went up and handed the basket she was carrying to Nara Orisora.

Nara Orisora glanced at her, but quickly shifted his gaze away. He quickened his pace and left without paying much attention to the girl.

The teenager looked slightly disappointed after the monk walked away. She finally aware realized Mo Fan was present when the monk left their sight.

Normally, Mo Fan would not simply reveal his perverted nature and temperament. His smile was rather friendly too. The girl had a good impression of him when he saw him smiling back at her. She immediately apologized, “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you here.”

Mo Fan communicated with her in English, yet the girl was not quite fluent in it. However, she did not have a problem with basic communication.

“Do you like the monk?” Mo Fan was pretty straightforward. He arrived at the conclusion when he saw her disappointment.

“I…” The young girl did not expect that the foreigner would directly read her mind and expose her secret.

“Don’t be shy, just admit it… that being said, are monks in Japan allowed to date someone?” Mo Fan wondered aloud. He was an idiot when it came to geography, and just as clueless about the cultures of different countries, too.

“Let’s not talk about that. Since you’re new here, allow me to bring you around the temple. Oh, forgot to introduce myself… you can call me Miyata!” the young girl volunteered to be Mo Fan’s tour guide.

Mo Fan was feeling bored too. Why would he reject a pretty Japanese teenage girl’s offer to bring him around?

“Hey, what are you doing!?”

Mo Fan was following the girl into another direction when the weird monk Nara Orisora suddenly yelled at them.

Before Mo Fan could react, Nara Orisora ran over quickly and dragged Mo Fan toward him. His eyes were staring at the girl.

His gaze was incredibly sharp with a hint of hostility. Mo Fan even sensed the energy of magic from the young monk!

“I…I didn’t do anything, I’m just bringing him around so he can keep me company!” Tears almost broke out of the girl’s eyes when she replied with a wronged expression.

“Enough with your act!” the monk snapped aggressively. He sternly looked up and down at Mo Fan and said, “You can see her too?”

“Why can’t I see… f**k me!” Mo Fan quickly shifted his focus toward the girl’s feet when he realized something.

Footprints!

The dirt nearby was loose. Both Mo Fan and the monk had left two lines of footprints behind, yet the girl’s shoes tied with little blue ribbons did not leave any footprints. Mo Fan did not believe she was that light!

Mo Fan shuddered in fear! -Holy shit, did I really stumble onto a ghost while the day was still bright? Something isn’t right about this girl!-

“We have some guests staying in the temple, so don’t you dare prey on them. Otherwise, I won’t show any mercy to you, do you understand!” said Nara Orisora, pointing at the girl Miyata.

“I…I…” Tears almost rolled down from Miyata’s eyes. If Mo Fan did not realize that something was not right, he would most likely scold the monk for acting crazily. How could he treat a girl so rashly?

Miyata did not dare to stay any longer. She turned around and ran down the stairs.

Mo Fan quickly followed her, yet he discovered that the stairs leading to the temple were completely empty. There was no way the girl could disappear so quickly, no matter how fast she was. Besides, he was an Advanced Magician!

Similarly, Nara Orisora was quite surprised too. The young monk was also a Magician with fairly impressive cultivation!

“Hey, monk, what’s going on? Was the girl a ghost?” Mo Fan asked.

“Why didn’t you tell me you can see her!?” the monk blamed Mo Fan in return.

“She obviously came here to see you, I think she likes you very much, so I didn’t want to disturb you two. Besides, is it weird that I can see her, too?” asked Mo Fan.

The monk looked at Mo Fan once again and said, “You’re not just a visitor, you’re a Magician… but, even if you’re a Magician, you shouldn’t be able to see her.”

“Can you tell me what she is first?” asked Mo Fan.

The girl looked very alive. If she was a ghost, Mo Fan could have easily identified her through her presence. He was quite experienced with undead, there was no way he would get tricked by a little ghost, right?

“You don’t need to know the details!” snapped the monk.

“Was she trying to hurt me?” asked Mo Fan.

“I don’t know, but even if you can see her, you should avoid any contact with her. She’s not friendly!” advised Nara Orisora.

“What exactly is she? Why is it weird that I can see her? Can’t the others see her too?… hey monk, why are you so impolite, answer my questions, monk, bald donkey!…” Mo Fan was full of questions!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

At night, the Yanming Temple was so quiet that not a single insect cry could be heard. The developed seaside city under the mountain seemed to have nothing to do with the temple. The light of a few oil lamps swayed in the dark. It was easy to forget about the existence of the temple..

“Mo Fan, why are you sitting here? You almost scared me!” exclaimed a woman.

“I think something is weird about this temple,” Mo Fan frowned, still in deep thought.

“Didn’t the monk already say we must stay five meters away from the stone statues, especially you!” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Do you know, during the afternoon…” Mo Fan was just about to share his weird encounter with someone.

Mo Fan still could not figure out what the girl was. If she was a ghost, he had never seen a ghost appearing in bright daylight. Besides, she was too youthful and energetic for an undead. However, if she was alive, where were her footprints? Why did she disappear without a trace after heading down the stairs? Mo Fan was not naive enough to believe that she had tripped and rolled all the way to the bottom.

Jiang Shaoxu interrupted before Mo Fan could finish, “We’ll talk when we take a stroll down the street.”

“Taking a stroll down the street? What stroll? I never said I wanted to go anywhere,” Mo Fan had been troubled by the little girl for a long time. As a professional Hunter, he had a strong thirst for knowledge. He would not be able to sleep well if he did not find out the truth…alright, Mo Fan admitted that he was just looking for something to do as he was too bored, and the encounter with the monk and the girl was quite interesting, too!

“Well, I’m planning to buy some stuff from the market,” Jiang Shaoxu smiled, fully displaying her temperament as a vixen.

“You’re asking me to go with you?” asked Mo Fan, raising his brows.

“You already told me something is weird; do you really want me to walk alone at night? It’s quite a distance from here to the city. I’m just a weak girl, what if some pervert saw how attractive I am and wanted to do lewd things to me, like that asshole Gong Yu? Won’t you feel bad for me?” Jiang Shaoxu flicked her hair, as if she was asking Mo Fan to netflix and chill with her.

Mo Fan was an honorable man. How could he possibly be seduced by the vixen? He jumped down from the stone turtle and said, “Let’s go!” immediately.

—

taking the stairs down, Jiang Shaoxu was far from a well-behaved woman. Whenever she was alone with a man, she would stick closely to him, trying to trigger some chemistry between them. Mo Fan was not an exception. Her arm would occasionally rub against Mo Fan’s as she went down the stairs while swinging her hips…

Mo Fan was an honorable man…fine, forget it, there was no point acting further. Either way, the woman’s skin was pretty smooth, he could easily feel it even when her clothes were between their hands.

“By the way, I feel like I’ve heard the name Mo Fan before, but for some reason, I can’t remember where,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“My name is pretty common, similar to names like Jianguo, Ronghua, Jiahao, or names like Haohan, Zixuan, and Xuanyang in the twenty-first century. I bet there are at least a hundred thousand people with the same name!” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was actually overjoyed inside while he pretended to be low-key. Either way, he was a famous man who had saved countless women in countless cities, thus it was reasonable that someone had heard his name before!

“Perhaps, I remember every man who I’m interested with. Since my impression of you is a little vague, it’s most likely because you’re not worthy enough,” replied Jiang Shaoxu honestly.

“…”

Mo Fan was lost for words at that instant, but a sudden fragrance swept past his nose. Mo Fan thought Jiang Shaoxu was flipping her hair again, yet on second thought, the fragrance was different from her rose perfume. It smelt refreshing, like some kind of herbs, and the fragrance of some innocent flowers on the side of the road.

As Mo Fan was still feeling confused, a person suddenly appeared on the stairs in front of them.

A neat ponytail tied up on her head, and side fringes dangling around her shoulders fully displayed the girl’s delicate charm.

She was dressed in plain, simple-colored clothes. The only eye-catching part was the swallowtail butterfly pin on her slightly uplifted chest. Her breasts were not huge, but it was obvious that she was going through puberty, and together with her skinny physique, they gave her an obvious curve!

“Miyata?” Mo Fan remembered the girl’s name. He looked at her in surprise.

In the afternoon, the sunlight was still shining on her as she was carried her little basket. She looked innocent and charming, just like some girl next door, yet it was quite scary how she had appeared on the stairs out of nowhere. No matter how innocent her smile was, it still looked somewhat eerie!

“What Miyata?” Jiang Shaoxu looked at Mo Fan in confusion.

“The girl ahead,” said Mo Fan.

Jiang Shaoxu glanced ahead with a confused look.

However, she soon turned around and giggled, “I thought you’re more interesting than the other guys, but you’re using such a boring trick still. Do you think I’m going to dive into your arms just because you said there’s a girl in front of us? You have to be better if you want to take advantage of me…”

Mo Fan’s forehead was covered in black lines when he heard Jiang Shaoxu’s words, “You can’t see her? You seriously can’t see her?”

“Stop trying to trick me, there’s nothing ahead!” Jiang Shaoxu proceeded down the stairs.

After going down the stairs, Jiang Shaoxu passed by Miyata without noticing there was a girl standing right beside her.

Miyata looked at Jiang Shaoxu with a smile as she walked past. For some reason, Mo Fan felt a chill running down his spine when he saw it.

“I forgot to ask your name in the afternoon. I’m glad to meet you, friend from the east,” said Miyata politely to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was not the kind that would easily wet his pants after seeing something supernatural. He remained calm and said in a deep voice, “I’m Zhao Manyan. Is it true that my friend can’t see you and hear you?”

Jiang Shaoxu took a few steps more before she realized that Mo Fan was still mumbling to himself. She turned around and smilingly said, “Are you seriously still going on with the joke? Stop talking to yourself, let’s head into town. I’ve got things to buy. The air by the sea is too moist, I don’t feel too comfortable.”

“I’m not sure either, but since you and your friend are busy, I won’t disturb you anymore. Zhao Manyan… not a bad name…” said Miyata softly.

She slowly disappeared into the darkness after finishing the sentence.

Mo Fan stared ahead with a blank face. There was nothing in front of him, apart from a lingering fragrance!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan quickened his pace to catch up to Jiang Shaoxu, yet he was still preoccupied by his thoughts about Miyata.

The girl was like a ghost, yet she was not actually a ghost. Mo Fan was confused about why he could see the girl when Jiang Shaoxu could not?

“Such a boring man,” Jiang Shaoxu rolled her eyes at Mo Fan and led the way. Either way, she was disappointed in Mo Fan’s petty trick.

She did not think it was bad for a man to flirt and take advantage of a woman since she was such a gorgeous beauty, yet the trick Mo Fan used was too lowly…

As a matter of fact, Jiang Shaoxu was quite scared of supernatural stuff. Otherwise, she would not ask Mo Fan to keep her company. She found it hard to accept even though she knew Mo Fan was joking!

“Alright, my bad, guess I’ll be going back to the temple. My mind is full of question marks now,” Mo Fan did not want to waste his time further when he realized that the girl was actually mad.

“Don’t go, we’ll come back as soon as I buy the stuff I want,” Jiang Shaoxu glared at him.

“Seriously, being so smug when asking for a favor? Do I look like someone that boring? I really meant it when I said there’s someone there…”

——

The atmosphere turned lively as they arrived in the city. The truth was, Mo Fan had never gotten used to staying in quiet places. He felt like he was abandoned by the world, like an old man spending their last years living alone on a mountain. He preferred to stay in big cities, with concrete walls and huge glass panels, luxurious cars, trams, youthful girls, mature girls…

Xixiong City was extremely clean, with lots of Japanese-../style streets, paths, houses, parks and old trees scattered across the place, places where one could easily spend their entire afternoon enjoying the scenery…

They came to a busy street. Jiang Shaoxu was here to buy some skincare products and snacks. She did not buy anything special.

They saw a small izakaya on their way back, located at the intersection of two fairly quiet streets. The place was decorated with some lanterns, and a menu written in Japanese. There was a little hill behind it.

“Come, let’s have some drinks,” Jiang Shaoxu totally lost control of herself when she saw the izakaya. She immediately dragged Mo Fan over.

The owner of the business smiled when he saw the gorgeous lady, revealing his yellow teeth as he said something in Japanese.

Mo Fan looked at the owner as he spoke. Even though he could not understand a single word, Mo Fan never understood why the Japanese had to open their mouths so wide, just like the Koreans, when they were talking. -Can’t they close their mouths after finishing their sentences? Must they really keep their mouths open and expose their teeth?-

Jiang Shaoxu chatted with the owner for a while, before the man gave her two bottles of sake. One warm, one chilled, to guarantee the taste of the sake.

Mo Fan had never tried it before. He almost poured the sake into a glass of ice water. Jiang Shaoxu smilingly tapped on his shoulder.

“So it’s your first time in Japan,” the owner spoke in a different language. It seemed like he was very aware of Mo Fan’s presence.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan nodded and pointed at the barbecue rack to order some aromatic squid.

“Where are you staying at now?” asked the owner.

“In that temple,” Mo Fan pointed at the dimly lighted temple on the mountain.

The owner’s eyes widened and he stopped cooking the squid.

“You…you’re staying there? The Yanming Temple?” the owner’s voice turned strange all of a sudden.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan realized something from the owner’s expression. He was also bothered by lots of questions, thus he quickly asked, ‘Is there something strange about the temple?”

“Oh, oh, nothing, but I suggest you not to stay in the temple. It’s not a good place. It was once a good temple, but not anymore,” said the owner.

She blinked like a kitten and said with a soothing voice, “Tell us more about it, we just arrived here…” Jiang Shaoxu was now intrigued too.

The owner was indeed an old pervert. Even though he looked reluctant to spill the beans, he could not control his mouth at all. He lowered his voice and said, “Someone lost their soul there!”

“Lost their soul?” Mo Fan opened his eyes wide.

“In the past, the Yanming Temple was known for blessing people’s marriages. Even the young folk from other cities would come here just to pray in the temple. However, there was a young man who went to the temple and fainted for no reason. He never woke up since then, none of the Healing Spells worked… some old folks said that he had lost his soul, his body had turned into an empty shell,” said the owner.

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped.

Jiang Shaoxu completely treated it as a story. She always enjoyed listening to the gossip from the owners of izakayas in Japan.

“A piece of advice, just pretend you didn’t see anything even if you do if you really want to stay in the temple…” the owner lowered his voice further.

“What if we don’t?” asked Mo Fan. Somehow, Mo Fan believed in the owner’s words.

“That’s going to bring you nothing but trouble, you’ll lose your soul!” said the owner.

“Hehehe, I know how to steal someone’s soul too, check this out…muacks,” Jiang Shaoxu gave a passerby a fly kiss and blinked her eyes.

The passerby was a little drunk, and he staggered after getting teased by Jiang Shaoxu.

Jiang Shaoxu giggled when she saw the man trying to recover clumsily, showing her vixenish temperament.

“There’s nothing I can do if you don’t trust me.” The owner was too lazy to argue further.

Mo Fan wanted to listen more, yet the owner was reluctant to say any further. Even the squid was tasteless in his mouth…

—

After supper, the two went back to the stairs leading up to the temple. Mo Fan kept looking around him, worried that Miyata would show up again.

“Do you really believe the story? Stop being silly, you’re an adult now,” Jiang Shaoxu started laughing at Mo Fan.

“You didn’t want to believe me and the owner, just keep believing yourself then…” said Mo Fan indifferently.

Miyata did not appear. Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu went back to their room. The light was still on.

The people in the temple did not rely on electricity for lighting in order to save money. They normally used oil lamps. It was rather antique, yet when Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu came back, the electric lamp was still lit up. They could see blurry shadows moving back and forth inside the room.

“Did you find him?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“No, he really went missing,” said Jiang Yu.

Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu went into the room as they were talking. The others immediately looked at them as if they had just seen a ghost.

“Who’s missing?” asked Mo Fan immediately.

“You two, we spent a long time looking for you. We thought you two were missing. Where did you go, we were almost worried to death,” said Jiang Yu.

“We went down the mountain to buy some stuff… by the way, is something wrong? Why is everyone so tense?” asked Jiang Shaoxu when she realized that something was not right.

The room fell silent, and no one answered her question.

Mo Fan looked around him and realized that someone was missing from the team.

Taking a second look, he immediately shivered in fear!

Zhao Manyan was missing!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A golden-haired man was lying on the tatami. His face was covered by a thick blanket. For some reason, the temperature in the room was freezing, and the man under the blanket seemed to be the reason.

Mo Fan walked up to the man and flipped the blanket open. He saw Zhao Manyan’s face.

His face was pale-white. Although Zhao Manyan was the pretty-boy kind, his skin tone was normally quite healthy instead of its current pallor.

Mo Fan touched the blanket and realized that it was extremely icy too. The cold was coming from Zhao Manyan’s body.

“Zhou Xu found him first. He was meditating in the room when he felt cold all of a sudden. It took him quite some time to figure out that Zhao Manyany was the source of the chill, like he was poisoned. He didn’t react at all, and has stayed the same even until now,” said Nanyu.

The incident was too bizarre. Apart from Zhou Xu, Zu Jiming was also in the room when it happened. They were busy minding their own business. Zhao Manyan ended up like this all of a sudden, giving them a great fright.

Everyone immediately gathered in the room when it happened, yet they realized that Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu were missing, sending them into a panic. Luckily, the two only went to the city to get some supper.

Now, the only problem was Zhao Manyan.

“He’s alive, but he’s in a deep sleep. Nan Rongni strongly suggested that we not wake him up forcibly. Otherwise, it would inflict serious damage to his spirit. We have to find out what poison it is first… the strange thing is, we asked an old monk to take a look, yet he immediately ran away while murmuring under his breath. He did not give us any useful information, so it’s unlikely that they will give us any help,” said Jiang Yu.

“Is the Healing Element not working?” asked Mo Fan.

Nan Rongni shook her head.

“Is his life in danger?” asked Mo Fan again.

“Not for now, but the cold from his body is quite strange. I’m afraid that it will severely affect the functions of his body,” said Nan Rongni.

Mo Fan nodded. He understood the situation.

He turned around and saw Jiang Shaoxu with a shocked expression. She finally spoke up when everyone ran out of ideas, “Does this mean what the owner of the Japanese bar said is true? There’s some kind of Soul Eater here? Zhao Manyan does look like he has lost his soul!”

“What Soul Eater?”

“Jiang Shaoxu, enough with your nonsense. Stop scaring us when we’re on a barren mountain,” said Mu Tingying unpleasantly.

As they were Magicians, it was not scary if they knew the demon creatures were responsible for it, yet if it involved something supernatural, it would be somewhat terrifying!

Jiang Shaoxu immediately told everyone what she heard from the owner of the izakaya.

Everyone felt uneasy after hearing the words. Did Zhao Manyan really lose his soul?

“Stop being so superstitious, we’re from the magic society,” Nanyu stopped everyone from thinking further.

“Mo Fan, you mentioned you saw a girl, was that real too?” asked Jiang Shaoxu as she recalled something.

Mo Fan did not respond, yet Jiang Shaoxu had her answer from his expression. Mo Fan felt a great chill go down his spine as soon as Jiang Shaoxu mentioned it!

“By the way, why did it have to be Zhao Manyan? There are so many of us here; if there’s really a Soul Eater, why did it only target Zhao Manyan?” Mu Tingying asked, a question that was indeed worthy to be discussed.

Mo Fan’s lips twitched. It all made sense now. Should he spill the beans?

Mo Fan was totally dumbfounded!

First of all, why was he the only one that could see the girl? What exactly was the girl, to come and go without a trace? He was already an Advanced Magician; it did not make sense that he could not sense if she was alive.

Second, did he really curse Zhao Manyan?

Mo Fan did not forget that he had given Zhao Manyan’s name to the girl, and Zhao Manyan turned out to be the victim!

Did that mean the Soul Eater could only target someone after learning their name?

Everyone was at a loss. Even after Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan told them what they knew, the others chose not to believe it. They were more willing to explain Zhao Manyan’s condition was some kind of poison.

“Does anyone know where did Zhao Manyan went tonight?” asked Zu Jiming.

“He didn’t go anywhere, just the mountain behind the temple, the well, the corridor, the memorial temple…didn’t we already investigate those places?”

“We should split up, but don’t go anywhere alone. You few should ask the old monks about anything strange in this temple. As for everyone else, go check the places Zhao Manyan has been to, see if there’s any plant nearby, since it’s more likely that he’s poisoned…” ordered Ai Jiangtu.

—-

The team immediately split into smaller groups. They had to find the reason for Zhao Manyan’s being poisoned as quickly as possible.

Nan Rongni also mentioned that since the Healing Element did not work, they had to focus on finding the truth behind it. Zhao Manyan had stayed in the temple’s vicinity. It would not be difficult to find some clues.

Mo Fan was allocated to a small group too. Their job was to find the young girl.

Jiang Shaoxu wanted to know the truth, too. She volunteered to join Mo Fan’s group. The others in the group were Jiang Yu and Mu Ningxue.

“What you said just then, was it real?” Mu Ningxue walked up to Mo Fan and asked sternly.

“Why would I joke about something like that? There’s something wrong about this temple. If you don’t believe me, I think you all should head down the mountain and ask the residents of the town about the temple,” said Mo Fan.

If only he could see the girl, it would be meaningless for the others to follow him. Perhaps the owner of the izakaya or the residents nearby would know some useful information.

“I’ll stay with you, it’s dangerous for you to be alone,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Mm, it’s better to stay in pairs. Jiang Yu, let’s go head down the mountain,” said Jiang Shaoxu. She knew now was not the time to fool around. She immediately followed Jiang Yu down the mountain to ask around about the temple.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue walked toward the stairs. Mo Fan remembered there was a diverging path covered by weeds in the middle of the stairs. Mo Fan had no idea where the path would lead to, yet he remembered it was where the girl had disappeared. He might find some clues there. Besides, the path was purposely sealed off!…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue went to the middle of the stairs where he had stumbled on the girl previously.

Mo Fan looked at the diverging flight of stairs and saw that the path was overgrown with weeds. Some vines were blocking the path.

There was also a white line across the path, implying it was a prohibited area. The white line felt even stranger the more Mo Fan looked at it, as if it was some kind of seal locking something inside.

Perhaps it was only him, but the path looked eerier under the dim moonlight!

“Is this where you saw the girl?” asked Mu Ningxue.

“Mm, but I saw her first in the afternoon. She went to the temple to look for a young monk, so she chatted with me because I was talking with the monk. I didn’t notice anything odd about the girl at first,” said Mo Fan.

“Most of the monks went down the mountain for some ritual just before nighttime. They told us they will be back in a few days,” said Mu Ningxue.

“I know, or else I would be asking the bald donkey who can see the girl like me some questions. I bet he could easily tell us the truth,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had just learned that the monks had left, leaving only an old monk behind to look after the temple. The old monk was acting strange since he knew about Zhao Manyan’s situation. He kept murmuring about how something was impossible.

“Sigh, it’s my fault too,” Mo Fan let out a sigh.

“Why is that?”

“The girl asked for my name, but I told her Zhao Manyan’s name instead when I sensed something fishy about her, and now Zhao Manyan has lost his soul. I believe the girl needs to know her target’s name beforehand,” said Mo Fan.

Mu Ningxue was surprised after hearing Mo Fan’s explanation. It was her first time hearing about it.

However, frankly speaking, Mo Fan was simply too unreliable. The girl had asked for his name, yet he immediately gave her Zhao Manyan’s name with a straight face and ended up entrapping Zhao Manyan. It was indeed a misfortune to be his friend.

“Let’s go deeper,” Mu Ningxue did not want to waste her time on meaningless speculations. She walked around the white line and proceeded along the weed-covered path.

Mo Fan quickly followed her.

The two ventured further and ended up on the other side of the mountain. They could no longer see the city from here, not even a glimpse of light from the city. The only thing left was the dim moonlight from above, and the calm sea in the distance.

The path was so quiet that they could only hear their own footsteps. Mo Fan was not the kind that could keep quiet, so he went up to Mu Ningxue and teased, “Say, what if we found a small grave at the end of the path with the girl’s portrait on the gravestone?”

Mu Ningxue turned around slightly. Her eyes flickered with annoyance as she said softly, “Do you seriously think I’m Mu Ningxue?”

Mo Fan opened his eyes wide and looked at the girl in disbelief.

Mu Ningxue was too lazy to waste her time on the idiot. She continued down the path. She did not feel anything even when Mo Fan tried to spook her.

Mo Fan finally collected his thoughts and caught up with a smirk, “You got me there. I didn’t know that you’re quite humorous too, hahahaha!”

“The path ends here,” Mu Ningxue halted in her tracks. Her shoes softly tapped the edge of the last step. The place ahead was covered in weeds and yellow soil. There was no visible path nearby, nor did it look like someone had been here before.

“Err…it seems like the path is only half-constructed. Somehow, they never finished it,” Mo Fan felt dumb when the scene from his imagination did not come true.

That being said, where did the girl go?

“I believe there’s nothing interesting here,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Guess I’ll have to do that…”

“Do what?”

“Miyata! Miyata! Can you hear me? Miyata… can you please come here, I have to ask you something!”

Mo Fan’s voice was extraordinarily loud on the mountain. The echoes persisted among the woods. The stray dogs down the mountain immediately started barking after hearing his call. Their endless calls echoed on the mountain!

Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan with her eyes saying, “Are you dumb?”

The truth was, his calling was completely useless.

Left with no choice, the two took the same path back. As they were approaching the stairs, a soft breeze came from the distance, sweeping at the flowers and grass on the mountain. Mo Fan sharply captured a familiar fragrance.

“Wait a second,” Mo Fan called Mu Ningxue. He glanced at the patch of wild chrysanthemums on the slope.

“What now?” asked Mu Ningxue.

“I remembered that the girl was holding a basket. She told the monk that she had plucked some herbs that could be mixed with tea. I remembered its smell, I think it’s the same fragrance from these wild chrysanthemums,” Mo Fan pointed at the stalks of wild chrysanthemums swaying on the slope.

The wild chrysanthemums were a faint yellow. They seemed like the ordinary kind, yet their fragrance was different from the perfume of ordinary chrysanthemums.

Mo Fan climbed up the slope and approached a small patch of wild chrysanthemums. He crouched down and sniffed at the flower.

Mo Fan was about to turn around to talk to Mu Ningxue but stopped when he caught a glimpse of Mu Ningxue’s dress and legs in the corner of his vision. “This must be it.”

Mo Fan extended his hand to pluck the flower. He decided to keep a stalk to himself, even though he had no idea if it was useful…

“Are you sure? There are so many flowers here,” said Mu Ningxue.

“I’m sure, my nose is…” Mo Fan suddenly paused in the middle of his reply.

Mu Ningxue’s voice came from down the slope even though she was standing beside him. This meant that she never came up the slope with him, thus the dress beside him…

Mo Fan was not the timid kind, he quickly raised his head and moved his face close to the person standing beside him!

As he expected, the beautiful face of an innocent girl was standing close to him.

If the girl had not appeared less than a meter away all of a sudden, Mo Fan would be dazzled by her looks too. She did indeed have a unique charm.

Mo Fan initially thought the girl’s face would suddenly turn spooky or reveal her true appearance of a demon creature at close distance, yet she remained charming even after he stared at her for some time. Her delicate appearance reminded him of Liu Ru when she was still a weak girl, without the melancholy expression.

“Mi…Miyata?” It took Mo Fan some time to utter the name.

“We have met again. Is she your friend? She’s so pretty, even I am a bit jealous. May I know her name?” Miyata had a faint smile. Her squinted eyes looked extremely pure and innocent.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

She was asking him for names again! Mo Fan shivered when he heard the girl’s question.

Mo Fan’s lips twitched slightly. He was lost for words when he tried to respond to the seemingly innocent, harmless girl. He finally forced a smile after a few seconds and said, “Her name is quite complicated, I’m afraid you won’t remember it. By the way, I have a friend who suddenly fainted. His entire body turned extremely cold too. Since you have been around here for a long time, do you know the reason behind it?”

Mo Fan did not accuse her straightaway. The truth was, he was still unsure if she was responsible for what had happened to Zhao Manyan. Even if she was the culprit, Mo Fan believed there was no need for him to fall out with her straight away if she dared to show up again.

Of course, most importantly, Mo Fan still did not quite understand the situation. He had no idea how he could subdue her and how was she going to resolve Zhao Manyan’s situation.

“Your friend? Which one?” said Miyata, while blinking her eyes, as if she knew nothing about it.

“I don’t think you’ve met him. Golden hair, he’s quite handsome, but not as handsome as I am… (sigh) anyway, do you know what happened to him?” Mo Fan began to act dumb.

Meanwhile, Mu Ningxue was looking at Mo Fan having a monologue with a weird expression.

The truth was, Mo Fan totally looked like he was bewitched when he was talking and smiling like there was actually someone in front of him.

However, Mu Ningxue did not say anything.

Even though she had lots of question marks in her mind, she was used to figuring out things on her own. It was unnecessary to ask questions if she figured it out on her own, but even when she failed to comprehend it by herself, she still did not bother to ask questions.

It was obvious that Mo Fan had stumbled into the invisible girl he mentioned before. He was currently conversing with the girl, and from Mo Fan’s response, she was able to guess what the girl was saying.

-Why is he the only one that can see the girl?-

That was the biggest doubt that troubled Mu Ningxue the most.

“I have no idea, maybe your friend has caught a strange disease, I heard that someone else has caught the same disease before, and no one is able to find a cure for it…” said Miyata softly.

Mo Fan looked at her helplessly. It was difficult to link her innocent expression with his imagination of a harmful Soul Eater…

“I’ll be honest with you, I lied to you the other day. My name isn’t Zhao Manyan, it’s the name of my friend who fainted. I have heard rumors about a Soul Eater around here, and my friend seems to have lost his soul, not long after I told you his name,” Mo Fan probed further when he saw that the girl was still pretending to be innocent.

Miyata immediately realized what Mo Fan was hinting. She frowned and looked at Mo Fan with a complicated expression, “Are you implying that I have something to do with it?”

Mo Fan said while nodding, “I do hope that it has nothing to do with you. I’m hoping that you can help my friend recover.”

Miyata glanced at Mu Ningxue down the slope and said with a self-mocking grin, “Is that why you’re unwilling to tell me her name?”

“Well…” Mo Fan was lost for words. The upset look on the girl’s face was convincing Mo Fan that she was not the culprit, yet his instincts were telling him that she was somehow related because she was like a ghost haunting the temple.

“You didn’t trust me at the start, you’re afraid that I will hurt you, so you gave me a fake name, is that right?” said Miyata, as if her feelings were hurt.

“Nope,” responded Mo Fan.

“You’re afraid that I will hurt her, so you’re not willing to tell me her name, right?” said Miyata.

“That’s not it,” Mo Fan shook his head and said sternly, “First of all, there’s something strange about you. The reason I gave you my friend’s name is because I assumed it would not make a difference. If I thought you were dangerous from the start, I would give you my name instead. I’m not the kind that would put my friend in danger.”

The hurt look in Miyata’s eyes gradually disappeared after she heard Mo Fan’s explanation. She had captured a hint of sincerity from Mo Fan’s eyes. “How about this, I’ll help your friend to recover, but I won’t do a favor for someone who doesn’t trust me. To prove that you trust me, you must tell me her name.”

Miyata was very smart despite her innocent look.

She realized that Mo Fan was afraid to give her names, because the last time he gave her someone’s name, the person had fallen unconscious. Therefore, Mo Fan would have to give her another name to earn her trust.

Mo Fan was immediately troubled by the condition!

He looked at Mu Ningxue who was looking back at him with a confused look.

“You can ask her for her opinion,” said Miyata.

Mo Fan was indeed troubled. Normally, the hot-tempered Mo Fan would simply beat the crap out of Miyata instead of wasting his time talking to her. She was most likely responsible for Zhao Manyan’s situation…

However, he did try while talking to the girl. There was something strange about her. He was unsure if he could use his magic on her. Since he was left with no choice, he could only proceed with caution.

Mo Fan returned to Mu Ningxue and told her about Miyata’s request.

“She wants to know my name?” said Mu Ningxue.

“Mm, I think it’s better for us to leave this place. There’s something strange about the girl… we’ll deal with her again when we’ve thought of a way,” Mo Fan was tricked the first time. He would not put Mu Ningxue’s life in danger.

“Do you think she’s responsible?” asked Mu Ningxue in a serious voice.

“I believe so, she might be tricking me to tell her your name. For some reason, she might only be able to do the act after someone gives her the target’s name,” said Mo Fan.

“I think we can try,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Don’t do it, we still haven’t figured out what happened to Zhao Manyan, if the same thing happened to you…” said Mo Fan.

“I think the others won’t be able to find any useful information to save Zhao Manyan. Use my name as bait; if nothing happens to me, didn’t she promise that she will help us save Zhao Manyan? If something did happen to me, at least you’ll know who the culprit is. As for what the next step is… Nan Rongni already mentioned that the strange disease won’t kill us in a short time,” said Mu Ningxue.

They were indeed puzzled by the situation. It was obviously more effective to seek the answers from the girl than using other ways. As such, she agreed to put herself at risk to find out the truth!

“If that’s the case, I’ll give her my name instead!” said Mo Fan.

“No way, only you can see her and talk to her. In other words, if she’s really the one, only you can deal with her!” rebuked Mu Ningxue.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I understand, but Zhao Manyan is different; I don’t care about him, but I can’t risk putting you in danger!” Mo Fan immediately spilled the beans.

If Zhao Manyan in his bed heard those words, his missing soul would come straight away to teach Mo Fan a lesson. Why would he befriend such scum!?

“Let’s not waste our time. Tell her, or else we’re just a bunch of headless flies,” said Mu Ningxue.

Mo Fan tried to convince Mu Ningxue, yet she insisted on doing do it her way. “I don’t want anything to happen to you!” he blurted out.

“If you really think that, then do your best to help Zhao Manyan and I recover if anything happens, instead of saying that here,” replied Mu Ningxue seriously.

Her gaze was determined and fearless; she had been mentally prepared since she first embarked on this journey. She had no intention of running away.

“Do you really trust me so much?” Mo Fan’s gaze softened.

Mu Ningxue did not reply. She had no idea how to answer Mo Fan’s question.

If she answered yes, Mo Fan would totally misunderstand her, yet the truth was, Mu Ningxue never doubted him. She believed if the same thing that happened to Zhao Manyan happened to her, he would give everything he had to help them recover.

What else could Mo Fan do after Mu Ningxue made her decision?

He returned to the slope where Miyata was still standing with her back toward them.

She turned around with the same innocent look. The truth was, Mo Fan was hoping that she would be wearing the rotten, terrifying face of a demon creature when she turned around. That way, Mo Fan could simply fight her instead of telling her Mu Ningxue’s name!

Mo Fan never thought the situation would be this complicated. Not only was his friend in danger, he also had to place someone he cared a lot about in danger.

“Her name is Mu Ningxue,” said Mo Fan.

For some reason, Mo Fan regretted as soon as he said the name.

He could sense Miyata smiling, it was an evil grin under her innocent look. It was most likely her true appearance.

However, Mo Fan knew it was meaningless to threaten her by saying something like, “If you dare harm her, I’ll tear you into pieces.” Just saying it would not help in any way, it was more important to keep his promise.

“Alright, I’ll look around at the back of the mountain. Perhaps I can find the cure to the strange disease,” said Miyata with a faint smile. She even gave Mo Fan a slight bow.

“Wait, how am I going to… find you?” blurted out Mo Fan.

Miyata disappeared before Mo Fan could finish, leaving only the patches of wild chrysanthemums swaying slightly to the wind on the slope, releasing a fragrance similar to Miyata’s into the air…

“Did she leave?” asked Mu Ningxue.

“Mm, I think she’s the one,” said Mo Fan worriedly.

He had to stick to Mu Ningxue closely from now onward. Zhao Manyan had most likely lost his soul since he was unable to see Miyata. However, since Mo Fan could see her, he could catch her red-handed if she tried to harm Mu Ningxue!

“It’s useless to discuss it here, let’s head back,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Aren’t you scared?” asked Mo Fan.

“I’m fine…”

“Is it because you believe that I definitely can save you?” asked Mo Fan.

“You’re being annoying.”

—-

Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan returned to the room where everyone was staying in to check out Zhao Manyan’s condition.

Zhao Manyan was still the same, with Nan Rongni looking after him. The girl was using the Healing Element to maintain his body temperature, and prevent the cold from affecting his body.

Mo Fan touched Zhao Manyan’s head and immediately felt the chill. It was below the acceptable body temperature for human. His life would be at risk if he was not a Magician.

“Nan Rongni, I’m sleeping with Mu Ningxue tonight,” said Mo Fan.

Nan Rongni’s eyes widened slightly before she nodded shyly and said, “Alright, I’ll sleep with Nanyu…”

“Did you really have to say that?” snapped Mu Ningxue after hearing Mo Fan’s words.

“I have to look after you!” Mo Fan did not think he had said anything wrong.

Everyone needed some rest. They had no choice but to leave everything until the next morning. Their best option was to look for the monks who had left for some kind of ritual. They would surely know something about Zhao Manyan’s condition. Even if they could not find the monks, they could ask the nearby residents for more information. It was difficult to gather information when everyone was fast asleep.

“Nan Rongni, please don’t take it wrongly…” Mu Ningxue knew Mo Fan would not leave her. She quickly explained the situation to Nan Rongni.

Nan Rongni agreed with Mu Ningxue’s approach. If even she, a Healer had no clue how to deal with the strange disease, the only way left was to find its source.

“Why don’t we all stay up for the night and look after Mu Ningxue?” suggested Nan Rongni.

——

A while later, everyone had gathered back in the room.

Jiang Shaoxu and Jiang Yu had returned too. It was quite late when they went down the mountain, thus they could not find the owner of the izakaya. They simply grabbed people on the streets, yet none of them knew anything about the temple. As such, they had no choice but to wait until tomorrow.

The other groups had already gone through the temple a few times, yet they had failed to find any clues. The only place left was the back of the mountain, but since the woods were currently pitch-black, they still had to wait until morning to investigate.

“You asshole, how could you place Mu Ningxue in danger? You’re the reason all of this is happening!” Gong Yu went into a frenzy when he heard Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue’s plan.

In Gong Yu’s eyes, he was Mu Ningxue’s escort. How could she risk her life without his permission?

“Just piss off if you don’t want to help. No one needs to listen to your barking anyway,” shot back Mo Fan.

Gong Yu was about to scold back when he was stopped by Ai Jiangtu.

“Enough! Mu Ningxue has already agreed with the plan. Let’s wait for now. Mo Fan, you look after her. The rest should get some sleep. Everyone must be tired, too. We must rest up if we want to overcome this problem,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“No way, I don’t think Mo Fan alone can look after Mu Ningxue,” said Gong Yu.

“Then you two will guard her tonight,” said Ai Jiangtu.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Frankly speaking, if Miyata showed up again, Mo Fan would not hesitate to give her Guan Yu’s name.

Everything was already perfect if he could spend the night with Mu Ningxue in the same room, yet this guy had to come and disturb them. If it wasn’t him, perhaps in two years, their kid would be old enough to buy some soy sauce from the grocery store…

Mo Fan was nodding off, sitting close to the window. The trip on the sea had been extremely tiring, especially for someone who had not gotten used to being tossed back and forth by the waves. It would take a few days to recover.

However, whenever Mo Fan closed his eyes, he would remember the evil grin under Miyata’s innocent face. He had trouble clearing it from his mind.

Mo Fan sat there and quietly watched Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue had her eyes closed. She seemed to be meditating. The girl was really something, still having the mood to cultivate despite knowing Zhao Manyan’s condition.

Looking at her smooth face, Mo Fan realized that her slightly curved eyelashes were quite attractive. He could not help but stare at them longer. However, his focus was soon attracted by her graceful breasts. It was surely a pair of bouncy, firmly beautiful mountains. Her thin clothing and undergarment were not enough to conceal the scenic view.

Below the mountains were a long, slim waist which Mo Fan could wrap around with half his arm. He could not help but wonder what hugging her waist would feel like?

As he further lowered his gaze, he immediately saw the girl’s curves from her upright sitting posture. The curves were not just between her buttocks and her legs, but the elegant lines between her waist and pelvic bones. It was just perfect, without any sign of excess flesh. Her gentle curves and boniness were somehow alluring. Her silver hair dangling to the side was eye-catching even though it was slightly disheveled.

Such a gorgeous beauty! If the asshole Guan Yu wasn’t around, he would have the urge to pounce on her. It was necessary to act first and report later in many cases. The chance to go on a honeymoon with Mu Ningxue for more than a year was hard to come by. In Mo Fan’s opinion, he strongly believed that he would be a disgrace to his identity as a pervert if he failed to make Mu Ningxue pregnant during this time!

If a pervert did not have an ambition, how different was he from a gentleman?

——

Nothing happened for the rest of the night apart from the rustling of leaves outside.

Mo Fan and Guan Yu did not fall asleep for the whole night. Glancing out of the window, they could see a corner of the sea lit up by the rising sun. The waves were like pieces of colorful cloth, resulting in a beautiful scene.

Mo Fan rose to his feet and stretched.

He walked up to Mu Ningxue and nudged her, to let her know it was daybreak.

“It seems like we’ve made a mistake, I think…Mu Ningxue…Mu Ningxue? Mu Ningxue!” Mo Fan nudged the girl again.

Mo Fan initially thought Mu Ningxue was still meditating, hence he tried to wake her up. To his surprise, Mu Ningxue did not open her eyes, even after the second nudge.

Mo Fan felt his heart skipped a beat. He quickly touched her forehead.

Ice cold!

Mu Ningxue’s forehead was icy. Even though she normally had an icy aura too, Mo Fan knew it did not necessarily mean her face and body were ice cold!

She was in the same condition as Zhao Manyan, her body temperature had fallen.

Mo Fan opened her eyelids and saw her pupils covered by a layer of grayness. She did not react even when he blew into her eye.

“Go, tell the others!” said Mo Fan sternly as he glanced at Guan Yu who was feeling drowsy.

“Did she lose her soul too?” Guan Yu was astounded. He quickly checked Mu Ningxue’s condition.

The situation escalated when Guan Yu learned Mu Ningxue’s condition. He glared at Mo Fan, as if he was blaming it all on him. He quickly left to wake the others.

—

Mo Fan was left alone in the room. Mu Ningxue remained in her sitting posture, yet somehow her life force had frozen. She did not wake up no matter how hard Mo Fan tried.

Mo Fan clenched his fists when he saw Mu Ningxue’s condition. His chest pulsed heavily with anger!

That Miyata, he would never forgive her!

Nan Rongni came not long after. After checking Mu Ningxue’s condition, she concluded that Mu Ningxue was in the same condition as Zhao Manyan. Their bodies were ice cold, and they had lost consciousness. According to the residents, they had lost their souls.

“Were both of you keeping an eye on her all the time?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“I…I might have taken a little nap just before daybreak. I was too tired,” said Guan Yu softly.

“I have been watching her the whole night. Nothing happened, the girl did not even show up in the room,” said Mo Fan confidently.

“Two of you will stay and look after her. The rest should split up,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“I didn’t expect us to encounter something so strange just after we arrived in Japan,” said Nanyu.

“There must be a reason behind every strange incident. Guan Yu, Li Kaifeng, look for the monks who had left the temple for the ritual. They must know the reason behind it if they have been living here for a long time. Mo Fan, Jiang Shaoxu; Nanyu and I will look for the girl. I don’t care what she is, there must be a way to cure them. Jiang Yu, Mu Tingying, the rest of you will ask for information in the city. Find anything you can that’s related to the temple!” said Ai Jiangtu.

Two members of the team had fallen victim. No one had expected the situation to be so serious.

The good news was, they found out that the girl Miyata that Mo Fan mentioned was responsible for it. They would soon find the answers after locking her down.

“We should look around the back of the mountain. I believe there’s some secret there,” said Mo Fan.

The others had already checked the temple, yet they did not find any clue. The girl must be staying somewhere. The back of the mountain was suspicious for sure!

——

The rest of the team immediately split up. Mo Fan, Jiang Shaoxu, Ai Jiangtu and Nanyu proceeded to the back of the mountain. They found an abandoned path. It seemed like someone had been here in the past…

The woods at the back of the mountain were fairly thick. As they continued along the path, they even discovered stone lamps on both sides of the track. They could still see a marble path after clearing the weeds and soil covering the top of it.

“Mo Fan, I don’t understand. If she can really kidnap their souls without us knowing, why didn’t she target all of us at once? Why did she have to learn their names from you? Are the names that important?” asked Nanyu.

“I can’t figure it out either. Damn it, if only the monk was still here. He can see the girl too; he definitely knows more about her,” cursed Mo Fan.

The young bald donkey was not at the temple either. It definitely gave Mo Fan a huge headache!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The path on the back of the mountain was longer than expected. The stone lamps on both sides of the path were overgrown with weeds. The branches of the trees nearby even grew in the direction of the path, as if trying to block them.

It was obvious that the plants were not too fond of having visitors. Mo Fan was currently in a fit of anger, and had the urge to burn everything in his path. He completely forgot about the rule that prohibited them from starting a fire in a sacred mountain like this.

The path started to lead them up a slope. As they arrived at the top, Mo Fan discovered an ancient structure nearby, hidden by thick trees and bushes. It was almost impossible to see it without following the path leading to it.

“I’ll do it, I wouldn’t want you to burn the structure down,” Ai Jiangtu immediately stopped Mo Fan when he was about to vent his anger again.

Ai Jiangtu’s gaze sharpened as a silver glow burst out from his eyes and slashed at the bushes ahead. Its sound was similar to a series of firecrackers.

“Break!” Ai Jiangtu’s clothes flapped wildly in the wind. The energy of the Space Element immediately cleared the branches and shrubs around the structure, leaving a clear path. They were finally able to take a clearer look at the structure.

It was a small, wide-open temple with three stairs, a balcony, and finally a central room.

Mo Fan went up and saw something covered in dust in the temple…

Mo Fan blew the dust away and realized the thing was a wooden clapper. The strange thing was, a wooden clapper usually had a smooth surface. It was commonly used to beat rhythm, yet the surface of this particular wooden clapper was full of markings. These markings were perfectly aligned, with strange fonts in the little squares between the markings. The fonts did not look Japanese, but more like some kind of ancient, magic runes!

Mo Fan had a strange feeling when he saw the wooden clapper. Somehow, he felt like he had seen the strange, twisted fonts before.

“Why is there a wooden clapper here?” Mo Fan tried to touch the wooden clapper, yet it suddenly unleashed a bright yellow arc of electricity. Mo Fan subconsciously withdrew his hand when he touched the lightning arc.

“A Magic Lock?” Jiang Shaoxu stared at the junk-like wooden clapper with a confused look.

Mo Fan could feel his finger turning numb. His gaze was fixed on the lightning arc covering the object.

“It looks like a magic equipment. Strange, why was it left here?” said Nanyu. She was quite an expert when it came to magic equipment. She drew closer to the wooden clapper and inspected it closely.

Mo Fan was left speechless. He had never heard of a magic wooden clapper. What the hell could it be used for? Don’t tell him that using it to beat rhythm would be able to convince the enemy to lay down their butcher’s knife?

Nanyu’s hand hovered over the wooden clapper. She did not touch it directly.

She closed her eyes and tried to communicate with the wooden clapper mentally. Surprisingly, the lightning arc slowly weakened.

“This must be a shield equipment, but its uses aren’t as simple as shielding its bearer. It seems to be hiding some other power,” said Nanyu.

“I only want to know if this thing is related to their condition,” said Mo Fan.

“I’m not sure either, give me some time, I might be able to decipher the text on it. This thing is very ancient. I’ve only seen something similar in Hangzhou,” said Nanyu sternly.

The path had ended here. It was meaningless to venture any further. They had no choice but to wait patiently for Nanyu.

However, a sudden thought crossed Mo Fan’s mind when Nanyu mentioned Hangzhou!

Mo Fan recalled that when Tangyue brought him to the island on West Lake, there was an ancient building there. Its walls had many strange drawings and weird letters. The letters were distorted and incomprehensible, yet they were similar to the letters on the wooden clapper.

“The Magic Lock is quite powerful, can she crack it?” Jiang Shaoxu asked Ai Jiangtu. She was quite knowledgeable in that field, too.

Ai Jiangtu was more familiar with Nanyu than anyone else. He glanced at her stern expression and said, “She’s quite an expert in things like formations, Magic Locks, and ancient curses. I believe she can crack most Magic Locks.”

A Magic Lock was a kind of magic applied to a certain thing to forbid people from touching or approaching it. Its concept was similar to a Magic Formation, supported by some other supplements.

Usually, a vessel was the best carrier for a Magic Lock. Even though it looked like the wooden clapper was merely covered in some strange, scribbled runes, it was likely that the runes were actually a tiny Magic Formation. It would unleash a strong energy to protect it if anyone touched it.

The lightning arc was quite powerful. Even Mo Fan, who possessed the Lightning Element, did not dare to touch it again. More importantly, Equipment with a Magic Lock would remain unusable without unlocking the lock.

They had no idea where Miyata was, so they could only hope that Nanyu could find some useful information from the strange wooden clapper.

Sometime later, Nanyu sneezed softly. It was obvious that she was extremely focused. She would frown at times as if she was experiencing some difficulties.

Jiang Shaoxu ran out of patience. She was just about to speak when Nanyu stopped inspecting the wooden clapper.

“What did you learn?” asked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not care about the wooden clapper. He was more eager to learn if the wooden clapper was related to Miyata in some way.

“I think the girl you saw is most likely a Vessel Demon Spirit,” said Nanyu.

“Vessel Demon Spirit, what the heck is that?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened. It was his first time hearing about it.

“It’s a kind of ancient creature. A Vessel Demon Spirit normally needs a very long time to form too…I bet you know that the magic equipment we use is also classified into different levels, normal, Spirit-grade, Soul-grade… Spirit-grade implies that the equipment’s intelligence is awakened. As for Soul-grade, it means the item has acquired its own soul,” said Nanyu.

Mo Fan knew about the classifications. It was the same as Elemental Seeds, normal seeds, Spirit-grade Seeds, Soul-grade Seeds…

“A Soul-grade vessel has its own consciousness, and even their own soul. If the vessel has existed for a long time, and with some exceptional conditions, the vessel can also cultivate and evolve into demon spirits… these demon spirits are similar to elemental spirits, except for the fact that they were born in powerful vessels!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A frosty land, where the immediate area was rich with the Ice Element, would not only nurture a powerful Ice Seed, there was a chance that it would give birth to an Ice Spirit, too.

Mo Fan’s little Flame Belle was the same. It was a unique creature born in the North Burning Valley, a life form nurtured by the flames of the Fire Calamity.

Since places rich with Elements had elemental spirits, and some vessels had souls; their souls would evolve into some unique life form.

Mo Fan had never heard of demon spirits. He believed none of the classes he took had mentioned demon spirits either, so he was fairly astounded by Nanyu’s explanation!

-Are you telling me that a mere wooden clapper could give birth to a charming, dangerous teenage girl?-

“It’s rare to find a Vessel Demon Spirit, and only those with a vessel can see a Vessel Demon Spirit…” added Nanyu.

“That’s strange. Mo Fan, why can you see it then? The wooden clapper’s Magic Lock tried to shock you, it’s clearly rejecting you, and if only its bearer can see the Vessel Demon Spirit, why can you see the girl?” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“How do I know? Since we’ve figured out that little bitch is a Vessel Demon Spirit, that makes the situation a lot easier. Let’s smash the wooden clapper into pieces and kill her!” Mo Fan’s hot temper erupted again.

He had no time to waste. He had to wake Mu Ningxue up… oh, and Zhao Manyan too.

“Don’t!” replied Nanyu immediately. “Nan Rongni already said that the girl is the only way we can wake them up. If she’s dead, Mu Ningxue and Zhao Manyan might not wake up forever.”

“How are we going to deal with the demon spirit, then?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“The demon spirit is bound to the vessel. Destroying the vessel is indeed the only way to kill the demon spirit. Even the strongest Magician can’t do anything to an amorphous demon spirit…” said Nanyu.

“But you also said that they might not wake up if we destroy the vessel.”

“Just let me finish! There’s another way too, but it’s a bit risky. However, it’s the most effective way to deal with a Vessel Demon Spirit,” said Nanyu.

The others looked at her, waiting for her to tell them the method.

“I don’t know if you can understand what I’m about to say, but from my understanding, some powerful Soul-grade vessels have a confined space in them. You can think of it as a stand-alone world inside the vessel…” Nanyu paused on purpose, as she was afraid that they could not grasp it.

Jiang Shaoxu and Ai Jiangtu were indeed puzzled by Nanyu’s explanation, but Mo Fan surprisingly nodded.

An inner world in a vessel was not a surprise to him. The Little Loach Pendant had a spacious world and the Nether River that stored countless Soul Remnants and Soul Essences!

Using the Little Loach Pendant as an example, Mo Fan easily understood the concept of having an inner world in the wooden clapper.

“You’ll need to enter the world inside the vessel, and you’ll be able to see and attack the demon spirit inside it,” said Nanyu.

“Can living humans go inside the vessel?” Jiang Shaoxu never heard anything like this. She looked at Nanyu in disbelief.

“Yes, to be precise, you’re not entering the vessel physically, it’s only your will…how do I say it, it’s like entering the vessel with your soul, like an out-of-body experience,” said Nanyu.

It was difficult to explain the details. Even Nanyu was unsure if a person’s consciousness could enter the world inside a vessel. After all, she did not own a special vessel herself.

Mo Fan was not too surprised. He would often enter the world inside the Little Loach Pendant too to check out the progress of the Nether River. Mo Fan could not wait to fight the demon spirit now that Nanyu had told him he could enter the vessel!

“I’m afraid it’s difficult to crack the Magic Lock, but I can help you enter the vessel…” said Nanyu.

“I…I don’t think I will be going in there,” said Jiang Shaoxu, shaking her head. She did not dare to try something she had never heard of, especially something like entering the vessel with her soul. What if her soul did not return? She would end up like Mu Ningxue and Zhao Manyan!

“Mo Fan, I’ll go with you!” Ai Jiangtu was the fearless kind too.

“Alright, based on what Nanyu said, it’s possible that Mu Ningxue and Zhao Manyan’s souls were sealed inside the vessel, which is why we failed to wake them up,” concluded Mo Fan.

“I’ll stay here and keep an eye out. I have to say, it’s my first time hearing about entering a vessel in the spirit form,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

Nanyu slowly placed her hand onto the wooden clapper. The same lightning arcs burst out from it. Nanyu frowned slightly, as if she was enduring some pain…

“You have to find the demon spirit and eliminate it as quickly as possible once you’re in there. I can’t last for long,” said Nanyu.

“What do we do now? Do we just pry into it with our will?” asked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan knew how to enter the Little Loach Pendant, but he was unsure if it was the same for other vessels. The Little Loach Pendant was bound to his soul. Whenever he focused and cleared his thoughts, his consciousness would arrive close to the Nether River.

“Don’t, the Magic Lock will react if you try to pry into it. It will inflict damage to your soul. I’ll let Jiang Shaoxu hypnotize you two first, before guiding your spirits into the vessel…the process will feel like a dream. By the way, if you’re injured in the vessel, your soul will be injured too. If you die, your soul will die,” reminded Nanyu.

“Seriously, we don’t even know what’s inside the vessel. Aren’t we screwed if it’s too dangerous in there?” said Mo Fan.

Nanyu shook her head and said, “It won’t be that serious. Both of you are Advanced Magicians, after all, so your souls are also at the Advanced Level. The world in the vessel is maintained by the vessel’s energy. It’s not strong enough to create an environment that’s powerful enough to kill you.”

“I don’t understand, why would there be such an evil thing in the mountain behind a temple?” Jiang Shaoxu felt uneasy.

“Just pretend the vessel is able to create an illusion, and you two are entering the illusion inside the vessel,” said Nanyu.

“Oh, does that mean it’s related to the Psychic Element?” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“It’s a mix of the Psychic Element, Chaos Element, and Space Element. If we break it down further, it might involve the Sound Element and Curse Element too. The vessel is quite high-level, it contains Magic Formations constructed with a variety of Elements… I’m surprised too; why would such a rare Soul-grade vessel be left in this place?…” wondered Nanyu.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu were anxious about the condition of their teammates. They could not care less about the concept behind the wooden clapper.

As Nanyu mentioned, they only needed to treat the world inside it as an illusion. The only way to deal with the amorphous demon spirit was by going into the illusion.

Jiang Shaoxu followed Nanyu’s instructions and hypnotized Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu, before Nanyu used some special method to guide their souls into the vessel.

The truth was, the wooden clapper was imbued with the magic of the Curse Element. The curse was able to drag the soul of any living human nearby into the vessel and trap them like a cage. It was the main reason why the locals referred to it as a Soul Eater!

It was not an exaggeration to call it a Soul Eater. Among the Curse Element spells, both the Sinister Spider Trap and Demon Torture were able to inflict damage directly to their target’s soul. Demon Torture could even torment the target by separating their soul from their body!

——

Mo Fan felt his eyelids falling heavily after he was hypnotized. He sat beside the wooden clapper and closed his eyes.

Strangely, when he opened his eyes again, he somehow felt restless.

He glanced at Ai Jiangtu beside him and saw the man had just opened his eyes too. They both shared a similar experience.

“Damn!” Mo Fan cursed all of a sudden.

Ai Jiangtu quickly rose to his feet and scanned the surroundings, yet they did not see Jiang Shaoxu or Nanyu!

“What happened? Where did they go?” Ai Jiangtu was confused too. He looked around in the old and shabby temple, yet he did not see the two girls.

“The wooden clapper is gone too, in just a blink of an eye…” said Mo Fan.

“Either way, we should go and look for them first,” said Ai Jiangtu.

Zhao Manyan and Mu Ningxue had already fallen victim, and now the two girls had gone missing right beside them. The situation was a lot more complicated.

The two took the same path back and soon realized something strange.

They remembered the path was previously covered by shrubs and vines, and the stone lamps on both sides were hidden by thick bushes too.

But now, the path was clear and spacious. Not even dust could be seen on the marble path. It was clean enough to reflect the two’s faces…

“What’s going on?” said Mo Fan.

Ai Jiangtu shook his head. He too found the series of events extremely odd.

They continued along the path and went back to the main temple, and discovered that the temple was livelier than they thought…

Around eight monks were busy carrying baskets of fresh ingredients and vegetables around in the kitchen. Meanwhile, a slightly plump monk was giving orders and pointing his fingers around.

“Hey, you two…oh, pardon me, but you’re not allowed to go to the back of the mountain. It’s not open to visitors,” the plump monk said in an unpleasant tone when he saw Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu.

Ai Jiangtu and Mo Fan exchanged glances with one another. They had no idea how to respond. The truth was, they could not understand what the monk was saying, as he was speaking in Japanese.

They proceeded to the main hall and saw lots of people visiting the temple. They even saw an endless line at the entrance.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were dumbfounded. They immediately went to the room to find Nan Rongni, Mu Ningxue, and Zhao Manyan, but all the rooms were occupied by visitors from other places. There was no sign of their teammates.

“Did we somehow go back in time?” Mo Fan stared at the lively temple in disbelief.

Ai Jiangtu remained silent as he pondered. He glanced at the walls of the temple and said, “Mo Fan, I believe we’ve entered the world in the vessel.”

Mo Fan was startled, but he soon understood what Ai Jiangtu was trying to say.

“Are you saying that the world inside the wooden clapper is actually this temple?” said Mo Fan in astonishment.

“Mm, didn’t Nanyu tell us that we’re going into an illusion created by the vessel? I think we’ve fallen asleep, and our consciousness has entered someone else’s dream,” said Ai Jiangtu.

Mo Fan calmed down and began to think.

If Miyata was a Vessel Demon Spirit, the world inside the vessel was most likely constructed based on her memories, including the monks, visitors, and residents…

“It feels too real, so real that we can’t even tell we’re experiencing an illusion,” exclaimed Mo Fan.

“By combining the Curse Element and the Psychic Element, it’s possible to convince a target to believe that a nightmare is real and torture the target to death using it,” said Ai Jiangtu.

Ai Jiangtu possessed the Curse Element, and so was rather calm after realizing the situation.

“If everything we see is part of an illusion or a dream, doesn’t that mean we can do whatever we want?” asked Mo Fan.

Ai Jiangtu shook his head and replied, “It’s unwise to think like that. The illusion is based on reality, so if we killed someone, the people of the Enforcement Union would appear and sentence us to death, too. Once our souls die in here, we will never wake up.”

“It turns out that it isn’t as real as I thought; I have lost my sense of smell and taste,” said Mo Fan, helplessly munching on a carrot that he stole from the kitchen.

“We can still feel pain,” emphasized Ai Jiangtu.

“Screw it; we won’t be able to understand what’s happening in this world, so let’s find that goddamned demon spirit as soon as possible,” said Mo Fan.

After all, the illusion was still different from the real world. Once Mo Fan calmed his thoughts and observed his surroundings closely, he realized how different the world in the vessel was compared to the world outside. It felt similar to the moment he was about to wake up from a deep sleep. His vision was still in the dream, yet his smell, hearing, and touch were on the bed. It felt extremely strange!

Mo Fan was munching a carrot, yet not only was it tasteless in his mouth, his nose had captured a totally different smell…

The scent resembled the fragrance of a rose. Somehow, Mo Fan felt like Jiang Shaoxu was beside him, and standing very close to him.

—-

As a matter of fact, Jiang Shaoxu was indeed standing right in front of Mo Fan. She was trying to see if Mo Fan was really asleep while his consciousness was roaming somewhere!

Jiang Shaoxu never thought that her perfume would somehow remind Mo Fan that he and Ai Jiangtu were still in the temple at the back of the mountain where they found the wooden clapper.

—

However, Ai Jiangtu and Mo Fan were troubled when they stood in front of the temple. They could see all of Xixiong City from here. How were they going to find the demon spirit in this world? The people in the illusion looked perfectly alive. They could not tell the difference between them and ordinary humans.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu searched the temple, yet the place was too crowded with people from Xixiong City or other places. It was impossible to find the demon spirit among the crowd.

They decided to visit the city after failing to find any clues in the temple. The city was lively and busy, but for some reason, there was something missing.

Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu walked from the temple to the city. They took the same stairs, the same path, walked on the same street. Even the owner of the izakaya was the same. Mo Fan clearly remembered his gently flickering, tiny eyes.

However, Mo Fan could tell something was wrong with the city. He finally realized what it was when he almost reached the other side of Xixiong City.

The world in the illusion was like a GIF image. Unlike the real world where everyone was carrying on with their lives, the people and events in the illusion were like a scripted program. They would all return to their initial position after the loop restarted.

For example, they had seen an old woman dropping some fruits from her basket on the side of the road an hour ago. However, when they walked past the same place again, they saw the old woman dropping the fruits again in the same manner. Even the trails of the fruits when rolling on the ground were exactly the same. An old, yellow truck had just driven past, but it would drive past again some time later. They also heard the same honks from the harbor repeating after the same period of time.

“It seems like everything here is constructed based on the Wooden Clapper Demon Spirit’s memories, which is why the events kept repeating in the time frame that she remembered. Didn’t you notice the one particular area is somewhat blurry? It means she has never been to that part of the city, so she doesn’t have any memory of it.” Ai Jiangtu possessed the Space Element, and soon discovered the bugs in this illusionary world!

Mo Fan nodded, although he was fairly surprised on the inside. He did not think a small wooden clapper would be able to construct such an enormous world. He could not help but wonder at the wooden clapper’s background.

“If this world is constructed based on her memories, it’s most likely she’s still using her own identity here…” said Mo Fan.

“That’s right, you’ve already seen the demon spirit, you know what she looks like. All we need to do is to find her,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“I believe we’ve taken the situation too lightly. If we can wait until Jiang Yu and the others come back with some information, it will be easier for us to find Miyata!” said Mo Fan.

Ai Jiangtu nodded. He was about to say something when he smelled something. He subconsciously turned around, but there was nothing behind him.

“Did you smell something?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“I did, it smells like Chinese mugwort,” said Mo Fan

It was fairly easy to identify the smell of Chinese mugwort when it was set aflame. Mo Fan remembered his dad often burned it to provide some relief for his stomach.

“Is there Chinese mugwort nearby?”

“I don’t think so… hang on, we have no sense of smell in this world. The scent has come from the outside. Strange, aren’t Nanyu and Jiang Shaoxu keeping an eye for us? Why are they burning Chinese mugwort? I think it’s right in front of…(cough cough) Holy crap, are they burning it right beside my nose? The smell, it’s too strong!” Mo Fan began coughing.

“What are they up to? Why are they burning Chinese mugwort close to us?” Ai Jiangtu was confused.

—

Back in the run-down temple, Jiang Yu was holding a stalk of burning Chinese mugwort and fanning it into Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu’s noses. The two almost teared up from the strong smell.

“Is it going to work? Chinese mugwort is pretty common in our country, but the environment here in Japan isn’t suitable for their growth,” said Mu Tingying.

“Which is why, if they can find the place with Chinese mugwort, they will be able to find Miyata too. Didn’t you hear them sleep talking? They are most likely in Xixiong City from a few years ago,” said Jiang Yu.

—

Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu were unaware that every conversation they had in the illusion would be spoken too in the real world. To the others, it simply looked like they were talking in their sleep.

Through their speech, Jiang Shaoxu and Nanyu were able to understand the world inside the vessel.

“By the way, didn’t you say that Miyata is actually a person from Xixiong City?” said Jiang Shaoxu to Jiang Yu.

“Yeah, Miyata’s house has a herb garden planted with wild chrysanthemums and Chinese mugwort. When some monk that knows the art of healing came to the temple, he needed to find a supply of natural herbs. Miyata would visit the temple occasionally to deliver the dried herbs, so she’s quite a regular of the temple,” said Jiang Yu.

“Then how did she become a dangerous demon spirit?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

—

Inside the illusion of the wooden clapper…

The quick-witted Mo Fan immediately realized that someone in the outside world was trying to give them hints when he smelled Chinese mugwort. Otherwise, it did not make sense for them to burn a stalk of Chinese mugwort and fan its scent at them!

“It doesn’t make any sense. Why would they know what’s happening in this world?” said Ai Jiangtu.

“I feel like they do, should I try?”

“How?”

“Hey, if you assholes know what’s happening in here, please move the herb away, I can’t even breathe!” Mo Fan raised his head and cursed pointing at a cloud.

Ai Jiangtu was left speechless. He had failed to understand Mo Fan’s intelligence, coming up with such an unreliable approach!

However, Ai Jiangtu was soon dumbfounded when he discovered the scent of the Chinese mugwort weakening!

The heck? Did it actually work?

Ai Jiangtu was lost for words.

“It actually worked, HAH!” Mo Fan grinned. To confirm it once again, he added, “Ask Jiang Shaoxu to come closer, so I can smell her perfume!”

A while later, after the scent of the Chinese mugwort weakened, Mo Fan immediately captured Jiang Shaoxu’s alluring rose fragrance.

Ai Jiangtu had smelled it too. His tanned face had an utterly impressed expression.

“Come closer, come closer…hey, Ai Jiangtu, do you know that vixen Jiang Shaoxu has a natural body fragrance? She smells like roses even though she isn’t using any perfume. It smells quite nice. Mm? The smell is stronger, are her boobs right in front of us? Could this be the so-called boob fragrance?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

As soon as Mo Fan finished the sentence, he immediately felt his face burning with pain.

Ai Jiangtu was startled, too. He took a closer look and saw a palmprint on Mo Fan’s face…

“It seems like they can hear whatever we say…” Ai Jangtu coughed awkwardly. “You should watch what you say.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was unaware that his actual self would be repeating the same words he said in the dream. Not only was he scolded as a pervert, he even took a slap to the face!

Mo Fan did not dare to make a sound after receiving the slap; not because it was heavy, but he was feeling awkward after exposing his true nature.

“Are you trying to tell us to look for places with Chinese mugwort? If yes, ask Jiang Shaoxu to move her boobs… er, let me smell Jiang Shaoxu’s fragrance,” said Mo Fan, looking at the sky.

As he thought, the faint rose fragrance appeared again. It implied that the people on the outside could actually hear them talking, thus they had responded using smell.

The situation was clearer with the clues provided. Since Xixiong City was located by the sea, they would only find Chinese mugwort in certain places.

—

Not long afterwards, they found an herb garden less than two kilometers away from the temple.

The herb garden looked quite ordinary, with a short fence surrounding it. There were a few white sheds nurturing a few plants that were not suitable for planting outside due to the moisture in the air.

“Everything is clearer and more specific here. I think we’ve found the right place.” Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu immediately felt everything was more realistic when they arrived at the herb garden.

It was a sign that the creator of the illusion was more familiar with this place than anywhere else. Even the island to the south looked clearer than other places.

The two entered the herb garden and saw an old man looking after the place. The old man was surprised to see them, since it was rare for their garden to have customers.

Mo Fan asked the old man if there was a girl called Miyata in English.

The old man could only speak Japanese, yet he did understand the name Miyata. He replied in Japanese, telling Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu that the girl had gone to the rock by the sea.

The two walked south from the herb garden. They passed a barren area, and reached a giant rock at the end. The rock was like a little cliff because of the height of the area, and they could see a part of Xixiong City and the sea in the distance.

Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu walked straight to the cliff and saw a teenage girl in ordinary clothing. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail with an orchid hairpin. Her face was pale white. She was wearing a dress that reached her knees, and a pair of sandals. Her legs were like lotus roots, making her look very petite!

“Is that her?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

Mo Fan nodded. He directly approached Miyata.

Mo Fan saw her crouching on the rock. She was holding a little carving knife with her back toward them.

It looked like she was carving some words on the rock. She was extremely caught up in the process. Her lonely figure facing the ocean was somehow pitiful.

Mo Fan walked up and stood beside Miyata.

Miyata was totally unaware of his presence. She continued to carve the words on the rock. Mo Fan realized that her hand had already been cut by the carving knife. Fresh blood was dripping onto the rock, filling the gaps of the carved words, like they were written in blood!

Mo Fan could not read Japanese, but some of the letters were the same as Chinese letters. He could clearly tell that Miyata was carving the young monk’s name!

She kept bleeding while carving the words, tears rolling down her cheeks. The sorrow displayed on her face felt extremely real!

“Why didn’t they believe me? Why did none of them believe me… we didn’t do anything…” Miyata finished carving the last word in tears.

Before Mo Fan could chat with Miyata, she suddenly rose to her feet and ran to the edge.

She had her eyes closed. Her sandals fell off as she ran. Mo Fan subconsciously tried to stop Miyata, yet discovered that she was only an illusion. He could not stop her. She ran to the edge and fell off the cliff.

Mo Fan stood on the edge, watching her dress drifting in the wind and her sad expression as she fell in the air, before landing in a pool of blood, splattering on the rocks under the cliff…

Ai Jiangtu was stunned by the sequence too. The whole thing looked so real, like a girl overwhelmed with despair committing suicide. Even her corpse was extremely shocking!

“Does...does this mean she killed herself many years ago?” said Ai Jiangtu after calming down.

“It does look that way… So, she turned into a harmful demon spirit?” wondered Mo Fan.

The two stood on the edge. Someone soon discovered Miyata’s corpse. More people crowded around her corpse. The police quickly sealed the area off.

—

“What do we do now?” Ai Jiangtu asked helplessly.

“No idea, I don’t think that’s the demon spirit. It’s like a memory fragment,” said Mo Fan.

“It smells like sandalwood…” said Ai Jiangtu, all of a sudden.

Mo Fan took a deep breath and indeed smelled sandalwood.

“Are they asking us to go to the temple?” speculated Mo Fan.

“Most likely!”

They hurriedly made their way back to the temple.

The temple was no longer crowded with people. It seemed like news about Miyata’s death had reached the temple.

The door was tightly shut. Xin Yu, the old monk in charge of the temple who had allowed Mo Fan and the others to stay at the temple, was gathering the monks. He had asked them to attend a meeting in the rear hall.

It was obvious that they all knew who Miyata was. They were exchanging glances with one another after they heard the news. Mo Fan could see the shock and helplessness in their eyes!

“She left a suicide note. Even though she has died, we’re responsible for her death for pressuring her. The police are already asking us questions, should we cover it up?” asked the old monk, Xin Yu.

“We can’t let anyone know the truth. If the incident is reported, no one will ever come to our temple,” responded the plump monk in charge of the kitchen.

“That’s right, our temple is famous for blessing people’s relationships and marriages. Her death is surely going to affect us. (sigh) She was nothing but trouble!”

“How can you say that? Even though what happened between Nara Orisora and Miyata is unpleasant, Miyata has already used her death to prove that she didn’t have an affair with him. We should be held responsible for her death!”

“Orisora, we never thought Miyata would do something like this. My condolences,” said Xin Yu.

Nara Orisora was sitting on a futon with his head lowered. It was impossible to tell if he was listening.

However, from his dark expression and his occasionally-twitching face, he was clearly feeling a great rage in his heart!

“Everyone knows Qi Hai was the one who was spotted meeting a girl privately, but somehow Miyata and I were accused instead! How dumb are you all? Look what you’ve done, you’ve forced Miyata to kill herself to prove that we were innocent!” Nara Orisora rose to his feet and snapped furiously, pointing at another young monk.

The monk called Qi Hai tried to hide from Nara Orisora’s gaze, but he soon spoke with a firm tone, “I didn’t do it. You weren’t at the temple, and when they asked where Miyata was, she said she had spent the whole night on a little island, but there’s no island around here at all. She must have come up with the lie in a panic when we discovered your secret. How absurd, she even took us to the cliff to show us the island, but there was nothing there. She was clearly lying, she must have had a secret date with you. You’ve ruined the temple’s reputation, and you even tried to frame me!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The run-down temple…

Jiang Shaoxu leaned against a pillar slightly covered in dust and looked at Jiang Yu.

“So you’re saying, the monk called Qi Hai is messing around with some girl, and he’s jealous of Nara Orisora because he’s popular among the visitors. When someone saw Qi Hai with a girl, he framed Nara Orisora instead and accused him and Miyata, who often came to the temple to deliver the herbs,” Jiang Shaoxu repeated Jiang Yu’s words.

“Exactly, the witness didn’t see it clearly either. He only saw the person’s bald head, wearing the same clothes as the monks of Yanming Temple.

“I believe we all know how scary rumors are. Even when the witness didn’t see the person clearly, soon everyone will assume it was Nara Orisora and Miyata. After all, Nara Orisora is indeed quite close with Miyata…”

“So the people found Nara Orisora and Miyata and asked what they were during that night.”

“Nara Orisora did visit Miyata that night, he said that he went to pick up some herbs, and went back to the temple right after. He happened to stumble into Qi Hai, who was going down the mountain on the same night, which is why Nara Orisora was confident that Qi Hai was the one who was spotted. However, when the people asked Miyata where she was, something went wrong,” said Jiang Yu.

Jiang Shaoxu said confusingly, “What exactly did Miyata say to make everyone believe they were both lying?”

“Miyata said she was in a bad mood that night, so she went to the island opposite the cliff and spent the whole night there enjoying the sea breeze. She even saw the sunrise,” said Jiang Yu.

“Is there anything wrong with that? Even if they didn’t have any witnesses, they still can’t deem them guilty just like that,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“The problem is the island, the island that Miyata mentioned never existed. We even went to confirm it; there isn’t any island there. I don’t understand why Miyata would say that when there’s obviously no island around. It’s obvious that Miyata is lying. She even brought the people to the cliff to show them the island, but it was completely empty. Since Miyata was lying, everyone immediately assumed there was something going on between Nara Orisora and Miyata. Only people panicking would try to cover things up with such a ridiculous lie…” said Mu Tingying.

Jiang Shaoxu was confused too. “Why would she say that?”

“How would I know?”

“The rumors spread quickly, even people in the city knew about it. After that, Miyata learned that the temple was going to expel Nara Orisora for ruining the temple’s reputation. To prove they were innocent, the girl soon committed suicide. After Miyata’s death, the whole situation escalated. Soon, rumors about the Soul Eater in the temple began to spread around. Everyone said that it was Miyata’s ghost roaming around the temple. She would be infuriated when she saw young couples at the temple, and would kidnap their souls…”

Jiang Shaoxu recalled everything that happened and soon understood the entire incident.

Although Miyata did not turn into a ghost, she did turn into a Vessel Demon Spirit and kidnapped people’s souls.

“So you are here… we’ve been looking for you all!” Li Kaifeng was walking toward them on the path.

Jiang Shaoxu blurted out when she saw them approaching, “Aren’t you and Gong Yu supposed to look for the monks who left the temple for some ritual?”

“Yeah, we found them. They told us they are clueless, too. By the way, what are they doing? They looked like they are asleep,” Li Kaifeng walked up to Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu and stared at them blankly.

“They went inside an illusion, the world that the demon spirit created with her memory.

“It’s a Vessel Demon Spirit. Some high-level vessels have a unique space inside them. The Vessel Demon Spirits can create an illusion inside the space as they wished. The illusion is Xixiong City a few years ago. Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu are in there looking for the demon spirit, which is the girl Miyata…” Jiang Shaoxu tried to explain the situation to Li Kaifeng in a single speech.

Li Kaifeng had a blank face after hearing the explanation.

Jiang Shaoxu rolled her eyes.

Jiang Yu chuckled too. It was difficult to understand the situation in a short amount of time.

—

Inside the illusion…

Even though Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu did not understand Japanese, it was obvious that the entire city was discussing the incident. Everyone had already heard the details of the whole process.

“He must be very sad?” said Ai Jiangtu, glancing at Nara Orisora.

Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu had lost the trail. They could only follow the sad Nara Orisora secretly.

Nara Orisora left the temple. He headed to a mountain to the north of Xixiong City.

Up on the mountain, Nara Orisora was holding the carving knife left by Miyata. He was carving crazily on every rock, trying to vent his anger.

His hand was bleeding, too. The blood dropped onto the rocks. Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu were grieved by the sight.

It was obvious that Miyata was in love with the monk, and the monk was in love with her,too. However, they did not cross the line. Their pure relationship only consisted of delivering herbs and healing people. They did not mess around with one another like the others had described.

Now that Miyata was dead, Nara Orisora could only hurt himself to vent his sorrow and anger, to mourn for the deceased girl on this deserted mountain.

“Mo Fan, I think we’re running out of time,” Ai Jiangtu looked into the distance and saw Xixiong City turning blurry. The space within his vision was distorted.

“But we haven’t found the demon spirit!” Mo Fan was unwilling to give up.

He felt sorry for Miyata, yet it did not mean she could turn into a demon spirit and hurt other people.

“We can come back again, but it’s too much of a burden if we stay any longer. Let’s head outside and discuss things with the others, Mu Ningxue and Zhao Manyan will be fine for now,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“Alright.” Mo Fan knew it was useless to search aimlessly. The Miyata that died was only an illusion. It was not Miyata herself. Perhaps the actual demon spirit was still roaming in the outside world.

—

Back in the run-down temple, Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu opened their eyes.

Even without smelling Jiang Shaoxu’s scent, they could easily tell they had returned to the real world.

“How was it?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

“It feels like we’ve just watched a sad movie,” Mo Fan calmly replied. Ai Jiangtu nodded silently.

Mo Fan saw Li Kaifeng and immediately asked excitedly, “By the way, did you find the young monk, Nara Orisora?”

“Don’t mention it, I was almost scolded by those monks,” said Li Kaifeng.

“What? Why would they scold you?” asked Mo Fan in confusion.

“Nara Orisora died a few years ago,” said Li Kaifeng.

Mo Fan’s eyes widened, “Bullshit, I even talked to him at the temple yesterday. He told me not to sit on the stone turtles, said that I’ll be punished by the ocean.”

“That’s what the monks told me, I have no reason to lie to you,” said Li Kaifeng.

Mo Fan was just about to respond when Nanyu interrupted quickly, “Mo Fan, the young monk you mentioned, did anyone else other than you see him?”

Mo Fan immediately shivered when he heard Nanyu’s question. It even gave him goosebumps!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The chill covering Mo Fan from his head to his toes stayed for quite a long time. He stood there blankly until he finally collected his thoughts!

“There are two demon spirits. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to see the memory fragments after Miyata’s death. Those memories belonged to Nara Orisora,” blurted out Ai Jiangtu when he suddenly realized the same thing.

Ai Jiangtu’s words immediately reminded Mo Fan. He looked at Li Kaifeng and asked, “By the way, where did you find the old monks?”

“Manying Mountain, I think that’s how the locals call it. The monk in charge, Xin Yu and the others are all there. What were you two saying? I didn’t understand a single word, what demon spirits?” said Li Kaifeng.

As soon as Li Kaifeng finished his sentence, Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu exchanged glances with one another.

They both saw the shock in one another’s eyes, as if they were aware that something terrifying was about to happen!

“This is bad, we must go to Manying Mountain at once!” Mo Fan raised his tone.

Ai Jiangtu was most likely the only one who understood what Mo Fan was trying to say. He immediately used Blink without hesitation, blurring and vanishing in the next second. Mo Fan could sense the ripple of the Space Element a few hundred meters away.

“What’s going on?” Li Kaifeng was even more confused.

Nanyu and Jiang Shaoxu knew something serious was about to happen judging from their stern expressions.

“Stop asking questions, bring us to Manying Mountain at once,” urged Mo Fan.

“Al…alright!”

—

They did not have the time to notify the rest of the team. They immediately headed for Manying Mountain at the quickest speed possible.

Manying Mountain was located on the other side of Xixiong City. It was just an isolated mountain, with nothing on it apart from some rocks. It was rare to see any visitors on the mountain, either.

After passing Xixiong City, Mo Fan, sprinting with the Blood Tabi, barely caught up to Li Kaifeng.

Ai Jiangtu was already on his way to the mountain, but it was hard to tell if he could make it in time…

“What the heck is going on?” Jiang Shaoxu could not help but ask as they were running.

Mo Fan glanced at Manying Mountain that was still around two kilometers away and said with a deep voice, “We saw Nara Orisora doing something strange in the illusion.”

“What thing?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

“After Miyata killed herself, Nara Orisora was carving strange words on some rocks. Ai Jiangtu and I thought he was only venting his anger, so we didn’t put too much attention on them, but we now realized that wasn’t the case!” said Mo Fan.

“Was there anything wrong? I heard Miyata was also carving words on a rock from your sleep talking. Nara Orisora must have done the same thing because he loved her,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“The problem is, the place that Nara Orisora was carving the words was…Manying Mountain, the place where all the monks of Yanming Temple have gone to!” said Mo Fan.

Jiang Shaoxu, Nanyu, and Li Kaifeng immediately came to a realization. They stared at the barren Manying Mountain in astonishment.

A bloody ray burst into the sky from Manying Mountain, still a block away, proving that Mo Fan’s speculation was on point. The light was bright and eerie, like a reflection when sunlight was shining off a lake of blood, a sinister sight!

“The monks are in trouble!” screamed Jiang Shaoxu.

—

Manying Mountain basically had no plant life. The city area at the foot of the mountain was an old block that was scheduled to be demolished. The work had resulted in dust filling the sky. The mountain was barren rocks, even weeds were rare.

A few dozen bloody rocks were floating in the air, forming an eerie curse pattern looming over the mountain.

The ground had some notches filled with fresh blood. The smell of it lingered in the air.

The fresh blood continued to flow through the notches, constructing the same curse pattern formed by the floating rocks. It looked like a three-dimensional skeleton’s head when viewed from the sky!

When the pattern on the ground was completed, the blood rocks gathered together and stacked up into a tombstone at the center of the mountain!

The initial random carvings on the rocks combined into a eulogy. The dried blood suddenly turned fresh and bright, as if someone had just filled them!

“What’s going on? Why is this happening to us all of a sudden!?” the plump monk in charge of the kitchen screamed like a terrified woman.

“It’s the revenge of the ghosts, it must be; I told you we should leave the temple when we had the chance, we’re done for…” a middle-aged monk who was in charge of discipline shrieked hoarsely.

A few other monks who were still dressed in special outfits fell to the ground in fear. A cold breeze with the stench of blood swept in their direction. Under their feet was an eerie pattern, and at the center of stood a tombstone with blood-written words. They had never seen anything so horrifying. They could not even stand properly despite having yet to see any demon creature.

“It’s finally happening. I have already had enough over the past few years…” an old monk sat on the ground and closed his eyes.

They were invited here to conduct a ritual, yet it turned out that the ritual was conducted for them instead. They were the ones who should repent and be transcended!

“Orisora, Orisora, I know we’ve made a mistake. We’ve been chanting the sutras and praying for you and Miyata, hoping that you can find peace in the afterworld…” Xin Yu dropped to his knees and buried his face on the ground.

The others were absolutely terrified. They were only a bunch of ordinary monks. They had never seen a real curse or ghost before. They had been living in fear for the past few years, but it had still happened in the end. Nara Orisora had never planned to forgive them!

Qi Hai pointed at the blood tombstone and yelled, “Stop trying to trick us, Nara Orisora, you shameless prick, trying to scare us with a little trick? We all assumed you who brought disgrace to the temple had died, and everything would remain in the past. However, not only did you fake your death, you even tried to scare us with such petty tricks! Nara Orisora, show yourself, I’m not scared of you!”

“Qi Hai, admit what you’ve done, he might spare us our lives…” said the old monk who had his eyes shut.

“What is there to admit? I didn’t do anything wrong, it was Nara Orisora having a secret date with that little bitch… AHHH!”

Before Qi Hai could finish, he was knocked flying by some force. His body slammed hard against the tombstone.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Qi Hai’s limbs were spread apart as he was hung on the eerie tombstone. He finally realized that it was not some magic trick after the unknown force appeared…

Qi Hai suddenly burst out screaming. His right eye was torn out, as if some ghost had just ripped it out. Blood jetted out from the hole, smearing down his face!

The monks shivered in fear when they saw Qi Hai suddenly lost an eye.

However, the monks soon cried out in agony too. Their ghastly cries reached the bottom of the mountain.

The monks were holding their right eyes. Blood jetted out between the gaps of their fingers. Every monk’s right eye was torn out, starting from Qi Hai, including the old monk who had accepted his fate. He was the only one who did not cry out. He remained sitting on the ground with a pale face while enduring the pain, but the other monks were already rolling on the ground, leaving blood all over the trail!

“What is the point of keeping your right eye if you can’t tell who’s right or wrong?” an icy voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

The monks huddled in fear, and some even begged for their lives. They recognized Nara Orisora’s voice. The man was already dead, yet they still heard his voice. Wasn’t it obvious that he had turned into a ghost and come to get his revenge? He had come for them!

“It’s meaningless to keep your right ear if you insist on believing in rumors instead of the truth,” Nara Orisora’s ghastly voice appeared once again.

The monks immediately felt their right ears being contorted. The same sharp pain they felt from their right eye was coming from their right ears!

“AHHH!!!”

It started with Qi Hai who was hung on the tombstone. His right ear was torn off, blood splattering everywhere. The monks felt like they had all fallen into Hell after hearing him scream.

Every monk from Yanming Temple, including Xin Yu, had their right ear tore off. An enormous pain came from their right ear even before they managed to recover from the previous pain coming from their right eye. They even preferred that Nara Orisora kill them straight away instead of torturing them.

“A hand that only knows to hit a person who is down instead of helping them up is useless too!” Nara Orisora’s voice was filled with suffering.

The monks who had gone through the punishment twice were aware of their upcoming fate. Their fear and hopelessness had turned into incoherent cries and begging. They did not want to experience the same thing for the third time. They were utterly regretful!

“Please, I’m begging you… Ori…Orisora…it’s all our fault. Please stop…stop torturing everyone.” The old monk was soaked in sweat. His willpower was quite impressive, as he was the only one that could speak properly.

The other monks were already rolling on the ground begging for mercy, especially Qi Hai hanging there on the tombstone. He had already wet his pants from the mix of pain and fear.

“Your resentment isn’t going to bring a dead person back to life!” said an icy voice.

The old monk felt that the voice was just nearby. He slowly raised his head and saw a monk in a black robe standing in front of him with the blurred vision of his left eye.

The old monk was stunned. The person he was looking at was Nara Orisora!

Did losing his right eye allow him to see the ghost?

Nara Orisora slowly walked toward the tombstone. He stood in front of Qi Hai with an eerie grin.

Two red demons were standing close to the tombstone. They looked exactly the same as the demons described in scriptures and ancient scrolls that were responsible for punishing people for the sins they had committed. They had horns on their foreheads, intimidating faces, sharp fangs, hands like claws, and chains on their feet!

The two demons were the ones punishing them. One of them was holding Qi Hai in place, while the other was grabbing his right arm. It was planning to rip his arm off!

“Stop it, Nara Orisora!”

A firm voice appeared as the old monk was at his wits’ end.

The old monk did recognize the voice. It belonged to one of the young travelers staying at the temple!

Nara Orisora slowly turned around. His eerie, dark gray eyes were staring at Ai Jiangtu.

His lips slightly curled upward as he said in a cold tone, “Are you poking your nose into someone else’s business… oh, I forgot that you can’t understand Japanese.”

“What happened to you and Miyata was pitiful, but trying to get your revenge by kidnapping people’s souls and turning them into demons is a wicked and abominable act!” snapped Ai Jiangtu, glaring at the cursed pattern.

“Try to stop me if you can, but unfortunately, you can’t even see me…” said Nara Orisora disdainfully.

Ai Jiangtu’s heart sank. Nara Orisora had nailed it. He was unable to see Nara Orisora. He could only estimate Nara Orisora’s position judging from the monks’ sufferings and the demon spirit’s voice.

“Stop it at…”

“AH!” Qi Hai screamed out in agony before Ai Jiangtu could finish his sentence.

Fresh blood splattered on the ground. Qi Hai’s right hand was torn off. His throat could no longer make any noise after all the screaming. His body was jerking wildly as blue veins surfaced all across it!

“Asshole!” Ai Jiangtu was infuriated. A great aura burst out from his body, knocking everything nearby away.

His will was lingering in his surroundings. Everything that his furious will came into contact with was shattered into pieces.

Nara Orisora was crueler than he had imagined!

“Nara Orisora, Nara Orisora!” Mo Fan’s shout came from behind Ai Jiangtu. Ai Jiangtu turned around and saw Mo Fan sprinting on the mountain path in his Blood Tabi. He was charging like a wild boar, leaving a trail of dust behind!

Mo Fan ran to the edge of the cursed pattern and saw Nara Orisora standing inside it. He was wearing a slightly different robe this time!

“Nara Orisora, I never thought you were that kind of a monk!

“When I first met you, I thought you’re a righteous bald donkey who will stick to your bottom line. Who knew you’re nothing but a psycho, using the vessel to keep your memory fragments and convince yourself that the whole world owed you justice, and you turned yourself into a detestable demon spirit. Miyata is already dead, yet you still did not spare her. You used her ghost to prey on the visitors of the temple! You’re a shameless, vicious, filthy, selfish, merciless, depraved monk; go to Hell and stay there forever!” Mo Fan was already full of rage. He pointed at Nara Orisora and cursed him soundly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The monks who were crying out in pain were relieved when they saw someone who seemed to be a Magician had come to save them.

Their eye was poked blind, and their right ears were already torn off. If they lost their hand too, they would die from loss of blood, even if they endured the pain.

“Enough!” Nara Orisora’s hair stood upright in rage, displaying his pale-white, terrifying face.

“Bald prick, I don’t care about your revenge, but hurry up and release my friends’ soul!” snapped Mo Fan, pointing at Nara Orisora.

Ai Jiangtu was startled. He nudged Mo Fan and said, “Aren’t you going to save the monks?”

“I’m not a member of the World Peace Association. Doesn’t Japan has their own exorcists, Ultraman, or Astro Boy to save them? I only care about Mu Ningxue and Zhao Manyan!” said Mu Ningxue honestly.

Were the monks seriously hoping that Mo Fan would save them when they were in the wrong in the first place? He had worn all kinds of red scarves when he was back in his country, and they still expected him to preserve peace here in Japan? What for!?

In simple words, if Nara Orisora was willing to let Zhao Manyan and Mu Ningxue go, he would let the past be forgotten!

“I’ve already refined their souls. Otherwise, where did you think the cursed pattern drawn with blood came from!” Nara Orisora did not show Mo Fan any respect at all. He spilled the beans straight away!

“Asshole, you’ve chosen to drink the forfeit when you could drink the toast instead! Do you really think your grandpa Mo Fan is just a foreign visitor? I’ve killed more than ten thousand demon creatures like you!” Mo Fan was infuriated.

How dare he use the energy of Mu Ningxue and Zhao Manyan’s souls to refine his harmful demon formation! It was likely that he had been using the energy from the kidnapped souls to do his evil deeds!

This Japanese monk was definitely not an honorable monk. Dating someone, kidnapping souls, murdering people, Mo Fan felt he was obliged to enforce justice on behalf of the heavens!

“Ai Jiangtu, stay away, I’m going to kill him!” Mo Fan waved his hand, implying that he was about to have a showdown with the demon spirit.

Ai Jiangtu could not interfere even if he wanted to. He could not even see Nara Orisora.

“Transcending Lightning!” Mo Fan summoned a few lightning bolts as he pointed his finger into the sky.

The lightning descended rapidly from the spacious sky with lightning arcs spreading in all directions. The thickest bolt was the quickest to fall with a blinding flash!

The purple-black lightning’s space-trembling effect rumbled in the area. The rocks on the ground turned into dust and floated in the air.

Nara Orisora was like a phantom. The truth was, he was floating around just like Miyata. His robe barely drifted in the wind, leaving several afterimages behind as he weaved through the gaps between the lightning strikes. When the lightning dissipated, not even the smallest spark had caught him.

“You think you’re so good at dodging? Try dodging this!” Mo Fan pointed at the sky with two hands to summon the Lightning Disaster!

“Try not to hurt the monks!” reminded Ai Jiangtu.

“I’ll leave them in your care. I have to kill the demon spirit first. Otherwise, Zhao Manyan and Mu Ningxue will be in danger if their souls lose too much energy!” snarled Mo Fan, slightly delaying the lightning.

Ai Jiangtu nodded. He raised his hands and quickly moved the monks with illusionary claws formed by his will away from the area Mo Fan was directing his lightning at.

Ai Jiangtu did not have time to worry about the monks. He simply grabbed them and tossed them away.

The plump monk who was in charge of the kitchen was in midair when he saw the enraged Mo Fan summoning a bunch of lightning strikes. The lightning was falling directly to the ground, but it turned into a giant web with lightning arcs spreading in all directions!

Nara Orisora had nowhere to escape to. He stood in the web of lightning, strong electricity conducted back and forth on him and leaving huge holes on his body. However, the holes did not bleed, nor was there any bone inside. The holes were empty and hollow.

In addition to that, the wounds soon recovered and mended slowly. He looked exactly the same as he was before.

It felt like punching the surface of water. Even though it had created a huge ripple, the water would soon return to normal!

Mo Fan was dumbfounded. He had fought against creatures with outstanding recovery ability, yet he had never seen a creature that could recover so quickly. Creatures like demon spirits were very strange indeed!

Nara Orisora did not seem to be in a good mood. He coldly ordered the two red-faced demons who had just torn Qi Hai’s arm off, “Kill him!”

The red-faced demons turned around. Their gray eyes stared right at Mo Fan. One of them even hurled Qi Hai’s bloody arm in Mo Fan’s direction.

The red-faced demons were extremely powerful. Anything they tossed could easily smack a person half-dead. Mo Fan quickly dodged aside. The arm smashed a hole in the rock beside Ai Jiangtu’s feet.

“Can’t you see the two demons?” said Mo Fan to Ai Jiangtu.

Ai Jiangtu shook his head. He could not see anything, apart from the blood splattering across the place and the monks crawling on the ground…

“And you call yourself a Curse Element Magician!” grumbled Mo Fan.

The Demon Spirits were obviously not a kind of undead. It was more suitable to categorize them as Curse Element creatures. Their capabilities, illusions, and formations were related to the Curse Element. Ai Jiangtu was supposed to be familiar with them.

“Take those monks away, I don’t care about their lives, but I wouldn’t want to kill them by accident!” said Mo Fan.

The monks were lying all across the place, preventing Mo Fan from being able to utilize his full strength. Mo Fan immediately ran to the other side when the two red-faced demons approached him, giving Ai Jiangtu a chance to save the monks.

Nara Orisora was unable to stop Ai Jiangtu’s Space Element. Not long after, Ai Jiangtu had moved all the monks out from the Cursed pattern.

As Mo Fan was kiting the red-faced demons, he realized that neither Nara Orisora nor the red-faced demons would leave the cursed pattern. He immediately recalled how Miyata had asked him for names.

It seemed like creatures like demon spirits were unable to harm someone directly. They had to rely on curses or construct a cursed formation with a significant amount of time and effort!

Although the cursed pattern had allowed the demon spirits to inflict damage to him, it also allowed Mo Fan to attack them too. Otherwise, Mo Fan’s spells were totally useless against them!

Nara Orisora had completely revealed his true appearance. His handsome face had turned ghastly like a monster. He had waited a long time to get his revenge today, but the two Magicians had dragged all the monks out of the cursed pattern. His plan to get revenge was now in vain. He immediately directed the hatred that had accumulated over the past few years to Mo Fan!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The red-faced demons were influenced by Nara Orisora’s emotions. It was likely that the two ugly demons with horns and chains on their feet were showing the true appearance of demon spirits. The demons revealed their blue fangs as they began tearing at Qi Hai, whom Ai Jiangtu could not save in time. The demons even tore the bones out of his flesh. It was hard to believe that Nara Orisora was a healing monk before, judging by his cruelty.

Qi Hai’s cry of agony echoed across Manying Mountain. His body parts were scattered across the place. It was worse than having his limbs torn off by five horses.

“It’s your turn next!” Nara Orisora stood on the tombstone and snapped at Mo Fan while pointing at Qi Hai’s body parts.

“Let my friends go, and I’ll let you die a quick death!” Mo Fan was not someone to be messed with, either!

Since Ai Jiangtu had already saved the monks, Mo Fan no longer needed to conceal his strength. He let out a disdainful smirk when he saw the two red-faced demons trying to corner him and rip his arms off. The demon spirits were only abusing the fact that the others could not see them. Once they were spotted, they were far from being able to pose a threat to anyone.

Not only were the two red-faced demons extremely slow, they were solely relying on their brute strength to attack. Mo Fan could easily dodge the attacks with Fleeing Shadow!

After creating some distance, Mo Fan stomped his foot and drew a black shadow pattern. Six Giant Shadow Spikes appeared in front of him. With a wave of his hand, the Giant Shadow Spikes flew right at the red-faced demons, three spikes for each of them. The spikes sealed their throat, nailed their waist, and suppressed their right leg. The shadow rope produced by the spikes wrapped tightly around the red-faced demons.

Mo Fan had no time to waste with the two demons. He shifted his gaze as his left and right hands burst aflame!

He threw his left fist forward, firing a giant Fiery Fist at the tombstone. The fan-shaped flames devoured half of the cursed pattern.

Nara Orisora was still floating in the air. His black figure hovered above Mo Fan and pointed his finger. It emitted a bloody glow around, as if he was performing some demonic magic!

There was no way Mo Fan would give Nara Orisora a chance to cast his demonic spell. The flames burning on his right hand were his true killing blow. Since Nara Orisora was right above him, he immediately threw his right fist forward!

Fire in the form of dragons exploded forth. The fiery dragon pillars soaring into the sky were a great contrast to Nara Orisora’s petty blood-light. Nara Orisora did not expect Mo Fan to possess such a formidable cultivation despite being of similar age to him. He quickly stopped his channeling and dodged aside.

As the fiery dragons rose into the sky, the spreading flames still caught Nara Orisora, setting him aflame as he was knocked high up into the sky by Mo Fan’s punch!

“Telekinesis: Illusionary Claw!”

Mo Fan gathered his focus, pulsing with a deep silver glow. Nara Orisora was just knocked flying by Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist when the Illusionary Claw dragged him back!

Falling Strike!

The claw dragged Nara Orisora toward the ground with great strength.

The impact was quite heavy. Nara Orisora was obviously not the kind of demon creature with outstanding physical capabilities. He was starting to lose consciousness when he slammed into the ground.

“Thunderbolt: Wild Strikes!”

Mo Fan was already an expert at casting Intermediate Spells. He immediately followed up with lightning strikes when Nara Orisora was thrown to the ground. Purple-black lightning dragons struck Nara Orisora and the ground and turned into lightning chains. Even the two red-faced demons who were sealed in their places were hurt by the lightning!

“I thought you were better than that; it’s time to put an end to this… Sky-Flame Funeral!”

Mo Fan had no intention of wasting his time. He immediately used his ultimate.

Blazing red flames burst to life on Mo Fan’s palms!

At his command, the densely-packed Stars in the Fire Galaxy were aligned quickly. A bright burning path formed between them as they reached certain positions. As more Star Patterns were constructed, they combined into a spectacular Fire Constellation, signaling that an enormous amount of energy was about to be poured out!

“Eat this… f**k me!”

Mo Fan was indulged in the destructive aura coming from his hands when a little accident took place. The two hundred and fifty-sixth Star was connected to a wrong Star, which caused the spectacular Star Constellation to collapse within an instant!

The Star Patterns gradually disappeared as the Star Orbits dimmed. The flames engulfing Mo Fan dissipated as soon as he made the mistake!

The Star Constellation disappeared, leaving Mo Fan standing there blankly. The expression on his face was worse than the one he would wear after eating a fly.

The breaking of the Advanced Spell was a huge contrast compared to the Intermediate Spells Mo Fan had cast so adeptly. Even Nara Orisora was stunned for a moment. In fact, Nara Orisora was quite scared of Advanced Spells!

“Damn it, how could I make a mistake at a time like this!” Mo Fan was annoyed at himself and anxious.

An Advanced Spell required three hundred and forty-three Stars. It consisted of seven Star Patterns, each constructed with forty-nine Stars. Mo Fan had a high chance of completing it if he took his time, but if he quickened his pace, it would significantly increase the complexity. Mo Fan had yet to fully master the process!

Nara Orisora was not stupid. He immediately floated away when he saw Mo Fan’s mistake. He placed his hand by his lips and began to utter some chants.

It looked like he was chanting some scriptures, yet the tone he was making sounded rather evil. Mo Fan could see two bloody rays coming out of his palms and shining upon the two red-faced demons.

The two red-faced demons immediately cried out wildly as if they had gone into a frenzy. They were tearing their own flesh with their claws!

The lumps of meat fell to the ground. They were simply tearing themselves apart!

Mo Fan had no idea what the two red-faced demons were doing, yet when he saw the two familiar faces after the demons tore open their heads, great rage erupted in Mo Fan’s heart!

The two faces were none other than Mu Ningxue and Zhao Manyan!

“I know you’re using some kind of illusion. These demons are definitely not them, but your filthy act has indeed made me mad! If I don’t beat the shit out of you today, my surname won’t be Fan anymore!”

Mo Fan was still wearing the Focus Necklace. He would not be fooled easily by a petty trick trying to use his weakness to confuse his senses!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had felt pity for Miyata and Nara Orisora when he saw the memory fragments in the wooden clapper, but no longer felt the same way now!

A righteous man would never abuse the Curse Element to harm innocent people, even if he had the ability to do so. The demon spirit was trying to use his relationship with Zhao Manyan and Mu Ningxue to mess with his mind, just so he would make a mistake again when casting spells. Mo Fan was utterly disgusted by it!

A pitiful person would have detestable parts too. The saying was absolutely right!

“Little Flame Belle! Possess!”

Mo Fan was extremely furious. The Rose Flame that had perfectly merged with his body grew restless.

Not long after the Rose Flame engulfed Mo Fan, a brown flame emerged. It was the Calamity Fire, the purest yet most imperious flame in the world. Since Little Flame Belle was already bound to Mo Fan’s spirit, being possessed by her simply granted him an endless supply of fire.

It felt like Mo Fan had just put on a burning robe. Even his hair was standing upright. Fierce flames sprouted under his feet, launching him like a burning arrow towards Nara Orisora!

Mo Fan was utterly reckless. The two red-faced demons that had disguised themselves as Mu Ningxue and Zhao Manyan tried to stop him, yet they were knocked flying by the flames engulfing Mo Fan.

Nara Orisora quickly backed off after losing the protection of the red-faced demons, withdrawing temporarily.

Nara Orisora was in a panic. He initially thought Mo Fan was only an ordinary Magician from China who had come to Japan to train himself. To Nara Orisora’s surprise, not only was Mo Fan an Advanced Magician, his strength was also different than most Magicians. His entire body was full of explosive power!

“Trying to run away? Did you ask my fists for permission!?”

Mo Fan came to a stop, leaving trails of scorching waves on the ground. He did not purposely aim the Fiery Fist at Nara Orisora, as he knew the demon spirit was still within its coverage.

Flames burst forward and took the form of a ferocious wolf in the middle of the flight, an enormous, enraged lupine ramming forward. The small Cursed Pattern stood no chance against it!

Little Flame Belle’s training lately had been a great success. She could now transform into a giant wolf. Her appearance was basically the same as the Swift Star Wolf, yet she was around eight times bigger than it was. When Mo Fan combined the two types of flames, he never thought the result would be a ferocious wolf charging forward. The flames were even stronger than the Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons!

The fiery wolf left Nara Orisora with no escape. The ground it sprinted across was scorched black. The enormous beast quickly devoured the tiny Nara Orisora.

Nara Orisora’s silhouette clearly turned slightly fainter after the collision and the burn.

Mo Fan had noticed it too. He saw the demon spirit turning fainter when it was recovering after being hit before. The demon spirit must be something like a phantom. Its body would dissipate after receiving a certain amount of damage.

“You have come to stop me when you don’t even understand anything. Do you really think you can kill me? I’m invincible!” The smile on Nara Orisora’s contorted after receiving the serious blow.

His face turned red with bones growing out on his forehead. His fangs were exposed in the now too.

The demon spirit was basically a monster. No matter how respectable and pitiful he was, or the fact that he used to be a kind monk in the past, he had turned into a demon with a strong lust to kill.

“I really don’t understand why you’re still keeping your appearance as a monk. You’ve used Miyata’s spirit to lure people into your trap. You are using revenge as an excuse to acquire more power. Look at you, your appearance is only so twisted because you’ve taken so many innocent lives!

“I suggest you get rid of the curse and return the souls you’ve kidnapped to the people before my sword is ignited!”

Invincible? Did he think Mo Fan was too stupid to observe the truth?

“I don’t need you to teach me what to do! Everyone who tries to stop me shall die!” roared Nara Orisora.

A malevolent blood curse appeared on Nara Orisora’s body, with red strings like hair spreading in all directions while writhing wildly.

The dense, blood-colored hair converged on Mo Fan, yet he remained standing in the same spot.

The little trick did not pose any threat to Mo Fan. His burning aura of the Rose Flame and the Calamity Fire could easily burn the cursed hair to ashes.

Mo Fan had raised his hand high up in the air when he was talking. Fierce flames followed his hand and flowed up into the form of a long sword.

The burning runes inside the fiery sword were shining. The outer layer’s teeth were swaying. The sword was an impossible ten meters long!

Mo Fan was holding the hilt. He glared coldly at Nara Orisora, who was struggling to escape the range of the attack.

Demon spirits did not have blood or flesh. Their curses were hard to defend against, yet they were just mere phantoms formed by hatred!

“Flame Sword!” The giant ten-meter fiery sword slashed forward in a huge arc.

Nara Orisora’s cursed hair was split in half without any resistance. The sword cut the demon spirit perfectly in half, starting from its head. Its residue dissipated to the two sides with the fierce flames.

The fiery sword was incredibly powerful. Nara Orisora’s bisected body tried to join together again, yet it was so faint that it was almost invisible.

The flames lunged at the demon spirit mercilessly and burned what was left of it into ashes. Nara Orisora’s hate-filled eyes lingered in the flames, just to remember Mo Fan’s face.

If he was still alive, he could remember Mo Fan’s face and try to get his revenge as a ghost… yet he was already a ghost now. The unique Vessel had only granted him a slightly different skin and power compared to other spirits of the deceased. The fiery blow was enough to completely erase his existence from the world!

Some remaining flames were still burning on the ground. A long smoldering scar was left on Manying Mountain. Even the tombstone was thoroughly destroyed.

Mo Fan looked at Nara Orisora’s soul dispersing in the burning air. He did not let the Little Loach Pendant collect the disappearing soul.

Once the demon spirit was slain, the curse would disappear on its own, too. It was what Mo Fan had hoped for!

At the very least, he did not let Mu Ningxue down…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

The monks were admitted to the hospital. Japan had its own City Hunters too, but since the problem had been resolved, the monks did not want any more trouble.

Back at Yanming Temple, Mo Fan hurried his way to where Mu Ningxue was resting and saw her awake. Nan Rongni was feeding her some aromatic mushroom soup.

Mo Fan smiled when he learned that she was fine.

“Strange, I thought I was sleeping for a long time. Why is the sun just setting when I woke up?” asked Zhao Manyan in a confused voice.

It turned out that the guy was still clueless about what happened. Mo Fan was too lazy to explain it to him.

“When we came back, the people whose souls were kidnapped before woke up too. However, their souls were separated from their bodies for too long. Their souls had lost too much energy. Even if they managed to wake up, their bodies would be extremely weak, and their lifespan would be reduced too. It is difficult to revert the damage done to a human soul,” said Jiang Yu.

“They always say Japan has lots of ghosts; we already stumbled into one, even though we’re staying at a temple. Such luck!”

“The Magic Association of Xixiong City must be investigating it now. They will soon discover that we’re here illegally. We should leave as soon as possible. We’re still quite far away from Tokyo,” said Nanyu.

Xixiong City was the westernmost place in Japan, while Tokyo was located in the east. They basically had to travel across all of Japan to reach there. It was quite a long journey without taking a plane.

—

The team was prepared to leave Xixiong City early the next morning. Nan Rongni was walking around holding a bowl of medicine in her hand.

“Did anyone see Zhao Manyan? He hasn’t drunk his medicine yet,” asked Nan Rongni.

“Nope, did he seriously go missing again early in the morning? Damn, don’t tell me something happened to him again?” Mo Fan’s heart tightened.

“Isn’t he right there!?” Jiang Yu pointed at the path leading to the back of the mountain.

Zhao Manyan hurriedly returned from the back of the mountain and regrouped with the others. Gong Yu who was still holding a grudge against him snapped coldly as the team had wasted some time waiting for his return, “Can you not run off for no reason? Do you seriously think we’re on vacation?”

Zhao Manyan was too lazy to talk to Gong Yu. He sidled over to Mo Fan and nudged him, “Hey, I have something to tell you, I had a very long dream last night, it’s related to the temple in the back of the mountain. The dream was too complicated, so I can’t really explain it all to you, but I feel like everything has happened for a reason…”

“Err, didn’t anyone tell you what happened?” said Mo Fan.

“What happened… (sigh), don’t worry about it now, I’ve gone straight to the back of the mountain after I woke up, guess what I found there?” said Zhao Manyan in a mysterious tone. His eyes were flickering with joy.

“I bet you found a wooden clapper with carvings of some ancient words on it,” replied Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded. He raised his thumb at Mo Fan and said, “You’re a f**king genius, how did you guess it? It’s a wooden clapper indeed. The place was exactly the same as what I saw in my dream, so I took the wooden clapper with me. I’m sure that it’s a piece of treasure!”

Saying this, Zhao Manyan slowly opened up a piece of cloth he kept in his pocket. Inside it was the strange wooden clapper vessel in the run-down temple!

Mo Fan was shocked. He immediately took a few steps back.

Zhao Manyan was even more confused. Why was he scared of a wooden clapper?

“Holy crap, how did you take it?” Mo Fan stared at the eerie wooden clapper vessel in disbelief.

“How did I take it? With my hand of course… (sigh), I know it’s wrong to steal it, but the place is quite run-down. It’s better for me to take it then leaving it there to rust away. Besides, I feel like it’s calling me when I was asleep. On top of that, it’s somehow related to the dream I had. I think… I’m predestined to find it!” said Zhao Manyan in a serious voice.

Mo Fan was having difficulty interpreting the situation. The truth was, they had gone back to the run-down temple after dealing with Nara Orisora, to decide what they were going to do with the vessel. To their surprise, the wooden clapper’s Magic Lock was as strong as it was before. They could not do anything to it at all.

They could not even touch the wooden clapper vessel, let alone take it away.

To his surprise, Zhao Manyan had a dream about it and even took it with him!

Was the Magic Lock not stopping him?

“Nanyu, can you check this out?” Mo Fan felt something was not right. He quickly called Nanyu over.

Nanyu did some checks and realized that the wooden clapper vessel was bound to Zhao Manyan’s soul. However, she could not tell if it was because it had taken Zhao Manyan’s soul away before, or because the vessel had lost its previous owner…

Mo Fan tried to touch the wooden clapper. As he thought, the yellow forbidding force emerged again and rejected him strongly. Zhao Manyan was so shocked that he even threw the wooden clapper away.

When Zhao Manyan went to pick it up again, it had returned to normal without posing any threat.

Nanyu frowned as she fell into deep thought.

She looked at Mo Fan and asked him to follow her to a corner.

“What’s going on? Is there something wrong with the wooden clapper? I feel like it’s quite evil; maybe it’s better to leave it here,” said Mo Fan.

“First of all, I think the wooden clapper has chosen its new owner as Zhao Manyan, whose soul was kidnapped first. I believe it had something to do with the dream he had, but I think he wasn’t dreaming. It was his soul going deep into the wooden clapper, and somehow he has acquired its approval,” said Nanyu.

The Magic Lock was not only effective against Mo Fan, it activated when everyone else tried to touch it, including Mu Ningxue.

“Is that even possible?” Mo Fan was left speechless.

Did Zhao Manyan seriously obtain a strange piece of treasure just by sleeping?

“Normally, it’s more likely that you’d become the wooden clapper’s new owner since you’ve killed the demon spirit inside it. However, from what I can tell, the wooden clapper is actually repelling more… maybe I shouldn’t say repel, I think it’s afraid of you. From what I know, the wooden clapper most likely gave birth to the demon spirit since it has been ownerless for a very long time. The person who defeated the demon spirit would usually become its new owner. Instead, it’s rejecting you more strongly than before. The only explanation is, you already own a Lifetime Vessel, and its level is higher than the wooden clapper!” Nanyu stared at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was startled. He was going to look at the Little Loach Pendant on his neck subconsciously, but decided against it when he saw Nanyu’s sharp gaze.

“Am I right, Mo Fan?” Nanyu’s lips curled upward slightly. The expression in her eyes felt like she had completely read his mind.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As a matter of fact, Nanyu was no longer interested in the wooden clapper. She was more interested in Mo Fan’s vessel now. Otherwise, she would not have dragged him to the side.

The wooden clapper was a high-level vessel. No one in the team had managed to crack its Magic Lock. It had also given birth to a terrifying demon spirit in just a few years, clearly implying how extraordinary it was.

And yet, such a vessel seemed to be scared of Mo Fan. The only explanation was that Mo Fan owned a stronger vessel!

“I’ve mentioned it before, a real vessel has its own soul. They even have their own temper, character, and can relate to their master’s feelings. These vessels are grouped into different levels, too, with auras and presence similar to creatures with outstanding lineages. The wooden clapper vessel strongly rejects you. It doesn’t let you touch it, even after you’ve killed the demon spirit. That means that it’s scared of something you have. I guess your vessel has the ability to devour other things, so the wooden clapper is only rejecting you to protect itself!” Nanyu’s eyes glittered as she was talking about vessels.

She was extremely passionate about Magic Equipment. She was initially very excited when she had the chance to inspect the wooden clapper, but she ended up discovering a greater secret that Mo Fan was trying to hide!

Mo Fan’s vessel must be extremely powerful!

“Hehe… are you being serious now, I’m nothing but a povo. Unlike you guys with wealthy and formidable backgrounds, the only thing that the Mo Family left for me is my handsome face, which so many girls have fallen in love with. There’s no way I would have a Spirit-grade vessel or Soul-grade vessel,” Mo Fan laughed hollowly, trying to keep his secret.

-Damn it, is this Nanyu a freak? How was she able to deduce the existence of the Little Loach Pendant?- Mo Fan admitted that the Little Loach Pendant was indeed interested in eating the wooden clapper, but the wooden clapper was not something he could easily mess with, either. The strong Magic Lock was not giving him any chance to devour it.

“Fine, I know there’s no way you will tell me such a great secret easily. I still haven’t understood everything about the wooden clapper. I bet I won’t able to learn anything even if you showed me your precious toy now. However, I believe you’ll need my help one day, when you want to know its secrets,” Nanyu was well-behaved. She did not ask him any more.

Mo Fan uttered a relieved sigh. He had never told anyone about the Little Loach Pendant. Miss Tangyue had seen the pendant before, and was still unaware of its unbelievable ability to refine Soul Essences.

“By the way, aren’t you curious why you’re the only one that can see the wooden clapper’s demon spirit?” said Nanyu with a faint smile.

“Mmm?” Mo Fan raised his eyebrows. Somehow, he felt like Nanyu had turned into a cunning fox. He had to be careful not to expose his secret.

“I think your precious treasure is somehow related to the wooden clapper. You can visit the island in Hangzhou’s West Lake if you have the time. Check the drawings on the wall, you might figure out something,” said Nanyu.

“I’ve been there,” replied Mo Fan.

“How about Tianshan Mountain?” said Nanyu.

“Not yet, what can I find there?” Mo Fan was intrigued.

“The same ancient words. Such a pity, I haven’t found the translation of the ancient words. Otherwise, we would be able to decipher it easily,” said Nanyu.

“Oh, alright, I’ll visit it when I have the chance,” Mo Fan nodded.

Nanyu giggled when she saw Mo Fan’s reaction.

This prick, he was reluctant to admit that he had a vessel just a moment ago, but his reaction when she provided him with some clues had already revealed the truth.

“Oh right, what do you mean by lifetime vessel just then?” asked Mo Fan.

“Lifetime vessels… they are a unique kind of vessel that can fully merge with human souls. Others won’t be able to take it away, unless they crush their master’s soul to pieces. Someone can only have one lifetime vessel in their whole lives. The wooden clapper is a lifetime vessel, too. You already have one, so Zhao Manyan was lucky enough to claim it. But then again, maybe the vessel is more suitable for Zhao Manyan. These intelligent vessels can pick their own master, yet it didn’t choose Mu Ningxue, who’s stronger,” Nanyu told him.

Mo Fan nodded, although he had only understood half of the explanation. When it came to magic equipment or weapons, his level of understanding was similar to primary school students. He had no clue what Nanyu was saying when she was explaining the deeper stuff.

Speaking of which, even though he was the reason that Zhao Manyan had gotten into trouble, the man had gotten a lifetime vessel in return. Zhao Manyan should be grateful to him instead!

——

Everyone in the team was busy packing their luggage. The monks were generous enough. They had bought everyone on the team a train ticket to Tokyo.

The train happened to be traveling along the shoreline. Mo Fan poked his head out of the window and enjoyed the scenery as they left Xixiong City.

“By the way, if the cliff close to the sea is in that direction, doesn’t that mean this part of the sea is where the island that Miyata mentioned was supposed to be?” Jiang Yu asked Mo Fan who was sitting beside him.

The window was not big, and Mo Fan had basically extended his body out of it. He simply blocked the vision of the people sitting in the same row.

Mo Fan subconsciously looked toward the sea when he heard Jiang Yu’s words. The area pretty much led offshore to the Pacific Ocean. However, the mountain where Yanming Temple was located extended past the shoreline and blocked off the view. Only those on the cliff or passengers on the trains that were traveling on the same line could barely see this side of the ocean.

The railway was about to take a turn soon. Mo Fan could only take a glimpse of the ocean.

The truth was, when Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu were in the illusion, they had already checked the area, but they did not see any island nearby.

The mist early in the morning had yet to disperse fully. The sea looked somewhat blurry in the distance.

The train sounded its horn, signaling the passengers on board that it was making a turn.

The wind blew on Mo Fan’s face. He indifferently took a glimpse of the sea while he was inhaling the fresh air through the window!

His eyes widened as soon as he took a glimpse. There was indeed an island in the mist on the ocean!

Mo Fan was wondering if he had imagined it. He quickly focused and peered into the distance. However, before he could take a closer look, the train had driven into the mountain. Everything darkened when the train entered the tunnel…

The tunnel was quite long. When he finally was able to see outside again, he could no longer see the same view of the ocean.

“Did I imagine it?” Mo Fan returned to his seat with a blank expression.

“What’s wrong?” asked Jiang Yu.

“I think… I think I just saw the non-existent island that Miyata mentioned,” Mo Fan replied in disbelief.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

…

The train gradually moved inland from the shoreline. Green mountains rose on both sides of the railway. The mountains in Japan were quite clean, and the air quality was better than expected. Mo Fan had gotten used to breathing the haze in Shanghai and had a hard time adapting to the fresh air.

Mo Fan preferred big cities, with modern buildings and magnificent skyscrapers. Mountains like these usually had lots of demon creatures, despite their elegant appearance. If anyone in the team suggested staying at a Japanese temple again, he would simply beat the crap out of the person. It was not like they were too poor to afford the luxurious hotels. Didn’t they know how scary Japanese temples were?!

Taking a train was a lot better than traveling on a ship; at least he could fall asleep easily when he was tired.

Mo Fan was tired, and he decided to take a nap. When he woke up, he heard Jiang Yu chuckling.

“I think he imagined it, we already confirmed it, there’s no island there,” said Mu Tingying.

Mo Fan woke up reluctantly. He was not in the mood to argue with them. If he really wanted to find out if the island really existed, he could easily hop off the train and go look for it. He did not care if the island was real or not.

“We are going to Osaka,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“Aren’t we going straight to Tokyo?” asked Zhao Manyan.

“The advisors specifically told us to have some friendly duels with the famous institutes here in Japan. There’s a national embassy in Osaka. We have to overcome the challenge before making our way to Tokyo,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“We’re going to challenge them? That sounds fun!” Mo Fan was excited.

“Humph, you’re only a substitute. I don’t think you have a spot in the duels,” rebuked Zu Jiming.

“How far are we from Osaka?”

“We’re almost there.”

“Japan has lots of sea monsters. I heard the shoreline at Osaka is an infamous maritime battlefield. We should go take a look if we have the time. I heard the battles are quite spectacular,” said Jiang Yu.

Osaka was not peaceful; its situation was similar to China’s Ancient Capital. Large-scale battles were quite common here.

The sea monsters were one of the greatest races among the demon creatures. Japan was even more disaster-prone than China. Every structure was built with great strength. Even if some sea monsters invaded the city, they could not necessarily destroy the buildings.

Osaka was relatively fine. The battles in Tokyo were the most intense.

Although Tokyo was a modern city and Japan’s capital, it was also the biggest maritime battlefield. Different tribes of sea monsters would try to invade the city during the day and night, yet they never made it past Tokyo or Osaka’s defensive perimeter. As a result, the huge number of corpses of the demon creatures had given Tokyo and Osaka lots of resources.

It was safe to say that these sea monsters had handily increased the GDP of the two cities!

{TL Note: GDP = Gross domestic product.}

“We’ll definitely visit the maritime battlefield in Tokyo. We won’t be going to the one in Osaka. We’re only there to challenge the institute,” stated Ai Jiangtu firmly.

“Yeah, the battlefield in Tokyo is known as one of the Four Great Maritime Battlefields of the world. The one in Osaka isn’t as fascinating. Let’s hurry up and challenge the national embassy, so that we can go and witness some spectacular battles!” said Jiang Yu.

“Are they really that spectacular?” asked Mo Fan.

“Not only are they spectacular, do you have any idea how long the shoreline at Tokyo is? You can pretty much see sea monsters along the entire shoreline. Servant-class, Warrior-level, even Commander-level creatures. The number of demon creatures in the sea is overwhelming, especially the Pacific Ocean, which has countless packs of sea monsters. It’s quite common to find tribes of them, but the sea monster kingdoms are the real scary deal.

“Listen to me; they don’t send the sea monsters ashore to invade human territories or anything like that. They have no interest in occupying lands at all. It’s because their population…oh, their numbers are just too many. The sea monsters are sent here to die. If they managed to steal some resources, it would allow the tribes to live luxuriously for a few days, but it doesn’t matter even if the sea monsters have failed to secure anything. Sea monsters from the over-populated tribes fight until their death. It’s a twisted way to control their population, like birth control!” Jiang Yu was excited when the topic was about demon creatures.

“That doesn’t sound right, the news and media always say we have won battles under someone’s lead, eliminating the threats posed by the sea monsters and maintaining the peace of the ocean…” said Mu Tingying.

“Bullshit, do you really believe anything the media is saying? Trust me, the number of sea creatures is ten times, or a hundred times the human population. If they really liked our lands, they would have colonized us ages ago. The kingdoms of demon creatures on land is nothing compared to the kingdoms of demon creatures in the sea!” said Jiang Yu.

“You’re saying it like us humans are weak and petty; we would have gone extinct if what you said is true.”

“I don’t know why, but I’m getting excited all of a sudden,” said Mo Fan.

“There’s definitely something wrong with you.”

“Do you think I learned magic so I can sit down and have a peaceful talk with the demon creatures while enjoying some tea? All I want to do is to beat the crap out of them!”

Gong Yu immediately poured a cold bucket of water on Mo Fan. “Aren’t you the boastful one? Just don’t wet your pants when you see it when the time comes. Pretty sure you’re willing to be their slave or call them Papa, worse than having a peaceful talk with them.”

Mo Fan chuckled when he heard Gong Yu’s remark.

Did Gong Yu just say that Mo Fan had never seen a spectacular battle before? Mo Fan was afraid that he would scare the shit out of Gong Yu if he told him the truth. The calamity of the Ancient Capital, which had yet to fully calm down, was no doubt scarier than the battlefield in Tokyo. The swarming zombies, the phantoms flying in the sky, and skeletons stacking up like mountains… If Mo Fan was not scared of them, why would he be scared of the monsters in the ocean?

He was looking forward to setting up a huge teppanyaki once he arrived at the battlefield, to cook the sea monsters on the spot. Weren’t the sea monsters just a slightly stronger bunch of seafood?

“We have almost reached Osaka!” Jiang Shaoxu was not too interested in fighting the sea monsters. The only thing she looked forward to was the food and shops.

She was a frequent visitor to Japan. Otherwise, why would she be so fluent in Japanese? Her seductive look when she was speaking Japanese always gave Mo Fan the urge to ask for seeds.

“Come, I’ll bring you all to enjoy some delicacies!” Jiang Shaoxu was restless. She dragged the girls along with her and proceeded to her food paradise.

Osaka was indeed a food paradise; it would take more than a few days to try every dessert, quick bite, and snack here.

The girls in the team were all foodies. They completely forgot they had come to Osaka solely to challenge the institute, and quickly disappeared into the train station. They did not want any of the boys following them, saying that it would disrupt the romantic atmosphere…

“Are they serious? Are we going to challenge the national embassy with just the few of us?” Mo Fan lacked the motivation when he saw the girls leave like birds flying away.

“The national team mostly consists of university students. Are you seriously worrying that there are no girls there?” said Zhao Manyan.

“You’re right, I almost forgot our mission is to spread our seeds across the world!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The location of the national embassy in Osaka was quite interesting. It was on top of a place called Huwang Mountain around eight kilometers away from the shoreline.

{TL Note: Huwang Mountain is a fictional place. Huwang in Chinese means staring at one another.}

Huwang Mountain was actually made of two mountains that had remarkably similar steep and jagged slopes. The roads up the mountain consisted of rapid turns, lots of them were a hundred and eighty degrees turns.

The national embassy was located at the top of the mountain. It was called the Twin Guardian Towers. From afar, they looked like two ash-gray castles at the top of the mountain, with a pathway hanging loosely between the twin towers. The roads only led to one of the towers, thus the pathway was the only way to the second tower.

The Twin Guardian Towers were quite well known both locally and internationally. Mo Fan and his team never thought the national embassy was located here. It gave them the chance to witness Japan’s remarkable architecture.

“The Twin Guardian Towers are like observatories. Looking to the south, you’ll see the entire maritime battlefield here in Osaka. It’s the reason why many generals live here too… what a surprise, Japan’s national embassy is quite impressive!” exclaimed Jiang Yu.

—

The team soon arrived at the West Guardian Tower. The building’s architecture was indeed spectacular, but in Mo Fan’s eyes, the castle with pointy eaves and roof tiles was basically a combination of the eastern and western ../styles. He did not find it special.

They approached the walls made of stone. Two Japanese Magicians clothed like samurai were guarding the entrance. Their gaze sharpened when they saw the group of young adults, acting as if they had entered a prohibited area.

“Hey, you guys are from China, right?” asked a young woman dressed in a kimono, an umbrella in her hand. She sounded like she was interrogating them.

She was speaking in English, thus everyone could understand her.

The woman in kimono trotted up to them. Normally, a kimono would easily highlight the friendliness and gentleness of a Japanese woman, but the one standing in front of them was far from friendly. She closed the umbrella and stuck it in the ground while pointing her other hand at them.

“How did you know we are from China?” Mo Fan was slightly confused, as Chinese and Japanese pretty much looked alike. The woman did not hear them converse in Chinese either, why was she confident that they were Chinese? Couldn’t they be Koreans?

“Visitors from China never obey the rules. Didn’t you see the warning at the bottom of the mountain saying no visitors were allowed? Can’t you read!” The woman in kimono turned sideways and straightened her figure. Her tall wooden clogs made her look relatively tall. The gaze directed at Mo Fan and his team was filled with pride and disdain.

“Miss, we aren’t visitors,” said Mo Fan.

“This place doesn’t welcome Chinese who want to work here to get their visas either, leave now. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind tossing you down myself!” the woman declared arrogantly.

Mo Fan was annoyed when he heard the biased remark from the woman.

The faces of Ai Jiangtu, Gong Yu, Zhou Xu, Zhao Manyan, Zu Jiming, and the others darkened, too. Everyone in the team was a talented candidate specifically chosen from their respective institutes in China. If there was anything, each of them would have their own pride among people of the same age group.

Not only did this Japanese woman who appeared out of nowhere look down on them, she had grudge against Chinese people, too. She was acting like Japan was a sacred place, and people of their country liked to stick up to their ass!

“Calm down, everyone calm down, let me talk to her nicely,” advised Mo Fan when he saw the others about to lose their temper.

The woman in kimono was furious when she saw they not leaving. She pointed at them and snapped, “The Twin Guardian Towers is a sacred place in Osaka. Please don’t bring your filthy air here, leave at once.”

“You dumb bitch, who the hell did you just call filthy? I swear I’ll f**king tear your dumbass towers down now! Show some f**king respect!” Mo Fan pointed at the woman and cursed.

The others looked at Mo Fan with blank faces. Didn’t he ask them to calm down just a second ago? He was scolding so fiercely now. Wasn’t the scene changing a bit too quick?

“What did you just say? I dare you to repeat it!” The woman’s chest heaved with anger.

“You dumb bitch!” cursed Mo Fan.

The woman in kimono threw her umbrella aside and said coldly, “Not that one!”

“Show some respect!” said Mo Fan.

“Not that one either,” the woman slowly reached her hand over to the back of her neck to tie her hair up.

When her hair was still down, it was hard to see her face. However, as she tied her hair up, she revealed her attractive face. She was definitely a gorgeous beauty. Her silver earrings perfectly set off her smooth skin!

“I’ll tear your dumbass towers down!” Mo Fan was never scared of anything. Since the arrogant woman wanted to hear it again, he would not mind repeating it.

Who asked her to act all tough and disrespectful, acting like the Japanese dynasty was looking down at some Chinese thug? They were asked to come here to challenge the national embassy, yet the woman had taken the initiative to humiliate them before they had the chance to kick down the door of their national embassy!

“Humph!” The woman in kimono had finished tying her hair up. She added with an unfriendly tone, “You’re going to regret it!”

The temperature of the air dropped all of a sudden. The shiny marble path under the woman’s feet began to crawl with strange vines.

More vines began to appear and intertwine into buds over a meter wide. The buds blossomed like Chinese bellflowers and scattered under the woman, lifting her off the ground!

The number of buds formed with the vines increased rapidly. With a groan, the plants grew even faster and covered the whole soccer field-sized area in front of the West Guardian Tower!

“Chihaya, stop it!” a hoarse voice came from the West Guardian Tower.

The woman in kimono was so furious that she had turned icy. From her personality, it was obvious that she was the kind that would not care about the consequences. However, when the voice repeated itself, demanding that she stop, her Empress of the Forest aura quickly dissipated.

The plants covering the ground wilted away quickly. They soon turned into gray dust scattered across the place.

The intense atmosphere returned to calm. The woman was panting heavily. Her large breasts were heaving with her heavy breathing. Her alluring collar bones were rising up and down in the gap of her kimono, too…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Chihaya, your temper is still the same after all these years. Why are you chasing them away without asking properly?” An old man with a mustache came out of the building. He looked as energetic as a young man, but was white-haired and mustached.

“What is there to ask! This kid, this disrespectful kid, he says he’s going to tear our Twin Guardian Towers down! He dares say such disrespectful words right in front of the eldest daughter of the Mochizuki Clan. How can I stand it!?” swore Mochizuki Chihaya, the woman in kimono.

“You were in the wrong first. Alright, that’s enough, they must be the honorable guests we are waiting for,” the old man glared at the woman when he stepped up beside her.

“Honorable guests?” Mochizuki Chihaya smirked in disbelief.

“Old man, your daughter needs to learn manners. She’s lucky that you’ve shown up in time. Otherwise, I was going to beat her pretty face into a sumo wrestler!” said Mo Fan.

The old man was startled. He did not expect Mo Fan to say such a thing.

Mochizuki Chihaya almost broke her wooden clogs stomping the ground!

If her elder Mochizuki Ken had not interfered, she would have beaten the crap out of the disrespectful kid. Despite that, the kid continued to challenge her limits. He was simply asking for death!

“I believe you are the representatives of China’s national team currently in the middle of your training. The time is just right,” Mochizuki Ken cut straight to the topic without making the situation even more complicated.

Hearing this, Ai Jiangtu immediately walked up and handed his badge to the old man.

The old man did not bother checking the badge. Ai Jiangtu asked as he was quite confused, “Aren’t you going to check it? Aren’t you afraid that we’re imposters?”

“You’d need some guts to pretend that you were the representatives of the national team. I don’t think anyone is stupid enough to pretend they are representatives from China just to challenge the experts of our Twin Guardian Towers,” the old man smiled.

“You’re quite confident with your people,” said Ai Jiangtu.

As soon as Ai Jiangtu finished his sentence, a man whose hair was dyed gold walked out of the building. It was obvious that he had heard the conversation. He replied to Ai Jiangtu with a confident smile, “Not many people in the whole Japan would dare to challenge the Twin Guardian Towers. Where do you think we got the confidence from? We can easily tell if you’re fake or real judging from how long you can last in the duels against us.”

“How long we can last?” Gong Yu’s lips twisted. He replied in an unpleasant tone, “Friend, why does it sound like you think the national team from China can’t even beat you people, who are only defending the national embassy?”

“If that’s what you think,” said the Japanese man with golden hair.

“Alright, you better remember what you said when I put you and your teammates on the ground later. By the way, I really don’t like your hair../style,” said Gong Yu proudly.

Zhao Manyan felt unpleasant as soon as Gong Yu finished speaking!

He was in a bad mood when he saw the Japanese had the same hair../style as his own, but Gong Yu just had to mention it.

“Speaking of which, you two do look somewhat alike. Zhao Manyan, it seems like your dad has already come to Japan in advance to have some fun before we even start commencing our plan. Impressive,” Mo Fan compared Zhao Manyan with the Japanese and immediately had to comment.

“Bring our guests in so they can have some rest. I’ll make arrangements for the duels, but before that, we must treat our guests with respect. Bring them on a tour around the Twin Guardian Towers,” Mochizuki Ken invited them in without checking their badges.

“By the way, we still have a few girls coming. They might be late, so please wait here and bring them in when they arrive,” Mo Fan said to Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mochizuki Chihaya’s forehead was covered in black lines. She replied furiously, “Are you treating me like a maid looking after the entrance?!”

“If that’s what you think,” Mo Fan repeated the same phrase which the golden-haired Japanese said a moment ago.

The man turned around and gave Mo Fan an unfriendly look.

——

When they entered the West Guardian Tower, they found the main compound was located on the higher floors. The space between the walls and the foundation of the building was taken up by brooks and ponds of irregular shapes. Apart from the side facing the cliff, the other three sides were the same.

The waters were quite clear. They could see the fallen leaves floating on the water, the rocks at the bottom, and even the shadow of the leaves on the rocks.

The water had to be quite deep. It only looked shallow because it was so clear.

There were wooden walkways on the surface of the water, with lots of paths and little pavilions. It was quite a long walk to the lower level of the West Guardian Tower!

The tower was split into three levels. The lower level mainly consisted of halls. The layout was as complicated as a maze. Every hall looked perfectly symmetrical and alike. It was difficult to tell the directions.

The stairs between the halls led to the middle floor.

The middle floor had everything. Museum, library, training ground, meditation rooms, lecture halls, function rooms, accommodations, tools room, smithing room, pharmacist… every room was luxurious!

The upper floor consisted of meeting rooms for the military, observation towers, resting places for the guards, magic towers to maintain formations, etc. It was off-limit for everyone apart from authorities with clearance and the guards.

The middle floor was still the most shocking part of the place. It had all the facilities that a Magician could hope for. It was the perfect place for Magicians to train at.

—

The golden-haired man and Mochizuki Chihaya led them around. They soon approached the the cliff.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, the pathway hanging in the air was only accessible from a huge observation tower in the upper level.

If the upper level was off limit, it also meant that the tower opposite their mountain was a prohibited area, too.

Most importantly, the path between the two towers was not a walkway, it was a drawbridge! In other words, both the West Guardian Tower and East Guardian Tower had to lower the drawbridge for anyone to cross it.

“Is the tower on the other side not open to the public?” asked Mo Fan, who was always a curious man.

“It’s a restricted area,” said the golden-haired Japanese.

“Such a nice castle, isn’t it a waste to leave it like that?” said Mo Fan.

“I never said it’s not being used. Anyway, you’re not allowed to go there!” replied their Japanese guide.

“Ok,” Mo Fan nodded.

Mochizuki Chihaya immediately read Mo Fan’s mind with her sharp eyes. She said coldly, “I suggest you not to try anything stupid. The drawbridge is the only way to the East Guardian Tower. The cliffs, the sky, and the mountain on the other side are protected by powerful formations. Just to remind you, anyone who tries to go close to the East Guardian Tower will be turned into ashes, no matter how strong they are!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Jiang Yu picked up a rock when he heard the warning.

He tossed it at the drawbridge. The rock was as big as a fist, and flew at the drawbridge in a perfectly straight line…

Nothing happened when the rock was traveling inside the boundary of the West Guardian Tower. However, when it was about to reach the other side of the drawbridge, a few arcs of lightning appeared in the sky.

Thick lightning bolts a few times wider than the ones that Mo Fan usually summoned descended from the sky. Each one of them was extremely impressive on its own, but currently, more than ten of them had appeared on the cliff opposite of them, forming a wall of lightning as they danced wildly!

The rock was blown to dust. The dancing wall of lightning lasted for a few more seconds, extending as far as their vision could reach and completely covering the West Guardian Tower. It was not just visually impressive, it was awesome, too! They felt minuscule when they witnessed the spectacular sight, as if death was just around the corner!

“Holy f**k!”

Everyone’s face turned pale when they saw the lightning. Who would have thought a tiny rock would trigger such a terrifying scene?

“Can any of you listen to the rules for once? Your actions are going to bring us a lot of troubles,” yelled the golden-haired man furiously.

“We didn’t expect that to happen either! The West Guardian Tower looks perfectly normal, but not only did you make it a restricted area, you even set up such a powerful formation to protect it! Isn’t this place still inside the city too?” said Jiang Yu in astonishment.

“It’s none of your business. We’re pretty much done with the tour. I’ll come and get you guys before dinner tonight. Please excuse me!” The golden-haired man walked away furiously.

Mochizuki Chihaya was not in a good mood either. She had no reason to keep them company, and she obviously still had a grudge against Mo Fan. She glared at him before taking her leave.

Mo Fan chuckled, watching her thick bottom wrapped tightly by the kimono as she left.

Even though her face and body were quite attractive, Mo Fan seriously could not stand her pride. She totally lacked the gentleness, caring, kindness, and elegance that a classic Japanese woman had.

“I’m telling you all, I’m definitely going to pick that arrogant bitch to be my opponent during the duels. She seriously needs to learn a lesson. The reason I’ve learned magic is to teach an ignorant foreign woman like her how to sing ‘Conquer’!” said Mo Fan.

{TL Note: Conquer (征服) is a famous Chinese song. There’s a sentence in it that means “I’ve been conquered by you like that”. It has now become an Internet slang for when someone is determined to defeat their opponent until they beg for mercy.}

“Didn’t you say on the train you’ve learned magic because you want to slaughter the demon creatures?” said Jiang Yu.

“They don’t contradict one another at all!”

“As long as I’m taking on the golden-haired c**t; I have long waited to find a suitable punching bag. Too bad the advisors have warned us not to have any infighting,” said Gong Yu.

“Gong Yu, I swear I’ll beat you up right now!” snapped Zhao Manyan.

“I won’t fight you, I wouldn’t want to waste my precious spot for a mere substitute like you. I’m still looking forward to showing off my talents at Venice, so I have nothing but patience for you until Venice,” said Gong Yu.

“Patience my ass!” cursed Zhao Manyan.

——

The dinner was held on the lower floor, a feast in a well-decorated hall. Many VIPs of the West Guardian Tower had attended the feast to welcome the representatives of China’s national team.

That being said, among the people were a bunch of young, proud students who were selected as the gatekeepers for the National Training Hall.

These students were the top Japanese Magicians chosen from various institutes. They had gone through months of special training in order to serve as a challenge for the training of the representatives from other countries.

Every national team had to go through the same challenges. Only those who collected enough approvals from the training centers of different countries were allowed to participate in the final battle in Venice. The West Guardian Tower in Osaka was the first challenge for China’s national team. Their advisors were being carefree so far, but they still had to treat the challenge seriously!

The gatekeepers at every country’s national training centers were not necessarily weaker than the national teams. As a matter of fact, some gatekeepers were even stronger than the national team, with perfect synergy and teamwork!

There were more than a hundred countries in the world, yet there were only a few that could make it to Venice. Challenging the national training centers was a part of the journey. If the gatekeepers were too weak, wouldn’t it mean every national team could easily overcome the challenge?

The girls had arrived around dinner time. They made it just in time, and were still carrying the stuff that they had bought in Osaka.

Jiang Shaoxu in particular had a pile of luxuries, clothing, shoes, bags, and jewelry stacked up beside her table…

“It seems like you’re enjoying yourself. I remember Korea’s national team spent most of their time training diligently when they came here, but they still suffered a great loss. Meanwhile, the first thing you girls did in Osaka was shopping…you’re no different than secular girls,” the advisor of Japan’s Training Hall finally sniffed.

The advisor was around fifty, her hair tied up high in a bun, her eyes sharp. She was obviously a strict woman who had entered menopause. She had a grudge against extravagant young women, or those who wasted their time doing something other than cultivating.

“I’m a Magician, but I’m also a woman. Besides, your gatekeepers don’t look tough at all. My laziness isn’t from vanity.” Jiang Shaoxu was far from a friendly person. She already learned how the others were treated by the Japanese in the West Guardian Tower, so she had no intention to respect them, either.

Jiang Shaoxu’s words immediately offended the Japanese present at the feast. The advisors, military personnel, young Magicians and gatekeepers all frowned. The atmosphere changed instantly.

“Quite a sharp tongue you have, but can you live up to it?” shot back a flirtatious female gatekeeper in a strong mocking tone. She did not conceal her disdain and grudge against Jiang Shaoxu.

“I believe this feast is pretty extra, we already enjoyed lots of delicacies in Osaka in the afternoon. Strange though, considering how good the food is, the people here make me feel uncomfortable. Why don’t we get on with the duels tonight, so we can stamp your face with our feet? We still have places to go next,” Jiang Shaoxu slowly rose to her feet. Her words had a strong smell of gunpowder!

The Japanese in the West Guardian Tower totally lost their temper after hearing her words. She had described the approval stamp as stomping their faces with her feet. Such humiliation!

The hall instantly fell silent, but unlike the usual kind, it was like the calm before a great storm!

“Jiang Shaoxu, don’t say that…” Mo Fan dragged Jiang Shaoxu back to her seat.

Mochizuki Chihaya had already risen from her seat. She barely controlled her temper when she saw Mo Fan trying to stop Jiang Shaoxu’s disrespectful acts.

“You girls are already full after eating in Osaka, but the rest of us are starving. At least let us finish dinner before starting the duels,” Mo Fan continued.

The faces of the Japanese in the West Guardian Tower twisted. It felt like they were screaming bakayaro for at least ten thousand times in their hearts.

The rage that Mochizuki Chihaya tried very hard to withhold was almost spat out in a mouthful of blood. The sound of the silver spoon in her hand being snapped in half was clearly audible!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Japanese did not each much during the feast. They were already full after being provoked.

Japan had always had lots of talents. In terms of strength, they were ranked close to the top in the world. Every country that came to challenge their West Guardian Tower was utterly respectful and polite. They would even keep their voices down when they were talking.

In comparison, not only were the representatives from China utterly reckless, they were being so full of themselves when in other people’s territory!

“Since you’re so eager to be taught a lesson, we shall make preparations right away. Go, prepare the dueling grounds. The duels will take place right after dessert!” declared the female advisor.

“Yes, Advisor Tegami!”

A few of her disciples immediately left the feast and ordered the workers in the West Guardian Tower around furiously, preparing the place.

Mochizuki Ken was about to say something, but ended up letting out a sigh when he realized that there was nothing he could do.

Such a bunch of hot-tempered young adults. Couldn’t they seriously wait a while longer for something so important?

Tegami seemed to be the gatekeepers’ advisor. The eyes of the gatekeepers glittered with excitement when they learned that the duels were happening tonight.

The golden-haired man, Okamoto, was grinning too. He was the impatient kind. He already had the urge to teach these impolite Chinese a lesson when he met them in the afternoon. Since they were asking to be taught a lesson so desperately, they could not blame their hosts for being too harsh on them!

They had made a great mistake if they thought the people of the West Guardian Tower were only ordinary gatekeepers!

They were the same batch of students as Japan’s national team. They would not necessarily lose to the actual representatives in terms of strength.

The gatekeepers and the representatives could be switched at anytime. If any of the gatekeepers performed well, there was a high chance that they could replace someone on the national team.

Every student wanted to shine on the battlefield in Venice. Therefore, every time the national embassy was challenged, they would give their best to increase their chances of joining the national team.

“Let’s discuss things while eating. Are we going to fight as a team, or one-on-one fights instead? I personally prefer one-on-one, since I believe someone is unworthy to even be a gatekeeper among them,” Gong Yu stared at the golden-haired Okamoto and cut straight to the topic.

“We’ll do one-on-one fights then. The two teams will each send five representatives for the fights,” agreed Advisor Tegami.

“Advisor, let me have a go. Even a huge place like China has people that behave like a frog at the bottom of a well. I believe I’m the perfect candidate to teach such a person a lesson,” Okamoto was the first to volunteer.

Tegami shook her head and said, “They are our guests. We’ll let them pick their opponents.”

Gong Yu immediately fixed his gaze on Okamoto and said, “I’ll choose him then.”

“Advisor, the dueling grounds are ready. The safety formation is working normally,” a disciple came up and reported to Tegami respectfully.

Tegami nodded and said to the crowd, “Let’s not waste our time then, to the dueling grounds!”

—

The dueling grounds of the West Guardian Tower faced the ocean to the south. It was a huge platform extending out from the cliff. When the place was not in use, it could be used as a heliport instead. The crowd saw a black helicopter flying in the direction of the maritime battlefield when they arrived.

The platform was a lot bigger than they had imagined. It was almost big enough to be used as a runway for a jet.

The platform was shaped like a polygon. Three of its vertexes were exposed in the air around eight hundred meters from the bottom. Apart from the invisible barrier, there was no barricade surrounding the platform. The platform was not very thick either, supported by pillars extending up and out from the mountain below.

If the foundation of the platform was not solid enough, such a spacious and thin platform would be easily destroyed by the energy of the spells during a duel.

“The platform is made of Ash Crystal. Don’t worry if you think the platform isn’t strong enough to endure your spells. Your level is too weak to unleash energy strong enough to destroy it,” the female student who challenged Jiang Shaoxu before sneered at them.

The student was called Koike Shoko. The alluring temperament originating from her bones had already clashed with Jiang Shaoxu’s aura during the feast. It was obvious that Jiang Shaoxu was determined to beat the crap out of her!

Similarly, Koike Shoko was quite bothered by Jiang Shaoxu’s remarks. She had never seen such a shameless Chinese woman before!

“We don’t hit rocks, we’re only interested in slapping faces,” Jiang Shaoxu subconsciously replied, knowing Koike Shoko was trash talking them.

Koike Shoko just giggled before she shifted her gaze in the other direction. The smile on her face quickly vanished.

—

“You have some time to discuss things among your team,” said Tegami.

Ai Jiangtu led the team to the seats on one side of the platform. He was initially going to discuss matters with the team, but looked helpless when he noticed some of them were already unleashing their wrath on the people at the other side.

The candidates were already decided.

“We’re done, those three will represent us in the duels,” said Ai Jiangtu.

The three candidates were none other than Jiang Shaoxu, Gong Yu, and Mo Fan who had already chosen their opponents.

“Didn’t we already make it clear during the feast? You will send out five candidates to take part in five one-on-one fights. Are you regretting it now?” said Okamoto.

“There are five duels, so that means it’s best of three right?” asked Ai Jiangtu in return.

“So you’ve only picked three people?” A Japanese commander raised his thick brows. His eyes were flickering with anger.

As a matter of fact, if he was thirty years younger, he would volunteer to teach these arrogant Chinese representatives a lesson himself! These guys were showing no respect for their national training hall at all!

“Captain is the real cocky one!” Jiang Yu secretly raised his thumbs to Ai Jiangtu.

“Let’s be real, I’m giving him ten out of ten for that,” Zhao Manyan smiled.

“But, that also means Jiang Shaoxu, Gong Yu, and Mo Fan can’t lose their fights,” wondered Nanyu.

“I’m not sure about the others, but there’s no way I’m losing mine,” Gong Yu stepped forward. It was obvious that he was eager to take the first fight!

Gong Yu slowly walked up to the students representing Japan. There were ten gatekeepers for the national embassy, including Okamoto and Mochizuki Chihaya.

Nine of them were kneeling in a row with a white band tied on their forehead. In Japan, it symbolized their unyielding spirit, but in China, such things were worn by people mourning for their parents or relatives.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mochizuki Chihaya was sitting in the row behind the nine students. It looked like she was the captain of the team.

Behind her were Mochizuki Ken, the Japanese commander, Fujikata Tegami, and the others. They were basically the advisors or leaders of the West Guardian Tower.

The crowd sitting with them were people wearing similar outfits. They were students, soldiers, captains, and guests of the West Guardian Tower. There were around thirty of them.

The duels of the West Guardian Tower were not open to the public. As such, they only needed a few people to testify to the outcome. No cameras or recorders were allowed, either.

Gong Yu went up on the stage. He did remember to keep to the basic etiquette.

He glanced at the nine students sitting in the front row before looking at Mochizuki Chihaya sitting behind them.

Mochizuki Chihaya was obviously their captain, and was probably the strongest among them. Gong Yu was quite proud of himself. He was wondering if he should challenge the strongest opponent instead.

However, he gave up on the thought. He had a strong urge to teach the golden-haired Okamoto a lesson. Mochizuki Chihaya had already shown her outstanding control of the Plant Element at the entrance of the West Guardian Tower. It was fairly difficult for him to fight a Plant Magician with his fighting ../style.

“What are you waiting for? Come up here and prepare yourself to be beaten up,” Gong Yu pointed at Okamoto with a disdainful smirk.

“Don’t you feel too good about yourself?” Okamoto rose to his feet. He bowed at the leaders, advisors, and his fellow students before walking up to the stage.

—

The two were all set for a showdown. As soon as Fujikata Tegami announced the duel to begin, they immediately left blurry afterimages behind as they moved rapidly around the stage!

Lots of afterimages were moving randomly, as if they were many people sprinting simultaneously on the dueling ground. The Magicians with weaker cultivations were unable to see the fight properly. They had no idea when the two Magicians were exchanging their spells…

“Two speed-type Magicians, interesting!” Tegami smiled.

“There’s something strange about the Chinese representative’s gauntlet,” the Japanese commander quickly noticed Gong Yu’s trump card with his sharp eyes.

“Drawing near to the target like an assassin and relying on their speed to tear their enemy into pieces, yet dodging the critical attacks with the Wind Element. It seems like the fight is either going to last for a long time, or end in an instant,” observed Mochizuki Ken.

“Chihaya, who do you think is going to win?” asked Tegami.

“I’m afraid our opponent’s speed is faster…they are starting to use their equipment.”

Like a battle between two swordsmen, if they thrust their swords at one another at the same time, the one who was quicker would secure the victory. There were not many uncertainties in a showdown of speed like this.

Okamoto decisively activated his magic boots when he realized that his opponent’s speed was faster, just so he could keep up.

Similar to Okamoto, Gong Yu had a pair of magic boots too. Interestingly, Gong Yu’s magic boots were slightly weaker than Okamoto’s. As a result, their speeds were on par with one another after they began to use their equipment!

It was reasonable, since Gong Yu had spent most of his money on his unique claw gauntlet. As such, the rest of his equipment was not as impressive.

The Wind Tracks left by the two Magicians were scattered across the entire stage. They were like countless blue ribbons crossing paths out there. Both Magicians were experts with the Wind Element. Not only were they able to glide around with their Wind Tracks, they could also take advantage of their opponent’s Wind Tracks…

The fight started on the ground before switching to the air. Gong Yu was still looking for the timing and angle to secure victory with his gauntlet. Meanwhile, Okamoto kept dodging the attacks with his agile movement and sharp senses. The duel had been going on for some time, yet it was hard to tell who was going to win it.

It was exactly as Mochizuki Ken had mentioned. The duel was either going to last a long time or end in an instant. As time gradually passed, the two Magicians continued to look for their opportunity. They kept probing their opponents without committing to a full engagement.

The duel was like a sword fighting match. They had been probing their opponents throughout the duel, since it was easier to defend themselves. If they tried to engage harder, they would expose their weaknesses to their opponent instead.

Gong Yu was taking the initiative to attack, yet he did not dare to go any further. He was aware that his opponent was waiting patiently for a chance to counterattack when he could not see any sign of the man panicking!

—

“Such a boring fight, I feel like yawning. I could easily blast Zhao Manyan’s brother into pieces with a few spells.” Mo Fan felt a bit sleepy after dinner.

It was tiring to watch the duel when the two Magicians kept moving around quickly. He had lost interest in watching it further.

However, while Mo Fan was yawning, a piercing, metallic clash caught his attention.

He took a closer look and saw Gong Yu’s claw gauntlet stabbing into Okamoto’s armor. Fresh blood was flowing out from the gap between the plates.

However, Gong Yu was swept away by a sudden gust of wind. He was knocked flying and landed heavily on the firm ground.

Okamoto was going to cast a spell to finish Gong Yu when the pain from his chest interrupted the channeling. He had failed to take hold of the precious opportunity.

Gong Yu felt dizzy when he landed on the ground. He crawled to his feet with great pain coming from his bones.

He stared at Okamoto with a hint of astonishment and anger.

Gong Yu thought he had already won the fight, yet he did not expect Okamoto to set up a trap with the Wind Disc. Luckily, he had injured Okamoto before the trap was set off, preventing the man from following up with a spell. Otherwise, he would have been totally defenseless when he was swept away by the gust of wind!

“Cunning prick,” Gong Yu harrumphed coldly.

“That’s enough, the winner is the representative from China, Gong Yu,” announced Fujikata Tegami.

Fujikata Tegami did not like the Chinese team, but the duel had to be treated fairly. Okamoto had indeed lost the duel. He had underestimated Gong Yu’s explosive speed, and had set off the wind trap a bit too late.

Someone from the Japanese team stepped forward to treat Okamoto’s injuries.

Jiang Yu helped Gong Yu back and let Nan Rongni check his condition.

“A few bones are broken. Lie still,” Nan Rongni swept her hand across Gong Yu’s body and immediately assessed his condition.

“That bad?” exclaimed Jiang Yu in surprise.

“Humph, I almost gave him a critical blow! That guy must be worse than I am!” insisted Gong Yu.

“The end of the duel was exhilarating. I thought you were going to lose the fight. You’re pretty bold, trying to break through the Wind Disc trap forcibly with your speed,” said Zu Jiming.

“I’ll go next. How embarrassing, he looks like he has gone through Hell when he was only dueling against a Japanese student,” mocked Mo Fan, who did not have any pity for Gong Yu.

“Fine, I’ll go last… but you better not lose. Otherwise, my turn is going to be meaningless,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Don’t worry, I’ll beat that Japanese woman until she moans in pleasure,” said Mo Fan, patting his chest.

“Pervert!” cursed Jiang Shaoxu.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan straightened himself and slowly walked over to the Japanese team.

He could hear Zu Jiming’s grumbling behind, obviously complaining how Mo Fan, a mere substitute, was stealing the show.

Since Ai Jiangtu had decided who their representatives were, the others basically could not say anything. Ai Jiangtu was more like an advisor on their team. He had already displayed his strength when he fought the Scarlet Soaring Demon. He was able to take on the Commander-level creature by himself, and even inflicted serious damage to the creature. As such, the team basically had no objection regarding the things he had decided.

If he had decided to let Mo Fan fight the duel, Mo Fan would be the one fighting the duel. Most importantly, everyone was aware of Mo Fan’s fighting capacity, too. If Gong Yu managed to win his duel, it was highly unlikely that Mo Fan was going to lose his.

“What are you looking at? Thinking you’re so special to sit in a different row behind the others? Mochizuki Chihaya, you will be my opponent. The old man with a mustache stopped me from teaching you a lesson last time, but we’re going to settle it now in the duel. You can’t run away this time!” said Mo Fan, pointing at Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mochizuki Chihaya frowned. She already had a grudge against this kid who dared to talk disrespectfully to her!

Mochizuki Ken, the Japanese commander, and Fujikata Tegami seemed slightly surprised. In the end, Mochizuki Ken smiled and said, “Mo Fan, I suggest you choose someone else.”

“Why is that? Do you think it will be embarrassing if I, a substitute, managed to defeat your team captain?” Mo Fan felt unpleasant.

“We didn’t mean that…”

“I hated her the most among the students on your team. You interfered with the fight in the morning, are you seriously going to interfere in the duel again? She is the one. Don’t tell me only our captain is allowed to challenge your captain? If that’s the case, I’m the captain of our team. That tanned face is only a decoration. I’ve already defeated him,” said Mo Fan.

How dare they look down on him just because he’s a substitute? What was wrong with being a substitute? He would still beat the crap out of all their students!

Mo Fan was even angrier when he saw the Japanese students laughing at him.

“What right do you have to challenge Miss Chihaya? Don’t you think that’s displaying your insignificant skill in front of an expert?” mocked a Japanese student with spiky hair.

“Is he seriously picking Sister Chihaya out of everyone else? He’s going to regret it,” said Koike Shoko with a giggle.

The other students were laughing too. Their disdainful laughter was directed at Mo Fan.

“You can choose whoever you want among the nine of them. Mochizuki Chihaya isn’t among them,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“I have no interest in the others. She’s the one!” said Mo Fan, pointing at Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mochizuki Ken was about to say something when Fujikata Tegami smirked and said to Mo Fan, “Are you sure you want to choose her as your opponent? I’m telling you…”

“Enough with the nonsense, she is the one. I don’t care who she is, but she has been an eyesore for too long. Tell her to come fight me now!” Mo Fan demanded impatiently.

These Japanese were fawning upon her just because her strength was slightly stronger than theirs. Judging from the way the students were treating her respectfully, she must be quite reputable on the team. Otherwise, she would not be chosen as the captain.

It was more exciting to challenge their captain!

“Advisor, if he insists on picking me, I don’t mind having a go. However, if you really want to fight me, you better choose an extra candidate first,” Mochizuki Chihaya slowly rose to her feet.

“That’s unnecessary. There’s no way the three of us will lose,” said Mo Fan.

“You have to choose another candidate if you insist on fighting Mochizuki Chihaya. Otherwise, the others will say that we’re bullying the Chinese team if words spread out,” insisted Fujikata Tegami.

Mochizuki Ken was about to say something, but Fujikata Tegami stopped him.

“You guys are really confident in this woman who only has an attractive facade. Ai Jiangtu, choose one more person,” Mo Fan was too lazy to argue with them.

“I’ll be the fourth candidate,” said Ai Jiangtu casually.

“Alright, we’ve picked one more. Hurry up and come here, so I can beat the crap out of you quicker!” taunted Mo Fan.

Mochizuki Chihaya left her seat and walked up to the stage. She seemed expressionless, yet she was already cracking with laughter inside.

This impolite, reckless kid actually had the guts to fight her. His action was the perfect example of how to get himself killed. Anyway, it was time for her to teach him a lesson and vent her grudge. These Chinese were too cocky!

The witnesses to the duels were chatting among themselves in Japanese. Mo Fan could not understand a word, yet it was obvious that they were all mocking him.

“Is this guy an idiot? He really chose Miss Chihaya as his opponent.”

“HAHAHA, I can’t wait to see him begging Miss Chihaya for mercy later. No one in our team even has the slightest chance against Miss Chihaya.”

“Are we going too far?”

“Who cares, he did choose his own opponent. Who else can he blame apart from himself? He’s the one that insisted on having Miss Chihaya as his opponent… just enjoy the show.”

The students were discussing among themselves in Japanese. They were clearly extremely confident in Mochizuki Chihaya, and were amused by Mo Fan’s selection.

“I bet he won’t last for more than five minutes!” the man with spiky hair burst out laughing.

“Captain, you’re overestimating the kid. Three minutes, At most three minutes… oh, Miss Chihaya was going easy on us during training. If she really wants to teach him a lesson, maybe she will defeat him with a single move!” said a student with runes on his forehead.

“Let’s enjoy the show.”

“Yeah!”

—

Mo Fan observed the weird reactions from the Japanese, and heard their mumblings, which were obviously talking about how there was no way he would win the duel.

“Retards!” Mo Fan cursed, before fixing his gaze on Mochizuki Chihaya. From everyone’s reactions, he could easily tell that this Mochizuki Chihaya was a worthy opponent.

Besides, if she wasn’t strong, how could she unleash such a formidable aura at the entrance of the West Guardian Tower during the day?

Mo Fan knew the woman was powerful, but would it even make any difference? Since when was he afraid of anyone? He would not believe he was unable to defeat the woman with the electrifying sensation from the lightning on his left hand, and the burning touch from the blazing flames on his right.

“You’re the dumbest and most ridiculous person I’ve ever met,” Mochizuki Chihaya gave Mo Fan a hostile look with a superior grin, as if she was looking at a clown.

“Go ask around in China and see if there’s anyone who hasn’t heard of my name, Mo Fan. Against someone like you, I can even give you an advantage by using one less Element,” Mo Fan acted like a pretentious prick like his usual self.

“One less Element?” Mochizuki Chihaya burst out laughing. She could not even stand straight.

Her laughter showed off her attractive body, giving every man a strong desire to pounce on her and tear the kimono that could not hide her charms apart.

However, the thorns on this proud Japanese rose were extremely poisonous!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Let’s begin!” said Fujikata Tegami.

The distance between Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya was fifty meters. Normally, in a duel between Magicians, anyone would secure the advantage by initiating the attack. After all, an Intermediate Magician only had a limited number of spells available, thus the duel would always come down to taking turns to blast one another with spells, like a turn-based video game.

However, Mochizuki Chihaya did not move. She did not draw the Star Orbits, as if she was purposely letting Mo Fan attack first. She simply stood there and watched Mo Fan closely with a proud expression on her face.

Her gaze was sharp and disdainful, yet it did not lack focus. Mo Fan knew the Japanese woman was no ordinary opponent, so he was not planning to go easy on her. He immediately summoned a few Lightning Strikes.

Mo Fan clenched his fists. The Lightning Strikes immediately grew thicker.

Mo Fan continued to cast the same spell. The Lightning Strikes eventually combined into a long, thick lightning whip, which Mo Fan grabbed on one end.

“Your control of the Lightning Element isn’t bad, transforming the Lightning Strikes freely,” Mochizuki Chihaya remarked simply. She did not show any signs of panic.

Mo Fan was not in the mood to talk. He flung his arm and lashed the lightning whip in Mochizuki Chihaya’s direction.

The lightning whip crackled loudly as it traveled in the air. Threads of lightning crackled in the air, paralyzing anything that they came into contact with!

Mochizuki Chihaya still had no intention of dodging the approaching attack. She finally stomped her right foot on the ground when the lightning whip was right within inches!

A gray-blue Chinese bellflower five giant petals appeared under her foot out of nowhere with. Every petal was like a shield taller than a man. The five petals surrounded Mochizuki Chihaya like walls.

The lightning whip struck the walls of petals hard. Lightning arcs immediately crawled across the petals wildly!

Unfortunately, the Lightning Element was not so effective against the plant. Even the paralyzing effect barely made any difference. It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing someone able to summon defensive walls with the Plant Element, and he showed his surprise.

Control over different Elements was extremely important to every Magician. The spells that each Element provided at each level were fixed, yet when the Magicians were adept at casting them, they could further alter their forms.

For example, if Mo Fan summoned a few Lightning Strikes in a row, he could combine the Lightning Strikes into a lightning whip. If Mo Fan was still in the Basic Level or Intermediate Level, he would not be able to do so, yet his control over the Lightning Element had grown a lot stronger at the Advanced Level, allowing him to use his spells in various ways!

On the other hand, Mochizuki Chihaya obviously had great control over the Plant Element. Otherwise, there was no way the spells of the Plant Element could build a wall.

“If lightning isn’t working, have a taste of my fire!” Mo Fan did not lower his guard as he already knew he was going against a tough opponent.

Mo Fan’s hand trembled as the lightning slowly dispersed. As the lightning arcs were still spreading in the air, blazing red flames blossomed in front of him.

The flames floated in front of Mo Fan. He swiftly grabbed them and ignited his fists…

“Do you think I’ll give you the chance!?” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

The shields made of petals vanished instantly. Mochizuki Chihaya flicked her finger Mo Fan’s direction and fired a seed with a gray-blue sheen on its surface onto the ground close to Mo Fan.

The ground began to crack open, with young saplings bursting out of the gaps.

Mo Fan lowered his gaze and shockingly discovered something. He immediately stomped his foot on the ground and launched himself into the air without hesitation…

After reaching the Advanced Level, even without the Blood Tabi, Mo Fan could still jump around twenty meters into the air at full force!

As Mo Fan was rising in the air, the saplings on the ground grew at an insane pace, as if a few tones of fertilizers had been onto them. In just the time between Mo Fan’s jump and reaching the highest point, the barren ground was already crawling with thick, gray-blue shrubs!

The plants continued to grow. They were able to detect Mo Fan’s presence as if they were alive. They immediately lunged at Mo Fan as he was still in the air. Mo Fan lowered his head and saw more than ten vines, branches, and twigs chasing after him, and they had almost reached his ankles.

The rate of growth of the plants was too crazy, as was the way they chased after their prey. Mo Fan felt they were not plants, but the tentacles of some enormous octopus!

“Trying to trap me? In your dreams!”

Mo Fan was fearless too. He immediately stepped on one of the vines that was slightly slower in reaction as he was falling.

Mo Fan leapt higher into the air using the rebound from the vine, trying to escape from the Forest of Kun.

Mo Fan would be done for if he was trapped within the Forest of Kun. The whole place was under the woman’s control. He would find himself surrounded by her army of plants.

The plants grew like monsters on the spacious dueling ground. Mo Fan’s minuscule figure was like a flying bug trying to escape from some man-eating plants. Luckily, he was quite agile. He kept leaping higher into the air despite the risks involved, as he knew he would be devoured by the Forest of Kun if he fell to the ground.

Mo Fan was still in the air, trying to land on a relatively safe spot.

To his surprise, the coverage of the Forest of Kun was bigger than he had imagined. The detestable plants had already spread out like the mouths of alligators, waiting for their prey to land in the pond!

“Fiery Fist!” Mo Fan knew he had no chance to escape from the plants. He decisively hurled the flames on his burning fists at Mochizuki Chihaya not far away.

The Fiery Fists glided through the air and flew at Mochizuki Chihaya at an angle.

Mochizuki Chihaya did not expect Mo Fan to be so stubborn. He insisted on attacking her even when he was about to fall onto the ground crawling with her plants.

Mochizuki Chihaya stopped focusing on the growth of the plants. She crossed her hands in front of her and controlled the plants to form a wall, defending herself from Mo Fan’s dominating fire!

The Fiery Fists collided with the plants and triggered a great explosion. The walls of vines were blown to pieces, snapping the vines as flames spread across the place.

Mo Fan landed safely when Mochizuki Chihaya switched into a defensive stance. He quickly escaped from the area covered with seeds.

The Forest of Kun was also known as the Seed of Kun. Even though Mochizuki Chihaya had only thrown a single seed on the ground, the seed was able to grow into roots covering the area within a few hundred meters. She could easily command it to grow into a whole Forest of Kun, or just the roots in a certain area, as she wished…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan often had friendly duels with Mu Nujiao. She was also an expert with the Plant Element. He knew he would definitely find himself in a pinch if he dared to fight a Plant Magician within the coverage of the Seed of Kun.

Mo Fan immediately sprinted and ran a few hundred meters away. He would occasionally stomp his feet on the ground while staring at Mochizuki Chihaya alertly, checking if the area was under the Seed of Kun’s control.

Mo Fan only felt safe enough to connect the Star Orbits after he confirmed the area was safe.

However, Mochizuki Chihaya was a lot tougher than Mo Fan had imagined. The woman was able to cast Intermediate Spells at quite an impressive speed. Mo Fan had just accumulated the energy into an explosive Fiery Fist when a wretched seed landed less than five meters away from him.

Mo Fan started running again. The saplings immediately transformed into savage beasts in just a second. They rolled across the area like a tide and turned it into a colony.

—

“HAHAHA, the monkey show has officially started!” the Japanese student with spiky hair burst out laughing.

Mochizuki Ken and Fujikata Tegami smiled, as if they had already predicted how the battle would turn out.

“The Chinese student is quite impressive. If his reaction speed was any slower, he would be trussed up by now,” said Mochizuki Ken.

Many students who fought against Mochizuki Chihaya could not even survive the first round of attacks. This student from China with Lightning and Fire Elements was fairly quick-witted, not showing any hesitation to move.

However, just running was not enough to defeat a Plant Magician.

His opponent only needed to toss a seed on the ground to gain control of an area. The space of the dueling ground was limited, after all. If the whole dueling ground was placed under the Plant Magician’s control, she would easily dominate the duel.

“Time to teach him a lesson,” Mochizuki Chihaya’s gaze sharpened with a cold smirk.

She watched Mo Fan closely and predicted the direction he was running to.

Using the plants as cover, Mochizuki Chihaya flicked her finger and tossed a dark glowing seed.

The seed weaved through the densely-packed plants. Despite the long distance, it landed accurately on Mo Fan and stuck to his body!

“He’s screwed!”

“Oh, it’s that move, I can’t bear to watch it any further!”

“Serves him right, that’s what you get for being so cocky. I believe he will soon regret picking Miss Chihaya as his opponent,” said Koike Shoko.

—

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan admitted that he had underestimated Mochizuki Chihaya. Her control of the Plant Element had reached a level he had never seen before.

The growth rate of her plants was absolutely stunning. Not only was she tossing the Seeds of Kun around like they cost nothing, she was able to implant a seed on her target too!

Mo Fan realized he had messed up when the seed stuck to him.

Even as he thought, a few seconds later, a few saplings started growing atop him.

The saplings grew incredibly fast, turning into thick vines in an instant and wrapping around their host. The plants covered him before he could think of a plan.

“F**k me!” Mo Fan was dumbfounded. He felt like he was trapped inside a cage.

That was still not the worst. The plants continued to grow over him in layers. It was so tightly sealed that not even the slightest trace of sunlight could penetrate inside.

It was impossible to tell how many layers were stacked on top of him, so thick that even a knife was unable to cut through them. Mo Fan could no longer move his limbs.

Mo Fan was entirely wrapped into a huge ball of plants, and it seemed like the outer layer was still growing!

The watchers were startled upon seeing this. The members of the Chinese team exchanged glances with one another, not knowing what to say.

“Isn’t that woman a bit too strong to be real? Such an outstanding control of the plant element!” said Zhao Manyan.

“She’s ridiculously strong I’ll give you that. Mo Fan is really snookered.”

“How can he even break free from that?”

“I believe he’s going to lose the duel.” Gong Yu immediately added insult to the injury when he saw that Mo Fan was completely pinned down, “Luckily we still have another attempt. Otherwise, we would have lost the challenge. The advisors are surely going to scold the crap out of us.”

Mochizuki Chihaya’s strength completely impressed those watching. The truth was, Gong Yu clearly knew he would also stand no chance against Mochizuki Chihaya if he was fighting the duel now. She was the ace of the West Guardian Tower!

“It seems like we’ve indeed underestimated the Japanese team. If someone like Mochizuki Chihaya isn’t even representing Japan, how strong are their actual representatives?” wondered Nanyu.

They were able to tell the difference in strength between the two fighting the duels quite easily. Mo Fan was suppressed throughout the entire duel, and had only managed to cast two spells. The team found it hard to believe it.

“Chihaya, that’s enough,” Mochizuki Ken looked at the cocoon of plants and interrupted her.

“This duel won’t count. After all, Mochizuki Chihaya is representing us,” said Fujikata Tegami.

“A loss is a loss, there’s no need to…” Ai Jiangtu did not accept the favor.

“Lose my ass, there’s no way I will lose the duel!” Mo Fan’s scream came out from the cocoon of plants that was almost the size of a small house.

“Aren’t you the stubborn kind?” Mochizuki Chihaya smirked. She slowly turned around, her back facing Mo Fan in the cocoon and said, “Apologize to me before I walk off the stage, and I’ll consider letting you go. I bet it doesn’t feel pleasant inside there?”

Mochizuki Chihaya had no intention of continuing the duel. She was heading off the stage. She knew she had gone too far today, yet who asked the kid to disrespect her?

“Apologize my ass, I wonder who’s the one that scolded us first? We were already being kind since we didn’t ask a bitch like you to apologize to us first…” Mo Fan yelled back.

Mochizuki Chihaya came to a stop with a cold face. It was her second time being cursed by the kid. She had yet to settle the score with him, and now he was scolding her again?

“Listen up! Since this is an unfair battle, I didn’t let the plants grow inside your body, but if you dare scold me again, I won’t mind letting the plants drill into your body just so you can experience the pain that I usually inflict on criminals given a death sentence!” Mochizuki Chihaya turned around and glared at Mo Fan with her cold eyes.

Mochizuki Ken could no longer remain seated when he heard Mochizuki Chihaya’s words. He immediately rose to his feet and exclaimed, “Chihaya, that’s enough, he’s only a proud student!”

“The kid is too disrespectful. It’s fine to let Chihaya teach him a lesson. Don’t worry, Chihaya knows how to control herself,” interrupted Tegami.

Mochizuki Chihaya slowly walked toward the cocoon. She wanted to hear if there was any noise coming out of it that would make her feel unpleasant.

“Bitch!” Mo Fan cursed once again.

Mochizuki Chihaya almost exploded in rage. Her chest was heaving.

“Humph, serves you right!” Mochizuki Chihaya giggled with a fierce expression.

She knew they were in the middle of a duel, thus she would not kill Mo Fan, yet she would not mind letting him experience a pain that he would not forget for the rest of his life!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Damn, Miss Chihaya is really angry. The plants are going to enter his body through every gap; his eyes, his nose, his throat, and that particular body part. I can’t help but be covered in goosebumps whenever I imagine the plants crawling into my body like that,” shuddered the Japanese man with spiky hair.

“Captain, you’re familiar with the details; does that mean Miss Chihaya tortured you before the same way?” said the Japanese student with runes on his face.

“Of course not, someone from the East Guardian Tower told me! That guy is so screwed!”

“Yeah, serves him right, no one asked him to mess with Miss Chihaya.”

Mochizuki Ken could no longer stand it. He was clearly trying to stop the duel.

On the other hand, Fujikata Tegami did not want the duel to end, since the Chinese student had clearly crossed the line by scolding them so harshly. It was necessary to teach him a lesson!

“It’s fine if we let the others teach him a lesson, but it won’t do us any good if Chihaya is doing it,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“Say, didn’t you feel a strong energy of the Fire Element rising while you two are arguing?” the Japanese commander sitting in between them spoke up.

The two finally reacted and focused their senses.

As the Japanese commander had mentioned, they did sense an irregular energy of the Fire Element coming from the stage…

—

“Did she seriously think these useless vines are enough to trap me in here?” Mo Fan’s voice came from the cocoon.

More, more heat, Mo Fan’s body had completely transformed into flames burning the plants that were trying to grow into his body into ashes.

“Little Flame Belle, burn them all!”

Mo Fan knew he had no chance of breaking free from the plants with his own strength. He immediately summoned the little Flame Belle to his aid.

Little Flame Belle immediately unleashed the overwhelming Calamity Fire without hesitation.

The Rose Flame and Calamity Fire combusted simultaneously and released heat waves in all directions. Even the thick cocoon was unable to endure the heat.

The layers of plants were set aflame. Soon, tongues of flame sprouted out from the enormous plant cocoon. The fire grew swiftly and devoured the plants…

Mo Fan unleashed the flames fully, sweeping them across the place fiercely and burning the plants nearby into ashes.

Standing in the middle of the flames that continued to grow stronger as more plants were set aflame, Mo Fan was like a demon who was just reborn, imperious and about to explode at any second!

“I can’t wait to see how many Forests of Kun you have… let’s see if I can burn them all!

“Sky-Flame Funeral!”

Mo Fan was not in a rush to break free, as he was channeling the Advanced Spell.

His channeling speed when casting Advanced Spells was too slow. If he channeled it in front of his opponent, he would most likely be interrupted!

The cocoon happened to provide him with a perfect layer of protection. Mochizuki Chihaya had no idea what he was up to inside it…

“Advanced…Advanced Spell!”

The nine students from Japan opened their eyes wide, staring at the Chinese student engulfed in flames.

Mochizuki Ken and Fujikata Tegami were startled to realize that the student who had been acting like a thug turned out to be an Advanced Fire Magician. He even took advantage of the time when Mochizuki Constellation lowered her guard to complete a complicated Fire Constellation!

The Star Constellation was extremely bright. The Stars surrounding Mo Fan granted him an endless supply of energy.

Fiery clouds took shape and fireballs poured down like rain. The sky was dyed blazing red as the flames landed and quickly dominated the dueling ground. The rain of fireballs fell densely and quickly covered area, turning the place into a sea of flames.

The Forests of Kun that Mochizuki Chihaya previously set up were burned into ashes. The seeds within the coverage of the sea of flames were completely devoured.

The flames swept across the stage. Mochizuki Chihaya was standing in the middle of the flames, wearing a blue armor.

The layers of fire surged in Mochizuki Chihaya’s direction. She quickly backed off to the edge of the stage.

The resistance of her blue armor was quite outstanding. The fierce flames had failed to penetrate it…

Mochizuki Chihaya looked surprised, yet she did not show any signs of panic.

The power of the Advanced Fire Spell was extraordinary. The flames summoned by the Sky-Flame Funeral looming over the area burned across the entire dueling ground, fully displaying the power of the Advanced Spell. The barrier set up around the stage was shuddering with the impact. However, Mochizuki Chihaya did not lose the duel yet. She expressionlessly stayed away from the flames and nimbly dodged the rain of fire pouring down from the sky.

“Water Curtain!”

Mochizuki Chihaya finally used her full strength. When another wave of fireballs started falling from the sky, she quickly constructed a Water Constellation, forming a water barrier to defend herself from the rain of fire!

“Damn, that woman is also an Advanced Magician!” Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened.

“I should have guessed it. Only Advanced Magicians have such a great control of the Plant Element,” observed Nanyu.

“Strange, something isn’t right,” Ai Jiangtu frowned.

“Yeah, something isn’t right, that woman is just too strong. Mo Fan has already used his ultimate, yet he still can’t beat her,” agreed Jiang Yu.

Normally, the Sky-Flame Funeral would destroy any creature beyond recognition. Anyone else would have lost once Mo Fan cast the Advanced Spell. However, the Japanese woman had only cast the Water Curtain when the final wave of fireballs came down from the sky.

Although she was not handling the situation with ease, she did not seem to be in a pinch, either.

The whole stage was set aflame. Not a single spot was left untouched.

Mochizuki Chihaya was forced into a corner. She had no choice but to cast the Water Curtain. Otherwise, she would have been blasted out of the stage by the Sky-Flame Funeral.

“I’ve underestimated you,” Mo Fan walked through the sea of flames with a serious expression.

“Likewise,” Mochizuki Chihaya took a deep breath.

The eyes of the Japanese students almost fell out of their sockets. They were unable to recover from their astonishment.

They found it hard to believe that Mochizuki Chihaya was forced into the corner on the stage. If her Water Curtain had been a second late, she would have lost the duel!

Mochizuki Chihaya had never lost a duel in the West Guardian Tower!

“Captain, have you ever forced Miss Chihaya into a pinch like this?” asked the Japanese student with runes on his face.

“Only once when she was careless, but I was soon defeated…” replied the Japanese man with spiked hair sternly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The blazing red flames continued to burn fiercely, the ocean of flames not disappearing so easily. Mo Fan’s opponent was an expert with the Plant Element. If he did not fight to control the stage, he would soon have no space to stand on.

The Sky-Flame Funeral did not inflict serious damage to Mochizuki Chihaya, but it did secure him the upper hand in the duel. At the very least it stopped the plants from attacking him as long as the flames were still around.

“Blood Tabi!”

Mo Fan knew he was up against a strong opponent. He did not conceal his strength further, and immediately summoned the Blood Tabi. The strength of the Blood Beast wrapped around his legs.

Mo Fan’s speed was already impressive after reaching the Advanced Level. After receiving the buff from the Blood Tabi, each of his steps was full of power, and left deep footprints on the ground.

He dashed toward Mochizuki Chihaya’s corner and leapt into the air when he was thirty meters away from her.

“Trample of the Blood Beast!”

Mo Fan immediately activated the main effect of the Blood Tabi and increased the force of his feet to thousands of kilograms. The stomp as he landed on the ground was comparable to the impact of a ten-meter-tall creature!

Mochizuki Chihaya reacted swiftly too. As her back was to the barrier, she immediately dodged to the side when she saw Mo Fan coming down from the sky.

Her movement was not as impressive as Mo Fan’s imperious stomp with the Blood Tabi. As Mo Fan landed heavily on the ground, the shockwave immediately knocked Mochizuki Chihaya flying.

Mochizuki Chihaya lost her balance in the air, yet she still managed to cast a spell as she was knocked flying and used two vines to catch her in the air.

Mo Fan was aware of his opponent’s intention when he saw two vines bursting out from the ground. He quickly pointed his finger in her direction. “Thunderbolt!”

Unlike the usual lightning strikes, Mo Fan purposely altered the path of the Thunderbolt. It was going from the ground into the sky!

A lightning bolt appeared right under Mochizuki Chihaya and struck her back accurately, like a purple-black dragon.

The lightning bolt was quite strong. Mochizuki Chihaya was struck by it before she could reach the ground. It blasted her higher into the air, and even made her spin in circles.

The blue magic armor that Mochizuki Chihaya was wearing protected her from the lightning. The blast knocked her over fifty meters into the air as lightning arcs spread across her body!

It was difficult for anyone to suddenly change their direction in mid-air, which was why many people tried to knock their opponents flying.

“Fire Burst!”

Mochizuki Chihaya was like target practice once she was knocked into the air. With Mo Fan’s accuracy, he could basically ignore her falling speed!

Mo Fan was very adept at casting Basic Spells. Knowing that a single Fire Burst was nowhere enough to penetrate his opponent’s defenses, he immediately summoned as many Fire Bursts as he could!

One Star Orbit after another appeared. Fireballs revolved around Mo Fan while floating in the air. More than ten balls of flame were floating beside Mo Fan in just a short period of time!

“Go!”

The Fire Bursts were fired simultaneously along a clear trajectory in the air and landed close to Mochizuki Chihaya.

The Fire Bursts exploded close to her. Although the explosion of each fireball only had a radius of two meters, when all the fireballs exploded simultaneously, the area was quickly devoured by the flames coming from all direction. Mochizuki Chihaya was left with no escape, the flames lunging at her blue magic armor.

Mo Fan had to admit, his opponent’s blue magic armor was some high-quality stuff. It still did not disappear even after enduring so many attacks.

“Fiery Fist: Groundbreak!”

Mochizuki Chihaya finally fell back to the ground, yet Mo Fan had no intention of stopping there. He slammed his fist onto the ground to give Mochizuki Chihaya a taste of an exploding Groundbreak right after she was struck by more than ten consecutive Fire Bursts!

Burning lava washed across the place. Mochizuki Chihaya frowned. Water ribbons circled her. Mo Fan had no idea how the woman had cast the defensive Water Spell while she was blasted so rapidly by his spells. Perhaps she too was able to cast Basic Spells with a single thought!

The water ribbons stacked on her in layers. Mo Fan noticed there were at least six layers of Water Barriers on her. Even Zhao Manyan could only stack four layers of Water Barriers at most. Her control of the Water Element was clearly significantly better than his friend’s!

—

“How violent, I would have lost by now if I was in her spot!” Jiang Yu gasped after seeing Mo Fan’s chain of attacks.

Previously, Mo Fan basically had no chance to fight back against Mochizuki Chihaya’s Plant Element, but now his spells had similarly given Mochizuki Chihaya no chance to find her footing. The two would not stop once they were given an opportunity to counterattack!

—

“She looks weak, yet her defense is harder than a turtle shell. Can she seriously still stand?” Mo Fan panted heavily.

It was a great burden mentally to cast spells continuously. Mo Fan had no choice but to rest up. Otherwise, it was likely that he would fail to channel the spells properly.

Mochizuki Chihaya was in a tough spot, too. She quickly withdrew to a safe spot and cast Water spells on herself.

The burning effect of the flames and the scorching of the lightning were a nuisance, especially how she was knocked flying a few times in the air and was devoured by the lava bursting out from the ground. Luckily, she kept applying layers of Water Barriers to herself, or her armor would have passed its limit by now.

The combination of Fire and Lightning Elements was indeed overwhelming. Most magic armor could only survive a few rounds against them.

“Rise!”

Mochizuki Chihaya was able to recover faster than Mo Fan. She took off her defensive equipment, which had basically lost its effect, and began to control the plants again.

Half of the flames of the Sky-Flame Funeral had disappeared. Mochizuki Chihaya started casting a spell.

She waved her hand in Mo Fan’s direction. Mo Fan caught a glimpse of a faint gray-blue flicker of motion.

Mochizuki Chihaya’s action and the flicker felt familiar to Mo Fan, yet before he could recall what they were, a huge gap was torn apart on the ground before him. The crack was five meters long, and a terrifying vine burst out from it. It was as thick as the trunk of a thousand year old tree.

Most terrifyingly, the vine was incredibly flexible. It could twist as it wished while attacking with the strength of a beast!

Mo Fan immediately retreated when he sensed something did not feel right. To his surprise, the vine was quicker than he was. It struck him hard, and knocked him flying into the air.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was the Demon Tree Hand!

Mo Fan clenched his teeth. He already had a taste of the Demon Tree Hand before. That Glorkian who came from India used the same spell when Mo Fan fought him not long ago!

It was the Advanced Spell of the Plant Element. However, the form of the Demon Tree Hand was dependent on the Magician’s Soul Seed. Mo Fan remembered President Han Ji’s Demon Tree Hand was not a tree, but a man-eating demon flower. A whole bunch of Warrior-level undead were completely eaten by his plant. Han Ji was able to cast the Advanced Spell in an instant, too.

Mochizuki Chihaya was also casting was the Advanced Plant Spell. The terrifying Demon Tree Hand would easily knock him flying for a few dozen meters if its attack landed on him.

Mo Fan was aware of how terrifying the spell was. He immediately put on the Black Snake Armor.

As soon as the Black Snake Armor covered him, the Demon Tree Hand appeared out of nowhere, digging out of the ground behind him. Its thick branch slammed down on Mo Fan and pressed him onto the ground!

Mo Fan crawled to his feet and checked his surroundings alertly, trying to predict where the Demon Tree Hand would come from next. To his surprise, he heard the ground underneath him cracking.

“F**k me!” Mo Fan lowered his gaze and his face turned pale.

It turned out that all the ground within a few hundred meters of him was already covered in cracks. The stage under his feet was already infiltrated by the Demon Tree Hand. Only the surface was made of rocks. The area below the surface was crawling with the roots of the demon tree!

Mo Fan could not react at all. The surface cracked open in an instant, revealing a huge pit full of vines wriggling like enormous pythons. The demon tree had dug a shocking trap under the ground. It was planning to drag Mo Fan right into its mouth!

The mouth of the demon tree was incredibly huge. The dueling ground was made up of layers of rock, yet the demon tree managed to infiltrate them and gain control of the area. A hole with a radius of a hundred meters appeared at the center of the stage, inside it vines and branches that would shred a victim to pieces. Below the hole was a bottomless pit!

The representatives of the Chinese team were completely stunned. They found it hard to believe how strong Mochizuki Chihaya was.

She seemed quite adept at casting the Advanced Spells. The abyss of the Demon Tree Hand was not something they had a chance to escape from.

Mo Fan felt absolutely minuscule as he fell into the hole made by the Demon Tree Hand. If Mochizuki Chihaya was trying to kill him, the others would not be able to find his remains!

—

“Strange, something isn’t right!” Ai Jiangtu had already noticed something. He slowly walked toward the Japanese team.

Mo Fan was already very strong. He had already cast an Advanced Spell and followed up with the powerful combination of the Fire and Lightning Elements. If his opponent was only a student, she would have already lost the duel. Even if Ai Jiangtu was fighting Mo Fan, he would be injured too.

On the other hand, Mochizuki Chihaya was only in a troublesome situation, but she was perfectly unharmed until now. It did not make any sense!

“Who would have thought, Miss Chihaya had to cast this spell just to defeat him,” sighed the Japanese man with spiky hair.

He rose from his seat when he saw Ai Jiangtu approaching. him

“Who is she?” Ai Jiangtu fixed his eyes on Mochizuki Ken and Fujikata Tegami.

“Why did you ask?” asked Fujikata Tegami calmly.

“Her strength…”

“We never said she was a student,” said Fujikata Tegami.

Ai Jiangtu frowned. He was about to say something when Mochizuki Ken spoke, “We made it clear that Mochizuki Chihaya wasn’t an option. He could only choose the nine students in the front row.”

“HAHA, I bet he has already learned his lesson! There’s no point hiding the truth now; Miss Chihaya is our battle instructor! She’s not a student of the National Training Hall!” exclaimed the Japanese student with spiky hair.

“She…she’s not a student?”

“Mm, although she used to be my disciple, she’s no longer a student. She’s currently the instructor of the gatekeepers,” said Fujikata Tegami.

“Damn, I was wondering why the woman is ridiculously strong. She’s a battle instructor, a teacher!” Zhao Manyan’s jaw almost fell to the ground.

“Are you serious, asking a teacher to fight a duel with us? This doesn’t count!” Jiang Yu immediately jumped up from his seat.

How shameless were these Japanese, to let an instructor fight against a student? No wonder Mo Fan was having trouble winning the duel despite his outstanding talents. It was never a fair duel to begin with!

“Humph, didn’t we try to stop him? He insisted on choosing Miss Chihaya as his opponent, and he even provoked us!” shot back the Japanese man with spiky hair.

As a matter of fact, he was the actual captain of the students. Mochizuki Chihaya never sat in the same row as them, but in the row behind them. Even Guan Yu had assumed Mochizuki Chihaya was their captain, thus she was sitting behind the others on her own. To their surprise, that was not the case.

“It doesn’t matter if the duel counts or not, we’ve already asked you to choose another candidate before the duel. It’s not like we’re purposely hiding the truth, but someone is just too stubborn, who insisted on fighting Mochizuki Chihaya,” said Fujikata Tegami.

Ai Jiangtu, Jiang Yu, Nanyu, Zhao Manyan, and the others immediately recalled how Mo Fan did not even give them a chance to explain. He simply yelled out and demanded to fight Mochizuki Chihaya like a maniac…

The person he was picking on was an instructor. How could she possibly stand it when Mo Fan was pointing at her and provoking her?

“To be honest, I would rather say I don’t know who that idiot is,” Zhao Manyan slapped his forehead. After learning Mochizuki Chihaya’s true identity, he immediately had a headache when he recalled how scornful Mo Fan was before.

Mu Ningxue stared at the enormous pit and heard Mo Fan’s screams of agony coming out from it. She began to wonder whether Mo Fan actually had a brain.

If Mo Fan had not barked like a mad dog at the start and asked carefully, he would not be tortured so badly now…

—

Inside the pit, Mo Fan was continuously being struck by the vines and had no clue what was happening on the surface.

The Black Snake Armor had significantly increased his defense, yet it was still extremely painful when the vines continued to bat him around like table tennis!

“Goddamnit, she’s so strong! It looks like I can no longer give her an advantage by using one less Element!

“Little Flame Belle, possess!” Mo Fan roared. He had finally to take the duel seriously!

Mo Fan had only summoned Little Flame Belle before to break free from the cocoon. He did not rely on her power in the duel, but judging from the situation, he would lose horribly if he hesitated to use his trump card!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was blazing red from the fire engulfing him. The Black Snake Armor granted him an outstanding defense, and there was a layer of scorching flames around it now. Even the thick branches of the demon tree were unable to harm him.

After obtaining little Flame Belle’s blessing, Mo Fan immediately summoned a long saber made of flames. He raised the flaming weapon when he saw the branches coming in his direction and slashed at them fiercely!

The fiery saber burned one of the branches into ashes, but there were simply too many branches attacking him. His priority was to escape from the pit at once!

“Thousand Piercing Fire Feathers!”

A pair of wings made of burning feathers appeared on his back. As they beat, burning feathers were fired in all directions!

Each of the feathers exploded when they came into contact with the demon tree. The pitch-black hole was entirely lit up by the explosions, which blasted the demon tree into pieces and set the whole place aflame!

The burning feathers flew in all directions continuously. Mo Fan took hold of the chance to fly out of the hole. Mochizuki Chihaya abruptly realized that Mo Fan was still struggling to break free and immediately controlled the demon tree to surround him.

The branches grew rapidly and loomed over Mo Fan’s head like claws, trying to seal Mo Fan inside the hole.

—

“Chihaya, what are you doing? Don’t overdo it!” exclaimed Mochizuki Ken when he realized that something did not seem right.

The massive hole was covered up by the branches of the demon tree. Once it was entirely covered up, it would be extremely difficult for Mo Fan to escape.

Mochizuki Ken did not want to put the life of a Chinese student at risk because of a duel. He quickly rebuked Chihaya when he realized what she was up to.

“The kid is fine!” replied Mochizuki Chihaya.

As soon as she said that, a great burst of light appeared in the hole. Fire sprang out of the hole like exploding rays. The rate of growth of the demon tree was impressive, yet the rate that the flames were burning the plant was even more shocking. The plants were soon burned into ashes.

In the middle of the flying ashes, a figure engulfed in flames dashed out and sprang into the air!

The flames burning on him did not weaken. He turned into a giant fireball sweeping across the air like a meteorite and fell right on Mochizuki Chihaya!

Mochizuki Chihaya had no idea what kind of power Mo Fan was using. She did not expect him to escape the pit and immediately execute such a powerful attack. She quickly backed off, trying to dodge the imperious fireball…

The fireball did not look huge in the air, but when it started falling, Mochizuki Chihaya immediately felt a great pressure. The Water Barriers around her were evaporated by the overwhelming heat!

“Water Curtain!”

Mochizuki Chihaya realized that she was in a pinch. She hastily cast the Water Advanced Spell.

The Water Curtain formed a barrier like a waterfall in front of Mochizuki Chihaya. If she had realized what Mo Fan was up to a bit earlier, the Water Curtain would have absorbed all of the impact.

Unfortunately, Mochizuki Chihaya was still a bit too late. The flames of the blast lunged at her, a portion landing on her as the Water Curtain took shape.

Mochizuki Chihaya was forced to back away from the heat. Her armor had already lost power. She even forgot she was already standing at the edge of the stage…

She glided back and set foot outside of the boundary. The Water Curtain finally blocked the rest of the energy as the fireball collided with it, and could no longer reach her.

Mo Fan skidded on the ground, leaving a burning ravine, shallow at the start and gradually growing deeper at the end.

Half-kneeling on the ground, Mo Fan slowly raised his head. The flames engulfing him slowly dissipated under the effect of the Water Curtain.

He was incredibly surprised when he realized that Mochizuki Chihaya was perfectly unharmed.

-How is she unhurt? Isn’t this woman too strong to be real!-

Mo Fan rose to his feet on the scorched ground, staring at Mochizuki Chihaya with a hard expression.

On the other hand, Mochizuki Chihaya had a blank face too. She looked at her right foot in disbelief. It was currently outside of the boundary.

Although the rules stated that she would only lose the battle if both her feet were outside of the boundary, she had pretty much lost the duel since she was an instructor.

“Your flames…” Mochizuki Chihaya glanced at Mo Fan. Her eyes sharpened, as if she was trying to see through Mo Fan’s secrets.

“Enough talk, let’s continue the duel since we’ve yet to decide who’s the winner!” Mo Fan was too lazy to ask questions. His desire to win was as strong as the flames erupting from his body!

He clenched his fists. Two tongues of fire appeared and spun around Mo Fan in a ten-meter circle. When the flames collided into one another, the circle was set on fire!

As soon as the ground started burning, he could sense the energies of the Fire Element coming toward him from all directions.

The space around him was quickly filled with fiery energy. Mo Fan felt like he had an abundant supply of power, as if he could do anything with the Fire Element as he wished. He could easily summon Fire Bursts and finish channeling Fiery Fists in an instant. Even the complicated Star Constellation of the Sky-Flame Funeral did not seem as difficult!

“What’s happening?” Mo Fan was mesmerized.

The others only saw some strange flames appearing around Mo Fan. There was nothing special about it, apart from making him look imperious. However, Mochizuki Chihaya could sense a great pressure. Her Water Element was completely dominated by the domain of the Fire Element!

Mochizuki Chihaya suddenly did something strange. She pulled her other foot and stepped outside of the boundary. “You win.”

“I haven’t had enough yet…”

“Stop talking, close your eyes and feel the energy around you. You’ve grasped the ability to produce a Domain!” snapped Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mo Fan was startled, before being overwhelmed with joy!

Domain, an overwhelming capability that he kept hearing about from rumors! It was his Fire Domain!

At that instant, Mo Fan quickly tossed aside his insignificant grudge toward Mochizuki Chihaya to the back of his head. He immediately closed his eyes to grasp the Fire Domain around him…

Mo Fan knew that the Domain did not belong to him. It was the effect after he merged with the little Flame Belle!

However, if he could grasp the power of the Domain, it would significantly improve his strength when he was possessed by the little Flame Belle. It was a rare opportunity!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mochizuki Chihaya conceded!” Fujikata Tegami rose to her feet and glanced at Mochizuki Chihaya in disbelief.

Similarly, Mochizuki Ken, the Japanese commander, and the members of the Japanese team were staring at Mochizuki Chihaya with blank faces.

It was unbelievable that an instructor would lose a duel against a student.

Even though the Chinese student was quite impressive, the people of the West Guardian Tower clearly knew how strong Mochizuki Chihaya actually was.

“She hasn’t even used her Domain yet, why did she concede…” said the Japanese commander.

“It’s overkilling it if she uses her Domain in a duel against a student, but I believe Mochizuki Chihaya has her reasons if she did not want to continue the duel,” said Mochizuki Ken.

The leaders were dumbfounded, let alone the students of the West Guardian Tower, who almost dropped their jaws to the ground. They never thought Mochizuki Chihaya would actually lose the duel!

“Can anyone tell me what’s going on?”

“There’s no way Miss Chihaya would lose the duel. She must be unwilling to continue!” said the captain with spiky hair.

“Even so, that Chinese student called Mo Fan is very strong. I don’t think anyone on our team is able to fight Miss Chihaya like that!”

“Yeah, yeah, I wonder if the captain could face him.”

The captain with spiky hair immediately straightened his figure and insisted, “How am I not worthy to be his opponent? Didn’t I beat many representatives of other countries who tried to win approval from us?”

“But, you never forced Miss Chihaya to use the Advanced Spells of two different Elements.”

“That’s because the situation is different!”

—-

“Mo Fan is such a maniac, able to fight an instructor like that!” Jiang Yu gave Mo Fan a thumbs up.

“Humph, didn’t you see that his opponent conceded on purpose?” huffed Zu Jiming.

“I’m more curious as to why he is standing there doing nothing, same with the Mochizuki Chihaya. She seems to be explaining something to him.”

“I bet he’s still feeling the joy of winning the duel.”

The others could not sense the presence of the Domain. Only the Magician could sense their Domain when it was first Awakened. Mochizuki Chihaya only discovered Mo Fan’s Domain when she felt her Element being suppressed.

Mochizuki Chihaya was an instructor. She subconsciously gave Mo Fan a piece of advice after learning that he had just probed his Domain. It was her responsibility as a teacher. Besides, things like Domains were extremely rare and precious for Magicians. She would not allow Mo Fan to miss such a great opportunity just because she had a grudge against him!

The area held all kinds of Elements that were invisible to the naked eye. Only Magicians could use their senses to probe for their presence and discover them.

A place with an abundant supply of the Fire Element would be dry and scorching. A place with a stronger presence of the Water Element would be wet and damp.

A Domain referred to a Magicians’ ability to accumulate the Element particles within a certain range and gather them within a specific radius, with themselves at the center.

If the mind of the Magician was strong enough and the Element particles accumulated by them reached a certain level, the area was called the Magician’s Domain.

The Domain would improve the strength, form, recovery, control, and channeling of the Magician’s Element, granting them a higher level of mastery of the specific Element.

In addition to that, the Domain could also suppress the strength of an opponent. After all, if a certain area had a strong presence of a certain Element, it meant the presence of other Elements would be weakened.

Therefore, Domains always played an important part in a duel between high-level Magicians. Being able to construct a Domain would result in huge differences in power!

Mo Fan realized that he had truly embarked on the path of magic after reaching the Advanced Level. His spells were no longer confined by their form. With enough control, he could even alter the form of his spells. Fights between Magicians were no longer as predictable and stiff!

Upon reaching the Advanced Level, a Magician’s physical attributes would also improve tremendously. Spells from three different Elements and their own mastery of them would make them completely different from Intermediate and Basic Magicians!

On second thought, the Commander-level creatures usually had dominating abilities. If Magicians were only able to stand still and toss their spells at the demon creatures, how would they stand a chance against the cunning, savage, and enormous Commander-level creatures?

Domains were most likely the deciding factor for Magicians. Those without a Domain could only follow the same routine when casting their spells, regardless of their level. However, those who had awakened their Domain would be able to utilize their magic as they wished. The spells would merge perfectly with their thoughts, allowing them to cast the spells in the form they wished. Even when they were experiencing great pressure, they would still be able to cast spells to defend themselves…

—

Mo Fan’s view toward Mochizuki Chihaya had changed, considering how she was trying her best to guide him in grasping his Domain.

The truth was, not every Advanced Magician would Awaken their Domain. There were many who had not even realized what Domains were. His cultivation was still too weak to directly Awaken it, he had only probed it because of his synchronization with little Flame Belle, granting him a better control over the Fire Element. In other words, it was mainly because of little Flame Belle’s ability. In terms of control, nothing had better control over the Fire Element than a spirit that was born in a Fire Calamity.

“Little Flame Belle, we’ve just probed our Domain, let’s keep it up!” Mo Fan told his beloved daughter.

Little Flame Belle was extremely focused. Mo Fan was quite touched by her dedication to improve after they had escaped death in the Space of Death at the Ancient Capital. She had seriously placed her playful heart down and focused on improving her strength. The talents granted by her noble lineage was absolutely stunning. She had almost awakened her Domain just from putting in some effort!

“According to what she said, we should try our best to accumulate the Fire particles within a kilometer from us!” said Mo Fan to little Flame Belle.

Both Mo Fan and little Flame Belle had to work together in the process. If they succeeded, they would be able to form the Domain. If they failed, the heavens knew how long they would have to wait to receive another opportunity.

The Fire particles could be treated like Fire Fairies lingering in the space. A high Elemental compatibility was a must if they were to move closer to the Magician voluntarily. The fighting spirit that Mo Fan had displayed in his duel against Mochizuki Chihaya was something that the Fire Fairies were quite fond of!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Damn, what are they doing? Why are they still standing there when the duel is already finished? Don’t tell me they are falling for one another?” Zhao Manyan wondered aloud impatiently.

No one would purposely sense the distribution of Element particles in their surroundings in the middle of a duel. Besides, a special device was necessary to accurately determine the distribution of Element particles in an area most of the time.

“It does look that way… maybe they are already exchanging their contacts in WeChat.”

“Idiot, Japanese doesn’t use WeChat.”

“It’s fine to exchange numbers then… judging from how long they are taking, maybe they have already decided on the room number for tonight,” Li Kaifeng smiled.

He turned around and saw Nanyu staring at the men who were having lewd thoughts with an unfriendly expression. He quickly withdrew his smile and shut his mouth.

—

The two finally separated after some time.

By separating, it meant Mochizuki Chihaya returned to her seat. She gave her mentor, Fujikata Tegami an apologetic bow, apologizing for losing the duel.

“You did well, but you underestimated your opponent,” said Fujikata Tegami.

“Chihaya, were you giving him guidance… I can sense the Fire particles in the area behaving abnormally.” Mochizuki Ken was indeed an experienced Magician. He soon realized something was out of place.

“Yes.”

“Does that mean he…” Mochizuki Ken was stunned. He quickly fixed his eyes on Mo Fan. Someone on the Chinese team had already probed their Domain!

China really had lots of talents. A random kid who was acting like a thug had already achieved such an impressive cultivation level. He could not help but wonder if their national team would stand a chance against the Chinese team at Venice!

The representatives of the Japanese team were stronger than the students appointed as the gatekeepers of the National Training hall. However, it was difficult to tell if anyone on the team had probed their Domain.

“You shouldn’t have done that, he might become a strong opponent for us,” whispered the Japanese commander when he saw Mochizuki Chihaya returning to her seat.

They were clearly aware of the significance of a Magician that had Awakened their Domain. Someone with a Domain was always one of the best candidates in the World College Tournament.

“I’ve only done what a teacher should be doing,” replied Mochizuki Chihaya.

—

Up on the stage, Mo Fan finally opened his eyes. Fiery sparkles flickered behind his brown pupils, soon hidden behind his confident gaze.

It was a pity that he had failed to Awaken the Domain right away. That being said, Mo Fan knew things like this were unpredictable. At the very least, he had taken the first step that many Advanced Magicians were clueless about. He believed if he continued to fight strong opponents like today, helping him discover his hidden potential, it would only be a matter of time until he Awakened his Domain.

When that happened, he would surely master the ability!

Domains were incredible, and even though he was only under its effects for a short period of time, Mo Fan clearly remembered the feeling of being able to control the Fire Element as he wished.

It felt like his spells were no longer confined to the fixed Star Orbits, Star Patterns or Star Constellations, and he was able to cast magic purely with his mind!

—

“What spell did you use? How did you set yourself on fire?” Guan Yu asked when Mo Fan came off the stage.

“Do you think I’m going to tell you? I have lots of other tricks under my sleeves, so I suggest you not annoy me for your own sake,” answered Mo Fan haughtily.

“Well done, Mo Fan! You’ve made an instructor concede in a duel. That’s unbelievable!” Jiang Yu came up to Mo Fan and patted him heavily on the shoulder.

“What instructor?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“That Japanese woman was an instructor instead of a student. You were having a duel with a teacher!” said Zhao Manyan.

“Holy crap, are you serious?” Mo Fan gaped.

“You bet I am! Otherwise, do you really think a Japanese student would be as strong as her?”

Mo Fan looked at Ai Jiangtu, who nodded slightly and told him, “That instructor is even stronger than me, and I think she was still holding back in the duel.”

“F**k me, Japan has lots of strange people indeed. That woman looks very young, how is she an instructor…” said Mo Fan.

On second thought, Mochizuki Chihaya was indeed too strong to be a student. The way she used her Advanced Spells and her control of the Basic and Intermediate Spells clearly indicated that she was on a different level. Luckily, he had been hiding some trump cards up his sleeves. Otherwise, he would surely have suffered a great loss!

Why was she helping him with the Domain?

Mo Fan soon came back to the question. It went without saying that the woman would have a grudge against him. She had no reason to help him…

However, Mo Fan had a different view of her because of that. She was indeed a great teacher if she was willing to teach someone regardless of their nationality.

Without her guidance, Mo Fan would have no clue what a Domain was. He would have missed the opportunity to take the first step in Awakening a Domain!

Speaking of Domain, Mo Fan immediately thought of Mu Ningxue and went up to her.

Mu Ningxue had a bad feeling when she saw Mo Fan sneaking up to her. Luckily, Mo Fan did have some serious questions to ask instead of his usual annoying flirting.

Mo Fan dragged Mu Ningxue into a corner and lowered his voice, “I believe you’re the only one with a Domain on this team?”

Mu Ningxue nodded. The fact that she had Awakened her Domain was not really a secret in their country.

“Let’s find a night to visit a small bar and have an intimate talk with our knees together. I think I’ve just probed a Domain during the duel,” Mo Fan blinked his eyes, as if he was having some lewd thoughts instead of discussing some serious matter.

“There’s nothing to discuss, I was born with the Domain,” replied Mu Ningxue calmly.

Despite the rejection, Mu Ningxue was surprised to learn of Mo Fan’s improvement, especially when he told her that he had probed the Domain.

How did he train himself? Even some of the old Magicians had trouble probing a Domain. They usually needed the help of Soul-grade Seeds to Awaken their Domain.

Mo Fan’s cultivation was not particularly outstanding. He only had Spirit-grade Seeds too, and considering the number of Elements he had, he would have trouble improving them all simultaneously, yet his Fire Element had achieved such a remarkable level. It just did not make any sense!

“You would still know a thing or two even if you’re born with it,” Mo Fan did not give up.

“I have nothing to teach you.”

“You surely have something.”

“You can try asking your Japanese teacher,” retorted Mu Ningxue.

“Ugh… it wasn’t anything like that,” Mo Fan’s expression was awkward.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The next duel was between Jiang Shaoxu and Koike Shoko.

Without any surprise, there was no chance that a Psychic Magician would lose in a one-on-one duel. The continuous Psychic Impacts simply gave her opponent no chance to cast a single spell.

Mo Fan had already experienced how disgusting it was to fight a Psychic Magician at Pearl Institute. He would have been crushed by Ding Yumian if it weren’t for his Focus Necklace.

Koike Shoko was not weak, yet Jiang Shaoxu’s Psychic Element gave her a great advantage. Koike Shoko suffered a humiliating defeat pretty soon.

Jiang Shaoxu lifted her proud gaze after the duel and said to her opponent, “This is the difference between a representative on the national team and a gatekeeper. It’s unwise to judge us by the standard of the countries that lost against you.”

They had won all three of the duels. They did not disappoint themselves, considering how confident they were at the start.

As the duels came to an end, everyone went back to their rooms to rest up. The strength of the Chinese national team had indeed surprised the people of the West Guardian Tower.

—

Late at night, the Japanese commander slowly walked back and forth on the balcony holding a phone in his hand. He was talking cautiously to the person on the other end.

“We’ve recorded the duels. We’ll send the information we collected over tonight. Unfortunately, they only sent three representatives to fight the duels. If we can collect more information, it will be of great help to us,” said the Japanese commander.

“Commander Takagi, the students of your West Guardian Tower are quite disappointing. I’ve already learned the details of the duels from my other subordinate. Your students lost the duels before they could gather any useful information,” said the slightly blurred voice on the other end.

“That isn’t the case. I believe you’ll be surprised if you watched the second duel. The representative from China was fighting against Mochizuki Chihaya, but he managed to stay in the duel for quite a long time. His Fire Element is extraordinary. I’ve already watched the recording, and if I’m not mistaken, the Chinese student is most likely a Summoner who has a rare Fire Elemental Beast. His rather unique Contracted Beast granted him the astonishing power of the Fire Element,” said Commander Takagi.

“Oh, I did hear something about it… let’s discuss it later, that goddamned Iwata is still not telling us?” asked the man with the blurred voice.

“It doesn’t seem like it,” replied Commander Takagi.

“Then he will be staying longer in the East Guardian Tower. I would like to see if he is tougher than the punishment he will receive in the East Guardian Tower!”

“What if he’s still not willing to tell us?”

“Do you seriously think he’ll trade his life just to keep the secret?”

“I think… ah, Chihaya, why are you still awake at this time?” blurted out Commander Takagi in the middle of his sentence when he suddenly discovered Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mochizuki Chihaya was standing on the balcony. Commander Takagi did not notice her at first, as she was hidden by the shadows.

Mochizuki Chihaya turned around. She was wearing a kimono with a ribbon around her waist. Her outstanding physique was rather alluring under the moonlight, even though she was trying to hide her sexiness.

“It’s very late now, who are you talking to on the phone?” asked Mochizuki Chihaya smiling when she realized Commander Takagi’s phone was lit up.

“Oh…oh, just a silly subordinate. I’m scolding him for some mistake he has made. Matsumoto, you better hand in the report I want early in the morning tomorrow. Otherwise, I’ll allocate you to some guard duty on the islands!” Commander Takagi said into the phone with a stern voice.

The aged commander standing on the walls along the maritime battlefield in Tokyo immediately had a dark expression, yet he had no choice but to put up an act. He lowered his voice and said, “Alright, Commander Takagi, I’ll fix the report overnight.”

“That’s all,” Commander Takagi hung up the call impatiently and shoved it into his pocket. He looked at Mochizuki Chihaya with a gentle smile.

Commander Takagi was around forty years old. He was not tall, and the lines on his face were sagging. His eyes curled into a line whenever he smiled, making it difficult to see his thoughts.

“Having trouble sleeping? Why don’t you come and have some drinks in my room? An old friend in Tokyo just brought me some nice wine, I know you’re a fan of it,” Commander Takagi walked closer to Mochizuki Chihaya and invited her with a gesture.

“I’m feeling a bit sleepy,” replied Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Oh, go get some rest then,” conceded Commander Takagi calmly.

“It is time for the guards in the East Guardian Tower to exchange their shifts, aren’t you supposed to be there, Commander Takagi?” Mochizuki Chihaya glanced at the mountain on the other side.

“I’ll be there after I retrieve something… oh, by the way, I’m sorry for what happened to your brother Iwata, we’ve sent many people out to find him, but we haven’t found any clues yet,” said Commander Takagi.

Mochizuki Chihaya stood there in silence.

Commander Takagi slowly walked forward. He looked at Mochizuki Chihaya’s back with a side glance as he walked past the woman and grinned with an evil flicker in his eyes.

—

Mochizuki Chihaya remained in her spot after Commander Takagi left. She only told the man she was tired just so he would not bother her further. She lifted her gaze and looked at the East Guardian Tower on the other mountain with a complicated expression.

“Are you really in there? Why did they lock you up?” murmured Mochizuki Chihaya.

A red glow suddenly descended from the top floor of the tower, followed by the ringing of an alarm, breaking the silence of the night.

Mochizuki Chihaya immediately jumped to the top floor and asked the guard, “What’s going on?”

The people asleep in the West Guardian Tower were immediately woken up by the alarm, with guards running up and down the stairs and balconies as they proceeded to their positions.

The West Guardian Tower was basically a fortress on a mountain. The sea to the east was considered the territory of the demon creatures outside of Osaka’s boundary.

“There’s something in the ocean!” replied a guard on duty.

“What is it? Did you take a close look at it?” asked Mochizuki Chihaya.

“It’s in the water, but I didn’t see what it was. More than a hundred sensors in the water were destroyed,” said the guard.

“More than a hundred? Is a pack of demon creatures invading us?”

“No, I think there’s only one!”

Mochizuki Chihaya’s eyes were immediately filled with astonishment and terror when she heard the words.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

…

“What the heck, why can’t I enjoy a good sleep?” Mo Fan yawned and rose from his bed. He was still wearing white sleepwear.

The others were woken up by the alarm, too. They all went to the balconies outside their rooms.

Mo Fan could see a red light flickering. It was similar to the light of a Blood Alert. His expression immediately darkened as he mumbled to himself, “Are you serious? Are you telling me that every city I go to will have some kind of disaster?”

Mo Fan took a closer look and realized the light was different from a Blood Alert. It was only a signal for the guards in the West Guardian Tower.

The guards were busy patrolling around the tower. Many of them were heading up the stairs to the top floor. Mo Fan immediately blended into the guards and followed them to the top floor. He was curious to find out what was happening.

—

Commander Takagi and Mochizuki Ken were standing at the top of the tower, with Japanese soldiers lined up behind them. They were all looking at the area on the sea around six kilometers away from the tower.

The sea was some distance away from the West Guardian Tower. The bright moon reflected off the surface of the ocean, and it was obvious that something there was producing irregular waves that were splashing onto the rocks nearby.

The disturbance had come from that area, yet no one saw anything suspicious, apart from the irregular waves.

“What exactly is it?” asked Mochizuki Ken in a surprised tone.

“We’re not sure yet,” replied Commander Takagi in a deep voice.

The people of the West Guardian Tower had placed lots of buoys in the ocean close to Osaka’s boundary. The sensors would only respond when they detected the presence of living creatures.

Occasionally, some creatures would trigger the buoys, but it was rare to see more than a hundred sensors being triggered simultaneously.

Most importantly, they had discovered that the buoys were all triggered by a single creature!

Each buoy was around four meters apart. In other words, the creature that triggered the sensors was a gigantic sea creature!

“Commander Takagi, the creature seems to have withdrawn deep into the ocean!” reported a captain as he landed on the tower and withdrew his Wind Wings.

“It fled?” Commander Takagi was puzzled.

If a gigantic creature had triggered the sensors, it was most likely that the creature was up to something. Commander Takagi was just about to have the soldiers prepare for a huge battle, but the situation was resolved just like that?

“Maybe it accidentally came into our territory?” said Mochizuki Ken.

“I don’t think so, such a high-level creature must have a certain level of intelligence. There’s no way it doesn’t know this area belongs to us humans…” Commander Takagi stared into the distance and said after a slight hesitation, “I should go and check, just in case.”

Commander Takagi summoned an enormous beast. It had a head like tiger, with gray wings on its back. The wings were eight meters long when they were extended, even more majestic than the wings of a giant eagle.

The creature carried Commander Takagi as it soared into the sky. It flew a few hundred meters away by just beating its wings a few times. It gradually shrank into a tiny dot as it proceeded toward the area where the sensors were.

“That’s Commander Takagi’s Sky Ridge Beast, I’m so jealous!” sighed a captain.

“I heard that his Contracted Beast’s strength is almost on par with the Ruler-level creatures. If he’s lucky enough to help the creature evolve, Commander Takagi is going to become the strongest Summoner in Osaka!” said another captain.

“Yeah, Commander Takagi has been stationed here at the West Guardian Tower for quite some time, but normally people with his capabilities would be appointed to the maritime battlefield in Tokyo… hey, who are you, you’re not supposed to be here!” the captain’s expression darkened when he suddenly saw an uninvited guest.

Mochizuki Ken turned around and saw the person was a young man in his sleepwear.

The young man was still rubbing his eyes as if he had not fully woken up yet.

“Mo Fan, this isn’t somewhere you should be,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“Oh, I only came to take a look and see if there’s anything I can help with. It seems like the whole West Guardian Tower is in a panic,” Mo Fan replied curiously.

“A gigantic sea creature has appeared, but it seems like it has run away,” replied Mochizuki Ken.

The alarm slowly faded. As an important fortress protecting Osaka’s shoreline, the security of the West Guardian Tower was fairly tight. The guards were on alert twenty-four hours. It was not rare for the alarm to go off.

“A gigantic creature? How gigantic?” asked Mo Fan.

“We aren’t too sure either, our men didn’t really see the creature. We only detected it through the sensors, but it has now left,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“Yeah, it even triggered more than a hundred buoys. I almost thought a pack of demon creatures is invading Osaka. Luckily, it was only a creature that mistakenly trespassed into our territory.”

Mo Fan glanced at the area with a suspicious look. The ocean reflecting the silver glow of the moon was now calm. The crescent and stars could be seen from the surface of the ocean, a soothing scenery.

“If nothing actually happened, I guess I’ll head back to sleep,” said Mo Fan.

“Mm, go ahead, the West Guardian Tower can handle the situation if anything happened,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“That’s good to hear.”

“Kid, don’t come up here again!”

“(cough cough) I’ll be going.”

“Xiao Zhe, escort him back,” Mochizuki Ken called a soldier over to bring Mo Fan down.

“You sound like you’re scared that I’m going to run off to somewhere else again…” said Mo Fan.

—

The soldier called Xiao Zhe followed Mo Fan closely, making sure that he would not go somewhere else again.

They happened to pass by the drawbridge on their way down. Mo Fan glanced at the drawbridge that was lowered and asked Xiao Zhe curiously, “Why is the drawbridge lowered? I thought that place is a prohibited area?”

“It’s time for the guards to change shifts. You don’t think the guards will be staying in there for days, right?” answered Xiao Zhe.

“Speaking of which, what exactly is the East Guardian Tower used for? Why is everyone being so mysterious about it…” asked Mo Fan.

“It’s none of your…”

Before Xiao Zhe could finish sentence, thick lightning bolts descended from the sky. From their position, it felt like the energy of the magic formation was going to tear the night sky apart, and the lightning bolts were about to travel across the drawbridge and strike the West Guardian Tower!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was given a great scare by the incredible power of the magic formation, and he subconsciously took a few steps back. The black mountain opposite the one he was standing on was brightly lit, especially the East Guardian Tower at the peak. The gray-white walls were shrouded by the yellow light of death. It was like the whole building would be turned into scattered ashes and dispersed smoke in any second.

“Is…is this some kind of daily routine too?” Mo Fan looked at Xiao Zhe beside him with a stunned expression.

Xiao Zhe too was dumbfounded. He was about to answer when someone’s voice, talking in Japanese, came from the drawbridge.

Judging from the voice, the guards in the East Guardian Tower were in a panic. They were yelling at the West Guardian Tower.

It turned out that most of the guards were moved to the south because of the strange incident of the sea creature. The East Guardian Tower did not have as many guards as it should have.

“You should go back to the middle floor at once. I must go sound the alarm,” Xiao Zhe immediately headed for the guard tower after hearing the shout.

Xiao Zhe had already run into the distance before Mo Fan could ask any questions. He was left alone on one end of the drawbridge.

Glancing at the lightning bolts dancing wildly on the other mountain, Mo Fan immediately felt a great urge to check the situation out.

“No one is bringing me, so it’s easy for me to lose my way, so I should go to the other side to ask for directions. Mm, sounds about right…” Mo Fan mumbled to himself before slowing heading to the other side across the drawbridge.

Zhao Manyan’s long-lost brother had mentioned that the magic formation would only target those trying to trespass into the area. It would not pose any threat to Mo Fan as long as he was standing on the drawbridge.

Mo Fan slowly stepped forward on the drawbridge. He realized that he was standing above the abyss between the two mountains. He walked to the edge and peeked down. The strong snapping glare of the formation was lighting the place up. However, he could only see the cliffs of the mountains, not the bottom of the abyss.

Half of the drawbridge was out of range of the magic formation. Mo Fan had traveled a third of the way across. He could see the yellow lightning bolts dancing wildly in the sky by glancing up. There were a dozen lightning bolts close to the drawbridge, in addition to the number surrounding the East Guardian Tower. There were simply too many. Mo Fan firmly believed that his tiny body would be torn into pieces within half a second if he was tossed into the air!

“What are these Japanese up to?” Mo Fan frowned. He glanced across the drawbridge.

Amid the lightning flashes, Mo Fan vaguely saw a few Magicians in uniform running towards him. They seemed to be in a pinch…

Before they could reach the middle of the drawbridge, several demonic branches appeared from below the bridge and quickly wrapped around the Magicians.

Before Mo Fan could react, the guards were flung away from the drawbridge.

The area away from the drawbridge was completely covered by the magic formation. Mo Fan immediately saw the three guards being shredded into ashes by the lightning bolts!

Mo Fan was stunned by the scene. It took him a few seconds to recover.

“Mo Fan, what are you doing here!” Mochizuki Ken’s loud voice came from behind him.

Mo Fan was terrified. He immediately went back to the other side.

“I told you not to go anywhere else!” snapped Mochizuki Ken furiously.

“I just saw…” argued Mo Fan.

“We’ll handle the situation ourselves. You will return to your room at once. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind punishing you according to our rules here!” said Mochizuki Ken.

“I saw a few guards being killed…”

“Whatever you saw was none of your business; Xiao Zhe, bring him away!” said Mochizuki Ken with a firm voice.

Xiao Zhe immediately walked up to Mo Fan with a dark expression.

Mo Fan had no idea what to say. He had no choice but to leave the drawbridge.

——

“Can you stop going to places you’re not supposed to? The upper floor is already off-limits to you, the drawbridge and the East Guardian Tower are prohibited areas too! Luckily, it was Mr. Mochizuki who found you. He has always been kind to everyone. If it was Commander Takagi, he wouldn’t let you go so easily,” said Xiao Zhe cautiously.

The lightning bolts finally disappeared after they arrived on the middle floor. Mo Fan was still full of questions. He immediately asked Xiao Zhe, “I saw demon branches tossing a few guards off the bridge, killing them instantly!”

“Nonsense, Mochizuki Chihaya is the only Advanced Plant Magician in both the West and East Guardian Towers. You must have seen it wrong!” said Xiao Zhe angrily.

“Why are you panicking? I never said it was Mochizuki Chihaya,” complained Mo Fan.

“How am I panicking? I just think that you shouldn’t slander Miss Chihaya like that. Don’t say anything like that again, especially not in front of Commander Takagi!” said Xiao Zhe hurriedly.

“Do you have feelings for Mochizuki Chihaya?” wondered Mo Fan.

“Of…of course not, what the heck are you saying!” Xiao Zhe started to panic again. He even blushed.

“Oh, maybe I did see it wrong. The light of the magic formation is very bright after all. By the way, is that Mochizuki Chihaya’s room? I believe we had some misunderstandings before. However, she was still willing to put her grudge aside to give me some advice, I would like to apologize to her tomorrow,” said Mo Fan.

Xiao Zhe immediately answered as if he was trying to cover something up, “Yeah, her room is at the end of the corridor. Miss Chihaya is a very nice person, she’s the most loyal to the West Guardian Tower…”

“Mm, I’ll be fine, I’m heading back to sleep,” Mo Fan went into his room and locked the door behind him.

Xiao Zhe was a responsible soldier too. He decided to stand in front of Mo Fan’s door, just so the man would not run away again.

Inside the room, Mo Fan found himself amused by Xiao Zhe’s reaction.

He opened the window and sneaked out of the room in a lump of shadow. He easily made his way down the corridor without attracting Xiao Zhe’s attention.

—

Mo Fan moved sneakily in the dark. He flowed over a fake hill just a second ago before he appeared in the corridor he walked past before, where Mochizuki Chihaya’s room was.

Mo Fan was smacked around by Mochizuki Chihaya’s demon branches after dinner. He was confident that the demon branches that tossed the guards into the air were extremely similar to those that Mochizuki Chihaya had summoned!

If Mochizuki Chihaya was from the West Guardian Tower, there was no reason she would kill the guards. It was shocking how three human lives were erased from the world just like that, yet everyone was reacting oddly, as if the secret in the East Guardian Tower was more important than the deaths of the guards!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The door into the room was locked. However, it was nowhere enough to stop someone like Mo Fan who was already an expert at sneaking into women’s rooms at late night. He could easily break in as long as the room had a window.

A clear human shadow stuck to the corner before it silently sneaked into the room through the half-covered window. The window’s ../style was somewhat retro. Its curtains made it troublesome for Mo Fan to sneak in, yet he easily handled the problem.

“Humph, she’s not in her room, as I thought.” Mo Fan checked his surroundings and discovered that the room was empty, although the light was on.

The room was decorated in a mix of retro and modern ../styles. It was extremely clean, and everything was placed tidily. Even the bed was perfect, without a single wrinkle. The dressing table had bottles of perfumes, hand lotions, hair cream, and a stand with all kinds of decorations, ribbons, and hairpins. A kimono was hung on the clothes stand…

Mmm?

The kimono looked familiar. It seemed like the one she was wearing today. It still had an alluring fragrance. Mo Fan took a sniff, his mind instantly filled with the image of Mochizuki Chihaya’s outstanding physique under her kimono.

“Such fragrance, why does the room smell so nice even when she’s not here…” Mo Fan soon captured a different fragrance. It seemed to be coming from the bathroom.

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom sprang open. A smooth, glossy leg stepped through the door. Mo Fan immediately experienced an adrenaline rush when he saw the leg!

Mo Fan was looking down at the start. He subconsciously lifted his gaze along the sexy leg!

A purple bath towel happened to be covering the most important part. However, the bath tower was not wrapped around her body. It was dangling in front of the woman as she was drying her hair. Mo Fan could even see her smooth, skinny pelvis…

Mo Fan gulped down and lifted his gaze further. As he thought, the little bath towel was nowhere enough to cover her spectacular breasts. Such bounciness despite their size, the jade-white gloss, and the perfect shape!

“Baka!”

Mochizuki Chihaya was drying herself with the towel. She totally did not expect someone to be in her room. She quickly reacted by wrapping herself with the towel and controlled a magic vine to grab the kimono off the clothes stand!

She quickly draped the kimono over herself, flinging her wet hair in the air.

The whole process only took less than a second. Mo Fan did not even have a chance to enjoy the sight of her alluring body.

“You have five seconds to explain yourself. You’ll die your reason is not good enough to convince me!” Mochizuki Chihaya’s face blushed, yet her eyes were extremely cold.

“This…this is a misunderstanding, I didn’t know you were in…”

“Two seconds!” snapped Mochizuki Chihaya coldly.

“Holy crap, calm down!”

“Three seconds!” Mochizuki Chihaya’s gaze sharpened. Black demon branches were growing out of the room, sealing off the exit. In other words, if Mo Fan did not give her a convincing explanation, she would not let him leave in one piece!

“Demon Tree! I saw a Demon Tree similar to yours on the drawbridge to the East Guardian Tower. I thought it was you, so I came here to prove my speculation. I didn’t expect you to be in your room, or to be taking a shower… I’m not the kind of person you think I am!” blurted out Mo Fan.

“Seven seconds!” said Mochizuki Chihaya when Mo Fan finished speaking.

“Trust me, I just came from the upper floor. I really saw a Demon Tree that’s the same as yours. Otherwise, why would I come to your room for no reason?! I’m really not that kind of a person!” said Mo Fan.

Mochizuki Chihaya stared at the man coldly. Her eyes flickered murderously.

Her wet hair was dangling down on her back. Drops of water pattered to the floor. The atmosphere in the room was extremely weird.

“Did you say that you saw the same Demon Tree that I Summon?” asked Mochizuki Chihaya, one word at a time.

“Exactly! Your Demon Tree is gray-blue because of your Soul Seed, with the shape of a Chinese bellflower… I saw the same Demon Tree in the East Guardian Tower. It grabbed three of the guards and tossed them off the bridge. The lightning bolts immediately shredded them into ashes!” exclaimed Mo Fan.

“Tell me everything right from the start,” said Mochizuki Chihaya expressionlessly.

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh, sensing that the tension has eased.

However, before he could relax, two stalks of gray-blue Chinese bellflower appeared behind the woman. Sharp thorns extended from the petals toward Mo Fan’s face!

“If you dare lie to me… hmph!” declared Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mo Fan was soaked in cold sweat. They always said that curiosity killed the cat. He had only come to confirm his speculation, yet he happened to sneak into the woman’s room when she was taking a shower. Didn’t he come at a perfect time…ugh, the woman’s body was pretty hot, his blood was boiling just from the sight!

Mo Fan did not dare to imagine further. He quickly told her the series of events.

Mochizuki Chihaya already knew about the gigantic sea creature. On top of that, Mo Fan’s description of the upper level, the soldier Xiao Zhe, and the guards protecting the drawbridge was accurate, too. She had no choice but to believe that Mo Fan was telling the truth.

“I wasn’t lying to you; the Demon Tree killed the three guards in an instant. I also heard cries of agony asking for help when I was on the drawbridge. Someone must be massacring the people in the East Guardian Tower, but Mochizuki Ken chased me away instead!” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan simply could not understand what the East Guardian Tower was trying to hide. The sight of the three guards being shredded by the magic formation was still stuck in Mo Fan’s mind, sending chills down his spine!

Mochizuki Chihaya lowered her head with a clearly complicated expression.

The room fell silent. The fragrance from the woman coming out of the shower assailed Mo Fan’s nose. He secretly took a peek at Mochizuki Chihaya. The death of the three guards in his mind was immediately replaced by some evil thoughts. The blood in his body started boiling again.

“Even if you’re telling the truth, it’s also a fact that you’ve sneaked into my room and saw my naked body. I’ll let someone deal with you. You won’t be able to participate in the World College Tournament anymore. You will soon be sent back to your country, waiting to be punished!” Mochizuki Chihaya promised coldly.

“Sister… I really didn’t mean it, can we settle it among ourselves?” Mo Fan immediately had a headache.

“We can!”

Mo Fan was startled. -Damn, did she really have to respond so decisively? Is she seriously willing to settle it privately?-

That being said, Mo Fan would never think that Mochizuki Chihaya was someone who would settle a dispute so easily. Maybe she was planning to demand something even worse from him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

...

...

As Mo Fan recalled it, he believed that he would have trouble grabbing the woman’s boobs with a single hand. If he dug his face into them, he would most likely suffocate!

As for her lower body, the curves of her waist and pelvic were extraordinarily elegant. The tenderness and gloss of her skin made her visually exhilarating. The excitement simply surged through his cells, as if they were going to raise their flags and revolt, just so they could all move onto her body.

However, honestly speaking, if Mo Fan knew he would be dangling on a tree by the edge of a cliff, with a magic formation above him that could easily shred him into ashes, he would be more than willing to give up on the alluring encounter!

Damn it, he knew the woman was not something he could handle easily!

“Say, do we really have to sneak in through here? Aren’t you a member of the Mochizuki Clan that protects the Twin Guardian Towers? Why do we have to climb the cliff instead of taking the drawbridge? I can feel my legs weakening!” Mo Fan lifted his gaze and looked at Mochizuki Chihaya, who was standing on the top of the pine tree.

Mochizuki Chihaya’s legs were right above Mo Fan. Luckily, she was not wearing her kimono. Otherwise, Mo Fan would have seen it all from his angle.

Mochizuki Chihaya was wearing a black outfit. The soft cloth was wrapping her figure tightly. Her body ratios, which could only be found on characters in an anime, were even more alluring. Mo Fan believed that it was a waste for her to become a Magician. She should learn from the great teacher Sola Aoi and service the millions of disciples of the Right Hand Religion, benefiting mankind.

“The fact that I’m a member of the Mochizuki Clan is exactly why this is the only way for us to sneak into the East Guardian Tower,” answered Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Do we really have to go in there?” asked Mo Fan.

“There’s no other way!”

“Just let me apologize, I know it’s my bad sneaking into your room like that…”

“Don’t you ever mention it again!” Mochizuki Chihaya’s tone was murderous.

Mo Fan immediately shut his mouth.

—-

That’s right, Mochizuki Chihaya was settling the dispute by asking Mo Fan’s help to sneak into the East Guardian Tower.

Even though Mo Fan had no clue what was happening inside the East Guardian Tower, he was sure that Mochizuki Chihaya was very concerned about the person who had the same Soul Seed as hers.

The security of the East Guardian Tower was extremely tight, not to mention the terrifying magic formation protecting it. Mo Fan never thought he would be dragged into this mess just because he was curious once.

Forget it, he had already seen the woman naked. It would not hurt to go on a crazy adventure with her. Otherwise, how would he possibly survive the night?

“Since we’re sneaking in, aren’t you going to tell me something? Like who the person that uses the same Demon Tree as yours is? Why did he kill the guards? Why is the East Guardian Tower off-limit, like they were doing some secret experiment in there?” said Mo Fan.

Mochizuki Chihaya did not answer. She stood on the tree with her eyes closed. She was using a spell to control the vines growing along the cliff.

The vines served as a ladder for them to climb. The whole mountain was protected by the invisible magic formation. A bird that stopped on a rock poking out from the wall would be scorched within an instant. If it weren’t for the fact that Mochizuki Chihaya was extremely familiar with the magic formation, there was no way they could sneak into the East Guardian Tower.

“When you cross that spot, stick closely to the rocks,” Mochizuki Chihaya specifically reminded Mo Fan who was climbing up the vines behind her.

“Why aren’t you sticking to the rocks?” asked Mo Fan.

“I’m skinnier,” answered Mochizuki Chihaya unpleasantly.

“But your boobs and ass are huge…”

“What did you say!?”

“I said, you should be more careful too!”

Mo Fan stuck closely to the jagged rocks. He felt like the world’s greatest thief trying to avoid the infrared sensors inside a museum.

He had witnessed how terrifying the magic formation was in person, so he was particularly cautious when climbing up the vines. Even though the alluring buttocks were right within reach of his arms, he did not dare to lose focus. After all, he had to stick right along the cliff as he moved up. If he kept staring at her derriere, he would have difficulty sticking close to the rocks, since his size was around eighteen centimeters…

—

The East Guardian Tower was shrouded in darkness. Not a single light was on. It was so dark that the structure almost blended into the darkness. Even the light of the stars and the moon could not reach it.

The two climbed up the steep rocks along the cliff behind the East Guardian Tower. They could already see the base of the tower.

“The walls of the tower are protected by magic formations, too. They would burn my plants instantly if they made contact with the walls. I sensed the Shadow Element when you snuck into my room. You can cast Fleeing Shadow, which is why I didn’t notice you at first, correct?” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Well…” Mo Fan did not want too many people to know that he had more Elements than he should.

“I’m not interested in other people’s secrets, but you’ll need to use Fleeing Shadow to move into that spot and throw a rope down for me to climb up,” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mo Fan had no choice but to follow her order.

He let go of the vines. His shadow immediately stuck closely to the walls of the tower and glided upwards.

The wall of the tower was quite tall, like a huge dam. A human was tiny like a fly compared to it.

The shadow moved closer to a spot above the base of the tower. It was a gutter facing the cliff with nowhere to stand. Mo Fan had to fix the end of the rope into a hole to barely make it possible for someone to grab onto it.

The night breeze swept past. The perfectly straight cliff looked eerily spooky. A rope was dropped down from the back of the tower to the rocks.

Mochizuki Chihaya grabbed the robe and swiftly climbed up. She soon reached the gutter where Mo Fan was.

“There’s a vent above us. We can climb into the East Guardian Tower from there,” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

“I’ve already helped you to reach here, I’ll leave the rest to you… just put down that Demon Tree, fine, I’ll follow you inside.”

“What’s with all the nonsense!?”

—

The vent was extremely narrow. Luckily, Mo Fan was able to cast Fleeing Shadow, or he would be stuck inside the vent. Meanwhile, Mochizuki Chihaya had no problem climbing in since she was skinnier.

“Can you now tell me what exactly is in this East Guardian Tower?” asked Mo Fan.

“You really want to know?” asked Mochizuki Chihaya in return.

“Are you kidding, I’ve already snuck inside it!”

“It’s Japan’s S-Class Prison.”

“A…a prison?” Mo Fan almost dropped his jaws to the ground.

“Mm, a place where all the world infamous criminals are kept.”

“Criminals like murderers and drug vendors?”

Mochizuki Chihaya shook her head and said, “Everyone in here is an evil Magician who has killed more than a hundred Magicians on average!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The death penalty was a rather complicated punishment. It did not simply mean taking the lives of the people who had committed serious offenses.

For someone with unforgivable crimes and misdeeds, killing them was not the best punishment. The pain inflicted on the others for the people they killed and their evil deeds would last for years or even tens of years. If they were simply put on electrical chairs or finished off with guns, it would free the criminals instead!

A real, scary punishment did not only consist of a bullet, since that would only inflict a swift pain and eradicate them. It was keeping them alive while taking away their freedom. It was imprisoning them for life inside a pitch-black, cold cage, where they would never see the sunlight or any other human being.

Japan’s Enforcement Union had already canceled the death sentence. The criminals who had committed serious offenses were imprisoned for life instead.

However, since most of the criminals had incredible capabilities and strong cultivation, a normal prison would not be able to hold these evil Magicians. The East Guardian Tower was specifically built to imprison these Magicians.

Basically, the worst criminals that Japan ever had were all kept in the East Guardian Tower, including Magicians who were strong enough to wipe out an entire city, and evil Magicians who were indulged in practicing black magic…

The common evil Magicians were not worthy to be kept here, meaning that those who were kept here were the real devils!

Mochizuki Chihaya’s clan had long supervised the high-class prison. The way the Twin Guardian Towers was constructed basically guaranteed that criminals who were imprisoned here had no chance of escaping. The only way out was the drawbridge to the other side, but that place was basically a military fortress!

Mo Fan subconsciously shivered after learning the truth.

The West Guardian Tower looked like a unique place that seemed to be the combination of a fortress, an academy, and a training hall, yet the tower on the other side turned out to be a prison imprisoning the worst murderers of mankind. As a woman, wouldn’t she feel uncomfortable sleeping every night?

“The evil Magicians of other countries are kept here too. It’s known as the highest-class prison for Magicians in Asia,” added Mochizuki Chihaya.

“If all the devilish Magicians are kept here, aren’t you guys worried that they would team up and tear the East Guardian Tower down? I don’t believe they would have trouble destroying a small tower, considering the evil deeds they have done?” said Mo Fan.

“As long as the formations are active, they are just a bunch of normal people. Their souls are stamped with criminal seals. If they try to use magic, the formations will attack them instantly… besides, the East Guardian Tower has been under a Curse for a very long time. Anyone who stays in there for a long time will have their energy and souls drained slowly. The cultivation of a Super Magician will degrade to the Basic Level in ten years,” explained Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Doesn’t that mean we’re under the effect of the curse, too?” blurted out Mo Fan.

“The short duration won’t bring any harm to us. Come with me, don’t fall behind. The place is constructed with a Shadow Formation, too. The whole structure is like a maze. There’s no way you will be able to tell the directions without a certain trick…” reminded Mochizuki Chihaya. She only took a few steps when Mo Fan bumped into her from behind. She glared at him and snapped, “There’s no need to stay so close to me!”

“Let’s go back, this place feels very weird!” Mo Fan had the urge to run away.

“Are you scared?”

“I was worried about your safety. Think about it, it has been years since the criminals in here have seen a woman, and considering your body…uhh, forget what I said.”

—

The walkways inside the East Guardian Tower were extremely narrow. Mo Fan did not understand the layout inside the structure. Judging from the narrow paths, stairs, and corridors, it felt like eighty percent of the space inside the tower was taken up by walls.

“I have to tell you something, as a friendly reminder… the duels between your team and the gatekeepers were all recorded. I believe they are going to send the recordings to the national team.” Mochizuki Chihaya was a righteous person. It seemed like she could not accept some of the things that they did.

It was proper to ask the Chinese team for permission if they wanted to record the duels.

“It’s not a big deal.” Mo Fan was not too bothered by it. After all, he had yet to use his full strength. There was no need to be concerned about the little tricks that the Japanese used.

The place was deadly quiet. Mo Fan was not a fan of silence. He remembered the alarm from before and asked, “What was the gigantic creature from before? Is it related to the incident here in the East Guardian Tower?”

“I have no idea, but I don’t think a creature of that level would be controlled so easily…” Mochizuki Chihaya fell into deep thought.

“You haven’t told me who the person that uses the same Soul Seed as yours is. Why did he kill the guards?” asked Mo Fan.

“I have a half-brother that grew up together with me, but he suddenly went missing last year, and we still haven’t found him…” Mochizuki Chihaya hesitated for a moment, but she still decided to spill the beans.

“So you’re here to look for him?” asked Mo Fan curiously.

“Mm, the Plant Seeds we have are called Stems. They have two flowers on a stem, so both my brother and I took one,” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

“So you’re saying that the person who killed the guards is most likely your elder brother, Iwata? No wonder the Soul Seed was the same as yours, a gray-blue Chinese bellflower. Then again, this prison is full of evil criminals, why is your brother Iwata here?…” wondered Mo Fan.

“That’s something I’m trying to find out too…Commander Takagi is responsible for the criminals in here. If my brother is secretly imprisoned here, he would definitely know something about it. My brother might not have the surname Mochizuki, but he’s loyal to the West Guardian Tower too. He would never commit any criminal offense… I have to find out the truth!” said Mochizuki Chihaya firmly.

“But he killed three guards!” interjected Mo Fan.

Mochizuki Chihaya glared at him and said defensively, “He was left with no choice!”

“Let’s just find him first. Do you know where they are keeping him?”

“If he’s the one that stirred up the mess, they would surely bring him to that place…” Mochizuki Chihaya said confidently.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In most prisons, the criminals who had done something wrong would be kept in a dark room to repent on their deeds. Normally, the room was so tiny that even the flow of air was obstructed. Time felt extraordinarily long in the darkness, and most of the time, the criminals would go insane in the confined darkness.

Similarly, in the East Guardian Tower, the criminals who stirred up troubles would be kept in a cell under a strong curse, known as the Nightmare Cell.

The Nightmare Cell would make the criminal drowsy, and they would experience nightmares after falling asleep. The person would be trapped in the nightmares, and when they woke up, they would realize that they were still in a deep nightmare. Their mental state would suffer greatly. It was the punishment given by the East Guardian Tower to the criminals who tried to cause trouble. Even these devilish criminals had something that they were scared of deep inside their hearts. The Nightmare Cell would dig out their deepest secrets and use them in their dreams. No one would want to experience it a second time!

Mochizuki Chihaya was sure that if her brother did kill the three guards, he would definitely be locked in the Nightmare Cell. She would be able to learn the truth by heading there.

Mo Fan had no choice but to risk his life for the beautiful woman, considering what he had done to her.

As they continued along the narrow path, Mo Fan did not see a single cell or a door throughout the walk. The tower felt incredibly strange to him.

“Are there people guarding the Nightmare Cell?” asked Mo Fan.

“Why do you think I asked you to come with me?” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Damn, you want me to handle the guards?” Mo Fan’s expression darkened.

“Don’t worry, the guards are easy for you. Besides, your Shadow Element is perfect in this tower,” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mo Fan was left with no choice. He began to wonder if Mochizuki Chihaya already knew he had snuck into her room, and had purposely shown him her naked body, just to drag him into this mess.

Candles on both sides dimly lit up the path. The light projected their two suspicious shadows on the walls.

Their steps were already extremely light, yet it felt like the sound of their footsteps was echoing far away.

The path ahead ended with a spiral staircase, obviously leading them to the lower floors.

The place gradually turned more spacious as they ventured further. Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya were hiding behind a corner. Mochizuki Chihaya slowly poked her head out and observed the hall ahead.

The hall was like the shape of a vase. Currently, Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya were at the narrow spot at the mouth of the vase. Four men in indigo-blue outfits were standing in positions at the other end. From their auras, they were most likely Intermediate Magicians.

“Criminals in the East Guardian Tower have lost their ability to fight due to the magic formations. Therefore, Intermediate Magicians are more than capable of keeping an eye on them,” whispered Mochizuki Chihaya to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan inspected the positions of the four guards and said to her, “I can deal with three of them, but you’ll need to take out the last one.”

“Not a problem, I’ll deal with the one standing the furthest away.”

—

The only sources of light in the hall were the dim candles along the walls. The people in charge of the tower were obviously not confident in the security provided by technology. There was basically no electronic equipment in the tower.

However, such an antique environment provided Mo Fan with an advantage. The Fleeing Shadow was perfect in a dimly lit environment. He could easily move wherever he wanted…

Mo Fan turned into a shadow and approached the three guards along the ceiling, watching them carefully. He took his time approaching, just in case there was a Light Magician among them.

Light Magicians were specifically sensitive to moving shadows. They would easily detect his presence from a hundred meters away. Mo Fan was trying to probe their reactions at that range, to see if they had the urge to look at the ceiling.

According to Mochizuki Chihaya, Mo Fan had to subdue the guards in an instant. Each of them had a certain device. If they pressed the button on the device three times at a certain rate, it would immediately send a signal to the people outside. As such, Mo Fan was feeling quite nervous.

Mo Fan slowly moved forward when he was a hundred meters away from the guards.

-Damn, how unlucky am I?-, Mo Fan cursed inside, seeing the guard in the middle suddenly lift his gaze and look in his direction.

Mo Fan did not dare to move, shrouded by the darkness. He did not even dare to move his gaze around.

“Yamaji, what are you looking at?” asked a guard in a rather slack tone.

“Somehow, it feels like the presence of the darkness is a bit stronger,” replied the guard called Yamaji.

“The whole tower is placed under a formation of darkness. It’s common for its energy to pulsate at times. Stop trying to scare yourself just because some people were killed tonight. The person who caused the mess is having a pleasant dream in the cell behind us!” said the first guard.

“I still think we should take a look,” said Yamaji.

“Is it because one of the candles died?” said the slacking guard, pointing at one of the candles.

“Oh, that must be it.”

“HAHAHA, I was nervous like you when I was first assigned here, stop trying to scare yourself. Hang on… another candle just died!”

“Let me check… another one died again, something isn’t right!”

The four guards were startled when they discovered that a few of the candles on the walls had gone out.

As they stepped forward to take a closer look into the darkness, six eerie flickers came from the ceiling, and six shadowy thorns silently dashed forward and nailed the shadows of three of the guards precisely.

The first spike sealed off their movement, and the second spike sealed off their minds!

Mo Fan’s move was precise and clean. He made his move as soon as the guards were distracted, sealing off their movements and their thoughts. Not only were they unable to move, they had no chance to cast a spell too!

“Ambush!” The guard who was the furthest away was alerted. He shrieked and immediately took out his alarm device.

He was just about to press the button when a gray-blue demon branch sprang out from the wall and snatched the device away from him before he could press the button a second time!

The guard yelled, but the demon branch was extremely fast. It quickly wrapped around the guard’s legs, waist, and covered his mouth.

The guard was cocooned in just a few seconds, although its size was nothing like the one that had trapped Mo Fan in the duel. However, it still subdued the guard. He could not even move a single finger.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You two…” The guard called Yamaji was a Light Magician, after all. The others had trouble moving their eyeballs, but he could still speak.

Yamaji tried to catch a glimpse Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya as they appeared, but Mo Fan was not foolish enough to expose his face. He had already covered his handsome face, that no one could possibly forget after catching a glimpse of, with a black mist.

“Take a nap!” Mo Fan walked up to the Light Magician and knocked him unconscious.

The whole tower was covered in a strong aura of darkness, which significantly increased the effects of Mo Fan’s Giant Shadow Spikes. The other two guards were covered by a black aura, saving him the need to knock them unconscious. They had no chance of breaking free for a short period of time.

“Time to hurry,” said Mo Fan, glancing at Mochizuki Chihaya behind him.

Mochizuki Chihaya looked at Mo Fan. Her eyes flickered gently as she spoke, “Mmm…you have my thanks.”

“It’s nothing, I’m a fan of exhilarating adventures,” replied Mo Fan.

He was not lying; he always liked excitement, for example sneaking into a Japanese teacher’s room to see her naked. That was f**king insane!

Mochizuki Chihaya quickly walked to the narrow door. She was well aware that the guards did not have the key to unlock the door. She leaned against the heavy door and spoke to the person inside.

Mochizuki Chihaya was speaking Japanese, so Mo Fan was unable to understand her.

Some time later, Mochizuki Chihaya turned around and looked at Mo Fan. He could easily tell that the person locked inside the cell was truly her brother Iwata just from the expression in her eyes.

“Why did they lock you here? Aren’t you one of the guards?” Mochizuki Chihaya’s emotion was slightly unstable. Her eyes were already bloodshot.

Iwata had been missing for a long time. She almost thought her brother had simply vanished from the world. To her surprise, he had been kept in the tower just a drawbridge away all this time. As someone from the West Guardian Tower, it went without saying that Mochizuki Chihaya knew clearly how terrifying the prison was!

“I found an Essence Orb. I was going to report the finding to Osaka’s government, but I was intercepted by Commander Takagi. He was planning to keep the orb to himself, so he locked me up. I did not tell him where the orb is, so he imprisoned me here…” the voice inside the cell was extremely weak. It sounded like the person had suffered greatly.

“Let’s talk later, how can I save you? I can’t let you die here,” interrupted Mochizuki Chihaya.

The two chatted for quite a long time. Mo Fan purposely gave the guards a few more shadow spikes.

“Is there a way to open up the Nightmare Cell?” asked Mo Fan.

Mochizuki Chihaya shook her head with a lost expression. It seemed like what Iwata had told her had given her quite a huge blow.

“What exactly is going on?” asked Mo Fan.

“Apart from the Formation of Darkness, the East Guardian Tower also has a huge curse, which will draw away the energy of human souls from criminals. I initially thought that was the only effect of the curse, yet it turns out that it does not only draw away the energy of human souls, but it also stores the energy inside an orb…” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

“An orb that stores the energy of human souls collected from these criminals? That’s going to be remarkable!” said Mo Fan.

“Exactly, that asshole Takagi has gone so far just so his Sky Ridge Beast can evolve to the Ruler-level… bringing harm to people’s lives just for his personal gain, despite his identity as the commander in charge of the West Guardian Tower. How detestable!” snapped Mochizuki Chihaya furiously.

“The orb is seriously able to raise a Summoned Beast to the Ruler-level? Anyone with the slightest selfish desire would surely go for it. I always felt something fishy about that Commander Takagi. He looks like the kind that would pursue power more than anyone else. I bet he’s tired of his role as the warden of the prison, but he discovered the treasure, and will do anything just to secure it,” analyzed Mo Fan.

It was common for people to be greedy, especially those with high positions!

“We’ll be taking the Essence Orb. Otherwise, if Commander Takagi found it, he will surely kill my brother to silence him,” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Mm, you’re right. Considering how evil the thing is, maybe I should be the one keeping it. I wouldn’t want the Twin Guardian Towers to be involved in a disaster,” said Mo Fan.

Judging from Mochizuki Chihaya’s description, the Essence Orb was clearly useful for powering up the soul of a beast. It would be extremely useful for his Summoned Beast. Mo Fan knew that refining the soul was an important requirement for a Summoned Beast to evolve. Only with a stronger soul would the beast be able to surpass its limits and grow stronger.

Frankly speaking, Mo Fan was interested in the orb. His Swift Star Wolf had been stuck at the current level for quite some time, and it was most likely due to the level of his soul. If he could help the creature refine a stronger soul, perhaps the Swift Star Wolf could improve to a higher level.

A piece of treasure that could level a Commander-level creature in the Advancing Period to a Ruler-level creature. He was definitely not asking too much if he was planning to use it so the Warrior-level Swift Star Wolf could level up to the Commander-level, right?

“You better not think about trying to keep it to yourself,” Mochizuki Chihaya’s eyes chilled.

“Hehe, I was just saying,” Mo Fan shrugged.

——

Following Iwata’s instructions, Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya headed deeper into the East Guardian Tower. It seemed like the Essence Orb was hidden on the bottom floor of the tower. Since the structure of the tower was rather complicated, it was almost impossible to locate the place where the energy collected from the criminals’ soul was stored without guidance.

Luckily, Iwata had told Mochizuki Chihaya the directions through the maze of darkness. Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya successfully arrived at the spot that Iwata mentioned.

The place did not have any guards. It was most likely that Iwata had found the place coincidentally, and so discovered the existence of the Essence Orb.

Iwata was quite an honest man. Most people would simply keep the orb to themselves in secret, yet the man insisted on writing a report to his superior, and was found out by someone who was harboring evil intentions, ending up placing himself in great danger. If Mo Fan was in his shoes, he would surely have taken it, and even if the orb was useless to him, he would have sold it instead!

The eye of the formation was inside an insignificant spot, surrounded by walls. The only entrance was a little gap above the place.

There was nothing else in the room. It looked just like an ordinary underground storeroom, but a gleaming orb with a weak, evil presence was floating in the center.

In Mo Fan’s eyes, the orb was not attractive at all. It simply looked like an eyeball floating in the air, which actually looked rather scary.

“This thing is rather evil!” Mo Fan kept on his toes.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I think it’s fine. Either way, we should bring it out immediately,” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

The thing would be convincing proof. Mochizuki Chihaya could report it to her superior and accuse Commander Takagi of his selfish act to free her brother Iwata.

“Chihaya, you better think twice about it,” said Mo Fan sternly.

“What do you mean?” Mochizuki Chihaya looked at Mo Fan in confusion. Her eyes flickered alertly.

She was still not too familiar with Mo Fan’s character, and it was normal for anyone to be interested in the orb. She was worried that Mo Fan was blinded by greed too.

“Don’t look at me like that. I do admit that I was quite intrigued before seeing the Essence Orb, since I also have a Summoned Beast. However, I no longer have the thought after I saw it. I wouldn’t even take it for free,” said Mo Fan.

“What are you trying to say?” Mochizuki Chihaya did not understand.

“I already told you, this thing is too evil!” said Mo Fan.

“I’m not planning to keep it, I’m just going to hand it to Osaka’s Magic Association, or the government, as long as my brother will no longer suffer in the East Guardian Tower.” Mochizuki Chihaya sounded quite agitated.

She had been extremely close to her brother since they were young. On top of that, they shared flowers of the same stem, which further deepened the bond between them.

She was more familiar with what kind of a place the East Guardian Tower was than anyone else. How could she possibly let her brother Iwata suffer for such a long time here?

“I’m only keeping you company until you’ve confirmed that your brother is imprisoned here. As for the orb, take it if you want, I won’t stop you, but don’t drag me into the mess,” said Mo Fan.

“Mmm, either way, I’m grateful for your help. It means a lot, thank you.”

Mo Fan did not respond. He saw Mochizuki Chihaya stow the orb away with an expressionless face.

——

It was not difficult to leave the East Guardian Tower. They were not many guards inside, and it was impossible for outsiders to come in. Considering how security was established, the unconscious guards would only be discovered when the guards for the next shift arrived. Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya were able to return the same way they came.

They parted ways at the bottom of the mountain. Mo Fan was still feeling uncomfortable seeing Mochizuki Chihaya hurrying toward Osaka.

“Little Loach, something is seriously wrong about that thing, right?” mumbled Mo Fan as he glanced at his chest.

The Little Loach Pendant had acute senses. If the Essence Orb was useful, the Little Loach Pendant would have eaten it in a single bite to grow stronger. However, when Mo Fan approached the Essence Orb, he felt a strong disgust rising from the Little Loach Pendant, directed at the orb!

Therefore, Mo Fan was convinced that the orb was extremely dangerous!

It was normal for humans to be greedy. Mo Fan admitted that he was the kind who would pounce on a treasure as soon as he spotted one. However, it was necessary to be smart when being greedy, too. Mo Fan somehow felt that the Essence Orb was like Pandora’s box!

The uneasy feeling grew stronger when he looked in the direction Mochizuki Chihaya was disappearing into and captured a glimpse of a shadowy aura surrounding her.

“Little Loach, do you think daddy has made a huge mistake?” Mo Fan started murmuring again.

——

The light of the moon was blocked by the clouds. The night was pitch-black, and even the brilliance of the stars had disappeared.

The modern city of Osaka was brightly lit up, even though it was now late at night. However, the neon lights in the city did not light up the night sky as usual, but seemed to be absorbed by the thick darkness.

Tall buildings, cars whooshing past, a group of drunk young adults with dyed hair were stirring a up great scene on the street. The pedestrians immediately avoided them.

“Since when have I been sad for a bitch, how ridiculous, look at the pretty girls on the street, they are my prey now, HAHAHA!” a golden-haired man slurred as he staggered along.

His friends tried to give him support, yet he simply pushed them aside.

“I don’t need you meddling in my business, I can walk myself… not only can I walk, I’m going to scold the hell out of that bitch. Oh, there she is, bitch, I’m not someone you can dump so easily, come here!” Chao Gang pointed at a woman in a tight, black outfit.

The woman continued forward without giving Chao Gang any attention.

The woman’s cold temperament infuriated the man, as the woman who made him drunk also had the same temperament. Chao Gang immediately went up to the woman and yelled, “Don’t you run away from me!”

“Piss off!” Mochizuki Chihaya’s eyes chilled. A demon branch as thick as an adult’s waist suddenly appeared by her foot.

The demon tree lashed forward at Chao Gang, who was blocking her path. Chao Gang was just an ordinary human. The hit immediately sent him flying onto the road.

A huge truck was passing by. The driver panicked when he saw someone flying onto the road. Luckily, he was an experienced driver and subconsciously stepped hard on the brake!

Chao Gang’s friends were stunned. One of the women screamed at the top of her lungs.

The truck quickly slowed down in front of Chao Gang, yet it still drove over one of his legs. The agonized cry of the drunk man immediately filled the street. The great pain instantly sobered him up.

Mochizuki Chihaya did not bother looking at Chao Gang. She headed straight toward one of the buildings.

The path had flowers and plants along it, yet when the woman walked past them, the flowers immediately wilted and the plants dried up.

The street lamps were strangely dim, as if the light was being sucked away by something, making it difficult for the light to travel further. The modern street was covered in an eerie, black aura.

“Someone call an ambulance!”

“That woman is out of her mind!”

“She’s a Magician…”

“Even if she’s a Magician, she has no right to hurt someone like that. The Enforcement Union will punish an evil Magician like her!”

The pedestrians cried out. Some that were righteous followed closely behind Mochizuki Chihaya.

They were in Osaka, a city with a legal system. Even Magicians had to be punished after committing criminal offenses!

Mochizuki Chihaya continued to walk forward and stood in front of the building.

She seemed to be aware of the people following behind her and pointing at her. She quickly turned around and stared at the people menacingly!

Someone noticed that the reflection of the woman on the French windows of the building was completely different than her look. It was a terrifying black figure with tentacles covered in a red glow!

The figure standing on the street was a woman, yet the reflection on the windows was a terrifying demon. The pedestrians screamed out in panic after witnessing the unbelievable sight!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The black figure only had a body without a head. Its arms were wriggling on both sides, like those of a centipede, strong and muscular.

Most terrifyingly, the demon’s chest was fully covered in crimson-red eyes. The eyes were all pupils and wriggling as they stared at the pedestrians on the street, full of icy hate!

Mochizuki Chihaya turned around. Her face was replaced by a ghastly mask, which immediately sent the people stumbling away in fear. Even the motorists were so terrified that they could not hold their steering wheels properly!

“Our Mochizuki Clan is stationed on the mountain, to watch out for the demon creatures in the ocean. We’re ready to sacrifice our lives to protect the city at all times, but you people only know how to enjoy yourselves and getting drunk in the city… you’re nothing but a bunch of parasites!” Mochizuki Chihaya’s voice was now utterly weird. Her actual voice was supposed to be clean and elegant, but a different voice was stacked on top of hers.

The cement of the pavement cracked all of a sudden. Black branches grew along the windows of the building like vines and swiftly covered the walls.

Demonic vines and branches were also growing out from the cracks on the pavement. The plants were like living tentacles, chasing after the pedestrians who were fleeing in all directions, including Chao Gang’s friends and the people who had demanded justice be served to the Magician who had harmed him. They were all tied up by the demon branches and vines!

More demon branches and trees showed up and spread around Mochizuki Chihaya. At the start, only a dozen people were held captive, but soon thirty people were caught by the demonic plants!

The black branches and vines crawled into the bodies of the pedestrians like worms through their ears, noses, throats, and even their pores were penetrated by extremely thin branches.

The people bound by the plants did not even have the chance to scream. Their skin turned bloated all of a sudden, as new branches sprouted on their bodies…

More flowers, branches, and vines were growing out of their skin. The living humans were turned into half-human, half-tree monsters, a horrible sight!

“Stop it!” a voice shouted from above.

Mochizuki Chihaya raised her head and saw a man standing on the roof of a shop nearby. His black-brown eyes were extraordinarily bright in the darkness looming over the street.

“It’s you?” Mochizuki Chihaya looked at the man. Her gaze was rather unfriendly.

“I couldn’t stop worrying, so I decided to follow you. As I thought… look what you’re doing!,” shouted Mo Fan, while staying a certain distance away from her.

“I…” Mochizuki Chihaya still retained her own consciousness. She looked at her surroundings and saw people running away, teenage girls screaming and kids bursting into tears in fear because of her.

Everyone was looking at her like she was a monster. When she saw the pedestrians that she had turned into plants, she immediately took a few steps back.

The demon branches and vines on the street were withdrawn quickly. Mochizuki Chihaya swiftly summoned them back. The walls of the building nearby returned to normal too. Mochizuki Chihaya turned around and looked at her reflection in the window in disbelief!

The Essence Orb on her hand fell to the ground. Mochizuki Chihaya acted as if she had just seen a devil. She quickly moved away from the orb, not daring to touch it again!

“This thing is real evil, you better not touch it again. You might not like this, but I’m afraid your brother Iwata was controlled by the orb, too. He’s putting your life in danger by asking you to bring Essence Orb away.” Mo Fan walked up to Mochizuki Chihaya and observed the orb that was unleashing a black aura.

Mo Fan was not brave enough to touch the orb, either. It was scarier than he had imagined.

Luckily, Mochizuki Chihaya’s mental strength was fairly high, and the time she was controlled by the black aura was not long. Otherwise, it was likely that Mochizuki Chihaya would have turned into a terrifying demon!

The demon creature reflected in the window with multiple limbs and eyes was most likely the parasitic form of the Essence Orb. Mo Fan had seen quite a lot of demon creatures, yet he was still shocked when he saw the reflection on the window.

It was fortunate that he had made it in time. Otherwise, if Mochizuki Chihaya was fully controlled by the Essence Orb, she would have caused a great disaster!

“I’ve already notified Mochizuki Ken, he’s on his way here. It’s better not to touch it before he arrives…” said Mo Fan to Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mochizuki Chihaya was still in a trance. She was leaning against Mo Fan with a blank expression.

The innocent people that she was controlling before had all fallen to the ground. Their bodies gradually returned to normal. However, none of them had the courage to stay around after experiencing the incredible pain from the demon plants occupying their bodies. They immediately ran away in panic.

“Thank…thank you, I never thought my brother would trick me by not telling me the truth,” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

“He was the first person to discover the Essence Orb, thus he was surely the most influenced by it. Perhaps he isn’t your brother now,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan strongly believed that Iwata was not a kind person after what he saw at the drawbridge. The three innocent guards were tossed off the bridge without mercy and were instantly blown into ashes.

How could a person who killed the guards in such a cruel manner not harbor any evil intentions?

That being said, the evil Essence Orb was the main problem. Mo Fan had been feeling uneasy since he first saw it.

Luckily, he was cautious enough to follow Mochizuki Chihaya and witness how the orb had taken control of her. He immediately knew the orb was truly a demon. It would take over anyone that touched it. The reflection on the window was its true appearance!

If the creature was set free, the heavens knew what kind of terrifying disaster it would bring.

——

The police arrived fairly quickly. They immediately sealed off the area.

After them came the City Hunters of Osaka. They surrounded Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya cautiously, but they were too scared to come any closer.

Mo Fan tried to communicate with them, to prevent them from coming any closer.

Mochizuki Chihaya finally came to her senses. After revealing her identity, she quickly explained the situation to the City Hunters in Japanese and convinced them to stay where they were.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya did not touch the Essence Orb again.

However, the Essence Orb seemed to be aware that it was soon going to be taken back to the East Guardian Tower. It started rolling on its own.

There was an opening to the drainage by the road. The Essence Orb was planning to roll into it and escape through the sewage system.

Clearly, the creature’s movements were greatly hindered in the form of the orb. It needed to live in other organisms as a parasite to utilize its capabilities.

If it rolled into the drainage and attached itself to a rat, it was possible that it would turn into a terrifying rat beast!

Mo Fan would not allow the thing to bring any harm to the world. He locked his gaze on the orb and used his will to forcibly roll the orb back!

“Telekinesis?” Mochizuki Chihaya was startled. She glanced at Mo Fan with wide eyes.

“What telekinesis? You’ve imagined it,” Mo Fan smiled, trying to cover it up.

Mochizuki Chihaya was still in a trance. She agreed she might have seen it wrong. Mo Fan was only an Advanced Magician, thus it was impossible for him to have so many Elements…

The evil Essence Orb that was rolled back to its initial spot seemed quite furious. It began to vibrate vigorously.

However, none of that mattered, as Mochizuki Ken had finally arrived from the West Guardian Tower.

The old man with a mustache walked up to Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya. His eyes glittered as he stared at the Essence Orb on the ground for a long time!

The Essence Orb seemed to be afraid of Mochizuki Ken. It stayed motionless, as if it was just a normal black orb.

Mochizuki Ken went forward and wrapped a silver piece of cloth around it.

Mochizuki Ken was a reputable Magician in Osaka. He dismissed the police and the City Hunters, before returning to the West Guardian Tower with Mochizuki Chihaya and Mo Fan.

It was obvious that Mochizuki Ken had managed to keep the news under control, to prevent it from being made known to Commander Takagi.

——

Mochizuki Ken brought Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya to a room with an open ceiling. The light emitted by the moon and the stars sprinkled down upon the room and lit up the place off the decorations hanging on the walls. It felt like they were sitting in a vast, magnificent galaxy, enjoying a bath under the light of the moon and the stars.

Mochizuki Chihaya was on her knees on the wooden floor, her hair dangling to the sides with her head lowered, like a girl who had done something wrong yet was not afraid to be punished.

Mo Fan was sitting on the ground too, observing the decorations on the walls.

Mochizuki Ken was sitting under the light of the moon with his back facing the two. He looked extremely stern.

“Chihaya, I’m very disappointed,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“I’m aware of my mistake.” Mochizuki Chihaya did not dare to raise her voice.

“Even if you found out that Iwata was locked in the East Guardian Tower, you should have investigated the whole incident first. With your reckless move, even if everything is exactly what you assumed to be, it would only make the situation worse,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“I had no idea who to ask, if even the loyal Iwata was now imprisoned in the East Guardian Tower…” said Mochizuki Chihaya while lowering her head further.

“So you chose to believe him?” said Mochizuki Ken.

Mochizuki Chihaya looked at Mo Fan and fell silent.

“I’m an outsider, so there’s no way I’ll allow myself to be caught infighting. That being said, old man Mochizuki, can you explain to us what this evil thing is first? I believe you already knew about its existence…” said Mo Fan.

“Every human has a soul, and the cultivation of Magicians focuses on refining the soul. The stronger the soul is, the stronger the Magician is. However, a human soul isn’t pure. The East Guardian Tower is under the effect of a curse that drains away the souls of the evil Magicians, but it won’t cleanse the hatred, evil, greed, anger, and desires of their soul… and on top of that, the East Guardian Tower also has a dark formation. Such an environment allows evil thoughts to grow, and ends up turning into the orb you saw,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“Japan is indeed a weird place. Vessels have demons inside them, and even a prison can give birth to a demon too!” murmured Mo Fan.

“Luckily, you managed to stop Chihaya in time. Otherwise, a new Red Demon would soon be born in Japan,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“Red Demon?” Mo Fan was confused.

“We call them Red Demons. Their souls are different than those of most creatures; they are dark red. Every organism that is controlled by them will leave a dark red evil mark after their death!” said Mochizuki Ken.

Mochizuki Chihaya nodded too. Her eyes were able to see the souls of the pedestrians when she was attacking them. On top of that, when her plants took control of them, it turned out that their souls were stamped with a dark red seal, as if they had signed a contract with a devil!

A dark red soul mark!

Mo Fan rose from the ground, shivering.

The soul of a living organism, be it a demon creature, a ghost or a devil spirit was either blue or green when they died. There had never been a red soul!

However, Mo Fan clearly remembered that Leng Qing had mentioned the strange dark red mark inside the soul of Lingling’s father when he was murdered. The same thing had happened when the vampire Nie Dong was killed!

“Old man, did a Red Demon escape from the East Guardian Tower before?!” asked Mo Fan with a stern face.

Mochizuki Ken shuddered. He turned around in shock and stared at Mo Fan, who had just asked the question suddenly.

Mochizuki Chihaya rose to her feet too. She did not understand why Mo Fan was so agitated.

The expression on the old man’s face stiffened. His brown eyes were trembling in fear of the past.

“How…how did you know that?” Mochizuki Ken fixed his gaze on Mo Fan.

The last Red Demon had been a nightmare haunting Mochizuki Ken for his entire life. Even after so many years, Mochizuki Ken would still wake up in cold sweat when he dreamed about what happened that night!

It was true that a Red Demon did escape from the East Guardian Tower many years ago. Until now, the old guardians of the tower had not dared to tell anyone about it!

He never thought a student from China would expose the secret that they had tried to keep for so many years.

Mochizuki Chihaya was startled. She had experienced how terrifying the Red Demon was first hand, and to her surprise, the East Guardian Tower had let something so dangerous and terrifying escape!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The mountain road on the west mountain forked into a little path that was inaccessible to cars.

Mochizuki Ken led Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya to the path. To their surprise, the little rift valley had a secret memorial tablet. On it was a bouquet of flowers that was still not wilted yet, which clearly implied that someone had paid a visit here recently.

“I was the same as you, young and ruthless, and I didn’t consider the consequences before taking actions. The same, boring routine in the East Guardian Tower made us curious toward every little discovery. When he discovered the Essence Orb, he was so excited that he could not wait to bring it out,” Mochizuki Ken raised a jar of wine and slowly poured it across the memorial tablet.

Mo Fan went up closer and saw a name carved on the memorial tablet.

“Kazuaki?” Mochizuki Chihaya stared at the memorial tablet. It took her a while to collect her thoughts.

“Yeah, he was your brother Iwata’s biological father, and a close friend of mine,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“So you two brought the evil Essence Orb out in the past, just like us?” asked Mo Fan.

“It’s rather complicated. Chihaya’s mum Masako used to be extremely popular among the people in the Twin Guardian Towers… ugh, I guess the people nowadays would describe her as a goddess. Iwata’s father managed to stand out among the men and earned her affection, and soon, they gave birth to Iwata…” said Mochizuki Ken.

“Hang on, let’s skip the old love story, I just want to know about the last Red Demon,” Mo Fan was clearly impatient.

The incident was somehow related to the bizarre death of Lingling’s father. Mo Fan was eager to learn about the Red Demon. He had known Lingling for quite some time, and the only reason that the mature little girl looked down all the time was the dark red soul mark. If he could find out the truth, it might serve as the best medicine for Lingling.

In Shanghai, Lingling had always helped him without asking for anything in return. Mo Fan believed that this was the only thing he could do for her.

It was a coincidence that he had discovered the information about the special dark red soul mark. As such, he wanted to find out the truth, just so he could tell Lingling about his discovery.

“It happened like this: Kazuaki and I were the first ones to discover the Essence Orb, and we told Masako and Tegami. Masako suggested we should report it to the clan, but Tegami suggested we should refine the energy in the orb to improve our strength, so we could stand out among the people in the clan. We ended up absorbing the energy in the orb and split it evenly among ourselves. Nothing happened at first, and our cultivation improved significantly. However, Masako, Tegami, and I began to act differently. We were having fun killing demon creatures. Later, we even tortured the prisoners in the East Guardian Tower…” said Mochizuki Ken.

“You have lost your mind to the Essence Orb,” said Mo Fan.

“Yes. It got worse, Tegami suggested that we should imprison more criminals in the East Guardian Tower, so the Essence Orb would be able to absorb more energy from their souls, to provide us with more power,” Mochizuki Ken seemed reluctant to talk about the past.

He had done lots of things that he was utterly regretful of during the time he had lost control of himself. The cruelty and evil kept growing stronger and rooted deep in their hearts…

“How did you break free from its control?” asked Mo Fan.

It was obvious that the old man had become a lot gentler and kinder after the incident.

“It was Kazuaki, he’s the most rational among us. When he realized that the orb was draining the hatred and evil thoughts of the prisoners from their soul, he began to stop us from cultivating with the Essence Orb… (sigh) but we were simply too lost in our greed,” Mochizuki Ken let out a breath full of remorse and sorrow.

“So you killed him?” said Mo Fan.

“Nonsense!” Mochizuki Chihaya glared at Mo Fan.

“As a matter of fact, we did kill him. The three of us decided to murder Kazuaki who tried to stop us…” Mochizuki Ken’s voice was extremely soft. He did not even dare to look into Mochizuki Chihaya’s eyes.

“What… you killed Iwata’s father? Even my mum agreed?!” Mochizuki Chihaya cried out in shock.

Kazuaki and Mochizuki were still husband and wife back then. From what Mochizuki Chihaya could remember, her mother was the kindest woman in the world. There was no way she would do something so wicked and twisted.

Mochizuki Ken knew it was hard for Mochizuki Chihaya to accept the truth, yet he had no choice but to reveal it, “The truth is, she was the one that suggested it… oh, you shouldn’t blame your mother, she was influenced the greatest by the orb, I believe you already know what that feels like.”

Mochizuki Chihaya recalled how she attacked the civilians. She was indeed not herself.

“How terrifying, knowing that the person sleeping beside you is thinking of killing you…” Mo Fan let out a sigh.

“Luckily, Kazuaki was a clever man, and realized what we were up to. We initially thought he would run away, but he didn’t. He stole the Essence Orb and left with that evil thing. We even tried to hunt him down because we thought he was trying to keep the Essence Orb to himself. We were extremely furious, we even pursued him until he had nowhere to run, but somehow, he vanished. Since then, we have never seen Kazuaki again. As time gradually passed, our minds slowly recovered. Your mum Masako felt extremely guilty for what she had done, and ended up passing away at a young age. Tegami and I did not dare to mention the incident again, but we have no idea how we could ever atone for what we had done to Kazuaki,” said Mochizuki Ken.

It had been so many years, the young man had already grown old, yet it felt like everything had only happened the day before. Mochizuki Ken’s eyes were soaked in tears whenever he recalled it.

“So that’s why you’ve always been loving and kind to Iwata?” said Mochizuki Ken.

The old man nodded and said after taking a deep breath, “Yeah, the only thing we can do is take good care of his son. Unfortunately, it took us some time to recover. We vented all our hatred toward Kazuaki on his son. Iwata suffered greatly when he was young, Masako hated him too… when Masako finally realized the sacrifice Kazuaki had made, Iwata had already grown up. He assumed that our love and care were just putting up an act, and he believed he never needed any of it.”

“Iwata…” Mochizuki Chihaya felt a tingling surge in her nose when she imagined what her brother had gone through.

“I’ll try my best to save Iwata from Commander Takagi. We must not let Commander Takagi know about the Essence Orb. Takagi is a greedy man. He has no idea how terrifying the thing is. If the orb falls into his hand, it will be a great disaster,” said Mochizuki Ken.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan felt his head aching. In the end, he only knew where the Red Demon come from, but he had no idea where it was, or what it was up to.

If that was the case, how could he possibly help Lingling avenge her dad?

“Mo Fan, I have a favor to ask,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“Old man, I’m a busy man,” Mo Fan rejected straight away.

“The Essence Orb is absolutely evil. To be honest, I don’t think I’m confident enough even if my people are keeping it. I know that your team is heading for Tokyo soon. I hope that you can bring the Essence Orb to an old friend of mine in Tokyo. He’s the only person that can purify the hatred inside the orb,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“Hey hey, I didn’t accept yet, don’t you act like I’ve agreed to do you the favor!” protested Mo Fan.

Commander Takagi had the highest authority in the West Guardian Tower. It would only be a matter of time until he located the Essence Orb. Once he found it, the whole situation would only worsen. Mochizuki Ken was hoping to bring the orb away, as far as possible!

“The Essence Orb does contain incredible energy, and the side effect when it is absorbed by a Summoned Beast is significantly lower. If you’re willing to help us with the favor, you can take a part of the energy in the orb. If I’m not mistaken, you are a Summoner too. I believe you’ll need the energy more than anyone else… ah, if the higher-ups knew I’d given such a useful resource to a representative of the Chinese team, they would surely blame me for it. However, I have no other choice. The Essence Orb is still fresh, its evil thoughts are still not that strong. It’s better to purify it as soon as possible,” said Mochizuki Ken.

Mo Fan hesitated after hearing the offer from the old man.

The advancement of the Swift Star Wolf was indeed a problem he was facing. It had been a while since his Summoned Beast was stuck at his current level. At this rate, his Summoned Beast would not be able to handle the upcoming fights.

The Swift Star Wolf had been utterly loyal to him. Mo Fan had no intention to switch him out. Therefore, the only choice was to improve his strength.

However, Mo Fan was hesitant when he recalled how evil the orb was.

“Why don’t you ask someone else?” Somehow, Mo Fan thought the old man had too much trust in him.

“Do you think it’s wise to let more people know about its existence?” asked Mochizuki Ken in return.

It was as Mochizuki Ken had said. Based on what they were told, even lovers would turn against one another under the influence of the orb. It was indeed something that must be handled with extreme caution.

“Master, isn’t it a bit too risky asking him to escort the orb…” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Mo Fan is just like Kazuaki, who still managed to keep a clear mind despite the influence of the Essence Orb. I won’t tell anyone that you have the Essence Orb, and it’s better if you don’t mention it to your teammates, either. The Essence Orb is just an ordinary orb as long as it’s wrapped inside the silver cloth. Once you arrive in Tokyo, hand it to my old friend, and you’ll be given a high-quality soul to upgrade your Summoned Beast,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“It sounds like a plan, but I’m more interested in learning more about the previous Red Demon. My Hunter partner has been looking for a dark red soul mark like this, and it turns out that it’s something that escaped from your East Guardian Tower, so I hope that you’ll tell me everything you know,” said Mo Fan sternly.

“That’s more the reason you should bring the orb to my old friend,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“And why is that?”

“He used to be the warden for the East Guardian Tower before Commander Takagi took over. I believe he’s the only person that knows where the Red Demon is. He’s the only one that’s still trying to hunt the Red Demon down,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“If that’s the case… fine, I’ll bring the orb to him,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Chihaya will go with you,” said Mochizuki Ken.

“Me?” Mochizuki Chihaya was startled.

wasn’t it weird for a Japanese inspector to follow the Chinese national team to Tokyo? What reason and identity would she use to convince them to let her tag along?

“Leave Iwata to me, focus on delivering the orb. I believe Iwata will soon recover; Takagi has no reason to lock him up further,” said Mochizuki Ken.

—-

A lot of things had happened that night, yet to those who were deeply asleep, it was a perfectly calm night.

Back in his room, Mo Fan was holding the orb wrapped inside a silver cloth in his hand. He could feel the evil energy flowing out from it. It made him shiver when the energy penetrated his skin.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan, wake up!” Zhao Manyan yelled outside the door.

Mo Fan opened the door. He was still energetic. A Magician’s mental toughness was stronger than ordinary people after all. It would not matter if he did not have any sleep for a few days.

“What is it?” asked Mo Fan with a confused look.

“That brainless woman with huge breasts who dueled with you, Mochizuki Chihaya, is coming to Tokyo with us!” exclaimed Zhao Manyan in a slightly excited tone.

“Oh,” answered Mo Fan.

“Oh? That’s not the reaction I expect from you! Yes I know that woman is harsh with her words, but her body is absolutely marvelous. The journey to Tokyo is a long one, you should make use of the chance to push her down!” Zhao Manyan immediately displayed his pervertedness.

{TL Note: ‘push down’ here is a Chinese modern slang, like pushing someone down on a bed.}

“I’m not that kind of a person.”

“Of course, considering the kind of person you are, you’re not just going to push her down, there’s going to be whipping, candles, handcuffs, racks… tsk tsk tsk,” Zhao Manyan kept going, his mind already full of imaginations.

“You’re a retard.”

“Hey, hey, why so serious? Don’t you know a man’s hormones are the strongest in the morning? Can’t I enjoy some lewd thoughts? I’ve not touched a woman since the training started. At this rate, I’m definitely going nuts!” grumbled Zhao Manyan.

“Anything else? If not, I’m heading back to sleep. I’m tired,” said Mo Fan impatiently.

“Tired? Didn’t you sleep last night?”

“I was caught in some trouble,” Mo Fan was still unclear about the Essence Orb. He had no intention to drag Zhao Manyan into the mess.

The thing was extremely dangerous. Even a Senior Hunter like Lingling’s father had died because of it. Mo Fan believed it was unwise to tell anyone about it unless he was sure that it would not pose any threat to them.

“Actually, I’ve come here to discuss something with you. I’ve been having this weird dream lately… hey, I’m discussing a serious matter with you, why are you shoving me outside,” said Zhao Manyan.

“We’ll talk later, let me take a nap first.”

—

“Asshole, he must have done something lewd last night…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

By the afternoon, the national team was on its way to Tokyo.

The rules were the same. Their identities were still frozen, and since they could only buy train tickets with valid identities, they ended up taking the railway to the outskirts of Osaka in the east before taking a bus there.

Mochizuki Chihaya did follow the team on their journey. Many were still confused about why she was traveling with the team.

Mochizuki Chihaya was too lazy to explain herself. She knew that this bunch of Chinese representatives did not like her in the first place. Her job was to look after Mo Fan, making sure that he was delivering the orb to the right place.

On the bus, Mo Fan was leaning against the window, yet he was not in the mood to enjoy the scenery along the way. Zhao Manyan was sitting beside him mumbling non-stop. The guy would always grumble a lot if he had not touched a woman for a certain period. He had totally lost the imperious manner expected of a tyrannical CEO that a son of the Zhao Group should have, and was behaving like the autistic child of some close relatives in an old village.

“Did you hear what I said in the morning?” Zhao Manyan nudged Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was feeling sleepy. The nudge did wake him up, but it also annoyed him.

“As if it’s something important, can you stop talking about it?” snapped Mo Fan.

“Something really feels strange, I first dreamed about the shadow we saw under the ship when we were traveling on the ocean. After that, I dreamed about a gigantic creature in the sea where the Twin Guardian Towers watch over. The creature was making a sound that can travel a long distance, similar to the sound of a dolphin,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Can you please spend some money in Tokyo and find an AV actress to satisfy your needs…” Mo Fan was just about to scold Zhao Manyan when he realized that something was not right. He immediately blurted out, “What did you just say?”

“I said I dreamed about the shadow in the Pacific Ocean when we were flying in the sky!” said Zhao Manyan.

“The sentence after that.”

“There was a gigantic creature in the sea where the Twin Guardian Towers watch over.”

“Give me a second,” Mo Fan rose to his feet and went to the back of the bus.

The person sitting in the last row was none other than Mochizuki Chihaya. She had a confused look when she saw Mo Fan approaching her.

“Is the orb showing some reaction?” asked Mochizuki Chihaya alertedly.

“It’s not about the orb, did you guys tell anyone about the creature in the ocean when the alarm went off last night?” asked Mo Fan in a serious tone.

“No. The truth is, I didn’t know what happened either. The upper floor belongs to the military. Most people aren’t allowed to go there, and we would never tell anyone the information that the upper floor has collected,” answered Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Then how did Zhao Manyan know about the gigantic creature in the sea?” said Mo Fan.

“He knows? That doesn’t make any sense; apart from you, I didn’t hear there was anyone else who trespassed on the upper floor,” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

Mo Fan went back to Zhao Manyan with a frown.

Zhao Manyan was aware that something happened when he saw Mo Fan’s expression. He immediately got rid of his playfulness.

“Are you sure you were having a dream?” asked Mo Fan.

“Yes,” said Zhao Manyan, nodding sincerely.

“The truth is, there was indeed a gigantic creature in the ocean close to the Twin Guardian Towers last night,” said Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan opened his mouth. He tried to speak, yet he was lost for words.

“What exactly is going on?” exclaimed Zhao Manyan.

“Do you remember the island that never existed in Xixiong City?” said Mo Fan.

“Are you referring to the island that Miyata said she stayed on for a whole night, but it somehow disappeared the next day?” said Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan had only learned about Miyata and the series of events from Jiang Yu and Ai Jiangtu after he regained consciousness.

Mo Fan nodded. That was the island he was referring to.

At the start, Mo Fan could not understand why Miyata would even tell the lie, an utterly ridiculous tale. However, when he caught a quick glimpse of the island on the train leaving Xixiong City, Mo Fan started to believe her words.

“Ai Jiangtu, do you think Miyata was lying?” Mo Fan stood up and asked Ai Jiangtu, who was sitting a few rows behind him.

Ai Jiangtu was taken by surprise. Why would Mo Fan suddenly ask him the question?

He replied after a slight hesitation, “I think there was no reason for Miyata to lie, and it did not seem like she was lying, either.”

“Are you two referring to the island that did not exist?” Jiang Yu joined the conversation out of curiosity.

“How boring, the island never existed. We even went to the cliff to confirm it. Are you telling me that the island had flown away?” said Mu Tingying.

“Miyata wasn’t lying; she did spend a night on the island,” said Mo Fan sternly.

“Humph, do you take us as three-year-old kids?” mocked Guan Yu.

Mo Fan ignored the sarcastic comment. He recalled the series of events and said in a stern voice, “Zhao Manyan, can you please turn off the Detective Conan’s soundtrack first…”

“Oh, sorry, I couldn’t control myself.”

“What I’m saying is, the island at Xixiong City was f**king real. I could not understand why Miyata was telling the ridiculous lie in the first place, nor could I understand why I saw the island when we were on the train. The truth is, the thing was never an island to begin with,” said Mo Fan.

“Mo Fan, did you forget to take your pills today? What would it be if it wasn’t an island?”

“Miyata did not spend the night on an island. She was on the back of a living creature! The island went missing the next day, because the creature simply swam away!” said Mo Fan confidently.

Mo Fan’s words shocked the whole group.

The bus fell silent. Everyone tried to imagine the scene, yet they immediately felt themselves tensing.

“Mo…Mo Fan, that’s not funny, how is it possible that a creature is as huge as an island? There’s no way Miyata would mistake a living creature for an island, no matter how stupid she was.” Jiang Shaoxu’s voice was trembling slightly as she spoke.

“Yeah, if that island is actually alive, what kind of creature would it be?” said Jiang Yu.

“Do you remember the giant shadow under the water when we were traveling on the Pacific Ocean?” said Mo Fan.

It went without saying that everyone in the group clearly remembered the shocking scene… they were all overwhelmed by fear and the sense of feeling minuscule in that moment.

Now, everyone’s face was full of astonishment when Mo Fan reminded them about it!

“So you’re saying, the island that disappeared was the…the creature we stumbled into on the ocean…” Jiang Yu had trouble speaking fluently. The stammering clearly displayed the shock he was experiencing.

“Mo Fan, why would you mention it all of a sudden?” asked Mu Ningxue curiously.

Mo Fan was mentioning it now even though a few days had already passed after they left Xixiong City. It was obvious that something else had happened.

Mo Fan was grim after hearing Mu Ningxue’s question.

“Last night, there was a gigantic creature in the ocean close to the Twin Guardian Towers, too. You can ask Mochizuki Chihaya about the details… somehow, I believe the creature has been following us!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s words sounded ridiculous to everyone at the start, but after hearing his explanation, most people started to believe his speculation!

Ai Jiangtu in particular was convinced, as he had entered the illusion together with Mo Fan. They had both witnessed how Miyata had killed herself just to prove that she was innocent. Such a strong-willed woman would never speak such a ridiculous lie, which meant there was something fishy about the island!

“I’m thinking that maybe the night was misty, and the creature was simply too enormous, and so Miyata did not notice it was a living creature. Since she had only moved to Xixiong City quite recently, she wouldn’t think it was strange that there was an island there, so she went onto it… Although I don’t know why the creature would just sit there, but I think the only explanation as to why I saw the island was because it had reappeared in the same spot.”

“What exactly is it? How did it manage to sneak past into the safe zone with such ease, not to mention that it was big enough to disguise itself as an island…” Jiang Shaoxu was now utterly convinced that Mo Fan was speaking the truth.

If they had not seen the shadow in the Pacific Ocean, they would never have believed that there existed a creature huge enough to be mistaken as an island. Mo Fan’s speculation was indeed the only viable explanation for Miyata’s statement!

It was not an island, but a living creature, one that could enter human territory freely, a gigantic sea creature that was either harmless to humans, or believed that humans were simply unworthy of its attention!

“So the alarm at the Twin Guardian Towers last night went off because they detected the creature?” said Jiang Yu.

“Even though I have no clue what you all are talking about, there was indeed a gigantic creature present last night. It left soon after we detected its presence. It’s obvious that the creature did not wish to fight us,” Mochizuki Chihaya confirmed.

“But why is the creature following us? Osaka is around the middle of Japan; are you telling me that it had traveled half of Japan just to stalk us?” asked Nanyu.

None of it made any sense. If it was trying to harm them, it would have done so in the Pacific Ocean.

If it was harmless, there was simply no reason for it to be following them. If it weren’t for the tight security at the Twin Guardian Towers, it was likely that Mo Fan and his team would still be unaware that the creature was following them.

“I’m starting to feel uneasy; a creature of that level can easily swallow a river, destroy a mountain, and overturn the lakes and seas,” said Jiang Yu.

“What should we do now?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

“We’ll proceed with caution. Maybe I was just oversensitive; it’s only a mere speculation. After all, we still haven’t seen the creature yet,” said Mo Fan.

“Mmm, it’s good enough that we are aware of its existence, it’s not like worrying about it will make any difference,” said Ai Jiangtu.

Mo Fan had made the whole group uneasy.

Luckily, they were currently inland, quite a distance away from the coast. There was no reason for them to panic now.

Not long after, the bus pulled onto a highway. They could see houses along the way, implying that they had entered a safe zone under protection.

——

The journey was rather tiring. After all, it took them some time to travel from Osaka to Tokyo by bus, even though they were taking the highway…

“I’ll bring everyone to somewhere fun when we arrive in Tokyo,” promised Jiang Shaoxu when she saw that everyone was low in spirits.

Ai Jiangtu immediately poured a bucket of cold water on her. “Jiang Shaoxu, we’ll be heading straight to the maritime battlefield after we arrive in Tokyo.”

“Why the rush? It wouldn’t matter if we are a day late,” Jiang Shaoxu wheedled in a seductive tone.

Ai Jiangtu would not fall for her tricks. He proceeded to explain to the team, “The maritime battlefield is our main destination in Japan. It’s also the place for our first training. Just to remind you, each country will hand in resources to the Magic Association, and these resources will be distributed to the national teams during their training. The resources are allocated based on our contributions during the training.”

“Even so, there’s no need to be so enthusiastic,” whined Jiang Shaoxu in a sloppy tone.

“I believe many among us are still not Advanced Magicians yet. The training here in Japan serves as a great opportunity for you to level up to the Advanced Level. If you don’t want to, feel free to enjoy yourself in Tokyo,” replied Ai Jiangtu without giving face.

“An opportunity to level up to the Advanced Level… that’s some incredible resource! What exactly would it be?” said Zhao Manyan with glittering eyes.

“Mr. Zhao, you shouldn’t be looking forward to it. Resources will never be allocated to you since you’re a substitute. Of course, that also includes Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan,” Mu Tingying said with a smile.

Zhao Manyan immediately asked Ai Jiangtu for confirmation in an unpleasant tone.

Ai Jiangtu nodded and replied, “It’s true that the resources aren’t allocated to the substitutes.”

“F**k me, that’s unfair!”

“You should be grateful that someone like you was given a chance to train with the team. You have no talent, no outstanding cultivation, no high-level Soul Seed…” mocked Guan Yu at the perfect time.

“Damn it, you’re acting like you’re already an Advanced Magician, yet you’re still an Intermediate Level scum just like me!” cursed Zhao Manyan, pointing at Guan Yu.

“There are still quite a lot of Intermediate Magicians in this team,” said Jiang Yu, coughing deliberately.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Zhao Manyan in an awkward tone.

There was no reason for Ai Jiangtu to lie to his teammates. Resources were not supposed to be distributed to the substitutes. The decision was already made when the national team was formed.

As a matter of fact, if Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan and Mu Ningxue underperformed during the training in Japan, they would be replaced by others with outstanding performance who were defending China’s National Training Hall.

After all, they were only substitutes for the team. Their treatment was a lot different than the official members.

It was unlikely that Mo Fan would be replaced, since he was already an Advanced Magician. Some of the official members were not even Advanced Magicians yet. On the other hand, Mu Ningxue and Zhao Manyan were in danger of being replaced.

Although Mu Ningxue’s strength was remarkable, she had yet to break through to the Advanced Level.

On top of that, she only had access to limited resources. The Mu Clan supporting her had simply stopped providing her with resources after Mu He was exposed as the Black Vatican’s Great Deacon. They had focused on developing Mu Tingying instead.

Mu Tingying was most likely extremely close to breaking through to the Advanced Level. It was only a matter of time as long as she was given enough resources.

Meanwhile, Mu Ningxue’s cultivation was stuck at the limit of the Intermediate Level. Her cultivation had not improved for some time. She was actually starting to feel worried, even though she looked calm on the surface.

With her strength, she had a chance to compete for the resources granted to the national team. Unfortunately, the substitutes were not meant to be allocated any of the resources, placing her in a difficult position.

When the trip to Japan came to an end, one of them would surely be replaced!

It was either her or Zhao Manyan!

Zhao Manyan had a wealthy financial group supporting him. They would simply use lots of money to help him break through to the Advanced Level if needed. As such, she had the highest chance of being replaced!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

After learning that the team would receive resources to help them break through to the Advanced Level, nobody stopped in the city after arriving in Tokyo. They immediately departed the town for the maritime battlefield.

The fortresses at maritime battlefields were a special kind of wartime culture. The East Maritime Fortress in Tokyo had been popular for a long time. The battle between humans and sea monsters on the Pacific Ocean drawn with fresh blood and limbs had been going on for hundreds of years!

Between the ocean and Tokyo, a huge fortress was constructed by the shore. This was the East Maritime Fortress!

Looking down from the sky, the East Maritime Fortress was built in the shape of a crescent. The steel walls were no longer considered walls, but a magnificent dam protecting the modern city of Tokyo. Not only was it protecting Tokyo from the rolling waves, it was also stopping the armies of sea monsters from invading. It was called the Shield of Tokyo by the locals.

The Shield of Tokyo had two different layers. The height of the dam in the first layer was slightly lower, thus its defense was not as efficient.

The dam behind was extremely high. Even a sea creature over a hundred meters tall would have trouble crossing that line of defense.

The two dams were shaped like inward-curving arcs. The ends gradually combined, giving the fortress its crescent shape.

“This East Maritime Fortress looks rather new,” said Jiang Yu.

“Mmm, apart from the materials used for construction, it doesn’t look very different from the other cities. The streets were like squares, too,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“This is one of the four biggest maritime fortresses in the world, but it doesn’t look like there’s anything special about it. It’s just very close to the ocean,” observed Mu Tingying.

“Let’s report in first.” Nanyu walked ahead of them. She seemed to be familiar with the place.

The East Maritime Fortress was basically gray-white. There were streets, marketplaces, residential structures, tall buildings, and shops. The place did not have corpses of sea monsters scattered everywhere, as they had imagined. Instead, most of the buildings and streets looked relatively new. It was more or less a town built as a part of sea reclamation, with exactly the same ../style for most of the buildings. They almost thought they had come to the wrong place when they saw the huge crowds on the streets.

However, they discovered most of the people on the streets were Magicians. It was rare to see an ordinary person, as even the vendors of the stalls along the streets were Magicians. They were selling materials like the skins, claws, and organs of sea monsters, suitable for being forged into defensive equipment.

Mo Fan did not stay with the team. He already left with Mochizuki Chihaya as soon as they arrived in Tokyo. After all, he still had a terrifying orb in his hands. It was necessary to get rid of it as soon as possible.

Zhao Manyan and Mu Ningxue were only substitutes for the team. They would not receive any resources regardless of their performance, but they still chose to follow the team to get the training. After all, they could still improve that way. Training was even more important when Magicians felt like their cultivation had reached a bottleneck. Different experiences, continuous battles, the desire to grow stronger, and the determination to surpass their own limits were all provided through training!

“Nanyu, have you been here before?” asked Ai Jiangtu when he discovered that Nanyu was familiar with the area.

“Mm, I came here with a general a few years ago. It was my first time seeing such a huge-scale battle between humans and demon creatures. We’re in luck, the tide hasn’t risen,” said Nanyu.

The others were gathering their focus to listen to Nanyu about her past experience here when a loud noise suddenly came from ahead.

The ground began to shake vigorously at to the voice. Even their heads felt dizzy all of a sudden.

Everyone subconsciously covered their ears. Ai Jiangtu and Nanyu were the closest to the front. They both glanced ahead and saw a pillar torn from one of the buildings flying at them!

“Holy shit!” Zhao Manyan was taken by surprise. He almost forgot to cast his spell.

The others did not expect the sudden accident either. The pillar was at least a meter wide and over ten meters long. It knocked all the lamp poles on both sides of the road down as it flew at the team.

“Dodge it!” a man with orange hair at the side of the road screamed at them.

The man was quite the hero. He realized Mu Ningxue was standing the closest to him, so he quickly cast Wind Track and pounced at her, trying to push her away.

The pillar was flying at the team at a remarkable speed. It was already in front of them. If they were only a bunch of Basic Magicians, the force of the pillar could easily smash them into minced meat!

“Telekinesis!” Ai Jiangtu glowed silver. His gaze sharpened as he faced the pillar. His aura underwent a remarkable change, as if there was nothing he could not control!

The wind produced by the pillar swept at the others, yet the enormous pillar shuddered when it was less than two meters away from the team and came to a sudden stop in the air, not able to move forward any further!

Ai Jiangtu’s eyes were emitting a silver glow as he fixed his gaze on the pillar. As he slowly shifted his gaze down, the pillar was slowly placed on the ground in a strange manner.

“That’s… Space… the Space Element!” The man with orange hair was stunned. His eyes were filled with excitement.

“Let go!” Mu Ningxue’s icy voice snapped.

The man immediately collected his thoughts and apologized to her.

He was in a panic to save Mu Ningxue, thus he had one hand on her shoulder and the other on her back. He was going to drag Mu Ningxue to the side of the road.

Mu Ningxue was not fussed about it, knowing that the man was only trying to save her.

“That scared the shit out of me, I thought the pillar was going to smash you all to death,” said the man with orange hair.

“You do know who to save though,” mocked Jiang Shaoxu.

Mu Ningxue definitely had the highest rate of second glances when she was on the street. Her silver hair dangled behind her like a waterfall. It was particularly attractive to a two-dimensional kingdom like Japan. It was likely that the man had been stalking her, and immediately came to the rescue when the accident happened.

The man did take hold of the opportunity when happiness came all of a sudden. To his surprise, Ai Jiangtu had managed to stop the flying object with a single gaze. Most importantly, Mu Ningxue was also casting a spell, but she was suddenly shoved aside by a stranger.

“She was the closest to me, just that,” the man tried to explain awkwardly. He quickly changed the topic and said, “I’m Hirose, nice to meet you…”

“No one wants to be your friend,” said Zhao Manyan unpleasantly. Where the heck did this guy come from? He was almost scared to death by the man’s scream even though it was only a pillar flying at them; speaking of making a big fuss over a small matter!

“Why would a pillar fly toward us… holy crap, guys, look!” Jiang Yu was in the middle of asking the question when an astonishing scene took place on the street ahead!

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Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Sea monsters!

Their skin was darker than the usual azure blue. They were standing on the street around a hundred meters away. One of the sea monsters had sharp gills like fans under its head that were higher than the roof nearby. They had descended upon the residential area like demons, staring down at the minuscule humans like livestock waiting to be butchered!

“Holy shit, right in the middle of the day…”

“I’m really impressed by the public order of Japan’s town. One, two, there are two of them, both over ten meters tall!”

“What kind of a shitty fortress is this? The sea monsters are able to break into the place just like that!” cursed Zhao Manyan.

While the team was dazzled by the scene before them, an announcement in English suddenly echoed in the air!

“All personnel, sea monsters have appeared in the nineteenth street. Those who are non-combatants should leave or hide in the shelters at once!

“All personnel, sea monsters have appeared in the nineteenth street. It has been confirmed that the sea monsters are two Commander-level Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts. Combatants are advised to eliminate them as soon as possible!”

The announcement repeated for a long time. Everyone was able to hear it clearly.

The crowd on the street was still in good order at the start of the incident. However, when the announcement mentioned the Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts, they began to flee in panic.

“The monsters are Commander-level! Run, run for your lives!”

“This way, the shelter is this way!” The man with orange hair seemed to be an enthusiast. He quickly pointed the direction to safety for those fleeing for their lives.

“Two Commander-level sea monsters have already shown up before the tide has risen. People might die if the Advanced Magicians do not make it in time!” A Wind Magician stayed back, knowing he could outrun the creatures with his speed. He was curious enough to take a closer look at the two Commander-level sea monsters.

“What are you doing here, hurry up to the shelter… hey, hey, what are you all waiting for? Didn’t you hear the announcement? Those creatures are Commander-level!” a middle-aged man yelled at Ai Jiangtu and his crew.

As a matter of fact, the national team who had just arrived in the East Maritime Fortress was still lost in their thoughts.

If it weren’t for the fact that the two ferocious beasts were only less than a hundred meters away, they would never believe that sea monsters were reckless enough to show up in human territory like this!

“The East Maritime Fortress is basically a battlefield. It’s common for the sea monsters to invade the town just like that,” Nanyu said to the others.

“Let’s stop them. Otherwise, these Commander-level monsters will surely result in lots of casualties,” suggested Ai Jiangtu fearlessly.

“I’ll pass. Those two are Commander-level, after all…” said Jiang Yu.

“We’ll see how it goes first,” said Ai Jiangtu after second thought. There was indeed no reason to put the team at risk, not to mention that most members on the team were still in the Intermediate Level. Even those who had achieved the Advanced Level were unable to cast Advanced Spells fluidly. The Commander-level creatures would kill them in an instant!

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts had muscular upper limbs, and their bodies were covered in glowing, icy scales. On top of that, the scales had sharp spikes between them, especially on their four arms, which were as thick as hammers. Their arms were covered by spikes. If the creatures hit them with their arms, they would most likely be impaled on them!

Their lower bodies were like giant shrimp, covered in blue armor that glimmering like jewels. The legs of a shrimp were thin and long, like whiskers, but the legs of the Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts were sharp and long. They looked more like the legs of a gigantic mantis instead…

A shrimp was usually considered a gentle creature, yet these Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts were giving off a ferocious aura. Even without their spiked arms, it felt like their legs could easily stab through anything. They looked extremely dangerous and menacing!

Obviously, creatures like these were considered were exceedingly dangerous in the East Maritime Fortress. After the announcement and alarm went off, the people who initially thought they were only some small sea monsters immediately fled to the shelters in panic.

Luckily, the people in the town were quite used to emergencies like this. Most of the people were Magicians, so the Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts had yet to kill anyone. They were venting their frustrations on the buildings!

“Not all buildings in the East Maritime Fortress are occupied. Some are built just to distract the sea monsters,” Nanyu informed them.

“That’s good to hear. Otherwise, it’s difficult to tell how many would die if the buildings were full of residents.”

The two Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts were extremely hot-tempered. They simply grabbed onto a building and dragged it off of its foundation, before lifting it above their heads.

Unfortunately, the sea monsters happened to be tossing the building in the direction of the team. Ai Jiangtu realized the approaching danger and immediately unleashed his will to slow down the building flying at them.

“The building is too big, I can’t stop it completely!” Ai Jiangtu told the others behind him.

“Don’t worry, we can handle ourselves!”

“Such violent sea monsters!”

Lifting a building and tossing it at them; it clearly showed the terrifying strength of the creatures!

Luckily, the members of the national team had simultaneously cast defensive spells. A huge Sacred Shield: Rampart and Rock Barrier immediately appeared in front of the team and protected them.

The gray-white building smashed into pieces after colliding with the Sacred Shield: Rampart. It totally collapsed as it hit the Rock Barrier, sweeping the dust into the air across the street.

“They discovered our presence, back off!” Jiang Shaoxu was a Psychic Magician. She immediately sensed the anger of the two ferocious beasts.

The team immediately withdrew. They were almost at the end of the street when one of the Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts caught up to them.

The creature had smashed its way through the debris. It stood on the wreckage of the building as its third eye poked out and glared at the members of the national team through the dust scattered in the air.

“Run, run, run!”

“Go right!”

“Why not left?”

“What’s with the nonsense!”

It was difficult to come to a consensus when there were too many people. Li Kaifeng, Guan Yu, Jiang Shaoxu, and Zu Jiming were initially heading left before they realized Zhou Xu, Zhao Manyan, Nan Rongni, Mu Ningxue, Ai Jiangtu, and the rest had gone right instead. They quickly turned around to regroup with the team.

The speed of Commander-level creatures was rather shocking. Since the Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts were smaller in size than other Commander-level creatures, it usually implied that they either had impressive speed or were able to cast powerful spells.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast lunged out from the debris. The long legs on both sides of its body were moving rapidly as it caught up to Jiang Shaoxu and Zu Jiming in mere seconds!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Jiang Shaoxu had short legs and no movement spells. The Psychic Magician would surely be left behind when the team was running.

Zu Jiming was beside her, and totally lacked the demeanor of a gentleman. He was running away with Earth Wave, yet he did not even bother helping Jiang Shaoxu with the same spell. Soon, Jiang Shaoxu was left behind on her own.

“Assholes, you bunch of assholes! Come back here and save me!” cursed Jiang Shaoxu, running for her life.

She quickly summoned her Magic Boots, yet the magic equipment could barely outrun a Warrior-level creature. It was nowhere enough to help her run away from the Commander-level Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts.

A giant shadow loomed over Jiang Shaoxu. She could already smell the briny stench of the creature behind her.

“Jiang Shaoxu, behind you!” yelled Nanyu.

“Only one of them is following us?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“Yeah, just one.”

“Prepare for battle!” Ai Jiangtu was quite the reckless type, too. He stopped running when he realized only one Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was chasing after them.

Ai Jiangtu turned around. A silver Star Constellation had already appeared under his feet.

His speed at channeling Advanced Spells was a lot more fluent and faster than a dabbler like Mo Fan. Ai Jiangtu vanished as soon as he finished constructing the Star Constellation.

The next moment, Ai Jiangtu was at the back of the team, right beside Jiang Shaoxu.

Jiang Shaoxu was hugging her boobs, which were bouncing wildly as she was running. She was surprised when she saw a man appearing beside her out of nowhere…

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast did not swing its spiked arms. It lifted one of its pointy legs with a hint of disdain, before slashing it down like a sharp knife, trying to nail Jiang Shaoxu with its leg!

“Telekinesis!” Ai Jiangtu lifted his ferocious gaze and fearlessly stared at the creature’s leg, which was powerful enough to penetrate the concrete.

His stare applied a great resistance to the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s leg. The limb halted halfway in the air, as if the creature was having trouble pushing it down any further.

“Does the captain have to be so reckless!?”

The team turned around and saw Ai Jiangtu standing before the creature. His relatively minuscule figure was firm and imperious, as if he was having a showdown with the Commander-level creature!

Jiang Shaoxu knew she was not ideal to fight in close-quarters combat. She immediately ran to the middle of the team without hesitation.

The others immediately switched into battle mode when they saw their captain engaging, especially when they remembered that Ai Jiangtu was the one allocating the resources among the team members. They quickly turned around and fought the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast.

The brilliance of a dozen Star Patterns combined as spells of different Elements poured down on the creature, including burning pillars, ice chains, lightning strikes, tornado gusts, and demon vines…

Teamwork was incredibly important when a team was fighting a demon creature. By combining spells of different Elements on the same target, the effects were outstanding. Most demon creatures would find their heads spinning when being blasted by spells from all directions!

That being said, it was not easy to inflict damage on the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast. Even though all the spells had landed on the creature, they merely knocked it back without dealing much damage. The spells mostly left some dents on the creature’s scales and armor.

“Whoever has the Poison Element, use it to corrode that annoying armor of the creature first, or else we won’t deal any damage to the creature even if we expend all our energy!” yelled Li Kaifeng when he noticed that their spells only had minimal effects.

Zu Jiming was the Poison Magician on the team. He was standing at the back of the team. He opened his hand, revealing the Poison Cavity on his palm. Tiny poisonous wasps flew out of the Poison Cavity like smoke.

The movement of the poisonous wasps was rather slow. They finally reached the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast, but the creature was extremely alert. It opened its mouth and roared.

The roar produced a strong and humid gust with a high level of humidity. It immediately shattered the dark cloud of poisonous wasps.

“That thing is quite intelligent; it’s very experienced with fights against Magicians,” noted Zu Jiming.

Most creatures would simply ignore the tiny wasps, allowing the Poison Element to take down its target by surprise. To their surprise, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast did not bother dodging the Intermediate Spells, yet it immediately shattered the swarm of poisonous wasps when it came close. It was obvious that someone had used the same trick on the creature before, so it realized that the Poison Element was able to penetrate its sturdy scales!

“It’s charging toward us, back off!”

Ai Jiangtu had reached his limit. He quickly blinked away when he saw the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast lunging once again.

Ai Jiangtu blinked to the roof of a building that was around twenty meters high. He was able to get a clear view of Blue Valley Ferocious Beast from this angle…

He did not notice it at first, but on second thought, he realized that the Commander-level creature was fully covered in thick armor, except for its head, which was fully exposed!

A weak point!

Ai Jiangtu was overwhelmed with joy. He did not expect to discover the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s weakness when he moved to a higher spot…

“Its head is not covered by scales!” Ai Jiangtu immediately relayed the information to the rest of the team.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was smashing its way forward. The others immediately escaped to the narrow alleyways nearby. The layout of the buildings in the East Maritime Fortress looked simple on the surface, but actually favored the Magicians. The huge buildings and the alleyways between them prevented the creatures from easily pursuing Magicians,and provided great cover for those that were not suitable for close-distance combat.

“Brother, none of us can fly, it doesn’t make any difference even if we know where its weakness is, there’s no way we can attack its head!” Jiang Yu yelled at Ai Jiangtu from where he was taking cover in one of the alleyways.

However, as soon as he finished the sentence, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast blocked off the entrance of the alleyway. Its eyestalk was looking right down the narrow path.

The creature completely blocked off the light coming into the alleyway where Jiang Yu had entered. The man was soaked in cold sweat and no longer dared to stay around any longer.

In the creature’s eyes, Jiang Yu was like a little mouse who had escaped into a tiny gap. Luckily, the buildings were rather solid. Even a Commander-level creature would need some time to destroy them!

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was losing its temper. It slammed its four arms into the building, trying to force its way down the narrow path. Jiang Yu immediately took off and ran toward the other end of the alleyway.

“Damn, such remarkable design!” Jiang Yu was impressed by the Japanese’s intelligence when he saw that the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was greatly hindered by the buildings!

“Jiang Yu, Jiang Yu, not that way!” Jiang Yu heard someone scream amid the loud noises produced by the collapsing buildings.

“Are you telling me to run into the creature’s mouth? I will if I don’t run this way!” cursed Jiang Yu, who was obviously in a panic.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Jiang Yu had just arrived in the middle of the alleyway when a sharp leg appeared and hovered in the air at the other end he was running towards…

Jiang Yu was startled. He turned around and saw the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast still chasing after him. The creature was only a few dozen meters away. The creature would have eaten him by now if it weren’t for the buildings slowing it down.

Jiang Yu finally realized why the person was warning him not to run toward the other end!

Damn it, the two Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts were cutting him off at both ends of the alley!

Jiang Yu felt the urge to cry. What did he do wrong? Why were the two Commander-level Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts giving him special treatment when there were so many people on the streets? Where could he possibly run to now?

Jiang Yu’s face turned pale as the other Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was smashing the buildings apart to force its way through.

“Jiang Yu, up here!”

A voice suddenly appeared. Jiang Yu raised his head and saw Mu Ningxue on the roof. She was controlling an ice chain and lowering it down before Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu did not hesitate. He immediately grabbed the ice chain and made his way up along the walls of the buildings.

The ice chain pulled Jiang Yu onto the roof. The top of the buildings was mostly flat, designed to allow Magicians to move freely while fighting the sea monsters.

The two Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts were incredibly hot-tempered. They waved their arms wildly and tore the buildings in their way down when they saw the little mouse trapped in the gap had escaped them!

“Let’s leave at once!” Mu Ningxue exclaimed.

The building below them was on the verge of collapsing. The two did not dare to stay any longer. They quickly ran away from the two creatures and jumped a gap of ten meters to land on the roof of the next building.

“They…they are coming!” Jiang Yu turned his head around and saw the two Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts still chasing after them by smashing their way through the buildings.

The structures made of seemingly new concrete collapsed consecutively, sweeping dust into the air while crashing loudly. Despite that, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts were unstoppable. They were still chasing after Jiang Yu and Mu Ningxue stubbornly.

“Luckily the sea monsters don’t have much jumping ability… they can’t jump onto the roof!” Jiang Yu gasped in relief when he saw the Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts were gradually left behind.

“Look out!” Mu Ningxue was alert at all times. She quickly used the ice chain to set up a layer of defense in front of her when she sensed something flying toward them at high speed!

Before Jiang Yu could react, he saw dark blue spikes pouring down at them like rain. The spikes punched through the sturdy buildings that were providing them cover easily!

Mu Ningxue quickly backed off while summoning more ice chains. However, the spikes were incredibly powerful. The ice chains soon broke into pieces and fell to the ground.

“Go down!” Mu Ningxue realized that the ice chains had no chance against the Commander-level creatures’ magic. She quickly summoned a gust of wind to carry Jiang Yu and her away as they glided down.

“This way!” Nan Rongni’s voice appeared to the back of the street.

Mu Ningxue grabbed Jiang Yu and sprinted across the street to regroup with Nan Rongni, Zhou Xu, and Nan Yu.

“Are you injured?” asked Nan Rongni.

“Just some bruises, I think Mu Ningxue was hit by the spikes!” gasped Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu glanced at Mu Ningxue and saw red stains on her arm. He was utterly respectful and grateful toward her for risking her life to save him. Without her help, his life might be over after he was cornered by the two Commander-level creatures!

Nan Rongni quickly summoned two Healing Spirits; one for Jiang Yu, one for Mu Ningxue.

The Healing Spirits were able to locate wounds and heal them. They mainly focused on injuries dealt to the skin, muscles, blood vessels, meridians, etc. However, if the inner organs, bones, mind, or soul were damaged, the Healing Spirits would have minimal effects. They would need a Healer to cast the Basic Spell Healing Light to slowly heal the injured part…

Mu Ningxue’s arm was soon healed. The bleeding stopped in no time, before the wound closed under the effects of the Healing Spirit.

“They seemed to be affected by captain’s Curse,” Zhou Xu noticed.

“Mmm, these creatures are stronger than the Scarlet Rending Demon. Our attacks are basically useless against them. We can only split up and fight them in skirmishes, yet it’s risky for us, too. We would be dead if we got separated from the team and the others could not provide assistance in time,” said Nanyu.

“Yeah, the only ones that can cast Advanced Spells are captain and Mo Fan, but that idiot had already run off with the Japanese woman. We won’t be able to defeat the creatures if we can’t find a way to penetrate their scales,” said Jiang Yu.

It went without saying that Mo Fan’s combination of Fire and Lightning was incredibly destructive. With him on the team, they could have easily broken through the Commander-level creatures’ defense.

Nanyu gave Jiang Yu a death stare. Jiang Yu immediately realized Mu Ningxue was standing right beside him. His expression stiffened as he quickly explained in an awkward manner, “Just… forget what I said.”

Mu Ningxue had an unpleasant look. That asshole who ran away with the Japanese woman had nothing to do with her. A man like him who stuck to the Japanese woman just because she was hot, it was better if he never showed up again!

—

One of the Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts was in great pain because of the Demon Torture cast upon it. It was screeching like metals being scratched.

The other Blue Valley Ferocious Beast found Ai Jiangtu hiding on the roof of a building and channeling the Curse Spell. The cunning creature simply ignored the cries of its companion and sneaked around to the back of the building!

Four spiked arms rose high into the air before slamming down on the roof Ai Jiangtu was standing on.

Ai Jiangtu immediately stopped the channeling and blinked away.

The Blink was successful, but the tunnel also transferred the force exerted by the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast. When Ai Jiangtu blinked down to where Nan Rongni, Mu Ningxue, Jiang Yu, and the others were gathered, they saw him being knocked flying and crashing into a shuttered shop…

“Was…was that captain?” said Jiang Yu softly.

“I wasn’t able to get a clear look…” answered Zhou Xu.

Ai Jiangtu was blinking over to his teammates. As soon as he came out from the other dimension, he was propelled like a missile before anyone could react. In the end, the kind-hearted Nan Rongni quickly went into the shop and treated Ai Jiangtu’s injuries with a Healing Spirit.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ai Jiangtu climbed to his feet with his face covered in dust. His body was covered with bruises, and even his clothes were torn and tattered.

At the back of his waist was a large contusion. It seemed like the impact had caught him in the back as he was blinking away. It was impressive that he could still stand in his condition.

“Don’t move, your hip is fractured,” said Nan Rongni when she learned Ai Jiangtu’s condition from the Healing Spirit.

Ai Jiangtu let out a deep breath. It was full of dust. “Are the others alright?” he asked.

He was the only person that could take on a Commander-level creature on the team. Without him, the others would be in great danger.

“Don’t worry, they all have their own specialties, since they were handpicked to represent the national team. They can’t defeat the two Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts, but they shouldn’t have any problem protecting themselves,” Nan Rongni assured him.

Ai Jiangtu did not force himself after hearing the words. He patiently waited as his wounds were being treated.

The densely-packed buildings and streets in the East Maritime Fortress indeed provided Magicians with lots of cover. The Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts were huge, and so were constantly blocked by the sturdy buildings. Once their targets escaped into the buildings, it was difficult for them to chase any further.

It was like two ferocious lions chasing after a nest of mice. The buildings were like tall mounds in their eyes. They could easily raze them to the ground, but the Magicians were able to move nimbly between them. They would show up in front of or behind the creatures as they wished, or vanish completely. It was troublesome to hunt them down!

The efficient layout of the buildings and the streets in the East Maritime Fortress was being put on full display!

On top of that, the reason why the streets and buildings looked relatively new… was because they were destroyed regularly…

The destroyed buildings were rebuilt fairly quickly. The professional builders were Magicians with the Earth Element. They could rebuild the modular, square-shaped buildings in no time!

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts vented their frustration at not being able to kill Ai Jiangtu and losing track of him on the buildings nearby. The thirty-meter structures were smashed into debris across the place, and their remains tossed around wildly. The pillar that took the team by surprise was obviously their doing.

“Where is everyone?” Nanyu asked the members that were split over their communication device.

“We’ve reached the shelter,” replied Zhao Manyan promptly.

“Asshole!” cursed Jiang Yu.

“Was anyone left alone?” asked Nanyu.

“I am,” Jiang Shaoxu’s voice came in.

“Hey hey, aren’t I right beside you!?” said Zu Jiming.

“A useless man like you doesn’t count!” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“What do you mean? Fine, take the left, and I’ll head right. Do you think I have the time to look after a short-legged woman like you?” Zu Jiming started arguing with Jiang Shaoxu.

Thud thud thud!

“What’s that sound?”

“Crap, they are heading toward us!”

The range of the microphone was quite limited, with noise cancellation implemented to improve the sound quality. However, everyone could hear a loud rumble coming from the communication device, as if something was happening right beside someone’s microphone.

“Who’s close to the creatures!? Start running, quick!” Nanyu yelled into the communication device when she realized that something was not right.

“They are here…Zu Jiming, Zu Jiming, you asshole!” Jiang Shaoxu started screaming, yet the scream was soon covered by the loud rumble.

“Zu Jiming, go back there and save her!” Nanyu’s voice sank as she spoke in a commanding manner.

Zu Jiming did not respond. The display indicated that the guy had switched off his device.

“Jiang Shaoxu, hide in the alleyways and send us your location, we’ll provide backup as soon as we can,” said Nanyu.

“Save me, please help me, I’m stuck between them. My armor can’t last any longer, hurry up!” Jiang Shaoxu’s voice was filled with a hint of terror. It was obvious that her situation was even more dangerous than the one she was in before.

Jiang Yu was trapped in an alleyway, but luckily, he was relatively close captain Ai Jiangtu and Mu Ningxue, who both had extraordinary fighting capacity. Meanwhile, Jiang Shaoxu was with Zu Jiming, whose primary Element was Poison, and secondary Element was Earth. He was a full support-class Magician, and immediately fled for his life!

Jiang Shaoxu was bitterly disappointed when she saw Zu Jiming taking off without the slightest hesitation.

Jiang Shaoxu was only a Psychic Magician. Against two Commander-level creatures that were immune to her Pacify, there was simply nothing she could do. On top of that, she did not have any movement spells either, and her Magic Boots were still on cooldown. She was in a life-threatening situation!

—-

“She’s on our twelve…” Nanyu quickly found Jiang Shaoxu’s location through her SOS signal.

Mu Ningxue quickly summoned a gust of wind and propelled herself up to the roof. She sprinted along the roof with Wind Track in the direction that Nanyu mentioned.

Frost was condensing around her and quickly turning into ice chains. Soon, eight ice chains like silver ribbons spread out across the roof within thirty meters of her. The chains were alive, and would preemptively build a bridge for her whenever the gap between two buildings was too wide for her to cross!

“There!”

Mu Ningxue finally saw the Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts. Half of their bodies were concealed by three connected buildings. Jiang Shaoxu must be hiding inside the buildings. However, the buildings could at most provide some cover. There was no way they could defend her from the creatures, especially Commander-level ones. They could easily destroy the thirty-meter buildings with a few swings of their arms!

One of the Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts raised its sharp leg and thrust it down at the buildings continuously, as if it was desperately trying to kill Jiang Shaoxu as quickly as possible. Huge holes were left in the three buildings…

Mu Ningxue frowned, not knowing how to approach the situation at first.

If there was only a Commander-level creature, she could easily lure it away and retreat to a safe spot to buy Jiang Shaoxu some time.

However, the two Commander-level creatures were determined to kill Jiang Shaoxu. Mu Ningxue could at most attract the attention of one creature, but the other would soon force her out of the buildings.

“Phew~!” Mu Ningxue took a deep breath. “Jiang Shaoxu, you better put on your armor,” she said to Jiang Shaoxu, who was screaming for help through the communication device.

Jiang Shaoxu was annoyed since she was already on the precipice of death. She immediately snapped, “That goes without saying!”

—-

A chilly breeze started blowing. Mu Ningxue’s silver hair drifted in the wind as a circular aura spread rapidly around her. The buildings nearby were covered in frost within a second!

Her eyes like silver snow under the azure blue sky, Mu Ningxue turned sideways and held her hands up. She held her left arm forward as if grasping something, while curling the index finger on her right hand as if she was pulling a string back!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The ice crystalline arrow burst forward, leaving a horizontally-spiraling vortex behind it, as if Mu Ningxue had also mixed her Wind Magic into the arrow when she fired it.

The tip of the arrow drew the boundary, and everything that the arrow passed by, including the buildings, streets, and debris froze completely. It felt like the Goddess of Ice had just drawn a stroke across the sky and the town with her icy brush!

The arrow flew straight at the three buildings and the moment it landed, an overwhelming freezing energy exploded rapidly. Layers of frost covered the buildings and froze the two Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts on the spot.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast on the left of the building had already lifted its arms and was about to give the building a deadly smash, but its limbs stopped in mid-strike as its body was turned into an ice statue…

It felt like time was frozen too. The area covered by the arrow became as still as a drawing, with sprinkles of sunlight like crystals falling from the sky!

—-

Five hundred meters away, three Advanced Magicians were flying above the buildings on their way to the battlefield. However, they were utterly dumbfounded by the sight before them. The chill seemed to have frozen their souls and thoughts.

“Is…is that…” A middle-aged Magician with a long hair-braid had trouble finding the words.

The ferocious Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts had been turned into ice statues. Even the Advanced Ice Spell, Icebound Coffin, would not be able to freeze the creatures so quickly.

“Which…which senior is helping us?!”

The three Magicians were at the edge of the area covered by the frost. Their throats contracted in disbelief. They did not dare to fly into the boundary lightly.

—-

Meanwhile, Li Kaifeng, Guan Yu, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Tingying were on their way to provide backup, but they stood still on a building when the overwhelming frost surged in their direction!

The chill penetrated their souls. It felt like they had entered a different world when the whole place was covered in frost.

Everything in their surroundings was covered by ice crystals, but they were perfectly unharmed. It was obvious that Mu Ningxue was able to control the spell to avoid hurting her allies.

“Goddess Mu… has…has used her ult again!” exclaimed Zhao Manyan, his face blank.

—-

Nanyu and Zhou Xu finally caught up to Mu Ningxue. When they saw her firing the arrow that froze everything in range, they somehow mistook her as the Goddess of Ice who had lost her way in the mundane world.

How could an Intermediate Magician possibly unleash such an overwhelming energy?!

In the capital, Mu Ningxue did show the team the Ice Crystal Bow to secure a spot as a substitute. However, the arrow was only fired at an empty dueling ground, so it was difficult to evaluate its power, despite seeing it.

Right now, the two Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts were turned into ice statues in an instant. The overwhelming freezing power totally convinced everyone that she was surely the strongest Ice Magician on the national team…

Someone finally collected their thoughts. “Jiang Shaoxu…quick, save Jiang Shaoxu!”

Jiang Shaoxu was right in the center where the arrow had exploded. Even if Mu Ningxue tried to control the spell, the girl would still be caught in it. Mu Ningxue was still unable to perfectly control the power of the Ice Crystal Bow.

Guan Yu and Li Kaifeng were the fastest, and immediately rushed into the frozen buildings. They found Jiang Shaoxu, who was also covered by ice.

Luckily, Jiang Shaoxu was wearing her armor, and Mu Ningxue had also controlled the frost to avoid her. After melting the outer layer of ice, Jiang Shaoxu was in a stable condition, apart from catching a cold.

—-

The ice on the two Blue Valley Ferocious Beast started cracking. Li Kaifeng and Guan Yu carried Jiang Shaoxu out and regrouped with the others.

“Why is the ice melting so quickly this time?” said Zhao Manyan to Mu Ningxue.

“I was worried that I would hurt Jiang Shaoxu,” said Mu Ningxue softly.

Everyone could tell that the arrow had fully expended Mu Ningxue’s energy. Her usual pale face would normally still have a healthy color, but it was obvious that she was now completely exhausted.

Even Nan Rongni could not help with her mental exhaustion. The only way to recover was by taking plenty of rest.

“They are running away!” yelled Jiang Yu, pointing into the distance.

“Of course they are running. Even though they managed to break free from the ice, their movements are still slow and stiff. A few Advanced Magicians are already nearby. They will be killed if they don’t run now… if only the Advanced Magicians could arrive quicker, we might be able to kill one of them,” mused Zhao Manyan.

“Forget it, the situation was already dangerous enough for the team,” Ai Jiangtu sighed.

Their team could handle a single Commander-level creature, but when there were two of them, it was a relief that they all managed to survive. Mo Fan, who had extraordinary fighting capacity, was not with the team. The guy surely had outstanding ability if he was able to defeat the Scarlet Rending Demon on his own.

“We already stumbled into something like this just after we arrived in the East Maritime Fortress. As I thought, this place is far from a safe town.”

“Luckily, Mu Ningxue stood up in the nick of time.”

“That arrow was insane!”

“If we can use it against the national team of other countries, hehe…”

“Mm, mm, there’s nothing that the arrow can’t settle!”

Mu Tingying’s expression darkened when everyone was complimenting Mu Ningxue.

Mu Tingying already knew about the Ice Crystal Bow. If it weren’t for that, Mu Ningxue, who was younger and came from a little branch family in their clan, could never have grabbed the attention that was supposed to be hers for so many years.

“Thank you,” said Jiang Shaoxu sincerely.

Jiang Shaoxu never thought the person who would go all out to save her life would be Mu Ningxue. The truth was, Jiang Shaoxu was not a fan of Mu Ningxue’s sacred goddess demeanor. Jiang Shaoxu had even mocked her a few times along the journey.

Now, she was feeling guilty about it.

Jiang Shaoxu was not stupid. It went without saying that Mu Ningxue would have harmed herself by using a power that was beyond her current level of cultivation. It might even inflict incurable damage on her soul, but she was willing to act decisively just to save Jiang Shaoxu’s life.

As Jiang Shaoxu thought, the consequences of using the Ice Crystal Bow came quickly. Mu Ningxue was not able to respond to Jiang Shaoxu’s gratitude. Her body was extremely cold, as if she had been frozen.

Jiang Shaoxu and Nan Rongni quickly went up to support her…

However, in Zhao Manyan’s eyes, Mu Ningxue’s condition was a lot better than when she was in the desolated city. Back then, she had instantly lost consciousness, but she was still able to stand right now..

The only question was the price she had to pay to cast the arrow this time…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A tall round structure stood out near the dams of the East Maritime Fortress. Even though it was a few streets away, the strong presence of the stone building loomed over the fortress.

The national team arrived at their destination to meet up with the person designated to receive them.

He was a handler of the Magic Association. He brought the team to a suite of rooms measuring over four hundred square meters. It had more than ten rooms that the members could choose from.

The injured members proceeded to rest, while the others gathered at the hall at the center of the suite.

The thirtyish man with pointy cheeks had a pair of deceitful, small eyes that would occasionally scan the girls on the team. He seemed to have some fetish for long legs. His eyeballs would look down, making him look like a perverted rat.

The man was unprepossessing, but the badge on his chest implied that his position was fairly high in the Magic Association.

“You’ll need to pay to stay here. If you don’t have money, you can pay with sea monsters’ gall bladders. Most Magicians that came to the East Maritime Fortress are risking their lives to earn some quick cash. But, I have to say, you’re quite unlucky to have stumbled into sea creatures just as you arrived… well, it wasn’t the worst scenario. I think it was the nineteenth zone, or the thirteenth zone that had two Commander-level creatures. Consider yourself lucky you weren’t there. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Lai Hengbao! I’m in charge of the Hunters from China!” He peeked at Nanyu with a side glance.

Nanyu had the longest legs, and his eyes never left her legs.

“Wait, hang on, we are…” Jiang Yu tried to explain when he realized something was wrong about the man’s reaction.

“Is your name Jiang Yu?” asked Lai Hengbao, reading the information on a paper.

Jiang Yu nodded.

“And you’re Nanyu?” Lai Hengbao finally had an excuse to look directly at her.

“Yes.”

“That’s right then, sigh, don’t tell me you’re one of the best Hunter Groups in the country, or how talented you are, or whatever achievements you have, or what demon creatures you’ve killed before. Every Magician from China has to go through me here in the East Maritime Fortress. If your group is planning to take over the supervision of a zone, I advise you to follow my orders. Otherwise, Japan’s Magic Association will be even stricter at choosing the teams. They might even think you’re too weak to take the job and send you back to China,” Lai Hengbao said impatiently.

“Supervision of a zone?” Everyone exchanged glances with one another, not knowing what to say.

What the heck were the advisors up to? Didn’t they send the team to the East Maritime Fortress for training? Why did they send someone who doesn’t even know who they are to receive them?

“Holy shit, don’t tell me you’re here to travel, are you joking? I’m a busy man, I don’t want to say it again… The East Maritime Fortress is split into thirty-two zones, and each zone has over thirty alleyways, six streets, and a main street. Every zone is being supervised by a team, and these teams receive funding from Japan’s government and the World Magic Association every month. The supervising team has full control over the funds, deciding whether they take it all, or use it to expand their team by hiring more Hunters and Magicians. As long as the team can protect the zone and eliminate the sea creatures when the tide rises, they can take all the money,” explained Lai Hengbao. “And I am in charge of recommending people for the supervising teams who are looking for new blood, especially if they are Chinese… didn’t the agency explain how it works here to you?”

The team immediately felt like they had been tricked here and sold as slaves after hearing Lai Hengbao’s explanation.

“Can the advisors be more unreliable?” blurted out Jiang Shaoxu.

“Agency… as if we are really here to make a living,” muttered Jiang Yu with a dull face.

“I bet the advisors have purposely made the arrangements, to make our training more practical…”

Everyone soon realized what was going on.

There was indeed someone here to receive them, yet not because they were representatives of the national team that had come for training, but because the advisors had signed the team up for some manual labor!

Jiang Yu knew it was meaningless to reveal their identities, since it was all a set up by the advisors. He asked Lai Hengbao with a wry smile, “How about our pay?”

“Damn, what do you mean by that? Didn’t we already pay your superior the money? Don’t you know it’s tricky to get you unqualified people with no resumes, and no recognition into the East Maritime Fortress?” Lai Hengbao’s eyes widened when money was mentioned. He even stopped staring at the women’s legs and looked into Jiang Yu’s eyes.

“Oh, what he meant was, who do the gall bladders of the sea creatures we collect belong to?” Nanyu was able to take on her role fairly quickly.

“To the zone master! They will collect the gall bladders and sell them to the government. The zone masters will take a portion of the profit and spread the rest among the teams based on their contributions. By the way, I suggest you not to keep the gall bladders secretly, as all corpses of the sea creatures in the East Maritime Fortress belong to the public. You will be punished if you secretly hoard the gall bladders!” warned Lai Hengbao.

“I really feel like we’ve been sold here. How much money did the advisors take? Why didn’t they give us even a single yen?” cursed Zhao Manyan.

Everyone immediately felt a headache after Lai Hengbao finished talking.

The so-called training had somehow turned into manual labor…

“Oh, your superiors also asked me to pass a message to you. They asked you to hurry up and become a four-star team. Otherwise, your resources will be taken by other countries, or something like that… I thought they are sending an experienced team of Magicians here, yet you’re just a bunch of young kids. Four-star team? It’s impressive enough if you can survive the first tide rise!” Lai Hengbao burst out laughing. His eyes were full of disdain toward the young adults.

Lai Hengbao had no clue what the message meant, but the team knew what the advisors were saying.

In order to secure the advanced resources from the other national teams who were also their training, their team must level up to four stars during their time here.

“How can we rank up to four stars?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“Defend the fortress, killing the sea creatures, rescue missions, frontal assaults, or special operations; people will take note if your performance is impressive. It’s similar to how the Hunter Union grades their Hunters. The number of demon creatures and the quests you complete will be turned into points, and the team will level up once the points pass the requirement for the respective stars. To become a four-star team, it might take you at least four years…” said Lai Hengbao.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Most Magicians knew the rules of the Hunter Union, as no Magician would dare to think they were rich enough to be self-sufficient.

It was common for Magicians to take on quests when they were running short on money. These quests included hunting demon creatures, escorting, gathering, scouting, rescuing, patrolling; they could do anything as long as they were paid.

Obviously, the way the East Maritime Fortress operated was simple and straightforward. If this were agriculture, a reputable landlord would secure a land and hire farmers that could handle the rats, wild boars, and pests to manage the crops and protect them. Usually, the crops were ready to be harvested every tide. The landlord would take the profit, and pay the farmers their wages!

However, the income of the farmers in the East Maritime Fortress was quite spectacular. Otherwise, Lai Hengbao would not be so smug about it.

—-

Lai Hengbao left after explaining the situation to the team. He even reminded everyone to prepare themselves for the upcoming battle, as the tide would rise in three days.

“Aren’t the Japanese smart? They built this East Maritime Fortress on the maritime battlefield, asserted control by splitting it up into zones, and handed the zones to reliable parties to manage. The government then takes all the ‘sea products’ as rent from the parties managing the zones. As such, the army and Magic Association are able to withdraw from the front line, while Magicians who are keen to earn some quick cash die in the battles against the sea creatures. In the end, the government takes both the money and the resources!” Zhao Manyan laughed hollowly. He was very sensitive toward authorities and merchants who abused their power to take advantage of others.

The others nodded in agreement after hearing Zhao Manyan’s explanation.

The groups of Magicians were responsible for eliminating the sea creatures and risking their lives to defend the fortress. In order to make more money, the parties would compete fiercely for job opportunities, while the government’s role was to maintain the order by setting the rules, and hide behind the line of defense and count their profits.

“It’s far from our concern. It seems like we have been allocated to the twentieth zone, which is very close to the nineteenth zone where we stumbled into the two Blue Valley Ferocious Beasts. Guess who the zone master is?” said Nanyu.

“Who is it?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“Take a look yourself,” Nanyu turned the monitor around.

On the screen was a photo. The zone master was a plump middle-aged man with curly hair, small eyes and a big nose, the typical kind of Magician who once possessed great talents at his youth, but became a tyrant in middle age.

Normally, this kind of person would possess an impressive cultivation, but they no longer had the passion to pursue further levels of cultivation. The reputation and connections they established in the past granted them resources to either manage other Magicians or become a supplier of magic equipment.

It was the same for many Magicians, who worked as Hunters when they were young and would go on adventures fearlessly. However, once they reached thirty-five, they started focusing on doing business. Their skills would turn rusty. Their weight gain was the most convincing proof.

“Do we know this person?” asked Jiang Yu with a confused look.

“We don’t, but don’t you think the orange-hair beside him looks familiar?” Nanyu pointed out.

Jiang Shaoxu took a closer look and immediately blurted out, “Isn’t he the one who was particularly attentive to Mu Ningxue, and tried to save her? So he’s the son of the twentieth zone’s master?”

“Awesome, we’ll ask Mu Ningxue to have a little chat with him, and ask his dad to give us four stars. Mission accomplished!…” proposed Jiang Yu excitedly.

He immediately saw a few cold gazes directed at him, belonging to Guan Yu, Jiang Shaoxu, and Zhao Manyan.

Jiang Yu’s excitement withered instantly. He said with an awkward laugh, “I was just kidding… by the way, is Mu Ningxue alright? It feels like the arrow drained away all her energy. I wonder if she can recover in time for the tide rise the day after tomorrow.”

“What difference does it make? Even if she fought to her death, she still won’t get any resources. Perhaps she’s not willing to wake up because she doesn’t want to participate in the battle,” sniffed Mu Tingying.

——

Between the tall dam and the short dam were several gray-white buildings. When the orange light of the rising sun shone upon the East Maritime Fortress, it did not leave any color on the buildings. They were still the same dull gray…

The Japanese did not plan to beautify the town when they built it. Even though the town was half-built through sea reclamation, and was facing a beautiful ocean, it was constantly at war with the creatures of the sea. As such, the mood of the town was basically a mix of heavy gray and mourning white!

A slanted light ray squeezed its way past the black curtain through the glassless window and lit up the pitch-black room. The light landed on the side of a pale, yet attractive face. The disheveled silver hair over her face shimmered.

Mu Ningxue opened her eyes when she felt the warmth of the sunlight. The beam landed right on her eyes. She subconsciously raised her hand to cover her eyes.

After covering her eyes from the sunlight, she soon realized her hand was fully covered in frost. The chill spread to her face.

She immediately hid her hand under the blanket in a panic, not sure if she wanted to avoid seeing it, or if she was trying to warm it up under the blanket. As a result, the whole bed was cold.

“Is there going to be a day when I won’t wake up anymore?” Mu Ningxue slowly curled up under the blanket. Her slender figure suddenly felt rather tiny.

She had already forgot when it all started, but every time she fell asleep was like being trapped in a dark ice cellar. No matter how many layers of blankets she had, no matter how many fires she had around her, she could not feel any heat. Her skin was cold, her bones were icy, her blood was frosty…

Many people thought it was the perfect gift one could ever wish for, a magical talent from the Heavens, but only she knew what it truly was.

She proceeded to wash her face and rinse her mouth. It was only dawn, and no one was awake. Mu Ningxue left her room and headed toward the sea.

—-

At the shorter dam, the waves were splashing endlessly on the shore, around thirty meters away from the ten-meter-tall dam.

There were patrols on the dam. They consisted of Japanese Magicians in green-yellow coats, the thick kind that were too heavy for the wind to blow around.

Mu Ningxue found herself an empty spot. She was thinking of spending some quiet time on her own.

However, it was difficult for her to be alone, as someone would always muster up their courage and approach her.

This time it was a rather shy boy. Mu Ningxue could tell he was nervous by his stammering, yet he was trying his very best to talk in a jovial mood.

The young man had never hit on a girl before. It was most likely his first time mustering up his courage to approach a girl, but it was nothing worth respecting.

No one enjoyed being alone, but it did not necessarily mean a lonely person would prefer chatting with a person who could not even express himself clearly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue never assumed she was born a heavenly beauty. She mostly assumed that these brainless men were only attracted by her extraordinary hair and skin.

As a matter of fact, she was only different because she was sick, yet many men still fell for her. She thought that most men were retarded.

“Are you a Magician too?” the shy young man around the age of twenty asked softly.

The man had black hair and was wearing simple clothes. He was fair-looking, and his eyes were bright, granting him a clean appearance. He was not the kind that people would find annoying at first sight.

“Mmm,” replied Mu Ningxue non-committedly.

“Why are you here so early? Is something bothering you?… I’m Senba, I’m here as an intern. Oh, right, I’m from Waseda University,” Senba sat beside Mu Ningxue, yet remained the distance of a body away. He did not dare to get too close, as he was afraid she would feel uncomfortable.

Mu Ningxue did not reply. She would not easily tell other people her name, let alone tell the man that she was a representative on the national team.

Although Senba was shy, he was smart enough to realize that the girl was not willing to reveal her information. He quickly changed the topic.

He was clearly acting unnaturally. He stared at the waves splashing on the shore as if he was going to comment on the fine weather, but instead said, “The tide has fallen off further this time. The next tide rise is going to be dangerous. I wonder if the zone masters are able to hold the creatures off… there better not be sea monsters with the ability to create illusions…”

“How is the wave related to the sea monsters?” asked Mu Ningxue.

Senba’s eyes flickered. It seemed like he had chosen the right topic. He forced himself to calm down and clear his thoughts before explaining with a firm voice, “Most sea monsters are used to fighting at waterlogged places, especially the armies of sea monsters that have been posing a threat to the East Maritime Fortress. As such, a battle usually takes place when the tide rises. Once the tide rises above the shorter dam, the sea monsters will ride along the waves and invade the fortress. Similarly, when the tide falls, the army of sea monsters will withdraw from the fortress, too! Therefore, the higher the tide, the greater the number of sea monsters that are going to invade the fortress!”

Mu Ningxue had gone back to her room when Lai Hengbao was explaining the situation of the fortress to the team. Therefore, she had no clue about the situation of the East Maritime Fortress.

“If the tide falls further away, does that mean the next tide rise is going to be higher?” Mu Ningxue looked at the tide that was gradually moving away from the dam.

“Yes. Many people think the ocean is mysterious and unpredictable, but the truth is, there’s a certain predictability to it. If we can carefully observe its behavior, it allows us to take some safety precautions beforehand… on top of that, no matter how strong the sea monsters are, or how overwhelming their numbers are, they still have to follow the rise and fall of the tide. If we understand the ocean, we’ll be able to understand the sea monsters too!” Senba was speaking more fluently. He clearly had put in some effort into researching the tide, and so was feeling more confident!

Mu Ningxue nodded.

Senba was about to explain further after finding the right topic when some noises came from nearby all of a sudden.

The soldiers were yelling, and there were people running, too.

Mu Ningxue followed the noise and saw a petite woman running away from the dam and headed for the sea while ignoring the warnings from the people around her.

“Water, water, water!”

The woman dived into the ocean, as if she was dying of thirst after spending a long time in a desert!

“Quick, save her!” Senba immediately panicked and screamed at the soldiers while pointing at the woman.

Mu Ningxue was fairly confused. Even though it was dangerous to go beyond the dam, there was no sign of any sea monsters along the shore. The woman should be safe still, right?

Senba jumped off the dam and ran straight toward the woman…

Mu Ningxue was even more confused when she saw lots of soldiers making their way toward the woman.

She jumped down from the dam and cast a Wind Track to overtake Senba.

Senba was startled when he saw Mu Ningxue elegantly floated past him as her silver hair was drifting in the wind. He quickly yelled at Mu Ningxue, “Don’t let her touch the water, or she’s going to die!”

Mu Ningxue immediately quickened her pace to catch up to the woman after seeing the serious look on his face.

However, when she approached the shore, she immediately witnessed a shocking sight. Her feet were soaked in the water as a wave splashed on the shore…

A completely lifeless corpse!

The woman that was well alive a moment ago had turned into a corpse. She was lying flat on the water. Her skin had no sign of blood. It had turned from pale-white to purple.

The body stiffened fairly quickly. Normally, it would take rigor mortis around two hours to set in, yet the woman’s corpse had already stiffened.

The soldiers finally arrived at the scene. One of them flipped the corpse over. The woman’s eyes were wide open. Her lower jaw was extended as if it was fractured. Blue veins were scattered densely under her pale-white skin, which was almost transparent. She looked like a victim who had died from drowning, and had been dead for quite some time.

“Another one… ” the soldier who flipped the corpse let out a sigh.

“It’s my fault, I didn’t manage to stop her in time. I thought she was only taking a stroll,” spoke up the other Japanese soldier with regret.

As they were talking, Senba finally arrived. After taking a glance, apart from a hint of sorrow, he seemed to be extremely angry!

He crouched in front of the corpse and swiftly put on some gloves that he had brought with him before unbuttoning the woman’s clothes.

“You… what are you doing!? Asshole, how can you humiliate her like that, even though she’s already dead!…” yelled a soldier furiously.

Senba lifted his gaze. He looked like a completely different person from the shy boy from before. His eyes were glittering with determination as he spoke, “It’s the only chance I have to inspect a corpse that has just died recently. I must solve the mystery of the strange disease!”

The outraged soldier still thought it was too impolite to do so, but the older soldier beside him stopped him.

The aged soldier studied the serious face of Senba and said, “Let him continue. There have been lots of cases like this recently, but we still don’t know what’s causing them.”

Mu Ningxue turned away when Senba began to perform an autopsy on the corpse. Either way, it was too gruesome to watch the man do his work.

“What’s happening?” Mu Ningxue asked the aged soldier.

“It’s the drowning curse, a terrifying thing that has been happening in the East Maritime Fortress for a long time. Once in a while, there will be people who suddenly rush toward the ocean out of nowhere and died of drowning in just a few seconds,” said the young soldier before the older soldier could say a word.

The aged soldier glared at the young soldier before giving a clearer explanation, “We’ve considered it a disease, but no one knows what it is exactly… it’s a relief that it doesn’t happen too often, and everyone thinks the number of people that die of the disease is negligible compared to the people that die in battles against the sea monsters, so nobody is treating it seriously.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

“Drowning curse?” Nan Rongni looked at Mu Ningxue with a terrified expression.

According to Mu Ningxue’s description, the drowning curse had been around in the East Maritime Fortress for quite some time. There were quite a number of cases of the drowning curse too, but since the town was on a maritime battlefield, the demon creatures were blamed for their deaths. The victims did not show any signs prior to their death, and did not leave any clues behind, either. As a result, no one could really explain the cause of the drowning curse.

“It sounds spooky enough,” admitted Jiang Shaoxu.

“The intern also told me that his group has conducted autopsies on a corpse before, but they didn’t find any clues from it. However, not long afterwards, a member of the group was killed by the drowning curse… the scariest thing about it is that there isn’t any sign at all, like the occurrence is happening to people in the East Maritime Fortress randomly,” Mu Ningxue told them.

“Even if it’s a strange disease, there must be a reason for it. How is it possible to not have any clue about the drowning curse?” asked Nan Rongni.

Mu Ningxue shook her head. She had gone to ask around and collect information about the drowning curse, but all she learned was that there was not any sign or clue about it.

“Strange, aren’t the Japanese scared? If something like this happened in our country, the people would go nuts,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“We’re in the East Maritime Fortress. Lots of people die at the hands of the demon creatures every tide rise. The drowning curse doesn’t happen often in comparison…”

“There are still people dying. How could they ignore it just because there are fewer casualties? It would be troublesome if it turns out to be some kind of epidemic! Does anyone know about the plague in Hangzhou, the people didn’t think it was anything serious, but more people started dying, and in the end, they figured out that it was the doing of the Silver Skyruler from the mountains in the west!” rebuked Jiang Yu in a serious voice.

“But the defense of the fortress in Hangzhou is pretty solid. Even a pack of demon creatures won’t be able to do any damage to it. Didn’t they find a solution to the plague pretty quickly? I heard a young man managed to find the cure, I think his name was Wang Xiaojun or something…” said Zhou Xu.

“Do you seriously think it was that simple?” refuted Jiang Yu, who proceeded to explain, “The Silver Skyruler is an old ancestor for the Heavenly Eagles. Back then, the army of Heavenly Eagles started revolting. Luckily, the general in charge decisively commanded the soldiers to kill them in time… they spent millions on the Heavenly Eagles, yet they all died at the hands of their riders. You have no idea how cruel it was!”

“Are you for real?” Everyone’s eyes widened. The news did not mention anything that Jiang Yu had told them.

“There are lots of incidents that are not reported by the news. Do you know that the plague was actually started by a Councilman who was producing fake blood serums?” added Jiang Yu.

“Damn, are you serious?”

“Fake blood serums? Did he really dare to produce something like that? Was that even possible?”

Jiang Yu harrumphed coldly when he saw everyone’s reaction, “A plague is a lot scarier than a curse. Normally, a curse only affects a single entity, but a plague will bring doom upon a whole community. In my opinion, the Japanese government should pay more attention to it. It will be too late to do anything if it turns into a plague!”

Mu Ningxue nodded. She had witnessed how the woman ended up despite her lively appearance just a minute before. Most terrifyingly, she could not forget how the woman was running toward the ocean insanely prior to her death.

“It’s none of our business anyway, what’s the point of discussing it here? Why are we being worried when the Japanese government doesn’t even care?” Guan Yu thought otherwise.

“There are always diseases that we can never explain. Perhaps those people are feeling depressed from the pressure of fighting the sea monsters every day, so they took some drug and jumped into the sea to kill themselves!” Li Kaifeng also agreed that the incident was too ridiculous.

“Let’s focus on tomorrow. I’ve already asked around the fortress. The tide has fallen further away this time, which means the tide rise tomorrow is going to be extreme. We should replenish the energies of the equipment we have and make sure they are ready for the battle tomorrow. Remember to get your hands on some emergency healing serums, too. Make sure you have enough supply of antidotes. Sea monsters are infamous for their poison. Don’t lower your guard!” Nanyu warned them.

The drowning curse had been around for quite some time. If the Japanese were unable to find the reason behind it, there was nothing they could do, either. Their only choice was to focus on the matter at hand.

“Is Mo Fan coming back to the team?” Jiang Yu asked Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue did not answer. Whether that asshole was coming back to the team or not was none of her business!

——

Qiyi Mountain to the north of Tokyo…

Qiyi Mountain was a famous attraction in Tokyo. It had scenic views of mountains, streams, and temples. There were camping spots along the river too, and lots of maple trees with fiery-red leaves during the right season.

Mo Fan followed Mochizuki Chihaya up the mountain and immediately saw quite a number of families setting up tents on both sides of a river blessed with clear water and lots of pebbles. It was a peaceful, heart-warming sight.

It was a trend for the people in modern cities, a getaway from the concrete buildings, all the noise in the cities, a time to enjoy and appreciate nature by breathing fresh air and eating clean food…

“Take this thing back yourself. Seriously, such a waste of my time.”

The pleasant view did not dispel the grudge in Mo Fan’s heart.

They had come all the way here to find Mochizuki Ken’s old friend, yet it turned out that the man had already passed away three days ago.

Mo Fan was seriously doubting if the man was actually Mochizuki Ken’s friend. He had no idea that his friend was already dead, and he did not even come to mourn for him. He even asked Mo Fan to deliver the evil orb to the man!

“The old man has been living in seclusion all along. He didn’t use any modern communication device, and he never told anyone how he was doing either. It’s most likely that people would only learn that he’s dead after at least half a year if we weren’t trying to deliver the orb to him…” Mochizuki Chihaya remained respectful toward the old man.

Mo Fan, on the other hand, was running out of patience.

Didn’t they promise to give him the battle soul after he delivered the orb? His Swift Star Wolf was still waiting for an upgrade. Why couldn’t that old man’s friend wait a few more days before passing away? He should at least have died AFTER cleansing the orb! Now what, the orb was still in his hands…

“You keep it first, I’ll contact teacher after we go down the mountain,” Mochizuki Chihaya was utterly scared of the orb. There was no way she would take it from him.

Their phones finally had signals once they were almost down the hill. Mo Fan was wondering why Japan’s mobile network coverage wasn’t available in every area. Why were there no signals on Qiyi Mountain?

“Crap, my girlfriend is in trouble!” Mo Fan took out his phone and saw messages swarming in. There were all from Zhao Manyan!

“Which one is your girlfriend?”

“The silver-haired one. Take this, I’m heading to the East Maritime Fortress!” Mo Fan immediately summoned the Swift Star Wolf.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Hang on, keep the orb, I’ll bring you to the East Maritime Fortress,” Mochizuki Chihaya waved her hand and wrapped a magic vine around the Swift Star Wolf’s leg to stop Mo Fan from running away.

“Miss, what is it now? I was asked to deliver the orb to here, and I’ve fulfilled my role. You haven’t given me the reward you promised, and now you’re asking me to do more manual labor!” protested Mo Fan.

“Aren’t you interested to learn more about the last Red Demon?” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Alright, fine, but we’ll go to the East Maritime Fortress first. We’ll deal with the orb later.”

“Are you sure you’re riding this creature across Tokyo city? You don’t have a permit,” said Mochizuki Chihaya pointing at the Swift Star Wolf.

“I never had a permit in my country… but I still ride him anyway!” Mo Fan waved his hand and patted the Swift Star Wolf’s furry head.

The Swift Star Wolf raised his head and howled into the blue sky. The Japanese families that were camping nearby immediately panicked…

“Hey, who asked you to howl, can’t you run without howling? And you, come up quick, stop wasting my time!”

There were lots of zigzagging paths down the mountain, but the Swift Star Wolf managed to maintain his speed. Whenever there was a sharp turn, he would simply jump down the slope, descending from the mountain as quickly as possible.

“Wolf, remember this woman’s face, she owes you a battle soul for your upgrade.”

“ARH…WOoo…” The Swift Star Wolf was just about to howl when he remembered that he was not allowed to let go as he wished. He quickly withdrew the howl halfway.

—-

The journey from Qiyi Mountain to the East Maritime Fortress did not just involve crossing the city of Tokyo. The distance was greater than Mo Fan had imagined.

When they were finally close enough to feel the sea breeze, Mo Fan discovered that the color of the sky had changed. It was dark gray, as if there would be a great downpour in no time.

“Judging from the wind, the clouds, and the moisture of the air, the rise of the tide is going to be big. Let’s hope it’s not going to rain…” Mochizuki Chihaya frowned. Her eyes were fixed in the direction of the East Maritime Fortress.

“What’s wrong with a huge tide rise?” asked Mo Fan.

Mochizuki Chihaya went to a university in Tokyo. She had come to the East Maritime Fortress many times as an intern, but she was not a fan of the maritime battlefield. As a result, she ended up going back to the family business.

“The army of sea monsters invades every time the tide rises. The bigger the tide rise, the higher the number of sea creatures. The East Maritime Fortress is a town built as a part of a sea reclamation. It’s normal for the tide to overrun the streets. The prefixed zones in the fortress are part of the battlefield,” explained Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Oh, that sounds quite interesting!” Mo Fan was excited when he heard about the environment of the battles against the sea monsters.

Fighting inside a town, that was his specialty! He used to be a City Hunter, not to mention that most of the impressive fights he had against the Black Vatican took place in the city, too!

“Are you good at fighting underwater?” asked Mochizuki Chihaya sharply.

“Not really, since my main weapon is Fire,” replied Mo Fan.

“The structures in the East Maritime Fortress are carefully planned. When the tide rises, the streets will all be flooded. Those who are not capable of fighting underwater can stay above the buildings. The gaps between the buildings aren’t large, allowing Magicians to move freely between the roofs. If you’re in a pinch, you can escape to the zones that have not been invaded yet, and use the alleyways that are too narrow for the sea monsters…” Mochizuki Chihaya quickly gave Mo Fan a brief lesson on the battle environment of the East Maritime Fortress.

“I’m looking forward to the fighting after hearing what you said!” Mo Fan’s fists were itching. He had yet to experience an enjoyable fight after coming to Japan!

“You better ask which zone they are in first,” Mochizuki Chihaya reminded him.

“Oh, right!”

—-

After arriving at the East Maritime Fortress, Mo Fan immediately saw two magnificent dams, one quite a bit taller than the other. The dams were spread across the shoreline in a crescent shape. As the tide slowly approached the dams, the East Maritime Fortress was soon covered in a strong magical aura. It felt like many magical formations had been activated. The fortress was quickly covered in colorful lights as the energies of the magic formations clashed…

The tide continued to rise, from being a hundred meters away from the shorter dam to reaching the bottom of the dam. The waves were stronger each time they splashed against the dam, with a loud impact and water pouring down like a great storm!

Unlike the Ancient Capital, where the Magicians would hold the undead off along the walls, the shorter dam served as a boundary that represented the battlefield!

The Japanese did not try to stop the tide from entering the fortress, nor did they stop the sea monsters from invading the fortress. There was not a single guard on the shorter dam, as they had all withdrawn to the taller dam, standing in a line!

The taller dam was the real line of defense for the shoreline of Tokyo. It was as tall as a mountain cliff, and as sturdy as steel.

Meanwhile, the East Maritime Fortress was divided into thirty-two zones, with Magicians standing on the roofs of the buildings in every zone. When glancing down from a great height, the number of Magicians was rather shocking, too…

The tide approaching the fortress was far from a natural phenomenon. Even the waves of the strongest natural tide would only reach around ten meters high, yet a wave of such height was enough to make a human feel minuscule standing before it.

The tide approaching the fortress was created by countless sea monsters channeling their magic simultaneously. Its height could easily exceed the shorter dam. It was like a giant tongue of the ocean, trying to suck the maritime fortress into its stomach!

A great rumble occurred. Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya could hear it from far away. Even the ground was trembling.

The clouds had stacked up across the sky without a single gap between them. The enormous wave was obviously connected to the clouds. The stunning sight and the fear it brought had totally surpassed Mo Fan’s imagination…

On top of that, Mo Fan could already see black dots upon the giant wave that was approaching the fortress. The dots were densely scattered across the wave. He was unable to tell how far the black dots were away, but those in the East Maritime Fortress clearly knew that the black dots were the sea monsters poking their bodies out from the water!

The scene was horrifying, yet spectacular!

If the tide that devoured the shorter dam was a night sky, the sea monsters were like stars scattered across it. Even standing far away from the incoming wall of water, everyone could still feel the overwhelming fear, enough to shatter a strong heart to pieces!

“My God, it’s a huge tide!” Mochizuki Chihaya exclaimed.

“I can tell for sure, the wave almost razed the clouds to the ground!” agreed Mo Fan in astonishment.

“Which zone is your team at?”

“The twentieth…”

“Every zone after the tenth will surely be flooded considering the size of the tide. Half of the buildings in the twentieth zone will be underwater, the sea monsters will be able to move freely!” said Mochizuki Chihaya.

“Are they going to be alright?” Mo Fan was feeling a bit nervous.

Mo Fan thought the maritime battlefield was nothing for him, since he was a man who had already experienced the calamity of the Ancient Capital. However, he finally realized that the battles here were even crazier than the risen undead surrounding the Ancient Capital when the sun was setting!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Who’s there? Non-authorized personnel aren’t allowed to enter the fortress at the time of a battle, leave at once!” A few soldiers had intercepted Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya on the taller dam.

Mo Fan looked at Mochizuki Chihaya, hoping that she could use her reputable identity to get them access and convince the soldiers to let them pass.

To his surprise, Mochizuki Chihaya did not do anything apart from whispering in his ears, “You will have to settle this yourself.”

Mo Fan was thoroughly unimpressed by the woman. An instructor of the national team who did not even have a pass?

Luckily, Mo Fan had brought his Hunter identity card with him. It was a valid form of identity in most countries. Mo Fan handed his identity card to the soldiers.

The soldiers shook their heads, telling him that he needed a higher clearance to enter the fortress.

“Hold on, I’ve got another one…” Mo Fan searched in his pockets for a higher-level identification.

Meanwhile, the giant tide had reached the East Maritime Fortress. The buildings close to the shorter dam immediately collapsed from the strong impact. Some structures over twenty meters tall were no match for the momentum of the wave.

The soldiers immediately glanced in the direction of the crashing noise, their faces full of surprise. They were relieved that they were stationed here at the taller dam. It was almost impossible for the sea monsters to reach their position, since they had to cross thirty-two zones before reaching it, and the tide would never reach the taller dam!

“It’s going to be a tough battle!” exclaimed one of the soldiers.

“You don’t say, look at the number of sea monsters… hey, you two, stop right there!”

“Damn it, stop it at once, entering the East Maritime Fortress without permission is a serious crime!”

When the soldiers were sidetracked, the Swift Star Wolf carrying Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya had already jumped off the hundred-meter tall dam. The dam was like a mountain cliff. Anything would simply fall to their death without a way to slow their fall!

There was no way the Swift Star Wolf was stopping. His blue fur drifted wildly in the wind as he dove through the air. Mochizuki Chihaya was sitting behind Mo Fan, and did not expect him to so recklessly barge into the fortress. She quickly hugged Mo Fan as she started to lose her balance. Mo Fan felt a great sensation when the woman’s busty chest stuck closely to his back!

The Swift Star Wolf landed on a building around thirty meters tall, leaving cracks in the concrete roof…

Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya felt a little dizzy. The Swift Star Wolf’s suspension was simply non-existent. The drop was only seventy meters, yet the impact was so powerful!

The Swift Star Wolf tried to catch his breath. Normally, he would be perfectly fine if he was falling on his own, but he was carrying two extra people on his back. His limbs felt numb after the landing.

“Where’s the twentieth zone?” asked Mo Fan.

“Straight ahead!” Mochizuki Chihaya pointed.

—-

Their eardrums felt like exploding from the loud rumbling, added to the occasional shouting of some Japanese Magicians. Judging from their expressions, it seemed like the scale of the tidal wave had exceeded their estimations, forcing them to make changes to their setups.

Sea water began to pour into the city. The surging current brought with it the debris of the buildings that were destroyed by the tide. Most of the structures in the zones after the sixteenth were seriously damaged before the battle even took place. They either collapsed entirely, falling onto the buildings nearby, or were shattered into pieces by the strong tide…

The water pouring in was full of debris. It was fine if it was only water, but the debris posed a great threat to the Magicians when the strong waves launched the pieces of buildings at them!

The East Maritime Fortress had the shape of a crescent, and the distance between the two dams was rather close.

The last sixteen zones were scattered along the shorter dam, forming a line of defense consisting of buildings and Magicians. In the past, when a small, or medium tide hit, the water would not reach the first sixteen zones. However, this time, the tide had easily broken through the first line of defense. Half of the fortress was already flooded!

“I finally know why all the buildings look so new. They f**king get destroyed in every battle, and they just rebuild the buildings later!” cursed Zhao Manyan.

The tide also brought a mist, so thick that it simply felt like a huge rain. Everyone was already soaking wet in it.

The tide was split into different streams by the buildings after it reached the East Maritime Fortress. Every flow was like a surging flood on its own, devouring the streets and the lower half of the buildings.

“These buildings are already constructed specifically to resist the current, yet so many have fallen straight away. Our range of movement has shrunk significantly,” Jiang Yu stood at the edge of a building and watched the currents surging past the building. His heart began to pound heavily.

“Waaa!” came the cry of a baby from below the building. The cry was filled with fear of the surging flood.

“Damn, who the hell let their kid be caught by the current!” yelled Zhao Manyan when he heard the cry.

“Save the child!” Nan Rongni did not hesitate. She immediately jumped to the opposite building.

She ran to the edge and saw a sleeping bag floating on the rapid current. The cry was coming right from it.

Nan Rongni quickly summoned magic vines to form a ladder, allowing her to slide down to reach the sleeping bag that was being carried away by the current.

The strong current was only inches away from her feet. The mist was a lot thicker this close to the current, which limited Nan Rongni’s vision. She summoned another magic vine and wrapped it around the sleeping bag to pull it toward her.

She was being extremely cautious to avoid hurting the baby inside the sleeping bag…

“Waaa!”

The cry was a lot clearer. Nan Rongni could barely see the baby’s head in the mist.

Nan Rongni was relieved when she heard the baby was still crying. It was fortunate that they had heard the cry. Otherwise, the baby would have drowned soon.

“It’s ok, I’m bringing you up,” Nan Rongni reached out her hand, trying to carry the infant out of the sleeping bag.

“Nan Rongni, don’t go any closer!” However, Jiang Yu’s voice suddenly came from above.

Nan Rongni could not hear it clearly as the current was too loud.

Meanwhile, the infant’s head poked out from the sleeping bag, yet it was nothing like an infant. It was a flesh tumor on top of a ghastly looking creature!

“It’s a White Sobbing Demon, stay away!” yelled Jiang Yu.

Nan Rongni was pretty quick with her reactions. She immediately controlled the magic vine to pull her up.

However, the White Sobbing Demon was no ordinary creature. It dashed out from the sleeping bag and chased after Nan Rongni.

The White Sobbing Demon’s arms were like tentacles with extremely sharp ends, stingers emitting a purple glow.

One of the tentacles stabbed right at Nan Rongni’s lower leg at lightning speed!

Nan Rongni did not have a chance to summon her defensive equipment. The drill stabbed right through her lower leg and nailed her to the wall of the building nearby…

Fresh blood poured out from the wound. However, she was stuck on the wall. She had no chance of pulling herself up with the magic vine!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Ahhh!”

Nan Rongni let out a scream. The pain from her lower leg spread throughout her body. She barely held onto the magic vine.

The White Sobbing Demon was extremely vicious. It extended its other tentacle and aimed it at Nan Rongni’s waist. If the stinger stabbed through her waist, she would be dead for sure!

The White Sobbing Demon did not show any mercy. The tentacle sprang forward with great force and shocking speed.

Nan Rongni clenched her teeth and tried to twist her body to dodge the attack. Since her leg was nailed to the wall, her movements immediately stressed the muscles and veins close to the stab wound. Her face turned pale white from the incredible pain!

However, her determination had saved her life. The stinger penetrated the wall right beside her waist and sent shards of concerete flying, but it did not hurt her.

The White Sobbing Demon was furious after missing its attack. Its cry was exactly the same infant’s cry that had tricked Nan Rongni a moment ago. It sounded so real that it was impossible to tell the difference.

Nan Rongni finally understood what was going on in the middle of her pain. The White Sobbing Demon was using the cry as a disguise to bait humans to come close and kill them!

The White Sobbing Demons were extremely cunning!

“Guan Yu, cut the tentacle!” Jiang Yu saw the pinch that Nan Rongni was in and immediately yelled at Guan Yu, who was diving down.

Guan Yu summoned a strong gust of wind and landed on a balcony extending out from a building. He propelled himself forward and waved his gauntlet, slashing at the White Sobbing Demon’s tentacle!

The brown blade was extremely sharp. It easily slashed through the tentacle and separated it from the White Sobbing Demon.

“Let’s see what you got!” Guan Yu hung onto the edge of a building after landing the attack. His eyes stared at the White Sobbing Demon sharply!

Guan Yu took the White Sobbing Demon’s attention, allowing Jiang Yu to slide down the vines to where Nan Rongni was at.

Jiang Yu felt his heart aching when he saw Nan Rongni’s lower leg stabbed through and blood splashed everywhere.

“I’m going to pull it out. Hang in there!” Jiang Yu grabbed the tentacle and pulled it with all his might.

“Mmm… Ahh!” Nan Rongni screamed out in pain and almost fell to the waters below.

Jiang Yu immediately grabbed her and helped her back to the roof.

After putting her on the ground, Nanyu immediately handed blood serums to Nan Rongni.

Nan Rongni was the Healer of the team. However, seeing how she was clenching her teeth in pain, it was unlikely that she could cast Healing Spells on herself…

“A bunch of rookies, anyone with a brain would have known that there’s no kid in the East Maritime Fortress!” another team of Magicians in the twentieth zone commented disdainfully from a few buildings away.

“Enough with your sneers!” yelled Jiang Shaoxu, pointing at the people that were gloating over their misfortune.

The twentieth zone had seven teams in total. Their team was the seventh team since they were just allocated to the zone. The other six teams were at different places, and most of them were already engaging the enemy.

“Considering your level of intelligence, it’s worth celebrating if you can survive half of the battle! You are nothing compared to our three stars team that still has zero death! Rookies, watch and learn, and respect your seniors! Maybe we might teach you some useful knowledge to avoid unnecessary casualties. The East Maritime Fortress isn’t the same as your school, don’t underestimate the cruelty of the fight here!” replied a tanned-face member of the sixth team arrogantly.

“That’s enough, focus on the water!” The captain of the sixth team had a sharp nose and a stern face.

“Affirmative!”

“Rookies, look after your designated area. We’re heading south!” the captain yelled at Ai Jiangtu and the others as he discovered something.

Everyone could easily tell how arrogant and proud the other team was, like they would never waste their time on some rookies.

Nan Rongni finally calmed down after drinking the blood serums and taking some painkillers. However, Mu Ningxue’s eyes flickered when she saw the girl’s forehead covered in cold sweat from the pain she had experienced.

It was not because Nan Rongni was stupid, but she was just too kind, especially when the team was a lot more sensitive toward children after what had happened at Feiniao City.

“Rest up, leave the rest to us,” Nanyu took good care of their injured member. She placed her jacket over Nan Rongni.

Nanyu was wearing a leather singlet inside. Her thighs, waist, and arms were exposed. She looked extraordinarily fit without her jacket. Her temperament was different from most female Magicians, too. Her eyes were sharp like a leopard, wild and heroic from having lots of experiences in fights!

“How is Guan Yu doing?” asked Ai Jiangtu.

“The White Sobbing Demon isn’t a low-level creature, he might need our support!” replied Jiang Yu.

—-

The White Sobbing Demon posed the same level of threat even after losing an arm. Its tentacle-like arms were not the only weapon it had. Its lower body was like a frog, and its legs were extremely muscular, granting it a shocking jumping ability.

The creature’s lower body allowed it to move freely underwater and jump between the buildings during a fight. Guan Yu had obviously underestimated the creature, placing him in a disadvantageous position. He was being chased around the buildings by the White Sobbing Demon!

The White Sobbing Demon opened its mouth and spat out poisonous liquid all over the wall.

The liquid was extremely corrosive. The walls made of concrete melted at a speed visible to the naked eye. Layers of material were gone within seconds.

Guan Yu’s face turned pale when he saw the wall disappear. No wonder the creature was able to inflict serious damage on Nan Rongni! It was obviously not an ordinary Warrior-level creature. It was a tough opponent for Intermediate Magicians like him!

The White Sobbing Demon was extremely fast with its attacks. Its arms were able to extend and contract as it wished. Its arms would turn hard as steel whenever it contracted. Its arms were basically huge spears, strong enough to slash through rocks. Guan Yu immediately saw the arm thrusting at him right after he dodged the poisonous liquid.

Guan Yu was still in the air. He summoned a gust of wind in a panic.

The wind burst out under his feet, sending him higher into the air. The long arm shattered the Wind Disc that had just appeared. It was obvious that the creature also possessed terrifying strength!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Some help, anyone? This creature is tough!” Guan Yu quickly requested backup while flying higher into the air.

“Feifei, go!” Jiang Yu pointed ahead, not sure who he was talking to.

Guan Yu saw the White Sobbing Demon jumping right at him while he was falling from the sky. The pale-white body of the creature started spinning like a drill as it approached Guan Yu.

As the White Sobbing Demon flew past the height of the building nearby, a pitch-black shadow appeared behind Jiang Yu and dashed forward!

The black creature had four limbs, its movements as nimble as a cat. It did not make a single noise when it landed on the ground.

Its speed was like a black arrow, reaching the edge of the balcony in an instant before pouncing at the White Sobbing Demon…

“Meow!” The creature’s cry was very similar to that of a cat, yet it held a hint of savagery!

It slashed like a sword as claws extended from its paws. The claws were almost half as long as its arms, it looked like it was holding two rakes in front of its paws…

There was a sharp flicker as the cat-like creature moved past the White Sobbing Demon in the air. The White Sobbing Demon’s attention was fully focused on Guan Yu, so it did not anticipate the ambush from the black creature. Its body was already slashed open when it tried to dodge the attack.

The wounds formed a huge cross on the creature’s chest. The black creature kicked the White Sobbing Demon away with its furry legs after landing its attack.

Even though the creature was rather tiny, the power of its kick was extremely shocking. The White Sobbing Demon was just about to counterattack as it was sent flying. It slammed into the wall and fell into the water!

Guan Yu quickly recovered and found a safe landing spot. He turned around and stared at the black creature that had inflicted serious damage to the White Sobbing Demon with a blank expression.

The black creature spun in the air and landed confidently on the balcony of the building opposite the team. Its claws were dangling beside its furry body.

The blood did not leave stains on the claws. Drops of thick liquid dripped onto the floor. The creature’s long and sharp claws reflected a silver luster after the blood fell from it.

“Meow!” The little black creature turned around. It was a cat-like creature standing on its feet like a human. Its fur was pitch-black, yet its whiskers were white. Its slanted eyes displayed bewitching cunning and ferocity, and the look it sent them was quite aloof!

Most people would assume the creature to be an adorable pet, unless they saw how the creature had dealt a deadly blow to the White Sobbing Demon with a single move. The disdain and elevated look in its eyes were enough to shatter a cat-lover, forcing them to surrender and be its eternal slaves.

“Feifei, come back!” Jiang Yu felt awkward when he realized everyone was staring at his Contracted Beast. He immediately summoned the little creature back.

“Damn, I was wondering why you have never summoned your Contracted Beast to be your ride, even though you’re a Summoner. Your Contracted Beast is adorable! Why didn’t you give her a pair of boots? It’s like a cuter version of Puss in Boots… but yours looks more 3D, and fiercer!” yelled Zhao Manyan.

“She’s so cute, can I give her a hug?” Jiang Shaoxu was overflowing with love.

” (Cough cough) … well, I suggest you not touch her. She doesn’t like being touched. Even I am not allowed to fondle her head,” warned Jiang Yu.

“What kind of creature is she? Not only is she adorable, she’s so strong, too! That White Sobbing Demon was at least a Warrior-level in its Advancing Period, yet she managed to tear it to pieces!” asked Guan Yu curiously.

“She’s a Night Rakshasa, a rare species from Anli Forest. I was lucky to sign a contract with her and have her as my Contracted Beast. Don’t be fooled by her looks; she has the worst temper, and always goes mad in fights…” explained Jiang Yu with a serious voice.

“Night Rakshasa, Night Rakshasa… a very rare species indeed. Your Contracted Beast might be comparable to Mo Fan’s,” mumbled Zhao Manyan subconsciously.

“Mo Fan? Did he have a Contracted Beast, too?” asked Jiang Shaoxu immediately when she heard it.

“Oh, oh, forget what I said,” Zhao Manyan realized that Nanyu was the only person in the team who knew about Mo Fan’s Little Flame Belle. The others had not seen Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast yet.

Speaking of which, Little Flame Belle used to be very naughty. She would appear randomly and set everything on fire even when Mo Fan did not summon her. However, she had been behaving well and stayed in her Contracted Space lately. As a result, the team still did not have the chance to see Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast.

“Enough talk, the army of sea monsters is here!” said Ai Jiangtu sternly.

Unlike the others, his eyes had never left the surging currents under the building.

After the White Sobbing Demon went missing in the water, lots of creatures with spiky scales on their heads had appeared in the water. Their bodies were green, their skin thick and sturdy. The lower halves of their bodies were similar to the White Sobbing Demon, allowing them to swim in the water or stand on land!

Unlike the White Sobbing Demon, they did not have tentacle-like arms, but their paws were jagged. The edges were sharp enough to slice bones in half!

“Those without scales are most likely easier to kill!” Nanyu guessed after analyzing the creatures.

The sea monsters had different levels, too. Even if the Servant-class sea monsters had scales, they were mostly decorations. Their main defense was provided by their flesh.

Warrior-level sea monsters had sturdy skin, with lumps of meat on their bodies. Some of their body parts had also evolved into weapons, granting them strong close-combat abilities.

Most Commander-level sea monsters were covered in scales, as if they were wearing armor made of metal. Normal Intermediate Spells were just a little scratch on their skin, unable to pose any threat to them!

Judging from the thick skin and jagged paws of the green creatures, they were most likely a bunch of Warrior-level creatures!

The team had no trouble fighting Warrior-level creatures. However, before anyone could feel relieved, more heads began to poke out of the water. Since these new heads had spikes in the shape of a fan, they looked like giant sea urchins floating on the current. The spikes almost filled up the entire street.

Their team was in charge of protecting the street. As more spikes began to appear in the water, the hearts of the team members sank heavily.

The Healer of their team, Nan Rongni was severely injured, and the sea monsters were extremely cunning and vicious. They might actually die in the battle if they were careless. No one was treating it like training anymore… especially when Nan Rongni’s painful moans were still lingering in their ears, reminding them that they could not afford to lose focus for even a second!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Jagged-Paw Green Demons had outstanding jumping ability. They dashed out of the water and climbed along the narrow balconies of the buildings. These balconies were meant to be used by the Magicians as landing spots, yet they were now occupied by the ferocious creatures with jagged paws. The flicker in their gray eyes was full of bloodlust!

“Formation!” ordered Nanyu when she saw the sea monsters advancing.

The team immediately split up across the buildings while maintaining the distance between them, giving them sufficient space for the fights.

The length of the street was around five hundred meters, and the buildings on the same row were less than thirty meters apart. The distance to the opposite row was around forty meters. Currently, the alleyways and the streets were all flooded. The water was around eight meters high, and it seemed to be rising still.

The Jagged-Paw Green Demon were amphibians. They could easily climb up the buildings to fight the Magicians!

“Jagged-Paw Green Demon, experts at close-combat, likes to sever the limbs of their target, not poisonous, but be careful of the urchin-like spikes on their heads, it has a paralyzing effect. The spikes will immobilize the target they hit…” Jiang Yu told everyone what he knew about the Jagged-Paw Green Demon as quickly as he could.

“Any weaknesses?” Ai Jiangtu looked around him and took note of the number of Jagged-Paw Green Demons climbing onto the building.

“No.”

“What magic can they cast?”

“Running on water, spitting water as projectiles, nothing special,” said Jiang Yu.

Nanyu closed her eyes, as if she was paying attention to the sounds around her.

Around three seconds later, Nanyu opened her eyes and said to Ai Jiangtu, “There are thirty-seven of them climbing up the buildings. I can’t tell how many are in the water still.”

“Stay here and look after Nan Rongni, and stay on alert for the White Sobbing Demons. Let the team know if you detect their presence, I’m placing you in charge of commanding the team,” Ai Jiangtu told her.

Nanyu nodded.

“So you’re a Sound Magician,” murmured Zhao Manyan in surprise.

Since the Sound Element was the rarest among the secondary Elements, most people were unfamiliar with it. However, Zhao Manyan was still knowledgeable enough to know the special capabilities that a Sound Magician would have.

Every Magician had a sensing ability, which basically involved unleashing their will to detect movement within a few dozen meters, perhaps up to a hundred meters away. A strong cultivation would lead to a stronger motion sense.

However, in a Sound Magician’s eyes, the so-called sensing ability of every other Magician was good for nothing.

Every movement would involve sound, and whenever Sound Magicians listened closely, they would be able to capture every movement nearby.

It was said that even Shadow Magicians were unable to escape a Sound Magician’s hearing. If Nan Rongni had not voluntarily jumped into the White Sobbing Demon’s trap because of its bait, the White Sobbing Demon would have had no chance of ambushing the team while Nanyu was around!

“Watch your six!” advised Nanyu, without answering Zhao Manyan’s question.

Zhao Manyan looked behind himself in confusion, but quickly saw a Jagged-Paw Green Demon staring right into his eyes after reaching the roof.

Zhao Manyan raised his thumb at Nanyu and decided it was not the time for chit-chat. He indifferently summoned a golden light orb into his hand and tossed it at the Jagged-Paw Green Demon.

The light orb turned into a blinding flash in front of the Jagged-Paw Green Demon. The creature immediately let out an unpleasant screech while hanging onto the edge of the building.

The creature was most likely surprised by the blinding light. It managed to calm down after a few seconds and jumped into the air, before landing less than ten meters away from Zhao Manyan. Its slightly burned eyes moved back and forth, looking at the Magicians.

“They are creatures from the ocean. Their eyes have most likely degenerated. Your Brilliant Light: Blind won’t be useful against them!” Nanyu reminded him.

Zhao Manyan’s expression immediately darkened as if he had accidentally f**ked a dog. {TL Note: A modern Chinese slang that is commonly used for self-mocking purposes.}

As a Magician whose primary Element was Light and secondary Element was Water, the most effective offensive spell he had was Brilliant Light: Blind. If the spell was not effective against the creature, he basically had no other move!

How about his Intermediate Water Spell, Rolling Wave? His opponent was a sea monster! If he cast the Rolling Wave at the creature, it might even reflect it back at him. Wouldn’t he be lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet!?

Nanyu was left speechless. Could this Zhao Manyan be any more useless? Did he really consider Brilliant Light: Blind an offensive spell?

“Move aside!” Nanyu snapped, believing it was hopeless to count on him. Zhao Manyan backed off without hesitation.

“Killing Tone: Bow!” Nanyu straightened up. She opened her mouth slightly and produced a sound that was impossible for ordinary people to make.

The sound of a bowstring being released twanged out of nowhere. The note that Nanyu made turned into a sonic wave resembling an arrow, shooting rapidly at the Jagged-Paw Green Demon!

The Jagged-Paw Green Demon could not react in time. It was knocked flying by the sonic arrow.

The impact of the sonic wave was incredibly powerful. Zhao Manyan could hear the creature’s bones breaking as the sonic wave struck it, sending it flying into the opposite building.

More shockingly, the trail of the arrow was vaguely visible, extending from the building they were on and across the street. It was over twenty meters long!

“Awesome!” It was Zhao Manyan’s first time seeing the Sound Element in action. His thoughts were still stuck on the sight of Nanyu firing the sonic arrow.

“Just focus on protecting us,” Nanyu was not in the mood to fool around with Zhao Manyan. She heard quite a number of Jagged-Paw Green Demons climbing up the building.

“Leave it to me, the sea monsters won’t even touch a single strand of your hair!” said Zhao Manyan confidently.

When it came to defense, no one on the team was better than him. Looking at it seriously, Zhao Manyan actually had the same ancestor as these sea monsters. He was referred to as the Turtle Shell Magician!

Nan Rongni’s life was still in danger. The pained expression on her face showed no sign of fading away. It was likely that the White Sobbing Demon’s tentacle had other unknown effects. Not only was the pain lasting for a long time, it also hindered the effects of the Healing Spell.

“Should we have someone escort you to the safe zone first?” Nanyu asked when she realized that Nan Rongni’s condition was not improving.

“Don’t…don’t worry about me, the sea monsters are…are all around the place, you’ll need to spare a few people to escort me to the safe zone, I’m…I’m fine, I just need a rest,” Nan Rongni refused, showing her strength of will.

Nanyu did not force her. After all, the battle was indeed not as easy as they had imagined.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Killing Note: Explode!”

Nanyu heard a Jagged-Paw Green Demon trying to ambush her from behind without turning around.

The Jagged-Paw Green Demon leapt into the air, raising its jagged paws high as if it was swinging two axes!

Nanyu blew a note into the face of the creature. The glowing note landed accurately on the Jagged-Paw Green Demon’s chest and exploded. The blast ruptured the Jagged-Paw Green Demon’s thick chest and left a bloody hole behind!

The explosion was quite shocking, and almost killed the Warrior-level creature instantly.

The explosion produced strong gusts of wind, sweeping in all directions. Another Jagged-Paw Green Demon that had just reached the roof was caught right in the middle of the gusts. Its face started bleeding.

The sonic energy was able to ignore a creature’s defenses and penetrate its inner organs and head. If the creature did not brace itself, it would suffer serious internal damage!

Nanyu’s attack was directed at a Jagged-Paw Green Demon around four meters tall. The sonic explosion had blown its chest open, but its ally nearby also suffered a serious internal injury… this power was what made the Sound Element so remarkable.

“Mu Ningxue, a group of Jagged-Paw Green Demons has appeared close to you!” Nanyu’s ears captured some movement. She quickly contacted Mu Ningxue through the communication device.

Mu Ningxue was on a building across the street. She was all by herself, and it seemed like she was surrounded by a few Jagged-Paw Green Demons.

The building was covered in frost. The roof even had a thin layer of ice. There was basically no channeling or pause when Mu Ningxue was casting Basic Spells. She could easily spread the frost with a single thought, and its coverage and thickness was stronger than the frost summoned by other Ice Magicians!

After hearing Nanyu’s heads-up, Mu Ningxue stomped her heel on the ice. It cracked into pieces and quickly turned into ice chains under her control.

“Bone Husk!” Mu Ningxue controlled the ice chains to lunge forward before the Jagged-Paw Green Demons even showed up.

A slightly bigger Jagged-Paw Green Demon did not have the chance to take a look at Mu Ningxue’s face before a few ice chains were flying right into its face.

The Jagged-Paw Green Demon was quick to react, too. It kicked the wall strongly, trying to dodge the ice chains, but the ice chains were impossible to evade under Mu Ningxue’s control. She purposely altered their tracks in the process. The Jagged-Paw Green Demon was relieved with how quick it was able to react, yet the ice chains simply rose up and dragged it back down.

The other ice chains quickly wrapped around its limbs and tightened!

The strength of the chains was not to be underestimated. A creature like the Jagged-Paw Green Demons had no chance against the ice chains that were further strengthened by Mu Ningxue’s magic.

The frost froze the Jagged-Paw Green Demon rapidly. Its bones quickly turned rigid, and when it finally lost its force to resist the pressure of the chains, the fragile bones were easily crushed to pieces!

Mu Ningxue’s cold eyes flashed, further improving the strength of the ice chains. The body of the Jagged-Paw Green Demon was contorted out of shape as the ice chains twisted around it…

When Mu Ningxue loosened the chains, the Jagged-Paw Green Demon had already turned into a stiffened, heavily contorted corpse. The other Jagged-Paw Green Demons that had climbed up to the roof inhaled deeply when they saw the corpse.

Initially, they were planning to flank Mu Ningxue and kill her when they saw her standing far away from her teammates. After all, the woman looked like she was too weak to even stand up to the wind. To their surprise, she had instantly killed one of their strongest comrades!

One of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons seemed to be the leader among the creatures, at around five meters tall. It let out a furious roar, trying to drive the fear out of its subordinates’ hearts.

The leader of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons was the first to bear the brunt. It utilized its shocking jumping ability and landed in front of Mu Ningxue, swiping its jagged paws at her head.

Mu Ningxue stepped onto a gust of wind. Her slender figure floated aside, dodging the heavy blow from the leader of the group of Jagged-Paw Green Demons.

The Jagged-Paw Green Demon was quick, too. After missing its first attack, it pulled its paws up from the ground and crouched…

Mu Ningxue had a bad feeling when she saw the creature acting strangely. She immediately prepared herself and used the Wind Track to move to her right, leaving a trail of gust behind.

As she thought, the Jagged-Paw Green Demon was not messing around. It was crouching to gather its strength, before launching itself forward head-first, trying to attack with the urchin spikes on its head.

Mu Ningxue clearly remembered that Jiang Yu had mentioned the paralyzing effect of the spikes on the sea monsters’ heads. It would impair her movements if the spikes hit her.

The Jagged-Paw Green Demon’s speed was remarkable. She would have fallen for it if she had not prepared herself beforehand.

In such a high-intensity fight, being paralyzed for a few seconds was more than enough to give the Jagged-Paw Green Demon a chance to rip her into pieces. Their jagged paws were the best tool to dismember their target!

“Freeze!” Mu Ningxue sprinkled some frost powder with her palm after dodging the attack. The sprinkles of frost immediately formed thick layers of ice on the creature!

The creature reacted by taking a leap back to prevent the frost from attaching to its body. Only its legs were touched by the sprinkles.

Its lower limbs were frozen almost instantly, attaching it to the ice on the ground. It temporarily stopped the Jagged-Paw Green Demon from moving. The creature swung its arms around and roared, signaling its fellows to attack and get rid of the Magician!

The other four Jagged-Paw Green Demons were already prepared to engage. Two Jagged-Paw Green Demons leapt into the air and pounced at Mu Ningxue at different times, while the other two Jagged-Paw Green Demons flanked her from both sides, swinging their jagged paws wildly, planning to slash Mu Ningxue in half!

“Wind!” Mu Ningxue did not try to dodge the incoming attacks, and stood still.

The four Jagged-Paw Green Demons were attacking simultaneously, which basically sealed off her escape routes. However, her secondary Wind Element was not useless at all.

The truth was, after dodging the attack executed by the creatures’ leader, Mu Ningxue had started setting up a Wind Disc trap around her.

The Wind Disc trap was constructed with Wind Disc: Sky Snare. A Magician would temporarily compress the strong energy of a Wind Disc: Sky Snare under their feet. Once the enemy started attacking, the Magician would release the trap, turning the Wind Disc: Sky Snare into a strong wind wall around themselves, blowing the approaching enemy away!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue did not come up with the idea of using the Wind Disc as a trap herself. She saw Okamoto using it during the duel between him and Guan Yu at the West Guardian Tower.

However, Guan Yu was just too fast. He managed to stab Okamoto before he could activate the trap. Okamoto lost the duel, yet Mu Ningxue was intrigued by his move.

Not every person or demon creature was as fast as Guan Yu; the Wind Disc trap was a very practical way to use the Wind Spell without a doubt. Since then, Mu Ningxue had spent some time figuring out how Okamoto had done it, and discovered that she could cast a Wind Disc beforehand and suppress it to right below the point of release. When something moved closer to the trap, disrupting the airflow, it would trigger the Wind Disc, producing a strong wind surrounding Mu Ningxue like a wall and blowing the creatures that tried to approach her away!

The Jagged-Paw Green Demons were ocean creatures. They were sensitive to moisture, but they were unable to sense any strange airflows. They assumed they could easily cut the female Magician into pieces by flanking her simultaneously, but to their surprise, Mu Ningxue stayed still and used the Wind Disc trap perfectly!

The strong wind howled fiercely and formed a tornado with Mu Ningxue at its center.

Both the leaping Jagged-Paw Green Demons leaping and those attacking her on the ground were tossed into the air by the strong wind barrier. Two of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons slammed into one another and stabbed each other’s faces with the spikes on their heads.

The paralyzing effect soon took hold, the two Jagged-Paw Green Demons suffering facial nerve paralysis. The flesh on their faces hung loosely, as if they had turned into two extremely aged demon creatures. They looked rather comical.

The leader of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons was infuriated. Its four idiotic subordinates had missed a great opportunity, wasting the effort that it had put in!

It had no choice but to settle the fight itself. The Jagged-Paw Green Demon broke free from the ice entrapping its legs. Its throat shuddered, seeing Mu Ningxue had her back to it.

The creature fired a long, thin water beam at Mu Ningxue’s slender back.

Mu Ningxue had her ice chain wrap around her waist. It dragged her to the side, barely dodging the surprise attack. The water beam struck a balcony and punctured it!

The leader of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons had perfectly demonstrated that it was possible to puncture rock with water. Unfortunately for it, Mu Ningxue would never lower her guard in a fight!

“I’m here to help!” Guan Yu glided across the sky with a Wind Track and landed beside Mu Ningxue.

Guan Yu’s offensive capabilities were quite outstanding, especially the unique arm gauntlet he was wearing. If he was given the chance, he basically could kill Warrior-level creatures like the Jagged-Paw Green Demons with a single blow.

The truth was, even if Guan Yu did not show up, Mu Ningxue had no problem looking after herself. She was an Ice Magician. The Ice Element was not known for its ability to end fights in a short period of time, but for the advantages it had in a prolonged fight.

Mu Ningxue’s frost never stopped spreading. The Jagged-Paw Green Demons felt their skin turning numb and their bones turning stiff. They did not realize that they were actually getting slower.

The frost would fully penetrate the creatures’ muscles, bones, hearts, and blood with enough time. As such, in just a few more minutes, Mu Ningxue would not even need to waste her energy on the Jagged-Paw Green Demons; they would simply lose their ability to fight due to the frost, and be shattered by Mu Ningxue’s ice chains!

Guan Yu basically enjoyed the fruits of Mu Ningxue’s work. Using his agility and speed, his claw gauntlet rapidly stabbed the weak points of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons slowed down by the frost and took two of them out in an instant.

The leader of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons decisively turned around and ran away. It was obvious that the creature had finally realized it was slowing down.

The leader and the two Jagged-Paw Green Demons split up and fled for their lives, escaping into the warm sea water. However, Mu Ningxue managed to intercept one of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons that had suffered facial paralysis.

Guan Yu broke the lower half of the Jagged-Paw Green Demon’s body into ice cubes with a kick, and stabbed its heart with the claw gauntlet…

It turned out that most of the creature’s body was already frozen. Guan Yu did not see any blood flowing out when he stabbed the creature.

“Stay with me, you haven’t fully recovered yet. I’m worried that something might happen to you.” Guan Yu was an arrogant young master of a renowned family in front of the others, yet he would somehow turn into a considerate man around Mu Ningxue. Even his tone was a lot gentler.

Mu Ningxue hated to be interrupted during her fighting. If Guan Yu had not shown up, there was no chance she would have let the leader of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons escape.

However, she knew it was useless to reject the man’s offer. Guan Yu had realized how effective the shameless tactic was from Mo Fan, so he began to use the same method to stay close to her!

“Stay closer to where Nanyu is, I’m worried about Nan Rongni still,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Err… alright, I will definitely protect your friend,” Guan Yu hesitated for a moment before nodding. He believed it was reasonable to win the favor of Mu Ningxue’s bestie to earn her affection.

After Mu Ningxue intelligently drove Guan Yu away, she stared at the surging currents around the building.

The current had risen by another meter, and seemed like it was still rising. It was not a good sign for the team. The rising water would significantly limit the space available to the Magicians. Even Magicians who were experts at fighting underwater would not dare to jump into the water now!

The loud cry of an infant came from below. Mu Ningxue looked into the direction of the cry and recognized the White Sobbing Demon that had severely injured Nan Rongni. It was still alive, and currently floating on the surface of the water with one of its tentacles raised high into the air. Half of the other tentacle had already regrown even though it was chopped off not long ago. It seemed like a new stinger would soon reform from the severed end.

“Such remarkable regeneration!” Mu Ningxue exclaimed in surprise.

Mu Ningxue had a strong feeling that the White Sobbing Demon was a tougher opponent than the team had assumed. Otherwise, Nan Rongni would have easily recovered from the injuries she suffered with a few drops of Healing Liquid, yet she still had trouble standing on her own.

“Crap!” Nanyu’s voice shouted in the communication device. Everyone panicked slightly after hearing her voice, as it was rare to see her in shock.

“What happened?” Ai Jiangtu’s deep voice spoke into the communication device.

“Nan Rongni is poisoned, and it looks deadly!”

“Not only didn’t the wound on her leg recover, it has begun to fester… the veins on her leg are visible, and they have all turned white!” Her voice had more than a hint of anxiety.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan’s heart was burning with anxiety when he saw the painful expression on Nan Rongni’s sweat-covered face!

Nan Rongni was a Healer, but it was difficult for a Healer to diagnose herself. She was totally unaware of the deadly poison that was spreading inside her body.

“Zu Jiming, Zu Jiming, come here at once!” yelled Zhao Manyan, when he recalled that Zu Jiming was a Poison Magician.

“There’s no need to summon me[ I can cast poison, or drive poison away, but I can’t treat anyone that is poisoned. Didn’t we bring all kinds of antidotes? Are you telling me that none of them works?” said Zu Jiming.

“We have to bring her away from the battlefield. The poison is too strong, her life might be at risk!” declared Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan and Nan Rongni were fully focused on the fight against the Jagged-Paw Green Demon, and did not realize that Nan Rongni was in so much pain that she could no longer make any noise. When they finally went to check up on her, they realized that the poison had spread all across her leg, and was moving toward her waist and upper body.

There was still a chance to save her ifthe poison reached her liver and stomach, but if it reached her heart, even the Heavens could not save her!

“Can’t do, we’re being surrounded by sea monsters. Trying to break out from the surround would only split the team further, not to mention how dangerous it is when carrying an injured member,” said Ai Jiangtu.

The number of sea monsters rapidly increased as the tide rose higher. It was impractical to break out of the surround with an injured member. They had no choice but to hold their ground defensively. If anyone left their position, the whole group might be overrun!

“The White Sobbing Demon is a rare species. Even I wasn’t aware that its tentacles are poisonous. No one can guarantee that we can find the antidote to the poison even if we brought her to the safe zone. In my opinion, we should send someone to ask the other teams, and see if they know how to cure the poison,” said Jiang Yu.

The number of the sea monsters was increasing when a member of the team was injured, not to mention that the member was the Healer on the team. The whole team was suddenly in a panic.

It was difficult to come to a verdict when there were many people on a team. As such, when there were conflicting opinions, the team members would feel even more agitated.

“I have some herbs that can keep her alive longer. I’ll take care of her, don’t let the Jagged-Paw Green Demons come any closer,” Zhao Manyan told Nanyu.

Nanyu nodded and tried her best to calm down and listen to the movements of the surrounding creatures.

Ai Jiangtu was already making his way to where the other teams were. He was the only person that could still move around freely with his Space Element.

—-

The team did not dare to lower their guard after realizing Nan Rongni was poisoned.

The sea monsters were scarier and more cunning than they had imagined. The tide continued to rise, with endless sea monsters jumping out of the water. Most of the sea monsters in their area were melee types, like the Jagged-Paw Green Demons, but the kinds that could cast powerful magic had already appeared in other zones. The situation looked extremely grim for the humans.

Ai Jiangtu cast Blink continuously as he wove through the streets towards the zone master.

As soon as Ai Jiangtu landed on a building, he immediately saw a huge wave crushing the buildings nearby like a gigantic beast!

“Watch out!” Ai Jiangtu heard the voice of a mature woman amid the blast. He quickly glanced in her direction and drew a Star Pattern, vanishing into thin air.

The huge wave came down, instantly crushing five buildings into pieces in a shocking manner!

The woman only saw Ai Jiangtu being devoured by the wave, yet did not notice a person had appeared behind her out of nowhere. She was about to let out a sigh when Ai Jiangtu tapped her on her shoulder.

“You… how are you behind me…” The woman was surprised, but she was able to recover fairly quickly.

“I have the Space Element,” answered Ai Jiangtu.

“No wonder, that explains it… I remember you, you’re the captain of the seventh team. Why have you come to the second team, we are all Advanced Magicians here? …oh, you’re an Advanced Magician too, but you should be looking after your zone. Otherwise, it’s going to increase the burden of the other teams. The sea monsters aren’t really the merciful kind,” blurted out the woman.

“Someone on our team is poisoned. It was the White Sobbing Demon,” Ai Jiangtu was not in the mood to chit-chat with the woman. He immediately told her why he had come.

“White Sobbing Demon? Why would your team encounter something like that… don’t tell me you’ve escorted the injured away?” The woman seemed to be surprised. Her eyes were also showing a hint of fear at the mention of the White Sobbing Demon.

“Not yet,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“That’s a relief! Don’t take the injured away, it will only make the poison spread faster inside her. Even if you brought her to the Magic Association in Tokyo, I believe there’s no antidote there, either. The antidote to the White Sobbing Demon’s poison is quite special, it can’t be stored in any container…”

“What’s the antidote?”

“If you’ve seen the White Sobbing Demon, you must have noticed the white meat lump on its head that has a smooth and shiny surface, like the head of an infant. The antidote is inside the lump. Once the liquid leaves the lump, it will turn into powder within an hour. If anyone is poisoned by the White Sobbing Demon, you must not let the White Sobbing Demon run away, or else it’s going to be impossible to deal with the poison… did your team capture or kill the White Sobbing Demon?” asked the woman.

“It ran away…” Ai Jiangtu’s expression sank.

“Then what are you doing here still, go find it quick! The White Sobbing Demon’s poison is exclusive, only the White Sobbing Demon that poisoned your teammate has the antidote. It’s a very rare species, your team is very unlucky to stumble onto one!” added the woman.

Ai Jiangtu immediately took out his communication device and relayed the information about the antidote to the team.

——

Everyone was still clueless about what to do after learning how to acquire the antidote, since no one knew where the White Sobbing Demon was.

They were also heavily surrounded by the Jagged-Paw Green Demon. It was impossible to search for the White Sobbing Demon without killing all the creatures surrounding them.

“What do we do now?” asked Zhou Xu.

“What choice do you think we have? Let’s get rid of these Jagged-Paw Green Demons, the White Sobbing Demon has fled into the water; God knows where the creature is now.”

“Damn it, why did she have to put herself in danger like that when she’s the Healer? She should have asked someone else to check the cry of the infant out…” someone on the team started grumbling.

Everyone was already in a pinch trying to protect themselves from the Jagged-Paw Green Demons. How could they possibly spare anyone to look for the White Sobbing Demon?

“Mu Ningxue… strange, did anyone see Mu Ningxue?”

“I saw her heading for the nineteenth street…”

“She’s going after the White Sobbing Demon on her own.”

“Don’t panic, stay where you are!” Nanyu’s voice suddenly said in everyone’s ear. Her voice was incredibly loud, which left their ears buzzing. It also helped everyone to calm down.

Nanyu was trying to warn the team. She had just heard lots of Jagged-Paw Green Demons approaching them.

“We…we’re being surrounded…” Nanyu’s voice was suddenly extremely heavy.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Creatures with lumpy green skin leapt out from the water and landed on the roofs occupied by the humans using their outstanding jumping ability. Their jagged paws were clashing with ear-splitting crackles.

Their eyes were staring at the humans scattered across the roofs, full of frenzied savagery.

Sea monsters were usually more intelligent than most demon creatures, especially those with high lineage.

For some reason, killing humans had become a glorious achievement for the sea monsters of the Pacific Ocean. Some would even leave markings on their scales to count the number of humans they had killed, like the medals and badges worn by a soldier or a general!

The previous Jagged-Paw Green Demons were only sent here as scouts, to learn how many humans the area had. Once the scouts were done with their job, the rest of the army immediately advanced, to wipe out the teams of Magicians!

Guan Yu also noticed that the captain of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons whose limbs and body had been frozen by Mu Ningxue among the sea monsters!

More elite sea monsters had shown up. The Magicians could pick them out from among the sea monsters based on their size and the color of their skin. These elite monsters were normally stronger than most Warrior-level creatures, since the species of Jagged-Paw Green Demons was infamous for its expertise in fighting!

“So many, how many are there!?”

“Nan Rongni will die from the poison if we have to wait until we kill every single one of them!” exclaimed Zhao Manyan worriedly.

He had the urge to change all his Elements and become a powerful Magician with destructive spells, just so he could eliminate the Jagged-Paw Green Demons as quickly as possible. However, all he could do right now was to stop the demon creatures from getting closer and defend against their attacks.

“Mu Ningxue is on her own. She might be in danger too. She hasn’t fully recovered!” said Jiang Shaoxu nervously.

Jiang Shaoxu had learned from her mistake. She quickly jumped to the roof where Zhao Manyan, Nanyu, and Nan Rongni were. As a Psychic Magician, she needed protection from a defensive Magician like Zhao Manyan the most, since she was the least capable of killing the sea monsters on the team!

“We can’t break out from the surround, either!” noticed Zhou Xu.

“Jiang Yu, is your Night Rakshasa able to escape the surround?” Ai Jiangtu was worried about Mu Ningxue since she was on her own. She had used the Ice Crystal Bow that was beyond her limits recently, so she must still be weak.

“Not a problem!” Jiang Yu nodded.

“Send your Night Rakshasa after Mu Ningxue, we must find that White Sobbing Demon!” said Ai Jiangtu sternly.

The team was in the most dangerous situation they had been in since they embarked on the journey to train themselves. Ai Jiangtu had already maximized the potential of his Curse Element. As an Advanced Magician, he had no trouble killing the Warrior-level creatures, but there were simply too many of them. If he left the team to search for Mu Ningxue, he was worried that the others would not hold on!

“Feifei, go find her, and protect her at all cost. Do you understand?” Jiang Yu immediately ordered his Contracted Beast.

The Night Rakshasa seemed unwilling, yet she still headed in the direction that Mu Ningxue had gone.

The Night Rakshasa was only a meter tall. Her petite figure resembled a slender girl around the age of ten. Her front limbs barely touched the ground as she moved, like a nimble cat sprinting in the shadows.

When she dashed forward at full speed, her slender figure turned into a black line of shadows weaving past the clumsy Jagged-Paw Green Demons. The creatures finally reacted after some time.

The captain of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons from before let out a weird shriek after it saw something trying to escape from their envelopment. It immediately sent its minions over to hunt the little creature down.

The cry immediately caught the attention of eight Jagged-Paw Green Demons. They were initially climbing along the walls and hiding in the corners. They showed themselves after being summoned by their captain, staring at the Night Rakshasa greedily!

“Meow!” The Night Rakshasa’s cry was filled with a hint of disdain. She ran to the edge of the building and jumped across to the other building… and a Jagged-Paw Green Demon suddenly jumped up after it. It was trying to cut the Night Rakshasa in half in mid-air!

The Night Rakshasa was incredibly agile. She evaded the attack in the air and kicked the eye of the Jagged-Paw Green Demon to launch herself higher into the air with a front flip…

Her claws reached ahead, and the spinning Night Rakshasa turned into a whirling razor, slicing across a Jagged-Paw Green Demon as she landed on the opposite building!

The Jagged-Paw Green Demon was cut in two. The whirling Night Rakshasa rapidly flew across the gap between the two halves of the body and proceeded on her way without turning her head.

She was just too quick. The rest of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons were immediately left behind.

It had all happened within a breath. The members of the team were startled after witnessing it.

-Isn’t Jiang Yu’s little cat a bit too strong? The Warrior-level Jagged-Paw Green Demons were tricked around like dumb donkeys! They simply have no chance of stopping her!-

“She will take care of Mu Ningxue. Let’s focus on the trouble in front of us,” Jiang Yu said to Ai Jiangtu.

“Mmm!” Ai Jiangtu summoned a Cursed Evil Spider. It spat out red spider silk to entrap three of the Jagged-Paw Green Demons, and slowly drained away the energy of their souls.

Jiang Yu no longer had his Contract Beast around, but he proceeded to swipe a lunar-white arc through the air to cast Dimensional Summoning.

His Summoned Beast was fairly strong too, but there was still a great difference in strength compared to his Night Rakshasa!

——

The East Maritime Fortress was covered in a mist, greatly reducing the visible range.

The water continued to rise. It had been a while since the East Maritime Fortress had experienced such a great tide and tough battle.

The air was full of water vapor. The outline of a slender figure was floating in the air. Her wet silver hair was sticking to her pale-white face.

“Nan Rongni, hang in there!”

Mu Ningxue searched aimlessly in the mist. She only knew the direction the White Sobbing Demon was moving in, but she had no idea where to start.

Only the White Sobbing Demon that injured Nan Rongni could save her life. The East Maritime Fortress was in total chaos, and the chance of finding the White Sobbing Demon was just too low.

However, despite the uncertainties, there was no way Mu Ningxue would watch Nan Rongni die like that.

She wouldn’t give up on finding the creature! There’s no way she would let the filthy, despicable sea monster take away Nan Rongni’s kind, sacred life!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Meow!” Mu Ningxue heard a familiar cry in the mist.

She turned around and saw an intelligent cat-like beast shrouded in the darkness standing on the building less than fifty meters away. The creature’s glittering eyes were staring right back at her through the mist.

Mu Ningxue was overjoyed. Wasn’t that Jiang Yu’s Night Rakshasa?

Mu Ningxue had turned off the communication device. The others on the team kept saying useless things. She preferred not to waste her time arguing with them, so she had no idea that Jiang Yu had sent his Contracted Beast over to help her.

“Meow!” the intelligent Night Rakshasa suddenly screeched. She quickened her pace and dashed toward Mu Ningxue like a black meteorite flying close to the ground.

Mu Ningxue was startled. Why was the creature lunging at her?

The Night Rakshasa was using Shadow Dance, allowing her to move rapidly through the shadow without touching the ground.

When the Night Rakshasa arrived in front of Mu Ningxue, she jumped up and waved her claws rapidly in the air.

Mu Ningxue finally realized there were lots of white silks around her. She was completely surrounded by the white silks without even noticing them. The mist had prevented her from noticing them.

The Night Rakshasa slashed the white silks with her claws. She lifted her sharp gaze and stared at a tall building ten meters away!

The building seemed to be taller than the rest of the buildings nearby. Mu Ningxue did not notice it at first, but as the Night Rakshasa fixed her gaze onto the building, she realized that it was not because the building was taller, but there was a monster sitting on top of it, the one that had spat out the silks!

The monster was able to change its color! It was currently gray-white, the exact same color of the buildings, allowing it to blend perfectly with the building it was sitting on. It was almost impossible to notice its presence without taking a closer look.

Mu Ningxue’s heart started pounding heavily. The sea monsters had extraordinary capabilities and were extremely cunning. Humans would easily become the food in their stomach if they weren’t careful enough!

“Feifei, let’s focus on finding the White Sobbing Demon. Don’t bother fighting it,” Mu Ningxue chose.

Mu Ningxue was unable to take a clear look at the creature that had disguised itself as part of the building, yet she knew that the creature was tough! It would be a waste of time to fight the creature now…

Judging from the Night Rakshasa’s reaction, Mu Ningxue could easily tell that the Night Rakshasa was treating the creature as a worthy opponent.

Mu Ningxue decisively summoned a gust of wind and proceeded to search for the White Sobbing Demon when she saw the creature did not continue attacking them.

“Meow!”

The Night Rakshasa stopped Mu Ningxue when she was about to leave.

The Night Rakshasa stood on her feet and pointed her paw in a completely opposite direction.

“Are you telling me to go that way?” speculated Mu Ningxue.

“Meow!”

“Do you know where the White Sobbing Demon is?” asked Mu Ningxue excitedly.

Mu Ningxue suddenly remembered that the Night Rakshasa was the one that had injured the White Sobbing Demon. She was sniffing at her claws that had slashed the White Sobbing Demon’s chest open. It seemed like the claws had caught the scent of the White Sobbing Demon’s blood.

The Night Rakshasa ignored the creature on the roof and led Mu Ningxue in the direction of the nineteenth zone.

As soon as Mu Ningxue left the place, she vaguely heard someone cursing; they seemed to be mentioning something about a dog.

The voice, the tone, and the way he cursed reminded Mu Ningxue of someone.

However, as a new wave splashed across the building, Mu Ningxue was unsure if she had heard it wrong.

“Meow!” the Night Rakshasa cried out, signaling Mu Ningxue to keep pace with her.

Mu Ningxue did not think too much. She cast a Wind Track and followed closely behind the Night Rakshasa. She was feeling uneasier as more time passed. It felt like she could still hear Nan Rongni’s painful groans coming from the communication device that was still turned off…

——

“Can you stop cursing!” Mochizuki Chihaya was not a fan of Mo Fan’s habits.

-Where are his manners? How did someone like him got selected to represent the national team? Is China really running short on talents?-

“Damn, I was cursing in Chinese, how did you understand that?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Anyway, don’t let me hear it again! I have heard enough of the curses you Chinese let go in Japan,” Mochizuki Chihaya retorted angrily.

“You’re crazy, I didn’t come to Japan to serve the mistress of a renowned clan like you. That thing was disguising itself as a building. I didn’t kill it because I’m in a rush, why can’t I curse it? Are you telling me to be polite toward demon creatures? It’s pretty obvious that the creature wasn’t being polite in the first place. White and slimy, how disgusting!” Mo Fan did not stop complaining.

Mochizuki Chihaya simply rolled her eyes. She was embarrassed to team up with a man like him.

The sea monster had only disguised itself and set up some white silk waiting for its prey to step into the trap, yet Mo Fan ended up scolding its family up to its ancestors. Was there any meaning to it?

“Stop talking, the communication device finally has a signal,” said Mo Fan.

Mochizuki Chihaya blushed angrily. Asshole, was she even talking? It was him scolding the concealed monster all along!

The communication device implied that they were very close to the twentieth zone. Mo Fan heard serious voices communicating in the channel. He did not hear any meaningless chat. It was obvious that the team was currently in the middle of a fight. Mo Fan felt uneasy to interrupt all of a sudden.

“Err… is Mu Ningxue there?” Mo Fan turned on the communication device and asked softly.

“Didn’t Mu Ningxue go after the White Sobbing Demon? Which idiot is asking… damn, Mo Fan, you traitor, you finally came back… Nanyu, Nanyu, their captain is behind you! Jiang Shaoxu, interrupt its channeling, don’t let it spit the water!” yelled Zhao Manyan.

“Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue is on her own. She should be heading toward the nineteenth zone. Go look for her!”

“Are you guys alright? I feel like you’re in a pinch too,” asked Mo Fan, being kind for once.

“Nan Rongni is dying from a deadly poison. We can still hold on for a little longer. Go and find Mu Ningxue, and keep an eye for a white creature that cries like an infant. You have to hunt it down. It’s the White Sobbing Demon, the only creature that has the antidote to the poison,” someone immediately explained to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was astounded. Nan Rongni was poisoned, and her life was in danger!?

“Chihaya, go help them. I’ll go look for Mu Ningxue,” Mo Fan realized how grave the situation was. He no longer had the mood to joke around.

“What happened?”

“Nan Rongni is the Healer on our team. She is poisoned, and the others are surrounded by sea monsters. Their lives are in danger, too!” Mo Fan told her.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

-Nineteenth zone, nineteenth zone, where the Hell is the nineteenth zone?-

The whole place was a vast expanse of whiteness because of the mist, and Mo Fan couldn’t find the right direction. He never stopped cursing under his breath.

The Swift Star Wolf was a terrestrial creature. His fur was soaking wet from the moisture, looking like a drowning dog. It felt like the creature had lost his dignity as a wolf after losing his handsome fur. He was low-spirited, and the raw briney smell was hindering his nose, too.

“Hey, buddy, is this the right way to the nineteenth zone?” Mo Fan quickly ran forward and asked when he saw a person standing on a roof.

Only a weirdo like Mo Fan would ask for directions in the middle of a battle.

The man turned around and spoke with a deep voice. Mo Fan could not tell what language it was.

“I can’t hear you, can you speak louder… f**k me!” cursed Mo Fan, who quickly dodged aside.

A poisonous tongue flew right at him with outstanding force. He could feel the strong airflow as it went by. The tongue would likely smash the bones in his face to pieces if it landed!

No wonder Mo Fan was cursing non-stop, these sea monsters were just too cunning! He had already stumbled into a creature that disguised itself as a building while spitting out white silk, and now, another one was disguising itself as a human in the mist.

The creature’s silhouette resembled a human, but its body was covered in scales. Its joints had bones like shark fins. It had a flat mouth, similar to a shark, taking up two-thirds of its face, housing that poisonous tongue!

Mo Fan grimaced in disgust knowing that he had stumbled into a sea monster while only asking for directions.

The Fierce Shark Demon was ranked highly in terms of savagery among the sea monsters. Normally, Mo Fan would have the urge to pluck all its fangs and used them for decoration purposes, yet he was not in the mood today!

The Fierce Shark Demon’s mouth was full of blood. Mo Fan caught a glimpse of a torn garment between the gap of its teeth. It seemed like the creature had just enjoyed a pleasant meal. Not a single bone was left, he was wondering which Magician had fallen victim to it…

“I’m not going to beat you up, so you better not trouble me, let’s mind our own business,” Mo Fan stared at the Fierce Shark Demon alertly. His instincts were telling him that the creature was not an easy opponent.

Mo Fan slowly navigated around the creature to proceed on his way.

The Fierce Shark Demon was watching Mo Fan. Judging from the twitch of its facial muscles, it seemed to be grinning. The grin was just as its name suggested, scarily fierce!

“Eat this!” Mo Fan made his move, taking the initiative to attack without waiting for the Fierce Shark Demon’s response. He did not need to summon the flames before the attack, as his fist simply erupted in flames as he was swinging his arm through the air!

Mo Fan would be out of his mind if he believed the creature would let him go easily. The blazing flame on his right hand was as strong as usual despite the moisture in the air. The sparks immediately spread into their surroundings and set the area on fire.

The Fierce Shark Demon was totally unprepared, and was blasted a great distance away. It slammed into the building on the other side of the street and fell into the water.

Lucky for the creature, the street was flooded by the tide. Otherwise, it would have suffered greatly from the prolonged burning of the Rose Flame!

Mo Fan immediately continued on his way after taking care of the obstruction.

The whole place was surrounded by sea monsters. Heavens knew if the creature would return with its tribe to get revenge!

—-

Mo Fan had made a smart decision. Not long after he left, a few shark heads popped out of the water, exposing their grinding fangs above the surface of the water.

They glanced around, searching for the shameless Magician, yet the man was already long gone. They had no choice but to snap their jaws at the buildings to vent their frustration.

Mo Fan was feeling nervous. How had the sea monsters invaded the East Maritime Fortress so quickly? The whole place was already full of them!

How many sea monsters did the huge tide bring to the fortress? He had no idea how much time they would need to slay all the sea monsters.

“Please tell me I’m moving the right way?” Mo Fan had totally lost his directions. His surroundings were covered in the mist. The visible range was only two hundred meters.

The buildings on every street looked incredibly similar without any landmark that stood out among them. Mo Fan was afraid to be told that he was in the twenty-first zone when he finally saw a human.

“It seems like there’s someone ahead…” Mo Fan finally saw some light produced by spells in the mist.

There was no way the figure was a sea monster, since it was visibly casting spells. Mo Fan immediately quickened his pace and went after the light.

The buildings shook underneath him. Mo Fan felt uneasy as soon as he started running toward the light. As he proceeded further, he realized that the mist was not as strong in the area, most likely because the Light Magicians were trying to drive the mist away…

Mo Fan immediately went over to where the people were after the visibility improved.

——

Loud vibrations were buzzing in the ears. Mu Ningxue knelt down and hid inside a building.

The building was basically empty, there was no windows or doors. She was able to see the street easily, and a monster with four spiky arms moving along it.

The main street was a lot wider, the buildings on both sides were up to a hundred meters apart, but there were not many Magicians around, as a Commander-level creature had appeared!

Blue Valley Ferocious Beast!

Mu Ningxue recognized the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast. It was one of the two that the team encountered before in the nineteenth zone.

Likewise, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast had also recognized Mu Ningxue. Five minutes ago, Mu Ningxue had finally found the trail of the White Sobbing Demon, but when she turned a corner, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was inches from her face. Luckily, the Night Rakshasa reacted in time and scratched out the single eye on the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s face. Otherwise, Mu Ningxue’s life would have been in danger.

The Night Rakshasa was injured after it was hit by the spikes on one of the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast arms. There was a clear bleeding cut on the Night Rakshasa’s chest.

“Are you alright?” Mu Ningxue blamed herself. If she wasn’t so occupied with the White Sobbing Demon, she would have avoided stumbling into the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast had obviously sniffed her out. It was waiting for her so it could get its revenge.

The first appearance of the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was here in the nineteenth zone, but it had now appeared in the same zone once again. It was hard to tell what the creature was up to…

“Meow!”

The Night Rakshasa licked her paw, before placing it on the cut. Soon, the cut stopped bleeding.

“That’s a relief!” Mu Ningxue let out a relieved sigh after seeing that the little cat demon was fine.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast snorted hard, knocking the water vapor of the mist down like raindrops.

Mu Ningxue was hiding in the building, yet she could still feel the cold, wet air flowing in her direction.

Both she and the Night Rakshasa were holding their breath, as they were afraid that even the slightest gasp would attract the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s attention. They were no match against the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast, not to mention the group of creatures sticking close to it that had mouths like sharks and sharp bones on their joints. Their size was similar to humans, and they even had legs like humans. The only difference was their feet were like swim fins, allowing them to move freely both in the water and on land.

The Fierce Shark Demons had deep voices. They were basically illegible if one were not listening to them carefully.

The Night Rakshasa stuck close to the wall and raised its black, furry ears, like the ears of a fairy, elegant and beautiful.

“Meow~” The Night Rakshasa let out a soft cry and pointed in two directions, signaling to Mu Ningxue that two Fierce Shark Demons were approaching the building.

“We must leave at once,” agreed Mu Ningxue.

The White Sobbing Demon was in the area, too. Any minute they wasted would increase the risk to Nan Rongni’s life.

However, it was impossible for her to use the Ice Crystal Bow in her current state. Otherwise, she would not hesitate to use it, regardless of the price she had to pay!

“Meow~Meow Meow~” The Night Rakshasa’s eyes flickered intelligently as she told Mu Ningxue her plan.

“Are you telling me to lure those creatures away, and you’ll hunt the White Sobbing Demon down?” asked Mu Ningxue.

The Night Rakshasa nodded.

It was impractical to fight the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast. All they needed to do was hunt the White Sobbing Demon and leave. It was the only option left.

The Night Rakshasa was indeed a highly intelligent creature. She knew Mu Ningxue had stepped on the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s tail before, thus the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast would not let her leave easily. As such, the only way was to use Mu Ningxue as bait to lure the monsters away, so the Night Rakshasa could hunt the White Sobbing Demon as quickly as possible.

“Alright… but, once you kill the White Sobbing Demon, don’t come back here. Regroup with the team instead and hand the antidote to your master. The antidote will dry up into powder in a short amount of time, if we’re stuck here…” Mu Ningxue agreed with a nod.

The Night Rakshasa left to track the White Sobbing Demon down. She utilized her Shadow spells, avoided the two Fierce Shark Demons patrolling the building, and waited for her chance.

However, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was a Commander-level creature, and its senses were a lot sharper. The Night Rakshasa was unable to escape its watch, and it needed Mu Ningxue to lure the creature away.

Mu Ningxue took a deep breath when she saw the Night Rakshasa was in position.

It was fortunate that Jiang Yu had sent his intelligent Contracted Beast to lend her a hand. Otherwise, she would be roaming aimlessly through the East Maritime Fortress, like a headless fly.

However… Mu Ningxue had no idea how long she could last if the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast chased after her.

The Ice Crystal Bow was unavailable, and she still had not fully recovered from her injuries. It would be difficult to flee from a Commander-level creature.

The wind started blowing. Mu Ningxue suppressed the air around her without gathering the attention of the two Fierce Shark Demons close to her.

Mu Ningxue suddenly made her move. She summoned an icy breeze and sprinted in the other direction. The Fierce Shark Demons trying to entrap her were stunned, before crying out in deep voices to signal their comrades and king that they had found the woman!

Every Fierce Shark Demon started crying simultaneously. Most creatures from the shark tribe had gathered at the main street, and their deep, resonating cries soon echoed around the area.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast immediately turned around and followed the cries to where the woman was spotted. Half of its body was submerged; it was half-running, half-swimming toward Mu Ningxue!

The creature did not forget the pain it suffered from her arrow. It had noticed that Mu Ningxue’s aura was not as strong as it was during their first encounter. These savage sea monsters were vengeful creatures. Even the slightest grudge could only be resolved through death. As such, its hated Mu Ningxue far more than any other Magician in the nineteenth zone.

It was difficult to stop a Commander-level creature who was determined to run away. However, considering the pressure they were currently under, those around could not help but wish that someone was able to lure the Commander-level creature away.

—-

“Why is the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast leaving?” asked an aged Magician observing the main street.

“It seems to be heading toward where Hirose is.”

“Hirose, Hirose, watch out for the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast, it’s heading your way, avoid contact with the creature!”

The people in the nineteenth zone had their own communication channel, allowing them to share the information on the Commander-level creature easily.

“Got it… oh, the creature is chasing after a woman… silver hair… it’s her!” The first half of the sentence was Hirose talking to his team, but the second half was him mumbling to himself.

Unlike the other Magicians, Hirose was standing on an almost destroyed small wooden boat. It felt like the boat would sink in any second, yet Hirose was wearing a long coat and would not simply allow the tide to torture him like a water lily.

He was perfectly stable. With a closer look, it turned out that he was not just standing on the boat, but on the surging current.

Hirose was initially planning to run away. However, he was startled when he saw the slender figure being chased by the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast.

Silver hair, possibly the most unique color for a person’s hair that anyone could wish for. Even though the mist was preventing him from seeing her face clearly, he was confident that it was the gorgeous woman he had stumbled into before.

Hirose clenched his teeth. He controlled the tide and moved toward the silver-haired woman’s position.

“This way!”

Hirose jumped onto a building with the momentum of the tide and yelled at Mu Ningxue, who was running around aimlessly.

Mu Ningxue immediately changed direction when she heard the voice.

A few flickers came rapidly from behind. Mu Ningxue did not forget the powerful water beams that the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast could fire. There was no way she could reach the buildings in time, and she immediately jumped into the water.

“Hirose, don’t go, you don’t have any backup!” his teammates were shouting into the communication device.

Hirose stood still with a blank face. The sturdy buildings in front of him collapsed entirely after they were struck by the water beams. The space before him opened up, allowing him to see the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s face. His heart began to pound heavily…

For some reason, one eye on the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s face was empty, with blood pouring out from the socket!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Monster, don’t you dare hurt her!” yelled Hirose.

However, apart from Sound Magicians, the shouts of a human were as weak as the squeaks of a little mouse to the sea demons, almost negligible considering how soft they were, and their poor hearing in the air.

Hirose immediately controlled the water around him when he saw the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast almost catching up to Mu Ningxue.

The water turned into a huge wave under Hirose’s control, pouring down fiercely like a waterfall.

The attack did not inflict any damage on the savage Blue Valley Ferocious Beast, but it successfully infuriated the creature.

The remaining eyes of the creature almost poked out of their sockets, glaring at Hirose, who was like a clown in its eyes.

The creature raised one of its sharp legs and stabbed it at Hirose with great force. He could not even see the attack, but the huge crack across the building was telling him a deadly attack was coming right at him!

The sharp leg pierced through the spell that Hirose cast, penetrated the building in front of him and hit his right shoulder with its sharpest point.

The attack was initially aimed at Hirose’s heart. Although the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast looked enormous and fierce, it was incredibly precise with its attack, planning to stab and kill Hirose instantly with its sharp leg.

Hirose barely reacted by dodging aside when the sharp leg landed on his shoulder. As the creature pulled its leg back, blood poured out from the cut and scattered over the debris on the ground…

Hirose clenched his teeth. He did not make any noise despite the enormous pain.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s attack was simply too fast. Hirose did not even have time to summon his armor.

“Run away, quick!” Hirose pressed his hand on the cut, yet it did not stop the blood from pouring out between his fingers.

Mu Ningxue did not notice Hirose until now, but she did not respond to his shout.

Run away? Didn’t he see she was already trying her best to run away?!

The problem was, the creature was a lot faster than a Wind Magician. It was impossible to escape from the creature unless she was able to fly into the air with a pair of Wind Wings.

“Freeze!”

Mu Ningxue saw half of the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s body was still submerged. She drew close to the surface of the water and tapped the surging current softly with her foot.

The splashing waves turned into ice. The surging current calmed down suddenly as a layer of frost gradually covered the surface…

The frost spread further into the water. The layer of ice was almost instantly half a meter deep.

The ice continued to spread rapidly. It first covered an area within a few dozen meters, but it soon spread more than a hundred meters away.

The mist covering the area was a result of the water vapor from the continuous splashing of the waves, and it gradually turned into snow falling from the sky.

The snow fell densely and the water was frozen into ice. Mu Ningxue had utilized her Domain. Only the power of a Domain was able to freeze the whole place in such a short amount of time.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was initially slightly intimidated when it saw the thick layer of frost approaching it.

During their last encounter, it was turned into an ice statue by an arrow after it had underestimated the power of the Magician. It had yet to fully recover from the injuries, and now the strong frosty aura had appeared once again. It was afraid that the Magician would fire the same arrow at it.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast stood two hundred meters away and took some time observing the area. Only Commander-level creatures would act so cautiously.

A while later, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast finally dared to move forward after realizing that the aura of the Magician was not as strong as it was before.

The thick layer of ice did slow it down, yet it only needed to smash its way through the ice. It was nothing difficult for it.

Meanwhile, as the ice grew thicker, the Fierce Shark Demons’ movements were greatly limited by the frost. The Ice Domain restricted their ability to control water, and would even freeze them into ice if they were careless.

—

“Phew…” Mu Ningxue panted heavily, vapor coming out of her mouth.

Normally, she would be able to spread the Ice Domain further and increase its coverage, just like how she froze the water between the islands when fighting against the Scarlet Soaring Demons. She managed to turn the entire sea close to the Scarlet Soaring Demons’ nest into an island of ice.

However, the arrow she fired not long ago had drained away too much of her energy. Even though she was able to unleash her Ice Domain, its effects had been greatly reduced. She could not help but feel worried.

“This is a great chance for you, isn’t it?”

Mu Ningxue was frowning when a strange voice entered her ears.

The voice was very clear, as if it was speaking right beside her ears. Even the furious roar of the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast and the sound of everything freezing nearby failed to cover it.

Mu Ningxue looked around, but she did not see anything nearby.

“After Japan, one of you will eventually be replaced, and it’s most likely going to be you!”

The same voice spoke again. It was impossible to identify if the person was a male or a female. After hearing it again, Mu Ningxue realized that the voice was not talking into her ears, but it was right inside her mind.

It was similar to the transmission of a Psychic Magician, delivering a message into her mind without actually talking.

“Who are you, why are you talking to me!?” Mu Ningxue was instantly wary.

“Look at the creature in front of you, do you really stand a chance? If you force yourself further, you might die, and even if you manage to survive, you’ll still be kicked out of the team. Are you seriously going to accept that? No one knows the pain you’ve endured, and no one has ever feel compassionate toward your condition…

“This is a great opportunity for you. The girl is poisoned, it’s not bad news, it’s a blessing from the Heavens for you.

“If you do nothing and withdraw your petty Domain, I can let the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast chase after the cat demon that took its eye instead. You’ve tried your best, she was just being unlucky, that’s all.”

The voice was soft and gentle, like a mother whispering her child to sleep. There was no need to think or do anything, but close the eyes and fall asleep.

Mu Ningxue felt dizzy. A strong hint of fatigue struck her like the huge tide that had swamped the East Maritime Fortress.

– No, no way…-

“What exactly are you!? Stop saying those disgusting words, and you better hope I don’t find where you’re hiding. I’ll let you vanish from the world!” yelled Mu Ningxue furiously.

The yell seemed to have shattered the strange, evil voice immediately, allowing Mu Ningxue to reclaim her thoughts mind.

The voice had taken her by surprise. The frost that took Mu Ningxue a great effort to produce had weakened significantly. Meanwhile, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was also running toward her after realizing that Mu Ningxue was unable to fire the arrow that had frozen it before!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This shitty orb is letting out an eerie glow, it better not stir some mess again.”

Mo Fan took out the Essence Orb wrapped inside the silver cloth. The bad feeling he had toward the orb grew stronger. He had the urge to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

After settling the matter on hand, he would immediately chuck it to Mochizuki Chihaya. She could get rid of it however she wanted. Bringing the orb around felt like he was carrying a time bomb. Maybe he would end up possessed by the orb and become violent, evil, and vicious…

“Strange, why is it so cold here!” Mo Fan mumbled to himself, before he realized the water vapor in the air had turned into snow and fallen to the ground.

Mo Fan jumped onto a higher building to locate the source of the cold. He discovered the area around five hundred meters away was now covered in frost. The snow was stacking up on the buildings, and falling into the water. As he took a closer look, he realized that the water had frozen too!

“It must be her!” Mo Fan was overjoyed, as he was familiar with the frosty aura.

It seemed like he had taken the right direction. Luckily, Mu Ningxue had used her Domain, turning the water vapor into snow and spreading a layer of frost across the place. Otherwise, he would have had trouble finding her in the chaotic battlefield.

Mo Fan headed for the area and saw the Fierce Shark Demons scattered on the ice. Some were hiding in the buildings and heading for the center of the Domain.

Mo Fan moved between the tall buildings. He finally saw some ice sabers circling a relatively spacious area like a tornado. The wind was blowing a few dozen meters into the sky. The ice sabers looked like some kind of broken ice chains, serving as deadly weapons as they spun around, slaughtering the Fierce Shark Demons…

The level of the Fierce Shark Demons here felt a bit lower, unlike those that he had stumbled into when he was asking for directions.

They were clustered around in the nearby buildings, layers of ice, and in the waves waiting for the perfect time to strike. However, they were least of Mo Fan’s concerns, as his attention was attracted by a creature over ten meters tall. It was waving its spiked arms, slamming at the center of the tornado as it tried to smash the Magician casting the spell. Its overwhelming presence was rather intimidating.

“Commander-level…” Mo Fan did not hesitate when he realized how bad the situation was. He sprinted across the rooftops!

“Mu Ningxue!”

Mo Fan finally saw her. Her silver hair was eye-catching as always when the whole area was covered in frost. More shockingly, her clothes were stained red, and a puddle of blood was on the ice nearby. Mo Fan felt like he was about to explode after seeing it!

“F**k off!”

Mo Fan jumped into the sky from the building. A scorching, purple-black lightning bolt burst out of his body as he reached the highest point!

The lightning bolt descended at an angle. The infuriated Mo Fan simply used his body as a conductor to direct the Thunderbolt right at the creature.

The lightning flickered in the air, followed by a resonating rumble. It landed directly on the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s sharp-tipped leg.

“Lightning Disaster!” Mo Fan roared. The wild lightning strikes intertwined and struck the ground rapidly, forming a lightning web in an instant. Each flash generated a thunderous explosion!

The power of the fourth-tier Thunderbolt easily outmatched the rest of the Elemental Magic around. Even a Commander-level creature would suffer a great shock at the center of a Lightning Disaster. Its thick scales were unable to protect it from the lightning fully!

Standing in the middle of the lightning strikes, Mo Fan felt the Lightning Nebula in his Spiritual World shaking hard, as if the little Nebula was unable to endure Mo Fan’s bold move of attracting lightning using his own body.

Mo Fan was too busy to notice the change of the Lightning Nebula. His only thought was to chop the creature in front of him into pieces!

“You are no match for it…” a strange voice spoke in Mo Fan’s mind. “If you don’t want the creature to hurt her, have a taste of my power. The sea monster is nothing worth mentioning against my power!”

The voice sounded enticing, and was particularly clear when a person’s emotions were at their limit.

“Piss off!” cursed Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was not in the mood to chat with the voice that appeared out of nowhere. He knew that the Lightning Disaster was nowhere enough to defeat the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast. He totally ignored the voice trying to entice him, as he clearly knew it was from the evil orb wrapped in the silver cloth, even if he was using his ass to think!

“Telekinesis!” Mo Fan’s eyes glowed silver. He clenched his hands into claws, grabbing at the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast paralyzed by the Lightning Disaster.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s temporarily unable to move. The illusionary claws forcibly lifted it into the air.

As Mo Fan shoved his hands, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was tossed away in a roll before slamming heavily into the buildings lined up nearby. The ice covering the buildings was completely shattered!

Not far away, the injured Hirose was dumbfounded as he watched.

-How violent is that Magician? Did he seriously throw the ten-meter-tall Blue Valley Ferocious Beast away with just his hands?

-No, that doesn’t sound right, that’s the power of the Space Element!-

It was impossible for a Magician to possess such strength, but it was possible for a Space Magician to cast Telekinesis on the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast and forcibly toss it!

Hirose was shocked. He had recently bumped into a Space Magician, and he had stumbled into one again today. That being said, the Space Magician in front of him was rather wild with his approach!

“Mo…Mo Fan?”

Mu Ningxue withdrew the wind around herself and stared at the man covered in lightning in bewilderment.

The Space Element!

The spell that Mo Fan cast was clearly the Space Element! Silver glow, it was the same move that Ai Jiangtu always used!

“Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan was in a violent rage. He had no intention of concealing his strength. He immediately summoned Little Flame Belle to lend him a hand!

Little Flame Belle immediately engulfed her petite figure in fierce flames as she came out from the Contracted Space, turning herself into a giant fireball. She directly rammed into the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast before it managed to rise to its feet!

The fireball was at least four meters wide. Their collision resulted in a great explosion. Its light filled up the entire main street, and the ice began to melt from the overwhelming heat.

“Black Snake Armor! Blood Tabi!”

Mo Fan was clearly in a frenzy. He summoned his equipment and acted as if he was going to brawl with the monster!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Blood Tabi on Mo Fan’s feet instantly strengthened his legs. He directly charged at the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast as the Black Snake Armor appeared.

Under the current conditions, Mo Fan’s speed was rather impressive. He was basically a blur. He made his way to the building across the street within an instant once he reached the shadows.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was rising from the ground. Its body was still burning from the residue of the flames, but its thick scales were able to ignore the damage. The creature was only infuriated when it felt the scorching heat on its scales.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast uttered a roar when it saw the bold human charging at him. It started swinging its four spiked arms wildly, each with a force strong enough to break the ice and produce a huge spray of water!

A huge mist lingered in the air. Mo Fan proceeded forward despite the reduced visibility. He jumped to the debris of a building holding a few Shadow Spikes between his fingers…

He split into two shadows when he saw the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s arm waving in his direction, and vanished into thin air.

Mo Fan slowly reappeared under the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s enormous shadow. The furious Mo Fan leapt onto the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s back with a kick. The Giant Shadow Spikes between his fingers split into six in total before stabbing at the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s joints between its arms and body.

A single Giant Shadow Spike could impair the movement of a Warrior-level creature if it landed accurately, yet when fighting against a Commander-level creature, the Giant Shadow Spikes could at most restrict the movement of a few body parts.

Mo Fan was targeting the creature’s lethal arms. The spikes on them simply posed too great a threat when the creature was swinging them wildly.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast noticed someone on its back. It instinctively tried to pull Mo Fan down, yet its arms were hindered by the black energy. Its upper limbs suddenly felt incredibly heavy. It could no longer lift its arms!

“Ice Lock!” Mu Ningxue did not just stand there and watch. She immediately unleashed a frosty aura when she saw Mo Fan engaging the creature so courageously.

The ice chains produced in an Ice Domain were a lot stronger than the usual ice chains. One crystalline ice chain after another appeared under Mu Ningxue’s control before flying at the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast.

The ice chains moved like icy ribbons, aiming for the six sharp-toed legs of the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast. The creature’s legs were incredibly sharp and agile. Not only could the creature stab its target with its legs, it could also slice the target from any angle, especially with the two front limbs. They were basically a pair of sharp blades!

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was shockingly flexible with its legs. It managed to curl them up, trying to stab Mo Fan on its back, even though he was in a blind spot.

Mu Ningxue saw the creature’s intentions and immediately reacted. The ice chains lunged forward and wrapped around the creature’s lower limbs.

It did not matter if a single ice chain was broken, as there were around eight of them in total. It would take the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast some time to break them all!

“Eat this!” Mo Fan threw a Meteorite Fist at the creature’s waist at extremely close distance, breaking the thick scales protecting the creature. He even heard the sound of bones cracking.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s waist had clearly sunken in. The chains tying its legs prevented it from stabilizing itself. It slammed hard into the ice and debris!

The sharp limbs of the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast granted it an overwhelming offense, yet it also meant that the creature’s body was not as sturdy as other Commander-level creatures. If it tried to stand up, its limbs might snap in half!

The flames spread rapidly on the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s back. Mo Fan did not greedily follow up with another attack. He knew being patient was crucial when fighting against a deadly creature. He immediately jumped to the shadows nearby and relocated himself…

A sharp leg suddenly twisted and swept in Mo Fan’s direction without any warning!

Mo Fan was shocked too. The sharp tip of the leg barely missed his chest!

He was currently hiding in a shadow, so it was fairly difficult for the creature to land its attack. Luckily, he did not lose his calm after landing his first attack. Otherwise, even if the counterattack from the beast did not slice him in half, it would still have knocked him flying dozens of meters away…

The creature’s sharp leg swept past and produced a metallic screech as it scratched the Black Snake Armor. Mo Fan immediately quickly backed off in the shadow, increasing the distance between him and the creature.

Lowering his head, Mo Fan saw a clear scratch on his Black Snake Armor. The fact that a random scratch was enough to leave a mark on his high-tier armor clearly implied how powerful the creature’s attack was!

“This shrimp-like monster with sharp legs can even twist them in the opposite direction. Such a weirdo!”

Most Commander-level creatures had evolved to a stage where they were incredibly strong and difficult to kill. Mo Fan had landed a series of attacks on the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast and slammed it to the ground with a strong blast, yet it had failed to inflict any serious damage to it!

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was perfectly unharmed apart from a few pieces of broken scales on its waist.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast rose to its feet once again. It stuck its sharp legs into the thick ice, while its remaining pair of eyes emitted an eerie red glow!

“It’s casting a spell!” blurted out Hirose.

The spells of sea creatures did not necessarily have to be of the Water Element. Since they had a variety of species and most of the sea monsters were mixed-bloods, it was impossible to tell what spells they could cast despite their identical looks. The sea monsters would inherit the spells from both their parents, yet their appearance would only resemble one of them!

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was a mixed-blood, without a doubt. Its eyes had a red glow while its body was emitting a dark glow. Its sharp white legs were suddenly dyed crimson red…

The creature lifted its leg before swiping the air. The swing launched a sharp, red flicker of light, slashing forward at lightning speed!

The ice was cut in half. The debris was sliced apart. The red flicker was so fast that it was impossible for a human to react.

Mo Fan was staring blankly at the slash.

He suddenly felt his chest burning, as if his body was being sliced in half even with the Black Snake Armor protecting him…

Mo Fan skidded across the ice. A huge red line was visible on the Black Snake Armor, from which blood was pouring out. The mark of the slash was visible among the combination of ice powder and water vapor close to Mo Fan.

The slash had penetrated the Black Snake Armor despite its outstanding defense. Mo Fan clenched his teeth as he felt the burning pain from his chest and stomach!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast lifted its leg once again. It was emitting the same eerie red glow.

The creature swiped its leg at remarkable speed. It was impossible to deduce the direction of the projectile by looking at its movement…

“Mu Ningxue!” Mo Fan yelled upon having a bad feeling.

Mu Ningxue had realized it too, and let out a soft groan. Walls of ice immediately rose between her and the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast! The spectacular stands of ice stood in front of Mu Ningxue in layered barriers.

However, as the creature’s Void Slash swept past, the ice walls were sliced in half in the middle.

The first ice wall had just cracked into pieces when the second one was sliced open, followed by the third. Mu Ningxue could only stare at the deadly slash in astonishment. She simply had no chance to react in time!

If a pedestrian was walking on the street and saw a truck coming right at them all of a sudden, most people would feel their mind going blank, as if their subconscious was telling them that it was meaningless to try and dodge!

Mu Ningxue was experiencing the same feeling now. The speed and strength of the creature’s attack were just too shocking. It sliced through the three layers of ice walls with ease. A strong gust of wind swept at her defenseless body…

A brief moment later, Mu Ningxue saw the red slash disappear after it sliced through half of the third ice wall. Her heart totally skipped a beat!

The slash had almost pierced through the third ice wall. She would be completely defenseless if it had kept going. She would have been beheaded by the creature’s attack without a doubt!

“This…this…” Hirose was speechless from shock. The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was a lot scarier than he had imagined!

“Mo Fan, run!” shouted Mu Ningxue decisively, knowing that they simply stood no chance against the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast.

Mo Fan did not force it either. He immediately retreated to Mu Ningxue’s side.

Luckily, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was only able to use the Void Slash two times in a short period of time. If it was able to fire another slash, someone among them would surely have died!

“We…we’re stuck here, the Fierce Shark Demons are everywhere!” Hirose glanced at his surroundings with a wry smile.

In the beginning, the Fierce Shark Demons were stuck outside of Mu Ningxue’s Domain. However, while they were busy attacking the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast, the Fierce Shark Demons had moved closer and surrounded them.

“This son of a bitch’s scales are too strong, we can’t defeat it!” cursed Mo Fan.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was significantly stronger than the Scarlet Rending Demon. Mo Fan had basically used all he had, yet the creature was still unharmed.

Mu Ningxue nodded. She was thinking of a way to escape when she suddenly recalled Ai Jiangtu mentioning the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s weakness. “It has a weakness!” she blurted out.

“You should have mentioned it earlier! Where is it?… I initially thought its back was its blind spot considering its size, yet to my surprise, it can twist its legs in the opposite direction!” exclaimed Mo Fan.

“On its head, there are no scales covering there!” answered Mu Ningxue.

Hirose was dumbfounded. Were they for real? Were they seriously thinking of killing the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast instead of running away under the circumstances?…

“I see, I’ve sealed its arms, that should last for quite a while still. Its legs can twist and reach its back, but I doubt they can reach its head. It looks like we still have a chance, but the Fierce Shark Demons are coming…” said Mo Fan.

“If you really want to do it, I can ask my comrades to hold the Fierce Shark Demons off. They are nearby, but they are too scared to engage the Commander-level creature,” offered Hirose.

“Splendid, I’ll leave the underlings to you!”

—-

Since escaping was not an option, they had no choice but to fight!

Mu Ningxue continued to freeze the water and used a strong icy wind to keep the Fierce Shark Demons at bay.

The ice spread rapidly, forming across the place to serve as barricades against the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast, to hinder its movement temporarily…

“Meow!” The crisp cry came from a tall building. Mu Ningxue quickly turned around and saw the little Night Rakshasa standing on a half-destroyed balcony. Its pitch-black eyes had an intelligent glitter to them!

“Feifei!” Mu Ningxue was overjoyed. She did not expect Jiang Yu’s Contracted Beast to return at such crucial timing.

“Meow!” the Night Rakshasa responded with a cry, telling Mu Ningxue that she had slain the White Sobbing Demon.

The Night Rakshasa did not follow Mu Ningxue’s words of returning to the team with the antidote after killing the White Sobbing Demon. The little creature was concerned about Mu Ningxue’s safety, since her master had emphasized keeping Mu Ningxue safe.

“What is that?” Mo Fan saw the Night Rakshasa too.

“She’s Jiang Yu’s Contracted Beast, she’s good!” said Mu Ningxue.

“Good at acting cute?”

“Meow!” The Night Rakshasa jumped down from the building, yet she did not leave a scratch on the ice as she landed nimbly.

“I guess it’s easier with the help of a Contracted Beast. Little black cat, go and get the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s attention. Make sure it exposes its weakness on its head, so I can land my attack on it,” said Mo Fan.

The Night Rakshasa shook her head and pointed her paws at herself, before pointing at the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s head.

Mo Fan’s face turned dark. He had never seen a Contracted Beast ordering Magicians around instead. She was not cute at all, unlike his little Flame Belle!

“Mo Fan, she’s more agile than you, let her handle the attack! You get the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s attention!” said Mu Ningxue.

The Night Rakshasa was indeed a strong creature. Even when fighting the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast face-on, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was not necessarily able to defeat the Night Rakshasa due to her outstanding agility.

On second thought, the Night Rakshasa must be an expert at giving her target a deadly blow sneakily. Her fighting ../style was more suitable to hit the creature’s weakness compared to Mo Fan’s violent combination of the Fire and Lightning Elements.

“Fine, you better not run up to its head and end up giving the creature a little scratch,” Mo Fan did not have high hopes for the little black cat.

—-

“Little Flame Belle, possess!”

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was coming in his way. The only way to face it head-on was by having the father and daughter in sync!

Little Flame Belle was fully prepared too. Her porcelain doll figure rammed into Mo Fan’s chest and immediately set him on fire. The brown Calamity Fire spread into his surroundings explosively…

The fiery aura happened to be contradicting with Mu Ningxue’s Ice Domain, yet when Mo Fan tried to unleash the maximum potential of the flames, he somehow felt that his fire was not weakened by Mu Ningxue’s frost and the water vapor in the air. The flames were burning stronger than ever instead!

Chapter 832: Rocket Wings
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle cried out happily, telling Mo Fan that she had learned a new ability, and asking him whether he wanted to try it out now.

Mo Fan was surprised. Little Flame Belle had definitely impressed him lately. Considering how diligent she had been, should he spend some money on some Fire Soul Seeds and feed her? Perhaps she would rank up soon?

Little Flame Belle’s thoughts were linked with Mo Fan’s. She could easily shape her flames as Mo Fan wanted to.

The Calamity Fire gradually moved to Mo Fan’s back and seemed to take the shape of feathers. More fiery feathers gradually took shape, resembling a pair of wings…

“Isn’t this the Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers?” Mo Fan asked with a confused look when he saw the fiery wings.

Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers was the move that Mo Fan had used quite a few times in the past. He could fire the fiery feathers at will, detonating them at the right time to deal spectacular damage to his target. The move was stronger than the Fire Sword. However, it was more efficient against enormous creatures or a group of demon creatures. In terms of damage output, the Fire Sword had a slight edge still.

-Wasn’t this supposed to be a new move?-

Mo Fan was still wondering what was going on when the fiery wings extended out and waved backward!

As the blazing red wings waved, every feather exploded and sent the unprepared Mo Fan flying ahead like a rocket!

Mo Fan rapidly barrelled ahead while staying close to the ice. His flame-shrouded figure was basically a burning missile ramming at the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast.

“AHHHHH!” Mo Fan was totally unprepared for it. It felt like he was wearing a jet pack that had accumulated lots of energy on his back. The wind was hitting him hard on the face, even the muscles on his face began to distort.

“Can…can you please give your dad… a heads-up!? AHHHHH!”

Mo Fan slammed into the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s stomach. Luckily, he was covered in layers of the Rose Flame and Calamity Fire, which protected him from the impact. Otherwise, he would have smashed himself to pieces from the force of crashing into the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s armor at such speed, without dealing any damage to it!

“What…what is he doing?” Hirose stared at Mo Fan blankly.

To be honest, Mo Fan looked extremely cool when he was blasting forward like a missile, but what was he thinking, trying to ram his head into a Commander-level creature?

“Meow!” The Night Rakshasa had already raised her claws, but her confidence in Mo Fan dropped rapidly after seeing his approach. The translation for her cry was, “Holy shit, is he retarded!?”

Even the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was stunned. Its confused look totally implied that it had no idea what the human was up to.

Luckily, the surprise stopped the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast from attacking. Mo Fan quickly used the Fleeing Shadow to withdraw fifty meters away.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast assumed that the human was treating it like a fool. It raised its legs and attacked ferociously.

The first stab landed on Mo Fan’s fake shadow. The second stab quickly followed, aiming at Mo Fan’s head.

Mo Fan reacted by crouching down. A cold breeze swept past above his head. His hair was suddenly parted in the middle, with a few strands falling slowly to the ground.

Another stab approached once again. Mo Fan had an uneasy feeling, as he had no idea how to evade it.

In the nick of time, an ice chain wrapped around his waist from behind. Mo Fan’s skidded on his butt across the ice as he was dragged away by the ice chain. The ice was not perfectly flat, hence his rear was getting abused in the process.

However, when he saw two sharpened legs stabbing through his previous location, he completely forgot about the pain as his heart skipped a beat.

“Can you be a bit more reliable!?” Mu Ningxue was so angry that she simply had the urge to toss the guy into the creature’s mouth.

“(cough cough) That was a mistake, please give me another chance…” Mo Fan felt extremely awkward.

Mu Ningxue loosened the ice chain, giving Mo Fan back his freedom.

“My beloved daughter, please don’t play me like that. The skill is impressive, it can give me a great boost in terms of speed, but it doesn’t really do much unless you use it together with my Fiery Fist, or you can summon the Fire Sword too…” Mo Fan did not dare to condemn Little Flame Belle, and spoke to her gently.

Little Flame Belle had a fragile heart, like a little baby. If his tone was slightly heavier, the kid would threaten to run away from home.

Little Flame Belle realized that trying out a new ability in a fight like this was most likely not the best idea, yet against the Commander-level creature, their old moves were not so effective, either.

“Can you still produced the burning feathers?” asked Mo Fan.

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle nodded and told Mo Fan that the wings could accelerate two times in total. However, the number of times would increase as his cultivation continued to improve.

Mo Fan basically understood the concept of the new ability.

The Thousand Fiery Feathers were flames in the shape of feathers. When the feathers reached a certain number, they resembled a pair of fiery wings.

However, the wings did not grant Mo Fan the ability to fly, and the fiery feathers mostly served as an offensive ability. The fiery feathers would explode upon collision, and the greater the number of fiery feathers, the stronger the attack would be.

Meanwhile, the new fiery feathers were basically an improved version of the Thousand Fiery Feathers. They would form a pair of wings on his back, and as the wings beat, they would detonate a portion of the fiery feathers. The sudden burst would then rocket the user along, giving him or Little Flame Belle a shocking speed boost!

The ability was handy when attacking the enemy or running away from a fight. Mo Fan was pretty happy about it, yet it was obvious that it still needed some optimization!

The fiery wings on his back did not disappear. However, Mo Fan did not use the Fiery Jet Wings ruthlessly this time. He needed to figure out what spell would be the best to combine with the new move, and how he was going to run away to a safe distance after landing a hit. His Black Snake Armor was already torn open by the previous slash, which had significantly reduced its duration.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The joints of the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast clacked roughly. Mo Fan quickly discovered that the creature had regained control of its arms.

He was able to stand his ground against the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast for so long because the Giant Shadow Spikes had restricted the movement of its arms. However, the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast would soon be able to use them again. It would be almost impossible to fight the Commander-level creature then.

“Meow!” The Night Rakshasa licked her paws, waiting for Mo Fan to secure her the opportunity to strike.

She did not hide in the shadows waiting for her chance to strike from her target’s blind spot like other creatures that were specialized in ambushing their targets would. She was utterly confident that she would be able to destroy the creature at its weak spot with a single blow once Mo Fan successfully attracted its attention. Anyway, it was all up to Mo Fan now!

“Have you come up with a plan? My ice won’t last any longer,” Mu Ningxue urged him impatiently.

After Mo Fan’s ridiculous move, Mu Ningxue had been busy keeping the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast at bay with all she had. Luckily, the creature was still in her Ice Domain. Her Ice Spells were a lot stronger within the Domain, still posing a threat to the Commander-level creature. Other Ice Magicians would have been long torn into pieces by the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast by now!

“Little Flame Belle, again!”

Mo Fan gathered his focus sternly.

The Calamity Fire drifted in the wind. The fiery feathers swiftly gathered on Mo Fan’s back and formed two spectacular burning wings at full extension!

“Little Flame Belle, on my mark, I’m going to count to… AHHH!”

Mo Fan was still discussing the timing with Little Flame Belle, but she was so nervous that she simply launched the Rocket Wings immediately.

People who rode in the wind would accelerate gradually just like a normal vehicle, but Mo Fan’s Rocket Wings were completely different!

The thrust from the exploding fiery feathers immediately propelled Mo Fan like a terrifying missile. However, he would gradually slow down as he was driving through the air. As such, when the fiery wings beat, the explosion had already sent Mo Fan flying fifty meters ahead, leaving his soul behind!

“Me…Meteorite…Meteorite Fist! Nine…Nine Dragons!”

Mo Fan was able to react fairly quickly. He initially planned to move closer to the creature, cast a Lightning Disaster, before following up with the Fire Sword and using the Meteorite Fist as a finale. However, he quickly forfeited the plan and subconsciously cast the strongest move he was most familiar with.

That being said, it was impossible for anyone to draw the Fire Star Pattern in his current situation without mastering the ability to draw a Star Pattern with a single thought!

Mo Fan quickly adjusted his stance. He did not want to ram into the scales on the creature’s stomach like a toad again!

His fist erupted in flames as the wind burned against it. Since Mo Fan was moving at an incredible speed, the two different types of flames unleashed by his fist were left behind, a long trail of fire following behind him like a fiery dragon.

The fiery dragon engulfed Mo Fan’s entire body with his fist, merging with his fist as one.

The punch blazed brilliantly before colliding with the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast like a meteorite. It landed on the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s stomach once again, but with a totally different strength and aura this time!

—

This Meteorite Fist was comparable to an Advanced Fire Spell. The boost of the Rocket Wings had further increased its power. The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was full of weapons, but its scales were its only defensive mechanism!

Mo Fan’s punch slammed into the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s stomach like a red-hot poker, lifting the creature’s feet off the ground before sending it flying.

The scales on its stomach were shattered, scattering across the place like a car wreck. Blue blood splattered across the ground…

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast knocked three buildings down in its flight, sweeping a huge cloud of dust into the air as it came to a stop. The debris fell onto the ice, cracked it open, and made a huge splash…

A scorched path over a hundred meters lone extended from Mo Fan’s feet to where the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast landed, resembling the trail the fiery dragon had left behind.

—

“WOWOWOW! Did anyone see that?”

“Such domineering force! I wonder which Advanced Magician it was!”

Hirose’s comrades were fighting the Fierce Shark Demons nearby. They happened to witness the astonishing scene and were dumbfounded by it.

They could not recall the nineteenth zone having such a violent Fire Magician!

“He’s using Fiery Fist too… but why did I feel it was as strong as an Advanced Fire Spell?” gaped a Fire Magician on Hirose’s team with a blank expression.

The energy of the Fiery Fist’s Star Pattern was comparable to the energy of a Sky-Flame Funeral!

Sky-Flame Funeral was a spell with wide coverage, thus the damage it would deal to a Commander-level creature was unlikely to be stronger than the Fiery Fist!

—

“Hang on… wasn’t he supposed to attract the creature’s attention, so the Contracted Beast could attack its weak point?” Hirose was still standing still. He almost dropped his jaw onto the ice.

The plan, what about the plan?

They were so excited to come up with the perfect plan with distinguished roles to defeat the Commander-level creature, but the guy simply broke the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s armor with a single punch…

—

Mu Ningxue’s lips twisted.

She knew it would turn out like this! She should never believe Mo Fan would stick to the plan!

“Meow!”

Meanwhile, the Night Rakshasa reacted according to the situation. Her eyes glittered when she saw Mo Fan breaking the scales on the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s stomach. She immediately disappeared into the street, which was blazing red from the flames!

—-

“Little cat, back off, I’m not done yet!” Mo Fan had the Shadow Element too. He immediately guessed the approaching creature to be Jiang Yu’s Contracted Beast when he sensed a Shadow aura moving rapidly in his direction.

Mo Fan stood at the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s previous position. The flames on his fist were extinguished, but the fiery feathers on his back were still burning. Since he could no longer use the Rocket Wings, he decided to withdraw them instead!

The fiery feathers landed around the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast under Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle’s control, exploding as soon as they landed on it!

More feathers gradually landed in the area, resulting in a series of explosions. The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s wounds tore open after being caught in the explosions, especially the area that had lost the protection of its scales!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The explosion of the fiery feathers produced a blinding light once again. Even other teams stationed in the nineteenth zone could hear the loud blast.

The flames burned fiercely. The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was caught in the burning debris. Its scales were not as effective this time, and it kept rolling on the ground, desperately trying to find water.

However, the creature kept slamming into buildings the more it panicked. It finally found a spot where the ice had melted and dove into the water head-first.

The depth of the water was ten meters, but the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was around fifteen meters tall. Somehow the creature had managed to shrink its body and disappeared after jumping into the water.

“Did it run away?” asked Hirose in lingering fear.

“I don’t think so, it’s only a minor injury,” said Mu Ningxue.

The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast was not that weak. It had only dived into the water to put out the flames. Mu Ningxue strongly believed it would return soon.

As she predicted, a bloody flicker struck the ice where Mo Fan was standing on. It cut through the thick ice and hit Mo Fan while he was totally unprepared for it, leaving a deep cut on his waist!

He still had the Black Snake Armor protecting him. He was fortunate its time had not run out, or the slash would have cut him in half!

“That son of a bitch is still trying to ambush me after diving into the water!” Mo Fan held his side and repositioned himself to a spot with thicker ice.

The cut was even more painful than the previous one across his chest. Mo Fan could feel his waist tearing whenever he took a deep breath. He could not tell if the cut had reached his inner organs!

“Nan Rongni is still waiting for us to deliver the antidote. Let’s hurry up!” demanded Mu Ningxue in a serious tone.

It was impractical to kill the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast. Since the creature was able to counterattack in such a short period of time, it simply meant the damage Mo Fan dealt to it was not enough to threaten its life.

However, the creature did not dare to show itself again. It was a great chance for them to return to the twentieth zone.

“Mm, let’s go,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Are you alright?” Mu Ningxue was surprised to see Mo Fan finishing a sentence with just three words. It turned out that his injuries were rather serious.

“Not sure, the cut might have reached my inner organs…” Mo Fan’s face turned pale as he spoke.

He was fighting a Commander-level creature after all. The creature had surprised him with a counterattack before he could celebrate after landing his attack. It was obvious that he was still too weak to fight a Commander-level creature. He still had lots of room to improve before he could take on a Commander-level creature!

“We need to stop the bleeding first,” said Mu Ningxue.

“By the way, is the kidney on the left or the right?” Mo Fan asked seriously.

Mu Ningxue frowned. She once again thought there was something wrong with the man’s brain!

Is the kidney on the left or the right? There was a kidney on both the left and the right! Everyone had two kidneys!

“Answer me quick… if my kidney is damaged, please don’t give me the cold shoulder.”

“Can you be quiet for once!” snapped Mu Ningxue impatiently.

—-

Mo Fan believed anyone would feel uneasy when a creature was applying its saliva on their wound, no matter how adorable the creature was. Too bad, Mu Ningxue insisted on it, thus Mo Fan had no choice but to accept the black cat demon’s saliva.

That being said, it actually worked like a charm. The bleeding stopped in no time, although it was still giving him a dull pain, probably because something inside was damaged. It better not be his kidney! The others could exchange their kidney for an iPhone, but his kidney was worth at least a top-spec Macbook!

Mo Fan was praying along the journey.

If Nan Rongni was not injured, she could easily treat his injuries. However, Nan Rongni’s life was currently in danger. If his precious kidney was injured, it would be a burden for Xinxia and Mu Ningxue…

—

The journey back was a lot safer. The little cat fully displayed her outstanding fighting power by dealing with the sea monsters they stumbled into on their way back. She basically killed them all instantly.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue saw lots of corpses still intact or torn into pieces floating on the water as they arrived in the twentieth zone, all belonging to the Jagged-Paw Green Demons!

“Why are there so many of them?!” Mo Fan was shocked on seeing the corpses. The number of Jagged-Paw Green Demons was twice the number he had imagined!

Luckily, Mochizuki Chihaya was an Advanced Magician. Otherwise, the team would have had trouble staying alive.

Nanyu, Zhao Manyan, and Jiang Shaoxu were overjoyed when they saw Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue’s return. However, when they saw the blood on their clothes, they knew they had gone through a lot.

The Night Rakshasa handed the antidote to Jiang Shaoxu. Jiang Shaoxu immediately tore the cloth off Nan Rongni’s leg and applied the antidote to the wound.

Nan Rongni had already lost consciousness. Her face was incredibly pale. It seemed her breathing had stopped, too.

The antidote was working very slowly, possibly because it had slightly solidified on the way back. There was nothing they could do but wait.

“You will get what you want if you come back a bit later,” mocked Mu Tingying with a hollow laugh.

Mu Ningxue glanced at Nan Rongni, whose life was in danger, and felt her chest burning with anger.

It was true that she wanted to stay on the team, yet she would never trade her friend’s life for it. She was already furious when she was provoked by the strange voice in her mind, and now Mu Tingying still tried to mock her. She could not hold it any longer…

“Meow!” the Night Rakshasa cried out and swiped her claws at Mu Tingying’s neck!

Mu Tingying screamed and immediately ran to the side.

“Feifei, what are you doing!” Jiang Yu immediately stopped the creature.

“Meow…” The Night Rakshasa licked her paws.

“You dumb cat, I’m going to skin you!” Mu Tingying rose to her feet miserably and discovered a few scratch marks on her neck. It had only hit the surface of her skin. She was not bleeding.

“Enough! You know how difficult it is to hunt the White Sobbing Demon; you better not say that again!” scolded Nanyu. She could not stand Mu Tingying’s sharp tongue either.

Mu Ningxue was going to take Mu Tingying down herself, but decided it was not the time to stir troubles since everyone was injured from the fighting. She immediately suppressed her anger.

“Humph, doesn’t matter, she will be leaving the team soon,” said Mu Tingying, before glaring at Jiang Yu. “You better watch your filthy cat!”

The others simply ignored Mu Tingying. Jiang Shaoxu was surprised when she saw Mo Fan sitting in a corner silently.

Jiang Shaoxu was confused. Normally, the guy would turn into a rascal when Mu Tingying dared to provoke Mu Ningxue. He would scold Mu Tingying until she could not keep her legs together. Why isn’t he reacting this time…

“Hey, you, are you alright?” Jiang Shaoxu nudged him.

Mo Fan raised his head with a pale face.

Jiang Shaoxu was stunned at the sight. She quickly covered her mouth.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Are…are you alright?” asked Jiang Shaoxu worriedly.

“I’m fine… I won’t die, do you have any water?” asked Mo Fan.

Jiang Shaoxu handed him a water pouch. Mo Fan quickly gulped it down.

His lips felt extremely dry. He finally looked better after drinking the water.

“Is there more?” asked Mo Fan.

“Mm, you’re heavily dehydrated. What happened?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

“Nothing serious, just being too careless and I let the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast hit me. Commander-level creatures are indeed tough to deal with,” said Mo Fan, after he was feeling better.

“Lie down and take some rest. Blood serums aren’t really effective for wounds inflicted by the sea monsters,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Give me more water.”

“How are you so dehydrated?”

Jiang Shaoxu let out a relieved sigh after seeing Mo Fan’s condition improving.

She took the first-aid kit and helped Mo Fan treat his wounds to prevent them from worsening. She then gave Mo Fan an injection, some kind of rapid energy boost for Magicians, just so he could recover faster.

—-

On the other hand, Nan Rongni’s condition was finally improving too. The antidote was working like a charm. The poison in her body gradually disappeared.

Nan Rongni regained consciousness, but she looked extremely weak.

However, the tide was still around, and the battle in the East Maritime Fortress was still going on. It was likely that the sea monsters would show up again.

There was nothing Mo Fan and Nan Rongni could do due to their injuries. Luckily, the density of sea monsters in the area had reduced. Otherwise, the team would have had a hard time holding the creatures off.

“The tide is falling!” Jiang Yu exclaimed excitedly.

Mo Fan leapt up in surprise, too. He quickly rose to his feet and poked his head over the edge of the building.

It did seem like the water was lower. The parts of the building that were previously underwater were now exposed. The water had dropped around three meters.

The sea monsters’ area of activity would shrink gradually, meaning that the battle would soon come to an end.

“Who would have thought, the East Maritime Fortress was such a thrilling place,” Mo Fan murmured as he laid back down.

Nan Rongni was lying beside him. She looked dull, as if she had just escaped death.

“You should be happy that you’re still alive. Why do you look so down?” asked Mo Fan with a confused face.

“Someone will be leaving the team after the training,” Nan Rongni said softly.

So it turned out that Nan Rongni was worrying about Mu Ningxue. Mo Fan soon fell into deep thought.

“She saved your life. Why don’t you quit the team voluntarily and give her your spot?” Mo Fan asked reasonably.

Nan Rongni was stunned, as if she did not expect it from him.

“I was thinking the same thing too, but it’s unlikely to happen. Anyone else can easily do that, but I’m the only Healer on the team. The advisors won’t let me quit, even if I want to. If I insist, they would simply choose another Healer to join the team instead of giving the spot to Mu Ningxue,” said Nan Rongni.

Mo Fan nodded. Nan Rongni was stating the truth. A Healer was a must for the national team. Nan Rongni would not be able to give Mu Ningxue her spot even if she wanted to.

As for Zhao Manyan who was also a substitute, he was obviously the weakest on the team, yet it was unlikely that he would be disqualified, either. He already mentioned the financial group supporting him. They would simply invest as much as needed to help him become an Advanced Magician, just so he could stay on the team.

Zhao Manyan would soon break through after the training. The person leaving the team would still be Mu Ningxue, unless Mo Fan strangled Zhao Manyan to death now.

It was indeed a troublesome question!

If Mu Ningxue left, Mo Fan felt it was meaningless to stay on the national team.

—-

The tide fell gradually, revealing the debris of the buildings scattered across the streets.

No one knew how many sea monsters remained. There were countless numbers of them, yet they had all retreated with the tide falling. Without the water as their shield, their casualties would increase significantly as their strength weakened. It was unnecessary for them to stay any longer.

The drainage system of the East Maritime Fortress was shockingly impressive. Normally, it would take a flooded town a few days to recover. However, when the tide fell back to the height of the shorter dam, all that was left on the streets of the East Maritime Fortress were mere puddles. It felt like the fortress had just experienced a rain, instead of a flood with the water reaching ten meters!

The streets had been quickly destroyed, but were rebuilt in no time, too. Whenever the tide fell, the shorter dam would be filled with Battlemages, preventing the sea monsters from launching a sneak attack. The cleaning squad would carry out their tasks efficiently and clean up the debris and the corpses of the sea monsters before nighttime.

The corpses of the sea monsters were the resources of the fortress. After all, most territories outside the cities were occupied by demon creatures. The resources they controlled were a lot greater than humans had, which they used to strengthen their flesh. As such, their corpses would be rich in useful resources too!

Like magic ores, demon creatures also served as a type of resource that drove the Magic Civilization forward, since each of them was a portable quarry full of resources!

—

The zone masters were in charge of collecting the corpses. There were people in charge of counting the demon creatures that each team had slain.

However, it was far from the concern of the team. Their only thought was to return to their living quarters, take a nice hot bath, and enjoy themselves a good night’s sleep on the cozy beds.

They had just participated in a true battle between humans and demon creatures. However, the national team basically consisted of a bunch of students. Their talents and capabilities might have surpassed most experienced Magicians in society, but they lacked patience and experience.

How much were the corpses worth? They could not care less about it. The factions that supported them to secure a spot on the national team could easily provide them with ten times the resources they had earned from the battle with a few words.

That being said, that was only the case for most members of the national team.

To someone like Mu Ningxue who had lost her backer, money was extremely important to her!

“Jiang Shaoxu and Nan Rongni’s portions are yours, as you saved both their lives. However, even with three portions, you only get twelve million,” Nanyu was in charge of handling the money for the team. She gave Mu Ningxue her split.

Mu Ningxue happily accepted it. She needed money more than anyone else, as money could buy her the resources she desperately needed!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Twelve million…

It was definitely a huge sum for a Magician who had just ranked up to the Intermediate Level. It could afford half a Soul Seed, granting the Magician an edge over most Magicians at the same level. However, it was not as significant for Intermediate Magicians who had reached their peak.

A Galaxy Vein useful for ranking up to the Advanced Level cost around a hundred million, and the rate of success was fully dependent on the Magician’s cultivation.

As the humans and sea monsters were in a temporary truce, Mu Ningxue left the East Maritime Fortress early in the morning and visited the marketplace in Tokyo.

After asking around, Mu Ningxue had a wry smile. Back in her country, with the right connections, she could get herself a Galaxy Vein with one hundred million, but a Galaxy Vein cost around one hundred and ten million here.

The money she earned from her hard work in the East Maritime Fortress could only cover the difference between the prices of a Galaxy Vein. Mu Ningxue was suddenly clueless about what other options she had.

It was rather hilarious, too.

She once had a great lead over the others, but since she was involved in the mess, it felt like the others would surpass her in no time, and proceeded to leave her far behind.

Mu Ningxue was not unaware; she knew many on the team had already ranked up to the Advanced Level, but they never showed it, or they were still learning how to draw the Star Constellation…

It would be a great mistake if any outsider assumed they were still at the peak of the Intermediate Level!

It would soon be time to evaluate the performance of the members on the team. Even those who had yet to rank up to the Intermediate Level would receive lots of resources from the factions supporting them. They would buy countless Galaxy Veins for them to attempt to rank up, as if they were free. By then, Mu Ningxue would be the only one that was still in the Intermediate Level on the team!

During the training period, the competition between different national teams was not as fierce as she initially thought. The real competition was between the members on the team, since every time the team departed for a new destination, one or two people on the team would be replaced!

—-

Mu Ningxue returned to the East Maritime Fortress gloomily.

Did that mean she could only break through the barrier surrounding the Nebula by herself? The chance was so slim, not to mention that she didn’t really have that much time to wait patiently for it to happen.

After passing the hall, Mu Ningxue pushed the door to her room open…

The slightly absent-minded girl was furious when she discovered a man lying on her bed.

“You’re going too far!” Mu Ningxue glared at Mo Fan.

She was grateful toward Mo Fan for saving her life, yet it did not necessarily mean he could come into her room when she was away and lie on her bed. That was the borderline for an irreproachable woman like her!

“Me… what did I do?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened. He looked extremely confused.

Mu Ningxue was about to lose it when she saw her belongings were not in the room. The messy room was full of Mo Fan’s clothes, and socks scattering everywhere.

Mu Ningxue finally realized that she had walked into Mo Fan’s room instead.

The layout of the suit was symmetrical. As Mu Ningxue was on her way back, she was thinking of paying Mo Fan a visit to see how well he was recovering. However, she was too preoccupied with her thoughts that she simply assumed she had gone back to her room when her body was moving toward Mo Fan’s room…

“Oh, nothing, I’m here to see how you’re doing,” Mu Ningxue collected her thoughts.

Mo Fan felt cold sweat dripping down his face. He smilingly greeted Mu Ningxue while hiding the phone that he had been using to browse some Japanese adult movie actresses under the blanket.

“I’m fine, it’s just that I lost too much blood and didn’t notice. My kidney is perfectly fine too!” Mo Fan smiled.

“Good to hear that, I’ll be going now…” Mu Ningxue felt uneasy staying in Mo Fan’s room.

She was not feeling uneasy because of Mo Fan’s occasional glimpses at her, since she had long gotten used to them, but the pungent smell from the dirty socks lying on the floor and a weird smell lingering in the air.

“Have a seat, I can tell that you’re feeling down,” said Mo Fan.

While talking to Mu Ningxue, Mo Fan quickly locked his will on the dirty socks. Using Telekinesis, Mo Fan adeptly grabbed the socks, opened the window, and tossed them all out!

Mu Ningxue was both amused and enraged by Mo Fan’s reaction. Who the hell used magic to get rid of their socks!?

“Err…let’s take a walk, the air isn’t great in here,” he suggested.

“I just came back.”

“Just come, there’s a marketplace in the East Maritime Fortress. Let’s check it out, maybe we can find something useful,” said Mo Fan.

Mu Ningxue thought about it. She did not have enough money to buy a Galaxy Vein, thus it was better for her to buy things that were more practical for her. Otherwise, it was meaningless to keep the money around. The marketplace in the East Maritime Fortress was quite famous internationally too, selling all kinds of junks and rare materials. It all depended on the buyers’ insight to pick the valuable items. Most Magicians would spend their savings in a marketplace like this, hoping they could become rich if they were in luck.

“Mm,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

“Give me five minutes, I’ll go take a shower!” Mo Fan jumped out from under his blanket and rushed into the bathroom in his underwear.

Mu Ningxue clenched her teeth furiously when she saw Mo Fan’s red underwear swinging in her eyes. That asshole was seriously not treating her as an outsider!

—-

She had to say, Mo Fan was as strong as an ox…

Oh, she was referring to his recovery!

He was severely injured just a few days ago, as if he was going to lie in bed for a few months, but now, he was extremely energetic, as if he had already recovered. Mu Ningxue could not help but wonder if he was only pretending to be injured.

“Didn’t you recover a bit too quick?” said Mu Ningxue to Mo Fan.

“It’s normal for me,” Mo Fan smiled modestly.

The truth was, the Demon Element was a truly useless Element. Mo Fan basically did not learn any new move or ability from it since its awakening.

However, it did provide Mo Fan with some extraordinary passive abilities. For example, his ability to recover was comparable to that of demon creatures.

The Swift Star Wolf was of the wolf species, well known for their recovery speed. However, even he would need at least five days to fully recover from the injuries that Mo Fan had. However, Mo Fan only needed around three days to recover without relying on any external medication. Otherwise, he would be able to recover even faster…

As energetic as an ox, it was the perfect description for him!

Unfortunately, the recovery speed was totally useless in a real battle. Even though it had strengthened Mo Fan’s flesh, it did not necessarily allow him to catch a knife with his bare hands or receive a spell face-on with his body. It simply let Mo Fan look like he was full of energy!

That being said, the Demon Element was not completely useless…

But Mo Fan would only use that ability as his final resort…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The power of the Demon Element was too overwhelming, to an extent that even Mo Fan was a bit scared to use it.

The concept of the Demon Element was quite simple. From a scientific perspective, all energy was conserved. The temporary strength granted to him was actually him overdrawing the energy of his life and soul, leaving a huge hole behind. If he was unable to replenish the energy he took, he would be done for!

The Demon Element was basically signing a contract. He borrowed the money, thus he was obliged to settle the loan, together with the high interest!

The Soul Essences stored inside the Little Loach Pendant were a great help to him. Otherwise, it would be impossible for any ordinary Magician to live after using the Demon Element. It was the exact reason why all the test subjects in the military had died after using it. The problem was not how many Elements they had, but how they were going to pay the price when the demon came to collect the payment!

Simply speaking, Mo Fan could demonize anytime if he wanted, since the Demon Element was now his sixth Element. However, it was best to avoid using it unless absolutely necessary!

“I was about to ask…” Mo Fan was walking extremely close to Mu Ningxue. They were basically walking side by side with their shoulders sticking close. He would occasionally feel the touch of her smooth skin.

It was the privilege of being her childhood friend!

“Don’t ask if it’s about me being a substitute,” replied Mu Ningxue. The topic was bothering her.

“You’re stopping people from having a great conversation with you,” sighed Mo Fan helplessly.

Mu Ningxue glanced at Mo Fan. Her gaze stopped for two seconds before she looked away.

“What is it?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Nothing, it’s just that I’ve learned something profound from you,” said Mu Ningxue.

“If you’re trying to say an ugly person should work harder, please don’t,” said Mo Fan.

Mu Ningxue giggled and shook her head, “Something like that, but it has nothing to do with your looks.”

“Well, what is it, then?”

“It’s not really a big deal, but I think that your decision of not relying on any faction but yourself is the right choice,” said Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue had experienced the true meaning of being a part of a clan. It was simply a cruel hierarchy disguised with blood relations, family, and relationships, an entity where rise and fall could happen in an instant. She had completely lost her status in the clan just because of an irrelevant stigma. All the effort and hard work she had put in were all in vain.

Her talent, Domain, her reputation as the most talented Ice Magician… they were inferior to a small decision made by the renowned Mu Clan. Her superiors could simply decide who they wanted to support. The others had no choice but to be left behind, and could do nothing but watch from the distance.

In just a few months, the difference between how Mu Ningxue was treated before and after was unbelievable. She initially thought she had the chance to still rise to the top as a substitute, but she was disheartened facing the sturdy barrier of her Nebula.

She could not break through the barrier. Without any resources, it was almost impossible to break through on her own. There was nothing she could do apart from watching the others ranking up to the Advanced Level…

“I’ve grown up in an environment where I have to rely on myself for pretty much everything. I’ve gotten used to it, too. That being said, being supported by a renowned clan can really save a lot of time and effort. Look at that idiot Zhao Manyan; he was my roommate, and he basically spent most of his time picking up chicks. Even though he did work hard occasionally, the effort he put in was nothing compared to a diligent, grassroots Magician,” agreed Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was not trying to complain about how unfair life was, but to express his belief that if someone wanted their situation to change, they had to endure the hardship and put in more effort. It was the same for everyone, including a fuerdai like Zhao Manyan. Didn’t the others despise him, too? If he only relied on his background and financial status to retain his spot on the national team, he would surely be the next person disqualified from the team.

Either a person was satisfied with the existing state of affairs, or had the intention to change the situation. Changes would only happen by putting in effort. It applied to every phase of life!

—-

When they arrived at the marketplace, Mo Fan realized that the place was not as impressive as he thought it would be.

The stunning decorations of a marketplace were utterly meaningless. Everyone knew the items at a marketplace were mostly recycled. It was all up to the Magicians to discover the valuable items among the trash. They were willing to compete for useful equipment on a run-down stall by the street, but no one would go to a well-decorated store if all it had was junk!

The marketplace in the East Maritime Fortress was particularly busy after the recent battle. Much loot from the battle that had been evaluated would end up here with low pricing. If someone was lucky enough, they would discover that the junk they had bought was a piece of rare scale, bringing them a fortune!

Mo Fan once thought Little Loach was a cheating tool he could use to find the valuable stuff in the marketplace, since it would react to the things it was interested in. The truth was, Little Loach did not react even once in the marketplace. The proud pendant would only show its appetite toward the rarest, most valuable things in the world!

There were countless things to buy in the marketplace. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue went around in a circle. The two laymen spent around two million, but the value of the things they bought was only worth four hundred thousand at most. It was definitely a loss for them.

After wasting their money, Mo Fan suggested they enjoy themselves with a huge meal to change the mood.

The East Maritime Fortress was a huge seafood market, without a doubt. The corpses of the sea monsters served as a great supply of high-class ingredients.

It was common to hear of humans being eaten by demon creatures. However, the East Maritime Fortress was definitely an exception. There were plenty of seafood restaurants around, and would usually open just a few hours after each tide fall!

It was Mu Ningxue’s first time eating sea monsters’ meat. She was reluctant at the start, but when Mo Fan finally convinced her to have a taste of a grilled tentacle at a teppanyaki store, she immediately seconded the idea.

“The dish will be more delicious if you freeze it, but you’re out of luck. The machine broke down during the battle. Otherwise, it would taste even better,” smiled the owner of the shop.

“Just serve us the dish.”

Was he being serious? Why would they need a machine to freeze it with Mu Ningxue here?

—-

“Xuexue, should we give up on being Magicians and open a restaurant instead? You’ll prepare the cold dishes, and I’ll work on the grill and teppanyaki… we can easily earn a fortune. I already have an idea for the name of the restaurant, we’ll call it A Song of Ice and Fire.”

Whenever a person was around Mo Fan, it was necessary to own an expression that clearly said I don’t know you.

Mu Ningxue was quite an expert at it. Whenever the man was behaving like a retard, she would subconsciously don the expression, making her look otherworldly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

After spending some time shopping, enjoying some pleasant food, and drinking some booze, Mo Fan believed that he was surely following the right procedure for a home run. {TL Note: You can find the definition of ‘home run’ used here on Urban Dictionary}

Mu Ningxue seemed a little bit dizzy. The usual icy look in her eyes now had a hint of charm. Her pale-white skin had an alluring pink shade to it. Mo Fan could feel his heart pounding when he looked at her.

A long time ago, when Mu Ningxue was playing with the kids who lived close to her family’s villa back in Bo City, Mo Fan had already a crush for her. Back then, even her fingernails were delicately polished.

Her princess temperament made her look like a gorgeous phoenix among the girls.

If someone were to ask Mo Fan his greatest ambition when he was young, he would definitely say it was to marry the little princess!

Today, he finally had a chance to date her, and was carrying her as they returned to his room. Mo Fan had the feeling that his ambition was about to come true!

The alcohol was quite strong. Mu Ningxue was totally unaware that the cunning Mo Fan was helping her to his room. It was nighttime, the others had basically gone out. The intoxicated Mu Ningxue was a helpless little lamb in Mo Fan’s eyes. No one could possibly respond to her scream for help!

Mo Fan had waited so long for this day, the toad could finally have a taste of the graceful swan… err, somehow the description was not really appropriate. Forget it, whatever, it was still going to be an unforgettable night for him.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was a little nervous when he was trying to unlock his door. He failed to insert the key into the hole a couple of times…

“Is…is this my room?” Mu Ningxue rubbed her head. She finally felt the kick from the alcohol’s aftereffect. She did not feel the effects at the start.

“Yeah, it is,” said Mo Fan with a nod.

Mu Ningxue did not doubt it. She staggered into the room.

Mo Fan grabbed the handle and was about to follow Mu Ningxue in when she grabbed the key from his hand and slammed the door shut!

Mo Fan almost hit the door with his nose. He soon heard the door locking…

“Hey, hey!” Mo Fan knocked on the door.

Mu Ningxue ignored the shout. She was feeling too dizzy. She saw the bed and fell onto it. She curled up in the blanket and fell asleep like a little kitten.

Mu Ningxue totally ignored Mo Fan no matter how hard he was knocking on the door.

Mo Fan’s face darkened as he stood outside the door.

As he thought, the story would never go according to his script…

—-

Mo Fan sat silently in the hall for a while. As he recalled the day, he did agree that he had enjoyed spending the day with Mu Ningxue. It had been a long time since they had last spent some time together, especially after they had both grown up…

He sighed. She would eventually be his, there was no need to rush it. Today was a great start, and the days were still long!

Having this thought, Mo Fan felt a lot better. Since he could no longer return to his room, he decided to go into Mu Ningxue’s room instead. Her bed still had her perfume. Mo Fan felt like he was drowning in joy as he laid down on it.

Tsk tsk, it felt so great just sleeping on her bed. The thought of sleeping together with her…

It looks like he’ll have to speed up the process, to hit the iron when it’s hot.

As a man, he should turn his goddess into a MILF as quickly as possible!

—-

For the next few days, it felt like the others on the team were extremely busy. They were away most of the time.

On the other hand, Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue seemed to be the freest. At their current level, cultivating or not would not make any difference at all, especially for Mu Ningxue. Even if she spent all her time meditating, she had no chance of breaking through the sturdy barrier surrounding her Nebula. Being hardworking alone was not enough to solve the problem she was facing.

Since everyone was busy on their own, Mo Fan continued to go on dates with Mu Ningxue. They went to Tokyo after they had tried everything in the East Maritime Fortress. The developed city had endless places and attractions to visit, and unlimited food to try out.

Mu Ningxue was having a pleasant time too. She basically forgot all about her cultivating.

“If only we came during the spring blossom season,” she sighed.

The spring blossoms in Japan was stunning indeed. It went without saying that every girl would imagine themselves wearing a dress under the spring blossom trees while attracting the attention of the pedestrians passing by…

After placing the burden of cultivation and competition aside, Mu Ningxue only wanted to experience the things that she had missed out on for many years, be it the people or the things around her.

Cultivating was extremely monotonous. She completely forgot when she had given up on the beautiful bracelets, dolls, hairpins, and necklaces. All her attention was on the Stars, Star Orbits, and Star Patterns instead. The vast Nebula did have its own charm, making it hard for someone to stop pursuing the next level. However, the life she was currently living was very different than the one she had imagined initially. She had lived like a robot. She always thought she would only need to endure it for another year, and everything would be fine. She always thought the difficulties she was facing implied that she was very close to being successful. However, when she calmed down, she realized that she had not gained anything… but had lost many things in the process.

She had lost her innocence, her romance, and the color in her life.

“Your mood seems to be changing these days,” said Mo Fan.

“Everything will eventually come to an end,” replied Mu Ningxue.

“So you’re saying that it’s time for you to come out from the ice after spending ten years cultivating diligently in it?” added Mo Fan, totally aware of Mu Ningxue’s thoughts.

“Even I need a rest at times,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Let me help you,” Mo Fan knew what the girl was troubled with.

The teenage girl who had been enjoying herself to the fullest for the past few days was not the real her, either. She was only feeling extremely helpless against the barrier entrapping her. Therefore, she decided to forget about it and enjoy the time she had left, hoping she could find a way to solve the problem when the time came.

However, Mo Fan knew she would not give up just like that.

In a few days, she would return to cultivating diligently. No matter how thick the barrier was, she would try relentlessly to break through it, despite the uncertainties. She would not be Mu Ningxue if she was satisfied with her current state, and simply enjoyed the spring blossoms and pleasant food just like an ordinary girl.

Mo Fan was not naive enough to believe that she had actually thought it through and decided to enjoy some intimate time with him. She was only trying to liven her mood, before preparing herself for the final attempt!

“You have so many Elements to look after. You need more resources than I do; you don’t need to help me,” said Mu Ningxue.

“I can get the resources later, but the chance is gone if you miss it. Here, take this,” said Mo Fan, taking a crystalline object out from his pocket.

Mu Ningxue was stunned. The thing in Mo Fan’s hand was the same Galaxy Vein she had seen at Tokyo’s marketplace recently without a doubt. She clearly remembered the lines on it!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Galaxy Vein was the size of a goose egg in the shape of a diamond, but more crystalline than one. Its surface was densely covered in dots of light. On a closer look, it was as shiny and elegant as a galaxy.

It was the Galaxy Vein that many Magicians had dreamt of, the thing that every Magician needed when they reached the bottleneck due to the barrier around their Nebula. It was an important resource to help Magicians expand their Nebula into a Galaxy!

The difference between a Nebula and Galaxy was incredibly huge. It was extremely difficult for a Magician to break through the barrier by themselves. However, the abundant supply of energy from a Galaxy Vein could produce a strong pulse of energy, helping them break through the barrier!

Expanding a Nebula into a Galaxy was the symbol of achieving the Advanced Level. The energy provided by a Galaxy was incomparable to that provided by a little Nebula.

That being said, a Galaxy Vein did not have a hundred percent success rate. Only those with solid foundations, and who had reached the limit of the Intermediate Level, had a chance to break through.

The Galaxy Vein was basically the only option for an Intermediate Magician to rank up to the Advanced Level. Even though there were people who managed to rank up on their own, the odds were extremely low. There was hardly anyone would be able to do so among tens of thousands of Intermediate Magicians.

Mu Ningxue desperately needed a Galaxy Vein. The others on the team had been busy lately. It was obvious that they had received the Galaxy Veins provided by the factions supporting them, and were spending their time trying to rank up to the Advanced Level!

In no time, everyone on the team would be Advanced Magicians. This was the true talent of the national team!

Everyone on the team had basically reached their limit in the Intermediate Level. They only needed Galaxy Veins to rank up to the Advanced Level. However, to further increase the success rate, they would only proceed with their attempts prior to the day when someone was going to be disqualified from the team.

That day was now approaching, so they could not afford to wait any further.

“When did you buy it?” Mu Ningxue stared at the glowing object on Mo Fan’s hand. She would be lying to herself if she said she was not touched by Mo Fan’s action.

The feeling was like a man had placed a giant diamond ring right in front of her when she needed it the most.

Even the formidable family bound to her by blood had abandoned her when she was in need of a Galaxy Vein, but this man was willing to give one to her just like that… Mu Ningxue did not expect him to be the one that would know what she actually wanted.

“The night you slept in my room, I was having trouble falling asleep in your room, so I went to the city,” said Mo Fan.

If Mo Fan could pause time temporarily, his pounding heart simply had the urge to take out his phone and asked the intelligent people on the Internet whether he should take hold of the chance and fall down on his knee. Waiting for suggestions online, it’s extremely urgent!

Unfortunately, there was no way he would act so retardedly. He looked at Mu Ningxue, hoping that she would understand he had never given up on having her as his wife. Since eloping was not an option, he had decided to marry her legally instead. It did not matter if she was the same little princess who enjoyed taking care of flowers and plants, and loved little cats and rabbits, or an icy goddess who was passionate at pursuing higher levels of Magic and freezing the world…

Mo Fan wanted to thank the Mu Family. Without their cruelty, he would not have such a great chance. He wanted to thank the Scarlet Rending Demon. Without its Commander-level Soul Essence, the man who spent all his savings on raising his daughter would never be able to afford a Galaxy Vein. He wanted to thank his country, too. The national team had such a great disqualifying system, forcing Mu Ningxue into a corner that he could take advantage of. Mo Fan initially thought he was still a long way away from fulfilling his dream, yet the cruelty of the world had placed him within reach of his ambition!

“I’ve made up my mind, but Mo Fan, thank you so much,” Mu Ningxue’s eyes were glittering.

She was relieved, relieved that someone was still being so sincere to her, but she had no intention of taking Mo Fan’s Galaxy Vein.

As she mentioned, Mo Fan had six Elements in total. He needed a lot more resources than everyone else. There was no such thing as enough resources for him. It would definitely make him stronger. The truth was, Mo Fan was already surprisingly strong, but Mu Ningxue knew he still had lots of room for improvement…

“Don’t be like that; the chance of being on the national team is extremely precious! If you aren’t thinking of giving up, you should at least rank up to the Advanced Level first. You don’t have to be so modest with me. You’ll realize how meaningless it was when you remember it in the future. What I have is all yours,” blurted out Mo Fan.

Saying this, Mo Fan could feel his heart pounding heavily, as if he was back in the Ancient Capital surrounded by endless undead, facing the Mountain Zombie…

Somehow, it was not really what Mo Fan was trying to say, but now that he had said it, he was hoping that Mu Ningxue would understand his feelings and accept the Galaxy Vein.

Mo Fan actually wished that it was the spring blossom season. The spiring blossoms drifting in the wind under the spring blossom trees would definitely liven the mood further, unlike the spacious, deserted park with dried trees. The only thing that suited the scene was the water fountain with sculptures of some northern Europe mythologies behind them.

The water was flowing, but for some reason, it had started to freeze.

As soon as it turned into ice, it melted again after a heat wave swept by it.

Mo Fan was never this serious in his whole life. He was nervous like a kid in high school handing a love letter to his crush.

“I didn’t really mean that, how about this; you can take the Galaxy Vein first. Just assume that you’re borrowing it. You can pay me back later. Either way, just stay on the team for now. We’ll worry about other things later,” Mo Fan had no idea what Mu Ningxue was thinking. He suddenly felt like Mu Ningxue would think he was using the Galaxy Vein to kidnap her heart. That would be a no-no. Therefore, he quickly explained it before Mu Ningxue could speak.

Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan. Somehow, he was not giving her any chance to say anything.

Mu Ningxue quickly interrupted when she saw Mo Fan trying to say something again.

“Err, I’ll keep quiet, go on… either way, (sigh), whatever you say,” Mo Fan finished awkwardly.

It was rare for Mu Ningxue to see the thick-skinned Mo Fan acting so nervously. The truth was, she was panicking a little too.

“I have my own plan, I’m serious. Even if you’re only lending me the Galaxy Vein, I won’t take it, either. You have to understand that the national team isn’t just a competition between the members on the team, but a competition between the factions, financial groups, and families supporting the members too. If a Galaxy Vein can bring me to Venice, I won’t hesitate to take it, but it’s nowhere enough. There’s still a long journey ahead, and I’m going to need more resources. I’m still going to be disqualified regardless, and lending me the Galaxy Vein is only going to slow down your own progress. The others will soon rank up to the Advanced Level, and all their Elements will reach the Advanced Level, too. You will soon lose your advantages,” Mu Ningxue tried to explain calmly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue was hoping that Mo Fan would not waste his resources on her. She was clearly aware that the competition within the members on the national team had only just begun. The factions behind the members had yet to show their true colors. As the team continued on with their training and moved closer to Venice, the factions would go crazy and spend lots of resources on their respective candidates. These Galaxy Veins were only the beginning!

If she could not overcome such a little problem on her own, she would have no chance of competing with the others in the future!

“You must be the most unique person on the team. No one knows who is supporting you, and no one knows how are you so strong, and yet you’ve come this far on your own, so you don’t really care if the others are relying on their own or the factions behind them… anyway… I just hope you understand why I won’t accept your gift,” said Mu Ningxue.

She finished expressing her thoughts. She hoped Mo Fan understood that a single Galaxy Vein was not enough to solve her problem. On the other hand, she did not want to be a burden to others. She wanted to plan her own path.

Mo Fan let out a long sigh.

He wondered which asshole mentioned that any woman would be willing to dive into a man’s hug after spending a hundred million on her.

What a blatant lie!

It was useless for a man to spend a hundred million on a woman who already had a hundred million. He would need a thousand million, tens of thousands of millions!

“Your Lightning Element must have reached the limit too, so…” said Mu Ningxue.

“Fine, what are you going to do next?” asked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not force it. He was glad that Mu Ningxue had said so much to him. The number of words she has said today equaled the number of words she had spoken to him in the past month.

Mo Fan was excited, but he was not dumb. Judging from Mu Ningxue’s reaction, he believed he still had a great chance of winning her affections.

—-

As Mo Fan returned to the East Maritime Fortress, he kicked Zhao Manyan’s door open.

Zhao Manyan was meditating. He was given a great scare when Mo Fan kicked the door and barged in.

“Bro, what the hell are you doing?” Zhao Manyan had a bad feeling when he saw the aggressive Mo Fan.

“Huh, you asshole…you broke through?” Mo Fan raised his brows when he sensed the change to Zhao Manyan’s aura.

“Yeah, it took me three Galaxy Veins just to broke through. Close the door first, I want to ask you something,” replied Zhao Manyan, after he suddenly recalled something.

Mo Fan was confused. He shut the door and wondered why Zhao Manyan was being so mysterious.

“I lied to my dad that I only managed to break through the barrier with the three Galaxy Veins, hoping that he would get me another one… I was planning to give it to you in case of an emergency, but the person supervising me found out the truth. In the end, my dad scolded the shit out of me!” said Zhao Manyan with a troubled look.

“Three…three Galaxy Veins, your Zhao Financial Group has surely lost a fortune just to get you on the national team,” said Mo Fan, his lips twitching.

“I actually asked for four, but the shareholders have already requested to get rid of me during a meeting, they said that I’ve wasted too many resources. Hey, can you pay attention? I was trying my best to help you. Aren’t you going to help Mu Ningxue, considering the situation she is currently in? I still have some savings, how much money do you have now? Hurry up and buy a Galaxy Vein and give it to her! She will definitely leap into your hug out of gratitude. We can earn the money back, but a woman’s heart is harder to earn. Besides, you can easily earn a hundred million back yourself,” said Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan’s lips twitched even stronger.

Did Zhao Manyan seriously have to mention it now? He had just been rejected!

Mo Fan took out a Galaxy Vein, implying that he had already tried the method.

Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened. He immediately raised his thumb at Mo Fan.

How manly was Mo Fan, to be willing to give something so expensive as a gift…

“I have come to ask you about it too; was Mu Ningxue telling me the truth, that every member on the team has a formidable faction supporting them, and the journey ahead is simply a competition between the factions, families, and financial groups?” asked Mo Fan.

“Seriously, how retarded can you be? It’s something that every human knows, yet you’re still asking me! Do you really think a bunch of young Magicians alone can attract the attention of the entire world? Many families are already trying desperately to make a name for themselves in the colleges and institutes. As for the World College Tournament, it’s the final goal of every faction!” He sighed. “A grassroots Magician like you should be more aware. It’s like you’re not living in the same world as us!” said Zhao Manyan disdainfully.

Mo Fan felt his balls hurting too. How would he know it was such a hideous mess? He was not involved with any formidable faction, since he had always been a lone wolf. As a result, he was totally unaware of the infighting on the national team…

“Don’t be tricked by Jiang Yu’s modest appearance; do you know who’s supporting him?” Zhao Manyan asked when he saw Mo Fan having trouble understanding the situation.

“Who?” wondered Mo Fan.

“The Royal Guards! He is the disciple of the capital’s Royal Guards’ chief, Pang Lai, a sacred Magician ranked in the top ten in our country!” said Zhao Manyan.

The capital’s Royal Guards was one of the most symbolic organizations in China. They were the highest authority Enforcement Union of the Magic Association. Most Councilmen of the country were members of the Royal Guards. Mo Fan did know something basic like that.

Also, Zhu Meng was also a member of the Royal Guards!

The Imperial Magicians in the Ancient Capital was under the command of the Royal Guards. They were basically a branch of the Royal Guards. The selection for the Imperial Magicians was incredibly strict, let alone the selection for the Royal Guards!

“I can’t even tell, is that Jiang Yu really that impressive?” Mo Fan was shocked.

“Behind Li Kaifeng is the Education Union. Simply speaking, if he is somehow disqualified from the team for no reason, all Magic high schools south of the Yangtze River will stop operating, and I mean all of them!” said Zhao Manyan.

“Why is that now?”

“Do you remember the Stardust Magic Tools that your school provided you when you’re still in high school? It provides talented students without a nice background some resources to cultivate… all supplies of Magic Tools to the magic schools to the south of Yangtze River are handled by two or three elder generations before Li Kaifeng. His family basically has pupils everywhere. The family is regarded as a living Bodhisattva that the country can’t afford to offend. His family was the benefactor for many reputable Magicians who were once grassroots Magicians,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Err… guess I’m one of them too,” Mo Fan did remember how his Little Loach had eaten the school’s Stardust Magic Tool.

“I believe I won’t need to explain Mu Tingying’s case to you. The Mu Clan… our Zhao Family isn’t usually afraid of factions who name themselves with their surname, but the Mu Clan is one of them. They are incredibly massive, with people in the huge cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, and the smaller cities, owning half of the properties in the cities,” explained Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan’s words reminded Mo Fan. Mu Zhuoyun was once a wealthy landlord in Bo City, and it sounded like Mu Zhuoyun was just a little branch in the whole Mu Family, meaning that there were many branches like Mu Zhuoyun’s in it.

Now that Mo Fan thought about it, it was pretty shocking. After all, back when he was only sixteen, Bo City was pretty much the whole world for him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Ai Jiangtu, Nanyu: one represented the military headquarters in the east, one represented the military headquarters in the west. I bet the guy from the headquarters in the south was disqualified. I met him before, a strong guy indeed! If it wasn’t because the national team can only have two students from the military academy, someone on our team might have been replaced,” said Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan immediately thought of Zhan Kong at the mention of the military.

Zhan Kong was the army commander in Bo City under the control of the southern army. The massive southern army had more than fifty military districts. The man in charge of protecting Bo City was only a Commander of the south-east district of the southern army, the Commander of the Snowy Peak Mountain station.

It highlighted how massive the military was.

“How about that hussy Jiang Shaoxu?” Mo Fan asked in shock after hearing this information.

“I’m not sure about her yet. The girl is quite mysterious, but the fact that I can’t find any information about her simply means her background is surely formidable too!” Zhao Manyan told him.

“How about Nanrong Ni?” asked Mo Fan.

“The Nanrong Family is one of the oldest Magic renowned families in our country. The truth is, the Nanrong Family isn’t as competent as the rest of the factions. It’s slightly behind compared to the Zhao Family and Mu Family, but Nanrong Ni is a Healer, and that alone is enough to guarantee her spot. Healers are extremely rare in the whole country. There’s no way she would get replaced, unless they found a Healer who’s a lot more talented than her. The Nanrong Family is hoping that Nanrong Ni is their turning point for a comeback, to see if they can be promoted to a renowned clan after the World College Tournament,” said Zhao Manyan.

“What’s the difference between a renowned family and a renowned clan?” Mo Fan was like a curious little kid. He was determined to learn all about it now that the topic was on.

Zhao Manyan smacked his forehead. He was utterly impressed by Mo Fan. How did he manage to climb to the top among the young Magicians? He didn’t have an impressive background or supporter, not to mention how retarded he was, too!

“Tell you what… a renowned family normally refers to big families with great influence in a country. A renowned clan is a super family with great influence on the international level… Nanrong Family has been going downhill for the past few years. My Zhao Family has bought many of their properties, but Nanrong Ni is their chance of having a comeback. Therefore, you’re really something when you asked Nanrong Ni to quit the team and give her spot to Mu Ningxue. Even if she wasn’t a Healer, there’s no way she would quit the team,” Zhao Manyan continued to inform Mo Fan of the truth of the national team.

“Fine, I admitted that I’ve thought everything was too simple,” Mo Fan admitted with a wry smile.

“To be really honest with you, you’re an idiot if you think you can underestimate them because you have an edge over the others on the team. The factions supporting them will spend more money as the training goes on, expending Galaxy Veins on them as if they are completely free. A full set of top-tier magic equipment and tools, or the best Soul Seeds available on the market… you’ll realize your so-called talents or cultivation are total nonsense. The guy just has to wear a Scorpio Magic Armor, and you won’t be to hurt even a single strand of his hair, even if you used up all your energy!” said Zhao Manyan.

“I have to say, I’m getting worried after hearing this from you,” said Mo Fan.

“As a matter of fact, someone as talented as you should really look for a patron. Just look for a faction that you’re interested in, stomp through the door like what you did to my room, and yell in their face that you have five Elements, and ask them to spend all their money on you to improve all your Elements to the Advanced Level, each with a top-tier Soul Seed, or get you a few sets of Magic Tools. You can get a full set of top-tier magic equipment too… I believe they are willing to spend whatever they need just to recruit you… oh, that being said, you can easily burn up all the money a family has at the Advanced Level. Once you reached the Super Level, I bet even the renowned families will have trouble supporting you. Only the renowned clans could clench their teeth and spend resources on you. I really don’t understand why you wasted your money on strengthening the Stars. You’ll have plenty of places to use your money soon,” Zhao Manyan said sincerely.

It was not like Mo Fan had any other options apart from strengthening his Stars. He could not sell the Soul Essences that Little Loach refined. Otherwise, he would have easily made a fortune, and had no problem raising a few Mu Ningxues.

“I’ve gotten used to doing it myself, searching for resources myself, earning equipment myself, killing the creatures myself… that’s how living is supposed to be. Besides, being supported by a faction means cultivating boringly every day, that’s surely not my cup of tea. My cultivation and my capabilities will be utterly meaningless,” said Mo Fan.

“You’re right, there’s no way you can get used to living a fuerdai’s life. Start from scratch and climb your way up yourself… the truth is, most Sacred Magicians that stand at the top of the world are people like you,” sighed Zhao Manyan.

“Now that’s more like it!” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

“Which is why the people behind you don’t really need to care about you. You managed to save them lots of money,” said Zhao Manyan.

“The people behind me?” Mo Fan was confused. Did he have people with formidable backgrounds supporting him too? Why wasn’t he aware?

“F**k me, did you forget how you ended up on the national team? You didn’t even finish the preliminaries, you’re basically disqualified. However, you were shoved into the team just like that after the selection ended! A team that normally has only two substitutes now has three because of you… I already told you how much every faction needs to spend just to secure their candidates a spot, but when you were put on the team, they didn’t even dare to release a single fart. The person who’s supporting you must at least be able to hide half the sky with his hand!” Zhao Manyan was on the verge of screaming.

“Brother, I really don’t know who’s supporting me. I came because that old man Han Ji ordered me to. Han Ji is the President of the Clock Tower Magic Association. Is he authoritative enough?” Mo Fan asked.

“President of the Clock Tower Magic Association… he’s definitely something, but still not powerful enough to ignore the other factions and put you on the team. Someone even more powerful must be pulling the strings behind him to clear you a path,” Zhao Manyan judged.

“Then I guess I’ve never met the person. Of the people I know, Zhu Meng has the highest authority, and Han Ji is already slightly higher than him. I really don’t know anyone else.” Mo Fan could not remember anyone that could fit the description.

“I believe it should be someone comparable to the chief of the Royal Guards, Pang Lai; someone at the level of Protector of the Nation. Well, if they are pulling the strings behind, it means they have high hopes for you. They don’t want to change your way of becoming stronger… maybe they have their eyes on you after what you did in the Ancient Capital? By the way, I heard someone mention that there was a fire demon fighting the Mountain Zombie during the calamity at the Ancient Capital. Did you see the fire demon? Was it a Magician, or something else?” Zhao Manyan asked eagerly.

“I didn’t see anything like that in the Qin Emperor’s Tomb,” Mo Fan blurted out.

“Oh… wait, what Qin Emperor’s Tomb?”

“Nothing, you won’t believe it even if I told you.” Mo Fan was too lazy to explain the series of events at the Ancient Capital.

The details of the calamity of the Ancient Capital were kept confidential. Zhao Manyan had lots of sources to provide him with information, but he still could not learn much about the calamity in the Ancient Capital.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Screw you, I’ve told you so much, are you going to die if you tell me something about the Ancient Capital? The whole world is trying to learn the truth behind it. Who exactly drove the army of undead away? Is Salan really among the authorities that were held captive? How did Salan escape? How did the Black Vatican make the undead appear in the day? Was the fire demon a Summoned Beast or a human? I heard someone jumped into the Dark Abyss, did they manage to get out alive?… I heard Zhang Xiaohou spilling the beans once, he told me that you contributed enormously during the calamity in the Ancient Capital, so the people supporting you must have put you on the national team for what you’ve done… hey, don’t leave yet, is this how you treat your brother? I’ve answered all your questions, but you didn’t even say a word when I asked!” cursed Zhao Manyan.

It was not like Mo Fan did not believe Zhao Manyan, but he had never treated Zhao Manyan as someone he could trust. If he told Zhao Manyan everything about the Ancient Capital, the whole world would know the truth the next day!

——

Zhao Manyan grumbled after Mo Fan left his room.

He slammed the door heavily and sat on the chair, looking out of the window. He could see the ocean through the gaps between the buildings from his angle.

“Jiang Shaoxu’s identity is still a secret, Nanyu is from the army, so it’s pretty hard to pick her up. Forget about Mu Tingying, that chick is pretty ordinary… that only leaves Nanrong Ni, but doesn’t she have a man already? The Nanrong Family…” Zhao Manyan mumbled to himself, yet he suddenly paused with a startled look.

“The Nanrong Family, aren’t they supposed to be extremely familiar with sea monsters? Yet why couldn’t Nanrong Ni tell the cry of the White Sobbing Demon was fake?”

Zhao Manyan shook his head, assuming that he was overthinking it.

——

A cold breeze entered from the window. Mu Tingying was wearing a simple halter top. Her eyes suddenly sprang open. The light from the rising sun in the east made her pupils vivid with colors.

“Advanced Level… I’ve finally reached the Advanced Level!”

She burst into laughter, as if she no longer cared about the annoying courtesy her family had taught her throughout her life. She wanted everyone to hear her laughter.

She had improved her Ice Element to the Advanced Level with just a single Galaxy Vein.

The difference in cultivation levels was too big a gap compared to the difference between talents. She could finally crush Mu Ningxue, and since the latter did not have a Galaxy Vein, she would be stuck in the Intermediate Level for a long time, enough time for her to further increase the distance between them.

It turned out that the Heavens had decided to bless her again. From today on, she would retake her position as the favorite of the whole clan. Her cousins and relatives who talked down to her would receive a great slap to their faces. The elders and seniors who once crowded around Mu Ningxue would now place their attention on her instead, as she was the true representative of the Mu Clan. She would enter the limelight in the World College Tournament and make a reputation for herself, earning fame and glory for her clan!

“It turns out that I’ve won in the end!” Mu Tingying opened her palm. Tiny ice crystals slid down her palm.

Magic no longer had its form restricted by Star Patterns or Star Orbits after reaching the Advanced Level. A Magician could modify the shape and form of their Magic at will. That being said, she still needed to master it with lots of practice.

Mu Ningxue already had the ability to do so, even though she was not an Advanced Magician. It granted her an absolute advantage over others, but it was no longer as significant as it used to be!

“I can’t wait to see how different the others are going to treat her, too bad we still have to keep going on the training…” Mu Tingying rose to her feet, enjoying the sunlight of dawn. She took a deep breath, and her mood pleasant. The brilliance of her future was never this bright before, like the brilliance of the rising sun!

——

The East Maritime Fortress went through a few tide rises after the first, yet none of them were close to the first one in terms of the scale. The firepower of the team improved significantly after many members on the team broke through to the Advanced Level. The team easily ranked up to four-star.

After completing their mission, it was soon time for the team to leave Japan. Most members on the team could feel victory within their grasp, as they were confident that they were not the ones going to be disqualified.

“Mo Fan, time to gather, the advisors are here!” Zhao Manyan woke Mo Fan, who was still snoring heavily.

Mo Fan was still feeling sleepy. He went out to the hall in his sleepwear.

Five advisors all above the age of forties were standing in a row with their backs to the team. They looked utterly serious.

Mo Fan glanced around and saw everyone on the team had gathered too. They looked quite excited. After all, it was also the day they would receive their resources.

However, it had nothing to do with Mo Fan. He was not that interested since he was only a substitute.

“Your performance is passable, nothing out of the blue,” said Feng Li, whose face was full of wrinkles. He did not sound like he was too impressed by the team.

“They did alright. After all, they did survive a huge tide rise. According to Ai Jiangtu’s report, Mu Ningxue had an outstanding performance?” Song He smiled.

Song He was the dean of Imperial College. He was feeling sorry for Mu Ningxue considering her situation, thus he only mentioned it hoping Feng Li would go easy on her.

However, Feng Li was simply an indifferent man. His eyes scanned the team and said calmly, “It looks like Mu Ningxue is the only person who has not reached the Advanced Level.”

Mu Ningxue remained silent.

“Advisor, I believe Mu Ningxue played an important role on the team. Even though she didn’t reach the Advanced Level, I believe if we share the resources with her, she can become an Advanced Magician too. After all, she had the best performance on the team,” admitted Jiang Shaoxu.

Mu Tingying frowned upon hearing this.

Was this Jiang Shaoxu out of her mind? Every single Galaxy Vein was incredibly important to them, since they all had three Elements to improve to the Advanced Level. They were already running short on resources. Why would she speak up for Mu Ningxue!?

She normally had the sharpest tongue on the team. Why would she try to be a good person at a time like this!

“I know, but rules are rules. Your new teammate is already on a plane here, and will arrive tomorrow. Mu Ningxue, pack your stuff, you are going back with us,” said Feng Li.

Song He had a helpless look.

The other three advisors did not say anything, either.

“I’ve already packed my stuff, but I have a few questions for the advisors,” said Mu Ningxue.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What more is there to ask? You’re lucky to even stay on the team as a substitute. Who apart from you would shamelessly stay on the team when they are not qualified to?” interrupted Mu Tingying.

Mu Ningxue completely treated Mu Tingying like air.

Mu Tingying’s eyes flickered furiously. However, she soon gloated over Mu Ningxue when she remembered that a piece of news would soon be delivered to her.

Mu Ningxue looked at the advisors and asked in a serious voice, “The people who perform well in the National Training Hall have a chance to be promoted to representatives of the national team. I want to ask if I may be appointed as a defender at the National Training Hall after I leave the team?”

The advisors were stunned by the question. Normally, the members who were disqualified would leave for good. After all, it was rather humiliating to stay around.

“Well…” Feng Li was troubled. He had never seen any member willing to become a defender at the National Training Hall after being disqualified from the team.

The defending team at the National Training Hall was basically the second team. To be blunt, they were the reserved substitutes for the national team. Their purpose was to allow some friendly matches between students of different countries prior to the final showdown in Venice. However, the national teams would not be dueling one another before Venice. Otherwise, the final battle in Venice would be meaningless!

Similar to Japan, China also had defenders at the National Training Hall. Whenever teams from other countries came to China for training, they would have to acquire the stamp from China’s National Training Hall. Those who failed to acquire the stamps would receive fewer resources, and only the teams with a certain number of stamps could compete in the final round at Venice.

As such, many countries would be disqualified during the training phase.

However, achievements during the training phase were basically undisclosed. As such, most factions did not see any value in the defenders.

It was a surprise to everyone that Mu Ningxue wanted to be a defender.

“It seems like you’re quite determined!” Feng Li finally showed a hint of admiration.

“May I?” asked Mu Ningxue.

“Of course, you are more than qualified to be a defender, but you have to know that everyone on the team has reached the Advanced Level. Your chance of coming back will be grim if you are unable to overcome your current bottleneck. Also, everyone on the team will continue to improve, especially the official members on the national team. Do you really think you have a chance of coming back?” asked Feng Li.

Mu Ningxue did not answer. She had no idea if she could make it back to the team, but if she were to leave now, she would definitely be overtaken by the others.

As a matter of fact, she could leave the team with pride. She could easily become a reputable Magician in society. She would surely be able to live a freer, more comfortable life as she wished…

However, she knew she was going to regret it in a few years, and would be living in remorse forever.

Her goals were no longer the same. What she really wanted was to continue to overcome her limits and stand at the top of the Magic Society, not for her own sake, but for her declined and shattered family.

“Alright, I’m looking forward to seeing your impressive performance at the National Training Hall,” Feng Li nodded.

Everyone looked at Mu Ningxue. Most people felt sorry for her.

They were clearly aware of Mu Ningxue’s contributions to the team, either it be the fight against the Scarlet Rending Demon, or risking her life to save Jiang Shaoxu and Nanrong Ni. They had all seen her sincerity, and if she was not a substitute, the resources from the advisors would be hers, too.

Unfortunately, luck was not on her side.

Mu Ningxue had already packed her stuff. The rest of the meeting was no longer her concern. She returned to her room, and waited to return to her country with the advisors.

—-

Sitting at the edge of the bed, Mu Ningxue subconsciously lowered her gaze. She was able to stay calm just then, but when she was alone in her room, she felt miserable.

It had been ten years, she had earned the approval of the people in the Mu Clan through her hard work, and became the person with the highest chance of making it to the national team… but she never thought she would leave the team like this.

When she recalled how the members of her family had left or scattered to different places, she missed the little villa that was now destroyed in Bo City, the place where she was born, and how she could hide inside her room without any worry despite the terrifying storms and thunder outside.

Many things had changed over the past few years, and they had come too quick… Her cousin Cai Tang had died in the calamity of Bo City; Yu Ang was a member of the Black Vatican; and even her uncle Mu He was a leader in the Black Vatican. In just a night, all her family was brought into custody and interrogated. Even after they were proven innocent, they were still humiliated by people and society.

“Hello, Ningxue… I’m calling you because I heard…” Mu Zhuoyun’s voice came from the phone.

“I was disqualified,” answered Mu Ningxue softly.

“Oh, oh, don’t feel too sad, it’s within expectation… by the way, if you’re coming back, make sure to go back with the advisors. If you’re taking a plane yourself, you might have some problems with your identity,” Mu Zhuoyun told her.

“I’m planning to go back with them. What happened?” asked Mu Ningxue when she realized something weird about Mu Zhuoyun’s tone.

“Nothing, we’ll talk when you’re back.”

“Tell me now,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Well… you should use your mother’s surname from now on, it’s not bad,” said Mu Zhuoyun, who was having a hard time spilling the beans.

Mu Ningxue was startled. She almost asked for the reason subconsciously, but she could not say a word after she realized the truth.

Have they really gone that far? To even force them to change their surnames?

“How about you?” Mu Ningxue withheld the stabbing pain in her heart.

“I…It’s fine, I’ll be Zhuoyun.”

“How about the others?”

“Oh, they still have other relatives, so they will be seeking refuge from them. It’s just changing our names, nothing too important. I was also furious at the start, but on second thought, changing our names might be a good thing for us. Otherwise, wherever we go… oh, it’s not that serious either. Anyway… it’s fine as it is,” Mu Zhuoyun was talking incoherently.

The truth was, it was extremely humiliating for a man in his fifties to change his surname, not to mention he had to relay the message to his family himself.

Mu Zhuoyun had told the others, but he was struggling to tell Mu Ningxue. The sense of failure and helplessness simply urged him to jump from the tallest floor of the Mu Family’s building and put an end to everything.

“I…I got it…” Mu Ningxue ended the call.

She took a deep breath. The air was sour. Her throat was stuck. She had the urge to tear it open with her hands!

Lowering her head, something was shaking vigorously in her eyes. The tears that she thought had completely dried up since the death of her mother flowed out.

However, she used the back of her hand to rub the tears when they were halfway down her cheeks, as if it was a disgrace to let the tears fall off her cheeks.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There was a knock on the door. Mu Ningxue quickly rubbed her face dry with the back of her hands.

For some reason, Mu Ningxue thought it was Mo Fan. She was going to speak as soon as the door was opened, but she realized it was Gong Yu and his spotless, clean face.

Guan Yu had a handsome face. His eyes were looking at Mu Ningxue sincerely, as if he was well-prepared with his speech.

Mu Ningxue looked at him silently. Her eyes were already asking Gong Yu the reason for coming to her room.

“What happened? Why did you cry?” Guan Yu panicked when he saw the abnormal behavior from Mu Ningxue’s eyes.

He never thought Mu Ningxue would hide in her room and cry. As a matter of fact, when Mu Ningxue asked to become a defender so she could make her way back to the team, he was utterly impressed by her determination. However, it turned out that Mu Ningxue was not as strong as she seemed. He happened to witness her weak side!

Mu Ningxue’s heart must be in the most fragile state now. Guan Yu felt like he should be doing something.

“We’ll depart for the next destination in a few days. I’ll try my best to convince my gramp before that… I believe they are extremely willing to support a talented Ice Magician like you, but you’ll have to join our family first, to let my gramp know that you’re indeed one of us. That way, they would be willing to support you. It’s just a formality, let your dad meet with the elders in my family and reach an agreement, but the ceremony can wait. After all, we should focus on the World College Tournament for the time being. If we perform well on the national team, there’s nothing you need to worry about,” Guan Yu immediately presented his invitation.

Guan Yu believed Mu Ningxue desperately needed a supporter, considering her current situation. He thought that if he sincerely invited her, he could easily convince her to join his family.

Many people were willing to bet their lives on a chance to join the national team, let alone a little marriage. Guan Yu believed he was not too bad, either. There was no reason why Mu Ningxue would reject him.

Basically, under her circumstances, she would accept his offer as long as she was neutral to him!

As for his family, even though it meant spending twice the resources, they could still afford the expense. Besides, the two of them would earn several times the benefits in return. He should not have any problem if he discussed it with his grandfather!

Mu Ningxue was actually not paying attention to Guan Yu when he was talking. Her mind was still preoccupied with her father’s words. When she collected her thoughts, she saw a hint of joy on Guan Yu’s face.

She was utterly confused.

“I’ll make a call first, I’ll go make a call now, wait for me,” Guan Yu seemed a little excited.

Not answering meant she had tacitly accepted it. Every girl was reserved. She would surely struggle to say something along the lines of, “Fine, I’ll marry you, and you will provide me with resources” out loud.

As such, before Mu Ningxue could react, Guan Yu had already left to make the phone call. The guy’s speed was shocking. Mu Ningxue could not even tell where he went.

—-

The floor below, Guan Yu joyfully took out his phone. He even dialed the wrong number a few times.

“Hello, gramp?”

“Oh, Yu’er? Since when do you know to give your gramp a phone call?” an aged yet energetic voice came from the other end.

“Well, I have something to discuss with you,” said Guan Yu.

“Don’t tell me you failed the breakthrough! Can you please be more reliable, don’t you know how much a Galaxy Vein costs…”

“No, no, I’ve already broken through to the Advanced Level. It’s something else; the Ice Magician that the Mu Clan has invested a lot in training her, Mu Ningxue, do you know her?” Guan Yu cut straight to the topic. The truth was, he was worried that Mu Ningxue would regret her decision. Therefore, he had to convince his grandfather as soon as possible. After all, he was in charge of most decisions for their family.

“I know her, I also know that you’re interested in her,” said the old man calmly. His tone sounded a little strange.

“I know it’s not the best time to talk about her now since I should be focusing on the national team, but I hope you can help me. Let her join our family and become one of us, and we will provide her with resources. That way, both of us will represent the national team. Isn’t that great?” said Guan Yu.

“Oh, and also plan a wedding for you two to bind her with you, so you can focus on the World College Tournament, is that right?”

“Yes, yes, gramp, you know me well!” Guan Yu was enlightened.

“Are you out of your mind, or did your eyeball go into the woman’s belly button? Are you seriously that dumb to suggest that to me? I swear I’d give you two great slaps to the face if you were standing right in front of me!” snapped the old man furiously.

Guan Yu was dumbfounded. He had no idea why his grandfather was so angry.

“Well… I was just thinking for our family,” Guan Yu was discouraged like a flattened balloon.

“Think my ass, why do I have such a dumb grandson like you!?” the old man added.

“Gramp, I know the family only has limited resources to spend, but you don’t need to…” said Guan Yu.

He was aware of the amount of resources needed for a representative of the national team, but with Mu Ningxue’s talents, as long as she could break through to the Advanced Level, it would stop her from being left too far behind from the others.

“You still dare to talk back after I call you dumb? First of all, do you think your teammates are poor peasants? Our family should be burning incense and thanking the gods if we managed to secure you a spot on the national team, and you’re still bringing a woman into the mess?

“Fine, even if it’s as you said, the benefits will multiply if we have two representatives on the national team, but don’t you know what kind of mess that woman is in?! Do you really think a renowned clan like the Mu Clan would kick her out for no reason? The Mu Clan has been running amok for many years. There’s nothing they could not handle, they always got what they wanted, but even they have no choice but to kick the woman out, as they are scared to burn their own finger. And you are thinking of recruiting her to our family? Do you think our family is doing too well lately?

“From today onwards, you’ll stay as far away from her as possible, and if I hear anything between you and her, not only will I beat you up into a cripple, I’ll beat your father too! Just give me a break, the overwhelming hatred from the calamity of the Ancient Capital hasn’t calmed down yet, but you…you are really something; are you trying to make me mad so I’ll die from an excess of anger!?” cursed the old man.

Guan Yu stood still in the spot, as if he had turned to ice.

He knew Mu Ningxue was no longer the genius of the Mu Clan, yet he never thought the influence against her would be so bizarre!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The old man’s voice was incredibly loud, and felt like it was coming out of the phone and strangling Guan Yu.

Guan Yu stood blankly. He saw Mu Ningxue standing behind him as soon as the call ended. He was completely at a loss for a second.

“I…I…” Guan Yu never thought it would turn out like this. He had no idea how to face Mu Ningxue. He assumed he could settle her problem easily, yet it turned out like this.

“I only came to tell you that it’s a misunderstanding; I don’t need anyone’s help,” Mu Ningxue said calmly.

She did not want Guan Yu to misunderstand her. Besides, she was not interested in Guan Yu and his suggestion. However, her expression had turned slightly unpleasant after she heard the harsh words from the other end.

“Mu Ningxue, it’s not what you think, my gramp must have heard some rumors spreading around… trust me, I…I’m going to help you. Once I make a name for myself at Venice, I will prove that you’re innocent. But, for now, please bear with it, you can wait for me back in our country,” said Guan Yu.

“Don’t worry, I can handle it myself.”

“You can’t… the influence is bigger than you thought, unless you can actually draw the attention of the world,” said Guan Yu.

“Which is why I’m coming back; I will!” said Mu Ningxue sternly.

She was not saying it to Guan Yu, but to herself!

She did not want her little family to always carry a bad name, to be accused by the whole country. She did not want her people to live like despicable rats, forcing them to hide from the public for the rest of their lives…

Her surname would always be Mu, not because she had anything to do with the Mu Clan, but because it was her right to own it. There was no need, and no reason to change it!

She would prove it, and prove her innocence to the whole world!

—-

That afternoon, a cold rain started pouring. The East Maritime Fortress was soon drenched in it.

The advisors were planning to leave in the evening after they were done briefing the team. The members gathered at the entrance to send the advisors off.

It was necessary for the team to be respectful. After all, the advisors were reputable Magicians in their country. Their experience and cultivation level would provide these young and inexperienced students with great help.

Mu Ningxue stood with the advisors. She did not bid farewell to the team. She was not particularly close to any of them.

“Wait, hold up!”

They were about to leave when Mo Fan’s voice came from behind.

“Mo Fan, what do you want?” Song He raised his eyebrows when he saw Mo Fan running toward them with a bag.

Mo Fan put the bag over his shoulder and said, “I’m going back, too,”

“Why are you going back? The team will be leaving in a few days; just stay here and behave yourself!” ordered Feng Li, immediately giving Mo Fan a death stare.

“Find another person to take my spot, I’m quitting,” said Mo Fan.

Everyone almost went crazy when Mo Fan said that.

-He is quitting!?

-Is that really something a sane person would say?-

Apart from Ai Jiangtu, whose strength completely outmatched everyone else, the others only managed to secure a spot because of the people supporting behind them. The chance was utterly precious, they were basically the hope of their people. Even the slightest urge to quit the team would be considered the most detestable offense, let alone actually asking to quit the team!

Mo Fan was definitely out of his mind, asking to quit the team!

-What kind of international joke was this!- “Kid, I dare you to say it again!” Feng Li’s eyes widened. Even his mustache had curled upward.

“I’m quitting the team. By the way, there’s still a team of defenders, right? I’ll join the team with Mu Ningxue to have some fun,” said Mo Fan.

Feng Li almost exploded in rage.

Where the hell did this little asshole come from? Did he seriously treat the national team as his home, a place he could come and go as he wished!

He was forced into the team without getting permission from any advisor, and they had decided to let it go, yet the guy was demanding to quit the team without their permission. Where was his respect for the national team!?

“Mo Fan, I’m telling you; take your words back, and we’ll think of it as a joke! Otherwise, I will never see you again!” Feng Li’s chest heaved in anger. His face was flushing, too.

“Why are you being so worked up for? I didn’t say I’m not coming back. My thoughts are the same as Mu Ningxue’s. I’ll leave the team first, then come back later. You mentioned that if we perform well as defenders, there’s a chance for us to be promoted. It’s as easy as that,” said Mo Fan.

The group felt like their view of the world had been toppled after hearing Mo Fan’s ridiculous statement.

-Is he dumb or mentally retarded? Everyone in the team of defenders is extremely talented too, but their chance of being promoted to the national team is still dependent on whether anyone on the national team is disqualified!-

As a matter of fact, the members of the national team would have access to lots of resources. Even if two people started with comparable strength, but one was on the national team while the other was only a defender, they would gradually find the difference in their strength growing apart.

“Mo Fan, stop playing with fire, this isn’t a joke! Go apologize to the advisors, and they will let you go!” Zhao Manyan had the urge to kneel down before Mo Fan and beg him.

-Oh Mo Fan, just stay on the team. Once you come back gloriously from the World College Tournament, you can marry whoever you want. Besides, Mu Ningxue has nowhere to run to, apart from staying in our country. Even if she’s married and has kids, with your status by then, you can easily win her back! This is seriously not something to joke with!-

“I’ve already packed my stuff. Guys, until next time! Nanyu, Jiang Shaoxu, I’m going to miss you,” Mo Fan was utterly clueless as usual. He walked over to Dean Song He and placed his hand over the man’s shoulder as if he was extremely close to him.

Song He was left speechless. If he wasn’t told by his superiors to treat the kid nicely, he simply had the urge to whip him.

Song He had no choice but to be the good guy. He immediately advised Feng Li, “Feng Li, calm down, let’s…”

“Why would I be angry? I should be happy now that someone is willing to quit the team voluntarily. The national team doesn’t need people who lack resolution, not to mention that he joined the team through unofficial methods. Piss off, get out of my sight, I feel annoyed the more I see you, be gone!” cursed Feng Li.

“Advisor Feng Li, why would I do that, I’m going back on the same flight with you. Can you get me a ticket, and unfreeze my identity, too?” said Mo Fan.

Feng Li’s eyes were about to spit fire, but he quickly calmed his rage and ordered the plump advisor beside him, “Take this idiot with us!”

Chapter 846: I’m Afraid that I’ll Tear Him into Pieces
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The rain poured heavily. The silhouettes of the seven people in the rain gradually turned blurry. Only Mo Fan teasing Mu Ningxue could be heard clearly, and most importantly, Mu Ningxue was actually responding to his teasing.

Guan Yu’s teeth were rubbing against one another. He almost felt like he was about to explode!

“What is there to feel angry about?” said Jiang Shaoxu.

‘”It’s none of your business!” snapped Guan Yu.

“Then Mu Ningxue isn’t your business, either. That guy Mo Fan dares to throw away his precious title and be a defender just to stay with her, and yet you didn’t dare to do anything apart from feeling angry here,” mocked Jiang Shaoxu.

“You…” Guan Yu was about to talk back, yet he realized he could not say a word.

Would he dare to do the same thing?

No chance, the thought never even crossed his mind!

When his grandfather was scolding him, he did not have the slightest courage to fight back. He had grown up under the old man’s authority. He had no courage to reason with him, as he clearly knew that he would lose all his brilliance if he did so.

But Mo Fan was different; he was willing to leave the team just like that! Mu Ningxue chose a difficult path to walk, yet he still chose to stay with her!

Guan Yu was not stupid. He understood that even the icy Mu Ningxue would be touched by Mo Fan.

The rain grew heavier as the group walked into the distance. The rage in Guan Yu’s heart slowly dissipated, replaced by a sense of helplessness, a sense of defeat that he could not even find words to comfort himself about.

“Guan Yu, what are you scared of? You’re a representative of the national team. Once you make a name for yourself in Venice, you can get any girl you want, including Mu Ningxue! That Mo Fan is just a piece of trash. You can easily deal with him with a single wave. People only admire the strong, it’s the same for women. Mu Ningxue is the kind that likes to stand at the top, and you can give her that,” Zu Jiming comforted Guan Yu, as he had a different view on the matter.

Guan Yu had the same thought too, but he knew Mu Ningxue was not anything like that. He believed if he gave up on his spot and stayed with her as a defender, she would be touched, too. Unfortunately, the person who could do that was not him!

“There really is someone like him in this world…” Nanrong Ni whispered, staring into the distance.

“It’s true love!” Zhao Manyan was soaked in tears.

He always thought he was experienced at flirting with girls. He was a master of all techniques when it came to picking up ladies, but it was nothing compared to Mo Fan’s decision!

After all, he could never do what Mo Fan had done!

—-

The cold rain was still pouring at the airport. The plane was moving on the runway. Mu Ningxue sat beside a window, but her thoughts seemed to have wandered away.

It went without saying that the person sitting behind her was none other than Mo Fan. Even if the seat did not belong to him, he would shamelessly exchange the seat with the person who was supposed to be sitting beside her. She was too familiar with the idiot.

The truth was, Mu Ningxue had yet to recover from the shock. She never thought Mo Fan would give up his spot.

“Are you touched?” asked Mo Fan as he moved closer and nudged Mu Ningxue.

“Not at all,” said Mu Ningxue.

“But your heart thinks otherwise, as usual!” Mo Fan smiled.

“You really didn’t have to do that. Besides, you should stay away from me, or you’ll only get into trouble,” said Mu Ningxue seriously.

“Do you know? There’s an advantage for people who solely rely on themselves like me; the fact that we don’t have to act according to other people’s wishes. On top of that, if any asshole dares to say you’re one of the Black Vatican, I’ll smack them to death with my shoe! A bunch of self-righteous people who acted like they have personally encountered the Black Vatican before!” cursed Mo Fan.

“What about the families of the victims?” asked Mu Ningxue.

“Oh, that’s even easier to settle.”

“Why?” Mu Ningxue could not follow Mo Fan’s thoughts.

“Because they will definitely recognize me,” answered Mo Fan.

“You’re talking as if you are the person that saved the Ancient Capital. Forget it… there’s no turning back after all,” Mu Ningxue already knew what her goals were. It was scarier for a person to feel lost in difficult times!

“I’m serious, come to the Ancient Capital with me if you have the chance. You’ll find that the people will treat me like their own son… ugh, like a hero!”

“What does it have to do with me?” Mu Ningxue would never believe Mo Fan. She simply assumed Mo Fan was teasing her. She did appreciate Mo Fan livening up the mood, considering the difficult time she was having.

“You’re my first wife.”

“…”

As a matter of fact, if Mo Fan could leave out the word ‘first’, she would be more touched and more willing to trust him.

She had never seen anyone as shameless as him!

—-

On the other hand, it was not like Mo Fan was not sensible, but he was unwilling to lie to anyone.

—-

A pot of green tea, two cups, and a bamboo grove…

Lingyin Enforcement Union’s backyard always had a sense of peace and calm that separated it from the noisy city.

The person brewing tea was Tang Zhong. He poured the tea into the cups to seventy percent full. The tea reflected the black hair and mustache of the man drinking the tea. He had an aged, but handsome face.

“Speaking of Mo Fan, I’m curious. Feng Li is famous for being unreasonable. How did you convince him to let Mo Fan join the team?” Tang Zhong smiled.

“Please don’t mention it, my heart aches whenever I think about it,” said the man with a black mustache.

“I bet it’s something significant if losing it can make your heart ache?” Tang Zhong raised his brows. He was so intrigued that he forgot he was pouring the tea.

“Ain’t that right? I wasn’t even that nice to my daughter, to give that thing away without blinking… Hopefully that kid won’t let me down. Let’s enjoy the tea, I don’t want to talk about it now, I just want to enjoy my tea,” said the man with a black mustache.

Tang Zhong wanted to ask more questions, but his phone started beeping. Someone had sent him a text.

Tang Zhong took a look at the screen. His face immediately wore an indescribable expression. It was a mix of astonishment, confusion, surprise, and awkwardness!

“What is it, something serious happened?” said the man with a black mustache.

“Err… well… Mo Fan left the team,” said Tang Zhong in a strange tone.

“F**k, who dares to kick him out? Ask Feng Li and those four advisors to come see me, right now!” the man rose to his feet.

“He quit the team himself.”

The man was instantly left speechless.

“What exactly did you give them?” asked Tang Zhong again.

The man’s face was already twitching!

“Do you want to see him now?” asked Tang Zhong.

“It’s fine,” the man with a black mustache took a deep breath, before forcing the words out between the gaps of his teeth. “I’m afraid that I’ll tear him to pieces!”

Chapter 847: Accepting A Big Job!
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan felt rejuvenated as he arrived in Shanghai and inhaled the fresh haze.

A familiar scent; the dust particles floating in the air were like a visible scent or cloud of pollen surrounding him. The men and women in this city had a natural temperament that easily outclassed the people from smaller cities!

Luckily, China’s National Training Hall was located in the Magic City of Shanghai. Mu Ningxue had gone back to the capital to handle some matters. She would be back in Shanghai soon to report to the team, and they could enjoy shameless days together as much as they wanted!

After returning to his nice-smelling apartment, Mo Fan was imagining himself stumbling into Mu Nujiao or Ai Tutu while unlocking the door, his two beloved concubines coming out of their shower, or they would simply be naked in the living room since they knew he was not around.

Unfortunately, the scene that would only happen in novels did not occur. Mo Fan only saw an empty living room as he walked through the door.

Taking a deep breath, neither Ai Tutu’s mature scent nor Mu Nujiao’s elegant fragrance was as strong as Mo Fan had imagined. It seemed like the two girls had not come back for days.

“Where did they go? Why didn’t they come and receive me? I even brought them gifts,” Mo Fan took off his shoes and put them on the shelf, before heading upstairs in a sulk.

He knocked on the girls’ doors, but realized that they were not closed. The rooms were empty, despite some alluring pieces of garments scattered on the beds. Mo Fan immediately felt his blood boiling.

-I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it!

-Can such a tiny undergarment cover Mu Nujiao’s entire bottom?-

There were too many things worth investigating. Mo Fan did not check all of them out, since he was not a pervert who had never been to a girl’s room. He did a quick look around, opening up the wardrobe to see if the girls were hiding inside them…

He pulled the drawers open and was dazzled by the variety of colors. Rose blue, almond red, pink-purple, beige, white… it seemed like the girls were not hiding in the wardrobe. He should look somewhere else, maybe they were hiding under the blankets…

——

A while later, Mo Fan left in satisfaction after confirming that the girls were indeed away.

“I should just buy this unit, a perfect place to raise those two canaries,” Mo Fan laid down on the couch as he was planning his wonderful future.

The doorbell rang as soon as he started enjoying some peace of mind.

Mo Fan was stunned. It was extremely rare to have visitors. If it was the girls, they would have unlocked the door with their keys instead.

Mo Fan looked through the peephole but did not see anyone outside the door. He was utterly confused.

Did he really stumble onto a ghost? The doorbell was still ringing, yet there was no one standing outside!

Who dared to spook the greatest Hunter in the Magic City in bright daylight? Did they really take Mo Fan as a three-year-old kid?

Mo Fan opened the door and saw a short girl with braids on both sides standing there. Her wide eyes glittered, yet they looked a bit too mature for her age. “Ugh… it’s you…” he said as she walked right past him.

“My laptop notified me that you were back,” Lingling took off her shoes and went over to the fridge to get herself a frozen yogurt. She continued after opening it up to enjoy, “The boredom of learning useless stuff in school was killing me after you left. My sister forced me to go to school and study with those retarded middle schoolers. I skipped class today, so I guess I should come and visit you.”

Mo Fan could already imagine how uneasy a highly-intelligent person like Lingling would feel when stuck among idiotic people.

Mo Fan realized that Lingling was rather considerate. She also took out another serving of frozen yogurt for him. Her bored and depressed expression was just asking Mo Fan to down the frozen yogurt with her to kill some time!

“I’m glad that you’re going to school like a normal kid; by the way, are you in the seventh grade?” asked Mo Fan.

“Mm, but I normally go for half a day,” Lingling reached out her tongue and licked the frozen yogurt clean, as if she was not willing to waste any of it. There were some yogurt stains on her cheek, she looked incredibly adorable.

“I was thinking of visiting you too…” Mo Fan recalled the evil Essence Orb.

Mo Fan had brought the Essence Orb back. That annoying Mochizuki Ken simply asked him to find a way to deal with the Essence Orb in China. After all, the orb was not supposed to be harmful as long as it was wrapped inside the silver cloth.

However, if Mochizuki Ken was around, Mo Fan would directly spit a mouthful of carbonated fizz on his face.

Who the heck said that the orb would behave itself? It had already tried to bewitch him when he was fighting the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast!

An orb that tried to bewitch him like a woman. Was that even normal?

Mo Fan was in a rush to come back with Mu Ningxue, too. Otherwise, he would have gone back to Osaka and argued with that old man!

However, Mo Fan decided to bring the orb back, considering it might be the answer that Lingling was seeking for.

However, when he saw Lingling’s tsundere attitude as she complained about her boring life as a middle schooler, he decided it was not time to discuss the orb with the little girl. He should ask Old Bao and Leng Qing for their opinions first. After all, Lingling was still young; if she knew the truth, she might do something stupid.

“Oh, I was going to ask if you have any big jobs on the line. I’m running short on money,” Mo Fan changed his mind. He decided to tell Lingling about the Red Demon some other time.

“I do have some, but it depends on if you have the guts to accept them!” Lingling’s eyes glittered when she heard Mo Fan asking for jobs. Her eyes were like those of a little girl who had heard her brother suggesting they go shopping and to the amusement park after she spent days doing her homework. She was radiating joy and excitement.

“I’m not talking about jobs in the range of millions, but at least ten million and above. I’m really poor now. I have two wives and a daughter to raise… I also have a few Elements to train,” Mo Fan informed her sincerely.

“There’s actually a job with a higher reward than what you’re looking for. I already had my eyes on it for some time. However, a job like this would normally need a whole team. If it’s only the two of us…” said Lingling.

“What if Mu Ningxue comes with us? Her fighting prowess is off the charts. We should be fine if she comes with us, even if it’s a bit riskier,” said Mo Fan.

“I know about her… alright, I’ll make the preparations and see if we can take the job… by the way, you should go rank up, improve your title from an Advanced Hunter to a Hunter Master. You already have enough points,” said Lingling.

“Sure, I’ll go now,” Mo Fan nodded.

It was difficult to accept the higher-level jobs without the Hunter Master title. Many clients would not have time to verify how capable they were, and most of them were unwilling to waste their time on a kid who was not even a Hunter Master.

The higher the title, the higher the level of quests he could accept!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan did not slack further after Lingling left. He went back to his room and started meditating.

He still had a Galaxy Vein. Since Mu Ningxue was unwilling to accept his gift, he would use it to upgrade his Lightning Element.

Mo Fan once directed lightning strikes onto himself when he was fighting the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast. It was, in fact, a dangerous move. The spells that a Magician cast were like a sword, with the sharp edge facing outward. As such, it was rare for Magicians to hurt themselves with their spells. However, if the sharp edge was facing them, they could possibly hurt themselves too! Mo Fan was in a panic when he saw Mu Ningxue injured. As such, he decisively conducted the lightning strikes through his own body just to make sure that he could deal enough damage to the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast.

However, he realized that if he could perfectly utilize the move and control the power of lightning, it would help him to synchronize better with his spells.

Casting a spell was always inflexible for Basic and Intermediate Magicians, since they were forced to follow the fixed Star Orbits and Star Patterns of the spells. However, after reaching the Advanced Level, they were able to modify the forms of their magic with their will, which significantly improved their capabilities as a Magician.

Conducting lightning through oneself… Mo Fan believed it was necessary for him to spend some time mastering the move. It felt like when he conducted the lightning with his body, he was wearing an aggressive lightning armor that would counterattack when the demon creatures got too close to him.

That being said, Mo Fan was not excited because he had found a new trick, but because the risky move had allowed him to touch the barrier surrounding the Lightning Nebula.

The size and brilliance of a Nebula in the Spiritual World were fixed. Only by breaking through the barrier could a Nebula expand further into a brighter and bigger Galaxy.

Currently, the Fire Galaxy was like a fiery river flowing through Mo Fan’s Spiritual World. The Lightning Element, Summoning Element, and Shadow Element were still in the form of Nebulas. A Nebula was indeed a lot weaker than a Galaxy when he actually compared them. The light each emitted was on completely different levels. Casting a Basic Fire Spell would now only consume a low amount of mana, which he could easily recover after walking a few steps. It clearly highlighted the strength of a Galaxy!

Normally, the Lightning Element was stronger than the Fire Element in straightforward fights. If he could improve the Lightning Element to the Advanced Level, he would not be in a tight spot when fighting a Commander-level creature like the Blue Valley Ferocious Beast!

—

Mo Fan calmed his thoughts and entered the Spiritual World.

Fiery red, purple-black, lunar-white, dark gray, silver, and dark blood-red…

There were six Elements in total. Whenever Mo Fan remembered that only his Fire Element had improved to the Advanced Level, and the fact that a single Galaxy Vein would cost around a hundred million, he strongly felt that the money he currently had was only a small allowance.

He could only afford the Galaxy Vein because the Scarlet Rending Demon had dropped a Commander-level Soul Essence when it died. How long would it take him to improve all his Elements to the Advanced Level?

As he moved closer to the Lightning Nebula, he realized that the wild Lightning Stars were eager to break through the barrier and go stay in a bigger, more luxurious estate.

A Nebula was only a house a few hundred square meters in size. The forty-nine brothers and sisters were planning to expand their family to three hundred and forty-three members. How could they possibly fit everyone without a huge villa?

Mo Fan understood their eagerness to stay in a bigger house, yet he was unsure if now was the best time for him to upgrade the Lightning Element.

A Galaxy Vein was incredibly expensive, thus most Magicians would let their Element precipitate a little longer by meditating, before breaking through the barrier with the help of a Galaxy Vein when the Nebula was on the verge of exploding from over-saturation…

If the Lightning Nebula was only bloated slightly, it was likely that the process would fail even with the help of a Galaxy Vein… which meant the hundred million would go to waste!

“I guess it’s about to explode. My Lightning Element reached saturation a long time ago. On top of that, as the elder brother, the Lightning Element is surely feeling unpleasant now that the Fire Element is now in the Advanced Level…” Mo Fan considered.

Only the Magicians knew the condition of their Elements. They would have to make the call if it was the right time for attempting a breakthrough themselves.

Mo Fan was overthinking it, since he was worried that the hundred million would go to waste once he failed the process.

“Forget it, I should just try it. Little Loach, please lend me a hand. Do you still have some stored energy left from eating the Eternal Lotus? Can you give me a little push on the back to help me overcome the barrier when I’m about to fail?” Mo Fan sighed and asked the Little Loach Pendant.

The Little Loach Pendant was omnipotent. It provided him with great help at crucial times, especially when it had something to do with his cultivation.

The Little Loach Pendant was able to understand Mo Fan’s thoughts. It shuddered and waved its tail softly. Mo Fan almost thought it was alive. He found it hard to believe that a pendant could move like that.

Mo Fan felt troubled. He could feel that the Little Loach Pendant was trying to stop him. He directed his thoughts into the world inside the Little Loach Pendant and immediately saw the change to the Nether River inside it…

The size of the river was closer to a stream before, but it had enlarged significantly. Its width was simply astounding at first sight!

“Did you evolve?” blurted out Mo Fan in surprise.

The Nether River had doubled its width! Mo Fan did not expect the change at all!

Little Loach had eaten the Eternal Lotus in the Qin Emperor’s tomb. Even though Mo Fan was able to break through to the Advanced Level with the overflowing energy and become an Advanced Magician, the Eternal Lotus was not as digestible as the Underground Holy Spring. Little Loach had been having a hard time refining it all along. Mo Fan initially thought Little Loach had missed the opportunity to evolve, yet to his surprise, the Nether River had significantly expanded!

Mo Fan took a closer look and discovered that the Nether River was still expanding slowly. In other words, the process had not ended. The Nether River would still enlarge further!

“Are you telling me that I should proceed with the breakthrough after you’re done evolving, to further increase the odds?” Mo Fan speculated on Little Loach’s intentions.

Little Loach soon responded affirmatively!

“Alright, I’ll listen to you… holy crap, doesn’t this mean my cultivation speed will also increase after you evolve? It would be great if the Space Element can grow into a Nebula too, so I can start learning the Intermediate Spells of the Space Element!” Mo Fan was overwhelmed with excitement.

The Qin Emperor would never expect that the godly object he had placed to stop intruders to his tomb would end up as food for Little Loach!

It was perfectly reasonable; it would not make sense if the Eternal Lotus that even Super Spells could not destroy only possessed the same amount of energy as a Galaxy Vein. Little Loach must have stored the energy away, and was still digesting it slowly…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

If Little Loach asked Mo Fan to be more patient, there was no reason he should rush the process. Once Mu Ningxue arrived, they could then report in at the National Training Hall.

Mo Fan had not heard anything from Lingling yet. He went to Hangzhou to pay his cute, sexy, mature, and gorgeous Miss Tangyue and the charming, exceptional, upright Black Totem Snake a visit. Besides, he still had questions about the wooden clapper currently in Zhao Manyan’s possession.

—

After arriving at Hangzhou, Tangyue happened to be on the island at the center of the lake. Mo Fan simply took a boat out there. Her people knew Mo Fan, and just let him pass.

Tangyue was reading a book while keeping the Black Totem Snake company. She would visit once in a while, as if she was reporting how she had been lately to the elderly.

“It’s rare to see Miss Tangyue enjoying some leisure time. Every time I give you a call or send you a text, I always end up in the voicemail,” Mo Fan walked up and conveniently poured himself some face-nourishing tea. He sat with one leg over the other, not treating himself as an outsider.

“Your teacher is an official member of the Enforcement Union; don’t compare me to a free man like you, strolling everywhere as you wish… mmm, aren’t you on the national team? Shouldn’t you be on training now?” Tangyue smiled.

“Just back for a visit.”

“Alright, tell me what you’ve been up to, I can feel that your aura has grown a lot stronger,” Tangyue stared at Mo Fan with glittering eyes.

“Advanced Fire; almost Advanced Lightning; Summoning Element the same as usual; Shadow Element at the peak of Intermediate Level; Space Element still at the Basic Level…” Mo Fan reported honestly.

Tangyue clearly knew all his secrets, including his Demon Element. Tang Zhong and Leng Qing must have told her everything. They were all trustworthy people, so Mo Fan did not bother holding back the truth.

“Your Lightning Element should be improving at the same rate as your Fire Element, seems like it’s falling behind?” said Tangyue.

“Which is why I’ve come to ask Miss Tangyue some tips to breaking through to the Advanced Level. It was a coincidence that my Fire Element broke through to the Advanced Level, so I actually don’t have any experience,” said Mo Fan.

“Is that all?” Tangyue slightly raised her eyebrows. Somehow, she could tell that Mo Fan had other thoughts in mind.

“I’m mainly here to visit my beloved Miss Tangyue. It’s been a while, Miss Tangyue has grown prettier again.”

“As expected.”

“You’re seriously not modest at all.”

“Stop changing the topic,” Tangyue believed Mo Fan would not visit her for no particular reason.

“To be honest, I wanted to ask if you still have those scrolls you gave to me before, the magic scrolls that are consumed after casting a spell. Do you have any scrolls with Advanced Lightning Spells?” Mo Fan rubbed his hands and asked with a smile.

“Those are our Lingyin Enforcement Union’s treasure. We don’t usually give them away. Besides, it’s not wise to rely on them, either. A Magician should master the Star Patterns and Star Constellations of all their Elements. Relying on the scrolls would eventually result in bad habits…” Miss Tangyue had indeed played the teacher role before. She started giving Mo Fan advise as soon as she began to speak.

“Isn’t old man Tang Zhong the president? He can easily give some of them to me with a single sentence. I only need around eighty of them…” said Mo Fan smilingly.

Tangyue’s eyes widened!

Eighty scrolls? Did this guy seriously think those scrolls were as easy to acquire as A4 papers that only cost a few cents each!

“Three, I can only give you three at most!” snapped Tangyue.

The Lingyin Enforcement Union would never give the Star Constellation Scrolls to anyone if it wasn’t for Mo Fan’s contributions to Hangzhou.

“Five! I desperately need them.”

“Four, that’s my limit!” Tangyue retorted, clenching her jaw.

“Fine, four it is…” Mo Fan chuckled, like a cunning old fox.

“I knew you’re up to something,” mumbled Tangyue.

“Oh, by the way, I have something to show you. See if you can understand them,” Mo Fan recalled something. He took out his phone and opened the gallery.

Mo Fan had taken pictures of the messy writings on the wooden clapper, just to show them to Tangyue once he came back. The shapes drawn on the wooden clapper was extremely similar to those he saw on the walls on the island’s pavilion.

Tangyue thought Mo Fan was going to set her up again. She took a peek with a side glance, but her attention was soon drawn to the ancient writings. She quickly grabbed Mo Fan’s phone and took a closer look.

“Where did you find this?” Tangyue finally raised her head and asked excitedly after some time.

“A temple in Japan. I heard someone on the team mention that it’s a high-level container. It has its own world inside, and is able to accommodate spirits,” said Mo Fan.

“That’s right, a container of this kind can accommodate spirits. Furthermore, the spirits will become very powerful after living in the container for a certain period. The ancient writings are similar to those left by our ancestors on this island. It’s a record of another totem beast!” said Tangyue.

“Another totem beast?” Mo Fan was startled.

“Right, it dates back to the extinction of the totem beasts. The big guy is the only totem beast that our country has managed to preserve. Without the unique environment of the West Lake which provides him with the perfect cover, and the protection of our people every time he goes through ecdysis, he would have had trouble surviving until today.

“However, in the ancient times, when China still had many different races, there were once lots of totem beasts in this land, they were referred to as gods back then! Humans were too weak back then, and weren’t as civilized. However, the totem beasts were different from the other demon creatures. They can coexist with humans in peace and were even protecting the human tribes,” explained Tangyue in a serious voice.

“But didn’t the totem beasts go extinct? Isn’t the big guy the only one left? Does that mean the wooden clapper I found is useless too, since it’s nothing but some ancient literature?” said Mo Fan.

“No no no, this thing is extremely important! It’s not just the history that matters, but it also relates to a legend that we Totem Guardians strongly believe,” said Totem Guardian.

A legend?

Mo Fan was anticipating a thrilling tale as soon as he heard the word. He immediately paid closer attention!

“Legend says the totem beasts are immortal,” said Tangyue sternly.

“Im…immortal… that’s insane, I believe they have long lifespans, since even the big guy has been around for thousands of years, but saying they are immortal is going against science!” exclaimed Mo Fan.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s real; our ancestors also mentioned it in some records. The big guy actually died roughly two thousand years ago. Our ancestors even drew the details of his death. His body fell apart like dust, as if the flesh was corroding. His skeleton was exposed for all to see, before slowly sinking into the sand…” Tangyue did not seem to be joking.

From her description, Mo Fan could imagine the scene of the dead Black Totem Snake that her ancestors had passed down.

“But isn’t he perfectly well and fine?” Mo Fan pointed at the water and saw the Black Totem Snake’s nostrils surfacing and blowing water out like a whale.

As a matter of fact, the Black Totem Snake’s head was a lot bigger than a whale. The sight was marvelous. Luckily, the lake was big enough to hold the creature’s enormous body.

“The totem beasts die in a certain way, but if the conditions are met, they can be revived,” said Tangyue.

“If the conditions are met… like collecting seven dragon orbs?” Mo Fan asked with a vivid imagination.

“Mmm, something like that!” Tangyue nodded.

Mo Fan almost dropped his jaw to the ground. He was simply telling a joke, yet Tangyue actually nodded.

“So what you mean is, the wooden clapper is something like a dragon orb, and once we found the other six, we can summon or revive the missing totem beast?” asked Mo Fan.

Tangyue was amused when she heard Mo Fan mention the wooden clappers. Surely he didn’t think it’s the same as an anime?

“Not quite. I don’t really know the exact way to summon or revive the totem beasts, but I know the totem containers are the key. Only those with containers can proceed to the next step, and by doing certain things or rituals, they can wake or revive the totem beasts,” explained Tangyue.

“So Zhao Manyan was really lucky? That thing seems to have accepted him as its owner,” said Mo Fan.

“Totem containers are usually passed down along generations or lost in some corners of the world. It will be pretty tough to meet the conditions to summon the totem beasts. I believe that thing can at best be used as an Advanced Magic Tool by your friend. It’s unlikely to summon a totem beast… at least, it’s not possible for a single person,” said Tangyue.

“But there’s still a chance, if we found the right methods?” asked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan could not help but look at the West Lake. He could feel a surge of excitement when he recalled the Black Totem Snake’s overwhelming strength.

Any person who could control a creature of that level would surely stand at the top of the world!

The Mountain Zombie almost destroyed the Ancient Capital. If anyone could summon a totem beast to fight the Mountain Zombie off, the Ancient Capital would not have gone through such a great crisis!

Similarly, the Silver Skyruler had posed a great threat to Hangzhou during the plague. The Silver Skyruler was leading the airborne White Magic Falcons, and the air defenses had collapsed due to the Silver Skyruler ruling over the Heavenly Eagles’ lineage. Despite that, the Black Totem Snake managed to hold the Silver Skyruler and its entire clan off. Mo Fan would never forget that scene!

Zhao Manyan had coincidentally found a totem container. With the finances of his family, perhaps he would have a chance of learning its secrets and summoning the totem beast. At that time, the Zhao Family would easily dominate the scene!

“The totem containers are their cores?” asked Mo Fan.

“Right, and only the totem containers know how to awaken the totem beasts. Mmm, the truth is, if big guy didn’t survive back then and was killed when he is the weakest during ecdysis, he might turn into a vessel too… unfortunately, the records didn’t really mention how he came back to life after his death. Otherwise, it might be a great help for your friend,” mused Tangyue.

“It’s a pity indeed…” agreed Mo Fan with a sigh.

“Forget it, it’s beyond our reach for now. Think about it; no totem beast has shown up for thousands of years, even though people have found the totem containers. It implies that awakening the totem beasts is truly a difficult task. Tell your friend not to be too greedy. It’s good enough if he manages to master the totem container’s special ability,” said Tangyue.

“Mmm, I’ll pass the message to him.”

—-

After playing with the Black Totem Snake for a while, Mo Fan departed from Hangzhou.

He had received four Lightning Star Constellation Scrolls from Tangyue. He remembered how much effort he made at Mount Hua just to learn the Sky-Flame Funeral.

While Mo Fan was on the train, he took the Little Loach Pendant out and observed it closely.

The Little Loach Pendant was startled, not sure why its master would be staring at it all of a sudden. It felt strange, even the Nether River was shaking anxiously…

“Screw it, there’s no point in thinking about it,” Mo Fan tucked the Little Loach Pendant back into his clothes and rested his head on his hands as he laid down comfortably.

—-

The Little Loach Pendant did keep its word. It actually finished evolving after a few days.

As Mo Fan thought, the pendant was now a Galaxy Magic Tool. Mo Fan’s rate of cultivation was now around eight times the normal rate.

That being said, Mo Fan had double the number of Elements of everyone else. Otherwise, if he only had two or three Elements just like the others, his cultivation would improve at the speed of a rocket.

Dean Xiao was quite kind to Mo Fan, too. He knew Mo Fan was planning to improve his Lightning Element to the Advanced Level, thus he generously offered Mo Fan a chance to enter the Three Step Tower, so he could attempt the breakthrough under the strong elemental presence in the tower!

Since all preparations were made, it was time to proceed with the attempt. Mo Fan was not the kind to waste his time sitting around.

——

The Lightning Element was ready to break through to the next level.

The Galaxy Vein was the main support, followed by the Little Loach Pendant’s power and a small portion of the remaining energy from refining the Eternal Lotus. In addition, the pressure of the Three Step Tower would further compress the Lightning Element around him, providing similar effects to a Lightning Domain. It was unlikely that he would fail in his attempt.

On top of that, Mo Fan was already an Advanced Magician, and already had the mental strength of an Advanced Magician. It would be easier for him to improve his other Elements to the Advanced Level.

Sitting in the fourth-floor of the Three Step Tower, Mo Fan could feel a strong presence of the Lightning Element around him. It felt like he could cast a spell with a single flick of his fingers.

He took a deep breath to calm his thoughts.

He would be lying if he said he was not nervous, since failing the attempt would mean losing a hundred million.

-By the way, which god should I be beseeching to provide me with good luck during the breakthrough?-

-Forget it, I should just pray to Little Loach…-

It had brought him to this fascinating world of magic, so it should be fully responsible for looking after him during this crazy magical adventure!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Shanghai Pudong Airport…

A team of young, tanned men and women walked out from the international arrival hall. Among them, a tall man with a high nose bridge took his sunglasses off and checked his surroundings…

“I thought we were going to find ourselves among buildings made of bricks, stones, and wood. It turns out that China isn’t too far behind from most countries, at least the airport isn’t as bad as I thought…” Sayed grinned, revealing his dimples.

A bunch of girls who were studying abroad happened to pass by. They looked at the man who looked both handsome and naughty, like a prince on a black horse. They quickly whispered among themselves, but none of them had the courage to take another glance at him!

“He’s so handsome, he looks like Louis Koo!”

“I think his eyes are very attractive, his pupils are blue, I’ve never seen a man’s eyes like blue gems. Which country are they from?”

“No idea, but their language sounds strange…”

The girls continued walking. After walking a distance away, they secretly turned around and saw the handsome man staring at them, too. They immediately raised their chests and shook their hips while walking on their heels. They ignored the man’s gaze like proud princesses and headed for the exit.

“The girls in this country are interestingly fake,” Sayed had already heard the whispers of the girls. He was a Magician after all; his hearing was several times stronger than a normal person.

“Let’s go, we have some important matters to attend to after acquiring the stamp,” another woman with curly hair spoke up.

“It’s because of the air-con.”

“The air is humid outside, too.”

“We are close to the beach… you should stay under the sand forever, since there’s never a place that suits you,” Sayed quickly caught up to the team of ten people.

“Is anyone aware of how strong China is?” asked Meos.

“We shouldn’t waste too much time at the Training Hall. Go do your business, I can handle the Training Hall myself,” Sayed smiled.

“You shouldn’t underestimate them.”

“How am I underestimating them? We would have sent Shreev instead if we were underestimating them,” Shreev looked at a man with a bucktooth nearby.

The man with a bucktooth glared at Sayed while pointing at his nose.

As the man was relatively short, he had to stand on his toes while pointing at someone else. He looked rather amusing.

“What do you mean by that? Why don’t we have a fight now!” snapped Shreev furiously.

“I will never be scared of you.”

“Enough, no infighting!” said the woman called Meos.

“Sayed, we’ll leave the Training Hall to you. We can only stay in Shanghai for a day. We must immediately depart for the Ancient Capital Xi’an tomorrow. It’s our real goal!” said Meos.

“We will depart on time, you have my word!” Sayed smiled confidently.

—-

China’s National Training Hall was located close to Huangpu River, between Oriental Pearl Park and the IFC building. Most foreigners immediately saw the modernization of China. Many foreigners still assumed that people in China were still wearing chi-pao and living in old houses due to the influence of long-outdated ancient TV dramas.

Sayed asked around for directions with weird-sounding English and managed to find the National Training Hall after half an hour. During this time, his stereotypical view of China had improved slightly.

However, having a modern city was not necessarily equal to a high standard for Magicians. As a Magician from one of the four ancient civilizations, Egypt, their magic was the purest and noblest!

Hang on, that didn’t sound right. China was also one of the four ancient civilizations…

Forget it, surely China wasn’t as old and pure as Egypt!

Sayed walked up to the spectacular entrance of a half-spherical structure and asked an armed guard, “Excuse me, is this the place of challenge for national teams participating in the World College Tournament?”

“It is, but the place isn’t open to visitors. Please leave,” said the guard calmly after taking a glance at the foreigner.

Visitors would occasionally end up at the National Training Hall, since it was located close to the Oriental Pearl Tower and some famous skyscrapers. Jun Ge had no choice but to repeat the same sentence every day. If he was allowed to bring a recorder, he would definitely use it to greet the visitors.

“I’m not here to visit, I’ve come here to challenge,” Sayed said in a serious voice with a confident expression.

“You? It’s just you?” Jun Ge was startled. He immediately asked for identification.

Sayed took out the badge that served as every national team’s identification with the same confident smile on his face.

“Can I go in now?” asked Sayed.

“Well… why is it only you? Shouldn’t the whole team from Egypt be here, too?” Jun Ge asked with a confused face.

“The team only sent me here. I’m the representative. The others have important matters to attend to,” said Sayed honestly.

“I’ll bring you in first, then.” Jun Ge asked another guard to take his spot as he led Sayed into the National Training Hall.

The National Training Hall was around the size of three soccer fields. The place had different types of terrain, such as forests, sand, rock, and grass, where the duels would take place. The roof of the building was the hemisphere, floating right above the dueling grounds!

Sayed was impressed by the spectacular view, since his homeland was not willing to spend so much money on building such a fancy dueling hall. That being said, the appearance of the building did not really mean anything to him.

“There are quite a number of people here? Didn’t you say that the Training Hall isn’t open to visitors?” Sayed looked around and saw at least a hundred people in the building. Most of them looked fairly young.

Some were having duels, while others were spectating from the side. Others were surrounding people that looked like instructors while listening to them speak.

“There aren’t many teams that have visited China yet. The candidates here have to undergo training, too. As such, they ask their institutes to send some talented students over to duel with them. There’s actually a friendly match today, are you interested in it?” explained Jun Ge.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it, I don’t have time to waste on their show. Just hurry up with the challenge so I can regroup with my team. We really have something important to do,” said Sayed in a serious voice.

His arrogant attitude simply did not take Jun Ge’s feelings as a citizen of China into consideration.

-Damn, isn’t this guy a bit too full of himself!-

Not only did he come alone to challenge them, he even described the duels between the top students as a show. Once their students beat the crap out of him, he would simply forget what country he was from!

Even though Jun Ge was displeased with how smug the guy was, he still brought the guest to the instructors politely.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“A bunch of idiots, you’re all a bunch of idiots. At this rate, you can’t even win against developing countries from South-East Asia and Africa, let alone the strong countries like Russia, USA, and England! Did the whole team collapse just because Lu Yilin left? Do you seriously want other countries to think that the stamp that was supposed to be a challenge to them is actually just a simple attendance check!” a hoarse voice echoed in the National Training Hall, leaving awkward expressions on the faces of the students who had come to visit.

Meanwhile, the nine students of the National Training Hall looked utterly depressed. Their instructor Bai Dongwei had the worst temper, condemning them right in front of the students from other institutes.

Attendance check… it was true that many countries had successfully acquired the challenge stamp from them, but it was not like they were performing bad!

Besides, Lu Yilin’s departure from the team did place them in a little crisis. Due to their mistakes in the duels lately, they ended up not receiving as many resources as they had hoped. Meanwhile, every national team was improving rapidly, including their country’s national team. Everyone had already reached the Advanced Level. How could defenders like them, who were only Intermediate Magicians possibly win against the second wave of national teams?

“Instructor Bai, can you please ask the higher-ups to allocate the resources to us first? We are seriously going to be smashed by the national teams if we don’t improve,” said Dongfang Lie.

“Humph, do you think I’m not asking for more resources? Look at your results lately! How the heck did you even lose that bad against Thailand! I’m telling you, the team from Egypt is already here. If you lose again, I’m afraid you can’t even stay on the team any longer, let alone get more resources. I wouldn’t be this angry if you only lost because your cultivation is weaker, but you still lost when your opponent was also in the Intermediate Level!” scolded Bai Dongwei.

Dongfang Lie did not dare to speak again.

He was left with no choice, either. If he managed to win the preliminaries, things would be totally different for him. His Dongfang Clan would surely give him three Galaxy Veins to help him break through to the Advanced Level. Unfortunately, they only gave him one Galaxy Vein in the end, and he ended up failing the attempt. He was sent here to be a defender instead! When would his tough days come to an end?

“Excuse me…Instructor Bai, the team from Egypt is here,” Jun Ge walked up and awkwardly interrupted Bai Dongwei’s scolding.

“They are here? That quick? Where are they? You with the tanned face, please move aside, I don’t see them anywhere!” Bai Dongwei looked around for a while, yet he did not see the team from Egypt.

Jun Ge pointed at the tanned face Sayed and said softly, “He’s the one. They only sent a person here, apparently he said that one person is enough to challenge China’s National Training Hall.”

Jun Ge was speaking in Chinese. Bai Dongwei’s face immediately flushed with rage after hearing the words. He could feel the urge to scream at the top of his lungs.

“Is he seriously here on his own?” Bai Dongwei held his breath and confirmed it again.

“He’s the only one, he said that the team has other important business,” whispered Jun Ge.

“How dare they!” Bai Dongwei groaned. He almost lost control of himself and strangled the man to death!

What did they mean by a single person was enough to challenge China’s National Training Hall?

Every student he Bai Dongwei taught was incredibly brilliant. How dare the representatives from Egypt treated themselves as phoenixes visiting a chicken coop?

“Dongfang Lie!” Bai Dongwei was so furious that he almost stomped the ground. He completely forgot about treating their guests with courtesy and called for Dongfang Lie.

“I’m here,” Dongfang Lie was confused. He had no idea what his instructor wanted from him.

“Beat the crap out of him, if he can walk again in just a week, I swear I’ll let you rest in a sickbed for the entire month!” Bai Dongwei was almost screaming.

Dongfang Lie was stunned. -How is that even reasonable? Besides, why is the instructor so mad? Did this handsome foreigner kidnap his wife?

-That doesn’t make any sense. Bai Dongwei’s wife is as tough as he is. There’s no way the guy could kidnap her…-

Dongfang Lie walked up to the dueling ground in bewilderment.

“Are we starting now? That’s a bit surprising, but I do like straightforward people,” Sayed smiled. He kept showing his confident dimples.

“Egyptian scum, you shouldn’t be so full of yourself!” cursed Bai Dongwei, glaring at Sayed’s back.

He was extremely furious. Recently, the team had lost a duel that they were not supposed to lose after Lu Yilin left the team. To their surprise, someone actually thought they were just a bunch of sick cats. If he did not cripple the man and feed him to the dead pigs in Huangpu River, he would be unfaithful to the bright red flag with five stars!

“Come here all of you, someone is here to challenge us. Your duels are like a quarrel between women,” Bai Dongwei cleared his throat and summoned everyone who was training elsewhere.

The students from different institutes were having friendly duels with one another. They immediately gathered after hearing the call, even though they were utterly confused and clueless about what was happening.

Dongfang Lie and Sayed were already on the stage. They had chatted briefly with one another.

Dongfang Lie never had a great temper, either. He almost spat out fire when he heard the man was representing the Egypt team and had come alone to challenge them.

Do they seriously think the challenge stamp was as simple as an attendance check? If the man seriously thought he could acquire the stamp by himself, Dongfang Lie would not mind stamping the man’s face with his fists first. Where the heck did he get his confidence from?

“Hey, Dongfang Lie, what’s happening?” asked a student under the stage.

“This black face is from Egypt’s national team. He has come alone to challenge us,” replied Dongfang Lie.

“F**k me, does he really think he is Chen Zhen, to challenge us by himself!” cursed the person too. { TL Note: Chen Zhen is the character in the movie Fist of Fury.}

The student soon spread the words among the crowd. Without any surprise, the students immediately glared at the foreigner. They all had the urge to replace Dongfang Lie and beat the crap out of the Egyptian!

Anyone from their country would be mad. They would not say anything if it was a reputable country doing it, but who said the team from Egypt could disrespect them like that?

“Dongfang Lie, show him what you got!”

“That’s right, you can only teach a person like him to be humble with your fists!”

Dongfang Lie was serious when he heard the students encouraging him. Despite the circumstances, every duel in the National Training Hall would directly influence his future and the glory of his country. He could not afford to let down his guard.

“Wait!” Sayed called out all of a sudden.

“It’s too late to be scared now, humph!” spat Dongfang Lie.

“I’m not scared. Your number will only waste my time… I just want to know what the conditions are before I can get the stamp? Every place has its own rules for the challenge. Since I’m here on my own… mmm, I don’t mind taking all of you at once, but I will only allow it on a few conditions. However, if it’s a one-on-one duel, or you’re taking turns to fight me, you should tell me how many people I have to defeat in order to earn the stamp,” Sayed said in English.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Rules, of course there must be rules!

Sayed was not familiar with the character of these Chinese. What if they didn’t admit their defeat after he beat five of their representatives? Didn’t that mean he had to take on everyone else? Even though he wasn’t afraid of being tired out if that was his opponents’ tactic, he still found it annoying!

“You’re definitely the most annoying foreigner I have ever met,” said Bai Dongwei blatantly.

“Oh, thanks,” Sayed was not bothered at all by the remark. He actually returned the favor.

“You can set the rules,” said Bai Dongwei.

“Do your words count?” asked Sayed.

“Nonsense, I’m the instructor here. If you apologize for your arrogant behavior and bring the rest of your team here to challenge us, I will consider giving you the badge based on your sincerity. I, Bai Dongwei, am in charge here!” snapped Bai Dongwei furiously.

“No chance I’m apologizing. I didn’t do anything wrong. If I can set the rules, say, how about I hold the stage, and you can send three people to challenge me. They can fight me at the same time, or take turns to fight me. If I lose to any of them, it means I’ve failed the challenge. Otherwise, you will give me the stamp immediately. I’m really in a rush here,” claimed Sayed.

“How smug of you!” Bai Dongwei was so furious that he almost started cursing the man’s ancestors.

However, before he could speak, Mu Nujiao immediately stopped him, “Instructor Bai, don’t sweat it. If he’s so confident, it might imply that his abilities are useful when fighting multiple people or in prolonged fights. If those are the rules he asked for, we are willing to accept them.”

“How is that acceptable? If we win, he will accuse us of abusing our numbers. I’m not a fan of unfair duels. It doesn’t even feel good if we win. The challenges should be fair and just. If we can’t maintain our integrity, it will destroy our national team’s morale when they are competing with other countries!” replied Bai Dongwei.

“Instructor Bai, Mu Nujiao is right, we shouldn’t take the bait. He might be provoking us. If we simply let Dongfang Lie fight him, we might be giving the challenging stamp away too easily once again if Dongfang Lie loses the duel,” said another defender of the National Training Hall.

Bai Dongwei calmed down after hearing the student’s advice.

If the guy was indeed provoking them, he might have some weird capabilities to guarantee his victory over Dongfang Lie. Not only would they give the challenging stamp away, they would feel utterly sulky from the loss, too.

However, a group fight would greatly limit his advantages. A one-on-one duel was too unpredictable. For example, a Psychic Magician was basically unbeatable among Magicians at the same level. It was common for people to lose against a Psychic Magician without even casting a single spell.

“If you think it’s unacceptable, how about four… or five, you can have five people. It will waste too much of my time if it’s over five, and it won’t be a glorious win for you either, right?” Sayed grinned.

“Three, three is enough. If you can defeat them, I’ll hand over the stamp immediately!” said Bai Dongwei, while clenching his teeth.

Bai Dongwei agreed with Mu Nujiao as he calmed down. Their opponent must have something up his sleeves if he was acting so confidently. Dongfang Lie and the others were not weak, but their fighting ../style was too predictable, so they would easily be outsmarted in a duel. They were the ones that would suffer if they ended up giving the challenge stamps away too easily.

The challenges of the National Training Hall were not too strict. Every country was told to decide on the format themselves. The Halls could also suggest how the challenges would take place, as long as both sides reached an agreement.

“Fine, I hope you will keep your word,” Sayed grinned. His smile was rather charming, but none of the girls thought the man was handsome, since he was too full of himself!

—-

Dongfang Lie’s primary Element was Fire. He was easily ranked in the top five in the Pearl Institute.

During the preliminaries, Dongfang Lie had lost to Li Kaifeng. Li Kaifeng managed to overcome all the challenges and defeated every student at Pearl Institute. He was representing Pearl Institute on the national team.

Mo Fan and Li Kaifeng were unaware that they were actually schoolmates!

“You can start now. I believe everyone is aware of the rules of an official duel. I’m too lazy to explain them. Just get on with the fight!” Bai Dongwei stood at the spot of a judge and wasted no time.

His only desire was to see Dongfang Lie beat the crap out of Sayed until he dropped to his knees and licked the ground of their country!

After hearing the signal, the cautious Dongfang Lie did not make his move immediately.

Normally, he would immediately cast a spell to kickstart the fight. As a purely offensive Fire Magician, securing the edge during a one-on-one duel would secure half his victory. Dongfang Lie’s casting speed was not as quick as Dongfang Ming due to Ming’s outstanding talent, but the strength of his spells was a lot higher than Dongfang Ming’s!

“Idiot, what is he thinking? Just throw a Fiery Fist at the opponent before he reacts, why didn’t he abuse his advantages during such a crucial fight instead of being so tactical. Playing a mind game? Waiting for his opponent to strike first? How stupid!” Bai Dongwei immediately murmured.

It was important for a Magician to understand their strengths and weaknesses in a duel. It was unnecessary for someone like Dongfang Lie to use his brain…

Unfortunately, he had started using his brain because of how important the duel was.

What’s the point of using his brain if he had never used it before? He would simply give his opponent an edge!

As Bai Dongwei thought, Sayed finished channeling his spell while Dongfang Lie was waiting patiently.

It was a basic Star Orbit, but it unleashed a strong presence of death and evil, as if a tomb had just been torn open. The foul odor of a tomb immediately suffused the air!

“What is that…” Dongfang Lie was startled. He had never seen anything like it in his entire life.

It felt similar to Black Magic, yet both the Shadow Element and Curse Element were nothing like what he was seeing!

“Undead Element!” Bai Dongwei recognized Sayed’s magic with a single glance. He was completely in shock.

He had to admit that the Undead Element was incredibly rare, especially in China. Searching for Undead Magicians was harder than ascending the Heavens.

Without Undead Magicians, it was difficult to produce equipment like the Stardust Magic Tools, Nebula Tools, and the Galaxy Tools. Most of the tools in their country were obtained as imports. In some ways, it greatly hindered the rate of improvement of their country’s standards.

Undead Magicians were extremely rare, but important. As for their capabilities, even Bai Dongwei had never seen one in a real fight before…

He remembered an old professor telling him that the Undead Element was similar to the Summoning Element in a fight, but it was more troublesome to deal with!

A cloud of muddy air was circling around Sayed, like countless ghosts dancing to the wind. A hole had opened up under it, like a pitch-black well with the lid removed, a tunnel leading to the filthy, dark underworld…

Eerie shrieks were coming out from the hole, bone-chilling cries of agony!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The presence of undead!

The cloud of murky air gradually expanded. The undead were able to move freely within its coverage.

In addition to that, the undead would grow stronger as the aura did. The undead were different than most summoned creatures. If the deathly presence was strong enough, certain kinds of undead, like skeletons, would be revived from the dead.

Sayed was summoning a mummy-type undead. Its head appeared first, wrapped in gray cloth, followed by its hands as it crawled out of the hole!

The mummy was around three meters tall, its entire body wrapped in gray cloth. Only its eyes, nose, and mouth were slightly exposed between the gaps.

Its eyes were completely hollow, the sockets pitch-black. Its eyes were missing, its mouth did not have lips. The sound of whimpering was coming between its exposed yellow teeth, the sound full of hatred.

The gray-Cloth mummy crawled out from the hole and stood in front of Sayed like a little giant. Its undead aura filled the entire dueling ground.

It was irascible in nature. It immediately charged at its target after Sayed gave it the order!

A strong pressure rose when the mummy began to run. A height of three meters was not too scary for demon creatures, yet for some reason, the pressure the mummy brought was comparable to that of a beast over ten meters tall. Dongfang Lie had no chance of dodging it!

The gray-Cloth mummy was not as sluggish as most mummys. Its sturdy legs sank into the ground and came to a full stop when it was around ten meters away from Dongfang Lie. Shards of concrete scattered across the place from the mummy’s strong momentum.

The mummy threw a fierce punch. It seemed to have fully transferred the momentum of the charge into its arm. Its fist emitted a sharp blue flicker of light as it rapidly approached Dongfang Lie’s face.

Dongfang Lie had not thought the mummy could throw a punch at him despite being ten meters away. He quickly summoned his Shield Equipment in a panic.

Dongfang Lie’s Shield Equipment was a tower shield, big enough to fully cover his body.

The blue flicker slammed heavily onto the tower shield. It started trembling with a piercing screech as the violent force penetrated the layer of defense and headed for Dongfang Lie.

Dongfang Lie was able to react quickly, and immediately summoned his armor. A red armor wrapped around his body at the quickest speed.

The remaining force collided into the red armor, knocking Dongfang Lie six meters back!

The hot-tempered Bai Dongwei could not help but curse when he saw Dongfang Lie using two of his trump cards when the duel had only just begun.

The Undead Element was incredibly rare, but the undead were basically a bunch of demon creatures living in tombs and the underground. If Dongfang Lie had actually taken the initiative to attack first, he would not have been forced to use his defensive equipment so quickly!

“Don’t lose your head!” Bai Dongwei knew scolding the student in the middle of a duel would not be any help to him, but he still had no choice but to say that to Dongfang Lie.

Dongfang Lie realized he was at a disadvantage. He immediately jumped back to create some distance between him and the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy.

However, the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was extremely quick afoot. It immediately chased Dongfang Lie after the first punch. Dongfang Lie had no choice but to cast a Fiery Fist and release it earlier than he was supposed to…

The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy skidded sideways and dodged the burning fist.

The path of a Fiery Fist was in the shape of a gradually expanding fan. If the target was too close, the coverage of the attack was only slightly larger than a normal punch. On top of that, it only traveled in a straight line. With the right timing, it was fairly easy to dodge!

The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was obviously very familiar with human magic. Dongfang Lie was stunned when he saw the undead dodge his attack agilely. He quickly cast a Basic Spell to prevent the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy from moving any closer.

Even though Dongfang Lie’s Fire Burst had also reached the fourth-tier, its damage was totally ineffective against the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy. The undead simply forced its way through the explosion without trying to dodge it.

The undead quickly approached Dongfang Lie. It lifted its leg and kicked Dongfang Lie flying with a quick swipe.

Dongfang Lie’s armor was made of metal. The sound of the impact clearly implied that the mummy’s body was just as sturdy as Lie’s armor!

Dongfang Lie rolled quite a distance away after he landed. Luckily, the quality of his armor was rather impressive. Otherwise, the kick would have easily broken his ribs!

“Damn it!” Dongfang Lie clenched his teeth when he felt the pain from his chest.

“You won’t dodge it this time!” Dongfang Lie endured the pain and completed a Star Pattern. His right hand was engulfed in blazing flames!

“Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons!”

Fiery dragons sprang forward from the flames burning on Dongfang Lie’s fist, leaving a trail of flames in their wake…

The nine fiery dragons pounced at the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy. The blazing flames immediately devoured its body and set the area on fire.

“Bet it doesn’t feel great?” Dongfang Lie grinned when he saw the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy struggling in the fire.

He was surprised by the undead’s strength and speed at the start. However, the undead was surely no match for him. Dongfang Lie immediately cast a few spells to kill the undead while it was trying to escape from the flames!

Sayed stood far away, making sure that he was not within the range of Dongfang Lie’s spells.

His face was still displaying two dimples, meaning that he was still wearing a grin.

His blue eyes suddenly emitted a red flicker, as if he had just given an order. The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy burning in the flames suddenly let out a roar and charged in Dongfang Lie’s direction, as if it had gone mad.

Its body was still burning fiercely. It simply brought the flames with it as it was running at Dongfang Lie.

Dongfang Lie was unable to dodge it. He was sent flying at a shocking speed, as if a huge truck had just rammed into him. He slammed heavily into the barrier around the dueling ground.

The impact was shocking. Dongfang Lie’s armor almost broke into pieces from the impact.

Dongfang Lie spat out mouthfuls of blood. His face was incredibly pale. He could not even stand up as most of his bones were broken…

“How weak!” The smile on Sayed’s face widened.

Bai Dongwei inhaled deeply, withholding the urge to curse. He quickly called a Healer over to treat Dongfang Lie’s wounds.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“That undead isn’t huge in size, but its weight is rather shocking. Take a look at its feet; the ground has sunken even though it’s only standing there. Therefore, anyone would end up like Dongfang Lie if the undead rammed into them…” analyzed a female student with short hair and black-framed glasses.

“Dongfang Lie lost earlier than expected. This Egyptian might be one of the strongest on their team. The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy alone is troublesome to deal with. Even the fourth-tier Fiery Fist didn’t do much against it.”

“It’s a tough loss, indeed. If he actually took the initiative, it wouldn’t have ended like this. He could at least have defeated that iron mummy.”

“Who’s going next?”

“I’ll go, my Plant Element can easily handle the undead,” said the female student with glasses.

“Mu Nujiao also has the Plant Element.”

“I’m better than her,” said the female student calmly. She stepped forward from the team and adjusted her heavy glasses.

Bai Dongwei was still lost in his anger. He was getting more annoyed when he saw the widening smile on the Egyptian’s face.

“Yue Tangxin, do you have the confidence to take him on?” said Bai Dongwei, looking at the girl with glasses.

Yue Tangxin nodded.

—-

Sayed’s eyes squinted when he saw his next challenge was a girl; he seemed rather intrigued.

“The big guy here won’t go easy on you. You better prepare your defensive equipment,” Sayed reminded Yue Tangxin like a gentleman.

However, it felt more like the man was provoking her. She remained silent and waited for Bai Dongwei to declare the start of the duel.

—-

It was the same Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy. As Yue Tangxin had speculated, even though the mummy was only three meters tall, its weight was rather shocking.

For example, if a three-meter-tall figure made of wood collided into an ordinary person, they would most likely suffer a few fractures. However, in the case of the iron mummy, most people would have died from the impact!

The iron mummy was incredibly heavy, which was also the reason it could unleash such shocking force with a punch ten meters away, and had taken out Dongfang Lie with a single collision, even though he was still wearing his armor.

Apart from its weight, the Gray-clothed Iron Mummy was nothing to be afraid of.

Yue Tangxin stared at the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy, channeling her magic secretly. Even the brilliance of the Star Orbit was hidden under her feet, to prevent her opponent from seeing it.

The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was pretty straightforward with its attack. It charged at Yue Tangxin once again.

The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy seemed to know that Yue Tangxin was preparing her trick under the ground. It decided to jump into the air. The creature could reach ten meters in the air every time it jumped, and each landing would send shards flying, clearly showing its shocking weight.

Yue Tangxin quickly backed away. She no longer had any time to finish her setup as the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy kept chasing after her. As she raised her hands and waved, a faint green light sprinkled across the place like a drizzle.

The ground that had received the drizzle changed immediately, as magic vines as thick as an adult’s arm drilled out and grew rapidly…

“Magic Vine: Grow!”

Yue Tangxin continued to channel the magic. The magic light served as a catalyst to the growth of the magic vines’ saplings. More vines emerged from the ground. The vines gradually thickened as they grew longer. Some grew thorns upon them!

“Magic Vine: Attack!”

Yue Tangxin remained calm. She was not in a panic to attack when the iron mummy was getting closer to her. She purposely waited until the magic vines were in position before making her move.

The spells of the Plant Element needed some time to grow, and with sufficient time, the spells would be able to unleash their maximum potential.

As Yue Tangxin gave the order, the matured vines lunged at the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy.

It was difficult to dodge all the vines. The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy had no chance of escaping regardless of how agile it was.

“Drag it down!”

Yue Tangxin stood between the vines. She did not show the slightest fear towards the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy. She pointed her finger up, commanding the magic vines to seal off its escape when the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was trying to break free from the vines.

The magic vines were like serpents. They quickly wrapped around the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy’s legs and dragged it to the ground fiercely.

As soon as the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy landed on the ground, several magic vines burst out from the ground and wrapped around its body a few times.

The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy tried to break free with brute force. It snapped a few vines in half as it was struggling, but new vines appeared faster than it could break them. The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy soon found itself surrounded by vines, unable to move at all.

“Nice one!”

“Using softness to conquer strength; I would like to see how the iron mummy is going to break free from the vines!”

The students cheered when they saw Yue Tangxin securing the edge in the duel.

The iron mummy who was unstoppable against Dongfang Lie turned out to be a puppet waiting to be trampled on against Yue Tangxin.

“Forest of Kun!”

Yue Tangxin did not give the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy any chance to break free. She immediately cast an Intermediate Spell and summoned a large thicket, surrounding the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy like a sturdy cage!

The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was unable to escape in a short period of time. Bai Dongwei was relieved upon seeing this. Yue Tangxin was very calm and rational with her approach.

She did not cast the Intermediate Spell right at the start. The truth was, the Intermediate Spell, Forest of Kun needed some time for preparation too!

Yue Tangxin first used the Basic Spells to produce enough vines under the ground. The vines were used to temporarily restrain the enemy’s movement, buying her time to prepare her Intermediate Spell. Once the ground was fully occupied by the plants, the Forest of Kun would be more efficient.

The fighting ../style of a Plant Magician was different than most offensive Magicians. It was necessary to focus on the arrangement during a fight, to slowly lure the enemy into the trap according to the situation…

“We don’t have many Plant Magicians in our country…” Sayed seemed rather calm despite the circumstances. He did not seem too bothered when his Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was entrapped. He slowly said, “However, the fact that you’ve easily dealt with my undead means you’re a lot smarter than the guy from before.”

“Show me what you’ve got!” said Yue Tangxin.

“I don’t really have much, the Undead Element is all I have. The question is, can you trap all of them… Come out!”

The hole from before appeared once again. When everyone thought the undead’s head would pop out first, they were shocked when they saw a huge, black bone saber coming out from the hole first!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The bone saber was black, yet emitting an icy glow. The glossy surface even reflected Sayed’s evil grin!

The giant saber first appeared, followed by the undead’s body. Unlike the muscular appearance of the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy, the second undead was exceedingly fleshy, covered in layers of winding sheets…

White burial sheets was a symbolic feature of the mummies from Egypt. However, most mummies were dried corpses, and were expected to be skinny, yet this particular mummy was quite plump. Even its belly was popping out.

As a matter of fact, there were undead with fleshy bodies too, but the fat mummy was not clumsy as it seemed. Anyone would have trouble feeling at ease after seeing the black saber it was holding in his hand!

The mummy was around five meters tall. It was basically a chariot for the bone saber, which was around six meters long. Its size had a strong visual impact when compared to the average size of a human!

The mummy roared like an ox, but its cry was nothing like an animal. Everyone’s ears were buzzing from the loud rumble.

“This is my Death Saber Mummy; I hope you will enjoy the fight!” Sayed burst out laughing.

The Death Saber Mummy had an astonishing aura. It immediately swung the black saber wildly before Yue Tangxin could analyze its type…

The creature had remarkable strength. It was able to swing the heavy saber in a full circle!

“Are you kidding… it was so far away,” the students were dumbfounded.

The Death Saber Mummy was at least a hundred meters away from Yue Tangxin. Everyone thought she would be safe as long as she maintained the distance from the undead, not because there was no spell that could reach her, but because most Magicians were able to react in time at such a distance.

The black saber slashed fiercely. Everyone could see the Death Saber Mummy’s flesh twitching.

The saber sprang forward. It did not just cut through the air, it even slashed the ground in half…

An obvious shockwave flew rapidly across the air, followed by the ground rupturing as if an earthquake was taking place. The force tore a huge ravine along the ground!

The ravine was a hundred meters long. It slashed the magic vines and the Forest of Kun along the way in half. Pieces of wood scattered in the air as a strong gust of wind followed the slash…

Violent, imperious!

The slash had completely destroyed Yue Tangxin’s setup. The shockwave was still heading for Yue Tangxin, leaving a deep cut on her armor. It was inches away from cutting through her skin!

Yue Tangxin stood blankly. The vines were drifting wildly in the wind. She stared at the shocking ravine. The slash was clearly executed a hundred meters away, yet it felt like the bone saber was swung right in front of her. Her heart was pounding heavily!

Yue Tangxin was fully focused on the Death Saber Mummy. She totally forgot that the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy had broken free after the vines were destroyed. The creature was fairly close to her too.

Yue Tangxin was stunned. She knew she had lost the duel when she saw the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy approaching her.

“I concede… AH!”

Yue Tangxin raised her hand to signal to judge Bai Dongwei and Sayed that she forfeited the duel.

She did not want to get hurt, as it would stop her from participating in the training. She had only conceded when she knew she had no chance of dodging the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy’s attack.

However, Yue Tangxin did not expect the attack to come so quickly. She could not even finish her sentence when she felt a strong force colliding into her. The thin layer of armor she was wearing failed to make any difference. Her body was slightly out of shape!

The sound of bones fracturing was loud and clear enough that the whole crowd of more than a hundred people in the hall fell silent.

Yue Tangxin’s body was heavily deformed as she was knocked into the air. The students watching the fight could clearly feel the pain she was suffering…

“Asshole, didn’t you see her surrender!?” cursed Bai Dongwei immediately.

Sayed was about to apologize, but his expression darkened when he heard Bai Dongwei’s curse. He said coldly, “First of all, she should have surrendered earlier! She didn’t really finish her sentence there! Second, even though the undead is following my orders, it’s not really me! They are violent in nature to begin with, so even if I tried to stop it, it wouldn’t necessarily stop its attack in time!”

Bai Dongwei was so furious that he simply had the urge to teach the proud Egyptian a lesson himself. However, he was not in the mood to waste his time with the man after seeing Yue Tangxin’s condition. He quickly went over to check on her.

“How is it? How is she doing?”

“How vicious; if the attack was slightly stronger, Yue Tangxin would be dead by now,” said the Healer, clenching his teeth.

“Just make sure she survives.”

“Help me out, hold her shoulders and legs in place, they are fully broken… Instructor, you should visit the Oriental Pearl Tower Magic Association and ask for a higher-level Healer. I…I can’t guarantee that I can save her,” said the Healer sternly.

“I’ll bring her over,” said Bai Dongwei.

“We can’t do that; we can’t let her bones fracture any further. The broken bones might puncture her arteries and organs. I’m afraid that her condition will worsen with even the slightest movement,” explained the Healer.

“What… seriously…” The watching students were stunned by the words.

How cruel was the Egyptian? Did he really have to go so far? It was only a duel, there was no need to inflict such serious damage to Yue Tangxin, regardless of how weak she was!

Everyone felt a chill running down their spine when they saw the Yue Tangxin’s distorted body.

—-

Bai Dongwei quickly went to make the call. Luckily, the place was fairly close to the Magic Association. An Advanced Healer was readily available most of the time.

Not long after, a male Advanced Magician in casual clothes arrived. He immediately saw the seriously injured Yue Tangxin and cast an Advanced Healing Spell on her. A white Star Constellation appeared around him…

“Lend me a hand,” the plain-clothed Magician told the student Healer.

“Sure.”

“We have to move the broken bones at once. They are already stuck in her veins,” said the plain-clothed Healer.

“I…I…” the student was terrified. Her condition was a lot worse than he had imagined!

“Stop talking, focus on directing her blood flow. I’ll move the broken bones. Remember to unclog her blood as soon as I remove the bones.”

“Got it!” confirmed the student Healer.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Everyone knew how serious the injuries were when they had to treat the injured right at the scene.

Yue Tangxin had been jolted back to consciousness a few times by the incredible pain, but she quickly fainted every time. Even the boys could feel their hearts flinching as they watched her!

“You son of a bitch, how dare you hit her so heavily? Didn’t your teacher teach you not to overdo it in a duel!” a student snapped furiously, pointing at Sayed.

“None of you has the Undead Element. You couldn’t possibly understand how difficult it is to control the undead,” replied Sayed coldly.

“Aren’t you even going to apologize!?” Bai Dongwei rose to his feet with an utterly displeased expression.

“The challenger doesn’t need to bear any responsibility unless someone is killed or purposely placed under a curse in a duel. Injuries are inevitable in a fight! If she wasn’t prepared for this, she should quit the team and stay at school! Our teacher taught us to treat every fight seriously! Even if it’s only a duel, we should handle it as if we are going against a demon creature!” Sayed was not in a good mood after being accused by the crowd.

He never thought the girl from China’s National Training Hall would be so weak, not to mention she was only wearing some cheap armor.

If he had to apologize every time he hurt someone in a duel, the fights would be utterly meaningless. They would never understand how a real fight was, and yet they still had the guts to condemn him with their morals?

“You’re unbelievable!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t come to enjoy some tea as a guest! You still have one candidate left. Just hurry up and send someone up. I promise that I’ll go easier on them. To be honest, I did not expect you to be this weak. I’ll be more careful in the next fight. Otherwise, you’re going to point and scream at me again. Such an unreasonable country!” Sayed had no intention of apologizing. His words were full of mockery.

Bai Dongwei’s face was twitching furiously. He glanced over at the students, trying to pick someone for the last fight. However, apart from Lu Yilin, who had already left to join the national team recently, the others would most likely end up the same way as Yue Tangxin.

“I’ll go, instructor!” Mu Nujiao slowly stepped forward.

She could not stand it any longer. There were more than a hundred students in the hall, yet they were greatly humiliated despite having the number advantage!

It was useless to be reasonable if they were weak!

“Even though you have the Plant Element too, you won’t stand a chance against him. You only have a few offensive moves, but his two undead are incredibly powerful. You can at most drag the fight on longer, but you have no chance of winning it.” Bai Dongwei was not stupid. He understood that Mu Nujiao did not want their National Training Hall to be humiliated further, yet her primary Element was Plant and her secondary Element was Wind. She basically had zero chance of winning!

“I’ll go then. Humph, even if I end up the same way as Yue Tangxin, I can’t let him act so full of himself in our place!” said Li Yijun firmly.

Bai Dongwei shook his head. Li Yijun was even weaker than Dongfang Lie. If Dongfang Lie had managed to secure an edge at the start of the fight, the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy would not have been able to defeat him…

However, the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was far from the real threat. Their real problem was the Death Saber Mummy. Bai Dongwei could feel that the undead was extremely close to the strength of a Commander-level creature!

This Sayed might be full of himself, but there was no doubt that he was incredibly strong. Even the official members on the national team would have a hard time beating him. No wonder he had the confidence to challenge the National Training Hall on his own!

“But we can’t let him take the challenge stamp just like that. I won’t accept it!” said Li Yijun.

Not only were the defenders sullen, even the visiting students from the various institutes were clenching their teeth. They were in their own homeland, yet none of them had the guts to take on the challenge.

Bai Dongwei was almost never this infuriated, yet when he glanced around once again, he had no choice but to withhold his urges, since he was familiar with the capabilities of his students.

The outcome would still be the same. Being angry and wanting to protect their dignity was one thing, but sending someone up despite knowing there was no chance of winning was simply asking to be humiliated further!

“Forget it, we’ll give him the stamp,” Bai Dongwei made the decision after he almost broke his teeth from clenching them too hard.

“Instructor Bai, that’s not acceptable!”

“We’ve already lost too many stamps…” said Li Yijun.

“It is decided. Remember the lesson today. If any of you have the chance to join the national team and fight them in the World College Tournament, promise you’ll beat them into cripples. If you don’t, you will not come back and see me!” swore Bai Dongwei angrily.

The students lowered their heads. They had fought many challengers. Most of the challengers were courteous, and even when they lost the duels, everyone was peaceful about it. However, they had clearly felt the humiliation of being too weak. There were always people or countries who thought they were superior just because they were stronger, and this Sayed from Egypt was a typical example!

“Can I try?” a voice interrupted. It was clean and pleasant, without any hint of emotion.

Everyone was fully focused on Yue Tangxin and Bai Dongwei. None of them had noticed a stranger standing nearby for a while.

“You’re not a defender, what are you doing here…” began Bai Dongwei unpleasantly.

“You look familiar!” someone on the team blurted out.

“Mu Ningxue!” Mu Nujiao was the first to recognize the person. She was astonished.

“Mu Ningxue?”

“I think I heard the name before!”

“Damn! Mu Ningxue from the Imperial College? The strongest student of the Ice Element, Mu Ningxue?” some boys among the students from other institutes screamed from their seats.

Mu Ningxue was too easy to recognize. Long silver hair to the waist, and tender, snow-white skin… Most importantly, her beautiful face made everyone’s heart beat faster. Her appearance immediately solidified the blurry image most male students had of her.

Pretty face; attractive figure; an unapproachable, sacred, icy temperament that urged every man to stay away, but was able to awaken the deepest desires within them!

“Are…are you Mu Ningxue?” Li Yijun was stunned too.

Li Yijun was from Imperial College, too. It was not his first time hearing her name. Rumors said she was an icy goddess, yet when he actually met her in person, he realized that the girl was even icier and prettier than the rumors!

“Oh, I remember now, a student who left the national team would be here today. You must be the one…” Bai Dongwei realized.

“Mmm,” Mu Ningxue nodded before she said calmly, “If the challenge stamp is given out today, it means I’ve failed to defend the National Training Hall on my first day. I can’t accept that. Besides, this person has gone too far!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“If she used to be on the national team, her strength should be on par with Lu Yilin’s!”

“It feels like even if Lu Yilin is still around, he wouldn’t necessarily be able to defeat that Egyptian. Didn’t you see how strong the mummy carrying a giant saber was? The force it unleashed by waving the saber from a hundred meters away was strong enough to penetrate Yue Tangxin’s armor. Do you have any idea how strong it has to be?” the students began to talk among themselves.

Mu Ningxue was quite famous indeed, but everyone could not help but worry after they witnessed what had happened to Yue Tangxin.

“You want to fight him?” Bai Dongwei asked seriously.

“Mmm!” Mu Ningxue nodded.

Since she had become a defender, she could only return to the national team by performing outstandingly and stopping other countries from winning the challenge stamps. Therefore, she would not allow the Egypt team to earn the challenge stamp from the National Training Hall she was defending so easily, especially since it was her first day here!

Normally, Mu Ningxue would respond after considering her opponent’s capabilities. However, her only thought now was to fight her way back to the national team. She was determined to participate in the finals at Venice at all costs. She would not let any country that set foot in China’s National Training Hall go so easily!

“Are you sure? That guy is stronger than most members on the national team,” Bai Dongwei told Mu Ningxue truthfully.

“I wasn’t any weaker than the others even when I left the team,” said Mu Ningxue immodestly, aware that Bai Dongwei and the others were worried about her.

Now was not the time for Mu Ningxue to be modest and reserved, but the time to prove herself!

“Alright, but if there’s any danger, you must back off immediately. I don’t want to see anyone seriously injured like her again,” agreed Bai Dongwei. The instructor had a bad temper, but he actually cared for his students.

“Mu Nujiao, be careful, that Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy is very heavy, and its strength is shocking, too. The Death Saber Mummy is very close to the strength of a Commander-level creature too; it’s going to be a tough fight,” Mu Nujiao cautioned her.

“Mmm,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

She walked toward the stage, followed by a trail of frost. As she set her foot on the steps, they froze suddenly.

Sayed was observing Mu Ningxue. His proud gaze seemed to be intrigued by Mu Ningxue. The beautiful women from eastern countries had their own unique temperament, calm and elegant. They were rather conservative, unlike the women in Egypt, but at the same time, their appearance was very eye-catching.

“Are you seriously sending another girl to the fight? Are you telling me your National Training Hall is lacking men worthy enough to be my opponent? I will make it clear; my undead are extremely violent! If your flower is hurt, I shall not be condemned again!” Even though Sayed was admiring the woman’s beauty, he did not lower his proud stance.

He had seen lots of gorgeous women, and he would not easily surrender because of the silver-haired eastern beauty!

“Are you sure you can represent your team?” asked Mu Ningxue calmly.

“Do you take me as a smartass that came alone to challenge you without the team’s permission? Even if that’s the case, you should still be embarrassed about how weak your team is!” Sayed continued to look down on them. The moment he set foot in this country, he had assumed it was an underdeveloped, traditionalist and weak country. There was nothing worth mentioning about the country, apart from its size.

Humid air, heavy smog from air pollution, and pampered Magicians who could not accept their defeat. In Egypt, even if someone died in an official duel, the family of the deceased had no right to condemn the winner. Losers would just bury their heads and run away!

“Let’s begin,” Mu Ningxue reminded Bai Dongwei.

Bai Dongwei was still hesitant. He had only heard Mu Ningxue’s name before, but he was not too sure about her actual capabilities. As an instructor, he could sense that Mu Ningxue was only an Intermediate Magician. It was almost impossible for an Intermediate Magician to defeat Sayed’s undead!

“The duel… starts now!” Bai Dongwei finally declared the start of the fight.

Sayed was grinning. He was annoyed by the crowd’s nonsense. He could not wait to defeat the woman so he could regroup with his team.

He would not mind going easier on the woman as a way of appreciating her beauty and attractive physique. After all, he was still a true man who would react normally to a beautiful woman!

“Attack!” Sayed ordered. His pupils emitted a flicker of eerie light. The command was immediately transmitted to the minds of his undead.

His undead were actually dead puppets and extremely obedient to their master. The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy dashed forward as soon as it received the order.

The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was surrounded by a cloud of turbid air. It started roiling as the undead lunged forward like the engine of a train blowing out black smoke.

Mu Ningxue’s lips murmured softly, like an icy goddess summoning the icy fairies nearby.

The Ice Element gathered around Mu Ningxue rapidly. The particles were very tiny. Even the combined size of a hundred particles was smaller than a single dust particle. They were like formless air, invisible, but they truly existed.

“Ice Domain!” Mu Ningxue’s eyes glittered. The temperature of the air dropped rapidly. Her feet slowly lifted off the ground as her Domain was established, and she started floating!

The air had turned into ice, filling the area within a hundred meters of Mu Ningxue. The frost filling the area was unnoticeable at the start, but the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy’s speed significantly reduced in the process.

Every step it took would produce cracking sounds from the ground, covering the sound made by its stiffening joints.

“Wind Track!” Mu Ningxue controlled the wind. A strong gust of wind spiraled under her feet as the frost lingering in the air showed the wind’s motion…

The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy dashed forward and threw a strong punch, blowing the slowly falling frost away like sharp knives.

Mu Ningxue glided back. She nimbly dodged aside with an easy kick when she sensed the strong force approaching her!

Her hair drifted wildly in the wind. However, the force was unable to damage her winding locks. It only left an aftertrail as it went by, implying that it had traveled past Mu Ningxue’s ear.

The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy continued to chase after Mu Ningxue, yet it kept missing its punches. It only broke the frost in the air and ice covering the ground.

“Such quick reactions…” Bai Dongwei’s eyes glittered when he saw Mu Ningxue’s outstanding evasive ability.

Bai Dongwei could easily tell that Mu Ningxue was incredibly experienced in fights just by looking at her control of the Wind Element. She was already one of the strongest students among the defenders!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You can’t win if running is all you can do! It’s only a matter of time until my Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy catches you!” Sayed called out calmly.

He did not even send his Death Saber Mummy after Mu Ningxue. He was eager to see if the woman was just putting up a show, and as useless as the first guy with the Fire Element who also could not even take on his Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy.

Mu Ningxue had not stopped running since the duel started, controlling her Wind Path deftly. The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was a fairly agile creature, yet it had yet to touch even a thread of Mu Ningxue’s clothes.

Another punch was thrown. Half of the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was stuck to the ground, but both the punch and the force that it generated failed to harm Mu Ningxue. The girl stood just outside the range of the punch.

“You have underestimated my Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy. I only let it use seventy percent of its speed just to test your strength. It will soon teach you the definition of moving around without leaving a shadow behind!” Sayed chuckled.

“I’m afraid it won’t have the chance anymore,” Mu Ningxue replied coolly, remaining in place. The wind no longer appeared under her tall yellow boots as she let the Wind Track expire.

Sayed grinned disdainfully. His eyes emitted a strange red flicker as he ordered the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy to attack at full speed!

“Ah Tai, attack!

“Ah Tai… hurry up and pull your fist out from the ground and smash the woman!

“Asshole, what are you doing!” Sayed kept giving his orders, yet the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was not reacting to the commands.

Did the woman have the Psychic Element?

That wasn’t right, the woman wasn’t an Advanced Magician. Besides, the mummy didn’t seem to be out of his control.

Did that mean his mummy could no longer move?!

Sayed quickly came to a conclusion. He observed the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy closely.

Sayed was dumbfounded as he took a closer look. His Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was covered in a thin layer of ice. Even its iron skin was turning transparent from the frost.

Through the transparent iron skin, Sayed discovered that the insides of the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy were basically frozen solid.

-How did it happen so quickly?- Sayed was stunned. He could not understand how it all happened.

He did see Mu Ningxue cast Ice Spread, but based on his understanding, even the strongest Soul Seeds had no chance of immobilizing his Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy in such a short period of time!

—-

The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy tried to move by sheer brute force. Its movement resembled that of an old wooden puppet.

Mu Ningxue was standing less than twenty meters away from it, murmuring something. The freezing energy continued to penetrate the undead’s skin.

The Ice Element was particularly effective against zombies or skeletons, since the body structures of undead were different from living creatures with blood vessels, veins, and muscles. These undead had simple body structures and compositions. Even their attacks were usually quite predictable.

It was unnecessary for Mu Ningxue to freeze the mummy’s whole body. She only needed to focus on some of the important joints to impair the thing’s movement. It did not matter how sturdy or strong the undead was, it would turn into an abandoned mechanical puppet, unable to pose any further threat!

“Damn it, get moving, use your strength to break the ice!” Sayed demanded. He could not believe that his Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy had been dealt with so easily!

The Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy received the order, yet it could not move its body. It remained motionless in place.

“Freeze!” Mu Ningxue finished channeling. A stronger freezing energy lunged at the undead.

The thin layer of ice covering the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy thickened. The gray iron mummy turned completely white, looking like a snowman now.

“Wind Disc!” Mu Ningxue was extremely quick at casting her spells. With a wave of her hand, the breeze turned wild and violent after traveling a certain distance away from Mu Ningxue.

A tornado soon appeared in front of Mu Ningxue. It filled the sky with snow as it slowly approached the frozen Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy!

“Damn it!” Sayed immediately cursed.

Normally, a little Wind Disc could not even ruffle the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy’s skin. Its defense was even stronger than that of the Death Saber Mummy.

However, the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy was currently covered in ice, which would turn even the sturdiest object brittle. The Wind Disc would instantly shatter the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy into pieces!

If the undead broke into pieces, it was basically impossible to fix the pieces back together. Sayed asked the Death Saber Mummy to attack in a panic. He had to stop the Wind Disc from destroying the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy at all costs!

The Death Saber Mummy stepped forward heavily. Its flesh was swaying with every step it took.

It raised the black saber once again. The creature charged fiercely and stood in front of the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy, slashing at the tornado!

The force of the black saber collided with the Wind Disc: Tornado. The howling tornado, at least ten meters tall, was shattered with brute force. It dissipated as several whorls scattered in all directions.

The students watching the duel gasped.

-It can even slash an Intermediate Wind Spell in half? How powerful is this Death Saber Mummy!-

Mu Ningxue was fairly close to the impact. She reacted quickly and glided fifty meters away from the Death Saber Mummy!

The black force exerted by the saber stopped around four meters away from her. If Mu Ningxue had naively thought the saber was only targeting the Wind Disc, she would have suffered serious injuries by now…

She lowered her head and saw a cut on her sleeve. Fresh blood was pouring out from the five-centimeter cut.

Mu Ningxue’s face was icy calm. The cut would not affect her performance, yet it was a sign that her reactions were not quick enough. If she had been just a bit slower, her arm would have been separated from her body!

Mu Ningxue did not lose her will to fight. She stomped the ground heavily with her boot. “Ice Lock Formation!”

The frost covering the ground sprang into the air. It did not fall back to the ground, but floated around Mu Ningxue…

With a thought, the ice crystals, frost, and snow began to combine into countless chains. The chains connected with one another into a white ice chain around twenty meters long!

After the ice chain took shape, it floated around Mu Ningxue as if it had come to life…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Death Saber Mummy raised its giant saber. Its vicious eyes were fixed onto Mu Ningxue.

It took a step forward once again, before swinging the saber in a full arc!

“The same move again!” Bai Dongwei’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the Death Saber Mummy executing the same move.

The students watching the duel reacted the same way, too. It felt like the saber was dangling right above their heads, sending a chill down their spine.

Mu Ningxue felt like she was locked down by some force. She had no chance of dodging it at her own speed.

She calmed her thoughts and waved her finger around, controlling the ice chains around her.

The ice chains stacked on top of one another and bundled up tight. Mu Ningxue was well aware of the Death Saber Mummy’s strength. She was strengthening her defense the moment the mummy raised its saber!

The death saber swung down and fired off a crimson-red shockwave. It slashed through the air and tore the ground apart. The terrifying force produced a strong gust of wind, colliding with the line of defense that Mu Ningxue had set up with her ice chains.

Each of the ice chains was around twenty meters long. The wall was quite thick as the chains combined together, yet the slash still managed to break them to pieces!

White links scattered in the air. The ice chains were slashed apart. The defensive wall failed to endure the Death Saber Mummy’s attack. The black shockwave continued to travel toward Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue’s eyes glittered. A blinding glow burst out of her body.

The light spiraled and accumulated at the spot around two meters in front of Mu Ningxue. When the brilliance completely disappeared, a white shield in the shape of a heart floated firmly there!

The heart shield stopped the black shockwave. Its energy disappeared just two meters away from Mu Ningxue…

The crowd let out a relieved sigh.

Either way, Mu Ningxue had survived the attack. Every time the Death Saber Mummy attacked, it brought an incredible pressure to the crowd.

“Nice…nice one!” exclaimed Li Yijun.

It was fairly difficult to endure the attack. Even those with defensive spells had to rely on their shield equipment and armor.

Mu Ningxue had used the ice chains to build a wall of ice. The thick wall had nullified the majority force of the attack. She then summoned her shield equipment to block the remaining force and guarantee her safety!

“Her ability to summon so many ice chains in such a short time… as expected of someone who was on the national team; incredible talent, and still able to remain calm during a fight!” Bai Dongwei nodded.

Being strong was one thing, but if a person did not have the right attitude at the start of a duel, it would still influence the outcome. Dongfang Lie was the perfect example; he could not even defeat the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy, as he was too cautious.

“That’s nothing to be proud of!” Sayed soon regained his confidence with the dimples on his cheeks.

The Death Saber Mummy was not as agile as the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy. The creature did not even move this time. It slowly raised the saber to its waist.

Its hands held the saber tightly, before moving it horizontally for a hundred and eighty degrees, the saber now facing its back.

The Death Saber Mummy let out a cry like a mad ox as it swung the saber forward horizontally. It produced an extremely sharp flicker of light!

The flicker continued to expand to a length of fifty meters. It looked like someone slashing across with a fifty-meter-long giant saber!

Everyone was stunned when they saw the length of the slash. The dueling ground was around two hundred meters across. It was a fairly spacious area, yet the slash had occupied a quarter of the available space. Even the students who were seated quite a distance away subconsciously tried to dodge the slash when they saw it.

The truth was, they were around two hundred meters away from the duel, with a barrier in between protecting them. The death saber could not possibly reach them, yet they had all reacted subconsciously from the overwhelming pressure of death!

It was utterly terrifying. None of them could possibly survive the slash if it landed on them.

The giant saber had such wide coverage. How is it possible to evade the attack?

Mu Ningxue was surprised by the mummy’s approach, too. However, she was an experienced combatant who had fought many Commander-level creatures before, and did not lose her ground.

Her legs were already circled by winds, but they were far from enough to dodge the attack.

Moving away was not an option, as she could not outrun the long saber. She could not dodge sideways either, as the slash was coming at her horizontally.

Mu Ningxue clenched her teeth. She completed a Star Pattern in the nick of time and altered the direction of the Wind Track. She used the wind to lighten herself.

She leapt into the air and reached a height of five meters…

However, she still had not escaped the threat. The death saber might be traveling horizontally, yet the force it was exerting was spreading further in all directions and would still reach her. Mu Ningxue gathered her focus when she saw the slash approaching.

—

“Crap, she wasn’t quick enough, nor did she jump high enough!” Bai Dongwei was panicking.

Based on Bai Dongwei’s experience, Mu Ningxue needed to jump at least twenty meters high into the air to completely dodge the attack. On top of that, she had to move faster than the speed of the slash, too.

However, both her height and speed were not enough to guarantee her safety. The terrifying slash would surely hit her in the air. He only hoped that Mu Ningxue was able to summon her armor in time, and hopefully the armor was strong enough to endure the attack!

—

Mu Ningxue felt she was still in extreme danger, too. The wind circling under her feet grew stronger. Meanwhile, an ice chain was forming close to her. The ice chain was made of the ice particles lingering in the air, and she managed to produce the ice chain fairly quickly without needing to start from scratch.

The ice chain appeared under Mu Ningxue’s feet, serving as a stepping stone for Mu Ningxue to jump higher.

She had not achieved the Advanced Level, so her physical strength was not as impressive. A vertical jump of around five meters was her limit…

Like walking on a tightrope, Mu Ningxue’s boot kicked the ice chain in the air heavily while she controlled the wind to lift her up…

The force of the kick and the wind immediately launched Mu Ningxue higher into the sky. She quickly reached a height of over twenty meters!

A second later, the ice chain that she had used as a stepping stone was slashed in half with a clean cut, as if it was a stalk of grass.

The black slash swept across the place with strong gusts of wind blowing in all directions. Luckily, Mu Ningxue was high enough in the air. Otherwise, her fragile body would have been shredded to pieces by the force!

Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw Mu Ningxue dodging the ferocious attack by skipping in the air, disbelief all over their faces!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Light as a crane, dodging the deadly attack calmly despite being such a close call!

Some people doubted Mu Ningxue’s strength before the duel, even though she used to be on the national team, but they were now convinced!

Everyone knew that an Intermediate Magician’s physical attributes were not all that outstanding compared to a normal demon creature. If they failed to maintain a safe distance away from a demon creature, it was relatively easy for the agile, fierce creatures to kill them in an instant. Only Advanced Magicians had quick enough reactions to dodge their attacks, allowing them to take on demon creatures both from range or in close combat…

The Death Saber Mummy’s slash with fifty meters of coverage was basically impossible to dodge for any Intermediate Magician. They could only endure it with Shield equipment or Armor.

Considering the undead’s outstanding strength, any Magician would suffer serious injuries even with the protection of their armor, just like Yue Tangxin had.

However, no one had expected Mu Ningxue to dodge the slash by skipping so high in the air. Even the instructor Bai Dongwei’s face was covered in disbelief.

Casting the Ice Lock as she was rising in the air, and altering the direction of the Wind Track to push her further up… how could an Intermediate Magician possibly have such extraordinary control?

—-

Mu Ningxue did not land too quickly. She retained control of the wind around her to help her land safely.

As she was falling, she continued to produce ice chains. The Intermediate Spell was rather lively under her control. She was able to cast the spell without standing in one spot…

The deadliest weakness of Magicians was the process of channeling spells. Many Magicians who lacked skills needed around five seconds to cast an Intermediate Spell. During this time, demon creatures had more than enough time to approach them and slap them to death, before they could even finish drawing half the Star Patterns.

Mu Ningxue had mastered the ability to cast her spells just by waving her hands. Apart from her solid foundations, it was also the strength of her Domain.

As long as she was in her Domain, her Stars were able to connect at a faster rate. On top of that, the Ice Domain was also the source of her extraordinary control of the Ice Element.

She was able to utilize the maximum potential of her Domain. Therefore, she was not totally helpless when fighting a Commander-level creature. She rarely had to face one, depending on the terrain.

—

“Go!”

Mu Ningxue summoned four ice chains in an instant. Each section of the chains was able to move freely. They were incredibly flexible under her control!

The four ice chains rapidly approached the Death Saber Mummy and tied its arms down. they also triggered a snowfall. Even Sayed could feel the bone-chilling cold!

Sayed was quite cunning. He remained behind the Death Saber Mummy throughout the duel, not giving Mu Ningxue any chance to attack him directly. Mu Ningxue knew that she had to defeat the Death Saber Mummy if she wanted to take Sayed down.

The freezing finally came into effect. Mu Ningxue had never stopped spreading the ice in her Domain. The Death Saber Mummy already had a thin layer of frost covering its white wrappings.

The wrappings were a layer of defense too. As the ice chains touched the Death Saber Mummy’s body, the chill penetrated the wrappings and froze the creature’s skin and muscles.

“Just a little longer,” Mu Ningxue held her breath and waited patiently for the right time.

Ice Magicians were not afraid of prolonged fights. Their ice would become stronger as the fight dragged on. It did not matter how strong the Death Saber Mummy was, as it could no longer raise its saber once the frost penetrated its bones and joints. Even the sturdiest defense would shatter after a single hit when it was frozen!

Mu Ningxue did not attack. Her job was to let the fight drag on by kiting the enemy. In just another minute, even the movements of a Commander-level creature would be restrained!

Freezing the bones and joints was crucial to her plan. Mu Ningxue could see a hint of panic in her opponent’s eyes.

—

Mu Ningxue’s speculation was on point. Sayed was indeed starting to panic.

Sayed had not expected the woman to dodge two of the Death Saber Mummy’s attacks. The air was turning cold. He was well aware that if the Death Saber Mummy did not get rid of her soon, once the ice penetrated t’s bones, it would become useless, just like the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy!

The Death Saber Mummy was able to slash other forces in half, but how would it be able to cut away the frost?

-Damn it, how is someone as strong as her a defender of the National Training Hall? Looks like I’ll have to use my other Element!- , Sayed cursed in his heart.

—-

“Calm down, calm down, the Egyptian’s Death Saber Mummy isn’t as scary as it seems. It’s just a simple-minded machine. Its attacks are powerful, yet it only has a few moves. Don’t be intimidated now…,” breathed Bai Dongwei.

After a few rounds between Mu Ningxue and the Death Saber Mummy, Bai Dongwei finally understood the undead’s weakness.

He was quite shocked when he first saw the Death Saber Mummy. If a random person on the Egyptian team was able to summon a killing machine like the Death Saber Mummy, didn’t that mean their national team had no chance of winning against the Egyptian team?

As a matter of fact, the Death Saber Mummy had a critical weakness. It was unable to move as freely as the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy. Due to its fleshy body, every step it took required effort. All its strength was concentrated in its hands, and the death saber was its only attack!

The creature was unable to pose any threat as long as one could dodge its cuts.

It was a relief that Mu Ningxue had managed to remain calm throughout the entire fight. It was something that most of the students in the National Training Hall failed to do in a fight. They all assumed the Death Saber Mummy was unbeatable after witnessing Yue Tangxin’s injuries.

That being said, Mu Ningxue’s had Ice Element played an important role in the fight. She was able to maximize its potential while being patient with her approach, despite the risks involved. She was determined to win the duel by waiting for the freeze to come into effect!

—

“Attack!’ Sayed pointed at Mu Ningxue. His voice was hinting at how impatient he was feeling.

The Death Saber Mummy raised its hand. Its movements were clearly not as fluent as they used to be. It seemed to be struggling.

The saber was raised over the creature’s head. The Death Saber Mummy used both its hands to spin its saber above its head.

As the saber started spinning, a huge wind started blowing. The snow disturbed by its motion highlighted its path.

The Death Saber Mummy leaned forward and whipped out its hands. It was hurling the spinning saber at Mu Ningxue, together with the strong wind!

The saber howled through the air. It was fearsomely fast!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The saber was flying around five meters above the ground. Mu Ningxue was now fully aware of her opponent’s tricks after seizing the initiative of the duel.

When the presence of frost reached a certain level, Mu Ningxue could even produce ice and snow with her thoughts alone.

The whole place was covered in ice. The Ice Spread had stacked up lots of layers of ice. When Mu Ningxue saw the black saber approaching, she quickly summoned the ice particles and rapidly built hills of ice in front of her!

Mounds of ice emerged from the ground. Each of them was over seven meters tall. The three hills of ice served as Mu Ningxue’s best defense!

The black saber was spinning with an incredible force. The first hill was broken into pieces with brute force. However, as the saber collided with the second hill, its speed dramatically decreased. It was no longer producing strong gusts of wind…

However, it was still flying through the air. Its sharp edge stuck heavily into the third hill, which was around eight meters thick. The saber only managed to penetrate a third of the hill before coming to a stop.

Sayed was stunned!

How did the woman cast magic without drawing a Star Pattern? And… ice hills?

The Ice Element had never had such a spell in the Basic, Intermediate or Advanced Level. It did not look like a different form of the usual Ice Spells, either. It was a completely new ability!

The Death Saber Mummy’s spinning saber was its strongest attack, yet it had failed to overwhelm the opponent’s three defending ice hills…

Little did Sayed know, Mu Ningxue had once used the ice hills to defend against a real Commander-level creature’s attack. The Blue Valley Ferocious Beast’s vicious slash was a lot stronger than the Death Saber Mummy, but Mu Ningxue had still managed to stop its attack with the ice hills!

The stronger the presence of frost, the stronger her ability was. The ice hills were another form of her magic under the effects of her Ice Domain!

“You…you’re not an Intermediate Magician!” Sayed pointed at Mu Ningxue and snapped furiously. An Intermediate Magician could not possibly have done that! The woman must have hidden her real cultivation!

The truth was, Sayed had never even seen any Advanced Ice Magician possess such a remarkable control over the Ice Element!

—-

“What’s going on? Mu Ningxue’s Ice Element is completely different than ours!” a defender who also possessed the Ice Element yelled out in surprise.

She was a peak Intermediate Ice Magician too, yet Mu Ningxue’s Ice Element felt alive. Why was Mu Ningxue’s Ice Element so much stronger, while her Ice Spells were forever limited in the form of Ice Spread and Ice Lock?

“Yeah, it’s unbelievable. The Death Saber Mummy is almost as strong as a Commander-level creature. How did she manage to stop the attack?” said Li Yijun.

“She’s really remarkable. She had full control of the duel. The Ice Spread has stacked up to a terrifying level. The Death Saber Mummy will soon be frozen!”

The crowd was more confused than they were astounded. Mu Ningxue’s abilities were obviously beyond the Intermediate Level!

“It’s the Ice Domain, her innate talent,” said Mu Nujiao.

Mu Nujiao had already seen Mu Ningxue’s talent when she was an exchange student. Mo Fan was her opponent, and he had also displayed his Double Innate Elements in the duel. Back then, their cultivation was on par with one another, and both of them had outstanding innate talents. Mu Nujiao could easily tell both of them would grow a lot stronger, and as she thought, they had both joined the national team!

“Do…domain?” The students almost dropped their jaws to the ground.

Most people had only heard about Domains, but not many had actually seen one. Even their teachers who were Advanced Magicians did not necessarily have the ability to construct a Domain!

Having capabilities beyond the Advanced Level when her cultivation was only in the Intermediate Level, this was the true standard of the national team!

“I heard some inside information. Apparently, Mu Ningxue was only disqualified from the national team because her family was involved with the Black Vatican. The truth is, it’s likely that she’s one of the strongest members on the national team. It’s such a relief that she has come to the National Training Hall today! That Egyptian is surely going to suffer, we must teach him a lesson!”

“That’s right, he didn’t even apologize when he almost killed someone. He even argued that duels are always cruel! Cruel my ass!”

“Mu Ningxue, since he’s a guest in our country. Let’s go easy on him. Just crippling him is fine!” someone among the crowd shouted.

Power was the ultimate truth. The students of the National Training Hall were very relieved when they saw Mu Ningxue securing the edge of the duel. No one really cared about the negative news that her family was involved in. Someone had come to their territory to challenge them, and even humiliate them after he almost killed their representative. However, Mu Ningxue had stepped forward to serve justice. How could such a righteous person have anything to do with the Black Vatican?

“Let that asshole know the consequences of provoking us, we can’t let him go so easily!”

“Keep it up, Mu Ningxue!”

Bullying was the most detestable act, while being forced to swallow insults and run away was extremely humiliating. Luckily, Mu Ningxue had intervened. Otherwise, the defenders of the National Training Hall and the students from other institutes would forever live in shame.

—-

Mu Ningxue was a lot calmer and more patient than everyone thought.

Even when her frost had covered the whole dueling ground and secured her the advantage, she was willing to wait longer.

Sayed formerly smiling face was now expressionless. His confident dimples had disappeared. The disdain and pride in his eyes had vanished, too.

He had no choice but to reevaluate his opponent. The strength that the woman had displayed was above the average level of a national team. As a matter of fact, she could even be considered an elite!

He had no intention of losing the duel, as it would cost his team the challenge stamp that was already within his reach.

Sayed was in deep thought. He knew he could no longer rely on the Death Saber Mummy. He had to defeat the woman by attacking at the right time!

“Freeze!” Mu Ningxue did not give Sayed any time to think as she strengthened the Ice Spread. The freezing energy penetrated the Death Saber Mummy’s body fiercely.

The Death Saber Mummy’s movements became very clumsy. Its fleshy body had entirely stiffened, as it was freezing at an even faster rate.

She gradually approached the Death Saber Mummy to utilize the maximum potential of her Domain.

Not long after, the Death Saber Mummy could no longer move. At this point in the duel, an Ice Magician was basically unbeatable. Even the most agile opponent would be turned into an ice statue. The whole dueling ground was covered in ice, including where Sayed was standing.

Finally, the Death Saber Mummy was turned into a small hill of frozen meat. It could not even move its finger.

Mu Ningxue stepped on the snow and slowly walked past the Death Saber Mummy. She was staring coldly at the Undead Magician, Sayed.

Sayed did not cast an Undead Spell again, implying that he only had two reliable undead creatures.

Sayed did have quite a lot of undead he could call on, but they were weak creatures who would be turned into ice instantly after they were summoned. They would not make any difference!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As Mu Ningxue moved closer, she pointed her finger. The frost scattered on the ground gradually climbed onto Sayed’s legs as if it had come alive.

Sayed was given a scare. He tried to break free, yet his legs were no longer under his control.

“Freeze!” Mu Ningxue’s eyes glittered. The spot her eyes were set on was freezing multiple times faster.

Sayed’s left leg seemed to be protected by something. The frost did not cover it. However, his right leg was obviously covered in ice. It soon looked like a frozen stick.

His eyes were panicking as he dragged his right leg back.

“I won’t lose, there’s no way I’m losing!” screamed Sayed furiously.

Mu Ningxue remained silent. She slowly closed her eyes to gather the ice particles onto Sayed’s body. It was time to teach this arrogant Egyptian a lesson.

Sayed’s blue eyes flickered cunningly when he saw Mu Ningxue focusing on controlling the ice particles. He immediately grinned.

“Detonate!” Sayed mumbled as he delivered the command to the Death Saber Mummy.

The Death Saber Mummy was mostly frozen, yet its brain was still active. When Sayed gave out the command, the Death Saber Mummy’s head suddenly bloated and exploded after reaching its limit!

As the fleshy head exploded, the blood, flesh, and pieces of bones scattered across the place with great force.

Mu Ningxue was caught by surprise. She immediately summoned a wall of ice to cover her back, preventing the bone shards from hitting her.

As her attention was diverted, Sayed’s grin widened!

The reason his left leg was not covered in ice was because it was protected by a faint light. It was able to stop his body from freezing temporarily. Meanwhile, he had allowed his right leg to freeze to trick Mu Ningxue into believing that he no longer posed any threat to her!

The truth was, he still had another Element that he had not used. It was the Shadow Element!

He was trying to move back further, to the spot covered in the shadow…

“Damn it, my leg is stuck to the ground!” Sayed was about to make his move, yet he realized something annoying.

He had taken the act too seriously, and now it prevented him from moving!

However, he was desperate to win the duel. He was representing the Egyptian team! If he lost the duel, he would lose the chance to acquire the challeng stamp too. He would be too ashamed to report back to the team!

“It’s my only option!” Sayed clenched his teeth as he made a difficult decision.

It was his only chance, even if it would cost him a leg. Anything was worth it as long as it could secure him the final victory!

Sayed withheld the pain as he forcibly dragged his right leg out from the ice.

His leg was rigid from the cold. He basically twisted wildly and pulled with great force, snapping off his leg off under the knee!

There was not any pain due to the cold, but Sayed knew it was only temporary. He would soon be overwhelmed by the pain from losing his leg.

The sacrifice was necessary to secure the victory. The woman was surely going to lose as long as he could move!

“Fleeing Shadow!”

Sayed merged with the shadow and vanished into thin air, leaving a leg stuck behind in the ice. It was a very eerie sight!

The crowd was stunned. How cunning was this Sayed? He pretended like he had already lost the duel just to get Mu Ningxue to lower her guard. He then detonated the Death Saber Mummy behind Mu Ningxue to distract her, just so he could successfully deliver his surprise attack!

They could not help but admit that this Sayed was truly crazy, willingly sacrificing his leg just to win the duel. Anyone would have thought that Mu Ningxue had already won the duel!

“Watch out!” someone from the crowd screamed, but it was too slow. Sayed’s move had taken everyone by surprise!

A black shadow flowed over to Mu Ningxue’s side. Sayed’s tall figure appeared from it. He looked rather sinister covered in the dark aura.

He was holding a short, dark dagger. It was difficult to notice it without seeing the icy flicker it was reflecting.

It was the Devouring Dagger. Anyone who was stabbed by the dagger would feel their body being eaten by tens of thousands of ants, leaving them in incredible pain.

As a matter of fact, Sayed was hesitant to treat a beautiful woman with such a cruel method, but wasn’t it her fault after forcing him into a pinch like this?

Sayed’s move was completely unpredictable. The speed of his Devouring Dagger was as quick as the bite of a poisonous snake. Even instructor Bai Dongwei did not expect the move!

“You must be proud after costing me a leg, but you’re going to pay a bigger price!” Sayed stabbed the dagger at Mu Ningxue’s shoulder.

Mu Ningxue stood where she was. Sayed was only around a meter away. Most terrifyingly, the Devouring Dagger was inches away from piercing her skin.

Mu Ningxue remained expressionless.

The dagger stabbed at Mu Ningxue fiercely, yet it did not penetrate her skin. Somehow, it felt like the dagger had hit a sturdy crystal.

Sayed’s hand turned numb from the rebound force. His eyes almost popped out from their sockets as he could not believe what he saw.

Mu Ningxue’s body was covered in a layer of icy crystal. It was not an armor, but the same frost that had spread across the Death Saber Mummy and Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy’s bodies. Mu Ningxue actually covered herself in ice as a layer of protection!

Sayed was not surprised by her ability, but her reaction speed!

Even though his plan consisted of a few steps, including losing his right leg, disappearing in the shadow before showing up close to Mu Ningxue to ambush her, his actions were completed almost instantly after he detonated the Death Saber Mummy’s head. As such, he was dumbfounded; he could not believe the woman had actually predicted his move, and had set up her defense beforehand!

However, if she knew he was planning to deal her a surprise attack, why did she only cover herself in ice after he broke off his leg…

“You…you did it on purpose!” yelled Sayed furiously, now on the verge of having a breakdown.

Mu Ningxue ignored his cry. She had no intention of interacting with lowly scum. He was going to enjoy the pain from breaking off his leg…

She turned around and slowly walked off the stage. The Ice Domain lingering in the area was soon withdrawn, including the ice that was covering Sayed’s right leg.

The ice worked like anesthesia, but as the ice melted, the returning pain was going to become true torture!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Sayed stood still, glaring fiercely. His heart was engulfed in fury as he watched Mu Ningxue proudly turn around and walk away.

He was incredibly furious at the humiliation. His dignity as a member of an ancient, noble family from Egypt did not allow defeat, especially to a woman!

Sayed’s face started twitching when he felt the pain coming from his leg. It was growing stronger gradually.

He clenched his teeth. His expression was twisting.

He tried to stand straight still with his remaining leg, yet he had underestimated the pain from his right leg after his senses recovered!

“Ugh!” Sayed let out a deep groan, like a beast who was about to go crazy.

“AHHHH!” Finally, the true agony came. Sayed let out a miserable cry. His ridiculous pride no longer existed. He could not even stand properly.

He fell to the ground. Blood started pouring out from the wound. His face turned extremely pale as cold sweat ran down his face.

“Treat my wound! Hurry up and treat my wound! You shameless and uncivilized scum!” yelled Sayed.

He crawled toward his shattered leg, as if he could stop the pain by connecting it back to his body. However, he started rolling around halfway. His cries even spread to the outside of the building.

This was the meaning of reaping what one had sown!

Instructor Bai Dongwei did not show any pity, nor did any of the students.

A severed leg was nothing compared to what he had done to Yue Tangxin. His life was not even in danger. Besides… he had actually snapped his leg off himself!

He naively thought he could sacrifice it in exchange for the victory. A shattered leg did not really affect him as long as he could treat the wound in time. However, he did not expect Mu Ningxue to come out on top. She waited until he proceeded with his little trick, and punished him for his deed in the simplest way!

No one would feel sorry for him since his actions were utterly detestable, not to mention that he had done it to himself!

As for treating his injury, it was obvious that Yue Tangxin needed treatment more than he did, since she was still in a critical state. Besides, the cold had actually slowed down the bleeding. It was unlikely that he would die of excessive blood loss.

“You…you assholes… I…I, Sayed, swear I’ll make you all pay!” screamed Sayed in pain.

The more he screamed, the stronger the urge for the crowd to ignore him grew. They did not even bother giving him a blood serum.

“Ugh! AH!” Sayed continued to roll on the ground. His face was distorted, his tears and snot all mixed together.

He had totally lost his noble, arrogant demeanor in front of the pain. He quickly grabbed the remaining snow on the ground and pressed it on the wound, trying to use the cold to ease the pain.

However, Mu Ningxue had withdrawn the majority of the ice. He only managed to grab a limited amount of it.

“Please, I’m begging you, please treat my wound…” Sayed finally understood his position. He could barely endure the pain using the ice left behind by the merciful Mu Ningxue.

“Will you stop cursing?” asked Bai Dongwei calmly.

“I…I won’t curse anymore,” Sayed’s expression recovered slightly. The ice was able to ease his pain slightly.

“Apologize to Yue Tangxin,” added Bai Dongwei.

“I’m sorry, I was being too full of myself…” Sayed wiped at the mixture of tears and mucus on his face.

He lowered his gaze and saw the ice melting. The pain from his leg was returning slowly.

“Quick, treat my wound. Please treat my wound. I have already apologized!” Sayed was so terrified that his body was curling up.

It was not like Sayed had never experienced pain before, but the pain grew several times stronger as his nerves gradually recovered from the frozen wound. Most people would find it unbearable.

Bai Dongwei did not go too far with the punishment. He quickly called the student Healer over.

Yue Tangxin’s condition had stabilized, although she still had to be admitted into the hospital for further evaluation. It was difficult to tell how long it would take for her to fully recover.

Meanwhile, Sayed’s injury was not as complicated as it looked. By attaching the broken-off limb to the wound and treating it with Healing Liquid, it would take only a day to reattach the limb.

“Seriously, why are we helping him? Just let him suffer,” said Li Yijun unpleasantly.

The others agreed, too. Wasn’t he looking down on their National Training Hall? He should figure out how to treat his wound himself! They had fought many duels with national teams from other countries, and had stumbled into strong foreign students, but they had never seen anyone so proud and arrogant. This Sayed from Egypt was simply scum!

“Mu Nujiao, well done!” said Mu Nujiao sincerely.

Mu Ningxue nodded. She was behaving like an ice statue as normal.

“They won’t be taking the challenge stamp. We finally stopped our losing streak.”

“Yeah, it’s a relief that Mu Ningxue was here. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be getting any resources again. We are already behind, yet we are getting even fewer resources. It’s so unfair; everyone is focusing on the national team, but no one cares about us.”

—

Sayed was carried to the resting room. He had suffered a humiliating defeat. Even he was ashamed to stay in the hall.

Bai Dongwei immediately asked the team to gather after the asshole left.

The students kept quiet, as they knew Bai Dongwei was about to deliver his admonitory speech. They quickly returned to their spots. The entire hall fell silent.

“I believe you’ve clearly felt the humiliation today. If Mu Ningxue hadn’t happened to join our team today, we would have had no choice but to swallow the defeat. I suppose I don’t need to describe how horrible it felt. I believe some of you would rather break every bone you have rather than experience it. Everyone has their own pride, and as the elites from your respective institutes, I’m assuming that your pride isn’t weaker than most Magicians.

“I want you to understand that there are all kinds of people in this world; those that are kind, courteous, and well-behaved despite their incredible talents, but there are also scum who are reckless, cruel, and disrespectful, too. I want you to remain modest, polite, and friendly to the former kind, but I also want you to be strong enough to trample the latter kind, so they will know that they shouldn’t be messing with the Magicians from China!” Bai Dongwei did not yell at the defenders as usual, but conveyed his thoughts sternly.

They had the option to be a courteous nation, or a nation of savages. Bai Dongwei was hoping that the defenders would not think of themselves as backups for the national team, but young protectors of the nation. They should not let the other countries think their nation was timid and weak, nor should they be forced to swallow the insult when the same situation happened again!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A man walked out of the Three Step Tower with a confident stride. His face seemed to be hinting that the whole world was within his grasp.

“HAHAHA, I, Guan Ying, have finally improved my second Element to the Intermediate Level! I can finally train on the same team as Wen Jing and crush that asshole Xu Dongqiang. Uncle is going to be impressed too, how splendid!…” The man who referred to himself as Guan Ying burst out laughing in excitement.

Meanwhile, a man in simple clothing and unkempt hair was also walking with a confident stride and joy on his face.

“HAHAHA, I finally did it. I am a f**king genius!” The man was laughing even more crazily.

Guan Ying was interested in making friends. He immediately went up to the man after seeing that he was around the same age as him. “Brother, it looks like your hard work has paid off too. Mine did too, but I didn’t really have anyone to celebrate with. It’s noon, so my stomach is already grumbling. Why don’t we go have some drinks and celebrate together? I know a barbecue place, I can guarantee that it’s one of the best!”

“Why not?” the man agreed.

“Come, haha, it’s better to have someone to celebrate with. By the way, brother, which school are you from?” said Guan Ying.

“The Fire School,” replied the student.

“Fire School, I heard everyone there is extremely violent. However, I swear I saw flickers of lightning around you when you came out just then. I thought you were from the Lightning School,” exclaimed Guan Ying.

“Mmm, Lightning is my secondary Element,” answered the student.

“Damn, Lightning and Fire, they say it’s the most violent combination. I am Guan Ying from the Light School. Lunch is on me, we can look after one another if anything happens… so your Lightning Element has also improved. Lightning and Fire are pretty scary together. Congratulations, I bet you’ve worked hard for it?” said Guan Ying.

“Yeah, I almost failed to expand my Lightning Element into a Galaxy. I f**king went all out when I thought about all the money I would lose if I failed the process. I almost fried my own brain. Luckily, I managed to break the barrier in the end. If the barrier was just a bit tougher, I might just be a retard now,” replied Mo Fan.

Guan Ying burst into laughter upon hearing it. He patted Mo Fan on the shoulder and said, “Brother, you must be very happy. You even mixed up your Nebula with a Galaxy. Galaxy is for Advanced Level. Yours is a Nebula. The Advanced Level is like a dream for us. I don’t even know if I can become an Advanced Magician in the future…”

Mo Fan remained silent.

Guan Ying soon realized the strange atmosphere. He looked at Mo Fan and asked with a strange expression, “Well, did you seriously improve to the Advanced Level?”

Mo Fan nodded with a smile. He was aware that he should not be too high-profile.

Guan Ying’s expression changed immediately, but he still forced a smile and said, “You are only around my age. How are you an Advanced Magician? Please don’t trick me like that…”

Guan Ying tried to inspect Mo Fan’s cultivation with his will. Normally, Mo Fan could have stopped someone else from probing his cultivation, but he had just had a breakthrough. He needed to share the joy with someone, so he did not stop the man.

As he thought, in just a few seconds, Guan Ying’s expression suddenly turned indescribable. He even froze in his tracks.

The joy he had from breaking through to the Intermediate Level was gone within an instant. It was replaced by lightning strikes shattering his fragile heart.

-I don’t want to live anymore!-

—-

The barbecue place that Guan Ying had in mind was not bad at all, but for some reason, the man did not really eat much, even though he looked like he was really starving when he first came out of the Three Step Tower.

Mo Fan was not too bothered by it. He was more than happy to clean up the table full of meat.

“Thanks for the treat, let’s drink again some other time!” Mo Fan left in satisfaction.

Guan Ying forced a smile as he watched Mo Fan left. For some reason, it felt worse than if he had failed the breakthrough!

—-

Mo Fan went back to the apartment. He felt disappointed when he saw the place still empty. Where did his two beloved concubines go? Why hadn’t they received him yet? He was thinking of sharing the joy of improving his Lightning Element to the Advanced Level with them.

“Advanced Level, Advanced Level Lightning, HAHAHA, magnificent, magnificent! I should let Miss Tangyue know!…”

Mo Fan sent a text, hoping that his Miss Tangyue would reply to him instantly to compliment his talent. In the end, Tangyue did not even reply to him. She must be busy doing some work for the Enforcement Union…

Mo Fan sent another text to Lingling, just to let his partner know that he know had two Elements in the Advanced Level. Look how awesome he is! He can definitely take on the difficult quests and earn big bucks!

Only a Hunter Master could easily earn some quick cash. Mo Fan was tired of the little requests that anyone could accomplish.

He suddenly heard the sound of the door being unlocked. Mo Fan leapt off from the couch like a kid who had just scored a hundred on a test.

The person pushing the door open was Mu Nujiao, with her slender figure and long, slim legs. She seemed even more charming after changing her hair../style to parting in the middle. Every action she did was elegant, like a well-raised daughter of an eminent family!

“Surprise!”

“Jiaojiao, it’s been a long time. Come, give me a…”

Mo Fan sprang to the door. He was planning to take advantage of Mu Nujiao before she could react. However, Mo Fan shockingly discovered a familiar face right behind Mu Nujiao, the same gorgeous face that could make his heart pound heavily. However, for some reason, he almost lost his soul when he saw the face this time.

“Give…give me your bag, why are you lifting such a heavy bag yourself? I’ll take it for you… ah, Xuexue, why are you here too? What a surprise? Why didn’t you tell me you were in Shanghai? I could have gone to pick you up!” Mo Fan grabbed the little handbag that Mu Nujiao was carrying.

Mu Nujiao took her shoes off with a stunned look, but proceeded to invite Mu Ningxue into the place.

Mu Ningxue had gone straight to the National Training Hall after arriving in Shanghai. However, it turned out that the National Training Hall did not provide students with accommodations. Since Mu Nujiao already knew Mu Ningxue, and they had both gone through the disaster at Jinlin City together, she decided to bring Mu Ningxue back to her place, as the girl had yet to find a place to stay at in Shanghai.

Mu Nujiao did not mention Mo Fan was staying with her, nor did she know that Mo Fan was also on the national team. She had no idea why Mo Fan had been gone for such a long time.

Ai Tutu had not been staying at the apartment lately. The whole place felt rather empty. Therefore, Mu Nujiao was planning to let Mu Ningxue stay with her to keep her company. To her surprise, Mo Fan had come back too!

“Oh right, I forgot to tell you that Mo Fan lives here too,” Mu Nujiao explained with a smile.

“You two are living together?” Mu Ningxue asked calmly.

Mu Nujiao’s face blushed. She awkwardly pointed at the rooms upstairs, “It’s not what you think. We are just renting the place together. He lives in that room, and my bestie and I live in the other room. This unit was the last place available that was close to Pearl Institute, so we happened to stumble upon the same place when we were looking for a place to stay when we first enrolled at the institute.”

Mu Ningxue was quite surprised to see a man in Mu Nujiao’s place, and he turned out to be Mo Fan, no less! She almost turned around and left, yet when she saw the rooms were indeed separate and listened to Mu Nujiao’s explanation, she did not comment further.

On second thought, if Mu Nujiao was really living together with Mo Fan, she had no reason to bring her here.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

For some reason, Mo Fan felt guilty as soon as Mu Ningxue stepped into the room.

Perhaps it was the aura of his first wife. His errant thoughts were immediately exposed!

“Come, have a seat. I told you to contact me when you came so I can help you settle down. You shouldn’t treat me as an outsider,” Mo Fan uttered a hollow laugh and quickly served Mu Ningxue, so that she would not suspect anything.

As a matter of fact, there wasn’t anything fishy, but Mo Fan was still feeling guilty!

Mu Ningxue totally ignored him while Mu Nujiao explained what had taken place at the National Training Hall.

Mo Fan slammed the table when he heard it.

Unbelievable! He would have broken all three of the gods-damned Egyptian’s legs if he was there! It was meant to be a duel between students, yet how dare he be so cruel to their teammate!

As they were chatting, a little loli barged into the room through the door that was not closed properly. She was wearing a clean white and blue uniform while holding a cup of red bean milk tea. Her cheeks were puffed out from the drink. They were so adorable that anyone would have the urge to go up and rub them.

However, her eyes did not look innocent and pure like most girls at her age. They seemed inattentive, yet sharp at the same time.

“Lingling!” Mu Nujiao was quite surprised. It had been a while since the girl last visited them. She was normally here for Mo Fan, as she was Mo Fan’s partner.

Mu Nujiao loved Lingling, and even had the urge to give the little girl all the snacks in the fridge. Too bad Lingling never really accepted the gorgeous lady’s favor.

A room full of girls! Mo Fan was suddenly overwhelmed with happiness!

“I’ll come later if you’re not free,” Lingling did not enter the room. She was standing at the vestibule.

“Tell me why you’re here first,” said Mo Fan.

Lingling was most likely visiting him to discuss the quest. Going to school every day was driving her crazy. She was a Hunter, a Master Hunter in the Magic City!

“Weren’t you asking for a big quest?” Lingling took her shoes off and threw the plastic cup into the bin.

Mu Ningxue looked at the little girl. She was curious why Mo Fan was discussing his Hunter work with a girl who seemed to be in high school.

“The Enforcement Union was supposed to handle it, but it’s too easy for their people to be exposed. The Enforcement Union decided to post it as a quest among a few reputable private Hunter Agencies and let some brilliant Hunters deal with the threat. I believe you are particularly interested in it, although it seems to be quite dangerous.” Lingling took out her notebook and opened up a map close to Shanghai’s boundaries.

Mo Fan noticed an irregular-shaped red rectangular island on the map. It was located at the entrance Yangtze River delta, a relatively large shoal there.

“Isn’t that Chongming Island?” Mu Nujiao recognized the place at first glance.

“Mmm. After the calamity of the Ancient Capital, Salan’s influence in China was basically uprooted. Salan has fled to some other country. Elder-level members of the Enforcement Union tried to hunt her down, but according to reliable sources, it is very likely that Salan has escaped and fled the country through Chongming Island,” Lingling pointed at the map and said sternly.

Both Mu Ningxue and Mu Nujiao were stunned. Why would a little girl in a high school uniform talk about the Black Vatican, and even involve Salan?

Mo Fan coughed loudly and tried to signal Lingling to stop talking.

When it was related to the Black Vatican, Mo Fan had no intention to involve others. The Black Vatican was extremely detestable and cunning. Mo Fan was not scared of them, but he felt uneasy whenever someone he knew was dragged into the mess.

“Is there any other quest?” Mo Fan did not want to listen to it further.

The quest was only suitable when he was alone. There was no way Mo Fan would bring Mu Ningxue… or Mu Nujiao, who had also heard the details.

Lingling shook her head and said, “The other quests have low rewards. This one has the highest compensation. The Enforcement Union is being pressured to uproot the Black Vatican, so…”

“That’s enough, a little girl like you isn’t supposed to know too much!” Mo Fan interrupted Lingling.

Lingling immediately realized something when she heard Mo Fan raising his tone. She quickly stopped talking.

“Let her continue,” Mu Ningxue could already tell that the little girl was not as simple as she seemed. She was also intrigued by the topic of the Black Vatican’s remaining members.

“The Enforcement Union will deal with the Black Vatican, let’s not worry about them. By the way, I have some great news to tell you…” Mo Fan switched the topic.

“Do you seriously think I won’t be bothered by it?” Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan. Her emotions had clearly changed.

How could she possibly not worry about it? The Black Vatican had destroyed Bo City, her home, and her family was in a great crisis because of Mu He’s involvement. They were even forced to change their surname!

Because of it, the members of her family quarreled and split up. Some left without bidding farewell. When she was in the capital, even Mu Zhuoyun was too ashamed to see her. He avoided her with some lousy excuses. Mu Ningxue did not see a single relative… they were all hiding, too scared to see the sunlight.

“I have already lost my surname. If it’s something to do with the Black Vatican, I’m willing to take it even if it doesn’t pay me a cent!” declared Mu Ningxue in all seriousness.

Mu Ningxue knew Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, Mu Bai, and the others had fought the Black Vatican at the Ancient Capital. Even before that, Xu Zhaoting had sacrificed his life in exchange for a deacon’s name. If they could fight the Black Vatican, why couldn’t she? Many of her family members had been sacrificed too!

“Lingling, you should go for now,” Mo Fan said to Lingling.

“Oh,” Lingling did not say much. She turned around and left.

As the door closed, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Mu Ningxue was staring at Mo Fan. Her eyes were shaking fiercely.

Mu Nujiao was aware that the atmosphere between the two did not feel right. She tactfully went upstairs to her room.

“I don’t need you to decide anything for me,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Of course I can’t decide for you, but I have the clues, and Lingling is my partner. I will decide whether to take it or not,” Mo Fan said firmly.

“You…” Mu Ningxue was so furious that she could not say a word.

“Listen to me, and don’t worry about the Black Vatican, at least for now,” said Mo Fan sincerely.

“My father’s adopted son was a member of the Black Vatican. His brother was a high-level member of the Black Vatican. Do you know how desperate he is now? If I don’t do anything, he is going to bear all the hatred. Those families of the victims, they aren’t going to act rationally. They are trying to kill my dad to get their revenge… He even lost his right to see me,” Mu Ningxue turned away from him. Her emotions were stirred up.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue knew the pinch her family was currently in, yet she could not guarantee if she could make her way back to the national team, nor was she confident that she could prove her family’s innocence by earning a reputation in the World College Tournament…

Now she had found a way to slightly ease up the pressure her family was getting from the families of the Black Vatican’s victims. She could help deal with the remaining members of the Black Vatican in their country!

It was not just for the sake of her family, but also a way to vent her hatred! Her family was also a victim of the evil deeds committed by the Black Vatican, yet they had to bear the blame. She was scared that the families of the victims would lose control.

The truth was, it had already happened. Her youngest cousin had been seriously injured in a hit and run when he was traveling on the outskirts of the city.

“If we are well-prepared, there won’t be any danger. Mo Fan, I really need this opportunity,” Mu Ningxue had never talked to Mo Fan like this. She only hoped Mo Fan could understand that she was not blinded by her emotions. She still had a clear mind, and she was determined to solve the problems of her family.

“You have never had any contact with the Black Vatican, you have no idea how cruel and cunning they are…” Mo Fan hoped Mu Ningxue could understand that it was not a simple quest. The Black Vatican was ten times, or even a hundred times scarier than the demon creatures!

“Which is why I’ll listen to you,” Mu Ningxue’s eyes flickered firmly. She understood she was not as experienced compared to Mo Fan, who had basically fought his way up since the very beginning.

“Even if I reject it, you will still go to Chongming Island to look for clues, right?” Mo Fan realized helplessly.

Lingling had leaked too much information. Mo Fan was utterly speechless. -Isn’t she extremely cautious normally? Why was she so clumsy today?! Doesn’t she know information about the Black Vatican is meant to be kept confidential!?-

“Yes!,” Mu Ningxue confirmed confidently.

She knew that she would easily fall into the Black Vatican’s trap if she was alone. She had not underestimated those scum. Therefore, she hoped Mo Fan was willing to help her, as she believed Mo Fan was experienced at dealing with the Black Vatican.

Mo Fan sighed. “You have really made up your mind to go. But, you must remember, you will listen to me at all times, and you won’t act on impulse. Those assholes are really tricky to deal with,” said Mo Fan.

Mu Ningxue laughed. Her eyes were glittering. Mo Fan was dazed by the sight.

That smile was so dazzling that it was going to kill him!

Mo Fan clearly felt his heart pounding heavily at that particular instant.

-Damn it, the Black Vatican is nothing. If I can destroy them once, and twice, I can destroy them ten times, or even a hundred times!-

—-

After reaching an agreement, Mo Fan brought Mu Ningxue to Clearsky Hunter Agency.

Mo Fan would not seriously believe whatever Lingling blurted out. He still had to ask his Senior Sister Leng Qing and Old Bao for their opinions, make sure that Chongming Island was not a lion’s den, and learn more about the information that the Enforcement Union had gathered.

Leng Qing was indeed at the agency. When Mo Fan thought about it, Leng Qing was the only source that Lingling could get the information from. On top of that, she must have heard the information through eavesdropping. No one could possibly stop the little girl from eavesdropping if something caught her attention.

“Senior Sister,” Mo Fan sat at the bar and saw Leng Qing mixing some drinks, wearing an apron. With her slender figure, she had a different kind of charm today.

“Oh, you’re here,” Leng Qing looked at Mo Fan, before glancing at Mu Ningxue behind him. She calmly asked, “Do you two want any drinks?”

“A blueberry cocktail.”

“Coke with lemon for me.”

It was obvious that it had been a while since Leng Qing last mixed a drink here. She seemed rather rusty, as it took her quite some time to finish preparing the drinks. She also prepared herself a cocktail. Lingling wanted to take a sip, but immediately stopped when Leng Qing glared at her. The elder sister poured a cup of hot milk for Lingling, in a cute little cup with cartoons on it.

Lingling puffed her cheeks out. She seemed very unhappy!

“Lingling told you about it?” asked Leng Qing calmly, who seemed to know everything too.

“Did Salan really escape through Chongming Island?” asked Mo Fan.

“Mmm, this Salan is very cunning. We initially thought we had already wiped out the Black Vatican’s influence in Shanghai. Therefore, we sent most of our people to patrol other cities, but we completely forgot about Chongming Island, as it looked perfectly normal until recently.” Leng Qing took her apron off and sat opposite Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan.

“Which means Chongming Island is the last foothold for the Black Vatican in our country?” asked Mo Fan.

“It should be. They did a good job hiding it. If Salan didn’t escape through there, I believe we would never have realized that the Black Vatican had a base at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Their cover at Chongming Island has been perfect over the past ten years,” said Leng Qing.

“Then why hasn’t the Enforcement Union wiped them out, if you already know they are on the island?” asked Mo Fan.

“Chongming Island isn’t small. It has a dozen towns, with a population of over seven hundred thousand people. We assumed the Black Vatican’s base is disguised as some company, factory, ranch or workstation. We already sent someone there to investigate, but they are all ordinary businesses… Chongming Island is an independent island with obvious entrances. According to reliable sources of information, the Black Vatican must be watching the entrances. If they see people of the Enforcement Union, they are going to vanish without a trace. We didn’t want to inadvertently alert them,” said Leng Qing.

“That’s why you need Hunters; no matter how capable the Black Vatican is, they won’t be able to keep an eye on every Hunter?” said Mo Fan.

“Mmm, but the other reputable private agencies aren’t willing to accept the quest. It’s the Black Vatican we’re speaking of, after all; they are afraid that the Black Vatican will take revenge,” Leng Qing said softly.

The Black Vatican was so powerful that even many of the powerful factions were afraid of them. Even though everyone despised the Black Vatican and wanted to skin them, pull out their tendons, and eat their bones, only the Enforcement Union was fearless enough to take on the Black Vatican. Once, a renowned family had participated in an operation to uproot the Black Vatican, but in the end, the family was soon targeted by the vengeful Black Vatican and went downhill…

It was a clear picture of human nature. The Internet, the society, and media… there were always lots of righteous people condemning the power of evil, as if they are willing to dive into boiling water and walk on fire to eliminate the evil influences. However, when it was time to face the real evil, most people would end up as bystanders, afraid to be involved and set themselves on fire!

They were all sheep, yet they still disguised themselves as fierce tigers. The families of the victims of the Ancient Capital were not fully responsible for placing Mu Ningxue’s family in such a tough spot. The main culprit was actually those who pretended to be righteous and blindly followed the tide!

“We need someone who is trustworthy and experienced with the Black Vatican,” admitted Leng Qing.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan understood the situation. The Black Vatican was familiar with the members of the Enforcement Union in Shanghai. The Enforcement Union could not commit to a huge operation before they learned the Black Vatican’s exact hiding spot and more information about their people.

If they sealed off the island, there was a possibility that the people of the Black Vatican would hold the civilians hostage. As such, the Enforcement Union could only post it as a secret quest, hoping that some powerful Hunters would do them the favor.

“Your group is mainly in charge of the operation. I’ll assist you secretly, but you have to remember that the situation of Chongming Island is preventing my people and me from getting too close. If you’re in danger, and we can’t arrive in time, you must hold on,” Leng Qing told them seriously.

Mo Fan nodded slightly, but he soon realized that something did not feel right. He blurted out, “Hey, Senior Sister, I haven’t agreed to it yet!”

“Then why are you asking?” Leng Qing’s expression darkened.

“I was just trying to understand the situation. If it’s actually a lion’s den, I’m afraid that I…”

“I have told you classified information of the Enforcement Union. If anyone is purposely asking for this information, they are committing treason. The offender will be punished according to the circumstances. Do you want to be imprisoned by the Enforcement Union for a couple of months?” said Leng Qing unpleasantly.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless. For some reason, he felt like he had been set up by the two sisters!

“Alright, fine, at least tell me how many people they have,” said Mo Fan helplessly.

“We aren’t too sure yet, but if it’s a branch, there must be at least forty people,” speculated Leng Qing.

“What’s the reward?” asked Mo Fan.

“Five hundred thousand for a Gray Priest, nine million for a Black Clergy, a hundred and twenty million for a Blue Deacon. Doesn’t matter if they are alive or dead, but there must be enough proof to verify their identities,” said Leng Qing.

“Based on the headcount?” asked Mo Fan in surprise.

“The Enforcement Union has always paid according to the number of people that are caught. Hunters are willing to do anything for money. Every year, the names provided by anonymous Hunters to the Enforcement Union are always in three figures. However, Chongming Island is a trickier situation, and we are clueless about their number or strength, so the rates are slightly higher,” said Leng Qing.

“Isn’t a hundred twenty million a bit too low for a Blue Deacon?” said Mo Fan.

A Blue Deacon was already able to stir up troubles in a city. A hundred and twenty million did seem too low for a Blue Deacon.

“We are providing the information this time, and you’re cooperating with us. If you are able to catch a Blue Deacon with your own source of information, the reward is around two hundred million, depending on the person’s position in the Black Vatican,” said Leng Qing.

“Do you pay more if we catch a Blue Deacon alive?” asked Mo Fan.

“Of course, it’s better to catch a Blue Deacon alive, since we can learn more names through the person in order to uproot the organization. We can even find out other Blue Deacons, or even Red Cardinals. Unfortunately, not every Blue Deacon is the same as Great Deacon Hu Jin, who reported directly to a Red Cardinal,” scoffed Leng Qing.

Mo Fan’s eyes glowed when he heard there was more money if he could catch the Blue Deacons alive.

Both he and Mu Ningxue were running short on funds, especially Mu Ningxue. She might have a chance to break through to the Advanced Level if they managed to complete the quest!

Even though a single Galaxy Vein was far from enough to support her cultivation, it would prevent her from falling too far behind the national team.

“Hang on, you mentioned something about Red Cardinals. Isn’t Salan a Red Cardinal? Are you telling me there are other Red Cardinals too?” asked Mo Fan after he suddenly remembered something.

Leng Qing nodded.

The information was meant to be confidential, but considering Mo Fan’s contributions in helping them uproot the Black Vatican, she lowered her voice and said, “Salan is only one of the Red Cardinals. Apparently, the Black Vatican has seven Red Cardinals. Four of them are still unknown to us. We don’t know their age or their gender. Even though the Enforcement Union already has information on two of them, and knows what they have done in the past, it is extremely difficult to arrest or kill them.”

Mo Fan suddenly felt speechless. He stared at Leng Qing blankly.

He actually thought Salan was the highest leader of the Black Vatican. After all, her conspiracy at the Ancient Capital was absolutely shocking. The whole world was alarmed by her plan, and yet she was just one of the seven Red Cardinals of the Black Vatican. What kind of maniacs were the rest of them? How terrifying was their ambition to destroy the world?

“The other Red Cardinals aren’t active in China, so you don’t need to worry about them. Salan seems to be the most gifted at committing calamities among them. We were unlucky to have her in our country. Even though we managed to drive her away, we still paid an enormous price…” said Leng Qing.

“Salan…” Mo Fan had cursed the name too many times. However, when he thought about the people who sacrificed their lives just to stop her, including the sacrifice that Instructor Zhan Kong had made, he could not help but clench his fists.

She was the kind of person who could implant fear deep inside someone’s soul, an evildoer hated greatly by both mortals and God! He was so close to finding out who she was, yet he had not managed to rip off her human mask!

“Let’s focus on removing the last tumor Salan left in our country. We still need more time and help to arrest Salan…” suggested Leng Qing.

“Mmm,” Mo Fan nodded.

“To provide you with a better cover and help you find the Black Vatican’s base, Lingling will be going to Chongming with you. Mo Fan, please take care of her,” Leng Qing said sternly.

Normally, Leng Qing would not involve Lingling in such a dangerous operation. She was willing to let Lingling take on high-level quests or hunt demon creatures with Mo Fan in the Magic City, but she would never involve her in an operation related to the Black Vatican. She was well aware of how vengeful the Black Vatican was.

However, Leng Qing also knew that without Lingling’s help, Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue would have trouble finding the Black Vatican in such a complicated place. The people of Black Vatican don’t really have a tag on their heads, and even if they did, it was still too difficult to find them among a few hundred thousand people.

The chance of them completing the quest without Lingling’s help was zero!

Luckily, it was the last group of Black Vatican’s people in their country. In order to secure victory in the ongoing battle, Leng Qing had no choice but to let Lingling participate in the operation too!

“Don’t worry, I swear on my life that I’ll keep her safe,” Mo Fan promised firmly.

“Humph, look how flustered you both are.” Lingling finished the milk. Her lips were covered in foam. She jumped down from the stool and left like an adult.

“Mu Ningxue, you must be careful too. I know about your situation. I hope you won’t act on impulse. This is a very crucial operation,” reminded Leng Qing.

Leng Qing was not the kind to dawdle, and was usually quite straightforward. However, she was being extremely cautious as she was not reassured putting someone else in charge of such an important operation. However, Mo Fan was indeed their best option. Even though he was not someone in the Enforcement Union, he had the strongest motive to uproot the Black Vatican.

The truth was, there was another reason why the Enforcement Union did not send their own people to deal with the Black Vatican. However, Leng Qing did not feel like saying it without solid proof!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“May I ask what the relationship between you three is? Why have you come to Chongming Island?” an inspector on duty bowed politely and asked with a smile.

The regulations at the entrance of Chongming Island were a lot stricter than they thought. It felt like they were trying to enter a foreign country. However, they had their own reasons. The place was a different district. In order to maintain order, applying strict control at the entrance was a reasonable solution.

“She’s my girlfriend, and this is my sister. I’ve brought them here for a short little trip. Shanghai was getting quite boring, so we decided to visit some other places. I was told that most places here are a great experience of nature,” Mo Fan was dressed in casual clothing right now, and replied calmly.

“Brother, I want to ride a horse, can I please ride a horse!” blurted out Lingling playfully. Her cute, adorable look immediately earned the inspector’s affection.

The inspector smilingly said, “You can go to Wanfeng Town if you want to ride a horse. They have a huge ranch there.”

“Do they really have horses there? I thought only the Inner Mongolia has horses?” asked Lingling.

“HAHA, we have horses here, too! Most towns here are traditional ranches. We supply the freshest meat you can find in the cities. You will know once you visit the ranches. That frozen, imported, fake meat is incomparable to ours. You have come to the right place if you’re thinking of enjoying nature,” the inspector smiled.

The inspector returned their identification while he was speaking. He had no reason to doubt the couple who had come traveling with a younger sister.

“Thank you, uncle,” said Lingling with a sweet smile.

“What uncle, I am not even in my thirties!” the inspector laughed.

“Thank you, young uncle.”

“…”

—

As they passed the checkpoint, Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue subconsciously looked at Lingling.

Lingling had regained her usual indifferent look. She looked like a completely different person than the active, adorable girl just a moment ago. They both felt it was a waste that she was not interested in winning an Oscar.

As they boarded the bus, Lingling immediately took out her notebook computer and rapidly smashed the keys. The screen blinked continuously. It was so quick that Mo Fan had no idea what she was searching for.

“I just checked the businesses that are registered and excluded those that I think are unlikely to be our target. By the way, the ranches that the inspector mentioned seem to be working with the government. However, most of them are privately owned. There aren’t any problems with their production and sales, but you can easily fake most of them and use the business as a front,” said Lingling.

Lingling was fully prepared before they departed for the island. There were lots of towns on Chongming Island, but the girl had already filtered out half of them.

“If they could secretly help Salan flee the country, the business must be big enough to do international trading. With that in mind, there are only six possible targets left. Most of them are privately owned by some big shots,” Lingling quickly listed the six possible targets and marked them on a map.

“The closest one to us is Tuna Trading Co., LTD, at Wanfeng Town. Let’s check it out first,” said Mo Fan pointing at one of the markers on the map.

——

The bus was rather slow. It was noon before they arrived in Wanfeng Town.

The town was built with careful planning. The roads, plants, and buildings were obviously built in specific spots. It felt like a vacation town the moment they arrived. Transportation was convenient, too.

Mu Ningxue and Lingling were dressed in identical clothing: a cardigan, a middle-long flared skirt, and a ruffled hat. People on the street kept turning around to look at their casual, but attractive outfits. Mo Fan almost forgot they were currently in the tiger’s den.

When they arrived at Tuna Trading Co. LTD., they went around searching for clues while telling the people they had lost their way as an excuse. However, they realized the place was just a normal factory for processing tuna. There was nothing fishy about it… ahem!

They spent some time looking around Wanfeng Town to check out other places, but the whole town seemed normal.

“The people of the Black Vatican are used to hiding in a busy city. It’s quite tricky to ferret them out if they aren’t showing themselves, and we can’t let the Black Vatican realize what we are up to. They are in the dark, while we are in the light. If they know we are up to something, we are unlikely to leave Chongming Island in one piece,” warned Mo Fan in a serious voice.

Mu Ningxue nodded. She was well aware of the Black Vatican’s methods. Both Yu Ang and Mu He hid in their family for so long, yet no one had realized their secret identities.

Perhaps it was the scariest thing about the Black Vatican. They were a bunch of vicious criminals, but they still lived among normal people. They were like ticking time bombs that no one could do anything about!

“Let’s not hurry to the next town. We should spend a day here,” said Lingling.

Since they were pretending to be on a trip, they should stick to their disguises. It was suspicious if they moved on to the next town without spending more than half a day in the first one. As Mo Fan mentioned, they could not afford to be spotted by the people of the Black Vatican. Otherwise, they would find themselves in grave danger!

They stayed in Wanfeng Town for the whole day. The shops did have some delicacies. Mo Fan simply forgot about the Black Vatican and enjoyed the vacation.

At night, Mo Fan suggested they get only one room.

The two girls agreed, but as Mo Fan expected, he was asked to sleep alone on a bed, while the two girls slept on the other.

——

Their next destination was Pingyi Town. Both Pingyi and Zhenming Towns had ranching as their main source of income. These unique ranches that preserved the ecology had slowly turned Chongming Island into a tourist attraction.

As they were arriving in Pingyi Town, they saw both sides of the road were covered in green grass. They did not look like the irregular weeds of Inner Mongolia, but each stalk seemed to be carefully taken care of. It was clean like a carpet laid down on the ground. The grass was not too dense, but was not too scattered, either. The beautiful scene and fresh air blew on their faces.

The green landscape was a clear contrast to the concrete, steel, and glass in a developed city. There were people on the bus who resembled university students on a trip who blurted out in surprise:

“Wow, awesome, it’s my first time seeing such a huge field of grass!”

“See, what did I tell you? You won’t regret it if you come!” proclaimed a nerdy young man wearing a pair of glasses with golden frames.

“Look at the spectacular building on the hill in the distance. I feel like living in there!” exclaimed a girl with bangs excitedly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Oh yeah!”

“Zhao Pinlin, you’re the best!”

“Damn, I have never lived in a mansion like this!”

The crowd cheered as they circled around the man called Zhao Pinlin and expressed their joy.

Zhao Pinlin seemed to enjoy being in the limelight. He was wearing a smile all the time.

He unconsciously glanced at the back of the bus and saw Rong Sheng talking to someone. He immediately made his way over.

“Rong Sheng, are they your friends?” asked Zhao Pinlin.

The truth was, Zhao Pinlin already noticed the glamorous woman with an icy aura sitting at the back when he first entered the bus. Beside her sat an adorable girl, like a lotus flower that had just risen from under the water. It was almost impossible to ignore their presence when they were sitting together, since they were just too eye-catching.

Unfortunately, they were already accompanied by a man. Zhao Pinlin was unable to find the right opportunity to approach them.

As soon as he saw Rong Sheng chatting with them, he immediately took hold of the chance.

“Oh, I just met them. They are going to Pingyi Town too, so we were just chatting,” Rong Sheng seemed to be an honest man. He rubbed his head in embarrassment.

“We are all around the same age. It’s more exciting when there are more people. Why don’t you three come with us? I already asked the manager of the holiday cottage to arrange a few extra rooms for my friends, but some of them couldn’t make it. It will be a waste if no one is living in the rooms,” Zhao Pinlin soon came up with a brilliant idea. He warmly invited them to stay at the mansion.

“I don’t think that’s a great idea?” replied Mo Fan in a slightly troubled voice.

Mu Ningxue remained silent as usual. She usually would not respond in a discussion that involved multiple people, unless someone was talking to her directly.

Zhao Pinlin was slightly disappointed at Mu Ningxue’s calm reaction. However, he was rather confident in himself. After all, most women were only reserved on the surface. If he found the right opportunity, he could easily earn their affection!

“I want to stay in the mansion!” Lingling’s eyes glittered like an innocent little girl.

Zhao Pinlin smiled. Adults would usually act reserved after receiving the invitation, but a little girl would express her real thoughts. It seemed like the man had only come from a normal background. He had never brought the girls to live in such a classy and stylish hotel.

Zhao Pinlin was indeed a sociable person. He quickly added with a smile before Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue could react, “Of course you can, I can even give you a room facing the lake. The view is absolutely stunning when you pull the curtains open.”

Convincing the loli would also mean convincing the other two!

“Really… but won’t we be disturbing you?” Lingling was already blushing.

“I’m serious, it’s an honor to have such a cute girl like you as a guest. Why would you be disturbing us?” said Zhao Pinlin.

—-

Zhao Pinlin returned to his seat, all full of smiles. Mu Ningxue was rather confused; she did not understand why Lingling wanted to stick with the group.

Lingling the little loli was quicker at changing her expression than flipping a page. She immediately turned into a languid, cunning fox as she explained, “I heard their destination is the same as us. The Black Vatican will be alerted if only the three of us are investigating the suspicious places, but if we follow the group, we will be perfectly safe even though we might visit some places that we aren’t supposed to. The Black Vatican might be suspicious toward a few young faces if they might think we are some probationary members of the Enforcement Union sent here to investigate them, but they will never doubt a bunch of simple-minded young adults on a holiday…”

Mo Fan nodded. As the little loli mentioned, if they were blatantly visiting suspicious places, they would be exposed easily. The heavens knew where the people of the Black Vatican were hiding. Even the Enforcement Union was scared to act rashly as it might alert the enemy. They clearly believed that the Black Vatican had strict surveillance around the place.

—-

“Pinlin, come, come in quick,” a middle-aged man in a suit walked out from the entrance with a smile.

The middle-aged man was followed by five bell boys. They were all dressed in the same uniform with a red felt cap, and politely offered to carry the group’s luggage.

“There’s no need to check-in, just bring them to their rooms,” the manager told the bell boys.

It was obvious that some among the group had come from a normal background. They had never enjoyed such treatment, nor had they stayed in such a classy place before. Their faces were full of excitement.

“We’re hungry. Old Ji, is lunch ready?” asked Zhao Pinlin.

“Sure, of course; this way please…” the manager continued to lead the way with a smile.

“Why aren’t we using that one?” asked Zhao Pinlin. His eyes were looking at the dining room with French windows and white curtains.

“That room is already taken. This one is the same too…” said the manager.

He led the group to another dining room, but its vision, location, and ../style were not as great as the one before. However, it was impressive enough for those from not-so-wealthy families…they had never seen anything like the three waitresses in heels and tight skirts purposely appointed to serve their meal.

“You can sit anywhere you like.” Zhao Pinlin was not too happy, but he did not show it.

He wanted to show them the dining room with the spectacular view and French windows to his classmates, but it was already occupied even though he purposely asked the manager to reserve it.

Most importantly, those people had closed the curtains as they were having their meal. What was the point of them taking the room?

When Zhao Pinlin left the dining room, he immediately dragged the manager over and asked him about it.

The manager was troubled too. He lowered his voice and said, “Mr. Zhao, I provided you and your classmates with utmost welcome, but you have to know there are other respectable guests in our hotel too. Please bear with me, we’ll arrange the room for you tomorrow.”

“Who are those people?” Zhao Pinlin didn’t seem very satisfied.

“Suppliers of magic equipment for the military!” answered the manager.

“Them? Why are they here?”

“Master Mintian is giving a speech in five days. Initially, all our rooms were fully booked by the people who came to attend it. It took me some time to arrange the rooms for you.”

“Who the hell is Master Mintian?” Zhao Pinlin was confused. He had never heard the name before.

“Oh…oh my, mister, please don’t say that. Don’t let the others hear you. You’re going to find yourself in trouble. He’s a remarkable academic, a wise man,” said the manager.

“Forget it, I have no interest in him, either. Just make sure you reserve the room for me tomorrow,” said Zhao Pinlin.

“Sure, not a problem!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

At night, the sea breeze and the wind from the river clashed, like a woman sobbing.

The whole place was surrounded by green grazing lands. There were not many lights around, like a real countryside. It was perfectly silent, unlike the bustling city.

Mo Fan’s group of three were invited along by Zhao Pinlin, Rong Sheng, and the others to join them at a campfire around a kilometer away from the hotel.

There was a little wooden shed close to the campfire. The roof was made of steel glass, allowing the people inside to see the beautiful night sky.

The night was quite cloudy. A huge part of the sky was lit up by stars, while the other parts were covered in clouds. The clouds were moving slowly, trying to compete with the stars for territory.

The wind was strong, and the night was chilly, but the bunch of young adults was enjoying themselves in the wooden shed. It had a fridge full of alcohol. The students also brought snacks and cooked food. In the center was a campfire made of cobbles. Everyone could easily add dried branches to the fire. It was the only source of light and warmth within a kilometer, resulting in an uneasy yet thrilling atmosphere.

Many people liked to go camping in the wild and setting up campfires. However, there were also bugs, mosquitoes, cold wind, and the darkness that made them feel uneasy. It was not as romantic as everyone imagined, but the atmosphere was perfectly suited to their needs. It was thrilling, clean, and comfortable enough. The students were easily lost in wild and fanciful thoughts. The light of the fire lit up everyone’s face as they were sharing some exciting and scary stories. The place was soon filled with laughter, driving away the uneasy atmosphere…

The students could not help but agree that Zhao Pinlin’s arrangement was perfect. He had successfully won the affection of a few girls in the group. They never knew he had come from such a wealthy background at school, and he was aware of what girls wanted.

“Come, let’s take turns sharing some scary stories. If more than half of the group think it isn’t scary enough, they must take that path to the top of the hill!” suggested Rong Sheng.

“I’ll go first, you are all going to wet your pants,” Mo Fan soon joined in. He was excited as soon as someone mentioned the term scary stories.

Mo Fan soon finished telling his story. The group of young men and women fell silent. One of the girls even suggested they go back to the hotel in a soft voice.

Mu Ningxue secretly stepped on Mo Fan’s foot. This guy was trying to destroy the atmosphere!

Mo Fan was actually telling them his own experience at Yanming Temple. His encounter with Miyata was quite spooky, yet he purposely added more details to the story. He described Miyata as a ghost with only half her face left. He even described how the monks were tortured in full detail…

The scary stories that most people told were fake, thus the listeners could easily figure out the unreasonable bits. However, Mo Fan was simply telling them his own experience. The details were on point, it felt like they were right inside the story. Even Mu Ningxue felt a shiver as she recalled the incident!

“Humph, how childish!” Lingling was not impressed by Mo Fan’s scary story.

“Well, I guess I’ll go next… it’s not really a ghost story, but some rumors I was told in Wuzhen,” Rong Sheng immediately spoke out to cut the atmosphere.

“Quick, tell us.”

Everyone desperately needed another story to clear their thoughts of Mo Fan’s spooky tale.

“My brother is a Magician. To be more precise, he is a City Hunter in charge of the safety in Wuzhen… around two months ago, Wuzhen had a strange mist, and some locals went missing. My brother was placed in charge of the incident, so he went to investigate. Guess what happened there?” said Rong Sheng with a serious face.

“What is it?” Everyone knew about Wuzhen. Many of them had visited the place before. As such, they were all attracted by the story as soon as Rong Sheng started telling it.

“A moth woman!” Rong Sheng was quite an expert at telling stories. He purposely lowered his voice to make it sound spookier.

“Moth…moth woman?”

“Yeah, my brother told me that some locals actually saw her in person, and the mist wasn’t really just a normal mist. It consisted of flying moths so densely packed together that it looked like a mist. Rumors said they were actually man-eating moths. Think about it, with moths as dense as a mist, even an elephant will be eaten within seconds, let alone a human…” said Rong Sheng.

“Please…please tell me it isn’t true, I was planning to bring my girlfriend to Wuzhen!” yelled a young man.

“It’s only some rumors. Maybe it’s something the locals came up with, to attract tourists looking for an adventure,” sighed Zhao Pinlin smilingly. His eyes under the golden-framed glasses seemed rather intelligent.

Rong Sheng chuckled. He did not continue the story.

“What he said was real, too,” Mo Fan interrupted.

“Damn, not you again!” the young man jumped to his feet.

Rong Sheng was stunned. He looked at Mo Fan in astonishment.

“Unfortunately, I was there, too. When I was about to leave the town, I saw people like City Hunters entering the town. The mist was real, but the moth woman wasn’t proven to be real yet. They weren’t sure if the missing people were related to the moth woman either, they are just speculations,” said Mo Fan.

Rong Sheng was a bit surprised that Mo Fan actually knew the details. He quickly added, “My brother agreed with the speculations, too!”

“But the case wasn’t settled; they still haven’t caught the moth woman,” Lingling subconsciously added.

As a Hunter Master, Lingling did hear the rumors about the incident, too. It was one of the more bizarre cases recently. Since no one had posted a quest about it, the City Hunters were placed in charge. However, they still had not found out the truth. As a result, more rumors started spreading, and there were quite a few different versions.

“Wait, what did you mean… it was real, too?” A girl’s eyes widened when she suddenly recalled Mo Fan’s words.

“Holy crap, do you mean what you told us was real too?!”

“I want to go back!”

Mo Fan was left speechless.

—-

Everyone took turns telling their stories. Soon, it was a girl called Guo Wenyi’s turn. She was actually from Chongming Island, so she was basically a local.

“Wenyi, tell us something, otherwise you’ll have to walk to the top of the hill yourself!” urged Rong Sheng.

Guo Wenyi seemed to be quite timid. She hesitated for a while before she finally spoke, “I did encounter something strange here, but I think it was only my imagination. One night, I went to visit my classmate in the neighboring town. My brother said he would come pick me up with his scooter, but he was too drunk. He didn’t even pick up my call, yet I couldn’t stay at my classmate’s house, so I had no choice but to walk back to my town. It was only two kilometers away…it was fine at the start, but I suddenly picked up a foul stench, like the smell of a swamp.”

Guo Wenyi came to a pause. The others were dying to know what happened next. However, Mo Fan’s gaze sharpened as soon as he heard the description of the scent!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan remained silent. He focused and waited for Guo Wenyi to continue her story.

Guo Wenyi had no choice but to continue the story since everyone was urging her. “There was a ranch nearby, and occasionally the cows and horses are left in the open to graze in the field. I thought it was the smell of a cow’s or horse’s dung, so I wasn’t too bothered by it. I continued on my path under the dim light of the stars.”

“Aren’t you afraid that something bad would happen when you’re out there alone at night?”

“She looks pretty safe,” said an insensible guy.

Guo Wenyi did not seem bothered by the remark. She continued her story as the others were laughing, “After a while, I saw something wriggling in a bush. I faintly saw a skinny person lying on a horse… At first, I thought someone was treating an injured horse because I smelled blood, but as I walked closer, I saw the man eating the horse… raw!”

Everyone immediately felt their skin crawling!

“The horse’s stomach was ripped open. The insides were all over the ground. The strange person buried his or her head inside the hole and feasted on it. My mind went blank… I stood there for quite some time, listening to the person munching. I didn’t know if the person saw me, I slowly backed away. It felt like the longest journey I ever walked. I keep thinking the person would turn around and show me a face covered in blood, and intestines dangling from their mouths. I thought I was going to be eaten next!” exclaimed Guo Wenyi.

As she was telling the story, she was overwhelmed by fear. Her voice was trembling, and she was shivering visibly.

Guo Wenyi had never mentioned it to anyone. It had happened a long time ago, but somehow, it felt like it had just happened yesterday. She finally had the chance to share the terror inside her heart, so that everyone could share the burden with her!

It was obvious that Guo Wenyi was telling the truth.

“Are you sure it was a person? Not some kind of monster? I heard my brother mentioning that even cities have demon creatures hiding in them. They mostly stay in the dark corners, like the sewers, or abandoned buildings. Maybe it was a demon creature you saw,” said Rong Sheng.

“I…I wasn’t too sure, but it looks more like a human to me. It had hands, legs, and a hunchback. It was very skinny too…” said Guo Wenyi.

Mo Fan exchanged glances with Lingling. They both confirmed their speculation.

“May I ask where this was?” Mo Fan spoke up.

“It was at Zhenming Town’s Zuodao Ranch,” replied Guo Wenyi.

“No wonder you were insisting on not going to Zhenming Town!” said another man.

“Mmm, I was too scared to go there. I would advise you all not to go, either.”

“It’s just a story, why so serious? There are lots of fun places in Zhenming Town. It’s the highlight of our trip,” said Zhao Pinlin indifferently.

“I was telling the truth,” snapped Guo Wenyi.

“(sigh) Even if it’s real, it happened so long ago. Maybe it was a demon creature that liked to eat horses. The Hunters must have dealt with it. There’s nothing to be scared of,” said Zhao Pinlin.

“I’m a bit scared too. Can we skip Zhenming Town?” said a rather pretty girl in the group. The boys had been sticking with her throughout the journey. She was most likely the target of most boys during the trip.

Zhao Pinlin was hesitant when he saw Wang Xuxu expressing her concern, but Zhenming Town was the best place for him to make his move!

“How about this? I’ll let the manager hire a Hunter to protect us until the end of the trip. How does that sound?” said Zhao Pinlin.

“Won’t…won’t it cost you a fortune?”

“Don’t worry, the hotel has Magicians, too,” said Zhao Pinlin.

“Hiring a Hunter to be our bodyguard. Zhao Pinlin, your family is pretty wealthy!” said Wang Xuxu.

“Magicians aren’t too big of a deal. They are willing to work for money, too. Just treat them as higher-level bodyguards,” Zhao Pinlin was flattered after he was complimented by Wang Xuxu.

“You’re right.”

Both Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were not too pleased by Zhao Pinlin’s words. However, Zhao Pinlin was stating the truth, too. Even though Magicians had a little more status in this world, nothing was as respectable as money. Some financial groups that were not involved in the magic industry did not have a single Magician in their family. However, the Magicians under their command were enough to form a small army, including Advanced Magicians, or even Super Magicians!

Magicians were heavily reliant on money. The money they earned was never enough to fulfill their needs, unless they were satisfied to stay at the same level for the rest of their lives. It was the same for Hunters. They were constantly dealing with demon creatures. At the brink of life and death, when a demon creature’s claws were right in their face, no Magician would mind spending hundreds of thousands, or even millions, on good defensive equipment!

The group had an enjoyable time at the campfire. Most people simply assumed the stories were all fake. They stayed at the campfire until midnight before going back to the hotel.

Zhao Pinlin was looking for opportunities to talk with Mu Ningxue. However, Mu Ningxue did not tell a story. She directly went up the hill alone and returned fairly quickly. It was not anything scary to her.

—-

An alleyway in Shanghai’s Jing’an District, the attic of Clearsky Hunter Agency…

The attic was not huge. The window had been tightly shut for more than half a year. Not even the slightest sunlight could pass through it. The attic was always dark and cold.

The room was in total darkness. However, a pair of eyes suddenly lit up. They looked rather spooky.

The bones and joints began to crack. The owner of the eyes stepped on the wooden floor and started walking around.

—

The floor was very old. An old man inspecting an orb in the room below the attic took his reading glasses off and looked at the ceiling.

“Little girl is awake!” exclaimed Old Bao.

As soon as he finished the sentence, a slender figure moved rapidly up the floor like a gust of blue wind. She arrived in front of Old Bao within an instant.

Leng Qing stared at the ceiling alertly and snapped furiously at Old Bao, “There’s a strong evil presence in the attic. Are you really in your dotage? Can’t you sense the presence of the thing living in the attic!?”

“Calm down, just calm down, she’s the little servant-girl of a big demon. Tsk tsk, if even you are spooked by the servant-girl’s presence, it seems like she has actually evolved. Well, it’s expected since she has been asleep for half a year,” Old Bao smiled.

Leng Qing frowned.

“Don’t worry, she isn’t hostile to us,” added Old Bao.

“Humph, she better make sure she doesn’t get spotted by the Enforcement Union. They won’t care if she’s a good vampire or a bad vampire!” said Leng Qing.

“Don’t be like that, she is in charge of this area. The number of cases committed by Darkness Creatures related to the Blood Tribe in this area has been significantly reduced thanks to her. Don’t be so stubborn, you should help cover up her identity. Speaking of which, you should get her a valid identity. Where there is light, there is darkness. Instead of trying to get rid of all the darkness, which would lead to more troubles. We should let the dark exist in order, too,” said Old Bao cheerfully.

“So that’s what the previous person in charge of the Holy Judgment Court thinks? How about the Black Vatican!?” asked Leng Qing.

“Oh, those bastards? You can’t possibly treat them as humans!” snapped Old Bao.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

Blue sky, green grass, and the perfect dawn completely erased the mist of fear lingering in the group since last night. On top of that, a Hunter had also joined the group. No one was worried about the story Guo Wenyi told the night before. They hefted their backpacks and departed for Zhenming Town.

Two-thirds of Zhenming Town was occupied by ranches. They mainly bred cows, horses, and goats. The swaying grass revealed the cattle grazing on the field as the breeze swept past, even though the place was close to the mouth of the Yangtze River.

{ TL Note : The first half of the last sentence is from a ballad of the Tiele people to the north of China during the Northern and Southern dynasties.}

Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Lingling blended in perfectly with the group of young adults. Zhao Pinlin’s invitation simply gave them the perfect excuse to follow the group around.

The main street of the town was on the other side. Zhao Pinlin brought the group to a manor inside a ranch. It was actually a private club. Many rich people from Shanghai would occasionally spend their weekends here. Apart from the natural environment, the club also had a golf course, a winery, a restaurant, a bar, guest rooms, archery, horse-riding facility… it was luxurious, without a doubt!

Zhao Pinlin was well-prepared for the trip. He was determined to bring everyone to the club,, even after hearing Guo Wenyi’s story last night.

A tourist bus came to pick them up as they arrived at the entrance. The journey from the entrance to the main building surprisingly took twenty minutes. The ranch’s ../style was leaning more toward Western Europe. It was said that the main investor was a foreigner. There was even a statue of him in front of the fountain.

Mo Fan had rarely visited a place like this. His eyes were brimming with excitement.

Mu Ningxue had the same glacier face. She had grown up in similar environments. For some reason, she actually felt annoyed and disgusted by the environment, as the Mu Clan was also promoting internationalization among their people. Their main headquarters had a similar ../style, and their villa in Bo City was also in the same ../style.

“Wow, who would think there’s a place like this here? Zhao Pinlin, is this owned by your family?” Wang Xuxu asked excitedly.

The rather good-looking Wang Xuxu was unperturbed at the start. However, when she saw the facilities in the luxurious club, she could no longer hold her excitement in. She felt like a little princess from a fairytale living at the club. She could imagine the garden maze, the servants in suits, the soft red carpet, the white bed covered in veils, and the balcony under the moonlight…

“There are three ranches here. My father owns some of their shares,” said Zhao Pinlin.

He was talking softly, as he was not feeling too confident. The real owner of the manor was a big shot. Zhao Pinlin only had the right to visit the club.

—

“These three ranches and the private club are the places I am most suspicious of,” Lingling whispered to Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue.

Lingling was actually wondering how they could possibly sneak into here. After all, the private club was not open to tourists. Only those listed as its members were allowed to enter. Mo Fan, Lingling, and Mu Ningxue had no chance of becoming a member. Therefore, it would be troublesome for them to investigate the place. To their surprise, Zhao Pinlin actually solved their biggest problem!

“Mmm, we’ll stick to the disguise. Let’s be more careful here,” agreed Mo Fan.

“This place is around six kilometers from Zhenming Town. If anything happened, as long as they can clean up the mess quick enough, they won’t leak any information to the outside,” Lingling pointed out.

The three ranches were connected together, occupying a huge amount of land. The place was basically secluded from the outer world. If it was actually a branch of the Black Vatican, they had no chance of escaping if they blew their cover!

Mu Ningxue also noticed how difficult it would be to ask for help. She tried her best to act normal by not wandering around or looking everywhere.

“Come, follow me, the rooms are ready. Mr. Harmuth likes having guests at his place. He insists on treating every guest like how we treat him, so please feel at home. If you need anything, just find one of the servants with a red bow tie. They will do anything for you, hehe,” a butler in a tuxedo informed them politely.

The old butler emphasized the word anything. No one could tell if he was referring to something else, but the young men immediately glanced at the maidservants and fell into deep thoughts.

The group went to their rooms to place their belongings before gathering at the hall on the second floor to enjoy some tea. A woman in a red dress came up and explained the services and facilities available. She even gave everyone a map with markings of every place.

“Each facility is quite a distance away from one another, so if you are planning to go somewhere, please contact us. We’ll send a club cart over. I’ll be outside the room. Please let me know if you need anything. You can call me Carly,” the woman gave them a foreign name.

Lingling was playing on her phone inattentively, but she was actually inputting the features of the butler and the woman called Carly into her phone, checking their identities with a program.

The Clearsky Hunter Agency was working closely with the police and the City Hunters. As a Hunter Master, Lingling had enough clearance to verify a person’s identity.

“This Carly is an overseas Chinese…” Lingling said in a low voice.

“Mmm, not a Magician,” said Mo Fan.

Lingling placed her phone down. She switched into her sweet, naive voice, “Sister, is there a big ship here, like a cruise on the ocean? Apart from riding a horse, I also want to go on a ship…”

Carly’s smile widened when she heard Lingling’s angel-like voice. She liked the cute little girl.

She replied smilingly, “We do have a ship, but it only sails once every season since the trip takes a long time. The next trip is still more than a month away.”

“What? So I can’t go on it?”

“Yeah, even if you made it, you would need proper identification to board the ship. We have to notify the relevant department,” said Carly.

“Oh, ok, such a pity,” Lingling sighed.

Carly left with a smile and slowly closed the door.

Mo Fan secretly gave Lingling a thumbs up.

If the club had its own ship, it would be the best way for Salan to flee overseas. As for her identification, no one knew what her real identity was. She might even have multiple fake identities. As long as she made it to the club, she would have no trouble escaping. A rich person could do many things with money. Mo Fan believed smuggling a person to another country was not actually that difficult a task!

In other words, the manor with three ranches was indeed the most suspicious place!

How cunning was Salan? The Black Vatican’s influence in Shanghai was assumed to be uprooted after Xu Zhaoting found out the Blue Deacon’s name. The Enforcement Union strongly believed it, yet it turned out that Salan had escaped through Shanghai! So the most dangerous place was actually the safest place!

It seemed like the branch was a secret base that only Salan knew about!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Since the calamity at the Ancient Capital, the Magic Association and the Enforcement Union had cooperated with the military, the Hunter Union, the government, and renowned families to seal off all possible exits. They were determined to take down the detestable Salan, even if it meant harming their economy.

Many of the Black Vatican’s bases were destroyed. The remaining members of the Black Vatican disguising themselves as ordinary civilians were exposed, too. Salan only had limited places she could escape to, and was very close to being caught a few times.

Unfortunately, the lockdown had brought too many problems, especially to those with foreign identities.

The Enforcement Union insisted on not letting anyone with the slightest possibility go. Unfortunately, some authorities demanded that the pressure and loss were just too unbearable and proceeded to terminate the lockdown. Otherwise, their country’s economy would simply collapse. As a direct result, foreigners were allowed to leave the country.

The Enforcement Union implemented strict protocols on verifying every foreigner’s identity. They basically counted every strand of hair that every foreigner had, but Salan still managed to escape in the end.

The Enforcement Union flew into a terrible rage and argued fiercely with the authority that terminated the lockdown. Meanwhile, the authority put the blame on the Enforcement Union in return. They had sent out the highest number of people in history, yet they still could not catch the Black Vatican’s commanding officer. The argument went on for days!

The truth was, it was just a matter of perspective. The Enforcement Union wanted justice to be served. The calamity of the Ancient Capital had shocked the whole world. If they allowed the culprit to remain at large, they would totally put their ancestors to shame. On the other hand, the authorities did not purposely let Salan go. They were more concerned about the country’s economy. If the lockdown continued, countless people would lose their jobs and end up homeless!

There were many places in the country like Zhenming Town that had lots of foreign investors and a way to leave the country by sea. As soon as the lockdown was terminated, Salan immediately took the opportunity to flee the country.

Luckily, the Enforcement Union was not totally useless. They were able to set their eyes on Chongming Island after eliminating all other possibilities.

“I have something to say,” Lingling pretended to be enjoying the fruits with an adorable expression, yet her voice did not suit her age.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue sat closer. They could tell that Lingling wanted to discuss something important from her tone.

“Salan only managed to escape from here because this place is privately owned by a foreigner, but considering how strict the procedures are, she would still have trouble leaving the country,” said Lingling.

“I’m not too familiar with what happened.” Mo Fan was clueless about the Enforcement Union’s approach.

“I was already suspicious of it, but I wasn’t too sure. However, when my sister sent us here, I’m finally convinced of it,” said Lingling.

“Convinced of what?”

“There’s something fishy in the Enforcement Union!” said Lingling.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue’s mouth widened. They found it hard to believe.

“Are you telling me that the Black Vatican has infiltrated the Enforcement Union?” asked Mu Ningxue softly.

“Maybe, but not entirely. The Enforcement Union is split into different factions, too. If the conflict between the factions is huge enough, Salan could easily use it to flee the country. The truth is, Salan doesn’t necessarily need to take the risk of turning someone into one of the Black Vatican. Everyone has their own desires and ambitions. With the right approach, many people actually did the Black Vatican lots of favors without them realizing it. For example, I believe most people in this manor aren’t with the Black Vatican, but they have become Salan’s accomplices unknowingly. I think it’s the same problem that the Enforcement Union has,” analyzed Lingling.

“But I feel like there’s a chance for people of the Black Vatican to infiltrate the Enforcement Union, too?” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan never believed a righteous organization was full of righteous people. He only believed that an evil place was surely full of evil people.

“The members of the Enforcement Union have to swear an Oath. The people of the Black Vatican wouldn’t be able to overcome it,” Lingling declared confidently.

“Oh, is that thing reliable?”

“A hundred percent. The members of the Enforcement Union have to renew the Oath periodically. It’s impossible for the Black Vatican to implant spies in the Enforcement Union, so I think Salan only managed to abuse the conflict between the factions in the Enforcement Union. Therefore, the Enforcement Union has decided to hire outsiders secretly to wipe out the Black Vatican’s remaining members on Chongming Island,” said Lingling.

As they were talking, Zhao Pinlin came in with a few cups of black tea.

“What are you whispering about? You should try this specialty black tea. It’s a must-try for everyone that comes here. You won’t find it anywhere else,” said Zhao Pinlin.

The woman called Carly entered the room and introduced the black tea to the group. Mo Fan was not too impressed by it, but Lingling and Mu Ningxue liked it.

“If you’re feeling energetic, feel free to enjoy the facilities… I have to receive another batch of guests. Please feel at home, you can ask the people with red bowties if you need any help,” Carly reminded them before leaving with a smile.

After enjoying the tea, a few maidservants came in and cleaned up the cups. The group discussed among themselves where they should visit first.

—-

Carly and Butler Fu went to another hall. A group of ten was already seated inside the hall. They seemed to be in their uniforms.

“Sorry for the wait, we are willing to receive every guest warmly, but I believe you’re not here for a holiday, based on your uniforms?” asked Butler Fu.

“We are the City Hunters here to investigate a case. There are rumors that someone has died from a poison that turned him into black ashes here. Why didn’t you report the incident?” The leader was a scarface. He took out his City Hunter badge.

Butler Fu and Carly exchanged glances.

“Carly, go brew some tea. Please have a seat. I’ll explain everything to you slowly. It’s not like we didn’t report the incident, but considering how it would start a panic among our guests, we just didn’t reveal it publicly. As a matter of fact, we already told the local relevant department,” said the butler cautiously.

“Oh, did you classify it as a demon creature incident?” said the scarface.

“Yes.”

“But according to our investigation, there are quite a lot of cases of missing people and strange deaths here. If the police were unable to solve them, you should have reported them to the City Hunters! Humph, do you think I’m not aware of how businessmen handle their problems? They always try to hide the incidents to ensure their businesses can operate normally. Go tell your boss, we’ll come again tomorrow. You better prepare all the documents we need. Otherwise, we’ll force you to stop your business since it’s endangering people’s lives!” said the leader in an unfriendly voice.

“It wasn’t as serious as you think…”

“Enough with your nonsense, I know most of your customers are rich people, but money isn’t everything. If I find out that you’re purposely hiding the truth, you will bear the consequences! Let’s go!” The scarface rose to his feet. He brought his men and left before the tea was served.

Butler Fu’s expression stiffened. He was lost for words for a moment.

—-

In the other room, Lingling quickly returned to her seat with a troubled look after eavesdropping on the conversation next door.

“What happened?” asked Mu Ningxue.

“This is annoying. The City Hunters came. I wonder who their stupid commander is to send them here now, they will only alert the enemy. It’s going to affect our operation!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Why would the City Hunters come now? Were they here because they somehow learned about the Black Vatican’s secret base too?” asked the surprised Mo Fan.

This was a serious problem. Even though City Hunters were under the Hunter Union, they were closely working with the Magic Association and the Enforcement Union, too. The people of Black Vatican would surely tighten their anuses and hide their fox tails.

Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Lingling were thinking of busting the Black Vatican’s tails while they were unprepared. However, the City Hunter’s involvement completely disrupted their plan!

“I’ll call my sister and ask her to call the City Hunters off. Otherwise, we will only end up going back empty-handedly,” said Lingling.

Mo Fan shook his head and said, “Don’t, we still don’t know if the Black Vatican is watching. If the City Hunters withdraw for no reason, they will be even more suspicious. Didn’t you say they are investigating a different case? Maybe they will leave once they get the information they want.”

They had entered the tiger’s den. Even if they failed to accomplish their mission, they could still guarantee their safety. It would be easier for them to stick with their cover now, since the Black Vatican would be focusing on the City Hunters.

“Let’s continue to eat and play,” said Mo Fan.

The three soon regrouped with the others after a brief discussion. The facilities were scattered across the place, so they had plenty of time to look around for clues.

—-

After spending a whole day having fun, Mo Fan discovered that the club actually had quite a number of people present. Many had come as families, or as social gatherings. The three ranches had over a thousand guests in total. If all the workers were included, there must be around two thousand people here!

At night, Mo Fan saw the girl called Guo Wenyi after dinner. Since it was meaningless to wander around aimlessly, he decided to call for her.

“Guo Wenyi, can I ask you something… the thing you saw eating a horse, where was it?” HE asked.

Guo Wenyi was stunned. Her face was immediately filled with fear.

“Don’t be scared, I was just worried myself, so I was hoping you can tell me where it was so I’ll avoid the spot,” Mo Fan smiled reassuringly.

Guo Wenyi was slightly relieved. She walked to the window and pointed at a grove close to the horse-riding field. “It was somewhere close to that grove. Before the land was bought, I was able to take that path home, but since they built the iron fences after the land was bought, I’ve never been to this area.”

“Oh, ok, thanks. I was thinking of taking a stroll, I was hoping that I wouldn’t go anywhere close to that spot,” breathed Mo Fan.

“You’re welcome. I feel bloated from dinner too. Let’s walk together,” Guo Wenyi smiled.

Mo Fan did not reject her. Guo Wenyi was a local; perhaps he could learn some insightful information from her.

—

During the stroll, Mo Fan subconsciously walked toward the spot that Guo Wenyi mentioned. It was around five hundred meters away from the stables. They could hear the horses neighing in the quiet night.

Guo Wenyi gradually pulled a face. She pulled Mo Fan’s sleeves and said, “Let’s…let’s go somewhere else. This is the spot that I was talking about.”

“I feel like taking a look. I love adventures,” said Mo Fan.

“Don’t, it’s really scary!” screamed Guo Wenyi.

“You know what, if you’re scared of something, the fear will continue to grow in your heart. I bet it has been troubling you every night since you saw it. Do you want to live in fear for the rest of your life?” said Mo Fan.

“Well…” Guo Wenyi was lost for words. The truth was, she was indeed troubled by the fear. She would even feel like something was behind her whenever she closed her eyes while she was taking a shower.

“Maybe you only imagined it. If you don’t go back there and overcome the fear in your mind, it will follow you around like a nightmare. You should gather your courage and visit the place, and you’ll soon realize that the fear is gone on its own,” said Mo Fan.

Guo Wenyi looked at Mo Fan. She seemed convinced by his words.

After a while, she bit her lips and nodded, as if she was prepared to go all out.

Mo Fan was rather impressed by his own eloquence when he saw the girl actually agreeing to his suggestion!

Maybe he should stop being a Magician and work as a counselor instead. It would be cool to convince people to turn from evil and help people with their relationship problems!

Mo Fan led the way. Even though Guo Wenyi had agreed to face her fear, she seemed to be taking two steps back every time she took three steps forward…

They soon arrived at the grove that Guo Wenyi had mentioned. The rocks scattered across the ground told Mo Fan that it used to be a path between the two towns, but it had been destroyed. It was the path that the girl was taking when she saw something moving in the grove.

The night was dark. There were no stars or moonlight. The horse-riding field was already closed. The lights from the stables were too weak to reach their position.

“Is this the place?” Mo Fan went forward and saw some underbrush.

“Yeah, this is it… don’t go any closer, it’s dangerous!” Guo Wenyi was slightly panicking. She could still recognize the shrubs nearby.

Mo Fan did not seem to be bothered. The creature would be gone after all these years, and even if it was still around, Mo Fan could easily skin it alive!

He pushed open the shrub to look for clues.

However, if something actually happened, the people of the Black Vatican would have gotten rid of the clues. Why would they leave them behind…

“F**k me!” Mo Fan suddenly cursed.

Guo Wenyi was frightened by the curse. She quickly lifted her skirt and ran away.

Mo Fan did not stop her. He pushed open the shrub further and saw a bone stuck in the mud, tangled up with the grass.

Mo Fan thought the traces would have been erased by now, yet the outcome was totally the opposite. He simply found the clues just by pushing open the shrub!

It was clearly the remains of a horse. The bones were from its face and mouth. It was obvious just by looking at the teeth…

If what Guo Wenyi saw in the past was a Dark Beast Monster, it seemed like the people of the Black Vatican had not noticed that the creature had eaten a horse here…

Mo Fan continued to search around to look for more clues. He soon discovered a big patch of barren land, even though the surroundings were covered in thick shrubs.

Why was the spot empty, when the whole place was covered in shrubs?

“It must be a Dark Beast Monster or a Cursed Beast. The saliva of that filth is extremely corrosive. It can easily stop plants from growing for years. Hehe, I’ve finally found some clues!” Mo Fan grinned.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Even though they were suspicious that the place was the Black Vatican’s secret base, they needed some solid proof to back up their speculation. Once Mo Fan retrieved the soil and let Lingling examine it, they would soon learn the truth!

“Are…are you alright?” Guo Wenyi’s voice came from behind him.

Mo Fan put some of the soil in his pocket and rose to his feet. He was quite surprised to see Guo Wenyi back even though she was scared. The girl seemed to have a kind heart.

Mo Fan smilingly said, “I checked the area, but I didn’t find anything. The soil doesn’t seem to be soaked with blood before, either. Oh, I’m studying in a police academy, so just trust me.”

“Rea…really?” Guo Wenyi seemed quite nervous.

“Of course, you must have seen it wrong. Think about it, it was very dark, so maybe an injured horse was lying there. A kid was trying to stop the bleeding, and got his hands and face full of blood, so you thought he was eating the horse…” Mo Fan comforted her.

Guo Wenyi recalled the incident. What Mo Fan said was fairly reasonable.

“Thank…thank you,” said Guo Wenyi softly.

“Alright, it’s settled. Let’s head bac…” Mo Fan was about to say something when he heard movement in the grove.

“What is it?” asked Guo Wenyi.

“Nothing, are you able to go back yourself? I want to take a walk around,” said Mo Fan smiled.

Guo Wenyi thought about it. If she wanted to overcome her fear, she had to walk the path on her own. Besides, she was not as scared after listening to Mo Fan’s explanation.

“Sure,” Guo Wenyi nodded with a firm look.

—-

After sending Guo Wenyi away, Mo Fan stared at the shrub hidden in darkness.

He was about to take a look when he saw his communication device blinking, implying that someone with the same device was nearby.

Mo Fan purposely waited for a while. Some time later, Mu Ningxue, dressed all in black, came out. She was as attractive as a black rose blooming under the moonlight.

“Did you find anything?” asked Mu Ningxue.

Mo Fan stared at her sexy black stockings for a prolonged moment. Her round bottom looked even more alluring under the black stockings, speaking of leg fetishism!

“I asked if you had found anything!” snapped Mu Ningxue furiously.

“Oh, the horse-eating thing that Guo Wenyi mentioned, I think it’s a Dark Beast Monster. We’ll know for sure once Lingling examines the soil I collected. There’s some movement in the grove. I was about to take a look when you came,” said Mo Fan.

“Let’s go together.” Mu Ningxue quietly approached the grove.

Mo Fan followed behind while enjoying the view of the black stockings. Tsk tsk tsk, he had the urge to tear the thin stockings in half, and enjoy the pleasant view of the tender, white legs under them…

If Mu Ningxue knew what Mo Fan was thinking, she would immediately have tossed an ice chain at him.

The grove was abnormally dark. There were not many weeds around, but the trees were densely packed together. It was difficult for the light to penetrate through the leaves.

The duo walked quietly on tiptoe and approached the spot where the movement came from.

“It seems like someone is injured,” Mu Ningxue interpreted when she heard the sound.

Mo Fan frowned and said, “I don’t think so, based on my experiences.”

Mu Ningxue ignored Mo Fan’s words. She proceeded further, went past a row of trees and arrived at a spacious spot. She clearly saw two figures stacked on top of one another under a thick trunk.

“Mm, Mm, Mm, Oh, Ohhh!” it started off as a hum, before a cry filled with pleasure was heard.

The woman’s moan was like a fire in the quiet night. It instantly set Mu Ningxue’s cold face aflame, her ears and neck immediately blushed.

Meanwhile, Mu Ningxue felt a puff of hot air behind blowing at her neck. She quickly dodged aside sensitively…

“Holy crap, the people here are pretty extreme!” Mo Fan lowered his voice. His eyes widened, it felt like his eyeballs were about to fly toward the ‘crime’ scene.

As a matter of fact, they were very close to the figures. They already saw a leg slowly lifting into the air and the two heads stacked together. One belonged to a curly figure leaning against the tree, while the other bulky figure was continuously ramming forward.

They could not see the man’s face, but they could easily see the woman’s face. The blushing face covered in sweat was none other than the rather attractive female butler, Carly. The alluring expression in her eyes served as a great contrast to her professional, courteous appearance during the day. Mo Fan felt a hot surge in his nose. He subconsciously stuck closer to Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue did not dare to make a noise, yet she would not allow the asshole Mo Fan to take advantage of her. She was about to react when she heard Carly talking.

“I thought…I thought I heard something?”

“You must have heard it wrong. I didn’t hear anything even though I’m a Magician.”

“Captain Feng, I know…I know we had some… insignificant problem… ah… but we’ll settle it… so… can you… go easy on us tomorrow?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll surely do you a favor since you’re willing to show up tonight, as for you, hehehe.”

After some fierce movement, the two laid still on the ground. Carly was able to speak more fluently, “Who sent you here this time?”

“No one, I came on my own. I have already set my eyes on you a long time ago, so I decided to come when I learned about the incident. I didn’t expect you to be so cooperative, you even contacted me before dinner, hahaha!” The man burst out laughing. He did not seem to care, even though they were out in the open.

“So you’re saying that you’re here on your own? There isn’t anything serious?” Carly confirmed once again.

“Well, it turns out that you do have some problems. As the captain of the City Hunters, I must carry out my job.”

“Oh, oh, that’s a relief,” Carly let out a sigh.

“What is it? Do you have some other problems too? If you come to the mountain with me during the weekend, there won’t be any problems anymore, HAHAHA!” laughed Captain Feng.

“There are some, but can you please clean up the records, you know we are doing businesses with rich folks. They aren’t willing to come if they hear about the rumors. There was an incident before, but it was only someone being poisoned. We already dealt with the poisoned object,” said Carly softly.

“It’s nothing serious, I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Mm, see you tomorrow night.”

—-

“Scum!” Mu Ningxue uttered coldly.

“Yeah, he’s scum, why would the City Hunters have a jerk like him? How disappointing! This is why the Enforcement Union is having trouble collecting information accurately and messing up their operation!” swore Mo Fan furiously.

Mu Ningxue was so enraged that she had the urge to kill someone. She turned around and said one word at a time, “I was talking about you!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Captain Feng’s cultivation was not too weak. Mu Ningxue wanted Mo Fan to stay further away, but she immediately sensed someone’s approaching.

Mu Ningxue did not have any ability to hide herself. Luckily, Mo Fan came closer in time and erased their presence with the Shadow Element. Otherwise, the captain of the City Hunters might notice their presence.

However, the two had to stick very close for the Shadow Element to work. Mo Fan was basically hugging her from behind. Mu Ningxue was already blushing from witnessing the eyesore, but Mo Fan, that asshole, jerk, perverted guy kept moving around…

“Please don’t be mad, I didn’t mean it, there are things that men can’t control, hehe!” Mo Fan did not show the slightest hint of apology. He was more like a successful thief with his act.

Mu Ningxue was helpless against such a shameless person. She snapped with a cold face, “No next time!”

A surge of frost went past Mo Fan, and he saw a little branch freezing into an ice stick. He felt a certain body part turning cold after witnessing it. Before he could react, a wind blew and shattered the branch into pieces. He subconsciously gasped.

“Let’s be serious, be serious…” Mo Fan felt extremely awkward. He quickly tried to fix the situation, “It seems like something happened here before. Carly is keen to hide it; I should ask Lingling to find what she’s trying to hide.”

“Mmm,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

“Do you think that Carly was being suspicious?” said Mo Fan.

“Yes,” said Mu Ningxue confidently.

“Why? You can’t say she’s suspicious just because she’s sacrificing herself to maintain the manor’s reputation?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Is your mind full of her naked body?” Mu Ningxue harrumphed coldly.

“Not at all, how can you think of me like that? There’s no chance other women can enter my mind when you’re around…” said Mo Fan in utter seriousness, leaving out the final bit, unless she’s naked.

Would Mu Ningxue believe his nonsense?

“It wasn’t the captain that noticed us first. It was Carly. She’s a Magician, otherwise, it’s impossible her senses were sharper than the captain’s. It’s so simple, can’t you tell?” Mu Ningxue immediately tore down Mo Fan’s lies.

“Ugh… my Xuexue is exceptionally intelligent indeed!” praised Mo Fan.

Mu Ningxue’s furious face was simply written with Piss Off !

—-

After they returned to the main building, Mo Fan handed Lingling the soil.

Lingling soon went back to her room and used some basic equipment to find its composition. They would learn the truth in no time.

Mu Ningxue went back to her room. She did not mind stumbling into people having sex in the grove, but she had no choice but to throw her favorite black stockings that she just bought recently into the bin. She could no longer wear them after some perverted man rubbed against them!

How could he that shameless? How could anyone be so shameless!?

Mu Ningxue was about to take off her clothes to take a shower when there was a knock on her door.

She opened the door and saw the person was Zhao Pinlin. Mu Ningxue had already noticed the man trying to approach her. What the heck did he want knocking on her door late at night? She was incredibly annoyed after being harassed by Mo Fan. There was no way she would be in a good mood when she saw the scum.

Why did she call Zhao Pinlin scum?

Very simple, it was so obvious that Zhao Pinlin wanted to earn the affection of the girl called Wang Xuxu through the trip he organized. However, the guy tried to find all kinds of excuses to approach her instead. He even came to knock on her door… scum, just like that asshole Mo Fan!

“What do you want?” asked Mu Ningxue impatiently.

“Oh, nothing, I wanted to ask you whether you enjoy watching the stars. I just saw an observation tower on the highest floor. The view was spectacular. It would be a pity to miss it, but it’s quite meaningless to enjoy it on my own,” said Zhao Pinlin.

Mu Ningxue rested her hand on the door. She turned and looked outside the window.

Zhao Pinlin also took a look and saw the clouds in the sky, not even half a star was visible.

The lie collapsed instantly. Mu Ningxue directly said, “I’m heading to bed.” She closed the door.

—-

The door almost hit Zhao Pinlin’s nose. He looked at the tightly shut door, and his proud heart was immediately filled with rage.

He turned around and headed for the bar in a bad mood.

“Mr. Zhao, do you need anything?” asked a waitress with a red bowtie.

“Just give me a drink,” growled Zhao Pinlin.

After taking a few sips, Zhao Pinlin felt bored. He asked the waitress over and said, “Go to the second floor and ask the girl called Wang Xuxu down. Tell her I’m waiting for her here.”

“Oh, sure.”

The waitress was just about to leave when Zhao Pinlin rose to his feet and said, “Forget it, I’ll go myself. Just prepare the place, make it look more romantic.”

“Not a problem, sir.”

Zhao Pinlin went to the second floor.

He spent some time tidying himself, so the others would not see him angry and annoyed.

He forced a smile and reached out his hand to knock on Wang Xuxu’s door…

His hand stopped in the air as the door happened to be opening too. He immediately saw the familiar face of a man!

“Zhao Pinlin? Are you looking for Wang Xuxu?” Rong Sheng had an honest smile.

“You… why are you in her room? Did she let you in?” Zhao Pinlin was dumbfounded.

Zhao Pinlin immediately saw the button on Rong Sheng’s collars undone. Besides, the man had just come out from Wang Xuxu’s room at this time. No matter how stupid Zhao Pinlin was, he did not need to guess what had just happened inside the room!

Zhao Pinlin was enraged. He never thought the arrangements he made would be in this stupid Rong Sheng’s favor instead, and this fool even dared to lay hands on his first target, Wang Xuxu!

In Zhao Pinlin’s opinion, a man like Rong Sheng could only pick up chicks like Guo Wenyi!

The shock almost drove Zhao Pinlin mad.

He shoved Rong Sheng away fiercely and headed straight back to the bar!

—-

“Asshole, asshole, asshole!” Zhao Pinlin was losing his mind.

He could not get his hands on the stunning Mu Ningxue, and he lost his chance with a beauty like Wang Xuxu. He spent lots of money and connections just to organize the gathering, but it had turned out like this!

Zhao Pinlin downed his drinks rapidly.

He was the only one left in the bar. Any person could easily tell the rage he was in.

The waitress with a red bowtie wore a cunning smile when she saw the man’s reaction. She slowly walked up to him and said, “Why don’t I keep you company?”

The waitress had untied her hair and took off her bowtie. Her half-curled brown hair draped over her shoulder. She suddenly looked a lot prettier. On top of that, the top three buttons on her chest were undone, hinting at her cleavage. She was not totally unrestrained, but not completely preserved, either!

Zhao Pinlin felt rather annoyed. He was not so desperate as to hook up with a waitress, yet he was stunned when he saw her transformation.

“I’ve met you before, you’re quite a regular here. You aren’t a bad man, but it seems like you’re having trouble making things right. Why don’t we have a chat? Maybe I can fulfill your dreams… I assume you’ve heard some rumors here… about, making your dreams come true,” the waitress wore a charming, yet somewhat wicked grin.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Pinlin followed the waitress to another part of the building. Apart from being confused, he was looking forward to it, too.

The light was rather dim. Judging from the secluded pathway and the locked doors, it was unlikely that anyone would come to this part of the building. Zhao Pinlin stared at the woman’s brown, half-curly hair and her twitching hip. The grudge and fury from before immediately turned into lustful desires!

After turning a corner, Zhao Pinlin shoved the woman, pressed her heavily into the wall and leaned against her hot body.

The waitress moaned. She turned around looking, at the rather impatient Zhao Pinlin and said with a charming smile, “Don’t rush it yet; I don’t mind if you treat me as a tool to vent your emotions, but I believe you are looking for something else.”

Zhao Pinlin was not in the mood to hear her nonsense. He forcibly kissed the woman on her lips.

In the dim corner of the passage came the sounds of heavy breathing, the sound of clothes being taken off, and continuous, rhythmic slaps. Their shadows extended under the dim light and were thrown against the half-transparent window. The silhouette was clear enough to imply they were using the back-penetration ../style with hands on the wall…

—-

After some time, Zhao Pinlin finally vented most of the anger in his heart. However, whenever he thought about Wang Xuxu having an affair with that dumbass Rong Sheng, he felt extremely humiliated, as if he was wearing a green hat!

In terms of appearance, background, and intelligence, he was obviously a lot better than Rong Sheng. – Is that Wang Xuxu f**king blind!?-

The waitress slowly put on her clothes, but some pieces were no longer wearable.

“Are you feeling better? But a smart man like you should know this is only the entree,” the waitress smiled.

“Is that so? It seems like you are going to entertain me tonight,” Zhao Pinlin grinned. He was quite intrigued by the woman.

They continued down the passage and arrived at a place that no one could possibly find. It was a clean, enclosed room with a brown rug, some patterns drawn on the walls, and a lighted furnace, even though the room was empty.

“Try this, it will make your dreams come true,” the woman slowly closed the door and gave Zhao Pinlin a bottle of liquid.

“I’m not interested in drugs,” Zhao Pinlin shook his head.

“Don’t worry, it’s not just something that entertains you mentally,” said the woman.

“What is your name?” asked Zhao Pinlin.

“Fang Shaoli.” The woman placed the potion down and sat down in silence. She looked at Zhao Pinlin with a challenging gaze, as if she was daring him to drink the potion.

Zhao Pinlin could not stand being looked down on by a woman. It simply reminded him of Mu Ningxue’s cold, disdainful look. Zhao Pinlin drank the potion with a single throw.

He felt a strong headache the moment the potion entered his throat. The room seemed to be spinning wildly.

He shook his head to clear his mind and realized he was no longer in the enclosed room. The girl called Fang Shaoli was gone, too. He was standing in a different room. It looked the same as his room at the club, but someone was sitting on his bed. It was Wang Xuxu. She was sending messages to someone, through both text and voice, while giggling.

“This is the dream. You can do whatever you want,” said Fang Shaoli in the same soothing voice.

Zhao Pinlin immediately remembered the humiliation he felt when he saw Wang Xuxu. The lust that he just vented returned once again when he heard Fang Shaoli’s seductive voice. He pounced at Wang Xuxu like a mindless beast.

—-

Fang Shaoli grinned when she saw Zhao Pinlin lunging at her while calling another woman’s name. She knew what the man was troubled with, thus she was being extremely cooperative.

Unfortunately, the man was done rather quickly. He already finished before Fang Shaogli could enjoy it, even though she was trying to achieve her goal.

It did not matter. She believed the man could no longer escape her control. It was time to proceed with the actual plan.

—-

“Was…was that an illusion?” Zhao Pinlin slowly regained consciousness. He was soaked in sweat, yet wearing a wild grin.

“It was,” said Fang Shaoli smilingly.

“It wasn’t too bad.”

“You’re satisfied already? The fun has only just begun. I told you it will make your dreams come true, not just let you indulge in some useless fantasies. Didn’t you want to get your revenge? I can help you…I can turn the dream you just had into reality,” said Fang Shaoli.

“You’re not kidding?”

“Do I sound like I’m kidding? As a gift, your dreams will soon be fulfilled. That weak woman without any background is already prepared for you… of course, if you have a bigger ambition, for example the silver-haired woman who doesn’t even want to look at you, you will need to worship a person,” said Fang Shaoli.

“Worship a person?” asked Zhao Pinlin in astonishment.

“We’ll talk after you complete the first step,” Fang Shaoli replied mysteriously.

“I don’t want to do anything too extreme.”

“It’s not that you don’t want, you are just afraid to bear the consequences. Don’t worry, nothing is going to happen to you. Of course, if you are satisfied with just a mere illusion from taking a drink, you can leave now. I’ll just pretend that I’ve wasted my time tonight,” Fang Shaoli sounded like she was daring Zhao Pinlin again.

It was Zhao Pinlin’s weak spot. When he recalled the exciting dream he just had, he immediately felt bloated. It would be perfect if he could make his dreams come true!

—-

Early in the morning, an intern dressed in a maid costume knocked on everyone’s door and invited them to breakfast.

“Rong Sheng, why are you wearing a silly grin? Did something good happen last night?” Mo Fan sat beside Rong Sheng and patted on his shoulder.

Somehow, Rong Sheng and Mo Fan seemed to get along well. Rong Sheng moved closer to Mo Fan’s ear and whispered, “Brother, don’t tell anyone yet, but Wang Xuxu and I are now in a relationship. I went to her room last night… and I managed to reach second base!”

“Second base, what do you mean?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“Damn, are you seriously that innocent when you look so perverted? I meant a woman’s top… boobs, do you understand? The third base is bottom…And home run means doing everything possible!” Rong Sheng tried to lower his voice, yet he sounded extremely excited.

“Oh, oh, I guess I’ve learned something new,” said Mo Fan.

“I will work harder tonight. It turns out that she has feelings for me, too. I always thought she liked Zhao Pinlin. Well, I guess I should thank you for joining us, allowing Wang Xuxu to see what kind of person Zhao Pinlin is…( cough cough ), anyway, just wait for my good news tomorrow morning,” Rong Sheng chuckled.

Mo Fan was about to give the man a thumbs up when he saw two people sticking intimately to one another as they walked into the restaurant.

Rong Sheng was still wearing a joyful smile, but it immediately froze when he saw the people walking in!

Mo Fan was stunned too…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Pinlin had his arm around Wang Xuxu’s waist as they entered the restaurant. He was hugging the woman tightly. Judging from how intimate they were, it felt like they had been together for quite a while, their relationship had escalated further… The confident grin on Zhao Pinlin’s face seemed to be telling everyone that the woman beside him was his!

Mo Fan looked at Rong Sheng, then at Zhao Pinlin, and finally at Wang Xuxu who seemed rather unnatural.

-What the heck is going on!-

“Oh~you two…you two are…”

“Damn, weren’t you two still referring to one another as classmates yesterday? You are already showing up like this today! Did we miss something last night?”

The others immediately made a great fuss about it, asking the details of what happened last night.

Meanwhile, Rong Sheng looked like he was having a nightmare. Mo Fan felt extremely sorry for the guy looking at his expression. Judging from his joyful reaction before, he must have assumed himself to be a toad who had no chance of tasting a swan’s meat, but he actually succeeded last night…

He was only sharing his joy a moment ago before witnessing the scene. He must be thunderstruck.

Mo Fan did not think that Rong Sheng was lying. After all, it was obvious that something must have happened judging from Wang Xuxu’s unnatural expression, and the way she tried to avoid Rong Sheng’s gaze.

Rong Sheng rose to his feet. His gaze never left Wang Xuxu as soon as she stepped into the restaurant.

“Xuxu, can you give me an explanation? Why are you with him when you already accepted me last night?” Rong Sheng was pretty straightforward. He only wanted an answer.

The others were shocked when they heard the words. Who would have thought!?

“Rong Sheng, can we talk later?” Wang Xuxu replied in a soft voice, to stop him from asking when there were so many people around.

Zhao Pinlin burst out laughing. He completely disregarded their feelings, “Oh Rong Sheng, she was only joking with you. Xuxu, isn’t that the case?”

“Joking? How could she be joking!?” said Rong Sheng.

Wang Xuxu felt sorry when she saw Rong Sheng’s reaction, yet she was left with no choice when she saw Zhao Pinlin’s gaze, “Rong Sheng, it’s like this, you suddenly expressed your feelings to me last night. I was reluctant to hurt you as I saw how sincere you were, so I wasn’t being clear when I turned you down. I didn’t think you would misunderstand me, but I didn’t want to hurt you, so I went with the flow…as for Zhao Pinlin and I…you should understand.”

Rong Sheng was dumbfounded!

Wang Xuxu’s words were like a hammer smashing his wonderful memories he had last night into pieces. It continued to stab his heart. It was so painful that he could not find any word.

Went with the flow… She was only going with the flow last night?

He thought he would be the luckiest man starting this morning. He even had trouble falling asleep last night. He was already planning for their future. He even made up his mind to work harder, so he could bring her to the luxurious places she liked…

To his surprise, a bucket of icy, bone-chilling water was poured right on his face in the morning!

“Rong Sheng, were you drinking last night? What did I say to you? You shouldn’t have pushed your luck. Did you really go find her last night…” Wang Bing let out a sigh.

Someone else also sighed. “We are all classmates. It’s normal for us to develop feelings for one another. Come, let’s have breakfast.”

“Yeah, Rong Sheng, just think of last night as a dream. We are still going to see one another for quite some time. Don’t make it too awkward. Wang Xuxu was being considerate of your feelings too. She obviously cared how you felt. If it was someone else, she might have scolded them out of the room. Why would she bother explaining the situation to you?”

Rong Sheng went back to his seat. Zhao Pinlin felt incredibly proud when he saw Rong Sheng’s helpless expression!

—-

The atmosphere at breakfast felt very strange after the incident. Mo Fan spent the whole time comforting Rong Sheng.

The honest Rong Sheng reminded Mo Fan of Zhang Xiaohou. He felt extremely sorry for what happened.

“Brother, I really didn’t…didn’t lie to you. She really…accepted me last night.” Tears almost ran down Rong Sheng’s cheeks. The pain was a hundred times worse than being rejected directly by Wang Xuxu.

It felt like he had fallen from Heaven to Hell…

He really had nursed an affection for Wang Xuxu for a long time!

“Alright, come, let’s eat something,” said Mo Fan.

——

Everyone quickly finished breakfast. Most people went with Zhao Pinlin to enjoy the facilities. Rong Sheng had most likely gone back to his room in tears.

Mo Fan was on his way to Lingling’s room. The love and hatred between the group of students were little of his concern, since the Black Vatican was still his priority as a Hunter. When his life was at stake, anything else did not feel as important.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t you go with the others?” Mo Fan was just about to find Lingling when he saw Guo Wenyi following behind him. She seemed to have something to say.

“Err… to be honest, I couldn’t really understand what happened just then. I wasn’t sure if I should talk to Wang Xuxu; she’s acting really strange,” said Guo Wenyi.

Mo Fan was confused. He took the girl’s phone and saw the text that Wang Xuxu sent to Guo Wenyi last night. She was telling Guo Wenyi that she and Rong Sheng were in a relationship.

Guo Wenyi and Wang Xuxu were quite close to one another. The two even had a long chat last night. Clearly, Wang Xuxu was more interested in an honest man like Rong Sheng. She even mentioned that she would not feel secure being around Zhao Pinlin.

Mo Fan was even more confused. Wasn’t Wang Xuxu a bit too fickle?

“It was her own decision. Telling me won’t help at all,” Mo Fan returned the phone to Guo Wenyi.

Did she really think of him as a relationship expert? He had other businesses to attend to. He seriously did not have time to care about someone’s relationship.

“I just thought…thought she’s acting really strange. It felt like she had turned into a different person. I’ve known her for some time, but I rarely see her like that. It feels like… she’s terrified,” said Guo Wenyi.

Guo Wenyi did not know who to talk to. She recalled how Mo Fan had helped her overcome her fear last night, so she decided to share it with Mo Fan.

“She’s terrified?” Mo Fan was intrigued.

“Yeah, she used to be very timid, and whenever she’s afraid, she holds onto her sleeves. When she was around Zhao Pinlin, she kept holding her sleeves. She did not let go even once. She’s really terrified, but I can’t tell what she’s afraid of. I feel like something isn’t right. I was hoping that you could help her. Wang Xuxu isn’t a fickle person. She already shared her thoughts with me, she thinks Rong Sheng is better than Zhao Pinlin… she was chatting happily with me last night, but it somehow ended up like this today. I am afraid that she’s…she’s being blackmailed,” said Guo Wenyi in a soft voice.

Mo Fan did not say anything. However, he decided to keep the incident in mind.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

“Lingling, how is it?” Mo Fan walked into Lingling’s room.

“It’s poisonous saliva. The soil is corroded, but I’m afraid it wasn’t a Dark Beast Monster, nor a Cursed Beast,” replied Lingling.

“It wasn’t?” Mo Fan was surprised. He assumed it to be solid proof, yet it turned out to not belong to either the Dark Beast Monsters or the Cursed Beasts.

“It’s even more corrosive. Not only did it stop any plant from growing in the soil for more than four years, it even made it poisonous, too. I remember that the City Hunters were here to investigate someone being poisoned. I can’t tell if these two are related. We need more clues, but the Black Vatican is hiding in the dark with a great disguise. There are around two thousand people in this manor. We’ll need more information to identify them among the others,” said Lingling sternly.

Mo Fan nodded. He immediately told Lingling the good news about how he and Mu Ningxue stumbled upon Carly and the captain of the City Hunters last night.

“That’s good to hear; at least it will distract the Black Vatican for now. We still can’t tell if that Carly is with the Black Vatican, but I think she’s very suspicious,” said Lingling.

“There’s something else…but I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the Black Vatican,” Mo Fan filtered out the insignificant details as he explained the strange incident.

Lingling fell into deep thoughts after hearing the affair between Rong Sheng, Wang Xuxu, Zhao Pinlin, and Guo Wenyi.

“Maybe it isn’t related to the Black Vatican.”

“I think so too, even if something is fishy about it, it’s most likely that Zhao Pinlin is using some dirty trick to force the girl to obey him. I think it’s something the police can help with…” said Mo Fan.

—-

Two days later, a new batch of guests arrived at the manor. They were the entourage of a reputable academic. He was known for counseling people who were having trouble in the modern day with reasonings and Buddhism. In simpler words, he was a famous, influential speaker. The people called him Master Mintian.

Master Mintian had organized a talk at the manor. The day of the talk, there were around four thousand attendees. Luckily, the manor was relatively spacious. It did not feel crowded even when the place held so many people.

Master Mintian had a great reputation. Most of the attendees were rich people who firmly believed in the man’s teachings.

A speaker was a fairly rare occupation in the world of magic. It went without saying that Master Mintian was considered a highly suspicious target by Mo Fan and Lingling without hesitation. After all, the Black Vatican’s brainwashing was fairly scary!

—-

The bar…

Zhao Pinlin was having a drink with an annoyed look.

A waitress with a red bowtie showed up from the corner. Her brown hair was hanging down loosely. Fang Shaoli sat in front of the man with a smile, “What is it? Aren’t you satisfied?”

“That woman, she doesn’t even know my name. She’s just a woman, she should be honored that she caught my attention!” Zhao Pinlin slammed the glass on the table.

“You’re talking about the silver-haired woman. She’s quite special indeed. I can tell she is from a reputable family, judging by her manners,” said Fang Shaoli.

“Humph!”

“How about the other woman?” asked Fang Shaoli.

“I sent her back to her room.”

“Already had enough after just a few days? Well, it’s reasonable. She wasn’t your first option. If I remembered correctly, you knocked on the silver-haired woman’s door first,” said Fang Shaoli.

“How did you know?” Zhao Pinlin was astounded.

“We observe our potential customers very closely. I’ve checked the woman’s identity for you. She’s a member of a little magic family in the capital. It seems that she’s only a Basic Magician, so you won’t be able to have your way with her with the same way you handled Wang Xuxu,” said Fang Shaoli smiled.

“What should I do then?” It was Zhao Pinlin’s first time enjoying the thrill. His whole mind was occupied with Mu Ningxue. Somehow, the harder it was to win her over, the more desirable she became!

“You have to become stronger,” said Fang Shaoli.

“How can I become stronger? I’m not a Magician…”

“You don’t have to be a Magician. Whoever joins us, we’ll let them control a creature that isn’t necessarily weaker than a Magician. I can give you one considering how strong your desire is to lay your hands on the silver-haired woman. In the future, the creature can even help you with thefts, assassinations, or any other needs you have,” said Fang Shaoli.

“Control a creature? Like a summoner?” asked Zhao Pinlin curiously.

“Mmm, something like that, but you’ll need to offer a sacrifice. To prove your sincerity, I suggest you t offer the woman whom you’re already tired of to us. It will turn her into your slave and place her under your control while she suffers from endless torture and pain!” said Fang Shaoli.

Zhao Pinlin was stunned.

He did admit that he was rather annoyed by Wang Xuxu. When he first laid his hands on her, he could feel the pleasure from getting his revenge. However, the woman was cowering and begging him all the time. She never stopped crying. Zhao Pinlin found it extremely annoying.

He had lost his interest in Wang Xuxu, but that did not mean he would offer her as a sacrifice!

Fang Shaoli took out some documents when she saw Zhao Pinlin hesitating. She placed them in front of him.

Zhao Pinlin took a glance at the documents and was shocked to discover that it was a death report. The deceased on it was none other than Wang Xuxu!

In other words, Fang Shaoli had already prepared everything beforehand!

“This death report says she has died of an accident, and it happens after your trip. If you agreed, no one will ever suspect you. From today onward, she will be your slave. You will see her trying to win your favor like a puppy, begging you… It’s the first trial to become one of us. You can’t be a disciple without a slave. That being said, we’ll only help you secure the silver-haired woman after you’ve become a disciple. She is a Magician. Even though she’s only a Basic Magician, our group has to pay a certain price, too. Before we keep our end of the bargain, we have to know how ambitious you are, and how ready you are to join us. It’s quite hilarious if you’re feeling sorry for a woman you have already lost interest in,” mused Fang Shaoli.

Zhao Pinlin hesitated. He knew he had done something inhumane, but it was still within his acceptable boundaries.

However, if Wang Xuxu ended up dead, or was turned into a slave like Fang Shaoli mentioned, it would be crossing the line…

“Can I choose someone else? Someone I don’t know?” asked Zhao Pinlin. He did not mind making someone disappear from the world. He just needed to pick a homeless wanderer. No one cared if they went missing.

“Can’t do, we have to know your determination!” Fang Shaoli’s voice changed. It sounded like an order, with strong pressure!

Zhao Pinlin looked at her. He finally sensed that the woman was not just a little waitress trying to seduce him. Her presence was as scary as an enormous beast, who could devour him with a single bite!

“Are you serious that not only can I get what I want now, I can get many more if I join you?” Zhao Pinlin asked in a deep voice.

“Of course! I know you kept thinking of replacing your cousin who humiliated you before, but unfortunately, you aren’t as business-minded as he is.”

“Fine…I’ll join you.”

“Very well, you’ll have to complete the ritual yourself.” Fang Shaoli nodded at Zhao Pinlin. She withdrew her aura and put on a gentle smile, “If you had shaken your head just then, I’d be turning you into my slave tonight. I enjoy turning men who encroached on me into slaves that I can whip at every day, hehe!”

The gentle smile turned into an evil grin. Zhao Pinlin subconsciously shivered. He asked in a soft voice, “Is your…your position higher?”

“I will tell you once you finish the ritual. I have high hopes for you, a man with wild ambitions and endless greed!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

—-

A bathing pool…

Fang Shaoli was sitting on a black chair with her legs crossed. A pair of blue, sharp heels were tapping softly on the ground made of volcanic rocks.

The bathing pool was built with volcanic rocks. Heat was coming from the beehive of holes, warming the room.

At the front was a heart-shaped pool. In the past, the pool was normally filled with clean hot water and rose petals, but it was now filled with black unholy water full of bubbles, like it had dissolved lots of corpses. Just the sight of it was utterly disgusting.

Zhao Pinlin was kneeling in front of Fang Shaoli’s short skirt, kissing her heels. His humble act was nothing like his usual tyrannical manner. It felt like he had turned into a completely different person.

Meanwhile, Wang Xuxu was right beside them. She was watching the scene in fear. Zhao Pinlin’s strange act, and the woman acting all superior… it did not look like some kinky fetish, but pure evil. Wang Xuxu felt extremely uncomfortable.

“You’ve kissed the God of Death’s foot. The master has accepted your sincerity. Now, it is time for you to act,” Fang Shaoli smiled. The nobility in her smile was different than the disguise of the waitress she put on every day!

“The master you mentioned, are you referring to the one in the Ancient Capital…” Zhao Pinlin’s eyes flickered with uncontrollable excitement.

If Zhao Pinlin had heard the name a week ago, he would surely have kept a good distance from the place.

However, he now felt like he had embarked on a journey to obtain unlimited power and status, led by the person who was able to stir chaos in the modern world. Why would he worry about fulfilling his own little ambitions?

“Please relay my will to master. I will contribute greatly to the organization,” said Zhao Pinlin.

Wang Xuxu was simply in disbelief as she watched it all happen.

The Black Vatican!

Wang Xuxu finally understood why Zhao Pinlin had turned into a different man in just a few days. He was being influenced by the people of the Black Vatican!

What did the woman in heels do to change a well-behaved student into what he was now? It was like he had been possessed by a demon! His bones were filled with nothing but greed. He had completely forfeited the beliefs and teachings he had received for the past twenty years!

“What…what are you trying to do?” Wang Xuxu backed off in fear when she saw Zhao Pinlin approaching her like a demon.

“You can no longer provide me with any value. You will become the stepping stone for me to achieve my greater ambitions!” Zhao Pinlin declared in a cruel voice.

“Wake up, Zhao Pinlin, do you understand what you are doing? She’s with the Black Vatican, she’s only going to lead you into a bottomless abyss!” Wang Xuxu knew her life was in danger. She forced herself to stay calm and try to convince the man.

“Do you think I’ve lost my mind? To be honest, when I heard about the calamity of the Ancient Capital, my first thought was… how is it possible that a single person was capable enough to bring despair to such a huge nation?…” Zhao Pinlin laughed disdainfully.

Wang Xuxu was stunned. She could not believe she had heard that from Zhao Pinlin.

-Is he serious?

-Is he really revering the evil power instead of feeling regretful and angry when the calamity took place?-

“Zhao Pinlin’s background and his talents only make him a slightly wealthier, mediocre person. However, his wild ambitions and his ability to adapt are rather brilliant. What he lacks is a chance to offer his soul to the real God of Death.

“There is only one god, the God of Death. No one in this world could escape from the God of Death’s claws, including God himself. The Kingdom of Death is the true paradise, the place of eternity. Only those who have contributed greatly on behalf of the God of Death will be given a higher position in the eternal Kingdom of Death. Otherwise, when your temporary life comes to an end, you’ll end up as a slave like the Dark Beast Monster when you arrive in the Kingdom of Death!” Fang Shaoli declared to Wang Xuxu in a firm and proud voice.

Meanwhile, Wang Xuxu was staring silently at the passionate Fang Shaoli.

Fang Shaoli was not too bothered by it. How could a person who was about to be turned into a Dark Beast Monster possibly understand the truth?

“She’s all yours now, Zhao Pinlin. Once you push her into the pool, you will become a Gray Priest. Due to the intimate relationship between us, you’ll directly obey my orders. The other Black Clergy won’t be able to order you around. You will be my most brilliant student,” Fang Shaoli burst out laughing.

Zhao Pinlin nodded. He forcibly dragged Wang Xuxu over to the pool of disgusting, black liquid.

“The stupidest decision you ever made was choosing that useless prick Rong Sheng…that was the greatest humiliation I have ever felt. But don’t you worry, that asshole’s life won’t be any better than yours!” Zhao Pinlin no longer had the slightest pity for her.

Even he had never thought that the trip he organized to win Wang Xuxu’s affection would end up like this. The girl was fine when he first laid his hands on her, but he was soon bored. He did not feel uneasy even when he was about to push her into the pool.

Perhaps it was exactly what Fang Shaoli had mentioned, he had found his real talents!

Wang Xuxu fell into the pond. The corrosive, cursed water immediately corroded her skin and formed a layer of pitch-black substance around her.

“She has to be soaked in it for some time, to get rid of her living breath… I will then teach you how to perform the curse,” said Fang Shaoli.

Zhao Pinlin nodded in anticipation.

He always wanted power, but unfortunately he did not become a Magician. However, he never thought he would have the chance again when he was already in his twenties. It was a blessing from Heaven!

Fang Shaoli was about to teach Zhao Pinlin the curse when she heard a sound coming from her earring. It was actually a communication device with the shape of an earring.

“Don’t disturb me if it isn’t anything important. I’m teaching my student,” Fang Shaoli sounded rather impatient.

“Someone has snuck into the manor. They will be a threat to us!” the voice of a man came from the other end.

“Have you learned who they are?” asked Fang Shaoli with a frown.

“We weren’t able to learn their identities. They are too many visitors at the manor recently!” said the man.

“The Enforcement Union?” asked Fang Shaoli.

“No, we have been watching them all along. Not even a probationary member has entered the island,” replied the person.

“Humph, must be some idiots. Go investigate and give me a list of the suspicious people,” said Fang Shaoli.

“Got it!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Fang Shaoli cut off the communication. She stared coldly at Wang Xuxu, who was struggling in the pond. After Wang Xuxu fell into the water, something was grabbing onto her legs. She could not break free no matter how hard she tried.

“Are we continuing?” asked Zhao Pinlin.

“We’ll need to handle the emergency first. It looks like our location has been compromised…is everyone you brought a classmate? Why is there a Magician among them?” said Fang Shaoli.

“Oh, are you referring to those three… I don’t think there’s any problem with them, since I was the one who invited them,” Zhao Pinlin explained the situation on the bus.

“They can easily fake their identities. Even though we can investigate them further, we will be wasting our time trying to do so. Since you’re now one of us, I’ll let you probe their identities. I’ll leave a Cursed Beast under your control. Remember, even if you did not learn anything useful, you must avoid exposing yourself at all costs. Once your identity is compromised, I believe you understand what you have to do, right?” said Fang Shaoli.

Zhao Pinlin was startled. He received a blue-red pill from Fang Shaoli.

“The death in this world is only the beginning to paradise. I know what I should do!” said Zhao Pinlin fanatically.

“Very well, you will become a brilliant member with enough resolution. You might even earn your chance to meet the Mater in person,” said Fang Shaoli.

“Really?” blurted out Zhao Pinlin passionately.

“Of course, I was the same as you a long time ago. I was her most brilliant student,” Fang Shaoli smiled.

—-

Master Mintian’s talk had ended. The reputable academic had already left, after bringing the manor quite a handsome sum. After all, the place was even more luxurious than a five-star hotel. A meal alone would cost many workers a month’s wage.

A few hundred people stayed at the manor. They were enjoying the unique environment and the secluded life../style while reflecting on Master Mintian’s teachings.

However, the same night, when most people had fallen asleep, the sound of battle came from the spacious field in the manor. The clueless Mo Fan pushed the curtains open and immediately saw a red fireball flying at him!

“F**k me!” Mo Fan cursed as he ducked.

The fireball flew past above his head. He soon smelled burning hair.

He turned around and saw the fireball had landed on the wall, leaving a scorched mark on it. Luckily, the wall was not made of wood, or it would have been set on fire instantly.

Mo Fan was speechless. Why would someone try to attack him with a Fire Burst as he was about to go to bed? He looked toward the noise and saw quite a number of Magicians fighting in the hedge maze. Judging from the Star Patterns, it seemed like there were quite a few Intermediate Magicians involved!

“What’s going on?” Mu Ningxue came onto the balcony. She was wearing thin sleepwear. Her smooth, perfect skin was partly visible under the cloth.

“I don’t know either, they started fighting all of a sudden,” said Mo Fan.

“Should we go take a look?” asked Mu Ningxue.

“No, we aren’t Magicians. You are only a Basic Magician now. We’ll walk down there and stand far away so we won’t expose ourselves,” said Mo Fan firmly.

“Sure thing!”

The two woke Lingling up and saw many people attracted by the noise as they headed downstairs. They were heading toward the noise to see what was going on.

The hedge maze was lit up by flames and rolling smoke, with occasional flickers of lightning. The people who did not practice magic were greatly astonished.

Rong Sheng, Guo Wenyi, and the others were here too. They had no idea what was going on, either; they only knew the fight seemed quite intense.

—-

“Humph, you can’t escape!”

“Why are you arresting me?” Carly glared at the group of people.

“Enough with your act, we already knew the deal between you and that useless captain. You’re trying to cover up your relationship with the Black Vatican using the disguise of the manager of this manor. Today, we, the Golden Battle Hunters will arrest you and bring you to the Enforcement Union!” said the man in a shirt and suit pants.

The man was dressed like a businessman, yet it was obvious that he was a rather strong Magician.

There were eight other people close to him. They were dressed in casual clothes, some even looked like they were here for a vacation, yet everyone was able to use magic!

“Damn, you can’t accuse me without any proof!” snapped Carly.

Lightning was spreading from her hands, preventing the Magicians from getting close to her. The rapid, purple lightning provided her with great protection that could kill anyone that came too close.

“You’re just a manager, yet you are able to cast such an advanced spell; do you take us as idiots?!”

“Enough talking to her, she is at least a priestess! Take her down, and find the rest of their people!”

The members who called themselves the Golden Battle Hunters made their moves. Carly’s cultivation was indeed powerful. She was almost comparable to some Advanced Magicians, yet she alone could not handle an elite team of Hunters. As a Giant Shadow Spike sneakily landed on her shadow, the spell immediately sealed off her movement and severely influenced her mind.

“Watch out, she might be able to summon Cursed Beasts!” shouted the leader.

“She can’t move any more!” Another Hunter with the Shadow Element launched a few more Giant Shadow Spikes, striking her in series to strengthen the force controlling her.

Carly could no longer move, dragged around by the Shadow Magician. Her eyes were filled with disdain and hatred.

“Alright, we’ve taken the clergy down!”

“HAHA, I thought the Black Vatican is stronger than this, so this is all they got?” boasted a rough-looking Magician with a thick beard.

“Don’t lower your guard! There must be more members of the Black Vatican around. Call the others in to arrest them!” said the leader through the communication channel.

As soon as the order was given, the manor covered in darkness was instantly lit up by the glow of spells.

Soon, the sound of people cursing, the noise of fighting, and cries of agony rose across the place, as if a raid was taking place.

The people who came for a vacation were trembling in fear. Somehow, the place had turned into a battlefield where lots of Magicians were fighting one another. The place was meant to have only rich people and reputable people; where did all these Magicians come from!?

—-

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue stood at the entrance. Lingling was slowly jogging toward them.

When she saw the Hunters grabbing onto Carly, her eyes immediately flickered uneasily. “This is bad…” she said to Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The loud sound of a helicopter came from up in the night sky. Its spotlight was directed onto the Magicians who referred to themselves as the Golden Battle Hunters.

A clamor was heard coming from outside the manor, too. The people saw blinding milky-white light combining into glowing walls surrounding the manor and the three ranches surrounding it.

Standing at the ranch, Mo Fan could see a huge, white barrier blocking the night sky above him like a cage. People raised their heads and stared at the white barrier in disbelief…

More helicopters appeared above the barrier. Meanwhile, lots of figures had also appeared in the distance. They stood outside the barrier, spreading around it evenly.

The space that the ranches occupied was rather impressive; they could imagine the immeasurable energy needed to construct a barrier surrounding them entirely. Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Lingling were astounded upon seeing it!

-What’s going on?

-Did the Enforcement Union make their move?

-Who else apart from the Enforcement Union could invest so much effort and directly seal off the ranches and the manor with a barrier?-

“There are lots of Magicians out there; almost a thousand of them!” Lingling looked at the screen of her notebook.

The screen had an electronic map of the ranches. On it were countless tiny green dots.

Almost a thousand Magicians… that was almost the size of an army!

Mo Fan found it hard to understand what was happening. How did a thousand Magicians simply appear out of nowhere?

“Master Mintian,” whispered Lingling.

“Isn’t he just a speaker?” asked Mu Ningxue in confusion.

“They might have used his reputation and his talk as cover to gather thousands of people from different places. The truth is, they simply arranged for lots of Magicians to blend in with the crowd just to surround the manor. Perhaps the people of the Black Vatican didn’t even realize they were being surrounded,” said Lingling.

It was impossible for a thousand Magicians to show up out of nowhere. The Magicians disguising themselves must have waited until the talk was over and pretended to leave the place. However, they proceeded to set up the formation around the ranches, preventing the Black Vatican from running away.

“Why would they send us here if they were already planning such a huge operation?” wondered Mo Fan.

Considering the scale of the operation, the people in charge must be extremely confident with their move. They would only make the call if they assumed they could wipe out the remaining members of the Black Vatican here. Wasn’t Leng Qing’s arrangement and worry a bit too much?

“They aren’t from the Enforcement Union. It’s the Golden Battle Hunters. It’s a first-tier Hunter Group from our country. Many experts in their group are willing to take on quests submitted by the Enforcement Union, including taking down members of the Black Vatican. Even the Black Vatican was impressed by their sources of information at times. Someone in their group must be aware that the Black Vatican is hiding here, thus they decided to make their move without notifying the Enforcement Union,” said Lingling.

She was quite familiar with the Hunter Union. The Golden Battle Hunters had lots of members. They could have easily gathered a virtual army of Magicians.

“If that’s the case, our job is done here,” said Mu Ningxue.

Lingling shook her head. She looked fairly uneasy.

Mo Fan also agreed the whole thing would not end so easily. The Golden Battle Hunters seemed to have the situation under control with their quick, carefully-planned operation, yet they forgot to take into consideration that apart from the Black Vatican, the manor also had around a thousand visitors, and around five hundred workers. The woman called Carly they caught was obviously only a Gray Priest, but the intel provided by Leng Qing implied that there was a Blue Deacon here…

With such a huge operation, the Blue Deacon, the other Gray Priests, and the remaining members of the Black Vatican would surely hide their tails and blend in with the crowd, allowing them to sneak away easily.

There was no way a Hunter Group could take fifteen hundred people into custody and investigate them individually.

Most members of the Black Vatican were no different than ordinary people before their identities were compromised!

“All this effort just to catch a Gray Priest,” Mo Fan sighed. Somehow, he felt that the operation was too sloppy and reckless.

“Humph, consider themselves lucky if she really is one…” Lingling harrumphed. She was displeased by the Golden Battle Hunters’ flamboyant approach.

Why would Lingling not know what the Golden Battle Hunters were thinking?

In the past, when the Black Vatican was still active in their country, the Golden Battle Hunters mostly caught some unimportant members of the Black Vatican anonymously to exchange for the rewards.

However, they had blatantly revealed their identities, simply because the Black Vatican was almost wiped out entirely in their country. The ranches and the manor were the only base left. They even put up an act with thousands of people just to catch the remaining members of the Black Vatican off guard. It was likely that the media everywhere would be talking about the Golden Battle Hunters tomorrow.

The people of China hated the Black Vatican to the guts. Anyone who stepped forward to annihilate them would be praised as heroes.

It was obvious that the Golden Battle Hunters wanted to make a name for themselves, thus the huge operation.

Unfortunately, it was extremely dumb in Lingling’s eyes!

First, if a Blue Deacon was in charge of the base, only he or she would have the names of the remaining members of the Black Vatican in China.

Second, the manor had more than fifteen hundred people, and most of them consisted of ordinary people like Rong Sheng, Zhao Pinlin, Wang Xuxu, and Guo Wenyi. If they were not quick enough, the Black Vatican might even hold the people hostage!

“Lingling, why were you saying that this is bad?” asked Mo Fan as he recalled her mentioning it in the first place.

“This Carly, she’s only a smokescreen, according to my investigation…” said Lingling.

A few days ago, Lingling had thoroughly investigated Carly. She did have a name list, yet the list only consisted of…

As Mo Fan was ready to listen to Lingling’s results, he immediately heard the captain wearing a shirt smashing the communication device on the floor and kicking the paralyzed Carly furiously.

“Asshole!” cursed the captain.

“Pan Jin, what’s wrong?” said the Hunter with a beard.

“The people on this woman’s list are only a bunch of prostitutes!” Pan Jin felt like exploding from the rage.

“What prostitutes?” asked the other Hunters in confusion.

—-

Mo Fan had good listening. He could hear the captain’s voice from a great distance away.

“Prostitutes?” asked Mo Fan in astonishment.

“Mmm, this Carly is only the brothel keeper of this manor, providing sex services to the rich businessmen who came here on vacation. She keeps a list of names, and they only consist of university students, office workers, or even housemaids who work here part-time as prostitutes… she purposely hid the information confidentially, so it looked as if some secret organization is trying to cover it up, like the Black Vatican,” said Lingling.

“But this Carly is still a Magician, which means she’s a smokescreen that the Black Vatican has purposely put in place,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Exactly, the Golden Battle Hunters have set up such a huge operation and gathered more than a thousand Magicians. They even used Master Mintian’s name and the barrier that cost at least a hundred million, yet they ended up catching a group of prostitutes…I wonder what their leader, Ge Ming’s expression is now. How amusing! Even with so many people in the Hunter Group, none of them actually has a brain,” said Lingling.

“Looks like they are still going to make the headlines tomorrow!” added Mo Fan.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What the heck is going on?”

“Such noise, don’t tell me something serious happened? They even surrounded the place with such a huge formation?”

“I’ve already called and asked, but the Enforcement Union, military, government, and Magic Association are totally unaware of it. That Golden Battle Hunters, are they really so full of themselves? Even if they are conducting an operation for their quest, they don’t need to make such a huge fuss about it!” protested a man who seemed to be a governor.

Most people who came to the manor were not Magicians, but rich and had certain authority. They would not necessarily lose their heads just because they were facing a bunch of Magicians, providing they were not aware that the Hunters were actually here to catch the Black Vatican.

Not long after, the people of the Golden Battle Hunters came to the hedge maze with some women with their hands tied up. They were indeed young and attractive…with a few relatively older, but still glamorous women.

The captain Pan Jin stood still and scanned the faces of the women. His expression immediately turned incredibly unpleasant. It did not matter how attractive the women’s faces or how hot their bodies were, he had the urge to kill himself by jumping into the Huangpu River.

“Humph, it’s true that we’re doing the unspoken deeds among the rich businessmen here, it might be illegal, but I don’t think it’s anything serious that you have to tie us up with Intermediate Spells?” Carly grinned mockingly.

“They might not be, but you won’t run away from us. I will now send you to the Enforcement Union and let them handle you!” snapped Pan Jin furiously.

“Captain, what about these ladies?” said a Hunter softly.

The women stood in rows. With just a glimpse of their different attires, one could easily tell that they were just a bunch of ordinary young women, or even married women here to curry favor with the rich and powerful hoping that they could live a better life. Some were elegantly dressed, and attending only a single customer. They were basically someone’s mistress. If they sent these women to the police station, they would simply be released after a mere scolding. There was no criminal offense…

However, considering the scale of the operation and the barrier and spells used to capture them, many of the young women were kneeling on the ground and shivering in fear.

They knew they were doing something shameless, yet they never thought it would bring so many Magicians here to arrest them. In comparison to the rich and powerful businessmen, the self-conscious women looked extremely pale!

If the Hunters simply released the people they arrested straightaway, it would imply that they had caught the wrong people, which would end up as a hilarious joke.

“What the heck are you all doing? We are only here to spend our vacation!”

“Even if these people are going to be arrested, it’s none of your Magicians’ business. Who do you think you are? Where is your respect for the police? This is ridiculous! The Hunters nowadays have started to abuse their power and disrupt the peace of society. Golden Battle Hunters, right? I shall have a word with your superior!” a rather plump governor stepped forward and snapped, pointing at the captain Pan Jin.

It went without saying that Pan Jin would not dare to mention the Black Vatican under such circumstances, as it would only make the matters worse.

He gathered his courage and said, “We’ve received permission for the operation, to clean up unhealthy businesses like this, using the luxurious manor as a disguise for the shameless acts… take them away, all of them!”

Pan Jin felt like giving himself a great slap to his face as he was speaking.

The people of the Golden Battle Hunters had no choice but to make the best of things after committing the mistake. They could only arrest these people and hand them to the police, then contact the Enforcement Union to verify their identities.

However, just by looking at these women, anyone could easily tell that they were not members of the Black Vatican.

—-

From within the attic of a tall building, a pair of cunning eyes watched the farce from a great height. The person’s purple lips subconsciously curled into a disdainful grin.

“The Golden Battle Hunters is one of the most reputable Hunter Group in the Hunter Union, yet you managed to play them like a fiddle, brilliant!” Zhao Pinlin said humbly to Fang Shaoli from the side.

“They were pretty smart too, sneaking their men in without us noticing by using Master Mintian’s name,” said Fang Shaoli.

“Won’t the manor be a lot safer after this is over?” said Zhao Pinlin.

Fang Shaoli was about to answer when the thing in her ear started buzzing.

Her cunning look changed instantly. She glanced at Zhao Pinlin beside her, signaling him to back away.

Zhao Pinlin heard a noise from the communication device hanging on her ear like an earring. He was curious why Fang Shaoli’s expression would change so greatly after hearing it. The person trying to contact Fang Shaoli was most likely the owner of the manor.

Fang Shaoli consciously moved away. Fang Shaoli took the call when she saw Zhao Pinlin leaving.

“Master!” Fang Shaoli subconsciously knelt on the ground and lowered her head when she heard the soft breathing from the other end.

“You’ve done well,” an indistinguishable voice came from the other end. It sounded like a cold, firm woman, but also like a man with a high voice.

“It’s nothing worth mentioning compared to master’s achievements. It seems like some experienced Hunters found their way here, meaning that the Enforcement Union will have their eyes on us very soon. I suggest we blend in with the ordinary folks after this is over and relocate ourselves,” said Fang Shaoli.

Someone had found traces of the Black Vatican at the manor. It was unwise to stay any longer.

“Relocate? That isn’t our ../style!”

“Master, what do you have in mind?”

“Many cowards have started showing up after I left, trying to wipe us out as if they were eager to serve justice. They thought they were saviors of the world just because they managed to arrest a probationary member of our organization. A bunch of ridiculous idiots, like rats that are only worthy to live in cracks. Let’s use this Golden Battle Hunters to teach them a lesson, to make them realize that even when I, Salan, am not around, their lives are still in my control!”

Even through the communication device, Fang Shaoli could feel the murderous intent.

The person was not around, yet the fear remained. Her master was truly the God of Death. Fang Shaoli could not help but feel excited and passionate.

They had been maintaining a low profile for quite some time, so long that the world had forgotten how cruel and unoffendable they were!

“I understand!” said Fang Shaoli.

“Remember to look out for your cover. I only need smart people who still manage to fully withdraw after stirring a great chaos. Hu Jin was very good at that. Unfortunately, he was very disappointing during the final feast!”

—

The communication shut off. Fang Shaoli slowly bowed her head in the direction she was kneeling. Her head almost touched the ground. After five minutes, she slowly rose to her feet with a sharp gaze!

“Zhao Pinlin,” summoned Fang Shaoli coldly.

“I’m here,” Zhao Pinlin came to her side.

“Consider yourself lucky, to have the chance to witness a grand ritual even though you have only joined us recently. Come, enjoy the night that’s going to be filled with cries of agony!” Fang Shaoli burst into laughter. It went from confident to wild, before her voice filled with malice!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

“This is nonsense, back to sleep, I’m going back to sleep!” Some of the guests grumbled and proceeded to return to their rooms.

They thought it was something major, yet it turned out the Magicians were only here to arrest some prostitutes. Even the police would not bother to waste their time on petty matters like this. Were these Hunters too bored or something?!

“I was so scared,” Guo Wenyi let out a relieved sigh and patted her chest softly.

“Yeah, I thought they found a huge demon creature. Otherwise, why would they send a thousand Magicians here?”

“HAHAHA, since when did the Golden Battle Hunters become prostitute purgers? The news is going to be interesting tomorrow.”

The crowd slowly left as they went back to minding their own business after the false alarm.

Pan Jin almost went crazy when he heard the comments, especially when they were called prostitutes purgers. He had never experienced anything more humiliating than this. He swore he would kill the bastard that had provided them with false information!

“The owner of this manor is really something, to hide the information of a bunch of prostitutes like they are members of the Black Vatican… the police will never be able to find out their business here,” said a Hunter called Da Tong.

“Da Tong, what are you waiting for? Bring them away now!” Pan Jin was utterly annoyed whenever he saw the women who misled them here. They were all in tears and sobbing pitifully.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be going now…” Da Tong did not dare to say further, knowing that his captain was enraged. However, when he was about to ask the others to bring the women away, he suddenly felt something stuck in his throat. He was trying to speak, yet he could not make any sound.

Suddenly, a tearing pain came from his throat. Da Tong coughed fiercely trying to spit out the phlegm, yet he surprisingly coughed out a mouthful of blood!

All the blood was spat on the captain Pan Jin’s face. Pan Jin was already enraged to begin with. He immediately turned mad after someone spat on his face, yet he shockingly discovered that it was all blood!

Blood, black-colored blood!

Da Tong’s throat seemed to be fully blocked by the black blood. He could not speak, and he could not even breathe.

He desperately tried to spit the blood out, mouthful after mouthful.

“What’s going on?”

“Da Tong is vomiting blood!”

“He’s injured, ask Gray Hand to treat him now!”

Da Tong was still vomiting. The blood had accumulated into a puddle. It looked rather eerie.

The Healer called Gray Hand was quite a distance away. When he finally arrived, Da Tong had already collapsed to the ground.

The man had already lost consciousness, yet the black blood continued to spill out from his mouth and his throat. It looked like filthy liquid from some underground sewers. In just a few moments, the ground around Da Tong was covered in black blood!

The Healer Gray Hand cast the Healing Spirit, yet the little healing butterfly circled around Da Tong helplessly, as if it had no idea how to treat the man.

The Healing Spirit was able to detect a person’s injury, but Da Tong did not seem to have any wound!

“It’s poison…or a curse!” Gray Hand frowned.

“Save him quick, if he keeps vomiting blood at this rate…” yelled Pan Jin.

The Healer shook his head, implying that he was totally clueless about it.

The blood continued to pour out. Initially, Da Tong’s body kept twitching as he was vomiting blood, but it had gradually stiffened over time.

A few hundred Hunters were standing nearby, yet there was nothing they could do apart from watching in fear.

Da Tong finally spewed out all his blood. His corpse was dried and black, as if all his blood, body fluid, and fat had been drawn away.

After Da Tong turned into a dried corpse under the crowd’s gaze, it continued to turn dark like burned charcoal. His skin peeled off like gray ashes as the breeze swept past and scattered in the wind.

“This…this…” The Hunters froze.

Without a sign!

A man who was well alive a moment ago had died just like that!

“Da Tong!” Pan Jin yelled. He almost went crazy.

Dead, his brother who had fought alongside him for many years, had died a horrible death from an unknown cause!

“Captain, he might be poisoned. Your face is still stained with his blood, hurry up and wipe it…” The Hunter with a beard came over with a piece of cloth, yet his voice suddenly disappeared before he could finish.

The man with a beard was startled. He tried to say something, yet he could not make any noise.

It felt like his throat was stuck with phlegm. He subconsciously spat it out, yet it turned out to be black-colored blood. He spat it on the ground beside his foot. A small patch of grass immediately wilted when the blood made contact with it.

The man’s face immediately turned pale…

“Big Beard!” Pan Jin immediately realized something.

“Gray Hand, Gray Hand!”

A few other teammates immediately realized Big Beard showing the same symptoms. The Healer called Gray Hand hurriedly made his way over.

Big Beard’s throat was obviously throbbing as the black blood rose within it. The man immediately closed his mouth tight after what happened the first time. However, his throat continued to expand as if it was going to explode in any second!

“Ahhh!”

Finally, Big Beard could not hold it in further. The blood was spat a few meters high up into the air. The Hunters nearby immediately backed away.

Gray Hand quickly inspected Big Beard, yet not only did he fail to find the cause, he immediately felt terrified when he was soaked in the black blood.

The blood was pouring out rapidly. Big Beard fell backward onto the ground. He was exactly the same as Da Tong. His blood had turned black, and it kept pouring out from his mouth…

As he vomited up all the blood, his body began to dry up and darken.

A few minutes later, the rather muscular Big Beard had turned into a skinny, dried corpse, gradually turning into a piece of burned charcoal!

When the first person died, the others assumed that he had carelessly contracted some deadly poison or he had fallen victim to someone’s poison. However, as the second person died the same death, they were immediately stricken with fear…

“Captain, captain, Li Ming is!…” a rookie Hunter came over in a panic to report something.

Captain Pan Jin immediately cleared a path heading toward Li Ming, yet his side glance caught a glimpse of the rookie opening his mouth without being able to say a word.

Pan Jin turned around and saw the rookie spitting out black-colored blood!

Everyone had yet to recover from witnessing Big Beard’s death when the same scene happened once again, and this time, it was happening to a few people simultaneously!

Fear immediately spread among the crowd like a plague. The poison was spreading at a shocking rate. They initially thought an invisible demon was massacring them randomly, yet they quickly realized that there was more than one demon butchering among them, as more people began to vomit black blood!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Leave, quick, leave this place!” yelled Pan Jin.

The number of people collapsing to the ground was still increasing. Everyone felt like they were going to be the next victim. Black blood stuck in their throat, turning into black charcoal and scattering in ashes. No one would want to end up like that!

The Magicians of the Golden Battle Hunters started fleeing, rushing toward the manor.

More people continued to fall as they were fleeing. There were more than twenty casualties already…

When they finally reached the barrier to run away from the random massacre of the invisible demon, they saw their leader Ge Ming stopping the people from leaving the ranches.

“Leader, we are under attack by something unknown. It seems it could spread through the air at a terrifying rate without any sign,” Pan Jin’s voice sounded like he was about to burst into tears.

He had been a Hunter for over ten years, fighting against lots of terrifying demon creatures and monsters, and had gotten used to seeing his comrades dying. However, he almost had a mental breakdown as he witnessed the unexplainable deaths of the people around him, dying as if they had all been poisoned. His only thought was to get his teammates away from the place!

Ge Ming stepped aside slightly to let Pan Jin see what was happening outside the barrier…

Black blood. The whole place was covered in black blood. The rather viscous liquid was flowing across the grassland outside the ranches, and had accumulated into a small pool following the slope.

One black corpse after another laid on the ground. When a random breeze swept past, their skin scattered in the air like flying ashes!

“Those who left the boundary of the ranches are all dead, not even a single survivor!” said Ge Ming to the people fleeing for their lives in a deep voice.

The Golden Battle Hunters had brought almost a thousand people. The group that conducted the operation at the manor only consisted of a small part. The remainder of the group was on standby outside the barrier, preventing the people of the Black Vatican from escaping after they were alerted. The ranches were quite spacious, so they needed quite a number of people to guard every direction.

When the people under Pan Jin’s lead started vomiting black blood, the people outside were showed the same terrifying symptoms too! Some immediately backed off in fear, but those who stepped outside the boundary died in less than fifty steps…

As a result, the number of corpses that turned into black ashes outside the barrier was the highest. The black blood could already form a stream.

The leader Ge Ming almost lost his mind when that happened. The Golden Battle Hunters had more than a thousand people, yet almost four hundred had died already from some unknown cause. Almost half of their group was wiped out! Most terrifyingly, they had no idea what had killed them, and were clueless who the next victim was going to be. The ranches had suddenly turned into Hell with black corpses scattered across the place. On top of that, those who tried to run away would immediately fall victim to it…

“You can’t leave, you must not go out there!” ordered Ge Ming sternly.

“I don’t believe it, I can’t wait and die here. Their deaths were too horrible. It must be a contagious disease spreading through air!” A female Hunter had totally lost her calm. She ran out of the barrier despite others’ efforts trying to stop her.

Pan Jin wanted to stop her, but Ge Ming immediately grabbed onto him.

Pan Jin lowered his head and realized that he almost stepped outside the fence of the ranch. Meanwhile, the female Hunter had already run ten meters past…

“Ahhh!”

Fresh blood poured out from the woman’s mouth. She finally halted in her tracks and tried to run back to the barrier!

Pan Jin watched her running in his direction while vomiting black blood. She desperately tried to scream as if she was asking for help, or begging the deadly unknown existence to spare her life.

However, as she reached the barrier, she collapsed to the ground, yet continued to crawl forward. Her hands, now covered in blood, grabbed onto the fence, trying to force her way in, as if she would be able to survive if she made it in.

Her body began to dry up. She finally moved past the tiny gap. Half her body was inside the barrier, but she had stopped moving.

Obviously, the deadly existence would not feel sorry for her just because she had realized her mistake in time. Half her body was stuck outside the fence as her skin gradually turned into black ashes…

Tears ran down Pan Jin’s cheeks as he watched it happen. There was sorrow, pain, and terror!

No one could explain what was going on. It felt like everyone from the Golden Battle Hunters was being targeted by a demon visiting the mundane world. They were forced to obey the rules of the demon’s game. No one was allowed to leave the circle it had drawn, yet everyone still had the chance to become its next target!

They could only hide in the cage and wait hopelessly until they were picked by the demon to be the next victim!

—-

The sudden turn of events scared the guests of the manor to death. The whole place turned utterly chaotic, as the Hunters were not the only one falling victim to the strange curse, but the same thing was happening among the fifteen hundred visitors and the workers, although the rate of it happening was significantly lower than the Golden Battle Hunters. That being said, it was still extremely frightening!

The members of the Golden Battle Hunters realized that the same thing was happening to the guests at the manor, too. They were startled when they saw the guests running to the outside.

“Quick, stop them, set up the barrier! Don’t let them cross the fences!” yelled Ge Ming. He immediately contacted the Hunters standing close to the fences around the ranches.

“Do we really have the time to care about them now?” said Pan Jin.

“What are you talking about? We are the ones that started this! If innocent lives are involved, the Golden Battle Hunters will be taking all the blame. We don’t know how all of this is happening, but we can’t simply watch them die, even if you are going to be the next victim!” snapped Ge Ming furiously.

Most people in the Hunter Group had gone through situations of life and death before. As the rate of death slowly decreased, the Hunters calmed down and stopped the terrified guests from leaving the ranches, and led them back to the manor.

Luckily, they had yet to withdraw the barrier and were able to use it to save many lives. Otherwise, the field outside the ranches would be covered in corpses!

“Leader, I think the poison has stopped!”

“A Magician managed to sneak out of the barrier just then, but he died not long after!”

“The poison must have stopped spreading, but leaving the ranches is still suicide. Ask everyone to calm down!” Ge Ming ordered his people amid the chaos.

The minds of many people had already gone blank from fear. They were simply following their instincts to stay alive, but in certain situations, it would cost them their lives. Pan Jin had to admit that he was quite impressed by how Ge Ming was able to remain calm in the current situation.

That being said, none of them was able to comprehend the situation.

It was supposed to be a carefully-planned operation to take down the Black Vatican, yet somehow, they had all ended up in a demon’s nest!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

Mo Fan had watched it all happen.

He could not help but admit that he too was terrified by what he saw. He was extremely cautious with every breath due to the fear that he might be the next person vomiting black blood!

“The odds of the Golden Battle Hunters contracting the poison are relatively higher. We should be relieved that there are more than a thousand people here. Based on the number of casualties, our odds of becoming the next victim are one percent,” Lingling quickly inserted the information into her laptop.

“Unbelievable, how can you say that so calmly under the current circumstances?” Mu Ningxue looked at Lingling. She suddenly felt that the little girl was simply a monster.

Many adults around them had already wet their pants due in fear, yet Lingling was quietly observing it happen as if it was none of her business.

“This is bad, Lingling, we have really entered the Abyss of Death,” Mo Fan said with a wry smile. He tried to think of Lingling’s statement as her way of comforting them.

A chance of one percent, there’s no way his luck could be that bad…

The problem was, when Mo Fan saw the victims vomiting black blood and their skin turning into black ashes, he could not convince himself that the odds were something he should be relieved about. What if everything was only the beginning?

He must admit that everything totally suited the Black Vatican’s ../style, making their move without any signs beforehand, bringing death like a sudden storm. Even those who had gone through a lot in their lives would still suffer a mental breakdown.

“The poison seems to have stopped for now,” said Mu Ningxue.

“I’m afraid it is only temporary,” Lingling promptly said the unpleasant words.

“Do you have anything in mind? Is it some kind of curse?” asked Mo Fan.

Nothing made sense at all. How did everyone contract the poison so suddenly? Was it some kind of contagious disease spreading around the ranches?

However, how would that explain why the people would die instantly as soon as they stepped out of the ranches, and also why the deaths had stopped for now…

“If a curse is this strong, it must be the work of a Forbidden Magician,” said Lingling.

Applying a curse to a single target was fairly simple. For example, the Demon Torture would strike a target once the appropriate Star Constellation was constructed. However, it was almost impossible for a single person to cast a curse on multiple targets!

“What should we do now?” asked Mu Ningxue.

“There’s nothing we can do. Anyway, we can’t afford to expose ourselves before we learn whether the poison can be applied to a specific target,” Lingling told Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue in a soft voice.

It was obvious that the Golden Battle Hunters had infuriated the Black Vatican, and so the Black Vatican was trying to take revenge in return. Even the guests at the manor were in danger!

“What if they decide to kill all of us? We can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Mu Ningxue said worriedly.

She had finally witnessed the true cruelty and savagery of the Black Vatican today, finding herself in a situation where she could die of poison at any second. She was extremely cautious even when breathing.

The Golden Battle Hunters were keeping the situation under control. However, the uneasy atmosphere among the Hunters clearly implied that even they had no clue how to resolve the situation. Their communication devices were cut off, preventing them from contacting the outside world. Even if someone from the outside noticed that something had gone wrong, considering how fast the poison was spreading, most people would already be dead by the time help arrived.

“Wang Xuxu is missing, Wang Xuxu is missing…” Guo Wenyi cried out in a panic as she suddenly realized something.

“Yeah, where is Wang Xuxu? Zhao Pinlin, have you seen Wang Xuxu around?” asked Wang Bing.

Finding someone missing, considering the current circumstances, was the scariest thing.

“Who knows, I haven’t seen her for the whole night. She said she was staying in her room as she was feeling uncomfortable. Wouldn’t she be in her room still?” Zhao Pinlin answered curiously.

“Asshole, why didn’t you look after her, if anything happened to her…” Rong Sheng was enraged. He almost went up to drag Zhao Pinlin’s collars.

Zhao Pinlin pushed the enraged Rong Sheng away and said with a cold grin, “She locked herself in her room. What the heck can I do?”

“I’ve already looked, she wasn’t in her room…” said Guo Wenyi.

“Don’t tell me she has turned into one of those black corpses?” asked someone among the group.

Everyone was stunned. Rong Sheng and Guo Wenyi immediately snapped, “Stop talking nonsense, she will be fine!”

“We can’t even identify the corpses, how can you be so sure?” said Zhao Pinlin.

“Why would you say something like that!” Rong Sheng totally lost himself. He was like an enraged beast, lunging at Zhao Pinlin.

The two immediately ended up in a fight. Rong Sheng was obviously a lot stronger than the nerdy Zhao Pinlin. He managed to leave a few bruises on the nerd.

The others immediately pulled the two away. Zhao Pinlin touched the bruises on his face and looked at his torn shirt. His eyes flickered viciously.

However, he did not act too obviously. He took a deep breath and left.

“Zhao Pinlin, where are you going?”

“Don’t go somewhere else, it’s too dangerous!” Wang Bing and the others tried to stop him.

“I’m going back to my room, stop bothering me!” shouted Zhao Pinlin furiously.

“Rong Sheng, what the heck are you thinking? Zhao Pinlin already said he didn’t see Wang Xuxu the whole night, why would you still pick on him?”

“Alright, calm down, just be quiet. Are we seriously arguing among ourselves when we don’t even know if we are going to be the next victims? Let’s head over to the window. The Magic Association will send someone here to save us soon,” someone immediately stepped forward to maintain order.

Everyone hid in the room with the French windows where they had first arrived at the manor. They all looked extremely pale.

“I’m feeling quite thirsty. Can we ask the butler to prepare some tea for us?” said a man.

“Who has the mood to serve you at a time like this? Everyone might end up like the corpses out there. It’s contagious!” snapped Wang Bing coldly.

Lingling was still typing rapidly on her laptop. She was trying to organize the information she had gathered before and after the poison broke out, to find some clues about it. If they could not understand how they were poisoned, it was impossible for them to resolve the situation.

“Tea?” Mu Ningxue mumbled softly.

Lingling and Mo Fan raised their heads. They both assumed she was feeling thirsty and was trying to get something to drink. It was normal for anyone nervous to drink some water to ease their nerves.

“Mo Fan, Lingling, do you remember the black tea that the butler and Carly served us when we first arrived? They said it was a unique kind here,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Do you think something is wrong with the tea?” Lingling asked quickly.

Mo Fan was startled, before he smilingly said, “I don’t think so. Everyone here has drunk it, including those before us, but none of them were poisoned.”

“No no no, someone was poisoned before!” Lingling’s eyes suddenly brightened as if she had found an important clue about the incident!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Linging’s fingers typed quickly on her laptop and brought up several blurred images.

“I was wondering why their deaths felt so familiar! Check this out, this is the incident about someone being poisoned that the manor is trying to hide. Don’t you remember? The City Hunters even came to investigate it, but that perverted captain was easily taken care of by Carly!” said Lingling with excitement.

“What does this have anything to do with the tea?” said Mo Fan in confusion.

“I’m starting to put the pieces together. Just give me some time, and I should be able to find out more about the poison, and come up with an antidote to temporarily suppress it,” Lingling rose to her feet and headed for her room with her laptop.

“Where are you going?” asked Mo Fan worriedly.

“I stored information related to all kinds of poison on the cloud. The signal is totally blocked off by the Black Vatican. I’ll need to build a tool to bypass the signal to retrieve the information I need. This might take some time,” said Lingling.

“It’s unsafe for you to be alone,” said Mu Ningxue.

“The Black Vatican is mainly focusing on the Golden Battle Hunters. They won’t have time to care about us, as long as we don’t expose ourselves. Even if they found out there are Hunters among the guests, they won’t be suspicious of a first-schooler. You two better start moving and find the members of the Black Vatican. Otherwise, even if we managed to deal with the poison, they will still escape in the end!” said Lingling.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue nodded.

They decided to let Lingling handle the poison, since they could not provide her with any assistance. The Black Vatican was indeed impressive when it came to using all kinds of strange methods to achieve their goals. Luckily, they had brought the genius Lingling along. Otherwise, they would have no choice but to wait for rescue.

—-

After Lingling left, Mo Fan nudged Mu Ningxue on her elbow and said, “You’re pretty observant. I almost forgot about the tea.”

“It only crossed my mind for a second. I never thought it would actually be the case. Now when I recall it, it did seem like everyone here at the ranches was received by the manor, and everyone was served with the special black tea. Carly and the butler would watch them drink the tea, and even those that did not drink it during the day, a maid would bring the tea over at night and explain that it could possibly help with sleep, or even serve the tea during breakfast. In simpler terms, you can find their special black tea everywhere…” said Mu Ningxue.

Now that Mu Ningxue had mentioned it, Mo Fan somehow recalled that the manor did not really provide them with drinking water, but their special tea…

“There must be people that didn’t drink the tea, but only a few, I assume. Almost everyone, including me, you, and Lingling, were poisoned by the tea. The poison stays inside the body, and will only relapse under certain conditions. The victim will then vomit black blood and turn into the black stuff… damn it, I believe I drank almost a whole bucket of the tea during our stay here!” exclaimed Mo Fan.

Mu Ningxue was too embarrassed to even mention it. When Mo Fan was told that the tea was their specialty and was provided for free, he had been drinking the tea like a bull. If the poison worked according to the amount consumed, Mo Fan would be among the first ten people to die of the poison.

Luckily, the few hundred corpses outside the manor had implied that drinking more of the tea did not necessarily make the poison stronger.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue did not share their discovery with the others, since they had yet to find the solution. It would only invoke fear among them.

The poison was on standby in everyone’s body. They were still unsure of how to control the poison. Standing out too much would only make them easy targets.

“Mo Fan, I beg you…” Guo Wenyi suddenly appeared beside Mo Fan.

Mo Fan looked at the tearful Guo Wenyi. It was obvious that Guo Wenyi thought Wang Xuxu was in great trouble.

“Please help me find her, Xuxu is my best friend. If I didn’t recommend she come, she wouldn’t even be here, since she was preparing for exams. If anything happened to her…” Guo Wenyi was totally blaming herself.

“I don’t know where she is either, this place is so big!” rejected Mo Fan.

Mo Fan simply had no time to waste on searching for a missing person. The Black Vatican was still waiting to strike behind the scenes. If they could not find a cure to the poison, everyone would die eventually, including Mu Ningxue and Lingling!

Mo Fan could understand Guo Wenyi’s feelings, since the two girls would not be in this mess if he actually decided not to take the job. He had to remain calm, yet he was running out of time. Even now, he had yet to find any trace of the Black Vatican!

“The others are not willing to help us look for her…it’s only me and Rong Sheng…” Guo Wenyi continued to plead. It seemed like since Guo Wenyi managed to overcome her fear, she had been overly reliant on Mo Fan.

“Come, let’s go look for Wang Xuxu,” Mu Ningxue rose to her feet. Mo Fan was fairly surprised. “We won’t find any clues if we keep sitting here,” Mu Ningxue told him.

Mo Fan agreed. Instead of staying here like sitting ducks, it was better for them to search around the place, and see if they could also find the missing Wang Xuxu. Saving an extra life was always better.

“Thank you, thank you so much!” Guo Wenyi was incredibly touched.

Rong Sheng’s eyes were filled with gratitude, too.

Their classmates were too scared to leave the hall. They did not dare to take even a step out of the building. None of them seemed to care about Wang Xuxu’s well-being, yet to their surprise, these two people who they only met less than a week ago were willing to risk their lives for them!

“A piece of advice, it’s better if you don’t go anywhere. If the poison is still spreading out there… you won’t be able to come back here.”

“Yeah, you heard what the Golden Battle Hunters said. We should just stay indoors and wait for help. Going out there is only going to make things worse,” advised Wang Bing.

The four ignored their advice and opened the door to start looking for the missing Wang Xuxu.

—-

Since Mo Fan had agreed to help, he would surely do his best. After all, Mo Fan was officially a Hunter Master. He had done lots of similar jobs, looking for missing people. As long as he was paid good money, he did not mind working as a private detective. A Hunter was pretty much an enhanced version of a private detective.

“When did you last see her?” asked Mo Fan seriously.

“In her room, after dinner, she said she was feeling uncomfortable, so she was staying in her room. I did go and knock on her door, but she didn’t respond. I thought she went somewhere else with Zhao Pinlin… oh, Rong Sheng, I didn’t mean to say that,” said Guo Wenyi.

“That asshole Zhao Pinlin, how dare he not look after Wang Xuxu!” Rong Sheng was still enraged.

“Let’s check her room out first. Maybe we can find some clues there. By the way, why did you think that she had left with Zhao Pinlin?”

“It’s because I went to look for Zhao Pinlin, too. He wasn’t in his room, either. Since they had already declared their relationship, I assumed they would be together if both of them weren’t in their rooms!” admitted Guo Wenyi.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When they arrived in Wang Xuxu’s room, Mo Fan unleashed his senses to scan the surroundings for clues.

Rong Sheng felt his heart aching as they walked into the room. The night had been like a dream to him, yet it came to an end immediately the next morning. Everything had changed since then.

“I don’t see any clues here, she must have left her room voluntarily,” said Mo Fan.

He turned around and was about to look behind him when he almost bumped into Rong Sheng, who was lost in his thoughts.

Mo Fan said helplessly when he saw Rong Sheng’s expression, “You should stop thinking about it.”

“Wang Xuxu seemed very scared lately. I tried to talk to her, but I felt like she was purposely avoiding me. I was really worried,” said Guo Wenyi.

“What was she scared of?” asked Mo Fan.

“I don’t know… but I feel like she was afraid of Zhao Pinlin,” replied Guo Wenyi.

“It must be Zhao Pinlin! He must be threatening her, that must be it!” Rong Sheng suddenly came to his senses.

It explained why Wang Xuxu would suddenly lose interest in him, even though she had already accepted him the night before. Besides, if she was only concerned about his feelings, why would she allow him to caress her body?

“Zhao Pinlin did come to me that night,” said Mu Ningxue.

“He went to you?” Guo Wenyi and Rong Sheng were startled.

Mu Ningxue briefly described the situation. Anyone could tell that Zhao Pinlin was actually trying to win Mu Ningxue’s affection.

“Wang Xuxu said the same thing to me, too. She said that Zhao Pinlin isn’t very reliable… she was being dead serious, it did not feel like she was joking,” Guo Wenyi took out her phone and showed Mo Fan the messages.

Rong Sheng blurted out, “Look, what did I say, she wasn’t just trying not to hurt me! Zhao Pinlin must have done something to her! He might even have something to do with her disappearance. She was too scared of Zhao Pinlin, so she decided to hide somewhere. Now that the manor is in such a terrifying situation, it’s too dangerous for her to be alone! We have to find her as quickly as possible!”

Mo Fan read the texts. From the content, it seemed like Wang Xuxu was a fairly smart girl. She was able to see the true nature of Zhao Pinlin through his passionate, gentle disguise. In addition, Zhao Pinlin tried to invite Mu Ningxue to spend the night together too. It further proved Wang Xuxu’s point, Zhao Pinlin was unreliable!

“Zhao Pinlin’s gaze had been strange these few days,” Mu Ningxue mused aloud.

Mu Ningxue was not low in IQ either. She could clearly sense Zhao Pinlin had changed lately, especially when he was looking at her. He was not embarrassed after being rejected, nor was he trying to act calm and normal in order to preserve his ego, but seemed rather aggressive!

A few times, Mu Ningxue felt like the man was trying to eat her with his eyes. His cold grin was even implied that she would eventually fall into his hands!

Mu Ningxue was a Magician, and a lot more observant than Zhao Pinlin. The man was utterly clueless that his desire to possess Mu Ningxue was completely exposed even though he was being extremely cautious.

As such, when everyone thought there was something wrong about Zhao Pinlin, she quickly shared her observations with them.

“Strange, how so?” Mo Fan did not realize it in the first place.

“I’ll briefly describe what I felt. Somehow, his gaze looked ambitious. He was watching me closely, but he didn’t actually do anything,” Mu Ningxue shared.

“He was interested in you. Everyone else could easily tell it. We were all discussing it when he invited you to the manor. He thought he was good at hiding his intentions,” said Guo Wenyi.

“No one would not like a pretty and special girl like Mu Ningxue,” whispered Rong Sheng.

“Can we not talk about love and hatred now?” interrupted Mo Fan.

Did they seriously have the mood to discuss this when there were so many corpses lying outside? Mo Fan was utterly speechless about Rong Sheng and Guo Wenyi.

Mu Ningxue was disastrously beautiful. Lots of people would fall for her at first glance, but why did it matter now? She was already his wife. No one was allowed to take her away, especially that idiot Zhao Pinlin!

“Mo Fan, I believe we must talk about Zhao Pinlin,” said Mu Ningxue sternly.

“What is there to talk about? Isn’t he the same kind as that retarded Guan Yu?” It was not like Mo Fan was not aware of Zhao Pinlin’s intentions, but he simply did not think of the clown as a threat.

“There’s something wrong about him,” declared Mu Ningxue. It was pure instinct. Mu Ningxue did not have any proof, yet her instincts were telling her that.

At first, Zhao Pinlin tried to win her affection through his polite manners. He left in frustration when she rejected his invitation. However, even after he was together with Wang Xuxu, he still displayed his strong desire to possess her. She even felt an evil aura from him…

“My instincts are telling me that if he used some dishonest methods on Wang Xuxu, he might use them on me, too. I was being extremely careful around him lately,” Mu Ningxue admitted.

“Careful?” Mo Fan was surprised.

Mu Ningxue had already reached the peak of the Intermediate Level. Her strength was even comparable to an Advanced Magician, yet she was still being careful around an ordinary person. That alone implied that there was something seriously wrong about him. When Mo Fan linked the information with Wang Xuxu’s sudden change of behavior, and the fear he sensed from her…

“Stay here, I’ll go find Zhao Pinlin,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not let them follow him. He was reluctant to show Rong Sheng and Guo Wenyi his Shadow Element. Who knew if those two were actually members of the Black Vatican?

—-

Mo Fan came to Zhao Pinlin’s room and saw the room was tightly shut.

However, it was far from a problem for Mo Fan. He first used his Lightning to destroy any surveillance devices nearby, just so the people of the Black Vatican were unable to see his magic.

Mo Fan snuck into Zhao Pinlin’s room with the Fleeing Shadow, but the room was totally empty.

“Strange, didn’t he say he was going back to his room? Where would he be? He’s just an ordinary person; why would he dare to go to other places knowing that there’s poison outside?

“It seems like there’s definitely something fishy about this guy!” Mo Fan grinned. “Where the hell could he be?

“Swift Star Wolf. come out here and sniff at this guy’s clothes, see if you can find him,” Mo Fan summoned the Swift Star Wolf.

The Swift Star Wolf’s handsome face was filled with disdain. It was a wolf, not a dog!

“Awooo, awooo~” The Swift Star Wolf’s nose was more sensitive to blood. He quickly dragged a half-opened case out from under the bed. The case was full of adult toys that even Mo Fan was embarrassed to look at.

“I knew you were not an honorable wolf!” cursed Mo Fan.

“Awooo, awooo!~” The Swift Star Wolf totally disagreed with the unjust accusation.

“You are telling me that the whip has a faint smell of blood, and it’s a woman’s blood?” Mo Fan took out the whip and fell into deep thought while rubbing his chin. “The blood must have stained the whip when they were playing some thrilling game… how intense were they? Even if it’s a role play, he didn’t need to whip her until the girl was bleeding. That Zhao Pinlin seems like a gentleman, but he’s actually mad inside.”

Of course Mo Fan knew about roleplay!

However, whipping was only meant to bring pleasure through pain. If there was blood on it, he was simply torturing the girl!

This Zhao Pinlin, he was getting more suspicious!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan sent the Swift Star Wolf back to his dimension.

If he brought a wolf beast with dark blue fur almost long enough to sweep the floor around, he was simply announcing to the Black Vatican that he had come here to serve justice, just like the Golden Battle Hunters!

Mo Fan regrouped with Mu Ningxue and the others after the Swift Star Wolf roughly pointed a direction out to him.

“How do you know he went this way?” asked Rong Sheng in confusion.

“Why are you asking so many questions? Do you want to find Wang Xuxu or not?” replied Mo Fan impatiently.

—

Rong Sheng did not dare to ask further. He followed Mo Fan as they headed toward the structure behind the main building.

Compared to the luxurious main building, the structure behind it was a lot dimmer. It was unlikely to be used by guests. They did not recall seeing any workers going in and out of the building, either.

After moving through a few dim corridors and taking a few flights of stairs, the Swift Star Wolf told Mo Fan that they were approaching the place.

The corridor was in the shape of a circle. It took them a while to reach the corners. The rug was dark red, with locked rooms on both sides of the hall. There were rooms with a single door, double doors, and even bulky, heavy double doors with ring handles like those leading to a huge hall…

The Swift Star Wolf told Mo Fan that the scent had come from the room with the heavy double doors. Mo Fan took a closer look around and saw a faint red mark on a white wall nearby. It was the size of a mouth print. It was easy to overlook it if one was not taking a close look at it…

Mo Fan nudged Mu Ningxue and said to her in a low voice, “It’s Wang Xuxu’s blood, I think it was left here by accident. It seems to be from a wound or bruise. There isn’t much blood on the wall. Judging from the height, it should be from her arm, close to her shoulder…”

Mo Fan remembered that Wang Xuxu was around Mu Ningxue’s height. Using Mu Ningxue as a reference, he easily speculated where the wound was.

The mark was thin and long, and the scent was the same as that left on the whip. It implied that Wang Xuxu had been here.

“Xuxu! Xuxu, are you here? I am Rong…” Rong Sheng began to yell.

Mo Fan immediately covered the guy’s mouth and snapped, “Stop yelling, she might be kidnapped! You are only going to make it harder for us to rescue her!”

Rong Sheng’s eyes bulged. He finally nodded after a while.

Mo Fan tried to push the door, and realized it was unlocked. The heavy door opened up. The sound echoed through the corridor beyond.

There was no light inside. Mo Fan could barely see some ancient decorations. There was a furnace, a deer head hanging on the wall, a huge table, and curtains tightly covering a window…

“There’s no one here, but I think I smell something,” Mo Fan said with a frown.

The scent of Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts was unforgettable to most people. Mo Fan had encountered the Black Vatican several times. He could still recognize the scent no matter how weak it was.

“This place has been enclosed for too long. It stinks,” said Guo Wenyi.

“Yeah, why do I feel like the smell is getting stronger,” Rong Sheng was already covering his nose.

Mu Ningxue look to the door and said, “The smell is coming from outside.”

Mo Fan felt the pungent smell slowly growing stronger. After they opened the door, the air flowing in from the corridor was also filled with the same stench.

“Something is out there!” Mo Fan immediately realized something. He hurriedly went to the doors and cautiously closed them.

The doors made some noise when they were closed. The sound of something sprinting through the corridor was heard immediately, and it was getting closer!

“What is it?” Guo Wenyi and Rong Sheng heard the sound too. Their expressions stiffened instantly.

“Shh, keep quiet, we might have come to the right place,” Mo Fan replied in an extremely soft voice.

Mo Fan asked the others to stick close to him. He was planning to use the darkness to conceal their presence.

Not long after, a clear sound was heard from the corridor. They could hear something moving outside the heavy doors…

Guo Wenyi was standing right by the door. She could barely see the corridor through the tiny gap. A skinny, eerie creature slowly crawled past her line of vision on all fours. It had pitch-black skin, and a savage appearance, like a demonic monkey!

Guo Wenyi felt her scalp turning numb. Wasn’t this the same thing she saw eating a horse when she was walking home alone that night!?

It was the same, exactly the same!

Guo Wenyi was able to overcome her fear just recently with Mo Fan’s help, yet she never thought she would see the real creature again today. Even with a door between them, Guo Wenyi still felt her hair standing on end, as if she had turned into the horse that was pounced on by the creature, its stomach torn open, and going to be eaten alive at any second.

“Dark Beast Monsters,” Mo Fan told Mu Ningxue.

Around a minute later, the noise outside the door gradually disappeared.

Rong Sheng and Guo Wenyi backed off to the table in disbelief, especially Guo Wenyi, who was totally overwhelmed by fear.

“What…what was that?” asked Rong Sheng.

“Nothing too serious, don’t worry.” Mo Fan did not bother explaining further.

The Dark Beast Monsters were no longer able to pose any threat to Mo Fan, yet he could not afford to be careless. If a Dark Beast Monster was patrolling here, it meant they were already inside the Black Vatican’s territory. Killing a Dark Beast Monster would simply alert every member of the Black Vatican. If that happened, things would no longer be as easy as handling a few Dark Beast Monsters on patrol, but a bunch of Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts surging at them like a black tide!

Even so, Mo Fan was not scared of them. Mo Fan was never afraid to start a fight. However, what he worried the most about was the poison. If the Black Vatican was able to target a specific person and trigger the poison, once he was exposed, he would soon be lying on the ground vomiting black blood.

He had come to the right place. Zhao Pinlin was indeed a member of the Black Vatican. Mo Fan could not help but raise his thumb to Mu Ningxue.

A woman’s instincts were strong enough to tear down the Black Vatican’s disguise, let alone finding out their man was having an affair…

“You all should stay here, don’t make too much noise, and don’t leave before I’m back,” said Mo Fan.

Even though Mu Ningxue’s secondary element was Wind, she was still no match for Mo Fan in terms of moving stealthily and sneaking around. It was best for Mo Fan to move on his own.

“Be careful,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Remember, even if anything happens, try your best to hide your identity. The poison is the real threat to us,” Mo Fan specifically reminded Mu Ningxue.

“Mmm.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

It never occurred to Mo Fan that Zhao Pinlin would actually be one of the Black Vatican.

It seemed like Wang Xuxu did agree to date Rong Sheng, but the enraged Zhao Pinlin thought he was being humiliated, and abused the power given by the Black Vatican to force Wang Xuxu to obey him. The girl did not even dare to tell anyone even when she was being tortured.

“How bold of him, to dare do such a thing when I, the Anti-Darkness Little Prince, is around!” harrumphed Mo Fan coldly.

It was too easy for the Black Vatican to force a woman without any background or power to obey them. As a matter of fact, anyone with some background or power was able to achieve that, let alone a member of the Black Vatican. One had to admit that the world was very unfair. It was too easy for a girl like Wang Xuxu to be manipulated. Similarly, it was not like the world was absolutely unjust, as they were lots of people like Mo Fan, who, once they learned the evil deeds that the Black Vatican was up to, would do everything to erase them from the world!

“A disciple is worth five hundred thousand, a priest is worth around nine million, half the price of a Soul Seed, which is basically half a tin of milk powder for my beloved daughter… Zhao Pinlin, you better not disappoint me!” Mo Fan snuck past a dark corridor. He had basically merged with the shadows as he moved past a few Dark Beast Monsters on patrol. The creatures were completely unaware of his presence.

Mo Fan headed for the garden close to the building and noticed some sounds coming from a path made of pebbles leading through some statues and garden art. He quickly hid on a dense tree and observed silently.

He saw three people approaching his direction rapidly. They were all service staff with red bowties.

In addition to them, there were another five people a little further into the garden, and more than ten Dark Beast Monsters crawling on the ground.

These Dark Beast Monsters seemed to have surrounded the group of five people, who looked like tourists. They were crying out for help, facing the main building in fear. Unfortunately, the main building was quite a distance away. It was impossible for anyone to hear them.

“Priest, what shall we do with them?” asked a woman softly. She sounded slightly familiar. She seemed to be one of the staff responsible for receiving the guests at the main building. Mo Fan remembered her rather unique voice. It was so soothing that he could not help but have some wild thoughts.

“Get rid of them; those beasts happen to be hungry, too,” Mo Fan was relatively unfamiliar with the priest’s voice. He had no mercy for the trespassers.

While Mo Fan was still hesitating if he should save the group of innocent people, he immediately heard cries of agony. The tourists who were fleeing for their lives were now lying still in pools of blood. They stood no chance against the deadly creatures.

Human lives were extremely cheap in the eyes of the Black Vatican. Mo Fan let out a sigh as he took a glance at the unfortunate victims.

“Alright, the threat has been dealt with, back to your posts… Yang Qiao, you stay behind and get rid of the corpses. Don’t let the Golden Battle Hunters see them,” ordered the Gray Priest.

“Affirmative, senior!” acknowledged the woman quickly.

—-

Mo Fan could not help but admit that those trespassers were actually a great help. The people of the Black Vatican must have been alerted when Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, Rong Sheng, and Guo Wenyi were snooping around the place. As such, the group of tourists that had been spotted here actually served as a cover for Mo Fan and his crew.

The Dark Beast Monsters quickly vanished. The Gray Priest and a disciple of the Black Clergy had left. The female disciple with the name Yang Qiao was the only one left to clean up the place.

Yang Qiao stayed in the garden. Mo Fan was still hiding on the tree, and watched Yang Qiao, still in her heels, slowly approach a tourist whose face was covered by bloody gashes. She was humming a rather spritely melody.

“You would all have been fine as long as you stayed in the main building, yet you just had to come and get yourselves killed.” Yang Qiao’s voice sounded slightly naughty.

“Let…let me go… I’m begging you, let me go,” begged a young man covered in wounds, grabbing at Yang Qiao’s ankle.

“Mmm? You’re still alive?” Yang Qiao’s lips curled up, as if she was quite astounded.

She walked a few circles around the young man lying in a pool of blood and realized that he was barely injured, as the two adults had desperately tried to protect him. The blood smeared on the young man was actually from the other two dead adults.

“However, you are really out of luck. If had you died just then, you wouldn’t have to suffer again!” Yang Qiao smiled.

She took out a bottle as she was talking. She slowly opened the lid and poured the black, thick liquid onto one of the corpses lying beside the young man.

As soon as the black liquid made contact with the corpse covered in blood, it rotted quickly and evaporated. The gas rose into the air. The skin and flesh turned into a pool of black water, while the bones melted into dust…

In less than ten seconds, the corpse had thoroughly turned into a pile of black goo.

The young man’s eyes widened in shock and fear!

“Here, I’ll pour it slower onto you, so you can enjoy it longer!” Yang Qiao slowly moved the bottle toward the young man and slowly poured the liquid onto him.

The young man’s back festered as a single drop of the liquid touched it. Already covered in wounds, the young man cried out in pain immediately. He sounded extremely eerie in the silent night.

“Hehehe!… I haven’t poured much yet, but you’re already screaming so loudly!” exclaimed Yang Qiao wickedly. Her voice was extremely cold-blooded!

The young man never thought a woman with such an attractive face and soothing voice would be so cruel. She was nothing but a demoness!

Yang Qiao started pouring faster. The smile on her face grew wider.

However, she suddenly felt a strong force grabbing her wrist. She could not even move her fingers.

When Yang Qiao collected her thoughts, the bottle in her hand was snatched away by a man a head taller than her. She immediately turned around, assuming that the clergy did not want her to make too much noise. Instead, she immediately felt a strong slap to her face. Her little face was almost broken from the force. The incredible pain even stopped her from making any sound.

“You are…”

PA! Mo Fan did not give the vicious woman any chance to speak. He simply gave her another heavy slap to the face.

“Ass…” Yang Qiao was about to curse when Mo Fan waved his hand and thrust the Giant Shadow Spike: Twins into the woman’s chest to seal off her movement and mind, preventing her from alerting her associates.

“Who…who exactly are you?” Yang Qiao immediately lost all her strength. It took her quite some effort to utter the words.

“Beautiful like a flower, but with the heart of a poisonous scorpion. The Enforcement Union seriously offered too little a reward for a disciple like you. That being said, even if there’s no reward, I won’t hesitate to kill scum like you!” Mo Fan said from behind Yang Qiao. His voice was extremely cold; he was merciless when treating evil people like this woman!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Yang Qiao’s neck was small and thin. It actually felt great to touch.

However, Mo Fan applied the physical strength of an Advanced Magician and pinched the woman’s thin neck. It immediately snapped after a soft crack!

Yang Qiao was unable to react. Her face still looked terrified and stunned, yet her head was already falling to the side, followed by her feeble body falling to the ground.

She fell right beside the young man. He initially thought he was dead for sure, yet a Hunter had appeared and saved his life. He burst into tears of joy.

“Can you stand?” asked Mo Fan.

“Ye…yeah!” The young man was stronger than Mo Fan had imagined. He slowly rose to his feet, yet when he looked at the corpses of his family, he broke into tears again.

When he finally switched his focus onto Yang Qiao, his eyes were filled with inextinguishable anger. He had the urge to peel off her skin and eat her alive!

“Don’t worry, I will avenge your family. I won’t let those two get away, but I want you to understand your situation! Your family is already dead, but you’re still alive. I want you to try your best to stay calm, and put that woman’s jacket around you. Slowly make your way to the main building and wait for help,” Mo Fan said in a serious voice.

“I…I want to take their corpses with me,” said the young man in tears.

Mo Fan shook his head and said, “The dead remain dead. If you bring them along, you will only get yourself killed. Do as I said, pretend that none of this ever happened. I swear with my reputation as a Hunter that those scum that hurt your family will cease to exist in this world.”

The young man wiped his tears and looked into Mo Fan’s dark-brown eyes.

He finally nodded and said, “Thank you… I…I won’t be a burden to you.”

“Mmm, as long as you understand, it was worth putting myself at risk to save you.” Mo Fan patted the head of the bloody young man.

The young man straightened himself and grabbed the vicious woman’s coat. His physique happened to be similar to her. As he draped the coat over himself, it was rather difficult to tell the difference between them without being close enough.

The coat also covered the young man’s wounds. He tried his best to stand straight and headed toward the lights.

Mo Fan reminded him not to tell anyone in the main building about what happened, as it was unwise to alert the Black Vatican before finding a cure to the poison.

—-

Mo Fan picked up the woman’s bottle and got rid of the corpses, including Yang Qiao’s, leaving no traces behind.

Mo Fan was unsure if the woman’s death would alert her superior in the Black Vatican, but he had not been able to convince himself to just hide in the tree and watch what was going to happen.

After dealing with the corpses, Mo Fan headed in the same direction the Gray Priest had gone.

A disciple was only worth five hundred thousand. It was not even enough to buy snacks for his beloved Flame Belle. His real target was the Gray Priest. Mo Fan was planning to follow him and act according to the situation!

—-

“Isn’t Yang Qiao done cleaning up the corpses?” asked the Gray Priest Lu Geng.

“I saw her heading to the main building. She must be done with the corpses,” answered another disciple. The man had an obvious pair of buckteeth. He was rather outstanding in terms of ugliness!

“Oh, that’s fine. She can keep an eye on the Golden Battle Hunters. Speaking of which, why isn’t the clergy ready yet? If we wait any longer, a rescue might get her. Killing just a few hundred of them isn’t satisfying enough!” declared the Gray Priest Lu Geng.

“It should be done soon. We just need to wait for the cries… by the way, senior, I heard the deacon has recruited a new apprentice, I wonder who’s so lucky as to earn her favor?” asked the disciple enviously.

“He’s just a rookie. I have no idea why she picked him at all,” replied the Gray Priest Lu Geng.

“I passed by the Curse Pool just now and saw a half-dead woman inside it. Her hair was already gone. Is she the deacon’s new slave?” asked the disciple.

“Why would the deacon be interested in getting a new Dark Beast Monster? I bet it was for the rookie. However, they haven’t completed the ritual, so they just left her in the pool,” said the Gray Priest.

“I’ve been around for a long time, yet I only have a Dark Beast Monster…(sigh)”

“Are you saying that your future is dull because you’re following me?!” snapped the Gray Priest.

“No, not at all!”

“The Curse Pool happens to be unguarded, you will be guarding it tonight!” ordered the Gray Priest coldly.

“Aff…affirmative!” The disciple’s forehead was covered in cold sweat.

—-

Mo Fan heard their conversation. He did not follow the Gray Priest as he realized that it was too dangerous to do so.

“Curse Pool, that must be the place where the Dark Beast Monsters are refined?” speculated Mo Fan. “If it isn’t guarded, it means the people of the Black Vatican won’t be going there. Just in time, I can get rid of this ugly disciple, too.”

Mo Fan made up his mind and followed the fairly spooked disciple silently.

The disciple went to a fairly remote spot. Mo Fan almost lost track of the way back when the disciple pushed open a door hidden in the corner. A foul scent immediately wafted out.

The disciple was cursing under his breath. Guarding the Curse Pool was the filthiest and most tiring work. Those who got into the Black Vatican’s way were thrown into the Curse Pool to be fermented…

Mo Fan spent some time checking the surroundings before he entered the place, making sure there were no other members of the Black Vatican or any surveillance equipment nearby.

He was standing less than two meters behind the bucktoothed disciple. The dim light greatly extended the disciple’s shadow, allowing Mo Fan to hide inside it easily. Mo Fan simply followed the disciple around.

“Help…help… me…” a pained voice came from the black pool.

Mo Fan remembered the disciple mentioning that a woman was inside the pool, yet it was impossible to identify her. Her hair and skin had fallen off, and body was severely festered as a woman!

Her voice had already turned hoarse. She was more like a skinless demon instead of a human!

Her appearance immediately reminded Mo Fan of Xu Zhaoting. If this was how the Dark Beast Monsters were born, it meant that Xu Zhaoting was tortured the same way!

Mo Fan’s heart immediately burned in rage!

The Black Vatican’s cruelty could not be described with mere words. What exactly did the demon Salan do, turning a person grown up in a civilized society into a vicious, cold-blooded creature?!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s your own fault; this is what you get for getting in our way!” The bucktoothed disciple pulled a chair over and sat down far away from the Curse Pool.

“I…I didn’t do anything… let me go… please let me go…” said the hoarse voice.

“Just stay in there, the longer you spend in the water, the better it is for you/ At least it will be easier for you to adapt to your new form. Otherwise, you will have the urge to bite every inch of your skin off every night.” The bucktoothed disciple sounded like he was sorry, yet he had no intention to save her.

“No…no, I don’t want to become those things, kill me, I’m begging you, just kill me…”

“It’s useless, even if you die now, your soul will still be bound to this Curse Pool,” replied the disciple.

The punishment given by the Black Vatican was the cruelest and most terrifying in the entire world. The bucktoothed disciple used to be an ordinary person, too. He accidentally offended the Gray Priest Lu Geng, and had no choice but to join the Black Vatican.

Once he became a disciple, there was basically no turning back. Those who opposed the Black Vatican never had a good ending!

“Is there any way to save her?” a new voice spoke up suddenly.

The bucktoothed disciple was the kind with a remarkably slow reaction. He turned around looking at the figure in the shadow and assumed him to be some other disciple sent here to guard the Curse Pool. He said, “I guess so. She is still an ordinary person as long as the ritual isn’t completed yet… oh, you’re quite unlucky to be sent here too.”

“Oh, I’ve come to collect the payment,” the figure walked up to the bucktoothed disciple and patted him softly on the shoulder.

The bucktoothed disciple suddenly realized something. He was about to make his move when he felt a strong electric current spreading through his body from the man’s hand.

“You…” The disciple’s face contorted from the electric shock before he could even finish his sentence. It felt like millions of ants were biting inside his body. It was numbing yet painful, and he was also immobilized!

Lightning arcs continued to flicker on Mo Fan’s palm. The numbers kept increasing.

A burned smell lingered in the air. The bucktoothed disciple’s body turned scorched black. He fell to the ground like a lump of burned meat.

The bucktoothed disciple was obviously not a Magician. He usually commanded the Dark Beast Monsters to commit his evil deeds. As the lightning arcs reached a certain intensity, his flesh was no longer able to withstand the shock, and his heart finally stopped beating.

Mo Fan remained expressionless. He brought out the bottle that he took from Yang Qiao and slowly poured the liquid on the disciple’s corpse. Not long after, the corpse began to corrode severely. In less than a minute, even the bones and teeth had disappeared, leaving a pool of black goo behind.

“Are you Wang Xuxu?” asked Mo Fan.

“Yes...yes! Are…are you here to save me?!” said the person in the pool.

“I can’t save you yet,” Mo Fan told her.

Mo Fan was currently in the Black Vatican’s nest. It was easier for him to move alone. If he brought Wang Xuxu, whose body was severely damaged with him, he would easily expose himself.

Normally, Mo Fan would force his way out, but the poison had stopped him from acting rashly.

“Then please kill me, relieve me from this…” said Wang Xuxu.

“I swore I wouldn’t do anything like that again. Are you feeling better?” asked Mo Fan.

“I think…I do feel better,” said Wang Xuxu.

She lifted her gaze and saw a man whose face was shrouded by the darkness. He looked familiar, yet she could not recognize him.

Mo Fan slowly withdrew his hand. He was casting a Space Spell, to create a space around Wang Xuxu to stop the Curse Water from touching her body. The Curse Water had to be corroding her boy slowly. She would not suffer too much as long as she was no longer soaking in the water.

Mo Fan opened the water pack he brought and sprinkled the content in the air.

He straightened his gaze. The water that was about to fall to the ground as water droplets immediately formed a streamline in the air, flowing straight to Wang Xuxu’s mouth.

“Drink some water, just hang in there,” said Mo Fan.

Wang Xuxu was seriously dehydrated. She drank the water greedily as it approached her mouth. She wanted the stream of water to splash at her like a huge wave, and relieve her from the dehydration.

“Are you feeling better?” asked Mo Fan.

“Yeah…I’m a lot better, thank you,” Wang Xuxu lifted her head. She was trying hard to see the man’s face.

She had experienced the worst torture in her whole life over the past few days. Even though she had only received slight help, it brought her a glimpse of hope. She was no longer devoured by darkness.

“As a girl, you should really ask for help earlier when you are in trouble. You shouldn’t just compromise and endure it, hoping that being obedient would make the guy treat you with mercy. You must know that every evil person will only become worse,” Mo Fan looked at Wang Xuxu and spoke in a helpless voice.

Mo Fan could tell that Wang Xuxu was a smart woman, yet she did not use her intelligence to protect herself. If she had exposed Zhao Pinlin’s evilness, if she had simply told Guo Wenyi anything, she would not have ended up like this.

Wang Xuxu was immediately in tears when she heard the words. Her tears were black due to the effect of the Curse Water, running along her initially attractive face…

“Are…are you going to leave me behind?” Wang Xuxu knew that the whole place was crowded with bad guys like Zhao Pinlin. She was scared that if the person left, he would simply forget about her. She was really terrified. She tried her best to remember who the person was, yet she could not remember anything.

Mo Fan looked at her. He did not know what to say for a moment.

The biggest threat had yet to show itself. Even Mo Fan’s life was at risk. How could he possibly promise someone that he could save them?

“The situation outside isn’t any better than what you’re going through here,” Mo Fan did not answer the question directly.

“What’s happening?”

Mo Fan briefly explained about the poison.

Wang Xuxu seemed to know something. She blurted out to Mo Fan, “There was a woman. She seems to be the boss here!”

Mo Fan’s eyes flickered when he heard Wang Xuxu’s words!

“What does she look like? Do you know her name?” asked Mo Fan.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I don’t know her name. She has brown hair, a small face, a tall nose, brown eyes, and I saw her wearing the uniform of service staff with a red bowtie. I also heard Zhao Pinlin mentioning that he had met her at the bar, so I guess she’s a waitress there. Zhao Pinlin was treating her respectfully, like a toady pet,” Wang Xuxu said quickly.

Wang Xuxu described her encounter with the woman to Mo Fan, hoping that it could be of help.

-Is she a Gray Priest, or a Blue Deacon?- Mo Fan started thinking.

Normally, whenever the Black Vatican was recruiting new members, the Gray Priests would be in charge of the process. They would carefully observe candidates and determine if they were suitable. They would then approach these candidates as ordinary people, before slowly turning them into members of the Black Vatican.

Judging from how the woman was teaching Zhao Pinlin how to obtain his own Dark Beast Monster, she was most likely a Gray Priest, yet Wang Xuxu said that the woman seemed to be controlling the manor…

-She could be a Blue Deacon too. It looks like this waitress is my priority target, but it’s too difficult to find her now. She must be hiding somewhere. There’s no way she’s going to be mucking around at the bar still,- Mo Fan said to himself confidently.

Either way, Wang Xuxu had surely helped him a lot, giving him a clearer direction to stop him from wandering around like a headless fly.

It would be great if the waitress was really a Blue Deacon. Her bounty would not be low, and money was the reason that Mo Fan had agreed to come!

“The space I set up for you will last for some time. If any other members of the Black Vatican come here, you should pretend that you’re in great pain. Don’t let them notice any difference,” said Mo Fan.

“You won’t leave me here, right?” Wang Xuxu’s eyes were pleading. Even though the pain had greatly reduced, she was still inside a pool surrounded by darkness. She wanted to see sunlight, her classmates, and her family again!

“Mmm!” Mo Fan nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet, the poison is still our biggest problem. We won’t be able to leave this place if we can’t find the cure,” said Mo Fan.

“I’m already grateful that you’re willing to help me,” said Wang Xuxu.

Knowing that death was inevitable was scarier than death itself. Even a single minute felt incredibly long for Wang Xuxu. Mo Fan’s promise had at least given her a reason to hang in there.

“Let’s hope we can all leave this place in one piece,” sighed Mo Fan.

Closing the door of the room, Mo Fan started heading back using the same path that had brought him here.

Unfortunately, two Gray Priests were patrolling nearby. Mo Fan hesitated for a while, before deciding to go after them. After all, the Gray Priests were his only clue to locate the Blue Deacon, and also learn about the cure to the poison.

———–

The dark hall of the orange building…

Rong Sheng, Mu Ningxue, and Guo Wenyi were still waiting in the dim room. At times, a Dark Beast Monster would pass by the room on the outside, searching for traces of someone alive.

Guo Wenyi leaned against the door and watched through the gap. She suddenly saw a gray creature with strange runes on its body slowly approaching the room.

Unlike the Dark Beast Monsters from before, the creature’s eyes were sharper and scarier. Rong Sheng carelessly exchanged glances with the creature and felt goosebumps all over his body.

The gray Cursed Beast immediately headed for the room. Its nose and senses were a lot more sensitive than the Dark Beast Monsters. They saw the creature approaching the door while uttering a strange cry.

“Gulu!~ Gulu!~” The Cursed Beast let out a deep cry.

Mu Ningxue immediately went to the door when she heard the cry.

“Looks like they’ve found us!” Rong Sheng said in fear.

Mu Ningxue closed her eyes to sense the surroundings, and noticed that lots of Dark Beast Monsters were making their way to the room. Their pungent smell had already filled the room…

It turned out that the Cursed Beast had indeed found them. It was summoning its comrades to surround the place.

Mu Ningxue went to the window and saw that they were tightly sealed off. If they escaped through the window, there would be lots of creatures waiting for them outside too.

“I thought this place should be clean after we killed those people. What a surprise, a few mice have sneaked into here again… tsk tsk!” a voice came from outside. It sounded rather familiar.

Rong Sheng and Guo Wenyi exchanged glances with one another. Rong Sheng was the first to speak, “Isn’t that Zhao Pinlin’s voice?”

As soon as the words were spoken, the heavy doors of the hall were flung open fiercely. The pungent smell immediately lunged at the group and almost choked them.

Guo Wenyi backed off to the table. She was trembling in fear. A dozen monsters with black skin,the source of the pungent smell, had swarmed into the room.

Among the Dark Beast Monsters was a gray creature covered by curse runes. Its size was twice that of any other Dark Beast Monster. Its glowing green eyes were staring at them. It felt like the creature was about to tear them into pieces before it had even moved closer to them!

A man wearing a blue outfit stood beside the Cursed Beast. He looked surprised when he saw the intruders were Rong Sheng and Guo Wenyi. However, when he realized that the silver-haired woman he had the desire to pounce on was also in the room, he was utterly excited.

What a surprise, who would have thought… he was still figuring how to take her himself. Their time at the ranches was almost coming to an end. To his surprise, she had walked right into the trap herself. It simply sped up the time needed for him to achieve his dream!

“Another bunch of intruders, kill them,” a man in a gray outfit slowly entered the room and took a glance around.

“Leave them to me, since I personally know them,” Zhao Pinlin smiled.

“Whatever, but don’t take too long. We have things to do still. The new poison eggs have already hatched. We need more help with the preparations, so we can kill more people before the Enforcement Union arrives, hahaha!” the Gray Priest burst into laughter.

The Gray Priest was obviously interested in killing. His eyes were filled with a strange passion.

“Why don’t we kill them all?” asked a disciple beside him.

“Idiot, if everyone here is dead, how can we blend in with the crowd and leave?”

“Brilliant, Senior Li Kai is brilliant as usual!” the disciple fawned over the Gray Priest.

“Rookie, deal with them and regroup with us at the Slanted Hall as soon as possible,” ordered the Gray Priest Li Kai.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Pinlin walked up to the group of three. His eyes scanned Mu Ningxue with dark desire.

If the woman did not reject him, perhaps Zhao Pinlin would still be admiring her beauty with a pure heart. However, since his wild ambitions were being answered lately, he found his lust for Mu Ningxue’s silver hair and her sacred face growing stronger.

He initially thought he would have to contribute more to the Black Vatican before he could fulfill his dream. After all, the woman he lusted after was a Magician. To his surprise, she walked into the trap herself. When Zhao Pinlin’s eyes stared at Mu Ningxue, it felt like he had already dominated and ravaged her countless times!

Mu Ningxue finally understood why she was being cautious around Zhao Pinlin. Every time the man looked at her, he was like a starving beast. He did not even bother hiding his intentions.

“Zhao Pinlin, you animal, tell us where Wang Xuxu is at once!” Rong Sheng was enraged when he saw Zhao Pinlin. He immediately went up and grabbed his neck.

Zhao Pinlin stood still, as if he was looking at a petty being.

The Cursed Beast beside him attacked, swiping its claw at Rong Sheng.

The sharp claws penetrated Rong Sheng’s sturdy figure like they were slicing tofu. Luckily, Mu Ningxue managed to pull Rong Sheng back in time. Otherwise, the claws would have tugged his organs out instead of just cutting him.

“Keep your cool!” ordered Mu Ningxue.

Rong Sheng held his chest and glared at Zhao Pinlin.

Zhao Pinlin smirked coldly. The Cursed Beast could take on Magicians with ease, let alone an ordinary person like Rong Sheng.

“You’re still thinking of her! I can guarantee that if you see her now, you’ll try your best to avoid her, hahaha!… If you are smart enough, you will quietly follow me to the dungeon. I can consider sparing your lives. However, if you don’t listen to me, humph, I’ll ask it to tear you into pieces right here!” said Zhao Pinlin.

“You… why did you become like this!” Guo Wenyi looked at the man as if she was looking at a stranger.

“I’ve been like this all along!”

—-

Mu Ningxue did not make her move. She could sense the presence of many members of the Black Vatican other than Zhao Pinlin. She had no problem dealing with Zhao Pinlin, yet it would be troublesome if they were surrounded by the Black Vatican.

It was obvious that Zhao Pinlin was not planning to kill them. She could use it as a chance to move around their territory.

Zhao Pinlin did not bother tying or placing any restrictions on the group of three. In his eyes, the Cursed Beast watching them was the best restriction.

They were brought to a level below the ground floor. This was likely the true nest of the Black Vatican. They could see a disciple in a black outfit every few steps, and Dark Beast Monsters like hounds with chains around their necks.

“Who are these three?” asked the Gray Priest Lu Geng, glancing at them coldly.

“My new slaves,” answered Zhao Pinlin.

“Why didn’t you place any restrictions on them?” asked Lu Geng.

“They are just a bunch of ordinary people. I don’t think there’s a need for that,” responded Zhao Pinlin.

“Lock them up in the dungeon, and come immediately to the Slanted Hall.”

“Got it.”

Mu Ningxue was listening to every word they said. She began to wonder what the Slanted Hall was.

Could it be the place where the poison is coming from? Either way, it must be a very important place for the Black Vatican!

—-

As they arrived in the dungeon, Mu Ningxue discovered that although there were mechanisms to restrict them in the cells, they were not too strong. She could easily break free with her full strength.

Zhao Pinlin had obviously assumed they were a bunch of ordinary people. He did not bother locking them up in stronger cells. Mu Ningxue let out a relieved sigh.

Unfortunately, she was not an expert at sneaking around. If she wandered through the Black Vatican’s nest on her own, she would quickly find herself in trouble.

—-

The dark hall in the orange building…

When Mo Fan returned, he discovered that the place was completely empty. Judging from the marks on the floor, it seemed like a bunch of Dark Beast Monsters were crawling around the place.

Mo Fan started to worry, but he eventually calmed down when he saw a white block of ice in a corner.

It was the signal that Mu Ningxue and he had decided on. If the situation was indeed dangerous, nothing would be left behind since she had to react as quickly as possible. However, if she was able to leave the ice crystal behind, it implied that she was rather safe.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan...” Lingling’s voice came from the communication device.

“What is it?” asked Mo Fan.

“The poison has struck again. More than ten people are dead. The number is still increasing. Some people are already running around wildly in panic,” said Lingling.

Mo Fan stood at the window and saw the main building that was well lit up. He could vaguely hear cries and screams, and tiny figures running across the dark ranches. However, those people eventually disappeared as they were running…

Mo Fan knew that they must have fallen into some shrubs, with blood pouring out from their mouth and their bodies turning into a black substance…

—-

The pitch-black night did not have many stars. The clouds were looming over the spacious ranches. Terrifying cries and screams were echoing endlessly. The people hiding indoors were trembling in fear. Their faces were extremely pale due to their fear and uneasiness…

The captain of the Golden Battle Hunters, Pan Jin, sat on the stairs close to the main entrance. His bloodshot eyes were looking at the black corpses just a few steps in front of him. He was clenching his fists tightly. He wanted to fight the Black Vatican, even if it meant risking his life.

However, they could not find a single member of the Black Vatican. Some of them might even be hiding among the guests, pretending to be terrified, yet they were actually laughing disdainfully in their hearts as they were enjoying the painful cries and screams of the victims!

It felt utterly torturous knowing his cultivation was utterly useless as he watched his comrades die with none of the smoke and blast produced by magic.

It seemed like the Golden Battle Hunters was going to be wiped out entirely… they were being wiped out before they could even catch a single member of the Black Vatican!

“Leader, I don’t want to wait and die like this…” Pan Jin raised his head and looked at Ge Ming in tears.

“I don’t want it to end like this either, we’ve really underestimated the Black Vatican. We can only hope that…” said Ge Ming helplessly.

“Hope what?” asked Pan Jin.

“Hope… hope…” Ge Ming’s eyes widened. He tried very hard to speak, yet he could not make any noise.

“Leader!” Pan Jin immediately rose to his feet.

Ge Ming could not believe it either. Something was stuck in his throat. It was so thick that he could not even cough it out.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Black blood slowly came out of Ge Ming’s mouth. Either his cultivation was stronger, or because he did not contract much poison, his symptoms were not as ridiculous as the rest of the victims.

“It’s…it’s my turn,” Ge Ming tried very hard to utter the words. His face was filled with pain and helplessness.

It was finally his turn to pay the price for his reckless operation. When the poison struck the first time, Ge Ming already knew things were getting out of hand. He did not expect the Black Vatican’s methods to be so frightening, so much scarier than he had imagined, to the extent that even a powerful Advanced Magician like him had no chance of escaping.

“Leader!”

“Leader, you can’t die!”

“Quick, call Gray Hand!”

“It’s useless, the Healing Magic is useless against it.”

The members of the Golden Battle Hunters gathered around their leader in fear and shock.

Even their leader Ge Ming, the strongest among them, had fallen victim to the poison. How could the rest of them survive?

The poison had thoroughly shattered their line of defense in their hearts. They fell hopelessly to the ground with blank looks in their eyes, not knowing what to do anymore.

“I told you, we shouldn’t bother taking on those demons. It wouldn’t have come to this if you listened to me!” said Sun Rong.

“Who is the asshole that set us up by giving us false information? If we managed to survive this, I swear I’ll tear him into pieces!” yelled another Hunter furiously.

“Enough!” snapped Pan Jin.

Pan Jin clenched his fists once again, his eyes were full of red lines.

It was meaningless to abandon themselves to despair, as it would not help anyone survive in the current situation. Even their leader was trying to keep himself together after he was poisoned. It simply meant they had to rely on themselves!

“What’s the point of venting our frustration on one another? Our enemy is the Black Vatican. If we are going to die either way, we might as well try looking for the members of the Black Vatican, and kill as many as we can. Otherwise, we are just a bunch of idiots that they played like a damn fiddle!” said Pan Jin.

“Captain is right. If we keep condemning one another here, none of us will survive until the end. The people of the Black Vatican must be hiding somewhere in these ranches. There are lots of places that we haven’t searched yet. Leave a few people behind to maintain the order. The rest of you, turn this place upside down. I won’t believe that we are unable to find the Black Vatican’s vest!” exclaimed another captain of the Golden Battle Hunters, Hou Ting.

“Everyone, stick with your team. Don’t move on your own. Report in if you find anything suspicious. Don’t turn around even if someone is poisoned!”

Pan Jin realized that they could not stay here and wait for their death any longer; even their leader had contracted the poison. They had to make a move.

——

The remaining members of the Golden Battle Hunters soon split into several teams and conducted a blanket search around the ranches.

The people of the Black Vatican had most likely anticipated that the Golden Battle Hunters were determined to break the cauldrons and sink the boats when the poison struck again. Those who were hiding among the ordinary people immediately reported back to their base, updating them with the latest situation.

“Liu Pingsheng, who are you talking to?” a cleaning staff turned around looking at a yellow-faced man and asked.

“No one, I was praying,” answered the man.

“What are you holding in your hand?” The cleaner took a closer look and snatched the thing from his hand.

It was a black communication device. He could even hear some sounds coming from the other end.

Three members of the Golden Battle Hunters in charge of the area immediately noticed them. They quickly approached the man called Liu Pingsheng.

“It’s the Black Vatican’s communication device. He must be telling them what we were up to!” The three Hunters were overjoyed. They immediately placed Liu Pingsheng in custody.

Liu Pingsheng realized that his identity had been compromised. He immediately summoned his Dark Beast Monsters to help him escape.

Unfortunately, one of the three Hunters was an Intermediate Magician. The Dark Beast Monsters did not pose any threat to him.

Liu Pingsheng’s attempt to summon the Dark Beast Monsters totally exposed his identity. The people in the hall immediately backed away to the other side. However, the three Hunters were able to move quickly and detain the disciple of the Black Vatican.

The Intermediate Magician immediately contacted Captain Pan Jin. “Captain, we found a disciple here. He has their communication device, and he’s able to summon the Dark Beast Monsters!”

“Well done, that’s the spirit. Everyone, keep it up! We can’t let the Black Vatican treat us like fools and slaughter us as they wish. We must avenge our fallen comrades!” said Pan Jin.

Morale was definitely something they desperately needed in the current circumstances. If they continued to hide in fear like a herd of lambs, they would eventually be slaughtered one by one. However, if they were able to work together and ram down the fences, even the strength of a herd of lambs was not to be underestimated!

“There’s an orange building there. We haven’t searched the place thoroughly yet!” Sun Rong pointed into the distance.

“Let’s take a look!” Pan Jin nodded. He brought a group of men and headed for the orange building.

—-

The Slanted Hall in the orange building…

Blue Deacon Fang Shaoli was sitting on a blood-red chair, her slender legs slightly lifted. A pair of heels over ten centimeters tall was standing on the shiny floor. It felt like they were about to pierce through the ground.

Priests in gray outfits were kneeling before her feet in a row, including Li Kai and Lu Geng, whose status was slightly higher than the others.

Behind the Gray Priests were five rows of disciples in black outfits. Everyone that came into the hall had to wear their outfit, as it would make it easier to identify them and allocate tasks.

Fang Shaoli placed a finger beside her purple-red lips. An azure blue robe was covering her, but it seemed like she was not wearing anything under the robe. Her alluring physique was faintly discernible through the robe.

“It seems like we’ve forced the little lambs into a corner. Well, even rabbits will bite when they start to panic, let alone a bunch of filthy, incompetent humans?” Fang Shaoli said with a smile. She was not too bothered by the counterattack of her enemy.

“The people of the Enforcement Union have reached the island. They will be here any time. I’m afraid Night Hawk is the one leading them… he’s the one that wiped out all our people in the Magic City!” said Gray Priest Lu Geng.

“Is that so? I do miss him. When he arrives, I should present him with a huge gift, hahaha!…”

The other priests burst into laughter when they heard Fang Shaoli laugh. However, the disciples who were clueless about the details of the plan had no choice but to laugh while being utterly confused.

A huge gift? For the Enforcement Union?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Drops of a strange chemical fell onto a middle-aged disciple, sizzling as they did. The corpse soon turned into a pool of black goo on the ground.

“This thing has really helped me a lot!” Mo Fan exclaimed, waving the bottle that he took from Yang Qiao earlier. It was definitely a must-bring for anyone who was planning to go on a vacation and kill someone!

After Mo Fan went to the lower level in the Black Vatican’s nest, he would conveniently deal with the disciples of the Black Vatican who happened to be alone, and used the black bottle to deal with the corpses. The Black Vatican must be aware that some of their disciples were missing, but since they did not see any corpses, they could not tell if there were any intruders.

Counting the number of disciples he had taken out, the reward he would get from them was only around four million, nothing significant.

Mo Fan was not wandering aimlessly, either. Mu Ningxue was incredibly smart. She kept leaving the little ice crystals along the way. As long as Mo Fan followed her trail, he could find Mu Ningxue and the others.

This place must be the Black Vatican’s nest. If they could find a cure to the poison, they would be able to catch all the members of the Black Vatican in one net!

When he reached the dungeon, he was surprised to discover that no one was guarding the place. He simply strutted right in.

—-

Mu Ningxue, Rong Sheng, and Guo Wenyi were kept in a normal cell. Mu Ningxue could easily break free from it if she wanted. Mo Fan was rather amused that the Black Vatican actually had someone so careless.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Mm, thanks to Zhao Pinlin for bringing us into their nest,” said Mu Ningxue.

“I was checking around, there are quite a lot of disciples here, the two of us won’t be able to handle them all,” said Mo Fan.

“Did Lingling manage to…” began Mu Ningxue.

“To what?” asked Mo Fan in confusion.

Mu Ningxue frowned. She tried to talk, yet she realized that she could not make any sound.

Mo Fan initially thought she was having a dry throat, but when he saw black blood flowing out from her mouth, he was thunderstruck!

The deadly black blood!

Mo Fan felt like his mind was going to explode watching her.

He immediately went into the cell with the Fleeing Shadow and grabbed Mu Ningxue’s shoulders, taking a closer look at her.

The blood was indeed black. No matter how difficult it was for Mo Fan to believe, the black blood continued to pour out from her lips.

“Black blood, she is vomiting black blood!”

“Save her quick, think of a way to save her!” Guo Wenyi and Rong Sheng started to panic.

They had witnessed the process several times. The terrifying symptoms happened so quick that the victim was killed even before their hearts could be fully overwhelmed by the fear.

Now, the terrifying symptoms were happening on Mu Ningxue who was right beside them. Rong Sheng and Guo Wenyi felt their minds going blank.

“Xuexue…” Mo Fan’s mind was in a mess. He would feel better if the symptoms were happening to him.

Why her? Lingling already mentioned how unlikely it was that the poison would kill them. Did the Heavens really hate her that much?

“Mo… Fan… please calm down…” Mu Ningxue was able to control the black blood with some method.

However, Mo Fan knew it was useless trying to resist it. Mu Ningxue would soon turn into a black corpse. She was perfect like a goddess in his heart, even a little scratch on her skin would bring enormous pain to his heart, let alone the thought of her turning into the dried, black corpse. As the thought crossed Mo Fan’s mind, his eyes immediately turned bloodshot!

“You will be fine, trust me, I’ll clear the path to the Blue Deacon and force her to give me the antidote! Just hang in there,” Mo Fan took a deep breath.

Mu Ningxue shook her head. An extremely cold aura came out of her body, and tightly wrapped around her. It continued to penetrate the blood vessels that were now visible under her skin.

The cold gradually grew stronger. Mo Fan saw Mu Ningxue’s face turning blue and pale from the cold.

“What are you doing?” Mo Fan was in great panic.

“Fr… freezing myself… Mo Fan, don’t panic, remember when we were at Yanming Temple?” Mu Ningxue’s body was covered in layers of frost, both on her skin and inside her body.

It was the only way Mu Ningxue could think of. The poison was able to disrupt the blood circulation of its target and accumulate the blood in a fragile spot, before erupting like a volcano, resulting in vomiting black blood. Once the target started to lose an excessive amount of blood, the functions of the body would be damaged severely. The poison would then turn the body into a pile of black dust…

The only thing that Mu Ningxue could do was to freeze her own body, significantly slowing down the rate of her blood flow.

She could not freeze her blood entirely, as that would kill her instantly. She could at most slow down the circulation. If the poison was spreading through the body through blood, her method would buy her time.

Mu Ningxue never thought she would be the next victim. She looked at Mo Fan, who was extremely worried about her, and somehow felt rather grateful. It was rare to see the shameless guy in such a panic. The worried look on his face was not something that could be disguised.

“Yanming Temple? Yes, I remember it, don’t look back in your life yet, I don’t want any separation of life and death to happen between us!” yelled Mo Fan.

“Listen to me…” Mu Ningxue said in a serious voice. Her face was already covered in frost. Her voice sounded stiff, “I will be fine for now. I’ve frozen my blood vessels.”

Mo Fan looked at her. He could feel a knife slicing at his heart as her voice gradually weakened.

“Mo Fan,” Mu Ningxue had turned into a frozen woman, but her eyes were still blinking, as if she had something important to say.

Rong Sheng and Guo Wenyi stood aside. They could tell that Mu Ningxue had kept the words in her heart for a very long time.

Didn’t Mo Fan say he didn’t want a separation of life and death between them? Wasn’t this how a typical scene would look?

However, as Mu Ningxue was about to speak, Mo Fan suddenly went forward. He placed one hand behind her icy neck and lowered his head, completely disregarded the poisonous blood by her lips. He pressed his lips hard on Mu Ningxue’s lips that had already turned purple from the cold…

Mo Fan always imagined how soft, wet, and delicious Mu Ningxue’s lips would feel, but all he felt was icy, dry, and stiff, as if he was kissing an ice statue of a gorgeous woman.

As the lips parted, Mo Fan looked into Mu Ningxue’s eyes and said determinedly, “If you really have something to tell me, just wait until you wake up. Either you want to tell me you like me, or you hate me, I promise you I’ll listen to all of it.”

Mu Ningxue did not speak after that. Her throat was already frozen. The only body part that was still active was her glittering eyes, looking at Mo Fan’s arrogant face.

As her body was frozen, any emotion she felt was incredibly faint, too.

However, Mu Ningxue believed that if her heart was still working normally, it would definitely have sped up at this instant…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A strange blood-red and black glow started to appear slowly on Mo Fan’s body. His dark-brown eyes gradually turned hollow and cold. Even Mu Ningxue could sense an unfamiliar aura encapsulating Mo Fan’s figure.

“Mo Fan, what are you doing?” Lingling’s voice suddenly came from the communication device.

“Mu Ningxue has contracted the poison. I no longer have time to waste with these scum,” Mo Fan’s voice sounded rather disdainful.

“Don’t do anything stupid, considering it’s the Black Vatican. If they knew who you are, not only will they not give you the antidote, it will even make the situation worse! Even if you managed to get the antidote, no one can possibly save you. We aren’t at the Dongting Lake, or at the Kingdom of Undead, there’s nothing you can kill recklessly to pay the price for using the power… this island only has around seven hundred thousand people. Are you sure you will be able to keep your calm and not harm them when you let the Demon Element took over?” scolded Lingling.

Mo Fan’s bloodshot eyes recovered slightly when he heard Lingling’s words.

When Mu Ningxue’s life was in danger, the only way Mo Fan had was demonizing. It would grant him the power to defeat the people of the Black Vatican in the shortest time possible, and the poison would have no effect on him once he demonized.

However, when Lingling finished her last sentence, Mo Fan subconsciously shuddered.

She’s right, there wasn’t a horde of demon creatures or a nest nearby. There were only a few hundred thousand residents on Chongming Island.

The consequences of using the Demon Element did not only involve the degradation of his cultivation, but also the vast amount of blood needed for the sacrifice. The Demon Element fed on souls. Mo Fan had already experienced the pain at Dongting Lake. It would only turn him into a killing machine. He would be no different than the failed subjects of the experiment conducted on the Demon Element…

Not only would he fail to save Mu Ningxue, it would result in a greater disaster!

“Mo Fan!…”

“I understand,” Mo Fan interrupted Lingling’s words.

Mo Fan took a deep breath, trying his best to calm down the restless Demon Element. If he relied too much on the Demon Element to settle his problems, he would actually turn into a real demon!

“It’s more dangerous if someone else contracts the poison. It’s less terrifying for her, as she can freeze herself with her Ice Domain, slowing down her blood flow…” explained Lingling at a quick pace.

“She already did,” replied Mo Fan.

“That’s good, she’s calmer than you are, and you call yourself a Hunter Master! You should stop being so hot-headed every time!” chided Lingling.

Mo Fan was left speechless. Did he really just get scolded by a girl who was just over age of ten?…

“Have you found the cure to the poison?” asked Mo Fan.

“No.”

“…” Mo Fan really had nothing to say.

“But I made an extremely important discovery,” said Lingling.

“What discovery?”

“I managed to connect my database. After digging around, I realized that the poison is somehow related to a quest we did before,” said Lingling.

“You mean we’ve encountered something similar before?” asked Mo Fan in astonishment.

“Do you remember the Mother Scale Skin Phantom, the parasitic creature that can turn living humans into monsters after sucking their blood? Even though that thing isn’t a high-level creature, it is still considered an extremely dangerous creature, as it can cause a huge number of casualties within a short period of time.

“The tea that we drank during our stay here at the manor contains a very tiny poisonous worm. The poisonous worm is able to stay inside a human’s body. If it doesn’t receive any signal from the queen, it will eventually die inside our bodies. However, if the queen sends out a specific signal, the poisonous worms will start destroying our body, including our blood, organs, muscles…” said Lingling.

“Poisonous worms, queen? So you’re saying that if we can find the queen and kill it, the poisonous worms in everyone’s body will die, too?” exclaimed Mo Fan in surprise.

Mo Fan clearly remembered that the Mother Scale Skin Phantom was the source of the mutation. When the Mother Scale Skin Phantom was killed, everyone in the auditorium was able to return to normal.

If it was exactly what Lingling said, that everyone had drunk the tea containing the poisonous worms that were controlled by the queen, everything would be fine once they were able to kill the queen!

“Exactly, the queen is the key. By the way, I also learned that the worms have a scarier ability!” Lingling slightly lowered her voice.

“You’re telling me…that killing people with the poison isn’t the scariest ability?” Mo Fan was stunned.

—-

The main building, in the room in the middle of the third floor, Lingling grabbed her laptop and jumped down from the chair. She hurried over to the window.

She pulled the curtains aside. The view was rather wide from her room. She was able to see the entrance of the ranches from her angle.

Lots of scorched corpses were lying still on the fields, which looked quite eerie under the street lamps along the ranches.

The cold breeze continued to blow, sweeping the black ashes from the skin of the corpses into the air above the ranches…

Many people would assume that the corpses would slowly turn into dust. After all, their bodily structure was completely destroyed by the poison. However, after learning that the poison was similar to that of the Mother Scale Skin Phantom, Lingling would look out of her window every five minutes.

Death was already considered the worst outcome for those who had contracted the poison. Lingling desperately hoped that the Black Vatican was not as insane as she thought, yet the truth simply proved to her that the Black Vatican was madder than she could ever imagine!

The dried skin of the corpses began to crack after being blown by the cold breeze. The pieces slowly fell to the ground as the cracks spread throughout the corpses…

New skin appeared under the cracks, but if anyone thought it would look smooth and pale like that of a newly born baby, they would be so wrong!

The skin of the Hunter that died to the poison first started to peel off, revealing a reddened, rough, slimy, and hideous skin under it!

The dead had risen from their sleep. They sat up amid the piles of black dust. Pairs of glowing blue eyes were staring ahead, adding a hint of eeriness and disbelief to the already terrifying night!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“As I thought…” Lingling pulled the curtains back. The thing that she hoped would not happen still happened regardless. Even if the people of the Enforcement Union arrived, they would be worn out fighting against the mutated dead people. They would not be able to keep the situation under control.

“Is something wrong?” asked Mo Fan.

“Mmm, we can’t rely on the people of the Enforcement Union to save us now. Those who died to the poison has mutated into monsters, just like the case we were on before. The queen this time is obviously stronger than the Mother Scale Skin Phantom, so these mutated monsters will be stronger than those we fought before!” Lingling told him.

“Alright, do you have any good news for me?” asked Mo Fan.

“I do. Your Demon Element seems to have made you immune to the poison,” replied Lingling.

“That does sound like good news, but why?” said Mo Fan in surprise.

“In terms of mutation, you are actually the deadliest among all of us. The chance of these parasitic creatures triggering a mutation in your demonized body is the same as the chance of you being killed by the bacteria in the mineral water you drank,” said Lingling.

“…” Mo Fan was able to understand the explanation, yet could anybody explain why he wasn’t feeling proud of it at all?

Either way, Lingling did give him a piece of good news. No wonder Mu Ningxue, who only took a few sips, had fallen victim to the poison, yet he who drank like a bull was perfectly fine!

In this case, he did not need to hesitate too much. He could kill every member of the Black Vatican that he stumbled into!

Mo Fan was pretty much a volcano on the verge of erupting after what had happened to Mu Ningxue. He finally did not need to hold back any longer!

Mo Fan turned around and left the dungeon. Since he had already snuck inside, it was a lot safer to move around.

“Did you manage to locate the queen?” asked Mo Fan.

“The soil you’ve brought back contains traces of the same poison. It’s pretty easy to trace it down. Just follow my instructions, but be really careful, there is a Blue Deacon involved. You can disregard the Gray Priests and Black Clergy, but you have to be careful against a Blue Deacon. Speaking of which, try not to use the Demon Element. You should try your best not to use it,” said Lingling.

“Don’t worry, I have only come because I’m confident in my abilities. These assholes, I’ll send them all to Hell the most violent way!”

Saying this, Mo Fan walked out of the dungeon.

Unfortunately, as soon as he walked a few steps, he bumped into a man wearing a pair of golden-framed glasses. The man was wearing an anticipatory and sinister grin, as if he was incredibly satisfied with his current position.

Zhao Pinlin was quite surprised as they met on the stairs. His widened eyes stared at the intruder Mo Fan.

-Damn it, how did this guy get in? This is the Black Vatican’s base. Is he really that lucky that he didn’t even bump into any of the disciples patrolling the area?-

“You really have to take the path to Hell instead of the path to Heaven. Now that you’ve trespassed into here, and saw all this, I’m afraid I can’t let you leave this place alive,” Zhao Pinlin laughed. He had turned into a very cruel man over the past few days.

He enjoyed the feeling of being able to manipulate and control someone’s life!

“Trespassing is an overstatement. I was simply following the scent of my prey. Speaking of which, I must tell you that even though I am a full-time student, I’m also a part-time Hunter who specializes in hunting down you scum that are worse than the demon creatures!” Mo Fan lifted his gaze. Looking at the shrimpy Zhao Pinlin, his disdainful and sharp gaze immediately thrust at the weak man like a sword.

“Humph, who cares if you’re a Magician? This thing beside me is enough to tear you into pieces. Oh, no, I can’t let you die so quickly; you have been a pain in the arse for quite some time. I’ll turn both you and Wang Xuxu into my Dark Beast Monster slaves!” Zhao Pinlin took a step back.

A gray, eerie-shaped creature with cursed runes across its body appeared. Its green eyes had a frightening glow in the dark dungeon. Both Guo Wenyi and Rong Sheng fell to the floor in fear.

When Zhao Pinlin saw the Cursed Beast slowly approaching Mo Fan along the tunnel, he burst into laughter once again, “This Cursed Beast is nothing like those lowly Dark Beast Monsters. It possesses the strength of a Warrior-level creature, for someone like you…”

Mo Fan’s dark brown eyes suddenly emitted a silver glow while Zhao Pinlin was still talking. His eyes were full of magic, and a hint of pride that looked down at everything before him.

The silver glow lit up the dungeon. Mo Fan moved at lightning speed. He clenched his fist into a claw and directed the force to land accurately on the Cursed Beast’s neck!

The grab was extremely powerful. The Cursed Beast struggled fiercely trying to break free from it, yet it had no chance escaping from Mo Fan’s Space Element spell, Mind Claw!

The Cursed Beast was lifted into the air with ease, like a little chick.

“Warrior-level, you say?” Mo Fan laughed wildly!

He loosened the grip of the claw so the Cursed Beast was hovering in the air. Before it started falling, Mo Fan clenched his fist and fired lightning arcs from the gaps between his fingers, which combined into a thick lightning bolt in mid-air!

The blinding Thunderbolt sprang forward with ferocious might and penetrated the Cursed Beast’s body as it was still falling down, leaving a giant, scorched hole through both sides of its body!

Mo Fan’s control of the Lightning Element had greatly improved since it had reached the Advanced Level. The spell he just cast was the Intermediate Spell Thunderbolt, but its form was no longer being restricted to lightning strikes descending from the sky. He could freely alter its form by controlling his grip…

That being said, even without the improved control, he was already strong enough to kill a little Warrior-level creature instantly a long time ago!

The Thunderbolt only lasted briefly, so briefly that Zhao Pinlin was still in the middle of finishing his proud sentence…

Zhao Pinlin looked at the Cursed Beast’s corpse and began to wonder if Fang Shaoli had tricked him. Didn’t she say that a Warrior-level creature was strong enough to kill a hundred Mo Fans? How did it die in just the blink of an eye!

The truth was, if Zhao Pinlin had realized that the thick walls behind him had also been punctured by the Thunderbolt, he would no longer think it was the Cursed Beast’s problem!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Do you seriously think you are unstoppable after joining the Black Vatican? They are nothing but a piece of trash in aMagician’s eyes, and as for you… maybe scum suits you better.” Mo Fan’s eyes did not show the slightest hint of mercy or compassion.

Another bolt of lightning descended onto Zhao Pinlin out of nowhere. The dazzling light lit up the whole dungeon.

Zhao Pinlin was struck by the lightning. The purple-black bolt of lightning sliced his body in half like a sword or axe. The two halves were immediately disintegrated into blood lumps and droplets under the overwhelming power of the lightning…

Zhao Pinlin was shattered to the limit. He literally became the waste that Mo Fan had mentioned!

Guo Wenyi and Rong Sheng’s faces were filled with astonishment when they saw Mo Fan’s sudden display of his overwhelming strength.

Their understanding of Magicians was basically similar to Zhao Pinlin’s level. They only knew that some Magicians were hired as bodyguards, yet they had never seen a powerful Magician who could easily destroy an enemy with a single wave of his hand like Mo Fan!

“Take care of her for me,” Mo Fan turned around and reminded the two with gaping eyes and mouth.

“Al…alright!” Rong Sheng immediately nodded. His admiration for Mo Fan skyrocketed instantly.

—-

Mo Fan found himself in a zigzagging tunnel after he left the dungeon. Lingling only told him the rough direction of the Queen of the Sudden-Death Poison, so Mo Fan had to probe his way around the place like he was currently in a maze!

Mo Fan followed the visible lights emitted by candles, which clearly shone his silhouette on the wall. He quickly moved past the lit-up area, and as he blended in with the shadows, he completely disappeared into the darkness. It was impossible to detect his presence.

As Mo Fan left the dungeon, he arrived in a straight and long corridor. The walls were quite far apart, with lights symbolizing the Black Vatican lighting up the path.

The corridor was too dark to see the other end. However, Mo Fan had already discovered a few people in black outfits moving in the darkness.

Mo Fan knew he had no chance of sneaking through the corridor with the Fleeing Shadow. He blatantly strode along the corridor.

“Who’s there?!” snapped Gray Priest Lu Geng, his sharp eyes immediately noticing Mo Fan’s presence.

The other disciples in black outfits immediately gathered, accompanied by eight Dark Beast Monsters under their command. They instantly blocked off the direction Mo Fan was heading to!

“Someone who’s here to send you all to Hell!”

Mo Fan stood still. The members of the Black Vatican did not notice the fire burning fiercely on his right hand.

Initially, the fire was only the size of the flames of the candles nearby. However, as he threw a punch forward, the spacious corridor was immediately filled by the fire. The enormous burning fist almost burst the corridor open!

The Fiery Fist was unstoppable. Both the disciples of the Black Vatican and the Dark Beast Monsters under their command had no chance of surviving against Mo Fan’s fourth-tier Fiery Fist. Their flesh and bones were burned into powder under the incredible heat of the Rose Flame.

The corridor was cleared in an instant. The Gray Priest was barely left alive along the scorched trail more than a hundred meters long. His skin was burned beyond recognition as he climbed to his feet. He immediately fled for his life desperately!

“Come over here!” Mo Fan summoned a Mind Claw with a thought.

Gray Priest Lu Geng was dragged all the way back forcibly and dropped in front of Mo Fan.

Lu Geng raised his head and looked at Mo Fan in fear.

“Do you know you are worth nine million?” said Mo Fan.

Lu Geng was stunned.

Anyone would be stunned in Lu Geng’s position. They were still in the Black Vatican’s base, yet a young man had appeared out of nowhere and threw a Fiery Fist at them before they understood what was going on!

“I…” Lu Geng tried to act humbly, just so this terrifying murderer would spare his life.

Unfortunately, he did not have the chance to finish his sentence, as Mo Fan was already pouring some liquid onto his head.

Lu Geng totally lost his mind when he saw the bottle. Wasn’t this the bottle that he gave Yang Qiao to clean up corpses? How did it end up in his hand…

Gray Priest Lu Geng started to melt as soon as the liquid was poured onto him.

Lu Geng had poured the same chemical onto people that were still alive in the past. He always felt excited when he heard their screams at the top of their lungs, to an extent that he had to make love with Yang Qiao a couple of times on the same night just to release his excitement. However, he never thought he would be the one that screamed the loudest. The enormous pain he felt from the process significantly overcame the total pleasure and excitement he felt from using it in the past!

Mo Fan was not in a great mood. He was having trouble venting his anger and frustration after what happened to Mu Ningxue, and it just so happened that he had the chance to kill a bunch of scum as a way to serve justice. It was definitely his favorite course of the meal!

—-

The corridor no longer had anyone blocking Mo Fan’s path after he cleared it with a single punch.

After advancing for another two hundred meters, Mo Fan arrived before a giant red doorway. It was designed as fangs, the kind that could close up perfectly. When opened, the entrance would resemble a fierce beast with its bloody mouth wide open.

The entrance seemed to be half-open. Mo Fan easily snuck into the room and realized it was a relatively spacious Chamber of Sacrifice. Skulls of various kinds of creatures were placed on sticks hanging in rows across the hall.

On top of that, beyond the rows of skulls, a huge crowd of disciples in black outfits were kneeling before an altar under the commands of several Gray Priests…

“Yo, having a meeting here?” Mo Fan stood behind the strange and passionate crowd, looking at the buttocks of the disciples that were facing him. “It’s fine, saves me time from looking for you individually!” Mo Fan put on a grin.

Mo Fan immediately channeled a brilliant and stunning Star Constellation without giving the stunned members of the Black Vatican any chance to speak!

Mo Fan’s speed at channeling a Star Constellation had improved dramatically. The seven Star Patterns with densely packed Stars were connected fluidly, and in just a moment, the whole Star Constellation was visbile to the crowd, further setting off Mo Fan’s sturdy figure!

“Sky-Flame Funeral, you can enjoy the taste of Hell before you actually go to Hell!” Mo Fan delivered two fiery clouds into the space above the spacious, high-vaulted Chamber of Sacrifice.

The fiery clouds rapidly filled up the space. They began to descend when they finally reached their limit.

There was nowhere to hide from the rain of fire at all, as the clouds were so close to them.

A blinding red light was emitted from the waves of the burning ocean. The petty members of the Black Vatican were fleeing from the ritual of flames…

In their eyes, the lives of the others were mere trifles. The truth was, they were as insignificant as the people they killed, especially when they were going up against an Advanced Magician like Mo Fan!

The members of the Black Vatican who were scorched black in just a few seconds would never believe that the man in front of them was only a high school student who had barely been able to protect himself in Bo City, the town they targeted so many years ago.

But now, the man and his vengeful flames were able to annihilate a huge crowd of them with ease!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The light of the flames lit up Mo Fan’s expressionless face. The Sky-Flame Funeral almost destroyed the chamber. Even the soil above the ceiling started to collapse and fell down, forming a hill in the center of the scorched Chamber of Sacrifice!

The disciples were all inside the chamber. Even those who reacted fairly quickly were still devoured by the Sky-Flame Funeral. No matter how fast they ran, they were no match for the speed of the fire…

Not a single disciple managed to survive. Even Mo Fan had lost count of how many there were. Was it twenty, or thirty? Either way, he would let Lingling handle it later. He was going to get paid the right amount!

He had to admit that the Gray Priests of the Black Vatican did have a trick or two up their sleeves. As the Sky-Flame Funeral eliminated the shrimpy disciples, four Gray Priests were able to rely on their Earth Spells and defensive equipment to survive the flames. They were fleeing to the exits opposite the entrance quickly despite their heavily burned bodies.

Mo Fan was too lazy to care about the disciples that were gasping their last breaths as they lay on the ground. The Sky-Flame Funeral would last for quite a while. No matter how hard they were struggling, they would all end up as charred corpses.

Mo Fan quickened his pace. He wove through the sea of flames over ten meters high, his eyes never leaving the four Gray Priests that were trying to run away.

One Gray Priest was worth nine million. Two of them would be eighteen million. Three would be twenty-seven million, and four would be thirty-six million!

-Run, where do you think you’re running to?- “Giant Shadow Spike: Thorns of the Shadow Rose!”

After Mo Fan raced through the walls of flame, he immediately cast the Shadow Spell, tossing the Giant Shadow Spikes between his fingers into the air.

The Thorns of the Shadow Rose did not necessarily have to fly in a straight line. They could even appear at a blind spot under Mo Fan’s will. As Mo Fan gradually caught up to the thirty-six million… uhh, the four Gray Priests, he immediately launched the six Thorns of the Shadow Rose into their shadows!

After turning the corner, Mo Fan immediately set his gaze on a Gray Priest whose legs were severely burned.

“Go!”

Two Thorns of the Shadow Rose appeared, one on the left and the other on the right, stabbing at the legs of the Gray Priest, who was slower than the others.

The Gray Priest immediately tumbled forward as his legs were sealed off, slamming into the wall hard. He had likely broken his teeth!

The Gray Priest was desperate. He quickly picked up his bloody teeth and tried to start running again, yet he could no longer control his lower body. His shadow was nailed to the wall, impairing his movement. His whole body was tightly bound by the dark energy, unless he was able to unleash a stronger force to break free from it…

“Who are you? How dare you sneak into our sacred base? You will be tortured by the God of Death!” the Gray Priest turned around with great effort and cursed at Mo Fan.

“You sound really funny when you talk. God of Death my ass, just a mentally-retarded maniac who enjoys killing people.” Mo Fan was amused, as the Gray Priest who could not even talk properly after losing his teeth was still trying to confront him.

The Gray Priest was obviously rather fanatical. He immediately went all out to kill Mo Fan after hearing the man calling his beloved Senior Salan a maniac!

However, how could he possibly cast a spell while he was restricted by Mo Fan’s Giant Shadow Spike: Thorns of the Shadow Rose? The toothless Gray Priest’s cultivation was obviously a lot weaker than Mo Fan’s.

The Gray Priest soon realized that he could not even draw a single Star Pattern. He started screaming wildly while waving his hands around.

“Do you seriously think I won’t notice the Cursed Beast on the wall trying to ambush me just because of your silly acts? I’m quite familiar with your little pets!” Mo Fan snarled, while clenching his left fist.

Lightning arcs suddenly appeared around them at Mo Fan’s will. They gathered into Mo Fan’s hand, into a long lightning whip!

PA!

The Cursed Beast trying to ambush Mo Fan was still in the air when the lightning whip landed on it perfectly.

If the lightning arcs were split up, their paralyzing effect would be a lot weaker against a Warrior-level. However, the lightning whip consisting of dozens of lightning arcs stacked together, and could instantly paralyze a Warrior-level creature!

The lightning from the whip coursed through the Cursed Beast, and before the creature that was trying to ambush Mo Fan could recover, it immediately felt two invisible forces grabbing its body…

“I should be able to do it to a small Warrior-level creature?” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

As soon as he finished the sentence, Mo Fan immediately waved his silver hands in opposite directions. The same motion immediately applied to the Space Energy holding the Cursed Beast.

Mo Fan’s physical strength was not too impressive, but it was totally different when the Space Element’s Telekinesis was involved. The Cursed Beast, whose flesh was just as sturdy as a normal Warrior-level creature, was unable to endure such a powerful pulling force!

The Cursed Beast simply stood no chance against the force. It was torn in half by Mo Fan’s will!

Watching a Cursed Beast get torn apart with bare hands, the sealed Gray Priest’s eyes almost fell out from their sockets…

-Is he seriously just a Magician?-

It was obvious that the Gray Priest had never seen the mysterious Space Element before. A Space Magician with outstanding control could even turn themselves invisible, enlarge, or strengthen their movements.

The truth was, most Space Magicians would not use the Space Element in this manner. It was more effective to attack directly with Telekinesis. However, Mo Fan believed he already had quite a number of ranged attacks, thus it was necessary for him to learn some strong melee moves. As such, whenever Mo Fan was practicing the Space Element, he would try to combine its power with his limbs!

Mo Fan did not waste his time further on the Gray Priest. He proceeded to chase after the others that had escaped.

—

The Gray Priest had just recovered from his astonishment after watching the Cursed Beast being torn in half. He was surprised when he realized that the intruding Magician did not kill him.

He found it hard to believe. He even looked in Mo Fan’s direction and confirmed that the intruder had raced into the distance.

The Gray Priest let out a relieved sigh, as he thought the Magician had spared his life. To his surprise, he suddenly felt a strong wave of heat surging at him from the Chamber of Sacrifice. Not long afterwards, the bright flames were spreading rapidly in his direction.

The sea of flames produced by the Sky-Flame Funeral was still spreading. The flames would reach him in no time…

The fear in the eyes of the broken-toothed Gray Priest grew stronger as he watched the fire getting closer.

If he had known he would be experiencing the taste of being burned by the flames twice, he would have chosen to be burned to death together with the disciples in the chamber!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Do you understand the consequences of offending the Black Vatican!” a plump Gray Priest yelled at Mo Fan.

“I’ve already heard the same thing more than a hundred times, but I’m still standing here in front of you!” retorted Mo Fan impatiently.

Seriously, these people of the Black Vatican kept saying the same threats over and over again, like an NPC!

Offend them? Mo Fan was planning to wipe them all out!

Mo Fan used the Fleeing Shadow to get closer to the Gray Priest and slammed a Fire Burst right into the plump man’s stomach!

The Gray Priest was quite impressive. He managed to react in time and cast Water Barrier to defend himself. He even summoned his armor equipment as a safety precaution.

The explosion instantly sent him flying, despite him weighing over two hundred pounds.

Before the plump Gray Priest could get back to his feet, he saw lava rising beneath him. The scorching molten fluid erupted around his body in the shape of a stunning flower of death!

The flames of the Groundbreak devoured the Gray Priest mercilessly. His body writhed frantically as it was being burned. The Gray Priest lifted his head and screamed out in pain, like a pig being slaughtered.

“You actually died the quickest death among them all!” said Mo Fan coldly.

Mo Fan walked past the Gray Priest now lying dead on the ground. His scorched corpse was similar to those that had died to the poison. The flames had burned most of his skin and fat away.

—-

Only two left, but the last two Gray Priests had already fled when Mo Fan was busy killing the first two. Mo Fan suddenly looked lost when he set his eyes on the fork in the road ahead.

His destination was the Slanted Hall. Based on Mu Ningxue’s findings and Lingling’s speculation, the queen was most likely in the Slanted Hall. However, he could not tell how far away it was.

“Swift Star Wolf!” Mo Fan swiped a lunar-colored trail through the air and Summoned the Swift Star Wolf to him.

Mo Fan immediately jumped onto the Swift Star Wolf’s back. The creature sniffed the air and quickly picked up the scorched scent of the two Gray Priests that had managed to flee.

The Swift Star Wolf dashed through the dark tunnel at a shocking pace.

In less than five minutes, Mo Fan could already see one of the Gray Priests. It was a woman, her face covered by a piece of cloth. Mo Fan was unable to see it clearly.

The woman kept on running. She was terrified when she saw a wolf lunging at her as she turned around. She immediately fell to the ground.

“Senior of the Enforcement Union, please…please spare my life, I didn’t do anything, I was forced to join them!” The Gray Priestess assumed Mo Fan to be one of the Enforcement Union, and immediately begged for her life. She sounded pitiful, like she was in agony.

“So you’re telling me you’re actually a kind-hearted person?” Mo Fan grinned as he inspected the priestess with a fairly good-looking face.

“Yes, yes…”

Mo Fan stared at her and quickly noticed that she was trying to cast a spell secretly.

If a disciple was telling Mo Fan that, he would hesitate to make the decision. After all, there were cases where people were forced to join the Black Vatican, and were hoping to leave it. However, someone who was already promoted to a Gray Priest had most likely done quite a number of evil deeds. How could Mo Fan possibly believe her?

Mo Fan shook his head helplessly when he saw that the woman was still trying to fight back, “Swift Star Wolf, this woman’s flesh looks tender. She’s yours.”

Before Mo Fan could finish, the Swift Star Wolf pounced onto the priestess. His claws pressed down on her heavily.

The female priest felt dizzy after knocking her head on the floor. She soon felt a great pain from her neck. As everything was going black, she realized her neck had been bitten off by the violent wolf!

The Swift Star Wolf took a few bites and realized that the woman was not as delicious as he initially thought. He spat the disgusting meat out and threw the corpse aside.

“One left, can you pick up his scent?” Mo Fan asked.

The Swift Star Wolf nodded.

—-

The Prayer Hall had been built by the Black Vatican for their members to pray. Apparently, the God of Death could hear their ambitions and wishes in the hall. It helped the members of the Black Vatican boost their faith. Almost every member was told to cleanse their soul and spirit in the Prayer Hall.

“I, Zhou Xian, will definitely make the people of the Zhou Clan pay!” In the Prayer Hall, a tall, skinny, seemingly-sick man with pale skin groaned fiercely. “Senior Salan, please help me fulfill my dream. I’m willing to follow you in this filthy world until my death!”

The man dropped to his knees sincerely. Suddenly, a priest in a gray outfit barged into the hall in a panic.

Zhou Xian turned around and glanced at the disrespectful Gray Priest coldly.

“Do you know who I am talking to? Out!” Zhou Xian’s cold voice was filled with a hint of murderous intent.

Gray Priest Li Kai blurted out, “There’s…there’s an intruder! Senior, the intruder has killed many of our brothers!”

“Are you all a bunch of idiots? How did he manage to find this place?!” cursed Zhou Xian.

“The guy is a very strong Hunter! Should we tell Senior Fang?” asked Li Kai.

“Are you implying that I can’t even deal with a little Hunter when we are slaughtering the whole Golden Battle Hunters like cows and goats? It’s just a Hunter who has gone mad, there’s no need to alert the senior!” Zhou Xian’s pale face had a hint of pride.

“Yes, yes, he should be right behind me, I will face him together with senior…” said Li Kai.

“I don’t need your help, get out of my sight. You will come back later to clean up his corpse. I won’t let him die an easy death,” said Zhou Xian.

Zhou Xian was one of the strongest members of their branch. Li Kai had been running aimlessly to get away from Mo Fan. He just happened to stumble into Zhou Xian.

Even though Zhou Xian was only a probationary Blue Deacon, he was certainly strong enough to be one. The young Hunter was only smug when facing Gray Priests like him. However, against a Blue Deacon like Zhou Xian, he would surely be tortured to death!

Li Kai immediately stepped aside and fixed his eyes on the entrance.

He could hear footsteps approaching. To his surprise, the first thing that came into his vision was a blue wolf with blood covering its mouth, and on its back was none other than the Hunter that had killed his comrades without blinking!

“That’s…that’s him, Senior Zhou Xian!” yelled Li Kai, pointing at Mo Fan.

“It’s just a Summoner!” spat Zhou Xian disdainfully.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhou Xian was a strange person. He totally ignored Mo Fan, who looked to be in his twenties and slowly turned around to salute the sacred statue at the front of the Prayer Hall.

The statue was a deep red. Even though it was a rock sculpture, a long red robe was covering its entire figure, making it hard for anyone to see its face or learn its gender.

“I will get rid of this intruder fairly quickly, just three minutes.. oh, in just one minute, please continue to listen to my prayer,” Zhou Xian said to the statue respectfully.

After finishing the strange action, he finally turned around. His humble, cautious appearance immediately vanished, as if he had transformed from a court eunuch to a noble emperor. His expressionless eyes were looking down on Mo Fan disdainfully.

“I won’t let you die a quick death, as you’ve disturbed my most important time!” proclaimed Zhou Xian.

Mo Fan only had the urge to say to Zhou Xian… What a f**king retard!

The Black Vatican really consisted of a bunch of maniacs who could not think logically. They were worse than a herd of pigs, yet they still wanted to act noble and sacred while treating the world as filth.

Mo Fan found this particular mentally-retarded person rather annoying. He summoned a flame on his hand and tossed it forward indifferently.

Zhou Xian was prepared to dodge the flame, yet he realized the arc of the flame was too high to hit him. It was over two meters tall higher than his head when it flew past him.

Zhou Xian burst into laughter. How did such a useless Magician manage to come so far?

However, Zhou Xian immediately realized that something was not right. He quickly turned around and discovered the flame had landed directly on the sacred red statue!

BANG!

The flame exploded, blasting the unique statue of Salan to pieces!

The pieces clattered down before Zhou Xian’s feet. His disdainful expression immediately changed as his face contorted madly.

“HAHAHA, that felt nice… better than the targets used for practice at school!” Mo Fan deftly summoned another flame.

“You! I’m going to kill you!” Zhou Xian went insane. He summoned a gust of wind and sent it in Mo Fan’s direction.

The wind was orange, and slashing forward like incredibly thin knives. The wind gradually turned into a tornado, cutting the tables and chairs in the Prayer Hall into dust. Even the bricks on the walls shared the same fate.

Mo Fan was perfectly calm. His eyes emitted a silver glow as he directed a telekinetic force to clash with the orange tornado.

The tornado looked fierce, yet it was incredibly fragile. Mo Fan’s power was able to shatter it easily. What was left of it was only strong enough to flutter Mo Fan’s clothes slightly.

“Die!” Zhou Xian totally lost control of himself. He immediately summoned a Deathstrike Magic Equipment.

The Deathstrike Magic Equipment was of the Light Element. It was golden, with the shape of a pair of scissors. The golden scissors cut at Mo Fan’s neck under Zhou Xian’s control.

Mo Fan leaned back to dodge the attack. He was about to cast Fleeing Shadow to change his position when he realized that the Light Element equipment was driving the shadows nearby away, preventing him from using the Shadow Element.

However, it did not really make any difference!

“Little Flame Belle, Fiery Feathers!”

Mo Fan was currently madder than anyone. His first wife was poisoned, so he was not in the mood to hide his strength.

Little Flame Belle was well-prepared. She immediately unleashed her overwhelming power, turning the Calamity Fire into a bunch of burning feathers.

As the feathers appeared on Mo Fan’s back, the fire lit up the Prayer Hall in blazing red flames. The long wings barely touched the walls on both sides as they were fully extended.

“Explode!” Mo Fan yelled. The feathers immediately exploded and propelled him forward at a remarkable pace, leaving a spectacular fiery trail behind him.

Mo Fan was driven forward like a rocket. He used all his might to throw a Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons into Zhou Xian’s face.

The Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons was almost as powerful as an Advanced Spell, not to mention that its strength was multiplied by the momentum from the feathered explosion!

Mo Fan’s little fireball had only destroyed the statue. However, his fist completely razed the Prayer Hall to the ground. Fiery dragons danced wildly in the surroundings. Even the ceiling started to collapse as the surface around fifty meters above it sank down from the enormous impact.

Li Kai hid in a corner. He froze in terror when he saw the Prayer Hall flash-fired to the ground.

This young Hunter was able to execute a move as powerful as an Advanced Spell almost instantly!

Zhou Xian had already brought out his armor when he realized that something did not seem right. He had only received the armor after he was promoted to a probationary Blue Deacon, yet Mo Fan had already shattered it into pieces after using it for the first time!

Zhou Xian staggered back to his feet at the end of a burning trail. His hair had all been burned away. His white skin was covered in festering scorch marks and burns.

The confidence and disdain in his eyes were replaced with disbelief.

It was already shocking that this young man was able to achieve the peak Intermediate Level at his age. Based on what he knew, even the members of the national team were only in between the Intermediate and Advanced Levels…

-Where did this monster come from?!-

“Have a taste of my lightning too!” Mo Fan’s attack did not end there. The fiery feathers were still visible on his back. However, he was not planning to use them again. He sprinted forward after withdrawing the feathers.

Purple-black lightning started flickering around Mo Fan, increasing in intensity as he ran.

Mo Fan suddenly vanished into thin air as he was running. A thick, lightning bolt had replaced him, its speed was several times his own!

Using his own body to conduct lightning!

Mo Fan had already mastered the move. Even though it was not as fast as the Rocket Wings, the damage he could inflict on the target he rammed into in the form of lightning was somewhat comparable!

Zhou Xian was stunned. He had never seen such a fighting ../style before!

He had only achieved the Advanced Level quite recently, and was unable to manipulate the form of his spells yet. He desperately tried to dodge when he saw the lightning bolt charging at him!

The lightning reached out and discharged loudly as it contacted Zhou Xian’s body. The lightning arcs intertwined with one another and formed an enormous lightning web.

It did not matter where Zhou Xian was trying to run to. He was scorched by the lightning on top of being severely burned by fire before. The smell of burned meat lingered in the air.

“Senior…Senior Zhou Xian,” Li Kai hid behind the debris, watching Zhou Xian falling to the ground after receiving the brutal attack.

He had placed all his hope on the probationary Blue Deacon, yet the Hunter had already defeated him before he could cast a single Advanced Spell!

“So even a Blue Deacon can be weak as hell… You, the one in the gray outfit, you should just end your own life. I can’t promise you an easy way out if I have to do it myself,” Mo Fan told the Gray Priest arrogantly, walking out from the lightning.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Li Kai’s face started twitching when he heard the words!

-This guy is totally humiliating us on purpose!-

“As long as our god is around, we will continue to live even if we die, my god…” Li Kai took out a red poisonous pill, speaking as if he was being martyred.

“Shut the hell up!” Mo Fan slapped the Gray Priest out of his mad belief with the back of his hand.

The space nearby rippled briefly. Li Kai could not even finish his sentence when Mo Fan used the Space Element to give him a great slap. It promptly dislocated his lower jaw.

Mo Fan was incredibly annoyed. He was kind-hearted enough to let the man die an easy death, yet even when the man was about to die after eating a poisonous pill just like the fanatics of a cult did on TV, he still had to utter some chants to his god without caring that it would annoy the hell out of Mo Fan!

“Here, I’ll adjust that for you!” Mo Fan gave the priest another slap to the face.

There was another ripple, and a stronger force struck the Gray Priest on his lower jaw, further dislocating it in the opposite direction!

“Oh, that was a bit too heavy, let me try again, I promise you it’s going to be fine after this,” apologized Mo Fan with mock sincerity.

Li Kai felt like he was about to go crazy. The slap had knocked the pill out of his mouth!

“It should be fine now, it looks right…huh, why did your jaw drop, here, let me fix that for you!”

—-

Fang Shaoli sat down on a cold wooden chair. A priest in a gray outfit was kneeling before her feet, reporting what he had witnessed to her.

“I didn’t dare to get any closer, but that young Hunter was indeed torturing our priests…” said Gray Priest Qin Ji.

“You didn’t dare to get closer?” Fang Shaoli smiled, but her smile had no warmth at all!

The Gray Priest immediately dug his head lower. His nose was almost touching the floor.

Fang Shaoli raised her heel and stabbed the back of the Gray Priest’s head fiercely. The heel was as sharp as a dagger. It immediately sank into the man’s skull…

The Gray Priest let out a horrible cry, but he did not dare to move still. Fresh blood was pouring out of the back of his head. Even as death was approaching, Qin Ji did not dare to resist.

The people of the Black Vatican clearly knew that death was not scary. What was worse was their soul suffering endlessly after their death.

Fang Shaoli raised her leg and said coldly, “Get out of my sight if you’re still alive. Gather all the Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts to the Slanted Hall!”

The heel was stuck to Qin Ji’s head. He had actually survived the blow. It was quite hard to believe how he managed to stay alive after the heel left a hole in the back of his head.

Qin Ji remained bending forward as he left the room. He immediately passed on Fang Shaoli’s order before treating the shocking wound on his head…

Fang Shaoli glanced at the entrance of the Slanted Hall and snapped furiously. “Treating my people like cattle? Only I have the right to do so!”

“Why are you being mad over a little Hunter? Isn’t everything still under your control?” A rather flirtatious-looking man snuggled up to Fang Shaoli like a little pet.

The others immediately turned around when they saw the man.

Everyone knew that the man was Fang Shaoli’s favorite. Not only did he have a pretty face, he liked to wear purple clothes too, and his skin was smoother than a woman’s.

Fang Shaoli gradually calmed down when she saw the man. She fondled his face and began to have some pleasure with him, as if she had completely forgotten about the intruder that had destroyed the Prayer Hall!

It was unnecessary to waste her time on a mere intruder, as everyone would soon turn into poisonous monsters under her control. She would not even have to worry about the Enforcement Union, let alone a single Hunter!

However, she still needed a bit more time until the queen was ready to scream and awaken the poisonous worms hiding in everyone’s bodies, turning them into part of her massive army.

“What are you planning to do next?” asked the pretty man.

“Senior Salan was worried that the world has forgotten her, so I was thinking of holding a grand ceremony here on Chongming Island after the awakening of my army,” Fang Shaoli grinned madly as she talked about it.

Lots of people on Chongming Islandwere carrying the symbiotes. Even though it would take the queen some time to awaken all her people, she would not mind carrying out the experiment in advance after their base had been compromised!

—-

A surging flame filled up a narrow path. The Dark Beast Monsters were planning to intercept their enemy here. However, they immediately fled for their lives in fear when they saw the fierce flames lunging at them.

The fire swept over them in an instant, raising endless cries of agony.

As the fire weakened, a human figure walked out of it with a sharp gaze, staring ahead.

There was a bridge in front of him. It was pretty rare to see a bridge underground.

The bridge was leading to a huge, spacious hall made of blue rocks. The hall was most likely the Slanted Hall that everyone had mentioned, considering how heavily guarded it was.

Under the bridge was a bottomless abyss over twenty meters wide.

There were lots of monsters on the bridge. The whole thing was crawling with Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts. Not only were they stacking up on the bridge, they were crawling under it too. It felt like the whole thing was made of these ugly monsters.

Meanwhile, the disciples and Gray Priests were standing on the other end of the bridge. They had obviously learned about Mo Fan’s strength, and had gathered here to form an inescapable net just for him!

Mo Fan did a rough headcount. The members of the Black Vatican here were at least worth eighty million. It turned out that their numbers were a lot higher than he first imagined!

Mo Fan was a bit curious too. Why weren’t the Black Vatican running away? It was obvious that the people of the Enforcement Union would soon surround the place. Even with the mutated monsters that Lingling mentioned, it would only hold the Enforcement Union back briefly. It did not make sense for them to receive him with such a grand formation.

“Lingling, they don’t look like they are planning to escape,” Mo Fan told Lingling through his communication device.

“The poison strikes in phases. I believe the queen is similar to the Mother Scale Skin Phantom, it needs some time to accumulate its energy. I’m guessing that they are waiting for the queen to mature. You already saw how quickly the Mother Scale Skin Phantom evolved, so you better kill the queen as soon as possible. Otherwise, the effect is going to spread like a plague…” warned Lingling.

“I understand, but I can’t tell how long it will take for me to force my way in, considering their numbers,” Mo Fan frowned, staring at the small army on the bridge.

“Your backup is almost there.”

“My backup? The Enforcement Union?”

“No, the Enforcement Union is being held off by the mutated monsters… her speed is shockingly fast!” said Lingling.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lots of Dark Beast Monsters bounded forth with great four-limbed leaps, pouncing at Mo Fan directly. Their bodies, stacked on top of one another, resembled a black tide, and producing a wave of foul odor as they were sprinting.

Mo Fan backed off slightly to create more room for the fight. In the meantime, a man with a square face on the other end of the bridge mocked, “Do you really think you’re some kind of superhero, coming here all alone?”

Mo Fan lifted his gaze. His gaze swept past the approaching Dark Beast Monsters and saw the man that was talking, a fellow in a huge gray robe. Mo Fan recognized him: it was the butler that received them on the first day!

So this guy was one of the Black Vatican. It was likely that he was the one giving Carly orders to trick the Golden Battle Hunters!

“I can handle these Dark Beast Monsters with a single punch!” declared Mo Fan.

Mo Fan took a huge step forward, tossing the burning lava on his fist into the air, and it transformed into fiery dragons, rolling at the Dark Beast Monsters like a tide of burning beasts.

The Dark Beast Monsters scattered in all directions, trying to dodge the flames. Unfortunately for them, the area covered by the Fiery Fist was simply too large. They simply weren’t fast enough to run away from the flames in time.

The flames surged forward and scorched the ground. A huge bunch of the Dark Beast Monsters turned into corpses instantly. Some even turned into ashes, scattering in the air, while others were burned into black charcoal. A few of them chose to dive into the abyss under the bridge…

The area was covered in burning flames. Mo Fan prepared his stance and waved at the butler.

“I will kill every single one of them, no matter how many of these creatures you have!” boasted Mo Fan imperiously.

“I don’t really care about these little creatures,” the butler replied calmly.

As he waved his hand, a large number of Dark Beast Monsters started charging at Mo Fan again. The low-level creatures were nothing but cannon fodder to him!

Before the new batch of Dark Beast Monsters had even arrived before Mo Fan, the butler waved his hand again, summoning more than a hundred Dark Beast Monsters again. They kept coming like there was no end.

“Swift Star Wolf, tear them into pieces!”

Mo Fan was too lazy to do it himself. He gave the Swift Star Wolf the order.

The Swift Star Wolf was incredibly annoyed by the foul stench of the creatures, and disgusted by the thought of sinking his white fangs into them.

The Swift Star Wolf charged deep into the surrounding Dark Beast Monsters. However, he was not intimidated in the slightest. It looked as if he was going to fight all the Dark Beast Monsters at once.

The Swift Star Wolf was a lot fiercer in fights than he was in the past. Even though his strength was weaker than Little Flame Belle, he was still a great Warrior-level creature. He could kill one of these Servant-class creatures with every bite, and tear two of them into pieces with every swipe of his claws.

The butler frowned when he saw that Mo Fan had his own underlings, too. He was about to summon some stronger creatures.

“Stop acting smug while hiding at the back, I have no time to waste on you!” shouted Mo Fan coldly.

Fiery feathers appeared on Mo Fan’s back and quickly formed two fiery wings over two meters long. As the wings beat softly, visible red dots fell off the burning feathers and scattered into the surroundings.

“Little Flame Belle, let’s go!”

The minds of Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle were in sync. The feathers exploded and propelled Mo Fan like a missile, right across the bridge that was crawling with Dark Beast Monsters!

His path was set aflame. Many Dark Beast Monsters were knocked flying by the overwhelming force and fell into the abyss under the bridge.

The stronger Cursed Beasts reached out their claws, trying to stop Mo Fan, yet they were immediately left behind as they could not catch up to him!

“Stop…stop him!” screamed the butler as he started to panic a little.

Mo Fan rocketed directly to the other end of the bridge. There were at least twenty Cursed Beasts and a hundred Dark Beast Monsters in front of him, and a large number of creatures were flanking him from behind now.

“Thousand Piercing Fire Feathers!” Mo Fan shuddered, and fired off the burning feathers on his back.

The feathers shot in all directions and exploded as soon as they landed on the Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts.

The explosion of a single feather was weaker than a Fire Burst, but as the feathers overlapped, the explosion resulted in an erupting circle of flames with Mo Fan as the center. The explosions rippled out savagely, and many Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts that only lost a part of their bodies from the initial explosion were blasted into ashes as more feathers followed up!

Fierce flames blasted out and burned countless Dark Beast Monsters into ashes. It was so bright that the butler had trouble keeping his eyes open. When his vision finally recovered, he was shocked to see the majority of the Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts were dead!

Wasn’t this guy’s Fire Element a bit too terrifying? He had never seen any magic like that!

“What are you waiting for? Kill him, attack with your magic!” The butler was infuriated. He cursed at the Gray Priests nearby.

The Gray Priests started channeling spells from different Elements. Most of them were Intermediate Level.

All the spells combined together. It was impossible to distinguish them.

The spells were fired off continuously. The six Gray Priests were fairly strong, being at the Intermediate Level. They were extremely quick at drawing Star Patterns, and were able to utilize both of their Elements skillfully. Mo Fan suddenly had to handle more than ten Intermediate Spells from all directions…

The explosion sent a cloud of dust flying as the remaining energy of the wind, ice, and fire slowly dissipated. The six Gray Priests paused momentarily to take a closer look, yet they could not find Mo Fan anywhere…

“Where did he go?” asked someone.

“I don’t know!”

“There!”

They quickly worked together and cast more spells in unison.

Mo Fan had to admit that when several Magicians were standing in a row and kept casting Intermediate Spells, it felt like several cannons were firing non-stop at him. He had to use the Fleeing Shadow to hide temporarily and wait for a better time to strike.

“Telekinesis!”

Mo Fan retreated closer to the bridge and saw a giant rock on the destroyed bridge. He used the Space Element energy to control the rock.

The rock shuddered slightly, before a mysterious silvery force encapsulated it and lifted it into the air.

“Go!” The giant rock flew in the Gray Priest’s direction.

Two of the Gray Priests reacted fairly quickly. They dodged aside as soon as they saw the giant rock flying at them.

“Again!” Mo Fan used Telekinesis again to control the rocks of various sizes on the bridge. They began to rise into the air.

The rocks slammed down onto the group of Magicians non-stop. This time, they had no choice but to shield their heads and flee ignominiously…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The area in front of the Slanted Hall was in tatters after being hit by the rocks and boulders. The butler was an Earth Magician, and immediately cast a Rock Barrier to resist the rain of stones.

As the other Gray Priests hurriedly hid behind the Rock Barrier, a grin appeared on Mo Fan’s face.

“Flame sword!” Lifting his hands up high, flames poured out of his hands fiercely and swiftly turned into a ten-meter-long flame sword!

The flame sword was formed from the combination of brown and blazing red flames. Once it finally took shape, Mo Fan leapt into the air holding the sword and slashed at the Rock Barrier.

The people of the Black Vatican thought the Rock Barrier was able to protect them, yet in Mo Fan’s eyes, it was nothing but their grave. He could simply crush them all with a single slash!

The scorching sword slashed down from a great height, slicing through the thick layer of stone. Two of the Gray Priests hiding behind the Rock Barrier were caught by the fiery edge and turned into ashes as the force of the slash delivered the flames through the gap.

“What kind of a monster is he!?” screamed the butler, and fled in fear of his life.

His enemy’s magic was totally unpredictable, be it the Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers or the flame sword. Both of them were comparable to an Advanced Spell! He had no idea how his enemy was able to control his magic so remarkably. Only Super Magicians were able to control their magic so perfectly!

“Senior, it looks like there’s a layer of elemental energy around him. I’m guessing that he must have some kind of Fire Element creature providing him with a different set of skills,” noticed Qin Ji.

The butler’s expression sank.

What difference did it make? Even if they knew the man’s Fire Element was incredibly powerful because he had a rare Elemental Creature, it still did not change the fact that they were being utterly crushed!

“Stop him, or the Blue Deacon is going to make us suffer!” swore the butler, clenching his teeth.

Frost slowly appeared by the butler’s feet. He reached out his hand and summoned two ice chains.

The butler felt his strength multiplying as soon as he manifested the ice chains. He was planning to attack Mo Fan from behind while the intruder was busy handling the Cursed Beasts, and immobilize him!

Mo Fan felt his back turning cold. He activated his Blood Tabi without hesitation.

The power in his legs increased significantly. Mo Fan rapidly dashed forward, dodging the ice chains, before sending the Cursed Beast that was trying to claw him flying with a kick.

“Piss off! Telekinesis: Scatter!”

A silver glow flickered around Mo Fan, and a repulsing force suddenly appeared, knocking the Cursed Beasts that were pouncing at Mo Fan flying, each vomiting fresh blood into the air!

The strength of the Space Element Basic Spell was dependent on the Magician’s spiritual force and control. In other words, a Magician’s Space Element would become stronger if the number of Nebulas or Galaxies in their Spiritual World increased. Since Mo Fan was now an Advanced Magician with Double Innate Elements, the strength of his Space Element Spells were basically doubled! The spell Telekinesis: Scatter was able to knock a bunch of Servant-class creatures flying with ease!

This highlighted the imperious nature of the Space Element. Even with a Basic Spell, as long as the Magician’s cultivation was powerful enough, it would be enough to drive ten thousand enemies away!

Mo Fan was still unfamiliar with using Telekinesis. If it was Ai Jiangtu using it, he would only need to cast the spell once to eliminate all the creatures!

“Damn it, how many Elements does this kid have?!” The butler was enraged.

“Fire, Summoning, Space, Shadow, and Lightning… he…he has…”

“Did I ask you to count, take him down now!” snapped the butler furiously.

Normally, a Magician disciple of the Black Vatican was slightly stronger than ordinary Magicians, mainly because of the Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts under their control. The assistance of the creatures was similar to having the Summoning Element, yet when their enemy was so strong that the number of Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts could barely buy them some time, the creatures no longer made much difference.

That being said, time was all they needed, as the manor would soon be crawling with a mutated army that was even stronger than the Dark Beast Monsters!

“Quick, summon everything you can!” Qin Ji was pointing his hands around like the butler.

“Senior, we’ve run out of Dark Beast Monsters,” a Gray Priest spoke up.

“Nonsense, don’t we have lots of them still?” The butler pointed at the bridge, and paused. He noticed a strange, scarlet-red wind massacring the Dark Beast Monsters on the bridge as he set his eyes on it.

The people of the Black Vatican initially thought the Swift Star Wolf was responsible for it, yet they realized the Swift Star Wolf had only killed around fifty Dark Beast Monsters at the other end of the bridge…

However, as the scarlet-red wind swept forward, even the Cursed Beasts were shredded into bloody mist in seconds. The butler had a blank face, as he could not understand what was going on.

When the scarlet-red wind finally arrived at the end of the bridge, he saw a slender woman in a red coat inside. Her hands were clenched into claws sharp enough to slice through steel. On top of that, she was incredibly fast when she attacked with the claws, so fast that it looked as if she was spinning like a tornado…

The woman was clearing a path in Mo Fan’s direction. The Dark Beast Monsters were like little bugs that she could easily pinch to death, leaving corpses stacked on top of one another behind her!

—-

Mo Fan was kept busy by several Cursed Beasts attacking him simultaneously. They did not give him any chance to cast a spell. Mo Fan was forced to defend temporarily by setting up an electrical field to prevent the creatures from getting any closer. He was using Telekinesis to nullify the approaching attacks while waiting to strike with his flames!

However, he soon noticed a powerful presence getting closer.

The aura felt familiar yet strange at the same time. That being said, Mo Fan did not feel any hint of hostility, but a faint connection to it instead…

He turned around and saw the silhouette of a woman weaving through three Cursed Beasts. As she flung out her sleeves, a red mist encapsulated her.

Mo Fan saw an agile yet enormous red bat flying past the filthy Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts nimbly, and it landed beside him.

Before it touched the ground, Mo Fan saw the same mist appearing out of nowhere, out of which a pair of long, elegant legs extended, followed by a seemingly living red coat and a glamorous woman.

The pieces of clothing were moving rapidly, yet for an instant, Mo Fan thought he saw something spectacular. The woman was slender, yet busty and sexy in her own way!

“Mo Fan!” The woman with an alluring aura gave him a pure, innocent smile!

“Liu…Liu Ru!” Mo Fan was shocked.

It had been a long time since they last met. He almost failed to recognize her, as she looked like a completely different person!

Mo Fan looked behind Liu Ru and saw the corpses of Dark Beast Monsters covering the path. He could not believe that it was all her doing!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan still remembered his first impression of Liu Ru. It was in a little coffee shop in an alleyway in Shanghai. Despite the nightmare she was going through, her rather sallow face still had a friendly smile, highlighting the strong will behind her delicate appearance.

However, Liu Ru’s temperament had changed thoroughly. She was no longer a young, innocent girl. The long red coat set off her slender figure, granting her an alluring charm, while the vague dark aura surrounding her made her slightly mysterious.

However, the smile on Liu Ru’s face was always naive when she saw Mo Fan. It was like a girl next door, who would always act shyly in front of the elder brother next door no matter how experienced she was in society.

Mo Fan simply could not find any word to describe it. He stared at Liu Ru, exclaiming, “You really… changed a lot!”

“You think so?” Liu Ru was incredibly happy. She seemed to be excited to show him something.

At the same time, she casually waved her hand to the side. Her blood claws swept past like five sharp swords, and beheaded five of the Dark Beast Monsters that were trying to ambush her.

Mo Fan’s lips twisted. He could not find any word to describe the contradictory scene. It was like a helpless young woman was screaming out “Yameteh!” while sending a monster flying with a roundhouse kick.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan, hurry up and eliminate the queen! It looks like it’s about to evolve to the next stage. When that happens, the effect is going to spread outside of the ranches!” Lingling’s voice burst out from the communication device.

Mo Fan did not have time to catch up with Liu Ru. Judging from her outstanding performance, she must have evolved into a stronger Blood Tribe member!

She arrived with perfect timing, too! He would have had trouble clearing a path to the Slanted Hall on his own.

“I’m going to approach them directly. You have to find the queen of the poisonous worms. Otherwise, we are all in great trouble!” Mo Fan told Liu Ru.

Liu Ru also knew they were in an emergency situation, thus she did not waste any time further. Knowing that most of the Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts were dead, she immediately flung her coat and disappeared into a red mist.

Liu Ru beat her furred wings and flew in the direction of the Slanted Hall under Lingling’s direction, searching for the queen.

The remaining members of the Black Vatican could no longer hold their ground. They started fleeing toward the Slanted Hall. Mo Fan strode forward and blasted the heavy entrance of the Slanted Hall to pieces.

—

The Slanted Hall was an underground palace. As soon as Mo Fan barged in, he immediately saw a tawny-haired woman in heels sitting in the center. Her heels were stained with blood. She looked quite ordinary, yet she was covered in an eerie, seductive aura!

She was cold-blooded, proud, and wearing revealing clothes.

Her left hand was on her leg. Her right hand was being licked by a feminine man. She was not bothered by the countless deaths outside of the Slanted Hall. However, a charming smile appeared on her face when she saw Mo Fan barging in…

“I know who you are,” Fang Shaoli stared at Mo Fan with squinting eyes.

“Oh?” Mo Fan glimpsed the disciples and Gray Priests and saw them withdrawing to Fang Shaoli’s side, including the remaining Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts.

“You’re Mo Fan from Bo City, someone that keeps causing trouble to our organization!” Fang Shaoli’s eyes flickered sharply.

“Everyone likes to call me the Black Vatican’s Terminator,” replied Mo Fan.

“You’ve overestimated yourself. If we really wanted to get rid of you, you wouldn’t live for more than a few days. You’re still alive because no one thought a little shrimp like you would cause us so much trouble,” sniffed Fang Shaoli.

“I remembered that the person who insulted me the same way was a guy called Mu He. Isn’t he a leader of the Blue Deacons? He died a pretty horrible death. Apparently, it was Salan that killed him out of frustration. A little Blue Deacon like you isn’t even an authority in the Black Vatican, right?” mocked Mo Fan in return.

Mo Fan was a fan of quarreling. Besides, it helped earn Liu Ru more time!

Fang Shaoli did not seem bothered. She pushed the feminine man away, slowly took off her earring and chucked it at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had no clue what the woman was up to. He had no intention to pick up the earring that fell beside his feet.

“It’s a communication device. Aren’t you curious who’s on the other side?” said Fang Shaoli in a challenging manner.

Mo Fan picked up the earring and did indeed hear a voice coming out of it. Mo Fan placed it close to his ear and immediately heard a calm, relaxed breathing.

—-

Across the sea, in a luxurious mansion standing opposite a waterfall, a person in a long red robe was standing on a balcony that extended out from the structure. Her golden hair was wet from the water vapor from the waterfall…

Her robe was long enough to be dragged half a meter across the floor, yet it was drifting wildly in the breeze from the waterfall!

She was silent for a moment, before she finally said, “Who do you think I am?”

—-

Back in the Slanted Hall, Mo Fan’s face darkened when he heard the voice.

For some reason, perhaps instinct, Mo Fan was confident that the person talking to him was none other than the God of Death that had shocked the entire world: Salan!

It must be her!

“You’re Ling Xi, and you’re Salan too. Such a pity, if we actually stuck to the plan, you wouldn’t even be alive now!” answered Mo Fan.

Han Ji and the mysterious man were right. It was their only chance, so close to catching Salan, and the only chance to kill her. However, Mu He’s intervention allowed her to escape!

“I will die, but Salan won’t. Salan is just a name, a symbol of death. Anyone that spreads evil like a plague can be called Salan. However, among the people that inherited the name, I turned out to be the most brilliant,” replied Salan.

“I didn’t study much, so I don’t understand what you’re saying. If there isn’t anything else, I’m going to hang up the call. I still have to slaughter your subordinate that is pretending to be alluring even though her face is only average,” answered Mo Fan.

“Are you scared of me?”

“Not really, it’s just that I’m not used to chatting like this. Why don’t we decide a time and a place, and we can sit down and chat slowly?” Mo Fan asked blandly.

“Sure, but the place you choose is most likely going to have lots of people of the Enforcement Union waiting for me, so you should let me choose instead…” mused Salan.

“Forget it, you’re too insincere!” replied Mo Fan.

“It’s fine, you will see me eventually, hopefully you will still recognize me. Fang Shaoli is my student. The Sudden-Death Poison Queen is a nice toy that I’ve prepared for her. Both the creature and she will receive you warmly tonight. Of course, It would be better if you can come out of there in one piece, so I can repay you the favor of all the troubles you’ve caused me, one by one!

“You have to live longer. Otherwise, I can only ask the people around you to pay your debt…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

The sounds stopped coming from the other end. It seemed like Salan had her eyes on him now.

However, it was not anything to be scared of. They had basically wiped out the Black Vatican’s influence in their country. Salan was still on the run, so it would take at least a few years to plan anything big.

He was about to clean up the last group of disciples of the Black Vatican in his country. He would like to see how Salan was going to stir up any more trouble in the future.

“Mo Fan, I didn’t find the queen, but I smell something strange in the woman’s blood,” Liu Ru whispered, floating while staying invisible next to Mo Fan.

“Something strange?” asked Mo Fan.

After evolving into a higher-class Blood Tribe, Liu Ru was able to listen to the heartbeats and blood flows of living creatures. She could sense that Fang Shaoli’s heartbeat and blood flow were irregular.

Fang Shaoli rose to her feet. She slowly took off her jacket, displaying her tanned skin.

Mo Fan was left speechless. Was this woman seriously trying to seduce him? She didn’t need to do it in front of so many people!

“Careful,” Liu Ru frowned and whispered to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan glanced ahead and saw Fang Shaoli’s blood veins were surfacing on her skin, each of them colored blue…

More blue veins appeared, exposed everywhere upon her body. Her skin was being covered by layers of some strange black substance. It had the color of charcoal, yet a metallic gloss too!

Mutation! This Fang Shaoli was mutating!

“Mo Fan, the queen is inside her body. She is using her own body to host the queen!” hissed Liu Ru.

Mo Fan was dumbfounded. He did not expect the woman to be this crazy, actually hosting the queen with her own body!

Fang Shaoli was laughing wildly. Her voice turned from sharp to coarse, and eventually turned into the roar of a beast. Her muscles grew rapidly, like black granite. Her size tripled as she turned into a looming black giantess over six meters tall!

The woman’s face was distorted beyond recognition. Her tawny hair was the only thing left to prove that the creature was once Fang Shaoli. Its hateful eyes, poking out of the sockets, looked rather intimidating.

The Sudden-Death Poison Queen grabbed the feminine man beside it and started crunching him hungrily, as if it was trying to replenish its energy.

The man did not expect that at all. He was tossed into the creature’s mouth and was eaten within almost instantly!

“Mo Fan, what’s the situation now?” Lingling asked through the communication device.

“The queen has taken over Fang Shaoli’s body and turned her into a monster. It just ate a man alive,” Mo Fan glanced at the mutated Fang Shaoli in disgust.

“She must be the creature that Guo Wenyi saw eating the horse. The Sudden-Death Poison Queen was still in its weaker form back then. I’m close to finding Mu Ningxue, to see if the antidote I mixed can cure the poison or not,” said Lingling.

“Alright, I should be fine here. Liu Ru is helping me,” said Mo Fan.

After ending the call, Mo Fan realized that the Sudden-Death Poison Queen had eaten four other people, devouring them alive in a cruel manner.

The members of the Black Vatican were trembling in fear, yet none of them dared to run away. No one would feel good if they were eaten by their superior…

“We can’t let her continue, she is growing stronger,” Liu Ru took the initiative to attack when she realized that something was not right.

She sprang forward with a kick and traveled a hundred meters in an instant. She clenched her right hand into a claw and struck at lightning speed.

The blood claw sliced through the glossy skin of the Sudden-Death Poison Queen. However, it only produced an unpleasant screech, leaving a few scratches on the black skin.

“Such an outstanding defense!” Liu Ru was shocked.

Her claws were able to kill Warrior-level creatures instantly, yet it felt like she was helping the Sudden-Death Poison Queen scratch an itch.

The Sudden-Death Poison Queen opened a mouth that was full of poisonous lumps and burst into unpleasant laughter, looking down at Liu Ru disdainfully.

It suddenly lifted its arm and slammed it in Liu Ru’s direction like a heavy hammer!

The whole hall shook. The ground that Liu Ru was standing on was turned into dust. The creature’s strength was absolutely shocking.

Luckily, Liu Ru was pretty agile. She had already moved fifty meters away.

“Let’s attack together!” said Mo Fan.

“Mmm!”

The two approached their target from both sides. Mo Fan used his body to conduct electricity and establish an Electric Field across half of the Slanted Hall. The lightning flickered wildly as it spread around the place. The disciples of the Black Vatican were caught in the middle of it.

Liu Ru changed her attacking approach. She used her blood to form swords as thin as needles. She was trying to find the creature’s weak spots with her sharp eyes.

The lightning failed to penetrate the creature’s defense. Liu Ru also failed to find any vulnerable spots. The Sudden-Death Poison Queen suddenly unleashed a poisonous gust of wind and knocked Mo Fan and Liu Ru flying simultaneously.

As the poisonous wind swept past, Mo Fan suddenly had trouble breathing, as if his throat was stuck with phlegm.

Mo Fan was shocked. Was he going to die to the poison, too?

Luckily, the feeling was gone fairly quickly, allowing him to breathe normally.

It seemed like Lingling was right; the Sudden-Death Poison Queen’s poison had no effect on him because of his Demon Element!

Liu Ru too became a Blood Tribe because of his demon blood, so she was immune to the poison just like him. The poisonous air did not pose any threat, even though it had filled the entire hall.

Fang Shaoli lunged forward furiously when she realized that the poison she was proud of was not working at all. She was planning to swallow Mo Fan and eat him alive.

Mo Fan sank into his shadow, which rapidly split into two.

The Sudden-Death Poison Queen was surprisingly sharp. She was able to identify the real shadow and immediately chased after it.

Mo Fan was taken by surprise, and quickly went high up along a pole. However, the Sudden-Death Poison Queen simply leapt into the air as countless poisonous spikes poked out of her palms. As she flung them at him, they were like a giant mouth biting at Mo Fan!

Mo Fan was given a great scare. He immediately summoned his Black Snake Armor.

The Black Snake Armor managed to protect Mo Fan, yet the poisonous spikes were stuck in his arms, preventing him from moving.

“Lightning!’

Mo Fan immediately unleashed lightning over his body and directed the Lightning Strikes at the Sudden-Death Poison Queen. When the lightning finally came into effect, Mo Fan’s eyes flickered as he forcibly yanked out the poisonous spikes with the power of the Space Element!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As Mo Fan was falling, Liu Ru made it in time. She caught Mo Fan and leapt a few times to swiftly create some distance from the monster.

“Holy crap, those poisonous spikes are sharp!” Mo Fan lowered his head and saw lots of holes on his Black Snake Armor left by the poisonous spikes.

Even a Commander-level creature would have trouble penetrating his defense considering the level of the Black Snake Armor, yet a single bite had left so many holes on it. It showed how deadly the poisonous spikes were!

The Sudden-Death Poison Queen roared out in fury. The poisonous spikes growing on its arms were actually removable. Stalagmite-sized poisonous spikes were fired off as the creature flung its arms around.

Mo Fan hid behind a pillar while Liu Ru leapt nimbly into the air and hung upside down from the ceiling.

“Liu Ru, can you keep it busy for a while?” asked Mo Fan.

“Sure thing, but our attacks seem to have little effect on him,” said Liu Ru.

“Don’t worry, it’s going to work soon. I just need to destroy its thick poisonous skin first!” said Mo Fan.

Liu Ru trusted Mo Fan. She glided down from high above. Her slender figure turned into a v-shape with a sharp edge, slashing at the Sudden-Death Poison Queen’s chest.

The Sudden-Death Poison Queen’s chest looked relatively soft. From afar, it looked like a pair of dangling, bloated, black monstrous breasts. Liu Ru figured out that it was the only part that was not covered by the thick, poisonous armor. It might serve as a weak point.

To her surprise, the soft breasts exploded as she was about to land her attack, spitting sticky, poisonous liquid at her.

The poisonous liquid was extremely viscous. Anyone that was caught by it would instantly be covered in a sticky mess, making it difficult to break free.

Luckily, Liu Ru was able to react quickly. She halted her attack in mid-air and transformed into a red bat, quickly changing direction and dodging the poisonous liquid.

“How disgusting!” Liu Ru reclaimed her human form and realized her arm had been hit by the poisonous substance. However, she could not shake it off, like chewing gum that was stuck on the sole of a shoe.

New poisonous spikes had grown out of the Sudden-Death Poison Queen’s arms. As the creature clapped its arms at Liu Ru, it was like an enormous beast clawing at her.

Liu Ru continued to back off, but the Sudden-Death Poison Queen kept pursuing her, snapping the pillars along the way in half. The Slanted Hall started shaking dangerously.

“The Star Constellation Book is pretty slow, but it’s quite handy in emergencies…” Mo Fan was standing still. Seven Star Patterns had appeared around him.

The Star Patterns combined together into a three-dimensional shape, giving off an imperious aura. Lightning flickered wildly, emitting blinding flashes.

When Mo Fan fully unleashed the brilliance of the Star Constellation, all the lightning arcs combined into a single beam!

The beam sprang forward, traveling a few hundred meters in an instant!

The Lightning Beam had remarkable penetrative force. The Sudden-Death Poison Queen was aware of the restless lightning energy coming from Mo Fan’s direction and tried to dodge the attack, yet as soon as it turned around, the Lightning Beam pierced through its body with a sharp screech, not giving it any time to react.

The Lightning Beam punched right through the Sudden-Death Poison Queen and knocked it flying out of the Slanted Hall.

Poisonous black blood splattered across the place. Liu Ru stared at Mo Fan in shock.

“The power of the Advanced Lightning Spell is incredible indeed!” Mo Fan was excited.

It was Mo Fan’s first time using the Advanced Lightning Spell after his cultivation improved. The spell was quick and direct, like the Thunderbolt spell. It did not matter how thick the target’s armor was, the Lightning Beam simply went through it!

The Sudden-Death Poison Queen recovered and lowered its head. It was staring at the hole in its body in disbelief.

The blow was actually effective, as the Sudden-Death Poison Queen’s face slowly disappeared, revealing Fang Shaoli’s face underneath it.

She looked like she was frightened, as she did not expect her enemy to penetrate her mutated body so easily!

“Mist Strike!” Liu Ru immediately flew up and flung out her sleeves. Countless red bats flew out from her coat. They were as dense as a cloud of fog, and surrounded the Sudden-Death Poison Queen in an instant.

“Sky-Flame Funeral!”

The Lightning attack ended, but Mo Fan still had another Advanced Spell. Mo Fan unleashed the violent Fire Element while Liu Ru’s bats were keeping the Sudden-Death Poison Queen busy.

A fiery cloud appeared above the Sudden-Death Poison Queen. A rain of fire poured down rapidly and immediately set the whole place aflame. The whole area within a hundred meters of the Sudden-Death Poison Queen was caught inside.

The flames burned ferociously. Since the Sudden-Death Poison Queen was already injured, the flames drilled into its body and burned its organs. It had no chance of escaping the assault of the Sky-Flame Funeral no matter which direction it ran in.

The Sky-Flame Funeral lasted quite a long time. The Sudden-Death Poison Queen’s poison was almost completely burned away by the flames.

Liu Ru found the perfect time to strike. She formed a thin sword with her blood and thrust it into the back of the Sudden-Death Poison Queen’s head fiercely, almost cutting the Sudden-Death Poison Queen’s brain apart.

The monster that Fang Shaoli had turned into was quite tough. Despite the injuries it had suffered, it was still full of energy. It finally ran out of the ocean of flames that tortured it so, broke free from Liu Ru who was fighting it at close range, and headed straight for Mo Fan!

After all, Mo Fan was her target. Her teacher already told her to let him live.

When Mo Fan saw the monster going all out at him, he decided not to dodge it anymore.

“Little Flame Belle, fire!” yelled Mo Fan. Both the Rose Flame and Calamity Fire were ignited, engulfing him in flames instantly.

“Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons!” A fist with nine spurts of fire like fiery dragons rammed into the Sudden-Death Poison Queen.

The Sudden-Death Poison Queen was covered in a layer of poison. The flames were unable to get close to her body. She collided with Mo Fan’s fist and extinguished the nine fiery dragons.

Mo Fan realized the situation was not in his favor. He immediately gathered the debris of the broken pillars together with his telekinesis and formed a wall…

The wall was shattered instantly. Mo Fan, still wearing the Black Snake Armor, was knocked flying from one end of the Slanted Hall to the other. Unfortunately, there was no pillar in between to slow him down.

Thanks to the Black Snake Armor, Mo Fan was able to endure the damage.

He rose to his feet as blood ran down his lips. He stared at the poisonous monster and spat, “How is this thing so tough? Her strength didn’t even decrease after taking all those hits!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A hole in its body, a cut into the back of its head, and burns all over its body… any ordinary demon creature would be lying still on the ground by now, but the Sudden-Death Poison Queen was perfectly fine, as vigorous as it was at the start of the fight!

Monsters of this kind were no longer explainable with ordinary thinking.

“Mo Fan, what’s your situation?” Lingling’s voice came over his com.

“Not good, this thing seems to be invincible,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had even used his ultimate, the Advanced Lightning Spell. It did inflict reasonable damage to the creature, yet why was it still full of vigor?

“Just retreat if you can’t handle it, the Enforcement Union has finished cleaning up the mutated monsters,” answered Lingling.

“It hasn’t come to that yet. I won’t give away a hundred million so easily,” Mo Fan said decisively.

Fang Shaoli was quite valuable. Mo Fan was hoping to use the money to fight his way back to the national team with Mu Ningxue. He had to take Fang Shaoli down, even if it was a tough fight!

—-

Luckily, Liu Ru was here to help. Judging from her strength, she could basically take on a Commander-level creature. Even if she was going against the Commander-level Sudden-Death Poison Queen on her own, she would not necessarily be in a disadvantageous position. As such, Mo Fan had plenty of opportunities to cast Advanced Spells.

Otherwise, if he was being chased around by the Sudden-Death Poison Queen during the whole fight, when could he possibly find the time to cast some complicated Advanced Spells?

It was the same old trick. Liu Ru would keep the Sudden-Death Poison Queen busy while he was channeling the spell off to side. If casting the Sky-Flame Funeral once was not enough, he could cast it again!

Mo Fan was planning to spread flames across the whole place, just so the Sudden-Death Poison Queen would burn continuously, no matter where it was running to. No creature was truly invincible. No matter how tough the Sudden-Death Poison Queen was, it would eventually die to the Advanced Level fire!

“Sky-Flame Funeral!” Mo Fan summoned a fiery cloud once again. The rain of flames filled the Slanted Hall and connected with the lake of fire that was still burning, lighting up the underground hall brightly.

The flames surged wildly. The Sudden-Death Poison Queen let out an unpleasant screech. It was obvious that it was no longer as energetic as it was before…

“Liu Ru, can you think of a way to keep it in one spot? I’m going to use another Star Constellation Book to blast a hole in its brain!” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s Advanced Lightning Spell came from a Star Constellation Book. Tangyue had only given him five of them, and he already used one.

Mo Fan had to rely on the Star Constellation Books to cast the explosive spell, as he had yet to master the Star Constellation of the Lightning Element.

The overwhelming Advanced Lightning spell was clearly effective. However, it seemed like the first attempt did not land at the right spot. The Sudden-Death Poison Queen was perfectly fine even though the Lightning Beam had drilled right through it.

“I don’t think I can keep it under control!” Liu Ru did not overestimate herself. She was able to kite the monster around, but she had no chance of keeping it in place.

“Withdraw your fire, I’ll try!” a crisp, icy voice rose from outside the Slanted Hall. Mo Fan glanced over and saw Mu Ningxue standing there.

Lingling was with Mu Ningxue, too. It was obvious that Lingling’s antidote had worked.

Mo Fan was relieved. The stone in his heart finally vanished when he saw that Mu Ningxue was fine.

Since Mu Ningxue was no longer in danger, he had plenty of time to play with Fang Shaoli slowly. If his first round of attacks did not work, he did not mind repeating it a few more times!

Mo Fan withdrew the Sky-Flame Funeral. Fire was not really effective against this kind of poisonous creature. As such, it was better to leave it to Mu Ningxue’s world of snow and ice.

Frost spread through the air and froze the ground as Mu Ningxue unleashed her Ice Domain straightaway. Her Ice Element was no weaker than Mo Fan’s Advanced Fire Element under the effects of her Domain, especially with her outstanding control. The hall that was burning just a moment ago was rapidly covered in ice!

The disciples being chased around by Mo Fan’s Swift Star Wolf felt like crying. Just a moment ago, they were hoping that they could find an ice cellar and hide inside it, yet when the ice cellar actually appeared, they were turned into ice statues instantly.

The chill penetrated the bones and ice froze their flesh. Even the sturdiest body and thickest armor totally lost effect when the frost invaded a creature’s body.

Fang Shaoli felt herself being threatened by Mu Ningxue. She suddenly gave up on chasing after Mo Fan and targeted Mu Ningxue instead.

The creature’s body was now wrapped like a ball by her poisonous aura, allowing the poison to float through the air. The poison arrived in front of Mu Ningxue in less than a second.

The poisonous liquid was still flowing, trying to surround Mu Ningxue from both sides, and flow shut on her like a jellyfish.

If Mu Ningxue was caught by it, she would die almost instantly. Luckily, she was an agile Wind Magician, too! The Wind Track was already set up on the path she needed. The wind made her incredibly light as she moved around swiftly. Fang Shaoli missed her attacks several times in a row, and barely threatened Mu Ningxue at all.

“Lingling, will it work if I blast its brain open?” asked Mo Fan.

“I don’t know, give it a try!” Lingling was standing quite far away. As a Master Hunter, she knew how to protect herself better than anyone else.

“I can freeze it in another ten seconds, but I won’t be able to hold it in place for too long,” Mu Ningxue said confidently.

Ten seconds was not particularly long. Both Liu Ru and Mu Ningxue belonged to the agility type, and the queen was not really an outstanding Commander-level creature. It finally ended up covered in thick layers of ice under Mu Ningxue’s powerful Domain, which completely immobilized it.

Mo Fan was already inserting energy into the Star Constellation Book. The purple Star Patterns looked utterly aloof, giving the Star Constellation an imperious aura.

With a flash and crack of lightning, the Lightning Beam traveled over a hundred meters and landed directly on Fang Shaoli’s malevolent face at Mo Fan’s shout.

The Lightning Beam struck the creature’s nose and left through the back of its head, leaving scorch marks behind, and a perfectly hollow hole in the monster’s face. There was no blood, and no liquid, only traces of scorched meat.

This time, the Sudden-Death Poison Queen stopped moving. It did not fall to the ground, as it was frozen in ice.

“Is it dead?” asked Mo Fan.

“Not sure, let’s just smash it into pieces!” Liu Ru was as violent as Mo Fan after spending too much time around him. Her long fingers swept rapidly through the air, and began shredding the frozen Sudden-Death Poison Queen into tiny pieces with her claws!

“Keep her brain, she’s worth more than a hundred million!” Mo Fan reminded her.

“She’s still inside!” replied Liu Ru.

After peeling back the Sudden-Death Poison Queen’s thick poisonous cover and flesh, the three discovered that Fang Shaoli was still alive. Still covered in sticky liquid and poison, she was dragged out from the Sudden-Death Poison Queen’s corpse.

The human and queen were finally separated. Fang Shaoli seemed to be conscious still. Her pale, yet angry face was staring at Mo Fan, like her eyeballs were about to pop out.

“The Black Vatican likes to play the devil and terrorize the world, yet they are just the same as this Sudden-Death Poison Queen. What’s inside after removing the skin is only trash like you!” spat Mo Fan at her stare…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The remaining members of the Black Vatican were unable to escape. Their only chance was to blend in with the tourists.

The problem was, as their superior had been taken down by Mo Fan, no matter what disguise they were wearing, they would not be able to trick the Enforcement Union anymore.

Following the Sudden-Death Poison Queen’s death, the poison did not strike again. The deceased that had mutated into monsters died immediately. The Enforcement Union started cleaning up the manor and the ranches under Nighthawk’s supervision, arresting the members of the Black Vatican hiding in corners around the place.

After Mo Fan handed Fang Shaoli over to Nighthawk, he returned to the orange building.

He pushed open the door to the Curse Pool and glanced at the woman soaking in the black, poisonous water.

“Have…have you come back to save me?” Wang Xuxu asked hopefully.

Mo Fan nodded. He scooped her out of the Curse Pool and used the clean water of the next pool to wash the filth off of her, before giving her a thick coat.

Her skin was festered beyond recognition. It was hard to tell if the Cursed Water would deal any side effects to her. Mo Fan could only hand her to Leng Qing, hoping that the Enforcement Union would be able to help this poor girl.

“Thank you, thank you so much!” said Wang Xuxu. She was granted a second chance all thanks to him, even though they were not really close to one another.

Rong Sheng and Guo Wenyi kept thanking Mo Fan, too. The two of them had no idea this place would be tied to the Black Vatican, and they were caught right in it. When they saw what the Black Vatican had done to Wang Xuxu, their hatred toward Zhao Pinlin grew even more, even though he was already dead!

—

As for the Golden Battle Hunters, their leader Ge Ming miraculously survived.

As his cultivation was relatively stronger, he was able to keep the poison at bay and held on until Mo Fan killed the Sudden-Death Poison Queen. It was a spot of luck amid the misfortunes of the Golden Battle Hunters, as their leader Ge Ming was their spiritual pillar.

However, they were almost entirely wiped out, considering the number of members they had lost in the operation. So many of their men had been sacrificed even though they were only going against a little branch of the Black Vatican. They really paid a great price for their reckless approach!

Ge Ming and Pan Jin were utterly grateful to Mo Fan and his team. The truth was, they had no idea there were other Hunters involved beforehand.

“So you’re from the reputable Clearsky Hunter Agency! Thanks for your help, young man. Otherwise, we were all going to die here. We can’t even bury our brothers and distribute the relief payment to their families…” he sighed. “You’re clearly the savior of the Golden Battle Hunters. If you need any help, just say the word,” Ge Ming told him sincerely after recovering from his injuries, patting Mo Fan on the shoulder.

“Be more cautious when you’re going against the Black Vatican. The strongest person of this branch here is only an Advanced Level Blue Deacon, yet she was able to cause so many deaths,” advised Mo Fan sagely.

The Golden Battle Hunters was indeed too careless with their approach, and were taken by surprise by the Black Vatican’s wild counterattack. It had almost ended in disaster, as the poison would have spread to other places.

Luckily, they were able to put an end to it, and arrest the culprit, Fang Shaoli!

——

Mo Fan decided to leave everything else to the Enforcement Union. They would handle the victims, the corpses, and the publicity that the incident would attract. Mo Fan was only curious how much money he would receive as a reward.

Mo Fan had undoubtedly wiped out a Black Vatican’s branch once again. Mo Fan did not really keep count of the disciples he had eliminated. However, the Gray Priests alone were already worth a few tens of millions. It was quite a handsome sum!

Lots of Gray Priests had died at in Mo Fan’s hands. Lingling and Leng Qing validated their identities, and they were all Gray Priests, each worth around nine million.

On top of that, Fang Shaoli was worth a whopping one hundred and twenty million. Even though the woman only had an average face, Mo Fan’s eyes glowed every time he saw her!

The Enforcement Union was pretty quick, too. Once they verified Fang Shaoli was a Blue Deacon, they immediately transferred the money into Mo Fan’s account.

As for the reward for defeating the Gray Priests and disciples, more accounting was needed to confirm the sum. Mo Fan would only receive the money in a month. It was roughly estimated to be a hundred and thirty million, according to Lingling.

Mo Fan gave the money to Mu Ningxue first, just so she could purchase a Galaxy Vein and achieve the Advanced Level. Otherwise, she would be left further behind by the people on the national team.

He did not mind taking his portion when the sum was settled in a month, since he had yet to decide how he was going to use it. It was not like he had no idea where to spend it; there were too many places he could spend it on!

First of all, Little Flame Belle was simply a bottomless hole. His beloved daughter had now reached the stage of eating Fire Soul Seeds. He could only afford to buy six tins of milk powder with a million. It was nowhere enough to guarantee Little Flame Belle could reach her next phase.

Mo Fan also needed to improve his Summoning Element’s Nebula to a Galaxy, so he could cast Advanced Summoning Spells.

The Shadow Element was in need of an upgrade, too. Mo Fan remembered his teacher mentioning that the Shadow Element would experience a huge change after reaching the Advanced Level!

The Space Element was in need of even more money. The reason why Mo Fan did not bother improving the Space Element to the Intermediate Level was because of how costly it would be. He actually needed thirty million just to improve the Space Element to the Intermediate Level!

“I should be getting around one hundred and thirty million. I can cover Little Flame Belle’s milk powder with the money I will earn from doing Hunter’s work. I will spend a hundred million on a Galaxy Vein to try and improve the Shadow Element to the Advanced Level, and the remaining thirty million on improving the Space Element to the Intermediate Level. Having an extra Space Spell will greatly boost my strength too!” Mo Fan said to himself.

——

Mu Ningxue went into seclusive cultivation. She seemed rather concerned about her attempt, as she actually went into seclusion a week longer than she needed to.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan had to wait until he received the money. He suddenly remembered that he had yet to register at the National Training Hall.

Perhaps the advisor at the Training Hall had even removed his name!

—

Mo Fan picked an afternoon and hurriedly made his way to the National Hall. He was quite familiar with Shanghai, so he did not have any trouble finding the place.

He strutted into the building with the floating sphere and saw a team of tanned foreigners heading for it, too.

“Is this the place, Sayed?” asked a woman with cat-like eyes.

“This is it! We must earn our reputation back today!” Sayed answered in veiled frustration.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Meos was rather annoyed.

She was the vice-captain of the team from Egypt. They initially thought sending Sayed, who was relatively strong on the team, was enough to handle the Chinese team at the Training Hall, buying the others some time to focus on their business. They believed Sayed could handle the challenge by himself.

To their surprise, Sayed ended up losing to the Chinese team at the National Hall. It was humiliating that they could not even secure the stamp from the Chinese team!

Little Flame Belle was lying on Mo Fan’s shoulder. The little creature acted as if it was her first time seeing foreigners. She flew forward and circled around Meos without asking Mo Fan for his permission.

“Who’s trashy pet is this, stop bothering me!” Meos was in a pretty bad mood. She waved her hand and threw a Lightning Strike at Little Flame Belle.

Little Flame Belle was already in the Advancing Period of the Warrior Level. A mere Basic Spell had no chance of landing on her. She leaned sideways and floated away, dodging the Lightning Strikes. She cried out in grievance and returned to Mo Fan’s shoulder.

Mo Fan immediately felt unpleasant!

Damn it, not only did she curse Little Flame Belle, she was actually trying to hurt the harmless little creature. Did she really see herself as an emperor, who could bully whoever she wanted?

“You, yes you, stop looking around, I was referring to you, are you tired of living? How dare you bully my beloved Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan strode forward without caring about how many people were in the group.

Mo Fan was talking in English. He had to make sure that these foreigners could understand him! He had never seen anyone acting so smugly in a foreign country!

“And who the hell are you?” shot back Meos impatiently, looking disgusted.

“B*tch, you really love putting up a show, don’t you? Do you believe that I can knock you back to your country with a single punch?” Mo Fan was a hot-tempered person too. He could not stand anyone acting so smugly in front of him.

“You? I can turn you into a cripple with a single finger. I suggest you get out of my sight before I change my mind. Such a lousy, uncultured country, I have had enough of it!” cursed Meos.

Mo Fan was filled with anger.

Was this person mentally retarded? She couldn’t even tell she was in the wrong if he didn’t teach her a lesson, and yet she dared to talk down to his country? Why didn’t she take a look at her own face? Did she seriously assume she was a noble queen just because she was wearing a golden tiara on her head?

“Mo Fan, what are you doing here?” Mu Nujiao came and saw Mo Fan yelling at a group of foreigners.

Mu Nujiao initially thought Mo Fan was the one that started the trouble. However, her face turned dark when she spotted a familiar person in the group.

Sayed, the Egyptian hated by everyone on the Chinese team. Why was he here again? He even brought a whole team over!

“What are you doing here? Isn’t the challenge over?” Mu Nujiao asked in an unpleasant voice.

Sayed had an awkward expression, but Meos continued to lift her chin proudly and said, “Every country has three attempts at the challenge. We do admit that Sayed has lost the first attempt, yet we don’t want to miss out on the stamp of a little country.”

“A little country?” Mu Nujiao was infuriated upon hearing her words.

Everyone knew how big China was in terms of size and the strength of their Magicians. Their country was easily better than Egypt, yet what did her little country in a desert have apart from the pyramids to dare challenge them? Were they looking down on their team, or their whole country?

“Jiaojiao, don’t even bother talking to someone like her. We’ll break her leg, so she will learn that she shouldn’t be so smug after experiencing the pain.” Mo Fan had completely lost his temper. He seriously felt like exploding at any second after he met the woman.

“Can someone like you really be a candidate at the Training Hall?” Meos glanced at Mo Fan and completely disagreed with his appearance and demeanor, especially how he kept swearing!

“Yeah, enough with your nonsense, I find you extremely annoying. We should just skip the talk and finish the business with a duel!” declared Mo Fan directly.

“Exactly my wishes, I don’t want to waste even a second here,” said Meos.

Sayed and Shreev glanced at Mo Fan with gloating expressions.

Sayed purposely went up to Meos and reminded his vice-captain, “The strongest on their team must be the Ice Magician I fought against last time. For some reason, her control of the Ice Element was beyond the Intermediate Level, and her Ice Element was very impressive too. Just be careful if you go up against her.”

“Humph, you think I will lose to someone at the Training Hall? Even if someone on their national team is here, I can let them taste pain too!” promised Meos.

“Of course you won’t lose, I was just trying to warn you.”

“Because of how useless you are, we’ve wasted a chance to reattempt a challenge, humph!” snapped Meos.

Sayed fell silent. He did not expect someone as strong as Mu Ningxue to be a member defending the Training Hall.

“I was taking on three people on my own… hehe,” Sayed defended himself.

“So, what about this asshole?” Meos pointed at Mo Fan’s back.

“I don’t know, I didn’t see him before. Don’t worry about him, I know at least he’s not one of the strongest on the team. If the Ice Magician wasn’t there, I could easily crush them all,” Sayed smiled.

“I thought he was someone good on their team, but it turns out that he’s just a random dude,” said Meos disdainfully.

“Even the most talented person on their team is incomparable to you. You have no idea how strong you are…” Sayed seemed to have some affection for Meos. He was fawning over her throughout the conversation.

“Let’s go! Meos, are you really going to fight the duels?” asked their captain Schindler.

Schindler looked very young. His skin was golden-yellow, and his eyebrows were very thick. He was standing at the side smiling while Meos and Mo Fan were quarreling.

“Mmm, I just don’t want to waste more time here, especially if someone actually repeats the same mistake that Sayed did. How hard could it possibly be when we’re only taking the stamp from the Chinese team!” replied Meos.

“Alright, you’ll be representing us.”

—-

The Egyptian team strutted into the National Hall. For some reason, their faces were displaying pride and disdain, like they were a group of princes and princesses.

The instructor Bai Dongwei immediately noticed the proud imbeciles. Meanwhile, the face of Yue Tangxin, who had mostly recovered from the previous injuries immediately turned pale as soon as she saw Sayed. She had yet to recover from the nightmare of her broken bones puncturing her blood veins!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s that Egyptian again! He brought a whole team this time. Didn’t they already lose the challenge? Why are they here?” protested Dongfang Lie furiously, immediately recognizing Sayed with a single glance.

“They are planning to challenge us again. It seems every team has a certain number of attempts to take the same challenge again,” said Mu Nujiao.

“How shameless could they be? Didn’t he say he could take on a few of us by himself? He finally brought his team here after he lost the challenge. These Egyptians are seriously lacking in class!” cursed Dongfang Lie.

“Mu Ningxue isn’t here, what shall we do?” said Yue Tangxin.

The team realized that Mu Ningxue was indeed absent. It had been days since she last came to the Training Hall. She was apparently cultivating in seclusion.

If she was absent, Sayed could easily take on a few of them. Everyone immediately frowned.

“Why are we so scared? Aren’t I here?” Mo Fan patted his chest and said confidently.

“Who are you again?”

“Yeah, we’ve never seen you before…”

Dongfang Lie did recognize Mo Fan, but he never had a good impression of him. He said with a cold harrumph, “You shouldn’t embarrass yourself here with your little tricks, you’re not even a member of the national team!”

“My little tricks? You still lost to me!” bantered Mo Fan in return.

Bai Dongwei looked at Mo Fan and said, “Are you Mo Fan, the other member of the national team that was sent here?”

“That’s me,” said Mo Fan.

“You didn’t come to register yourself after so long, I was going to cross out your name!” accused Bai Dongwei in an unpleasant voice.

“Aren’t I here now?”

While the team was discussing, the Egyptians totally ran out of patience. Sayed had already forgot his lesson from before and stepped forward, pointing at the Chinese team, “What is it? Are you scared to fight us?”

“Humph, you won’t be taking the stamp with your second attempt!” said Dongfang Lie.

“Let’s get on with it. How is the challenge going to be? You are the host, so you can decide,” said Sayed.

As the instructor at the Training Hall, Bai Dongwei was really annoyed after getting provoked by the Egyptian team twice in a row.

However, Mu Ningxue happened to be absent today. They did not have much chance of winning the duels against the Egyptian team.

Bai Dongwei was still thinking about how their team was going to handle it when he saw Mo Fan heading for the stage.

“Hey, what are you doing? Did I ask you to go?” Bai Dongwei scolded the kid that was not following his rules.

“Instructor Bai, I heard from Mu Nujiao that they only sent a single person here to fight the three of us, is that right?” said Mo Fan.

“Yeah, damn it, stop changing the topic! Come down right now, I haven’t decided what the challenge is going to be like. Where are your manners!” said Bai Dongwei.

“Alright then, I will be standing here today. Ask the Egyptian team to send out three representatives, if they can knock me out of bounds, they can take the stamp!” said Mo Fan confidently.

“Who do you think you are!?”

“Fighting three of them? I can’t even beat one of them, let alone you! Mo Fan, stop causing a scene here!” said Dongfang Lie.

“Your inability doesn’t mean I can’t do it,” replied Mo Fan.

Dongfang Lie felt like vomiting blood. He had never seen anyone so full of himself. This was a duel between a national team and a defending team at the Training Hall. How could he treat it so simply?

“Instructor Bai, just let him try,” said Mu Nujiao.

“Are you kidding, our opponents are candidates of the national team! Even if Mo Fan was demoted from the national team, there’s no way he can take on three of them!” said Instructor Bai.

—-

Meos on the Egyptian team was getting impatient. She glanced at Mo Fan, who seemed to be the representative and asked, “Have you made up your mind?”

“We’re done. Your team will pick three people and take turns fighting me. If you can knock me down from the stage, you can take the stamp. It’s as easy as that,” said Mo Fan.

The Egyptian team snorted disdainfully at Mo Fan’s words.

Arrogant, smug, retarded!

“Are you sure about that?” Meos burst into laughter. There really were a lot of idiots nowadays. Did someone on the team defending the Training Hall just ask to challenge three members on their national team?

“What’s with your nonsense? Hurry up and send someone to the stage! I can’t wait to beat the crap out of you all! After you’re done, pack your stuff and leave! China doesn’t welcome you!” Mo Fan’s mouth was like a gatling gun, setting fire to the Egyptian team in an instant.

“We’ll give him what he wants since he asked for it. Meos, let me take care of him first!” Sayed volunteered.

“Alright, I’m not that interested in fighting a mentally-retarded guy.” She had come to the conclusion that there was something wrong with the Chinese guy’s head.

It went without saying that the candidates on the national team were stronger than people defending a Training Hall. Sayed was quite strong on their team. It was reasonable for him to challenge three defenders by himself.

However, a defender was challenging three members on the national team? Not even a chance!

—-

Sayed was already moving into position. They did not even realize that the Chinese team had yet to agree.

Instructor Bai felt his balls hurting. Where the heck did this kid come from? Not only did he disregard the rules, he totally treated the Training Hall as his own home, deciding on the rules by himself!

Bai Dongwei went forward, trying to put an end to the farce. To his surprise, Mo Fan turned his head to him and said, “Instructor Bai, just about time, can you be the judge for us?”

Bai Dongwei was startled. Before he collected his thoughts, Mo Fan was already casting a Fire Spell. Strong flames burst out of his fist and flew at the Egyptian team’s representative, Sayed.

“Damn it, I didn’t even say you could start!” Bai Dongwei was dumbfounded.

Sayed did not care either. His opponent had already attacked. Would he seriously wait for the judge to declare the start of the duel?

He reacted as soon as he saw the magical light from Mo Fan. He turned into a shadow and swiftly backed away from Mo Fan.

That was all Sayed could do with the Shadow Element. His real strength lay with the Undead Element.

Soon, the muscular Iron Mummy was summoned. Sayed hid in a safe corner and directed the Iron Mummy to fight Mo Fan.

“Swift Star Wolf, have some fun with this poor mummy!”

Mo Fan had his underlings too. He immediately Summoned the Swift Star Wolf.

The Swift Star Wolf was a strong Warrior-level creature. Although it was slightly weaker than the Iron Mummy, it would not lose to it quickly.

“Damn it!” Sayed did not expect Mo Fan to have the Summoning Element, too. He proceeded to Summon his strongest undead, the Death Saber Mummy!

Mo Fan did not really have a lot of experience fighting an Undead Magician. He was astounded when he saw the Death Saber Mummy’s strength was incredibly close to a Commander-level creature.

No wonder this guy was able to fight three people by himself! The Death Saber Mummy was clearly able to dominate among Intermediate Magicians.

However, in Mo Fan’s eyes, the Death Saber Mummy was unable to pose any threat to him. It was still nothing compared to a real Commander-level creature!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, watch out, the Death Saber Mummy is pretty strong!” Mu Nujiao specifically reminded Mo Fan, as she was afraid that he would be tripped up here.

Mo Fan glanced at Mu Nujiao with a smile, seeing she was concerned about his safety, and said, “This guy isn’t strong enough for me to treat him seriously.”

The Death Saber Mummy was incredibly heavy. It was extremely slow at moving around, but every step it took would shake the stage.

“Humph, you will soon regret it!” said Sayed with a hollow laugh.

The Death Saber Mummy raised its giant, black saber. One could see the black, deathly aura circling its tip. Somehow, the air nearby felt incredibly dull.

The saber was unstoppable. When the enormous Death Saber Mummy raised its weapon over its head, Mo Fan could sense its power locking onto him. The saber was pointing at him no matter which direction he moved in.

With a heavy roar, the Death Saber Mummy slashed its weapon forward powerfully. The air on the stage immediately split into two as a black shockwave sprang forward in Mo Fan’s direction.

Mo Fan sank into the ground. His shadow split into two and went in opposite directions.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, the shockwave was able to split into two and chase after both his shadows. Mo Fan was forced to flee further away with Fleeing Shadow!

The shockwave was still chasing after Mo Fan. After realizing that he was in a bad spot, Mo Fan’s eyes flickered as he immediately used his will to form a wall, stopping the shockwave from advancing further.

The black shockwave finally came to a stop. The attack gave Mo Fan a better understanding of the Death Saber Mummy. Judging from its attack, the creature was indeed a lot stronger than many Warrior-level creatures!

“Sky-Flame Funeral!” Mo Fan did not go easy on it. He immediately summoned several fiery clouds.

The fiery cloud rose into the air above the stage. Fireballs started pouring down rapidly.

In order to fully utilize the Sky-Flame Funeral’s potential, Mo Fan gathered the fiery clouds right above the Death Saber Mummy. Every fireball that smashed into the Death Saber Mummy would explode into strong flames, engulfing the undead creature.

As near on a thousand fireballs landed on the Death Saber Mummy, they swiftly turned the undead into a burning pyre.

The Death Saber Mummy was as tough as a tank when facing Intermediate Spells, but the blazing flames of the Advanced Sky-Flame Funeral were nothing that Basic or Intermediate Spells could compare to. The Death Saber Mummy was extremely slow, and had no chance of escaping the flames!

“Ad…Advanced Magician?” Sayed was stunned.

-Are you serious? Isn’t he just a defender at the Training Hall? Why would there be an Advanced Magician here? It-It looked like he reached the Advanced Level quite some time ago, judging from his channeling speed!-

Everyone fell silent when they saw the flames of the Sky-Flame Funeral surging fiercely.

The face of Dongfang Lie, who was talking down to Mo Fan just a moment ago, was twitching. Mo Fan, whose strength was comparable to his in the past, was already an Advanced Magician. He was able to cast the Advanced Fire Spell so adeptly, too!

The flames grew into a huge pyre, upon which the Death Saber Mummy’s funeral was being held. Sayed realized the situation did not look good and immediately withdrew the Death Saber Mummy into his Undead Space.

Flames were rather effective against undead. There was a chance that his Death Saber Mummy would die to the flames!

“Damn it, attack him!” Sayed would not admit his defeat so easily. He furiously commanded the Iron Mummy to attack Mo Fan.

The Iron Mummy shook off the Swift Star Wolf and leaped into the air, throwing its heavy fists at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan looked at the Iron Mummy without trying to dodge its attack. A silver glow flickered in his eyes as he locked his will onto the Iron Mummy and uttered coldly, “Piss off!”

The powerful will turned into a strong force ramming into the Iron Zombie while it was still in the air. The creature was knocked flying.

The crowd yelled out in surprise when they saw the Iron Mummy tumble to the ground. “Space Element, he’s a Space Magician!” Bai Dongwei was stunned by Mo Fan’s performance.

The Iron Mummy stood no chance against Mo Fan’s Space Element. It was thrown into the distance by Mo Fan’s Illusionary Claw once again.

Sayed was hoping that the Iron Mummy could earn him some respect, yet the Iron Mummy was being played around with like a puppet…

“Don’t you be so full of yourself!” Sayed was infuriated. He quickly chanted the curse of the Undead Element, in order to summon more undead.

His Death Saber Mummy was still resting in the Undead Space. If he could drag the fight until the flames on it were extinguished, he would be able to Summon the creature again.

“I don’t want to waste too much time on a piece of trash like you. Time’s up for you and your useless zombies,” Mo Fan shoved his hand out, unleashing a space ripple from his palm.

The space ripple rapidly surged forward, knocking the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummy and Sayed off the stage.

Sayed landed outside the boundary, his face filled with disbelief!

Did he just lose to a defender in a one-on-one duel, just like that?

Mo Fan turned to Bai Dongwei with a relaxed smile. “Instructor Bai, hurry up and announce the result!”

Not just Bai Dongwei, the other ten defenders were dumbfounded, too! Did this man seriously defeat the representative of the Egyptian team, Sayed, who was like a Boss-level enemy to them not long ago, just like that?

Was this the true strength of the man said to possess Double Innate Elements?

Since everyone here was a student, they were aware of the rankings being spread around between the curious students. The demon king of the Pearl Institute was one of the hot topics too, as the rankings mentioned his incredible innate talent, Double Innate Elements!

Many people immediately came to a realization when they heard Mo Fan’s name. However, they never thought he was this strong. Didn’t Mu Ningxue take quite some time just to defeat Sayed?

“Mo…Mo Fan is the winner!’ Bai Dongwei no longer cared if Mo Fan was not following his rules. He announced the result in joy and astonishment.

“Awesome!”

“There are mountains beyond mountains and heavens beyond heavens, indeed! This Mo Fan is even stronger than Mu Ningxue. Was someone like him really disqualified from the national team?”

“He’s so handsome!” murmured Yue Tangxin.

Sayed, the public enemy, was crushed just like that. The defenders felt extremely pleasant when they saw the humiliated look on his face!

Coming to our country acting so smug and proud, yet didn’t he still suffer a humiliating defeat when he stumbled into an expert like Mo Fan?!

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Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Can your team send someone stronger? If this guy is already one of the strongest on your team, I should advise you not to take part in the finals in Venice. Just go back to your desert and spend another ten or twenty years practicing before coming out here and embarrassing yourself!” Mo Fan totally showed the Egyptian team no mercy with his mouth.

A little Egypt still dared to act so smugly in his territory!? Except for the captain on the national team, Ai Jiangtu, he could easily take on any of the others on the national team. How could he possibly lose against these Egyptians?

“Sayed is only below average on our team. Winning against him isn’t something to be proud of. I will surely teach you a lesson!” retorted the bucktoothed Shreev, stepping forward.

Shreev and Sayed did not get along well. He was the happiest when seeing Sayed embarrassing himself. Besides, he could totally use the chance to display his strength and show Sayed his place!

That being said, his main goal was to take care of the defender on the Chinese team. Apart from his Advanced Fire Element and Space Element, there was nothing to be scared of.

Shreev stepped forward and slowly went onto the stage.

Mo Fan looked at the dark-skinned foreigner with ugly teeth and an even uglier face impatiently.

“Call that proud woman with an afro up here instead, I have no interest in a little shrimp like you,” said Mo Fan, pointing at Meos.

“Humph, she’s our vice-captain. A mere defender like you isn’t worthy to fight her! Have a taste of my curses first!” said Shreev.

The power of the Curse Element was somewhat similar to the Psychic Element, as it was focused on the target’s spirit and soul.

Shreev cast the Mist of Fear on Mo Fan, intending to disrupt his channeling of the Star Patterns.

The Mist of Fear was able to increase the fear in one’s heart. If the caster had a strong cultivation, he could even use the Mist of Fear to create nightmarish illusions, and the target would suffer a mental breakdown.

As soon as the Mist of Fear appeared, Mo Fan could hear a voice repeating in his ears…

He had heard the voice at the ranches before. It was a woman talking at a slow pace.

“I’m going to pay you back for all the troubles you’ve caused. You better live longer, or else I can only get the people close to you to pay in your place!”

It was Salan’s warning!

It was obvious that the Mist of Fear of the Curse Element was able to dig out the deepest fear in Mo Fan’s heart. If the spell was cast on someone with a weaker mind, it would be in the form of some event that the target had gone through before.

Mo Fan clearly knew that it was just a mere illusion.

The reason why the voice had appeared was that Salan was indeed the scariest person Mo Fan had met in his life. Both the calamity of Bo City and the calamity of Ancient Capital had shown our minuscule and weak humans were before her long blood-red robe. Everyone was so filled with despair that they could not even see the slightest glimpse of light. Every life was so insignificant, be it the Magicians, or the ordinary people…

Mo Fan’s eyes shook. Shreev thought his Curse Element was working. He started laying down a trap of the Curse Element. Once the Sinister Spider Trap successfully entrapped its target, even an Advanced Magician had no chance of winning the duel.

However, was Mo Fan really lost in his fear?

What he felt toward Salan was not fear, but rage!

A person like her who treated human lives like mere chaff should be sent to the eighteenth floor of Hell!

Not only was Mo Fan not lost in fear, he was completely infuriated! His cold eyes were staring at Shreev, who was feeling proud of himself.

“Do you seriously think your petty Curse Element can entrap me?” Mo Fan’s eyes were full of disdain.

He was now an Advanced Magician with two Advanced Elements. His spiritual force was twice that of an ordinary Advanced Magician. Meanwhile, Shreev was most likely an Advanced Curse Magician. If he could adeptly cast the Advanced Curse Spell, Demon Torture, like Ai Jiangtu could, Mo Fan might find himself in a pinch. However, he was too naive if he thought the Mist of Fear and Sinister Spider Trap were enough to handle Mo Fan!

“Off you go!” Mo Fan’s eyes were cold. The strong, silver force rammed into Shreev like a ferocious beast.

Shreev was taken by surprise. He summoned his Shield Equipment in a panic.

He did not want to be defeated so easily. As a Curse Magician, it was a must to possess defensive equipment, too!

His Magic Shield managed to stop Mo Fan’s Space Element, yet he seemed to have forgotten that Mo Fan still had a Summoned Beast on the stage.

The Swift Star Wolf had waited a long time for this. As Shreev’s attention was focused on Mo Fan, he suddenly sprang forward with outstanding speed and bit Shreev on his shoulder.

Shreev reacted fairly quickly. He summoned his Armor Equipment and used the Curse Element trap, the Sinister Spider Trap, on the Swift Star Wolf.

The Swift Star Wolf was incredibly agile. He dodged the red silks nimbly and blew a strong gust of wind at Shreev.

The attack was ineffective against Shreev under the protection of his magic armor. He walked out from the flying dust and was about to cast a spell from his other Element when he saw a pair of sharp silver eyes staring at him!

It was like he could read the words PISS OFF in the flames coming from those eyes.

Shreev tried to cast his spell in a panic, but six Giant Shadow Spikes flew at him from different directions, each penetrating his magic armor and nailing his joints.

The dark force entered his body and sealed off his bones, muscles, veins, and spiritual force.

Shreev was stunned. He did not even have time to react when he saw a huge, burning fist closing up to his face…

Shreev was set on fire as he was knocked flying, drawing a spectacular arc through the air. The bright trail of fire left in the Training Hall was rather stunning.

He slammed heavily into the ground outside the stage. The effects of the Giant Shadow Spikes had disappeared, but the flames continued to burn on him. Shreev had suffered a great concussion and cried out in pain.

Mo Fan had obviously overdone it this time. Shreev had broken bones, and his skin was severely burned…

Who asked this idiot to cast the Mist of Fear on him? Mo Fan was having trouble going easy on him!

—-

“Err… why do I feel like the Egyptian team… is very weak?” asked someone among the defenders.

“It’s not like the Egyptian team is weak, but this Mo Fan is simply too strong!”

“The Curse Element wasn’t effective at all against Mo Fan, which simply means his cultivation is a lot stronger than that ugly dude! The Curse Element is basically useless against those with a higher cultivation, unless they are able to lay the traps down beforehand!”

“He has already defeated two representatives of the Egyptian team. Mo Fan is unstoppable! I never knew he was this strong!”

The defenders were talking among themselves. Everyone had clearly seen the fights, and Mo Fan had delivered utter defeats unto both Shreev and Shreev!

The Egyptian team felt incredibly embarrassed after their members lost to a mere defender. After all, their team was made up of the strongest students from Egypt!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You’re the one that I wanted to teach a lesson. If you’re scared, hurry up get out of my sight with your team!” shouted Mo Fan, pointing at Meos.

The faces of the Egyptian team fell dark, especially that of Meos.

Get out of my sight! That was what Meos said to Mo Fan before, and now the arrogant man had used it on them in return! It was obvious that he was trying to humiliate her!

How could the proud Meos possibly let it go? She took off her coat, showing her tanned skin as she approached the stage.

“Meos, why don’t you let me handle it? Something is strange about this man. I don’t think he’s an ordinary defender.” Their captain, Schindler, had a stern look as he spoke to Meos in a serious voice.

The others were startled. Captain Schindler was planning to participate in the duel?

They were only taking on a mere defender. Were they seriously that desperate, sending out their captain even though they had yet to see a single representative of the Chinese national team?

Meos turned around and snapped furiously, “Humph, do you seriously think I’m going to lose?”

“I didn’t mean that, but at least I have a higher chance of winning the duel. Judging from his strength, I bet you only have a sixty percent chance of winning against him,” said team captain Schindler.

“Sixty percent? You’ve overestimated his strength!” Meos ignored Schindler’s warning and walked up to the center of the stage.

Mo Fan’s tongue was so sharp that Meos had the urge to tear his mouth into pieces with her own hands!

She did admit that she had underestimated Mo Fan’s strength, yet that did not necessarily mean he could speak harsh words to her! No one in Egypt was daring enough to humiliate her publicly!

Flames of anger were burning in Meos’s heart. As she walked onto the stage, a thin layer of sand was drifting in the air around her.

Instructor Bai Dongwei soon noticed the flying sand in the air with his outstanding cultivation. He immediately frowned.

The candidates were not allowed to use their magic before the judge announced the start of the duel.

Bai Dongwei was about to intervene when Mo Fan disregarded the rules as expected and made his move, as if he finally had the chance to vent out all his anger inside his stomach.

“Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan summoned Little Flame Belle right away.

Little Flame Belle flew out of his body and stood on Mo Fan’s shoulders. She was barely taller than Mo Fan’s head.

She quickly recognized the detestable woman. The little universe in her immediately exploded, unleashing the brown Calamity Fire across the place and set the ground aflame like a bright-red carpet.

Little Flame Belle flew into the air. She seemed inclined to teach the Egyptian woman a lesson. The flames lingering in the air gathered around her as she turned into a blazing fireball three meters across, and went hurtling in Meos’ direction.

—

“That little creature… has outstanding strength!” a student among the defenders exclaimed.

A fireball with a diameter of three meters was extremely large. It would definitely raze everything to the ground at its current rate!

“It looks like an Elemental Creature, one of the rarest kind!”

“I heard that if a Fire Magician has a Fire Elemental Creature as their contracted beast, their Fire Element will grow a lot stronger. Is that true?” asked Yue Tangxin.

“Mo Fan’s Flame Belle is pretty remarkable. You will know soon,” Mu Nujiao finally spoke up.

—-

Meos was an Advanced Magician too. The sandstorm circling around her was the passive ability of her Advanced Earth Element.

Her Soul Seed was obviously related to sand. As Little Flame Belle was charging at her like a bright sun, she used her will to gather the sand particles in the air, which immediately formed a wall of sand in front of her.

Half of the wall was razed to the ground. Unfortunately, the Calamity Fire was unable to penetrate her defense. Little Flame Belle had no choice but to use another approach.

“Do you seriously think that little creature is enough to defeat me?” Meos’s voice was full of disdain.

With a thought, the sand that fell to the ground gathered once again. Little Flame Belle raised her head and saw a giant claw in the air, like the paw of an enormous creature in the middle of a desert!

The sand paw slapped at Little Flame Belle like she was a mosquito.

Mo Fan noticed Little Flame Belle had trouble dodging the attack. A silver glow appeared on his palm as he grabbed Little Flame Belle and dragged her back through the air.

Little Flame Belle barely escaped from the sand paw. The little creature cried out in shock!

“You can’t fight her on your own, come over here!” Mo Fan told Little Flame Belle.

Meos was obviously an Advanced Magician, since she was able to control the sand to form a claw. Her control was almost as outstanding as someone like Mu Ningxue, who possessed a Domain!

With her outstanding control, she was able to control the sand around her to attack or defend herself. She was pretty much unbeatable. If someone on the national team stumbled into her, they would find themselves in a pinch too; at least, someone like Guan Yu was definitely going to lose against her!

“Possess!” Mo Fan did not waste more time probing his opponent’s strength. He ordered Little Flame Belle to enter his chest.

The bright-red Rose Flame and the Calamity Fire merged into one, forming a fake Domain with a diameter of a hundred meters around Mo Fan, flames sprouting randomly in the air.

The defenders and Bai Dongwei were stunned when they saw Mo Fan turning into an imperious, fiery man!

“That Elemental Creature… can even Possess!?”

“Holy crap, with such an incredible Contracted Beast, a Fire Magician is pretty much unbeatable…”

Everyone finally understood what Mu Nujiao was referring to. Increasing the power of their Fire Element?

That was nothing significant compared to being Possessed by a Fire Elemental Creature! Not only was it able to improve the power of Mo Fan’s Fire Element, his control and skills of the Fire Element would escalate, too!

“You should be humble at all times, do you understand? I can easily defeat someone like you with a single punch!” Mo Fan was engulfed in flames. Even his words were full of explosive power.

“The ability to possess is very rare indeed, but you’re too naive if you think it’s enough to defeat me!” Meos was as proud as ever.

Despite that, Meos was actually losing confidence. Otherwise, she would not be gathering the sand to set up a defense.

“You will have plenty of time to rethink that lying on the ground later! Little Flame Belle, Thousand Piercing Fire Feathers!”

The flames around Mo Fan swirled wildly as the brown fire and the blazing red flames started to turn into a dense spread of feathers covering his back…

Very quickly, a pair of fiery wings appeared on Mo Fan’s back. The crowd was astounded by the stunning sight!

Dongfang Lie, who was also a Fire Magician, had the urge to dig a hole and hide inside it now. His Fire Element was incredibly petty compared to Mo Fan’s spectacular wings!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Rocket Wings!” The fiery feathers of the wings on Mo Fan’s back exploded instantly, and a strong force thrust him forward. Mo Fan turned into a missile engulfed in flames, pushing everything aside and charging at Meos fiercely with a loud rumble!

The crowd almost felt their eyes popping out when they witnessed his explosive speed. Mo Fan had already traveled over a hundred meters, yet the Rose Flame and Calamity Fire were still burning where he had started. No one had ever seen a Magician attacking with this approach!

Dust lingered in the air. The place was blurred and cloudy, as if it was covered by several layers of veils.

Meos immediately controlled the sand to form a giant shield when she sensed Mo Fan’s overwhelming presence.

The shield was basically a wall. Tiny sand particles were clustered densely together. From afar, it looked like a golden shield standing upright in front of Meos. It would take quite an effort just to break through her defense.

Meos hid behind her enormous shield. The space above her was dyed red by Mo Fan’s flames. The energy that was gathering even caused turbulence in the air.

“Meteorite Fist!”

Mo Fan let out a mighty cry during the flight, completely unleashing his aura. The Star Patterns were completed in an instant around him as a fiercer fire erupted from his fist. The flames were so strong that he even left rings of fire along his trail as he flew by!

The crowd was stunned. They had never seen any magic like this. Mo Fan was basically a fire demon, each of his actions accompanied by a strong destructive aura!

Mo Fan showed no intention of avoiding the golden shield. He borrowed the momentum granted by the fiery wings and threw his burning fist forward!

The Meteorite Fist was even stronger than the Advanced spell Sky-Flame Funeral. The exploding light penetrated the golden shield and shattered it into pieces, which scattered through the air!

The light proceeded further and landed on Meos, whose face was blank with astonishment…

Meos subconsciously summoned her Magic Armor to cover her entire body. The armor was also golden, yet she was still knocked flying by the impact. She did not fly away like a kite being detached from its string, but up and away at a shocking speed. She broke through the barrier, swept past above the Egyptian team, and slammed into the floating walls of the Training Hall…

—

The whole place fell deathly silent!

Both the defenders on the Chinese team and the members on the Egyptian team were dumbfounded. Their expressions were indescribable with words!

“A punch… just a single punch?” Dongfang Lie was completely stunned. He immediately recalled the duel he had with Mo Fan. He vaguely remembered that Mo Fan had also defeated him with a single punch.

However, Mo Fan’s punch combined with the Rocket Wings was extremely shocking. The Heaven Veil was not the strongest defensive spell of the Earth Element, but the golden shield was able to resist most spells below the Advanced Level, and yet it was shattered so easily!

Not only did her defense crumble, even the seemingly valuable Magic Armor that Meos was wearing had failed to endure the punch! How terrifying was the Fiery Fist’s power?

——

Up on the stage, Mo Fan waved his arm to extinguish the remaining flames burning on it, like a gunner calmly blowing at the smoke coming out from the muzzle of a gun.

“You have no right to act smugly on our land, even if you practiced for another ten years!” Mo Fan pointed at the Egyptian team disdainfully, as if he could take them all on his own.

Fierce flames surrounded him, a strength that had convincingly crushed his opponents. At that instant, Mo Fan’s image grew magnificently in the hearts of the defenders. They never thought the young Magician could be this impressive!

“Friend, why don’t you let it go this time? I believe you’re not just a mere defender, either,” replied the captain of the Egyptian team, Schindler.

“Oh, failing to act all mighty in someone else’s territory, and are now asking me to let it go after being taught a lesson? Enough with your act, just come up here if you are not convinced of the result. I didn’t really waste much energy on those three pieces of trash just now!” swore Mo Fan unpleasantly.

Acting smugly even when they were weak, and now trying to be reasonable when they could not beat him; did they seriously think he, Mo Fan, was someone they could mess with?

Mo Fan easily had the worst temper in China. He had even wiped out the Black Vatican’s influence in the country. Would someone like him be scared of a bunch of students from an undeveloped desert who were still training?

Mo Fan had mastered his skills just to step on the face of people like them!

“Humph, do you really think none of us can take you on?” Schindler was infuriated. He started to step forward.

“Captain, you can’t fight him now. If we expose our strength during the early phase, we’ll be in a disadvantageous position once we are fighting against the real national team.” Another member of the Egyptian team intervened calmly.

Awkward, they felt incredibly awkward. The faces of everyon on the team turned green. Not only did Mo Fan defeat three of their representatives, even their vice-captain Meos had lost her duel!

They had to admit that they had picked the wrong fight this time…

The captain Schindler took a deep breath and pointed at Mo Fan, “You’re the winner today, but during the real competition, I’ll make sure to treat the Chinese team with special attention! I will return ten times the humiliation we received today!”

“Enough with the bragging! You can’t even defeat us here at the Training Hall, and you’re thinking of defeating our national team? Don’t you feel ashamed?” mocked Dongfang Lie.

“Who do you think you are?! I can pinch you to death with a single hand!” Schindler was infuriated.

He had no choice but to allow Mo Fan acting smugly in front of him, yet he could not accept that the defender who could not even beat Sayed was humiliating him too!

“I’m nobody, I’m just a defender here at the Chinese Training Hall. However, your Egyptian team will never get the approval stamp from us! Good luck with the rest of your training! Hahaha, you better avoid our national team if you happen to stumble into them. This guy Mo Fan here, who crushed your team, isn’t even the strongest person on it!” scoffed back Dongfang Lie.

Everyone felt incredibly pleasant after hearing Dongfang Lie’s remarks.

Mo Fan put on a smile and admitted, “It’s true that I wasn’t the strongest!”

Schindler felt an urge to vomit blood. However, a few other members who were calmer were able to stop him from going crazy.

Mo Fan was not lying, either. The strongest representative on the national team was none other than Ai Jiangtu. That guy had long improved two of his Elements to the Advanced Level. He was incredibly adept at using the Advanced Spells of the Space Element and the Curse Element. He could even take on a real Commander-level creature by himself! Mo Fan did not believe he could win against Ai Jiangtu, unless he also mastered the ability to Blink.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I swear I’m going to kill him!” Meos went mad as soon as she regained consciousness.

She had never felt so humiliated before. The taste of being defeated utterly was worse than being killed. She was a genius. There was basically no one in the institutes in Egypt that could fight her, except the maniac Schindler. Therefore, she did not often treat others with respect.

However, she had lost to a defender in China! It was a complete defeat, a thorough humiliation!

Her opponent told her that he would finish the fight with a single punch. She had already set up layers of defense beforehand, yet she was still knocked flying…

She was on the verge of losing her mind. She had to find that man at all costs, and pay him back ten, or even a hundredfold!

“Meos, please calm down. Even though I have no idea why a guy like him is only a defender at the Training Hall, he is surely going to appear during the World College Tournament, considering how talented he is. I don’t believe China would give up on such a strong candidate. As long as he is on the national team, you will have a chance to get your revenge. By then, the whole world will be watching; it’s not the same as fighting inside an enclosed hall,” said Sayed.

Sayed was a proud man. He also wanted to get his revenge.

However, was there any meaning to acting tough and strong now? They had yet to show their true colors. Once they arrived in Venice, it was difficult to tell who would be defeating their opponent with a single move!

Meos gradually calmed down after hearing this.

However, after what she had been through, she felt that she could not afford to be satisfied with her current strength. She had to contact Cairo and ask the ancient royal family to prepare resources for her!

Meos naively thought she would be able to crush most candidates of every country with her current strength. To her surprise, she tasted defeat just after the team arrived in China, dealing a severe blow to her ego. She was currently like an enraged princess!

—-

After driving the Egyptian team away, the Training Hall started cheering.

The defenders initially thought they would no longer have to suffer continuous losses after having Mu Ningxue around. To their surprise, Mo Fan and his monstrous strength had joined them too!

Bai Dongwei was very satisfied. That being said, he simply had no clue what Mo Fan was thinking, choosing to be a defender when he could easily stay on the national team.

Regardless, the countries that were planning to get an approval stamp from the Chinese Training Hall were most likely going to suffer. If they were smug like the Egyptian team, they would never get a single approval stamp from the Training Hall!

When Bai Dongwei imagined how the Chinese Training Hall was going to have the highest rate of failure for the national teams, his heart was filled with joy, as a remarkable glory awaited them!

—-

After the Egyptian team, a few other smaller countries visited them. Their strength was not outstanding in particular. Many times, the Chinese team was able to win without Mo Fan’s help.

Mo Fan knew his main focus was not to grind his win rate at the Training Hall. He had to continue to improve, and he needed a huge amount of resources. Otherwise, the others would simply leave him behind.

——

A month went by in the blink of an eye after the Black Vatican’s branch was wiped out. A huge sum of money was transferred into Mo Fan’s account. His phone almost exploded from receiving so many calls from the managers and vice-managers of different banks!

Mo Fan’s initial plan was to use the money to buy a Galaxy Vein for improving his Shadow Element to the Advanced Level, and the remaining thirty million on resources for the Space Element.

Mo Fan stuck to the plan and proceeded to cultivate inside the Three Step Tower. To Mo Fan, the place was now just like his backyard. Dean Xiao would simply grant him access whenever he wanted to visit it, since Mo Fan was easily stronger than most candidates on the national team. It was only a matter of time until he fought his way back!

Unfortunately, Mo Fan failed in his attempt to improve the Shadow Element!

Mo Fan thought his Shadow Element was close to being fully saturated, yet when it received the energy provided by the Galaxy Vein, it only managed to leave a crack on the barrier instead of thoroughly breaking it to expand the Nebula. Mo Fan was utterly disappointed.

It felt like he was putting money in jeopardy…

As a matter of fact, it was not necessarily that he had wasted the money. The energy of the Galaxy Vein would not just disappear. Even though Mo Fan felt that the Shadow Element was on the verge of having a breakthrough, it was still a distance away from improving to the Advanced Level. The energy of the Galaxy Vein was actually closing the distance!

Mo Fan was still too naive. If it was that easy to have a breakthrough, there would be a lot more Advanced Magicians in society. It would not be the gap that separated tens of thousands of Magicians.

——

Despite being bothered by the bad news, Liu Ru soon brought Mo Fan a piece of good news.

The Enforcement Union had arrested the owner of the manor and ranches on Chongming Island. Ownership of the luxurious place was suddenly granted to the second-biggest shareholder.

However, there were problems with the second-biggest shareholder’s identity, too. The person was actually a member of the Blood Tribe! He was almost arrested by the Enforcement Union, despite not being involved with the Black Vatican.

Liu Ru told Mo Fan that if he could help the person by not stopping the Enforcement Union arrest him, he was willing to give Mo Fan the majority of his shares as a token of appreciation.

Mo Fan was overwhelmingly flattered by the news…

However, he had his own principles when it came to receiving money. He had to make sure that the Blood Tribe was not related to the Black Vatican at all. He asked Leng Qing to investigate the person.

“The Blood Tribe’s name is Pinoc. As a matter of fact, he actually contributed to us by gathering the information that implied that Salan had escaped through the manor. He isn’t related to the Black Vatican, but he did have some criminal records. It’s fine if you want to arrest him. Otherwise, your little maidservant will have to keep an eye on him,” reminded Leng Qing.

The Enforcement Union would not be able to wipe out all the evil influences hiding in a big city. Most of the Blood Tribe’s deeds did not endanger human lives, and they were simply living in the dark and minding their own business. As Old Bao had mentioned, instead of putting in effort to wipe them out, and making room for another bunch of lawless existences to disturb the peace of the city, it was better to let them be, and maintain order in the dark.

Leng Qing was mainly responsible for the dark side of the Magic City. If Mo Fan’s maidservant Liu Ru was able to keep the Blood Tribe under control, she would not mind turning a blind eye.

“Liu Ru is pretty strong among the Blood Tribe. She can easily keep an eye on Pinoc,” mused Mo Fan.

Liu Ru would not lie to him. If she said that Pinoc was sincerely trying to be a good person and leave his evil past behind to focus on making money, there would not be any problem. The Blood Tribe could also form blood pacts with one another, and those that broke them would be punished severely.

After Pinoc was released from custody, he claimed possession of the huge property. He learned from Liu Ru that Mo Fan had failed his attempt at breaking through, and he gifted Mo Fan a Galaxy Vein without hesitation to express his gratitude.

Mo Fan almost lost his mind when he saw a high-quality Galaxy Vein presented to him!

“Every now and then, the little ones in the Blood Tribe will offer me money, too. I don’t really need it, so I will just transfer it to your account.” Liu Ru smiled when she saw the joy on Mo Fan’s face.

To her, being able to help Mo Fan in any way was the best thing ever!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

A cold wind blew sharply high up in the air, sharpening the peak of Tianshan Mountain. The peaks of the mountains nearby were like the tips of thick swords, pointing at the clear blue sky!

The peaks were covered in snow throughout the year. Between the peaks was a rift valley known as the White Rift. Apart from the unique creatures blessed by Tianshan Mountain, no creatures could enter and leave the White Rift unharmed.

Even scorching lava would turn into icy rocks in mere seconds in the valley!

The White Rift inherited many mysterious legends of Tianshan Mountain. The locals referred to it as the mansion of the Goddess of Ice Disaster, a forbidden place for mortals!

—

Today, Tianshan Mountain did not have the slightest hint of snow flying in the air. The sky was so clear that not a single ice particle could be seen. The white backbone of the mountains stood as firmly as the back of an enormous dragon.

Walking over the snowy white ground, a man in black clothes with long, disheveled hair was slowly approaching the White Rift.

Behind the man stood an enormous giant. Its head had almost reached the mountain’s waist, even the vast and mighty Tianshan Mountain. Otherwise, even a mountain would seem tiny compared to the Mountain Zombie.

“Wait here.” The man turned around and stopped the Mountain Zombie from following him further.

The Mountain Zombie did not move, obediently standing still. Some birds even landed on it, as they had mistaken it for a statue.

The man continued forward and reached the enormous ravine at the peak of the mountain. His soulless eyes looked down into the dark, intimidating valley.

He jumped into it without hesitation.

—

He kept on falling, as if the ravine was bottomless. The further he dropped, the colder it got.

After a long time, the man finally landed at the bottom. He proceeded forward…

Sometime later, he stopped in front of a crystalline wall of ice.

Picking up a headband that had frozen into ice on the ground, the man lifted his gaze and looked at the thick layer of ice before him.

A strong gust of wind blew through the valley. Thick icicles were fired at the man, more than a hundred of them. Even an army would be crushed in an instant.

The strong ice cones approached the man rapidly. However, the air suddenly rippled. It was like time had stopped, as the deadly ice cones halted in the air and slowly fell to the ground.

The man turned around and stared at a snowy-white Heaven Tiger not far away.

The snow-white Heaven Tiger roared disdainfully. However, when it sensed the murderous aura completely crushing its Commander-level presence, it finally realized how terrifying the human before it was. It immediately fled for its life!

The man stared at the ice and murmured, “Yu…Yu’Er?”

As he waved his hand, a thick portion of the ice fell off.

A blurry silhouette could be seen inside the ice. The man’s eyes finally flickered with emotion for once.

With another wave, the ice continued to fall off.

The man seemed rather impatient. He continued to shatter the ice…

—

The silhouette of the woman inside the ice gradually became clearer. She was wearing a long dress made of goose down that wrapped around her. The dress seemed a bit loose, yet it could not conceal her perfect body.

The man was able to recognize the dress. It was the same dress he had helped her put on ten years ago. He had specifically picked it out at a town under Tianshan Mountain. The woman had even complained, “Did you think I’m that plump, you stupid!”

Despite that, she still wore the dress. After all these years, she was still wearing the dress, frozen here alone for ten years…

“I…I have come back…”

The man experienced a surge of emotions. If he could still cry, he would be full of tears by now. The memories he had made his early years filled his mind. The exciting ambition he once had, the thrills and sweetness from the stupid deeds he did…

Only a thin layer of ice was left, the woman inside it was already within his reach. The man felt an urge to simply hug her in his arms.

She had not changed at all. The ice freezing her had kept her youthful looks. It had frozen her in time, keeping her still at the age of twenty-four, when she was the prettiest…

Zhan Kong was now able to see her clearly.

However, the thin layer of ice was also a mirror, displaying his current appearance.

A black face with no presence of life, a face in his thirties marked by the vicissitudes of life, and the curse of the living dead. Even Zhan Kong was shocked when he saw his own face!

Soulless pupils, a nose that could not breathe, even the air coming out from his mouth was black. His face formed a great contrast to the young, pretty face of the woman in the ice. Two faces were portrayed on the thin layer of ice, yet it served as a painful stab to Zhan Kong’s heart.

“Am I dead, or am I alive?” Zhan Kong softly fondled the woman’s face despite the layer of ice that a few centimeters thick between his hand and the woman.

Over the past three thousand days and nights, he had dreamt of standing in front of her like he currently was.

He had kept his words, yet he had lost his courage.

If her eyes sprang open and saw his face, how terrified would she be?

—-

Zhan Kong tapped his palm softly on the ice.

The ice began to crack open slowly. The woman’s life slowly recovered…

Zhan Kong turned around and headed in the direction that the Heaven Tiger had fled before the ice totally crumbled.

He looked at the woman in the goose-down dress from afar before withdrawing his gaze unwillingly and ordered the Heaven Tiger like an emperor, “Escort her out of here and send her to the town under the mountain! Do you understand?”

The Heaven Tiger trembled in fear, not daring to disobey the order!

—-

The Heaven Tiger slowly carried the woman out of the White Rift.

Inside the empty valley, a man in black clothes mumbled to himself in a complicated voice…

“Dead?

“Alive?

“What am I?…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Taking a deep breath, Mu Ningxue felt extremely pleasant taking in the oxygen from the chilly air, as if it had helped her toss some unpleasant matters to the back of her head.

After arriving at Xilan Town, Mu Ningxue proceeded to look for an inn.

Xilan Town was a famous place located at the foothill of Tianshan Mountain’s Dongshan. It was a common resting spot for most adventurers planning to explore Tianshan Mountain.

After reaching the Advanced Level, Mu Ningxue was in need of a true adventure, to help fully master her Ice Domain. In order to further improve her innate Ice Seed, the purest snow and ice at Tianshan Mountain seemed to be her best bet.

Taking out her phone, Mu Ningxue sent Mo Fan a text to update him on her whereabouts, just so he would not be too worried about her. She also expressed her gratitude. Without him, she would have had trouble breaking through the heavy chains of the Intermediate Level.

“Yesterday, I saw a Heaven Tiger carrying a woman into town with my own eyes.”

“Strange things happen every year, but there were a lot more cases this year,” two townsfolk were discussing softly.

Mu Ningxue walked past them. She did not really care much about strange rumors.

“That’s nothing, last night, I even saw a moving mountain. Now that was shocking. The mountain was incredibly tall, and it was walking toward the other mountain!” said another person.

“It was so dark last night. I couldn’t even see anything. How boastful can you be?”

“I swear I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?”

—-

Back in the Magic City, Mo Fan received Mu Ningxue’s text early in the morning.

Mo Fan was quite worried when he heard that she wanted to go to Tianshan Mountain on her own. However, considering everything that had happened lately, she did need some time alone.

Hopefully, she could have a breakthrough at Tianshan Mountain, too. The icy mountains were indeed a good choice for her.

Mo Fan had been practicing his Shadow Element lately. After failing his previous attempt, Mo Fan realized that the cultivation of his Shadow Element was not as solid as his primary Fire and Lightning Elements. Even though it was normal for Magicians to fail their breakthroughs, he was still hoping to improve it to the Advanced Level.

Since he had so many Elements to take care of, failing an attempt simply meant he was wasting resources, and he would not always have a huge job like wiping out the Black Vatican to acquire the money he needed, let alone be able to complete missions unharmed all the time!

Mu Ningxue had gone to Tianshan Mountain to continue improving herself, thus it was necessary for Mo Fan to increase his pace too!

—-

Time gradually passed. The Chinese national team seemed to have completed their third challenge and was departing for their next destination. The roster was adjusted once again.

If Mo Fan was able to win another duel as a defender, he would soon rejoin the national team.

As a matter of fact, since Mo Fan had joined the Training Hall, not a single country had managed to claim the stamp from China. With that in mind, Mo Fan was definitely going to be promoted…

—-

“Space Rhythm: Compress!”

A practice target made of iron stood at the center of the training ground. As Mo Fan unleashed a silver light, space energy in the shape of a huge rhombus appeared, producing ripples in the air.

The ripples were produced by a strong compressive force, placing the objects within it under pressure that was several times, twentyfold, or even a hundred times stronger!

The practice target soon exceeded its limit and was crushed into a thin sheet inside the rhombus!

Mo Fan walked up to the iron sheet and seeing it was compressed to only a single centimeter thick, a satisfied smile crossed his face.

Space Compression was the first level among the Intermediate Spells of the Space Element. It was very useful, as Magicians could adjust the pressure according to their needs. With enough control, Space Magicians could even compress their target’s weight and multiply the pressure to stop an enemy from moving.

Mo Fan had yet to master the art to achieve such results, but he did learn its simplest ability to compress space. If the force was strong enough, he could use the rhomboid space to lock onto a target and detonate it!

“The second-tier spell is Space Rhythm: Time Stasis, a half-defensive ability. It can slow down every kind of energy, element, material approaching me, making it easier for me to react and dodge incoming attacks. If the attacks are reliant on speed, it can dramatically reduce their damage too!” Mo Fan read the Space Element magic book that he just received in detail. “The second-tier spell of Space Rhythm is quite shocking!” he exclaimed.

Magicians were generally afraid of being attacked simultaneously by multiple enemies. After all, Magicians did not have the speed and reaction times of demon creatures. It was quite difficult for Magicians to perfectly dodge a bunch of attacks coming from all sides.

However, Space Rhythm: Time Stasis could slow down every inbound attack, allowing one to dodge them easily, without relying on a high-level movement skill like Blink.

To be honest, it was something that Mo Fan actually needed. In terms of defense, he really did not have anything else apart from the Black Snake Armor. If he happened to be facing multiple enemies, wouldn’t it be spectacular if he simply cast the Space Rhythm: Time Stasis on their attacks?

Mo Fan decided to cultivate in seclusion in order to learn the second-tier Space Intermediate Spell as early as possible.

He was aiming to improve the Space Element Nebula to the second level. It would not hurt if he unlocked more spells. Mo Fan had slowly discovered that some ordinary countries already had candidates that he could only defeat with his full strength. It was surely not good news to him. After all, China was not the strongest in terms of the standards of Magicians. As a matter of fact, it was not even listed among the top countries! The well-developed countries had lots of extraordinary talents!

The third-tier of Space Rhythm, Crack was even stronger. It was able to tear open a space crack. Everything touched by the crack would be reduced to a lower dimension.

It basically meant everything caught by the space crack would be turned into nothing. It was a very terrifying ability. If the space crack swept past a person’s wrist, their hand and arm would be separated!

—-

Mo Fan spent a long time in seclusion and finally learned the spell Space Rhythm: Time Stasis. However, before he could experiment with it on someone, he was summoned to the Clearsky Hunter Agency by Old Bao.

Mo Fan was rather confused. It was rare for Old Bao to summon him like that. Did Old Bao find him a huge job?

With Mo Fan’s strength, he would have no problem handling harder jobs. Even though they were normally less rewarding than wiping out the Black Vatican, he assumed he would still be able to earn twenty to thirty million every job?

“Orb, what orb?” asked Mo Fan, his face blank. They were in the data room on the second floor.

Old Bao was enraged. He said with wide eyes, “Have you forgotten? The evil Essence Orb you brought back from Japan? Were you seriously going to leave something so troublesome to me and simply forget about it?”

“Oh, right, I totally forgot about it, hehe!” Mo Fan put on an awkward face.

“Well, I’ve cleansed the evil presence in it, and modified it. I even asked a friend in the military…”

“Just tell me the outcome.” Mo Fan was too lazy to learn about the complicated details.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Old Bao blew at his mustache and cursed, “Do you have any idea how tiring it was just to handle the orb? You can keep it now.”

“What? Keep it?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened. “That thing is very dangerous. It tried to bewitch me at times. It’s like a ticking time bomb!”

Mo Fan did not forget how twisted Mochizuki Chihaya had been. She had almost turned into a devil. Who knew if the orb would sneak into his soul without him knowing? There was no way Mo Fan was going to bring such an evil thing around with him!

“Do you seriously think I haven’t done anything to it? I’ve already eliminated the evil presence inside it. It’s only a container now. It’s quite valuable, too!” replied Old Bao.

“Are you sure the strange voice won’t appear out of nowhere and bewitch me again?” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan clearly knew where the orb came from. It used to contain a super evil being from a place of evil. Anyone that touched it would suffer utter bad luck. Mochizuki Chihaya and Mochizuki Ken were too kind to simply chuck the orb over to him and let him handle it for them!

“Don’t worry, it won’t happen again. I was going to sell it and split the profit with you evenly, since there are people that are willing to spend a fortune on it. However, I heard Lingling mentioned that you almost used the Demon Element at the manor, so after thinking about it for some time, I decide it’s better for you to take it,” said Old Bao.

“What do you mean?” asked Mo Fan in confusion.

“You know that using the Demon Element is like a huge loan. The real demon will soon demand the payment from you, but with this orb that’s able to store Soul Essences…You know how hard it is to find an abundant supply of energy to support the Demon Element. I’ve cleared the evil existence in the orb, and modified it into an energy container. If you happen to find yourself in a situation that you can’t overcome with your current strength, you can use the Demon Element and use the orb to pay the price!” declared Old Bao.

Mo Fan was overjoyed!

Damn, it turned out that Old Bao had managed to modify the orb in his favor! Old Bao was impressive indeed. If the old man had been a young woman, Mo Fan would have immediately given him a few kisses on the face. It was something that he desperately needed for now!

“Who would have thought that the orb could be that handy, hahaha!” Mo Fan suddenly felt that both Mochizuki Chihaya and Mochizuki Ken were incredibly amusing, giving him such a great gift without them knowing!

“You have become the Black Vatican’s target after the calamity of the Ancient Capital. We will take good care of the people around you, but you like going wild on your own. The Black Vatican will surely try to get revenge on you, so before you grow into an independent Supreme Magician, the power of the Demon Element is your greatest weapon against the Black Vatican…” Old Bao reminded him sternly.

“I understand,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Go back to the national team. Our country doesn’t really have suitable sources to fill up the Essence Orb. Go find the sources elsewhere; the orb is like a magnet, it will guide you to the suitable sources. Mo Fan, no one knew what the side effects of using the Demon Element were. For your sake, and to prevent something worse than the Red Demon appearing in this world, I hope you will fill up the Essence Orb before you use the power of the Demon Element again,” said Old Bao.

Mo Fan held the empty orb in his hand and nodded firmly after seeing the serious look on Old Bao’s face.

It was obvious that Old Bao had spent quite a lot of effort on the orb just so he could have better control over the Demon Element. Mo Fan would definitely remember Old Bao’s advice!

“I will try my best to fill up the orb,” replied Mo Fan.

“Be careful out there. Salan knows what you’re capable of, so she won’t necessarily take the initiative to trouble you. She’s scared of your Demon Element, but I believe she will try every way to force you to use it, and get rid of you when you’re weak after using it. Therefore, it’s very important for you to focus on improving your strength. Only when you’re strong enough will you not find yourself being controlled by others!” added Old Bao.

Mo Fan rarely had the chance to have such a long discussion with Old Bao, yet every word that the old man said served as a great reminder to him.

It was necessary for him to grow stronger. The Demon Element was not reliable! If he assumed it was his trump card, with Salan’s capabilities, she could easily take his life!

“I understand, I will try my best to improve my strength too!” Mo Fan assured him.

—-

After taking the Essence Orb with him and leaving the Clearsky Hunter Agency, Mo Fan suddenly felt that Old Bao was not just the person in charge of a private agency. He was totally clueless about the old man’s identity in the past…

Mo Fan did not really care about it. Old Bao’s advice had definitely given him a clear goal.

Fill up the orb! Improve his strength!

Once he was strong enough, he could easily handle any situation, even if Salan was setting her eyes on him.

“I should regroup with the others on the national team. I wonder where Ai Jiangtu and the others are at now,” said Mo Fan.

—-

Mo Fan returned to the Training Hall. He was meant to take part in the last battle before he could rejoin the national team. The others were about to finish their current round of training. He had no idea who was going to be disqualified.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan had to win against another team before he could rejoin the national team.

As Old Bao mentioned, the Essence Orb did not show any reaction in the Magic City. It was obvious that there was no suitable source to fill up the orb nearby.

After entering the Training Hall, for some reason, Mo Fan felt that the atmosphere did not seem right. Everyone was wearing a gloomy look.

Mo Fan went up to the team and asked Mu Nujiao, “What’s wrong? Are we going up against a lowly team like the Egyptians?”

“They are very polite and humble. It’s just that our winning streak might come to an end today. We only needed one more win to reach five wins in a row,” said Mu Nujiao.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and looked at the group of people opposite their team. They were wearing casual clothes, some of the girls were even wearing antiquities of China as accessories. It seemed like they were quite passionate about Chinese culture…

“Which country are they from?” asked Mo Fan.

“A strong country, England!”

Mo Fan’s mouth opened. He could not find any word for a moment.

England, an extremely strong country!

Their pure, strong magic was considered to be the highest standard across Europe. The top Magic Association of the five continents, Saint Paul Church, was located right in England!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Having the English team as his final opponent, Mo Fan somehow felt that even the heavens agreed that life had been too kind to him lately, and had decided to give him a heavy blow. Otherwise, why would the English team be his last opponent when there were so many other countries?

The English team was likely to be in the top three, or at least top five of the whole world!

“Is anyone willing to take part in the duels?” Bai Dongwei scanned the defenders and saw half of them taking a step back.

Bai Dongwei was immediately enraged. He pointed at the students and scolded, “A bunch of useless idiots, eager to participate against weaker teams, yet immediately turn into cowards when a strong team comes. Being able to fight a strong team is a great chance to learn! It’s more about the spirit, do you understand?”

“Instructor, we don’t want to be crushed. We just got our confidence back,” one of the defenders murmured.

Bai Dongwei looked helpless. As a matter of fact, when the English team entered the hall, he could already tell the students were in a bad position. Their opponent was being very polite, yet everyone on the English team was actually like a tiger or a wolf.

“What is the challenge going to be?” asked Mo Fan.

“Four on four, standard team battle,” said Bai Dongwei.

“It looks like they have decided who their representatives are, how about us?” asked Mo Fan.

“I’ll go,” Mu Nujiao knew the fight was extremely important to Mo Fan. If they lost, he had to wait until the next roster change of the national team. No one knew how long that was going to take.

“Humph, a strong country is nothing to be scared of, either!” Dongfang Lie stepped forward. He seemed pretty eager to fight the English team.

“We’ll need a Water or Light Element to be in charge of our defense,” Mo Fan said to the team.

“Can I try?” asked Li Kuang.

The four members representing the Chinese team were selected. When everyone was about to step onto the stage, three people showed up at the entrance of the Training Hall. They were all fairly aged…

Bai Dongwei was surprised. He did not expect the advisors to visit the Training Hall. He was totally taken by surprise.

However, his face immediately fell dark as a thought crossed his mind.

The advisors never visited when they were on a winning streak, yet they happened to come when their team was facing off against a strong opponent, the English team. The smile on Bai Dongwei’s face immediately vanished.

It did not matter who their opponent was, it went without saying that the advisors would not be happy seeing the Chinese team lose. If they were not happy, he would surely be scolded as the instructor!

“What kind of luck do I have!?” Bai Dongwei felt like tearing up. He immediately went to receive the advisors.

The advisors were Feng Li, Song He, and the vice-president of the Oriental Pearl Tower. Behind them were a few young Magicians, who were most likely their juniors; two girls and a boy.

Feng Li had thick brows and a thick beard. He was always accompanied by a domineering aura and background music. He looked at Bai Dongwei and uttered a cold harrumph, as if he was not fond of the instructor, and proceeded to the spectator seats.

Bai Dongwei had no choice but to keep the advisors in company.

“Feng Li, it’s Mo Fan,” Song He immediately recognized Mo Fan standing on the stage.

Song He was the dean of Imperial College. He was very familiar with Mo Fan’s achievements.

“Humph, that disrespectful, undisciplined, impolite kid; I can’t wait to see how screwed he’s going to be!” Feng Li pulled a long face. He seemed to have a huge grudge against Mo Fan.

Feng Li and Song He happened to be at the Magic Association. They decided to visit the Training Hall when they learned that the English team had come to challenge them. Even though the advisors were in charge of the national team, the Training Hall was still a part of their responsibilities.

“I was quite surprised that the English team came to Asia so soon. It seems like we are the first country they visited,” said the vice-president.

“Since our Training Hall’s winning rate improved, our ranking improved too. It went without saying that they are more interested in challenging the country with the highest ranking,” Song He smiled..

The Training Hall’s winning rate had skyrocketed since Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue joined the defending team. They had successfully grabbed the attention of other countries.

“Grandpa, can they beat the English team?” asked a young girl with a ponytail in a sweet voice.

“Of course not; even the people on the national team are most likely going to lose tto the English team, let alone them,” replied Feng Li blatantly.

If the national team was considered the main team, the defending team would be considered a substitute team.

Their challenger today was the main team from England. Even the team led by Ai Jiangtu had no chance of winning against them. England was a strong country after all. Its ranking in the World College Tournament in the past had always been a lot higher than China.

“Does that mean the fight is going to be boring to watch?” murmured another young girl whose hair was dyed blonde.

“We aren’t here to enjoy the show. I’m mainly here to watch the English team, to observe their strength,” said Feng Li.

“(cough cough) Feng Li, please don’t say that…” Song He looked embarrassed.

Bai Dongwei’s face flushed after hearing the comments. Those words were too damaging to his dignity!

—-

The representatives from the Chinese team were Mo Fan, Mu Nujiao, Dongfang Lie, and Li Kuang.

As for the English team, it seemed they had decided on their representatives randomly.

Normally, it was rare for the captain of a national team to participate in the challenge. Mo Fan only hoped that the English team did not send out someone too strong. If one of their representatives was as strong as Ai Jiangtu, his team basically had no chance of winning!

“They are all Advanced Magicians,” Mo Fan quickly reminded his teammates, frowning when he saw the four representatives from the English team.

“That’s fine, we can still fight them if they haven’t learned the Advanced Spells yet,” said Li Kuang.

“I have also reached the Advanced Level,” said Mu Nujiao.

“Oh? Not bad, not bad!” Mo Fan raised his brows at Mu Nujiao.

If Mu Nujiao was able to cast the Advanced Spell of the Plant Element, their team would be in a better spot. The Demon Tree Hand was quite a dominating spell!

However, it did not matter much if she still had not learned it. Her control of the Plant Element had still improved significantly regardless. When everyone was still unable to cast Advanced Spells adeptly, the control of their Element mattered the most. After all, it usually took a long time just to cast an Advanced Spell.

Mo Fan was quite surprised to learn that Mu Nujiao had reached the Advanced Level. He had not noticed her cultivation improving suddenly, despite staying in the same house… it seemed the Mu Family had decided to invest in her!

“Cheer up, we won’t necessarily lose the duel!” said Mo Fan after he saw the other three in low spirits.

Li Kuang forced a smile on his face. As a matter of fact, he only volunteered to get some experience from it. How could they possibly have a chance of winning against the English team?!

Dongfang Lie did not say anything. He was prepared to give his best. As for the outcome, he was prepared to face it. It was not like he had never lost before.

Meanwhile, Mu Nujiao was being extremely serious. This was the first battle she would be involved in after she became an Advanced Magician. She would definitely try her best!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The English team consisted of three men and a woman. The woman stood out among them; even though she was wearing an ancient costume and accessories, she still had an elegant demeanor. Her golden pupils displayed a hint of nobility; humbling the others.

The golden-eyed girl was being modest and polite. She immediately greeted the crowd elegantly as she walked onto the stage.

Mu Nujiao responded politely, too. The atmosphere was a lot different than when the team was fighting the Egyptian team.

However, despite how polite the English team was, the pressure that the Chinese team felt did not fall even the slightest. It did not feel pleasant at all.

“My name is Ayleen. It’s my first time visiting China. I am pleased to meet you,” the golden-eyed woman smiled. She seemed to have a good impression of Mu Nujiao.

Mo Fan nudged Li Kuang on the elbow and said softly, “That woman is pretty tall, but her chest is quite big too!”

Li Kuang immediately glanced forward and was shocked to see the huge cleavage peeking through the round collar of the uniform the woman was wearing. It was rare to see someone with such a remarkable physique in their country!

“What are you two thinking about!?” snapped Mu Nujiao. “Focus on the battle, be serious!”

—-

Bai Dongwei glanced at the advisors before hesitantly declaring the start of the battle hesitantly.

The four representatives of the English team did not attack first. They were smiling calmly, as if they were treating the Chinese team to a meal instead of having a duel.

“What the heck are they smiling at? Dongfang Lie, give them a big one!” said Mo Fan.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Even though Dongfang Lie was not too pleased with Mo Fan’s order, he still gathered his flames right away.

It was not like Dongfang Lie had not improved lately. Everyone could tell that his Fire Element Soul Seed had grown a lot stronger. Its aura was already stronger than Mo Fan’s Rose Flame.

“Fiery Fist: Fiery Dragon!” Dongfang Lie immediately cast his strongest attack at the start of the battle!

The spell he cast was stronger than the fourth tier Fiery Fist: Nine Dragons. The nine dragons had all combined into a single fiery dragon, sweeping at the English team in a blaze of fire.

The Fiery Dragon sprang forward at a remarkable speed. The representatives of the English team were quite surprised by the spell.

Fifth-tier Fiery Fist? Mo Fan opened his mouth wide. He was quite shocked when he saw the fiery dragon ramming forward while uttering a menacing cry.

Dongfang Lie grinned. If he had not learned the fifth-tier Fiery Fist, he would never have dared to challenge the English team. The advisors happened to be watching the battle, too. Perhaps they would be impressed by his performance, giving him a better chance to join the national team.

The golden-eyed Ayleen opened her mouth slightly. The red light of the flames shone on her fair face.

“This is a country with concealed talents indeed! Even a talented person like him is only a mere defender at the Training Hall!” exclaimed Ayleen.

While giving the compliments, a purple-blue Star Pattern appeared under her feet. After the first Star Pattern was drawn, the second, and third Star Patterns appeared quickly. They circled around the golden-eyed woman Ayleen and formed a Water Star Constellation, setting off the sacred, glamorous woman with its brilliance!

“Water Curtain!” She tapped softly at the air in front of her. A watery rune spread swiftly and formed a barrier made from a waterfall hanging before the English team.

Even though the Fiery Dragon looked unstoppable, it was immediately extinguished by the Water Curtain when it collided with the watery barrier.

The seemingly unstoppable spell was gone within the blink of an eye. The Water Curtain perfectly nullified the Fiery Fist: Fiery Dragon.

“This…” Dongfang Lie was stunned.

How could anyone cast an Advanced Spell so quickly? What the heck could he possibly do? Even by using all he had, he had no chance of breaking through the defense of the Water Curtain set up by the golden-eyed woman!

“So fast!”

“She is so adept at casting the Advanced Spell. It’s a no-brainer who’s going to win the battle!”

“England is really a place with crazy talents. That girl is only in her twenties, yet she is already so adept at casting the Advanced Spell…”

The battle had only just begun, yet a sense of hopelessness and despair already surged through the spectators when the outcome suddenly became predictable.

—-

“I’ll handle the offense, it’s been a while since my William last had his exercise,” said Sade, who was standing beside Ayleen.

As Sade uttered a chant, the Door of Contract slowly opened, and a griffin covered in golden feathers sprang out. It let out a long cry and soared rapidly into the air. The light from the ceiling of the Training Hall shone on the griffin’s feathers and reflected sacred lights across the stage.

The golden griffin beat its wings. Its sharp eyes locked onto Dongfang Lie, who had attacked the English team first.

The creature was like a giant, golden sword, diving down from the sky, aiming to slash the person on the ground in half!

Dongfang Lie was stunned. He quickly fled for his life.

“Save me, save me!” yelled Dongfang Lie.

“Forest of Kun!” Mu Nujiao reacted swiftly and quickly summoned a huge shrub consisting of dense thistles to block the golden griffin.

“You’re only getting yourself trapped!” Sade smiled.

The man in a handsome suit beside Sade smiled too. His eyes emitted a dark purple flicker, which turned into a cracking bolt of lightning flying to the space above Mo Fan and his crew.

“Thunderbolt!” The voice of the man in the suit sounded imperious. Lightning bolts struck down at the ground fiercely, each producing sparkles across the place.

The man’s Lightning Spell was relatively quick. Normally, Mo Fan’s Thunderbolt would only summon a dozen or so lightning bolts, but the man had already sent out more than thirty, and it still showed no sign of stopping. The Forest of Kun was hindering the team’s movements, and the lightning bolts were able to find their targets easily.

Mo Fan was in a fairly good spot, since he could endure some hits with his Lightning resistance. However, the others were all in a pinch. They almost had to use their defensive equipment.

“Attracting lightning by oneself!” A flicker of lightning burst out of Mo Fan’s body, absorbing the energy of the Lightning Element around him.

It was quite easy to redirect lightning bolts. Mo Fan had turned himself into a lightning rod, forcing the lightning bolts to focus on him.

“Back to you!”

The lightning bolts surrounded Mo Fan. Before they inflicted any damage to Mo Fan, he quickly used his Lightning Seed Qianjun to unleash a horizontal lightning arc…

The lightning arc basically cleared a path for the other lightning bolts, leading right in the direction of Ayleen and her crew!

The man in a suit was stunned when he saw the lightning bolts coming back at them.

“Using lightning to direct lightning… interesting, let me handle the guy with lightning!” the man in the suit grinned.

The man left the team and constructed a Wind Track. He was guiding the lightning bolts away using the same method.

“Lightning Disaster!”

Mo Fan clenched his fist. He suddenly detonated the energy of the Lightning Seed Qianjun while the man in a suit was confidently playing with the lightning bolts.

The Lightning Disaster turned the lightning bolts into a cage entrapping the man in a suit. His face turned pale immediately as he summoned his armor in a panic to defend himself.

Fourth-tier Thunderbolt!

The man in a suit, Herbert, had a dark face when he realized he had been set up!

He did not expect his opponent to have the fourth-tier Thunderbolt, nor did he expect the man to have such outstanding control that he was able to hide the enormous energy of Lightning Disaster in just a single Thunderbolt…

“Herbert, you’ve been too careless,” criticized Ayleen when she saw Herbert already pulling out his Magic Armor.

“Humph, as long as the outcome is the same, leave the lightning guy to me!” Herbert answered in a serious voice.

A golden, brilliant light encapsulated Herbert as several Star Patterns appeared under his feet. The Star Patterns intertwined and drew a complete Star Constellation.

The faces of the defenders turned paler when they saw the brilliance of the Star Constellation emitting from Herbert’s figure.

Another Magician able to cast Advanced Spells adeptly, and he seemed to be an Advanced Lightning Magician!

“Plummeting Rays!”

Herbert already had his eyes on Mo Fan. Countless beams of light appeared around him and turned into arrows scattered across the place.

“Go!” Herbert fired all the light arrows in Mo Fan’s direction.

Mu Nujiao, Dongfang Lie, and Li Kuang spread out immediately. Mo Fan was running away, yet the light arrows were chasing after him like homing missiles…

“Space Rhythm: Time Stasis!”

Mo Fan drew the silver Star Pattern when he realized he could not run away.

The space around Mo Fan came to a near-halt all of a sudden. Even the airflow had slowed down significantly.

The light arrows that were chasing after Mo Fan slowed down as they entered the field.

“Space Element!?” Herbert was astounded when he saw his Advanced Spell losing its effect.

“Telekinesis!” The light arrows slowed down after entering the space under the effect of the Time Stasis. Mo Fan immediately used his will to construct a wall to intercept the arrows…

“Damn it!” Herbert was annoyed when he saw his Advanced Spell being nullified by an Intermediate Spell and a Basic Spell.

“Griffin, attack him!” The summoner Sade gave the command to the golden griffin flying in the air when he saw Herbert’s attack failing to achieve its goal.

“I don’t need your help!” snapped Herbert furiously.

“Winning is our primary focus,” Sade replied, ignored Herbert’s temper.

The golden griffin swung its sharp claws as it ambushed Mo Fan from behind at a remarkable speed.

“Back off!” Mo Fan used his will to stir up a strong gust of wind, trying to drive the golden griffin back.

However, Mo Fan had underestimated the golden griffin’s strength. It provided some resistance to the fierce beast, yet it was not enough to stop the beast’s claws!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Light Protection: Sacred Shield!” Li Kuang was able to react in time and applied a sphere of golden protection around Mo Fan.

The golden griffin realized that it could not penetrate the thick golden shield with a single move. It was forced to rise into the air and look for another opportunity to strike.

“Trying to run away?” Mo Fan stared at the golden griffin as it rose into the sky. He grabbed forward with his hand and dragged at the golden griffin’s tail…

The golden griffin stopped in the air, beating its wings heavily.

The creature’s wings were quite strong. Mo Fan could feel it slipping away from his Illusionary Claw.

“Space Rhythm: Gravity!” Mo Fan cast the spell quickly, immediately changing the structure of the space around the golden griffin as it was about to break free.

A rhomboid with a silver, glowing frame appeared in the air. The pressure inside the rhomboid was obviously different than that outside it. The golden griffin’s beautiful feathers were all pulled down by a mysterious force.

The creature beat its wings mightily, yet it was shocked to discover that its body was falling slowly, as if more than ten iron balls were hanging onto it, making it extremely difficult to stay in the air.

“Come down here!” Mo Fan quickly completed his Lightning Spell. He waved his hand and immediately summoned a thick, purple-black lightning bolt above the golden griffin.

The lightning descended and landed right on the golden griffin. The creature was already having trouble, and immediately fell to the ground. Some of its feathers even came off and floated in the air.

Mo Fan clearly knew an Intermediate Spell was nowhere enough to defeat the golden griffin. He slammed his fist onto the ground when the golden griffin reached the ground, bringing forth nine fiery pillars to burst out from the ground, and giving the golden griffin an enjoyable bath among the flames!

“I already said I don’t need your help!” screamed the frustrated Herbert.

Herbert gathered a strong wind and charged in Mo Fan’s direction. Apart from the Wind Track he was riding, a strong wind was following him, too. Once he was close enough to Mo Fan, the flowing air would immediately turn into a strong tornado, tossing Mo Fan into the air.

Herbert was rather confident with himself, actually treating himself as the eye of the storm, making up for the slow-moving speed of the tornado. He was basically a mini-tornado charging at a target.

Mo Fan simply decided not to dodge it when he saw the approaching attack. Flames started burning fiercely on his fists…

The Rose Flame and Calamity Fire appeared simultaneously. The two types of flames combined into one on Mo Fan’s fist, which he threw right at the moving tornado!

The flames completely surpassed Herbert’s imagination. He had never seen an Intermediate Spell almost as strong as an Advanced Spell. The storm around him was shattered by the fiery dragons rolling at him. The fierce flames struck him with great might.

Fortunately, the Magic Armor he was wearing still had not worn off. It managed to endure most of the damage on his behalf. Otherwise, he would simply have evaporated after receiving the punch!

Mo Fan’s Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons was so quick that it took everyone by surprise. It blasted Herbert down from the stage. The man was laid on the ground for quite a while before he could rise to his feet.

The members on the English team opened their mouths wide and stared at Herbert on the ground. They totally forgot to lend him a hand at that moment.

The golden-eyed Ayleen on the stage was startled. Her focus was on Mu Nujiao, as she did not expect the ordinary-looking man to possess such shocking strength. He even managed to defeat one of their members before any of them could react!

“That man is pretty strong. Don’t let your guard down!” Ayleen instructed her other two teammates.

Sade was well aware of it. It took his griffin quite an effort just to break free from the man’s control!

“Time to show them what we are really capable of!” Sade ordered the golden griffin to return to his side and started drawing a lunar-white Star Constellation.

The lunar-white Star Constellation formed a stunning, mysterious area. The others could vaguely see the outline of an illusionary door leading to a different dimension standing on the stage.

The door’s outline gradually grew clearer. It was a tunnel leading directly to the Summoned Beast Plane. The door was still not open, but everyone could already hear a loud noise from the other side, eager to rush out of the door.

“Crap, this is bad!” Bai Dongwei was the first to shout out.

An extremely dangerous aura burst out of the mysterious door and spread across the place like a black tide. As a Summoner, Mo Fan clearly knew how dangerous the thing behind the door was. He subconsciously took a few steps backward.

“Blood Beasts of the Land, trample upon this place!” yelled Sade.

The dimensional door sprang open. A pack of bear-like creatures with blood-red hides rushed out from it. The Training Hall trembled from their roars. Their muscular limbs easily smashed the stage into pieces.

The Advanced Summoning Spell did not just summon a powerful creature, but a whole pack of them! They were like a formidable beast tide, trampling everything into ashes!

When the number of Blood Beasts reached a certain amount, they were basically unstoppable as they were stampeding. Mo Fan immediately fled for his life when he saw the terrifying scene.

It was the same for Mu Nujiao, Dongfang Lie, and Li Kuang; no one dared to face the beasts directly!

Mu Nujiao was pretty quick since her secondary element was Wind. Meanwhile, Dongfang Lie was in a bad spot. The pack of Blood-Colored Enraged Bears soon caught up to him and smashed him half a meter into the ground. His expensive armor was smashed into pieces, too…

There were lots of different Blood Beasts, including Blood Rhinoceros, Giant Blood Bears, Wild Blood Elephants, most of them as enormous and muscular as tanks!

One could imagine how destructive it was when a group of tanks was charging forward at a speed of almost a hundred kilometers an hour.

The Blood Beasts soon filled up the stage. They were chasing after Mo Fan, Mu Nujiao, and Li Kuang while ramming, stomping, and knocking everything they came upon. Li Kuang used all he had to protect Mo Fan and Mu Nujiao, yet his Light Element and Earth Element were not enough to hold the creatures off still!

“This…this is just too painful to watch!” said Yue Tangxin.

The other defenders nodded in agreement.

This was the Advanced Summoning Spell. The word violent was nowhere enough to fully describe it. The defenders were relieved that they were not involved in the duel when they saw the beast tide devouring the tiny Mo Fan and the others.

—-

“The team always has to rely on me in times like this.” Sade had a confident smile.

“Being able to summon such a huge pack of Blood Beasts, you’re indeed crazy!” Ayleen rolled her eyes.

“It’s nothing! If I have enough energy, the Beast Tide Summoning can last even longer,” grinned Sade.

The creatures summoned to their world through Dimensional Summoning were unable to stay forever. For example, Mo Fan’s Swift Star Wolf had to return to the Summoned Beast Plane after a certain time. The creature was able to stay for a long time because Mo Fan had plenty of energy to support his consumption.

However, Contracted Beasts did not have the same restriction. Little Flame Belle could stay as long as she wished. After all, she was a creature from this world, too.

The Advanced Summoning Spell was able to directly open a giant gate connected to the Summoned Beast Plane and summon a beast tide to trample one’s enemies. In simpler words, it was the same as summoning a pack of large demon creatures to trample the area…

The spell was powerful, but it had strict time restrictions!

The whole stage was almost razed to the ground by the pack of giant bears, rhinoceroses, and elephants. However, as soon as the time limit was reached, the creatures were immediately dragged into a portal and vanished into thin air.

The beasts came all of a sudden and left pretty quickly, too. In the blink of an eye, the place was just spacious as it initially was, although it was now full of holes, marks, broken pieces…

Dongfang Lie totally lost his ability to fight after being stomped by the beasts. He was moved down from the stage to be treated.

Li Kuang also expended all his energy just to protect the team from the beast tide. He looked at Mo Fan and Mu Nujiao with a pale face and said, “The rest is up to you two now. Try dragging the battle out as long as possible!”

Li Kuang did give all he had. Otherwise, Mo Fan and Mu Nujiao might not even have survived the Beast Tide.

Two members on their team were eliminated in an instant. Mo Fan finally realized how strong the English team was.

However, he was not someone to be messed with, either!

“Little Flame Belle, let’s fly!”

Li Kuang had given Mo Fan lots of time. The Rocket Wings were ready to launch. Not long after the beast tide disappeared, the whole Training Hall was set aflame by Mo Fan’s fierce flames.

The burning feathers exploded on Mo Fan’s back, turning him into a missile…

“It’s the same move that defeated the vice-captain of the Egyptian team!” The instructor and defenders were excited.

The punch was able to destroy the vice-captain’s defensive Advanced Spell instantly. It was slightly stronger than most Advanced Spells!

The three representatives of the English team were stunned when they saw fiery wings approaching them rapidly. They had never seen any move like it before, but they were able to tell that the attack was stronger than the punch that had knocked Herbert flying, just from the heat of the flames!

“Rocket Wings: Meteorite Fist!” The flames burned fiercely as a meteorite swept forth. Mo Fan left the nine fiery dragons behind as if they were mere accessories.

Ayleen and her other teammate quickly set up their defense.

A Water Curtain appeared in front of them, followed by a layer of Sacred Light: Rampart, facing the direction Mo Fan was approaching from.

The two layers of defense failed to stop Mo Fan’s Rocket Wings, Meteorite Fist. They were shattered into pieces! Ayleen, Sade, and the third teammate were stunned. They quickly summoned their Shield Equipment…

There were five layers of defense in total. The flames finally stopped moving forward. The three members of the English team could feel cold sweat running down their cheeks. They did not expect their opponent to have a move even stronger than the Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons he already used before!

Meanwhile, on the spectator seat, Dean Song He’s mouth was big enough to fit a goose egg in. Even Feng Li was stunned.

They kept hearing from the others how outstanding Mo Fan’s strength was. However, after seeing it in person today, it was not only outstanding, but totally unbelievable!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

“No…no way, how did they survive it?”

“Holy crap, if I took that punch, I would have died eight times in a row, yet these maniacs from England are still alive!”

Wasn’t the English team’s defense a bit too impressive to be true? An Advanced Water Spell, Water Curtain, an Intermediate Light Spell, Light Protection: Sacred Shield, and three sets of Magic Shields. Their teamwork was absolutely stunning!

If only one of the three representatives of the English team had summoned their Shield, Mo Fan’s punch would still have been able to crush their defense, yet they somehow stacked the three shields together…

Everyone sighed. It wasn’t like Mo Fan was not strong enough. It was just that the members of the English team were too good, and were well-trained, too!

“It’s not done yet!” Mo Fan suddenly oared. As he landed on the ground, the wings behind him extended along his shoulders, with the feathers scattering across the place.

Thousand Piercing Fire Feathers!

The flames from the punch were still burning, but hundreds, maybe even a thousand fiery feathers, were already flying toward the three members of the English team.

The feathers exploded in waves, long-lasting flames surging at the three members of the English team before they could prepare themselves.

They had to Summon their Magic Armor in a panic, right after they used their Shields!

The defense of different sets of Magic Armor was almost the same. The good ones usually cost a fortune. As such, even among the members on the national team, it was unlikely that anyone would spend lots of their resources on Magic Armor, since it was not as reliable as their own cultivation.

Apart from Ayleen’s red-green Armor that actually protected her from the explosions, the other two were injured after the explosions tore their Armor apart…

“I…I can’t hold on any longer,” Sade’s primary element was Summoning. He immediately jumped down from the stage when he found himself in a disadvantageous position.

The explosions were still continuing. If he stayed on the stage any longer, he would soon be burned badly. He did not want to suffer serious injuries in an unimportant battle like this, as it would surely affect his cultivation if he had to rest in bed for some time.

The other teammate had trouble resisting the explosions, too. The damage of the Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers was even higher than the Fire Sword when they were focused on just a few targets. It was unlikely that a set of Magic Armor was enough to defend against it.

As for the golden-eyed Ayleen, her Armor was obviously of superb quality. The explosions of the Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers only managed to leave some scratches on the Armor instead of inflicting any real damage to her. It turned out that this Ayleen was the strongest of the four representatives.

After two of her teammates withdrew from the stage, she was the only one left on her team.

As the smoke finally dispersed, Ayleen seemed to have gone through a lot of hardship. Her beautiful hair was disheveled now.

Despite that, she retained her graceful demeanor and said, “I had heard that the Chinese Training Hall had a very talented candidate. I suppose it’s referring to you, but to be honest, you’re even stronger than I imagined.”

“Two on one, you have no chance of winning, just surrender,” replied Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had revealed all his trump cards today. It was not a good thing for him, since they would have to meet again during the finals at Venice. Most representatives were unwilling to show their true strength so early, but Mo Fan was left with no choice. He had to defeat the English team if he wanted to rejoin the national team!

“Not necessarily,” Ayleen tied her hair back, displaying her stunning face. Her golden eyes were remarkably attractive, highlighting the beauty of a foreigner.

“Don’t be like that, it’s just a friendly match. Just let us win, it doesn’t benefit any of us if we show all our trump cards here…” replied Mo Fan.

Mu Nujiao immediately rolled her eyes. Their opponent had obviously decided to take the battle seriously judging from her words, yet was he seriously trying to convince her to surrender like that!

“You still have other trump cards?” Ayleen blinked, looking surprised, and intrigued.

“Of course, just ask any person you stumble into in China what kind of a Magician I, Mo Fan am! I know you still have moves that you haven’t used yet, but it’s clearly not wise to go all out here… and besides, we still have two people on our side,” said Mo Fan.

Ayleen looked at Mo Fan and fell into deep thought.

The crowd watching the duel was left speechless. Was Mo Fan seriously asking his opponent to surrender? Was that even allowed?

“Alright, losing a stamp doesn’t really matter to us. I believe you will surely join the national team, let’s have a rematch when the time comes,” Ayleen agreed.

Saying this, Ayleen walked down the stage under the crowd’s astounded gaze, indicating that she had conceded the duel.

The atmosphere exploded instantly!

“Did…did that really work?” Dongfang Lie, still in great pain, screamed out excitedly.

“We won? Did we win?” Mu Nujiao stood stock still in shock. It took her quite some time to recover from her astonishment.

Mu Nujiao seriously thought Mo Fan’s asking their opponent to surrender was utter nonsense, yet the golden-eyed girl was even more unreasonable!

Anyone could easily tell that she was the strongest among the four representatives on the English team. However, apart from casting the Water Curtain twice, she basically did not use any of her other spells. She even managed to block Mo Fan’s strongest move. As such, her strength was surely even more outstanding than what she had shown. However, Mo Fan managed to convince her to surrender when everyone thought she was about to fight back fiercely…

Not only were the defenders left utterly speechless, even the people on the English team looked totally stunned!

“I’ll buy you some delicious food later, authentic Chinese delicacies, hehe!” Mo Fan smiled. He suddenly found this golden-eyed Ayleen fairly interesting.

“Sure, I really like the food here!” Ayleen’s eyes sparkled. From her Chinese outfit, it was easy to tell that she was quite a fan of the Chinese culture…

“Ayleen, are you sure about that?”

“Did he really convince you like that?”

Ayleen glared at the people talking to her. They immediately shut their mouths despite having conflicting thoughts in their minds.

-Alright, you’re the little princess, whatever you say…-

Either way, their team was not worried that they could not make it to the finals at Venice. Having one less stamp did not really make any difference.

That being said, they were indeed surprised by Mo Fan’s outstanding strength. It was quite shocking to find such a strong Magician at a Training Hall. It went without saying that he would surely join the national team. As such, he would eventually become an opponent worthy of their extra attention!

—-

“Grandpa, I think they won,” exclaimed the girl with a ponytail.

Feng Li slowly closed his mouth. Even he was unable to say anything about the duel.

Mo Fan’s strength was absolutely shocking, without a doubt. Even a strong team like the English team had trouble resisting his Rocket Wings Fiery Fist, followed by the Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers!

If the guy was a little bit more disciplined, Feng Li would surely have complimented him for his performance.

“It’s surprising to see how strong he is now…” Dean Song He fondled his beard.

It was very impressive that Mo Fan was able to win against the English team, not to mention that he basically led a team consisting of mostly peak Intermediate Magicians and won against a team of Advanced Magicians!

Feng Li walked down from the spectator seats and came up to Mo Fan.

“Are you going to stay here, or move your ass back to the national team?” Feng Li asked in an unpleasant voice.

“Don’t be so harsh, of course I’m going back to the national team. An old man like you shouldn’t be pulling a long face all the time. You look like everyone in the world owes you a few hundred million,” replied Mo Fan.

“Where are your manners when talking to a senior!?”

“Grandpa, look, I wasn’t the only one telling you that, you shouldn’t be pulling a long face all the time, hehe!” the girl with a ponytail giggled.

Feng Li had totally lost his temper in front of his granddaughter. Knowing that Mo Fan had earned some glory for their Training Hall, he decided not to be too fussy about how Mo Fan demanded to leave the national team without his permission.

“Pack your stuff, we’re going to South America in a few days,” Song He said to Mo Fan with a smile.

Song He’s attitude was totally different than Feng Li’s. Mo Fan had no idea why the two advisors were so different in terms of temperament. One was stinky, like a rock in a latrine pit, and the other was gentle and friendly.

“Sure,” Mo Fan nodded.

—-

Mo Fan was a man of his words. He already gave his promise to treat Ayleen to a meal, thus he brought her to a local lobster restaurant. Ayleen was hesitant when she saw the next table eating the red, spicy lobsters wildly, but when Mo Fan peeled one for her to have a try, she could not stop eating. She ate a whole kilogram of lobsters on her own, leaving chili oil all over her mouth.

“That was so delicious, I have never eaten anything like it before!” Ayleen could feel her stomach protesting. The lobsters did not have much meat, so it was quite shocking that she actually felt bloated from the meal.

Mo Fan brought the little princess from England, who was both a foodie and a thrill seeker, to other interesting places. The English team almost thought Mo Fan had kidnapped her away.

—-

“It’s time for us to leave, the training is still a long way ahead, the next time we meet is most likely going to be at Venice. I’m looking forward to seeing your true strength,” Ayleen had totally enjoyed her time here, but still spoke to Mo Fan in a serious voice.

“When the time comes, I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a beautiful woman. Speaking of which, I’m going to South America tomorrow too!” Mo Fan clarified his stance.

“Our next stop is Japan, see you again!”

—

Ayleen bade Mo Fan goodbye. Mo Fan also packed up his stuff and prepared for his trip to South America early the next morning.

The lands in South America had retained their primitive appearance. The deserts, forests, and rivers still looked the same after more than a thousand years. The place was not very developed.

That being said, it was not like the humans were not planning to expand their cities, factories, and roads, but South America was actually a giant nest for demon creatures. The demon creatures there were well known for their brutality and enormous numbers!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

“Our beloved passengers, our plane has encountered some turbulence. Please remain seated and fasten your seat belts…” a sweet voice came over the speakers in the plane.

The cabin was shaking vigorously, alternating with being weightless at times. However, most passengers on board the international flight were frequent air travelers. Turbulence was pretty common to them. It basically happened during every flight in their country.

Mo Fan was sitting close to a window. He could feel his chair rocking violently, as if it was about to come loose.

“Isn’t this turbulence a bit too strong?” asked a woman sitting beside Mo Fan softly.

Mo Fan frowned too.

The cabin was shaking stronger than before. Some of the passengers that were calm initially looked worried now.

“What is going on!?”

“Don’t tell me that something has happened to the plane?”

“At this rate, the plane is going to fall apart!”

Several passengers yelled out. Even the stewardesses had gone back to their seats with seat belts fastened. None of them dared to walk around in the shaking cabin.

“Our beloved passengers…”

“Beloved my ass, what the heck is going on!?” screamed a hot-tempered passenger.

It felt like his scream brought the others great misfortune, as the lights in the cabin suddenly went off and oxygen masks started falling from above!

The oxygen masks implied that something was definitely wrong. The cabin was filled with cries and screams. Some of the female passengers even burst into tears.

“Are you serious? Am I going to be involved in an aviation accident, even though it’s only my first time on an intercontinental flight?” Mo Fan was stunned too.

He subconsciously looked out of the window and saw the wing was seriously off-angled. It kept moving up and down, unable to maintain its balance…

With another rumble, the plane started falling. The sense of weightlessness immediately had the passengers screaming at the top of their lungs.

The cute girl sitting beside Mo Fan subconsciously grabbed onto Mo Fan’s arm and dug her head into his chest.

Mo Fan only had a brief chat with her before the plane took off. He knew her name was Fenfen, but they were definitely not close at all!

Did his ability to hit on girls suddenly reach an outstanding level even he was unaware of?

Unfortunately, it was obviously not the time to hit on a girl. Mo Fan saw a strange current through the clouds outside the window. It had to be preventing the plane from flying normally.

Mo Fan unfastened his seat belt and rose to his feet.

“What…what are you doing?” Fenfen asked in fear.

“I’ll go take a look. There’s a strange current out there. There might be some big problem,” Mo Fan headed for the pilot cabin.

“Sir, please don’t walk around now… it’s too dangerous!” A stewardess tried to stop Mo Fan.

Mo Fan continued forward. The stewardess unfastened her seat belt and quickly chased after him.

As Mo Fan was approaching the pilot cabin, Mo Fan saw the head steward and the substitute pilot. Both of them had gloomy looks.

“What’s going on exactly?” asked Mo Fan sternly.

“Are you a Magician?” asked the substitute pilot.

Mo Fan nodded.

“That’s great, we’ve discovered that a demon creature capable of controlling airflow has intercepted our flying path. It’s preventing the plane from flying. We’ve now entered the strange airflow, and we are having trouble flying out of it,” said the uniformed pilot.

“Why didn’t you tell us when the situation is so serious? Aren’t you afraid that the plane is going to crash?” said Mo Fan.

“There’s nothing we can do. The Air Space Magicians are on their way, but we are pretty deep into the Pacific Ocean, it’s going to take them some time to reach us. We can only keep the plane under control temporarily, and ask the passengers to stay calm,” replied the head steward.

A few stewardesses beside them had pale faces. If such a huge demon creature had intercepted them, even though the plane was made of a special material that helped it avoid their attention, it did not necessarily mean the creature was unaware of their presence!

Mo Fan entered the pilot cabin and saw the two pilots in cold sweat. They had no time to talk to Mo Fan, as they were focused on controlling the plane, preventing it from falling…

“That thing is behind us!” yelled the co-pilot.

“Stay calm, pick up the pace and get rid of it!” replied the main pilot in a deep voice.

Mo Fan took a glance at the detector. On the screen was a trembling airplane model, and around two kilometers away, a creature with a size comparable to the plane was gradually approaching. Judging from the creature’s silhouette on the scanner, it was some kind of enormous bird with a huge body and relatively small wings…

“We can’t increase our speed. The air current is too strong!” said the co-pilot.

“We can’t let the creature touch the plane!” exclaimed the main pilot.

” MT332, this is headquarters, what’s your status?”

“We have an emergency. We are being chased by a strange bird in the air and the plane is caught in turbulence. Please send a patrol jet and Air Space Magicians over at once!” responded the head pilot.

“MT332, the closest patrol plane and Air Space Magicians will need at least twenty minutes to reach you. Ask the head steward to call for an Advanced Magician among the passengers… you must wait until the Air Space Magicians arrive ,” the headquarters replied.

The head steward and co-pilot immediately stared at Mo Fan in the pilot cabin and asked, “Are you the Advanced Magician he mentioned? Judging from your age…”

“There should be another one. I didn’t clarify my strength. Use the speakers to alert the Advanced Magician. I can’t fly,” replied Mo Fan.

The head steward immediately asked the Advanced Magician to lend a hand through the speakers.

—

Not long after, a man with thick glasses around the age of thirty came forward. He looked rather impatient.

“Why didn’t you notify me in the first place!?” The man had the usual temperament of high-ranking personnel. His tone was incredibly heavy.

“Let’s talk later; we need to handle the strange bird first,” said Mo Fan.

The man in glasses looked at Mo Fan and uttered a cold harrumph, “Nonsense, what is a student like you doing here? Go back to your seat; do you think you’re a hero after learning a spell or two in school?”

Mo Fan was too lazy to communicate with the man after seeing how arrogant he was. He was more concerned about the safety of the plane. He did not want the plane to fall into the Pacific Ocean. It would be impossible to find them!

The head steward and the substitute pilot brought the two to the back of the plane. There was a special door with three layers, granting access to the tail section of the plane.

Mo Fan and the teacher surnamed Jia from some Magic Institute made their way onto the tail section through the special door.

The plane had to maintain a certain speed to keep flying. It was pretty fast. Even though there was no sign of turbulence, the wind was still shockingly strong. Mo Fan almost felt his face being blown away by it…

Mr. Jia seemed like he knew what he was doing. He jumped onto the body of the plane and found himself a solid foothold in the strong wind.

“I asked you not to come. If you’re blown away by the wind, even if you managed to survive the fall, you’re still going to get lost in the Pacific Ocean,” snapped Mr. Jia angrily.

Mo Fan looked to be in his twenties. It was unlikely that the young man was a strong Magician. It would be impressive if he had reached the Intermediate Level!

Mo Fan seriously had no time to waste with the man. He jumped onto the wing. The strong wind sounded like the roar of a surging flood. It could blow a person off at any second. Luckily, Mo Fan was a Magician, and was able to set his feet firmly.

—-

The clouds about them were split into two layers. One layer was high up in the air, as thin as a veil.

The other layer was below the plane, thick like cotton. It extended all the way to the horizon, and looked like a white, soft land that someone could step on.

Mo Fan and Mir. Jia were standing on the tail section of the buffeted plane. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan had never experienced anything as thrilling as this. He looked back and saw an enormous bird around two kilometers away. It was following the plane, and gradually getting closer.

Its wings were beating at a high frequency, so fast that they were almost transparent. They were making a loud, buzzing sound. The wind the wings produced while beating at such a high frequency was preventing the plane from flying normally!

“Wind Wings!” Mr. Jia drew the Star Constellation of the Wind Element. Wind spirits soon formed a pair of wings on his back. The wings spread apart in a stunning manner.

Mr. Jia jumped into the air and rose into the blue sky while beating the wings.

“Hey, bring me along!” yelled Mo Fan.

The arrogant Mr. Jia ignored Mo Fan. He would not let a naive student get himself killed.

Mr. Jia flew in between the plane and the enormous hummingbird. From Mo Fan’s angle, the view of the man and the strange bird resulted in a weird contrast…

Mo Fan could see magic light flashing in the air. It seemed to be the brilliance of Star Patterns aiming at the strange bird.

Intermediate Spells were obviously not very effective against the bird. Just the wind circling the creature was enough to resist such spells.

Mr. Jia started channeling an Advanced Spell, yet judging from his casting speed, he was still not familiar with the Advanced Earth Spell. It allowed the strange bird to get closer to him.

Mo Fan was unable to keep calm after seeing that. “Damn it, why did he have to be a show-off!?”

It was not the time for Mo Fan to preserve his strength. He took out a scroll of the Lightning Star Constellation and quickly inserted his energy of the Lightning Element into it.

The speed constructing the Star Constellation with the help of the scroll was only average. After he finished drawing the Lightning Star Constellation, Mo Fan unleashed all his energy and drove the spell out.

A sharp bolt of lightning swept across the sky, heading for the strange bird.

The lightning bolt looked unstoppable in the vast sky. It struck the strange bird almost a kilometer away in less than a second.

The strange bird was unable to react in time. The lightning bolt punctured the area between the wings and arms of the creature and left a hole behind.

The bird let out a painful cry. It immediately gave up on the idea of picking a fight with the plane after realizing that it was not something it could afford to mess with.

Mr. Jia was stunned when he saw the powerful stroke of lightning from behind him! He turned to the student that looked to be more than ten years younger than him on the tail section…

“Advanced…Advanced Lightning!” The pride that Mr. Jia had before completely vanished into thin air.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—-

The enormous bird flew off into the distance. The airflow around them immediately returned to normal, allowing the plane to recover and stabilize itself.

As they went back into the cabin, the head steward, stewardesses, and the substitute pilot received them and said joyfully to Mr. Jia, “Well done, you managed to drive that terrifying demon creature away!”

As the plane was able to fly normally, the passengers gradually calmed down too. When they learned the Magician had saved everyone’s life, they rose to their feet and gave him a round of applause with grateful looks.

Mr. Jia felt awkward. He pointed at Mo Fan and said, “I didn’t do much, it was this Lightning Magician that drove the creature away.”

The people in the cabin were stunned. Mr. Jia was older, and had the impressive demeanor expected from a Magician. The head steward also mentioned through the speakers that he was an Advanced Magician. As such, everyone assumed he was the main contributor to driving the bird away. To their surprise, the young student beside him was their true savior.

Mo Fan returned to his seat without saying anything.

Mr. Jia felt even more awkward. He remembered how he was talked down to the young man, and recalled how helpless he was against the strange bird. He was even more impressed by Mo Fan’s talents.

“Did you really drive that strange bird away?” asked the girl named Fenfen sitting beside him.

“I guess so,” Mo Fan smiled. He could see the adoring look in the girl’s eyes.

He sighed to himself; he was indeed a giant among men. Even riding a plane could get him so much attention. He did not even have the chance to stay low for a couple of days.

Forget it, he had to start getting used to being in the limelight for the rest of his life!

—-

Mo Fan’s destination was Peru in South America. The national team was already waiting for him in Hanmi City in Peru.

Hanmi City was located in the south of Peru. It was not a rainforest, but scorching dry land and desert. It was common to see huge orange rocks extending endlessly into the horizon, connected with the blue sky. At times, there would be mountains standing alone on the barren lands with nothing else within a few kilometers. The long shadows of the mountains were like giant black swords slashing the ground in half.

The temperature increased dramatically after reaching Hanmi City. Mo Fan immediately regrouped with the national team as soon as he landed. Mo Fan was having trouble adapting to the scorching heat, feeling like he was being baked inside an oven. On the other hand, Little Flame Belle was enjoying herself. It felt like she had returned to the North Burning Valley.

Mo Fan found Ai Jiangtu and the others inside an inn in Hanmi City. They were chilling in the bar while enjoying local beers. Everyone seemed to be pleased with themselves.

Perhaps because of the hot weather, Mo Fan was not surprised to see Jiang Shaoxu in skimpy clothes. A third of her breasts were exposed, setting off the open-mindedness and unruliness of the locals in South America. Her short, tight pants made her buttocks look even more alluring.

“Yo! Mo Fan!” Jiang Shaoxu was the first to notice him. She immediately donned a seductive grin.

“Come, give me a hug,” Mo Fan burst out laughing as he strutted forward and took advantage of the woman.

Jiang Shaoxu did not mind at all. She gave Mo Fan a pleasant-smelling and soft hug. It was meant to be a normal way of greeting people in foreign countries, yet Mo Fan purposely squeezed the soft flesh that was about to burst out from her chest!

Bouncy! They were extremely bouncy!

Jiang Shaoxu’s goods were really impressive. Mo Fan was sure that she was not stacking anything underneath them. He could easily tell from the touch alone.

“Pervert!” Jiang Shaoxu rolled her eyes at Mo Fan seductively. She did not seem to be bothered by Mo Fan’s perverted act.

“Humph, she was greeting you, what the heck were you doing, pervert!” snapped an unfamiliar voice.

Mo Fan turned around and saw a face he had never seen before.

However, he could easily guess that the person was Lu Yilin. Mu Nujiao and the others already mentioned him when he was still at the Training Hall. After Mu Nujiao and he left the national team, Lu Yilin was the one that took their place.

“She didn’t mention a word, who do you think you are to criticize me?” replied Mo Fan unpleasantly.

“She’s a woman, so of course she would feel embarrassed if she pointed it out, but you better watch yourself! By the way, shouldn’t a rookie like you respect the seniors on the team? Is that how you talk to your seniors!” snapped Lu Yilin furiously.

Mo Fan glanced at Jiang Shaoxu and saw her wearing a cunning smile. He immediately came to a realization.

This Lu Yilin must have fallen for Jiang Shaoxu after being teased by her vixenish temperament. As such, he was surely not happy when he saw Mo Fan taking advantage of the woman he was interested in.

“Senior?”

“HAHAHA, Mo Fan, you’re a junior now,” Jiang Yu burst out laughing.

Mo Fan was left speechless. Did he seriously have to waste his time on an idiot when he just came back to the team? Didn’t he only take slight advantage of her, not to mention how willing she was!

“Lu Yilin said something to Jiang Shaoxu after drinking some alcohol, but it looks like he has been rejected, so he is still pissed. You happened to arrive and stepped on his tail!” Zhao Manyan went up to Mo Fan and informed him.

Mo Fan understood. Now it made sense why someone would pick on him when he just arrived. It seemed like this Lu Yilin was in a bad mood after he was placed in the friendzone.

What an idiot, treating him as a punching bag? Was this guy out of his goddamn mind?

“You have three seconds, keep a distance of more than ten meters away from me. Otherwise, the smell of booze and your fragile little princess temperament are urging me to beat you up!” said Mo Fan.

“HAHAHA, fragile temperament of a little princess!… Mo Fan, do you really have to go so far?” Zhao Manyan immediately burst into laughter.

Some among the group chuckled after hearing the comment, too.

Lu Yilin blushed when he saw the team laughing after his rejection was exposed. His burning eyes glared at Mo Fan.

“Looks like I’ll have to teach you how to behave as a member of the national team!” Lu Yilin’s eyes emitted a golden light.

A few patterns appeared around him and swiftly combined into a golden Star Pattern.

“Star…Star Constellation, it’s an Advanced Spell!”

The people in the bar were shocked when they saw the brilliant golden light. It was incredibly rare to see an Advanced Magician in an average city like Hanmi City!

Lu Yilin’s expression recovered slightly when he heard the people exclaiming. The world was pretty blatant after all. Strength meant everything in this world; he could pick on anyone as long as he was strong enough!

“You were just promoted to the national team from the Training Hall. You’re still too weak compared to the rest of us. You better…” Lu Yilin gave Mo Fan a righteous stare.

“Piss off!” Mo Fan’s eyes emitted an imperious, silver glow.

As Lu Yilin was about to finish his golden Star Constellation, a strong force rammed into him and sent him flying before he could react…

He flew from the center of the bar to the middle of the road outside the inn, sweeping dust into the air.

The people who were making noise in the bar immediately fell silent.

Even the members of the national team were stunned. They looked at the mysterious silver glow around Mo Fan in disbelief.

“Space…Space Element!” Jiang Shaoxu was the first to scream out in surprise.

Nanyu, Ai Jiangtu, Jiang Yu, Guan Yu, and the others fixed their gazes on Mo Fan, too. No one even cared whether Lu Yilin who was knocked flying was injured or not.

Since when did Mo Fan have access to the Space Element? Judging from how he was able to unleash the strong force within an instant, he was already familiar with using it, too!

“Humph, Double Innate Elements, you finally showed your innate talent. However, aren’t you overreacting to using it on your teammate in the middle of a quarrel!?” Guan Yu condemned in a jealous voice.

Mo Fan’s Double Innate Elements was not really a secret. The reason he did not show it when he was still on the team was that his Space Element was still too weak back then. He only got better at it after focusing on training it when he returned home.

“I only used a Basic Spell, but he was trying to cast an Advanced Spell on me. It’s been months since I last scolded you, are those fish bones of yours itching already? Do you want me to send you out there to keep that idiot in company?” Mo Fan looked at Guan Yu and replied with a hollow laugh.

{TL Note: The Yu in Guan Yu’s name means fish.}

Guan Yu harrumphed coldly, but he did not dare say anything further.

If he actually fought Mo Fan, it was unlikely for him to win against Mo Fan. Guan Yu felt there was no need to provoke Mo Fan directly for now. Once his cultivation improved further, he had plenty of chances to teach this smug Mo Fan a lesson!

“So you’re that guy with Double Innate Elements!” Jiang Shaoxu’s smile blossomed like a flower. Her seductive eyes admired Mo Fan even more.

Jiang Shaoxu was the kind who was willing to flirt with someone strong who managed to intrigue her. As for someone like Lu Yilin, who was arrogant, proud, and close-minded, she was too lazy to even waste a few glances on him.

“Mo Fan, no infighting on the team,” Ai Jiangtu told him softly.

Mo Fan shrugged, implying that it was Lu Yilin who attacked first. He was only defending himself.

Lu Yilin was not injured from the brief exchange. After all, the spell was mainly used to knock back the target. The physical attributes of an Advanced Magician were not that weak. However, Lu Yilin felt humiliated by it. He was like an erupting volcano ready to challenge Mo Fan to a duel.

“Come out here, we’ll go somewhere with more space. I’m going to teach you the consequences of enraging me!” Lu Yilin yelled at Mo Fan after he came into the bar with dust all over his face.

“Lu Yilin, if you really have the energy for a duel, save it for our trip to Halami Desert tomorrow. Mo Fan isn’t a rookie, he was already on the team before. In fact, he’s your senior,” Nanyu rebuked him.

“Everyone, let’s calm down.” Jiang Shaoxu also realized that it would turn into a huge problem at this rate. She proceeded to cast Pacify on both Mo Fan and Lu Yilin.

The spell was rather effective. Besides, Jiang Shaoxu was the one casting it. Lu Yilin finally withheld his anger and said to Mo Fan, “You just wait!”

“Are you going to complain to your parents or the teacher, little baby?” Mo Fan mocked tight back.

The words immediately set Lu Yilin off. Even Jiang Shaoxu’s Pacify was unable to calm him down. In the end, Ai Jiangtu had to step in to put an end to the farce.

Nanyu glared at Mo Fan, silently asking him to control his sharp tongue for once…

Chapter 928: Peru Desert Valley
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The wind blowing at Mo Fan was scorching hot. There was also a little furnace standing on his shoulder. Mo Fan had no clue how he was going to survive.

“Little Flame Belle, can you go back to sleep in your nest?” Mo Fan was dying from the heat. He immediately negotiated with Little Flame Belle.

Little Flame Belle instantly felt unhappy. The wronged look in her eyes was implying that she was annoying him.

“Alright, just lie on my shoulder, but stop drooling please,” Mo Fan caved helplessly.

Hanmi City was not very big. It was basically the size of a second or third-tier city in China. However, the population of the city was a lot lower compared to a city of the same size in China. There were not many cars and pedestrians on the main street, perhaps because it was not the peak hours yet.

“Are you guys in some sort of trouble?” Mo Fan asked Nanyu.

After enjoying the refreshing beers, the team kept mentioning something that happened recently. They were complaining to one another while trying to come up with a plan. Mo Fan had just rejoined the team, so he had no clue what they were talking about.

“Well, there are some ancient ruins around seventy kilometers away from Hanmi City. The locals mentioned wind and lightning, and rare phenomena across the place. There might be something useful there. The resources distributed by the advisors are obviously not enough for us, so apart from challenging the Training Halls, the team has been busy searching for treasure, too,” said Jiang Yu.

Despite the backgrounds that everyone was from, no one would complain about having too many resources. The secondary objective of their world-wide adventure was to search for valuable treasures too!

Considering how big the world was, it was possible to dig out rare and valuable loot. Many famous Magicians had stumbled into incredible finds during their training, allowing them to embark on a path to success. It showed how important searching for treasure was!

“Wind and lightning, ancient ruins in a desert… that sounds quite interesting…” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

He lowered his head and glanced at the Essence Orb in his hand.

As a matter of fact, the Essence Orb was already showing some reaction after the plane landed in South America. Its light was pointing exactly in the direction of the ancient ruins. It seemed like there was something that could fill up the energy of the Essence Orb at the ancient ruins!

“Interesting my ass, there’s a long desert valley right in front of the ruins, stuck in between two fault lines. It’s our safest path to the ancient ruins, but we already tried it, and things almost went out of control. There’s a pack of Earth Elemental Creatures residing in the valley. Their flesh is sturdy and thick, and they are incredibly strong. There’s no chance we can pass their territory,” explained Jiang Yu with a troubled look.

They had already tried to cross the valley, yet they were almost stuck in it forever.

Even though the rare phenomena at the ancient ruins clearly implied there was an incredible treasure there, they had no chance of finding it if they could not find a way to cross the valley.

“Let’s just give up, we can’t even cross the valley, who knows what other dangerous things there are inside the ruins. We don’t have to risk our lives for something we aren’t even sure of,” said Zu Jiming.

“You’re just a coward!” snapped Jiang Shaoxu mercilessly. She actually held a grudge against Zu Jiming. She would never forget how the man had left her behind at the East Maritime Fortress in order to save his own life.

“I’m a coward? Tell me, what smart idea do you have that can help us cross the valley? If not, we should just move on instead of wasting our time here!” shot back Zu Jiming.

“Don’t, I feel like that place must have some incredible loot. What if it’s something like a Soul-grade Seed?” said Mo Fan.

Everyone’s eyes flickered after Mo Fan mentioned a Soul-grade Seed.

A Soul-grade Seed was something that even those with formidable backgrounds had trouble getting their hands on. A Soul-grade Seed would multiply the strength of any Advanced Magician. Not only was it handy for increasing the power of spells, it might even grant the Magician a stronger Domain.

Everyone knew how strong Domains were. They were able to instantly multiply the Magician’s control of their Element, allowing them to use their magic in any form as they wished!

“Yeah, we can still detect how abnormal the Wind Element and Lightning Element are from such a distance away. We’re lucky that the city isn’t very populated. No other Magicians have noticed the place yet. If we missed out on this opportunity, we might regret it for the rest of our lives!” Jiang Yu tried to convince the team.

“Is a Soul-grade Seed something to be found so easily? How naive!” Guan Yu snorted disdainfully.

Mo Fan could not tell if there was a Soul-grade Seed there or not, but it surely had the thing he needed to fill up the Essence Orb. He was definitely going to pay the place a visit.

However, Jiang Yu had also mentioned that the valley was the territory of some Earth Elemental Creatures. Crossing the valley was definitely going to be troublesome!

If only Lingling was here, the little girl’s intelligence was inhuman. She could easily come up with a better plan!

“Actually, crossing the valley isn’t as difficult as we thought. They don’t have eyes, and their reflexes are incredibly slow too. They basically use the vibrations of the ground and walls to detect the presence of intruders,” Nanyu pointed out.

“Forget about flying, there are a bunch of Sun Bats along the walls. We would be surrounded instantly if we tried to fly over, not to mention flying inside the valley. The demon creatures are very strict with their air space,” explained Zhao Manyan, shaking his head.

A wealthy man like him owned some Magic Wings, yet flying was actually the most dangerous approach. The eyes of the demon creatures within a few dozen li would be locking onto him like the spotlights of a prison…

“I’ve spent a few days making a kind of device that can alter the vibrations in the ground. With these devices, we can cross the valley without startling the creatures. However, we need someone to place the devices by spreading them out like a tangram. We can only walk between the devices…” said Nanyu.

“Try it then!”

“Mmm, I don’t want to miss out on the chance, either.”

How the devices that Nanyu had invented worked was fairly easy to understand. Two devices would be sending faint waves into the ground, further stabilizing the ground so the team would not shake it when they were walking on it.

The Earth Elemental Creatures were very sensitive to vibrations. Even a kitten walking past would awaken them…

—

Leaving Hanmi City, the team headed for the desert valley.

As they arrived at the valley, Mo Fan noticed that the Essence Orb was showing a stronger reaction. Mo Fan was overjoyed, as there was indeed something in the ancient ruins that could fill up the Essence Orb.

If he was able to collect more energy to fill up the Essence Orb, he was basically unstoppable!

“Alright, what do we do now?” Guan Yu held his hands in front of him and stood before the valley.

He did not dare to take a step further. The geology had changed significantly after entering the valley. The ground was no longer the dry orange-yellow, but mixed with a slight red. The whole valley was dark red!

Speaking of which, the view of the desert valley was quite spectacular, too.

The spacious land was split into two layers, the ground rising suddenly to the west, forming cliffs extending to the horizon. The cliffs were like the walls of a marvelous city, completely blocking off the flat ground, as if they were the boundary of a different world.

Above the cliffs were rocks baking under the scorching heat of the sun. The temperature was just too shocking; even Advanced Magicians felt like they were walking on fire. It was not a viable option.

The only path with acceptable temperature was the long canyon. The sunlight could not reach inside it, so the temperature there was a lot lower than at the top.

The ancient ruins were located at the other end of the canyon, like a holy sacred ground separated from the world, protected by the scorching cliffs. An unexplored place that even demon creatures had trouble visiting was the perfect place to search for incredible loot!

It was the main reason why the team had spent several days trying to come up with a plan.

“We only have three devices. Their coverage is around one hundred meters, so we’ll need a person to place a device at the front, and another to retrieve the device at the back as we are moving forward,” said Nanyu.

“I’ll take the first baton!” said Ai Jiangtu.

“Mmm, the Earth Elemental Creatures at the front aren’t strong, your Space Element shouldn’t startle them,” said Nanyu.

“Can’t we use our wills to place the device in front of us?” asked Mo Fan.

“It wouldn’t work, we’ll need to manually adjust the device by tuning the frequency according to the geology,” said Nanyu firmly.

“Fine…”

—

Nanyu buried a device that looked like a gyroscope at the entrance of the canyon. She adjusted the device until a green light on it lit up before she signaled Ai Jiangtu to make his move.

Ai Jiangtu immediately constructed a Star Constellation. He was covered in a mysterious silver glow.

Space shuddered as Ai Jiangtu vanished into thin air, appearing a hundred meters away in the canyon ahead of the team.

As soon as Ai Jiangtu landed on the orange-red ground, weird sounds immediately came from the walls on both sides, as countless faces popped out from the walls. They gradually took shape, their heads almost coming out from the walls…

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide when he witnessed the shocking scene. Judging by the number of the heads that had popped out from the walls, he could easily tell how overwhelming the number of Earth Elemental Creatures in the canyon was…

“These are the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons; each is as strong as a little Warrior-level creature. They are not a fan of the moonlight, we initially tried to take advantage of the moonlight at night, but the canyon is just too narrow. We are also in the southern hemisphere, and the orbit of the moon makes it harder for the moonlight to enter the canyon. It explains why there are so many Forbidden Moon Rock Demons living in this canyon.” Jiang Yu was very interested in demon creatures, and immediately explained the situation to the clueless Mo Fan.

“Quick, adjust the frequency to match the land!” blurted out Nanyu when she saw the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons about to wake up.

Ai Jiangtu’s face turned slightly unpleasant when he saw the number of Forbidden Moon Rock Demons around him.

He quickly turned the dial, helping the device adapt to the surrounding stone in order to transmit signals back to the first device at the entrance.

“Damn it, does this thing even work…” murmured Zu Jiming.

The Forbidden Moon Rock Demons already had half of their bodies out from the walls, yet the devices were still not working. The team felt like giving up when they realized how much harder it was to set up the devices than it sounded.

“It’s green!” Ai Jiangtu finally yelled.

“Press the button!” shouted Nanyu.

Chapter 929: Rumble in the Canyon, Awaken!
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Forbidden Moon Rock Demons let out deep cries with confused expressions.

As Nanyu mentioned, the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons did not have eyes, and their hearing was quite bad, too. They were only able to sense moving objects around them through vibrations on the ground.

Ai Jiangtu was clearly right in front of them, yet after being on alert for some time, the creatures returned to the walls and went back to sleep.

“It’s working!” Ai Jiangtu raised his thumb at Nanyu.

Nanyu said to the others with a wide smile, “Let’s continue!”

The team stepped onto the orange-red ground in the canyon, yet the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons in the walls did not wake up.

Using the same method, the team advanced around five hundred meters before the path started to meander. They had to work together to successfully set the path. Luckily, the team had a rather unique Contracted Beast, the Night Rakshasa. The little, intelligent cat demon was quite reliable!

The journey was fairly smooth.

However, judging from the presence of the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons in the walls, it was obvious that the number of Forbidden Moon Rock Demons had increased significantly, not to mention that the creatures this far into the canyon were a lot stronger. The team was almost got into trouble at times when the devices were not connected properly.

—

“We’ll be there soon. We can leave this canyon after turning the next corner,” said Nanyu.

“The corner is quite sharp. It will be tricky to place the devices. We can only continue moving forward after someone retrieve the device at the back,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“I’ll go take it,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan happened to be at the back of the team. He decisively turned around to retrieve the device at the back just so the team could turn the corner successfully.

“After you retrieve the device, you have to regroup with us immediately. Don’t stay there for too long,” warned Nanyu.

“Don’t worry, I’m not slow either,” said Mo Fan.

Nanyu nodded. She signaled the team to move forward and stayed behind the corner…

It was only the safe spot. Otherwise, once Mo Fan retrieved the device at the back, the whole place would be filled with danger.

Mo Fan went to the back and glanced at the sky that was slightly orange-yellow from the canyon. The sky looked stretched from the gap of the cliffs. It was quite a spectacular view.

“Aren’t you going to apologize?” Lu Yilin’s voice came from behind.

Mo Fan turned around and saw Lu Yilin standing around seventy meters away from him with a dark face.

“Apologize for what?” asked Mo Fan in return.

“Hehe, what do you say?” Lu Yilin slowly walked toward the second device with a mocking grin.

Lu Yilin was obviously showing his intentions. If Mo Fan did not apologize to him, he would deactivate the second device and let Mo Fan be surrounded by the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons.

The others had already turned the corner. They did not realize what was going on.

“Oh, I will apologize, I’m sorry for calling you a little princess that can’t even stand any shock, as not only did I discover that you’re an arrogant little princess that can’t handle the slightest grievance, you’re also a narrow-minded retard threatening me with such a childish act,” Mo Fan was completely speechless at the man’s actions.

“Do you think I don’t dare to do it?” said Lu Yilin in a cold voice. His eyes flickered with strong anger.

“It’s up to you, but you should think about the consequences before you do,” answered Mo Fan.

Saying this, Mo Fan turned around and continued walking toward the device he was going to retrieve. He was still around ten meters away.

Mo Fan remembered Nanyu mentioned that he had to reach the corner within two seconds after he retrieved the device. He had already planned how he was going to leave at his quickest pace.

However, before Mo Fan reached the device, the walls on both sides started shaking.

Countless jagged faces popped out from the rocks with stern looks. Following the faces came the creatures’ bodies, densely poking out from the walls; there were simply too many of them!

Mo Fan immediately turned around and saw Lu Yilin picking up the device at the corner. The man was watching him with an evil grin.

Mo Fan was stunned. Frankly speaking, he never thought Lu Yilin would really dare to pick up the device, as he had a self-willed yet cowardly face!

Mo Fan had to admit that he had underestimated how narrow-minded he was. He also underestimated how vicious the man’s heart was!

“Are you trying to get me killed?” asked Mo Fan.

“Humph, so what? Who’s childish and young now?” Lu Yilin gave Mo Fan a last disdainful look and left.

Lu Yilin did not dare to stay any longer, as the place would be flooded with the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons in seconds.

—

The walls started shaking. Countless Forbidden Moon Rock Demons were awakened in the walls. Even though the creatures did not have eyes, they were still directing their anger at the intruders still.

Lu Yilin had removed the device in the middle. Not only did he place Mo Fan in danger, the others that had turned the corner were in danger too, since the devices only worked when they were transmitting signals between one another.

“Crap, they have all woken up, run!” yelled Zu Jiming.

“They are trying to trap us in here, hurry to the exit!”

“I’ll clear the path, stay closer!”

The whole canyon shook violently as the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons sprang out from the walls. They were like giant gates blocking the path ahead.

Magic light shone brightly in the canyon. Everyone on the team immediately used all they had, knowing how grave the situation was while desperately making their way to the exit.

Luckily, the team was not far away from the exit. They were able to prevent themselves from being surrounded by working together in the grim situation.

Ai Jiangtu and Li Kaifeng opened the path as the others followed behind. The Forbidden Moon Rock Demons on the cliffs were throwing rocks over five meters wide into the canyon. They were planning to bury the intruders straightaway!

The Forbidden Moon Rock Demons ahead of them stood in a row and stacked together into a thick gate, trying to seal the exit. Ai Jiangtu and Li Kaifeng used all their might to shatter the creatures in order to clear a path for the team.

“Lu Yilin is still behind!”

“Help him out.”

The team slowed down slightly. After Lu Yilin regrouped with them, they immediately ran for the exit.

However, Nanyu suddenly remembered that Lu Yilin was not supposed to be the person at the back. It should be Mo Fan who went to retrieve the device.

“Mo Fan, where’s Mo Fa!n?” screamed Nanyu.

Huge rocks kept falling above them while the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons attacked from both sides. The whole place was in an utter mess. No one noticed that Mo Fan was not with the team.

“We don’t have time to waste here. If we don’t get out now, we are all going to be stuck in here!” yelled Zu Jiming.

“No way, go back now!” said Nanyu.

“Take a look at the path behind us yourself, do you think we can make our way back?”

Nanyu turned around and discovered that the corner they had turned previously was already flooded with the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons.

The Forbidden Moon Rock Demons were around four meters tall and three meters wide. They had already stacked up into walls and filled up the canyon. It was impossible to turn back now.

How could they possibly go back there?

As more Forbidden Moon Rock Demons appeared, the team had no choice but to run for the exit.

—

The clean and cold moonlight shone at the exit of the canyon. Their vision cleared up as they reached the exit. The place ahead was flat just like the other end, except the ground was still orange-red. They were able to see the horizon now…

The moonlight descended upon the orange-red land and formed a boundary line at the exit. The Forbidden Moon Rock Demons were stuck in the shadows of the canyon. Even though the intruders were only less than ten meters away, they did not dare to leave the shadows, as if they would instantly turn into ashes after being exposed to the moonlight.

Everyone was soaked in cold sweat. They looked at the canyon that was almost sealed up. No one spoke for a moment.

“Damn it, what the heck happened!” cursed Zhao Manyan.

“Mo Fan is still inside, what shall we do?” said Jiang Shaoxu worriedly.

“What can we do, he’s dead for sure! We can’t possibly be thinking of going back there to save him?” said Lu Yilin.

“Damn it, was it you that set him up!?” Zhao Manyan dragged Lu Yilin’s collar and glared at him.

Lu Yilin shoved Zhao Manyan away and snapped coldly, “What do I have anything to do with it? Maybe he was stupid enough to mess up the device, he almost got the whole team killed!”

Zhao Manyan withheld his anger.

He knew now was not the time to quarrel with the annoying man. He had to find a way to save Mo Fan! The Forbidden Moon Rock Demons would be unable to kill him in such a short period of time since he had five elements.

“We’ll go up there and pull Mo Fan out,” said Zhao Manyan.

“No way, it’s even more dangerous up there. It’s the territory of the Sun Rock Demons; they are worse than the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons!” Nanyu immediately shook her head.

“We’ll rest up for a bit and clear a path!” suggested Zhao Manyan.

“You’re asking us to go back there when it took us so much trouble to get out?” Lu Yilin immediately disagreed.

“He’s dead for sure. The whole team is going to die if we’re stuck in there, let alone him being all alone. We should just move on and continue our journey. I told you we shouldn’t come considering how dangerous it is, but Mo Fan insisted on coming…” sighed Zu Jiming. He was the typical kind of person that was afraid of death.

“Rest up, we’ll clear a path to him. Either way, he’s still our comrade. Even if he’s dead, we have to find his body,” their captain Ai Jiangtu finally declared.

Chapter 930: The Undying Mo Fan!

___Translated by XephiZ___

Edited by Aelryinth

Not long ago, when Mo Fan raised his head and looked at the sky through the gap of the canyon, he had marveled at the spectacular view. However, when he saw the whole canyon being filled up by the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons, he suddenly felt he was stuck in the worst place in the world!

Considering the situation, Mo Fan did not dare to preserve his strength. He immediately asked Little Flame Belle to Possess him, and utilized his strongest power.

“Meteorite Fist: Nine Dragons!”

Mo Fan was engulfed in fierce flames. The fist formed from the Calamity Fire and Rose Flame rocketed forward!

Nine fiery dragons charged at the Earth Elemental Creatures wildly. The flames surged across the place. It was the strongest attack that Mo Fan had, yet it only managed to clear a path fewer than twenty meters long when used against the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons.

The move with a strength comparable to an Advanced Spell only managed to kill six Forbidden Moon Rock Demons!

-Such an outstanding defense!-, Mo Fan groaned inwardly.

He now understood why the national team was at risk of being wiped out when they were stuck in the canyon before. These Forbidden Moon Rock Demons were as sturdy as the orange-red cliffs!

If Mo Fan was fighting these Forbidden Moon Rock Demons on open ground, he would not be afraid of them, since they were extremely slow, and he could easily run away from them. However, he was currently in a narrow canyon. The Forbidden Moon Rock Demons were basically crushing machines approaching him from all directions. It did not matter how agile or how fast he was!

Mo Fan could feel his adrenaline rising. With such an overwhelming number of demon creatures, and such an extreme terrain, any other Advanced Magician would be crushed into minced meat in a few minutes!

“Giant Shadow Spike: Thorns of the Shadow Rose!”

Six shadow spikes flew out and sealed off the movements of six Forbidden Moon Rock Demons approaching him from behind.

The six Forbidden Moon Rock Demons were rooted to one spot. They roughly formed a wall blocking the other creatures coming from behind…

However, it was only a temporary solution. These were all Warrior-level creatures, the Giant Shadow Spikes would not hold them for long!

Two Forbidden Moon Rock Demons over five meters tall raised their arms and swung them at the tiny Mo Fan. Their fists were like rock hammers, smashing holes in the ground.

Mo Fan hid inside his shadow and moved past the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons between their legs. He managed to advance another ten meters.

The Forbidden Moon Rock Demons were quite sensitive to the presence of the Shadow Element. Mo Fan was planning to sneak forward along the walls when he saw a fist of red rock coming right at him. He quickly left the shadow in a panic and kicked the wall to launch himself into the air…

“Blood Tabi!”

Mo Fan activated his Blood Tabi. His legs were covered in a blood-red light.

He nimbly jumped onto the Forbidden Moon Rock Demon’s fist and used it as a platform to launch himself ahead.

After kicking the wall on his left, Mo Fan launched himself onto the head of a Forbidden Moon Rock Demon. However, before he could stabilize himself, a huge rock fell from above.

“Telekinesis!” Mo Fan quickly lifted his gaze and used his will to stop the rock in the air!

Mo Fan’s eyes emitted a silver glow as he used his will to control more than ten rocks that were falling down from above.

The rocks were covered in a silver light. They were tossed ahead of him, knocking a bunch of Forbidden Moon Rock Demons to the ground. Mo Fan quickly took hold of the opportunity to move another ten meters forward.

“Gravity!”

The silver glow of the Space Element burst out of Mo Fan once again, and immediately formed a rhomboid ahead. Space was being compressed, and a strong pressure pushed down on the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons.

The Forbidden Moon Rock Demons’ weight was shocking to begin with. After the gravity field was applied to them, they had trouble even lifting their arms. Their heavy bodies were slowly sinking into the ground.

“Fire Sword! Die!”

Fierce flames rose from his hand and formed a burning sword over ten meters long. Mo Fan lifted the sword with both hands and slashed ahead.

The slash sent waves of flames in both directions. The fire completely filled up his vision ahead within an instant, knocking the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons to the ground.

“Lightning!’

Mo Fan continuously altered between his Elements. Knowing that he had cleared the danger around him, he took out a Lightning Constellation Scroll and poured his energy into it.

He was grateful for the Star Constellation Scrolls that Miss Tangyue had given him, enabling him to draw Lightning Star Constellations without needing to divert his attention when he was in great trouble.

“Death upon you!” Mo Fan roared.

The Lightning Constellation was blindingly bright, the strong presence of Lightning stopped the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons from getting any closer.

The Lightning Beam sprang forward and blasted a scorching hole through the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons, killing the creatures instantly!

A large group of Forbidden Moon Rock Demons ahead fell to the ground, giving Mo Fan a clearer view of the path ahead. He had finally reached the corner…

He had only moved a hundred meters forward, yet only he knew how difficult it was to advance a hundred meters in the canyon. When he recalled the mocking grin on Lu Yilin’s face, his heart was immediately filled with raging flames!

However, did Lu Yilin seriously think he could kill him without any evidence, even assuming that his body would be crushed into pieces?

There was no way he would die in a place like this!

“What is that?” Mo Fan suddenly noticed a different color from the orange-red cliffs on the wall close to the corner. The thing was smooth and clean like a crystal, it looked completely out of place.

The Lightning Beam had blasted a hole on the wall, revealing the diamond-like substance underneath it. Mo Fan could even feel an enormous energy being kept inside it…

Mo Fan used his quickest speed to reach the corner. The Lightning Beam had given Mo Fan some time to catch his breath, and also helped him to discover the crystal inside the wall!

“I’ll check it out later,” Mo Fan pulled the crystal the size of a goose egg out of the wall and put it away.

After turning the corner, Mo Fan subconsciously gasped…

There were so many of the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons that the whole path was completely blocked off. He could not see even the slightest gap!

Such a narrow space stacked up with so many Warrior-level creatures, he simply had no chance of getting out alive!

Taking a deep breath, Mo Fan knew he had no choice but to clear a path out. He had to do it no matter how numb his scalp was.

“Rocket Wings Flying Punch!”

Mo Fan turned into a missile engulfed in flames. It felt like he was drilling into a thick wall, every step forward felt extraordinarily difficult.

The strongest Rocket Wings Flying Punch had shattered the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons into pieces, yet he had only managed to move twenty meters forward.

“Thousand Piercing Fire Feathers, fire!”

Mo Fan’s eyes had turned bloodshot from killing the creatures mindlessly. His ears were constantly deafened by the echoes of the deafening explosions.

As soon as the Blood Tabi’s duration ended, Mo Fan put on the Black Snake Armor.

Even when he was smashed into the ground by the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons, he sprang up to his feet immediately. At times, he was knocked a few meters deep into the walls, yet he continued to smash the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons into pieces with his unyielding might!

“There’s fire ahead of us, there’s fire!” yelled Zhao Manyan in excitement.

Ai Jiangtu was leading the team as they made their way back into the canyon. Everyone was low in spirits, as they all assumed Mo Fan was dead for sure.

However, as they advanced around fifty meters, they immediately saw flames rising ahead of them. Zhao Manyan was incredibly familiar with the combination of blazing red Rose Flame and brown Calamity Fire!

“Are you serious? How is he not dead yet?” exclaimed Li Kaifeng.

“Regroup with him!” Ai Jiangtu was as unstoppable as always. He continued to lead the way.

Unfortunately, both his Space Element and Curse Element were not as effective against the thick walls of rocks. As a result, even though he was the strongest on the team, he was having trouble clearing a path.

“Tone: Kill!” Nanyu used both hands to fire sonic projectiles with her invisible bow.

The attack was surprisingly effective against the Earth Elemental Creatures. The vibration of the sonic wave was able to swiftly shatter their thick stone bodies to pieces!

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan, don’t you f**king die!” Zhao Manyan’s eyes were bloodshot too. He quickly moved past more than ten Forbidden Moon Rock Demons.

He finally caught a glimpse of Mo Fan.

The Black Snake Armor was dangling from his body like scrap metal. His body was covered in bruises and bloody wounds, yet he remained standing. Two Forbidden Moon Rock Demons were trying to smash him into minced meat, yet they were blasted into pieces by Mo Fan’s lightning!

When everyone saw Mo Fan, he was being surrounded by lightning, standing on the corpses of the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons with an imperious aura.

“It took you guys… long enough,” Mo Fan turned around with a grin on his filthy face.

The smile was extremely spooky to Lu Yilin! He could not believe his eyes at all…

-Mo Fan’s not dead!

-The guy was trapped inside the canyon for so long, yet he’s still not dead!-

-How is this possible, he only reached the Advanced Level recently. How did he manage to stay alive until now?-

“Did…did you kill all of these?” Jiang Shaoxu’s mouth was wide open.

The path was fully stacked with countless corpses of the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons. It was the same all the way to the corner, and there seemed to be more around the corner, too!

They had all become Advanced Magicians recently too; how did he even do it!?

This time, even Ai Jiangtu was stunned. He was completely astounded by Mo Fan’s strength…

It felt like, even if they had not come back, Mo Fan could still make his way out of the canyon on his own!

“Plummeting Rays!” Zhao Manyan cast the Advanced Light Spell that Summoned more than a thousand glowing seals. They were like golden scales as they flew at Mo Fan and attached to him.

Zhao Manyan was well aware of his role. Even when he was practicing the Advanced Spell Plummeting Rays, he had been treating it like a defensive spell. The seals of light circled around Mo Fan. Even if ten Forbidden Moon Rock Demons were attacking Mo Fan, it would take them some time to break through the defense.

With Zhao Manyan’s defensive spell, Mo Fan was like a tiger with wings. He proceeded to annihilate all the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons standing in his path!

Chapter 931: Killing Without Hesitation!

___Translated by XephiZ___

Edited by Aelryinth

The team was overwhelmed with fatigue after making their way out of the canyon filled with the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons.

It was not from overusing their magic, but the sense of relief after being on edge for so long.

“Mo Fan, what the hell happened?” asked Zhao Manyan immediately.

Nanrong Ni helped Mo Fan clean up his wounds. Mo Fan was as strong as an ox, and had not suffered any serious injuries. He was back up on his feet and full of energy after being treated by Nanrong Ni.

As soon as Zhao Manyan mentioned it, Mo Fan’s eyes emitted a murderous flicker as he glared at Lu Yilin, who started to feel uneasy.

“It’s really him?” asked Zhao Manyan when he sensed the strange reaction from Mo Fan.

“Humph, I feel like killing someone. You guys better not stop me.” Mo Fan slowly approached Lu Yilin.

Lu Yilin was already backing away. He never thought Mo Fan would be able to get out of the canyon alive. The pale expression on his face had already betrayed him.

“Lu Yilin, how could you do something like that!?” snapped Nanyu furiously.

Lu Yilin had not only set Mo Fan up, he almost got the whole team killed too. If something went wrong, wouldn’t the whole team have been wiped out here?

“I…I…you have no proof, how dare you accuse me? Is it just because of what he said!?” Lu Yilin quickly gathered his confidence, like he was never going to admit his wrongdoing.

Ai Jiangtu came up to Lu Yilin and stared at him with a dark face.

Lu Yilin knew what the consequences were if he admitted anything. He had already thought it through. Even if the others were suspicious of him, he would not admit it. Besides, only he and Mo Fan were there. He could blame it on Mo Fan for being too careless, and tried to blame it on him instead.

“Do you think denying it is going to help now?” Mo Fan was not merciful against someone like him.

A silver glow encapsulated Mo Fan’s figure. He lifted Lu Yilin up from the ground with his will and pushed him hard onto the wall of the cliff.

Lu Yilin cried out in pain after ramming into the wall.

“What are you doing!?” yelled Lu Yilin.

“You want me dead, so I want you dead, it’s as simple as that!” said Mo Fan coldly.

“Mo Fan, calm yourself, it’s best to report it to the advisors and let them handle it. We aren’t allowed to fight one another. I believe the advisors are going to punish Lu Yilin seriously for hurting his teammate,” Nanyu immediately stepped forward to intervene when she noticed Mo Fan was serious about killing Lu Yilin.

“Yeah, just let the advisors handle it. If you kill him now, the Lu Clan will trouble you instead. After all, even though he set you up, you managed to live, but if you kill him, everyone is only going to focus on what you’ve done,” Nanrong Ni also felt Mo Fan was being too impulsive.

Lu Yilin’s expression calmed down slightly when he heard the others trying to stop Mo Fan.

“Mo Fan, if you want to find yourself in huge trouble, just spare his petty life for now. Our Zhao Family will ask the Lu Clan to compensate you for what he has done. It’s better for you that way.” Even though Zhao Manyan was furious, he still told Mo Fan a more rational way of settling the dispute. It was unwise to kill Lu Yilin like this.

“Alright, I’m not going to kill him,” Mo Fan slowly let go.

Lu Yilin acted as if his life had just been spared. He quickly rose to his feet.

“If he can come out from the goddamned canyon like how I did, I’ll forgive him for what he did!” said Mo Fan coldly.

Lu Yilin had yet to look relieved when he was caught by a stronger force. The force struck his chest and knocked him flying instantly.

Lu Yilin happened to be flying into the orange-red canyon. Everyone was stunned when they saw it happen, as no one expected Mo Fan actually dare to do it!

“Mo Fan, please calm down!” Nanyu immediately tried to intervene when she realized that the situation was not right.

Zu Jiming and Li Kaifeng were fairly close to Lu Yilin, too. When they saw Mo Fan tossing Lu Yilin into the canyon, they immediately rushed forward with startled faces!

Mo Fan immediately set himself on fire. The pillars of fire soared into the sky as the whole place was set aflame by the Rose Flame and Calamity Fire. The intense heat stopped the three from moving any further ahead.

Mo Fan turned around and stared at Zu Jiming and Li Kaifeng, and Nanyu, who was more concerned about the general situation.

“If anyone dares to save him, I will treat them as my enemy. I won’t mind tossing you in there, too!” Mo Fan declared in an imperious voice, as he completely vented the anger stacked up inside his heart!

-What did they mean by “If he’s still alive, I shouldn’t be fussing about it?”-

He was only able to survive because of the experience he had from training, and situations of life and death. Otherwise, he would have died a horrible death in the canyon, and no one would have even care how he died!

Were they seriously asking him to forgive someone that tried to murder him?

-Sorry, I am no sacred man, nor am I tied to any faction!-

Mo Fan only understood one thing. He would never forgive anyone that tried to kill him!

The flames were so strong that Zu Jiming, Lu Yilin, and Nanyu couldn’t move. They could see Lu Yilin flying into the canyon through the raging flames.

As soon as he landed, he immediately awakened a new batch of Forbidden Moon Rock Demons. The cold, expressionless faces poked out from the walls.

Lu Yilin sat on the ground in disbelief, staring at the teammates at the exit across the canyon.

“Save me, save me, please save me!” Lu Yilin’s face was filled with terror. He used all his limbs to crawl toward the exit.

“Mo Fan, I was just joking with you, Mo Fan… you can’t kill me, my clan will never forgive you!” Lu Yilin was both furious and terrified as he screamed at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan stood at the exit and glanced at Lu Yilin who was moving slowly. He replied, all smiles, “I wasn’t trying to kill you. Didn’t I already mention, if you manage to make it out, I will forget everything that happened between us…”

Everyone shivered in fear when they saw Mo Fan calmly answering Lu Yilin’s despairing scream.

So this is how scary Mo Fan was when he was angry!

“AHHHH!!!!”

Not long after, a piercing cry of agony came out from the canyon. The team was not sure if his legs were being smashed, or his chest had been crushed after receiving a powerful blow. Either way, there was no chance Lu Yilin could survive in the canyon on his own.

Lu Yilin’s cries echoed through the canyon and up to the team. Everyone fell silent.

They did not feel sorry for Lu Yilin, as the narrow-minded idiot was the one that had started it all. Mo Fan was only returning the favor. However, they did not feel pleasant after seeing how Mo Fan insisted on taking revenge by his own method, instead of letting the advisors handle it.

“It’s going to feel great now, but once we go back to our country, you’re going to suffer the consequences!” Guan Yu harrumphed coldly. He totally disagreed with Mo Fan’s decision.

In his eyes, Mo Fan had made the dumbest decision. There were some people that he could not kill as he wished!

“You might think that a clan is absolutely enormous and terrifying, but it is nothing worth mentioning to me. You should be relieved that you didn’t do something as retarded as Lu Yilin did,” replied Mo Fan.

“If I was trying to set up you, you would be dead by now!” answered Guan Yu without backing off.

Guan Yu was a smart man. He would not do something so ridiculous when the team was still training. Speaking of which, how narrow-minded that Lu Yilin was, actually trying to kill someone on the team for something so insignificant between them! What an idiot, it might be better for the team now that he was dead, just so he would not do anything to put the team in danger again!

“Mo Fan, I’m really impressed, you seriously had the guts to kill him!” Zhao Manyan raised his thumb to Mo Fan.

If he was in Mo Fan’s shoes, he would surely demand lots of compensation from the Lu Clan. After all, as long as he was still alive, it was more important to get all the benefits he could from the Lu Clan. However, everyone had their own beliefs. Mo Fan was indeed impressive in his own way, having the guts to do the things that people normally would not do.

“I hope something like this won’t happen again on my team. Even if Mo Fan didn’t do it, I would not let someone like him stay on the team!” Captain Ai Jiangtu finally spoke up.

“Let’s move on, we’ve wasted too much time here,” said Jiang Shaoxu. She acted as if nothing had happened. She did not care about Lu Yilin’s death.

Even if a person like him did not die at Mo Fan’s hands, he would eventually die at someone else’s. Jiang Shaoxu did not understand why someone as retarded as Lu Yilin was able to join the national team!

Jiang Shaoxu moved closer to Mo Fan and asked him in a soft voice, “I was the reason that it all started. Should I help you take care of the Lu Clan?”

“No need. They are seriously out of their mind if they actually come and trouble me. I’m being very merciful by not going to their luxurious villas and demanding justice be served! What a shitty clan, raising a piece of trash like him!” replied Mo Fan.

Jiang Shaoxu smiled without saying anything further.

Lu Yilin was dead. Everyone had seen his corpse with their own eyes.

No one would go and retrieve his remains, since no one wanted to go back into the canyon.

Lu Yilin’s eyes were still wide open. Perhaps he was still troubled by how Mo Fan managed to come out of the canyon in one piece, and even more troubled about why he went and offended a violent devil who would simply kill without hesitation!

As the team proceeded on, the terrain became even flatter. Mo Fan discovered that the Essence Orb was showing a stronger reaction, implying that he was getting closer to the source of energy!

Nanyu held two devices in her hand and said to the team, “We should be able to see the ancient ruins after another four kilometers. The elemental reaction around here is getting stronger, especially the Wind and Lightning Elements…”

“Look, just ahead!” said Zhao Manyan, pointing forward.

The others immediately looked into the distance and saw a black tornado emerging from the ground and soaring into the clouds like a black dragon. Everyone subconsciously took a deep breath after witnessing the stunning sight!

Chapter 932: Lightning Storm Circle

__Translated by XephiZ__

Edited by Aelryinth

The tornado had a body like a dragon. Its silhouette was clear even from a great distance away. It had a strong and mighty waist, and a huge funnel after touching the sky. The team somehow had trouble breathing after seeing it…

More astonishingly, the black wind was surrounded by purple-golden lightning. The lightning bolts were as thick as serpents, flickering rapidly in the air!

This shocking phenomenon was happening here in the wilderness to the west of Peru. It was impossible to see the marvelous sight without crossing the canyon.

“My heavens… isn’t this a bit too much? Why do I feel like an enemy Boss will jump out from it at any second?” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

“The tornado and lightning are right where the ancient ruins are,” Nanyu estimated the location of the phenomenon.

“Oh my, it must be a place of misfortune. I’m getting a bit scared,” murmured Jiang Yu.

“We’ve already come so far, how can we give up now? If it really is something incredible, we’re going to be flying!” Mo Fan whooped excitedly.

If the cliffs were not hiding this place, it was very likely that other Hunters would have explored the place with such an extraordinary phenomenon, taking all the good loot with them.

However, it seemed no one had been to the area in a long time. The ancient ruins were still unexplored, meaning that there were lots of things waiting to be found. When Mo Fan thought of the chance of finding a Soul-grade Seed, his heart began to pound heavily.

It’s a Soul-grade Seed they were speaking of. With a Soul-grade Seed, his strength would improve significantly once again. By then, he could easily conquer everything without relying on the Demon Element!

“By the way, after the mess that Lu Yilin stirred up, it feels like my Shadow Element Nebula is on the verge of expanding. Maybe I should find a chance to give it an upgrade, and see if I can reach the Advanced Level of the Shadow Element,” mumbled Mo Fan to himself.

As a safety precaution, Mo Fan did ask for some Shadow Constellation Scrolls from Tangyue, as it would allow him to cast the Advanced Shadow Spell once his Shadow Element reached the Advanced Level.

Tangyue was a Shadow Magician herself, and did have a lot of the Shadow Constellation Scrolls with her. She did not mind giving Mo Fan some.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was looking forward to it, too. He was wondering what his Shadow Element was going to be like after the upgrade…

The team was still watching the lightning storm ahead in astonishment. The sky had started to get dark. The team decided to set up tents in the wilderness, and proceeded on with their journey early in the next morning.

Mo Fan was still feeling the thrill and excitement from the fight at the canyon. He immediately decided to use the time to improve his Shadow Element.

That night, when it was Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan’s turn to stand guard, Mo Fan asked Zhao Manyan to keep an eye out on his behalf while he went to meditate and upgrade his Shadow Element Nebula!

There was no way Mo Fan would give up after failing his first attempt. He was not the kind to be intimidated by failure. He just needed to get his hands on another Galaxy Vein if he failed again. The crystals he had acquired from the walls in the canyon were worth quite a lot!

“Are you seriously going to attempt a breakthrough here?” asked Zhao Manyan curiously.

Mo Fan was planning for a breakthrough right after he had just killed a man. Did he have some kind of a strange method to improve the chance of having a breakthrough after killing someone?

“Mmm, I’m going to break down the barrier of my Shadow Element Nebula. Keep an eye out for me, don’t let idiots like Guan Yu and Zu Jiming disturb me,” said Mo Fan.

“Shadow Element? Aren’t Fire and Lightning your main Elements? Don’t you want to improve your Lightning Element first, since it’s going to be easier?” asked Zhao Manyan in confusion.

Normally, people would focus on improving their main Elements, as the foundations of these Elements would be firmer.

“Lightning Element? My Lighting Element has already reached the Advanced Level. I can already draw more than two hundred and eighty Stars of the Star Constellation. I will complete the Advanced Spell soon,” replied Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan’s face went blank after hearing that!

“Holy cow, this is your third Element going into the Advanced Level?!” spluttered Zhao Manyan.

“Exactly!” Mo Fan nodded.

Zhao Manyan simply felt a bolt of lightning striking down at him, despite the clear sky above. He had the urge to find a quiet corner and stay there alone…

He was about to tell Mo Fan a piece of good news, yet he had completely lost the mood. Despite having a financial group supporting him, he was being left far behind by Mo Fan. How unsatisfying!

“Go ahead and attempt your breakthrough, I’ll keep an eye out for you,” said Zhao Manyan helplessly.

Seeing Mo Fan sitting down on the ground, the beaten Zhao Manyan took out the special wooden clapper from his pocket and softly touched the runes that were glowing deep blue upon its surface…

The sky lit up fairly quickly in the desert. The blazing red sun was slowly rising up from the horizon, shining the light of dawn onto the orange-red land.

The cries of a strange bird woke the team up from their deep sleep.

Mo Fan was still sitting in the open. Zhao Manyan had already fallen asleep, resting his head on the rock nearby.

After opening their eyes, they suddenly felt the sunlight dimming slightly, as if a thick gray cloud was looming over them.

“What’s going on? Why is it dark here when other places are bright?” asked Jiang Yu in confusion.

Mo Fan’s lips curled upward. His eyes were filled with a thick darkness, as if he was being shrouded in a layer of shadow. He looked incredibly mysterious and evil.

He rose to his feet and slowly withdrew the black aura surrounding him. The area slowly turned bright, like everywhere else.

Zhao Manyan was muddle-headed when he woke up. His eyes immediately widened when he saw what was happening.

He was pretty excited, but he lowered his voice on purpose and asked, “Did your Shadow Element reach the Advanced Level?”

Mo Fan nodded.

“F**k me, your strength is going to be insane,” sighed Zhao Manyan.

Everyone on the team basically had at least one Element at the Advanced Level. A few on the team did have two Elements at the Advanced Level, and were able to cast Advanced Spells, yet they still needed time to get familiar with the process.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was able to cast the Advanced Fire Spell adeptly, and was almost able to draw the Lightning Constellation. On top of that, his Shadow Element had reached the Advanced Level, too! Even without using Advanced Spells, his control of his three Advanced Elements was far beyond the ability of an Intermediate Magician!

“Do you have Magic Tools that can help me practice drawing the Stars quicker? Even though I’ve reached the Advanced Level, it’s still quite a headache that I can’t use the Advanced Spells. I want to learn the process faster,” asked Mo Fan.

“I can get them for you, but you’ll need to pay for them,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Oh, right, take a look at this, is it valuable?” Mo Fan took out the smooth crystal from his pocket and put it in front of Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan was a businessman on top of his identity as a Magician. He would recognize anything that was worth money. As soon as Mo Fan took out the crystal, his face was immediately filled with joy!

“Where did you get this?” asked Zhao Manyan.

“Inside the canyon,” Mo Fan answered.

“It’s an important fusing material for refining Soul-grade Seeds!” Zhao Manyan explained.

“Fusing material?”

“Natural Soul-grade Seeds are too rare, so many Soul Seeds are refined artificially instead. Although their power isn’t comparable to the natural Soul Seeds, and they won’t necessarily provide the bearers with a Domain, they can still multiply the damage of spells by four to six times. A Soul-grade Seed can be refined with a huge number of Spirit-grade Seeds, as long as there’s enough supply of a fusing material: the Fundamental Crystals! The thing you have here is a high-quality Earth Element Fundamental Crystal! The important factor that decides if an artificially refined Soul-grade Seed has the power of Domain is the quality of the Fundamental Crystals!” Zhao Manyan told him excitedly.

“I see, so how much does this cost?” asked Mo Fan.

“It depends on the market price, but I can guarantee you a good price if you list it at our auction… how about this, sell it to me, and I’ll get you the Magic Accelerator you need?” said Zhao Manyan.

“Sure, take it,” Mo Fan tossed the Fundamental Crystal into Zhao Manyan’s hands.

Zhao Manyan caught the crystal in a panic and cursed, “F**k me, this thing costs more than a Galaxy Vein; it’s useless if it breaks!”

“I don’t care, it was yours the moment I tossed it. It’s your fault if you didn’t catch it. Remember to get me the Magic Accelerator as soon as possible. I still have two Elements to improve! It’s quite tiring to spend most of my time on Awakening the Stars,” Mo Fan told him lazily.

Learning to control the Stars was an extremely boring, yet time-consuming task. Mo Fan remembered how he had spent an entire semester just learning to control seven Stars, and now, he needed to control three hundred and forty-three Stars to draw a Star Constellation. It was a lengthy process without a doubt, so he desperately needed a good Magic Accelerator to increase his efficiency!

Mo Fan was willing to hand the Fundamental Crystal to Zhao Manyan, as he believed Zhao Manyan would definitely get him a Magic Accelerator as valuable as the crystal. Once he received the Magic Accelerator, he could learn to cast the Lightning and Shadow Advanced Spells faster, and further master the Fire Advanced Spell, too!

“By the way, why do you need an Earth Element Fundamental Crystal?” asked Mo Fan.

“My f**king third Element is the Earth Element!” cursed Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan almost burst out laughing when he heard that Zhao Manyan had Awakened the Earth Element!

A turtle-shell Magician, Zhao Manyan was very serious about his role as a turtle-shell Magician! Earth, Water, Light… these were all defensive and supportive Elements, and Zhao Manyan had Awakened all three of them!

Zhao Manyan felt unpleasant when he saw Mo Fan laughing. He straightened his chest and said, “Don’t you laugh! I’ll show you how strong I am when the time comes. You’ll be surprised for sure!”

“Oh, it sounds like you’ve improved a lot, too. I was wondering why Zhou Xu was being disqualified instead of you!” Mo Fan raised his brows. Judging from Zhao Manyan’s confident look, he must have something up his sleeves.

“Piss off!”

“What are you two mumbling about back there? We’re entering the ancient ruins!” yelled Nanyu when she saw Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan falling behind.

“Aye, coming!” The two hurried to catch up with the team. They were heading right for the intimidating Lightning Storm Circle!

“Say, is there really a Soul-grade Seed, or something of the same level here?”

“There must be! A phenomenon of this scale isn’t something to fool around with!”

Chapter 933: Strange Birds Filling the Sky
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The black storm had turned into an enormous object; it felt like it was right in front of the team.

After passing some run-down structures, Mo Fan saw that the ancient ruins merely consisted of a bunch of old rocks. There was nothing else, apart from the eye-catching tornado surrounded by lightning.

Yellow dust was blown into the air, carrying dried grass and rocks. It felt like the strong wind was dragging them toward the tornado at the center.

The wind’s force was around eight on the Beaufort scale. The team was still able to hold their ground.

Mo Fan took out the Essence Orb and saw the light pointing to the center of the storm.

“Is this thing trying to get me killed?” he cursed instantly.

The strength of the wind and lightning was comparable to that of a Super Spell! Trying to force his way into it was the same as killing himself! It did not make sense for Mo Fan to get himself killed just to fill up the Essence Orb!

“It doesn’t seem like there’s anything around, let’s leave this place,” Zu Jiming piped up in a terrified voice once again.

“I’m starting to wonder what’s the point of you having such a tough and plump body!” mocked Jiang Shaoxu.

The team did not dare get too close to the storm. However, there was simply nothing worth investigating apart from the spectacular tornado surrounded by lightning. No ancient treasure, no abnormal presence of Elements, not even a sign of demon creatures guarding the treasure.

Demon creatures were quite pragmatic when it came to treasures. It would be an utter disappointment if there was really nothing else in the area.

After searching around for half a day, the team confirmed that the ancient ruins only had a bunch of broken rocks. Nanyu did find some interesting runes on some stone pillars, but the others came back empty-handed.

—

“Damn it, not even a magic ore after spending so much effort to come here. Who was the one that said this place is an unexplored area?” cursed Zhao Manyan.

“Such a waste of time, I told you we shouldn’t have come here!” said Zu Jiming.

“Let’s take a rest and search again tomorrow. If there really isn’t anything, we’ll need to make our way back,” said Nanyu.

Mo Fan was not too bothered. He did find his loot for the adventure, a piece of Fundamental Crystal. As for the thing that the Essence Orb was pointing to inside the storm, Mo Fan simply pretended he had not seen it. The strong wind and scary lightning were like the claws of a demon, which would tear any person that came too close to pieces!

Mo Fan did not waste his time. He proceeded to cultivate as the team went to rest, and practice the control of his Shadow Element.

Three hundred and forty-three Stars were still waiting to be Awakened. Such a huge project was not something a lazy person could possibly complete. Time was of the essence here!

Keeping his eyes closed, Mo Fan leaned back against a huge rock. His focus entered the Shadow Element Galaxy. The dark Galaxy was not necessarily elegant, but full of mysteries, and definitely had lots of things waiting to be explored. The more familiar Mo Fan was with it, the better his control of the Shadow Element would become!

“I should enhance the Stars of the Shadow Element first; I think I have enough.”

The Little Loach Pendant had collected enough Soul Essences when he was killing the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons. Mo Fan was now able to enhance the forty-nine Stars of the Shadow Element to grant him access to the fourth-tier Giant Shadow Spike.

The process was fairly smooth. Mo Fan had the urge to try out the effects of the fourth-tier Giant Shadow Spike, if not for the fact that he could not find a single creature in the ancient ruins. Besides, his Shadow Element had also reached the Advanced Level recently. He still had not tried it out…

Suddenly, piercing cries like thunder came from high up in the sky. There were only a few at the start, but soon, a lot more peals joined in. It was so noisy that Mo Fan could not meditate any longer.

His eyes sprang open, and he looked up into the sky!

It was almost time for the sun to set. The orange light of the setting sun dyed the clean sky red. The sky to the west was a beautiful mix of layered orange and red.

The land and the walls were orange to begin with, so they perfectly matched the color of the sky as the sun was setting. However, with this vast painting of orange and red came lots of uninvited guests. They had green bodies as beautiful as jade, but wings that were totally blue. The feathers on their wings looked incredibly compact and elegant.

As they were flying in flocks, it felt like green clouds and blue veils were covering the sky slowly. They were slowly approaching the team’s location!

“Damn it, it’s them again! There are even more of them this time!” Jiang Yu suddenly screamed.

“Are you kidding me? We’ve already come this far; did the other demon creatures simply let them fly across their territory just like that?!” Zhao Manyan protested at the top of his lungs.

“We’re done for, we’re finished, look at how spacious this place is. There’s no cover at all, how are we going to fight them!” said Li Kaifeng began to panic.

Mo Fan was utterly confused after hearing their screams. -What the heck is going on? Why are there so many strange birds in the sky all of a sudden?-

Somehow, Mo Fan was not totally unfamiliar with the bird, as he had encountered one a lot bigger than the ones in the sky that had trespassed into the path of his flight, and almost caused a tragic flight accident!

“My Heavens, they are coming from this direction, too!”

“Same here! Crap, we’ve been surrounded!”

Mo Fan looked into the sky and saw every direction was full of the strange birds with green bodies and blue wings. If they were migrating as a group, Mo Fan would simply treat them as some color added to the sky. However, judging from their flight paths, the birds were obviously heading toward them!

“Damn it, why didn’t anyone tell me what happened?” cursed Mo Fan.

The numbers of the strange birds were utterly shocking. There were at least eight thousand of them, if not ten! It was as huge as an army of demon creatures! Even though Mo Fan had seen some great things before, he was not hoping to see something so epic so often, as it was too scary!

“Around a month ago, we had just arrived in Peru. We carelessly entered a place that was referred to as a forbidden land by the locals. Since then, these strange birds have kept ambushing us. There were only a few dozen of them at the start, so we managed to eliminate them with ease. The number then increased to a few hundred, and we managed to get rid of them too. After that, when we were in a city, the strange birds still came after us, and were eliminated by the city’s defenses. It did trigger an orange alert… after that, oh, it’s what is happening now!” Zhao Manyan explained to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s face fell dark after hearing the words.

What kind of tough luck did he have, the team had only encountered a few ten, a few hundred, a few thousand… and yet as soon as he joined the team, there were almost ten thousand of them! They were so far away from the city, it was impossible to rely on the city defenses to get rid of the birds!

There were almost ten thousand of them, and these strange birds did not seem weak, either. They only had around ten people, and one had just died not long ago. It would be a miracle if they could handle such a huge army of birds!

“Why didn’t any of you tell me before?!” demanded Mo Fan.

“You didn’t ask! Besides, we seriously thought the previous attack was the last one. Who would have thought…my Heavens, what did we do wrong to deserve being chased around by these things?!” wailed Zhao Manyan.

“What should we do now? Someone think of a plan!”

“Even if we dig into the ground, I bet they will dig us out. There isn’t any cover nearby, we are all going to die!” wailed Zu Jiming.

The strange birds gradually got closer. They were looming over the team like clouds.

Mo Fan felt incredibly annoyed, looking at the countless creatures in the sky. It was true that he had complained about not having any demon creatures nearby to try out his fourth-tier Giant Shadow Spike and Advanced Shadow Element, yet were the Heavens so crazy as to send an army of demon creatures after him?

Ai Jiangtu had a grim expression, as even he was not confident he could survive the ambush.

As a matter of fact, the team had no chance of defeating a thousand of the strange birds. They had only managed to survive with the help of the city’s defense.

“What can we do now?” Nanyu had totally run out of ideas. She looked at Ai Jiangtu helplessly.

“If I let you choose between fighting the army of strange birds or entering the storm, which one will you choose?” asked Ai Jiangtu with a serious face.

“Captain, are you out of your mind? This storm and lightning are as powerful as a Super Spell. We’re dead for sure if we go inside!” yelled Jiang Shaoxu.

“We won’t be going too deep inside it. Frankly speaking, we have to reach a distance where we can still stand against the storm, but the birds can’t… it’s the only way I can think of now. If you don’t want the birds to tear you to pieces in five minutes, just follow me into the storm,” said Ai Jiangtu.

The others were left with no choice. As Ai Jiangtu had mentioned, the storm was full of uncertainties, but they would surely die if they decided to stay and fight the army of birds!

—

While making their way toward the storm, Jiang Yu noticed Mo Fan had a dull expression, as if he had been kicked while lying down. He could not help but ask, “Are you thinking that it was better for you to give up back in the canyon?”

“Screw you! It’s the nest that you guys poked; why do I have to suffer together with you?” cursed Mo Fan.

“You can try telling the birds that you aren’t with us, and see if they are kind enough to let you go…” Zhao Manyan added.

“…”

—

In the end, the team had no choice but to enter the storm. However, Mo Fan really hated the feeling of being forced to do something. He always thought that the point of getting stronger was to give him the power to choose. He could say no to something he thought was dangerous and was unwilling to do. He could fight the things he disagreed with bravely, instead of being chased around without any sense of dignity!

That being said, when his life was at risk, dignity was just like integrity, something he could throw away at any time!

Chapter 934: Advanced Shadow Spell, Nyx Regime
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lightning arcs surged fiercely through the air less than twenty meters above Mo Fan’s head and landed on the footprint that he had just left behind. The area around the footprint immediately turned scorched black, with blue smoke rising from it.

The wind was so strong that his face was hurting as if it was being sliced by knives. The wind even cut off the tips of his hair and blew them into the air!

Frankly speaking, Mo Fan had not thought going into the storm was a brilliant idea. They had come so deep that even if they stopped moving forward, the wind would still drag them forward now!

The only thing that he was grateful for was that the light of the Essence Orb was actually growing stronger, implying that he was getting closer to the source of energy that could fill it up.

The cries of the birds felt even closer. Even the roar of the strong wind could not hide their cries. As they ventured deeper into the blurry storm, Mo Fan noticed several green figures beating their wings hard to resist the wind while diving at them.

How deep was the grudge the birds had against them, that they were willing to enter the storm just to pursue them?

“Prepare for battle!” yelled Ai Jiangtu.

“Are these sons of bitches out of their minds?”

“The birds that are weaker won’t be able to come this far, meaning that their numbers aren’t as overwhelming!” claimed Jiang Yu.

However, even as Jiang Yu’s voice was still spreading in the storm, a huge group of strange birds with green bodies were diving right at them. They were fierce and agile, and knew how to control the airflow, too. The creatures were a lot stronger than the team had imagined!

“Don’t get separated, maintain the formation!” commanded Nanyu.

Visibility in the storm was extremely low. The communication devices were not working due to the interference of the lightning. The loud cries of the birds and the rumbling of the wind simply meant that the team could only communicate by shouting at the top of their lungs. That being said, Nanyu was a Sound Magician, and could easily transmit her voice to the team.

“Maintain the formation and go a bit deeper. There are simply too many of them, we don’t stand a chance here,” ordered Nanyu.

The team continued to move deeper into the storm, hoping that the storm would form a boundary and quarantine them from the birds…

Unfortunately, the strange birds were adept at controlling airflow. They continued to pursue the team relentlessly.

“Mo Fan, behind you, watch out!” Nanyu released her awareness and listened to the surroundings.

Visibility in the wind was simply too low. The team could not even see one another’s faces. They could only rely on Nanyu’s commands.

Mo Fan turned around and saw five strange birds with green bodies and blue wings flying close to the ground. They reached out their sharp claws as they were approaching Mo Fan, trying to lift him up into the air.

Many strange birds in the air had already placed their serviettes and were holding their knives and forks. They were prepared to enjoy a grand meal once the humans were lifted into the air.

“Choosing me as your target, have you asked my needles for permission?” Mo Fan spread out his fingers. The presence of the Shadow Element circled around his fingers…

Giant Shadow Spikes in the form of pocket-size swords appeared between Mo Fan’s fingers. They were as thin as needles when they were between Mo Fan’s fingers, but as they sprang forward, each sword immediately split into twelve in total, forming a dark star formation rapidly!

The five strange birds were too focused on their coming meal. They did not notice the trap of Giant Shadow Spikes on the ground. As they passed above the Giant Shadow Spike Star Formation, several Giant Shadow Spikes sprang up and nailed the shadows of the birds while unleashing a strong binding force to immobilize them right above the star formation!

“Fourth-tier Giant Shadow Spikes, brilliant!” Zhao Manyan could not help but exclaim after seeing Mo Fan’s move.

As a fuerdai, Zhao Manyan was always embarrassed whenever he saw how resourceful Mo Fan was, despite being just a commoner. As he expected, the guy had enhanced all his Intermediate Spells, too!

Mo Fan smiled. He could feel that his Shadow Element was a lot more responsive than before.

“Help me attract the attention of the strange birds, I’ll give them a big one!” Mo Fan told Zhao Manyan.

“Don’t you play with fire!”

“Trust me!”

Zhao Manyan followed Mo Fan’s instructions. He began to use all he had to attract the attention of the birds.

Zhao Manyan was stacked with defensive spells. Even when more than ten birds were surrounding him and attacking him for several rounds, he would still be perfectly unharmed.

“Plummeting Rays!”

Zhao Manyan controlled the light arrows and fired them in all directions fearlessly. There were lots of light arrows, so even if he was not aiming at the birds on purpose, he could still attract their attention of the birds.

As he thought, the Plummeting Rays were too dispersed, and he only killed some of them. However, a huge group of them began to fly toward him. Their wings almost filled up the entire sky.

“Did I attract a bit too many?” Zhao Manyan started to lose confidence.

The Plummeting Rays had immediately attracted over a hundred strange birds to him! Zhao Manyan suddenly felt like he had just poked a beehive.

“How are these enough?” Mo Fan was not satisfied.

Meanwhile, Jiang Shaoxu, who was closer to the two showed up. When she saw Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan trying to gather the attention of the birds, she immediately donned a cunning smile and said seductively, “Trying to get their attention? Isn’t that simple enough?”

Jiang Shaoxu closed her eyes and spread her spiritual wave rapidly. “Spirit Ripple: Enrage!”

In the Psychic Element, blue ripple meant pacifying, while red represented rage and anger!

As the red glow spread far away, the birds that were holding back in formation suddenly left their designated spots,their eyes dyed red by the Spirit Ripple. A massive number immediately dove at Zhao Manyan fiercely!

In just less than a minute, Zhao Manyan was surrounded by a tornado of strange birds with green bodies, blue wings, and yellow claws. Most surprisingly, these birds were like a school of fish. Despite how close they were, they never crashed into one another. They were attacking furiously, yet they managed to keep their places all the same!

“My Heavens, are you trying to get me killed, Jiang Shaoxu!” Zhao Manyan was stuck in place. The team could hear his voice coming from the communication device with lots of interference.

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” Jiang Shaoxu giggled.

She was the calmest on the team, as the Psychic Element allowed her to pacify the strange birds that were trying to attack her. To them, Jiang Shaoxu was just a harmless little creature. As long as Jiang Shaoxu did not take the initiative to attack them, they would simply leave her be.

“Mo Fan, help me!” Zhao Manyan was devoured by who-knew-how-many layers of strange birds.

One defensive spell after another was cast. The Light Protection, Water Barrier, and Light Scales Armor were enhanced by a blue seal, which made Zhao Manyan’s defensive spells even sturdier than other Magicians with Soul Seeds.

“I’m almost ready, just hold on a bit longer. It’s my first time using it, so I’m still not familiar with it,” said Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan felt like crying.

-First time using it? Is that idiot seriously entrapping me? If you aren’t familiar, why didn’t you kill the birds one at a time instead?-

“Here it is, Nyx Regime!”

The black Star Constellation hovered around Mo Fan. His hands seemed to be lifting a small curtain. The pitch-black curtain rapidly surged toward Zhao Manyan’s position.

Darkness fell like a black waterfall. As it loomed over the place, the strange birds had no chance of escaping despite their overwhelming numbers. It was the same as trying to chase after the sun when night came…

The darkness devoured all sources of light in the area. Zhao Manyan had trouble seeing his own fingers in the dark. Meanwhile, the strange birds suddenly turned into headless flies crashing into one another.

The darkness not only blinded the creatures, it also inflicted great fear upon them. The birds uttered despairing cries, trying to fly away from the darkness.

However, the area was like a maze. No matter how fast or how accurate their sense of direction was, they were still trapped inside it…

“Nyx Giant Shadow Spikes, time to turn you all into samples!”

Mo Fan unleashed the dark energy once again. Countless Giant Shadow Spikes appeared around him and flew continuously into the area filled with darkness.

The Giant Shadow Spikes were not aiming for the strange birds. They simply entered the darkness and stayed in their position. It looked like the Giant Shadow Spikes were flying randomly, but they were actually constructing an enormous, three-dimensional Giant Shadow Spike Star Formation encapsulating all the birds.

Dark energy was surging wildly inside the area. It felt like the whole place was under the control of the God of the Night. Any creature that tried to move had to obtain permission from him!

This God of the Night was Mo Fan, who was casting the Advanced Shadow Spell!

The strange birds were all immobilized. Hundreds of Giant Shadow Spikes in the area landed accurately on them…

“Awesome!”

Zhao Manyan was the only one that could still move inside the formation. When he saw the strange birds all turning into spitted munchies in mid-air, he exclaimed in surprise.

The power of darkness!

He never thought the power of darkness would be so impressive. It was able to seal a whole bunch of demon creatures, as if it had built a cage of darkness around them!

“Nyx Regime is able to enhance the effects of any Shadow Spell. It’s similar to a Domain… However, my control is still too weak, I can’t keep them in place for too long. Hurry up and leave, I’ll kill them in one breath!” said Mo Fan.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan found the power quite enjoyable. Before reaching the Intermediate Level, the only effective Shadow Spell Mo Fan had was the Fleeing Shadow. It was Mo Fan’s only measure to protect himself. He did not rely much on the Giant Shadow Spikes either, as he would normally kill his enemy if he was stronger, and run for his life if he could not defeat them…

However, after he reached the Advanced Level, the Nyx Regime and the fourth-tier Giant Shadow Spike were able to create an enormous, immobilizing formation directly. It was so powerful that even Mo Fan was left in awe!

Chapter 935: The Ward in the Storm
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Sky-Flame Funeral!”

Mo Fan held two puffs of swelling flames in his hands and delivered them into the Nyx Regime.

The fiery clouds loomed over the Nyx Regime, and fierce flames started pouring down from the clouds. The dense fireballs landed on the ground and carpeted the place in flame, which eventually combined into a scorching sea of fire.

Sea of flames on the ground, rain of fire in the air, and fiery clouds in the sky. The three layers of fire totally entrapped the immobilized birds.

It was like the strange birds had fallen into a giant furnace. Their beautiful feathers were burned into ashes. Their bodies were severely scorched…

The Sky-Flame Funeral was a spell with a wide coverage and long duration. Even though the strange birds were not low-level creatures, death was their only way out once they were trapped inside the combination of Nyx Regime and the Giant Shadow Spike Formation. The flames would slowly burn them all into ashes!

“It felt great killing so many of them in one breath! It’s time for Little Loach to enjoy a great meal…” Mo Fan looked at the strange birds dying inside the formation of darkness and fire. He could not help but wonder how many Soul Remnants he would collect from it.

Perhaps it was enough to strengthen the Space Element Stars!

“Strange, why isn’t Little Loach absorbing the Soul Remnants?”

Mo Fan suddenly realized something strange.

Normally, the Little Loach Pendant would automatically absorb the Soul Remnants of the creatures he killed. Mo Fan would also see green and blue souls like fireflies entering the pendant on his chest…

However, none of it was happening this time!

“Why is this happening?” It was Mo Fan’s first time encountering something like this. “Don’t tell me these things have no souls? That doesn’t make any sense. Even the undead need to have a soul, just so they can move. If these strange birds don’t have a soul, what is keeping them alive?”

Mo Fan initially thought he was about to enjoy a great harvest, yet he somehow ended up empty-handed. The Little Loach Pendant’s reaction was hinting to him that these creatures had no soul…

Mo Fan fell into deep thoughts. He immediately recalled the incident he encountered on the plane.

The air routes that human planes took were usually protected by barriers constructed by powerful Magicians. The barriers would drive demon creatures away, and if any demon creature broke through the barriers, it would alert the responsible party, too. They would send Air Space Magicians to handle the demon creatures. It was similar to highways. Even in the wild, demon creatures rarely trespassed onto the highways.

The air routes were incredibly safe. He had never heard of any tragic accidents, yet not long ago, a strange bird a lot bigger than the ones he was seeing in front of him had intercepted the plane. Mo Fan had not understood how the strange bird snuck into the barrier without alerting the Magicians?

And now, Mo Fan had found the answer to it. These strange birds had no soul!

A creature with no soul meant they were not even undead. The barriers could only detect living creatures. As a result, headquarters was totally unaware of the strange bird that had followed the plane for a long time…

“Damn it, what the heck are these things!?”

Mo Fan felt his head aching. The birds looked just like ordinary demon creatures, yet they happened to have no soul. If they had no soul, why were they insisting on attacking the team? Things without soul were just puppets, and leaving the ability to move aside, puppets usually had no goals in mind, no concept of attacking, defending, nor would they think or cry…

“What’s this?” Mo Fan walked in the formation covered in scorched corpses of the strange birds and surprisingly discovered a bright-colored crest.

Over a hundred strange birds had been burned to ashes by the Sky-Flame Funeral, yet a piece of its crest still retained its bright color after burning in fire for so long.

“Have any of you seen this before?” Mo Fan showed the bright-colored crest to Zhao Manyan and Jiang Shaoxu.

“I think so, I’m not too sure,” replied Jiang Shaoxu.

“Those strange birds are coming again…” Zhao Manyan did not even care about the colorful crest.

Mo Fan asked Jiang Shaoxu to repeat the same method, as it was a lot quicker at getting rid of the birds. He would worry about their lack of soul later.

Jiang Shaoxu unleashed the Spirit Ripple, while Mo Fan prepared to cast the Nyx Regime in order to grill the birds again with the furnace of dark and fire. Yet, it did not work this time!

Not only were the birds not enraged by Jiang Shaoxu’s Psychic Spell, they actually avoided Mo Fan’s spell when they noticed the powerful presence of the Shadow Element…

“Holy crap, did those birds just become smarter?” exclaimed Zhao Manyan.

Visibility in the storm was extremely low. It was impossible that the new batch of strange birds had witnessed how their comrades died, yet they acted as if they clearly knew how deadly their spells were. They were circling in the air above Mo Fan, Jiang Shaoxu, and Zhao Manyan, as if they were waiting for more reinforcement!

“They are intelligent… no, no, this isn’t just about their intelligence!” said Mo Fan.

The previous batch of strange birds were all butchered inside the Nyx Regime. Even sound could not leave the formation, thus how did the new batch of strange birds know that it was a slaughterhouse, and they needed more comrades to overcome it?

“Retreat, retreat, there’s something strange about these birds!” Mo Fan immediately told Zhao Manyan and Jiang Shaoxu when he noticed the number of birds in the air growing rapidly.

The birds above them had almost turned into a giant tornado. Mo Fan’s Nyx Regime was unable to trap such an enormous number of strange birds. It was better to withdraw for the time being.

—

The team continued to move toward the center of the storm. The wind was now strong enough to tear Servant-class creatures into pieces. Their team of Advanced Magicians needed to cast a defensive spell on everyone just to venture deeper.

“It looks like the birds have stopped chasing us,” said Nanyu, listening to the noise coming from behind.

“They knew how to withdraw temporarily, too!” said Mo Fan.

The birds were only a bunch of puppets. Normally, they would brainlessly enter the storm like moths diving into a fire if they were following someone’s orders, but they stopped chasing…

“Are they waiting for us out there since we can’t stay in the storm for too long? The wind is just consuming our energy continuously. If a bolt of lightning sweeps past, we might even have to use our defensive equipment,” noted Jiang Yu.

The others were clueless about what to do too. They could only hide inside the storm and try to come up with a plan. Staying inside the storm was no permanent solution. No one knew how stable the storm and lightning was. If it somehow grew stronger all of a sudden, wouldn’t it simply drag the whole team toward the center?

“Are you seriously saying that now? If you didn’t bring the team wandering around to that place, why would we be chased around by those strange birds!” said Zu Jiming, pointing at Jiang Yu.

“Jiang Yu, you’re fully responsible for this!” Li Kaifeng and Mu Tingying complained too.

Jiang Yu fell silent.

Mo Fan rose to his feet and started walking around when he saw the members quarreling among themselves instead of trying to figure out a plan.

“Stop wandering around, you’re just going to bring us more trouble!” snapped Zu Jiming in annoyance.

“I’m really annoyed by your voice. Can you shut your birdy mouth up? Besides, these legs are mine, I can go wherever I want. How is that even your birdy business?” Mo Fan’s mind was fully occupied by the birds, and even his curse was full of them. After all, he was the one in the worst mood. He was dragged into this mess out of nowhere, even though it was the team that poked the beehive, not to mention that they did not even bother telling him!

Zu Jiming remembered how Mo Fan had gotten rid of Lu Yilin. Despite being furious, he did not dare to quarrel further.

After seeing Zu Jiming quiet down, Mo Fan proceeded in the direction the light of the Essence Orb was pointing to…

Since he had already come this far, he did not want to go back empty-handed, right?

Zhao Manyan and Jiang Yu followed Mo Fan, worried about him. It was better to look after one another in the storm. Jiang Shaoxu seemed to be tired of seeing the dark expressions of Zu Jiming and the others, and decided to follow Mo Fan after a slight hesitation.

Ai Jiangtu knew everyone was in a bad mood after being trapped in the storm. He did not really care if the team was splitting up. He simply asked the relatively more reliable Nanyu to follow after the group, “We’ll be waiting here. Keep us updated!”

—

The four members followed Mo Fan as he ventured deeper into the storm. The wind was now strong enough to hurt Warrior-level creatures.

The lightning flickered even more rapidly above them. A lightning bolt would land right in front of their feet at times, sending a chill down their spine.

“Say, are we still going deeper?” asked Jiang Yu softly.

“Why not, it’s better than staying there yelling at each other!” answered Jiang Shaoxu.

Even though they were on the same team, there was not much teamwork between them. If it weren’t for Ai Jiangtu’s overwhelming strength and reputation, the team would be fighting one another by now. They would disband before they could reach Venice.

“The lightning is too rapid ahead,” said Jiang Yu.

As they went deeper, the lightning started to increase. The dark yellow lightning flickered rapidly, tearing the wind apart and forming a net around the place, applying pressure to the group of people approaching it.

“Nanyu, do you feel that yellow lightning is somewhat familiar?” Mo Fan turned around and looked at Nanyu.

Nanyu suddenly remembered something after hearing his words. “It’s a magic ward!” she exclaimed.

Most lightning from magic wards was yellow, and they had seen similar lightning before. It was at the Twin Guardian Towers in Japan.

“This lightning… is not from nature, but an artificial magic ward?” Jiang Shaoxu asked in surprise.

“Aren’t you curious what’s inside the magic ward?” Mo Fan turned around and looked at the group with a wide smile.

If someone had constructed a formation as a magic ward in the storm, wouldn’t it imply that someone was trying to hide the secret at the center of the storm? Why would anyone go so far as to hide it in a terrifying storm?

Chapter 936: Heart-Warming Intelligence!
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was intrigued!

The Essence Orb was clearly telling Mo Fan that there was a magical, ancient energy here, and now they had discovered an artificial magic ward…

“This is some ancient lightning magic! Come, let’s go deeper!” Nanyu seemed more excited than Mo Fan. She was now leading the way!

“Can you all stick closer to me if you’re planning to go deeper? I won’t be able to save you if you’re blown away by the wind!” exclaimed Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan was the only Magician with defensive spells in the group. His defensive spells had turned him into a sturdy turtle shell protecting the others as they continued on…

“Don’t leave the coverage of my spells. The wind is as strong as an Intermediate Spell now!” Zhao Manyan reminded them.

“It’s just an Intermediate Spell…” Mo Fan began arrogantly.

“You try being hit by an Intermediate Spell every second,” Zhao Manyan cut him off.

Mo Fan hesitated for a moment, and decisively shut his mouth.

A wind with the strength of an Intermediate Spell did not necessarily mean its damage was the same as being struck by an Intermediate Spell, but being blasted by a team of Intermediate Magicians non-stop. That concept was rather shocking!

“Can we go any further?” asked Nanyu in a serious voice.

“Yes,” Zhao Manyan nodded.

“You’ve grown a lot stronger!” complimented Mo Fan.

“Hehe!” Zhao Manyan smiled as if he had been waiting for Mo Fan to say that for a long time. Even though he was a shameless person on the surface, what was more satisfying than being complimented by a close friend he had gone through lots of battles with?

—

Under the turtle shell… ahem, Zhao Manyan’s protection, the group successfully arrived at the area protected by the yellow lightning.

From the outside, the pitch-black storm had concealed the color of the lightning bolts, only giving off a sense of destruction. However, as they went into the storm, they were shocked to discover that the wild and dense lightning was a part of the yellow magic ward.

“Can you crack the Ward open?” Mo Fan asked grimly.

The magic ward was a wall of aggressive magical energy. It could only be destroyed by an energy several times stronger. However, the ward also had its designated keyhole and key. If they could find the keyhole and the key, the magic ward was not really that terrifying or impassable.

“I can, the broken walls at the ruins provided me with some tips. I just need some time,” answered Nanyu firmly.

“Hurry up; Zhao Manyan can’t hold on for much longer,” said Mo Fan.

Jiang Yu and Jiang Shaoxu were excited, too. It seemed like the real treasure of the ancient ruins was hidden inside the magic ward!

“I will let you know if I can’t hold it much longer. Just hurry up, the wind is really strong here,” Zhao Manyan told them all.

—

The others did not dare say a word as they patiently watched Nanyu crack the magic ward of yellow lightning open.

That being said, as a Magician specialized in cracking Magic Wards, Nanyu did not just take out a little wire and twist it around to crack the Ward. Her hand was hovering in front of the fierce lightning as she listened carefully to the rhythm of the magic ward with her heart, learning how it was operating and where its energy came from; was it repeating the same loop, or was its sequence random? If it was in a loop, when was its weakest period…

—

Time gradually passed. Zhao Manyan’s face was slowly covered in sweat, as if he was struggling.

He never stopped casting spells; Water Barrier, Rock Barrier, Light Protection, Plummeting Rays, the rate of his energy consumption was rather shocking. If it weren’t for the blue seals strengthening the defensive spells, he would have given up ten minutes ago.

“Nanyu, are you done yet?” Zhao Manyan finally asked.

“It’s a bit tricky, if you can’t hold on for much longer, let’s go back first… mmm, why is your face so pale?” said Nanyu.

“My energy is almost depleted, why do you think my face is pale?” replied Zhao Manyan in an unpleasant voice.

Initially, no one realized there was something wrong with Zhao Manyan’s sentence. However, Nanyu’s question immediately froze the team.

“Didn’t you preserve enough energy to go back?”

Didn’t you preserve enough energy to go back!?

They had consumed a huge amount of energy as they ventured deeper into the storm. The journey was not short, either. Even though on the journey back, the wind would gradually weaken, they still needed the same amount of energy they consumed to come this far into the storm. Otherwise, the team would not last for more than half a minute in the storm!

Oh! My! Heavens!

This was nuts, everyone was about to go crazy!

Zhao Manyan was the only Magician with defensive spells on the team. The others would surely be killed within ten seconds judging how strong the wind was, but the idiotic Zhao Manyan did not preserve energy for their return journey, meaning that the group would simply be wiped out halfway!

“What the heck is wrong with you, Zhao Manyan?!” Jiang Shaoxu was the first to scream.

“Me? Didn’t you all ask me to tell you when I’m about to run out of energy… I thought we could surely crack the Ward open!” Zhao Manyan was stunned.

Mo Fan felt like crying. It was his first time discovering that Zhao Manyan’s intelligence was so heart-warming!

“What…what…what…what can…can we do…do!” Jiang Yu was so nervous that he was stammering.

This was no time for a joke. They were currently at the spot where the wind was the strongest. Even Advanced Magicians would be torn to pieces in seconds, and even their Magic Equipment would not last for long!

“What other choice do we have? Nanyu, open the Ward, hurry up and open the Ward! Going back now is only going to get us killed!” said Mo Fan.

Nanyu could feel cold sweat running down her face. She could not even understand the structure of the magic ward before when she was perfectly calm, let alone with the pressure she was feeling now when the death timer started to tick.

However, Nanyu was clearly aware that she had to crack the magic ward. Otherwise, they were all going to die here!

Nanyu did not waste any more time. She gathered all her focus on the magic ward.

“Let’s not preserve our strength any longer. Hurry up and take out anything that can protect us, to buy Nanyu some time,” Mo Fan ordered the others.

The trump cards that everyone had could mostly last for a little longer. It was surely not enough to protect them on their way back. Their only hope was to see if Nanyu could crack open the magic ward…

“I…I can last a little longer, but the rest is up to you all,” said Zhao Manyan with a twisted expression.

The group consisted of rational people. It was meaningless to blame one another in a situation like this. The only thing they could do was to try their best to buy some time!

“I have a Triangular Water Mirror here, the energy of every Element can be used to support it, but the problem is, the rate of conversion isn’t as effective. If we pour all our energy of non-defensive Elements into it, it might buy us another minute,” said Jiang Yu.

“Two minutes,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had many Elements, and three of them had reached the Advanced Level. His supply of energy was enough to buy them another minute.

“No no no, Mo Fan, you should preserve your energy first. Once Nanyu cracks open the magic ward, there might still be danger inside. If we all use up all our energy, we’ll be dead too. You should only pour your energy into it if we’ve emptied our energy…” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Ugh, you’re right, your intelligence is completely the opposite of Zhao Manyan’s,” Mo Fan nodded.

Zhao Manyan was on the verge of bursting into tears. He seriously thought Nanyu would crack the magic ward open, so he only gave his promise to hold on because of that…

“Take my spot for a while, I’ll try replenish my energy, we’ll take turns,” Zhao Manyan quickly sat on the ground and activated a Magic Tool capable of replenishing his energy. He had to try his best to recover as much energy as he could. Otherwise, the others on the team would not even bother being his friends if they ended up in Hell.

—

Sweat poured down like rain. The sense of danger gradually grew stronger as the energy in their bodies slowly depleted.

However, none of them dared to say a word, as they were afraid that it would disturb Nanyu. They were staring at each other with wide-open eyes, and could see the nervous look and uneasiness in one another’s eyes.

Mo Fan began to panic, too. -Hasn’t Nanyu cracked the Ward yet?- Even if he poured all his energy into the Triangular Water Mirror, it would only buy the team another minute. The others were basically at their limit. Their faces had turned extremely pale.

Jiang Yu already had a sad face. He never thought he would die a horrible death in a place like this at such a young age…

“Follow behind me!” Nanyu realized time was of the essence. She ordered the others behind her without caring if the magic ward had been cracked open.

The others immediately followed Nanyu and stuck closely to her.

The group was surrounded by yellow lightning, sweeping past their skin by inches. Some just missed them above their heads. Their hearts immediately pounded heavily.

The yellow lightning was stronger than the wind. It would blast them into pieces of meat in seconds…

A yellow, fierce lightning bolt struck on the ground before Nanyu’s feet, forcing her to pause in her tracks.

“It doesn’t seem to be this way…” murmured Mo Fan.

The group was currently inside the area protected by yellow lightning. They could see lightning flickering everywhere around them. Their minds had gone blank from being worried about being turned into ashes at any second. They were purely following Nanyu on instinct.

“It should be this way,” Nanyu turned to a specific direction and started moving that way.

“Should?” the four blurted out simultaneously.

“I haven’t solved the ward yet. Instead of waiting for our death outside, we should just come in here and take it a step at a time. Just stick close to me, and follow my steps,” said Nanyu grimly.

Mo Fan’s face was as dark as it could possibly be. Why did he keep finding himself in crappy situations like this!?

—

“It looks like we’ve taken the right path. There won’t be any problem from here onward,” Nanyu’s words were like gospel in the nervous atmosphere. Everyone immediately uttered a relieved sigh.

As they continued to follow Nanyu, the number of lightning arcs slowly decreased. The group suddenly felt like they had walked through a waterfall. The scene ahead cleared up after they overcame a slight resistance…

The place was green, and covered in flowers. A scenery that looked like one from a painting was in front of them. The group was stunned by the sight of it.

“Look, there’s a city!” exclaimed Zhao Manyan, pointing further ahead.

At the end of the field of flowers stood a brightly colored small city. It did not look ancient even the slightest. It resembled a magical city inside a painting!

“How is this possible? We’ve clearly entered the eye of the storm. How did we end up in such a spacious place that looks like a paradise?” Jiang Shaoxu blurted out in disbelief.

“This must be a separated space. I believe… we’ve found the real ancient ruins!” exclaimed Mo Fan.

Chapter 937: Time Liquid
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As they entered the city located in the foreign space, Mo Fan found it hard to believe that the city was sealed off for a very long time when he noticed the pleasant scent of flowers lingering in the air. There was not even the slightest sense of decay. The enormous black storm was like a wall of time, freezing the time in the confined space.

“I’m afraid this is one of the earliest cities in South America. Look at the ancient flower crest on the entrance!” said the observant Jiang Shaoxu, pointing at the symbol at the entrance.

“Are you familiar with South America’s history?” Mo Fan was surprised at how knowledgeable Jiang Shaoxu was.

“How would I know that? I only know a thing or two about the flower. It’s called Li Fan, an extremely rare species that went extinct around thirty years ago in South America. When they were still around, these rare flowers were used to produce wine. My grandpa has a bottle of Li Fan wine. He said that he will only open it when I find my Mr. Right. In addition to that, these Li Fan flowers were very unique. Back when there weren’t many Psychic Magicians around, it was used as anesthesia, just like poppies can. It was able to pacify and calm a person down. Poppies are rather harmful and addictive, but a Li Fan flower doesn’t have any of its side effects. It is said that the origin of the Psychic Element is somehow related to this flower,” Jiang Shaoxu explained in one breath.

A flower that could be used like a Psychic Spell? It was the first time Mo Fan had heard of it. He found it quite interesting.

“Can you tell how old this city is?” asked Nanyu.

“Not really. The flower was rare and valuable, but I have no idea when mankind started using it. However, I believe there might be records of cities or families that used the flower as their crest in Peru’s history. We can easily find out once we left this place. Besides, I’m not really interested in its history, I’m just curious if there are more Li Fan flowers here that have already gone extinct in the outside world…” replied Jiang Shaoxu.

It was obvious that Jiang Shaoxu was quite interested in the Li Fan flower. She had already started searching around the ancient city. The city was not that big. It looked calm and peaceful, not like there was danger anywhere.

The group split up to explore the city. Mo Fan followed the guidance of the Essence Orb and searched for the energy source that he was desperately in need of.

The city was well-preserved. It looked like it had remained the same as it was in ancient times. The streets were free of dust, and the houses were not even slightly damaged. It felt like they had entered an elegant and beautiful foreign city, except there was not a single person inside. It felt calm and peaceful.

—

After crossing the wide streets, Mo Fan discovered a spectacular fountain at a crossroads.

It was spectacular because it had a statue of a glamorous woman on it. The curvy waist and smooth stomach were rather eye-catching.

Her body ratio was slightly different than Asian people. She had a longer upper body, and a stunning bust. Her slender figure and impressive bust were things that most Eastern women lacked.

The light emitted by the Essence Orb had reached its strongest level. Mo Fan lowered his head and looked into the clear water in the fountain, before glancing at the statue of the glamorous woman with a veil on her face.

“Is the water something similar to the Underground Holy Spring?” conjectured Mo Fan.

He placed the Essence Orb into the fountain. However, there was nothing special about it apart from being a little bit cold. The Essence Orb did not seem to be absorbing any energy.

“This…this is just normal water!” Mo Fan cupped the water with his hands and took a sip of it. It was tasteless!

Mo Fan was confused. If the water was not the source he was looking for, why the heck did the Essence Orb brought him here?

Did Old Bao trick him? Was the Orb broken?

After spending some time pondering, Mo Fan still could not figure out where the energy source was. He lifted his gaze and stared at the statue that looked very alive.

“Maybe it’s inside the statue?” Mo Fan jumped to the center of the fountain and probed inside the statue with his will.

After inspecting the statue closely from her head all the way to her toes, Mo Fan still did not found anything. However, the Essence Orb was clearly brighter when he was standing closer to the statue. It almost felt like the Orb was about to fly onto her.

To Mo Fan’s astonishment, Little Loach Pendant was showing a reaction too, as if it was drooling over some food.

Mo Fan was utterly speechless. Why were they suddenly interested in a statue of a woman instead of showing some interest in a female Orb or a female loach?

Was the statue hiding something inside it?

Mo Fan knocked on the statue. It felt like it was hollow inside.

As he knocked on the statue harder, the statue began to break into pieces. It seemed to be made of sand.

Mo Fan did not mean to destroy the historical relic. He watched the statue crumble to the ground, revealing a crystal cup inside it. The cup was holding a kind of clear, glowing liquid.

The Little Loach Pendant immediately emitted a bright glow. If one was to describe its reaction based on a human, it was like a person’s eyes were about to fall out from their sockets. The Little Loach Pendant wanted to drink the liquid in the cup in one eager gulp!

Meanwhile, the Essence Orb was flickering brightly too, as if it was yelling at Little Loach to let go of the liquid, it’s mine!

“What the heck is this thing? Well, it must be something good..” Mo Fan concluded.

Anything that the Little Loach Pendant was excited about was surely something precious. However, considering that he needed to fill up the Essence Orb the most, he placed the Essence Orb inside the cup to absorb the energy.

However, he soon had a headache, as the Essence Orb had only absorbed a third of the liquid before it acted as if it could not absorb any more. The level of the shiny liquid stayed the same.

Mo Fan then gave the liquid to the Little Loach Pendant, yet it could not absorb the liquid at all. It was only swimming around inside the cup.

“Why the hell are you so excited about if you can’t absorb it!?” cursed Mo Fan.

He had never seen such a senseless pendant. Did it seriously just want to join the fun after seeing the Essence Orb’s reaction?

There was still two-thirds of the liquid left inside the cup, but the Essence Orb could not absorb anymore. Mo Fan had no choice but to put the liquid away. He would worry about what it was and its uses later.

The Essence Orb had absorbed a third of it. It was definitely good news for Mo Fan. If he was able to fill it, he no longer had to worry about paying the debt of using the Demon Element.

—

Everyone seemed to find something useful in the city. Mo Fan immediately regrouped with the others after he found what he came for.

Jiang Shaoxu found the Li Fan flower she was interested in. She was smiling like a little girl who had found a small stalk of red flower.

Mo Fan had no idea what the others had found, yet looking at the time, they were meant to head back soon. The city was not big, so it was meaningless to stay any longer since there was nothing valuable left.

—

After waiting for Zhao Manyan to replenish his energy, the group left the non-aging city.

The moment they stepped out of the magic aura protecting the city, a pair of yellow eyes suddenly sprang open in the storm above it.

The eyes were staring at the group. The eyes watched the group leave, and slowly closed up as the group left the area protected by the yellow lightning.

Little Flame Belle was lying on Mo Fan’s shoulder, and did notice the strange eyes. She waved her arms around, trying to tell Mo Fan she saw a pair of eyes in the sky. However, Mo Fan was not too bothered by it, as he did not see anything when he looked up.

—

“How’s the situation? Are the birds still out there?” Nanyu asked Ai Jiangtu, who was still in the same spot.

“It looks like they’re gone,” answered Ai Jiangtu.

“It took you guys long enough; we almost thought you have all been torn into pieces by the storm. Seriously, stop wasting our time,” said Zu Jiming.

“If everyone’s here, let’s hurry back to the city. It’s not safe staying in the wild,” said Mu Tingying timidly.

They still could not believe how relentless the strange birds were. Most members on the team only wanted to go back to the city, just so the team could ask for help when needed!

Everyone started heading back along the same route. The team did not encounter any accidents when they were crossing the canyon, since Lu Yilin was no longer there to fool around.

—

Everyone immediately went to bed after the team returned to Hanmi City. Although they were quite nervous when crossing the canyon, the journey was not too dangerous without Lu Yilin’s silly deeds. The team was actually more worried about the strange birds, as no one knew when they would appear and ambush them again.

Mo Fan stayed in his room and started inspecting the unique liquid he had found. However, he was obviously not the expert when it came to identifying rare loot. He was utterly clueless about what it could possibly be. He almost mistook it as mineral water and drank it.

Little Flame Belle was still complaining about the eyes she saw. Mo Fan was quite worried now. If Little Flame Belle actually saw the eyes, he could not help but wonder what the eyes in the storm were from…

Why were the eyes watching them above the ancient city?

“Forget it, it’s meaningless to overthink it. Anyway, I’ve filled up a third of the Essence Orb. it’s a great profit for me!” Mo Fan stopped thinking about all the nonsense and went to bed.

A lot of strange things happened, yet they could just mind their own business. Mo Fan was not interested in them at all!

—

Mo Fan was just about to fall asleep when he received a response from Lingling.

Mo Fan had immediately told Lingling about the liquid when he returned to Hanmi City, hoping that Lingling could tell him its uses. Lingling was pretty efficient too. Mo Fan had only taken a hot shower and closed his eyes for a quick rest before she responded.

“Mo Fan, where did you find it?” asked Lingling.

“In an ancient city inside a storm. It was hidden inside a statue,” said Mo Fan.

“It’s Time Liquid! You should be grateful that my grandpa’s library has information about it. Unfortunately, it did not mention its uses. It only has a name, and a brief description of its origin. It is refined with some kind of ancient herb; the procedures were extremely complicated, and were lost to the world,” said Lingling.

“Time Liquid? It sounds like it has something to do with time. Speaking of which, the city stood quietly inside the storm, as if time didn’t flow in it. Are the two related in any way?” Mo Fan asked.

Chapter 938: Disaster, Horde of Strange Birds
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“They aren’t related,” Lingling immediately answered Mo Fan’s question confidently.

“Why?”

“Time is always flowing, so time can’t freeze or flow backward. No magic can alter the flow of time, either. The Time Liquid is likely just a name. Perhaps its uses are somewhat related to time, like making a plant grow faster, or letting a woman keep her youth…” explained Lingling seriously.

She was basically telling Mo Fan to trust in science and stop having fancy thoughts!

Mo Fan did not learn any useful information about the Time Liquid. He put it aside and went back to sleep.

—

The team did not stay too long in Hanmi City. They soon headed for Peru’s Training Hall, the Royal Felipe Castle.

The team took a plane to Lima. They were not in the mood to visit the attractions or go shopping. They immediately hired some cabs and headed for the Royal Felipe Castle, located along the Callao Shore.

The Royal Felipe Castle was located by the sea, facing the vast Pacific Ocean. Mo Fan remembered seeing the magnificent, giant castle when he was looking down from the plane.

The castle had the shape of a pentagram, but instead of sharp vertexes like a triangle, they were like the bow of a ship made of thick walls. A huge castle was standing in the middle of the pentagram.

Peru was just like Japan, a country often ambushed by the sea monsters. The Royal Felipe Castle was also the command center of the army defending Peru’s Western Shoreline. After all, it was fairly close to Peru’s capital, Lima!

It was a relatively peaceful season, and Peru’s West Shoreline was rather calm. The local news did not mention sea monsters at all. It was definitely something to be cheerful about for the people living in Peru. After all, unlike Japan, who had developed the attacks into a source of income through the resources provided by the sea monsters, to the people of Peru, the sea monsters were a natural disaster, threatening their fishermen, their city, and also the growth of their crops…

—

The team arrived at the Royal Felipe Castle. After clarifying who they were, the guards at the entrance politely led them into the castle.

“Welcome, I am a Royal Magician here, Ariosto. Glad to have you visiting our country, Peru,” a tanned man came up to the team and greeted everyone politely with a smile.

“Hi, we are the representatives of the Chinese national team. We are here for the approval stamp,” Ai Jiangtu cut straight to the topic.

“Isn’t your team going to rest up first?” asked the Royal Magician Ariosto.

“It’s fine, we already rested before coming here,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“Very well, I’ll make arrangements for the challenge. Come with me.”

Ariosto led the team outside. The team had already seen the spacious dueling ground in front of the castle before they went inside it. Ariosto sent someone to activate the barrier. The dueling ground was separated by a water curtain barrier. It looked like an enormous water fountain.

The defenders of Peru’s Training Hall soon arrived. There were eight of them, each one either very tanned, or with snowy-white skin.

“They are young and talented Magicians from the East. I hope you do your best,” Ariosto smiled.

—

The duel was fairly simple. Both sides would send out three candidates for a team battle. Ai Jiangtu sent Li Kaifeng, Mu Tingying, and Guan Yu to represent the team.

The Peruvian team was rather average. None of their three candidates had reached the Advanced Level. Even though some were quite talented, it did not make any difference…

Since the Chinese team was stronger in terms of cultivation, they easily won the duels, as expected.

—

“Your team is very strong indeed. However, please don’t leave yet. We are interested in organizing more matches with your team,” Ariosto was not bothered by the loss. He proposed the extra fights in a friendly manner.

“Sure, our members need to train as well,” replied Ai Jiangtu.

“Of course, it’s meaningless for our defenders to fight your members directly. I’m hoping that you can choose a few people from your team, we’ll choose some from our side, and mix them into two teams.”

“Not a problem.”

—

A mixed battle of six versus six. Each team had three Magicians from the Peruvian team.

Everyone was already in their position. As the duel was about to begin, a dark-skinned man in a military outfit walked out from the palace, followed by five or six people. Judging from their appearances, they seemed to be some kind of authorities.

“He looks like a general!” whispered Jiang Shaoxu when she saw the badges on the man’s chest.

“Oh, General Mott, are you interested in watching the duel between these young Magicians?” Ariosto immediately walked up to the man respectfully.

“I’m not interested,” replied General Mott coldly.

Ariosto looked awkward. He had no idea how to continue the conversation.

General Mott ignored him. His eyes looked sharply at the group of yellow-skinned Asians and said, “Are you representatives of a national team?”

“Yeah, they are indeed representatives of the Chinese national team,” Ariosto answered on behalf of the team.

“I wasn’t asking you!” General Mott seemed to be in a bad mood.

Ariosto was left speechless again. What had happened to General Mott today?

“We are representatives of the Chinese national team. Is something wrong?” Ai Jiangtu’s tone did not sound friendly, as the man was not being friendly to them, either.

“You must have done something ridiculous after coming to our country. Follow me to the observation tower!” said General Mott in a heavy voice.

The team was utterly confused. They did not recall having a beef with the general. Why was he being so rude to them?

“Please head over to the observation tower as the general asked,” Ariosto smiled, remaining as polite as ever.

The team followed the general to the observation tower.

The observation tower was very tall, allowing the guards to see far across the ocean. They could also see the end of the shoreline on both sides… and the blue sky without a single trace of clouds.

General Mott still bore a dark face. When the team arrived, he pointed at the shoreline in the north connected to the sky and said furiously, “Look at what you did! If the soldiers in Hanmi City hadn’t updated me with your whereabouts, I won’t even know who to look for! You have no idea how much trouble you have brought to our country!”

Mo Fan was infuriated. What the heck is wrong with this general, scolding their team all of a sudden? What did he want?

His wild temper could not stand being treated arrogantly by others. As he was about to shoot his mouth off, Zhao Manyan grabbed his shoulder and pointed to the sky with a stunned look…

Mo Fan followed his finger and saw a huge cloud appearing in the northern sky.

The blue sky was clear, just like the ocean, thus the cloud that appeared all of a sudden was rather eye-catching. However, the cloud was not white, but a mix of blue and green!

The color of the sky did not attract anyone’s attention at the start. However, as it clustered into a huge cloud and shrouded the sky, the people finally realized something strange about it.

“My heavens, it’s them again!” screamed Jiang Yu.

The strange birds! The same strange birds from before!

An army of them had already come after them when they were in the desert. To their surprise, these strange birds were still chasing after them relentlessly, even after they arrived in Peru’s capital!

What more shocking was, judging from the size of the cloud, their number was at least ten times the size of the flock in the desert!

The cloud was a lot bigger than the flock in the desert. Even the clear sky was completely shrouded by the strange birds. Despite being over a hundred kilometers away, they could still hear their cries, like blasts of thunder. Their cries were gradually turning clearer and sharper!

“A horde, it’s a horde of flying demon creatures!”

“Too many, there are too many of them!”

Ariosto was stunned. Even the others that came with him were screaming in panic. They kept yelling something like “Oh my God!”

Ai Jiangtu, Jiang Yu, Mu Tingying, Zu Jiming, Nanyu, and the others were dumbfounded!

How did it end up like this? Why was this happening?

It started from a few ten to a few hundred, then to a few thousand, and a few tens of thousands, and now, an entire horde was coming after them! Where did these strange birds come from? What exactly are they? How was it possible for them to keep increasing their numbers endlessly?

The team was already having trouble describing their shock when they were ambushed by the strange birds in the desert. Now, all their minds had gone blank, staring at the horde.

A horde, an entire horde, A hundred thousand demon creatures!

“What heartless deeds have you all done that the strange birds would send an entire horde after you?” asked Mo Fan.

This was seriously no joke at all. The size of the horde was easily a disaster. Lima was about to be attacked by a hundred thousand demon creatures. They had to sound the alarm!

“We…we didn’t do anything!” said Jiang Yu.

“I don’t care what you did, you have to leave this city right now, and I mean right away!” yelled General Mott.

“What did you say? You’re asking us to leave?” Mu Tingying could not believe the general’s words.

“General, these kids are going to die for sure out there,” said Ariosto.

General Mott’s eyes turned cold and stared at Ariosto. The latter immediately fell silent.

“Are you telling me to sacrifice the soldiers of my country? Do you have any idea how many soldiers these strange birds can kill!?” snapped Mott.

Ariosto was speechless. However, he strongly believed that it was inhumane to throw the Chinese team out of their country. It was the same as tying them to a wooden stand on a cliff to feed the bald eagles in the sky!

“I won’t repeat it again! If you don’t leave, I will have no choice but to kill you and toss your bodies out!” General Mott glared at the team murderously!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Everyone felt flames of anger bursting out from their chests when they heard General Mott’s words.

The man was forcing them to kill themselves!

A horde of strange birds… even a whole army would have trouble eliminating them, let alone a team of young Magicians!

Their only chance to survive was to rely on the city’s defense!

They did not expect General Mott to be so cruel and cold-blooded. He was insisting that the team must die!

“Your country has failed to keep the demon creatures at bay. Why do we have to be responsible for it?” said Nanyu angrily.

“Humph, we are not obliged to sacrifice our soldiers to protect you. I’ll give you one last minute to leave our city at once!” said General Mott.

“You!”

“Nanyu, forget it, it’s useless wasting our precious time with someone like him,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“I’m not going out, there’s no way I’m going out! We’re dead for sure if we go out. It’s all your fault that we had to step inside that place. I have nothing to do with it!” Zu Jiming started screaming.

“If you don’t leave, I’ll put an end to your lives myself!” said General Mott murderously.

Jiang Shaoxu was infuriated. She pointed at General Mott and said, “I dare you to kill us all right now! Every person you kill here, our factions in China will annihilate a tribe of your people in return. I’m eager to see how many authorities you have behind you that are going to die when they take their revenge!”

Jiang Shaoxu was very aggressive, too. Her words immediately highlighted the fact that General Mott was most worried about.

Anyone that could become a representative of the national team surely had a formidable background. Each faction supporting them basically had great influence in the running of their country.

If the general actually killed them all, the government would have a hard time calming all the factions, since they each had their own way of doing things. Even though the factions would not do anything too extreme on the surface, who knew what kind of things they would do behind the scenes to take revenge?

“Do you think threatening me here is going to save your life? You’re the ones that the strange birds are after!” Mott did not show his emotion through his expression. His face remained stern and cold.

“What proof do you have?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

“Nothing, but you know the truth yourself!” said Mott.

“Everyone, let’s stop arguing among ourselves. I believe General Mott is concerned about the safety of the city. After all, it’s a horde of flying creatures we are speaking of. Lima can easily defend against sea monsters, but it’s going to have a hard time dealing with flying creatures. Lots of people are going to die. Since we still have some time, your team should run to the south along the shoreline. You will find an ancient castle. It might buy you some time for you to recall what you’ve done that offended these ancient creatures from Nazca. It’s your only chance to live,” said Ariosto.

Mo Fan agreed that it was meaningless to argue with the general here. His advisors had obviously told him the only options. Either they forced the team to leave the city, or killed them all and tossed their bodies out. Staying in the city would only have one outcome!

As for being avenged by their factions, they were already dead, what was the point of getting revenge? They would have ceased to exist in this world!

Ai Jiangtu shared the same thought. They had to leave right away. General Mott was determined to kill them. If they were thinking of getting their revenge, they had to make sure they could survive the horde of strange birds first!

—-

“(sigh), General Mott, I really think what we did was wrong. Besides, we weren’t even sure they are the cause, either!” protested Ariosto.

“I don’t care about them. I only care about the safety of the city I’m in charge of!” Mott stared after the Chinese team that had left the Royal Felipe Castle without any hint of regret.

“But that doesn’t mean we can ignore the problem. If it’s our people instead, are we going to toss them out too? Why do we have to live in fear of Nazca instead of trying to solve the problem?” said Ariosto.

“It’s easy to say, do you know how many people are going to die?” responded Mott.

“I know you’ve made the right call, but I’m just worried about something even scarier,” replied Ariosto.

General Mott fell silent. He raised his head, staring at the terrifying curtain of strange birds looming over the city…

The well-lit city gradually turned dark. The calm ocean was invaded by loud noise. The people of Lima were astounded by the sight in the sky. Their faces were filled with disbelief.

The creatures flew past the shoreline, ignoring the city and the people…

They were on the chase. They had passed the Royal Felipe Castle. Shadows that urged Magicians to flee for their lives were looming over the place.

—-

The shoreline was quite long. The team had yet to find the castle that Ariosto mentioned. As the horde of strange birds gradually approached, no one had the mood to talk. Their only thought was to get rid of the birds as quickly as possible.

Not long after arriving in the country, it was like they had been placed under a curse. The strange birds would follow them wherever they went. They always thought it was the last time, but the birds would return when they had almost forgotten about them.

“It’s right ahead, I can see it!” yelled Li Kaifeng who was at the front.

The team finally saw a castle by the shore. It was an ancient structure located on a cliff. A few parts of it had fallen into the sea. Ariosto did not lie to them. The ancient castle had an ideal terrain for setting up their defense. It could definitely buy them some time!

The team rushed into the ancient castle. The place was completely empty. The ../style of the castle was Spanish, and well-preserved.

“Let’s head inside!” Ai Jiangtu led the team into the ancient castle on the cliff.

The materials used to build the castle was quite sturdy. The strange birds would have trouble destroying the castle in a short amount of time. However, they could not just stand and watch the strange birds pecking at the castle non-stop, as once they destroyed the ancient castle, they would have nowhere else to hide!

—-

“There’s a Barrier, the castle has a Barrier! Give me some time, I can reactivate the barrier. It can buy us more time!” As soon as Nanyu entered the castle, she immediately realized something useful.

A Barrier was incredibly important to the team, considering the situation they were in!

Everyone clenched their teeth and persevered when they learned they had a chance to live. Ai Jiangtu immediately distributed the team across the castle.

Their back was the cliff, and the sea below it. The two sides of the castle made for a sturdy defense, thus the team only needed to stop the enemy coming in from the front. The situation was not as grim as they thought.

“Split into two teams. Otherwise, our energy is going to deplete very quickly!” said Ai Jiangtu.

“We’ll defend the place first. Go inside and search around, and see if you can find anything useful,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan, Jiang Shaoxu, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Yu, and Nanrong Ni were grouped into one team. They guarded at the entrance while the others preserved their strength.

Ai Jiangtu swiftly led the others into the ancient castle. The castle was once used as a defensive fortress, thus there might be something else that was useful apart from the Barrier.

They had to use everything they had. It went without saying that everyone would give their best when their lives were at stake.

—-

“There are too many of them, they won’t be able to hold much longer. Damn it, damn it, what the heck are these creatures?” snapped Guan Yu furiously.

“Who knows, I’m sure that they aren’t after me. Maybe they won’t even chase me if I leave,” said Zu Jiming.

“Go ahead and try,” Ai Jiangtu offered coldly when they heard the two complaining.

Zu Jiming immediately shut his mouth. As a matter of fact, he did not even dare to try. Even though he would eventually be killed by the strange birds if he stuck to the team, he was hoping that he would die last…

“There are some magic ores here. The Barrier needs energy, these magic ores might come in handy,” said Li Kaifeng.

“Mmm, take as many as you can. The Barrier is protecting the whole castle. It’s going to consume quite a lot of energy,” said Ai Jiangtu.

“Hurry up, the five of them won’t be able to hold much longer.”

“They can only hold on for twenty minutes max, how much energy can we even replenish in twenty minutes? That asshole General Mott… if I die here, I’ll leave a message asking my family to kill his whole family!” cursed Guan Yu.

“It’s still better than dying instantly out there.”

—-

“Mo Fan, these strange birds are after us, you should have stayed in the city,” Jiang Yu was feeling guilty when he saw Mo Fan following the team to the ancient castle.

Compared to Zu Jiming who kept scolding him, Mo Fan was more than ten thousand times better than those scum that kept complaining. Jiang Shaoxu, Nanrong Ni, and Zhao Manyan clearly knew that Mo Fan was the only person that could live, since he did not enter the forbidden land in Nazca. To their surprise, he did not abandon the team. They were actually quite touched by his decision. Anyone else would have left without hesitation… a hundred thousand creatures were more than enough to destroy an entire city! Anyone would feel extremely tiny in front of them. Friendship, family, or love were simply too fragile in front of the formidable surging tide of demon creatures!

“Don’t be touched yet, I’ve already tried. I can’t run away, either. They already remembered me back from in the storm. Hurry up and use everything you have. Otherwise, we are seriously going to die here. I can’t believe how unlucky I am to be stuck with teammates like you!” said Mo Fan, while he was busy drawing the Shadow Star Constellation.

“…”

Mo Fan did not have time to waste on being all emotional. Luckily, he had broken through the walls of his Shadow Element Nebula, allowing him to cast the Shadow Advanced Spell, Nyx Regime!

Nyx Regime was fairly effective against the strange birds that were flying in the sky, since it could disrupt their order and bring chaos and fear to them…

Nyx Regime had a terrorizing effect. It would work on any creature that was not related to the Shadow Element. On top of that, the creatures caught inside it would lose twenty percent of their strength. Although these strange birds were stronger than Servant-class creatures, they were not as strong as Warrior-level creatures. It was tricky to fight them due to their massive numbers, but once they entered Mo Fan’s Nyx Regime, their strength was equivalent to Great Servant-class creatures.

That being said, there were still quite a number of high-level creatures among the strange birds, both Warrior-level or even Great Warrior-level creatures. Since they were facing an army of a hundred thousand strange birds this time, it was likely that there were even Commander-level creatures in the horde. However, it was something they would worry about later. Their main focus was to hold on for as long as possible. They had a chance to live once Nanyu reactivated the Barrier!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Nyx Regime!”

Mo Fan finished setting up the Dark Formation. This time, he did not place the Giant Shadow Spikes inside it. He only covered the entrance of the ancient castle with darkness.

The darkness loomed over the ancient castle. The sky was already occupied by the strange birds, preventing sunlight from coming in. Now, the whole place was pitch-black, making it difficult to identify directions…

“Blessing: Enhance!” Nanrong Ni cast a spell that Mo Fan had never seen before.

Mo Fan’s Nyx Regime only managed to cover two-thirds of the entrance. Its coverage was not wide enough to encapsulate the whole place. After all, Mo Fan was still familiarizing himself with the Advanced Shadow Spell. However, after Nanrong Ni murmured a few soft chants, Mo Fan noticed the coverage of his Nyx Regime expanding. Its aura had grown stronger, too!

The darkness spread across the entrance of the ancient castle. Mo Fan could easily sense the strange birds that went into the darkness crying out in panic. They were struggling fiercely, as if they had fallen into a black mud pool.

“Is that the Blessing Element?” Mo Fan looked at Nanrong Ni in astonishment.

Jiang Shaoxu, Jiang Yu, and Zhao Manyan were looking at Nanrong Ni in shock, too.

The Blessing Element was a kind of White Magic. However, it was rare to find a Magician with it in their country. As a matter of fact, the Blessing Element was rare in other countries too. It was almost exclusive to the Parthenon Temple. Only the Magicians there could Awaken the Blessing Element through special guidance…

No one expected Nanrong Ni’s third Element to be the special Blessing Element!

Mo Fan had only learned about the existence of the Element from Xinxia. She once said that she was hoping to Awaken the Blessing Element as her third Element. However, Mo Fan strongly advised against it after he learned more about the Element.

Xinxia would simply become a pure supporting character, meaning that she had no means to protect herself. As such, Mo Fan decisively told her not to Awaken the Blessing Element.

He was very surprised that Nanrong Ni was able to Awaken the Blessing Element!

“The Nanrong Clan has seriously invested in her…” Zhao Manyan whispered to Mo Fan.

“Too bad we won’t live for long,” added Jiang Shaoxu.

Nanrong Ni glared at Jiang Shaoxu. Would she die if she didn’t mention it!

The Blessing Spell greatly enhanced Mo Fan’s Nyx Regime. Its efficiency had increased by at least thirty percent. Its terrorizing effect was strong enough to stir up panic among the low-level strange birds.

As their flying patterns and discipline were disrupted, the team actually had a chance of defeating the creatures, despite their overwhelming numbers.

“Zhao Manyan, remember to keep an eye on me, I’m going to slaughter them all!” said Mo Fan when he saw the strange birds colliding into one another inside the darkness.

“It’s all you now!”

Mo Fan was protected by three layers of spells. The extra defense was like adding wings to a tiger for Mo Fan.

“Come, I’ll crush you all! Lightning Disaster!”

Mo Fan waved his hands in the air. Lightning claws swung wildly and combined into a giant net of lightning, tearing through the bodies of the strange birds. Their feathers began to fall rapidly as the scorched corpses with a burned scent fell to the ground in front of Mo Fan’s feet.

“Nanrong Ni, can you enhance my Fire Spell?” asked Mo Fan.

“Sure!” replied Nanrong Ni.

“Alright, Jiang Shaoxu, use your Spirit Ripple to aggravate their fear and drive them to where I’m going to cast the Sky-Flame Funeral!” said Mo Fan.

Jiang Shaoxu nodded. She used all her focus to extend the range of Spirit Ripple to its limit. Since Mo Fan’s Nyx Regime already had a strong fear effect, Jiang Shaoxu only needed to intensify the fear in the hearts of the creatures. It was the expertise of a Psychic Magician!

Fear spread through the creatures like a plague, carried at the speed of lightning. The strange birds that entered the Nyx Regime immediately panicked and attacked one another aimlessly, like a herd of cows and goats running wildly in panic and trampling one another…

The birds crashed into one another in the crowded space. They were desperately looking for a sense of security, as if the darkness was full of demons that could tear them into pieces. They would be safe once they managed to hide among their comrades…

“Time to bury you all!”

Fierce flames ignited and turned into fiery clouds after they were tossed in the air. The ground below was a scorching sea of flames. The Sky-Flame Funeral had become a joint funeral for the strange birds, swiftly burning them to ashes!

The fire continued to grow while burning the birds, yet Mo Fan did not receive a single Soul Remnant. The only loot he found was a piece or two of bright-colored, colorful crests.

Mo Fan stored the crests away. They might turn out to be one of the key items to solving the mystery of the strange birds!

The strange birds were intelligent. They knew Mo Fan’s Dark Formation was their burial ground. After Mo Fan had killed over a thousand strange birds using the same method, an army of higher-level birds showed up.

The low-level creatures needed powerful creatures to lead them. A thousand strange birds were too insignificant compared to the entire horde. However, Mo Fan’s Nyx Regime was almost at its limit.

The strange birds started pouring down like raindrops, using their bodies as weapons. They kept charging into Mo Fan’s Nyx Regime. The darkness was actually driven away. As the strange birds fearlessly dove into the Dark Formation and rammed into the ancient castle with blood splattering in the air, the Nyx Regime was greatly affected too…

“Mo Fan, can you hold your ground?” the worried Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“Of course, I can kill more than ten thousand of these assholes!” said Mo Fan.

It was not Mo Fan’s first time being surrounded by an army of demon creatures. The situation in the Death Space was a lot worse than this. He did not have an ideal terrain back then, nor was he as strong as he currently was!

“Space Rhythm: Compress!”

A rhomboid appeared above Mo Fan, entrapping more than ten strange birds in an instant. With a buzz, the strange birds were compressed into minced meat, with blood spraying in the air.

“Demon Tree Hand!” Nanrong Ni controlled her Demon Tree to swiftly scatter around the group of five.

The Demon Tree had lots of branches, each with an awareness, who attacked the strange birds that came close. The sharp branches sprang forward and pierced through their bodies.

Feathers were stacking on the water of the ocean below the castle. Fresh blood was smeared on the cliff. However, the number of strange birds that were queuing up while spiraling in the air showed no signs of decreasing.

“Damn it, there are too many of them. We can’t possibly kill them all!” Nanrong Ni gasped with a pale face.

They had already tried their best. Even with the violent Magician Mo Fan and his Little Flame Belle’s help, they were unable to hold their ground. As more high-level birds showed up, the number of wounds and bruises on everyone’s body gradually increased…

“We’ve been holding on for almost an hour, time to switch,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Switch, switch!”

—-

Ai Jiangtu and the others were not far away from the entrance of the ancient castle. They managed to find some magic ores to be used as the energy source for the Barrier, yet they did not find anything else useful.

The scariest thing was not just holding the entrance of the ancient castle. The strange birds kept on ramming into the cliff. There was a chance that the whole place would collapse at any second. The team would eventually fall into the water, together with the castle!

They could not help but admit that a horde of strange birds was indeed capable of destroying everything!

“If we don’t set up the Barrier soon, the cliff is going to collapse. There’s no escape for us.”

“Stop talking and help us to guard the entrance!” Ai Jiangtu led the others and switched with Mo Fan’s group.

Previously, Guan Yu and the others had estimated that Mo Fan and his group could at most hold the entrance for twenty minutes. To their surprise, they had defended the entrance for an hour. The corpses of the strange birds were already stacking up in piles above the reefs!

They could not help but admit that Mo Fan’s strength was rather ridiculous…

Nanyu finally came with good news. The Barrier would be repaired in another half an hour, meaning that Ai Jiangtu, Guan Yu, Zu Jiming, and the rest only needed to hold on for another thirty minutes before they could catch a breather. That being said, no one knew how long the Barrier would last for. Nevertheless, every second counted!

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Shaoxu, Jiang Yu, and Nanrong Ni went into the castle to rest. They were totally exhausted. Even a troop of soldiers would have had trouble eliminating the horde of strange birds. It was quite impressive that a few students could survive for so long!

“What do we do now? If the strange birds don’t leave after the Barrier is activated, we are still going to die eventually. No one can save us now,” said Jiang Yu.

“Damn it, what the heck are those things!’ cursed Mo Fan.

The lack of soul was clearly the strangest thing about the birds.

It was clearly an emergency, and everyone’s life was in danger. The Demon Element might be able to save their lives, but the problem was, these birds did not have souls. If the Little Loach Pendant could not collect Soul Remnants to pay the debt of using the Demon Element, he had no idea what terrible things he would do when he lost control of himself.

The Essence Orb had only filled up by a third. It was obviously not enough to pay the price.

Besides, after using the Demon Element, his cultivation would drop, too…

Anyway, if the Demon Element was not an option, there was nothing he could do, apart from waiting for their death.

“I don’t know either: we only went to a place called the Nazca Lines by accident…” said Jiang Yu.

“Is the communication device working?” asked Mo Fan.

“Ours isn’t, but there should be computers in the castle, and a generator, too. The only uncertainty is the signal,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

Mo Fan rushed to the command center and found a computer that still worked.

It was obvious that the place was not fully abandoned. Even the network was still working. However, if the strange birds destroyed the whole cliff, the castle would still lose its power.

“Lingling, Lingling, quick, I need your help!” Mo Fan sent an SOS message to Lingling.

Lingling always carried her laptop with her. She immediately started a video call. Mo Fan could see the classroom of a middle school in her background.

“Where are you? It looks like a military base,” asked Lingling with a confused look when she saw Mo Fan’s surroundings.

“I’ll send you the location. Help me investigate this kind of strange bird, and this colorful crest that these birds are carrying. They don’t have a soul, but they are intelligent. We’re trapped inside a castle surrounded by a horde of these birds. We can’t hold on for too long…” Mo Fan briefly described his situation.

It was like giving medicine to a dead horse. Mo Fan only hoped that the all-knowing Lingling was able to help them!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, are you still holding onto the Time Liquid?” Lingling asked in a serious voice.

“I do, is it going to help?” asked Mo Fan.

“I’ve been studying about time by looking at all the information I can find. There are historical records of things similar to the Time Liquid from other countries, but I’m not sure if it’s going to work. Since you’re in a pinch now, I guess you’ll need to try it out,” said Lingling.

“Try it out? How am I going to try it?” wondered Mo Fan.

It would take Lingling some time to investigate the strange bird. The problem was, Mo Fan’s team was running out of time. No one knew how long the Barrier could last.

“You can think of it as a temporary growth hormone. It doesn’t seem to be effective on humans, but it might cause a reaction in some creatures,” said Lingling.

“Some creatures? Are you asking me to sprinkle the Time Liquid at the strange birds?” said Mo Fan.

“No no no, you’ll be doomed if you do that. You can ask your Summoned Beast to drink the Time Liquid, like the Swift Star Wolf, or Little Flame Belle. If my speculation is right, the Time Liquid might be able to save your life!” said Lingling.

“Are you sure about giving it to my Contracted Beast?” said Mo Fan.

“Yes, at least there won’t be any side effects. I’ll help you investigate the strange birds as quickly as I can, but you’ll have to live until I find the answer, and can you take a clearer picture of the colorful crests that you found from the strange birds? That’s all for now, good luck!” said Lingling.

“…” Mo Fan was speechless after hearing the ambiguous suggestion from Lingling.

What good would giving the Time Liquid to Little Flame Belle do?

However, Mo Fan had no choice but to follow Lingling’s instructions, considering how urgent the matter was.

—-

The Royal Felipe Castle…

General Mott stood on top of the observation tower and stared at the creatures shrouding the sky in the distance…

“Why haven’t the birds left after so long?” asked a female advisor in a black military outfit.

“Perhaps they are still alive,” said Ariosto.

“How is that possible? It’s been so long… do you think a bunch of Magicians in their twenties can stand against a giant horde of strange birds?” asked the advisor.

“Maybe they are stronger and more resilient than we thought,” said Ariosto.

“They are still going to die still, and once they die, these monster birds from Nazca will disappear, and everything will go back to normal,” said General Mott confidently.

He admitted that the young Magicians were stronger than he first thought. On top of that, the terrain and the defense of the ancient castle had bought them extra time too, but what difference would it make? They had offended the existence that was treated as the God of Death in Peru. No one could possibly save them!

—-

Parts of the cliff started to fall off after endless collisions. The ancient castle was tottering in a way that it felt like it was about to fall into the ocean.

The Barrier came later than expected, looming over the ancient castle and the cliff that was on the verge of collapsing.

The thin, glowing Barrier was as thin as paper. It did not provide any sense of security to the team. Everyone sat inside the castle in silence, all worn out. It was deadly quiet, apart from the cries of the monster birds and the screech of lightning outside.

“Is this the end?” Mu Tingying leaned against a pillar. The look in her eyes implied that she was reluctant to die like this.

The best part of her life had only just begun, yet she was about to die in a place like this!

As a matter of fact, the others were experiencing the same feeling. They were all talented young Magicians in their country. It was a great honor for them to represent their country in the intense, magnificent competition, yet they were forced to hide here after being chased around by some monster birds. They would be eaten alive once the Barrier collapsed!

“When the Barrier collapses, everyone should split up and run for your life,” suggested Ai Jiangtu.

He basically wanted as many people to survive as possible. Perhaps the birds were not interested in a particular person on the team.

However, they all knew they were only trying to comfort themselves with lies. The army of monster birds numbered around a hundred thousand demon creatures. No matter how split they were, they would still be devoured by the feathers and claws of the birds!

—-

Time gradually passed. Mo Fan, who was as hopeless as the others, sat in a corner, staring at Little Flame Belle closely.

He had asked her to drink the Time Liquid, but the little creature did not show any reaction. She was staring back at Mo Fan while blinking rapidly.

“What is it? Are you placing your hope in that little creature?” mocked Guan Yu.

“I have no time to waste talking with an idiot like you, so you better stay as far away as you can!” Mo Fan returned the favor.

“Humph, everyone is going to die! Stop acting so aloof,” spat Guan Yu.

“So you’re going to smash a pot to pieces just because it’s cracked, and try to get yourself killed by troubling me? If you don’t want to treat the remaining half an hour you have preciously, I don’t mind sending you out there,” growled Mo Fan.

Mo Fan totally ignored Guan Yu thereafter. He remained seated and waited patiently.

Little Flame Belle was feeling guilty, too. She wanted to help, she wanted to help Mo Fan by driving the strange birds outside away, but with her current strength, there was no chance she could take on so many demon creatures at once. It was similar to the situation she went through in the Death Space. She could only kill so many undead, and it was insignificant compared to the enormous tide of them!

Little Flame Belle squeezed into Mo Fan’s arms, just like what she always did when she was sad. She started sobbing like a little girl.

“It’s fine, it doesn’t matter if it didn’t work. You’re going to be fine… and maybe I’m going to be fine too,” Mo Fan tried to comfort Little Flame Belle.

Mo Fan was only hoping that there were enough hordes and tribes of sea monsters in the Pacific Ocean. Otherwise, Peru was about to face a great disaster, not because of the monster birds, but because of a demon that needed enough souls to pay his debt…

“The Barrier… is about to break!”

“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die still!”

The weak Barrier finally reached its limit. The ancient castle was trembling as if it was being hit by a rain of rocks. The entire building was collapsing and falling…

Little Flame Belle suddenly let out a long cry, like the ending note of a tune. It sounded very pleasant.

Mo Fan held Little Flame Belle in his arms. However, he soon noticed Little Flame Belle’s body was boiling hot, so hot that even Mo Fan was having trouble touching her.

Brown Calamity Fire started spreading uncontrollably and covered the petite figure of Little Flame Belle…

“Mo Fan, what’s happened to your Little Flame Belle?” Jiang Yu, Nanyu, Jiang Shaoxu, and the others looked at him in astonishment.

The Calamity Fire was unstoppable, it soon turned into a little, erupting volcano. The team could no longer see Little Flame Belle through the flames.

Mo Fan stared at Little Flame Belle with a blank face. He immediately thought: the Time Liquid is working!

The flames spurted higher into the air and penetrated the ceiling. It surged into the sky in an instant.

The fierce flames started spinning like a dragon rising out from water and pierced through the brown, scorching lava. Mo Fan caught a glimpse of Little Flame Belle through the gap.

Little Flame Belle was growing. She was turning from a little doll-like girl into an elegant, imperious fiery woman bathed in the flames!

The tongues of fire wrapped around Little Flame Belle’s waist like the veil of a fairy. Her fiery long hair draped over her shoulders. The fire provided her with a sacred charm, her feet were stepping on a carpet of flames, to avoid being stained with the dust of the mundane world…

“This…this is…” Mo Fan was stunned.

Mo Fan was not unfamiliar with the sight. When he first Awakened the Demon Element, Mo Fan also had the same fiery shadow behind him. It had the silhouette of an elegant goddess engulfed in flames. Therefore, Mo Fan had guessed that it was Little Flame Belle’s final form once she matured.

Mo Fan had once stumbled into the Fiery Sorceress who guarded the mountain of the North Burning Valley alone. He initially thought Little Flame Belle would grow into something like the Fiery Sorceress, but he was totally wrong about it.

The Fiery Sorceress, Jiang Feng, was only a guardian. She was not a real Flame Belle. A real Flame Belle would look like what Mo Fan was currently seeing in front of him!

She was hiding behind scorching, blinding flames, like an empress looking at him standing behind a veil. Her peerless temperament and stunning figure brought a great shock to the team!

Flame Belle, a Flame Belle in her mature phase, the one and only Empress of Flames in the world!

“So this is the effect of the Time Liquid, to speed up time and let a living creature grow in a short period of time!” exclaimed Mo Fan in astonishment.

Even though the effect would only last temporarily, it was more than enough for Mo Fan!

How could Mo Fan not look forward to the extraordinary power of a real Flame Belle?

The others on the team were dumbfounded. The Flame Belle that was still an adorable little creature just moments ago had turned into an Empress of Flames with a temperament that was urging them to submit to her. They all marveled at how powerful her aura was.

“Mo…Mo Fan, how did you do it?” Jiang Yu’s eyes and mouth were wide open. He was also a Summoner, but he never realized Mo Fan’s Little Flame Belle was only in the Adolescent Phase, let alone how shocking the little creature’s mature form would be!

Little Flame Belle’s voice was pleasant as always, yet it was a lot deeper and longer than before. It was not as crisp, but sounded more imperious, like the difference between a cute little loli and a composed, mature woman. Mo Fan could not help but swallow a few times after noticing the difference.

Although Little Flame Belle’s form had changed, Mo Fan could still tell that her heart was still the same. She floated toward him together with the fiery veils, trying to squeeze into Mo Fan’s arms for a big hug.

Luckily, her imperious Calamity Fire would not harm Mo Fan. Anyone else would be burned into ashes within an instant!

“Later, we’ll hug later, can we deal with the trouble outside first?” Mo Fan was having a hard time getting used to how his little daughter had grown into an adult. Her body was still made of fire, yet she was utterly glamorous.

Little Flame Belle… oh, Flame Belle Goddess nodded and blasted away the ancient castle that was in her way with a fiery tornado. She flew directly at the horde of monster birds in the sky!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Calamity Fire was like a lotus blossoming in the sky above the ancient castle. However, the lotus immediately expanded to a shocking diameter of three hundred meters. It felt like the whole sky above the team had been set on fire!

The blossoming fire lotus was Flame Belle Empress’ Domain. Thousands of bird monsters were burned into ashes in less than a second, leaving pieces of colorful crests behind.

“Holy crap, she killed a thousand of them with just a single wave of her hand!” Jiang Yu’s jaw dropped.

The fiery lotus appeared without needing any lengthy process, nor did it need channeling like some kind of ultimate move. It felt like Flame Belle Empress was waving her hand randomly in the air and a destructive fiery lotus would explode among the creatures, immediately blasting a hole in the sky filled with feathers and claws…

“Ning~!”

Like reciting a verse, the single tone echoed in the air. Flame Belle Empress did not use the power of her Fire Element, but the power of the Space Element instead!

The whole area suddenly felt incredibly heavy. The flying creatures were having trouble beating their wings. Not long after, a huge lot of them suddenly fell from the sky…

Gravity!

Little Flame Belle was using gravitational force to crush the flying birds!

The strange birds crashed onto the rocks, and blood splattered across the place. In order to make sure that the creatures would not rise into the sky again, Flame Belle Empress blew at the rocks…

A strong, scorching gust instantly set the rocks ablaze, like a giant burning whirlpool. The strange birds were dragged into the whirlpool like grains being collected in a large wicker basket!

A giant bird among the army of monster birds uttered a cry of alarm.

Its feathers were brighter than most of the monster birds. The spectacular crest on its head implied that it was one of the leaders of the army!

The leader of the monster birds was not affected by the gravitational force. When it spread its wings, it was as huge as an airplane. It was slightly bigger than the strange bird that had chased the plane that Mo Fan was on!

“Commander-level creature!”

Everyone immediately noticed the giant bird that stood out within the horde of monster birds. They subconsciously took deep breaths.

Everyone could tell from the creature’s presence that it was a lot stronger than the Commander-level creatures the team had encountered before. The team would have crumbled if the creature had attacked them earlier.

Flame Belle Empress fixed her burning gaze on the leader of the monster birds. She crossed her hands in front of her chest and started chanting a Fire Spell without waiting for the creature to get closer.

“Ning!~”

The chant summoned red symbols to densely surround the Flame Belle Empress.

Suddenly, the symbols were ignited. The flames combined into a heavenly bird with wings!

Flame Belle Empress had turned herself into an enormous fiery bird! Her pride and nobility greatly suppressed the leader of the monster birds, like the difference between a phoenix and a rooster!

The fiery, heavenly bird beat her wings and launched countless fiery feathers into the sky. She soared into the sky filled with monster birds and left a spectacular, burning trail behind her, like a bridge in the sky!

Everything along the trail the fiery bird swept past was burned into ashes. Hundreds, and even thousands of strange birds were turned into drifting ash before they could even touch her.

Meanwhile, the leader of the monster birds totally panicked when it saw the fiery bird flying toward it with such formidable strength. It quickly beat its wings and fled into the distance.

However, its speed was no match for the Flame Belle Empress. As the purest flame surged across the sky, the leader of the monster birds cried out in agony as it was set aflame.

“They aren’t even on the same level!”

“How…how strong!”

The team could not find any words to describe their feelings when they watched the Flame Belle Empress bullying the leader of the monster birds.

When they looked at Mo Fan again, it was like they were looking at their savior. When everyone thought they were about to die, their savior Mo Fan surprisingly summoned a fiery goddess to punish the unreasonable and disdainful monster birds!

Flames spread wildly across the sky. The Flame Belle Empress was incredibly furious. Her elegant figure spun in the sky, producing a ring of flames that spread rapidly around her, killing a few thousand more monster birds.

In comparison, the whole team had only killed around eight thousand monster birds in total after giving their all, and most of them were just Servant-class creatures!

The Flame Belle Empress had already killed the same number of monster birds by tossing three to four abilities out randomly. Her strength was unbelievably outstanding. They could not help but wonder whether Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast was actually a Ruler-level creature!

Killing a Commander-level creature sadistically, butchering Warrior-level creatures within an instant, massacring Servant-class creatures like they were just numbers. Only a Ruler-level creature could look down at the lower-level creatures so disdainfully!

Even though the members on the national team were a talented bunch, only a maniac like Mo Fan had the chance to encounter Ruler-level creatures like the Silver Skyruler, the Phantom Tyrant Emperor, the Black Totem Snake, and the Mountain Zombie. Commander-level creatures were already terrifyingly strong in the eyes of the national team, none of the others had ever seen a Ruler-level creature before!

Flame Belle Empress fended off the army of a hundred thousand monster birds with ease. Only a Ruler-level creature was strong enough to do that!

“Little Flame Belle is much stronger than her mother. This is the real Flame Belle, the blessed creature of the North Burning Valley!” Even Nanyu was greatly shocked.

Nanyu had witnessed the Fiery Sorceress, Jiang Feng, sacrificing her life to protect Little Flame Belle when she was born. The strength that the Fiery Sorceress displayed at the villa back then was already quite terrifying. To her surprise, Little Flame Belle was even stronger in her mature phase. -A Ruler-level creature, she must be a Ruler-level creature!-

Nanyu could not help but fix her eyes on Mo Fan.

She had to admit that Mo Fan’s bravery to pursue justice without second thoughts had earned him a gift bestowed by Heaven!

Guan Yu and Zu Jiming, who totally disliked Mo Fan, were not only astounded, but their chests were about to explode in jealousy!

How come the person they hated the most had such a strong Contracted Beast, so strong that she could take on a horde of monster beasts alone! It felt extremely terrible, even worse than dying!

—-

“General, look, the castle!”

“What…what’s happening?” General Mott glanced into the distance across the shoreline in astonishment.

Blazing red, the whole sky was blazing red! The army of blue and green strange birds was devoured by the redness. The scorching heat reached them even though they were ten kilometers away. Even the ocean was dyed red by the flames!

The size of the army of monster birds decreased rapidly, as if the presence that was dominating the sky was no longer their feathers and claws, but the blazing red flames!

“Such a strong and pure Fire energy… what exactly is going on there?” asked Ariosto in shock.

Could it be that the students from China possessed some power unknown to them? But wasn’t this a bit too powerful to be true!?

“The monster birds are retreating! My God, what just happened that they have to flee for their lives?!” the female advisor exclaimed.

General Mott and Ariosto watched the monster birds fleeing in all directions! They would never have believed it if they did not witness it with their own eyes…

-Running away, the entire horde of monster birds is running away…

-What kind of terrifying existence did they encounter that they had to flee for their lives?-

“What is it? What exactly is it?” General Mott started to feel uneasy. If it was able to drive the army of strange birds away… it was surely nothing ordinary!

——

The dilapidated castle was scattered with corpses of monster birds. Fresh blood smeared the cliff and the walls of the castle. It too had dyed the ocean and the rocks red.

However, the disorder was not as bad after the mess was cleaned up by the flames.

“Little Flame Belle, stop chasing, come back, come back!” Mo Fan yelled into the sky when he realized something.

Flame Belle Empress’s temper was exactly the same as Mo Fan’s. The army of monster birds was already withdrawing, yet she still chased over ten kilometers after them. It was likely she had eliminated a few thousand more of them.

When the strange birds were clustered together, it was quicker to kill them. However, once they started spreading and fleeing in different directions, it was tricky to eliminate them!

Little Flame Belle came back and landed beside Mo Fan gracefully. The flames around her looked sacred and out-of-the-world. The members of the national team were staring at her in disbelief.

-Is this empress of flames really the little creature that always stays in Mo Fan’s arms and keeps asking for hugs?-

The disparity was just shocking, and wasn’t her strength a bit too ridiculous…!

“Mo Fan, what…what the heck happened? Why did your daughter… grow all of a sudden?” asked Zhao Manyan, who was taking quite some time to collect his thoughts.

“I don’t know either. I only used something known as the Time Liquid. Apparently, it’s like a temporary growth hormone, and she ended up like this,” replied Mo Fan.

“Growth hormone… anyway, you’re a lucky bastard. The real Flame Belle is crazy!” Zhao Manyan had no idea what else to say.

“The effects are only temporary. She will soon turn back to her original form,” said Mo Fan.

Little Flame Belle needed a long time to grow. Mo Fan did not believe there existed such a ridiculous thing that could let Little Flame Belle skip her Youth Stage and reach her Mature Phase in an instant.

If the strength that Flame Belle Empress displayed was permanent, how shocking would the energy in the Time Liquid have to be?

“Did…did we survive?” asked Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu’s words immediately reminded the team. They were too caught up in the shock of watching Flame Belle Empress that they totally forgot they had survived the attack of the horde of monster birds!

The sense of joy urged the team to hug one another!

“It’s all thanks to Mo Fan, and Little Flame Belle… oh, Flame Belle Empress!”

“Flame Belle Empress!”

“HAHA, this little creature is my empress from today onward!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As Mo Fan thought, the effects of Time Liquid were only temporary. Half a day later, after everyone had a well-needed rest, the imperious, elegant Flame Belle Empress gradually returned to the little, adorable creature that Mo Fan was familiar with.

Little Flame Belle looked extremely worn out. She squeezed into Mo Fan’s arms and fell asleep.

Mo Fan touched her and discovered that her temperature was a lot higher than usual. It was like holding a little girl that was having a fever. The temperature showed no sign of going down.

It was not Mo Fan’s first time encountering a situation like this. He remembered that Little Flame Belle went through the same process when she was evolving from her Infant Stage to her Adolescent Stage. She was had trouble controlling her flames, and kept tossing the flames out randomly. Mo Fan ended up paying out quite a lot to cover the damages she caused.

“Is she evolving?” Mo Fan wondered happily while fondling the hot Little Flame Belle.

Mo Fan immediately contacted Lingling to confirm his speculation.

“It looks like the Time Liquid isn’t just a temporary stimulant, it does speed up the growth of a creature. Even though Little Flame Belle has gone back to the Adolescent Phase from the Mature Phase, it also sped up her growth. Do you still have the Time Liquid? As a Summoner, the Time Liquid is going to be quite useful for you!” said Lingling.

“I do. Little Flame Belle drank a third of it, so I still have a two-thirds left,” replied Mo Fan.

“Keep it, use it to nurture Little Flame Belle, so she can reach her Mature Phase quicker. After all, at the rate you’re feeding her right now, it will take at least another five to six years for her to evolve. It should be quicker with the help of the Time Liquid,” Lingling told him.

Mo Fan nodded. He was filled with anticipation and excitement.

Mo Fan had witnessed the strength of Flame Belle in her Mature Phase. Currently, Little Flame Belle was about to enter the Youth Stage. If she could reach the Mature Phase quicker, Mo Fan could easily roam across the world with the Flame Belle Empress. He would not even need to use a single spell to crush an enemy. It would surely be incredibly pleasant!

Mo Fan placed Little Flame Belle inside the Contracted Space. The little girl was fast asleep, unaware of the little changes in her body.

Lingling told Mo Fan that Little Flame Belle was most likely going to hibernate for quite a long time. Once she woke up, she would enter the Youth Stage, meaning that her strength would reach the Commander-level.

Even though it was not as strong as Flame Belle Empress, Mo Fan was still happy that Little Flame Belle could evolve.

Commander-level, it was enough for Mo Fan to crush plenty of his opponents…

——

When the national team stepped through the entrance of the Royal Felipe Castle again, their faces were filled with anger compared to the first time!

“You’re…you’re not dead?” General Mott and his advisors were dumbfounded.

They were up against a hundred thousand monster birds. Did this group of young Magicians receive help from the Heavens? How did they even survive?

“Sorry to disappoint you!” Ai Jiangtu harrumphed coldly.

Even the emotionless Ai Jiangtu was infuriated this time. He would never forgive General Mott for driving them out of the city so readily. However, Ai Jiangtu knew that it was unlikely they could do anything to the general. He could only report the situation back to their country, and someone would surely come and make them pay!

“You are soon going to lose your post. Take off the annoying suit and wait until you are appointed as a soldier to the frontier defense of the worst, most desolated place!” Jiang Shaoxu said coldly.

General Mott chuckled when he heard the Chinese girl threatening him.

“Do you seriously think this is your country? I know you have an impressive background, but don’t you forget, you’re currently in Peru, in Lima, not your China!” answered General Mott with an unpleasant look.

“We’ll make you pay even if it’s across the Pacific Ocean!” snapped Nanyu without mercy.

It was indeed tricky for any of their factions to punish the general. However, if all the factions behind the national team were to stand together, it was a whole different story!

“Is that what you come back here for?” asked the female advisor.

“We’ve come to take our stuff,” replied Ai Jiangtu coldly.

Ariosto finally remembered that he had yet to give the Chinese team their badges. He quickly went back to the castle and came back with the delicate badge of the Peru’s Training Hall.

The badge had their national animal on it, and was carved meticulously. Many Royal Magicians felt honored to wear the badge.

Ariosto handed the badge to Ai Jiangtu. The latter held the badge in his hand…

Suddenly, Ai Jiangtu clenched his fist tightly.

The unique badge immediately turned into a piece of junk. Ai Jiangtu tossed it at General Mott’s feet like trash.

“You… asshole!” The female advisor was infuriated. She pointed at Ai Jiangtu, a magical aura bursting from her body.

General Mott’s face was already like a piece of iron to begin with. It was even darker now.

The badge of the Training Hall basically represented the insignia and flag of a country. Having it smashed into pieces and tossed on the ground like a piece of junk was a great humiliation to both the Royal Magicians and the general of the city, as their duty was to protect the honor of their country!

“Where do you think you are? Show some respect!” General Mott took a step forward and unleashed his aura to suppress Ai Jiangtu.

Ai Jiangtu was totally fearless. He too took a step forward and said in a deep and rumbling voice, “If a country doesn’t even have the guts to protect legal visitors to their country, what respect does it even deserve!?”

“What do you know! It’s Nazca you’ve offended, the God of Death!” yelled General Mott furiously.

“So you are willing to submit yourself to Nazca as slaves, and ignore the monster birds that freely flew across your territory and your coasts!” snapped Ai Jiangtu, pointing at General Mott.

“Humph, if you think so highly of yourself, go ahead and face Nazca. The God of Death will let you understand that it’s not like we don’t want to fight it, but it’s impossible to stand against it!” said Mott.

“Do you think this is the end? Nazca never gives up on the souls it wants to take. Your souls belong to Nazca, they will come and take your souls any time! You can live for now, but you won’t be able to hide from them for the rest of your life. Even if you cross the Pacific Ocean, they will still go after you. When the time comes, the rivers will be flowing with blood, and the cities will be razed to the ground. By then, you will know how idiotic it is to stand against the God of Death!” proclaimed the female advisor.

As the advisor was condemning the group of Magicians furiously, a messenger showed up and whispered into General Mott’s ears.

General Mott was startled. He glanced at Ai Jiangtu, Nanyu, Jiang Shaoxu, and the others in disbelief.

“Don’t look at us like that? I already said it: you won’t be able to keep your position!” mocked Jiang Shaoxu.

Mott looked at the document. He was still immersed in shock.

It was just too fast!

General Mott knew he would be punished eventually, but he never thought the punishment would come so quickly, and it was a lot more serious than he could imagine!

He subconsciously took a few steps back. His eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Every decision I made was for the sake of the city. How can they do this to me?” General Mott held the document. He felt like he could no longer stand straight.

The advisor glanced at the document and saw her name on the list of people discharged from their positions. Her eyes immediately widened.

She looked at the group of Magicians. She could not find any words at that instant.

How formidable was the background of these Chinese representatives that their superiors would convict them without even going through the lengthy process of investigation, not to mention they were important officials in charge of the safety of a city?

-How is this possible!

-They didn’t even give us a chance to explain ourselves?-

The document had arrived in mere seconds, it was totally unbelievable!

“General… there’s another new document.”

General Mott had yet to recover when another messenger arrived on an Iron-Feather Leopard.

General Mott received the document. His face turned pale as he took a glance at its contents!

Ariosto was standing beside him. He quickly took a glance at the document, and his face immediately turned pale too.

“Many cities in the southwest are attacked by unknown demon creatures. The cities are in complete lock-down!”

“The Ariel Mines are surrounded by enormous demon creatures. Thousands of miners are trapped inside. They are requesting immediate evacuation!”

General Mott completely lost his mind. What’s going on?

Why is the west suddenly being attacked by demon creatures? It felt like a fourth of the country is suddenly in danger!

“Fire Crest Wild Lizards, Blade Demon Spiders, Tornado Hounds…these…these…” Ariosto seemed as if he had lost his soul.

The advisors were all wearing blank faces. It felt like they found the names of the demon creatures more unbelievable than them being dismissed.

Mo Fan frowned when he saw the strange reactions from the advisors.

He had a feeling that the incident of the strange birds was not resolved. The information that General Mott had received and the creatures attacking the country might be related to Nazca that they mentioned before.

-But what exactly is Nazca?

-Why is Peru, a whole country, living in fear of it?

-Does this mean those soulless creatures would never stop coming, including those strange birds!-

“Ariosto, the attack of the birds won’t be the last, right?” Mo Fan asked grimly.

Ariosto looked at Mo Fan and nodded, “Correct, Nazca won’t stop, as long as you’re still alive…”

Everyone was stricken by fear!

The horde of one hundred thousand monster birds wasn’t the last attack?

-Doesn’t that mean the next time they come…-

They did not dare imagine further!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ariel Mines was the biggest ore vein in the southwest of Peru. The mines spread across two mountains. The number of miners working there could easily match the scale of a town.

Currently, beneath the two mountains of Ariel Mines, strange-looking apes were crowding the area. They had white fur, and their tails and claws were white, too. Their other body parts were black.

Each monster ape was over three meters tall. Their limbs were muscular, and their bloodshot eyes flickered with violence, as if they were going to tear any living thing they came upon into pieces!

The mines had their own army. Unfortunately, just this morning, the Chinese mercenaries stationed here had withdrawn suddenly. As such, Ariel Mines was in quite a vulnerable position, and suddenly, the place was under attack.

Thousands of people were trapped in the mines. The area, buildings, and machinery outside the mines were occupied by the monster apes. No one dared to leave the mines.

“What the heck is going on?” asked the overseer of the mines furiously.

“We don’t know either; we have no idea where these monster apes came from.”

“Damn it, I wasn’t asking about that! Why did the Chinese mercenaries leave? How are we going to protect the mines if they left?” cursed the dark-skinned Commander.

The mines were full of energy, and would easily attract demon creatures. It was common for a bigger mine to attract demon creatures, so it was common for the mines to be under attack. The problem was, half of the soldiers that were protecting the mines had withdrawn that morning. Their mines were suddenly defenseless!

“I have just received some news. It turns out that General Mott has offended the people in China that were cooperating with us. They are not willing to provide our mines with any more protection,” said a person-in-charge of the mines, now soaked in sweat.

“Damn it, is Mott out of his god*(&amp;^d mind? The soldiers that help us protect the mines in the southwest are all from the same military district in China. They are in charge of protection, while we handle the mining! Without them, we are all going to die in the mines! Tell that idiot to apologize to China at once!”

——

The situation at the mines was soon relayed to General Mott. His face turned ashen when he saw the shocking number of deaths.

The miners were all citizens of Peru, and the soldiers of a certain military district in China was in charge of their protection. They were referred to as mercenaries in Peru.

Mott did not expect that the commander providing protection to the mines would withdraw all the soldiers in just half a day. It immediately resulted in countless deaths at the southwest mines, leading to great losses!

“Our soldiers are not obliged to sacrifice their lives for your people, either,” Ai Jiangtu said to General Mott coldly.

General Mott looked at Ai Jiangtu and immediately realized that the young Magician must have a shocking military background, if he was able to withdraw all the soldiers that were cooperating with their country so quickly.

More terrifyingly, as soon as the Chinese soldiers were withdrawn, the mines were immediately attacked. The biggest mine in their country, Ariel Mines, was overrun by monster apes. Thousands of people were trapped in the mines!

Mott was fully responsible for it, for the lives of the Peruvians that were trapped in the mines!

As more condemning messages and documents arrived, General Mott and his advisors finally realized how idiotic their decision had been.

The truth was, with Lima’s defenses, a horde of monster birds would not necessarily pose any threat to it. If they managed to call a Super Magician for help, they would have been able to reduce the casualties to a minimum, too. After all, the city was protected by a Magic Barrier…

But now, they had paid a greater price than the price they would have paid if they decided to fight the horde of bird monsters instead!

Even though he was discharged from his position, he still had to resolve the situation taking place at the Ariel Mines!

“Please, let’s all calm down. Isn’t your team being troubled by Nazca, the God of Death, too? I believe you have the urge to resolve the situation too,” Ariosto spoke up.

“Do you have a way to get rid of it?” asked Mo Fan.

Even though it felt satisfying to vent their spleen on the arrogant General Mott, they had to solve the problem they were facing too!

“To be honest, we don’t know, but you must go to Nazca to find the answers. The good news is… now is the best time to go to the forbidden land in Nazca. Since your team has recently survived the ambush of the monster birds, you will have more than a week’s time to move among the creatures of Nazca freely, as long as you don’t provoke them,” said Ariosto.

“Are you being serious? You’re asking us to go back to that place?” yelled Zu Jiming.

No way they were going back to that place! They were in so much trouble, and they almost lost their lives too!

“You have to go. Otherwise, the next wave is going to be even deadlier. Trust me, the attack previously isn’t the last time!” Ariosto told them grimly.

“Lao Ai, can you gather the soldiers that are defending the mines?” asked Nanyu.

“I can.”

“No no no, it’s better not to rely on someone else. Nazca is a forbidden land!. If you bring an army into it, Nazca will summon a bigger horde to wipe out the army! I already told you, you have more than a week’s time! If you can obtain Nazca’s forgiveness during this period, you will be able to break free from the endless curse!” said Ariosto.

“So it looks like going there is our only choice?” said Mo Fan.

“A week should be enough for us to learn more about this scary Nazca,” said Nanyu.

“The monsters in Nazca are currently attacking our cities and mines. I’m sorry for what General Mott has done to you, and he has been punished accordingly. However, you’re our best chance to visit the forbidden land of Nazca. I sincerely hope that you can resolve the situation for us. I’ll intervene and ask the country to give you the resources that are allocated to our national team, if you can save the people that are trapped inside the mines…” Ariosto said in a sincere manner.

“You’re asking us to help you after what you’ve done to us?” Zhao Manyan asked in an unpleasant tone.

“(sigh) Forget it, we would already be dead if it weren’t for the ancient castle that Ariosto told us about. That General Mott is an asshole, but Ariosto is a nice person. Not all Peruvians are the same,” Jiang Shaoxu said wisely.

“Yeah, we should focus on getting rid of the curse. Who knows how many monster birds there will be in the next wave!” agreed Mo Fan rationally.

“But isn’t Ariel Mines being attacked by a bunch of monster apes? What does it have anything to do with us going to Nazca?” asked Jiang Yu in confusion.

“Oh, you will know once you arrive there. I’ll arrange a helicopter to bring you to Nazca,” Ariosto smiled when he saw how logical the team of Magicians was being.

It was important to solve the problem beforehand. Ariosto was a calm and sensible man. General Mott’s arrogant, hot-headed, and impulsive character would not be able to solve the problem. It was useless even though he had sent troops to the Ariel Mines, as the monster apes would only keep coming!

It was important to find the source of their problem, and that source was none other than Nazca. The Chinese students who had just survived a hundred thousand monster birds from Nazca were their best chance at solving the problem!

Anyone in Nazca had to follow its rules. Sending an army or a group of Magicians would only result in greater wrath, as Nazca was never short on numbers!

“Mister, you mentioned that you’ll give us the resources that were initially allocated to the national team, are you sure?” asked Mo Fan.

“Of course. On top of that, General Mott and his advisors will publicly apologize to you. The Royal Magicians will express our gratitude to you, too. Peru will always welcome you,” confirmed Ariosto.

After General Mott was dismissed, Ariosto was the person-in-charge at Royal Felipe Castle!

“It’s a deal then!”

The team had to get rid of the monster birds, and they would also receive other benefits from Peru’s government. Why wouldn’t Mo Fan gladly accept the offer?

—-

A helicopter soon arrived at Royal Felipe Castle. The team was just about to get on board when Zu Jiming voiced his disagreement.

He was reluctant to go. He was never going back to that shithole again. He also did not believe that the strange birds would return again. He assumed that Ariosto was just bluffing them.

“No one is forcing you. Stay here then,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

It was obvious that the team was divided on the matter. As soon as Zu Jiming voiced his opinion, Mu Tingying, Guan Yu, and Li Kaifeng decided to stay behind, too. Nanrong Ni had just gone through a situation of life and death, and before she could collect herself, the team was departing for another deadly adventure. It was obvious that she was not willing to follow them to Nazca, either.

“Can…Can I not go, too?” Zhao Manyan asked softly.

“Do you believe I will not toss you into the ocean to feed the sea monsters right now?” replied Mo Fan mercilessly.

Zhao Manyan helplessly boarded the helicopter.

“I’ll make it clear; if you choose to stay here, Ariosto promised us that they will protect you if the strange birds attack you again. However, you will not receive any of the resources that Ariosto promised us,” Nanyu pointedly told the members that decided to stay behind.

“We don’t care! I seriously don’t understand; they were trying to get us killed, and now you’re so keen to do them a favor. Either way, I didn’t trust a single word he said; just go if you want!” Zu Jiming dismissed her words.

“Alright, take care!” said Nanyu.

Those who believed that they were in great trouble boarded the helicopter. Those that did not stayed in Lima. It was actually better for the team, as without them, the remaining members on the team were more united. Mo Fan definitely preferred the team as it was now.

If the people on a team could not unite, the team would have trouble achieving greatness!

Lingling also collected some information about Nazca. Her involvement would be great help for getting rid of the curse!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The rotors spun rapidly. The blue sky was above them, while the orange-red wilderness lay below. They could see strange lines and patterns scattering across the land, extending further into the distance.

“Look at that, what is it?” exclaimed Nanyu, pointing at the ground.

The group immediately glanced in the direction that Nanyu was pointing to and discovered a geoglyph formed with lines and patterns, resembling an ape on the ground!

The sight immediately stunned the group that was heading to Nazca. They had visited the area on foot before, but even though they had discovered some strange lines on the ground, they had no idea what they were. However, when they looked down from a thousand meters, they realized that the lines were actually part of a geoglyph portraying an ape!

“Do you remember the details of the creatures that are attacking the Ariel Mines? Don’t they sound the same as the ape portrayed by the geoglyph?” said Jiang Yu.

When they were flying from Lima to Nazca, Ariosto had updated them on the situation of the mines and let them read the information on the monster apes. To their surprise, there was a geoglyph of the same creature in the forbidden land of Nazca. Even though the drawing did not look alive, it was still stunning to see it drawn on the land with broad lines!

“Look ahead!” Nanyu yelled again when she discovered something else.

Ai Jiangtu was flying the helicopter in the direction that Nanyu pointed to. They discovered some spiraling patterns and straight lines on the spacious ground. The lines were perfectly straight, as if they had been drawn with the help of machinery.

The spiraling patterns and straight lines portrayed a monster bird. Even though it only showed the silhouette of the creature, everyone was certain that it was the same monster bird that had attacked them!

The geoglyph of the strange bird spread across the land. Part of it was covered by a wisp of cloud below them, yet the cloud could not cover up the whole geoglyph. It was bigger, and more spectacular than the geoglyph of the monster ape from before…

-Are…are these the Nazca Lines?

-It’s too visually stunning!-

Mo Fan had learned some information from Lingling, but when he witnessed the Nazca Lines with his own eyes, he was still astounded!

-How did they do it?-

Human vision was quite limited on the ground. It was impossible to draw a perfectly straight line covering a distance of a few hundred meters across the land. The team had visited the place before, yet they did not discover the secret of the lines. They only managed to notice them when flying more than a thousand meters high above them…

It was impossible for the geoglyphs to be made by humans. In addition, according to the information provided by Lingling, the geoglyphs had been around for a very long time!

“There, another one… it’s a spider!” said Jiang Shaoxu, pointing in a different direction.

A geoglyph of a spider!

As the helicopter changed direction, the geoglyph of a spider slowly entered everyone’s vision. The geoglyph was more detailed compared to the others. It felt like the creature was about to lunge out from the ground.

The geoglyphs were absolutely massive. The incredible lines were somewhat intimidating and mysterious, warning people from getting too close.

“If I knew the lines actually portrayed those monsters, I would never have entered this land!” said Jiang Yu in a terrified voice.

“Yeah, how careless were we…”

“The geoglyph of monster bird; we must have entered the land where that geoglyph is!” said Jiang Shaoxu.

Ai Jiangtu turned his head and asked, “Mo Fan, how did you learn about them?”

The team had suggested continuing the journey on foot when they approached Nazca, since most places filled with danger were strictly no-fly zones. It was common sense to those who wandered in the wild. However, Mo Fan insisted on flying over the place in the helicopter, saying that they would discover something surprising.

As he suggested, entering the land on foot and looking down at it from high above were completely different experiences. It felt like Nazca had never wanted humans to discover its secret. Only titans and deities could understand its meaning…

“No wonder the locals described the place as a forbidden land. These geoglyphs look like they were left behind by gods of ancient times. They are unbelievable!” exclaimed Nanyu.

“What do we do now? We know that we are being targeted by the monster birds, but how do we get rid of the curse?” Zhao Manyan did not really care if the geoglyphs were a miracle. His mind was fully focused on breaking free from the curse.

“Let’s go down to where the geoglyph of the monster bird is,” suggested Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had no clue what to do, either. The information that Lingling provided them was fairly limited. Speaking of which, Lingling had actually learned the information from Old Bao.

Mo Fan was pretty confused. Wasn’t Old Bao just a manager of a Hunter Agency? Since when was he so knowledgeable about strange wonders in foreign countries?

-Did that old man use to have some shocking identity?-

With a loud thump, the black helicopter landed heavily on the ground.

The people on the helicopter screamed out in surprise. They thought they were under attack as soon as they landed. They were about to go into combat mode when Ai Jiangtu’s deep voice came from the pilot’s seat, “Sorry, I’ve only spent a bit more than ten hours flying a helicopter. I’m not familiar with landing and taking off yet.”

Ai Jiangtu was a Magician, thus he did not really spend much time learning how to fly a helicopter.

The team had lines on their foreheads after the rough landing. -If you’re not familiar with flying a helicopter, why did you dismiss the pilot with a strong sense of righteousness? They were given the order to fly us here, even though the place is seen as a forbidden land by the Peruvians!-

“Will we offend the god of monster birds if we land a helicopter on it?” Jiang Yu asked softly.

“We’ve already offended it. Come, let’s see what we can find,” said Mo Fan.

The team walked out onto the geoglyph as the sunlight shone upon the land. The lines glistened under the sunlight…

There was nothing special about the lines when they were walking on the ground. They simply looked like the most common ravines. No one would ever imagine they could combine into a such stunning motif!

“I didn’t find anything.”

“We didn’t find anything when we were here last time, either, and then we were ambushed by the strange birds,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Yeah, we never thought this place would be a forbidden land. We only came to search for treasure,” said Zhao Manyan.

The team did not find anything after searching around the geoglyph. They could not help but feel uneasy about it.

They only had a week’s time. They had rested for a day at Lima, and the journey here took around a day. They did not have much time left. They would be in great trouble if they did not make some progress soon!

——

The Nazca Lines lay silently on the mystical land lit up by the rotation of the Sun and Moon. They were exposed to strong wind, lightning, and heavy rains… but their outline had never blurred.

As a matter of fact, historical records also mentioned similar disastrous attacks of demon creatures. However, most of the information was lost as the places continued to change. There was no definite explanation of the Nazca incidents.

How was it possible to solve the mystery of Nazca in just a few days?

Mo Fan and the others spent three days in the wilderness, yet they did not make any progress.

During this period, they saw the geoglyph of the monster ape emit a strange, white glow. The geoglyph of a spider also emitted a bright-red glow. They could vaguely see lots of spiders moving into a certain direction in the mist at night.

After witnessing the unbelievable sight, Mo Fan and the others realized that the forbidden land could not be explained with magic. They also believed that if they did not find the reason why the Nazca Monster Birds were angry at them, they would soon be punished by the Nazca God!

——

The next morning, Mo Fan stumbled out of his tent half-conscious. Jiang Yu and Nanyu had woken everyone up in excitement.

“Hurry up to the mountain, head to the top of Nazca Mountain. I believe I’ve sorted it out!” exclaimed Nanyu.

The team immediately headed to Nazca Mountain. They could see the stunning geoglyphs while standing on top of the mountain, too. The sunlight at dawn added a hint of sacredness to the geoglyphs, as if they were guarding something for eternity.

With the help of the sunlight, the team realized that the part at the monster bird’s eye was dim!

“Do you remember how we found a socket close to the eye when we were on the geoglyph? Look, all the parts of the strange bird are lit up, except the eye. It’s very likely that someone stole the thing that was located at the eye!” said Nanyu.

The geoglyph was obviously a whole under the sunlight, and thus the only missing part was strongly implying that Nanyu’s speculation was right.

The question is, who would steal the geoglyph’s eye?

“Was it someone on our team?” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Perhaps it’s the others? Is that why they weren’t willing to come?” suggested Zhao Manyan.

Nanyu shook her head and said, “I don’t think so. Considering how close to death we were at the castle, they would be out of their mind if they still weren’t willing to share the secret with us. I believe the eye was stolen around the time we entered the place. Therefore, the Nazca Monster Birds are targeting everyone that entered the forbidden land recently. Have you all forgotten? Many cities in Peru’s southwest are under attack, and the mines are surrounded by the monsters, too. The strange birds are after us, but the apes and the spiders are attacking other places… to be more precise, they are attacking where the suspects are!”

“So that means the Nazca Creatures have no idea who the thief is, so they have no choice but to attack everyone that came here recently?” said Jiang Yu.

“That must be it! If we can find the thief, everything will come to an end. Do you remember the words carved on the wall at the bottom of the mountain? It’s saying the same thing! It basically means: you must return everything, or the curse will never end!” declared Nanyu.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The team had finally made some progress, but the question was… who could the thief that stole the eye-catching treasure gem be?

“Can you recall if you saw any person when you were here?” asked Mo Fan.

If the gem was stolen around the time when the team was here, anyone that showed up in the area could be the thief.

“I don’t think so.”

“Yeah, I can only remember an uncle reminding us that this place is forbidden, and who warned us not to wander around, but we didn’t listen to him. We then figured out that no one dared to come here, and we didn’t see anyone at all,” said Zhao Manyan.

“An uncle? What kind of uncle? This whole area is deserted, and there’s no town nearby, either. Why would you meet an uncle here?” asked Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan immediately gaped. That’s right, why didn’t he think of that?

“What did the man look like? Do any of you remember?” asked Mo Fan.

“He looked ordinary, tanned skin, and he didn’t look like a Magician,” replied Zhao Manyan.

The man had a face that would be difficult to stand out in a group of Peruvians. Additionally, most Asians had trouble distinguishing Westerners.

“I only remember he had a strong smell of saltpeter!” exclaimed Jiang Shaoxu. She was fairly sensitive to odors. She remembered trying to keep a distance away when she picked up the strong smell from the man.

“Saltpeter? Apart from people working in factories that manufacture fireworks, the only possibility is…” Mo Fan suddenly realized something.

“The mines!” “The mines!” both Jiang Shaoxu and Nanyu blurted out simultaneously.

Saltpeter was commonly used in the explosives in mines. Otherwise, how were miners going to extract ores from the rock!

(Ed. Note: Saltpeter crystals harvested from under piles of guano are one of the primary ingredients of gunpowder and basic explosives)

No wonder the Nazca Monsters were attacking the southwest mines. The attacks basically hinted at where the thief was!

“Damn it, a Peruvian stole something from their god, and not only did we end up taking the blame, we have to save the Peruvians trapped in the mines, too? What kind of nonsense is this? Just let the monster apes kill the thief among the miners, so we can end this curse as quickly as possible!” snapped Zhao Manyan furiously.

“Nanyu, will finding the eye put an end to this?” asked Ai Jiangtu in a serious voice.

“I believe so, but we aren’t able to understand the origin of the Nazca Lines with our current strength. Its power is simply too overwhelming for us. Our best bet is to return the eye and get out of here as quickly as possible!” answered Nanyu.

“Then let’s go to the Ariel Mines right away and find who that goddamned thief is. That son of a b**ch, he almost got us killed!” cursed Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan had finally had the chance to visit South America. As a man who was keen to enjoy the company of South American ladies, he was already in a bad mood. Not only was he being chased around by some strange birds, he also met an asshole general. Now they found out that it was actually a local that infuriated Nazca, but they somehow ended up taking the blame!

If it weren’t for the fact that the Nazca Monster Birds would continue to trouble them, they all simply had the urge to turn around and leave. They had no intention to take care of the country’s own business!

“We only have two days left, and I’m assuming we have to bring the eye back. Either way, let’s hurry up!” said Nanyu.

“Then let’s hurry up and board the helicopter. We’re leaving,” Ai Jiangtu hopped into the pilot seat.

The others quickly entered the helicopter. The helicopter shook wildly as it ascended into the sky. Zhao Manyan felt like vomiting complained with a grim look, “Can I fly there myself?”

“Do you know how to navigate there?” Mo Fan’s reply immediately eliminated Zhao Manyan’s urge to use his Magic Wings…

—-

By the time they arrived at the Ariel Mines, the vein of ore spread across two mountains had turned into a nest of monster apes. Their numbers were comparable to the number of rocks on the ground. General Mott, who was observing the situation from another mountain, almost had a straight line across his forehead from frowning too much.

General Mott temporarily held his position, as he was responsible for saving the miners that were trapped in the Ariel Mines.

However, he had lost a lot of subordinates in the fight against the monster apes, yet he still could not find a way to drive them away.

The number of monster apes kept on growing. They only blocked off the entrance of the mines at the start, but they were now crowding the whole mountain. General Mott needed an army at least six times bigger than what he currently had to completely annihilate the monster apes.

However, General Mott clearly knew that if he asked for more reinforcements, the number of monster apes would increase, too. The Nazca God was not afraid to compete with numbers!

“What can we do now? The Magicians in the mines can’t hold on for much longer. Once the barrier collapses, they are all going to be buried inside the mines. The monster apes won’t stop until they raze the mines to the ground!” swore his dark-skinned female advisor, Ciely.

General Mott had a gloomy look. The army of monster apes was always bigger than his army. Trying to force their way through was simply placing the lives of his soldiers at risk. He could not afford to do so!

“Have you reached someone on the inside?” asked General Mott.

“No, the signal couldn’t reach them.”

“General, a helicopter is landing without our permission. It belongs to the Royal Felipe Castle.”

“Who are they?”

As soon as General Mott asked the question, he immediately heard a loud crash coming from the helipad. The loud explosion urged General Mott to rush his way over.

General Mott saw a half-destroyed helicopter, which Mo Fan and his team were falling out from. His expression got even darker.

“It’s you!” harrumphed General Mott coldly.

“Now isn’t the time to talk nonsense to you; can you contact someone inside the mines? We went to the peak of Nazca Mountain and discovered that a middle-aged man from Ariel Mines has stolen the eye of one of the geoglyphs of the Nazca Lines. It was his action that infuriated the Nazca Monsters. If we can return the gem, it will put an end to the curse!” declared Nanyu.

“Nonsense, how could you possibly reach the peak of Nazca Mountain!?” scoffed the female advisor, Ciely.

“Here is the picture we took, see it for yourself!” Nanyu handed General Mott her phone.

General Mott glanced at it. He quickly noticed the eye was missing from the slightly glowing geoglyph after zooming in on the picture.

“The thief is most likely inside the mine, and should be among the three thousand people that are trapped inside it. It’s also why the mine is surrounded by the Nazca Monsters. Everyone that went to the forbidden land of Nazca around the same time as the thief is being targeted by the Nazca Monsters… it’s the reason why the cities in the southwest are under attack,” said Nanyu.

“We are unable to contact the people inside, and we are having trouble breaking through the surrounding monster apes too! Everything that you said is meaningless!” declared General Mott.

“Then find a way to get inside, and find the thief!”

“Yeah, don’t forget that we encountered a horde of monster birds on the fourth wave. The cities are only at the first or second wave. Once the third and fourth waves strike, countless lives will be lost!”

General Mott was aware of how serious the situation was. He glanced at the young Magicians who had discovered the reason behind the attacks and interrupted the female advisor who was trying to rebuke them. He said grimly, “We are trying to find a way to get in there too, but it’s impossible to kill all the monster apes. Do you seriously think we’ve been standing here and watching all this time? You have no idea how many monster apes we’ve killed over the past few days!”

Everyone immediately fell silent!

Looking around them, the black monster apes were crawling all over the two mountains. They did not eat or drink, nor did they sleep. They simply held their ground, preventing anyone from going into the mines, and anyone inside from leaving. Even if the thief was willing to hand the Nazca Gem over, it would not make any difference. The only way to calm the wrath of the Nazca Monsters was by sacrificing the three thousand lives trapped in the mines.

—-

At night, Mo Fan was trying to figure out a way to enter the mines when he received an international call from Lingling.

“Mo Fan, I’ve analyzed the colorful crest you’ve sent me five days ago, and I’ve found something!” Lingling had an excited smile, looking like a genius who had solved a math problem that the entire school was having trouble with, her intelligent smile brimming with passion!

“You managed to solve it?” Mo Fan asked in surprise. Lingling’s intelligence was out of this world!

Back at Lima, Mo Fan had decided to send the colorful crests he obtained from the monster birds to Lingling. The express postage only took two days to arrive, meaning that Lingling had found useful information from the colorful crests in just three days. It was quite a surprise for him.

“Mmm, this kind of monsters has an origin, but it’s going to be a long story if I explain it to you now. Anyway, you just need to know that they are not endless and unbeatable…” said Lingling.

“Why do I feel like I can’t agree with you? The way I look at it, the next wave of attack will have ten times the number of monster birds we fought during the last wave. I’m pretty sure we don’t stand a chance,” said Mo Fan.

Even with the help of the Demon Element, he was not confident enough to fend off the fifth wave!

“There’s a pattern to it. The Nazca Monster Birds actually exposed the pattern. It’s the colorful crests! Are you familiar with Sun Wukong? He can summon up to ten thousand clones to fight for him with a pinch of his hair… it’s the same as the monster birds! The colorful crest is the symbol for the Nazca Monster Birds, meaning that if you can kill the bird that has the colorful crest, the other birds that it summoned will disappear, too!” declared Lingling.

Mo Fan immediately dropped his jaw after hearing the words.

The colorful crests… yeah, why did the monster birds not have any soul, but dropped the colorful crests when they were dead?

It was the secret to why they could show up unendingly!

“Lingling, you’re a genius1” Mo Fan moved closer to the camera and gave Lingling a big kiss.

What the heck did Lingling have inside her brain? She managed to solve the problem with only limited information!

“To be honest, it’s thanks to the Time Liquid you brought up before. Otherwise, I could never have found the answer.” Lingling ignored Mo Fan’s disgusting act, keeping her confident smile.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lingling’s suggestion was to let Mo Fan try the method out first.

At night, Mo Fan approached the mines alone. As they didn’t need to sleep, the monster apes were still patrolling the area. They would let out piercing cries that echoed across the night sky periodically.

Mo Fan went to a slightly remote place, just so he would not be chased around by a huge group of monster apes.

The strength of the White-Headed Monster Apes was similar to the monster birds. They were not as agile as the flying creatures, but they had strong and sturdy muscles. A single punch from the monster apes was enough to break all the bones in an ordinary human.

Mo Fan reached a little basin. He glanced into the dimly-lit valley and discovered around two hundred monster apes in it.

“You will be my test subjects!” Mo Fan took out the Shadow Constellation Scroll and silently laid out a Nyx Regime across the place.

The light of the stars and the moon shone down upon the barren mountain. The movement of the Nazca Monster Apes was clearly visible, but the basin Mo Fan was looking down on was shrouded by a black cloud.

The monster apes had slow reactions. They were not aware of the darkness surrounding them.

“Fleeing Shadow!” Mo Fan snuck into the Nyx Regime. He was basically invisible inside it.

The Nyx Regime was able to strengthen the effects of Shadow Spells. When Mo Fan cast Fleeing Shadow inside the darkness, he was able to move freely inside it while staying invisible.

The monster apes had no clue that a human was weaving through them. They were wandering in the basin aimlessly. However, they were merely stomping the ground in the same spot.

If the symbol of the Nazca Strange Birds was the colorful crests, these White-Headed Monster Apes surely had something similar…

However, Mo Fan had to kill all the monster apes first, in order to learn what their symbol was!

In the past, it would have taken Mo Fan considerable effort to slay two hundred demon creatures. It might even alert the other White-Headed Monster Apes nearby. However, the Nyx Regime had made it a lot easier for Mo Fan to kill the sluggish creatures!

Over two hundred White-Headed Monsters Apes were killed silently in the cage of darkness. Despite how brilliant the magic lights were and how loud the noise was, everything was deadly still and quiet in the darkness.

Not long after, Mo Fan had eliminated the monster apes in the basin. As he expected, the creatures were soulless, just like the monster birds.

Mo Fan searched the place carefully and finally discovered a pinch of golden tail fur inside a crack on the ground. It was a different color than the tail fur that the other White-Headed Monster Apes had!

“Golden tail fur… haha, this is it!” Mo Fan smiled.

In order to prove his speculation, Mo Fan went to look for another group of monster apes in a remote area and trapped them with Nyx Regime.

Mo Fan did not wipe the monster apes out this time. He purposely looked for monster apes with golden tail fur. To his surprise, there were two monster apes with golden tail fur. After killing them, Mo Fan watched the other monster apes disappear like an illusion. He was astounded and full of joy!

-So this is the secret!-

No wonder the Nazca Monster Birds were able to spawn endlessly. It turned out that they were a bunch of illusionary creatures summoned by the symbol. Once the creature with the symbol was killed, the remaining creatures would all disappear too! No wonder these creatures did not have any soul!

-It all makes sense now!-

——

Mo Fan returned to the camp happily.

“Lingling, how did you even learn the secret?” Mo Fan asked excitedly.

“These creatures with symbols originated from the same place as the Time Liquid. Although the two are not directly related to one another, I was able to find a secret technique that the Indians once used by looking through their ancient records. However, it doesn’t work on humans. Similar to the Time Liquid that only worked on Summoned Creatures, the symbols only work on creatures from the Summoned Beast Plane…” said Lingling.

“So you’re saying that the Indians were actually experts of the Summoning Element, and not only did they find a way to speed up the growth of Summoned Creatures, they were able to duplicate them, too?” exclaimed Mo Fan.

“Mmm, the Indians had lots of useful stuff, but unfortunately, the knowledge wasn’t passed down. Their brilliant works were eventually lost to the past. Mo Fan, even though we aren’t the only people that know the secret, my grandfather was hoping that you won’t relay the information to other people, just so no one will abuse the magic of the ancient ruins in Nazca. The technique does have a critical weakness, but it can still potentially turn into a great disaster if it falls into the wrong hands,” Lingling warned Mo Fan.

Lingling was speaking in a serious voice. It was hard to imagine that a little girl would treat an ancient civilization with so much respect.

Either way, since Lingling had emphasized it, Mo Fan would do his best to keep the secret. It looked like he couldn’t do it with the team!

—-

“Huh? Just the two of us are going to the mines?” Zhao Manyan sat upright in his tent and stared at Mo Fan with wide eyes.

“Yeah, we’re going in tonight,” Mo Fan told him grimly.

“Are you fuzzy-headed?!” yelled Zhao Manyan.

-What kind of international joke is this? Even a whole army is having trouble getting closer to the Ariel Mines, and this maniac Mo Fan is asking me to go into the mines with him? Is he tired of living already?-

“I’m being serious. Trust me, do as I say, and we can solve the problem. Otherwise, the monster birds will be coming in a day. We will all be done for,” said Mo Fan.

“Why can’t you ask someone else?” Zhao Manyan asked helplessly…

—-

Before dawn, Zhao Manyan gathered everyone on the hill.

Not only was General Mott present, the advisor Ciely, Ai Jiangtu, and the Chinese mercenaries were all summoned to the hill, since it was an emergency.

Speaking of which, the Chinese soldiers were extremely lucky. If they had stayed in the mines, they would be surrounded by even more monster apes. The Curse of Nazca was not afraid of numbers. Their withdrawal actually saved their lives!

However, both the Peruvian army and the Chinese mercenaries did not dare to act recklessly. The monster apes never stopped coming. Regardless of the size of the army they had, they were still going to be surrounded and devoured by the demon creatures!

“Why did you call us here so early in the morning?” demanded advisor Ciely impatiently.

General Mott had an unpleasant look too. He was greatly troubled by the whole incident, and he was not in the mood to waste his time on the young Magicians.

“Mo Fan says he has found a way to enter the mine, but he needs your cooperation. You will commit to a feint attack from the front and withdraw immediately after attracting the attention of the demon creatures. You won’t need too many people in the operation, but they must be the best among your soldiers, who can take on at least a hundred monster apes each!” said Zhao Manyan.

“F**k me, are you two out of your minds, to actually come up with such a useless strategy? Do you not understand that the whole place is crawling with the monster apes? Even if we lure the monsters at the front away, they are still thousands of monster apes guarding the back!” General Mott slammed his hand onto the stone table beside him. He was so angry that his mustache was curling upward.

“The elite squad will engage from the front, but who’s going to engage from the back? Another elite squad?” asked Nanyu.

“Ugh… Mo Fan said it’s only the two of us,” replied Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan was already regretting it when he finished the sentence. Everyone around him was simply looking at him like he was some kind of retard. Zhao Manyan was speechless too. Why didn’t Mo Fan come and explain his brilliant plan himself? Why did he have to come and propose the plan like a maniac? Only idiots would believe the plan could work, since even he did not believe it!

“What is Mo Fan up to? Why can’t he just tell us the plan?” Jiang Shaoxu asked in confusion.

“I’ve already delivered the message. He said he will be waiting at the back of the mountain. When the sun rises, you will launch the feint attack. You won’t need to send reinforcements to the back of the mountain, either,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Does he think we are idiots? If the two of you can break through the surrounding monster apes and enter the mines, I’ll freaking eat myself alive!” snapped General Mott furiously.

—-

At the back of the mountain, the first glimpse of daybreak broke out between the mountains on the horizon. Redness slowly spread across the dark blue sky.

Mo Fan crouched behind a rock less than three hundred meters away from the surrounding monster apes. He waited quietly for Zhao Manyan to update him on the situation.

Not long after, Zhao Manyan showed up with an unwilling expression.

“How did it go? Did they agree?” asked Mo Fan.

“General Mott said he would rather eat himself… does that count?” Zhao Manyan replied helplessly.

“Ai Jiangtu and the others should be fine with it, right?” Mo Fan had never thought that idiotic general would agree with him. The guy probably hated the guts of every Chinese by now.

“Mmm, they told me to pass on a message. It basically means, they will try their best to earn glory at Venice on our behalf, and place the trophy beside our gravestones will most likely be covered by a shrub of weeds over five meters tall,” Zhao Manyan relayed fatalistically.

“Why the lack of optimism? Buddy, don’t you trust me still?” Mo Fan grinned.

“Trust my ass! You promised me that we were going to spread our seeds across the world. Why must you involve yourself in so much trouble!?” snapped Zhao Manyan furiously.

There were so many adorable ladies of foreign countries waiting for his love and affection, yet for some reason, this retarded Mo Fan had to come and reform the monster apes instead! He wouldn’t care if Mo Fan was planning to get himself killed, but why did Mo Fan drag him along too?! Did he owe Mo Fan a great debt in his previous life?

If there was enough time, Zhao Manyan would consider leaving a note and asking Jiang Yu to deliver it to his parents…

“They are launching the attack, let’s force our way in!” Mo Fan rose to his feet and approached the mines directly.

Zhao Manyan was startled. He said with widened eyes, “Force our way in?”

“Yeah, force our way in!” Mo Fan nodded.

At that particular instant, Zhao Manyan could feel the wheel of friendship in his heart collapsing and sinking into the water!

He initially thought Mo Fan had the greatest plan of all time, considering how confident he looked. To his surprise, the plan was… to force their way in?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

At the front of Ariel Mines, a black tornado was sweeping countless White-Headed Monster Apes into the sky. The bloodshot eyes of the monster apes were glaring at the intruders like densely-packed stars.

A huge pack of them in the valley, another huge pack at the mountain waist, another huge pack at the hilltop… the Chinese mercenaries that were following Ai Jiangtu’s order had wide eyes. They did not expect so many monster apes to be surrounding the mines!

The number was not something that the mercenaries could handle. If they had been here when the mines were under attack, many among them would be dead by now!

“Are you sure we’re only doing a feint? Are you sure they won’t come out and chase after us?” asked the Chinese Commander Wang Qi grimly.

“To be honest, I think we can withdraw now,” said Jiang Yu softly.

Another batch of White-Headed Monster Apes showed up on both sides of the mountain path. They were charging down the mountain like rolling boulders. Everyone sensed a chill running down their spines when they saw the massive cloud of dust being generated into the air by their movements.

“Retreat, retreat!” Ai Jiangtu ordered the Chinese soldiers, as even he was unable to endure the pressure from such an overwhelming number of monster apes.

Even though the squad was stacked with elites, they still stood no chance against such a terrifying formation. They were as small as a little raft in front of a giant wave.

Their legs were trembling as they immediately fled for their lives.

As expected of elites, they were able to retreat swiftly in good order. Ai Jiangtu soon led the soldiers out of the boundaries of the mines, but the White-Headed Monster Apes chased them further than they thought. They almost reached the army camp where General Mott’s army was stationed.

When General Mott and his army saw the monster apes charging at their camp like a landslide, they decisively abandoned their machinery, tents, equipment, and supplies, and ran for their lives. The brave Peruvian soldiers had never felt so humiliated!

Luckily, the monster apes did not chase after them relentlessly. Otherwise, it was only a matter of time until the creatures caught up to them.

“You… what were you idiots thinking!” General Mott’s face was pale from fright. It was quite a rare sight to see such a dark-skinned man with a pale face.

“It’s better than not doing anything, like you and your army!” snapped Ai Jiangtu.

Ai Jiangtu was incredibly angry. If General Mott had been a Chinese soldier, Ai Jiangtu would have immediately sentenced him to death. The man was nothing but a decoration since all he could do was stand there with a dark expression. His army was rusting away as he sat comfortably in his high position. If only being useless was an offense!…

“So you’re saying that what you did is going to help? How ridiculous!” sneered General Mott.

“A useless general like you can never resolve the situation!” spat Ai Jiangtu.

“So you’re leaving it in the hands of those two idiots? Do you really think they can solve the problem? Our military strategist will arrive in the afternoon; stop stirring up any trouble before he comes!” hissed General Mott.

“Let’s have a bet then. If we can resolve the situation, half the stakes of Ariel Mines will belong to China. If your men can resolve the situation, my soldiers will continue to provide you protection for free,” Ai Jiangtu challenged him.

General Mott knew that the young Magician before him had a strong military background. He was clearly not fooling around.

General Mott indeed owned the highest stake of the Ariel Mines. Even after he was discharged from his position, he was still in control of the mines!

He had to admit that the protection provided by the Chinese mercenaries was extremely important to the mines. It was more important than his miners and technicians. Without their protection, the mines would be in a lot of trouble. Mott obviously did not want to shut down his mountain of gold…

As a matter of fact, their contract was about to expire soon, and now, the young man had promised to provide protection for free. It would save him a huge expense, since the wages of Magicians were quite expensive!

“General, I think the bet is in our favor. Those two young Magicians will never be able to break through the surrounding monster apes, but we definitely need people to protect our mines once the situation is resolved… I’ve already investigated that man’s background, he does have the power to make the call,” whispered his advisor Ciely.

General Mott immediately considered the odds. He had already lost his position, the mines were the last thing he could rely on. Without his military position, he would have difficulty protecting his mines. The offer to provide his mines protection for free, even for a few years, was very attractive to him!

“Fine, deal! If you can resolve the situation, I will give you half the stakes,” General Mott agreed, nodding after careful consideration.

“Lao Ai, don’t be so impulsive! These soldiers who can soon go back to our country will have to stay here for another few years,” Nanyu quickly advised against it, as she believed Ai Jiangtu was being too reckless.

“It’s fine, it’s my decision. I’ll make up for them. They can choose to stay or go back, I’ll replace them with other soldiers,” replied Ai Jiangtu.

If Ai Jiangtu lost the bet, he would compensate the army for the loss. If it did not work out, he would simply hire Magicians to fill the spots. Either way, he was very angry at General Mott, and he was going to context him to the end!

“But, aren’t you being overconfident of Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan?” said Nanyu.

Nanyu did not understand; why did Ai Jiangtu believe that the two would make it work? The truth was right before their eyes. There was no way they could enter the mines with so many monster apes surrounding the place. It was impossible even if Little Flame Belle could transform into the Flame Belle Empress again! The number of monster apes was higher than the number of strange birds they had fought against!

—-

The mountain path continued along the mountain waist. The winding path was lead to a basin between the two mountains.

Both sides of the mountain path were crawling with monster apes. It felt like the mountain was on the verge of collapsing from the overwhelming weight.

Zhao Manyan glanced around him. His legs began to tremble when he saw the muscular monster apes scattered like black rocks and the fierce look in their eyes.

-Holy crap, even though the feint at the front attracted lots of White-Headed Monster Apes, the number of monster apes at the back of the mountain did not seem to go down at all!-

“Mo Fan, hurry up and have Little Flame Belle transform, they are coming,” Zhao Manyan said, grinding his teeth.

“Little Flame Belle is resting, she can’t fight now,” Mo Fan replied calmly.

“Then hurry up and transform. I know you’re doing this because you don’t want the others to see it…” said Zhao Manyan.

“Why would I transform?” Mo Fan asked, looking at Zhao Manyan in confusion.

Zhao Manyan felt like crying.

-My ancestor, what exactly are you up to? How are you going to clear a path with so many monster apes around? Do you think you’re a Forbidden Magician?-

“Just focus on protecting me!” said Mo Fan seriously.

Zhao Manyan had already cast his defensive spells. Rock Barrier, Water Barrier, Light Protection, Plummeting Rays, plus his magic shield, magic armor, and the magic wings just so he could run for his life when needed…

Mo Fan stared straight ahead, trying to find the monster apes with golden tail fur that was the key to resolving the approaching danger.

“Humph, do you think you can escape from my eyes?” Mo Fan smiled. His gaze was locked onto a particular White-Headed Monster Ape that was acting timidly.

“Telekinesis: Illusionary Claw! Come here you little shit!”

Mo Fan went straight for the monster ape with golden tail fur. He tossed the special creature into the air.

Mo Fan’s eyes emitted a purple flash. A thick lightning bolt came straight down from the clear sky and landed accurately on the monster ape with golden tail fur.

The monster ape was disintegrated in mid-air, blood droplets pouring down.

A bundle of golden tail fur fell from the sky and as soon as it touched the ground, the fierce monster apes charging down from the mountain turned into scattering smoke within the blink of an eye!

At least two hundred monster apes had vanished. One second ago, they were trampling everything they came upon imperiously, and in the following second, they had all turned into dispersing smoke.

“Holy crap!” Zhao Manyan was so shocked that he almost broke his teeth from clenching them too hard.

-Did Mo Fan seriously turn into a Forbidden Magician? How did he eliminate more than two hundred demon creatures with a single lightning bolt?-

“Follow me, stay alert!” Mo Fan stepped forward. His eyes continued to search among the monster apes.

Mo Fan needed protection as he was worried that the monster apes would overrun him before he could locate the symbol-bearing monster ape.

With Zhao Manyan, the Turtle Shell Magician’s help, he could last for a long time despite being surrounded by the monster apes, enough time for him to find the monster apes with golden tail fur and kill them more effectively!

“Where do you think you’re running to? Giant Shadow Spike, fire!”

Mo Fan tossed a Giant Shadow Spike forward. The monster apes that clustered together did not stop Mo Fan’s Giant Shadow Spike from landing on a monster ape with golden tail fur.

“Space Rhythm: Compress!”

The rhomboid locked down the area, entrapping a few of the illusionary monster apes nearby. As the creature was crushed to pieces, hundreds of monster apes disappeared instantly, greatly reducing the size of the army of monster apes.

However, there were still lots of creatures outside Zhao Manyan’s Rampart. It was obvious that these illusionary creatures were not summoned by the same symbolic monster ape.

“Found you!” Mo Fan saw another target. He clenched his fist and killed the monster ape with golden tail fur hiding behind a rock quite a distance away!

The symbol-bearing creatures would normally protect themselves, just so they would not die before the illusionary creatures. However, they had to remain within a certain distance, since the illusionary creatures could only stay close to their source.

At times, Mo Fan did not need to identify the precise location of the symbolic monster apes. He simply tossed a powerful spell at the creatures after a rough glance, eliminating both the symbol-bearing creature and its mirror images.

The truth was, the team did kill some of the symbol-bearing creatures unknowingly when they were fighting against the strange birds of Nazca. However, the situation was so messy that none of them noticed it.

When thousands, or even ten thousand creatures were filling the sky, it was hard to notice a few hundred creatures disappearing all of a sudden…

Mo Fan did not give the monster apes any chance to summon more reinforcements. He immediately killed the symbol-bearing creatures among them as soon as they were within range. As a result, it was blatantly obvious that many monster apes had disappeared for no reason.

After a few rounds, Zhao Manyan finally noticed it!

“What…what is going on? Why are the monster apes disappearing on their own? Am I imagining it?” Zhao Manyan asked in astonishment.

“You aren’t imagining it. Keep an eye out for me too. The ones with golden tail fur are the symbol-bearing creatures. Killing them will get rid of the mirror images that they summoned, too!” explained Mo Fan.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan was suddenly enlightened!

Golden tail fur, golden tail fur, wasn’t there one not far away?!

“At your seven, the one that is moving left and right, I’ll mark it for you!” Zhao Manyan had sharp eyes. He immediately noticed a White-Headed Monster Ape with golden tail fur!

He tossed the spell Brilliant Light at the White-Headed Monster Ape with golden tail fur. The light shone down upon the creature, and it was suddenly glowing golden, standing out among the others.

“Well done!” Mo Fan locked his gaze on the glowing monster ape.

The monster ape realized it had been compromised. As it started to retreat, Mo Fan slammed the ground with his fist to cast Groundbreak.

The shiny monster ape was about to run for its life when the ground under its feet cracked open. Scorching lava burst out in the shape of a blossoming flower of death, completely devouring the monster ape.

Following its death, a huge group of monster apes ahead turned into dust and scattered in the wind.

The path ahead soon cleared up. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan quickly proceeded and reached a slope.

Glancing down from the slope, they immediately saw the whole basin crawling with White-Headed Monster Apes, as if they were having some kind of gathering. The entrances to the mines were tightly packed.

The cries of the White-Headed Monster Apes were like roars of thunder, the mountains were shaking in a deep rumble.

Before, Zhao Manyan would surely have run for his life after witnessing such a scene, his scalp numb. The army of monster apes was clearly not something he could take on alone.

However, after learning their secret, his eyes quickly scanned the creatures for those with golden tails.

“I’ll mark them!” Zhao Manyan tossed the spell Brilliant Light out. The golden light shone down upon the place. It did not make any difference when shining on the White-Headed Monster Apes, but when the light struck a creature with golden tail fur, the creature would glow with a golden light.

“Can Brilliant Light seriously do that?!” asked Mo Fan curiously.

“Don’t underestimate me!” Zhao Manyan smiled confidently.

After Zhao Manyan tagged the symbol-wielding creatures with Brilliant Light, they had no chance of hiding from Mo Fan. Mo Fan adeptly cast his spells to kill the symbol-wielding monster apes instantly!

When an Intermediate Spell, or even a Basic Spell, could instantly eliminate over two hundred monster apes, the battle was nowhere as terrifying as anyone thought. They cleared the path from the slope to the basin, and gradually approached the entrance of the mines.

“Let’s pick up the pace! If the army of monster apes at the front returns, it’ll be tricky to deal with them,” said Mo Fan.

If the number of monster apes suddenly increased overwhelmingly, they would have trouble targeting the symbol-wielding monster apes, and the two of them would be in great danger. It was necessary to eliminate the monster apes as quickly as possible!

——

“What’s going on out there?” a manager of the mines close to the entrance asked.

“Two people are moving closer to us!” replied a Magician in the mines.

“Two…two people?” the person-in-charge was stunned.

“It’s indeed just two of them.”

A few Magicians were standing close to the edge of the Barrier, allowing them to see outside the Barrier.

Two young Magicians were making their way toward them. They were able to kill hundreds of monster apes with a single wave, like they were simply patting the dust off their shoulders.

The Magicians in the mine could not believe what was going on. Did someone actually send Super Magicians to save them?

But, how could they possibly reach the Super Level at such a young age?

“Open the Barrier, let us in!” Mo Fan shouted at the mines over a huge bunch of monster apes.

The Magicians did not dare to open the Barrier. They watched the two young Magicians taking on the creatures in fear.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were speechless. They could only force their way to the entrance. There were simply too many monster apes surrounding them to identify the symbol-wielding creatures, they had to enter the mines as quickly as possible.

“Mo Fan, two of them on your left!” Zhao Manyan tossed a Brilliant Light and tagged the two monster apes with golden tails.

“Back off!” Mo Fan waved his hands and summoned a strong spatial energy to knock the monster apes pouncing at them away.

With a quick glance, he immediately zeroed in on the two symbol-wielding monster apes. As he took out a Lightning Constellation Scroll, lightning bolts immediately descended upon the place!

A lightning beam surged forward and penetrated a few dozen monster apes in a straight line, hitting the two symbol-wielding monster apes accurately…

Mo Fan had picked the perfect time to attack. The two creatures happened to be in a straight line, allowing the lightning beam to kill them in less than a second. The remaining illusionary monster apes disappeared instantly!

As the bunch of monster apes vanished into thin air, the two finally woke up from the nightmare of being surrounded by thousands of demon creatures. The whole place suddenly emptied out, not a single creature was nearby.

“Damn it, those two symbol-wielding creatures summoned at thousands of mirror images!” cursed Zhao Manyan when he saw the creatures around him disappearing.

As soon as the symbol-wielding creatures were dead, thousands of illusionary monster apes vanished too. The outside of the mines suddenly became a lot safer.

The Magicians in the mines were stunned after witnessing what had happened.

-Aren’t these two young Magicians a bit too powerful? They just eliminated over a thousand monster apes within the blink of an eye!-

“Open the Barrier now!” yelled Mo Fan.

The Magicians finally came to their senses. They quickly deactivated the Barrier, allowing Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan to enter the mines.

“Are…are you two here to save us? Our Barrier won’t hold much longer,” the dark-skinned, plump manager cried out excitedly.

The other Magicians burst into tears too. They seriously thought their lives would end here, as they would soon be torn to pieces by the fierce monster apes.

“We’ll talk later… hurry up and find this guy,” Mo Fan handed a portrait to the manager of the mines.

Before coming to the mines, Mo Fan had already asked General Mott’s men to find out the person that stole the Nazca Gem. Zhao Manyan, Ai Jiangtu, and Jiang Yu had all seen the person before. After describing him and comparing the facial features to the miners and Magicians in their database, they soon found the suspect after filtering out those that did not resemble the picture provided.

Their information stated that the thief was just an ordinary miner. They had no clue how the man was able to trespass into Nazca and steal the gem.

It was none of Mo Fan’s concern. His main priority was to put an end to the curse by giving the eye of the geoglyph back. Otherwise, the fifth wave of Nazca Monster Birds would come soon. Even if they knew about the symbol-wielding creatures, they still had no hope of surviving against an army of a million monster birds!

“Why are you looking for him?” the person-in-charge asked with a confused face.

“Do you want to live? Then hurry up and find this guy!” snarled Mo Fan impatiently.

The man had witnessed Mo Fan’s destructive power. He did not waste any more time after seeing how Mo Fan was pissed off. He quickly asked the Magicians to search for the man.

—

Even though there were around three thousand miners, it was not difficult to find the person, since they already knew his name.

The miner called Selton was soon brought to Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan by the Magicians. Zhao Manyan studied the man and said to Mo Fan confidently, “He’s the one.”

Selton pretended to be innocent, but when he realized they had figured out what he had done, he immediately broke free from the Magicians holding him and ran into the mines crazily.

“Still trying to run away? Not even showing any resentment after stirring up such a great mess, do you seriously want the three thousand people here to die with you?” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly and tossed a Giant Shadow Spike from his hand.

The fourth-tier Giant Shadow Spike had outstanding effects. Countless shadow needles immediately nailed the miner to the ground, sealing off every inch of his muscles and immobilizing him!

Zhao Manyan immediately went up to the man and searched his body.

“What are you doing? Who do you think you are, trapping me here!?” Selton screamed.

Zhao Manyan turned around and frowned. “Mo Fan, he doesn’t have it.”

“He must have hidden it in the caves,” said Mo Fan.

Selton was just an ordinary human. Even though they were unsure how he managed to move freely in the dangerous forbidden land of Nazca, he must have been targeted by the Nazca Monsters when he took the eye of the Nazca Monster Bird’s geoglyph. He did not come back to the mines to work, but more likely to hide the stolen eye. There was no better place to hide it than a mine.

After the manager of the mines learned the truth, he immediately asked the miners to search every place. Since it was important to save their lives, the miners searched for the stolen eye diligently. They swore to find the gem even if they had to dig three inches into the ground.

Not long after, a minor found the Nazca Gem inside a hollow rock.

Selton’s face turned pale when his hidden treasure was discovered.

“You…you can’t do this!” Selton screamed in a frenzy.

“If my guess is right, you must be a descendant of the native Indians?” Mo Fan asked, staring at Selton.

Selton was startled. He did not expect Mo Fan to guess his identity so easily.

“Don’t you feel ashamed that you’ve brought disgrace to the emblem of Li Fan Flower you’re wearing?” said Mo Fan.

Selton was an ordinary human, but he was actually not that ordinary. He happened to be a descendant of an ancient tribe among the Indians. It was the reason why he could enter the forbidden land of Nazca without being attacked.

Mo Fan managed to guess his identity because Lingling had discovered a flower called the Time Flower when she was digging up information about the Time Liquid. Another flower that existed in the same era was the Li Fan, the flower that had gone extinct, which Jiang Shaoxu mentioned in the ancient city at the center of the storm.

This miner called Selton had the emblem of Li Fan Flower tattooed on his chest!

Despite having the inerasable emblem, it did not necessarily mean his soul had inherited the spirit of sacrificing himself to protect the heritage of the Indians.

The Time Flower and Li Fan Flower had both gone extinct as time passed. The descendants of the Indians had also forgotten their past and were corrupted by the modern world. Only the geoglyphs left by the ancient Indian civilization continued to protect their heritage from invaders and thieves at all costs!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

Mo Fan personally returned the stolen eye by placing it in the empty socket. As soon as he placed the gem back, he raised his head and saw a spectacular army of monster birds appearing in the sky like a wind.

Mo Fan was immersed in astonishment at seeing such a spectacular sight, but the sky soon cleared up and regained its color. It was perfectly clear, not a single cloud could be seen.

In just an instant, the bright sky had gone completely dark. Mo Fan had assumed it was the fifth wave of the curse. It was still absolutely terrifying, even after he learned the secret of the symbol-wielding creatures.

Luckily, everything had come to an end. As Nanyu mentioned, once the gem was returned, the cities that were under attack soon regained their peace.

The miners in Ariel Mines were set free, too. They could not help but cheer for joy when they were able to see the sunlight again…

—

After returning to the camp, Mo Fan realized General Mott had an absolutely unpleasant look on his face. Meanwhile, Ai Jiangtu, who rarely smiled, was wearing a mysterious grin. He even told Mo Fan he would prepare him a huge gift!

Mo Fan was confused. Why would he want to give him a gift all of a sudden? Didn’t Ariosto already promise to give them the resources that were initially allocated to their national team?

—

Ariosto indeed kept his word. He asked everyone to choose the resources they needed.

Considering that Little Flame Belle would surely need to eat a lot of food after she woke up from her deep sleep, Mo Fan secured quite a lot of Fire Soul Seeds from Ariosto.

Little Flame Belle would soon reach the Youth Phase. Her main intake would be Soul Seeds, as the energy of Soul Seed Pieces was no longer enough to satisfy her appetite. However, Mo Fan did not hesitate to spend money on her milk powder, knowing that she would evolve into the Flame Belle Empress in the future. He would surely give his daughter the best milk powder he could find!

—

The team spent a few more days in Peru. Mo Fan heard from Ariosto that the descendant of the Indians, Selton, was most likely in some kind of trouble, and needed a huge sum of money. He decided to steal the treasure of his ancestors after being provoked by some people.

Mo Fan initially thought the man was trying to achieve some wild ambition. However, when he learned the man was only a drug addict who desperately needed money, he could not help but feel sorry for ancient ruins that were hidden in the storm and the Nazca Lines that were protected by the monsters.

Time was able to change many things. Even the most brilliant group of people would still be corrupted by the rotten luxury of the modern world. The man obstinately persisted in going about things the wrong way, even when a disaster was already at his doorstep.

However, things like that were not Mo Fan’s concern, either.

Zhao Manyan had given Mo Fan the Magic Accelerator he had traded for. It was a ring he could wear on his finger. Zhao Manyan exaggerated the origin of the ring, and told Mo Fan his family actually suffered a loss from buying it, since it was more valuable than a Fundamental Crystal…

Mo Fan had no intention of covering the difference. He immediately went into seclusion after receiving the Magic Accelerator. His cultivating speed was suddenly as quick as a rocket. He successfully connected two Star Orbits, a total of fourteen Stars, in just a day!

At this rate, Mo Fan would be able to cast the Advanced Lightning Spell in just a few days!

It was obvious that a Lightning Constellation Scroll was unable to fully utilize the potential of the Advanced Lightning Spell. It actually needed a high level of precision, but the spell cast with the help of a Constellation Scroll was incredibly sluggish. It only allowed Mo Fan to fire a powerful lightning bolt. However, the specs of the Advanced Lightning Spell that Mo Fan knew were not as simple as firing a lightning bolt!

Similarly, the Nyx Regime could be used in different ways, too. However, it was only possible once Mo Fan Awakened all the Stars and mastered the process of controlling the Star Orbits and Star Patterns!

——

Late that night, Mo Fan lay on his bed, holding his phone with a full signal bar.

“Lower, go lower, what are you feeling ashamed of, there isn’t anyone here…” urged Mo Fan.

“No way, I’m in broad daylight,” Xinxia felt that Mo Fan was being too shameless. She immediately turned off the video.

Mo Fan felt it a pity. It was a pleasant surprise when he discovered he could see an alluring cleavage while Xinxia was wearing shirts with a lower neckline. It seemed like the girl had grown a lot after not seeing her for a few months.

After such an unbearable night, even after seeing a single strand of her hair, Mo Fan could imagine her attractive body, let alone seeing the parts that easily triggered his fanciful thoughts.

Unfortunately, Xinxia had turned off the video. She must have realized his true intentions…

“Well, it’s still day over there, should we continue at night, then?” asked Mo Fan.

“…” Xinxia felt the urge to tell the perverted Mo Fan that it had nothing to do with the day or night!

“I’m going to hang up now. I have to go. My teacher has asked me to compete for the role of an Parthenon Servant, so I will have permission to enter the Hall of the Goddess,” Xinxia switched the topic with a blushing face.

“Hall of the Goddess… what’s that?”

“The Parthenon Temple is split into different halls. The Hall of the Goddess is the noblest among them, it inherits the Healing Magic of Goddess Izisha. She’s referred to as a goddess, as she’s the only person that knows how to cast the Spell of Resurrection. The servants of the Hall of the Goddess are well respected across the world, as they are the most accomplished female Healers in the world. My teacher is hoping that I will be chosen by the Hall of the Goddess as a probationary Servant, so I can receive the blessing from the Hall of the Goddess. The blessing will greatly improve the efficiency of my Healing Spells, and grant them special effects, too!” Xinxia explained patiently to Mo Fan.

“The Spell of Resurrection? Can it really resurrect a dead person?” Mo Fan asked seriously.

“I don’t think it works on someone that has been dead for a long time…” said Xinxia.

“Can you learn the spell?” asked Mo Fan.

“No way, even the role of a probationary Servant is fought over by ten thousand talented Healers! Besides, the rank above Servant is Muse, the rank above Muse is Hall Mother, and after Hall Mother is the Goddess. However, the Goddess isn’t decided by an election. It’s from inheritance… it’s very impressive if someone like me, who isn’t an official student of the Parthenon Temple, can attain the rank of a Muse,” said Xinxia.

Mo Fan was not familiar with the Parthenon Temple. However, after hearing the information from Xinxia, he was intrigued by the place, which was referred to as a Sacred Land by the rest of the world.

-Spell of Resurrection? Is the supreme goddess of the Parthenon Temple really able to resurrect a dead person?-

If so, it was not exaggerating to call the person a Goddess. He would have to visit the place if he had the chance…

It was not like Mo Fan was really interested in the Healing Magic of the Parthenon Temple. However, he could easily tell that the place treated women very highly, just from Xinxia’s description. Imagine if every hall of the temple consisted of slender women in long, white dresses, and the reflection of their alluring bodies could be seen clearly on a floor that was smooth as a mirror, and the air was lingering with the sweet-smelling fragrance of the virgins…

How could he not visit a place like that? He would easily drool all over the place!

——

The team’s next destination was Mexico. Without any surprise, the advisors had frozen all their valid identities. They had no choice but to journey through Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, and the other countries along the coastline on the Caribbean and Pacific, on foot…

“Man, this coastline is as long as the Grand Line in One Piece. Why do I feel like we’re going from Fujian Xiamen to Shenyang and Dalian by foot!” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

“The Caribbean Sea is right beside us. I wonder if there are pirates here?” asked Jiang Yu, displaying eighth-grader syndrome.

“I’m not too sure about pirates in the Caribbean Sea, but there is indeed an infamous pirate crew along this coastline. The harm they have done to the countries here is second only to the Black Vatican,” Nanyu informed them.

“Let’s hope we don’t stumble into them and get robbed or anything; we do have some pretty girls on our team,” said Zhao Manyan softly.

“Humph, I heard that Americans are more interested in a handsome, rich man like you!” Jiang Shaoxu returned the favor.

“I would rather travel across the Caribbean Sea than train in the Amazon Jungle. Apparently, the Amazon Jungle is a kingdom of demon creatures, and no one has managed to estimate the number of demon creatures residing here. The whole place is crawling with packs, and even hordes, of demon creatures! If we are sent here for training, our training will soon come to an end,” Jiang Yu claimed coldly.

The Amazon, when classified by colors, would have entirely red edges, and the areas a little deeper in would all be purple. If someone ventured deeper into the Amazon Jungle, it would be the same as a little creature venturing into the middle of Shanghai…

A city of monsters!

That’s what the Amazon Jungle was called!

As a matter of fact, if their next destination was Brazil instead of Mexico, they would seriously assume their crazy advisors were planning to throw them into the center of a city of demon creatures. Sending them to train was just an excuse to feed them to the demon beasts in the Amazon Jungle!

As such, they were lucky that they were told to travel near the Caribbean Sea on land along the coastlines of the countries there.

——

The team did not have much trouble crossing the borders between the countries. They passed Columbia and gradually approached the Caribbean Sea.

They continued to walk on foot. Considering that not everyone on the team was an expert when it came to fighting on or underwater, they did not take a boat this time.

They were currently in the tropics. Coconut trees were fairly common along the journey. They also passed by lots of villages, towns, small cities, most of them with rows of coconut trees along the roads, and the buildings were mainly made of straw and wood…

“Strange, is this a village of single men? Why haven’t we seen any women after passing so many villages?” Zhao Manyan was likely to be feeling lonely, and started complaining again.

“They are all dudes.”

“They don’t even have any defenses set up. They would be done for if sea monsters came.”

“I believe they aren’t necessarily afraid of sea monsters. Didn’t you see the wanted posters in the bigger towns and cities we passed by…”

“Wanted posters?” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered as soon as he heard the term, part of his nature of a Hunter.

After all, Mo Fan was now a Hunter Master. He basically relied on the rewards of his jobs to pay the expenses required to continue his journey as a Magician. As such, he reacted instantly when he heard the term, and proceeded to ask how great the rewards were!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The team arrived at a fortified mountain village with a breathtaking view.

The place was right beside the sea, and the terrain mainly consisted of flights of steps along a hill. The beautiful little huts were built on the waist of the hill along a delicate, white path circling to the summit. Red sweetgrass was planted on both sides of the path, making the village as stunning as a fairy tale. There was the hill, the path, the sea, flowers, and the huts…

“Shall we rest up here?” Jiang Shaoxu was the first to suggest.

“Didn’t we just rest not long ago?” answered Ai Jiangtu.

Nanyu gave Ai Jiangtu a stare. Meanwhile, the girls, Mu Tingying, and Nanrong Ni agreed to the suggestion by raising their hands. From their glittering eyes, one could easily tell that they were enjoying the scenery, as it was something they could only see in their dreams. Even the sky and the clouds were more colorful than other places!

Left with no choice, the others could only follow them into the village.

The red sweetgrass along the path was emitting a faint fragrance, covering the scent of nature on the hill. It felt relaxing walking on the path, as if a few more steps were going to bring them to a little hut made of cream, cake, strawberries, and fruits.

“This place is surely a hidden gem; who would have thought there existed a mystical village in a place like this,” exclaimed Mo Fan. He secretly took note of their location. It was a great option if he decided to live a shameless life with Xinxia away from the modern world. He could imagine that if they spent a few days here, their kids would soon be old enough to run errands for them!

The team was about to enter the village when they saw a huge gate at the entrance and a little shed. Inside it was a woman wearing lots of ornaments.

She took a glance at Mo Fan’s group. She seemed surprised at the start, although it wasn’t clear if she was curious why there would be Asians in this place, or for some other reason.

“Ah, lost travelers, are you planning to stay in the beautiful village for the night, or do you have some other plan… oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t notice that you have female companions among you.” The woman had a seductive smile, and did not act like she was talking to a bunch of strangers.

The woman was fairly tanned, but her skin tone had a hidden shine. Her skin looked clean and tender, and had a hint of wildness that Oriental women lacked.

Zhao Manyan enjoyed flirting with beautiful women. He immediately went forward to flirt with the woman wearing ornaments.

However, the woman tactfully revealed to them that the village was actually holding a festival, and it did not welcome visitors during the festival.

The girls felt it was a pity. Jiang Shaoxu even said she was willing to wait until the festival ended, but the team obviously disagreed with her. They still had business to attend to. If they stopped every time they discovered a beautiful place, what was the meaning of going to Venice? How were they going to stand a chance in the World College Tournament?

The team had no choice but to leave.

Zhao Manyan continued to flirt with the woman, but the latter’s expression showed a mature woman like her clearly had no interest in a young boy like Zhao Manyan. He felt his ego hurting. He immediately stood on the side that suggested to stay behind for a few days, hoping that he would be able to subdue the seductive and outgoing woman. As a matter of fact, it had been a while since he had fulfilled his sexual desires!

Unfortunately, the team insisted on leaving.

They continued to descend the mountain to find a nearby town before sunset to rest up for the night.

“I’m quite interested in the festival. Why don’t the rest of you go ahead first, and I’ll just take a peek quickly, I’ll catch up to you all before sunset?” Mo Fan suddenly suggested.

“Bring me along, I’ll go with you too!” Jiang Shaoxu insisted on going with Mo Fan.

Ai Jiangtu and Nanyu were speechless about the two. They just told them to be careful, and proceeded on their journey.

“Damn it, I swear I’ll subdue that woman before sunset!” said Zhao Manyan. He decisively turned around and headed for the shed.

—

The reason that Mo Fan wanted to go back to the village was very simple. It was because he had noticed the Essence Orb emitting a light, which was pointing at the village.

Filling the orb would allow him to use the Demon Element. As such, he insisted on taking a look even if he was going against the rules of the village.

However, Mo Fan was speechless when Jiang Shaoxu insisted on coming too. He had no idea what the woman was up to. Was she really still infatuated with fairy tales, despite her age? Couldn’t she be more realistic, like Zhao Manyan?

Zhao Manyan went to flirt with the woman. Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu took hold of the opportunity to sneak up the mountain. With their cultivation, even if the woman at the entrance was a Magician, there was no way she would notice them sneaking in.

—

They continued along the path of red sweetgrass, and soon arrived at a village with clusters of huts.

“There are quite a lot of Magicians here. It’s a lot safer than the places we visited along the way; i’s indeed a good place,” exclaimed Jiang Shaoxu.

Along the way, Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu discovered that every crossroad was stationed with a few Magicians. Most of them were men. It was impossible to hear what they were talking about, but they kept hearing their wild laughter!

“These seem to be Concubine Sweetgrass. Rumors said that they are nurtured with the tears of an imperial concubine from New Zealand. They can be used to create psychiatric drugs. They are quite expensive. No wonder this village seems to be richer than the ones we passed by,” Jiang Shaoxu murmured after identifying the sweetgrass.

Mo Fan did not really care what the plant was. He was more concerned about why a small village like this would have something that could fill the Essence Orb…

“Follow me closely, don’t let them spot you, I don’t want to be kicked out of the village,” Mo Fan reminded her.

“Don’t worry.”

Jiang Shaoxu stuck closely to Mo Fan. Mo Fan summoned shadows to conceal him and Jiang Shaoxu, allowing them to sneak into the village silently.

—

The village had quite a lot of people. Everyone was outside their huts. The place was quite packed, with around four hundred people. It seemed to be quite a big village.

The crowd was standing in the open in the village. There was another bunch of people in red outfits and wearing lots of ornaments. Judging from their appearances, they were most likely Magicians.

Mo Fan scanned the place and counted around fifty people that were wearing red outfits and ornaments. On top of that, their cultivation was not weak. There were almost eighty of them if he included those guarding the path leading to the village.

To think that a village of fewer than five hundred people would have eighty Magicians… the ratio of Magicians to villagers did not make any sense. Most importantly, the Magicians did not seem to be rookies. Their auras alone implied that they were all experienced Magicians.

“Chief, you’ve misunderstood us!” a man wearing a red beret shook his head, as if he was treated unjustly.

“Misunderstood? I don’t want to talk to you anymore. Now that we are all under your control, the most valuable stuff we have in the village is the sweetgrass. Take all of them if you can!” the chief of the village was a middle-aged man in a black cloth gown. He had a stern look on his face.

“I, Xi Ge, am a very reasonable man. You can ask the people that used to be my prisoners if you don’t trust me. They were never scared or uncomfortable with my actions. Most of them were actually grateful for how I insisted on keeping my promises. I told you, I’m no bad guy, I’m a businessman who’s willing to make a deal with you. Your people, houses, lands, and sweetgrass are all mine now. By paying enough money, I’ll bring my men and leave at once,” the man who called himself Xi Ge said calmly.

“Asshole, they are our belongings, since when are they yours!? You’ve robbed our belongings, surrounded our village, and you dare to ask us to pay you money to get our own belongings back? Are you treating us like idiots!?” a spirited woman stepped out from the crowd and spat on Xi Ge!

Xi Ge did not try and dodge it. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his chest off softly. He then placed the handkerchief with the woman’s saliva on his nose and sniffed it, before saying with a grin, “I can smell that you’re a woman that hasn’t been caressed by a man before. I have already told you my business plan, so it’s up to you to decide if you will accept it. Of course, if you disrespect the leader of the Red Ornaments Guild again, I will have you taste the number of men you are only supposed to taste throughout your whole life in just a single night!”

The spirited woman immediately paled after hearing his words. A middle-aged man immediately stepped forward and placed himself between the woman and Xi Ge.

Xi Ge continued to stare at the woman as he let out a hollow laugh. His laugh sent chills down the spines of the villagers.

The villagers stood in the open, yet they could not stand against the leader of the Red Ornaments Guild, Xi Ge. They were all panicking.

—

“Holy crap, they are a bunch of bandits!” exclaimed Jiang Shaoxu before Mo Fan could speak.

They were hiding in a shrub below a tree. They had clearly witnessed everything that happened.

The village was not holding a festival. They were being robbed by bandits!

“I’ve never seen anyone more shameless than him!” cursed Mo Fan.

“Yeah, bandits usually leave after robbing a place, and sell the stolen goods when it’s safer to do so, but not only did these people rob the village, they even demand the villagers they robbed buy their own belongings back… they didn’t even need to sell the stolen goods!” exclaimed Jiang Shaoxu.

“Speaking of which, didn’t we see a lot of wanted posters in the towns and cities we passed by? Weren’t they wanted posters for the Red Ornaments Guild?” Mo Fan suddenly recalled something.

“Yeah, and the rewards aren’t bad too… Mo Fan, calm down, they are too many of them!” Jiang Shaoxu immediately advised against it when she realized what Mo Fan was thinking.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Jiang Shaoxu’s first instinct was to immediately call for backup.

Ai Jiangtu and the others were obviously not too far away. They could make it in time if they turned around now. The problem was, the villagers were being kept prisoners by the bandits. If the bandits used them as hostages, things would be rather tricky.

Jiang Shaoxu tried using the communication device and was not surprised to discover that it was not working. There seemed to be some sort of device blocking the signal.

“We’ll head down the mountain now and find a place with a signal,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“We won’t make it in time, take a look yourself,” Mo Fan said, pointing at the crowd.

Xi Ge’s men seemed to be running out of patience. They were staring at the young, energetic women among the villagers in excitement.

The women in the villages seemed to be more attractive than those in other villages, perhaps because they were nurtured by the beautiful sweetgrass. The bandits were not just here for the money. If time allowed, they would go from bad to worse and commit shameless acts. The villagers could not possibly hope the bandits could withhold the lust awakened by the chain reaction of the greed deep inside them!

“See, I’m actually trying my best to do business with you. Hand over the money, so my brothers can afford to hire whores. That way, they won’t bother the ladies here. Everything has a cause and effect; if the men in your village aren’t willing to pay the money, I can only take the women with us. Perhaps I can sell them at a good price. You have fifteen minutes to decide, as I can only hold these sons of bitches back for that long. I can’t imagine what they will do in fifteen minutes!” Xi Ge said unhurriedly.

Xi Ge was acting like a king, as if he could make any decision he wanted. He was only giving the villagers time as a veneer of mercy and righteousness.

The villagers clenched their teeth. Since when were bandits so full of themselves?

“Just give them the money,” a villager said with a sigh.

“Yeah, we can’t win against them. Let’s give them our money before they do anything to us,” a woman trembled.

“Madam, even if we were to do anything, I bet my brothers aren’t interested in you considering how ugly and how wrinkled your skin is, so don’t be afraid, hahaha!” Xi Ge burst out laughing.

The Magicians with red ornaments burst into laughter too. They began to share who they were interested in among themselves.

The woman’s face blushed and darkened after being humiliated verbally. It felt like her obese body was about to explode.

“We can’t give them the money. The season is changing soon. If we give them the money, we won’t have enough to hire Magicians to drive the sea monsters away. Even more of us will die by then,” a middle-aged, muscular man immediately spoke up.

Their village had once paid a great price after being raided by sea monsters. Giving the money away was simply placing their village in danger of repeating the same tragedy.

“Asshole, are you implying that we’re more merciful than the sea monsters of the Caribbean Sea!” Xi Ge was enraged as soon as he heard the words!

He grabbed the middle-aged man out from the crowd. A cursed red string appeared between his fingers.

Xi Ge wrapped the cursed string around the man rapidly, drawing the energy of his soul out from his body and feeding it to the sinister blood-red spider above him!

The man was well alive just a minute ago, but now, his body had turned gray like rotten wood. His eyes were hollow, and his mouth was wide open. He had died a horrible death!

Many villagers fainted after seeing Xi Ge killing one of them with the curse. A man had died just because his words sounded unpleasant to the leader of the bandits!

“Stop challenging my patience, I can tell you responsibly that if I don’t get a deal today, I’ll turn your village into Hell, much more worse than being attacked by the sea monsters! It’s you that forced the righteous Xi Ge to do so!” Xi Ge yelled furiously.

The villagers no longer dared to disagree with the bandits. The sea monsters would only attack their village during the next season, but the bandits could slaughter them right now!

“Humph, he really got on my nerves there, I’m regretting it now, you must now pay me double the price!” said Xi Ge harrumphed coldly.

“Where…where could we possibly get enough money?!”

“Very simple, I’ll come back for the money again next year. We’ll take your women for now, and hopefully, you’ll fulfill your end next year. Otherwise, you can use their corpses as fertilizers for the sweetgrass. Perhaps it will make the sweetgrass grow better, and you can sell them for a higher price!” said Xi Ge.

“Didn’t…didn’t you say you won’t bother them if we buy our stuff back?” protested the chief.

“I’ve changed my mind!”

“Boss, that’s brilliant!”

“HAHA, to be honest, I really like the women here!” Xi Ge’s men burst out laughing.

—

“These bandits are so full of themselves in broad daylight. Are the authorities of these countries really that useless? Mo Fan, let’s kill them all!” Jiang Shaoxu was at her limit.

“Miss, can you please calm down[ if we show up now, they are going to hold the villagers as hostages. I have a better plan, but it only works if we are good at acting,” said Mo Fan.

“What plan?”

“We’ll need a name first, the Male and Female Bandits, how does that sound?”

“What the heck?”

—

Xi Ge was grinning cruelly. He would sometimes treat his victims mercifully, as he realized that it was boring if he mentally destroyed them straightaway. He quite enjoyed pressuring his prey with fear gradually, as he enjoyed watching them vowing to die rather than obey him at the start, and then going to their knees begging him to stick to what he had promised in the first place.

Unfortunately, Xi Ge would not be taking back his words today.

These idiots seriously thought the sea monsters were scarier than the Red Ornaments Guild, even when the sea monsters would only appear next season?! He had the responsibility to teach them that the Red Ornaments Guild was actually ten times, or even a hundred times scarier than the sea monsters! Even the government could not do anything about them!

“Hey, you two…” Xi Ge was immersed in pleasant thoughts when he saw two Asians walking out from the shrub.

The two Asians directly walked past the bandits and went up to Xi Ge as if his men were invisible.

Xi Ge’s men were startled. They had no idea where the two young Asians came from.

“Yellow-skinned monkeys, you must be visitors to this country. Consider yourself unlucky to stumble into us Red Ornaments Guild when we are in the middle of a job. That chick beside you isn’t bad; I’ll give you a chance to offer me a satisfying price to redeem her back,” Xi Ge stared at the two Asians that appeared out of nowhere. However, he did not seem too surprised.

“Her? She’s only worth these much in my eyes,” Mo Fan glanced at Jiang Shaoxu before taking out two coins from his pocket and tossing them at Xi Ge.

Xi Ge did not catch them. The coins hit his body and fell to the ground…

His face fell dark, as the two coins were of the lowest value locally!

“You asshole!” Jiang Shaoxu was infuriated. She had the urge to slap Mo Fan in the face.

-Am I seriously worth that little? The two coins aren’t enough to even buy a cucumber in China! How cheap does Mo Fan think I am?!-

“Can you not be so serious about it?” said Mo Fan speechlessly.

“You’re humiliating me.”

“…” Mo Fan was at a loss for words.

Xi Ge’s face grew darker. Were these two mentally retarded? Didn’t they see he had fifty men standing right beside him? Didn’t they know the leader of the Red Ornaments Guild was in the midst of robbing people?

“Tell me, how you are planning to die? I will fulfill your wish!” said Xi Ge coldly.

“To die of old age in my bedroom on a bed of money…” replied Mo Fan.

Xi Ge’s joints started to crack loudly. Where did this yellow-skinned monkey come from? He swore he would skin the man alive and use his skin to make himself a pair of leather shoes!

“I’ve changed my mind,” Xi Ge followed the same pattern. He talked slowly even when he was filled with rage.

“Enough with your boring mental torture bullshit, I set my eyes on this village earlier than your Red Ornaments Guild, so their money is supposed to be in my pocket. Besides, I’m going to give you a chance, each of your men is worth four hundred thousand, so if you pay me…if you pay…”

“Twenty-eight million,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Right, let’s round it up and make it thirty million. If you pay me thirty million, I’ll let you leave,” said Mo Fan.

Xi Ge and his men were stunned for a few seconds.

The villagers were even more dumbfounded.

What the hell was going on? Were they trying to rob the bandits with just the two of them?

“Did…did you come to save us?” asked a villager softly.

“I’m sorry, we didn’t!” Mo Fan waved his hand and summoned a powerful lightning bolt that landed in front of the villager that spoke.

The villager was just an ordinary human. There was no chance he could brace himself against the impact. The powerful lightning knocked him into the air and off the cliff like a kite with a broken string. He fell into the trees under the cliff. He was dead for sure, falling from that height!

However, no one noticed Mo Fan’s left hand emitting a silver flicker as he waved it in the direction of the cliff.

The villagers screamed out in panic after witnessing the sequence. Just a moment ago, Xi Ge had killed a villager with a Curse Spell as an example to the others, and now, two other bandits that had appeared out of nowhere had tossed a villager down the cliff, even though he did not offend them in any way. They were heartless murderers!

Xi Ge was stunned upon witnessing the murder.

As a matter of fact, he initially thought the two Asians were Magicians that had come to save the villagers. However, when he saw the man killing the villager even more callously than he did, he immediately eliminated the possibility!

“Which guild are you from?” Xi Ge could tell that Mo Fan was no ordinary Magician from his spell. Judging from how he spoke, he was likely someone of the same profession.

The truth was, Xi Ge had heard rumors that many bandits were setting eyes on this village that was wealthier than the other villages.

“A ransom of thirty million for you and your men, my patience is worse than yours,” said Mo Fan calmly. He then turned to the villagers and said, “Chief, ask your villagers to prepare the money too. Otherwise, I’ll toss one of you down the cliff every second.”

Asking money from both sides!

How savage!

Both the bandits and the villagers felt they were about to go crazy.

The villagers were in a better spot, as being robbed once or twice would not make any difference. They only had so much money.

Meanwhile, the Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild were losing their minds.

What kind of crazy joke is this? It was usually them robbing other people along the Caribbean Sea. No one had ever dared to rob them!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Well, well, well, you’re definitely the most daring person I’ve ever met!” Xi Ge burst out laughing, instead of being enraged.

The Red Ornaments Guild was an infamous guild in the Caribbean Sea. The officials of many countries had tried to annihilate them many times, but none of them succeeded. The Battlemages that the useless governments of the countries dispatched even suffered huge losses against the Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild.

As such, even the authorities would not dare to step on their toes, let alone other people. Many criminal organizations tried their best to avoid the Red Ornaments Guild, too.

But today, their Red Ornaments Guild were being robbed. The news of this was most likely going to shake the entire Caribbean Sea!

“Leader, I think the kid is just trying to act tough. I’ll take care of him, and perhaps present him to the fatty. That guy is pretty fond of handsome Asian men, hahaha!” a Magician with blazing red hair spoke up. His face had tattoos of two swords pointing down.

Mo Fan glanced at the man and saw him holding two flames in his hands, burning fiercely.

“Instead of swords pointing up, you actually have tattoos of swords pointing down. Just go somewhere else and play with your own balls!” Mo Fan shot back mercilessly. He summoned a flame with a snap and tossed it into the chest of the red-haired Magician.

{TL Note: Swords pointing downward (xia jian) has the same pronunciation as a term (下贱) that is used to scold people cheap/lowly.}

The ordinary-looking fire landed on the man with a huge explosion. The red-haired Magician could not even react in time. His chest was blasted open, and he fell heavily to the ground.

Mo Fan knew he was facing a bunch of bandits who would not hesitate to kill. Against people like them, he usually used violence to curb violence without restraint. Once the man’s chest was blasted open, the Rose Flame immediately went into his body and roasted his organs!

The other bandits could not offer their assistance in time. The red-haired Magician’s body was soon scorched black. Even the air he coughed out was black.

Xi Ge’s eyes widened after seeing that happen.

He never thought the young man, who looked to be quite civilized on the surface, would be that cruel, and kill without hesitation. He did not even care that he was up against the fifty of them. Xi Ge was not stupid, and finally realized that the young man was confident in his strength. Otherwise, he would not dare to fight back right in their faces!

“That guy is dead, so I guess you can pay four hundred thousand less,” said Mo Fan coldly. Killing the man was like eating a simple meal for him.

“Damn it, are you treating the Red Ornaments Guild like livestock? Brothers, let’s kill him!” Xi Ge was now infuriated by Mo Fan’s words.

The young man had shown no respect for their Red Ornaments Guild. If they actually paid the ransom, how could they possibly preserve their reputations as the rulers of the Caribbean coast?

Xi Ge’s men were already on the verge to make Mo Fan pay for what he had done. Frost, fire, wind, and blinding light were fired at him simultaneously. The projectiles landed close to Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu, a gust mixed with various Elements sweeping around them.

“I’ll keep an eye on the Intermediate Magicians for you. Go ahead and take the shrimps out first,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Jiang Shaoxu’s eyes flickered as she unleashed the energy pulse of Psychic Impact. She was able to pinpoint the Magicians that were drawing Star Patterns among the Red Ornaments Guild. It would be extremely impressive if any Magician could draw a Star Orbit in the face of her interference, let alone finish a Star Pattern!

The Psychic Impact spread further and interrupted the channeling of Star Patterns. The only attacks that came at them were Basic Spells.

A Basic Spell was no longer enough to pose any threat to Mo Fan, and were at best only cast with ordinary Soul Seeds. Their damage was nothing close to Mo Fan’s Fire Burst!

“Trying to take care of me with such strength?” Despite facing lots of Basic Spells pouring down at him, Mo Fan did not even feel the need to cast a defensive spell.

He took a step backward and easily evaded the vines approaching him from underground, then jumped slightly to his left and dodged a fireball with ease.

“Try dodging my lightning! Lightning Strike!” an arrogant Lightning Magician yelled.

Mo Fan did not even show the slightest hint of surprise when he saw the lightning coming down at him. It was like he could fully predict the angle and location of the Lightning Strikes.

Apart from an Ice Spread that could slow him down slightly, none of the Basic Spells managed to do any harm to him.

The Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild looked at Mo Fan as if he were a monster. They could not comprehend the strange scene that was taking place.

They never heard of anyone agile enough to dodge so many spells without the help of magic!

The Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild were not too bad, but in the eyes of a maniac like Mo Fan, they were simply too weak. Even against thousands of demon creatures, Mo Fan was able to stand his ground, let alone facing a group of Basic Magicians!

Besides, it turned out that these Basic Magicians were quite ignorant, too. They were unaware of the pulsating space around Mo Fan. As their spells went through the pulsating space, their speed actually slowed down quite a lot.

Because of Space Rhythm: Time Stasis, the spells were incredibly slow in Mo Fan’s eyes, allowing him to dodge them with ease.

“I’ll show you true lightning!” Mo Fan locked his gaze on the arrogant Lightning Magician.

Lightning arcs flickered fiercely in Mo Fan’s hand. Its presence was incredibly impressive, even though it was only a Basic Spell.

Over a hundred lightning arcs appeared around Mo Fan. They combined into a thick, long lightning whip under Mo Fan’s outstanding control. The lightning whip lashed forward and landed on the Lightning Magician.

The Lightning Magician immediately jerked violently as the strong current flowed through his body. His organs exploded from the overwhelming energy as his body was scorched black.

Mo Fan’s Lightning Strike was around seven times stronger than the Lightning Strike of an ordinary Magician. First of all, it was a fourth-tier Lightning Strike. Second, he had a Lightning Soul Seed. Third, his control had improved after reaching the Advanced Level. The lightning whip that was six times stronger than a normal Lightning Strike was almost as powerful as an Intermediate Spell.

The Lightning Magician had only mastered the second-tier Lightning Strike. He had no chance standing against Mo Fan. Another Magician was killed instantly by Mo Fan, with only a mere Basic Spell.

“Are you seriously so poor despite what you all do as a living? I really feel sorry for you, I’ve already given you quite a bargain,” said Mo Fan.

The people of the Red Ornaments Guild clenched their teeth. Their leader, Xi Ge glanced around him and realized that none of the Intermediate Magicians were attacking. He immediately yelled at them, “Kill him now, what the heck are you all doing? Kill him!”

“Leader, that woman is a Psychic Magician. We can’t use our Intermediate Spells!” an Intermediate Magician shouted.

There were around ten Intermediate Magicians in the group. After all, they had to be prepared if the government had dispatched another batch of Battlemages to hunt them down. However, none of them had managed to cast a spell in front of a powerful Psychic Magician. They even began to wonder if they had forgotten how to use magic completely under the influence of the Psychic Impact!

“Are you seriously trying to draw a complete Star Pattern with that speed?” Jiang Shaoxu laughed disdainfully.

The Magicians were extremely slow at casting Intermediate Spells. Jiang Shaoxu could easily interrupt the process with Psychic Impact. She had no problem keeping an eye out on the ten Intermediate Magicians on her own.

“A bunch of useless plebes!” cursed Xi Ge.

In the end, he had to do the dirty work himself. A lunar-white glow burst out of Xi Ge’s body, and his robe drifted despite the absence of wind.

A moment later, a Contracted Seal appeared in front of Xi Ge, out of which leapt a lizard with huge limbs. As it stood upright, its body was as tall as the aged tree in the village. Its black, reflective scales had a metallic gloss to them. Its head, neck, and tail were covered in spikes. The creature looked rather intimidating when the spikes fully rose up.

The villagers had never seen a creature like it. It was ten times, or even a hundred times scarier than the sea monsters they had encountered in the past. It looked like the creature could eat a few of them alive with a single bite!

The Snake Lizard Monster stared down at the villager and hissed greedily. Many women immediately screamed and fainted. The Snake Lizard Monster turned to Mo Fan. It had received the order from its master to eat the Asian instead!

The Snake Lizard Monster had eaten many humans alive, both white-skinned and dark-skinned, but it had never eaten one with black eyes and yellow skin. The anticipation of tasting a new kind of food gave the creature a strong appetite. The Snake Lizard Monster slowly lowered its neck.

“Piss off!” Mo Fan snapped imperiously, his voice containing a strong hint of deterrence.

The space shuddered. A strong energy struck the head of the Snake Lizard Monster, knocking its long head to the side, and almost broke its neck.

The Snake Lizard Monster turned its head back forcibly and uttered a furious roar at Mo Fan. It was obvious that the creature was about to spit out some poisonous liquid at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not give the creature any chance to spit out the poison. He leapt into the air while his fist burst into flames in midair.

He violently threw the fist at the Snake Lizard Monster’s throat. A fierce fiery dragon surged right down the Snake Lizard Monster’s throat.

The fiery dragon erupted inside the throat of the Snake Lizard Monster and set everything above its body aflame.

Mo Fan’s flames would not die easily. It continued to spread from the creature’s throat to its chest through its esophagus. The fiery dragon was unstoppable, triggering a series of explosions inside the creature’s body. The hapless Snake Lizard Monster’s body eventually reached its limit, and exploded into pieces!

Bloody, steaming rain poured down across the place as scorched hunks of meat scattered on the ground. The seemingly-fierce Snake Lizard Monster was blasted into pieces by a single punch!

When Mo Fan landed on the ground, the bandits and the villagers were overwhelmed with shock and fear!

How was a young Magician that looked so normal on the surface even scarier than the Snake Lizard Monster that is over ten meters tall?!

“I’ve changed my mind. You will have to pay me at least sixty million for me to spare your lives! I did mention that I’m less patient than you!” Mo Fan declared coldly.

Mo Fan stomped the ground, producing a ring of flames on the ground. The fire spread rapidly, as if a dragon was breathing down flames in front of the crowd. The people did not even dare to breathe heavily!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

At the entrance of the village, a pleasant, flowery scent lingered in the air. When Zhao Manyan saw the wild and mature woman called Oni giving him a flirtatious wink, he immediately knew he was about to hit a home run.

After flirting with the woman for so long, Zhao Manyan still did not see a single person nearby. He took another glance at his surroundings before fearlessly moving closer to the woman, sticking his firm chest onto the woman’s soft flesh. He stared her in the eyes before lowering his head to give her a kiss.

Oni wanted to push the man away, but her body immediately softened after the man pushed her into the wall.

It was quite boring to guard the entrance. The woman did not mind enjoying some excitement, since they were only strangers to one another.

Speaking of which, Zhao Manyan was indeed quite experienced at flirting with women. He clearly knew what he was doing. Oni soon found herself enjoying the experience. The experienced woman was fairly surprised.

-Didn’t they always say Asian men were not as good as flirting with women? It seems like this golden-haired Asian man is different from the others…-

Zhao Manyan had almost reached third base when a communication device started beeping unsuitably for the atmosphere.

Oni shuddered. She pushed Zhao Manyan away and said, “It’s urgent, just give me a second.”

“Don’t worry, you can reply to it, and I’ll continue on my own,” Zhao Manyan grinned shamelessly.

Oni did not agree to it. The signal meant that something had happened in the village!

“Oni, ask your men to come up here at once. We’ve got a huge problem,” a man with a panicked voice cried out from the other end.

“What’s going on?” asked Oni grimly.

“We…we are being robbed!” it was like the man was ashamed to say it. However, he was still forced to speak the truth.

“Huh, what did you say!” Oni’s eyes widened.

“Anyway, our enemy is very strong. We need backup at once!” said the man.

The call ended. Oni stood there with a blank face for a few seconds.

Zhao Manyan had heard it all, even though Oni was trying to hide the call from him. He said with a smile when he saw the worried look on the woman’s face, “Seems like there are quite a lot of baddies around here, but don’t worry, as I am here. Come, I’ll go with you, I do want to see what kind of people they are, to dare rob a village in broad daylight!”

“Are you strong?” asked Oni with a side glance.

“I can easily handle a bunch of bandits. We’ll talk later, come, we can’t let the bandits get away,” Zhao Manyan totally displayed his manliness. He activated the imprint in his soul with a thought.

Golden wings immediately appeared on Zhao Manyan’s back. They slowly extended with a metallic rasp. A moment later, the golden feathers formed a pair of wings. The glossy wings reflecting a golden light were incredibly spectacular!

A man’s wings were comparable to a luxury sports car. Oni’s eyes immediately widened!

She never thought the young man was a rich guy. Magical wings were a luxury good to most Magicians!

“Come up here,” Zhao Manyan said with an evil grin.

Zhao Manyan grabbed Oni in his arms before she could react, and soared into the sky.

“How are you going to repay me after I help you deal with the bandits?” Zhao Manyan gave the woman a challenging grin.

“Whatever you want!” It was Oni’s first time flying in the air. She seemed to be in a slight panic. The thrill was stimulating her hormones. If it wasn’t for the urgent situation, she would not mind doing something with the man right now, regardless of where and when.

—–

“Mo Fan, the guards keeping an eye on the path up here are coming. Be careful, they are pretty strong,” Jiang Shaoxu said in a serious voice.

“They are coming to give us more money, don’t worry!” Mo Fan was confident as usual.

Eliminating enemies and protecting people were two different concepts. As long as Mo Fan was stronger than the enemy, he could easily crush them. However, if he was protecting a group of people, he had to be a lot stronger than the enemy to prevent them from doing anything recklessly.

Mo Fan clearly knew he was not strong enough to take on a group of bandits while protecting three hundred villagers. Besides, after what he had gone through in the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, Mo Fan knew how troublesome it would be to protect a bunch of people that were freaking out. Even protecting thirty people would be troublesome, let alone protecting three hundred!

His plan had worked out perfectly, by tricking the bandits into believing that he did not care about the villagers. Otherwise, with so many bandits around, he would not be able to guarantee the safety of every single villager.

“This place has already become our territory. Do you seriously think you can take on all of us!?” cried Xi Ge.

His Contracted Beast was dead. It was the biggest trump card he had up his sleeves. He had the urge to eat the young Magician alive, but there was nothing they could do to him.

Xi Ge was actually trying to drag out the fight. He had to wait until the reinforcements arrived.

“Leader, look above you,” said a bandit.

“I think it’s big sister Oni!”

“Big sis is here!”

The golden wings immediately attracted everyone’s attention. Their female leader landed from the sky, accompanied by a handsome man with golden hair and a proud face.

“Wow, they have quite a lot of people, more than three hundred of them. But don’t worry, judging from their aura, they are just a bunch of plebes,” Zhao Manyan glanced at the villagers dressed in colorful clothes with a disdainful grin.

He had no problem identifying the different groups of people. Those in red outfits and wearing red ornaments were obviously on Oni’s side, implying that they were the villagers. Meanwhile, the three hundred people who obviously looked like the bad guys were standing together. They were simply abusing their numbers to take over the village. Did they seriously think no one is serving justice in their society!

Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu stood still with wide-open eyes. They were looking at Zhao Manyan the same way they would look at a retard.

They were utterly impressed by Zhao Manyan’s lack of intelligence when they were in the lightning storm in Peru. However, it seemed like the water in that idiot’s mind was enough to fill up the Caribbean Sea!

{TL Note: In Chinese slang, when someone describes a person’s brain is filled with water, it means the person is an idiot.}

“Huh, you two are here too. Why didn’t you two enforce justice on behalf of the Heavens and eliminate these bandits? Don’t be scared just because they are winning in numbers!” Zhao Manyan said in a surprised voice when he finally noticed Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu.

Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu seriously did not feel like talking to their retarded teammate.

“You know them?” Oni was startled. She somehow remembered that the two were from the same group of people that passed by the village recently. She had a vague impression of Jiang Shaoxu.

“Yeah, we are buddies, the closest kind, with them here, I don’t even need to do anything. Don’t worry, we will protect the village for you. As for the bandits, we won’t show them any mercy!” Zhao Manyan glared at the three hundred unarmed villagers.

Jiang Shaoxu slapped herself on the head.

Holy cow, did the national team seriously not assess the candidates with some kind of intelligence test? Even if they did not conduct the test, couldn’t they clarify that a mentally retarded person wasn’t allowed to join the team!

“Zhao Manyan, what are you doing? Didn’t I ask you to keep the men along the path busy? Why did you let them pass? I’m going to give you one-tenth of the pay less!” Mo Fan said loudly.

In order to prevent Zhao Manyan from ruining their disguise, Mo Fan immediately blackened Zhao Manyan’s image, too.

“What pay?” Zhao Manyan was confused.

“So that’s how it is, humph, I’m going to kill you!” Oni snapped furiously.

She was wondering why a man would come and flirt with her out of nowhere. It turned out that he was trying to buy some time for his friends and stop her men from providing backup!

Oni was quick with her attack. A strong wind emerged under Zhao Manyan’s feet without any sign. It turned into a tornado in a brief period of time and swept Zhao Manyan into the air.

“F**k me, what are you doing, I’m here to help…” Zhao Manyan was stunned. He quickly cast Rock Barrier and altered its shape to resemble a tongue, blocking the majority of the tornado.

“Stop wasting time, take them out,” Mo Fan knew he could not let the fight drag on further. He immediately took hold of the opportunity and started casting Fire and Lightning Spells at the Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild like a Gatling gun.

Mo Fan purposely relocated himself to prevent his spells from hurting the villagers. He slowly moved the fight toward the back of the village, allowing the villagers to escape during the chaotic situation.

The people of the Red Ornaments Guild had no time to waste on the villagers. They were going to die if they did not take out Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu. They would rather die than give their money away!

“Hey hey hey, the bandits are running away. Why are you attacking me?!” yelled Zhao Manyan.

“Shut up, I’m going to kill you!” Oni’s heart burned furiously, as she felt like she had been tricked.

She was so close to falling for the liar. It was such an insult!

“Take him down, I’m going to skin him alive!” Oni gave the order. Her men immediately surrounded Zhao Manyan.

Oni’s men were a lot stronger compared to the initial group. Many of them were Intermediate Magicians. They immediately attacked Zhao Manyan with waves of destructive energy. Zhao Manyan quickly stacked up different defensive spells on himself in a panic.

“This kid has so many defensive spells.”

“How is he not dead yet?”

Oni was even more infuriated when she realized that Zhao Manyan was unharmed after being blasted by waves of spells.

How dare he try to trick her? She was going to tear him into pieces!

“Keep going, blast him to pieces!” Oni snapped.

“Oni, listen to me… wait, can you please explain first? What did I do wrong?” Zhao Manyan still had the mood to talk despite the situation he was in.

He was protected by two layers of defense. The first layer consisted of five circling Water Barriers, and the second layer was a Rock Barrier that he could summon within a second. The spells were like raindrops pouring onto an oiled paper umbrella… not very effective!

Oni screamed out angrily when she saw the liar still had the guts to talk to her casually, pretending that he was clueless about the situation. She immediately channeled an Advanced Spell!

It was rare for Oni to use her Advanced Spell on someone. She was seriously angry this time!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“She’s an Advanced Magician, Zhao Manyan might be in trouble,” Jiang Shaoxu shouted to Mo Fan when she saw the female leader of the bandits constructing a Star Constellation.

“Don’t worry, he will be fine.” Mo Fan did not seem to be bothered. Zhao Manyan actually helped divert the bandits’ attention, allowing him to take out the bandits of the Red Ornaments Guild more quickly.

Oni had completed her Star Constellation. It was a destructive spell full of explosive energy. Even her men quickly backed away when the overwhelming energy appeared, as they were worried that they would be caught in it too!

Zhao Manyan immediately focused when he realized that the woman was being utterly serious.

A Light Star Constellation similarly appeared around him. The golden Star Constellation attached to him as if he was wearing shining golden armor.

Most Light Magicians would use the Plummeting Rays as an offensive spell, as the continuous Light arrows could inflict serious damage to an enemy. However, Zhao Manyan’s Plummeting Rays simply turned the light rays into glowing scales wrapping every single part of his body tightly, like he was putting on a thick, golden chainmail!

The whole village on the mountain trembled at the power of Oni’s Advanced Spell, as if it was about to raze the place to the ground. However, Zhao Manyan was perfectly unharmed standing in the middle of the destructive energy. The golden light surrounding him was driving Oni mad!

-What kind of Magician is he? Is he made of defensive spells? Who would even use the Plummeting Rays as a defensive ability!?-

“Oni, I won’t go easy on you if you keep going!” Zhao Manyan was not a man without a temper.

“Kill him!” Oni had no intention of talking reasonably, giving the order furiously.

The Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild unwillingly obeyed the order. Even an Advanced Spell had failed to kill the guy, what difference could some Intermediate Magicians bring to the table? It was like casting a spell on a stinky, hard rock in the latrine pit!

Zhao Manyan was not totally brainless, either. He gradually realized that Oni’s group was the fishy side. It did not make sense that everyone in their group was a Magician, as they would not be afraid of the three hundred people who did not have any presence of magic on them.

“So they are the bandits, right?” Zhao Manyan asked in a serious voice.

“Did you just realize now!?” Mo Fan snapped back.

“But what’s with you robbing them?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Stop talking nonsense, just take them out if they are not willing to pay!” Mo Fan snapped back again.

If the bandits did not pay, their corpses would do. After all, the government had already put up wanted posters with handsome rewards. Mo Fan desperately needed money… well, he was always short on funds!

“Silent Deadly Ray: Lightning Arm!”

Capture the leader and the gang will collapse, Mo Fan locked his gaze on the leader Xi Ge and finished his Advanced Lightning Spell with lightning speed.

He had to admit that Zhao Manyan was pretty good at aggroing the enemy. He would have had trouble finishing the Advanced Lightning Spell if it wasn’t for Zhao Manyan grabbing their attention!

This time, Mo Fan did not rely on a Lightning Constellation Scroll. He had constructed the enormous Lightning Star Constellation by himself. Three hundred and forty-three Stars, forty-nine Star Orbits, seven Star Patterns. The ring that Zhao Manyan brought him had indeed sped up the process of Awakening the Stars remarkably!

The real Advanced Lightning Spell was incredibly powerful. It did not have a sharp screech or the loud rumble of Lightning Strike or Thunderbolt, but a silent and deadly glow appeared on Mo Fan. The destructive energy circled Mo Fan’s right arm like a spring!

A deep rumble was heard coming from his palm, followed by a deadly ray surging straight forward like the wrath of Heaven!

The bandit’s leader, Xi Ge, was quite a cunning man, hiding behind his men. When he saw the deadly lightning bolt approaching him, he immediately dodged aside in a panic. A few of his closest subordinates were killed instantly by the lightning bolt that punctured their bodies and left a scorched hole behind!

“Do you think you can run away?” The lightning on Mo Fan’s arm did not dissipate. The previous stroke of lightning was not the complete Advanced Lightning Spell!

He touched his lightning arm with his other hand, and it was soon circled by the deadly lightning in the shape of a spring too!

“Lightning Explosion!”

Mo Fan’s arms fired two lightning bolts simultaneously. The bolts crossed each other in front of Xi Ge!

The village suddenly fell silent. The destructive energy of the wild circles of lightning exploded close to Xi Ge. Huge lightning arcs surged into the sky, and an overwhelming energy spread into the surroundings!

Xi Ge was extremely fragile before the Lightning Explosion. His lower body was blasted into pieces instantly. Mo Fan purposely left his upper body just so he could show it to the local government. Otherwise, it would turn into nothing in the Lightning Explosion, too!

Apart from the leader Xi Ge, eight Magicians nearby did not survive either. The Lightning Explosion triggered by the deadly lightning bolts was like a lightning tyrant that had just descended to the mundane world, showing no mercy to any living creature.

—

The village fell deadly quiet after the Lightning Explosion. The people of the Red Ornaments Guild could feel their legs trembling. They did not even have the courage to stand upright.

Most terrifyingly, the lightning on Mo Fan’s arms did not dissipate, meaning that he could trigger another Lightning Explosion among them if he wanted!

The lightning arcs soaring into the sky were able to destroy everything within a radius of a hundred meters. Despite the crimes that the Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild had committed, they had never seen such a terrifying Lightning Spell. The Asian man was like a devil after their lives. They started fleeing in all directions!

Oni was stunned for a long time too. She suddenly realized that the young Magicians were a lot stronger than she had imagined, and decisively fled for her life.

A pair of purple boots appeared on her legs, amazingly allowing her to run in the air temporarily. Oni completely ignored her men and fled down the mountain rapidly. She did not forget to turn around and glare at Zhao Manyan before she left, implying that she had sworn to get her revenge!

Mo Fan was not happy when the bandits started fleeing for their lives. He might have trouble stopping the Advanced Magician Oni, but the others would not be able to run away so easily.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be inflicting fear on them?” Jiang Shaoxu felt like she had overdone it with her Psychic Spell.

If the bandits kept running away, they would not be able to get their rewards!

Well, as long as they managed to arrest some of them, Jiang Shaoxu’s eyes flickered as she cast Mind Control.

Jiang Shaoxu controlled an Intermediate Ice Magician to cast Ice Lock and entrap his comrades with the ice chains.

The members of the Red Ornaments Guild were on the verge of losing their minds. The terrifying Asian did not catch them, but they were dragged back to the execution ground by their own man.

Jiang Shaoxu did not kill the bandits. Killing them was simply an easy way out for them, considering the crimes they had committed. The local government and the Enforcement Union would surely give them a more suitable punishment!

Mo Fan used both his Space and Shadow Elements simultaneously. The Giant Shadow Spikes sealed the movement of eight Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild, and the Space Magic dragged them back like picking up little chicks…

Even though Mo Fan was trying his best, a few members of the Red Ornaments Guild still managed to get away .

After looking at the bandits that were apprehended, Mo Fan roughly counted up how many bandits there were, and asked Jiang Shaoxu to dial the hotline provided by the government.

—

The villagers were hiding on the other side of the village. After the battle came to an end, they finally had the guts to poke their heads out.

They were still terrified of Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu. After all, the two of them were killing the bandits without blinking. However, when they saw a man returning to the village with a crippled leg, they immediately realized something was off.

It was the same man that Mo Fan had tossed down the cliff! Mo Fan had used the Space Magic to greatly reduce his falling speed. The man had only broken a few bones at most, and apart from being numb from being electrocuted, his life was not in danger.

They had to fake it so the people of the Red Ornaments Guild would believe that they were not here to save the villagers! It was all to prevent the bandits from holding the villagers hostage!

“Hurry up and get the people to the shelter. The government is going to take some time to reach here. If the Red Ornaments Guild comes back, you’re going to suffer again,” Jiang Shaoxu told the villagers.

The Red Ornaments Guild was indeed savage enough to rob the village. They were no different than demon creatures, and they even insisted that they were scarier than demon creatures!

“Thank you all so much, I’m sorry for misunderstanding you at the start!” The chief knelt on the ground to express his gratitude.

The villagers fell to the ground and bowed to Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu gratefully.

They had heard a lot of bad rumors about the Red Ornaments Guild since they were locals. As a matter of fact, many Magicians working for the government and Hunters did not dare interfere with the Red Ornaments Guild’s business.

Meanwhile, these two young travelers who were not related to the village had rescued them without hesitation. How could they not be grateful? On top of that, they had wisely prevented the villagers from being hurt!

The people of the Red Ornaments Guild were a bunch of degenerates. They would start massacring the villagers if someone dared to interfere with their business!

“You all should be careful too, the people of the Red Ornaments Guild are a vengeful bunch. It’s also the main reason why they are rulers of the Caribbean Sea. Since many of them have escaped, they would surely find a way to trouble you. They have members in many places, so you should be more careful!” the chief reminded them.

“I doubt they will come again. They are only going to give me money!” Mo Fan smiled. He did not mind offending the biggest malignant tumor of the Caribbean coast at all!

To be honest, after Mo Fan had stepped on the tail of a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, he felt a lot more daring than before. His heart did not shiver, and even his guts had grown in size!

He did not think there was any organization in the world that was crueler and worse than the Black Vatican!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The representatives of the government finally arrived. Mo Fan finally understood why the Red Ornaments Guild was so reckless when he saw the efficiency of the local government. Their slow reaction to incidents was definitely the reason why the Red Ornaments Guild was not afraid of them.

Mo Fan initially thought the rewards would be higher than the ransom he had demanded the Red Ornaments Guild pay. To his surprise, the local government only paid him and Jiang Shaoxu nine million dollars to make them leave!

Nine million?

Mo Fan remembered the Enforcement Union was offering nine million for a single Gray Priest, and now, Mo Fan had caught quite a lot members of the Red Ornaments Guild, yet the local government only rewarded him with nine million dollars?

No wonder no Hunters were willing to hunt down the members of the Red Ornaments Guild. The Magicians that were strong enough to take down the Red Ornaments Guild obviously thought nine million was nowhere enough for them. It was not even enough for them to buy a useful piece of equipment.

After splitting the reward with Jiang Shaoxu, Mo Fan felt a bit regretful. If he knew this would happen, he would have held the members of the Red Ornaments Guild hostage and demanded a ransom from their superiors. Perhaps the Red Ornaments Guild would have paid him a more handsome sum compared to the local government.

Mo Fan could spend this little amount of money in an instant, such as to replenish the energy of his Black Snake Armor!

Not all Equipment consumed energy when they were active, but if they suffered some serious damage, they would need a large amount of magic ores to restore their energy. Mo Fan’s Black Snake Armor was damaged when he was fighting against the Nazca Monster Birds and the monster apes. The money was barely enough to fix his armor.

However, this was also because the Black Snake Armor’s level was relatively higher. Any other equipment would not need so much energy to recover.

Jiang Shaoxu was feeling aggrieved, too. The local government had only given this much money after they did them such a huge favor. Who would even want to do such a strenuous and unrewarding job again?

—

The three continued along the journey and regrouped with the other members in a town by the sea.

The team had severely diverged. Apart from staying at the same place, the team was normally split into a few groups, each minding their own business.

When Mo Fan, Jiang Shaoxu, and Zhao Manyan arrived at their accommodations, the others were nowhere to be seen. Mo Fan was quite disappointed by the place. He decided to stay in his room and cultivate instead of wasting his time running around.

He still had yet to master the Shadow Star Constellation. It was going to take him some time.

After experiencing the power of the Lightning Advanced Spell by constructing the Star Constellation himself, he immediately realized that the Star Constellation Scrolls were only supportive consumables. It was unable to unleash the full potential of the Advanced Spell. In order to utilize the full potential of Nyx Regime, Mo Fan was determined to cultivate more diligently.

——

The Asian Magic Association was located in the United Arab Emirates; the place was also called the Dubai Magician Tower.

The advisors of many national teams were seated at a huge, round table. The surroundings, including the ceiling, formed an azure blue sky. The only things separating them and the sky were some French windows and a transparent ceiling.

Only the highest-level Magicians in Asia were allowed to enter the Sky Meeting Room. If someone sat at the entrance of the meeting room long enough, they might even have a chance to meet a Forbidden Magician.

Feng Li, and Song He, the two advisors from China, were currently seated at the table. The main seats were obviously occupied by the advisors of the United Arab Emirates, followed by the advisors of Japan, India, Korea, Thailand, and a few other Asian countries with a certain population.

The Japanese advisor rose to his feet and said firmly, “From my point of view, our students’ performance is on par with the Chinese team. I do hope the Asia Magic Association will make a fair decision and give the Dark Noble Mantle gifted by the Sacred Magicians to a talented Shadow Magician from Japan, Akira Matsuki!”

She was the advisor of the Japanese team, Fujikata Tegami. She had been promoted as an advisor to the national team from the advisor of the Training Hall.

“Is that some kind of a joke? Don’t forget that my students have slain a lot of sea monsters in your East Maritime Fortress, and the world and Peru were very pleased with their contribution to the incident in Nazca. They saved three thousand miners that were trapped, and the cities that were under attack. Do you seriously think the little exploration you did in the rainforest in Brazil was as meaningful as their achievements? You’ve only explored the outer part of the forest. Any brave group of Hunters could easily do it,” Feng Li retorted in an unpleasant voice.

Even though the advisors of the national team did not stay with the team, the achievements of their team were reported to them right away. The respective Magic Associations of their continent would then evaluate the national teams based on their performance.

The resources distributed to every team were all from the same bowl. The resources were assigned to the national teams depending on the performance and contributions of the national teams during their training.

Contributions greatly outweighed individual performance. It was obvious that the Chinese team had been remarkable in terms of contributions, whether it be killing sea monsters in the East Maritime Fortress, or resolving the incident in Nazca. Even Peru was willing to give the Chinese team the resources that were initially allocated to their national team to express their gratitude.

Such contributions were very meaningful. As such, Feng Li had no reason to let someone else take the resources they deserved.

“Now, let’s calm down, I’ve gathered everyone here exactly for this reason. The teams that have the right to receive the resources are China, Japan, and India…” began an old man in a white shirt at the main seat.

“Since when is India involved too?” complained Feng Li, who was known for his bad temper.

“Let me finish first,” the old man glanced at the advisors from the three countries and continued in a calm voice, “Based on the latest information, it seems like the students of these three countries are training close to the Caribbean Sea. I suggest that we let the students compete for the Dark Noble Mantle among themselves, instead of trying to compare their achievements here.”

“Let the students compete among themselves… are we going to ask them to fight one another?” asked Song He.

“Not exactly. We don’t recommend the national teams fight one another before the training phase comes to an end. Basically, the Sacred Hall of Liberty in New York was being given quite a headache by the Red Ornaments Guild in the Caribbean Sea. However, since the Red Ornaments Guild had lots of members keeping an eye out in every place, the Magicians of the Sacred Hall of Liberty were having trouble dealing with the Red Ornaments Guild. As a result, the local villages and towns kept getting robbed by the Red Ornaments Guild. What I suggest is that the students representing our countries should feel obliged to serve justice on behalf of the world. The students of these three countries will team up to take down the Red Ornaments Guild, and return peace to the Caribbean Sea!” said the old man.

The people in the meeting room fell silent after listening to the suggestion.

An advisor from India was the first to speak. He said in a soft voice, “Isn’t a bit too risky to ask a bunch of young, impulsive students to take down the cunning and cruel Red Ornaments Guild?”

“Yes, they might even lose their lives,” agreed a female evaluator.

The Red Ornaments Guild was blacklisted by many Magic Associations of different continents. They had always had a bad reputation. Even some experienced Magicians would have trouble winning against the corrupt Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild, let alone a bunch of students. The Red Ornaments Guild was going to play the students like a fiddle and murder them!

“I don’t mind; training isn’t a child’s play after all. Every Magician should be prepared to face the risk of losing their life when they decided to become a Magician. The harm that the Red Ornaments Guild do is greater than the sea monsters. I believe my students can take care of them!” Feng Li proclaimed.

“Humph, it’s just a bunch of bandits full of bravado, many among my students are more talented than the Magicians of the Sacred Hall of Liberty. They won’t have any problem taking down the bandits!” Fujikata Tegami also agreed. She had no intention to back down.

Meanwhile, the advisor of the Indian team had an unpleasant look. The other two countries were willing to take the risk. He would be embarrassing his team if he did not agree with the suggestion. However, the Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild were surely not as easy to deal with as everyone thought. If their students fell into the Red Ornaments Guild’s hands, they basically had no chance of surviving!

“As a safety precaution, we’ve already contacted America’s Sacred Hall of Liberty. They will send talented Magicians to observe in the dark. They are hoping to uproot the Red Ornaments Guild, and if the students are in any kind of trouble, they will immediately lend a hand too. As long as they can provide assistance in time, the students shouldn’t be in any kind of trouble,” said the old man.

“That’s good, that sounds better!” The advisor of the Indian team looked relieved.

Even though the Magicians of the Sacred Hall of Liberty did not guarantee the safety of their students, it was better than letting the students dealing with the vicious bandits on their own.

“Then it’s decided!”

——

Lanshi, a town of the Caribbean Sea…

Mo Fan had cultivated in seclusion for quite some day. He was curious about why the team had not departed yet. Weren’t they told to reach Mexico as quickly as possible?

Mo Fan left the room and bumped into Nanyu, who was asking everyone to gather. His chest touched the woman’s chest. Nanyu was not particularly busty, something that the neutral-looking beauty lacked. However, if her bust was big, she would lose the unique attractiveness of her neutral look.

“You did it on purpose!” Nanyu was confident that Mo Fan had purposely bumped into her.

“What proof do you have to say that?” demanded Mo Fan.

“You’re a Space Magician, how could you not know that I’m turning the corner!?” snapped Nanyu.

“You’re a Sound Magician, so aren’t you supposed to hear my footsteps? Maybe you’re just trying to feel how masculine I am!” teased Mo Fan.

Nanyu knew how oily-mouthed Mo Fan was. She simply glared at him, as she was too lazy to even argue with him.

“Let’s talk business; our new mission has arrived,” said Nanyu.

“Doesn’t that mean someone is going to be disqualified?” Mo Fan asked excitedly.

If someone on the team was being replaced, Mu Ningxue would be able to rejoin the team. Mo Fan had already inquired of the Training Hall. Mu Ningxue’s strength skyrocketed after she returned from Tianshan Mountain. Many countries had lost at the Chinese Training Hall. Mu Ningxue was even given resources that were allocated to the members of the national team. It was like adding a pair of wings to a tiger!

“Almost… didn’t the three of you stumble into a group of bandits a few days ago? Our mission is to arrest the members of the Red Ornaments Guild!” said Nanyu.

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide enough to fit a goose egg.

-Did it seriously have to be so coincidental?-

It seemed like the conflict between him and the Red Ornaments Guild had not ended yet!

Chapter 957: The Three Teams Gather
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Dark Noble Mantle?”

“What is that? It sounds pretty cool.”

The team had gathered in the hall. They listened to the new arrangements from the advisors and heard them mentioning the bonus reward of the mission.

The bonus reward was a Magic Equipment, something like a magic mantle. It was a very rare type of equipment, as it was a piece of supportive equipment that could be worn together with Magic Armor or Shields. Apparently, equipment like a mantle or a windbreaker might have similar uses to Magic Wings, as they could also spread into wings.

However, both Mantle-type or Wing Magical Equipment were considered luxury goods among Magicians. If the two combined into a single piece of equipment, it was no doubt an extremely rare find. It was impossible to find anything like it even after visiting all the auctions being held!

“They say it was a piece of equipment that a Forbidden Magician used in the past. He has now donated it to the World Magic Institution to motivate young Magicians. We are now competing for the Dark Noble Mantle with two other countries, Japan and India. They are close to the Caribbean Sea, and they will team up with us to take out the Red Ornaments Guild,” explained Nanyu in detail.

“Is it really necessary to team up with them when we’re only going up against a bunch of bandits?” Guan Yu said disdainfully.

“You’re wrong; the Red Ornaments Guild isn’t just a bunch of bandits. When the guild was first established, it was a guild of corrupted Magicians. Its influence was comparable to a magic clan, with thousands of Magicians under their lead. Their average strength is in the Intermediate Level, and they also have a lot of Advanced Magicians, too. They use the resources and money they steal to train new members, forming a complete family chain!” Nanyu had already researched the Red Ornaments Guild.

“We’ve fought them recently; their overall strength isn’t weak,” Jiang Shaoxu stated seriously.

It was obvious that the group led by Xi Ge and Oni was only a small branch of the Red Ornaments Guild. There must be someone even stronger supporting them behind the scenes. Otherwise, the governments of the nearby countries would not be so helpless against them.

“We’ll wait here in Lanshi Town. The Japanese and Indian teams are making their way here. We should see them fairly soon,” said Nanyu.

—

In the afternoon, the Japan and Indian teams arrived in Lanshi Town. The group of thirty people decided to meet at Sea Gull Park.

Since there were so many people, and not everyone was fluent in English, the teams only sent their representatives to discuss at a table. The others waited on the grass and walkway.

“It’s B at most,” said Zhao Manyan confidently.

“Maybe it’s C?” Mo Fan hesitated.

“B, trust me; if it’s C, the shape should be a capital ‘I’. If it’s B, and the bra is pushing them in to form the cleavage, the shape resembles a ‘Y’,” stated the experienced Zhao Manyan.

The two were sitting on a bench. They were bored, so they decided to identify the cup sizes of the girls instead.

Their target was a female student from the Japanese team wearing an ocean-blue sailor uniform with a short skirt. She was most likely a fan of cosplay. She was even wearing a pair of alluring stockings. If she wasn’t standing in a national team, most people would simply assume her to be a girl with a hobby of dressing up in costumes. No one would think she was a powerful Magician.

A Japanese man in a hoodie suddenly walked toward Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, speaking in a serious voice. “You two, don’t you think that I have no idea what you were talking about. It’s not gentleman-like to dishonor a woman verbally!”

He was talking in English, and the girl in the sailor uniform could understand him too. She glared at the perverted Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan with a hint of shock.

The man in the hoodie was over-exaggerating it. The girl in the sailor uniform had no idea what Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were discussing. As a normal woman, she quickly assumed they were having lewd thoughts, so her glare at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan was immediately filled with hostility.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were experienced with shameless acts. Zhao Manyan was the first to voice his disagreement. He slowly rose to his feet and said, “We are discussing our admiration of a beautiful girl. Why did it sound so wrong and lowly in your mouth? I was saying that I like her stockings, and her figure. How is it any of your business?!”

Zhao Manyan was indeed oily tongued. He immediately corrected the bitchy Japanese man’s accusation.

“Akira Matsuki, forget it, they mean no harm!” The girl in the sailor uniform was a reasonable person too. She did not seem too bothered after hearing the explanation. She even gave them an apologetic smile.

“They were saying… damn it!” Akira Matsuki obviously cared a lot about the girl in the sailor uniform. Even the slightest disrespect to her would infuriate him.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan brazenly ignored the man’s accusations.

Akira Matsuki was having trouble explaining. He could only swallow his words and glare at the two.

—

Meanwhile, Nanyu had reached an agreement with the representatives of the Japan and Indian teams. They proceeded to allocate the tasks.

“I’m really impressed by your ability to collect information. The information that can easily be obtained by searching Google wasn’t of any value to us. Even though our advisors have asked us to work together, I have no intention of sharing our information with you,” Shou Watani of the Japanese team said.

Shou Watani was the representative of the Japanese team. The way he acted and spoke implied that he was most likely from the Japanese military.

“Which means you’re already found where their nest is?” asked Nanyu.

“Something like that. You Chinese and Indians only need to support us. I’ll lead the team and complete the mission in no time. After that, we’ll go our separate ways and meet again in Venice,” said Shou Watani.

“If you do have some intel, we are more than willing to support you,” said Nanyu.

Fang Bingji of the Indian team nodded, too.

{TL Note: Not sure why the author gave an Indian a Chinese name. Maybe it’s a Chinese from India?}

The biggest problem the teams currently faced was the fact that they did not know where to start. They had all been here for a short period of time, and the Red Ornaments Guild had always been cunning and good at hiding themselves. Even the Sacred Hall of Liberty was having trouble locating them. They would not be able to make a breakthrough anytime soon.

However, the Japanese team seemed to have some intel, so the other two teams only needed to provide support to complete the mission. It would be a win-win situation for everyone.

“I’ll make it clear first; since we’re offering the important intel, the Dark Noble Mantle will be ours when we are done with the mission!” Akira Matsuki immediately reminded the teams about the important condition.

Nanyu and Ai Jiangtu exchanged glances with one another, before Nanyu said, “If everything goes smoothly, and the intel is accurate, we won’t mind you taking the reward.”

“Are you sure about that? Are we going to give up on the bonus just like that?” Li Kaifeng immediately challenged.

“Safety first, we’re taking on the Red Ornaments Guild, they are a bunch of corrupt Magicians that kill without blinking. It’s more important to focus on completing the mission instead,” said Ai Jiangtu.

The Indian team was having the same thought. If the Japanese team had enough intel to guarantee they could complete the mission without casualties, why would they bother taking any extra risk? As for the Dark Noble Mantle, the Japanese team was offering their intel, and coming up with the strategy. They were also willing to be the forward team, so it was reasonable for them to take the bonus.

“The advisors are going to scare the crap out of us if they know we didn’t even compete for the Dark Noble Mantle,” said Li Kaifeng.

“But I think nothing is more important than our safety. Besides, it’s true that we didn’t have any useful information,” said Nanyu.

Intel was a lot more important than strength in an operation. The Japanese team did secure the upper hand this time!

—

Taking down the Red Ornaments Guild was a lot simpler when they only needed to provide support to the Japanese team. The Japanese team even knew where and when the members would be gathering. It was truly surprising, as if they already knew that they were going to take down the Red Ornaments Guild a long time ago.

The three teams went back to rest. They would set out at night.

Nanyu and Ai Jiangtu remained silent on their way back. When they were close to their accommodation, Nanyu said, “Although it looks like the mission was only decided recently, it’s obvious that the Japanese team knew the details way earlier than us.”

“Mmm, I bet even the advisors never thought this would be the case,” said Ai Jiangtu.

They had received the mission less than two days ago. If every team was given the mission at the same time, there was no way the Japanese team could acquire the intel in such a short period of time. The place and time the members of the Red Ornaments Guild were gathering was obviously kept confidential. Even the people of the Enforcement Union or Hunters would need years of investigation and infiltrating into the organization to learn the information.

“We’ll tell the advisors about it, but the Red Ornaments Guild is indeed unforgivable considering the crimes they have committed. We’ll help the Japanese team take them out for now,” said Ai Jiangtu.

Nanyu nodded.

Something was fishy about the operation, but since their main goal was to eliminate a malignant tumor, they would place their doubts aside for now. The advisors would do them justice if the Japanese team was actually cheating.

—

“Since we’re setting out at night, I’ll go shopping around Lanshi Town then!” declared Jiang Shaoxu.

“You seriously have to shop wherever you go?” grumbled Mu Tingying.

“Of course, it’s easier to find rare loot in a place like this! Are you going too?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

“I’m planning to buy something too,” said Mu Tingying.

The two girls soon left the team and headed for the town.

When Zhao Manyan saw someone suggesting they visit the town, he raised his brows at Mo Fan and said, “Want to go take a look?”

“No, I’m going to practice,” Mo Fan rejected him immediately.

“I found a strip club,” Zhao Manyan told him.

“Let’s go!”

—

When Jiang Shaoxu and Mu Tingying were walking down the street, the former suddenly turned around and glanced into a long alleyway.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Tingying was confused by Jiang Shaoxu’s strange reaction.

“Nothing.”

The two continued along the street. Meanwhile, in the alleyway, a pair of eyes glittered cunningly…

Chapter 958: SOS Signal
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Big sis, I’ve found the person you’re looking for. She’s with another woman,” the owner of the eyes whispered into the communication device.

“Find a way to lure her away.”

“Sure! But you’re sure that you’re not going to the general meeting? I don’t think Master Casso is going to be pleased about it,” replied the owner of the eyes.

“It’s a meeting between the higher-ups, I won’t have the chance to say a single word there. Our first priority now is to hunt those three assholes that intervened with our job at Sweetgrass Village. I’m going to skin them alive and hang them on flagpoles. Otherwise, my reputation in the Caribbean Sea is ruined!” Oni snapped.

“You’re right; perhaps Master Casso will get us a bigger territory this time?” the owner of the eyes wondered in anticipation.

“That’s not what I hope for. If our guild is trying to go legit, it means we will have lots of restrictions. We can’t kill, can’t rob, our lives are going to be meaningless. What I enjoy isn’t sitting on a pile of gold, but the thrill from killing, and running away!” replied Oni.

“But the little ones don’t want to live in fear anymore. After all, the Sacred Hall of Liberty has been watching us very closely,” the owner of the eyes said.

“There’s that too…”

“If Master Casso is in power, doesn’t that mean Big Sis can do whatever you want? You can torture whoever you come upon, as long as you don’t get caught by the people of the Magic Associations…” the owner of the eyes mused aloud.

“Oh, oh, that reminds me, the villagers of the Sweetgrass Village are a bunch of idiots, too. They actually escaped to a place that is going to become our territory soon to find shelter. HAHAHA, when they realize I’ve become the new mayor of the town, and the guards are replaced by the people they caught, the expressions on their faces will be very amusing!” Oni burst out laughing.

—

At an inn in Lanshi Town, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan returned with sour faces.

“Screw you, can you please learn the local language before making any call. That was a gay bar, not a strip club!” cursed Mo Fan.

The little boat of friendship was overturned instantly. Mo Fan was getting more impressed by Zhao Manyan’s worrying intelligence.

When Mo Fan recalled how a local rich boy had walked up to him and gave him a flirtatious smile on the dance floor, he could not find his words to describe his feelings.

“I didn’t expect it either… forget it, let’s go back and practice,” said Zhao Manyan helplessly.

It was better to head back and meditate. They still had matters to attend to this night. The two were no longer in the mood to enjoy themselves after their utter disappointment.

—

Time passed fairly quickly when they meditated. Mo Fan managed to connect another Star Orbit of the Shadow Element in the brief time he had.

Constructing a Star Constellation made of three hundred and forty-three Stars was a huge project, so even the slightest progress was a relief to Mo Fan. He had to thank Zhao Manyan for getting him the ring, and he was also grateful that the idiot had brought him to the wrong place in the afternoon. Otherwise, he would have wasted his whole afternoon!

—

After dinner, the group gathered at the Sea Gull Garden.

Nanyu counted the members and immediately noticed Jiang Shaoxu was not around. She immediately used the communication device to contact Jiang Shaoxu, hoping she would regroup with the team quickly.

However, there was no response from the communication device.

“Mu Tingying, aren’t you with Jiang Shaoxu, where is she?” asked Nanyu.

“We split up on the street. What, isn’t she back yet?” asked Mu Tingying.

“I can’t contact her through the communication device.”

Meanwhile, the Indian and Japanese teams had arrived. Shou Watani led the team and said impatiently, “Why is your member so undisciplined? We can’t afford to be behind schedule!”

“I believe she must be in some kind of trouble,” said Nanyu.

Although Jiang Shaoxu was acted indifferent and unfocused most of the time, she knew when to take things seriously still. The operation to take down the Red Ornaments Guild was no child’s play, it was unlikely that she would be late. Most worryingly, her communication device was not working.

“We don’t have time to wait here. It’s going to disrupt our plan,” Akira Matsuki said.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan both had a bad feeling. They exchanged glances with one another and had a feeling that Jiang Shaoxu might be in trouble.

“Nanyu, go with them first, we’ll find Jiang Shaoxu,” Mo Fan said.

“Mmm, be careful.”

—

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan did not follow the team. They were more worried about Jiang Shaoxu’s safety.

Letting the people of the Red Ornaments Guild escape was the biggest mistake. These people were a vengeful bunch, and had eyes across many places. If Jiang Shaoxu did not regroup with the team, Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan both felt like she must have been targeted by the people of the Red Ornaments Guild.

Jiang Shaoxu was a Psychic Magician. She was more of a support on the team. However, if she was ambushed when she was alone, she would have trouble escaping.

Luckily, Lanshi Town was not too big. According to Mu Tingying, they did not split up for too long. They might still make it in time.

“You head this way, and I’ll head there,” Mo Fan split up with Zhao Manyan and started searching along the main street in Lanshi Town.

—

“Kony, are you an idiot? I asked you to draw the logo on our tires, why are you drawing arrows on every billboard. Just let me know if you want to quit! Don’t you think it’s childish to get your revenge on the company like this!” a man in a suit scolded at a painter on the street.

It was pretty loud. Even though Mo Fan did not understand the local language, he could not help but glance in its direction.

“Arrows?” Mo Fan was intrigued. He took a closer look at the painter.

The painter did not show any reaction when he was being scolded by the man in the suit. He continued to draw huge arrows on the billboards, as if he was delivering a message.

“Hollow eyes, strange behavior… and the presence of magic from him… I got it! Nice one, Jiang Shaoxu, what a smart move!” Mo Fan realized.

Under the arrows was the number ninety-five. It obviously meant ‘save me’ in Chinese!

{TL Note: In Chinese, 9 is jiu and 5 is wu. Together, jiu wu sounds like jiu wo, which means save me in Chinese!}

Jiang Shaoxu must have noticed that she was in danger. She immediately cast a Psychic Spell to control the mind of a painter nearby, forcing him to draw the SOS signals along the main street.

It was absolutely brilliant. Mo Fan was impressed by how calm Jiang Shaoxu was and her inspired use of the Psychic Element.

As Mo Fan followed the arrows, he soon discovered that some of the walls were painted with the same arrow too. The paint was not dried yet, making it a lot easier to find Jiang Shaoxu.

—

As Mo Fan approached the outskirts of the town, he entered an area full of debris, surrounded by machinery and fences. Any ordinary person would have trouble going inside, but Mo Fan was sensing the presence of magic in the area.

Mo Fan leapt over the machinery and immediately saw a spacious area of dirt. More than ten Magicians wearing red outfits and ornaments were standing in a circle, attacking a Triangular Water Mirror with spells of different elements!

Jiang Shaoxu stood inside the Triangular Water Mirror with ragged clothes. Her face was pale white, and she was biting her lips.

Her energy was almost depleted. If it wasn’t for the Triangular Water Mirror that could transform any Element into defense, she would have died to the ambush!

“Humph, I’m interested to see how long you can last… can you imagine the things I’ll do to you after your energy depletes?” Oni stood outside the circle with an evil grin on her face.

Many of her men had died, and she was greatly humiliated too! How could Oni possibly forgive them? She had constantly been thinking about how she was going to torture the three Magicians for the past few days.

Jiang Shaoxu did not speak. Even an extra word would be wasting her energy.

She raised her head slightly, to see if her backup had arrived yet. She happened to see a black shadow flickering past and approaching Oni silently from her back.

Jiang Shaoxu did not think much of it, but when she saw an eerie figure coming out of the shadow beside Oni, her eyes glittered.

“Mo Fan!” Jiang Shaoxu was overjoyed. The asshole finally came! Luckily, he was not as dumb as that Zhao Manyan, and was able to pick up the SOS signals she left behind.

“You’re still hoping that kid can come and save you? Even if he’s here, these Magicians can still kill you!” Oni laughed.

In mid-laugh, Oni suddenly realized a spooky, dark presence was penetrating her body with a terrifying chill.

Oni was startled. Her face turned pale as she immediately tried to dodge the attack.

However, Mo Fan was faster. The Giant Shadow Spikes flanked Oni from all directions and stabbed her shadow, immobilizing her quickly.

Oni was stuck in place. She could not even summon her Magic Equipment. Her body stiffened helplessly.

“Ask your men to let go of her, and I’ll let you go, I believe the deal sounds reasonable?” Mo Fan’s lips curled upward. He moved his face closer to Oni, like a phantom.

“You…you’re a Shadow Magician!” Oni said.

“You don’t need to care what Magician I am, do you know what I will do to the likes of you?” asked Mo Fan.

Oni was incredibly frustrated. She should have been more careful. Even though she too was an Advanced Magician, the movement of a Shadow Magician was simply too unpredictable. However, she would have noticed him if he was within fifty meters…

A mistake, a great mistake, she had fallen into their hands for the second time!

“What if I don’t let her go? I don’t mind trading my life for hers, since my comrades are going to kill you too!” Oni snapped back, trying to intimidate Mo Fan with her unruliness from being a bandit for many years.

“So be it then, you can die now,” Mo Fan snorted disdainfully.

Mo Fan only gave the offer as he was in a rush. He did not want to waste too much time here. He was quite interested in the Dark Noble Mantle.

He tried to avoid fighting the little captains of the Red Ornaments Guild by offering to trade the woman he held hostage for Jiang Shaoxu. To his surprise, the woman chose the hard way instead.

She seriously had to force Mo Fan to kill them all? If that was their wish, Mo Fan would not mind fulfilling it!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Wait, we’ll talk!” Cold sweat started falling down Oni’s face when she realized the man did not take the bait.

Mo Fan was not in the mood to negotiate with her. He grabbed Oni’s neck with the Space Element and slammed her into one of the Magicians.

The Magician was channeling an Intermediate Fire Spell. Jiang Shaoxu’s Triangular Water Mirror was almost at its limit. If the Fiery Fist landed on it, it would definitely hurt Jiang Shaoxu inside.

Oni had become Mo Fan’s weapon, ramming into the Magician like a missile.

Oni was sealed by Mo Fan’s magic, preventing her from using her magic. She collided with the Magician, and both of them rolled far into the distance. She almost felt her head split in two.

“Swift Star Wolf, come out!”

A lunar-white gap appeared in front of Mo Fan, and a wolf-like creature with long fur leapt out of it. The Swift Star Wolf’s tempwer was wild as he immediately pounced on one of the pale-faced Magicians closest to him.

The Swift Star Wolf was a lot quicker than before. The Magician did not even have the chance to cast a spell when the Swift Star Wolf tore his arm off and pressed him hard onto the ground.

“Sky-Flame Funeral!”

Fierce flames poured down rapidly, covering the whole area. The place was set on fire and turned into a scorching ocean of flame in mere seconds.

The Magicians did not dare to stay inside Mo Fan’s fire for too long. They started fleeing to the spots where the fire could not reach.

After Mo Fan drove the Magicians away, he immediately came over in front of Jiang Shaoxu.

“Jerk, why did you only come now!” Jiang Shaoxu gave Mo Fan a stare, but her expression seemed to be hinting at something else.

“Anyone with lower intelligence wouldn’t even notice the SOS signals you left behind!” protested Mo Fan.

“I’m out of energy, protect me,” Jiang Shaoxu demanded sulkily.

She had used all her energy to defend herself. The Triangular Water Mirror did buy her just enough time. Otherwise, she would have been blasted into pieces by the Magicians surrounding her.

“Swift Star Wolf, come and protect her,” Mo Fan yelled at the Swift Star Wolf that was chasing after his target excitedly.

The Swift Star Wolf was about to bite a Magician’s leg off when Mo Fan ordered him back . The creature had an unwilling look. He liked to attack, not protect; protecting someone was a difficult chore!

Mo Fan did not care what the Swift Star Wolf felt. He charged directly at the enemy. -Aren’t these Caribbean bandits a bit too unruly, to try and get their revenge in broad daylight? Did they seriously think no one can bring them to justice!?-

“Conduct Lightning!” A bolt of purple-black lightning landed right on Mo Fan. He was instantly surrounded by wild, flickering lightning!

“Lightning Disaster!” Mo Fan leapt into the air and rammed into two of the Magicians heavily.

The lightning arcs surged wildly and soon formed a web of dense lightning around the area Mo Fan stepped on. It looked like an enormous spiderweb made of lightning spreading a hundred meters in all directions!

The two Magicians were immobilized. The lightning arcs surged between them rapidly, leaving shocking, black holes on their bodies with a burned smell.

Mo Fan did not stay there for too long. While the lightning was dancing wildly in the area, Mo Fan had disappeared into the shadows and silently approached an Ice Magician.

Mo Fan threw a punch right at the Ice Magician. The roaring fiery dragons blasted the Ice Magician onto a hill, instantly building a burning grave for him among the rocks there.

“He’s here!” The rest of the Magicians were startled. They were having trouble locking down Mo Fan’s position.

In terms of the control and casting speed of his spells, Mo Fan was more than a level higher than the Magicians. Their numbers had become meaningless, as none of their spells were useful if they could not land them on Mo Fan.

Mo Fan could not help but admit that the Space Element had placed him in an advantageous position in the battle. Even when he was fighting a group of people, the huge number of spells aimed at him did not pose any threat to him at all. Being able to alter between his five Elements adeptly in the battle, these Magicians with red ornaments were no match for a monster like Mo Fan!

The situation had confirmed Yao Nan’s speculation back in the Ancient Capital. Mo Fan’s Double Innate Elements was not as outstanding when he was still in the Basic or Intermediate Levels, but once he reached the Advanced and Super Levels, the extra Elements he had and the various ways he could combine the spells together would significantly boost his strength!

The only Advanced Spell that Mo Fan could use adeptly was the Sky-Flame Funeral. He had yet to fully master the Silent Deadly Ray and the Nyx Regime to use in a chaotic battle. However, Mo Fan was already crushing a bunch of Intermediate Magicians like they were retards!

A single person with five Elements was a totally different concept from having a Magician with two or three Elements!

“Mo Fan, look out!” Jiang Shaoxu noticed Oni was hiding in a corner channeling her Advanced Spell. She immediately warned Mo Fan.

An Advanced Spell still posed a threat to Mo Fan. He immediately summoned the Black Snake Armor without hesitation.

However, as he was about to activate the armor, many golden scales suddenly descended from the sky and rapidly gathered around Mo Fan. The golden scales formed a shiny, golden armor before the Black Snake Armor was activated, providing Mo Fan with perfect protection!

Oni finally managed to finish her Advanced Spell. She was hoping that it could turn the tide around, but the spell ended up landing on the thick, golden armor. She immediately had an urge to vomit blood.

Mo Fan raised his head and saw a man with golden wings floating a hundred meters high in the air. He was wearing a confident smile, and seemed to be quite proud of himself.

“Did I make it in time?” Zhao Manyan landed smoothly. Light rays were shining between his fingers.

He pointed in another direction, turning the light rays into a long spear and stabbing the chest of another Magician that tried to ambush them.

It was possible to split up the Plummeting Rays. Zhao Manyan had only used about half of the Plummeting Rays to protect Mo Fan, while the remainder was used to produce light spears.

It was probably the only attack that Zhao Manyan had mastered. However, it was quite effective at taking down low-level Magicians!

“Go deal with your mistress, the rest of them aren’t worth much, I’ll bury them all!” Mo Fan told Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan strongly believed it was necessary to curb violence with violence. He was never merciful toward scum.

With Zhao Manyan handling his defense, Mo Fan had plenty of time to cast the Advanced Spell that he was still not familiar with.

“Silent Deadly Ray: Lightning Arm!”

The deadly lightning covered Mo Fan’s arm like a spring. Mo Fan flung his arm upward at the sky. It immediately spawned a demon claw tearing the space apart, as a deadly ray forked into three parts and surged forward and to his sides with sharp screeches!

The explosion was incredibly shocking. It spread across the abandoned site and detonated the machinery around them!

The Magicians with red ornaments barely had a chance to defend themselves against Mo Fan’s Intermediate Spells. There was nothing they could do against Mo Fan’s Advanced Lightning Spell!

“Swift Star Wolf, I’ll leave the rest to you,” Mo Fan said to the Swift Star Wolf.

After casting Silent Deadly Ray, the rest of the Magicians fell to the ground, paralyzed. Those that survived the initial blow were barely breathing.

The Swift Star Wolf howled and dashed forward, swinging his claw and tearing the Magicians to pieces.

This time, Mo Fan would not allow a single Magician to escape. He killed them all without showing any mercy, burning them into ashes and disintegrating them into blood droplets. Mo Fan did not even bother handing them to the local government for the petty rewards. He would rather vent his frustration on them!

—

Not long after, Zhao Manyan was done with his battle.

Oni was already immobilized by Mo Fan’s Giant Shadow Spikes. It was surprising that she was able to cast an Advanced Spell in the first place. However, she was unable to put up a great fight, thus it was fairly easy for Zhao Manyan to take care of her.

“To find that a pretty woman like you is actually a bandit, you leave me with no choice but to snap the flower in half,” Zhao Manyan exclaimed while shaking his head.

“Well, couldn’t you, you know, do it to her, if you feel it is a pity,” Mo Fan piped up.

“Please, do I look that desperate?” snapped Zhao Manyan. Zhao Manyan knew that he was a pervert, but there were still lines he would not cross!

“What the heck are you two thinking? Don’t kill her yet, she might come in handy since we’re going to wipe out their nest,” Jiang Shaoxu spoke up.

“You’re right, Zhao Manyan, keep an eye on her. Don’t let her escape again,” warned Mo Fan.

Oni had a grim look. She was so frustrated that she felt like killing herself by biting her tongue.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan had applied more Giant Shadow Spikes to her. The fourth-tier Giant Shadow Spike was able to seal every single joint in her body. She even had trouble blinking.

“Come, let’s catch up with the team,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Look at you, are you sure you still want to go?”

“I’ve eavesdropped on their conversation. The Red Ornaments Guild isn’t as simple as we all thought. Anyway, we have to regroup with Ai Jiangtu and the others as quickly as possible,” Jiang Shaoxu declared solemnly.

“It’s just a bunch of bandits; how much worse could it be? The Japanese team is going to get the Dark Noble Mantle, why do we bother supporting them? I’m too lazy to go,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Jiang Shaoxu, what did you mean by that?” Mo Fan pressed.

“I can’t say for sure. Anyway, we’ll know once we go to White Head Harbor!”

Since Jiang Shaoxu had said so, the two had no choice but to set out for White Head Harbor while bringing Oni along…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

White Head Harbor…

A boat with neon lights and a bar on it was docked at the harbor. It was a relatively famous bar at White Head Harbor. The people in nearby cities often came to gather there.

On the deck was a table with eight chairs. It was currently seated with a man with an afro in a coat, and a man dressed in fancy clothes like a noble.

The afro man was smoking a cigar. A woman in a bunny outfit was serving him and massaging his shoulders. He placed his legs on the table, his boots stained with mud and blood within inches from the face of the man dressed in luxury clothes. He said with a smile, “Mayor Lauren, I thought we could easily come to a deal today. My brothers will soon become your loyal Magicians, but from what I know, some of my men were sent to prison by your subordinates a few days ago…”

“Didn’t you give me your word that your men would behave? They were arrested by a Hunter Master, he’s not my subordinate,” replied Lauren with a smile.

“I don’t care. I only have so many men, they are willing to listen to me because I care about them. But now, my men are imprisoned in your cells, and are going to be delivered to the Sacred Hall of Liberty. If I still proceed to make a deal with you despite what happened, how am I going to explain it to my men?” Casso said.

“It’s not really a big problem. I knew you’re going to ask for them, so in order to express our sincerity, I’ve already released them,” said Lauren.

“That’s more like it!” Casso smiled. The menacing look on his face faded away.

“Does that mean we’ve come to a deal?” Lauren asked.

“For now, I must see the revocation of the bounty on our heads first. After all, my men might have done some wrong things before. Without the revocation, the people of the Sacred Hall of Liberty and the Hunter Alliance will never stop troubling us. I don’t want to see anyone bringing the heads of my men to you, demanding rewards,” Casso demanded.

“The revocation won’t come any time soon.”

“That’s fine, I have plenty of time to wait. Besides, we aren’t really tired of what we used to do yet,” Casso smiled back.

Lauren’s face turned pale. He said in a softened voice, “Fine, I’ll try my best to request it for you, but the next Red Tide is coming soon…”

“Mayor, don’t you worry about that. Since I’m now the general of White Head City, I won’t let some little monsters disrupt the peace of our city, HAHAHA!” Casso burst out laughing.

Casso’s laugh was still echoing in the air when a Magician in a black outfit silently showed up beside Casso and whispered in his ears.

Casso frowned. His gaze immediately sharpened and glared at Lauren as he snapped furiously, “You better explain this!”

“Explain? Explain what?” Lauren asked with a confused face.

“If you’re thinking of baiting me here with your lies to get rid of me, I can assure you that the cities you are in charge of will be flowing with blood soon!” Casso promised in a heavy voice.

Mayor Lauren was stunned. He immediately glanced at the assistant beside him.

The woman seemed to have just received some news too. She quickly whispered into Mayor Lauren’s ear.

Mayor Lauren immediately came to a realization. He quickly donned a smile, “It’s truly a misunderstanding. We’ve known each other for many years, do you seriously not understand what I think? I’ll deal with them; you and your men can come on board first.”

“You better take care of it. If I have to do it, it won’t be so simple. I don’t care where they are from!” Casso said.

He blew a long whistle, signaling the members of the Red Ornaments Guild to board the boat.

The Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild obeyed Casso’s quickly, boarding the boat in groups and did not dare to move without receiving an order from their boss.

——

Mayor Lauren left the boat with a group of soldiers in dark blue uniforms. They headed for the shipyard.

“Defend this place,” Mayor Lauren ordered.

The Battlemages in dark blue outfits immediately spread out and quickly sealed off the paths leading to the boat in a very efficient manner.

Mayor Lauren stood there with a dark face. His glittering eyes were staring at a group of young Magicians approaching the boat, breathing heavily.

“Stop right there! What do you think you’re doing here?” snapped Mayor Lauren coldly.

Shou Watani of the Japanese team was leading the young Magicians He noticed that the paths leading to the boat were guarded by soldiers in dark blue outfits.

Shou Watani was puzzled. Did the local government obtain the information, and was planning to take down the Red Ornaments Guild too?

“We…we are following the Sacred Hall of Liberty’s orders to annihilate the Red Ornaments Guild. Perhaps you have the same goal in mind too?” asked Shou Watani.

“Humph, since when do they need a bunch of kids to do their jobs? Just go back to where you’re from, this isn’t a place for you!” Lauren ordered.

Shou Watani was startled. He glanced at the black floating bar.

He believed his intel was accurate. He was confident that the people of the Red Ornaments Guild were right there on the huge boat. They could basically wipe out the Red Ornaments Guild if they could make their way to the boat. However, he never thought the local government would send soldiers to guard the place.

The one that gave them the mission was the Sacred Hall of Liberty, the most powerful Magic Association in the Americas. To avoid alerting the enemy, they did not even notify the local government. They were planning to tell the government once they were done with the operation.

But now, the government was protecting the boat that was packed with the members of the Red Ornaments Guild, preventing them from carrying out their operation!

“That’s quite a surprise, learning that the local government has a close relationship with a bunch of unforgivable criminals,” Nanyu mocked as she easily guessed the truth.

Mayor Lauren furrowed his brows. He was clearly displeased with the comment.

“Sir, I believe you know who the people on the boat are; please don’t intervene in our mission,” Shou Watani said.

Mayor Lauren harrumphed coldly, “I know who you are, but I’m warning you as the mayor of this city, the people on the boat have been recruited by White Head City as Battlemages. They are loyal servants of White Head City. You have no right to disturb them!”

“Recruit? What kind of joke is that? You’ve recruited a bunch of criminals that have been robbing your cities, towns, and villages?”

“You better leave at once. Otherwise, I’ll accuse you of interfering with public affairs. I won’t go easy on you!” Lauren declared firmly.

“Mayor, you must be Mayor Lauren. Your actions are quite an eye-opener. Don’t you think you’re compromising to the Red Ornaments Guild? How disappointed will the victims and their families be when they realize what you’ve done?” the Japanese girl in the blue sailor outfit snapped angrily.

“What do a bunch of students who live comfortably in an ivory tower know?” The mayor was infuriated.

“Do you think the Sacred Hall of Liberty will agree with you?”

“Sacred Hall of Liberty? Don’t even mention their name. If they really cared, they should have sent their Magicians and annihilated the sea monsters in the Caribbean Sea. However, they are simply enjoying their wines and food when our cities and towns are destroyed by the sea monsters when the season arrives. They only know to point their fingers around, but without me, this city would long have become a breeding ground for the sea monsters!” snapped Mayor Lauren.

“Either way, that doesn’t justify working together with those people that are worse than the sea monsters!” retorted Nanyu.

Mayor Lauren was too stubborn to listen to her.

Their country was not as developed as the countries from which the young Magicians came from, let alone the United States of America and its enormous Magic Association, the Sacred Hall of Liberty.

The number of their soldiers was very limited, and the budget of their government was nowhere enough.

There were many countries in the Caribbean, with different races and religions. However, most of the countries felt greatly threatened by the sea monsters, and as a governor of an impoverished country, the only possible solution was to recruit the Red Ornaments Guild.

The country had promised the Red Ornaments Guild a city in return for protection from the sea monsters. First, they would keep the criminals under control, and second, they would eliminate the threat of the sea monsters. It was a brilliant plan to regain peace in the country, albeit with risks involved.

As for the national teams, the mayor had no reason to receive them warmly!

“If we team up and eliminate the Red Ornaments Guild, wouldn’t that just solve the problem once and for all?” Shou Watani said angrily.

“I don’t need your help, leave at once! If you dare use magic on my territory and cause any damage or casualties, I will arrest you according to the laws of our country!” Lauren proclaimed mercilessly.

“Unbelievable, this is ridiculous, how can the government work with criminals? It’s the biggest taboo. Every country that did the same thing in history always resulted in rebellion!” snapped Nanyu.

The local government was unbelievably useless!

Not only did they not try their best to arrest the people of the Red Ornaments Guild, they even compromised with the bandits. Wouldn’t that simply provoke the bandits to act even more unruly?

They would simply be out of control!.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In the southern suburbs of White Head City, a town located quite a distance away from the city…

The houses were simple, as most of them were built as a temporary shelter for refugees.

Jiang Shaoxu, Mo Fan, and Zhao Manyan were on their way to White Head City. They happened to pass by the settlement.

“Hang on,” Jiang Shaoxu suddenly stopped the other two. She seemed to be listening to something nearby cautiously.

The two were rather confused. Mo Fan was about to say something when Jiang Shaoxu looked at him and asked seriously, “Are you sure that the members of the Red Ornaments Guild that were trying to rob Sweetgrass Village are all imprisoned?”

“Yeah, do you seriously think I’m like the kind who would set them free? Even though the money is little, we did catch them…” Mo Fan said.

“Then why am I sensing a Psychic Trace nearby?” Jiang Shaoxu frowned.

Back at Sweetgrass Village, Jiang Shaoxu had tagged some of the bandits to prevent them from running away. In the end, Mo Fan managed to catch all those bandits and hand them over to the government.

However, when they were passing by the town, Jiang Shaoxu was surprised to sense a few of the Psychic Traces nearby.

“Maybe they were temporarily imprisoned here?” Mo Fan said.

Jiang Shaoxu pointed at the town that was dimly lit and said, “It doesn’t seem like it, they are moving around rapidly like they have been set free, should be that place.”

“Speaking of which, didn’t they arrange the villagers of Sweetgrass Village to stay here?” Zhao Manyan pointed at the town as a thought crossed his mind.

Zhao Manyan was in charge of escorting the villagers to the town. After all, the Red Ornaments Guild was pretty active in this area. Without the protection of the government, the villagers were afraid that the Red Ornaments Guild would return to get their revenge, so they did not stay at their village.

Even Jiang Shaoxu was attacked in Lanshi Town, let alone the unarmed villagers!

“Wait, what? Why are those scum that we caught here in this town where the villagers are at?” said Mo Fan.

“Let’s go take a look,” Jiang Shaoxu said worriedly.

If it weren’t for the Psychic Traces, Jiang Shaoxu would not even notice the bandits were here. The three immediately went to the town after having a bad feeling.

—

In the settlement, the already dim streets were basically pitch-black as the street lamps had been broken. Even if someone happened to pass by, they would not notice there were people living here.

There was no protection, not even fences. The conditions were actually worse than Sweetgrass Village. A few of the Magicians in military uniforms had already fled for their lives. They were no match for the Red Ornaments Guild when they were under attack. The soldiers even had the urge to take off their uniforms!

“Leader, did we overdo it? So many people died. Didn’t Boss Casso warn us to behave, since he’s still trying to reach a deal with the government? Will what we did here make the boss unhappy?” a Magician with a red nose ring said.

“Boss Casso only reminded us not to place him in a difficult position. We just need to place some scales, claws, and corpses of sea monsters here. Isn’t what happened fairly obvious? Do you think the soldiers are going to overlook these obvious clues and come and investigate us?” replied the leader, Luo Ling.

“HAHA, how brilliant, yeah, there wasn’t any protection here. It’s very likely sea monsters would attack the town. (Sigh) Such a hassle! In the past, we could leave our ornaments behind so the people of the Caribbean Sea would know that it’s our doing, but now, we have to cover our acts just like those hypocritical governors,” the man with a nose ring burst out laughing.

A strong tide surged across the place with a loud noise, forming a rapid-flowing current surrounding the town that stopped people from coming in or leaving.

Traces of blood were everywhere on the ground. More than ten villagers were lying still, their bodies full of wounds from being tortured.

The chief knelt on the sand, his face almost buried into it.

His legs were numb, and the blood vessels in his brain were swelling from facing down for too long. However, he did not dare to rise to his feet or raise his head. He knew that if he looked into the man’s eyes, they would not leave a single person alive.

The other villagers were doing the same thing, kneeling on the ground and digging their faces down, like prisoners about to be executed. They were all trembling in fear.

“Old man, didn’t expect this, did you? HAHAHA!” The Magician with a nose ring stepped on the back of the chief’s head and burst into laughter, “Did you think running here is going to save you? For your amusement, White Head City is soon going to be our territory. We almost died laughing when we learned that you came here to seek refuge!”

“Please, just let us go, take whatever you want, just spare our lives! We’re nothing but a bunch of farmers,” the chief struggled to speak.

“And we are no murderers either, there’s no point killing you all. We are only here to teach you that the righteous Hunters aren’t going to save you. Offending us is actually the worst thing you did. I assume you know what you should say if anyone asks?” the Magician asked with a smile.

“Yes, yes, they…they were killed by sea monsters… the sea monsters attacked the village,” the chief answered, trembling.

“Make sure the others hear you, too,” the Magician said.

The chief slowly turned around. His face was covered by mud and blood. He even had trouble opening his eyes. He looked at the villagers with their heads buried into the ground. He had no choice but to swallow the grudge and anger he was feeling and said, “Do…do you all understand? They were killed by sea monsters.”

“Yes, we do!”

“It was the sea monsters that killed them!”

Luo Ling wore a satisfied smile and said, “Your Sweetgrass Village is pretty valuable. Lately, the sweetgrass is being sold at quite a high price in other places. We’ll let you go if you obey us and just keep planting the sweetgrass. White Head City will soon be under our control. If you don’t obey us, you’ll end up like them. Obey us, and you’ll be safe.”

“Yes, sure…”

—

Outside the boundary set up by the spell Rolling Wave, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Jiang Shaoxu were infuriated upon realizing what had happened.

The Magician with a nose ring… Mo Fan clearly remembered handing him over to the government. He was told that these bandits would be delivered to the Enforcement Union or the Sacred Hall of Liberty and be punished according to their crimes. How did they show up here and pick on the villagers again?

Mo Fan was so furious that he was breathing fire. He did not care how many people the enemy had, and how strong they were, he turned himself into a bolt of purple-black lightning.

After crossing the boundary, Mo Fan swept across the night sky and landed in front of the Magician with a nose ring. The wild lightning spread to the surroundings and formed a shocking lightning web attacking the bandits.

The group of bandits was not very big. There were just over ten of them in total, and the strongest among them, Luo Ling, was only an Intermediate Magician.

Mo Fan lifted Luo Ling up like he was picking up a chick and slammed him hard into the ground!

“It’s…it’s the Magician from the other day!” a little girl from the village blurted out excitedly.

Her eyes flickered eagerly. The Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild were so strong that they could butcher the villagers like livestock, but in front of the Asian man, they were the livestock waiting to be butchered!

“It’s you again!” the Magician with a nose ring snapped furiously.

Despite his anger, he was soon beaten up by Mo Fan’s terrifying strength.

Mo Fan tore his arms off and stepped on his face!

“You bunch of imbeciles, I spared your lives before, but you dared come back here still!” Mo Fan roared.

Jiang Shaoxu went up to the villagers. She was infuriated when she saw the corpses on the ground that had died horrible deaths.

“Are…are you alright? Quick, rise, we’ve subdued the bandits,” Jiang Shaoxu told them.

The villagers remained on their knees. No one dared to rise.

“Why is it you again? Why did you come and offend them again?!” a woman rose up and cursed furiously in a panic.

Jiang Shaoxu was stunned. She thought she had heard it wrong.

“Please don’t come again, you’re only going to make things worse,” an old, white-haired villager said in a trembling voice.

“Yeah, yeah, we were fine before, but after what you did, they are going to come and get their revenge again. We won’t be able to survive their wrath.”

The villagers did recognize Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu, but instead of expressing their gratitude like last time, they were actually blaming them. Jiang Shaoxu was quite dumbfounded.

“We have come here to save you!” protested Jiang Shaoxu.

“Save? How are you going to save us? Just stop getting in their way! They have magic, and are too strong for us. You aren’t scared of them because you can easily beat them, but how about us? Once you leave and they can’t find you, they will just vent their anger on us… will you only stop when everyone in our village is tortured to death?” the old villager replied as she rose to her feet.

“So you’re saying we’ve done something wrong instead?” Jiang Shaoxu uttered a self-mocking laugh.

Jiang Shaoxu was already infuriated by the Red Ornaments Guild’s deeds, yet she felt like her lungs were going to explode after seeing the villagers’ reactions.

Jiang Shaoxu had almost died to the Red Ornaments Guild when they tried to get their revenge in Lanshi Town… because she had saved the villagers!

It was surprising how dumb humans could be when they were overwhelmed by fear and a sense of uselessness. They could not even distinguish between right and wrong. The villagers thought the bandits of the Red Ornaments Guild were being merciful to them, while their rescuers had come to harm them!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I have to be honest, it’s hard being a good person. Just look at me, I never wanted to be a good person. These people should just die, get raped, or get tortured, or get trampled to the ground like slaves! They deserve it, whatever happens to them is none of my business!” declared Zhao Manyan.

Jiang Shaoxu learned something new. She never knew a place or a country could be this petty.

She wanted to help, but they were beyond rescue.

Mo Fan had seen people that were much worse. After all, when there were millions of victims in a situation like the Calamity of Ancient Capital, it was possible to find all kinds of people.

As such, Mo Fan was not really surprised by the villagers’ reactions.

That being said, Mo Fan strongly believed in one thing: it was unwise to think that a criminal would suddenly become merciful and stop harming people. Scum like them that were corrupted and stunk to the bones would only become even worse. Their only goal was to obtain a greater pleasure from conquering weaklings, thus the situation would only worsen if the villagers kept compromising!

Mo Fan was no saint, and he had no obligation to teach the villagers the reality. They could only understand the truth after experiencing it themselves, and realizing how idiotic their decision was. They would regret it all when they paid a greater price in the future.

To Mo Fan, it was none of his business. Besides, he was mainly displeased by how scornful these members of the Red Ornaments Guild were. If he did not trample them to death, he would be sulking the whole day!

Who cared if the villagers were grateful or disgusted, it was their own business. Mo Fan never expected his soul to transcend after receiving their gratitude. After all, if they actually showed some respect to him, he would not mind uprooting the entire Red Ornaments Guild. He could easily do it. If the villager rose to their feet and told him firmly that they wanted the Red Ornaments Guild to be punished according to their crimes, Mo Fan would not mind going straight to their nest and killing their boss.

But if they wanted to kneel, just let them kneel and acknowledge the people of the Red Ornaments Guild as their daddies. Let them enjoy it, they were adults, they should be responsible for the words they said and the decisions they made!

“Aren’t you angry?” Jiang Shaoxu looked at Mo Fan with a confused face.

“Why should I be angry? I have saved a lot more people before, I don’t really care about them,” Mo Fan said.

“…” Jiang Shaoxu was rather amused by Mo Fan’s words.

What did he mean by he had saved a lot of people, so he didn’t really care?

Fine, based on how merciless Mo Fan was when he killed Lu Yilin, she could easily tell he was far from a good person, or a saint.

“Err…can you… can you please let us go? How dare those assholes not show any respect to Advanced Magicians like you? Let us go, and we’ll punish them, and teach them how to be grateful!” the face of the Magician with a nose ring was covered in blood, but he still tried to force a smile.

“That’s none of your concern. I am no saint, but my eyes find a scum that murders without blinking like you very annoying,” Mo Fan said with a smile and narrowed eyes.

The Magician immediately wet his pants. He knew Mo Fan was not a kind man when he first met him, daring to rob their Red Ornaments Guild. As he thought, the guy was nothing but a maniac!

The Magician with a nose ring begged for his life. Even some of the villagers were begging him not to kill the people of the Red Ornaments Guild.

Mo Fan ignored their pleas and tossed the Magician into a rhomboid that immediately compressed into a shape that perfectly fit him, and crushed him to pieces!

This time, Mo Fan did not let a single one escape. He took turns killing the bandits without even blinking. The Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild soon lay still on the ground, just like the villagers that they had killed.

Zhao Manyan felt like their corpses were an eyesore. He quickly summoned a scorching golden light and turned their corpses into ashes, allowing their souls to move on.

“Wait… please wait!”

The three were about to leave when the tanned young girl came chasing after them. Her English was not fluent, and her eyes had a determined look, yet her expression and her body seemed somewhat lost.

“We’re leaving, since you asked us not to meddle in your business. What do you want now?” Jiang Shaoxu was not a little girl anymore. She had already recovered from her anger.

“I…I have come to thank you, for killing those bad guys…my name is Jenny, I…I want…I want…” The little girl’s eyes glistened with tears. It was likely that her family members were among the villagers that had been killed.

“What do you want, say it,” Mo Fan coaxed her.

“I…” Young girl Jenny was having trouble talking. Tears kept bursting out from her eyes.

Mo Fan went up and crouched slightly to reach her eye level. He asked with a smile, “Do you want us to take out the Red Ornaments Guild for you?”

The girl’s eyes immediately widened, as if she could not understand why Mo Fan knew what she wanted to say.

“Jenny, that’s too much of a favor to ask, they have already helped us twice. It’s a blessing that God has given us, but the Red Ornaments Guild is too dangerous, and even the government is afraid of them. How can you ask them to put their lives at risk?” the chief staggered forwards. He was in a pretty bad shape.

“Indeed, there’s no way we can do it for you, considering what your people have said to us,” said Zhao Manyan.

“The God of Ocean wants us to suffer, thus we have no choice but to accept it. I apologize on behalf of the people that have lost their minds in fear. No matter what the fate of our village is, we are grateful that you’ve saved our lives.” The chief was a rational man. He spoke sincerely to Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Jiang Shaoxu.

The young girl Jenny was still looking at Mo Fan with tearful eyes, as he was the strongest person that she had ever met. He was able to beat the crap out of the bandits!

“But that’s not what you are thinking?” Mo Fan asked with the same smile.

“My villagers said bad things to you, and the Red Ornaments Guild is indeed terrifying… I guess I’m asking too much from you,” Jenny said.

“You just need to answer me; did you seriously mean what you said?” Mo Fan repeated.

Jenny looked into Mo Fan’s dark-brown eyes. It felt like she could see the determination and confidence in the big brother’s heart, the same look she saw from her father when he was lying in a pool of blood!

“Ye…yes!” Tears burst out from Jenny’s eyes again, as if all the sorrow and anger in her heart had burst out like the water pouring out from a broken dam.

The others in the village were willing to compromise in order to stay alive, willing to be slaves to the bandits, but she had witnessed her father dying right in front of her. She could not imagine obeying her father’s murderers, and living under their control. She just could not do it. If hatred alone was enough to murder someone, she would have killed the people of the Red Ornaments Guild a thousand times! What right did they have to kill innocent people just to satisfy their greed? They had already taken her everything. Her beloved father was the only thing she had left!

“Mo Fan, don’t be ridiculous, taking down the entire Red Ornaments Guild isn’t an easy task. Are you sure about giving your promise? Didn’t we say not to care about these dumb villagers anymore?” Zhao Manyan blurted out. He was worried that Mo Fan would give his promise without considering the consequences.

It was a good thing to serve justice, but it still depended on the situation. The Red Ornaments Guild was not just a small organization that could be uprooted easily. The advisors only asked them to take down the Red Ornaments Guild, not uproot them. In simpler words, the Red Ornaments Guild had crossed the line lately, so the national teams were asked to kill or arrest as many of their members as they could. However, uprooting the Red Ornaments Guild was definitely out of their scope. It was something that the Sacred Hall of Liberty had to worry about.

Didn’t Mo Fan see that the poor local government was already working with the Red Ornaments Guild? It was true that the local government is extremely unreliable, but it also implied how powerful the Red Ornaments Guild was!

Mo Fan did not give Jenny an answer. He patted her head and started heading in White Head City’s direction.

—

Zhao Manyan and Jiang Shaoxu quickly caught up to Mo Fan. They realized something was wrong about his expression, seeing a murderous intent in his eyes. Zhao Manyan said, “Are you sure about this?”

“Why not?” asked Mo Fan in return.

Zhao Manyan was instantly left speechless.

-He’s right, why not!?-

Any human with a conscience would want to eliminate an organization like the Red Ornaments Guild!

The organization was only around because they were scary, powerful, and vengeful.

However, Mo Fan did not put so much effort into learning magic just so he to reroute his path when he stumbled onto an organization like the Red Ornaments Guild!

If he found anyone an eyesore and decided that the person was a pest to the world, he would simply erase them from existence. It was not like he was too weak to do it. It might be troublesome, but so be it. It was not like their efforts were in vain. Not only would they be able to claim the rewards, he could also secure the Dark Noble Mantle too, while conveniently helping the young girl from the village get her revenge!

Make money, trample on people, slaughtering scum, rescuing young girls! The favor definitely suited his initial motives that drove him to become a Magicians!

He had grown a lot stronger since he started learning magic. If he had to think twice before trampling on a group of assholes, he should just go home and study instead!

Therefore, why shouldn’t he uproot the Red Ornaments Guild?

“Mo Fan, I’m getting more impressed by your courage. You really dare challenge a big malignant tumor of the Caribbean Sea, just like that!” Jiang Shaoxu smiled widely.

Even though Jiang Shaoxu was not pleased by the villagers’ reactions, it did not really matter. She was not risking her lives for those idiotic villagers, but to serve justice on behalf of the young girl Jenny, and for herself…

She simply wanted to take down the Red Ornaments Guild, nothing else!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When the three arrived at the White Head Harbor, Mo Fan was just in time to see the team in a deadlock with the army.

It was an utterly ridiculous thing to see. Not only did the army fail to protect the villagers that were going through hell, they were straightening their chests while protecting a bunch of bandits. Mo Fan seriously had no words to describe how ‘friendly’ the local government was!

“What do we do now?” Akira Matsuki asked.

“What can we do? We can only report the matter to the advisors and ask them to give us another mission. This country is beyond redemption,” Shou Watani replied.

“But it took us great effort just to get the intel, such a let-down!”

The members of the three national teams were left with no choice. They could only withdraw from the area since it did not make sense to clash directly with the local government. After all, it was unwise to do anything stupid in someone else’s territory.

“Mo Fan, you’re here?” Nanyu saw Mo Fan, and immediately noticed Jiang Shaoxu was unharmed too. She let out a relieved sigh.

Ai Jiangtu was about to say something when he saw Mo Fan walking toward the heavily protected White Head Harbor with a serious face.

Ai Jiangtu immediately realized something was wrong, but he did not say a word.

“You, don’t come any closer, I won’t show you any mercy!” the captain of the soldiers snapped.

Mo Fan raised his head and looked at the captain that was a lot taller than him.

The tall captain was stunned when he took a clearer look at Mo Fan’s face. He exclaimed, “Why are you here?”

Mo Fan also recognized the tall captain. What a coincidence, it was the same person that he handed the bandits to, the one that gave him the petty rewards!

“I have a question for you; what did you do to the bandits of the Red Ornaments Guild that I caught?” Mo Fan demanded, staring at the man’s face.

“What did I do? It’s none of your business!” the captain said firmly.

“Did you know those assholes went to the outskirts and killed a dozen people? They even trampled the unarmed villagers to the ground like slaves. Did you release them or not?!” Mo Fan asked again.

The captain was startled. Mo Fan could easily tell he was panicking just by looking at his expression.

The captain tried to hold his ground and exclaimed in a loud voice, “So what if I released them? This isn’t somewhere you’re supposed to be! Leave at once, or I’ll arrest you!”

When Mo Fan saw the man talking back arrogantly without showing any empathy to the villagers, he could feel flames bursting from his chest.

“Aren’t you even ashamed to say that!?” Mo Fan’s fist burst into flames, and he threw it at the tall captain.

Mo Fan was now able to cast Intermediate Spells in an instant. It took the captain by surprise. He barely cast a Water Barrier to protect himself, but the Basic Spell was almost non-existent against Mo Fan’s Fire Element!

The fierce and fiery dragon knocked the captain into the air. The scorching flames filled with Mo Fan’s anger quickly burned him to ashes!

The ashes fell down before the soldiers. Everyone, including Mayor Lauren, was dumbfounded. They could not believe the young man had just killed the captain right in front of everyone!

The few remains of the captain were scorched black. The heat was still lingering in the air, with fierce flames burning in Mo Fan’s eyes. His action completely shocked the national teams and the soldiers. The whole place fell deadly silent, and it took them quite a while to collect their thoughts!

“Don’t you f**king think you’re not a jerk just because you’re wearing a uniform!” Mo Fan glared at the scorched corpse. His murderous aura froze the other soldiers in their spots!

Mayor Lauren’s face was twitching in anger!

How bold of him, daring to kill his soldiers right in front of him. Did he have any respect for the laws!?

“You…you dare kill my soldier, I swear I’m going to arrest you!” snapped Lauren furiously.

Mo Fan glanced at the mayor and said disdainfully, “I’m going to walk past you and find every single member of the Red Ornaments Guild on that boat. I’m going to kill them all. If any of you want to stop me, just go ahead and try it. A bunch of useless pricks in uniforms. Why don’t you wear some red clothes and ornaments instead, since they suit your identity better!”

“Damn it…damn it, don’t you think you can do whatever you want just because you’re an Advanced Magician. I’m going to behead you here at the White Head Harbor!” Mayor Lauren totally lost his cool.

At his order, the soldiers immediately spread out and surrounded Mo Fan.

There were quite a lot of soldiers around. They stood in lines with magical auras rising from their bodies. The air nearby had gathered under the control of the Wind Element!

Zhao Manyan and Jiang Shaoxu immediately jumped up next to Mo Fan. It was obvious that they were going to take on the useless government together with Mo Fan.

“Idiots, what are your men doing, clashing with the government like that!” Shou Watani cursed.

-Are the members of the Chinese team out of their minds? Don’t they know they are going to be punished if they stirred troubles in someone else’s territory?-

“Tell them to stop, quick!” The Indian team was afraid of stirring up troubles too. It was unwise to challenge the local government’s army!

“What an idiot; something is seriously wrong with Mo Fan’s head!” snapped Zu Jiming furiously.

Could he not drag the whole team down with him if he wanted to die? He had just killed a soldier from the government’s army. Did he seriously not know the word ‘death’!?

Ai Jiangtu and Nanyu exchanged glances with one another. They both walked forward silently and stood between Mo Fan and the soldiers.

They were both soldiers of China. The blood of justice in their bones was stronger than Mo Fan’s. If they could not distinguish who was right and wrong, they had no right to be soldiers!

As Mo Fan had mentioned, instead of saying that the government had recruited the Red Ornaments Guild, it made more sense to say the government had actually joined the Red Ornaments Guild instead!

“So the two of you can’t stand it any longer either?” Jiang Shaoxu smiled when she saw Nanyu and Ai Jiangtu joining the fight.

“We’ll keep the government army at bay, but try to go easy on them too. We don’t want to over-complicate things. Go and take out the Red Ornaments Guild,” Ai Jiangtu advised them.

It did not matter if Mo Fan had killed a soldier, since the man was a serious problem, setting dangerous criminals free like that. It would still be acceptable even if Mo Fan was brought to the International Court of Justice, but if Mo Fan continued to slaughter the government army, things would get really serious.

The fight was inevitable. It was impossible for Mo Fan to withhold his anger. The truth was, they also had the urge to kill all the soldiers when they realized how ridiculous they were.

However, it was necessary to consider the overall situation. Ai Jiangtu was trying his best to send Mo Fan to the Red Ornaments Guild, to prevent him from clashing too much with the government army…

“Alright, thanks!” Mo Fan nodded at Ai Jiangtu and Nanyu.

Mo Fan knew what they were thinking. Even though he was quite unruly with his methods, he did understand it was unwise to cause unnecessary troubles.

“I do agree they are ridiculous,” the Japanese girl in the sailor outfit said.

“Yeah, to think that he would kill the soldier!” Akira Matsuki said.

“I was saying that the government army is being ridiculous. The Red Ornaments Guild must be punished,” the Japanese girl said.

“…” Akira Matsuki was left speechless.

Shou Watani frowned. He immediately realized something was not right when he saw the Chinese team trying to help the three clear a path into the White Head Harbor.

“I can’t stand these idiots either; count me in!” A gentle-looking man from the Japanese team suddenly joined the fight.

“How can you count me out for something like this? HAHAHA, here I come!” A burst of fearless laughter took place among the Indian team, and a mature-looking woman flew across with veils around her and landed in the middle of the fight.

They were all young people. If every team had timid members, they also had members with temperaments like Mo Fan!

The truth was, they already had the urge to force their way in when the government army stopped them. However, they simply held back when they saw the others retreating.

Now that someone had taken the lead, they were more than happy to join the fun!

-Government army my ass, aren’t these assholes ashamed to call themselves soldiers? They thought they were right when they were protecting a bunch of bandits and criminals!-

“We can’t let China take the lead; stay here and keep the soldiers under control, we’ll head to the boat!”

“I have no intention to be involved in this mess… damn it, which asshole tried to attack me with Ice Lock, are you tired of living!?” A Wind Magician of the Japanese team was trying to stay out of trouble. However, he immediately turned into a savage beast and rushed to the front when he was attacked!

As the fight broke out, the members of the Indian, Chinese, and Japanese teams who did not want to be involved were forced to join the fight too, mainly because the government army was clueless about the situation. They assumed everyone was on Mo Fan’s side, and since someone had taken the lead, the others were surely going to cause them trouble!

The national teams were already annoyed by the government army’s smug attitude. Since the soldiers had attacked them first, it was not their fault fighting in self-defense. In the end, only the person taking the lead was fully responsible for what happened. Anyway, it was time to teach these useless soldiers a lesson!

“Night Rakshasa, clear a path for us!” Jiang Shaoxu immediately asked Jiang Yu’s impressive Contracted Beast.

Ahead of them, a petite dark figure moved around swiftly. Each time it landed, a soldier would fall to the ground.

“Seriously, why am I always in trouble when I’m with you!?” Zhao Manyan was maintaining a defensive shield, tanking all the attacks from the soldiers by himself.

Despite complaining, Zhao Manyan continued to follow Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu. For some reason, he was actually quite excited!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

On the deck, Casso who was wearing a huge coat stood close to the rails. He burst out laughing when he saw the government army fighting the people that had come to take them out.

“HAHAHA, look at them, just look at them… they started fighting one another instead, HAHAHA!” Casso laughed wildly.

The other members of the Red Ornaments Guild were laughing too. Years ago, they were on the run like rats in the street, hiding from the government army, Hunters, and the Sacred Hall of Liberty. But now, they were drinking stouts on the deck of a boat, watching the government army like they were putting up a show.

“Boss, the sea monsters that attack the White Head City every season are pretty strong, are we seriously going to fight them?” a fatty with a huge belly asked.

“Fight the sea monsters? Not a chance! We’ll leave once we plunder enough money from this city. Does that stupid Lauren seriously think I care about being a general? With money, we can go to a better place. We can build a city, a kingdom, a place where even the assholes of the Sacred Hall of Liberty won’t dare to come!” Casso burst out laughing.

“Boss, that’s brilliant!”

“All hail the boss!”

—

The shipyard…

“Stop them, stop them at once!” yelled Lauren furiously.

A huge squad of Magicians caught up to Mo Fan and his crew, but as soon as they were about to cast spells to entrap the three, a tiger-like beast with metal plates suddenly appeared.

They had no idea whose Contracted Beast the beast was. It simply charged at the soldiers and rammed anyone it came close to. The formation of the soldiers collapsed instantly, and the soldiers were having trouble using magic.

Mo Fan, Jiang Shaoxu, Zhao Manyan, and Night Rakshasa took hold of the chance to proceed to the White Head Harbor, leaving the soldiers behind.

Either the others had overwhelming firepower, or some of the captains among the soldiers were not trying very hard to stop them, because the soldiers stopped chasing them after they reached White Head Harbor.

—

As they arrived at the White Head Harbor, the Swift Star Wolf appeared out of nowhere. A woman was lying on his back. It was Oni, whom they had held hostage.

Mo Fan had sealed off Oni’s movements. Her mind was also suppressed by Jiang Shaoxu’s spell. She looked worse than an ordinary young girl.

As they approached the boat, Mo Fan glanced at the dimly-lit deck.

He knew there were people on the deck, and quite a large group too, but Mo Fan was not afraid. He carried Oni on his shoulder and yelled at the deck.

“Isn’t that Oni!”

“My God, they caught Oni!”

A few heads poked out from the deck. They immediately recognized Oni in his grip.

Oni was an Advanced Magician. Even though she was relatively weak among the Advanced Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild, she did have a certain status in the organization. Besides, she was a fairly good-looking woman among the bandits, who were mostly men. Many of the members were her die-hard fans.

When the Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild saw Oni was caught, they immediately went enraged.

“Casso, save me!” Oni screamed at the deck.

A bulky silhouette in a huge coat appeared on the deck. His sharp eyes slowly moved into the light and glanced down at them coldly.

Zhao Manyan and Jiang Shaoxu’s hearts skipped a beat. It seemed like the cultivation of the man on the deck was a lot stronger than theirs. Otherwise, why were they feeling such great pressure from him?

“Kid, let her go, and I won’t be fussy about what you’ve done. I can also promise you that my men won’t trouble you anymore.” It was obvious that Casso cared a lot about Oni when he personally asked Mo Fan to let her go.

“Your men won’t trouble me, since none of you are going to leave this place alive today!” Mo Fan was completely fearless.

“That’s some high-sounding statement, my Red Ornaments Guild…”

“AHHH!!!”

Casso had yet to finish his sentence when Mo Fan suddenly used the Space Element to snap Oni’s neck right in front of the members of the Red Ornaments Guild!

Oni was not prepared to die. She initially thought Mo Fan was trying to negotiate with Casso. Even her last scream was incredibly brief, filled with a hint of disbelief.

Oni’s eyes showed their whites as her head fell sideways. It looked like her neck was going to fall to the ground at any second.

Casso almost vomited blood in the midst of his sentence.

Such arrogance! As the president of the Red Ornaments Guild, he was used to having people fear and respect him. Only he was allowed to display his arrogance, but to his surprise, this young Magician dared to snap his trusted subordinate’s neck before he even finished his sentence!

“I’m not in the mood to listen to your bullshit. Come down here, I’ll beat you into minced meat!” Mo Fan tossed Oni into the sea. “Feel free to fish up her corpse!”

“Mo Fan… didn’t you say she might come in handy? Is that seriously what you meant?” Zhao Manyan could not help but murmur.

It was incredibly cruel. Zhao Manyan had to admit that he was unable to force himself to kill a good-looking woman, despite the crimes she had committed and the number of people she had killed.

But Mo Fan was different. As soon as she was on bad terms with him… no no, she did not even say a word, but Mo Fan decided to snap her neck out of nowhere. He only kept her alive to demonstrate his resolve to the bandits of the Red Ornaments Guild!

How insane!

“I’m going to snap your neck too!” Casso was infuriated. He uttered a roar and jumped down from the deck.

Soon, lots of red figures had jumped down from the boat. They were all wearing red outfits and ornaments. They did not look like devils and monsters, but their murderous aura was enough to mess up the sea breezes!

“Damn it, they have taken the lead! Let’s engage!” Akira Matsuki and Shou Watani of the Japanese team had shown up.

The mature woman of the Indian team arrived with a few other members, too. They went straight for the boat, and immediately attacked the members of the Red Ornaments Guild.

The people of the Red Ornaments Guild started fighting against the Indian and Japanese teams before Mo Fan and Casso started their fight. Elemental energy and ripples surged across the place, turning the whole place messy.

“He’s all yours. I’ll handle that one over there!” Zhao Manyan could easily tell from Casso’s aura that he was not a Magician who had reached the Advanced Level recently.

Zhao Manyan soon found his worthy opponent, a skinny woman in a red mink coat. The woman did not have a strong aura. She was most likely an easy target.

“He’s just a little shrimp, boss, you don’t need to do it yourself! I’ll break every bone in his body for you,” said the fatty with a huge belly.

“Take out that woman, she’s a Psychic Magician!” Casso scanned the place and immediately identified Jiang Shaoxu’s Element.

“A Psychic Magician… oh, alright, I’ll communicate with her then,” the fatty grinned wickedly and looked at Jiang Shaoxu pervertedly.

“Boss, we’ll test his strength first!” A few Magicians of the Red Ornaments Guild trying to fawn over their president stepped forward, trying to flank Mo Fan.

To their surprise, before they could make their move, a small black creature lunged at them, swiping its black claws around. One of the Magicians were shredded instantly.

Casso frowned and laughed hollowly, “It looks like you do have a trick or two up in your sleeves, but you’ve seriously infuriated me today. I will bury you all together!”

Casso decided to join the battle. His target was none other the Mo Fan who had stepped on his toes.

Since Mo Fan was able to defeat Oni, it clearly implied how strong he was. His men were already in a messy fight against the others. Casso did not plan to waste his time further. He had to take out the smug kid and proceed to kill the rest of them!

“Eyes of the Rock Demon: Muslin of the Sky!”

Casso finished his Star Constellation quicker than Mo Fan had imagined. His sharp eyes emitted an intimidating brown light, summoning orange-yellow sand particles from his surroundings.

The sand particles might look tiny, but when they stacked together, they were able to turn into any kind of weapon, similar to the spell Plummeting Rays.

The sand particles rapidly approached Mo Fan and started spinning. When the tiny sand particles were spinning at incredible speeds, they were as dangerous as a blade. The stone boulder behind Mo Fan was instantly shattered into pieces.

“Sky Muslin Strangle!”

Casso controlled the killing sand with his Eyes of the Rock Demon. The sand was spinning fiercely now.

When Mo Fan was surrounded by the sky muslin, he swiftly sank into his shadow. It quickly split into four and fled in different directions.

The abilities of Mo Fan’s Shadow Element had improved significantly when he was Awakening his Stars. Mo Fan’s shadow could now split into four when he cast Fleeing Shadow, similar to Councilman Luo Mian’s Shadow Element in the past.

Casso had trouble distinguishing between the shadows. He had no choice but to split the killing sand into four parts and chase after the shadows.

The Sky Muslin’s strength was dependent on the number of sand particles, and was greatly weakened after splitting into four. Mo Fan let out a roar when he rose up from the shadow, using his will to shatter the killing sand circling him.

“Petrify!”

Casso was able to cast different spells adeptly. As his brown eyes flickered, the plank that he was standing on was soon dyed gray, like a layer of hard concrete. It rapidly spread a hundred meters away from the plank!

“Conduct Lightning!”

A bolt of purple-black lightning burst out of Mo Fan’s body as he transformed into a lightning bolt, dashing across the gray area and charging at Casso. He continued to release lightning into the air, forming a giant lightning web flying at Casso!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Dense lightning scattered across the place. Strong currents flowed back and forth around Casso and struck him continuously.

However, Casso did not bother dodging the lightning. The sand particles lingering in the air swiftly gathered around him and turned into a sand shield in the shape of an egg, warding him from the lightning.

The lightning soon lost its effects, unable to penetrate the sand shield.

Inside the shield, Casso stomped the ground heavily. The effects of the spell Petrify started spreading rapidly once again.

Mo Fan immediately activated the Blood Tabi when he found himself in a disadvantageous position.

The Petrify effects spread quickly and immediately turned everything within a hundred meters into hard, stiff rock. It was right behind Mo Fan’s ankle. If he was just a bit slower, his leg would have turned into stone.

“Where are you running to now!” Casso’s eyes glittered with a brown light.

The ray of light flew at Mo Fan. He immediately summoned the Departing Nether Shield as he realized that something did not feel right.

As soon as the metallic Departing Nether Shield appeared, it was instantly turned into stone after coming into contact with the light ray. It fell to the ground and broke into pieces.

Mo Fan was shocked by how outstanding Casso’s Earth Element was. He was able to use the power of Petrify freely!

“Petrify!”

Casso fired the brown ray from his eyes once again. Mo Fan quickly rolled to the side to dodge it. The wooden barrier behind him immediately turned into a brittle stony substance, and would break with the softest touch.

“If this is all you have, your death is near!” Casso’s face twisted suddenly

His skin was transforming! Mo Fan could see a blue, blood-colored mist circling Casso’s body. The outline of his body gradually turned faint as the mist thickened.

“Poison Element?” Mo Fan could sense a dangerous aura lunging at him when he looked at Casso.

Casso waved his arms. The huge coat he was wearing suddenly tore into pieces. The blue, blood-colored poison became a strong wind blowing in all directions.

“I already said that none of you are going to leave this place alive!” Casso’s face started twitching. It felt like his muscles were about to burst out of his skin.

His face was undergoing a weird transformation. His muscles were now green and kept growing. Not long after, his upper body was covered in thick, sturdy muscles. His skin was green like a toad, with lumps all over his body!

His other body parts were transforming too. The sight of it reminded Mo Fan of Fang Shaoli when her body was occupied by the Sudden-Death Poison Queen!

“He’s applying the Advanced Poison Spell to his own body!” Jiang Shaoxu gasped when she saw the transformation.

Using his own body as the host for the Poison Element and turning himself into a monster using the blood of demon creatures. This Casso’s application of the Poison Element was rather shocking, too!

“Hehehe, did I surprise you? With such a perfect transformation, killing you is like stepping on a few cockroaches!” Casso chuckled with a spooky grin on his face.

“Meteorite Fist!” Mo Fan’s fist erupted in flames. The fiery dragons from his fist pounced at the transformed Casso.

Casso stood there with the same grin on his face.

The fiery dragons rammed into Casso, but the sturdy skin and strong muscles from the transformation were like a blue-red meat armor. Mo Fan’s Meteorite Fist only left a tiny scorched mark on him!

It totally caught Mo Fan by surprise. As he was immersed in astonishment, Casso’s eerie face suddenly drew closer!

-How quick! -, were the only words Mo Fan could think of.

Casso was at least a hundred meters away a moment ago, but he was already right in front of Mo Fan in just the blink of an eye. Blades poked out of his mutated hands and extended further. Casso swung his arms at Mo Fan, trying to cut his head off!

Mo Fan quickly backed away. However, as soon as he hopped back, a stone pillar emerged from the ground!

The pillar struck Mo Fan’s back hard and tossed him into the air.

While a sudden dizziness struck Mo Fan and blurred his vision, he caught a glimpse of Casso’s unsightly face. The guy continued to chase after him, aiming the blades on his arm at Mo Fan’s chest!

“Black Snake Armor!”

Mo Fan activated the mark. The runes of the Black Snake Armor swiftly appeared on his chest in a spiraling motion to protect the spot where the attack was about to land on. The runes then spread to the rest of Mo Fan’s body parts and covered him thoroughly.

“Humph!” Casso altered his approach when he saw Mo Fan was protected by the armor. He clenched his hands into fists and slammed them into Mo Fan’s chest like he was using a sledgehammer!

Mo Fan fell from the sky and collided with the stone pillar, smashing it into pieces.

Dust lingered in the air. Mo Fan felt his bones and his head aching badly. The cunning leader of the bandits had obviously gone through lots of battles. He immediately changed his stabbing attack into a smash as soon as he saw Mo Fan was protected by the armor. The attack was still able to inflict serious damage on a Magician wearing armor!

“This guy is very strong!” Mo Fan rose to his feet and wiped the blood off his lips.

Even though he was also an Advanced Magician, the strength he displayed was nothing Oni compared to what Oni was showing. After a few rounds, not only did Mo Fan fail to deal any damage to him, he had suffered quite a number of injuries himself!

—

On the other side of a harbor, a long-haired woman in a black, golden outfit was standing on top of a flagpole like a night elf in the darkness. Her slender figure had a special, mysterious presence!

The woman’s eyes were fixed on the battle on the harbor. She sighed, “He’s forcing himself too much, trying to take on the strongest Poison Magician of the Caribbean on his own.”

“It looks like we’ll have to intervene. Otherwise, that young man is going to be in danger. Even five of him aren’t enough to defeat Casso,” a man’s voice answered from her com.

“Mmm, I know… but Casso is going to escape again,” spoke up a woman with curly hair in black clothes.

“We can’t help it; we were hoping that the three national teams could keep the Red Ornaments Guild busy for us, but it looks like most of them were getting tangled with the government army. We have to hurry, we can’t let Casso kill them all.”

“Alright, I’ll go… mmm?” the woman in the black-gold outfit was about to glide down when she suddenly saw the young man fighting Casso alone engulfed in strong flames. Even she subconsciously gasped when she felt the powerful aura from this far away.

She looked at the flames, and the young man engulfed in scorching fire in bewilderment. “Hang on, it looks like he can still fight!” the woman exclaimed.

The woman was from the Sacred Hall of Liberty, a Sacred Hall Magician.

She and her crew did not dare to engage recklessly, as Casso was incredibly cunning. As soon as he sensed their presence, he would release poison and flee for his life.

They were determined to uproot the Red Ornaments Guild once and for all. If the national teams could pressure Casso further, they would have a better chance of arresting Casso.

The young man from China had already managed to force Casso to use his Poison Armor.

“This young man is quite impressive, let’s wait a little longer,” the male Sacred Hall Magician advised.

The woman in the black-golden outfit had a pair of light blue, amber-like eyes. They were attractive and brilliant, and were fixed on the young man…

—

“You’re not the only one that can transform! Meteorite Fist!”

Burning wings appeared on Mo Fan’s back, turning him into a missile engulfed in flames. Nine fiery dragons followed after him as he landed a punch on Casso’s mutated flesh.

Casso’s eyes widened. He was knocked flying a few hundred meters by the incredible impact. He finally came to a stop after slamming into a few containers the size of trucks!

“Telekinesis!” Mo Fan’s eyes emitted a silver glow. The silver light surrounded the heavy containers and slowly lifted them into the air.

The containers were extremely heavy. They all crashed down onto Casso under Mo Fan’s control!

A loud screech was heard as the containers fell on top of one another. The thick concrete below was smashed into pieces. It was impossible to tell if Casso was alive or dead…

—

In the distance, the female Sacred Hall Magician in black-golden outfit opened her sexy lips in shock.

With Casso’s strength, he could easily crush anyone on the national teams. Not many people could last for so long while fighting a monster like him. However, to the woman’s surprise, the Chinese student was incredibly strong too, and able to knock Casso flying. The heavy containers had most likely inflicted significant damage on Casso, too…

—

BANG!

Casso was not dead. He was incredibly powerful after the transformation. He smashed the containers on top of him into the ocean with a single heave.

He rose to his feet. On his body was a deep fistprint, surrounded by burn marks.

The guy’s defense was unbelievable. Mo Fan’s attack was able to leave a hole in a Commander-level’s body, but this Casso seemed to be in perfect condition still!

“Boss, are you alright?” the fatty with a huge belly asked.

Even Casso’s men had rarely seen their boss knocked around. They could not help but worry.

“Shut your mouth!” Casso snapped hoarsely. His eyes had almost popped out of their sockets from how furious he was.

He still hadn’t killed the arrogant kid after all this time!

Casso straightened when he discovered two rings of flames burning on Mo Fan’s body.

Casso had no idea where the flames engulfing Mo Fan came from. However, he could smell a powerful flame, and it seemed to have originated from somewhere else, rather than the Magician’s own Element!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The extraordinary presence of fire that Casso sensed was from Little Flame Belle.

The truth was, Little Flame Belle had not fully awakened yet, but her mind was synchronized with Mo Fan’s. When she sensed her daddy in danger, she unconsciously unleashed her flame to lend Mo Fan a hand, giving him her control over the Calamity Fire.

Mo Fan could easily tell that Little Flame Belle’s strength was improving rapidly. Normally, the Meteorite Fist was nowhere near strong enough to inflict damage to the thick-skinned Casso. It only worked because Little Flame Belle had grown stronger, thus making Mo Fan stronger when she possessed him!

Little Flame Belle was in a half-asleep state. Once she fully woke up, Mo Fan believed Little Flame Belle would be as strong as some of the Commander-level creatures on her own, and even stronger when she was possessing him.

Casso found himself rather intimidated by Little Flame Belle’s strength.

On the other hand, Mo Fan was no longer scared of the outstanding defense of Casso’s poison flesh after he gained control over Little Flame Belle’s abilities. While the fiery feathers were still around, Mo Fan dashed at Casso at explosive speed!

This time, Mo Fan did not cast the Meteorite Fist. The spell was only an Intermediate Spell after all. Despite the extra buffs applied to it, it was still unable to inflict serious damage to the mutated Casso.

A Lightning Star Constellation rapidly lit up around Mo Fan. His arms were soon covered in lightning!

Two silent and deadly bolts crossed paths in front of Casso, immediately resulting in a shocking explosion. The purple-black lightning arcs soared into the sky and spread across the area. After Casso was knocked into the air by the lightning bolt, the arcs continued to whip his body fiercely.

Casso let out a furious roar in the sky. He immediately controlled the Sky Veil nearby. The tiny sand particles attached to his body, forming a sturdy shell to protect him from the piercing lightning.

Casso forced himself back to the ground. His thick, heavy figure stomped the deck. The whole boat was leaning forward from his weight.

Mo Fan immediately chased after Casso and stood on a taller pole on the boat.

His body was engulfed in raging flames. Mo Fan had turned into a scorching sun shining down upon Casso standing on the deck.

“Rock Hammer!” Casso stood still, turning the sand particles in the air into a twenty-meter long giant hammer. He swung it at Mo Fan using the might of his mutated flesh, knocking Mo Fan into the sea.

Mo Fan tried to move sideways. A fireball with a diameter of almost five meters slammed into the water like a meteorite, stirring a huge wave with scorching flames and dyeing the surroundings red.

“Die!” Casso jumped down from the deck. The blades around his elbow slashed at Mo Fan fiercely. The icy blades swept past the surface of the sea, slicing the water apart.

The water close to the harbor was relatively deep. Mo Fan’s fire was greatly weakened by the water. He had no choice but to withdraw temporarily. He quickly glided along the surface of the ocean with Fleeing Shadow.

Casso immediately chased after him. The guy had perfectly mastered the Sky Veil. He was able to form rock bridges in the sky, sprinting along them through the air.

The bridge connected with the ground. Casso cast Earth Wave to speed him up further. He caught up to Mo Fan, and hurled him heavily at the front of the boat.

Mo Fan was smashed into the boat by the monster. When he saw the monster approaching him again, he quickly wrapped his arms in lightning.

A wave of wild lightning sprang at Casso. More than ten lightning bolts struck him fiercely.

Casso was not afraid of the Lightning Spell. His Earth Element was significantly stronger than Mo Fan’s Lighting Element. Every time Mo Fan tried to cast Lightning on him, he was able to wrap his skin with a thick layer of Sky Veil and prevent the lightning from landing on his armor.

“Piss off!” Mo Fan switched his hand when he discovered that his Lightning was not working. He immediately threw his left fist, abruptly engulfed in flames, at Casso’s face.

The punch took Casso by surprise. He was having trouble counting the number of Elements the kid had.

Fiery dragons lunged forward and knocked Casso away from the boat. He fell into the water in a huge gout of flames.

Before Mo Fan could catch his breath, Casso jumped out from the water and landed on the now-broken deck. He pursued Mo Fan relentlessly while swinging his blades wildly.

“Flame Sword!” Mo Fan was infuriated. The man thought he was the only one with weapons?

After the Flame Sword took form, Mo Fan swung the ten-meter-plus burning sword forward with great strength.

However, to Mo Fan’s surprise, the Flame Sword he summoned this time was not the kind that had to move quickly to unleash all its energy.

Mo Fan could feel the Flame Sword in his hand was extremely stable, like an actual, giant sword engulfed in flames; it would not disappear in just a short period of time!

Mo Fan was overjoyed. It seemed like the improvement to Little Flame Belle’s strength had also improved her abilities. The duration of Flame Sword was a lot longer now.

The blades on Casso’s elbows were less than a meter long, but Mo Fan’s Flame Sword had now reached fifteen meters. Mo Fan had to use both his hands and the Space Element to swing it!

The Flame Sword in Mo Fan’s hand did not resemble a sword; it actually looked more like a thick rod. Casso was immediately knocked flying by Mo Fan’s sword when he tried to get closer.

Mo Fan immediately followed it up with a slash down. The flames lunged forward, the blazing red fire seemed to be never-ending.

It was obvious that Casso was afraid of the fifteen-meter-long giant Flame Sword. He no longer dared to charge at Mo Fan fearlessly. He withdrew a long distance away, planning to use Petrify to secure himself an advantage.

“Nyx Regime!”

This time, Mo Fan did not give the guy any chance to cast his Advanced Spell. Instead, he decisively established his formation of darkness.

Nyx Regime had a wide coverage area. Even Casso needed some time to escape from it. The pitch-black darkness was like a maze, greatly hindering the effects of his Eyes of the Rock Demon. After all, the effects of Petrify had to rely on the light emitted by the eyes to spread. He could not even see Mo Fan, so he had no chance to cast Petrify on him.

Mo Fan was still holding the Flame Sword. He was able to move as rapidly as a phantom in the Nyx Regime with Fleeing Shadow.

Four shadows, each with a silhouette of the Calamity Fire and Rose Flame charged at Casso from four different directions.

Casso glanced around him in awe. He was having trouble identifying the real Mo Fan among the shadows!

At the same time, when Mo Fan was attacking with Flame Sword under the effects of Fleeing Shadow, he had no idea it would summon three other mirror images to duplicate his attack!

He knew Nyx Regime was able to strengthen the effects of Shadow Spells significantly, but he never thought it would be this insane!

When the scorching heat of Flame Sword arrived before Casso, the man finally realized which Mo Fan was the real one, since the heat and the aura of the Flame Sword were the strongest. However, he did not have enough time to react.

The flames of the Flame Sword rolled forward and split in half as the sword slashed forward. Casso wrapped his arms around his head to brace himself, but he was still knocked flying by the impact.

The Flame Sword surged across the deck in the direction of the sea. Casso let out a cry of agony and fell into the debris of the containers. The scorching Calamity Fire and Rose Flame continued to burn him. The flames had already penetrated his meat armor!

The Sacred Hall Mages hiding in the dark were stunned after witnessing the spectacular move.

Where did this crazily talented student come from? Did he seriously injure Casso, who was basically unstoppable in the Caribbean Sea, by himself!?

“So…so strong, is that guy really a student?” even the male Mage blurted out subconsciously.

Both of them were watching the fight, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike in order to take down Casso. The longer Mo Fan could last in the fight, the better their chances were. They were slowly approaching the area, but Casso was simply too preoccupied with the fight with Mo Fan to notice them.

To their surprise, the student had managed to force Casso into a pinch. He had almost broken through the outstanding defense of Casso’s mutated form.

It was not something an ordinary student could achieve. Even the Sacred Hall Mages who were slightly weaker were unable to force Casso into such a pinch.

“Oleena, I think we can construct a Light Binding Formation!” the Mage said.

“I…I think so too, when Casso is injured and blinded by his anger,” the woman in the black and gold outfit agreed.

Casso would not go down so easily. According to their intel, he still had not used his last Element, which he treated as his final trump card.

However, at the current rate, it was likely that Mo Fan could force him to use his last Element. The two could easily take hold of the opportunity to lay an inescapable trap, leaving Casso no chance of escaping!

“How shocking! If we can actually catch Casso, this student definitely contributed the most!” the Mage said.

“Mmm, mmm, he might be the captain of the Chinese team. His strength is on par with Asas on our national team,” Oleena said.

—

Mo Fan was clearly unaware of the existence of the two cunning Sacred Hall Mages that were secretly laying down a formation behind the scenes. He immediately frowned when he saw Casso rising to his feet with the same formidable aura.

-This president of the Red Ornaments Guild is scarily strong!-

Even his previous attack had failed to defeat the man, meaning that he was likely going to lose the fight…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The wind started growing from a breeze to a strong gust. Mo Fan’s skin was hurting from even the slightest touch of the wind. He glanced around himself and discovered that he was surrounded by layers of an orange-yellow sandstorm.

The killing sand’s attack was incredibly high to begin with, but it was even deadlier after it was sped up by the strong wind.

“Wind Element!” Mo Fan’s heart sank.

Throughout the fight, Casso had only used two Elements. He had not shown his third Element at all, but now, after suffering a serious injury, he was finally willing to use all his strength!

Casso’s Earth Element and Poison Element were both quite outstanding. If it wasn’t for the upgrade to Little Flame Belle’s strength, he simply had no chance of matching Casso’s strength. But now, Casso had displayed his Wind Element. Even Mo Fan was intimidated by the seemingly-calm yet powerful wind, as if he had caught a little glimpse of a storm at sea. He could easily imagine how disastrous the storm was!

-The guy’s strongest Element isn’t the Earth Element, nor was it the Poison Element. It’s the Wind Element!-

“You are barely a worthy opponent for me, but too bad it’s coming to an end, since I have had enough fun today!” A grin slowly surfaced on Casso’s stiff flesh.

Casso suddenly vanished into thin air!

Mo Fan was shocked. He immediately cast Space Rhythm: Time Stasis to slow everything down. However, even in the space under the effects of the Time Stasis, Mo Fan could only see a blurred shadow!

“I’m eager to see how thick your armor is!” Casso’s voice suddenly appeared beside Mo Fan.

Mo Fan could not react in time. Casso grabbed Mo Fan’s throat in his muscular arms.

Casso’s strength was shocking. Mo Fan felt like his throat was being held by a monstrous titan; he was having trouble breaking free from it!

While it was happening, Mo Fan saw a pair of giant wings made of orange-yellow wind appearing on Casso’s back. The wings were mixed with wind and sand. They sounded like a helicopter when they were beating rapidly!

Casso grabbed Mo Fan and soared into the sky. The Sky Veil and tornado stuck closely to his feet, propelling him over three hundred meters into the sky!

The clouds were right above their heads. Mo Fan could see all of White Head City from his current height.

Casso’s strength was not enough to snap Mo Fan’s neck while he was wearing the Black Snake Armor. He treated Mo Fan like a stone and hurled him at the ground.

Mo Fan did not have the ability to fly. As he was falling, he saw a giant rock less than thirty meters above him falling at the same speed.

The side of the rock that was pointing at him was sharp, and the other end was flat. Casso was standing on the flat end and stomping his feet on the rock to speed it up and further increase its momentum!

The sharp end struck Mo Fan while he was still in the air. The pain was still bearable since he was still falling in the air. However, Mo Fan clearly knew that his body would be smashed to pieces when he landed on the ground with the rock pressing down on him!

The wind howled in his ears. He was falling too quickly. He would most likely fall to his death even without the rock pressing down on him.

“HAHAHAHA, HAHAHA!” Casso stood on the falling rock. He held his arms and burst out laughing. It was time to bury this arrogant kid!

—

“Mo Fan!” Zhao Manyan raised his head and was shocked to see Mo Fan falling through the air at a terrifying pace with a pointy rock pressing down on him.

The boulder-sized rock was going to plunge Mo Fan into the ground. There was no way he could survive the impact!

“Go, protect him!” Zhao Manyan clenched his teeth. A wooden clapper carved with ancient runes immediately flew into the sky.

As soon as the wooden clapper appeared, it unleashed a spiraling golden light. The light swiftly transformed into a golden barrier in the shape of an enormous wooden clapper, catching Mo Fan as he fell from the sky.

The golden barrier quickly surrounded Mo Fan. The runes seemed to transform into a sturdy armor!

BANG!

The rock plunged into the ground. Both the boats and the waters swayed wildly after the loud impact. Rocks and dirt broke off from the solid ground of the harbor. Lines of shocking cracks spread across the place, as if the whole harbor was going to break into pieces and fall into the water.

“Mo Fan!” Jiang Shaoxu’s eyes widened as she let out a scream, staring at the pit.

The impact was so strong that no one could get close to it. There was no chance Mo Fan could survive the impact on his own.

“Shit, he’s dead!”

“Damn it, we’re so close to completing the formation. We’ve been too careless!” Oleena said with a hint of self-accusation.

They should have intervened instead of being eager for a quick success. After all, the young man was only a student. There was no chance he could take on the greatest tyrant of the Caribbean Sea alone.

“What do we do now…”

“Keep going, we can’t let Casso escape now!” Oleena said firmly.

The main reason why they were unwilling to show themselves was because Casso was an Advanced Mage with the Earth and Wind Elements. A Mage with these two Elements had unmatchable speed. No one could possibly stop him if he wanted to escape. On top of that, he was daring enough to apply the Poison Element to his own body, turning himself into a monster. Many Sacred Hall Mages had died at his hands!

They initially hoped that the student would be able to take down Casso on their behalf. Who knew that Casso would kill the student straightaway when they were busy constructing the Light Binding Formation. They did not even have time to save him…

—

“Mo Fan, don’t you f**king die!” cursed Zhao Manyan.

Didn’t he warn Mo Fan not to meddle in someone else’s business? Why didn’t Mo Fan take his advice seriously? Didn’t he know how strong the Red Ornaments Guild was? That Casso had three Elements in the Advanced Level! Even everyone teaming up would still have had trouble defeating him!

“Do you seriously have the time to care about others? How ridiculous,” the dark-skinned, female bandit uttered a hollow laugh. “Without that thing, your defense isn’t impressive!”

An icy glow flickered on the female bandit’s hand. A spear made of ice appeared in her hands before thrusting fiercely at Zhao Manyan’s Rock Barrier!

As soon as the ice spear made contact with the Rock Barrier, it turned into ice instantly. The spear then broke the Rock Barrier into pieces that scattered across the ground.

“A Magic Spear…”

Zhao Manyan immediately regretted his decision. The spear came up to him and performed a dance of death around him. The spear soon left lots of cuts and blood on his body after he lost his defense.

There were now at least ten bleeding cuts on Zhao Manyan’s body. He initially thought he had chosen someone he could easily defeat. To his surprise, the dark-skinned woman was incredibly strong. Zhao Manyan was no longer able to hold his ground without the wooden clapper that doubled the effects of his defensive spells.

“A competition of magic equipment? Humph, not many people in this world have more magic equipment than I do!” Zhao Manyan was too stubborn to admit his defeat. He immediately summoned his magic boots and Deathstrike Magic Equipment!

Both pieces of magic equipment were of the Light Element. The light encapsulating Zhao Manyan’s figure immediately overwhelmed the icy spear in the woman’s hands.

“There’s more!” Zhao Manyan spread his arms. Golden feathers appeared gradually and formed a pair of glowing, golden wings.

Zhao Manyan had summoned three pieces of magic equipment within an instant, and judging from their auras, each piece was more or less a luxury good. The female bandit was startled.

Leaving the Deathstrike Magic Equipment and the magic boots aside, it was still absolutely ridiculous that the man would own Magic Wings at his age. Even all the loot that the female bandit had scavenged over many years were not enough to buy her Magic Wings!

Zhao Manyan was still fully kitted out with Magic Equipment, even without the wooden clapper!

The others might laugh at Zhao Manyan for having the weakest cultivation on the team, but no one could possibly own a better set of Equipment than him!

“Blessing of the Fountain Ring!”

Zhao Manyan did not stop after summoning the three pieces of magic equipment. The middle finger of his right hand started glowing, as the seemingly ordinary blue ring suddenly emitted a sacred glow.

“Water Barrier!” The circulating Water Barrier revolved around Zhao Manyan. A few more Water Barriers appeared under the effects of the ring’s sacred light. Zhao Manyan was only able to apply four or five stacks of Water Barrier normally, but with the help of the ring, the number almost doubled. He now had around eight layers of Water Barrier circling him endlessly!

“Fierce Rolling Wave!”

The effects of the ring were able to strengthen every Water Spell Zhao Manyan had. The ordinary Rolling Wave had now turned into a surging tide, lunging at the female bandit like a beast.

The woman nimbly jumped onto a boat to find some cover. Zhao Manyan flew onto the rolling tide and fired a golden crescent forward with his Deathstrike Magic Equipment…

The slash was utterly shocking, cutting through prow of the boat with ease. The woman was forced to summon her Magic Armor, yet even with its protection, the slash still sliced her arm off. Blood started pouring out from the cut unendingly!

“Serves you right!” Zhao Manyan uttered sarcastically, staring at the woman whose lips had gone pale.

The woman trembled in anger. She had never seen a Mage as rich as the man before her. He had just used four pieces of Magic Equipment in one breath, and it seemed like he still had more on standby, including his necklace, his bracelet, and the other three rings on his other hand…

—

With a series of bone-cracking sounds, Mo Fan out from the debris and rose to his feet. His Black Snake Armor had turned into scrap. Not a single spot of his skin was unmarred.

Pain, he was in extreme pain. The burning sensation felt like he had been set on fire.

Luckily, his Demon Element had come in handy. His body was actually several times stronger than ordinary Mages. That being said, he was glad that Zhao Manyan had tossed the wooden clapper at him. Otherwise, he would have been unable to survive the impact with only the Black Snake Armor and his sturdy flesh.

“He’s still alive?” Casso exclaimed in astonishment as he stared at Mo Fan with wide-open eyes. -Is this guy’s body made of steel!?-

Even with two layers of protection, the impact was more than enough to shatter every bone inside the body of an Advanced Mage!

Meanwhile, the guy only looked like he was suffering from serious injuries, but none of them were life-threatening!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

One could possibly refer to the Demon Element as the most useless Element. Even after awakening its Nebula, or Galaxy, it did not provide Mo Fan with any useful spells. The only benefit it had was strengthening Mo Fan’s flesh to a certain level, granting him tenacity and boosting his vitality.

After rising to his feet, Mo Fan’s eyes were firmly fixed on Casso.

The Rose Flame and Calamity Fire were ignited on his body once again, combining into rings of flames spreading out in circles!

“You’re seriously the most resilient young man I have ever seen. However, you will need to train another ten years to stand a chance against me!” Casso stepped forward. His legs, still covered in meat armor bent forward slightly, like a bow on the verge of firing an arrow!

BANG!

The ground cracked as Casso beat his wings rapidly and charged forward.

Mo Fan leapt backward to increase the distance between him and his enemy.

However, Mo Fan’s speed was simply too slow compared to Casso’s. The man had already caught up before Mo Fan landed on the ground.

Casso’s hands swelled as the sand spun down and attached to them. His fists and arms were suddenly huge and filled with power.

The giant fists went right at Mo Fan fiercely. Mo Fan happened to land in the shadow of the boat. He quickly vanished into the shadow before splitting into four and moving in different directions!

Casso’s giant rock fists swung through the air and hit nothing. His eyes followed the four shadows, trying to identify the real Mo Fan. However, sharp spikes suddenly appeared from the darkness and stabbed Casso in the legs.

“How many Elements does this kid even have!?” Casso’s legs were paralyzed by the spikes, immobilizing him temporarily. He had no choice but to give up on the chase and focus on breaking free from the Giant Shadow Spikes. Otherwise, his movement would not be the only thing sealed off!

Casso gathered his focus. He had just broken free from the Shadow Element when a bolt of lightning flashed under his feet.

Casso backed away, but another bolt of lightning appeared.

Over ten lightning bolts appeared in a row. Casso had just broken free from the Shadow Spell, and his mobility was still recovering. In the end, he was struck by the seventh bolt of lightning.

Mo Fan knew Casso was being protected by the Sky Veil at all times, and the lightning was unable to penetrate through his defense. Instead of trying to break through the defense with the Lightning Strike, he was using it to knock Casso back instead!

“A mere little trick! I thought you were going to give me a surprise after you managed to climb back up!” Casso burst out laughing.

“It’s true that I’ve run out of moves. How about this? I’ll fix Oni’s head back, and it’s clear between us. You can continue to live your life as a pirate, and I’ll mind my own business. Sound good?” Mo Fan said.

Casso studied Mo Fan. The young man was fully covered in wounds and bruises. Without a surprise, the man might have broken thirty of his bones from the fall. He was really curious where the kid was getting his courage from, provoking him under the circumstances!

“What do you think?” Casso slowly displayed the blades from his elbows. This time, he swore he would put an end to the kid’s life. His men were not able to hold on for much longer. Casso was worried that too many of them had sacrificed their lives!

“May I ask, how did you apply the Poison Element to your own body and turn yourself into a monster? I bet the process must be somewhat painful?” Mo Fan added.

—

Jiang Shaoxu was speechless when she realized that Mo Fan was still talking to Casso.

-Is this guy seriously unaware of the situation? Why isn’t he running away when he’s almost dead? Is he waiting to be slaughtered by Casso?-

Just run toward Ai Jiangtu and the others; with Ai Jiangtu’s strength, he should be able to hold Casso off for some time. If Mo Fan continued to force himself, he was seriously going to die!

Jiang Shaoxu was unable to lend Mo Fan a hand. Her opponent was extremely cunning, and managed to nullify her Psychic Spell perfectly. She was in a pinch herself, so she could not afford to help Mo Fan either!

—

Casso did not respond. His expression turned cold.

For some reason, he felt like the kid was ridiculing him. However, Casso was being hesitant, too. This kid who could set himself on fire was truly abnormal. It was better not to let his guard down.

“Are those your final words?” Casso said.

“I can’t trick him any longer. How long are you two going to wait!?” Mo Fan suddenly yelled.

The two Sacred Hall Mages hiding in the dark were startled by his shout. How did he know?

Casso was stunned, too. He immediately focused to observe his surroundings and sensed a dangerous aura coming from several weird light dots spreading quickly in the distance.

The light dots scattered around Casso, forming a Light Binding Formation. The experienced Casso immediately realized something was not right!

“Damn it!” Casso was both furious and panicking,

He had focused too much on the fight. After all, the injuries he had suffered were not light. He could not tell if his enemy still had a trump card up in his sleeves.

As such, Casso was totally unaware that he was being trapped within a Light Formation!

Casso was pretty quick with his reaction. The wings on his back beat fiercely, thrusting him towards the sky.

Black and gold rays descended from the sky in lines and formed a cage looming over him. The man almost rammed into the light bars of the cage.

Casso immediately fell to the ground after discovering the area above him was sealed off. His legs exerted incredible strength as he fled toward the sea.

Another wall of light appeared in the direction that Casso was trying to escape to.

Casso did not give up. He tried to escape in other directions, but the walls continued to appear above him, below him, and in all four directions. The walls formed a perfect cage, entrapping Casso inside it!

—

“Boss!”

“Boss is trapped!”

Casso’s men immediately rushed toward the cage upon seeing this. They desperately tried to free Casso from the cage.

Casso was in a frenzy himself, ramming into the walls with his mutated flesh fiercely.

However, Mo Fan had actually broken most of his meat armor in the fight previously. He suffered great pain from the scorching light when he rammed into the walls.

The light was able to burn his body right through his broken meat armor. It was not something that an ordinary person could endure.

“Stop them!” the two Sacred Hall Mages yelled at the students.

Mo Fan had not lost his ability to fight yet. He saw the fatty that was fighting Jiang Shaoxu. He quickly sliced off the prow of the boat with his will, lifted it, and hurled it at the fatty.

The fatty dodged the incoming prow in a panic, suddenly covered in cold sweat. However, as soon as he lost focus, Jiang Shaoxu took hold of the opportunity to infiltrate his mind with Mind Control.

The fatty struggled for a moment, but failed to escape from Jiang Shaoxu’s power. He promptly became the greatest hindrance to the members of the Red Ornaments Guild trying to get close to Casso.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!” Casso roared frantically inside the cage. His eyes were covered in bloody streaks as he glared at Mo Fan.

Casso had not had any idea there were two Sacred Hall Mages hiding in the dark. He was so regretful that he was unable to take care of a young Mage in his twenties despite putting in such strenuous efforts. He was even more regretful that he had fallen into the trap set up by the Sacred Hall Mages after being too careless!

The light cage would only become sturdier as time passed, unless his men were able to kill the two that had constructed it. However, the Mages that had shown up at the harbor were incredibly strong, each person surprisingly an Advanced Mage. Some of them even managed to crush his men one-sidedly. Casso was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness.

Normally, he could easily force his way out of the light cage with his poisoned flesh. However, he had been fighting for too long, and was injured, too. The light would simply burn him to ashes before he could break free from it.

“Shameless!” yelled Casso furiously.

Wasn’t it supposed to be a one-on-one duel? How could he ask the two Sacred Hall Mages for help!? He had been so close to killing him!

“Likewise, remember to clean your ass and be prepared to stay in prison for the rest of your life,” Mo Fan smirked. Even though his face was covered in blood, his smile was exceedingly charming.

The truth was, Mo Fan only realized someone was laying out the Light Formation when he was looking down from the sky after Casso tossed him into the air. It was not hard to notice the light dots, but since Casso was standing on top of the rock pressing down on him, the rock had actually prevented him from seeing them!

When Mo Fan saw the points of light, he immediately linked them to the Sacred Hall Mages. The advisors did mention that a few Sacred Hall Mages would be assisting them from behind the scenes. They would be there to guarantee their safety while waiting for the perfect time to take down the president of the Red Ornaments Guild.

The truth was, Mo Fan was already at his limit when he crawled out from the debris. The injuries he suffered were simply too serious. He would have died if it wasn’t for the Demon Element.

He was simply trying to buy the Sacred Hall Mages as much time as he could!

—

“Well done!” the Sacred Hall Mage could not help but call out.

Casso was unable to run away this time. The two Sacred Hall Mages were overjoyed, as they could finally go back and report that their mission was completed. They had been wandering between different countries to take down the Red Ornaments Guild, and were criticized by their superiors many times for their poor performance.

Oleena looked at Mo Fan. Her faint-blue eyes were glittering. It was all thanks to this Chinese student!

She was immediately curious about and interested in Mo Fan. Not many Advanced Mages were able to take on Casso like he did. Once, an inexperienced Sacred Hall Mage even died a horrible death at Casso’s hands.

It was very impressive that a student was able to accomplish such a remarkable achievement!

However, before Oleena could compliment him, her expression sank immediately after hearing a single sentence from Mo Fan.

“Hey, I want at least half the reward!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mayor Lauren hurried over. He was astonished when he witnessed the scene before him!

In his eyes, the students of the national teams were basically going to get themselves killed by going to the boat. The Red Ornaments Guild was a bunch of savage and cruel Mages. With the number of Advanced Mages they had, they could easily wipe out the group of students.

However, what he saw was Casso trapped inside a cage of light, covered in wounds and bruises with a defeated look.

The Casso he knew was always holding his head up and conceited. Even the government army did not dare to meddle in his business. But now, Casso was a miserable prisoner!

“Mayor Lauren, you have made the stupidest decision in your whole life, listen to this,” Oleena turned on the recording pen.

The recording pen played a conversation between Casso and his subordinate. Casso unashamedly admitted that he had no intention of taking care of the sea monsters. He would leave immediately after stealing all their money!

Mayor Lauren was stunned. The truth was, he did think of it as a possibility, but he had no other way of dealing with the sea monsters when the season arrived!

“Working with them is only going to make things worse. Casualties are going to be inestimable. Mayor Lauren, I hope you will reflect on this. The sea monsters are scary, but I believe if the whole city stands together and put in some effort, it’s still possible to drive the sea monsters away. However, once you cooperated with these bandits, no one in the city will ever trust you again. When these cowardly bandits ran away, the ones that would suffer are still your people!” Oleena told Lauren seriously.

Mayor Lauren let out a long sigh.

As a matter of fact, the situation was not totally bad news to him. Mayor Lauren was not only worried about the sea monsters, he was afraid that the Red Ornaments Guild would stir up trouble while the city was under attack by the sea monsters. He did not have enough men to deal with the sea monsters and the Red Ornaments Guild simultaneously. Now that the leader of the Red Ornaments Guild had been arrested, even though a few members of the Red Ornaments Guild had escaped, they were most likely lost and leaderless, meaning that the city could focus on the sea monsters.

“I know what I should do. I will give the order and take out the remaining members of the Red Ornaments Guild, to serve the people justice,” said Lauren.

Oleena nodded. She had investigated the matter, and found out that Lauren was indeed forced to compromise due to the circumstances. He was sincerely concerned about the well-being of the city. In such an undeveloped country, they could not just find someone else to replace him as mayor. Lauren would retain his position, as long as he did not end up like the Red Ornaments Guild…

“Don’t worry, the Sacred Hall of Liberty will provide assistance; we will send interns here to fend off the sea monsters at times. Now that the Red Ornaments Guild’s president has been arrested, I believe many Hunters are willing to come and hunt down the remaining members of the Red Ornaments Guild. They will be willing to fight the sea monsters,” Oleena told him.

——

The news about the leader of the Red Ornaments Guild being caught spread fairly quickly. It was absolutely shocking to the other countries in the Caribbean. As soon as their leader was caught, the members of the Red Ornaments Guild immediately suffered the consequences. Countless Hunters set out to arrest them in exchange for the bounties on their heads. The operation was scarily efficient. The government did not need to do much, they simply sealed off the important escape routes, and the members of the Red Ornaments Guild had nowhere to run to.

—

The villagers of Sweetgrass Village returned to their home. They had also received the shocking news.

The chief and the little girl Jenny burst into tears. The timid villagers who were waiting to be dominated by the bandits were dumbfounded, too. They finally cried out in joy after a long time.

The young man from the East had really defeated the Red Ornaments Guild! He managed to take down the malignant tumor that had been robbing over the Caribbean for so many years. It was unbelievable!

They wanted to express their gratitude to Mo Fan, but unfortunately, Mo Fan was not willing to come back to receive their gratitude. The villagers who once said unpleasant words to Mo Fan felt guilty and ashamed.

It was lucky that Jenny went up and asked the young man for help. Otherwise, they would have lost their chance to become free. Without the Red Ornaments Guild around, they could easily manage Sweetgrass Village and earn enough money to hire mercenaries to protect the village. Even without the support from the government, they would be able to protect themselves, and even contribute by taking out the sea monsters!

The Red Ornaments Guild was a great threat to the whole city. The surrounding towns and villages suffered from extreme poverty. It was the main reason why they were helpless against the sea monsters. Once their economy recovered, they would no longer be afraid of the sea monsters. Everyone could contribute to hiring more Mages…

Mayor Lauren had not predicted this outcome. Ever since he was put in charge of the city, he had lived in fear of the Red Ornaments Guild. The government was more like a puppet that was forced to act according to the Red Ornaments Guild’s mood!

It was just as Oleena had said; the sea monsters were not as scary as they had imagined. With everyone working together, they would surely overcome the difficulty!

——

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was extremely unhappy about one thing; he was unable to share the bounty since it was the Sacred Hall Mages that had arrested Casso.

As for his reward, Oleena personally wrote a letter to the International Magic Association and explained the situation in detail.

After the report, the Chinese team stood out among the three national teams. The Dark Noble Mantle was allocated to Mo Fan, while the others were given some other rewards.

The Japanese team was frustrated. They initially had the greatest chance of winning by having the intel, but they did not expect it to end up like this. They were obviously not convinced of the result.

However, it did not matter what they felt. The initial plan only asked the three national teams to weaken the Red Ornaments Guild by taking out some of their members. They never thought the students would be able to uproot the entire organization, since that involved taking down their leader, Casso! The Magic Associations were well aware of how tough the guy was.

To their surprise, they ended up arresting Casso and helping the Sacred Hall Mages to accomplish their mission, returning peace to the Caribbean Sea. It was obviously a lot better than what they had hoped for. How could the Chinese team not grab the limelight among the national teams?

The Dark Noble Mantle arrived when the team reached Mexico. Mo Fan was fairly excited about it.

It was said that a Forbidden Mage used the piece of magic equipment when he was younger. It must be something precious…

——

After crossing the Caribbean Sea, the vast land of North America opened up to the team. Their view extended to a gradually sinking arc to the horizon, like they were looking at completely flat waters. The only difference was, the majority of the land in South America was dark brown.

“Mo Fan, why were you interested in Sweetgrass Village back then? Did you realize something was strange about Oni?” Jiang Shaoxu asked when the thought suddenly crossed her mind.

“I initially thought I could find something I’m looking for there, but I realized that it wasn’t,” answered Mo Fan.

Mo Fan only went to the village because the Essence Orb was glowing. In the end, the Essence Orb was reacting because of an old tree in the village, but it did not contain any absorbable energy. Mo Fan got all excited for nothing.

“How mysterious! Speaking of which, now that we’ve completed the mission, it means that someone in the team will be disqualified. Zhao Manyan, are you the one?” Jiang Shaoxu looked at Zhao Manyan curiously.

“Are you kidding me? I’m definitely not the weakest on the team!” Zhao Manyan straightened his chest and said.

“Mmm, that wooden clapper did make you a lot stronger. I barely survived thanks to it,” Mo Fan agreed.

The wooden clapper was extremely powerful. Its most intuitive use as the yellow runes that were able to double the strength of Zhao Manyan’s defensive spells. Not many Advanced Spells were able to penetrate Zhao Manyan’s defense without outstanding damage.

“If you aren’t the one being disqualified, who’s it going to be then?” Jiang Shaoxu pondered.

“See, someone is panicking more than me,” Zhao Manyan said, smiling and looking at Li Kaifeng not far ahead of them.

“Him? But I thought he’s fine still?”

“He’s in a similar spot to Guan Yu, but Guan Yu has an outstanding weapon. Li Kaifeng doesn’t have that advantage, so I think he’s most likely the one that will be disqualified. I heard Li Kaifeng has a powerful background, but his own strength is important, too,” Zhao Manyan judged.

——

After arriving in Mexico, the team rested at Bangersha City. As they made their way to Mexico’s Training Hall, the advisors would meet with the team with a new member, and they would disqualify a member on the current team.

No one knew who the person would be.

Mo Fan was not worried at all. He had the least chance of being disqualified from the team. He was the greatest contributor in the competition between the three national teams, and he was a lot stronger than the average members on the team.

He was fairly excited, mainly because he would be seeing Mu Ningxue soon.

After arriving in Bangersha City, Mu Ningxue sent him a text telling him that she was on the plane flying to North America with the advisors. When Mo Fan remembered Mu Ningxue’s cold, unapproachable face, elegant as a painting; her outstanding bust, her alluring legs under sexy stockings, he immediately ‘stiffened’.

His days without his first wife had been rather lonely!

—–

“Duels?”

“The advisors want us to fight one another?”

The members of the national team received the news when they were resting at the inn.

Since the members were equivalently strong this time, it was quite difficult to make the decision, so the advisors simply came up with the easiest way possible, by letting the members duel one another.

However, only six members needed to take part in the duels. Mo Fan was not on the list, so it was none of his business.

Besides, even if he was on the list, anyone that drew Mo Fan as their opponent would immediately forfeit the duel. There were two people that the members of the team were unwilling to stumble into as their opponent: the first one was Ai Jiangtu, and the other one was Mo Fan. There was no way they could beat them, especially after how Mo Fan had fought against Casso. The only comment everyone had for him was that he was more monstrous than a monster!.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Here is your Dark Noble Mantle. You did great, but don’t be so reckless and hurt the government soldiers again, do you understand?” Feng Li told Mo Fan seriously, particularly emphasizing the second half of the sentence.

“Why do I feel like you have no idea how to compliment a person? Couldn’t you leave out the second half?” Mo Fan replied.

“Don’t you talk back to me!” snapped Feng Li.

Mu Ningxue shrugged. He did not waste his time further with the bad-tempered advisor. He soon fixed his eyes on Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue was dressed in blue today. The trip to Tianshan Mountain seemed to have paid off a lot. Even her aura was a lot purer, like a lotus blossoming quietly at the top of a mountain.

Leaving her temperament aside, the main point was, her dress was actually wrapping her bust tightly. Mo Fan felt like he was going to faint when he saw her firm, bouncy boobs under the dress. He could play with them all day...

Mo Fan’s eyes were inches away from Mu Ningxue’s chest. He was completely unaware of her darkening expression.

– Why is there such a shameless man in this world? Couldn’t he be more like a gentleman? – Even if he was not ashamed at all, she still felt extremely awkward in the situation.

“Hehe, you managed to rejoin the team, that’s very impressive.” Mu Tingying glanced at Mu Ningxue, her insincere tone brimming with jealousy. Her actual words were supposed to be, A blue dress? Do you really think you’re a saint? Bitch!

After grumbling inside, Mu Tingying soon found most men’s attention was fixed on Mu Ningxue. She was utterly frustrated!

Did she trade her body in exchange for a chance to return to the national team? If not, how was it possible for her to come back? There was no way she could catch up to the rest of the team without the support of an enormous background!

“Let’s proceed with the duels.” The two advisors did not like to waste any time. They would be gone as soon as they were done with their job. Mo Fan seriously did not understand why the national team needed the advisors. They were merely barking orders at them.

Mo Fan initially wanted to watch the duels, but Mu Ningxue said she had something to tell him. The two left the place.

——

Bangersha City was pretty ordinary. It resembled an old cowboy town in North America, with Western-../style bars in almost every corner.

The wind was dusty and strong. Mu Ningxue led Mo Fan to a deserted street. Mo Fan was rather confused about what Mu Ningxue wanted to discuss with him, that she had to come all the way here…

Perhaps she had finally realized that it was meaningless to maintain their current relationship that was full of ambiguities with him. It was better to make it clear and take off… and take the relationship seriously, and fall deeply in love with one another.

“I have something important to tell you,” Mu Ningxue said with a serious look.

Mo Fan nodded. He did not look excited at all, because every time he was excited about something, it would all be for nothing.

“I stumbled upon something at Tianshan Mountain, and I think it might be related to someone you know,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Oh man, not again!” Mo Fan looked utterly helpless.

Whenever he was excited, it was all for nothing, but even when he was calm, he was calm for nothing, either. Why couldn’t the scene just develop in the direction he wanted?

“What’s with that?” Mu Ningxue was confused.

“Nothing, I thought you were going to confess your love to me,” Mo Fan replied honestly.

“You’re retarded.”

“Tell me about it, Tianshan Mountain is so far away. I don’t think I have any friends there; did you mistake me for someone else?” Mo Fan went back to the topic.

“Do you know Qin Yu’er?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“I don’t think so… hang on, hang on a second… I think I’ve heard the name before.” The name suddenly sounded rather familiar to Mo Fan.

However, he just could not remember who the person was after thinking a while.

He knew he had never seen the person before. He only the name from someone that had mentioned it briefly!

“Tianshan Mountain… Qin Yu’er, I remember now, I heard the name from Zhang Xiaohou before!” Mo Fan finally remembered.

Zhang Xiaohou once mentioned that Zhan Kong had a knot in his heart. He once entered the chasm of Tianshan Mountain when he was young, and the woman he loved ended up being trapped inside the chasm. Even after many years, he was unable to rescue her from the chasm. He did not even know if she was still alive.

“Boss Zhan Kong trained extremely hard. He promised to go back to the chasm at Tianshan Mountain once he achieved the Super Level and take her out of there, whether she was alive or dead,” Mo Fan remembered Zhang Xiaohou saying.

Mo Fan was quite touched back then, as he only heard it after Zhan Kong had died. Mo Fan remembered he had mixed feelings when he learned that his instructor did not fulfill his last wish.

Someone was still waiting for him on Tianshan Mountain. When he decided to sacrifice his life and let the black armor consume him, he was surely thinking of Qin Yu’er…

As such, Mo Fan had decided that if he ever managed to achieve the Super Level, he would visit the chasm in Tianshan Mountain and find the frozen Qin Yu’er inside there, as his way of paying respects to Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong.

“How did you learn the name?” Mo Fan asked.

“She told me herself,” replied Mu Ningxue.

“She told you? She’s alive?” Mo Fan blinked at Mu Ningxue in shock.

Mu Ningxue nodded and said, “She spent some time with me in the town below Tianshan Mountain. Her memories were stuck in the past, from around ten years ago. She was surprised that ten years had passed since she had been frozen in the ice.”

“How did she wake up? Did someone save her?” Mo Fan asked hurriedly.

Mo Fan was incredibly excited at the news. Zhan Kong had sacrificed his own life in the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, saving millions of lives. He even let the armor take over his body, just so he could use his remaining will to command the army of undead to retreat.

Back then, even after Mo Fan had transformed into a demon, he barely stood a chance against the Mountain Zombie, even after it was already injured after fighting against many Super Mages. The person that had saved the Ancient Capital was actually Zhan Kong, but only a few people knew the truth.

Mo Fan’s respect for Zhan Kong could not be described with words. He was determined to fulfill Zhan Kong’s last wish. He had kept it deep inside his heart while waiting to grow stronger.

However, Qin Yu’er had woken up, coming out from the chasm by Tianshan Mountain on her own…

“What happened?” asked Mo Fan.

“Qin Yu’er said that someone saved her, but she didn’t know who the person was. She only remembered seeing someone’s blurred back from the reflection on the broken ice. The person was wearing black armor, and had an otherworldly presence. That’s all she could remember,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Black armor…” Mo Fan gasped.

-Could it be him!?

-But how is that possible…-

According to Zhang Xiaohou’s description of the situation at the Blood Emperor Throne, the black armor most likely hosted the Ancient King’s soul. It would soon infiltrate the consciousness of the person whose body it took over.

The person able to control the Kingdom of Undead that had almost razed the Ancient Capital to the ground was probably just a trapped soul inside Zhan Kong’s body. It was impossible that it still had Zhan Kong’s consciousness inside…

Mo Fan once exchanged glances with the man standing on the Mountain Zombie. His eyes, his expression, his presence all implied that he was a total stranger to Mo Fan. Even though the dried face with cracks looked exactly like Zhan Kong, it was impossible that he was still the same person!

Mu Ningxue saw the tremendous change in Mo Fan’s expression and immediately realized that the truth was a lot more complicated than she knew.

She immediately pursued the matter in a serious voice. After all, Qin Yu’er was quite close to her now. They had spent a long time together at Tianshan Mountain. Qin Yu’er was determined to find the person that had saved her, so Mu Ningxue was following her around as she trained on Tianshan Mountain. “Do you know the person with the black armor?”

“Person… I don’t think he’s still human. He’s an emperor from two thousand years ago, the inventor of the Undead Element, the only person that could live for eternity.” Mo Fan was quite confident that the person who saved Qin Yu’er was the Dead Emperor.

Dead Emperor was the name that Han Ji and the others had given to the current ruler of the undead. With the Dead Emperor’s control over the undead, they had been behaving quite well recently. They were only active in their tombs and their underground palace.

Mu Ningxue studied Mo Fan. She felt like Mo Fan was talking about something unrealistic.

“It all happens during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital…”

Mo Fan explained what had happened in the Dark Abyss during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital to Mu Ningxue in detail. Many things that had happened during the calamity were unbelievable and shocking, be it the eight Undead Rulers attacking the city, the imperial tomb hidden in the Dark Abyss, or the space-shifting of the Dark Abyss.

Anyone would find it hard to believe when hearing about it for the first time.

Mu Ningxue was the kind of person who was collected most of the time. However, after hearing Mo Fan’s story, her mouth remained open for quite a long time. Her wide eyes showed her astonishment after hearing the details.

“I’m finally starting to believe that you’re the hero of the Ancient Capital’s Calamity,” Mu Ningxue said.

Mo Fan was able to explain everything in so much detail only because he had experienced it all himself. There was no way he could make it all up!

“Zhan Kong is the real hero; he was Qin Yu’er’s lover before she was frozen in the ice.” Mo Fan smiled wryly. Mo Fan could not afford to joke about the matter. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan seriously hoped that the person in the black armor was still Zhan Kong. However, he was now with the undead. His eyes no longer belonged to the human world. If the God of Death was real, he was most likely the one!

“So it was him who saved the Ancient Capital; the Commander of our Bo City, Zhan Kong!” Mu Ningxue was astounded.

She did remember Zhan Kong. Without him protecting Bo City, the city would simply have become a dead land during the calamity. Qin Yu’er did mention Zhan Kong many times, but Mu Ningxue never knew that Zhan Kong was already dead, nor did she know the things that he did in the Ancient Capital.

Mu Ningxue already felt tears in her eyes after hearing Mo Fan’s words.

Not only was she extremely respectful of Zhan Kong, she strongly felt the bond between Qin Yu’er and Zhan Kong when she spent time with the woman. It felt like the woman would go meet Zhan Kong straightaway after she expressed her gratitude to the man that had saved her life, and share her joy with Zhan Kong after finally uniting with him after ten years…

However, it seemed like Qin Yu’er was doomed to wash her face in tears when all her anticipation turned into despair, as Zhan Kong had already died from the Black Armor of Death during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When they returned to the place where the duels were taking place, Mo Fan learned that the outcome had been decided. However, there was something wrong about the atmosphere.

“It seems like something has happened,” Mo Fan went closer and saw Jiang Yu was injured, then glanced at Li Kaifeng, who was suffering serious injuries on the dueling ground.

The duels were fiercer than he had thought. Jiang Yu had a few deep cuts on his body. Blood continued to pour out. He was swaying back and forth, as if he was going to fall to the ground at any second.

Li Kaifeng was in a worse state. He had lost his right arm. It was lying far away in the dust.

“Meow!” Night Rakshasa’s triangular yellow eyes were glaring at Li Kaifeng. Her pitch-black fur was standing upright, while her voice was extremely chilly.

It was obvious that the Night Rakshasa was extremely furious. It was even displaying a strong murderous intent at Li Kaifeng!

“Jiang Yu, ask her to stop!” Feng Li said sternly.

The Night Rakshasa did not listen to Advisor Feng Li’s order. Her claws were stained with blood from Li Kaifeng’s arm. For some reason, Li Kaifeng had totally infuriated the Night Rakshasa. She was aiming her attack at Li Kaifeng’s neck.

Li Kaifeng was already at his limit. Mo Fan was extremely shocked. What reason could have provoked Jiang Yu’s Night Rakshasa to kill Li Kaifeng!?

“Come back!” Jiang Yu clenched his teeth and gave the Night Rakshasa the order with a pale face.

The Night Rakshasa did not listen. Her speed was shocking, and her movement was unpredictable, as if she could walk in the air. Just as the Night Rakshasa had almost reached Li Kaifeng, several Giant Shadow Spikes suddenly appeared around her and formed a binding formation, immobilizing the speedy creature.

The Night Rakshasa was a Darkness Creature. Normally, the Giant Shadow Spikes were ineffective against it. However, the Night Rakshasa suddenly stopped in the air. Her claws were less than thirty centimeters away from Li Kaifeng.

Li Kaifeng was frozen in his spot. He could feel the death directed at his neck!

Jiang Yu glanced at Feng Li in silence. He immediately opened up his Contracted Space and withdrew the Night Rakshasa into it.

The Night Rakshasa was unwilling to go back, and let out a furious cry…

“I’ll spare your life for now, but this isn’t the end!” Jiang Yu held his wounds. His face was utterly cold, unlike his usual gentle expression!

Li Kaifeng had lost his wits, as if he was having trouble believing the outcome.

He had lost the duel, even after he had cast the forbidden spell!

Nanrong Ni proceeded to treat Li Kaifeng’s wounds, since they were slightly more serious. Jiang Yu walked to one side and sat down to take a rest. He took out some serums to treat his own wounds.

Mo Fan was stunned. He could not picture what had happened at all.

Mo Fan went over to Jiang Yu and took out some of his good serums to help Jiang Yu with his wounds.

While Mo Fan was helping Jiang Yu treat his wounds, he finally realized how terrifying they were. If the cuts were any deeper, they would have torn his organs apart. Li Kaifeng was so close to killing Jiang Yu!

“What the hell happened?” Mo Fan turned around and looked at Zhao Manyan.

“Li Kaifeng used a forbidden spell. No one knew he practiced a spell that has been strictly forbidden by the Magic Associations of the five continents !” Zhao Manyan hissed.

“Forbidden spell?” It was obvious that Mo Fan was not familiar with the term.

“Look at his blood; does it have a strange, blue color to it?” Zhao Manyan pointed at Li Kaifeng, whose blood was pouring out on the dueling ground.

Mo Fan took a closer look and discovered that the blood did indeed have a hint of blue, like some kind of blue ink.

“It’s the Blue Blood Bizarre Magic! It’s able to draw a huge amount of energy from the caster to multiply the power of their spells. It’s difficult to control how much energy is being drawn and how many times the damage of the spells is amplified. In addition to that, the process of learning it is quite inhumane, so the Magic Associations have listed it as a forbidden spell. In the early days, there was an organization called the Profound Mana Association. Its members practiced the spell, and ended up killing lots of people. Since then, the organization has been blacklisted by the world,” said Zhao Manyan.

Forbidden spells and Forbidden Curses were two different things. Forbidden spells were unorthodox magic with uncontrollable power that could harm the caster or other people when practicing it.

Magic continued to evolve, and the spells of many Elements were not necessarily the same as they had been in the very beginning. People had been exploring, searching for new Elements and new power, just to give humanity a better chance of survival in this world full of dangers.

These new Elements usually had to go through long periods of experimentation, testing, and validation before they were officially listed as orthodox magic. As for other new magicks, everyone was forbidden to use them apart from the people conducting experiments with them.

Blue Blood Bizzare Magic was an example of the forbidden spells. It was an ability obtained from the most dangerous Azure-Blue Sea Monsters, able to directly amplify the power of a Mage’s spells. However, the process of learning it was said to be rather sadistic. On top of that, the difficulty of controlling its power and the harm inflicted to oneself when using it were the main reasons it was prohibited.

The spell that Li Kaifeng had used in the duel was the Blue Blood Bizarre Magic. He had obviously violated the rules, and had almost killed Jiang Yu when using it, hence why the Night Rakshasa was so infuriated!

The World College Tournament strictly forbade any forbidden spells. If anyone was discovered using them, the team would be disqualified, and would receive serious punishment. Li Kaifeng had obviously crossed the line by using the Blue Blood Bizzare Art just to win the duel.

Luckily, it did not result in anything too serious. After all, even though the Blue Blood Bizzare Magic was listed as a forbidden spell, it was not regarded as an evil spell. Even evil spells were further classified into different groups. For example, the magic that the Black Vatican used to turn living humans into Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts was one of the worst evil spells, despised by the entire world!

“We aren’t going to disqualify anyone from the team just by looking at the results of the duels. After all, someone forcibly disqualified a member recently in the wild. But, Li Kaifeng, what you did has really disappointed us,” Song He sighed.

Li Kaifeng was the son of the president of the Education Union. He obviously had a bright future ahead of him. It was not necessary for him to rely on the forbidden spell just to win a duel.

“I’m sorry, advisor, I didn’t want to leave the team. I really want to take part in the tournament in Venice,” Li Kaifeng apologized

“We aren’t the one you should apologize to,” Dean Song He said.

Li Kaifeng finally calmed down. He glanced at Jiang Yu who was treating his wounds. He slowly rose to his feet and walked toward Jiang Yu.

“Your injuries…” Nanrong Ni was trying to tell him that his wounds were not healed yet, but Li Kaifeng continued to walk toward Jiang Yu.

“I’m sorry, I was too desperate to win the duel. It’s my first time using the spell, so I didn’t know it would go out of true control so easily. I hope you understand that I only wanted to win. I never wanted to do any harm to you. I swear, I won’t touch anything like it again in my life,” Li Kaifeng bent forward and apologized sincerely to Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu looked at him with a cold expression.

Li Kaifeng maintained the same posture, as if he would stay there until Jiang Yu was willing to forgive him.

“Forget it, I didn’t control my Contracted Beast, and she almost killed you,” Jiang Yu said in the end.

Jiang Yu was relatively easy-going on the team. He had never gotten into a fight with anyone on the team. They all wanted to win and earn their reputation in Venice, so it was understandable that someone would act a bit more radically.

“Thank you for your understanding,” Li Kaifeng held his bleeding stump and went back to Nanrong Ni’s side.

——

The little disturbance was soon over. The advisors did not come to take anyone away. They were just bringing Mu Ningxue back to the team.

The numbers on the team remained the same. The team had an empty slot when Mo Fan got rid of Lu Yilin. As such, there was no need to disqualify any of the current members.

Seeing that Li Kaifeng was very sincere with his apology, the advisors only took away the resources allocated to him as a punishment instead of disqualifying him. He was allowed to stay on the team until the next adjustment. The advisors would then decide if he was worthy to stay on the team or not.

“Mo Fan, come over here!” Feng Li was wearing an unpleasant look after what Li Kaifeng had done.

Mo Fan’s brain started to buzz. He had a feeling that he was in trouble.

“Advisor,” Mo Fan obediently showed up.

“Don’t you think I can forgive you just because of the impressive deeds you’ve done in the past. Why didn’t you let us handle Lu Yilin instead? Do you seriously think we’ll go easy on him just because of his background? You piece of shit, do I look like that kind of a person? I would still put him in jail for plotting against his teammate even if he was the son of Heaven!” Feng Li scolded the crap out of Mo Fan.

Mo Fan subconsciously moved further away with an innocent look.

“The Lu Clan is already asking me to hand you over, do you understand?” snapped Feng Li.

“I could guess it,” Mo Fan said.

“Don’t you think it’s over!. Even if you have all the reasons to justify yourself, you’re not allowed to kill him!” Feng Li said.

“I didn’t kill him.”

“What you did was no different than killing him. Did you feel great? Are you proud of yourself? You undisciplined, disrespectful, lawless prick! If it was anyone else, I’d surely ask them to pack up their stuff, and get the hell out of my sight!” Feng Li scolded him without lowering his voice.

“Hehe, so that means you’ve helped me settle it!” Mo Fan smiled shamelessly.

Feng Li was so pissed that he totally ran out of words. He had never seen any student like Mo Fan!

“How could I possibly settle it for you? I’m only doing my job as an advisor! The Lu Clan won’t trouble you as long as you’re still a representative of the national team. However, as soon as the World College Tournament ends, they will surely get their revenge! They will still follow the rules on the surface, but you will know what they can do behind the scenes when the time comes!” Feng Li said.

“Hehe, thanks for reminding me!” Mo Fan smiled again.

“…” Feng Li was left speechless.

– This kid!-

Any other student would be scared out of their wits after being scolded by him, yet this kid clearly knew he was being warned about the Lu Clan’s conspiracy behind the scenes. That being said, the Lu Clan did not dare to act too recklessly, as Mo Fan was still in the right!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The team arrived at Mexico’s Training Hall. As a matter of fact, one could easily guess the strength of a national team by looking at the representatives of the defending team at a country’s Training Hall. Mexico was a fairly strong team, providing some resistance when the team was trying to secure the stamp. The team still managed to secure it in the end, leading them one step closer to Venice.

—

After Mexico, their next destination was the United States of America.

The United States of America was one of the super countries. It would be a great challenge to win the stamp from the USA’s Training Hall.

One of the Five Continents Magic Associations, the highest Magic Association of the Americas, was the Sacred Hall of Liberty located in New York City. It was truly a sacred hall of the Magic Civilization, and the Mages in the Sacred Hall of Liberty were referred to as Sacred Hall Mages, respected and admired by many people of the world. Joining the Sacred Hall of Liberty was one of their greatest ambitions for many mages!

The USA Training Hall was located on Liberty Island, the same place as the Sacred Hall of Liberty. After the team successfully acquired the stamp from Mexico, everyone on the team was interested in visiting the magic sacred hall, and witnessing the grandeur of the most advanced magic civilization in the world.

—

After arriving in New York, the team headed straight for the Sacred Hall of Liberty. They immediately saw the spectacular Statue of Liberty while they were standing along the shore. The sacred light, a mix of blue and golden emitted by the statue, urged them to kneel and bow before it.

The aura of the statue was beyond the team’s imagination. It felt like a living Greek goddess was standing there, glancing down at her people with her light of freedom and a calm, peaceful gaze!

“Don’t tell me the whole Statue of Liberty is actually the Sacred Hall of Liberty?” Mo Fan glanced at the statue of the goddess and immediately recalled the feeling he had when he saw the Skyscraping Snake for the first time. It was like a skyscraper in the night mist.

Similarly, the statue of the goddess was about the size of a skyscraper. According to the information on hand, the Sacred Hall of Liberty was right here; the statue was the Sacred Hall of Liberty, and the inside of the statue was the magic sacred hall!

The bottom of the statue was similar to the Oriental Pearl Tower, with tourist attractions, a museum, a gallery…

The team took the lift inside the statue. After reaching a certain level, they arrived at the Hall of Mages.

The Hall of Mages was located around the waist of the statue, and consisted of seven floors in total, with all kinds of facilities. The Mages could enter different halls based on their levels.

The team took different lifts in the Hall of Mages to the neck of the statue. It was where the Sacred Hall Mages stayed, the actual Sacred Hall of Liberty.

The Sacred Hall of Liberty did not allow visitors. Only certain groups of people were allowed to enter. The national teams did not really have the chance to tour the Sacred Hall of Liberty. Despite that, they were quite astounded by how marvelous it was from just brief glances.

It was impressive how they had turned the Statue of Liberty into a building. Only the greatest Magic Civilization was able to accomplish such an astounding deed. The Saint Paul Cathedral in England that had existed for the longest time was regarded as the greatest Magic Association of the five continents, but the Sacred Hall of Liberty was the real boss among the Five Continental Magic Associations.

—

When the Chinese team arrived on the Liberty Island, the Sacred Hall Mage Oleena Rivers made deliberate time to come to receive Mo Fan at the square under the Statue of Liberty.

Oleena was still wearing the same black and gold outfit, with a hint of the flamboyance and aloofness of Northern Europeans. She smiled slightly when she saw Mo Fan.

The student had done her a great favor. They had escorted Casso back to the Sacred Hall of Liberty to be judged and sentenced. The Sacred Hall of Liberty also complimented Oleena for doing a great job.

“I’ll bring you to the Training Hall. Strictly speaking, I was half an instructor there, too,” Oleena volunteered.

“Sure, why don’t you ask your students to go easy on us considering how much of a favor you owed me?” Mo Fan smiled.

A young man with sharp eyes showed up and said disdainfully, “Humph, go easy? Are all Chinese the same? Trying to enter through the backdoor with their connections?”

“He’s my brother, Fred, a representative of the Training Hall. You guys can be friends,” Oleena smiled apologetically. She introduced the young man with long brown hair in a friendly manner.

Just like Oleena, her brother Fred had light blue, amber-like eyes. Even though his facial features were not even half as handsome as Mo Fan, many Chinese girls would surely be fascinated by his eyes.

“Even though you two are brother and sister, the difference between you is pretty big, in terms of politeness and courtesy…” Mo Fan fearlessly returned the favor when he saw how arrogant Fred was.

“To be honest, I’m usually like him too. I’m not always polite to strangers,” Oleena admitted.

“Does that mean I’m special?” Mo Fan raised his brows. His eyes had a flirtatious look in them.

Fred could not stand it any longer. The man was flirting with his sister right in front of him. Did he want to die!?

Their mother was no longer around. The relationship between him and his sister was rather complicated. Even though he was not over-reliant on his sister, he still could not bear a man he was not fond of trying to win his sister’s affection.

In Fred’s eyes, Mo Fan was clearly a great eyesore, especially his slacking temperament and the way he dressed, and that sallow, uncaring face… most hilariously, he was asking the representatives of their Training Hall to go easy on them!

“Listen up, there’s no way our Training Hall is going to go easy on you noobs! Taking down the Red Ornaments Guild and challenging our Training Hall are two different things. There’s no way we will give our stamp to an unskilled bunch, it’s a disgrace to our stamp!” Fred swore furiously to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan glanced at Oleena when he saw how Fred was overreacting.

Oleena seemed to be used to it, and remained silent. Mo Fan chuckled and said, “Your brother gets jealous really easily.”

“Yeah, I bet he wants me to stay single for the rest of my life, so I can always take care of him,” Oleena giggled.

Fred was immediately infuriated and embarrassed by their words!

Even though what they said was actually his thinking, it was humiliating that a man in his twenties was still dependent on his sister. In America, if a kid after the age of six kept mentioning what their mothers told them, they would be laughed at and humiliated by their classmates!

Fred’s gaze sharpened as he stared at Mo Fan. Even though he was not saying anything, Mo Fan could easily read the man’s thoughts: You’re dead if you fight me in the duels!

—

When they first entered the USA Training Hall, the observant Jiang Shaoxu immediately saw a huge wall covered by the flags of different countries.

Besides the flags were different dates, with a giant cross after each of them!

“What’s this?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“It’s the countries that challenged us,” Oleena explained calmly.

“Does the cross mean they have failed? Are you kidding me? The whole wall is filled with crosses. Doesn’t that mean the team is on a long winning streak?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

USA’s Training Hall was obviously stronger than countries that were above average. The team suddenly felt a strong pressure from the USA’s Training Hall.

“Keep flipping the pages, there are all crosses too!” Fred said proudly.

The eyes of the team almost fell out from widening too much in astonishment.

Zhao Manyan started scrolling through the pages in disbelief. He flipped the pages up and saw many countries had come to challenge the Training Hall, yet none of them had a green tick!

“Not a single country has won after so long, that’s…that’s unbelievable!” Jiang Yu exclaimed.

Not a single team had won against USA’s Training Hall, meaning that the team defending the Training Hall did not have a single loss!

The team at the Training Hall were only substitutes for the national team, so it was shocking that so many national teams had lost to them. It immediately increased the pressure on the shoulders of the already-nervous Chinese team!

“Speaking of which, I understand why these countries have a cross on them, since they all failed the challenge, but why is there a cross at the very end, behind today’s date, and our country’s flag, too?” said Jiang Shaoxu.

Fred lowered his head and smiled, “Perhaps the captain knew you guys were coming, so he immediately filled in the date and the result so he wouldn’t need to do it again later… the captain is the kind of person that gets angry if you waste even five seconds of his time!”

“Aren’t you guys a bit too full of yourselves?” Jiang Yu wondered aloud.

Fred shrugged and said, “You can simply look at the list. So many countries that are stronger than yours have failed to win the stamp. Do you seriously think you have a chance?”

“It’s not about the result, but the fact that you’ve drawn a cross before the duels is extremely disrespectful!” Nanyu said.

“Respect? Only strong teams deserve to be respected, don’t you agree? Oh, I almost forgot, your country likes being humble. I’m sorry, our people have trouble learning how to be humble, since it’s totally unnecessary,” Fred shot back.

“…”

Oleena did not comment on it. Everyone on the team defending the USA’s Training Hall was the same. After all, only those that were extremely talented in this powerful country were chosen to represent the Training Hall!.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How infuriating!” The proud Mu Tingying was the first to express her frustration.

What did he mean by they didn’t know how to be humble, and it was unnecessary to be humble? Was everyone on the American team so arrogant and full of themselves!?

The rest of the team remained silent. It was indeed difficult to win the stamp from the USA’s Training Hall. They had briefly scanned through the list. Many countries on it were ranked higher than China, yet they still lost the challenge here. It clearly implied how strong the American team was!

Oleena brought everyone to the American representatives. There were eight of them. A handsome man with a bandana covering his head was fairly outstanding, not because of his appearance, but because he was scolding his teammates loudly.

“That’s our captain, Roberts,” Fred pointed out for them.

Roberts stopped exhorting his team and turned around. He scanned the Chinese team and said, “Let’s not waste any time further. Shall we start at once?”

“Shouldn’t we decide on the rules first?” Nanyu felt like this captain was a bit too impatient.

“Oh, right. The usual, a single match of five versus five?” Roberts asked.

Nanyu discussed it with the others. They agreed a team battle was more favorable for them.

Captain Roberts immediately proceeded to choose their representatives. Oleena’s brother Fred volunteered to join the duel, and purposely gave Mo Fan a provoking look.

“Your brother really wants to fight me,” Mo Fan commented when he noticed Fred’s challenging gaze.

“I don’t think he can take you on,” Oleena said honestly.

Oleena had watched Mo Fan take on the leader of the Red Ornaments Guild, Casso. The strength he had displayed was incredibly shocking. Oleena knew how strong her brother was, there was no way he could beat a maniac like Mo Fan.

Oleena’s words instantly infuriated Fred, who snapped, “I could easily have arrested those bandits myself!. I don’t think he’s any stronger than me! Stop talking nonsense and come up here, so I can show you my strength!”

Mo Fan smiled. He looked at Ai Jiangtu, who was about to participate in the duel and said, “As the captain, it’s better if you don’t take part in the duel. It’s unwise to expose too much now.”

Ai Jiangtu was tempted to join the duel since they were up against a strong opponent. However, if the captain of their team had to join the fight against a team of substitutes, wouldn’t that imply they were not worthy to take on the USA’s national team during the World College Tournament in Venice?

Ai Jiangtu should not participate in the duel. He had to conceal his strength for now.

“We didn’t take the badge in Peru. If we lose another badge here, it might affect our chance of making it to the finals. I must join the fight, just in case,” Ai Jiangtu said seriously.

As a matter of fact, Ai Jiangtu was displeased by how proud the American team was. Didn’t they say they had never tasted defeat? He would not mind letting them try it today!

“Stop fighting over the spot, both of you will take part in the duel! We must take the badge from them,” Nanyu said.

Nanyu would not believe they would still lose the duel when both Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu were representing them!

“That works too. We’ll go, we still need three more people,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“I’ll go,” Mu Tingying said.

Mu Tingying was eager to show off her talents since Mu Ningxue had rejoined the team. She volunteered right away as she was worried that Mu Ningxue would grab the limelight again. Defeating a team that had never lost before was something she could boast about too!

“Her Primary Element is Ice, mmm, maybe we’ll need a Summoner, too.”

“Do we need more destructive spells?”

“I don’t think so, having Mo Fan is basically enough.”

“How about the Psychic Element? Jiang Shaoxu can go.”

“Psychic Element won’t be of any help. Let Nanrong Ni take the spot, her primary Element is Healing, secondary is Plant, and third is Blessing; she will come in handy in a team battle.”

The members discussed it and finally decided on a final formation consisting of Ai Jiangtu, Mo Fan, Jiang Yu, Mu Tingying, and Nanrong Ni.

The five on the enemy team were the captain, Roberts; Fred; a woman with golden-brown straight hair; a tall Oriental around one hundred and ninety centimeters tall; and a girl in a green shirt.

The two teams started the duel immediately without any unnecessary and over-elaborate formalities.

—

Up on the stage, Mo Fan noticed that the members on both teams all had stern looks on their faces. It seemed like they were treating the duel very seriously.

While Mo Fan was observing his opponents and trying to guess their Elements, a familiar sound appeared in his mind. It was pleasant, like the cry of a spirit descending from the starry sky.

Mo Fan immediately checked his Contracted Space and discovered that Little Flame Belle had woken up, right on time.

The lump of brown fire felt even more dangerous and mysterious. As it was spreading into the surroundings, a pair of long, elegant legs slowly stuck out from the fire.

Little Flame Belle was chubby and round when she was in her Youth Phase, kicking and stomping with her short, tiny legs. To Mo Fan’s surprise, her legs had grown longer when she entered the Adolescent Phase. Her appearance totally resembled that of a young teenage girl…

Either Little Flame Belle had watched too much anime, or she actually looked that way in the Adolescent Phase. Little Flame Belle now had two stalks of burning mandrakes on her head, resembling the cute appearance of a certain Japanese anime’s character.

The lines of her face were a lot clearer, too. Her round eyes glowed like black, shiny gems. They were extraordinarily attractive!

Little Flame Belle was still engulfed in flames, but instead of the patternless, spouting flames from before, the color of the Calamity Fire around her was deeper and more defined. From afar, she looked like a glamorous teenage girl in a blazing red dress. One could easily sense her sacred and otherworldly temperament, even if her flames were a lot gentler…

Little Flame Belle cried out happily, as if she was asking for a hug after not seeing her daddy for many years!

“Not now, not now, we’re in the middle of a duel. You will have a chance to show off your strength soon!” Mo Fan did not let Little Flame Belle show herself. He asked her to lay low patiently.

Little Flame Belle happily flew around in the Contracted Space when she heard there was a fight coming. She seemed to have fully mastered the ability to float in the air after reaching the Adolescent Phase. Her slender legs, covered in a pair of burning red stockings, did not touch the ground, but they still formed tiny flames along the ground, just like little footprints.

“Alright, let’s begin!” Oleena declared the start of the duel, acting as the judge.

Jiang Yu was standing at the back of the team. As the Summoner of the team, he desperately needed protection, just like Nanrong Ni. The more cunning Mages would avoid the Summoned Beasts and attack the Summoner instead.

Jiang Yu did not summon Night Rakshasa. He was planning to probe their opponent with his Giant Rock Beast.

Jiang Yu quickly Summoned the creature. It was a Rock Demon covered in white granite. The enormous figure of the creature had a great impact on the people watching the duel!

The creature uttered a deep groan. It stood at the very front of the team like a shield.

The Rock Demon had an outstanding defense. The spells that the American team cast to probe the strength of the creature had no effect at all, the Rock Demon took them all with ease.

“Are you trying to amuse us by Summoning the clumsy creature?” Fred chuckled. Fred shoved his palm out, firing beams of icy gas at one of the limbs of the Rock Demon.

Fred struck out continuously, firing the icy beams at different body parts of the Rock Demon.

A rock-type creature was extremely vulnerable to the Ice Element. Even if their defense was strong enough to resist the penetrating ability of Lightning Element, they were still afraid of being frozen and turned rigid by the Ice Element.

Before long, two-thirds of the Rock Demon were covered in frost. Jiang Yu had no choice but to ask the creature to withdraw temporarily.

Without the Rock Demon blocking the path ahead, the American team immediately charged ahead to disrupt the Chinese team’s formation.

A battle between Advanced Mages was no longer a battle where two teams of Mages stood on different sides and kept firing spells at one another. After gaining better control of their Elements, allowing them to alter the form of their spells as they wished, some Advanced Mages would become experts at close combat.

Jiang Yu initially planned to temporarily withdraw the Rock Demon, so it could rejoin the battle once the ice on it melted. However, the tall Oriental on the American team stepped forward. His muscular body was quickly covered in a layer of stone…

“What is he doing? Petrifying himself?” Jiang Yu asked in confusion.

The tall fellow on the American team soon covered his entire body in the gray-white stony substance. However, the stuff was glossy and metallic, making him look extremely formidable!

BANG!

The guy that petrified himself was still able to move around freely. He started sprinting and rammed into Jiang Yu’s Rock Demon.

The Rock Demon was basically as firm as a building, yet its thick leg was still shattered into pieces when the guy rammed into it!

On the other hand, the big fellow that petrified himself was perfectly unharmed!

The people watching the duel gasped upon witnessing this.

The ability to harden his skin!

The American representative was a close-combat Mage with the ability to harden his skin, just like Casso’s poison mutated flesh!

As mentioned before, every Advanced Mage had different levels of control over their magic, allowing them to apply their spells in different ways. By applying the effects of Petrify to his skin, the man’s flesh was suddenly sturdier than the Rock Demon!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The huge bloke’s skin was covered in stone, but in everyone’s eyes, he was basically a beast covered in iron. The Intermediate Spells everyone cast on him did not even leave a scratch. The team immediately backed away while crying out in surprise!

“HAHAHA, that thing is like a toy to me! I will show you the real Rock Demon!” The huge Oriental from the American team obviously had the Earth Element as his primary Element. His eyes were now brown, as he was casting the Eyes of the Rock Demon.

He went up to Ai Jiangtu and slammed his fist on the ground like a hammer. Earth spikes immediately shot out from the ground, approaching Ai Jiangtu rapidly.

Ai Jiangtu nimbly dodged to the side. However, the huge fellow tore a huge chasm along the ground before Ai Jiangtu could stabilize himself!

The huge Oriental American charged fiercely into the group of five and instantly disrupted their formation. As soon as their formation crumbled, destructive spells came pouring down on them.

This time, the American team had cast an Advanced Spell. The sky above was covered by a burning cloud, out of which a fireball with a diameter over fifteen meters started falling!

A fireball with a diameter of fifteen meters was basically like a meteorite sweeping across the sky. The overwhelming force of the diving flames set the area within two hundred meters nearby on fire, forming a fiery ocean!

“Can anyone take care of that iron man? I’ll handle the flames!” Mu Tingying called out.

“I’ll do it, I’ll use softness to conquer strength,” Nanrong Ni answered.

Nanrong Ni’s secondary Element was Plant. The vines of the Plant Element were fairly effective against anything that was sturdy.

“Mo Fan, show them what you have! Don’t let them think that we don’t have any firepower!” Jiang Yu said.

“I’ll need your Night Rakshasa to harass them. Otherwise, they can easily nullify my spells with their defensive spells, regardless of how many spells I have,” Mo Fan replied.

Sky-Flame Funeral was too easily shut down by Water Curtain. Mo Fan had to see if there were any Advanced Water Magicians on the enemy team. Otherwise, the spectacular fireballs of the Sky-Flame Funeral would simply be stopped by a layer of Water Curtain without achieving anything.

“Really? Are you seriously asking a Summoner to be the forward!?” Jiang Yu replied unpleasantly.

However, considering the circumstances, Jiang Yu obediently summoned his Contracted Beast.

The petite black Night Rakshasa slowly appeared from the lunar-white Star Formation. Her fine fur disguised her as a harmless, adorable little creature, but those who witnessed her true strength knew how savage and fierce the creature was!

“You still have other Summoned Beasts? HAHAHA, I’m going to die from laughing too much, does anyone have a ball of wool? Quick, toss it at her so she can play around with it!” Fred burst out laughing.

He was starting to be impressed by the Chinese representatives. Why would anyone have such a little creature as their Contracted Beast? -Don’t tell me their Summoner actually has a little girl’s heart!?-

“Meow!~” The Night Rakshasa was naturally adorable, with a hint of iciness to her temperament. After noticing that someone was laughing at her, the Night Rakshasa immediately vanished with a sudden flicker…

The outline of a cat vaguely appeared along the ground; it was on the left, on the right, and even on their heads or by their feet…

“Such a nimble creature!” Captain Roberts exclaimed.

Fred was startled too. He immediately focused and tried to anticipate the movement of the swift, black shadow. He waved his hand, firing a frostbolt at his target.

Unfortunately, the only thing that the spell froze was a blurred image left behind by Night Rakshasa’s rapid movements!

Fred started producing ice chains. His chains had spikes all across them, like moving thistles.

The ice chains flew through the air and chased after the Night Rakshasa. Night Rakshasa’s footwork was like dancing on the edge of an ice blade. She wove nimbly through the thistles of ice.

“Don’t drop your guard!” Roberts immediately reminded his team after noticing something.

Even though the Night Rakshasa did not have the outstanding might of the huge bloke, her ability to carry out sneak attacks and mobility were outstanding. The five representatives of the American team had to be on their toes at all times.

“I’ll give them a punch for now!” When Mo Fan saw Night Rakshasa was perfectly fulfilling her role, he slammed his fist into the ground under his feet fiercely.

Scorching lava entered the ground from Mo Fan’s fist. Red lines extended through the ground like veins in the direction of the American team. The lines soon emerged from the ground and turned into nine burning dragon pillars, flames rolling fiercely and tongues of fire dancing in the air.

Mo Fan raised his right hand, which was instantly wrapped by lightning. Thunderbolts surged forward in a straight line. The Americans had just dealt with the fiery pillars, and now they were feeling uneasy after being caught in the lightning.

Both the lightning and fire were only the entrées; the real move was coming up!

“Little Flame Belle, give them something big, since they are somewhat in a mess now!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mo Fan was actually not in the mood to attack today. Since he had not mastered the Advanced Spells yet, his damage was still weaker than Little Flame Belle in the Adolescent Phase.

Mo Fan Summoned out Little Flame Belle after noticing the enemy team was in quite a mess.

Little Flame Belle floated beside Mo Fan. Her figure was slender and soft, like she was boneless. She caught the scent of fire in the air and raised her head.

The blazing heat left by the fifteen-meter-wide fireball lingered in the air. Little Flame Belle opened her mouth and swallowed it all into her lungs.

“Niiiiiiiiiing!” Little Flame Belle uttered a long cry and spat out even stronger flames, which actually propelled her backwards.

The flames spread through the air above the American team, and suddenly grew into something enormous.

The flames were like pieces of rocks stacking up into a blazing red volcano in just a few seconds. The magnificent volcano loomed over the American team, sending a chill down their spines!

BANG!

The volcano swelled, and then abruptly exploded. Scorching lava and huge fireballs started pouring down with black ashes, scattering across the place!

It was exactly the same as an erupting volcano!

The American team was able to maintain their formation initially. However, when they saw the erupting volcano, they immediately fled for their lives miserably.

They initially thought the spell only looked fierce on the surface. To their surprise, the fireballs pouring down at them were bigger and denser than those produced by a single casting of Sky-Flame Funeral. Most terrifyingly, the fireballs were followed up by scorching lava! It was so hot that the golden-haired Maga had to summon her Armor immediately to protect her.

“Mo Fan… is going wild again!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The others inhaled deeply after witnessing the spectacular sight. The terrifying volcano seemed to be stronger than the Advanced Fire Spell they saw quite often.

Little Flame Belle had been asleep for some time. She had finally woken up today with an extremely bad temper. Happily, she had the perfect opportunity to vent all her anger. As such, she completely turned into an unstoppable, fiery little demoness!

Before the flames of the erupting volcano had even calmed down, the blazing red Sailor Moon fanatic reached out her hand and blew across her palm.

Her flaming breath proceeded to land on the ground and take the shape of a wolf.

Little Flame Belle continued to blow, and produced more than ten magic wolves in one go. They looked very similar to Little Flame Belle’s Uncle Wolf, or maybe Little Flame Belle was actually referring to the appearance of the Swift Star Wolf to create her soldiers!

The fiery wolves stood in a line. Even the word spectacular was not enough to describe the sight.

As the Flame Belle Sailor Moon pointed her forward, the fiery magic wolves tensed and charged forward. The wind swept the flames and altered their shapes, like the fur of actual wolves drifting in the wind. The magic wolves looked cool and imperious!

Fred, Roberts, and their teammates were stunned by the sight.

The erupting volcano had been quite shocking. They had only managed to survive it by helping one another out. They were planning to return the favor with a counterattack just so the Chinese team would experience what they had gone through, but the fiery wolves were already charging at them with a presence comparable to the erupting volcano!

The wolves howled and chased after the four Americans. Somehow, the proud, arrogant Mages were all fleeing for their lives miserably again.

“Damn it, they had two Summoners on their team! Fred, you have to take out one of them right now!” Robert ordered, clenching his teeth.

Roberts did not dare underestimate the Chinese team further. Both the black cat demon and the fiery demoness resembling a teenage girl were almost as strong as Commander-level creatures. The latter was most likely an actual Commander-level creature!

With their team’s strength, they would not have trouble taking on a Commander-level creature if they worked together. However, even if they left the two Summoners out, there were still three other candidates on the Chinese team, and they were not weak, either!

“It’s quite a surprise how strong their Contracted Beasts are. Just hold on for now, I’ll deal with their Summoners together with our Iron Man,” Fred said.

The huge bloke who was trapped inside Nanrong Ni’s Plant Magic noticed that his team was in great trouble. He immediately locked his gaze on Mo Fan and Jiang Yu.

If both of their primary Elements were Summoning, it was likely that they were not particularly strong themselves. As such, it was easier to defeat them than trying to defeat their Summoned Beasts.

“Fred, do it the old-fashioned way! Let’s take out the Summoners as quickly as possible!” the huge fellow, Lucky Wang, shouted out.

“Not a problem!” Fred answered. He was extremely fast. It turned out that his primary Element was not Ice, but Wind!

He sprinted quickly along the Wind Track, and eventually rose into the air as a pair of wings took shape on his back.

The Wind Wings of the Wind Element!

Fred flew in the sky and synchronized his attack with big Lucky Wang to flank their target simultaneously. Their first target was Jiang Yu, who was hiding in the back!.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Jiang Yu immediately asked the others to protect him when he realized that the situation did not seem right.

However, it turned out that everyone was pretty occupied. Mu Tingying was laying out her frost, trying to spread it across the stage. Meanwhile, Ai Jiangtu and the enemy’s captain Roberts were having a showdown on their own. They were both extremely strong, so it was unlikely that the outcome would be decided anytime soon.

Nanrong Ni too was unable to offer much help. She was only acting as support on the team. There was no way she could lend Jiang Yu a hand. It was a relief that the enemy did not come bother her.

Jiang Yu felt pretty helpless. In the end, he had no choice but to summon the Night Rakshasa back to his side. Otherwise, he would be the first person to be knocked out from the duel!

“His Summoned Beast has returned!” the big Wangchi shouted.

“Focus on the other one instead!” Fred said.

Fred actually wanted to fight Mo Fan the most. He immediately asked the huge man to attack at the same time.

“His Contracted Beast is a certain distance away from him. Let’s take him out as quickly as possible,” Fred said.

Little Flame Belle was in a bad mood after she just woke up from a deep sleep, and simply went on her own way. She almost charged into the enemy’s formation. She was keeping two of the Americans busy, who had to place all their attention on fighting Little Flame Belle just to prevent themselves from being injured.

“Do it quick, we can’t hold on for much longer. This Contracted Beast is too strong!” the golden-haired Maga said.

“You can count on me!”

Fred arrived above Mo Fan. The big Lucky Wang was in position, too.

“This guy still didn’t call his Contracted Beast back. He’s dead for sure!” Fred grinned.

A Summoner was extremely weak without the protection of their Summoned Beasts. Their big man and Fred immediately attacked without hesitation when they realized how slow their target was!

Fred had Wind Wings beating like a hummingbird on his back. He dove down rapidly, his body circled by a strong blue airflow.

The airflow flowed in a spiraling motion. Its pointy end was aimed right at Mo Fan!

On the ground, the huge bloke cast several Rock Barriers in a row to seal off Mo Fan’s escape routes. Mo Fan could only endure the approaching attack with his flesh.

Fred seemed to think that the power of the wind alone was nowhere enough. He quickly applied layers of ice chains around the wind. The blue airflow immediately combined with the thorny ice chains and plummeted with a terrifying force!

“Impressive teamwork!” Mo Fan lifted his eyes and studied the strong vortex of icy thorns.

Waving his arm, a huge electrical field appeared on the ground under Mo Fan’s feet. Dense lightning arcs spread rapidly like pythons, forming a sphere of lightning with Mo Fan at the center.

Purple-black lightning arcs swept past under Mo Fan’s feet. Rings of spiralling lightning circled around his arms!

“Lightning Arm!” Mo Fan did not bother dodging the attack. He simply threw his fist at the blue winds spinning with icy thorns!

Perhaps Mo Fan was too used to throwing Fiery Fist around recklessly, and so when he was casting the Advanced Lightning Spell, he always utilized his control of the Element to unleash the spell by punching out!

Black bolts of death soared into the sky, followed by purple-black lightning rings rising like dragons, a stunning sight!

The lightning death bolt fist slammed into Fred. The tremendous force of the lightning clashed fiercely with Fred’s strong vortex. A piercing and screeching ripple spread out from the impact!

The wild energy spread in all directions. The ground under Mo Fan’s feet immediately turned into debris. His clothes were torn apart, revealing the bloodstains left by the icy thorns.

It was obvious that someone would get hurt when two different forces clashed with one another directly. Not many people had the guts to use the approach that Mo Fan did.

Fred was in a worse state than Mo Fan, knocked flying by the impact. He was having trouble maintaining his balance even with the Wind Wings on his back. He fell to the ground around three hundred meters away. Purple-black lightning arcs were still flickering on his convulsing body!

“Fred!” Lucky Wang yelled, before staring at the lightning-cloaked Mo Fan with a stunned expression.

This Summoner… the word weak did not fit him at all, he was actually as strong as a monster!

The direct clash of their spells was so powerful that it had even knocked Fred, who had an advantage when fighting in the air, flying! He was too strong to be true!

“Lightning…Lightning Element!” Fred’s Armor was out. His defensive Equipment was the only reason that he managed to rise to his feet.

Fred wiped the dust from his face. He was looking very grim now.

He had made a mistake!

Normally, a Summoner needed a huge amount of resources to nurture their Summoned Beasts. After all, a powerful Summoned Beast basically allowed the Summoner to take on demon creatures of the same level. For example, if a Summoner in the Advanced Level was able to nurture their Contracted Beast to the Advanced Level, they would easily crush anyone at the same level. After all, it would usually take a whole team of Advanced Magicians to take on a Commander-level creature.

Mo Fan’s fiery Summoned Beast was ridiculously strong. Even its simplest fire magic was enough to force his teammates to flee for their lives.

Therefore, Fred had assumed Mo Fan had invested everything he had on the Summoned Beast. The personal strength and other two Elements of most Summoners like Mo Fan were usually quite weak!

Fred almost lost his mind he realized this guy was able to cast Silent Deadly Bolt with such outstanding control!

-F**k, how is his Lightning Element so strong, too!?-

“Should we focus on the other one first?” the big guy asked in a low voice. He could tell that Mo Fan was not an easy target for them.

“We’ll take him down. He poses a greater threat to our team. We can’t let his Contracted Beast do whatever she wants!,” replied Fred unrelentingly.

The two launched their attacks at Mo Fan again, one in the air and one on the ground. The big guy abused his strength and chased after Mo Fan fiercely while summoning Rock Barriers along the ground to block Mo Fan’s path.

—

Mo Fan dodged continuously while observing the big guy, trying to find his weaknesses. His stone armor and incredible strength had turned him into a stone tank. His physical strength was comparable to some of the stronger demon creatures. The duel would not be in their favor if they did not take out this guy!

—

“Did you guys realize something?” a representative of the Training Hall wearing a pair of sunglasses asked from where he was standing outside the stage.

“Realize what?” another woman asked.

“We keep on talking how strong the guy with the Space Element is, since he’s able to take on Captain Roberts on his own, but didn’t you notice that guy who’s being flanked by Lucky Wang and Fred? His teammates aren’t bothering to help him,” the man with sunglasses observed, analyzing the situation.

“It does look that way; the only help he got was a Healing Spirit from the healer to treat his wounds. His teammates aren’t willing to help him. Our team will soon take out one of them and win the duel with numbers.”

“Something doesn’t seem right.”

“His primary Element is most likely Summoning, you have seen how strong his Contract Beast is! But his teammates aren’t bothering to help him when he’s being flanked by two of our teammates. Doesn’t that mean his team believes he doesn’t need any help?” the man with sunglasses wondered.

“How is that possible? His Contract Beast is already keeping two of our teammates busy!…”

—

Up on the stage, Jiang Yu, Nanrong Ni, and Mu Tingying indeed had no intention of lending Mo Fan a hand.

As a matter of fact, it was not like they did not work together on purpose. They subconsciously thought Mo Fan could handle the situation when they saw two of their opponents targeting him, so they simply minded their own business.

The truth was, Mo Fan was indeed unlikely to be taken out by the two Americans in a short period of time. If he cast Nyx Regime, he could easily move freely in the zone of darkness and fool around with them for a whole day. He could also challenge the two Americans in the maze set up in the Nyx Regime to waste more time.

“What are they doing? Why haven’t they taken out the Summoner!?” the golden-haired Maga yelled furiously.

The other Maga in a green shirt was in a pinch, too. She did not have time to speak at all.

Where did such a strong little Fire-type creature come from? Even the simplest move from her was equivalent to an Advanced Fire Spell. The two Maga had Water and Light as their primary Elements respectively, yet they were unable to hold their ground against the endless flames pouring down on them!

With a loud rumble, another fireball over thirty meters wide appeared.

What scared the two Maga the most was that the enormous fireball was still expanding, as if the little fiery demoness was blowing air into a balloon to make it bigger!

How could they possibly stop it!? The two Maga fled for their lives, not daring to stand still…

Meanwhile, Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying were finally done with their setup. They were both preparing a huge spell without any burden since Mo Fan was keeping their opponents busy. Both the Ice Element or Plant Element needed some time for their magic to accumulate. When the Plant Element spread across the stage, the roots, magic vines, and Demon Tree Hands would simply be everywhere.

The Ice Element needed time for the frost to stack up, allowing the Ice Mage to freeze their enemies quicker.

The two Maga of the American team were just about to run away when they were trapped by Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni’s spells. Icy glaciers and magic vines sprouted up and surrounded them like a cage, making it impossible for them to escape the blast area of the little fiery demoness’ fireball!.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

With a loud crash, the flames of the giant fireball surged across the stage. The scorching heat crashed into the barrier and shook it hard, as if it was going to break into pieces at any second!

“What were you two doing!?” Captain Roberts snapped furiously.

Roberts immediately put the blame on Lucky Wang and Fred when he saw the two Maga on the team injured. They had failed to take out a single person after so long, they were simply being fooled around with like monkeys!

Fred was discomfited.

He did not expect it to come to this. Why were the other Elements of a Mage with the Summoning Element as his primary Element so strong?

“Err, should we take out the other Summoner instead?” Lucky Wang suggested.

They could not do anything to Mo Fan. Even when the two of them were flanking him, they were unable to figure out his weaknesses. At this rate, two of their teammates would be knocked out first!

“Damn it, let’s take him out first!” Fred finally gave up under the pressure. He immediately switched targets and attacked Jiang Yu instead.

—

After the two left, Mo Fan slowly snuck closer to Ai Jiangtu and Roberts.

Mo Fan noticed that Roberts was only able to match Ai Jiangtu because the latter was not using his full strength.

It was only a duel against the team defending the Training Hall. If their captain exposed too much of his true strength, it would place them in an unfavorable position at Venice.

“Telekinesis!” Mo Fan hid by some of the earthen walls that were strewn around. His eyes emitted a silver flicker at the same time as Ai Jiangtu was using the Space Element.

The force went straight at Roberts’ back. The man was totally unaware of the attack from a different source flanking him from behind. His confident step to the side suddenly pushed him straight into Ai Jiangtu’s spell!

Robert immediately panicked. He tried to recover, but he was promptly caught in Ai Jiangtu’s gravity space!

The silver rhomboid applied great pressure to Roberts. It felt like he was chained to a few iron balls, making it extremely difficult for him to move!

“Demon Torture!”

Ai Jiangtu was even quicker at casting Advanced Spells now. The evil silhouette of a devil suddenly appeared behind Roberts.

Roberts felt cold sweat pouring down his face as a sharp pain spread throughout his body. When he turned around, he was shocked to see the Cursed Devil tearing at his soul!

“You’ve lost!” Ai Jiangtu told him firmly.

Roberts clenched his teeth, as if he was trying to fight back against the executioner from the Demon Torture. However, his face only turned paler as the pain he experienced grew stronger.

He initially thought he could endure the pain, but he soon realized that he could not even speak. He would never be able to forget the pain he felt when his soul was being tortured. Only those with a strong mind were able to withstand it.

Ai Jiangtu knew Roberts would suffer unrecoverable injuries if he continued. He murmured a chant and called off the Demon Torture Curse.

Roberts was totally soaked in sweat, and his eyes were bloodshot.

He was mentally exhausted. His face had a blank expression, like someone who had yet to fully wake up from a nightmare.

Some time later, Roberts finally lifted his gaze. The look in his eyes had slightly recovered.

“You’ve won,” he said with a contorted expression, and slowly left the stage.

Roberts knew Ai Jiangtu had gone easy on him. If the Demon Torture had kept going just a little longer, he would have been in huge trouble. His cultivation would be affected, too!

The Curse Element mainly targeted a person’s soul. The damage dealt to a person’s soul or mind was the hardest to recover from. Robert willingly admitted his defeat after he witnessed Ai Jiangtu’s strength.

“You didn’t need to help me. I finally found a worthy opponent that could help me with my warm-up!” Ai Jiangtu glanced at Mo Fan in dissatisfaction.

“…” Mo Fan was speechless. He replied seriously, “It’s supposed to be a team battle! Can you stop being arrogant for once? Let’s hurry up and take out the rest of them so we can get the badge!”

“I’ll leave the rest to you all,” Ai Jiangtu had no intention of continuing after defeating Roberts. If he continued to fight, the rest of the American team would only last for a few minutes longer.

“I guess I’ll rest too!” Mo Fan replied with a shrug.

Little Flame Belle was keeping two of the Americans busy on her own. If Mo Fan joined the fight, the American team would be overwhelmed with despair.

That being said, the five members of the American team were indeed very strong. They were easily as strong as the national teams of some other countries…

However, they were too proud and arrogant at the start, and were showing off their winning streak, too. They had managed to provoke both Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu into taking part in the duel.

The truth was, the Chinese team only needed to send either Mo Fan or Ai Jiangtu with four other teammates to defeat the American team. The outcome was too predictable when the two monsters teamed up!

Little Flame Belle was basically taking on two of the Americans throughout the whole duel. She was still chasing after the golden-haired woman and the girl in a green shirt. Her Commander-level strength had left the American team in awe.

After Lucky Wang and Fred finally knocked Jiang Yu off the stage with their ineffective teamwork, the American team was basically too exhausted to continue the duel.

After all, their captain was already defeated. The two girls were being bullied by the fiery demoness. The two men were unable to make any difference, as the Chinese team was still ahead in numbers.

“Didn’t I tell you? It’s unnecessary to let them both take part in the duel. We also learned how strong Jiang Yu was the other day…” Zhao Manyan chuckled after seeing how one-sided the duel was.

“Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast is just too strong. The American team is out of luck too, to stumble into us just after Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast woke up!”

“Yeah, she was in control of the whole fight even when she was fighting two people at the same time. Speaking of which, isn’t Mo Fan able to merge with his Contracted Beast? Doesn’t that mean…”

Everyone’s eyes widened upon hearing this.

That’s right, wouldn’t Mo Fan turn into a fiery god of battle when the Flame Belle possessed him? He wouldn’t have a problem taking on some of the stronger national teams, let alone the team of substitutes defending the Training Halls!

“It looks like we’ll be able to get a good result this year.”

“I think so too!”

“We aren’t sure yet, I heard the other countries have crazily talented people too! They are all able to take on several people of their age simultaneously…”

——

Oleena clearly saw how the duel would turn out as the judge.

She let out a smile and said to her brother Fred, “Come down, it’s meaningless to struggle any further. You’re no match for them, just train harder.”

Oleena’s tone implied that she never thought the American team was going to win the duel.

A student that could fight Casso alone was basically enough to defeat the whole American team. Only their national team had someone that could match Mo Fan’s strength!

—

Fred was unwilling to accept his defeat. Their team had remained undefeated for so long, yet they were defeated so easily today…

He did admit that the national teams that had challenged them so far were not particularly strong. It was only a matter of time until they were defeated by a strong country. However, it was sooner than they had imagined, not to mention they were defeated by the Chinese team, who they looked down on.

“We’ve lost. We will fix the result on the page, and we apologize for our arrogance. Your team is truly a lot stronger than ours.” Roberts had gradually recovered and now spoke to them seriously.

The American team was pretty straightforward. They did not act unreasonably after they were defeated, as the Chinese team had imagined they would. Their attitude was completely different than it was before the duel.

It turned out that many people were the same; they would only learn when they were beaten up, especially when it came to being humble, respectful, and polite!

Roberts could not help but be humble, since he had already found out how immeasurable Ai Jiangtu’s strength was during their duel. The man was able to fully control their duel without using his full strength. Roberts had a similar feeling when he was fighting against the incredibly strong representatives of their national team.

That alone was enough to impress Roberts, yet it turned out there was another maniac on the Chinese team, apart from Ai Jiangtu! Apparently, the person was able to take on the leader of the Red Ornaments Guild, Casso, on his own. Roberts suddenly realized how ignorant they were!

——

Not long after, Oleena handed the badges to the Chinese team.

The news about the USA’s Training Hall being defeated for the first time soon spread between the institutes.

However, Mo Fan did not think it was anything to be proud of. The Training Hall only consisted of a bunch of substitutes. The team defending the Training Hall did not usually consist of the strongest candidates a country had.

Their real opponents were undergoing training at different places across the world. They would soon gather at Venice, the City of Canals. By then, the ultimate competition between young Mages would take place, where the world would learn the names of the truly talented, impressive young Mages from different corners of the world!

——

That night, when the team was walking through the bustling streets, Zhao Manyan swore on his head that he would definitely find a strip club. He asked Mo Fan to follow him around.

Mo Fan tried very hard to signal Zhao Manyan to stop entrapping him when his first wife was around!

Unfortunately, Zhao Manyan did not notice the signal. He kept on mentioning it.

“Xue xue, it’s a total misunderstanding. We only went to set up an ambush for the people of the Red Ornaments Guild… I’m not that kind of a person.”

Mu Ningxue ignored him. Him going to watch shameless dances was none of her business. She would merely turn a perverted man like him into an ice statue if he dared to come half a meter close to her.

“Huh? Why is it snowing all of a sudden?”

“Seriously? Isn’t it supposed to be summer now? Why would it snow in summer… ouch! That hurts!” Mo Fan was about to say something when he felt something hard falling on his head.

Mo Fan was about to lift his gaze while cursing when he suddenly noticed countless flickering objects pouring down from the sky…

“It…it’s hailing! My heavens, how big are they!? Find some cover, quick!”

“What on Earth? Hailing in the middle of summer?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan looked up into the sky and saw hailstones as big as fists falling down from the sky.

The roofs of the vehicles on the street collapsed as the hailstones smashed into them. The street was soon drowned by the alarms from the vehicles.

The ground was covered in shattered pieces of ice. The branches and leaves of the plants nearby were knocked off and scattered across the place.

The team immediately hid inside a cafe. They thought they were safe under the umbrellas outside the shop. To their surprise, the hail grew even heavier, and the hailstones were big enough to collapse the elastic umbrellas!

The size of the hailstones grew bigger, like it was raining bullets. The streets were drowned in screams, as the pedestrians ran for the buildings in a panic.

Mo Fan looked up and glanced at the pitch-black sky.

The hail was too unnatural. It felt like the streets of New York were suddenly riddled with thousands of holes. The damage that the hail dealt was fairly shocking. Every vehicle on the street, including the public transportation, was destroyed!

“F**k me, what exactly is going on? Why would it hail all of a sudden in midsummer? The damage it dealt is comparable to an Advanced Spell!” cursed Zhao Manyan.

They clearly remembered the night sky was perfectly clear when they came out. The hail had appeared out of nowhere without any sign. The fist-hailstones were able to leave cracks on the steel glass of many buildings!

It was still hailing. It did not seem like the strange weather was going to stop any time soon. Mo Fan glanced around him and saw a coffee shop at the corner of the street.

“Do you guys feel like drinking something? Coffee tastes better in a hail!” Mo Fan said.

The others looked at Mo Fan with icy cold expressions. Wasn’t the joke a bit too cold when they were surrounded by hailstones?

Mo Fan went to the coffee shop and saw the barista was a beautiful Asian girl with fair skin. He greeted her with a smile and asked, “Which country are you from?”

“China, how about you?” The barista was pretty easy-going. She answered while taking Mo Fan’s order.

“What a coincidence, I’m from China too!” Mo Fan said.

The girl giggled and said, “What kind of coincidence is that? I bet a quarter of the people on this street are Chinese. Are you really here for a cup of coffee? Or you are here to get my number?”

“Ugh… you’ve misunderstood me, I’m really here for the coffee,” Mo Fan immediately felt awkward.

How straightforward, it seemed like the girls who had stayed in the USA for some time were indeed different !

“Oh, so you’re not interested in my number?”

“I didn’t mean that either, haha, I just came to New York recently too… the hail, is it always like this in New York?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not really, this hail is pretty scary… here is your coffee, and here is our business card. Keep it, we provide delivery service too,” the girl said with a smile. She had dimples on her cheeks, she was definitely the cheerful kind.

“Business card? Ugh…” Mo Fan scratched his head. So this is the number she was referring to? Mo Fan seriously thought he was lucky enough to get himself a flirtatious adventure in a foreign country. Such a pity!

“The second one is my number. Feel free to call me!” The girl was not shy in front of a stranger, telling Mo Fan with a smile.

“I…” Mo Fan was about to speak when he sensed a great chill coming from his surroundings!

The chill was from instinct. It was like a subconscious reaction from the cells in his body when his life was in danger!

Mo Fan reacted subconsciously by Summoning the Black Snake Armor to protect himself.

During the process, Mo Fan noticed the girl was still wearing a faint smile. She was totally unaware of the approaching danger. He immediately lunged forward and hugged the girl in his arms to protect her!

A dozen long cones of ice came spearing in from different directions. Their tips were all aimed at the same target, who was none other than Mo Fan…

The power of the icicles was shocking. They were so fast that it was impossible to see them. The icicles stabbed Mo Fan…

Despite the outstanding protection of the Black Snake Armor, the icicles still managed to penetrate it!

Five icicles were stuck in Mo Fan’s back. He was clenching his teeth in pain…

The icicles had appeared very suddenly. If Mo Fan had more time to react, the Black Snake Armor could have fully set up its defense, and he would not have found himself in such a terrible position!

“Mo Fan!” The others immediately noticed Mo Fan’s situation. They quickly rushed to his side.

The little coffee shop was smashed to pieces. Mo Fan fell to the ground with a few icicles stabbed in his back. Fresh blood was pouring out from the Black Snake Armor.

“Tsk tsk, it’s quite a surprise that you’re still alive!” a man wearing a blue hoodie called out mockingly while walking through the hail.

The dense hailstones were smashing down heavily onto the street, yet the man seemed perfectly fine. Not a single hailstone had landed on him.

Mo Fan rose to his feet from the debris of the coffee shop.

He was still hugging the petite Chinese girl. However, his heart skipped a beat when he saw her covered in blood.

Mo Fan tried very hard to protect her. Unfortunately, one of the icicles still flew past his shoulder and stabbed the girl in her chest. Her fresh blood had dyed her entire white shirt red in a shocking manner!

The Chinese girl’s eyes widened in pain with a blank expression. She had no idea what had happened, or why her body felt so light all of a sudden…

“Still trying to protect someone else when you’re having trouble protecting yourself? Don’t be sad, I’ll send you to join her soon!” the man in a blue hoodie said in a strange voice.

It was obvious that he had come for Mo Fan.

The man was incredibly strong. He was able to execute his attack without alerting Mo Fan, and the icicles were strong enough to penetrate Mo Fan’s Black Snake Armor!

“Who…who are you, how dare you try to kill someone on the streets!?” Zhao Manyan came and cursed, pointing at the man.

The rest of the team had arrived too, but the man in a blue hoodie did not seem bothered by their intrusion. He waved his hand, summoning a spinning, icy aura around himself. Huge hailstones the size of basketballs started pouring down heavily in the area the team was standing in!

Even Mages were unable to withstand the damage inflicted by the hailstones. They left huge impacts on the ground after smashing into it!

“It’s none of your business. It’s a personal matter between Mo Fan and I. Leave if you don’t want to die too!” The man was utterly arrogant, as if the team of Advanced Magicians was unable to pose any threat to him!

“His Ice Element is very strong!” Mu Ningxue said grimly.

Mu Ningxue was an expert with the Ice Element, yet she felt like her control of the Ice Element was overridden by the man’s presence. The Ice Element nearby was all gathering toward him, and was fully under his control!

“He’s from the Black Vatican!” Mu Ningxue stated.

Blue hoodie, savage approach, and holding a grudge against Mo Fan… Mu Ningxue could only think of the Black Vatican matching that criteria.

Mu Ningxue knew Mo Fan had successfully caught the attention of a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican at the ranches. The people of the Black Vatican must have learned of Mo Fan’s whereabouts when the news about the defeat of the USA’s Training Hall was made public. However, Mu Ningxue was surprised that the people of the Black Vatican were daring enough to attack Mo Fan on the streets of New York City. They were showing no respect to one of the five Continental Magic Associations located in New York, the Sacred Hall of Liberty!

“He’s very strong, but he can’t stay around for too long. We’ll hold him off together until the Sacred Hall Mages arrive!” Mu Ningxue said.

Mu Ningxue did not leave. She forcibly unleashed her Domain, attempting to regain control over the Ice Element nearby. Otherwise, the effects of her Ice Spells would decrease significantly.

However, even after Mu Ningxue laid out her Domain, she realized that she was unable to grab the attention of the Ice Elements!

The fierce hailstones pouring upon the place were made from the Blue Deacon’s Domain, which was a lot stronger than Mu Ningxue’s Domain.

“Don’t be so eager to die, just take it slowly!” the Blue Deacon laughed. It sounded like the cry of a bat.

The Blue Deacon walked through the hail and waved his hands, summoning ice spikes from the ground. The ice spikes were able to appear from every angle, some emerging from the ground, some poking out along the buildings, while some were falling from the sky.

The ice spikes covered the place, turning it into a forest of icy spikes immediately. The team had trouble moving without getting rid of the spikes first.

“Should I make it denser?” the Blue Deacon mocked them. His eyes emitted a terrifying, icy-white flicker with a thought.

More smaller spikes grew out from the forest of icy spikes, spikes upon spikes, tearing at the members of the team like rows of fangs!

The team was trapped inside the forest of spikes. Zhao Manyan’s defensive spells barely created enough space to keep everyone safe. However, the area within a few hundred meters was fully covered in ice. They could not even see where Mo Fan was, and it would take them some time just to break through the thick layers of ice.

“Meteorite Fist!”

Mo Fan’s heart burned with anger. He threw a punch forward, summoning a fiery dragon tearing the ice along the path into pieces. It was heading straight for the arrogant Blue Deacon!

Mo Fan was angry, mad at how cruel the Black Vatican was. The man did not even hesitate to harm an innocent person!

To his relief, the girl did not die immediately. The icicle froze the wound and significantly slowed down her blood loss…

However, she would not be able to escape death if Mo Fan could not defeat this man as soon as possible!.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Blue Deacon shoved his palm forward indifferently when he saw the fiery dragon lunging at him. An extremely thick wall of ice materialized in front of him.

The fierce Meteorite Fist dissipated instantly after ramming into the wall of ice. It was nowhere strong enough to penetrate it!

“Silent Deadly Bolt!”

Mo Fan proceeded to cast his Lightning Spell. The black death bolt struck the wall of ice fiercely.

The blurred figure behind the wall suddenly moved away. The death bolt only landed on an afterimage, failing to hit the detestable Blue Deacon.

The guy’s unpleasant, sharp laughter was still lingering in the air. Mo Fan glanced around him and immediately saw a few walls of ice appearing in his surroundings. The reflective surfaces of the walls were like mirrors. Mo Fan saw over ten reflections of the man in a blue hoodie moving toward him with a cruel, eerie grin on his pointy face!

Mo Fan slammed a Fiery Fist into the ground. Nine fiery pillars emerged from the ground and smashed the ice mirrors around him into pieces.

However, Mo Fan soon discovered his Fire Spells were a lot weaker than usual. It felt like the damage multiplier from his Soul Seed had been halved. The fiery pillars were actually having trouble breaking the ice!

“A Domain?” Mo Fan frowned.

The man’s powerful Ice Domain had weakened Mo Fan’s Fire Spells to a quarter normal. It explained why his Meteorite Fist was unable to penetrate the simple wall of ice that the man had summoned with a random wave.

The Blue Deacon was moving closer, his deeply sunken pupils holding a mocking look. The eyes surrounding Mo Fan were actually giving him huge pressure!

“Nyx Regime!” Mo Fan immediately cast the Shadow Spell when he realized that the man might be a Psychic Mage.

The eyes staring at him had greatly enlarged the fear in his heart. The best way to avoid the eyes was by covering the area with darkness. He could then hide in the darkness, preventing the enemy from knowing where he was.

“Such a little trick is useless against me…”

The Blue Deacon appeared behind Mo Fan. Several ice chains with spikes close to the tips sprang at Mo Fan, trying to lock him down!

The ice chains were incredibly fast. They flashed ahead, stabbing at Mo Fan!

However, the Mo Fan that the ice chains landed on turned into a broken shadow and dispersed like a wisp of black smoke.

“Interesting, nice dodge!” the Blue Deacon grinned, revealing his yellow teeth. As he was speaking, he quickly turned sideways and stared into the darkness, right into Mo Fan’s eyes!

A sudden flash came from the direction he was looking in. The long lightning arc danced wildly through the air and struck the Blue Deacon like a striking snake!

Ice armor appeared in front of the Blue Deacon, shielding him from the lightning whip. “Come out here!” the Blue Deacon snapped furiously.

A few ice blades circled the Blue Deacon. More ice blades appeared around him as his focus grew stronger.

The area covered by the ice blades gradually increased with every spin. The vehicles that were destroyed previously were now shredded into pieces of junk.

The ice blades started from a tiny tornado and eventually grew into an entire whirlwind of ice blades. The area covered by the Nyx Regime was soon filled by the blades of ice. If any living creature stood inside the spell for just a few seconds, not even their corpse would be left behind!

Mo Fan sensed a strong danger from the wild storm. He did not dare to stay in his zone of darkness any longer.

He quickly fled the zone, but the area of the dancing ice blades was still growing while they were chasing after him…

The ice blades completely destroyed everything they came into contact with. Nothing was left whole within its coverage. The vehicles on the street were turned into metal shreds. The buildings on both sides were shredded into tiny sand. If most people had not evacuated because of the hail, hundreds of people would have died instantly to the terrifying spell!

Mo Fan used both the Blood Tabi and Fleeing Shadow to barely escape the grasp of the ice blades.

Mo Fan turned around, and was surprised to see that the whole street had disappeared. All that was left was dust and broken pieces. He could not help but gasp.

This Blue Deacon that came to take his life was incredibly scary!

“Mo Fan, let’s run! We don’t stand a chance against him!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

The man was simply too strong for them. The Advanced Mages had no clue how to help him out. This man had forced them to withdraw with a random spell. The difference between their strengths was simply too great. It was more important to stay alive for now!

Mo Fan was not an idiot ignorant of the present situation. It turned out that Salan seriously wanted him dead; the assassin she had sent was incredibly strong. If his cultivation had not improved a lot recently, the Blue Deacon would have killed him within minutes!

“Who’s there? How dare you try to kill someone on the streets in New York!” a middle-aged man shouted furiously in the distance.

The man was wearing a black and gold outfit, with a pair of Magic Wings on his back. He was floating above the debris of the fallen buildings, his eyes locked onto the Blue Deacon.

A black and gold outfit, the symbolic colors of the Sacred Hall Mages!

Zhao Manyan, Jiang Shaoxu, Jiang Yu, and the others were relieved when they saw the Sacred Hall Mage appearing in time.

If the Sacred Hall Mage had arrived just a bit later, the entire team could not possibly survive. The Ice Mage was just too terrifying!

“Such a busybody, die!” the Blue Deacon uttered disdainfully. His eyes emitted a strange glow, forming a spiritual wave he fired at the Sacred Hall Mage in the distance.

The Sacred Hall Mage was astounded. He was just about to react when his mind fell into chaos, preventing him from casting the simplest spell.

The Blue Deacon raised his hand. A block of giant ice the size of a hill came falling down onto the Sacred Hall Mage from the hail!

The enormous ice was the size of a building. The Sacred Hall Mage had no chance of resisting it if it simply fell onto his head like that…

“Telekinesis!” In the nick of time, Mo Fan grabbed the Sacred Hall Mage and dragged the dumbfounded man away.

With a huge crash, the ice slammed into the ground and drove in more than ten meters deep, leaving countless cracks down the long street!

It took the Sacred Hall Mage a long time to recover from his astonishment. He shivered in fear when he saw the terrifying sight behind him.

If the Space Element force had not hauled him away, he would be buried deep in the ground by now. He did not expect the person bringing chaos to the street would be so strong!

A purple gust approached from an alleyway on the other side and stopped in front of Mo Fan.

Mo Fan glanced at the person’s clothes. He was also dressed in a black and gold outfit. He seemed to be a Wind Mage with a purple Wind Seed. Judging from his aura, he was a lot stronger than the Mage who almost died just a moment ago.

“It’s your first time patrolling the area as an intern, and you’ve already stumbled into such a strong enemy… I’ll handle it, just take care of the innocent people,” the Sacred Hall Mage with the purple wind ordered.

Saying that, the Purple Wind Sacred Hall Mage stepped forward and fixed his eyes on the Blue Deacon.

The purple wind continued to circle him. It looked disordered at first glance, but it was gradually growing stronger, the wind from each loop was pushing the winds from the previous revolution. More tracks began to appear, with clearer outlines…

“Purple Wind Domain… humph!” the Blue Deacon harrumphed coldly.

The Sacred Hall Mages had arrived a lot quicker than he expected, especially the guy who was able to control the purple wind.

It was not like the Blue Deacon was scared of the slightly reputable Sacred Hall Mage, but considering he was currently in the Sacred Hall of Liberty’s territory, if a Super Mage happened to pass by the area, he would have trouble leaving this place in one piece!

“I don’t feel too good, since I haven’t killed anyone today. Next time, I’ll make up for the joy I’ve missed out on today!” The Blue Deacon did not seem worried at all.

The purple wind had surrounded him, but huge hailstones started pouring down from the sky suddenly.

The hailstones were falling densely. The Blue Deacon’s outline gradually turned faint. The Purple Wind Sacred Hall Mage was just about to launch his attack, but the Blue Deacon had already disappeared…

The hail stopped at once as the temperature slowly recovered. The Purple Wind Mage glanced around him. When he confirmed that the man had left, he took out a communication device and mumbled softly into it.

He needed to report the incident to the Sacred Hall of Liberty immediately. The street was heavily damaged, and the number of people that were injured remained unknown.

“Advisor, why didn’t you stop him?” the Sacred Hall Mage with Magic Wings asked.

“I couldn’t!” The Purple Wind Sacred Hall Mage turned around and looked at Mo Fan, who was covered in blood.

It was obvious that the attacker was here for the young man. To the Purple Wind Mage’s surprise, despite the attacker’s great strength and Domain, he had failed to kill the young man quickly enough. It implied that the young man was quite talented!

“Are you a member of the Chinese national team?” the Purple Wind Mage asked.

“Mmm,” Mo Fan nodded.

“I watched your fight at the Training Hall this afternoon. Who was that guy? Why did he want you dead?” the Purple Wind Mage asked.

“The Black Vatican! Unfortunately, I’m starting to become too much of a trouble to them. Let’s discuss it later; can you hurry up and get her to the hospital?” Mo Fan asked when he saw the both of them had the ability to fly.

“You are seriously injured too!”

“I’m fine,” Mo Fan’s body was special. Injuries of this level were nowhere enough to threaten his life.

“The Sacred Hall Mages will investigate the matter. However, I believe that guy will find another chance to attack you again. Be careful,” the Purple Wind Sacred Hall Mage warned him.

“If he dares to show up less than five kilometers away from the Sacred Hall of Liberty, I believe it’s useless no matter how careful I am,” Mo Fan answered fatalistically.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“That guy is an Executioner of the Black Vatican. He’s extremely strong, and most of them are arrogant and lawless. There is no assassination or murder that they won’t do. These guys are pretty scary,” Oleena told Mo Fan.

It was Mo Fan’s first time hearing about the Executioners. The Blue Deacons that he had stumbled into before were nowhere as strong as that man. Most of them only hid in the dark, plotting great schemes against defenseless people!

“If they sent an Executioner for you, they must be really keen to take you out,” the Purple Wind Mage said.

“Either way, it’s best for you to stay at the Sacred Hall of Liberty for now. The Executioners are unpredictable, and are good at disguising themselves. Once, an Executioner of the Black Vatican managed to murder someone in the National Magic Association and snuck away unharmed. If you don’t want to die at such a young age, you should only leave after we’ve investigated the matter,” Oleena told Mo Fan seriously.

Their superiors of the Sacred Hall of Liberty were infuriated too. The Black Vatican was bold enough to stir up troubles in their city. They immediately sent out lots of Sacred Hall Mages to search for the Executioner in the city.

However, for some reason, Mo Fan had a feeling that they would not bring back any good news. If the Executioner dared to show up at a place like this, he must be confident that he would not get caught…

—

As he thought, the Sacred Hall Mages did not find any trace of the Executioner despite searching the city for three days.

It did not make sense for Mo Fan to stay at the Sacred Hall of Liberty for the rest of his life. Knowing that a girl was severely injured and was admitted into the hospital because of him, he immediately picked up his phone and dialed the number on the card.

“Hello, is it you, the Mage?” he immediately heard the girl’s sweet voice from the other end.

“How did you know it was me?” Mo Fan was curious.

“I came to this city on my own, so the only person that could call me has to be you,” the girl said. Her voice was light and cheerful, she did not sound like she was feeble and weak. She must have recovered well, and had a cheerful spirit.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess,” Mo Fan said apologetically.

“How is that your fault? You saved my life. So, did you catch that guy?” the girl asked.

“Not yet, I think he’s good at disguising himself,” Mo Fan said.

“Is that so? But I think I’ve seen him before,” the girl said.

“You met him before?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“I will remember anyone that I’ve met despite the makeup or disguise they put on. I also know his surname,” the girl said.

“But how?”

“He came to buy a drink around ten minutes before you arrived. There were quite a few customers there, so I asked for his surname so I could put it down on his order. He told me a surname straightaway without hesitation. I feel like he wasn’t trying to hide it. I guess a powerful and evil Mage like him would never expect I would remember him,” the girl said to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was enlightened. He did not expect the girl he had protected at the cost of injuring himself was such an observant person!

“Great, can you describe his appearance in detail? I’ll ask someone to investigate him!”

Mo Fan immediately contacted the all-knowing Lingling. Lingling was a Hunter, thus she was quite an expert when it came to drawing portraits. She proceeded to draw the man’s appearance from the girl’s description.

“Do you think his surname is real?” Mo Fan asked Lingling.

“According to the coffee girl, it’s most likely his actual surname, or a surname that he always uses as his disguise. Either one is good enough for me to hunt him down. Give me a second, I’ll link up to New York Police Department’s database; they should have a better collection of data of the criminals there,” Lingling said.

——

In the garden of a Duke’s mansion, a man in a public worker’s uniform was sweeping fallen leaves in the rain. He was wearing a raincap, and had a slight hunchback. He looked rather feeble.

“HAHA, the Sacred Hall Mages of the entire city are looking for you, and yet you’re sweeping leaves here so casually. How daring of you!” A young boy who seemed to be around the age of sixteen walked up to the cleaner. His glittering purple eyes had a unique charm to them, and his mixed-blood face had the handsomeness of an Asian with clear and defined facial features of a Westerner, making him a Prince Charming!

“The most dangerous place is actually the safest place,” the worker lifted his gaze slightly. His sharp jaw was pointing at the purple-eyed young boy.

“You did well,” the purple-eyed young boy grinned.

“It hasn’t been this exciting for a long time. I remember my last encounter with the Sacred Hall Mages was around twelve years ago… I feel like they are as useless as they were during the past ten years,” the cleaner said.

“Don’t worry, we’ve already paid them our respects on your behalf. But, I’m a Virgo, so I prefer that everything is done perfectly,” the purple-eyed young boy said.

“You are referring to the fact that I didn’t kill him on the street?” the cleaner asked.

“Yeah, Salan seems to be very interested in that kid. It’s good enough if we can kill him, but if we can take him in alive, I believe Salan is willing to give you a great present,” the purple-eyed young boy said.

“I prefer to kill. Don’t worry, once the situation improves, he won’t live for long!” the cleaner declared.

“I’ll leave it to you then. Executioner, we’ll be leaving tonight.”

“Please express my gratitude to Salan for the favor twelve years ago!” the cleaner said.

“I will!”

——

In the meeting room of the Sacred Hall of Liberty, ten Sacred Hall Mages were seated at the table. Their eyes were staring at the enlarged face projected onto the screen.

“This is bullshit!” the Sacred Hall Mage seated at the leading spot rose to his feet furiously.

“It’s what I’ve learned from my investigation. You can choose to believe it or not, but what you think is none of my business,” Mo Fan said.

Oleena sat in the middle of the table. She also found the result hard to believe.

The man that Mo Fan found from his investigation was quite shocking, as he was a Sacred Hall Mage dismissed around ten years ago!

The man was called Philip. He had joined the Sacred Hall of Liberty around twenty years ago. He was an Ice Mage, but because of a mistake he made, he was expelled by the Sacred Hall of Liberty, and had since disappeared.

The man’s appearance and surname fit Lingling’s investigation perfectly. Most importantly, he had mastered the Ice Domain a long time ago, and the effects of his Domain was in summoning hailstones across the area five hundred meters across!

If it wasn’t for this characteristic, Mo Fan would not dare to reveal his findings to the Sacred Hall of Liberty. After all, it was extremely humiliating that the Executioner of the Black Vatican was once a Sacred Hall Mage. Their sacred code and vows to never betray the organization were nothing but pure bullshit now.

“Captain, I actually wanted to tell you a few days ago, but since I didn’t get a clear look at the man’s face, I didn’t want to accuse him falsely. The Executioner indeed looks like Philip, and he seemed to recognize me, too. He left as soon as I arrived,” the Purple Wind Mage said in a deep voice.

There were four aged Sacred Hall Mages on the table who had been in the organization for more than twelve years. Their faces fell dark when Philip’s name was mentioned, as if they did not want to remember him again for the rest of their lives.

“Humph, if it’s really him, we can’t possibly let him escape. How dare he join the Black Vatican? He’s a disgrace to the Sacred Hall of Liberty!” the captain, a man named Luther, snapped furiously.

“The question is, how are we going to find him? I’m afraid it’s going to be really tricky. Philip is an expert at carrying out undercover missions. He’s able to disrupt anyone’s vision with his Psychic Element, and he’s great at tricking people’s minds, too. His ability to disguise himself is unmatched,” the Purple Wind Mage said.

“Just some petty tricks! All of you, stop sitting here and getting all rusty, move out with the others. As long as he’s still in New York, there’s no way he can run away from us. A person like him must be held on the torch, so the sacred flame of the Statue of Liberty can cleanse his corrupted flesh and spirit!” Captain Luther said.

——

New York Airport, a cute little girl with two ponytails was dragging a suitcase by herself as she slowly moved her way up some stairs.

The escalator had broken down. Her luggage was pretty heavy, thus she was having quite some trouble moving it.

A young boy who was heading for the entrance spoke some words to the man in a red shirt beside him before he approached the young girl with a polite smile.

“Do you need any help?” the young boy asked politely.

Lingling lifted her gaze and saw the mixed-blood young boy. She was intrigued by his purple eyes.

Before Lingling could respond, the young boy lifted the heavy luggage with a single hand…

“It’s pretty heavy, what do you have inside?” the young man smiled gently and asked in an indifferent manner.

“Just some electronic devices, you can put it down if it’s too heavy, I’ll ask an adult for help.”

“I am an adult,” the purple-eyed young boy used both his hands and slowly dragged Lingling’s luggage up the stairs. Most people had not Awakened at his age. Even if he was a Mage, his flesh would not be that much stronger than an ordinary boy. The young boy tried his very best and finally moved the heavy suitcase to the top of the stairs.

After arriving at the top, the wheels would simply do the favor for Lingling. She pulled the handle out and continued on her way along the smooth surface.

“Hey, not even a thanks?” the purple-eyed young boy yelled at Lingling.

“Thanks,” Lingling turned around and said.

“Do you have a phone?”

“I do.”

“What’s your number?”

“I have no intention of telling you that,” Lingling proceeded to where the cabs were without turning her head around.

The purple-eyed young boy awkwardly rubbed his nose, staring at the girl’s back.

The man in a red-shirt came over and said with a grin, “It’s quite a let-down, isn’t it?”

“Just a bit.”

“I’ll kidnap her for you.”

“Am I the kind that really needs to go to that extent just to win a little girl over?” the purple-eyed young boy said.

The man pondered for a while, before he nodded confidently and said, “You are!”

The young boy rolled his eyes and continued on his way.

“Is it fine to leave the Executioner alone here in New York?”

“He can handle it.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

On Liberty Island, a demon wolf with blue fur was carrying a heavy suitcase when it arrived at the square in front of the Sacred Hall of Liberty with a dull expression.

“Are you trying to tell me you are a fighting wolf, and you’re not a horse or camel?” Mo Fan immediately read the Swift Star Wolf’s mind through the look in his eyes.

The Swift Star Wolf nodded immediately, yet it did not alter his destiny a whit.

After placing Lingling’s belongings in the room that the Sacred Hall of Liberty had prepared for her, Mo Fan and Lingling went on a tour around Liberty Island. The people of the Sacred Hall of Liberty had arranged for Mo Fan to stay on the island to guarantee his safety. The Sacred Hall of Liberty would be totally embarrassed if a representative of a national team was murdered in their territory. The Magic Association representing China would surely scold the crap out of them!

Mo Fan was not allowed to go anywhere before the Sacred Hall Mages knew where the Executioner was, to avoid unnecessary casualties. The Executioner was simply too savage, daring to commit murder on the street. He would certainly endanger the lives of ordinary people.

Lingling had come because Old Bao was worried about Mo Fan’s safety. He was scared that Mo Fan could not handle the situation on his own.

Old Bao seemed to know who Philip was. He purposely advised Mo Fan not to act rashly, since not only was the Executioner incredibly powerful, he was totally unpredictable too! Otherwise, Old Bao would not have asked Lingling to come to New York right away to lend Mo Fan a hand.

Mo Fan felt rather helpless, too. It was his first time being restricted to a Magic Association because his life was in danger, and considering the strict advice Old Bao gave to him, it was obvious how troublesome his enemy was this time!

“I don’t want to just sit and wait here,” Mo Fan told Lingling. He could not possibly hide at the Magic Association for the rest of his life. It was no different than being dead!

“Have you collected enough energy in the Essence Orb?” Lingling asked.

“Just a little,” Mo Fan replied honestly.

“Then you need to be more patient. At the very least, you shouldn’t act impetuously before we have control of the situation. That guy is hiding in the dark, and is surely waiting for you to lower your guard. He will know if you leave for the next destination with the team. We can’t let an Executioner keep tailing you like that, since it simply means your life is in danger at all times. We must take him out here in New York!” Lingling said.

Mo Fan saw how serious Lingling’s expression was. He somehow felt that Lingling’s temper was even worse than his.

“You should be familiar with the guy’s strength after fighting him, right?” Lingling asked.

“He’s strong! If my strength is rated three, he’s a ten!” Mo Fan told her.

“That’s a pretty big difference. By the way, didn’t Little Flame Belle evolve already? Are you still no match against him even when you’re possessed by Little Flame Belle?” Lingling asked.

“Not exactly. I was seriously injured right at the start, so my body couldn’t withstand being possessed by Little Flame Belle. That being said, I don’t think it’s going to make much of a difference,” Mo Fan said.

“Why is that?”

“Domain! The guy has a very powerful Ice Domain, it’s able to suppress every other Element. Because it’s the Ice Element, my Fire Spells only have half their usual strength,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had clearly realized the importance of a Domain after the fight. The guy was able to nullify his powerful spells with a single wave of his hand. As the battle continued, the difference between their strength grew to an enormous gap.

“In other words, if the guy didn’t have his Domain, you’d be able to take him on?” Lingling asked.

“Yeah, I could. Little Flame Belle is a lot stronger than before, meaning that my strength will improve by a lot when she possesses me. I can at least kite him around with the Elements I have. Even if I can’t defeat him, I still have my final trump card,” Mo Fan said.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you still haven’t filled up the Essence Orb.”

“I wasn’t referring to the Demon Element. I still have a third of the Time Liquid left, it’s enough to transform Little Flame Belle into Flame Belle Empress. Her Domain alone could melt the guy’s Ice Domain!” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan indeed had some trump cards in his hands, which was also the reason why he was not too worried that an Executioner was trying to assassinate him.

Mo Fan had only agreed to stay here mainly because he did not want to involve innocent people in the mess. The Black Vatican was a heartless bunch. They would not hesitate to harm bystanders to achieve their goals, but Mo Fan was different. The Chinese girl was dragged into the mess when she was only doing her job. Luckily, the girl was a lot stronger mentally than ordinary people. If it was someone else, they might have given up on their way to the hospital.

“The effects of the Time Liquid will surely be a lot weaker since you’ve just used the Time Liquid recently. It’s a rare find, are you sure you’re going to waste it like that?” Lingling said.

“It’s only a last resort. If there’s another way to take out the guy, of course I’ll keep the Time Liquid,” Mo Fan agreed.

The Time Liquid was able to transform Little Flame Belle into her Mature Phase temporarily. It was definitely Mo Fan’s greatest trump card, beside his Demon Element!

Little Flame Belle was as strong as a Super Mage in her Adult Phase. Meanwhile, the Executioner still had not reached the Super Level. It felt like an overkill if he had to use the Time Liquid!

“Our biggest problem is his Ice Domain. It’s too much of an advantage for him. Second, if we want to take him out, the Sacred Hall Mages can’t show themselves. If the guy used to be a Sacred Hall Mage, he will easily notice where the Sacred Hall Mages are. He will run away as soon as the Sacred Hall Mages show up, and strike again when he has the chance. It’s only going to make things worse!” Lingling said.

Being robbed was not scary, but having to stay on guard at all times knowing they were being targeted by some crooks was incredibly tiring. It was a great torture having to stay alert at all times.

As such, Lingling was right that they had to deal with the Executioner of the Black Vatican here in New York. It was unlikely that the Black Vatican had an endless supply of powerful Magicians. By taking out the Executioner, Mo Fan would be safe for a while.

“I might be able to take care of his Domain,” Mu Ningxue broke in while the two were discussing things. She looked at Fan, who looked back at her.

“I’ll handle it,” Mo Fan said.

“And ended up being stuck by a few icicles like last time?” Mu Ningxue asked in return.

“That was an accident, he took me by surprise!”

“Mo Fan, stop trying to be a hero. I, Zhao Manyan, will never forgive anyone that tries to kill you. The attack took everyone by surprise, and not only are you injured, we were separated by his Ice Domain, too. If we are well-prepared when the guy shows up again, he won’t be able to have his way!” Zhao Manyan walked in, sounding serious.

“Mmm, let’s work together this time. We’ll ask Jiang Shaoxu to come with us, too. She’s an expert with the Psychic Element. She can protect us from his Psychic Element.”

——

Caligari Hospital…

The Chinese girl Li Yu’e was leaning against the bed with a phone in her hands. She was browsing through interesting articles on the Internet.

She had managed to recover quickly since a Healer from the Sacred Hall of Liberty was in charge of her recovery. She would soon be discharged from the hospital after some observation. However, she was extremely bored in the hospital, since she did not have any friends to talk to.

The door of the room slowly opened, and a cleaner wearing a mask came in.

“The cleaner is here, I’ll head out first. Just ring the bell if you need any help. Have a good rest, and don’t play on the phone too much!” The nurse rose to her feet.

Li Yu’e nodded. However, she shuddered when she glanced at the cleaning man.

Since the age of fifteen, Li Yu’e’s memory and ability to recognize people were quite outstanding. She clearly remembered every person she met, even when she only saw their eyes before.

She could only see the eyes and half the nose of the cleaner that walked in, yet she still managed to recognize him. He was the guy that was trying to kill Mo Fan on the street. She was extremely sure about it!

Li Yu’e tried to alert the nurse, but she decided against it when she remembered the man was a powerful Mage. She was afraid that he would kill her instantly, and she might even place the nurse in danger.

“Uncle, you’re early today. The room…the room is pretty clean, you won’t need to do much cleaning,” Li Yu’e lowered her head. She pretended to be talking to the cleaner casually while pressing on her phone.

“Mmm, sure,” the cleaner groaned. He looked back at the nurse and confirmed that she had left the room.

“Can you do me a favor and grab something from the bathroom…”

“I should be the one asking for a favor. Can you move your fingers and call the kid that barely survived the other day? Can you please ask him to pay you a visit?” The cleaner took off his mask, revealing his sharp face.

Meanwhile, his eyes emitted a strange flicker that penetrated the girl’s mind like two swords.

Li Yu’e was stunned instantly. A few seconds later, her face went blank.

“Al…alright,” Li Yu’e started dialing the number on her phone with her fingers and a blurred consciousness.

Executioner Philip grinned. He knew that kid would have given the girl his contact number.

He could easily use the girl to lure the kid out. The people of the Sacred Hall would never expect that he was already setting up a trap in the hospital.

Even if they were following the kid around closely, if he was quick enough, the kid had no chance of surviving. Philip was never worried about the ordinary Sacred Hall Mages!

——

“Hello, are you there? Mo Fan?”

“It’s me, what’s going on?” Mo Fan replied.

“My wounds are hurting me, and I’m scared of being alone in my room. Can you come visit me?” Li Yu’e said.

“Oh…err, sure, I have something to take care of now, just give me a second, I’ll call you again after I reached the hospital, alright?”

“Alright, I can wait,” Li Yu’e said.

After Mo Fan hung up the call, Zhao Manyan thought Mo Fan was going to be overjoyed, yet he noticed Mo Fan’s expression turning dark immediately!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan could not feel any joy, as the same number had just sent him a text just five seconds earlier. The message only had three letters, SOS, that combined into an international distress signal, basically meaning HELP!

However, before Mo Fan could collect his thoughts, he received a call from the number. The girl was asking him to come over with a calm, yet scared voice. Mo Fan was immediately on guard..

Mo Fan showed the text to the group. Zhao Manyan was about to say something and immediately thought better. “What’s going on?”

“Mind Control, that guy is controlling Li Yu’e, he’s using her to bait us into his trap!” Mo Fan said confidently.

Even though he had only known Li Yu’e for a few days, he could tell that she was a very optimistic and strong girl. Mo Fan could not imagine her saying those words.

That being said, if Mo Fan had not received the weird text from her, he would only be confused by it. However, when he linked the two together, he immediately thought about Philip. It must be Philip controlling her mind!

This Executioner of the Black Vatican was indeed extremely cunning and vicious!

“What do we do now? She might be in danger,” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Don’t panic yet, I don’t think Philip is going to do anything to her. I told her that I’m going to call her when I reach the hospital, so she should be fine until I call her again,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had reacted quickly. If he had not emphasized it, there was a chance that Philip would have killed Li Yu’e straightaway after the call!

“Should we alert the Sacred Hall Mages?” Mu Ningxue asked.

Mage and Lingling shook their heads. It was obvious that they did not want the Sacred Hall Mages to be involved.

Philip was once close to the Sacred Hall of Liberty. He would surely flee for his life once the Sacred Hall Mages showed up.

However, they had to deal with the Executioner here in New York. Otherwise, it would only bring unending trouble to Mo Fan. The Sacred Hall Mages would only scare the enemy away.

“That guy thinks he’s the hunter that’s hiding in the dark to take my life, but I’m going to tell him who’s the real Hunter!” Mo Fan swore coldly.

——

Night had fallen, the main streets only had a few vehicles left. Occasionally, a sports car would drive past, leaving a trail of brilliant tail lights behind. The street racers thought the roars of their engines would attract some attention, yet they were only a nuisance, just like a pile of garbage.

Orange-yellow street lamps were lighting up the streets. A few nurses who were done with their shifts walked along the street. Their laughter was quite clear in the quiet night.

The light greatly extended out the shadow of a man. One of the nurses glanced at him, but discovered that he had vanished in the blind spot between the lamps in a mysterious and eerie manner.

The lights in the hospital were mainly white. Mo Fan stood at the entrance of the hospital. There were a lot fewer people present at night, and since the USA was not as densely populated as China, the hospital felt rather empty.

It was actually good news for Mo Fan, as it would not be as tricky to evacuate the hospital if a fight broke out.

—

In the room on the fifth floor, Li Yu’e was lying on the white bed. Her eyes were staring at the ceiling.

Philip had changed his clothes and was standing by the window, peeking to the outside by lifting the curtains. He did not seem to be in a rush.

He was incredibly patient, since he could strike again if he missed out on the opportunity this time.

“Why must you kill him?” Li Yu’e asked.

“Little girl, you don’t look afraid at all,” Philip turned around. The smile on his face was quite spooky.

“I’ve fallen into your hands. It’s useless being afraid,” Li Yu’e said.

“You’re quite special, aren’t you? Oh, speaking of which, if you are tired of selling drinks, you might be able to become a Psychic Mage. You’re almost twenty, aren’t you aware of how talented you are?” Philip walked to the bed. He picked up an apple in boredom and started peeling its skin.

“I know, but I don’t like it,” Li Yu’e said.

“You’re very interesting,” Philip peeled the apple and cut it in half. He handed one half to Li Yu’e and shoved the other half into his mouth.

Li Yu’e ate the apple without showing any worry.

“I didn’t have a grudge against the kid. I’m only following an order. He has offended someone that he never should have offended,” Philip admitted casually.

“Who is it?” Li Yu’e asked.

“Oh, it’s better if you don’t know… knowing the person won’t do you any good,” Philip said.

“I’m about to die soon, so what difference does it make?” Li Yu’e replied.

Philip looked at the girl and burst out laughing.

“You know what? You are pretty amusing. But then, I have to remind you, dying isn’t the scariest thing. Many people who have offended the person kept begging her to kill them, just so they could die a comfortable death. They were willing to kill their close ones just to earn that wish. Are you sure you want to know a person like that?” Philip answered.

“Forget it then, but I saw a big scar on the back of your hand, with lots of scratches on it. I believe the cuts were meant to cover it up, but I can tell it’s the symbol of the Sacred Hall Mages. Were you a Sacred Hall Mage once?” Li Yu’e asked.

Philip raised his right hand and looked at the back of it.

He hated the symbol. He was willing to cut up the skin of his hand just to get rid of it. Even though it was beyond recognition, the girl was still able to recognize it. If the girl was willing to become a Mage, she would surely be an outstanding Psychic Mage. She was already this observant before Awakening her magic!

“It’s my greatest shame.” Philip raised his head and stared at the ceiling.

“Many people think of becoming a Sacred Hall Mage as the greatest glory,” Li Yu’e observed.

“That’s why the people in this world are dumb… unfortunately, I was one of them, too. I never doubted their beliefs, and even wasted half my life fulfilling responsibilities that did not belong to me. I only wanted them to take care of my daughter, but they couldn’t do it. The marvelous Sacred Hall of Liberty, where the strongest Mages of the world gathered, yet they couldn’t even protect a little girl around your age.” Philip smiled bitterly. He did not seem to be in pain when he was recalling the past. Even his tone remained the same.

However, Li Yu’e knew it was not that the man was extremely calm. It was his way of expressing his hatred!

“What happened?” Li Yu’e asked.

“I had a daughter, I was willing to sacrifice everything to protect her, to watch her grow up. The day when she was chosen to join the Hall of the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple, I was actually happier and prouder than when I was chosen to join the Sacred Hall of Liberty. I once had a superior, he made a mistake, but the Sacred Hall of Liberty was hoping that they wouldn’t have to punish him. In the end, I volunteered to take the blame for him, since he was like an elder brother to me. I was expelled by the Sacred Hall of Liberty, and forced to forfeit my cultivation as the punishment. My superior promised me that he would make sure my daughter become one of the greatest Mages of all time, better than a little Sacred Hall Mage that I was. I believed in him, I was willing to live an ordinary life, I didn’t even mind working as a cleaner on the streets. I thought it was all worth it.

“But one day, something wanted my daughter dead, it dragged her into the Abyss of Death, and wouldn’t even spare her soul. I begged my superior to save her, but he didn’t do it! I fought the thing with my life at stake, but I didn’t have any magic. Do you understand how desperately I hoped that I still had my magic? I was on the ground like a useless dog watching it all happen while hearing the cries of agony of my precious daughter…” Philip’s expression did not shift by much. It was strangely calm in a terrifying way.

Li Yu’e fell silent. She was clueless about the World of Magic, but she could sense a cruelty like nothing she had heard before from Philip’s description!

“But the person I mentioned to you helped me regain my magic, and she even helped me to become stronger, so do you think I will reject a little request as simple as killing a kid?” Philip asked.

Li Yu’e was about to say something when her phone started ringing.

Li Yu’e accepted the call at her quickest speed and was about to scream into the phone. However, Philip was quicker than her. She was unable to let out a scream in time. Her eyes lost their usual glow, and were replaced by a blank expression.

“Are you here?” Li Yu’e asked.

“Yeah, which room are you in?” Mo Fan asked.

“On the fifth floor, the room at the end of the corridor. Did you come alone?”

“Yeah, do you seriously want me to bring a light bulb around?” Mo Fan smiled.

{TL Note: Being a light bulb here means someone else that spoils the atmosphere between a couple trying to have some intimacy.}

“Mmm, there isn’t anyone in the hospital at this time, I’ll be hanging up…”

“Wait, I don’t know where you are still. I’m on the fifth floor, which room at the end of the corridor is yours? Is it the one on the left or the one on the right? There are two rooms here, I don’t want to take the wrong one,” Mo Fan said.

“There’s only one, it’s the one with the lights,” Li Yu’e replied.

“Oh, but weren’t you in the room all this time? How did you know there’s only one room?” Mo Fan responded.

Philip was still controlling Li Yu’e’s mind, and was stunned. He immediately turned around as he realized something.

Several black spikes flew at him. He was completely unaware that Mo Fan had arrived even though he was still on the phone…

The Giant Shadow Spikes were incredibly powerful. Even with his cultivation, the Giant Shadow Spikes would still paralyze him if they landed on him. He would not be able to cast a single spell!

Most importantly, Philip was focused on his conversation with Li Yu’e as he was recalling his ugly past. He did not notice the light in the room dimming all of a sudden, nor did he notice the dark aura lingering in the building and the room!

Nyx Regime!

The Giant Shadow Spikes were able to construct a Dark Formation in the Nyx Regime. Philip did not dare stay in the room a second further. He immediately smashed his way out through the window!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You’re here!” Li Yu’e looked at Mo Fan in surprise after she recovered.

“You’re the strongest non-Mage I know, I won’t let him escape this time!” Mo Fan said to Li Yu’e confidently.

He had asked Jiang Yu to take care of Li Yu’e, and the people around the hospital. Jiang Yu and the others would evacuate the place in the shortest time possible.

The Nyx Regime did not cover just the building they were in. The whole hospital was covered by Mo Fan’s darkness, looming over the place like Nyx’s mantle, big enough to cover a vast area.

Philip jumped out of the window and landed on the outdoor car park behind the hospital.

He was quite agitated, not understanding why Mo Fan knew it was a trap. It was obvious that his plan was flawless.

The only possibility was the smart girl had recognized him as soon as he stepped into the room, and was able to alert Mo Fan in time!

-Damn it!-

How could he allow an ordinary girl to set him up?!

Philip closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings with the Psychic Element.

The Psychic Element was not affected by the Nyx Regime, so he could sense the presence of Sacred Hall Mages within a few kilometers. He still had the symbol of the Sacred Hall Mages on the back of his hand, allowing him to detect the movements of the Sacred Hall Mages with ease!

“Mmm? There’s no Sacred Hall Mage nearby?” Philip was confused.

It was impossible that his Psychic Element would be wrong. The pattern on the hand of every Sacred Hall Mage was somehow linked to one another with the Psychic Element, so not a single Sacred Hall Mage could hide from him. As such, he was confident that not a single Sacred Hall Mage was within a few kilometers from him!

In other words, Mo Fan had come on his own!

If that was the case, why was he even running away for? The kid was like a sheep going into a lion’s mouth!

Philip slowly turned around and saw Mo Fan turning into a purple-black lightning bolt as he jumped down from the fifth floor. He landed heavily on the ground and constructed a fierce Lightning Disaster.

Philip was not bothered by it. He could easily nullify an attack of that level with a single wave.

He grinned at Mo Fan, “I was almost tricked by you. There isn’t a single Sacred Hall Mage nearby. Are you surprised? I know the movements of the Sacred Hall Mages better than anyone else!”

“I’ve come to take your life!” Mo Fan said.

“HAHAHA, don’t you forget, I was chasing you around like a stray dog just a few days ago! You would have been a corpse by now if the Sacred Hall Mages hadn’t made it in time!” Philip burst out laughing. He had no reason to leave if it was only Mo Fan here!

“Do you really think you’re strong?” Mo Fan said.

“At least I don’t think I’ll have any trouble killing you. Actually, I’m quite curious; how did you arrive at the hospital without me knowing? And how did you manage to lay down the Nyx Regime without alerting me? You must have some impressive Shadow-type equipment on you… Mmm, Once I kill you, I’ll tear it off from your soul. Even if it’s damaged, I believe it’s still quite precious!” replied Philip savagely.

Mo Fan indeed had a piece of Shadow-type equipment on him. It was the Dark Noble Mantle he had only received not long ago after defeating the Red Ornaments Guild!

The Dark Noble Mantle had a passive ability. It was able to conceal its wearer’s presence, preventing anyone from detecting Mo Fan’s aura even when their cultivation was a lot stronger. Similarly, the Nyx Regime was laid out with the help of the Dark Noble Mantle, too. Otherwise, Philip would have immediately noticed the slightest presence of the Shadow Element as soon as it pervaded the hospital!

The Dark Noble Mantle was truly a treasure, and it was only Mo Fan’s first time using it!

“Unfortunately, your little Dark Formation isn’t going to make much of a difference; it’s time to show you what a real Domain can do!” Philip burst out laughing.

The temperature of the surroundings dropped rapidly. The wind blowing at them was starting to have some icy frost in it, as the Ice Element within ten kilometers started to gather toward him…

He closed his eyes, trying to use his Ice Domain to drive Mo Fan’s Nyx Regime away.

However, Philip soon noticed that something was not right.

The Ice Elements in the area had been depleted!

There was not much of the Ice Element nearby, as if someone had drawn them away in advance to prevent his Domain from being established.

Normally, his hailstones could easily smash the hospital into debris in less than five seconds, and the streets would also be covered in thick layers of ice. However, even after ten seconds, apart from the frost floating in the air, nothing happened!

Philip was infuriated. He immediately unleashed his Psychic Element and soon noticed an Ice Mage drawing all the Ice magic to her on a building not far away from the hospital!

Philip was quite familiar with that person’s aura. She seemed to be the silver-haired woman that was with Mo Fan during the first attack. However, her cultivation was simply too weak to alter the tide of the battle.

“Damn it, she managed to secure the upper hand!” he cursed.

It was obvious that the woman had drawn all the Ice Elements within ten kilometers to her. The Nyx Regime must have sealed off his senses, too. Otherwise, he would easily have noticed that the Ice magic was being drawn away from the hospital.

“Do you really think you stand a chance with these petty tricks? How naive! Even without my Domain, I can still kill you easily!” Philip snapped coldly.

Despite what Philip said, he did not give up trying to lay down his Domain.

The woman’s cultivation was clearly weaker than his, which meant that his Domain was stronger and was able to draw in the Ice Element from further away. He could still establish a dominating Domain of Hailstones, but it might take him a long time.

Mo Fan was well aware of the situation too!

Mu Ningxue told Mo Fan that she could only temporarily disable the Ice Domain, but with Philip’s cultivation, he only needed around ten minutes to fill up the place with enough Ice mana.

In other words, he had to defeat Philip within ten minutes. Otherwise, no matter how many people they had, they were no match against Philip once he constructed his Domain!

Mo Fan was not the kind that liked to leave a threat lying around. In order to ensure his journey ahead was smooth, he had to slay Philip within ten minutes, and gave that bitch Salan a great favor in return!

“Icebound Coffin!”

Philip was still a powerful Ice Mage without relying on his Domain. His speed at drawing a complicated Star Constellation was quite shocking. The brilliance of the icy-white Star Constellation set him off, and together with his outstanding Soul-grade Seed, his Advanced Ice Spell was several times stronger than an ordinary Advanced Ice Mage!

A Soul-grade Seed was stronger than a Spirit-grade Seed. What Philip had was a real Soul-grade Ice Seed. Even after losing his Domain, his dominating strength was still there!

An eerie ice coffin fell from the pitch-black sky. An overwhelming freezing energy and an ice coffin as sturdy as a crystal loomed over Mo Fan. The lightning of his Qianjun was crushed instantly by the overwhelming presence. He was having trouble unleashing the flames of his Rose Flame, too!

It was simply too fast. Mo Fan did not even finish a third of his Lightning Constellation when the enemy’s powerful Ice Spell was already falling above him. It instantly froze Mo Fan inside an Icebound Coffin the size of a hill.

The ice was transparent. Philip could see Mo Fan’s face filled with fear inside it.

“That’s for being too overconfident!” Philip mocked. He was quite confused about why a stupid kid like him was able to ‘win the favor’ of Salan. She specifically mentioned that she wanted the kid dead!

Inside the ice, Mo Fan’s face stuck closely to the bone-chilling ice. The frost was penetrating into his body at a terrifying pace, and would soon freeze his blood!

Little Flame Belle cried out in a panic inside the Contracted Space.

“I didn’t expect I would need your help so soon. I thought I can take him for a while by myself. Come, let’s see how strong we are, when we combined into one!” Mo Fan said to Little Flame Belle mentally.

Little Flame Belle cried out excitedly. The little creature inside the Contracted Space flew into Mo Fan’s soul.

Mo Fan was pretty much an explosive. He erupted instantly when Little Flame Belle ignited the fuse!

The Calamity Fire that was several times stronger than before instantly filled Mo Fan’s body. It immediately got rid of the frost that had penetrated into him.

The Calamity Fire burst out of Mo Fan’s skin and set his surroundings aflame impatiently. Even the thick layer of ice as huge as a hill was unable to stop the flames from overrunning the dam!

Calamity Fire!

Mo Fan remembered the first time he saw the dark-brown flames at the North Burning Valley, how the tide of flames was surging at him from the horizon like the Apocalypse, burning everything into ashes.

Currently, Little Flame Belle’s Calamity Fire had attained the basic appearance of the natural Fire Calamity. It did not matter if it was up against fire, water, or sand, it was going to devour it all imperiously!

The Icebound Coffin started to melt. The thick body of ice cracked open rapidly, unable to endure the pressure within it.

Only a few tiny sprouts of flames were leaking out from the cracks at the start, followed by fierce tongues of flames surging across the place. A few seconds later, the whole Icebound Coffin was burning fiercely, and Mo Fan, right in the center, was engulfed in unstoppable, brown flames!

Fiery fangs swept around him!

His skin was perfectly refined with lava!

A pair of glowing, crimson-red eyes!

The flames engulfing him were unstoppable even when they were surrounded in ice…

It was like Mo Fan had put on a battle armor refined by the natural fire of the Heavens and Earth. His temperament completely differed from any other Mage, every inch of his body was covered in an intimidating, explosive aura!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Isn’t…isn’t this…” Philip was astounded, staring at Mo Fan, who had transformed into a fiery demon!

It was rare to see anyone in his current state, unless his control of the Fire Element had reached an extremely outstanding level!

Philip took a closer look and sensed a different life form from Mo Fan.

“An Elemental Summoned Beast with the ability to possess the Summoner!” Philip realized. His face immediately turned cold.

The flames engulfing Mo Fan had smashed the ice around him into pieces. The strong flames immediately spread out and took the shape of bright, blazing-red feathers!

The feathers formed a pair of wings. The flames jetting out from the wings thrust Mo Fan forward. A Meteorite Fist brimming with strength swept across the darkness and took the shape of a fiery dragon, ramming into Philip’s body!

Philip was planning to back away, but Mo Fan’s speed was simply too shocking. Philip had to use both hands to reactively summon several hills of ice before himself.

The ice hills were almost as tall as the five-story hospital. Their thickness when stacked together was as wide as a building. However, when the Meteorite Fist slammed into the ice hills, they instantly turned into white smoke and dispersed!

The shockwave from the punch knocked Philip flying!

Philip landed on an empty street. He quickly stabilized himself as he fixed his eyes on Mo Fan.

The kid was like a completely different person compared to the other day. Philip did admit that he had slightly underestimated Mo Fan’s strength.

Even so, the kid still did not stand a chance against him!

“Ice Phoenix!”

At Philip’s shout, countless tiny ice crystals combined into an Ice Phoenix with clear edges above him. The four icy wings of the phoenix could cover the entire street when they were fully spread out!

The buildings on both sides of the street froze instantly as soon as the Ice Phoenix showed up. The freezing white energy turned everything it came into contact with into ice statues!

The Ice Phoenix beat its wings and flew at Mo Fan with great force. Mo Fan could sense an overwhelmingly destructive Ice energy from the phoenix!

Seeing the Ice Phoenix coming right at him, the wings on Mo Fan’s back immediately spat out flames and launched him into the sky. However, the Ice Phoenix also beat its wings and chased after him, as if it was alive.

Mo Fan’s wings did not grant him the ability to fly. It only served as a temporary speed boost by driving him forward. When he saw the Ice Phoenix flying away from the street and rising into the sky, he immediately gathered the flames on him to protect himself with the Calamity Fire and the Rose Flame!

BANG!

The Ice Phoenix broke into pieces when it caught up to Mo Fan. The white Ice Element were spreading in an arc across the night sky!

Countless icicles scattered across the sky. It looked like a giant cloud of ice looming over the residential area, reflecting the colorful neon lights of the city in sparkles…

Mo Fan was currently at the center of the cloud of icicles. His imperious flames barely prevented the icicles from penetrating his body. However, he was currently in a pinch, like he had fallen into a lake of ice. The icicles would crush him into pieces if he tried to move around!

“Break, break, break!”

Mo Fan threw his fists around, smashing the icicles surrounding him. The broken pieces fell from the sky and turned into water before they reached the streets and houses below.

Finally, Mo Fan managed to break a huge hole in the cloud of ice. The melted ice started pouring down at the streets like a waterfall.

Mo Fan escaped from the icicles and landed on the roof of a burger shop. He immediately sensed icicles flying at him from all directions before he could warm himself back up!

Each of the icicles was around six meters long and was sharp as a blade, sealing off every possible escape route he had.

Mo Fan quickly unleashed the scorching flames in his body upon seeing this. A blazing pillar of flame rose into the sky.

The icicles melted instantly after colliding with Mo Fan’s fiery pillar. It was so hot that even the cloud of ice in the sky was slowly turning into water vapor…

“Still trying to use magic?” Mo Fan glanced at Philip and shoved his palm at him!

A huge billboard from a building nearby fell right on Philip’s head.

Philip raised his head. The billboard was almost as heavy as a car, falling while dragging its wires along and triggering sparks. He was forced to stop channeling a spell and dodge to the side.

“Rise!”

With a thought, Mo Fan uprooted the street lamps along the street and lifted them into the air, turning them into his weapons. As Mo Fan pointed his finger, the lamps all flew at Philip fiercely.

While Philip was busy handling the street lamps flying at him, Mo Fan reached out and slowly lifted a fireball.

The fireball was unlike the Fire Burst that he normally cast. A Fire Burst was basically as big as a C-cup breast, just enough to be held with a single hand. When the Fire Burst landed on its target, it would then set the target on fire, or apply the effects of Burning Bones or Rupture.

The fireball that Mo Fan was lifting with both his hands was far more shocking. It was like a giant iron pan when he first formed it, but it grew to the size of a house in just two seconds!

Mo Fan tossed the fireball at Philip. The enormous fireball smashed into the roads and kept on rolling, laying down a blazing red carpet of flames!

Philip was stunned when he saw a fireball almost as wide as the street rolling at him. He crazily summoned ice walls to stop it, but without his Domain, he was unable to construct a strong enough defense in a short period of time!

Not only did the enormous fireball smash the ice walls into pieces, it struck Philip and rolled directly over him!

—

“Such a ridiculous move!” Zhao Manyan could not believe his eyes when he saw the fireball in the distance.

—

Philip rose to his feet from the scorched street miserably, his armor now on. He glared at Mo Fan, before looking at Mu Ningxue on the building in the distance.

He was a lot weaker without his Domain of Hailstones. It felt like he was unable to do anything he tried.

He looked to the side, pretending to launch an attack at Mo Fan, but he suddenly used an Ice Lock to drag himself into the air.

The ice chains flew across the sky, including the one that he was standing on!

One of the ice chains was heading straight toward the building Mu Ningxue was on. Philip quickly hopped between the chains and stepped on the one that was quickly approaching Mu Ningxue.

Mo Fan’s strength had exceeded his imagination. Philip knew he had to take out the Ice Maga that was meddling with his Domain first, so he could establish it. With his Domain, it would be a lot easier for him to take out Mo Fan!

However, Zhao Manyan and Jiang Shaoxu were not going to let him have his way. They had been hiding close to Mu Ningxue, waiting for Philip to take the bait!

“Heart Confusion Imprisoning Formation!”

The Psychic trap that Jiang Shaoxu laid down earlier now came in handy. Before Philip was in range to attack Mu Ningxue, several Psychic Demonic Swords appeared in all directions, stabbing at his head!

The Psychic Demonic Swords was able to inflict enormous pain to both the target’s mind and spirit.

Philip was pretty alert. He immediately altered his path as soon as he stepped into the Psychic trap, trying to withdraw from it.

The Psychic Demonic Swords did not land on him, yet his mind was temporarily in a chaotic state, preventing him from casting complicated spells for the time being.

“Mo Fan, it’s your chance, take him out quick!” Jiang Shaoxu yelled.

Mo Fan was right on Philip’s tail. He was able to match Philip’s speed, especially with the help of the fiery feathers driving him forward like a rocket. He instantly sprang forward like a missile!

“Meteorite Fist!” Flames surged across the air. Mo Fan sprang forward at an astounding speed, already surrounded by several imperious fiery dragons as he was accumulating energy.

The Calamity Fire erupted with a volcano’s destructive aura. The light emitted by his fist swept across the night sky like a meteor, lighting up the streets below it!

It was the same Meteorite Fist, but since the Calamity Fire was a lot stronger now, its damage had escalated significantly. When Philip turned around, he saw the flames of death locked onto him and looming over his minuscule figure. He had nowhere to escape to!

The fist and the Calamity Fire knocked Philip back down towards the same street that was now in ruins. While he was still arcing through the air, the fiery feathers on Mo Fan’s back started disintegrating…

“Thousand Feathers Fiery Phoenix!”

The fiery wings spread into thousands of fiery feathers, lighting up the space around Mo Fan like stars, a domineering halo of flames!

The guy had attacked Mo Fan with an ice phoenix, so now Mo Fan returned the favor with a fire phoenix!

Unlike in the past, the feathers did not fly to the target and explode in waves. They actually combined into a fiery phoenix in mid-flight. The creature beat its wings and set the night sky on fire…

The Thousand Feathers Fiery Phoenix followed Philip closely and crashed into him as he landed on the ground. A stunning mushroom cloud rose into the sky. The whole place was dyed red by the overwhelming energy!

“How…How strong!” Zhao Manyan, who was merely around to give morale support and protect Mu Ningxue, was stunned.

The Meteorite Fist, surrounded by its fiery dragons, and the Thousand Feathers Fiery Phoenix were both utterly spectacular. Not only were Mo Fan’s Fire Spells extremely cool visually, their destructive power was enough to make many experienced Advanced Mages feel ashamed!

Little Flame Belle’s transformation had allowed Mo Fan’s Fire Element to evolve completely!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In a giant pit along the scorched ground…

Mo Fan was quite experienced when it came to avoiding unnecessary expenses. Just in case he had to compensate people for the loss, Mo Fan purposely knocked Philip into a fairly spacious area. Otherwise, half of the shops on the street would have instantly turned to ashes!

Inside the burning pit, Philip was covered in festering boils, with lots of blood pouring from his mouth.

He struggled to his feet. All that was left of his magic armor was broken pieces dangling from his body. It could no longer give him any protection.

Right before the attack struck him, he had gathered all his Ice Magic to form a thick ice armor to protect himself. Otherwise, he would have evaporated instantly before the overwhelming heat of the Thousand Feathers Fiery Phoenix!

Philip wiped the blood from his lips. He was trembling in anger.

He finally knew why Salan had specifically asked him to take out the kid. Not only was he the strongest young Mage he had ever seen, both his Natural Innate Talent of having extra Elements, and his unique Fire Elemental Spirit and its ability to possess him, were extremely impressive. If Philip was at the same age as Mo Fan, the young man could easily crush him to death!

“You should be proud that you’re able to leave me in this state. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to kill me yet!” Philip burst out laughing.

“Are you going to run away?” Mo Fan mocked.

“Next time, I’ll surely take your life!” Philip had no intention to fight Mo Fan further.

“You said the same thing last time,” Mo Fan replied indifferently.

Philip’s furious eyes flickered murderously. However, without his Domain, he had no chance of killing Mo Fan. These young Mages had set him up this time; he had only ended up like this because he had stepped into their trap. However, once his Domain recovered, he could easily kill these brats!

Philip turned around and fled for his life. He was not afraid of Mo Fan chasing after him, as his Domain would soon recover. Mo Fan would simply get himself killed if he actually decided to chase after him!

Philip quickly escaped to another street. He turned around and saw Mo Fan tailing him, yet he was not following too close behind.

“Luckily, the Sacred Hall Mages did not show up!” Philip let out a relieved sigh.

Mo Fan was not his greatest worry. Even without his Domain, Mo Fan would still have trouble killing him. As long as the Sacred Hall Mages were not here, no one could possibly stop him from escaping.

Just a little longer, he would soon reclaim his Domain. It was Philip’s greatest concern now!

He had started to regret underestimating Mo Fan. It was unwise to continue with the fight after he realized they had set up a trap for him!

An Executioner could kill their target at anytime, there was no reason for him to rush it! As long as he was still alive…

“So you’re an Executioner of the Black Vatican, Salan’s lackey?” an eerie voice suddenly appeared behind Philip.

Philip was stunned. He immediately turned around and saw a man with a cold, tanned face less than ten meters away.

When did this guy show up beside him? He was sure that there was nobody nearby when he checked the place just a moment ago!

Philip reacted quickly. He immediately activated his Magic Boots, and turned into a ray of light, heading for the alleyway.

The light sprinted quickly in the alleyway and turned the corner at lightning speed. Philip slowed down only after he sprinted through five alleyways…

However, the space ahead started to twist. With a mysterious, silver glow, the same man appeared right before him. His eyes were staring at Philip with fury and hatred!

Philip was stunned. The man felt somewhat familiar; he seemed to be one of the members of the Chinese national team. Philip did investigate the team prior to this, and the man seemed to be their captain.

The guy was not around when he had first ambushed Mo Fan. However, in Philip’s eyes, no one on the national team could possibly stop him from killing Mo Fan!

However, when Philip actually stumbled into the captain of the Chinese national team, he was surprised to sense a dangerous aura!

-This guy’s cultivation… how can a student of a national team be this strong!?-

“Demon Torture!” Ai Jiangtu clenched his hand into a claw and closed it.

The demon forming behind Philip emitted an eerie red glow as it grabbed onto Philip’s throat with both hands!

A shocking claw mark immediately appeared on Philip’s throat. Meanwhile, his soul was dragged out of his body by the demon!

“We don’t need the help of the Sacred Hall Mages to take you out!” Mo Fan finally arrived by jumping between the roofs of the buildings, and landed in front of Philip.

Ai Jiangtu had been waiting for the already-injured Philip for a long time. The man had no chance of escaping once he was struck by the Curse Spell.

Did he seriously think he could run away from a Space Mage who could Blink?

Go ahead and run as fast as you can, a Space Mage could smoke a cigarette right until its end and still have no trouble catching up to him!

“Should we deal with him on our own or hand him to the Sacred Hall Mages?” Mo Fan asked.

“Let’s hand him over to the Sacred Hall Mages, there’s something you have to know,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“AHHH!!! AH! Let me go! Let me go!”

Philip cried out in agony as the two were chatting. The Demon Torture kept tearing at him. Even though there were no visible wounds on him, his soul was already covered in bruises and scars.

As a matter of fact, when they learned the guy was once a Sacred Hall Mage, Lingling immediately proposed asking for someone’s help, someone who wasn’t a Sacred Hall Mage. If the guy dared to commit murder on the street, it was obvious that he was not afraid of the Sacred Hall Mages…

Therefore, Mo Fan decided to ask Ai Jiangtu for help.

Ai Jiangtu did not make his move at the start. The truth was, even if both Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu teamed up, they could easily defeat Philip as long as he did not have his Domain. However, they were worried that Philip would flee immediately after realizing that he was at a disadvantage…

Since they were determined to take out the Executioner here in New York, they could not afford to let him run away. Ai Jiangtu had been watching in the dark, waiting to strike at the perfect time to take Philip down!

Philip was too focused on detecting the presence of the Sacred Hall Mages, assuming they were the only ones that could pose a threat to him. To his surprise, Ai Jiangtu’s strength was comparable to some of the Sacred Hall Mages, and Mo Fan had asked him to lend a hand, just in case!

Ai Jiangtu was from the Chinese army. The others, who were not close to Mo Fan, would hesitate to meddle in affairs related to the Black Vatican, but Ai Jiangtu would never forgive the Black Vatican. The Chinese army had sworn to uproot the Black Vatican ever since the Calamity of the Ancient Capital!

“Keep it going, don’t let him have a chance to summon his Domain. Otherwise, even with the whole team here, we won’t be able to stop him from running away,” Mo Fan reminded Ai Jiangtu.

“Mmm!” Ai Jiangtu nodded. He glanced at the street that was now full of debris and said, “I think you’ll need to pay a lot of money for that.”

“I’m guessing I’ve done the Sacred Hall Mages a huge favor. I assume they will be willing to pay for the damages!” Mo Fan shrugged indifferently.

Zhao Manyan and Jiang Yu had evacuated the streets before the fight took place. They were not in trouble as long as there were no casualties. They might not be forgiven if they failed to arrest the evil Mage that was attempting to murder someone on the street!

Ai Jiangtu glanced at Philip and saw the heavily damaged symbol on the back of his right hand. He said, “Even though we managed to arrest this Executioner, the Black Vatican still got away with it.”

“Got away? With what?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Philip was only bait.”

“Bait?” Mo Fan was even more confused.

If anyone was the bait, wouldn’t it be him? He had been strutting across the world, provoking the people of the Black Vatican to come trouble him. That being said, he had still managed to take out every member of the Black Vatican that he stumbled into.

“Do you really think the Black Vatican is stupid enough to commit murder on the street, considering how cunning they are?” Ai Jiangtu chided him.

“I was pretty confused by that too,” Mo Fan admitted.

With the Black Vatican’s ../style, Mo Fan thought they would only strike when he was alone at a remote place. Not only would it be easier to kill him, they could easily run away, even if they failed the attempt!

Meanwhile, Philip’s attempt was strangely arrogant. He had decided to attack Mo Fan less than five kilometers away from the Sacred Hall of Liberty. Wouldn’t that allow the Sacred Hall of Liberty to send reinforcements right away? It was too risky, even if Philip was well aware of their presence!

“Doesn’t that mean they weren’t actually trying to kill me?” Mo Fan asked when he realized something was fishy.

“They were serious about killing you, but it was only one of their goals, or I should say, it’s only something they wanted to do conveniently. On the same night Philip attempted to kill you on the street, someone stole a forbidden object from the Sacred Hall of Liberty,” Ai Jiangtu explained.

Mo Fan frowned. He glanced at Philip, who had fallen to the ground feebly after the extreme torture.

“This guy was only a diversion?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mmm, the real culprit has already left New York with the forbidden object. They purposely made a great fuss when attempting to kill you just so Philip could distract them, allowing his accomplice to steal the forbidden object from the Sacred Hall of Liberty. Killing you was one of their goals too; they were trying to kill two birds with one stone… the Sacred Hall of Liberty just realized it not long ago,” Ai Jiangtu informed him.

Mo Fan’s heart sank.

-That bitch Salan is indeed detestable, especially with how cunning she is…-

Mo Fan initially planned to send her the Executioner’s corpse as a huge gift, yet it turned out that Salan had played the Sacred Hall of Liberty like a fiddle. They pretended they were plotting to kill him to get revenge, yet their real goal was to steal the forbidden object from the Sacred Hall of Liberty!

“What was it that they stole? Is it important?” Mo Fan asked.

“I only know that much. The Sacred Hall of Liberty is reluctant to declare it to the public. Anyway, we still managed to arrest Philip, so it’s not a worst-case scenario. Let’s hand Philip over to the Sacred Hall of Liberty. Hopefully, they can retrieve the stolen object through him,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“Mmm!” Mo Fan agreed.

Ai Jiangtu smiled when he saw the grim look on Mo Fan’s face, “Speaking of which, you have grown a lot stronger. I bet the Black Vatican never thought your strength would improve so quickly. I’m pretty sure they are at a loss about what level of Executioner they should send after you.”

“I did hope they would be sending a Red Cardinal after me,” Mo Fan replied.

“If they really have to send a Red Cardinal after you, the Black Vatican won’t be far away from being uprooted,” Ai Jiangtu mused…

There was no way Salan would show herself, even though her strength greatly exceeded Mo Fan’s. She knew that if she actually showed up, Mo Fan would transform into a demon without hesitation, and kill her right away!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

A tall figure in a red outfit stood in the waterfall mist. She had an earring upon her left ear, and a voice was coming out of it.

“Executioner Philip is dead,” said a deep voice on the other end.

“Oh, that’s very disappointing!” the red figure replied calmly.

“The thing we wanted is being delivered to the destination.”

“Mmm, well done,” the red figure said.

“Should we send someone else to take out that guy?” the deep voice asked.

“It’s fine, we can’t really touch him for now, let’s wait for another chance,” the red figure replied.

“But his strength has improved a bit too fast. Even Philip failed to take him out. I’m worried that he’s going to grow stronger and become a greater threat to us. After all, he has Double Innate Elements. Once he reaches the Super Level, he will be almost unstoppable,” the deep voice said.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let him live until the Super Level!” Salan answered.

“Your words are a relief, you’re just like Jörmungandr!”

“Jörmungandr? Maybe!”

——

The Atlantic Ocean seemed bluer than the Pacific. The water was like an ice mirror, clear and reflecting the sky and the white clouds when its surface was calm.

Tinuoaya was the prettiest, most mysterious city of Portugal. It was also the place where the Sea Hunters gathered. Almost every Hunter that was interested in exploring the Atlantic Ocean to search for treasure would gather here. Most of them would also spend all their fortunes here within a single night.

Be it the bars at the beach with lots of glamorous women, the noisy casinos, or the dueling grounds of the Mages, the place had all kinds of unending enjoyment!

It was only afternoon, the gentle sunlight shone down elegantly upon the surface of the ocean. The gentle waves were undulating like the edge of a dress…

A drunk old Mage sat on a wooden path leading off towards the ocean. It was like a wooden bridge, where many people would come at night just to cool off with the sea breeze.

The old Mage’s face blushed as he kept mumbling to his friend, as if he was not satisfied with his friend’s performance when they went out to the sea.

“I already told him, he has to hold the Water Barrier on his hand. If he wasn’t so arrogant and actually listened to me, the Lightning Demon Fish won’t have been able to escape!” the old Mage grumbled.

The man beside him was his comrade. He was middle-aged, with a thick beard. He did not drink much. Trying to comfort his friend, he replied, “But you shouldn’t kick him off the team like that. You know how difficult it is for us to get a team together. We are all here to hunt Sea Monsters for the money, don’t be so hard on yourself.”

The old Mage, Kanter, clenched his teeth furiously. He was about to say something when he saw a huge ivory ship on the water.

He was very drunk, he was able to see multiple ships stacked on top of one another as they slowly approached the city.

“How big is that ship!? I thought Tinuoaya City didn’t allow huge ships to dock at its port?” the man with a beard blurted out.

“Humph! Once I hunt a Commander-level creature, I’ll buy a ship like this too, and invite the ladies in Tinuoaya City on a tour around the Atlantic Ocean with me. Once I return to Tinuoaya City, the population on my ship will have doubled!” The old Mage burst out laughing vulgarly.

The man with a beard clearly knew what the old man meant. He burst out laughing too, and glanced at the fairly imperious-looking ivory ship…

As the huge, ivory ship got closer, the bearded-Mage’s expression stiffened. It felt like his eyes were about to fall out!

“Kanter, that…that isn’t a ship…” the middle-aged Mage said in a shocked voice.

“How is that not a ship? Is there something else that’s this big and can float on the sea in this world? Are you telling me it’s a gigantic sea monster?” Old Kanter said.

“It’s…it’s really not a ship!” The middle-aged Mage raised his voice when he realized that something did not seem right.

A gigantic, ivory creature slowly approached the harbor, gliding across the surface of the sea. Its size was even more shocking than when it first appeared. It felt like it was taking up their entire field of view.

Kanter rubbed his eyes. He slowly became sober as the sea breeze swept his face. He lifted his gaze and stared ahead.

Following his glance, Old Kanter immediately felt his scalp exploding. He fell to the ground from the shock!

Cold sweat poured down like rain. Old Kanter was an experienced Hunter. He was about to rank up to a Hunter Master, but he had never seen anything this terrifying!

A skeleton!

It was not an ivory ship cruising on the water. It was an enormous skeleton being pushed toward the beach by the waves!

The skeleton was perfectly preserved. They could imagine how imperious the creature once was just by looking at its bones. The creature was most likely a Ruler of the ocean!

But now, the creature had turned into a skeleton, like a rubbish bottle, can, or a piece of wood, floating along on the ocean. Even an experienced Mage would be trembling in fear upon seeing it, as the pressure from just looking at the corpse was dumbfounding. Its fierce skull that one had to lift their head to look at, and its enormous bones… Most importantly… how terrifying was the thing that had turned this Ruler of the ocean into a skeleton!?

Some time later, the Mage with a beard finally collected his thoughts and stammered, “I…I…I’ll alert the Alliance…”

“Al…alright!” The old Mage was still sitting on the wooden path. His legs were weak, and he was having trouble standing up.

The giant skeleton looked like it was still alive. The old Mage had roamed the ocean for many years, yet he had never heard of such a shocking creature…

—

As the two Mages were overwhelmed by shock, a plane in the sky above them slowly landed at the seashore city of Tinuoaya.

Up on the plane, Mo Fan was seated at the window, and happened to be glancing down at the beautiful city when he caught a glimpse of the sight.

“What are you looking at?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“There’s a strange, white ship down there. It feels too big to dock at the port,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s normal for a ship.”

“I just feel like it’s surprisingly big.”

“I’ve seen bigger ships before. The ships at a small city like this are nothing to be surprised about,” Zhao Manyan said proudly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

As the sea breeze swept past, the people could vaguely capture a strange scent from the giant skeleton lingering around the harbor.

The harbor was currently crowded with people who had never seen anything like this. All kinds of scary rumors were spreading rapidly among the people, most likely going to spread throughout the streets of Tinuoaya City in no time.

“It…it’s actually big, like, very big!” Zhao Manyan swallowed with wide eyes.

They had already thought the white thing did not fit well in the little harbor when they were glancing down from the plane. However, when they actually landed, they realized how shocking the skeleton was when they arrived at the scene.

“How did a creature of this level end up like this? The skeleton is well-preserved, yet not a single drop of blood or the smallest piece of flesh remains, let alone its organs!” Nanyu wondered.

“Jiang Yu, go and see what creature is it,” Mo Fan asked seriously, nudged the demon creature expert.

Zhao Manyan was left speechless. He exclaimed, “Aren’t you asking too much from him?”

“It’s most likely a Coastal Mammoth. Its head and upper body resemble an ancient mammoth, but its lower body is like a whale. It normally resides deep in the ocean. It doesn’t like to bother humans, but many ferocious sea demons prefer to avoid this imperious creature, too. This thing has to eat more than ten sea monsters in a day to obtain enough energy for its body to function properly, and most of the time, it can swallow the sea monsters with a single bite…

“They also have another nickname… Ship Destroyers! In the past, almost a hundred luxurious cruise liners have been destroyed by these creatures, even when they were packed with Mages, not to mention that the cruise liners were designed to survive against Commander-level creatures…” Jiang Yu explained, all in one breath.

Mo Fan nodded. Meanwhile, Zhao Manyan almost dropped his jaw to the ground.

Did Jiang Yu seriously manage to recognize the creature just by looking at the skeleton? Wasn’t his ability to identify creatures a bit too insane? Although there were not many creatures of this size in the ocean, it was still unbelievable!

“This creature died less than two days ago,” Jiang Yu added.

“Doesn’t a creature of this size need a long time to end up as just the skeleton? How is it possible that it only died less than two days ago?” Mo Fan said.

“Look at the tusks… oh, those aren’t horns, they are tusks, similar to the tusks of an elephant. The tusks of these Coastal Mammoths are worth more than ten million each! They are used for crafting magic armor or Deathstrike Magic Equipment. The tusks have only started to turn black, and usually, these tusks will be completely black after a few days, like coal. Once they turn black, they no longer have any value,” Jiang Yu informed them.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and glanced at the tusks. It was just as Jiang Yu had said, the tusks had only started to turn black.

“I still don’t understand, I know the ocean is vast, so it makes sense there are creatures stronger than a Coastal Mammoth, but this skeleton is perfectly preserved. It doesn’t seem like it was injured at all, and even if the creature that killed it was so strong that it killed the Coastal Mammoth with a single attack, where did its skin, flesh, organs, and blood go? Besides, aren’t bones supposed to be heavy? Why is the skeleton floating on the surface like a ship?” Nanyu wondered.

“Aren’t you all busybodies? Let’s hurry up to the Training Hall. We can head on to our next destination once we are done with the challenge!”

Obviously, no one could possibly explain the sight, including the Hunter Groups who had been around Tinuoaya City for many years.

The residents of the city were terrified knowing that a giant skeleton had shown up at the port. A single Coastal Mammoth was enough to bring utter destruction to the city, let alone the demon hiding in the ocean that had killed it so easily!

Fear was contagious. When the team reached the streets, they could hear everyone whispering to one another. They were all discussing the incident.

It was likely that many news agencies had started drafting headlines for the following story…

Mo Fan was a curious man. The visual impact of the skeleton was too strong to be ignored for him. Most importantly, how exactly did the Coastal Mammoth die?

“Jiang Yu, do you have any rough idea how strong that Coastal Mammoth was?” Mo Fan inquired.

“The weakest among them would be around the Commander-level, but the creature at the beach, it’s most likely close to the Ruler-level, judging from its teeth and size,” Jiang Yu replied.

“Close…close to the Ruler-level… Jiang Yu, please don’t scare me!” Zhao Manyan shivered.

If a creature that was almost as strong as a Ruler-level creature had died such a horrible death, wouldn’t that imply there was a real Ruler-level creature close to Tinuoaya City? And it was the kind that liked to drink the blood and eat the flesh of its prey!

The team was not too bothered by the skeleton before Jiang Yu mentioned the level of the creature. However, their attitude completely changed, as they no longer felt safe even when they were in the city.

“Let’s hurry up to the Training Hall and get on with the challenge. We’ll take the first flight and leave as soon as we’re done with it.”

“…”

——

Mo Fan was not interested in fighting Portugal’s Training Hall. He was actually more curious about the skeleton after listening to Jiang Yu’s explanation.

“Just go if you want, we’ll handle the challenge,” Ai Jiangtu said helplessly when he saw the look in Mo Fan’s eyes.

“Hehe, we’ll leave it in your hands then! Come, time to do some investigation!”

“What investigation? It’s more like a ghost story.”

Zhao Manyan was unwilling to go, but Mo Fan forcibly dragged him along. The adventurous Jiang Shaoxu tagged along with the group that was eager to find out the truth. To everyone’s surprise, Mu Ningxue, who was normally only interested in becoming stronger, decided to tag along, too!

“Mo Fan, this simply means Mu Ningxue is the kind that only looks cold on the outside. She’s actually adventurous and a thrill-seeker on the inside. When you manage to push her down… oh, someday, she will surely push you down and let you have a taste of her wild nature!” Zhao Manyan was indeed a pervert, to actually come up with such a shameless interpretation from something so insignificant.

“If she heard you, I wouldn’t be able to save your life even in my demon form,” replied Mo Fan.

“Hehe…” Zhao Manyan laughed dryly.

Mo Fan was actually surprised that Mu Ningxue was interested in the skeleton.

But Mo Fan soon realized he was wrong. When the group was heading for the skeleton, Mu Ningxue took another path and disappeared into the alleyways.

The alleyways in the city were stacked up like a maze. Mo Fan did not notice where Mu Ningxue went, so he had no choice but to proceed on his way.

—

Mu Ningxue walked through the alleyways. The sound of her wooden-heeled shoes on the ground echoed on the narrow paths.

She eventually reached a stone bridge, leading to an area filled with fine houses on the other end. Below the bridge was a shallow beach, the water slowly rising, turning the sandy area into a little stream…

The other side of the bridge was a seemingly dirty, narrow beach. The view of the ocean was blocked off by the surrounding estates. Only a small corner of it was visible.

The sea breeze that had lost its way in such a complicated layout blew Mu Ningxue’s disheveled hair back, revealing her beautiful face…

“It’s already the third one this month.” An old man smoking on the bridge let out a heavy sigh while staring at a black bag on the narrow beach.

There was someone on the narrow beach. It was a Fire Mage in a red outfit, with logs stacked up high in front of him. On the logs laid something covered in a black bag.

Another person opened the bag, revealing a properly-dressed, yet lifeless body inside. The body was lying still on the wooden stand.

The Fire Mage completed a Star Orbit and ignited the logs with a gold-tinged flame. The logs were set aflame instantly, devouring the young man lying on them.

Mu Ningxue was startled when she saw the fire.

-A cremation? Why are they cremating a body on the beach?-

This kind of cremation was only conducted for people that died of some kind of disease. Could this beautiful city be plagued with a deadly disease?

Mu Ningxue went up to the old man and asked, “Elder, what did you just say?”

The old man was speaking in English. They were many different nationalities in Tinuoaya City, thus most people would converse in English.

“It’s already the third cremation this month,” replied the old man.

“Did he die of some sickness?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“People wouldn’t be so scared if it was only a sickness,” said the old man.

“Why is that?”

“It’s better if you don’t ask any further. You will have a nightmare if you know what happened,” the old man shook his head.

“I want to know.”

The old man looked at the fire for quite some time, as if he was waiting for the fire to burn the corpse into ashes.

Some time later, the old man finally spoke, “Instead of saying he died of sickness, it’s more suitable to say it’s a suicide. No, that’s not it, it’s a curse… because every single one of them was running crazily to the water and drowned themselves in it…”

Mu Ningxue frowned and asked seriously, “Did you see it?”

“Yeah, I saw it. If I was to count every incident that I saw, there aren’t just three of them.”

Mu Ningxue’s heart sank instantly.

She had only come here because she heard a few women discussing it along the way. Mu Ningxue initially thought they were discussing the skeleton, yet when she listened to them closely, she immediately recalled the strange incident she had stumbled into in Japan!

The Drowning Curse!

Back then, Mu Ningxue had personally witnessed a woman running at the sea in a crazy manner, and she drowned in the water in just a brief moment!

Now, she had witnessed the same kind of death, at a seashore city in Portugal on the other side of the Earth from Japan!

The sea breeze blew on Mu Ningxue’s face again. A strange chill immediately swept across her skin…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue did not recover from the shock after a long time.

-The Drowning Curse, why would the same, strange curse take place at a beach that was so far away?-

Mu Ningxue immediately asked the old man for more details. The old man told Mu Ningxue everything he knew.

It turned out that eight people had already died to Drowning Curse at different times. The old man had lived in the area for many years, hence why he was familiar with the strange incident.

However, no one knew exactly where the Drowning Curse came from!

“So you’re here, what’s so special about that bonfire?” Mo Fan’s voice appeared behind her.

Mu Ningxue was left speechless. What eyesight did this guy have? That was a body being cremated on the beach, not a bonfire!

Besides, who the hell would come to the beach just to watch a bonfire in broad daylight!?

“I witnessed something terrifying at East Maritime Fortress.” Mu Ningxue briefly explained the Drowning Curse to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was dumbfounded when he heard about the Drowning Curse.

-A person running to the ocean to drown themselves?-

And the corpse would turn extremely pale and dried up? It sounded like the symptoms of some scary disease, yet he had never heard of any disease that could force someone to kill themselves!

“What about the skeleton? Did you learn something new?”

It was unlikely they could figure out the reason behind the Drowning Curse now. Mu Ningxue switched the topic to the skeleton. As a matter of fact, the sudden appearance of the skeleton was actually a lot scarier than the Drowning Curse.

“The creature’s bone marrow is all gone. The bones were huge, but the insides were empty,” Mo Fan told her.

The group finally realized why the skeleton was able to float on the surface of the ocean. The bones were hollow and empty, thus they were not as heavy as the team initially thought.

The Hunter Union had sent someone to investigate the matter. However, it was hard to tell if they could learn anything useful.

“I want to learn the truth,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Likewise, such a huge skeleton, the flesh, blood, and bone marrow were all gone. I wonder what actually happened,” Mo Fan said.

“I was referring to the Drowning Curse,” Mu Ningxue said seriously.

“…” Mo Fan felt his balls aching. Did Mu Ningxue’s thoughts always jump around like this?

Alright, perhaps Mu Ningxue’s mind was occupied with the Drowning Curse, since it was her second time stumbling into it.

Thinking about it, if something so terrifying happened at the East Maritime Fortress, and was now happening on the other side of the planet, the Drowning Curse was surely far more serious than it seemed before!

“I’ll help you, I’m a Hunter Master after all,” Mo Fan said.

“Mmm!” Mu Ningxue did not reject Mo Fan’s offer.

For some reason, Mu Ningxue’s instincts were telling her that there was more to the Drowning Curse than met the eye. Mu Ningxue did not want to see another corpse showing up at the beach…

——

It was true that Mo Fan was a Hunter Master, but he still had to ask the experienced and knowledgeable Lingling for help most of the time.

Lingling was still in New York. She was probably busy with something that Old Bao asked her to do.

Mo Fan returned to the inn and found a computer connected to the Internet. He briefly described the Drowning Curse to Lingling, hoping that she had some information about it.

Lingling had access to a huge database that contained the records of most strange incidents that happened across the world.

Lingling’s eyes immediately glittered when she heard about the Drowning Curse.

“Where are you guys?” Lingling asked.

“Tinuoaya City in Portugal. Don’t tell me you’re thinking of coming over?” Mo Fan replied.

“Why can’t I? Anything is better than going back to school!” Lingling answered.

Since Mo Fan had started traveling around the world, Lingling felt like she was going to rot at the Magic City. There were no incidents, no missions, no chance of using her brain. She felt like she was going to collapse at any second.

She had enough of the boring days. She had to find something that a Hunter was supposed to do!

“Mo Fan, I’ve investigated it, and I have good news for you,” Lingling immediately responded, as efficient as usual.

“Good news?” Mu Ningxue felt Lingling’s description was unfitting. How could any good news be related to a Drowning Curse that was driving people to commit suicide?

“About the Drowning Curse! The World Hunter Union is actually offering a reward for anyone that can solve the mystery of the Drowning Curse. It turns out that many places across the world have had similar incidents,” Lingling explained.

“So the World Hunter Union already knew about it, meaning that it’s not just a mere coincidence. The good news you mentioned… are you saying that we can try solving the mystery for the reward?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan realized that he was still not strong enough after stumbling into Executioner Philip.

Philip managed to dominate him with his Domain alone. He was only a kid waving his fists around wildly in front of Philip. Mo Fan was worried that he would find himself in a similar situation if he stumbled into a Mage with a powerful Domain again.

His Fire, Lightning, and Shadow Elements had all reached the Advanced Level. His Summoning Element had improved significantly after Little Flame Belle’s growth. It should be fairly close to reaching the Advanced Level.

As such, Mo Fan needed to secure himself another Galaxy Vein. On top of that, Mo Fan felt like he was lacking something important too: he desperately needed a Domain!

Having a Domain actually made a lot of difference!

Normally, a normal Soul-grade Seed was priced around two to three hundred million. A Soul-grade Seed around this price was at least twice as strong as a Spirit-grade Seed, and different Soul-grade Seeds would also enhance the Mage’s spell with different special effects.

As for a Soul-grade Seed with a Domain, the price was absolutely insane!

According to Zhao Manyan’s description, most Soul-grade Seeds with a Domain cost at least six hundred million when they were auctioned off!

Mo Fan had used most of his savings feeding Little Flame Belle with Soul Seeds. A Fire Spirit-grade Seed was at least ten million, and it was only enough to feed Little Flame Belle a few meals. As such, Mo Fan was living in poverty. He really missed the days when Lingling could feed him a great job, just so he had a glimpse of hope at buying a Soul-grade Seed with a Domain one day.

“You just have to tell me how much the reward is,” Mo Fan prodded her.

“It’s not a fixed amount. Do you know what a reward pool is?” Lingling asked him.

“Nope, what’s a reward pool?”

“You should know what a jackpot is, right? It’s a lottery that keeps stacking up until someone eventually wins it. Similarly, there is a reward pool for certain jobs too, especially those that are requested by people across the world. The World Hunter Union combines the rewards together. They don’t give the money back when someone fails to complete the job, but they put it into a pool instead. The reward continues to accumulate in the pool…” Lingling trailed off knowingly.

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered upon hearing this!

A reward pool, there actually existed something so wonderful in the world! Mo Fan could imagine himself having a swim in a pool of gold coins!

Mu Ningxue was speechless when she saw how excited Mo Fan was all of a sudden.

She was only eager to solve the mystery to do a kind deed, as she did not want anyone to die to the strange curse. To her surprise, there was already a reward pool for it. More importantly, it seemed like Mo Fan had completely forgotten that he was still a student on the national team after learning about the reward pool!

“How big is the pool now?” Mo Fan asked impatiently.

“There were 1,325 requests across the world to solve the mystery of the Drowning Curse. Most of them were submitted by the families of the victims, while some are from the local governments, associations, experimental labs, or charities. The sum is now three hundred forty-five million and seven hundred thousand… oh, someone has just contributed to the pool, it is now three hundred fifty million… I’ve bought a ticket, I’ll be there tonight,” Lingling informed him.

Lingling did not show any expression during the video call, yet considering how fast she was packing her stuff, she was just as excited as Mo Fan!

Mu Ningxue had no idea if she should be laughing or crying, watching the two Hunters who were like birds of a feather.

Anyway, at least they were doing the world a good deed. Hopefully, they could solve the mystery of the Drowning Curse, so that no one would die such a horrible death again!

“Mo Fan, if we can solve the Drowning Curse, we will be Four-Star Hunter Masters. We’ll be given more privileges to access useful information, and to accept jobs with greater rewards!” Lingling did not forget to mention before hanging up the call.

“HAHA, at this rate, we’ll soon become Senior Hunters!” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

Senior Hunters were highly respected in society. Mo Fan knew Lingling was aiming to become a Senior Hunter all along, while he was aiming to earn money by completing the jobs as a Hunter. He believed they would both achieve their goals eventually!

——

Lingling was incredibly proactive. She was on a flight to Tinuoaya City before the sun had fallen.

While Lingling was on the flight, she had already prepared the information about the Drowning Curse. She had combined all the information about the victims on the Drowning Curse on an electronic map to try and find some similar patterns to their deaths.

“We know that all the deaths occurred in cities close to bodies of water like an ocean, a river, a lake, etc.,” Lingling was surprisingly very energetic. Her eyes were glittering as if they were saying, “There’s finally a case I can work on!”

“Wouldn’t it be difficult to solve a mystery that has the whole world confused in a short period of time?” Mo Fan said.

From Lingling’s electronic map, the Drowning Curse had taken place in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean. Interestingly, there’s weren’t many incidents in China, but in other countries, especially Portugal, a lot more deaths had occurred…

“Oh, to be precise, this Tinuoaya City actually has the highest number of deaths,” Lingling said.

Mu Ningxue immediately recalled the old man’s words. Eight people had already died on the shallow beach!

“It looks like we have found ourselves in the right spot, but then, I wonder if just the few of us are enough to crack the mystery,” Mo Fan wondered.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to solve it!” Lingling’s eyes flickered with the stubbornness and professionalism of a Hunter as she replied stubbornly.

Chapter 988: Drowned in Blood
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue proceeded to question the locals. Not just the shallow beach, a few other places close to a body of water also had similar incidents.

If they were murders committed by a serial killer, there had to be some similarities between the deaths, allowing them to identify the gender, occupation, or even a group of people that the killer was targeting.

The Drowning Curse might occur randomly to people living close to a beach, but it did not necessarily mean the victims were not related in some way. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue wanted to find the key similarity between all the victims. Otherwise, they did not have any clues, apart from knowing that all the victims were killed by the strange curse.

They first went to visit the old man. If he had witnessed eight deaths so far, it was likely that he held some useful information.

The old man went ahead and told Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue a legend, something about presenting sacrifices to the ocean. The God of Sea was only willing to protect the people of the city once they gave it sacrifices.

The legend sounded like some pure bullshit to Mo Fan.

Anything about presenting sacrifices was pure nonsense, and anything that asked humans to sacrifice their lives was not worthy to be called a god, either. It was now the twenty-first century, science was the basis of every belief. Why would anyone still believe in superstitions?

“I’ve asked the families. The three victims that died this month were strangers to one another. I then looked at their photos, and realized that they were fairly tanned. Their families told me that they liked to swim,” Mo Fan said.

“They like swimming?” Mu Ningxue was confused.

“Hehe, I don’t think it’s useful, either,” Mo Fan shrugged.

After learning magic, Mo Fan realized he was more interested in using violence to settle disputes. He was no longer good at solving problems with his brain.

—

As they were walking along an alleyway filled with fresh flowers, Mo Fan saw a man walking toward them from the opposite direction. He was holding a bottle of beer in his hand, and seemed to be enjoying himself.

Soon, the man with the bottle of beer noticed Mu Ningxue walking toward him. His lips raised and he whistled at Mu Ningxue. His eyes were staring at Mu Ningxue’s collar bones, and trying to probe deeper.

“Are you seriously ignoring my presence?” Mo Fan glared at the man and snapped in an unfriendly manner.

The man had quite a bad temper too, and snapped in return, “Who do you think you are?”

“Piss off!” Mo Fan waved and shoved the man aside with the Space Element.

Mo Fan was going easy on the man, only trying to teach him a lesson.

To his surprise, the man was no ordinary human. He immediately summoned a Water Barrier to protect himself.

“Space Element? You’re an Advanced Mage?” The man raised his brows. He immediately showed a whole new level of respect for Mo Fan.

“Aren’t you going to leave yet?” Mo Fan said.

“It’s just the Advanced Level…”

Mo Fan swung his hand again. He was not in the mood to listen to the asshole’s crap!

Mo Fan did not go easy on the man after learning that he was a Mage too. The force rammed into the man, who failed to hold his ground this time. He immediately went flying across the alleyway.

He fell onto the ground. The beer bottle in his hand smashed into pieces too, leaving foam on the ground. The man was not really injured, and rose to his feet furiously. Knowing that he was no match for Mo Fan, he pointed his finger at Mo Fan and said, “Kid, this is my territory! Just you wait, I’ll make you kneel down and apologize to me!”

After saying that, he turned around and left. The alleyways were pretty complicated, so Mo Fan soon lost him even though he wanted to teach him a lesson.

“Coward!” Mo Fan found the fellow quite amusing.

“Just ignore him, it’s no use wasting your time on a person like him!” Mu Ningxue did not agree with Mo Fan’s approach.

“You’re good-looking, so it’s normal to catch people’s attention, but he dared to act like a jerk and whistle! Not only was he disrespecting you, he was provoking me too! I’m already being very merciful, since I didn’t beat all his teeth out,” Mo Fan declared firmly.

Mo Fan always had his reasons. Mu Ningxue was too lazy to argue with him. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was pretty much a jerk to her too, if she compared him with the man!

—

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue came to a residential area. It was the seventh family they were visiting.

If the only similarity between the victims was they liked to swim, Mo Fan suddenly felt like it was better to go back to the inn and take a nap…

As they arrived at the place and walked past the little garden full of wisterias, Mo Fan suddenly picked up a foul smell.

Mu Ningxue smelled it too, and immediately covered her nose. She was confused why the nice-looking garden would have such an unpleasant smell…

“Anyone home?” Mo Fan walked into the house and pushed the wooden door open.

“Anyone? The whole place stinks!” Mo Fan yelled.

There was still no response. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue exchanged glances.

Mo Fan quickened his pace and entered the living room.

“Hey, what are you two doing? Asshole, you dare come to my house! I swear I’m going to take you down!” a familiar voice came from outside the house.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue turned around and saw the same Water Mage they had stumbled into before.

This was his place? Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were speechless. How small is this world?

“This is your house?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course, don’t be ridiculous! Even if you’re an Advanced Mage, you can’t just sneak into my house just because I took a few extra glances at your girlfriend!” the Water Mage shouted.

“Something absolutely stinks in your house, don’t you smell it?” Mo Fan asked.

The Water Mage took a deep breath and immediately started coughing. He was so focused on Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue that he had simply ignored the smell.

“Why does it stink so much?” the Water Mage said.

“You should ask yourself that, I think it’s coming from this big room,” Mo Fan pointed at a locked room.

The room was locked from the outside. Even the gaps were sealed with nails. It did not look normal to Mo Fan, as the door would only be sealed to trap someone inside the room.

The man was startled, and his face immediately turned pale.

He quickly took out a key and unlocked the room.

As soon as the door flung open, a disgusting smell burst out from it. The three immediately held their breaths!

“Norke, Norke!” the man screamed as he rushed into the room.

Mo Fan followed after him, but he was stunned as soon as the disgusting sight filled his eyes!

The man was dumbfounded too. He fell to the ground feebly…

Mu Ningxue quickly turned around, as she did not dare to look at it further.

Mo Fan had seen horrible things before, but even he felt uncomfortable after seeing the sight in the room.

There was a man in the room. He had been tied up, most likely by the Water Mage they had stumbled into.

However, the man inside the room was dead!

His wrist was sliced open, and lots of blood had poured out into an iron pot. The man had shoved his face into the pot and drowned himself in the blood.

It was difficult to tell if the man had died from losing too much blood or drowning. Either way, his body was pale and dried up, the same symptoms shown by the victims of the Drowning Curse!

—

The man cried for a long time. It seemed the man called Norke was his younger brother!

To make things even worse, the person that had died to the Drowning Curse three months ago in this household was his elder brother…

In other words, two members of his family had died to the Drowning Curse!

“Tell us what you know. I believe you have a stronger urge than anyone else to find the real cause of their death.” Mo Fan brought the man some bottles of beers to help him calm down.

The man emptied two bottles of beer in an instant. It was obvious that he was having trouble accepting the truth.

“Norke likes to surf. I didn’t let him go, so he was grabbing and scratching me like he had gone insane. I thought he was out of his mind, so I locked him up in the room. I didn’t come home last night, I planned to lock him up for a day hoping that he would come to his senses. I didn’t expect him to drown himself in his own blood. What did I do wrong?” Bobby cried.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with me, but it’s indeed strange that two members of your family died to the Drowning Curse. Even though people across the world have died to it, I can’t believe it’s a coincidence that it has happened to the same household twice. Did your elder brother and Norke go to some place together? Or did they recently do something together, or eat the same thing?” Mo Fan asked seriously.

“They were always together. I’m a Mage, so I barely come home. I spend most of my time at the Magic Association. My elder brother always take Norke with him, but I’m not too sure where they went,” said Bobby.

Bobby was grieving, and struggling to speak properly. Mo Fan did not feel like asking him more questions, either. He had no choice but to wait for the man to calm down, so he could try and get some useful information from him.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue went to the side. They could see the shock and uneasiness in each other’s eyes.

“This is really scary,” Mu Ningxue said softly.

“Yeah, I think this Norke was affected by the Drowning Curse, too. Normally, he would have run to the ocean and drowned himself, but he was locked in the room by Bobby, making it impossible for him to find any body of water. In the end, he managed to complete the drowning ritual with his own blood. It’s not as simple as a disease, it’s like some kind of mental torture, or brainwashing,” Mo Fan said.

“But what could it be that it’s able to person to drown himself in his own blood?” Mu Ningxue said.

“I’ve already notified Lingling. Let’s keep the place as it is. I believe we might be able to find some useful clues here!” Mo Fan said seriously.

Mo Fan was initially interested in the Drowning Curse because of the reward pool, but after witnessing the terrifying death, he was no longer at ease!

Where the hell did this curse come from? It was absolutely terrifying!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It did not take Lingling long to arrive.

When Bobby saw a little girl coming into the house, he quickly rose to his feet and said, “Little girl, don’t come in here, it’s too scary!”

Lingling continued on her way, her eyes displaying intelligence unfitting her age, staring right at the gory scene.

She went closer and felt the blood in the pot with her fingertips, before lifting Norke’s head to inspect it closely.

Bobby was stunned. He stared at Lingling with a blank face, and it took him quite a while to recover.

“Don’t tell the cops or the Magic Association yet, we won’t be able to find what we want if they come,” Lingling said.

“I’ve used the Space Element to quarantine this place, it will stop the smell from leaking out too,” Mo Fan complied.

“What’s this?” Lingling pointed at some strange-looking thing stuck to the pot and asked curiously.

“No idea, it looks like dander,” Mo Fan said.

Lingling cautiously collected the dander stuck to the pot into a vacuum bag so she could experiment on it.

“Find a skilled pathologist and let him dissect the body,” said Lingling.

“Di…dissect?” Bobby immediately began to reject.

This was his younger brother. How could he let them dissect his corpse? He had to give him a proper burial!

“If you think a proper burial is more meaningful than finding the true cause of his death, or the real culprit behind it, you can ask the Magic Association to send someone over now. Those bunch of idiots will only tell you that it’s safer to cremate him,” Lingling said firmly.

Bobby did not expect to hear such words from a little girl. He looked at Lingling with a blank face.

“If you want to know what killed your brothers, just like we do, then just do as she said,” Mo Fan patted Bobby’s shoulder and told him earnestly.

Bobby was a rational person. He nodded to give his consent, and let Lingling take care of the body.

—

While Lingling and the pathologist were dissecting the body inside the house, Mo Fan and Bobby sat in the garden, each holding an iced bottle of stout beer, taking sips at times. They did not look like they had just gotten into a fight not long ago.

“How did you take care of your elder brother’s corpse? Did you burn it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mmm, on the same day. An old pharmacist from the Magic Association said it might be some kind of contagious disease, so they had to burn it. I tried to stop them, but they insisted on burning it anyway,” Bobby confirmed.

“Your brother Norke, when did he… turn…”

“Lose his mind?”

“Yeah, when did you realize he wasn’t himself?” Mo Fan asked.

“Around a week ago, his temper suddenly worsened. I thought he was only behaving like that because of what happened to my elder brother,” Bobby said.

“Did he show any peculiar behavior?”

“Nothing in particular… he seemed pretty normal, although he did have a better appetite recently,” Bobby said.

“Better appetite?” Mo Fan immediately recalled the families of the victims he visited. He remembered them mentioning the same thing.

Lubi was picky when it comes to food, but he’s been eating everything lately. I thought he was finally going to grow a lot stronger. His feeble body was going to improve too, but to think that he would die all of a sudden…

Mo Fan remembered one of the victims’ mum saying the same thing!

“Xue Xue, can you go pay the families a visit again and ask them in particular about the appetites of the victims?” Mo Fan asked Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue nodded and immediately headed out.

—

It did not take long for Mu Ningxue to revisit the families with the speed of her Wind Element. She soon returned to Bobby’s house.

Mo Fan already knew the answer when he saw the look on her face.

“Every victim had a better appetite prior to their deaths. The amount of food they ate was around two to three times their usual amount, with not a single exception,” Mu Ningxue said seriously.

“It’s likely that the cops and the Hunters would disregard a tiny detail like this. They won’t assume there’s any problem with it, but it might actually be the clue we’re looking for,” Mo Fan opened Lingling’s database and searched it using the keyword ‘appetite’.

Even though not every record of the victims of the Drowning Curse had taken note of their appetite, he did find some other information about sudden changes to a person’s appetite!

“Appetite? What does that have anything to do with the curse?” Bobby asked in confusion.

“An increase in appetite isn’t necessarily a good thing, especially when each victim did not seem to gain weight despite eating a lot more than they usually do,” Mo Fan replied.

—

While they were discussing the victims’ appetites, Lingling walked out of the house. She looked at the three sitting in the garden with glittering eyes.

“We found something,” Lingling said.

“So did we!” Mo Fan immediately told Lingling how every victim had a sudden increase in appetite before they died.

Lingling pondered for a while before sharing her discovery, “Norke’s body is extremely feeble, like a person who hasn’t eaten for more than ten days. He only looks normal on the outside. The inside of his body is actually swelling because of taking in too much water.”

“That’s…that’s impossible!” Bobby screamed.

Norke had clearly eaten a lot. How was it possible that his body was like an empty shell only full of water? That didn’t make any sense!

“I can feel my head hurting,” Mo Fan smiled wryly. He simply could not find any possibility to explain it.

The victims were starving when they ate more than they usually did… it was simply impossible, no matter how fast a person’s metabolism was!

“I think we’ve found some clues,” Lingling said. She went into the house and returned with the pot filled with blood.

Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan were confused. Why did she bring the pot of blood out?

Lingling asked Mo Fan to hold onto a filtration net.

Mo Fan did as she asked and held out the net. Lingling started pouring the blood through the net.

The viscid blood flowed through the tiny gaps of the filtration net. Bobby had a complicated feeling watching it. How daring was this little girl? Even a Mage like him was frightened by the gory sight, but the little girl seemed perfectly normal.

The blood continued to fall through the net. Mo Fan almost wanted to ask questions when he suddenly saw something wriggling in the net.

It looked like a blood clot, but it was soft and squishy, as if it could pass through the net with a little push.

“What’s that?” Mo Fan asked, pointing at the blood clot.

“Don’t touch it, it’s very fragile. It will die as soon as it leaves a body of liquid,” Lingling warned him.

Mo Fan immediately took back his finger. Mu Ningxue and Bobby went up to take a closer look.

“Go get some water,” Lingling said. She poured the quickly-retrieved water onto the wriggling blood clot, to wash the crimson off it.

To their surprise, after the viscid blood was washed off, the wriggling blood clot totally vanished, as if it had melted.

“Where did it go?” Mo Fan asked in astonishment.

“It’s still there, look closely,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan lowered his head and took a closer look. He finally discovered a completely transparent, tiny maggot at the same spot where the blood clot was in the filtration net!

The thing was soft like a jellyfish, but more transparent than it. It was almost invisible to the naked eye. It had the shape of a maggot, and was slightly bigger than a thumb.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mu Ningxue admitted.

Mu Ningxue was considered the knowledgeable sort, yet it was her first time seeing the creature. Most importantly, why was it in the blood clot? Did that mean everyone that died to the Drowning Curse had this transparent maggot in their blood?

“It’s understandable if you haven’t seen it before. This is only the larval form of the creature. They can only grow into their true form by taking in enough water from the ocean,” Lingling told them.

“What true form?”

“It’s hard to say. The scariest thing about these Jellyfish Evil Maggots is that their eggs are like an embryo that can attach to any living creature, allowing them to take their host’s form,” Lingling said.

“Are you saying that this thing can grow into any creature? Like, if it attaches to a Scarlet Demon, it will turn into a Scarlet Demon, and if it attaches to a sea monster, it will turn into a sea monster?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Something like that. It’s also my first time seeing a living Jellyfish Evil Maggot. I can finally conduct some experiments on it tonight!” Lingling said, her eyes glowing in excitement.

“But how about the Drowning Curse?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Didn’t I already say it? This Jellyfish Evil Maggot can take the form of any living creature, including humans!” Lingling said.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were stunned. Didn’t that sound extremely terrifying?

Bobby snapped furiously after hearing the conclusion, “What…what did you say!? My brothers were actually transformed maggots like these! Impossible, that’s impossible!”

“It’s only a speculation for now, I’ll need to investigate it further,” Lingling said.

“But that’s crazy, to think that every victim of the Drowning Curse was actually a maggot like this! How could a tiny, transparent maggot transform into a human, and be able to speak and move like one?” Mo Fan thought Lingling was exaggerating. Even he was having a hard time believing it!

“Speaking of which, I heard that an enormous skeleton showed up at the beach not long ago?” Lingling asked.

“Mmm, that did happen,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“Hopefully, it’s not the doing of these creatures. Otherwise, this city is most likely in big trouble,” Lingling said grimly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Lingling took the Jellyfish Evil Maggot back. Late that night, Lingling summoned Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Bobby to the beach. She was holding a tiny tablet on her hand. It was showing a blinking red dot right in the center.

“What are you doing?” Bobby saw Lingling opening a box and placing the transparent Jellyfish Evil Maggot into the ocean.

The Jellyfish Evil Maggot was barely visible to the naked eye when it was placed on a person’s hand. However, when it was placed in water, it blended in perfectly!

“The reason why no one discovered any trace of poison, parasite, or curse from the victims of the Drowning Curse was because these Jellyfish Evil Maggots were no longer detectable in the water!” Lingling said.

“You mean that every victim of the Drowning Curse actually had maggots like this in their bodies? They were under its control, which drove the victims to drown themselves in the ocean, allowing the maggots to leave their hosts and escape into the ocean?” Mo Fan asked for clarity.

“Exactly! The truth is, most maggots are a lot bigger than this one. The people that died to the Drowning Curse all dried up in a short period of time, like all the energy in their bodies were sucked dry in an instant, but it actually happened because these maggots left the hosts after taking a huge amount of energy from them. They simply drew all their nutrients away, resulting in the horrible deaths we saw,” Lingling said.

Lingling knew the three were still clueless about the details, so she explained her findings in detail.

“First of all, these maggots are a type of extremely terrifying parasitic creature. They normally reside in seawater, and are as tiny as plankton, meaning that they can enter a living creature’s body easily through their mouth, nose, or ears. Actually, in the early days, these maggots were unable to live inside human bodies, but since a few decades ago, they started to evolve into something that can use human bodies as their hosts. These maggots will enter a person’s body and attach themselves close to the stomach, drawing in the nutrients and food of their host crazily. As such, the people that were under the Drowning Curse had a greater appetite, since they were not only trying to provide energy for themselves, they had to feed the maggots in their embryo form inside their bodies.

“These embryos in human bodies will gradually mature. The food that their hosts eat will no longer be enough to satisfy their needs. Instead of taking the energy of the hosts they were living inside secretly, they prefer to acquire all the energy they want from the vast ocean. The maggots will start to eat the human’s body, securing all the energy available and storing it inside itself to prepare to move into the ocean. These terrifying little creatures will then control the minds of their hosts and urge them to head for bodies of water, especially the ocean…

“Once they reach the ocean, these maggots that have feasted on their hosts will leave the empty human bodies, instantly drawing all the remaining energy from them, killing the victims in mere seconds. These transparent evil creatures will then swim freely into the ocean and start their new lives!”

Lingling explained how the maggots entered a human, parasitized it, grew in their bodies, and left in the end. Bobby, who often went swimming in the ocean, immediately shivered in fear. He could feel his stomach twitching, as if there was a terrifying parasitic, vampiric maggot lying on it!

“Such a terrifying creature. It’s basically impossible to watch out for them!” Mu Ningxue said.

They were various kinds of demon creatures, including sea monsters, mountain beasts, undead, and even parasitic creatures like the maggot. Some were basically invisible to the naked eye, living inside creatures like a little devil and slowly killing them!

“I’ve analyzed it thoroughly; this Jellyfish Evil Maggot has two different forms. The first form is the embryonic form I mentioned before, the Jellyfish Evil Maggot is incredibly weak in this form. Even the slightest hit will kill them, and their chance of surviving in human bodies isn’t high, either. As such, even when a Jellyfish Evil Maggot ends up in a human body, it won’t necessarily kill the host with the Drowning Curse. However, once it successfully matures into the Jellyfish Evil Maggot that can control its host ‘s mind, it’s basically a stage-four cancer. There’s no cure at all! Killing the Jellyfish Evil Maggot will draw away all the energy of the host, but not killing the Jellyfish Evil Maggot means the host will eventually run to the ocean and drown themselves.

“Their second form is the form they take after they have killed their host and entered the ocean, but they are only like younglings that have just hatched from eggs. They need to continue feeding on other creatures in order to achieve their complete form…” Lingling said.

“What’s their complete form?” Mo Fan asked.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I’ve analyzed the embryo of a Jellyfish Evil Maggot, but I wasn’t able to find any immune system on them. I assume it only exists when they reach the complete form of their second stage,” Lingling said.

“So if we can come up with a vaccine and ask the Magic Associations across the world to inject their people with it, does that mean no one will die to the Drowning Curse again?” Mu Ningxue asked with glittering eyes.

Mu Ningxue had learned how smart Lingling was at Chongming Island, yet she did not expect the little girl was able to learn the truth of the Drowning Curse that had boggled the whole world so easily. Mu Ningxue could not help but wonder where Mo Fan actually found such an intelligent capsule? Her intelligence was out-of-this-world, yet she was only a little girl!

“So you’ve released the creature to let it grow in the ocean?” Mo Fan asked.

Lingling nodded. She waved the little tablet on her hand and said, “I’ve already implanted a tracker in it. I can precisely locate it no matter where it is…”

“So what do we do now? Do we just wait until the little creature reaches its final form?” Mo Fan asked.

“What we have to do now is the trickiest part,” Lingling said.

“Tracking?” Bobby asked.

“Tracking the creature is way easier than what we have to do. We’ll need to make sure the maggot we are tracking can grow healthily. I already mentioned that even though the maggot is pretty scary, it’s very weak once it leaves the host. These maggots that return to the ocean have a very high chance of dying. Only a few of them manage to evolve into their final form… therefore, not only do we need to track it, we’ll need to protect it too, to make sure it can grow safely!” Lingling smiled.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Protect the maggot so it could grow up safely!

Mo Fan felt the urge to hit his head on an iron pot and kill himself!

-What the heck? Is that really possibl e?-

Mu Ningxue’s attractive eyes were wide, too.

This job that Lingling gave them… wasn’t it a bit too ridiculous?

“Not only can’t we kill it, but we still have to babysit it like some nannies? Are you being serious!?” Bobby almost dropped his jaw.

“I already mentioned that we need to wait for it to mature and reach its final form to retrieve the immune cells we need for the vaccine. This maggot that we have is the only one with a tracker, and is the only sample we have. It’s very unlikely that we can catch another one anytime soon, since we never know who’s going to be the Drowning Curse’s next victim, nor can we tell who currently has the maggot in their bodies. The victims die very quickly, and there’s no way we can wait around 24/7 at the beach. Even if we did, these transparent creatures will vanish as soon as they come into contact with water. We won’t have an opportunity like this!” Lingling said seriously.

“Err… can you give us some time to digest the information? It’s too much to take in for the time being,” Mo Fan said.

The three exchanged glances with one another. They would rather be told to kill some demon creatures, take out some monsters, or track some creature down, but to protect a transparent creature that was going to vanish as soon as it went into the ocean until it grew up? That was simply too much!

Who knew where this little thing would go in the ocean, what kind of sea monsters it would stumble into? Besides, with how weak and fragile the creature was, it might even die if an undercurrent shoved it onto a reef when the group was not paying attention. Some creatures might even swallow it with a tiny sip!

“May I ask… how fast does this thing grow? If it needs a few months, or even a few years to reach its final form, doesn’t that mean we have to keep protecting it?” Bobby asked.

“Not really, the creature has actually lived for quite a long time in the host. They grow pretty quickly after moving into the ocean. According to my estimation, if the process is smooth enough, it will reach its final form in less than a month. Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, you two might need to request a leave from the national team. I need both of you to focus on this for half a month. You do know how tricky it can be, and you do understand that if we succeed, not only will we secure the reward pool and make our names known to the World Hunter Union, we can also save the countless people that might die to the Drowning Curse. I’ve checked the records, and the frequency of the Drowning Curse occurring to people keeps increasing. It’s important to take out these maggots that are able to live in human bodies. There’s no way we can kill them after they have already found a host. A vaccine is our only hope!” Lingling told the three seriously.

Mo Fan knew how serious the matter was. He nodded and said, “We’ll try our best to take care of it.”

“Count me in, I’m very familiar with the ocean. I won’t allow more people to die to these creatures that already killed my two brothers. I’m surely going to… ugh, anyway, I’ll be watching it!” Bobby said.

Bobby was struggling to make the decision too. He had a massive urge to simply stomp the little thing to death right away, but somehow, he ended up as the bodyguard of his brother’s murderer!

However, the rational side in him agreed with everything that the smart little girl had said. Killing the little maggot was utterly meaningless. It was more important to find a solution to the Drowning Curse!

Bobby believed that if his brother Norke knew they had managed to find the breakthrough because of his death, he would be relieved in Heaven!

“It has swum more than a kilometer into the ocean. It’s still within the safe zone, so there won’t be any demon creatures around. However, once it leaves the safe zone, we’ll have to be on our guard at all times,” Lingling said.

“I’ll go prepare a speedboat. Wait for me at the beach,” Bobby said.

—

Not long after, the four of them were on a speedboat chasing after the Drowning Curse Maggot under Lingling’s instructions.

The Drowning Curse Maggot was not very fast. They easily maintained a distance of five hundred meters from the creature. When it started diving deeper, Bobby, the Water Mage would follow it.

Bobby’s primary Element was Water, but he was only an ordinary Intermediate Mage. He did not even have a Soul Seed, but he was quite experienced in moving underwater. He was the best option they had to stay close to the Drowning Curse Maggot.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were on standby on the boat. Mo Fan gave Zhao Manyan a call when he had the time and asked him to notify the national team that both Mu Ningxue and he would be away temporarily.

The national team did allow its members to be away, but they would not be getting the resources that were supposedly allocated to them.

Mo Fan roughly calculated it. The resources allocated to them over fifteen days were only worth a Spirit-grade Seed. It was nowhere enough for Mo Fan. He would rather bet his time on solving the Drowning Curse. That was a total of three hundred and fifty million waiting for him in the pool!

“Hey, where did you two go for your little, private date this time? I thought you were interested in finding the truth about the gigantic skeleton?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“You won’t believe me,” Mo Fan said.

“When did I not believe you?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Well, basically, we are currently protecting a murderer maggot…” Mo Fan briefly explained the Drowning Curse to Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan had never heard of the Drowning Curse before. When he heard that Mo Fan was going to protect a little maggot until it matured, he immediately lowered his voice and said, “Did you suffer a brain injury when you were fighting against Philip?”

“Brain your ass, I told you it was a waste of time trying to explain it to you! Anyway, Mu Ningxue and I will be away for at least half a month,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Do you two really need to come up with such a ridiculous excuse that sounds like you two are trying to save the world? Remember to stay safe, Mu Ningxue is still planning to shine at the World College Tournament in Venice, be careful not to give her the extra burden…” Zhao Manyan advised kindly.

Mo Fan was left speechless.

“Mo Fan, enough talk, there’s a situation!” Lingling’s tablet started blinking with a red alert. It seemed like the maggot was in danger!

“I’m not the best when it comes to fighting underwater,” said Mo Fan helplessly.

“Go down there and take out its natural foe!” Lingling shoved Mo Fan into the water.

Mo Fan dove into the ocean and quickly used the Space Element to quarantine himself from the water, just so he could breathe normally.

Mu Ningxue followed Mo Fan into the water, too. She was a much better swimmer than Mo Fan. She adeptly swam through the water while wriggling her soft body. Her slender legs produced little ripples as she waved her stunning bottom and her waist at times. Mo Fan suddenly felt an uneasiness between his legs the more he stared at her!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue was able to dive quicker. She soon reached the twilight zone of the ocean where the water was relatively muddy. Following Lingling’s instruction, she soon located Bobby.

Her vision underwater was very limited. Mu Ningxue barely saw a human figure around five hundred meters away. It was most likely the Water Mage, Bobby.

(Ed. Note: Limited?! Five Hundred meters? At that depth? You can’t see that far in crystal water at the surface! Just roll with it…)

However, when she was moving closer, she discovered a shadowy figure. It had a long body, fully covered in sharp objects like swords. It seemed to be chasing after something rapidly.

The Drowning Curse Maggot was totally invisible in the water. Mu Ningxue could only tell that the Drowning Curse Maggot was being chased by the spiked sea monster judging from the movement of the water!

“Freeze!” Mu Ningxue chanted silently and fired a frostbolt at the Sharp-Sworded Sea Monster.

The temperature of the seawater started to drop, as a thick layer of ice quickly appeared, and surrounded the Sharp-Sworded Sea Monster.

The water turned into ice and hindered the Sharp-Sworded Sea Monster. It was obvious that the sea monster’s speed had reduced dramatically.

“Ice Lock!”

Mu Ningxue’s legs moved in a circular motion to keep her still in the water. She opened her arms and quickly summoned long ice chains around herself.

She pointed her finger at the Sharp-Sworded Sea Monster. The ice chains rapidly entangled it, as if it was being tied down in layers of heavy chains. The sea monster was having difficulty swimming!

“I’ll finish it off, how dare it try to kill our bait!” Mo Fan finally arrived.

Seeing that Mu Ningxue had restrained the Sharp-Sworded Sea Monster, Mo Fan drew the Star Pattern of the Space Element.

A rhomboid appeared around the Sharp-Sworded Sea Monster. The water inside it suddenly vanished.

“Space Rhythm!”

The space started compressing, squeezing the Sharp-Sworded Sea Monster that was trapped within it. The swords poking out from its skin were snapped in half.

With a deep thud, the Sharp-Sworded Sea Monster died in an explosion as soon as its body reached its limit. Thick, fresh blood spread through the muddy seawater.

“Describe the appearance of the sea monster to me,” Lingling’s voice came from the communication device.

“This device is pretty good, we can stay in contact underwater!” Mo Fan used the Space Element to keep himself from the water and said, “It’s a long fish with spikes like swords all over its body. It wasn’t very strong, either…”

“It’s the Sword Quills Sea Monster,” Mu Ningxue told Lingling, rolling her eyes at Mo Fan after hearing his description.

Why couldn’t he work harder to equip himself with useful knowledge? These Sword Quills Sea Monsters were a very common species. Mu Ningxue immediately had a worried look. She should have stopped Mo Fan from killing the creature.

“Don’t the Sword Quills Sea Monsters usually stay in their colonies? Don’t tell me you’ve made a mess out of it?” Lingling said.

“A mess?” Mo Fan glanced at the blood that was diluting slowly in the seawater and chuckled, “It wasn’t too bad, wait, did you just say they usually stay in colonies…”

“Err, guys, please take a look around you,” Bobby said in a trembling voice.

The muddy water started to stir up as similar shadowy figures appeared in their surroundings. There were only a few circling the area hesitantly, but not long after, more shadowy figures suddenly showed up! There was soon a whole school of them!

“You idiot, the entire colony is going to gather once they pick up the scent of their kind. Come back to the boat, now!” Lingling yelled into the communication device.

Mo Fan had paid the price for not studying hard enough.

He didn’t dare argue with Lingling. He was about to tell Mu Ningxue and Bobby to leave when he realized the two were already heading for the surface.

The two were much better swimmers than Mo Fan. He quickly spread his limbs and dug his way up!

“Hey, wait for me, help me out!”

Mo Fan would be unruffled if he was still on land. However, his fighting capacity significantly weakened underwater. He immediately panicked when he saw the Sword Quills Sea Monsters rapidly gathering around him.

“Back off!” Mo Fan used his thoughts to keep the creatures away by pushing the water around him.

Five Sword Quills Sea Monsters that were approaching Mo Fan from different directions were knocked flying instantly, colliding into others that were gradually getting closer to him.

However, the number of Sword Quills Sea Monsters was quite shocking, and they were extremely quick when moving around in the water. Mo Fan only saw countless shadowy figures stabbing at him like swords. He had nowhere to run to.

The seawater around him was stirred up greatly. Mo Fan almost lost his balance. The only Element that would work effectively underwater was his Lightning. Mo Fan unleashed the lightning saved up in his body to paralyze the Sword Quills Sea Monster trying to get closer to him.

The Lightning was conducted imperiously through the water. Mo Fan gradually expanded the electric field of the Lightning Strike to a Lightning Disaster!

The Lightning Disaster was like a giant, glowing web in the water, and the Sword Quills Sea Monsters immediately ended up as fish caught in a net. They were struggling fiercely as their bodies were scorched by the lightning!

Mo Fan was about to assert control over the situation when he discovered an enormous shadow approaching him from below.

Mo Fan lowered his gaze and saw a huge, black hole appearing in the cloudy seawater. It sprang up at a shocking pace and devoured Mo Fan.

“Catch!”

While Mo Fan was taken by surprise, he suddenly saw a white ice chain appearing in front of him.

It was Mo Fan’s life-saving rope. He grabbed onto the ice chain firmly. Mu Ningxue had already reached the surface. She pulled and dragged Mo Fan out of the water.

Mo Fan was around a few hundred meters from the surface. The black shadow was chasing right behind him, knocking the Sword Quills Sea Monsters away.

—

Back aboard the boat, Lingling was standing on the deck.

Bobby and Mu Ningxue were already on the boat. Mu Ningxue was holding an ice chain, pulling it out of the water like a fishing line.

The ice chain kept on rising, and with a great splash, a drenched guy was pulled out of the water.

Right after the splash, the water in the area suddenly rumbled. It was so huge that it almost turned into a whirlpool big enough to devour the boat.

A deep, black mouth sprang out from the exact same spot that Mo Fan came out from and jumped for Mo Fan in the air.

Mo Fan was as tiny as an earthworm on a fishing line compared to the sea monster that had only revealed half of its head above the water. It was a shocking sight, and even the boat was like a toy in front of it!

“Mo Fan!” Lingling screamed when she saw the giant mouth swallowing Mo Fan with the ice chain.

Water from the splash started pouring down like a rain, and amid it, the black sea monster flipped backward with half its body in the air and fell back into the ocean.

“Stop it, don’t let it reach the deep sea!” Lingling said.

“Icebound Coffin!”

Mu Ningxue reacted fairly quickly. She was already drawing the Ice Constellation as Mo Fan was eaten by the creature.

As soon as the huge black Sword Quills Sea Monster fell to the surface of the ocean, an icy Icebound Coffin with a strong presence of death landed heavily on it , freezing it along the surface of the water!

The Icebound Coffin was incredibly powerful. The water within three hundred meters instantly turned into a layer of ice. The thick layer of ice connected with the mountain of Icebound Coffin, a spectacular sight!

“Lightning Arm: Death Bolt!”

With a loud roar, a black bolt of lightning burst out from the enormous sea monster’s mouth. It even penetrated Mu Ningxue’s ice and soared into the sky.

Mo Fan jumped out from the hole he blasted open with the death bolt.

He immediately manipulated the broken pieces of ice and constructed a flight of stairs in the air. After descending to a certain height, he did a front flip and landed impressively in front of Mu Ningxue.

He raised his brows confidently at Mu Ningxue to further highlight how cool and handsome he was. He was pretty sure that it would make a lot of young girls scream.

“What a retard,” Mu Ningxue’s response was blatant as usual. She did not give Mo Fan any room for imagination.

It was not like Mu Ningxue had a bad temper, but she could not help but feel disgusted when this guy who was drenched in a monster’s saliva was pulling off such a shameless act. She could even feel her goosebumps rising!

“I’ll slay that son of a bitch, how dare it try to eat me? I will turn it into a Sichuan grilled fish in minutes!”

Mo Fan could not help but feel utterly helpless underwater!

His Fire Element was not available, and his Space Element was greatly hindered too. His Summoning Element was non-existent. The only Elements available were Shadow and Lightning!

Otherwise, how could these Sword Quills Sea Monster have had a chance to hurt their Grandpa Mo Fan? No chance at all!

“Enough, the maggot is already far away. We have to shake these creatures off, we can’t afford to lose the maggot!” Lingling said unpleasantly.

“That was so scary, infuriating so many Sword Quills Sea Monsters at the same time! There’s no way we can kill them all!” Bobby said.

He was only an Intermediate Mage, so he did not have much experience facing so many demon creatures at once.

The engine was fired up. The boat immediately sprang forward, leaving a white wave line along its trail as it moved further away into the ocean.

Meanwhile, the water along the trail behind the boat was stirring up as if it was boiling. The spiked sea monsters kept chasing after the boat relentlessly…

“Can you please make sure what the creatures are before killing them? We are not on land, the demon creatures in the ocean are trickier to deal in terms of both their numbers and strength. Besides, you should try to stay low-key if you’re so weak underwater,” Lingling warned Mo Fan.

“I didn’t expect it to come to this,” Mo Fan turned around and swallowed a few times when he saw the crazy sight behind him.

Fine, it seemed he could not really afford to offend the demon creatures in the ocean!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sky was light blue, but the ocean gradually darkened. The ocean did not seem right when the group of four glanced into the distance.

“Why is the water getting darker?” Mo Fan was pretty clueless about the ocean. He looked behind them.

The Sword Quills Sea Monsters had stopped chasing them, possibly because they had left their territory.

However, since the water darkened, Mo Fan believed they would soon enter the territory of a different species.

“The maggot has evolved once. It must have acquired some incredible benefits from the Sword Quills Sea Monster,” Lingling said.

“Oh, that’s good news.”

“It seems like there’s a bunch of sunken reefs ahead,” Bobby said.

Someone who was familiar with the ocean was able to tell where the sunken reefs were based on their experience.

Mo Fan glanced in the direction that Bobby was pointing and discovered that the water there was not as dark.

When the boat got closer, Mo Fan realized that the sunken reef was surprisingly big. It was basically a sunken island!

The water was not deep either. When the boat got closer, Mo Fan was able to hop onto the reef and stand atop it. The water only reached his knees.

(Ed. Note: Don’t try this in real life. Reefs are razor-sharp and will tear your feet to shreds.)

“It looks like a reef cave,” Bobby said after taking a closer look.

“What’s a reef cave?” Mo Fan asked.

“Many creatures in the ocean still need to build nests inside places like caves, holes, or burrows. At certain places, the reefs will connect to one another like island chains, but are sunken instead of being exposed above the surface. These natural reef islands usually turn into nests occupied by different species of sea monsters. We normally refer to them as Sea Monster Fortresses,” Bobby explained.

“Oh, that’s right, the sea monsters most likely have their nests too. It doesn’t make sense for them to sleep in the open,” Mo Fan nodded.

“This reef cave isn’t small, you’ll most likely find a huge bunch of sea monsters napping around a depth of five hundred meters. Let’s be more careful so we don’t wake them up,” Lingling said.

“The maggot must have come here to look for a suitable target. There must be a powerful species here. If it can sneak into the sea monster, it will become extremely powerful!” Mu Ningxue said.

“Indeed, the little creature is pretty good at finding the best places, but it also makes it harder for us to protect it. If the little creature startled the sea monsters, we’ll have to go down there and save it,” Lingling said.

“Are…are you serious? Can a person really go down there and come out alive?” Bobby’s eyes widened.

He was clearly aware of how terrifying a reef cave was. Even tier-one Hunter Groups would not dare to plot against a reef cave. Weren’t the few of them just going to get themselves killed?

“We have to go. Otherwise, all our efforts will be in vain,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan felt his balls hurting too. He could only pray that the little maggot would keep a low profile. It was necessary for the maggot to behave like a leech without being too greedy. Otherwise, they would have to die in its place!

“Bobby, can you find out what species lives inside the reef cave?” Lingling asked.

“Sure, I have been hanging around with some experienced Hunter Groups a lot because of my ability to identify sea monsters. Just give me some time, I’ll conduct a population census of this reef cave!” Bobby said confidently. He did not forget to boast about his talent.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you. I need to know what the maggot is targeting,” Lingling said.

The maggot would soon be able to take the form of its host. It would eventually turn into the creature that it was living inside, and would basically inherit all its abilities.

Therefore, these maggots would subconsciously go after the high-level creatures, since no creature would be willing to stay at the bottom of the food chain if they had a choice.

As such, Lingling was trying to learn what the maggot was planning to turn into!

—

Not long after, Bobby came back to the sunken reef.

The area within five hundred meters from sunken reefs was usually occupied by ordinary sea creatures. Most savage sea monsters occupied the households more than five hundred meters deep into the ocean. As such, they were fine standing on the reefs.

“I’ve investigated it,” Bobby smiled.

“You didn’t even go down there, how did you already have an answer?” Mo Fan asked in confusion.

“Do you really want to know?” Bobby asked in return.

“Of course!”

“Basically, no matter what species it is, most sea monsters will defecate while they are sleeping, and some portion of the feces will float to the upper layer of the ocean rather than sinking to the bottom. It normally forms a whirlpool, which is basically the septic tank for the sea monsters. I can roughly estimate the species of the sea monsters and their number just by looking at it,” Bobby responded with a shrug.

“...” Mo Fan had lots of comments on the answer, yet he was unable to find any words after opening his mouth.

It was his first time seeing such an impressive Hunter, able to identify demon creatures just by looking at their feces!

“If you started measuring from the surface of the water, the species between five hundred meters to a thousand meters in the reef cave should be the Sea Monkey Monsters. It’s around the size of a pack, but there’s no Commander-level creature among them. It’s nothing to be worried about, it’s the equivalence of slums.

“The area between a thousand meters to two thousand meters is occupied by the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish, at least a thousand of them. There should be Commanders among them, too,” Bobby did not have a pleasant look when he mentioned the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish.

His years of experience had taught him that these creatures were not the kind they would like to pick a fight with. They were able to unleash dense lightning across the place, turning everything other than their own species into ashes!

“The luxurious residential district more than two thousand meters deep is even scarier. Didn’t Mo Fan ask why the seawater is getting darker here?” Bobby said seriously.

“What is it? Just say it, I didn’t study much, so I wouldn’t know what it is,” Mo Fan said honestly.

“Black seawater… don’t tell me it’s that thing?” Lingling suddenly blurted out.

Bobby nodded without saying a word, as if even the creature’s name was too simply too horrifying to mention.

Mu Ningxue fell silent too, as she thought of something. Only Mo Fan looked totally lost.

Did they already agree beforehand to set him up, just because he was utterly clueless about sea creatures? Why couldn’t they just tell him what it is!

“Let’s take some rest, the maggot seems to be sleeping in a safe spot, or waiting for its moment to strike,” Lingling said.

“I really hope the maggot isn’t that ambitious, so that it is willing to just turn into a Sea Monkey Monster, meaning that we can get our job done easily.” Bobby was already swiping across his forehead and chest and praying to his god, “Or the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish will do, it might be somewhat dangerous, but I am not a coward, either. I can even boast about it for the rest of my life once I’m done with the job! Anything is better than the creatures living in the deepest part of the reef cave. If the maggot is really targeting them, I’ll turn around and leave at once!”

Mo Fan listened to Bobby murmuring to himself. He then walked up to Mu Ningxue and asked sincerely, “Bobby is an Intermediate Mage, so he’s probably frightened. I bet the creature at the bottom of the cave isn’t really a problem for us?” he asked.

Mu Ningxue shook her head and said, “It isn’t that Bobby is a coward, but the creature is infamously savage even in the ocean! It’s ranked top five in terms of the damage and casualties it has caused to the tier-two and tier-three coastal cities of every country!”

“What the heck is it!?” Mo Fan asked.

“Do you remember the drake with reptilian wings in Jinlin City?” Mu Ningxue asked him.

(Ed. Note: back in the arc where he got his demon element.)

“I do,” Mo Fan replied.

Mu Ningxue added, “The creature down there is a drake, too.”

Mo Fan’s mood immediately sank as soon as he heard the answer.

Any demon creature that was even the slightest bit related to dragons was incredibly strong. They were basically unmatched among the demon creatures of the same rank!

A drake was a kind of demon creature that inherited the bloodline of the dragons. The Lizard Drake in the desolated Jinlin City was most likely the bastard of a dragon and some giant lizard. It was fairly strong among the Commander-level creatures Mo Fan had stumbled into before.

Mo Fan was surprised to learn that there was a drake living in the reef cave. It was indeed not a friendly place!

“It is called the Black Sea Drake, a mixed blooded demon creature between an Evil Sea Dragon and the Lightning Explosion Giant Cuttlefish. It is savage like an Evil Sea Dragon, and cunning like a Lightning Explosion Giant Cuttlefish. Wherever it appears, the seawater within three kilometers of it will turn pitch-black. The water is slightly poisonous, and is able to paralyze a living creature. It will dramatically slow down a person’s reactions, like they have been intoxicated,” Mu Ningxue explained.

“That does sound like a pretty scary creature to fight against. Why don’t we go down and kill that maggot instead, so it won’t even think about preying on the Black Sea Drake?” Mo Fan suggested.

“We can barely fight against a Black Sea Drake on land, but if it’s deep in the ocean, we have zero chance of surviving,” Mu Ningxue declared seriously.

Mo Fan clearly knew how non-existent his Fire Element and Little Flame Belle in the deep ocean were. He would die without a single doubt if he stumbled into the Black Sea Drake!

Mo Fan suddenly felt like he should be swiping a cross on his chest and praying that the little maggot was smart enough to keep a low profile!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Scorching sunlight came down from above. Schools of fish that needed the ultraviolet rays to kill the bacteria on their skin swam to the sunken reefs, and would occasionally sweep past Mo Fan’s feet. Their scales were glowing brightly under the sunlight.

More fish gradually showed up. Mo Fan felt like he could easily kill a few of them by stomping his foot. He started playing with the fish, since he was bored. He basically unleashed a tiny electric current to paralyze the fish so they were having trouble keeping up with the other fish and kept ramming into the others.

Speaking of which, if the fish actually had a better texture, Mo Fan would not mind turning into a grilled fish master and letting Mu Ningxue have a taste of his craft… didn’t he once have an idea of opening a restaurant with the name Song of Ice and Fire? He should be practicing more whenever he had the chance…

Mo Fan was having the time of his life when he suddenly felt a strong vibration originating from deep under the ocean. Even the firm reefs were shaking quite vigorously!

As the undercurrent cames, the schools of fish that were enjoying their sunbaths immediately fled like headless flies.

Mo Fan felt his legs turning numb. He could clearly feel the force was coming from extremely deep underneath them, yet the vibration was still strong despite the great distance!

“What’s going on?” Bobby had fallen asleep on the boat. He immediately rose to his feet when he heard the resonance.

“We are in trouble,” Lingling said in a deep voice. Her eyes were fixed on the monitor.

“Don’t tell me the maggot went to disturb those Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish?” Bobby moaned.

Lingling shook her head.

“Hehe, then it must have decided to turn into a Sea Monkey… alright, I guess that wasn’t a great joke,” Mo Fan said with a hint of self-mockery.

“It’s currently at a depth of around twenty-four hundred meters. The Black Sea Drake must have noticed something. It just roared to intimidate the invisible intruder. The quake from before was caused by the Black Sea Drake’s breath,” Lingling explained.

“That little asshole, why do I think it’s purposely trying to set us up?!” Mo Fan cursed.

“Let’s go back, we’ll let it run its own course,” Bobby took over the pilot cabin and fired up the engine.

Was the little maggot being serious? How could it possibly think that it could take on the Black Sea Drake? The only time Bobby would hear about a Black Sea Drake was from a tier-one Hunter Group, and they would purposely keep the casualties a secret.

“We can’t go back now, the maggot is most likely going to die! If we don’t take care of the Drowning Curse now, more than five hundred people will die within a year, and that will go up to a thousand in two years! Although someone will still come up with the vaccine after several years, it will only be done after countless people have fallen victim to the Drowning Curse,” Lingling said grimly.

The determination on Lingling’s face even surprised Bobby. He could not imagine he had just heard the words from a little girl who was only around ten years old. It was like the thoughts had occupied her heart for a long time. She did not hesitate or back off when she was expressing them!

“It’s true that we can turn away and ignore the threat, but it’s also undeniable that people are going to die to the potential threat, and among them might be the beloved daughter of a father from a healthy, ordinary family. If the family ended up in despair after losing the daughter, then we are actually no different than the culprit’s accomplice!”

Mo Fan suddenly recalled a line he saw from an old diary. His heart shuddered when he linked it to the determination on Lingling’s face.

Previously, Mo Fan had accidentally seen Lingling’s diary that she normally placed under her pillow at the Clearsky Hunter Agency. A sentence was written in it clearly, and it was the last page of the diary. The pages after it were completely blank.

Mo Fan could easily guess that it was the last words that Lingling’s father had left for her. The Senior Hunter had told her daughter that, but he never came back.

The threat that was mentioned in the entry was the Red Demon, the super demon that the Essence Orb gave birth to!

Even though Mo Fan had never seen Lingling’s father, who had been a Senior Hunter, he could not help but feel respectful whenever he saw the strong beliefs as a Hunter that the Senior Hunter had passed down to his daughter.

“Mo Fan, what do you think?” Mu Ningxue asked Mo Fan softly.

“I am a Hunter too, so it’s pretty hard for me to turn around and leave now. Besides, the reward is insane! The Black Sea Drake might be tough, but we’ll find a way to deal with it. Let’s try! Even if we fail, it’s fine because we’ve already tried our best,” Mo Fan said.

Lingling glanced at Mo Fan with glittering eyes.

She liked to partner with Mo Fan because of how fearless he was; daring enough to infiltrate the devil’s nest, and take on even the scariest demon!

“The maggot is currently hiding at the same spot, not daring to move. However, as soon as the Black Sea Drake relaxes, the creature is surely going to try sneaking into it,” Lingling said after analyzing the situation.

“A maggot without an ambition to become a dragon isn’t a good maggot. What an ambitious little creature!” Mo Fan mused.

“We have to come up with a plan. We have no chance of beating the Black Sea Drake in a fight,” Mu Ningxue said.

Mu Ningxue’s strength was not necessarily affected by much when she was fighting underwater. Her Primary Element was Ice, which was actually slightly stronger in the water.

However, she alone could never take on the Black Sea Drake. She needed Mo Fan’s help, but he also had to be in his best condition.

“You guys can go ahead, I’ll be leaving first,” Bobby said in a trembling voice.

Were these guys insane? Were the two of them and an underage girl seriously trying to take on a Black Sea Drake?

It isn’t about serving justice as a Hunter, it was actually trying to get themselves killed in the dumbest way! Either way, there was no way he could convince himself to stay. The Black Sea Drake would easily reduce him to ashes with a single stare. He would never treat his own life as a joke!

“Bobby, don’t panic yet. The Black Sea Drake is pretty strong, but it doesn’t necessarily stand a chance against my fists on land. You’re the most familiar with the ocean among us; is there any way we can lure the Black Sea Drake onto here?” Mo Fan said.

“You? Are you trying to pull off a great joke here? I’m more familiar with the Black Sea Drake than any of you here! How could a Mage without fully-grown hair like you possibly handle a creature like that?” Bobby said.

“First of all, it’s not like I have never fought a drake before. I’ve actually killed one in China, so you can think of me as a dragon hunter! Second, my hair is fully-grown already. You can ask her about it,” Mo Fan said seriously. He even glanced at Mu Ningxue after saying the last few words.

Mu Ningxue was most likely too occupied with figuring out a way to lure the Black Sea Drake onto the land. She was not paying attention to Mo Fan’s false accusation.

“Bobby, I’m sure you have already witnessed our strength. It wasn’t like we don’t stand a chance against a Commander-level creature. You only need to help us lure the Black Sea Drake to the surface, and we’ll handle the rest. I believe you have a stronger grudge against the Drowning Curse than any of us here. If we don’t put an end to it, more people are going to die, just like your brothers,” Mu Ningxue said calmly.

Perhaps Mu Ningxue had a relatively trustworthy face, or perhaps her request was impossible to reject when she did not have the icy attitude. Bobby seemed to be struggling to make his decision.

“The maggot is making its move,” Lingling said.

Everyone frowned. Their hearts sank too.

“Are you sure you can handle the Black Sea Drake on the surface?” Bobby asked seriously.

“Didn’t you already verify our identities? Both of us are Two-Star Hunter Masters,” Mo Fan said.

Both Mo Fan and Lingling were promoted to Two-Star Hunter Masters after taking out the Black Vatican at Chongming Island. Mo Fan’s rank was finally the same as Lingling’s!

It was impossible to fake their identities as Hunter Masters. Bobby slowly calmed down and said, “I do have an idea, but I don’t think it’s any safer than fighting the Black Sea Drake underwater.”

“Just tell us, the maggot is already on the move. If we don’t do anything soon, it will die as soon as the Black Sea Drake notices it,” Lingling said.

“Isn’t there a bunch of Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish in the reef cave between one to two thousand meters?” Bobby glanced at the water and continued with a lack of confidence, “The Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish are a hot-tempered, sensitive bunch. When they feel threatened, these creatures with bad eyes will start releasing electricity. The rest of the cuttlefish will realize their comrades are in danger when they see the lightning, so they will also start conducting electricity…”

The intelligent Lingling immediately realized what Bobby was planning.

“By startling the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish, the whole area will turn into a huge electric field. Even though the Black Sea Drake has some lightning resistance, it surely won’t be able to hold on for long, forcing it to leave the water!” Lingling said with glittering eyes.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue nodded too. It was a brilliant plan! If the Black Sea Drake tried to go back into the water, it would have to suffer the strong electric current, meaning it would either die or suffer serious injuries!

“When I was investigating the place, I discovered a Commander among the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish, and it is very likely that the creature has just become a mother. It will react to the slightest sense of danger, so if we can provoke it at the right time, the ocean will soon turn into a no-entry zone of lightning!” Bobby added.

“I’ll set up this place so the reefs won’t conduct the electricity, so you two can take on the Black Sea Drake here,” Lingling said.

The sunken reefs served as the best fighting ground for the group, since the water had only reached their knees. Mo Fan would not be affected as long as he was on reef, and if Lingling was able to set the place up beforehand, it would be free from the electricity unleashed by the cuttlefish!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had to admit that it was one of the scariest jobs he had been entrusted with, apart from the trip into the Dark Abyss.

Protecting the maggot alone was extremely difficult, and now, the group was being asked to lure the drake out from the water, startle the Thunder Explosion Cuttlefish, and then fight against one of the top five most infamous demon creatures in the world. Just imagining it was enough to make one’s heart shiver!

“Xue Xue, please be careful; if it’s too dangerous, just run away,” Mo Fan specifically reminded Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue was asked to lure the drake out while Mo Fan was startling the cuttlefish. Bobby and Lingling would be on standby out of the range of the electricity. Everyone had their own role in the plan. However, Mo Fan was extremely worried since Mu Ningxue had to dive deeply into the ocean to provoke the fearsome drake!

However, there was no other option. Mo Fan was more suitable for fooling around with the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish with his Lightning Element, and Mu Ningxue who was not greatly affected underwater was the best candidate among them to give the drake a chase.

“You too,” Mu Ningxue said.

Both their roles were extremely dangerous. As a matter of fact, if the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish unleashed their electricity simultaneously, the situation was almost as dangerous as taking on the Black Sea Drake!

It basically came down to teamwork whether they could resolve the Drowning Curse today or not!

—

Mu Ningxue went into the ocean first. She dove deeper into the water by using the Wind Element to push herself.

Her surroundings were in complete darkness. A moment ago, she could still see light ripples above her when she lifted her eyes, like a light guiding her toward the exit of a cave. However, she was now in utter darkness, as the light was unable to reach this deep.

Beside her was an enormous reef that led all the way to the bottom of the ocean. It was marvelous to look at. Mu Ningxue felt extremely pressured looking at it, especially when pairs of glowing, red eyes sprang open in the water, as dense as stars in the night sky.

Mu Ningxue proceeded to dive deeper. The water was cloudy and dark.

She clearly knew that her reaction would slow down due to the paralysis from the dark miasma the longer she stayed in the pitch-black water.

She had reached the territory of the Black Sea Drake. Mu Ningxue could not help but tense up when she was surrounded by the cold water and darkness.

As Mu Ningxue proceeded further, she discovered an enormous hole in the reef cave, with currents surging in and out from it. Anything that swam close to the hole would be blown a great distance away by the current.

Mu Ningxue’s heart skipped a beat when she heard a deep groan came out from the hole.

The waves of current surging in and out of the hole were actually the Black Sea Drake’s snores! It implied just how enormous the Black Sea Drake was!

“It’s making its move, stay alert!” Lingling’s voice came from the communication device.

Mu Ningxue gathered her focus and stared at the pitch-black hole without blinking.

Suddenly, the reef cave started to shake violently, and an overwhelming roar came out from the hole.

Mu Ningxue immediately sensed a strong undercurrent sweeping at her. The whole place suddenly became restless!

“The maggot has been compromised. Quick, attract the Black Sea Drake’s attention. We can’t let the maggot die,” Lingling’s voice started to fade.

It took Mu Ningxue quite an effort just to stabilize herself against the current. With a thought, she summoned more than ten ice chains and fired them into the pitch-black hole.

The tips of the ice chains consisted of sharp spikes. Mu Ningxue saw a few of the ice chains coming to a sudden stop. The ice chains had managed to stab the Black Sea Drake accurately.

However, a few seconds later, Mu Ningxue realized the ice chains were going slack, as a terrifying, shadowy figure rapidly approached her from the cloudy hole. Its glowing eyes were like a pair of spotlights, staring right at her tiny, fragile body!

Mu Ningxue immediately felt an overwhelming pressure. It felt like her heart was about to burst!

The ice chains were stuck on the shadowy figure, but these thick, ice chains looked no more substantial than spider webs. The drake completely ignored them, focused on the human who dared to trespass into its territory!

A strong breath from the creature stirred the water up as the Black Sea Drake swam out of the hole. Its enormous size immediately was a great contrast with Mu Ningxue’s tiny figure, like a little water snake in front of a giant whale over ten meters long. It was an utterly terrifying sight in the pitch-black water of the ocean deep!

Mu Ningxue did not dare stay any further. She quickly summoned a gust of wind, shoving her toward the surface in a spiraling motion…

The Black Sea Drake was not willing to let the trespasser go so easily. Unlike other drakes with wings, the creature had a pair of giant scaly fins. With just the slightest movement of its fins, the Black Sea Drake immediately sprang forward at a shocking pace, chasing after Mu Ningxue!

The Black Sea Drake’s speed was more than twice that of Mu Ningxue. The distance of seven hundred meters soon became two hundred meters. It felt like the Black Sea Drake would swallow Mu Ningxue down with a single bite!

“Freeze!” Mu Ningxue gathered her powerful Ice Magic and unleashed it at the water between her and the Black Sea Drake!

White strands of ice rapidly appeared in the seawater between them, and scattered across the place as the water froze and turned into chunks of ice!

The Black Sea Drake was unstoppable. It completely ignored the ice and smashed its way through them by abusing the power of its mass…

The layer of ice did hinder the Black Sea Drake’s movement slightly, allowing Mu Ningxue to maintain her distance from it.

“The drake is coming up, Mo Fan, get ready!” Mu Ningxue immediately alerted Mo Fan when she finally had a chance to catch her breath.

“I’ve got a little problem here…”

“Can you settle it?”

“I can!”

——

In the middle layer of the reef cave, Mo Fan used his Shadow Element to sneak into the cave, despite its complicated layout.

The inside of the reef cave was like a maze connecting various-sized caves together. Each of the caves was naturally filled with seawater. Mo Fan would surely have had difficulty moving between the caves without his Shadow Element.

Mo Fan had already reached the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish’s nest. The problem was, he was nowhere as impressive as Bobby, who could identify the sea monsters just by looking at their feces. Mo Fan was actually struggling to find the Commander of the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish!

Normally, the biggest creature among the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish was most likely their Commander, yet it was fairly tricky to find the Commander in such a complicated place.

“I’m running out of time, I guess I’ll stir up a great chaos and leave instead!” Mo Fan was hopelessly unable to find the Commander. He glanced at the cave where a bunch of Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish was lying still and started drawing the Lightning Constellation!

“Silent Deadly Bolt!”

Mo Fan gathered the Lightning Coils on his arms and shoved them forward. The Lightning Bolts of Death surged forward and crossed paths at a certain spot.

The collision between the lightning bolts immediately resulted in a Lightning Storm. Mo Fan basically presented the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish with a Lightning Explosion!

The explosive force surged rapidly across the place, thick arcs of lightning dancing wildly about like purple-black dragons. The explosion spread in all directions. The whole reef cave began to shake from the enormous impact.

Rocks started falling as the fragile layers of stone started cracking. The calm seawater started stirring up like a restless beast…

The Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish that were usually fast asleep in the day woke up in shock. Their glowing, blue eyes were lighting up the place like stars.

The Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish all immediately unleashed the electric charges they had stored in their bodies after being threatened. The lightning arcs surged hundreds of meters away in a flash.

Soon, more Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish were annoyed by the disturbance, and stronger lightning arcs started spreading further away. The light immediately lit up the dark ocean!

The dancing lightning surged wildly in all directions. A lightning flash would occur at times every few dozen meters.

The lightning arcs intertwined and combined into a giant field of electricity extending over a kilometer away!

The Sea Monkeys residing in the floor above the cuttlefish were in deep trouble. They immediately swam toward the surface in a panic when they saw the lightning arcs sweeping at them like an army of soldiers on horses.

However, the lightning was simply too quick. It caught up to the Sea Monkeys within an instant and reduced them to ashes!

Mo Fan fled for his life in between the ghastly claws of the terrifying lightning arcs.

He initially thought he would be able to withstand the electric field to a certain degree, since he too had the Lightning Element. To his surprise, the electricity was several times stronger than he had imagined. He almost lost consciousness when the first lightning bolt landed on him!

Mo Fan immediately put on the Black Snake Armor, and felt a lot better.

Weaving through the lightning, Mo Fan was relieved when he finally saw a light above him.

He quickened his pace and rushed to the surface in one breath. He quickly sped to the insulated area to join Bobby and Lingling.

When Mo Fan finally reached the shallow reef, he let out a relieved sigh. He immediately looked back at the water and was shocked to see the dense lightning arcs surging wildly across the area. It looked like thousands of lightning eels were ramming into one another wildly!

With a loud roar, the surface of the water started heaving. The Black Sea Drake had also reached the surface. It was also forced to escape to the land after being tortured by the merciless lighting field.

“It’s here!” Lingling’s eyes glittered.

“Oh mama!” Bobby fell to the deck in cold sweat.

He initially thought it was only a young Black Sea Drake, the size of an average trawler. To his surprise, the Black Sea Drake was insanely huge. It turned out to be a fairly old beast! -Just look at those fangs exposed in the air! Are those really its teeth? Each of them was like a giant sword!-

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Bobby felt like fainting from overwhelming fright. He subconsciously drove the boat away into the distance.

The waves that the Black Sea Drake was making were around eight meters tall. Each of them was enough to smash the little boat into pieces!

“Ningxue, over here!” Mo Fan yelled at Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue was still being chased around by the Black Sea Drake. The creature had two long whiskers on its head, conducting a black energy. It combined with the dragon’s breath into a black shockwave firing in Mu Ningxue’s direction.

Mu Ningxue summoned a strong gust of wind to help her land nimbly on the shallow reef. However, the black breath of lightning promptly landed on her with outstanding destructive force!

Mu Ningxue kept on summoning ice to form an oval, ice shield in front of her. The shield caved in to protect her.

The black lightning spread to the seawater. It seemed to trigger a reaction with the dense electric field in the water. The lightning arcs produced by the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish started to move closer to the giant creature.

The Black Sea Drake appeared to be quite intelligent. When it realized that its lightning was attracting the electric field toward it, it quickly stopped attacking with its Lightning Element.

It was reluctant to bring death upon itself. The electric field was strong enough to cook its skin and its flesh. The school of Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish was something it could not afford to offend!

The Black Sea Drake had other abilities, even without relying on the Lightning Element. Its body had turned dark gold, and its scaly armor started to glow, granting it an unmatchable strength!

It raised its claw and swung it in Mu Ningxue’s direction. The dark blue light produced by the claw swept forward and sliced the water and the rocks in half.

Mu Ningxue knew the ice shield could not hold on for any longer. She decisively abandoned her ground and quickly distanced herself from the Black Sea Drake!

“My turn!” Mo Fan was totally engulfed in the scorching Calamity Fire and Rose Flame.

The two different flames combined into a powerful fist, which turned into a fiery dragon surging forward and tearing at the Black Sea Drake!

The Black Sea Drake did not try and dodge when it saw the fiery dragon approaching. It lifted its gaze arrogantly and uttered a roar. A water barrier similar to a Water Curtain appeared in front of it. The fiery dragon collided into the barrier and immediately evaporated. It failed to inflict any damage on the Black Sea Drake.

“Sky-Flame Funeral!” Mo Fan was fairly quick at channeling his spells. He raised two lumps of fire into the air, which soon turned into a fiery cloud looming over the Black Sea Drake!

Dense fireballs started pouring down from the burning cloud rapidly, turning the shallow reef into a scorching sea of flames.

The fireballs landed on the Black Sea Drake and set a huge chunk of its scales on fire. The Black Sea Drake realized the pinch it was in and tried to sneak back into the sea to escape from the flames. However, as soon as it turned around, it was shocked to see that the seawater was already dominated by the wild lightning. If it entered the water now, it would suffer serious injuries from the lightning!

The Black Sea Drake did not dare enter the water. It straightened itself and uttered a ferocious roar.

Streams of seawater started pouring down from the sky and splashed on Mo Fan’s sea of flames.

The sea of flames was extinguished fairly quickly. The Black Sea Drake seemed to dislike fire a great deal. It immediately directed its wrath at the human who had attacked him consecutively.

The Black Sea Drake leapt into the air. It was trying to smash Mo Fan into minced meat by crashing onto him like a giant mountain!

As the creature landed on the surface, a dark blue ripple of energy surged forward. Mo Fan did not notice how strong the ripple was. He managed to avoid being trampled by the creature, but he did not dodge the energy ripple in time. It instantly knocked him flying a few hundred meters into the distance. Luckily, Mu Ningxue managed to catch him with ice chains in time. Otherwise, Mo Fan was unsure how far from the creature he would have ended up!

“Such a savage creature!” Mo Fan rose to his feet and stared at the Black Sea Drake.

Little Flame Belle was excited when she saw the powerful beast.

Mo Fan knew Little Flame Belle had a strong desire to participate in challenging fights. He immediately communicated with Little Flame Belle through his soul, summoning fiery tongues of the Calamity Fire around him!

“Rocket Wings!” At Mo Fan’s order, the Calamity Fire turned into feathers and attached themselves to Mo Fan’s back, forming a pair of brilliant, burning wings!

The feathers exploded, thrusting Mo Fan forward like a ray of light slicing across the air. The flames bursting out from his body all accumulated on his wrist!

“Meteorite Fist!”

The Meteorite Fist was accompanied by several fierce dragons circling it, with scorching lava bursting out from them!

The fist slammed into the Black Sea Drake’s chest. The enormous creature slid over a hundred meters backward. Its pitch-black scales had an obvious burn mark that was slightly caved in.

Bobby gaped when he witnessed the scene.

He never thought Mo Fan’s strength was this shocking, considering how young he was. He managed to knock the enormous, mighty beast back with a single punch!

“Ten Thousand Ice Arrows!”

Mu Ningxue had also finished casting her spell while Mo Fan was keeping the Black Sea Drake busy.

Mu Ningxue could control her magic slightly better than Mo Fan with the help of her Domain. She pointed her hands ahead, firing around ten thousand ice arrows at the creature!

The ice arrows might seem small, but their numbers and strength were not to be underestimated! The Black Sea Drake was forced to protect its vital parts with its tail and arms. The ice arrows had the freezing ability, and even though the arrows failed to penetrate the drake’s defense, its scaly armor turned rigid after it was covered in frost!

“Gravity!”

Mo Fan immediately took hold of the opportunity. Instead of using a Fire spell, which would destroy Mu Ningxue’s ice, he decided to compress the space instead. The rhomboid encapsulating the Black Sea Drake multiplied the gravitational force within it ten times over, making it extremely difficult for the enormous Black Sea Drake to move freely!

The Black Sea Drake stomped the ground and waved its claws fiercely, trying to break the ice covering its body. However, the number of ice arrows was simply too shocking. The Black Sea Drake’s body was soon covered in a layer of frost.

“Ice Domain!” Mu Ningxue immediately gathered her Ice Magic.

The Ice Element was visible to the naked eye as it rapidly gathered around Mu Ningxue. The water above the sunken reef was soon turned into a thick layer of ice!

Snow started to fall from the sky. Mu Ningxue continued to channel her magic with outstanding focus. Several glaciers dozens of meters tall surrounded the Black Sea Drake and weighed it down with thick, heavy chains!

Not long afterwards, a whole hill of ice circled the Black Sea Drake, trapping it in the middle. The creature was extremely slow as it struggled to move. It was having difficulty gathering its strength.

“Nyx Regime!” Mo Fan laid out his Shadow Domain upon seeing this!

A giant, black formation stacked on top of the icy mountain range. Giant Shadow Spikes lunged at the Black Sea Drake, sealing off every single joint on its body.

The number of Giant Shadow Spikes needed was proportional to the size of the target. Even though the Black Sea Drake was being suppressed by the icy mountains and the formation of Giant Shadow Spikes, the creature seemed to still be struggling still. It could still utter a roar and twist its body…

“How…how impressive!” Bobby just watched from the distance. He could not help but exclaim when he saw Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue teaming up to subdue the Black Sea Drake. The two young Mages actually stood a chance against the powerful creature!

The Black Sea Drake was greatly infuriated. Even the sky stared to shake following its blasting roar.

The destructive, dark blue energy ripple appeared once again. It was most likely the extraordinary dragon might that the Black Sea Drake possessed. As the energy ripple swept outward in a circle, it immediately shattered the icy mountains of Mu Ningxue’s Domain into pieces.

Mo Fan’s Shadow Formation did not survive the impact, either. The Giant Shadow Spikes rapidly dispersed after they were struck by the energy ripple. Even Mo Fan’s Nyx Regime was greatly affected, and was on the verge of dissipating from the impact.

The Black Sea Drake opened its huge mouth and spat at Mo Fan after breaking free from the chains!

An extremely thick pillar of water flew right in Mo Fan’s direction. Mo Fan was about to dodge it when he saw the Black Sea Drake swinging its head at him, too!

The water pillar was incredibly powerful. Mo Fan was struggling to stand still. The Calamity Fire engulfing him was put out as the impact sent him flying. He almost fell outside the boundary of the sunken reef.

The Black Sea Drake similarly spat at Mu Ningxue. The huge water pillar rammed forward. Even Mu Ningxue’s ice chains were no match for it. She was also knocked flying by the impact.

Before Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue could recover, the Black Sea Drake chased after them and raised its huge claw!

As soon as the creature lifted its claw, a huge wave rose and came pouring down together with the beast’s claw.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue gasped when they saw the raging waves and the claw descending upon them. The Black Sea Drake was most likely starting to go serious on them!

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue fled in different directions, but the claw of raging waves split in half and chased after them. It was impossible for them to outrun it…

The huge claw swept forward through the waves. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were utterly helpless against it when the claw eventually landed on them. It was not as simple as breaking a few bones. They both fell to the ground feebly as they almost lost consciousness!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan felt his head spinning; he had totally lost his sense of direction.

The force of the claw was absolutely ridiculous. Mo Fan almost felt his bones falling apart from the impact, even though he was wearing the Black Snake Armor!

While Mo Fan was losing consciousness, he suddenly sensed a strong presence coming from the side. His hair instantly stood on its end as a huge shadow loomed over him!

The Black Sea Drake opened its mouth and bit at Mo Fan!

Mo Fan cast the Fleeing Shadow when its fangs were mere inches away from his face. He split into two shadows and barely escaped from the creature’s jaws through the gaps between its fangs!

The Black Sea Drake continued to chase after Mo Fan’s shadows relentlessly. Its long dragon whiskers seemed to have minds of their own, and actually wrapped around his body to tie him up like a golden chain.

Mo Fan was shocked when he saw the dragon whiskers squeezing in. If he was trapped by the dragon’s whiskers, he would surely be shoved into the creature’s mouth right away!

“Dark Noble Mantle!”

Mo Fan did not preserve his strength any further. He quickly Summoned the Dark Noble Mantle.

The silhouette of a long mantle swiftly appeared on his back while he was still in the form of a shadow. It looked like a pair of wings folding up.

As soon as the mantle appeared, Mo Fan’s presence vanished without a trace. The shadow completely merged with the ocean and the rocks. It was impossible to tell where Mo Fan went!

The Black Sea Drake’s whiskers immediately lost their target. They were swinging aimlessly in the air, not knowing if they should withdraw or reach further.

The Black Sea Drake’s fierce eyes were trying very hard to hunt Mo Fan down, too!

It would not believe that the human had vanished without a trace. The intelligent Black Sea Drake splashed water across the sky to find where Mo Fan was hiding.

As the spray of water started falling, the Black Sea Drake soon noticed the rain’s path had altered, as if it had landed on something.

The Black Sea Drake huffed, as if it was laughing at the human’s amusing attempt. Its whiskers immediately lunged at the human figure that the water was highlighting in the air, and quickly tied it up.

The Black Sea Drake dragged the figure right to it when it felt its whiskers had caught something, trying to pull the human out from his hiding spot. It then bit at it with a huge bite.

However, it was only a black mantle disguising itself as a human figure. It reclaimed its usual appearance when the Black Sea Drake forcibly dragged it forwards. There was nothing inside the mantle, like a magician who had vanished into thin air inside his slender cape.

Mo Fan gradually appeared behind the Black Sea Drake. The mantle that the Black Sea Drake had caught disappeared suddenly too, before reappearing on Mo Fan’s shoulders.

The Black Sea Drake was confused. It had no clue how the human had managed to pull it off. Meanwhile, it felt a scorching heat coming from behind it, which felt rather terrifying even though it had yet to land!

“Flame Sword!” Standing behind the Black Sea Drake, Mo Fan raised the burning sword and slashed forward.

The giant ten-meter-long sword struck the Black Sea Drake on the back and immediately left a long, burning cut around its vertebrae. The fire was burning inside the Black Sea Drake’s flesh.

The Black Sea Drake let out a painful cry. The spikes on its back rose suddenly and belched out a cloud of black smoke at Mo Fan.

The smoke was pitch-black, with a rather unpleasant smell.

Mo Fan knew the black smoke was poisonous. He did not dare to go any closer, but immediately fled outside the area of the smoke.

He flung the Dark Noble Mantle up, producing a shadow looming over the place. Mo Fan was basically invisible within the shadow, and his speed was several times faster than when he was casting Fleeing Shadow!

With the Dark Noble Mantle, Mo Fan no longer needed to worry about finding a shadow. The Dark Noble Mantle was able to provide him with the shadows he needed…

Against a creature like the Black Sea Drake, the Blood Tabi was simply too weak to make any difference. The Dark Noble Mantle had actually secured Mo Fan the upper hand in the fight. It was worth the strenuous effort that Mo Fan had put in just to claim it!

The Black Sea Drake twisted its body. It was clenching its teeth against the pain from the burning wound on its back. It had the urge to tear the detestable human into pieces. Most frustratingly, it was still having trouble finding where he was!

Where was he hiding?

The Black Sea Drake scanned the area, but even with its outstanding senses, it was unable to locate the human with the Shadow Element.

“Nine Halls!”

Suddenly, nine stunning fiery pillars rose under the Black Sea Drake. Five of them struck the Black Sea Drake’s fleshy rump!

The Nine Pillars constructed with the Calamity Fire were far stronger than before. The flames rising into the sky were like the eruption of nine volcanoes, scorching lava splattering across the place. The Black Sea Drake was jumping up as the heat was just too unbearable!

The Black Sea Drake finally realized how tough the two humans were. It was unable to attack by controlling the water on the surface.

It glanced at the water and discovered that the electricity unleashed by the simple-minded Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish had started to weaken. It immediately stayed away from Mo Fan’s flames and dove into the ocean!

BANG!

To its surprise, the Black Sea Drake ended up smashing its head on a layer of sturdy ice when it tried to dive into the water. Despite the impact, it had failed to break the ice, showing how strong the ice was!

While the Black Sea Drake was fully focused on Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue’s Domain had already spread more than a kilometer into the distance, turning the area beyond the reef into ice. The ice was at least thirty meters thick, no longer just a thin layer on the surface. The Black Sea Drake was seething with anger after realizing it had been tricked by the human!

“Subdue it!” Lingling said to Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue had long awaited this moment. Her eyes were doors to an icy white world that was deeply asleep. As they flickered sharply, an enormous Icebound Coffin descended from the sky and landed heavily before the Black Sea Drake.

The Icebound Coffin immediately gave the Black Sea Drake a fright. Luckily, the enormous thing did not land right on it. Otherwise, it would have had trouble resisting it!

However, before the Black Sea Drake could feel relieved, an icy glow suddenly appeared above it as another spectacular Icebound Coffin landed behind it!

The third Icebound Coffin came down and sealed off the Black Sea Drake’s left!

The Black Sea Drake finally realized that something was not right. When it was about to head for its remaining path of escape, the last Icebound Coffin plunged down onto the ice and trapped the creature!

The Black Sea Drake raised its head and saw the biggest Icebound Coffin above it. It slammed down heavily before the creature was able to jump into the sky. It was the final piece of the puzzle for the formation consisting of five Icebound Coffins!

“Five…five Icebound Coffins…”

Bobby almost dropped his jaw to the ground. He had met some extremely talented Ice Mages from the Hunter Alliance, yet he had never seen anyone Summon five Icebound Coffins at once. Wasn’t this woman a bit too terrifying?

Bobby immediately recalled how he was whistling at Mu Ningxue back in the alleyway. He glanced at the previously-imperious Black Sea Drake trapped by the Icebound Coffins and immediately drew a cross on his chest in cold sweat!

“The maggot is making its move,” Lingling said.

“What?” Mo Fan asked confusedly.

“Take a look for yourself!”

Mo Fan glanced at the Black Sea Drake and saw a strange reaction from it. Its scales were falling off suddenly, as if they were gradually disappearing.

In addition to its scales, its flesh had started to rot out of nowhere, too. Countless white tiny little creatures were jumping up and down on the rotten flesh.

“What are those?” Mo Fan exclaimed in surprise.

“The larvae, the form before the Drowning Curse Maggot,” Lingling said.

The Black Sea Drake could no longer move as its body was frozen in ice. It had no chance of breaking free from Mu Ningxue’s Icebound Coffins in a short period of time.

Meanwhile, the white little larvae that were growing out of its flesh were devouring it continuously. It clearly did not look pleasant!

Normally, the creature could easily eliminate these annoying little pests with a single energy ripple or a dragon breath, but it was unable to do anything in its current state. It could only watch its flesh being devoured by the larvae.

More larvae showed up like a whole nest of white ants. The Black Sea Drake soon lost its glittering scales and was naked, only its flesh remained.

To Mo Fan’s astonishment, the Black Sea Drake’s enormous figure was shrinking at a shocking pace, too. It was like a huge chunk of meat had been thrown into a pond full of piranhas, which would eventually end up as just a few pieces of bones!

“Oh my God!” Bobby screamed as he watched the bizarre sight from the boat.

It was like the Black Sea Drake was being disintegrated. The creature’s appearance beyond recognition after it was eaten alive by the countless white larvae. It no longer had the imperious presence of a drake!

“This…this…” Mo Fan too was dumbfounded.

Even though Mu Ningxue had managed to freeze the Black Sea Drake, it would still take them a long time to kill it. As a matter of fact, they could not tell if they actually had enough firepower to kill the creature.

And now, before the creature could even break free from Mu Ningxue’s ice, half of its body had already been consumed by the eerie, white larvae that had grown out from its body!

The larvae were now devouring the creature at an even quicker pace. It was impossible to tell how many layers of the white larvae were on the Black Sea Drake. The creature went from struggling at the start to losing consciousness, until it eventually turned into a mere specimen…

When the Black Sea Drake gradually turned into a bloody skeleton, Mu Ningxue could not help but cover her mouth. Her eyes were filled with disbelief!

The word scary was no longer enough to describe the sight, as who could possibly think that the insignificant, transparent maggot was able to eat the whole Drake down to a skeleton in just a short period of time!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In the end, all that was left of the Black Sea Drake were a bunch of white bones. There was not a drop of blood or a tiny bit of flesh remained. The hollow skeleton was frozen inside the ice.

Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Bobby took a long time to recover from the shock. Even Lingling, who already knew it would happen, was staring at it in astonishment.

“Where are the larvae?” Mo Fan had to ask.

The larvae had all vanished into thin air. Mo Fan was unable to see them anywhere. He was already having difficulty explaining the strange sequence of events.

“Wait, just wait on the boat. When the time comes, I’ll tell you where the larvae went,” Lingling said.

The three returned to the boat. The Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish in the water had stopped releasing electricity, returning the area to calm. However, when they recalled how the Black Sea Drake had died just like that, they could not help but have a bad feeling about it.

The group stayed on the boat and waited silently as Lingling had instructed.

—

Lingling did not sleep much. In the past three days, she had only slept for three hours every day. Her eyes never left the monitor displaying the activity of the maggot, as if she was scared of missing something.

The next day had arrived. The blazing red of the rising sun happened to shine right on a flat cloud, forming a spectacular sight along the horizon.

Mo Fan walked out from the cabin with a huge yawn.

He walked to the deck and saw Lingling waiting patiently in front of the screen with a huge coat draped over her shoulders.

Mo Fan was utterly impressed by Lingling’s determination. Most girls at her age would go off on a tantrum if they were asked to do some mere household chores!

Mo Fan felt sorry for Lingling when he saw her bloodshot eyes. He sat beside her and patted on her head, “Why are you working so hard? The maggot is just below us, there’s no way it can run away.”

“It’s the most difficult job I have ever done, apart from the operation that wiped out the Black Vatican on Chongming Island. You know that I’ve no interest in studying, I just want to be a Hunter,” Lingling replied seriously.

Mo Fan was speechless. She was really a problem child!

“There’s some movement,” Lingling said, staring at the screen.

“I’ll go wake Mu Ningxue up,” Mo Fan quickly went into the cabin and woke Mu Ningxue up.

Bobby had woken up from the noise. The three gathered before Lingling.

“The maggot is now in its complete form. Go into the water and wait. Once the immune cells are available, we’ll secure them and leave,” Lingling told them.

“It’s done at last!” Bobby let out a long sigh with a relieved smile.

It was the most thrilling adventure Bobby had ever been on in his life. He could easily boast about it to the old Hunters in the bars for the rest of his life. It was a Black Sea Drake, an extremely savage exotic beast, and he had participated in the job that needed to kill the drake!

“I’ll go,” Mu Ningxue said. Knowing that Mo Fan had just stepped on the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish’s tails recently, it was safer for Mu Ningxue to go.

“Wait, hold on,” Lingling suddenly said, signaling everyone to keep quiet.

The three were utterly confused. The maggot was already in its final form. They just wanted to hurry up and get its immune cells, and deliver them to the Hunter Union!

Mo Fan was about to ask something when Lingling looked into the water and said with a frown, “It’s swimming toward us.”

“Isn’t that what we wanted? It saves us the effort of going to look for it,” Mo Fan said.

Lingling shook her head. Her expression was saying that something terrible was about to happen.

Lingling’s tablet started beeping with a warning. The frequency of the beeping gradually increased, implying that the target was getting closer to them.

The boat was not moving, thus it simply meant that the maggot was approaching them rapidly.

“Such incredible speed!” Mu Ningxue glanced at the device and realized that the red dot representing the maggot was moving toward them at a shocking pace.

“I’ll go stop it,” Bobby stood on the edge of the deck and stared into the water.

The little thing was transparent, thus it was extremely tricky to see it in the water. They could only rely on Lingling to spot the creature. However, Bobby was still staring at the water with all his focus, trying to detect any trace of the creature. Either way, he would never let that son-of-a-b**ch run away!

The boat swayed as the waves splashed at it occasionally. The blue water had suddenly turned black.

Bobby did not notice the change at the start as he was focused on something else. However, he soon noticed a giant black shadow approaching the surface in the water.

The shadow was blurry initially, but as it moved closer to the surface, Bobby immediately took a deep breath, as their boat felt extremely tiny when compared to the shadow!

“Watch out!” Mu Ningxue sensed the approaching danger. She waved her hand and forcibly dragged Bobby back to the deck with a strong gust of wind.

Meanwhile, the terrifying shadow under the water rammed fiercely into the front of the boat. Its huge fangs biting half of the boat off!

The metal hull broke into pieces. Amid the rolling waves, Mo Fan saw an enormous, pitch-black figure rising up. The little boat could not even survive a single attack from the black figure!

Bobby almost wet his pants. Luckily, Mu Ningxue had lent a hand in time. Otherwise, he would have been eaten together with half of the boat.

“Why is there another Black Sea Drake!?” Bobby screamed.

The creature that attacked the boat was a Black Sea Drake, similar in size to the one they fought against before. It had totally taken them by surprise.

“Where’s the maggot? Wasn’t the maggot swimming toward us just then?” Mo Fan protested with an utterly confused look.

“This guy is the maggot!” Lingling said.

Mo Fan sat on the half of the boat that was left. The waves kept pouring down at him like a storm.

He lifted his gaze and stared at the enormous, pitch-black body of the creature. The Black Sea Drake was less than fifty meters away from him. The man, the drake, the roaring ocean, and the boat that was on the verge of collapsing combined into a breathtaking sight!

The maggot!

The maggot had turned into the drake!

Mo Fan clearly sensed an enormous pressure from the creature before him. It was on par with the pressure that the Black Sea Drake from before had given him. However, when Mo Fan recalled that the creature used to be a maggot that he could pinch to death easily, he was struggling to accept the truth!

The Maggot Drake opened its enormous mouth and roared at Mo Fan.

It was not trying to attack Mo Fan, but purely to assert its dominance. Somehow, Mo Fan felt like the maggot was mocking him.

It was mocking these naive humans for trying to use it to resolve the Drowning Curse. Unfortunately, it had now evolved into a drake, one of the strongest creatures that its species had ever turned into successfully. It no longer needed to live in the dark, or live inside a human body as a little parasite. It was now a drake, a Black Sea Drake!

It now possessed every ability of the Black Sea Drake, allowing it to roam freely in the ocean while killing and eating any sea creature it came upon. The pitiful sea monsters had no choice but to submit to its powerful presence…

The Maggot Drake did not attack Mo Fan, but Mo Fan clearly sensed how arrogant and proud the little maggot was feeling.

“Do you really think you can escape death just because you’ve turned into a drake?” Mo Fan stood on the wreckage being washed by the strong wind and waves. However, his dark brown eyes showed no sign of fear or intention to back off, but a stronger will to fight atop the cold seawater!

Even if Mo Fan was against a true dragon, he was willing to fight it to the end of the world, let alone a drake!

“Lingling, are you sure it has the cells we need?” Mu Ningxue had stepped forward with an utterly serious look.

“Yes, its gall bladder is the initial maggot, so we just need to kill it and secure its gall bladder!” Lingling said.

The Maggot Drake seemed to understand human language. It glanced down at the wreckage and the people on it and puffed heavily.

The maggot that had inherited the drake’s intelligence was confident in its strength.

It was true that anyone could easily kill it in the past, considering how weak it used to be.

If these humans knew their place, it would consider sparing their lives since they had been protecting it just so it could turn into a drake. However, did they seriously think they could stand a chance against it?

It was now a Black Sea Drake, not a parasite that they could kill with a single pinch! It would not mind killing these idiotic humans to celebrate its first day of becoming an almighty sea drake!

The Maggot Drake had a long fish’s tail, with sharp scales that could spread out like a fan.

The Maggot Drake drew its tail out from the water and raised it in the air. It emitted a destructive blue light as it slapped its tail heavily at the boat.

The water was split in half as the boat was smashed into pieces. The great impact knocked the four on the boat flying. The waves rolled fiercely at them and washed them far away…

Mo Fan was in charge of Lingling’s safety while Mu Ningxue kept an eye on Bobby. The four immediately fled to the sunken reef. It was the only place they could take on the Black Sea Drake.

The Maggot Drake was utterly proud. Even though it knew it would not be able to utilize the Black Sea Drake’s full strength close to the surface, it still chased the humans boldly while releasing a terrifying dragon breath. The black gust of wind destroyed everything it swept over with its destructive power!

“We have to kill it, we can’t let it run away,” Lingling reminded Mo Fan as she quickly retreated into the distance.

“Don’t worry, I don’t care if it’s a real dragon or a drake, it’s still as good as dead in front of me!”

Strong flames were burning fiercely in Mo Fan’s chest!

Chapter 999: Ultimate Lightning Conduct, Explosion!
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan jumped into the air when he saw the dragon breath to dodge the wave of destruction surging at him.

The Maggot Drake raised its head and released another black dragon breath at Mo Fan while he was in the air.

“Telekinesis!” Mo Fan spread his will out and took control of the wreckage of the boat scattered across the water.

The remains of the boat formed a layer of defense in front of Mo Fan. The dragon breath struck the remains and disintegrated them.

“Silent Deadly Bolt!”

Mo Fan unleashed a powerful Lightning Death Bolt at the Maggot Drake. The lightning beam landed on the Black Sea Drake’s back fin and blew a hole through the scales and the flesh!

The Black Sea Drake cried out in pain. When it raised its head, it was shocked to see black lightning strikes descending from the fierce storm.

A Black Sea Drake did have the Lightning Element, but the one previously did not have a chance to use it. However, the Maggot Drake no longer had to worry about the Lightning Explosion Cuttlefish.

Black lightning descended continuously onto Mo Fan abruptly, tearing at him like the merciless claws of a demon.

The lightning landed on the sunken reef and blew parts of it into mere ashes. Mo Fan was forced to back away from the incredibly powerful lightning. He did not dare to challenge the lightning directly.

The Maggot Drake looked at Mo Fan who was currently in a miserable state disdainfully.

It uttered a roar into the sky, summoning more black lightning bolts to descend. More than ten lightning strikes came down at Mo Fan simultaneously, leaving him with nowhere to run to. He could only endure the lightning with his Black Snake Armor…

The Black Snake Armor was no longer able to fully nullify the attacks that Mo Fan received when he was fighting a Commander-level creature. Mo Fan felt like his bones were going to collapse when the lightning strikes landed on him. The strong buzz in his ears almost knocked him out!.

“Lightning…Lightning…Lightning Conduct!”

Mo Fan clenched his teeth. He was forcibly attracting the lightning onto himself.

“Are you out of your mind!?” Mu Ningxue screamed when she realized Mo Fan’s crazy intention.

It was basically suicide trying to conduct the black lightning summoned by the Maggot Drake. Even a Lightning Mage with a Domain would not dare to do such a dangerous thing, since it would overload their body and kill them if their body was unable to endure the lightning!

The black lightning danced wildly, some lightning arcs spreading more than a hundred meters away into the distance, wriggling like giant, black serpents. They were flickering wildly with Mo Fan at the center. The electrocution was so strong that Mo Fan’s veins were clearly visible on his skin. It was very likely that any weaker Mage would have been turned into scattered ashes and dispersed smoke straightaway!

“I’ll…I’ll…I’ll control it!” Mo Fan clenched his teeth as he forcibly absorbed the lightning that made contact with him.

Lightning was the most restless Element of all. It was extremely difficult for Mages to control their own lightning, let alone the lightning unleashed by an enemy!

No matter how strong the Black Snake Armor was, it could not afford to take on the lightning that Mo Fan was trying to conduct, yet he was unwilling to let go of the power.

The Black Sea Drake was still roaring to summon more lightning strikes in order to disintegrate Mo Fan. However, regardless of the number of lightning strikes that the Black Sea Drake summoned, Mo Fan simply took them all without hesitation. He had absorbed quite a shocking amount of lightning energy, it was almost enough to trigger a Lightning Explosion!

“Have a taste of my Lightning Explosion!” Mo Fan let out a roar and unleashed the black lightning he had absorbed.

Two black lightning bolts sprang at the Black Sea Drake simultaneously, intersecting in front of it.

As the two lightning bolts collided, the purple and black simply devoured the whole place as it fell deadly silent. Only the brilliance of the lightning was left, soaring into the sky!

An enormous lightning bolt appeared, soaring into the sky like a purple lightning dragon. Its flesh of lightning flew across the white clouds and blue ocean. Most terrifyingly, the destructive force of the wild lightning was enough to evaporate ten thousand tons of seawater, blast the reef cave below apart, and even destroy the scales and skin of the Black Sea Drake, leaving it covered with bruises and wounds!

As the Maggot Drake’s skin and scales were torn apart, they immediately saw that the inside of its body was not dragon flesh, but the white larvae that had eaten the previous Black Sea Drake. The larvae were still digesting the flesh they had consumed to construct the Maggot Drake’s body!

The larvae fell from the hole the lightning had blasted open on the Maggot Drake. The previously shiny scales of the Maggot Drake were replaced with blistering wounds, its fresh blood pouring out!

Standing on the reefs that were no longer sunken under seawater, Mo Fan leaned forward with a pale face.

Mo Fan had long mastered the ability to conduct lightning, yet he had never absorbed such an overwhelming amount before.

At times, Mo Fan felt like his body was about to burst from the overwhelming energy of the black lightning, but he managed to hold his ground. He had to admit that the Demon Element had significantly improved the strength of his flesh. Otherwise, just the Black Snake Armor alone was far from enough to protect him!

The Lightning Explosion had clearly exceeded the strongest attack that Mo Fan could execute, inflicting serious damage to the Black Sea Drake despite its outstanding defense.

It had definitely been worth the risk!

Mo Fan had already learned how strong the Black Sea Drake was. Even by joining forces with Little Flame Belle, he could at most only deal some damage to Black Sea Drake after using his full strength. Mu Ningxue’s Ice had only managed to immobilize the Black Sea Drake temporarily, it was extremely difficult to kill the Commander-level creature!

Their only hope was to use a stronger spell, hence why Mo Fan was so determined to conduct the lightning.

Mu Ningxue was having cold sweats after seeing Mo Fan’s crazy approach. She let out a relieved sigh when she saw that he was still alive.

“Are you alright?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“I need some time to recover. Keep it busy, don’t let it run away,” Mo Fan said.

“I know, you didn’t need to take such a huge risk, there’s no way I will let the Drowning Curse Maggot get away either!” Mu Ningxue’s eyes glittered. The surrounding temperature immediately dropped as a strong wind started blowing, with Mu Ningxue at its center.

“Calm down, don’t hurt yourself!” Mo Fan realized something when he saw Mu Ningxue’s reaction. He immediately advised against it.

Mu Ningxue’s aura had suddenly risen, meaning that she was planning to use the forbidden move!

The forbidden move was not the evil magic that was banned across the world. It was only forbidden specifically for Mu Ningxue, since with her current control of the Ice Element, trying to use the Ice Crystal Bow forcibly was basically the same as killing herself slowly!

Mo Fan knew using the Ice Crystal Bow would result in life-threatening side effects to her body, thus he immediately advised against it.

“Don’t worry, I can now use it to a certain degree!” Mu Ningxue knew Mo Fan’s concerns. She purposely pointed it out as she was gathering her aura.

She did not want Mo Fan to be worried about her.

In the Intermediate Level, using the Ice Crystal Bow was indeed the same as killing herself, since the incredible attack would basically drain away the majority of her life force in an instant.

However, after achieving the Advanced Level, Mu Ningxue could use her Ice Domain freely. She was finally able to control the power sealed away in her body to a certain degree.

She still had to pay some price, yet it was nothing compared to the consequences of letting the Maggot Drake run away!

Besides, how could she allow Mo Fan to be the only one risking his life?

“Ice Crystal Bow.”

A powder, like tiny pieces of diamond, appeared and circled around Mu Ningxue, forming a crystalline bow with an incredibly strong aura in front of her!

Mu Ningxue grasped the longbow firmly. Her slender index finger curled slightly as she held it parallel to her arm. She slowly pulled the invisible string of the bow back…

Mu Ningxue extended her arm. Her silver hair was drifting in the wind close to her glamorous face. As her arm reached maximum extension, more crystalline dust showed up and coalesced into an ice arrow held in position on the string of the bow!

“Kill!”

Mu Ningxue uttered the single world coldly, radiating a strong aura. Even the ocean shuddered in a way visible to the naked eye. The Maggot Drake immediately looked terrified.

The arrow sprang forward, stirring up an icy storm following right along its trail. It was flying right above the seawater, splitting the ocean in half. The displaced water froze into ice in under two seconds!

The Maggot Drake no longer had its previous arrogant and proud demeanor. It started fleeing for its life like a little bug that had lost its protective shell.

The arrow caught up to the Maggot Drake and pierced through its sturdy back!

The Maggot Drake’s body stiffened, and its flesh turned into ice crystals right after the arrow pierced completely through it.

The ice arrow continued to fly into the distance, turning everything, including the ocean, the clouds, and the reef into ice. The sea instantly turned into a frozen body of water, and the Black Sea Drake broke into pieces stacking up into a pile…it no longer had any sense of life, let alone the imperious appearance of the Black Sea Drake!

In the distance, Bobby almost dropped his jaw onto the ice!

His eyes were wide open. The ocean had vanished, as everywhere his eyes could see was covered with ice. He had never seen such an astounding Ice Mage in his life!

Why did he even bother whistling at the woman? Was he tired of living!?

Somehow, Bobby felt like the first thing he should do after everything came to an end was not to remember his brother’s death, but to thank Mu Ningxue for sparing his life.

On the other hand, Mo Fan was panting heavily to catch his breath, and swallowed despite himself. He glanced at the sight ahead and was having trouble finding any word to describe his feelings. Although it was not his first time seeing it, it was still stunning witnessing everything turning into ice instantly!

Chapter 1000: Domain Soul-grade Seed
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Some time later, the ice magic finally returned control of the place to the sea. The ice slowly melted. The snowy-white scenery extending all the way into the distance slowly reclaimed its usual blue appearance!

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were standing on the sunken reef. Both Mo Fan’s Ultimate Lightning Conduct and Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow had drained all their energy.

If they actually tried to defeat the Black Sea Drake the normal way, they would only have a little hope of defeating it after fighting against it over a long period, and the creature might just escape in the middle of the fight.

Either way, Mo Fan was well aware of how important it was to improve his strength. Otherwise, he might actually die one day, especially considering how much of a busybody and righteous person he was…

—

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue recovered some after resting for some time.

Unfortunately, the boat was destroyed. They had no choice but to make their way back on foot. They were incredibly far away from the city; it was impossible to tell how long the journey was going to take.

However, the group was relieved that they had successfully secured the immune cells from the Maggot Drake. Once they returned to Tinuoaya City, they should be able to resolve the Drowning Curse.

“Does that mean no one is going to die to the Drowning Curse again?” Bobby said.

Lingling shook her head and said in a serious voice, “Every living organism never stops evolving. Even if we came up with the vaccine to prevent these invisible maggots from living in human bodies, these parasitic creatures still exist in the ocean. It isn’t like they have been wiped out. They can still live on in other creatures… and it’s hard to tell how many powerful creatures are actually the final form of these maggots. Perhaps one day, a scarier species will show up that’s invulnerable to the vaccine.”

Mo Fan fell into deep thought upon hearing Lingling’s words.

If he were to observe a living organism, most living things, including humans were gradually growing stronger.

Looking back at history and the passing down of civilization, all living things never stopped evolving.

The existence of the demon creatures had forced humanity to team up and grow stronger. Humans could not stop killing the demon creatures, they had to keep their numbers under control. In other words, both the humans and demon creatures would never be able to wipe out their natural foe. The only species that would go extinct were the ones that failed to move forward. They were the species or tribes that could not adapt to the ever-changing environment, eventually ended up as a page in history.

Perhaps many years ago, humans were like livestock in the eyes of demon creatures, an existence that they could butcher and feed on as they wished. However, the unyielding spirit of the human species eventually turned into magic technology, cities, and Mages, allowing humanity to defend itself from the demon creatures. However, if humans stopped improving, they would eventually be replaced by little demon creatures like the maggots, or be wiped out by some other powerful species of demon creatures!

Although Lingling’s father was only determined to fulfill his sacred duty as a Hunter, it was also a way forward for mankind. The person making the step forward might die, but at least the step was helping to preserve mankind and push it forward!

If not a single person in this world was willing to sacrifice themselves to fulfill their duties and roles, perhaps humans and their Mages would soon become history easily flipped over to the next page by some other civilized species.

A species like the Drowning Curse Maggot would never go extinct, and the vaccine that Lingling had acquired would only protect humans from the Drowning Curse for a time.

However, it was the most they could do. They could only hope that a Hunter like Lingling, who was taught by her father to stay firm to their roles as Hunters, would be willing to step forward when a potential threat that could endanger mankind was discovered!

That being said, in Mo Fan’s case, he was not really interested in being that person. He was only wondering if the reward pool of the Drowning Curse had increased by another ten million…

—

Mo Fan let Lingling handle the vaccine. He soon heard from the Hunter Union that his Hunter rank had been raised, meaning that he could acquire more information and had more privileges in the Hunter Union.

Not long after, Mo Fan saw a headline on some news articles describing the Drowning Curse.

The Clearsky Hunter Agency has solved the mysteries of a Curse that has been troubling the world, earning the huge reward pool of money!

Lingling purposely listed the Clearsky Hunter Agency as the contributor since she preferred to keep a low profile. It was mainly because she was worried that exposing her age would simply stir up problems among the Hunters.

Think about it: if the Hunter Masters in their fifties and sixties who had spent most their time trying to resolve the Drowning Curse discovered that the mystery was actually solved by a little girl around the age of ten and a young man in his twenties, wouldn’t they feel utterly humiliated?

The Clearsky Hunter Agency was quite reputable, thus it was fine to put its name down as the group responsible for solving the mysteries.

As for the reward, Lingling did not really need the money. She asked Mo Fan to keep it on behalf of her, but normally, Mo Fan would simply use it all.

As a man with Double Innate Elements, he needed a huge investment to ensure that each of his Elements could come in handy. Luckily, the jobs he did as a Hunter were able to provide him some relief from the shocking expenses!

——

——

“Mo Fan, don’t tell me that you two were away because you were busy resolving that Drowning Curse?” Zhao Manyan went up to Mo Fan and asked in a serious voice.

“You’re pretty well-informed,” Mo Fan raised his brows and said.

The media had only just reported it, but Zhao Manyan already knew Mo Fan was behind it. Mo Fan was actually quite impressed.

“What nonsense! The only ones that are still active in the Clearsky Hunter Agency are Lingling and you; who else would it be if it weren’t you two!?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Ugh… you’re right about that,” Mo Fan said.

It was true that the Clearsky Hunter Agency had been around for quite a long time. However, the only people that were fairly active at accepting jobs were Mo Fan and Lingling. The remaining Hunters were in a half-retired state. They were extremely picky with their jobs in terms of their difficulty, reward, and distance…

As a matter of fact, there were not many people left in the Clearsky Hunter Agency. The Eldest Senior Sister, Leng Qing was a Vice Head of the Magic Court. Old Bao was once a Senior Hunter, but Mo Fan had not heard of him accepting any job since Mo Fan had joined the agency. There was a bald Hunter Master too, but he rarely visited. They also had an Eldest Senior Brother, but Mo Fan had never met him before. He did not even know his name.

Therefore, it was just like Zhao Manyan had said: The only people that were active in the Clearsky Hunter Agency were Mo Fan and Lingling!

“I’m quite jealous of how much money you got as a reward!” Zhao Manyan sighed.

Zhao Manyan’s family was insanely rich, but it was not like their family could make money like performing a magic trick. If he asked his family to give him three hundred million, it was very likely that the elders in the family would consider tossing him into the Huangpu River instead!

“You know how desperate I am when it comes to money. I can’t even feed myself if I don’t make money as a Hunter,” Mo Fan was holding a piece of blazing red crystal and feeding it to Little Flame Belle on his shoulder as he was speaking.

Little Flame Belle munched happily. Her face was brimming with happiness.

Little Flame Belle was enjoying it, but Mo Fan actually felt his heart bleeding. He glanced at Zhao Manyan as if he was trying to say, See? Have you ever seen milk powder that cost millions!?

“But you will be glad that you’ve raised your daughter nice and well in the future!” Zhao Manyan replied.

Everyone was jealous of the strength that the teenager Flame Belle had displayed in New York’s Training Hall. Zhao Manyan was willing to spend as much as he needed if he could actually get his hands on such a powerful Contracted Beast!

“There’s an International Magic Marketplace close to our next destination. Since you have some money on your hands, are you interested in looking around there?” Zhao Manyan suggested.

It was rare for Mages to hold on to their money. Mo Fan did not have a habit of saving money, either. Only the money he spent on improving his strength was useful money!

“Will there be Soul-grade Seeds?” Mo Fan asked.

“There will be, but, do you have enough money?” Zhao Manyan said.

“I’ve sold the resources I received from the national team, which was around a hundred and fifty million, and together with the three hundred and fifty million I earned, that’s a total of five hundred million. I believe it’s enough to buy a Soul-grade Seed, right? If not, I’ll just sell the Magic Accelerator Ring that you traded me. Don’t tell me it’s not enough to buy a Soul-grade Seed?” Mo Fan said.

“I suggest you keep the Magic Accelerator. The time you need to spend on practicing is a lot considering the number of Elements you have. We’ll go and check the place first out. If you really are short on funds, we’ll think of a way to get some money. It should be enough to buy a normal Soul-grade Seed, but if you want those that have a Domain… it’s not going to happen,” Zhao Manyan said.

When they received the reward, Mu Ningxue knew Mo Fan was desperate to get himself a Soul-grade Seed to improve his strength. As such, she decided to give Mo Fan all the money.

Mo Fan actually found it embarrassing, since it was Mu Ningxue’s powerful arrow that had killed the Black Sea Drake. However, Mu Ningxue was not fussed about it at all. She told Mo Fan that he could repay her by helping her to get the thing she needed when the time came.

Mo Fan did agree with her point. If they were to split the reward in half, it was unlikely that he could get himself a good Soul-grade Seed with the money he had.

Mu Ningxue had already reached the Advanced Level, thus she was not in need of money for the time being. She was willing to let Mo Fan have it first, just so he could improve his strength. That way, if they managed to secure another difficult job, it would be easier for them to earn money!

Besides, it was unnecessary to be so fussy about splitting the money evenly when they were husband and wife. They would be together for their whole lives, why would they be concerned that there was no chance for the other person to repay the favor?

“Zhao Manyan, tell me about the price of the Soul-grade Seeds, so I can mentally prepare myself,” Mo Fan said.

“First, artificial Soul-grade Seeds start at three hundred million. The price ranges from three hundred million to five hundred million depending on their Elements and their special effects. Second, the natural Soul-grade Seeds, the ones with Domains, normally start at six hundred million, but most of them are auctioned at around eight hundred million. In my opinion, you can barely afford a normal Soul-grade Seed with all you have. As for a Domain Soul-grade Seed, don’t even think about getting one for now…” Zhao Manyan said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan felt like bursting into tears when he heard the price. He subconsciously glanced at Mu Ningxue, who was playing with Little Flame Belle…

So it appeared that Mu Ningxue was born with eight hundred million naturally; how unfair was that? Why did it feel like his innate talent was so much worse than hers? Not only did it not save him any money, it actually placed him a worse position, since he had to spend money like water to not fall behind!

“If a single Soul-grade Seed with a Domain alone cost eight hundred million, how long do I have to wait until all my Elements have a Domain?” Mo Fan shuddered to himself wryly.

He was about to go bankrupt, and he was only trying to improve one Element. What could he possibly do if he tried to get a Soul-grade Seed for all six of his Elements…oh, five Elements, sp the Demon Element was not completely useless. It actually helped him save some money…

“Which Element are you planning to buy a Soul-grade Seed for? You should be able to get a decent non-Domain Soul-grade Seed with nice special effects… actually, it doesn’t really need to have a Domain. First, the spells of the same Element as the Soul-grade Seed will multiply the power of your spells by two to three times. Second, their special effects aren’t necessarily that much weaker than Domains,” Zhao Manyan informed him.

“Of course it has to have a Domain. There’s a big difference!” Mo Fan blurted out.

After the fight against the Executioner Philip, Mo Fan was well aware of how incredible a Domain was. It was not as simple as strengthening his spells. It was actually able to directly suppress one’s enemy; it was absolutely insane!

“Then what Element are you looking for? I’ll verify the price range for you.”

“Lightning!” Mo Fan answered without hesitation.

He had Little Flame Belle for the Fire Element. When he was possessed by Little Flame Belle, the combination of Calamity Fire and Rose Flame was basically the same as having Soul-grade Fire. It just lacked the effects of a Domain. According to Little Flame Belle, once she grew stronger, she should be able to Awaken her Domain.

As such, Mo Fan only needed to feed Little Flame Belle her Soul Seeds until she Awakened her Calamity Fire Domain!

Considering that he could not rely solely on the Fire Element to conquer the world, especially with how useless the Fire Element when he was fighting underwater, he decided to focus on improving his Lightning Element instead, and try to get a Lightning Domain as soon as possible.

Little Flame Belle would eventually Awaken her Domain. As for the Shadow Element, the Nyx Regime was basically a Domain.

If he had a Lightning Domain too, it was likely that he could take on a Commander-level creature on his own!

“Lightning… I’m pretty sure a Soul-grade Lightning Seed is normally a lot more expensive than other Elements. Mo Fan, prepare to go bankrupt,” Zhao Manyan told him carefully.

“…”

“How about getting a Galaxy Vein to improve your Summoning Element to the Advanced Level instead?” Zhao Manyan asked softly.

“I think you’re right, I should be more flexible about it,” Mo Fan replied.

—

As the two were talking, Jiang Yu, who was extremely bored, suddenly joined in and said mysteriously, “Do you know? The identity of the enormous skeleton at the beach of Tinuoaya City has been confirmed.”

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked immediately. He was actually very curious about the skeleton, since he had witnessed the same thing happening to the Black Sea Drake!

“It’s a Coastal Mammoth at its peak. It was only slightly inferior to a Ruler-level creature. I can’t imagine it, thinking that such a huge creature was left with nothing but bones,” Jiang Yu said.

Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat!

Slightly inferior to a Ruler-level creature? That was nowhere close to a Commander-level creature!

In other words, there was a Coastal Mammoth that a maggot had turned into close to Tinuoaya, and nobody knew where it had swum off to!

That was pretty horrifying to think about; a tiny little maggot that was weaker than most demon creatures was able to devour a Coastal Mammoth and evolve into it!

Did that simply mean there were other maggots that had turned into creatures that were superior to a Coastal Mammoth?

“Speaking of which, there are rumors about a skeleton that died the same, strange death as the Coastal Mammoth on an island not far away from Tinuoaya City…” Jiang Yu said. He had been keeping an eye on reports of similar deaths, but he was still unsure of the exact cause.

“What creature was it?” Mo Fan subconsciously asked.

“It was nothing, just a human skeleton,” Jiang Yu said.

Mo Fan immediately felt goosebumps crawling all over him upon hearing this!

——

——

Under the blue sky was a beautiful, golden land of sand. It was perfectly flat, and the sand would only ripple when a breeze swept past, like an artist drawing a stroke across it…

A few green tents were set up on the land, and there was even a Water Curtain nearby.

The blue Water Curtain was spraying down from the sky, protecting the green tents from the intrusion of the wind and sand, allowing the people inside to rest comfortably.

Suddenly, a loud rumble came from the edge of the sky. A woman with short camo pants walked out from one of the tents and stared at the sandstorm that was approaching like a tsunami. Her gray pupils filled with fear immediately!

“Get up, everyone, get up! It’s a disaster-level sandstorm!” the woman yelled at the tents.

A bunch of people quickly ran out of the tents. They also screamed in panic when they saw the sandstorm.

“No, we’re only going to be eaten up by that thing. Head south, I remember there’s a fairly sturdy fortress there. Perhaps it can provide us with some cover,” a man who seemed to be the captain said.

“South? Are you kidding me? That’s the scariest place in the world!”

“Stay here, and we’re going to be buried by the sandstorm. It’s our only choice, even if it’s dangerous!” The captain was already packing his stuff as he spoke.

Even though they had heard lots of terrifying rumors about the Sahara Desert, and the fact that many seniors had warned them to strictly stay away, it was obvious that the disaster-level sandstorm was more life-threatening in their current situation…

The group had no choice but to follow the captain into the Sahara Desert under the great pressure from the sandstorm.

The sandstorm howled as it proceeded to devour even the clouds. Its destructive power was greater than that of a tsunami, as even the mountains, ocean, or the vast land was going to be buried under it. A few days later, when the sandstorm disappeared, the place would turn into a new desert!

——

——

The Magic Castle at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa…

The Cape of Good Hope Magic Castle was Africa’s most powerful Magic Association. It was keeping watch like an ancient city standing still on a cliff at the edge of the world. The sky and ocean were blue and ageless, but the magic castle still retained its brilliance despite its age!

“How did this happen? Didn’t we warn them to avoid the Sahara Desert at all costs!?” an old man with a black mustache snapped furiously.

“They encountered a disaster-level sandstorm, forcing them to take shelter. They had no choice but to enter the Sahara,” a Mage wearing a white uniform replied with his head lowered.

“Idiots, those idiots! The Sahara Desert is way scarier than the sandstorm! Now what? We’ve totally lost contact with them! Why would the national team make such a dumb decision? We only sent them out for training, not to get themselves killed!” the old man with the black mustache cursed.

“Going on a tantrum isn’t going to help,” the Mage sniffed.

“Then what brilliant plan do you have in mind, tell me!” the old man said.

“Our rescue team is still going to take some time to reach the Sahara Desert. However, according to the information provided by the International Magic Association, it seems like the Chinese team happens to be passing by the area. Since we are having trouble contacting our national team, the best option we have is to contact China and request that they lend us a hand by searching for the missing team until our rescue team gets there. That way, they can try searching for any traces that the missing team has left in the area before they are erased by the next storm,” the Mage proposed.

“Do you seriously think there aren’t enough people going missing in the Sahara Desert?” the old man cursed.

“It’s the only choice we have. I have already contacted China, they said they will consider sending their national team to help us if we’re willing to hire them at the standard price of mercenaries…” the Mage said.

“Humph, mercenaries? They are utterly clueless about the desert. I just hope we don’t have to send even more people to search for them too!” the old man said.

“Shall we ask for their help or not? I’m just worried that our rescue team won’t be able to find any traces when they arrive, greatly reducing the chance of us finding them,” the Mage said.

“Yes, go contact China right now!” In the end, the old man did not want anything to happen to the missing team. After all, in a place like the Sahara, without any communication or trail, the team would never be able to find their way out on their own!

“Well, the person did ask for quite a shocking amount.”

“What choice do we have? Give them whatever they want, it’s more important to make sure those idiots are still alive! I wouldn’t want our national team getting wiped out during training when they haven’t even reached Venice!” the hot-tempered old man snapped.

“Affirmative!”

——

——

After leaving Portugal, Mo Fan and the team were supposed to depart for Egypt and experience the Arabic culture.

To their surprise, when they were setting out for Egypt along the edge of the Sahara Desert by following the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, they were given an emergency job!

“Rescue?”

“Did the advisor really ask us to go on a rescue mission in the Sahara Desert?”

“F**k me, they are asking us to go to the Sahara Desert? That’s a forbidden place two levels higher than the Amazon Jungle! There’s no f**king way I’m going there!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

If the danger level of every demonic creature territory was listed on the same ranking, the Sahara Desert was very likely going to end up in the top three!

Most places where demon creatures resided were considered treasure lands to Hunters. Regardless of how dangerous, desolate, or far away the places were, many Hunters were willing to explore them, since the territories of demon creatures would usually have fascinating and valuable treasures waiting to be discovered.

However, not even Hunters would dare to enter a forbidden place like the Sahara Desert!

The outer area of the Sahara Desert was ranked deep red. The density of demon creatures was comparable to the deep ocean. There were packs, tribes, and even kingdoms of demon creatures across the place.

However, if people were to venture deeper into the Sahara Desert, the place would be totally purple, meaning that the density of demon creatures was three times the density of the red areas! They would surely experience the meaning of seeing parades of demon creatures wherever they went!

Having more demon creatures residing in the area meant that the resources would be scarce, too. The hordes of demon creatures had never stopped competing among themselves for the resources, let alone humans who dared trespassing into their territories!

Normally, such a dangerous place would have lots of terrifying rumors revolving around it. However, there were not many rumors about the Sahara Desert, since the rumors only existed when someone managed to come back alive and tell the others about their experiences. Even until now, not many Hunters dared to talk about the Sahara Desert, as it was simply a death zone. Apart from the purple areas in the inner areas of the Sahara Desert, the deepest part of it was a shocking black area!

Mo Fan would never forget the sight he saw within the Dark Abyss. It was a furnace of undead, with zombies and skeletons stacked up like mountains and oceans. Only a place like that would be classified as a black area!

It turned out there was a place like that in the Sahara Desert, a place that no Mage had ever visited, and was completely unknown to mankind…

As such, the team was startled when they were asked to go to such a dangerous place for a rescue mission!

What kind of joke was that? Instead of saving someone, they were only going to get themselves killed! The Sahara Desert was basically a no-man’s land!

“The advisors have made it clear that we’ll decide if we want to go ourselves. However, those who chose not to go will not receive any resources allocated to the national team,” Nanyu said.

“I would rather give them up instead!” Zu Jiming was the first to express his thoughts.

“I don’t want to go either, a place like that…”

“Captain, what do you think?”

Many people immediately looked at Ai Jiangtu, hoping that he could decide on behalf of the team.

“We are only asked to look for traces of the missing team in the outer part. We won’t need to go deep into the Sahara Desert,” Nanyu explained purposely. She had clearly decided to go, since the benefits that the advisors promised were too good to give up on.

“I want to go too; I need money!” Mo Fan was pretty straightforward.

After talking with Zhao Manyan about the price of a Soul-grade Lightning Seed, Mo Fan had almost gone crazy thinking how to earn more money. Africa’s Magic Association had promised quite a handsome reward, and Mo Fan desperately needed it!

“I’m sorry, we’ve got other plans instead. Let’s split up here, feel free to go if you want. As for the money, we won’t even bother taking a cent, since money is completely useless if you’re dead,” Guan Yu deferred.

The Sahara Desert was not a part of their initial itinerary. After arriving at the Mediterranean Sea, Guan Yu had his own sources to acquire the resources he needed. He had no intention of risking his life by going to the Sahara.

“We’ll do it the old way then. Nanyu will lead those who’s interested, and I’ll look after those who decide not to go,” Ai Jiangtu said.

Members of the team had long had conflicts with one another. It was not the first time the team had split up. Whenever the members were free to make their own decisions, the team usually split up into two.

As the captain, Ai Jiangtu was obliged to look after the others. He would normally stay with Guan Yu and the others.

As everyone expected, Jiang Shaoxu, Jiang Yu, Zhao Manyan, Mu Ningxue, and Nanyu decided to go to Sahara, while the others were led by Ai Jiangtu to find other ways of earning resources.

Everyone on the team wanted to improve, thus they needed all kinds of resources to remain competent on the team. Most importantly, they wanted to shine brightly when they reached Venice, so the world would notice them and the factions behind them!

——

“Say, Mo Fan, can you go easier on yourself? You can’t be serious about going to the Sahara, no matter how desperate you want money!” Zhao Manyan was actually a person that was very scared of dying.

Making friends with Mo Fan was truly the worst decision he had ever made in his life, since he would most likely die at a very young age!

As a matter of fact, when he saw the rewards that Africa had offered, he could easily guess how difficult the job was going to be!

“Didn’t Nanyu already say? We are only going to investigate the outer part of the desert,” Mo Fan said.

“Even so, I heard that it’s pretty common to stumble into Ruler-level creatures in the Sahara,” Zhao Manyan winced.

“I doubt these Ruler-level creatures are so free that they wander around in the outer part. It’s only going to be some weaklings patrolling the outer area, don’t worry too much.”

—

Upon reaching the desert, they immediately saw golden sands extending all the way to the horizon ahead of them. If anyone stood on a slightly tall dune and looked down, they would be able to see the whole spectacular, golden scene, urging them to reflect on how tiny humans were, and how marvelous the work of nature was!

The area was very still. There was no wind, and no dust lingering in the air.

—

The group continued to journey over one sand dune after another, heading to the place Africa’s International Magic Association had pinpointed.

As a matter of fact, they had not actually entered the Sahara Desert yet. They were currently on the outer ring, and were still fairly close to the Mediterranean Sea.

The Sahara Desert was not just infamous for the strong demon creatures residing in it, but an eerie illusion that existed there.

Anyone that entered the Sahara Desert would basically lose their sense of direction. Not only would they fail to find their way out, they would continue to venture deeper into it without even realizing it.

It was harder to identify the directions in a desert than a jungle, since the whole place was covered in sand and sand dunes. The scorching sun above their heads was unable to provide them with any assistance, either. Any markings that were left behind would be easily covered by the sand!

It was obvious that the team that went missing had carelessly entered the illusion.

If someone from the outside was able to help them with the directions, or send a team to rescue them, they would still have some hope of leaving the illusion. However, the longer they spent in there, the more likely it was for them to spend the rest of their lives in the Sahara Desert. Even Super Mages had lost their way in the Sahara Desert!

——

“This is roughly the place where the missing team last contacted the Magic Association. It’s around three kilometers away from the boundaries of the illusion in the Sahara Desert. The advisors mentioned that the team had encountered a strong sandstorm. They were forced to enter the illusion in order to find shelter. The sandstorm was heading south, so I believe they must have gone south from here, too. Let’s just hope they didn’t go too deep into the desert…” Nanyu said.

“What do we do now? We can’t possibly go in there to look for them?” Jiang Yu asked.

“We’ll need to stay in a line as we proceed from here. Everyone must be less than a kilometer away from the next person, to ensure that we can still get out of the illusion, even if someone accidentally goes into it,” Nanyu said.

The concept was fairly simple. If everyone had to maintain a distance of a kilometer from the next person, the six of them were enough to make a line formation five kilometers long. The person at the very back would stay outside of the boundary while the other four went inside to search for the missing team. Everyone was told to signal one another with magic every five minutes, to make sure that the line was still intact.

——

The illusion actually had very clear boundaries. The golden sand suddenly turned into a kind of red sand after crossing the boundary, implying that the person had entered the illusion.

The group followed Nanyu’s simple instructions. Nanyu stayed at the back of the line outside the boundary while the rest of the group slowly entered the desert.

The group tried their best to use the sand dunes nearby as references. It was hard to maintain a perfect distance between the members, but the sand dunes allowed the others to see them more clearly.

“I’ll be standing here, you’ll continue walking further ahead,” Mu Ningxue said to Mo Fan.

The person behind Mu Ningxue was Jiang Shaoxu. She was already holding her position on a sand dune.

Mo Fan was the last person to go deeper into the illusion, since he was the boldest in the group. Both Zhao Manyan and Jiang Yu were too scared to go that far into the illusion.

“Is this place really that scary?” Mo Fan wondered as he went deeper.

The sand obviously had a hint of red to it. After walking five hundred meters forward, Mo Fan turned around to look back.

Mo Fan immediately felt cold sweat covering his forehead. Where was Mu Ningxue?

He didn’t even go that far, why did she vanish all of a sudden?

A moment later, Mo Fan discovered a spiraling airflow on his left sweeping dark-golden sand into the air, circling a sand dune like an enormous mantle.

Mo Fan was shocked to see Mu Ningxue after looking in that direction. He was completely unaware that Mu Ningxue had suddenly moved to his left!

That didn’t sound right, it seemed like Mu Ningxue had not moved at all. She was still standing on the same sand dune, meaning that it was him who started straying away from a straight line?

Mo Fan was shocked when the thought crossed his mind.

He had only walked five hundred meters, but he was already forty-five degrees away from a straight line. Wasn’t this illusion a bit too terrifying?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Continuing forward, Mo Fan purposely turned around to confirm Mu Ningxue’s position every time he walked a hundred meters forward, just so he did not stray too much from the initial path.

He had to admit that the illusion was rather spooky. Every time he turned around, he would notice that he was no longer walking in a straight line. Even when he strongly believed that Mu Ningxue was right behind him, he still ended up straying away from the line. It felt like Mu Ningxue was actually moving as he walked!.

However, Mu Ningxue had been standing still atop the sand dune all along. After a certain time, Mu Ningxue would cast a tornado resembling a cloak above her to tell everyone where she was. As Mo Fan moved further away, he could no longer see her. Only the tornado in the air showed she was still standing in the same spot.

Without Mo Fan realizing it, he had walked a kilometer away. He felt lost somehow when he looked at the unending sand with a hint of redness.

Apart from the blue sky, it was fairly impossible to differentiate their surroundings, to the extent that Mo Fan thought he was walking back toward the sand dune that Mu Ningxue was standing on, as it just looked too similar. If it wasn’t for the tornado signaling him that she was still at the same spot, Mo Fan would simply think that he had been walking in circles.

No wonder so many people had gotten lost in the desert. Without using flags, pinpoints, or references, it was like walking in complete darkness!

The yellow sand, unending land, and sand dunes kept on repeating. When the scenery around a person always remained the same, it was no different than walking in complete darkness where the person could not even see their own fingers when reaching their hands forward. Everyone would surely get lost without knowing if they were still walking in a straight line, or in circles.

Most terrifyingly, their com links had strong interference, too. They had stopped working when Mo Fan was only five hundred meters away. If the group had not decided to cast spells as signals in advance, they would most likely have lost sight of one another.

Mo Fan estimated the distance and started searching around while staying within a kilometer of Mu Ningxue.

After more than half an hour, he finally discovered something other than yellow sand.

It was a sand fox, passing by timidly. Mo Fan immediately searched the direction it came from, and found a faint, green object buried under the sand.

Mo Fan went closer and swept the sand away from the object. He ended up dragging a pale green tent from the sand.

The tent was severely damaged. It seemed like the wind had torn it into pieces. There were also water packs and dried food scattered across the place. It seemed like someone had stayed here recently.

That being said, there was also a chance that the powerful sandstorm had swept these things here when the missing team’s camp was actually a long distance away.

Either way, they had at least confirmed that the African team was somewhere in the area. They had lost contact for around a day and a half, so if the missing team still had any brains, they would not travel too far away.

“It seems like the tent is the only clue here, there isn’t anything else. (Sigh), hopefully it’s enough to turn in the job. Otherwise, the rescue team won’t even find the tent when they arrive,” Mo Fan picked up the tent and raised it up with sticks to turn it into a green flag.

After Mo Fan was done setting it up, he started making his way back. To Mo Fan’s great astonishment, he initially thought Mu Ningxue was on his six, but the tornado surprisingly appeared in his twelve. The difference was a hundred and eighty degrees! That was simply too ridiculous. If he simply followed his instincts, he would be walking in the completely opposite direction!

After regrouping with Mu Ningxue, the girl looked at Mo Fan and said, “Something’s strange about this illusion.”

“It’s not only strange, it’s about to drive me mad. I couldn’t tell the right direction even once, even though I usually have a strong sense of direction!” Mo Fan swore.

“Let’s head back to Jiang Shaoxu is,” Mu Ningxue said.

Jiang Shaoxu had not stopped releasing the signal. They were able to see Jiang Shaoxu’s Light Spell around a kilometer away from Mu Ningxue’s position.

After they regrouped with Jiang Shaoxu, they were able to see Jiang Yu’s signal.

As a matter of fact, to Mo Fan’s eyes, their positions were like chess pieces zigzagging across the board, but they were actually maintaining a straight line since they came in.

“Come, when we reach where Zhao Manyan we should be able to see Nanyu. To be honest, I don’t even want to stay a second more in this strange place. I keep feeling like Zhao Manyan’s position never stops shifting,” Jiang Yu said.

“I have the same feeling too, even though we are all standing at the same spots,” Jiang Shaoxu agreed with a nod.

“Why isn’t Nanyu sending a signal yet? Didn’t we agree to send out a signal every five minutes?” Jiang Yu wondered.

The group had regrouped with Zhao Manyan for more than five minutes. Normally, they should be seeing a signal from Nanyu by now, yet they still did not see anything from the person who should still be staying outside of the boundaries.

“Speaking of which, it had actually been ten minutes…” Zhao Manyan murmured.

He was speaking indifferently, since they were at most a kilometer away from the boundaries of the desert. Even without Nanyu’s signal, he assumed they would be able to walk out of the desert on their own. That being said, it was still worrying that Nanyu did not stick to the plan!

Everyone waited at Zhao Manyan’s position… yet even after fifteen minutes, there was still nothing coming from Nanyu!

“Maybe she fell asleep?”

“Nanyu would never commit such a rookie mistake; something must have happened to her!” Mo Fan said confidently.

Both Nanyu and Ai Jiangtu were from the military. They were very strict when it came to discipline. If they agreed to send out a signal every five minutes, they would send out the signal right on time, not even a second late!

However, she had not sent a signal for more than fifteen minutes, meaning that she must be in some kind of trouble!

“Let’s hurry up and leave. Even though we’re only at the outer part of Sahara Desert, there is still some terrifying existence around here!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

The group nodded and immediately headed in the direction Nanyu was supposed to be.

After they went around four hundred meters forward, Mo Fan discovered that Jiang Shaoxu was standing still in her spot. He was utterly confused by it. He turned his head to Jiang Shaoxu and yelled, “What are you doing there? Let’s go!”

“Look ahead, did you see yellow sand or sand with a hint of redness?” Jiang Shaoxu whispered into everyone’s ears with Psychic Voice.

The others only noticed the color of the sand after Jiang Shaoxu’s reminder.

Mo Fan glanced ahead and discovered a flat land like a calm lake being shone upon by the golden, orange-red sun. As he glanced further into the distance, he saw a sand dune, one that he clearly remembered he had passed by when they were moving toward Zhao Manyan from Jiang Yu’s position!

“Yellow sand… damn it, we went in the wrong direction!” Jiang Yu exclaimed.

“It can’t be, I clearly remember this is the right way to where Nanyu was. I specifically took note of it when she last sent out the signal,” Zhao Manyan said confidently.

“Try flying into the sky and take a look,” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan summoned his magic wings and flew into the sky. However, when he glanced down from the height, he immediately felt an icy chill running down his spine!

He was able to see a few kilometers into the distance at his height, yet there was no sign of Nanyu anywhere!

Not only did he fail to see Nanyu, he was utterly terrified when he discovered that all the sand within a few kilometers had a hint of redness to it!

He had never moved away from his spot. He was at most a kilometer away from Nanyu, thus it totally made sense that they could easily leave the desert by going in the right direction. However, such a direction no longer existed!

Zhao Manyan had a pale face as he came back to the group.

“Nanyu is missing…” Zhao Manyan said.

Before everyone started to panic, Zhao Manyan added, “When I was looking down from the sky, the sand within a few kilometers from us has the same redness. We are completely stuck in the middle of the illusion!”

Everyone’s heart sank when they heard Zhao Manyan’s words. Jiang Yu immediately summoned Night Rakshasa as he was finding it hard to believe. The Night Rakshasa was fairly good at identifying the right direction. She should be able to lend them a hand.

In the end, even the Night Rakshasa failed to discern the right way!

“So…where the heck are we?”

“We are lost. Once we lost contact with the person outside the boundaries, there’s no way we can find the way out. It’s not about picking the right direction that will bring us out. We’ll still lose our way without something to guide us,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Can this place be any more spooky?”

“Stop it, my skin is already crawling with goosebumps.”

Mo Fan turned around and glanced at where Jiang Shaoxu was.

Jiang Shaoxu did not move. She had purposely stayed behind where Zhao Manyan was when the others went to look for Nanyu. In other words, where Jiang Shaoxu was standing should be the closest to the exit. If they could go to where she was, it would prevent them from venturing deeper into the desert.

The scariest thing about getting lost was, even when you picked a direction, you could not tell if you were heading in the right direction. However, if the direction you took was wrong, it was impossible for you to return to the previous spot, thus getting more lost than you already were…

Everyone hurried over to where Jiang Shaoxu was. Everyone had a worried and uneasy look from being unable to understand what was going on.

First, they had no idea where Nanyu went. Why didn’t she stay outside to guide them with the signal? They had agreed to maintain a straight line. If the person at the very back went missing, it simply meant the whole group would be lost in the illusion.

Second, what were they supposed to do now? Should they pick a direction and try their luck, or just stay where they were?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan was unwilling to give up, and ascended directly into the sky again from where he was standing. He was trying to use the height to find the exit of the maze by searching for the golden-yellow sand.

However, the sand he saw still had the same hint of redness no matter how far he looked. Even when he came down from the sky, where he landed was actually quite far away from where he took off from. If Jiang Shaoxu had not been releasing a signal still, Zhao Manyan might have lost his way.

“Damn it, even the sky is like a maze, I was clearly flying straight up, but I was more than three hundred meters away when I landed!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

“Why don’t you go higher?” Jiang Yu suggested.

“I suggest not, it’s going to be the same in the sky. If Zhao Manyan went too high up, he might lose his way too. If flying into the sky worked, may Super Mages wouldn’t get stuck here forever too after not believing how dangerous this place is,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

The higher Zhao Manyan flew, the further away he was from where he took off. If Zhao Manyan had to reach a height where he could observe over ten kilometers away, he would no longer return to the same area.

“Let’s set up the tents and wait for rescue,” Mo Fan suggested.

“Mm, we shouldn’t be too far away from the exit. If they use the same way we did to search for us, they should be able to find us pretty quickly,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Speaking of which, can’t we use the same way to probe our surroundings? We’ll treat this spot as our center and form a straight line. If we are really not far away from the exit, we should be able to find it that way,” Jiang Yu suggested.

“Let’s try it then, we can set up the tents first…” Mo Fan said.

The group followed Jiang Yu’s suggestion and formed a straight line.

Unfortunately, they failed to locate the exit of the maze still. Mo Fan even found the green flag he had set up previously, yet there was still no sign of Nanyu and the exit. In other words, once they entered the maze, it was impossible for them to leave it by using the same approach unless someone was tagging the exit from the outside.

“I’m afraid this maze has something to do with the Chaos Element. Give me some time, I’ll see if I can crack it,” Jiang Yu said.

Jiang Yu’s main Element was Summoning, and his supporting Element was Chaos. It was an incredibly rare Element, just like the Space Element. Only Advanced Mages had a certain chance of Awakening it. It had not been too long ago since Mo Fan had reached the Advanced Level, thus he had not really seen the Chaos Element at work yet.

The terrifying maze in the desert had to be somehow related to the Chaos Element. Otherwise, they would have found the exit by using the same approach.

—

After setting up the tents, the group no longer dared to leave their positions after knowing how eerie the desert maze was. Even when they tried to probe around, they strictly maintained the line formation.

At night, the desert was extremely cold. Going out was their biggest problem, but they were very concerned about the missing Nanyu. They could not tell if she was safe or not.

The wind grew stronger at night, sweeping the sand into the air. The small tents could no longer withstand the force of the sand. Zhao Manyan had no choice but to lay out a Water Curtain to protect the tents.

The night was bright, the beautiful outline of the desert was clearly visible, they could even see a few sand foxes moving around and disappearing within the blink of an eye.

The group of five took turns guarding at night. Mo Fan sat outside the tents and started meditating. With so many Stars to work on, if he did not practice diligently, he would not be able to cast the spells of his different Elements adeptly. Mo Fan was very hard-working when it came to his cultivation!

Mo Fan was practicing the Nyx Regime. The Shadow Element was incredibly useful in battles, and Mo Fan had grown quite fond of the Shadow Element recently too…

As Mo Fan was about to focus, he immediately heard a loud rumble, like a group of trucks approaching from the distance.

Mo Fan opened his eyes and looked into the distance. He immediately saw a cloud of sand connecting the ground and the sky.

The cloudy sand spread across the horizon. It felt like rows of soldiers on galloping horses. The rumble gradually grew louder too.

“A sandstorm?”

“A sandstorm this big!?”

Mo Fan was shocked. He did not think much of it, until he saw the sandstorm was covering the entire horizon, and was approaching like a tsunami big enough to devour a whole city.

“Are you serious, does this place have a sandstorm every day?” Mo Fan cursed.

The sandstorm was clearly massive and destructive. Mo Fan immediately woke the others.

“I remember the team that went missing was forced to hide in the maze after encountering a sandstorm. What do we do now? Do we need to find shelter” Jiang Yu asked.

“Hold your ground, we must stay where we are, if we try hiding from the sandstorm, we’ll end up just like the missing team!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

They could not afford to leave their location. The maze was simply too terrifying. The only way to guarantee their safety was to hold their position at a tagged location unyieldingly. The more they moved around, the easier it was for them to get lost, making it difficult for them to be rescued!

Nanyu was still outside of the maze. She must have left because she had encountered a tricky situation, but she would never abandon the team. If she could return to her spot and send a signal to the group, they would be able to leave the maze.

As such, leaving was not an option. They had to hold their ground no matter how strong the sandstorm was!

“I can still defend us from a sandstorm of this level!” Zhao Manyan patted his chest confidently.

“That’s good to hear! Anyway, we can’t leave this place, or else we’ll be in great trouble,” Mo Fan nodded.

—

The sandstorm gradually got closer, but surprisingly, the sand was not as unendurable as they thought. The sand that was thrown into the sky was actually more threatening.

A sandstorm was formed when a powerful wind was blowing lots of sand into the sky. However, when the sand started falling from the sky after losing the support of the wind, it would start pouring down like a giant waterfall!

Water was soft and light, but sand was several times heavier than water. When sand was pouring down like a waterfall, it would either kill a person directly, or bury them alive after breaking every bone in them!

“My Ice Element isn’t ideal in this environment.” Mu Ningxue wanted to help with the defense, but in this dry, scorching desert, the Ice and Water Elements were affected to a certain degree.

“I should be able to handle it myself!” Zhao Manyan said.

Even if Zhao Manyan’s Water Element was not as effective, he still had the sturdy Light and Earth Elements, both known for their outstanding defensive abilities!

“A sand tornado is approaching us from our nine, we have to stop it!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Mo Fan looked to their nine and saw a powerful, yellow dragon approaching them amid the cloudy sandstorm. It was as strong as an Advanced Spell!

“I’ll do it!” Mu Ningxue said.

The tornado mainly consisted of the Wind Element. Mu Ningxue immediately unleashed her will to control the presence of Wind Magic nearby.

Soon, a tornado with a similar size appeared in front of Mu Ningxue and headed for the sand tornado. The two tornadoes collided and immediately shattered into powerful gusts sweeping in all directions.

“Sandfall! Sandfall!” someone yelled amid the sandstorm.

Zhao Manyan raised his head and saw a huge chunk of sand pouring down at them like the giant splash of a waterfall.

If they were allowed to move from their spot, they could easily withdraw temporarily to hide from the sandfall. However, if they moved now, they would most likely get lost in the desert. Zhao Manyan clenched his teeth and cast a Rock Barrier to protect the group beneath it.

The Rock Barrier was not as sturdy as everyone had imagined. It was soon destroyed by the terrifying sandfall. Zhao Manyan quickly established a barrier of Plummeting Rays around the group.

The sand landed heavily on the golden light barrier, producing loud screeches.

The force of the sand was utterly shocking. Even when the group was hiding within the barrier, they could feel the whole place sinking.

The sand started falling along the arc-shaped barrier, but soon started to stack up around it.

Mo Fan raised his head and watched the sand surrounding the group. It was simply too thick for them to see outside…

“Aren’t we pretty much buried alive?” Jiang Yu said worriedly.

“Once the light barrier reaches its limit, we’ll actually be buried alive. The Sahara Desert is indeed the most dangerous place in the world. This environment alone isn’t something that normal people could handle, let alone the demon creatures residing here!” Zhao Manyan said.

“What do we do now?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“I think we’re trapped.”

“As long as we didn’t move from our spot.”

They had no idea how long the sandstorm was going to last. The only relief was that the sand stacking on top of the barrier actually served as an extra layer of defense, protecting the group beneath it.

The group was having trouble finding peace of mind when they were stuck in such a confined space while hearing the unending rumbles from the outside.

“Jiang Yu, can you help me take something out from my bag, the pocket at the very bottom,” Mo Fan said when everyone else was feeling hopeless.

“Oh, ok, sure!” Jiang Yu found Mo Fan’s bag and took out a little box wrapped inside a paper bag.

Jiang Yu handed Mo Fan the box. Mu Ningxue, Jiang Shaoxu, and Jiang Yu all glanced at the extremely calm Mo Fan. They were eager to know what brilliant plan he had in mind.

Mo Fan tore the paper wrapping around the box, revealing a very common pattern on the box that everyone was extremely familiar with.

“Come, luckily I was smart enough to bring two packs of playing cards along. Otherwise, we’re simply going to die of boredom here. We have five of us here, that’s enough for us to play Golden Flower!” Mo Fan quickly shuffled the cards and started dealing them into five hands.

{TL Note: A well-known card game in China.}

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group could still hear the howl of the sandstorm, like the sound of someone crying through the thick sand barrier. No one could tell how long it was going to last.

“Mo Fan, are you out of your mind, to actually bring playing cards along? We have lost our way in the desert, and Nanyu is missing too. We are now trapped under the sand, and you still have the mood to play?” Jiang Yu said seriously to Mo Fan.

“So you’re sure you aren’t going to follow further?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes,” Jiang Yu nodded seriously, “I’m not following, your hand is surely bigger than mine.”

Jiang Yu folded his hand. Although his heart was aching for throwing a high-quality Soul Seed Piece away, Mo Fan had actually raised the bet by half a Soul-grade Seed. If Jiang Yu followed, he would lose even more.

As soon as Jiang Yu folded, Mo Fan won the round. He quickly dragged the Soul Seed Pieces in, worth around eight million in total. It was half a tin of milk powder for his Little Flame Belle!

“Hey, don’t take the money yet, show us your cards.”

“K is the biggest card that I have!” Mo Fan replied with a grin.

“F**k me!”

“Damn it, I folded when I had a pair. Mo Fan, you asshole!”

“By the way, I think the sandstorm is getting weaker.”

“Don’t you dare run away after you’ve won! Deal the cards, I’m going to win it back!”

The sandstorm was indeed weakening. Considering that Nanyu might have returned to her position, the group did not play another round.

—

It took the group quite some time to clear away the sand stacked on top of them. They were surprised to see that the area they were at had stacked up into a tall sand dune.

“That’s insane, the altitude here is suddenly over ten meters high.” Zhao Manyan observed the area. He could no longer recognize the place.

Looking at the terrain that had changed beyond recognition, if they did not insist on staying in the same spot, they would have thought the sandstorm had blown them to a different desert!

The place had turned from a flat area of sand to rolling terrain with sand dunes; it was unbelievable!

—

The yellow, sandy dust was still lingering in the air. It took a few hours before it finally cleared up. The group was hoping that Nanyu would be standing around a kilometer away sending out a signal, but the area was completely empty, with no sign of Nanyu.

“We can’t possibly be thinking of waiting here?” Jiang Yu was shaken. He glanced at the sand dunes nearby and said, “You know how strong the sandstorm was. It completely altered the terrain. This place is totally different to how it looked before. Maybe we are not just a kilometer away from the exit, and perhaps Nanyu has never left her spot, we’re just not standing at where we were supposed to be.”

“That’s possible too, otherwise, why couldn’t we see her if she’s only a kilometer away. I couldn’t even see her within five kilometers away!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Let me assure you that many teams that went missing in the desert had the same thoughts, too. They started to think it was meaningless to wait at the same place because of people like you. In the end, they ended up getting even more lost. I’ve heard rumors about the Sahara Desert, and the only way the others can find you is if you stay at the same spot. As long as you don’t move, you will still be at the same spot, but once you start to move away, the desert will eventually lead you to the Desert of Death. At that time, even Super Mages would not dare to save you. You will be buried forever under the sand,” Jiang Shaoxu stated in a very serious voice.

They must not move, not even a single step, unless they knew they were going in the right direction. Otherwise, they would only venture deeper into the desert. Jiang Shaoxu could not afford to let their words influence the group. It was no joke, since it was unlikely that anyone that got lost in the desert would survive!

“Let’s just wait here, we must not move even if it’s raining, hailing, or if a thunderstorm is taking place. We would just lose our chance of being rescued,” Mo Fan said.

Jiang Shaoxu sounded extremely serious, and the rest in the group did not really have any brilliant idea to find the way out, including Jiang Yu, who possessed the Chaos Element.

It was just a boring, stubborn wait. As Jiang Shaoxu had mentioned, if they started having doubts, they would have fallen to the desert maze!

—–

From day to night, the group waited for two days straight.

Bored, worried, helpless, bad thoughts, the two days felt extremely long and torturous. Whenever someone suggested the group leave, Jiang Shaoxu immediately advised against it.

As the supply of food and water started to deplete, waiting aimlessly was incredibly frustrating, making it harder for them to keep their calm.

As such, the desert maze was no longer just a maze, but a test of the travelers’ mental strength. If a team was not unified, the members would most likely suffer mental breakdowns pretty easily!

Luckily, the five people had great trust in one another. Apart from some occasional grumbling, they were willing to wait patiently.

“Say, are we seriously going to wait longer?” Zhao Manyan said with a twisted face.

“Wait! Of course we’re going to wait, didn’t you hear what Jiang Shaoxu just said?” Mo Fan answered firmly.

“Can you take a look at the top of the sand dune over there before answering my question?” Zhao Manyan pointed at a sand dune, where a faint gray figure had slowly appeared.

Mo Fan glanced into the direction and saw a long troop of demon creatures appearing on the sand dune after crossing it from the other side. They started moving toward the group.

If it was just an ordinary sand fox, the group would be able to stay calm. The problem was, the troop of sand foxes was a lot bigger than ordinary sand foxes. They were almost as big as mature bulls!

Their tails were extremely long. Some were dragged along the ground as they moved, while others had their tails upright and swaying like furry serpents.

Their fangs and claws of the foxes were extremely sharp. One could tell they were not friendly at first sight. The green flicker in their eyes clearly displayed their hunger and savagery!

“Sandfear Fox!” Jiang Yu, the demon creature expert, instantly recognized the species. His heart skipped a beat.

Normally, these Sandfear Foxes were loners, as these strong creatures preferred to have their own territories. However, these Sandfear Foxes were moving in a pack, as if they were migrating to a new habitat. It was quite an unbelievable sight!

These Sandfear Foxes were usually the imperious kind that infiltrated other species’ territories, demanding they give up on their homes, yet in the Sahara Desert, they were forced to stick together and migrate to somewhere else…

“Are these creatures tricky to deal with?” Mo Fan asked.

The Sandfear Foxes were heading right toward them. From their starving looks, the fight was clearly inevitable. Most importantly, they had to stay right where they were!

“They are very tricky to deal with,” Jiang Yu said with a twisted expression.

“Should we avoid them?” Zhao Manyan suggested.

“Avoid my ass, we can easily wipe out these little creatures, and prepare some dried fox meat to fill up our supplies!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was a warlike maniac. He felt like he was about to die of boredom in the desert, thus he was fairly keen to fight the demon creatures to occupy himself. Not only could he familiarize himself with his spells, he could also collect the Soul Remnants, and even loot some rare bones, claws, or skin for some extra money. Why wouldn’t he do it?

“Prepare to fight, we can’t afford to leave this place!” Jiang Shaoxu ordered decisively.

Mo Fan, Jiang Yu, Mu Ningxue, and Zhao Manyan prepared themselves, waiting for the Sandfear Foxes to arrive.

If the demon creatures were smart, they would avoid the group instead. If they were up for a fight, it was no longer necessary for the pack of demon creatures to migrate, since this place was going to be their burial ground!

“Err… aren’t their numbers a bit too crazy? Why do I feel like they aren’t really migrating?” Jiang Yu said softly after some time.

More Sandfear Foxes kept on appearing on the sand dune. It went from a long troop, to an incredibly long troop!

On top of that, these Sandfear Foxes were not approaching them in a straight line. They were slowly splitting up into different squads as they scattered across the sand dune, like an army of soldiers moving into their positions right before a war.

“Why do I feel like they are trying to surround us?” Zhao Manyan said.

The troop of Sandfear Foxes was slowly spreading across the sand dunes around the group. Their eyes were staring at Mo Fan and the others, but somehow, they felt like the demon creatures were not targeting them specifically.

On top of that, the Sandfear Foxes were not in a rush to attack. They were holding their positions instead. The group was even more confused. Normally these demon creatures would pounce at them when they saw how they outnumbered the humans. It was unlikely they would hold their positions, as if they were in a stalemate!

“By the way… didn’t any of you turn around?” Mu Ningxue suddenly asked softly.

“Turn around? Why should we turn… f**k me!” Before Mo Fan could finish, he was shocked to see countless crimson-red figures scattered across the sand dunes behind them!

Wild Scorpions!

Crimson Wild Scorpions!

The group was so focused on the overwhelming numbers of the Sandfear Foxes that they were totally unaware of the crimson-red poisonous scorpions behind them…

These poisonous scorpions did not march in from the distance. They were crawling out from the sands, and their numbers kept increasing. They had turned into an army of crimson soldiers, the spectacular sight horrifying to look upon!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sand dunes were basically fully stacked with the crimson poisonous scorpions. These scorpions were emitting flames, yet the flames were actually making the surrounding temperature fall. It was obvious that they were not an easy-going bunch!

“Poison Fire Scorpions; these things aren’t the friendliest creatures either!” Jiang Yu blurted out.

Both the Sandfear Foxes and the Poison Fire Scorpions had shocking numbers, and judging from their auras, they were obviously not just some weak, Servant-class creatures. Even the Warrior-level creatures that the group had seen in the wild were not as savage as the two tribes of demon creatures in the desert!

“What the heck is going on here?” Zhao Manyan immediately had a bad feeling. He kept turning his head back and forth between the two tribes of demon creatures.

“Don’t tell me they are going to flank us from both directions?” Jiang Yu said.

Jiang Shaoxu shook her head and said, “The Sandfear Foxes aren’t targeting us at all, and neither are the Poison Fire Scorpions!”

Mo Fan took a closer look and realized that the Sandfear Foxes were actually having a standoff with the Poison Fire Scorpions. In other words, the Sandfear Foxes were here to take on the Poison Fire Scorpions right from the start!

“The Sahara Desert is indeed the scariest place in the world. Even demon creatures bring their whole tribe to wage war against one another to settle a dispute.”

“It’s obvious that they are totally ignoring our existence!”

“I think we should withdraw from this place and give them some space for the war. It’s not just a pack of demon creatures on each side. It’s almost a war between two hordes!” Zhao Manyan said.

There were more than a thousand Sandfear Foxes. Jiang Yu had mentioned that these Sandfear Foxes were one of the strongest Warrior-level creatures, meaning that even ten thousand Servant-class creatures were nothing before them. The pack of Sandfear Foxes was a powerful tribe!

Similarly, the Poison Fire Scorpions were part of a powerful tribe too. Both their auras and numbers were on par with the Sandfear Foxes. The five humans standing between the two tribes of demon creatures could basically feel two auras, red and dark gray respectively, crashing into one another!

The wind startled blowing sand into the sky. The color of the sky changed gradually, with roars echoing across the place. The five humans stuck between the two tribes of demon creatures seemed utterly helpless and agitated.

Normally, the third party that was standing between two clashing forces was usually there to mediate the quarrel. Unfortunately, Mo Fan and his crew were like little worms in front of the two armies of demon creatures. They were basically going to be trampled to death once the two sides started charging at one another!

“We are caught in the middle of a tribes war. We are in a pretty bad spot, since outsiders were usually targeted by both sides in a war like this. We should move to somewhere else before the war starts. If we hesitate further, we are only going to die in vain when the two armies crash into one another!” Zhao Manyan said.

“I do agree that we are in deep trouble if we stay,” Mu Ningxue was starting to lose confidence too.

“No, not by any chance, we must not leave! I’ll distract them with the Psychic Element, so they will ignore us and just fight their enemy,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Jiang Shaoxu stayed true to her words. They must not move inside the desert maze!

The group did not say anything further seeing how determined Jiang Shaoxu was.

Jiang Shaoxu closed her eyes and started releasing Spirit Ripple. If the Sandfear Foxes and the Poison Fire Scorpions only had eyes for their enemies, she could easily trick the demon creatures into avoiding them!

Jiang Shaoxu was just about to use her Psychic Element when her Spirit Ripple was shattered by the overwhelming murderous intent and hatred from both sides.

Jiang Shaoxu’s face turned pale. She glanced back and forth at the two sides in shock!

“What happened?” asked Mu Ningxue.

“There are too many of them. Their combined hatred is simply too strong. My Psychic Magic is being directly shattered by their strong wills!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“What are we supposed to do then? Let’s just leave, or we’re surely going to die. It’s a war between two tribes of demon creatures; we are only going to die a horrible death if we’re stuck in between.”

“I say we hold our ground and kill both the Sandfear Foxes and Poison Fire Scorpions that dare to come to us. We’ll kill them all!” Mo Fan declared imperiously.

Knowing that a tough battle was about to take place, Mo Fan summoned the Swift Star Wolf.

As a matter of fact, with the Swift Star Wolf’s current strength, he could only take on four or five Sandfear Foxes or Poison Fire Scorpions, since he was also in the Warrior-level…

“How the heck did we even end up in this mess!? A tribe war…(sigh)!”

“I have to say, it’s my first time witnessing a war between two tribes of demon creatures. I can’t imagine how epic this is going to be. As expected of the Sahara Desert, we have already been caught in a tribe war before going deeper into the desert. Any team with members below the Advanced Level is basically going to get wiped out as soon as they step into the area!” Jiang Yu murmured.

“I feel like even Advanced Mages would have trouble staying alive.”

As they were talking, the standoff between the Sandfear Foxes and the Poison Fire Scorpions had reached its limit. The Poison Fire Scorpions were the first to launch their attacks. Poisonous red scorpions the size of sedans leapt into the air and landed heavily on the sand dunes crawling with the Sandfear Foxes, launching huge chunks of sand into the air!

“Don’t come to where we are, don’t come to where we are… damn it, I already told you not to come to us, yet you still came! Piss off!” Mo Fan raised his head and saw two Poison Fire Scorpions landing on them.

The Poison Fire Scorpions had remarkable strength, with outstanding jumping ability. It was obvious that a few of them would land on Mo Fan and his crew’s position when so many of them leapt into the air at the same time.

“Telekinesis!” Mo Fan’s eyes changed color. The sharp silver with the power to control everything hurled the two Poison Fire Scorpions that were leaping in their direction at the Sandfear Foxes.

After they landed headfirst in the sand, the two Poison Fire Scorpions rose to their feet while shaking their heads, and glared at Mo Fan.

Initially, the two Poison Fire Scorpions only regarded the humans as little creatures. They would simply roll over the insignificant little creatures, but to their surprise, these little pests were actually quite aggressive!

The Poison Fire Scorpions screeched, as if they were signaling their comrades that there were a few pests meddling in their business.

Soon, a squad of Poison Fire Scorpions started moving in their direction. It was obvious that the Poison Fire Scorpions were planning to take them out.

The squad had around eighteen Poison Fire Scorpions. Their legs were extremely powerful, plunging into the sand like machines. When they moved rapidly, they would fling the sand up into the air. Their sharp legs skittered across the place at high speed, leaving deep holes along the ground.

The sound of their rapid movement was quite intimidating. When they reached the top of the sand dune, they raised their fiery-red scorpion tails and started stabbing at the group!

The red stingers lunged forward like dark red meteors. When more than ten Poison Fire Scorpions attacked simultaneously, the Swift Star Wolf that was initially planning to show off his strength immediately hid behind Mo Fan.

The attacks were not something that the Swift Star Wolf could take head-on. After all, there were a dozen Poison Fire Scorpions around his level!

“My turn!” Zhao Manyan stepped forward. He was an expert when it came to using the Light Protection.

Four Ramparts appeared and surrounded the team. The runes from Zhao Manyan’s Light Seed and the effects of the wooden clapper further enhanced the defense of Zhao Manyan’s Intermediate Spell. The dark red meteors landed on the ramparts. Even though the stingers were stuck to the surface, they failed to penetrate the thick defense!

The attacks from the Poison Fire Scorpions were not that simple. They opened their mouths and started breathing out poisonous flames.

The flames set the top of the sand dune on fire. The flames surprisingly had no heat; they were not scorching, but had a bone-chilling iciness instead!

“What kind of fire is this? It’s so cold!”

“It seems like Water Spells aren’t really effective against them!”

“How is water going to help against fire with no heat? Use light instead!”

“What light? I’ll go and take them out. Stay in your formation, try not to move from your positions!” Mo Fan was as hot-tempered as usual.

He did not care if they were spitting out flames with no heat. Couldn’t he just take them all out instead?

Mo Fan leapt into the air. When he reached the highest point, a bolt of purple-black lightning surged through his body. Mo Fan dove fiercely from the sky, together with the lightning. He landed with a stomp, creating a huge electric field with lightning arcs surging around two of the Poison Fire Scorpions.

The lightning paralyzed the creatures, before following up with a puncturing bolt. The lightning arcs swept past the two Poison Fire Scorpions under Mo Fan’s control, penetrating their crimson shells!

The two Poison Fire Scorpions fell to the ground with black smoke rising into the air. Mo Fan did not cast an extra glance at them. He was about to proceed and take out the rest of the Poison Fire Scorpions, but he was surprised when he discovered that the two ‘dead’ Poison Fire Scorpions had disappeared, leaving two holes behind them!

“Not dead yet?” Mo Fan was dazzled. The vitality of these Poison Fire Scorpions had exceeded his imagination. Normally, he did not need to rely on Advanced Spells when fighting against Warrior-level creatures. A four-tier Lightning Strike and some other Lightning Spells were more than enough to kill a Warrior-level creature instantly!

“Mo Fan, look out below you!” Mu Ningxue screamed at him.

Mo Fan lowered his head and saw the sand below his feet vibrating. He glanced around himself and saw an area of quicksand over ten meters wide forming around him. The moving sand was pushing him to the center of the pit, where the two scorched Poison Fire Scorpions were opening their mouths wide, waiting for Mo Fan like a giant spider waiting for its prey on a spiderweb!

Mo Fan frowned. He had not expected the Poison Fire Scorpions to be able to counterattack after receiving his attack directly!

If just two of the Poison Fire Scorpions were so tricky to deal with, their group might actually have a problem staying alive in the middle of such a chaotic battle between two tribes of demon creatures!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Trying to eat me alive? So be it!” Mo Fan did not struggle, allowing the flowing sand to drag him toward the two Poison Fire Scorpions.

As Mo Fan was almost close enough for the Poison Fire Scorpions to reach him, his eyes glittering like burning torches.

At the center of the quicksand, a brilliant fire pillar rose into the sky. The scorching blast tossed the two Poison Fire Scorpions into the sky as they were set on fire by the fierce flames.

Perhaps because the Poison Fire Scorpions were Fire-type creatures, the fire pillar did not kill them instantly. Mo Fan reached out his right hand and grabbed in the direction of the Poison Fire Scorpions!

A silver rhomboid started compressing the Poison Fire Scorpions. The overwhelming force immediately crushed them into minced meat. Their shells, gallbladder juice, and blood fell from the sky.

After Mo Fan finally took out the two Poison Fire Scorpions, he had to reevaluate the strength of the demon creatures in the Sahara Desert.

Each tribe of demon creatures consisted of over a thousand soldiers each. Luckily, the Sandfear Foxes and the Poison Fire Scorpions had already crashed into one another. If they were actually targeting the tiny group of humans, they would be forced to flee for their lives in just a few minutes!

“Mo Fan, come back now!” Jiang Shaoxu’s voice came from above him.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and saw three Sandfear Foxes and five Poison Fire Scorpions fighting on the sand dune where Jiang Shaoxu was. However, for some reason, these creatures suddenly fixed their eyes on Jiang Shaoxu!

“Don’t move, I’ll take care of them!” Mo Fan said.

Holding their positions was their only hope of leaving the desert maze, so Mo Fan would not allow the demon creatures to force Jiang Shaoxu from her position.

He turned into a black shadow. Due to the effects of the Dark Noble Mantle, his shadow was incredibly unpredictable and fast, like a nimble shadow bird flying by without catching any attention.

While they were trapped under the sand, Mo Fan had used all the Soul Essences in Little Loach Pendant to strengthen Fleeing Shadow.

In other words, Mo Fan’s Fleeing Shadow was now fifth-tier!

After receiving the Dark Noble Mantle, Mo Fan discovered that it was able to strengthen his Fleeing Shadow.

The strengthening effects worked even when he was not wearing the Dark Noble Mantle. It was like a passive ability of the Magic Equipment.

As such, Mo Fan’s Fleeing Shadow was basically a sixth-tier spell!

The sixth-tier Fleeing Shadow was also called the Shadow Bird, as his form and speed greatly differed from the normal Fleeing Shadow. As a matter of fact, even if the area ahead was fully stacked with enemies, Mo Fan could easily turn himself into a Shadow Bird to swiftly weave through the enemy’s line. If he combined it with Time Stasis, he was confident of dodging a rain of bullets as easy as taking a stroll in the park!

That being said, if Mo Fan cast Nyx Regime and summoned the Dark Noble Mantle, it would strengthen the Fleeing Shadow by another two levels, turning it into an eighth-tier Basic Spell!

To many people, having a fourth-tier spell was already extravagant. Although the spells of the Shadow Element were able to stack their effects on top of one another naturally, it was pretty rare to stack up the effects into an eighth-tier Basic Spell like Mo Fan could do!

The truth was, Mo Fan actually considered strengthening the Intermediate Spell, Giant Shadow Spike, but the Dark Noble Mantle’s special effects were more obvious when he was casting Fleeing Shadow. The Giant Shadow Spike might be weaker than this Basic Spell now!

Mo Fan’s shadow in the form of a shadow bird actually had four layers. In other words, if Mo Fan desired, he could split the shadow into three other shadow birds to confuse an enemy!

However, it was not necessary for the time being. Mo Fan appeared in front of Jiang Shaoxu at his quickest speed. A strong presence of the Shadow Element immediately loomed over the area.

Mo Fan flung out his arm; a black energy like smoke accumulated in front of him and quickly turned into several Giant Shadow Spikes with strong, chilly auras.

The Giant Shadow Spikes sprang forward and nailed the three Poison Fire Scorpions to the ground, immobilizing them.

The Sandfear Foxes were known for their speed, agility, and cruelty. These creatures were not as strong as the Poison Fire Scorpions overall, but they were extremely cunning. They would not attack recklessly like the Poison Fire Scorpions, as they preferred to strike and ambush their enemy at the perfect time.

They would move around rapidly in the area and confuse the enemy with their blurred shadows. Once they managed to move into a blind spot, they would then reach out their claws and aim for the enemy’s weakness like a sharp, dark gray lightning strike!

The three Sandfear Foxes were trying to tear Jiang Shaoxu’s throat out. Luckily, she also had the Light Element, thus she did not have any trouble holding the demon creatures off temporarily. However, the vicious and cunning demon creatures had given her quite a fright.

She was already intimidated by three Sandfear Foxes. Imagine how she would feel when facing the thousands of demon creatures fighting in the desert, each of them a deadly Sandfear Fox!

“Giant Shadow Spike!”

“Wild Thunderbolt!”

Mo Fan gave each of the targets sealed by the Giant Shadow Spikes a killing blow.

He was well aware that if he did not kill these Warrior-level creatures in a single breath, they would immediately counterattack ferociously. Mo Fan had perfectly combined the spells of the Shadow and Lightning Elements, allowing him to kill the demon creatures instantly!

Unfortunately, his lightning was still slightly weaker than what he needed to kill the demon creatures instantly. If only they had a Poison Mage on their team; the poisonous wasps could corrode the armor of the demon creatures, and he could easily follow up and kill each creature with a single Lightning Strike!

That being said, he would prefer it if he had a Soul-grade Lightning Seed!

A Soul-grade Lightning Seed would multiply the strength of his Lightning Spells by two to three times. Mo Fan’s Thunderbolt was now in the fourth-tier. The space-trembling effect of Qianjun was no longer useful to him.

It took Mo Fan some time to finally take care of the eight demon creatures surrounding Jiang Shaoxu. Little Loach Pendant loved it when Mo Fan was on a massacre, as it could finally have a feast by taking in the Soul Remnants. Not only could it further expand the world inside it, it could also provide Mo Fan with more Soul Essences.

“Mo Fan, what tier is your Fleeing Shadow? How are you able to move around like that?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Fifth-tier, the Dark Noble Mantle is also able to strengthen the Fleeing Shadow, so it’s basically in the sixth-tier now,” Mo Fan replied after catching his breath.

“Holy crap, are you trying to be a show-off? Strengthening a Basic Spell to the fifth-tier costs more than a hundred million!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Little did Zhao Manyan know, Mo Fan had an insane treasure on his neck.

Not only was Little Loach Pendant able to refine Servant-class Soul Remnants into valuable Soul Essences, it could also refine Soul Remnants of Warrior-level creatures into Soul Essences that would cost around twenty million each.

Warrior-level Soul Essences were needed if anyone was planning to strengthen their spell from the fourth-tier to the fifth-tier.

When Mo Fan was improving Fleeing Shadow to the fourth-tier, he had refined the seven Stars with Servant-class Soul Essences, and not long ago, he had refined them again with the Warrior-level Soul Essences, thus improving the spell to the fifth-tier.

But still, no rational Mage would spend seven Warrior-level Soul Essences that would cost more than a hundred million on strengthening a Basic Spell!

Mo Fan was speechless when he heard Zhao Manyan’s complaint. -Do you seriously think I want to use them on strengthening a Basic Spell?-

He was the only one who could use the Soul Essences refined by Little Loach Pendant, thus at this rate, it was only a matter of time until he had a fifth-tier Intermediate Spell, let alone a fifth-tier Basic Spell!

Little Flame Belle was looking after the Fire Element, and she was already quite powerful. However, Mo Fan also realized that it was not wise to only focus on improving the Fire Element. As such, Mo Fan desperately wanted to improve his Lightning Element, too!

From now on, Mo Fan would use all the Soul Essences refined by the Little Loach Pendant to strengthen the Lightning Stars, so he could improve the Lightning Strike to the fifth-tier as soon as possible. He would also improve the Thunderbolt to the fifth-tier as well! Once he finally got his hands on the Soul-grade Lightning Seed that he desperately needed, how terrifying would his Lightning Spells be?

When Mo Fan remembered there were so many Stars waiting to be refined and saw the Warrior-level creatures surrounding him, he immediately felt a strong lust for battle.

It was obvious that the demon creatures in the Sahara Desert were stronger than those in other places. That also meant the quality of their Soul Remnants was significantly better too! The Little Loach Pendant could refine a Soul Essence with around fifty Soul Remnants. When he remembered that he needed a whooping forty-nine Warrior-level Soul Essences worth a total sum of a billion to improve his Thunderbolt to the fifth-tier, he immediately went all out to kill as many demon creatures as he could!

“My spells aren’t strong enough, but the Fiery Fist is going to attract too much attention because of its area coverage. It will only make a whole bunch of the creatures focus on me,” Mo Fan murmured.

Eight Lightning Strikes landing on a Sandfear Fox consecutively was only enough to leave the creature on its last breath. On top of that, these Sandfear Foxes were incredibly cunning. It was tricky to immobilize them, let alone using Lightning Disaster to wipe them all out. Despite their numbers, they were fairly good at moving around as a whole.

“They seem to have realized how much of a nuisance we are, they are starting to flank us!” Jiang Shaoxu called out.

While the two tribes of demon creatures were fighting one another, both tribes also sent out a huge squad to the sand dune where the team was. It was obvious that the demon creatures were planning to take care of the annoying humans first.

Initially, the team was reluctant to cast Advanced Spells, as that would only infuriate the demon creatures nearby. However, after seeing how many Warrior-level creatures were approaching them, they had no choice but to start using Advanced Spells!

“Hold your ground, I’m still young, I don’t want to die in this shitty desert!” Mo Fan said grimly.

“We have to hold them off!”

“There are so many of them, at least a hundred Poison Fire Scorpions and a hundred Sandfear Foxes too! I think we’ve really made both the tribes mad. Aren’t we supposed to focus on just a tribe right at the start, so the other tribe might actually decide to not attack us?” Zhao Manyan said.

“That sounds reasonable…”

The atmosphere in the team suddenly changed. Everyone agreed they should have done what Zhao Manyan had said right at the start after thinking about it.

“Enough with the nonsense, kill them all!”

“Oh, charge!”

“I’ll take care of this side!”

The members immediately focused on the battle with the demon creatures. No one was in the mood to discuss anything else.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The evil moon was hanging high up in the sky, its light shining upon the desert. The howls of the foxes blended with the strong wind, while the cold flames of the Poison Fire Scorpions mixed with the brilliance of the moon…

It went from a hundred demon creatures flanking the humans to the two tribes of demon creatures glaring at the humans with great hatred. Somehow, the tribe war had slowly turned into a fight to take the humans out. Both the Poison Fire Scorpions and Sandfear Foxes were focusing their attention on Mo Fan and the others.

The presence of the Advanced Spells was simply too strong. The deadly spells posed a great threat to the demon creatures, so any demon creature with the slightest intelligence knew they could not allow the humans to cast spells freely!

“Jiang Shaoxu, can’t you use your Psychic Magic to ask them to take their fight somewhere else, and promise them we won’t interfere? They can fight as they wish, since we’re only trying to hold our ground here?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Jiang Shaoxu looked at Zhao Manyan as if he was a retard.

How could Psychic Magic possibly resolve the situation now? Even using the Spirit Ripple at the start to distract the demon creatures had failed, not to mention that they had already killed around two hundred Sandfear Foxes and Poison Fire Scorpions! How could the two tribes of demon creatures let them go?

“Enough talking! I’m heading down, it’s too restricting to fight up here!” Mo Fan said to Zhao Manyan.

He purposely told Zhao Manyan, as he needed the man to provide him with some strong protection.

Before Zhao Manyan could refuse, Mo Fan summoned a pair of fiery wings on his back. The flames surged across the yellow sand.

A strong force burst out from the wings, thrusting Mo Fan forward like a giant missile!

The missile rammed into the Sandfear Foxes moving along the slope of the sand dune. A few of the Sandfear Foxes nearby melted instantly from the overwhelming heat. The Sandfear Foxes were forced to flee from the flames.

When these cunning creatures sensed the powerful aura from Mo Fan slowly weakening, they proceeded to reveal their claws, slicing and scratching at him. These Sandfear Foxes were incredibly fast, like flashes of lightning when they were moving at their top speed.

Sharp claws swiped ferociously at Mo Fan. Luckily, Zhao Manyan’s defense came right on time. The scales constructed by Plummeting Rays protected Mo Fan from the claws.

“Die, you all!” Mo Fan yelled. The feathers scattering across the place suddenly combined into an imperious phoenix in midair and charged at the Sandfear Foxes!

A dozen Sandfear Foxes ran for their lives when the fiery phoenix lunged forward, but the Thousand Feathers Fiery Phoenix still managed to catch up to them.

A huge, brilliant fiery cloud rose into the sky as flames rolled to the edge of the sky. Not a single one of the Sandfear Foxes that were targeted survived. They all burned into ashes in the scorching heat.

“Mo Fan, behind you!…” Jiang Shaoxu warned.

Mo Fan was still catching his breath when two enormous Poison Fire Scorpions appeared only a few meters behind him as he turned around. The two creatures were already lunging with their thick pincers at him!

“Meow!” A petite black figure swept past. Mo Fan only felt a sharp breeze, and the two Poison Fire Scorpions trying to ambush him were shredded into pieces!

“That was quick! Thanks, little black cat!” Mo Fan glanced at the Night Rakshasa that had landed on the ground beside him and chuckled.

The Night Rakshasa was staring at Mo Fan with glittering eyes. She seemed to be looking at the flames engulfing Mo Fan’s figure.

“What is it? You’re trying to have a competition with my Little Flame Belle?” Mo Fan asked when he saw the Night Rakshasa’s intention.

“Meow!” The Night Rakshasa lifted her head proudly.

“Fine, my other Elements are improving too slowly, because I keep relying on Little Flame Belle’s ability to possess me. Since there are so many enemies, I guess it’s better to split up. Little Flame Belle, come out here!” Mo Fan said.

Little Flame Belle quickly split away from Mo Fan. She was surrounded by the brown Calamity Fire, her flames rapidly spreading a few hundred meters in all directions. Her Commander-level presence immediately intimidated the Sandfear Foxes!

Normally, Little Flame Belle would still appear in the form of a little baby-like a porcelain doll, just so she could stay on Mo Fan’s shoulder and ask for a hug whenever she wished.

However, when she was in a fight, she would gradually turn into a Flame Belle Sailor Moon!

Teenage Flame Belle’s height was basically the same as Lingling’s, even her physique resembled that of Lingling. She had a slender figure and the slight curves of a young teenage girl.

Teenage Flame Belle’s aura was obviously a lot stronger than the Night Rakshasa’s. When the two rare species stood side by side, Teenage Flame Belle’s Commander-level aura completely overwhelmed the Night Rakshasa’s.

The Night Rakshasa was pretty strong, as she even dared take on a Commander-level creature. However, she was still some distance away from a real Commander-level creature. If the Night Rakshasa was able to break through, she would become a real Commander-level creature!

The Night Rakshasa’s strength was only slightly inferior to a Commander-level creature. She was able to defeat any Warrior-level creature, yet she was still not strong enough to take on a real Commander-level creature.

Teenage Little Flame Belle was different. She was a real Commander-level creature. Her aura immediately startled the Sandfear Foxes and the Poison Fire Scorpions. The demon creatures finally regained their courage after the commanders of their tribes gave their orders!

A fire lotus appeared on the sand where Teenage Flame Belle pointed her finger, burning ferociously. When it came into contact with any of the Sandfear Foxes, the flames of the fire lotus immediately split into several fire tongues and devoured the Sandfear Fox instantly!

Mo Fan was on his own, displaying strength that no Advanced Mage could ever possess in the chaotic fight, since he was able to alter between many Elements.

Zhao Manyan, Jiang Yu, and Jiang Shaoxu had to set up the boundaries and hold their positions against the demon creatures passively. They were scared of the demon creatures getting too close to them.

Mo Fan was different. He could simply charge into the demon creatures and clear a path with brute force since he was fairly experienced with handling demon creatures while being surrounded, and taking advantage of the fact that he could abuse the number of Elements he had.

Meanwhile, Mu Ningxue could easily massacre the demon creatures with her Domain, but unfortunately, her Ice Magic was affected to a certain degree by the dry, scorching environment. Even her Ice Domain was not as superior as it usually was.

As such, Mu Ningxue did not force herself to fight on her own. She decided to stay with the others instead, holding their positions firmly. The group was fine letting Mo Fan do his thing, since he was tougher than a cockroach. He would still be fine even if the others on the team were taken out!

Mo Fan stood at the front of the sand dune, and proceeded to intercept the Sandfear Foxes and butcher them.

The Poison Fire Scorpions were Fire-type creatures, and Mo Fan’s strongest Element was Fire, thus it was obviously trickier to take them out.

Little Flame Belle Sailor Moon and the Night Rakshasa were holding their respective positions. Similar to Mo Fan, they were also being surrounded by the demon creatures.

“Mo Fan, please step aside, I’m about to open the Summoning Gate!” Jiang Yu yelled at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not react at the start. However, when he suddenly recalled the Advanced Summoning Spell he saw at the Training Hall, he immediately turned around in panic.

As he thought, a large herd of giant rhinoceros in silver armor dashed out from the gate. Each rhinoceros was over twenty meters tall, like a moving building, fully covered in thick, heavy armor. When they charged out of the gate like a dam bursting, the sand dune was immediately flattened.

Mo Fan’s face paled. He immediately turned into a Shadow Bird and fled.

Luckily, Jiang Yu was humane enough to warn Mo Fan earlier. If he was any slower, the Silver-armored Giant Rhinoceros would surely have trampled Mo Fan to death!

The Advanced Summoning Spell was fairly unreasonable, able to Summon a herd of fairly high-ranked wild beasts to trample across the area. The army of Sandfear Foxes immediately suffered great casualties. The power of their tribe immediately weakened significantly.

Mo Fan was jealous when he saw the herd of silver rhino bullying the Sandfear Foxes.

The Advanced Summoning Spell was even more imperious than he had imagined. It basically Summoned a group of muscular beasts, ramming and trampling everything in their way. Mo Fan had witnessed the spell once on the stage of a Training Hall, but it seemed like these Silver-armored Giant Rhinoceros were even stronger than the Blood Beasts from before. The Sandfear Foxes no longer dared to approach the team after the tide of silver armor swept past!

“It feels like their morale has dropped, I’ll try spreading fear among them,” Jiang Shaoxu immediately poured oil onto a fire when she saw Jiang Shaoxu’s Summoning Spell working like a charm.

“Hurry up, my spell won’t last any longer!” Jiang Yu said.

The Summoning of the Silver-armored Giant Rhinoceros was cast at the cost of a great supply of the Summoner’s energy. The energy of Jiang Yu’s Galaxy was being consumed at a shocking rate.

Jiang Shaoxu started amplifying the fear among the Sandfear Foxes with her Psychic Spell. Once the fear spread to the rest of the demon creatures, they would likely retreat!

It was a never-ending battle, since Warrior-level creatures were harder to kill than Servant-class creatures. They had only killed around four hundred creatures in total by now. If the Poison Fire Scorpions and the Sandfear Foxes were determined to fight them until their deaths, the humans would surely lose in the end!

“I think it’s working! Jiang Yu, just a little longer!” Jiang Shaoxu was overjoyed when she realized that her Spirit Ripple did not dissipate instantly

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

At the boundaries of the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert, a man sitting on the back of a flying beast fixed his eyes on the gradually approaching line of the desert with confusion.

“Mr. Devon, didn’t you hear what I say?” a Maga in her thirties asked.

“Oh, what did you say?” Devon finally collected his thoughts.

“According to the information we received, strange sandstorms have been happening quite often lately around the boundaries of the Sahara Desert. Our people have concluded that they aren’t works of nature,” the bespectacled Maga said.

“There’s no proof to back it up yet; the Sahara Desert is known for its unexplainable phenomena, so it’s unlikely that we can find the reason behind it. We’ll just head inside and rescue the missing people,” a Mage with a white cloth cap spoke up.

“To be honest, if Mr. Devon wasn’t leading us, I would never set my foot into that desert maze. After all, Mr. Devon has managed to walk out of the desert maze once!”

The man called Devon sat without saying a single word.

The truth was, he did not want to come back to this place at all!

—

“Look, there’s someone down there,” someone on the team said. Everyone immediately glanced in the direction.

They did discover an unconscious person lying on the sand. Judging from the figure, it seemed to be a woman.

Devon whispered to the flying beast he was riding. The beast withdrew its wings and slowly landed on the sand.

The Maga with spectacles walked up to the unconscious person and helped her up. She took a closer look at her.

“She’s still alive, she...she looks Asian, perhaps she’s from the Chinese team that the Magic Association sent here to look for the missing national team?” Sijia said.

Sijia took some water and fed it to the unconscious woman.

After drinking the water, Nanyu gradually woke up.

She immediately observed her surroundings. When she realized she was no longer at the same spot, her face turned pale.

She was obviously worried about Mo Fan and the others.

She was supposed to be sending out signals to the team outside the desert maze, yet she had somehow fainted here, meaning that the team was still stuck in the desert!

“I have to go!” Nanyu rose to her feet and hurriedly went forward. However, her body was still too weak. She started to stagger after taking a few steps.

“Calm down, and tell us what happened. How did you faint here?” Sijia asked.

“It was a monster roaming close to the desert maze, it attacked me… anyway, can you please bring me there? My teammates are still in there, and I’m no match for the monster,” Nanyu pleaded.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Davey here is a Super Mage. He’s more familiar with the desert maze than anyone else. With his help, your friends won’t be in danger for long,” the man with white cloth cap said.

The Super Mage called Devon remained silent. From the grim look on his face, it was easy to tell that he was not as confident as the others had described.

——

Jiang Shaoxu’s Spirit Ripple immediately came into effect following the bellowing roars of the giant rhinoceroses brought in by Jiang Yu’s Advanced Summoning Spell. It amplified the fear of the Sandfear Foxes, and since they had already lost more than two hundred of their comrades, they started having the urge to retreat.

The Poison Fire Scorpions were affected by Jiang Shaoxu’s Psychic Spell, too. They backed off to the sand dunes under their control and faced the Sandfear Foxes in a standstill.

“What now? Is it half-time?” Mo Fan mumbled when he saw the two tribes of demon creatures ceasing fire, yet showing no intention of retreating.

“Maybe their Commanders think it’s meaningless to fight any further.”

The demon creatures stopped fighting one another, but they insisted on staying. Their deep calls kept on coming, making Mo Fan and his crew feel awkward.

As the group was feeling incredibly lost, they suddenly heard the chime of a zither. They raised their heads and saw the magic signal they had long awaited pointing in a clear direction.

Zhao Manyan and Jiang Yu almost burst into tears when they saw the signal!

They were saved, Nanyu had finally showed up!

“Come, let’s hurry up, the two tribes are about to fight one another soon,” Jiang Shaoxu blurted out when she sensed the atmosphere shifting.

The five no longer needed to hold their positions now that they had a clear direction to head in. They would no longer intervene with the war between the two tribes of demon creatures.

The group of five quickly left the place filled with nothing but troubles, but they had only run a few hundred meters when they realized the sand was trembling as countless Poison Fire Scorpions crawled out from the ground nearby.

Dark gray lightning flickered continuously as the Sandfear Foxes were making their moves. They seemed to be launching a full assault!

“Holy crap, Jiang Shaoxu, are you sure you were trying to calm them down just then? Why do I feel like both sides have reached an agreement to take us out first?” Zhao Manyan shrieked.

The Sandfear Foxes and Poison Fire Scorpions had all come chasing after them. It was definitely something they did not want to see!

“I…I have no idea why they are so united all of a sudden, let’s just run!” Jiang Shaoxu shouted.

Mo Fan watched the group’s rear. He used Lightning to paralyze the Sandfear Foxes that were catching up, before using the Dark Noble Mantle to weave through the demon creatures to quickly catch up with the rest.

Luckily, his Shadow Spell had leveled up recently. Otherwise, he would not be able to move freely between the demon creatures!

“We’re almost there!”

“Back off!” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered, and immediately summoned a force from the surrounding space, striking four Sandfear Foxes nearby and sending them flying!

“I think I saw Nanyu!”

“Thank the heavens! Mo Fan, stop trying to fight the creatures, it’s time to retreat!” Zhao Manyan called.

The Sandfear Foxes and the Poison Fire Scorpions were trying to surround the group completely. If they did not reach the boundaries of the desert maze soon, they would be trapped between the demon creatures. The members of the group had been injured in the battle, so they needed to retreat at once!

—

The sand’s color was pure, golden-yellow, implying that they had successfully left the desert maze.

The group saw Nanyu and a few other Mages standing beside her. The Mages were watching Mo Fan and the others as they approached. However, their faces immediately turned pale when they saw the two tribes of demon creatures following behind the group of young Mages!

Nanyu was startled, too. -Did you really have to bring such a huge pack of demon creatures with you, not to mention that each of them was a Warrior-level creature?-

“What the heck is going on? Didn’t they say the demon creatures would never leave their territories? Why are they still chasing after us when we have already left the desert maze?”

“Run, quick!”

No one was willing to fight the meaningless battle. They immediately turned around and left.

The Super Mage Devon cast a Wind Spell when he realized the situation. A dark blue wind blew in from the surroundings and took the shape of a raft, carrying everyone aboard it. Without using any spells, the people aboard the raft were able to flee rapidly.

—

The Poison Fire Scorpions and the Sandfear Foxes finally stopped chasing as they were eventually left a great distance behind with the help of the wind raft.

“What happened? Did you stir up trouble in the maze again? Getting into the way of a tribe of demon creatures was bad enough, yet you had to infuriate two tribes of demon creatures?” Nanyu snapped.

“It’s not like we wanted to, we were caught in the middle of a war between the two tribes of demon creatures just so we could hold our position. If you had sent the signal any later, we might actually have died there,” Jiang Yu said with a wronged look.

“You never left?” Nanyu was shocked.

“Yeah, we did not move even though we were caught in a sandstorm or the tribe war. Luckily, you didn’t let us down.”

Devon, who had remained silent along the journey, finally spoke as he heard the conversation, “You made the right choice by not moving. The only way to stay at the right spot is by standing still in the desert maze. Otherwise, you won’t be able to see the signal from the outside of the desert maze.”

The group immediately glanced at Jiang Shaoxu. Luckily, Jiang Shaoxu insisted that the group listen to her. They were relieved that they were willing to trust one another after hearing the Super Mage’s explanation. Otherwise, they might actually have died!

“Have you seen the others?” The Maga Sijia asked.

“I only saw some broken pieces of their tents. It’s around six kilometers from here. I don’t recall seeing anything else.”

“There must be somewhere close. We’ll handle it from here onward. You should rest up, but stay close to us, we might need your help,” Sijia said.

It was fine as long as they had some kind of a clue. Without one, searching for anyone in the desert maze was like trying to scoop up a needle from the ocean deep.

“I only hope they held their positions like you did,” Super Mage Devon said.

“Speaking of which, did you mention you’ve gone through a sandstorm too?” Sijia adjusted her glasses and asked as a sudden thought crossed her mind.

“Yeah, a sandstorm that appeared out of nowhere…”

“The sandstorm isn’t anything too special. After all, the weather here is always quite extreme. But I’m curious what the monster that Nanyu mentioned was? Why did she say she saw a pair of eyes in the sandstorm?” the Mage with white cloth cap inquired.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and his team had basically completed their mission. To avoid being dragged into a sandstorm again, they purposely went extremely far away from the maze and set up their tents again to rest up and treat their wounds.

When they asked Nanyu why she left her position, Nanyu told the team about the ambush.

“I saw a monster, it was covered in sand like a sand demon, but it was able to speak in a language similar to ours. Its eyes looked human too, but they were full of hatred and evil, like a vengeful spirit. It was followed by a powerful sandstorm. It chased me a great distance away, but for some reason, it wasn’t trying to kill me. It just kept chasing me until I was worn out,” Nanyu recalled the situation. She was still terrified by what had happened.

The monster had a strong presence. Nanyu believed that it could easily kill her with its sandstorm by just raising its hand. However, it did not do anything. It was only driving her away hatefully.

“Is there really such a strange creature in this world?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

“Are you sure it was speaking like a human?” Jiang Yu asked seriously.

“Yeah, but I couldn’t tell what language it is,” Nanyu replied.

“Could it be an Elemental Evil Spirit?” Jiang Yu mused.

“What’s an Elemental Evil Spirit?”

“Do you remember the monk at Yanming Temple? The Vessel Demon Spirit in your wooden clapper?”

“How could I possibly forget? It was a demon spirit full of hatred!”

“When the monk died, his spirit lived inside the powerful magic vessel, turning him into a demon spirit that was like a demon creature. If someone dies and their spirit resides in a place with abundant elemental energy, there’s a chance the spirit will turn into an Elemental Evil Spirit. I believe the thing that Nanyu saw was most likely an Elemental Evil Spirit. It’s a Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit, which explains why both us and the missing team encountered the sandstorm, because the spirit is active in that area!” Jiang Yu said.

Jiang Yu specifically researched demon spirits and evil spirits after stumbling into the Vessel Demon Spirit at Yanming Temple.

After hearing Jiang Yu’s explanation, Nanyu glanced at Mo Fan and whispered, “Speaking of which, Little Flame Belle’s Mother, the Fiery Sorceress, Jiang Feng, was she a kind of Elemental Evil Spirit?”

Despite having the body of a demon creature and powerful demonic moves, they still retained the behavior of a human. As Jiang Yu had mentioned, the Elemental Evil Spirits were once human Mages, but their souls had found a new place to reside after their deaths, and were able to reborn at certain places in some other way!

Nevertheless, someone else had taken over the rescue operation, meaning that there was no need for them to worry too much. With the Super Mage that was familiar with the desert maze leading the team, they should be able to handle the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit.

—

Mo Fan laid down inside his tent and started counting his loot.

After killing so many Warrior-level demon creatures, the Little Loach Pendant had refined five Warrior-level Soul Essences. Mo Fan immediately spent them on strengthening his Lightning Stars without hesitation.

If he was able to get two more Soul Essences, his Lightning Strike would finally reach the fifth-tier. It would likely improve the strength of the spell significantly.

Mo Fan was just about to meditate when he heard a strong wind howling outside the tent, and an unusual presence lingering in the air.

Mo Fan and the others immediately left the tents and were shocked to discover a veil of yellow sand rolling into the sky like a stream in the direction of the desert maze!

“Such a powerful sandstorm, and it seems to be coming toward us,” Jiang Yu said with an astounded face.

“Let’s get out of here, quick!”

The group immediately fled toward the Mediterranean Sea when they realized their current place would be caught in the sandstorm too.

The group ran at least thirty kilometers from the place. To their surprise, the sandstorm seemed to be getting closer to them!

The sandstorm was at least a few times stronger than its previous version. It felt like it was about to devour the sky and the ground.

“Look, over there!”

Currently, the sky toward the Mediterranean Sea was blue, but the sky toward the Sahara Desert was covered in rolling tides of sand.

Above the sand tides was a ghastly and imperious figure!

It was exactly as Nanyu had described previously. The figure was completely surrounded by sand particles, with two eyes full of hatred poking out from it. The rolling sandstorm was obviously its doing, as it looked like the commander of an army of a thousand galloping cavalry. One could also say that the sandstorm connecting the sky and the land was actually a part of it!

Nanyu looked at the figure standing above the sandstorm in great astonishment.

It was even scarier than the Sandstorm Evil Spirit she had seen before. Its presence clearly resembled a Ruler-level creature, and even ordinary Ruler-level creatures were unable to destroy everything within a few kilometers within an instant like the Sandstorm Evil Spirit was!

The group kept on running until they could finally see the ocean.

The sandstorm did not stop chasing after them. It did not weaken in the slightest even when it was crashing into the ocean. Soon, the sea was covered by the sand!

The long shoreline was initially a beautiful beach, yet because of the sandstorm, the shoreline was pushed further into the ocean. It felt like the Sahara Desert had extended further because of the sandstorm!

“Holy crap, what kind of monster is that? How terrifying!”

Mo Fan and the others were utterly dumbfounded. They were sitting on a Water-type creature that Jiang Yu had summoned from the Mediterranean Sea.

The ocean was being filled up by the sand. The desert had extended further out due to the sandstorm, and it was all because of the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit!

Looking at the cloudy, yellow sky, they could still remember the eyes that were filled with hatred and disdain…

“I…I’m afraid there’s no chance they can walk out of there alive?” Jiang Shaoxu said solemnly, looking at the desert that was extending toward the ocean.

“I agree, we’re lucky that we chose to leave.”

“That’s too scary! I swear I will never come to the Sahara Desert again. I bet that Super Mage died an instant death.”

Either they were extremely lucky, or the team that went into the desert was extremely unlucky. The giant sandstorm that the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit had produced simply devoured everything, including the area that Mo Fan and his crew thought was safe, and the Mediterranean Sea a certain distance away.

After seeing the furious roars and anger of the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit, they felt the people in the desert basically had no chance of surviving.

The team had personally experienced how deadly the Sahara Desert was. They would never set their foot into the desert again no matter how high the reward offered to them was!

Both the tribe war and the powerful Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit had been devastating for them.

——

Following the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea, the group of six headed for Egypt to regroup with the others.

After arriving in Egypt, the advisors gave the group the rewards as promised. On the other hand, Africa’s Magic Association also sent a few groups of people to interrogate them about what actually happened in the Sahara Desert in detail.

Judging from how nervous the representatives of Africa’s Magic Association was, it was fairly obvious that both the national team and the team led by the Super Mage were still missing in the desert.

Speaking of which, it felt like the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit had been waiting for Devon and his team, as the sandstorm suddenly came and attacked them not long after they arrived…

“It seems like that Super Mage called Devon might somehow be related to the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit’s past life,” Nanyu said.

It had been a few days since they left the Sahara Desert, yet the group was still having trouble forgetting the terrifying sandstorm.

“They were thinking of sending backup, yet the situation became worse instead,” Jiang Shaoxu sighed.

“Say, what do you think the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit’s strength was? I think it was close to being the strongest creature in the world!” Zhao Manyan wondered.

“I guess it’s above average among Ruler-level creatures,” Mo Fan replied.

“Why is that?’ Zhao Manyan asked.

The others subconsciously looked at Mo Fan too. They totally agreed with Zhao Manyan after witnessing how formidable the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit of the Sahara Desert was. The fact that it was able to destroy everything within ten kilometers and fill up by ten kilometers of the sea… if it was not still the strongest creature, what would the strongest demon creature be?

“I’ve seen creatures that are nearly the strongest among Ruler-level creatures, and I think the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit is still a level lower compared to them,” Mo Fan answered.

“Don’t try to fool us, we’re very serious about this! I think there’s no creature in this world that’s stronger than the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit.”

“You are so wrong to think that. I can assure you, there are two creatures that can defeat the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit in our country!” Mo Fan said.

“Which two?”

Mo Fan had a mysterious smile. However, when he realized that Mu Ningxue was looking at him curiously too, with eyes signaling him that she also wanted to learn the answer, he was struggling to keep it a secret.

“I can only tell you that one of them is in Hangzhou, and the other is in the Ancient Capital.”

“Hangzhou? Don’t tell me you’re referring to the Skyscraping Snake that once appeared in the middle of the city? I heard that it was able to take on the Silver Skyruler from the West Ridge like it was just a primary schooler. I do believe that the Guardian Beast in Hangzhou is stronger than the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit. As for the other creature in the Ancient Capital… are you referring to the strongest Zombie Ruler that almost uprooted the city, the Mountain Zombie?” Jiang Yu seemed incredibly excited about the topic.

“Are they really stronger than the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit?”

“Absolutely!”

Mo Fan was confident. After all, he had come into direct contact with the two powerful creatures personally!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Both Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had fought against Egypt’s National Team before. The team was far from impressive, yet they were unsure where they got their confidence from.

As such, the team defending Egypt’s Training Hall was surely not as impressive, either. When Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, Jiang Yu, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Shaoxu, and Nanyu arrived, they immediately learned that the others had already acquired the stamp from Egypt.

“Didn’t we have enough stamps?” Nanyu counted the countries they had won against and realized that their adventure had been quite successful, apart from Peru’s stamp, which they had discarded in anger. They had managed to secure stamps from all the countries they visited, including the American team that had been relatively challenging.

“So that means Egypt will be our last stop before we depart for the City of Canals, Venice?” asked Mu Tingying with anticipation.

It had been quite a long journey, and they had almost gone around the world. They were finally close to reaching their final destination, Venice. The difficulties, challenges, and failures they had encountered suddenly felt not as significant, as their brilliance at Venice was surely going to cover up their past!

“By the way, what job did the advisors give us this time?” Li Kaifeng asked.

“What else does Egypt have? Isn’t it obviously going to be the Kingdom of Undead?”

“Are you serious? I hate zombies and things like them the most!”

Undead!

There were two famous territories of undead. One was located in China’s Ancient Capital, while the other was in Egypt. The pyramids were the undead’s habitat. They were like a tower of souls, summoning the undead to it. The undead were active within a hundred kilometers of the pyramids.

It was basically the undead’s city state! The pyramids were the city centrals, while the lands within a hundred kilometers were their territories. Surprisingly, the undead would never venture too far away from the pyramids…

——

The advisors did not ask the team to leave Egypt. Instead, they were told to head to a city called Puccini. It was around two hundred kilometers away from Cairo, an average-sized city in Egypt.

Arriving in Puccini, the city had an ancient Egyptian feeling to it. Stone fences could still be seen outside the city, and most of the streets and buildings were made of stones, too.

Egypt abounded with Undead Mages, but most cities forbade the use of the Undead Element when unnecessary. There were still quite a lot of ordinary people in this world. Not everyone could accept the rotting flesh and the intimidating looks of the undead. If cities did not implement such rules, the people would feel like they were living among the dead.

The advisors were not really clear about the scope of their job, but based on the description, it was similar to their job in Japan’s East Maritime Fortress. The team was required to spend some time in the city.

The advisors wanted the students to encounter as many kinds of demon creatures as possible, so they would learn how to react accordingly when fighting against different creatures!

“Strange, why does it look like many people are injured here?” Mo Fan could see people helping the injured move around on the street, and it wasn’t just once or twice.

“I heard a local saying that Puccini City hasn’t been peaceful lately. It seems like something did happen here,” Nanyu said.

As soon as Nanyu finished, they immediately saw a few Wind Mages carrying a white stretcher making their way to the center of the city with the help of Wind Track.

A man wrapped in white bandages lay on the stretcher. There were fresh bloodstains across the bandages, with blood dripping and falling into the gaps between the rocks as they passed by along the bumpy road!

“That man has lost his legs, I managed to catch a glimpse of the wounds, it looked like they were torn off!” Guan Yu exclaimed.

The pain from having both legs being torn off was not something an ordinary person could endure. It was much worse than amputating them with a perfect cut. In addition to that, the injured would also suffer excessive blood loss!

When they reached a crossroad, they could see the injured continuously being escorted into the city from both sides.

The path led to the City South Hill. The team saw an obvious slope once they proceeded another thousand meters forward.

It was supposed to be a main street, but it was no longer accessible to vehicles, as more and more injured were being delivered to a white tent with golden trim…

It turned out that the tent was the same place that the advisors had asked the team to report to. The tents were joined together into a spacious area able to accommodate more than a thousand people. There were even Battlemages standing guard.

“That symbol…” Nanrong Ni saw a symbol resembling a wheel of flowers on a tent.

The symbol was designed with incredible detail. When looking at it from different angles, they could see similar but inverted flowery patterns. The patterns were then joined together into a milky-white wheel of flowers with golden-blue edges.

One could easily tell that the symbol represented a world-famous organization. The wheel of flowers with reflections of different colors compared to its base color was meant to prevent others from impersonating the organization!

Mo Fan’s knowledge was fairly limited. He had no clue what the symbol represented, but based on Nanrong Ni’s reaction, he could easily tell that it was something she had great respect for; the admiring glitter from her eyes said it all.

“I will ease the pain for you, but you must calm down and tell me how you end up like this, so it’s easier for me to treat your injuries,” a gentle voice spoke up.

Her voice seemed to have some sort of magic, helping the person who had lost his legs to calm down slowly, as if he could no longer sense the overwhelming pain.

“I…I stumbled into two Poisonous Golden Mummies, one was grabbing me while the other dug its claws into my legs. I immediately fainted. When I woke up, I was already being carried here. I know you’ve temporarily eased the pain with the Psychic Element, but I know I will never get my legs back. The injuries inflicted by the Poisonous Golden Mummies are incurable, not to mention how young you look.” The injured was a Mage from the Magic Association. He seemed to have lost hope.

“I can help you recover,” the woman smiled.

The assistant frowned when he heard the impolite comment from the Mage. The man obviously did not think the Servant of the Hall of the Goddess was capable of treating his wounds!

He should take a closer look at his condition. He should be grateful that he was able to survive the injuries!

The injured Mage did not seem to have any hope. He lay still with bloodshot eyes, and was regretting his decision. It had been years since he had last fought against demon creatures. He was offered a stable job in the Magic Association, but he ended up in such a devastating state. He swore he would never fight the savage undead again.

The Mage started grumbling when the pain gradually returned.

However, before he could sneer at the intern that was arranged to treat his wounds, he was shocked to discover that his legs were growing!

Growing was the best way to describe it, as the broken veins, bones, and flesh were regenerating slowly, reconnecting with the legs that had been torn off.

The glowing, milky-white liquid hovering above the intern’s hand with a strong presence of vitality slowly dripped onto his legs with a sacred light, helping his body reconnect with his legs.

The Mage stared at his legs in disbelief…

The flesh had merged perfectly, followed by the outer skin layer. When he saw his legs returned to normal perfectly without a single scar, he was utterly dumbfounded!

His position in the Magic Association was rather high, meaning that he had met quite a few experienced Healers. But from what he knew, no one in the city could possibly treat his wounds. The Poisonous Golden Mummies were infamous for the damage they inflicted being incurable. Their strong presence of death meant the scars and wounds stayed forever!

But now, his legs were back!

When the intern withdrew the Psychic Spell, the man immediately felt his legs, as if nothing had happened to them.

It was a miracle!

The man was overwhelmed by excitement. Joy and the shame from looking down at the Healer were blatantly displayed on his face. He was lost for words all of a sudden when he felt the urge to thank the woman with magical powers.

“Rest well, the muscles in your legs are still recovering, don’t too anything too vigorous for the next three days,” she advised the Mage in a gentle voice. The Healer was friendly and calm as usual.

“Three days? Just three days?” The Mage was having trouble believing it.

“My God, not only did he recover from the serious injuries right on the spot, he is going to be back to normal in just three days?” someone among the crowd exclaimed.

“How unbelievable, I have never seen such a capable Healer!”

The assistant let out a satisfying smile when he heard the praises from the crowd. He said in a slightly proud voice, “I have already told you, she is a disciple of our Parthenon Temple’s Hall of the Goddess, she is practicing the most perfect Healing Magic in the world!”

“Hall of the Goddess, so it’s the Hall of the Goddess!”

“No wonder, that explains it all! It’s impressive knowing that she is a Mage from the Hall of the Goddess at such a young age!”

The woman had a humble smile as she was complimented by the crowd, but the assistant raised his head arrogantly.

—

“Mmm, why does that beautiful lady look so familiar?” Zhao Manyan suddenly asked.

Saying this, Zhao Manyan immediately turned to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had stopped moving. He stood still with his eyes fixed on the Healer who was being praised by the crowd!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Silky, dark brown hair hanging perfectly straight like a waterfall reached the woman’s waist; her fair, graceful profile was not too sharp, but tender and bouncy, making her look friendlier on top of her gentle appearance.

When her pink lips curled up, it would leave a faint curve on her cheeks, resulting in a tremendous change to her temperament. She no longer looked dull like a statue, but brimming with wisdom and elegance, and the youthful charm of a young woman!

Mo Fan stood there with a blank face.

He recognized the woman instantly when he first laid his eyes on her, not because of how much she was standing out, but because of how familiar he was with her. He could feel a great warmth surging inside him.

That being said, Mo Fan somehow felt that the girl was no longer the one he was familiar with. He was having trouble stacking her sacred, noble temperament with her previous lonely, yet unyielding spirit of an ordinary girl-next-door!

-That’s Xinxia!

-But is she really Xinxia?-

They had only been apart for a year, yet her changes were quite dramatic. She no longer looked weak and feeble, like she was in need of protection, nor did she look self-abased, as she had come from an ordinary family. If she was not the dearest person to him, if he had only met her for the first time, he would assume the girl had originated from a renowned family. Her temperament, brimming with elegance and nobility, felt natural, like she was glowing without trying to stand out on purpose!

Even after a long time, Mo Fan still had not collected his thoughts.

“Ningxue? Why are you here?!” the girl exclaimed in surprise.

Mu Ningxue was also staring at her with astonishment. “Xinxia?” Mu Ningxue reacted similarly to Mo Fan. She had only just realized that the Healer that was being praised by the crowd was actually Ye Xinxia.

“Brother… Mo Fan!” Following that, Xinxia saw Mo Fan standing further behind the team like a log. However, his eyes were staring at her, like he had been staring for a long time.

Xinxia immediately blushed even as she wore a blossoming smile. The natural joy bursting out of her made her face blush even further.

She had the urge to run into Mo Fan’s arms and lie on his chest, but she did not do so. She placed her hands on her wheelchair and grabbed the handles tightly. Her eyes were brimming with anticipation and joy.

She did not expect to meet him here!

A familiar feeling surged inside Mo Fan’s heart when he saw Xinxia’s reaction.

She was still the same her, the person that he wanted to fondle admiringly.

On second thought, Xinxia had always displayed her unique temperament in front of others. However, whenever she was with him, she would turn into a little girl that needed guidance and protection. She was not trying to win Mo Fan’s affection, but because she only displayed her most naive and vulnerable side when she was with her dearest family member.

Mo Fan walked up to her and slowly leaned forward. He kissed her on her smooth forehead in front of the crowd!

“What do you think you are doing? How could you be so rude? Do you have any idea how serious the crime is to offend a servant of the Hall of the Goddess!” the male assistant yelled into Mo Fan’s ear.

Mo Fan raised his head and looked at the man with a plastic face and spat back impatiently, “What the heck does me kissing my woman have anything to do with you!?”

“Your woman? Damn it, I, Kulun, Knight of the Parthenon Temple, will not let you humiliate the servant of the Hall of the Goddess that I’ve sworn my loyalty to! I challenge you to a duel, right now!” the man who called himself Kulun said loudly.

Mo Fan glanced at the man who assumed himself to be a knight from ancient times. His first thought was instantly, -What a retard!-

“Kulun, you’re overreacting, he’s my brother, the one that I mentioned before,” Xinxia immediately explained.

Xinxia clearly knew Mo Fan would never bother explaining the situation. He would only complicate things instead.

“Brother?” Kulun looked at Mo Fan suspiciously.

Mo Fan still had the same annoying look on his face, so Kulun was having trouble linking the gentle Xinxia to the asshole Mo Fan. -Would the personalities of two siblings differ so much? This guy is clearly a jerk, the kind that had to be taught a lesson!-

“If you’re really her brother, I will apologize to you, but even as her brother, you shouldn’t be saying a joke like that, either. She is your sister, not your woman. It’s very easy to misunderstand what you said,” Kulun was still staring at Mo Fan alertly.

“You didn’t misunderstand me. She is my sister, and also my woman too,” Mo Fan replied seriously.

Kulun was infuriated. Was there something wrong with this fellow’s mind? Didn’t he know he has to treat a servant of the Hall of the Goddess with utter respect? How could he keep saying such disgraceful words? How could she be both his sister and woman? What was going on here!?

Xinxia knew it would come to this, yet she had no idea how to clarify it. She always had trouble convincing Mo Fan of anything, especially when he was trying to stir up trouble on purpose. She could only glance at Mu Ningxue helplessly.

“Let’s go and talk there, let them do their things.” Mu Ningxue was pretty straightforward too. She pushed Xinxia’s wheelchair slowly off to the side.

Nanrong Ni came up. She first glanced at Mu Ningxue before looking at Xinxia.

“Are you really a disciple of the Parthenon Temple’s Hall of the Goddess?” Nanrong Ni asked seriously.

“I will only become an official disciple after finishing my training here. I’m only on probation now,” Xinxia replied. She did not sound proud at all.

“Oh, oh…” Nanrong Ni said, seeming to be lost in her thoughts.

Mu Ningxue did not place too much attention on her response. She proceeded to ask why Xinxia was here. She found it hard to believe that it was a mere coincidence!

“I’m here as an intern. The students of the Parthenon Temple are now taking the yearly examination. Every student, including those from overseas, have to take part in it, and only by completing the tasks given me can I then enroll in the Parthenon Temple officially and become a Mage of the Temple. Not long ago, there were mirages spotted around here, and since then, the Egyptians have been fighting the undead endlessly. As a result, the students of the Parthenon Temple were sent here to treat the injured,” Xinxia said.

“That’s quite a coincidence, as our national team is sent here too. I believe other national teams must have reached Egypt too, but I didn’t expect us to be in the same city,” Mu Ningxue murmured.

It had been a very long time since Mu Ningxue had last met Xinxia. The two had known each other since a young age, as they were friends growing up. It had nothing to do with Mo Fan, as Mu Ningxue was actually close with Xinxia first, before some shameless boy desperately tried to win her affection and almost kidnapped her.

—

On the other side, after Xinxia left, Mo Fan had started quarreling with the guy called Kulun.

The reason for the quarrel was very simple. Mo Fan felt extremely uncomfortable when he saw how much of a threat the man’s face posed to him, especially when he was asked to look after Xinxia.

-Who the heck is this? He must be harboring evil intentions, trying to stay close to Xinxia!-

Kulun was very displeased. Someone had blasphemed the goddess that he was entrusted to protect, how could he protect his dignity as a sacred knight of the Parthenon Temple if he didn’t slice the man into eight pieces?

—

“Brother Mo Fan, Kulun is only a guardian knight of the Parthenon Temple’s Hall of Knights. Every member of the Hall of the Goddess has a knight protecting them. Kulun is only fulfilling his role as a guardian knight. Please go easy on him!” Xinxia was amused when she saw Mo Fan’s reaction.

Wasn’t Mo Fan supposed to be quite an experienced and cunning guy? Why was he being so obviously jealous of someone? He was sensitive and hyper, just like a little kid.

“I wasn’t trying to pick a fight with him, it was him that didn’t understand the situation. I already told him our relationship, yet he didn’t believe it, and is still demanding he punish me. Does the Parthenon Temple only have idiots like him? Or perhaps the guardian knights are asked to stop the ladies of the Parthenon Temple from having any love interests?” Mo Fan huffed.

“The temple doesn’t forbid that.”

“Don’t let someone like him stay around you, it’s obvious that he isn’t a good guy,” Mo Fan said.

“The temple arranged it; if you don’t like him, I’ll submit a request to ask for another knight,” Xinxia said.

“Are there female knights?” Mo Fan asked.

“…”

As she thought, Mo Fan was not displeased with Kulun. It was mainly because Mo Fan did not want to see any competitor showing up in front of him!

“Miss Xinxia, an injured man whose chest has been sliced open has been sent here. Please save him, he only ended up like this because he was trying to lure some undead servants away to save our lives!” a man drenched in sweat came over and asked of Xinxia.

Xinxia looked at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan glanced at the sickbed in the white tent and saw a man in his thirties bleeding seriously. It looked like the man would die at any second.

“I’ll go with you!” Mo Fan pushed Xinxia toward the tent.

Mo Fan wanted to have a long conversation with Xinxia, since it had been quite some time since they last met. Seeing someone in person was obviously better than talking over the phone or a video call.

Mo Fan could tell that Xinxia was busily occupied, as many patients were being sent to her to be treated. Since it was about saving lives, Mo Fan was not shameless enough to keep bothering her. He did not mind waiting for her to treat the injured first.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Are you guys teasing me just because I didn’t study much? How does a mirage pose any threat to the city?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened, looking at the group with grim looks on their faces.

Wasn’t a mirage just a normal phenomenon in a desert? According to science, it was an optical phenomenon in which light rays bent due to refraction, producing a displaced image of distant objects. The easiest way to explain it was through the scenario when someone was trying to catch a fish in a clear stream. If the person tried to grab at the fish, they would realize that their hands were always some distance away from reaching the fish. It was due to the refraction of light occurring at the surface of the water.

The same principles applied to a mirage. Mo Fan admitted that he was not that knowledgeable in the World of Magic, but he still a science-side student!

{TL Note: In certain countries, high-school students are split into two streams, the science-side or the art-side. Students in the science-side have to study biology, chemistry, physics, while students in the art-side will study business, accounting, etc.}

A mirage was basically an illusion. Even if it really existed, it was definitely not where it appeared to be. How could a giant displaced image like one from a projector pose such a great threat to the city that it had to request assistance from the world?

There were so many injured in Puccini City, and Mages of different organizations were crowding the streets. It looked like a city at war, and was somewhat similar to Japan’s East Maritime Fortress. The problem was… why was the whole city so afraid of a natural optical phenomenon?

“Can someone please explain it to this guy who kept leaving the team on his own? We need to discuss other matters instead,” Guan Yu said impatiently.

While Mo Fan was keeping Xinxia company, the team had learned about the details, thus they were familiar with what kind of a situation the city was in.

Mo Fan did hear Xinxia mention the mirage, but what exactly was it?

“Mo Fan, do you know how the undead are related to the pyramids?” Jiang Yu said.

Mo Fan immediately shook his head. As a matter of fact, he was quite interested in Egypt’s Kingdom of Undead, but he could never get the hang of it.

Jiang Yu slapped his forehead. Why did he have to involve himself in such a troublesome work? Didn’t that mean he had to explain it to Mo Fan from the very start?

“Basically, the undead in Egypt and the undead in our Ancient Capital are slightly different, mainly in terms of their activity range. The undead of our Ancient Capital only appear at night, and they usually gather at places with a stronger presence of death. On the other hand, the undead here in Egypt are only active around the pyramids. These pyramids are the tombs of ancient Egypt’s Pharaohs. Most of them were the authoritative master of slaves back in the days, a ruler with the power to decide everyone’s death. These Pharaohs were incredibly powerful, and even after their deaths, they still wanted countless people to protect their remains. As such, they place a curse in the area around the pyramids, to resurrect the dead that were buried together with the Pharaohs and those that were buried nearby to rise from the ashes and protect the pyramids forever,” Jiang Yu explained to Mo Fan, starting with the history.

Mo Fan listened to the explanation seriously. He could not help but compare the undead of the two countries.

The undead of the Ancient Capital had woken up and evolved due to the presence of death. It was tightly related to the Emperor’s attempt to find a way to live eternally, and the way he had discovered was to live in eternal darkness and stay away from the sunlight!

Meanwhile, the undead in Egypt seemed to have originated from a Curse Spell. The curse was a spell that the Egyptian Pharaohs had invented, Summoning undead with the Curse Element. It worked just as well as Qin Emperor Ying Zheng’s method to stay alive forever.

It was impossible to clap with one hand. The Undead Element was only accepted by the world because of the magic invented by the ancient civilizations in Egypt and China. Otherwise, it would most likely be considered a forbidden magic!

“So you’re saying that the undead here in Egypt can only remain active within a certain distance of the pyramids? Doesn’t that make things a lot easier? You just need to build cities away from the pyramids, and the undead won’t bother invading human territories!” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah, and that’s exactly what Egypt has been doing, especially in modern times. Almost every city is built outside the activity range of the undead. Normally, the Egyptians do not have to worry about being invaded by the undead. However, some ancient families and old Hunters will occasionally trespass into the territories of the pyramids to search for treasure left by the ancient civilization. They believe there are mountains of treasure inside the pyramids, and even a piece or two is worth tons of money. After all, if the ancient Pharaohs invented the Curse Element and Undead Element… there must be lots of incredible treasure among their possessions!” Jiang Yu’s eyes glittered. He seemed very interested in the treasure.

“So what does that have anything to do with the mirage?” Mo Fan went back to the main topic.

“The pyramids are the territories of the dead, while the humans reside in the cities. As long as the humans stay out of the territories of the undead, there won’t be any problem. Unfortunately, nature doesn’t allow eternal peace to exist between the pyramids and the cities. Isn’t a mirage able to project something to a different place?” Jiang Yu prodded him.

Jiang Yu led Mo Fan to higher ground as he spoke.

At the end of the white tents, there was a tall observation tower on the City South Mountain. Jiang Yu was leading Mo Fan to the tower.

“Go up there and take a look to the north,” Jiang Yu told him, pointing at the top of the tower.

Mo Fan was slightly confused. He turned into a Shadow Bird and went up the tower along the walls swiftly.

-You aren’t seriously thinking that a Mage like me would be taking the stairs slowly?-

—

Up on the observation tower, the Egyptian guard on duty was stunned when he saw Mo Fan walking out from the shadow.

Mo Fan briefly explained his identity and glanced in the direction that Jiang Yu mentioned.

The tower provided him with a clear view of Puccini City. As he glanced into the distance covered in the vast land of yellow soil and over the sand dunes, Mo Fan was shocked to discover a golden structure glowing under the sunlight!

The sunlight sprinkling over the city was warm and comfortable, but for some reason, it felt icy and eerie when it entered the territory of the pyramids, as if its color had changed because of them!

“Wait… didn’t they say the closest pyramid is around two hundred kilometers away? How is this two hundred kilometers?” Mo Fan’s heart was rolling as he stared at the pyramid and its frightening aura.

The pyramid was magnificent. Although it was only a stacked-stone structure over fifty meters tall, Mo Fan was somehow felt the same pressure as seeing a huge army charging in his direction. Puccini City suddenly felt tiny and fragile when compared to the pyramid!

Gold usually represented sacredness, nobility, and royalty, but in Mo Fan’s eyes, the golden pyramid felt intimidating and spooky, yet he was unable to tell the exact reason behind what he was feeling…

The guard did not answer Mo Fan’s boring question. He proceeded to chase Mo Fan down the tower.

Mo Fan jumped down from the observation tower and landed in front of Jiang Yu. His mind was still preoccupied with the sight of the pyramid.

“Saw it? That’s the mirage!” Jiang Yu said.

“But it’s not the real pyramid!” Mo Fan said.

“The undead don’t seem to agree with you.”

“…” Mo Fan was suddenly at a loss for words.

In other words, the war between the undead and humans only happened because the undead were having trouble distinguishing between a real and a fake pyramid!

Mo Fan immediately thought of a famous saying when he learned the reason behind the war: It was truly terrifying to be uncivilized.

If the undead actually had brains, they would not have mistaken the mirage for a real pyramid!

“Normally, the area within a hundred kilometers of a pyramid is seen as the undead’s territory, which means that we are trespassers in the eyes of the undead. To make things worse, we’ve actually constructed a city on their territory. They won’t give up until they raze the city to the ground and kill all the people!” Jiang Yu declared.

Everything was possible in this world. It was exactly what Jiang Yu had mentioned. The Heavens would never let the dead and living coexist peacefully on the same land. The mirage had served as a blasting fuse. The dead were infuriated when they learned the humans were bold enough to trespass into their territory, while the living were furious that the dead dared to stir up chaos in their city!

“As soon as the mirage appeared, it basically meant that war between the dead and the living had erupted, and usually, a mirage would last for quite a long time. It’s fine if there’s only a pyramid being projected, but if there are a few pyramids being projected at the same time, and they are quite close to one another, the human city nearby will cease to exist within a few days. Throughout history, many cities in Egypt have disappeared from the surface of the Earth due to a mirage.

“It also depends on what level the pyramids are. A troop of Battlemages with some assistance from other countries is usually enough to handle an ordinary pyramid, but if it’s the bigger pyramids… the number of the undead is comparable to a horde of demon creatures, and that’s going to be a big problem!” Jiang Yu said.

“Even pyramids have different levels?” Mo Fan asked.

“Absolutely, there are around ninety-three pyramids in Egypt, each of a different size. The biggest among them is the Great Pyramid of Giza,” Jiang Yu said.

“So is it possible for the Great Pyramid of Giza to be projected as a mirage, too?” Mo Fan asked indifferently.

“Asshole, what did you say!?” the guard that was on duty at the tower snapped.

The guard happened to be done with his shift, so he was coming down from the tower. He immediately lost his temper when he heard what Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was left speechless. The team normally conversed in English just so they could become better at the language, but it ended up bringing him trouble?

“Mo Fan, don’t you say something like that, it’s a taboo here!” Jiang Yu lowered his voice and continued, “If a mirage of the Great Pyramid of Giza appears, half of Egypt is going to fall, it’s no joke!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Think about it, the pyramid that is being projected by the mirage is only the tomb of a little Pharaoh, yet the city is already in such a pinch. If it was the scariest Great Pyramid of Giza instead, it would be a disaster for the whole country!” Jiang Yu told him.

Mo Fan nodded. He could easily tell how angry the guard was. It seemed like he had to refrain from saying anything calamitous in a place like this. After all, this was the place where the Curse Element had originated, meaning that whatever he said might actually have a chance of happening!

Mo Fan initially wanted to visit Xinxia, but she was simply too busy with her work. She did not have much time to talk to him.

It seemed like he had to put an end to the war as quickly as possible so that Xinxia could take a rest. Mo Fan did not want to see her worn out.

——

After going back to the team’s camp, Mo Fan heard Guan Yu proposing a plan.

A mirage would usually last for quite a while. If they simply waited until the mirage disappeared on its own, it was likely that the city would be razed to the ground soon.

They had to find a way to get rid of the mirage. Whenever a mirage of a pyramid appeared, the government would send all its soldiers to attack the pyramid, and use a special device to erase the illusionary pyramid. Only then would the undead finally stop appearing.

“The biggest threat to the soldiers are the Poisonous Golden Mummies, because the injuries they inflicted are incurable. The Parthenon Temple can only afford to send a few Healers here, but there are way too many injured. The local government is hoping that we can deal with the Poisonous Golden Mummies and eliminate their biggest threat,” Nanyu said.

“Why do we always have to do the most dangerous job? Can’t they just send some strong Mages of their own army?” Mu Tingying said.

“They did, but it seems like they haven’t returned yet.”

The team’s atmosphere shifted upon hearing this.

Clearly, the Poisonous Golden Mummies were not something they should mess with either!

“Which is why I say, take out the leader, and the rest will collapse. We just need to deal with the Commander of the Poisonous Golden Mummies, and the rest of its army will collapse on its own!” Guan Yu said.

Guan Yu was better at ambushing and assassinating his target. He would rather go and assassinate the Commander leading the Poisonous Golden Mummies than waste lots of time with the entire army. It was very hard to kill undead, and even hard to tell if an undead was dead, as most of them could still rise even after they were torn into pieces. They were basically undying!

“It’s too risky. If we fail, we will find ourselves being surrounded by the Poisonous Golden Mummies, and the local army is going to have trouble rescuing us.” Nanyu shook her head. The risk was too much for her to agree with.

“By the way, can’t we just try and reach the pyramid to eliminate the mirage, and put an end to the war?” Mo Fan asked.

Guan Yu immediately let out a hollow laugh and sneered, “Do you think the undead are just mere decorations? They aren’t afraid of death! They only have one goal in mind, apart from killing everything in their way: to protect the pyramid! Anything that gets within ten kilometers from the pyramid will be immediately surrounded. The path to the pyramid is usually laid down with the corpses of many Mages!”

“He’s telling the truth; don’t ever underestimate the undead even if it’s only a small pyramid. The number of undead surrounding the pyramid is pretty insane, almost on the scale of a horde of demon creatures. Many people are going to die just to clear a path to the most sensitive area for the undead, since they are a lot harder to kill than demon creatures. Many injured that were sent here are from the front line. Currently, it’s still possible to escort the injured back to the city from where the main army is, but once the army advances another few kilometers, it’s basically impossible to escort the injured back,” Nanyu said.

“Is there already an army making their way to the pyramid?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, it’s currently around five kilometers away from the city, but it’s still at least thirty kilometers away from the Pyramid of Habo. Actually, the army has only encountered the undead in the outer ring, but still, there are already so many casualties while the army is only trying to gain a foothold,” Nanyu told them.

The army was advancing like a wave. In simpler words, they would have a team of vanguards clearing a path ahead while the others would set up a temporary camp behind.

After setting up the camp, they would send out another wave of Mages to the camp, and continued to advance forward to push the wave further ahead…

When they reached the third destination, they would continue to hold their ground and wait for the next troop to arrive from the city, before pressing forward again…

This way, as the army was advancing, it would still maintain a clear path between the city and the army, allowing supplies to be delivered and the injured to be escorted back. Those that were worn out could be relieved, to prevent the army from running out of energy. After all, if the energy of the soldiers was depleted when they were deep in the undead’s territory, the whole army would simply be wiped out!

The strategy was what the Egyptians had come up with after fighting against the undead for millennia. When Mo Fan recalled the situation in the Ancient Capital, the strategy might actually work in their favor too, meaning that… hang on, it might not work because they only had limited time back then!

“The first camp has been set up. We’ll be following the army as they press forward tomorrow. They want us to take out the Poisonous Golden Mummies to reduce their casualties,” Nanyu said.

“It’s a war, many are going to die again,” Jiang Yu sighed.

“Anything is better than getting wiped out.”

——

Early next morning, just after the sun had risen, a huge army had already gathered to the west of the city. It mainly consisted of the Battlemages of the local government.

Many had come to send them off. Everyone was well aware of how dangerous the war would be, as no one could guarantee they could return safely. That being said, someone had to take out the mirage of the pyramid. The soldiers were fearless and less hesitant then small individual teams. Most thought of the chance to destroy the mirage as the utmost glory!

The Chinese team had come to provide assistance, and were told to advance with the army. The team had met the commander of the operation, General Fenna, a woman in her forties. They did not detect any hint of womanliness from her, but an experienced and fierce aura that came from fighting in wars for a long time!

“Just follow the army as it advances; we’ll leave the Poisonous Golden Mummies to you.” General Fenna’s voice was fairly hoarse. Her face always had a stern expression.

“We’ll do our best,” Nanyu replied.

The path had already been cleared once, thus there were not many undead between the city and the camp. They quickly arrived at the camp five kilometers away from the city.

As the second troop arrived, the main army began to advance. Their goal was to reach a high ground around fifteen kilometers away from the pyramid. They had to gain a foothold there before advancing any further!

“There’s a bunch of Poisonous Golden Mummies on the other side of the hill. They are experts at using poison, and are extremely cunning, too. They like to hide behind the piles of corpses and cast their poison while we are unaware. The army will approach the hill from the front and set up a formation that will prevent the undead from approaching. Meanwhile, our team will make our way across the hill to take out the Poisonous Golden Mummies. Once the main army is able to gain a foothold on the high ground, we will retreat inside the barrier. We don’t necessarily have to kill all the Poisonous Golden Mummies,” Nanyu explained to the team.

The national team consisted of proud and overbearing talents. Nanyu did not want any of them to die while trying to show off their strength. They were currently in the middle of a cruel war, not a child’s playground. As someone from the military, Nanyu would not allow anyone on the team to disobey her orders!

Guan Yu smacked his lips. He did not seem to agree with the plan.

The others did not have any comment. While the main army was approaching the high ground, the national team was sneakily making their way around the hill with the cover provided by a few Shadow Mages.

After crossing the hill of yellow sand, they immediately saw a vast, golden-green land glowing under the sunlight.

The team realized that the place was only shiny because of the reflective, golden skin of the mummies. The strange-behaving mummies were lying down on the other side of the hill filling up almost every inch of the land. From afar, it looked like the hill was covered in golden-green tiles…

Somehow, the sight of countless mummies lying still on the ground was indescribably eerie, with the strong poison emitted by their bodies lingering in the air.

—

“General, are you sure those students are able to handle those terrifying creatures? If they fail to take care of the creatures before we reach the hill, wouldn’t it mean a lot of our men are going to die? I have to be honest; I don’t think it’s smart to allocate such an important task to a bunch of unreliable students!” Captain Wankos spoke up.

“We have to believe in them if we have asked them for help.” General Fenna scanned their surroundings to roughly estimate the number of undead that had shown up in just the last minute.

“We still need to plan for the worst. Isn’t it meaningless if we still have to provide them with backup?”

“You seemed quite biased toward them.”

“It’s not me being biased. I’m just worried that they will actually be of no use to us in this serious situation. So what if they are the national team from China; they are only a bunch of inexperienced Mages!” Captain Wankos snapped.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Poisonous Golden Mummies were fast asleep. However, they were soon woken up by Mo Fan and the others, who had trespassed into their resting grounds.

Their cries were as ear-piercing as demon infants, with a strong evil presence. Their eyes suddenly turned red, as an overwhelming aura of hatred filled with the presence of death swept at the team like a strong wind as soon as the demon creatures woke up.

“What do we do now?” Zhao Manyan started to tremble while staring at the Poisonous Golden Mummies.

“What is there to discuss? Engage them directly!” Mo Fan did not hesitate. He immediately approached the poisonous mummies.

It was exactly what General Fenna had warned them about: the Poisonous Golden Mummies were extremely cunning and agile, and would always avoid fighting Mages directly. Even when their numbers significantly exceeded the Chinese team, they still remained standing on the high ground and spat out a tide of poisonous mist!

The poisonous tide was golden-green, like a veil of smoke. It surged forward like a tide. Everyone on the national team tried to stop it, yet they were struggling to resist the fierce tide of poison.

“Retreat, back off!” Nanyu screamed at the others when she realized the danger the team was in.

The poisonous tide was incredibly powerful, and its poison was extremely deadly. No one would dare to joke with their lives. If the poisonous tide was to sweep through some woods or mountains, every plant would wilt instantly and every living thing would suffocate!

—

“What did I say? Those guys aren’t reliable at all!” Captain Wankos snapped furiously.

Currently, the main army was advancing to the high ground. Countless undead were flanking them from all directions, leaving the army in quite a pinch.

However, Wankos happened to see the students withdrawing from the poisonous tide miserably. He immediately lost his calm.

They were already struggling to hold their ground. If the Poisonous Golden Mummies joined the battle, their casualties would multiply instantly!

“I’ll go with my own men!” Captain Wankos ran out of patience. He disregarded the general’s order and led a group of soldiers for the other side of the hill.

No matter how overwhelming the numbers of hardened undead were, they still stood no chance against the continuous blasts of destructive spells. However, if the poison reached the army, the casualties would be immeasurable!

Captain Wankos soon reached the side of the hill. He brought his men and flanked the Poisonous Golden Mummies from the side. There were some Undead Mages among his men, who were controlling their own undead to fight against the Poisonous Golden Mummies!

—

“Damn it, why are they so impatient?” Zhao Manyan yelled when he saw another team engaging the Poisonous Golden Mummies.

“They don’t trust us,” Mu Tingying said discontentedly. She did not like being looked down on by the others.

“If these Poisonous Golden Mummies spat out the poisonous smoke at the same time, we won’t be able to get closer to them at all. The poison… crap, those guys are about to be surrounded by the poisonous smoke? How do they not know how deadly the poison is?” Jiang Yu said.

The team soon realized that the Poisonous Golden Mummies were targeting the squad of Battlemages that had just arrived.

“Look up there; there’s a Poisonous Golden Mummy with three eyes!” Jiang Shaoxu pointed to the high ground.

“It’s most likely the Commander of the Poisonous Golden Mummies. I told you we should take out their leader first. Just keep the Poisonous Golden Mummies occupied, Li Kaifeng and I will take out their Commander!” Guan Yu said.

Before Nanyu could make the decision, Guan Yu and Li Kaifeng both shot away. They must have gone to find a way to get closer to the Three-Eyed Poisonous Golden Mummy.

“I guess this is the only way to do it,” Mo Fan suddenly murmured.

Saying this, Mo Fan activated the soul imprint to summon the Black Snake Armor. The blue-black scales wrapped tightly around his body. He looked rather imperious under the sunlight.

However, the others were confused about what Mo Fan was up to.

“Why are you putting on the magic armor when we haven’t even engaged the enemy?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“It’s my biochemical suit! Friends, my hands are itching; I’ll be going first!” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan charged directly at the Poisonous Golden Mummies in his blue-black Black Snake Armor.

The poison was like a destructive, black tide rolling forward. It was extremely corrosive; any living creature that was exposed to it for a few minutes would be covered in spots, which would soon boil and bleed seriously…

Clad in his Black Snake Armor, Mo Fan moved freely in the poisonous tide without any trouble!

Mo Fan was not afraid of poison, as he had a special answer to it: the Black Snake Armor!

The Black Totem Snake was the ancestor of poison; no creature was comparable to it in terms of toxicity. Mo Fan would never forget how the Black Totem Snake had stopped the horde of White Magic Falcons from the Nanling Mountains from advancing further by using its Poison Domain. Not a single White Magic Falcon that entered its Domain had survived!

As such, not only was the magic armor made of the Black Totem Snake’s scales extremely sturdy, it also had a strong resistance to poison. Mo Fan was basically immune to poison when he was wearing the Black Snake Armor!

The Poisonous Golden Mummies might be extremely terrifying to the Egyptians, but in Mo Fan’s eyes, they were just a bunch of feeble, Warrior-level undead. Since their poison could no longer pose any threat to him, he could easily charge right into them and massacre the whole bunch!

Flames surged fiercely. The Poisonous Golden Mummies were extremely scared of fire, especially the scorching Calamity Fire and Rose Flame. Even the Poisonous Golden Mummies seemingly-strong skin was unable to resist Mo Fan’s flames!

It was not exaggerating to say that every puff of flame was enough to kill a Poisonous Golden Mummy!

Mo Fan did not aim for the Three-Eyed Poisonous Golden Mummy. In Mo Fan’s eyes, these Warrior-level Poisonous Golden Mummies were more valuable to him, not only because of their undead crystals, but because of their Warrior-level Soul Remnants!

Back in the Sahara Desert, the Little Loach Pendant had refined the Soul Remnants of the Poison Fire Scorpions and Sandfear Foxes into five Warrior-level Soul Essences. However, it seemed like the Soul Remnants of the Poisonous Golden Mummies were more valuable, meaning that he could refine more Soul Essences by collecting their Soul Remnants. He would soon acquire the fifth-tier Lightning Strike!

That being said, the fifth-tier Lightning Strike was only Mo Fan’s first goal. What he needed was the fifth-tier Thunderbolt, as its damage would surely match that of his Advanced Lightning Spell!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“With Mo Fan the mad dog taking the lead, the battle is going to be a lot easier,” Zhao Manyan murmured.

Mo Fan was able to disrupt the Poisonous Golden Mummy’s formation all on his own. As long as the Poisonous Golden Mummies were not releasing their deadly poison simultaneously, the others would no longer need to flee for their lives.

Following Mo Fan’s lead, the others proceeded to cast Advanced Spells to butcher the Poisonous Golden Mummies.

The Poisonous Golden Mummies were different than most undead. They did not have hardened flesh to protect them, nor muscular limbs. Their fighting capacity was fairly average once their poison was unable to work as expected.

As a result, it was the national team’s turn to chase after the Poisonous Golden Mummies. The Poisonous Golden Mummies desperately tried to find a safe spot to release their poison, but the members of the national team were bold and unstoppable, especially Mo Fan, Ai Jiangtu, and Mu Ningxue!

Mo Fan was immune to the poison. He simply went ahead and killed every creature he stumbled into to collect the Soul Remnants. Ai Jiangtu’s powerful Space and Curse Elements were incredibly effective against the Poisonous Golden Mummies. Mu Ningxue used her Wind Element as defense and Ice Magic as her weapon. Her icy figure wove through the Poisonous Golden Mummies with ease.

—

“Look, there’s a signal coming from that direction,” someone said pointing to the back of the hill.

“It seems to be the squad that was engaging the undead there, it looks like they are requesting backup… the poisonous mist has completely entrapped them there.”

“Those idiots, they really had to come here and trouble us. We are having a blast over here!”

“Go rescue them, they are risking their lives to fight still,” Nanyu ordered.

—

Left with no choice, the team cleared a path toward the position of the squad, helping them clear an escape route.

“Speaking of which, do they seriously not have a brain to charge into the poisonous mist like that?”

“Enough grumbling, huh, where did Mo Fan go?”

“What? Didn’t he come with us?”

“Forget about him, he’d still be alive even if we all died here.”

——

At the center of the main army, protected by a square consisting of four Water Curtains, General Fenna frowned when she saw the signal requesting for backup as she lifted her gaze.

“General, they are in trouble, they are asking for backup,” a captain said.

“Continue forward!” General Fenna said coldly.

“But what about them…”

“I said continue forward!” General Fenna’s eyes flickered decisively, with no room for negotiation.

Captain Lowar no longer dared to mention rescuing the squad. As a matter of fact, he did feel that Captain Wankos was too reckless with his approach.

“Captain Wankos’ troop is trapped. We have lost a vanguard squad, and a bunch of Brutal Sword Death Servants is holding the high ground. They are like swordsmen in full armor. They slice our Mages into pieces when we try to get closer. If we don’t clear a path through the formation of the Brutal Sword Death Servants, we might find ourselves in a pinch, as the Brutal Sword Death Servants are too tough for our army!” Commander Lowar said grimly.

General Fenna fell silent.

Initially, General Fenna was planning to let Captain Wankos’ squad take on the Brutal Sword Death Servants, but the man believed the poison was their biggest threat, so he had gone AWOL to take out the Poisonous Golden Mummies…

“I’ll take care of them,” General Fenna said in a deep voice.

“No way; if you are already using your energy during the second advance, how are we going to reach our final destination?” the other vice generals yelled in disagreement.

General Fenna was the main commander of the army, and she was also a Super Mage, too.

Currently, only three Super Mages were available to be sent to Puccini City. One of them was keeping watch in Puccini City, another one would be leading the troop from the Magic Association to launch the final assault once the main army was close enough to the pyramid. The three Super Mages had their own roles to fulfill. If any of the Super Mages needed to expend their energy at such an early stage, it would mean they had to change the plan accordingly, making it harder to achieve their goals!

“That’s the only way we have now, we’ll try to make up for it later… send out my order, ask everyone to continue forward. We must take the high ground in twenty minutes!” General Fenna said.

“Yes… Affirmative!”

——

On the high ground, a Mage who kept on detonating himself when coming into contact with the undead was chasing after more than ten Poisonous Golden Mummies on his own.

The Poisonous Golden Mummies kept fleeing toward the high ground, so the violent Mage ended up going on a relentless chase. After using Giant Shadow Spikes to immobilize the Poisonous Golden Mummies, he was finally able to slay the undead and retrieve their Soul Remnants.

“Huh, where are the others?” Mo Fan turned around and realized Mu Ningxue, Jiang Shaoxu, Ai Jiangtu, Nanyu, and the others were gone. The number of Poisonous Golden Mummies behind him had decreased significantly, too.

“Did I go the wrong way?” Mo Fan smiled wryly.

It was all because of a Poisonous Golden Mummy that kept on running away from him. Mo Fan had never seen an undead as capable at running away as it. It took him quite some time to hunt it down. He even ended up straying away from the path.

As Mo Fan was about to go back the same way, he suddenly discovered human-sized undead that looked like they were fully covered in black paint appearing from behind a giant boulder nearby.

The undead were pitch-black, including their skin and the armor they were wearing. Even the swords they were holding were black! Only their eyes had an eerie red glow, with a strong murderous intent!

“What kind of undead are these? I’ve never seen anything like them. They might actually drop some useful loot!” Mo Fan was immediately provoked by the murderous gaze of the undead.

The pitch-black undead that resembled swordsmen moved forward in a strange way. Their movement was unpredictable, yet it was not hovering above the ground like a ghost, but with impressive might. One came up to Mo Fan and slashed forward in the shape of a cross. The sharp, black swords reflected an icy light as they were wielded by the creature!

Mo Fan immediately threw his fist forward when he saw the creature attacking, trying to subdue violence with violence!

Lightning flickered wildly as Mo Fan’s fist swept forward in the air. The formidable lightning produced by Qianjun crashed into the shockwave of the dark slash!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The black sword light was devoured by the lightning. The lightning arcs encapsulated the Brutal Sword Death Servant. The might of the fist knocked it flying, before it eventually rammed into the boulder that it appeared from!

“Humph, trying to overwhelm me with brute force?” Mo Fan said disdainfully, staring at the creature that slammed into the boulder.

The lightning arcs were quite powerful, too. The boulder slowly cracked apart after the creature rammed into it…

As Mo Fan was currently standing on a slope, his vision further up basically blocked off by the boulder. After the boulder cracked open, Mo Fan discovered he had unknowingly arrived at the top of the hill. However, he gasped when he saw more than fifty of the pitch-black undead scattered across the hill. They were all holding black swords and had terrifying, bloodshot eyes…

These Brutal Sword Death Servants were a lot stronger than the Poisonous Golden Mummies. Even the creature that Mo Fan sent flying with the punch did not die instantly. There were not many Warrior-level creatures that were able to survive Mo Fan’s lightning fist!

“Holy crap, I’ve poked a beehive!” Mo Fan’s face contorted.

Mo Fan initially thought he had only stumbled into a little boss enemy in the fight, since its pitch-black appearance seemed a lot nobler than the rest of the hideous-looking undead. However, if Mo Fan had known there were more than fifty of them on the hill, he definitely would not have bothered to pick a fight with them!

It was obviously too late to run now. Mo Fan felt like he was being grabbed firmly by more than fifty hands. Even moving his body was incredibly difficult.

The first Brutal Sword Death Servant rose from the debris of the boulder and let out an unpleasant sound, like the jaw of a skeleton crackling.

Even though Mo Fan could not understand the language of the undead, he knew the creature was basically trying to say, “Brothers, he was bullying me, let’s chop him up into pieces!”

Countless slashes, like the flickering of stars, came rapidly in his direction. Some were straight while the others took the shape of crescents both vertically and horizontally…

Mo Fan immediately felt a pain surging across his body as the Black Snake Armor took the slashes.

“Damn it, I dare you to fight me one at a time!” Mo Fan tried to break free from the surrounding Brutal Sword Death Servants miserably.

The area was suddenly covered in shocking scars and clefts as Mo Fan fled from one end to the other. If it wasn’t for the Space Element Time Stasis buying him some extra time to dodge the incoming attacks, the Black Snake Armor would have been completely destroyed!

The shadowy crescents of the slashes surged forward like a strong wind, combining into a single blow, and struck Mo Fan’s pitch-black figure.

Mo Fan’s figure was torn into pieces by the powerful impact. The pieces were further shredded into tiny bits by the wind following the first wave of attacks…

The Brutal Sword Death Servants finally halted in their tracks when they saw their enemy had been eliminated.

Little did they know, an invisible dark ripple had woven through them and appeared behind them!

“Time to settle our debt!” Mo Fan’s voice suddenly appeared as he went up to the Brutal Sword Death Servant that was already injured.

Mo Fan flung his arm, summoning a silver rhomboid. The incredible pressure descended upon the area. The Brutal Sword Death Servant was crushed by the compression force before it could react in time.

The other Brutal Sword Death Servants immediately turned around, and were infuriated when they discovered the human was still alive. Not only that, he managed to sneak behind them and kill one of their comrades!

The target that the Brutal Sword Death Servants torn into pieces with their slashes was only a shadow clone left by the Dark Noble Mantle. It was the highest level of the Shadow Spell, Fleeing Shadow. Without the Dark Noble Mantle’s unique effects of strengthening Shadow Spells, Mo Fan would never be able to summon the shadow decoy.

It was very hard to tell the difference between a real person and a shadow decoy. Even the Black Sea Drake was tricked by a shadow decoy, allowing Mo Fan to gain an advantageous position. The Brutal Sword Death Servants’ senses were weaker than the Black Sea Drake, so it was unlikely they could differentiate between Mo Fan’s shadow decoys and himself!

“Come over here!” Mo Fan grabbed out. The Illusionary Claw dragged one of the Brutal Sword Death Servants forcibly to him.

The Brutal Sword Death Servant reacted fairly quickly. It did not panic even when it was being targeted. It utilized the chance to slash at Mo Fan’s head instead.

“Off you go!” Mo Fan threw a fist burning with nine fiery dragons right in the face of the Brutal Sword Death Servant.

The flames erupted ahead, fiery dragons following behind it. The Brutal Sword Death Servant was knocked flying, ramming into a few of its comrades like bowling pins…

The Brutal Sword Death Servants were extremely fast. Mo Fan could only see black shadows moving swiftly across the hill.

The creatures actually knew how to work as a team. It was quite rare to see, especially when most undead were unintelligent. The ten Brutal Sword Death Servants leading the way were trying to confuse Mo Fan with their rapidly moving shadows, while the twenty Brutal Sword Death Servants following up behind were the actual ones that were designated to take out Mo Fan.

If they failed to give Mo Fan a deadly blow, the first ten Brutal Sword Death Servants would immediately take hold of the opportunity to aim for Mo Fan’s weaknesses!

Mo Fan had to admit that these undead were a lot smarter than most undead he had fought before. It felt like he was up against a bunch of well-trained assassins. He had only killed one and crippled one after spending so much time on them!

“Come, you don’t seriously think I am scared of you!”

Mo Fan knew running away was not an option, thus he decisively went all out against the Brutal Sword Death Servants instead!

The flames of a Sky-Flame Funeral surged across the place, turning it into an ocean of fire.

Wild lightning strikes kept appearing and landing on the ground in a spectacular manner. Some landed beside the Brutal Sword Death Servants, others landed right on target.

Mo Fan was initially planning to use the only Domain he had mastered, the Nyx Regime. However, when he remembered that the Domain made any Shadow-type creature within it stronger, he immediately decided against it.

The Nyx Regime would at most strengthen his Shadow Spells slightly, but it would only quicken his death if the shadow assassins were given a great buff all of a sudden!

Even though the Nyx Regime was fairly powerful, its main difference when compared to other real Domains was that it was unable to distinguish between friend and foe!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Sky-Flame Funeral!”

It was like brilliant fireworks of death had exploded like a blossoming flower in the sky. The little sparks branching off did not disappear, nor were they extinguished when landing on the ground, but combined into a strong sea of flames, setting the place afire!

The fierce flames raged over the Brutal Sword Death Servants. Two of them that were already injured were unable to escape from the sea of flames in time. They were soon burned into a pile of black bone dust!

Mo Fan was already feeling a bit worn out after taking out another two Brutal Sword Death Servants. Each of the Brutal Sword Death Servants was extremely tricky to deal with. Even now, he had only slain seven in total. The wounds and bruises on his body gradually increased. Most importantly, the Black Snake Armor was almost at its limit. If he did not replenish its energy with magic ores, he would no longer be able to use it.

“The bone dust?” Suddenly, Mo Fan discovered the black bone dust emitting a strange flicker among the flames. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

Mo Fan was rather speechless. He did not remember any of the Brutal Sword Death Servants he killed showing the same reaction. They either vanished into a puff of black smoke or a pile of black ash after their souls turned into Warrior-level Soul Remnants, nothing else…

“Could it be a rare bone?” Mo Fan suddenly realized something. His face was filled with joy.

Apart from a Soul Essence, the most valuable loot from a demon creature was rare bones, followed by rare skin, rare claws, rare scales, etc.!

The Brutal Sword Death Servant he had just killed had dropped a rare bone with a strong presence of dark magic. He could merge it perfectly with dark-type magic equipment or armor.

“About time!”

Mo Fan quickly retrieved the corpse of the Brutal Sword Death Servant before it was devoured by the flames. The rare bone was most likely worth between forty to fifty million, and together with the fifty million he had earned from the rescue operation at the Sahara Desert, it meant he had earned a hundred million in total!

Once they were done with their job here at the pyramid, they would receive resources from the advisors, too. The resources would sum up to more than a hundred million, meaning he was only a little step away from securing himself a Soul-grade Lightning Seed with a Domain!

At this thought, Mo Fan’s eyes burned with passion. These Brutal Sword Death Servants must have been a rare species among the undead. If there was some other loot in addition to the rare bone, his efforts here would no longer be in vain!

However, it was unlikely he could take out the rest of the more than forty Brutal Sword Death Servants with his current strength. Mo Fan had decided to kill as many as he could, and flee when it was time!

The Brutal Sword Death Servants were infuriated. They were noble knights among the undead, yet they were being played like a fiddle by a petty, ugly human. They would be punished severely if Swordmaster Cloud in the pyramid learned what had happened!

The Brutal Sword Death Servants split up into five squads, each squad standing in the exact same formation. The first squad of Brutal Sword Death Servants proceeded to engage the target.

Dark flowers of sword strokes rapidly approached Mo Fan, forcing him to back away. He tried to use the boulders on the hill as cover, but to his surprise, the boulders were shattered into pieces as soon as the attacks came into contact with them!

One of the sword flowers passed by Mo Fan’s shoulder and left a deep cut on it. Dark energy penetrated into the cut, even the blood flowing out of it turned black.

Mo Fan knew it was fairly difficult to treat injuries inflicted by the dark energy. He had already suffered six similar cuts. Luckily, he possessed the Shadow Element, which was able to stop the dark energy from spreading further into his body. Otherwise, the deadly energy would have destroyed his organs in no time!

The rapid slashes formed a sword pattern with a strong presence of death. Mo Fan was forced to keep retreating, and eventually reached the edge of the hill.

Mo Fan was in pain from the injuries all across his body. His movements were no longer as agile as before. At this rate, even his casting speed would be affected, which would greatly weaken his fighting capacity.

Seeing the Brutal Sword Death Servants approaching him, Mo Fan was unwilling to give up just like that, as he would be earning a handsome profit if he could eliminate all of them. Unfortunately, he could barely defend himself from their attacks. He could only kill a few more Brutal Sword Death Servants at most, and anything more than that was basically impossible.

“It’s time for me to make my run. Otherwise, I might actually die here,” Mo Fan realized he could no longer take on the undead. He was still moving backward.

When he reached the edge, he believed it was time to make his move. He came to a stop and stared right at the Brutal Sword Death Servants.

The Brutal Sword Death Servants were fairly intelligent. When they saw the human coming to a stop, they were utterly confused, as the cunning human did not seem like a person that would go down without a fight!

“Charge!”

“Attack, press forward!”

“We’re almost at the top, we’re going to make it, soldiers, it’s only the final bunch of enemies left!”

Mo Fan heard voices coming from the slope behind him.

——

Soon, the voices were deafening, and were accompanied by strong blasts of spells.

The voices had always been around, as the battle between the humans and the undead was still ongoing. However, the Brutal Sword Death Servants were so occupied with Mo Fan that they had simply ignored the shouts of the humans that gradually approached them. The human army had already reached the foothill without them knowing it!

The army charged up the hill. Most of them were wearing the uniforms of the Battlemage of the Egyptian Army. The frontal squad arrived like a tide driven by a powerful wind. There were around two hundred of them, all arriving at the top of the hill at the same time!

“Listen up, it’s only our second destination. If General Fenna already has to be involved, the second half of the journey to the pyramid is going to be even tougher. Remember that your loved ones are right behind you. Retreating simply means pushing them into the mouths of these filthy undead. Charge with me, we must clear a path through these Brutal Sword Death Servants!” Captain Lowar led a team of fearless Mages and headed for the top.

They knew there was a bunch of cold-blooded Brutal Sword Death Servants tougher than the Poisonous Golden Mummies at the top of the hill. These undead were able to kill without alerting their target, yet if they backed away now, they would be a disgrace to their troop!

Not only were they trying to protect the city, they wanted to accomplish their missions too, to let all the Egyptians know that their troop led by Captain Lower was the bravest, most fearless squad. They were honored to be a part of the troop, a troop that many young women cheered for!

With outstanding morale, the soldiers marched forward!

Mo Fan stood at the top of the hill with a wide grin. His dark brown eyes gave the Brutal Sword Death Servants a challenging look and said, “You aren’t the only one with friends! My backup has arrived!”

It was obvious that Mo Fan no longer needed to run away, as the army had arrived.

—

“Captain Lowar, there’s someone on the hill…”

“Someone? Strange, did a powerful Mage go ahead and clear the path for us?”

“Captain, he seems to be a member of the Chinese national team. He was fighting against the Brutal Sword Death Servants alone, and has already killed seven of them. I believe you can contact General Fenna and let her bring the rest of the army here. He has already cleared a way through the Brutal Sword Death Servants,” a Mage that went to scout the situation ahead reported.

Scout Mages usually had both the Shadow and Wind Elements. They moved further ahead than the main army, and would probe the terrain, situation, and the position of the demon creatures before the main army arrived.

The scout Mage had been at the top of the hill for quite some time. He had been watching Mo Fan taking on the Brutal Sword Death Servants right from the start.

If the scout Mage was set up against a single Brutal Sword Death Servant, he would be sliced into pieces in mere seconds, let alone be able to take on a whole group of Brutal Sword Death Servants alone!

“What did you just say? He already killed seven of them?” Captain Lowar asked in shock.

The Brutal Sword Death Servants were undead from inside the pyramid. Every undead from inside a pyramid was incredibly strong!

If a pyramid was seen as a palace, the Brutal Sword Death Servants would be the guards patrolling the palace. They were nothing that the undead roaming in the wild could compare to.

Normally, in order to clear a path through the Brutal Sword Death Servants, it was necessary to sacrifice half of a squadron. As such, the troop Captain Lowar was leading was basically a suicide squad!

But now, a single Mage from China had managed to clear a path through the undead, even though they normally needed a whole troop to achieve the same goal!

“General, General Fenna, the path is clear!” Lowar proceeded to report the situation even though he was greatly astounded.

——

On the other hand, General Fenna was shocked too.

Didn’t the troop only leave the main army not long ago? How did they clear the path already?

“Well… didn’t you send the Chinese national team to take care of the Poisonous Golden Mummies? It seems like one of their members got lost. He went up the hill and fought the Brutal Sword Death Servants instead, and has already killed seven of them,” Lowar explained honestly.

Even so, Lowar felt like his words sounded absolutely ridiculous, but he was actually telling the truth. Lowar had just asked Mo Fan why he was there, and the student said he had lost his way…

Lowar clearly sensed the other end falling silent after he finished his sentence. The heavy breathing was implying that General Fenna too was trying her best to digest the news.

A moment later, General Fenna finally said, “Mmm, got it.”

However, Lowar could tell that General Fenna was not being herself. She must be having complicated feelings, too.

Why did the Chinese team have such an undisciplined member, with such ridiculous strength?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The main army charged forward. If the Brutal Sword Death Servants had not been fighting Mo Fan, they would have taken out quite a number of the soldiers in the vanguard squad, dealing a great blow to the main army. However, when Mo Fan teamed up with the Battlemages, the battle immediately turned one-sided!

A group of over forty Brutal Sword Death Servants was quite intimidating to fight against. It was as strong as a pack of undead numbering thousands. However, the main army still managed to wipe out the Brutal Sword Death Servants.

After securing the high ground, the respective Mages proceeded to set up the defensive barrier.

The barrier was able to prevent the undead from infiltrating their territory. Once they were done setting up the barrier, it meant they had won a little skirmish in the war against the undead.

“Report, the Poisonous Golden Mummies have been wiped out. Captain Wankos has regrouped with the army, their casualties…” a scout Mage came and said to General Fenna.

“Take away Wankos’ rank, he is no longer a captain,” General Fenna said coldly.

Captain Wankos led a bunch of injured soldiers into the barrier. He was covered in festered wounds, and seemed to be in quite a bad shape.

“I didn’t have any objection to your decision. I’m willing to be a soldier without a rank,” Captain Wankos dropped to his knee and said.

“You were too stubborn, your actions might cost the entire army’s life. You should be relieved that the students who you underestimated came to help us. Without them, we’d have suffered great casualties just to secure the hill,” General Fenna rebuked him.

“Yes, without them, my people would have been trapped by the surrounding Poisonous Golden Mummies too. I’m grateful that they were willing to lend us a hand, and helped us take out the Poisonous Golden Mummies. I shouldn’t have been so proud and stubborn,” Wankos said.

“I wasn’t referring to that!” General Fenna said with a hint of anger.

Wankos was confused. What else could she be referring to?

Captain Lowar immediately whispered into Wankos’ ear, telling him how Mo Fan took on the Brutal Sword Death Servants on his own.

Wankos’ face was filled with disbelief upon hearing it.

-A single person? He went to the hill alone and killed seven Brutal Sword Death Servants?-

-The young student had achieved something that even his whole troop couldn’t possibly achieve?-

As a matter of fact, Wankos had never treated a bunch of students who only stayed in their schools in peace seriously, but he now realized how wrong he was. These students were as strong as an elite squad of soldiers!

“Stay in the army; this is war, any selfish motive is only going to bring doom upon the army. Remember that!” General Fenna snapped.

Wankos had his head lowered. He did not dare to say a word.

“The new batch of soldiers is on their way, and the Mages of the Parthenon Temple will be coming with them, too. Wankos, you and your men will protect them at all costs, even if it means sacrificing your lives. You will not let any harm fall upon them, do you understand!?”

“Affirmative!” Wankos said sternly.

The Mages of the Parthenon Temple were like the fairies of the Healing Element. They were the irreplaceable souls of an army, as with their help, the number of casualties would be greatly reduced, and the lives of many soldiers would be preserved…

Apart from the victory that they had to secure, what else was more important than staying alive in this world?

——

After setting up the camp, the unique barrier was able to prevent the undead from getting aggressive to a certain degree.

With the barrier up, the undead in the distance was less likely to gather towards them, too, allowing the main army to soon settle in at the second camp.

Everyone would rest up for the day, so the Mages could replenish their energy. Meanwhile, they could also treat those that were severely injured, or escort them back to the city.

Early the next morning, their reinforcements had arrived, including a bunch of important people, the Magas of the Parthenon Temple.

These Mages had mastered the strongest Healing Spells in the world. They were powerful, yet extremely vulnerable, thus they needed lots of people to escort them to safety.

When the Magas of the Parthenon Temple arrived, Mo Fan was surprised to see Xinxia among them, too.

After all, Xinxia had trouble moving around because of her legs. The messy battle was simply too deadly for her. Mo Fan did not understand why the Parthenon Temple would let her join the battle!

——

After regrouping with the main army, the reinforcements soon departed for the third destination. It was within ten kilometers of the pyramid.

They were able to secure the third destination fairly smoothly. However, when the barrier was set up and the people were asked to gather on the hill, an uneasy feeling struck their hearts.

The approach to slowly advance forward like a tide was only suitable for the first half of the journey, since they were not too far away from the city, nor had they gone too far into the undead’s territory before. However, the second half of the journey was basically a path of no return, and the army could only survive if they won the battle!

As such, the remaining journey was the most dangerous, as they would occasionally find themselves surrounded by the undead!

” I don’t really want to recall how it was when we last went on a skirmish to take out a pyramid mirage. We were basically moving forward by stepping on the corpses of our brothers to reach the pyramid, yet we almost got wiped out in the end. Luckily, General Fenna activated the burning light in time and destroyed the pyramid. It felt like hell when we were drowned in the ocean of undead!” an old Mage sighed.

“Is the second half of the journey really that terrifying?” Zhao Manyan asked seriously, giving the man a cigarette.

“Terrifying isn’t enough to describe it. However, the size of the current pyramid isn’t as huge as the one we encountered before. The army of undead this time isn’t as overwhelming either, so we should have a great chance at winning the battle!” the old Mage said with squinting eyes as he smoked the cigarette. The smoke circled his pale face.

“So we just need someone to reach the pyramid?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yea, when the time comes, the army will give those with a higher chance of reaching the pyramid a device that emits burning light. By placing it under the pyramid, the light it emits will erase the mirage, and these undead will immediately lose their belief!”

“There should be powerful undead close to the pyramid?” Jiang Yu asked.

“Of course, but it’s only a mirage. The really powerful undead only exist in a real pyramid, so the mummies that are remarkably strong won’t show up. That being said, we still have to look out for a kind of undead,” the old Mage, Mudin said.

“What kind of undead?”

“The Brutal Sword Death Servants!” the old Mage uttered the name of the undead grimly.

“Aren’t they the ones I encountered on the hill of our second camp?” Mo Fan asked.

“Exactly!”

Mo Fan subconsciously frowned. The Brutal Sword Death Servants were indeed very strong. Even he could only take out seven of them!

“The Brutal Sword Death Servants were the most loyal servants of a pyramid. Their numbers are great, and they are very well-trained. Since the pyramid projected by a mirage isn’t the real thing, the most terrifying undead won’t show up, but the Brutal Sword Death Servants are a lot trickier to deal with than ordinary undead. Based on our estimation, there are around five hundred Brutal Sword Death Servants protecting this pyramid. Their swords basically form a barricade of death that we are going to have trouble crossing. Many people are going to die when we try to overcome the army of Brutal Sword Death Servants to reach the mirage,” the old soldier, Mudin, sighed.

“Five hundred?” Mo Fan’s heart sank.

It was ten times the number that had appeared on the top of the hill. Even a Super Mage would not be able to fight that many at once!

“If a mere mirage can summon so many undead around it, isn’t a real pyramid a lot worse? Has anyone managed to go inside a pyramid?” Jiang Yu asked curiously.

“Go inside a pyramid?” The old Mage, Mudin shook his head with a deathly smile. He glanced in General Fenna’s direction and said, “The general seems to have entered a huge pyramid with a few amazing Mages. The general didn’t mention much about what was inside, she only described it as the Underworld!”

“They said that those Pharaohs are actually still alive… is that true?”

“Pharaohs? I believe anyone that met the Pharaohs has basically become part of the Underworld, so even now we don’t really know if the Pharaohs are alive inside the pyramids. We are already struggling to deal with the Pharaohs’ soldiers,” Mudin said.

The Pharaohs’ soldiers he referred to were none other than the Brutal Sword Death Servants!

If there was a real Pharaoh inside a pyramid, his power must be absolutely overwhelming, especially those from ancient times. They had already mastered the magic that was able to rule over the nation when they were still alive, and it would only be stronger after they died.

“Speaking of which, the three biggest pyramids in Cairo… I bet there must be some undead inside that can topple the world?” Jiang Yu seemed fairly excited.

The pyramids were well known for how mysterious and powerful they were, and among them, the infamous Giza Pyramids was enough to startle even Forbidden Mages.

“I have no idea what’s inside the Giza Pyramids, but the Sphinx is already unbeatable. If that guy wants to, it can basically plunge the people of Cairo into misery and suffering.” Old Mage Mudin was a talkative man.

“Sphinx? What the heck is that?” Mo Fan asked.

“The creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. It’s the protector beast of the pyramids, the strongest living creature in all of Egypt. The reason why the pyramids are still a mystery is because the Sphinx is protecting them. Rumors say that when the Sphinx roars, even the sky will come crumbling down!” Old Mage Mudin proclaimed.

Mo Fan gaped.

The Sphinx… When he thought about it, he believed the creature must be something on the level of the Black Totem Snake!

He did not know the Sphinx was a living thing in this world. Just imagining the enormous creature lying beside the huge pyramid was stunning enough!

Chapter 1020: The Last Five Kilometers

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

When the evening arrived, the fresh blood smeared across the land and the changing colors of the sky portrayed the cruelty of war.

The main army had launched an assault on the pyramid. The fourth camp was the last camp before the final showdown. It was time for them to advance fearlessly to reach the pyramid… what stood behind them was no longer their reinforcements, or their city, but they would find themselves surrounded by lots of undead.

Mo Fan had faced a similar experience before. It was at the Ancient Capital, when the army of undead was many times bigger than the human army. They had quite a few Super Mages back then, but they only had two this time.

The last five kilometers!

It was the stretch with the highest density of undead, and the undead here were the strongest, too. The dark undead sprawled throughout the yellow basin, and the mirage of the pyramid was right in the center of them

All the undead within ten kilometers seemed to be aware that the humans were plotting a scheme against their sacred pyramid. The undead were moving into position, like a huge forest covering every inch of the area with their savage faces, broken bodies, rotting poisonous gas, and eyes filled with hunger…

“Charge!”

As General Fenna gave out the command, a blue light of protection rose into the sky, serving as a signal to the army.

“Charge!”

“Destroy the pyramid!”

“All hail Egypt!”

The army turned into a fierce tide, shoving the undead aside. The blasts of magic and their brilliance lit up the evening sky, as their destructive auras surged across the place…

The ghastly cries of undead traveled across the area like a chilling breeze. Their anger and hatred were crushing down on every person’s heart like giant mountains. They were fearless creatures, with only a single thought in their minds: tearing the humans apart and eating them!

The place was sprawling with the living and the dead. The soil soaked up the strong smell of blood. The scale of the battle was similar to the battle that had taken place at the maritime fortress in Japan, and it was rather helpful in training a bunch of powerful, fearless Mages!

The battle went from being orderly to a complete mess. Surrounded by the undead, the humans could no longer tell where the pyramid was. Many squads totally lost their way, and could only fight the undead instinctively.

—

“General, we have lost contact with the troop in the west!” Old Mage Mudin reported back.

“Are they all dead?” General Fenna asked in a hard voice.

“The Brutal Sword Death Servants are giving us a hard time, the troop is most likely wiped out.”

“That’s too quick, did anyone see anything?”

“No…”

General Fenna finally lost her patience. A few gusts appeared from her back and transformed into three pairs of wings behind her!

The wings were extremely quick and nimble, allowing her to move and change her direction freely in the air…

“Thousand Leaves Saber: Slaughtering Wind Slash!”

The fierce wind around Fenna turned into thousands of wind sabers sweeping forward. Hundreds, or even thousands of undead ahead were sliced into pieces within an instant, and scattered across the ground like fallen leaves. The path ahead suddenly cleared up, the undead could no longer stand.

After the Thousand Leaves Sabers achieved their goal, another fierce wind sliced further into the distance. The powerful wind slash extended to within a kilometer of the pyramid!

“Follow me!” With General Fenna clearing the path, the morale of the soldiers immediately skyrocketed.

A few of the squads immediately followed General Fenna and pressed forward into the area a kilometer away from the pyramid.

“You better protect her. If she loses even a single stand of her hair, I’m going to feed you to the undead!” Mo Fan snapped at the worthless knight Kulun standing beside Xinxia when he saw the path ahead being cleared.

“Even if you said nothing, it is my sacred responsibility as a knight to protect her!” Kulun replied with a stern face.

Mo Fan seriously found this Kulun an eyesore. His noble temperament, as if he was superior to the others, was urging Mo Fan to beat all his teeth out, yet the guy’s strength was fairly impressive, too. Mo Fan saw him kill ten Warrior-level undead instantly, and despite how chaotic the situation was, he did not allow a single undead to get within a hundred steps of Xinxia. It turned out that the bodyguard that the Parthenon Temple had assigned to protect Xinxia was not just mere decoration!

“Brother Mo Fan, you’re going off to do something dangerous again?” Xinxia said.

“Don’t worry, I can protect myself better than anyone else. We must end this battle soon, or none of us will make it back alive,” Mo Fan said seriously.

They were deep in the surrounding undead. Mo Fan knew better than anyone else how relentless the undead were. If they could win the battle by just reaching the pyramid, Mo Fan believed he could easily do it with his Dark Noble Mantle.

“I’m going with you,” Xinxia said.

“Just stay her… fine,” Mo Fan changed his mind when he saw the serious look in her eyes.

Xinxia was riding a Blue Fantasy Horn Beast that she had subdued with the Psychic Element. It was blue and furry, with huge horns like an elephant, a robust build, and a long dragon tail…

The Blue Fantasy Horn Beast was in sync with Xinxia’s will, allowing her to move around easily even in a skirmish like this. In addition to that, the Blue Fantasy Horn Beast was fairly strong, too. Leaving its fighting capacity aside, its ability to evade attacks was comparable to the Night Rakshasa!

“I’ll come, too!” Kulun declared to Xinxia.

“Let’s go!”

Mo Fan turned into a shadow bird and wove through the shredded corpses of the undead to catch up with the army heading for the pyramid.

Xinxia followed behind on the Blue Fantasy Horn Beast. Even though she felt like vomiting when she saw the corpses, organs, and blood scattered all over the place, her eyes showed no intention of running away.

She fixed her eyes on Mo Fan, as she was afraid to lose sight of him. The Mages and undead were fighting everywhere. Mo Fan’s figure could suddenly vanish at any second. She had to follow tightly behind him, as she wanted to face any danger together with him.

“Mind Control!”

Xinxia’s eyes emitted a sacred blue light. The face of a mummy in heavy armor suddenly went blank, before it turned around and slammed its giant hammers at the other undead.

Mo Fan’s right arm was just about to erupt in flames he was planning to throw it at the mummy. He was stunned when he saw the mummy clearing the path for him instead.

The Heavy Armor Mummy was almost as strong as a Commander-level creature. It was even stronger than a Brutal Sword Death Servant, yet Xinxia had managed to control its mind with a single attempt, turning it into a tank clearing the path ahead!

“Holy Blessing: Strengthen!”

Xinxia cast a spell that Mo Fan felt familiar with. The Heavy Armor Mummy was soon bathed in the light of the sacred spell, encapsulating it and its hammers in a glowing light. When the hammers slammed into the undead, the light further increased the damage inflicted by the hammers!

The Heavy Armor Mummy immediately turned into a ferocious, battling beast after receiving the blessing, knocking whole swathes of undead to the ground.

“Incredible!” Mo Fan directed the flames on his fist in the other direction and gave Xinxia a huge thumbs-up.

Xinxia immediately smiled too, as if she had been waiting for the compliment all along after spending a year training diligently.

Xinxia lifted her eyes. She faintly caught a glimpse of some silver hair through the army of undead. Her long robe was tightly wrapped around her stunning silhouette. Even when she was in the middle of a battlefield crawling with filthy, ugly undead, she was still sacred and cold like an ice lily under the moonlight!

“It’s Ningxue, I think she has gone ahead,” Xinxia alerted Mo Fan as soon as she saw Mu Ningxue.

“Damn, why is she going so deep? She’s almost at the pyramid, is she out of her mind!?” Mo Fan was shocked when he saw Mu Ningxue.

Couldn’t Mu Ningxue be a little more patient and stay by his side? He was already a crazy maniac, but Mu Ningxue was even crazier than him!

Mo Fan, Xinxia, and Kulun immediately altered course and headed for Mu Ningxue.

Snow fell rapidly in the messy battle. Ice spikes poked out of the ground without stopping. The spikes totally disrupted the undead’s formation, preventing them from being able to get closer to the person casting them.

“This woman is very impressive!” Kulun exclaimed, staring at Mu Ningxue floating ten meters in the air.

In her Domain, every undead below the Warrior-level basically stood no chance, as they were killed within half a minute by the dense and accurate ice spikes lunging forth. Only Warrior-level undead with sturdy flesh remained.

Mo Fan was like a fire cannon, blasting through an area sprawling with undead with his destructive spells.

However, Mu Ningxue’s Ice Domain was even crazier. The undead’s numbers were totally insignificant in her Domain. A hundred Servant-class undead would freeze entirely in her Domain in under a minute, and the same thing would happen to a thousand of them. As long as a powerful undead did not show up, Mu Ningxue was a nightmare for all Servant-class undead. Thousands of them shattered into pieces like ice, covering a distance of half a kilometer.

“Ningxue!” Xinxia used Psychic Voice to transmit her voice into Mu Ningxue’s ears.

Mu Ningxue noticed them. When she was about to speak, her gaze suddenly sharpened as her lips mumbled something under her breath.

“Icebound Coffin!” Mu Ningxue pointed ahead, summoning a huge ice crystal above Mo Fan and Xinxia.

Mo Fan was stunned. What the hell was Mu Ningxue thinking? Did she already lose her mind from killing too many undead, that she could no longer tell who her allies were?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Icebound Coffin landed less than ten meters away, behind Mo Fan.

Mo Fan turned around and was surprised to see a pitch-black creature with swords in its hands trapped inside the transparent crystal. It was locked down by the ice, and its face was still wearing a grin, as if it was seconds away from ambushing its target!

Mo Fan was stunned. Wasn’t that a Brutal Sword Death Servant? How could he be so careless that he had totally forgotten the Brutal Sword Death Servants were good at ambushing their enemies with their Shadow Element?

“Stay focused!” Mu Ningxue glared at Mo Fan, warning him to be on alert at all times.

Mo Fan shrugged and said, “I was too caught up with how pretty you are, but if it was just a bit closer, I would have surely noticed its presence!”

Mu Ningxue simply ignored Mo Fan’s words. She glanced at the pitch-black undead that was trapped in the ice and said, “Something is strange about this kind of undead.”

“They are the Brutal Sword Death Servants, the most loyal soldiers of the Pharaoh in a pyramid. They only appear close to the pyramid, so if we are planning to reach it, we’ll need to make it through them,” Mo Fan said.

Xinxia noticed Mu Ningxue was injured. She quickly drew a Star Pattern and summoned two Healing Spirits between her fingers.

The Healing Spirits danced elegantly around Mu Ningxue, sprinkling crystalline liquid like pollen to heal Mu Ningxue’s wounds while getting rid of the side effects of the injuries inflicted by the evil power.

Xinxia noticed the astonishment in Mu Ningxue’s eyes and explained, “The Parthenon Temple has granted our Healing Element the ability to purify, so we can treat many injuries that are otherwise incurable.”

Mu Ningxue was fairly surprised. Xinxia had become a brilliant Healer without her noticing; her impression of Xinxia now was completely different than she remembered.

“AHHHH!!!”

“Run, quick, or we’re all going to die here!”

“Damn it, we are only a few hundred meters away from the pyramid, we can’t give up now!”

Cries of agony and loud shouts came from the other direction. Mu Ningxue immediately floated into the air and glanced in the direction of the noise.

Around five hundred meters away was a bunch of black swordsmen similar to the undead she just killed. They were standing in formation, butchering the human Mages charging at them. Mu Ningxue could only see blood splattering across the place and smearing on the people nearby…

Among the Brutal Sword Death Servants was a shadowy figure riding a black phantom horse. The figure was covered in a strong, pitch-black aura, and there seemed to be a black cape draped over its shoulders.

It was sitting on the back of the horse like an imperious knight. The giant, black sword in its hand was raised at the crimson-red sky, like it was summoning the power from the God of Night. Soon, a black aura started descending from the clouds!

“Unstoppable Sword of the Underworld!” an imperious voice uttered. The black knight was talking in an ancient Egyptian language. The destructive, black aura from the Kingdom of the Dead had descended upon the mundane world!

The black aura split into two, one surging across the sky imperiously, and the other slicing across the ground. Everything in the path was killed instantly!

Captain Lowar and his soldiers were within the range of the attack. He witnessed how his comrades before him were shredded into pieces, with blood pouring down like rain…

The pieces of flesh and blood smeared his face. Captain Lowar’s eyes widened as the black slash went past him too.

The world started spinning. The slash was so quick that Captain Lowar was still conscious when he was beheaded. He was able to see his body being shredded into pieces as his head was spinning in the air.

Captain Lowar’s head landed before General Fenna’s feet. She leaned forward and held the filthy head in her hands, staring at the man’s wide-open eyes.

Lowar was Fenna’s most loyal subordinate. They had been in the army for more than thirty years. Lowar always wanted to become a general with his own army. He told her his ambition on his first day, but Fenna was the one that became a general, with thousands of soldiers under her command. However, Lowar said that he would prefer serving under her rather than serving other bad-tempered generals.

Fenna knew that the man still had his ambitions. He wanted to become a Super Mage and be promoted to a general. He had been working hard for his ambition for most of his life, but now, he no longer had the chance to fulfill it…

“Can anyone tell me why a Dark Swordsmaster appeared when it’s only a mirage of a pyramid?”

“Doesn’t an undead of its kind only exist in a real pyramid? Isn’t it supposed to stay with the Pharaohs?”

“Dead, they are all dead, and we won’t live for long either…”

“A Dark Swordmaster, why, why… isn’t the pyramid just a mirage? Does that mean, it’s, it’s a real pyramid?”

The Dark Swordsmaster straightened proudly. The creature it was riding was a Commander-level Dark Phantom Horse, while it had already surpassed the Commander Level. Even Advanced Mages had no chance against its powerful attacks!

“Stay calm!” Fenna placed Lowar’s head down and closed his eyes with her hands. Her sharp eyes were filled with tears, yet she did not let them roll down her cheeks.

Fenna’s voice echoed in the soldiers’ ears, shattering the fear in their hearts.

“It’s only a mirage, and the Dark Swordsmaster isn’t invincible either! If we give up now, his sword is only going to slash at Puccini City. Tell me, is that what you want to see? Is there any meaning to live when that happens? Don’t forget, you are soldiers! Don’t waste the rest of your life regretting the timid decision you’ve made today!” Even though Fenna was a woman, her voice displayed her unyielding spirit!

There was no turning back; they could not just put their swords back into their sheath just because they had stumbled onto a strong foe; they should thrust it forward more fiercely instead!

“Sherlock, we’ll take on the Dark Swordsmaster together. The rest of you, head on to the pyramid. We will not let the dead rule our land!” Fenna yelled.

Fenna floated in the air right above the Mages, her wings beating. Her eyes were as sharp as a leopard as she stared at the Dark Swordmaster.

The Dark Swordsmaster stood out among the Brutal Sword Death Servants. Its eyes erupted in flames, displaying the pride and imperiousness of a Ruler-level creature. It did not need to show its disdain on purpose, as the bloodline of the noble royalty of ancient Egypt had been flowing in its body for thousands of years!

“Nyx Regime!” The Dark Swordsmaster raised the giant sword in its hand. A blinding glow burst out from the tip of the sword, descending upon the place and covering the basin where the pyramid was located!

A strong, dark aura swept forward. The soldiers were once again immersed in fear as they stood inside a Domain so dark they could not see their own hands.

The Nyx Regime had a huge coverage area. Inside it, every Brutal Sword Death Servant was now robed in black. The glow in their eyes had grown stronger too!

“Those undead are even stronger!”

“Quick, stand in your positions, don’t panic!”

The Brutal Sword Death Servants were assassins in the dark. Their swords were able to take out an Intermediate Mage easily, as the powerful creatures were even stronger under the dark power of the Dark Swordmaster.

It took a small squad of Battlemages a great effort just to barely kill a strengthened Brutal Sword Death Servant. The number of Brutal Sword Death Servants was enough to cause despair!

The Dark Swordsmaster remained motionless. It was unnecessary for it to be involved, as its subordinates were enough to annihilate the idiotic humans!

—

Mu Ningxue stepped on the wind and slowly landed. She had a grim face.

“A Dark Swordmaster… that’s something from inside a pyramid. Without four Super Mages, it’s impossible for us to deal with it!” Kulun exclaimed in astonishment.

Mo Fan had also gone to higher ground to observe the situation.

Horrifying was the only word he could think of to describe it.

The Dark Swordsmaster had only attacked twice, yet countless of people in front of the pyramid had died. Their blood was literally flowing like a river. The morale of the army dropped rapidly under the merciless massacre, as the soldiers had started to panic in fear!

The Dark Swordsmaster had taken everyone by surprise, and was simply too strong!

However, Mo Fan was slightly confused when he saw the Dark Swordmaster.

He had seen a creature that was both of the shadow magic, and an undead before!

It was hard to forget such a unique creature after seeing it once. It happened when he was on his way to find Zhang Xiaohou. It was the creature that the woman called Ye Meng’e had summoned.

It was a dark sword knight, yet Mo Fan was totally shocked by how strong it was!

The dark knight that the mysterious Ye Meng’e had Summoned had the exact same aura as the Dark Swordmaster. The only difference was the Dark Swordsmaster was bigger, and had a stronger aura.

However, Mo Fan believed they were the same creature, but Ye Meng’e’s dark knight had not reached its final form yet!

—

“Well, you can think of it as a Summoned Creature from the Underworld. It has incredible strength, it’s outstanding at using a sword, and it’s highly intelligent and loyal, too. However, it has a little weakness.”

“What weakness?”

“It’s the kind of creature that has signed a contract with the God of Darkness, thus it has to obey certain rules. One of them is if someone challenges it to a duel, it must accept. Since the God of Darkness has granted it a new life and outstanding strength, it will not allow anyone to challenge the God of Darkness’ name,” Ye Meng’e said.

“That’s pretty interesting, but why is that a weakness?”

“It’s nothing most of the time, but if someone is plotting against me, and abuses the rule to keep this stupid thing busy, the person is able to buy their acquaintances time to take me out. The rule doesn’t allow the creature to do anything else before the duel comes to an end; it will even forget its responsibility to protect its master,” Ye Meng’e said.

—

Ye Meng’e was the kind of woman that was unforgettable to a man after just a single glance. On top of that, it was very hard for Mo Fan to forget the dark knight protecting her, too.

Although Mo Fan was even more curious about Ye Meng’e’s identity, his current priority was finding a way to deal with the Dark Swordmaster.

If Ye Meng’e was not lying to him; the Dark Swordsmaster must obey certain rules and accept every challenge, and it must fight the challenger alone. It might serve as a chance they could abuse to keep the Dark Swordsmaster busy.

Their goal was not to wipe out the undead, nor were they interested in defeating the Dark Swordmaster. They were only aiming to destroy the pyramid mirage!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Challenging it to a duel?” Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan in confusion.

As a matter of fact, it sounded rather ridiculous. How could a Dark Swordmaster that was massacring the soldiers be willing to accept a duel of life and death like a noble swordsman? No one had heard anything about a duel before!

“Even though I’m not from Egypt, I’ve learned about the existence of Dark Swordmasters a long time ago, yet I’ve never heard about anything like a dark contract. How do you, a Mage from China, know something that even the Magic Association is unaware of?” Kulun was finding it difficult to trust Mo Fan’s suggestion.

“We’ll know if it actually works once we try it. Are we seriously going to wait until the Dark Swordmaster kills every single one of us?” Mo Fan replied.

The army had no chance of getting close to the pyramid without keeping the Dark Swordmaster busy. The Brutal Sword Death Servants were a lot stronger than before too, placing the army in quite a deadly situation.

A single Brutal Sword Death Servant was as strong as half a squad, meaning that five hundred Brutal Sword Death Servants were basically an impassable mountain of undead!

Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, Kulun, and Xinxia headed for where the Brutal Sword Death Servants were. Apart from the Brutal Sword Death Servants, there were lots of undead moving toward them. They were able to see countless mummies blocking the path leading back to the city when they turned around…

—

“Piss off!” Up in the air, General Fenna uttered a furious roar, combining the wind and sand into a blasting roar, tossing lots of undead into the sky…

Fenna was shockingly strong, and was able to cast Super Spells adeptly, too. Normal undead were like weeds to her, but the Brutal Sword Death Servants were not really that easy to deal with.

Of the five hundred Brutal Sword Death Servants, two hundred were targeting Fenna. The bones of those undead were utterly firm after they were strengthened, meaning that Fenna was killing them very slowly.

The Dark Swordmaster did not really care that its subordinates were dying slowly. It did not bother fighting the two Super Mages, either. Its eyes kept on staring at the large groups of Battlemages, and each of its attacks would kill over a hundred of them!

Fenna was enraged when she saw her men dying rapidly to the Dark Swordmaster. Every slash it executed would result in blood splattering across the place. How could their army possibly stand a chance if they continued to be massacred at this rate?

“General, we should withdraw to five kilometers away, I believe the Brutal Sword Death Servants and the Dark Swordmaster will only stay within three kilometers from the pyramid. We can’t continue like this, the whole army is only going to die here!” the other Super Mage, Sherlock, said.

Fenna looked at the corpses of her men piling up across the ground. Her face contorted in emotion.

She was not willing to leave. She would rather fight to her death with the rest of her men, but rationally speaking, she could not afford to do it, as the whole army would be wiped out. On top of that, their city would also be infiltrated by these undead…

Left with no choice, Fenna started to protect the army as they slowly withdrew.

The army was around two kilometers away from the pyramid. They soon regrouped with the main army not long after they started to retreat.

The main army consisted of troops of Fire Mages. The Fire Bursts and Fiery Fists were extremely effective against the undead. However, the main army was extremely slow. If the vanguard could not hold on until the main army arrived, all their sacrifices would be in vain.

The army retreated as a whole, leaving nothing but blood in front of the pyramid. The black Brutal Sword Death Servants were covered in fresh blood, yet their bodies remained black as they stood in the pools of blood. Their eyes had a mocking look too…

—

“What do you think we can do instead?” General Fenna was on the verge of losing her temper after suffering the defeat.

“We should be able to clear a path back to the city. With the Dark Swordmaster standing guard, there’s no chance we can get any closer to the pyramid. We can only retreat for now,” Sherlock said.

Even when Sherlock and Fenna teamed up, they were still no match for the Dark Swordmaster, hence it was necessary for them to ask for backup.

“This is all we have, there won’t be any backup,” Fenna said firmly.

Their city was not the only one with a mirage. The armies of every city had their own matters to attend to. Their city had already asked the nearby cities for help. They had planned to destroy the mirage right from the start!

“The Dark Swordmaster is bound to a contract to accept any duel that it is challenged to. I believe it’s our only way to reach the pyramid,” Mo Fan said to General Fenna very seriously.

“What contract?” Sherlock asked, confused.

Mo Fan briefly explained about the Dark Contract.

“Are you serious? We’ve been in Egypt for so long, but we’ve never heard of anything like that about the Dark Swordmaster. Don’t you think it’s ridiculous, that it must fight the person that challenged it to the death?” Sherlock did not believe Mo Fan’s words.

Sherlock was suggesting the army retreat. With the people they had left, even though turning back was going to result in lots of casualties, anything was better than having the whole army being wiped out in the land of the undead!

“Going back now means our soldiers have all been sacrificed for nothing. All of us in the army knew the only outcome of coming here is either die trying or destroying the mirage. I believe we can try abusing the contract he mentioned, and even if it doesn’t work, we’ll send out some powerful Mages to keep the Dark Swordmaster busy while the rest try their best to reach the pyramid!” Fenna said.

Fenna was the commander of the army. The soldiers under her lead were hot-blooded too. Even when they were trapped in the ocean of undead, none of them had thought of retreating, since many would die on the way back. They had long been surrounded by the army of the undead!

“Mo Fan, what are you up to this time? Do you seriously think something you’ve most likely read from a useless book is the truth? Do you dare to take responsibility if it doesn’t work?” Zu Jiming said mockingly.

Zu Jiming did not really care if Mo Fan was being a busybody. Instead, he actually hoped Mo Fan was caught up in some kind of trouble. He was only worried that the national team would have to take the blame if something went wrong.

“It’s enough that we’ve tried our best. It’s really unnecessary to go any further than this.”

“Are you insane? It’s obvious that the army can’t make it to the pyramid. Let’s just retreat. We might end up getting ourselves killed!” Mu Tingying was extremely displeased by Mo Fan’s suggestion.

“I really don’t understand where you bunch of useless pricks get your confidence from to talk nonsense in front of me like that!” Mo Fan snapped without mercy.

Mo Fan was like a mad dog when he was scolding someone. Most people on the team had received a proper education. They were no match for Mo Fan in terms of strength, and they were also inferior when it came to scolding someone. Their faces reddened as they tried to withhold their rage.

On the other hand, Mo Fan was quite annoyed by the idiots on the team. Why did they even care what he was up to? They could just continue to live like cowards! Mo Fan was not the kind that could stay calm after seeing so many people dying in battle!

General Fenna and her men could tell that Mo Fan was the hot-blooded kind, too. Regardless of Mo Fan’s suggestion, they would still proceed with their final attempt to clear a path to the pyramid. They would never retreat, as they could not allow the blood of their comrades to flow in vain. They had to face the cruelty of war. Running away was utterly meaningless. Soon, the army of undead would only grow bigger, and the city would surely stand no chance against it!

—

The main army had decided to launch its final assault. It was only just over a kilometer away from the pyramid.

As they thought, the Dark Swordmaster appeared once again, followed by more than four hundred Brutal Sword Death Servants. The army had not killed many of them in the previous attempt.

The blood of the Mages that had died was not dry yet. Many starving undead were crawling on the ground, drinking the blood greedily.

“Sherlock and I will try and hold the Dark Swordmaster back for as long as we can. Just try your best to reach the pyramid. You are our last hope!” General Fenna said to Mo Fan with a firm look.

Mo Fan had volunteered to try and reach the pyramid. With the Dark Noble Mantle and the fifth-tier Fleeing Shadow, he had the highest chance of moving past the ocean of undead compared to the rest of the army. As long as the Dark Swordmaster was occupied, even the Brutal Sword Death Servants would be unable to stop him.

In addition to Mo Fan, the other person entrusted with the mission of reaching the pyramid was Ai Jiangtu. With his Space Element, he also had the highest chance of making his way to the pyramid. Both Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu would take different paths, with Mu Ningxue and the rest of the team providing them cover. Their job was to help Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu sneak up to the pyramid when the main army was fighting the undead!

“General, maybe I should take your spot instead. You might not be able to survive if you face the Dark Swordmaster on your own. The army won’t last without you,” Wankos stepped forward and said to the general.

If what Mo Fan said was true, it meant Fenna was about to face the Dark Swordmaster all by herself. Even though Fenna was a Super Mage, the Dark Swordmaster was a lot stronger than her, meaning that even if the others successfully destroyed the mirage, Fenna would still die in the duel!

“It has been decided,” Fenna waved her hand. She started to lead her people and headed for the Dark Swordmaster.

The Dark Swordmaster was still seated on the back of its Ancient Phantom Horse. The giant sword in its hand was emitting a frightening, icy glow, with a strong presence of evil.

Fenna remembered that the Dark Swordmaster spoke in the ancient Egyptian language. She could challenge it to a duel by using the same language.

Taking a deep breath, Fenna knew she was basically stepping into the Abyss of Death once the contract was signed.

Looking back at the city in the distance, Fenna’s eyes flickered with a hint of bitterness. Wasn’t war always this cruel?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Fenna took a deep breath. The wind produced by her wings blew at her light green robe and her brown hair. Her glittering eyes looked extremely firm and determined!

“In the name of the commander of Puccini City, I challenge you to a duel of life and death!” Fenna pointed at the Dark Swordmaster and spoke in the ancient Egyptian language.

Her voice echoed in the sky and entered the ears of every soldier. Her fearlessness even when knowing that her death was approaching made the heart of every Mage race with a hint of sorrow!

Not every Mage in the world was willing to face a Ruler-level demon creature, and not everyone was willing to live a selfish life like a coward. When certain things were lost, what left was nothing but an empty shell.

It was the same for Fenna. She had grown up in Puccini City, and was now the highest officer of Puccini City. She did not have any family members, nor children, but to her, Puccini City was her home. Sherlock, who was also a Super Mage, would never understand why she insisted on fighting the battle. If it wasn’t for the kindness of the people in Puccini City, she would have frozen to death on the street decades of years ago…

It was a duel of life and death!

After her high-spirited voice rang out, a strong aura of darkness surged toward the human army!

The Dark Swordmaster stared at Fenna coldly. The disdain in its hollow, eerie eyes was replaced by a cold, stern light.

It slowly raised the giant, black sword in its hand and pointed its tip at the flying Fenna.

A black wind surged into the armor the Dark Swordmaster was wearing and spun like a tornado over a kilometer across. Both the humans and the undead were knocked a few steps back.

The Dark Swordmaster had a metallic voice. It was indeed speaking in human tongue, in the ancient Egyptian language.

It said something, but Mo Fan could not understand it. The dark power that had accumulated started to disperse. The Dark Swordmaster stopped staring at Fenna. It glared at the rest of the Mages and pointed its sword at the people who could not even survive a single attack from it!

“Damn it, I told you it was as ridiculous as a fairy tale!” Sherlock snapped furiously when he saw the Dark Swordmaster did not act according to what Mo Fan had mentioned.

Fenna was stunned too. She looked at the Dark Swordmaster in disbelief.

“Are we all going to die here?”

“It didn’t work, the Dark Contract didn’t work at all!”

“What are we doing here? Why did we bother believing something so ridiculous?”

The people started to panic. The Dark Contract was not established, meaning that the Dark Swordmaster’s sword would still be targeting them!

“What happened? What did it say?” Mo Fan yelled at Fenna in the air.

Mo Fan was very shocked too. He believed that Meng’e had no reason to lie to him. The Dark Contract was definitely real, something must have gone wrong.

“Enough talk about the Dark Contract, we have to engage the enemy now,” Wankos said.

The Dark Swordmaster had raised its giant sword again. The sky had turned darker slightly once again.

Seeing this, everyone’s heart skipped a beat. If the Nyx Regime was constructed, the Brutal Sword Death Servants would simply turn into killing machines!

“Darkness, it only accepts a duel from a darkness being! I’m not a darkness being, so I didn’t have the right to challenge it to a duel,” Fenna landed in a dispirited manner. Her eyes were filled with tears.

The tears ran down her cheeks. It was a devastating blow to her, as there was nothing she could do even when she was willing to face death!

“How about Sherlock? Is he a darkness being?” Old Mage Mudin asked.

“He isn’t, even if he is, there’s no way he’s going to do it,” Wankos said.

“What’s a darkness being?”

“Can I go? My secondary Element is Shadow…”

“What’s the point of you going? The Dark Swordmaster can simply kill you with a single slash. You’re only going to get yourself killed.”

The situation was even more worrying. At this rate, they could only sacrifice their lives to clear a path to the mirage, yet would they really consider it a victory?

Ai Jiangtu, Nanyu, and the others fell silent. The plan they came up with was no longer an option. No one could possibly reach the pyramid with the Nyx Regime in place. It was the Dark Swordmaster’s Domain. Even if they tried to force their way to the pyramid, they would only find themselves further away due to the complicated maze of darkness!

“I’ll try,” a voice said. It sounded serious.

Xinxia turned around and looked at Mo Fan. She was hoping that it did not come from him.

However, Mo Fan took a step forward and said, “I should fit the requirement. I’ll challenge it to a duel; I’ll leave the mission of destroying the mirage to the rest of you.”

Mu Ningxue pulled Mo Fan aside and shook her head.

“Hehe, someone is trying to be a hero,” Guan Yu mocked.

“I definitely agree with that,” Zu Jiming grinned.

Considering how strong the Dark Swordmaster was, it would only take… perhaps no more than one or two slashes to kill Mo Fan, but it needed less than five slashes without a doubt to cut him into pieces. Even the weakest Ruler-level creature was able to kill an Advanced Mage with ease!

Xinxia looked at Mo Fan. She was struggling to read Mo Fan’s mind. Why would he even dare to take the risk?

“Don’t worry, I won’t die,” Mo Fan knew what Xinxia was worried about. He patted her on her head.

“I don’t agree, just give it up. I’ll freeze it and temporarily disable its Nyx Regime, and everyone will try their best to get closer to the pyramid,” Mu Ningxue said.

There was no way Mu Ningxue would let Mo Fan go and get himself killed. Every war was cruel, and there would always be sacrifices, but it was not their war, so it was unnecessary to sacrifice their lives for it. Even if the city was razed to the ground in the end, they had already tried their best.

“Just trust me.” Mo Fan did not explain further.

A darkness being! Mo Fan never thought it would come to that, that only a darkness being could challenge a darkness being to a duel of darkness.

He had considered every possibility, yet he did not expect the great responsibility would fall upon on his shoulders again. However, when Mo Fan thought about the consequences of losing the war, he suddenly felt like it was worth it, even if he was forced to use his trump card!

—

“Damn it, why do I feel like I’m actually turning into a savior of the world?” Mo Fan walked out from the crowd and faced the imperious Dark Swordmaster.

If a little servant of a Pharaoh was this powerful, how terrifying would a Pharaoh be?

“You, the one with the sword, come fight your grandpa Mo Fan!” Mo Fan pointed at the Dark Swordmaster and demanded in Chinese.

The Dark Contract was not established through a certain language, but a person’s will. As long as Mo Fan was a darkness being, he only needed to say something disrespectful about the God of Darkness or the Dark Swordmaster to challenge it to a duel!

“Imbecile, I will sever your petty head and hang it outside the pyramid!” The Dark Swordmaster withdrew the Nyx Regime and pointed its sword at Mo Fan.

The giant sword was twice the size of Mo Fan. Its huge body was intimidating to look at. The giant sword trembled as some dark energy started pouring out of it.

The powerful dark energy forced the nearby undead and humans to back away.

The Dark Contract formed a huge triangle on the bloody, corpse-covered land. It first drew the boundaries on the ground before extending into the air to form a triangular prism!

“This…this is…” Sherlock’s eyes widened. His gaze was fixed on the dark dueling ground constructed by the dark energy!

Dark Contract…

It was the ancient Dark Contract only mentioned in old records from ancient Egypt, but no one had actually seen one before. How had a young Mage from the east known that a Dark Contract would work on the Dark Swordmaster?

The dark dueling ground was constructed between the human army and the army of undead. The black walls of light rising into the sky were covered in ancient curses with extremely powerful energy…

“My God, it really appeared, a Dark Contract!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“How did Mo Fan even know something like that… go see if you can break down the barriers. Otherwise, Mo Fan really has to fight the creature until one of them dies!” Jiang Shaoxu yelled as she recalled something.

Ai Jiangtu immediately tried to attack the walls of the prism, but it felt like the walls were able to absorb the energy of the spells aimed at it. It felt like the walls had grown even sturdier!

Fenna tried to use the Slaughtering Wind Slash on the walls, but the result was still the same. The walls of the dueling ground were covered in even more black runes, trapping both Mo Fan and the Dark Swordmaster within…

“What do we do now? Isn’t Mo Fan dead for sure?”

“Why is he always so reckless?”

—

Inside the dueling ground, Mo Fan stood on the blood-stained soil. He immediately had a bad feeling when he sensed the strong energy of the Dark Contract around him.

The Dark Contract was even more shocking than Mo Fan had imagined. It was able to construct a spectacular dark dueling ground out of nowhere. Mo Fan was only planning to try activating the Dark Contract, but he realized he could no longer run away!

“Damn it, what the heck are you guys waiting for?! Can you please make your way to the pyramid at once!” Mo Fan yelled when he saw the people outside the barrier staring at him with blank faces.

After Mo Fan finished yelling, he sensed a formidable murderous aura coming at him. He lifted his gaze and saw a giant sword surrounded by an icy light and runes of death about to come down at him at any second!

Mo Fan tried to dodge it, yet he realized he could not move his body!

He was locked down, the sword had locked him down!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A black sword, Mo Fan somehow felt the sword’s size was just as huge as the sky and the ground. It was meaningless no matter where he tried to run to.

He did not dare to waste even a second. He immediately summoned the Black Snake Armor.

The Black Snake Armor quickly attached itself to Mo Fan’s body, but the overwhelming force of darkness showed no sign of weakening even though the armor was serving as an extra layer of protection. Mo Fan still felt a great chill, as his body began to tremble.

It was Mo Fan’s first time facing a Ruler-level creature apart from the Black Totem Snake. Even though the Dark Swordmaster was a lot weaker than the Black Totem Snake, it was barely inferior to a Ruler-level creature. Any Commander-level creature was no match against its unstoppable sword of darkness.

The sound of the sword was like wild thunder. As the sword swung forward, Mo Fan could see a black wave with the size of a tsunami that could erase a whole city coming at him!

Any defense was utterly useless in front of the force.

The black sword wave landed on Mo Fan and swept him flying like dust. The dark energy covered Mo Fan’s entire body, his skin withering as sword cuts sliced his body!

Mo Fan felt great pain. His body was swaying wildly in the tsunami of sword wave. He was unable to stabilize himself.

Some time later, Mo Fan landed on the ground hard. The Black Snake Armor on him had broken, revealing the wounds under it.

Mo Fan rose to his feet while clenching his teeth. He glanced at the destroyed Black Snake Armor. There was a different look in his eyes.

——

“Mo Fan!”

Outside the dark dueling ground, Xinxia’s eyes reddened immediately when she saw Mo Fan being tossed around in the sword wave.

She could not endure seeing Mo Fan being harmed. When the thought of him dying in the dark dueling ground crossed her mind, she had trouble controlling her temper.

“Mo Fan, hurry up and think of a plan, you’re going to be killed soon!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

The sword was simply way too powerful. Mo Fan’s defense had crumbled almost instantly, leaving him totally defenseless. He was surely going to die to the Dark Swordmaster’s next attack!

“I overestimated him. I thought he could at least last for five rounds,” Zu Jiming laughed hollowly. For some reason, he was gloating over it, as he believed Mo Fan dying here would actually save him lots of trouble.

Ai Jiangtu remained silent. He glanced at the pyramid.

As Mo Fan mentioned, once the Dark Swordmaster was challenged to a duel, it completely ignored everything else that was happening around it. It was definitely their best chance of making it to the pyramid. Ai Jiangtu did not stay any longer, he picked a different direction and started approaching the pyramid.

“He won’t survive the next attack.”

“(sigh) It doesn’t make any difference, even with the Dark Contract. The duel won’t even last long enough. The Dark Swordmaster is going to kill us all.”

Fenna stood outside the dark dueling ground and stared at the fearless young Mage with mixed feelings.

It was meant to be her duel, yet a student Mage had to replace her…

—

Inside the dark dueling ground, Mo Fan stood upright, his armor had basically turned into broken junk, and his clothes were torn with holes.

The Dark Swordmaster stood a hundred meters away. It was proud as usual, its eyes displaying utter disdain toward Mo Fan.

Why would such a weak human think he could come and challenge it?

An opponent like him, it would just toss his corpse away after killing him, as his head was not even worthy to be included in its collection!

The brown Calamity Fire erupted under Mo Fan’s feet out of nowhere, spreading across the area and forming a ring of flames with Mo Fan at the center.

An illusionary teenage girl made of flames slowly appeared within the fires. Her body was combined with lava, fire, and the Rose Flame. Her eyes were burning in rage, as if she would turn into a scorching sun and slam into the undead that had injured Mo Fan at any second.

Teenage Flame Belle unleashed her flames to cover the whole dark dueling ground. With a screeching cry, a stronger flame resembling the Calamity Fire of nature surged forward and collided with the Dark Swordmaster’s aura.

Flames spread wildly and rolled fiercely. The Domain of Calamity Fire unleashed by Teenage Flame Belle surprisingly overwhelmed the Dark Swordmaster’s aura, and suddenly its disdain was gone, replaced with alertness!

“Is it working already? That’s faster than I thought,” Mo Fan grinned, looking at Little Flame Belle before him.

Before starting the duel, Mo Fan had fed Little Flame Belle the remaining Time Liquid he had.

Mo Fan had actually considered demonizing right away, since the number of undead in the pyramid was probably enough to replenish his energy. However, he decided against it when he recalled that the World Magic Association would surely be startled by his Demon Element. He did not want to be taken away to be experimented on like a white mouse, nor did he want to expose his Demon Element to the world, since he was still not strong enough without relying on it.

The best option was to let Little Flame Belle… oh, no, it should be the Flame Belle Empress!

The Time Liquid had temporarily allowed Little Flame Belle to enter her mature phase. With the Flame Belle Empress, he should be able to take on the Dark Swordmaster!

The burning Calamity Fire forced the Dark Swordmaster to back away. The Mages outside the dueling ground that were fighting with the army of undead were dumbfounded.

“Such powerful flames!” Fenna and Sherlock exclaimed simultaneously.

The flames were basically a strong Domain, so strong that it had suppressed the Dark Swordmaster’s aura.

“This…this…right, the Flame Belle Empress!”

“It’s the Flame Belle Empress!” Zhao Manyan, Jiang Yu, and the others shouted in joy.

Her hair reaching her ankles and burning as it was drifting with the wind… she was utterly breathtaking to look at. Her slender silhouette was like a goddess from a painting, surrounded by flames like an army of soldiers that further setting off her sacred demeanor. Those watching subconsciously felt the urge to submit to her while being dazzled by her beauty.

—

In the Calamity Fire, Teenage Flame Belle had completely evolved into Flame Belle Empress. Every movement fully displayed her nobility, and even the darkness structure that was proud of its heritage was ashamed of itself!

“I will not forgive you!” Flame Belle Empress spoke in the language of spirits. Her eyes did not have their usual naive look, but imperious, raging fury!

She was speaking to the Dark Swordmaster, who understood her perfectly. It glanced at Flame Belle Empress, before looking at Mo Fan again. It said with the same voice of disdain it had directed at Mo Fan, “As a Ruler of Flame, how are you satisfied with submitting to the will of such a weak, useless human? If you want, I can recommend you to my master. He possesses great power that you have never seen before. He is the ruler of darkness, and he will help you conquer the Capital of Flames!”

Flame Belle Empress was even more infuriated after hearing the words!

The blood lineage of demon creatures mattered a lot. Only those with strong blood lineages were respected by the others. Both Commander-level and Ruler-level creatures had a certain level of intelligence. They actually treated the human race as a bunch of rats that were impossible to wipe out, as they were able to reproduce so quickly.

That being said, even with the level of intelligence that Flame Belle Empress had acquired after evolving, she would not allow a filthy undead to humiliate the master she was contracted to!

Knowing that it was unnecessary to waste her time talking to an undead whose head was filled only with the lust for blood, Flame Belle Empress turned to Mo Fan and surprisingly charged at him with the fiery tornado encapsulating her figure.

Flame Belle Empress was able to eliminate the undead by herself, but after hearing its scornful remarks, Flame Belle Empress decided to possess Mo Fan instead, and teach the Dark Swordmaster how it would feel when it was defeated by a human it was looking down on!

As Flame Belle Empress charged into Mo Fan’s chest, he suddenly erupted into huge flames. The dueling ground laid out by the Dark Contract was shaking to contain them!

Clenching his fists, the air was immediately flowing with Fire Magic in the form of fairies. They were like soldiers on standby, waiting for their orders. The control he acquired felt the same as he the unlimited power he had when he was in his Demon Form!

Mo Fan raised his head slightly. The Soul Shadow of Flame Belle Empress was behind him, blazing red. Mo Fan was less than two meters tall, but he suddenly looked like a giant engulfed in flames. He no longer looked petty and tiny in front of the Dark Swordmaster!

—

“Oh my, Mo Fan’s strength is off the charts after merging with Flame Belle Empress!” Zhao Manyan totally lost his mind when he saw the Calamity Fire surging across the place.

They almost forgot that Mo Fan was able to summon the Flame Belle Empress with the Time Liquid.

In Peru, when they were dealing with the Strange Birds of Nazca, the Flame Belle Empress had driven back an entire horde of the demon birds on her own. Now, with the Flame Belle Empress possessing Mo Fan, he would surely be able to obtain her power!

—

Inside the dark dueling ground, the human who was awaiting his death had suddenly turned into a wild beast of flames. The fires surging all over the place greatly astounded the watching Mages.

“That…that Mage…”

“A possessing-type Elemental Creature… and it’s a fiery creature with a Ruler-level bloodline!” Fenna felt tears bursting out as she was watching Mo Fan.

It was divine intervention!

God had heard their prayer!

He had sent the Chinese national team here, just so the young Mage with such a remarkable strength was able to light up the flames of hope in the hopeless sea of undead, letting everyone see that the victory they so desired was right in front of them!

“All soldiers, kill the Brutal Sword Death Servants with me at once!” Fenna vented out all the rage in her chest with a roar.

Without the Dark Swordmaster’s help, the Brutal Sword Death Servants were nowhere enough to stop their drive to victory!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How arrogant of you!” The Dark Swordmaster’s gaze sharpened as it held its giant sword with both hands.

The Dark Swordmaster had not used the power of the phantom horse he was riding so far. This time, it clenched its legs tightly. The phantom horse immediately let out a screeching neigh and sprang forward. It was surrounded by a blood-red energy barrier as it charged forward at a terrifying pace!

As it arrived in front of Mo Fan, the phantom horse lifted its front limbs. Its muscular body rose to a shocking angle to the ground. Meanwhile, the Dark Swordmaster lifted its sword and slashed down at Mo Fan as the horse was coming down!

The force tore the ground in half, creating a long ravine. If the Dark Dueling Ground was not in place, the ravine would most likely have extended a kilometer further!

The flames engulfing Mo Fan transformed into a fiery phoenix as soon as the sword came down at him. Mo Fan stepped on the fiery phoenix and zipped a great distance away, dodging the powerful slash.

“Lava rock, up!” Mo Fan raised his hand and triggered the fire seal he had left at his previous location.

The Dark Swordmaster was unaware that it was stepping on an enormous fire seal. When it felt a strong energy rumbling under it, it quickly turned to the side and forcibly urged the phantom horse to leap away.

As soon as the Dark Swordmaster sprang away, a thick pillar of fire burst out from the fire seal!

The pillar of lava was a lot stronger than Fiery Fist: Nine Halls. It was actually wider than all the nine pillars of Fiery Fist: Nine Halls combined together! It totally resembled the eruption of a volcano, with the fire surging a few hundred meters up into the sky before the lava poured down like a huge burning rain, setting the ground aflame when they landed.

“Gravity Space!”

Mo Fan pushed his hand down. The ground that the Dark Swordmaster stood on sank suddenly into a huge pit in the shape of a rhomboid. The edges of the pit were perfectly straight, like it had been molded for the purpose!

The armor on the Dark Swordmaster started to crack. The phantom horse it was riding fell to the ground under the enormous pressure, trembling under the pressure!

Mo Fan stepped on the fiery phoenix and leapt into the air. When he reached the highest point, several fiery dragons appeared him. The dragons danced around him and encapsulated him in flames!

Mo Fan stayed in the air and threw his fist at the Dark Swordmaster. A fiery dragon of Calamity Fire plunged down and rammed into it hard!

With another punch, a second fiery dragon went from spiraling in the air to extending its wings and diving down at the burning area!

The continuous explosions of the burning fists and dragons crashing into the Dark Dueling Ground ended up creating a huge burning pit, as if a large meteorite had landed!

The Dark Swordmaster stood in the hole, being blasted endlessly. It quickly swung its sword to construct a wall of energy, keeping the fiery fists and dragons at bay. However, the Dark Swordmaster was obviously not the kind of undead with a good defense. The fiery dragons still left quite a number of scorch marks on it!

The Dark Swordmaster was knocked back continuously. Its eyes were burning with rage.

“Land of the Dark Spirits!” The Dark Swordmaster ignored the flames burning upon it. It plunged the giant sword in its hand deep into the ground.

Half of the sword sank into the ground instantly. The sands dyed red with blood suddenly turned black.

The darkness continued to spread across the Dark Dueling Ground. Thick black smoke rose from the soil and formed a black fog…

The Calamity Fire scattered across the place was put out by the black soil. The whole place had been set aflame by Mo Fan and Flame Belle Empress’ Calamity Fire, but now, only an area less than a few dozen meters from Mo Fan was still burning in his Domain!

“Sword, rise!” The Dark Swordmaster mumbled some ancient curse of darkness. The sword it stabbed into the ground was suddenly covered in curses. It was buzzing slightly now.

The black smoke rising from the soil started to gather, before turning into hundreds of shadowy, black swords!

The swords were hanging in the air with their tips pointing down. They had formed a spectacular formation of dark swords, and as the Dark Swordmaster screeched, the giant swords started approaching Mo Fan rapidly.

These black swords seemed to have their own consciousness. They either flew high up into the sky and slashed down, or stuck closely along the ground and sliced from unexpected angles. Some even turned into cold flickers, stabbing at their target.

The swords swept out, leaving long, black trails behind them.

Mo Fan had just dodged a wave of the swords when he lifted his gaze and saw a few dozen of swords hanging above him. They immediately poured down and stabbed at him!

Each of the swords was ten meters long. As they were falling they would emit a wave of swords outward in a circle, making it impossible to dodge them all.

“Ten Thousand Feathers!” Mo Fan stomped the ground, sending thousands of fiery feathers into the air, all densely packed together.

The burning feathers scattered in all directions and exploded immediately when they came into contact with the black swords…

The explosion of his own Thousand Piercing Fire Feathers was absolutely shocking, but this attack had evolved into Ten Thousand Soaring Feathers, with a longer explosion. It destroyed the black swords with brute force!

—

The people outside were utterly dumbfounded when they sensed the overwhelming energy rumbling within the Dark Dueling Ground.

If either of the two inside the barrier had been unleashing their attacks on the battlefield, hundreds, or even a thousand humans or undead would have died a horrible death. Even the combined strength of a squad was nowhere as strong as any of their attacks!

“Mo Fan is absolutely nuts!” Zhao Manyan’s admiration toward Mo Fan was off the charts.

“Taking on a Ruler-inferior creature by himself… Mo Fan is simply a maniac among maniacs!”

Xinxia’s eyes flickered with disbelief. Not only was Mo Fan still alive, he had managed to hurt the Dark Swordmaster, too!

She clearly remembered how they barely survived against a group of Servant-class One-eyed Magic Wolves during the Calamity of Bo City. A creature like the Darkwing Wolf was enough to bring doom to their city!

However, any of the attacks that Mo Fan had executed was almost strong enough to kill the Darkwing Wolf instantly. It was hard to believe how strong he had become!

“What is going on?” Mu Ningxue looked at Zhao Manyan and Jiang Yu with a blank face.

“It’s the Time Liquid, we found it in a secluded city of an ancient Indian tribe! It can temporarily evolve a Summoned Beast to its complete form! Previously, we were caught in a disaster that was meant to kill all of us, but Mo Fan’s Little Flame Belle turned into the Flame Belle Empress to save the day. I thought he had already used up all the Time Liquid, but it turns out that he was still keeping some of it!”

“No wonder Mo Fan dared to challenge the undead, but I agree that he still has balls of steel. If I was in his shoes, I wouldn’t dare to take on a Ruler-level creature even if I was still holding onto a trump card…”

Ruler-level creatures were like Grim Reapers. Not many humans were able to stay calm when facing a Ruler-level creature, but Mo Fan acted as if he was naturally fearless. He even dared to fight a Ruler-level creature. His courage was impressive!

When they saw Mo Fan fighting the Dark Swordmaster, the people could feel their hot blood rising in their chests. Not many people in the world could take on a Ruler-level creature alone, even though the Dark Swordmaster was only a Ruler-inferior creature…

Many so-called geniuses were unable to come this far taking on a Ruler-level creature on their own, yet Mo Fan had done it. He had fought against a Ruler-level creature when he was only in his twenties! It was absolutely shocking and unbelievable!

—

The Dark Swordmaster lifted its head and let out a furious cry, blowing out a black smoke of death.

The flames had burned its mount into a pile of black ash. The phantom horse had kept the Dark Swordmaster company for over a thousand years, but it was burned to death today!

The Dark Swordmaster stood on the ground. After losing its mount, it was unable to utilize the full potential of its sword art. However, since it was a duel as demanded by the Dark Contract, only one of them could leave alive! Otherwise, the Dark Contract would drag them both into a bottomless abyss of darkness with no escape!

The Dark Swordmaster was obviously an expert with the Shadow Element. It suddenly disappeared when it was sprinting forward. It reappeared eerily behind Mo Fan and slashed with the giant sword. The dark energy surged forward like a tide!

The sword sliced through Mo Fan’s burning flesh. The Dark Swordmaster almost felt like bursting out laughing.

However, it soon discovered the flames were simply dissipating in the air. It did not get the satisfaction of seeing blood splattering everywhere.

The Dark Swordmaster felt that something was not right. It immediately scanned the surroundings and saw a slight ripple in a certain spot, which the human engulfed in flames stepped out from.

Before the Dark Swordmaster could react, Mo Fan vanished and immediately reappeared right in front of it!

“Die!” Mo Fan slammed the fist with all his power of the Fire Element into the Dark Swordmaster’s chest.

There was an explosion, and the Dark Swordmaster was sent flying. It slammed hard on the barrier of the Dark Contract. Half of its armor was broken, revealing the dried, ugly flesh beneath!

Blink!

Mo Fan was using the Space Element, but it did not belong to him. It was from Flame Belle Empress.

Flame Belle Empress was the purest empress of fire, but she was also the beloved child born under the starry sky of the North Burning Valley. She possessed the power of the Space Element. Teenage Flame Belle was only slowly mastering the power of the Space Element, but in the form of Flame Belle Empress, she was extremely adept at using it!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When the Dark Swordmaster was exposed, black smoke was released from its armor, like thousands of wriggling centipedes lunging for Mo Fan.

These centipedes had incredibly strong devouring power. If they struck a living creature, not even bones would be left behind. They chased after Mo Fan crazily, hungering to tear every bit of Mo Fan’s flesh off.

These black smoke centipedes could eat anything. They could even devour the Calamity Fire. Mo Fan immediately withdrew when he realized it was most likely the Dark Swordmaster’s trump card!

The Dark Dark Dueling Ground was actually a lot more spacious than it seemed. It turned out to be a compressed space, thus Mo Fan abused the Space Element to distance himself from the black worms.

Blink!

In the past, Mo Fan was extremely jealous of Ai Jiangtu’s calm and cool demeanor when blinking around. He immediately felt excited and incredible when he was blinking around with Flame Belle Empress’ power. If he could actually move around like this with his own magic, it would greatly improve his strength too!

There was no end to the black worms. The Dark Swordmaster seemed to have spent all the dark energy inside its body. The whole Dark Dueling Ground was crawling with black smoke centipedes. There were so many of them that they were already spinning like a whirlwind in the air…

The tornado of black worms slowly descended to the ground. It was so huge that there was simply no room to escape from it.

The black worm tornado approached rapidly. Mo Fan raised his head, disgusted by the sight of countless worms densely packed together and wriggling in front of him.

Mo Fan glanced over to the Dark Swordmaster and realized that the undead had disappeared. All that was left was the broken armor. There was no sign of its flesh.

“So these black worms are actually your true form!” Mo Fan laughed hollowly.

The creature was undead and a Darkness Creature, after all. No matter how noble and imperious it looked on the surface, it would never get rid of its ghastly, disgusting true appearance.

A few of the black worms were screeching above Mo Fan’s head. The tornado had almost landed on the ground!

Mo Fan lifted his arms slowly, lifting the ocean of Calamity Fire scattered around him.

The raging flames rose above Mo Fan’s head and collided with the tornado of black worms…

Countless black centipedes started falling from the tornado. They fell into the flames and were burned into ashes. The black centipedes were tearing at the flames at the same time, and the size of the ocean of flames kept on shrinking…

Not long after, the black centipedes gained the upper hand. They had managed to devour all of Mo Fan’s Calamity Fire and put out the sea of flames, but as new flames were summoned as reinforcements, the black centipedes ended up as burning fuel, helping the flames to grow and burn more fiercely!

The fire started rising, like a special troop breaking through the defense and tearing a huge hole in the enemy’s formation.

By focusing on the hole torn into the pattern, the flames surged wildly and set even more black centipedes on fire. The flames spread from one centipede to the other, and soon a huge chunk of them was burned beyond recognition. The coiled-up corpses started falling like rain.

These black centipedes were the main form of the Dark Swordmaster, so Mo Fan would not allow a single one of them to live. As the fire was rising, Mo Fan moved into the air and appeared in the center of the tornado of black centipedes!

“Fire Demon Drawing!”

A ring of blazing red fire appeared around Mo Fan, but it suddenly grew significantly, now big enough to cover the entire dueling ground!

Inside the ring of fire, lines of brown fire intertwined and swiftly combined into a formidable drawing of a fire demon!

The drawing suddenly erupted in flames and turned into an astonishing picture of burning clouds. The temperature within the clouds flared beyond the limit of the worms, evaporating the black centipedes still struggling vigorously in the flames in an instant!

The black centipedes cried out in terror, and tried to make their way back to the broken armor.

Once the armor was filled up, the Dark Swordmaster rose to its feet again. It was searching for its enormous sword in a panic.

It was obvious that the Dark Swordmaster had suffered serious injuries. Its imperious aura from before was gone, even its enormous sword had lost its luster.

Flame Belle Empress cried out, telling Mo Fan that the effects of the Time Liquid were wearing off. He had to eliminate the Dark Swordmaster as soon as possible.

Mo Fan nodded. The Dark Swordmaster was clearly at its limit, it was about time for him to send it off to the Underworld. The brutal creature had been alive for countless years, and the number of innocent lives that died at its hands was uncountable, too!

Mo Fan raised his head. His eyes flickered with both red and silver lights.

“Scorching Sun!”

A light suddenly appeared right above the Dark Swordmaster. Not long after, the light started to fall rapidly as a blinding, brilliant sun.

The sun was wrapped in a silver brilliance. It was clearly strengthened by the magic of the Space Element!

The Dark Swordmaster was fully aware of the terrifying force approaching it, yet was struggling to move at all. It could only watch the shocking sun falling onto it!

The brilliant sun landed as heavily as a giant mountain. The heat wave it stirred up was over a hundred meters high. It even left a spectacular pit behind, with flames burning fiercely within it.

The Dark Swordmaster was instantly smashed into a puff of black smoke, which was also set aflame by the scorching heat, giving the creature no chance of surviving!

A black helmet rolled across the ground and stopped in front of Mo Fan’s feet. The helmet was the Dark Swordmaster’s head. He could barely see its hollow eyes through the gaps. They were no longer showing disdain, but a hint of dissatisfaction that was slowly dimming!

——

“Is…is it dead?” Super Mage Sherlock stared at the Dark Dueling Ground. His astonishment was fully on display with his blank expression.

The Dark Contract slowly vanished, together with the walls of the dueling ground. Except for the ravines and scorch marks across the place, the area had claimed its initial appearance!

Mo Fan was still engulfed in the Calamity Fire, showing the Soul Shadow of the Flame Belle Empress. He stood there and watched the energy of darkness that had been dominating the human army disperse slowly.

The Flame Belle Empress came out of Mo Fan’s body. Mo Fan could see her fatigue on her face.

The power that the Time Liquid contained was not Little Flame Belle’s own power, after all. Mo Fan was heartwarmed when he saw Little Flame Belle trying her very best. “Go take a nap! In the future, you will surely be a lot stronger than you are now, defeating an incompetent Ruler-level creature like this will be as easy as blowing a single breath for you!”

Mo Fan was feeling more confident in Little Flame Belle’s potential. He believed the actual strength of the Flame Belle Empress was far more impressive than what he had seen so far.

Even Ruler-level creatures were ranked differently, based on their strength. The Dark Swordmaster was like a child compared to the Mountain Zombie and the Black Totem Snake. Mo Fan strongly believed that the real Flame Belle Empress was most likely a Supreme Ruler, whose strength could make a whole country tremble!

“We won, we won the battle!” Old Mage Mudin was in tears.

Looking around them, the number of undead was as overwhelming as usual, but everyone clearly knew that the victory was theirs the moment the Dark Swordmaster was eliminated.

“Don’t celebrate yet, the Dark Swordmaster is dead, but the mirage is still…” Wankos was calmer than everyone else, but he suddenly saw rays of white light rising not far away in the middle of his speech!

The white rays rose into the sky and landed on the eerie-looking pyramid!

Since it was only a mirage, when the light passed through it, the whole pyramid started to blur.

The image started to blur and contort, and the magnificent pyramid slowly dispersed, together with the eerie glow dying the moon red…

Without it, the undead were like fish out of water.

It did not matter how enormous the army of undead was, or what level the undead were; losing the light was like losing oxygen for the undead. They started to retreat and search for their real territory!

Fenna was covered in dried bloodstains. Her face was so dirty that it was hard to recognize her.

She stood high up and watched the undead retreat like a tide. Knowing that the battle had finally come to an end, she fell to the ground feebly.

“Your blood is not in vain, we…we’ve won!” Tears ran down and washed away the filth on her face. The joy originated from her heart; the blood of her subordinates that had been killed in this battle was not shed in vain!

—

“Mo Fan!”

“HAHAHA! We actually won the battle, we won!”

“Mo Fan, please accept my knees; you even killed the Dark Swordmaster, why the heck do you even bother taking part in the World College Tournament? Just lead an army in a war, and kill all the demon creatures that dare infiltrate our land!”

Everyone went up and surrounded Mo Fan, who was the greatest contributor among them.

Being able to win the battle was an honor that they could boast about for the rest of their lives. It was in fact comparable to achieving a good result in the World College Tournament. They would soon be commended by the World Magic Association, which would surely be of great value to these young Mages. It was important for them to earn their reputation, as it could lead to being appointed as officials with great power and being given more resources!

“Thank you so much! You will always be welcomed as the most honorable guest by Egypt and Puccini City!” Fenna went up to Mo Fan. Her tears had not even dried yet.

“I only did what I should,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan was a man with a heart and soul. When he believed it was something he was supposed to do, he would not hesitate to do it!

Chapter 1027: Mo Fan’s Set-up

___Translated by XephiZ___

Edited by Aelryinth

Even though Mo Fan had used his remaining Time Liquid to secure the victory, he did not feel it was a waste, as he had earned quite a lot from looting the Dark Swordmaster!

The Dark Swordmaster did not give him a Soul Essence. If it actually had coughed up a Soul Essence, Mo Fan would be rich instantly, as a Ruler-level creature’s Soul Essence was normally sold for billions!

But even the Ruler-level Soul Remnant it did have was extremely valuable. After the Little Loach Pendant took it away, it immediately refined ten Warrior-level Soul Essences for Mo Fan. If he could actually have sold them all, it would have been worth a total of two hundred million.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan could only use them to strengthen his Stars. The project he initially thought was going to be a lengthy one was suddenly shortened by half. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan always ended up the biggest winner in a huge-scale battle like this. Even if the undead did not give him any loot, their Soul Remnants alone were of great value to him!

Apart from the Dark Swordmaster’s Soul Remnant, Mo Fan had also managed to preserve its Undead Crystal perfectly.

A complete Undead Crystal was extremely valuable, since it was able to replenish a Mage’s energy. The Ruler-level Undead Crystal was most likely worth a hundred million if he was to auction it.

He handed it to Zhao Manyan since he knew Zhao Manyan could help him sell it at a good price. With this, it seemed like he finally might have enough money to buy a Soul-grade Lightning Seed with a Domain!

“Mo Fan, give me the Undead Crystal, the Ruler-level creature’s armor and sword, and I’ll sell them for two hundred million for you! How’s that?” Zhao Manyan decisively proposed.

“Two hundred million? Is that even possible?” Mo Fan asked in astonishment.

The Dark Swordmaster did not drop any rare loot, nor did it drop a Soul Essence or some other valuable parts. Mo Fan thought it was impressive if he could sell the loot he acquired for a hundred million.

“Why not? It’s still a Ruler-level creature; many rich people across the world are interested in collecting the corpses of these Ruler-level creature, especially something like the Dark Swordmaster! Those rich merchants with huge houses like to collect them to intimidate their business competitors.

“On the other hand, they can also scare some demon creatures off. If you can forge a statue of the phantom horse, and fill up the armor to resemble a figure with the sword in its hand, the villa’s level would immediately skyrocket! There are lots of rich people, but not all of them are able to use the corpse of a Ruler-level creature as a decoration. Besides, the Dark Swordmaster’s armor fits the tastes of the Westerners; I can easily help you sell it at a good price in Europe, and it might actually be worth more than two hundred million!” Zhao Manyan said confidently.

Zhao Manyan was born into a business family. He knew the things that rich people were willing to invest in.

The Ruler-level Dark Swordmaster was a bodyguard of a Pharaoh, not to mention the imperious-looking armor and giant sword would easily attract many people that wanted to find something to decorate their mansion. It was common for collectors to spend hundreds of millions on a few art pieces, let alone a guardian statue refined with a Ruler-level creature’s corpse!

“Doesn’t that mean I can finally get a Soul-grade Lightning Seed?” Mo Fan was excited when he saw how confident Zhao Manyan was.

It seemed like he had enough money to get himself a Soul-grade Lightning Seed. Once he had one, he would no longer feel helpless when fighting against an Executioner of the Black Vatican like Philip!

“You’re almost there. I’ve got the connections; when we arrive in Italy or Paris, I promise I’ll get you a sick Soul-grade Lightning Seed. Say, I’m confident enough to say that I’m the disciple of the richest renowned family in China, but even my family isn’t ambitious enough to get me a Soul-grade Seed. When you get yours, I bet even the members of the American team will be reluctant to fight you,” Zhao Manyan said.

It was true that every powerful Mage walked the path on their own.

A grass-roots Mage probably would not have access to an abundant supply of resources in the range of ten million, let alone anything over a hundred million. However, whenever these grass-root Mages reached a certain height, they could easily earn lots of resources by themselves, and their growth after being self-reliant was usually more impressive than disciples of renowned families who were too reliant on the resources provided.

A Mage’s cultivation was not something that could be obtained with just mere resources. Any resource would simply be a waste for someone untalented, but Mages who had reached their current heights by their own hard work had learned the secret of becoming stronger by probing the way ahead themselves, and they also knew how to break through by fighting endlessly. Even when they were covered in bruises, they would break through the cocoon and be reborn again. Over time, they would leave Mages of a similar age who over-relied on their families far behind!

Zhao Manyan was starting to believe it when he looked at Mo Fan.

The man had outstanding talents, yet he had decided to take the difficult approach by clearing the path with his bare hands. It would not be long until he finally broke out of the cocoon. By then, he would be so far ahead that others would no longer have a chance to catch up to him.

The presence of the undead completely dissipated after a huge rain. There was not a hint of strange odors in the air.

Even Heaven was paying its respects, sending rain to Puccini City to celebrate. A country like Egypt usually would not see a single drop of rain for half a year.

Pushing Xinxia’s wheelchair, Mo Fan walked slowly forward. Every step he took, he could pick up Xinxia’s alluring scent as the breeze swept past.

-How can her smell be so pleasant?- Mo Fan had the urge to lead her deep into a deserted alleyway where no one could respond to a person’s cry for help. He could not help it; as a man who usually ate meat, the vegetables he cooked himself felt almost tasteless.

Lots of flowers blossomed after the rain. It was not a common sight, since they were in a desert country.

There were not many people in the garden. The people had gathered in the square to celebrate the victory with dancing, singing, wine, beautiful women, and delicious food.

Sitting on a bench, two hundred seventy degrees blocked off by trees, Mo Fan gently carried Xinxia over. However, he immediately frowned as he noticed something, “Why are you even lighter now? Did you not eat well in the Parthenon Temple?”

It was unacceptable for her to be any lighter, as some parts would no longer be as bouncy when he fondled them!

“It’s not that, maybe I’ve been training too hard,” Xinxia replied softly.

“Training hard means you should be eating more. Look at me, my physique and my muscles are energetic, and are able to provide you with a sense of security,” Mo Fan carried Xinxia and placed her on his leg to display his strength.

Xinxia was unable to walk, thus she was like a little lamb without the wheelchair. She immediately became a prey of the pervert trying to take advantage of her.

For some reason, Xinxia’s legs were particularly attractive, perhaps because they were well protected since she could not walk. The tender, milky-white sheen, combined with the soft, but bouncy touch of her slender legs… they were simply perfect!

Mo Fan placed his hands on Xinxia’s legs. The man was obviously going to take advantage of the woman when no one was around.

Mo Fan knew it was important to pick the right place for a date. A bench three-quarters blocked off, and a giant sandcastle with rarely anyone passing by, it was almost like a room with no escape…

Someone might ask, why didn’t he pick a room if he was trying to do something evil?

Mo Fan would simply look at the person disdainfully. How naive, even women who normally behaved like dudes would immediately know what a man was up to if he invited them to his room to talk, let alone a shy girl like Xinxia. The mission was doomed to fail, unless the woman was as desperate as the man was!

On the other hand, a park with a good environment, fresh air, and not many people was the perfect place for him to commit his crime. With just a little teasing, the shy woman would instantly submit to his will!

Xinxia was totally unaware that she had been set up by Mo Fan. Her mind was still occupied with the battle they were involved in not long ago.

As a matter of fact, Xinxia was terrified when Mo Fan was fighting the duel of the Dark Contract.

She thought she had finally caught up to Mo Fan, but it turned out that he was still way ahead of her. There was nothing she could do to help, apart from feeling worried!

“By the way, I’m actually curious about something,” Mo Fan said in a serious voice while fondling Xinxia’s legs.

“Mmm?”

“Aren’t your legs pretty sensitive?” Mo Fan said.

Xinxia blushed instantly. -What is this bad guy thinking? If he keeps moving his hands up, she…she would…-

“If you can still feel your legs, why don’t you have the strength to walk?” Mo Fan asked.

It was not like Xinxia could not stand or move her legs, but whenever she tried to move them, she would suddenly lose her strength and feel pain. It was quite dumbfounding, since if it was some kind of sickness, why couldn’t the Parthenon Temple heal her and allow her to walk like a normal person, if they could even resurrect dead people?

“I don’t know,” Xinxia lowered her head. She would normally feel down when she thought about her legs, but Mo Fan was crossing the line. It was no longer as simple as fondling her legs!

“Don’t…” Xinxia could feel her ears burning. Why would someone act so recklessly in public?

“Perhaps, it’s not a sickness, but there’s some other reason to it,” Mo Fan deduced.

“May…maybe, mm, mm, Brother Mo Fan, let’s take a walk instead,” Xinxia could feel herself heating up. If she continued to stay, who knew what the man would do to her!

“I’m feeling tired from the walk, why don’t we go back and take a rest? It’s been a long time since I talked to you, come to my room,” Mo Fan replied.

Xinxia’s face was so red it looked like one could squeeze some water out of it. If she rejected the suggestion, Mo Fan would simply continue with his shameless acts in the park. She would rather go to his room, at least she would not be worried about being spotted then! Xinxia was so worried that someone would stumble into them when Mo Fan was fondling her, as it would be utterly embarrassing.

A little lamb was no match against an experienced driver. Mo Fan burst out laughing on the inside when he saw Xinxia nodding softly.

On the way back, Mo Fan had the urge to give himself a slap to the face. Why hadn’t he learned the Advanced Space Spell yet? It would be so cool if he could Blink right back to his roomlated by XephiZ___

Edited by Aelryinth

Even though Mo Fan had used his remaining Time Liquid to secure the victory, he did not feel it was a waste, as he had earned quite a lot from looting the Dark Swordmaster!

The Dark Swordmaster did not give him a Soul Essence. If it actually had coughed up a Soul Essence, Mo Fan would be rich instantly, as a Ruler-level creature’s Soul Essence was normally sold for billions!

But even the Ruler-level Soul Remnant it did have was extremely valuable. After the Little Loach Pendant took it away, it immediately refined ten Warrior-level Soul Essences for Mo Fan. If he could actually have sold them all, it would have been worth a total of two hundred million.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan could only use them to strengthen his Stars. The project he initially thought was going to be a lengthy one was suddenly shortened by half. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan always ended up the biggest winner in a huge-scale battle like this. Even if the undead did not give him any loot, their Soul Remnants alone were of great value to him!

Apart from the Dark Swordmaster’s Soul Remnant, Mo Fan had also managed to preserve its Undead Crystal perfectly.

A complete Undead Crystal was extremely valuable, since it was able to replenish a Mage’s energy. The Ruler-level Undead Crystal was most likely worth a hundred million if he was to auction it.

He handed it to Zhao Manyan since he knew Zhao Manyan could help him sell it at a good price. With this, it seemed like he finally might have enough money to buy a Soul-grade Lightning Seed with a Domain!

“Mo Fan, give me the Undead Crystal, the Ruler-level creature’s armor and sword, and I’ll sell them for two hundred million for you! How’s that?” Zhao Manyan decisively proposed.

“Two hundred million? Is that even possible?” Mo Fan asked in astonishment.

The Dark Swordmaster did not drop any rare loot, nor did it drop a Soul Essence or some other valuable parts. Mo Fan thought it was impressive if he could sell the loot he acquired for a hundred million.

“Why not? It’s still a Ruler-level creature; many rich people across the world are interested in collecting the corpses of these Ruler-level creature, especially something like the Dark Swordmaster! Those rich merchants with huge houses like to collect them to intimidate their business competitors.

“On the other hand, they can also scare some demon creatures off. If you can forge a statue of the phantom horse, and fill up the armor to resemble a figure with the sword in its hand, the villa’s level would immediately skyrocket! There are lots of rich people, but not all of them are able to use the corpse of a Ruler-level creature as a decoration. Besides, the Dark Swordmaster’s armor fits the tastes of the Westerners; I can easily help you sell it at a good price in Europe, and it might actually be worth more than two hundred million!” Zhao Manyan said confidently.

Zhao Manyan was born into a business family. He knew the things that rich people were willing to invest in.

The Ruler-level Dark Swordmaster was a bodyguard of a Pharaoh, not to mention the imperious-looking armor and giant sword would easily attract many people that wanted to find something to decorate their mansion. It was common for collectors to spend hundreds of millions on a few art pieces, let alone a guardian statue refined with a Ruler-level creature’s corpse!

“Doesn’t that mean I can finally get a Soul-grade Lightning Seed?” Mo Fan was excited when he saw how confident Zhao Manyan was.

It seemed like he had enough money to get himself a Soul-grade Lightning Seed. Once he had one, he would no longer feel helpless when fighting against an Executioner of the Black Vatican like Philip!

“You’re almost there. I’ve got the connections; when we arrive in Italy or Paris, I promise I’ll get you a sick Soul-grade Lightning Seed. Say, I’m confident enough to say that I’m the disciple of the richest renowned family in China, but even my family isn’t ambitious enough to get me a Soul-grade Seed. When you get yours, I bet even the members of the American team will be reluctant to fight you,” Zhao Manyan said.

It was true that every powerful Mage walked the path on their own.

A grass-roots Mage probably would not have access to an abundant supply of resources in the range of ten million, let alone anything over a hundred million. However, whenever these grass-root Mages reached a certain height, they could easily earn lots of resources by themselves, and their growth after being self-reliant was usually more impressive than disciples of renowned families who were too reliant on the resources provided.

A Mage’s cultivation was not something that could be obtained with just mere resources. Any resource would simply be a waste for someone untalented, but Mages who had reached their current heights by their own hard work had learned the secret of becoming stronger by probing the way ahead themselves, and they also knew how to break through by fighting endlessly. Even when they were covered in bruises, they would break through the cocoon and be reborn again. Over time, they would leave Mages of a similar age who over-relied on their families far behind!

Zhao Manyan was starting to believe it when he looked at Mo Fan.

The man had outstanding talents, yet he had decided to take the difficult approach by clearing the path with his bare hands. It would not be long until he finally broke out of the cocoon. By then, he would be so far ahead that others would no longer have a chance to catch up to him.

The presence of the undead completely dissipated after a huge rain. There was not a hint of strange odors in the air.

Even Heaven was paying its respects, sending rain to Puccini City to celebrate. A country like Egypt usually would not see a single drop of rain for half a year.

Pushing Xinxia’s wheelchair, Mo Fan walked slowly forward. Every step he took, he could pick up Xinxia’s alluring scent as the breeze swept past.

-How can her smell be so pleasant?- Mo Fan had the urge to lead her deep into a deserted alleyway where no one could respond to a person’s cry for help. He could not help it; as a man who usually ate meat, the vegetables he cooked himself felt almost tasteless.

Lots of flowers blossomed after the rain. It was not a common sight, since they were in a desert country.

There were not many people in the garden. The people had gathered in the square to celebrate the victory with dancing, singing, wine, beautiful women, and delicious food.

Sitting on a bench, two hundred seventy degrees blocked off by trees, Mo Fan gently carried Xinxia over. However, he immediately frowned as he noticed something, “Why are you even lighter now? Did you not eat well in the Parthenon Temple?”

It was unacceptable for her to be any lighter, as some parts would no longer be as bouncy when he fondled them!

“It’s not that, maybe I’ve been training too hard,” Xinxia replied softly.

“Training hard means you should be eating more. Look at me, my physique and my muscles are energetic, and are able to provide you with a sense of security,” Mo Fan carried Xinxia and placed her on his leg to display his strength.

Xinxia was unable to walk, thus she was like a little lamb without the wheelchair. She immediately became a prey of the pervert trying to take advantage of her.

For some reason, Xinxia’s legs were particularly attractive, perhaps because they were well protected since she could not walk. The tender, milky-white sheen, combined with the soft, but bouncy touch of her slender legs… they were simply perfect!

Mo Fan placed his hands on Xinxia’s legs. The man was obviously going to take advantage of the woman when no one was around.

Mo Fan knew it was important to pick the right place for a date. A bench three-quarters blocked off, and a giant sandcastle with rarely anyone passing by, it was almost like a room with no escape…

Someone might ask, why didn’t he pick a room if he was trying to do something evil?

Mo Fan would simply look at the person disdainfully. How naive, even women who normally behaved like dudes would immediately know what a man was up to if he invited them to his room to talk, let alone a shy girl like Xinxia. The mission was doomed to fail, unless the woman was as desperate as the man was!

On the other hand, a park with a good environment, fresh air, and not many people was the perfect place for him to commit his crime. With just a little teasing, the shy woman would instantly submit to his will!

Xinxia was totally unaware that she had been set up by Mo Fan. Her mind was still occupied with the battle they were involved in not long ago.

As a matter of fact, Xinxia was terrified when Mo Fan was fighting the duel of the Dark Contract.

She thought she had finally caught up to Mo Fan, but it turned out that he was still way ahead of her. There was nothing she could do to help, apart from feeling worried!

“By the way, I’m actually curious about something,” Mo Fan said in a serious voice while fondling Xinxia’s legs.

“Mmm?”

“Aren’t your legs pretty sensitive?” Mo Fan said.

Xinxia blushed instantly. -What is this bad guy thinking? If he keeps moving his hands up, she…she would…-

“If you can still feel your legs, why don’t you have the strength to walk?” Mo Fan asked.

It was not like Xinxia could not stand or move her legs, but whenever she tried to move them, she would suddenly lose her strength and feel pain. It was quite dumbfounding, since if it was some kind of sickness, why couldn’t the Parthenon Temple heal her and allow her to walk like a normal person, if they could even resurrect dead people?

“I don’t know,” Xinxia lowered her head. She would normally feel down when she thought about her legs, but Mo Fan was crossing the line. It was no longer as simple as fondling her legs!

“Don’t…” Xinxia could feel her ears burning. Why would someone act so recklessly in public?

“Perhaps, it’s not a sickness, but there’s some other reason to it,” Mo Fan deduced.

“May…maybe, mm, mm, Brother Mo Fan, let’s take a walk instead,” Xinxia could feel herself heating up. If she continued to stay, who knew what the man would do to her!

“I’m feeling tired from the walk, why don’t we go back and take a rest? It’s been a long time since I talked to you, come to my room,” Mo Fan replied.

Xinxia’s face was so red it looked like one could squeeze some water out of it. If she rejected the suggestion, Mo Fan would simply continue with his shameless acts in the park. She would rather go to his room, at least she would not be worried about being spotted then! Xinxia was so worried that someone would stumble into them when Mo Fan was fondling her, as it would be utterly embarrassing.

A little lamb was no match against an experienced driver. Mo Fan burst out laughing on the inside when he saw Xinxia nodding softly.

On the way back, Mo Fan had the urge to give himself a slap to the face. Why hadn’t he learned the Advanced Space Spell yet? It would be so cool if he could Blink right back to his room!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

“What a surprise, they were sold for two hundred and fifty million in an auction. Mo Fan, you’ve made bank this time!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed to Mo Fan excitedly.

Since Mo Fan rarely had a chance to see Xinxia, he had spent a few days with her. He also went to visit some great attractions together, experiencing how it would feel to go on a honeymoon trip together in advance.

“Not bad! Are there any nice Soul-grade Seeds?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan had just sent Xinxia off. It was time for her to return to the Parthenon Temple. After the training, she would become an official member of the Parthenon Temple’s Hall of the Goddess. He could easily tell how impressive it was when he saw the shock on Nanrong Ni’s face before.

“Head to Venice; the City of Canals will surely have the thing you are looking for. The world’s biggest auction house is there. You can buy many things as long as you have the money!” Zhao Manyan told Mo Fan.

Mo Fan now had a total of eight hundred and fifty million. It was quite an insane amount of money. He never thought he would be this rich one day back when he was studying at school.

That being said, Mo Fan never thought he would be spending even more while he was getting richer. The money he had was only enough to buy a single Soul-grade Seed!

——

After arriving in Venice, they found the city built on water had a unique charm that no other city in the world had. The old clock towers, churches, and colorful buildings from the Middle Ages was like going back in time to revisit Europe’s history.

Venice did not have vehicles, and it did not even have bicycles. All their transportation consisted of boats and a Water-type beast called a Gondola.

The Gondola Water Beast perfectly suited the atmosphere in Venice. Their backbones were slightly sunken, but around their tails and heads a bone poked up. If they were lying still with half their bodies in the water, they perfectly resembled a small, crescent boat that could fit around five people.

These Gondolas could be thought of as the cabs of Venice. They were specially trained, and each was ‘driven’ by a special person. The Gondolas were able to bring visitors and the locals to any corner in Venice. Going out to the sea was an option, too!

When Mo Fan arrived in Venice, he immediately went to take a ride on the unique beasts as he explored the City of Canals.

“I heard every person in Venice is a Water Mage, is that true?” Mo Fan sat on the Gondola and asked the driver.

The driver was an old man. Perhaps because of being exposed to the sun too much, his skin tone was as dark as an African, even though he was a European. He was extremely friendly. He explained to Mo Fan with a smile, “Not everyone, but at least half of the people here can cast one or two Water Spells. Unfortunately, I’m from the other half.”

“Half of the people are Water Mages, that’s pretty scary!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The ratio of Mages to ordinary people was extremely low, so it was quite shocking to learn that half of the people in Venice were Water Mages!

“If you’re heading for the San Marco Auction Hall, you’ll find it by going down this way. The World College Tournament is just around the corner, meaning that there will be lots of people coming to this city. I bet I will be quite busy soon too,” the driver smiled.

Saying this, he handed a card to Mo Fan, telling him that he was available if Mo Fan was interested in booking the Gondola.

——

When the two went ashore, the Piazza San Marco was right in front of them. The luxurious San Marco Auction Hall was within sight too, with two griffins guarding the entrance. The place looked stunning!

“Zhao Manyan!” As soon as they went in through the entrance, a handsome man in beach shorts with a pair of sunglasses came up to Zhao Manyan.

Beach shorts and slippers, the man’s simple outfit did not really suit the environment. Only the branded sunglasses were able to slightly offset his casual temperament.

“Big Brother, you’re so busy, why did you bother waiting here to receive me…” Zhao Manyan said excitedly when he saw the man with sunglasses.

However, before he could finish, the man raised his brows and said, “Why the heck are you here?”

“I told you I was coming! Did you seriously not read any of my messages?” Zhao Manyan was left speechless.

“Oh, I didn’t pay much attention to it. Speaking of which, didn’t dad send you to some other countries for training? Why are you here, then? I’m warning you, it’s useless trying to hide here if you have done something shameless. I’m too busy to even care about you, every minute of mine is worth a hundred million, do you understand?” the man berated him.

Zhao Manyan’s face darkened. He forced the words out between the gaps of his teeth, “I’m here for the World College Tournament. Could you at least pay some attention to me?”

“Oh, oh, I heard someone mentioning it before, saying that you’ve wasted a lot of money,” the man murmured.

Mo Fan could easily tell that the man was none other than Zhao Manyan’s brother, Zhao Youqian.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was struggling to understand what Zhao Manyan’s parents were thinking. The name they gave to their second child, Zhao Manyan, was fairly restrained, yet they had to give their eldest son such a blatant name. Youqian, anyone could easily tell it meant he was loaded!

{TL Note: Youqian sounds the same as the term ‘have money’}

“This is my good brother, Mo Fan, the one I mentioned to you before… oh, forget it, I bet you didn’t read any of my texts. I was asking you to help me…” Zhao Manyan said.

Before Zhao Manyan could finish, Zhao Youqian interrupted, “Just head inside, I have an important guest to receive.”

“…” Zhao Manyan was left speechless. He had no choice but to bring Mo Fan inside the San Marco Auction Hall.

Only the richest and most powerful people in the world were able to hold shares of the San Marco Auction Hall. The Zhao Clan was the richest family in China, and the main reason was that it owned quite a huge share of the San Marco Auction Hall, meaning that their clan was involved in every world-class auction that was held here.

“Your brother is quite interesting!” Mo Fan could not help but burst out laughing.

Zhao Manyan said helplessly, “It’s been the same since I was born. I’m always invisible to him. To be honest, I’m quite surprised that he was able to recognize me just then from so far away. The guy only has money in his eyes. If I say an extra word, he thinks that I’m wasting time that he could use to earn more money. He is not interested in women, food, magic, or any kind of relationship. His only interest is making more money, just like my dad.”

“So, did your family adopt you?” Mo Fan said.

“Maybe, if I was not relatively talented as a Mage to cover up for the Zhao Clan not having any powerful Mage, I bet no one would bother to come and find me if I went missing,” Zhao Manyan admitted.

“Why does it sound so sad coming out of your mouth? Do you know how many people are jealous of how you can use the money of your clan as you wish without being restricted at all? If I was born in your family, why the heck would I bother killing demon creatures? Why would I choose a harder life?” Mo Fan said righteously.

“You asshole, since the incident related to the Mother Scale Skin Phantom, how many times have I risked my life following you? It’s true that I’m rich, but I need to be alive to spend the money!” Zhao Manyan countered instantly.

“I’m just trying to add some fun to your boring life. If you don’t have any ambitions, how different are you than your brother?” Mo Fan replied.

As the two were bullshitting, they had entered the most luxurious VIP cabin, reserved for the Zhao Clan. The cabin was as luxurious as a royal palace. Having money alone was far from enough to create this sense of luxury. Mo Fan was struggling to comprehend how these rich people enjoyed their lives!

The waitstaff inside the royal cabin, outfitted in long blue dresses, were incredibly gorgeous. Their breasts and bottoms were tightly wrapped by the dresses, possessing irresistible charm.

“Do you always pick on these women?” Mo Fan asked in an evil voice.

Normally, Mo Fan would not have such random thoughts, but it was just that the waitresses were all so damn pretty!

“Don’t be ridiculous, these women aren’t the kind that you can touch even if you want to. They have to be virgins to work here, and any who lose their virginity will be fired straight away. They are purely here to receive the most respectable guests without being involved in any kind of sex trading. Can you stop thinking that the rich are only a vile and filthy bunch? These women aren’t that desperate for money. Money alone isn’t enough for them to sell themselves… the person will need to have a perfect, handsome face like mine!” stated Zhao Manyan confidently.

Soon, a receiving staffer in a blue dress came up to them and said with a smile, “Mister, we only accept reserved guests here, may I ask you to move to the next cabin?”

“I am Zhao Youqian’s brother,” Zhao Manyan told her calmly.

“I’m sorry, but Director Zhao has made it clear that this cabin is reserved for a VIP guest. I will bring you to the next room. You can ask the staff there to make arrangements for you,” the woman said.

The woman was of mixed blood. She had the solid, attractive features of a Westerner, and the elegance of an Asian. Zhao Manyan was taken by surprise by her polite, yet firm attitude.

“Let’s head over to the next cabin, HAHAHA!” Mo Fan simply burst out laughing.

Zhao Manyan’s expression darkened.

Normally, Mo Fan was superior because of his outstanding strength. Zhao Manyan was completely no match for him. However, when he finally had the chance to impress Mo Fan with his background and money, he kept bringing shame upon himself instead. Zhao Manyan was starting to feel anxious. “Humph, even though Zhao Youqian is fully in charge of this place, you must know that I do have a certain amount of shares here. I’ll be taking this cabin, and if there’s any problem, ask Zhao Youqian to come talk to me, I would like to see who the VIP guest is!”

Zhao Manyan sat on the couch made of the feathers of swan like a properly arrogant fuerdai.

The woman in blue dress was stunned. She did not expect Zhao Manyan to be this unreasonable!

Mo Fan was fairly surprised, too. Zhao Manyan did not look like the kind that would stir up trouble like this. He was willing to stay in both run-down inns and high-end mansions, so it was unlikely that he would insist on taking the luxurious cabin.

Could it be that the relationship between the Zhao brothers wasn’t as peaceful as he thought initially?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Is that really necessary? It’s your own family business, the guest that Director Zhao personally went to receive must be very important. If your actions result in them being unable to reach a deal, you won’t be able to explain yourself to the clan master either,” the woman in the blue dress advised.

“Is that any of your concern?” Zhao Manyan snapped.

“Brother Zhao, let’s go to the next cabin. It’s not that bad either,” Mo Fan advised him.

“This is the one. Ask Zhao Youqian to discuss his business in the next cabin. It’s not like I’m here very often, I can pick whatever cabin I want. I don’t really care if it’s the royal cabin, I’m just displeased by your attitude. I can accept it if Zhao Youqian treats me like that, because he’s my elder brother, but who do you think you are, asking me to leave?” Zhao Manyan cursed her.

The mixed-blooded woman in the blue dress paled when she learned that Zhao Manyan was putting the blame on her. She did not argue with him further, but asked the rest of the staff to move the dishes to the next cabin.

“Don’t touch my delicious food and drinks, set some up in the next cabin yourself!” Zhao Manyan frowned and snapped coldly when he saw the staff trying to move the tables and chairs away too.

The eyes of the mixed-blooded woman flickered with hate, yet she knew it was unwise to argue with Zhao Manyan again. Regardless of what happened, Zhao Manyan was still the second son of the Zhao Clan’s leader. As hired personnel, it did not matter if she was in the right, she would most likely be punished anyway!

Seeing the look in the woman’s eyes, Mo Fan grabbed a bunch of grapes and started shoving them into his mouth. He looked at Zhao Manyan curiously and asked, “Do you have a grudge against her?”

“Grudge? Not really, I just don’t like my brother’s subordinates treating me like he did. If I don’t teach them a lesson, they might even forget that my surname is Zhao too!” Zhao Manyan spat.

“I guess a fuerdai like you does have the right to act arrogantly, but I bet you always get beaten up by your father!” Mo Fan chuckled.

“That was before, at least I’m a representative of the national team now. I no longer eat meals for free, do I?” Zhao Manyan said.

“No wonder a lazy man like you is surprisingly hardworking lately. If you weren’t on the national team, I bet you wouldn’t even dare vent your frustration on the woman like that,” Mo Fan snickered.

“Isn’t that true? I could endure it if they treated me like that in the past, since it’s true that I only know how to spend money and pick up chicks. I was up to no good them, but I’m now an Advanced Mage, a member on the national team, a future pillar of the country, and a rising star! Perhaps my father would even consider me as his successor, and yet my brother’s subordinates thought they could treat me like dirt!?” Zhao Manyan huffed.

“What’s that woman’s name? I can tell she’s going to complain to your brother,” Mo Fan said.

“I have no idea, but every person that works for my brother is the same, they all lack a good memory,” Zhao Manyan said.

——

Not long afterwards, Mo Fan heard footsteps walking on the rug outside the cabin. As Mo Fan was a Space Mage, he was fairly sensitive to even the slightest movements.

Judging from the footsteps, it was very likely that Zhao Youqian had received the important guest, and it seemed like the guest was actually a woman. Her footsteps were extremely light, like a noble cat walking past elegantly on the rug.

As Mo Fan expected, the two went into the next room. Mo Fan could vaguely sense the woman in the blue dress whispering something into Zhao Youqian’s ear. Zhao Youqian hesitated for a moment, before following his guest into the next room.

The VIP guest did not stay too long in the room. She left after a brief conversation.

The woman did not let Zhao Youqian send her off. She left the room on her own, as if she was heading for some other place in the San Marco Auction Hall.

——

In the next room, Zhao Youqian flung his hand and knocked an ornamental teacup to the floor with a thud.

He hit the cup hard, and it almost smashed into pieces even though it had fallen on the rug.

The waitress felt her heart ache. The cup was worth a few hundred thousand, and it was almost broken!

“Do you have the brain of a pig? You knew he came to mess with me, and you still didn’t know to invite him into the next room politely?” Zhao Youqian rose to his feet and scolded the woman in the blue dress.

“I…I didn’t know he was your brother,” the woman admitted softly.

“You’re stupid beyond belief! Even if you never met him in person, you should have seen his photos!” Zhao Youqian cursed.

“I’ve failed you.”

“She decisively rejected my offer that quickly. I wonder who she’s going to work with next, since she didn’t agree to work with me. Hopefully it’s not that old fox Cario! Why is it so hard to read her mind!?” Zhao Youqian mumbled to himself. He immediately fell silent as he started pondering about his guest’s attitude.

The woman in the blue dress was startled. She could not believe that a man who was on a tantrum just a second ago had immediately started to reflect on the meeting with his guest. The way he switched his focus was rather intimidating.

Zhao Manyan came into the room with a gloating grin. “Brother, I can tell that you failed to reach a deal just by looking at your face.”

Zhao Youqian lifted his gaze and glanced at the teacup on the ground. He instantly smiled, “Who the hell knocked the cup onto the ground? Quick, pick it up, it doesn’t look good. Oh Zhao Manyan, please don’t stir up trouble whenever I’m scheduled to meet with an important client. If you cross the line, I’ll surely go tell father about it, and you won’t be able to spend your allowance as you wish again.”

“The two rooms don’t really differ that much, and judging from how she rejected you so quickly, I bet she never had the intention to work with you right from the beginning. She was just being polite by coming here in person and telling you her decision. It has nothing to do with me, so please don’t put the blame on me. Besides, weren’t you supposed to prepare the room for me since I told you that I was coming over?” Zhao Manyan shrugged with the same gloating look.

“Fine, you’re right that it has nothing to do with you, but since I’ve failed to reach a deal, you won’t be getting any benefits either. I’m afraid the resources allocated to you next month will shrink greatly. Oh, leaving that aside, I’ve read your texts. You’re asking for a Soul-grade Lightning Seed?” Zhao Youqian said.

“Yeah, he’s looking for one, and he’s the person that provided the Dark Swordmaster’s corpse,” Zhao Manyan said, pointing at Mo Fan.

Zhao Youqian fixed his gaze on Mo Fan without showing any expression.

As a matter of fact, it was the first time that Zhao Youqian had really looked at Mo Fan.

“Impressive, able to acquire something like it at your age… a Soul-grade Lightning Seed huh, I’ll ask someone to look for one. I’ll get it for you if I find it, but I have limited funds for the time being, you’ll have to transfer me the money first,” Zhao Youqian said.

“Screw you, do you really think I won’t pay? Can’t you just pay for it in advance?” Zhao Manyan cursed.

“You never know,” Zhao Youqian chuckled.

“Take it,” Zhao Manyan shoved a card into Zhao Youqian’s hands roughly.

Zhao Youqian immediately checked the money inside the card and smacked his lips, “Oh Zhao Manyan, when can you be like him and earn me eight hundred and fifty million?”

“I was born to spend money. I believe the rate that I’m spending my money is going to put your ability to earn money to shame,” Zhao Manyan replied.

“By the way, I heard that you’re taking part in the World College Tournament, everyone in Venice has been discussing it. As your brother, I haven’t been doing my job well looking after you. I’ll find the best blacksmith in Venice to forge you a piece of defensive equipment, as a gift to wish you all the best in the tournament,” Zhao Youqian said.

“Don’t worry about it if it’s only a piece of junk.”

“The master in Venice only accepts jobs with a hundred million as the minimum unit.”

“Oh, I’ll gladly accept the gift of apology then.”

“You can think of it as a gift of apology for not treating you seriously. Do your best in the tournament, don’t let the clan master think the money invested in you is nothing but a waste,” Zhao Youqian said.

“Who were you meeting just then?” Zhao Manyan switched the topic.

“A gorgeous lady, so beautiful that even a man like me is tempted.”

“Oh?” Zhao Manyan raised his brows.

He was extremely familiar with his elder brother. The man had never shown any interest in women, nor was he was interested in men. The only thing that he was interested in was money, especially when a crazy large amount of it was being transferred into his account…

If a woman was beautiful enough to fascinate Zhao Youqian, she had to be a disastrous-level beauty. If Zhao Manyan had known beforehand, he would have waited at the entrance instead. Whenever Zhao Manyan was in a bad mood, he would feel a lot better after seeing a glamorous lady.

“What’s her name?” Mo Fan asked. A unique scent was lingering in the air in the room. Mo Fan felt it was oddly familiar.

“Asha’ruiya,” Zhao Youqian replied, not bothering to hide the identity of his client.

“Oh, ok,” Mo Fan said and sniffed again.

“She is worthy to be my woman.” A smile surfaced on Zhao Youqian’s face.

“I can tell that she doesn’t even want to talk to you, judging by your words,” Zhao Manyan mocked him.

“I can’t help if that’s what you think. Speaking of which, your habit of eating junk food hasn’t changed at all. Look at all the girlfriends you had at school,” Zhao Youqian replied mockingly, even though he sounded like an elder brother caring about his little brother.

The words immediately infuriated Zhao Manyan.

“I heard someone mention to me that the girl from the Mu Clan is also on the national team. If you are really capable, just settle her so the two clans can unite through your marriage. We have the money, and the Mu Clan has the power. We could easily rise as a powerhouse back!” Zhao Youqian said.

“Are you referring to Mu Ningxue?” Zhao Manyan was startled.

“Mu Ningxue? Are you being serious? Even the Zhou Clan doesn’t dare to take her, I forgot what the other girl’s name was…”

“Mu Tingying?” Mo Fan hinted.

“Yes, that’s her; settle her, and you’ll be doing the clan a great favor even if you happen to embarrass yourself in the World College Tournament,” Zhao Youqian told him.

“I wouldn’t want her, even if she volunteered!” Zhao Manyan rejected instantly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan went on a tour in the San Marco Auction Hall, as he was feeling quite bored.

In a long corridor not far away from the VIP rooms, glass cabinets were placed in a row, displaying various kinds of historically-meaningful artifacts. For example, the first piece of Water-type magic equipment was on display; magic weapons; and old records stating how the Water Element was regarded as a forbidden magic. There were also the skulls of the strongest Water Mages in Venice’s history.

Mo Fan walked along the corridor. There was no auction today, so Mo Fan was the only person walking in the corridor. As he observed the items being displayed, Mo Fan could not help but feel amazed. He was not sure if it was because the world he once knew was simply too ordinary, or if he was currently having a magical dream, where the civilization of magic had lasted a long time, and had perfectly blended into human life. It just felt so unbelievable.

As he was walking, he suddenly discovered a black stone the size of a thumb on a shelf. The stone was as beautiful as a crystal, with blinking white dots on the surface, like a starry night sky, setting off its extraordinary beauty.

Mo Fan was rather confused. How could such a tiny stone feel so magical? He proceeded to read the lore of the tiny stone.

“It’s called the Stone of Guilt. More than twenty years ago, an authoritative, beautiful woman wanted to show to the public she was being fair and just while sentencing criminals, and the stone was a symbol of it,” the pleasant voice of a woman arose behind him.

Even without turning around to look at her appearance, Mo Fan could tell how elegant and gorgeous the woman was from just her voice.

As he turned around, he saw a face covered by a veil, just as he had expected. Her eyes had dark blue pupils, and as he stared into them, he felt a surge of lightning crackling inside his mind. It spread through his body, making his heart beat rapidly.

“It’s really you! HAHAHA, such a fateful encounter!” Mo Fan burst out laughing when he saw the extremely beautiful woman.

“Yeah, it’s too bad that something so terrifying happened during our last encounter,” Asha’ruiya smiled. It was tactful yet friendly, which served as a great contrast to Mo Fan’s wild laughter.

“Let’s not talk about the sad incident. It’s such a coincidence, I was thinking about you not long ago, and here I am stumbling into you in Venice,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan proceeded to explain his experience in Egypt and the Dark Swordmaster to Asha’ruiya.

“It sounds like you forgot me for a long time,” Asha’ruiya picked out the flaw in Mo Fan’s sentence and let out a sigh, like an old friend teasing him playfully.

“Not necessarily, it’s just that I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon. So your real name is Asha’ruiya! Not bad, it definitely suits a gorgeous woman like you,” Mo Fan complimented her.

“You can call me by my Chinese name too,” Asha’ruiya permitted him.

“Miss Ye Meng’e, you mentioned that the stone is called the Stone of Guilt, but you sounded a little sarcastic?” Mo Fan inquired.

Asha’ruiya walked closer and glanced at the description written in Italian with a disdainful grin.

“It’s a Stone of Judgment of the Holy Judgment Court. Black means guilty, and white means not guilty. When the Holy Judgment Court is sentencing someone very important, they will summon the elders of the court to judge the person. If the number of black stones is greater than the white, then the person is deemed guilty, and will be punished severely by the court. Around twenty years ago, on a particular case, the number of blacks and whites was equal, but the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple voted with a black stone, pronouncing her own brother guilty. As such, she was complimented for being fair and just. Since then, the stone she used to vote has been displayed here for people of the world to see,” Asha’ruiya explained patiently to Mo Fan.

“If it was a draw before, it means what the person did wasn’t necessarily unforgivable, but it wasn’t generally accepted, either. That being said, if she had the option to decide the fate of her family member with her vote and still chose to vote black, there must be something seriously wrong with her!” Mo Fan directly commented.

“You think so too?” Asha’ruiya smiled behind the veil. It seemed like she also agreed that the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple was out of her mind. She also considered the act of placing righteousness above loyalty to her family unreasonable in a situation like that.

(Ed. Note: This is Chinese loyalty to family above all. In the West, this is proper Justice. In reality, the Goddess should have not been allowed to vote, and would have abstained.)

“Let’s not talk about something so serious. I have only just arrived in Venice; are you interested in touring around with me, drinking some afternoon tea, and eating some Italian pizza?” Mo Fan asked.

“Sure, but I have something to attend to first. You can pick a place and wait for me there, feel free to order the pizza first,” Asha’ruiya said. From the look in her eyes, she seemed quite interested in talking to Mo Fan.

——

Mo Fan found the driver he met before and asked the old man to bring him to a relaxing place with delicious food, just so he could enjoy some peace in Venice.

The old man was indeed an experienced driver. He brought Mo Fan to a place with a crystalline balcony with a stunning view overlooking a river with two rows of colorful European buildings on both sides, and an arc connecting both sides like a scene from a fairytale. Most importantly, there was a unique inn specifically for couples right beside the place. Mo Fan felt like the driver had overdone it, so he felt the urge to give the man some extra tips!

After sending Asha’ruiya the address, Mo Fan sat on the chair with a relaxed posture, an iced cocktail by his side, and a hot pizza arriving fairly soon. It greatly surpassed his experience of trying to survive in a bloody battlefield surrounded by undead. However, without the filthy battles, it was hard for people to appreciate the rare peace and calm they got to enjoy in their lives. After all, demon creatures had always been a threat to them!

Mo Fan did not have to wait long for Asha’ruiya to arrive. Her pants were made of some unknown material, and wrapped tightly about her slender legs and well-stacked bottom. For some reason, any man would find the sight very alluring.

“I’m hungry,” Asha’ruiya did not feel awkward at all, and blurted that out as soon as she sat down.

“The pizza is still in the oven, please wait a bit longer,” Mo Fan glanced at the kitchen not far away.

“Are you planning to buy something?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“A Soul-grade Lightning Seed, I’ve given all the money I saved up to Zhao Youqianm who you had a meeting with not long ago. I’m planning to buy a Soul-grade Lightning Seed with a Domain, so I can achieve a better result in the World College Tournament,” Mo Fan admitted.

“I see. I do know a place where you can find the Soul-grade Lighting Seed you desire, and I can guarantee you that it’s better than any Soul-grade Lightning Seed you can find in an auction. Are you interested?” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan was about to ask more when the pizza came. Asha’ruiya immediately moved a slice to her plate and started enjoying it.

Mo Fan grabbed a slice with his hand. He always felt it was more delicious to eat a pizza that way…

“Where is the Soul-grade Lightning Seed that you mentioned?” Mo Fan asked.

“My information is usually very expensive. Why do you think Zhao Youqian is so keen to meet me?” Asha’ruiya said smilingly.

“This meal is on me.”

“You’re funny.”

“I believe our relationship is very pure, it’s too hurtful to talk about money,” Mo Fan said seriously.

He was seriously running out of funds. The eight hundred and fifty million he gave Zhao Youqian was basically everything he had.

“The Soul-grade Lightning Seed is called Sadinxi, it basically means Lightning Tyrant in Chinese. It has an aura like a tyrant, capable of absorbing all the Lightning energy nearby into its bearer’s body, and its capacity is at least a few times that of any other Lightning Domain. It also has the highest Lightning Resistance among Soul-grade Lightning Seeds. Its amplification of Lightning Spells is at least five to six times that of an ordinary Seed, and it can further apply special effects to a target struck by the bearer’s Lightning Spells. If Lightning Spells have landed on a target within the Lightning Tyrant’s Domain, it will trigger the Tyrant Call, which is as powerful as the Intermediate Lightning Spell, Thunderbolt: Exploding Apex!” Asha’ruiya explained to Mo Fan in a professional manner.

Asha’ruiya giggled when she saw the expression on Mo Fan’s face. She added before Mo Fan could speak, “That’s all I know about the Lightning Tyrant, you’ll need to figure out the rest yourself, but I’m fairly confident that what I told you is already a lot better than what you can get from an auction.”

Zhao Manyan had briefly explained the effects of a Soul-grade Lightning Seed to Mo Fan. A Domain was basically used to improve a Mage’s control over an Element.

With a Domain, a Mage was able to gather the energy of the Element toward themselves, forming a zone that would allow a Mage to cast spells and alter the form of their magic easily. However, a Soul-grade Lightning Seed that could absorb the Lightning Element and improve the Lightning resistance of its bearer like Asha’ruiya had mentioned was incredibly rare!

After all, a Mage already had their control and resistance of an Element improved inside a Domain, and if the Soul-grade Lightning Seed was still able to boost the base stats further, how remarkable would his control and resistance be?

He could simply stand still and let a Mage blast him continuously with Intermediate Lightning Spells until their energy had depleted, and he’d still be perfectly fine!

Apart from granting a Domain to a Mage, the amplification provided by a Soul-grade Seed was its main selling point.

Since everyone’s magic was restrained by Star Orbits, Star Patterns, Star Constellations, and Star Palaces, the damage of every spell was going to be the same without the amplification of a Domain or a Seed. The reason why a Spirit-grade Seed or a Soul-grade Seed was expensive was because of their ability to improve the strength of a Mage!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A Spirit-grade Seed was at least two or three times stronger than an ordinary Seed. A Soul-grade Seed was anywhere from four to six times stronger than an ordinary Seed!

Asha’ruiya mentioned that the Lightning Tyrant was capable of amplifying the strength of Lightning Spells by six times. It basically meant that it was one of the strongest Soul-grade Lightning Seeds possible!

Different Soul-grade Seeds had different levels of strength. A Domainless Soul-grade Seed with a multiplier of six would most likely cost around eight hundred million, not to mention that the Lightning Tyrant also had a powerful special effect, the Lightning Tyrant Scars!

It was definitely one of the best Soul-grade Lightning Seeds he could possibly find. He could already feel his heart racing after hearing Asha’ruiya’s description.

Mo Fan was the kind of person that would only seek the best option available if he decided to acquire something. He felt uncomfortable knowing there was a chance that the Soul-grade Lightning Seed he was about to spend so much money on was still weaker than someone else’s!

“How much are you asking for the information?” Mo Fan went into serious mode.

He believed Asha’ruiya had no reason to lie to him, especially after his experience with the Dark Swordmaster. If she was willing to tell him a secret like the Dark Contract, she would not joke about a Soul-grade Seed.

“It costs just as much as an ordinary Soul-grade Seed Lightning Seed,” Asha’ruiya replied.

“Aren’t…aren’t you asking a bit too much? Eight hundred and fifty million for a piece of information, and there’s no guarantee that I can acquire it!” Mo Fan said.

Asha’ruiya shook her head and said, “The information I provide doesn’t only include where its location is. First of all, I can guarantee you that there’s no third person that knows about it. Second, if you are willing to pay eight hundred and fifty million for it, I will also tell you how you can acquire it. It will be as detailed as the walkthrough of a video game, and the rest is up to you.”

“Can you give me a fifty percent discount knowing that I’ve paid for this pizza?” Mo Fan said.

“No discount, since I’m confident that my information is unique and worth the value. On top of that, this pizza is only average,” Asha’ruiya replied, all smiles, like a noble and elegant yet lazy white fox, whose eyes were glittering with a hint of cunning intelligence.

“Don’t be like that, your stingy approach is going to ruin your perfect image of a goddess in my heart,” Mo Fan sighed with a wry smile.

“Ah, I didn’t know you thought of me so highly. If that’s the case, I can give you another offer,” Asha’ruiya acted as if she had finally decided to change her mind.

Mo Fan was very interested in the Lightning Tyrant, hence he was excited as soon as Asha’ruiya said it.

“There’s something I must do, but still haven’t done yet on Mount Tyrant. I need someone capable to lend me a hand. I can help you acquire the Lightning Tyrant, but you must do your best to help me in return,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Not a problem, helping one another is more like something that friends are supposed to do,” Mo Fan smiled.

“Go get your money back from Zhao Youqian and transfer it to this card,” Asha’ruiya smiled and took out a card.

Mo Fan’s expression stiffened, “Why do I still need to transfer you the money? Didn’t you say you were going to help me?”

“The offer is actually more like a bundle. You still have to pay the money for the information, but I’ll help you secure the Lightning Tyrant,” Asha’ruiya said.

“But aren’t I doing a favor for you too?” Mo Fan asked.

“I can ask someone else to do it!” Asha’ruiya grinned like a cunning fox.

“…” Mo Fan felt he was absolutely blind before. Did he really sense a sacred, otherworldly aura from Ye Meng’e during their first encounter?

Mo Fan glanced at the pizza, which had only a few slices left, and was left speechless again.

She ate so many slices, even though the taste was only average. -Why don’t you grow fatter instead?-

“Allow me to think about it,” Mo Fan took a sip of his cocktail, yet he no longer felt relaxed as he had before.

Mo Fan was really interested in the Lightning Tyrant, since it was a lot better than something he could get from an auction. The only problem was, the condition that Asha’ruiya gave him sounded extremely unreliable. He could not give his money away just because of how gorgeous she was. It was the biggest sum of money he had managed to save up over the past twenty years!

However, when he thought about the Dark Swordmaster, he had an urge to believe that Asha’ruiya was not trying to trick him. Besides, if Asha’ruiya really was a scammer, Zhao Youqian would not bother receiving her in person, since the man had mentioned how every minute was worth a hundred million to him…

Asha’ruiya totally disregarded how complicated Mo Fan was feeling for the time being. She slowly took a sip from the iced drink with a low level of alcohol. Her sexy, red lips even uttered a soft moan from the pleasant sensation, especially when Mo Fan heard her breathing intensifying a little. The woman was so alluring that Mo Fan had the urge to pounce on her and give her all his savings.

The woman’s charm was off the charts. She was completely different from Mu Ningxue, whose iciness had already penetrated her bones. She was friendly, yet unapproachable.

As Mo Fan was considering it, his phone started ringing. It was from Zhao Manyan.

“Mo Fan, my brother has checked the list of auctions for the upcoming month, but he couldn’t find even a single Soul-grade Lightning Seed. He did find some for other Elements; are you interested?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“No way; didn’t you say I could find everything I needed here?” Mo Fan protested.

“Who knows, there are even Soul-grade Seeds for Black and White Magic, but there isn’t one for the Lightning Element. Do you want to wait for another month, or look for it somewhere else?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Forget it, if there isn’t even one here, I bet it’s even harder to find one at other places.”

“You’re right about that. Soul-grade Lightning Seeds have always been rare to find, and if there’s a shortage on the market, its price might even increase further,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Then I guess I’ll be taking my money back first,” Mo Fan said.

“Mmm, I already have it. By the way, did you spot any suspicious person in the long corridor?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Anyone suspicious? I don’t think so, why?” Mo Fan asked.

“The alarm went off, something might have been stolen, but the guards already checked and didn’t find anything missing. Maybe it was a failed attempt.”

“Oh, ok.”

—

Mo Fan hung up the call and subconsciously glanced at Asha’ruiya, who had her eyes closed.

Mo Fan was quite curious about the incident that Zhao Manyan mentioned. Weren’t he and Asha’ruiya the only people in the corridor? She mentioned that she had something to do. Was she trying to steal something?

Mo Fan quickly shook his head. It was most likely someone else. She had no reason to steal the things being displayed in the corridor, as they only had historical value. It was unlikely that anyone could sell them for a good price in the market.

“Have you decided?” Asha’ruiya opened her eyes. Her long, slightly curled eyelashes glittered. Mo Fan’s heart started racing again.

“Can you guarantee that I can obtain the Lightning Tyrant?” Mo Fan asked.

“I can’t, there’s always a chance that an accident can happen, but I’ll try my best,” Asha’ruiya said.

“When can we go?” Mo Fan asked.

“As soon as you have transferred me the money,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Alright, but I’ll freeze the money first, in case you’re trying to trick me,” Mo Fan stated firmly.

“Sure.”

——

Mount Tyrant was located in Italy. It was named after some emperor of ancient Italy, and was quite a distance away from Venice.

The national team was planning to stay in Venice until the opening ceremony of the World College Tournament. The others were also training hard in Venice, and since there were quite a few auctions going on in Venice, the factions supporting the members had started to burn their money on securing more resources for their candidates.

Mo Fan would have to leave the team for some time. He was thinking of telling Mu Ningxue before he left, but she had gone into seclusion. Mo Fan did not even have the chance to see her.

Mu Ningxue was taking the World College Tournament more seriously than he was, since it was the best opportunity she had to prove her value.

Since Mu Ningxue had returned from Tianshan Mountain, her strength had improved at a crazy pace. In addition to it, Mu Ningxue had surely Awakened her third Element, but Mo Fan had yet to see it. He could not tell if she did not have the time to practice it, or she was keeping it as a trump card.

-She must have stumbled into something nice on Tianshan Mountain- , Mo Fan thought.

——

The two departed for Mount Tyrant after leaving Venice.

Prior to their departure, Mo Fan asked Lingling to research the place for him. Lingling told him that some old Hunters did mention that the presence of the Lightning Element was abnormal on the mountain, and there were many jobs posted to search for a Lightning Seed on Mount Tyrant. However, even now, no one had found even the slightest trace of a Lightning Seed on the huge mountain.

Mo Fan was now convinced that Asha’ruiya was not lying to him, since many experienced Hunters did believe Mount Tyrant had a powerful Soul-grade Seed!

Mo Fan initially thought Asha’ruiya would bring a few of her subordinates along, but it was only her.

Mo Fan was taken by surprise. The woman had come on this adventure alone. She was basically going on a trip with a man she had only met twice. Did he really look that harmless? Asha’ruiya was such a gorgeous woman, wouldn’t she be afraid that he would do something to her in the wild? Every part of her body was urging him to commit a crime!

“You really have great faith in me,” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“So you’re going to do something to me?” Asha’ruiya inquired.

“Men always have difficulty restraining themselves,” Mo Fan replied.

“It’s fine, incidents of that kind only happen when the man is stronger than the woman,” Asha’ruiya said calmly.

“So you’re implying that I’m weaker than you?” Mo Fan added.

“Exactly,” Asha’ruiya nodded.

Mo Fan was triggered right away!

-What the heck? Is she saying that I am no match for her?-

He did not believe there were many people his age that could take him in a duel. On top of that, Asha’ruiya actually looked younger than him. How confident was she, to even say that he could not take her on?

He could not accept it, it was a matter of dignity!

If a pervert like him actually failed to fulfill his role in a place where there was no help available to his target, wouldn’t it be better for him to die than bear the shame?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Asha’ruiya had many sides to her. She was currently dressed in black and brown tight clothes that were convenient for movement, with her hair tied up.

Mo Fan remembered the last time he felt aroused by camouflage clothing and traveler clothes was at Xizhao Valley of Dongting Lake. It was the poisoned female general he had stumbled into. He could barely remember her name.

In her current clothes, Asha’ruiya’s temperament was completely different than the noble aura possessed by a woman from Western Europe that she had displayed in the long display corridor. Mo Fan could tell that Asha’ruiya was an experienced Hunter from her cautious, calm approach…

Mo Fan was also an experienced Hunter, and could easily tell the difference between a Hunter who spent most of their time in peaceful environments, and an experienced Hunter who was used to placing their life at risk. The details that Asha’ruiya managed to pick up along the journey obviously hinted that she was quite used to traveling in the territories of demon creatures.

-This Asha’ruiya can be a saintess, a businesswoman, a Huntress… it must be quite exciting when she cosplays a policewoman, a nurse, a teacher, a wife, etc!…-, Mo Fan exclaimed to himself.

——

There were lots of different species of demon creatures on Mount Tyrant, with relatively high density, too. As a result, the old Hunters were not particularly fond of coming here.

When the species of demon creatures varied by too much, it meant there were different kinds of danger scattered across the place. Nests, poison mists, traps, illusions, territories, extreme levels of certain Elements… It was a great challenge for a Hunter to react and respond to the different environments. It was even trickier when the dangerous conditions stacked on top of one another as they ventured deeper into the place.

At such a perilous place, it was extremely difficult to stay out of danger, let alone search for a Soul-grade Seed!

Mo Fan followed behind Asha’ruiya. In the rapid-changing environment of Mount Tyrant, the only drive that kept Mo Fan motivated was Asha’ruiya’s alluring body, her slender legs, her bouncy bottom, and her slim waist that he could easily wrap around with a single hand. It was quite an enjoyable view for him.

“We’ll soon reach the main section of Mount Tyrant, where the big guys live,” Asha’ruiya turned around and said to Mo Fan.

“Mmm, I’ve been keeping an eye around. There was one footprint that grabbed my attention,” Mo Fan quickly moved his gaze away from Asha’ruiya’s waist and looked around him.

Saying this, Mo Fan could not help but feel how useless he was. He could not even fully focus on peeking at a woman, as he still noticed some strange footsteps on the ground!

Taking a closer look, Mo Fan immediately realized that it was not like he was lacking focus, but the footstep was simply too huge. Asha’ruiya initially thought it was a small pool, thus she directly jumped to the other side. Mo Fan was slightly behind her, thus he was able to take a clearer look…

Asha’ruiya finally had the chance to turn around, and realized that the little pool was actually a footprint. She curled her index finger and placed it below her lips as if she was in deep thought. A few seconds later, she mumbled to herself, “Does that mean the blast from before wasn’t a thunderclap?”

BANG!

As soon as Asha’ruiya finished her sentence, a giant steel foot came down from the sky and landed right on her.

Mo Fan’s eyes widened. He saw the giant foot land on the ground, leaving a deep footprint. Asha’ruiya had been stomped flat beneath it!

“F**k me!” Mo Fan cursed and immediately went forward.

The owner of the footprint was above the canopy. Mo Fan’s vision was completely blocked off by the trees, and he couldn’t see the creature’s appearance. The huge creature seemed to be unaware that it had just stepped on a woman. It continued moving forward, heading for Mount Tyrant’s peak.

The creature had moved a few hundred meters away with a single stride. Mo Fan went to the hole and felt oddly infuriated. Such a perfect, sexy woman had just turned into a pile of minced meat, and he happened to witness it all!

“Asha’ruiya!” Mo Fan looked into the hole.

“I’m here,” Asha’ruiya’s voice came from beside him.

Mo Fan quickly turned around and saw Asha’ruiya moving out from behind a tree.

“I thought you were dead!” Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh.

The terrifying giant had appeared too suddenly. If the foot had landed on him, he doubted if he could actually react in time.

“Almost! The Tyrant Titan always shows up unpredictably. I’m glad that you warned me about its footprint,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan raised his head and looked further into the distance, but the giant was already long gone.

Mo Fan was even more confused. Normally, it would be extremely easy to spot such a gigantic creature, but it had simply vanished into the mountain in the blink of an eye.

“It’s pretty dangerous here,” Mo Fan said.

“Which is why you shouldn’t keep looking at me,” Asha’ruiya said with a smile.

“Ugh… was it really that obvious?” Mo Fan blushed.

“Very.”

“Should I walk in front then?”

“Sure.”

“What was that creature?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“The Tyrant Titans, a giant-type species from ancient times. Rumors say that giants were mystical beings in Europe’s past, but when the Greek mythology slowly took over, these ancient mystical beings gradually turned into terrifying monsters and man-eating beasts. The truth is, these ancient titans actually feed on humans. They are incredibly strong, and in the past, people actually thought they were actually trying to preserve mankind by eating only a certain number of humans every now and then…” Asha’ruiya said.

“So, Tyrant actually refers to these mountain titans?” Mo Fan conjectured.

“Exactly, the Parthenon Temple has its current status only because they defeated these demigods and established their civilization and the beliefs of mankind. Their leader was a woman, referred to as the Goddess, and is usually referred to in many movies and animes as Goddess Athena,” Asha’ruiya informed him.

“Oh, I thought Athena was only a myth,” Mo Fan said.

“Myths originated from history. Humans like to turn some remarkable people into myths, to establish strong ideas which eventually turn into beliefs. The power of these beliefs is as destructive as a tsunami. Athena was only a name, anyone can call themselves Athena, but the most important thing is whether the person has contributed enough to bear the name,” Asha’ruiya said.

“I’ve heard similar sayings before. I mean, the second half of it.” Mo Fan’s gaze suddenly sharpened as he stared at Asha’ruiya.

Asha’ruiya did not understand why Mo Fan’s attitude had completely switched all of a sudden. She saw the hostility and wariness in Mo Fan’s eyes and giggled, “You must have misunderstood something.”

Mo Fan looked straight into the woman’s eyes, trying to peek into her mind.

However, Mo Fan soon shook his head. Even though Asha’ruiya was at the Ancient Capital, she was not among the group of authorities held captive that had included Salan. It was unlikely that she was Salan.

However, what Asha’ruiya said perfectly fit how Salan had described her name. It was unlikely that an ordinary person would share the same thought.

“I must have misunderstood,” Mo Fan withdrew his hostile gaze.

“I must have stepped on a mine to set you off. What person are you so sensitive and wary of?” Asha’ruiya asked with a calmer voice.

“It’s better if you don’t know,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m quite informed about what happened at the Ancient Capital, since I was trapped there too,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan hesitated, but decided to spill the beans. “The leader of the Black Vatican said the same thing to me.”

“Are you referring to Salan? I understand now; Salan’s name is actually similar to Athena’s name, but one represents evil, and the other represents justice. Currently, the name of the Goddess has not found its successor, but the name Salan has brought fear to the world,” Asha’ruiya said.

“You really know a lot,” Mo Fan murmured.

“Have you forgotten? It’s a part of my business.” Asha’ruiya had a playful grin, as if she was trying to liven up the mood.

“Luckily you have a perfect alibi; otherwise, I would have made my move,” Mo Fan shook his head with a wry smile when he saw the grin on Asha’ruiya’s face.

“Salan is an old woman, I’m sure of that.”

“How do you know it’s a she?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

“I already said it, I know more than you can ever imagine. If you are willing to pay the money, I can dig up more information about her, including who she was before she became Salan,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide. He was lost for words for a moment.

-How capable is this Asha’ruiya? Is she really able to dig up information about Salan?-

“I don’t think I can afford it, but you can try discussing it with China’s Enforcement Union,” Mo Fan said.

The Enforcement Union was pretty loaded. They were willing to pay hundreds of millions for Salan’s bounty.

“I rarely work with officials. Besides, my sources of information aren’t perfectly legal, either,” Asha’ruiya said blatantly. “Oh, if you still don’t trust me, in order to ensure that we can work together better, I can make it an exemption and tell you the reason why I was at the Ancient Capital.”

“I’m not suspicious of you,” Mo Fan said.

“Just in case you are. One of the reasons I was at the Ancient Capital was because someone was buying Salan’s information from me. The person was wrapped in gray-white cloth, I don’t know who he was, but I bet he’s a spy that the Chinese Enforcement Union placed in the dark for a long time,” Asha’ruiya told him.

“Gray-white cloth?” Mo Fan was startled. He immediately recalled the mysterious person who stuck closely to President Han Ji. He remembered that the person was the one that suggested they keep the ten authorities in custody!

“What I gave him was something that existed a long time ago, it’s some kind of proof. I believe the Enforcement Union had quite an accurate speculation, but they needed ironclad proof before they were willing to take the risk, and I brought that proof from other countries to yours,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Ironclad proof… what is it?” Mo Fan asked.

“I can’t tell you.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The peak of Mount Tyrant was always shrouded by a black cloud. It sat right on the peak, and would occasionally go a little bit under it.

The Lightning Tyrant was formed between the peak of Mount Tyrant and the black cloud. Most interestingly, the Soul-grade Lightning Seed actually resided in a chasm located at the waist of the mountain.

It was the main reason why many Hunters had failed to discover anything when they searched. They all assumed the Lightning Tyrant was right at the top of the mountain since they kept seeing the lightning strikes from the black cloud, but they had no idea that the lightning had formed an electrical field at the mountain’s waist, and the real Soul-grade Lightning Seed was refined for countless years here until it was completed.

“Aren’t we doing the thing you mentioned first?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’ll help you get the Lightning Tyrant first, it might come in handy,” Asha’ruiya said.

The two walked into the chasm at the mountain waist. Mo Fan discovered a long crack at the spot, like it had been sliced in half by a godly hammer that came down from the sky.

It was obviously the work of the lightning!

As Mo Fan looked into the crack, he saw dense lightning arcs flickering within it, as if a strong magic formation was active inside it. The electrical arcs were black, and would produce a slight yellow after flashing across the air.

Qianjun’s lightning was purple-black. As a Lightning Mage, Mo Fan could sense the strength of lightning just by looking at it. A bolt of stronger lightning would move faster. Mo Fan could sense how fast this lightning was moving. It was extremely restless, as if it was about to surge across the place in all directions. The lightning was on the verge of exploding with the slightest touch. It only needed a medium to conduct it, and it would immediately surge through it and penetrate even the firmest object!

“There are so many lightning arcs blocking the way, how are we supposed to go deeper?” Mo Fan said.

The lightning was too strong for Mo Fan to even touch it. He had to reconsider if his body could actually take it on.

“That’s the least of our worries. Didn’t you notice something else?” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan started scanning his surroundings doubtfully.

Night had fallen. The mountain was in pitch-black darkness. Mount Tyrant was not just a mountain that rose up like a pillar, but consisted of layers of mountain bodies stacking on top of one another. There were lots of mountain walls, valleys, gaps, and flat surfaces. There were not many plants, most likely due to the strong presence of lightning.

As Mo Fan was observing the pitch-black, barren surroundings, he suddenly spotted something shuddering on the walls and the rocks.

Mo Fan took a closer look and saw a creature with strange-colored feathers leaning on the walls. They must be a kind of creature that was active in the day, and usually deeply asleep at night.

“Every Soul-grade Seed is like a giant spring of energy. Any demon creature that wants to grow stronger in a shorter period of time will spend most of their time close to the energy spring. You don’t seriously think that something as precious as a Soul-grade Seed will be left unguarded, and is only waiting for someone to pick it up?” Asha’ruiya said.

“So those things will attack us if we go inside the crack?” Mo Fan said.

“Yes, we are currently in their territory,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan immediately observed his surroundings again with his night vision. It was just as Asha’ruiya had mentioned; the area was full of holes leading to the demon creatures’ nest. They were simply too quiet when they were asleep, so quiet that Mo Fan was totally unaware of their existence. It also meant that these creatures were not low-level, either!

“They are Wind Flame Lightning Vultures, a kind of demon creature with three different Elements. Not only are they able to cast powerful magic abilities, their flesh is extremely strong, too! You can think of them as experts of both physical and magical attacks,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan had seen the Wind Flame Lightning Vulture before, but based on Asha’ruiya’s description, he could easily tell how tricky it would be to fight the demon creatures.

“They normally spend ten years on their Wind Element, ten years on their Fire Element, and ten years on their Lightning Element. Once they finished cultivating the three Elements, they will evolve into a Three-Headed Magic Vulture. It’s one of the strongest Commander-level demon creatures out there,” Asha’ruiya said.

“So you’re saying that they are currently in their final stage prior to their evolution?” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah, the Wind Flame Lightning Vultures that are still cultivating their Wind Element are quite average. They are just like Warrior-level creatures in the Advancing Period. When they are cultivating their Fire Element, they are as strong as the weaker Commander-level creatures. However, when they are done cultivating the Lightning Element, they will be reborn as if they had just come out from a cocoon, making them one of the strongest Commander-level creatures,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Holy crap, you’re telling me that these creatures are all Commander-level?” Mo Fan gasped.

-Are you f**king kidding me?- Mo Fan had counted at least nine of the creatures nearby with a rough glance. If every single one of them had finished cultivating the Wind and Fire Elements, wouldn’t that simply mean they were as strong as average Commander-level creatures?

-What kind of joke is this? Would Commander-level creatures even live together?-

Most Commander-level creatures that Mo Fan had encountered would be leading their own tribes and stay within their own territory. He had never seen Commander-level creatures residing in the same territory. It was basically a family of Commanders!

“Take them out, and the Lightning Tyrant is yours,” Asha’ruiya said.

“That’s easy for you to say! Even if I’m confident, I’m not foolish enough to think that I can take on nine Commander-level creatures at the same time!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was most likely strong enough to kill a Commander-level creature by himself. However, he still needed to rely on Little Flame Belle’s power, as he could not possibly kill a Commander-level creature without being possessed by Little Flame Belle.

Mo Fan was confident that he could take on two Commander-level creatures at once, but if there were more than two of them, he would surely lose the battle!

Unfortunately, he had already used the Time Liquid he collected. If he still had some left, he would not have any problem dealing with the Wind Flame Lightning Vultures!

“Summon your Dark Swordmaster, it should be strong enough to take them on, right?” Mo Fan said.

“It hasn’t grown up yet, it can only fight one of them,” Asha’ruiya said.

“I can take on one, and my Contracted Beast can take on one, together with your Dark Swordmaster, we’ll be able to take out three of them. How about the other six?” Mo Fan said.

“Leave it to that guy,” Asha’ruiya was looking at the other side of the mountain with glittering eyes.

“Who?” Mo Fan followed her gaze but saw nothing.

There was a hill around three kilometers away. Mo Fan was able to see quite far away at night. He tried to take a closer look, yet he did not see anything worth mentioning.

“I was actually referring to that hill, use this to lure it here,” Asha’ruiya gave Mo Fan a black stone.

Mo Fan received it and looked at it closely.

-Oh mama, isn’t this the Stone of Guilt that was displayed in the long corridor? How did it end up in Asha’ruiya’s hands?-

“Where did you get this?” Mo Fan asked.

“I stole it,” Asha’ruiya replied.

“…” Mo Fan was speechless. He had never seen anyone acting so calm after stealing something!

“You were the one that triggered the alarm? Why did you steal it?” Mo Fan felt his balls hurting.

Back in Venice, Mo Fan even convinced himself of Asha’ruiya’s innocence. He assumed that with her identity and wealth, it did not make any sense for her to commit the crime. To his surprise, she had actually stolen the stone. However, Mo Fan was confused again. Didn’t Zhao Manyan say nothing was missing? Or did they simply decide to hide the truth?

“I switched it out with a fake. This kind of stone is found on the godly mountain where the Parthenon Temple was located in the early days. The presence it contains will be able to lure the creature easily. Just hold on to it, and the creature will chase after you,” Asha’ruiya said.

“I don’t really understand what you’re saying.” Mo Fan was utterly lost.

“Just go and do as I say, don’t you want the Lightning Tyrant?” Asha’ruiya prodded him.

—

Mo Fan was utterly confused. He did not really understand the situation. Why did Asha’ruiya steal the stone? To make things even more complicated, if the stone was useful to him, it simply meant that Asha’ruiya was planning to come here all along. Did that mean she already knew he would be tagging along?

But it did not quite make any sense. He had only told Asha’ruiya he was looking for a Soul-grade Lightning Seed when they were enjoying the pizza.

Occupied with his thoughts, Mo Fan arrived at the hill that Asha’ruiya had mentioned.

There was nothing at all on the hilltop. What was she thinking o,f asking him to come here with the black Stone of Guilt?

“Hello, anyone here?” Mo Fan stood in front of the rising ground and yelled.

His voice echoed across the mountain. The dull thud of the lightning far above was the only response Mo Fan could hear.

“I have this!” Mo Fan raised the black Stone of Guilt and yelled again.

The Stone of Guilt did have a unique aura to it, like a unique scent that would not dissipate even after thousands of years.

As the scent spread in the air, a pair of eyes suddenly sprang open on the hill!

It was not like the eyes belonged to something on the hill, but the hill had a pair of eyes!

When the eyes sprang open, an overwhelming pressure fell onto Mo Fan. He felt like his tiny heart was about to break into pieces!

“F**k me!” Mo Fan was drenched in cold sweat.

No wonder he did not find anything, it turned out that the hill was the creature that Asha’ruiya was referring to!

The hill extended its enormous arms, and legs as thick as ancient trees. Its body slowly turned from the color of a hill to silver-gray, with the luster of forged metal. It looked utterly imperious under the moonlight!

The Tyrant Titan!

Mo Fan immediately came to a realization. He finally knew why the enormous creature had disappeared all of a sudden before. It turned out that its skin was able to change color. When it touched the rocks, it was able to merge perfectly with the mountain, like a chameleon. As its limbs and face were wrapped together when it remained still, it looked like a small hill!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The creature was cosplaying a hill perfectly!

Mo Fan suddenly felt like his heart was about to collapse as he faced the Mountain Titan that had shown up all of a sudden!

“That b**ch, why does she always have to set me up!” Mo Fan ran for his life. He basically used everything he had.

Blood Tabi, Dark Noble Mantle, Fleeing Shadow, Rocket Wings, Mo Fan had never run so fast before, but regardless of how fast he was, it only took the Mountain Titan a few steps to catch up to him. His heart started to pound even more heavily.

Luckily, the hill… er, the goddamned gigantic creature was only three kilometers away from the territory of the Wind Flame Lightning Vultures. Mo Fan soon reached his destination. If it were any further, the creature would surely have caught up to him!

“Over here, quick!” Asha’ruiya yelled at Mo Fan, while standing in a black circle.

Mo Fan sprinted into the black circle. As soon as he stepped into the magic circle, it suddenly sprang up like a wall. With a flicker of magic, Mo Fan could feel that the presence of him, Asha’ruiya, and the stone had completely vanished.

Without their magical presence, Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya were as insignificant as tiny little animals to the powerful creatures.It was like a pedestrian walking down the street while totally ignoring the ants and little bugs by their feet!

The Wind Flame Lightning Vultures immediately woke up when they sensed the threatening aura of the Mountain Titan. There were nine of them in total, each twice the size of a mature lion. They looked rather imperious when they spread their wings out.

The creatures were lining up in a row in the air, staring at the Mountain Titan that had intruded upon their territory. Their feathers were shrouded by wind and spouting flames. The wind and flames combined into nine fiery tornadoes rising into the sky. The spectacular sight was visible more than ten kilometers away.

Mo Fan gasped when he saw the burning tornadoes. The Wind Flame Lightning Vultures were stronger than he had imagined. He was no longer confident enough to think that he could take on a Wind Flame Lightning Vulture by himself.

The Mountain Titan stood proudly. Half of its body was as straight as a mountain. It uttered a roar to alert the Wind Flame Lightning Vultures that it had come for the human that had escaped into their territory!

A Wind Flame Lightning Vulture with lightning surging across its body turned out to be their leader, having finished cultivating all three Elements. It was quite displeased by the Mountain Titan’s demand!

Mo Fan’s presence was concealed by Asha’ruiya’s Dark Formation. As such, he was no different than a little animal. The Wind Flame Lightning Vultures would simply ignore him, even if they saw him.

If an infamous tyrant suddenly came to your house at midnight and told you that he was chasing after a detestable ant in a serious manner, would you believe him either?

One of the Wind Flame Lightning Vultures let out a cry that basically meant, See, I told you that this guy has been eyeing our treasure for a long time!

The Mountain Titan was immediately enraged. The biggest difference between demon creatures and humans was that the former would easily start a battle of life and death over the slightest conflict. They never had the patience to sit down and talk peacefully about such matters. As such, it was extremely important to be civilized, to avoid being played like a fiddle!

The Mountain Titan was not something that would bother explaining itself verbally. It had been the ruler of Mount Tyrant for many years. Since its territory was huge, it was already kind enough not asking the vultures that had moved to the mountain to pay tribute. To its surprise, these vultures totally assumed the place was their territory and even acted recklessly before it!

It seemed these vultures insisted on protecting the human. The Mountain Titan was not fussy about starting a fight. It was necessary to teach these imbeciles a lesson, and let them know who the real boss was here at the mountain!

The nine Wind Flame Lightning Vultures were all in their final phase before evolving to their next form, and as such they were incredibly sensitive to anyone that tried to disturb their lightning cultivation ground. They immediately risked their lives to fend off the Mountain Titan!

The battle started instantly, and since the creatures were fairly high-level, half the mountain was trembling as they went to it!

The Mountain Titan was absolutely gigantic. Any other little hill would be shattered by pieces by the Commander-level vultures by now. It was not too difficult for a Commander-level creature to destroy an entire mountain!

“Stop watching, we have some business to do,” Asha’ruiya reminded how when she saw how drawn in Mo Fan was.

Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya moved stealthily toward the mountain crack. It was obvious that Asha’ruiya had come prepared. She took out a half-oval stone and pointed its tip at the lightning arcs flickering in the crack.

The lightning arcs started to surge toward the half-oval stone, as if they were being drawn into it.

“Oh right, give me back the Stone of Guilt,” Asha’ruiya said seriously.

Mo Fan gave the stone back to her. Mo Fan was no kind person, but still, Asha’ruiya now had an extra side to her: a thief!

“Why would the Mountain Titan chase after the stone so aggressively, like a mad dog?” Mo Fan asked.

“How bad is your memory? Didn’t I tell you that the Mountain Titans used to be mystical beings of ancient Europe, and they were defeated and driven away by the Parthenon Temple? The stone is a symbol of the Parthenon Temple! The humiliation that the titans went through was implanted in the mind of every descendant like a stigma!” Asha’ruiya snorted.

“Oh, but I still don’t understand, did you already plan to come here right at the beginning? Otherwise, why would you go and steal the stone?” Mo Fan asked.

“I need the stone for something else. Using it to lure the Mountain Titan was only an idea I just came up with. The eight hundred and fifty million you spent was extremely worth it, as you are able to acquire something that countless Lightning Mages have dreamed of without even needing to do anything!” Asha’ruiya informed him.

“What did you mean I didn’t do anything…” Mo Fan was about to explain himself when his attention was caught by a lightning orb.

The crack was so narrow that it was impossible for two adult men to cross paths. The moonlight entering the crack at a slanted angle only lit up the upper part of the walls. The lower part was lit up because of the lightning orb.

The lightning orb was smaller than a person’s fist. For some reason, it did not look like some lifeless object, but an alive, little creature hiding in the crack. When it saw someone getting closer, it immediately unleashed stronger lightning arcs!.

However, every lightning arc it unleashed was absorbed by the stone that Asha’ruiya had prepared. The orb was like a little porcupine whose spikes had been all plucked off.

“Go ahead, see if it is willing to accept you,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Huh, will it not accept me?” Mo Fan was confused.

“A Spirit-grade Seed has a certain level of intelligence, and a Soul-grade Seed has its own consciousness. They are like Summoned Beasts, something that Mages have to communicate with in order for them to reach a deal. If the Soul-grade Seed does not acknowledge you, you will never be able to obtain its power,” Asha’ruiya informed him.

“It seems like there’s nothing you don’t know!” Mo Fan smacked his lips.

“I assume you are calling me knowledgeable!” Asha’ruiya laughed.

“Excuse me…”

The crack was extremely narrow, so narrow that it was impossible for the two to move side-by-side.

Initially, Mo Fan thought he would not have any problem crossing considering how slender Asha’ruiya was. However, Mo Fan had totally underestimated Asha’ruiya’s cup size. When he tried to move past her, he could feel a sudden blood rush after feeling the bouncy touch. As such, he was supposed to get past easily, but he ended up being caught in a little accident…

“Phew~” Mo Fan breathed heavily, his body was scorching hot.

Asha’ruiya was embarrassed too. She lowered her head slightly. Her face turned extremely red and her breathing intensified.

“Err, you should turn around, or I won’t be able to move past you,” he said with an awkward expression, blushing too.

Mo Fan moved back slightly and waited until Asha’ruiya had turned around to face the wall.

As she leaned against the wall, her slender waist and back did not take up much space, but her firm bottom immediately stuck out in front of Mo Fan. He could already feel the blood running in his nose, as his mind was fully occupied with the imagination of him grabbing the woman’s waist with both hands!

“Go on!” Asha’ruiya snapped, yet to Mo Fan, it sounded as if she was looking forward to it.

Mo Fan was sticking his back to the other wall, yet he was still having trouble passing her. It eventually turned into another accident. Somehow, something as insignificant as changing places had turned into a wild, peculiar situation with sweat pouring down like rain. After all, since Asha’ruiya was sticking close to the wall, it was easier for Mo Fan’s upper body to move past her. Unfortunately, Mo Fan had increased the difficulty of moving past the woman with his lower body. In the end, Mo Fan and little Mo Fan had to force their way through the tiny space available.

He made it at last!

Despite Asha’ruiya’s appearance of a saintess and her other-worldly temperament, she did not seem to be too obsessed with avoiding accidental touches with men like the women in most novels and television dramas. It took Mo Fan by surprise, as even an open-minded women would not be pleased with the encounter.

Asha’ruiya did not show any reaction. She seemed rather calm, apart from the redness on her face that was slowly disappearing.

Mo Fan did not cross the line just because she was not enraged. He did admit that the touches were not just purely accidental…

He quickly placed his attention on the Lightning Tyrant, since he was also extremely interested in it.

—

Asha’ruiya stood behind Mo Fan. She was staring at the man who had placed his full attention on the Lightning Tyrant, his face expressionless.

In order to prevent the Mountain Titan and the Wind Flame Lightning Vultures from noticing their presence, the Dark Formation was still active. On top of that, they had to restrain themselves from using any active magic, as the energy ripples would immediately expose them. Otherwise, Mo Fan could easily use the Fleeing Shadow to move forward…

After hesitating for a long time, Asha’ruiya gave up the thought of withdrawing the Dark Formation’s coverage from Mo Fan.

“He is still useful to me, he is still useful to me, he is still useful to me…”

Asha’ruiya took a deep breath. Her chest pulsated heavily as she kept repeating the same words under her breath, as if she was trying to remind herself to be rational and forgiving… she was definitely not in a rush to slaughter this jerk who dared rub his filthy little toy against her bottom!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

As Asha’ruiya mentioned, a Soul-grade Lightning Seed like the Lightning Tyrant had its own consciousness. One could say that it had its own soul.

That soul was the source of the Lightning Tyrant’s Domain.

Lightning kept on striking the top of the mountain, and the energy of the lightning would eventually flow into this crack and be absorbed by the lightning orb.

Mo Fan tried guiding the lightning orb into his body, but he soon realized how strong the energy was. He could feel his body going numb from the strong electric current. It took quite some time for him to recover his senses.

Mo Fan kept on trying. This time, he tried to approach the lightning orb gently.

However, Mo Fan soon felt a wild energy with a hint of disdain surging in his direction, as if it was trying to say, Are you, a mere human, really thinking of taking away my power?

If the orb was being gentle, Mo Fan would simply respond violently, and if the orb was violent, he would be even more violent!

When Mo Fan discovered that the Soul-grade Lightning Seed was trying to challenge him, he gladly accepted the challenge. It was obvious that the Lightning Tyrant was being extremely arrogant, but it did not seem that treating the Lightning Tyrant gently was useful in subduing it. Mo Fan would simply subdue the Lightning Tyrant with brute force! It was like he was trying to turn a female tyrant with thorns all over her into an obedient empress!

“Surprise, it’s my demon flesh!” Mo Fan did not back off. He rose again whenever he fell, each time fiercer than he was before.

Due to the outstanding physical attributes he had gained from the Demon Element, Mo Fan was not afraid to be rejected by the lightning. He soon got used to it after many attempts. Any other Lightning Mages would have given up by now.

Mo Fan had tried twenty times, yet the lightning was still unwilling to give up. It was easily the most stubborn little woman that Mo Fan had ever seen, yet Mo Fan liked it even more the more it struggled, as he would feel a greater sense of achievement after subduing it. It would then accompany him as he proceeded to conquer the world!

—

“Is this guy invulnerable to lightning?” Asha’ruiya stood there and watched Mo Fan keep ramming into the lightning orb like a mad man after being electrocuted many times.

Normally, a Lightning Mage of his level had no chance of enduring the Soul-grade Lightning Seed’s power!

Doing something the dumb way was sometimes the most efficient way. After twenty-four attempts, Mo Fan discovered that the Lightning Tyrant did not reject him as strongly as it did at the beginning. Mo Fan could not tell if it was because he had gotten used to the lightning, or the Lightning Tyrant had started to admire Mo Fan’s courage…

“Alright, here we go!” Mo Fan started preparing himself for his last attempt by gathering the will of every one of his Elements to break down the Lightning Tyrant’s defense. Mo Fan had overcome the Lightning Tyrant’s defense, and all that was left was the purest energy inside!

Mo Fan was still feeling the Lightning Tyrant’s electric shock. As Mo Fan opened up his Spiritual World, it provided the Lightning Tyrant a better environment to reside in. The Lightning Tyrant was tempted to relocate itself.

The infuriating cries of the Wind Flame Lightning Vultures came from outside the crack.

The Wind Flame Lightning Vultures clearly sensed the abnormal activity of the Lightning Tyrant. They started heading toward it, glaring at the human that had dared to plot against their treasure through the crack!

“Little Flame Belle, buy me some time!”

Mo Fan immediately summoned Little Flame Belle. He desperately needed someone to protect him now. He just needed a few more attempts to fully acquire the Lightning Tyrant. He only needed some time!

“I’ll give you three more attempts! If you still can’t get it, we’ll need to leave right away!” Asha’ruiya said grimly.

Asha’ruiya had also summoned her Dark Swordmaster. The Dark Swordmaster’s aura was nowhere as strong as the one that Mo Fan had fought against at the pyramid. It must be able to grow, just like Little Flame Belle…

Both Little Flame Belle and the Dark Swordmaster went out to engage the enemy. Luckily, five of the Wind Flame Lightning Vultures were still busy fighting the Mountain Titan. Otherwise, they would not be able to hold the line at all.

“Damn it! Come over here!” Mo Fan was running out of patience. However, it immediately triggered a stronger reaction from the Lightning Tyrant, and he simply failed the attempt.

“I am the king of Lightning!” Mo Fan had lightning surging all across his body. He no longer had the same patience, his body now full of energy that was on the verge of exploding. He felt enraged and out-of-control. His pupils started to emit a dark, blood-colored glow as he approached his limit!

The dark, blood-colored glow represented the Demon Element. It would start to go out of control when Mo Fan’s life was being threatened, and would immediately replace Mo Fan’s consciousness.

The dark, blood-colored glow burst out of Mo Fan’s body. His eyes were bloodshot as the lightning arcs penetrated his body, tearing his clothes apart, revealing his firm, manly muscles!

Asha’ruiya opened her mouth wide standing behind him.

The resilience that the man had displayed was a lot more than she had imagined. His determination and desire to become stronger gave him an unyielding spirit that was completely different than the lazy, indifferent attitude he normally showed!

Resilience! It was something that most Mages lacked!

“I’ll buy you a few more minutes,” Asha’ruiya said after she saw Mo Fan brawling with the lightning.

She started to lay down a formation, one that could normally only be set up and activated by more than ten people, yet she managed to construct it by herself…

“There’s no need for that!” Mo Fan slowly turned around.

The lightning was flowing through his muscles on his arms, his chest, his waist, and his legs as he stepped forward. Countless lightning arcs were surging wildly across the ground!

His bloodshot eyes slowly recovered. His pupils were dark and icy cold, as if they were affected by the Lightning Tyrant!

Asha’ruiya was a little lost in her thoughts. Not long ago, Mo Fan was just a shameless pervert in her mind, but now, he totally resembled an emperor who had just woken up inside the lightning, fully displaying his natural pride and arrogance between his brows.

“Con…congratulations!” Asha’ruiya murmured.

Mo Fan could not really stay naked with a woman around. He Summoned out the Black Snake Armor. The expensive magic armor quickly wrapped around his body, which was still being refined by the lightning!

—

As they walked out from the mountain crack, Mo Fan saw Little Flame Belle fending off two Wind Flame Lightning Vultures. Her slender body was already covered in several wounds. The creatures were Commander-level, thus it was simply too tricky for her to take on both at once.

Meanwhile, Asha’ruiya’s Dark Swordmaster was stronger than Mo Fan thought. It was facing three Wind Flame Lightning Vultures, and despite being in a disadvantageous position, it showed no sign of losing, either!

“It seems like the Mountain Titan has left,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan looked around and saw the Mountain Titan being chased further away by the other four Wind Flame Lightning Vultures. It obviously had no intention to fight any further.

A dark lightning descended rapidly from the cloud above. It no longer landed inside the crack, but right on Mo Fan!

Dense lightning continued to flicker inside the black clouds, which eventually turned into black lightning strikes landing on Mo Fan continuously. Some came down like a plunging spear, some had the shape of forks. The lightning scattered across the clouds and the mountain, lighting their surroundings up.

When Mo Fan who was wearing the Black Snake Armor was struck by the lightning, dark snarls of lightning rapidly appeared around him and scattered in the air, with Mo Fan at the center. They lasted for a certain time, and so more of them continued to fill the air and eventually formed a sphere of lightning around him. The Lightning Element within ten kilometers had assembled like soldiers after being summoned…

“The Tyrant Domain!” Asha’ruiya blurted out when she saw the zone of lightning forming around Mo Fan.

The Tyrant Domain not only accumulated the Lightning Element, it would also attract any natural lightning within a few dozen kilometers to it…

Mount Tyrant was basically a lightning zone, with rapid lightning strikes coming down at the mountain all the time, shattering the rocks. However, the lightning strikes were all focusing on Mo Fan, turning him into an enormous storehouse of lightning!

“Sky Lightning Claw!”

Mo Fan clenched his hands into claws. A dark, lightning claw appeared above the clouds like a monstrous demon and grabbed at a Wind Flame Lightning Vulture that was attacking Little Flame Belle.

It was obvious that the Wind Flame Lightning Vulture had not cultivated the Lightning Element for long. The lightning claw of the Lightning Tyrant tore at the creature numerous times. Its feathers scattered in the air…

The injured Wind Flame Lightning Vulture spiraled away into a mountain valley, with yellow lightning arcs flickering on its body…

Suddenly, more bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere. Seven lightning bolts struck the Wind Flame Lightning Vulture that was falling in series. The creature immediately cried out in pain!

“Lightning Tyrant Scars!” Mo Fan was startled when he saw the lightning bolts following up the first attack.

He initially thought the Lightning Tyrant Scars would only summon a bolt of lightning to attack the creature. However, it turned out that the number of lightning bolts was proportional to the number of scars he inflicted on the target!

Furthermore, it turned out that he could also control the Lightning Tyrant Scars!

Mo Fan had not had many chances to use his Lightning Strike after it reached the fifth-tier.

Mo Fan immediately locked onto another Wind Flame Lightning Vulture and attacked it with a fifth-tier Lightning Strike. Hundreds of lightning arcs surged across the Wind Flame Lightning Vulture, leaving lots of Lightning Tyrant Scars on it!

However, the Lightning Strike was only a Basic Spell. Even a fifth-tier Lightning Strike was far from enough to harm a Wind Flame Lightning Vulture.

Mo Fan immediately cast a second Lightning Strike.

The second Lightning Strike left Lightning Tyrant Scars on the creature. When two scars were applied on the same target, it would trigger the Tyrant Call within the Tyrant Domain…

However, Mo Fan did not let the Tyrant Call take place.

He was planning to apply more Lightning Tyrant Scars to the creature before triggering the Tyrant Call!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Release the lightning!”

Mo Fan released all the lightning he had just absorbed into his body. The lightning arcs lined up and surged forward like a moving carpet.

The Wind Flame Lightning Vulture had no room to escape. It cried out in pain when it was struck by the lightning arcs!

Mo Fan had released all the lightning energy he had stored up. The lightning arcs were fairly powerful, as the Wind Flame Lightning Vulture was struggling to get back up to its feet after suffering continuous attacks!

Most importantly, the Wind Flame Lightning Vulture was covered in lots of Lightning Tyrant Scars. Mo Fan only needed a single thought to trigger them. The scars immediately shone with a brilliant yellow light!

A yellow lightning dragon tore the night sky in half as it plunged down from the layer of black clouds. The dragon was long and unstoppable too. It was heading straight for the Wind Flame Lightning Vulture!

The Wind Flame Lightning Vulture had yet to recover from the previous lightning shocks when the Tyrant Call triggered by dozens of Lightning Tyrant Scars descended from the sky and knocked it into a scorched-black hole. It felt like its body was on the verge of collapsing!

Asha’ruiya was dumbfounded upon seeing this.

The Lightning Tyrant seemed to be stronger than she had imagined, especially with how the Lightning Tyrant Scars could be stacked up before triggering the Tyrant Call, even summoning a yellow lightning dragon to punish the target!

If more than thirty Lightning Tyrant Scars were stacked on the same target, the damage of the Tyrant Call would be comparable to an Advanced Lightning Spell. The Wind Flame Lightning Vulture was already suffering severe injuries from the previous lightning shock. It was basically half-dead after being struck by the Tyrant Call!

The Wind Flame Lightning Vulture was already at its limit. It beat its wings, trying to run away and regroup with its comrades.

Mo Fan grinned when he saw the Commander-level creature trying to run away. He felt like he had an endless supply of lightning inside his body, which he could free control with his will!

“Don’t overstay, we’ll be in trouble if the big Wind Flame Lightning Vulture comes back!” Asha’ruiya warned him.

“Mmm!” Mo Fan nodded. He had acquired the Soul-grade Lightning Seed, thus it was no longer necessary to tangle with the Wind Flame Lightning Vultures any further. There were nine of them in total. Without the Mountain Titan’s help, they would have trouble handling them!

“This way!” Asha’ruiya suddenly pointed at the crack.

“Didn’t we just come out from there?” Mo Fan was stunned.

“Enough talking, come in quick,” Asha’ruiya said.

As they were talking, a fiery tornado connecting the clouds and the mountain was forming in the air. The overwhelming presence of the fiery tornado was quite intimidating!

The huge Wind Flame Lightning Vulture had returned. Mo Fan did not think he was unbeatable just because he had acquired the Soul-grade Seed. The combined firepower of nine Wind Flame Lightning Vultures was pretty terrifying!

Asha’ruiya called the Dark Swordmaster back. Mo Fan also withdrew Little Flame Belle into his Contracted Space as they continued along the path. Mo Fan finally realized something when they reached where the Lightning Tyrant was located previously. It turned out that the spot they had found the lightning orb at was not the end. There was still a long, narrow path after it, leading to a cave.

Mo Fan was curious as he followed Asha’ruiya. How did she know there was a path here?

Besides, if she was planning to come here, it simply meant she had to take care of the Lightning Tyrant, too. He had done her a favor by clearing it, and even paid her money!

However, on second thought, without Asha’ruiya’s help, he wouldn’t have been able to find the Lightning Tyrant, either…

“It’s obvious that you wanted to come here all along, yet you said we had a better chance if we collected the Lightning Tyrant first,” Mo Fan pointed out in the narrow, dark cave.

“I wasn’t lying either; you did end up getting the Lightning Tyrant. It’s pretty high-quality as a Soul-grade Seed!” Asha’ruiya replied cheerfully.

“I’m just thinking about my money,” Mo Fan grumbled.

” I think I didn’t ask for enough!” Asha’ruiya retorted.

“Where are we going?”

“To the top!”

—

Many demon creatures resided on Mount Tyrant. Anyone that tried to climb the mountain would most likely be devoured by its residents. Most creatures that called the mountain their home were Commander-level creatures, and most of them had ancient bloodlines, too. They either used to rule the mountain, or were rising as the new rulers of the mountain. Either way, not many of them were friendly to humans.

The cave inside the mountain was actually a secret path leading to the top of the mountain. By the time they exited the cave, the sky was already lighting up. However, since the mountain was usually shrouded by the clouds, the top of the mountain and the nearby ridges were still in darkness.

The path to the top of the mountain was extremely steep. It felt like they could fall off at any moment as made their way to the top.

The jagged rocks along the path resembled an enormous dragon with spikes on its back. It was like a slope extending toward the clouds, eventually forming a long, steep cliff!

The cliff extended beyond the mountain. The path was flat, but it looked fairly intimidating from a distance. It felt like someone was walking on a path floating in the sky, with strong winds blowing and moving the clouds…

“Stand at the end of the cliff,” Asha’ruiya said to Mo Fan.

“Can you tell me what for?” Mo Fan said.

“There’s no time for an explanation now. Once you’re there, release your Space Magic,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Alright…” Mo Fan knew Asha’ruiya was up to something seeing her stern face.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan had never felt the top of Mount Tyrant was ordinary. The clouds were actually sinking to his feet. The sky was perfectly clear and blue, the sea of clouds was moving below his feet. The whole of Mount Tyrant was currently concealed in the cloudy mist. The slope leading to the cliff was like a gray-white broken bridge, giving him a spectacular view.

Mo Fan was slowly heading for the end of the cliff. It felt like he was making his way onto a heavenly scaffold.

As Mo Fan reached the end of the cliff, he subconsciously looked down. There happened to be a gap in the clouds. Mo Fan stared through the gap, trying to guess his current altitude.

However, when Mo Fan looked through the gap, he could only see something black, and it seemed to be moving…

“What is that?” Mo Fan was confused. He gathered all his focus to look into the gap, to see what the thing that was blocking his view was.

“Mo Fan, release your Space Magic!” Asha’ruiya voice came from the other end.

Mo Fan finally collected his thoughts and followed Asha’ruiya’s instruction by releasing the Space Magic.

“Don’t look down, look at me!” Asha’ruiya suddenly yelled.

Mo Fan glanced at Asha’ruiya and saw her running at him from around five hundred meters away.

She was sprinting like a cat. Mo Fan could not understand why she was stopping him from looking down. Was she worried that he was afraid of heights?

Mo Fan was a naughty man. He could not help but look down, as he desperately wanted to know what the black thing below the gap was. Meanwhile, the sea of clouds had sunk a few dozen meters, revealing more of the black object!

“Holy crap, what the hell is it?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded. His eyes were fixed on the black existence in the clouds.

Mo Fan felt like he was looking at a creature’s backbone. It was covered densely in scales, with long, black spikes like horns, as big as a mammoth’s tusks!

Mo Fan was shocked not because he was able to get a closer look at the black creature, but because he could not even see the creature’s full appearance when he looked down. Mo Fan could tell that he had only seen the tip of an iceberg!

It was too big!

The creature was so huge that he could not see it all with a single glance. As it slowly rose, Mo Fan felt like he had fallen into a bottomless abyss. He was overwhelmed by a sense of being very, very small!

“Don’t move, stay right there!” Asha’ruiya’s voice came.

As a matter of fact, a shocking sonic wave was coming from below Mo Fan. The voice was so loud that it was inaudible to the ears. There was only a piercing pain in his head, and he was telling him that his eardrums were about to burst!

-What the hell is it?-

Mo Fan felt like his heart was about to break into pieces. He subconsciously tried to run, but he immediately remembered that Asha’ruiya had asked him to stand still.

Mo Fan strongly believed that if the creature below was trying to kill him, there was no way he could escape. The creature was simply too huge, its size had exceeded Mo Fan’s understanding. It felt like its body was bigger than the sea of clouds!

Scales, backbone, black skin, that was all that Mo Fan could see!

“Space Journey: Change in a Flash!”

Asha’ruiya sprang forward. When she was around fifty meters away from Mo Fan, the space between her and Mo Fan bent out of shape.

As Asha’ruiya got closer, the space was heavily contorted. The Space Magic that Mo Fan had released before had come into effect too, speeding up the process.

Amid the loud rumble of the sonic wave, Mo Fan’s vision started to blur due to the twisting space. He happened to catch a glimpse of the massive claw of the black creature swiping at him. The claw was huge enough to break the whole cliff apart, let alone the tiny figures of himself and Asha’ruiya!

As the black claw came closer, Mo Fan could not help but murmur, “Am I seriously going to die after I just obtained a new Soul-grade Seed?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Space around him wobbled. Mo Fan could only sense his surroundings shifting, as if he was in the middle of some spatial turbulence. His environment kept shifting from nothing to a spectacular view of the breathtaking scenery…

He was seeing things in a blur while suffering enormous pain in his head!

Some time later, everything finally returned to calm. Mo Fan fell onto the grass feebly, like someone who had been tortured by a storm at sea for days.

Asha’ruiya and Mo Fan came out of the space ripple at the same time. Her face was incredibly pale too, and her energy seemed to have depleted. She then fainted and fell onto Mo Fan…

It was sunny, with white clouds in the sky and green grass swaying to the wind in the distance. The petals of some wild flowers were blown into the air at times before landing somewhere else.

——

Drops of dew slid along the grass and landed onto Mo Fan’s drenched pants.

Mo Fan soon woke up when he sensed the chill. He tried to move his body when he discovered someone’s head on his stomach. The woman’s face slid further down when he moved.

“Hey, wake up, my pants are wet from your drool!” Mo Fan nudged Asha’ruiya.

Asha’ruiya came to her senses. She blushed immediately when she discovered the wet stain on Mo Fan’s pants. She quickly turned away, pretending that nothing had happened.

“Miss Ye Meng’e, don’t you think there’s something you need to clarify?” Mo Fan said seriously when he recalled the terrifying encounter he had gone through before he lost consciousness.

Asha’ruiya slightly raised her head and was relieved when she saw dew falling down from a stalk of tall grass…

It made a lot of sense. There was no way she would drool so much even if she had accidentally fainted and fallen on a man’s body!

“It’s dew!” Asha’ruiya pointed at the wet grass with a sniff.

“F**k me, that’s not what I’m asking! I’m referring to the gigantic, black creature I saw at the top of Mount Tyrant. Even paying me a billion won’t be enough to compensate me for the shock I went through!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“You should be thanking me, you are the only one still alive after seeing the creature apart from me,” Asha’ruiya started tidying up her clothes and hair.

“What kind of logic is that? Tell me, what is that thing? It’s so f**king huge!” Mo Fan blurted out.

“It’s a real dragon; a real, ancient dark dragon!” Asha’ruiya declared.

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide. It took him some time to collect his thoughts.

Dragon…

A real dragon…

A real, ancient dark dragon!

“Don’t tell me you’re referring to the creatures with a pure bloodline that once dominated Europe! THOSE huge dragons?!” Mo Fan uttered every word loud and clear!

“Yes, pure dragons! We call them real dragons, some call them huge dragons. The creature has another name too: Emperor Agaroth! It has woken up as the rumors say, and is residing on the top of Mount Tyrant. Its senses are utterly impressive. I had already erased your presence with the Dark Formation, yet it could still detect you,” Asha’ruiya said.

“So, the reason you are up on this mountain is just to verify that a real, ancient dark dragon is living there?” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah, this piece of information is priceless,” Asha’ruiya said.

“I think it’s time for us to break all ties!” Mo Fan declared.

-What the heck, this woman is a f**king maniac!-

A real, ancient dark dragon, the creature’s level was already beyond Mo Fan’s understanding. He strongly believed that even Forbidden Mages would not dare to challenge it, yet this Asha’ruiya was bold enough to trespass into the creature’s territory.

He almost died because of it!

“Aren’t we alive still?” Asha’ruiya’s brows curled slightly upward as she replied seriously.

“Yes, but what if your Space Formation was just a little too late?” Mo Fan snapped.

Asha’ruiya was an expert in Magic Formations. She was obviously setting up a formation to guarantee their escape. She had asked Mo Fan to release his Space Magic just so she could set up the formation and activate it in time.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan believed if the dragon was determined to chase after them, it could easily tear through the space and force its way through the space ripple. A creature of its level would not be tricked by Space Magic so easily.

They were in luck since the dragon did not really treat Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya seriously. It simply thought of them as two mosquitoes that had flown away, and was too lazy to chase after them. Otherwise, even if they had blinked a few hundred kilometers away, it could still come and kill them!

As such, Mo Fan no longer thought the woman was a saintess, but a total maniac!

“Where are we now?” Mo Fan observed his surroundings. The scenery was pretty nice, and the air was quite refreshing too. However, he could not really tell where they were.

If they did not decide on a specific landing point prior to using the Space Formation that Asha’ruiya constructed, they would be tossed to a random location. Mo Fan somehow felt like they were no longer in Italy!

“I guess we are in Croatia. Didn’t you want to break all ties with me? Why are you asking me?” Asha’ruiya wore a cunning grin. She did not seem to be bothered by what they had just gone through.

“Give me back my money, and we can still be friends,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s all about money in the end.”Read the next chapter on our vipnovel.com

“It only makes sense for you to compensate me for the spiritual damage I’ve suffered. Anyone else would have turn into an idiot now!” Mo Fan said.

“But you’re perfectly fine, aren’t you? You can even show off by telling other girls that you’ve seen a real dragon,” Asha’ruiya said.

“That’s my business, so are you going to give me back the money or not?”

“No way!”

Mo Fan started to lose his patience. “Don’t you think I can’t do anything to you!” Mo Fan had indeed received a great shock.

Even if he demonized, he could not take on the dragon. Anyone would lose their temper knowing that they had barely survived after being tricked by a crazy woman into going on such a dangerous adventure. Furthermore, after all they had gone through, Asha’ruiya was wearing a grin like a cunning little fox. Mo Fan had mixed feelings when he combined her current appearance with her sacred, otherworldly temperament.

Mo Fan’s mind was kind of messed up too. He grabbed Asha’ruiya’s wrist and pushed her to the ground.

His energy had depleted after going through the space turbulence. As such, Mo Fan had decided to use the most primal approach to suppress Asha’ruiya on the ground.

Mo Fan believed Asha’ruiya’s energy had depleted, too. She was worn out just like he was after going through the space turbulence.

As he thought, Asha’ruiya was pressed to the ground and unable to fight back with magic. She glared at Mo Fan in embarrassment, yet there was no sign of compromise on her attractive face. She was staring at Mo Fan like a noble queen with her proud gaze, and was too stubborn to look away.

Mo Fan was totally dumbfounded by her reaction.

Mo Fan was just trying to scare her so she could admit her wrong. He was only planning to vent his frustration after he barely escaped death, yet the woman was unwilling to give up still!

Both of them had no energy, thus they were currently no different than ordinary people. Due to their genders, Mo Fan clearly had the advantage. If he really was planning something, the woman had no chance of fighting back!

“You little vixen, you win this time!” After some time, Mo Fan let one of Asha’ruiya’s hands go.

“Are you scared?” Asha’ruiya smirked. Her beautiful eyes flickered cunningly.

“But I’m going to take some interest!”

Just as Asha’ruiya thought Mo Fan was about to let her go, Mo Fan lowered his head and kissed Asha’ruiya’s soft, red lips.

Asha’ruiya’s eyes widened. She did not expect Mo Fan would really dare to take advantage of her. She kept slapping Mo Fan’s shoulder, but the feeling of suffocation grew stronger. She started to feel feeble as the sensation of the kiss surged across her body like an electric current!

“If you try to set me up again, it won’t be as easy as a simple kiss!” Mo Fan let go of Asha’ruiya. He could still smell Asha’ruiya’s delicious lips.

“You shameless, filthy, perverted, asshole!”

“You aren’t any better either! A liar, maniac, thief… I must be blind to think that you were sacred and mysterious just because you were wearing a veil!” Mo Fan shot back.

“You’re going to pay for that!” Asha’ruiya totally lost her calm. If she had enough energy, she would surely have Summoned the Dark Swordmaster and ordered it to slice this man that had taken advantage of her into pieces!

“The world is so big, it’s hard to tell if we’re going to see each other again,” Mo Fan felt better after claiming his interest.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was infuriated by Asha’ruiya’s smugness, even though she had done something so ridiculous. The woman acted as if everything was under her control, yet little did she know, when her energy had depleted, Mo Fan could easily do anything to her if he wanted!

Asha’ruiya surprisingly calmed down after hearing Mo Fan’s words.

Mo Fan was having trouble understanding what the woman was thinking. He did not fool around further after seeing she had calmed down. He sat on the ground and started to meditate, trying to recover his energy as soon as possible.

Asha’ruiya knew how dangerous it was to not have any power in an unfamiliar place. She did not waste any more time.

Not long after, Mo Fan opened his eyes and looked at Asha’ruiya, who was meditating.

Asha’ruiya was indeed glamorous when she was motionless. Her sacred temperament was not something she was wearing as a disguise, but flowing out of her naturally, as if she did not belong to this world.

Yet, why did she always have to do ridiculous things?

-Verifying the existence of a Black Dragon Emperor? Is she f**king out of her mind!?-

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

A training ground located somewhere in Venice’s canals…

“With these, you shouldn’t lose so easily in the World College Tournament. You should understand that the old clan master personally stepped forth to acquire this full set of magic equipment. You must not let us down,” Zhou Yilin said with great anticipation, fondling her daughter’s hair.

“I won’t. Not many people can defeat me with my current strength,” Mu Tingying replied confidently.

“Speaking of which, is that girl Mu Ningxue still on the team?” Zhou Yilin asked.

“Yeah, it’s so annoying to see her around. I’ve never seen such a shameless woman before, still bothering showing herself around despite her stinky reputation. Won’t she just bring more shame to our clan?” Mu Tingying said.

“She kept competing with you in the past, but what does she even have to compete with you now?” Zhou Yilin said.

Mu Tingying grinned upon hearing this. It was something she liked to hear now.

In the clan, Mu Ningxue’s name had been a great pressure to Mu Tingying for many years due to her outstanding talents, and now, Mu Tingying finally had a chance to return the favor. The sense of being surrounded and looked up at by the clan felt better than she had imagined. She had been taking almost all of the resources that were available!

“That’s why I’m going to take everything from her!” Mu Tingying smiled. Compared to the fake smile she had been wearing all the time, her smile actually looked sincere for the first time!

——

The breeze of the Mediterranean Sea swept past. The wind fondled Mu Ningxue’s hair like a pair of gentle hands.

Her silver hair was drifting in the gentle wind. Mu Ningxue turned sideways and glanced at her hair being lifted by the wind…

Her hair was no longer snowy-white. It seemed to be mixed with a hint of black, which she had not had until recently. She could clearly see a few strands of black hair among her snowy-white locks.

Her hair used to be black, the same color that her mother had; a beautiful, silky black, unlike the snowy-white that kept on bringing her unwanted attention. Somehow, she felt sad and depressed looking at her white hair.

When the color of your hair recovers, you will no longer be tortured by the Ice Incubus. It will submit to your will, echoed in Mu Ningxue’s mind.

The change of her hair’s color was a sign that she was starting to assert control over the power!

—

“Mu Ningxue, so this is where you are, I’ve been looking for you,” a man’s voice came from behind her.

Mu Ningxue turned around and glanced at the man bearing a gentle smile. He was seemingly in his thirties. Her expression was complicated on seeing him.

“Fate really likes to deal some people a rotten hand. Ten years ago, I promised you that if you were willing to put in the effort, you would surely become the strongest Ice Mage of our clan, yet no one thought something like that would happen to your family.“ The man walked up on the bridge and leaned against the rails as he spoke.

Mu Ningxue did not reply. She did not understand why this person had shown up here.

This man was the main reason her talents were able to stand out. It was he who had selected her from among the side branches of the clan. He had arranged for her to live in the enormous Mu Clan like a princess, with access to the best resources she needed for her cultivation.

Even now, Mu Ningxue still had no idea about his position in the Mu Clan. It felt like he could alter the decisions of the whole clan with just a single sentence. Even though she was not really a direct family member of the clan, he was able to give her an outstanding status there…

“Didn’t you always want to know who I am?” The man smiled when he saw the twinkle in Mu Ningxue’s eyes.

“Mmm,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

“It’s unnecessary to call me mister anymore, that sounds like I’m your master You can just call me Pan Xi,” the man told her.

“Pan Xi… your surname isn’t Mu?” Mu Ningxue asked in surprise.

She had assumed the man was at least some kind of elder in the clan, who had a say in the directions the clan was supposed to go.

Pan Xi shook his head. He wore a lazy, bored expression and replied, “I’m more like a ghost in this clan.”

“What are you trying to say?” Mu Ningxue asked calmly.

The man was supposed to show up long ago, when their family was greatly affected by Mu He’s involvement in the Black Vatican, and yet, this man with great influence in the clan did not appear. Mu Ningxue was only able to gain a foothold in the Mu Clan because of her outstanding talents, and the support she received from him.

Mu Ningxue never expected the man to provide her with any help. He was more like a teacher to her, as he had guided her along the path of becoming an Ice Mage. That being said, Mu Ningxue had never thought of him as a particularly trustworthy person, as Mu Ningxue believed that he had selected many people like her. She would be replaced immediately if she was no longer the strongest Mage of her generation.

However, Mu Ningxue did not understand; if the man had already given up on her because of the Black Vatican’s incident, why would he show up now? Wasn’t he supposed to be seeing Mu Tingying instead?

“You know the Ice Element is our clan’s foundation. Even though there are a few other clans in China that are comparable to us, none of them can possibly overtake us in terms of strength, and no clan is able to train more Advanced Mages and Super Mages than our clan. Do you know the reason behind it?” Pan Xi asked.

How could Mu Ningxue possibly know the reason?

The Mu Clan had always been huge. Even a side branch like her family was well respected in a little city, and there were countless families just like hers across the country. Most of them possessed the highest authority in the cities they resided in.

However, apart from how old the clan was, Mu Ningxue could not think of any reason why her clan was able to grow into such a large kingdom-like existence!

“The truth is, during our peak, the brilliance of our clan wasn’t the Ice Element, but a bow, a bow that looked like it was made of crystal,” Pan Xi said.

Mu Ningxue was startled. She immediately thought of the Ice Crystal Bow that she had signed a contract with!

“Yes, that bow,” Pan Xi smiled as if he could read Mu Ningxue’s mind.

“I don’t understand,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Oh, there are many things you don’t understand, but allow me to tell you a cruel truth,” Pan Xi slowly replaced his smile with a stern face.

“What is it?”

“You’re not the only person that signed the contract,” Pan Xi walked up to Mu Ningxue and said in a soft voice, “Remember what I told you right at the start: the path you took is like a flight of stairs made of other people’s bodies, leading to the throne of the clan. I bet you must have thought of it as an analogy, but that’s not what it is.”

Mu Ningxue looked at the man. For some reason, she could sense a dangerous aura approaching, and the man in front of her was the source of it.

“There are many people like you in the clan. You aren’t unique,” Pan Xi said.

“But I never saw anyone else using it,” Mu Ningxue said.

“We rarely let disciples from the direct line participate in it. At the current stage, you are the strongest among those that have signed the contract with the bow. Its power lies in your hands,” Pan Xi said.

Before Mu Ningxue could ask about the Ice Crystal Bow, Pan Xi added, “The day the bow was refined, we smashed it into pieces and distributed them to talented Mages like you. The bow is only entry-level, thus it only suits the souls that are clean, like a blank piece of paper. Don’t you remember how I gave you similar pieces every once in a while?”

Mu Ningxue did remember receiving ice crystals every few months. Mu Ningxue never asked about them, but simply placed them on her palm and waited until they melted, as she was instructed.

Every time she melted a piece, she would feel her cultivation improving, and the Ice Crystal Bow in her soul would grow stronger, too. The same happened to the chill she had to suffer, thus she had to keep improving to ease the pain she would feel!

“The color of your hair is slowly recovering. This means you are coming to better terms with the Ice Crystal Bow,” Pan Xi reached out his hand and touched Mu Ningxue’s hair.

Mu Ningxue felt uncomfortable. She immediately took a few steps back.

“Why are you telling me this now?” Mu Ningxue was even more suspicious. She strongly believed that the man would not show up without a reason, and would not bother telling her these secrets, which many core members of the family were unaware of.

“You will understand once I finish explaining to you. The ice bow requires energy to recover, and the only way to do it is by smashing it into pieces and merging them with the souls of Ice Mages. In order to guarantee the energy is of the purest form, the candidates must be Ice Mages that have just Awakened the Ice Element. When the pieces recover to a certain degree, we’ll start collecting the pieces and gathering them on a single person, to try and complete the bow,” Pan Xi said coldly.

“So that’s why my cultivation improves every time I was given a piece of the bow!”

“Exactly, you can think of yourself as the queen of ants. The other ants are preparing the pieces for you before presenting them to you, in order to build the perfect nest!” Pan Xi said.

Mu Ningxue’s heart started burning in rage upon hearing this. “So, what happens to the people that lost their pieces?” Mu Ningxue asked seriously.

Chapter 1039: Nothing Left

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

No one was more familiar with the pieces of the Ice Crystal Bow that had merged with her soul. When the pieces were separated from a soul, it would bring extreme harm to the person, and it might even endanger their life!

“Don’t worry, those that lost their pieces didn’t die, but when the pieces were taken away, they completely lost their cultivation that they had worked hard for over the years and became ordinary humans. Of course, some ended up committing suicide after losing their cultivation, but I don’t really have time to care about them,” Pan Xi said.

Mu Ningxue grew even angrier the more she heard! If she knew the contract revolved around claiming someone else’s cultivation, she would not have accepted it. It was simply an evil art!

“By the way, your mother was one of the slaves to the contract, too,” Pan Xi suddenly burst out laughing. The smile on his face was eerie.

“What…what did you say?” Mu Ningxue shuddered.

Mu Ningxue’s memory of her mother immediately came to her mind. She recalled how haggard her mother was all of a sudden, and her hollow eyes, as if she had lost her soul. She eventually died of depression!

“Don’t be so surprised, it’s the decision she made. She spent all her life trying to join the Mu Clan, to join the board and become the best among everyone. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as talented as you are, so she placed all her hopes on you. When she lost her piece and her magic, she had let you inherit her contract. You are stronger than her, thus you deserve more of our attention. You didn’t disappoint us either, but it’s quite unfortunate that a member of your family was closely related to the Black Vatican. Do you understand how much of an impact that dealt to the entire Mu Clan?” Pan Xi snapped coldly.

“It’s my own decision too, but you never told me I was actually claiming someone else’s cultivation!” The anger on Mu Ningxue’s face was even more obvious.

“I did tell you, but you weren’t able to interpret it correctly. Nevertheless, I’ve told you everything you’re supposed to know. It’s time for me to take the Ice Crystal Bow that is almost completed from you, or you can hand it over yourself. I initially thought you were our best candidate. It’s such a pity, I’ve only told the people that had lost their pieces the truth, but I never thought I would be telling you, too. Just give up on the difficult path of cultivation and be an ordinary person. At least I can guarantee you a comfortable life from now onward,” Pan Xi took a step forward. His aura suddenly turned oppressive!

Mu Ningxue giggled self-mockingly when she looked at Pan Xi’s icy expression.

She had managed to come so far by working hard all the time. What right did this man have to snatch her cultivation away?

It turned out that even a formidable existence like the Mu Clan was relying on such an evil, forbidden magic that abused the souls of young disciples to breed the pieces of the Ice Crystal Bow. The pieces would eventually be given to a single person that would claim the complete Ice Crystal Bow. It was an inhumane way to obtain power!

“The Mu Clan has always been like this. Those that are valuable will be treated preciously, but those that lose their value will have to sacrifice themselves, so that the strong could become stronger!” Pan Xi looked at Mu Ningxue, who did not show any sign of trying to run away. As such, he was not in a rush, either.

“So, who are you going to give my piece to?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Who do you think?”

“Mu Tingying?” Mu Ningxue knew the Mu Clan had been placing all their attention on her lately. “But she doesn’t own a piece.”

Pan Xi had said it. No one from the direct line was involved in the contract. The Mu Clan would not allow them to be a sacrifice to the Ice Crystal Bow!

“It’s me,” came a familiar voice from the side. Mu Ningxue could immediately identify the owner of the voice, without needing to turn around.

She did not turn to the person, even though she was aware that they were slowly walking toward her on the bridge.

Mu Ningxue was breathing heavily. She stared at the water flowing under the bridge, and could see her pale face in the reflection on the clear seawater.

“You’re not an Ice Mage.” Mu Ningxue still had a glimpse of hope. She was hoping that it had all been a mistake.

“The bow is a magic weapon. A Mage of any Element can use it, as long as it has been fed enough to recover its power. It doesn’t matter who uses it,” Pan Xi said.

“So, the strongest clan of the Ice Element is nothing but a joke. Those with the Ice Element are mere sacrifices to the people in power in the clan,” Mu Ningxue tried her best to stay calm.

“Exactly. It goes without saying that such an enormous clan needs powerful Mages to support it. Our reputation has convinced many Mages to join us, they feel extremely honored, even if it meant forfeiting their surname, and among these people, a portion of them are selected as fertilizer, to serve the talented people. You were meant to be in the talented group, but not anymore. The Mu Clan will not let you take part in the World College Tournament. It would simply destroy the reputation of the Mu Clan that we have built over so many years. When you chose to take this path, you were actually heading toward self-destruction. I did ask your father to convince you, but you’re too stubborn to listen. Without the clan’s support, it’s meaningless for you to participate in the World College Tournament. Not following the clan’s decision, doing things your own way is an act of betrayal, and a betrayer must be punished,” Pan Xi stated.

“How unbelievable…” Mu Ningxue raised her head and let out a long sigh. It was a sigh of both relief and disappointment. “I never thought i would hear that from a member of the clan’s board.”

“Cruel, isn’t it? I bet you still saw me as your mentor not long ago,” Pan Xi said.

“You’re overthinking it. I was never grateful toward you,” Mu Ningxue corrected coldly.

Pan Xi shrugged indifferently.

Mu Ningxue slowly turned around. She looked at the person walking elegantly in heels and said, “As for you, Nanrong Ni, I’m interested in knowing, were you being real back in the East Maritime Fortress?”

Nanrong Ni shook her head.

“I see,” Mu Ningxue wore a mocking grin, “Is it really necessary to lie to me now?”

Nanrong Ni was startled. She then burst out laughing and said, “Why did you ask if you already knew the truth?”

Mu Ningxue placed her hand on the bridge. An icy aura started spreading from her body. In order to prevent the others from noticing it, she was keeping the energy close to her hand.

“It’s useless, your capabilities are a mere joke in front of Pan Xi,” another woman’s voice came from the other side of the bridge.

Sharp heels clicked on the bridge. Mu Tingying, dressed in a royal purple outfit, reached the highest point of the arc-shaped bridge and walked forward slowly, like a proud princess.

She was followed by two men in luxurious silver robes.

Mu Ningxue recognized the outfits. They were worn by the disciplinary Mages under the clan’s board. They were responsible for hunting down and punishing the members of the clan who had broken the rules!

The disciplinary Mages of the Mu Clan were like the members of the Enforcement Union. Mu Ningxue had never thought a day like this would come. It was as ridiculous as an unreasonable nightmare.

Two Mages in silver robes also showed up on the other side of the bridge. The four disciplinary Mages fixed their eyes on her, as if she was an unforgivable criminal!

“Watch out, she still has the Ice Crystal Bow,” one of the disciplinary Mages warned sternly.

“Don’t worry, as long as I’m here, the Ice Crystal Bow won’t listen to her,” Pan Xi remained in place. It seemed like he had no intention of involving himself.

As a matter of fact, it was quite torturous for him if he had to kill someone he had always treated as a genius. Unfortunately, the clan’s board had already made the decision. They could not allow the Ice Crystal Bow to be in the hands of a person who was no longer a part of their clan.

“If I get her contract, does that mean I can use it immediately? Can I use it in the World College Tournament?” Nanrong Ni asked.

“You’ll need to erase the mark of her soul imprinted on it first. Don’t worry, the World College Tournament forbids forbidden magic, but it doesn’t forbid magic equipment that is refined with forbidden magic. It’s safe to use the Ice Crystal Bow,” Pan Xi said.

The four disciplinary Mages moved closer and blocked Mu Ningxue’s escape, leaving her trapped on the bridge.

The pedestrians close to the bridge started to gather in a circle after noticing what was going on. However, one of the disciplinary Mages showed a document to the Mages that were on duty to maintain the order in Venice, telling them that they were arresting a betrayer of their clan, and they were already been granted permission by the local government.

The Mages on duty surrounded the bridges, but they did not intervene.

The Mu Clan was incredibly powerful, that they could even legalize a battle taking place in a city. They could even accuse Mu Ningxue who did not even do anything of being a criminal, and lie to the others that they were simply arresting her!

“So, what does it feel like to have nothing left?” Mu Tingying laughed recklessly.

She had been waiting for this day for a very long time. To her amusement, Mu Ningxue had always treated Nanrong Ni as her friend, when she was actually her enemy. Since the Nanrong Clan had attached themselves to the Mu Clan, the clan’s board had agreed to grant them the Ice Crystal Bow!

Mu Ningxue’s hard work over the past ten years was only a gift to be given away!

“The truth is, even if your family wasn’t involved with the Black Vatican, you would have ended up the same way in order for our clan to persuade the Nanrong Clan. Our clan is never short of young, talented Mages, but having an ancient, mysterious clan joining us is like adding wings to the clan! You thought you were the chosen one of our clan, yet you’re only a gift that was wrapped up elegantly!” Mu Tingying was laughing so hard that she could no longer stand straight.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Tingying had learned the truth not long ago.

Nanrong Ni had planned to join the Mu Clan around two years ago. The only condition they asked for was the Ice Crystal Bow, as only by acquiring the Mu Clan’s magic weapon would they be confident that the Mu Clan would not set them up.

Disgraced by having a family member closely related to the Black Vatican!

Losing her unequaled status!

Losing the cultivation she had acquired from ten years of hard work and the precious magic armor!

Losing her most trustworthy friend!

Mu Tingying felt like it was the happiest moment ever, even more perfect than having the best dream possible. She could finally experience the feeling of being overwhelmed with joy, as the person she hated the most ended up in such a miserable situation!

Oh, if Mu Ningxue’s face ended up turning ugly after losing the Ice Crystal Bow, today would be the best day of her entire life! She actually hoped it would happen, since the woman would have to go through the excruciating pain of having something being torn out of her soul…

“Enough with the struggling, just accept it! Even though you’ve lost everything, you can still use your good looks to earn the compassion of a simple-minded man, and let him guarantee you a comfortable life,” Nanrong Ni said calmly.

The comforting words sounded extremely ear-piercing to Mu Ningxue.

She had been suspicious of Nanrong Ni for some time. She tried to keep her distance after returning to the national team, yet she still underestimated Nanrong Ni. Underneath her gentle appearance was a vicious heart even worse than Mu Tingying’s!

It turned out that Nan Rongni had always been seeking Ningxue’s strongest weapon. The words she spoke even hinted at her jealousy of Ningxue’s beauty. What impressed Mu Ningxue the most was that even though Nan Rongni was even more jealous of her than Mu Tingying, she was still able to pretend to be her best friend, as if she was really concerned about her…

Mu Ningxue was horrified when she recalled how the woman had treated her over the past few years!

“I almost forgot, there’s still a man who cares a lot about you, but it won’t make any difference, even if he’s here. He’s just a little Mage that is slightly luckier than other people. How could he possibly stand a chance against the enormous Mu Clan? Besides, you aren’t the person he cares the most for. It’s the girl in a wheelchair. I really don’t understand how you can be so friendly toward her. Why don’t you look at yourself with those eyes full of hatred, the same way you’re looking at me?” Nanrong Ni’s words were like a long, poisonous spike, stabbing at the most vulnerable part of Mu Ningxue’s heart!

It was true that Mu Ningxue was thinking of Mo Fan for an instant, as she was filled with grief after being confronted by this group of people.

However, even the slightest glimpse of hope had been shattered into pieces by Nanrong Ni!

That being said, Mu Ningxue was not the kind of person who would fall to the ground, bury her face in her hands, and burst into tears after losing everything she could rely on.

She did not shed even a single tear. Her sharp gaze showed that her icy heart would only become firmer when she lost everything!

It was meaningless to talk further. If the two women were aiming to take everything from her, she had all more the reason to not give up easily!

As the final thread of friendship was cut in half, she no longer carried any burden on her shoulders. All she had was a firm, resolute heart!

A heart would burn fiercer as it grew colder!

The angrier she was, the calmer she would be!

There was one thing that Pan Xi, who had explained the truth behind the Ice Crystal Bow, was unaware of. Unlike the other bearers of the pieces of the Ice Crystal Bow, she had been tortured by the Ice Incubus every day and night after she received the Ice Crystal Bow from her mother, as she never stopped trying to merge her soul with the Ice Crystal Bow!

It was an oath she had sworn when her mother grabbed Ningyue’s hands by her sickbed, prior to her death. Because of it, Ningyue’s soul had to suffer the torture of being frozen every day!

Her hatred for her mother was actually greater than her love. Her mother did not give her anything, apart from the pain she had to endure on the path of cultivation.

But today, she finally understood the reason behind it, why she had to do it despite the excruciating pain she had to endure every day.

It was the only way to ensure that the unequaled power would actually belong to her!

“Bow!”

Extreme anger had frozen her to the bones.

The Ice Crystal Bow rose from deep within Mu Ningxue’s soul. Ice crystals began to fill the sky above Venice.

These were the tears her soul had shed in sorrow. She would rather turn them into a weapon representing her unyielding spirit than let them fall from her lonely eyes!

The two women were of no importance to her!

Snow started falling rapidly, freezing the intertwining canals of Venice, the ancient buildings, and the humid sea breeze. It also froze the world, so cruel that she simply had the urge to freeze everything in it!

“Didn’t you promise that she can’t use the Ice Crystal Bow!?” Mu Tingying suddenly screamed out in terror.

The Mu Clan did not dare to provoke Mu Ningxue easily, as she now possessed the strongest magic weapon in the history of the clan. However, even with the guardian of the Ice Crystal Bow here, Mu Ningxue still managed to summon the utmost terrifying weapon!

“How…how is this… how is this possible!?” Pan Xi stood there agape. The man who assumed the matter would be settled easily was having a hard time accepting the truth.

He was the guardian of the Ice Crystal Bow, the person most familiar with the Ice Crystal Bow in the entire Mu Clan. Under his will, any incomplete Ice Crystal Bow must obey his order…

-Unless, the Ice Crystal Bow has thoroughly merged with Mu Ningxue’s soul…-

But wouldn’t that mean the Ice Crystal Bow had acknowledged Mu Ningxue as its master? How could an incomplete bow possibly acknowledge a person as its master?

“Damn it, her soul has merged with the Ice Crystal Bow, unbeknownst to us. It must be that b**ch!” Pan Xi snapped furiously.

The only person that would ask Mu Ningxue to take such a risk would be her mother. Pan Xi assumed her mother would never let Mu Ningxue do something so insane. After all, once the person’s soul had merged with a piece of the Ice Crystal Bow, or an incomplete Ice Crystal Bow, the only way to take it out was by killing the person!

Wasn’t Mu Ningxue’s mother worried that her daughter might end up as a sacrifice? Or perhaps she was determined to oppose the Mu Clan until the very end, and let her daughter take over after she passed away.

Such a cruel mother!

“Mu Ningxue, so what if you can use it? Do you really want to go up against the entire Mu Clan? Look at you, and think about your family!” Pan Xi straightened up and yelled at her.

The snow was hitting Pan Xi and the other four disciplinary Mages like fierce beasts ramming into them. They could not move any closer to Mu Ningxue.

The power was simply too strong, so strong that a spectacular, icy tornado had already appeared in the sky and was looming over Venice, a freezing rain pouring down on the little city!

—

Think about her family? Mu Ningxue uttered a hollow laugh.

Would they even spare her family after they were done destroying her? Weren’t the things they did to her family cruel enough?

Instead of continuing to live in shame, wouldn’t it make more sense to stand and fight back? She finally understood the anger and resentment her mother had prior to her death. Her mother only told her she must grow stronger, so that no one could play her like a fiddle…

In the past, she had put so much effort into becoming stronger mainly to obey her mother’s last words, but now, she realized everything was for her own sake!

If she already had nothing to lose, what difference would it make if she decided to take on the entire Mu Clan? At least she still had a target to hate, to defeat, and to trample to the ground into pieces!

It would all start from this arrow…

No matter how difficult the journey ahead would be, she, Mu Ningxue had sworn to take down the Mu Clan!

—

Mu Ningxue grasped the Ice Crystal Bow tightly. It was a curse, but the only power she could rely on now!

The bow was made of pure crystal, not even the slightest impurity visible, yet it was easier for a purer object to be altered. The Ice Crystal Bow was changing according to Mu Ningxue’s feelings. She was pure, all that was in her thoughts was utmost anger. The bow suddenly turned bright red, like the color of blood about to erupt in flames!

Streams of black energy gathered and turned silver-white instantly, brilliant like a white rose, ice-cold like frost whiskers…

Mu Ningxue slowly leaned backward, pointing the tip of the arrow on her curled finger at Venice’s sky…

The icy storm sent the arrow flying, soaring above the lines of buildings and into the sky above the city!

The sky was clear, apart from the great icy storm looming over Venice. The arrow pierced through the blue sky, and despite its icy glow, it was like a signal used to declare war. It represented the woman’s wrath as the overwhelming energy froze everything within its range!

The sea in the distance had turned into an icy mirror, with snowflakes drifting in the air. It was like the final drop of tears that the Goddess of Ice had shed after bidding farewell to the world she no longer loved. The tear turned into ice, and as it fell onto the city, it brought winter to Venice…

——

Everything on the bridge was still as a painting, only Mu Ningxue’s heels were tapping softly on the ice crystals covering the stone.

She slowly walked up to Pan Xi and took the remaining pieces of the Ice Crystal Bow from him.

Pan Xi was still awake. As a matter of fact, everyone that was frozen was still conscious. They were able to see, but they could not move.

Mu Ningxue did not kill them. She only took what belonged to her.

She wrapped the pieces with her sleeves. She was cold, like a reticent empress. She did not even bother looking at Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni.

Turning around, Mu Ningxue walked past the disciplinary Mages, the Mages responsible for maintaining order in Venice, and slowly disappeared into the distance under the gazes of the crowd that had gathered…

She was like a solitary ice rose, who had frozen herself, making it extremely difficult to touch the pistil of her heart!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Strange, isn’t it supposed to be summer soon? Why is Venice getting colder?” Mo Fan zipped past a bridge with Fleeing Shadow. He was heading toward the training ground where the team had been asked to gather.

As soon as he arrived at the grassy training ground, he stumbled into Zhao Manyan.

“Holy crap, where the heck did you go?!” Zhao Manyan screamed as soon as he saw Mo Fan.

“Didn’t I tell you I’d be away for some time? What’s with the surprised look? Did something happen?” Mo Fan asked in confusion.

“Of course something happened! Come here, I’ll explain it to you slowly,” Zhao Manyan pulled Mo Fan aside.

Zhao Manyan had his own sources of information. He definitely had learned about the incident with the Mu Clan. Besides, it was something to do with Mu Ningxue. He told Mo Fan everything he knew.

——

The training ground had the ../style of ancient Rome. It was surrounded by stone pillars, with a grassy field at the center, and resembled a luxurious soccer field.

The students were training by having friendly duels against one another. The tournament was just around the corner, so they would use every second to prepare themselves for it.

At the front of the training ground, Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni were dueling absent-mindedly. Their spells were flying back and forth, yet none actually posed any threat to the other person.

Mu Tingying controlled her ice chains. They were supposed to be attacking Nanrong Ni, yet they landed on the edge of the barrier nearby and disappeared immediately.

Nanrong Ni could tell that Mu Tingying was unfocused. She said, “You’re still thinking about it?”

“How can I possibly forget about it? That b**ch dares to challenge our Mu Clan! I’m pretty sure that she’s tired of living!” Mu Tingying snapped anxiously.

They initially wanted to humiliate Mu Ningxue, but she was still able to use the Ice Crystal Bow on them and freeze them on the bridge for twelve hours straight. Even their souls were frozen by the powerful frost!

Most terrifyingly, she had taken the remaining pieces from Pan Xi!

Pan Xi had collected all the pieces. He only needed to collect the incomplete bow from Mu Ningxue and hand Nanrong Ni the full set, but he did not expect it to turn out like this. Mu Ningxue would soon have the complete Ice Crystal Bow!

They could only ask the powerful Super Mages for help. Otherwise, they would not be able to touch Mu Ningxue at all!

The problem was, they were currently in Venice! The experts of the Mu Clan were not around. Even if someone was here, it was unlikely they would be willing to lend a hand for a matter like this! Even worse, not everyone in the Mu Clan agreed with the decision to take Mu Ningxue out!

They initially thought they could turn Mu Ningxue into a lowly tramp, yet things suddenly got so much more complicated!

“If she takes our advice and disappears, she can still live a normal life. But now, she can’t even live like an ordinary human. Don’t worry, she is going to suffer badly since she decided to fight back. I’m pretty sure the Mu Clan won’t allow anyone to disrespect its rules?” Nanrong Ni said.

“Even so, we still need some way to gather the attention of the authorities in the clan. I’m just worried that some of the old folks will go easy on her,” Mu Tingying said.

“It’s very simple. If it’s only between you two, those old folks will only think of it as infighting and get over it, but if Mu Ningxue actually hurts me, it meant she was disrespecting the close relationship between your clan and the Nanrong Clan. Wouldn’t she be in great trouble if I ask the people of my Nanrong Clan to approach the authorities of your clan?” Nanrong Ni proposed.

“But she didn’t hurt you, her arrow only froze everyone…” Mu Tingying saw the strange glitter in Nanrong Ni’s eyes as she was speaking. The cunning look in her eyes was completely different than how she appeared normally, so even Mu Tingying was stunned when she saw it.

“You mean…” Mu Tingying looked at Nanrong Ni.

“Use your ice chains to hurt me, and everything will go according to plan!” Nanrong Ni said.

“You are truly the smarter one. The Mu Clan is very concerned about your clan’s opinion of us, just so we could maintain a good relationship between the two clans. If you go on and complain about her, the higher-ups of my clan will be infuriated, and they will demand we arrest Mu Ningxue as soon as possible. They might even send disciplinary elders after her!” Mu Tingying smiled. It was such a brilliant idea!

Nanrong Ni had a faint smile, too. She was better at hiding her thoughts than Mu Tingying. No one could possibly think that she had such evil thoughts under her gentle appearance!

As the two were talking, a scorching wave of heat appeared at the other end of the training ground.

The two girls turned around and saw a man engulfed in wild flames walking toward them. His eyes were full of lava on the verge of spurting out!

“It’s Mo Fan!” For some reason, Mu Tingying was frightened whenever she saw Mo Fan around. It had been like that since she had witnessed how Mo Fan had killed Lu Yilin without hesitation. Mu Tingying was not afraid of strong Mages, as she had an enormous clan supporting her. She did not need to be scared of people just because they were stronger than her.

However, Mu Tingying was scared of maniacs like Mo Fan, who did not seem to care about the overall situation. It was like he was clueless about how powerful a renowned clan was. He would only rush up and kill the person that had infuriated him, without thinking about the consequences!

“Don’t be afraid, he is mostly here to vent his anger. We’ll ask those two to lend us a hand,” Nanrong Ni seemed a lot calmer.

The flames were growing hotter as the carpet of fire reached Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying’s feet.

BANG! A pillar of lava erupted from the ground, powered by Mo Fan’s wrath!

When Mo Fan arrived in front of Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying, his eyes were glaring at them, and his hair was also standing on its end due to overwhelming anger!

“You two shameful b**ches! If anything happens to Mu Ningxue, I’m going to burn you two into ashes!” snapped Mo Fan.

“Mu Ningxue is a disciple of our clan, meaning that she has to obey the decisions of the clan. We didn’t decide her fate!” Nanrong Ni retorted calmly.

“I had enough of your bullshit!” Mo Fan had no intention to waste his time further talking to the two b**ches. “Sky-Flame Funeral!”

He held the flames up and tossed them into the air. They turned into a huge fiery cloud looming over Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying.

Fierce flames stared pouring down, forming waves. An ocean of fire surrounded Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni. The Sky-Flame Funeral kept falling continuously, like the imperishable rage in Mo Fan’s heart!

What was there to talk about to these two evil women? Weren’t they thinking about shining on the stage of the World College Tournament? Mo Fan would not mind crippling them right now!

“Mo Fan, what are you doing? Are you seriously trying to hurt your own teammates!?” Ai Jiangtu immediately yelled to stop Mo Fan.

The spell that Mo Fan cast was unacceptable within the boundaries of a friendly duel. He was simply trying to burn the two to death, as the flames were lunging at them like a fiery demon!

“It’s none of your business! If I don’t turn them into cripples today, my surname won’t be Mo anymore!” Mo Fan swore furiously.

Ai Jiangtu was startled. He did not know what to say for a moment.

He had heard about Mu Ningxue, and he was well aware of who was in the right and wrong, yet Mo Fan was crossing the line if he continued to attack Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni with his magic!

“Don’t provoke him, he’s basically a mad man now,” Nanyu shook her head at Ai Jiangtu, telling him to stay out of the conflict.

Mo Fan was indeed a maniac, just as Nanyu had mentioned. He would see anyone that tried to stop him as an enemy, as he was extremely stubborn when it came to doing something he had decided!

“You crazy asshole, do you really think you are superior to us?!” Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni were surrounded by ice glaciers within the flames, protecting them from the scorching heat. The frost seemed to be putting out the flames slowly.

As the frost grew further, Mo Fan’s Sky-Flame Funeral slowly weakened. The frost gradually dominated the heat from Mo Fan.

“A country hick like you who only has an advantage because of mere luck, do you really think you’re unstoppable on the team, so you can do whatever you want?” Mu Tingying stomped the ground and spread the frost further. She had turned the grassy training ground into an ice mirror within a short time.

“I’m telling you, this is a Soul-grade Ice Seed! Your flames are nothing against me!” Mu Tingying’s aura grew stronger as the icy wind turned into a storm surging across the place. The others were forced to back away a great distance.

The crowd stared at Mu Tingying in astonishment.

Even though most people on the team had been concealing their true strength, none of them thought that Mu Tingying had already acquired a Soul-grade Ice Seed. The Mu Clan had seriously invested a lot in her, just so she could stand out during the World College Tournament!

Nanrong Ni stood behind Mu Tingying and was murmuring something under her breath. The chant seemed to possess the power of the Parthenon Temple, the Blessing Element.

She was strengthening Mu Tingying’s magic, allowing her frost to grow stronger and suppress Mo Fan’s flames!

“Mo Fan, you’ve overdone it this time. We are going to teach you a lesson!” Zu Jiming stepped forward. It was obvious that he was on Mu Tingying’s side.

“Humph, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time!” Li Kaifeng stood beside Nanrong Ni, as if he had sworn to protect the woman if Mo Fan dared to harm her.

Everyone knew how strong Mo Fan was, especially with the powerful Little Flame Belle as his Contracted Beast. Even though Mu Tingying had grown a lot stronger, she was still no match for Mo Fan.

However, with the four teaming up, they were surely able to take down the maniac!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“We’ve borne your arrogance long enough! We didn’t bother intervening because we simply assumed you to be a mad dog. It’s unnecessary to be so fussy over a mad dog, but you have seriously infuriated us! We can get rid of you anytime!” Mu Tingying pointed at Mo Fan disdainfully.

She was no longer afraid of Mo Fan’s powerful magic. Her Soul-grade Ice Seed was able to perfectly suppress Mo Fan’s flames. Even if Mo Fan was to summon his powerful Contracted Beast, it was still hard to tell who was going to win in the end, not to mention that she had three other people siding with her!

They had long allied, as they were all afraid of being bitten by Mo Fan, the mad dog!

“You piece of shit, I was going to take care of you after the World College Tournament, but I don’t mind doing it now, since you’re so eager to die!” Zu Jiming laughed coldly.

Mo Fan stood there. Even after knowing that the four had teamed up against him, the wild expression on his face remained the same.

“Mo Fan, we’ll lend you a hand,” Zhao Manyan, Jiang Yu, and Jiang Shaoxu could not bear to just stand and watch. They immediately stepped forward.

Mo Fan reached out his hand and signaled the three to stop.

“I’ll handle it myself,” Mo Fan did not let the three take part in the fight.

Mo Fan was here to turn Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni, the two detestable b**ches, into cripples. It was only going to end up in a mess, and if Jiang Yu, Zhao Manyan, and Jiang Shaoxu were involved too, it would simply bring troubles to their factions.

“Mo Fan…”

Mo Fan did not say anything further. He started walking toward the group of four instead.

As Mo Fan went closer, the flames on him were thoroughly suppressed by Mu Tingying’s Soul-grade Ice Seed. Eventually, he was no longer engulfed in the imperious flames. A layer of frost was even forming on him.

“Do you two useless pricks seriously think you can stop me?” Mo Fan spat in an incredibly disdainful tone, glancing at Zu Jiming and Li Kaifeng!

“You’re f**king dead!” Zu Jiming was enraged immediately.

“We’ll take him on together!” Nanrong Ni reminded the others.

No one could possibly win against Mo Fan in a solo fight. Nanrong Ni would not allow Mo Fan to provoke her team so they would act recklessly.

Cripple them? How bold of him to say that? She had no idea where the maniac had gotten his confidence from!

“I’ll take care of his flames and Flame Belle!” Mu Tingying said.

The frost grew stronger as bodies of ice like vines extended toward Mo Fan rapidly. The spikes on the vines were deadly.

“Poison Fangs!” Zu Jiming’s eyes glittered. Two enormous, poisonous fangs appeared behind Mo Fan, penetrating into his back like an invisible, deadly python.

Li Kaifeng cast his spell too. His Giant Shadow Spikes vanished in the air, hiding behind the icy vines and poisonous fangs to ambush Mo Fan.

As for Nanrong Ni, she was at the back of the team, murmuring to strengthen their spells with her Blessing Element.

“Space Wall!” Mo Fan finished casting his spell in an instant. A rhomboid space appeared around him with six sides, providing Mo Fan full protection.

The power of the Space Element was heavily dependent on the Mage’s spiritual strength, and because Mo Fan currently had six different Elements, his spiritual strength totally outmatched his opponents’. The defense from the Intermediate Spell Space Rhythm was enough to protect him from their attacks!

“I was right to call you guys useless; are you really still trying to probe my strength in a situation like this?” Mo Fan sneered, easily nullifying the approaching attacks.

Mo Fan was not in the mood for this. He would rather be in a duel of life and death against the group of four. He did not have time to waste on having a friendly duel with them!

They had hurt Mu Ningxue badly, forcing her to disappear from Venice. Mo Fan never allowed her to feel any sadness, yet these scum dared to team up and bully Mu Ningxue when he was away!?

Did they seriously think they stood a chance against him by teaming up!?

Did they really think a Soul-grade Ice Seed was enough to suppress his flames and defeat him?

A bunch of idiots with low intelligence and personalities, he would not mind giving them a taste of the anger of the Lightning Tyrant!

“Lightning!” Mo Fan withdrew his fire and let out a furious roar, looking into the clear sky above Venice!

Wild black lightning arcs danced thickly around Mo Fan in a spectacular manner!

The flickers of lightning that left Mo Fan immediately surged across the training ground! Some collided into the barrier in the distance with destructive force!

When Mu Tingying was still feeling proud of her Soul-grade Ice Seed when she noticed a lightning bolt coming straight at her. Its overwhelming power immediately shattered the ice she had formed across the place into pieces!

Most importantly, she could feel that the Ice Element around her fleeing in terror. Her Ice Magic had weakened significantly!

“How is this possible…” Mu Tingying looked at Mo Fan in disbelief and saw a wild, black Domain made of lightning bursting out from Mo Fan.

Suppressed!

Her Soul-grade Seed was being suppressed! It turned out that her opponent had a Soul-grade Lightning Seed, and to her utter surprise, Mo Fan’s Soul-grade Seed had a Domain!

One could easily tell if a Soul-grade Seed had a Domain or not. The whole place was covered in the strong presence of the Lightning Magic, to the extent that the Ice Magic could only hide timidly in a little corner. It was extremely difficult to control!

Mu Tingying, Li Kaifeng, Zu Jiming, and Nanrong Ni felt like they were about to suffocate from the extreme pressure from the lightning. Their eyes were filled with astonishment and terror!

A Soul-grade Seed!

Their enemy also had a Soul-grade Seed, and it was the utterly imperious kind, a Soul-grade Lightning Seed!

However, their confidence totally crumbled when they realized that Mo Fan’s Soul-grade Lightning Seed also had a Domain!

A Mage with a Domain was basically going to be one of the strongest of their age. How did Mo Fan even get a Soul-grade Seed, when he did not even have a formidable faction supporting him?

“Sky Lightning Claw!”

Mo Fan clenched his hands into claws. A sharp, black claw descended from the clear sky and landed fiercely between the four of them.

The formation of the group, that had looked unbreakable at the start of the fight, immediately crumbled when they fled for their lives after seeing how terrifying the Sky Lightning Claw was. None of them dared to face the powerful lightning attack directly!

The Sky Lightning Claw was absolutely shocking, even stronger than the Silent Deadly Bolt, and more terrifyingly, the damage of Mo Fan’s lightning spells had tripled after he obtained the Soul-grade Lightning Seed!

In the past, his Spirit-grade Seed, Qianjun was only twice as strong as an ordinary Seed. It was a standard Spirit-grade Lightning Seed, but the Lightning Tyrant was not merely an ordinary Soul-grade Lightning Seed, it was the strongest kind of all! The three times amplification of his Lightning Spells was enough to grant even his Intermediate Spells awesome destructive power, let alone his Advanced Spells!

Even a Commander-level Wind Flame Lightning Vulture had trouble resisting the Sky Lightning Claw. It was unlikely that the fragile body of a human would be able to endure it without the help of defensive equipment!

Mo Fan had destroyed the formation of the group with his first Sky Lightning Claw. However, Mo Fan aimed his second Sky Lightning Claw at Zu Jiming. If he was targeting Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying, it was necessary to take out their two annoying subordinates first!

Zu Jiming’s primary Element was Poison. He was fairly reliable when using some little tricks on his target while under the protection of the team. However, he was simply no match when going up against a Mage like Mo Fan!

The Sky Lightning Claw easily pierced through Zu Jiming’s defense and tore his seemingly sturdy flesh open.

Zu Jiming fled for his life when he sensed that his life was in danger.

He was extremely scared of dying. He had no choice but to run when facing such an overwhelming power.

However, how could Mo Fan possibly let him go so easily when he was on a tantrum?

“Tyrant Call!” Mo Fan uttered before Zu Jiming could run out of his Domain. Hissing, crackling arcs of lightning immediately surged in Zu Jiming’s direction like a living carpet.

Mo Fan’s Lightning Spells had triple their base strength, and the Thunderbolt was currently in the fourth-tier. As such, the damage of the Lightning Tyrant Scars was not to be underestimated, either. Since Zu Jiming’s armor was already torn to pieces by the Sky Lightning Claw, the Tyrant Call immediately knocked him to the ground!

He was entirely scorched black with bleeding, blackened wounds. He looked like a lump of rotten meat from a distance, motionless on the ground. It was difficult to tell if the man was still alive. Regardless, he could no longer rise back up and fight.

“It’s your turn next!” Mo Fan’s eyes flickered with lightning, and locked onto Li Kaifeng as if he was marking attendance.

“You’ve left me with no choice!” Li Kaifeng had an icy grin as his veins started to expand suddenly.

“Do you really think I’m going to let you cast that forbidden magic? Idiot!” Mo Fan flung his arm out, and the long lightning claw slapping Li Kaifeng right in the face.

Li Kaifeng was able to react fairly quickly, since he possessed the Wind and Shadow Elements. He evaded slightly better than Guan Yu.

“Space Rhythm: Gravity!” Mo Fan spread his palm and unleashed a gravitational space, entrapping Li Kaifeng. “Death Ray!” Mo Fan followed up coldly. The deadly ray was fired directly at Li Kaifeng, who was still struggling to break free from the gravitational space!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Silent Deadly Bolt was three times as strong, and it was obvious that the defensive equipment the group of four had was nowhere strong enough to resist it. Li Kaifeng had already left the middle area the Silent Deadly Bolt was focusing on. However, his body subconsciously shuddered when he saw the terrifying lightning arc spring up as the Silent Deadly Bolt landed on the ground!

“Off you go too…” With a thought, Mo Fan used the Illusionary Claw to grab Li Kaifeng after he was was struck by the lightning and slowly lift him into the air.

Li Kaifeng was tossed toward the boundary of the training ground. Lightning still flickering across his body, he slammed hard into the wall.

“Heaven Ice Frost!” Mu Tingying yelled, feeling a dire threat. Once again, she gathered the power of her Soul-grade Ice Seed and formed an enormous Icebound Coffin on top of Mo Fan, trying to seal him within it.

Suppressed by the strong presence of lightning, Mu Tingying was a lot slower when casting the spell. Mo Fan quickly realized what she was up to.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and looked at the Icebound Coffin falling from the sky. He calmly took a step forward and eerily disappeared into the shadow of the Icebound Coffin.

“I got him!” Mu Tingying exclaimed.

“He was not in there,” Nanrong Ni said grimly. Her eyes were scanning the surroundings.

She finally sensed a dark presence less than thirty meters from her. It was Mo Fan’s Dark Magic! He was trying to get closer to them with the Fleeing Shadow!

“Demon Tree Hand!” Nanrong Ni’s Plant Element was slightly weaker due to the effects of the Lightning Domain, but she still quickly drew the Plant Constellation. A green glow started to blink rapidly around her.

The Demon Tree Hand sprang out from the ground without a sign. Nanrong Ni locked onto the spot Mo Fan was likely to be at and flung a few Demon Tree Hands at it.

A black shadow immediately appeared. The Demon Tree Hands surrounded the shadow simultaneously and combined into an enormous Demon Tree Plant, devouring the black shadow with a single bite.

Before Nanrong Ni could feel any joy from capturing Mo Fan, a thunderclap suddenly exploded in front of them.

Lightning arcs, black and dense, appeared out of nowhere. The dancing voltage vaguely silhouetted a pair of pitch-black eyes first appearing in the air, just a few meters away from Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying. They could even see the imperishable wrath in his eyes!

Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying’s faces paled. They never thought Mo Fan’s Shadow Element was so outstanding that he would be able to get so close without them knowing.

Most Mages were fairly weak when it came to close combat, but Mo Fan was extremely good at it, due to how adept he was with his magic. The two girls knew they were in great trouble when they saw Mo Fan less than two meters away!

They quickly summoned their magic armor, as it was their last hope of stopping his overwhelming power!

Mo Fan was incredibly fast due to the Dark Noble Mantle. He was moving like a phantom encapsulated by lightning as he arrived before the two women in their magic armor. He was only half a meter away!

“Lightning!” Mo Fan lifted his gaze. The Domain of black lightning suddenly had a huge, yellow lightning scar surge across it. These lightning scars immediately descended rapidly once they were summoned by their tyrannical master, Mo Fan!

The densely-packed lightning surged across the area rapidly. It felt like the lightning was a yellow dragon, bringing utter destruction upon the place.

The lightning strikes did not just land on Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni. They were also landing on Mo Fan, but every time they did, the black lightning dancing over him would glitter, as if it was accumulating energy from the strikes!

Wild lightning danced, and the two women used all they had to barely survive against the lightning strikes. However, Mo Fan was not done so easily. He slowly raised his hand to gather the black lightning and the Lightning Tyrant Scars he had absorbed into his palm, before slamming it hard onto the ground!

The lightning strikes landed on the ground and discharged as a terrifying lightning storm, covering half of the training ground with Mo Fan at the center.

Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni were only a few meters away from Mo Fan. The lightning storm immediately knocked them into the air, their bodies whipped continuously by the Lightning Tyrant!

Their armor broke into pieces. They tried desperately to cast defensive spells, yet the pain as each lightning strike whipped them was excruciating!

“Fire Phoenix!”

Mo Fan switched between the Lightning and Fire Elements fluidly. He had no intention of showing the two girls any mercy. He continued to cast his powerful Fire Spells, even when he knew they were defenseless.

A fiery phoenix sprang forward. Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni were trying to stabilize themselves from the aftershock of the lightning storm when the deadly fiery phoenix came down and devoured them!

The four of them had stood no chance against the Lightning Tyrant. Their defenses were too weak against the Soul-grade Lightning Seed that had amplified Mo Fan’s Lightning spells threefold. The fiery phoenix continued to bombard them with a series of explosions. There was no chance that Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni could still fight after going through all that.

As Mo Fan thought, the two girls were burned beyond recognition when they landed on the ground. They no longer had their proud, elegant demeanors. Their magic armor was broken, their clothes were ragged, even their tender skin had festered from all the burns or was scorched black from the lightning… they looked utterly miserable!

Inside the area dominated by the Lightning Tyrant, more Thunderbolts came down from the sky and transformed into lightning arcs after landing on the ground. They continued to surge toward Mo Fan.

Mo Fan clenched his hands into claws. The lightning arcs immediately gathered around him. The long, wild lightning arcs were like the dangerous nails of a demon…

“Mo Fan, you aren’t serious about killing them, are you!?” Zhao Manyan screamed.

The others were shocked when they saw Mo Fan still accumulating power. Everyone was astounded by how powerful Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic was. He had defeated four members on the team so easily! They could not help but wonder how he normally practiced!

Initially, they thought Mo Fan was done, since both Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni were already injured, defenseless, and no longer fit for battle. If Mo Fan cast a single spell with the Lightning Tyrant now, it would surely tear the two girls to pieces!

However, the lightning claws were still gathering power, as if he was not going to stop attacking at all.

The others could no longer bear to stand and watch. They did not do anything when Mo Fan killed Lu Yilin, as the man was trying to kill Mo Fan first. It was still acceptable for Mo Fan to toss the man back into the canyon. However, if Mo Fan ended up killing the two girls here, he would surely be punished by the Enforcement Union, and there was even a chance that he would be taken away by the Mu Clan and the Nanrong Clan before the Enforcement Union could act!

The faces of Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying contorted in fear when they saw the lightning around Mo Fan showed no signs of dissipating.

Nanrong Ni always thought Mo Fan was only going to vent his anger at most, instead of actually harming them. However, when she was injured, and saw how Mo Fan totally disregarded the others’ advice, she was finally terrified.

This maniac was serious about killing them for Mu Ningxue’s sake!

“Mo Fan, calm the f**k down, you cannot kill them!” Zhao Manyan stepped forward.

Zhao Manyan had to stop Mo Fan. What happened to Lu Yilin was totally different than the current situation. If Mo Fan insisted on killing the two girls, no one could possibly save him. He would even ruin his own future!

“Don’t worry, I can control myself!” Mo Fan replied.

“Control my ass, that’s enough now, you can’t possibly be thinking of crippling them now? The two clans are going to take you down with all they have. Listen to me, just leave it as it is now. We’ll make them pay slowly!” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan was clearly not controlling himself. Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni were like dogs covered in bruises and injuries, lying on the ground. Even if they were treated in time, they would still be in pain for quite some time considering how severe their injuries were. What Mo Fan did was already the limit. Any more, and their lives would be in danger!

“Mo Fan, that’s enough; take it back now!” A middle-aged man walked out from the other end of the training ground.

The man was with another person. Mo Fan turned around and realized the other was Mu Ningxue, who had been missing for some days.

Mu Ningxue was wearing a long, icy robe. Her appearance was slightly concealed by the hood, highlighting a perfect, glamorous temperament that was able to steal a person’s soul instantly. However, her icy aura was completely emotionless and unapproachable!

The man that had spoken was Advisor Feng Li. Mu Ningxue had followed him when she realized what was happening.

She first glanced at Mo Fan, before looking at Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni, who were severely injured.

“These two b**ches, I’ll cripple them on your behalf!” Mo Fan was relieved when he saw that Mu Ningxue was fine.

Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying looked at the icy and proud Mu Ningxue. They could only clench their teeth when they thought of their current, miserable appearances!

“Do you think I have forgiven them?” Mu Ningxue lifted her gaze and asked in return.

“Let me handle the rough work.”

Mu Ningxue rejected him coldly, “If this is what I wanted, I could have done it easily on the bridge.”

Saying that, Mu Ningxue turned around and went back to Advisor Feng Li.

When Mu Ningxue turned around, Mo Fan caught a glimpse of wild ambition in her icy gaze. It made Mu Ningxue look even sterner and more imperious, like an empress!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Advisor Feng Li walked up to Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni. Surprisingly, he seemed to be ignoring their injuries.

His face was cold as he snapped, “I have no time to waste dealing with your clans, but you better pass my message to them! If something happens to a member of the national team that I, Feng Li, have chosen before the World College Tournament, I won’t forgive the people responsible easily, even if they are the number one or two clans of our country!”

Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying were shivering in anger after hearing this.

It was supposed to be the two of them giving Mu Ningxue a deadly blow, turning her from a talented genius to a cheap, detestable woman, so that she would never be able to stand at the same height as them. However, not only did they fail to do any harm to her, they were suffering from severe injuries inflicted by Mo Fan, and were then warned by Advisor Feng Li! The grudge they were holding was even more unbearable than the pain inflicted by the lightning and the fire!

Even though Mu Ningxue had lost everything, she was still one of the most talented Ice Mages of their country, a formal representative of the national team. It went without saying that the advisors would not care about the rules of their clans. However, if their student was injured, they would seek responsibility!

“You have only yourself to blame for the injuries you’re suffering,” Advisor Feng Li harrumphed coldly. He then turned to Mo Fan and said, “Mo Fan, you’ve slightly overdone it. Please control your temper, even if you’re delivering punishment on behalf of me.”

Mu Ningxue was startled, but he quickly reacted. He nodded and said, “I’ll be more careful next time. It’s just that I really despise people that try to hurt their own teammates! I was actually very gentle compared to before, considering that I see Mu Ningxue as even more important than myself.”

Feng Li glared at Mo Fan. His mustache curled up.

-This asshole, I already gave him an excuse to justify his actions. He just needed to follow suit, yet he is trying to take the lead instead!-

Feng Li was the main advisor of the national team. He was basically fully in charge of the team. No clan dared to touch him due to his overwhelming status. Both Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying were infuriated when they learned Mo Fan was punishing them on behalf of Advisor Feng Li!

It meant that they could not take revenge on Mo Fan!

Li Kaifeng and Zu Jiming had recovered consciousness. They also wanted to make Mo Fan pay, but they had no way of doing so.

“We’ll consider it settled. You can deal with your personal conflicts after the World College Tournament. If I see anyone breaking the rules again, I’ll definitely take it to the factions behind you!” Feng Li was so loud that everyone felt their eardrums hurting.

Guan Yu, who did not take part in the battle immediately, helped those that were injured by Mo Fan. Anyone could see that the grudge the four had was on the verge of bursting out from their chests.

Even with the four of them teaming up, they had still suffered an utter defeat!

They had no chance of defeating Mo Fan themselves, yet they were scared to step on Advisor Feng Li’s tail if they asked for help. They had no choice but to swallow the grudge into their stomachs, and wait until the World College Tournament finished!

Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying felt they had totally lost face. Their clothes were ragged, and they were covered in dirt and filth. Every woman in the world cared a lot about their appearance. Mu Ningxue was supposed to be in their shoes instead!

——

“Mo Fan, are you out of your mind? You’ve injured four of my students. The tournament is about to begin. Are you trying to disqualify our team straight away?” Feng Li scolded Mo Fan.

“Why didn’t you intervene when they were bullying Mu Ningxue?” Mo Fan snapped back in displeasure.

The advisors did not intervene even after something so serious happened. Were they seriously going to just stand and watch the Mu Clan take Mu Ningxue away and steal her cultivation?

No one knew better than Mo Fan how much effort Mu Ningxue had put into her cultivation. Taking away the hard work she had put in for the past ten years was no different than killing her!

Mo Fan had never felt this angry. If Feng Li had not shown up, he would seriously have turned the two vicious women into cripples!

Especially Nanrong Ni! Mo Fan had the urge to tear her face off, to see how ugly she would look under her fake, disgusting mask!

When Nanrong Ni was poisoned in the East Maritime Fortress, it was Mu Ningxue who risked her life to find the antidote for her. She should be grateful for the rest of her life that Mu Ningxue was her friend, yet she had set Mu Ningxue up in return instead! Mo Fan felt extremely angry on Mu Ningxue’s behalf after learning how vicious the woman was!

“It was indeed their personal matter, you had no right to be involved in it. I have taken the blame for you this time. Don’t stir up any trouble again, understood? You really are the most problematic member on the team, aren’t you aware? Don’t you know to control your temper a little better as a young man? If everyone simply goes ahead and does whatever they want, wouldn’t everything be a total mess?” Feng Li cursed.

“The Mu Clan and Nanrong Clan are still going to trouble Mu Ningxue. Are you and the other good-for-nothing advisors going to help her or not?” Mo Fan demanded.

“Who did you just call good-for-nothing, you little asshole! Don’t think you can act recklessly just because someone has your back! I will deal with the Mu Clan and Nanrong Clan myself, but you, just stop complicating things!” Feng Li was so angry that there was smoke coming out of his nose.

“Can you also tell them that if they dare to touch Mu Ningxue again, they will have to bring two coffins to keep their corpses? I swear I will kill them, even if I have to surrender myself to the Enforcement Union!” Mo Fan promised angrily.

“It was you that beat the crap out of them, and you’re still trying to threaten them?”

——

After the little quarrel with Feng Li, Mo Fan quickly went over to Mu Ningxue to inquire about her wellbeing.

Mo Fan had totally panicked when he heard that Mu Ningxue had gone missing from Zhao Manyan. He did not expect both Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni to pick on Mu Ningxue when he was occupied. Luckily, Mu Ningxue had managed to look after herself. Otherwise, it was difficult to say what was going to happen to her.

Taking away a person’s cultivation was as horrible as killing someone’s parents, yet the Mu Clan was actually cruel enough to do such a thing. Mo Fan really had the urge to raze the Mu Clan to the ground!

Mo Fan moved closer to Mu Ningxue and asked in a gentle voice, “Are you alright?”

Mu Ningxue did not respond. For the past few days, she hd been trying to calm down in a quiet place.

She did consider leaving for good, but she felt it would mean that she had conceded to the two women. As such, she had decided to come back to the team.

She knew the Mu Clan and the Nanrong Clan were most likely going to pick on her. Therefore, she went to look for Advisor Feng Li and Song He instead. The two advisors were infuriated after learning about the two women’s detestable actions. They even promised Mu Ningxue that as long as she was still a member of the national team, they would never let that happen to her again.

If she simply turned and left, it would only allow the two women to control the situation. On top of being stigmatized for having a relative that was closely related to the Black Vatican, she would be called a betrayer of the clan, too, and a thief who had stolen the clan’s precious belonging. Once the accusations were heaped upon her, she would never be able to overturn the situation.

As such, she could no longer back away after considering the situation she was in. She had to stand higher than them, and find herself a foothold.

The World College Tournament, the sacred place in Venice the whole world was placing its attention on, was the only place she could earn enough status, honor, reputation, and power!

She had left the clan, meaning that she was all alone. In order to stand a chance against the enormous Mu Clan and Nanrong Clan, she needed to establish her own influence!

No clan would dare to plot against a young Mage that had won great glory for their country during the World College Tournament!

“You can tell me everything you’re going through. It’s fine telling me anything; don’t just wear such a cold face, it will only make me worried,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m fine,” Mu Ningxue responded.

“How could you possibly be fine? You didn’t even cast a single glance at me all this time. I know it’s my fault for leaving you at such a time… I promise I will never leave you again!” Mo Fan swore.

“If you want me to feel better, just stay away from me,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Look at you, and you said you’re fine,” Mo Fan scoffed.

Mu Ningxue knew how shamelessly relentless Mo Fan was. She immediately rose to her feet and walked away.

Mo Fan watched Mu Ningxue’s cold figure and her snow-like, silver hair, and let out a sigh.

Mo Fan was not an idiot. He could easily tell there was a barrier between him and Mu Ningxue, the same feeling when they first reunited.

The truth was, after what they had gone through in the desolated Jinlin City and the training around the world, Mo Fan could feel that Mu Ningxue was starting to open up to him…

However, Mo Fan suddenly felt that their relationship had gone back to the initial phase after what had happened.

As such, Mo Fan actually hated the two women to the guts. They must have said something that urged Mu Ningxue to keep him out of her frozen heart too, leaving all his efforts in vain…

However, Mo Fan would never give up!

Even if the same thing was repeated a hundred times, Mo Fan would not give up. He would surely win the affection of the woman he was interested in, regardless of what happened between them. Even if she was annoyed and cautious around him, he would never give up!

She had changed. The feeling that Mu Ningxue gave Mo Fan was like two different people compared to the last time they met.

Mo Fan could clearly sense from her words and gaze that her heart was heading into an icy abyss, where no one could possibly reach…

That being said, it was more important that his heart toward her would never change or turn cold.

To be fair, it was quite difficult for a woman as obsessed with spiritual cleanliness as her to accept a trashy man like him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

More people gradually arrived in Venice from different countries. The little place suddenly had three times the number of tourists it had previously. The canals, bridges, squares, public ferries suddenly felt a lot more crowded.

Venice was not a huge place, so it could only hold a limited number of people. The local government eventually limited the number of visitors.

The main reason why a calm city like Venice was suddenly crowded with people was none other than the World College Tournament!

There were not many international tournaments for Mages across the world, and most Magic Associations did not recommend old Mages fight one another in duels with a live broadcast on television. Magic was, after all, a noble and sacred art, and was dangerous and destructive at the same time…

The only people suitable for taking part in a magic tournament were young, energetic students. Their achievements could also reflect how successful the academic system of a country was. Eventually, the World College Tournament had turned into a grand event that was held every four years. Students whose strengths were neither too powerful nor too weak were the most suitable group to take part in magic duels.

The flags of many countries were hanging highly at the governor’s palace in Venice. Thirty-two teams representing their countries had made it to the finals in Venice. These teams all had performed well when challenging the defending teams of different countries’ Training Hall and carrying out the missions given to them. The ranking also reflected a country’s magic standard to a certain degree, and would usually end up as the final ranking with a small margin of difference.

Basically, every country that made it to the finals in Venice was considered a strong magic country!

Thirty-two flags were hanging in the air. As the sun rose in the east, the blasts of magic spells echoed across the beautiful city along the shoreline. The sacred light descended upon the city, onto the young, energetic faces of the representatives of each country. The national anthem of Italy was sung with great spirit, while the young Mages enjoyed the limelight of being watched and admired by the whole world. Many students had long waited for this day to arrive, as from this moment onward, they were no longer a small and nameless Mage. They might even become a reputable Mage after joining the Parthenon Temple, the Sacred Hall of Liberty, the Holy Judgment Court, or the Holy Saint Peter Church! Their names would fire up the crowd wherever they went!

Meanwhile, the attendees of the ceremony mainly consisted of worldly-recognized, powerful Mages!

“Allow me to express my gratitude to America’s Sacred Hall of Liberty, Asia’s Dubai Magician Tower, Europe’s Saint Paul Church, Africa’s Cape of Good Hope Magic Castle, and Australia’s Sacred Victorious Altar! I sincerely welcome you to Venice! Many thanks to the Hunter Union, the World Renowned Clans Association, the Shoreline Alliance, the Parthenon Temple, the Holy Judgment Court, the Ancient Royal Guards, Tokyo’s Shrine of Mages, Tehran Magic Ridge, and Saint Paul Church…thank you for joining us despite the long distance. Last but not least, the main protagonists of this grand magic tournament, the candidates consisting of the most talented young Mages chosen specifically from every school in thirty-two countries…” Venice’s governor, Fabio, was giving his opening speech in high spirits.

The opening ceremony was not particularly spectacular, yet the Mages that attended were all world-recognized. The factions and organizations they represented were highly looked up to by every Mage.

China’s representative was Pang Lai, the chief of the Royal Guards. The Ancient Royal Guards that the governor mentioned in his speech represented the strongest group of Mages in China, with power surpassing the members of the Enforcement Union, the Pearl Oriental Tower, and the Imperial Magicians…

The names representing each country similarly referred to the famous factions or organizations of their respective country. Among them, the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court were particularly well-known.

Even though the Parthenon Temple, the Holy Judgment Court, and the Hunter Union had originated from a specific country, their influences in the world were comparable to the Magic Associations of the Five Continents.

As such, if anyone referred to the world’s most powerful magic organizations, there were eight of them in total.

Therefore, in terms of status, Mo Fan’s role as a Hunter Master was actually very impressive! The ranks of the Mages in each of the eight organizations were actually comparable to one another. A five-star Hunter Master was equivalent to the mayor or general of a city.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan had not reached five stars yet. He was still quite a distance away.

A seven-star Hunter Master was referred to as a Senior Hunter. The status of a Senior Hunter was very impressive. It was very common for Magic Associations, the military, the local government, or a country’s president to ask a Senior Hunter for help.

Mo Fan was highly motivated to become a Senior Hunter. Even though he was now a four-star Hunter Master after resolving the Drowning Curse, he was still far from impressive as a Hunter Muster. He could imagine himself drooling just looking at the job requests worth a few hundred million, or billions, as their rewards!

Zhao Manyan was fairly familiar with the important people of the various factions. He could not help it, since his life mostly revolved around upper magical society. Knowing the people in charge and leaders of various factions was a basic requirement for a disciple in his clan.

——

After the opening ceremony ended, it was time for the exhilarating, highly-anticipated ceremony whereby the teams drew their opponents.

There were thirty-two national teams, and no matter how the brackets were going to end up, every match between two national teams was surely going to turn into a bet with a huge pot involved. Otherwise, why would people that never cared about what was going on in their countries or magic tournaments suddenly be so passionate about the World College Tournament?

On top of that, the World College Tournament was held every four years, and had always been a hot topic across the world, as it was closely related to the glory and fame of a country. On the other hand, the money that was involved in the bets during this period was often comparable to the total sum of imports and exports for a country…

“Captain, you’ll do the drawing,” Advisor Feng Li told Ai Jiangtu.

The captains of each national team stepped forward. Long ago, the advisors were the ones doing the drawing, but for quite some time, the captains had taken over and become the ones to do the drawing instead. It was kind of an honor, since the drawing process was being broadcast live, allowing the world to see the captains of each team.

Ai Jiangtu had an imposing attitude, and did not even bother checking the opponent team that he had drawn. He simply let the judges take a glance at it, and went back to the team.

Thirty-two teams… even the teams from stronger countries were nervous. The first opponent they drew was very crucial, as a strong country would prefer not to fight against another strong country so soon. It would force them to expose their strength very early. The weaker countries were also hoping that they had not drawn a strong country as their opponent, as they would be disqualified right at the start of the tournament. No one would even remember their names and faces as they returned to their country in shame. If they did not perform as expected, they would even be scolded by their people. In a society with freedom of speech, ordinary people were the ones that would scold them in the worst manner. Even if they were utterly clueless about magic, they would still sound so righteous that others would mistake the person as being some smurf account from a respectful Mage.

As such, leaving the excitement aside, the members of the Chinese team were feeling great pressure, too. Apparently, the Chinese team was quite unlucky in the previous World College Tournament, stumbling into the American team in the second round, and were totally wrecked by their opponents.

If they still failed to achieve an impressive result this year, the officials back home would probably be extremely mad. Could they even talk peacefully with other countries? They would simply be the target of mind games from the leaders of other countries when they suddenly said something along the lines of, I heard that your national team lost again. It would immediately urge them to flip the table!

The others placed their attention on Ai Jiangtu, trying to tell if he actually looked relieved or worried after learning who their opponent was. However, Ai Jiangtu kept the same stern face throughout the process. He looked pretty much the same all the time. The rest of the team was wasting their time trying to read his mind.

Before Ai Jiangtu could announce who their opponent was, the Japanese team suddenly yelled out in joy and spoke in English in Japanese accents.

“Lucky! So lucky!”

Actually, they were just trying to say, We are f**king lucky!

Mo Fan and the others had already met the Japanese team when they were taking down the Red Ornaments Guild. The Japanese were simply a bunch of show-offs. Mo Fan still had a vague impression of their names and appearance.

The guy that yelled out in joy was Akira Matsuki, who had also been interested in the Dark Noble Mantle. He was currently looking at them with a hostile, scornful grin.

“So they are our first opponent?” Mo Fan asked aloud

Almost half of the Japanese team had turned their heads toward the Chinese team. Akira Matsuki, Shou Watani, and the gentle girl in the sailor uniform were their ‘old friends’.

“It seems like it,” Nanyu revealed the team their captain had drawn with a wry smile.

The thirty-two teams that managed to make it to the finals differed in terms of strength, too. The Japanese team was considered above average among the teams. It was quite fateful for the two countries to stumble into one another at the start of the tournament!

“I seriously don’t understand why they look so happy, like they are sure to win against us,” Jiang Shaoxu scoffed at the Japanese team’s reaction.

“It’s mainly because they think we are weak because of our ranking in the last World College Tournament. Our team wasn’t actually weak, but it was very unfortunate that they had to fight against the American team,” Jiang Yu said.

“Let them have their fun for now, they won’t even have the chance to cry when the day comes!” Guan Yu snapped coldly.

——

On the other hand, the Japanese team had restrained themselves from feeling over-confident. They immediately focused as they discussed how they were going to handle their opponent.

Their Advisor Fujikata Tegami was not as optimistic as her students. She glanced at Mo Fan in his blue shirt over on the Chinese team and asked, “Was that guy the one that fought Casso, the leader of the Red Ornaments Guild?”

“Oh, he is! I almost forgot about him!” Shou Watani immediately recalled.

When the two teams cooperated to take down the Red Ornaments Guild, the strength that Mo Fan had displayed was absolutely shocking. He was surely going to be a tough opponent!

“What is there to be scared of? I bet he’s the only person we have to look out for on their team. Do you really think he can carry the whole team alone?” Yosuke, who just joined the Japanese team recently, spoke up.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Speaking of which, doesn’t that mean our team is fighting the first match in the tournament?” Jiang Yu asked seriously, after taking a closer look at the badge Ai Jiangtu had drawn.

Everyone was so occupied by checking out who their opponent was that they had completely forgotten about the order of the matches. When they looked at the schedule on the giant screen closely, they realized they were actually fighting the opening match!

The opening match was extremely important, as the whole world would most likely be watching the first match of the tournament. If they were able to stand out during the opening match, they had basically made a name for themselves!

Even though strength was the most important thing for a Mage, luck was extremely important too!

“Let me handle these Japanese!” Guan Yu was extremely impatient. He was very excited when he learned that they were participating in the opening match.

They had gone around the world and trained hard for a year just to make a name in this tournament, especially given how it would greatly affect the faction supporting them!

“The opening match is a five-on-five team battle. We’ll need to pick five representatives, and the Japanese will pick five, too,” Advisor Feng Li said.

Since the advisors were present, they were the ones making the calls.

Feng Li scanned the team. He first looked at Mu Tingying, Nanrong Ni, Li Kaifeng, and Zu Jiming, and said calmly, “You four are still recovering from your injuries. You won’t be taking part in the opening match.”

The four widened their eyes. Did the advisor seriously just bench them before such an important match?

“Advisor, my injuries won’t affect me by much, please let me take part in it!” Li Kaifeng immediately protested.

“Silence!” Advisor Feng Li snapped coldly. Li Kaifeng immediately clammed up.

Knowing that they had missed out on such a great opportunity, Mu Tingying, Zu Jiming, and Li Kaifeng glared at Mo Fan. They had the urge to simply burn Mo Fan into ashes with the raging flames in their eyes.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was obviously gloating. He felt like he should have gone harder on them, so they would not even have had the chance to take part in the entire tournament!

“What are you even proud of? So what if you’re strong on your own? It’s a team battle, you could not even match a single finger of mine in a team battle!” Zu Jiming blurted out, unable to stand Mo Fan’s gloating look.

As a Poison Mage, he was incredibly weak at fighting solo duels. However, the Poison Element was incredibly strong and annoying in a team battle. After all, it was one of the most unpredictable Elements. The poisons that different Poison Mages cast were actually different.

Similarly, Nanrong Ni was quite weak at fighting solo duels. As a pure supporter with the Healing and Blessing Elements, it did not make any sense to not let her participate in the duel. However, she was benched because of her injuries. Mo Fan was so serious at hurting them that the Lightning Tyrant had ended up torturing them for the entire week.

“We’ll obey the advisor’s arrangements,” Nanrong Ni said, seeming extremely obedient to the order given to her.

However, after learning Nanrong Ni’s true character, Mo Fan kept feeling how fake and vicious the woman was, in quite a scary way!

Mo Fan initially had a fairly good first impression of her. She was friendly, gentle, calm, and compassionate, yet when he realized that she was faking all of it, he felt extremely disgusted by everything she did!

That being said, the woman had really done a great job, being able to wear her cover so perfectly!

“Mo Fan, you will sit too,” Feng Li waved his hand. He did not want to let Mo Fan display his talents in the opening match.

Mo Fan smacked his lips and murmured, “The team is likely going to lose without me.”

“Mu Ningxue, Jiang Shaoxu, Guan Yu, Nanyu, Jiang Yu, you five go,” Advisor Feng Li picked the five candidates.

“I don’t think it’s a great idea trying to preserve our strength against the Japanese team?” Song He and the other advisors immediately spoke up when they saw Feng Li’s arrangements.

The two strongest members on the team were Ai Jiangtu and Mo Fan. The only time they fought a team together was when they were going up against the team at America’s Training Hall. In the end, even the American team was wrecked completely. It clearly showed how outstanding they were.

The overall strength of the Japanese team was on par with the Chinese team. They would have to try their best in order to win the match. Since it was the team’s first match, Song He and the other advisors thought Feng Li was trying too hard to preserve their strength, since he did not pick either Mo Fan or Ai Jiangtu.

Feng Li pondered for a while. His eyes scanned the members of the team.

“Old Feng, I think it’s better if we win the first match,” an aged voice came from behind the resting area.

An old Mage with gray hair and ordinary clothes had shown up. His vivid eyes naturally landed on Jiang Yu, who quickly went up to the old man and greeted him.

“Chief, you’re here too!” Song He was fairly surprised when he saw the old man with gray-white short hair.

“He’s the Royal Guard’s chief, Pang Lai, that I told you before. Jiang Yu is his star student. He’s the strongest Summoner in our country,” Zhao Manyan told Mo Fan softly, knowing that he struggled to recognize people.

Mo Fan immediately understood the implications. To his surprise, he saw someone else familiar standing behind old Pang Lai. It was the president of the Clock Tower Magic Association, Han Ji!

Han Ji did not seem surprised when he saw Mo Fan. He said with a faint smile, “Not bad, you’ve made it to Venice.”

“Were you seriously worried that I was going to be disqualified?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“Not really, but I heard that you aren’t the most well-behaving person, so I was worried that you were going to be expelled or something…” Han Ji answered amiably.

——

Han Ji talked to Mo Fan for a bit, before everyone went back to deciding on the candidates for the opening match.

Feng Li was most likely trying to preserve their strength, since exposing it too early would place the team in a disadvantageous position. The other teams would surely pick on them, especially when an Element was weak against certain Elements. If they put Mo Fan or Ai Jiangtu in the opening match, the other countries would surely target them. If your Fire was strong, they would send out two Water Mages. If your Lightning was outstanding, they would send out a meat shield with the Earth Element. If your Curse Element was impressive, they would send out a Psychic Mage…

The difference in terms of strength between the Mages was no longer huge since they were chosen as representatives of their national team. Someone like Mo Fan, who could take on a few Mages on his own, would be doomed if he encountered a strong Psychic Mage!

Ai Jiangtu was the pillar of the team, and Mo Fan was the ace. Feng Li did not want to use both his trump cards in the opening match. Even if they lost the first match, it would not affect their team by much.

However, others had different opinions.

“The first match is extremely important. If we lose, what the whole world says will turn into great pressure to the members, preventing them from performing as they are expected to. Let Xiao Ai go, we must win the first match,” Royal Guards chief Pang Lai stated.

Feng Li thought about it again, and finally agreed to let Ai Jiangtu join the first match.

Ai Jiangtu replaced Nanyu. The captain would be leading the team in the opening match.

“Advisor, Shou Watani of the Japanese team is fairly strong, too. We met each other at the Caribbean Sea. I think he won’t be any weaker than me,” Ai Jiangtu stated firmly.

Even though Mo Fan had taken all the limelight when they were fighting against the Red Ornaments Guild, the others did fight the local government army and the remaining Mages of the Red Ornaments Guild. Ai Jiangtu purposely kept an eye on the Japanese team’s captain, and he only had one word to describe the captain: strong!

As a matter of fact, if the guy called Shou Watani had been able to take on the Red Ornaments Guild’s leader, he would have been able to beat him, too!

“Even you don’t have the confidence to take him on?” Pang Lai asked curiously.

Ai Jiangtu was extremely popular with the authorities. After all, he was the rising star from the military. He was so powerful that he could easily crush anyone of the same age. He was like an instructor that had blended in with the students.

“I can’t say for sure, it mainly depends on our Domains,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“If you aren’t feeling confident, let me go, my hands are itching!” Mo Fan was a great fan of fights.

“Piss off!” Feng Li snapped at him.

“I will try my best to secure our first victory,” Ai Jiangtu promised.

Not feeling confident did not necessarily mean they would lose the match. Ai Jiangtu was only feeling that Shou Watani’s strength was somewhat hard to measure, so he would have to keep an eye out for him. However, since he was chosen to fight the first match, he would not let his country down!

“Mmm, that’s the spirit, go for it!” Feng Li nodded.

—

In the end, the candidates were Mu Ningxue, Jiang Yu, Jiang Shaoxu, Ai Jiangtu, and Guan Yu.

“By the way, aren’t we lacking firepower with this combination?” an advisor asked.

Just looking at the Elements the five candidates had, none of them had the Fire Element, which was the best offensive Element. Only Jiang Yu had Lightning as his secondary Element, but his Lightning was like the output of a little battery compared to Mo Fan’s. It was unlikely that it could come in handy.

“I guess we’ll have to leave the offense to Mu Ningxue,” Song He said.

The only person with a destructive primary Element was Mu Ningxue. Her Ice Element was capable of defense and offense. If the whole team was leaning more toward utilities and defense, she would be fully responsible for the team’s offense!

After roughly discussing their strategy, the candidates began to prepare themselves for the match.

There were quite a few stages in Venice. They were at the stadium where the opening ceremony was held, yet the stage for the match was bigger than four soccer fields. It was quite shocking, especially given how hard it was to secure such a large space in Venice, where every inch of the ground was as valuable as gold.

The scale of the stage reflected the wealth of the spectators. The seats were densely crowded, but considering how dangerous a magic battle could be, even with the barriers in place, they would not allow too many people to watch the match at the stadium. Besides, with modern magic technology, they could easily transmit the match with options of different views such as skybox, side-view, close-ups, or front-view right into the spectators’ eyes.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The stage was completely sealed off by a barrier, with defensive Mages stationed around the stage to block the energy from leaking out after it exceeded the threshold of the barrier.

The students in the World College Tournament were all Advanced Mages, and the damage of a single Advanced Spell was enough to destroy an entire street. As such, even though the stage was the size of four soccer fields, they still could not afford to lower their guards.

Normally, the world organizations did not encourage Mages to duel with one another, mainly because of how hard it was to control the power of their spells. As Mages grew stronger, the destruction they could cause was absolutely terrifying. There were quite a few incidents where Mages were seriously injured in duels.

The stage’s ground was made of soil, with tiny dust particles scattered across it. Even the simplest Wind Spell could sweep a huge chunk of dust into the air.

However, a few older Mages soon entered the stage. They started to alter the appearance of the stage with their Earth and Plant Elements.

It was like a magic show, as sturdy soil, hard dirt, tall rocks, and sand dunes rapidly formed under the crowd’s gazes.

Following that, it was the Plant Mages’ turn to perform. Tall, ancient trees emerged from the ground, as a green canopy full of vines and branches shrouded the sky, turning the stage into a primordial forest!

The barren stage from just a while ago had transformed into a wilderness battlefield. If the stage was not surrounded by the barrier and spectator seats like the Colosseum, the participants could almost assume they were currently in a forest out in the wild!

“These people are professionals at setting up dueling grounds!” Jiang Yu exclaimed, unable to locate a single flaw on the stage that had been set up.

The Mages needed outstanding control, comparable to a Super Mage, to be able to create a stage that was exactly the same as the wild in such a short period…

There were many kinds of Mages. Mo Fan was the typical offensive type, and even though the ratio of battle-type Mages was a lot higher, the forgemasters, blacksmiths, herbalists, gardeners, constructors, and stage builders in a city were all Mages too. They were not as impressive in battles, but a few of them could construct an entire city in a short amount of time. These Mages were usually highly respected in society, too!

After the stage builders were done setting up the stage, Mo Fan was left in awe. He initially thought the stage would be boring and dull as it was, but to his surprise, the stage was set up randomly before every match!

Since the terrain of every match was different, the spectators would not feel bored watching the tournament. On the other hand, it was important for the students to use the environment to their advantage.

Since every Mage had different Elements, there was a chance that the terrain of each match would place some Mages in an advantageous position. Therefore, the terrain of every match that took place in Venice was only decided right before the match, and was set up randomly…

“Neither side will have an advantage in a terrain like this. It’s quite fair to both sides,” Advisor Feng Li observed.

If the environment did not bring one side a great advantage, it simply came down to the strength of the teams.

The Japanese team consisted of their captain, Shou Watani; Akira Matsuki, whose primary Element was the Shadow Element; and the newcomer Yosuke. The last two representatives were a short-haired woman and a plump man.

“To your positions!” the judge ordered.

The candidates immediately entered their designated areas. Meanwhile, the spectators sitting a fair distance away burst into uproars while sharing their predictions with one another. The information of the representatives of each team was kept confidential prior to the tournament. As such, every representative of a country had become a hot topic for the public! Many vendors selling information would go as far as digging up everything that happened on the day that a representative Awakened their magic!

“It’s my first time fighting in front of such a huge crowd, I’m feeling a little bit nervous,” Jiang Yu whispered.

“What is there to be nervous about? Just beat the crap out of them!” Jiang Shaoxu said confidently.

“Guan Yu, keep an eye on Akira Matsuki, he’s a Shadow Mage,” Ai Jiangtu said to Guan Yu.

“Got it.”

After going through their strategy briefly, the countdown in the form of number-displaying fireworks had started in the sky. As the biggest, loudest firework exploded in the air, it officially declared the start of the World College Tournament!

——

There was a huge blast in the air, and the vivid fireworks were projected onto Mu Ningxue’s pale and icy face. She slowly lifted her gaze and focused her attention on her opponents.

A breeze swept past, blowing the strands of hair beside Mu Ningxue’s face.

Mu Ningxue breathed in and sensed an abnormal presence from the wind. It was extremely vague, but rather deadly!

“The wind is poisonous,” Mu Ningxue said to her teammates confidently, her gaze sharp.

Mu Ningxue’s secondary Element was Wind. She could easily tell if there were any abnormalities in the wind. The Japanese team did not act as if they had started their attack, but it turned out that they had already made their first move.

The poison was hidden in the wind. The poisonous powder was tinier than the smallest dust particle, and was invisible to the naked eye. Only Mages with sharp senses were able to sense it!

“These are assholes trying to set us up! I think the guy with the long face is responsible for the poisonous powder!” Jiang Yu cursed.

Jiang Shaoxu was fairly collected. She cast a side glance at Jiang Yu and said, “You better stop hanging around someone like Mo Fan. You have been cursing a lot lately, you weren’t like that when you first joined the team.”

“Wind Barrier!” Mu Ningxue uttered softly. She spun elegantly, like a butterfly drifting in the wind with her slightly loose shirt.

A wind started blowing. The team was standing on the sturdy soil. The yellow sand particles were blown into the air, silhouetting the barrier. However, there was no wind inside it. The poisonous powder that was approaching in the gentle wind was all blocked outside of the Wind Barrier.

Since the poisonous powder was using wind as its medium to spread, it was very easy to stop it. Mu Ningxue’s Wind Element was quite extraordinary, too!

“They knew. I told you, it’s only useful against some immature, stupid Mages,” Akira Matsuki said to Yosuke in a mocking tone.

Saying this, Akira Matsuki started making his way up toward the dense canopy. He totally disappeared as soon as he crossed into the canopy layer. The others had no idea where he had gone, as if he were invisible. Only the aged Mages could barely catch a glimpse of a rapidly-moving shadow among the leaves and branches.

The sturdy ground was connected to the tall trees. Akira Matsuki was obviously trying to sneak up on his opponents through the canopy layer. However, as an assassin-type Mage with the Shadow Element, there was no chance he would show himself when the enemy was alert. He would simply hide among the trees and wait until his teammates created a great opportunity for him.

Whenever he made his move, it meant he was confident enough to take down the target!

It was Akira Matsuki’s principle. Patience was what he needed the most!

—

“Someone from their team has gone into the woods,” Jiang Shaoxu noticed.

The shrubs were dense, preventing sunlight from penetrating through them. Not only would it give a Plant Mage an advantage, it was also ideal for a Shadow Mage to move freely about. If any of their team went into the woods, they would most likely meet an ambush!

“Guan Yu, go keep an eye on him,” Ai Jiangtu ordered.

The canopy basically covered the entire stage. No matter where the team moved, it would still be shrouded by the trees, meaning that a hunter hiding in the canopy layer could strike from anywhere and at anytime.

Everyone was an Advanced Mage. Even though they would first use Basic and Intermediate Spells to probe their opponents and find an opportunity, the Advanced Spells were necessary to seal the deal. However, with someone hiding in the canopy like a shadow, they would have to be extremely careful when drawing a Star Constellation. The guy was like a sharp caltrop on the ground. If they moved around too fast, they would be stabbed by it!

“I can go and bother them too. It’s unnecessary for me to go into the woods and chase after him,” Guan Yu answered.

Guan Yu was also an assassin-type Mage. If the guy could strike at anytime like a phantom, Guan Yu could do it too, and even better!

Playing defense was not Guan Yu’s ../style. He was not interested in searching for Akira Matsuki in the woods.

“Then you better pose a threat to their team, especially those in charge of attacking!” Ai Jiangtu warned him.

The Mages in charge of offense…

The team members in charge of offense were usually the core of the team. If those Mages were able to cast their destructive Spells freely, their damage output would be unimaginable. As such, it was extremely important to keep them at bay, just so they could not keep blasting their foes endlessly with destructive magic!

Guan Yu knew the basics of a team battle. He stuck close to the ground and moved with the wind that Mu Ningxue had Summoned. He traveled more than a hundred meters in the blink of an eye as he moved closer to the enemy team and the Mage that was in charge of their offense.

Guan Yu circled the enemy’s position. He staring at them, trying to figure out who was in charge of offense among them. His instincts were telling him that the fatty was the one, thus he placed most of his attention on him.

“You won’t be able to cast a single Advanced Spell on my watch!” Guan Yu looked at the adorably plump man with a confident grin.

—

“They don’t seem to have a Summoner, we might be able to get the upper hand if we engage them directly!” Jiang Yu quickly cast his Summoning Spell when he did not see any of their opponents trying to cast a Summoning Spell. He Summoned the enormous Rock Demon!

The Rock Demon had grown stronger. It was now covered in glowing, sturdy rocks. When it stood in front of the team, it was like an imperious, rocky mountain!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Jiang Yu, let your Rock Demon attack with me!” Ai Jiangtu said.

“Got it!”

Ai Jiangtu leapt into the air and landed firmly on the Rock Demon’s shoulder.

Ai Jiangtu was wearing a dark blue jacket. Due to his military background, he had the imposing demeanor of an officer. He advanced with the Rock Demon, his eyes staring down at the remaining members of the Japanese team.

Suddenly, Ai Jiangtu raised his hands! “Stop!”

An invisible Space energy spread out. When the team was confused about why he was reacting strangely all of a sudden, they soon discovered six shadow thorns within ten meters of Ai Jiangtu. The thorns were flying rapidly toward him from the woods, yet they immediately came to a stop ten meters away!

The six Thorns of the Shadow Rose failed to move any closer to Ai Jiangtu, despite their extraordinary power. It was like there was a magnetic field at ten meters circling Ai Jiangtu. Any object trying to harm him was unable to move any closer!

“Break!” Ai Jiangtu clenched his fist. The six shadow thorns were immediately crushed by overwhelming force. They immediately turned into black puffs of smoke, dispersing in the air.

Within the woods, a pair of sharp eyes flickered. Ai Jiangtu immediately turned around as his silver eyes emitted a brilliant glow.

The owner of the eyes immediately realized the danger he was in. He quickly withdrew into the shadows and disappeared into the woods like a phantom.

As soon as the figure vanished, a section of the woods was crushed into pieces, splintering in all directions. An area a hundred meters square was razed to the ground!

Standing a safe distance away, Akira Matsuki gasped in relief. He stared at Ai Jiangtu standing there on the Rock Demon’s shoulder.

“This guy is extremely dangerous! He almost caught me!” Akira Matsuki was drenched in cold sweat.

He was only trying to ambush Ai Jiangtu, who had clearly exposed himself. To his surprise, not only did the man nullify his attack with ease, his location was almost compromised! It was tricky to defend against the man’s outstanding control of the Space Element. If he had been any slower, he would have to leave the match in shame!

—

“Stop!”

The Rock Demon continued moving forward. Ai Jiangtu opened his hand as he began to emit a brilliant, silver glow.

The fiery sparrows lunging at him from the air, the rupture approaching him along the ground, the fierce tide pouring down from above, and the gradually-approaching storm, all spells meant to land on Ai Jiangtu, had come to a complete stop, as if time had stopped flowing!

The four spells had stopped completely before Ai Jiangtu’s power. They could not even move an inch closer to Ai Jiangtu and the Rock Demon. The spectacular move immediately earned a loud cheer from the spectators!

“Such a strong Space Mage!”

“He just stopped all the spells with a single wave. This man must be the captain of the Chinese team! He is so cool!”

“I’m afraid even the Advanced Spells won’t be able to harm him. He’s like an adult facing the wild swings and kicks from a three-year-old.”

Ai Jiangtu’s performance immediately stirred an uproar from the crowd. The incomparable strength of the Space Element had made him look unbeatable, as spells of multiple Elements had failed to overcome the field of energy that Ai Jiangtu had set up!

Under the stage, Mo Fan was extremely jealous when he saw how impressive Ai Jiangtu’s Space magic was.

He had to admit Ai Jiangtu’s Space Element was terrifying. Mo Fan was also a Space Mage, so he knew how difficult it was to stop every spell targeting him. He could not help but be impressed when he recalled that his Space Rhythm: Time Stasis could only reduce the speed of the spells within it!

The path of cultivation was never-ending. His Lightning and Fire Elements were very impressive now, but he still needed to put in more effort to improve his Space, Shadow, and Summoning Elements!

However, it was just how the path of cultivation was. Mo Fan immediately felt great anticipation when he saw Ai Jiangtu able to stop the opponents’ attacks with a single wave. How cool would it be when he reached Ai Jiangtu’s level?!

—

“Humph, I would like to see if you dare to stop my spell, too!” Shou Watani immediately showed his pride.

A brilliant brown Star Constellation appeared around Shou Watani, setting him off like a god of stars. As the Star Constellation formed from more than three hundred stars condensed rapidly, his eyes changed, like they had turned to stone!

They did not look lifeless, but were actually reflecting a sharp light!

“Eyes of the Rock Demon: Earth Dragon Spike!”

Shou Watani’s eyes had transformed completely as he was granted the power of the Rock Demon.

Anywhere he set his eyes on, spikes would suddenly spring up. Solid rocks like lines of thorns rapidly appeared on the initially flat ground!

Soon, a few pointy rocks burst out from the surface in a line extending away from him.

More rocks burst out of the ground, their height increasing. They went from three meters at the start to fifteen meters high. The rocks continued to spring up with shocking force, like the backbone of a dragon rising from the ground, smashing anything along the surface into pieces!

The Earth Dragon Spikes reached the Rock Demon. A spike twenty meters long sprang up and knocked the Rock Demon to the ground.

Ai Jiangtu was aware of how powerful the spell was. His Space Stasis had no chance of stopping the spikes. Left with no choice, Ai Jiangtu cast a spell and blinked a certain distance away while forcibly bringing the enormous Rock Demon along with him!

The Earth Dragon Spikes were still coming out of the ground, and the spikes that appeared later were absolutely massive. Luckily, Ai Jiangtu had blinked to where the first spike was, meaning that he was safe from the strong Earth Spell!

The Rock Demon had a few cracks on him. Despite its outstanding size, its strength was pretty average, although its sturdy, thick skin was able to take a fair amount of damage. The reason why Ai Jiangtu bothered using the Space Spell to save the creature was because if it was around, even without Time Stasis, it could still take some hits for the team!

As Ai Jiangtu was advancing, Jiang Shaoxu and Mu Ningxue had plenty of time to cast their spells. Jiang Shaoxu completed her Psychic Spell first.

She was busy preparing Psychic Impact in the form of a wave. She believed once she released the spell, the Japanese team would not be able to cast any spell above the Intermediate Level for a short period!

“Psychic Wave!”

Jiang Shaoxu finally completed her spell. The invisible Psychic force immediately penetrated the minds of the Japanese members. Those that were in the middle of connecting Stars were taken by surprise. The Stars immediately scattered in disorder, making it impossible for them to arrange them into the Star Patterns for Star Constellations!Read the next chapter on our vipnovel.com

Even Shou Watani was affected by the Psychic Wave. He finally understood why Ai Jiangtu was willing to expend his energy and forcibly push forward with the Rock Demon. He was providing cover for the Psychic Mage on his team!

“Calming Pendant!”

When the Japanese team was in chaos from the Psychic spell, the short-haired Maga on the Japanese team suddenly kissed the Pendant on her neck. It immediately emitted a gentle, faint-blue glow. The gentle glow descended upon her teammates and calmed their minds!

Most importantly, apart from the short-haired woman, all her teammates were recovering quickly.

“Damn it, I didn’t expect them to have such a piece of magic equipment!” Jiang Shaoxu was extremely annoyed.

The Psychic Wave could easily secure the victory for them, since not many Mages were able to cast their spells under its effects. If the enemy could not use their magic, even for a short period of time, the situation would be totally in their favor. To their surprise, the Japanese team was extremely cunning. They had brought along a magic item of the Psychic Element even when they did not have a Psychic Mage on their team. Something like that was very expensive and rare!

—

“Rich, that short-haired Japanese woman is extremely rich!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Mo Fan nodded in agreement.

Mo Fan also had a Focus Necklace on his neck. It was able to block a single Psychic attack or a bewitching spell within a certain period. However, Mo Fan could only use the Necklace to protect himself, he was unable to help his teammates with it. However, the Pendant that the short-haired Japanese woman owned was able to help her whole team recover.

Besides, Mo Fan realized that the faint-blue glow remained on the members of the Japanese team, meaning that their minds were being protected for a limited time. Any Psychic spells would have no effect on them!

The necklace would rarely be useful in normal situations. It was very obvious that the woman had prepared the necklace for the World College Tournament, to specifically protect the team from a Psychic Mage!

“I’m totally useless as long as that aura is still around. You guys will have to think of some way!” There was nothing else Jiang Shaoxu could do.

“It’s fine, that thing won’t be able to last for too long, you can help Mu Ningxue in setting up her spell,” Jiang Yu said.

Jiang Shaoxu’s tertiary Element was Ice. She was not particularly adept with it, but it was still useful in battle, since it was possible to stack their Ice Magic!

“Mu Ningxue, your Ice Element…” Jiang Shaoxu was about to ask Mu Ningxue how she was going with her preparations. However, when she turned around, she saw Mu Ningxue flying into the air!

Behind her was a pair of Wind Wings, setting off her elegant demeanor and her glamorous face. She looked like a pure, spotless angel to the crowd.

However, the angel riding the wind did not have a gentle appearance. She was flying in the air because she was planning to spread her ice across the entire stage!

“Domain: Icy Wind Nirvana!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Not long before, the strong presence of Fire, Lightning, Water, and Earth Elements was lingering in the air on the stage, but after Mu Ningxue’s cry, they were erased completely. One could not tell if it was the strong wind driving the ice, or the ice turning into the bone-chilling wind. Either way, the stage was filled with icy, piercing wind in just a few seconds!

Regardless of how lifelike the stage that the stage builders had designed was, it had now turned into a land of snow and ice. The whole place was covered in frost, and every corner looked exactly the same.

In the tops of the snow-covered trees, Akira Matsuki was sneaking in the shadows and had also entered the land of snow and ice, but it did not hinder his movements. He raised his head and stared at the silver-haired woman who was spreading her formidable Ice Element power across the stage.

“Why have I not seen this woman before?” Akira Matsuki mumbled to himself, looking at Mu Ningxue.

Akira Matsuki had a great memory. He had seen everyone on the Chinese team, yet he did not recall seeing a silver-haired woman at the Caribbean Sea.

“So that means she has only joined the team recently?” Akira Matsuki murmured and grinned, “She is probably the kind of simple-minded woman with strong magic. She’s currently in such an exposed place, and is also straying away from the team’s formation. Isn’t she simply asking me to disqualify her?”

As an assassin-type Mage, a target like Mu Ningxue was something Akira Matsuki had been waiting for. His target was very exposed, and was focusing on expanding the coverage of her Ice Magic. The long channeling process and stupid decision provided Akira Matsuki with the perfect opportunity to strike!

“Flying Shadow!”

Akira Matsuki wove through the snow-covered canopy rapidly. He was silently making his way toward the hovering Mu Ningxue.

The coverage of the frost continued to expand, while the Ice Magic was growing stronger. Akira Matsuki could sense how powerful the Ice Magic was.

—

“They seem to have a powerful Ice Mage; the person is most likely their source of damage!” Yosuke of the Japanese team said.

Even the ground under their feet was now covered in a layer of ice. It was spreading rapidly, and applying great pressure to them.

“Do you think their Ice Mage really has a chance to attack when Akira Matsuki is on our team?” the short-haired Maga scoffed. She would occasionally glance at the jungle where the silver-haired woman was, as she caught a glimpse of a faint moving shadow.

“Let’s just focus on the Space Mage. Akira Matsuki can easily handle the Ice Mage, we just need to take out this crazily strong Space Mage!” said the plump man.

—

Akira Matsuki was already in position. However, it was still not the time for him to strike.

He was strict on ensuring a hundred percent success rate. Based on his many years of experience, it was not yet the best time to make his move. He would strike the moment the silver-haired woman was just about to complete her magic. It would take her by surprise, and she would have no chance to react!

As he thought, the stupidly flamboyant woman was channeling a destructive spell. A blue Star Constellation had appeared around her, and she had already completed six out of seven of the brilliant Star Patterns!

“Now!” Akira Matsuki found the best time to strike. He sprang out from the white canopy.

His body sank eerily in the air. He was as fast as a flying sword, emitting a dark, evil aura as he pierced through the air silently at a shocking speed!

The dark sword that Akira Matsuki had turned into lunged through the air with a cold flicker, targeting Mu Ningxue’s back!

Fifty meters!

Thirty meters!

Ten meters!

Akira Matsuki was grinning. If their team won the opening match, he would surely end up as the player of the match, as he was able to take out an important member on the opponent’s team!

At a distance of ten meters, Akira Matsuki could pick up the alluring scent of the woman. However, he was currently in the middle of a match. He had no intention of going easy on her. Compared to the glory of reaching the finals, the woman was of no significance to him!

A dark glow flickered as the dark sword swiped past Mu Ningxue’s back. The strong dark energy spread rapidly into Mu Ningxue’s body through the cut and reached her heart and mind.

Akira Matsuki was still in the air. He could not help but turn around, to enjoy the disbelieving face of his target. He believed the silver-haired woman would be wearing the expression he enjoyed the most… and his utterly perfect move would soon earn a great cheer from the crowd!

However, all he saw was an icy face, and a pair of emotionless eyes…

Akira Matsuki was at first astounded. The silver-haired woman’s beauty was otherworldly. However, the thought only stayed in his mind for a mere second before he quickly realized that the woman did not show any sign of panic or pain!

It was like the glamorous face was just a reflection in a mirror that had started to crack. The silver-haired woman simply disappeared as the pieces started to fall!

“What just happened!?” Akira Matsuki was stunned. He had clearly landed his attack on her, yet it felt like he had attacked a mirror instead. She was perfectly fine, but the mirror had shattered into pieces!

Akira Matsuki turned around quickly, and was shocked to discover that his target was actually standing in the opposite direction. The silver-haired woman slowly lifted her head and stared at him coldly, her eyes as attractive as the galaxy. To his astonishment, he could see a calm, collected glitter in her eyes!

It was Akira Matsuki’s turn to be filled with disbelief. He was completely dumbfounded.

-What kind of magic was that!? An illusion created with a mirror of ice?

-Could a Mage of our level and age really possess such outstanding control?-

—

A great cheer arose in the stadium, but it was not directed at Akira Matsuki for successfully ambushing his target, but at the silver-haired woman, who had perfectly tricked her opponent with the illusion. She was clearly floating in the air just beside the jungle, and looked so vivid and alive, yet it was just a reflection in a mirror of ice, so thin that no one could tell the difference. Meanwhile, Mu Ningxue was standing opposite the mirror as she played the experienced Shadow Mage of the Japanese team like a fiddle!

“Goddess Mu is putting up a show…” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

“I’m guessing that Akira Matsuki has never seen Mu Ningxue before. He might have assumed Mu Ningxue was just a substitute, so he immediately picked her as his target without thinking twice. The problem is, is Mu Ningxue really someone he should be messing with?”

“That Akira Matsuki is going to pay.”

—

Meanwhile, Shou Watani, Yosuke, and the others on the Japanese team realized that Akira Matsuki had failed his ambush. They felt it to was a pity, and were surprised by the impressive strength and wisdom that the silver-haired woman had displayed.

“Is Akira Matsuki going to be fine?”

“Him? He’s going to be fine. Even if the woman is great at offense, she couldn’t possibly hurt Akira Matsuki given how unpredictable his movements are. That being said, Akira Matsuki must be feeling terrible after failing the attempt!”

The Japanese team was in the middle of a discussion when an icy, dark blue glow suddenly appeared in the sky. Its light expanded in a sphere, like an icy wall, sealing off the entire area!

“Crap, it’s a Domain!” Shou Watani’s expression sank as he realized something.

“What, that woman has a Domain?”

“This is bad! We have to save him!”

“Who said that the woman isn’t strong, how else was she able to unleash her Domain right away? .. Cold, so cold, crap, even this spot is covered by her Domain. All other Elements are driven away by her Ice Magic!”

“But we’re so far away from her, that’s impossible! Don’t be scared just because she has a Domain!” the plump man denied, but he soon realized his magic had weakened too!

The energy particles of each Element lingering in the air were like oxygen for their spells. When the presence of their respective Elements weakened, it meant the effects of their spells were lowered too!

“Damn it!” Shou Watani swore in agitation.

“Didn’t they say we just needed to look out for the guy called Mo Fan? That guy wasn’t even in this match, and we’re still in such a bad spot!” the short-haired woman said.

“Don’t panic, we haven’t lost yet!”

As soon as the words were spoken, they heard a cry of agony not far away.

The owner of the voice was Akira Matsuki. The team lifted their eyes and discovered an enormous spider web in the sky, constructed by icy chains of frost!

Akira Matsuki was like a little bug trapped right in the middle of Mu Ningxue’s Heaven Spider Ice Locking Formation. It was quite a spectacular sight from afar, with the ice chains forming a giant web just to trap a single person. It was like an execution rack of the Kingdom of Ice!

Beep! “Akira Matsuki of the Japanese team is disqualified,” the judge announced in an emotionless voice.

Mu Ningxue did not press her attack. Akira Matsuki had totally lost his ability to fight. Once caught in the Heaven Spider Ice Locking Formation, it would only take half a minute for a living person’s blood to freeze completely!

Mu Ningxue tossed Akira Matsuki to the boundary of the barrier. Akira Matsuki landed on the ground. His body had turned purple because of the freeze.

His face was blank. Fear began to surface on his face when he lifted his eyes and stared at the silver-haired woman!

-A Domain…-

If it was just an ordinary Domain, he would not be trapped so easily. The fact implied how terrifying this woman’s Domain was!

Akira Matsuki could not even cast Nyx Regime, and even the mobility he was extremely proud of was not enough to escape the woman’s control!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“That Maga is so strong!”

“Who is she? Does anyone know her name?” Some old Mages among the spectators sitting close to the stage had started whispering to one another.

“She must be Mu Ningxue, a very famous Ice Mage from the Imperial College. I heard her name a couple of times from the Mu Clan, but I didn’t expect her to be this talented!”

Akira Matsuki was knocked out from the stage, meaning that the Japanese team had lost an important member. They basically had no hope of securing an advantage in the match.

He had been the key person needed to secure the Japanese victory!

The crowd immediately burst into an uproar, and soon, many people had learned Mu Ningxue’s name. The fact that she could overpower her opponents easily showed how overwhelming her strength was!

—

“Goddess Mu’s strength is a lot scarier than before!” Zhao Manyan’s eyes almost popped out from their sockets.

“This student is impressive,” Pang Lai, the Royal Guards’ chief, fondled his beard with a gratified look.

“She is finally displaying her true strength. To be honest, even I didn’t expect her to take out such a troublesome opponent so easily,” Feng Li said with a hint of surprise.

The team knew Mu Ningxue was strong. In terms of strength, she was right behind Ai Jiangtu and Mo Fan on the team. However, it seemed like Mu Ningxue had improved dramatically, enough to easily defeat one of the main representatives of the Japanese team!

“I thought the match was going to last for quite a while. I didn’t expect Mu Ningxue to be able to turn the tables so quickly. Victory is within our grasp, as long as we take it slowly and steadily!”

The team continued to compliment Mu Ningxue’s performance. Meanwhile, Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni only had twisted expressions.

They had tried so hard to trample Mu Ningxue, yet even so, she had immediately entered the limelight in the opening match. Most importantly, it would be even more difficult for them to pick on her if her reputation kept growing!

They clenched their teeth furiously when they saw their enemy grabbing all the attention. However, there was nothing they could do, apart from watching how Mu Ningxue was stirring an uproar among the crowd!

—

Mu Ningxue’s attack did not stop after taking out Akira Matsuki. As a matter of fact, her real expertise was asserting control over the stage with her Ice Magic.

The ice was already a meter thick. The Ice Magic drifted across the stage in the wind. The Japanese team was suppressed by the Ice Domain. Not only were their movements slowing down, even their channeling speed and the damage of their spells had been dramatically reduced!

“Icebound Coffin!” Mu Ningxue completed the Star Constellation of the Advanced Spell. She had finally launched her attack as the main attacker on her team!

The enormous amount of ice in the sky left a shadow on the ground. The Japanese team raised their eyes and were shocked to see five Icebound Coffins falling from the sky right on top of where they were standing. Each Icebound Coffin covered the area within several hundred meters in a strong, terrifying chill. Even though the Japanese team managed to dodge the direct impact of the Icebound Coffins, the freezing power of the Icebound Coffins as they landed on the ground also posed a great threat to them!

A white mist surged across the place. The five enormous Icebound Coffins stood as firmly as mountains, a spectacular sight!.

The Japanese team was split up by the enormous impacts. Some had to put on their magic armor just so they could resist the cold from the spell. None of them were at ease.

“Her Domain is way too terrifying! How can we possibly stand a chance against five Icebound Coffins falling at the same time?”

“We have lost thirty percent of our damage because of it, and her Domain is still able to amplify the damage of her own spells! We can’t afford to let her cast another spell!” the plump man on the Japanese team shivered.

Someone on their team had already put on their magic armor, meaning that if the attacks kept on coming, someone on their team would soon be disqualified again!

“I’ll deal with her; find a chance to take out those that are weaker on their team,” Shou Watani said with a dark expression.

He could no longer afford to preserve his strength. Shou Watani stuck closely to the ground as he moved forward rapidly.

He had to find a way to keep the Ice Maga at bay. Otherwise, his team would be wiped out in a few rounds!

Shou Watani arrived in the forest, gradually approaching the hovering, winged Mu Ningxue.

“Rock Serpent!” Shou Watani stomped the ground. The thick layer of ice cracked open as a Rock Serpent burst out from the ground and wove through the forest quickly.

Shou Watani stood on the head of the Rock Serpent as it slowly rose into the air. His eyes slowly turned into the color of a Rock Demon, planning to stop Mu Ningxue with Petrify.

However, before he could make his move, a man in a jacket suddenly appeared on the back of the Rock Serpent in a silver flash.

“Ai Jiangtu!” Shou Watani turned to the man.

Ai Jiangtu was an expert at moving around with Blink. He was able to move instantly onto the Rock Serpent’s back. It was obvious that he was planning to confront his opponent directly.

“Mu Ningxue, you, Guan Yu, Jiang Yu, and Jiang Shaoxu will handle the remaining three. Leave this guy to me,” Ai Jiangtu ordered.

The Chinese team had secured an advantage with their numbers. They only needed to keep the strongest member on the Japanese team, Shou Watani, busy while the others focused on knocking out the remaining members.

Mu Ningxue nodded. The Wind Wings on her back beat as she sprang forward like an ice fairy. She flew over above the Japanese team, and softly chanted the curse of Wind and Ice!

“Ice Wind Storm!”

Snow the size of goose feathers fell rapidly, gradually turning into a terrifying storm as a strong wind blew, dragging the members of the Japanese team that were scattered across the place toward the center of it.

—

The snow poured down fiercely. A tall mountain of snow stacked up in the Japanese team’s territory without them knowing, and the remaining members of the Japanese team were unwillingly gathered together. They were starting to lose their focus after suffering continuous impacts from the snow.

“Damn it, my Fire isn’t working!” Yosuke snapped furiously.

In Mu Ningxue’s Domain, even casting a single Fire Spell was extremely difficult, let alone trying to use Fire to set up a safe zone for the team. The Star Orbits kept breaking as Yosuke was trying to connect them. It was driving the man crazy!

When Yosuke was feeling anxious, a shadow in the storm moved past him quickly. A brown claw gauntlet stabbed into his leg…

“AHHH, you son of a b**ch!” Yosuke burst out screaming, feeling the pain from his leg.

Lots of poisonous bugs immediately flew out of his body and chased after the shadow.

“Where do you think you’re running to!?” Yosuke yelled out angrily.

The poisonous bugs were called the Vengeful Flies. It was a unique passive ability that an Intermediate Poison Mage had. Whenever the Mage was hurt, the Vengeful Flies would appear and chase after the person that had hurt the Mage relentlessly!

As such, even though Yosuke was injured, he was grinning coldly. The Vengeful Flies carried a deadly poison. He firmly believed that the person that had stabbed him had no chance of escaping.

Lots of Vengeful Flies were flying in the air. They did not have eyes, but they were able to locate the attacker precisely. Despite the snowy storm that was blocking everyone’s sight, they were still able to lock on Guan Yu!

Yosuke tried to treat his wound with some medicine when he saw the Vengeful Flies chasing the shadow into the distance.

If their team was still complete, a drop of Healing Liquid was enough to help him recover. However, he was having trouble finding his own teammates in the storm!

“Ah, ahhh, damn it!” Yosuke was about to treat his wound when he saw it get covered in a layer of frost.

Normally, freezing a wound would reduce the pain to a certain degree and stop the blood loss. However, the enemy’s frost was able to penetrate his body through the cut to freeze his blood. In just a few minutes, he would lose control of his leg, and there might be a chance that his whole body would stop moving!

He had stayed in the Ice Domain for too long. Even though he did not suffer any direct hits from the spells, he was slowly losing his ability to fight!

—

“Did…did we really underestimate the Chinese team…” a girl with a cute appearance on the Japanese team asked numbly.

Fujikata Tegami was utterly speechless. Standing next to her was Mochizuki Chihaya. Even though she was not an instructor of the national team, she still had the right to observe the battle with the team.

“I initially thought Mo Fan was the trickiest to deal with. Who knew their team actually had a bunch of similarly tricky opponents,” Mochizuki Chihaya sighed.

“Yeah, that Space Mage is able to keep Captain Shou Watani busy while the Ice Maga simply crushes the rest of the team. She’s completely unstoppable. Our team would be unlikely to win even if Miss Ranko was in the match…”

“I believe that Ice Maga is not any weaker than our captain, either. Her overpowering Ice Magic is simply too terrifying. Other teams will have a hard time stopping her, too. Since when is the Chinese team so strong?” a Japanese instructor wondered.

“It’s only a matter of time until our team loses.”

“I thought we were going to win our first match, but we ended up losing so terribly,” the members of the Japanese team all had grim expressions.

—

The seats where the Egyptian team was sitting…

“Sayed, do you still remember her?”

“How could I forget her? Holy crap, since when is she so powerful!?” Sayed cried out in amazement.

In the past, Sayed had dominated the team at Shanghai’s Training Hall with the Death Saber Mummy. Even though he was beaten up by Mu Ningxue in the end, he believed a Mage of her standard would surely join the national team in the end. As such, he had been waiting for the chance to earn his dignity back at the World College Tournament.

However, it seemed like he would never win his dignity back after witnessing the woman’s strength…

She was too ridiculously strong!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Guan Yu of the Chinese team has been disqualified!”

Following the announcement, the others in the storm saw a poisoned man leaning against the barrier at the boundary of the stage. He was being carried down the stage by the officials so he could be treated by the medical team.

Guan Yu’s body was dark brown, and his muscles were twitching strangely. Even though he was still conscious, he was extremely dissatisfied with the result. He had totally underestimated his opponent’s Poison Element, and fallen carelessly for his trap!

“HAHAHA, that’s for trying to pick on me; serves you right!” Yosuke of the Japanese team burst out laughing.

He was moving slowly in the snow to regroup with the other members. However, the condition of his leg worsened, and he could no longer feel it.

An icy, sharp wind swept at Yosuke’s face. It felt like his skin was going to be sliced open.

Yosuke raised his eyes and stared at the woman standing in the air amid the storm, a pair of brilliant Wind Wings on her back. The wind carrying the snow set off her elegance!

Yosuke squinted, his eyes fixed on the woman. However, he did not seem to be panicking.

He appeared to be very calm. He did not look like someone that had lost feeling in his leg. He did not even bother setting up his defense, as if he was challenging the woman to attack him freely.

Mu Ningxue waved her hand, turning the frost surrounding her into spikes. The spikes immediately sprang at Yosuke, who was having trouble moving.

Yosuke grinned coldly. He summoned a magic shield to protect his vital parts, leaving his limbs exposed!

The spikes stabbed Yosuke’s limbs, as expected. They were basically nailing the man to the ground, but Yosuke burst out laughing like a mad man, instead of showing any pain on his face!

“You’ve lost, HAHAHAHA, you shouldn’t have picked on me!” Yosuke laughed.

Poisonous, dark gray Vengeful Flies flew out of his wounds, beating their buzzing wings rapidly.

The number of Vengeful Flies was even greater than before. They were directly proportional to the damage that the Poison Mage had received. The slightest touch to the person’s skin would start festering immediately.

Guan Yu was disqualified when was unable to escape the Vengeful Flies!

Yosuke was laughing wildly. He believed he could take out two members of the opponent team on his own.

Even though he basically was no longer fit for battle, he was able to cover the mistake that Akira Matsuki had made. He could easily secure the victory for their team!

“Trying to hurt me is simply going to bring shame upon yourself, enjoy the treatment of my poisonous flies!” Yosuke chuckled. He was desperately trying to take Mu Ningxue out, even if it meant he would be disqualified too!

When Mu Ningxue saw the poisonous flies approaching, she tried to freeze them with the Ice Element. However, she quickly discovered that the Vengeful Flies were even scarier than she had imagined. The little bugs did not seem to be scared of an Elemental Spell!

“Immune to elemental attacks?” Mu Ningxue murmured.

The poisonous flies were getting closer. Mu Ningxue realized that these little bugs were fairly tricky to deal with, so she beat her Wind Wings and flew higher.

The Vengeful Flies immediately chased after her. A huge bunch of them was right on her trail. Despite the storm surging across the stage, they were totally unaffected!

Mu Ningxue continued to speed up. She was able to control the wind, and the Wind Wings on her back were still beating. She was as nimble as a fairy in the snow-filled air. Even though the Vengeful Flies were unstoppable, they were unable to catch up to Mu Ningxue for a short period.

Mu Ningxue was well aware of how deadly the poisonous flies were. She gave up on trying to fight them directly and continued to fly in circles in the air.

The poisonous flies were relentless, as if they did not know when to give up, but Mu Ningxue was extremely patient, too. As she was flying around, the frost continued to stack up. The snow on the ground was already three meters high!

Yosuke was nailed to the ground in the snow, still in a frenzy, yet he started to look grim when he saw the woman was not bothering to fight the poisonous flies head-on.

The frost had penetrated his entire body through his wounds and had basically frozen all his blood vessels.

He had lost any feeling of his limbs. His body temperature was falling as a strong hint of drowsiness struck him. He had stopped laughing, and was starting to panic instead!

He could die if his body temperature fell below a certain point. The frost continued to penetrate his body as he was losing blood. Even though the frost was not as deadly as his Poison Element, it would still kill him eventually!

Yosuke wanted to hold on until his Vengeful Flies had taken Mu Ningxue out, just to give his team a glimpse of hope. However, he realized that he could no longer hold on for any longer!

“No, I have to bear it a little longer. She must have used up a lot of her energy. She is slowing down!” Yosuke bit his tongue, trying to keep himself awake.

He was so close to winning. He could not afford to give up now!

“Japanese team’s Yosuke has been disqualified!” a voice suddenly announced.

Before Yosuke realized what was happening, he saw a white figure entering the stage quickly, dragging him out of the snow.

“Let go… let go of me, I can still fight!” Yosuke screamed.

“Humph, you should know better. She has already gone easy on you, yet you still think you can hold on for much longer?” the assistant official replied sternly.

Yosuke glanced at the stage and saw a massive icicle dangling over the spot he was previously laying at. He had not seen it, as the storm was too thick. If it had fallen on him, it would have impaled him straightaway…

No matter how unwilling Yosuke was, he had been disqualified. The truth was, the Vengeful Flies had a time limit, too. Soon, they would turn into puffs of black smoke and dissipate.

Even though the Vengeful Flies were immune to elemental attacks, meaning that any destructive or controlling spells were ineffective against them, they were unable to last for a long time, either!

—

“Another member has been taken out!”

“The Japanese team is about to lose the match!”

“The snow is already three meters thick. Everyone is basically suffering from it, and they will only be more passive as the match goes on. There is no chance for them to win!”

The scary thing about the Ice Element was when a match went on for a long time, the cold would be strong enough to suppress the opponents. When Mu Ningxue’s Ice Magic was strong enough to apply the pressure of an Intermediate Ice Spell on the opponents every second, how could the Japanese team possibly stand a chance?

—

“We…we’ve lost!” Shou Watani had a grim face. He felt terrible, his eyes filled with snow.

The battle between him and Ai Jiangtu had not ended, but he knew it was meaningless for them to fight any longer. The frost was already as strong as an Intermediate Spell. If it was only a single Intermediate Spell, they could easily disregard it, but the frost was continuously hurting them!. It was the same as a team of Ice Mages constantly blasting them with Intermediate Spells.

The main judge soon declared the result. “The winner is… the Chinese team!”

——

As soon as the match came to an end, Mu Ningxue withdrew her Nirvana Ice Domain. The wind and snow immediately came to a stop.

Initially, the spectator seats were around three meters higher than the stage, but now, due to the snow that had stacked up, the stage was the same height as the spectator seats. The crowd was dazzled when they took a closer look at the stage as the storm cleared up!

A huge uproar rose in the stadium. It was always exhilarating to watch such an awesome magic battle!

No one could possibly forget the young woman that had totally crushed her opponents in the opening match. The charm of her icy imperial aura were unforgettable!

——

“We’ve won!”

“Well done, I didn’t think we could beat the crap out of the Japanese team so easily!”

The other members immediately went to congratulate their teammates. Some of the medical staff started treating the injured members, too.

It felt good watching the one-sided victory. Even Pang Lai, Han Ji, and a few other old Mages did not expect they could defeat the Japanese team so easily.

“Well done! You were once disqualified from the team, but now, you’ve fought your way back, and shone the brightest in the opening match. You’ve been literally reborn !” Feng Li did not hesitate to compliment Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue’s performance was absolutely shocking, turning the match that they were feeling anxious about into a one-sided victory. It was likely that the Japanese team had tried their best to collect information about the Chinese team, yet they never expected Mu Ningxue, who had kept a low-profile, to be so powerful. She even took all the attention away from Ai Jiangtu!

“Once disqualified?” Pang Lai was startled, before putting on an amused smile.

The others would have forgotten about it if Feng Li had not mentioned it. Mu Ningxue had been disqualified after the East Maritime Fortress, as she was unable to achieve the Advanced Level in time.

Now, after returning to the national team, not only was her cultivation level on par with the others, it turned out that she had totally surpassed them in strength. Even Shou Watani of the Japanese team would not find himself in an advantageous position if he fought Mu Ningxue in her Ice Domain!

——

“It must be those pieces she took!” Mu Tingying almost broke her teeth from clenching them too hard!

“She refined all the pieces, and her cultivation improved dramatically,” Nanrong Ni agreed grimly.

Mu Ningxue had taken away the remaining pieces of the Ice Crystal Bow and refined them all when she disappeared from the team. It was the reason why she had improved so much, and why her Domain had become so powerful!

The two women simply had the urge to slap themselves in the face. They had tried to crush Mu Ningxue by taking away her Ice Crystal Bow, but now, she had been totally reborn, and her Ice Magic was stronger than ever!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The higher-ups of the Mu Clan are going to regret this for the rest of their lives. I remember they purposely clarified not long ago that Mu Ningxue is no longer related to their clan in any way. I guess the glory won’t be theirs, either!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed. He added, “Mo Fan, I’m pretty sure she… huh, where did he go?”

Zhao Manyan was just about to describe how Mu Ningxue had made a huge comeback when he realized the man he was talking to had already rushed up to Mu Ningxue like a little eunuch under the command of an empress, volunteering to give the empress a good massage on her shoulders.

Zhao Manyan was utterly speechless. When Mo Fan was displaying the strength of his character, he was usually as stubborn as the rock in a pit latrine, hard and stinky. However, when he was being shameless, he was willing to take on any role as required!

Mo Fan was complimenting Mu Ningxue non-stop like a machine gun.

Mu Ningxue was seriously scared of Mo Fan. The man finally stopped uttering the shameless words when she glared at him.

“We’re done here, let’s go celebrate by eating something nice, it’s on me!”

The opening match ended perfectly. During the following half a month, there would be more exciting matches between the national teams, and by then, the names of extraordinary talents would spread to the public, too. However, with such an impressive start to the tournament, the team was starting to have a higher hope of achieving a better ranking!

——

Mo Fan ran away, dragging Mu Ningxue along behind him. It was supposed to be a celebration, but somehow, it had turned into a forced date once again.

“What’s with the grimace? You should be happy since you’ve won the match? Weren’t you waiting a long time to impress the world with your skills? Didn’t you just do it?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s far from enough!” Mu Ningxue answered.

“You have to take it slowly, you’ve done a great job so far…” Mo Fan stopped being playful, his voice serious.

It seemed like the match today had allowed Mu Ningxue to vent some of the frustrations she had built up lately. She did not ignore Mo Fan completely, as she had a few days ago. Mo Fan was quite relieved about it; their relationship did not actually go back to square one!

Mo Fan asked Mu Ningxue how she had improved so much all of a sudden, and she fell silent.

It was shocking how strong Mu Ningxue had grown. Even though she was cultivating in seclusion when he left the team for Mount Tyrant, he simply could not believe that it was enough to let her grow so much stronger!

Mu Ningxue kept quiet. She was looking at the water flowing calmly not far away.

A few girls that looked like students walked past. They recognized Mu Ningxue who had such an outstanding performance in the opening match. They seemed very excited to see her, yet they did not dare to disturb the two. They only watched them from a distance.

“I am only worried about you. I hope the thing that helped you improve won’t have any side effects,” Mo Fan added.

Mu Ningxue shook her head. She briefly explained the Ice Crystal Bow and its pieces to Mo Fan.

“F**k me, are those scum of the Mu Clan from a cult or something? How did they even come up with such a scary way to refine a magic weapon?” Mo Fan cursed immediately after hearing her explanation. “So does that mean you can use the Ice Crystal Bow after combining all the pieces?”

“Mmm, but it’s very easy to harm my own soul,” Mu Ningxue confirmed.

When it was only a fragmented bow, Mu Ningxue’s cultivation was slowly able to control the Ice Crystal Bow. Using it once or twice occasionally would not be a huge problem for her. But now, the Ice Crystal Bow had been completed, and it would be drawing more energy from her soul. If she was too careless, a single arrow might draw too much energy from her soul and crush it!

Mu Ningxue did not want to say too much to Mo Fan. She suggested they head back.

Mo Fan could easily tell that Mu Ningxue’s mind was preoccupied with the thought of growing stronger. The energy she had obtained from the pieces was quite a lot, so she needed more time to refine them all before she could really control the Ice Crystal Bow.

In the end, the Ice Crystal Bow was just a magic weapon. It was unwise to rely too much on it. It was better if she could improve her own strength, and utilize her Ice Element potential to the max, so that she would no longer need to worry that the Mu Clan would try to get their revenge!

Mo Fan was a lot more relieved knowing that Mu Ningxue was fine.

“So…” Mo Fan was just about to discuss what Mu Ningxue’s next step was when two men with huge builds suddenly stood between him and her.

Mu Ningxue knew Mo Fan would find all sorts of excuses to take advantage of her. As such, she was used to keeping a certain distance away from the pervert, Thus, someone was able to stand directly between them.

Mo Fan initially thought it was just two impolite pedestrians, so he waited for them to pass. To his surprise, the two Westerners just stood there without moving.

Mo Fan was not in the mood to pick a fight with some random pedestrians. He simply stepped forward, trying to move around the two blokes and regroup with Mu Ningxue to continue their conversation. To his surprise, a tall man with curly brown-blond hair in a luxurious outfit embroidered with golden silks was standing in front of Mu Ningxue.

“It is my pleasure to stumble into you here. Do you know, I almost fell asleep when I was watching the boring opening speech through the window of my booth, until you showed up. There is no word that I can use to describe your beauty…” the handsome man with brown-blond hair began. He directly expressed his affection in a polite way. “I’m sorry, I was just too excited to see you in person, so excited that I totally forgot to introduce myself. I am Beny Gustin from Spain.”

Mu Ningxue was rather stunned. She was still talking to Mo Fan just a moment ago when this man suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

She had yet to react when she heard the students who were previously watching her from the distance screamed out in excitement.

“Beny, he’s from the royal family of Spain. It’s Prince Beny!” a white girl with a ponytail blushed. She was so excited, as if she had just seen a celebrity she admired the most.

“Oh my, it’s really him! He’s so handsome, even more handsome than how he looks in the photos!” another girl screamed.

The European girls were extremely excited. It was like they were about to rush toward Prince Beny in the next second, but they lost their courage when they saw the huge bodyguards standing beside Prince Beny.

Beny turned to the girls, smiling gently and politely. He was glad that the girls had helped to reveal his identity.

“Prince?” Mu Ningxue was rather surprised.

However, she was not as ignorant as Mo Fan. Even though many European countries had implemented new governing structures, some still retained the royal families that had lasted for a long time. They were usually quite powerful, and once had the strength to rule a country. They were normally well-respected and loved by the people of their country, unlike the magic clans in China.

Based on the conversation between the two girls, the man was actually from the royal family of Spain, and he was a European prince!

That being said, why did a prince show up all of a sudden? Mu Ningxue was utterly confused.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall of guards, Mo Fan’s face was as dark as it could possibly be.

Mo Fan tried to move past the two European blokes to reach Mu Ningxue, but to his surprise, the two blokes kept trying to stop him. They were using their bodies as a screen between him and Mu Ningxue, just so that Spanish guy trying to roleplay a Prince could have some intimate time with Mu Ningxue!

The truth was, there was only one sentence that could describe what Mo Fan was currently feeling: Who the hell does this asshole think he is, trying to take away my lover by treating me like a puff of air?!

Mo Fan was utterly speechless when he saw the guy called Beny still having an enjoyable conversation on his own. Would there be anyone even more amusing to him than asking his bodyguards to screen away a man while picking up on the fellow’s girlfriend?

Arrogant, this guy is simply too arrogant!

Mo Fan had always been hot-tempered. There was no way he could bear it!

“You two should get out of my sight right away. Otherwise, even calling the guards in Venice won’t stop me from turning you both into cripples!” Mo Fan demanded with a dark expression!

“Stop wasting your time, we’ll let you pass once the prince is done with his conversation…”

The bloke on the left was still in the middle of his speech when an invisible force clenched his throat, preventing him from saying another word.

The bloke on the right realized that something was not right. He immediately cast a spell, but Mo Fan was even faster than him. He simply shoved the bloke into the canals like he was waving at a fly.

“You asked for it!” Mo Fan waved his hand indifferently and tossed the bloke on the left into the canals, too.

After dealing with the two annoying underlings, Mo Fan walked up to Beny and pressed down hard on his shoulder.

“Friend, don’t be so rough,” Beny smiled calmly.

“Rough your grandma, go enjoy your cold shower!” Mo Fan lifted Beny up and tossed him into the canals without mercy.

Beny totally did not expect that. He was plunged into the water and was drenched. His handsome hair../style had collapsed, and the makeup he put on his face was ruined. He looked utterly miserable.

The young women students immediately screamed out and rushed to the side of the canal. They actually jumped into the water, like love-struck fools trying to save their prince.

“He dares touch my, Mo Fan’s woman? Is he tired of living? Was he seriously pretending to be some royal prince? Is he a retard? What year is this, yet someone is still referring to himself as a prince… I bet he watched too many dramas!” Mo Fan was totally infuriated. He snapped at the idiot still in the water, “Get out of my sight right now, or else I’ll beat you up every time I see you!”

Mo Fan felt better after teaching the man a lesson and scolding him. One could find all kinds of birds in a big jungle!

“There are seriously lots of retards lately, right, Xuexue?” Mo Fan swore to Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue did not know what to say when she saw how Mo Fan had taken out the men in an instant.

However, Mu Ningxue had not felt comfortable talking to the strange man. Since Mo Fan had already taken care of him, she would rather go back and cultivate.

——

On the way back, Mo Fan was still complaining about him. Mu Ningxue felt it was necessary to remind Mo Fan of something. She told Mo Fan in a soft voice as they were parting ways, “Some European countries do have royal families and princes still.”

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped. “Really? Why have I never heard about it?”

“You should read more books,” Mu Ningxue replied calmly, and left.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

A rose-colored boat slowly drove past the riverbank under a bridge and the blue moon. The miserable Prince Beny tried to cover his face with his hands. He was utterly furious.

“That asshole, I will not forgive him!” Beny snapped angrily.

The two bodyguards were drenched too. They stood beside the prince in silence.

A bigger crowd had gathered, and some of them eventually recognized Prince Beny. The man had a fair reputation in society, so someone still managed to recognize him in his current state. People eventually took out their phones and started recording.

Beny realized the situation he was in. He quickly used his long wet hair to cover his face.

With his identity, he would easily make headlines after someone had tossed him into the canals off the streets of Venice, just so he could enjoy himself a little bath. He did not want something so embarrassing to spread to the public.

“Are you Prince Beny?” a pleasant voice came from the boat. “Come on in.”

Beny did not hesitate, and quickly hopped onto the boat. The voice of the woman in the boat sounded familiar, but he was having trouble recalling who it belonged to. Either way, he would worry about it after escaping from the crowd.

The two bodyguards were extremely slow in their reactions. They did not board the boat in time, thus they could only watch it drifting into the distance along the canals.

—

“Miss Conti, thanks for lending me a hand there. Otherwise, I was to end up as a laughing stock to the people for quite some time,” Beny said gratefully in the boat.

The space in the boat was bigger than he had imagined, and inside was a woman in luxurious attire, brewing tea. She placed a cup of tea with a pleasant scent in front of Prince Beny and said in a gentle voice, “Here, warm yourself.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” Beny emptied the cup, but he was still feeling uncomfortable, as his clothes were soaked through.

“Who’s reckless enough to treat Prince Beny in such manner?” Conti asked.

“A condescending representative of the Chinese team! I will not forgive him!” Prince Beny snapped angrily.

“I bet it’s the usual quarrel between young men like you. Prince Beny is supposed to behave like a member of the royal family,” Conti said.

“It has nothing to do with my behavior. He was disrespectful toward the royal family, there’s no way I can ignore what he did!” Beny answered stiffly.

“So what are you going to do then?” Conti asked.

“I…I haven’t decided yet,” Beny suddenly felt awkward.

“Instead of doing it yourself, why don’t you let the national team settle the debt for you instead? After all, he’s a member of the Chinese team. It’s better to defeat him officially in a match,” Conti said.

“You’re right! I remember that if our team wins the next match, our next opponent is likely going to be the Chinese team. I’ll let the team know, so they can make the imbecile pay on my behalf. Miss Conti is intelligent as always; the others won’t be able to criticize it,” Beny agreed happily.

“Prince, I wasn’t asking you to take your revenge. I was hoping you would be tolerant, and even if violence is unavoidable, you should only do it in an official match. I hope you’re not thinking of doing something that will bring shame to the royal family’s name,” Conti said seriously.

“Miss Conti, why would I do anything like that? Don’t you worry,” Beny replied, yet he had already made up his mind. In order to prevent Conti from reading his mind, he quickly switched the topic, “Miss Conti, did you come to Venice to watch the tournament?”

“It’s only one of the reasons. Apparently, the Mediterranean Sea hasn’t been peaceful lately. There are signs of something that shouldn’t be here. As a member of the Shoreline Alliance, I have an obligation to patrol the area,” Conti said.

“Oh, I see. Could it be a misbehaving sea monster?” Beny said.

Spain was also a maritime country. It had long been harassed by sea monsters, and its people were very sensitive about them!

“I would rather it be a sea monster, but I’m afraid it’s something that has existed for a longer time,” Conti said.

“It sounds like Miss Conti is going to be quite busy soon. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen Sister Asha’ruiya lately, how is she doing?” Beny asked with glittering eyes, suddenly felt restless when he thought of Asha’ruiya’s glamorous face and alluring physique.

Both she and the ice beauty on the national team were priceless, worthy to be included in his collection.

“That girl? She must be training diligently now. I am actually on my way to see her; does the prince want to come along?” Conti asked.

“Sure, Miss Conti… oh, actually, I’ll pass this time. I’ll find some other day to drink afternoon tea with Sister Asha’ruiya.” Beny was initially looking forward to it, but when he remembered his current appearance, he totally lost his mood to meet the gorgeous beauty.

——

Greece, a citadel in Athens…

The Sacred Mountain of Parthenon was surrounded by purple orchids. Their brilliance was visible in every corner in the citadel.

The people living in the Citadel of Athens rarely fell sick, since it had the Parthenon Temple, the place with the strongest Healing Magic in the world. It was like the citadel was forever bathed in the Goddess’ light of protection.

At the top of the sacred mountain stood the noble Hall of the Goddess. It was constructed from purple crystals, and despite existing for millennia, it was still in perfectly good condition. The night had just fallen, and the moon was bright and round, setting off the elegance and solemn presence of the Hall of the Goddess!

—

Within the central hall of the Hall of the Goddess, rhomboids of purple crystals dangled from the ceiling, and produced a pleasant melody when a breeze swept past, soothing and calm.

The floor was made of darker crystals. The artisan’s skill was so exceptional that there were no gaps anywhere. It was lustrous, yet solemn.

Reflections of alluring silhouettes on the floor were fairly common, as the members of the Hall of the Goddess were all required to wear white dresses with girdles. Xinxia would always giggle when she saw the reflections on the floor, as when she described the situation of the Hall of the Goddess to Mo Fan, the fool strongly believed he would be able to peek at the legs and underwear of the women via the reflections. The truth was, even if the women were not wearing girdles, the dark floor that resembled the night sky would not easily expose anyone.

Most importantly, no man was allowed in the Hall of the Goddess. Even the leader of the knights could only wait outside, not permitted to set his feet into the hall.

“Forget the courtesy, it’s inconvenient for you too. I heard that you saved the lives of many soldiers in Puccini, Egypt, earning the love and esteem of the locals. You even went to war with the army, and came up with a brilliant idea to help the army, helping them to get rid of the mirage,” Hall Mother Felin said.

“Yes, Hall Mother,” Xinxia slightly lowered her head. She actually did not look very natural.

She was not good at lying. After all, it was Mo Fan that came up with the idea and defeated the Dark Swordmaster, but Mo Fan asked Xinxia to take all the credit, despite her objection.

It was necessary for the servants of the Parthenon Temple to earn the love and esteem of the world, so they could be promoted to a Muse and be granted access to the real Healing Magic of the Parthenon Temple. It was all Mo Fan’s contributions instead of hers, yet Mo Fan had forced her to take all the credit, and she was quite troubled by it.

“Mmm, you were able to secure the victory for the army in the battle against the undead with your profound knowledge. It is very impressive. Initially, you were to be promoted to an official Servant after your training, making you an official member of the Parthenon Temple. However, you’ve done well bringing honor to the name of the Parthenon Temple, so I will make an exception and put your name down as a candidate. You have been outstanding as an exchange student, but since you aren’t an actual student of the Parthenon Temple, just think of it as a chance to learn. Courtesy, management, sacred arts; feel free to learn any of them, it might come in handy when you support the Goddess in the future,” the Hall Mother smiled. The gaze she leveled on Xinxia was brimming with satisfaction.

Not only was Xinxia shocked by her words, a few other women who were just promoted as official servants were astounded too!

Many of the Servants and Muses that had served in the Hall of the Goddess for many years put their attention on Xinxia. Their eyes were filled with disbelief, but that was soon replaced with envy and dissatisfaction!

“Hall Mother, isn’t that inappropriate? Ye Xinxia is only an exchange student to the Parthenon Temple. She’s fortunate enough to enroll in the Parthenon Temple, how can she be listed as a candidate? There are three criteria a candidate has to fulfill! Leaving her bloodline aside, her nationality isn’t even appropriate! Second, she hasn’t been recommended by more than seven Muses! Last, her cultivation isn’t strong enough to meet the requirements…” the Great Muse Mellaura immediately objected.

“The Great Muse is right; people will be criticizing us if we suddenly list a probationary servant as a candidate,” the other Muses quickly spoke up in support.

The Servants had no right to speak, but their expressions alone were enough to convey their thoughts. They strongly disagreed with this! They had spent years in the Parthenon Temple, yet they could not even get a promotion. Meanwhile, Ye Xinxia was just a newbie! The old servants were already thinking about how they could abuse the girl. To their surprise, the Hall Mother suddenly promoted her to a candidate. Wouldn’t that mean the Servants would have to serve her, and even the Muses have to respect her, too?

How could they allow the sparrow to suddenly transform into a phoenix?

It was true that she had contributed greatly in Puccini and brought glory to the name of the Parthenon Temple. However, wasn’t the reward too good to be true?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Have you forgotten, as the Hall Mother, I can recommend a person as a Candidate? I haven’t done so in a long time, but it doesn’t mean I no longer have the power. Aren’t you girls worrying too much? The reason I’m doing this is just so she can learn more, so she can be of great assistance to the Goddess in the future. It wasn’t like I am really letting her compete with the others for the role of the Goddess. Alright, I’ve already made up my mind, it’s unnecessary to discuss it further. From next month onward, Ye Xinxia, you will attend lessons together with the other Candidates,” the Hall Mother said.

The meeting in the hall was dismissed. The Servants and Muses placed their attention on Xinxia. The sound of their discussions echoed through the central hall.

“Humph, she’s still pretending to be calm and collected after getting such a great benefit. Don’t tell me she isn’t really excited about being selected as a Candidate?” a dull voice scoffed. It was from an old servant called Gulan, who managed the probationary servants.

When Xinxia first joined the Hall of the Goddess, Gulan had treated Xinxia harshly, explaining why she was in such a bad mood.

“Ye Xinxia, have you heard what the Hall Mother said?” The Great Muse Mellaura came forward. She raised her chin and looked down at Xinxia proudly.

Xinxia was about to salute to pay respect to Mellaura when the woman made a strange nasal sound and continued, “Forget about it; otherwise, people might say I don’t have compassion for the disabled. Since you will only be treated as a Candidate starting next month, you are still a Servant for the rest of this month. A plague has erupted in Croatia. Go investigate it, and you can also earn some reputation before you become a Candidate, just so people won’t criticize you later.”

Mellaura had yet to finish her speech, but a few of the Servants and Muses were already gloating.

Fiona, who joined the Hall of the Goddess as a Servant around the same time as Xinxia, was displeased. She said with a slight temper, “Great Muse, the plague in Croatia is classified as A-rank. It’s only reasonable to send a Muse there. Isn’t it a bit unfair to send Xinxia…”

“Didn’t the Hall Mother already mention how knowledgeable Xinxia is? She even knew the secret of the Dark Swordmaster. The A-rank plague in Croatia won’t be any problem to her. She will be sent on her journey tomorrow morning. If you fail to resolve the plague, you will be punished!” Great Muse Mellaura stated.

The old servants, including Gulan, felt an urge to give the Great Muse a thumbs-up for how clever she was.

As expected of the Great Muse, forcing Ye Xinxia to pay with a simple little trick!

“But…but aren’t you being too harsh on…” Xinxia was fairly naive due to her young age. She was straightforward at saying something she thought. She did not expect the Great Muse Mellaura would go so far. It was obvious that they wanted something bad to happen to her.

The plague in Croatia had been going on for some days, and had stirred up great chaos recently. A servant who was stationed in Croatia had reported how dangerous the plague was, and an experienced, knowledgeable Muse was necessary to resolve it. Apparently, the servant had also fallen ill from the plague.

It would take a Muse quite some time to resolve a plague of this level, let alone a mere, experienced old Servant. Most importantly, if someone was assigned to resolve the plague, the person would be highly exposed, as she would have to stay close to the patients. As such, she would have a high risk of contracting the disease, too!

Fiona was outraged by how Xinxia was being treated unfairly, yet Xinxia knew it was unwise to provoke the Great Muse further. She pulled Fiona’s sleeve softly and replied, “I will surely try my best.”

“Mmm, I’m actually trying to help you. You’re still too inexperienced as a Candidate. If you’re able to resolve the plague and earn some reputation, together with your contribution in Puccini, the people would think that you’re actually capable of being selected as a Candidate!” Great Muse Mellaura told her. Her eyes had an utterly sincere glitter, like an elder who was very concerned about a junior.

——

The wheelchair slowly moved across the lustrous purple-crystal floor. Fiona never stopped complaining along the way.

“Damn it, I initially thought the Great Muse was a righteous and fair person, but look at how narrow-minded she is! The Hall Mother already said that it’s a chance for you to learn, and you won’t be competing with the others as an actual Candidate, yet she still has to pick on you like that… oh, it’s no longer picking on you, she’s simply trying to get you killed! We should tell the Hall Mother about it!” Fiona said.

“It’s fine to be picked on like this after receiving such a shocking promotion all of a sudden, but there’s something I don’t understand. Why is the Hall Mother willing to make me a Candidate if she only wants me to learn?” The question had been bothering Xinxia.

In terms of experience, background, and cultivation, lots of people in the Hall of the Goddess would be a better option than her. It was unconvincing that the Hall of the Goddess was doing it because of her recent contribution.

A Candidate who could be selected as the Goddess! Even though she knew she was not official, it was still an utmost glory to anyone.

Xinxia never thought she would come so far in just a short period after she came to the Parthenon Temple. In Xinxia’s eyes, her current situation had nothing to do with the work she had put in.

“Didn’t the Hall Mother say it? She’s hoping that you can be a good assistant to the future Goddess. Clearly, the Hall Mother has high hopes for you. She wants you to take on a great role in the Hall of the Goddess and support the Goddess, meaning that you will at least be promoted as a Muse. Well, why are you still thinking about it? We’re going to Croatia tomorrow. To be honest, I didn’t really feel like going. You have no idea how terrifying the plague is. I felt terrified just looking at the photos,” Fiona said.

“Let’s try our best; let’s hope we can do something to help the people,” Xinxia said.Read the next chapter on our vipnovel.com

“No way, don’t tell me you’re serious about going there!?”

“Mmm, I’ve had my eyes on the plague for quite a while,” Xinxia said.

“Are you out of your mind? Everyone tries their best to stay away, but you want to go instead!?”

“Anything is better than allowing the plague to spread further.”

——

The South Courtyard of the Hall of the Goddess…

The place was by a cliff, with an observatory tower at the edge. Not only could someone observe the spectacular, starry sky, they could also appreciate the brightly lit citadel of Athens!

Up on the observatory tower, Great Muse Mellaura was leaning against some white, stone rails. Her eyes flickered anxiously.

“Damn it, the Hall Mother is seriously not allowing the wind to blow in your favor. She even sent a random Servant to upset the apple cart!” Great Muse Mellaura snapped furiously.

“Great Muse, why are you so angry? The competition between the Candidates has long been expected to be fierce and unpredictable. This new Candidate, Xinxia, is only a little stone in the lake. Even if she is obedient to the Candidate that the Hall Mother is supporting, it won’t make any difference in the situation. Besides, didn’t Great Muse already handle it perfectly by sending her to Croatia?” Candidate Andi replied.

“The Hall Mother is trying to keep us at bay. Consider that new Servant lucky, but it’s just so annoying, knowing that everyone is talking about it now,” the old servant Gulan sniffed.

“Actually, it isn’t totally unexpected,” Andi smiled. She seemed fairly collected.

“It’s not?” Great Muse Mellaura was astounded.

“Currently, in the Hall of the Goddess, most Servants have already sided with the Candidates, be it me, Panijia, or the other Candidates. As such, if the Hall Mother is to support anyone, it’s only going to upset the balance. The Hall Mother is trying to maintain the order of the Hall of the Goddess, so the last thing she wants is to see us dividing into factions. Therefore, she decided to raise a total newbie, a person that is not related to any of the current factions, and recommend her as a Candidate. In other words, the Hall Mother is only treating the Servant as a chess piece that she can use as she wishes, and at the same time, she’s trying to make the other Candidates panic. She is trying to prevent the situation from turning one-sided since some Servants and Muses will simply assume that the Hall Mother is eager to fully support Xinxia. These people will then join her side. In addition, those that prefer to remain neutral will have a side to join, too,” Andi patiently explained to them.

“You’re so intelligent, to be able to discern the Hall Mother’s intentions so easily,” Gulan sighed.

Great Muse Mellaura also understood as soon as she heard the explanation.

She initially thought a little sparrow had really transformed into a phoenix, just like that, yet it turned out that it was only an approach that the Hall Mother was taking to handle the current situation. The girl called Xinxia was really in luck, since she happened to be chosen as a Candidate.

“If she’s only the Hall Mother’s pawn, should I withdraw the order sending her to Croatia?” Great Muse Mellaura said.

“That won’t be necessary. Even though she won’t really do any harm to us, she’s pretty much a wart, so it’s fine getting rid of her too,” Andy replied calmly.

“But if the Hall Mother knows what we did, won’t she put the blame on us? After all, we were supposed to send a Muse to handle the plague. If the plague worsens, it’s going to harm our reputation,” Gulan said.

“Don’t worry, it’s already within my calculations. If the Hall Mother asks, we’ll tell her that we’ve sent Xinxia to investigate the plague, to collect information for the Muse we are going to send there. It is still her responsibility as a Servant. Ye Xinxia won’t last for long in Croatia with her capabilities. We’ll wait until she asks us for help, and once it happens, we’ll accuse her of incompetence, and then we’ll send a Muse to deal with the plague. Not only will we be able to disqualify her as a Candidate, we can still keep the plague under control,” Great Muse Mellaura reasoned.

“Mmm, let’s do it your way. It’s just that the people of Croatia will have to suffer a few more days,” Andi had a pitying look, yet she did not change her mind.

“It’s fine, we’ll just compensate them for their loss, and they will even be extremely grateful to us. They will still go crazy in supporting you, Goddess Andi!” Gulan immediately took hold of the opportunity to fawn upon Andi.

“Don’t call me that yet, I don’t want anyone to be talking behind my back!” Andi seemed to be rather cautious.

However, Great Muse Mellaura did not seem to be bothered. She actually felt that Gulan was very wise!

Everyone in the Hall of the Goddess had been fighting and scheming against each other for many years. Weren’t they just waiting for the day the Goddess was elected?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

“Huh, Croatia?” Mo Fan was stunned at the other end of the call. For some reason, the place sounded extremely familiar to him.

A moment later, Mo Fan finally recalled that when he and the crazy woman, Asha’ruiya went to pay the Black Dragon Emperor a visit, they ended up teleporting to Croatia’s boundary when they were running for their lives.

It was not too far away from Venice, and Mo Fan vaguely remembered that there was indeed a plague breaking out when he was on his way back.

After coming back to Venice, Mo Fan had seen lots of news about how terrifying the plague in Croatia was. It actually seemed slightly more serious than the plague that had broken out in Hangzhou. To Mo Fan’s surprise, the Parthenon Temple was sending Xinxia right into the center of the plague after she had just come back from a war!

-What on Earth, are the people of the Parthenon Temple insane? Couldn’t they tell Xinxia is impaired? Why do they have to keep sending her out to some dangerous place?-

“Hell no, let’s just quit, who cares about being a servant in the Parthenon Temple? It’s like they are trying to work you to death when you’ve just started working there! That’s totally unacceptable, just resign now, we can go back to our country after I’m done with the competition, and you can give birth to little Xinxia and little Mo Fan, and live a comfortable life. Who cares about what they want!” Mo Fan said imperiously, as if the Parthenon Temple was nothing in his eyes.

Mo Fan was feeling sorry for Xinxia. The girl was just too easy-going, allowing others to take advantage of her. Mo Fan could not believe that the Parthenon Temple could not send someone else to handle the deadly plague!

“Brother Mo Fan, the plague is really quite serious. I want to try my best to help the sick,” Xinxia explained.

After going through the Calamity of Bo City, Xinxia had found her ambition. She did not want to witness such a hellish scene again, or feel how useless she was when something like it happened again. She was now able to contribute, and regardless of how difficult it was, adding on the fact that it was part of her responsibilities, she just wanted to help the people, to save them from being tortured by the sickness.

“Why do you always… the plague isn’t something you can resolve on your own,” Mo Fan sighed.

There was certainly more to the plague than what had met the eye, if it was A-rank. Mo Fan clearly remembered how the plague in Hangzhou was linked to a Councilman. Based on Mo Fan’s experience, rather than thinking that an uncontrollable plague of this scale was a natural disaster, it was more likely someone’s doing, whether someone was trying to hide the truth, or someone was abusing it for personal gains. As such, how could a naive girl like Xinxia possibly resolve it?

“I know, but I’m trying to do what I can. Healing a person is better than doing nothing,” Xinxia said.

“Fine, I’m missing you too. I’ll go with you, I just happen to be hiding from some trouble too,” Mo Fan declared.

“Aren’t you in the middle of a tournament? That’s a lot more important,” Xinxia had only called Mo Fan to tell him her plan. She did not want Mo Fan to leave the World College Tournament because of her.

“We’re quite lucky that the next match, and the match after that, are just some weak teams. I bet that stubborn Feng Li wouldn’t even let me take part in the matches. Besides, with Mu Ningxue around, I probably won’t have a chance either,” Mo Fan said.

“Ningxue has been quite outstanding!” Xinxia exclaimed. Even though she was not in Venice, she did watch the replay.

“She can handle it all as long as our team isn’t up against a strong opponent. The next, and the match after the next, are none of my business. They have already decided who’s going to take part in the matches. I’ll go with you, probably for four or five days. If we really can’t resolve it, we’ll leave right away. There are things you can’t force,” Mo Fan said gently.

“Mm, mm,” Xinxia nodded. She was fairly obedient. As Mo Fan had mentioned, it was enough as long as they tried their best. There was no need to force themselves. “By the way, you said you were hiding from some trouble, has Brother Mo Fan stirred up some trouble again?”

“Ah, it’s nothing serious. I just took care of an annoying jerk, and the guy is trying to get his revenge,” Mo Fan yawned.

“Oh, alright.” Xinxia would not believe it was just a random jerk. If Mo Fan had to hide from someone, the person was surely not ordinary!

Xinxia was just about to tell Mo Fan about her being promoted to a Candidate when some disturbance came from the other end.

“Huh, such a coincidence, someone is calling me… it’s Zhang Xiaohou, I thought he had gone missing!” Mo Fan remarked when he saw the notification of the incoming call.

“Then you should take the call first, we’ll talk again in Croatia.” Xinxia assumed Zhang Xiaohou had some important matters to discuss with Mo Fan, so she decided to tell Mo Fan the matter that was bothering her next time.

—

“Brother Fan!’ Zhang Xiaohou yelled energetically from the other end.

Mo Fan was sitting by the window while clipping his toenails. He was using his knee to hold the phone in place as he talked indifferently into it, “You finally know how to give your big brother a call? Have you almost forgotten your big brother after making a name for yourself in the Ancient Capital? I remember your last call was when you were promoted to a captain. How long ago was that?”

“Brother Fan, you sound so harsh!. You never had any signal when you went for training, so it’s always out of signal whenever I call you. Besides, wasn’t I busy dealing with the demon creatures in Qinling Mountains lately? Do you think I’m having the time of my life?” Zhang Xiaohou replied.

“Fine, what are you up to this time? Just tell me quickly, stop disturbing me when I’m flirting with your sister-in-law,” Mo Fan said.

“Ah, so Brother Fan and Ningxue have already progressed so far, at this time at night… hehehe.”

“It’s Xinxia.”

“Oh, so it’s the younger sister-in-law, have you taken down the elder sister-in-law?”

“What do you think?”

“I bet not.”

“I’m hanging up if you don’t have anything important!” Mo Fan was starting to get impatient.

“It’s nothing important, indeed, I just want to tell you that the military has decided to give me a long holiday, so I’m thinking of visiting Europe and watching you fight in the tournament. HAHAHA, I told my comrades you were my brother growing up together, and they are so jealous of me!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Ah, so you do have leave!”

“Isn’t that right? I almost turn into a savage when I’m dealing with the demon creatures in Qinling Mountains. I finally have a chance to rest, so I immediately thought of my Brother Fan; aren’t I a good brother!?” Zhang Xiaohou laughed.

“Indeed, how about this? I’m heading off to Croatia for a few days, so you can just fly to Croatia and I’ll bring you around, and then we’ll go back to Venice, how’s that?” Mo Fan’s voice remained calm despite suddenly coming up with the brilliant idea.

“Yeah, sure! It’s going to be fun if Brother Fan is bringing me around. I’ll just buy the ticket for an overnight flight, and I’ll be there tomorrow morning!” Zhang Xiaohou said excitedly.

“Sure, see you in Croatia!”

“See you in Croatia!”

After hanging up the call, Mo Fan tossed the toenails outside the window, so the canals in Venice could have a taste of his sacred self. He murmured as he was committing the shameless act, “Things would be much simpler if everyone was like Zhang Xiaohou.”

——

Croatia International Airport…

Zhang Xiaohou carrying a backpack was applying for his visa on arrival.

Zhang Xiaohou was doubtful when he saw how empty the place was.

“What’s going on? Didn’t they always say there are many travelers in Europe? Not only is the flight empty, even the number of people arriving at the airport is surprisingly low.”

Despite the low numbers, the inspection was fairly strict. Zhang Xiaohou was still confused when he walked out of the airport. Why was the officer staring at him as if he was a criminal when he told the man he had come here for his holiday?

“Why is everyone wearing a mask? Is it part of the culture here? That does make sense, the ladies in the Arab nation are all tightly covered with only their eyes exposed,” Zhang Xiaohou murmured as he was looking for Mo Fan.

Not long after, Zhang Xiaohou saw Mo Fan in the underground car park.

To Zhang Xiaohou’s surprise, Xinxia was there too!

It had been quite a while since he last met Xinxia. Zhang Xiaohou almost had trouble recognizing her. It felt like Xinxia was a different person now; prettier, more elegant, and more outstanding than before!

As expected of someone from the Parthenon Temple, even Xinxia, who used to be weak and feeble now had a sacred, noble temperament.

“Brother Fan, where are we visiting first?” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“To the temporary relay station set up for the plague,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan did not want to waste any time. He was more familiar with how terrifying a plague could be once it started spreading.

“Plague?” Zhang Xiaohou was dumbfounded.

Xinxia rolled her eyes at Mo Fan when she saw Zhang Xiaohou’s reaction. As she thought, Zhang Xiaohou was tricked into coming here!

“How ignorant are you? How could you not know about such a serious plague? This whole place is a plague zone, yet look at you, not even a single piece of protective clothing, carrying a backpack still. Customs only let you enter only because you look rather harmless!” Fiona, who had come with Xinxia said in displeasure.

“Brother Fan, didn’t you say you were bringing me around to have some fun?” Zhang Xiaohou smiled wryly.

“The plague, the whole city is in chaos because of it, could anything be funnier than this?”

“But isn’t this a bit overboard? I just got my vacation…”

“Stop blabbering!”

Zhang Xiaohou felt miserable.

The truth was, only Zhang Xiaohou would be fooled by Mo Fan. He had just returned from a skirmish, thus he had not updated himself with the latest news. Unfortunately, he had not caught his breath after the huge operation, and he had already been dragged to this scary place by Mo Fan!

His life was definitely full of surprises after he acknowledged Mo Fan as his big brother!

“I’m already here, it’s too late to turn back now. Let’s go,” Zhang Xiaohou said helplessly.

“We’ll wait a bit longer.”

“Still waiting for someone else? Let’s hope it’s not a clueless idiot again,” Fiona remarked harshly.

Zhang Xiaohou was just about to ask who they were waiting for when the door of the escalator slowly opened. An innocent-looking loli, adorable and elegant, with huge glittering eyes sparkling with intelligence, came out of it. However, if anyone took a closer look, they would discover that the glitter in her eyes did not originate from the innocence of a little girl at her age.

“Everyone’s here,” Mo Fan waved at Lingling.

Meanwhile, Fiona smacked her own head and yelled, “Oh my God!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group arrived at the camp and walked past the sick people that were placed in quarantine.

The patients seemed fairly normal after a rough glance, but their noses would not stop running. It was similar to common influenza across the world, and before knowing that it was some deadly disease, no one treated it seriously. The people did not even feel it was strange when many were showing the same symptoms.

The local authority and the experts in the medical field did not realize there was a plague in because its symptom was just too similar to common flu. As a result, many Croatians had fallen victim to it.

No one knew how the disease spread, so the medical team had to wear hazmat suits when in direct contact with the patients. As many patients were diagnosed and quarantined, all of Kakka City, which had the highest number of victims, was immersed in terror.

Unfortunately, the authorities of Kakka City did not treat the plague seriously enough and seal the city decisively. As a result, the nearby cities were struck by the disease, too. The people were even more terrified knowing that more cities had fallen victim to the plague.

The local authorities were utterly clueless about what to do with the plague. Even the Magic Association was helpless, so they could only ask the Parthenon Temple for help. However, a Servant that had been sent here had contracted the disease, too. The seriousness of the plague immediately escalated.

The whole city was troubled by the plague, and the local government was tied up with the media. Other countries were keen to help, too, but before they knew how the disease spread, no one would come here just to die!

Therefore, it was quite scary considering how Xinxia was assigned to resolve the plague. If she contracted the disease when there was no viable treatment to it, she would end up waiting for her death, just like the others that were quarantined.

Fortunately, even when someone contracted the disease, it did not kill them within a short period, except those that were already suffering from other diseases. Most people that contracted the disease were still alive.

“Even though we have yet to see a whole lot of people dying to the plague, it’s only a matter of time judging from how weak these people seem. If a huge bunch of them die, the situation is only going to worsen, and even the quarantine zone is going to be affected!” Lingling observed.

Once people started to die to the plague before the government found a cure for it, the people would start to lose hope and would choose to flee for their lives. They would even oppose the government that tried to quarantine them. Once that happened, sick people could do anything. They would flee in large numbers to random places and spread the disease to more people. Croatia was not a big country, and a few cities had already fallen to the plague. Soon, everybody in the country would contract the disease!

“I don’t understand, the situation is already this bad, yet the Parthenon Temple didn’t seem to care too much about it. Are they seriously just going to stand and watch these people die?” Mo Fan snapped furiously.

“That’s not it, but they want to investigate the source of the plague before sending more people here. Otherwise, they would only join the sick,” Xinxia explained.

“In the past, graverobbers would bring a duck with them and put the duck into the tombs to check if there was oxygen or poison inside them. You are like the duck that was used to test for poison!” Mo Fan tapped Xinxia on her nose. He was utterly speechless by how naive she was.

However, since they were already here, they had no choice but to resolve the matter!

Mo Fan glanced at Lingling, trying to see if the girl had found any useful traces.

“I’ve done some homework before coming here, and I’ve asked someone in the Hunter Union to collect any related information for me. I’ve briefly organized the findings on the flight here. Since the symptoms are too similar to common flu, it’s going to be tricky to find the first victim of the disease. That being said, I assume everyone that has the flu will buy some medicine if their noses kept running, so I’ve asked the Magic Association to list the names that have bought flu medicine recently. It’s quite fortunate that the people in this country are required to present their medical card when buying medicine!” Lingling remarked.

“How are you going to find the first batch of people that contracted the disease within such a huge pile of data?” Mo Fan said.

“We know that Kakka City is the source of the plague for sure, and there aren’t many chemists in the city. If we shrink the area further according to the symptoms…there aren’t really that many people that bought the medicine,” Lingling said.

“What’s the point of gathering data like this!? We can’t afford to waste any time further on it,” Fiona said crossly.

“Fiona, be patient. Our healing only works if we could learn more about the disease. The Pistil Drops we brought to Croatia are working; at least they can slow down the pace of worsening of the patients,” Xinxia explained to Fiona.

Lingling simply ignored the blunt young woman. She glanced at a figure that was approaching them rapidly.

“Zhang Xiaohou is back,” Mo Fan followed her gaze and realized Zhang Xiaohou had disappeared for a while after they came out from the camp.

Zhang Xiaohou’s cultivation had significantly improved. He was a few thousand meters away a few seconds ago, but he was already right in front of them. He said with a hint of joy, “Lingling, I’ve checked the places that you told me to!”

“What did you find?” Lingling asked.

“It’s really as you said, one of the places has a prison!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Why are you so happy when you’ve only found a prison? Couldn’t you easily find it on a map?” Fiona said.

“The problem is, we aren’t just trying to find a prison. Lingling only told me to check a few places, and there really was a prison among them,” Zhang Xiaohou replied.

“If we want to find a cure to the plague, we need to find those that contracted the disease first. Only then we’ll be able to find its source. However, even the local government has failed to find the people after so long, do you really think we can find it with just the few of us? I suggest that we report the situation to the Parthenon Temple now, so they can send more people here!” Fiona exclaimed.

“We’ve found it,” Lingling said.

“Found it?” Xinxia was utterly surprised. She felt like Lingling had not done anything, so why did she say she had already found the source?

Mo Fan was looking at Lingling too. He had never doubted Lingling; if the girl said she had found it, she meant it. The problem was, didn’t she simply crack the case a bit too quickly? Did the name of the Clearsky Hunter Agency really grant its Hunters the capabilities of Justice Bao?

{TL Note: The first two words of the Clearsky Hunter Agency in raw is ‘Qingtian’, which is the name of Justice Bao, a Chinese politician famous for his ability to help peasants overcome injustice and corruption.}

“The reason I asked Brother Xiaohou to look for a prison among the places is because I’ve discovered a prison guard among the people that first went to buy the medicine. I believe the local government failed to find the first batch of patients and the source of the disease because the people that bought the medicine aren’t really the first patients. They are the prisoners in the prison. Since the prisoners are locked in the prison, they are basically quarantined, thus were simply left out by the people investigating the source. They would at most investigate the prison guard, but with so many things going on, who would bother placing much attention on him?” Lingling said.

“So you asked Zhang Xiaohou to see if there was a prison? Why don’t we tell the government our findings so they can send someone over to investigate, since it might be too much for us to handle?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s not necessary, the government tried to find the source by tracking down the first batch of patients, so they were pretty loose with the criteria, meaning they had to send out more people to investigate every suspicious person. They would eventually track the source to the prison, but since we’ve already found the prison, it will be a lot easier for us to find the source. The activity range of the prisoners in a prison is fairly limited. Besides, it’s only my speculation so far, so it’s meaningless to ask the government to send someone over without any solid proof,” Lingling said.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go to the prison,” Mo Fan said.

“If we can find the source, I am confident enough to come up with the cure! Brother Mo Fan, both you and Lingling are so impressive!” Xinxia’s face was filled with joy.

“Of course, the two of us even managed to solve the mystery of the Drowning Curse!” Mo Fan agreed promptly.

—–

The prison was located by a cliff, tall and steep. Since the prisoners were mainly normal people, it did not have a magic formation protecting it. Besides, the prisoners would simply be hopeless if they tried to escape over the cliff. Below it was only reefs, and the seawater had no chance of receiving them if they jumped off the cliff!

A prison was definitely not the most pleasant place to visit. Considering that the group might contract the disease, Xinxia purposely cast a Blessing Spell on everyone before they entered the prison. It was imprinted on their skin like a seal, and would immediately form a defensive barrier when the Poison Element, Shadow Element, or any evil magic tried to harm them.

The prison was completely sealed off. Even the prison guards were trapped inside. The prison clearly had a sufficient supply of food and water, but the government was so busy that it did not have time to care about the prison.

“Strange, why did it light up?” Mo Fan suddenly mumbled to himself.

Mo Fan was surprised to see the Essence Orb lighting up when he took it out. Its brilliance was pulsating slightly, as if it was being summoned!

Mo Fan recalled that he had found the Evil Essence Orb in a prison of Mages filled with the presence of evil.

The Orb had lit up, but Mo Fan could not tell if the orb was trying to alert him that there was something it could absorb nearby.

Mo Fan had traveled halfway across the world and visited many places, but the only place he found an energy to fill up the Essence Orb was the ancient Time Liquid. As such, when he realized the Essence Orb had lit up, he was immediately excited!

Once the Essence Orb was filled up, he could finally use the power of the Demon Element without losing his cultivation. How could Mo Fan not be excited about it?

He never thought he would find something he needed when he was only keeping Xinxia company as she came to do a kind deed.

He had to search the prison closely, to see if there was anything in it that could fill up his Essence Orb!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Have you made a mistake? The prisoners here look completely normal. They don’t seem to have contracted any kind of disease. You made it sound so reasonable, yet it turns out that you were actually wrong!” Fiona could not help but say.

They had checked the prison under the guidance of the prison guards, yet not only did none of the prisoners show any symptoms of the disease, they seemed to be more energetic than the people outside. When the prisoners saw the elegant beauty, Xinxia, and the adorable, little loli, Lingling, they had the urge to force their way out of the cells.

“Something isn’t right about them,” Xinxia said.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan asked.

“Something is weird about their minds. I should be able to easily read their minds and understand their emotions, since their mental strength isn’t as strong as Mages, but when I try to peek into their minds, it feels like they are shrouded by a mist,” Xinxia explained carefully.

Xinxia was a Psychic Element Mage. Not only was the Parthenon Temple known for its outstanding Healing Magic, it was reputable because of its excellence in other Elements too, especially White Magic. Instead of calling it a Temple of Healing, it was more fitting to call it the Sacred Hall of White Magic!

With Xinxia’s current strength, it was too easy for her to read the minds of the prisoners, even when she knew their minds must be filled with lewd thoughts. However, when Xinxia trying to feel their emotions and understand their thoughts, it felt like something was blocking her off.

“That does sound strange. I think we should really ask the government to send someone here, I’ll go make a call,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“There…there’s no signal here,” the middle-aged prison guard said with a weird expression.

“Then I’ll make the call outside,” Zhang Xiaohou headed for the exit.

The way out of a prison consisted of many doors. Zhang Xiaohou asked another prison guard to lead the way. There was a foul odor in the prison, so he wanted to get some fresh air too.

“Let’s head deeper,” Lingling said.

The group followed the guard and passed the place where the normal prisoners were kept. They arrived at the cells where the serious criminals were kept.

After crossing a bridge, they arrived in front of a thick door made of metal. Mo Fan glanced at it and said to the middle-aged prison guard, Morgano, “That’s a pretty solid door, I bet even Mages have a hard time breaking through it.”

“Yeah, we are worried that some Mages would come stir trouble in the prison, so we have to make sure that even Mages will have a hard time breaking through it.”

Morgano continued to lead the way as he explained the situation of the prison to them.

As soon as they walked past the door, it immediately shut behind them. The place was pitch-black, and the light only came on after a brief delay. The whole prison was made of icy iron, thus the place was cold as a fridge…

-Brother Mo Fan …-

Mo Fan was figuring what kind of prisoners would be kept here when he heard Xinxia’s voice inside his mind.

Mo Fan turned around slightly and looked at Xinxia with her lips close together. He was puzzled, as he did not understand why Xinxia was using the Psychic Voice to talk to him. Did she have something that she could not say to the others?

-I tried reading the guard’s mind too, but it’s the same situation as the prisoners. I think… – Xinxia said to Mo Fan in a cautious tone.

Mo Fan immediately straightened his face. “Hey, guard, can you please open the door, I would like to speak to my friend,” Mo Fan said to Morgano.

Morgano slowly turned around. His pitch-black eyes flickered slightly as he looked back and forth between Mo Fan and Xinxia.

Morgano suddenly smiled. It looked oddly strange under the dim glow of the prison light.

“You’re my prisoners as soon as you came in here!” Morgano burst into laughter. His voice was stacked with another ghastly, piercing voice!

“What do you mean by that? Are you trying to trap us in here? You’re just a little prison guard… do you have any idea who we are!?” Fiona immediately snapped, pointing at Morgano.

A crimson-red aura started to rise from Morgano’s body, as if dozens of dark red spirits were circling him. His pupils had turned eerily red, as he stared at Fiona with a hint of greed. His grin grew wider, and his drool was coming out too!

He was not trying to abuse Fiona sexually, but it was obvious that he was thinking of killing the tender young woman!

“I should have known that if something was wrong about this place, these prison guards would surely be involved too! Tell us, what exactly are you? Why did you bring the plague to the people?” Lingling was utterly fearless. She even started to interrogate the thing righteously.

“Little girl, you will learn it all once I’ve eaten you!” The evil presence of Morgano grew stronger.

His skin began to crack open, as if something was trying to come out underneath it. Long, wriggling tentacles burst out of his head like a centipede, eerie hair densely covering his body.

His legs had turned into black roots of an old tree, and were spreading rapidly across the ground.

The dim light threw the prison guard’s shadow on the smooth wall, yet it was no longer the silhouette of a man. It was clearly a monster, with tentacles covering its back!

“What…what the hell is this thing?” Fiona completely lost her nerve and hid behind the group.

Xinxia’s face turned pale when she saw the enormous changes occur to the prison guard who had looked completely normal just a moment ago. Could this monster be the source of the plague?

Mo Fan noticed the Essence Orb emitting a brilliant glow when the monster revealed its true appearance, implying that the creature was the source of energy he desperately needed.

Mo Fan was curious. Why would the Essence Orb react to a monster?…

Mmm, now was not the time to be worried about that, he should be focusing on why the prison guard had suddenly transformed into the monster, as if he was possessed by some devil!

Speaking of which, Mo Fan felt like he had seen something similar before.

“I know what you are,” Mo Fan suddenly said calmly.

The prison guard was twice his size, and his face had changed beyond recognition. The eyes fully covering his forehead had all locked onto Mo Fan as he burst into weird laughter.

“You seem to have something nice. Hand it to me, and I’ll give you a quick death!” The monster spoke in human tongue, yet its tone sounded very odd!

“I bet you have a master. I wonder if he’s here?” Mo Fan asked.

“Oh, it seems like you do know something, but how could our master come to a little prison like this…” the monster said.

“Why are you acting so smug when he’s not even here, die!” As soon as Mo Fan raised his head, a bolt of Tyrant Lightning struck the monster fiercely.

The monster was sent flying. It rolled down the stairs and fell heavily into the spacious area below.

The monster did not die yet. It slowly rose to its feet, with eyes emitting an enraged, blood-colored glow. It raised its head and let out a blasting roar!

(BANG!)

Meanwhile, the cells down the stairs slammed open, as prisoners rushed out and tore the clothes and chains on them with incredible might…

Even though they did not transform into monsters like the prison guard, they also had tentacles on their backs and a ghastly appearance!

“Mo Fan, do you know what they are?” Lingling was shocked when she saw many prisoners turning into monsters.

“Mmm, I stumbled into something similar in Japan. These prisoners have lost control of their minds. Don’t kill them, but half of the prison guard’s body is already corrupted. He’s the source, he must be eliminated!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had experienced something similar before. Not long after he and Mochizuki Chihaya stole the Evil Essence Orb from the East Guardian Tower, Mochizuki Chihaya had almost turned into a demon on the street!

Mo Fan finally understood why the Essence Orb was glowing, and why the prison guard appeared to be interested in the Essence Orb. They both originated from the same source, the evil power that was accumulated from the endless hatred, anger, and pain over time, a power that could immediately control the mind of a person after making contact with them!

The Red Demon!

The East Guardian Tower had given birth to the first Red Demon!

The embryo of the second Red Demon was in Mo Fan’s hand, the Essence Orb. Old Bao had managed to erase its evil presence, turning it into an orb that could store energy!

The master that Mo Fan addressed when talking to the prison guard was the first Red Demon!

The prisoners were brimming with evil, their minds were being controlled. The city was troubled by the plague, bringing suffering and pain to the people. However, Mo Fan had never thought it was all the Red Demon’s doing!

Luckily, the Red Demon, the old friend that Mochizuki Ken had mentioned, did not decide to stay around in this little prison. It had only raised a little Red Demon. Otherwise, they would be in great trouble just barging in and investigating the matter so mindlessly. According to Mochizuki Ken, the first Red Demon was as strong as a Great Ruler-level demon creature!

If the little Red Demon was the culprit behind the plague, it was not as difficult to resolve as Mo Fan initially thought. Once he dealt with the little Red Demon, and cleared away the evil presence scattered across the city, the plague would soon be gone!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Are you kidding me? Now that the people in the quarantine zone are rioting, and we’re already short on numbers. Where the hell are we going to find more people and ask them to investigate a little, run-down prison?” the officer snapped impatiently at the other end of the call.

“Riot? Weren’t they fine not long ago? Why are they rioting all of a sudden? Did many people suddenly die to the plague?” Zhang Xiaohou asked curiously.

“We have no idea either, the patients all have bloodshot eyes as if they had gone mad, and they kept attacking other people nearby! We are done for, the entire Kakka City is in great trouble!” the officer said.

“We did find…”

“That’s enough, we won’t be able to send people there, and I don’t have time to talk to you, either!”

“But…”

Zhang Xiaohou was about to say something when the officer directly hung up the call. Zhang Xiaohou did hear a loud noise coming from the other end, and he could faintly recognize the sound of an alarm. It was obvious that the officer was not lying to him, but why would the patients suddenly behave so weirdly when they had only fallen sick to the disease?

Zhang Xiaohou believed it was necessary to tell Mo Fan and the others. The situation had suddenly escalated, as the people were rioting against the local government. If they escaped from the quarantine zone and more people were infected, it would be extremely difficult to resolve the plague!

“Why is the door closed? Mo Fan, Xinxia, are you in there?” Zhang Xiaohou slammed the thick door, yet there was no response from the other side.

He turned around and heard loud noises coming from the cells where the normal prisoners were kept in. The prisoners rammed their way out of the cells and glared at him!

“What is going on here? A riot in the prison too?” Zhang Xiaohou looked at the prisoners with bloodshot eyes, but he did not panic at all.

After all, he was a captain who had led his troop against an army of demon creatures, and had experienced something as epic as the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. In comparison, these prisoners with mere muscle were not so tricky to deal with.

—

Inside the door, the little Red Demon stood among the serious criminals that were now covered in tentacles. It had no intention to fight them, but it kept giving commands to the criminals, ordering them to charge at the enemy.

“Their evil presence is stronger, most likely because of the evil residing in their hearts,” Xinxia said.

The ordinary prisoners in the cells looked fairly normal before. The most they did was stare wickedly at the three women. However, the serious criminals were much worse. They were not only driven by greed, but the urge to eat humans alive!

“They are still people, so try not to kill them,” Lingling reminded them.

These serious offenders were only being controlled. The evil presence had granted them strength, but they were still humans.

“Brother Mo Fan, Fiona and I will handle these criminals, you can focus on taking out the main culprit,” Xinxia said to Mo Fan.

Xinxia slowly closed her eyes. When they sprang open again, her eyes, normally as serene as a lake, suddenly emitted a ray as sharp as a sword.

Mind Puncture!

Xinxia clearly knew they could not afford to harm the serious criminals, as none of them were sentenced to death. They were also victims of the plague, thus the best approach she could take was attacking their minds!

Spiritual Force was formless, but it was driven into the minds of the criminals at Xinxia’s will. The criminals immediately cried out in pain after receiving the attack, as if their heads were about to burst.

They crumpled to the ground simultaneously. The area of Xinxia’s Mind Puncture was fairly huge. She had managed to take more than a hundred men down within an instant!

“Brother Mo Fan, hurry up, I won’t be able to last for long,” Xinxia said.

“Got it!” Mo Fan did not dare to waste any time. He immediately cast Fleeing Shadow and approached the little Red Demon.

“Come and play with me at the back!” Mo Fan gathered the power of the Space Element between his hands. He forcibly lifted the little Red Demon and tossed it into the cage at the back.

Mo Fan had done so to prevent himself from injuring the serious criminals. Fiona, who was still standing beside Xinxia, was immediately aware of his intention. She immediately set up a water barrier around the criminals, to protect them from his spells, and also buy some extra time if Xinxia could no longer hold them down.

—

Little Red Demon was infuriated. It thought Mo Fan and his crew were only normal Mages, considering how young they were. It only attacked them to prevent itself from being exposed. To its surprise, the Mages were incredibly strong, well beyond its expectation!

Mo Fan slammed the prison guard monster hard onto the metal wall with a shove.

The little Red Demon had remarkable strength too. It was trying to oppose Mo Fan’s Telekinesis with brute force. It slowly stepped forward and raised its claw.

Mo Fan realized his Space Element was not as formidable as Ai Jiangtu’s. He immediately gave up and utilized his strongest Element instead!

“Lightning Tyrant!” Mo Fan flipped his palm. Lightning arcs immediately gathered like soldiers, and as Mo Fan flung his arm, they whipped fiercely out at the little Red Demon.

The little Red Demon’s defense was rather outstanding, and the lightning whips did not leave any marks on it. Mo Fan did not dare to cast stronger spells before the defensive barrier was fully set up. He could only try and keep the monster at bay with his weaker abilities!

“Brother Mo Fan, we’re done here, finish it!” Xinxia yelled to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nodded. The lightning in his hand grew stronger. The cracking Lightning Tyrant seemed to be impatient too, as if it had a strong urge to test out its strength.

“Sky Lightning Claw!”

Mo Fan clenched his hands into claws and swung them forward. The dark lightning covering his body turned into dragon claws tearing open the chest of the little Red Demon with destructive force.

The little Red Demon was about as strong as a Commander-level creature. Mo Fan might struggle to handle a Commander-level creature in the past, but the damage of his Lightning Spells had now tripled, and with both the Lightning Tyrant Domain and the Dark Lightning Claw that was basically an Advanced Spell, he would not have any trouble killing this thing.

The lightning pierced through the little Red Demon’s defense and tore its chest apart, and its neck and head were separated too.

Strangely, the little Red Demon did not seem to be dying. Its face continued to wear the eerie grin!

“Your magic might be strong, but you will never kill me!” An evil presence burst out of the little Red Demon’s incomplete body, and it soon fixed its missing body parts, as if it was an undying spirit!

Even the evil spirits of the undead were unable to recover from such serious injuries within an instant, as lightning was fairly effective against them, too!

Mo Fan did not cast the Tyrant Call. He immediately cast a powerful Fire Spell instead by utilizing Little Flame Belle’s strength!

The giant fireball surged forward and left a huge hole in the thick wall of the indestructible prison, allowing the sunlight to pour in…

Mo Fan initially thought the little Red Demon was dead for sure, yet it slowly reclaimed its appearance under the effects of its evil power.

Even the creature with the fastest rejuvenating ability would be unable to recover so quickly after it was burned into ashes. Mo Fan strongly believed it had nothing to do with the creature’s ability to self-heal, but the fact that his magic was unable to deal the critical blow to it!

“I’m not your opponent, but you can’t destroy me either. The city will soon turn into my kingdom!” the little Red Demon screamed in a piercing voice.

Mo Fan’s heart sank.

If the plague spread further, the little Red Demon would grow stronger, too. A few cities had already been infected, and the negative emotions that the victims provided were like nutrients to it. If more people died to the plague, the hatred would reach its peak, and by then, Mo Fan would no longer be able to take the little Red Demon on!

“Mo Fan, this thing is most likely an energy body with its own consciousness. You can’t think of it as an ordinary demon creature, as magic alone isn’t enough to kill it!” Lingling said.

The little Red Demon was indeed one of the most terrifying creatures in the world. Due to the way it was formed, it was invulnerable to most Elements, and Mo Fan had basically tried all his Elements.

Fiona was a Light Mage, and she had tried using her Light Spells, yet the Light Element that was able to drive away any kind of evil presence was useless against the little Red Demon!

It was Mo Fan’s first time going up against such a tricky existence.

Mo Fan was agitated when he saw the little Red Demon that had been smashed into pieces recovering again. He never thought he would encounter something he could not kill with his magic… as he lowered his head and was about to cast some Fire again, he caught a glimpse of the brilliant Essence Orb!

That’s right, the orb is able to absorb energy. Strictly speaking, the orb was able to contain the little Red Demon’s ancestor; the orb might be able to absorb it, too!, Mo Fan thought.

So the little Red Demon could not control the Essence Orb, Mo Fan broke the little Red Demon into tinier pieces and took out the Essence Orb. He then touched one of the pieces with the Essence Orb…

The light of the Essence Orb grew stronger as it absorbed a piece of the little Red Demon. The little Red Demon’s true appearance was revealed once the piece was absorbed into the Essence Orb. It was a puff of cloudy energy, similar to the Soul Remnants that the Little Loach Pendant normally absorbed.

“It worked!” Mo Fan was overjoyed. He was only giving it a try, yet to his surprise, the Essence Orb was able to absorb the evil energy. No wonder the Essence Orb kept emitting a brilliant glow.

“I’ll smash you into pieces and absorb them one by one. I would like to see how smug you are now!” Mo Fan attacked even more violently after discovering the solution to the problem!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited from Aelryinth

The little Red Demon’s body did not stop regenerating, but whenever Mo Fan’s Essence Orb took a piece away, its aura would weaken slightly. Meanwhile, the little Red Demon started to panic when it realized the Essence Orb was what not it supposed to be. It started fleeing through the hole that Mo Fan had blasted.

Clearly, Mo Fan would not let it escape. He set up the Nyx Regime and trapped the pieces of energy with Giant Shadow Spikes.

Even though he could only absorb the pieces slowly, he was relieved that he had found the solution to the problem.

——

After breaking the little Red Demon into pieces and absorbing them with the Essence Orb continuously, Mo Fan finally absorbed the final piece of the little Red Demon.

Mo Fan checked the energy inside the Essence Orb and learned it had indeed risen by a significant amount. It was definitely a piece of good news for Mo Fan!

“Brother Fan, what happened?” Zhang Xiaohou finally returned after running a whole circle to regroup with Mo Fan and the others. He was utterly clueless about the situation.

“We’ve dealt with the source of the plague. It turned out to be some evil energy body with its own consciousness. It’s a long story; how did it go at your end?” Mo Fan asked.

“The people at the camp are rioting. It turns out that the patients are losing control of themselves,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“That’s not good to hear, were they able to keep the situation under control?”

“I doubt so, there were too many infected.”

Mo Fan’s heart sank. They had found the source of the plague, and eliminated it, yet the disease had already spread rapidly. The harmful substances were still inside the bodies of the patients, and the reason they were losing their minds was because the disease was not just destroying the cells in their body, but enhancing their negative emotions too. It was why the Red Demon was such a terrifying existence!

“Lingling, have you found anything that can cure the disease?” Mo Fan asked.

In the past, they had resolved the Drowning Curse by obtaining the antibody from the Drowning Curse Maggot and created vaccines to be distributed to the cities along the shoreline, so the people would not fall victim to the Drowning Curse again.

Therefore, they should be able to find the antibody from the source of the plague, too. Mo Fan was hoping that Lingling was able to discover something.

“The maggot is a living organism, so it’s reasonable to find an antibody to it. You realize that magic wasn’t able to inflict any damage to the monster. It was an energy body, there was no way it would have an antibody for the disease,” Lingling said.

“If the source of the disease isn’t a living organism, but an energy body, how could it turn into a plague?” Fiona was a probationary servant of the Hall of the Goddess. She would know some basics about a plague.

“I was curious before too. Why aren’t the normal methods of stopping a disease useful against this one? Not only that, the disease actually spreads a lot faster than it did at the start. I believe the disease doesn’t come from their bodies, but from their hearts. Strictly speaking, it’s like an infection conducted by the Psychic Element. Every person will have negative emotions just like the prisoners here, and these negative emotions will surface and be enhanced by the monster’s power. It explains why the symptoms that the patients first showed resembled common flu, but it has now turned into a huge riot… it was a kind of mental disorder, one that spread through emotions shared between people instead of the air, or food!” Lingling said.

“Is there really a disease like that in this world?” Zhang Xiaohou dropped his jaw in disbelief.

“An existence like that shouldn’t be invulnerable to magic. It could be grouped into the Psychic Element, but once the evil presence grows to a certain degree, even the power of the Psychic Element would be useless, since the Psychic Element doesn’t really have any strong offensive spells naturally,” Lingling said.

“Enough talk, there’s a riot happening in the quarantine zone, we’ve basically failed our mission. The Great Muse is surely going to scold the crap out of us,” Fiona said.

“Humph, if the situation escalates further, even they would have to take responsibility for it, since they didn’t send someone that was higher-ranked in the first place, and purposely sent you two here to set you up!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly. The Parthenon Temple was far from being as sacred and holy as everyone thought!

“If it’s related to the Psychic Element, I can try pacifying the people,” Xinxia said.

Lingling shook her head and said, “The negative energy has been spread to too many people. Even if you’re a Super Psychic Mage, with such strong negative energy surging in, your mind will simply crumble, too. The best option isn’t pacifying them, but transferring the energy to somewhere else. We’ll need a reasonable place to store the energy, or else, the little Red Demon will be resurrected soon, and it will surely turn into something even more terrifying!”

Saying this, Lingling glanced at the Essence Orb on Mo Fan’s hand. She seemed to have noticed something from it, but since they were currently in an emergency, she simply put her doubts aside and said to Mo Fan, “It seems like your orb can store the energy.”

“Mm, I think it can, but I can feel the evil growing inside the orb,” Mo Fan said.

The Essence Orb had turned into an energy container after Old Bao’s modification. It was no longer able to seduce or attack the mind of its carrier. However, after it absorbed the little Red Demon, the Essence Orb started to emit an icy aura. The Essence Orb had purified the little Red Demon and transformed it into usable energy, but in the meantime, it also slightly corrupted its own energy.

“Sister Xinxia, you might not be able to confront the enormous negative energy, but you can guide them into Mo Fan’s orb and trap the energy inside. That way, the plague will be resolved, too,” Lingling suggested.

Once Xinxia transferred the energy into the orb, she would not be picked on by the evil energy. It was the best option they had.

“Sure, time is of the essence. Let’s head to the quarantine zone right away,” Xinxia said.

Along the journey, Mo Fan secretly called Old Bao. There was a chance that the Essence Orb would give birth to another Red Demon after absorbing so much negative energy. It was necessary to let Old Bao cleanse the evil energy inside the Essence Orb again. Otherwise, there was a chance that a scarier Red Demon would be born, since half the city had contracted the disease!

—

The quarantine zone was in complete chaos. The medical equipment used to treat the patients was smashed to pieces. The temporary quarantine wards were torn down, too. If it weren’t for a few powerful Mages stationed in Kakka City that had set up a formation to trap the rioters, it was hard to imagine the situation that the city would have ended up in.

Battlemages stood in lines, awaiting their orders. In the meantime, they felt rather hopeless, since the enemy they were facing was just patients, instead of demon creatures. It was fairly tricky deciding what spells they could use to keep the people at bay!

“What the hell were you two up to? Look at the mess here, and you still dared to leave your post? I will report this back to the Hall Mother, just so she could deliver the punishment!” the old Servant Gulan snapped as soon as she saw Xinxia and Fiona.

Gulan had only come to investigate the plague so the Parthenon Temple would not be accused of not trying their best to help. However, she did not expect the situation would suddenly escalate into a chaotic riot. The whole city was immersed in terror, and some officials were forced to use inhumane approaches just to stop the plague from spreading to other places.

“So the Parthenon Temple has only sent a bunch of young, inexperienced girls here to resolve the plague? Very well, stop pretending you’re trying to help if you didn’t mean to. Us Croatians don’t need your pity, despite how much trust we actually had in Saintess Andi!” the commander snapped furiously.

“This…this has nothing to do with Saintess Andi, we’ve already sent… her, she’s a Candidate, it was all her fault!” Gulan’s expression sank. She quickly placed the blame on Xinxia!

“Candidate? Her?” The commander glanced at Xinxia, who seemed extremely young.

Even though there were no age restrictions on the Candidates of the Hall of the Goddess, the woman was simply too young, she looked like the student of a Magic Institution.

“The Hall Mother has recently promoted her as a Candidate. The Great Muse didn’t neglect how serious the plague is, she did send a Candidate here to handle it!” Gulan continued to pour oil onto the flames.

If the situation escalated any further, Great Muse Mellaura would surely be held responsible, and even the candidate Saintess Andi would be involved in the mess! Since the situation was getting out of control, she had no choice but to put the blame on someone else as much as she could. The world must realize that it was not the Great Muse’s fault, but because of how useless the new Candidate was!

“Brother Fan, Xinxia, do you see the general with an icy face and a long nose standing beside the commander?” Zhang Xiaohou said, his face hard as he spoke in a soft voice.

“What about it?” asked Mo Fan with a confused look.

“He was not wearing any badges, but he is wearing the outfit of a general. If I’m not mistaken, a soldier like him is usually entrusted with inhumane operations,” Zhang Xiaohou told them.

Mo Fan glanced in the direction of Commander Darrel, who was in charge of the camp and immediately saw the general that Zhang Xiaohou had pointed out.

“You mean if the situation continues to go out of control, they might even…” Mo Fan could not speak further.

A plague, a contagious disease, was a lot scarier than demon creatures. The local government of Kakka City would not allow the plague to spread any further. Currently, the patients had totally lost their minds, and would soon force their way out of the quarantine zone. When the time came, the general that was not wearing any badge would be the one controlling the situation!

Xinxia was incredibly smart. She immediately realized what Zhang Xiaohou was implying.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Brother Mo Fan, take me somewhere higher,” Xinxia said.

“Aye!” Mo Fan lifted Xinxia, together with her wheelchair and headed to the top of a signal tower constructed recently.

“What I said before was pure speculation; if it doesn’t work, we’ll have to leave right away,” Lingling reminded Mo Fan and Xinxia.

Mo Fan nodded without saying a word.

—

Up on the signal tower, they could easily see how the quarantine zone had turned into a landfill where people were gathering at the boundary of the magic barrier and slamming into it violently.

It was unclear where the people had gotten their strength from. Usually, the magic formation could easily hold out against normal people, regardless of their numbers. However, these patients seemed to possess some kind of evil power that granted them greater strength!

Xinxia bit her lips upon seeing this.

“Let’s begin, I’ll be holding the orb,” Mo Fan said.

Xinxia nodded. She crossed her hands in front of her chest, as if she were trying to unleash the power deep within her soul.

The Spirit Ripple was untraceable. Mo Fan only felt a pleasant tone ringing inside his mind like a flute, yet he could not detect anything when he focused.

Mo Fan knew Xinxia’s Spirit Ripple was spreading across the city, and was patting the minds of the patients like a pair of gentle hands.

Xinxia frowned. As she was pacifying the patients, she too was influenced by their negative emotions. Xinxia could clearly sense the anger and hatred deep within their hearts.

They were being tortured by the disease, and yet the government was helpless, and the world organization was reluctant to lend them a hand. It was as if they had been abandoned by the world, waiting for their deaths in the quarantine zone!

As she listened to the thoughts of the patients, she began to recall some faint memories in her mind.

Abandoned…

Her mother had abandoned her, just like the people who abandoned her in Bo City amid the calamity…

A strange sadness and anger rose inside Xinxia’s heart. How could people be so merciless? She had always treated them sincerely and with utter kindness, and yet, why did Gulan try to place the blame on her? It was her that was bold enough to come to save the people!

Xinxia wanted to open her eyes, but she realized that she was unable to wake up, surrounded by darkness, and an icy aura… it felt like… a fridge, the fridge in the supermarket that she hid inside in order to stay alive…

“Xinxia!”

She heard a voice all of a sudden. It sounded so familiar.

“Xinxia, Xinxia!”

Mo Fan shook Xinxia softly. For some reason, Mo Fan could feel Xinxia being infected by the evil presence, it was trying to remind her of her painful, infuriating past!

“Quick, transfer the energy to me, stop letting the evil energy influence you, do you understand!?” Mo Fan held her trembling hands tightly as he spoke in a serious voice.

Xinxia could not wake up, yet she saw someone shoving the door of the fridge open and carrying her out of it. She could feel Mo Fan warm hands on her hands and shoulders…

“Did I let the thing influence me, too?” Xinxia slowly calmed down. She recalled how Mo Fan had always protected her, not allowing her to suffer even the slightest. Her heart that was initially like a rolling black tide immediately calmed down, and the black water started to clear up too.

Xinxia finally opened her eyes. They were pure and clean, and were so pretty that Mo Fan could not move his eyes away from them.

She looked at Mo Fan with a hint of relief.

Once she gathered her thoughts, the evil power could no longer influence her!

Her faltering expression was replaced by a firm look. Her thoughts transformed into a greater tide, driving the evil presence into the Essence Orb on Mo Fan’s hand!

The chime of the Spiritual Bonsho echoed throughout the quarantine zone. The people could not hear it, but their hearts reacted to it. Holy chants in Sanskrit echoed in their minds, pacifying them.

{TL Note: A bonsho is a large bell found in Buddhist temples.}

The patients fell to the ground, starting with those that had gathered at the boundary of the magic barrier. As the spiritual disease was cleansed, they all fell into a deep sleep. The evil driving them was actually overdrawing their energy, so they were immediately overwhelmed by fatigue as soon as it vanished!

“What’s going on? Is she hypnotizing the people?” The commander raised his head and glanced at the Candidate on the signal tower.

“That’s not hypnotizing, it’s extremely difficult to hypnotize someone with strong emotions, she’s healing them, with her heart…” the general without a badge deduced.

An official hurriedly came up and said to Commander Darrel, “Commander, the patients that fainted no longer have the marks on them. It seems like they have been cured!”.

“Are you sure!?” Commander Darrel’s composure cracked. He stared at the woman sitting on a wheelchair up on the signal tower in disbelief.

“How…how did she do it?” Gulan was dumbfounded too. Even a Muse would struggle to resolve the plague, how did a mere Servant who had just been promoted do it?

“It seems like there’s a reason why she’s selected as a Candidate,” the general without a badge observed.

More patients fell to the ground. Some Healers had entered the magic barrier boldly. After a brief inspection, they determined that the patients’ lives were no longer endangered. They were just weak and feeble physically.

The marks on them had vanished. It was easily the best finding for everyone, as it implied that the woman from the Parthenon Temple standing on the signal tower had actually found a cure to resolve the disastrous plague!

——

The patients were lying still across the spacious camp, filling up the space.

The plague was eventually cleansed. The patients were wearing calm, relaxed expressions. They had all fallen asleep under the cleansing melody Xinxia had performed for them!Read the next chapter on our vipnovel.com

“Are you sure they are all fine?”

“Yeah, they only fell asleep, meaning that they will wake up eventually. Commander, the plague is gone; this is unbelievable!”

“We’ve conducted experiments on the disease for many days, yet we could not find any cure to it. As expected of the Parthenon Temple, it’s indeed the Sacred Hall of the Healing Magic!” the old Healers exclaimed.

Zhang Xiaohou looked at Lingling excitedly and said, “Awesome, you’re so impressive, you really found a cure to the plague!”

“Sister Xinxia has been communicating with me using Psychic Voice. I simply organized the information and come up with the idea. I believe if any other Healer took her place, we wouldn’t be able to resolve the plague,” Lingling replied.

It was quite fortunate that Xinxia was also a Psychic Mage, and her mental strength had greatly surpassed Lingling’s imagination!

Not every Psychic Mage could transfer someone’s hatred to somewhere else, as the hatred would easily penetrate the caster. Only those with a firm, pure heart were able to use the method!

“HAHA, as I thought, there’s nothing the few of us can’t resolve!” Zhang Xiaohou burst out laughing.

However, Zhang Xiaohou soon realized that something did not feel right. A while later, he finally recalled that he was supposed to come here on vacation!

——

Up on the signal tower, Mo Fan could easily tell how worn out Xinxia was. She was so weak that she could not speak properly. She could only look at him with her beautiful eyes.

Mo Fan felt extremely sorry for her. Due to the number of patients, it was a huge operation just to transfer the evil energy in them to somewhere else. Xinxia had basically expended all her energy.

“Brother Mo Fan, the…the orb…” Xinxia said in a weak voice.

“Don’t worry, it’s not my first time dealing with the orb. The evil presence is even stronger when I first discovered it, but it still can’t do any harm to me,” Mo Fan wrapped the Evil Essence Orb with a piece of silver paper. Mo Fan had asked Zhang Xiaohou to prepare some, as it was able to prevent the energy inside the orb from leaking out.

“That…that’s a relief,” Xinxia leaned back against the wheelchair. She could no longer hold herself upright.

Mo Fan carried her away, and let the local commander handle the rest. Xinxia desperately needed some rest.

Any Healing Spell was useless for people that had overdrawn their energy. The patients would surely be asleep for quite some time, and Xinxia, who had saved their lives, would be asleep even longer.

After finding Xinxia a place to rest, Mo Fan was deeply moved as he studied her pale face.

Mo Fan had only now realized that Xinxia was just like him, Zhang Xiaohou, and the others. She had dug out something deep within her heart during the Calamity of Bo City, something that she would try her best to fulfill!

——

“Mm? The evil presence is weakening?” Mo Fan inspected the Essence Orb as he was taking care of Xinxia. He was surprised to see the evil aura growing weaker.

Mo Fan was utterly confused. He observed it carefully and discovered that the energy inside the Essence Orb had suddenly expanded. It had almost filled up the entire orb!

Mo Fan was overjoyed. Once the Essence Orb was filled up, it meant he could use the power of the Demon Element!

“Could it be that Old Bao has also inserted a filter in the orb when he modified it, so it’s able to filter any harmful energy, and transform it into energy to fill up the orb?” Mo Fan exclaimed excitedly.

The evil presence was still weakening. Mo Fan believed he could no longer call it the Essence Orb, but the strongest trump card he was currently holding, the Demon Orb!

He did not expect he would obtain such incredible benefits when he first offered to come with Xinxia to help the people!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Very well, you’ve done well! Both Croatia’s Magic Association and government have expressed their gratitude, and the Parthenon Temple no longer needs to pay any extra tax for the Black Rhododendrons from Croatia!” The Hall Mother was absolutely radiant in the hall, and her gaze at Xinxia was totally different from before.

The Black Rhododendrons had always been a material that the Parthenon Temple desperately needed, and Croatia would usually charge them an expensive fee. However, Croatia happened to have the best Black Rhododendrons. As such, the sum spent on acquiring the Black Rhododendrons each year was absolutely shocking. To the Hall Mother’s surprise, the government of Croatia was willing to exempt them from paying the taxes as a reward for resolving the plague, saving lots of money for the Parthenon Temple.

It had only been possible because of the new candidate that was being picked on, Ye Xinxia. Not only did she resolve the plague, she also earned quite a reputation in Croatia!

The Parthenon Temple had eight Candidates, but now, with Xinxia officially becoming a Candidate, there were nine in total. The other Candidates were trying to earn their reputation at other places, and the competition would decide the person that would become the Goddess in the end. Once a Candidate had earned the support of the whole world, she would not be far from being respected and loved by the world, like establishing a new faith as a religion!

That being said, the candidates had merely earned the support of the people. Their trust in the Candidates was not deep-rooted yet.

Xinxia was basically a nobody in the Hall of the Goddess, but somehow, she had suddenly received support from a few places, including those that had fought the war against the undead in Egypt, and those that were involved in the plague in Croatia…

She had turned out to be the key person in resolving both incidents, and now, her identity as a candidate had been made public, too. Both the people of Egypt and Croatia immediately supported the decision of making Xinxia the ninth Candidate!

Even though the support was nothing compared to the influence that the other Candidates had, Xinxia was starting to establish her own influence.

“I believe everyone now agrees with my decision of making her a Candidate?” the Hall Mother asked as she looked at the members in the hall.

“Her contributions are still far from enough to make her a Candidate. The two countries are only supporting her by blindly following the crowd,” Great Muse Mellaura immediately disagreed.

“It’s fairly difficult for a Servant that has recently been promoted to let the people remember her name and earn more respect for our Parthenon Temple…”

Xinxia looked at the Hall Mother. Somehow, she had a strange feeling.

Despite her outstanding performance of achieving something that many Servants would never be able to achieve, the Hall Mother was still going overboard with how impressed she was. Wasn’t the Hall Mother supposed to focus more on the Candidates and the Muses? What she did was actually not as impressive compared to some other achievements that the Candidates had…

Xinxia was not really passionate about climbing the ranks in the Parthenon Temple, unlike the other Servants. However, the Hall Mother kept on showing her intention to promote Xinxia. In addition to her astonishment, Xinxia was also feeling uncomfortable.

First, Xinxia did not know the Hall Mother’s true intentions. Second, Xinxia was a Psychic Mage, thus she could easily sense the hostility from the gazes of the members in the Hall of the Goddess!

—

—

Venice, the City of Canals…

After returning to the city, Mo Fan realized that the crowd on the streets had grown bigger. Some of the narrower streets and canals were fully jammed. It felt like water transportation in Venice would suffer a breakdown if more people came to Venice!

“Brother Fan, can you really run around like that when you’re representing the country in a tournament?” Zhang Xiaohou was utterly impressed by Mo Fan. The other national representatives were nervously preparing themselves for the upcoming matches, and were afraid to go anywhere else, worried they would not be able to perform well in the tournament. Meanwhile, Mo Fan was insane enough to simply pay a visit to Croatia!

“Of course I’ll be here when there’s an important match,” Mo Fan said.

“I believe our country is competing this afternoon, let me see who our opponent is…” Zhang Xiaohou took his phone out.

Lingling replied straight away, “It’s Spain.”

“Spain?” For some reason, Mo Fan was having a bad feeling.

“Is there any problem? Are they a strong opponent?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“That goes without saying. I think they were ranked thirteenth in the last tournament,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan turned and looked at Lingling with her little ponytail and asked, “How old were you when the last tournament took place? How did you even remember a detail like that?”

Lingling suddenly fell silent, as if she had remembered something unpleasant.

Mo Fan had no idea what he said wrong, thus he was not too bothered by it. He told Lingling and Zhang Xiaohou, “I’ll bring you two to the resting zone, and you can watch the match from there. You won’t be able to get a good spot if you try to buy a ticket now!”

Coming back to Venice, they were running short on time, and it was quite a nuisance trying to get to their destination due to the traffic congestion. Zhang Xiaohou was subconsciously worried that Mo Fan might be late to the match.

Besides, old man Feng Li even called and asked what the asshole Mo Fan was up to, since he had still not shown up at the match.

There was no way Mo Fan would say he had paid a visit to Croatia for a few days. He simply told the team that he was cultivating in seclusion, thus they should not call him unless it was an emergency…

—

“Brother Fan, why do I feel like it’s quite empty here? Is the match between China and Spain really not that popular?” Zhang Xiaohou asked as they arrived at the place.

Lingling too lifted her gaze. She remained silent looking at the empty place.

Mo Fan was confused too. Did everyone already go inside the stadium? Even so, there should be lots of people outside still. The World College Tournament was one of the remaining official tournaments in the world, and most people would only be able to watch a magic battle during the World College Tournament…

“Mo Fan, why aren’t you here yet? We are starting soon!” Zhao Manyan called and demanded in a panic.

“I’ve arrived at the entrance of Torunto Stadium. Something isn’t right, why don’t I hear any noise from it?” Mo Fan said.

The other end fell silent for a few seconds.

“Did the water of the rivers in Venice fill up your f**king brain? The match today is at the Dragon Fangs Dueling Ground!” Zhao Manyan roared into the phone. Mo Fan could even feel his saliva spitting out from his phone.

“Holy crap, no one told me about it!” Mo Fan was astounded.

“Feng Li is most likely going to kick you off the team. Send me your location, I’ll fly to you now!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Oh, oh, I’m heading in your direction, we’ll meet between the two places!” Mo Fan answered.

Mo Fan briefly told Lingling and Zhang Xiaohou about it and sprinted along the canals using the Dark Noble Mantle without carrying about the rules in Venice…

Both Lingling and Zhang Xiaohou watched Mo Fan hurriedly disappearing into the distance like they were looking at an idiot.

“I feel sorry for the national team for recruiting Brother Fan.”

“In the end, we still have to buy our own tickets,” Lingling complained in displeasure.

—

—

The Dragon Fangs Dueling Ground was one of the oldest magic stadiums in Venice. It was not a temporary establishment, but made of stone formations that standing as firmly as dragon fangs.

The slopes varied in height; some were only a few meters tall, like a bunch of fake hills scattering across the place like a maze. Some were incredibly tall, thirty to forty meters in height, as tall as the towering buildings in Venice!

The venue of the match was right here where the mountains of dragon fangs stood in lines.

From the resting zone for the participants, Jiang Yu exclaimed while staring at the mountains.”It seems like Earth Mages are going to have an advantage this time.”

“Not really, don’t you notice the whole place is actually sunken?” Instructor Bai Dongwei pointed out.

The instructor of the Training Hall was here, together with a few members of the National Hall. Since they were substitutes, they were seated quite a distance behind the official representatives. Mo Fan would have been familiar with a few of them. Mu Nujiao was clearly one of them, and in addition to her, Dongfang Lie and Yue Tangxin were here too…

Even though they were substitutes, they had no chance of participating in a match. There were already ten official representatives for the national team. They would only take part if everyone on the national team was involved in some kind of accident. As such, they were only there to learn from watching the match.

“If he’s not here, I’ll go. My secondary Element is Earth, and the layout is quite complicated with the jagged rocks across the place. It’s quite an ideal match for me!” said Guan Yu who was eager to show off his talents.

“Be patient, the match hasn’t started yet!” Feng Li glared at him.

“If he still hasn’t arrived when the match starts, we won’t be able to replace him!” Mu Tingying said.

The national team could decide on their representatives before a match, but when the match was about to start, they had to hand in the list of names, and would no longer be able to modify it. The person that was absent would be disqualified.

“Don’t tell me the guy already went hiding? He’s such a coward. We never had a coward like him who did not dare to face his enemy among the Spanish Mages!” Prince Beny said. He blatantly expressed his disdain for Mo Fan. However, when he realized Mu Ningxue was right beside him, Prince Beny immediately explained politely, “Miss Mu Ningxue, I wasn’t referring to you and your team. I was only referring to the man who fled after disrespecting me. I would like to settle the dispute with him today, yet he ran away without caring about the team’s glory.”

Prince Beny jabbered on, but Mu Ningxue simply treated him like air.

Mu Ningxue was too familiar with how Mo Fan was. He would continue to sleep and eat according to his own schedule even if he had beaten a king up, let alone a little prince!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was not Beny’s first time coming to annoy them. He even abused his noble status to grant himself access to the Chinese team’s resting area. There were times when Mu Ningxue really had the urge to toss the man into the canals again in annoyance, just like Mo Fan had!

“Prince Beny, I believe it’s time for you to go back to your place. It’s meaningless for you to provoke us here!” Jiang Shaoxu snapped.

“I am not taking part in the match. Besides, I’ve already asked your superior, and he has granted his permission,” Prince Beny replied firmly.

“My teacher did not reject your request out of politeness, and yet you’re shameless enough to barge your way in. You are clearly siding with the Spanish team, and yet you’ve come to our spot. Are you trying to eavesdrop when we are discussing our strategy?” Jiang Yu said suspiciously.

Jiang Yu already considered Mo Fan his friend, and this Beny had come to flirt with Mu Ningxue. Jiang Yu would not allow anyone to take advantage of his friend’s woman!

Although there were no royal families in China, in terms of social status, the representatives on the Chinese team were not inferior to the royal family of Spain. As such, apart from Mu Tingying, who might actually treat Prince Beny seriously, the others completely disregarded his existence.

The truth was, after listening to him blabbering non-stop, Jiang Yu realized that Mo Fan had done the right thing by tossing this self-important jerk into the canals!

“Friend, what did you mean by that? Do you think it is necessary for the Great Spain to eavesdrop on your strategy and formation? Don’t forget, we placed thirteenth in the last World College Tournament, and your team was disqualified right at the beginning!” Beny was not happy with the accusation, and mercilessly riposted.

“Damn it, don’t even mention the last World College Tournament. Your team would have run back home with their tail between their legs if they encountered the American team like we did!” Jiang Yu said furiously.

“Jiang Yu, what’s up with you? Have you forgotten everything I taught you? Where are your manners?” Pang Lai glared at Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu immediately lost his spirit. He did not dare oppose his teacher.

Prince Beny laughed gloatingly when he saw Pang Lai scolding Jiang Yu.

The prince from Spain seemed to have been spoiled growing up. He did not bother concealing his emotions, as if there was no need for him to mind others due to his status.

“Prince Beny, aren’t you supposed to go back? The match is about to begin,” Pang Lai said.

“I’m waiting for that coward. I already told you, it was that guy who treated me impolitely first! The media is full of the news of me being tossed into the canals, and he damaged my reputation. I must settle the dispute with him once and for all!” Prince Beny said.

“So how are you going to settle it?” Mo Fan’s voice rang out.

Prince Beny chuckled as soon as he saw Mo Fan. He said with a provoking look, “You’ve finally shown yourself! It turns out that you still have some courage left. I, however, don’t mind telling you that I’ve asked the Spanish team to give you some special treatment. You will pay if you dare participate in the match!”

“Prince Beny, are you threatening my student?” Pang Lai frowned and said discontentedly.

“I was just saying! If you think I was threatening him, that’s up to you!” Prince Beny replied haughtily, disregarding Pang Lai’s question.

“So you think your team is very strong, and you’re surely going to beat us?” asked Feng Li. His bad temper could no longer stand it.

“We aren’t that strong, but I believe we have quite a good chance to best your team!” Beny said.

In Beny’s eyes, Spain was obviously going to be stronger than China, either because of their ranking during the last World College Tournament, or their global influence.

“Very well, you’re pretty confident…” Feng Li was starting to lose his calm because of the Spanish fop.

Initially, Feng Li had decided not to let Mo Fan take part in the match, as he was late and clearly lacked discipline. He wanted to teach Mo Fan a lesson, just so he would behave well next time.

However, after hearing Prince Beny’s comment, Feng Li believed it was necessary to release the mad hound.

“Mo Fan, since Prince Beny has specifically asked to settle the dispute with you, you will be facing the so-called students of their royal family then!” Advisor Feng Li declared.

Mo Fan grinned. This Prince Beny seriously thought he was afraid!

“Don’t worry, I’ll do my best; I will make sure our team won’t lose too horribly,” Mo Fan said mockingly.

“Oh, yeah, just do your best, we won’t blame you if you lose,” Feng Li instinctively chimed up in concert with Mo Fan when he saw Mo Fan putting up an act.

“Hey, I would really like to motivate myself, aren’t they setting up a bet out there? Help me bet two hundred million on our team winning the match,” Mo Fan yelled in Zhao Manyan’s direction indifferently.

“Two hundred million? Do you have that much… oh, oh, that’s indeed a brilliant way to motivate yourself. If you lose, the two hundred million will be gone just like that, but, that’s the spirit, alright, I’ll bet two hundred million for you!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Prince Beny, I heard your royal family is in charge of most of the trade happening between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, meaning that you must be pretty rich, too. Why don’t you place a bet to cheer for your team?” Mo Fan challenged him.

“Two hundred million, that’s…that’s a bit…how about this, I’ll bet a hundred million, I don’t really have so much cash on me, (cough cough)!” Prince Beny twisted his lips with an unwilling expression.

As a matter of fact, a hundred million was quite a crazy amount of money. Even among Advanced Mages, it was rare to see anyone daring enough to bet a hundred million on a match. However, if Prince Beny withdrew after being provoked by Mo Fan like that, it meant he was simply bullshitting!

He could only afford to bet half the amount. The truth was, Prince Beny was totally unaware of Mo Fan’s background, but he knew who Zhao Manyan was. The financial status of the Zhao Family from China was comparable to the royal family of Spain.

Betting a hundred million was fairly shocking, yet it did not mean he could not get it back. It was legal to bet for the matches of the World College Tournament, and the odds were calculated based on the stakes placed on both teams.

Prince Beny remembered that the odds were currently three to one, meaning that if Spain won, the stake placed on the Chinese team would be split among those that bet on the Spanish team. Betting a hundred million would win him around thirty million.

However, if the Chinese team won, those who bet on the Chinese team would earn triple the stake they placed!

It was similar to sports betting. The World College Tournament had always been a pool of gold for many, as betting was legal in the tournament.

The odds were adjusted based on the stakes placed on both teams. It was fair, since if the dark horse won, those who bet on it would earn a great deal, while those that followed the trend and bet on the expected winner would lose!

The truth was, Mo Fan was basically broke at the moment. The eight hundred million he tried his best to save up was all taken away by Asha’ruiya. He was only fooling around when he yelled at Zhao Manyan. The man was quite smart too, and did not call him out on the spot. He immediately played his role to trick Prince Beny into betting a hundred million too.

Unfortunately, despite how arrogant Prince Beny was, he was not stupid enough to bet two hundred million!

But… making him lose a hundred million was fine, too!

“Fine, a hundred million it is, it turns out that the confidence you have in your team is nothing but talk. Enough provoking, what are you waiting for here? Just go back to your place, stop being an eyesore here,” Mo Fan scoffed.

Prince Beny had a grim face. As a matter of fact, he could not really afford to lose a hundred million in a bet. Being a member of the royal family did not mean he had picked all his money up off the ground!

—

Mo Fan was amused when he saw Beny leave with his tail between his legs. This prince was actually quite stupid to believe that he had actually bet two hundred million on his team to win. He actually sent someone to place the bet for him!

“Mo Fan, aren’t you too reckless? Money doesn’t come easily, how can you bet so much on the match?” Dean Song He said.

“I was only fooling around with him. How could I possibly have that much money?” Mo Fan said.

“Oh, so you weren’t being serious… but why did I see Zhao Manyan going away to place the bet?” Song He said.

Mo Fan was stunned for a moment. He immediately turned around and discovered that Zhao Manyan had actually gone missing!

-F**k me! Shit’s going down!-

“Participants, in your position!” the judge declared as Mo Fan was about to go and stop Zhao Manyan from placing the bet.

Once the judge made the announcement, the participants were required to show up on the stage immediately. Mo Fan was initially planning to chase after Zhao Manyan, yet he was dragged onto the stage by Feng Li forcibly!

“Jiang Yu, go stop that idiot, I don’t have any money on me!” Mo Fan cried.

“F**k me, why didn’t you say it earlier! I thought you were crazy, betting so much money on the match!”

“Enough talk, go!”

“I think we’re too late… look at the odds, the number on our side dropped by a decimal point,” Jiang Yu said.

Mo Fan looked up at the screen and discovered that the odds had indeed changed!

Although the bet was open to the whole world, meaning that the stake would be fairly huge, a bet of two hundred million was not small, either, and it was more than enough to change the odds by a decimal point.

However, the little drop of a decimal point was enough to make Mo Fan’s heart explode.

-Is he a pig!?

-Is Zhao Manyan a pig!?-

Mo Fan had been setting up other people for his whole life, yet it turned out that he had been set up by the pig this time!

The man had actually bet two hundred million on the match. If the Chinese team lost, Mo Fan would be done for!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Listen up, you only need to beat the crap out of that guy, don’t cross the line. Otherwise, someone might make a huge fuss about it and put the blame on me,” Prince Beny said to Frank, a representative of the Spanish team, in a soft voice.

Although Frank had grown up with the royal family of Spain, he did not inherit the bloodline of the royal family. He was only adopted by the family, and although Prince Beny and Frank were like brothers on the surface, many people knew that Frank was Prince Beny’s subordinate, and was usually responsible for doing inhumane acts on behalf of Prince Beny.

“Don’t worry, I won’t go easy on someone like him!” Frank said seriously.

The representatives stood in their positions, waiting for the judge to declare the start of the match.

The spectator seats surrounding the stage were rather special. Most of them were a platform supported by a pillar, scattered across the Dragon Fangs Dueling Ground at varied heights. As a result, the cheers of the crowd sounded like a wave!

Initially, everyone thought the Earth Mages would have an advantage in the match because of how the stage was set up. It was obvious that the mounds scattered across the place would be useful for those with the Earth Element. However, just as the match was about to begin, the officials did something to make the dueling ground even more stunning!

Ten Water Mages stood at the boundary of the Dragon Fangs Dueling Ground. They cast Rolling Waves simultaneously, pouring water into the dueling ground.

Within an instant, it was like ten waterfalls poured into the dueling ground from the boundary. The crowd was left in awe at the spectacular view.

The water gradually rose, and a few of the shorter mounds were totally covered by it.

The water continued to rise, and not long after, the Dragon Fangs Dueling Ground that initially consisted of jagged, rocky mounds had turned into a lake. The participants had no place to set their feet down, apart from the pointy, mountain peaks!

“This is bad!” Mo Fan scowled.

If it was just an ordinary stage, Mo Fan was fairly confident that he could defeat the Spanish team, as it was unlikely they would send out all their best members knowing that they had more strong opponents to face later in the tournament.

But to his surprise, the stage had suddenly turned into a lake. Fortunately, there was still limited ground for him to move around. If the whole stage was covered in water, a non-swimmer like Mo Fan would simply be done for!

“It has suddenly turned into a marine battlefield. Mo Fan isn’t good at fighting underwater. The situation isn’t in our favor, right from the start,” Jiang Yu said.

“Not only is the environment unfavorable to him, even his teammates are unfavorable to him.”

“You’re right, both Zu Jiming and Nanrong Ni have conflicts with Mo Fan. It’s up to Nanyu on how she’s going to convince them to focus on the match.”

“Don’t forget there’s Zhao Manyan too. Even though he isn’t participating in the match, he already gave Mo Fan a huge blow right to the head.”

—

The main judge signaled the participants to enter the stage!

The matches in Venice were all team battles, with the standard five-versus-five format.

The representatives of the Chinese team were Mo Fan, Nanyu, Jiang Shaoxu, Nanrong Ni, and Zu Jiming. From what the team could tell, it was basically a formation of four supports and one carry!

Mo Fan was utterly clueless about what old Feng Li was thinking. Both Nanyu and Jiang Shaoxu were Mages without outstanding offensive abilities, and together with Zu Jiming and Nanrong Ni, he basically was the only damage output on their team!

As for the Spanish team, for some reason, Mo Fan had a feeling that the environment of the stage was in their favor, as he could see faint grins on their faces while the Dragon Fangs Dueling Ground was turning into a lake.

“Spain is a maritime country, so many of their Mages are likely to be experts of the Water Element. Even those without the Water Element will know how to utilize the environment to their favor, so it doesn’t really look good for us,” Nanyu observed.

“Let’s just try our best,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Mo Fan, did you see the person with curly blue hair?” Nanyu said.

“Yeah, why?” Mo Fan replied.

“He’s Frank, one of the strongest members of the Spanish team. He takes orders from Prince Beny, so you should look out for him.”

“Got it!”

——

After the main judge’s declaration, the magic battle between China and Spain officially began.

The Spanish team was clearly more experienced at fighting in water, as they thought. At least three of their opponents had the Water Element, and with the readily available supply of water around, they totally felt at home casting Water Spells.

The spiked mounds were Mo Fan’s only relief. However, the Spanish team was quite cunning. They seemed to assume that most members of the Chinese team did not have the Water Element. As soon as the match started, they immediately summoned fierce tides, trying to destroy as many of the mountains as possible!

Nanyu began to panic when she saw the mountains where they could set their feet on starting to sink and submerge into the lake.

Mo Fan was the core of their team. If a non-swimmer like him had nowhere to stand, they would basically lose the match!

“We can’t let them destroy the Dragon Fangs, stop them!” Nanyu said.

“How can we possibly stop them? It’s not like they are attacking us, they are aiming for the rocks, as if we can stop that…” Zu Jiming said.

“A bunch of assholes, if that’s what they want, I won’t go easy on them!” Mo Fan was infuriated too!

He was currently carrying a debt of two hundred million. Apart from the fury burning in his chest, the thought of the debt served as a great motivation to him. Seeing the Spanish team trying to pull a dirty trick on them, he immediately connected the Star Orbits into Star Patterns, which eventually combined into a Star Constellation…

If they were so interested in hitting the rocks, he would simply blast them to death!

“Sky-Flame Funeral!”

Mo Fan was the kind that would go all out even with the slightest disagreement. The fiery clouds rose high up in the air, before flames started pouring down rapidly where the Spanish team was.

The flames set the surface of the lake aflame, turning it into a blazing red sea of flames.

The Spanish team was no longer in the mood to destroy the Dragon Fangs when their lives were being threatened by the raging flames. They quickly summoned rolling tides and rain to put out Mo Fan’s flames.

“It seems like a person of their team has gone missing?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Mo Fan quickly cast a glance at them. One of the members of the Spanish team had indeed disappeared after the first wave of attacks.

It was obvious that the person who had disappeared must be an expert underwater. They must be sneaking up to the team from underwater.

Nanyu moved her ear closer to the water and focused.

She blurted out suddenly, her face startled, “There’s an undercurrent coming from below us, brace yourselves!”

Not long after Nanyu’s warning, the water under them started to flow in a strange manner.

The water deep under the surface started to spin, dragging the water above it. Not long after, a whirlpool gradually took shape. It was like a giant beast in the lake, with its giant mouth located right under the five of them!

The water started to spin quicker, smashing some of the weaker Dragon Fangs nearby into pieces. Mo Fan glanced downward and saw a vague figure at the center of the whirlpool, waving his hands around and controlling the water.

Clearly, the attack was not as simple as a giant whirlpool. The man was trying to drown them! The opening gap was slowly rising, aiming to devour them all!

“They are trying to separate us, we can’t let them get their way!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“You guys will have to come up with a plan, my magic isn’t useful in this situation,” Zu Jiming said.

Nanyu had already closed her eyes. Her short hair was disheveled in the strong wind and the watery mist.

A vigorous sonic wave penetrated the spinning wave, and as it crashed into the rapid current, the whirlpool started to twist in a strange manner!

Following that, the formidable whirlpool collapsed, water rising high up into the sky, reaching a over a few dozen meters high.

The sonic wave not only shattered the current, but it reached all the way to where the Spanish Mage was, producing a loud buzz that made his ears ring and his head shake!

The Water Mage did not stand a chance against Nanyu’s Sound Element. He immediately fled toward his team, not daring to stir up any trouble further underwater.

Nanyu did not plan to let him go. She flicked her finger and fired a sonic wave through the water. It shot deep into the water, like a long string!

The sonic wave lashed forward like a whip in the water. Nanyu flicked her fingers continuously, firing more strings into the water. It looked like the lake was about to split in half by the strings.

The water splashed wildly as the strings whipped the Water Mage continuously. The Spanish member did not expect to find an expert of the Sound Element on the enemy team. The water had no chance of stopping her Sound Spells, which landed on him mercilessly.

When the Spanish member was finally out of the range of Nanyu’s spells, his armor was already damaged beyond recognition!

—

“A Sound Mage!” Frank squinted as he stared at Nanyu in the distance.

It was rare to find a Sound Mage in Europe. As a matter of fact, a Sound Mage was incredibly rare in any country in the world. If Prince Beny had not ordered Frank to deal with someone specifically, he was quite interested in dueling the rare Sound Mage!

“Just hide underwater and don’t attack so recklessly again. Wait for us to create a great opening for you,” Frank said to the Water Mage.

“I won’t dare stay underwater if we don’t take care of that Sound Mage first,” the Water Mage said helplessly.

“Don’t worry, she won’t be staying in this match for long!” Frank grinned. Those who were familiar with him knew that it meant he was starting to make his move!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Sapphire blue wings spread open, the noble feathers soared into the air after a slight quivering.

The thin feathers did not fall to the ground, but were tied together by some force, like dust particles revolving around a star. They formed a circle of feathers, setting off the elegance of the sapphire-blue feathered wings!

The wings beat heavily, firing Frank into the air like an arrow. He came to a stop after reaching a hundred meters. The spectators had to raise their heads in order to see him.

On the screens, Frank was gliding in the air, the sapphire-blue wings on his back were glimmering under the sunlight. Together with his handsome face and heroic air, the young girls among the spectators immediately screamed out cheers for him, setting passionate eyes on him.

Frank glanced down like an eagle searching for its prey. He immediately locked onto Nanyu as she was casting her Sound Spells.

As he dove from the sky, the air around his body spiraled rapidly, like a screw. He quickly erupted in blue flames as his body rubbed against the air, and dove rapidly, like a glamorous blue meteorite!

—

“A Fire Mage!” Mo Fan was quite surprised when he raised his head and looked at Frank.

The meteorite was getting closer. It looked ordinary when it was high up in the sky, but as it gradually approached the stage, everyone finally realized how enormous the meteorite was, and its suffocating pressure!

“I’ll go!” Knowing that the man was the toughest opponent in the match, Mo Fan decided to face him directly instead. “Flame!” Mo Fan yelled. A fiery aura burst out of his body, followed by the eruption of the blazing red Rose Flame and the brown-red Calamity Fire, which intertwined and soared up in the form of fire pillars!

“Aren’t you bold trying to face me head-on…” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

He stomped the ground, unleashing a circle of burning curtains consisting of the Calamity Fire. The curtains turned into countless fiery feathers that fell onto him gently, forming a pair of stunning wings spitting flames on Mo Fan’s back!

“Rocket Wings!” Strictly speaking, Mo Fan’s wings did not really beat, but simply propelled Mo Fan into the sky by detonating some of the feathers. And yet, the force was strong enough to thrust Mo Fan into the sky like a rocket. It was totally different than someone soaring into the sky with wings!

Mo Fan’s entire body was engulfed in fierce flames as well. The blazing red fire and the blue meteorite gradually approached one another, and crashed into one another around thirty meters up!

The red energy was from Mo Fan, the combination of the Rose Flame and Calamity Fire. Even though he had summoned them later, its aura was comparable to Frank’s blue meteorite!

The two flames of different colors collided, sprouts of flames sprinkled in the sky, with fire tongues surging wildly. Mo Fan was throwing a Meteorite Fist, while Frank had simply engulfed himself in fire. The two flames of different colors simply merged together following the explosion…

—

“How violent!” Among the spectators, the eyes of many old Mages widened.

It was rare to see Mages meeting force with force directly. After all, the flesh of a Mage was fairly weak, and no one would dare endure the overwhelming energy of a destructive spell with their own body!

“That guy would only react like that because he is extremely confident in his own strength!”

“The two flames are totally mixed up, it’s hard to tell who has the upper hand…”

“It looks like someone is flying out from the flames!”

Inside the lump of blue fire, Frank could no longer endure Mo Fan’s destructive power. He fell to the side and plopped into the lake.

Mo Fan was also falling as he lost his momentum. However, it was obvious that he was falling at his own will. He was not as miserable as Frank appeared to be…

“Thousand Feathers Fiery Phoenix!”

Mo Fan’s Rocket Wings Meteorite Fist was not done yet. As he was falling, the fiery feathers on Mo Fan’s back spread wildly and chased after Frank. As they reached a certain distance, they combined into a fiery phoenix, ramming into Frank with ferocious might!

—

Frank was utterly dumbfounded. He did not dare to lower his guard when he saw the fiery phoenix charging at him. He quickly summoned his Shield Equipment.

The fiery feathers exploded, and the overwhelming energy immediately evaporated a portion of the lake. Frank was initially planning to land on one of the Dragon Fangs, yet he soon found himself being swept away by the boiling wave the explosion had stirred up.

Luckily, the magic shield he Summoned was nothing ordinary, managing to block most of the damage for him. Otherwise, it was quite possible that Frank would have been knocked out in just the first round!

—

“Such an imperious Fire Mage!” Pang Lai’s eyes flickered with excitement.

Not only did Mo Fan secure the upper hand, despite having less time to prepare himself for the attack, he was able to follow up with another attack! It was obvious which Fire Mage was stronger of the two. It was Pang Lai’s first time watching Mo Fan fight, and even he was dazzled by the strength Mo Fan displayed. He had no idea there was such a talented Fire Mage on the national team!

A battle between two Fire Mages solely depended on who had the fiercer flames. Both Mo Fan and Frank had crashed into one another like two burning meteorites, but the one that was crushed was Frank!

—

Among the supporters of the Spanish team, the expressions of those that supported Frank immediately sank.

“Isn’t Frank supposed to be one of the most talented students with the Fire Element in the Spanish royal family? Why was he knocked into the water so easily? Was the royal family bluffing all along?” someone could not help but doubt.

The sapphire blue wings, the stunning circle of feathers, and the blue meteorite had earned a great cheer from the crowd; Frank had managed to stir up the emotions of the crowd, yet in the end, it was merely pleasant to the eye. Not only did the Chinese representative knock him flying, he was also blasted into a miserable state. The young women that cheered for him felt extremely bad, like some lustful women who were suddenly told they had to stop after they were feeling it after the foreplay!

—

A faintly colored spirit butterfly circled above the water. As Frank came out of the water, it immediately landed on his burns to treat his injuries.

Frank glanced at Palice, who was standing a fair distance away. He immediately looked awkward.

Palice was the girl that Frank liked, and was also the Healer on their team. Frank initially wanted to show off in front of her, yet he ended up in such a miserable state!

“Frank, don’t underestimate your opponent,” Palice said, staying rather calm.

Frank nodded, before glaring at Mo Fan. Apart from feeling agitated, he was actually quite confused, too!

His blue flame was from a Soul-grade Fire Seed, and even though it did not have a Domain, its power was still multiple times greater than a Spirit-grade Seed. It was obvious that his opponent’s flame was only from a Spirit-grade Seed, so how did he end up getting the upper hand in a direct confrontation?

Was it really possible to disguise a person’s flame?

Little did Frank know, the real power of Mo Fan’s flame did not come from the Rose Flame, but Little Flame Belle’s imperious Calamity Fire. The Calamity Fire was hidden within the Rose Flame, and even though it was easy to observe the two different colors of the combined flames, anyone would have a hard time learning the secret of Mo Fan’s fire without inspecting it closely!

—

“Prince Beny, you’ve truly found us a tough opponent,” Conti calmly said.

“It’s only the first round, Frank isn’t as weak as you think, Miss Conti. Frank hasn’t even shown us his true strength.” Prince Beny seemed very calm too.

Beny was extremely familiar with Frank’s strength. The Fire Element was not Frank’s strongest Element. That idiot called Mo Fan would soon learn his lesson.

“I’ve been quite interested in the representatives of other countries lately, and I just received the information of the representative on the Chinese team. Apparently, he has quite a formidable innate talent,” Conti said with a smile.

“He’s not the only person with an innate talent, our Frank also has a strong innate talent…” a young girl beside Beny pouted.

The girl was Beny’s sister. Like brother, like sister, they had the same proud look on their faces.

“Miss Conti…” Prince Beny was about to speak when an uproar took place among the crowd.

Beny initially thought it was Frank using his innate talent, yet it turned out that the crowd was cheering for the man with flames bursting out of him instead of Frank!

Currently, the Chinese representative did not just turn into a fiery demon. He was also surrounded by a blazing red circle of flames. Its power was so overwhelming that the water under him continued to evaporate, and the water level was dropping significantly!

“He owns an incredibly rare Fire Spirit, so even though he only has a Spirit-grade Fire Seed, he still has a great advantage over Frank.” The knowledgeable Conti immediately noticed the secret of Mo Fan’s fire with her exceptional insight.

“Humph, there’s no way he’s going to win the match!” Prince Beny snapped coldly.

—

Mo Fan no longer concealed his strength. The other members of the Spanish team were still focusing on destroying the Dragon Fangs. At this rate, his movement would be greatly limited. He had to strike while he still had the upper hand.

It would be quite tricky to win the match with only Advanced Spells, so he immediately had Little Flame Belle possess him, granting him the formidable Calamity Fire!

The true strength of the Calamity Fire immediately stunned the crowd as soon as it spread across the dueling ground.

A Fire Spirit was a fairly rare existence, let alone a creature like the Flame Belle that was blessed by the heavens with the ability to Possess someone. Many Fire Mages immediately felt jealous of Mo Fan when he displayed his strongest stance!

However, engulfing oneself in fire and controlling the flames at will like Mo Fan was doing was quite demanding. Flame Belle was the only one of her kind left in the world, and even if there was some other creature like the Flame Belle, the Fire Mage would also need to possess the Summoning Element, and be able to perfectly synchronize with the creature. Otherwise, the Mage’s soul would be burned to ashes if they were Possessed by the creature for too long!

Only a few people in the world were able to match Mo Fan’s control over the Flame Belle’s power, so Mo Fan’s transformation immediately stirred a great uproar from the crowd!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Frank extended his sapphire-blue wings once again and swiftly flew to the top of the highest Dragon Fang.

Mo Fan did not allow himself to be outdone, either. He leapt between the Dragon Fangs and gradually approached the tallest Dragon Fang, trying to go head to head with Frank.

“Didn’t Prince Beny specifically tell you to teach me a lesson, and humiliate me in front of the few hundred million people watching the match? Why are you cowering now?” Mo Fan taunted him.

Frank’s eyes flickered coldly. He pointed at Mo Fan and said, “Just wait and see, even if you have some strange ability, it’s nothing before my innate talent!”

“Oh, what kind of innate talent do you have? Feel free to use it! It’s been a while since I last fought a guy that could last more than ten rounds against me. I hope you won’t let me down, since you were specifically sent here to deal with me!” Mo Fan grinned.

“Don’t be too full of yourself!” Frank snapped furiously.

“So what? I’ll beat the crap out of you as my way of paying respect to your shitty prince!” The flames engulfing Mo Fan grew even stronger as his fist erupted in flames while he threw a punch!

The Fiery Fist flew right at the tallest Dragon Fang Frank was standing on!

Frank suddenly emitted a strange glow, and as a blue flame gathered on his fist, the strange glow surprisingly merged with his fist, too!

Even though the two of them were casting the same spell, the blue flame spreading in the shape of a fan seemed to be a lot stronger than Mo Fan’s fire. It immediately devoured Mo Fan’s flames.

As the blue burning fist came in, Mo Fan agilely leapt to another Dragon Fang. He turned around and looked at the Dragon Fang that was smashed into pieces behind him in astonishment.

“Weren’t you confident just then? I dare you to attack me head-on again!” The strange glow appeared once again as Frank was casting the Sky-Flame Funeral.

Frank did not shove the Sky-Flame Funeral into the sky, but gathered it on his right wrist instead.

Mo Fan did not try to run away even when he saw the man placing the Sky-Flame Funeral on his fist. He gathered all the flames around him into his wrist, too!

“Rain of Burning Fists!” Frank yelled as the strange glow merged with the blue flame.

A Fiery Fist sprang forward, yet it further split into countless fiery fists, like the raindrops of a great downpour, surging in Mo Fan’s direction!

The fists poured down like rain as the flames spread like a curtain. The combination of Sky-Flame Funeral and Fiery Fist that Frank had just cast immediately stunned the crowd. Everyone’s eyes widened as they watched the Fiery Fists pouring down in a spectacular, destructive display.

Mo Fan raised his head and realized that he was surrounded by the Fiery Fists. He could no longer dodge the approaching Fiery Fists.

“Is his innate talent the ability to merge different spells?” Mo Fan was astounded too.

It was unlikely that an ordinary Fire Mage could combine the Sky-Flame Funeral and the Fiery Fist into a single spell. After all, a Star Pattern was different than a Star Constellation. The levels between different spells were strictly defined, and even a Fire Mage with an outstanding level of control was unable to merge two spells into one!

Mo Fan had to admit that the Rain of Burning Fists was a lot more imperious than the Sky-Flame Funeral, since tiny raindrops could mostly patter on the ground, but a rain of fists would simply leave countless holes in the ground!

Each Fiery Fist contained some destructive force, and when Fiery Fists started pouring down like rain, the damage it would deal was absolutely insane!

The Fiery Fists descended rapidly. He was devoured by the flames of the Fiery Fists before he could make his move.

The water continued to evaporate under the scorching heat, while the Dragon Fangs were smashed into pieces. The flames spread wildly across the arena. Frank’s attack had totally shocked the crowd, leaving everyone with their eyes and mouths wide open!

—

“I bet it didn’t feel great,” Prince Beny chuckled in joy after getting his revenge.

Conti was lost in thought, too. She was still wondering how it was possible to combine different spells into one.

“Miss Conti, do you still think Frank is no match for that guy?” Prince Beny said proudly.

“The owner of a Fire Spirit usually has outstanding Fire Resistance, I don’t think he will be defeated so easily,” Conti said.

“What difference would that make? Even a few Water Curtains are nowhere enough to defend against an attack of this scale!” Beny declared indifferently.

Conti was about to speak when she caught a glimpse of a figure standing firmly on top of an undamaged Dragon Fang amid the Rain of Burning Fists.

Water vapor was rising continuously in his surroundings. He was still engulfed in the same combination of brown-red and blazing red flames. After taking a closer look, Conti discovered that the man was not as miserable as she thought, apart from a few burns.

The Rain of Burning Fists was strong enough to defeat a whole team, let alone defeat a single representative of a national team. However, the man simply stood there and took it, and it turned out that he had only suffered some minor injuries!

“His Fire Resistance…” Conti’s face was filled with astonishment.

He was barely injured even after receiving such a strong attack!

—

“Oh my!”

“He hasn’t even used his defensive equipment?”

“Was that guy’s body forged with fire? How did he even survive that?”

The proud smile on Prince Beny and Frank’s faces totally vanished, especially Frank, who was extremely familiar with how powerful his Rain of Burning Fists was. It was basically his strongest attack, and even those wearing expensive magic armor would be blasted beyond recognition, yet how was the guy totally fine after receiving it head-on!?

“Is that all you have?” Mo Fan’s gaze sharpened. The fiery aura that had been put out not long ago rose again, and it seemed to be slightly stronger than before!

Mo Fan’s body was sturdier than any ordinary person’s. After all, the Demon Element was one of the Elements that Mo Fan had Awakened, and it had granted Mo Fan the ability to endure many attacks without danger!

Leaving the Demon Element aside, being Possessed by Flame Belle did not just grant him a stunning appearance. Using the Fire Element in front of the creature who was blessed with the Calamity Fire was like displaying one’s insignificant skill before an expert. The Flame Belle’s Fire Resistance was absolutely ridiculous, and an Advanced Fire Spell was only going to scratch the outside of her boot!

Little Flame Belle had absorbed most of the damage, and Mo Fan was simply too lazy to dodge the rest of it, since it was easily within the limits that his Demon Flesh could endure!

“I’ve tasted your fire, it’s time for you to taste mine!” Mo Fan grunted.

The energy that Mo Fan had long accumulated in his right fist sprang forward like an army of galloping horses as soon as he threw a punch forward. The blazing flames immediately set half the stage on fire!

A stunning fiery dragon lunged forward with a blasting roar!

The fiery dragon sprang forward and knocked Frank into the air. Frank felt like he had been bitten by a red dragon, and if it was not for the expensive Armor protecting him, his flesh would have been burned into ashes in an instant!

The outer layer of his Armor was set aflame, and the heat was burning him despite the Armor in between. Frank did have a certain fire resistance, since he wielded the Fire Element, yet it was nothing compared to Mo Fan’s, since he was not Possessed by a Fire Spirit…

The fire dragon soared into the air and exploded at a height of a hundred meters. Flames sprouted and danced wildly. The explosion had blasted Frank’s Armor into pieces, falling to the ground!

“Save him, or he’s going to be knocked out!” the Water Mage hiding underwater immediately yelled.

Palice was aware of how grim the situation was. She started drawing the Star Constellation of the Healing Element…

Several faint glimmers appeared around Frank. The light was synchronized with the glow emitted by the Star Constellation taking shape close to Palice.

It was the Advanced Healing Spell, the flickering motes forming an Aquarius sign that would encapsulate the target to protect them while healing the person’s injuries.

Normally, any serious injuries would take a longer time and more energy to heal, including damage dealt to a person’s bones, organs, and veins. A Healing Spirit would have a hard time mending them, but the Aquarius Star Sign could, and it could even heal damage dealt to organs within a short period!

—

“Don’t give her a chance to heal him!” Nanyu blurted out.

Mo Fan had finally secured an advantage for the team in the duel against Frank, yet they would soon lose the advantage if they allowed the opponent Healer to treat Frank with the Aquarius Star Sign!

“Leave it to me!” Jiang Shaoxu immediately focused and locked her gaze on the Spanish Healer, Palice. Her Spiritual Force sprang forward at the speed of lightning, targeting the mind of the Healer.

She had drawn two-thirds of the Star Constellation, so Jiang Shaoxu had struck at the perfect time. Not only would she disrupt the spell, the target would also waste the energy needed to cast an Advanced Spell!

“Spirit Wall!”

As Jiang Shaoxu was seconds away from disrupting the channeling, another man on the Spanish team reacted quickly and immediately set up a Spirit Wall right in front of Palice, preventing Jiang Shaoxu’s Spiritual Force from going any further.

“Crap, they also have a Psychic Mage!” Jiang Shaoxu was startled.

—

The Aquarius Star Sign was about to take shape. The blue glow formed its sacred protection, gradually encapsulating Frank within it…

Mo Fan harrumphed coldly when he saw the blue light. His eyes emitted a silver light!

“Still trying to heal him? Come over here!” Mo Fan grabbed out with his hand. His Illusionary Claw grabbed at Frank firmly from over a hundred meters away as he was about to land on the ground.

The moment the Aquarius Star Sign was completed, Mo Fan pulled his hand back fiercely, tossing Frank heavily onto a Dragon Fang further into the distance.

The Aquarius Star Sign had a limited range, and once its target was out of range, it could no longer protect them!

Mo Fan’s sister was an expert with the Healing Element, so he was utterly familiar with the limitations of the Advanced Healing Spell. The Aquarius Star Sign reached the maximum range from its caster, but it had no chance of reaching the injured Frank!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was so cunning with his move that even the Healer Palice was stunned for a moment.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan had long been prepared for it. When Palice cast the Healing Spirit the first time, Mo Fan had realized he had to keep an eye out for her. All the damage he inflicted would be in vain if he let her use her Healing Spells!

Frank was severely injured by Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist, and then tossed around by Mo Fan’s Space Element. He was starting to lose consciousness. His body floated on the water, and he would not be able to get up for some time.

The judges hesitated upon seeing this.

“Don’t touch him, he’s fine, he can still fight!” Prince Beny yelled.

The reason why international magic tournaments were not common was because of the risks involved in a match. The lives of participants would be endangered if there were any mishaps. The World College Tournament was very strict with keeping the participants safe, having strong Mages on standby along the boundary of the stage. They would interrupt immediately if any participant’s life was endangered.

However, once the judges intervened, it would also mean the person had been disqualified. Even if the judges made the wrong call, the person would still have to leave the match.

Similarly, if the judges believed that a person had lost their ability to fight any further, and any Healer on their team was struggling to heal them, the judges would also disqualify the person.

As such, Prince Beny could not help but yell out. He did not want a Mage of the royal family disqualified so easily, as it would mean the arrogance and pride he had displayed in the Chinese team’s resting area would turn into heavy slaps, leaving his face with a burning sensation!

—

“Mo Fan, the Water Mage is moving toward Frank, he’s trying to take him away!” Nanyu’s voice came to him.

Mo Fan switched his gaze toward the water, and after taking a closer look, he did see some strange movement under it. It was likely where the Water Mage was.

“Still trying to save him?” Mo Fan chuckled. He immediately used Telekinesis to lift the semi-conscious Frank up from the water.

The Water Mage was only inches away from reaching Frank. If he managed to secure Frank and brought him back to the team, he would recover in no time. To the fellow’s surprise, the Chinese were able to react so quickly!

“Judge, here you go!” Mo Fan did not cross the line. He did not have any personal grudges against Frank. He believed he had done enough to embarrass Prince Beny!

The judges could no longer stand and watch. If Mo Fan exerted even slightly greater force on Frank, the man’s life would be in danger.

Two assistant judges quickly showed up and carried Frank down from the stage.

—

As the first participant was disqualified, different uproars took place among the spectators. The Royal Mage of Spain, Frank, was fairly reputable in Europe. It was reasonable if he was knocked out by multiple Mages during a team battle, yet many people found it hard to believe that he had lost in a one-on-one duel, especially the supporters of the Spanish team. Whether they were watching the match at the arena or through the live broadcast, their hearts were broken!

“You should have prepared more before the match. According to my information, the representative called Mo Fan is one of the strongest members of the Chinese team,” Conti sighed. She kept feeling that Prince Beny had been too careless with his approach.

“Him? That impolite savage?” Prince Beny was stunned, yet the truth was right before him. Even Frank was not worthy to take him on!

“Speaking of which, isn’t the Chinese team a bit too strong in this tournament? That imperious Space Mage, the Ice Mage that destroyed the whole Japanese team, and now, this Fire Mage! Each of them has overwhelming strength!” an observant member of the royal family spoke up.

“Why are you all feeling so down? It’s true that we’ve lost Frank, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve lost the match. Don’t forget that we have a great advantage at this stage. Didn’t you all notice how quiet Pinole has been? I believe Frank has bought him enough time!” The advisor of the Spanish team was perfectly calm.

—

A strange vibration began to take place in the Dragon Fangs Dueling Ground. The surface of the lake shook vigorously, as if a strong earthquake had taken place under it. Even the mounds resembling dragon fangs began to tremble.

“Catastrophe Wave!”

On the Spanish team, the man that was so quiet that everyone had almost forgotten about him suddenly uttered a great roar, followed by a shocking tide rising from the lake. It continued to rise high up into the sky!

The crowd seated in the direction that the tide was approaching panicked and fled for their lives, yet they were relieved when they saw the tide come to a stop after hitting the magic barrier.

Even the people outside the barrier were in a panic seeing how enormous the tide was, let alone those that were within the Dragon Fangs Dueling Ground!

“Catastrophe Wave, my heavens, isn’t that a Super Spell?” Zu Jiming screeched like a pig about to be slaughtered.

“How could the Spanish team possibly have a Super Mage?”

“It’s over!”

The water of the Catastrophe Wave had risen high up into the sky, like an enormous, blue mountain emerging from the ground. Mo Fan felt like his heart was about to burst under the enormous pressure!

Mo Fan stood on top of a Dragon Fang. He was drenched wet as the wave rapidly approached him. His entire vision was filled up by the raging tide, yet he was still having trouble seeing the entire thing!

“Impossible, that guy can’t be a Super Mage!” Despite the astonishment Mo Fan was feeling, he strongly believed in himself.

Mo Fan had witnessed a real Catastrophe Wave at the Ancient Capital. The tide that devoured thousands of undead within an instant greatly differed from the current one he was seeing in the Dragon Fangs Dueling Ground, yet in terms of appearance, it was truly a Super Spell!

Its damage!

Facing the enormous tide, Mo Fan finally discovered what the difference was amid the pressure.

If the spell actually possessed the strength of a Super Spell, even at his current distance, all his bones would have broken into pieces by now, yet he was still perfectly fine!

Either way, Mo Fan would never believe he was going up against a Super Level in the World College Tournament. There must be a reason why the person was able to cast a spell that was similar to a Super Spell.

The Catastrophe Wave was absolutely deafening as it crushed the weaker Dragon Fangs to pieces. It continued to roll forward in an unstoppable manner.

The tide had devoured half of the stage, including the five representatives of the Chinese team. The fierce tide rolled forward, and did not seem to stop even after it splashed at the boundary of the magic barrier!

There was only water left on the stage. It was so crazy, like the water of an ocean had been poured into the stage.

The people had no idea where the members of the Chinese team were. They could not even see their tiny figures.

Some time later, the Catastrophe Wave gradually calmed down. The stage was in a great mess, as all the Dragon Fangs were destroyed, while the water level had risen by more than ten meters…

“How…how is this possible…” Zhao Manyan was totally at a loss for words.

A Super Mage, the Spanish team had a Super Mage!

In the past World College Tournaments, the Advanced Level was the highest level among the participants. There had never been a Super Mage. As a matter of fact, no participant had ever mastered the second or third tier of their Advanced Spells. So, why would there suddenly be a Super Mage out of nowhere?

“That guy isn’t a Super Mage, even though the spell he cast looks extremely similar to one. A real Super Spell would have destroyed the entire Dragon Fangs Dueling Ground and the magic barrier, too. Its damage is a lot weaker than a Super Spell!” Feng Li said confidently.

“But even if it isn’t as strong as a real Super Spell, how was he able to cast it?” The others were dumbfounded.

It was unbelievable that an Advanced Mage was able to cast a Super Spell!

On top of that, almost everyone had placed their attention on Frank. To their surprise, Pinole, who had been quiet until now, had almost wiped out the entire Chinese team with a single move!

Was he the true ace of the Spanish team?

“I believe it has something to do with his innate talent… after casting the spell, he’s no longer able to stand properly, and his face is extremely pale. It seems like he has paid a great price too!” Feng Li said with a sharp gaze.

“But still, whoever has his innate talent is pretty much unbeatable!”

—

Up on the stage, the Chinese team was nowhere to be seen. It was likely that they had been knocked deeper into the water by the fierce tide.

“Jiang Shaoxu of the Chinese team is disqualified!”

“Zu Jiming of the Chinese team is disqualified!”

Two assistant judges declared simultaneously as Jiang Shaoxu and Zu Jiming were retrieved from the water, and were being treated outside the stage.

The two of them had fainted after being struck by the Catastrophe Wave.

“This is bad, two of our members have been knocked out!”

“How about the others, are they fine?”

In the Chinese team’s resting area, everyone totally panicked as they did not expect anything like this to happen. Regardless if the Catastrophe Wave was actually a Super Spell, it still placed their team in a bad spot!

—

A figure leapt out of the fierce current.

A broken rock strangely surfaced on the water and floated on it. The man that jumped out from the water landed on the rock and stabilized himself.

A strong heat burst out of his body and instantly turned the water covering him into white steam. The water was thoroughly evaporated by the heat.

Mo Fan was able to dry himself easily, yet his ribs, elbows, and hip were damaged. He was only able to stand because of the sturdiness granted him by the Demon Element!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was right. It was not the real Catastrophe Wave, as its damage simply differed by too much.

Even so, the damage was beyond what Advanced Mages like them could endure. Even if it only had ten to twenty percent of the Catastrophe Wave’s damage, it could still inflict serious damage to them.

Taking a deep breath, Mo Fan felt a sharp pain coming from his bones.

In his current state, he could no longer move around agilely, and the pain might even be a problem when he tried to draw a complicated Star Constellation.

It turned out that they could not afford to underestimate any member of a national team. Even though not everyone was particularly outstanding, they would still stumble into a few that were remarkable!

“Mo Fan, how are you doing?” Nanyu’s voice came from around fifty meters away.

Mo Fan turned around and saw Nanyu and Nanrong Ni standing together. The two of them had most likely worked together to set up a defense, and barely survived the impact. On the other hand, Jiang Shaoxu and Zu Jiming were not particularly good at defense, so they were knocked out of the stage by the wave before they could even stand their ground. Nothing could be done to help them.

“Lots of my bones are broken,” Mo Fan grinned.

Nanrong Ni had already completed a Healing Star Constellation. The ocean blue Aquarius Star Sign elegantly appeared around Mo Fan.

Under the healing effects of the spell, Mo Fan could feel the broken bones in his body being mended. Even though he felt tremendous pain for a brief moment, he felt nothing after the process was done!

Despite the conflict between them, they were currently representing their country in the World College Tournament. As a Healer, Nanrong Ni had no excuse not to heal Mo Fan. After all, they both shared the goal of winning the match!

Mo Fan had recovered from his injuries. Even the soreness and fatigue after the fierce tide hit him were gone. He could not help but admit how fascinating the Advanced Healing Spell was!

“Only three of us left, we’ll have to give it our best,” Nanyu said.

Nanyu was hoping that Mo Fan could cast aside his personal grudges and focus on winning the match against Spain. If they were to lose so early in the tournament with so many people back home watching, how could they possibly justify the hard work they had put in over the past year?

“Give me some strengthening! Humph, I’ll knock them off the stage one-by-one!” Mo Fan’s eyes erupted in flames as he unleashed a powerful aura.

Nanrong Ni did not dare slack off. She quickly murmured the chants of the Blessing Element.

“Holy Blessing: Strengthen!” The sacred runes floated toward Mo Fan and formed an imprint on him.

Whatever Element Mo Fan was using, the unique imprint of the Blessing Element would change its color accordingly, strengthening the spells!

“Little Flame Belle, it’s showtime!” Mo Fan could feel his blood boiling as he was surrounded by countless burning feathers.

The feathers spread ahead of his feet like a fiery bird extending its wings, preparing to soar into the sky.

Stepping on the fiery bird’s head, Mo Fan charged imperiously toward the Spanish team. As the long tail of the fiery bird spread apart, it further set off the overwhelming aura that the flame-shrouded, demonic Mo Fan was displaying!

“Telekinesis: Falling Rocks!”

While burning Mo Fan was flying forward, he unleashed a silver light that wrapped around the rocks that were smashed to pieces previously. The rocks sprang out from the water and floated around Mo Fan, and following him as he charged at the Spanish team.

The rocks whipped out at the members of the Spanish team wildly. The Healer Palice quickly cast Water Curtain in front of the team to protect the remaining four members.

The rocks were stopped by the Water Curtain, but it no longer mattered, as Mo Fan was only using the rocks to clear the path. The true killing blow lay with him!

“Have a taste of my fire!”

Mo Fan had swallowed mouthfuls of water as he was swept around by the fierce tide, and finally had the chance to vent his anger. He lunged at the group of four like a savage beast and stepped on a floating rock he was controlling with Telekinesis.

“Volcanoes!” Mo Fan roared furiously. The strong flames surrounding him formed a few volcanoes around him, promptly erupting and spitting out pillars of flames in a spectacular manner.

Fire sprouted in the air and rolled forward. The volcanic ash lingered in the air. The flames instantly took over the water-filled stage!

In terms of damage, there was no chance Mo Fan would lose to someone else. As the volcanoes erupted madly, the Spanish team was on the verge of losing their formation.

As the flames were surging across the place, Mo Fan purposely kept an eye on the Mage that had cast the Catastrophe Wave. He realized that the Mage was relying on his teammates to protect him, and it seemed like he was even struggling to move around!

-It seems like casting the Catastrophe Wave cost all his energy… it must be some kind of innate talent that allows him to accumulate his energy to cast a higher-level spell, – Mo Fan speculated.

The Water Mage, Pinole had clearly expended all his energy. Energy loss was not something that a Healing Spell could recover. In other words, he would be unfit for battle after casting his powerful spell, and would need to rest up for some time before he could recover his energy!

The truth was, Mo Fan was quite scared of the Water Mage. If he was able to cast the Catastrophe Wave again, it would surely wipe out the rest of the team. Mo Fan was not confident enough to overcome the spell a second time.

“I’ll need to take him out first. I can’t let him recover,” Mo Fan locked his gaze on the feeble Water Mage Pinole.

The problem was, there were still four members left on the enemy team. It would be tricky for him to focus on his target.

“Mo Fan, you can do a feint by targeting their Healer, before switching your focus to the Water Mage!” Nanyu’s voice appeared in Mo Fan’s ears.

Mo Fan was astounded. Could a Sound Mage read his mind, too?

On second thought, it was very likely that Nanyu had the same thought as him. They could not afford to let Pinole recover; even if he was not able to cast the Catastrophe Wave again, it would still be a hassle to take him out!

Nanyu had already laid the groundwork for Mo Fan. As soon as Mo Fan’s volcanoes started calming down, Nanyu immediately followed up with a powerful Sound Spell. The Spanish team felt like their heads were about to explode as the sharp, piercing pain of the sonic projectiles penetrated deep into their souls!

The sonic projectiles were aimed at the Healer on the enemy team. It was quite obvious that Palice was the core of their team, as she was the person giving out commands.

It was extremely difficult to defend against sonic attacks. Even the Spirit Wall could at most weaken the spell slightly. As the terrifying Sonic Boom struck their ears, the members of the Spanish team felt their ears buzzing and their heads turning dizzy. Palice, in particular, was injured the most, as fresh blood started to flow out of her ears.

“We must take out their Healer first!” Mo Fan suddenly roared. He used Telekinesis to control the rocks and hurled them in Palice’s direction.

The number of rocks was rather shocking, and the volcanic ash that had yet to clear up completely was blocking everyone’s vision, too.

The Healer of the enemy team was normally a priority target, as a Healer could easily nullify the advantage that a foe had secured by healing an injured teammate. As such, it was necessary to take out the enemy Healer in a match. The Spanish team immediately stacked up their defensive spells on Palice when they heard the enemy was trying to take her out…

“Don’t worry about me, I still can use my Magic Equipment, go protect Pinole!” Palice yelled.

Unfortunately, the team was lacking in synergy. They had cast their defensive spells on Palice without hesitation.

“Strengthen!” From the distance, Nanrong Ni cast a Blessing Spell on Mo Fan to strengthen his spells again. The flames on Mo Fan immediately grew stronger as it came into effect.

Mo Fan’s damage was already ridiculous, yet with Nanrong Ni’s Blessing Spell, his damage had at least tripled!

Following a decisive Fleeing Shadow, Mo Fan vanished from the Spanish team’s vision as they began to panic, and eerily appeared right in front of Pinole.

Pinole was indeed one of the strongest members of the Spanish team, as he was clearly aware of Mo Fan’s intentions. He immediately summoned his Magic Armor, wrapping himself up tightly. Mo Fan could see a scornful look through the helmet on Pinole’s head.

“Not a bad strategy, but I won’t let you take me out so easily!” Pinole burst out laughing.

“You can say that again after you manage to survive my attack! Flame Sword!” Mo Fan lifted his hands. The flames swiftly formed a giant, burning sword in his hands. It was around fifteen meters long, and covered by the imprint of the Blessing Spell, granting it a sacred aura!

“Fire Slash!” Mo Fan flung the enormous sword with all his might. The sword unleashed a scorching wave ahead of it!

Pinole’s eyes widened. He had never seen a Fire Spell like that. He could not believe that the man had such outstanding control that he could form an enormous sword with his flames. Pinole knew for sure that his defensive equipment was nowhere enough to protect him!

The Flame Sword was Mo Fan’s strongest single-target attack. It was also further strengthened by the Blessing Element, so not many people could stand a chance against it.

The flames burst forth and swallowed Pinole in fire. The man rolled on the ground and cried out in agony.

“Well…well done!” Nanyu yelled out in excitement when she saw Mo Fan taking out the Water Mage with a single move.

Apart from the Healer that was the trickiest to deal with on the Spanish team, Pinole was definitely their priority target. Now that Pinole and Frank were knocked out, and Palice was injured, they had basically taken out two important fangs of the Spanish team, meaning that they had a great chance of winning the match!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Palice had a dark expression. The offensive Mages of their team, one Water and one Fire, had been knocked out. The only members left on their team were a Healer, a Psychic Mage, and an Ice Mage…

Their combination was not the main problem. The problem was that they were going up against an extremely violent Fire Mage, who was totally unpredictable. Not only was his Fire incredibly powerful, he had a variety of moves, and his spells had lots of different forms too. They would have trouble winning the match if they could not think of a way to take him out!

“We have to take out their carry!” Palice said to the other two members.

“He’s pretty tough; the chance of me casting my Mind Control on him is extremely low,” the Psychic Mage said.

The Mage that had tried to ambush the Chinese team by diving underwater was actually an Ice Mage. Unfortunately, his Ice Spells were totally useless against his opponent’s fierce flames. Even though the man did not have a Domain, his Fire was as strong as someone with a Domain!

“We’ll attack at the same time!” Palice said.

Their team was supposed to clinch the victory with the Catastrophe Wave. They did not expect their team to be placed in a pinch like this. Their biggest mistake was failing to recognize that the Fire Mage was actually one of the core members of the Chinese team!

If they did not try their best to keep the Fire Mage at bay, he could totally fight a few of their members simultaneously. It was a relief that they had a Psychic Mage on their team. Otherwise, they would never be able to endure the continuous blasts from the Fire Mage!

—

“Nanrong Ni, heal me, I’ll face them head-on!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan knew the woman was mindful of what the crowd thought of her. If they were not in the middle of a match, she would be merciful enough if she did not feed him poison milk, let alone cast a Healing Spell on him!

Nanrong Ni was indeed cognizant of the situation she was in. She began to cast the Advanced Healing Spell.

A new ocean-blue Aquarius Star Sign started to wrap around Mo Fan. As soon as Mo Fan saw the protection, he immediately rushed toward the enemy team like a mad man.

As he landed, he immediately summoned a ring of flames. Even though Mo Fan did not have any defensive spells protecting him, the three members of the Spanish team felt like none of their attacks were able to inflict serious damage on him. They finally left a few scratches on him, but after a single glow emitted by the Aquarius Star Sign, the man immediately recovered from his injuries!

The faces of the trio began to contort. Wasn’t this guy a bit too reckless, taking on the three of them on his own?

Even though they were not offensive Mages, their Advanced Spells could still inflict serious damage to him. Wasn’t he worried that he would be taken out by the three of them?

Palice bit her lips. They decided to flank Mo Fan, yet before they could carry it out, the man had simply rushed forward so they could surround him. He was utterly fearless!

Despite that, the trio seriously could not do anything to the man. Both the secondary Lightning Element and primary Ice Element of the Ice Mage were completely ineffective when they landed on the fire engulfing the man’s body.

It was reasonable that the Ice Element was unable to inflict any serious damage to the man, since the damage of the Ice Spells were bound to be weakened against the overwhelming energy of his Fire Element. The Icebound Coffin was smashed into pieces by a single Fiery Fist before it could even land on the ground. But what about the Lightning Element?

The Psychic Mage’s secondary Lightning Element was totally ineffective against the man too, even though it was known to be one of the Elements with the highest damage!

The man was afraid of neither Ice nor Lightning, and the plants trying to entrap him were burned into ashes in an instant. Even though the remaining members of the Spanish team were not offensive Mages, they all broke down mentally when they realized they could not even take out a single person!

“That guy is an absolute monster!”

“Even with the effects of the Aquarius Star Sign, it doesn’t simply mean he can just charge forward and take on the three of them!” a supporter of the Spanish team said sullenly.

“Is the Chinese team about to rise this year? Why is every member of their team so strong?”

“Yeah, the guy with the Space Element, the Ice Maga, and this Fire Mage, while the remaining members on their team aren’t weak, either… for example, that Sound Maga is very good at controlling the match.”

—

Mo Fan the monster charged around violently between the three members of the Spanish team. The Psychic Mage’s continued attempt to disrupt his channeling was in vain too, as Mo Fan did not even need to draw Star Patterns and Star Constellations when casting his spells. Most of the abilities were from Little Flame Belle’s outstanding control of the Calamity Fire, so he could easily cast the spells with a single thought.

In addition to that, Mo Fan’s speed when casting Fiery Fists was absolutely insane, and the damage of his Fiery Fists was higher than the Sky-Flame Funeral at times. The Psychic Mage might have a chance of interrupting his Advanced Spell, yet there was no way she could disrupt Mo Fan’s Fiery Fists!

“Mo Fan, focus on the Psychic Mage!” Nanyu suddenly directed him.

Mo Fan looked at the Psychic Mage and saw she was being targeted by sonic waves. She was struggling to keep a clear mind…

The Sound Element was very effective against the Psychic Element. Nanyu had made her move now just so they could take out the Psychic Mage once and for all!

The Psychic Mage was very cunning, too. She had been keeping her distance from Mo Fan.

The ground was submerged in water, but it was not enough to stop Mo Fan from carrying out his attack. He lifted up the broken Dragon Fangs with Telekinesis and lined them up in a row to build a bridge over ten meters long for him.

Mo Fan agilely leapt between the floating rocks, making his way toward the Psychic Mage.

The other two members of the Spanish team were taken by surprise. They tried to lend a hand, yet they found themselves being trapped by Nanrong Ni’s plants, and missed out on the chance to save their teammate.

“Down you go!” Mo Fan hurled his fist forward. Nine fiery dragons sprang forward in a storm, sending the Psychic Mage to the edge of the magic barrier.

Flames surged fiercely. The assistant judges realized that the flames might burn the Psychic Mage into a pile of bones, and quickly intervened to save her life.

—

Another member of the Spanish team was knocked out. The members of the Chinese team in the resting area seemed relieved.

“Mo Fan is being Mo Fan after all. If we hadn’t sent that mad hound up there, we might actually have lost the match!” someone exclaimed.

The advisors were relieved, too. Just like the person had mentioned, if it wasn’t for Mo Fan’s ability to fight three people on his own, it would be hard to tell who was going to win the match after Pinole was taken out. After all, both Jiang Shaoxu and Zu Jiming were knocked out by the Catastrophe Wave, before they could even contribute to the match. That did not necessarily mean they were weak, but the Catastrophe Wave was simply too powerful for them. Any other team would share the same fate as them if they had fought the Spanish team!

“Mo Fan is getting even stronger,” Dongfang Lie, currently a substitute, had a helpless look.

They were once the great talents of Pearl Institute, yet in just a year, Mo Fan was already ahead by so much. He felt like crying every time he thought about it.

Meanwhile, Mu Nujiao also had her eyes on Mo Fan. She was the person that was the most familiar with Mo Fan of this group watching, yet the pace of his growth was just too shocking, just as Dongfang Lie had mentioned…

Most terrifyingly… Mo Fan had yet to use two of his Elements in the match against the Spanish team!

Mu Nujiao clearly knew the Elements that Mo Fan possessed. It wasn’t just his fierce Fire Element; his Lightning Element was also considered his primary Element, and yet he had not cast a single Lightning Spell in the match against the Spanish team!

In addition to that, Mu Nujiao clearly remembered that Mo Fan’s Shadow Element was quite impressive too, and similarly, he did not cast a single offensive Shadow Spell in the match. He cast Fleeing Shadow a few times to dodge some of the attacks, but most people assumed it to be the power of his magic boots…

Mo Fan had defeated the Spanish team while still managing to keep two of his Elements a secret. His strength was beyond terrifying!

—

“How could this be… how did it end up like this!?” Prince Beny was absolutely enraged. He even flipped the tray of fruits to the ground when he realized that the outcome had been decided.

Miss Conti frowned slightly and said in a calm voice, “Prince Beny, please contain yourself, as you’re still in a public venue. I suggest you research more about your opponents before you decide to compete against them. The person that tossed you into the canals is very, very strong.”

“Ah? Brother, so it was true that someone tossed you into the canals? I thought that was something that the reporters made up!” the young girl exclaimed with wide eyes.

Prince Beny’s expression darkened. He glared at his sister, whose voice was extremely loud.

“Prince, we’ve lost the money,” Prince Beny’s servant said in a low voice.

Prince Beny’s lips twisted. Did this stupid servant have to mention it now? Couldn’t he mention it later?

“Prince, a hundred million has just been deducted from our account. Can you please not act so recklessly next time? If you’re a fan, betting a few million, or ten, twenty million is enough. How could you bet a hundred million on it?” the purser said, obviously displeased.

He had only just learned that Prince Beny had placed a hundred million on the match. Was a hundred million a small sum? Of course not! No matter how spoiled the prince was, it was unacceptable for him to waste such a huge amount of money!

“Shut up, all of you, that’s enough! You, how did you teach the students? How could we possibly lose to the Chinese team? Have you forgotten the pride of the Spanish?” Prince Beny immediately put the blame on the advisor.

The advisor of the Spanish team was well aware of the prince’s temper, and simply disregarded the accusation.

Spain was no longer under a monarchy, and the preservation of the royal family was a mere symbol. The prince could act arrogantly as he pleased, and the people could fawn over him as they wanted.

Prince Beny completely lost it when the advisor ignored him, yet he could not find any better way to vent his anger.

“Such a spoiled brat,” Miss Conti shook her head and sighed.

—

The Chinese team eventually won the match. Without the Psychic Mage’s disturbance, no one could possibly stop Mo Fan’s attacks. Even Palice was left with no choice, since her Healing Magic was unable to make any difference after her teammates were knocked out!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The winner is… the Chinese team!”

Following the declaration from the main judge, the spectators in the seventh platform burst into an uproar.

The spectators in the seventh platform were all Chinese, and most of them had specifically flown to Venice just to support the Chinese team. After winning a few matches in a row, the team might actually end up with an impressive rank in the tournament!

The World College Tournament was too important of a factor in many aspects. The reputation that a country earned through it was extremely beneficial to many factions, not to mention the resources allocated in the pool that would be distributed to each country based on their ranking. It was the main reason why the national team was generous with their resources prior to the World College Tournament.

After defeating Spain, even if the Chinese team lost all the upcoming matches, they would still be placed in the top sixteen. It was much better than being disqualified not long after the start of the tournament a few years ago!

—

“HAHAHA, I knew you would win!” Zhao Manyan walked up to Mo Fan and patted him heavily on his shoulder.

He initially thought Mo Fan would burst out laughing, but to his bewilderment, he could see an urge to kill in Mo Fan’s eyes. Did he do something wrong?

He did not recall doing anything wrong!

“Look, the money will be transferred to the account in just a minute, you just made bank!” Zhao Manyan took out his phone and showed it to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s expression changed immediately as soon as he saw the number!

“Five hundred million?” Mo Fan had a blank face.

“Of course, you have no idea how insane the odds were for the Chinese team. Everyone thought the Spanish team was going to win. You might be unaware, but the moment the Catastrophe Wave appeared, those who bet on the Spanish team immediately screamed in glee at the top of their lungs! But you managed to turn the tables, and they all lost the bet. On the other hand, those that bet on our team almost burst into tears!. They are already lining up to acknowledge you as their father!” Zhao Manyan smiled.

There were all kinds of people in this world, including those that spent four years analyzing the strength of each country, searching for information on each of the members of each national team, just so they could earn money through betting. Some even spent all their savings on the bets. There were rules stating that any bet over a hundred thousand had to be verified according to the financial status of the person placing the bet, to confirm that the amount the person was betting was less than thirty percent of their possession. Despite that, many people still managed to find some tricks to betting all their money, even if it meant taking out a huge loan…

As such, the outcome of a match was not as simple as boosting the morale of the people of a country!

In Mo Fan’s example, the two hundred million he bet had won more than double of the initial amount. Even after paying the taxes, there were still more than five hundred million left, earning him a great profit just like that!

Mo Fan was a lot calmer after seeing the money he had won.

Only someone like Zhao Manyan could afford to bet two hundred million on a match. Any other fuerdai would have been kicked out from the arena, as not everyone was allowed to place a bet of that amount!

“Hehe, the money taken out to make it five hundred million is more than enough to support a supermodel. Why don’t you give the extra to me since I helped you win the money?” Zhao Manyan said pervertedly.

“Piss off, you idiot! Despite being brothers for so many years, you couldn’t even tell that I was only bluffing. Didn’t you see how close that match was? We were almost wiped out by the Catastrophe Wave!” Mo Fan’s heart was still racing even though he had won a lot from the bet.

It was a team battle, after all, and if something went wrong, Mo Fan would be owing two hundred million instead. By then, Mo Fan would have to risk his life many times just to earn the money back, since it was unlikely he could find jobs with rewards that high!

Zhao Manyan felt extremely wronged, as he ended up being scolded even though he had helped Mo Fan win a huge amount of money. Even with his identity, he had to take the risk of being scolded by his family when he threw so much money into the pool!

Mo Fan transferred the money to his account after giving Zhao Manyan two hundred million back. Seeing that he had earned quite a huge sum, he also gave Zhao Manyan the extra as a token of appreciation. As for Zhao Manyan’s suggestion to split the profit, no way he was going to accept it. If he ended up losing the match, Mo Fan strongly believed that Zhao Manyan would demand he repay the two hundred million. As such, Mo Fan took the rest of the money without mercy, to compensate for the shock he had to go through!

Mo Fan was rich once again after netting three hundred million. His mood gradually improved too, especially when he saw the contorted face of Prince Beny. He started humming pleasantly, with an utterly scornful look.

—

“From today on, many countries will think of our team as a tough opponent,” Feng Li warned them sternly.

Despite the team winning the match, the man showed no sign of joy on his face. He was a strange man indeed, as if there was nothing that could make him satisfied in the world.

“That’s true! After winning a few matches in a row, we’ll be facing stronger opponents from here on. Since we’ve exposed many of our Elements and abilities, we must be extremely cautious in the upcoming matches. Even a single mistake could cost us the match,” Song He agreed.

“Our next opponent hasn’t been decided yet, you may rest for now,” Pang Lai said.

“By the way, did they not reveal the prizes for this year yet? Normally, they would have revealed it during the opening ceremony, why haven’t they revealed it yet?” Han Ji asked as he remembered something.

“We have a rough idea of what the first place is going to get. The students will receive the Blessing of the God’s Seal. The Parthenon Temple will be responsible for the ceremony, and it will be held on the Sacred Mountain of Athens,” Pang Lai said.

“Blessing of the God’s Seal? It doesn’t sound any useful to me. Can’t they give us something more practical? Like giving us a billion or two?” Mo Fan huffed.

The Blessing of the God’s Seal sounded like some sacred ceremony, but Mo Fan was a realistic man. He believed money was the best prize he could possibly get, since he needed lots of it to become stronger. He still had many Elements waiting to be improved!

“What, did I say something wrong?” Mo Fan discovered that everyone was looking at him strangely.

“You should really read more books,” Mu Ningxue said in the same otherworldly manner.

“The Blessing of the God’s Seal isn’t something you can buy with money!” The expression that Zhao Manyan was wearing was even more exaggerated, as if he was more excited than seeing a naked goddess. “The Blessing of the God’s Seal is a miraculous spell of the Blessing Element, and the person that receives the blessing will be strengthened permanently.”

“What does that even mean?” Mo Fan was still confused.

“You should know that the journey of every Mage starts when we first Awaken an Element. Apart from the strengthening from innate talents and Soul Seeds, all spells are the same. When we first Awaken our Element, we can think of our base damage as one, and assuming we don’t have an innate Soul Seed, our damage multiplier is one, too. As such, the strength of our spells solely depends on the levels and tiers of the magic. However, when we have a Spirit-grade Seed or a Soul-grade Seed, the damage of the spells will then be amplified. A Spirit-grade Seed amplifies the spells by two to three times, while a Soul-grade Seed amplifies the spells by four to six times…” Han Ji knew how uneducated Mo Fan was, and explained patiently.

“I’m aware of that,” Mo Fan said.

“The Blessing of the God’s Seal can also increase the strength of a Mage, yet unlike the Spirit-grade Seeds and Soul-grade Seeds that a Mage equip, it directly improves the base Stat of a Mage, turning the base damage from one to one point five,” Han Ji informed him.

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide. There was a reason he had not read many magic books, yet it did not necessarily mean he was stupid. His face was filled with astonishment as soon as he heard Han Ji’s explanation!

“Some Mages with innate talents have a base damage higher than one. It might be around one point two, or one point three, and even when the person doesn’t have a Soul Seed, his spells will still be a little stronger. However, once they acquire a Spirit-grade or Soul-grade Seed, the amplification applied to their spells simply escalates. However, it’s incredibly rare for anyone to have an innate talent like that. Meanwhile, the base damage of a Mage doesn’t change as they grow stronger. If it’s one when a person first Awakened their Element, it will stay at one. Apart from the rare innate talents, the only way to modify it is the sacred art of the Parthenon Temple: the Blessing of the God’s Seal!” Han Ji said.

An innate talent that strengthened the person’s spells. Mo Fan vaguely remembered that he had fought against someone with an innate talent like that before, but if the person was unable to grow stronger, or acquire a strong Spirit-grade Seed or Soul-grade Seed, the innate talent would still be inferior to Mo Fan’s Double Innate Elements.

However, since Mo Fan already an innate talent, if he could raise his base damage from one to one point five, it would mean the damage of his spells would be absolutely terrifying!

With a base damage of one point five, and a Soul-grade Seed like the Lightning Tyrant that could amplify the damage of his Lightning Spells by six times, it meant his Lightning Spells would be nine times stronger than the spell cast by an ordinary Mage!

Nine times!

A Commander-level creature was struggling to resist his Lightning Spells after their damage was amplified by six times. If the total multiplier was nine, wouldn’t that mean he could eliminate Commander-level creatures with ease, and a random Intermediate Spell would be as strong as an Advanced Spell?

It went without saying that Mo Fan would continue to improve his Basic and Intermediate Spells, since he had many Soul Essences he could expend. Once the spells reached the fourth, or fifth-tier, and the base damage was raised to one point five, his Intermediate Spells could easily outmatch someone’s Advanced Spell!

“So what do you think, the Blessing of the God’s Seal or money, which one is better?” Zhao Manyan asked after Mo Fan had finally learned the secret.

“Are you serious now? Damn it, the Blessing of the God’s Seal is mine for sure, wouldn’t I be unbeatable if I could receive eight or ten Blessings of the God’s Seal?” Mo Fan said.

“In your dreams! The Blessing of the God’s Seal is extremely precious, and only the team in first place can receive it once!”

“Speaking of which, I thought the Parthenon Temple has yet to elect their new Goddess. How are they going to carry out the ritual?” Han Ji asked as the thought crossed his mind.

“The tournament will be going on for quite a while, and once the new Goddess is elected, the team that wins first place will be invited to attend the ceremony, and will receive the Blessing of the God’s Seal on the Sacred Mountain of Athens. If the Goddess is still not elected after the tournament, the winner will have to wait until they can receive the prize. Otherwise, the Hall Mother can also dispense the Blessing of the God’s Seal, but the Blessing of the God’s Seal granted by the Hall Mother is not as impressive as that given by the real successor of the Goddess,” Pang Lai said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The prizes for the second and third places were revealed, too. The team placed second would be given a chance to cultivate in the Altar of the Void at the Sacred Victorious Altar.

Australia’s Magic Association, the Sacred Victorious Altar, was publicly known by the world as the best place to cultivate at. No one knew how many times their cultivation speed would be multiplied when cultivating at the Sacred Victorious Altar, but it was said that any Advanced Mage that trained there would break through easily. Many Advanced Mages who found themselves at their bottleneck desperately sought a chance to visit the Altar of the Void so they could break through the barricade and achieve the Super Level.

Statistics had shown that your odds of achieving the Super Level were by far the highest at the Altar of the Void in Australia!

A chance to cultivate in the Altar of the Void at the Sacred Victorious Altar was not something that money could buy, either, and it was apparently the prize for second place. The country that won second place would most likely end up with lots of talents who could eventually achieve the Super Level!

The prize for third place was full sets of magical equipment!

Most magical equipment was forged from different materials, and it was very difficult to collect a set of magical equipment made of the same material. However, when Boots, Shields, Armor, Deathstrike Magic Equipment, and Wings combined into a set, the pieces of magic equipment were able to link up like Star Orbits and Star Patterns to construct a magic formation.

Words were not needed to describe how powerful a magic formation was. Therefore, if anyone was could collect a full set of magic equipment, it would grant the Mage a powerful ability!

Collecting a full set of magic equipment required lots of time, effort, and money, and only the big Magic Associations were able to make them. It was obvious that the World Magic Association was sponsoring the prize, and it was again something that money alone could not buy!

“By the way, if only the top three teams are going to receive the prizes, what about the rest of the teams?” Mo Fan asked.

It was extremely difficult to get into the top three. Mo Fan was not that naive to believe that he was the only maniac in this world. For example, if the Spanish Mage that could cast the Catastrophe Wave had focused the spell on him, he could not guarantee that he would be able to take it on. The pain from having all his bones broken was not something he would forget so easily!

“There are no fixed prizes for the rest of the teams, but the Resource Pool will be open to everyone when the teams are competing,” Pang Lai said.

“Resource Pool? What’s that?” Mo Fan asked.

“Oh right, you weren’t here for quite some days, so I almost forgot to tell you about it. Do you remember how we’ve been giving you resources during your training? Those resources are actually taken out from the Resource Pool, to reward the teams showing outstanding training performances. The truth is, the Resource Pool for the World College Tournament is incredibly huge, and the resources given to you before are only the extras. After the first knockout round, the second round is a treasure hunt, and the treasure will be resources from the enormous pool. It’s all up to the participants to see how many resources they can secure for the team!” Feng Li explained to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s eyes widened. He quickly looked at the others, but it seemed like they already knew about it. He was the only one that was in shock!

“The main purpose of the knockout round is to disqualify the teams that made it to the World College Tournament by luck. Therefore, the treasure hunt is where things are about to get serious in the World College Tournament. You have no idea how many good things you can find in the Resource Pool; they can easily stack up into a mountain! The rewards we receive during our training are like a joke compared to it!” Zhao Manyan informed him.

Mo Fan started counting, and realized that the total value of the resources he had received throughout his training was roughly around two hundred million. If that was only a little appetizer, wouldn’t that mean the treasure hunt was going to be full of gold?

“No wonder everyone is trying so hard just to make it to Venice! I didn’t know there was such an exhilarating part to the tournament!” Mo Fan realized.

The world had gathered all the resources into the treasure hunt, aiming to distribute them in a competitive way. Every country had sent their young Mages to take part in the tournament, and they would have to compete for the resources. It was easily the most suitable way to distribute them!

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was not really that excited about the World College Tournament, but after learning the prizes for the top three teams, and the treasure hunt in the second round, he could feel his blood pumping hard!

Was there anyone that needed resources as badly as he did, so badly that he basically spent all his money on them?

Miss Tangyue had told Mo Fan a long time ago, that even though his Double Innate Elements was quite an impressive innate talent, it would only shine brightly with the support of ample resources. The resources available in the second round’s treasure hunt were basically unlimited, but they would have to compete with the other participants. It could actually provide Mo Fan with the resources he desperately needed to improve the rest of his Elements!

Who was the genius that had designed the World College Tournament? Could it be something that the person had specifically designed for someone with the Double Innate Elements like him, considering the insane amount of resources he needed?

“The treasure hunt of every World College Tournament is different. I wonder what interesting rules it might have this time,” Han Ji smiled. He could tell how excited Mo Fan was.

“I must remind you that the treasure hunt doesn’t just consist of the competition between participants. Some of you might find yourselves in extremely dangerous places, and even though the judges will try their best to look after you, accidents did happen in the past, so I hope you will be more careful, and put your safety first. Don’t be too greedy!” Feng Li had to pour a bucket of cold water onto the students as they were discussing the loot they might get.

“Got it!”

“( sigh ) There were accidents in the past, but they weren’t that scary.”

“The stage of the treasure hunt is different every time, just be careful.”

“I wonder where the stage the Hunter Union will choose is…”

——

The Chinese team had won all their matches during the knockout round, thus they were qualified to proceed to the next round, the treasure hunt.

Knowing that the treasure hunt was going to be exhilarating and thrilling, Mo Fan, who now had three hundred million in the bank, believed it was time for an upgrade.

This time, Mo Fan placed his attention on the Summoning Element.

The Swift Star Wolf had been stuck at the Advanced Warrior level for a thousand years. If he did not break through soon, Mo Fan would have to hide him away, and could only use him as a mount.

He had known the Swift Star Wolf for years, and the creature was very eager to become stronger. Mo Fan was planning to spend his ill-gotten money on the Swift Star Wolf.

Due to the limitations of the Swift Star Wolf’s bloodline, it was fairly difficult for the creature to evolve further without external assistance. Luckily, Venice happened to be full of resources, so Mo Fan was planning to lend the Swift Star Wolf a hand.

There were three essential ingredients for strengthening a Summoned Beast: Soul, Bone Dust, and Lineage!

The Swift Star Wolf’s flesh had reached his limit, so Mo Fan would need to purchase some high-level Bone Dust, allowing his flesh to exceed its limit.

When a creature’s body was no longer able to hold more strength, they would have a strong desire to evolve. It was the only way for most demon creatures to become stronger!

Bone Dust was not particularly expensive, and was not difficult to find, either. Mo Fan simply told Zhao Manyan what he was looking for, and his friend immediately got him lots of high-quality Bone Dust.

The tricky part was to find the Lineage and Soul. He could settle the Lineage with money, since the wolf species was quite common. With some help, buying a high-quality Demon Wolf Lineage was only a matter of cash. Getting a suitable Soul was the hardest part!

People normally used some special Soul Essence as the ingredient for Soul. Mo Fan was well aware of how expensive a Commander-level Soul Essence was, and that was just the normal kind. If it was a special Soul Essence, Mo Fan was most likely going to go bankrupt!

In addition to that, the criteria for finding a suitable soul were fairly strict, too. The soul could not be too strong, nor too weak, and it was best if he could find the soul of a wolf. Otherwise, he would have to find the soul of some other creature similar to wolves. Since the Swift Star Wolf was of the Wind Element, the soul had to have the Wind Element, too…

“Mo Fan, I think you should consult Jiang Yu, or even better, Pang Lai. He’s the strongest Summoner in China. Evolving isn’t a child’s play; it’s even riskier than betting in a match. If you’re careless, all your efforts might be in vain!” Zhao Manyan reminded Mo Fan after handing him the Lineage and the Bone Dust.

—

Mo Fan agreed with Zhao Manyan. He purposely paid Jiang Yu a visit.

Luckily, Pang Lai was also there to give his beloved student some special attention. Mo Fan, shameless as always, did not hesitate to barge in.

“Mo Fan, why are you here? I thought you would be cultivating in seclusion now!” Jiang Yu sat in front of a coffee table, holding his noble cat, the Night Rakshasa, in his arms. The little creature was fast asleep.

Opposite him sat Pang Lai. Normally, it was difficult for anyone to meet Pang Lai in private. Mo Fan, who happened to be quite close to Jiang Yu, made use of the opportunity to consult him.

Mo Fan proceeded to explain why he had come. Pang Lai was a close acquaintance of Han Ji, and he also had a good impression of Mo Fan, so he did not mind giving a bit of advice or two.

“First, does your Summoning Element now have a Galaxy?” Pang Lai was about to give his advice when he remembered something and asked beforehand.

Mo Fan shook his head.

“If you only have a Nebula for the Summoning Element, and it’s still in the Intermediate stage, you’re most likely going to fail. Without the support of the Advanced Level Summoning Element, there’s no way you can help your Warrior-level creature achieve the Commander-level,” Pang Lai said firmly.

“No way… I’m so fortunate that I came and asked you first! Otherwise, all my money would have been wasted!” Mo Fan pulled a long face.

Pang Lai rubbed the side of his head. It was actually just common knowledge about the Summoning Element. If Mo Fan was clueless about it, he would actually need to spend some time explaining the details to the young man.

“Bone Dust and Lineage; you can give them to the Summoned Beast anytime you want. You should be strengthening the creature’s bones and changing his blood occasionally, giving your Summoned Beast more time to prepare himself, while his Lineage will slowly improve too. I can see that your wolf’s flesh is quite strong now, so that’s fine, but you must remember to strengthen his bones, too,” Pang Lai said.

“Oh, alright! The treasure hunt is just around the corner, Master Pang Lai, do I still have enough time?” Mo Fan was definitely going to keep this advice in mind.

“You…you’re really impatient, aren’t you? You can only make steady progress incrementally, but you didn’t even…( sigh ), forget it, just remember to do it in the future. Actually, after taking both you and your wolf’s cultivation into consideration, I think it might just work,” Pang Lai said.

Chapter 1071 Scramble over the Treasure
Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

“You should go and buy a Galaxy Vein and improve your Summoning Element to the Advanced Level. With your current cultivation, one Galaxy Vein should be enough,” Pang Lai said.

“Oh, sure!” Mo Fan just needed to follow the instructions of the master.

“Once your Summoning Element reaches the next level, remember to feed all its energy to the Swift Star Wolf. The energy that is produced when the Nebula expands into a Galaxy is the purest and strongest. The energy will be very useful when the Swift Star Wolf is attempting to evolve,” Pang Lai added.

Pang Lai taught Mo Fan the procedures patiently, and was even more serious when he explained the process of selecting the right soul for the Summoned Beast.

It was the most important part of the process. When Jiang Yu noticed Mo Fan’s blank face when some unfamiliar terms were mentioned, he said to Pang Lai, “Master, why don’t you just go with Mo Fan to the marketplace? No one has eyes as sharp as yours. Even if you told us what to do, it’s very likely that we would make a mistake. Please help him, he has been taking care of me during our training…”

Pang Lai was the Royal Guard’s chief, meaning that it was a great honor for anyone to listen to his teaching. However, even a Councilman would have trouble asking Pang Lai to go to a marketplace and let him choose a suitable soul on their behalf.

Pang Lai hesitated for a while. It was obvious that he cared a lot for Jiang Yu, as if Jiang Yu was his own son. After hearing Jiang Yu’s plea, Pang Lai could not help but let out a sigh and say, “You seriously know how to order me about! Fine, Mo Fan, come with me, I’ll pick the Soul for you.”

Mo Fan was overjoyed. He knew how much of a blessing this was. He immediately expressed his gratitude to Pang Lai and Jiang Yu.

“Don’t worry about it. The World College Tournament means a lot to our country’s pride, and it also decides the distribution of some rare materials between the countries. As long as you try your best in the tournament, it’s reasonable for me to lend you a hand, too,” Pang Lai said.

——

Mo Fan followed Pang Lai to the marketplace. He could not help but ask in confusion, “Chief, why aren’t we going to the auction? Aren’t their things better there?”

The marketplace was quite big, with lots of things on the shelves. As long as you had the time, you could basically buy anything you needed.

However, the sources of the goods were too unorganized. It was quite common for the sellers to put up low-quality goods and sell them at a higher price. Even though the average price was lower at a marketplace than at an auction, those unable to tell the quality of the goods would suffer!.

“Are you rich?” Pang Lai turned around and asked in return.

“Ugh… I’m very poor,” Mo Fan answered honestly.

“Exactly. The items being sold at an auction are nice, but there are many rich people bidding for them too, and usually, the items will be sold at some unreasonable price. The marketplace also has a lot of good stuff, but it depends on how sharp your eyes are.” Pang Lai walked in front of Mo Fan and Jiang Yu, his hands behind him while he explained the truth of the marketplace.

Pang Lai seemed to be very experienced when shopping at a marketplace. He snorted disdainfully at seeing some of the seemingly high-quality goods.

Jiang Yu whispered to Mo Fan, “My master spent lots of time at the marketplace when he’s young, and even earned a fortune there. Everyone used to call him the Golden Eyes!”

“I see!” Mo Fan exclaimed in delight.

Mo Fan rarely came to the marketplace. As a matter of fact, if he was experienced enough, it would surely have saved him a fair amount of money. Unfortunately, Mo Fan was basically blind when evaluating the goods being sold at the marketplace!

“This one, pay the money,” Pang Lai pointed at something floating on a table and said to Mo Fan.

“Is this a Galaxy Vein?” Mo Fan looked at the thing on the table with astonishment.

Normally, for something like a Galaxy Vein, Mo Fan seriously did not dare to buy one from the marketplace. Good things did not come at a cheap price. When he was actually improving his Element to the Advanced Level, he would find it incredibly infuriating if he bought a fake Galaxy Vein.

“Yes, buy it, it’s only seventy million, it isn’t expensive,” Pang Lai said.

Mo Fan was stunned. Jiang Yu quickly nudged Mo Fan, signaling him to pay the money.

Mo Fan was a complete amateur, so there was nothing he could say. He immediately handed his card over.

The seller did not waste any time, either. He was so quiet that he did not bother greeting them as he proceeded to withdraw a huge sum from Mo Fan’s card.

After receiving the money, the seller handed the Galaxy Vein to Mo Fan. He did not even bother thanking him; he simply continued doing the task he was busy with before.

Putting the Galaxy Vein away, Mo Fan followed Pang Lai to the area where Soul Essences, magic equipment, and battle souls were being sold.

After walking around the place, Pang Lai seemed to have trouble finding a Soul that could satisfy him. Even when the vendors were boasting how valuable their goods were, Pang Lai did not even bother casting an extra glance at them, and kept moving.

“The quality of the Souls in Venice is less than impressive; it can’t even compete with the quality of the Souls in our capital’s marketplace. I guess we have no choice but to buy a lower-quality Soul if we really can’t find a suitable one,” Pang Lai remarked.

“Sorry about that,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“Mmm? That thing…” Pang Lai suddenly noticed something. He came to a stop in front of an ordinary-looking shop and glanced into it through the entrance.

——

At the entrance of the marketplace, a man with long orange-yellow hair was quickening his pace. He even bumped into a few people, yet he did not show any intention of apologizing to them.

“Advisor, I wasn’t able to make the call, which is why I’ve asked you to inspect it for me. The price isn’t low either, so I didn’t dare buy it right away,” the man said.

“Judging from your description, that thing shouldn’t be too bad. Actually, you shouldn’t hesitate in the first place. There are people with sharp eyes in the marketplace too, and they are most likely going to buy it,” an old woman beside the man replied.

The woman’s hair had grayed, but her face still looked like someone in their forties. She had done a great job preserving the condition of her skin. Her appearance clearly hinted at her noble background, but she seemed pretty disdainful, like it was very hard for anyone to get along well with her.

“Don’t worry, the shop is pretty deep in the marketplace, and it’s unlikely that anyone will notice it. Besides, I wasn’t away for long,” the man with orange-yellow hair said.

—

They finally arrived at the shop after some time. However, as soon as the man entered the shop and was about to greet the owner, he was shocked to see three Asians inside it.

Seeing someone in the shop was not a big deal, but Jack’s expression sank when he realized that the three people seemed to be interested in the thing he had come back for!

“Pay the money, we’ll take it,” Pang Lai said confidently.

“Sure… but, I don’t have that much on me right now, can you pay the rest for me first?” Mo Fan did not hesitate to make up his mind, but the price of the item did exceed his budget.

The thing that caught Pang Lai’s attention was the soul of a Commander-level creature, and it had a price of three hundred million!

Mo Fan had spent around eighty million on the bone dust and the lineage, and he had also spent seventy million on the Galaxy Vein not long ago. He only had one hundred and fifty million left.

“See how poor you are? You should really learn how to distinguish between good and bad goods!” Pang Lai said.

After learning that Mo Fan had basically bought everything from the auction, Pang Lai had been criticizing Mo Fan a lot. He kept telling Mo Fan that if he knew how to distinguish the goods himself, everything that he had bought from the auctions would be twenty percent cheaper.

Mo Fan could only smile wryly. He did not even understand the basics, so he might even lose his pants after being scammed by the vendors in the marketplace!

“If you don’t have the money, we’ll be taking it! Here, three hundred million, I’ll pay the money right away!” Jack immediately walked up and placed a resplendent, golden card in front of the owner of the shop.

“It’s you again,” the owner smiled.

“Yeah, it’s me, and we already had our eyes on it first. I only went to get the money from my elder, I’m sorry about that,” Jack replied in inspiration, apologizing in advance.

The owner was stunned after hearing Jack’s statement.

However, Pang Lai had spent lots of time making a living in the marketplace too when he was young. He immediately knew the young man did not reserve the item when he saw the owner’s reaction.

“Who told you that we didn’t have the money? How could I possibly let the young man pay for it? We already decided to take it when you came, you should mind your manners!” Pang Lai took out his card, too.

The shop owner, Hubert was lost in thoughts when he saw the two cards in front of him. However, he still chose Pang Lai’s card in the end.

After all, they had already reached a deal. The young man said he did not have enough money, but he never said he was going to buy it!

“Mister, my student has already settled on it first. Isn’t it inappropriate for you to take that man’s card? My student will be participating in the treasure hunt in a few days, the soul is very important to him… oh, here is my name card.” The old woman beside Jack handed over a crystalline card.

The shop owner took the card and gasped.

“So you’re Gisele, the vice elder of the Sacred Hall of Liberty. Pleased to meet you!” Hubert quickly handed the card back. He did not dare accept it.

“Hold on to it, just let me know if you need any help. The thing is, my student did come to your shop and show his interest in the item. Can you please explain the situation to your customers?” Gisele said in a demanding tone.

As Gisele was speaking, she cast a glance at the item. It was indeed very valuable, and was definitely worth more than three hundred million.

It was most likely the treasure of the shop. She did hear from Jack that the owner had inherited the shop from his father, and had no choice but to sell this treasure, as business had been bad recently. The man was not willing to pay the fees for selling it at an auction, so he gave it a price he had roughly estimated.

Chapter 1072 Breaking Through the Barricade of the Summoning Element

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

At first, the shop owner was planning to sell the soul for five hundred million. However, many experts told him that the thing was not worth that much money. Lately, there had been many customers since many people had come to Venice, but to his surprise, many people had left after taking a few glances at it. None of them showed the slightest interest in it. Therefore, he was forced to lower the price further, and it was now at three hundred million.

Even so, no one was interested in it still, until the American came in the afternoon. He initially thought he finally had a chance of selling it, but to his surprise, the American left saying that he had to discuss it with his advisor. Hubert thought the man would not

return.

Not long after, the three Asians came and agreed to buy it right away. The two groups of people ended up crashing into one another.

The shop owner struggled to make a decision. It was true that the three Asians had agreed to buy it, and were already planning to pay for it, but he could not afford to offend the Vice Elder of the Sacred Hall of Liberty either!

The Mages of the Sacred Hall of Liberty were highly respected throughout the world. Any city would quake vigorously if they were to stomp their foot on the ground, let alone someone with the rank of Vice Elder.

“If you say so, I will…” Hubert reached out his hand, having decided to take Jack’s card.

“Humph!” Pang Lai harrumphed heavily, interrupting Hubert’s action. He said with a hint of disdain in his eyes, “Who would have thought, a Vice Elder of the Sacred Hall of Liberty would be using her identity to threaten a shop owner. You’re a disgrace to the name of the Sacred Hall of Liberty!”

“Old man, what did you say?” the furious Jake immediately rebuked.

Pang Lai’s gaze sharpened. His eyes immediately turned into a ferocious, pitch-black demon leopard lunging at the young Mage, even though it was a mere illusion.

Jack was taken by surprise. He subconsciously took a few steps back. His face turned pale as cold sweat started pouring down on it!

“Kid, watch your tone,” Pang Lai snapped coldly.

Jack was struggling to breathe. His eyes were filled with disbelief.

Vice Elder Gisele was startled when she noticed something. She observed Pang Lai carefully.

“May I know who you are? The little kid might be insensible, but was that really necessary?” The Vice Elder, Gisele sounded cautious, yet she had no intention of backing off.

“I’m not the kind of person that will threaten someone with my identity. We have already decided to buy the item, so please don’t intervene further!” Pang Lai declared.

“How are we intervening? We saw it first!”

“But have you paid for it? Did the shop owner say that the thing is yours? You said that you had reached a deal with the owner, yet he was trying to sell it to us. It’s obvious that your student is only interested in it, yet he didn’t say he was going to buy it! Mister, don’t you change your mind now just because she is a Vice Elder. If you aren’t doing business the way you should, I won’t go easy on you, either!” Pang Lai said.

Both Gisele and Hubert were stunned by Pang Lai’s words. First of all, Gisele was utterly dumbfounded, as she had always gotten her way whenever she revealed her identity as the Vice Elder of the Sacred Hall of Liberty. It was rare to stumble into anyone that dared to challenge her, and she had gotten used to it, yet the old man totally disregarded her status!

Hubert was even more lost in thoughts. The old man’s reaction implied that his status was no lower than the Vice Elder of the Sacred Hall of Liberty. Why would two people with formidable backgrounds come to his shop at the same time? What was he supposed to do?

“Mister, I’ll let you decide,” Gisele harrumphed coldly.

Hubert looked back and forth between the two. He finally decided to do business fairly and accepted Pang Lai’s card.

Since he could not afford to offend either side, he was obliged to do it the normal way. The Asians did express their willingness to buy the item, and the Americans had interrupted halfway…

“Aren’t you going to tell us your name?” Gisele asked in an unfriendly voice.

The item was quite a valuable find, yet someone else had taken it away from them. It clearly had put Gisele in a bad mood. She did not believe that the old man was actually an authoritative figure!

“Pang Lai,” Pang Lai responded, displeased.

–

–

–

Pang Lai made the payment and received the goods. He immediately left with Mo Fan and Jiang Yu without paying any further attention to Gisele and Jack.

Gisele was stunned for a moment. It took her awhile just to collect her thoughts.

Some time after Pang Lai left, Jack recovered from his fear and blurted out, “Advisor, why did you let them leave just like that? Who do they think they are, acting so arrogantly in Venice? How dare they not show any respect to the Sacred Hall of Liberty!”

“You better watch yourself around that old man. It’s not like you have to respect him or anything, but his status is rather special. You’re full of youthful vigor, yet you have to be careful not to step on his tail,” Gisele said.

“Who is he?”

“The Chief of the Chinese Royal Guards, someone ranked on the Tian Ranking; one of the top three Summoners in the world!” Gisele informed him.Read the next chapter on our vipnovel.com

Jack gaped. He was starting to feel a wave of terror rising when he was distracted by some noise behind him.

Jack and Gisele turned around and realized the shop owner had smashed some rare magic ores on the table in a panic.

Hubert quickly tidied up the mess, just so other people would not see how dispirited he was. After he was done, he drew a cross on his chest.

Oh Lord, luckily he had made a wise decision. Otherwise, he would have found himself in great trouble!

After leaving the marketplace, Jiang Yu caught up to Pang Lai and smiled, “Teacher, you were so cool there! You managed to overwhelm them without using your identity, and you only told them your name right at the end! You didn’t even bother abusing your reputation!”

“The people of the Sacred Hall of Liberty have always been full of themselves. I always find them annoying, and I happened to stumble into one today. The fact that I didn’t teach that Vice Elder a lesson is because my temper has improved a lot due to my age!” Pang Lai seemed like a righteous Taoist, yet he also had a wild temper.

Mo Fan enjoyed watching it too. The old woman had really walked right into the line of fire, thinking that she could secure the item because of her position…

Who was Pang Lai? Even though the Royal Guards of China was not as reputable as the Parthenon Temple, those who were familiar with it knew it consisted of a bunch of extremely powerful Mages who had devoted their whole lives to becoming stronger, and who rarely pursued fame or gain. If the Royal Guards and the Sacred Hall of Liberty ended up in a fight, the odds were fairly even!

On the other hand, Gisele was just a Vice Elder, but Pang Lai was the Chief of the Royal Guards. Even the President of the Sacred Hall of Liberty would have to receive Pang Lai personally whenever he went to America. Their ranks were three levels apart!

It was even worse in terms of strength. Pang Lai could easily defeat Gisele with his tertiary or quaternary Elements!

—

“Advisor Pang Lai, thank you for your help and generosity,” Mo Fan was sweet whenever he needed to be. It was necessary to be slick and sly at times. After all, Pang Lai did had done him a huge favor!

“It has nothing to do with generosity, I only said that I was paying for it just to make that old woman mad. You clearly owe me the money, since I don’t make a living from robbing, either. You can transfer all the money you have. As for the remaining amount… you can settle the debt by giving me some of the rare finds you get from the treasure hunt!” Pang Lai did not follow the script at all. His image of a righteous Taoist totally crumbled in just a few sentences!

Mo Fan sighed. Didn’t the powerful old men in dramas and novels always give huge gifts to the main protagonist when they were totally impressed by the protagonist’s talents? Why was it totally different in his case? The old man was so fussy about it, even when it was only three hundred million!

Mo Fan did not dare say that he was not going to pay the money. He transferred the one hundred and fifty million he had to Pang Lai, and promised that he would pay the rest after the treasure hunt.

“You now have everything you need. Just follow my instructions, and it should work. Speaking of which, the soul I stole for you is insanely good, I would have bought it for Jiang Yu if it was useful for him… consider yourself lucky!” Pang Lai said.

“Teacher, we bought it, we didn’t steal it!” Jiang Yu said speechlessly.

“Right, they were trying to steal it from us!” Pang Lai nodded, quickly reassuming his demeanor of a righteous Taoist.

Following Pang Lai’s instructions, Mo Fan first improved his Summoning Element.

Holding the Galaxy Vein he had bought for seventy million, Mo Fan could feel his heart pounding heavily.

He was really worried that the Galaxy Vein would deflate like a balloon just as he was at the crucial step of breaking through the barrier, and he would waste the attempt. He would then have to waste a huge sum buying another Galaxy Vein.

It did not help to be nervous. Mo Fan focused and began to meditate, as he needed to accumulate the energy needed to break through the walls surrounding the Nebula.

The Galaxy Vein continued to support Mo Fan in his attempt. Mo Fan could feel himself riding a fierce tide, aiming to break through the dam in front of him!

Taking a deep breath, Mo Fan clearly remembered the great pressure he was under in his past attempts breaking through to the Advanced Level. However, even though he could feel the same resistance this time, the energy he had accumulated was quite unstoppable. It had directly broken through the barricade, allowing the Nebula to expand into a Galaxy with abundant energy instantly!

The lunar-white Galaxy looked mysterious yet elegant, with two Star Orbits connected to his two Summoned Creatures like umbilical cords.

Both the Swift Star Wolf and Little Flame Belle cried out to congratulate Mo Fan. They could tell that their master had successfully broken through the barrier, and the world of the Summoning Element had further expanded, which meant they would be able to receive more energy in the future…

“Here, Swift Star Wolf, the first mouthful of milk is for you!” Mo Fan followed Pang Lai’s instructions and gave the Swift Star Wolf all the energy the Galaxy had.

Following that, Mo Fan immediately plopped down the ground to stabilize his cultivation.

—

When the Galaxy reached a stable state, Mo Fan’s eyes sprang open, his eyes shining with a brilliant, lunar-white light.

“Jiang Yu’s teacher is very impressive!” Mo Fan could not help but exclaim.

Mo Fan initially thought the Galaxy Vein he had bought with only seventy million was defective with insufficient energy, since most Galaxy Veins were sold for one hundred million, and some even had a price of one hundred and twenty million! It was difficult to tell the quality of a Galaxy Vein being sold at such a low price, but to his surprise, not only was the Galaxy Vein not a defective product, the energy it contained was more abundant, and better than the Galaxy Veins he had acquired from the auctions!

Old Pang Lai was sure impressive with his sharp eyes, able to pick out a great Galaxy Vein with lightning speed!

Chapter 1073 Soul of the Highest Quality

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

The process of improving his Summoning Element to the Advanced Level was an utter success, and so smooth that it totally took Mo Fan by surprise. Mo Fan was hesitant to improve his Elements to the Advanced Level, even though he had the money, because he was afraid of failing the attempts. He felt that the Nebula of his Summoning Element was not full enough, and even if it was ready, there was still a chance that he would fail to improve it. He could not imagine losing a hundred million if he failed the attempt!

Mo Fan had completed strengthening the bones and changing the bloodline of the Swift Star Wolf. The creature was feeling pain everywhere, like a patient who had just gone through surgery. Mo Fan could see him clenching his teeth…

Evolving was an utterly painful process. After all, the creature was basically forfeiting their original body! Just the first two steps were equivalent to having all their bones broken and their blood sucked dry, but the last step of forging the soul was even worse. It involved shattering the soul and reforging it again! The pain inflicted on the soul was unbearable. It required the Summoned Beast to have a strong will!

Mo Fan believed that the Swift Star Wolf had always had a strong will to improve. The fact that he was from the Summoned Beast Plane was a clear indication that he was no weakling waiting to be dominated by some other creature. Not long after he was born, he had to do his best to survive in the wilderness through endless fights. Compared to Little Flame Belle, who had her own Contracted Space, the Swift Star Wolf’s life was a lot tougher.

But there was nothing Mo Fan could do. If Mo Fan had a way to raise the Swift Star Wolf in a space where the Swift Star Wolf could have his own home, there was no reason he would have the Swift Star Wolf continue to stay in the wilds in the Summoned Beast Plane. However, the Summoning Element had its own rules, strictly forbidding a Summoned Beast from Dimensional Summoning from entering the Contracted Space… unless the Mage was strong enough to provide energy for the Summoned Beast to stay forever in their current dimension. Otherwise, once the energy ran out, the Swift Star Wolf would be called back to the wilds of the Summoned Beast Plane.

The Ancient Desolate Continent! Mo Fan had heard the name from Pang Lai. It was said that the Summoned Beast Plane consisted of nine continents, each with different species of creatures residing on them. These creatures were basically no different than demon creatures, the only difference being that they were able to establish spiritual connections with humans, allowing Summoners to summon them, and to fight at their side!

The Swift Star Wolf was from the Ancient Desolate Continent, where beast-type creatures were from. It was a barbarous land that obeyed the law of the jungle, and apparently, battles between species and their hordes were fairly common there, as if the creatures were always at war.

Mo Fan remembered, back when he first cast the Dimensional Summoning, that the Swift Star Wolf was still a Spirit Wolf. As Mo Fan’s spirit was traveling over the Ancient Desolate Continent of the Summoned Beast Plane, he recalled seeing the whole place covered in the remains of creatures. Now that he thought about it, the Swift Star Wolf was most likely an orphan of some tribe, and it might be one of the main reasons why he was so eager to become stronger amid the never-ending battles in the Ancient Desolated Continent.

“Hey wolf, are you ready for it?” Mo Fan patted the Swift Star Wolf’s head.

“Awooo~” The Swift Star Wolf raised his head and uttered a typical howl of a wolf, displaying his firm and unyielding spirit!

“Hahhoo-Hahhoo-” Little Flame Belle was trying her best to mimic the howl too.

“What are you up to now?” Mo Fan asked Little Flame Belle.

Little Flame Belle no longer had short limbs like she used to. She now had a waist, a pair of slim legs, and the two sprouts of flames on her head were like two little pigtails of a young teenaged girl. Mo Fan had the urge to put some clothes on her and walk down the street while holding her hand. He strongly believed that she would catch everyone’s attention easily!

“HAHHOO!” Little Flame Belle was already holding two fiery pom-poms in her hands, wiggling her little waist and dancing around sincerely, as if she wanted to lend a hand to her Uncle Wolf!

“Alright, I guess you can be the cheerleader,” Mo Fan placed Little Flame Belle to the side, allowing the little creature to enjoy herself.

Little Flame was doing her very best, as if her Uncle Wolf would surely going to succeed the harder she danced! The only thing she lacked was a banner displaying, I will be waiting for you at the Commander-level!

“Wolf, let’s begin. Are you ready for the unbearable pain? If you really can’t endure it, don’t force yourself. We will have lots of chances still in the future. Once I become rich, I’ll buy many Souls for you for your snacks!” Mo Fan said.

The Swift Star Wolf nodded. His energetic eyes began to focus, a stern look in them.

“Alright, here we go!” Mo Fan’s thoughts were synchronized with the Swift Star Wolf’s. He slowly directed the Soul he had bought toward the Swift Star Wolf.

A body could only hold one soul. When another soul entered a body, the original soul of the body would start to repel it, and the two souls would break out in a fight when the new soul was trying to take over the body!

In terms of the levels of the souls, the Swift Star Wolf’s soul was only at the Warrior-level, but the soul being placed inside his body was Commander-level. It was obvious which Soul was stronger. If Mo Fan was unable to assert control over the Soul, the Swift Star Wolf’s soul would be torn into pieces at any second!

The process of the soul forging was as follows: Think of the Swift Star Wolf as a little puppy, and the only way for it to grow is to beat a fierce hound. In a fair fight, the outcome is very obvious, the little puppy is going to be torn into pieces by the hound. Currently, the role that Mo Fan was playing is the person keeping the hound under control with a chain. He needed to know how tight he had to hold the chain. If he loosens it by too much, the hound would simply lunge forward, and the little puppy was dead for sure. However, if he grabbed the chain too tightly, the little puppy wouldn’t learn as much from the fight!

As such, the process was also a test of the Mage’s cultivation and control, since his ability to control the process would directly determine the outcome!. Failing to do so would endanger the life of his Summoned Beast…

Luckily, Mo Fan’s cultivation was fairly outstanding, not because of how vast the Galaxy of his Summoning Element was, but because his Spiritual World now had six Elements! Leaving the Demon Element aside, he still had five Elements; normally, only a Forbidden Mage would have the same number!

The number of Elements Mo Fan possessed meant his mental state was much stronger than ordinary people, and the strength of his mental state was proportional to his will and his control over those Elements. If a Mage with only a single Element in the Advanced Level was doing this, they would never be able to keep the fierce hound under control, resulting in a terrible loss.

Mo Fan had basically bought the best materials he could possibly find, and he was also an experienced Summoner. It solely depended on the Swift Star Wolf’s resilience!

“Speaking of which, what exactly is this Soul I got, that even the Vice Elder of the Sacred Hall of Liberty was so eager to get her hands on it? Why am I struggling to tell how outstanding it is?” Mo Fan was curious as he asserted his control over the Soul.

The Soul did not seem too different from any other Commander-level creature. On top of that, it was not even the Soul of a creature of the wolf species, meaning that the two souls might have trouble merging later in the process. However, if Pang Lai told him that the Soul was something remarkable, and was willing to pay three hundred million in advance to secure it, it must be something incredible!

The Swift Star Wolf suddenly let out a cry, and was filled with fear and the urge to give up.

Mo Fan was startled. Why did the Swift Star Wolf want to surrender so quickly? He was quite confident that he had controlled the Soul

well.

Not long after, Mo Fan realized the Soul was the reason. He took a closer look at the silhouette of the creature inside it.

After a glance, even Mo Fan subconsciously took a deep breath. The Soul was nothing like one that had died. It was a vivid and enormous beast, with tails flying wildly and eyes erupting in ghastly flames. It even had white bones covering it like armor, and a pair of slightly curved horns. Even its feet would leave a ghastly trail of flame…

Mo Fan had no idea what the beast was, yet it was totally different than its harmless appearance at the start. It had turned into a ferocious beast out of nowhere!

It made a lot of sense why the Swift Star Wolf was utterly terrified of the creature, since it was clearly not an ordinary Commander-level creature. Quite the opposite; Mo Fan somehow felt that the creature had a stronger aura than the pseudo-dragon he had once fought against!

“How did Pang Lai even notice such a high-quality soul!?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mo Fan finally understood why the Vice Elder and Jack were so eager to get their hands on the soul. It was nothing like the ordinary souls they could find in the market!

If the Swift Star Wolf could refine it and reforge his soul, he would surely evolve into an imperious Commander-level creature!

“Swift Star Wolf, don’t panic, it’s the perfect Soul to help you achieve the Commander-level, and even give you the potential to improve further! It’s already dead, but you’re still alive! You won’t just stop at the Commander-level, you’ll even achieve the Ruler-level in the future, so don’t let this dead creature stop you from growing stronger! Fight it, and beat the crap out of it! I’m here protecting you, you can surely use it as a stepping stone to evolve into a Commander-level wolf!” Mo Fan was excited

now.

The creature’s presence was fairly intimidating, but the scarier it was, the better the outcome would be if the Swift Star Wolf managed to overcome it!

It was a great challenge for the Swift Star Wolf. If he could overcome it, he would no longer have to live a tough life in the Ancient Desolate Continent, as he would be able to claim his own territory.

A Commander-level creature was worthy enough to claim a territory, and the Swift Star Wolf was eager to grow stronger mainly because he wanted to have his own territory in the wilderness. Once he overcame this challenge, he would be able to establish his own horde!

“Awooo-” The Swift Star Wolf’s fear was natural due to the difference between their levels. The presence of a Commander-level creature could easily shatter the fighting spirit of a Warrior-level creature.

However, the Swift Star Wolf was very experienced in taking on strong foes. Mo Fan was very strong, and so was Little Flame Belle, yet the Wolf was still stuck at the Warrior-level. In order to survive in the Ancient Desolate Continent, he had to grow stronger!

He let out a defiant roar, trying to overcome the fear toward a higher-level creature he was experiencing from his lineage and his soul!

“Go! Just do it! So what if it’s a Commander-level creature; go and tear it into pieces!” Mo Fan encouraged him.

“Hahhoo-hahhoo!-” Little Flame Belle danced even more vigorously, her face serious, as if she was fighting the battle herself!

Chapter 1074 Flying Creek Snow Wolf!

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

Venice, the Yun Lan Chinese Mage Clubhouse…

Jiang Yu still did not understand what the Soul that his teacher was interested in was; even the Vice Elder of the Sacred Hall of Liberty was willing to intervene just to get her hands on it. He could not help but ask, “Master, the Soul that you bought for Mo Fan, what exactly is it? Is it really that impressive?”

“To be honest with you, I was quite surprised to see something like that in the marketplace in Venice, too. There’s nothing special about that Soul, and even people with sharp eyes normally don’t pay three hundred million for it. Even if it’s auctioned, it will most likely be sold around the price of two hundred million…” Pang Lai tried taking a sip of the Italian coffee, yet as soon as he took a sip, he spat it out.

“Master, I think tea suits you better.” Jiang Yu immediately went to brew a pot of tea and served it to Pang Lai, before asking, “So why did you spend three hundred million on it? Were you seriously just trying to squabble with the old lady?”

“Squabble with her?” Pang Lai raised his brows and harrumphed, “Let me tell you, if I didn’t promise to get a Soul for Mo Fan and the fact that he has helped our country plenty of times, I would have bought it for myself, and given it to you as your graduation gift. Unfortunately, your first Summoned Beast is of the Earth Element, and the other is a demon spirit, so the soul of a beast isn’t of any use to

you…”

“Was it really that impressive? But didn’t you mention that it was only an ordinary Commander-level creature?” Jiang Yu asked.

“It’s only ordinary in the eyes of the others, but it’s totally different in the eyes of someone as knowledgeable as your master. If I hadn’t been to the Extreme South Ice Realm, I might have missed it, too.” Pang Lai took a sip of the tea to cleanse his tongue of the strong coffee aroma, before drinking it. Chinese tea was still the best, and the drinks in foreign countries all tasted like mud!

{TL Note: But I like to drink coffee… ='( }

“The Extreme South Ice Realm, at the South Pole?” Jiang Yu was astounded.

“Yeah, it’s truly a forbidden place for humans. The land is vast, and extremely cold, and the demon creatures there…” He sighed heavily. “The word strong is far from enough to describe them. We only went around a hundred kilometers meters deep into the place, yet our group was almost wiped out. Everyone in the group was a Super Mage, and even though I wasn’t as strong as I am now, there’s no chance I’m going back to the South Pole again!” As Pang Lai recalled the situation, he suddenly could not feel the cup of hot tea in his hand, as if he was lost in the land of the snow, where he could feel no heat.

“There are places where even master doesn’t dare to go?” Jiang Yu was even more shocked.

There was not much information about the lands at the South Pole. It was not like not many powerful Mages had visited it, but it was nothing but a black zone.

Other kingdoms of demon creatures were usually crawling with demon creatures, but at the South Pole, it was pretty hard to find one, the whole place was deadly quiet…

However, if you ended up stumbling into one or two when your luck ran out, it was very likely that you would not be able to come back alive!

Pang Lai was once full of youthful vigor, back when he used to be a bright talent among the Super Mages. He was bold enough to follow a bunch of ambitious Mages on an expedition to the South Pole. After that time, Pang Lai had decided to join the Royal Guards and spent most of his time cultivating, or training his disciples. He no longer dared to go on adventures.

Even with his current strength, his face always turned pale at the mention of the Extreme South Ice Realm.

“Let’s not talk about the past. Don’t you want to know why I’m so fascinated by the Soul?” Pang Lai went back to the topic.

“Could it be that the Soul is from the Extreme South Ice Realm?”

“Exactly! I could immediately tell that the creature was from the Extreme South Ice Realm when I felt the strong presence of the Ice Element while holding it. Only the creatures there could possess a Soul with such a strong presence of the Ice Element. If I’m not mistaken, it’s most likely the soul of a Flying Creek Snow Beast. Its strength is similar to that of an ordinary Commander-level creature, but its Ice Soul is going to grant it immeasurable strength when fighting in an Ice Domain!” Pang Lai explained.

“So it’s basically gained the power of the Ice Element?”

Pang Lai sighed. “It’s hard to explain it to you with words. Once Mo Fan’s wolf evolves successfully, you’ll realize how strong the Ice Soul is during the treasure hunt!”

“I guess so. It’s surely something special if it comes from that place!”

–

In a private training ground…

The whole place shook, following a blasting roar. Even the boats in the nearby canals were shaking hard.

The people nearby stared at the training ground with terrified looks when they heard the roar.

Luckily, the roar had come from the training ground. If it was from any other building, the city guards of Venice would have immediately surrounded the place!

“HAHAHA, it worked! Old man Pang Lai is really impressive!” Mo Fan’s laughter echoed throughout the training ground.

Mo Fan had managed to help the Swift Star Wolf evolve just by following Pang Lai’s instructions!

Mo Fan had withdrawn his control. He was staring at the Swift Star Wolf, watching its remarkable transformation!

The Swift Star Wolf had fully extended his limbs, as if his bones and bodies were being pulled apart forcibly. His previously elegant muscles had expanded too, making him more muscular, and granting him a more savage appearance!

His fur was drifting in the wind, and the color had started to change too, from dark blue to white. It looked rather chilly, with an icy blue gleam to it!

Mo Fan initially thought he would feel an icy aura bursting out from the creature, yet all he felt was the cold, yet restrained savagery of the Swift Star Wolf. However, he could sense a suffocating sense of danger just looking at the icy flames in the creature’s eyes!

Mo Fan knew the thing burning inside the creature’s eyes was not fire, but a kind of frost that was swaying like a flame. The same frost was swaying on the wolf’s shoulders, elbows, and tail!

In addition to that, his fur was covering him from his shoulder to his hip, then to his rear legs, and on top of that was a layer of glittering, icy armor attached to the Swift Star Wolf’s sturdy muscles, showing off the inviolable nobility of a Commander-level creature!

“Is…is he now an Ice-type creature?” Mo Fan was astounded after witnessing the Swift Star Wolf’s transformation.

The change to the wolf’s Element was a piece of good news. After all, the Wind Element that the Swift Star Wolf had before was fairly weak. He mainly relied on his physical strength in fights.

However, even though the Swift Star Wolf had turned into an Ice-type creature, the icy aura from the icy armor covering him did not feel that strong, and the temperature nearby did not even drop by much.

Even a Basic Ice Spread was similar to turning on an air-conditioner, yet the aura of the Swift Star Wolf was nowhere close to that.

“Don’t tell me he has only inherited the appearance of the Soul, but he did not inherit its power. Such a pity,” Mo Fan murmured.

“Ning-” Little Flame Belle was naive. She immediately lifted her fiery pom-poms when she saw that the Swift Star Wolf had successfully evolved. She leapt up and danced joyfully.

“Forget it, it doesn’t really matter, it’s cool enough that you’ve evolved into a Commander-level creature. HAHAHA, wolf, I’ll have to call you White Wolf from now onward!” Mo Fan was the optimistic kind.

He had only spent around four hundred and fifty million to help the Swift Star Wolf evolve into a Commander-level creature. It was quite a bargain! After all, the strength of a Commander-level creature was comparable to the combined strength of about seven Advanced Mages, and it took more than a hundred million to train an Advanced Mage!

Either way, the Swift Star Wolf’s transformation was not as impressive as Mo Fan anticipated, yet it did not let Mo Fan down, either. The Swift Star Wolf had officially achieved the Commander-level, meaning that he could easily eliminate a national team with just his Summoning Element alone!

“That being said, he looks really cool, like a king of the wolves. You can finally claim your own territory in the Summoned Beast Plane!” Mo Fan patted the Swift Star Wolf’s head and smiled.

“Awooo!~” The Swift Star Wolf was incredibly excited, too. He let go a few howls, and the boats and people in the canals nearby suffered greatly.

“We can finally enjoy ourselves during the treasure hunt. We’ll have to earn all the money we’ve spent lately back!” Mo Fan said ambitiously.

“Awoo!”

“Hahhoo!”

The White Wolf retained his savagery as a wolf. He was a great fan of plundering, and since he had just achieved the Commander-level, it was finally his turn to show off his remarkable prowess.

Little Flame Belle cried out in excitement too, her voice was as pleasant as the chime of a bell. She could finally follow her daddy and Uncle Wolf on their evil deeds of plundering and setting places on fire. She was radiating great joy!

—

Mo Fan told Jiang Yu about his success. Jiang Yu also mentioned the origin of the Soul to Mo Fan briefly. However, Jiang Yu was not able to understand the whole story from his teacher. He had no idea how strong the Ice Soul was, he only told Mo Fan what he had heard.

“Flying Creek Snow Beast… alright, I guess I’ll call you Flying Creek Snow Wolf then!” Mo Fan gave the Swift Star Wolf a new name!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf… it sounded like a handsome wolf leaping and running along the walls and jumping between the cliffs of a snowy creek. It did suit his current appearance!

“Have you tried out his strength yet? My master said the creature is very strong,” Jiang Yu asked.

“Not yet. I let him go back to the Summoned Beast Plane to claim his territory. I think he’s the same as other Commander-level creatures,” Mo Fan said.

“Oh, I’ll leave it to you to explore, then. My master wouldn’t lie to you; if he said it’s strong, he must have some outstanding ability,” Jiang Yu said.

“It’s fine, I’m satisfied that he’s now a Commander-level creature!”

“True, your Summoning Element isn’t any weaker than mine, and it’s supposed to be your tertiary Element…” Jiang Yu sighed.

Chapter 1075 Huge Teleporting Portal
Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan purposely paid Pang Lai a visit to express his gratitude.

Jiang Yu knocked on the door to explain their purpose of visit, yet Pang Lai told Jiang Yu to leave in a demanding tone.

“Forget it, master is probably dealing with something urgent. Let’s wait in the garden; I can tell you more about the treasure hunt, too.” Jiang Yu asked someone to get them some drinks.

Mo Fan glanced at the door that was tightly shut. He was intrigued by Pang Lai’s tone. Even if he was busy with something, it did not explain why he sounded so serious.

Mo Fan did not overthink it. He proceeded to discuss the treasure hunt with Jiang Yu. It was very important to Mo Fan, and it was also an opportunity for the members of the national team to grow stronger, too. There were times when an ordinary student turned into the brightest stars in the tournament with the loot they found during the treasure hunt. No one could possibly tell what was going to happen during the treasure hunt!

In the locked room, Pang Lai sat on a cushion and looked at the old man with a scarred face sitting opposite to him with a stern expression.

“Old friend, please help me. I’m only here because I’m left with no choice,” the old man with a scar pleaded.

“How do you expect me to help? Look at the things you did, and the solid proof that the Holy Judgment Court has found… you’re seriously out of your mind. You already had a great reputation, and your power and fame were unmatched… why would you do such a thing? You’ve really let your old friends down!” Pang Lai snapped coldly.

“They have yet to deliver the evidence to the Holy Judgment Court. You have to help me…” the old man said.

“Are you insane!? Essendale, how did you end up like this? You didn’t even show the slightest hint of remorse! Do you know how remorseful Yingcan was for the rest of his life after the stupid decision he made? Look at the consequences of his mistake! The Calamity of Bo City, the Calamity of the Ancient Capital… there’s no way Salan will forgive you. Just surrender yourself, for the sake of your clan and your descendants, it’s the only favor that the rest of us can do for you! Save some dignity for yourself, and think about your descendants! There’s no escape for you!” Pang Lai said to Essendale sternly.

“It’s a matter of viewpoint! It’s not like I’ve done anything wrong! I admitted that I picked the wrong candidate, and I’ve done inhumane things on her behalf, but wasn’t that how it always is? The election might look sacred and noble on the surface, but it’s as filthy as a river of blood!” Essendale protested.

“Do you really think the things you did are just ‘inhumane? Old friend, you’ve really crossed the line, I can’t stand watching you any longer! If you aren’t willing to surrender yourself, I guess I’ll have to deliver you to the Holy Judgment Court myself!” Pang Lai’s eyes flickered sharply.

Essendale immediately rose to his feet. A dark aura immediately burst out of his body and filled the room!

Pang Lai did not think that Essendale was already on guard. It was impossible to detain the man once he got the upper hand. “Do you really just think about only yourself?”

“I don’t want to die, and I don’t want to be locked in the Underworld Prison like Wen Tai…” The dark aura emitted by Essendale grew stronger.

Pang Lai was unable to move. The dark aura was locking him down like countless chains of black dragons. Pang Lai was suppressed before he could cast a single spell.

Pang Lai let out a sigh, looking at Essendale.

“There must be a way, there must be… I don’t want you to continue down the wrong path.”

Out in the garden, Mo Fan who was chatting with Jiang Yu when he suddenly sensed an overwhelming presence of darkness coming from the room. For an instant, Mo Fan thought the Ruler of the Dark had descended upon the place! He could feel his skin crawling!

Mo Fan turned around and stared at the room.

At the same time, the door was shoved open. An old man with a scarred face walked out. He glanced at Mo Fan and Jiang Yu briefly before leaving the place.

Jiang Yu was stunned for a moment. He immediately rose to his feet when he saw the room was filled with an overwhelming dark energy and quickly hurried over.

Mo Fan glanced into the room too. He saw Pang Lai sitting in the darkness like a statue, unable to move.

Mo Fan turned after the old man, but he had already disappeared. He did not just disappear because he had turned a corner, but he had already vanished a fair distance away!

It was the Fleeing Shadow, but the man’s Fleeing Shadow was crazier than Blink! Mo Fan could not detect a single trace of him.

“Master, master, are you alright?” Jiang Yu hurriedly went up to Pang Lai.

The energy restraining Pang Lai soon dissipated. The old man covered in the dark energy started coughing with a helpless face.

Mo Fan glanced at Pang Lai. It was obvious that Pang Lai had lost in the short confrontation with the old man. Mo Fan was utterly shaken. Who was that old man, that even Pang Lai was not his worthy opponent?

Pang Lai let out a long sigh. He simply ignored Jiang Yu’s question and sat there, thinking.

Mo Fan had no clue what had happened, and it was obvious that Pang Lai was not in the mood to talk.

On the day of the treasure hunt, the whole world was shaken by a piece of news.

A world-famous Shadow Mage named Essendale was pronounced guilty, and the Holy Judgment Court had placed a bounty on his head, dead or alive!

Mo Fan heard everyone discussing it when he arrived at the venue. Everyone was left in awe by the news!

Essendale, a Mage that was ranked higher than Pang Lai; the true Master of the Shadow Element!

To Mo Fan’s great surprise, it was Essendale that had generously donated the Dark Noble Mantle as a reward to be given to the national teams!

Mo Fan had heard his name a couple of times. A Mage of his level was on par with the leaders of his country; it was hard to imagine that such a person had suddenly become a serious criminal!

“It’s said that the Holy Judgment Court has conclusive evidence; they won’t allow Essendale to rebut the accusation,” Jiang Yu

said.

“No wonder your master looked so down; he had already guessed the outcome!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had only learned that the person able to trap Pang Lai the other day was the Master of the Shadow Element, Essendale, when the news broke out. However, he had no clue what they were talking about.

“Speaking of which, considering how strong Essendale is, and if even your master was no match for him, will the Holy Judgment Court really be able to catch him if he’s serious about running away? The master of the Shadow Element… I doubt if anyone in this world can really catch him,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan also possessed the Shadow Element, so he clearly knew how outstanding the Element was when it was used to run away. There was no chance that they could catch someone like Essendale without the help of Forbidden Mages!

“Who knows, but it’s hard to imagine that someone like him would do something so unforgiving. I heard that it has something to do with a Candidate, I wonder who it could be…”

“Will the treasure hunt be postponed because of it?”

“It’s hard to say, it’s just too great a bit of news for now.”

The incident was expected to affect the World College Tournament to a certain degree. The treasure hunt was postponed for two days, just so it did not take place on the same day that Essendale was pronounced guilty.

People would soon be distracted by other news, and would forget about something that happened before.

——

However, Essendale’s influence was greater than everyone thought. The news remained a headline across the world even after two days, and apparently, the Candidate that was related to the incident had gone missing, too.

Mo Fan did not really care much about the things that happened in the rest of the world. He only cared about the treasure hunt for now.

The treasure hunt took place as scheduled. Sixteen countries were disqualified in the first round, so only the sixteen countries that were left would participate in the treasure hunt.

—

The participants were told to gather at the same stadium where the opening ceremony was held, but unlike before, it was filled with magic ores, all with a silver gleam to them.

The silver ores were arranged in a formation. Mo Fan could clearly sense the energy of the Space Element lingering in the air.

“A Space Magic Formation; it seems like they are going to teleport us to the actual venue!” Ai Jiangtu observed professionally.

“Such a huge Space Magic Formation, I wonder where it’s going to teleport us to! Don’t tell me it’s the edge of the world?” Zhao Manyan’s eyes were wide.

The magic formation was insanely huge. None of them knew where it was going to teleport them.

There were two kinds of Space Magic Formations. The first kind would teleport anyone that stepped into it to a random place. When Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya went to pay the Black Dragon Emperor a visit, Asha’ruiya was forced to set up such a space portal without a precise destination.

The other kind was a designated space portal that would teleport anyone that stepped through it to a certain place…

Many Space Mages had suggested setting up teleportation portals in the main cities across the world, just so the people could travel back and forth in a matter of seconds. However, realistically, it was not practical at all, as a portal with the ability to teleport someone across a long distance needed a vast amount of energy. In this world where humans and demon creatures never stopped competing for the scarce energy that was available, the energy it took to teleport a traveler was enough to train an outstanding Battlemage!

As such, only a grand occasion like the World College Tournament would be allowed to teleport students to the actual venue with a Space Magic Formation.

“I’ll now explain the rules!” the main judged stepped forward and announced in English. “Sixteen countries, one hundred and sixty students will be teleported to random spots in the space set up for the treasure hunt. You will each end up in a different place, and as usual, you’ll encounter all kinds of dangers and demon creatures, so you should be extremely careful while searching for the treasure! Even though we have assistant judges watching you inside, and will try our best to guarantee your safety with the help of the Eagle Eyes scattered across the place, there are chances that accidents will happen, so I hope you can stay calm and ask for help immediately. Don’t lose your life because of your greed!”

“Finally, this here is a Scroll of Space. When you realize that your life is danger, fill the scroll with energy! It will activate in around four seconds, and teleport you back here with a space vortex. Again, safety first; don’t do anything stupid!”

Creator’s Thought

so, transporting them via this thing one way is enough to train 160 outstanding battlemages, given ten people on the team. Out, and back, plus the observors…

Nope, no waste in these games, nope nope.

Oh, and new magic item… crush the Scrolls to trigger a spell!

Chapter 1076 Essence Crystal of the Black Tree
Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

“Space scrolls, tsk tsk, the tournament is pretty generous huh? I bet not many students have such life-preserving stuff,” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Are they like, really, really expensive?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“It’s not a problem of how much they cost, but how many of them are produced! There aren’t many Space Mages that can produce them, and even fewer are under the command of private organizations,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Since everyone is forced to split up, let’s try our best to regroup once we are in there. Otherwise, we won’t even have a chance even if we find something precious,” Jiang Yu spoke up.

Every member of the national team was taking part in the treasure hunt, since each team was allowed to have ten representatives. Thus, there were one hundred and sixty participants in total, representing sixteen countries.

After the rules were clarified, the students made their way into the Space Magic Formation.

Since the members of every team were going to split up, they were asked to enter the formation at different times, too. Interestingly, Mo Fan was somehow drawn out very early among the students, and he was the first member of the Chinese team to enter the formation.

Mo Fan was fairly curious about where the formation would bring him. Was it a confined space, or was it a special place that Italy had prepared for the tournament? However, since the Hunter Union was in charge of the second round, they would be putting the participants’ ability to survive in the wild to the test!

It was important for a Mage to learn how to survive in the wild, since demon creatures were the biggest enemy of mankind. The competition between students did not really matter much. Only those who won against demon creatures, and survived under terrible conditions in the wild, would truly emerge as the true experts of the world!

—

As soon as Mo Fan stepped into the formation, he immediately sensed the space around him spinning and twisting.

Fortunately, it was not Mo Fan’s first time traveling through space. He calmly closed his eyes, just so he would not get sick from the turbulence of the flow.

With a shudder, Mo Fan vanished from right in front of everyone between some space ripples within the blink of an eye.

The chaotic flow of space struck him. However, since Mo Fan was a Space Mage himself, he knew how to handle the situation, and could stop himself from losing too much of his energy.

The process did not last long. When Mo Fan opened his eyes, the stadium had already disappeared. He could no longer see Venice’s sky, or the crowd of spectators…

The muddy, gray sky was twisting in a weird way, like a giant painting looming over his head. It felt surreal.

The ground was uneven, with jagged rocks and steep mountains. He also saw a black forest, a river with its water flowing in the wrong direction, and a valley with some eerie cries…

Mo Fan looked around him and had an indescribably strange feeling.

Even though he could see mountains, water, and the sky in his surroundings, it felt like something that an illogical painter had put together indifferently. It felt nothing like nature!

“It must be some kind of a unique space!” Mo Fan was not unfamiliar with strange spaces.

The world he had ended up in under the Dark Abyss was oddly uncomfortable, too. To his relief, there was only a slight disharmony in the sky; it was not made of corpses like the one in the Dark Abyss!

Curtains of corpses in the sky… whenever Mo Fan recalled the sight in the Dark Abyss, he still had lingering fears.

Every confined space would have its boundary. If he could find a tall spot, he might be able to see the end of the space. It was unlikely that the organizer would pick a vast, boundless space as the venue, since not only would they have to struggle to look after every participant, they would have trouble controlling what was happening inside the space, too!

Mo Fan heard the cries of eagles above him. He lifted his gaze and saw an eagle circling around a hundred meters up in the sky.

“So those are the unmanned drones with surveillance cameras?” Mo Fan gave the eagle a wide smile.

The Observer Eagles were a kind of tool that the military often used. Similar to the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror, these Observer Eagles were able to transmit everything they saw to a device via Light Magic.

Since the whole world was watching the tournament, it did not make sense if the treasure hunt only involved the students running around in a confined space. The Observer Eagles were the best tools to broadcast what was happening in the space, allowing the people outside to watch the splendid performances of the students!

The Observer Eagles had been waiting in their positions for a long time. They were tailing every student to capture everything that happened, while looking after their safety.

When Mo Fan saw a number of Observer Eagles flying in the sky, he could not help but have a thought: Shouldn’t the treasure hunt be given a name, like, Running Mage?

{TL Note: A reference to a popular variety show from Korea, Running Man, NOT the Schwarzenegger movie.}

However, it was a tournament after all, and even though the environment did resemble wilderness, it went without saying that the organizer had basically set up everything artificially. The only question was how many demon creatures were residing in the space, since they were most likely the only threat to the participants!

Mo Fan looked around him, but he could not tell where he was supposed to go.

The advisors specifically told them to regroup with the others as soon as possible, to increase their odds of finding and securing treasure. It did not make sense for the organizer to drop the loot right in the middle of nowhere…

Unfortunately, Mo Fan had no idea where his teammates were. He had no choice but to roam aimlessly.

“Little Roach, it’s your showtime! Help daddy see if there’s anything good around here!” Mo Fan murmured to the pendant on his chest.

The Little Loach Pendant did not glow, implying that there was nothing that had caught its attention nearby.

Ever since Little Loach had devoured the Eternal Wicked Lotus, it had yet to react to anything that Mo Fan stumbled into.

Mo Fan realized he was expecting too much from Little Loach. He had no choice but to search for the loot himself.

Before Mo Fan knew it, he had entered a forest with distorted black trees. Glancing at the ghastly trees, Mo Fan asked Little Flame Belle again, “Are you sure that your little mummy is inside?”

“Ling!-” Little Flame Belle nodded.

Little Flame Belle had acknowledged Xinxia as her mummy first, meaning that Mu Ningxue had somehow become the little mummy.

However, Little Flame Belle was not really fond of Mu Ningxue’s icy aura, so she rarely went close to Mu Ningxue. That being said, she was still extremely sensitive to it, and was able to sense it from far away.

If Little Flame Belle said that Mu Ningxue was inside the forest, she was most likely right!

Once Mo Fan found Mu Ningxue, he would be more relaxed wandering around!

–

—

“Strange, the forest doesn’t seem to be huge, but why do I feel like I won’t be able to leave it after coming in here…” Mo Fan had been moving forward for some time, yet he realized that he was still in the black forest.

He was surrounded by the wilted, twisting trees with empty branches. There was a strong evil presence, too.

Aas (

Mo Fan was confident that he was not trapped in some kind of a maze, as he could easily tell such a thing with his Shadow Element.

If the forest was not a maze, the only possibility left was the black forest was a compressed zone. It did not seem to cover a great area from the distance, but it was actually quite huge once he stepped into it. It was unlikely that he would reach the end in a short period…

——

A cold wind with some frost came from the distance. Even without Little Flame Belle’s help, Mo Fan could easily recognize Mu Ningxue’s aura. She was right ahead!

Mo Fan turned into a shadow and wove through the trees rapidly. He finally saw Mu Ningxue, who was wearing a long robe, at a place where the trees seemed much thicker.

“Xuexue… mmm, why are you trapped between the trees?” Mo Fan stood on an old trunk and asked with a confused look.

Mu Ningxue was surrounded by frozen trees circling her like a prison, entrapping her in the middle.

“Look out, the trees can move!” Mu Ningxue warned him sharply.

Before Mo Fan realized what was happening, he saw two sharp branches stabbing at him; it turned out that the tree he was standing on was attacking him!

Mo Fan immediately jumped into the air, but before he could adjust his stance, he saw a huge branch swiping at him, knocking him

flying.

Mo Fan rolled a few times on the ground. His bones were hurting from the impact.

Luckily, his body was rather sturdy. Any other Mage would have a few broken bones by now!

“Damn it!” Mo Fan turned around and saw the trees that had attacked him had already uprooted themselves from the ground. They moved with their wriggling roots, their branches were their weapons. Some were thin and long, like claws, while some were as sharp as spears!

“I’ll burn them all with fire!” Mo Fan snapped furiously.

“They are just too many of them. Don’t panic, you’re only going to attract more of these Black Tree Spirits!” Mu Ningxue advised hm.

“What shall I do then? I can’t just let them smack me around like table tennis,” Mo Fan protested.

“There’s a Commander-level Black Tree Spirit, and it’s carrying an Essence Crystal in its tree hole. The organizer must have placed it there,” Mu Ningxue said.

{TL Note: Used to be Fundamental Crystal, but I think Essence Crystal sounds better.}

“Essence Crystal! That’s some good stuff!” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered.

Mo Fan happened to find an Essence Crystal in the canyon filled with the Forbidden Moon Rock Demons. It was worth two to three hundred million!

Mo Fan did not expect that Mu Ningxue had already found such valuable loot when he came looking for her.

“Do you need my help? Or you can deal with it yourself?” Mo Fan asked.

“Let’s do it together and get it done; the others might have found other treasures, too,” Mu Ningxue replied.

“Your Ice is better at dealing with the underlings, I’ll handle the boss…” Mo Fan split the tasks with Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue’s Ice Element had wide coverage, so she could handle the enormous number of Black Tree Spirits better. Besides, if they did not get rid of the army of Black Tree Spirits, they had no hope of reaching their Commander!

Creator’s Thought

I found it funny that only Space Mages under private organizations would make the Scrolls, turning Advanced/Super Level awesome Space mages into production machines for cash. Hah!

Remember the cash is 7:1

Translator’s Note: Yes, this is an entire chapter. as per title this chapter doesn’t contain any text in original novel it is posted just to keep numbering consistent with original novel.

Chapter 1078 The Worm and Tree Symbiosis
Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue continued to unleash her frost. It was very effective against Plant-type demon creatures.

The Ice Element was effective against the Plant Element was basic knowledge that every student had to learn in their nine years of study about magic. That being said, the Fire Element was even more effective against the Plant Element. After passing through the Black Tree Spirits that Mu Ningxue had frozen, Mo Fan saw the Commander-level Black Tree Spirit that Mu Ningxue had mentioned.

The Tree Spirit Commander was rather strange. It was residing in the lake, and the whole black lake had huge bubbles on its surface. It looked rather disgusting!

The mid-trunk of the Tree Spirit Commander had a strange mouth like a human, but it was a lot wider. Its eerie branches were like the arms and claws of a mountain monster. When Mo Fan walked forward, he realized that the tree was grabbing an enormous, gray bear…

The bear was around six meters tall, with gray flames covering its body. One could tell that the bear was no ordinary Servant-class beast, but the Tree Spirit Commander had stabbed the bear countless times, leaving bloody holes all over it with blood pouring out like a fountain into the lake!

The blood immediately turned black after falling into the lake. Mo Fan subconsciously took a deep breath.

The lake was not made of water, but decaying blood! How many creatures had the Tree Spirit Commander killed to form such a huge lake of blood?

The Tree Spirit Commander was on alert. It soon noticed Mo Fan’s presence, even though he was hiding at the lakeside. It let out a furious cry as it faced him.

Even though the tree had no eyes or face, Mo Fan could clearly sense its hunger and cruelty, as if anything alive was considered its food. The fresh and tender meat, the cries of agony from its prey, and the blood that flowed into the pool…

“Are you trying to summon your men?” Mo Fan grinned when he saw the Tree Spirit Commander continuing to shriek.

The Tree Spirit Commander was unable to see, as he thought. It had no clue that all its underlings had been turned into ice statues by Mu Ningxue.

The Tree Spirit Commander had no choice but to get rid of the intruder itself, since none of its underlings had responded to its summons. It extended its branches and snapped them at Mo Fan like whips!

“As a mere tree, you have butchered so many creatures that their blood has formed such a huge lake, aren’t you a disappointment to your mum and dad?” Mo Fan agilely dodged the branches.

Mo Fan suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving a shadow behind that the Tree Spirit Commander focused on with its branches!

He sneakily moved in another direction. Mo Fan stomped the ground, and a huge shadow loomed over the place. The dim sky immediately turned pitch-black, and darkness crawled across the place!

It had been a while since Mo Fan last cast the Nyx Regime. The strong presence of dark energy in the space significantly strengthened Mo Fan’s Shadow Spells.

The Tree Spirit Commander did not have eyes, meaning that it did not rely on sight to sense where its enemy was. However, in the Domain of the Nyx Regime, Mo Fan’s movements were as unpredictable as a phantom. Even though the Tree Spirit Commander knew where Mo Fan was, its branches were having a hard time tracking him down!

“Giant Shadow… hang on, there’s no need for that!” Mo Fan was just about to cast the spell, but he immediately slapped himself on the head.

The Tree Spirit Commander was unable to move, after all, so it was unnecessary to suppress its movement!

“Sky Lightning Claw!” Mo Fan did not waste further time with the Tree Spirit Commander. He immediately cast his strongest Lightning Spell.

Dark lightning struck down from the pitch-black sky, shocking and brilliant. The fierce lightning split into several arcs and formed the claw of a demon swiping at the Tree Spirit Commander’s upper branches!

The lightning surged wildly, cracking all over the place.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, the strong attack only left a little hole in the Tree Spirit Commander. It did not seem to have inflicted any serious damage on the Tree Spirit Commander.

“It looks like I still need to use fire!” After realizing that the Lightning Spells were not so effective against the Tree Spirit Commander, Mo Fan immediately turned to his Fire Element. “Rain of Burning Fists!”

Mo Fan drew a Fire Constellation, but he forcibly turned the raindrop-sized flames into burning fists.

He had learned the move from the Spanish fire-tosser. However, it seemed like he needed a lot of time to master it. If the Rain of Burning Fists of the Spanish representative used was a storm, Mo Fan’s Rain of Burning Fists was only a drizzle!

Burning fists poured down from the sky, yet the fists were sparse, and the damage of the spell was not that much higher than the Sky-Flame Funeral. However, with enough practice, Mo Fan would certainly be able to master the advanced version of the Sky-Flame Funeral!

Flames were indeed more effective against the Tree Spirit Commander. The lake of blood was set on fire, and the burning fists landed on the Tree Spirit Commander continuously, leaving huge holes on its trunk!

The Tree Spirit Commander was infuriated. The water of the lake turned restless. When Mo Fan was wondering what kind of attack the creature would dish out, he saw huge, thick roots rising out of the water like eels.

The roots basically filled up the entire lake! They continued to grow and wiggle, and looked eerie and terrifying!

“Holy crap, what the hell are these things? Aren’t they afraid of fire?” Mo Fan burst out screaming

The giant eel-like roots crawled over the flames, but the fire failed to burn any of them. They reached the land and chased after Mo Fan.

Mo Fan sprinted across the place with the Blood Tabi. To his surprise, the roots seemed to have infinite range, as they continued to stack up and chase after him.

The whole lake was filled up with the roots. Mo Fan had never seen a plant with so many roots!

It was like a thousand eels were chasing after him. Mo Fan could feel that they were gradually getting closer, so he kept throwing Fiery Fists at the roots while running.

The fiery dragons lunged at the roots, but they were simply too weak, and were soon devoured by roots covered in thick blood.

One of the roots was way ahead of the others. It was only inches away from reaching Mo Fan’s ankle. Mo Fan was about to alter his direction with the Fleeing Shadow, yet before he could disappear into the shadow, the root was smart enough to wrap around Mo Fan’s right foot and drag him out!

The rest of the roots pounced at Mo Fan as soon as he was dragged out of the shadow. Mo Fan could already imagine his horrible death after he was covered by the roots.

“Little Flame Belle, save your daddy!” Mo Fan yelled.

Little Flame Belle appeared in the nick of time. She quickly set Mo Fan aflame with the Calamity Fire.

A great explosion took place, followed by a little mushroom cloud rising in the air. The shockwave blew the roots into pieces, but even when the roots were separated, they were still wiggling on the ground, as if each of the roots was a different organism…

Mo Fan took a closer look and was astounded.

These were no roots; they were some vampiric, blood-drinking worms!

No wonder the roots were able to chase after him like they had eyes, even when Mo Fan was able to conceal his presence easily with the Nyx Regime.

“Damn it, what the hell is this thing! It looks like a tree above the water, but its roots are all worms!” Mo Fan had never heard of anything like it. If he knew how tricky it was to fight, he would rather have dealt with the little Black

Tree Spirits, and let Mu Ningxue deal with the monster.

“Take this!” Mo Fan was infuriated too. He immediately summoned the Flame Sword!

Mo Fan did not attack with the Flame Sword immediately. He held the sword in his hand with the outstanding control that Little Flame Belle had granted him!

With a forward slash, waves of flames surged forward and sliced the worms into several sections.

After waving the Flame Sword wildly for some time, the roots were severed into little pieces. Little Flame Belle’s Calamity Fire was indeed a lot stronger. Mo Fan stood no chance against a Commander-level creature with only his Rose Flame!

Blurb blurb blurb… some movement was visible under the lake of blood again.

The roots of the Tree Spirit Commander rose up again, their number no fewer than the roots that had appeared before, as if there was no end to them…

Mo Fan immediately realized that slicing the worms was utterly meaningless. He had to find a way to defeat the Tree Spirit!

“Rocket Wings!” Mo Fan turned the flames around him into feathers, quickly forming two spectacular wings on his back!

The feathers exploded, propelling Mo Fan forward. Mo Fan was now able to control his movement freely despite the overwhelming propulsion. He raised the Flame Sword and slashed at the Tree Spirit Commander as he left a bright aftertrail of burning flames across the lake of blood!

“Die!” The Flame Sword enlarged, growing to a length of sixteen meters. Mo Fan raised it above his head before swinging it down ferociously!

The Calamity Fire was deadly against the strange tree. The flames instantly penetrated the Tree Spirit’s thick trunk, and sliced it in half from the treetop to its roots. The imperious Calamity Fire spread wildly and devoured the entire tree!

The brown flames rose fiercely, and even the lake of blood was dyed red by the flames.

The worms that served as the roots of the tree surfaced on the lake. There were so many of them that they began to stack up on the surface of the lake.

The vampiric worms rolled over like detached windpipes when their host died, and also died in a matter of seconds!

Their remains filled up the entire lake of blood. Mu Ningxue happened to arrive to witness the scene. She was disgusted at the sight. If such a terrifying creature existed in the outside world, wouldn’t it pose a great threat to mankind?

The lake of blood was its source of nutrients, while the worms were living in symbiosis with the tree. They helped transfer the energy to the rest of the Black Tree Spirits, forming the huge forest of Black Tree Spirits!

Creator’s Thought

Okay, I admit this is a very cool monster combo.

Chapter 1079 Robbed!
Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

The world was so big that there were all kinds of strange things waiting to be discovered. The biology of the Tree Spirit Commander was quite spooky. If Hunters who often roamed in the wild stumbled into a forest like this, they would barely have any chance of survival.

Many people with strong ideas of humanism always criticized the dangerous situations that the participants were placed in during the treasure hunt of the World College Tournament. They believed that the lives of the participants should not be endangered if it was only a tournament, and it was even inappropriate for the world to witness the death of participants caught in mishaps. However, the Hunter Union forcibly rejected the suggestion.

Hunters had always been walking on the tip of blades, and the number of Hunters that died each year was uncountable. If Mages were not prepared to die to demon creatures, they would end up wasting lots of resources, as they would only be training a bunch of freeloaders.

The threat that the demon creatures posed to mankind always existed. The Hunter Union did not want people to think that the world was peaceful and calm, thinking that they could live a comfortable life as long as they stayed within the cities. The cruel deaths they witnessed during the tournament were showing the reality of most Hunters in the wild. There was no such thing as perfect safety for Mages, so the bigger the scale of a tournament, the more important it was for the tournament to stick to reality!

The space the participants were in was the territory of demon creatures, and populated by all kinds of terrifying demon creatures. These man-eating creatures were presented to the world through the broadcasts of the Observer Eagles…

–

–

–

When Mo Fan went into the black forest, the Observer Eagles were struggling to keep up with his speed. An Observer Eagle finally made it in time when Mo Fan gave the Tree Spirit Commander the finishing blow. The worms soon filled up the lake of blood, but knowing that many ordinary people would have a hard time digesting such a gory scene, the organizer immediately switched the broadcast to other Observer Eagles.

Mo Fan did not like being watched, either. After all, he possessed more Elements than other participants, and had no intention of exposing his true strength.

“Have you got the Fundamental Crystal?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Yeah, it’s yours, since you gave me all your rewards when we resolved the Drowning Curse,” Mo Fan handed the Fundamental Crystal to Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue did not hesitate to take the Fundamental Crystal. Similar to Mo Fan, she desperately needed resources to keep her going. She could trade for a Fundamental Crystal of the Ice Element with the Fundamental Crystal she had just received.

The energy provided by an Ice Element Fundamental Crystal was able to sustain the Ice Crystal Bow. Since her cultivation was still not strong enough, she had to endure unbearable pain from the Ice Crystal Bow if she failed to find an external supply of energy.

She was unable to fully control the Ice Crystal Bow, as she had yet to achieve the Super Level. The energy of a Fundamental Crystal was able to replenish the energy of the pieces of the Ice Crystal Bow she had collected, and by filling the pieces with energy, her cultivation would improve, too. Therefore, Fundamental Crystals of the Ice Element were extremely important to her!

“Aren’t you two leaving too soon?” a sneering voice came from the side.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue turned around at the same time and saw a man with brown-yellow hair approaching them, along with four other teammates, from between the black trees.

Mu Ningxue glanced at their outfits and saw the symbols of the American and Canadian teams.

“So it’s you; what a coincidence!” Mo Fan smiled when he saw the man and greeted him like he was an old friend.

“Can’t believe you can still be so cheerful, I haven’t had the chance to settle the dispute we had at the marketplace, and now you’ve stolen something that we set our eyes on again. Since the two of you worked so hard for it, give us half of the Fundamental Crystal, and we’ll let you go!” Jack demanded.

Last time, Pang Lai was there to support this guy, but they were now in a confined space, and he had four other people on his side. Jack believed it was the perfect chance for him to teach Mo Fan a lesson for taking the valuable soul away from him!

“Xuexue, did they really set their eyes on the loot first?” Mo Fan asked.

“They just arrived,” Mu Ningxue replied.

“Say, Jack, why do you bother becoming a Mage? I think you’re better at being a bandit!” Mo Fan said.

Jack’s lips twisted upon hearing Mo Fan’s comment. He said coldly, “I’ve changed my mind. We’ll be taking the whole Fundamental Crystal, I suggest you two run as far as you can!”

Mu Ningxue began to gather her frost, preparing for the battle. The treasure hunt did not just involve the participants searching for treasure, but the participants were meant to be fighting one another over the loot, too. The rules did not state that the participants were not allowed to target the loot that other people had found!

“Be patient,” Mo Fan whispered into Mu Ningxue’s ear. He then turned to Jack and glanced at the four students behind him.

“Yo, isn’t that Mu Ningxue? Everyone has been talking about her lately, but why do I feel like she isn’t as bright as they described?” a bitchy woman said mockingly.

Mu Ningxue’s performance in the first round had won her a great reputation, exceeding the rest of the female students in the tournament. As such, many were incredibly jealous of her.

“Since you have the advantage of numbers, we’ll give it to you. It’s just a Fundamental Crystal, there’s no need to fight until the fish dies or the net breaks for it,” Mo Fan stepped forward with the Fundamental Crystal in his hand.

“Aren’t you too full of yourself? Fight until the fish dies or the net breaks? You think you’re good just because you defeated that trashy Spanish team? I can wipe out their whole team on my own!” Jack said disdainfully.

“Yeah, sure, you’re the best. Let’s not waste our time, take the thing, and don’t come trouble my girlfriend and I,” Mo Fan reached out his arm.

Jack looked at Mo Fan with a grin, “So you’re just a coward. Honestly, I suddenly think it’s no longer necessary to pick a fight with you.”

“It’s actually very simple…” Mo Fan grinned too.

A dark curtain suddenly loomed over the place, with shadowy swords falling to the ground. Each sword was carrying a black seal, and the swords rapidly combined into a Dark Confining Sword Formation!

Mo Fan had already established the Nyx Regime during the previous battle, and before its duration ran out, he secretly set up the trap. Jack and three of the people behind him were caught in it, but the American representative that had mocked Mu Ningxue had yet to step into the trap!

“Mu Ningxue, withdraw your ice!” Mo Fan said.

Mu Ningxue had frozen the Black Tree Spirits in the woods, and it was time for them to come in handy. As she withdrew the ice, rows of Black Tree Spirits immediately surrounded the place. It felt like the entire jungle was moving!

As more Black Tree Spirits gathered, the place was crawling with black figures. When they realized that their queen had been slain, they let out furious cries, filled with a strong urge to tear the humans to pieces!

“Time to go, my formation won’t last for long,” Mo Fan put the Fundamental Crystal away and started running, dragging Mu Ningxue with him.

Mu Ningxue had the Wind Element. She had long prepared her Wind Wings.

She nimbly stepped on the trees and flew into the sky with a little boost from the breeze.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan put on the Dark Noble Mantle and dissolved into the pitch-black woods, going invisible without a trace.

Stuck in the formation, Jack let out a furious cry, yet as soon as they broke free from it, the Black Tree Spirits immediately surrounded them.

The Black Tree Spirits had remarkable defense and overwhelming numbers. Even Mu Ningxue struggled to kill them all, and was forced to freeze them with her Ice Element. It would surely take Jack and his crew some time to deal with the Black Spirit Trees.

On top of that, it was impossible to tell how many Black Tree Spirits were inside the forest. They only knew that the whole forest had turned restless when the news of the death of the Tree Spirit Commander was spread among the Black Tree Spirits!

“Don’t you dare run!”

Hannah was the only person that was not trapped by the formation. She anxiously summoned her Wing Magical Equipment when she saw Mu Ningxue soaring into the sky.

Beating her blue wings, Hannah quickly chased into the sky after Mu Ningxue. She was around two hundred meters behind.

Higher up in the sky, an Observer Eagle was circling as its camera eyes were capturing the scene. Hannah was delighted when she caught a glimpse of the Observer Eagle.

It was a great chance for her to make a name, by abusing Mu Ningxue’s reputation. The woman had been a hot topic across the world, and if she managed to defeat her, everyone would surely remember her name!

“Silent Deadly Bolt!”

Hannah used her Lightning Spell, and a deadly bolt of lightning ran through the space above the black forest, aimed at Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue sensed the tremendous Lightning energy approaching from behind. She quickly dove and dodged the deadly lightning bolt!

“Lightning Explosion!”

Hannah’s attack did not end there. At her command, the Silent Deadly Bolt exploded close to Mu Ningxue, spreading wildly out into shocking lightning arcs that upon the area. The lightning arcs almost reached the clouds!

Mu Ningxue reacted swiftly. She withdrew her Wind Wings and wrapped herself inside them, protecting her like a pair of angelic wings.

It was the effect of the second-tier Wind Wings: Shelter, the ability to turn the Wind Wings into a shield to protect the Mage from powerful attacks.

With the Wind Wings protecting Mu Ningxue, she glided along the ground and glanced at Hannah, who was pursuing her relentlessly…

“Don’t run, fight me!” Hannah screamed furiously.

Mo Fan had regrouped with Mu Ningxue on the ground. He clearly did not have a good impression of the madwoman. He simply cursed, “Hey, bootches, we don’t really have the time for it. Enjoy the hospitality from these Black Tree Spirits!”

Mo Fan activated the Dark Noble Mantle once again. This time, Mo Fan dragged Mu Ningxue into the shadows with him. Hannah was no longer able to tell where they went.

Hannah almost fell from the sky from anger.

It was true that she had a bad complexion, and she hated people mentioning it the most. She almost lost her calm after receiving the critical blow from Mo Fan. She raised her head, screaming into the sky. Several lightning strikes descended fiercely and danced wildly around her!

Creator’s Thought

Ah, of course, all the Americans have to be jerks.

On the flip side, more new spells!

The Chapter Title should have been Robbers!, but the author is somewhat strange…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The American team was incredibly strong. The madwoman with the Lightning Element would obviously be a tough opponent to fight.

The reason they fled was not because they did not dare to fight Jack and his crew, but because there were still lots of treasures waiting to be discovered. Only idiots would waste their time on some meaningless battles!

Both Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were in need of resources. Despite their urge to fight other participants, their current priority was to pillage as many resources as they could!

“I guess there’s no need to look for the others. It’s fine if we find Jiang Shaoxu or Jiang Yu, but the thought of finding Mu Tingying, Li Kaifeng, Nanrong Ni, and the others disgusts me,” Mo Fan told Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue nodded. It was true that the two of them would have an easier time searching the place on their own, as they could easily engage or flee from a battle as they pleased.

“I saw a number of people gathering at that mountain when I was flying in the air just then,” Mu Ningxue pointed at a tall mountain, half-shrouded by black clouds.

“More people means there must be something fascinating there!” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered instantly.

“So we’re going there? I already saw more than four groups of people moving toward it,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Don’t worry, speaking of which, what Jack tried to do gave me an idea,” Mo Fan said.

“What idea?” Mu Ningxue was confused. The man was trying to rob them. What idea could he possibly give Mo Fan?

“The two of us are currently in deep trouble. Once the World College Tournament comes to an end, Lu Yilin’s clan will be hunting me, and you will have to fight the Mu Clan, too. If we aren’t able to improve significantly in the World College Tournament, we are surely going to have a hard time later. Besides, you need lots of resources, and so do I… if we keep searching around like headless flies, and wasting our time with the people trying to rob us, we won’t be able to secure enough resources to achieve our goals,” Mo Fan said.

“What are you trying to say?” Mu Ningxue could see a cunning look in Mo Fan’s eyes, yet she was struggling to read Mo Fan’s mind.

Wasn’t the situation obvious enough? The participants were searching for the resources scattered across the space. The treasure hunt was held to test the students’ ability to observe, and survive in the wild, while provoking the students to compete for the resources. Was there any other way that could possibly get them lots of resources?

Mo Fan looked at Mu Ningxue and said with a serious face, “Robbing is faster than finding.”

Mu Ningxue opened her mouth wide. She was lost for words all of a sudden.

“Think about it. If we try searching for the loot, most of them are being guarded by demon creatures. It’s obvious that the organizer has placed the treasure inside the nests or caves of demon creatures. It’s tricky enough to deal with the demon creatures, and even when we finally get our hands on the treasure, someone else might be waiting for us just so they can rob us when we have done most of the hard work. If we’re unlucky enough to get robbed, we’re only going to lose all our loot! Instead of wasting our time, it’s better if we focus on robbing the others. It’s a lot easier too; we just need to find the right target, take away their loot, and run away. If we’re lucky enough, we can steal their loot without fighting them!” Mo Fan said with glittering eyes.

Mu Ningxue was stunned for a while. It took her some time to collect her thoughts, “But…but that doesn’t sound right!”

“But do you agree that it’s a better idea?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mmm…” Mu Ningxue hesitated.

To be honest, she did not expect Mo Fan to come up with such a wicked idea. On second thought, he was seriously crossing the line. It was surely going to offend lots of people!

“I assume that you’ve agreed if you kept quiet!” Mo Fan dragged Mu Ningxue over to his side without giving her time to think about it.

It was unlikely that Mo Fan could do it on his own. The sixteen teams that were left in the tournament were all worthy opponents, and each member would possess remarkable strength. It was unwise for Mo Fan to try robbing others by himself.

However, it was different with Mu Ningxue on his team. Mu Ningxue was now strong enough to take on an entire team, and with his multiple Elements, he could take on four to five people at once. Besides, they were not going to fight the others to death. They would flee as soon as they got their hands on the loot, and even if they failed their attempt, they could still run away!

“We can wear masks or change our outfits too. Although it doesn’t really guarantee that the others won’t know who we are, at least they won’t realize our identities so easily,” Mu Ningxue proposed.

It was Mo Fan’s turn to be left speechless. He looked at Mu Ningxue with a blank face.

Mu Ningxue was slightly embarrassed when she noticed Mo Fan’s gaze. She said softly, “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, I just didn’t expect you to come up with such a brilliant plan. Xuexue, you really are talented at this!” Mo Fan exclaimed with a smile.

Mu Ningxue simply ignored the comment.

If Mu Ningxue was not in her current situation, she really did not feel like doing something that would damage her reputation. However, when she recalled her situation, bearing the shame of a close relative being a member of the Black Vatican, and how the Mu Clan was picking on her, she felt like she had no choice but to follow Mo Fan in doing evil deeds!

—

—

At the foothill of the Gray Python Mountain, a few students activated their Boots Equipment and were running rapidly toward the mountain ridge in the distance.

The students were incredibly fast. They were able to travel more hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye. Moments later, they were already a kilometer away.

“Let’s split up, we’ll regroup again once we escape from those French!” an Italian contestant named Angelo said.

The others nodded. They immediately left while providing cover for Angelo.

The five split up and ran in different directions. Shortly afterwards, a few other groups showed up. They looked in the directions of the five students, and were clueless about who they were supposed to go after.

“Damn it, we don’t know who took the Heart of Stone. That’s the most valuable loot we have found. It took almost twenty people just to defeat the Rock Golem on the mountain, and our French team obviously contributed the most! How dare they take away the Heart of Stone!” a French student snapped furiously.

“Chase after them, they won’t be too far away. We can’t let them get away!” a Japanese contestant said angrily. The Japanese team had contributed a lot too, and one of their members was severely injured because of it. If they could not find their Healer soon, the student would be disqualified from the treasure hunt!

“You guys, take that way; we’ll go this way, and the few of you, go after that woman!” Lyon, a French Mage, directed them.

Not long after they arrived in the space, they had discovered a rare Rock Demon on the top of the mountain. The Rock Demon was incredibly valuable, as its heart was like an energy core of the Earth Element, enough to support a small city. The Constructors desperately needed them for their work.

Since the demon creature was quite an obvious target, more teams started to make their way toward it. In addition, the Rock Golem was fairly strong, so the teams had to work together to defeat it. However, even though they had reached a deal on how to distribute the resources, the Italian team simply took the Heart of Stone and fled. The others realized that there was no such thing as allies in the treasure hunt, since the team with the most resources was most likely going to win in the upcoming matches!

—

—

“HAHAHA, what a bunch of idiots, they seriously think they could lead the team and split the loot evenly like a group of Hunters. We’re no Hunters, we’re meant to be competitors!” Angelo burst out laughing when he saw that he had shaken off his pursuers.

They had surely earned a fortune. A Heart of Stone was usually sold for four hundred million, and if its quality was higher than average, he could even sell it for five hundred million. There were so many people that had fought against the Rock Demon. If they were to split the profit among twenty people, each of them would only receive a small portion of the profit.

But everything was fine now, since the Heart of Stone now belonged to him!

He was almost at the mountain ridge. Angelo no longer had to worry about the French and the Japanese. He could easily play a whole searching team like a fiddle in the ridge!

“Strange, why is the sky so dark all of a sudden?” Angelo lifted his gaze and saw a pitch-black curtain looming over him. It looked rather spooky.

Crap! Angelo was stunned for a moment, then realized that he had stepped into a trap.

However, as he was about to run away, he was suddenly surrounded by sharp ice cylinders that sealed off his escape routes.

“Who’s there?!” Angelo demanded furiously.

The darkness with Giant Shadow Spikes fell down, constructing the powerful confining formation and forcibly entrapped Angelo within it.

It did not matter how quick Angelo reacted. It was extremely difficult for anyone to break free once they stepped into a trap set up with the Shadow Element. They could only stand and watch the shadowy swords penetrating their body, which further sealed off their mind, making it impossible for them to move or use their thoughts.

“We kindly accept your generous offering…” a masked man appeared and said in a hoarse voice that was obviously fake.

“Asshole, you shameless prick dares to rob the Italian team, you’re going to pay for it!” Angelo cursed furiously.

“So you can still talk, it turns out that your cultivation is quite impressive. You accuse us of being shameless, yet your team isn’t any good, either! You’re trying to keep the loot to yourself when you agreed to split the profit evenly in the first place. We’re only serving justice on behalf of the Heavens,” Mo Fan said piously.

Mo Fan walked up to Angelo and calmly took the expensive Heart of Stone from him.

“Let’s go!” Mu Ningxue urged Mo Fan. She did not want to waste time.

Mo Fan was too lazy to fool around with the Italia. He purposely said to Mu Ningxue, “How smart was Jack, he knew the guy was going to come this way, so he asked us to intercept him here…”

Angelo almost lost his mind when he saw Mo Fan leaving with the valuable loot, yet there was nothing he could do when he was restrained both physically and mentally. He could only keep the name Jack in mind!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had the Space Element, so he did not have a problem opening up a little space to store the loot they acquired.

After putting the Heart of Stone away, Mo Fan exchanged glances with Mu Ningxue. It seemed like this was the first time that Mu Ningxue had done anything like it. Both her expression and gaze did not look natural.

“It’s fine, you’ll get used to it eventually,” Mo Fan tried to comfort her in his way.

“The Observer Eagles must have captured what we did,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Don’t be scared, everyone is trying to set one another up, too. The only difference is that we’re like real bandits, since we aren’t wasting our time searching for the treasure. Seriously, isn’t it tiring trying to pretend that you’re working with someone else, but end up going against your word when the loot is simply too valuable to give up? Come, it’s time for us to look for our next target,” Mo Fan said.

Their first crime was not as easy as others thought. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had been watching the group for quite some time. They were struggling to find an opportunity to strike. Luckily, the Italian team decided to keep the loot to themselves, allowing Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue to seize the opportunity!

“What do we do next?” Mu Ningxue asked. She was no longer fussed about what they were doing.

She did not really care about doing the right thing, but she had always been obedient since she was young, and had always walked the righteous path. She finally made it to the World College Tournament, yet she ended up doing some wicked things with this bad guy, Mo Fan… her heart was still pounding heavily!

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was perfectly fine. His calm face, and the way he tried to comfort Mu Ningxue, clearly implied how experienced he was when it came to robbing other people. He had long gotten used to it…

“Very simple, scout for our next target. Strength isn’t the most important aspect of what we’re trying to do. We need lots of information, and it has to be accurate, too. I believe we’ll need to recruit another person for us to be better!” Mo Fan said seriously.

Mu Ningxue glanced at Mo Fan. She was utterly confused. Why did she feel like Mo Fan was glowing whenever he was up to something wicked?

“Who would that be?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“A Psychic Mage, we’re lacking a Psychic Mage… if only we could find Jiang Shaoxu, she would surely be a great help to us!” Mo Fan mused.

“But why…” Mu Ningxue was about to ask something when she sensed some movement among the trees. She locked onto the suspicious figure behind the trees with a sharp gaze.

The person did not expect Mu Ningxue to be so alert. She decided to show herself after a slight hesitation.

The person was a woman with curly hair. Her outstanding, solid facial features made her look attractive and sexy, and her golden pupils were like the icing on a cake, which further set off her nobility.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t supposed to eavesdrop on you, but I didn’t expect you to be the one that set the Italian team up. It’s been a while!” the girl smiled. It was like she actually practiced how to smile properly. She looked sincere, even without showing her teeth.

“Ayleen, it’s you! Don’t tell me that a bunch of your teammates is waiting for the perfect time to flank us behind the trees?” Mo Fan chuckled when he recognized the English woman.

“The team consisting of members from different countries I was in just disbanded, so I’m all alone,” Ayleen walked forward. Her eyes were fixed on Mu Ningxue. “You’ve improved so much. You managed to notice my presence so easily, and my Psychic Element wasn’t really working on you.”

“You’ve been following us?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Sort of, but don’t you worry, I’m not your enemy. Besides, didn’t you say you want to find your teammate? I’m afraid it’s going to be quite tricky. This space we’re in isn’t that spacious, but many of the places are spatially compressed, so they are bigger than they seem. If you’re looking for a Psychic Mage, I’m willing to lend a hand,” Ayleen answered politely. Her golden eyes had a rather sincere look, too.

“Do you know what we are up to, Little Ayleen?” Mo Fan chuckled again.

Ayleen of the English team had left Mo Fan with a strong impression at Shanghai’s Training Hall. Besides, he even treated her to a meal of lobster. Mo Fan believed Ayleen did not come to harm them.

Besides, in a space where members of all sixteen teams were scattered everywhere, it was necessary to find some companions, and instead of teaming up with some strangers, Mo Fan was more willing to believe Ayleen, whom he had met before.

“Robbing the others… I think it’s brilliant! The organizer actually planned to let us compete for the resources, so I believe even if this place is full of resources, it’s quite easy for the participants to clash with one another. Instead of wasting our time on some relationship that will crumble within an instant, it’s better for us to take the direct approach,” Ayleen agreed.

“So you’re interested in joining us?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mmm, my primary Element is Water, and my tertiary Element is Psychic, but I don’t get it, why are you looking for a Psychic Mage?” Ayleen said.

“Well…” Mo Fan looked at Mu Ningxue, asking for her opinion.

Jiang Shaoxu was easily the best candidate, since she was trustworthy. However, as Ayleen had mentioned, it would be tricky for them to look for Jiang Shaoxu, and if they spent too much time looking for her, the good resources would be taken away by the other teams. Eventually, everyone would realize that it was easier to rob the others rather than trying to search for the loot and defeat the demon creatures guarding them. By then, it would be harder for them to get their way.

Mu Ningxue nodded. She believed that Ayleen was not harboring any evil intentions. She was only looking for a team to join since she was all alone. Otherwise, she would have shown up with a bunch of people instead of on her own when she noticed them.

“Alright, as the leader of the Fan Xue Bandit Group, I hereby accept you as a member of our group. You must strictly obey the rule of not betraying us. In addition to it, since the two of us have come up with the idea first, and you’ve only joined later, in terms of the stakes, each of us will take forty percent of the profit, and the remaining twenty percent is yours. Of course, you won’t have to worry much about doing the dirty work, you can leave it to us,” Mo Fan immediately set conditions.

Mu Ningxue subconsciously rolled her eyes.

Was Mo Fan seriously thinking of turning this into a serious business? He even came up with the name Fan Xue Bandit Group, and was very serious at explaining the conditions to Ayleen… Mu Ningxue suddenly recalled the time long ago where Mo Fan, the leader among the kids, was always able to come up with new ideas to fool around, and the other kids were willing to listen to his orders and ran around the streets having a great time.

“Sure, it sounds reasonable!” Ayleen was not fussy, either. After all, she did join the team late, and she was not the greedy kind.

“Good, as I mentioned, to be better at what we’re doing…” Mo Fan patted his chest. Somehow, both Ayleen and Mu Ningxue began to doubt if Mo Fan was actually a proper Mage when they saw his natural way of delivering the speech and the confident look he was wearing. Why did they feel like Mo Fan was born for this?

“What we need the most is information. Information that can tell us what loot a person has, and when a person has strayed away from their group; where a person is, and even tell us the mental condition of a person! We aren’t a big group, so mobility is our advantage. We can easily run away as we please, but we’re at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. After all, most groups will be bigger than ours, and if we don’t choose the right target, we’re going to get robbed instead.”

“So where are we going to get the information from? My Psychic Element isn’t strong enough to read someone else’s mind,” Ayleen said.

“And why do we need to read someone’s mind?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“How are we going to collect the information without reading someone’s mind? Don’t tell me we have to go on a wild goose chase until we find the right target?” Ayleen said.

Mu Ningxue was looking at Mo Fan, too. She was eager to learn where Mo Fan was going to get the information from.

To their surprise, Mo Fan raised his head and glanced at the sky.

However, both Ayleen and Mu Ningxue were smart. They did not believe that Mo Fan was actually looking at the sky. They soon noticed the Observer Eagles circling high up in the sky!

“You’re a genius!” Ayleen smiled. She immediately realized how the Psychic Element came into the picture with a little hint from Mo Fan.

Mu Ningxue’s eyes lit up, too. She was fairly impressed by Mo Fan’s idea. It turned out that it was easier for someone who was used to harboring evil intentions to come up with ideas that ordinary people would never think of!

In terms of information, no one in the confined space would know more than the Observer Eagles. These creatures would follow anyone they saw and gather at places with the presence of magic. Even though the organizer would only broadcast the treasure hunt to the audience selectively, the Observer Eagles still had a vast amount of information!

As such, if they were eager to learn which groups of people had found remarkable loot, which teams were suffering from fatigue, which groups had infighting among its members, and which teams were unstoppable, the Observer Eagles would know best!

The only person that could acquire the information from the Observer Eagles was a Psychic Mage!

Since everyone was representing their countries in the tournament with the whole world watching, no one could possibly think of abusing the Observer Eagles. It would be considered a violation… but the truth was, there was no rule clearly forbidding the participants from acquiring the information gathered by the Observer Eagles, nor was there a rule stopping the participants from attacking the Observer Eagles. They could easily justify themselves, even if they were accused!

Mo Fan believed that the organizer could not do anything to them if they skirted the rules!

After listening to Mo Fan’s suggestion, both Ayleen and Mu Ningxue, who rarely did any bad things, seemed to be excited. After all, if they could take advantage of the information gathered by the Observer Eagles, treasures would soon roll into their pockets!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In the contorted space, the brilliance of magic spells was lighting up a battlefield that seemed to be constructed by patching the scenes of different spooky fairytales together.

Many students had given their all to join the World College Tournament, just so they could take part in the treasure hunt. In the past, many nameless students suddenly entered the limelight and became unstoppable after the treasure hunt, and had turned into the brightest talents in the tournaments. It had served as a motivation to students from across the world, as they were well aware of how important the resources that could guarantee them an advantage in the tournament were. As such, it was necessary for them to secure the available resources at all costs during the treasure hunt!

The Observer Eagles were flying across the low gray sky. Their numbers were fairly impressive, as the organizer had long placed them in every corner in the space. These Observer Eagles were a special breed. They did not enrage other demon creatures easily, and even when they were flying over the territory of other creatures, they were rarely attacked by creatures, allowing the Observer Eagles to capture the battles taking place during the treasure hunt.

The outstanding performances of the students was displayed, allowing the world to see the brilliance of their magic, but the treasure hunt would also expose the ugliness and selfish side of the participants, such as the conflicts when sharing the profits among a team consisting of representatives from different countries.

The advisors were right when they told the students not to team up with others and try their best to regroup with their teammates. The demon creatures residing in the space were fairly strong, and although many of them were at the Commander-level, they did not necessarily stand a chance against the talented students. The true enemy that the students had to face was the jealousy and ambitions the others had.

Unfortunately, most of them had found incredible loot close to where they spawned, and they did not really have the time to look for their teammates. The participants would have to choose between teaming up with strangers or exploring on their own. It resulted in more conflicts between the participants.

However, the situation was in favor of a certain group.

Where there were people, there were troubles; it was the truth in all situations. Mo Fan’s group only consisted of three members, and both Mu Ningxue and Ayleen had agreed to listen to Mo Fan’s orders since it was their first time doing such wicked things. Their group might seem weak on the surface, yet their efficiency was a lot better than most teams. They ended up securing quite an impressive amount of resources.

The Fan Xue Bandit Group had already robbed three different groups of people. Apart from the Heart of Stone, they also obtained the Flying Stinger Rare Bone, the Chaos Crystal, and the Water Vein, each worth around four hundred million. They also acquired several pieces of loot with values between twenty and two hundred million, summing up to around eight hundred million.

The total profit they had acquired so far was around two billion. Normally, only a huge group of participants was able to earn so much from the treasure hunt, but since a group normally consisted of around ten people, each person would only get two hundred million in the end. Meanwhile, Mo Fan’s group only consisted of three people, and if they were to split according to the deal they reached initially, Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue would each receive eight hundred million, and Ayleen, who basically did not participate in any of the fights would still earn four hundred million. They were simply brimming with wealth!

“It’s a valuable item again, we’ll need to decide if we want to take it or not. I’ve looked around. The group has just gone through a tough battle, and only three of their members are still fit for battle. The others are either injured, or running low on energy…” Ayleen had found the group another target. Her eyes were glittering with excitement.

Ayleen had gotten the hang of it after several attempts. She was much better at organizing the information.

“A Soul-grade Seed! I didn’t think they would have one in the treasure hunt, and a group consisting of members of the Egyptian team and Spanish team has found it!” Mo Fan was excited, too.

Words were not needed to describe how valuable a Soul-grade Seed was, and if the Seed had a Domain, its price would be even crazier. Ayleen really knew how to find the right target. Mo Fan was already feeling the urge just after hearing what the item was.

“Where are they?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Just down the river, they must be afraid of stumbling into some other teams. They are hiding at quite a remote spot,” Ayleen said.

“Come, we can take a rest after this job. We were too wild with our attempts, and the groups seem to have noticed what we are up to. We’ll need to lie low for a while,” Mo Fan said.

Their last few attempts were not too successful, as their targets had been extremely cautious.

—

Using the Observer Eagle to track their targets, Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Ayleen soon arrived at the lower reaches of the river. The place was rather spacious, and the terrain was simple. It was unlikely that any group would come here, as they could easily tell that the place did not hold any extraordinary loot just by looking at it.

Since the place was so empty, both Mu Ningxue and Ayleen struggled to hide themselves. In the end, only Mo Fan could sneak closer to the Egyptians and Spanish with his Dark Noble Mantle.

Mo Fan silently approached the group and saw they had set up tents by the river. The tents were most likely for the injured.

They had paid a great price to obtain the Soul-grade Seed, but unfortunately, Mo Fan was soon going to steal their loot!

Mo Fan’s approach was that if he could steal the loot, he would steal it. If he could not steal it, he would take it with violence. Ayleen told Mo Fan that the person holding onto the Soul-grade Seed was the Vice Captain of the Egyptian team, Meos.

Meos was an old acquaintance of Mo Fan. He would never forget how harsh she was toward Little Flame Belle, nor would he forget how the proud woman had boasted that she would get her revenge. It was a pity that the Chinese team did not fight the Egyptian team in the first round. If not, Mo Fan would have simply sent them back to their hometown. Mo Fan was amazed that such a weak team was able to make it to the top sixteen.

There were four matches in the first round. The teams that won all four matches were guaranteed to advance, and those that only lost a single match were able to advance too. As for those that lost two matches, it all came down to luck…

The Egyptian team was quite in luck, as they managed to advance, even after losing two matches!

The Egyptian government had been very friendly to Mo Fan. The military was very respectful to him too, since the heroic news of him taking on the Dark Swordmaster by himself had spread wildly in the country. However, his conflict with the Egyptian team had nothing to do with his relationship with Egypt. Since their conflict had happened first, there was no way Mo Fan would go easy on the Egyptian team!

The Dark Noble Mantle was so outstanding that even Mages with a higher cultivation than Mo Fan would have trouble noticing his presence. The master of the Shadow Element, Essendale, had actually done a good deed right before he was listed as a wanted criminal, giving Mo Fan such a useful piece of magic equipment!

“Meos, please don’t doze off,” Shreev reminded her.

“We’ve done all the hard work, yet we still had to split the profit evenly, I’m just having a hard time accepting it!” Meos was as proud as always.

“We can’t help it, since we already agreed to it. Besides, without that Water Mage Pinole, we really don’t know how long the battle was going to last!” Shreev said.

Meos harrumphed coldly. She sat by the river and stared at the rapid current.

Meos threw a pebble into the river, totally unaware that a faint silhouette of a human was approaching her from behind. The lack of light had provided him with the perfect cover, preventing anyone from noticing him…

Meos was not in a rush. After confirming that Meos had lowered her guard, he tossed the Giant Shadow Spikes and nailed Meos’s limbs, throat, and head…

The Giant Shadow Spikes were able to seal off a person’s movement, sound, and mind instantly. Even an Advanced Mage would need some time to break free from them.

Meos turned around as soon as she sensed the dark energy. She immediately saw a familiar face hidden under the mantle. Her face was just filled with astonishment when she realized she could no longer move.

“I gladly take this. You better come up with an explanation, too.” Mo Fan liberated the Soul-grade Seed from Meos’s waist.

He flipped his palm, and the pouch containing the Soul-grade Seed vanished into thin air like a magic trick.

Aware of the murderous look in Meos’s eyes, the wicked Mo Fan ‘accidentally’ loosened the belt on Meos’s pants. Her pants soon dropped to her knees…

However, Mo Fan did not cross the line by removing her panties, too.

“So a proud woman like you likes pink, too…” Mo Fan took a quick glance, before leaving with a shameless chuckle.

The entire process did not last for more than a few seconds. Mo Fan silently slipped into the shadows, leaving Meos with her pants down to her knees standing by the river. Apart from the strong urge to tear Mo Fan into pieces, Meos was hoping that there was no Observer Eagle in the sky to capture the scene, as the whole world would know that she was wearing pink underneath!

—

Mo Fan remained cautious as he took his leave. He slowly moved into the distance after concealing his presence. There was not much cover along the way, the place was too empty and exposed…

Mo Fan quickened his pace when he was more than a hundred meters away from the tents. However, he suddenly felt like he had walked right into a wall of ice…

It did not hurt, as the wall was rather soft, but the question was… why would there be a wall here!?

Mo Fan knew he was trouble as soon as he saw the wall. He was about to move in another direction when he saw a blue light appearing, which turned out to be a huge barrier encapsulating the entire place!

The barrier had a diameter of over two hundred meters, in the shape of a hemisphere. Mo Fan was completely trapped inside it.

He soon heard some laughter from the tents. Meos was approaching him, too. She had put her pants back on, but her twisted expression was implying that she had sworn to butcher the shameless prick today!

“It’s a trap, take the thing and run!” Mo Fan contacted Mu Ningxue and Ayleen after realizing the trouble he was in.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan knew the risk of getting his shoes wet if he kept walking close to the river. As such, he had been splitting the loot evenly between the three members. It was the same reason why it was better not to put all eggs in the same basket, to prevent something like this.

If he was caught, the people would mostly beat him up. They would not dare to kill him, since the treasure hunt was under the surveillance of the Observer Eagles. However, he would surely have to surrender his possessions, but he only had a third of the loot. In the end, they still made a profit!

Mo Fan was not naive to think that the group that had set up the barrier just to apprehend him only consisted of a few people. As he thought, around eight people were approaching from the distance, too.

The water cage was not sturdy. Mo Fan only needed some time to break it down, but the enemy had already surrounded him at the spacious ground.

Mo Fan finally realized why they had set up the tents at such a spacious spot. It was to ensure that he had nowhere to run to!

“I’m going to kill this bastard!” Meos was lunging at Mo Fan like a lioness.

The Water Mage, Pinole stopped her. He said with a calm smile, “Mo Fan, I bet you didn’t expect this to happen. We actually used a real Soul-grade Seed in order to lure you out… give us the Soul-grade Seed, and the loot you’ve been plundering so far, and we might consider going easy on you.”

Pinole seemed to have a gentle demeanor as a member of Spain’s royal family, but the look in his narrow eyes clearly implied that he was a vengeful person. Mo Fan had almost disqualified their team during the knockout round, and Pinole, whom the Spanish team had purposely arranged as their trump card, ended up taking the supporting role in the match against the Chinese team.

As for the Egyptian team, Meos, Shreev, and Sayed were old enemies of Mo Fan. Their eyes were burning with rage!

“So you are the one that prepared the barrier for me. I bet it cost you quite a number of magic ores? Sorry for wasting your money!” Mo Fan glanced at the barrier. He did not seem very afraid.

Pinole smiled when he saw that Mo Fan was not planning to hand his loot over, “Aren’t you going to take a look around? You might find more of your old acquaintances, too.”

“HAHAHA, we finally got you this time, you cunning, slippery mudfish, don’t tell me you’re so naive to think that we had no idea that you and the Ice Maga were robbing us. We’ve all come together to set up a trap for you, yet you were really bold enough to come rob us when we have such a huge group!” Jack walked closer while laughing out loud.

“Humph, my teammates have left me behind after I lost the Heart of Stone. You have no idea how miserable I felt! I even took an oath that I would hunt you down, even if I won’t have time to look for other treasure during the treasure hunt!” Angelo of the Italian team snapped.

Among the people that came with Jack and Angelo were Hannah with the Lightning Element, and five other students from Canada, England, and France. Mo Fan noted that he had robbed two of them!

The group of people from different countries had quite a shocking strength. Jack, Hannah, Angelo, and the others did not really have a common language with the Spanish and Egyptian teams, but they had a common enemy: Mo Fan, the robber, the shameless, detestable jerk from China!

Speaking of which, only a mad man like Mo Fan who dared to rob any team he stumbled into could inspire such an alliance to hunt him down!

—

—

In the stadium where the teleportation portal was, the authorities of each country were seated in their respective areas, their eyes fixed on the screen.

The incident taking place at the lower reaches of the river was soon displayed on the main screen. It was showing how Mo Fan had been intercepted to hundreds of millions of people across the world.

They were many Observer Eagles circling in the sky, so the spectators already knew about the Fan Xue Bandit Group. The truth was, the Chinese team had suddenly become every country’s enemy all of a sudden, with spectators all over the world cursing them. Meanwhile, the officials were utterly speechless. The three participants did not break any rules, so they did not really have an excuse to condemn them. As a matter of fact, the other countries were also robbing the groups that they stumbled into, but none of the groups were as blatant as that trio!

Luckily, Ayleen was part of the trio too, meaning that England had taken some of the attention away. The well-mannered British people felt rather awkward watching the treasure hunt.

As the saying went, one would take on the color of their company. How did their Princess Ayleen end up with the Chinese? Even though they were quite excited whenever they saw Princess Ayleen successfully rob some other groups, it was not really morally acceptable!

Meanwhile, the supporters of the Chinese team were cheering loudly.

Both Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had already had an outstanding performance in the knockout round, earning them lots of fans. Their supporters were even more impressed by their achievements during the treasure hunt, as the two were able to rob several teams successfully with their outstanding skills. The name of the Fan Xue Bandit Group spread wildly across China. Go and rob those foreigners! Everyone was incredibly pleased by what the two were doing…

China had an overwhelming population, thus when it came to cheering for the teams, the Chinese team still had more votes than most of the teams on various social platforms. The votes cast by people from all of Europe were less than the votes from China!

As a matter of fact, the team that Ai Jiangtu was leading had been outstanding too, but the spectators were already feeling bored watching the teams sticking to conventions. They liked watching Mo Fan’s approach, as it was intense, exhilarating, and thrilling, like someone was having an affair behind their partner. It was quite rare for the spectators to be so excited when watching the tournament!

However, Mo Fan had been caught by the alliance. The hundreds of millions of spectators in China were extremely worried, and proceeded to curse the students of the other countries for their shamelessness!

—

“I’m really impressed. How detestable is Mo Fan, that the students have to team up and hunt him down like an Eight-Nation Alliance!” The Royal Guards’ chief, Pang Lai let out a sigh as he watched the screen.

Feng Li, Song He, and Han Ji were seated with some great authorities of their country as they watched the tournament. The truth was, they were feeling extremely nervous, too.

The Chinese national team had always been well-behaved; where did they even find someone like Mo Fan, who simply focused on robbing the other countries. Was that really something a normal person would think of!?

“ (Cough cough) , this Mo Fan is a self-made genius, so he might come up with some mischievous ideas at times, please don’t…” Feng Li had always been confident in front of the authorities, but he had lost half his confidence because of Mo Fan. He tried to explain the situation in a soft voice.

To his surprise, before he could finish his sentence, Chairman Shao Zheng frowned and uttered something surprising.

“How is Mo Fan going to escape now that he’s trapped?!”

“Yeah, this is bad, he should have stayed low after their last attempt. As I thought, they have fallen into a trap!” sighed another.

Han Ji, Pang Lai, Song He, Feng Li, and the others were left speechless. They did not expect that the authorities, including Chairman Shao Zheng, were extremely concerned for Mo Fan’s wellbeing, and that even they were very nervous…

“I hope the two girls are fine,” another woman said.

“It’s likely that Mo Fan has already warned them… huh, look, is that the smart girl? Why have they shown themselves?” Shao Zheng poked his head forward and asked, pointing at the screen.

The main screen still showed Mo Fan being surrounded by more than ten people, but another Observer Eagle had found Mu Ningxue and Ayleen, too.

The two of them had come out of their hiding spot, and were heading in Mo Fan’s direction.

“Impressive, they aren’t willing to abandon their teammate.”

“But that also means the group is going to be wiped out, and they are going to lose all their loot. Those people really hate Mo Fan, they are surely going to teach him a lesson!”

—

—

Back at the lower reaches of the river, Mo Fan saw Mu Ningxue and Ayleen running at him. He was touched, but felt speechless at the same time too.

All their efforts were in vain. If they had come out, the enemy was going to take all their loot!

The loot was merely some worldly possessions, so he did not really care much about it. However, it was obvious that the enemy would not just let them go after getting their hands on the loot. They were surely going to vent their anger on them. Besides, it was unlikely that they would go easy on the girls, especially Hannah and Meos. They were more than willing to make a name for themselves by using Mu Ningxue and Ayleen as their stepping stones!

Jack, Angelo, and the others were extremely pleased that the two women had decided to walk right into their trap. They did not stop the two women from regrouping with Mo Fan. They simply looked at the trio that had been met with misfortune with strange smirks on their face!

“How touching, I didn’t know bandits could be this touching too,” Hannah mocked.

“Ayleen, why are you with them?” Herbert of the English team looked at Ayleen in astonishment.

“Herbert, we’ll give you back what you lost. Can you not meddle in the matter?” Ayleen said.

Herbert had fought against Mo Fan at the Training Hall. Herbert was extremely dissatisfied with the outcome, as they had lost to China at the Training Hall. In addition to that, his team had also fallen victim to Mo Fan’s bandit group. Herbert was looking forward to getting his revenge.

“Ayleen, I can’t do that, this man is too detestable! We have to teach him a lesson. Otherwise, we’re going to be a disgrace to Great Britain!” Herbert replied furiously.

Herbert turned to the others and said, “Ayleen is our duchess, I believe she was forced to collude with the shameless bandits. Please don’t pick on her!”

“I find it hard to believe that she didn’t take part in the robberies,” a female Canadian student, Belle immediately countered.

Belle was not really known by the others, and she was one of the weakest members of the Canadian team. Meanwhile, Ayleen was strong, elegant, and gentle, with a formidable background. She was the perfect woman to most people. If Belle could defeat Ayleen here, she would surely enter the limelight. Even though she would be cursed by Ayleen’s supporters, it was better than being a nobody. She was tired of not being treated seriously by everyone!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Ayleen can go, she just needs to hand over the loot, but we won’t forgive those two easily!” Jack made the decision as if he was the leader. He planned to do Herbert a favor, and as a way to express goodwill to Ayleen, too.

Herbert immediately looked grateful. He did not want anything to happen to Ayleen.

He was fairly confused, too. He did not understand why the well-educated Ayleen, who had inherited the rank of Great Duchess, would follow a riffraff like Mo Fan and commit such disgraceful acts. It was surely going to bring shame to the name of Great Britain, and the people would be very disappointed in her…

Little did Herbert know, Ayleen’s popularity had skyrocketed, just because she was a member of the bandit group. Normally, the Ayleen they knew was the Great Duchess of their country, spotless as a sculpture. She was like a fine piece of art that was only allowed to be viewed from a distance. However, since Ayleen had joined Fan Xue Bandit Group, the people had witnessed how smart, and slightly rebellious, in an aggressive way their Princess Ayleen was. They saw the joy on her face as she successfully robbed some valuable loot, like a little girl successfully pulling a prank on someone. The emotion she displayed was utterly sincere. The people no longer felt like she was just a piece of art for display, but felt closer to her, and most importantly… the people loved her even more after seeing how she came out bravely, unwilling to abandon her teammate!

Unfortunately, the simple-minded Herbert would never understand what the people felt. He only assumed that the detestable acts would only damage Ayleen’s reputation and her title of the Great Duchess!

“How about this, I’ll give you everything, but you must let the girls go. I can help you get more loot, too. Aren’t you all after the treasures? I can help you get them,” Mo Fan said.

“Do you really think we’re going to believe you?” Jack laughed hollowly.

“Stop trying to be a hero, they won’t be leaving either!”

Mu Ningxue and Ayleen had no intention of leaving, either. They knew the women had strong hostility towards them, as they were all glaring at them…

“I’m really flattered by how infatuated you girls are with me, I’m so touched that I feel like crying, but it’s really unnecessary, just run away,” Mo Fan said to the girls.

“Would you abandon us if we were the ones that were trapped?” Ayleen asked in return.

Mo Fan was immediately left speechless. Of course he would not sit still and watch. He would surely beat the crap out of the enemy!

“Jack, I think a group is heading our way,” Shreev of the Egyptian team said after sensing movement through the vibration of the ground.

“Who are they?” Jack frowned.

“I think… they are members of the Chinese team,” Pinole recognized the leader of the group.

—

—

On the spacious field, a few members of the Chinese team were approaching the alliance. They initially thought the people had found some remarkable loot considering how many people there were, yet when they came closer, they realized those people were surrounding Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Ayleen.

“If you guys want to lend them a hand, just come over, we won’t go easy on you!” Jack said proudly, provoking the members of the Chinese team that had just shown up.

A few members of the Canadian, French, and Italian teams stepped forward, too.

“We didn’t mean any harm, we’re just here to see what’s going on,” Zu Jiming let out a hollow laugh. He was absolutely shocked. Why did these strong countries form an alliance just to hunt Mo Fan down? What exactly did he do to infuriate them?

However, Zu Jiming was quite happy about it too. Well done, they can teach Mo Fan a lesson on my behalf!

“How about the others?” Jack asked again.

Mu Tingying reacted instantly, “We’re ashamed to collude with someone like Mo Fan. You can deal with him however you please.”

Nanrong Ni lifted her gaze and looked at the Observer Eagles in the sky. She whispered to the others, “The people are watching us. It’s going to damage our reputation if we abandon them…”

Nanrong Ni was better at seeing the overall situation. She knew that if they had not happened to stumble into the group, no one would criticize them, but now that they had, it had suddenly become a tricky question. After all, they were on the same team representing China. It was fine if they had a personal conflict between themselves, but it was inappropriate to show it in front of the world!

“Are you saying that we should fight them? Look at the countries that have joined the alliance! If we really try to help, we’re only going to be wiped out too! We know the people aren’t going to be happy about it, but at least we’re still in the match. Besides, we’re going to lose all the loot we’ve gained so far, and if we go out empty-handed, not only will we lose the upcoming matches, we’re going to suffer too! Who cares about those idiots, we’ll just say that we’re trying to preserve the ranking of our team, have our clans hire people to justify our actions, and people will simply side with us,” Zu Jiming sniffed.

Nanrong Ni pondered for a while to evaluate the potential gains and losses. She also agreed that it was better if they stayed out of it, since being scolded for a short period was better than losing everything…

—

—

“Wait a second, did they seriously just leave like that? I thought help had finally arrived, yet they really just left like that!?” Pang Lai slammed the table and rose to his feet angrily!

The others’ faces darkened, too. It was obvious that two of their teammates were surrounded by participants from other countries, yet they did not even bother lending a hand. Regardless of what the reason was, it was still very embarrassing to their country!

“That is quite disappointing,” even Chairman Shao Zheng spoke up.

When a person like him expressed his disappointment, it was not as simple as a disappointment.

The old chief of the Mu Clan, Mu Gong, was seated not far away, and had an extremely dark face. Even if he did not hear the comments and see the reactions of the authorities, he clearly knew the significance of their actions!

A disgrace, the girl was a disgrace to the Mu Clan! It was true that the Mu Clan was not really an upright clan, but they had done lots of work to preserve their image on the surface, and had earned quite a reputation. Otherwise, why would so many Mages be willing to serve them? The actions of Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni turning around was surely going to result in serious damage to their reputation!

“You, go find some talented public officers and tell them to resolve the matter. Tell them to focus on the point that Mu Tingying is just being considerate of the bigger picture, do you understand? Don’t let our enemy use it as an opportunity to attack the Mu Clan by claiming that a member of our clan has abandoned her teammates for her own sake!” Mu Gong was an old cunning fox indeed. He immediately realized what was about to happen, so he immediately made the arrangements to minimize the damage.

However, despite the arrangements, people were easily influenced when it came to something like a person’s reputation. They had seen how Mu Tingying, Zu Jiming, Nanrong Ni, and Li Kaifeng turning around and left after being threatened by the enemy. A huge uproar of curses immediately took place among the spectators.

The spectators were able to judge the situation on their own, too. What was right was right, and what was wrong would stay wrong. When they compared how Mu Ningxue and Ayleen had come back to stick with Mo Fan even though they had a chance to run away, and how Mu Tingying and her crew had abandoned their teammates without hesitation, the emotions of the people were stirred up like a tide, and soon exploded both in the stadium and in their homeland!

Under such a great tide, even though some rational people had stepped forward to explain that the four members had only abandoned their teammates for the sake of their team, their voice was too small to overcome the unstoppable wave that was already rolling fiercely!

Despite the curses, it did not alter the fact that Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Ayleen were still surrounded by the enemy.

Jack, Pinole, Meos, Angelo, and the others were starting to lose their patience. The women were eying Mu Ningxue and Ayleen covetously too…

—

“I wasn’t too harsh on you guys when I robbed you. Well, what happened to Meos doesn’t count, so regarding the conflict between us…” Mo Fan did not give up on persuading the enemy.

“Hehe, do you think that’s enough reason to convince us not to beat the crap out of you?” Jack laughed.

“It seems like it’s impossible for me to persuade you otherwise,” Mo Fan’s tone shifted slightly.

“Absolutely correct, don’t worry about us, we’ll try not to break the rules when we’re turning you into a cripple,” Jack glanced at the others and smiled. “What do you say?”

“Of course!” the others agreed.

Mo Fan remained silent. He did not say a single word.

Jack was quite surprised when Mo Fan stopped talking all of a sudden, “What’s wrong? Are you scared?”

“I’m scared of your grandmother!” Mo Fan suddenly cursed and threw his right fist forward, which erupted into flames as it caught the air!

When Mo Fan stopped talking, it meant he was ready for battle!

The Fiery Fist sprang forward. The fierce flames represented the restless, unyielding spirit in Mo Fan’s bones. So what if they had an advantage of numbers? If they were serious about turning him into a cripple, they must pay for it by having half of their group lying on the floor in the end. Mo Fan could guarantee that their fate would be worse than his!

“Asshole!”

Jack was infuriated. He did not expect Mo Fan would dare to fight back under the circumstances.

Despite Jack’s quick reaction, he was forced to activate his Shield Equipment when the Fiery Fist in the form of fiery dragons, stronger than an Advanced Spell, was coming at him!

The flames struck the Magic Shield and spread wildly across the place. Jack’s skin almost blistered from the scorching heat. Even though the attack did not really inflict any damage on him, he was still utterly mad still!

“Do you seriously want a few more wounds that will never heal on your crippled body!?” Jack’s face turned icy cold.

“Flying Creek Snow Wolf!” Mo Fan cast the Basic Spell instantly, and a lunar-white glow tore the space apart.

Mo Fan was extremely quick at casting Basic Spells. Even though the enemy had a Psychic Mage, they had no chance of interrupting Mo Fan’s channeling.

Besides, Ayleen was also a Psychic Mage. She had secretly set up a Spirit Wall, protecting the three of them so their channeling would not be interrupted easily!

Mu Ningxue and Ayleen were long prepared for the fight. Knowing that the enemy was ahead in numbers, Mu Ningxue did not dare preserve her strength further. She immediately unleashed her Nirvana Ice Domain, covering the ten-plus people on the enemy team to suppress them!

The formidable frost immediately summoned a great storm, shrouding the dim sky and the river nearby!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s a suppressive Domain!” Water Mage Pinole blurted out when he sensed the iciness in their surroundings.

A Domain of this kind was rather powerful, as everyone under its effects was slower at casting spells, and the damage of their spells was weakened significantly, too. Normally, the Domain of a Soul-grade Seed could at most suppress twenty percent of their damage, but Mu Ningxue’s Nirvana Ice Domain seemed to have suppressed thirty to forty percent!

In terms of Domain, it was likely that no one was stronger than Mu Ningxue’s innate talent. Even strong Mages like Jack and Pinole could feel the strong suppression from her Ice Domain!

“I’ll handle her!” Hannah harrumphed coldly. She summoned a lightning orb in her hand and hurled it at Mu Ningxue!

The lightning orb immediately split into sharp lightning arcs when it reached Mu Ningxue’s vicinity. The lightning bolts extended rapidly to a length of twenty meters, like a deadly meteor hammer covered in lightning!

Mu Ningxue was shrouded by a small tornado, serving as a shield protecting her. Even though its defense was incomparable to the defense of Wind Wings: Shelter, it was more than enough to defend her from the lightning attack.

Hannah was agitated when she saw Mu Ningxue nullifying her attack with ease.

She could easily tell that the potency of her magic had dropped significantly. Normally, her Lightning Meteor Hammer would be much more effective! The woman clearly had an outstanding Domain that she was extremely jealous of!

—

“Humph, do you think you’ll be fine as long as you pretend to be harmless? We’re in the middle of a tournament, where participants are meant to compete with one another. Let me see what a woman who only knows how to earn someone’s pity like you has!” Belle had been waiting for this chance for a long time. The news, articles, and women’s magazines kept mentioning the Great Duchess of England, and Belle found it extremely annoying!

She had always come from an ancient noble family, yet why was this woman always in the limelight, while she was rotting away in a dark corner!

Belle seemed to be nursing a strong grievance. The power of the Curse Element burst out from her body, the crimson-red glow forming an evil spider web looming over Great Duchess Ayleen. A cursed spider on it was crawling toward Ayleen slowly, its greedy eyes locked onto her spirit.

“Belle, I have no idea why you hate me so much, but I’m really disappointed by how you’re treating me. We had such a pleasant time when we went to Iceland together…” Ayleen glanced at the Curse Spell calmly.

“Humph, the Ice Domain is useless against Dark Magic, don’t you underestimate me!” Belle’s eyes emitted a wicked light as the Sinister Spider Trap descended rapidly.

Meanwhile, a sinister-looking demon with sharp fangs appeared out of nowhere, grabbing at the petite Ayleen with its giant arms, trying to drag Ayleen’s spirit out of her body!

Ayleen was startled. Her opponent was using the Sinister Spider Trap on the surface, but she had actually cast the Demon Torture secretly. The woman was quite terrifying with how scheming she was. Most importantly, Ayleen did not feel like her opponent was showing any mercy to her. The Curse Magic was known for inflicting serious, unrecoverable damage on the target’s soul. Ayleen could feel that the hate-demon filled was not only trying to teach her a lesson, but planning to tear her spirit into pieces!

Ayleen’s face turned cold. She had always been friendly to people, and even when she was facing someone she did not like, she would still try her best to be sensible. She believed she had never done anything wrong to Belle, yet the woman was treating her so aggressively; it was truly infuriating.

Ayleen would not show any mercy to someone that was so eager to make her disappear!

“Heart-Crushing Symphony!”

Ayleen cast a Psychic Spell, unleashing a strong Psychic Impact at Belle before the demon could grab her.

The Advanced Curse Spell was fairly powerful, but Ayleen was extremely familiar with Dark Magic, and knew that the Demon Torture had to maintain its continuity. The Mage that cast the Demon Torture had to continue supplying the demon with the energy of the Curse Element while it was carrying out the attack.

Since Ayleen was aware of the spell’s weakness, she decisively used a Psychic Spell to interrupt Belle’s channeling of the Demon Torture!

Even though Belle was being very cautious, she did not expect Ayleen’s Psychic Element to be so powerful. The Heart-Crushing Symphony was not just a single wave of attack, it was like a melody filled with grievances that remained in her mind until the symphony came to an end. During this time, her mind was greatly disturbed, preventing her from casting any spell.

“Allow me to lend you a hand!” a Canadian student who had long waited for a chance to fawn upon Belle said.

The Canadian student was obviously an offensive Mage. His magic began to surge, and even though the power of his spells had been weakened by Mu Ningxue’s Nirvana Ice Domain, it still posed a great threat to Ayleen. Ayleen’s primary Element was Water, and her defense was rather average, too. She could only defend herself passively…

“I’ll handle them, don’t worry about me, and try not to go too far away so my Spirit Wall can protect you still,” Ayleen said when she saw Mu Ningxue start to lend her a hand.

Mu Ningxue withdrew her attention when she realized that Ayleen was still able to handle the situation calmly. After all, Mu Ningxue was in quite a pinch herself too, since four Mages were targeting her simultaneously!

Mu Ningxue’s splendid performance during the opening match had placed her right in the limelight. As a result, many participants had a strong urge to defeat her. The four of them, led by Pinole and Hannah, kept attacking, forcing her to back up continuously. The supply of her Ice Magic was unable to keep up with the rate of output.

In terms of strength, both Pinole and Hannah were incredibly strong, although they were only considered above average among the participants. The other two students were fairly average. Normally, Mu Ningxue could easily defeat them in no time, but when the four teamed up against her, it went without saying that she would be the one struggling to hold her ground.

Luckily, her Nirvana Ice Domain was fairly powerful, and her cultivation was clearly stronger than anyone on the enemy team. It was the main reason why Mu Ningxue was still in the fight, but it was only a matter of time until she was defeated.

However, she was not in the worst spot among the trio, as Mo Fan was taking on six people at once…

What shocked Mu Ningxue the most was, Mo Fan was actually taking the initiative to attack, even when he was up against six people. Mu Ningxue could not help but exclaim at how much of a freak Mo Fan was!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had lifted a huge portion of the pressure off Mo Fan’s shoulders. The frost-covered creature was chasing after Herbert. He had driven the Englishman all the way to the river, out of Mu Ningxue’s Nirvana Ice Domain!

Seeing that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had chased one of his opponents away, Mo Fan let Little Flame Belle fight on her own too, and her target was none other than Meos of the Egyptian team!

Little Flame Belle was vengeful, too. She would never forget how Meos had bullied her in the past. The little creature was like an erupting volcano, leaving wild Calamity Fire all over the place. Meos never thought the little Summoned Beast would grow so much stronger in just half a year. Her skin was already covered in blistering burns from the scorching heat!

Both the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and Little Flame Belle had achieved the Commander-level. Even if each of the participants in the tournament had remarkable strength, allowing them to take on a Commander-level creature on their own, a Commander-level creature would still win the fight eventually!

“Humph, how dare you use the soul I was so fond of already, screw you!” Jack was utterly resentful, especially when he saw how strong the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was. He totally regretted that he did not buy the soul immediately when he first saw it. That way, he might have had another Commander-level creature fighting by his side now!

“You’re not the only person with Summoned Beasts!” Jack opened up the door of the Contract Summoning with a hollow laugh.

An enormous demon creature with a beastly body and the tail of a scorpion came out from the gap. Everyone held their breaths when they sensed the formidable aura of death and savagery lunging at them.

The creature stomped the ground fiercely. The ground began to crack in Mo Fan’s direction. Mo Fan was just about to dodge it when he saw the Scorpion-Tailed Demon leaping into the air while emitting a blinding glow. Its body suddenly enlarged a few times as it came crashing down like a mountain!

The beast was absolutely huge, to the extent that Mo Fan was struggling to dodge the attack. He was forced to use the Dark Noble Mantle to barely escape from the shadow of the creature that was doing a sumo slam on him.

The enemy had set up a barrier, meaning that Mo Fan could no longer escape with the Dark Noble Mantle. In addition to that, the Psychic Mage on the enemy team had also tagged him with a mark.

Even without the Psychic Element, the Light Element was the Shadow Element’s greatest weakness. The Dark Noble Mantle would easily be exposed with a simple casting of the Brilliant Light.

There was simply no way to escape, so Mo Fan had no choice but to fight!

Mo Fan had just dodged the sumo slam when he heard some piercing cries under the loosened ground. Mo Fan suddenly felt like his ankle being grabbed onto by a pair of pincers.

Mo Fan lowered his gaze and saw hands sticking out from the ground, grabbing onto his legs.

Shreev of the Egyptian team was sneering with the presence of the Undead Element rising from his body, as he was controlling the undead under the ground Mo Fan was standing on.

“Do you really think a few zombies are enough to trap me?” A mysterious, silver glow appeared with a single thought from Mo Fan, forming a strong, compressing force directed at the ground under his feet!

A rhomboid with Mo Fan at the center appeared and crushed the ground below his feet. The ground was suddenly compressed into a state sturdier than rocks, blood flowing out between the gaps. It turned out that the little undead under the ground had been crushed into minced meat!

“Humph, I can summon as many of those undead as I want!” Shreev had not given up yet. He continued to summon undead to fight for him!

“He will be having a piece of this first!” Angelo of the Italian team was desperately looking for a way to vent his anger. He activated a piece of magic equipment to strengthen the Deadly Wind Formation he was about to complete!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Angelo turned into a cloudy wind, and was showing up in different locations around Mo Fan by abusing the tremendous speed of the wind. He also left faint images behind where he was, to trick Mo Fan into believing that he was still there.

The images gradually disappeared, but the wind trail turned into powerful wind blades. A few of them would not pose any threat to Mo Fan, but when a dozen of them were lunging at Mo Fan at the same time, he simply had no chance of dodging the attack!

Mo Fan was initially planning to withdraw from the area with the Fleeing Shadow. However, the Scorpion-Tailed Beast was blocking in front, while Shreev was summoning a bunch of Iron Zombies behind him. On his left was a trap set up with the Plant Element by a Canadian student. The only option he had was to run to his right, but he would have to traverse the area covered in wind blades. It was worse than standing still!

Mo Fan had no choice but to summon the Black Snake Armor. However, once the armor exceeded its duration, he would no longer have any way to protect himself. He could only last for as long as possible, hoping that Little Flame Belle and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf could defeat their opponents and provide him with some support.

The wind blades swept past him, leaving marks and scratches on Mo Fan’s Black Snake Armor. The armor was godly when he was still in the Intermediate Level, as it was able to take as many hits as needed. However, after he reached the Advanced Level, he had not strengthened and refined the armor, so it was having trouble resisting the attacks of the talented Mages specifically chosen to represent their countries in the World College Tournament!

“Damn it, I think I should really improve the Space Element, too. If only I was strong as Ai Jiangtu, it’s like his Space Element is omnipotent!” Mo Fan murmured as the wind blades attacked him.

Ai Jiangtu was able to attack, defend, control, and destroy with his Space Element. The ability to Blink around unpredictably alone was insane. He could easily take on a few opponents with only a single Element. Even though Mo Fan had lots of Elements, if he did not spend more time mastering the Space Element, it would only end up as a supporting Element in a battle.

Having this thought, Mo Fan was even more unwilling to give away the loot they had acquired so far!

Everyone had been robbing one another for their loot. Mo Fan didn’t believe his approach was unfair, it was just that the enemy had an advantage in numbers.

“Did you guys realize? That guy no longer has the unstoppable flames,” Angelo suddenly said.

He had watched the match between the Chinese team and the Spanish team. Both Angelo and Jack had been well informed of how outstanding Mo Fan’s strength was. They clearly remembered the Calamity Fire that he could control as he pleased, almost comparable to that of a Super Mage!

However, Mo Fan had not used it despite the circumstances he was in. It was unlikely that the man was trying to preserve his strength, meaning that he was unable to use the fire!

“It’s his Contracted Beast, his Contracted Beast is a rare Elemental Creature with the ability to attach itself to the master! His Contracted Beast is fighting Meos, so it makes sense that he can’t transform into that fiery state!” Jack exclaimed.

Jack, whose primary Element was the Summoning Element, had purposely asked his teacher, Gisele about Mo Fan’s ability. It was unnecessary for them to keep an eye out on Mo Fan’s ability to engulf himself in flames right now…

“So that means his primary Element is Fire, secondary is Summoning Element, and tertiary is Space… but why can he cast Shadow Spells too?” Angelo wondered.

“He has Double Innate Elements, so he has one extra Element…” Shreev said as he was controlling the Iron Zombies.

Mo Fan was like a cornered beast. His enemies kept on casting spells, and even if he could still dodge and resist their attacks, he would no longer be able to turn the tables around once his armor’s duration came to an end!

“No wonder, I kept feeling as if he has unlimited magic…” both Jack and Angelo realized.

It was possible to cast some spells with the help of magic equipment. As such, they initially thought Mo Fan was relying on magic equipment to cast his Shadow spells, but everything made sense now.

However, what difference would his Double Innate Elements make? Even if he had four Elements, like a Super Mage, the six of them had more than ten Elements in total. How could they possibly lose against a single person?

“His armor is almost at its limit. I have to say that his armor is quite impressive, allowing him to last for so long in the fight. I’m going to put an end to this!” Angelo could not wait to get his revenge.

Many teams had worked together to acquire the Heart of Stone worth around five hundred million. The Italian team even took the risk of being targeted by the rest of the countries when they decided to keep it for themselves. To their surprise, the shameless Mo Fan simply stole it from him! Not only was he deserted by his team, the other countries were unforgiving of him, too!

He could finally get his revenge after nursing his grievance for so long!

The man had lost all his defense. Angelo utilized the speed of the wind and appeared behind Mo Fan as he was busy handling the Iron Zombies and mummies.

The wind took the shape of a long cone. Angelo crept forward, concealing his presence within the cloudy winds.

The shroud enveloping the mummies sprang forward and wrapped around Mo Fan’s legs to restrict his movements. He was barely resisting the incoming attacks with a wall he had set up with the Space Element.

However, his Space Element was only average, and it could only block a few attacks at most. As Jack blasted the wall with an Advanced Spell, Mo Fan lost his final line of defense.

“Cast a Psychic Spell on him!” Jack saw that Angelo had prepared to give Mo Fan the killing blow. He said in a cruel voice, “Humph, Double Innate Elements? He’s just a piece of trash!”

Jack was extremely cunning with his approach. Ayleen was quite a distance away from Mo Fan. There was no chance she could lend a hand to protect him. They had successfully broken down Mo Fan’s defense. Mo Fan was already doomed, yet Jack went even further by asking the Psychic Mage to cast a Psychic Spell on Mo Fan, guaranteeing his defeat!

A Mage that was under the effects of a Psychic Spell was no longer able to cast any spells. Their body would have no chance of surviving the damage of a destructive spell. It all depended on how strong the grudge Angelo was holding against Mo Fan was. He could even kill Mo Fan if he wished. The man was as vulnerable as a piece of paper. Double Innate Elements? The ace of the Chinese team? He had still fallen at their hands!

Angelo moved rapidly. He was less than half a meter away from Mo Fan after a flicker of movement, grinning cruelly.

“I’ll let you live, but your path of magic is going to end here!” Angelo swore. The force he was gathering on his palm emitted a faint blue pulse of light.

Blue normally represented the soul, meaning that Angelo’s spell was not just a simple Wind Spell; he had activated his Deathstrike Magic Equipment, too!

The attack was aimed at Mo Fan’s mind and soul, and was sure to inflict unrecoverable damage to Mo Fan’s soul. The wind cone was merely a disguise, it was not going to do much harm to Mo Fan’s body, but his soul…

Angelo had already thought it through. In the eyes of the Observer Eagles circling in the sky, his attack was just a simple Wind Spell, but the others were surely not going to stop attacking. If an organizer was to investigate the matter, he would insist that he had only attacked with his Wind Spell. They would never know who was responsible for damaging Mo Fan’s soul in such a chaotic battle!

Mo Fan was struggling to react to the strong gust of wind.

He turned around and noticed the wind cone, and the strong hatred from the vengeful Angelo.

Mo Fan used his will to form a wall. The wall was extremely fragile, yet it could at least buy him some time…

“I stole something from you, and you can steal it back too. It’s just a tournament, yet are you sure you want to go so far and give me a deadly blow?” Mo Fan’s eyes were fixed on Angelo.

The wall of the Space Magic was breaking into pieces under the strong penetrating force of the wind cone. It would collapse in the next second.

“What are you talking about? I’m only going to teach you a lesson!” Angelo replied calmly. He seemed natural, yet the look in his eyes exposed his vicious heart!

When Mo Fan saw the deadly light concealed by the wind cone approaching, his face, which had remained calm and collected until now, suddenly turned icy and determined…

With how advanced the Healing Spells were now, he could still recover from any physical damage he suffered. He would at most be lying in a sickbed for months, the worst possible outcome not being able to participate further in the tournament. Mo Fan thought that was as far as the participants would go, since he had only stolen their loot, while still complying with the rules that had been set. However, Mo Fan subconsciously chuckled when he realized Angelo’s malicious intent.

It seemed like these high-sounding people were used to doing such cruel deeds. Otherwise, why would the man act so calmly, and had even thought it through and adeptly covered his deadly blow with another spell…

“I only wanted to teach you a lesson too… but it seems like I have to do more than that!” Mo Fan’s voice resonated.

Angelo was startled. The man was clearly in a pinch, like a cornered beast; why was he still so confident, and why had his aura skyrocketed all of a sudden!?

Angelo did not give up on his attack. Anyone that made him feel uncomfortable had to pay a hundred times the price. He had crippled lots of brilliant talents so far, but who could possibly get their revenge on him?

“Your biggest mistake was infuriating me, Angelo!” Angelo attacked without hesitation!

“And you shouldn’t mess with me, either!” Mo Fan uttered coldly. “Sky Lightning Claw!”

The lightning exploded out when everyone least expected it. The imperious Lightning Domain was even more outstanding than Mu Ningxue’s Nirvana Ice Domain. Spectacular lightning dragons were rolling ruthlessly in the black clouds, carrying a strong aura of death!

A lightning bolt sprang up from the ground below Angelo’s feet. The strong blast, strengthened by Mo Fan’s will, forcibly knocked Angelo into the sky.

Angelo totally did not expect it. He was so obsessed with getting revenge that he did not even notice the bright glow on Mo Fan’s neck!

Angelo flew a few dozen meters into the sky. An enormous claw formed by arcs of dark lightning arcs and grabbed Angelo as he reached the highest point!

The imperious, merciless lightning claw possessed incredible strength. The lightning, its damage multiplied sixfold, was like a hellish demon that would tear any living human it held into pieces!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Angelo was trying to summon his Wind Wings to protect him, but he had no chance of casting the complicated Advanced Spell. His head was already spinning after he was struck by the lightning. He had no choice but to Summon his armor instead!

Unfortunately, the lightning was strong enough to penetrate his magic armor, too! Most defensive equipment was unable to fully protect a person unless their Elemental type happened to be the Lightning Element’s weakness!

The lightning claws surged across the sky spectacularly. Angelo was as minuscule as an ant facing the giant, astonishing claws of a demon. His thin armor was soon crushed to pieces!

The Sky Lightning Claws exemplified Mo Fan’s rage. If Angelo had been willing to call off the attack targeting Mo Fan’s soul, Mo Fan would not have bothered torturing Angelo with the lightning claws, Since Angelo did not do so, Mo Fan would not show him any mercy, either!

—

Jack, Shreev, Meos, Pinole, and the others were stunned. The icy brilliance of the lightning strikes left them in astonishment and disbelief!

Lightning Element! Since when did he possess the Lightning Element?

And why was his Lightning Element so powerful? Wasn’t the Fire Element his strongest Element?

Hearing Angelo’s cries of agony, the participants saw that the Sky Lightning Claws had finally stopped attacking, but they soon heard Mo Fan invoking coldly, “Tyrant Call!”

Angelo was falling from the sky helplessly, but dense, yellow lightning arcs formed a thick lightning bolt above Angelo’s head and slashed down at him like an axe, slamming Angelo right to the ground at a terrifying speed, forming a scorched pit over a hundred meters wide!

Angelo lay still, his skin completely blistered, even his face was not preserved. His body was still twitching even though he had lost consciousness, as if the claws of demon were still ripping at him.

—

The Observer Eagles had captured the entire scene. Watching it through the eyes of the Observer Eagles were the spectators across the world, including some authoritative Mages.

The stadium fell deadly silent, as if all their minds were struck by lightning, leaving them in awe!

There was clearly no escape for Mo Fan. Even some of the reputable Super Mages assumed that Angelo was going to land his attack. Not a single person thought that Mo Fan was able to turn the tables around. It was like he had completely transformed into a different person, a Lightning Tyrant, severely punishing Angelo for offending him!

“This…this…Miss Conti, that guy is cheating, he’s a member of the Black Vatican!” Prince Beny was the first to react. He desperately wanted some tragedy to befall Mo Fan!

Conti stared at the screen displaying the broadcast from the Observer Eagles, and the student with such an imperious lightning field. It took her a while to respond to Prince Beny’s accusation, “As I thought, his innate talent actually Awakens two Elements at every level. The information I gathered clearly says that his Primary Element is Lightning, and Fire…”

—

At the seats reserved for the Sacred Hall of Liberty, Oleena noticed the Vice Elder Gisele looking at her and said with a smile, “I did mention to you that this Chinese candidate was the one that helped us arrest Casso, the leader of the Red Ornaments Guild, but you didn’t treat him seriously back then.”

Gisele had no interest in the younger generation. All her focus was on her disciple, Jack. Hearing Oleena’s words, she immediately recalled that the Chinese team had indeed defeated the Red Ornaments Guild, and the magic equipment that Essendale, the master of the Shadow Element, had once worn had been given to the Chinese team as a reward…

No wonder, it all makes sense…

With the Dark Noble Mantle, stealing from other participants would be as easy as flipping a hand!

—

“I told you, the person you should be worried the most isn’t Mu Ningxue, or Ai Jiangtu, but this Mo Fan,” Mochizuki Chihaya said from the seats reserved for the Japanese team.

Fujikata Tegami, Mochizuki Ken, and the advisors and instructors of the national team could only smile poorly.

When the Japanese team was up against the Chinese team, they did not even let Mo Fan take part in the match. In other words, if they ended up facing the Chinese team in the finals, they clearly had no chance of winning!

—

“That guy managed to take a person out when he was taking on six of them at once. Is he from space?”

“My God, we were all wrong! We thought the Fire Element was his strongest Element, but his Lightning Element has a top-tier Domain, and his Soul-grade Seed is one of the strongest, too!”

“How many Elements does he actually have? Why is every Element he has so powerful?”

The people had witnessed Mo Fan’s unstoppable flames in the match against the Spanish team. He almost won the title of the strongest Fire Mage among all the participants in the World College Tournament after just a single match, yet his Lightning Element was even stronger!

Any participant with a single outstanding Element would easily be considered an all-star student during the World College Tournament. Students like Mu Ningxue, Ai Jiangtu, Pinole, and Shou Watani were examples of all-star students, but not only did Mo Fan have two outstanding Elements, he was able to turn the tables when he was greatly outnumbered. The counterattack had he executed to recover from the seemingly impossible situation was incredible, too. The series of moves – knocking the target into the air, tearing the target with the Sky Lightning Claws, and finishing it with the Tyrant Call – was extremely smooth. It was extremely violent, like a piece of artwork, and left Angelo with no chance to react at all!

“He never used the Lightning Element and his Domain, even when he was in a pinch, just so he could take his enemy by surprise when it mattered the most, and deal a critical blow to the enemy! He’s calm yet bold; impressive, that’s the true spirit of a member of the Chinese team! His ability to scheme, to compromise, to fight with all he has, and to endure patiently… and to show no mercy when necessary!” Chairman Shao Zheng exclaimed excitedly, smacking his thigh!

Pang Lai, Han Ji, Feng Li, Song He, and the others were utterly surprised by Mo Fan’s actions, too. Even under those circumstances, he had decided to keep his Lightning Element a secret until the very end, to deal a critical blow and eliminate a threat once and for all. Even they were utterly impressed by Mo Fan’s decisiveness!

“Han Ji, this disciple that you’ve recommended is truly a gem,” a woman official complimented him.

“No no, you’ve misunderstood, he is self-taught, he’s not my disciple… speaking of which, he’s the savior of the Ancient Capital,” Han Ji replied.

“What do you mean by that?” the Chairman asked.

“It was he who brought Captain Zhang Xiaohou into the Dark Abyss, and all the way to the Blood Emperor Throne of the Ancient King…” Han Ji said, but he did not mention the Demon Element.

“Impressive, so it was him!”

“The Calamity of Bo City, the plague in Hangzhou, and the operation that wiped out the Black Vatican on Chongming Island; I believe most of you have heard of them? He is the one that contributed the most in all of them,” Han Ji continued.

The Chairman and other leaders were dumbfounded. It went without saying that they had heard about the incidents before, yet they never thought the same person that saved the Ancient Capital was involved in all of them, and the person was only a student on the national team!

“So you’re saying that his performance in this treasure hunt is actually nothing worth mentioning,” Councilman Shao Zheng murmured.

“Did he actually go too far? Since we’re currently in Venice, Italy’s home ground… strange, Mo Fan normally knows to behave himself, he didn’t need to follow up the attack with the Tyrant Call.”

“It’s a bit too much, but don’t worry about it. It’s reasonable for a young man like him to be hot-blooded. He might have a reason for doing it too; we’ll ask him once it’s over,” Councilman Shao Zheng said.

—

—

Mo Fan had overdone it, as Feng Li had mentioned. There was no need for him to follow up with the Tyrant Call, since Angelo would hardly be fit for battle after the initial blow.

However, Mo Fan did not want Angelo to be able to stand when he left!

Besides, he was planning to intimidate the others with it too, since they were still in a disadvantageous position!

“Asshole, it’s only a tournament, are you trying to kill Angelo?” Jack yelled when he saw Angelo in bad shape.

“You can ask what he did when he wakes up,” Mo Fan replied calmly.

Saying this, Mo Fan grabbed in Angelo’s direction to retrieve an insignificant ring from his finger. He quickly put it away.

Jack and the others had no clue what Mo Fan was up to. They simply thought Mo Fan was trying to humiliate the man further.

“I was actually thinking of going easy on you, yet you’re so stubborn! Guess I’ll have to do it the hard way!” Jack said.

“Show me what you got then! I really enjoy stomping arrogant people like you to the ground!” Mo Fan was extremely infuriated. He showed no mercy with his words too.

One versus six?

When Mo Fan first enrolled in the Pearl Institute, he had beaten up every new student. When he first arrived at the school, he had fought every student in the Fire School!

“Scorpion Beast, second form!” Jack ordered coldly into the distance.

The enormous beast with a scorpion tail groaned as it suddenly raised its glowing scorpion tail…

The beast raised the scorpion tail above its head. Surprisingly, it did not lash its tail at Mo Fan, but stabbed itself instead!

Mo Fan could clearly see the poison from the tail pouring rapidly into the beast’s body. The poison acted as a stimulant and swiftly spread to every part of the beast’s body.

The flesh of the beast’s underwent tremendous changes. Poisonous armor surfaced on its skin and attached itself to the beast.

The poisoned armor was not smooth; it was covered in jagged spikes and hooks, like bee stings or cactus thorns, all over its joints, arms, shoulders, spine, and tail. The spikes were firm and sharp!

“The soul that you took from me was supposed to help my Contracted Beast evolve to its third form. No one could possibly stand a chance against me if that had happened. However, its second form, the Poison Armor Scorpion, is enough to make you regret for the rest of your life!” Jack leapt onto the creature’s head.

The creature happened to have a depression on its head that Jack could hop into and cover himself in. It was similar to a pilot seat so he could drive the mecha-beast!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lightning Spells with six times the damage from the Lightning Tyrant landed on the Poison Armor Scorpion, whipping the creature fiercely, yet barely left any marks on its armor.

Mo Fan tried targeting the Poison Armor Scorpion’s head to attack Jack directly, but he realized that it was the sturdiest part of the Poison Armor Scorpion’s defense. He was struggling to deal any damage to Jack, who was hiding inside the armor.

Left with no choice, Mo Fan could only use the Lightning Tyrant to keep the others and the undead scattering across the place at bay.

The Lightning Tyrant was very effective when attacking another Mage and Shreev’s undead. The Iron Zombies and mummies that Mo Fan had a hard time killing previously had all been disintegrated into bloodspray by the Lightning Tyrant. Even the Psychic Mage was having difficulty casting her spell under the tremendous suppression of the Lightning Tyrant. They could only attack Mo Fan with other Elemental Spells.

Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant Domain was suppressing them, just like Mu Ningxue’s Domain. Even though she was currently somewhere else, the Lightning Tyrant Domain was also able to weaken spells that were cast within its area.

Together with the Intermediate Space Spell, Time Stasis, Mo Fan had managed to hold his ground for the time being.

“Do you really think you stand a chance against us!?” Jack snapped arrogantly.

The Poison Armor Scorpion waved its huge arms wildly. The spikes on the arms extended further and became even sharper!

The spike-covered arms swung down, leaving lots of holes in the ground. The space that Mo Fan could use to dodge the attack was very limited, not to mention that the arms were densely covered in spikes with deadly poison. With the slightest touch, a wound would immediately spread into a long cut, as if he had just been struck by a sword.

As the Poison Armor Scorpion was waving its arms, it suddenly leaned to one side as the poisonous, glowing tail that it had been hiding sprang forward.

The icy point went right for Mo Fan’s chest. Mo Fan was soaked in cold sweat, as he totally did not expect the surprise attack. Mo Fan was totally defenseless as he watched the poisonous stinger flying at him!

The Black Snake Armor was still on cooldown, and the Departing Nether Shield had broken into pieces not long ago. It was too late for him to construct a wall with the Space Element, or try dodging the attack, since the four limbs of the creature had sealed off all his escape routes!

He had no chance of dodging the attack, nor defending himself. Mo Fan had a feeling that the poisonous sting was going to puncture his chest…

Jack was slightly more righteous than the vicious Angelo. He was not aiming for Mo Fan’s heart, yet it was still going to deal a devastating blow to him!

A great chill ran down Mo Fan’s spine. He clenched his teeth and cursed himself for feeling relieved that he was currently in the middle of a tournament. After going back and forth between the cradle and the grave many times, Mo Fan had learned that there was no such thing as a fluke in the way of living of a Mage!

He could not afford to give up until the very end. Didn’t he still have Telekinesis?

He only needed a single gaze to cast the Basic Spell of the Space Element. Was the deadly poisonous sting really quicker than his eyes?

“Telekinesis!” Mo Fan’s eyes glowed silver. He did not dodge the attack, nor did he try to defend himself. He was only using his gaze to stop the deadly stinger.

If Ai Jiangtu was able to put every spell targeting him into stasis, why couldn’t he stop this deadly attack, too? He needed a strong will, and a great courage. The strength of the Space Element did not rely on the spells, or a Soul-grade Seed, but his unmatchable mental strength!

Having too many Elements granted Mo Fan lots of different options to overcome the danger he faced. However, it also prevented Mo Fan from having a chance to practice his Space Element. His Space Element was like a little sapling protected by his other stronger Elements. It was unable to grow, as it did not experience the strong wind and the rain!

Mo Fan had used all his Elements, yet he was still in a pinch. Why wouldn’t he trust in his Space Element, and believe that his will was strong enough to overcome the attack!?

The silver glow grew stronger as it clashed with the poisonous stinger…

Humans would subconsciously try to avoid danger in fear. Mo Fan was forcing himself not to dodge the attack, since it was utterly meaningless. His first priority was to stop the cells within his body from trembling in fear at the approaching danger!

He needed to stay perfectly calm, and needed perfect focus, to believe that he would stop the deadly attack right before it could reach its chest!

The silver aura had enveloped Mo Fan’s entire body, and was rapidly spreading to the poison stinger, too.

The scorpion tail was right in front of Mo Fan’s chest, yet had failed to stab into him. It encountered strong resistance from Mo Fan’s will, and even though it was merely inches away, it was unable to go any further, as if it had struck a sturdy jade!

The cold of the stinger had pierced through Mo Fan’s clothes and penetrated the muscles on his chest easily. The small chill immediately brought tremendous pain to the entirety of Mo Fan’s nervous system, even though it had only penetrated the tissues in the outer layer. He could easily imagine how unbearable the pain would be if it fully stabbed into his body!

“I wonder how long you’re going to last!” Jack screamed.

The mind of the Poison Armor Scorpion was synchronized with his. The poison sting that was hovering right above Mo Fan’s chest was slowly pushing further, and with only half an inch left, the deadly poison would soon spread inside Mo Fan’s body!

“Piss off!” Mo Fan yelled, venting his frustration. The stubborn thought immediately reinforced his will, and he grabbed firmly onto the sting.

Jack realized that his Poison Armor Scorpion was struggling to push its tail any further. He snapped furiously at the Psychic Mage, “What are you waiting for?”

The Psychic Mage had already cast Psychic Impact, yet the attack did not necessarily have a hundred percent success rate. When a person was so focused that their will had become impenetrable, the Psychic Impact was basically like a small ripple on a lake, unable to do any harm to its target.

Jack had no idea Mo Fan was able to stop the attack with his Space Element. He angrily waved his hand, deciding to attack with his other Elements.

However, a Commander-level wolf covered in frost suddenly appeared, ripping with its claws continuously as it fired a dozen icy crescents at the Poison Armor Scorpion!

Twelve long gashes were seen on the poisonous armor as the crescents penetrated further into the creature’s flesh. Poisonous blood was flowing out from the wounds, smearing the body of the Poison Armor Scorpion.

The Poison Armor Scorpion was knocked back staggering, and it almost fell to the ground.

“Well done, wolf!” Mo Fan was overjoyed, knowing that the danger had been resolved.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf moved swiftly. Unlike other beasts that attacked with brute force, he preferred to engage his enemy with chain attacks. After the initial move, he moved to the Poison Armor Scorpion’s side and stomped the ground fiercely with all his limbs, firing splinters of ice at the Poison Armor Scorpion…

The ice splinters poured down at the Poison Armor Scorpion like satellite rays, and amazingly penetrated the Poison Armor Scorpion’s flesh too, leaving obvious wounds around the creature’s joints!

The Poison Armor Scorpion was knocked back further, yet when it gradually stabilized itself, Jack glanced at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf disdainfully and said, “You’ve wasted such a valuable soul on a low-level demon wolf. It is still inferior, even though it has reached the Commander-level!”

Despite the injuries that the Poison Armor Scorpion had suffered, its strength and aura showed no sign of weakening. It immediately switched targets to the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. Its ferocious moves and poisonous stinger forced the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to withdraw temporarily.

“A creature like that is not worthy to take the soul of the creature from the Extreme South Ice Realm!” Jack was even angrier when he saw the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, “You guys, deal with him; I’ll take care of this inferior demon wolf!”

The student that was initially fighting the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had regrouped with the team, too. They proceeded to flank Mo Fan once again, together with Shreev’s undead.

Mo Fan initially planned to counterattack Jack and the Poison Armor Scorpion with the help of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, yet he was soon entangled by his remaining opponents. He had no choice but to use the Lightning Tyrant on them.

“I can get the soul back still after killing you. They didn’t specify that we aren’t allowed to kill our opponent’s Summoned Beast!” Jack said coldly.

It was Jack’s real goal, as he believed it was a great humiliation to let the soul of a noble creature reside in the body of a low-level demon wolf. Only his Poison Armor Scorpion was worthy of the soul, so his Summoned Beast could attain its third form!

“Die! Die!” Jack was casting spells too as he fought the Flying Creek Snow Wolf alongside his Poison Armor Scorpion. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was struggling to hold his ground, so he quickly fled into the distance.

However, Jack was extremely cunning. When he saw the Flying Creek Snow Wolf running into the distance, he immediately turned around to attack Mo Fan. Mo Fan was fine taking on three Mages at the same time, but when Jack and his Poison Armor Scorpion joined the fight, he was immediately in great danger.

As such, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf could not afford to run away. He had to keep the Poison Armor Scorpion and Jack busy.

The Poison Armor Scorpion was already stronger than the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. It was likely to be slightly stronger than Teenage Flame Belle, not to mention that Jack was also attacking the Flying Creek Snow Wolf with two other Elements. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was having a hard time against them.

It was not long before the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s handsome fur was covered in fresh blood, with festering wounds inflicted by the poisonous stinger all over its body.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf uttered a wild howl.

It was his first battle after his recent growth. If he was still unable to defeat Mo Fan’s enemy after trying so hard to achieve the Commander-level, how could he possibly provide any assistance to his master?

The man was right, he was just a low-level demon wolf that had grown into a Commander-level creature from a Servant-class Spirit Wolf, but it did not necessarily mean he was as timid and weak as a Servant-class creature!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The scorpion tail chopped down fiercely, like an unstoppable battle axe!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf quickly ran to the little ice hill behind him when he saw the attack coming at him.

The ice hill was left here by Mu Ningxue before. The Poison Armor Scorpion kept chasing after the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, and before he realized it, he had entered the area where Mu Ningxue was fighting previously.

Mu Ningxue was seriously a lot stronger than before. Not only was she fighting the all-star student Pinole, she had to face the fierce Lightning Element wielder Hannah too, yet she was still remained undefeated after so long. She was not really in a pinch, either!

Mo Fan was only able to take on six people at once because his two Summoned Beasts were keeping two Mages busy. Therefore, Mu Ningxue was also fighting four people at once, yet she did not seem to have any difficulty at all!

The whole place was long covered in ice. The river not far away had already frozen. If anyone was to look into Mu Ningxue’s direction, they would be looking at a land covered in ice.

When the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was driven to the land of ice, for some reason, he felt extremely comfortable. Even the scorching pain he was feeling had weakened significantly.

The chilly wind was blowing at his filthy hair, and was mending his wounds like a Healing Spell…

The poison was frozen, and his wounds were recovering at an insane speed. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was currently inside Mu Ningxue’s Domain, yet he felt like he was in his own. The frost covering him had turned into energy surging between his limbs…

He extended his claws. His frosty aura was like growing rapidly, like a flame that was being fed with alcohol. It was starting to turn sinisterly cold!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf let out a furious roar in the land of ice. The frost in the air turned into icy claws under his control!

The icy claws lunged at the Poison Armor Scorpion chasing after him, helped by the wind!

The Poison Armor Scorpion totally disregarded the attacks of the icy claws and arrived in front of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf…

“Die!” Jack snapped coldly.

Deadly spikes densely covered the Poison Armor Scorpion. The creature leapt into the air and grew a few times bigger, similar to when it was attacking with the sumo slam.

The enormous beast covered in poisonous spikes fell from the air. It was impossible to dodge the attack no matter how fast the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was, and in comparison, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was tiny, like a little bug…

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not try to dodge the attack. He uttered a furious howl as he faced the creature falling from the air!

The howl spread across the land of ice, and surprisingly, massive glaciers rapidly emerged from the ground!

It felt like a mountain range of glaciers had appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly, the creature that was falling from the air felt extremely tiny compared to the glaciers!

The Poison Armor Scorpion was initially planning to attack with a sumo slam, yet it ended up smashing into the glaciers that had emerged like a mountain range. Not only did it fail to kill the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, its joints were shuddering after crashing into the glaciers so hard!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf sprinted along the ice glaciers. His limbs were incredibly strong as he raced across the ice. As the cold flame of his Ice Soul burned stronger, his speed was increasing too…

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf leapt into the air at a shocking pace and lunged at the Poison Armor Scorpion that was still dizzy from its fall.

“You’ve overestimated your strength!” Jack cursed and commanded the Poison Armor Scorpion to attack with its poisonous tail.

The poisonous tail swung in the air, firing dense crimson-red rays at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf…

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled in the air. A bridge grew rapidly out of the glaciers and hovered in the air right before the Flying Creek Snow Wolf…

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf sprinted across the bridge, icy flames blossoming under his feet. His figure started to blur from his outstanding speed!

“Awoo!”

With another howl, more glaciers emerged from the ground, allowing the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to change his position rapidly.

“Awoo!”

Finally, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s howl sounded slightly different. Countless glaciers burst out of the ground and rose into the air before falling rapidly as the Flying Creek Snow Wolf raced past them!

With a closer look, anyone would notice that the glaciers greatly resembled enormous wolf-fangs. The ice glaciers were landing on the Poison Armor Scorpion from every direction…

Jack, still hidden inside the scorpion’s armor, was stunned!

One of the ice glaciers punched through just inches away from him. It immediately sent a great chill down Jack’s spine, right into his soul.

As his mind was synchronized with the Poison Armor Scorpion, he could sense the creature’s pain. The ice fangs scattered across the place had limited the range of the creature. The deadly ice glaciers had formed a deadly formation, and the powerful Poison Armor Scorpion was stuck inside it. The wolf ice-fangs stabbed deep into its flesh, its blood pouring out…

After some time, the Poison Armor Scorpion gradually returned to its initial look. It was no longer wearing thick armor, nor was it covered in poisonous spikes. Jack lost his protection, too.

Jack was about to cast the spell to withdraw the Scorpion-Tailed Beast back into his Contracted Space when a pair of murderous eyes suddenly appeared. The terrifying head of the wolf was right in front of him, so close that Jack totally forgot how to draw the Star Pattern.

Proud, icy, to kill or not to kill was a decision that could be made within an instant. The wolf let out an icy breath, sweeping at Jack’s face. The man’s lips began to tremble, in both fear and disbelief…

Not long ago, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was completely beaten up by his Poison Armor Scorpion, and fleeing like a cowardly dog; how did it become so strong all of a sudden? It was like the wolf had transformed into a totally different creature. Its control of the ice glaciers was absolutely shocking!

-How is this possible? Isn’t it just a low-level demon wolf?-

—

—

“Ice Soul, it’s the Ice Soul! It still sends a chill down my spine, just like old times!” Pang Lai exclaimed when he saw the Flying Creek Snow Wolf summoning the spectacular glaciers.

The reason why he was so fond of the soul was because it contained a unique Ice Soul under its ordinary appearance. As long as there were ice and frost around, the Ice Soul would unleash its great potential. In the past, Pang Lai was totally unaware that the Flying Creek Snow Beast possessed such formidable power, and their team was almost wiped out as a consequence…

The Poison Armor Scorpion was fairly strong, stronger than most Commander-level creatures, yet it was no match for the Flying Creek Snow Wolf when his Ice Soul was activated!

The stronger the presence of the Ice Element was, the stronger the Ice Soul would be. Jack committed a great mistake when he was overly aggressive and chased the Flying Creek Snow Wolf into Mu Ningxue’s Nirvana Ice Domain.

The strength of Mo Fan’s Flying Creek Snow Wolf basically doubled in Mu Ningxue’s Domain. Even the Poison Armor Scorpion and Jack were no match for him!

“Err…may I ask, which Element is supposed to be Mo Fan’s primary Element? Why is his Summoning Element so…” someone spoke up from the crowd.

The ice glaciers that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had Summoned made a great impact on the crowd. Normally, a Commander-level Summoned Beast was expected to defeat a normal participant, but it was unlikely to defeat an all-star student.

To their surprise, Mo Fan’s Flying Creek Snow Wolf had defeated Jack and his Poison Armor Scorpion. His strength had already reached the average of Commander-level creatures!

With this Summoned Beast…and the rare Flame Belle, Mo Fan’s two Summoned Beasts could easily take on an average national team!

But the question was, which Element was supposed to be Mo Fan’s primary Element? How was it that all three of his Elements were so shocking!?

—

As the crowd was dazzled, even Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

Even he had no idea that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was so strong!

Mo Fan did let the Flying Creek Snow Wolf display his strength as soon as he evolved, and it was no different than a normal Commander-level creature, thus Mo Fan thought the Flying Creek Snow Wolf could maybe handle a single student…

To his surprise, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf suddenly unleashed his full potential, and was able to defeat Jack, a rather strong opponent, even when the creature was already injured. Mo Fan could not believe that the creature was actually his Summoned Beast!

“Don’t tell me he can only unleash his true strength in the presence of the Ice Element?” Mo Fan realized.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had always been a certain distance away from Mu Ningxue, and the people that Mo Fan fought against were trying to avoid Mu Ningxue’s Domain too, just so their spells would not be weakened. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf and Little Flame Belle both kept a student busy, thus they never went close to Mu Ningxue’s Domain.

However, after being beaten up, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf subconsciously fled to the area covered in ice!

As a matter of fact, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf only realized that ice was his greatest weapon when he first arrived in the area covered in ice. He fully unleashed the power of the Ice Soul, granting him full control over the ice, and allowing him to summon the ice fangs!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf let out a great howl, as if he was trying to vent out the humiliation he had endured in the past, since he used to be a weak creature that had to run endlessly and hide in corners just to survive. Somehow, it was like the God of Ice was painting wildly, drawing spectacular and jagged mountains of ice across the frozen land!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Wolf, go help Mu Ningxue!” After Mo Fan learned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was only able to utilize the Ice Soul in the presence of ice, he decisively sent the creature to help Mu Ningxue out.

The strength of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was quite obvious. Since he was a lot stronger in Mu Ningxue’s Nirvana Ice Domain, if he helped Mu Ningxue defeat the enemies bothering her, it would help him to lift the pressure on his shoulders, too!

After sending the Flying Creek Snow Wolf away, Mo Fan glanced at Teenage Flame Belle not far from him.

Little Flame Belle was occupied with the fight against Meos. Mo Fan had to admit that Meos had grown a lot stronger after their last encounter. Not only was Little Flame Belle unable to get the upper hand when fighting Meos alone, Meos was slowly securing an advantageous position instead. Mo Fan believed it was no longer necessary to let Little Flame Belle fight on her own!

“Possess!” Mo Fan ordered Little Flame Belle.

Teenage Flame Belle rode a tide of flames and rammed into Mo Fan’s chest like a sparrow returning to its nest. Mo Fan was immediately engulfed in flames, an overwhelming aura arising from the combination of the Rose Flame and the Calamity Fire!

The flames were burning like a carpet across the ground, and the stormy clouds of the Lightning Tyrant were hovering above the place. As the energy of the two most destructive Elements combined together, the pressure was so overwhelming that the people that were flanking Mo Fan subconsciously took a few steps back!

“I’ll start with you first, since I find your undead very annoying!” Mo Fan fixed his eyes on Shreev. He sprang forward in a threatening manner, as if he was loaded with kilograms of gunpowder!

Shreev’s strongest Element was obviously the Undead Element. He was able to Summon different kinds of undead, including the Gray-Cloth Iron Mummies with outstanding defense, the deadly Death Saber Mummies, or the Underground Mummies that liked to hide under the surface and immobilize their target by grabbing their feet. The undead had proven to be quite a nuisance to Mo Fan. Most of the lightning spells he cast were not directed at the Mages, but the undead that posed a greater threat to him.

“You’re done for!” Mo Fan’s fists were filled with energy about to erupt like volcanoes. He calmly chased after Shreev when he saw the man running away.

Mo Fan landed and slammed his fists on the ground. Fiery dragons rose in the pattern of the Nine Halls, covering an area of a few hundred meters. The stunning fiery pillars almost reached the clouds, the sight of the flames was absolutely shocking!

Shreev was fleeing for his life, yet he did not anticipate the huge coverage area of Mo Fan’s Nine Halls Fiery Fist. He felt like he had fallen into Purgatory, suffering tremendous pain from the burns.

“And you, don’t you dare try to save him!” Mo Fan glanced at the Mage with the Psychic Element coldly!

Luckily, the Psychic Element was not the Mage’s Primary Element. Otherwise, Mo Fan clearly had no chance of winning the fight. That being said, the Mage had also been very annoying in the battle…

Mo Fan was known as the magic cannon since he was able to cast destructive spells continuously, without repeating the same spells. His firepower was equivalent to a small troop of Battlemages, but he was struggling to hold his ground, and his body was covered in wounds and bruises, mainly because of how disturbing the Psychic Mage had been.

Luckily, Ayleen was able to construct a Spirit Wall to protect Mo Fan, or cast a Spirit Focus on him at times. On top of that, his cultivation was also relatively stronger than the opponents. Otherwise, he would never have had the chance to fight back.

The truth was, Mo Fan’s weakness was facing a Psychic Mage. If he fought against a strong Psychic Mage, all his destructive spells were completely useless!

Luckily, Ayleen seemed to have taken care of the two opponents she was up against, and was finally able to protect Mo Fan from Psychic Spells.

Without that disturbance, Mo Fan was able to let Little Flame Belle Possess him. With Little Flame Belle’s power, and his Lightning Tyrant Domain, what difference would the enemy’s numbers make?

“Psychic Spike!” the Psychic Mage totally panicked when he saw Mo Fan approaching fiercely.

The effects of the Lightning Tyrant Domain were obvious. Under the pressure of the lightning and Mo Fan’s overwhelming strength, the Psychic Mage started to lose confidence. As a result, the Psychic Spike only inflicted temporary pain on Mo Fan, it did not prevent Mo Fan from casting his spells!

“Into the ground, you go!” Mo Fan was totally reckless. He had just knocked Shreev into the air, and before the man had fallen from the sky, Mo Fan had already diverted his attention to the Psychic Mage.

The Psychic Mage broke out in cold sweat. He had never seen a Mage like Mo Fan before, who was such an absolute monster. He was just a Mage like everyone else; why was he able to fight at a close distance?

“Sky Lightning Claw!” Mo Fan unleashed the power of the Lightning Tyrant and grabbed at the Psychic Mage.The Lightning Tyrant immediately summoned a black lightning claw, tearing through the pitiful defense of the Psychic Mage.

“Tyrant Call!” The Lightning Tyrant Scars gathered and formed thick bolts of judgment, striking down at the Psychic Mage.

The yellow arcs penetrated the ground deeply, slamming the Psychic Mage into a huge pit. Mo Fan meant it when he said that he was going to knock the guy into the ground!

In terms of strength, Jack was the only worthy opponent on the enemy team. After taking Jack out, and receiving the protection from the Psychic Spells, it was Mo Fan’s time to launch his fierce counterattack!

The combined Rose Flame and the Calamity Fire, and the Lightning Tyrant, were a lot more powerful than ordinary Soul-grade Seeds. In the World College Tournament, having a Soul-grade Seed alone was quite impressive. Meanwhile, Shreev and the Psychic Mage were obviously not so talented. Once Mo Fan was able to establish his Domain, the gap between their strengths was simply too huge, and Mo Fan soon took care of them…

“Damn it!” Meos was grim when she saw Mo Fan taking out three of her teammates.

Only Jack and his Summoned Beast were able to stand a chance against Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant. Once Jack was defeated, the others were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered by Mo Fan…

“Me…Meos, shouldn’t we think twice before provoking this guy?” the Mage that fought the Flying Creek Snow Wolf before asked softly.

The man was so relieved that he did not enter Mu Ningxue’s Domain when he was fighting against the creature. Otherwise, he was sure he would have died several times over when he looked at what happened to Jack and his Summoned Beast.

“We have a great advantage in numbers, yet we still couldn’t defeat the three of them…” Meos looked like she was having a hard time accepting the truth.

However, Meos no longer had the same pride she possessed at the start of the fight. As she had mentioned, their group of a dozen people had lost to the trio. It basically meant the three of them were able to take on an entire national team! There was no way Meos could feel proud of herself after considering the difference in their strengths!

Meos felt lost at the strong sense of failure, not knowing if she should continue fighting or just give up and crush her scroll to leave the match. She could not even imagine what the Egyptians were going to think of her!

“You won… you can deal with us however you want!” Meos lowered her head and said, facing the unstoppable Mo Fan.

Meos was clearly aware that even if they had double or triple the number of people in their group, they would still struggle to defeat Mo Fan, a man with outstanding Lightning and Fire Elements, and a strong Domain!

“Deal with you?” Mo Fan glanced around him. He looked at Angelo that was in bad shape; Jack, who was feeling extremely down after losing; Shreev who was hiding like a coward; and the scorched black Psychic Mage crawling out of the pit, “I’m already done, the rest of you should just leave while you still can!”

Meos felt even more humiliated when she heard his words. She snapped, “So we aren’t even worthy for you to get your revenge?”

“Meos, please don’t judge everyone the same way you’re judging yourself. Let’s be real; if they don’t try to take revenge, I can still preserve my strength to secure more resources from the other groups. There are too many resources that I need in this treasure hunt, yet they have to force me to knock them out of the match!” Mo Fan said.

“Haven’t you stolen enough?” Meos was infuriated.

Leaving the loot that Mo Fan had robbed aside, the Soul-grade Seed that he had taken from her was quite valuable! They were trying to lure Mo Fan just so he would right into the trap, but to their surprise, the little trap they set up was nowhere enough to contain the beast. In the end, they were the ones that had suffered a tremendous loss!

“I don’t believe that such a grand tournament only has so few resources. Besides, there’s no such a thing as having enough resources for me… I won’t be wasting my time further. You all should just crush the teleportation scroll and leave. I’m too lazy to waste any more of my energy on you… and you, the guy that keeps Summoning the undead, can you please bring that Italian with you!? I’m afraid that I’m going to change my mind again after seeing his disgusting face, and blast him with more lightning!” Mo Fan pointed at Shreev.

Shreev was suffering from his burns. He no longer had any intention to stay in the match, even though he still had the fighting capacity to do so. Mo Fan was simply a demon, one that they could not afford to provoke!

——

“Asshole, why did you stop attacking!?” Hannah of the Canadian team screamed.

Pinole was standing still with a Water Spell in his hand, yet he did not dare to toss the spell at his target, as a pair of sharp claws were hanging less than half a meter away, with the icy eyes of a demon wolf glaring at him!

Pinole wanted to fight, too. He was supposed to be the ace of the Spanish team, yet when they finally were about to beat Mu Ningxue, a terrifying Flying Creek Snow Wolf appeared out of nowhere. Pinole suffered greatly facing the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, as his ability to fight at a close distance was too weak to handle the creature. He was slapped around like a ball, and his Water Element defense was struggling to keep up!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Domain! If not because of your Domain, you’d just be a nobody, Mu Ningxue!” Hannah screamed hysterically.

Hannah had inflicted quite some damage on Mu Ningxue with her Lightning, yet it was still not enough to secure them the victory…

The group of them had failed to take out a single Maga. Hannah felt like she was going to breakdown mentally from the overwhelming shame.

The power of a Domain was unmatched. Having a Domain or not turned out to be the deciding factor in a battle between Advanced Mages. Hannah was extremely regretful that she did not try her best to get her own Domain.

If she actually had one, they would not have ended up in the current situation!

“I won’t lose!” Hannah nursed a great grievance. She waved her lightning whip and pursued Mu Ningxue.

Ayleen immediately drew in the air rapidly with her finger upon seeing this!

A Water Curtain appeared, separating Hannah and Mu Ningxue.

Ayleen drew another spell again. The Water Curtain turned into a sphere enveloping Hannah. As the woman was using her lightning recklessly, the water immediately conducted the lightning right back to her.

Hannah had lost her calm. She simply assumed that the lightning would not do any harm to her, yet her hair totally stood up from the shock, and black smoke rose from her scorched body. She looked utterly miserable.

Mu Ningxue ignored the madwoman. She had a relieved smile when she saw Mo Fan coming toward her.

“We are all injured; should we leave, or continue?” Mu Ningxue asked.

They did not have a Healer with them, and they could not tell how long they would need to treat their injuries. If they stumbled into some other team in their current state, the team would surely rob them of their loot. If they decided to leave the place, they could still hold on to the loot they had acquired so far.

“Have we really gotten enough resources?” Mo Fan asked.

“There are surely places that aren’t explored yet in this space. If we leave now, the rest of the teams are going to earn more than us,” Ayleen said.

Ayleen was not too satisfied with the outcome. They had wasted too much of their energy in this battle, just to get a Soul-grade Seed. The loot was not really that impressive compared to the gold scattered across the place waiting to be discovered.

“Mu Ningxue and I aren’t going back like this. Ayleen, if you want to leave, we’ll split the loot with you,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was covered by wounds and bruises, the claw marks left by the undead, the burns from being attacked by spells of different Elements, and his face was covered in filth and smeared with blood…

He had won against six people, but his injuries were the price he paid. None of them would cost him his life, but they were certainly a burden. Some of the wounds had poison that would slowly spread and penetrate into his body. If he could not receive treatment in time, it would endanger his life. The medicine he brought along was only enough for some basic treatment…

“If we’re thinking of staying, we’ll need to find a Healer. Who’s the Healer on your team?” Ayleen was not willing to give up and let the others claim the remaining loot.

“Oh, she’s with the group that was scared away by Jack earlier,” Mo Fan answered calmly.

Ayleen could only smile wryly.

“How about yours?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“That guy isn’t trustworthy, either. How about this? We’ll see if there’s any Healer who’s alone with the Observer Eagles, and we’ll trade some loot with the Healer and ask the person to heal us…” Ayleen said.

“Mmm, that might work,” Mo Fan nodded.

“What are we going to do after that?”

“We can no longer rob the others, as they are surely going to be on the alert by now…” Mo Fan said.

“There should be more loot hidden in remote places. Only students with a strong sense of smell and great experience when it comes to searching for treasure in the wild can find that loot,” Ayleen said.

“Our team doesn’t have a Finder like that.”

Finder was a common role in a group of Hunters. A group of Hunters roaming in the wild normally consisted of an experienced leader commanding the members in emergency situations; strong Fighters to battle against the demon creatures; a person that was good at healing teammates with medicine supply or a Healer; and a Finder with an impressive sense of smell, instinct, and experience, who was usually in charge of searching for the treasure that the others missed. It could be a spring, an ore vein, crystals, Elemental Seeds, herbs, or rare loot…

A capable Finder was the key factor to deciding the profit of a group of Hunters that set out on an expedition. As such, most groups would rather have a reliable Finder than strong Mages.

Since the Hunter Union was in charge of the treasure hunt, the places they hid the loot would surely be testing the skills of the students…

Mo Fan was a pure Fighter. He had acquired the title of Hunter Master through fighting alone, since his companion Lingling was an outstanding Finder and Commander.

Mo Fan believed if Lingling was here, they could easily find lots of treasure in a matter of seconds. Lingling’s unmatched intelligence could make bold speculations from even the smallest clues, and her speculations had always been on point.

—

The three left quickly, not daring to stay at the lower reaches of the river any longer, since they had no idea if there was someone else hiding in the dark still.

After finding a remote place, Mo Fan sat below a cliff to treat his wounds.

The medicine he had brought was fairly expensive. Mo Fan even used the special ointment that Xinxia had given him. It was quite effective when he applied it to the wounds, but there were simply too many of them. The ointment was nowhere enough, and the medicine he bought from the marketplace was too ineffective…

“The wounds are worsening too. Damn it, I’m going to lose my arm at this rate,” Mo Fan cursed.

Jack’s scorpion had dealt the most damage to Mo Fan. He had only touched the creature’s poison a little, yet it had already spread across Mo Fan’s arm. If he could not find anyone to treat his arm soon, it would no longer be curable.

Mu Ningxue and Ayleen went ahead to take a bath. Both girls were obsessed with cleanliness and surely had the urge to clean themselves after the intense battle…

Some time later, the two girls regrouped with Mo Fan. Mu Ningxue was surprised to see Mo Fan, who was usually strong like an ox, had a pale face, with cold sweat on his forehead. She asked, “Your injuries are too serious, why don’t we call it a day?”

Ayleen discovered that Mo Fan’s palm had turned black. She quickly rolled up his sleeve.

The two girls were shocked to see Mo Fan’s entire arm was black. The poison was worse than they thought!

“I can still hold on for a little longer, did you find a Healer?” Mo Fan asked.

“I did, but the Healer is quite special,” Ayleen said.

Ayleen had been controlling the Observer Eagles to fly in all directions. She had been expending the energy of her Psychic Element to acquire information from different corners in the space.

“How special?” Mo Fan asked.

“The guy hasn’t fought since the start of the treasure hunt. He simply found an obvious spot and set up a booth to sell his services,” Ayleen said helplessly.

“A booth?”

“Yeah.”

“You can really find all kinds of birds in a huge forest. I have to say, that guy is pretty smart, too. He knew that since every team is split up when the people are teleported here, many participants would eventually be injured, and would have a hard time finding their Healer…” Mo Fan shook his head with a wry smile.

If a Mage was unable to treat their injuries in time, their strength would decline rapidly. Meanwhile, time was of the essence in a treasure hunt like this. No one was willing to let the injuries be a burden to them. They would be more than willing to pay just to get their injuries treated… it was true that wherever there were fights, there would be a business opportunity too! Mo Fan wondered which country was the Healer from, since the person was bold enough to open up a private clinic to make some great profit in the middle of the treasure hunt!

—

—

On a mountain, a huge roar echoed into the sky!

“Asshole, even us bandits weren’t so black-hearted!”

“Mo Fan, clam down, calm down, let’s just pay the money. The poison is too deadly, a normal Healer might struggle to heal you too,” Ayleen tried to convince Mo Fan.

If they did not stop Mo Fan, he would really take the black-hearted doctor down with himself.

Mo Fan had totally lost his temper.

Getting healed once was going to cost him a hundred million!

One hundred million!

Mo Fan had never heard anyone asking for a hundred million just to heal his injuries. He simply had the urge to blast the asshole’s skull open with a bolt of lightning!

“Friend, calm down, just calm down, it’s only one hundred million, and I can guarantee that you’ll fully recover from your injuries. I believe you can easily earn a hundred million from the treasure hunt. Why do you even bother making things difficult for a small business like me? You have to understand that I have to endure the shame of being looked down upon by the world, too. It’s not easy for me,” the Healer from Sweden was surprisingly proficient in different languages. He was extremely fluent in Chinese!

“Not easy my ass! Ten million at most; treat my injuries now, or I’ll rob you too!” Mo Fan said impatiently.

“Mo Fan, I really respect you, I watched your match against the Spanish team. I’m well aware of how strong you are, and I believe you’re one of the strongest in this World College Tournament. However, to be honest with you, acting on impulse won’t do you any good. The reason I’ve asked you to stay a certain distance away was because I’ve set up a barrier. Even the strongest Advanced Mage would need more than four seconds to break through the barrier, and within the four seconds, I can crush the teleporting scroll and run away. Judging by your injuries, you’ll need to use the teleporting scroll soon too… in other words, let’s not make it difficult for the both of us!” the Sweden Healer, named Tony, replied calmly.

It was not like Mo Fan did not have the money, but he found it extremely unfair when he learned the plump Healer was able to earn so much money when all he did was sit here and cast a few Healing Spells, while his Fan Xue Bandit Group had to work so hard!

“I just find you too much of an eyesore, I don’t care if the both of us are going to be disqualified, since I’ve already earned quite a lot,” Mo Fan was as stubborn as an ox.

The guy was out of his mind. If healing someone actually cost a hundred million, he could easily carry Xinxia, who was now a Healer of the Parthenon Temple, around instead of trying to make a living by putting his life in danger!

“Don’t be like that, we’re all trying to survive in our own way, we all want to make a profit… How about this, I can heal you for free,” Tony said.

“No but,” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

The Sweden Healer grinned like a mischievous businessman, “But, I’ll make a deal with you. I’ve learned some interesting information from the last group of people that came to me, and I believe someone like you will be very interested in it…”

The man continued when he did not receive any response, “Do you know that the Hunter Union has actually prepared something huge for the treasure hunt, like hiding a huge diamond in a pile of gold sand, waiting for someone to dig it out?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan looked at Mu Ningxue, Mu Ningxue looked at Ayleen, and Ayleen pondered for a moment before she finally said, “I did hear something about it, but I’m not too sure, either.”

“Hehe, so it turns out that you guys are the well-behaved ones. The truth is, before the treasure hunt, many students were collecting information about the greatest treasure through their factions or third parties, since any information will give them a head start over the others. Some teams did not even bother searching for the other treasures after the treasure hunt started. They are all focusing on finding the greatest treasure,” the plump businessman from Sweden went on.

“Does that mean the treasure is more valuable than everything else?” Mo Fan said excitedly.

“Absolutely!” Tony chuckled. His eyes would occasionally sweep across Mu Ningxue and Ayleen in a perverted way.

“Say, do you know where this treasure is?” Mo Fan asked.

“I only know something about it, I only learned it from eavesdropping on the team that came to me. They weren’t aware that I’m a Sound Mage,” Tony chuckled.

Mo Fan looked at the man. He was having trouble understanding why a plump, greedy man like Tony was a representative of the Swedish team, when most of their members looked well-educated with an imposing appearance. Somehow, whenever the man smiled, Mo Fan had a strong urge to beat him up!

“So tell us about it…” Mo Fan said.

“Everyone likes good stuff, and my small business here isn’t going to bring me much profit, so I was thinking, if you’re willing to help me get the treasure, I’ll split the profits with you. Of course, as your teammate, I’ll be more than happy to heal your injuries for free…” Tony smiled.

“So how are you going to split the profit?” it was what Mo Fan cared about the most.

“I’ll be taking half of the profit, and you can split the rest however you want,” Tony said.

“Then I guess I would prefer to disqualify the both of us,” Mo Fan summoned a flame with his other hand and waved it in front of Tony.

“(sigh) Why do you always have to use violence? We can negotiate further if you don’t agree…” Tony obviously did not want Mo Fan to force him to use the teleporting scroll, since he had not earned as much as he had hoped for.

“If you join us, it means our team is going to have four people. Once we acquire the treasure, we’ll split the profit evenly!” Mo Fan said.

“Brother Mo Fan, don’t you know the person with the information is supposed to take… alright, we’ll do it your way, but you all will have to try your best to retrieve the treasure. Since it’s the greatest treasure that the Hunter Union has prepared, it’s going to be difficult to secure it if we don’t work together. Besides, we’re competing against other maniacs too, who won’t hesitate to fight us over the slightest conflict,” Tony said.

“That’s more like it, you should just have said that right from the start, look at the time we’ve wasted,” Mo Fan lowered the fist that he was initially going to throw out. He glanced at Ayleen and said, “Sign a contract with him with the Psychic Element, just in case he’s trying to set us up.”

Ayleen nodded. They could not guarantee that the cunning Mage was not plotting against them, thus it was necessary to sign a Spirit Contract.

A Spirit Contract was fairly simple. It involved a Psychic Mage planting a Psychic Spell in the mind of the person after obtaining their consent. The spell would only activate when the person violated their promise. Only those from the ancient, renowned clans in England like Ayleen knew how to cast the spell. Not every Psychic Mage had learned it.

“If you lied to us, or do anything to betray the team, the Spirit Contract will reveal your location to me, meaning that I can hunt you down no matter where you run to,” Ayleen warned Tony.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover! I’ve sincerely offered you a chance to be rich, and I do understand the importance of teamwork. I won’t go against my own words!” Tony said seriously.

—

Tony did resolve the desperate situation that the trio was in by joining the team.

Despite how unreliable the man seemed to be, his Healing Spells were fairly impressive. Mo Fan’s hand that needed to be healed recovered in no time under the man’s Healing Spells.

Mu Ningxue and Ayleen fully recovered from their injuries, too. The trio soon found themselves in healthy condition. As for their energy that was depleted, they could only wait patiently for it to regenerate.

Tony’s primary Element was Healing, his second Element was Sound, and his third Element was Poison. He had managed to obtain useful information from the people that asked him to treat their injuries, including the information about the greatest treasure.

“I heard it’s located in a lake valley. Unfortunately, I haven’t been exploring, so I have no idea where it’s at,” Tony said.

“Can you find it, Ayleen?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“I’ll need some time, you guys can meditate to try and recover some energy while I look for the place that Tony mentioned,” Ayleen said.

This time, Ayleen did not try to get the information from the Observer Eagles. She simply cast Mind Control and turned every Observer Eagle nearby into her eyes. She ordered the Observer Eagles to fly in different directions and transmit the images they were seeing to her!

Mo Fan saw Ayleen’s pupils flickering rapidly, as if she was observing different views like a projection of slides…

It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing someone using Psychic Magic in such a manner. However, Mo Fan had to admit that it was very practical, since it allowed the Psychic Mage to acquire lots of information about the demon creatures’ territory across a huge area.

Ayleen could only control twelve Observer Eagles at the same time. The Observer Eagles continued to fly into the distance, and Ayleen maintained her focus on the views that the Observer Eagles were providing.

—

Some time later, after Mo Fan had recovered more than half of his energy, he heard Ayleen waking them up.

Tony had almost fallen asleep. He rubbed his eyes and said, “Great Duchess Ayleen, have you found the lake?”

“I’ve checked many places, but I think the only place that fits the description is toward the end of that mountain range. The whole place consists of valleys, creeks, basins, and ravines, but there’s no sign of water. There’s nothing there that resembles a lake, but there is a black miasma floating above the place. When I tried sending an Observer Eagle to go through the miasma to investigate the place, it died instantly… I can’t tell if it’s the place we’re looking for,” Ayleen said.

“I remember, now that you’ve mentioned it… those people said they have to find a safe entrance because the place is shrouded by some natural, poisonous miasma… I think it’s the place we’re looking for!” Tony said.

“Are you sure?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, I’m fairly curious at the start too, because the place they were describing didn’t sound like a lake to me, either. A lake must be filled with water, but none of them mentioned the water. They kept mentioning the poisonous miasma instead. I initially thought the miasma was preventing them from entering the lake valley, but now that I think about it, the miasma might be looming over the valley. I believe it’s the place we’re looking for!’ Tony claimed confidently.

“It’s quite a distance from where we are now, and we can’t stay in this space for much longer. Let’s make our way there at once,” said Ayleen.

“Sure!”

—

Without further ado, the four immediately headed for the valley that Ayleen found.

The mountain range did not seem huge, but as they were sprinting across it, they realized that the space had been compressed. As they traveled to the end of the mountain range, they finally saw a huge sunken area covered by a thick, black miasma, and from afar, it did resemble a black lake…

The black miasma lake was not the usual, flat lake formed in a basin. Some of its areas were flat, some consisted of narrow cracks, and some were separated into pieces by the mountain tops. The giant lake was connected to a small lake that flowed like a river along the mountain. The sunken area was made up of lakes of different sizes joined together, and they had all dried up. It was quite a spectacular view as they were looking down from the top of the mountain!

“It’s such complicated terrain; it’s like scooping up a needle in the ocean trying to find the treasure here!” Mo Fan was lost in thought as he glanced across the place.

“The people of the Hunter Union wouldn’t come up with an unsolvable question. I’m sure there are hints down there, but the question is, how are we supposed to go down there with such a thick, poisonous miasma lingering above it?” Ayleen said.

“Hehe, have you forgotten what my Elements are? Poison is nothing but a mere appetizer to me!” Tony chuckled.

Tony found a relatively gradual slope leading down to the valley. The poisonous miasma was floating at a certain altitude. Speaking of which, it was weird that the miasma was only staying at that height, and it did resemble the calm water of a lake…

However, it was obvious that the valley under the miasma was their destination!

“Come, I’ll open up a gap, it’s only going to last a few seconds. Let’s head down there,” Tony was pretty quick with his actions. He immediately opened up a gap in the layer of poisonous fog.

The others quickly followed Tony through the gap. To their surprise, the space under the poison mist was a lot bigger than they thought…

The layer of poisonous mist was around three meters thick, but the four kept sliding down the slope and eventually reached some muddy ground at the bottom after traveling for more than eighty meters!

Mo Fan only raised his head after reaching the bottom. He glanced at the miasma high up that had blocked off most of the sunlight, and his heart was soon filled with terror. It felt like he had fallen to the pitch-black bottom of a deep ocean, and he was surrounded by icy darkness full of the unknown!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This place really gives me the creeps,” Mo Fan had been to quite a few spooky places so far, yet he still felt uncomfortable coming down here, implying that the Poisonous Miasma Lake Valley was indeed scary in its own way.

Ayleen and Mu Ningxue did not seem to enjoy the scenery too. Their breathings were heavier, as the place was indeed very creepy as Mo Fan had mentioned. They were surrounded by pitch-black mountain walls, and the paths were narrow and craggy.

Most importantly, the poisonous miasma was looming above them. According to Tony, if he had not opened up the gap, an Advanced Mage could only survive a few seconds in it. The poisonous miasma was like a natural barrier protecting the pitch-black valley, so they could not imagine what kind of eerie creatures would be here.

Even Mo Fan had a bad feeling about it. He suddenly suspected that the Hunter Union was trying to get the participants killed by hiding the treasure in such a place. The Observer Eagles were unable to see through the poisonous miasma, and if anything happened, he was no longer confident that the teleporting scrolls would be able to bring them out of this place!

To their relief, Ayleen had the Light Element. Otherwise, Mo Fan would really have struggled to find the courage to advance in such a sinister place, without any light to guide them.

“Tony, where do we go now?” Mo Fan glanced ahead with the help of the light that Ayleen had brought forth.

“I heard them mention the treasure is located at the Seven Serpents Dragon Pond. I was standing high up observing the valley before, and I did find a small lake formed by seven rivers. From afar, it did resemble seven giant serpents surrounding a pond. I believe that must be our destination, so I’ve purposely kept track of our whereabouts. I’m confident that this is the right way. Come, we’re about to be the brightest stars in the treasure hunt!” Tony said confidently.

Tony had mentioned that the Poison Miasma Lake Valley was like a world sealed off by the layer of poisonous mist, and the miasma closer to the center was thicker than in the rest of the places. It might be ten, or even twenty meters thick. Therefore, it was impossible to fly in and drop down right on their destination. Even a Ruler-level creature would die trying to traverse the poisonous miasma if it was over ten meters thick.

Therefore, the only way to the center was reaching the bottom from the edge of the miasma, and slowly making their way to the center through the darkness at the bottom!

Since the whole lake floor was immersed in darkness, it felt like they had fallen into a complicated maze. As such, the wise move was to observe the place from high above and use the mountain tops, ridges, and walls that were higher than the poisonous mists as landmarks to remind them where they were.

Mo Fan had to admit that this place was a lot spookier than the demon creatures’ territories he had been to before. At the same time, he was even more confused…

However, humans would die for riches, just as birds would die for food. Since they had already come, there was no turning back now. They could only follow Tony as he led them to the Seven Serpents Dragon Pond!

—

—

To the south of the mountain range, two men wearing white robes with golden silk were riding their flying beasts close to the shore of the lake. They were looking down at the poisonous miasma shrouding the sunken area.

“Damn it, we came as quick as we could, but those students still went down before we could stop them!”

“We have to alert the governor about it.”

“It hasn’t been too long since they went down there. Let’s head down there now and find them,” one of the Mages proposed.

“How are we going to make it to the bottom? We can’t even drive the poisonous miasma away. The terrain down there is extremely complicated. Even if it’s only been ten minutes, it’s unlikely that we can track them down… damn it, why didn’t anyone tell them they aren’t supposed to go down there!?”

——

The stadium in Venice…

Fabio, the governor of Venice, was wearing a black Jazz hat pulled down to his face, only revealing his tall nose bridge and sharp chin.

A judge came and said to Governor Fabio seriously, “Governor, four students have gone into the Poison Curtain Lake Valley.”

“Didn’t we already appoint two assistant judges to guard that place so that the participants wouldn’t go in there?” Fabio frowned.

“The two assistant judges happened to see some students injured nearby, so they went to lend a hand. They didn’t expect the four students to go into the valley while they were away,” the judge said.

“How long has it been?” Governor Fabio asked.

“Around twenty minutes.”

“My God, can they still make it back? Tell the advisors of those students the truth right now!” Fabio ordered.

Not long after, a few advisors of the English, Chinese, and Swedish teams were informed of the matter. They gathered at the governor’s location.

The Chinese team had sent Han Ji. He was looking grim. He initially thought Mo Fan and the others would return from the treasure hunt after their intense battle, yet not only did they stay in the treasure hunt, they ended up entering a forbidden area!

The place was beyond the bounds of the stage that the Hunter Union had drawn for the treasure hunt. Many people had raised objections of using the place as the stage for the treasure hunt, mainly because there were lots of areas that were not fully explored yet. The mysterious valley shrouded by the poisonous miasma was considered to be the most dangerous among them!

-Did Mo Fan seriously have to go to a place like that?…-

“Isn’t someone going to explain to us what’s going on? Are we just going to remain silent?” an old English Mage named Paulson snapped furiously.

“It’s indeed our fault that the assistant judges didn’t manage to stop the students… but if it wasn’t for your student Ayleen controlling the Observer Eagles, we would have learned what they were up to earlier and prevented it from happening. I’ve organized all Hunters that are familiar with the place to form a rescue team, but it might take them some time to reach the place. Let’s just hope the kids don’t venture too far into the valley,” Governor Fabio said.

“Mister Governor… there’s one other thing that we just discovered.” Another judge arrived in a hurry. He was hesitant to speak when he saw the representatives of the other countries.

“Just say it!” Governor Fabio ordered sharply.

“Another group also went into the valley before them, led by Senior Hunter Felmon’s nephew, Kelly!”

“What?!…” Fabio was stunned.

The faces of Han Ji, Paulson, and the representative of the Swedish team sank upon hearing this.

What were they doing? They had already allowed two teams to enter a dangerous area that was not meant to be part of the treasure hunt. Their lack of responsibility was unacceptable!

“Ask Felmon to come here, now!” Governor Fabio demanded.

Senior Hunter Felmon was the main organizer of the treasure hunt. He was responsible for finalizing the stage for the treasure hunt. If his nephew Kelly was involved, things were not as simple as they seemed on the surface!

—

Not long after, Senior Hunter Felmon arrived. He was astounded when he learned that two groups of participants had entered the Poison Curtain Lake Valley.

“Are you sure my nephew Kelly is the one leading them?” Felmon asked quickly.

“Yes, it’s indeed him, and judging from the information we’ve gathered through the Observer Eagles, Kelly’s team headed for the Poison Curtain Lake Valley first, and the group of four seemed to be following their trail…” the judge informed him.

Felmon had a puzzled look. He stayed quiet for some time.

A while later, Felmon said, “I believe Kelly must have mistaken it as the place where the grand treasure is.”

“Senior Hunter, what do you mean by that?” Fabio asked.

“Basically, I researched the areas that were used for the treasure hunt in the past when I was finalizing the options here. I learned that this space was used as the stage for the treasure hunt during the World College Tournament over thirty years ago. I did thorough research on it, and figured out that the twisted space is indeed quite suitable to be used as a stage for the treasure hunt.”

“The truth is, a long time ago, the place used to be just a normal lake. The place is quite huge too, but for some reason, the lake dried up due to the presence of some strange energy. The water vapor lingered in the air above the lake and absorbed some deadly poison over a long period, and eventually turned into the poison curtain that only a few people could get close to.”

“The poison curtain was already there during the World College Tournament thirty-two years ago. The organizers had hidden the grand treasure in the lake valley, since it was meant to be hidden at a relatively difficult spot. The main organizer didn’t want the students to find it so easily, so he decided to hide the treasure in the lake valley. No one found the treasure in the end,” Senior Hunter Felmon said.

“But I’m afraid the Poison Curtain Lake Valley is going to be a lot more dangerous compared to thirty years ago?” Han Ji asked.

Han Ji was actually quite shocked… the reason being that, he used to be one of the participants when the space was used as the stage for the treasure hunt back then! It had been thirty-two years, meaning that this World College Tournament was the sixteenth after the one he participated in!

“But there’s something you wouldn’t know… the grand treasure of the treasure hunt thirty-two years ago was never retrieved!” Felmon continued.

Han Ji was startled. -Never been retrieved?-

Impossible, the grand treasure was usually extremely valuable, since it was the greatest prize in the second round of the World College Tournament. It simply did not make sense that the organizer did not retrieve it even if the participants failed to find it!

Han Ji still remembered that the loot during the treasure hunt was quite shocking, as he had improved greatly with the resources he had acquired during the treasure hunt. It allowed him to achieve great things, eventually granting him the opportunity to achieve the Super Level. Therefore, the grand treasure thirty-two years was surely something valuable too!

“I did ask someone who was a judge back then. He told me that it’s not because they forgot to retrieve it, but because they weren’t able to retrieve it!”

“The poison curtain had become extremely deadly in just a few days, forming a barrier that no one could break through. On the other hand, it’s extremely challenging to enter the valley from the edge of the poison curtain and look for the treasure. A few people that went to retrieve the treasure died! A Super Mage also went, but he almost died after losing his way inside the valley…in the end, the treasure has been left there for thirty-two years. I believe my nephew Kelly must have looked at the information when I was organizing the stage, and mistook it for the place where the grand treasure is!”

Chapter 1094: A Hole Worn Down by Dripping Blood
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

“Look, they must have left those water bottles behind. What did I say? They won’t be too far ahead. We are definitely on the right track. Have some more faith in me, will you? Besides, if it wasn’t for me, you guys would have no idea where to find the treasure, either!,” Tony said happily.

They had been walking along the pitch-black valley for some time, and they had seen lots of forking paths. They were starting to feel uncomfortable, as they were afraid they were walking to their deaths.

Luckily, they did discover traces of the other group. Otherwise, they all had the urge to retreat!

“Speaking of which, do all Sound Mages have sharp ears?” Mo Fan was suddenly intrigued by Tony’s Sound Element.

“What does it have anything to do with our ears? Ever heard of bats? They use echoes to learn their surroundings. Similarly, those of us with the Sound Element don’t necessarily have sharp ears, but we can interpret our surroundings with sonic waves, too. My Sound Element is pretty good at searching for living things, so just follow me and you’ll be fine. I can perfectly avoid the creatures here…” Tony said.

Among the Elements, the Sound Element had the strongest senses. They could capture the slightest movement a few kilometers away with sound waves. If the Sound Element was not one of the rarest Elements, most Hunter groups would surely want to have a Sound Mage among them, since they could easily learn where demon creatures were, determine if a path was leading to a dead-end, or track down a target easily!

—

Silent, the whole place was deadly silent. Mo Fan could not hear a single thing, yet Tony kept saying that Kelly’s group was just ahead of them.

Mo Fan was rather confused too. Normally, there would be some rare demon creatures in such a pitch-black environment. After all, the poisonous miasma looming over the place was the perfect breeding ground for many dark or poisonous creatures. They could easily breed a few generations here…

However, they had yet to see a single demon creature after coming so far, not even the smallest worm or bug. They could only hear their footsteps on the muddy ground… but the quieter it was, the stronger the bad feelings they had were!

“It seems like we’ll reach it soon. The journey was a lot smoother than I expected,” Tony chuckled to the others.

“They are still holding onto the treasure. We can’t go back empty-handedly after tailing them for so long, right?” Ayleen said.

“Of course not; it’s obvious that we’re going to rob them. The three of you have robbed so many teams, so one more won’t hurt!” Tony agreed.

“You really know a lot, don’t you?”

“If I didn’t, why would I be willing to share the information with you… mmm? They seem to be fighting something,” Tony straightened his face and leaned against the wall to focus on listening to the noises ahead.

Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Ayleen kept quiet. Even they could hear some noises coming from ahead in the lake valley…

The problem was, it did not sound like a fight to Mo Fan.

“Is the Seven Serpents Dragon Pond right ahead?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Mm, it’s just past the two walls. Strange, why is it quiet all of a sudden?” Tony said.

Mo Fan frowned. He smelled blood coming from ahead. The scent was stronger than usual.

Mo Fan felt that something was not right after a while. He immediately said, “Fatty, what did you hear?”

“I couldn’t tell. Let’s move forward, it’s not too far anyway,” Tony said.

The group of four started moving forward. They initially planned to wait until the other group secured the treasure before they snatched it away by utilizing the dim environment, but for some reason, they no longer heard any sounds from the other team…

—

“I’ll summon some light!” Ayleen said.

The place ahead was the Seven Serpents Dragon Pond that Tony mentioned. It was a fairly deep pond, since it had seven rivers flowing to it. If there was still water, the pond would surely be incredibly deep!

The light dimly lit up the surrounding area. The air was rather cloudy. Their vision was very limited even with the light. It felt like they were holding a little torch, and the furthest they could see was a few meters away…

The path gradually became more spacious. They were currently at the bottom of the pond, the poisonous miasma above them over ten meters thick.

“Where did they go?” Mu Ningxue glanced around in the pitch-black bottom of the lake, yet she did not see any sign of the other team.

“Tony, they weren’t even here, were you trying to trick us?” Ayleen asked furiously.

Tony blushed immediately and said, “That’s impossible! I swear I heard them talking… they were right here, how were they gone so quickly?”

Mo Fan, who was slightly more courageous went to the center of the pond. He noticed a huge shadow looming over the place in the faint light. He was quite scared at first glance, as he thought it belonged to a monster, but after a closer look, he realized it was the shadow of a boulder with an odd shape…

Mo Fan saw a box covered in dust close to the boulder. The box was clearly man-made, and the decorations on it were in the Italian ../style.

“Did I just find the treasure so easily?” Mo Fan was quite surprised.

He was not in a rush to open the box. He flipped the box over and gasped when he saw a bloody handprint on it!

-The handprint… it’s still fresh!-

The blood had not dried yet, meaning that it had been left on the box mere moments ago!

“Watch out!” Mo Fan warned the others.

Ayleen and Mu Ningxue regrouped with Mo Fan instantly, and observed their surroundings on full alert. Tony was frightened by how serious Mo Fan was, and quickly hid between the three.

“What…what’s going on?” Tony asked in a trembling voice.

“We’ve found the treasure, but I’m afraid the person that was holding it just then is in deep trouble!” Mo Fan flipped the box over and showed the handprint to the others.

Tony’s face instantly turned pale when he saw the bloody handprint. He said nervously, “I wasn’t able to hear them just then… does…does that mean…”

Drip, drip, drip…

A clear sound came from the side all of a sudden. It sounded like water drops falling to the ground.

Mo Fan looked up at the boulder and saw liquid dripping continuously into a hole on it.

Ayleen had noticed it, too. She cast a Brilliant Light to light the place up, including the liquid that was dropping onto the boulder… and it turned out to be bright red!

The liquid was none other than fresh blood!

The viscous blood was dropping onto the boulder at a constant rate. Most shockingly, the top of the boulder where the blood was falling onto had fully caved in, as if it was a huge bowl.

A hole worn down by dripping blood!

For some reason, a terrifying thought crossed Mo Fan’s mind.

There was a saying that even the smallest drops of water would eventually wear out a rock if they continued to fall over a long period. After realizing that the top of the boulder where the blood was falling was the only part that had caved in, Mo Fan immediately assumed that the boulder had only caved in after blood drops had been falling on it for a very long time!

The question was, how long and how much blood would it take to wear down such a huge boulder?

“There…there are people hanging above us!” Tony shivered in fear, even his voice sounded different.

The light slowly rose, allowing them to look higher up. However, they immediately witnessed a shocking sight. A few people, not sure if they were dead or alive, were hanging upside down above the boulder, and the blood was dropping from one of them!

“It’s Kelly and his team!” Ayleen said.

“Are they dead?” Mu Ningxue was shocked too. Where was the thing that hung them up like sausages?

“Let’s leave this place!” Mo Fan frowned. He was deadly serious.

“So we’re just going to leave them?” Ayleen was still trying to learn the truth, yet Mo Fan was already leaving the Seven Serpents Dragon Pond.

Mu Ningxue did not say a word. She quickly followed Mo Fan. Tony had almost wet his pants, and had no intention to stay behind either.

Ayleen bit her lips and withdrew the light. She quickly left with the others.

Mo Fan was walking quickly, as if he did not even want to stay a second more in that place. Mu Ningxue rarely saw Mo Fan in such a panic…

“Fatty, lead the way!” Mo Fan urged.

Tony walked in front and brought the three toward the exit.

After some time, Ayleen who was deeply troubled finally spoke, “Are…are they all dead?”

“Yeah, they were all dead,” Mo Fan nodded firmly.

“I didn’t hear their heartbeats, either,” Tony turned around and said.

Ayleen was lost for words. Her face seemed puzzled and troubled.

“What exactly happened to them?” Ayleen said.

“I don’t want to know,” Mo Fan replied.

It was not like Mo Fan had suddenly lost his courage, nor was he so cold-blooded that he did not bother checking if the people were dead or not, but it was very easy to speculate what happened by considering the details…

Kelly and his group were all members of national teams. The fact that his group had all died so quickly, without any scream or sound, meant the creature in that place was a few levels stronger than them!

How could they possibly stand a chance against a creature like that?

Mo Fan was an adventurous man, but he was no fan of death, and even he felt threatened in the terrifying Seven Serpents Dragon Pond. He felt a great sense of death from the darkness above him!

Mo Fan strongly believed that the creature that had murdered Kelly and his group was right above them!

Chapter 1095: Evil Weaving Silk

___Translated by XephiZ___

Edited by Aelryinth

With a heavy heart, Mo Fan quickened his pace.

Heavens knew if the creature was chasing after them, or was actually right above them. The black poisonous miasma might be able to murder most creatures within an instant, but it did not necessarily mean no creature was able to reside in it!

The truth was, Mo Fan had already noticed that something did not make sense not long after he entered the place. It was unlikely that the organizers would place the treasure at a place like this. It was obviously a forbidden land that could easily cost the participants their lives.

As he thought, something did go wrong. The team ahead of them was dead, and were hung upside down to let their blood drain. It seemed like the creature above the stone was not a fan of blood…

Some time later, Mo Fan asked Ton, “Where are we?”

Tony turned around, his forehead covered in cold sweat while his eyes were filled with terror.

Mo Fan immediately realized something when he saw the man’s reaction. He quickly asked Ayleen to light up their surroundings.

Ayleen cast the Brilliant Light, revealing the tall walls nearby. The place ahead was spacious, and it seemed to be the bottom of a pond… and right at the middle was a pitch-black boulder!

Mo Fan could feel his skin crawling!

“Asshole, what are you thinking?” Mo Fan was enraged.

“I…I panicked a little and took the wrong path. There were seven paths at the exit, so I must have taken the one beside the right path, but even if I took the wrong path, we shouldn’t be back here, either!” Tony fell to the ground with a pale face.

“Go back!” Mo Fan said decisively.

The group of four immediately took the same path they came. After leaving the zigzag path, they could simply follow the landmarks and made their way toward the mountain they came from, since it was the only spot where the poisonous fog was thin enough for them to leave the place safely!

Under great pressure, it was Mo Fan’s turn to lead the way. He strictly followed the path that he had memorized before, since he had not trusted Tony fully yet. He should not have a problem finding the exit.

The group quickened their pace, their hearts pounding heavily. After some time, when the Brilliant Light revealed the same pitch-black boulder with blood dripping on it, they felt like they were about to go nuts!

“We…we are back here again!” Ayleen looked at the boulder in front of her in disbelief. Her voice was filled with fear!

“Come, let’s try again, there’s no way we are trapped here, we must leave this place!” Tony said. “Even if we’re trapped down here, I don’t want to stay here!”

The corpses of Kelly and his group were hanging above them. It was likely that their blood had dried up too. The blood in the hole on the boulder had already overflowed, and was flowing down it like a spring. It did not matter how many times they had seen it, it was still terrifying!

Mo Fan raised his head slightly. Even though he was extremely unwilling to face the creature above them, he knew it was meaningless to try running away. They kept coming back here. It turned out that the creature did not mind them leaving either, since it already knew the group was eventually going to come back…

“Ayleen, slowly lift the Brilliant Light, but not too quick,” Mo Fan said to Ayleen in a deep voice.

Ayleen was panicking too. She bit her lips and followed Mo Fan’s instructions, using the Brilliant Light to light up the eerie darkness above them…

The orange light slowly peeled the darkness away and lit up the bodies that were hanging in the air. Their bodies were a lot skinnier, as their blood had run dry.

It was hard to imagine that the students who were alive not long ago would end up like this in such a short period. Mo Fan wondered what the organizer and spectators would feel if they saw this.

The light continued to rise, and they finally managed to get a clear view. They noticed some transparent strings, like woven silk attached to the dead bodies…

As the light continued to rise, they noticed even more strings, and to their utter surprise, there were lots of corpses hanging higher up!

Many corpses had fully dried up, like mummies; it was hard to tell how many years they had been here for!

“Are…are these some kind of specimens?” Tony said through chattering teeth.

Mo Fan did not speak. He knew the creature was somewhere above them, between the woven silk.

“Something is moving!” Ayleen said as she saw something.

Mo Fan followed the direction that Ayleen was pointing at and saw a creature with multiple legs on the sides of its body, like a scorpion or a spider. He was struggling to count the number of legs because of the cloudy air, but he could see the creature moving freely between the strands of silk. If they had not seen the silk, they would simply think that the creature was moving through the air!

The creature was crawling down, its body was surprisingly similar to that of a human. It had a tiny head compared to its muscular body, and a long tail like a snake…

Most of its body was covered in poisonous scales. Its appearance resembled the combination of a human, a scorpion, a spider, and a snake, and was several times scarier than the demon creatures in the outside world. Ayleen felt her scalp turning numb and her limbs turning feeble as soon as she saw the creature.

“There…there’s another one!” Tony pointed at a wall nearby.

The wall was perfectly straight, and right where the light had reached its maximum range, a similar-looking creature was climbing down along the wall. Its eyes had no focus, yet they could sense the greed and savagery of the creatures, and the strong scent of death they were emitting, as if they had come from Hell!

“Does…does…does anyone recognize these creatures?” Tony asked.

Both Ayleen and Mu Ningxue had never seen anything like them. They had never even read anything about the creature in their books.

However, the fact that they could murder an entire group in such a short time clearly implied how dangerous they were!

“Mo Fan, I’m afraid we won’t be able to take them on with our current strength. I might have to use the Ice Crystal Bow…” Mu Ningxue whispered to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nodded.

The creatures were clearly nothing to be messed with. They were going to end up just like the other team if they were careless. If Mu Ningxue believed she had to use the Ice Crystal Bow, it meant they were unable to take the creatures on with their current strength!

Chapter 1096: The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon!

___Translated by XephiZ___

Edited by Aelryinth

“Bow!”

Mu Ningxue did not wait any further. Death was already knocking on the door. If she allowed the creatures to strike first, they would be hanging in the air like some spoils of war before they could react!

The sharp frost of her Nirvana Ice Domain spread wildly in the deep abyss of the dragon pond. Snowflakes fell like plum blossoms from the air as the Ice Magic began to accumulate!

“So…so cold!” Tony rubbed his hands against his arms. The other three immediately felt uncomfortable due to the cold.

The Nirvana Ice Domain that Mu Ningxue had unleashed this time was a lot stronger than usual. Every time the Ice Crystal Bow was Summoned, it felt like it was going to cover the whole place in white snow, and not allow even the slightest difference in color!

The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon hanging on the weaving silk immediately realized something did not seem right. Its little head sprang open, revealing several mouths, each with sharp fangs like the teeth of a saw. It was quite an eerie sight!

The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon did not have eyes, but they could feel the creature staring at them with murderous greed. The creature suddenly scuttled in Mu Ningxue’s direction!

Its speed was absolutely insane. It was moving freely in the air despite the lack of a solid path. It would move like a spider on a web, dash like a scorpion, or slither like a snake at times…

It did not attack Mu Ningxue boldly, as it seemed to be afraid of her. It kept changing its position above the group.

Mo Fan saw a faint shadow flickering past rapidly. The creature was so quick that he could not even see its movements clearly. It was incredibly dangerous if they could not predict the creature’s whereabouts!

“It’s moving too fast, what should we do? We’re all going to die!” Tony screamed.

The deadly creature kept pacing back and forth above the group. Everyone could tell that the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was clearly a lot stronger than them. A single Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon could butcher them like livestock, not to mention that there was another one standing by on the wall!

“We must strike preemptively!” Mo Fan said to Mu Ningxue when he started to have a bad feeling.

The frost danced in the air as her sleeves rustled. Mu Ningxue fiercely extended her arms, now slightly floating in the air!

The crystalline dust gathered in front of Mu Ningxue and outlined the Ice Crystal Bow. A long crystalline arrow appeared between Mu Ningxue’s fingers!

The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon finally realized that this group of humans was no harmless prey like those they had murdered as they pleased. Its movements were as unpredictable as a phantom as it lunged at Mu Ningxue from a tricky angle. Its front claws were aiming for Mu Ningxue’s throat!

“Pulverizing Arrow!”

Mu Ningxue’s aura reached its limit. Everything froze at that instant, apart from an icy, deadly arrow that tore through the frozen time and swept forth with an astonishing, pulverizing storm…

The Pulverizing Arrow flew right at the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon, and the strong tide of poison preceding it!

The poison tide formed a great contrast with Mu Ningxue’s sacred storm of frost, each filling up half of the dragon pond. The whole place shook vigorously when the two crashed into one another!

The arrow struck the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon in mid-air. It was like the commanders of two armies charging at one another, but the arrow managed to land a hit on the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon!

The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon’s body was almost instantly covered in ice, turning it into a smooth, ice statue! In less than half a second, the ice statue broke into pieces and shattered in the air, becoming crystalline powder!

The poison tide was devoured by the raging storm. The Pulverizing Arrow broke into dust, taking the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon with it, as it too turned into tiny, white particles…

Tony’s eyes widened, dropping his jaw as if it had somehow dislocated!

Even though the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was not as strong as a Ruler-level creature, it was definitely one of the strongest Commander-level creatures he knew, yet Mu Ningxue had killed it with a single arrow. Tony suddenly felt that the Goddess of Ice was even more terrifying than the creature!

“Is…is it dead?” Ayleen was struggling to believe it too. The magic equipment that Mu Ningxue had brought out was unbelievably powerful; it had killed the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon that they did not think they could stand a chance against!

“It’s dead, but…” Mu Ningxue’s breathing intensified. She turned to the other Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon that was still on the wall.

The two Heart-Devouring Hellish Demons had lived in the poisonous swamp for a long time, and had killed countless creatures. Mu Ningxue had locked her arrow onto the female Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon that was stronger of the two, and killed it with a single blow!

If she did not attack decisively, they would be the ones that died instead!

The male Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon uttered thunderous cries. It was only standing by on the wall, planning to watch how its mate was going to torture the humans to death, but its mate had simply died all of a sudden.

It cried out madly; the four felt like the sharp screech was going to pierce through their brains!

“Let’s go,” Mu Ningxue said with a pale face.

“Why don’t you just fire another arrow at it?” Tony said.

Mo Fan stared at the man, who immediately shut his mouth.

The four immediately took their leave. They were unsure if the death of the female Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was enough to break the spell that kept bringing them back to the same place. However, they knew it was too dangerous to stay behind.

The male Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon kept screeching, but it did not launch an attack, either. Clearly, the creature had a certain level of intelligence. It had just witnessed how the stronger female Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon had died in an instant, so it was worried it would share the same fate…

However, the intelligence of the remaining Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon had actually bought the four some time. It was not like Mu Ningxue was reluctant to fire another arrow at the male Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon, but her energy was already depleted after firing the first one.

She was weak, very weak! Her cultivation was still not strong enough to fully master the Ice Crystal Bow, resulting in a great burden to her.

However, Mu Ningxue did not faint straight away. She was trying her best to stay conscious. If the male Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon realized that she had lost all her energy, it would surely be a great disaster when the creature proceeded to avenge his partner!

Mo Fan did not dare to support Mu Ningxue, even though he could tell that she was desperately trying to hold herself together.

“Let’s go, we can only hope that the creature is afraid to die!” Mo Fan said grimly.

Even though the female Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was dead, they still had no chance of taking on the male Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon. They had to leave the place while the creature was still too afraid to attack them!

It turned out that the female Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was responsible for the illusion that kept bringing them back to the Seven Serpents Dragon Pond, as they no longer ended up back in the same place.

Ayleen kept casting Brilliant Light to show the path. Their surroundings started to look familiar to them.

They had managed to escape the illusion. They only needed to make their way to the entrance where the layer of poison miasma was the thickest, and they would soon leave this horrible place.

“Is that creature… still following us?” Tony looked behind worriedly.

The area lit up by the Brilliant Light was fairly limited. The place behind them was covered in pitch-black darkness. However, Tony was still able to catch a glimpse of some legs crawling along the wall, a long tail like a snake’s, and the eerie fangs sticking out of the numerous mouths on the creature’s head.

The creature clearly had no eyes, yet Tony felt like it was able to see through him with its vicious gaze. Tony shuddered, he could even hear his heart pounding.

“That…that creature is still following us!” Tony cried out.

“The creature will attack the moment Mu Ningxue reaches her limit…” Mo Fan said.

The male Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was smart; it had only followed the group because it was suspicious of Mu Ningxue’s condition. They were still within its territory. It had great patience, like a wild wolf that was not good at overwhelming its enemy through brawling, but its unwillingness to give up and its patience. It would continue to apply pressure to its prey until it was finally worn out both mentally and physically. Its prey would simply give up, allowing the wolf to feast as it pleased!

“Aren’t we there yet?” Ayleen said in a panic.

The weaker Mu Ningxue was, the heavier everyone’s heart was pounding. They could feel that the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was very tempted to make its move.

“We’re almost there, it’s just after the junction with ten paths,” Tony said.

“I…I…” Mu Ningxue was finally at her limit. She closed her eyes as she was overwhelmed by fatigue. Her body immediately fell feebly.

Mo Fan quickly caught her in his arms. The moment he felt the exhilarating sensation of holding the beautiful woman, he also felt a strong murderous aura charging at them like an army of soldiers on horses!

“Ayleen, take care of her!” Mo Fan placed Mu Ningxue against a boulder nearby and asked Ayleen to stay close to her.

“Fatty, if there’s anything useful, just use it now. Don’t you dare preserve your strength when we’re all going to die here!” Mo Fan yelled at Tony.

“I…I…I can set up a barrier, but I’ll need some time. It should be able to hold the creature off for some time!” Tony said in a trembling voice.

“Be quick, I’ll hold it off first!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan did not dare waste his time further. He summoned Teenage Flame Belle to merge with his soul.

The Calamity Fire erupted and lit up their dark and sinister surroundings. The blazing flame formed a giant sword that Mo Fan was holding tightly in his hand…

“Lightning Tyrant!”

Fire alone was nowhere enough. Mo Fan proceeded to unleash his Lightning Tyrant Domain while he was possessed by Little Flame Belle. He was wearing lightning as his armor, with fire engulfing him and spreading more than a hundred meters away from him!

As Mo Fan unleashed two of his strongest magicks, he finally felt a little confident of taking on the vicious creature!

Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth The combination of lightning and fire circling Mo Fan formed a powerful Double Lightning-Fire Lotus. With a burning sword in his hand, Mo Fan dashed right at the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon and slashed out! The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon reached out its claws. It expected to collide into Mo Fan judging from the path it was flying in, yet the creature suddenly moved sideways. Mo Fan ended up slashing a string of weaving silk instead of landing a hit on the creature! The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon showed up at Mo Fan’s side. Mo Fan reacted fairly quickly by attacking the creature that was crawling in the air with the Sky Lightning Claw! To his surprise, the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was extremely cunning. It was still doing a feint. It suddenly jumped and landed nimbly behind him. The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon kicked in the air, propelling itself toward Mo Fan’s back like a missile! Mo Fan was breaking out in cold sweat. He had already predicted the creature’s feint, yet he did not expect it to be so cunning, altering its position several times before making its move by abusing its strange, rapid movement in mid-air and positioning itself right behind him. The creature was so quick that Mo Fan did not even have the time to turn around, since he had just cast the Sky Lightning Claw! “Fleeing Shadow!” The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was currently in Mo Fan’s blind spot. He could not see the creature, but he quickly dodged instinctively. Falling to the ground, Mo Fan rapidly sank into a black shadow. The fifth-tier Fleeing Shadow immediately split into several decoys, while he left a shadow clone behind with the Dark Noble Mantle! The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon screeched. It instantly saw through Mo Fan’s little trick. Not only was he able to tell that the shadow clone was a fake, it was also able to lock onto Mo Fan among the other shadows! The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon had relatively long front limbs, and its claws were incredibly sharp. It accurately pinpointed Mo Fan’s location and swung its claws at it, tearing the shadow that Mo Fan was in half! Mo Fan realized he had no chance of dodging the attack. He quickly summoned a wall with his will to stop the creature’s claws. Unfortunately, the wall of defense was too weak to stop the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon’s attack. Mo Fan twisted sideways forcibly, just so the attack would not deal a critical blow to him. The next second, a tremendous, burning pain came from his arm. He could clearly feel his blood jetting out and splattering in the air! Mo Fan gasped and saw half of his arm flying off his body. He slammed heavily on the boulder nearby. Enduring the pain, Mo Fan used his will to retrieve his arm and immediately flew away with Rocket Wings, distancing himself from the terrifying creature as quickly as possible! “Thousand Piercing Fire Feathers!” Utilizing the momentum, Mo Fan immediately scattered the feathers and detonated the two walls on both sides! The lower part of the walls was destroyed, and the two walls came tumbling down. The shattered rocks formed a barricade, separating Mo Fan and the monster! The ground shook vigorously. Mo Fan landed in front of Mu Ningxue, Tony, and Ayleen. Ayleen was in shock when she saw Mo Fan holding his other bloody hand. On the one hand, she was surprised that the creature was able to sever Mo Fan’s arm in just a brief encounter, but on the other, she was astounded by how calm Mo Fan seemed to be even when his life was at stake. The man was so calm that Ayleen began to doubt if he actually felt any pain or fear… “Those rocks won’t hold the creature for long, let’s go,” Mo Fan clutched his bloody hand and led the way. “Are…are you alright? You’re losing a lot of blood!” Tony stammered. “Just heal me after we’re out of here. That creature is really strong,” Mo Fan said. Tony was so worried about Mo Fan that he still decided to cast Healing Spirit on the wound, hoping that the spell could stop the bleeding for the time being. However, Tony soon discovered that Mo Fan’s wound had turned dark blue. The Healing Spirit was having trouble healing the wound because of it. “It’s poisoned!” Tony said. “Forget about it for now… where’s your barrier?” Mo Fan said. The wound would not cost his life in the short period, but if they did not start running, the savage Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was surely going to butcher them all. “Oh, oh, it’s ready!” Tony said. “Then what are you f**king waiting for!?” Mo Fan cursed. “But that creature still hasn’t…” Tony was planning to activate the barrier when the creature was chasing after them, but he soon heard some movement from behind. Tony was a Sound Mage. He could only hear a soft rustle, yet when he turned around, he was surprised to see that the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was less than two hundred meters away! Considering the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon’s speed, two hundred meters was only a matter of a blink of an eye. It was the same as just a few inches away! “Sacred Grasp!” A purple-golden light with the shape of a hand encapsulated the group of four, like the God of Light was clenching them in his fist. The sturdy light served as protection for the group. The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon attacked the barrier fiercely, producing loud metallic clanks. After realizing is attacks were not so effective, the ghastly creature suddenly spread its legs and spat something ahead of them! Strings of weaving silk sprang forward, each reflecting a sharp glow as they went past the group. The strings were scarier than flying steel ropes. They easily penetrated the solid ground! More strings appeared and formed a deadly spider web sealing off the path ahead! “It’s over, we’re trapped!” Tony screamed. “Ride the Wave!” Ayleen Summoned out a piece of magical equipment. A tide with a blue glow started flowing under the group’s feet, gradually forming a fierce current carrying them forward. A blue wind resembling a raft pushed the group of four forward and broke through the web made of woven silk! Mo Fan turned around and saw the strings gathering rapidly. It was quite a relief that Ayleen had such a useful piece of equipment to aid their escape by multiplying their speed. Otherwise, they would really end up being eaten by the creature! “This way, we’re almost there!” Tony yelled. The land ahead of them finally started to rise. With a push of the wave, they went right for the layer of poisonous miasma. Tony quickly opened a gap, allowing the group to reach safety. After making it through the poisonous miasma and seeing the bright sky and the mountains nearby, the group was absolutely relieved to see the light again.  Just as they thought they were already safe, the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon climbed out of the poisonous miasma with a terrifying screech, determined to drag them back into the swamp of death! The group had basically used all they had, yet the creature was still pursuing them relentlessly. They were starting to lose hope. Mo Fan took a deep breath. In the end, he still had to rely on the Demon Element. He initially thought he could save the energy of the Essence Orb for a great cause, yet he had no choice but to use it in the treasure hunt. However, there was nothing he could do. The group had gone into a place they were not supposed to go. If he was still reluctant to use the Demon Element, he was going to die in the tournament which the world was placing its attention on! “Demon Judgment Sword: Holy Extermination!” thundered an imperious voice. A tiny figure on the mountainside uddenly emitted a brilliant, golden glow, constructing a spectacular golden Star Palace! The Star Palace of the Super Level summoned a dazzling, golden light sword to fall from the stormy clouds, like the judgment delivered by a god. The enormous sword landed right on the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon that was about to get its way! The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon was impaled to the ground. The light it produced had razed two hills nearby to the ground! The sword stood firmly on the mountain range. Its magnificent appearance had surpassed the mountains. Mo Fan lifted his gaze and stared at the enormous light sword in astonishment… It was not the first time Mo Fan had seen the Super Spell of the Light Element, yet when he was standing close to the hills that had been leveled by the Holy Judgment Sword at such a close distance, the shock he felt was entirely different compared to the one he experienced when he was watching it from far away! If only he possessed power of such degree, he would no longer be afraid of being chased by the Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon! The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon did not die right away. It broke free from the destructive energy. Its skin was burned completely, revealing the rotten flesh underneath. Most of its legs were broken, and even its tail was about to fall off… The Heart-Devouring Hellish Demon’s outstanding vitality enabled it to drag its severely injured body away and escape into the poisonous miasma. It disappeared in the blink of an eye! “Stop chasing, there’s no way you will find it down there… besides, we’ll be in great trouble if we startle the Poison Valley Ruler that the creature is under the command of,” Felmon ordered, stopping the assistant judges from chasing after the creature. Han Ji and the advisors of the English and Swedish teams were present, too. They let out relieved sighs when they saw the four were able to make it back in one piece. However, Han Ji soon noticed that Mu Ningxue had fallen unconscious, and Mo Fan had lost one of his arms. The smile on his face soon vanished. If even Mo Fan had suffered such a serious injury, it meant the group had barely escaped from the jaws of death! “Have you seen Kelly and his group?” Felmon came forward and asked solemnly. “They are dead,” Mo Fan replied. “Were they missing, or did you actually see them?” “We saw them,” Mo Fan confirmed. Felmon’s face darkened. He stared at the poisonous miasma as if he was looking at some terrifying ocean. “It’s a miracle that you guys were able to come back alive,” Felmon murmured.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was immediately sent to receive treatment after he returned to the stage.

The poison was shocking; half of Mo Fan’s body had turned dark blue. Han Ji personally helped treat Mo Fan’s injuries. It took him quite some time just to drive the poison out of the young man’s body!

After getting rid of the poison, Han Ji proceeded to reattach Mo Fan’s arm. Han Ji’s Healing Magic was impressive, indeed! Mo Fan’s arm was back to normal in no time…

Normally, if a person’s arm was severed, as long as the person was able to retrieve the severed limb and reattach it back to their body with the Healing Element, the person would recover quite speedily. However, if the arm was smashed into pulp, the Healer would have to regenerate the cells and tissues, meaning that the process would take a longer time, and the injured would have to spend months recovering!

——

“So you’re saying that was the place where the grand treasure of the treasure hunt was hidden thirty-two years ago?” Mo Fan asked Han Ji with wide eyes.

“Yes. No one had expected your team would go there,” Han Ji wrapped the cut on Mo Fan’s arm with a golden-blue bandage, warning Mo Fan not to do any vigorous exercise for the next two days.

“Damn it, that Swedish idiot almost set us up!” Mo Fan cursed instantly.

They should not have believed the cunning, plump man in the first place. They almost lost their lives down there, and Mu Ningxue was forced to use the Ice Crystal Bow. She would be weak for quite some time, and they were unsure if it would affect the upcoming matches. Mu Ningxue had waited for a long time to make a name in the World College Tournament!

“It’s such a pity, if only you guys could have retrieved the treasure, too. If I’m not mistaken, it should be a Stone of Will , a unique stone that can significantly increase the mental strength of a Mage, and is extremely useful for anyone with the Psychic, Curse, or Space Elements,” Han Ji sighed.

“A Stone of Will… is it valuable?” Mo Fan asked.

“It used to be, back in the days. They found an ore vein full of Stones of Will in Iceland. These Stones of Will used to be available everywhere across the world, so there were quite a lot of outstanding Space Mages and Psychic Mages during that time. These Mages were able to achieve greatness with the Stones of Will, but eventually, the vein was mined out. Many Hunters tried finding another ore vein, but they could not, even until today. As a result, these Stones of Will are as valuable as antiques in the current era…” Han Ji said.

Mo Fan saw Han Ji recalling the glory of the past. He took out the box with a bloody handprint on it. He opened the box and showed it to Han Ji, “Is this the stone you’re referring to?”

Han Ji took a quick glance and nodded subconsciously. The Stones of Will were fairly unique, limpid with a silver glow, and had runes like the orbits of stars on the surface.

Han Ji soon realized something. His eyes widened as he blurted out, “You…you found it!” He was so loud that he gave Mo Fan a fright.

“I happened to stumble upon it. I think Kelly and his group found it, but they did not make it out. I found it, so I just brought it along. I didn’t expect it to be the grand treasure from thirty-two years ago!” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

A stone able to improve a Mage’s mental strength; wasn’t it something that he was searching for desperately? He needed a huge upgrade to his Space Element. Otherwise, his Space Element was pretty much useless in a battle. With this Stone of Will, his Space Element would soon be able to shine, too!

“This is great! Well done! You have always been bold yet scrupulous… it’s really a great item!” Han Ji burst out laughing.

It seemed like Mo Fan did not suffer his injuries for nothing. He had brought back the old grand treasure that was easily more valuable than the grand treasure prepared for this treasure hunt. Han Ji believed that if the Stone of Will was auctioned, it would surely be sold for a higher price than the highest-quality Soul-grade Seeds out there!

“Tell me how I should use it, hehe! It better help me improve greatly within a short period. That way, I’ll be more confident in the finals!” Mo Fan smiled.

“The Space Element is classified into nine levels. The first, second, and third levels are referred to as the basic stage. Your control of your Space Element is currently in the second level, so it’s pretty much in the middle of the basic stage. It will allow you to move objects lighter than ten tons, and you can also form a wall, or knock enemies back with your will. However, you know that you’re still quite a distance away from reaching Ai Jiangtu’s level,” Han Ji said patiently.

“Ugh… I never learned the details of the Space Element. I basically feel my way around it,” Mo Fan admitted awkwardly.

“Ai Jiangtu is currently in the intermediate stage, I’m guessing that he has achieved the fourth level, but the difference between the two stages is immeasurably huge. In your case, the Space Element can mostly provide you with some support when fighting against Advanced Mages. However, once you’ve reached the intermediate stage, if you gather all your focus and expend energy equivalent to casting an Advanced Spell, your Telekinesis can deal the same damage as an Advanced Spell. You can even move a mountain and slam it down at your enemy,” Han Ji informed him.

“No wonder! I have always wondered why both Ai Jiangtu and I were casting the same Basic and Intermediate Spells, yet the effects of the spells differed by so much. It turned out that the Space Element has its own levels,” Mo Fan realized.

“Any magic that is closely related to a Mage’s mental strength is the same. After all, there are no Seeds for the Space, Psychic, and Curse Elements, and their potency solely depends on the Mage’s mental strength. It has nothing to do with the Star Patterns or Star Constellations. Therefore, as long as your mental strength keeps growing, it’s going to strengthen your will too, meaning that you can endure attacks directed at your mind better. For example, if your mental strength has reached the intermediate stage, a Psychic Mage in the basic stage is unlikely going to be able to affect you with their Psychic Spells,” Han Ji informed him.

Mo Fan’s eyes flickered upon hearing Han Ji’s explanation.

He never thought the improvement of his mental strength could also improve his resistance to the Psychic Element. It was definitely a piece of good news!

Currently, Mo Fan’s greatest weakness was a Psychic Mage, as they could easily prevent him from casting his destructive spells. If it was as Han Ji had mentioned, there was no need for him to be afraid of Psychic Mages as long as his mental strength was higher. He still stood a chance, even if he stumbled into a powerful Psychic Mage!

“So this Stone of Will…” Mo Fan looked at the silver stone. He was fondling the stone admiringly, as if it were his own son.

“Just place it somewhere close when you’re meditating. It will emit a glow similar to Magic Equipment specifically used to strengthen a person’s soul, to improve your mental strength. It doesn’t take long, either, so I’m sure that your mental strength will improve dramatically before the finals!” Han Ji said.

Han Ji was looking forward to seeing the result, too. When he first met Mo Fan in the Ancient Capital, the young man already stood out among the Mages of his age. Now he had achieved the Advanced Level, granting him access to six Elements! His Fire, Lightning, and Summoning Elements had been very impressive throughout the tournament, and if his Space Element could also improve dramatically, he was surely going to enter the limelight during the finals and shock the world!

—

Han Ji’s explanation clarified the details of the Space Element to Mo Fan.

Han Ji was right. Mo Fan’s mental strength was currently at the second level. It did improve significantly when Mo Fan was fighting against Jack’s scorpion beast, but it did not break through straightaway. It was currently between the second and third levels.

The Stone of Will was a rare item, containing overwhelming energy. Mo Fan could not wait to go into seclusion and start meditating.

However, before that, Mo Fan had to split the loot first.

If it was someone else, Mo Fan would obviously not mention the Stone of Will and claim possession secretly. There was nothing to be ashamed about, yet Mo Fan was well aware of how shameless he was!

However, Mo Fan was not so stingy when it came to Mu Ningxue and Ayleen.

The two had used all they had just so the group could make it out alive, especially Mu Ningxue, who was still in a weak and feeble state. Mo Fan was extremely worried that she would not recover before the next round of the tournament…

Mo Fan desperately needed the Stone of Will, so it was obvious that he would be taking it. Apart from that, the loot they had robbed from the other teams, together with the Soul-grade Seed they had acquired from Meos and her group, summed up to a total value of more than two billion.

Ayleen and Mu Ningxue split the profit in a ratio of four to six. What they took was comparable to the value of the Stone of Will that Mo Fan had claimed.

As for Tony, who was also on the team…

That son of a b**ch, Mo Fan was merciful enough that he did not skin the plump man alive, just to maintain the Chinese team’s image, let alone split the loot with him!

Tony of the Swedish team felt wronged. He did admit that his misinformation almost cost everyone’s life, but he was still heartbroken when he did not earn any profit after what he had gone through, yet there was nothing he could say.

Ayleen was quite embarrassed to take so much profit. She ended up giving two hundred million back to Mo Fan in order to stick to the promise she gave, that she would only be taking two-tenths of the spoils.

Mo Fan gladly accepted the money. He paid off the debt he owed to Pang Lai, and used the leftover to buy some snacks for Little Flame Belle and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. The resources would slowly improve their attributes, preparing them for their next evolution in advance.

Even though Mo Fan was not left with many resources in the end, he was still quite satisfied with the outcome…

Both the surprise that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had given him, and the chance to strengthen his Space Element had given Mo Fan the confidence that he could easily dominate the tournament with only four of his Elements!

He would have struggled to take on a Commander-level creature before, but he could easily take on two or three at the same time now!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan went into seclusion while the organizer was finalizing the ranking of the teams, based on their performance during the treasure hunt.

The round after the treasure hunt would be the finals. The format was fairly simple: the teams would be competing against one another, and the last team standing would be the winner. The top three teams would be given tremendous prizes!

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had earned two billion for the team. It was already equivalent to the total earnings of a group consisting of six people, and it did not even include the value of the grand treasure that Mo Fan had found. Otherwise, their earnings would easily match that of an entire national team. Not many students could achieve such a great feat, or possess such remarkable strength!

With their great achievement, the Chinese team was ranked third, just behind England and Germany.

Meanwhile, the American team that was regarded as the first seed was ranked fourth, possibly because one of their main carries, Jack, was unable to deliver as expected.

None of the countries had managed to find the grand treasure of the treasure hunt, either. The different teams were quite relieved after hearing that.

The reason was that the grand treasure usually possessed great value, and if it was the kind that could help a Mage improve tremendously, it would greatly affect the upcoming matches. Many countries were upset that they did not acquire the grand treasure, but they were relieved knowing that no one else had found it, either!

However, they did not expect that someone on the Chinese team had found the grand treasure from thirty-two years ago, and it was even more valuable than the grand treasure of this treasure hunt!

Both Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had displayed outstanding strength in the treasure hunt. The trio even managed to defeat a group of twelve participants, leaving the whole world in awe. The teams were starting to get nervous, as none of them had expected the Chinese team to have two such incredible talents out of nowhere…

In addition to that, many people also realized that Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue, who were already strong to begin with, had obtained lots of resources from the treasure hunt, meaning that the two would be even stronger in the upcoming finals!

—

The World College Tournament was in full swing. People across the world were setting their eyes on the specific countries and students they were supporting. Meanwhile, the capital of Greece, Athens was also holding a marvelous election.

The position of the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple had remained empty for a long time. The Parthenon Temple had suffered quite some damage to their reputation after their Healing Magic declined, so they were hoping to elect a new Goddess, loved and respected by the people, to regain the glory that the Parthenon Temple used to have!

The election took place as soon as the treasure hunt of the World College Tournament ended.

It was only the first round of the election. It would choose four Saintesses from the Candidates, based on the support they were receiving. Even though the election of the Parthenon Temple was not open to the public, the devoted followers of the Parthenon Temple were waiting patiently for the result, hoping that the Candidate they supported would emerge victorious, and would receive the votes of the people, too…

The result of the election was announced when the sun was setting in the west. The Saintess with the highest votes was Andi, followed by the relatively aged Panijia. The third Saintess was Asha’ruiya, the disciple of the previous, well-respected Great Muse. However, the whole world was dumbfounded when they learned Ye Xinxia was the fourth Saintess.

Saintess Andi was the Candidate deemed to be the successor for the role of the Goddess. Her reputation had been off the charts in both the southern hemisphere and the northern hemisphere. The Hall of Knights supporting her had granted her a spacious, holy sky, allowing her to be born in colorful clouds, and to grow under sacred light. Every word, action, and her demeanor clearly implied that she was the best Candidate to take on the role of the Goddess.

However, there were rumors that Saintess Andi did not have a pure, kind heart. The truth was, the biggest factor electing a person to be the Goddess was their wisdom, instead of their overflowing mercy. For example, the previous Goddess, Izisha, was well-known for her righteous and merciless attitude!

Andi was comparable to Izisha in terms of intelligence, and she had earned the full support of the Hall of Knights, implying that she was not just an elegant vase of flowers, but she had full control over the greatest armed force of the Parthenon Temple!

Meanwhile, Panijia had come from an ancient renowned family of Healing Magic. In comparison to Andi’s imperiousness, Panijia and the faction supporting her were leaning more toward conciliation by reaching out to any faction that was willing to cooperate with the Parthenon Temple.

Panijia had always been busy doing things to win the hearts of people over. The charitable acts done under her name were comparable to all the charities combined across the world, thus Panijia was well-loved by the people…

Asha’ruiya was someone that was loved by the people of Greece since she was born. In their eyes, she was their most sacred little angel, as she was the adopted daughter of the previous Great Muse, Wen Tai.

Wen Tai’s name was made known to the world around twenty years ago, as he was the only man allowed to enter the Hall of the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple freely, and was the only man in history appointed as the Great Muse of the Hall of the Goddess. Every achievement he had was shocking, and to the world, he was like a god in the form of a man.

The truth was, the people of Greece referred to him as the Holy Saint.

Since Wen Tai’s death, the followers that had respected and loved him placed all their hopes on the man’s adopted daughter, Asha’ruiya. The woman was like the most sacred fairy of Greece, and countless people were willing to offer everything for her sake…

She did not try to grab the attention of the people, did not use any trick to win people’s hearts over, and did not purposely maintain her image, yet she still had a bunch of followers!

Most interestingly, Asha’ruiya had never conducted the initiation, she never attended the classes held by the Hall Mother, and she did not even want to be a Candidate, but the people still pushed her high up. Many people were jealous of the attention she received from her identity as the daughter of the Holy Saint Wen Tai.

It was expected that Asha’ruiya would end up as a Saintess, but the fourth Candidate that was selected was a complete surprise!

Everyone knew that Ye Xinxia had been promoted to an official member of the Hall of the Goddess from a probationary servant not long ago. It was true that she had achieved some impressive feats lately, earning her some reputation, but it was still a far distance away from becoming the fourth Saintess.

And yet, she had won in the first round of the election. The result was simply dumbfounding to the world. Everyone was discussing the background the woman might have, or who the person that was supporting her behind the scenes could be, that she could make it to the top four in the election!

—

Outside was immersed in a great uproar, and so was the inside of the Hall of the Goddess. Xinxia stayed in her room, looking at the colorful flowers outside her window.

Normally, she would empty her mind by looking at the garden through the window, looking at the butterflies as they flew between the flowers…

However, she was having trouble doing that today.

It was absolutely insane!

The election of the Parthenon Temple was not child’s play. It greatly mattered to the whole world.

Not many organizations had a reputation that surpassed the Magic Associations of each continent, but the Parthenon Temple had done so.

Xinxia was overwhelmed with joy when she had the chance to enroll in the Parthenon Temple. At least, that was what she thought in the beginning…

However, things did not go the way she wanted; it simply felt like she was in the middle of an absurd dream.

“Are you scared?” a crisp voice came from outside the window.

Xinxia lifted her head slightly and saw a woman so glamorous that she subconsciously held her breath. It would take Xinxia a long time just to master the confidence and calmness the woman was displaying on her face…

“Are you… Asha’ruiya?” Xinxia asked.

Asha’ruiya was the kind of person that everyone would only hear the name of, but never had the chance to meet. She was free and unconstrained by the rules of the Parthenon Temple, and it was Xinxia’s first time meeting her…

“Mmm, but you haven’t answered my question, are you scared?” Asha’ruiya walked closer to the bed and leaned forward. Her gentle hair fell on the window ledge.

“I am,” Xinxia nodded.

She was actually quite scared. As an insignificant student, she found the utter glory that she had received all of a sudden unbearable. Most terrifyingly, she was utterly clueless about the reason behind it!

Why would she even be selected? The Hall Mother had only promoted her because of a sudden impulse. She even said that it was just a chance for Xinxia to learn from the Candidates, yet she ended up as one of the four Saintesses. In other words, she was only one step away from securing the role of the Goddess!

Xinxia was having a hard time believing it. She never thought she could go this high. She was feeling uncomfortable with the height she was currently at!

“Aren’t you willing to be a Saintess of the Parthenon Temple? Aren’t you interested in the role of the Goddess?” Asha’ruiya asked seriously.

Xinxia shook her head. It was true that she was keen to learn the magical Healing Magic, but apart from fear, she really did not feel anything toward the position she was currently in.

“Am…Am I being used like a pawn?” Xinxia raised her head and asked softly.

Asha’ruiya was startled for a moment, before she smiled, “You’re smarter than I thought.”

“So you’re the player?” Xinxia asked seriously.

“You aren’t my pawn. I just happened to investigate your background, and discovered that you have an elder brother who’s unrelated to you by blood. He just happened to be the person that I want to beat the crap out of recently,” Asha’ruiya explained.

“Did he get on the wrong side of you?” Xinxia knew Asha’ruiya was referring to Mo Fan.

“He took advantage of me,” Asha’ruiya said.

Xinxia dropped her jaw, lost for words for a moment. She was surprised by how straightforward and honest Asha’ruiya was, yet she was also shocked by how bold her brother Mo Fan was, daring to take advantage of Asha’ruiya!

Unlike a fake candidate like her, Asha’ruiya was a real Saintess of the Parthenon Temple, and her followers were enough to raze a country to the ground!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A small pavilion in the south garden…

A thin, soft nightgown was attached to Saintess Andi’s body. The candidate with the highest number of votes did not have an awe-striking face, but she did have an impressive physique. The night breeze on the mountain swept past, caressing the nightgown over the woman’s smooth and curvaceous body…

She was barefooted, looking down at the dimly-lit Citadel of Athens.

She had been doing the same thing for years. She enjoyed admiring the bustling night scene of the city from the great height. She liked seeing a huge crowd of her supporters chanting her name passionately…

However, she was not feeling ambitious tonight!

“We didn’t expect it to come to this.” The Great Muse Mellaura was standing close to the statue in the garden with a gloomy expression.

“The election is grander than that for a president, it’s never meant to go smoothly. How can we expect that all four Saintesses will be on our side?” Andi said calmly.

“You sound like you aren’t too bothered that Asha’ruiya has shown up to interfere with our plan? And aren’t you curious about who’s supporting Ye Xinxia behind the scenes?” Great Muse Mellaura asked.

“I have a premonition,” Andi slowly walked down from the pavilion along the white stairs. She did not continue her sentence, but suddenly said, “I initially thought Panijia was our greatest enemy…”

“You’re worried about Asha’ruiya?” Mellaura said.

Andi shook her head and said sternly, “The scariest thing is, I still don’t know who they are.”

“Perhaps you’ve been worrying too much? Once we make it to the final phase, we won’t have to worry any longer. Back then, when I was assisting Izisha, she was very anxious and worried, too. She kept discussing her brother to me, but she was still the winner in the end, wasn’t she?” Great Muse Mellaura said.

As the two were talking, the old servant Gulan hurried over. She purposely dismissed the other servants that were standing by in the garden and ran over to Mellaura and Andi.

“Essendale… they caught him!” Gulan said in disbelief.

“That was the premonition I was referring to,” Andi said.

Beside her, Mellaura was utterly lost in her thoughts. She could not even hold the Staff of the Great Muse firmly. It fell onto the statue nearby.

“Then we…”

“We’ve lost,” Andi said.

“How is that possible? We were so close, so close to ruling this place!” Great Muse Mellaura totally lost her calm. It looked like she had aged significantly in an instant.

“The funny thing is, I still don’t know who’s pulling the strings…” Andi said in a self-mocking tone. She took a final glance at the Citadel of Athens and untied the nightgown as she slowly approached the edge of the pavilion.

The edge was the cliff of the sacred mountain, and at the bottom was the Ten Thousand Stairs.

Gulan was just about to ask what they should do next when she saw Andi still walking toward the edge. The moonlight set off the amorous charm of her naked body, as flawless as a milky-white statue!

She finally reached the edge. She suddenly took another step forward and started falling as Gulan screamed.

Gulan did not see Andi using any magic, nor was she channeling any spell. She continued to fall unimpeded!

—

Xinxia was sitting on the balcony outside her window while conversing with Asha’ruiya. She suddenly stopped, her eyes fixed on the cliff in the distance…

“It seems like someone has just fallen off the cliff,” Xinxia pointed at the cliff, but she did not sound too confident.

“You’re already a Candidate, so who’s occupying the residence above yours?” Asha’ruiya did not turn around. She still had a gentle smile on her face.

“Was that really a human?” Xinxia grabbed the wheels of her chair firmly, about to head out.

The sacred mountain was very tall, so it would take some time before the person reached the bottom. There was a chance that she could still save the person if she started heading there now.

“If you don’t let her die tonight, she will hate you for the rest of her life,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Was that Andi?” Xinxia asked with a complicated look.

“Yeah, a wiseass. Well, it serves her right,” Asha’ruiya answered heartlessly.

“I want to leave this place,” Xinxia said firmly.

As a matter of fact, Xinxia had the urge to leave after she was chosen as a Candidate by the Hall Mother. She was just an outsider at the Parthenon Temple, yet she was suddenly dragged into the competition for the role of the Goddess.

“From the first day you set foot in the Parthenon Temple, your path to the Hall of the Goddess was already lit up with a green light, wasn’t it?” Asha’ruiya mused.

“I want to leave this place.”

“Are you sure about that?” Asha’ruiya smiled. She added before Xinxia could respond, “I initially thought you were quite old, but you’re so young still. I have come to visit you because I’m hoping that we will just mind our own business.”

—

—

Another news shocked the entire world when the World College Tournament was still going on. The whole city burst into an uproar when the news reached Venice.

Mo Fan had just come out from his seclusive cultivation. He realized that everyone was talking about the same news: that Saintess Andi had passed away due to some sickness.

Mo Fan had heard the name Andi before. First, the European countries were rather religious. The Parthenon Temple was like the most sacred entity to them, and the Goddess was treated like the spokesperson of the gods, like a pope. As such, it was reasonable that Mo Fan had heard the name of the Candidate that had the highest hope of being elected as the Goddess.

He had heard Xinxia mentioning her name a couple of times, too.

The Goddess of the Parthenon Temple was not just a symbol of faith. She was the person that actually had access to the Spell of Resurrection. Mo Fan clearly remembered how some people kept mentioning the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple whenever someone died…

When Xu Zhaoting was turned into a Cursed Beast, Mo Fan had asked Tangyue, and learned that the only way to save Xu Zhaoting was the Spell of Resurrection of the Parthenon Temple.

The hero that stopped the plague in Hangzhou, Wang Xiaojun, was currently lying on a bed after losing his soul, and the only way to wake him up was the Spell of Resurrection.

It was impossible for life to return after it was lost. Despair and pain of death could easily wipe out the meaning of life.

As such, the significance of the Spell of Resurrection surpassed everything!

“Hall Master Kendi announced that Andi had always suffered from a genetic disease. She had devoted her limited life to helping the world, but the gods had taken pity on her, and were not willing to let her suffer further. He has received her in Heaven… she did not leave us, she only went closer to the gods, she no longer has to speak on behalf of the gods, or listen to the gods. She will be praying for us beside the gods…”

“The world is saddened by the death of Saintess Andi, but the Holy Judgment Court has been questioning the truth. They believe Saintess Andi committed suicide to escape punishment. Essendale had committed an unforgivable crime, and he was once very close to Saintess Andi.”

“Saintess Andi’s remains were not allowed to be viewed by the public. The sorrow that Hall Master Kendi, her father, is going through is understandable. She was a good Candidate, and had done many great things for Greece, for Europe, and for the other continents…”

The news spread rapidly. Mo Fan kept seeing news about Andi whenever he looked at his phone or had a conversation with someone. Mo Fan did not really care about politics or religion. Andi’s death did not really matter to him. He was struggling to understand why the people were making a big fuss about it…

On the other hand, Mo Fan was puzzled after learning that the Master of the Shadow Element, Essendale, was captured and executed.

Considering how strong Essendale was, only a few people in the world could possibly defeat him. Essendale was the Master of the Shadow Element; if he was determined to run away, it was almost impossible to catch him!

“You don’t seem to care about Andi’s death? Let me tell you, I have some insider information; Andi actually committed suicide. She jumped from the highest place of the sacred mountain naked and fell onto the Ten Thousand Stairs without any protection. Imagine how bad she would look…tsk tsk tsk, a Candidate with such an alluring physique smashed into minced meat like that… I bet she hadn’t even tasted a man before…” Zhao Manyan kept saying how much of a pity it was.

Zhao Manyan was someone from the upper class of society, thus he would know a lot more than ordinary people.

“Her death has taken everyone’s attention away from what happened to Essendale. I don’t care how she died, I just f**king don’t understand how the Master of the Shadow Element ended up being caught!” Mo Fan sighed.

“You really want to know?” Zhao Manyan said in a mysterious voice.

“Aren’t you talking nonsense? I’m passionate about magic, about power, not some fight over influence!” Mo Fan replied.

He could easily tell that Andi had lost the fight for power in the Parthenon Temple, and so she had been disqualified. Mo Fan was clueless about the complicated situation, nor was he interested in learning about it!

“Here, I have something incredible to show you. It’s a clip of Essendale’s arrest and death. Are you interested in it? It’s forbidden to watch it, and the Holy Judgment Court has declared that every person that watches it is committing a crime. Are you still sure you want to watch it?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Are you sure its source is safe?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“Yes.”

“Then just play it.”

—

Mo Fan had no idea how Zhao Manyan was able to get his hands on the recording. Since most spells would emit brilliant lights when they were cast, it was almost impossible to use a mobile phone or device to record a magic battle. The broadcast of the World College Tournament through the Observer Eagles was specially handled to make it viewable. If anyone tried recording the fights with their phones, it would only end up as a white screen.

As such, the clip that Zhao Manyan got his hands onto was most likely recorded with some unique military equipment. The Holy Judgment Court would severely punish anyone that broke the rules!

“It seems like a member of the Holy Judgment Court recorded it. We can’t really see Essendale from this angle,” Mo Fan mumbled, staring at the clip’s strong interference.

Mo Fan was fairly curious about the power of a Mage like Essendale. Pang Lai was already one of the strongest Mages in China, yet he was still no match for Essendale. The battle that the Holy Judgment Court had fought to catch Essendale was surely going to be spectacular!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Holy cow, what is that? The black thing that dove to the ground from the sky… f**k me, is that a Forbidden Curse Mage!?” Mo Fan yelled all of a sudden, staring at the blurred recording.

The quality of the recording was very bad due to the interference of the spells. However, he could still see an enormous figure moving rapidly. It was shocking even though he had only seen the tip of the iceberg. It felt like the overwhelming energy was about to burst out from the screen!

“Look at that, holy shit, did you just see that? That thing just knocked Essendale flying more than a few kilometers away!” Zhao Manyan smashed on the screen to pause the recording.

The recording was a total mess. Mo Fan was unable to tell if the person was Essendale, but the monster that Zhao Manyan was referring to was terrifying, indeed!

The people of the Holy Judgment Court were not involved in the fight. They simply surrounded the area.

The enormous dark barrier encapsulating the area vaguely resembled the Dark Dueling Groundset up through the Dark Contract. However, it was a lot scarier than the Dark Dueling Ground where Mo Fan had fought the Dark Swordmaster. It seemed like Essendale was trapped within the magic barrier.

The clip did not last for long, and Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were not able to see the existence inside the magic barrier clearly. They only knew that the monster was responsible for tearing Essendale to pieces.

“Could it be the legendary Hayla?” Zhao Manyan took a deep breath. He recalled someone telling him some rumors before, that anyone who saw Hayla’s true appearance was doomed to be dragged into the Kingdom of Death. He immediately felt his skin crawling.

“Hayla, the creature that tore Essendale into pieces?” Mo Fan asked.

“The God of Death in Europe! It’s like Yama, the King of Hell, is for us. I remember hearing the old folks of our clan mentioning it before. It’s a creature on par with the Sphinx,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Sphinx? The one guarding the pyramids?” Mo Fan remembered the name.

“Yeah, the Sphinx was once Egypt’s national beast before it started guarding the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was the most symbolic creature of death. The ancient magic records also mention that the Sphinx was actually an ancient beast of the Netherworld. Meanwhile, Hayla was the mystical beast that represented the Realm of the Dead in ancient Greece mythology. It was basically like Rama, the King of Hell in China… but unlike the mythology in our country, the mystical beast of the Realm of the Dead is real!” Zhao Manyan told him.

Mo Fan was convinced when Zhao Manyan cited the records about the ancient civilizations. “I bet Essendale would be proud to die at the claws of the mystical beast, Hayla.”

Zhao Manyan nodded and said, “Yeah, killed by one of the strongest creatures in the world! He didn’t bring disgrace to his reputation as the Master of the Shadow Element.”

“These countries with ancient civilization as each have their own mystical beasts, but doesn’t China have a long history too? Don’t we have any mystical beasts on par with those creatures?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course there are! The Totem Beasts were the ancient mystical beasts of our country, but they were all eliminated… oh, that giant snake in Hangzhou is the only ancient mystical beast that we have left! I used to hear my grandfather mention that China once had the Four Great Totems, which were the Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, the White Tiger, and the Black Tortoise, the four legendary mystical beasts that everyone knows about. I wasn’t sure if my grandfather was being boastful, but he did say that if the Four Great Totems are still around. Even the weakest among them, the Black Tortoise, could still end up in a draw against the Sphinx or Hayla,” Zhao Manyan replied.

“But they are no longer around, so it’s meaningless to say that now. I bet they were killed by the people of our country, since most of them believed it was not safe to keep them around,” Mo Fan scoffed.

“But I think he wasn’t lying, I believe you know better than me how strong that giant snake in Hangzhou is?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Of course,” Mo Fan said.

The Black Totem Snake was a real Totem Beast!

“The Black Tortoise had two offspring: one is the Black Snake, and the other is Bixi. The Black Snake is obviously the Black Totem Snake, and it’s already so powerful, so I find my grandfather’s words rather convincing,” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan glanced at Zhao Manyan and asked, “Since when do you know so much?”

“Well…well, I just checked the information out of curiosity, hehe,” Zhao Manyan said nervously, and seemed to be hiding something. He immediately switched the topic, “By the way, your Xinxia has already become a Saintess, why don’t you seem concerned at all?”

“What Saintess, she has always been a Saintess to me,” Mo Fan replied instantly.

“Bro, haven’t you read the news? They have announced the final four Candidates, who are referred to as the Saintesses. The Goddess will be elected from them! Now that Andi is dead, there are only three Candidates left, meaning that the odds of Xinxia being elected as the Goddess is one in three!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

He had just come out from seclusion, and had not had time to contact Xinxia yet. He was utterly clueless that something so serious had happened.

“What is it? Why do you look so gloomy?” Zhao Manyan said.

“I don’t really think that’s good news. I know her situation better than anyone else. It’s already a surprise that she joined the Hall of the Goddess, but it simply did not make sense going this far!” Mo Fan said grimly.

“The Parthenon Temple’s election isn’t just about influence. Maybe her temperament and her character suits the role of the Goddess perfectly, or maybe the Soul of the Goddess is fond of her? Who knows, but I think Xinxia is a worthy candidate; at least her heart is the purest that I have ever seen,” Zhao Manyan said.

“What the hell is the Parthenon Temple up to?” Mo Fan was even more confused about what the Parthenon Temple was trying to achieve.

“Forget about it, the finals are starting tomorrow. Are you ready?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Zhao Manyan was obviously trying to ask if Mo Fan had fully refined the good stuff that he had acquired from the treasure hunt.

Mo Fan was easily the biggest winner out of everyone on the team. The man was already so strong before the treasure hunt, and with the awesome loot, his strength was surely going to reach another height.

“Do you know about the levels of mental strength?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah?”

“I’m at the fourth level now!” Mo Fan grinned.

“Holy crap, you’re basically unbeatable!”

“Hehe!”

—

The format of the duels was different than the knockout round. Even though it consisted of team battles, the teams were allowed to substitute members in the middle of a match.

The number of participants in a match was still ten, but if a student was knocked out, the team could immediately send another student onto the stage.

A team could only substitute members three times, meaning that eight people could represent their team in a match during the finals. It was a test of the entire team’s strength, since eight out of the ten representatives of a national team were expected to fight in a match.

It was the simplest way to test the strength of each country, allowing them to implement different combinations of the members and strategies based on their Elements.

—

As the finals of the World College Tournament were about to start, the people soon forgot about Andi’s death. The bars and pubs in Venice were hung with the portraits of the students of different national teams. The students were ranked based on their strength.

The ranking was based on the performance of the students during the knockout round and the treasure hunt. Without surprise, Mo Fan was ranked fifth.

Mo Fan did have some words to say to the person that came up with the ranking, “Are you f**king blind or what? How am I only ranked fifth when I took out six people by myself during the treasure hunt?”

Mo Fan found it hard to accept. In his opinion, no one around his age could possibly stand a chance against him. If he really needed to pick someone that could defeat him, it was going to be Mu Ningxue with her bow.

Mo Fan was not pleased with the ranking. He swore to beat the crap out of the four participants that were ranked higher than him!

“Rank one is the captain of the English team, Zorro. He has green hair, and dark green eyes… even now, no one knows what his primary Element is, since he has only used his Summoning Element so far in both the knockout round and the treasure hunt. His Summoned Beast and Contracted Beast have simply crushed all his opponents. Rumors say he is a Lightning Mage, with a remarkable Innate Talent.” Jiang Yu had gathered the information and revealed it to the rest of the team.

“Lightning Element… he’s managed to get my attention!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

“Rank two is from the American team. She’s closely related to the Sacred Hall of Liberty. Her name is Jessie. She’s already a member of the Sacred Hall of Liberty even though she’s still studying. She has taken down lots of wanted criminals. Her nickname is the Cold Face Magistrate. Her primary Element is Plant, secondary is Curse, and tertiary is Light. She’s a control-type Mage. Apparently, she was on her own throughout the treasure hunt, and ended up with resources summing up to 1.3 billion,” Jiang Yu said.

Jiang Yu showed Jessie’s picture to the team.

Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan immediately whistled and exclaimed, “She’s at least E! Oh mama, look at that picture, that’s f**king insane. She’s like a character from an anime!”

“This woman, I believe she’s really impressive!”

Jiang Shaoxu knocked on the heads of the perverts and purposely stuck her chest out, “Her boobs are clearly sagging, mine clearly look better!”

“But she has E!”

“Die!”

“Enough, you guys! The third rank is Reed, from the German team. He’s a destructive Mage, with similar Elements to Mo Fan. His primary Element is Fire, secondary is Lightning, and tertiary is Space.

“Rank four is known as the Iron Bucket mage, Bilton of the American team. He is tall and huge. His primary Element is Earth, secondary is Summoning, and third is Light. He’s a defensive-type Mage. He was surrounded by five members of the Swedish team in the knockout round, but they failed to penetrate his defense. He’s the nightmare of a destructive Mage!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Jiang Yu was very thorough with his explanation, but Mo Fan simply lost interest in listening further. He only wanted to know about the participants that were said to be the strongest in the tournament.

The finals were just around the corner. Mo Fan was brimming with confidence. Currently, only his Shadow Element was slightly weaker, but he had always regarded the Shadow Element as a supporting Element. The fifth-tier Fleeing Shadow with the effects of the Dark Noble Mantle granted Mo Fan outstanding mobility and evasive ability compared to the rest of the participants. If he had a chance to establish the Nyx Regime, the unpredictable Shadow Element would be quite deadly, too!

The only pity was that Mo Fan had not learned the Advanced Spell of the Summoning Element yet. Mo Fan did not forget the ridiculousness when Jiang Yu Summoned the tide of beasts. With that, Mo Fan was confident that he could take on ten participants at once!

—

Early in the morning, the loud chime of an ancient bell rang, waking the people of the city on the Mediterranean Sea from their pleasant dreams.

Following the chime, some Italian melodies were played. It felt like the air was fresher when listening to the symphonies.

The opening ceremony of the finals was held. Eight teams with outstanding performances during the treasure hunt lined up in rows in the middle of the spectacular and spacious dueling ground of Venice. Eight colors representing eight nations were surrounded by tens of thousands of people cheering for the participants.

Eight teams, with close to a hundred people. Even though the teams that were disqualified did have some outstanding talents, they were disqualified with the team too. Their reputation and influence in society in the future would be incomparable to the hundred people currently standing on the dueling ground.

When it came to a Mage’s strength, although there might be different situations, environments, and opponents that would decide the outcome of a battle, if two Mages were of equal strength, it was the opportunity and glory that would set them apart.

Four matches were scheduled today. Basically, all eight countries would take turns displaying their strength, and the result of the matches would decide the matches for tomorrow, and likewise, there would be four matches then, too.

The teams would no longer be disqualified, but the result of the matches would decide who the champion would be!

“There will be five matches for each team. Basically, we’ll be fighting most of the teams, and it’s quite obvious that we’ll have to give our best when we’re up against the top four countries. If we can keep our winning rate at fifty percent against those countries, we’ll have a chance to be ranked in the top three in the tournament. There are only prizes for the teams in the top three, and even though I don’t want to add more pressure, there’s something you should know too…” Feng Li said to the team sternly.

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked.

Everyone knew Mo Fan was as ignorant as an illiterate, so even Zu Jiming, Mu Tingying, Guan Yu, and the other arseholes were too lazy to mock him whenever he asked a foolish question.

Coming from renowned clans, it went without saying that they would know a lot more information than the others. The World College Tournament was the biggest magic tournament in the world, as it was usually how the countries split the scarce resources in a fair manner.

With demon creatures on the rampage, and humans being forced to stay within their cities, there were only limited resources left for the humans. As for the scarce, yet extremely important resources, it was unreasonable for the great powers of the world to simply claim them. They needed a fair, civilized way to decide which country would be getting resources…

The way they came up with was to let students of each country compete against one another. It was why the first World College Tournament was held!

The final ranking of the tournament was extremely important, as it would decide how the scarce resources were going to be distributed among the countries. If a country ended up with an A-grade magic ore vein, the energy was enough for the country to build a new city, a great fortress, or an abundant supply of magic ores to Awaken new Mages. The supply of magic ores each year would allow the country to train tens of thousands of Mages, and regardless of the height that these Mages could reach, they would still greatly improve the strength of a country.

The way the countries decided on the distribution of the resources was not disclosed to the public, yet it was the most reasonable way to do it.

Mo Fan realized something after hearing the explanation. “No wonder the country is treating this tournament so seriously, and is so willing to invest in us! It turns out that the countries are the ones that benefit the most from the World College Tournament, based on the ranking! Speaking of which, I’ve been fairly outstanding so far in the tournament, allowing our team to reach the finals without any risk. Isn’t the country going to reward me somehow? What if Japan attempts to persuade me to be their citizen by promising me two glamorous women, or if England offers me a mansion that is worth tens of billions, full of maids that don’t wear their panties in exchange for my loyalty to the Queen, or…”

The rest of the team pretended they never knew Mo Fan when he was uttering nonsense. Only a grass-roots Mage like Mo Fan, who did not really take any resources from the country, could be so wanton and unrestrained in a situation like this.

He was not under any clan or association, nor was obliged to anyone in particular. He could embarrass himself as he pleased, yet it was not the case for the others. They were obliged to follow the compass and go with the set square. Each of their actions was being watched at all times, and if they were disrespectful and impolite toward their leaders, advisors, or the officials of the tournament, it would greatly influence the reputation of their renowned clans…

“It seems like you’re a fan of beautiful women instead of money. Sure, tell me what kind of women, or which daughters of the renowned clans you’re interested in. Many people are willing to give me face in China, at least I can guarantee you that they won’t dare to kick you out if I ask them to accept you,” a middle-aged man said in a gentle, yet earnest voice.

“Chairman!”

“Chairman!”

Feng Li and Song He immediately went up to the man respectfully, without their usual stern attitude as the advisors of the team.

“Holy crap, one of the leaders of our country…” Zhao Manyan exclaimed in his heart. He immediately lifted his chest, displaying the expected demeanor of a son of the wealthiest clan in the country!

The others straightened up in a humble manner too, including Ai Jiangtu, who withdrew his pride as a soldier and saluted the man.

Shao Zheng responded with a salute, too. It turned out that the Chairman had come from a military background. However, when Mo Fan was observing the great BOSS of his country, he did not feel any difference between him and a househusband he might stumble into at a fresh market. Frankly speaking, compared to his father Mo Jiaxin, this man was only dressed in better clothes, with a slightly more dignified presence, but he could not really tell anything else!

If the man was a leader of his country, it went without saying that he would be one of the strongest Mages in his country, too, but Mo Fan was unable to sense any presence of magic from him.

Were all the legendary experts supposed to look just like an ordinary person? How did the man manage to conceal his magic so thoroughly?

“Mo Fan, behave yourself in front of the chairman. You should think of the chance to serve your country as the utmost glory. After all, you’re still a representative of the Chinese team!” Feng Li scolded him. He proceeded to whisper into Mo Fan’s ear with his Psychic Voice, “If you dare betray the country by joining other countries, I swear I’m going to break your legs!”

“I was just saying, why so serious? I’m honored to serve the country, and I’m not asking for a reward… but of course I will gladly accept it if there’s any! Forget about pulling strings for me, I can pick up chicks myself. Besides, I believe there are not many Mages that I can’t handle who aren’t married yet,” Mo Fan smiled.

“Mo Fan, are you going to die before becoming more humble?” Feng Li’s mustache started to rise in anger.

“HAHA, you’re being very honest. I did beat the crap out of the man who tried to compete with me for my wife. Initially, my wife preferred men that are good-looking, but she realized that I’m pretty cool whenever I’m beating someone up, so we ended up together!” Shao Zheng burst out laughing.

“Chairman… isn’t it inappropriate to say that now!?” an old secretary coughed.

“I’m here to encourage you verbally, but I’m afraid I didn’t have any substantial rewards with me,” Shao Zheng said.

“Chairman, your encouragement is the best reward for us,” Zu Jiming took the opportunity to fawn on the man.

“Very well. Apart from the encouragement, there are a few things I would like to say. Regardless of the factions you’re representing, I’m hoping you will understand that due to the complicated terrain of our country, we are constantly under the threat of the demon creatures. Our country is actually ranked fifth in terms of the level of the danger we are under, but we’ve managed to attain resources granted to a country that is merely ranked in the top twenty to hold off the danger! It’s not because the Mages of our country are stronger, but the fact that we have a higher population. It simply means more people are sacrificing their lives to protect their country, and I’m sorry to say that China has the highest number of deaths of Mages in the world.

“You’ve done a great job coming so far, but I have a greater hope for you, to secure a higher ranking, and earn more resources for the country. I hope that you’ll think about the people that are struggling at the boundary of the safe zone right when you’re thinking of giving up, and ask yourself… have you really reached your limit? Can you go beyond that… and just try to get another rank higher? The little resource you earn for the country might prevent tens of thousands of soldiers from dying. Please!” Shao Zheng’s tone went from calm to solemn, to sincere, and finally with a hint of pleading, despite his identity.

Shao Zheng had clearly brought his hope for the team in the World College Tournament.

The leader of a country always had his focus on the wellbeing of a country, a country that was occasionally under the threat of the demon creatures roaming all over. The nests, the hordes, the kingdoms, the vast lands, the mountain ranges, the boundless oceans, the complicated lakes, the dry deserts, the icy northern valley… too many demon creatures were eying the cities covetously. The citizens living in the cities might be unaware, but as Mages, they had to keep the threat in mind at all times!

Hearing Shao Zheng’s words, Mo Fan recalled the words that Headmaster Zhu had spoken to the students at the opening ceremony of the high school, prior to the Awakening of their magic…

From the weakest students who were only Basic Mages, to the highly-respected Advanced Mages participating in the World College Tournament, they should always set their eyes on the demon creatures that never had once given up on the thought of invading their territory!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“As usual, our chairman has a high notion of our duty as Mages, Mo Fan, did you hear that? Don’t you feel ashamed of yourself? You even said that you’re going to consider the invitation of other countries…” Zu Jiming really knew how to grab hold of the opportunity. He immediately used it to humiliate Mo Fan.

There were things that could be harmless if he was to say it at some other times.

However, in certain occasions, especially when great authorities were around, he could easily twist the truth behind Mo Fan’s words!

“I suddenly realize that my temper has seriously improved a lot compared to how I was before. The fact is I’ve allowed an idiot like you to be an eyesore for a whole year,” Mo Fan did not restrain himself either. He proceeded to scold Zu Jiming as he pleased.

“Who did you just call an idiot!?” Zu Jiming snapped furiously, “Don’t think you can act recklessly just because you’re stronger than us. I might be weaker than you, but at least I won’t commit treason, nor would I ask our superior for a reward shamelessly!”

“It’s necessary for a piece of trash to know their worth!” Mo Fan replied mercilessly.

Zu Jiming’s face darkened after being told that he was a piece of trash, not to mention that it happened right in front of the chairman. If he allowed Mo Fan the mad hound to humiliate him, how could he possibly face the people of his clan!?

That being said, Zu Jiming was smart enough to know that it was unwise to provoke Mo Fan any further. Even if he wanted to, he would have to pretend that he had a high notion of his duty, too! “If you think you’re so good, just go on and help the team place in the top three. As a matter of fact, I’ll be damn impressed if you can help the team defeat any of the four great nations!”

“I don’t need to impress you. You just have to admit that you’re a piece of trash, and stop oinking like a pig around my ears. To be honest, I’m already being very respectful to the country by behaving myself, or else, I would have long ago beat the crap out of you so you could just lie and rest on a sickbed. What renowned clan is it that raised a retard like you, and managed to put you on the national team to annoy other people and sow dissension among the members?” Mo Fan’s rebuttal was like a machine gun.

“Excuse me, did I hear that you have an opinion on the person that I recommended join the team?” a woman behind Shao Zheng suddenly said. She sounded quite stern and cold.

Zu Jiming was overjoyed when he heard his paternal aunt speaking up.

He knew Mo Fan was a powder keg that would explode with the slightest spark. Even though the woman behind Shao Zheng was only a secretary under the chairman, her status was basically comparable to a Councilman, and it was she that recommended Zu Jiming join the national team.

Secretary Zu Huiyin had a displeased look when Mo Fan kept scolding, and she finally ran out of patience.

“So this pig is one of yours? You should really teach him some manners, so he can stop being a troublemaker. The chairman already said that a single rank could make a difference to the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers. Let’s be honest, as long as he stops sowing discord between the members, we won’t have any trouble being placed in the top three,” Mo Fan replied. He had no intention to go easy on the secretary.

Zu Huiyin’s face darkened after hearing his words.

Where exactly did this disrespectful student come from, to say such a thing to the chairman’s secretary? Did he seriously think no one could teach him a lesson?

“Chairman, I seriously don’t understand. I know strength is important, but isn’t attitude the most important? Look at how disrespectful this student is, I bet he might actually accept the invitation of the other countries after the tournament! It’s meaningless for us to waste our resources on a person like him! I suggest we let him give away the resources he acquired from the treasure hunt, and distribute them evenly to the rest of the team!” Secretary Zu Huiyin was at the end of her patience. She even demanded Mo Fan give up on the resources he earned from the treasure hunt!

Shao Zheng did not stop the quarrel between Mo Fan and Zu Jiming. He even stopped Feng Li from interfering with a thoughtful look.

He had allowed the quarrel to happen, as he believed it was better to deal with the conflict than hiding it.

The finals consisted of team battles, and each team would have to send out eight members in every match. The teamwork and synergy between the members were extremely important. Without enough trust between the members, the team would soon be crushed by their opponents.

Shao Zheng did not want the members to pretend to be harmonious on the surface, but scheme against one another during the matches, as it would simply ruin the whole team!

It was obvious that the members of the team were not on peaceful terms with one another. Shao Zheng had noticed it during the treasure hunt. Zu Jiming, Mu Tingying, Nanrong Ni, and Li Kaifeng had basically formed their own group within the team, and they did not even try to lend Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue a hand when they were in a pinch!

It was definitely not something that Shao Zheng wanted to see. He knew it was impossible to resolve the conflict between the members, since the conflict was not just child’s play, nor was it as simple as envy or jealousy. After all, prior to representing the country, everyone was competing against each other, so the conflict had lasted for a long time.

Shao Zheng was planning to turn the conflict into a motivation, so the members would be holding one another accountable. He wanted to use the conflict to secure a higher rank for the team!

“Mo Fan did utter some rash comments, but Zu Huiyin, your suggestion isn’t appropriate either!” It was obvious that Shao Zheng had no intention to punish Mo Fan.

“I just think that a malevolent student like him might actually commit treason,” Zu Huiyin totally lost her calm.

Zu Huiyin felt like Mo Fan was basically scolding her when he called Zu Jiming a retard and a piece of trash, since she was the one that recommended Zu Jiming, not to mention that he was saying it right in front of the chairman. He was basically asking for death!

Since he was asking for trouble, she would make sure that he would never recover from it!

No one had dared to challenge her like that. Wouldn’t it be a piece of cake if she wanted to play the kid like a fiddle?

“Zu Huiyin, I don’t agree with what you said. I might be unfamiliar with other students, but I can guarantee you that Mo Fan will never do anything like that. I’m not too pleased with your suspicion and accusation. I’m asking you to apologize to Mo Fan!” Han Ji could not stand it any longer.

“Han Ji, did I just mishear it?” Zu Huiyin was startled.

Was the man serious? Did he just ask a secretary to apologize to a student? Was this Han Ji out of his mind?

“You heard it right, I’m asking you to apologize to Mo Fan.” Han Ji stepped forward, implying that he was not joking at all, displaying his stance.

“Han Ji, Zu Huiyin is just teaching the younger generation a lesson. You shouldn’t take it so seriously,” the leader of the Mu Clan, Mu Gong, said.

“I was wondering why this kid is so reckless, to even dare murder the successor of my Lu Clan. It looks like Han Ji here has got his back. Han Ji, are you that obsessed with your disciple, to even demand that the chairman’s secretary to apologize to a mere student?” Councilman Lu Xin, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up.

The moment Lu Xin came into the room, he had been watching Mo Fan closely, as if he had the urge to burn him into ashes.

“We’ve confirmed the reason behind Lu Yilin’s death, it was Lu Yilin who tried to murder his teammate first…” Song He intervened.

“Even so, they should have handed him to the Enforcement Union. What right did he have to murder Lu Yilin? Besides, they could say whatever they wanted after the man was dead. How can I be sure that the members of the team weren’t crowding out my nephew?” Councilman Lu Xin lost his calm too. He would never forgive Mo Fan for what he had done!

“I already said it, we’ll discuss it after the World College Tournament. Lu Xin, that’s enough!” Feng Li snapped.

“Fine, I’ll be waiting for the Enforcement Union to give me a fair explanation. Otherwise, I’ll be taking the matter into my own hands instead!” Lu Xin replied threateningly.

Han Ji did not argue further on the topic, yet it did not mean he was done with Zu Huiyin, who tried to abuse her identity to defame Mo Fan.

“Old Han, we’ll just let Zu Jiming apologize to Mo Fan. Zu Huiyin is just warning Mo Fan, she didn’t really accuse Mo Fan of committing treason. Besides, Mo Fan was pretty harsh with his comments too,” Pang Lai said.

It was unreasonable to ask the chairman’s secretary to apologize to a student. Han Ji was asking too much. Even if he was trying to protect Mo Fan, he had to know the limits, too!

Zu Jiming was dumbfounded. Since when did he need to apologize to Mo Fan? Was this Pang Lai out of his mind? Couldn’t he tell who was in the wrong here?

“No way! They must hold someone responsible for the words they said. We all know that Mo Fan is just joking, yet someone purposely twisted the truth of his words and accused him of treason. Considering how young Zu Jiming is, he might be doing it out of jealousy, since he hasn’t been particularly outstanding on the team. However, as the chairman’s secretary, what were you thinking, to accuse the student in front of everyone else? Don’t you know how great an influence it would be on him?” Han Ji was extremely stubborn, and he sounded quite serious, too!

“What was I thinking? I’m just teaching him a lesson! You can easily tell a person’s attitude from their behavior! At least I can tell that there’s something wrong about him judging the way he acts. Besides, based on what he did to Lu Yilin, I can assure you that he is malevolent, and we can’t place our trust in him!” Zu Huiyin said.

“Malevolent? Very well, you better remember what you said today!” Han Ji burst out laughing.

“Did I say anything wrong?” Zu Huiyin retorted.

“The team will be taking part in the last match for the day. I am planning to reveal something to the public now that Mo Fan has made a name by himself. Zu Huiyin, you have three matches left to decide if you are going to apologize to him. Once the team is up, you won’t have any chance to take your words back, and it won’t be as simple as a little apology!”

“Take my words back? I, Zu Huiyin, have never regretted what I said. It’s normal for people to make a mistake and say the wrong things, but that has never happened in my case. Otherwise, how am I worthy to be the chairman’s secretary! He is malevolent!” Zu Huiyin was far too stubborn to compromise.

Zu Huiyin had been trying to win the Lu Clan over, and she had found herself the perfect opportunity today. It was obvious that the Lu Clan had hated Mo Fan for a long time, so they would surely appreciate what she had done today.

Most importantly, the kid was simply asking for it!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“By the way, Mu Ningxue hadn’t recovered yet?” Feng Li asked Song He.

Song He shook his head and said, “It seems like she’s still too weak. I’m afraid she won’t be able to take part in the match.”

“Without her, the overall strength of our team will drop significantly,” Feng Li sighed.

“What does it matter? Mu Tingying’s Ice Magic isn’t any weaker than hers. Besides, Mu Tingying also has a Soul-grade Ice Seed!” Mu Gong immediately spoke up.

Feng Li was left utterly speechless by Mu Gong’s words. Even someone as dumb as a pig could tell the great difference between Mu Tingying and Mu Ningxue. It was unnecessary for the man to try and bring attention to the person he was supporting.

—

The finals had begun. The first, second, and third matches had been spectacular. The teams would no longer conserve their strength in the finals, since they were up against strong opponents now. The students were clearly stronger than their performances in the knockout round and the treasure hunt. The resources that the students had acquired during the treasure hunt played an important role too, as those with outstanding loot could easily distance themselves from the rest of the participants!

America was going up against Greece. Greece was an ancient country of magic, and was also a country that had a sacred organization, the Parthenon Temple. Greece had always been a strong country, and was one of the few countries that could take on America.

The match went on for quite a long time. Even the three members that were substituted into the match had outstanding performances that left the spectators across the world in awe. The students that were around the same age as the participants were left in shame, as most of them were still stuck in the Basic and Intermediate Levels!

In the end, the Greece team beat the American team and was placed in the winner bracket.

Following that was a match between England and France. There was quite an obvious gap between the strength of the two European countries. England had a great advantage, and the captain of the English team, Zorro was started applying great pressure to the French team with only his Summoning Element!

Many people were totally impressed by Zorro after watching the match. In addition to that, some members of the English team even teased that the Summoning Element was not Zorro’s strongest Element. He still had two other Elements that he was still keeping a secret. The man was full of mysteries!

England went into the winner bracket, while France was placed in the loser bracket.

The third match was a showdown between Canada and Egypt. The two countries were not particularly strong, but the Egyptian team was abused their Undead Element as part of their strategy to wear their opponents out. After a long match, to everyone’s utter surprise, they managed to defeat Canada.

Many people thought Egypt was only lucky to make it to the second round, since they were not up against any of the strong countries in the first round. However, their result in the treasure hunt was not bad, either.

The people thought the Egyptian team would be crushed during the finals, yet they had surprisingly defeated their first opponent and made it to the winner bracket. The people of Egypt felt like breaking out in tears!

Meanwhile, the Canadian team seemed to have underestimated their opponent, and the threat posed by Egypt’s Undead Element. They did not try and end the match as quickly as they could, allowing the Egyptian team to stack up their armies of undead and secure the victory!

A team battle was not just a test to the participants’ strength, but required synergy between the members, and their ability to react according to the situation into account too. The fact that the Egyptian team was able to defeat the Canadian team that was believed to be stronger highlighted the importance of teamwork and strategy!

—

“To be honest, we aren’t really confident in fighting Germany. We would rather fight Canada or Greece. It feels like we know nothing about the German team. They have really done a great job of keeping their information a secret. The tournament has been going on for quite a while, yet they didn’t really expose much about their team,” Jiang Yu said.

Going up against an unknown enemy was the trickiest, since the key members of the Chinese team had basically exposed their strength in the previous matches, allowing their opponents to learn more about them.

On the other hand, the German team did not really have any member that was outstanding in particular, during the knockout round or the treasure hunt. That was the reason why the German team was scary, as they had managed to come so far without exposing much information about themselves!

“Mo Fan, you’ll be on standby first, watch the match closely,” Feng Li said to Mo Fan.

“Sure, I’m happy to show up in the end,” Mo Fan did not seem too bothered by the arrangement. It simply meant he was the ace on the team.

That being said, Mo Fan was aware that he had shown too much of his strength during the treasure hunt. He was also ranked fifth among all the participants, so the enemy team must have done their homework. If he was among the starting members, they would surely pick on him!

“Ai Jiangtu, you will take charge of the match!” Feng Li said.

Ai Jiangtu nodded.

The Chinese team could not afford to keep Ai Jiangtu on the bench. Without him, the team would be crushed in an instant, and it was unlikely that he could turn the tables by joining the match late.

“Mu Tingying, you’ll be manipulating the environment,” Feng Li said.

Mu Tingying’s eyes glittered. She was finally given a chance to perform. Her Thistles Ice had improved recently too, and it was surely going to bring her some attention.

“Zhao Manyan, you’ll start first too,” Feng Li hesitated for a moment, before choosing Zhao Manyan as one of the starting members.

Zhao Manyan was fairly shocked. After all, many people simply assumed he was the weakest on the team.

“Sure, advisor!” Zhao Manyan responded confidently.

“Their team has a strong destructive Mage, be prepared,” Feng Li said.

The only information they had on the German team was about the destructive Mage Reed, who was included in the ranking. His primary Element was Fire, secondary was Lightning, and tertiary was Space. All three Elements had outstanding offensive ability, and each of his spells could easily bring destruction upon the place. The reason he was ranked in front of Mo Fan was because of his Innate Talent, which further strengthened his destructive Spells.

“Jiang Shaoxu, you’ll focus on protecting the team and harassing the enemy with your Psychic Element.

“Nanyu, you’ll disrupt the enemy and help the team as an overseer.”

—

Someone quickly voiced their doubts as soon as the starting members were decided.

Clearly, the formation was not really good at attacking. Both Zhao Manyan and Jiang Shaoxu were typical supportive and defensive Mages. Zhao Manyan was good at elemental defense, while Jiang Shaoxu was good at spiritual defense. However, they were not particularly great at offense.

Nanyu’s Sound Element was good for attacking, but her secondary Water Element, and her tertiary Plant Element, were not really that useful in attacking.

The only members with offensive Elements were Ai Jiangtu and Mu Tingying, yet the destructive Lightning and Fire Elements were not really their strengths.

“We don’t know much about the German team. It’s better to focus on our defense at the start of the match, instead of falling into their trap. With a strong defense, they will have to expose more when trying to break through our defense. We’ll then make adjustments accordingly, and the match will be easier for us,” Feng Li defended his choices.

Everyone agreed with the advisor. The Egyptian team had won against the Canadian team because they kept focusing on their defense and dragged the match out. The defense of their current formation was fairly outstanding; even if the enemy had three destructive Mages, they would still have a hard time breaking down their defense!

—

“Han Ji, didn’t you say you had something to announce to the people of the country?” Pang Lai asked after recalling something.

“There’s no rush for that. I’ll announce it when Mo Fan is up,” Han Ji replied.

“It seems like you were invited as a special guest by the commentators for the match. Are you planning to say it then?” Pang Lai asked.

“Yeah, it’s something that the world should know about, but we just kept dragging it out until now.”

“I still don’t understand why you demanded that the chairman’s secretary Zu Huiyin apologize to Mo Fan,” Pang Lai murmured.

Han Ji had only discussed the matter related to Mo Fan with Chairman Shao Zheng, and the chairman had agreed to make it public, too. Pang Lai and the others could not hear what they were discussing…

“You will understand soon enough. Zu Huiyin has been crossing the line lately, abusing her influence to coax people to side with her. It’s time to teach her a lesson,” Han Ji replied.

Pang Lai was utterly confused. He said, “I have no idea what lesson you have in mind, but I’m afraid some people have purposely spread Zu Huiyin’s comments on Mo Fan’s attitude around. Mo Fan has been a hot topic among the people recently. Even though what he did during the treasure hunt isn’t going against the rules, it’s not really the right way either. Besides, with the Lu Clan manipulating things behind the scenes, they will only twist the truth even further.”

“They are only asking for trouble!” Han Ji said.

—

—

The five members of the German team were in position.

The person leading them was the destructive Mage named Reed. His attire was rather strange. He was wearing a red bandanna on his head, and an outfit with purple-golden decorative designs and silver-white squares. His outfit seemed to be hinting at what kind of a Mage he was.

Despite his bright outfit, he had a stiff expression, as if he had nothing left to live for as soon as he stepped onto the stage.

—

“So that’s Reed, the third-ranked student. I heard that many participants have failed to resist a single Advanced Spell from him!” The spectators were already discussing things.

“I saw it clearly during the treasure hunt! It was a representative of the Japanese team named Akira Matsuki. This man defeated him with a single spell, shocking everyone back then!”

“I saw it too! The scene switches to somewhere else right after that, but I will never forget it. I wonder how he did that?!”

“Speaking of which, it doesn’t seem like the Chinese team has sent the Fan Xue Bandit Group in. Can the others really stand a chance against the German team?”

—

The students proceeded to take their positions. The two teams were totally unaware of their enemy’s formation prior to the start of the match. Only the spectators knew who the participants were.

The stage of every match in the finals was different. The stage of the current match was covered in golden sand, with an abnormal wind blowing the sand into the air at times!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Hey Reed, it turns out that these Asians aren’t treating us seriously,” a woman with a few obvious moles on her face spoke up.

The others knew what the woman was trying to say, since the formation of the Chinese team did not seem to be strong at first glance.

Every country was expected to give their best during the finals. The Chinese team was said to be the dark horse this year, after it was able to make it to the finals, yet as a country that had failed to make it to the finals for so long, they seemed reluctant to give their best, and were not treating the match seriously. The German team was struggling to understand what the Chinese team was thinking.

Did they seriously think they could handle the old, powerful nation that had rarely tasted defeat with these starting members?

“Don’t they like to preserve their strength? Let’s show them what we have and crush all five of their members before they can even send their substitutes in. That way, we’ll be able to preserve our strength instead for the match tomorrow!” an Ice Mage from Munich sniffed.

“Don’t be careless, they might be probing us,” snapped their captain Johnson, who had always been cautious.

The two teams were around a hundred and fifty meters apart. The whole stage had a diameter of around three hundred meters. The stage was like a desert, with a dry, scorching heat, even though they were currently in Venice and surrounded by water!

The stage felt quite real. The two teams were standing on two sand dunes that were not too steep. As the two teams started channeling their spells, the sand slowly drifted in the wind.

On the side of the German team, the first spell that was cast was the Summit Wind. It swept fiercely, blowing the sand into the air…

More sand was blown into the air and slowly formed sandy clouds above the German team. The sandy clouds seemed to be controlled by some Mage, combining with the wind to form a strong layer of protection for the German team!

—

“They are pretty good at using the environment to their advantage. Behold, my sandcastle!” Zhao Manyan was not to be outdone either. He stomped the ground and constructed a sturdy wall from the golden sand, which gradually took on the outline of a sandcastle.

The five members of the Chinese team stood on the sandcastle. It was like a defensive fortress; any destructive Spells targeting them would have to destroy the sandcastle first!

“Seal of the Earth!” Zhao Manyan activated his magic ring, spreading the energy that was able to reinforce his Earth Spell.

The seal imprinted on the sturdy sandcastle was able to boost its defense by another twenty percent!

“Your sandcastle is pretty ugly,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“I’m not a f**king builder, it’s useful enough as long as it’s sturdy! Don’t worry about its appearance. Some body parts we men have are pretty ugly too, but are still useful!” Zhao Manyan shot back.

Jiang Shaoxu stuck her tongue out, not willing to waste any more of her time talking to the pervert.

Jiang Shaoxu strongly believed that the reason why Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were able to become best buddies was that they greatly appreciated how equally perverted they both were!

“It’s the second-tier Sky-Flame Funeral, Hellish Flames!” Nanyu said to the others, glancing into the sky.

The first-tier of the Sky-Flame Funeral, Rain of Flames, was able to summon flames to pour down like a rain from the sky. The flames would promptly set the whole place on fire.

However, the Sky-Flame Funeral: Hellish Flames was completely different. It only had a single meteorite, but as it came closer gradually, the people would realize how enormous the meteorite was. The meteorite would even produce ghastly screams, like devils from Hell!

Unlike the ordinary red flames, the meteorite of the Sky-Flame Funeral: Hellish Flames was dark green, and the flames engulfing the meteorite were dark green, too!

With a huge explosion, the wind produced by the approaching meteorite blew the sand into the air, yet the sand was turned into nothing by the sinister green flames. Even the sturdy defense that Zhao Manyan had set up crumbled within an instant!

The Hellish Flames spread wildly. Its force swept across half of the stage fiercely, the barrier surrounding the stage even trembled from the impact!

The Chinese team was in complete disorder.

The members were forced to scatter due to the powerful flames. No one had expected that the German team would attack with such a powerful Fire Spell without probing them first.

The Hellish Flames finally calmed down after some time. Zhao Manyan’s face was covered in sand, and his body already had a few burns.

“For f**k’s sake, how did he break through my defense, just like that?” Zhao Manyan cursed anxiously.

Zhao Manyan had gone through lots of practice with Mo Fan, and even Mo Fan’s spells were unable to break through his defense so easily. How did the German do it?

“Can your defense be any more useless?” Mu Tingying snapped furiously, her hair disheveled.

“Something doesn’t feel right about that destructive Mage. Zhao Manyan, you’ll have to set up an extra layer of defense next time,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“That guy took Akira Matsuki out with a single spell. There must be more to his magic than meets the eye, if it can pierce our defense,” Nanyu said.

“It’s coming again! That guy is pretty quick at drawing a Star Constellation!”

The sinister, green flames appeared once again. It no longer came from the sky, but was lunging at them like a long and enormous fiery snake!

There was only one fiery snake, but it was extremely huge, set aflame by the dark green flames, its mouth gaping wide. Its body was a few tens of meters long!

“There’s no way you can break through my defense again. Water Curtain!” Zhao Manyan was agitated. A brilliant, clear Star Constellation appeared around him.

Following the light of the Star Constellation, a huge curtain emerged from the ground. The crystalline blue curtain possessed overwhelming energy, serving as a line of defense for the team.

“Totem Mark!” Zhao Manyan went all out this time. He summoned the power inside the wooden clapper.

The Totem Mark consisted of ancient words being drawn across the Water Curtain that Zhao Manyan had cast!

“A Soul-grade Water Seed, and the hundred and fifty percent strengthening from the Totem Mark! I would like to see how you’re going to break through my defense this time!” Zhao Manyan was infuriated too.

Normally, a destructive spell would struggle to break down a defensive spell of the same level. Zhao Manyan knew the opponent he was facing was a talented destructive Mage in the tournament, yet he strongly believed he could make his opponent despair!

The fiery, green snake collided with the Water Curtain. The defensive barrier shook vigorously, yet when Zhao Manyan assumed that the snake was surely going to dissipate, it simply went past the barrier and lunged at them!

“Zhao Manyan, what the heck are you doing!?” Mu Tingying screamed.

The fiery snake scorched the whole area. The formation of the Chinese team collapsed entirely as the members were forced to back away from the wild flames.

Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded too. He watched the enormous fiery snake destroying the sand dune in disbelief!

“Did…did it just pass through my spell… just like that?” Zhao Manyan murmured.

The Water Curtain was clearly still standing. How did the fiery snake even pass through it? It just did not make any sense!

“It seems like defensive spells are useless against his destructive spells, or perhaps his destructive spells are able to pass through elemental spells. It must have something to do with his innate talent. It explains why Akira Matsuki was defeated by a single spell. The man obviously did not expect his defensive spell to be entirely useless against his opponent’s attack!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

The same thing had happened twice. The others were confused about why Zhao Manyan had failed to stop him.

The second time, the fiery snake had simply passed through the barrier. It was not because Zhao Manyan’s defense was too weak, but the unique attributes that their opponent’s magic had!

They had never seen anything like it; it had to be something to do with the man’s innate talent!

“If all our defensive spells are useless against him, is there any point for us to fighting this match? Won’t we just be target practice for him once we use all our defensive equipment?” Zhao Manyan said in low spirits.

The two spells had already forced the members to use four pieces of their defensive equipment. They were meant to use their defensive equipment as a last resort, yet they had already paid such a great price after the match had only just begun!

“Jiang Shaoxu and I will keep him busy. Old Ai, you better apply enough pressure to the other members of their team,” Nanyu immediately said.

Jiang Shaoxu was a Psychic Mage, an arch-enemy of all destructive Mages.

However, Nanyu believed the man would have a way to defend himself from the Psychic Element. That being said, if Jiang Shaoxu kept applying pressure with the Psychic Element while Nanyu tried her best to disrupt the man’s channeling with the Sound Element, they would be able to stop Reed from casting Advanced Spells!

It simply meant they would have to send two members just to keep a single member of the enemy team busy. Ai Jiangtu, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Tingying would have to take on the rest of the enemy team.

However, their team had no other choice. The destructive Mage could easily crush their whole team with his terrifying Innate Talent. They would lose before they could send in the substitutes!

“There should be some other way. It doesn’t make sense that the guy is able to ignore all our defense, there must be something we’re missing!” Zhao Manyan said.

“You can take your time to figure it out!” Mu Tingying harrumphed coldly, before following Ai Jiangtu to engage the rest of the enemy.

Zhao Manyan was unwilling to accept the truth, yet he could not afford to waste further time.

Even if he could not stop that guy’s destructive spells, there was no way he could not handle the rest of the enemy!

They just needed to find a chance to eliminate the others on the enemy team, before dealing with the scary destructive Mage!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Three on four? Have these Asians spent too much time in their small barbarian Yelang Kingdom for too long? Did they seriously think they can challenge us just because they had a fairly impressive performance in the first round and the treasure hunt? Don’t forget that their country has been in danger lately just because of how far behind the magic of their country is!” the woman with moles snort, with an arrogant and mocking grin.

She soon locked her gaze on Mu Tingying, who was also a female representative and said, “I’ll take that Ice Maga out in ten minutes.”

“Be careful of her captain,” Johnson warned her.

Johnson had faint, blue eyes. He was dressed in simple clothing, with a calm and steady demeanor, like a sturdy mountain with distinct edges.

His eyes were fixed on Ai Jiangtu as he walked forward at a steady pace. In the previous matches, Johnson had seen the firm demeanor of a soldier in the Space Mage.

The students of a military academy were clearly different than the students from ordinary schools. Students with a military background were neither undisciplined nor had the pride of a young adult, as if their bones would always emit a stern aura, regardless of what they were facing!

In their eyes, the place was not just a stage, it was no different than a battlefield!

Johnson had long noticed Ai Jiangtu, and similarly, the man had long caught Ai Jiangtu’s attention. After all, the captain of the German team was not the destructive Mage Reed, but the tall and sturdy man that was firm as a mountain, Johnson!

Johnson was in an offensive stance. He gradually approached the Chinese team, using a few Basic and Intermediate Spells as a signal, implying that he was challenging Ai Jiangtu to a duel.

Ai Jiangtu did not leave the team. He stood within the range of Zhao Manyan’s defensive spells, and while keeping his eyes on Johnson, he was also keeping an eye out for another member of the enemy team.

“It doesn’t seem like he’s interested in dueling me. If that’s the case… attack at will!” Johnson waved his hand and gave the order.

Johnson’s words served as an absolute order to the team. As his voice was still echoing across the stage, various magical glows appeared as space trembled when the energy of the spells gathered.

A sand dune suddenly emerged from the ground, followed by a deafening roar.

The yellow sand poured down from the beast’s back like a waterfall. The creature lifted its head and uttered another roar, turning the sand into a fierce storm.

The crowd eventually realized that the creature was a Granite Inferior Dragon. Its sturdy skin was made of granite, and it looked like a giant statue had come alive. However, its limbs, head, and eyes had a ferocious look that indicated how dangerous the creature was!

The Ice Mage from Munich had a cold grin. He slid along an Ice Chain and landed elegantly on the shoulder of the Granite Inferior Dragon!

The Granite Inferior Dragon moved forward. It saw the craggy wall that Zhao Manyan had summoned, and rammed into it like a giant machine…

Zhao Manyan’s shield was immediately smashed to the ground.

The Granite Inferior Dragon roared at Zhao Manyan. Its dragon breath, with a strong Petrifying power, swept forward rapidly.

The dragon breath almost turned Zhao Manyan, Ai Jiangtu, and Mu Tingying into statues. Zhao Manyan forcibly cast a Water Curtain to nullify the attack. He felt better after using the Totem Mark to lift the pressure.

——

“It’s an Inferior Dragon, an Earth-type creature. Luckily, the stage doesn’t consist of mountains. Otherwise, the Inferior Dragon would pose a great threat to the team!”

“An Inferior Dragon is stronger than a Pseudo-dragon, since they actually possess the lineage of the dragon tribe. Their power is comparable to real dragons, too!” a Hunter among the spectators exclaimed.

“An adult Inferior Dragon is nearly as strong as a Ruler-level creature. Some Inferior Dragons are Ruler-level creatures too… luckily, this Inferior Dragon hasn’t matured yet. Otherwise, even with triple the numbers of the Chinese team, they wouldn’t stand a chance subduing an Inferior Dragon!” a Senior Hunter exclaimed.

Many Mages were seated beside the man. When it came to the mystical world of magic, most people needed an experienced senior to comment and explain what was happening, since many Hunter Masters had never seen an Inferior Dragon before!

—

The Inferior Dragon was incredibly strong. Zhao Manyan was on edge due to the threat that the creature was posing at close distance. Most terrifyingly, the Mage from Munich had Ice as his primary Element. His powerful Ice Magic was also spreading across the stage, competing with Mu Tingying’s Ice.

Mu Tingying was busy fighting against the woman with moles when she realized her Ice Magic was being suppressed by someone else. She seemed fairly agitated as she scolded Zhao Manyan, “Are you seriously more useless than his beast?”

Zhao Manyan was infuriated after hearing her words. He simply had the urge to slap the woman in the face. It was obvious that her Ice Magic was on par with the tanned Ice Mage, while her two other Elements were inferior to the other woman’s spells. To his surprise, she immediately placed the blame on him instead! It was true that Zhao Manyan was focusing on stopping the Granite Inferior Dragon from getting any closer, yet he was also enduring the spells of different Elements that were targeting the team!

“Damn it, forcing me to use all three Elements! Plummeting Rays!” Zhao Manyan did not preserve his strength further, knowing that the team was under great pressure.

Zhao Manyan had used his strongest Light Element. He attached the Light Spell in the form of glowing scales to every member of the team. The scales formed a golden armor, serving as a defensive measure for the team.

“As long as the armor is still active, you can basically ignore every spell under the Advanced Level. If you’re being attacked by an Advanced Spell, you can easily resist it with a simple defensive spell!” Zhao Manyan yelled at the others on the team.

Zhao Manyan proceeded to summon the wooden clapper and applied its Totem Mark on each of the glowing armors, to reinforce them further!

“That’s more like it!” Jiang Shaoxu said, feeling a lot safer under the protection of the armor.

Zhao Manyan’s control had improved significantly. He used to only be able to form a single golden armor with Plummeting Rays, but he was now able to cast it on the entire team. Clearly, the man had not been goofing off lately.

Zhao Manyan’s defensive spell was quite handy. It was not heavy like the Earth Element, nor was it immovable, like some magic barriers or shields. The glowing scales of the Plummeting Rays were attached directly to the mages, allowing them to move freely. Even when Ai Jiangtu was moving around with Blink, the scales would follow after him like feathers. As long as Ai Jiangtu did not cast Blink consecutively, the armor would still serve its purpose!

The Light Spell allowed the team to slowly catch their breath amid the fierce attacks from the German team.

—

“There goes the Turtle Shell Mage! Old Zhao, well done!” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

“They finally got the situation under control,” Advisor Feng Li let out a relieved sigh. Anyone could tell that he was very nervous, too.

It was very risky to not send out their strongest members at the start of the match. If the whole team was crushed by the opposing team, leaving the members injured, even sending the strongest members out had no chance of turning the tables.

As long as they could keep the fight under control and slowly wear out the enemy with their defense, they would eventually secure an advantageous position. Once they sent Mo Fan out to blast the German team, it would be their chance to win the match!

“Speaking of which, the German team is stronger than expected. Apart from the destructive Mage Reed, their captain Johnson can take on Ai Jiangtu face-on, the tanned Mage Summoned the Inferior Dragon with his secondary Summoning Element, and the woman with moles are all pretty strong too. Luckily, Zhao Manyan was able to defend the team with all his Elements. Otherwise, the team would surely be in a pinch by now!” Song He observed.

“What a surprise! The Zhao Clan that is known for their talent at making money has given birth to such a talented Mage!” Chairman Shao Zheng said to Zhao Youqian, who was sitting behind him.

Zhao Youqian chuckled. It was his first time watching his little brother taking part in a magic battle, as he was busy earning money most of the time. To his surprise, his little brother, who only knew how to spend money, pick up chicks, and enjoy luxurious food, was actually so impressive that even the Chairman had given his compliments!

Zhao Youqian was utterly clueless about magic, yet even he could tell that the Chinese team was no longer under great pressure after Zhao Manyan cast his Light Spell.

“Strange, even though Zhao Manyan has a Soul-grade Light Seed, it seems like his Light Spell is a lot stronger than normal Light Spells. What kind of rare equipment did the Zhao Clan spend a fortune on for him?” Mu Gong asked.

The Mu Clan and Zhao Clan had been rivals for many years. The Mu Clan was jealous that the Zhao Clan had as much money as they had rice, while Zhao Clan was annoyed that the Mu Clan was able to raise powerful Mages like they were breeding dogs…

“That’s a misunderstanding,” Zhao Youqian shook his head.

The others might be unaware, but old Super Mages like them could easily tell that Zhao Manyan was holding some powerful artifact that could further strengthen his defensive spells by stacking its power on top of the Soul-grade Seed.

Something like that was clearly not just a piece of ordinary equipment. If it was useful for strengthening higher-level spells and higher-grade seeds, even Super Mages would be drooling over it!

“Stop being so modest. Is there anything that you guys can’t buy in the world? Besides, how many years has it been since your clan has had someone that could learn magic? Not to mention that he’s your blood-related brother, I can easily imagine how willing that old fox is to spend a few billion on him, right?” Mu Gong pressed.

Zhao Youqian remained silent with a smile.

“The German team is changing its approach. They are planning to take out the two girls that are suppressing their ace,” Han Ji noticed.

“That doesn’t sound good!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Why haven’t I heard any information about this defensive Mage?” Johnson said coldly, glaring at his teammates.

The woman with moles said in an awkward voice, “I did check on him; he’s the second son of the Zhao Clan. The information stated that the Zhao Clan spent a fortune just so he could join the national team. Besides, he didn’t really show any outstanding performance in the previous matches. We didn’t think he was actually preserving his strength. The Zhao Financial Group must have spent hundreds of billions on him.”

The defensive ability that Zhao Manyan had displayed would easily make him one of the best defensive Mages in the tournament. It was something that the German team had not expected at all.

They did not like to be taken by surprise. They had gotten used to having everything under their control, but because of the Turtle Shell Mage, they were forced to change their strategy!

The German team was fairly good at reacting according to the situation. As soon as they decided on a new strategy, the members immediately proceeded to carry it out.

The strongest attacker on their team was being suppressed by a Psychic Maga and a Sound Maga. Since the enemy team was trying to drag the match out with their defense, the only choice the German team had was to let their destructive Mage Reed attack instead!

“You guys have seriously let me down, the four of you can’t even take three people on,” Reed mocked them.

“Defensive spells are meant to be stronger than offensive spells. Besides, what could we do when they are holed up like that?” the woman with moles shot back, displeased.

“That just means your attacks aren’t strong enough!” Reed snapped. His eyes flickered with a hint of madness!

“What are you even proud of? You’re having trouble casting a useful spell too,” the tanned Ice Mage said.

“Sound Element and Psychic Element, it’s obvious that the Chinese team is well-prepared, they have sent out two Mages to deal with me,” Reed huffed.

“Isn’t that because you exposed too much of your strength before this?”

“That’s enough, go take those two mages out to free Reed from their suppression. It’s time to destroy them!” Johnson stopped the quarrel.

—

Using the Psychic Element against the enemy’s Psychic Element, the handsome Mage that had not done anything much on the German team finally made his move. He first targeted Jiang Shaoxu’s Spiritual World.

Jiang Shaoxu had to focus to suppress Reed’s destructive Spells. As soon as she saw the man drawing a Star Constellation, she had to react immediately.

However, an enormous monster had suddenly intruded into her Spiritual World. If she did not focus on dealing with the monster, her Spiritual World would crumble within an instant!

“Mind Control: Hallucination!”

The Psychic Mage of the German team turned out to be an expert in putting his target in hallucination…

There were different specialties when it came to the Psychic Element. One of them was the Beastmasters that were quite common in the army. They mainly used their Psychic Element to tame the Heavenly Eagles. These Psychic Mages were usually trained by the military.

The second kind was battle-type Psychic Mages, who focused on suppressing the enemy by preventing them from casting powerful spells. Psychic Mages of this kind was fairly common, and were easily found in the Enforcement Union and the disciplinary teams of renowned clans, since they were particularly useful at taking down Mages!

The third kind was those that were good at using illusions or placing people in a hallucination. They were able to intrude into the minds of their target and dig up their precious memories. They could manipulate sorrow, joy, fear, and panic by affecting their target. It was quite similar to the Curse Element, as the hallucination was like a nightmare aiming to defeat their opponent by crushing their mind!

Jiang Shaoxu was currently facing a Psychic Mage of this kind. Her Spiritual World was in great disorder, as she slowly entered an illusionary world!

To place a person in hallucination, the Psychic Mage would have to numb the senses of the target and manipulate the person’s memory, just so the person would have no clue that they were hallucinating.

Jiang Shaoxu felt like her head was about to explode after the intrusion.

after a tremendous pain, Jiang Shaoxu woke up in a room that she was extremely familiar with. She captured the pleasant scent of flowers coming from outside the window, and the smell of blanket being dried under the sun.

Her blurred vision gradually became clear. She glanced at the familiar, soothing decorations in the room and started to calm down.

Her head was still hurting a little. She rubbed her temple and said, “So I was dreaming… such a long dream, why would I dream that I’m in the middle of a match in Venice, knowing how lazy I am?”

Even though she could recall the training she went through, and the matches she participated in at Venice, the images started to fade away, like she had just woken up from a dream. The room and the sound of kids playing outside the window felt incredibly real to her.

Many people would have a blank mind after waking up from a long dream, as if they had just lived a different life in their dreams. They would slowly recall who they were after their brains rearranged the memory fragments, allowing them to recall what day it was, and what they had done over the past few days…

The images of the battles in Venice gradually faded away. Jiang Shaoxu stood beside her bed and glanced at the grassy land under the sunlight through the window. She saw a person with a gentle smile slowly approaching her.

“Lazybones, are you going to sleep until the sun is high up in the sky? How are you going to become a Mage that can help dad out at this rate?” the person said with a smile, even though he happened to be condemning Jiang Shaoxu.

He reached out his hand and patted Jiang Shaoxu’s head. The woman responded with a displeased glare.

“I’m going somewhere far away tomorrow, pick up your slack when I’m away, understand?” the man said.

“Brother, where are you going this time?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“Where else would I go?”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to look for some ancient ruins again…”

“Our country has been around for over five thousand years. We used to have an advanced magic civilization that other countries could not compare to. If only we had managed to inherit it from our ancestors, we wouldn’t be falling behind now. The result of our national team a few days ago was pretty disappointing. They were knocked out in the treasure hunt. A few decades ago, the countries that we were up against didn’t even know what magic is. You should work harder, so that during the next World College Tournament… oh, you will only be nineteen by then, you should try and join the national team after the next World College Tournament and win some glory for our country. I’ll be very proud of you,” the man said patiently.

“I’m too lazy to go. Besides, there are so many people in our country, why does it have to be me? Cultivating is so tiring, and I don’t really have the talent, either. Besides, who cares if you’re proud of me or not, is it really worth it for me to train diligently like a monk just so I can make you proud?” Jiang Shaoxu said unwillingly, with the temper of a young girl.

“Fine, do whatever you want; you’re the little princess anyway. Alright, it’s time for me to go and prepare for the trip. The place we’re going to this time is quite complicated. Hopefully, we can find the ancient entrance at Jiayuguan, our operation might actually be recorded in history!” Jiang Shaojun said.

“Do you really enjoy going on expeditions? Isn’t it fine just staying in the cities?”

“What could a…”

“What could a little girl like you possibly know? Brother, can’t you think of some other lines?” Jiang Shaoxu rolled her eyes.

Jiang Shaojun smiled awkwardly. He patted the girl on the head, before turning around and left.

Jiang Shaoxu stared at the man’s back. For some reason, his figure started to fade away under the sunlight. When Jiang Shaoxu took a closer look, the man had already disappeared. There were still some kids playing in the garden, and the birds were still chirping. The flowers had blossomed too, but in Jiang Shaoxu’s eyes, the garden felt empty, sorrowful, with a sense of loss.

——

On the dueling ground of Venice, the sand was sweeping the soulless body of a woman with curly hair in a light red blouse who was standing still like a statue. Her eyes were staring straight ahead, and her dark pupils suddenly shuddering before tears started to pour out. Lines of tears ran down her cheeks, and fell onto the dry sand!

“Jiang Shaoxu, Jiang Shaoxu, wake up, wake up now!” Nanyu shook the tearing Jiang Shaoxu vigorously. She seemed anxious and worried.

The enormous silhouette of the Granite Inferior Dragon was approaching with great pressure. The Granite Inferior Dragon was right before the two girls, and Nanyu was struggling to keep the situation under control on her own.

If Jiang Shaoxu did not wake up soon, she would surely be knocked out!

“Nanyu, leave now!” Ai Jiangtu said to Nanyu.

Jiang Shaoxu had no chance of waking up, as she was completely trapped in the hallucination. The match was extremely important for their country; it was necessary to abandon their teammate for the greater good!

They could only hope that their opponent would go easy on Jiang Shaoxu, and would not inflict serious damage on her!

Nanyu did not want to leave her teammate behind, but as she recalled Chairman Shao Zheng’s words, she forced herself to turn around and flee. Now was not the time to be hesitant.

She had no idea what Jiang Shaoxu was seeing, nor did she know why Jiang Shaoxu was bursting into tears. However, she believed the cunning Psychic Mage of the German team must have forced Jiang Shaoxu to face her greatest pain. Nanyu had never seen the optimistic and casual Jiang Shaoxu wear such a sorrowful expression.

The Granite Inferior Dragon stomped the ground and crushed the final line of defense that Nanyu had left for Jiang Shaoxu into pieces.

The splinters of ice cut Jiang Shaoxu’s face, yet she remained still in tears, as if she could not feel any pain.

The Granite Inferior Dragon reached out its hand and grabbed Jiang Shaoxu, lifting her slowly toward its head.

The Ice Mage from Munich standing on the shoulder of the Granite Inferior Dragon burst out laughing when he saw Jiang Shaoxu’s expression. He yelled at his teammate, “Hey Parker, did you just show her a soap opera? Look at how much she was into it, HAHAHA!”

The Psychic Mage called Parker did not respond.

The tanned Mage laughed and focused his gaze on Jiang Shaoxu, who was being firmly held by the Granite Inferior Dragon.

Suddenly, he realized that the woman’s eyes were not as hollow as he thought. To his surprise, the woman was actually glaring right at him with tearful eyes as soon as he uttered his comment!

The tanned Mage was startled.

“Look out, she has woken up!” the Psychic Mage Parker shouted.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Someone on the Chinese team is going to be disqualified first!”

“Why do I feel like that woman is a burden to the Chinese team? As a Psychic Mage, she totally lost herself to the enemy’s Psychic Mage without putting up a fight. I didn’t have high hopes in her right from the start.”

“A team’s Psychic Mage can easily decide the outcome of a match. The Chinese team might lose because of her!”

“Luckily, the other girl was very decisive. If the two of them were knocked out, the Chinese team won’t have a chance to turn the tables.”

The spectators shook their heads when they saw Jiang Shaoxu being grabbed by the Granite Inferior Dragon like a little worm.

That being said, the supporters on the side of Germany and Europe cheered loudly. In a match like this, taking out a member would secure a great advantage for their team, and it was likely to be the deciding factor in winning the match!

On the side of the Chinese team, the advisors, students, and leaders all had grim faces.

If Feng Li was to say something, the team had collapsed a lot quicker than he thought. If the opposing team failed to find a breakthrough by targeting Jiang Shaoxu, their defensive formation could still hold on for more than ten rounds!

—

“Congratulations, you are the first person to be knocked out from this match. You will cry again when the people of your country, your teammates, and your advisors are criticizing you for losing the match. Gorgeous, I’ll send you out like a gentleman.” The tanned Mage was amused by Jiang Shaoxu’s glare.

His Granite Inferior Dragon had already caught the woman. What difference would it make if the woman had woken up or not?

Jiang Shaoxu’s gaze sharpened. The tears had stopped pouring out from her eyes. Even though her face was still wet from her tears, and her vision was still blurred, she had a determined look in her eyes!

“You’re the one that’s going to be condemned and treated disdainfully!” Jiang Shaoxu’s cold gaze suddenly burned passionately as she stared right at the opponent in front of her!

“That’s hilarious. You can’t possibly be thinking of controlling my Granite Inferior Dragon with your mental strength?” the tanned Mage snapped furiously.

“I won’t need to control it, I just need to control you!” The strong light emitted by Jiang Shaoxu’s eyes sprang right at the tanned Mage.

The tanned Mage was standing on the shoulder of the Granite Inferior Dragon. He did not think that a woman who was like an arrow at the end of its flight would suddenly unleash such strong magic.

“In your dreams!” the Mage reacted fairly quickly, commanding the Granite Inferior Dragon to tighten its grip.

The grip of the Granite Inferior Dragon was extremely strong. Jiang Shaoxu’s bones started to crack as an overwhelming force was applied to her.

However, the glow in Jiang Shaoxu’s eyes showed no sign of weakening, as if she was unable to feel any pain!

“Crush her!” the Mage yelled at the top of his lungs as he was about to lose his mind to Jiang Shaoxu’s magic.

Jiang Shaoxu was unwilling to give up either, with a strong determination that she had never shown before!

The assistant judges were ready to make their moves. Jiang Shaoxu was currently in great danger, as she did not have any protection. If the Granite Inferior Dragon tightened its grip any further, it would crush every bone in Jiang Shaoxu’s body.

“That girl, she’s out of her mind!” The two assistant judges could not wait any further.

They had to intervene. Otherwise, the whole world would see a young, beautiful woman exploding, and blood splattering everywhere. The tanned Mage had clearly given his Summoned Beast the order to kill the woman amid the great torture he was in!

The assistant judges entered the stage. They would be able to save Jiang Shaoxu within a second, but it also meant that Jiang Shaoxu would be disqualified from the match.

However, the tanned Mage on the shoulder of the Granite Inferior Dragon suddenly cried out in pain and fell to the shoulder feebly.

The Granite Inferior Dragon was trying to kill Jiang Shaoxu just a moment ago, but it suddenly loosened its grip in an instant.

Jiang Shaoxu fell to the ground. The tears on her face were already dry from the blowing wind, but the determination in her eyes was scarily strong!

Jiang Shaoxu did not panic at all, as if everything was completely under her control. She reached out her hand, pointing at the Psychic Mage, Parker.

“Take him out!” Jiang Shaoxu uttered.

The Granite Inferior Dragon immediately turned around, unleashing all its power to attack Parker!

Parker’s face paled. He did not expect his opponent would be able to control the tanned Mage, and even worse, she had managed to control the Granite Inferior Dragon, too!

“Splendid, that was absolutely impressive! She managed to control the Summoner, and used him to command the Summoned Beast. That was brilliant!” Feng Li yelled out in excitement.

—

The tables had turned suddenly. The Ice Mage of the German team had broken down mentally, making him unfit for battle. Furthermore, the powerful Granite Inferior Dragon had suddenly become the Chinese team’s helper, posing a great threat to the Germans!

A great uproar took place in the stadium. The people could feel their hearts racing just watching the sequence. The counterattack from Jiang Shaoxu took everyone by surprise. The way she stood against the enormous Inferior Dragon and the tanned Mage unyieldingly had touched the hearts of the crowd. They immediately felt their blood boiling!

The weak woman that was initially crying in tears had transformed into a firm and unyielding fighter. The crowd could not find any words to describe the excitement they were feeling!

However, it was obvious that the transformation did not just happen instantly.

The weak girl that was tearing up was Jiang Shaoxu eight years ago.

But now, she was no longer lazy or unambitious. She was here just so the man that had passed away would be proud of her.

—

“I promised you that I would be standing on this stage, and here I am.

“But you promised me that you were going to come back safely, why didn’t you keep your promise?…”

—

BANG! The Granite Inferior Dragon fully unleashed its might and attacked the Psychic Mage Parker with rocks and sand.

Parker fled ignominiously. He was not only under the attack of the ferocious Granite Inferior Dragon, but he was also suffering the wrath of Jiang Shaoxu. No one had ever dared touch the deepest secret inside her heart. The man could easily attack her with other illusions, yet he had decided to use the cruelest method.

He initially thought he could crush Jiang Shaoxu’s mind, but little did he know, it was both the most fragile and sturdiest place in her mind. Her tears had fallen, yet her heart had grown even stronger!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How can they afford to be so careless?” Johnson cursed.

The Granite Inferior Dragon was chasing after Parker fiercely. The magic armor that Parker was wearing was torn into pieces by the dragon, fresh blood pouring out of it.

The woman with moles had the Healing Element as her tertiary Element. She quickly cast a Healing Spirit to treat Parker’s injuries when she saw the man running toward her.

“The Inferior Dragon is out of control, I suggest we take it out first!” Reed said coldly.

The captain, Johnson nodded. The tanned Mage had suffered a mental breakdown, so he was basically out of the match. If they had to fight the Inferior Dragon while they were down one member, it was the same as the four of them going against six enemies. It was too much of a disadvantage for them.

Johnson suddenly vanished with a flicker.

The Inferior Dragon continued to chase after Parker. As it was about to attack Parker again, dark Shadow Orbits suddenly emerged below its feet. The Shadow Orbits quietly constructed a formation. Following that, countless dark pikes were fired, nailing into the enormous Inferior Dragon.

The Inferior Dragon tried to move forward, yet it realized that it could no longer move its body.

“Darkness Erosion!” Johnson said callously. The dark pikes that stabbed the Inferior Dragon started to corrode its sturdy skin.

Its skin was the main reason that the Inferior Dragon was unafraid of magic. Even Advanced Spells were unable to inflict any damage on the creature. However, its skin was corroded severely under Johnson’s dark magic, and it even started to fall off piece by piece.

Reed took hold of the opportunity. He raised his hands, his arms covered by lightning in the shape of springs.

Two Silent Deadly Bolts collided in front of the Granite Inferior Dragon. The impact immediately formed a destructive lightning storm, with lightning arcs soaring into the sky like dragons. The lightning spread further into the distance.

The Granite Inferior Dragon was right in the middle of the storm and blasted by the lightning strikes. The strong lightning current knocked the enormous creature to the ground!

“Don’t let it get back up again!” Johnson strengthened the control and erosion of his dark magic.

Reed summoned the fiery snake again. The snake engulfed in green flames rammed into the Granite Inferior Dragon before it could rise to its feet, leaving a scorched hole on its chest…

The Granite Inferior Dragon could no longer get up. The quick teamwork between Reed and Johnson had allowed them to take out the Granite Inferior Dragon in just a few moments.

“The German team requests a substitution!” the main judge announced in a loud voice. Two assistant judges immediately carried the tanned Mage down the stage, and the half-dead Granite Inferior Dragon was withdrawn into his Contracted Space.

The member being substituted into the match had to enter the stage from the boundary. After the tanned Mage was carried down the stage, a skinny Wind Mage came in and swiftly grouped up with the rest of the team. He said with a faint smile, “It’s a surprise that our team has sent in a substitute first, but it isn’t really a surprise how disappointing you guys are!”

“Fendy, enough talk; do you see that Sound Maga? Your job is to take her out in the shortest time possible. She has been quite a nuisance in stopping Reed’s spells,” Johnson pointed out.

“What about that Psychic Mage? Her mental strength isn’t weak, either,” the man called Fendy asked.

“Parker will handle her,” Johnson turned around and glanced at Parker. The man’s hair was disheveled, and he seemed to be in bad shape. Luckily, he was pretty good at running away. The Granite Inferior Dragon was unable to inflict any serious damage to him.

Fendy was a Wind Mage, his speed was outstanding. The winds scattered in his surroundings were like fast-traveling tunnels for him. He was so quick that his moves were basically unpredictable!

Fendy was soon keeping Nanyu busy. Nanyu had good hearing, allowing her to tell where her enemy was attacking from. However, when the enemy was so quick that he could mix in a few feints before his attempts, it no longer mattered, even if she knew where he was attacking from!

Parker continued to have a showdown of the Psychic Element with Jiang Shaoxu, while Fendy continued to harass Nanyu. The destructive Mage, Reed burst out laughing and said, “No one can possibly stop me now!”

“Take that defensive Mage out, he’s annoying to deal with!” Johnson ordered.

The German team was having quite a headache trying to break through Zhao Manyan’s defense. The best way to take him out was by going all out at him. Otherwise, if his defensive spells regenerated and were off cooldown, all their efforts would be in vain!

“Down you go!” Reed’s destructive Spells returned to the stage. He blasted the Chinese team wildly by combining his Lightning and Fire Elements.

The man’s magic was able to penetrate defensive spells. Zhao Manyan had no choice but to activate his defensive equipment.

To the team’s relief, he had brought quite a lot of magic equipment to the match. The enemy’s spells were able to ignore his defensive spells, yet were unable to penetrate the defense of magic equipment. The magic equipment allowed Zhao Manyan to hold his ground temporarily.

“This guy!” Reed was agitated when he saw Zhao Manyan keep pulling out magic Equipment, as if the man had an endless supply of them.

Reed almost forgot that Zhao Manyan was the son of the Zhao Financial Group. He might be lacking in other aspects, but when it came to magic equipment, it was quite obvious that the man had lots of high-quality magic equipment.

Zhao Manyan had a wooden-shield ring on his left hand, and a rock-wall bracelet on his right hand. His magic armor was fairly tough, and even his Wing Magical Equipment could produce a golden barrier to protect him.

Normally, Reed could easily take out his opponents, since he was able to surprise them with his Innate Talent. However, he was quite enraged when facing the pay-to-win Turtle Shell Mage with a full set of defensive equipment!

“You might have a lot of defensive equipment, but I wonder if your teammates have enough defensive Equipment to protect them!” Reed was not stupid. He immediately directed his destructive spells at Nanyu instead!

Zhao Manyan was the tank of the team. Having a high defense alone was not enough, since he had to take the bullets for his teammates, too. Zhao Manyan was long prepared for that. He immediately ran toward Nanyu when he saw Reed switching his target!

“We might have trouble knocking you out, but do you seriously think we can’t trap you in one place? Enjoy your stay here!” a cold voice said. Zhao Manyan turned to his side. He did not see anyone nearby, but a huge curtain of darkness was looming over him.

Chains of darkness landed on Zhao Manyan. Zhao Manyan tried to escape with Earth Wave, but the coverage of the Nyx Regime was a lot bigger than he thought. He was unable to outrun the darkness in time.

“Crap!” Zhao Manyan had a bad feeling.

As a defensive Mage, his greatest weakness was being trapped in one place. Even if his defense was as sturdy as a turtle shell, he was completely useless if the enemy simply trapped him in the maze of the Nyx Regime!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

Zhao Manyan was still in the maze of darkness. He finally broke free from the chains, yet he was struggling to find the way out.

Not long after, the main judge announced in a loud voice, “The Chinese team requests a substitution!”

Zhao Manyan was trying his best to break free from the Nyx Regime. In the meantime, he was hoping that the person that was knocked out on their team was that little b**ch, Mu Tingying.

However, the truth was not as ideal as he thought. It was Nanyu that failed to defend herself against Reed’s destructive spells, which were able to ignore any defensive spells.

The person that substituted for her was Jiang Yu. Again, it was not what Zhao Manyan had expected. Shouldn’t they send Mo Fan into the match by now, so the two destructive Mages could have a showdown and see who was going to last until the end?

What could Jiang Yu possibly offer?

Jiang Yu immediately summoned his Rock Golem General when he entered the stage. To everyone’s surprise, the Rock Golem General had evolved to the Commander-level, and its thick rocky skin had turned into a powerful shield!

Although Reed’s magic was able to ignore defensive spells, it was unable to penetrate someone’s defense. His spells were only effective if his captain Johnson cast the same spell that had eroded the Inferior Dragon’s armor.

Zhao Manyan had always thought Jiang Yu’s heavy and clumsy Rock Golem was fairly useless. However, as the creature stood firmly in front of the team to endure the destructive spells for them, Zhao Manyan was quite impressed by it!

“Look out, they are using the same approach again!” Ai Jiangtu knew Johnson was on the move when he sensed the presence of the Shadow Element surging around the Rock Golem General.

Johnson’s Dark Magic was fairly powerful. It was able to erode the sturdy skin of the Inferior Dragon. It was likely that the spell was the Rock Golem General’s weakness, too.

“Too slow!” Johnson grinned coldly, hurling several shadow pikes at the Rock Golem General from his mantle.

The shadow pikes were unstoppable. As they landed on the Rock Golem General, its skin began to erode at a pace visible to the naked eyes…

A silver rhomboid appeared above the Rock Golem General right after the shadow spikes. The strong gravitational force knocked the creature to the ground. The creature was already struggling to stand from the erosion, so it immediately slammed to the ground as the rhomboid came crashing down onto it!

The silver flicker in Reed’s eyes slowly disappeared. The giant rock creature had been quite a nuisance to deal with, but now, he would soon knock the members of the Chinese team out with his destructive spells one by one!

Lightning flickered rapidly in the air, with deep groans of thunder above the clouds. It felt like they were going to explode at any second!

The lightning strikes came down at the Chinese team. Each lightning strike had a hint of a sinister, green light, and whenever the lightning strikes easily passed through the defensive spells, the green luster would brighten up…

“Night Rakshasa, take him out with a single blow!” Jiang Yu ordered.

Jiang Yu had endured the attack silently. As he was covered in wounds and bruises after being struck by the lightning, the Night Rakshasa that had been hiding in the dark made her move.

Jiang Yu knew that their first priority was to take out the destructive Mage on the opposing team. He had allowed the man to attack his Rock Golem General just so he would lower his guard.

The Night Rakshasa was a brilliant assassin. She was completely silent as she moved across the sand. She dashed forward within the brief darkness whenever a lightning flash took place. The agile cat demon turned into a dark slash and swept past the back of Reed’s neck without a sign.

Jiang Yu was not trying to take Reed’s life. The organizer had made it clear that if the participants were able to leave a little scratch on the opponents’ vital parts, they would be disqualified from the match.

As such, the Night Rakshasa only needed to leave a faint scratch on the back of Reed’s neck to disqualify him!

Reed was still immersed in the pleasure of his destructive spells. He was usually a man with no expression, but whenever he saw his enemy fleeing for their lives before him, he would burst out laughing like a maniac. He enjoyed watching the despair that his enemy showed whenever he attacked with his destructive spells!

That distraction had prevented him from noticing the agile cat demon approaching him.

Reed reacted fairly quickly. He yelled, “Telekinesis: Scatter!” when he noticed the ambusher was right behind him.

The force of the Telekinesis circled the man before shoving in all directions, trying to knock the Night Rakshasa away.

The petite figure of the Night Rakshasa forced her way through the force like a needle and continued to approach Reed’s weak spot.

Reed panicked. He did not even have the time to summon his magic Armor. He could only dodge instinctively.

“Earth Wave!” Not far away, the German team’s captain, Johnson cast a spell. He controlled the sand below Reed’s feet and forcibly dragged the man toward him.

It was unlikely that Reed could dodge the Night Rakshasa’s attack on his own. However, with Johnson’s help, Reed managed to dodge the deadly attack. The Night Rakshasa’s claws only left a deep cut half a meter long on Reed’s back.

“Damn it, it was so close!” Jiang Yu was disappointed upon seeing the outcome.

If the Night Rakshasa had been able to take Reed out, their team would have a great chance at winning the match.

However, Johnson, the captain of the opposing team, was a very sharp and experienced fighter. On top of that, the man’s primary Element was the Shadow Element, so it was very likely that he had noticed the Night Rakshasa as she was making her move.

Normally, people would simply mistake the slight presence of magic as part of the collision between spells, and simply ignore it. However, the German team’s captain was extremely cautious, and he managed to save Reed in the nick of time!

“Don’t underestimate these Chinese, do you understand?!” the German captain snapped coldly.

If they took the match seriously, they would surely find openings to disqualify the members of the Chinese team, but the two teams were currently on an equal footing. It definitely did not look good for them!

“That son of a b**ch, I won’t forgive him!” Reed said, clenching his teeth as he felt the burning pain on his back.

The woman with moles quickly backed away from the fight with Mu Tingying to treat Reed’s injury, since the man was the core of their team!

“Go and unleash your wrath, little beast!” the woman with moles said in an alluring manner after treating the man’s wound.

Reed was truly infuriated. Now that two of his teammates were focusing on protecting him, he no longer needed to keep an eye on the detestable cat demon.

The man vented his anger by casting a Fire spell with a furious roar. The flames of the formidable Sky-Flame Funeral poured down from the sky. As the people lifted their gazes, they immediately saw a meteorite coming down at Venice, bearing a spectacular aura of death!

The Hellish Flames had wide coverage and were entirely unstoppable. Almost half of the stage was set aflame.

Ai Jiangtu tried his best to rescue his teammates by casting Blink continuously. He first repositioned Jiang Shaoxu since he was right in the middle of the blast, before knocking Jiang Shaoxu further into the distance with his Telekinesis. He then stood in front of Mu Tingying and used his will to form a wall to face the sinister, green flames directly…

Unfortunately, even the defense set up with his will was still considered a defensive spell, meaning that the Hellish Flames were able to pass through it with ease.

The flames knocked Ai Jiangtu and Mu Tingying flying, the scorching heat striking them fiercely.

The two had already used some of their defensive equipment. They were struggling to stand against the incredible force.

Mu Tingying was devoured by the Hellish Flames. She slammed into the barrier and almost lost consciousness. An assistant judge quickly came and carried her down the stage.

Mu Tingying soon regained consciousness. When she realized she had been carried down the stage by the assistant judge, she snapped furiously, “I’m fine, put me down, I still have equipment that I haven’t used!”

“You have been disqualified from the match,” the assistant judge declared firmly.

The assistant judges would save the participants based on their judgment. Even if they made the wrong call, the participant would still be disqualified from the match!

Mu Tingying’s situation was right on the edge, and in the eyes of the relatively young assistant judge, her life was already in danger, so he decided to intervene.

As soon as he intervened, it did not matter if Mu Tingying was still fit for battle, she would still be disqualified!

Mu Tingying’s face darkened. She had the urge to tear the assistant judge into pieces. She had been disqualified before she could even use her trump card!

The substitution member immediately replaced Mu Tingying as soon as she was carried down the stage.

The member replacing Mu Tingying was Nanrong Ni. The team was being blasted mercilessly by the opposing destructive Mage. Almost every member of the team was injured. At this rate, the remaining four members would soon be knocked out, so it was necessary to send Nanrong Ni in to heal them so they could recover their strength.

Nanrong Ni’s primary Element was Healing. Her Healing Magic was a lot stronger than the woman with moles on the German team. Not long after she entered the stage, she managed to heal Ai Jiangtu’s burns, Zhao Manyan’s festered skin, Jiang Shaoxu’s broken bones, and Jiang Yu’s electric shock, allowing them to recover most of their strength.

“It’s useless to send a Healer in now!” Reed totally turned into a powder keg surrounded by lightning. Wherever he went, he would simply stir a great disaster with his elemental spells.

Since Nanyu was disqualified, Reed had been completely unstoppable. The five members of the Chinese team were forced to use their defensive equipment.

However, the defensive equipment could only be used once. Even Zhao Manyan, who was wearing a full set of defensive equipment was about to run out of it soon.

—

Seeing this, Feng Li frowned and glanced at Mo Fan, who was like a wild horse champing at the bit. The man said, “Prepare yourself, the others have forced the German team to show what they have, don’t let us down.”

“Mo Fan, do your best!” Mu Nujiao called out with a smile from where she was sitting among the substitutes.

“Just you watch, I’ll blast them to the ground!” Mo Fan had long waited for his turn.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The battle gradually intensified. Not long after, both Jiang Shaoxu and the Psychic Mage were worn out mentally, and were disqualified from the match.

Jiang Shaoxu’s performance today was utterly shocking. If the Granite Inferior Dragon was considered half a person in terms of strength, she had taken out the tanned Mage, Parker the Psychic Mage, and the Granite Inferior Dragon. She basically took out two and a half people out on her own!

Without Jiang Shaoxu’s contribution, it was unlikely that the match would have lasted until now.

Seeing Jiang Shaoxu leaving the stage feebly, Mo Fan immediately charged into the battlefield.

The supporters of the Chinese team burst into an uproar at his appearance. They were well aware of how strong Mo Fan was, and he was currently ranked fifth among all the participants, even though the ranking did not necessarily reflect their true strength!

“Intercept him!” the German captain Johnson instantly ordered his teammates.

The assistant judge would bring the participant that was knocked out down the stage, and there was an entrance at the corner of the stage. The substitute member was only allowed to enter the stage after receiving the signal from the assistant judge.

Since the position of the teams would keep changing as the match went on, the entrance that Mo Fan was at was actually closer to the German team.

To everyone’s surprise, the German team suddenly withdrew from the fight against the Chinese team. The four of them were all heading toward the entrance where Mo Fan was!

The four members of the German team were very aggressive, planning to disqualify Mo Fan by abusing the opportunity granted to them by the rules!

“F**k, no wonder they kept moving in that direction!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“We have to back him up!” Jiang Yu said.

“He’s too far away, and considering how split up we are, if we move too close, their destructive Mage could easily attack us. If they are picking on our substitute, we’ll pick on theirs instead!” Ai Jiangtu said.

The distance was indeed too far, and by the time they reached the place, Mo Fan would be flanked.

“He’s right, Mo Fan should be able to hold on by himself, we need to hurry!”

The Chinese team reacted fairly quickly too. They immediately targeted the substitute of the German team.

—

Fire, Lightning, Ice, Demon Tree Hand: when Mo Fan was preparing to display his remarkable prowess in the match saw the spells approaching him, his face immediately turned pale!

-F**k this shit, do they seriously have to set me up when I just joined the match?-

Mo Fan knew the opponents he was facing were unlike the weak students he had fought against before. He immediately cast Time Stasis to slow down the magic spells targeting him and summoned the Dark Noble Mantle to make him invisible.

“Brilliant Light!” The captain of the German team was a smart man. He instinctively cast a Light Spell when he saw Mo Fan suddenly vanish into thin air.

The light almost instantly revealed Mo Fan’s silhouette.

“He’s there!” Johnson fired an arrow of Brilliant Light at Mo Fan to tag his faint silhouette, allowing his teammates to see where Mo Fan was too.

“Well done, captain, leave him to me!” Reed immediately locked his destructive spells on Mo Fan. A lightning arc immediately swept past and struck Mo Fan fiercely.

Following it, a Demon Torture appeared and grabbed Mo Fan’s faint silhouette.

The scorching flames of the Groundbreak erupted right under Mo Fan’s feet!

The advisors could not help but wear anxious looks when they saw the different lights from the spells that were targeting Mo Fan.

They were hoping that Mo Fan could apply great pressure to the German team, so the Chinese team could secure an advantageous position, but they did not expect the German team to blast Mo Fan with all they had as soon as he joined the match.

The other members of the German team were not as much of a threat to Mo Fan, but the damage of Reed’s magic was comparable to his own. It was fairly difficult for anyone to resist Reed’s attacks alone!

—

“Are his teammates seriously not going to save him?”

“Don’t tell me the strongest member of the Chinese team, Mo Fan, is going to be knocked out in an instant. Ai Jiangtu and the others weren’t smart with their decision. Mo Fan’s strength greatly surpasses the substitute of the German team. They are more than willing to trade their substitute with Mo Fan, who’s fifth on the ranking!”

“Indeed, but there’s nothing they could do, either. The German team has been planning for it all along.”

—

Meanwhile, Ai Jiangtu and his teammates easily knocked out the substitute from the German team, yet none of them seemed to be happy about it.

“How’s Mo Fan doing?” Jiang Yu blurted out.

“Not sure, it’s an entire mess there. A normal person would be crippled by now.”

A huge puff of smoke rose into the air. The spells slowly dissipated after a while. Johnson stared closely at the Brilliant Light that he had used to tag Mo Fan previously.

The tagging of the Brilliant Light had quite a long duration. If the tag disappeared before it reached its limit, it simply meant the target had been eliminated.

But even so, Johnson did not seem relieved.

He was a Shadow Mage too, so something did not feel right about the target that he tagged.

“Brilliant Light: Disperse!”

Johnson cast a spell to drive the dust and the smoke away.

He glanced around and immediately noticed a human figure standing close to the barrier. Even though it was still within the coverage of the spells they had cast, the spells did not really inflict serious damage on him!

“What just happened?” the eyes of the woman with moles widened. She could not believe that Mo Fan was perfectly fine after the continuous blasts.

Even a Commander-level creature would be covered in wounds and bruises after enduring the attacks from the four of them, let alone a Mage. How did the guy manage to dodge their attacks? They had clearly landed their spells on him, and their captain had clearly tagged him with the Brilliant Light too.

“It’s a shadow clone!” Johnson’s face darkened. He immediately realized that the target they had attacked was not actually Mo Fan.

“It’s possible to summon a clone with the Shadow Element?” The woman with moles sounded quite surprised.

“The level of his Fleeing Shadow is very high; we didn’t know he was an expert of the Shadow Element too!” Johnson’s gaze sharpened.

“Don’t let him run away, Fendy!”

“Don’t worry, there’s no way he can outrun me!”

It went without saying that Mo Fan had no intention to fight the four members of the opposing team on his own. He immediately went to regroup with his team after tricking his opponents.

Mo Fan did not have any defensive spells, and he had already used the Shadow Clone. He would be in great trouble if he was caught again.

He ran along the boundary of the stage. The Ground Spikes emerging behind him made his heart race even faster. He began to regret how he had failed to keep a low-profile during the treasure hunt and the knockout round. Otherwise, the opposing team would not be so keen to take him out of the match, making him as miserable as a dog running with its tail between its legs!

“Still trying to run away? Realm of the Wind!” Fendy was flying in the air with Wind Wings. He glanced down at the desperately fleeing Mo Fan from above.

A few winds blew simultaneously, gathering the yellow sand into the wind and constructing a barrier of wind and sand to prevent Mo Fan from regrouping with his team.

“You’re pretty bold to come after me on your own!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly while glancing in the direction of the German team.

Without wasting any time, Mo Fan threw a Fiery Fist at Fendy.

Fendy was pretty nimble, and quite adept at controlling the Wind Wings. With a flap of his wings, he dashed sideways and dodged Mo Fan’s attack!

“Gravity Space!”

Mo Fan spread his palm and used his will to form a gravitational force field around Fendy. The man started falling from the air as if numerous iron balls were hanging on him!

“Chains of Darkness!”

Mo Fan was fairly quick at chain-casting his spells. After the gravitational space, he immediately constructed the formation of Giant Shadow Spikes, firing several shadow swords at Fendy. Fendy tried to dodge the shadow swords, but he was still struck by a few of them!

Fendy was immediately paralyzed under the effects of the gravitational force and the Chains of Darkness.

An Advanced Star Constellation appeared around Mo Fan. However, as he was halfway through the process, a thick lightning bolt came down from the sky, a sinister green flame inside it!

Mo Fan subconsciously used his will to form a wall to defend himself, yet he was shocked when he saw the lightning passing through his defense easily and landing on him.

Sand was swept in the air. The little sand dune turned into a giant sand pit, and the ground nearby was scorched black.

Mo Fan lay in the middle of the pit. His entire back was blistered. He could even smell his skin burning.

Mo Fan rose to his feet. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Reed, who had attacked him sneakily!

The other three members showed up and surrounded Mo Fan. He knew now was not the time to act recklessly, but he was determined to get his revenge on Reed.

That imbecile, he swore he would show the man his Lightning Tyrant soon!

“Mo Fan, come with me!” Ai Jiangtu’s voice appeared.

Mo Fan realized that Ai Jiangtu had suddenly appeared in front of him. He was overjoyed, and anxious at the same time. If he could master the Advanced Spell of the Space Element, Blink, he would not have found himself in such a pinch now. With the Shadow Element and Blink, any opposing team would have trouble doing any harm to him, even if they had twice their numbers!

Ai Jiangtu cast Blink twice in a row to drag Mo Fan out of his dangerous situation.

The German team was absolutely enraged after seeing this!

Even with the four of them, they had failed to defeat the man. Even worse, they had sacrificed a substitute member on their side!

—

“That’s just like Mo Fan, able to escape even though he was completely surrounded. I wonder if the wound on his back is anything serious. Let’s hope it doesn’t affect his performance.”

“We still have a Healer on our team. He can soon recover from it. Unfortunately, the German team still has a substitute left. The advantage that Mo Fan has given the team by putting his life at stake will be gone soon, as the two teams will be back on an equal footing!” Feng Li said.

“That’s the best we could hope for. It simply means Mo Fan has helped the team to take out a member of the opposing team even though he has just joined the match!” Song He was quite optimistic!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Zhao Manyan, protect me, I’m about to go all out!” Mo Fan stood close to Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan still had some defensive equipment left, allowing him to take the hits for Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan was extremely frustrated by having to flee ignominiously when the opposing destructive Mage kept blasting them with his spells. Now that Mo Fan had arrived, it was time to show these Germans the true definition of a magic cannon!

“Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan summoned the Little Flame Belle and let her Possess him right away.

After being granted control of the Calamity Fire, Mo Fan immediately drew a Fire Constellation. The brilliant constellation constructed with flames revolved him, setting off his imperiousness!

“Rain of Burning Fists!” Mo Fan had practiced the attack Frank had displayed. Huge fiery fists started pouring down like rain, each leaving a giant, burning pit on the ground. The sky above the German team was full of the burning fists!

The Rain of Burning Fists lasted for quite a while. Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist was remarkably strong, so the German team did not dare to lower their guard now that the Fiery Fists were pouring down like a rain.

Both the woman with moles and Johnson immediately set up their defenses. To their surprise, the Fiery Fists were still pouring down even when their defensive spells had reached their limit!

“A destructive spell that can be blocked isn’t worthy to be called destructive!” Reed scorned Mo Fan’s flames.

His destructive spells were the truly unstoppable ones!

The Star Patterns connected with one another. It was obvious that Reed was planning to have a showdown with Mo Fan using destructive spells. He too was engulfed in flames, but it was a sinister, green flame that gradually spread into the surroundings.

“Still trying to attack?” Mo Fan chuckled when he saw his opponent drawing a Star Constellation. “Fire Phoenix!”

Mo Fan was extremely quick at casting Fire Spells, and his ability to attack without drawing the Star Constellation came from Little Flame Belle’s outstanding control of the Calamity Fire.

Feathers of flames combined into a magnificent, fiery phoenix. As the green snake that Reed had Summoned lunged at Mo Fan, the fiery phoenix beat its wings and rammed fiercely into the green snake.

The flames of two different colors collided. It was obvious that the fiery phoenix made of a thousand burning feathers had the upper hand. The green snake dissipated in the air and scattered across the ground in the form of small sprouts of green flames.

The fiery phoenix was weakened slightly, yet it continued to dive at the German team.

The German team members had barely managed to catch their breaths after being attacked by the Rain of Burning Fists when they saw the fiery phoenix diving at them. They were forced to split up!

“Lightning Explosion!”

As the flames were burning fiercely, Mo Fan finished channeling another spell.

The Psychic Mage on the German team had been taken out by Jiang Shaoxu, thus as long as Mo Fan was in a safe spot, no one could possibly stop him from casting!

Following the two Fire Spells with huge area-of-effects was the Silent Deadly Ray. The lightning arcs and the deadly rays from the explosion forced the members of the German team to scatter. Their formation completely crumbled.

Mo Fan was casting spells with the Lightning Tyrant. Even without the Lightning Tyrant Domain, his lightning spells were incredibly powerful due to the amplifying effect of the Lightning Tyrant. Even though some members of the German team managed to set up their defenses, the strong penetrating ability of the deadly rays still managed to inflict damage on them!

“Damn it!” Reed was a destructive Mage. His defense was not particularly outstanding.

Since the opponent had secured the advantage by attacking first, Reed did not have a chance to channel his Advanced Spells. The morale of the German team dropped rapidly after the members endured three fairly powerful spells in a row!

Reed was finally able to channel his spell under their captain Johnson’s protection!

“Lightning Battle Axe!” Reed’s eyes sharpened as he stared into the sky and swung his arm down!

A battle axe made of lightning suddenly descended from the clear sky, and landed right on Jiang Yu, who failed to dodge the attack in time.

Jiang Yu had set up a defensive spell, but the sinister, green glow of the Lightning Battle Axe allowed the attack to simply pass through his defense and land on him.

The thin shield equipment had no chance of resisting the overwhelming power of the Lightning Battle Axe. Jiang Yu was knocked to the sand, and was soon covered in blood.

Luckily, the Night Rakshasa appeared in the nick of time and dragged Jiang Yu away from the lightning arcs produced by the Lightning Battle Axe. Otherwise, he would have been disqualified right away.

Nanrong Ni immediately cast the Aquarius Star Sign to treat Jiang Yu’s injuries. Unfortunately, he would need some time to recover from such a serious blow. The team could only escort him to the back.

However, Jiang Yu’s condition was not a huge problem for the team, since his greatest trump card was the Night Rakshasa. The creature had played an important role in the match, and the reason why the team was able to last for so long in the match was that the Night Rakshasa had been keeping Reed busy, preventing him from casting his spells!

“Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, look out!” Ai Jiangtu yelled.

Zhao Manyan raised his head and saw a Lightning Battle Axe right above him!

“I don’t think my defensive equipment can take it!” Zhao Manyan said in a panic.

Mo Fan had a stern face. He quickly gathered his will and shoved Zhao Manyan away from him.

“Holy crap, are you crazy?” Zhao Manyan watched the Lightning Battle Axe coming down at Mo Fan fiercely as he was knocked flying.

Mo Fan stomped the ground. Dark lightning arcs began to surround him in a circle, as a formidable presence of lightning burst out of Mo Fan and swept across the stage!

Lightning Tyrant Domain!

With the Domain in place, it felt like Mo Fan had put on an armor of lightning!

The sinister, green Lightning Battle Axe struck down, producing a great blast. It looked like the lightning was about to completely disintegrate him!

The two assistant judges were stunned. They did not think the student would endure the Lightning Battle Axe with his body. Even if a Lightning Mage had a certain resistance toward Lightning, it was nowhere enough to guarantee that he could survive the hit!

“Rivers into the Sea!” Mo Fan stood firmly and faced the battle axe.

Lightning strikes kept descending, yet they seemed to be absorbed by Mo Fan, as the lightning armor on him grew even brighter!

The Lightning Tyrant Domain was able to raise the lightning resistance and ability to absorb lightning of a Mage, and in addition to that, Mo Fan’s demon flesh could easily endure the damage of an Advanced Lightning Spell. Therefore, Mo Fan’s lightning resistance was absolutely insane with the two factors combined.

Mo Fan rapidly absorbed the energy of the Lightning Battle Axe. Meanwhile, the Lightning Magic in the surrounding area was gathering around him…

The clouds in the sky rumbled as more lightning accumulated in them. Feeling that the energy of the Lightning Battle Axe was not enough to satisfy his needs, Mo Fan further cast a Lightning Strike with Qianjun on himself.

The lightning did not cause any harm to Mo Fan, but the energy stored up by his lightning armor was building rapidly!

“I’ll show you the true definition of a destructive spell!” Mo Fan raised his head. The whole stage was trembling due to the energy he had gathered. Even the spectators were having difficulty breathing from the enormous pressure!

“Sky Lightning Claw!” Mo Fan clenched his hands into claws and swung them to both sides.

The lightning burst out of his armor. The lightning claws extended more than a hundred meters, tearing at the members of the German team fiercely!

The damage of Sky Lightning Claws was already higher than an Advanced Lightning Spell, not to mention that Mo Fan had also absorbed the energy of the Lightning Battle Axe and the Lightning Tyrant. The Sky Lightning Claws were actually twice as strong as they usually were!

The destructive lightning claws razed the sand dunes to the ground. The whole place trembled from the overwhelming electric current. Reed, the woman with moles, and Fendy were at the spot where the Sky Lightning Claws were the strongest. The lightning arcs whipped them fiercely and left shocking wounds on them, showing no mercy!

The woman with moles had been in the match for quite a long time. She had used up all her defensive equipment. She initially thought she could defend herself with her spells, yet the Sky Lightning Claws treated her defensive magic like mere air. The lightning claws tossed her into the air, and the lightning arcs whipped her continuously…

The assistant judge immediately went onto the stage upon seeing this.

The terrifying Sky Lightning Claws even left a few scratches on the assistant judge’s body, but the man managed to save the woman with moles in the end.

The German team lost another member. Their team only had four members left.

The person with the worst luck was the student that had just joined the match. He was basically a defensive Mage, yet he totally stood no chance against Mo Fan’s violent lightning. He was injured even though he had just entered the stage!

Similarly, Reed and Fendy were suffering from serious injuries, too. They had barely survived the lightning attack with the help of their magic armor.

“Do you think that was the end of it?” Mo Fan wore a cruel grin and uttered, “Tyrant Call!”

The Sky Lightning Claws had just dissipated, but the yellow lightning of the Lightning Tyrant Scars was triggered. Each lightning arc of the Sky Lightning Claw would leave a yellow Lightning Tyrant Scar on its target, and as long as the number of Lightning Tyrant Scars reached two, Mo Fan was able to trigger the Tyrant Call!

Mo Fan had left at least ten Lightning Tyrant Scars on both Fendy and Reed. When the Tyrant Call was triggered, a thick, lightning bolt tore through the sky and descended rapidly!

The sequence of attacks ended with a deafening blast. The people immediately saw an enormous pit with a diameter of over ten meters on the ground, and both Fendy and Reed were lying in the pit with their magic armor shattered into pieces…

The crowd’s ears were still buzzing from the lightning. Everyone was staring at the enormous pit in disbelief!

Such power…

Mo Fan was able to ignore his opponents’ defense, too, even though he did not have the Innate Talent of the German team’s destructive Mage!

This was Mo Fan’s destructive power!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Strong, so strong!”

The crowd was left in awe. The Sky Lightning Claws and the Tyrant Call had devastated the stage. The German team that seemed to have the upper hand not long ago had totally lost their domineering aura after enduring the destructive spells. They were all in bad shape, and their magic armor was destroyed, too!

Mo Fan’s spells not only penetrated his target’s defenses, but the number of targets his spells could attack at once was shocking, too!

The woman with moles was knocked out, Reed and Fendy were both injured, and it took them quite some time to barely rise to their feet.

“It seems like the Chinese team has the better destructive Mage. The German team was almost wiped out by his continuous attacks. A weaker team would have been done for by the chain attacks of his lightning spells!”

“Yeah, their defense is completely useless against his Lightning Spells. He basically disqualified a member, left one member in slight injuries, and two in serious injuries…”

“I wonder who the idiot that ranked him fifth among the participants is. Reed has been in the match for quite some time, yet he didn’t really do much. Meanwhile, the Chinese Mage with Double Innate Elements has been completely unstoppable once he joined the match!”

The stadium immediately burst into an uproar. Mo Fan’s destructive Sky Lightning Claws had completely shocked the world. It was fairly easy for them to tell who was stronger. Even though Reed’s Innate Talent was fairly unique, if his spells were unable to pass through the enemy’s defenses, the power of his magic was clearly incomparable to Mo Fan, whether it was based on the damage of the Soul-grade Seeds, the power of the spells, or their control over the Lightning Element.

When Reed attacked Mo Fan with Lightning, the man simply endured it with his body. Meanwhile, Mo Fan’s Sky Lightning Claws almost took out the entire German team!

“Well, well done!” Advisor Feng Li yelled out excitedly.

The middle-aged man who usually had a stern face was currently feeling an adrenaline rush. The performance of his students was better than he had expected, especially Zhao Manyan’s outstanding defense and Jiang Shaoxu’s sudden eruption, both helping the team to overcome the most difficult time.

When Mo Fan finally joined the match, he immediately dealt a serious blow to the opposing team. Mo Fan did not let them down! The German team was on the verge of losing the match after Mo Fan attacked with his Sky Lightning Claws; it made their hearts pound heavily!

“Flying Creek Snow Wolf, Little Flame Belle, take them out!” Mo Fan always went all out in a battle. He was not satisfied with knocking his opponents to the ground. He insisted on stomping on his enemy until they were no longer able to rise to their feet!

—

The two powerful Summoned Beasts charged forward. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had his eyes on the substitute of the German team for a fairly simple reason: the student was an Ice Mage!

If the student had done his homework, he would have learned that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was a lot stronger when there was ice around him. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s true strength easily surpassed the Granite Inferior Dragon’s. He was as strong as an average Commander-level creature, so it was much better if the student refrained from using his Ice Magic.

However, if he was unlucky in a way that he did not learn everything that had happened during the treasure hunt. He would soon find himself with a great surprise…

On the other hand, Little Flame Belle had picked the injured Reed as her opponent. She kept spitting out Calamity Fire, and inextinguishable flames soon surrounded the area.

Reed was completely enraged. He had already been crushed by his opponent in the showdown between the two destructive Mages, and now he was being humiliated by a little creature!

Little Flame Belle was incredibly strong. The Contracted Beast was able to hold her ground even though she was going against a Mage with two Soul-grade Seeds like Reed!

—

Captain Johnson of the German team had a dark expression.

He was utterly regretful that the team had failed to take Mo Fan out when the man first joined the match, which eventually placed the team in such a pinch. A member had been disqualified, while the rest were injured. Most importantly, Mo Fan still had two powerful Summoned Beasts, and even though the two creatures were not strong enough to fight any of the members of the German team in a duel, they could easily keep two of their injured members busy with their Commander-level strength!

Johnson had to admit that the Chinese team’s ace was incredibly strong. The man was able to match the attacking power of an entire team!

“Trying to take me out first?” As Johnson was observing his surroundings, he quickly realized that the members of the Chinese team were surrounding him.

Johnson was in a very bad spot. It was unlikely that his teammates could back him up.

“Imprisoning Space!” Ai Jiangtu used his will to construct a space made up of six faces, trapping Johnson within it. Johnson was trapped before he could cast the Fleeing Shadow.

Johnson knew he had no chance of escaping. He simply stood in the limited space and faced Ai Jiangtu and Jiang Yu directly.

Jiang Yu had finally recovered after being treated by Nanrong Ni. Both Ai Jiangtu and he moved out at once, trying to take an important member of the German team out with the huge advantage that Mo Fan had secured for the team.

The truth was, in Ai Jiangtu’s opinion, the trickiest person to deal with on the German team was not necessarily their defensive Mage, Reed. The man had quite an obvious weakness. He was totally outmatched by Mo Fan’s destructive spells, and the only thing that posed a threat to the team was his Innate Talent. However, with the right approach, the team did not have much trouble against him.

Meanwhile, their captain Johnson had been roaming around the stage like a phantom. The man was actually the main reason that the German team was able to take a few of the Chinese team members out! Most importantly, the captain of the German team did not have a single scratch on him, even though he had been in the battle for a long time. Despite the chaotic and intense battle, he had not been caught by any of the attacks. He even managed to dodge Mo Fan’s Sky Lightning Claws with his outstanding awareness.

As long as Johnson was still in the match, the German team would still be able to take them on. After all, they had basically used all their defensive equipment. If they gave the opposing destructive Mages a chance to cast their spells, they would be eliminated, too!

Johnson was the person that created the opportunities for Reed. If they managed to keep Johnson at bay, it would simply magnify Reed’s weaknesses!

“Captain, this guy is pretty strong. Be careful, he has at least two Soul-grade Seeds,” Jiang Yu said alertedly.

Ai Jiangtu nodded. He did not lower his guard just because he had trapped Johnson with his Space Element. The man could easily break free from his spell at any second!

Jiang Yu and Ai Jiangtu were fairly cautious, yet they still underestimated Johnson’s explosive power. The man was able to take advantage of a mistake that the Night Rakshasa that Jiang Yu had sent into the space committed. He cast a powerful Light Spell to burn the little creature.

The Night Rakshasa was a dark-type creature, thus any Light Spell would inflict multiples of damage to her. The little creature cried out in pain as her black fur was burned away and her skin blistered from the scorching light.

Jiang Yu immediately withdrew the Night Rakshasa into the Contracted Space. His face was filled with pain and anger.

They had been extremely cautious, yet Johnson had still managed to counterattack them. The man was very good at keeping his composure, even though he was struggling to breathe from the enormous pressure applied by Ai Jiangtu’s Space Magic. Despite that, he was still able to keep an eye on the Night Rakshasa and set up the Light trap!

Jiang Yu had lost both his Summoned Beasts, so he had basically lost half his strength. Luckily, he still had the Advanced Summoning Spell and two other Elements to assist Ai Jiangtu.

“He’s running away with the Fleeing Shadow!” Jiang Yu immediately followed the man with his senses when he saw Johnson leaving a shadow behind and running away.

Ai Jiangtu had no intention to let Johnson escape, since he was basically an arrow at the end of its flight. Seeing that Johnson had moved eighty meters into the distance, Ai Jiangtu used Blink and showed up in the path that Johnson was escaping into.

“You’ve lost!” Ai Jiangtu reached out his hand and cast the Demon Torture on Johnson’s shadow.

A huge, ghastly figure sinisterly showed up behind Johnson’s shadow. It grabbed Johnson firmly and proceeded to drag Johnson’s soul out.

During the tournament, if a participant’s soul was drawn out by the Demon Torture, even without inflicting any damage on the participant’s soul, the person would be disqualified from the match. After all, the Demon Torture of the Curse Element was too dangerous, as it could inflict incurable damage on the target’s soul.

The two assistant judges quickly entered the stage upon seeing this.

However, Johnson’s shadow suddenly turned into a puff of black smoke and vanished into thin air.

The two assistant judges that were planning to bring Johnson down the stage stood in their spot with blank faces for quite some time.

Ai Jiangtu immediately had a bad feeling upon seeing this!

He quickly turned around and saw a strange shadow showing up behind Jiang Yu. The silhouette of a human figure gradually became clear.

Johnson was holding a dagger in his hand. He placed it softly on Jiang Yu’s neck and left a little cut on it.

The cut only damaged Jiang Yu’s skin, it did not really hurt Jiang Yu, yet he was already drenched in cold sweat. He turned around in disbelief and saw Johnson’s expressionless face right in front of him!

“You two, bring him down,” Johnson did not do anything excessive. His body soon turned into a black shadow and swiftly disappeared, but his voice was still echoing nearby amid the sand that was blown into the air.

The two assistant judges that had made a mistake reacted quickly. They came up to Jiang Yu and brought him out of the stage.

The outcome had taken everyone by surprise, including the two assistant judges.

They initially went into the stage to take Johnson away, yet not only did Johnson trick Ai Jiangtu and the assistant judges, he was able to take Jiang Yu out after he was left behind!

Johnson’s achievement immediately stirred a great uproar among the supporters of the German team!

As expected of the captain, he was a lot more reliable than Reed, whom they initially had high hopes in because of the rumors!

It was obvious that Johnson was the strongest member of the German team!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Johnson was extremely quick under the effects of the Fleeing Shadow. After taking out Jiang Yu, he immediately headed toward Reed.

Ai Jiangtu had just used Blink, so the spell was still on cooldown for a short time. When he discovered that Johnson had left the area, he immediately had a bad feeling apart. Blaming himself for being too careless, he had allowed his opponent to knock Jiang Yu out!

As Ai Jiangtu thought, Johnson was not trying to run away. He quickly showed up in front of Little Flame Belle.

He did not attack Little Flame Belle, but quickly cast the Nyx Regime. A great darkness soon loomed over the place, consuming it.

Little Flame Belle tried to stop the darkness from spreading further with her flames, but she was soon hit by a few shadow spikes that took her by surprise.

The shadow spikes sealed off Little Flame Belle’s movement and magic, preventing her from casting a single spell.

Johnson was incredibly smart, and each of his actions reflected the goal he had in mind. He had shown up just to seal off Little Flame Belle’s attacks. If Reed was attacked Little Flame Belle now, the creature would surely suffer serious injuries.

However, that was not what Johnson had in mind. He was well aware that taking out Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast was not enough to turn the tables. The only chance for the German team to win the match was Reed!

The Chinese team no longer had any defensive equipment. If he gave Reed a chance to cast the Hellish Flames, it would surely give their team the comeback they were looking for!

As such, Johnson did not bother wasting his time on Little Flame Belle. His only goal was to stop her from interrupting Reed’s channeling. The Nyx Regime was to ensure that the little creature was unable to find where Reed was in the pitch-black darkness!

“Reed, it’s all you now!” Johnson glanced at Reed and said in a serious voice.

“Leave it to me!” Reed clenched his teeth, turning the humiliation he had felt into raging flames.

The sinister, green flame engulfed Reed. His formidable aura combined with the dark magic, making him look even more terrifying!

The green flame that was like a little firefly in the darkness burned fiercer. Soon, a shocking meteorite appeared in the sky…

The meteorite looked extremely tiny at the start, but as the flames engulfing it spread further away while the meteorite gradually approached the ground. The people immediately realized how enormous the meteorite was. It felt like it was going to smash the entire city into a huge hole!

—

“We’re done for!” The supporters of the Chinese team inhaled deeply upon seeing the meteorite. They could not help but imagine the terrible fate that would befall the Chinese team.

The area-of-effect of the Hellish Flames was incredibly huge. Even the Healer Nanrong Ni would struggle to dodge it, and Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were right in the middle of it. Reed’s intention was very obvious: he was aiming to disqualify both Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan with the spell!

Mo Fan had already used his armor when he was flanked by the German team. Even if he was to cast the Fleeing Shadow now, he had no hope of escaping the area of the Hellish Flames either. If Mo Fan had learned Blink, he would be able to dodge the attack and even counterattack Reed, but unfortunately, he had not learned it yet.

What’s even worse was, Little Flame Belle was currently trapped in the darkness. If Little Flame Belle Possessed him, Mo Fan’s fire resistance would not be any weaker than his lightning resistance. He would at most suffer a slight injury even if the meteorite landed right on him.

However, Mo Fan was unsure if he could endure the attack without Little Flame Belle’s help!

The Hellish Flames seemed to be stronger than before. It was obvious that Reed had given his all by strengthening the spell with his magic equipment. Without the protection of magic equipment, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Nanrong Ni stood no chance against it!

—

Ai Jiangtu was still pretty far away. He tried his best to regroup with his team, yet when he realized that he had no chance of making it, he immediately switched his focus to Fendy.

Ai Jiangtu was unable to stop the Hellish Flames. He could only take hold of the opportunity to eliminate the Wind Mage of the opposing team!

“I don’t have any magic equipment left,” Nanrong Ni said.

Zhao Manyan glanced at Mo Fan and saw the man was already accumulating his energy. He was unwilling to sit and wait for his defeat. It seemed like he was planning to fend off the incoming attack with violence. He was planning to attack the meteorite with his spell!

However, the meteorite was less than a hundred meters away. Even if Mo Fan attacked now, the impact would still inflict serious damage on them, thus it would not make much of a difference.

“Old Zhao, back off now, I’m going to smash it into pieces!” Mo Fan had finished accumulating his energy. He was about to soar into the sky like a bolt of lightning.

It was Mo Fan’s usual approach. He did not have any defensive spells to protect himself. If he could not dodge the attack, he would simply try and overcome the attack in a violent manner, regardless of the damage he would receive. Anything was better than standing there and watching the spell land on them like that!

“Back off my ass, if you trust me, just aim your attack at those two Germans!” Zhao Manyan had no intention of running away. He glared at the green meteorite that was rapidly approaching from the sky and said in a manly voice, “Damn it, with I, Zhao Manyan here, how could I let you take the hit for us? If even a single spout of flame lands on your head, my surname won’t be Zhao anymore!”

“You don’t have any magic equipment left,” Mo Fan said.

“Stop talking! The first sentence I want to hear from you when I wake up in the hospital, is that you’ve beaten the crap out of those Germans!” Zhao Manyan declared, as the golden wings on his back spread apart.

The wings flapped and launched Zhao Manyan into the air. His figure was shrouded by a golden glow as he went straight at the meteorite!

Mo Fan was startled. He could not believe it was the same Zhao Manyan that he knew…

The Zhao Manyan he knew was extremely scared of death. He was the last person that would sacrifice himself for the greater good. Even though they were currently in the middle of a match, and the assistant judges would intervene to save their lives, if their opponent’s spells were simply too powerful, there was a chance that they might die, too!

“Old Zhao, your spirit is so f**king touching!” Mo Fan felt a wild surge of emotions as he watched Zhao Manyan flying straight at the Hellish Flames.

As the saying went, one takes the behavior of one’s company. Mo Fan strongly believed that Zhao Manyan had been influenced by him, resulting in such a great transformation.

If that was the case, there was no way Mo Fan was going to let him down!

—

Zhao Manyan sprang up to a height of around eighty meters. Even the fire tongues of the green meteorite were bigger than him!

However, in Zhao Manyan’s eyes, the sinister, green glow around the destructive spell was an utter humiliation. He had finally found the path that was meant for him, and it had allowed him to make a name for himself in the tournament. How was it acceptable that this asshole’s Innate Talent could simply disregard the effort he had put into to learn his defensive spells?

“I would like to see how many layers of defense you can pass through!”

“Water Barrier: Circulation!”

“Water Curtain!”

“Light Protection: Sacred Shield!”

“Plummeting Rays: Sacred Armor!”

“Rock Iron Skin!”

“Totem Mark!”

Zhao Manyan cast all the defensive spells that stacked up as layers of defense on him as he rose into the sky. The magic glows of different colors combined into one, while the mark of the special container further strengthened the defense.

He also had two elemental rings that were able to boost the potency of his Light and Water Elements by twenty percent!

Finally, Zhao Manyan used the broken golden wings to wrap himself, turning him into a golden bullet flying at the terrifying meteorite with great momentum!

The Hellish Flames made contact with Zhao Manyan. The scorching heat almost set the man on fire. Luckily, the Rock Iron Skin prevented his skin from burning.

Zhao Manyan was even closer to the meteorite. The layers of defense on him were being peeled off continuously, as if they were mere pieces of paper!

“Water Barrier!” Zhao Manyan did not give up. He continued to cast defensive spells on himself.

However, despite the layers of defensive spells he had, regardless if they were a Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced Spell, the green flames easily passed through them and gradually approached his flesh.

Zhao Manyan clenched his teeth. He did not back away, but rammed right into the meteorite. The courage and boldness he displayed left the crowd in awe.

—

“You have a very impressive brother, Zhao Youqian, but why do I feel like you weren’t very proud of him, judging from how you always speak of him?”

“To be honest, I’m quite surprised myself,” Zhao Youqian replied.

“Aren’t you worried about him? His defense is nothing but air to the flames.”

“How can I not be worried…”

Pang Lai, who had been rather silent throughout the match, suddenly spoke. His eyes flickered with excitement, as if he had learned the secret of the sinister, green glow shrouding the incoming spell. He pointed at the Hellish Flames that were clearly fainter and said, “That guy’s Innate Talent doesn’t really ignore the defense! Each of the defensive spells is actually weakening it!”

The others immediately took a closer look, and discovered that not only was the aura of the meteorite falling, it was actually shrinking by a lot, too. It was actually weakening as it passed through each layer of Zhao Manyan’s defense!

——

The meteorite finally exploded around fifty meters above the ground. The flames spread in the air like brilliant fireworks.

The stage trembled, and among the pieces of the meteorite, a man engulfed in flames slammed into the ground close to the magic barrier.

An assistant judge immediately went up to the man and put out the flames burning him. He discovered that the man’s face was burned beyond recognition.

—

Mo Fan glanced over and saw the assistant judge carrying Zhao Manyan down the stage. He could not help but let out a sigh.

The two of them initially said they were only going to mess around on the national team. Their actual goal was to spread their seed across the world, to let the women of different countries experience the love and gentleness of a Chinese man. However, they had simply lost their minds and treated the match as a battle of pride. Mo Fan could not tell whether it was the challenges that Zhao Manyan had overcome during the training that changed his mind, or the speech that Chairman Shao Zheng gave that awakened his blood…

Either way, to fight in a battle like this actually felt a lot more pleasant than sharing their love with women of different countries. After all, they were basically going up against a few of the strongest countries in the world!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan called loudly. The little creature that had lost her ways in the darkness slammed her way out of the maze of darkness and rammed into Mo Fan’s chest like a burning, red heart!

The strong flames rolled fiercely, the burning feathers formed a shocking vortex circling Mo Fan.

The combination of the brown-red and blazing red flames generated a heat so strong that the sand blown into the air was burned away instantly. Apart from the flames that occupied the stage with a diameter of over three hundred meters, countless lightning arcs were surging too, each sweeping the ground like a snake more than ten meters long, forming the Lightning Tyrant Domain that encapsulated the German team. Its members were struggling to breathe properly!

“The Domain of Lightning and Fire!” Mo Fan unleashed the two magicks simultaneously.

The Fire Element was the most aggressive and active among the Elements, while the Lightning Element was the most violent. The presence of the two Elements kept building up under Mo Fan’s command in the stage within a diameter of three hundred meters. Even without drawing a Star Orbit, a Star Pattern, or a Star Constellation, flaring lights from the colliding energies of the two different Elements were igniting across the stage!

“Double Domain, that guy has combined two domains into one!” Pang Lai exclaimed in surprise.

—

Each Domain was supposed to be isolated, as each Element was isolated from the other Elements. When two different Elements were being combined, the energy of the two Elements would either cancel one another out, or turn into an elemental storm as the energy went haywire.

As such, even if a Mage had several Soul-grade Seeds, allowing the Mage to establish different Domains, it was impossible to set up two Domains at the same time…

But now, Mo Fan had unleashed his two Domains simultaneously. The lightning and fire clashed fiercely, filling the whole stage with a strong, disturbing aura of destruction!

—

“The Fire Domain doesn’t belong to Mo Fan, but the Fire Spirit. Mo Fan is controlling the Lightning Domain while the Flame Belle controls the Fire Domain. If the two Domains are able to reach an equilibrium state, it is actually possible for the two Domains to co-exist, but it’s simply shocking how daring Mo Fan was to even attempt it!”

No one could possibly tell what would happen when the two most aggressive Elements were accumulated in a tiny space!

“Your turn is done, it’s time for you to have a taste of Lightning and Fire that you will never forget for the rest of your life!”

Mo Fan curled a finger on his left hand. A lightning claw immediately attached to his arm, radiating power that could tear anything into pieces.

On his right hand, flames were rolling fiercely. Mo Fan clenched his right hand into a fist. The flames immediately soared up and spread into his surroundings, as if they were about to explode at any second!

The Lightning Tyrant struck first. An enormous Sky Lightning Claw descended from the sky and struck the German team fiercely. A single finger of the Sky Lightning Claw contained a few dozen lightning arcs, and as the five fingers of the claw reached the ground, it looked like a giant hand of a demon was collapsing onto the tiny humans. The members of the German team were as tiny as mere puppets!

The lightning claw covered a huge area. The lightning arcs slowly moved closer to the palm, like a hand that was clenching.

The three members of the German team were forced to run to the middle. They quickly took out all their defensive equipment and cast their defensive spells to resist the terrifying claw of the Lightning Tyrant.

While the lightning claw was still moving, a brown-red light suddenly ignited above the German team.

Reed and Johnson raised their heads and saw the outline of an enormous fist amid the dancing lightning arcs. The combination of brown-red and blazing-red flames was pouring down on them like an apocalypse. Their minds immediately went blank!

The burning fist was so huge that it basically covered the entire sky above the stage, having a diameter of over three hundred meters. Many of the spectators were so terrified that they immediately ran for the exit!

The giant fist erupted in flames and landed right in the middle of the lightning claw. The final line of defense protecting the German team crumbled instantly. The yellow sand evaporated and the ground sank. The impact caused by the burning fist and the lightning arcs struck the barrier surrounding the stage with tremendous force…

The whole place fell silent. The only sound left was the cracking sounds of the fire and lightning.

—

Some time later, the people finally realized that half of the stage was sunken. The three members of the German team lying in the pit had completely lost consciousness. Fendy was lucky enough not to be caught by the attack, and stared at the scene with a blank face. The tenacity and resistance in his heart collapsed together with the destructive, burning fist.

Reed coughed heavily as he regained consciousness. He wanted to rise to his feet and continue the match, but with a quick glance, he soon realized he was lying in a deep pit with overwhelming fatigue…

His destructive spell could only eliminate one person, but his opponent’s destructive spell was strong enough to eliminate an entire team!

That was the difference between them!

—

The people could easily see the damage that had been done. It was fairly obvious that the strength of Mo Fan’s Fire and Lightning had exceeded the threshold of the barrier set up by the organizer. The stage had turned into a huge pit. If the spell was slightly stronger, it might have even injured the spectators close by!

He was only a student in his twenties, yet to think that he possessed such remarkable strength!

—

“That student is out of his mind! If he failed to control the two Elements, a lot of the spectators would be injured for sure! How could he possibly be thinking of combining the Fire and Lightning Elements?”

“But he did control them, didn’t he? Otherwise, we wouldn’t even find the remains of the German team!” Shao Zheng seemed very calm, but his eyes were glittering.

“It simply shows how confident Mo Fan is in his control over the Lightning and Fire Elements… speaking of which, doesn’t that mean we’ve won the match?” Song He said.

The people were so immersed in the great shock of witnessing Mo Fan’s outstanding magic that they did not even realize Mo Fan’s daring thought of combining Lightning and Fire had allowed the team to defeat the strong German team, and placed them in the winner’s bracket!

Shao Zheng smiled. The rest of the councilmen smiled, too. The victory of the match felt much better than winning a political contest!

Strength! It reflected the strength of their country, nothing else!

—

The whole stadium burst into an uproar after a brief silence. The crowd cheered and screamed at the top of their lungs as the outcome of the match was broadcast to the rest of the world.

Humans had always been weak compared to demon creatures. They were desperately trying to escape the fate of being butchered like livestock, and wasn’t a young Mage with incredible strength like him the spiritual prop that brought hope to the survival of mankind?

So what if the demon creatures had strong flesh, could they possibly stand a chance against such a powerful destructive spell?

The cheerful cries of the crowd were all directed at the Lightning and Fire Mage standing on the stage. His imperious demeanor and outstanding control of his magic had won the respect and admiration of many Mages.

——

Standing on the stage, feeling the gaze of the crowd, Mo Fan closed his eyes and enjoyed the surge of emotions feeling through him. It was impossible for him to be highly respected after beating someone half-dead in the previous world that he came from.

Of course, Mo Fan did not forget to say something to the man that had sacrificed the most in the match.

“Old Zhao, recover in peace!”

—

“He’s truly the strongest destructive Mage!”

“In terms of destructive power, Mo Fan of the Chinese team is the only person that impressed me!”

“What kind of training did he even do to become so strong?”

It took the people a long time to recover from their astonishment. Meanwhile, Han Ji was invited as a special guest to join the Chinese commentators in the live broadcast. He took hold of the opportunity to announce a piece of shocking news.

The joy brought by the victory of the Chinese team had spread from the north to the south like a contagious disease, yet Han Ji’s announcement simply shocked the whole country like a ferocious tide!

“Considering that the people who greatly contributed during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital were still too young back then, the Clock Tower Magic Association decided not to declare them to the public, but that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten their kindness. Even when the blue sea has turned into mulberry fields, even if the Ancient Capital did not survive the calamity, the people of the Ancient Capital will never forget these people. Everyone, take a close look at this young man who has just eliminated the German team with his outstanding strength. He’s the reason that the Ancient Capital is still standing today, despite what happened during that cold autumn. It was he and his buddy that jumped into the Dark Abyss and brought hope to the millions of people of the Ancient Capital!” Han Ji had never been as uplifting and excited as he was today.

Many people, including Pang Lai, were clueless as to why Han Ji cared so much about Mo Fan. He had gone as far as rebuking Zu Huiyin, the chairman’s secretary, for Mo Fan’s sake! The reason behind it was the fact that the whole Ancient Capital owed the young man a great debt that they could never repay!

The unyielding spirit that Mo Fan showed even when he was surrounded by an ocean of undead in the Space of Death had greatly touched the hearts of the Ancient Capital’s people, even as their city was on the verge of falling into ruins!

If the news about the victory of the Chinese team was stirring the hearts of the people like a strong tide, the reveal of Mo Fan’s identity as the savior of the Ancient Capital was on the scale of a tsunami.

The saviors of the Ancient Capital were not some Forbidden Mages, but a student and a young soldier, high school students who had survived the Calamity of Bo City…

One must admit that Han Ji had chosen the perfect time to make the announcement. Even those that were doubtful of Mo Fan’s character were utterly convinced.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was still indulging in his victory, totally unaware that Han Ji had revealed his heroic achievement to the public.

Mo Fan went down the stage and greeted his teammates with a great smile. He even gave Mu Nujiao a charming grin, yet he soon realized everyone was staring at him with blank faces.

“Say, Jiao Jiao, we’ve been housemates for many years, there’s no need for you to be smitten with me like the others,” Mo Fan teased.

“Did you actually go to the Ancient Capital after leaving the match during the preliminaries?” Mu Nujiao asked him.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When Mu Nujiao asked the question, Dongfang Lie, who was also involved in the match during the preliminaries, immediately recalled how Mo Fan had suddenly disappeared after crushing him with a single punch. He was missing for quite some time after that, and it turned out that he had gone to the Ancient Capital!

“I think so, what’s wrong with everyone? Isn’t it obvious that I’m going to win the match?” Mo Fan glanced around him and saw everyone was staring at him in a strange way!

He was having difficulty describing the strange feeling. If he was to describe it in a bad-sounding way, it felt like they were staring at someone with a mental disorder. If he was to describe in a better sounding way, it seemed like they were struggling to believe something, yet he could see a hint of admiration in their eyes, too…

Mo Fan did not overthink it. He proceeded to the Healing wards to check on Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan was the main reason the team was able to secure the victory. Mo Fan had to find out if he was alive or dead. If Zhao Manyan was dead, he would burn paper offerings and let the deceased man know that he had blasted the German team to the ground.

Mo Fan soon found Zhao Manyan, who was still lying unconscious on a sickbed.

Zhao Manyan was in pretty bad shape. It would take him some time to recover from his injuries. Mo Fan was about to leave when he saw an aged woman walking his way, her face all contorted.

In addition to her, Feng Li, his teammates who could still walk, a few Councilmen, Pang Lai, Chairman Shao Zheng, and Han Ji, who was done with the interview, came into the ward.

“So you guys have come to pay Zhao Manyan a visit, too? He has the life of a turtle, he won’t die so easily,” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

He initially thought he could amuse the people with his little joke, and they would proceed to send Zhao Manyan their regards, but the annoying old woman Zu Huiyin came up to him with Zu Jiming, who looked like he had just eaten a pile of dung. Both of them bowed to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was startled. He glanced at Han Ji, who was grinning like a cunning fox.

Mo Fan immediately realized something had happened!

“I’m so sorry, my nephew has been harsh with his words, and I have failed to teach him the proper manners. I have misjudged you and even uttered some absurd comments on your character. I have neglected the obligations as the chairman’s secretary, so I’ve come with my nephew to apologize to you. I hope you will forgive the two of us,” Zu Huiyin said in a soft voice. She was like a completely different person, losing her previous arrogant demeanor!

The chairman’s secretary was an authority figure with a higher position than Han Ji, the president of the Clock Tower Magic Association, but she was currently apologizing to a young man in front of the reporters and the other Councilmen! If they did not know Mo Fan was the savior of the Ancient Capital, they would never have believed it.

“I am actually a malevolent person, a nasty human being you can say. I’m expected to take troubles to heart, so I can assure you that I will definitely remember what you did.” Mo Fan was far from the forgiving kind. Besides, Mo Fan had wanted to get revenge on Zu Jiming a long time ago!

Zu Huiyin’s face fell as dark as charcoal after hearing Mo Fan’s words!

The man was a real villain. He was actually gloating over their situation!

Mo Fan was unwilling to show any mercy. Zu Huiyin was struggling to find a way out of the embarrassing situation.

The woman had almost lost her mind when Han Ji revealed who the savior of the Ancient Capital was!

Rumors of Zu Huiyin, the chairman’s secretary, accusing Mo Fan of being a malevolent person had long spread among the public. The whole world had set their eyes on the World College Tournament, so a comment like that was surely going to attract the attention of the reporters. In addition to that, the Lu Clan was pretty keen at setting Mo Fan up, so they had wantonly spread the news around to defame Mo Fan before he could make a name for himself through the World College Tournament. However, after Han Ji announced the news, the conspiracy that the Lu Clan and Zu Huiyin were organizing against Mo Fan suddenly collapsed, as the people immediately turned against them!

The people who had survived the Calamity of the Ancient Capital were particularly enraged by the rumors. Their respect for Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou was simply off the charts. Others were allowed to scold their parents, but they were not allowed to scold the two saviors of their city! After Han Ji revealed the truth, any negative news about Mo Fan immediately infuriated the people, forcing the Chairman’s secretary into such an awkward situation.

Zu Huiyin never thought it would come down to this when she was uttering her words so arrogantly. She would still able to recover from the situation even if Mo Fan was an emperor, but the calamity of the Ancient Capital was no longer something that she could twist with her power, as the people would not allow her to manipulate the truth!

So what if she was the Chairman’s secretary?

Did she kill a single undead, save anyone, or ferret out the members of the Black Vatican during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital?

She had not done a single thing. She was only an authority figure who pointed her fingers around. In less than an hour, the people were demanding Zu Huiyin be punished. The woman had never thought the people would get so crazy over such a petty matter!

It was the reason why Zu Huiyin had brought Zu Jiming along and apologized to Mo Fan in front of everyone. If she did not do so, she would be done for! The authorities higher up would not allow someone that was condemned by the people to be the Chairman’s secretary. She had crossed a line, and even the higher-ups did not dare to speak on her behalf!

The other authorities immediately drew a clear line between them and the Chairman’s secretary. Even the Lu Clan that had insisted on setting Mo Fan up quickly joined the other side and condemned Zu Huiyin for her inappropriate comment, since they had not really said anything harsh about Mo Fan.

Zu Huiyin had the urge to tear apart the people of the Lu Clan. She was actually speaking on behalf of the Lu Clan, yet they dared to destroy the bridge after crossing the river!

Zu Huiyin was still bowing, and did not even dare to look at Mo Fan’s shoes. She was extremely regretful of what she had done. Why would she bother speaking on behalf of Zu Jiming? Her nephew had always been clever in trivial matters, but he always failed to grasp the bigger picture. Why did she bother trying to fawn upon the Lu Clan? It had nothing to do with her in the first place!

“Chairman, you do know… that it was just a misunderstanding,” Zu Huiyin felt the urge to cry. The whole situation had changed in just an hour. She did not dare imagine what was going to happen to her next.

“As the Chairman’s secretary, you must take responsibility for everything you said. If Mo Fan isn’t willing to accept your apology, I hope that you can find a way to calm the hatred of the people,” Shao Zheng replied calmly.

Shao Zheng already knew it would come down to this, even though he was quite shocked by the punitive response that the people had sent against the woman. The people might even ask him to step down if he said a single bad comment about Mo Fan…

Shao Zheng had no intention of lending Zu Huiyin a hand. The woman had been pulling political tricks to form cliques and factions in the party. As a matter of fact, Shao Zheng had long wanted to get rid of her. Even though the woman was his assistant on the surface, she was actually a spy that his political enemies had planted beside him. Shao Zheng was planning to put a lot of policies into practice, yet his enemies kept intervening.

Shao Zheng believed he had always fulfilled his obligations with a clear conscience. As such, for the sake of the bigger picture, and the people, this Zu Huiyin must step down from her role!

—

As the people were leaving, Feng Li suddenly turned to Mu Nujiao and said, “Mu Nujiao, contact your family, tell them that you will be replacing Zu Jiming in the upcoming matches.”

Zu Jiming was walking out of the ward, and staggered with wide eyes when he heard the words.

“Advisor, I…” Zu Jiming tried to speak.

“That’s enough! I’m well aware of the conflict between you two, but our country’s ranking is currently at stake. I don’t want any conflicts between the members of the team to become a factor that might lose us a match, and it’s unnecessary to say that it’s unfair or anything. If you were the one that won us the match, I wouldn’t hesitate to expel Mo Fan from the team either!” Feng Li was incredibly stubborn whenever he had made up his mind.

Zu Jiming felt like he was going to fall apart. He had failed utterly, even before he could face Mo Fan directly!

Zu Jiming never thought he would be kicked from the team like this. He was hoping that he could redeem himself with an outstanding performance in the upcoming matches, just so his aunt, Zu Huiyin would not be so angry at him, since he was still fairly useful to her. However, he was nothing but a pile of dung if he was no longer a member of the national team!

His situation was worse than all the nightmares he had imagined!

—

—

The thin curtains were swaying slightly. In a ward close to the stadium, Mu Ningxue, with her head leaning against the headboard, was struggling to describe the complicated feeling in her heart.

As she expected, someone came into the room, and it was none other than the hero that the whole country was cheering for.

Mu Ningxue looked at the man, at the indifferent, yet somewhat perverted grin on his face…

“Xuexue, I’ve come to see you, how are you feeling?” Mo Fan came forward. He still had some obvious injuries on his body, yet he seemed to be as energetic as an ox, as if there was nothing that could knock him to the ground.

Mu Ningxue lifted her gaze. She was about to respond when she saw obvious lip marks on the side of Mo Fan’s cheek. It was pink, and from the look of it, the lips’ owner was surely an attractive woman…

Mu Ningxue tried her best to ignore it, but Mo Fan quickly stuck his face close to her. Mu Ningxue who had initially decided to be nicer to Mo Fan, was immediately filled with anger and disgust!

“Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?” Mu Ningxue’s voice lacked liveliness.

“Not yet,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was utterly confused. He went into the restroom to take a look at the mirror, and was surprised to see clear lipstick marks on his face.

Mo Fan instantly felt like he had been struck by lightning. He quickly rubbed his face.

-Goddamn it… those were Mu Nujiao’s lips…-

Mu Nujiao finally had a chance to vent out all the pressure she had been feeling. She was so excited that she kissed Mo Fan on the face when the unconscious Zhao Manyan was the only person in the ward. It did not mean anything much, it was obviously just her way of sharing her joy, since she had put in a lot of hard work for the chance to join the national team.

The woman who had been promoted to an official member of the national team subconsciously gave Mo Fan a kiss in response to her overwhelming joy surging up. However, when Mu Nujiao realized she had definitely crossed the line, she immediately fled like a panicked doe.

Mo Fan could not even take advantage of her. He simply forgot about the kiss and came to pay Mu Ningxue a visit, just so he could tell her how impressive he was in the match, yet reality had always been cruel to him.

“Xuexue, hehe, I’ve rubbed them off, what was I going to say… look at you, why are your hands so cold again? Let me warm them up for you…” Mo Fan began.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Four countries were placed in the winner bracket: Greece, England, China, and Egypt.

The loser’s bracket consisted of the USA, Canada, Germany, and France.

The first round ended with the match between China and Germany. It was very likely that a lot of new names were going to show up on the ranking after the intense matches in the first round.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan finally made it to the third rank after the defeat of the German team, taking Reed’s spot.

Reed’s weaknesses had been exposed by the match. The other countries would not struggle as much against Reed’s Innate Talent once they prepared more defensive equipment for the match.

As for Mo Fan’s destructive power, it did not really matter how much defensive equipment or how many spells they had, they were still going to be knocked to the ground!

It was rare for students to duel one another outside of a tournament, thus it was fairly difficult to tell who was stronger on a team without going through the match against the German team.

The schedule of the matches for the winner bracket was yet to be decided. It would only be revealed during the day of the matches.

The participants had two days to rest up. However, those who had suffered great injuries, like Zhao Manyan were unlikely to participate in the next match. Judging from his outstanding performance in the first match, the team would have a better chance at winning if he was able to take part in the second match too, since the synergy between him and Mo Fan was flawless.

One had perfect defense, while the other had perfect offense. When they were both on the stage, the opposing team would have to put in a strenuous effort just to deal with them.

Mo Fan’s energy was recovering at a slow pace. He had expended too much energy from his Fire, Lightning, and Summoning Elements. Mo Fan could not guarantee that he would fully recover in just two days. That being said, the energy of his Shadow and Space Elements was plentiful.

Similarly, Ai Jiangtu was overwhelmed by fatigue, too. He had stayed in the match for the longest on their team, since he was in it right from the very start. He was the mainstay of the team. Without him, the team would have collapsed early on.

Ai Jiangtu’s condition was worse than Mo Fan’s. There was no way he would be taking part in the next match.

The good news was that Mu Ningxue had recovered from her injuries. She also used the chance to digest the resources she had acquired from the treasure hunt.

She needed Ice Fundamental Crystals. The money she got from selling her share of the loot in the treasure hunt was enough for her to buy Fundamental Crystals to fill up another piece of the Ice Crystal Bow. As a result, her cultivation had improved, too. She would have to bear a heavy responsibility for the upcoming matches!

—

On the third day, the second round of the finals finally began. The four teams in the winner bracket would be competing against one another, followed by the four teams in the loser bracket. The outcome of the matches would further decide the groupings of the teams.

The people had high hopes in the Chinese team after their outstanding performance in the first match. However, the Chinese team was not in luck in the second round, as they were drawn to face the English team that was most likely going to be the champion of the tournament.

The English team was crazy strong, especially Zorro, who was ranked first among the participants. Many people shared the same comment about him: his strength was unfathomable. Even Ayleen, who was fairly close to Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue, mentioned that the man was incomprehensible, as if he came from outer space. Even as his teammate, Ayleen the Great Duchess had never seen Zorro use all his strength.

Everyone was well aware of how strong the English team was. Apart from the first-ranked Zorro, the other members had occupied two other spots on the ranking. The participant ranked seventh, and some other ranks were also members of the English team.

The Chinese team found itself in quite an awkward situation. After the intense match against the German team, their captain, Ai Jiangtu, was unable to fight the next match. Mo Fan’s Lightning and Fire Elements had not fully recovered yet, and both Zhao Manyan and Jiang Shaoxu were still recovering from serious injuries…

“Forfeit the match?”

“Feng Li, did I hear it right? Are we seriously going to forfeit the match?”

Feng Li nodded. He had made the decision as soon as the team was drawn against the English team.

Among the countries in the winners bracket, both Greece and England were super powerhouses. The Chinese team basically had no chance of winning against either of them. As such, Feng Li did not hesitate to forfeit the match. However, if they had gone up against the Egyptian team, they would have gone all out instead!

Clearly, luck would not always be in their favor. They had a one in three chance to be up against Egypt, and two in three to be drawn against a team they would surely lose to.

“Won’t the people find it hard to accept that we’ve given up on the match without trying?” Han Ji asked directly.

“If we still give it all even though we know we’re going to lose, and eventually cost ourselves the rest of the matches for the tournament, that’s called being stupid! It’ll be even harder for the people to accept it. We didn’t give up on the finals, nor did we give up on securing a higher rank in the tournament. We have only decided to preserve our strength after analyzing the situation, just so we can win the third match!” Feng Li said firmly.

“Old Feng, I always thought you were an inflexible man. I agree that we have no chance of winning the match. Instead of losing the match after giving our best, we should just preserve our strength for the next match instead,” Mo Fan agreed with a grin.

Feng Li had made up his mind. Even though the advisors did not think it was appropriate to purposely forfeit the match, there was no dissent with his decision.

—

In the second round, the first match was between China and England. Feng Li sent out Guan Yu and Li Kaifeng, the two agile Mages to probe the English team’s strength. The remaining members only joined the match as a mere formality. Those that were fit for battle stayed for a while longer, while the others withdrew from the match as early as possible.

The match was incredibly boring to watch, but the people knew that the match between the Chinese team and the German team was too intense. The Chinese team was up against a powerhouse before their members could even recover. It would be stupid if they decided to force themselves to fight the match.

The Chinese team ended up preserving their strength by losing the match. They were placed in the group with one win.

The English team won again, and was placed in the group with two wins.

The match between Greece and Egypt turned out to be the highlight of the winner bracket. Everyone totally expected the Egyptian team to be crushed by Greece, yet they somehow came up with a dirty strategy against the Greek team and dragged the match out, allowing them to fill the stage with undead once again.

The Chinese team was regarded as a black horse, but the performance of the Egyptian team in the tournament had been shocking, too. Their perfect teamwork and undead strategy had forced the powerhouse that was Greece into a pinch. The whole world was amazed by the rise of the Egyptian team!

Undead strategy!

Egypt’s national team perfectly utilized the strength of their country to defeat the Mages that practiced other Elements. Seventy percent of the team consisted of Mages with the Undead Element. People initially thought the Egyptian team was only lucky with their strategy, as Canada was not supposed to lose to Egypt. To their surprise, even Greece failed miserably in the second round!

The final outcome was absolutely shocking. The Egyptian team secured the victory with their undead strategy, defeating Greece, which was thought to be unbeatable!

Both Egypt and England had gotten two wins so far. They would be facing one another, and the winning team would have three wins in total. That team would immediately skip the fourth round, and find the other team in the final round that would decide who the champion of the tournament was.

“Is Egypt really that strong? I can’t believe it,” Mo Fan said to Mu Ningxue.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had fought the Egyptian team when they were still at the Training Hall. Among its members, Sayed, Shreev, and Meos were not particularly outstanding. If they had to evaluate the Egyptian team’s strength, they would easily place them among the sixteen countries that had been disqualified from the tournament.

But now, not only had they made it to the finals, and were lucky enough to win the first match, they unbelievably won the second match too! If they ended up beating the English team too, they would surely be ranked first or second in the tournament!

Everyone was struggling to accept the truth.

“I believe they weren’t planning to have outstanding students right from the start. It’s obvious that their undead strategy has been aiming for the team battles, especially the finals, since eight members of the team are going to be participating in a match, meaning that they could arrange eight Undead Mages to take part in a match if they want…” Mu Ningxue said.

The members of the Egyptian team were pretty average when it came to duels, but when the members came together, they were the most annoying team to fight against!

It did not matter how difficult it was for the people to accept the outcome, Egypt had indeed made it to their current position. People no longer thought they were being lucky with their wins. The rest of the countries had started putting more effort into learning their undead strategy, just so they would not be taken by surprise if they ended up facing them. After all, even a strong team like Greece had lost to them, even though Greece’s overall strength was not any weaker than England’s. Greece had even won against the other powerhouse of the tournament, America!

—

The sacred mountain of the Parthenon Temple had a few cliffs, and one of them faced the rising sun in the east…

On the cliff facing the Hall of the Goddess, strong winds were blowing into a cave, swinging a little hut hanging in the air inside it.

The swinging hut had the blue sky with a slight curve as its background, the face of the cliff was around twenty meters away. Below it was a seventy-meters-long path, covered in verdant and thick grass.

A woman with bare feet and a slender figure was spotted in the slightly swaying hut. Her curvy body leaned against the soft couch as she was dressed in a cozy, yet noble white dress. The glamorous woman sat comfortably in the swinging hut, humming a pleasant melody…

On her left was a bottle of carbonated drink, and on her right was her phone. Her disheveled, tawny hair was occasionally lifted up whenever a wind blew. Asha’ruiya enjoyed spending her time here in the afternoon!

The phone began to vibrate. Asha’ruiya glanced at it indifferently. News of insignificant matters rarely reached her phone. It must be something very important if it was disturbing her peaceful afternoon.

“The team lost?” Asha’ruiya was quite surprised. “Those idiots, did they seriously lose to Egypt after beating America?

“There goes my break, I thought I could relax for a few days since Andi is dead…”

“It’s me, Asha’ruiya, prepare my plane for tonight, I’m flying to Venice.”

“First, I’m a member of the team, even though I didn’t take part in the training. Second, as a public figure, isn’t it my responsibility to represent Greece and win some glory back? Third, the final election is taking place soon, and if a candidate is particularly outstanding during the World College Tournament that the whole world is watching, wouldn’t I win over more supporters too…”

After hanging up the phone, Asha’ruiya smiled with great anticipation.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Two days later, the third round of the finals took place.

The most anticipated matches were between the teams that had one win so far.

In the second round, the USA managed to win the match in the loser bracket without any surprise, and joined the group with one win. The German team that was still in bad shape ended up losing to France in the losers bracket, allowing France to join the group with one win too.

As a result, there were four teams in the group with one win. Greece and China won their first match but lost their second, and America and France that won in the loser bracket.

Funny thing was, the USA ended up going against Greece once again in the third round. The match took place in the morning, and once again, America lost to Greece…

The American team had already lost to Greece in the first round, but this time, they were struggling even more, as a strong Space Maga had joined the team out of nowhere.

Mo Fan knew her. It was the mad woman, Asha’ruiya!

Mo Fan had been staring at Asha’ruiya’s ass for the entire game and happened to realize how strong the woman was. Because of her, it was even more unlikely for the American team to beat Greece. They lost again without any surprise.

The Chinese team was pretty lucky to face France in the third round.

France was actually quite strong, too. The Chinese team was expected to pay some price in order to secure the win, but the members of the French team had been severely injured in the match against Germany. The French team quickly collapsed in the match against the well-rested Chinese team.

The French team did try to put up a fight, but Mu Ningxue had finally shown up in the finals, and did not really give the opposing team any chance with her dominating Ice Domain.

The team was pretty happy with the win. They did not expend too much energy in the match against France, meaning they could give their all in the next match. If they were able to win the next match, it meant they would be ranked in the top three!

—

Mo Fan was slightly injured in the match against France, so he was asked to rest up in the Healing ward. He ended up missing the match between England and Egypt. The two teams were said to have the greatest disparity in terms of strength.

The Healing ward was not too close nor too far away from the stadium, but Mo Fan could easily hear the explosive uproar of the crowd.

For some reason, Mo Fan was having a bad feeling about it.

“England lost.”

“Are you sure you aren’t trying to fool me?”

“I’m not, England lost the match. They lost to Egypt. Holy crap, I feel like I’m going nuts; is Egypt using some evil, forbidden magic? They are able to summon endless undead, and each undead was even stronger than the ones Summoned before. You have no idea, the strongest guy on the English team, when I saw his magic, I was already convinced that he’s the strongest participant in the tournament. Even with his third-tier Advanced Spell, he still couldn’t handle the undead strategy!” Zhao Manyan said on the phone.

Zhao Manyan went straight to the stadium to watch the match as soon as he recovered, while Mo Fan was left in the Healing ward. The French team had desperately focused their attacks on Mo Fan during the match, allowing Mu Ningxue to stack her Ice as she pleased. The French team naively thought they could win the match by taking out Mo Fan, but Mu Ningxue’s Ice Domain was like a heavy slap to their face.

“It sounds like the Egyptian team is unstoppable? Are they seriously going to win the tournament with their undead strategy?” Mo Fan was utterly shocked by the result.

Mo Fan had fought against the Egyptian team at the Training Hall. He even scolded the crap out of them, but to his surprise, the Egyptian team had made such a great comeback in the tournament by defeating two powerhouses, Greece and England…

Everyone could easily tell that Egypt was simply abusing their dirty strategy to win the matches, yet the teams were struggling to find a way to overcome it. The Egyptian team was unbeatable, as even the elites of the English team had lost too!

—

If the Chinese team was considered a black horse, the Egyptian team would be a black dragon. They had taken all the attention of the people that were watching the World College Tournament.

The Egyptian team won three matches in a row with their undead strategy, placing them at the top of the bracket, guaranteeing itself a spot in the top three.

USA had lost miserably in this tournament. It no longer had a chance to be placed in the top three. From this point on, it was up to England, China, and Greece to see who was going to take on the Egypt team in the final showdown!

In the past, there were a few surprising teams that had ended up winning the tournament, but the people across the world were having a hard time believing that Egypt had managed to come so far. Perhaps even the people in Egypt were having a hard time believing it.

—

After the first three rounds, USA, Germany, France, and Canada no longer had a chance of being placed in the top three. The people were not really interested in the teams ranked in the bottom four, either. Their eyes were on the teams that were competing for the top four places.

Egypt had become the final boss, the only team with three wins so far. It had already claimed a spot in the final match. The members of the Egyptian team were obviously going to watch China, England, and Greece fighting over the last chance with grins on their faces…

The rules had changed in the fourth round.

Since China, England, and Greece had the same number of wins, the fourth round was no longer a battle between two teams, but a mixed battle between three teams.

The mixed battle suddenly became the highlight of the tournament. The teams were planning to win the final ticket to the last match, or to secure a spot in the top three, so they were surely going to give their best. It was going to become the most spectacular match in the tournament.

However, many people were quite speechless, since among all the possibilities they had considered, they never thought Egypt would be the one waiting at the top of the bracket, while England, Greece, and China were fighting for the chance in a mixed battle!

Everyone thought England or Greece would secure a spot in the final match first, and the other would have to take part in the mixed battle. That being said, the team would still win in the end, meaning that Greece and England were meant to face one another in the final match.

How wrong they were!

It went without saying that they were bets set up to guess who was going to end up in the final match… the funny thing was, almost no one had bet on the possibility of the current situation. Those who took part in the bets had lost, yet they did not lose much, either.

The organizer had limited the highest odds to a ratio of one to a thousand.

Some people were actually bored enough to bet on the possibility, but the total money that was bet on it was only a few hundred thousand.

Even with the highest odds, the payout would only be a few hundred million at most. It was basically nothing compared to the billions in the pool. Once the few hundred million was taken from the pool, and the money was distributed back to the people, how much money would each person lose in the end?

Meanwhile, those that placed the bet just for fun did not bet a lot of money, either. Even with the highest odds, they would not receive a lot of money.

In the end, the whole world had guessed it wrong, as no one had expected the tournament to end up like this!

—

“Holy crap, England and Greece, what the heck are we supposed to do? We should have fought the England team with all we had instead. Look where we are now, a mixed battle with two powerhouses! I can’t even imagine what’s going to happen when the day comes!” Zhao Manyan cursed energetically. He had fully recovered from his injuries.

He simply had an urge to cry. Trying to win in a mixed battle against the two powerhouses was even more difficult than ascending to Heaven!

“It isn’t as bad as we thought, since England and Greece are on an equal footing. It goes without saying that they will both try to secure the chance of advancing to the final round. They will be holding each other down, so that might be our chance instead,” Nanyu said.

Anything could happen in a mixed battle between three teams, especially when two powerhouses were involved!

“I’m only worried that those two countries will think of us as a nuisance, so they are going to take us out first before deciding the outcome between them. That’s bad news for us… Mo Fan, aren’t you close with that Ayleen? Why don’t you talk with Ayleen and tell them we’ll work with them to take Greece out first, and we’ll decide who the winner is between ourselves. I believe the English team will be willing to accept the deal. They would rather fight us than the Greek team!” Jiang Yu said to Mo Fan.

“I bet Ayleen is more than willing to work together with us, but I doubt the English team is willing to do that,” Mo Fan said.

“By the way, didn’t the Candidate from Greece greet you at the stadium? Does she know you because she’s close to Xinxia? Why don’t you talk with her? We can work together and take England out first!” Zhao Manyan said as the thought crossed his mind.

“Each country is trying to set one another up. If any of the teams believe bullshit like that, that team is going to be knocked out first,” Ai Jiangtu, who had been silent all this time, stated firmly.

It was quite pointless to discuss the match, since anything could happen when the time came. They could only react according to the situation on the day.

—

—

After the meeting came to an end, Mo Fan initially wanted to eat a romantic Italian dinner with Mu Ningxue, but she went back to her room to cultivate, leaving Mo Fan alone to enjoy the breeze under the dim streetlights in Venice.

Mo Fan had no choice but to settle his dinner somewhere. He was still thinking about the Egyptian team as he made his way to the restaurant with fairly impressive pizzas.

As soon as he sat down, he saw a beautiful woman wearing a black veil sit down across him. She was wearing a faint smile, her temperament was unfathomable. He could not tell if she was alluring or sacred.

“Such a coincidence?” Mo Fan raised his head and pulled down the veil on the woman’s face. “It’s so dark here, no one is going to recognize you. There’s no need to hide your pretty face.”

“The day after tomorrow, we’ll work together and take out the English team first,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Sure,” Mo Fan nodded.

“I’m being serious,” Asha’ruiya said.

“I’m being serious too,” Mo Fan replied.

“Pleasant working with you then.” After finishing the sentence, Asha’ruiya rose to her feet.

“Not going to eat some?” Mo Fan picked up a piece of savory pizza and asked politely. Pizzas in Italy were the best!

“I’m on a diet.”

“…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The day of the mixed battle finally arrived. The black horse of the tournament, the Chinese team had lost its brilliance under the sacred light of the other two countries, England and Greece.

The match was not held in the same stadium as the previous rounds, but a confined space similar to the Treasure Hunt.

The confined space was a battlefield, constructed by an artist with the Space and Earth Elements a long time ago. The battlefield had a length of a kilometer, and a width of half a kilometer. It was divided by a river with a rapid current, with aged trees on both sides of the river. The trees were taller than fifty meters on average, and the dense canopy was basically another terrain in the air…

After the forest was a mountainous area with steeper slopes further away, with perfectly straight, tall cliffs at the end, as if the whole place was surrounded by a circle of dams.

There were seats set up on the cliffs for the audience, allowing them to look down at the battlefield from a great height.

As a matter of fact, the battlefield was the same as the wild. Even those that managed to get themselves a seat with the best vision were unlikely to be able to watch the match clearly.

—

The authority figures of different countries were long seated in their allocated seats, while the people that entered with the tickets they had purchased had prepared all kinds of devices to help them see further into the distance. The people were all excited, waiting for the mixed battle to begin.

The students were in their reserved areas. The teams were allocated to observation decks extending out from the cliffs. The participants and their advisors were arranged to stay on the observation decks, and when the time came, the assistant judges would signal to them.

The observation decks were set up in different corners. The members were able to see where the other two teams were by glancing into the distance.

The battlefield was quite huge, and it was unnecessary to set up a magic barrier for the match. The battlefield and the spectator seats were ninety meters apart in terms of height. The magnificent cliffs surrounding the battlefield were already a solid barrier. The organizer had allocated the spectators reasonably. If a burst of energy was heading in their way, the people appointed by the organizers would intervene and protect them.

On the other hand, due to the size of the battlefield, the assistant judges would have trouble intervening in time. The assistant judges might not even know where the students were!

There were twelve assistant judges in the mixed battle. They would be moving around on the battlefield without intervening with the fights. They would be watching the fights, and if they believed a student was in life-threatening danger, they would lend a hand immediately.

Apart from the twelve assistant judges were assigned to protect the students, each participant was given a Ring of Venice, too.

The Ring of Venice was a masterpiece that every forgemaster of Venice was proud of. These rings were outstanding because they would activate automatically. The rings were able to analyze the danger its bearer was in. If the person wearing the ring was not protected and the damage of the spells targeting the person was too high, the ring would assume the bearer was in danger and unleash a Water Barrier to protect the bearer…

However, if the Ring of Venice was activated, the participant wearing it would be disqualified from the match!

The Ring of Venice was a great invention. The country had wanted to promote it for a long time, but because the materials needed to forge the Ring of Venice were incredibly rare, it was impossible to mass-produce the magic ring. Otherwise, Hunters who spent most of their time in the wilderness would be willing to spend a fortune on a Ring of Venice!

“Have you heard? Even if we lose the match, we’re allowed to keep these rings as a prize. They aren’t going to take them back!” Zhao Manyan played with the ring excitedly.

“That’s a nice consolation prize. It’s very handy for protecting our lives,” Jiang Yu remarked.

“Can the two of you have some more confidence? This ring is garbage compared to the prizes for the top three teams!” Mo Fan snapped.

The Ring of Venice was indeed valuable, but whenever Mo Fan thought about the Blessing of the God’s Seal, or the full set of magic equipment that could grant them an extra spell, the Ring of Venice was just too ordinary in comparison.

“You guys… just react according to the situation. I have nothing much to say, try your best,” Feng Li said.

The other advisors agreed to let the students decide on their own approach for the match, seeing that Feng Li did not bother discussing some kind of meaningless strategy with them.

—

“Participants, in your positions!”

“The match begins now!”

A brilliant Light spell was fired into the sky above the battlefield as the signal. The light sprinkled onto the river, the canopy, and the mountainous area.

This time, the Chinese team had sent out their strongest formation. Both Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu were among the starting members, while Mu Ningxue was assigned as the sixth member, allowing her to provide backup when needed.

The starting members consisted of Mo Fan, Ai Jiangtu, Guan Yu, Mu Tingying, and Zhao Manyan. The five of them were actually very strong…

The five were close to the boundary of the mountainous area and the forest. They headed into the forest while Guan Yu stayed in the canopy and watched the other two teams.

“Both England and Greece are between the river and the forest. We’ll be stumbling into them soon if we continue to move at this rate,” Guan Yu called down.

“Let’s head over then. It’s unnecessary to hide, we’ll face them directly,” Mo Fan said.

The five made their way toward the river. All three teams were from strong nations, so it was unreasonable for the team to show a sign of weakness. They had to retain their momentum in order to win in the mixed battle.

They soon arrived at the river.

The first team they stumbled into was not the English team, but the Greek team.

The Greek team was less than a hundred meters away from the Chinese team. They did not attack right away, and seemed rather collected.

Mo Fan immediately saw Asha’ruiya among the Greek team. Even in the tournament, the woman was still dressed in a sacred, yet alluring outfit. If Mo Fan had not witnessed how insane Asha’ruiya could be in person, he would believe that she was a sacred Candidate for the role of the Goddess, just like everyone else.

Mo Fan exchanged glances with Asha’ruiya. The woman kept winking at him, as if she was flirting with him and teasing his impenetrable heart…

The English team arrived soon, led by their captain, Zorro, the man with dark green hair and eyes. Mo Fan could feel a dangerous presence under the man’s gentle appearance.

Mo Fan saw Ayleen, too. She was as calm and elegant as usual. She nodded when she noticed Mo Fan’s gaze.

For some reason, Mo Fan felt a sense of helplessness under Ayleen’s conservative gaze!

“What should we do now?” Zhao Manyan glanced to his left, then to his right. He seemed to be under great pressure.

“We’ll target the English team,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“For sure?”

“Yes!”

The team placed their attention on the English team as they prepared to attack.

However, to their surprise, the Greek team immediately engaged them, too!

It was not like a member of the Greek team had attacked the Chinese team directly, but a Summoned Beast shrouded by a deathly aura of darkness, wearing black armor and holding a giant, black sword was charging right at them from the direction of the Greek team!

Zhao Manyan almost felt like his head was about to explode as soon as he saw the creature. Wasn’t this death knight riding on the dark horse the Dark Swordmaster that was guarding the pyramid in Egypt? Why the heck would it show up here?

The horse galloped forward, leaving a trail of wilted plants and fallen leaves behind it. The Dark Swordmaster raised the giant sword and slashed at Guan Yu, who was observing the surroundings from the high ground.

The black aura unleashed by the sword slashed through an entire row of the trees. Guan Yu agilely hopped between the trunks that were falling slowly. The Dark Swordmaster continued to swing its sword wildly at Guan Yu. The formidable attacks shattered the ancient trees into pieces before they even landed on the ground!

“Attack!”

Meanwhile, the English team made its move too, seeing that the Greek team had already engaged the enemy. The person that attacked first was Herbert who held a grudge against Mo Fan. He cast the Plummeting Rays, firing light arrows down at the Chinese team, forcing its members to either split up or stick closely together.

“F**k me, the two teams have teamed up to take us out first!” Zhao Manyan cursed while setting up his defense.

“We’re done for, they actually teamed up against us…”

They initially decided to face the two powerhouses in a fair fight, but the two teams ended up joining forces instead to pick on them. It felt like the Chinese team was surely going to be disqualified at the start of the match. The supporters of the Chinese team cursed at the two powerhouses while worrying about the Chinese team’s situation!

—

“Hehe, were you surprised? Little Mo Fan?” Asha’ruiya stood on a branch and glanced down at Mo Fan with a pair of glittering eyes.

“Do you really think I would believe the words of a cunning vixen like you?” Mo Fan grinned coldly. He seemed rather calm.

“What can you do even if you don’t believe me? You’re about to run away from here with your tail between your legs!” Asha’ruiya had a great smile. It looked pure and innocent, it totally did not look like she was trying to get her revenge on Mo Fan for taking advantage of her before!

“Do you really think I don’t have a brain?” Even though Mo Fan knew the situation was not in favor of the team, and they might even lose a member or two within a short period of time, it was nowhere enough to disqualify the Chinese team immediately.

“Look behind you,” Asha’ruiya remained calm. She was not in a rush to attack.

Mo Fan turned around and saw a man with dark green hair and eyes approaching. It was obvious that he was planning to flank him together with Asha’ruiya.

“I believe I can take you out myself, but I’ve asked him to come just in case,” Asha’ruiya sounded very languid, like a woman speaking coquettishly to her boyfriend after just waking up. Any man would be flushed with embarrassment hearing it.

However, Mo Fan was not willing to fall for the trap of the cunning vixen. He turned around and glanced at Zorro, the participant ranked first in the tournament…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Did you all remember what I said?” Mo Fan was pretty calm even though he was flanked by two strong opponents.

Mo Fan was obviously not talking to the cunning vixen, Asha’ruiya. He was talking to his teammates.

Ai Jiangtu, Zhao Manyan, Mu Tingying, Guan Yu, and the others still remembered Mo Fan mention that if they found themselves in the worst situation possible, they had no choice but to fight with all they had!

The five members of the English team were clearly more aggressive than the Greek team. They kept blasting Zhao Manyan’s defense with their destructive spells.

Zhao Manyan did not preserve his strength either, using all his magic equipment and spells to defend the team from the attacks.

While resisting the attacks from the English team, Ai Jiangtu, Mu Tingying, Guan Yu immediately attacked the members of the Greek team. They immediately cast their strongest spells and focused on the same target. They were not hoping to win the match, but aiming to injure the enemy!

Mo Fan did the same thing too. Even though Zorro who was said to be the strongest in the tournament, he was not actually a pure destructive Mage. It was unlikely that he could knock Mo Fan out in a short period.

Mo Fan aggressively attacked Asha’ruiya like a mad hound, as if he was completely disregarding Zorro’s existence.

At the start, the Greek team could still hold their ground; they were a powerhouse, after all. However, they immediately realized that something was not right after a few rounds.

Even though both the English team and the Greek team were picking on the Chinese team, the members of the Chinese team were fighting the Greek team recklessly. They were willing to take the risk of being disqualified just to inflict serious damage on the Greek team!

The Chinese team was using their magic equipment at will, thus the Greek team was forced to use their magic equipment, too.

Magic equipment was like a consumable in a match, as they would no longer be available for the rest of the match once they were used. Despite the two teams agreeing to take the Chinese team out, the Greek team was the only one that was paying the price, to the extent that someone on their team was at risk of being disqualified, too!

—

Not long after, the Greek team realized that the situation was unfavorable to them.

Asha’ruiya panted heavily. She briefly freed herself from Mo Fan’s aggressive attacks and glared at Zorro, “Keep him busy.”

“I’m planning to, but he’s ignoring me completely!” Zorro said helplessly.

“Why do I feel like you’re letting us fight instead?” Asha’ruiya could easily tell that Zorro was obviously not giving his best.

Mo Fan was only targeting Asha’ruiya, thus Zorro was more than willing to be a bystander. If Asha’ruiya ended up being injured or using a piece of important magic equipment, it would be easier for Zorro to fight her later.

Zorro had also discovered that Mo Fan was not the only one that was targeting the Greek team. All the other members of the Chinese team were going all out at the Greek team too! When the assassin Mage of the Chinese team was disqualified, he even managed to leave the Healer of the Greek team with serious injuries!

The Healer of the Greek team was still in the match, yet it would clearly take him some time to fully recover from his injuries. It would significantly weaken his performance!

“Mo Fan, are you out of your mind? What good will it bring to you?” Asha’ruiya protested anxiously.

“Enough talk! Eat this, you cunning, little foxy!” Mo Fan was not in the mood to talk to Asha’ruiya at all. He would not have been so aggressive if Asha’ruiya had not tried to set him up. If Asha’ruiya wanted to pick on the Chinese team first, he would make her team pay a great price too!

Mo Fan had six Elements in total. As he went all out, even Asha’ruiya was struggling to take him, on despite her outstanding strength. The destructive spells just kept coming. Asha’ruiya had already used two of her defensive items. Even though Zorro had been quiet throughout the fight, Asha’ruiya knew the man was gloating over it secretly!

“AHHH!!!” A cry of agony came from the woods not far away. Asha’ruiya created some distance between him and glanced into the direction of the cry.

She grinned when she saw the defensive Mage of the Chinese team being eliminated. However, her grin froze when she saw one of her teammates being knocked out by Ai Jiangtu, too!

Their plan to disqualify the Chinese team first was working like a charm, since they had managed to disqualify two members of the Chinese team when the match had only just begun. However, the Greek team had also lost a member, and their Healer was seriously injured!

On the other hand, the English team was perfectly fine. They did not seem like they had gone through any battle at all!

Asha’ruiya did not think the Chinese team would react like this. She glared at Mo Fan, who was pursuing her relentlessly.

“Everyone, fall back immediately, and stop attacking the Chinese team,” Asha’ruiya finally ran out of patience. She quickly gave the command to the members of the Greek team.

The members of the Greek team were not idiots. At this rate, both their team and the Chinese team were like two shepherds in a quarrel, while the English team was obviously the wolf running a winning game!

“Asha’ruiya, stop running! Come play another three hundred rounds with your daddy!” Mo Fan yelled when he saw Asha’ruiya fleeing into the distance.

There was no way Asha’ruiya would continue fighting the maniac. If she did, their team was surely going to lose the match!

—

Asha’ruiya quickly regrouped with her team and started evaluating their condition.

Their substitutes would soon enter the battlefield. They had to ensure that their new substitute was not ambushed by the enemy.

The teams in the mixed battle could only substitute members during certain time frames that occurred every fifteen minutes. A new member could only enter the match during that time, and regardless of how many members of a team had been knocked out, the teams were not allowed to send their members in outside of the time given, even if they still had chances to do so left.

In addition to it, if a whole team was knocked out before they could substitute new members in, the team would be disqualified from the match.

As such, the teams had to be extremely careful to not get knocked out by the enemy before new members were substituted in!

The substitute members of a team would be teleported to a certain spot on the battlefield. Therefore, the teams had to prepare themselves to receive the substitute members. Otherwise, the opposing teams could easily take their teammate out when they were still alone, meaning that their teammate would have been disqualified for nothing!

Since the Greek team had lost one of its members, a substitute member would soon enter the battlefield.

If the English team ended up taking out their substitute after they were teleported onto the battlefield, the Greek team would be in great trouble, since the scales were slowly leaning toward the English!

The Greek team was unwilling to find themselves in such a pinch. The truth was, if they continued to work with the English team for fifteen minutes, they were most likely going to disqualify the Chinese team. Their substitutes had no chance of turning the tables again. However, were they still willing to work with the English team?

Quite obviously not!

—

“We should just ask the English team to keep targeting the Chinese team while we are recovering,” Karolina, a member of the Greek team, proposed.

Karolina was a student of the Parthenon Temple, a destructive Maga with the Plant Element as her primary Element.

“They wouldn’t agree to it, since they are currently in an advantageous position,” Asha’ruiya replied.

It was exactly as Asha’ruiya had thought. Since the Greek team had stopped attacking the Chinese team, the English team had also stopped pressuring the Chinese team.

They had to be cautious too. If they pressured the Chinese team too much, the Chinese team might target them instead, meaning that they would be throwing their advantage away.

At this rate, they only needed to be slow and steady. With the advantage they currently had, they could easily secure the win!

They really had to thank China for weakening the Greek team for them.

“Those Chinese, why are they insisting on fighting us!?” Karolina complained anxiously.

The English team was not going easy on the Chinese team either, yet it felt like the Chinese team held a huge grudge against their team!

“They are only trying to protect themselves. If they tried fighting both teams at once, or just focused on defense, their whole team would surely be wiped out in no time, and they would no longer stand a chance in the match. However, if they only focus on one of us and fight with all they have, the alliance between us and the English team will surely crumble, allowing them to overcome the pinch they were in,” Asha’ruiya explained.

Asha’ruiya was fairly impressed with Mo Fan’s strategy.

She was planning to disqualify the Chinese team first, eager to get her revenge. The Greek team would then take on the English team once the Chinese team was knocked out.

In terms of strength, she was confident that she could take on Zorro on her own.

However, the mad hound Mo Fan had disrupted her plan, placing the Greek team in a disadvantageous position.

“Then what are we supposed to do now? Are we still going to attack the Chinese team? Or should we turn on the English team instead?” Karolina asked.

“Let’s probe the English team,” Asha’ruiya said.

“What about the Chinese team?”

Asha’ruiya bit her lips and replied, “Leave them be.”

—

—

The three teams called a truce when it was almost time for the substitute members to enter the battlefield.

It went without saying that only China and Greece were waiting for substitute members. The English team was actually looking for any substitute member separated from their team. Unfortunately, they were not in luck, and did not find any free pickings.

Meanwhile, Mu Ningxue and Nanyu successfully rendezvoused with the team.

Nanyu frowned when she realized that the three remaining members of the team were injured.

She knew their team was going to struggle in the mixed battle, yet to her surprise, it felt like their team was on the verge of losing the match only fifteen minutes into the fight!.

“We’re in pretty bad shape. We can’t really tell how long we can last still,” Ai Jiangtu sat on the ground, Nanyu treating his injuries.

Nanyu was not a true Healer. She was only giving Ai Jiangtu some basic treatment to prevent his injuries from worsening.

Mu Ningxue was inspecting Mo Fan’s injuries, too. Mo Fan’s condition was pretty bad. Both Zorro and Asha’ruiya were incredibly strong. It was impressive that Mo Fan had managed to stay in the match when he had to face both of them at the same time!

Luckily, Mo Fan was surprisingly tough. He was still able to fight as long as his injuries did not worsen.

“What should we do…” Ai Jiangtu was just about to discuss strategy with the team when Nanyu suddenly signaled him to keep quiet.

Everyone immediately focused their attention on her.

Nanyu transmitted her voice into the ears of her teammates, “I just tracked down the Greek team’s substitute member. He’s pretty close to us!”

Everyone’s eyes glittered immediately!

“F**k, let’s take him out!” Mo Fan was the first to rise to his feet.

The others were nursing a strong grievance after what the Greek team did to them. They immediately directed their hatred onto the new member that had not linked up with the Greek team!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The trees were huge and majestic. It was very likely that they were the seeds of some plant-type demon creatures. These plants usually grew a lot faster than normal plants by taking in more nutrients from the ground.

Surrounded by the thick woods, the new member of the Greek team seemed to have lost his way.

After he arrived on the battlefield, he purposely went into the thick woods to hide from the English team, while he waited for his teammates to regroup with him.

“You guys are finally here…” the Greek member let out a relieved sigh when he heard a group of people approaching him.

It did not take long for his teammates to find him after he sent out the signal.

“Yeah, we are here to send you out!” Mo Fan’s voice appeared beside the Greek.

The man reacted fairly quickly, immediately Summoning a circle of light to protect himself.

The light spread further and revealed the silhouette of a man behind a tree. If the man had not spoken, the Greek would have had no chance of noticing his presence.

“Chinese?” the Greek member frowned. The expression on his face stiffened.

It was worse than stumbling into the English team! The question was, how did these Chinaman know where he was!?

“Do you really think you can take me out, I am…”

“I am your nanny!” Mo Fan knew the Greek member was only trying to buy himself more time. He Summoned the Flame Sword in his hand and slashed at the defensive light shrouding the man.

The burning sword slashed the defensive light in half. The Greek member’s face paled, and he quickly activated his magic boots and fled.

The magic boots were quite high-quality, and seemed to contain the power of the Space Element. The Greek member was able to travel a great distance with just a little step. He was a hundred meters away within the blink of an eye.

“Gravity Space!” a stern voice uttered. The Greek member suddenly felt like his legs were being tied down by a huge iron ball. His steps slowed down rapidly, and it felt like the ground was cracking with every step he took…

“Go on, keep running!” Mo Fan caught up with the Greek member. He vented his anger by beating the crap out of the Greek member with both his Fire and Lightning Element.

The Greek member was still able to hold his ground, since he was an elite member of the team too.

However, when Mu Ningxue and Nanyu showed up, the Greek member could only despair.

He was covered in wounds and bruises, yet the Chinese purposely avoided inflicting too much damage on him, so the Ring of Venice would not be activated.

The Greek member felt like crying. These Chinese were venting all the frustration they had accumulated from the past fifteen minutes on him. That was unfair; he wasn’t the one that came up with the plan, he wasn’t even in the match!

“Karolina, save me!” the Greek member yelled desperately when he saw his teammates arriving.

Karolina, Asha’ruiya, and the rest of the team finally arrived, yet their faces contorted when they saw their substitute member being badly beaten by the Chinese team.

Buzz…

Mo Fan landed one more Lightning spell on the Greek, and it finally activated the Ring of Venice to protect him.

The Water Barrier flickered. The assistant judge nearby, who was getting impatient after waiting for so long, immediately showed up and carried the pitiful participant away.

As a matter of fact, even the assistant judge was feeling sorry for the Greek. How unlucky was the man to find himself not far away from the Chinese team after he had just been teleported onto the battlefield? The Chinese team took their sweet time beating him up, just to get their revenge!

—

“Avenge me!” The Greek substitute was covered in wounds and bruises, but still gasped that out to his teammates with his final breath.

The Greek team was enraged, yet they did not attack the Chinese team.

Both sides had suffered significant damage from the previous battle; if they were to fight any further, the English team would surely win the match. Second, they only had four members, while the Chinese team had five!

It was very unwise to fight the Chinese team when they were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.

“The rules of the mixed battle are very interesting, don’t you think? The tables have turned!” Mo Fan walked up to the Greek team, all smiles, and gave Asha’ruiya a provoking look.

Asha’ruiya was so furious that her bust was heaving from her heavy breathing. She never thought the luck of their substitute would be so bad that he would appear so close to the Chinese team. If the Chinese had wanted to kill him, he would have died many times over!

“Mo Fan, if we keep strangling one another, neither of us will benefit from it.” Asha’ruiya tried her best to stay calm and pretended that she had not seen what just happened.

“It’s fine as long as I’m happy with it,” Mo Fan smiled back.

“So you’re telling me that you’re not thinking of winning the match?” Asha’ruiya retorted.

“What’s the point of talking to them? Let’s just knock them out first!” Karolina was on the verge of making a move.

The teammate that was disqualified just then was her boyfriend. How could she not be furious when she saw how the Chinese team was whaling on him?

“Keep your calm!” Asha’ruiya glared at her.Read the next chapter on our vipnovel.com

Mo Fan rolled his sleeves up and said indifferently, “Don’t hold back, let’s fight!”

Karolina and the other two members were enraged after being provoked by Mo Fan continuously. They were a powerhouse in the tournament, and they had even crushed the American team twice in a row, yet they were forced to swallow their anger against the Chinese team!

“You know I have no interest in doing things that won’t benefit me. Why don’t we discuss how we’re going to deal with the English team, instead of wasting our time here?” Asha’ruiya was pretty quick at adjusting herself. She regained her calm smoothly.

“Asha’ruiya, not everyone is a cunning fox like you. It was you that stepped on our tail first, it was you that placed our team in a disadvantageous position. We’ve lost two members, and the others are injured too. We no longer have any hope of winning the match. We’re ready to take you down with us. Besides, we’re pretty close to Ayleen, so she might even treat us to a great meal after they’ve won! The English team might even offer a few English beauties as appetizers…” Mo Fan vented the frustration he had accumulated in his heart.

“We’ll take the lead if we team up,” Asha’ruiya offered.

“You don’t quite understand me. The Chinese have always been clear with the kindness and resentment they receive, but even a gentleman has the urge to get revenge. We’ll fight anyone that wants to take us down,” Mo Fan replied.

“We’ll heal your members, so you can recover your strength.”

“The Chinese people have their integrity and principles…”

“I will help you recover your energy, at least thirty percent of it,” Asha’ruiya bit her lips softly and offered in the end.

“Deal!” Mo Fan pleasantly accepted the offer.

A**hole!, Asha’ruiya cursed Mo Fan silently.

—

After coming to an agreement, the Chinese team and the Greek team teamed up as they were meant to, even though it did take them quite some hardships.

Mo Fan was rather speechless. Why would Asha’ruiya even bother? She should have teamed up with them just like what she said at the pizza shop, yet she had to stir up so much trouble, making both sides unhappy.

“Are you insane? Aren’t you worried that they are going to set us up again after we team up?” Mu Tingying yelled in disagreement.

“People always say that busty women have no brains, but even a flat chest like you doesn’t have one, either! I really don’t know what to say,” Mo Fan replied scathingly.

“Don’t worry, they won’t set us up again, unless that Asha’ruiya is a spy from the English team. It’s obvious that she has no intention to lose the match, since she’s a Candidate for the role of the Goddess,” Nanyu said confidently.

The so-called alliance would easily collapse for the sake of greater benefits for their side, and their so-called enemy would suddenly become their ally in order to take down a stronger foe!

The Greek team was well aware of the situation they were in once they calmed down.

The two teams had no choice but to team up. If they insisted on fight on their own, both teams would surely face elimination!

Greece was always under the sacred light of the Parthenon Temple, and the standard of their Mages had always been impressive. Their Healing Magic in particular was shocking.

Ai Jiangtu, Mu Tingying, and Mo Fan were all injured. Even if Nanrong Ni was with them, she would have had trouble healing their injuries in a short period, but the woman called Karolina was able to treat all their injuries swiftly with some Healing Spells. Their minor injuries had completely vanished, while the rest of the injuries were healing rapidly. They would no longer affect the Chinese team’s performance…

The three members of the Chinese team were basically at their peak again. With Nanyu and Mu Ningxue joining the team now, they were finally able to fight once again.

After dealing with the injuries, Asha’ruiya took out a necklace as she promised. It emitted a dark blue light that shrouded the members on both teams. Those that had expended their energy were recovering rapidly!

Mo Fan had used all five of his Elements. When he saw the energy of his Elements filling up, he immediately stared at Asha’ruiya’s chest with glittering eyes.

The power of the hourglass-shaped necklace was shocking. It was able to recover the energy of a whole team in a short time. It was clearly a superb magic tool for a match like this!

The Psychic, Healing, and Blessing Elements had no spells that could recover the energy of a Mage. Most magic tools and equipment were only able to calm the mind of a Mage so they could recover their energy quicker, but none of them could recover thirty percent of the energy of a Mage like Asha’ruiya’s necklace!

“What other treasures do you have still?” Mo Fan moved closer and observed Asha’ruiya’s accessories.

Asha’ruiya must have used some kind of Space Element equipment to escape from the dragon that they had encountered. It was reasonable that the noblewoman would have lots of precious magic tools; even Zhao Manyan was no match for her!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This is a Space Bracelet. I believe you’ve tasted Zorro’s strength first-hand. If he fights with his full strength, we won’t be able to take out his four teammates in the ten minutes we have. Therefore, I’ll use the Space Bracelet to transfer Zorro far away from where we’re fighting… it can only be used twice to send the man away, but I believe it’s enough for us to take out the rest of his team,” Asha’ruiya put the former hatred between the two teams behind and explained to Mo Fan in detail.

“If we have a magic tool like that, why don’t we just separate Zorro from his team and take him out? Wouldn’t it be easier to defeat the English team?” Nanyu said.

Asha’ruiya shook her head and said, “I’m more familiar with Zorro than you guys. Zorro is very good at reacting according to the situation. If we can keep him at bay and surround him, we do have a hope of taking him out, but if we don’t, even the nine of us have no chance of taking out that genius.”

“Is he really that strong?” Mu Tingying asked doubtfully.

“He’s only stronger than you imagine. It’s safer to just transfer him away and focus on his teammates first.”

Mo Fan finally agreed with the plan. Zorro was indeed very strong. Most of the injuries that Mo Fan had suffered were inflicted by the man. Mo Fan also had the feeling that the man was not even using his full strength.

“You’re a Sound Mage, right? After we transfer Zorro away, you will have to take out the Great Duchess, Ayleen. We can’t allow her to drag on the battle,” Asha’ruiya drew a tiny stick figure on the ground with a branch and said to Nanyu.

Nanyu looked at Asha’ruiya in astonishment…

-Wasn’t this woman supposed to put all her attention on the election for the Goddess? Why does it seem like she’s extremely familiar with every participant in the tournament?-

Meanwhile, Mo Fan recalled that Asha’ruiya was an information vendor. There was almost nothing that she did not know. She could easily collect the information on their team, too!

“The Great Duchess has a piece of powerful magic equipment that can summon an illusion of a shark emperor. As long as it is still active, none of our destructive spells are going to touch even a single strand of their hair. In addition to it, Ayleen is also a Psychic Mage, so our only chance at stopping her from using that magic equipment is your Sound Element,” Asha’ruiya informed them.

-The illusion of a shark emperor…- Nanyu did hear rumors about it, but she never thought England would be willing to give a piece of incredible defensive equipment that even Super Mages would drool over to Ayleen. England had seriously invested a fortune in her!

“Mo Fan, I’ll cast Blessing Spells on you. Your job is to take this guy out, he’s a destructive Mage, and he has two pieces of defensive equipment…”

“You seriously know a lot of details. Can you tell me what color panties Ayleen is wearing today?” Mo Fan mused aloud.

Asha’ruiya glared at the pervert.

—

The two teams did not take long to prepare themselves. The alliance of the Chinese team and Greek team swiftly made their way toward the English team.

The English team was aware that the Greek team and Chinese team had stumbled into one another in the woods. They did not join the party, as they believed the two teams were surely going to fight due to the unresolvable conflict between them. However, they soon realized that something did not seem right. The two teams that were meant to be enemies were coming out from the woods like they were holding hands.

Zorro stuck his finger into his green hair as if he was having a headache.

“They did team up, as we suspected. No wonder there wasn’t a single spell being cast,” Herbert said.

“I have a bad feeling about this…” Zorro said.

“I doubt it; the Chinese team isn’t that strong, and the Greek team is lacking firepower too…” Hilton, the vice captain of the English team, countered.

Hilton was ranked seventh among the participants. He did not think the alliance of the two teams was a threat to their team.

“Let’s fight!” Zorro knew a battle was inevitable. His eyes were fixed on Asha’ruiya and Mo Fan.

Previously, it was him and Asha’ruiya flanking Mo Fan, but now, he was about to be flanked by them instead!

“Brother Mo Fan, don’t you think this woman here is playing us like a fiddle? Why don’t we team up and disqualify the Greek team first? There’s no need for us men to be treated like fools by this cunning woman,” Zorro suggested with a gentle smile.

“Your suggestion is convincing, but Asha’ruiya has promised me some wild fun tonight. It’s quite obvious that you can’t offer that to me, so I’m surely going to pay back the favor of leaving me with so many injuries just now!” Mo Fan replied.

Zorro’s smile widened upon hearing this. He said indifferently, “I see, that does sound like something that Asha’ruiya would do, but brother, if you don’t mind, I’m more than happy to spend the night with you too…HAHAHA!”

Mo Fan almost fell to the ground while he was charging forward fiercely. They always said that England had a lot of gays, and Mo Fan was starting to believe it now!

That being said, it was fairly obvious that Zorro was just teasing him. Mo Fan did not believe he was actually a homosexual.

Mo Fan exchanged glances with Asha’ruiya. The woman glided through the air and approached Zorro directly.

The Greek team had promised to take the lead in the battle, so the other three members proceeded to face their targets after Asha’ruiya made the first move.

The members of the Greek team were able to strengthen themselves with the Blessing Element. Despite their disadvantage in numbers, their strength was still rather impressive.

“Asha’ruiya, did you really promise to spend the night with him? I’m very sad about that; I’m the biggest supporter of your angelic face, and your alluring body,” Zorro added.

“Yeah, we even discussed what positions we are going to use… little genius, time to say goodbye!” Asha’ruiya did not seem bothered by the topic. She went even further with the joke.

Zorro initially had an indifferent grin on his face. However, his expression stiffened immediately when he saw the silver glow from Asha’ruiya’s wrist.

“That’s dirty!” Zorro cursed.

Zorro reacted quickly. He moved through the air with Wind Tracks to rapidly shift his position, leaving an unpredictable afterimage behind.

Zorro turned around and fled into the distance. However, the silver light emitted by Asha’ruiya’s bracelet was even quicker. It caught up to Zorro and constructed a tiny magic formation around the man!

The magic formation had clear edges and vortex drawn with silver lines. A complete Star Constellation was drawn up!

Zorro produced a huge tornado around him, trying to resist the Space Magic with the strong wind. However, the Space Magic was not an offensive spell, so it was useless setting up a defense against it. On the other hand, it was unlikely that he could outrun the magic either.

“You’re going to pay for that!” Zorro snapped furiously. His voice lingered in the air as he was transferred somewhere else!

The teleportation did not just send Zorro to a corner of the battlefield. It would also restrict Zorro’s movement, preventing him from making it back for a short period.

The alliance only had limited time after Zorro was sent away by Asha’ruiya. The Chinese team and the Greek team immediately attacked the remaining members of the English team fiercely!

“Tone: Kill!” Nanyu murmured, as the silhouette of a zither drawn with magic light appeared in front of her. Its murderous tones rapidly approached the Great Duchess Ayleen!

Ayleen was startled. She quickly set up a Water Curtain to defend against Nanyu’s Sound Element.

Unfortunately, the defense of the Water Element was not very effective against the attack of the Sound Element. Ayleen soon found herself in a pinch.

“Sound Disturbance!” Nanyu continued to apply pressure, murmuring chants to cast spells on Ayleen. Ayleen’s Psychic Element failed to stop the magical tones from penetrating her defense. Her brain was ringing so loud that she was struggling to use her magic equipment!

“Protect Ayleen!” Herbert yelled.

“Impossible, we can’t stop the Sound Element!” another member replied.

“Damn it, why does it feel like they are very familiar with us?”

Ayleen knew they were in trouble when Zorro was sent away.

The alliance of the Chinese team and the Greek team was not planning to suppress them. They were trying to knock them out in the ten minutes remaining, so their substitute members could not even join the match!

They were much more aggressive than the previous alliance formed to pick on the Chinese team!

“Mo Fan, we’ll fight Hilton together!” Asha’ruiya said.

A brilliant and colorful glow circled her body. Mo Fan immediately saw light pouring down on him from above. He felt that he could accumulate more magic when casting his spells, similar to the effects of a Domain, even though he had yet to unleash one!

“Lightning Explosion!” Mo Fan cast the Advanced Lightning Spell, firing two deadly beams at the English student named Hilton. The lightning beams crossed paths and exploded into crawling lightning arcs surging across the area within a few hundred meters.

Hilton was a destructive Mage too, yet he had no choice but to flee miserably from Mo Fan.

“Not bad, your Blessing Element is a lot stronger than our team’s,” Mo Fan said in satisfaction after seeing the damage of his Lightning Explosion.

“Your teammate didn’t learn it properly; mine is the real power of the Blessing Element. Use your Fire, I can raise its potency by fifty percent,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Sure!” Mo Fan asked Little Flame Belle to Possess him so he could control the Calamity Fire. He summoned a burning greatsword in his hands.

Asha’ruiya’s Blessing came fairly quickly. The burning sword that was around ten meters long suddenly grew to a length of twenty meters, and its flames were even fiercer!

The arrogant destructive Mage of the English team, Hilton, was completely dumbfounded when he saw the fiery sword!

-Is this really the World College Tournament still? Who would even slash at their enemy with a burning sword as tall as a six-story building!?-

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan slashed, and a burning scar over a hundred meters long was left behind, as if it was trying to intercept the river at the center of the battlefield.

Hilton was right beside it with a blank face. He was lucky, and used his magic Boots in the nick of time to dodge the slash. Otherwise, he could not tell how he would have ended up.

However, Hilton was not relieved for long, as he saw the giant, burning sword had not disappeared. Mo Fan was still holding it in his hands.

Hilton had an urge to burst out in tears, and fled instantly. He did not dare face Mo Fan at all!

Mo Fan glanced at the fiery sword in his hands in astonishment.

It turned out that Asha’ruiya’s blessing not only improved the fiery sword’s damage by fifty percent, it also increased the sword’s duration!

The fiery sword was made of energy. Mo Fan slashed horizontally when he saw Hilton trying to run away.

The tongues of fire sweeping across the place as the twenty-meters-long fiery sword was swung horizontally were absolutely shocking. No matter how fast Hilton ran, he had no chance of escaping from the flames. He was devoured by the flames and knocked flying by the force.

“Blink!” Asha’ruiya was seriously going to extremes. Her eyes emitted a sacred silver light as she directed the energy toward where Hilton was falling in the distance.

Hilton fell to the ground with the remaining flames. His armor was heavily damaged. He rose to his feet quickly, and seemed to be in fairly good condition still. He was planning to adjust himself to face his opponents when he realized Mo Fan was standing right in front of him!

Hilton saw that he had been surrounded by a silver aura. His slightly swollen face contorted instantly!

Mo Fan was grinning like a devil. He clenched his left hand into a claw, seething lightning crackling between his fingers wildly.

Hilton had been teleported back here right after he was knocked flying. He suddenly felt like he was a human punching bag swinging back to its original position. He was ranked seventh among the participants, yet Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya were about to drive him nuts!

“Sky Lightning Claw!”

“Blessing: Strengthen!”

The Sky Lightning Claw already had outstanding damage, yet Asha’ruiya did not hesitate to strengthen it even further. Even though it had only raised the spell’s damage by thirty percent, it was currently eight times the damage of a normal Lightning Spell!

The lightning danced wildly. Hilton used all the defensive Equipment he had to protect himself, yet he was soon covered in wounds and bruises; the lightning was too capable of penetrating his defense!

“Zorro, hurry up and save me!”

Hilton struggled in the lightning. He was pretty strong among the participants. Any other so-called all-star participant would have been blasted beyond recognition by now.

Hilton was screaming in a certain direction. Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya noticed that Zorro was flying toward them with four white Wind Wings on his back. For some reason, his speed was rather slow. He only sped up significantly as he was approaching them.

“I’ll handle him.” Asha’ruiya quickly flew into the air. The illusionary wings on her back allowed her to fly nimbly.

Asha’ruiya and Zorro met in the air. Zorro glanced at his teammates that were struggling to hold their grounds and snapped furiously, “You cunning little b**ch!”

“Bye!” Asha’ruiya’s bracelet emitted a silver glow once again. It quickly turned into tiny strings flying at Zorro.

Zorro immediately panicked. He beat his wings and flew away, not daring to waste his time talking to Asha’ruiya.

The silver strings intertwined around Zorro and formed a Space formation once again!

Zorro’s strength was indeed shocking. He almost escaped from Asha’ruiya’s inescapable magic formation. Unfortunately, he had come all the way back to save the day, but he was once again teleported to some corner of the battlefield. The strong Time Stasis was even slowing down him and delaying his return!

“Zo…Zorro…” The hope on Hilton’s face turned into despair once again.

Mo Fan the violent came up to him once again. Hilton did not even bother struggling. The Greek team was clearly more aggressive when fighting them than when they fought the Chinese team!

In the end, a blue glow appeared and formed a barrier around Hilton to protect him.

Hilton had a blank face. Even when the assistant judge was escorting him away, he seemed like he no longer had nothing left to live for.

The man that was ranked seventh in the tournament was aiming to conquer the world handsomely, but ended up being knocked out in such a miserable manner. Hilton could only place his hopes on his teammates, hoping that they could overcome the difficult situation.

“I initially thought we could take him out right away, but we ended up wasting so much time on him,” Mo Fan glanced into the distance and saw Zorro frantically making his way back again.

Their second attempt was not as effective as the first. Zorro was able to return much more quickly. So far, Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya had worked together to eliminate Hilton. However, the rest of their teams were using all they had to eliminate the members of the English team too, so they would not be able to recover from the damage they had suffered!

Ai Jiangtu and Karolina took out Herbert.

Mu Ningxue and Nanyu continued to pressure Ayleen, and were about to take her out, too.

Mu Tingying and the other two members of the Greek team successfully eliminated a member of the English team as well.

There was not much time, yet the Greek team and the Chinese team had given their best, none of them willing to let England win.

The Chinese team had to admit that the Greek team’s Blessing Element was very effective in a team battle. If the Greek and English teams had insisted on knocking out the Chinese team, it was very likely that the Chinese team would not have had any chance to turn the tables.

The members of the Chinese team were quite relieved that the English team did not give their best at the start of the match, as they were planning to benefit from the situation as a third party. To their surprise, the two weaker teams had decided to team up and inflict serious damage on the English team!

“There isn’t enough time for us to eliminate Ayleen,” Nanyu glanced at the Great Duchess and was quite impressed by the fact that she could still hold her ground under the circumstances.

“Zorro is back…”

“Only two of them are left, we can easily crush them. There are still two minutes until their substitute members can join the match. Let’s eliminate them now!” Mu Tingying exclaimed excitedly.

Three members of the English team had been knocked out. It was actually quite a surprise to them. Wouldn’t it be very easy for the nine of them to take out Ayleen, who was almost at her limit, and the so-called strongest participant of the tournament, Zorro?

The others shared the same thought as Mu Tingying. The group of nine swiftly surrounded Ayleen.

Ayleen glanced at the approaching Zorro and said helplessly, “Zorro, don’t bother! You can easily drag the match further with your Wind Element and wait for our substitute members!”

Zorro glanced down from the air. He did not run even when there were nine people waiting for him. He landed in front of Ayleen.

The look in his eyes was no longer as indifferent as it was before. He had a stern face, and the strong winds blowing around him had formed a Domain.

“Ayleen, just keep an eye on their Psychic attacks, leave the rest to me!” Zorro said calmly, like the lull before a great storm!

“Zorro, you’re too full of yourself!” Gamennon of the Greek team shouted.

Gamennon used to be the captain of the Greek team. He had kept a low profile throughout the tournament and did not expose much of his strength, yet every time he clashed with Zorro, he seemed to be very aggressive and discontented with the man.

It turned out that Gamennon and Zorro had been rivals for a long time!

“Enough, let’s take them out as quickly as possible!” Asha’ruiya reminded Nanyu, “Remember, don’t let Asha’ruiya use her Equipment!”

Nanyu still remembered her role. She continued to watch Ayleen closely.

Activating a piece of powerful magic Equipment required a certain amount of time to prepare it. As such, as long as Nanyu was there to interrupt the process, she had no chance of summoning the illusion of the shark emperor without her teammates providing cover for her!

—

Zorro was obviously the greatest threat in the match. The two teams insisted on taking him out first.

The impatient Mu Tingying and Karolina were the first to attack Zorro.

As soon as they made their moves, two Summoned Beasts dashed out from the woods. One was the beast that Zorro had summoned with Dimensional Summoning, a Noble Eagle. It flew out from the canopy and lunged at Mu Tingying as she was about to finish her spell. It lifted Mu Tingying into the air and held her with its beak like she was a little chick before the others could react.

Mu Tingying reacted quickly, protecting herself with ice. However, the creature continued to lift her higher into the air. The enraged woman immediately focused her attacks on the Noble Eagle instead.

The other Summoned Beast was an enormous Underground Demonic Worm. It turned out that Zorro had arranged for the beast to hide under the ground long ago. As soon as Karolina started using her magic, the ground she was standing on immediately cracked open as the beast dragged her deep into the hole!

Both the Noble Eagle and the Underground Demonic Worm were Zorro’s trump cards. He had used the two Summoned Beasts to defeat all his opponents during the tournament. The Noble Eagle was no weaker than Teenage Flame Belle, and the Underground Demonic Worm was even stronger. It was most likely an average Commander-level creature!

“Karolina!” Gamennon panicked when he saw his teammate being dragged into the ground.

“Don’t worry, she can look after herself. We have to eliminate Zorro first!” Asha’ruiya warned him.

Time was of the essence. If they allowed Zorro to drag on the battle, their substitute members would soon enter the match. Once the English team sent in their elites, all their efforts so far would be in vain!

Zorro did not stand down even when he was surrounded by seven people. The will to fight in his eyes was like that of a savage beast; he was nothing other than a battle maniac!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Wind Thrall Domain!”

Zorro’s Domain rapidly enveloped the area. White winds continued to circle him fiercely.

As the Domain was established, apart from some obvious changes to the man’s aura, the members of the alliance did not feel any extraordinary pressure. Gamennon was incredibly annoyed by Zorro’s superior demeanor. He channeled his magic and cast a Poison Spell.

As soon as the channeling started, a strong gust of wind appeared under Gamennon’s feet.

Just as Gamennon finished channeling the spell, the gust spiraled and turned into a powerful tornado!

Gamennon reacted fairly quickly, and immediately dodged aside when he noticed the tornado, yet he lost the chance to complete his spell.

On the other hand, Ai Jiangtu and Mu Ningxue were also channeling their spells, and similar fierce gusts erupted below their feet and turned into tornadoes, each over three meters wide and twenty meters tall. They were as strong as an Advanced Wind Spell!

Mo Fan was utterly confused. His right hand was already engulfed in flames, but as soon as he was about to throw the Meteorite Fist forward, he immediately felt a strong wind rising under his feet, trying to shred him to pieces!

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered, and he used his will to shatter the tornado rising around him.

Mo Fan quickly attacked with his Meteorite Fist as soon as the wind dissipated.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, the same tornado appeared once again, quicker than Mo Fan could cast his spell. Mo Fan had no choice but to cancel his channeling!

The others were having the same trouble as Mo Fan. Whenever someone was casting a spell, even if it was only a weak Basic spell, a tornado would rise as soon as the Star Orbits were being drawn.

In addition to that, the stronger the spells they were casting, the stronger the tornadoes that appeared to interrupt them! When Gamennon tried to attack with an Advanced Spell, he ended up summoning a strong tornado more than eight meters wide, tossing him into the air.

“It must be the power of his Domain!” Asha’ruiya exclaimed.

A tornado would erupt whenever there was some presence of magic. The seven of them could not land a single attack on Zorro successfully!

Zorro was looking incredibly smug. He took the initiative to attack while none of his enemies could Cast. His eyes emitted a white glow; they looked empty, yet cloudy like a storm.

Zorro’s legs left the ground, hovering above it. The seven members of the alliance each stood in a different spot, but seven enormous tornadoes appeared suddenly, each with a diameter of ten meters and a height of over a hundred meters, as if they were connected to the clouds.

The power of the seven tornadoes of such scale was immeasurable. The group was forced to defend themselves with defensive spells!

“You’re just trying to fool us with your tricks! Do you really think you can fight seven of us at the same time!?”

Still in the air, the infuriated Gamennon was engulfed in scorching flames. The blazing fire tore through the wind and lunged at Zorro.

Zorro still had Wind Wings on his back, so his speed was shocking. Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya were planning to restrain his movement with the Space Element, but they realized that their casting speed was too slow compared to his speed. The man had already moved by the time the rhomboids appeared.

Zorro dodged Gamennon’s flames, looking down at the people encapsulated by the tornadoes. He quickly dodged sideways, evading an Icebound Coffin falling from the sky!

Mu Ningxue had cast the Icebound Coffin. As she murmured softly, more Icebound Coffins began to fall from the sky.

Zorro dodged the spells continuously. He seemed to be panicking a little, most likely because he did not expect Mu Ningxue was able to Summon so many Icebound Coffins at once!

“Let’s pin him down!” Asha’ruiya said to Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu.

All three of them were Space Mages. They first applied a layer of defense to themselves, preventing the tornadoes from interrupting their channeling.

The rhomboids swiftly took shape and crashed onto Zorro as his movement was limited by Mu Ningxue’s Icebound Coffins. Zorro immediately felt a ton heavier when the rhomboids struck him. He fell straight to the ground.

Zorro was struggling to move after landing on the ground. After all, the Space magic of Mo Fan, Ai Jiangtu, and Asha’ruiya was pretty strong, especially when they were focusing it on a single person. They had basically sealed off his ability to move!

“Attack!” someone in the group yelled. Everyone set up their defenses to prevent the strange tornadoes from interrupting their channeling.

The tornadoes appeared, but the group was not too bothered by them. The colorful glow of the destructive spells flew at Zorro, who could not even budge.

The color of Zorro’s pupils changed once again. This time, his eyes completely turned empty, like the pitch-black darkness of space without a single star nearby!

“Chaos Gate!” Zorro uttered coldly. Four twisting gaps appeared around him, absorbing the lightning, fire, light arrows, and fierce tide that were targeting him…

The destructive spells vanished into thin air after making contact with the twisting gaps, as if they were transferred to a different world.

Not a sign of the destructive spells was left. Zorro was perfectly unharmed; even the grass where he was standing on did not receive the slightest damage.

“Back to you!” Zorro’s eyes glittered. The twisted Chaos Gate started spinning around Zorro, as several spells surged out, including a Sky-Flame Funeral that shrouded the sky, a lightning claw tearing at Mo Fan, and a giant light arrow firing at Asha’ruiya…

The seven of them paled. The destructive spells they had just cast had been reflected back at them! Most terrifyingly, it seemed like the spells were even stronger than before!

The group of seven was blasted by the spells. Some were forced to use their defensive equipment instead.

The destructive spells that came late were targeting them now, while Zorro was still perfectly unharmed standing in the middle!

The strong winds of the explosions blew the dust into the air. Zorro broke free from the Gravitational Space that the three Space Mages had applied on him and rose back into the air.

His Wind Wings were beating softly. Zorro constructed a white Star Constellation as the group was recovering from the attacks they had received.

Someone tried to interrupt the channeling with the Psychic Element, but it failed as Ayleen was protecting Zorro now. Ayleen used all she had to stop Nanyu’s Sound Magic, too!

“Gate to the plane of the Kingdom of Insects, open!”

The lunar-white Star Constellation was completed rapidly. Zorro did not cast a destructive spell, but the Advanced Summoning Spell.

The Star Constellation of the Summoning Element fired a perpendicular ray into the ground. A bottomless hole ten meters wide suddenly appeared on the ground.

It looked like a hole that light could not enter, a dark gate to another plane. As everyone was confused by what the spell was trying to achieve, the cries of bugs as piercing as the screeching of lightning were heard.

A demonic pitch-black insect with bloody pincers climbed out of the hole. Its feelers rose into the air and wavered in the wind.

Soon, the second insect appeared. They went enraged after capturing the scent of humans, and charged right at Mu Ningxue, who was the closest to them.

Before Mu Ningxue could slaughter the two insects, several more insects of the same kind climbed out of the hole.

Mo Fan. who was standing on higher ground, gasped as he looked into the hole.

The bottomless hole was crawling with the black insects. They were pouring out from the hole like a black tide, and within the blink of an eye, hundreds of insects had reached the surface. It was obvious that these insects were only just the beginning!

The whole place was crawling with insects. The Underground Demonic Worm that had dragged Karolina into the ground appeared too. It stopped pursuing Karolina endlessly and screeched to command the insects.

The sight of the insects was so terrifying that the spectators did not dare to look at them further.

Floating above the army of insects, Zorro said with a mocking grin, “If those goddamned undead of the Egypt team had not suppressed my Underground Demonic Worm, I wouldn’t even have had to fight you guys in this mixed battle!”

Zorro clearly held a grudge against the Egyptian team, since his team had lost because of the Egyptian team’s dirty strategy.

Zorro’s primary Element was Wind, his secondary was Summoning, and his tertiary was Chaos. His three Elements were completely useless against the sturdy defense of the undead. His Wind Thrall Domain was utterly useless, since the Egypt team was only using their Undead Element. Furthermore, his demonic insects were rulers of the underground too, yet they were surprisingly afraid of the filthy undead. He could not even Summon them during the match against the Egypt team. Otherwise, how could he possibly have lost against them?

All three of his Elements were ineffective against the Egypt team, yet when facing normal Mages, he was easily dominating. As long as Ayleen was there to protect him from the enemy’s Psychic Spells, Zorro did not care how many opponents he was fighting at the same time!

“You did the right thing sending him away just then.” Mo Fan had a helpless look as he watched the insects crawling over the area.

The Chaos Element…

This Zorro turned out to be a Chaos Mage. Even if the Chaos Element was not Zorro’s primary Element, it still gave Mo Fan quite a headache!

Mo Fan was a destructive Mage, while the Chaos Element was known for its ability to absorb other people’s spells and reflect them back at their enemy!

Mo Fan believed that it was better for him to do nothing facing a Mage with the Chaos Element, since he would only endanger himself and his teammates.

Mo Fan’s destructive spells were quite terrifying, yet the Chaos Gate was able to strengthen attacking spells as they were being reflected. His Sky Lightning Claw that had been reflected had almost injured Nanyu just now!.

The number of insects was too overwhelming. Mo Fan had no intention of wasting his energy on them.

The Advanced Summoning Spell was able to summon lots of creatures to fight for the Summoner. The spell was ridiculously powerful, but it had a time constraint too. The insects might be annoying, but they could not pose any threat to Mo Fan, the man with six Elements. That being said, the others were clearly going to struggle against the insects.

This Zorro was indeed the strongest participant in the tournament. He still had the upper hand, even when he was fighting nine people at once. However, Mo Fan believed having more people around would actually give Zorro an advantage. The guy wanted more people to attack him, just so he could fully utilize the advantage of his Domain and his Chaos Element!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zorro smiled when he heard the chime of a bell in the distance.

The English team had lost three members, yet Zorro did not seem to be bothered at all. After all, apart from Ayleen and him, the other three were only average on the team. The three substitute members were the real core members of the English team!

“Such a pity, you have failed to take me out even after giving your best!” Zorro mocked them.

The black insects crawled along the ground and continued to attack anyone nearby.

The insects and the tornadoes of Zorro’s Domain were not particularly troublesome to deal with, but when the two combined, things immediately got a lot more complicated.

The members of the alliance had to cast their spells a lot more often to fend the insects off. However, every time they cast a spell, Zorro’s Domain would immediately target them with the tornadoes. As a result, they still received damage from their tornadoes as they were killing the insects, wearing out their defense.

“This Zorro is very good at using his magic to his advantage. We need to send someone to take care of him,” Nanyu said. She had noticed the trick to handling Zorro too.

It was unwise for a bunch of people to fight Zorro at the same time. The man was clearly the strongest among them in terms of cultivation. His Chaos Element seemed to be much stronger than the primary Elements of the others, even though it was only his tertiary Element. It had even managed to reflect Mo Fan’s destructive spells!

“I’ll do it,” Ai Jiangtu said. “I’ll fight him alone, he won’t be able to defeat me so easily!” Ai Jiangtu volunteered.

They could not afford to send too many people after Zorro, since it would only worsen the situation. They only needed a strong Mage with outstanding self-defense to keep Zorro busy. It turned out that Asha’ruiya had made the right choice by focusing on his teammates in the first place.

“Old Ai, don’t push yourself, our alliance with the Greek team is as fragile as a piece of paper . They will turn against us at any second. If that woman is so familiar with the English team, she must be familiar with us, too. We have to be very careful,” Nanyu reminded Ai Jiangtu quietly.

“I understand,” Ai Jiangtu nodded.

From what Ai Jiangtu had observed, his best bet to take Zorro on was the Space Element. Seeing that Zorro was immersed in the pleasure of bringing chaos upon the place with his insects, Ai Jiangtu cast Blink and instantly appeared behind Zorro.

Zorro’s cultivation was outstanding, which meant he also keensenses. He instantly noticed Ai Jiangtu’s action. A small vortex appeared behind him. If Ai Jiangtu tried to attack him, it would immediately trigger the Chaos Gate to reflect the attack back at him.

However, Ai Jiangtu had no intention of attacking Zorro. He knew it was unnecessary to try attacking Zorro if even Mo Fan’s spells were unable to inflict any damage on him.

A silver Star Constellation appeared around Ai Jiangtu. The space it contained shuddered as the Star Constellation was completed, tearing a silver gap in the air.

Zorro was startled, and immediately looked anxious again.

“It’s the same trick again!” Zorro was getting utterly annoyed by the Space Element.

When Asha’ruiya sent him away twice in a row, his team was almost wiped out as a result. If he was unable to help his team, he was as good as a disqualified member!

Space trembled. Zorro was not able to leave the area in time, and was dragged right into the turbulent flow of space forcibly.

“Blink!” Ai Jiangtu teleported both himself and Zorro away. He even expended a significant amount of energy just to bring Zorro further away.

They disappeared from the area within the blink of an eye. The others had no clue where they had gone.

Unfortunately, the three substitute members of the English team had arrived! After the battles the members of the alliance had gone through, it would be quite difficult for them to eliminate the elites of the English team!

—

“Is there any meaning to this? Sacrificing yourself just to buy time for the others?” Zorro said arrogantly as he was being transferred to another place on the battlefield.

“Sacrifice myself? You’re thinking too highly of yourself,” Ai Jiangtu replied.

“Why, do you think you stand a chance against me? If I’m serious about taking you out, you won’t even last more than ten rounds,” Zorro said.

Zorro did not want to waste his time with Ai Jiangtu. It was tricky taking out a Space Mage, since the man could easily blink away if he realized that he was about to lose.

Buzz…

Their surroundings continued to shift rapidly. Ai Jiangtu did not talk any further, using his will to construct a battleground. Silver rays extended rapidly into the distance before falling perpendicularly to the ground.

Three other lines extended in the air and formed a silver cube to encapsulate Ai Jiangtu and Zorro within it.

Zorro was even angrier upon seeing this.

These people just kept finding ways to mess with him! If it weren’t for their dirty tricks, he could easily dominate the battlefield!

“I guess I’ll have to take you out first!” Zorro yelled. He Summoned a strong wind to target Ai Jiangtu.

“Bring it on!” Ai Jiangtu stood inside his Domain fearlessly.

Zorro had his Wind Thrall Domain, but Ai Jiangtu also had his Space Domain! As long as he was inside the cube, it would significantly raise the power of his Space Element.

Wind cones appeared in all directions. These enormous white cones of wind had a terrifying penetrative ability. The cones spun at shocking speed and could easily penetrate many defensive spells.

Ai Jiangtu’s movement suddenly became unpredictable. He blinked to a corner in the silver cube, dodging the wind cones flying at him from different directions. However, Zorro had the higher cultivation and could predict where Ai Jiangtu was going to show up. He dashed forward and waved his hands to summon two intertwining, chaotic marks like two black axes tearing the space apart. They did not produce any sound, but it felt like everything in their paths would disappear into nothing!

“Back off!” Ai Jiangtu sharpened his gaze as a silver light burst out of his body.

Zorro immediately felt a strong resistance, preventing him from advancing any further.

The Chaos Axes swept at Ai Jiangtu from both sides. Ai Jiangtu knew it would be difficult to stop the attacks of the Chaos Element with only his will. He decisively activated his magic Boots and dodged the Chaos Axes!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

“Damn it, I’m supposed to take that guy on! what do you think you’re doing?” Gamennon of the Greek team yelled, and hurried over to the area where Ai Jiangtu was.

Gamennon was an absolute madman. He totally disregarded the pact between the two allied teams. He broke into Ai Jiangtu’s space and knocked him flying, just so he could take on Zorro on himself.

Ai Jiangtu was infuriated. The man was obviously stirring up trouble with him. He activated the trap of the Cursed Evil Spider to affect both Zorro and Gamennon!

Since the Greek team had broken the pact first, there was no need for Ai Jiangtu to keep calm!

The crimson-red silk of the evil spider densely scattered across the place when the curse was triggered, covering an area of two hundred meters. When the silk touched the trees not far away, the trees wilted away rapidly.

The Curse was just as effective against Zorro and Gamennon. The two did not dare stay in the area any longer. They quickly fled in two different directions.

Zorro was slightly quicker because of his Wind Element. As soon as he left the spider silk, Gamennon quickly chased after him like a mad hound. He cast a Light Spell and fired a bunch of light arrows at Zorro.

These light arrows were very good at tracing their targets down. While Zorro was nimbly dodging the arrows, he realized that he had been tagged by a Seal on his back that allowed the light arrows to pursue him relentlessly!

“You two, I guess I’ve been going too easy on you!” Zorro was extremely annoyed. After getting rid of the light arrows, he started spinning in place.

The white winds spun at an incredible pace and turned into long whips, lashing at Ai Jiangtu and Gamennon. The wind whips struck the ground and the trees, leaving scars across the place.

“Since you’re so eager to show off your strength, I’ll let you handle the winds instead!” Gamennon glanced at Ai Jiangtu and suddenly unleashed the restraining power of the Shadow Element.

Gamennon swiftly left the area being lashed by the winds, but restricted Ai Jiangtu’s movement to prevent him from leaving the area!

“You won’t be going anywhere either!” Ai Jiangtu was clearly not going to fall for it. His eyes glittered as he used his will to drag Gamennon out of the shadow, and applied the Gravitational Space to Gamennon. The smug man immediately noticed that he was struggling to move his feet!

—

The alliance between the Chinese team and the Greek team was not firm to begin with. After Gamennon took the initiative to break the pact, the battle between the three teams was suddenly a lot messier.

Seeing the situation was getting out of control, Mo Fan immediately backed away to preserve his strength and energy.

Mo Fan had expended too much of his energy when the Chinese team was picked on by the two teams. Knowing that he only had half of his energy left, he was unwilling to go all out before he could assert control over the situation.

“That idiot, why couldn’t he wait until we eliminated the English team?” Asha’ruiya was displeased when she saw Gamennon breaking the truce between the two teams.

She seriously did not understand why the Greek team chose such a brainless man to be their captain. It explained why they had lost to the cunning Egyptians!

“Mo Fan, we’ll pretend to be fighting one another close to a member of the English team, and find a chance to take him out,” Asha’ruiya knew that the three teams were soon going to end up fighting one another. Everyone had been waiting to vent their frustrations, no one would care if they were still one another’s ally.

“Good idea!” Mo Fan agreed with Asha’ruiya’s suggestion. “Let’s take that guy with fair skin out. He has been staring at me for a long time. I bet he wants to take me out to make a name for himself!”

“Sure!”

Mo Fan teamed up with Asha’ruiya again to set up the man who had just entered the match.

It was true that the man was planning to take Mo Fan out to earn himself some fame. Even an obstinate man could tell the two were putting up an act from the expressions and the looks in their eyes. Mo Fan had pretended to provoke the man when Asha’ruiya suddenly came and attacked him…

“You little b**ch, didn’t you promise you won’t hurt our team? Look at what Gamennon is doing. That’s nothing like what you’ve promised me in bed last night!” Mo Fan yelled when he saw Asha’ruiya playing along with the act.

The English mage with a pale face was startled. He looked at Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya in disbelief.

These two had actually made a deal with their flesh. Such a disgrace, so infuriating… why didn’t Asha’ruiya choose me instead!?

“Shut up, or I will cut your tongue off!” Asha’ruiya snapped furiously. Pieces of black armor appeared and covered her body. Even her glamorous face was covered by a silver mask, while her hair was tied up in a ponytail, reaching her waist like a waterfall.

Black energy erupted from Asha’ruiya’s body. Mo Fan suddenly felt like the woman had turned into a completely different person, like she was possessed by some black energy!

A long sword engraved with patterns appeared in her hand. The black aura silhouetted a black unicorn approaching from the distance, at a speed comparable to a flash of lightning.

“What the hell, you can transform too?” Mo Fan was stunned.

Asha’ruiya was fully covered in black armor while holding a dark sword. If it wasn’t for her alluring body, Mo Fan would have thought a female Dark Swordmaster had appeared out of nowhere!

“It seems like you are completely clueless about what Dark Magic can do!” Asha’ruiya’s voice appeared from the silver mask.

The black unicorn was approaching rapidly. Mo Fan suddenly felt the light in the surroundings was being accumulated on the tip of the sword that Asha’ruiya was holding. The tip was emitting a deadly beam!

The sword stabbed forward, followed by multiple afterimages. After Asha’ruiya put on the black armor, it was like she had transformed from a Mage to a female Dark Swordmaster. Her speed, strength, and power were comparable to the Dark Swordmaster that Mo Fan had fought against!

Mo Fan was very quick at dodging the stab, yet the sword glow still pierced his shoulder. The blood only started pouring out of the cut after a few seconds, just when the pain came. It felt burning first, before it felt like his shoulder had just exploded!

“Are you for real?” Mo Fan grinned. The injury was barely anything serious.

“I thought we were putting up a realistic act,” Asha’ruiya smiled.

“I bet you’re the most cunning and dangerous person here,” Mo Fan replied seriously.

“I can’t help it if that’s what you think of me,” Asha’ruiya responded lightly.

“Actually, I was quite bothered by one thing. It really hurts my ego,” Mo Fan said.

“Tell me about it,” Asha’ruiya lifted her sword as she straightened her upper body. Her slender body was extremely alluring when wrapped tightly by the black armor. Her skinny ankles formed a great contrast with her muscular thighs!

“You said I was no match for you on Mount Tyrant, so I’m pretty interested to see how strong you are!” Mo Fan stomped the ground, engulfing himself in both the Calamity Fire and Rose Flame. The fierce flames attached to Mo Fan like a blazing red robe, and the scorching heat clashed with Asha’ruiya’s dark energy.

The bright flames and the pitch-black darkness formed a clear boundary. A strong aura of destruction rose as the two types of energy clashed!

Their appearanced were unlike any ordinary Mages. Mo Fan was engulfed in flames after he was Possessed by Little Flame Belle. The exploding flames had transformed him into a fiery figure. Meanwhile, Asha’ruiya had obtained the power of the Dark Swordmaster through the Dark Contract, turning herself into a Dark Swordmistress. The English mage suddenly found himself in an awkward situation, as he did not have any way to transform himself!

The English mage, Muwen by name, decided to attack both Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya simultaneously. The only way for him to make a name was to boldly challenge the strongest destructive mage, Mo Fan, and the Candidate for the role of the Goddess.

A petrifying power burst out of Muwen’s eyes. The trees, soil, and river were turned into a hard rocky substance quickly. The energy rapidly approached Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya.

“Go away!”

“Piss off!”

Both Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya fought back as Muwen attacked.

Mo Fan Summoned the Flame Sword and slashed forward. The flames surged at the English mage like a fierce tide.

Asha’ruiya’s black sword moved at lightning speed and swept past Muwen in the blink of an eye.

The fiery tide and the sword shadow both landed on Muwen. The man stood no chance against their attacks. He was instantly covered in wounds and bruises as he fell to the scorched ground, shrouded by two different auras.

The difference in strength was way too ridiculous. Muwen was clearly not on the same level as either of them. He would have struggled fighting either of them, let alone facing both of them!

—

The assistant judge had recognized Muwen. He grumbled as he dragged the severely injured away, “Why would you even bother intervening in their fight?”

Muwen felt an urge to cry too. He knew those two were strong, but he did not expect their strength to be this ridiculous. He was bullied like a dog, when he was already an elite on the English team. He began to doubt the meaning of his life.

How was their ability in close combat so remarkable when they were Mages, just like everyone else!?

—

Asha’ruiya was incredibly fast. Even though her strength was not as overwhelming as the Dark Swordmaster that was able to destroy an entire troop of Battlemages with a single slash, Mo Fan was having a hard time defending against the woman’s rapid slashes. To make it worse, she was also an expert of the Space Element.

When the woman utilized the Sword Shadow Strikes of the Dark Swordmaster and the Space Element’s Blink at the same time, Mo Fan felt like she was everywhere around him, making it impossible for him to trace her down!

“Try to run from this! Volcano Fist!” Mo Fan slammed his fist on the ground.

The ground cracked open as scorching lava poured out fiercely. It started with nine burning pillars, but more pillars began to show up and connect in the pattern of the Nine Palaces. It eventually turned into a huge, roaring volcanic crater!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As the fiery pillars emerged from the ground, a curvy, black silhouette slid across the ground strangely. The pillars of lava were always slightly slower, and would only devour the afterimages left behind by her.

When the entire volcanic crater appeared, Asha’ruiya was already a hundred meters away. She tipped the foot before her up slightly, raising the sword in front of her. The sword was almost invisibly thin, splitting her perfect body in half…

The black sword reflected both sides of her silver mask. It was impossible to tell what expression she was wearing, but her demeanor was imposing, with the icy aura of a soldier that was ready to face death.

“One-Word Slash!”

{TL Note: It literally implies the slash is like the Chinese character ‘一’ which means one.}

She remained still as a statue, but as she uttered the words, a dark aura rapidly contracted toward Asha’ruiya’s foot like a ring…

More rings of dark auras contracted rapidly and accumulated at her foot.

Suddenly, the dark glow erupted under Asha’ruiya’s foot in the shape of a deathly lotus!

Her sword swept forward like a black raven gliding along the ground. The icy afterimage pierced through everything, including Mo Fan’s wildly erupting volcanic crater!

Whoosh! The sound it produced was incredibly short, yet shocking. The volcanic crater was slashed in half.

The woman was so quick that it felt like she had blinked to the other side of the volcanic crater as soon as the lotus blossomed. The dark lotus slowly dissipated, but the woman was still lifting her sword in front of her, as if she had never moved it!

Blood sprayed across the place like a mist. Mo Fan had a red wound on his chest. The cut was very thin, but blood kept jetting out from it.

Protected by the scorching flames, Mo Fan only felt a sudden chill from his chest, and a shadow flickering past him. Luckily, he was able to react instinctively. Otherwise, the slash might actually have sliced his chest in half.

“How was it? I said that you are no match for me!” the woman under the silver mask giggled.

“It’s just a tiny cut with some blood, it’s nothing serious!” Mo Fan glanced at the cut. It was not anything serious.

A spurt of flame swept over Mo Fan’s chest. In order to stop the bleeding, Mo Fan decisively seared the cut just to seal it off!

It was pretty cool to mend his wound like that, but the pain was shocking. Mo Fan tried his best to pretend that he was at ease, but his forehead was already covered in cold sweat. Asha’ruiya saw the little twitch on his face.

Asha’ruiya giggled even more when she saw Mo Fan forcing himself. Her hips were shaking from her laughter. Her alluring temperament stood out more than the dark energy shrouding her.

Hearing the woman’s giggles, Mo Fan had the urge to tie the cunning vixen up and whip her a hundred times. With just five minutes, he could guarantee that she would not be laughing anymore, and would struggle to get out of bed too!

“Do you want me to take a look at your injuries?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“But your milk is poisonous!” Mo Fan did not forget to trash-talk even when he was in pain.

{TL Note: Healing magic is described as feeding milk as a modern saying, maybe because both are giving vitality to someone? A Healer is also called a nanny, and is very common in video games. Looking for a nanny for party quest!}

“Little Mo Fan, it seems like you desperately need some instruction. I guess I’ll just beat you up, heal you, beat you up, heal you, and repeat the same things for a hundred times. That way, you’ll learn how you should talk to a noble Saintess of the Parthenon Temple,” Asha’ruiya replied, her voice all smiles.

“But that wasn’t something you said in bed last night…” Mo Fan deferred.

Asha’ruiya’s chest heaved. It was not the first time that the asshole had vilified her with filthy words. She did not lose her calm, as she did not want others to know that it was actually getting on her nerves. However, Mo Fan seemed to be enjoying it; he acted as if he wanted to let the whole world know the Candidate for the role of the Goddess was actually very passionate when it came to having sexual intercourse!

“I have decided to take you out first!” Asha’ruiya was serious this time.

The strength of the Chinese team would decline significantly after she took Mo Fan out. She would worry about Zorro later. Even though it was not as ideal, anyone that dared to piss her off had to scram right away!

“Bring it on!” Mo Fan straightened his face and prepared himself for Asha’ruiya’s attack.

Asha’ruiya executed the Tip-Toe Death Lotus once again. It was a kind of footwork, allowing her to dance lightly and gracefully like a black butterfly, making her movements unpredictable.

Mo Fan stood still, waiting for his chance patiently. His eyes were following Asha’ruiya’s movement with a grim expression.

“Now!” Mo Fan yelled all of a sudden. A Gravitational Space suddenly came crashing down.

Asha’ruiya giggled in amusement. She was a Space Mage, so she was clearly not afraid of Mo Fan’s spell. Strictly speaking, her Space Element was actually stronger than Mo Fan’s.

Asha’ruiya quickly summoned a Gravitational Space in the opposite direction to cancel out Mo Fan’s spell.

“Asha’ruiya, I now believe that you’re a naive Saintess,” Mo Fan grinned.

Asha’ruiya was startled. She was about to attack with her sword when she sensed the temperature dropping rapidly.

“Ice Lock Formation!” In an instant, ice chains filled the air as the ground was covered in frost. The thick chains immediately formed an enormous formation encapsulating Asha’ruiya and Mo Fan in a spectacular manner.

On Mo Fan’s side, the ice chains did not bind him down, but on Asha’ruiya’s side, the ice chains stacked up in layers and rapidly sealed off Asha’ruiya’s escape routes…

Asha’ruiya completely lost her cool. She tried to escape with Blink, but the ice chains were being flung at her fiercely. She did not have any chance to construct the Star Constellation.

The Ice Lock Formation completely sealed off Asha’ruiya’s movement. She was soon trapped in the middle, her waist, arms, and legs were tied down by the ice chains!

“Asshole, you asshole!” Asha’ruiya blushed with anger.

This asshole Mo Fan had set her up when it was meant to be a duel. He had been buying time for Mu Ningxue to set up the huge trap.

Unless Asha’ruiya was able to Blink away as soon as the trap was triggered, she would have no chance of escaping from the Ice Lock Formation because of its ridiculous coverage area and the chains that were restricting her movements…

“HAHAHAHA, you dare scold me, asshole? Aren’t you a great fan of pulling your dirty tricks on us?” Mo Fan burst out laughing. -You cunning little vixen, how are you going to escape this time?-

As for the pride of a man? Mo Fan obviously did not have any sense of integrity. If he could eliminate Asha’ruiya in an easy way, why would he bother fighting her in a duel?

“Mo Fan, you shameless prick!” Asha’ruiya cursed.

She had not expected that she was being set up. Mo Fan had not intended to fight her alone from the beginning, since it was obvious that Mu Ningxue had spent quite some time setting up her Ice Lock Formation.

“Xiao Meng’e, you should really go and revise what it means by nothing is too deceitful inwar!” Mo Fan chuckled. The Lightning Tyrant was already glowing in his hand.

With how the situation was, he could easily disqualify Asha’ruiya with a Sky Lightning Claw. Mo Fan, with a rather perverted grin on his face, was so pleased that he totally lost his sense of measure and raised his brows at Mu Ningxue. However, the grin on his face disappeared when he saw Mu Ningxue’s stern eyes.

“Sky Lightning Claw!” Mo Fan did not show any mercy.

They were currently in the middle of a match. Even though he had been flirting with Asha’ruiya throughout the match, he had never said that he was not going to set her up too, had he?

Asha’ruiya had been responsible for provoking the English team to team up with the Greek team to take out the Chinese team first. She was also the reason why the Chinese team had teamed up with the Greek team. Mo Fan agreed that Zorro was a great threat, but the resourceful Asha’ruiya was a great threat, too. If he could take her out, it would be easier for their team to control the situation, since they only had to worry about the English team instead of worrying that the Greek team would backstab them!

The lightning tore through Asha’ruiya’s armor and penetrated her defense before landing on her.

“Asha’ruiya!”

Seeing that Asha’ruiya was in danger, Karolina immediately flew into the air and dove at the Ice Lock Formation that Mu Ningxue had set up!

“She’s crazy!” Mo Fan stared at the reckless woman in astonishment.

There was no way Mu Ningxue would let anyone destroy her Ice Lock Formation. She leapt into the air by dancing on the ice chains and engaged Karolina.

Karolina completely ignored Mu Ningxue’s attacks. She used the power of her sacred light to break the ice chains that were trapping Asha’ruiya.

Asha’ruiya regained her freedom. She grabbed Karolina and prepared to Blink away, worried that Mu Ningxue would entrap her again with the Ice Lock Formation, but Mu Ningxue’s ice chains had wrapped around Karolina, dragging her out of Asha’ruiya’s spell.

“Don’t mind me, our team can’t lose here!” Karolina said firmly.

Asha’ruiya did not push her luck further. She finished the spell and escaped from the huge Ice Lock Formation.

Meanwhile, Karolina clearly had no chance of escaping. As the Sky Lightning Claw continued to land on her, the protective light of the Ring of Venice soon surrounded her.

Mo Fan stopped attacking when the light appeared, allowing the assistant judge to carry Karolina away.

Not far away, Asha’ruiya stared at Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue coldly.

She had indeed been too careless. She did not think Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had such great synergy. It turned out that Mo Fan was not the only threat on the Chinese team. Mu Ningxue’s Ice Magic was terrifying too! She was almost trapped inside the Ice Lock Formation. If it wasn’t for Karolina’s sacrifice, she would have been knocked out by now!

Asha’ruiya was still feeling some lingering fear!

“It looks like we’ve completely fallen out with the Greek team,” Mu Ningxue said.

“It was going to happen eventually. Too bad that we didn’t manage to eliminate that foxy,” Mo Fan replied regretfully.

It went without saying that Asha’ruiya would still have lots of tricks up her sleeves. Mo Fan’s greatest worry was not Zorro, the man with outstanding strength, but the possibility that once they used everything to eliminate Zorro, Asha’ruiya would overwhelm them with her trump card!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

Mo Fan thought Asha’ruiya would use everything she had to get her revenge since he had set her up. To his surprise, the woman actually controlled her anger and focused on the remaining members of the English team instead.

It was very easy for people to be disqualified in a mixed battle, since they might be at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, or a little mistake might provoke members of the other two teams to flank them…

More people were being disqualified from the match. Nanyu was disqualified, and not long after, Ai Jiangtu was taken out by Gamennon and Zorro.

The arrogant Gamennon was in pretty bad shape, too. He was severely injured by Zorro, and on his way back to the team to be treated by the Healer.

However, Gamennon stumbled into Mu Tingying as he was flying toward his teammates. Mu Tingying managed to trigger his Ring of Venice, meaning that Gamennon was disqualified from the match too!

Mu Tingying was the representative of the Mu Clan. Her strength was not outstanding in particular, but the resourceful Mu Clan had managed to get her a set of Ice Magic equipment.

Her boots, armor, weapon, shield, and wings were all made of a special kind of ice. The different pieces of magic Equipment were engraved with magic formations with the ability to summon thistles and thorns of ice around Mu Tingying. She suddenly looked like a thorny empress, the damage of the thorns outstanding.

Mu Tingying had done a great job conserving her strength. She had been holding onto the Set of Equipment until now, just so she could make a name for herself in the tournament. She did eliminate Gamennon, a key member of the Greek team, so the Ice Thorns and Thistles Magic Equipment Set was worth it!

The Chinese team only had a single substitute member left. Currently, Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Mu Tingying were the only members of the Chinese team left in the match.

As for the Greek team, they also had only three members left, but they no longer had any substitute members. Gamennon’s being knocked out of the match served as a great blow to their team.

The English team was not looking good, either. Zorro had played an important role in disqualifying Ai Jiangtu and Gamennon, but his teammates were no longer fit for battle. They basically had no chance of winning without a Healer.

Asha’ruiya was pretty cruel, too. Zorro had taken out Gamennon, but in return, Asha’ruiya had been picking on several members of the English team, putting the English team in their current state. The unbeatable Zorro was the only person left!

—

“It’s almost time for substitution. Nanrong Ni is our last member; we can recover some of our strength,” Mo Fan said to Mu Ningxue.

Feng Li had purposely arranged their Healer Nanrong Ni as the last member, hoping to give the team a final chance to secure the victory of the match.

“Mmm,” Mu Ningxue nodded. She did not say anything else, since she had completely fallen out with the Healer.

“If we can protect Nanrong Ni, we are going to win the match!” Mu Tingying seemed quite excited.

The match had been chaotic so far, but somehow, the Greek team and English team had suffered greater losses. The three of them only had to wait for Nanrong Ni, and they could basically eliminate the remaining members of the other two teams!

Despite the conflict between them, they had agreed to work together for now, since they were representing their country.

Nanrong Ni was sent onto the battlefield when it was time.

Nanrong Ni’s ability to defend herself was pretty weak. Her primary Element was Healing, her secondary was Plant, and her tertiary was Blessing. She would not last for long if the members of the other two teams found her first.

The three Chinese immediately searched for Nanrong Ni. Meanwhile, the English team and the Greek team were aware that the match was slowly leaning toward the Chinese team. They decisively called a truce and proceeded to search for the last participant that had just entered the match.

The other two countries no longer had any substitute members left. If the Chinese team had one more member, it would result in a huge disadvantage to them!

“If only Nanyu was here, she could immediately tell where Nanrong Ni is!” Mo Fan sighed.

The Sound Element was incredibly useful for pinpointing a person’s location. It was very effective at helping the team find their substitute members, since the battlefield was quite spacious. It was rather tricky to find a person when they were concealing their presence.

It was necessary for the substitutes to hide as soon as they entered the battlefield. There were three teams in the mixed battle. Since the location of the substitute members was randomized, it was very likely that the person would show up somewhere close to their opponents. As such, it only made sense for the incoming subs to conceal their presence while observing the surroundings to slowly regroup with the team.

—

The trio failed to find any trace of their member after some time. However, when they went to the other side of the woods, Mo Fan noticed that some of the roots were tangled.

“She has the Plant Element, right?” Mo Fan asked.

Mu Ningxue nodded.

“It must be here, let’s head over now. The victory is ours once she heals us!” Mu Tingying said.

The three followed the clues left by the tangled vines and saw Nanrong Ni close to the river.

Mu Tingying was overjoyed. She quickened her pace and walked toward Nanrong Ni.

“Wait,” Mu Ningxue stopped Mu Tingying, signaling her to not move any closer.

“What are we waiting for? There are four of us now!” Mu Tingying said.

“It might be a trap,” Mu Ningxue said.

“A trap? Are you being serious? Do you really think she’s going to hurt us? Mu Ningxue, you think of yourself too highly, there’s no way Nanrong Ni will think that taking you out is more important than winning the match!” Mu Tingying was amused.

“I just feel that something doesn’t seem right,” Mu Ningxue said.

“I bet you’re worried that I’m going to take all the attention away once I recover from my injuries,” Mu Tingying said.

Her ability to Summon ice thistles to cover the area within fifty meters was indeed powerful. Not only did she eliminate Gamennon, she also took out a member of the English team too!

In terms of contribution, her performance was the best so far.

However, in Mo Fan’s eyes, Mu Tingying was just lucky to stumble into a few people that were already at their limit.

“We’ll settle any dispute we have after the match. Mu Tingying, you better listen to Mu Ningxue’s warning. What if it’s actually a trap… f**k me, how stupid could she be? Why would she just go up like that!?” Mo Fan was trying to advise the woman calmly, yet she completely ignored Mu Ningxue’s warning.

“Perhaps I’m just being too worried. Should we go too?” Mu Ningxue asked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan shook his head. If it was not a trap, Mu Tingying could meet up with Nanrong Ni and bring the woman here by herself.

The two waited among the woods. Mu Tingying was seriously lacking a functioning brain, she simply walked up to Nanrong Ni without any caution.

She soon brought Nanrong Ni back. She was wearing a mocking grin when she entered the woods.

“See, nothing even happened, and you said that it was a trap!” Mu Tingying said before turning to Nanrong Ni, “Quick, heal me, the English team and Greek team are at their limits. They can no longer treat their injuries.”

Nanrong Ni nodded. She looked rather dull. She started drawing Star Patterns and combining them into a Star Constellation…

“You are using the wrong Element, it should be the Healing Element, not the Plant Element!” Mu Tingying grumbled.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue exchanged glances with one another and immediately came to a realization.

“Run, it’s a trap!” Mo Fan yelled.

Mo Fan grabbed Mu Ningxue and flung his Dark Noble Mantle. Both Mu Ningxue and he disappeared into the shadow and fled from Nanrong Ni.

Nanrong Ni’s face was blank, but her Plant Magic had already covered the area. Vines burst out of the ground and coiled around them, building a huge cage to trap Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Mu Tingying.

The Plant Magic emphasized a lot on preparation. The Mage had to insert the magic into the ground to spread the magic seeds. The plants would then sprout up and attack after receiving the command. Once done, the Plant Element’s damage would usually surpass the damage of other Elements!

It was quite obvious that Nanrong Ni had been preparing the trap for a long time. Even before the three had yet to regroup with her, they were already deep within the trap.

Mo Fan had reacted fairly quickly. He started running as soon as he grabbed Mu Ningxue…

He could only bring one other person with him while using the Fleeing Shadow and Dark Noble Mantle. Mu Tingying was very close to him, but he did not have enough time to bring the stupid woman along too…

The vines grew even taller than the trees nearby, turning the whole place into a demon forest that was going to eat them all with a single bite.

Mu Tingying stood in the middle of the vines, her face filled with disbelief. She never thought Nanrong Ni would attack her teammates. They were currently in the middle of a match! She was supposed to put any personal conflicts aside. She was surely going to be in huge trouble for this!

The light above Mu Tingying was blocked off by the vines. Mu Tingying realized she could no longer escape. She stared at Nanrong Ni standing in front of her.

She finally recognized the strange look in Nanrong Ni’s eyes. They looked hollow, as if they were covered by a cloudy, gray substance…

She finally realized someone was controlling Nanrong Ni’s mind!

It was obvious that the other two teams had found Nanrong Ni first. They did not disqualify her straightaway. Instead, they controlled her mind and set up a huge trap, waiting for the Chinese team to walk right into it!

Seeing the vines surrounding her, resigned flames erupted inside her heart.

—

—

“You two were pretty quick at running; you didn’t even trust your teammate!” a flattering giggle came down from the canopy.

Mo Fan already knew Asha’ruiya was behind it without needing to guess who the person was.

However, Mo Fan was confused. How was she able to control Nanrong Ni’s mind? He did not remember Asha’ruiya being a Psychic Mage, could it be that the Greek team still had a Psychic Mage on their side?

“Let’s leave this place first. We don’t know if she has prepared another trap for us.” Mo Fan did not hesitate and brought Mu Ningxue further away from the place.

As he thought, the ground was indeed filled with deadly plants. Huge flowers that were completely still suddenly came alive. Some were hiding among the trees, tearing at anything nearby, while others were buried underground, and would drag anything that passed by into the ground…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Fire!” Mo Fan set himself on fire. It blew out around him in a ring.

The deadly flowers scattered across the place were burned into ashes after the flames touched them.

Mo Fan quickly left the woods with Mu Ningxue, but he soon realized she had been cut a few times. The vines must have hurt her while they were fleeing.

They were both injured from their battles before, and their injuries continued to increase. It went without saying that their injuries would weaken them significantly, and as they bled, they would become feebler, and would eventually lose consciousness if they did not rest up soon.

A strong wind started blowing. White gusts like terrifying whips attacked both of them fiercely. Mu Ningxue quickly managed to set up some ice chains to defend them from the wind whips.

Mo Fan raised his head and saw Zorro standing on higher ground with his arms folded across front of his chest, a smug look on his face.

He quickly glanced behind and saw Asha’ruiya catching up to them. He was convinced that the two had decided to disqualify him and Mu Ningxue first!

“It’s the man with green seaweed hair. I’ll deal with him while you take Asha’ruiya on,” Mo Fan knew the final battle had arrived. There was no running away now.

“Alright,” Mu Ningxue glanced at Asha’ruiya and began to spread her ice into her surroundings.

“She is a Summoner too! My Flying Creek Snow Wolf will lend you a hand,” Mo Fan stated.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was only able to unleash his full strength in Mu Ningxue’s Ice Domain. Mo Fan was worried that Mu Ningxue would be unable to handle the cunning Asha’ruiya by herself.

“What about you?” Mu Ningxue was worried about Mo Fan’s safety after he allocated the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to her.

Everyone was well aware of how strong Zorro was. They had failed to eliminate him when everyone was taking him on. How could Mo Fan possibly stand a chance against the man without the help of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf?

“Don’t worry, I have an idea!” Mo Fan said.

—

Mo Fan did not waste his time talking to Zorro. He used the remaining Calamity Fire from Little Flame Belle to form a pair of burning wings on his back!

The fiery feathers exploded, propelling Mo Fan into the air like a bullet engulfed in flames. He threw a punch where Zorro was standing. Scorching lava erupted with flames surging across the place. The whole area began to tremble!

“Every person that has dueled me has faced humiliation in the end. I thought you were too smart to do something so dumb, since you have made yourself a name so far in the tournament. It’s really unnecessary to ruin it now!” Zorro nimbly moved away from where the lava was erupting.

Mo Fan was unable to fly. He soon landed on the ground, but he was promptly propelled back into the air by an explosion, springing at Zorro like a fiery dragon.

Zorro was unable to dodge the attack this time. He frowned and covered himself with the four white Wind Wings on his back, shielding him from the attack!

The fiery dragon that Mo Fan had transformed into rammed into Zorro’s defense. Even though the Calamity Fire failed to touch Zorro’s body, the impact knocked him higher in the air…

Zorro’s balance faltered. His body kept spinning until he reached the highest point. He finally extended his wings to regain control of himself.

“A man with pure brute strength!” Zorro suddenly realized that he had lost two of his Wind Wings.

Zorro had four wings in total, and the single punch had destroyed two of them! The man was not resigned to the outcome, but his Chaos Element was unable to nullify physical damage inflicted on him. Mo Fan had somehow deduced the weakness of his Chaos Element. It was also why Mo Fan was using a different approach when attacking him!

Mo Fan landed on the ground and raised his head to look at Zorro. He grinned wildly and said, “I like dueling people too! The only difference is, you are deemed to be stronger when you are up against more people because of your abilities, which means that you’re going to be weaker when going against fewer people. As for me, my strength stays the same. If the opponent is weak, I can crush them with a single punch, but if the opponent is strong, I just need to throw a few more punches!”

“A destructive Mage like you has too many weaknesses. The Psychic Element can easily turn you into a useless man, and a defensive Mage could also nullify your attacks. As for my Chaos Element, it’s the same as carrying a stone and stubbing your own foot! Meanwhile, my spells have high damage just like yours, and I can reflect your spells after strengthening them, too! Other people might have a chance against me, but that doesn’t apply to you. You can’t do anything to me, but I can wear you out with my wind and my insects!” Zorro slowly descended to the ground and faced Mo Fan.

“Green head, your ability to bluff people is actually a lot stronger than your strength. You almost convinced me there!” Mo Fan started drawing Star Patterns as he spoke.

Zorro was also adept enough at casting his spells that he could draw the Star Patterns while talking. However, his channeling speed was slightly slower this time. Mo Fan was the first to summon some black lightning to strike Zorro fiercely.

Zorro grinned when he sensed the lightning aiming at him.

“Chaos Vortex!”

A twisted surface appeared above Zorro. The wild energy of the lightning strike vanished as if it had been transferred to another plane!

“Back at you!” Zorro rotated the curved surface to reflect the spell like a mirror.

The lightning that vanished came out of the twisted surface, but it was now aiming at Mo Fan instead!

BANG!

The lightning shattered the ground into pieces as it landed directly on Mo Fan. His hair was standing on its end, while his skin was slightly scorched too…

“Sky Lightning Claw!” This time, Mo Fan used his strongest Lightning attack, as if he was unwilling to give up.

The Lightning Tyrant Domain descended upon the place, lightning arcs gathered toward Mo Fan, before lunging at Zorro like the soldiers under the command of a tyrant.

The lightning took the shape of claws, tearing at the cloudy wind circling the man. The rapid, black lightning with a strong, deathly aura was attacking Zorro wildly.

“Are you stupid? I told you, it’s useless against me!” Zorro yelled.

The Chaos Vortex appeared close to Zorro once again. This time, it completely surrounded Zorro, since the lightning arcs were lunging at him from all directions. However, the energy of the lightning was still absorbed by the Chaos Spell!

“Have a taste of your own Sky Lightning Claw!” Zorro spun the twisted surface, aiming it back at Mo Fan.

The terrifying lightning claw tore at Mo Fan fiercely.

Any destructive Spell that was reflected by Zorro’s Chaos Element would be slightly stronger than usual. The enhanced Sky Lightning Claw was absolutely terrifying. The giant rocks nearby had all turned into dust. Mo Fan was so tiny compared to the lightning, that it felt like he was going to be torn into pieces in any second!

The assistant judge nearby had the urge to intervene after seeing how strong the attack was. After all, the Ring of Venice could not necessarily nullify any spell. It was difficult to tell if the protection of the Ring of Venice was enough to shield against a strong spell like the Sky Lightning Claw!

Mo Fan held his ground amid the surging lightning. He clenched his teeth and endured the attack with his flesh!

Under the effects of the Lightning Tyrant Domain, Mo Fan’s lightning resistance, and his ability to absorb lightning, had increased significantly. On top of that, his body was also strengthened by the Demon Element. He managed to clench his teeth and endure the damage of the enhanced Sky Lightning Claw!

His clothes were shredded, revealing his scorched skin and muscles.

Standing on trashed and shattered rocky ground, Mo Fan was already on the verge of collapsing, yet his eyes were still glittering!

“Sky! Lightning! Claw!” Mo Fan uttered coldly, and unleashed the destructive spell once again!

The wild lightning and gathered from all directions like dragons. The lightning dragons then combined into a powerful lightning claw targeting Zorro.

“Did you fry your brain with your own lightning? You’re asking for it!” Zorro yelled at him.

The twisted surface appeared again. Zorro was very adept at casting the Advanced Spell of the Chaos Element. He managed to hold his ground when he was blasted by seven people at once, let alone a single Mo Fan. -Is this Mo Fan so naive that he thinks he can overcome my Chaos Element by attacking continuously?-

The energy of the Sky Lightning Claw was absorbed by the Chaos Vortex, before it was once again reflected back at Mo Fan again.

—

The crowd fell silent watching Mo Fan enduring the lightning strikes. It looked like the man was about to be crushed into pieces in any second. They heard the piercing screech of the lightning, and Mo Fan’s painful cry as he endured the pain…

“Is that guy made of steel?”

“He’s still standing after being hit by his own lightning spells twice.”

“The question is, isn’t his approach somewhat stupid? Surely he knows his destructive spells are useless against Zorro!”

“Zorro is just too strong. He should be banned from the tournament, since he could easily topple the balance between the teams. It’s basically like an adult fighting against a three-year-old.”

“My God, this Mo Fan is crazy, he’s doing it again, he’s going to kill himself!”

The people were incredibly shocked by Mo Fan’s actions. To their surprise, Mo Fan continued to cast the Sky Lightning Claw for the third time stubbornly…

—

Zorro was infuriated when he saw the Sky Lightning Claw landing on him once again!

Somehow, Zorro felt that Mo Fan was looking down on his Chaos Element after seeing his self-destructive approach…

“You will never overcome my Chaos Element, even if you expend all your energy!” Zorro cried furiously. He repeated the same spell and reflected the Sky Lightning Claw back at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan raised his head and watched the enormous lightning claw coming down at him. However, there was no sign of fear on his face, but an ambitious, wild grin…

For some reason, it did not seem like Mo Fan was enduring the lightning strike, but was receiving it!

He was receiving his own lightning!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan…”

“Is that guy really out of his mind?”

Countless eyes watched the Sky Lightning Claw descended rapidly and land on him, his torso already stripped clean

Mo Fan’s unyielding spirit was impressive indeed, since everyone knew that being struck by lightning was like having their bones being broken. The man was a serious masochist the way he kept casting the Lightning Spells, just to be reflected right back at him continuously!

As the Sky Lightning Claw kept landing on Mo Fan, his body had now absorbed a huge amount of electric current. It had formed a lightning cage around him!

“Even though I have no idea how you are still standing after taking so many hits, I believe it’s time to end this battle! I was actually looking forward to dueling you, yet your idiotic approach has been very disappointing!” Zorro glanced at Mo Fan coldly.

Mo Fan had not fallen, but it was no different than him falling to the ground. His organs were almost blasted into pieces after being struck by the enhanced Sky Lightning Claws a few times in a row. It was unlikely that he could still fight with such serious injuries…

Only a few participants were left in the match. Once he took out Mo Fan, and disqualified Mu Ningxue and Asha’ruiya, who were going to be at their limit after dueling one another, the English team would still advance to the grand final, allowing them to take back their glory from the Egyptian team. The English team would claim first place in the World College Tournament, winning the utmost glory for their country, and earning the most valuable resources, too!

“It’s very impressive that you were able to bring the Chinese team so far. You should be satisfied,” Zorro waved his hands, preparing a deadly tornado.

He had no intention of playing the boring game with Mo Fan any further. He could easily knock the man out, since he was already at his limit, with a Wind Spell.

“You’re pretty impressive too, to be able to force me into this situation!” Mo Fan raised his head. Black smoke was coming out of his mouth as he spoke…

“Who do you think you are?” Zorro was infuriated. He had never seen such an ignorant man. If Mo Fan admitted his defeat, Zorro would still show respect for him. However, the man had to annoy him even after the outcome had been decided!

“I will become the disgraceful shame in your heart that you can never get rid of!” Mo Fan promised, his eyes glittering!

Another explosion of lightning erupted. However, Mo Fan did not cast a Sky Lightning Claw this time. He had unleashed all the lightning that his body had absorbed instead!

The dense lightning arcs formed an enormous electric field, filling up Mo Fan’s Domain!

The Lightning Tyrant Domain already had arcs of lightning surging through it, but now their number had multiplied ten fold. The Lightning Magic in the area was at least ten times stronger, too…

Zorro initially planned to finish Mo Fan off with a Wind Spell, until he realized that there was no other magic here apart from the Lightning Magic. He was unable to use his Wind Element!

The whole battlefield was shaking. Even the spectators in the distance could sense a strong energy rising!

“Let’s see if your Chaos Element can endure this! Sky Lightning Giant Claw!”

The energy reached its limit, and countless dark dragons appeared in the sky, their long and enormous bodies were rolling in the stormy clouds above Zorro.

Zorro raised his head and beheld an utterly terrifying scene. He could not imagine that Mo Fan was responsible for the formidable energy that had gathered above him!

Zorro was struggling to use his magic under the incredible pressure. The lightning was many times stronger than the Sky Lightning Claws previously…

“Chaos Vortex!” Zorro managed to cast the Chaos Spell in the nick of time, using the twisted surface to protect himself.

Normally, Zorro would have a confident look whenever the Chaos Vortex was around, anticipating the pleasure of reflecting spells back at his enemies. However, watching the dark lightning dragons dancing in the sky, Zorro could not feel the slightest sense of security!

The Sky Lightning Giant Claw finally came down. The thick pillar of lightning had split into several lightning bolts, like the giant claw of a heavenly beast aiming to raze the whole battlefield to the ground!

Zorro’s Chaos Vortex immediately absorbed the energy of the Sky Lightning Giant Claw, but anyone that was familiar with the Chaos element knew that the Chaos Vortex was not a bottomless hole. It also had a limit, but it was impossible for Mages of the same level to reach the limit, since the limit would increase together with the Mage’s cultivation!

Zorro’s cultivation was outstanding. As such, even when he was being attacked by seven people at once, he still managed to reflect their spells…

However, Mo Fan’s Sky Lightning Giant Claw was not just the same spell with double the strength. Its power had surpassed that of a third-tier Advanced Spell, and was incredibly close to the power of a Super Spell. It had clearly surpassed the upper limit of Zorro’s Chaos Element!

After the Chaos Vortex was shattered, the magic armor that Zorro was wearing was completely useless too. The destructive energy easily broke the armor into pieces!

The Wind Wings protecting Zorro were like mere decoration too, as they too broke within an instant…

Zorro still had a ring on his finger that would trigger automatically to protect the bearer. It was similar to the Ring of Venice. However, the light barrier that the ring Summoned also collapsed instantly after it was hit by the Sky Lightning Giant Claw!

In the end, the Water Barrier of the Ring of Venice appeared, too. It was Zorro’s final hope. He believed that the victory would still be his once he overcame the situation…

However, the defense of the Ring of Venice crumbled very easily too! He even felt that the Sky Lightning Giant Claw was not weakened by the layers of defense he had at all. His mind went blank at the strong premonition of death. He could not figure out what he had done wrong!

BANG!

Zorro fell from the sky and slammed heavily into the ground.

He disregarded the pain from his back, staring at the Sky Lightning Giant Claw that could take his life at any second.

After falling to the ground, Zorro finally realized how enormous and terrifying the Sky Lightning Giant Claw was. It felt like the whole sky was covered by it. He could not believe that a student the same age as him was the one responsible for it!

Lying in the deep pit, it took Zorro a while to collect his thoughts. He rose to his feet…

The fall did not inflict much damage on him. As a matter of fact, he did not suffer any serious injuries, as the Sky Lightning Giant Claw had been withdrawn after it broke through the barrier of the Ring of Venice.

Zorro glanced at the man covered in wounds and bruises not far away, before looking at his clean, unstained shirt. He could not find any word to describe the bitterness in his heart.

He lost, he actually lost!

He was undefeated against nine people, yet he had lost when facing a single opponent!

He did not lose because of his cultivation, but he had lost to the other man’s courage…

A moment passed before Zorro asked, “Does that mean you would have lost if I didn’t reflect the lightning back at you?”.

“There aren’t many ‘ifs’ in this world…” Mo Fan’s face was covered in filth, yet he was still wearing a grin.

Zorro was startled. Before he could say anything else, the assistant judge flew over and brought Zorro, who was still thinking deeply, away from the battlefield.

Mo Fan was right. There weren’t many ‘ifs’ in a battle. If he was not in a tournament, if the man did not go easy on him, the person that came to bring him away would not be the assistant judge, but the Grim Reaper holding a long scythe!

—

An assistant judge brought Zorro away, but another one paused beside Mo Fan.

It was quite obvious that Mo Fan was already at his limit. He did win the duel, yet could he even stay in the match? He was struck by his own lightning so many times!

The assistant judge could not intervene in the match, but he could not help but say.”You’re very bold.”

Mo Fan lifted his gaze. He happened to hear the cheering of the crowd seated on the walls. It went without saying that they were totally impressed by his spectacular Sky Lightning Giant Claw.

The truth was, even Mo Fan was shocked by it. The fact that he was bold enough to keep attacking Zorro, just so he could absorb the lightning reflected back at him in order to overwhelm Zorro’s unbeatable Chaos Element…

Tsk tsk, he was even more impressed at himself!

Mo Fan fell to his back and lay on the dusty ground, panting heavily.

The assistant judge came over and knelt down to pick him up.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Mo Fan yelled.

“You’re finished,” the assistant judge said.

“Nonsense, I can still fight! Don’t touch me, I’m still in good condition!” Mo Fan yelled, but he immediately clenched his teeth from the enormous pain.

“Are you sure you can still fight?” The assistant judge was a woman, and a mature and alluring one. She was amused by Mo Fan’s reaction.

“I sure can, just don’t touch me. The rules state that if a participant hasn’t fainted, or their lives are not in danger since the Ring of Venice wasn’t triggered, they aren’t disqualified from the match! But if you touch me, I will be disqualified for sure!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Alright, you can lie on the ground as you wish, but…” The assistant judge was helpless before the rascally Mo Fan, even though anyone could easily tell that Mo Fan could not lift a finger. “You have already earned yourself the utmost glory by taking out Zorro. Why do you still have to force yourself? Once your injuries worsen, it might take ages for you to recover.”

“We should always pursue more!” It took Mo Fan a great effort to place his scorched hands behind his head.

“You want to win the tournament?”

“You’re damn right!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was breathing heavily. He had clearly surpassed the limit of his lightning resistance once again. It was surprising how resilient and tough he was because of the useless Demon Element!

Covered in serious injuries, Mo Fan did feel like he was having trouble just moving a single finger. However, the demon blood in him was a lot more active. It was circulating quicker than usual, and even his heartbeat was faster than an ordinary person!

It felt like his heart was on the verge of exploding, yet his recovery was multiple times faster than usual right now.

It was the main reason why Mo Fan insisted on staying in the match. He could sense a strong self-recovery power coming from the demon blood!

It was reasonable when he thought about it. The demon blood did not come from the Demon Element, but the first time he demonized, he somehow resembled a demon wolf. The demon wolf was well known for its outstanding recuperative abilities. A demon wolf with a higher lineage could even recover quickly in the middle of a fight!

After lying on the ground for some time, Mo Fan could feel his strength recovering. His limbs were no longer feeble!

Mo Fan struggled to his feet. His hands waved about, trying to grab onto something to support himself.

“Even though I really don’t want to take advantage of your precarious position, you’re putting me in quite a tricky position, since you insist on staying in the match! I have no choice but to eliminate you!” A man suddenly showed up. His appearance was pretty bad; it looked like his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

“I don’t think I have met you before, friend?” Mo Fan took a closer look at the man, and was quite surprised that he was totally unaware that the man was still in the match.

While Mo Fan was dueling Zorro, the remaining members of the Greek team and the English team had been knocked out, too. Those that were still in the match barely had any energy left. As such, Mo Fan was confused about where the man had come from!

“I am a Psychic Mage! Who did you think the person that controlled the mind of your teammate was?” the man with bulging eyes chuckled. It was obvious that he was a member of the Greek team.

The cunning man had been hiding all along!

“Your cultivation is just average, I doubt you can control the mind of my teammate?” Mo Fan said.

“The Saintess’ Blessing was able to strengthen my Psychic Spell,” the fish-eyed man said with a grin.

“Saintess… so that’s what you call that little b**ch,” Mo Fan chuckled.

“Don’t you dare insult her!” the fish-eyed man exclaimed hotly.

“Calm down, don’t tell me you’re a knight or something too! The Parthenon Temple is really amusing,” Mo Fan said.

“A man with no belief like you will never understand the honor of the Mages that fight for the glory for the Parthenon Temple! You better not say anything sordid! Otherwise, I’ll make sure you suffer greatly before you are disqualified from the match!” the fish-eyed man stated in a serious voice.

“You’re such a hypocrite. It’s obvious that your soul has been hooked away by that woman, yet you’re acting like you’re so righteous here. Just say it if you are secretly in love with her, it’s nothing embarrassing. A toad that doesn’t lust for a swan’s meat isn’t a good Greek!” Mo Fan stabbed the man right through the heart with his words.

Any man had their own desires. Mo Fan believed that the man had an ambitious goal in mind, since he had been hiding all along. The fact that he referred to Asha’ruiya as the Saintess clearly implied that she was the goddess in his heart.

Mita snapped coldly after hearing Mo Fan’s accusation, “It’s called admiration and respect!”

“Seriously, why does every man of the Parthenon Temple have to pretend that you’re the noblest saint in the world? I wouldn’t believe that you would still utter such respectful words instead of lunging at Asha’ruiya like a mad hound if she was fully naked right in front of you,” Mo Fan said.

The assistant judge frowned after hearing Mo Fan’s disrespectful words. Why is this man’s character a complete opposite of his capabilities? His words are something that a street punk would say!

“I warned you…” the fish-eyed Mita hissed darkly. He said word-by-word, “If you dare say it again, you are soon going to beg for your death!”

The man’s eyes suddenly emitted an icy ray, aiming at Mo Fan’s head. It was the Spiritual Sword able to target a person’s Spiritual World, and even stab the person’s soul!

Mita was completely infuriated by Mo Fan’s words, so he was incredibly harsh with his attack. He was aiming to inflict incurable damage on Mo Fan’s soul!

The assistant judge was hesitant, unsure if she should intervene.

Strictly speaking, she was not allowed to intervene, yet if she did not put a stop to it, Mo Fan’s soul would receive serious damage!

This idiot, why did he bother provoking the man? Most Greeks cared more about the Goddess and the Saintesses of the Parthenon Temple than their own integrity!

“An angry person is more likely going to make a mistake. Focus!” Mo Fan immediately activated the Focus Necklace on his neck. A dark blue glow covered him, protecting him from the Spiritual Sword!

“Telekinesis!”

The activation of the Focus Necklace not only protected Mo Fan, but it also strengthened Mo Fan’s Spiritual Will!

Mo Fan’s eyes emitted a silver glow, mysterious yet dangerous. Even though there was no sign of energy nearby, it felt like a strong tide had just rammed into Mita!

Mita was stunned. He could sense the overwhelming force summoned by his opponent’s will, and it was even stronger than his own!

The force knocked Mita flying. The man was already at his limit, and stood no chance against Mo Fan’s counterattack.

The fish-eyed Mita flew through the air and slammed into a cliff heavily, leaving a human-shaped dent on the sturdy wall.Read the next chapter on our vipnovel.com

His chest was sunken in. The barrier of the Ring of Venice was protecting him, yet he could feel that his organs had been jarred out of place from the impact. It felt like his bulging eyes were about to fall out at any second…

He glanced at Mo Fan. The man looked as if even the slightest breeze could topple him. Mita could not believe that Mo Fan still had a trick like that up in his sleeves, despite his injuries…

To his total disbelief, the destructive Mage had such powerful mental strength too!

“The peak of the fourth-level…” the assistant judge’s jaw dropped.

Which Element was supposed to be this guy’s primary Element? How was it possible that his Space Element was so strong too?

“Hehe, sorry for keeping you waiting for so long; it seems like you ended up having to carry someone else instead,” Mo Fan grinned at the beautiful assistant judge.

—

The tables had turned once again, leaving the crowd in a great uproar.

At the seats allocated to the Chinese team, Han Ji, Pang Lai, Feng Li, and the others almost broke out in tears of joy.

Watching Mo Fan was like riding a rollercoaster. The ride was supposed to be rising slowly, but it suddenly fell into a deep abyss, and before they could recover from the shock, it suddenly rose into the sky again!

“That…that guy, he has the vitality of a cockroach, but the heart of a wolf!” Chairman Shao Zheng slowly sat back down. He was covered in cold sweat, yet he was incredibly pleased with the outcome!

Against a strong opponent like Zorro, Mo Fan had given all he had, even though the chance of him winning was so slim. Meanwhile, when he was facing a weak opponent like Mita, he still managed to remain calm and provoke his opponent before executing his counterattack. He held onto his Space Element until the very last moment!

Han Ji was utterly relieved, too.

He was confused why Mo Fan was not using his Space Element much despite the recent upgrade…

It turned out that Mo Fan had made the right choice by keeping it as a trump card. In the previous fight, even if Mo Fan had used his Space Element, it would not have made any difference, since the battle was too messy. Both Ai Jiangtu and Asha’ruiya’s Space Elements were not any weaker than Mo Fan’s. If Mo Fan exposed it too early, the others would only be cautious of it.

As such, Mo Fan had preserved his Space Element just to use it as a trump card to turn the tables. It was brilliant!

“Mo Fan’s mental strength is outstanding, yet his Space Element is still too low-level. He can’t even use Blink. As such, the others simply assumed that the Space Element was only a supportive Element for him. Perhaps the Greek team, who’s known for their ability to collect information, isn’t aware of his mental strength right now…” Han Ji exclaimed.

Marvelous, Mo Fan’s decision to keep the Space Element as a trump card was utterly brilliant. After taking out the Psychic Mage that was hiding in the dark, Asha’ruiya was the only opponent left!

—

“That idiot!” Asha’ruiya almost had an urge to vomit blood. She purposely sent… the man whom she did not even know the name of to eliminate Mo Fan, since he was already at his limit.

She did not really care who won the duel in the end, since the Psychic Mage could easily take either of them out.

Mo Fan was afraid of Psychic Mage, and so was Zorro. She would still win the match once the Psychic Mage took out the winner of the duel.

To her surprise, the man she did not know the name of was knocked out by the seriously injured Mo Fan instead. A Psychic Mage had lost to a destructive Mage! How did such an idiot end up as a member of the national team?

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf gradually grew stronger in the Ice Domain. He swung his claw and knocked the dark horse that the Dark Swordmaster was riding on flying. The dark horse slammed heavily into the wall nearby and vanished in a puff of black smoke…

Asha’ruiya’s Dark Swordmaster was incredibly strong, yet he had been fighting in the match for quite a long time. Meanwhile, Mo Fan had only Summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf recently. Not only was he full of energy, he was further strengthened by Mu Ningxue’s Ice Domain. The Dark Swordmaster stood no chance against the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s fierce attacks!

“Contract, descend!”

Asha’ruiya knew her Summoned Beast would soon be eliminated by the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. She decisively retrieved the dark energy of the Summoned creature.

The dark energy flowed out of the Dark Swordmaster’s armor like a gaseous substance. The swordsman in black armor soon vanished. The empty armor fell to the ground and dissolved into a puddle of black liquid…

The formidable, dark energy shrouded Asha’ruiya, shielding her from the icy storm. The dark aura slowly turned into armor wrapping around Asha’ruiya’s figure.

A long, thin sword appeared out of nowhere, and Asha’ruiya grabbed it with her right hand. A silver mask covered her glamorous face, she soon bore the icy aura of a soldier, ready to face death!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“One-Word Slash!”

The lotus of death blossomed silently under the woman’s foot. Asha’ruiya shuddered, before a sword glow sprang forward along the ground, aiming for Mu Ningxue’s weak point. It was as quick as lightning, and difficult to defend against.

A cut as thin as a string surfaced on Mu Ningxue’s body. The strange thing was, there was no blood jetting out from the cut. It had sliced her body in half instead…

With a closer look, one would realize that it was not Mu Ningxue, but an image on a mirror of ice. The slash had sliced the ice in half, and Mu Ningxue was standing on the other side.

Mu Ningxue wanted to trick Asha’ruiya so she could activate the ice chains she had buried under the ground to trap her opponent. Unfortunately, Asha’ruiya was just too quick. When the ice chains sprang up from the ground, Asha’ruiya was already on the other end. The ice chains did not even touch the corner of her clothes!

“Awoo!” The Flying Creek Snow Wolf no longer had an opponent. He charged at Asha’ruiya and waved his claws fiercely, summoning ice spikes to emerge from the ground. Even though he did not land his attack on her, the ice spikes continued to emerge across an area of two hundred meters. Asha’ruiya had no choice but to use Blink to dodge the ice spikes!

“Darkmoon Slash!”

Asha’ruiya stood in the distance like a black statue. As dark energy was accumulated, she flung the sword forward, firing several shadowy slashes off!

The shadowy crescents were sharp and icy as they approached the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and Mu Ningxue rapidly. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf smartly stood in front of Mu Ningxue, using his body to resist the attacks, just so Mu Ningxue did not need to bother with defending herself.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was knocked flying by the energy waves, leaving a few cuts on him.

A second after the slashes dissipated, the trees near the range of the attack fell to the ground simultaneously, opening up a spacious area.

“Telekinesis!”

Asha’ruiya continued to attack. Her eyes were fixed on the fallen trees, grabbing the thick trunks with her will.

The trunks hovered in front of Asha’ruiya. With a soft groan, the trunks immediately flew at Mu Ningxue and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf at a shocking pace!

“Wind Cut!”

Mu Ningxue formed a Wind Formation, slicing and dicing in front of her. The trunks were shredded into pieces by the winds and scattered in the air like white sand.

“Space Rhythm: Sword Scars!”

Asha’ruiya stabbed the ground heavily with the sword. She glowed silver. Invisible swords started falling rapidly from the sky…

It was impossible to see the swords with the naked eye. They could only determine where the swords were falling by the energy ripples emitted by the swords. Mu Ningxue agilely dodged the rain of swords. Deep pits kept appearing inches away from her feet as the swords plunged a few meters deep into the ground…

More holes appeared along the surface. The area close to Mu Ningxue was full of holes were produced by the swords, yet it was impossible to see the swords as they were falling, since they were summoned with the Space Element!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was not attacked by the Space Swords. He sprinted along the ice at incredible speed.

A bridge of ice extended in the air. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf sprinted across the bridge. He raised his head and let out a loud howl.

Ice cones formed a ring of ice spears. Initially, the ice spears only appeared around fifty metes away from where Asha’ruiya was standing. However, the blades kept poking out from the ground, and soon filled up the ice-covered area. The spears grew rapidly and spread further away. If there were demon creatures inside the ring of spears, they would surely be impaled and killed!

Asha’ruiya had finally secured a slight advantage in the fight, yet it was ruined by the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

Sensing that she was surrounded by the ice spears, Asha’ruiya cast Blink once again to escape from the ring of sharp points.

Asha’ruiya appeared on the other side, staring at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf that was sprinting along the razor-sharp ice.

It was meaningless for her to direct her hatred at a Summoned Beast. However, it was obvious that Asha’ruiya was treating the Flying Creek Snow Wolf like the asshole, Mo Fan!

“Little foxy, did you miss me?” an annoying voice came from the woods.

Asha’ruiya immediately looked at the voice and saw Mo Fan, his upper body bare, standing there. His face was scorched black like an African, yet he was wearing a grin that was urging Asha’ruiya to kick him in the face!

“Why can’t you just die!?” Asha’ruiya was enraged as soon as she saw Mo Fan.

Most importantly, the situation was unfavorable to Asha’ruiya. Mu Ningxue was a strong opponent. Even after so long, Asha’ruiya was unable to knock her out.

Mo Fan’s Flying Creek Snow Wolf was incredibly strong too, and the wolf demon was like a tiger with wings in Mu Ningxue’s Ice Domain. The beast was as strong as an average Commander-level creature!

And now, even Mo Fan had shown up. Asha’ruiya couldn’t help but have a bad feeling!

“I’ve always been hard to kill… Xuexue, you can fight her at will. I will handle her Space Element,” Mo Fan stood a great distance away. He was not in a rush to join the battle.

He no longer had any way to defend himself. He could only harass Asha’ruiya with his will.

Asha’ruiya had an advantage in the fight because of her outstanding Space Element. Mu Ningxue would surely have struggled against the combination of her Space Element and the Dark Contract’s power without the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s help…

However, the undying cockroach Mo Fan had arrived! He was covered in wounds and injuries, and surely could not face Asha’ruiya directly. However, that did not stop him from standing at the side and harassing Asha’ruiya with his Space Element, keeping her own Space Element at bay…

If Mo Fan’s mental strength had not received an upgrade recently, it would only be strong enough to scratch Asha’ruiya’s itch. However, his mental strength had reached the fourth-level with the Stone of Will, allowing him to challenge Asha’ruiya’s Space Element!

“I’ll kill you son of a b**ch first!” Asha’ruiya cast Blink rapidly. Her hatred of Mo Fan was off the charts.

Seeing the woman approaching him so fiercely, Mo Fan yelled, “Old wolf, protect your master!”

Mo Fan was standing quite far away, so he immediately snuck into the woods with his fifth-tier Fleeing Shadow. Asha’ruiya soon lost trace of him.

When Asha’ruiya finally noticed where Mo Fan was riding, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was already lunging at her, followed by Mu Ningxue’s ice chains, forcing her to back away.

“Telekinesis!” Asha’ruiya unleashed her will to crush the ice chains surrounding her.

“Telekinesis!” At the same time, a pair of silver eyes glittered somewhere in the woods. The two forces clashed in the air, and nullified Asha’ruiya’s will!

Asha’ruiya took a deep breath. It felt like her eyes were about to spit fire!

-Goddamned Mo Fan, that jerk, shameless asshole, why can’t he show himself and fight me like a man instead of hiding in the woods!?-

“Darkmoon Slash!” Asha’ruiya completely lost her calm. She raised her sword and slashed at the woods.

The trees fell to the ground, as if hundreds of lumbermen had just finished their work. However, the black shadow was not sliced in half like the rest of the trees. It was still hiding in the distance, and even though it was not making any sound, Asha’ruiya could imagine his annoying laughter ringing in her mind!

“Mo Fan, come out here. I will concede if I land my slash on you once!” Asha’ruiya desperately wanted to vent her anger.

“If your words are trustworthy, all men in this world are trustworthy too!” Mo Fan’s voice echoed from the woods.

“I didn’t want to use this power in the tournament, but you’ve left me with no choice!” Asha’ruiya’s voice gradually turned cold.

Asha’ruiya swung her sword rapidly, forming a layer of defense around herself.

She took the black necklace from around her neck and held it tightly in her hand. A black light descended from the clouds and landed right on her…

A dark aura was emerging, in the form of some black gaseous substance rising from the ground!

The dark energy rapidly filled up the space around Asha’ruiya and turned into an enormous black tornado, driving the Ice Magic away.

The advisors among the spectators frowned upon seeing the strong aura of dark energy. They could feel a dangerous sensation lingering in the air. Even though the energy seemed fairly calm on the surface, it was extremely dangerous!

“Isn’t this breaking the rules…” The Governor of Venice had a stern look.

Haylon, the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights representing Greece, fell silent for a moment when he noticed everyone looking at him, before he spoke, “She’s just using the power of her magic Equipment, how is that against the rules?”

“The power that Asha’ruiya is using is clearly breaking the rules of the tournament.”

“How about Egypt? Shouldn’t their magic be forbidden, too? If you aren’t going to punish Egypt, you shouldn’t complain about us either,” Haylon immediately justified Asha’ruiya’s actions.

“Since it’s a tournament, there are surely loopholes that we might miss out on. I’m just hoping that every country will compete fairly in the tournament. We can’t really judge Egyptian team, and we won’t be able to judge Asha’ruiya either, but will it really impress the world? As a Saintess, is it really worth it for Asha’ruiya to damage her reputation…”

The dark energy had clearly exceeded the level of the tournament. Any Super Mage watching the tournament could easily tell it. The main judge immediately gave the order to the assistant judges to set up a barrier. Otherwise, the dark energy would easily injure the spectators.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Just forfeit the match, I must say that I still can’t fully control my power,” Asha’ruiya stared at Mu Ningxue. She was talking to Mu Ningxue, and Mo Fan at the same time.

Despite her grudge against Mo Fan, they were still in the middle of a tournament. She did not want to inflict incurable damage on her opponents, since the Shadow Element was not any gentler than the Curse Element!

Mo Fan came out from his shadow. He was astounded by the dark energy circling Asha’ruiya.

As he thought, the woman had such an extraordinary background, and surely had some sort of terrifying trump card. If the dark energy poured into her, it would make her as strong as the Dark Swordmaster. Her strength would be almost comparable to a Ruler-level creature. Even if it could only last for a minute, it was enough to eliminate them!

“Xuexue, forget it…” Mo Fan glanced at Mu Ningxue and let out a sigh.

If the organizer allowed the participants to use such power, the ranking of the tournament would be utterly meaningless.

Mo Fan had already tried his best. He could not use his trump card just because Asha’ruiya was using a piece of outstanding magic Equipment to accumulate the dark energy. The Demon Element was not meant to be used in a tournament, it was meant to be used against the Black Vatican. Mo Fan was very clear on that…

As for the ranking, the Chinese team should come second or third in the tournament still. It was a lot better than their expectation.

Asha’ruiya’s aura weakened slightly. She could tell that Mo Fan had decided to give up. It was meaningless to provoke them any further…

She glanced at Mu Ningxue. Somehow, she felt that Mu Ningxue was reluctant to give up still. Mu Ningxue desperately needed the tournament to prove herself, to scrub away the burden that she was forced to carry.

“Mo Fan, you should leave first,” Mu Ningxue did not listen to Mo Fan’s suggestion. She sounded firm and determined!

“Don’t do it, it’s meaningless,” Mo Fan advised against it.

“But this is very important to me!” Mu Ningxue had no intention of forfeiting the match.

If Asha’ruiya was allowed to accumulate the dark energy that was clearly beyond the level of the tournament with her magic Equipment, why couldn’t she be allowed to use her Ice Crystal Bow?

The Ice Magic in the area had been depleted, as darkness had completely dominated it. However, as Mu Ningxue raised her hand and summoned the Ice Crystal Bow deep inside her soul, the depleted Ice Magic suddenly returned and reclaimed its territory!

The Nirvana Ice Domain appeared once again, and was even stronger than before. The ice crystals were like dust particles, gathering on Mu Ningxue’s palm, and gradually took the shape of an icy, crystalline bow. The bow summoned strong winds that turned into a great storm surging across the spacious battlefield.

The howls of the icy winds sent chills down the spines of the spectators who were not Mages. It was like a great storm formed by nature was within inches of them!

The snowy-white storm and Asha’ruiya’s dark tornado claimed their respective territories, like two armies facing one another. The rest of the Elements could no longer find any space in the area!

“Descend!”

Asha’ruiya was granted the power of darkness. Pieces of armor covered in a dark light and emitting an evil aura attached to her body. She had claimed the imposing aura of the Dark Swordmaster.

She waved the sword in her hand slightly, the sword intent spreading in all directions like thousands of flying moths. It was utterly spectacular, and dangerous!

On the other hand, Mu Ningxue’s crystal arrow slowly took shape, held firmly between her index and middle fingers. White frost was dancing wildly around her. Her glamorous face displayed an unyielding determination!

Mo Fan had a strong urge to stop the fight…

Mu Ningxue had already used the Ice Crystal Bow during the treasure hunt. It was quite obvious that the attack was executed at an excessive cost to her stamina and energy. In other words, she was trading her life for the chance to use the Ice Crystal Bow.

Mu Ningxue was using the power that she could not control once again. Even though it would not endanger her life, she would still be tortured by the frost every night for a long time!

It was really not worth it…

However, it was Mu Ningxue’s choice, unless Mo Fan crept up on her and knocked her out before the attack overdrew the energy of the body…

If he did that, Mu Ningxue would surely hate him for the rest of her life.

The darkness and the frost continued to grow stronger. Mu Ningxue was aiming the arrow right at Asha’ruiya. The fierce storm was only just the beginning. The real power that could freeze anything to death was contained inside the arrow!

Asha’ruiya was surprised by the power that was on an equal footing as hers. She looked extremely serious now.

If it had come down to this, it was necessary for the darkness and frost to decide who the winner was!

Asha’ruiya raised the sword, emitting an icy, deathly glow. She stored the dark energy inside the sword and fixed her eyes on Mu Ningxue.

“The Dawnbreaker of Darkness!”

As the sword slashed forward, the sky turned dark instantly, yet it felt like a glimpse of daybreak was tearing through it. It was long, sharp, and fast, and the light was icy cold. It did not bring hope like daybreak would, but the despair and hopelessness of an era of darkness!

It was impossible to dodge the attack. The slash did not have a trail, nor was it coming from a certain angle or direction. It would strike the target it was locking onto. Even the Super Mages gasped after realizing how powerful the slash was!

“Arrow of Silence!”

With a soft thrum, the crystalline arrow was fired, followed by a great storm that shook the sky and the ground as it surged forward. It felt like the confined space would collapse at any second!

The storm was powerful and huge, yet completely silent. Everything was turned into ice as the arrow flew past. Even the dark energy had frozen, and was drifting in the air like a mist!

The Arrow of Silence and the Sword Glow of Dawnbreak were incredibly fast. They swept past half the battlefield in the blink of an eye, but neither made a single noise. It was so quiet, as if everything was dead and still…

The arrow was shattered in the light produced by the sword. The light of the sword was also dissipated by the power of the arrow. The darkness looming over the battlefield immediately cleared up, while the ice covering the place melted instantly as if it was never there!

When the crowd thought the two powerful attacks had nullified one another, a white light flickered in the center of the battlefield. A terrifying explosion took place, and strong winds blasted in all directions!

It was impossible to tell where the energy had come from. It was more like black winds and black icy blades, shredding the trees into pieces. Not even the stumps were left. The river at the center turned into pitch-black ice and went still. The rocks and mountains were chewed up beyond recognition, and the cliffs surrounding the battlefield were left with scratches and marks all over them!

Luckily, the overwhelming energy did not rise any further. Otherwise, the people watching the match on the cliffs might be in danger…

The battlefield was the size of a district in a town. If the two powers had collided in a city, every structure in it would be razed to the ground. To think that such destructive powers were produced by two beautiful women. It was absolutely unbelievable!

The place remained silent for a long time, as if everything was frozen by the ice and darkness.

On the destroyed battlefield, Asha’ruiya was still standing firmly in her black armor. She had taken off the silver mask, revealing her stern face. It was nothing like the alluring expression she usually had.

A few snowflakes were circling Mu Ningxue, setting off her unique icy charm. She looked at Asha’ruiya, who was perfectly unharmed. Her face was incredibly pale.

She was still holding the ice crystal bow. If she needed to fire another arrow to win the match, she had no idea what would happen to her.

This Saintess of the Parthenon Temple also possessed a power that was beyond her cultivation. As she thought, she was not the only special person in this world!

“You win!” Asha’ruiya suddenly conceded.

Mu Ningxue was stunned. She was wondering if she had heard it wrong.

Asha’ruiya did not repeat her words . She put her sword away and headed toward the exit.

Her steps were light, and the cold, black armor on her slowly disappeared as a puff of black smoke. She threw the silver mask onto the ground too, and it soon melted.

Asha’ruiya reached the edge of the battlefield and walked past Mo Fan. She finally lifted her gaze and glanced at Mo Fan, who was utterly confused too.

Mo Fan had no clue what was going on. It was obvious that the two were on an equal footing. If Asha’ruiya chose to fight further, the outcome was still unpredictable… unless Asha’ruiya could not use her power any longer, meaning that the slash was already her limit.

The truth was, it was unlikely that Mu Ningxue could fire the arrow a second time!

Mo Fan noticed Asha’ruiya staring at him coldly. Her eyes still had the imposing aura of the Dark Swordmaster. Any other person might be panicking by now, but Mo Fan, who had slain a Dark Swordmaster before, was not intimidated by the aura.

“You owe me one,” Asha’ruiya icy expression was suddenly replaced by a naughty grin, as if the girl next door he had offended had suddenly come up with an evil plan to get her revenge, making him feel uneasy.

“What do you mean by that?” Mo Fan asked.

“If I don’t lower my sword, she won’t lower her bow, either; but if she doesn’t lower her bow, she will lose her life. She’s not willing to give up, so I was left with no choice, but you owe me one, understand?” Asha’ruiya smiled, reclaiming her vixen temperament.

“You’re at your limit, too,” Mo Fan said.

“Then I’ll go back there and continue the fight, and see who’s going to be the last person standing…” Asha’ruiya pretended she was going back. She had yet to leave the match officially, as she was only disqualified after crossing the line.

“You win, I owe you one,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“You seem to care a lot about her?” Asha’ruiya asked, intrigued.

“She’s my first wife.”

“…”

Asha’ruiya had never seen anyone so straightforward and shameless!

Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth “The Chinese team wins!” After the announcement from the main judge, the Chinese among the spectators hugged one another to share their overflowing joy! It had been years since the Chinese team had such an impressive result in the World College Tournament. Most importantly, they had advanced to the grand final. They only needed to defeat the Egyptian team to be crowned the champions. Many had been waiting for this day for too long! The victory was finally theirs. It was likely that Mu Ningxue was going to enter the limelight after taking out Asha’ruiya in the match. She would no longer be pressured by her renowned clan. After all, how could a person that was related to the Black Vatican go so far just to win glory for their country? Mu Ningxue was clearly innocent, but she desperately needed an opportunity to prove it to the people. She had also proved that she could become stronger without relying on her ridiculous clan. — “Mu Gong, I remember that you’ve recently clarified that she is no longer related to your clan…I really don’t understand. Who is the person that made such an amusing decision?” Councilman Shao Zheng asked. Mu Gong had a twisted look, yet he still had to force a smile. Mu Gong had sworn to scold the crap out of the idiots that made that decision after he went back to the Mu Clan. The incident of the Black Vatican had quieted down a lot, yet the people insisted on picking on Mu Ningxue and expelling her from the clan. She was brilliant, she had won an important match for the country, and she would be receiving all the glory; the Mu Clan had nothing to do with it at all. Every faction was willing to invest lots of resources in their representatives just to spread their name on an international stage. With enough reputation, more Mages would be interested in joining their factions, allowing them to grow continuously! Most importantly, the glory that the Chinese team had earned was not ordinary. They had made it to the grand finals, meaning that they would still come second, even if they lost the final match. It meant a lot to China, and if Mu Ningxue was still a member of the Mu Clan, Mu Gong could easily take hold of the opportunity to make the Mu Clan the strongest powerhouse among the factions! “Mu Tingying wasn’t too bad either, she’s just a little too dumb…” someone among the group said, which was stabbed Mu Gong’s heart like a knife. Mu Gong seemed calm on the surface, yet he had already made up his mind. It was not Mu Gong that had decided to expel Mu Ningxue from the clan. Mu Gong was the leader, but it did not necessarily mean he was in charge of everything. He only knew that the clan had sent Disciplinary Mages out to cripple Mu Ningxue’s cultivation after it happened… — Mo Fan walked onto the battlefield and helped Mu Ningxue toward the exit. Mu Ningxue was wearing a smile despite her extremely pale face. It was very faint, but she did smile. Mo Fan was left speechless after seeing the relieved smile on the woman’s face. She had put in a lot of hard work, endured the pain of the frost, experienced the coldness of people, and suffered greatly just for victory in this match, for a chance to display her brilliance to the people… Mo Fan did not stop the intense battle between Mu Ningxue and Asha’ruiya, because he understood Mu Ningxue’s feelings. However, when he saw how feeble she was, and the proud tears in her eyes, Mo Fan felt incredibly sorry for her. “It’s over, you shouldn’t use it anymore. It’s going to kill you eventually…” Mo Fan helped Mu Ningxue stand properly. It was the only time that Mu Ningxue did not stop Mo Fan from being so close to her. She allowed him to hug her. First of all, she was really worn out from the match, and second, she was well aware that she had no chance of making it so far without Mo Fan’s help. She feltl at ease when she was leaning on his shoulder, to the extent that she could forget everything and just fall asleep… Zhao Manyan, Nanyu, Jiang Shaoxu, Mu Nujiao, and the others showed up. “How is she?” they asked worriedly, after seeing how feeble Mu Ningxue was. “I don’t know either,” Mo Fan was not a Healer. He was clueless about the damage that Mu Ningxue had suffered. However, judging from what Asha’ruiya said, if Mu Ningxue used the Ice Crystal Bow frequently, she would be killing herself slowly. It was fine for now, since she was young, but as she got older, more problems would arise. Han Ji inspected Mu Ningxue’s condition and said with a sigh, “This… I’m afraid we can’t really do anything about it. It’s an injury inflicted on the soul, the source of life, and the things that can cure the damage dealt to a person’s soul are very difficult to find.”  Pang Lai and Feng Li could not provide any help either… Mo Fan helped Mu Ningxue back to her room to rest up. If there was no cure, it was important to let her get some rest. — — A pleasant melody was coming from outside the window. The melody, stacked up with the fireworks of celebration further away, had woken Mu Ningxue from her deep slumber. She opened her eyes and realized she was lying on a familiar bed, it had the smell that she liked… There were people talking downstairs outside the window. They seemed to be having loud discussions about the duel between the sword and bow, and had repeated her name many times. A few other girls were chatting too, sharing that their favorite participant in the tournament was her… Mu Ningxue knew she had not been asleep for long. The fireworks were still going on, meaning that the Chinese team was still being congratulated for their victory. It was a grand ceremony that every Mage would want to be at. Mu Ningxue remembered her mother kept mentioning it to her when she was young. The woman was once just a step away from fulfilling her dream, so it was bothering her constantly. “You’re awake?” Mo Fan was sitting on a chair with a piece of pizza on his hand. She could see some oilt stains around his mouth. “Why aren’t you at the ceremony?” Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan in astonishment. How could he miss out on it? It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! “It’s just a ceremony, it doesn’t really matter to me. I would rather rest up and enjoy myself an Italian pie…” Mo Fan leaned against the chair and continued to feast on his ‘Italian pie’. “Why are you eating this every day?” Mu Ningxue rolled her eyes. “It’s delicious, you want some? I’ll get a piece for you,” Mo Fan said. “How are your injuries?” Mu Ningxue glanced up and down at Mo Fan. She was confused. -Is Mo Fan really an ox? How can he still eat pizza like he is perfectly fine when he was so seriously injured in the match? Any other person would be lying on a bed and treated by a few Healers simultaneously!- “I recover pretty quickly, I felt a lot better after Han Ji cast a few Healing Spells on me. You know, I can’t stand the boredom of just lying down on my bed. So, I decided to keep you company instead. Here, try a piece; trust me, it’s very good,” Mo Fan offered. “Can’t you wear gloves?” “We’ve been husband and wife for so long, why the fuss… alright, I’ll take another piece for you.” Mu Ningxue was hungry too. She ate a piece, but she could not really taste anything. Her mind was not on the food, she had only eaten it to fill up her empty stomach. “I don’t think I can take part in the grand final,” Mu Ningxue said gloomily. The standoff between her and Asha’ruiya had taken all her strength. She could not fight, even if she was not using the Ice Crystal Bow. Her brain would hurt like it was pierced by needles if she needed to draw a Star Orbit. “Leave it to me. I haven’t told you my nickname: the Terminator of the Undead. The Egyptian team might be using some dirty tricks, but I will surely beat the crap out of them once I learn what it is!” Mo Fan said. “Aren’t you injured, too? Can you still fight with your full strength?” Mu Ningxue was worried. Mo Fan had barely beaten Zorro in the mixed battle. “I will be fine after resting for a few days, unlike you, since it’s your soul that has been damaged. It might even affect your path of cultivation in the future,” Mo Fan said. “I didn’t want to lose…” “Sure, sure, just leave the rest to me. We’ve already come so far, I won’t forgive myself if I didn’t come first in the tournament!” Mo Fan said. “Mmm!” It went without saying that Mu Ningxue was hoping that the team would win the tournament. The difference between the first and second places was actually quite huge. She believed her family would no longer have to suffer because of Mu He’s ties with the Black Vatican if their team won in the grand final. Her father Mu Zhuoyun and the rest of her family had been struggling a lot for the past two years. Their lives were worse than ordinary people. “What are your plans after this?” Mo Fan suddenly asked. “After this?” Mu Ningxue was startled. Yeah, she had been placing all her attention on the World College Tournament. Now that the tournament was about to come to an end, she suddenly felt lost. She had sworn to fall out with the Mu Clan on the bridge in Venice on that particular day, but where should she start from? The enormous Mu Clan was not something that she could topple so easily! “I…I want to establish my own clan,” Mu Ningxue replied after some hesitation. She had been thinking about that for quite some time. She had been in a clan for so long, so it would be difficult for her to start all over again, yet she was reluctant to let a clan be in charge of her life. As such, it was better if she established her own clan instead! “That’s not a bad idea, you have my support,” Mo Fan nodded. Mo Fan enjoyed his free and unconstrained life, but Mu Ningxue had come from a renowned clan with lots of ties. Mo Fan always believed she would pick that path, and there was nothing wrong about it. Even a kind person would often be taken advantage of by the people around them. Without a certain background, even the people close to a person would be dragged into the mess, especially when there were countless lowly people like Mu Tingying and Nanrong Ni around. Besides, Mu Ningxue was going against the entire Mu Clan; it would be tough for her to fight alone. Mo Fan had to settle the dispute between him and the Lu Clan, too. Mo Fan did not like the concept of renowned families, but by helping Mu Ningxue, he would be helping himself to get rid of these annoying problems too! “I’ll introduce my little maid to you after we go back to Shanghai. She has a bunch of rich merchants under her lead, you might find them useful,” Mo Fan told her. “Your maid?” Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan in confusion.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“She’s from the Blood Tribe. The tribe has a certain influence in the gray areas. These merchants are legal, and reliable. I have no clue how the businesses, society, or gatherings of upper-class people work. Liu Ru told me many times that I might find these people useful, but I’m too lazy to manage them,” Mo Fan informed her.

Liu Ru was currently an elder of the Blood Tribe. The Enforcement Union was hoping that Old Bao could keep an eye on the gray market in the Magic City. The gray market mainly consisted of eccentric people, the Blood Tribe, and some secret organizations. The Blood Tribe was mainly in charge of it, and ruled certain districts of the city by running businesses that would occasionally skirt the legal lines that the Enforcement Union had established…

Old Bao’s approach was very simple. He had trained Liu Ru to control the gray market by manipulating the leaders of the factions involved, stopping them from undertaking any evil deeds while guaranteeing their safety, so they could survive in the city.

The Enforcement Union and the government was pleased to see that the gray market was under control. Even the Holy Judgment Court would struggle to manage an existence like the Blood Tribe, which was neither demon nor human. It was inappropriate to treat them all as bad guys, too. After all, there were lots of people that had suffered the same fate as Liu Ru!

Liu Ru currently maintained the balance of two great districts in the Magic City. She had a strong influence over the people involved in the gray market. These people would play a key role in establishing a new faction or clan. Mo Fan did not think they would be any use to him, but now that he thought about it, he might be able to do Mu Ningxue a favor instead…

Considering how aggressive he usually was, it was only a matter of time before he stepped on the tail of a powerful faction. As such, without a certain background, he was doomed to live a tough life!

—

Mu Ningxue went back to sleep. It did not make sense for Mo Fan to stay in the room any longer.

Mo Fan was only discussing the future with Mu Ningxue, hoping that he could get closer to her. He definitely had lots of chances to scheme against her, let it be a lonely night, or a drunk weekend… tsk tsk tsk, the little rabbit could no longer escape from him!

Mo Fan thought about the Egyptian team as he was walking down the streets.

It was not pure luck that the Egyptian team had defeated both the Greek team and the English team. Their Undead Element was incredibly powerful, allowing them to keep Summoning undead to fight for them.

Mo Fan was slightly confused. How did the Egyptian team become so strong all of a sudden? Weren’t their undead fairly useless when they were up against stronger opponents? Why was their team suddenly unbeatable?

“Mo Fan!” a pleasant voice called out from the alleyway nearby while he was still preoccupied with his thoughts. He turned at the voice and saw a woman with a black veil standing there. The shadows were hiding her alluring physique. Most people would only see a blurred figure in the alleyway, and not be able to tell it was a woman.

Mo Fan looked at the woman and chuckled, “How much for a night, pretty girl?”

“How much are you willing to pay?” Asha’ruiya asked in return.

“You’re so pretty, I’m willing to go bankrupt just to sleep with you,” Mo Fan said.

“Pervert!” Asha’ruiya glared at Mo Fan.

“What is it this time? Why do I feel like you’ve been seeing me a lot lately? I do admit that I’m very charming, like an addictive poison that many women are struggling to control themselves from taking, but I believe as a Candidate, your self-control should be a lot better than ordinary women,” Mo Fan shot back.

“I’m flying back to Greece tomorrow morning. A person happened to cross my mind, so I’ve come to ask you about her,” Asha’ruiya pointed at a dimly-lit inn nearby, signaling Mo Fan to continue the conversation there.

“Leaving already? We should really cherish our time tonight, and have a few…”

“What were you saying!?”

“A few sincere conversations. I believe we should be more sincere to one another, and less setting one another up.”

Asha’ruiya was too lazy to argue with his filthy mouth. She went straight to the inn.

She seemed to be familiar with the place. She ordered a fruit wine for herself while Mo Fan ordered a bottle of Sprite, before asking with a confused expression, “So you want to ask about Mu Ningxue? The bow that defeated you?”

“The bow that defeated me? Since when did I lose to it?” Asha’ruiya asked in return.

“You conceded; doesn’t that mean you’ve lost?” Mo Fan said.

“It’s hard to say who was going to win in the end, but I did feel that I shouldn’t be using that power in a tournament, which is why I chose to forfeit in the end. Besides, why are you so confident that I’m asking about Mu Ningxue?” Asha’ruiya said.

“Isn’t that the case?” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan already knew the answer when he saw the look on Asha’ruiya’s face. He asked curiously, “Then who do you want to ask me about?”

“The woman who’s also a Candidate at the Parthenon Temple, just like me? Judging from your words today, she must be your second wife, then?” Asha’ruiya said.

“You must be referring to Xinxia! Oh, I almost forgot that you two are colleagues,” Mo Fan said.

“Colleagues? Don’t you have a better word than that?” Asha’ruiya rolled her eyes.

“Why are you asking about her?” Mo Fan said.

“Nothing really, just want to have a casual chat with you about her. I’m actually quite curious about her, and you too; I didn’t think you two are step-siblings,” Asha’ruiya said.

“She was actually adopted into the family as a future daughter-in-law.” Asha’ruiya’s tone sounded strange to Mo Fan.

“Okay, tell me about your past. I’m pretty intrigued; my adoptive father used to tell me lots of stories about his childhood friends when I was young,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan was even more confused, but he did not mind telling Asha’ruiya since she was so interested in it, and it was not like it was anything confidential. Besides, Asha’ruiya could easily investigate their background if she wanted. Mo Fan simply thought of it as a casual chat, so he started telling Asha’ruiya about Bo City.

Asha’ruiya listened as Mo Fan talked. She seemed quite serious.

It did not take long until Asha’ruiya suddenly interrupted, “You weren’t living together?”

“We barely live together. Both my father and I are men, so it’s inconvenient for us to take care of her. She was studying at a girls’ junior high school, close to my aunt’s place, so she was living at my aunt’s house instead. As for senior high school, I was staying at the dorms so I could learn magic better. I think we met once every week, we usually stayed in contact by phone…”

“I didn’t think you were a self-made genius. Aren’t you proud of yourself, considering how you’ve come from a little city to a big stage that the whole world was watching in Venice?” Asha’ruiya exclaimed.

“Since when are you a post-game reporter now?” Mo Fan was left speechless. However, Mo Fan assumed Asha’ruiya was just trying to find a topic to talk to him. He said, “I’ve told you many things, so tell me about yourself instead; the noble, highly-respected, and glamorous Candidate for the role of the Goddess, Asha’ruiya!”

Asha’ruiya was well aware of Mo Fan’s mocking tone, but she did not seem too bothered by it. She said casually, “There’s really nothing special about me. I’m just an orphan that was adopted by an amazing person. He gave me my name, and my noble status. Even after he passed away, I’m still respected like a princess in the kingdom that he established.”

“And who was this person?” Mo Fan inquired.

“Holy Saint Wen Tai, the most brilliant Great Muse that the Parthenon Temple ever had in the last few hundred years,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Oh, it’s him!” Mo Fan recognized the name.

Mo Fan had actually heard the name Wen Tai before, but the man was somewhat contradictory. The contributions he made to the world were worthy enough to be recorded in history, and the people greatly respected him. However, Mo Fan discovered that most of his information was not disclosed to the public. He could not even find how the man had died, as if the news was completely sealed off.

“Isn’t his name quite sensitive?” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah, his name is well known across the world, and he’s one of the main reasons that the Parthenon Temple is where it is at today. Unfortunately, he’s still no match for jealousy!” Asha’ruiya finished her fruit wine in a single gulp.

“What happened? Was he set up by someone?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

Asha’ruiya shook her head.

“If it wasn’t set-up, why do you still grieve for him? It’s fine if the old man passed away because of his age,” Mo Fan said.

“He was executed!” Asha’ruiya’s gaze sharpened.

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped. He could not find any words.

“Why is my past so relaxing and pleasant to talk about, and yours is so gloomy and serious? Let’s not talk about the past, I have something to ask you too,” Mo Fan decisively changed the topic. He did not ask about Holy Saint Wen Tai any further.

“What do you want to ask?” Asha’ruiya soon collected her thoughts. She was not immersed in the sorrow of the past.

“Parthenon, how strong is it?” Mo Fan asked.

Asha’ruiya was stunned. She did not expect that question from Mo Fan.

“Why are you asking that?”

“I’m just curious. An organization with the strongest influence in the world, I’m just wondering how strong it can be,” Mo Fan said.

“The Sacred Mountain of Parthenon is divided into four halls. The Hall of the Goddess, the Hall of Knights, the Hall of Faith, and the Hall of Judgment. The Hall of the Goddess is the leader among the halls, and the Hall of Knights is the armed force of the Hall of the Goddess. The Hall of Faith is open to all believers, and the Hall of Judgment is responsible for setting up rules, and delivering punishment.

“The Hall of the Goddess is located on the tallest mountain, followed by the Hall of the Knights, and the Hall of Judgment, with the Hall of Faith closest to the foothill. The Mages that are appointed as personnel are at least Intermediate Mages. The number of Mages depends on the number of visitors that have come to be blessed. If there’s a festival, its scale would be comparable to an army of ten thousand Intermediate Mages.”

Asha’ruiya giggled and said, “Therefore, if we’re both at the Hall of Faith, you will be overrun by ten thousand Intermediate Mages as soon as I scream for help. They might even tear you to pieces. They aren’t paid like soldiers, since it’s actually part of their beliefs, so their firepower is only going to be stronger than a troop of Battlemages!”

Mo Fan twisted his lips and asked, “How about the Hall of Judgment?”

“The Hall of Judgment consists of Adjudicators, a thousand of them in total, and they are all in the Advanced Level or above.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The Hall of Knights has three hundred and sixty-five guardian knights. When the probationary Servants, Servants, Muses, or Great Muses are sent to other places to provide aid, these guardian knights are in charge of their safety. The knights also train to improve their strength… but the number of guardian knights on standby in the Hall of Knights is usually around two hundred. They are all outstanding talents that are specifically chosen. A guardian knight can easily take on a student in the top eight teams,” Asha’ruiya said.

“The number of Advanced Mages that you guys have is pretty shocking!…” Mo Fan exclaimed.

In his country, every Advanced Mage had an outstanding status. In a city like Bo City, the person in charge was only an Advanced Mage, but a single Hall of Judgment of the Parthenon Temple had a thousand Adjudicators, all Advanced Mages. Meanwhile, the Hall of Knights another three hundred and sixty-five guardian knights, and these knights were the most talented ones chosen from the Advanced Mages!

The armed force of a single mountain was comparable to that of a country, not to mention that the Hall of the Goddess was the actual core of the Parthenon Temple!

“Colleges are still colleges, after all… you only realize how many experts there are after coming into the real world!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Of course you would feel tiny when you’re comparing yourself with the Parthenon Temple, but you should be content too. You’re basically the strongest student in the world. No one would dare trouble you,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan shook his head. No one would dare trouble him? Lots of people were waiting for their chance to trouble him! Besides, he was a fan of stirring up troubles too! If he was not strong enough, how could he satisfy the needs of his ruthless heart?

“Be careful when you’re up against the Egyptian team, their undead isn’t really theirs,” Asha’ruiya switched the topic back to the tournament.

“What do you know?” Mo Fan furrowed his brows.

“I believe they must have found some ancient magic from a pyramid. These ancient magicks aren’t forbidden.”

“So a power that doesn’t belong to them… alright, I’ll try my best.”

—

—

The final match finally took place on an island after a few days.

Venice purposely arranged the important match to be held on an island surrounded by the sea. The island looked like a floating stage in the middle of the waters from afar, surrounded by an ocean-blue, transparent barrier.

The spectators were on boats this time. Four luxurious cruise ships were situated on four sides of the stage. The people could easily see the match through the barrier on the liners.

Fireworks were launched into the sky in Venice, making a spectacular bridge extending across the ocean to the stage where the match was being held.

The Egyptian team was already standing on the stage. As the team that had entered the limelight out of nowhere, they had stirred a great discussion about the Undead Element among the crowd.

The Undead Element was a very rare Element, granting Mages the ability to control undead and refine dead beings. The Undead Element had been controversial since its invention, and was actually forbidden by the Holy Judgment Court for a long time in history.

Currently, the Undead Element had grabbed everyone’s attention in the World College Tournament. It might even turn the Undead Element into a new trend!

“The funny thing is, both China and Egypt are where the two Undead Kingdoms are located. Millions of undead attacked the Ancient Capital during the Calamity. It almost wiped out a city that existed for a long time. Meanwhile, the pyramids in Egypt aren’t the friendliest places, either. They are like volcanoes that could erupt at any second, bringing unimaginable disaster to the cities nearby…”

“You are damn right about that. The Ancient Capital has been troubled by the undead for thousands of years, while Egypt was once ruled by the pharaohs. Even though the Chinese aren’t really keen on learning the Undead Element, I believe Egypt is planning to develop the Undead Element, and promote it to the world!”

Both Egypt and China had the biggest Undead Kingdoms in the world. No one expected the two countries would be facing one another in the grand finals of the World College Tournament.

—

“So no one managed to find out how the Egyptians are able to summon their undead endlessly?” Jiang Yu asked.

“Let’s just beat the crap out of them. A bunch of trashy undead; their dirty tricks aren’t going to work against us!” Guan Yu did not think highly of the Egyptian team.

The starting members in the match against Egypt were Mo Fan, Jiang Yu, Mu Nujiao, Guan Yu, and Zhao Manyan.

The Chinese team had fought the mixed battle not long ago. Most of their members were seriously injured in it. Nanyu, Ai Jiangtu, Mu Ningxue, Mu Tingying, and the others had not fully recovered yet, and were most likely not going to participate in the match. Meanwhile, the Egyptian team was fully rested up!

“Jiaojiao, is your third Element Ice?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah,” Mu Nujiao nodded.

Mu Nujiao’s Elements were similar to Mu Ningxue’s. Her primary Element was Plant, secondary was Wind, and tertiary was Ice. In terms of strength, Mu Nujiao was on par with Zu Jiming, and her Elements were very effective against undead.

“If only Mu Ningxue was here; the undead are very weak against ice,” Jiang Yu said.

“That’s true, if she was here, the weaker undead would basically be useless against her Ice Domain.”

The team had fought against the undead in Egypt during the mirage of the pyramid. Back then, Mu Ningxue had frozen the army of undead with her Ice Domain, relieving the friendlies of a great amount of pressure.

“My Ice Element isn’t as strong as Mu Ningxue’s, but I won’t have trouble freezing little undead. It’s very effective if I use my Plant Element too,” Mu Nujiao said.

“Mmm, I’m counting on you!” Mo Fan said.

The Ice Element was the most effective against undead, followed by the Plant Element. Mu Nujiao’s primary Element was Plant, and tertiary was Ice, yet her secondary Wind Element also worked well together with the Ice Element. She was obviously going to play an important role in the fight against undead.

The Mu Clan was one of the top four renowned clans in China. After learning that Mu Nujiao had successfully advanced to the grand final, the clan invested a fortune in her, hoping that she could earn some reputation for the Mu Clan in the match.

Mu Nujiao was greatly motivated, too. The advisors were placing their hopes on her because the team was up against the Egyptian team and their undead!

“Remember to destroy the undead crystals to finish them off. The crystals will be located at different places for different undead, so don’t lower your guard,” Mo Fan reminded them.

Mo Fan had killed lots of undead before. His success against undead was remarkable. He believed the two powerhouses had lost against the Egyptian team because they were not familiar with the undead!

The team nodded and followed Mo Fan’s instructions.

—

“Participants, in your positions!”

The main judge gave the instruction.

Every participant began to feel nervous as the countdown started.

“The match begins now!”

—

The main judge declared. The five members of the Egyptian team started channeling their spells when the main judge’s voice was still echoing in the air.

Gray Star Orbits circled them and swiftly combined into gray patterns with a hint of redness on the ground. The patterns were different from Star Patterns. They were emitting an evil, dangerous glow!

“Rise, my soldiers!” Meos bit her finger and sprinkled the blood onto the soil.

A single drop of blood immediately dyed the area within a few hundred meters red, as if the area had been placed under a curse…

The trees, flowers, and grass wilted, like their lives had been drained away.

The ground started to loosen up gradually, and began to vibrate like boiling water!

Ghastly cries were heard coming from below the soil, as undead wrapped in black shrouds stained with blood crawled out from the ground. They were emitting a murderous aura, while their eyes, glowing with a green light, were stared at every living creature on the stage viciously!

Around thirty undead covered in red shrouds had appeared. The Egyptian team had five members, and when the whole team was Summoning undead, they could easily Summon up to a hundred undead. A strong aura of death immediately surged across the island that initially had a delightful atmosphere.

“It’s the Dark Red Mummies!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

During the conversation with Asha’ruiya, the woman was willing to forget the conflict between them and share the information she had gathered about the Egyptian team’s undead with Mo Fan.

The Dark Red Mummies were the most plentiful undead that the Egyptian team could Summon, and they were also the trickiest undead to deal with. These undead would just keep coming, as a single drop of blood falling onto the ground was enough to Summon around thirty of them. The Dark Red Mummies were the essence of the Egyptian team’s strategy, and if they could not find a way to overcome it, they would eventually be worn out by the undead, just like the English team and the Greek team!

“The undead crystals of the Dark Red Mummies are located at the back of their heads. Guan Yu, you just need to aim for their weak point!” Mo Fan said.

“I’ll try!”

Guan Yu moved rapidly and appeared behind a Dark Red Mummy in the blink of an eye. The mummy had a fairly slow reaction speed. By the time it turned around, Guan Yu’s claw gauntlet had already stabbed into the back of its head!

No blood or brains were jetting out from the cut. The Dark Red Mummy slowly fell to the ground and melted, leaving nothing behind.

“It really is at the back of their heads, around ten centimeters down from the top, but their skulls are pretty hard. I wouldn’t be able to hit it if it wasn’t for my claw gauntlet!” Guan Yu immediately regrouped with the team after eliminating a mummy. He was acting very cautiously.

“They are coming!” Mu Nujiao shouted.

“Stand in your positions, don’t let them split us up!”

“They will have to cross some mountains first!” Zhao Manyan slammed his hands onto the ground. A few folds started rising rapidly, forming some broken terrain. It would take the brainless undead some time to make their way through it.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Growth of All Things!” Mu Nujiao flung her sleeves, scattering countless green seeds across the broken ground that Zhao Manyan had produced.

Demon trees with sharp blades emerged rapidly from the ground. It only took them a few seconds to grow from a sprout to a six-meter-tall tree!

“Dancing Leaves!” The trees swayed under Mu Nujiao’s control. The blade-like leaves immediately danced wildly in the fierce wind that she had summoned.

The leaves were incredibly sharp, shredding the cloth wrapping the Dark Red Mummies with ease and further penetrating their sturdy skin. The Dark Red Mummies leading the charge were shredded in an instant…

The leaves were dyed red after killing a score of the Dark Red Mummies leading the charge.

“I’ll trap them all, Mo Fan, just take them all out!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Got it!” Zhao Manyan squinted. He slammed his hands on the ground had when he saw the rest of the Dark Red Mummies were still trying to get over the hills.

A powerful Earth Wave surged toward the hills. Four huge walls rose into the sky and rose around the Dark Red Mummies like a sturdy cage!

The Dark Red Mummies reached out with their claws, trying to climb up the walls. However, they had only climbed a few meters up when a Meteorite Fist came down from above and smashed several Dark Red Mummies into pieces…

More burning fists were thrown into the cage, cleaning up the undead trapped inside Zhao Manyan’s cage. The Dark Red Mummies were soon crushed and burned to pieces…

The undead were still able to move when their bones were broken, but their heads, arms, lower limbs, and bodies were being burned by the strong flames. The impact of the raining fists was deadly enough, but they still had to endure the flames. Not a single Dark Red Mummy managed to survive, the squad was completely wiped out!

“I should be the one counting on you instead!” Mu Nujiao smiled.

Mo Fan’s destructive Spells were absolutely insane. She had eliminated around twenty undead when she had using both her Wind Element and Plant Element, and yet a single Rain of Burning Fists from Mo Fan had wiped out the whole army of Dark Red Mummies!

—

The dust slowly cleared up. The team was relieved, as the Dark Red Mummies were not as tricky to deal with as they initially thought. It did not take them much effort to kill them.

However, green eyes like glowing stars vaguely appeared amid the flying dust, as rows of the same mummies showed up once again. The smiles on the Chinese team’s faces soon disappeared.

“No f**king way!” Zhao Manyan started cursing.

When the team was busy eliminating the first batch of Dark Red Mummies, the five members of the Egyptian team had Summoned an even bigger army of undead. There were a lot more of them this time, around two hundred!

A giant mummy as tall as a three-story building stood out among the bobbing heads of the Dark Red Mummies. It was also wrapped in dark red shrouds, but its arms were replaced with two huge axes. Its deathly aura reached a height of a hundred meters in the air!

“Death Axes Mummy, that guy is going to be a pain!” Mo Fan said.

“Take care of the little shrimps, I’ll deal with the big one!” Guan Yu said.

—

More than two hundred Dark Red Mummies were charging at the Chinese team. They were starving and ferocious, just like demon creatures in the wilderness. What if the students were overwhelmed by the undead, and the assistant judges were unable to lend a hand in time? Would the students be eaten alive by the undead then?

“Rock Golem General, crush them!” Jiang Yu summoned his Summoned Beast.

The Rock Golem General was incredibly huge. It stomped its foot and killed a few clueless Dark Red Mummies.

The Dark Red Mummies were not slow. They immediately pounced on the Rock Golem General after realizing that it was stopping them from pushing ahead.

Many of the Dark Red Mummies were hanging onto the Rock Golem General. Their claws and teeth were extraordinarily sharp, enough to tear the Rock Golem General’s rock-solid armor apart!

“Rock Impale!” Jiang Yu ordered.

The Rock Golem General let out a roar. Long rock spikes suddenly burst out from its body and impaled the Dark Red Mummies that were hanging on it, blood splattered through the air…

The impaled mummies were still able to move. They could not feel pain at all. They continued to tear and scratch at the Rock Golem General. Realizing the danger it was in, the Rock Golem General tried to shake the Dark Red Mummies off it.

“Set up the area with your Ice and Plant,” Mo Fan told Mu Nujiao.

“Sure!” Mu Nujiao knew how important it was to secure the area. They had to hold their ground when the tide of undead came. It would be troublesome if the members of the team were split up.

“Damn it, the World College Tournament has suddenly turned into a tower defense game; we’re forced to defend ourselves passively, just like the English team and the Greek team!” Zhao Manyan cursed in displeasure.

The undead just kept coming. The Chinese team had no choice but to defend themselves in order to stay in formation. However, the undead would just keep coming if they stayed in one spot, and they would eventually be overwhelmed. Mo Fan had to admit that the Egyptian team’s strategy was pretty shameless. It was supposed to be a showdown between the students representing their countries!

“I’ll find a way to take them out,” Mo Fan said.

“Mo Fan, they are summoning more undead… holy crap, can such a small place really fit so many undead!?” Jiang Yu screamed.

It went without saying that the undead were not underground to begin with. It was similar to Summoning Magic, as the undead were Summoned to the battle from the Land of the Undead.

The Egyptian team continued to cast spells, Summoning endless undead from the ground. The numbers were shocking. They had yet to eliminate the Dark Red Mummies surrounding them when they saw a new tide of Dark Red Mummies charging at them. It was simply disgusting!

“Jiang Yu, Summon your beasts, we have to take this batch out first,” Mo Fan said.

“Sure!” Jiang Yu started drawing the Star Constellation of the Summoning Element. He opened a gap to the Summoned Beast Plane, and summoned a herd of Iron Hoof Beasts. The Iron Hoof Beasts were a lot stronger than the Dark Red Mummies. They trampled the Dark Red Mummies into minced meat!

Unfortunately, the Advanced Spell of the Summoning Element did not last very long. The Iron Hoof Beasts soon disappeared back through the gap and returned to the Summoned Beast Plane. Jiang Yu would have to cast another Advanced Spell to Summon them again.

Jiang Yu did not have an endless supply of energy, but the undead of the Egyptian team were actually endless. The old batch of undead had just died when a new tide of undead showed up. It even had two Death Axes Mummies, along with the Dark Red Mummies!

“What the f**k, two of them?” Guan Yu had just taken out the one before when he saw two of the same giant mummies approaching the team. Even he could not help but curse.

“Cover me, I’ll see if I can clear a path!” Mo Fan said to the others.

“Allow me to blind them first!” Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Manyan suddenly saw Mo Fan looking back at him as if he was a retard. The man initially had no idea what he said wrong. It only took him a while to realize it, as he said with an awkward face “Hehe, I forgot that my light would expose you when you’re using the Shadow Element.”

“I’m off!” Mo Fan put on the Dark Noble Mantle and vanished into thin air. One had to look closely to barely see a faint shadow weaving through the undead like the shadow of a sparrow. It was silent and untraceable.

A new batch of the Dark Red Mummies was already within a hundred meters of the Chinese team. Jiang Yu’s Rock Golem General was no longer able to hold the mummies off. The Dark Red Mummies moved past it like two strong currents. Mu Nujiao had no choice but to activate her Plant Spell to trap the Dark Red Mummies…

Mo Fan wove through the chaotic battlefield and slowly approached the five members of the Egyptian team standing close together.

If the Egyptian team was careless, Mo Fan could easily get himself an ace with a single Sky Lightning Claw, but Mo Fan did not believe it would be that easy. { TL Note : ‘Ace’ = a League of Legends reference; the announcer will say ‘ace!’ when an entire team is wiped out.}

Mo Fan did not dare move any closer. He observed the magic that his opponents were using, and realized that they were indeed casting Undead Spells. They did not break any rule, and were not using any forbidden magic, either. The only strange thing was they kept dripping their blood to conduct some kind of ritual…

“How do they Summon the undead so endlessly?” Mo Fan was curious.

If they could promote the ability to Summon endless undead to the world, wouldn’t the Undead Element be unbeatable? They no longer had to worry about the overwhelming numbers of the demon creatures in the wilderness, as they could simply Summon hundreds of thousands of undead to raze the kingdom of demon creatures to the ground. If they were Summoning the undead at the cost of their blood, they just needed to recruit more people. Besides, didn’t the experts say donating blood was actually good for people?

“What is that magic Curse?” Mo Fan took a closer look and realized that a magic Curse would appear whenever the members of the Egyptian team were offering their blood, but it also disappeared very quickly.

If Mo Fan could learn more about the magic Curse, perhaps he could find a way to overcome the situation!

Mo Fan was busy observing the ritual when he felt a great chill ran down his spine. A sinister-white claw was reaching for the back of his neck, as if it was aiming to take his life!

Mo Fan broke out in cold sweat. He immediately ran for his life.

He turned around and saw a long robe floating within inches of him. There were no legs under the cloth, but he could see a ghastly pair of long, rotten claws half a meter long!

“Mo Fan, I knew you are going to show up eventually, so I specifically brought the Specter Priest to play with you. Aren’t your destructive Spells impressive? Go ahead and see if you can kill the Specter Priest!” Meos called out in a mocking tone.

“Specter?” Even with Mo Fan’s outstanding mental strength, he did not sense the danger coming from behind him. On top of it, the creature did not seem to have a body. Only an empty, long robe was hovering in front of him. It was quite obvious that it was the specter Meos was referring to!

They were different kinds of undead. Mummies and zombies were the most common ones, followed by skeletons, and then the phantoms. Specters were the least common.

The phantoms were placed between the mummies and the specters. They had flesh, but it was disposable. Their spirits were their true form.

Meanwhile, specters did not have bodies. They were the trickiest creature to deal with in the world, as they were immune to every Element apart from the Light Element!

Since the creature did not have a body, none of his destructive spells were going to work against it. It was obvious that Meos had specifically summoned the specter to deal with him!

“Everyone seems to enjoy picking on me,” Mo Fan put on an indifferent grin.

“Your magic is so powerful. If we don’t pick on you, how are we supposed to win the match?” Meos replied.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was not in a rush to attack the members of the Egyptian team. The Specter Priest was keeping a close eye on him. It would surely attack his weak points if he tried to cast an Advanced Spell.

Meos said in a mocking voice once again, “Magic is all finding the right Elements to engender and subdue other Elements. You’re so stubborn that you’ve only Awakened Elements with high attack. Therefore, it’s very easy to target your weaknesses!”

Meos was not impressed by Mo Fan’s destructive spells.

“Do you seriously think every Tom, Dick, and Harry can take me on so easily? Are you that naive to think that a specter of this level is enough to take me out?” Mo Fan chuckled.

“Stop running then!” Meos assumed Mo Fan was only pretending to be tough.

All Magic save the Light Element was ineffective against a specter. It was a gift that the Egyptian team had specifically prepared for Mo Fan!

Mo Fan went into the woods. The trees were extremely tall. A person could easily vanish without a trace by hiding among them. Mo Fan’s eyes glittered after he went into the woods, firing more than ten Giant Shadow Spikes at the Specter Priest!

The Giant Shadow Spikes sealed off the Specter Priest’s movement, but Meos did not seem to care. So what if Mo Fan managed to immobilize the specter temporarily? His magic would never be able to kill it!

“Telekinesis!” Mo Fan’s eyes suddenly turned silver. The overwhelming force struck the Specter Priest like a fierce tide!

Even though the Specter Priest did not have a body, a force with enough strength could still shatter it!

Mo Fan’s mental strength had reached the intermediate stage. The force of his will was not any weaker than an Advanced Spell. The Specter Priest did not stand a chance against it, and its spirit immediately scattered after it was struck by the force of Mo Fan’s will!

Meos’s face darkened when she saw Mo Fan able to take out her specter so easily.

“Meos, is this really the plan you prepared to deal with Mo Fan?” Sayed could not help but ask.

“Shut up!”

“His Space Element is pretty strong too. We have to be more careful!”

Meos was unwilling to accept the outcome. She murmured some strange chants and summoned a few more Specter Priests.

“Meos, stop it, you are only wasting our Pharaoh Spring! A Specter Priest is equal to over two hundred Dark Red Mummies!”

“I don’t care, I must kill this asshole right now!” Meos hatred for Mo Fan was off the charts. The man had even made her pants slip down during the treasure hunt. She would never forget the humiliation!

Meos had Summoned three Specter Priests this time!

A chilly wind started blowing, followed by the ghastly cries of the specters. Mo Fan withdrew into the woods again, taking his time to eliminate the specters.

“Such useless undead, I will eliminate as many as you Summon,” Mo Fan taunted her, trying to enrage Meos even further.

Focusing, Mo Fan saw the Specter Priests lunging at him. He raised his hand and stopped the specters in their tracks!

Stasis Command was only available to Space Mages whose mental strength had reached the intermediate stage. Ai Jiangtu had used the same move to stop the spells fired at him. He simply stood in front of the team fearlessly and defended them. Now that Mo Fan had obtained the same ability, it did not matter how quick these Specter Priests were. Mo Fan just had to reach his hand out and unleash a Stasis Command, and the specters could only struggle to break free!

The Specter Priests hissed like snakes, trying to escape from Mo Fan’s control. Mo Fan’s eyes glittered, using his will as swords to stab the Specter Priests.

“Do you think that my Shadow Element doesn’t have any attacking moves? Giant Shadow Spikes Formation!”

Mo Fan unleashed the Nyx Regime to strengthen the Giant Shadow Spikes. Several shadow needles and swords stabbed the two Specter Priests repeatedly, the dark energy penetrating their spirits and eventually destroying them as they rotted away!

Mo Fan dusted off his hands. It did not take him long to take out the Specter Priests. He glanced at Meos with a grin.

“You won’t be smiling soon!” Meos said coldly.

“I told you, stop sending out these weaklings, they are nowhere enough to take me out,” Mo Fan said.

“Death Saber Mummies, come out!” Meos dripped a few drops of blood onto the ground. A few dark-red Curse patterns formed under her feet, opening up slowly, like an entrance to the netherworld.

Three Death Saber Mummies rose slowly from the ground. They were incredibly huge. It felt like the small island was unable to resist their steps. The death sabers they were holding were absolutely terrifying too, as if there was nothing that the sabers could not slash in half!

These Death Saber Mummies were slow at moving, but the damage of their sabers was shocking. They raised their sabers simultaneously under Meos’ command and slashed ferociously in Mo Fan’s direction. The black shockwaves were surprisingly wide, able to easily raze all the buildings on a street to the ground!

“A bunch of scrubs!” Mo Fan was utterly fearless, and his eyes glittered.

An invisible aura burst out of his body. The deadly slashes could not move any further!

“Kill him!” Meos snapped furiously.

The Death Saber Mummies gathered all their strength and slashed forward again, but the outcome was still the same. The sabers, and the black wind blades they produced, halted in their tracks just as they almost reached Mo Fan, and were unable to move even an inch further!

“Death Saber Mummies… they are just meat lumps to me now!”

The flames engulfing Mo Fan grew stronger. He did not seem to be drawing any Star Pattern, yet his fist suddenly burst into flames as he punched.

His fist slammed heavily onto the ground. Scorching lava immediately erupted across the area as a spectacular, fiery dragon rose and blasted a Death Saber Mummy into the air!

An extremely thick lightning bolt came down from the sky, disintegrating the Death Saber Mummy in midair, their blood pouring down like a rain!

Mo Fan had no trouble taking out the Death Saber Mummies when he was still at the Training Hall. Now that his strength had improved significantly, it was even easier for him to do so!

The three Death Saber Mummies did not have many chances to attack. One was blasted into pieces by lightning, one was compressed into a meat pie with the Space Element, and one was obliterated after being struck by Mo Fan’s Lightning Explosion!

“I don’t believe that you can kill them all!” Meos screamed, and Summoned more undead.

Mo Fan was not stupid enough to just stand there and watch her Summon the undead.

He dashed forward with the Fleeing Shadow. Mo Fan did not give Meos another chance to Summon undead. He fired the Giant Shadow Spikes to immobilize Meos and seal off her mind.

Meos was not willing to give up, either. She quickly ran behind a bunch of Dark Red Mummies and raised her hand, ordering the undead to pounce at Mo Fan.

Seeing that the Giant Shadow Spikes had failed to land on Meos in time, Mo Fan fired the Giant Shadow Spikes at the Dark Red Mummies instead, turning them into a bunch of statues, unable to move.

“Die!” Mo Fan compressed the area using his will again. The outline of a giant rhomboid landed on the area. The ground immediately sank a few meters, and the Dark Red Mummies were crushed into pieces, their blood mixed with the soil.

“Again!” Meos did not seem to care about the loss of the undead. She Summoned another bunch of them, this time around a hundred mummies.

“Ocean of Flames!” Mo Fan cast the Sky-Flame Funeral. Each fireball that landed on the ground immediately set the area on fire, turning the place into a burning sea. The brainless Dark Red Mummies continued to push forward recklessly, even though the whole place was set on fire. The heat was overwhelming, and the mummies were burned into ashes before they could reach Mo Fan.

“Again! More!” Meos continued to Summon more undead. The Dark Red Mummies pushed forward in waves. This time, a Death Axes Mummy was among the few hundred Dark Red Mummies that had appeared. Its size was similar to the Death Saber Mummy, but its body was not fleshy, but sturdy as rocks!

“It doesn’t matter how many there are, they are still going to die!” Every time Mo Fan cast a destructive spell, it would kill hundreds of undead.

This time, Mo Fan used the Sky Lightning Claw, eliminating over two hundred Dark Red Mummies and the Death Axes Mummy!

Soon, a pile of corpses had stacked up in front of Mo Fan. Many spectators that were not Mages were disgusted by the sight. To their relief, they were quite a distance away, so the corpses were basically just a little patch in their eyes.

“Meos, take a rest; I’ll handle him,” Shreev advised her.

“We’ll take him out together!” Meos swore.

Meos was very quick at Summoning the undead. She had Summoned at least five hundred Dark Red Mummies so far, yet Mo Fan had killed every single one of them! Meos’s speed at Summoning the undead turned out to be slower than the speed of Mo Fan killing them!

If Meos failed to keep Mo Fan busy, the five of them would be in great trouble. Once Mo Fan reached them, the whole team would be in disarray, and their undead strategy would collapse!

“Alright, there’s no way he can kill them all. It’s only a matter of time until he’s swallowed by our undead!” Shreev nodded. The two of them would work together to take Mo Fan out.

The undead Summoned by the other three members of the team were enough to keep the Chinese team at bay. Their priority was to suppress Mo Fan the maniac first!

—

Mo Fan continued to push forward. The undead came in waves, so he was able to advance slowly since he was faster at killing them.

Mo Fan was confident that he could take Meos out when he got close enough, and stop the woman from summoning the undead.

“There’s seriously no end to this.”

Mo Fan only took a few steps forward when he felt the ground shaking. More Dark Red Mummies crawled out of it, like maggots coming out to look for food. Their heads poked out from different spots, and soon surrounded Mo Fan.

Mages were afraid of fighting at close distances and being surrounded. Mo Fan assumed the Greek team and English team had lost because of this.

However, Mo Fan had survived the ocean of undead at the Ancient Capital. He was too experienced in dealing with undead. The undead would never be able to trap him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Endless zombies?

Nothing was ever endless in this world!

Zorro’s Chaos Element was thought to be unbeatable, since it was able to bear up against the strength of every destructive spell, but didn’t Mo Fan still defeat him with a single Sky Lightning Claw?

At the Nazca Lines, the creatures seemed to be endless, but it turned out that most of them were just illusions!

Similarly, the undead of the Egyptian team was not endless, either. It was just that the Greek team and the English team were unable to hold it together, and were eventually worn out in the long battle!

Even after Shreev joined the fight, Mo Fan was able to eliminate the undead at a remarkable pace. He was just too experienced in dealing with the undead, he was completely unafraid of them, and well aware of their weaknesses. He knew what spell would be the most effective to eliminate or suppress them!

Mo Fan’s basics were extremely solid, too. He was able to cast Basic Spells by just waving his hands. When trapped by the undead, a higher-level spell was not necessarily the most effective way to clear a path, since Mages would not have many chances to cast them. If a Star Constellation was interrupted in the process, the Mage would still lose the energy needed to cast it.

Therefore, Basic and Intermediate Spells were the key to fighting the undead!

“Lightning Strike!” Mo Fan established an electric field. The lightning arcs with paralyzing effects surged wildly between the Dark Red Mummies and immobilized them.

After acquiring the Lightning Tyrant, Mo Fan’s Basic Lightning Spells were almost as strong as an ordinary Mage’s Intermediate Spell. He could deftly cast Lightning Strikes as he wished at a negligible cost of energy. Even though a Lightning Strike was not strong enough to kill a Dark Red Mummy, it could still hold them off effectively. By casting a few more Lightning Strikes, or when the arcs of lightning were conducted continuously between the mummies, they would eventually inflict notable damage on them!

“Groundbreak!” Mo Fan slammed his fist into the ground when he sensed a huge bunch of mummies coming up out of it. He decisively used a stronger attack to eliminate them all.

If he was any slower, a few dozen Dark Red Mummies would soon crawl out of the ground. The Fiery Fist: Groundbreak basically wiped them all out in an instant!

The Dark Red Mummies ability to jump was fairly shocking. As a new batch of them arrived, some charged at Mo Fan while the others leapt into the air and lunged at him, trying everything they could to approach him.

“Telekinesis: Scatter!” Mo Fan was enveloped by a silver aura. A strong shockwave produced by his will knocked the mummies nearby flying, and they crashed back into their comrades!

“Fire Burst Feathers!” Countless spouts of flames appeared, before they were fired in all directions like feathers. The feathers exploded whenever they came into contact with the mummies!

A series of explosions took place around Mo Fan, like deadly, murderous fireworks!.

Mo Fan had recently learned a new move, Fire Burst Feathers, by combining the Basic spell Fire Burst and Little Flame Belle’s Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers. Its damage was more than double the previous spells combined!

Mo Fan’s Fire Burst had already reached the fourth-tier, so the explosions were shocking. When they were launched in the form of Thousand Piercing Fiery Feathers, it felt like a thousand Fire Mages were casting Fire Burst simultaneously. It was not as effective against an Advanced Mage, because the attack did not focus on a single target, but it was perfect against the mummies!

The explosions were strong enough to inflict serious damage on the Dark Red Mummies. With the continuous explosions, a single Dark Red Mummy would be struck many times. Most of them died amid the explosions!

—

“Isn’t this guy’s strength a bit too terrifying to be true? He just killed all our undead!” Shreev stared at Mo Fan with wide eyes.

Meos was stunned too. The man was nothing like a student. He was more of a killing machine in a war. There were so many undead surrounding him, yet he had managed to slaughter them all!

“Most of the spells he cast were only Basic or Intermediate Spells too, meaning that he still has a lot of energy left!”

“We have to Summon more undead, we can’t afford to let him come any closer!” Meos said with a twisted look.

“But…we’ve used a lot of the Pharaoh Spring!”

“Don’t Summon the Dark Red Mummies, they are just too weak for him. He must have fought in a large battle before. He knows how to preserve his energy, unlike the English team and the Greek team that kept relying on their Advanced Spells to destroy everything,” Neferu of the Egyptian team noticed.

“It looks like we’ll have to Summon even stronger undead instead. Shreev, try keeping him busy for now,” Meos nodded.

Meos needed more time to Summon stronger undead, so she wanted Shreev to stop Mo Fan from coming any closer on his own.

“Me? I won’t be able to do it, that guy is killing my undead like he’s cutting weeds with a sickle… how did we end up facing such a troublesome man? The English team and the Greek team were so easy to handle!”

“I didn’t expect him to give us so much pressure.”

—

On the other hand, Mu Nujiao, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Yu, and Guan Yu continued to hold their ground. They had finally cleared a path through the army of undead, allowing them to see if the Egyptian team was sending more undead at them.

However, when they looked further into the distance, they were shocked to see a huge pile of corpses stacked up. It was almost a hill!

“It’s Mo Fan!” Jiang Yu was astounded.

Was Mo Fan for real? He had killed more undead than the four of them, and was not under any kind of protection, yet he was perfectly unharmed despite being surrounded by the undead!

“Is he forcing himself?” Guan Yu was struggling to accept the truth. How was it possible for Mo Fan to have such extraordinary strength?

“No wonder it feels like the pressure has slowly decreased. As expected of the man that saved the Ancient Capital!”

“I almost forgot, Mo Fan went through the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, one of the cruelest battles against the undead in history! No wonder he’s so experienced at killing them!”

With Mo Fan on the team, the other members were very much at ease. Both the Greek team and the English team were completely worn out when facing the Egyptian team. They could not even cast a single Basic Spell in the end. Compared to them, the Chinese team did not lose much of their energy. Mo Fan had purposely told them to refrain from using Advanced Spells. If a Basic Spell was enough to finish off an undead, don’t use an Intermediate Spell!

—

The students had not fought in any wars before. Even when they were training, they did not find themselves in a precarious situation, where losing the battle would cost them their lives.

On the other hand, Mo Fan had avoided death quite a few times. He had been surrounded by demon creatures many times. Perhaps even Ai Jiangtu and his military background was not as experienced as Mo Fan. The experience of trying to survive amid the despair of being surrounded by demon creatures was definitely not something students could learn from mere training!

The undead strategy of the Egyptian team might be useful against most participants, but it was nowhere near as effective against Mo Fan, who had survived an ocean of undead before!

—

“Still trying to Summon more?” Mo Fan had an intimidating grin as he stared at Shreev.

Shreev was utterly terrified. He was scared that Mo Fan would eliminate him together with the undead. The truth was, Mo Fan’s aura was totally different when he was on a rampage. He was basically a devil, with an overwhelming, deathly aura!

“I…I’ll leave myself…” Shreev said with a twisted face. He never thought he would be the first person to be knocked out from the match.

“I’ll give you a hand!” Mo Fan grabbed Shreev and sealed him off with the Giant Shadow Spikes, preventing him from casting a spell to Summon more undead.

He lifted the short man and tossed him toward the edge of the island.

The magic barrier was able to stop spells, but it would not stop a person from going through. Shreev fell straight into the sea, looking utterly miserable!

An assistant judge soon went over and scooped him out of the water. Shreev was not injured, yet he felt greatly humiliated after being tossed into the ocean like that!

“Screw that Meos, how could she ask me to stop that man? How could I possibly stop him on my own?”

Shreev was regretting listening to Meos’ instructions. Even though a new member would soon replace him, he was still knocked out from the match!

—

“Mo Fan, you’re going to pay for that soon!” Meos snapped.

Shreev was indeed unable to hold Mo Fan off. The Egyptian team had lost its first member!

“You’re the next!” Mo Fan replied with a calm smile.

As a matter of fact, it had been a while since Mo Fan had so much joy in a battle, the sensation of blasting the undead into pieces with every punch…

He sighed. He was really a man of great sins. How could he be enjoying the pleasure of murdering the undead?

It must be Little Loach!

The Soul Remnants of the undead he had killed were like shiny gold coins lining up to enter his pouch!

That’s right, that must be the reason behind it. Little Loach was able to refine the Soul Remnants. The Soul Remnants of these undead were of high-quality, too! He just needed to kill a few more to acquire the fifth-tier Thunderbolt!

The higher the level of a destructive spell, the more effective it was. The same principle applied here in the World College Tournament. It was the main reason why people were not willing to waste their money on upgrading their Basic and Intermediate Spells.

However, based on Mo Fan’s personal experience, it was actually very useful to upgrade both the Basic Spells and Intermediate Spells. He was able to cast the spells quicker, the cooldown was shorter, and the energy required was lower, too. The benefits were actually quite insane!

Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist was pretty strong, yet it was only enhanced by a Spirit-grade Seed, the Rose Flame. It was only useful with Little Flame Belle’s Calamity Fire, but he did not have an endless supply of them.

Meanwhile, his Soul-grade Lightning Seed was able to amplify the damage of his Lightning Spells by six times!

If he could upgrade the Intermediate spell Thunderbolt to the fifth tier, then with the Lightning Tyrant, its damage was going to be higher than an ordinary Advanced Spell. In addition to that, he could cast the spell more rapidly at a lower energy cost, allowing him to eliminate the undead easily!

As such, Mo Fan was hoping that Meos would summon more Dark Red Mummies to attack him. He would soon acquire the fifth-tier Thunderbolt!

As he thought, Meos did Summon some new undead, but it was not more Servant-class or Warrior-level undead, but a Commander-level undead!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The substitute member of the Egyptian team soon entered the match. As everyone expected, he immediately began to Summon the undead endlessly. It felt like he was quicker at Summoning the undead, as the island was soon filled up with the mummies. It even felt like the island could sink at any moment.

Mo Fan was still a few Soul Essences short, so his eyes gleamed excitedly when he saw how diligent the new member of the Egyptian team was!

-Fifth-tier Thunderbolt, here I come!-

Most people would want to stay as far away from the undead as possible, but Mo Fan was pouncing on them greedily, like he had just seen a bunch of naked ladies…

“Damn it, he doesn’t even treat me seriously!” Meos’s face darkened.

It took her great effort to summon a Commander-level undead, yet Mo Fan simply disregarded it and charged at the army of undead to continue his massacre.

The rest of the Egyptian team was dumbfounded.

-This Mo Fan, is there something wrong with his brain?-

“Eat him!” Meos snapped furiously.

A pitch-black, centipede-like skeletal demon shrouded in a Cursed aura dug its way out of the ground, shrieking a ghastly cry!

The skeletal centipede was around sixteen meters long, with a pointy tail. Its neck and head resembled that of a human, but it had two huge skulls. Its four eyes were glaring at its target menacingly. It was like a demon that had climbed out of Hell, incompatible with the living creatures in this world!

—

“It’s the Tactile Centipede Demon!”

“How could they Summon a creature like that? It’s difficult to control a creature that has such a strong lust to kill. People might even die in this match!”

“What can we do about it? The Undead Element has always been difficult to control. It’s currently listed as a Dark Magic, but we all know something bad is going to happen if it’s used in a battle between Mages!”

—

“We’ve neglected the risks involved,” the governor of Venice sighed.

It was impossible to stop the match now. Even if there were casualties, it was necessary to decide the winner between the Chinese team and the Egyptian team. The outcome of the match was extremely important to the countries involved, as the prize for the first place was a lot better than the prize for second place!

“Let’s just hope the participants stay safe. I bet the world won’t approve of the Egyptian team’s method even if they win the match. There are quite a lot of Evil or Forbidden Magicks that can grant a Mage extraordinary power for a short period, but the people that pursue them always bring doom upon themselves, resulting in great disasters to mankind. Only orthodox Magic can guarantee our future,” the representative of the Holy Judgment Court said disdainfully.

The Holy Judgment Court was an organization that the Magic Associations of the Five Continents had established. They were not responsible for punishing Mages that committed crimes, but those that practiced Evil Magic!

Magic was derived for all kinds of uses, and humans had invented all kinds of magic in the past. However, the only magic that was suitable for humans to practice and pass down was the magic included in the Four Main Magic Types.

Those that were not deemed orthodox were considered Forbidden Magic!

Among the Forbidden Magicks, those that could endanger people’s lives, influence their consciousness, or bring massacre upon living creatures were counted as Evil Magic!

The magic that the Black Vatican used to turn people into Cursed Beasts was a typical Evil Magic.

Turning living people into Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts, giving normal people the power to Summon undead or use the Undead Element; anyone that practiced these Evil arts was a target of the Holy Judgment Court. Unfortunately, the Black Vatican had infiltrated society, making it extremely difficult to identify them. It had grown into a powerful organization, so governments, associations, renowned clans, alliances, and militaries had to work together against it.

The magic that the Egyptian team used was still under the Undead Element, so the Holy Judgment Court did not have a valid reason to forbid it. As a result, the organizer had no reason to forbid its usage in the tournament…

However, even though the Egyptian team did not break the rules, the people could still tell if they were crossing the line.

Their actions were the same as athletes consuming a kind of drug to boost their performance, and because the drug was newly invented, it was not yet listed among the forbidden drugs!

—

The Tactile Centipede Demon summoned a Cursed wind that looked like a puff of black smoke. It was going after Mo Fan. It raised its spear-like legs and lunged at Mo Fan!

Mo Fan harrumphed coldly when he noticed the creature.

The creature might look intimidating, but it did not necessarily mean the creature was strong. It wanted to scare him with its horrible appearance, yet it had forgotten to ask his demon blood for approval!

“Be gone!” Mo Fan kicked the shoulder of a Death Axes Mummy and launched himself at the heads of the Tactile Centipede Demon!

Gathering his will in the form of a fist, Mo Fan threw a punch at the left head of the Tactile Centipede Demon!

There was a powerful impact. The Tactile Centipede Demon rocked backward after receiving the hit. A huge part of its skull broke into pieces!

The Tactile Centipede Demon skidded a few dozen meters back. When it finally recovered from the strong hit, its eyes emitted a terrifying, bloody glow!

The Tactile Centipede Demon opened its mouth. Surprisingly, the Tactile Centipede Demon’s throat was not located in its two heads, but between its two brains…

Its two brains were hanging out the nasty opening; it looked incredibly strange and hideous!

“Trying to spit something out?” Mo Fan chuckled coldly. He raised his hands as he was wrapped by a mysterious silver light. The Star Orbits of the Space Element vanished seconds after they were drawn, granting Mo Fan the power to control everything!

“Have a taste of rotten flesh!” Mo Fan unleashed his will and directed it at the Dark Red Mummies below him.

The Dark Red Mummies were lifted into the air like little chicks, before they were unceremoniously shoved right into the open mouth of the Tactile Centipede Demon!

The Tactile Centipede Demon was about to spit out a cursed wind, yet its mouth was stuffed full of Dark Red Mummies. The cursed wind was stuck in its throat, leaving the creature in terrible pain!

“Have some more! The giant centipede I saw at Dongting Lake was a lot healthier than you. Look how skinny you are, the people might think that Egypt is suffering from famine, since they can’t even feed you well!” Mo Fan calmly grabbed another bunch of Dark Red Mummies.

These little undead had no chance of escaping Mo Fan’s control. They were lifted into the air and were shoved into the Tactile Centipede Demon’s mouth like rice.

“What are you doing, just stuffing them in your mouth? Swallow them!” Mo Fan was utterly impatient. He threw another punch, and knocked the cluster of Dark Red Mummies deeper into the Tactile Centipede Demon’s throat.

A part of the Tactile Centipede Demon’s body swelled up when the Dark Red Mummies were forcibly knocked down its throat into its body. They had most likely reached its stomach!

“Explode!” Mo Fan clenched his fist, detonating the Dark Red Mummies inside the Tactile Centipede Demon’s stomach. The flames surged wildly in the creature’s stomach, further expanding it. It skeletal body could not endure the overwhelming force, and the creature soon exploded into pieces!

Broken bones scattered across the place. The Tactile Centipede Demon’s upper body slammed into the ground not far away from Mo Fan, while its lower body and tail stuck into the ground like a giant sword, right in front of Meos. Her face immediately paled!

“It’s pretty nasty to look at, too bad it didn’t manage to take many of my hits!” Mo Fan chuckled. Meos felt her chest throbbing after seeing Mo Fan’s smug attitude, and almost had an urge to vomit blood.

“I can Summon as many creatures like it as I want!” Meos insisted.

Sayed could no longer stand it. He said in a low voice, “This Mo Fan is very experienced at fighting against undead, and he has lots of Elements with powerful Basic and Intermediate Spells too! The undead strategy isn’t as effective against the Chinese team as it was against the other teams! We’ll need to work together to Summon a strong undead. If we don’t take him out soon, our Pharaoh Spring is going to run out!”

“That just means we’ll all the Pharaoh Spring even quicker. Be patient, let’s try and wear him out!” Neferu said.

It did not matter how discontented Meos was. The truth was, she was unable to Summon a Commander-level creature like the Tactile Centipede Demon for a short period…

“Meos, your Tactile Centipede Demon was torn to pieces.”

“This Mo Fan knows the undead can regenerate! Damn it!”

“Stop wasting the Pharaoh Spring, just keep Summoning the Dark Red Mummies. I don’t believe the mummies won’t overrun them!”

Meos was almost spitting flames out of her eyes, but she could not do anything to Mo Fan. Even a high-level creature like the Tactile Centipede Demon was defeated within moments!

The Tactile Centipede Demon’s bones were scattered across the place. However, Mo Fan still managed to locate its undead crystal accurately. He crushed it into pieces, not giving the Tactile Centipede Demon any chance to regenerate!

The Tactile Centipede Demon was weaker than it seemed. Its only strength was its ability to regenerate after it was shattered into pieces.

However, Mo Fan was well aware of its ability. He was way more experienced than the other participants. The Egyptian team could not stop him without Summoning five or six Tactile Centipede Demons to keep him busy!

—

“More of these things? Awesome!” Mo Fan seemed annoyed when he saw the undead charging at him, but he was actually overjoyed inside.

They are giving him money again!

Although Mo Fan had yet to discover how the Egyptian team was able to Summon so many undead so endlessly, he noticed that the odds of these undead dropping a Soul Essence were a lot higher, at least twice or thrice the odds of the undead at the Ancient Capital! It was likely that the Egyptian team was expending some energy to Summon the undead, and since the energy that remained after the undead were killed was still abundant, the chance of them dropping a Soul Essence was higher!

A Servant-class Soul Essence was around five million, and a Warrior-level Soul Essence was around twenty million. Mo Fan was earning a fortune by just casting Basic and Intermediate Spells. He was hoping that the match would drag on longer, so he could strengthen all then Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Spells of his five Elements. He would then be unbeatable!

To prevent the Egyptian team from noticing that he was actually earning a fortune from their undead, Mo Fan had to pretend that he was struggling a little too, just so the Egyptian team would assume that they might be able to take him out by Summoning more undead!

“Forty-nine Warrior-level Soul Essences, hehe, that’s the fifth-tier Thunderbolt!” Mo Fan mumbled with a cunning grin. By his rough estimate, the Soul Essences that the Egyptian team had given him were worth around eight hundred million!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Five Servant-class Soul Essences were enough to refine a Warrior-level Soul Essence.

Even though the Dark Red Mummies were only dropping Servant-class Soul Remnants and Soul Essences, Mo Fan still ended up earning quite a fortune from them!

Forty-nine Stars of the Lightning Element were strengthened, Mo Fan was excited to see the Stars brimming with new energy.

Drawing a Star Pattern no longer cost much of Mo Fan’s energy. His Galaxy could recover the energy in no time. It would be perfect if he could equip some kind of magical gear that would speed up his energy recovery. He would be able to cast as many Intermediate Spells as he pleased!

When a Mage was drawing a Star Pattern, their energy would only be expended when the Mage aligned the Stars. Moving a Star would cost a certain amount of energy, but the energy required to move a level four and a level five Star was the same…

A Spell as strong as an Advanced Spell, but with the time and energy required to cast an Intermediate Spell; how shocking was that?

“Take some rest, I’ll handle these undead,” Mo Fan withdrew instead of pushing any further, regrouping with his team.

Mu Nujiao, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Yu, and Guan Yu were under great pressure. Unlike Mo Fan, none of them had upgraded their Basic or Intermediate Spells, meaning that they had to rely on Advanced Spells to kill a group of undead. However, their energy was almost depleted after casting the Advanced Spells too frequently. Most importantly, when they were under great pressure, it was easier for them to get tired, meaning that they would be slower at drawing the Star Constellations, and it was easier to make a mistake. Whenever they made a mistake, they would lose energy, even when the spell was not completed, placing them in a difficult position…

They finally realized how the undead had worn out the English team and the Greek team!

“Is there even a point for us to continue fighting? We should be complaining to the officials instead!” Guan Yu lost his temper.

“I’m really speechless. If those scumbags of the Egyptian team dare to fight us face-to-face, I swear I’ll beat the crap out of them!” Zhao Manyan also cursed.

“It’s really nothing. If you ever saw a horde or kingdom of demon creatures, it’s a lot worse than this,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s different! We’ll send out an army against a horde or a kingdom of demon creatures, but there are only five of us against so many undead, what the heck are we supposed to do?” Jiang Yu was losing his patience too.

“That’s why I’m asking you to back off and take a rest, I’ll hold them off for now,” Mo Fan said.

“You?” Guan Yu looked at Mo Fan doubtfully and said with a cold harrumph, “Mo Fan, we all know how good you are, and you’re not scared of being surrounded, but you have to know you were only facing the undead Summoned by two people. If we all back away and leave you here, you will have to face the undead Summoned by five people. Do you really think you are a Super Mage?”

“Mo Fan, don’t force yourself. If your energy depletes, there’s no way we’re going to win the match. We might be grumbling, but we can still hold on,” Jiang Yu agreed.

Mu Nujiao and Zhao Manyan nodded. These weak undead did not pose any threat to Mo Fan, but if Mo Fan was unable to kill them faster than they were spawning and had to rely on his Advanced Spells, he would be worn out eventually too, meaning that the Egyptian team would still win the match!

“Don’t worry, I will only use Advanced Spells as the last resort. Zhao Manyan, set up some hills as barricades and rest up with the others. Leave them to me!” Mo Fan declared.

——

The others did not say anything further after Mo Fan insisted on it.

Zhao Manyan set up a maze with hills before the new batch of undead arrived. The undead would have to take a detour to reach them, and if someone was holding the undead at the front, it would lift the pressure from the people at the back. It was the perfect move against the brainless undead!

The team withdrew to the hills and glanced down from above. They were interested to see how Mo Fan was going to hold the tide of undead off.

“They are coming!” Mu Nujiao had an urge to set up her plants to lend Mo Fan a hand, beginning to feel uneasy.

“Holy crap, they have been stacking the undead and sending them in one go. Can Mo Fan really stop them?”

“There are so many Death Axes Mummies. Sh*t, even an army isn’t enough to wipe them all out!”

The tide of undead had grown into an army. The throbbing, dark red dots had devoured half of the island like a huge wave, and was spreading rapidly to the other half!

——

The people watching the match on the cruises inhaled deeply!

The island was crawling with undead. How remarkable were the talents of the Egyptian team, to Summon an entire army of undead? How could the Chinese team possibly stand a chance?

“Are the members of the Chinese team out of their minds? They have all gone to rest, leaving Mo Fan to defend on his own?”

“Just surrender! They should just forfeit the match, it’s meaningless!”

—

Neferu of the Egyptian team saw Mo Fan standing in front of his team, while the rest did not seem to be doing anything. He could not help but grin as he stood above an enormous undead creature.

If Mo Fan could really stop the undead that the five of them had Summoned, he would rather eat all the mummies alive. How arrogant and naive was the man, to think that he actually stood a chance against an army of undead?

Did he seriously think he was the strongest in the tournament just because he had defeated Zorro? Even if he was, he was still nothing against their army of undead!

Neferu glanced down at the army of thousands of undead like a general.

“Take him out!” As soon as Neferu waved his hand, the undead immediately charged forward menacingly.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and saw the undead pouncing at him like a rain of arrows, blocking his vision. Behind these vanguard mummies were thousands of undead, like horses galloping across a battlefield. The presence of the dead they were emitting was strong enough to form a huge cloud!

—

On top of the hills, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Yu, and Mu Nujiao could feel their legs trembling after seeing how terrifying the army of undead was.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan remained still, as if he was watching a colony of ants moving houses. There was no sign of fear or panic on his face, but excitement!

“The undead he saw at the Ancient Capital might have been at least a hundred times worse than this,” Zhao Manyan murmured.Read more chapter on our vipnovel.com

During the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, the city was surrounded by millions of undead. If anyone stood on the city walls and looked into the distance, their entire view would be filled up with undead, like a scene of the apocalypse.

In comparison, this army of thousands of undead was less than the number of undead he had encountered in the Death Space. Why would he be scared, considering how strong he was now?

They were just a bunch of gold coins waiting to fly into his pocket!

“Come, it’s been a while since I’ve had so much fun killing!” Mo Fan grinned, staring at the army of undead, like a candle that was being doused with fuel!

He pointed at the sky. Lightning bolts started to flicker wildly in the sky, and arcs of lightning intertwined in the air. They either swept across the sky, landed on the ground, or forked into smaller lightning arcs!

The chains of lightning spread rapidly. The spell had obviously inherited the effects of the fourth-tier Lightning Disaster. The lightning arcs were traveling between the undead in straight lines, killing every single Dark Red Mummy they struck. Some were in the form of webs, disintegrating the undead for twenty meters around into blood droplets. Some simply surged wildly across the place without any specific pattern!

Drawing a Star Pattern with a single thought!

After Mo Fan’s mental strength improved, it only took him a single thought to cast an Intermediate Spell. The lightning arcs spreading among hundreds of mummies were from a single Intermediate Spell that took just a second to be cast!

“Lightning Tyrant: Thunderbolt: Chain Lightning!”

With a single point of his finger and a wave of his arm, the vanguard undead were struck by the lightning arcs. The electricity mowed through them before they could reach Mo Fan, and they were falling to the ground like the grains during a harvest!

“Go, take him down!” Neferu shouted, ordering the undead to surround Mo Fan!

A thicker lightning bolt descended from the ground and landed right on Mo Fan, and the Chain Lightning scattered like a spider’s web. The undead that finally got close to Mo Fan were all killed in an instant!

Mo Fan was extremely quick at casting the spells. Chain Lightning was useful at taking down multiple targets. Those that were struck by the main lightning arcs were basically dead, while those that were struck by the lightning arcs that forked off from the main ones lost their limbs.

“Humph, he still ends up being surrounded, the man is too full of himself!” Neferu burst out laughing.

It did not matter how fast the lightning arcs were, as they were still slower than the undead that were stacking up around Mo Fan. These undead were like copper walls and iron bastions!

The space that Mo Fan could move in was limited. A Death Axes Mummy was approaching him, too. However, he still showed no intention of casting an Advanced Spell. His lips curled up into a grin as he glanced at the Lightning Tyrant Scars on the surrounding undead.

“Tyrant…Call!”

His smile was incredibly smug, while his eyes were full of disdain. A stormy cloud loomed over the Lightning Tyrant Domain, and yellow lightning bolts of judgment descended rapidly, like thousands of dragons dancing and flickering wildly in the air. It felt like the island was about to collapse at any second!

Even the weakest lightning arc still left a Lightning Tyrant Scar on the undead. The main lightning arc of a chain could hit a few dozen undead, while forking into several lightning arcs. It did not matter if the main lightning chain was not quick enough at killing the undead, as the lightning arcs that forked off would also stack up Lightning Tyrant Scars on the undead!

Mo Fan waited for the undead to get closer to him before activating their Scars with the Tyrant Call!

Countless Lightning Tyrant Scars flared to life. The lightning that the Tyrant Call Summoned was like the tribulation a cultivator would trigger. Even the spectators on the cruises were utterly dumbfounded.

“Die!”

In terms of dominance, Mo Fan was like an emperor! The lightning surged around him, taking out thousands of enemies after he uttered a single word!

Each of the lightning strikes that the Tyrant Call had summoned was as strong as Thunderbolt: Exploding Apex, and together with the amplification of the Lightning Tyrant, the Dark Red Mummies had no chance of withstanding them. They disappeared together with their Lightning Tyrant Scars!

Thousands of undead were slaughtered in an instant. Mo Fan stood on the spacious field, lightning flickering along its surface. His aura was absolutely shocking!

The people had finally witnessed the true strength of a Lightning Mage, one who was capable of summoning thousands of lightning arcs to destroy an entire army of undead with a single thought!

“Perfect!” Mo Fan’s smile widened when he saw the undead were all destroyed.

The fifth-tier Thunderbolt that he had acquired by spending forty-nine Warrior-level Soul Essences had worked perfectly with the Tyrant Call, giving Mo Fan the ability to survive even if he was up against an entire horde of demon creatures in the future!

Perhaps a few Sky Lightning Claws were enough to eliminate thousands of undead too, but the Thunderbolt: Chain Lightning and Tyrant Call only needed one-tenth of the energy to cast that a Sky Lightning Claw required. Mo Fan, who had fought in real wars before, knew how significant that was!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A thousand undead turned into nothing, their Soul Remnants and Soul Essences flowing towards Mo Fan.

Normal people would struggle to see the light dots that were like fireflies, but those that practiced the Undead Element or were holding onto a Soul Container could see them.

The new Egyptian member that was substituted into the match not long ago realized that something was not right. He immediately said to the others in a low voice when he saw the light dots flying toward Mo Fan rapidly, “That guy is taking away their Soul Remnants and Soul Essences.”

“Damn it, the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences contain the Pharaoh Spring!” Sayed cursed.

The Pharaoh Spring was useful for awakening and Summoning the undead. Every undead that the team had Summoned would cost some of the Pharaoh Spring. On top of that, Mo Fan was taking away the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences after killing the undead, meaning that he was taking away the energy of the Pharaoh Spring too, preventing it from returning to the ground!

If the Pharaoh Spring did not return to the ground, it would disrupt the cycle, which meant the Pharaoh Spring would run out even quicker!

However, the Egyptian team could not do anything even when they realized the truth. It did not make sense to order the undead to withdraw. They had no choice but to let the undead attack!

The Chain Lightning was still surging wildly across the area. The remaining undead, around three thousand of them, proceeded to surround Mo Fan.

Mo Fan looked extremely calm on the surface, but he was overwhelmed by joy inside.

He might be able to upgrade the Giant Shadow Spike to the fifth-tier after killing the remaining undead. The Giant Shadow Spike would have remarkable changes after it was further strengthened by the Nyx Regime and the Dark Noble Mantle!

“Tyrant Call!” Lightning bolts descended following his shout, landing right on the Dark Red Mummies and turning them into ashes scattered in the air. Their Soul Remnants and Soul Essences flew toward Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had noticed that the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences seemed to contain more energy than usual, most likely because they had some external energy in them.

“Strange, why is it merging with the soil?” Mo Fan suddenly discovered something out of the ordinary. The Little Loach Pendant would behave strangely occasionally. It was very unwilling to eat the Soul Remnants or Soul Essences of undead that were stained with weird auras. Mo Fan had seen it quite often, like a little kid that hated the fishy smell.

The Soul Remnant of that particular undead must have been manipulated, or damaged somehow since, Little Loach was not interested in it. However, Mo Fan was surprised when he saw the Soul Remnant falling to the ground instead of dissipating.

Mo Fan immediately tracked it down with his will and discovered that the Soul Remnant had merged with the blood that the members of the Egyptian team had dripped on the ground.

Not long after, a Dark Red Mummy crawled out from the soil and started charging in Mo Fan’s direction!

Mo Fan was not too bothered by it in the first place. He destroyed the undead with Tyrant Call once again, but the same thing happened again, as if the undead was Summoned with the same Soul Remnant from before that Little Loach was not interested in it at all…

This time, Mo Fan began to keep an eye on it. He Summoned Little Flame Belle and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to hold the undead off while he placed his focus on the Soul Remnant.

“It went back to the ground that is soaked with blood, and turned into an undead again… which means that these undead have a unique mark or energy that keeps bringing them back!” Mo Fan speculated.

After some observation, Mo Fan finally realized that the undead that dropped a Soul Remnant when they died would return to the soil and turn into an undead again.

Meanwhile, the undead that dropped a Soul Essence were completely dead. They would not return to the furnace to be reforged!

“As I thought, there must be some energy that is causing it. Little Loach, don’t just eat, find out where the energy is coming from. I’m sure that it’s going to be more delicious than these Soul Remnants and Soul Essences!” Mo Fan was overjoyed. He never thought he would be able to discover the secret of the Egyptian team while he was retrieving these Soul Remnants!

Little Loach was fairly intelligent. It started searching for the energy after the reminder from its master.

The Little Loach Pendant soon shuddered; the little amulet was very excited, because it had found something even more delicious!

Little Loach Pendant emitted a unique glow shining upon the corpses of the undead. The light revealed a faint purple light leaving the Soul Remnants and flying back to the blood-soaked ground!

The faint purple light was even harder to see than the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences. If Mo Fan had not specifically pointed it out to Little Loach, even the little amulet would have missed it!

Most interestingly, it was very likely that the undead were dropping Soul Essences because the faint purple light had completely merged with their Soul Remnants!

A Soul Essence was a lot more valuable than a Soul Remnant. If the purple light was able to turn a Soul Remnant into a Soul Essence, it must contain an incredible amount of energy!

-HAHAHA, I understand now!- Mo Fan burst out laughing in his heart.

Mo Fan had cracked the mystery of the Egyptian team’s ability to Summon undead endlessly with the help of Little Loach.

The faint purple energy must have originated from some powerful undead. Not only was it able to produce undead, it would automatically recycle itself after they were slain, allowing the Egyptian team to keep using their Undead Element at minimum cost… before Summoning the undead back into the battle!

Since the energy was attached to their souls, some undead would unconsciously merge the energy with their spirit. As a result, they would be a lot stronger than their comrades, and they would also drop Soul Essences when they were dead!

In other words, every Soul Essence that Little Loach took away reduced the energy that the Egyptian team had. It explained why the Egyptian team was no longer Summoning their undead recklessly, and the waves were coming slower than they were before.

However, the Egyptians seemed to have quite an abundant supply of energy. The Soul Essences that Little Loach had absorbed were just a small part of it. It was nowhere enough to stop the Egyptian team, as its members were still Summoning the undead endlessly.

“Little Loach, see if you can absorb the energy! It’s a piece of juicy meat!” Mo Fan exclaimed excitedly.

Little Loach was working on it before Mo Fan even mentioned it. The amulet fixed its attention on the faint purple light that was coming out of the Soul Remnants, and absorbed them right away.

Little Loach was struggling to absorb the energy at the start, and the Remnants kept returning to the soil. However, Little Loach soon got the hang of it, and was able to absorb a wisp of the energy with every attempt. It even managed to absorb several wisps at times!

—

“Crap, that guy is stealing our Pharaoh Spring!” Sayed yelled.

The Egyptian team soon realized that something was not right. Their faces darkened tremendously.

Half a small bottle of the Pharaoh Spring cost a fortune. The Pharaoh Spring was the main reason that they were able to come so far in the tournament!

“How did he find out about it? That’s impossible, even a Super Mage wouldn’t be able to see it!” Meos screamed out in panic.

“Withdraw the undead, quick! Otherwise, he’s going to take all the Pharaoh Spring!” Neferu exclaimed after realizing how serious the problem was.

The Egyptian team immediately panicked. They did not expect Mo Fan would have a high-level Soul Container, allowing him to see through their trick!

—

On the other hand, the smile on Mo Fan’s face widened.

Even though Mo Fan had no idea what the energy was, he could tell how valuable it was just by looking at Little Loach’s reaction, since the amulet was no longer interested in ordinary stuff!

“Trying to withdraw the undead? It’s too late now!” Mo Fan stopped preserving his energy. The stormy cloud of the Lightning Tyrant Domain loomed over the island. Destructive Sky Lightning Claws descended. The ferocious lightning claws shattered the undead into pieces with just the slightest touch!

“Little Flame Belle!”

Little Flame Belle was well aware of the misdeeds that her father was up to. She happily unleashed all the Calamity Fire she had.

The combination of the Calamity Fire and Lightning Tyrant brought utter destruction upon the place. Fiery Fists started falling from the sky and blasted the entire area, while the Sky Lightning Claws surged wildly, killing hundreds of undead every second!

“Mo Fan, what are you doing? You’re only wasting your energy. The Egyptian team will just keep Summoning them even if you wiped them out now!” Jiang Yu and Zhao Manyan immediately shouted when they saw Mo Fan casting his stronger spells.

Mo Fan could easily control the situation if he kept using the Thunderbolt: Chain Lightning that did not cost much of his energy.

“Enough waiting, help me kill them too! There’s no need to preserve your energy further. I can guarantee that they won’t be able to Summon the undead again!” Mo Fan immediately asked the other four members of the team.

“Are you sure?” Mu Nujiao asked.

“Don’t you trust me?” Mo Fan replied.

“Fine, we’ll listen to you!” Mu Nujiao, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Yu, and Guan Yu had long held a grudge against the Egyptian team. They had the urge to send all the undead to Hell with their Advanced Spells.

Even Zhao Manyan, who normally did not attack, cast a Light Spell and started massacring the undead!

—

“Quick, call them back!”

“Asshole, that asshole, he’s going to pay for it! My Pharaoh Spring!” Sayed almost burst out in tears.

The Egyptian team could not match the speed at which the Chinese team was killing their undead. Mo Fan could only retrieve the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences of the creatures that he killed, but the restriction did not apply to the faint purple light. Little Loach could absorb them after they left the souls of the undead. Therefore, Mo Fan asked the others to attack at will!

Mo Fan’s firepower was equivalent to an entire team, yet the others were not mere decorations, either. They could tell that the Egyptian team was starting to panic, so they used all they had, including Deathstrike Magic Equipment, to slaughter the undead. A huge cloud of faint purple light flew straight toward Mo Fan!

“We surrender, we surrender!” Neferu was very decisive. He immediately yelled out that the Egyptian team had decided to concede.

The Pharaoh Spring was extremely valuable, something that they had retrieved from a pyramid after paying a great price. Whenever a drop of the Pharaoh Spring was taken away, it felt like a stab to their hearts!

“Humph, it’s too late now! You should have been prepared for the consequences of using a dirty trick like this!” Mo Fan had no intention to show any mercy.

They were in the middle of a tournament. How could they complain if their stuff was being taken away?

“Asshole, you’re going to pay for that!” The Egyptian team was forced into a corner by Mo Fan. Their eyes turned bloodshot.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Why would Mo Fan be scared of the Egyptian team now that he had learned their secret?

The Sky Lightning Claw shredded the undead in no time. Even though the spell needed more energy to cast, it was nothing compared to the value of the Pharaoh Spring!

The team worked together and eliminated at least two-thirds of the undead.

Little Loach was enjoying a great feast. It had been a long time since Mo Fan last saw the little amulet feeling such joy. The glow it was emitting was extremely soothing, and felt like it would significantly speed up his cultivation!

Mo Fan’s cultivating speed had slowed down after he reached the Advanced Level. Also, he had six Elements to look after. He would definitely struggle to keep all six of his Elements at the same level.

However, if the Little Loach Pendant was able to evolve, it would help his other Elements catch up to the level of everyone else’s primary Element!

If all of his Elements were at the same level as his opponent’s primary Element, he would surely be unstoppable!

“We can’t let him kill them all, we’ll have to use the remaining Pharaoh Spring to Summon a Giant Tactile Centipede Demon!” Meos said.

“But if he manages to kill the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon too, it means we’ll be giving the Pharaoh Spring away!” Sayed protested.

“He already took half of it, it’s basically the same as taking it all. We have to take the risk!” Neferu agreed with Meos’s suggestion.

If they fought with all they had, they might have a chance of taking the Pharaoh Spring back and win the match. If they were to give up now, they would simply lose everything!

“Alright, let’s summon it together!”

The members of the Egyptian team made up their minds. They had decided to use all they had to take on Mo Fan, the demon king.

The Egyptian team had easily defeated England and Greece with their undead strategy, but it was somehow useless against Mo Fan, and to make things worse, they were about to lose the Pharaoh Spring!

The five members uttered the chants of the Undead Element. Gray Star Constellations slowly circled them and combined into a huge Star Constellation of the Undead Element.

The Undead Star Constellation was not made up of brilliant Stars. It looked more like the silhouette of a statue drawn with strange Curses, and a strong evil presence.

The five Star Constellations were almost as huge as a Star Palace, the display was utterly shocking!

The black gate to the underworld opened before them. The gate was huge. The five members were tiny, like mere ants.

A roar rose from deep within the underworld. The color of the sky and clouds changed. The calm surface of the sea was suddenly churning with fierce, rolling waves, splashing heavily onto the island and the ships around it.

The ships swayed wildly. The hearts of the people on them were pounding heavily. What kind of monster was this, with such a strong evil presence before it even showed itself!

“Giant Tactile Centipede Demon! Fight for the Pharaoh Spring, and eliminate these imbeciles!” the five members of the Egyptian team yelled at the top of their lungs as they continued to Summon the terrifying monster from the underworld.

Another roar came, and the island shook as if it was about to sink into the ocean. A giant skeleton climbed out from the gate of the underworld.

Its brains were hanging out like coconuts on a coconut tree, quite eerie to look at. Its body was incredibly long. Its head was rising far above the island, yet more than half of its body was still inside the gate!

“Holy crap, how long is that creature?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon finally revealed its true appearance. The enormous skeleton resembled a centipede stretching for the clouds. It was impossible to see the entire creature when it raised its head!

“This creature seems a lot stronger than the one before. I can’t help but wonder if it only looks strong from its appearance, like the one before!” Mo Fan’s neck felt sore after staring up for too long.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s size was quite shocking. The island was like a little mud pool to it. It could not even turn around on it!

Its eyes were ghastly and glittering, and people did not dare to look right into them. Even though the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was like a centipede compared to the Black Totem Snake, it was still quite deadly for a Commander-level creature!

The Egyptian team was going all out this time. They had used all their remaining energy from the Pharaoh Spring to Summon the creature from the underworld!

“I will forfeit the match if I were you! We can’t really control the Tactile Centipede Demon. It’s unwise to lose your lives over a match!” Neferu warned Mo Fan and the others with a cold grin.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was significantly stronger than the Tactile Centipede Demon. Its evil presence was so strong that the Egyptian team was unable to assert full control over it.

“And give us back the Pharaoh Spring, you shameless prick!” Neferu swore, pointing at Mo Fan.

“So that thing is called the Pharaoh Spring… hang on, you dare call me shameless? Let’s give the Pharaoh Spring to the organizer and see if it’s legal for the tournament! You are being shameless first, and now you’re stopping me from revealing the truth? Don’t place your hopes on this creature!. It might look intimidating, but just like the Tactile Centipede Demon from before, it isn’t going to make any difference!” Mo Fan retorted scathingly.

“You asked for it yourself, we already warned you about it!” Neferu said.

“I’ll be taking all your Pharaoh Spring. I believe this creature still has quite some left in it!” Mo Fan laughed.

“Die!” Neferu was enraged. He immediately ordered the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon to attack Mo Fan!

Mo Fan currently had half of the Pharaoh Spring. They had to take it back at all costs! Otherwise, they would still suffer a great loss, even if they ended up winning the match!

Unfortunately, even Mo Fan would have trouble getting back something that Little Loach had swallowed!

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon rolled and swung its tail down with incredible might.

Mo Fan and the others quickly dodged aside. The impact formed a huge ravine across the center of the island, splitting it in half!

“Flying Creek Snow Wolf, your turn!”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled and swiftly pounced at the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon. He sprinted across the creature’s lengthy body. He was going for the brains that hanging on its head!

Surprisingly, the brains were not just decorations. They suddenly opened like mouths and unleashed strong blasts of wind. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf managed to dodge a few of them, yet he was still hit in the end. He fell to the ground, landing not far away from Mo Fan.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not dare make a noise, knowing that he had failed.

Mo Fan glared at the wolf and said, “How useless are you just because Mu Ningxue isn’t around?”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf felt extremely wronged. The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was indeed a few levels stronger than him. It was reasonable if he lost against it. However, he believed he could take the undead on if his Ice Soul was active!

“I’ll spread the ice,” Mu Nujiao said.

Mu Nujiao knew Mo Fan’s wolf needed ice to fight better. Her ice was not as strong as Mu Ningxue’s, but it would still help the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

“Mmm!” Mo Fan nodded.

“Awooo!” The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was motivated once again after hearing the plan, as if he was invincible when fighting around ice.

However, Mo Fan knew the Flying Creek Snow Wolf would still struggle against the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon, even if his Ice Soul was triggered. He glanced toward Jiang Yu and said, “Jiang Yu, ask your little cat to locate the undead’s weakness. It’s impossible to destroy the whole thing. We’ll need to find where its undead crystal is. It doesn’t matter how many times we kill it if we don’t break its undead crystal.”

“Alright, leave it to my Night Rakshasa…” Jiang Yu nodded.

“Old Zhao, hold the creature off for now. Let’s not attack it for now, so we can learn its moves,” Mo Fan said to Zhao Manyan.

“Not a problem, my defense is as hard as always!” Zhao Manyan kept casting defensive spells. The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon attacked several times, yet it felt like it had just rammed into a solid rock.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon spat out a poisonous, black liquid at Zhao Manyan’s defense after several failed attempts. The Poison Element was fairly corrosive against Elemental Defense, and Zhao Manyan’s layers of defense soon collapsed!

“This creature has the Poison Element!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“We aren’t blind!”

“Holy crap, run!” Zhao Manyan was the first to flee, knowing that his defense was useless.

Mo Fan raised his head and saw the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon slamming down at him. He quickly grabbed Mu Nujiao around her waist and escaped with Fleeing Shadow.

Another huge ravine was left on the island. Seawater started pouring in through the crack and spread across the island.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon opened its mouth and fired a black beam from its throat.

The black beam went from one end of the island to the other, chasing after Mo Fan relentlessly. The creature clearly held a great grudge against Mo Fan!

“He’s chasing you! Let go of me, I can defend myself,” Mu Nujiao blushed. Somehow, she felt like Mo Fan was only taking advantage of her.

“I was just being extremely cautious. This centipede is going to be tricky to deal with.” Mo Fan let her go, only a little unwillingly.

Mu Nujiao’s secondary Element was Wind. She was clearly more agile than Mo Fan. She summoned a white wind and drifted off into the distance. The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon totally ignored her. It plunged its legs in Mo Fan’s direction like sharp spears!

“Little Flame Belle!”

Little Flame Belle slammed into Mo Fan’s body. The whole place was immediately set aflame, with Mo Fan standing in the middle of it. He glared at the monstrous Giant Tactile Centipede Demon!

“Meteorite Fist!” Feathers were set aflame, propelling Mo Fan toward the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon like a rocket. He slammed his fist into the stomach of the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon. His fist exploded as soon as it contacted the creature’s body, sending huge flames into the air!

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon shuddered backward slightly, but it seemed perfectly fine. It immediately leaned forward to swallow Mo Fan with a single bite!

“Fire Phoenix!” The fiery feathers scattered in the air, and quickly turned into a fiery phoenix, plunging into the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s throat.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The throat of the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was a lot thicker than the Tactile Centipede Demon’s from before. The creature fully digested the fiery phoenix before it could even reach the creature’s stomach. It seemed perfectly fine, apart from some remaining flames coming out of its mouth.

The fact that the flames were unable to burn through the undead’s stomach showed how extraordinary the undead was. The Chinese team would only have a chance after the Night Rakshasa figured out where its weakness was!

The Little Loach Pendant was extremely fond of the Pharaoh Spring. There was no way Mo Fan would give up on the great opportunity; he had to slay the giant undead creature!

The brains hanging beside the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s mouth turned toward Mo Fan, each spitting out a cloudy beam, the same move that it used to knock the Flying Creek Snow Wolf away.

Mo Fan had no chance of dodging the attack while in mid-air. He pushed his hand forward and summoned a shield with his will to defend himself.

The shield had a silver frame, and nothing but air within it. However, the cloudy beams were completely blocked off by the shield, unable to move any closer to him.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon gave up, knowing that its little tricks could not inflict any damage on Mo Fan. It slammed right into him with its enormous body, since it was definitely the most effective move against an ant-like human!

The creature felt like a pillar collapsing. Mo Fan basically saw a giant shadow looming over him, blocking the sunlight above him.

As its body moved closer, Mo Fan could see its legs swinging wildly, like gleaming axes!

Mo Fan was unable to dodge in time. The creature’s body slammed heavily onto him, knocking him into the ground of the island.

The whole island shook. Shattered rocks sank into the ocean. More seawater poured into the island from the cracks, and soon reached the surface!

Mo Fan barely prevented himself from being turned into minced meat by Summoning the Black Snake Armor in time. However, he was still stuck underground, and the seawater was coming right at him…

Mo Fan was stuck in the ravine. The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon seemed to know that Mo Fan was still alive. It raised its body high up in the air again before slamming down even stronger than before.

“Are you treating me like a fly!?” Mo Fan was infuriated. He quickly cast Fleeing Shadow, splitting his body into four shadows flying into different directions like shadows of sparrows.

A second later, the island trembled once again. An enormous ring of waves appeared on the ocean and spread away from the island. The ships nearby were pushed back by the strong waves!

Even the barrier was unable to resist the impact. The organizer could not help but worry about the participants’ safety!

—

“Mo Fan, I found it! Its weakness is in its brains. You just need to destroy all the brains!” Jiang Yu shouted.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and saw a nimble, black figure lunging at one of the brains on the neck of the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon. The figure’s sharp claws severed the brain with a clean cut!

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was extremely furious after losing its brain. It stared at the Night Rakshasa moving on its head. Its body suddenly emitted a poisonous mist, knocking the Night Rakshasa that was sneaking around into the air.

The Night Rakshasa fell away from the creature. Her black fur was dyed blue and red, and her sharp claws were falling off from the corrosion.

Jiang Yu felt his heart aching. He quickly withdrew the Night Rakshasa back into his Contracted Space.

The Night Rakshasa had done a great job severing one of the creature’s brains!

“Mo Fan, it’s all you now, there’s nothing we can do,” Jiang Yu said.

“Sure, leave it to me!” Mo Fan nodded.

“Humph, you might be useless, but not everyone is the same as you. I’ll take it out!” Guan Yu insisted.

Guan Yu immediately disappeared. A few seconds later, the team saw Guan Yu being driven by a strong wind as he sprinted along the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s body, currently almost perpendicular to the ground.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon quickly noticed Guan Yu. Its legs suddenly separated from its body and turned into strange-looking bugs with pointy heads, and chased after Guan Yu.

Guan Yu realized that the path ahead was no longer an option. He leapt into the air instead. “Wind Wings!”

Strong winds started blowing, turning into wings on Guan Yu’s back. As the wings beat, Guan Yu rose and almost reached the height of the creature’s brains.

Guan Yu was extremely quick on the attack. As a brown flicker swept past, one of the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s brains burst open, strange ichor pouring out of it.

Guan Yu was aiming for another brain, but the bugs with pointy heads flew at him and clustered onto him, dragging him back to the ground.

More bugs dived at Guan Yu, wrapping him up in layers. Jiang Yu immediately shook his head with a sigh and moved to save Guan Yu from the mess he was in.

“Six more to go!” Mo Fan said.

The Night Rakshasa had severed one, and Guan Yu had pierced through one. Mo Fan would have to deal with the rest.

Frost surged into the air on a sudden strong wind. Mo Fan was still figuring the most effective way to destroy the brains when the Flying Creek Snow Wolf took the initiative and made his way up the creature’s body to get his revenge!

“Wolf, come over here, bring me up!” Mo Fan stopped the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was already halfway up the creature. He had no choice but to turn back, as he knew he could not take on the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon alone.

Mo Fan did a flip and landed on the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s back.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled. An icy mountain popped up, extending toward the creature like a bridge.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf sprinted along the bridge as if he was running in the air, heading straight toward the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s head.

“Dodge!” Mo Fan warned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf when he saw the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon swinging its tail.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf stomped and leapt into the air, dodging the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s tail. As the Flying Creek Snow Wolf started to fall, he howled again, Summoning an icy mountain with incredible speed so he could land safely.

“I’ll build a bridge for you!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan’s eyes emitted a silver light. He snapped the icy mountains and rocks and lifted them into the air.

The rocks and ice seemed to scatter messily in the air, but each of them was actually the same distance apart.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled excitedly when he saw the floating stepping boards in the air. His jumping ability was outstanding to begin with, so all he needed was a few stepping stones.

“It’s coming again, dodge!” Mo Fan said.

With the stepping boards in the air, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had no trouble dodging the attack. It moved like a flash of white lightning, leaping from the rock on the left to the right, before jumping up high and sprinting across the floating bridge to dodge the continuous attacks from the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon!

“Well done! Flame sword!”

With the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s help, Mo Fan had gotten very close to the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s brains. A burning sword appeared in his hand!

Ignoring the strong wind, Mo Fan stood on the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s back. He leapt forward decisively when the cloudy rays swept past them, heading to the right side of the creature.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had great synergy with Mo Fan. Seeing Mo Fan was attacking from the right, he went to the left instead, utilizing the floating rocks that Mo Fan had prepared. He unleashed all his strength and speed and tore a brain on the left apart.

On the other hand, Mo Fan slashed with the fiery sword, destroying a brain on the right. The flames even spread to another brain!

The brain that was set aflame struggled fiercely. It looked like it was afraid of fire.

“Fiery Fist!” Mo Fan clenched his fists when the fiery sword disappeared, firing two fiery dragons at the throbbing brain. The dragons lunged at the brain and blasted it into ashes!

“That’s three!” Mo Fan said, signaling the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to catch him.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf headed toward Mo Fan, but the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s throat intercepted him. Luckily, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf managed to locate a flying rock that he could land on in time. Otherwise, he would be going straight down the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s stomach!

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s throat was impenetrable. The wolf would surely die if he ended up being eaten by the undead centipede!

Without the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s help, Mo Fan had little way to move in the air. He could not fly using the Fleeing Shadow. He could only stick closely to objects and move between shadows!

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was quite cunning, too. It knew Mo Fan was crippled when he was in the air. After driving the Flying Creek Snow Wolf away, it turned around. The seam down its chest opened suddenly, revealing many pairs of densely packed red eyes!

Mo Fan was startled. -So this is where the creature’s eyes are, hundreds of them!- Mo Fan felt his blood freezing the moment he was stared at!

“Mo Fan, have a taste of the Cursed Eyes! It’s no different than going to Hell!” Neferu said in a cold voice.

Mo Fan finally realized that the eyes were casting a Curse on him. His blood had stopped flowing, his skin and flesh had hardened, all because of the creature’s power.

Several hundred eyes were emitting Cursed lights, penetrating into Mo Fan’s Spiritual World. Despite his mental strength reaching the intermediate stage, he was struggling to resist!

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon opened its mouth and swallowed Mo Fan with a single bite as soon as he was placed under the Curse, as if it was worried that Mo Fan would run away again.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon did not have a tongue. Its mouth only had circles of fangs, only useful when the creature was eating something big. For something as small as Mo Fan, it would just swallow him. The man would turn into a pool of liquid half an hour after he was swallowed!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Focus Necklace had come in handy. The water blue glow encapsulated Mo Fan’s cursed Spiritual World. A warm sensation flowed inside Mo Fan’s body. His blood began to flow again, and his muscles no longer felt stiff.

“Dean Xiao really gave me something precious!” Mo Fan looked at the Focus Necklace, thanking the old dean in his heart.

Mo Fan had the Focus Necklace a long time. To Mo Fan’s surprise, it was still extremely useful even in the Advanced Level, and had helped him to avert disaster!

“Shadow Clone!” Mo Fan decisively left the clone behind when he saw the giant mouth approaching. He secretly crept away along the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s head with the Dark Noble Mantle.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was extremely big, and its shadow was huge too. Mo Fan boldly took advantage of it!

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon swallowed Mo Fan’s clone down quickly.

The assistant judges nearby made their moves. If they did not intervene, Mo Fan might die. In addition to that, the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was quite tricky to deal with. It would be a hassle to force the creature to spit Mo Fan out.

“Humph, I already said that he was asking for it. I did warn him!” Neferu spat coldly.

He had trouble controlling the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon. It was unlikely Mo Fan would survive. As for feeling guilty? Neferu did not feel the slightest bit of guilt at all. They were currently in the middle of a match, thus there was a chance that someone might die. It wasn’t like he didn’t warn the Chinese man!

“I doubt he would die so easily,” Meos murmured. She was quite familiar with Mo Fan. It was unlikely that such a cunning man would die so easily.

Sayed pointed at the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s head and yelled, “Look, up there!”

The others followed and saw a black cloak flapping in the wind, just as Mo Fan eerily appeared between two of the Tactile Centipede Demon’s brains!

“If he’s there, who did the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon eat just now!?” Neferu exclaimed.

“It was a clone, that guy’s Shadow Element is high level too!” Meos realized!

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was still trying to feel the little cockroach struggling inside its stomach, but it did not feel anything. It was like it had just swallowed a mouthful of air. Normally, a human Mage would blast the walls of its stomach with a few spells, but nothing happened!

Two fiery swords slashed rapidly, cutting two brains in half simultaneously, both burning into ashes.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon cried out in pain when the two brains were destroyed.

The creature had eight brains in total, but now it only had one left. If the last brain was destroyed, it would have to go back to Hell!

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was infuriated, yet it immediately rolled up to protect its last brain.

Mo Fan chuckled when it saw the creature being extremely cautious.

As he expected, the Tactile Centipede Demons were a bunch of creatures that were only intimidating on the surface. Their ghastly appearance was enough to scare weaker creatures, but when they were up against a strong opponent, they were basically a little bug. It was nothing compared to a creature of the Black Totem Snake’s level!

“Flying Creek Snow Wolf, your turn!”

At Mo Fan’s order, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf dashed forward. He was like a ray of light, going through the gap before the creature curled into a huge fortress!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf grew braver the more he fought. He was utterly fearless of the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon with only one brain left.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon rolled up, trying to turn itself into a giant barrel. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s tiny figure was nowhere to be seen.

“Formation of Giant Shadow Spikes!”

Mo Fan was definitely not going to stand aside and watch. At this rate, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf would be crushed to pieces. Mo Fan had to stop the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon from coiling further before the Flying Creek Snow Wolf could destroy its last brain!

The Nyx Regime was established quickly. Several black swords flew at the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon from inside the curtain of darkness.

There was no need to aim. The shadow swords stabbed the creature fiercely. Despite the number of the shadow swords, they were still unable to fully impair the creature’s movement, but it would still slow down!.

“Gravity Space!” Mo Fan stacked the two spells on top of one another. The impairment of the Shadow Spell and the pressure of the Space Element gave the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon no chance to curl up any further.

“We’ll help too!” Mu Nujiao and Jiang Yu shouted.

Mu Nujiao cast the Icebound Coffin. The giant Icebound Coffin descended from the sky and froze a part of the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s body.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was still struggling to protect its final brain so it could regenerate again. The strength of undead was their vitality!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled imperiously from inside the creature’s enormous body.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon shuddered suddenly. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf jumped out from the gap at the center, holding the creature’s last brain in his mouth!

The moment the brain was separated from the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s body, the creature fell dead instantly. Its skeleton collapsed like a building that had lost its pillars. The bones gradually turned into dust and scattered in the air!

“It’s dead?” Mu Nujiao let out a relieved sigh when she saw the enormous creature falling to the ground.

It was done, the battle had finally come to an end!

“Did we win?” Jiang Yu blurted out in disbelief.

The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon’s body was unable to last for long in this world. Its bones soon disappeared after the body collapsed.

Mo Fan had taken away its Soul Remnant. With the Little Loach Pendant’s current level, a Commander-level Soul Remnant had no chance of escaping. It would soon be refined to strengthen Mo Fan’s Stars. As for the Pharaoh Spring, there was no way Mo Fan would give it up, either!

Little Loach absorbed the Pharaoh Spring crazily, not leaving the slightest bit for the Egyptian team. When the Pharaoh Spring filled up Little Loach, it emitted an imperious light. Its temperament suddenly changed significantly!

The resources and time needed for a person with Double Innate Elements to cultivate were absolutely shocking. Without the Little Loach Pendant, Mo Fan would still be stuck in the Intermediate Level. As such, when Mo Fan saw the changes in the Little Loach Pendant, he knew his cultivation was about to skyrocket soon, too!

“How…how is this possible…” Neferu was frozen. Not a single undead was left around him. He fell to the ground in low spirits. He never thought that even the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon would lose to Mo Fan too!

“Our strength is still the undead strategy that was meant to wear them out,” Meos murmured.

The Greek team and the English team had great talents too, and had the ability to take on the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon, yet they could not handle the undead strategy.

Mo Fan was considered the strongest destructive Mage in the tournament, so it was not really a surprise that he managed to slay the Giant Tactile Centipede Demon. The members of the Egyptian team knew they had no chance of winning the match after the secret of the Pharaoh Spring was exposed. The Giant Tactile Centipede Demon was their last struggle, as they were unwilling to accept the outcome!

The Pharaoh Spring had been taken away. Even if the five members of the Egyptian team could still use other Elements, they no longer had the motivation to fight any further.

Without the Undead Element, the Egyptian team would never have been able to make it so far. Mo Fan could easily wipe them out on his own. It was utterly meaningless for the fight to go on.

“We’ve lost.”

“I can’t believe it, we were supposed to come in first!”

“We should have stopped after securing second place. Third place isn’t too bad either, at least we’d still have the Pharaoh Spring…”

The team that advanced straight to the grand final would be first if they had won the last match. However, if they lost, they would be placed in third place instead, and second place would be decided among the teams in the mixed battle.

As such, the Egyptian team came third in the tournament after losing the final match.

The reward for the third place was fairly impressive, but losing the Pharaoh Spring was a deadly blow to them.

——

“The Chinese team wins!”

“The Chinese team is the winner!”

When the main judge declared the outcome, fireworks that were long prepared were already firing into the sky. Their colorful brilliance lit up the face of the members of the Chinese team…

“Ohhhhh, we won, we won!”

“Mo Fan, you’re f**king awesome!”

Jiang Yu and Zhao Manyan lifted Mo Fan up in excitement.

Mo Fan did not expect it at all. He initially thought the two men would be throwing him up into the air. To his surprise, the two men tossed him into the sea instead.

“HAHAHAHA, nice!”

The other two jumped into the water too. The icy seawater failed to cool them down, as their bodies were heating up in excitement and incredible joy.

The others immediately followed when the two madmen led the way. They all jumped into the water and crowded around Mo Fan. The wild splashes were their way of expressing the indescribable joy they were feeling, both men and woman!

“You guys, well done!” Feng Li and Song He stood on the shore and watched the excited students. They could not help but recall their experiences when they were still young. The glory of winning the World College Tournament was absolutely remarkable for these young adults. The victory was extremely motivating. Even Feng Li and Song He were experiencing a surge of emotions.

“Well done what? Come down here too!” the impudent Mo Fan immediately grabbed Feng Li and Song He with Telekinesis and dragged them into the water.

The two advisors did not expect it. Even if they did, they would not want to reject the invitation.

So what if they were old? As long as their hearts were young, and they desired to prove the world wrong when nobody thought the Chinese team would even win the tournament, they were also overwhelmed by the excitement!

More people jumped into the water to celebrate the win after the two advisors were dragged into the water.

“Isn’t Mu Ningxue here?”

“What are you thinking of? I’m warning you, if you dare take advantage of her, I will chop your hands off despite the joy we are sharing!” Mo Fan snapped.

“What were you thinking? I was just thinking that everyone here will turn into ice statues if she came.”

“She must be very happy when she learned that we’ve won. Speaking of which, I have never seen her smile. She’s so pretty, she must be very beautiful when she smiles too.”

“Yeah, without her, there’s no way we could have won the tournament.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

For the next few days, everyone was totally released from their burdens. Venice was a charming city, meaning that the team could enjoy themselves for a few days after the tournament came to an end.

Since the team mainly consisted of young adults, they had no limit on when they were allowed to do whatever they pleased. Even Mo Fan was drunk for almost a full day. Unfortunately, alcohol had no effect on Mu Ningxue. Otherwise, he could easily have taken hold of the opportunity to finish the job with her!

Mo Fan’s approach toward Mu Ningxue had always been that he would not mind forcing something if he had to, even if it meant crossing the line. Otherwise, he simply had no idea how long he would have to wait before the harvest. He had already expressed all his feelings to her!

“F**k, I almost vomited myself to death, what exactly did Jiang Yu, that asshole recommend to us? It tasted like cow’s piss, not to mention its strong aftertaste. I almost had s** with a stripper in her forties. It’s going to haunt me for the rest of my life!” Zhao Manyan cursed, finally sober again.

Mo Fan was amused when he saw Manyan struggling to stand properly on the balcony outside his room.

It was true that someone around the age of forty had helped him back to his room, but the person was not even a woman…

It was almost evening when they woke up. The brilliant sunset shone upon Venice, reflecting colorfully on the well-decorated windows and the surface of the water in the canals. The beautiful and mature women of Venice walking on the streets were also part of the soothing scenery!

That being said, nothing could be compared to the sense of achievement after winning the final match. The more Mo Fan recalled the details of the tournament, the more impressed he was with himself.

How brilliant was the decision of his father to sell the old house just to send him to Tian Lan Magic High? He was a f**king magic genius!

“Come, let’s go have a walk, to sober up!” Zhao Manyan proposed.

“Sure, let’s head to the beach,” Mo Fan agreed.

They had no idea where the rest of the team had gone. Perhaps they were hanging out together, or picking up chicks on the street. Since they were the champions of the tournament, they only needed to stand still on the street for a minute before someone recognized them, and would jump straight into their arms.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan did not need to be secretive. They were not movie stars or singers. Even though the World College Tournament had grabbed the attention of the whole world, it was unlikely that people would be able to recognize them on the street, since the spectators could only watch from a distance away. Besides, when they were dressed casually, they looked no different than the other people on the street, apart from being slightly more handsome, of course…

—

They went to the seaside of Venice. As a matter of fact, Venice was a spacious bay, its shape like an irregular half-moon. Most interestingly, it also had a long beach, like the string of a bow.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had nothing much to do, and so they decided to walk along the bay. It was not an attraction in Venice, and the two had no idea what it was called, either. They only knew the scenery was quite nice.

There were quite some people along the bay, as many luxurious hotels were located here, glittering under the sunlight.

“Strange, since when is there an artificial island here?”

“Why is that strange? The island of the final match is also an artificial island. Maybe we just haven’t been here in a while.”

“That’s true, it’s been some time since I came here. Haaaa… the older you get, the easier you miss out on the latest news. I swear I’ve never heard of a new artificial island in Venice.”

Two old men were taking a stroll along the bay. They would occasionally look toward the city.

Between the bay and the city was a huge body of seawater. The island of the final match was located there.

“I bet you aren’t just thinking of a normal walk, bringing me to such a remote place?” Mo Fan broke the silence as he felt that Zhao Manyan had something to tell him.

“How did you know? Are you a parasite in my stomach?” Zhao Manyan was shocked.

“Just spit it out,” Mo Fan replied impatiently.

Zhao Manyan was slightly hesitant, still deciding if he should tell Mo Fan about it.

“It’s about my father. He’s quite old, and has lots of health issues because of his living habits when he was young. I have lived up to his name now that we’ve come in first, but he happened to fall sick. I bet he didn’t even see the match…” Zhao Manyan sighed.

“That’s a pity. Aren’t you going to visit him?” Mo Fan asked.

Every son would want their father to feel proud of them, and prove that they could still achieve greatness in society without their father’s protection.

Mo Fan could understand Zhao Manyan’s feelings. It was true that the people of Zhao Manyan’s clan and his father had always assumed that Zhao Manyan was frivolous. They never expected him to have any kind of achievements.

“I’m just worried,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Worried?”

“He’s been very sick. The old Healer of our clan already told us that if he falls sick again, he might pass away. Even though we’ve been preparing ourselves for it… whenever the thought of my father not having much time left hits, I’m overwhelmed by sorrow,” Zhao Manyan admitted in a soft voice, unlike his usual demeanor.

“That serious?” Mo Fan was startled.

He had no idea that Zhao Manyan’s father was approaching the end of his life, since Zhao Manyan never mentioned it to him.

“That’s why I want to make him proud, so he can pass away in peace. I’m just afraid, afraid that once I tell him the news, he will just pass away in relief. If he doesn’t see me, he could live longer. It’s the reason why I’m scared to visit him,” Zhao Manyan said. He had been carrying the burden for some time, and had not told anyone before.

“Is there really no chance of healing or extending his time?” Mo Fan asked.

Zhao Manyan shook his head. His father had been sick for more than ten years. He was only alive because he was being treated by a powerful Healer.

“Only the Spell of Resurrection can save him. Otherwise, it’s pretty much terminal cancer,” Zhao Manyan said.

When he saw that Zhao Manyan was indeed mentally prepared for it, Mo Fan exclaimed, “I have always wondered why a fuerdai like you would bother joining the national team and cultivate so diligently, instead of wasting your time on women. Well, in my opinion, you should just pay him a visit. You should just go to him and tell him your heroic achievements rather than using such an extreme method just to keep him alive. He can leave in peace, and you can at least bid farewell to him!”

“You’re right, it’s just that I’m worried about my brother…” Zhao Manyan sighed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Your brother… why are you worried about your brother? That he will be overwhelmed by sorrow?” Mo Fan asked.

Zhao Manyan shook his head, “Forget it, we’ve just won the tournament. I shouldn’t mention something like this to ruin the mood.”

“Don’t mention it, we grieve and celebrate when the time is right, even when the two are mixed up. There’s no need to force your feelings,” Mo Fan agreed.

“Do you mind giving me some time to think about it? I’ll talk to you again once I clear my mind.” It was obvious that Zhao Manyan was still bothered by some other things. As a matter of fact, he was still unsure about the truth.

“Alright, I’ll be in my room, or Mu Ningxue’s. Just come find me whenever you want,” Mo Fan did not force him.

Mo Fan turned around before he left and saw Zhao Manyan slowly moving toward the seawall. It was quite obvious that Zhao Manyan was very troubled by this matter.

Luckily, he had long prepared for it.

Being prepared for the death of close ones was totally different than suddenly receiving the news of someone passing, since people had time to gradually accept the truth when the person was going to pass away soon. The grief would slowly turn into respect for the deceased. Zhao Manyan did not really have any regrets. After all, he had achieved an impressive feat before his father passed away. The old man could rest in peace now.

On the other hand, news of the sudden death of close ones would take anyone by surprise, like a lightning bolt landing right on them. Mo Fan had witnessed too many deaths during the Calamity of Bo City and the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. It was the reason he had been putting so much work in his cultivation, to ensure his loved ones could live in peace amid the chaos brought about by the demon creatures.

Unfortunately, every life would come to an end one day. People would eventually have to embrace it and continue on with their lives. If they spent their whole lives in shadows and rainy days, they would be the person that died instead!

—

—

Zhao Manyan was still at loss in front of the seawall. The sky had completely darkened. The lamps in Venice lit up, while some of the islands nearby disappeared in the darkness as if they did not exist.

A couple was approaching. The man was in his thirties, with a scar on his tanned forehead. He was hugging the woman beside him tightly with a huge smile, as if he was extremely pleased by their relationship, like a young man passionately in love.

The woman seemed to be in her thirties, too. She looked quite ordinary, the kind that Zhao Manyan would not bother giving an extra glance to. The woman was wearing a shy smile, but her eyes were glancing around. She sneakily looked over at Zhao Manyan.

“Friend, can you take a photo of us?” the man asked, holding a camera out.

“Sure.” Normally, Zhao Manyan would just walk past the couple arrogantly. He only allowed himself to show off his relationship to others, instead of the other way around. However, he was in a bad mood today, so he did not mind doing someone a favor, collecting some blessings for his father who would soon pass away.

When Zhao Manyan reached out his hand to take the camera, the man with a scar suddenly grinned viciously.

The man’s eyes flickered murderously as a long poisonous snake with eight claws poked out from his sleeve. It coiled around Zhao Manyan’s wrist and bit his arm!

Zhao Manyan did not feel any pain from the bite, but his blood suddenly froze, and continued to spread to the other parts of his body!

“You!” Zhao Manyan was astounded. He quickly cast a defensive spell.

The Sacred Shield Protection was about to complete itself when Zhao Manyan was dazzled all of a sudden, the same way he felt when he was drunk last night.

The last Star Orbit broke in half. Zhao Manyan had failed to set up his defense in time. The poison was spreading too quickly. Not only did it paralyze him, it was also messing with his mind!

“Who are you!?” Zhao Manyan yelled. He was still able to speak.

“What’s the point of asking so much? Isn’t it better to die without knowing anything?” the woman grinned. She slowly took out a poisonous needle.

The needle was the length of a dagger. It was clearly a vicious piece of magic equipment, similar to Guan Yu’s claw gauntlet. The Weapon was suitable for assassin-type Mages. They were not that useful against demon creatures, but were deadly against Mages!

“Who sent you!?” Zhao Manyan was so infuriated that his eyes were about to spit fire.

“It looks like you will be able to keep your father company in the afterworld!” the female assassin giggled coldly as she stabbed the needle into Zhao Manyan’s heart.

The poisonous needle easily penetrated Zhao Manyan’s skin and entered his flesh. It would soon reach his heart. However, a golden light erupted out of nowhere. The insignificant necklace that Zhao Manyan was wearing drove back the two assassins with the strong light, preventing the poisonous needle from moving any further.

“As expected of a fuerdai, you have a piece of magic equipment that even surpasses the power of the Ring of Venice. But is your final struggle going to make any difference?” The female assassin was still grinning, as if she was not too surprised by his magic equipment.

The two assassins were incredibly strong, especially the man with the Poison Element that had ambushed Zhao Manyan first. Even if Zhao Manyan was paying attention, the man could still have subdued him easily.

Zhao Manyan had been a playboy for a long time. He had only spent the last two years cultivating diligently to please his father. He had never offended anyone with great status before, so it was fairly impossible that anyone would send assassins after him…

The golden light was protecting Zhao Manyan, but the power of the magic equipment would not last long,and it was unlikely that anyone would come to his rescue at such a remote place.

Zhao Manyan knew his death was approaching, yet he was unwilling to accept it or to believe it!

“Zhao Youqian, show yourself! I know it’s you!” Zhao Manyan yelled. His veins were surfacing on his face from the poison.

There was no response.

“Zhao Youqian! You have the guts to kill me, but don’t you have the guts to face me in person!?” Zhao Manyan screamed. He had a feeling that Zhao Youqian was nearby!

As he thought, a tightly-clothed man walked out from behind an aged tree not far away.

The man had even covered his hair, revealing only his eyes. He was being extremely careful that no one could see his face.

The golden light would still last for some time, yet Zhao Manyan was feeling extremely hopeless. The two assassins had clearly killed many people before, and even a Mage like he stood no chance against them.

“I shall bid you farewell then,” the disguised man responded coldly.

Zhao Manyan felt a great chill running down his spine, as if his heart had been stabbed by the poisonous needle numerous times.

It was him. It really was him!

Zhao Manyan knew he had no chance of escaping, but he was hoping that someone else was behind it. He would rather think that it was someone he had offended unknowingly in the past…

They were brothers. Zhao Manyan had been suspicious of the man before. It was what Zhao Manyan wanted to talk to Mo Fan about. He sensed that Zhao Youqian was the kind of person that would do anything to achieve his goals, but considering that they were brothers related by blood, Zhao Manyan finally shook it off and decided not to tell Mo Fan about it…

He did not say it, as he was hoping that he had misunderstood his brother. Otherwise, Mo Fan would surely stay with him, just in case someone tried to murder him. He would not have ended up in his current situation, either!

When Zhao Manyan thought about how Mo Fan never hesitated to sacrifice himself to save him and the others back in Jinlin City, and a few times after that too, and compared him to Zhao Youqian who only dared show his eyes, he was immediately troubled by complicated feelings.

“Don’t you have any humanity?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Aren’t you naive to ask that question? Isn’t it all our father’s fault, forcing me to come down to this? I, Zhao Youqian, have been under strict discipline since the age of ten, learning different languages, finance, how to talk with businessmen, and bluff around with greedy men. The money that I’ve earned for the clan, the effort I’ve put in… and you, you have been living a carefree life since you were born. The old man didn’t scold you even once, and let you spend as much money as you want without asking you to manage anything. He even prepared the path for the things you wanted to learn. I thought he was only spoiling you, without caring what you do. You could just live a comfortable life like a useless fuerdai. I thought he was raising me up as the successor of the clan, he was so very strict to me, so I could be better than him in the future…”

“But what did he do!?”

“What did he do!?” Zhao Youqian screamed. His voice was filled with hatred and malice.

“He left his will before you even won the tournament, asking you to inherit the Zhao Clan, and I, Zhao Youqian will be assisting you!… HAHAHAHA, what a good father, what a good father, he has been planning it since the very start, he treated you like his precious son, while I am nothing but a subordinate to him, and now he’s assigning me to serve you too!” Zhao Youqian yelled.

Zhao Youqian could not accept it. So what if Zhao Manyan had joined the national team and came in first in the World College Tournament? His contributions to the Zhao Clan were more than ten Zhao Manyans could have done! However, his father was so naive to think that Zhao Manyan was the hope of the Zhao Clan just because of a single achievement, and now he had to serve his useless younger brother like a pet…

“That’s father’s decision. Did you seriously think I’m going to compete with you after he passed away? I’ll focus on my magic, and you can manage the business. Why does it have to come down to this? Father is still alive, but you just could not wait to get your hands on me!” Zhao Manyan took a deep breath after seeing how twisted Zhao Youqian was.

“Just because he’s still alive… right before he dies, I will tell him in person that I’ve killed his precious son, to get my revenge for treating me like a dog for so many years!” Zhao Youqian could not have cared less.

“If that’s the case, how could you possibly send assassins after me right after he has fallen ill? I bet you hired them long ago, and just waited until the old man fell ill?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“That’s correct! You know what kind of person our father is, I needed to have a backup plan at all times. Don’t hate me, you should understand who’s even more inhumane!”

“I forgive you, you are my brother after all.”

“I didn’t want to do this, either.”

“Take care of mother,” Zhao Manyan said. It was meaningless to struggle further, since he did not see even the slightest hint of hesitation in Zhao Youqian’s eyes.

Zhao Youqian had really changed. The man felt like a complete stranger to him.

“I will. She won’t suspect me for it, she trusts me.” Zhao Youqian signaled the assassins.

The light protecting Zhao Manyan slowly dissipated, placing him in despair.

He could only stand there. If there was any regret, it was the fact that he could no longer go on adventures around the world with Mo Fan, and achieve higher levels of magic.

If only he had time to pick up all the chicks he liked…

Zhao Manyan had no idea why such a ridiculous thought would cross his mind right before his death. Perhaps he had also learned to face every wave with a smile after spending so much time around that man…

“Do it!”

The two assassins were incredibly strong. They might even be Super Mages, judging from their shocking auras. Even without the poison restraining him, Zhao Manyan would have difficulty resisting the pressure of their murderous auras.

Zhao Manyan closed his eyes. As death approached, he did not notice the glow of the wooden clapper in his soul, as if the thing had awakened from a deep slumber!

A loud roar was heard, rising from Venice’s coastline and the bay. The whole city trembled under it. The roar was extremely terrifying at night!

A black island suddenly rose on the ocean. Huge waves splashed and reached the clouds, before sweeping in all directions like a tsunami!

“Holy crap, what’s that?”

“It’s…it’s the island…”

Thousands of people in Venice watched the waves rolling toward them. Mages flew into the sky as the sirens went off, followed by a purple light shining down upon the city!

The shadow of the enormous island loomed over the city, blocking the moon and the stars. The city of Venice was like a little toy building in front of the island. It felt like it would be destroyed fairly easily…

Mo Fan was in the area facing the ocean. He stared at the fleshy body of the creature that had been previously submerged in the sea. The shock he experienced was the same as his first encounter with the Black Totem Snake!

“It’s…it’s…it’s the creature that has been following us!” Mo Fan recognized it.

An island…

A creature that disguised itself as an island…

The mysterious, enormous creature that once showed up in Japan, but had never revealed itself to them!

It had swum all the way to the Mediterranean, and stopped here in Venice!

It was actually following them!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The bay a few kilometers away from the island was affected by the waves. The waves rolled onto the bay and dragged the paralyzed Zhao Manyan into the ocean.

The two assassins did not expect something like that to happen. They quickly cast defensive spells to prevent themselves from being knocked away by the strong tide.

“Where did he go?”

“He was dragged into the water, I’ll go get him!”

The female assassin glanced after Zhao Manyan and immediately turned into a shadow bird, chasing after Zhao Manyan, who was being dragged further away by the strong backwash.

“What…what the hell is that!?” Zhao Youqian stood on ground now under seawater. He pointed at an island quickly approaching the bay in disbelief!

The island was huge! The sight of it approaching the bay so quickly was horrifying!

“I…I have no idea, why is such a creature in Venice’s territorial waters!?” The male assassin’s eyes widened. Even someone as experienced as he had never seen such a gigantic beast before.

A great cruise liner was heading toward Venice’s harbor. It managed to halt when the huge waves came past, and did not flip over.

There were around a thousand people on the cruise liner. They were totally clueless about what just happened. A few Mages went up on the deck to investigate the matter.

To their shocked surprise, a huge mountain happened to pass by. The difference in sizes between the mountain and the cruise liner was like an infant and an adult man. The people who were watching from the city were amazed by the difference in size.

The Seagull was the biggest cruise liner in Venice. Its symbol of a seagull was visible from a great distance away, yet it was extremely tiny compared to the gigantic Island Beast!

When the people thought the creature was going to flip the Seagull over, it simply swam past it and headed for the long bay!

“Zhao Manyan…” Mo Fan suddenly recalled that Zhao Manyan was still at the bay!

The sea monster had already swum a few kilometers into the distance, yet its body was still very clear. It did not become smaller because of the distance.

Mo Fan collected his thoughts and quickly turned into a shadow bird, sprinting across the surface of the water in the darkness…

He was moving at his quickest speed, yet he still needed some time to reach the bay. However, the distance was only a few steps to the Gigantic Island Beast!

—

Out on the bay shore, the assassin realized that the Gigantic Island Beast was coming right at them. He quickly grabbed his client, Zhao Youqian, and sprinted to the other end of the bay.

The Gigantic Island Beast still did not reveal its true appearance. The darkness had shrouded its figure. The people could only see a giant silhouette that was like nothing they had seen before.

Its body slammed into the seawall and snapped it in half. The structure collapsed and fell into the water.

Zhao Youqian’s face was filled with disbelief when he felt the whole place about to sink from the impact.

With a deafening roar, the Gigantic Island Beast suddenly opened its mouth.

With a single bite, it drank down hundreds of tons of seawater. The water that was almost the capacity of a reservoir was gone.

“Crap!” the male assassin exclaimed.

That area was where the female assassin and Zhao Manyan were. They were like two planktons swept into a whale’s mouth without any resistance.

“Why did it have to swallow there!?” Zhao Youqian blurted out.

The gigantic Island Beast swallowed both the humans and water down. It had no intention of staying any further. It sank into the ocean, only leaving its massive backbone above the surface…

It looked like a moving island was slowly sinking into the ocean. The gigantic beast that had shocked Venice finally submerged into the water. Its black silhouette soon disappeared into the horizon.

The male assassin and Zhao Youqian were left speechless as they watched the gargantuan Island Beast leaving.

-Did…did the creature eat them both?-

Was it a coincidence? The Gigantic Island Beast happened to be drinking water here, and sucked both the female assassin and Zhao Manyan into its stomach.

“Should we go after it?” Zhao Youqian asked, but he realized how dumb it sounded as soon as he said it.

The male assassin immediately snapped coldly, “A creature of that level is the highest even among the Ruler-level creatures. Even if our Assassin Palace was to send everyone, there’s no way we could fight against it. My partner has died, and your target won’t live, either. Just pay the remaining sum; I’ll be taking her pay, too!”

Zhao Youqian was startled. The man was still thinking about money after what just happened.

He did see the beast eat Zhao Manyan with his own eyes. There was no way Zhao Manyan could have survived that. However, for some reason, he was feeling uneasy. Why did the creature appear out of nowhere when he was about to end Zhao Manyan’s life? Were the authorities in Venice and the Shoreline Alliance useless? How were they not aware of a creature that could easily endanger the city?

“I’ll pay you in full,” Zhao Youqian agreed.

The male assassin was a Super Mage, while the female assassin was a talented Advanced Mage. Zhao Youqian had spent a fortune just to hire them. If he knew the gigantic beast would do him the favor, why would he have bothered spending the money to hire the assassin?

—

The area close to the seawall was like a little town. Now that the seawall had been destroyed, the area was drowned in seawater.

The Mages in Venice finally showed up. They all had dark faces when they saw the seawall had been destroyed.

Venice was the famous City of Canals, hence it had Super Mages stationed in the city. However, none of them could react before the Gigantic Island Beast left.

The whole city was overwhelmed by fear; no one knew that a gigantic beast that could destroy the entire city was so close to them!

If the gigantic Island Beast was hostile to humans, Venice would have sunk into the ocean in an instant!

It was a relief that the beast was not hostile to them, or perhaps it simply disregarded their existence. The Seagull was the perfect example. However, the people still did not understand. Why would the beast hide itself here? What was it after?

—

Mo Fan did not find Zhao Manyan. He even asked the Shoreline Alliance, the advisors, and the team to search for him, yet they could not find him anywhere, not even his corpse…

At dawn, the Shoreline Alliance finally found a person who had witnessed two people being swallowed by the gigantic creature.

Mo Fan was downhearted at the words. If that was really the case, Mo Fan really had no clue what he was supposed to do.

“Mo Fan, did you know what that thing was?”

“You said that it has been following us since Japan. Was that true?”

Even Mo Fan was unable to answer the questions.

The only thing he knew was, the gigantic Island Beast was the reason that Miyata had died. It was there at Japan’s Xixiong City, and Miyata spent a night on it, assuming it was just an island, but it somehow disappeared the next day.

Mo Fan caught a glimpse of it on the train, too. He was supposed to have a clear view of the sea, yet he saw a gray island.

Later, at the Twin Guardian Towers, the defensive mechanisms of the place had sensed the beast’s existence. It was then that Mo Fan speculated that the creature was following them.

After that, they went to South America, the whole Pacific Ocean apart. Mo Fan felt that it was unrealistic for the creature to keep following them…

Little did he know, the creature had actually followed them. Not only did it cross the vast Pacific Ocean, it even crossed the Atlantic Ocean into the Mediterranean Sea!

Mo Fan had no idea how the creature ended up in the Mediterranean Sea. Either way, the creature was following them, without them knowing it!

“Why did it show up?” Mo Fan was still confused by the question.

There must be a reason that the creature was following them, but it had decided to show up at this time, as if it was going right at Zhao Manyan, and swallowed him!

Mo Fan had a feeling that it was not as simple as Zhao Manyan being eaten. The creature was comparable to the Black Totem Snake. If it wanted to harm them, it would have done so back in Japan…

—

Left with no choice, Mo Fan could only ask the Clearsky Hunter Agency for help. Surprisingly, Old Bao promised to investigate it personally after learning about it.

Mo Fan knew Old Bao was an authority who had retired from some powerful organization. If he had to involve himself, it must be something extremely important.

“Old Bao, what exactly is that creature? I don’t think there are a lot of creatures of that size in this world? There must be some records of it, right?” Mo Fan asked on the phone.

“There are actually lots of huge creatures in this world, especially in the ocean. Even the strongest Mages have no clue what kind of creatures are lying twenty thousand feet down in the ocean. I need some time to do some research on what the creature is. Don’t panic. If that kid is dead, his body would be found on the spot. That creature could have killed him with a single breath. If his corpse isn’t there, he should be fine. He will be back once the mysterious creature is closer to land…” Old Bao told him.

Mo Fan’s face twisted. “What do you mean by that? I guess I’ll have to visit Hangzhou.”

“Either way, there’s nothing you can do about it. Even if you ask the Black Totem Snake for help, he won’t be able to find the creature, either. The Black Totem Snake won’t dare to venture deep into the ocean. The sea isn’t as simple as you think!” Old Bao reminded Mo Fan so he would not act on impulse.

The Black Totem Snake might live in water, but he was not a creature of the sea. The Gigantic Island Beast had already left, meaning that there was nothing the Black Totem Snake could do. It was unnecessary to bring the Black Totem Snake to a foreign country, resulting in great panic.

Venice was already ashamed of what had happened. The people were extremely worried, too. If the Black Totem Snake appeared again, it was likely that Forbidden Mages would show up!

Things would be very complicated if Forbidden Mages showed up. It was unnecessary to stir any more trouble!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“I will treat what you told me seriously. I’ve already sent someone to Japan’s Xixiong City. Stop worrying about it, it doesn’t help anyway. You should prepare yourself to visit the Parthenon Temple for the Blessing of the God’s Seal. It’s very useful to you,” Old Bao admonished Mo Fan.

“I just feel like he’s still alive,” Mo Fan said in a serious voice.

“I guess that is possible. As you said, the creature could have wiped out the team in Japan if it wanted. It doesn’t make any sense for it to wait until now,” Old Bao said.

“Old Bao, I’ll leave it to you,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s been years since I was last on a case. I’ll give you a satisfying explanation, considering that you won the tournament for our country,” Old Bao said.

Old Bao would not come out of retirement easily. He always stayed in his house no matter what happened, so Mo Fan was actually quite surprised that he was going to investigate this personally.

Since Old Bao had already said this, Mo Fan had no choice but to leave the matter aside.

The great Island Beast had shown up very suddenly. When Mo Fan finally realized the creature had swallowed Zhao Manyan, it was already too late to act, even if he used the Demon Element. He could only let Old Bao investigate the creature and locate it.

—

The prize for the winner of the tournament was the Blessing of the God’s Seal.

The Chinese team headed to Greece. The initial plan was that they would receive the Blessing of the God’s Seal in front of the believers during the ceremony where the Parthenon Temple would elect its Goddess. However, it turned out that the election had yet to conclude, meaning that the Goddess would only be elected some time later. As a result, the Hall Mother would be giving them the Blessing of the God’s Seal instead.

Mo Fan had missed Xinxia. He finally had an excuse to visit the Parthenon Temple and see how she was doing.

For some reason, Mo Fan had a strong feeling that Xinxia was troubled by something.

Currently, there were three Saintesses. Panijia had the highest number of supporters, Asha’ruiya had the most loyal supporters, and Xinxia had a limited number of supporters, but was said to have a formidable background.

Mo Fan had been suspicious of this for quite some time. It was obvious that someone had promoted Xinxia to her current position. The Hall Mother seemed to be responsible for it, but somehow Mo Fan felt like the situation was much more complicated…

——

After arriving at the Parthenon Temple, the Chinese team reached the Ten Thousand Stairs of the sacred mountain under Feng Li and Pang Lai’s lead, and arrived at the Hall of Faith.

Countless people would visit the Hall of Faith to be blessed every day. Many people were willing to throw away money recklessly in exchange for the Blessings from the Hall of the Goddess.

A Blessing from a Probationary Servant could prevent an infant from falling sick or having any infections for ten years. However, it was unlikely that the people of the Hall of the Goddess could give every person Blessings. As such, they only chose from the most sincere believers and those with the highest contributions.

Believers were willing to spend years donating lots of money just for a Blessing. Meanwhile, the Blessing of the God’s Seal was the strongest spell of the Blessing Element. Money could not represent its value.

“Why can’t we wait until the Goddess is elected? It’s not like we are in a rush. I heard the Blessing of the God’s Seal from the Goddess is better,” Jiang Shaoxu asked in confusion.

“It’s possible that the election is having some problems, so they won’t be able to decide who the Goddess is any time soon. The Hall Mother isn’t bad; her Blessing Element is the strongest below the Goddess. Her Blessing of the God’s Seal is quite reliable too. It will at least multiply the base potency of your magic by 1.4 times, or even 1.5 times if you have a good foundation,” Pang Lai explained.

“It’s my first time coming to the sacred mountain. Doesn’t the Parthenon Temple forbid people from flying? If we take the Ten Thousand Stairs, won’t it take us more than an hour to reach the top?” Jiang Yu said.

“Yeah, that’s just how it is. Even though we aren’t believers, it’s still important for us to be respectful considering the favor we are receiving. Let’s take our time; we can enjoy the scenery in the meantime,” Pang Lai replied firmly.

The sacred mountain was verdant and lush, with a pleasant scent of flowers lingering in the air. Each time they reached the other side of the mountain, they would see flowers and trees covering the land into the distance. Colorful petals were dancing in the wind, as beautiful as a painting, while the pleasant scent assailed the nostrils. It was indeed a paradise in the mundane world.

“What’s that? It’s beautiful!” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed when she saw a cliff with a gap in the middle.

The cliff had a bridge leading to another faintly blue mountain. Between them, a swing like something that out of a fairy tale was hanging in the air. It was thrilling and attractive, and looked very magical.

“On top of the cliff is Saintess Asha’ruiya’s palace. It’s part of the Hall of the Goddess. We aren’t allowed to go up there,” Pang Lai informed her.

Mo Fan looked up the cliff and saw the top of a white structure poking out from the green canopy.

Xinxia had told him that every person above the rank of a Muse would have their own abode. The palace that was built between cliffs, with a direct passage to the Hall of the Goddess, was most likely the highest structure on the sacred mountain. Not only would someone see the sea of flowers and trees from up there, they could also see the entirety of the spectacular Citadel of Athens!

—

The Ten Thousand Stairs reached as far as the Hall of Knights. Non-authorized personnel were not allowed to go any further. The magic Formation protecting the place was extremely powerful. Even the slightest touch would turn a person into dust scattered in the air. The only way up was the Starry Mountain Path!

“If you come here on the seventh of September, you will feel like the path is going straight up into the sky, as if a path has been opened to the stars and connected with this Starry Mountain Path. It’s the most spectacular sight in this world, but unfortunately, not every person is allowed to come here,” Pang Lai informed them, glancing at the Starry Mountain Path leading up to the top of the mountain

“Old Pang, why would you know that if you didn’t come here often?” Feng Li turned around and asked with a smile.

“It’s been a long time since I last came here…” Pang Lai glanced at the Starry Mountain Path with a hint of sorrow.

“Why aren’t there any guards here?” Mo Fan asked after observing the area.

Pang Lai seemed very familiar with the Parthenon Temple. He explained, “This Starry Mountain Path is the only way to the Mountain of the Goddess. The rest of the places are filled with forbidding magic Formations. Those Formations will kill every person that isn’t baptized. No one can break through the ancient magic Formations of the sacred mountain, so this Starry Mountain Path is the only way up.”

Pang Lai pointed at the white arc-shaped entrance of the Starry Mountain Path and at a similar arc-shaped entrance at the top of the mountain and added, “But if there’s an intruder, this Starry Mountain Path will shut itself, preventing anyone from entering the mountain. If someone is on the Starry Mountain Path, the two arc-shaped entrances will activate a powerful magic Formation, trapping the person on the path… do you see those statues? There are four guardian statues with Chaos Magic who can suppress a person’s cultivation to the Advanced Level, or even below the Advanced Level, allowing the statues to easily subdue them.”

“Suppress? Does it work against every Mage?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“Apart from Forbidden Mages, all other Mages will be suppressed by it, and the stronger they are, the stronger the suppression will be.” Pang Lai glanced at the four guardian statues and continued, “On the other hand, the guardian statues are as strong as Great Ruler-level creatures while they are inside the magic formation. Think about it: if a Super Mage only had strength like yours, and has to face the four guardian statues, wouldn’t the statues be able to subdue them with ease?”

“Pang Lai, why are you so familiar with it? Did you try going to the top before?” Feng Li inquired.

“Exactly! In the past, Izisha was unwilling to see me in person, so I had no choice but to take the challenge. Despite having four Elements at the Super Level, they were all suppressed to the Advanced Level. I ended up being seriously injured by the statues, and it took me more than three months to recover. My cultivation dropped too,” Pang Lai replied honestly.

“Master, even you with four Elements in the Super level weren’t able to defeat the four statues?”

“Yeah, the suppression is simply too strong. It’s why even a strong Mage would have trouble making it to the top,” Pang Lai said.

“The Parthenon Temple is pretty merciful to still allow you to come here,” Feng Li chuckled.

“I took the challenge fair and square. The Parthenon Temple has always had a rule. Apparently, in the ancient times, a soldier foresaw that the Tyrant Titans were plotting an act of revenge. The soldier requested to meet the Goddess in person, but the Hall of Knights rejected his request. In the end, the Tyrant Titans did come, resulting in great loss to the Parthenon Temple. Since then, a wise authority constructed the Starry Mountain Path, allowing courageous warriors to take the challenge in order to meet the Goddess in person. Those that make it to the top are allowed to see the Goddess, or any person in the Mountain of the Goddess. Many people are unaware of the rule. It was Wen Tai who told me about it…” Pang Lai said.

“You dared to take the challenge? You were pretty bold back then,” Feng Li exclaimed.

“Chief, what about people that are still in the Advanced Level? Will they be suppressed too?” Mo Fan asked.

“The suppression applied to those that are already in the Advanced Level is weaker,” Pang Lai answered.

“Does that mean we have a better chance to make it to the top?” Jiang Yu smiled.

Pang Lai glared at him and snapped, “Better chance my ass! Even though the strength of a Super Mage is suppressed, they are allowed to use Super Spells still, but the power of their spells will be weakened significantly! I had four Elements at the Super Level, and a Domain for each of those Elements! I can also draw a Star Constellation with a single thought, and my mental strength has also reached the advanced stage! On top of it, I have a full set of magic Equipment too! Even all of you teaming up isn’t necessarily enough to beat me with my strength suppressed back then, and yet I didn’t even see the last statue!”

Everyone was dumbfounded by Pang Lai’s words.

On second thought, it did sound reasonable. Even though Pang Lai was suppressed to the Advanced Level, he was still a Super Mage with four Elements at the Super Level. His comprehension of magic, mental strength, magic equipment, and Domains completely outmatched theirs.

“With your current strength, you won’t be able to defeat the first statue, let alone reaching the top. Do you have any idea what the consequences are? In less serious cases, you will only lose part of your cultivation, but there’s a chance that your Spiritual World will be shattered, meaning that you won’t be able to use magic anymore!” Pang Lai harrumphed coldly.

“Ugh… I was just saying, hehe…” Jiang Yu laughed nervously…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The team reached the Mountain of the Goddess, but the Hall of Knights did not let them enter the area of the Hall of the Goddess. Only knights on patrol and the members of the Hall of the Goddess were allowed to enter the Hall of the Goddess. No one else was permitted to go inside. The men on the team were fairly disappointed. They were thinking about seeing long dresses swaying inside the luxurious hall…

“This is Sir Haylon,” Feng Li introduced a man.

Haylon was wearing purple-golden armor, in an ancient Greek ../style. He stood at the top of the stairs in an imposing manner.

All knights save those on duty were present at the square in front of the Hall of Knights. They strictly followed the orders given and lined up in a triangular formation.

Haylon was briefing the knights. He did not pay any attention to the members of the Chinese team.

The knights had different ranks: Blue-Star Knights, Silver-Moon Knights, Golden-Sun Knights, and Purple-Galaxy Knights.

The Purple-Galaxy Knights were the Hall Masters. The Hall of Knights had a Hall Master and three Vice Hall Masters. The rest of the knights were made up of Golden-Sun Knights, Silver-Moon Knights, and Blue-Star Knights.

Hall Master Haylon was speaking in Greek, so the team had no idea what he was saying. They had no choice but to stand to the side patiently. Haylon’s aura was imposing, and his tone was heavy. Not only did the knights not dare to make a single sound, even the Chinese team had to lower their voices significantly.

“This Haylon must be the strongest Mage on the sacred mountain?” Mo Fan half-whispered.

“More or less. The previous Hall Master was a Forbidden Mage, but he retired, and Haylon is his successor. I believe he has a chance of becoming a Forbidden Mage,” Pang Lai confirmed.

“Teacher, who would win if you were to fight Haylon now?” Jiang Yu could not help but ask.

Pang Lai was one of the strongest Mages in China, and Haylon was one of the strongest Mages in Greece. As such, Mo Fan was interested in knowing the answer too.

“Without the Blessings of the Hall of Knights, I guess the odds are four to six. Four for me, six for him, but with the Blessings, the chance of me winning is less than a tenth,” Pang Lai calculated.

“…he’s that strong!?” Jiang Yu exclaimed.

In Jiang Yu’s eyes, his master Pang Lai was the strongest Mage he knew of. Only a few Maged in the world were comparable to him, yet this square-faced Haylon was stronger than his master?

Haylon finished his speech. He cast a side glance at the Chinese team that had been waiting for some time.

Feng Li went up to the man and said, “Sir Haylon, we are the national team of China. We are here to receive the Blessing of the God’s Seal from the Hall Mother.”

Haylon did not even look at Feng Li. He glanced at Pang Lai and said with a disdainful grin, “You still have the guts to come?”

“Why couldn’t I? I am the chief advisor of the national team, and my students have defeated the Greek team too. It’s a great honor for us,” Pang Lai retorted without mercy.

Haylon harrumphed coldly. He turned around, flinging his cloak, which was embroidered with flashy diamonds, and headed for the hall.

“Haylon, we are here to receive the Blessing of the God’s Seal, yet you’ve left us on the side for so long, and now are about to leave without saying anything. What does that even mean?” Pang Lai inquired.

“Do you seriously think I, a Hall Master, am in charge of such lowly matters?” Haylon answered, and continued on his way.

Not long after, a Golden-Sun Knight came over and introduced himself with a stiff expression.

“I am Haziel. I will bring you to the place,” the Golden-Sun Knight said.

Pang Lai was the chief of the Chinese Royal Guards. In terms of ranks, his role was actually equivalent to the Hall Mother of the Parthenon Temple. Haylon, the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights, was actually a level lower. However, it was quite obvious that Haylon had no respect for Pang Lai. Not only was he unwilling to receive the Chinese team, he even summoned a Golden-Sun Knight to receive them instead of a Vice Hall Master.

Although the Golden-Sun Knight was a Super Mage, his rank was still a few levels lower than Pang Lai’s, let alone the difference between their strength. They were both Super Mages, but Pang Lai already had four of his Elements at the Super Level, but the Golden-Sun Knight only had two Elements in the Super Level at most.

“Aren’t they overdoing it?” Feng Li frowned. He was not happy with how arrogant the people of the Parthenon Temple were.

The Parthenon Temple’s influence might surpass that of the Magic Associations of the Five Continents, but it was still an independent organization. To think how stuck-up they were…

“They have always been like this. They even do the same thing to the people of the Sacred Hall of Liberty and Saint Paul Church. Besides, I once beat the crap out of Haylon when he was younger, so it’s understandable that he doesn’t like me,” Pang Lai chuckled.

“Mister, I don’t think it’s inappropriate to defame our Hall Master,” the Golden-Sun Knight Haziel interjected. The man was quite young. He had achieved the Super Level in his thirties. He sure had a bright future ahead.

However, such talent was rather common in the Parthenon Temple.

“Defame? HAHAHA, young man, I dare you to ask your Hall Master Haylon if he once lost to me! You can also check the records of the Magic Association to verify my claim!” Pang Lai burst out laughing.

“May I ask for your name?” the Golden-Sun Knight said.

“Chinese Royal Guard, Pang Lai!”

“Oh, oh… so you’re Pang Lai!” The Golden-Sun Knight now recalled the rumors that the Hall Master Haylon did lose to someone in a duel when he was younger. It explained why the Hall Master was in such a bad temper.

However, the duel took place when the two were still young. It was like an adult MMA fighter mentioning the fight he once lost against a kid from the next class. The Golden-Sun Knight was clearly trying to defend the Hall Master. He added, “But I bet you don’t dare to challenge him to a duel now, am I right?”

“If I was to fight him, a huge chunk of your citadel would be razed to the ground,” Pang Lai replied indifferently.

“Our citadel has the best evacuation procedures. If a battle between Super Mages does take place, we can escort the people to the safe zones and the bunkers underground in the shortest time possible. There won’t be any casualties,” the Golden-Sun Knight Haziel declared.

“HAHAHA! Sure, go ahead and challenge your Hall Master on behalf of me, and see if he dares accept it,” Pang Lai responded.

The Golden-Sun Knight immediately shut his mouth.

The Magic Association had strictly forbidden any Super Mages from dueling one another. As such, Mages were only allowed to challenge one another to a duel before the Super Level.

Haylon had lost to Pang Lai before the Super Level, meaning that he could not get revenge for the rest of his life. The Hall of Knights also strictly forbade the knights from accepting any challenges, apart from protecting the people of the Hall of the Goddess.

—

The Golden-Sun Knight arranged the team a place to stay in the Hall of Knights, and told them they were not allowed to go anywhere on their own.

“When will the Hall Mother give them the Blessing of the God’s Seal?” Feng Li asked.

“The Hall Mother has been busy lately. You will have to be patient. I don’t have an exact time for you yet,” Haziel said.

Haziel did not leave the place. He waited on standby at the entrance, preventing anyone from leaving.

The team was intrigued at first, but bored quickly.

They were not allowed to visit other places, or walk around. It was no different than being placed on a house arrest. They initially thought they could enjoy the spectacular scenery of the Mountain of the Goddess and see the gorgeous women of the Hall of the Goddess, yet it felt like they had been imprisoned instead.

—

Two days later, Pang Lai was starting to feel impatient after not receiving any news from the Hall Mother.

He was a busy man. He did not have the time to waste just waiting here with the team!

A Vice Hall Master named Cass finally came when Pang Lai lost his temper, saying that he would pay the Hall Mother visit at once.

—

That night, Mo Fan went to the garden at the back of the place the team was arranged to stay at.

They were allowed to move around in the garden. Mo Fan moved to the edge and glanced at the other side of the mountain that was covered in flowers.

Some time later, Mo Fan noticed a slim figure pushing her wheelchair as she approached Mo Fan.

The garden that Mo Fan was staying at was very close to the flowery mountain Xinxia was staying at. Mo Fan could easily reach it with a leap, but he knew that the place was enclosed by a Formation. The boundary between the Hall of Knights and the Hall of the Goddess was impassable!

“Seriously, trying to see you in person is like carrying on a clandestine love affair in the royal palace during ancient times. There are so many rules here!” Mo Fan grumbled.

However, he was immediately in a better mood after seeing Xinxia. For some reason, Mo Fan felt that Xinxia had grown skinnier. Her previously chubby face had lost its shine.

“It’s because the election is still going on. Brother Mo Fan, I will ask to leave this place after the election comes to an end,” Xinxia told him.

“You’re leaving?” Mo Fan was astounded.

Xinxia initially planned to join the Hall of the Goddess so she could learn the best Healing Magic and Blessing Spells. She was extremely kind, and was willing to visit places to aid people. Mo Fan thought she would want to stay here for a longer time.

“Mmm, I prefer going back to our country. There are lots of things I can do there too,” Xinxia said.

“Right, you’ve learned quite a lot here. It’s better to go back, considering how many restrictions there are here. We can stay together and do as many shameless acts as we please!,” Mo Fan agreed readily.

“I have to go. Otherwise, the Golden-Sun Knight who’s in charge of my safety is going to find out what we’re doing. I only told him I came here for a walk, and that I wouldn’t leave the Hall of the Goddess in order to stop him from following. I am not allowed to see any outsiders during this period,” Xinxia said.

“It’s not like the election has anything to do with you. Forget it, it won’t be long anyway. Let’s go back to the Magic City after it all comes to an end,” Mo Fan sighed.

Mo Fan did not continue the topic.

As he was about to leave, a Silver-Moon Knight rushed over to him. He saw Xinxia leaving and immediately recognized her as the Saintess in a wheelchair. He snapped furiously, “Please don’t go anywhere without permission! Otherwise, we will treat you as an enemy, and don’t you dare offend the sacred Saintesses!”

Mo Fan looked at the young Silver-Moon Knight and was suddenly lost for words. Why did he feel like the people of the Parthenon Temple were suffering from second-year middle-school syndrome?

“Is there any problem? I was just taking a stroll after dinner. I didn’t cross the boundary,” Mo Fan was lazy to waste his time on the Silver-Moon Knight. It was clearly a waste of time to be reasonable with these people.

These knights had been brainwashed by the idea of superiority and inferiority, just like ancient times. It was very uncommon in modern society. That being said, the ideas that the Parthenon Temple was promoting were none of his business.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Hall Mother finally showed up on the fourth day. Surprisingly, they were brought to a mountain facing the Mediterranean Sea, away from the Citadel of Athens. The ceremony of the Blessing of the God’s Seal would be held there.

The team initially thought it would be a grand ceremony, with countless people watching them. In the end, they were brought to a fairly remote place instead. Even though the mountain was well-decorated, like the garden of a mansion, and they could see the Mediterranean Sea by looking into the distance, it was still quite disappointing for those that wanted to make a name for themselves.

“After receiving the Blessing of the God’s Seal, you will have to contemplate it for a month. It’s better not to use magic too frequently during this period. I advise you to just meditate for a month, in order to fully absorb the Blessing of the God’s Seal,” Feng Li informed the team.

The Hall Mother’s age was impossible to tell. She was solemn and approachable, but she did not talk directly to the team. A Muse called Tisu relayed her words.

The members would have to take turns accepting the Blessing of the God’s Seal. Mo Fan was the first to receive it. After all, he was the main contributor to the team. It was said that the person that received the Blessing of the God’s Seal first would have the highest increase in their magic potency.

—

The Hall Mother stood under a tree on the altar set up for the Blessing. The sunlight shone upon the altar like pieces of golden cloth, sprinkling over onto the Hall Mother. The woman emitted a sacred glow as she softly murmured the spell. Her murmurs echoed around the mountain like a pleasant melody.

The Hall Mother waved at Mo Fan, signaling him to come forward.

Mo Fan walked up. The Muse beside him softly reminded him to kneel.

Mo Fan looked at the Hall Mother. The Hall Mother did not seem to be bothered by it. She only asked Mo Fan to lower his head…

The Hall Mother placed her palm softly on Mo Fan’s forehead. The murmuring seemed to have reached the important part, as she proceeded to quicken it. Mo Fan, his eyes closed, felt like countless musical instruments enhanced by a sacred aura were playing around him, clearing the random thoughts from his mind.

It felt the same when Mo Fan first Awakened his magic. He could feel his Spiritual World lighting up. The light shrouded his Stars, as if it was trying to melt them.

“Focus; place your attention on the Element that you want the Blessing to fall on,” the Muse reminded him. She did not sound friendly, as if she was not pleased with Mo Fan’s unwillingness to kneel before the Hall Mother.

The Blessing of the God’s Seal could only strengthen a single Element. Mo Fan had already thought about it. He desired more firepower, so he had chosen to increase the base damage of his Lightning Element!

The light soon circled the Galaxy of his Lightning Element. The whole Galaxy was shrouded by a mysterious light, and the individual Stars were wrapped by the light, too.

The light was initially glowing, as if it would dissipate at any second. However, they gradually merged with the Stars like an imprint, and the light stabilized.

Most spells of the Blessing Element could only enhance magic temporarily, but the Blessing of the God’s Seal targeted the Stars of a person’s Spiritual World. The spell enhanced the whole system of the Element. Even if the Galaxy eventually turned into a Universe, the new Stars would also have the imprint!

The Blessing of the God’s Seal was able to permanently increase the base potency of a Mage’s Element. It would stack with the amplification provided by magic Equipment or Elemental Seeds. It was the reason why the Blessing of the God’s Seal was so valuable!

The process was quite lengthy, since it involved placing a permanent imprint inside a Mage’s Spiritual World. It would not be completed in an instant. In addition to it, the cost of casting the spell was seemed to be quite weighty, too…

Some time later, the Blessing of the God’s Seal was done. The Hall Mother smiled, yet she did not say a single word to Mo Fan.

“The imprint has been placed on your Element. Even though the Hall Mother has helped you stabilize it, you still need to spend an entire month to secure it. The imprint is going to weaken, and you can only reduce the rate by meditating diligently. Therefore, it is wise for you to cultivate in seclusion for a month. I will stay here to give you advice,” the Muse Tisu told him.

Mo Fan was about to ask something when he sensed the light shrouding his Lightning Stars weakening rapidly.

Mo Fan did not dare to waste a second. He quickly went into his room to start meditating and secure the Blessing.

The Hall Mother rested for some time before giving Mu Ningxue the Blessing of the God’s Seal…

——

The Ceremony lasted for two days. The Hall Mother seemed worn out by fatigue after she gave everyone the Blessing of the God’s Seal. She rested on the mountain for a full day before going back to the Parthenon Temple.

The Muse Tisu stayed behind to keep an eye on the team. The Golden-Sun Knight Haziel was there, too. Pang Lai had left, but Feng Li stayed, just in case something happened to the students.

The students had gone to their rooms to meditate. Even the playful ones knew how important the Blessing of the God’s Seal was. They had no choice but to clench their teeth and meditate diligently. In a month, their strength would greatly surpass those of the same age!

—

Going into seclusion simply meant meditating. Since his training had started, it had been a long time since Mo Fan last sat down quietly and meditated.

Both his Summoning Element and the Space Element had reached the Advanced Level, yet Mo Fan had not learned to construct the complicated Star Constellation of the two Elements yet. Now that he had the spare time, he could make use of it to learn the two Advanced Spells.

The Blessing of the God’s Seal has granted you a 2.5 multiplier, but how much of it is left solely depends on you, Mo Fan remembered the advice from the Muse.

The blessing would grant a person a multiplier of two to three to the base potency of their magic, but instead of lasting permanently, it would reduce over time until it finally stopped at a certain value.

Mo Fan had obtained a multiplier of 2.5 from the Ceremony, but it was said that anyone that was able to keep half of it was very impressive.

As such, the value of the amplification was usually around 1.2 to 1.7. However, if they received the Blessing of the God’s Seal from the Goddess, the value would be slightly higher.

Many people were satisfied with a multiplier of 1.5, since the 0.5 increase to the base potency was enough to give them a great edge over the others, especially knowing that the Spirit-grade Seed or the Soul-grade Seed was the only other thing that could increase a person’s magic potency!

Mo Fan could feel the energy he received from the blessing flowing away. The multiplier had already fallen to 2.1 in just five days. How much more would he lose in thirty days, if he had already lost so much in five days?

Luckily, the rate of him losing the energy gradually decreased. However, Mo Fan still panicked when the multiplier reached 2.

It better not drop all the way to 1.2. If all he received was only a 20 percent increase to the base potency of his Lightning Element, the strenuous efforts he had put in to win the tournament would all be in vain! A 20 percent increase was basically nothing for a destructive Mage like Mo Fan. He needed at least a multiplier of 1.5, so the six times amplification of his Lightning Tyrant of his Lightning would be nine times stronger. That way, his Basic Spells would actually be as strong as someone else’s Intermediate Spell!

As Mo Fan was worrying about the loss of energy, Little Loach suddenly began to glow. It used the power that it had just acquired from the Pharaoh Spring to wrap around the Galaxy of the Lightning Element.

Mo Fan was intrigued. What is Little Loach trying to do?

Mo Fan soon realized what Little Loach was up to. The little creature was trying to keep the energy of the Blessing with its power, preventing it from flowing away!

Little Loach rarely took the initiative to lend him a hand. It seemed like the Amulet was extremely happy after it was given the Pharaoh Spring. As such, it was willing to do Mo Fan a great favor, leaving him in great joy!

The light that Little Loach emitted wrapped tightly around the energy from the Blessing. For the next ten days, he did not lose any of the energy he obtained from the Blessing!

The multiplier stayed at 2, and seemed to be stabilizing!

A multiplier of 2!

Mo Fan initially thought he would be extremely happy with 1.5, yet he suddenly realized he might actually end up with a multiplier of 2 instead!

“Little Loach, hang in there. If you manage to keep the multiplier at 2, your father will give you anything that you want to eat!” Mo Fan was overwhelmed with excitement.

He was meant to meditate for an entire month, yet every day was incredibly thrilling to Mo Fan!

Mo Fan was learning the Star Constellations at remarkable speed, too. With the help of the Bracelet from Zhao Manyan, the light that Little Loach was emitting, and the energy of the Blessing, Mo Fan could now complete the Star Constellations of the Space Element and the Summoning Element…

Even though he could not use them for the time being, once he was done with the meditation, his strength would significantly improve again. He could easily crush anyone as he pleased!

The multiplier stayed at 2. In the last five days, Mo Fan clearly felt the energy from the Blessing had completely stabilized. It had turned into a permanent imprint in his Spiritual World, and every Lightning Spell that he cast would be enhanced by it, doubling their power!

As a safety measure, Mo Fan did not lower his guard for the last five days. He continued to focus on meditation, as he was afraid that the energy would suddenly vanish if he lost focus. He would rather die than lose the multiplier!

Little Loach had withdrawn its light. Mo Fan was incredibly relieved. It was all thanks to the great gift that the Egyptian team had given him. Otherwise, Little Loach would not have been able to lend him a hand!

——

Mo Fan spent the last few days in excitement and joy.

Even though he was not done yet, he knew the energy had already stabilized. He had the urge to run to the edge of the cliff and shout at the top of his lungs facing the vast Mediterranean Sea!

-Two times!

-It really stopped at two!-

The base damage of his Lightning Element had been multiplied by two!

It meant the destructive power of his Lightning Spells was off the charts!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan could leave if he wanted, but since the Space Element and the Summoning Element needed more time to consolidate, and he was also planning to improve his Fire and Lightning Elements, meditating for a month was not enough. Besides, the mountain was quiet, and more suitable for cultivating in seclusion.

Even though Mo Fan had obtained the imprint that would double the base strength of his Lightning Spells, he was not in a rush to leave. He decided to stay here for another month and purify his magic.

The mountain was off-limits for anyone else, ensuring the national team that came first in the tournament could cultivate here in peace.

The path of cultivation had always been time-consuming and dull. After all these years, Mo Fan no longer felt the need to show his improvements to the people around him. If a person could not cultivate with peace of mind, their achievements would surely be limited.

He was already ahead of the others. If he worked even harder, it would only be a matter of time until he conquered the world!

—

—

The Flying Flower Festival was a celebration for the Parthenon Temple’s sacred mountain, but it had somehow turned into a famous festival for all of Greece.

When the day came, the thin, yellow petals and the bluish-green leaves on the sacred mountain would drift into the air every time the wind blew from the Mediterranean Sea. They would circle the peak and the waist of the sacred mountain before slowly entering the Citadel of Athens and falling into the residences and streets, setting off the unique charm of the entire city!

On this day, believers of the Parthenon Temple from across the world would come. The usually quiet Citadel of Athens would be bustling with noise. People would line up on the night before, hoping they could be the first person to enter the Hall of Faith, so they could listen to the prayers and reveal their wishes…

—

“There are people ahead of me still. I thought I would make it into the first one thousand people, but look at the number of people here! They are lining up all the way to the Ten Thousand Stairs…” an old man sighed.

“There are always people that are more faithful than us. Huh? What’s happening to the people ahead? It looks like something just happened…” An old woman stood on her toes as she glanced ahead.

The people at the front of the line were moving around, while the people at the back had filled up the entire space, making it extremely difficult for anyone to move through the crowd. The people at the front were grumbling as if they had just received some bad news.

“Time to go back, the sacred mountain is closed today!”

“Closed? Are you kidding me? We’ve come so far! We’ve been waiting since last night too,” someone complained.

“That’s the order. If you aren’t pleased with it, you can tell the Mages of Faith.”

“Seriously, why would the mountain be closed out of nowhere?”

“Who knows, perhaps something serious happened… guess we’ll have to come back again tomorrow or the day after.”

“Let’s go, time to leave… oh my, there are so many people behind us. How are we supposed to leave?”

The crowd was having difficulty moving. The people that had received the news were trying to leave, yet all they could do was turn around.

Luckily, the government was in charge of maintaining order in the crowd on behalf of the Parthenon Temple. Despite how massive the crowd was, the people slowly managed to return to the city with the help of the authorities.

However, they still did not understand why the Parthenon Temple would suddenly close the mountain. The Flying Flower Festival had always been a grand festival. The mountain would only be off-limits if something extremely serious had happened. Unfortunately, the Parthenon Temple did not announce anything, and it was meaningless for the people to speculate any further.

—

—

Xinxia’s brain was hurting slightly, The pain had been around for quite a long time. She had no idea why her body was so weak, even when she was already a Mage. It was like she was unable to use the strength of her body, like she had just woken up from a deep slumber.

She opened her eyes and realized that she was not in her bed, but in her wheelchair. Xinxia finally realized that she was reading a book until late at night, and ended up falling asleep in the wheelchair.

However, she immediately noticed a pungent smell that woke her up immediately. She was surprised to see people standing around her. They were looking at her with wide eyes, and they seemed fairly alert too!

“We are seriously disappointed by your words,” the Hall Mother sighed.

“How vicious! Are human lives really so insignificant in your eyes, that you have to use such methods to eliminate anyone that is stopping you from becoming the Goddess?” Great Muse Sinsiya glared at her and snapped furiously.

“The demon’s blood is flowing in her body!”

Xinxia looked around her and discovered that all the authorities of the Parthenon Temple were surrounding her.

She was extremely calm. For some reason, she was able to remain calm despite the situation she was currently in. It felt like a dream, and she just had turned into a woman without any emotion.

She lowered her head, searching for the source of the pungent smell.

As she thought, it was the scent of blood.

Her hand, sleeves, and dress were all stained with blood. A familiar woman was leaning against the wheel of her wheelchair. The dead woman was staring at her with wide eyes, like she was struggling to believe something.

“Did…did I kill her?” Xinxia mumbled.

For some reason, she had a feeling that it was her that murdered the woman, but she had no idea why she did it. She was trying hard to recall the scene of her killing the woman.

“Did you seriously forget what you have done!?” Haylon said furiously.

“Panijia?” Xinxia took a closer look at the woman’s face. It clearly belonged to Panijia, the most merciful and kindest Saintess!

Xinxia took a deep breath. She needed some time to organize her thoughts.

“Panijia sacrificed her life to bust you out. It also helped the Parthenon Temple to prevent a great disaster!”

“How disastrous the election has been…”

Asha’ruiya was among the crowd too, protected by a few Golden-Sun Knights.

Asha’ruiya slowly walked forward and looked at Xinxia carefully.

Xinxia lifted her gaze and asked, “Is this your doing too? Should I be glad that you are treating me as a worthy competitor too?”

Asha’ruiya shook her head and said, “Are you Ye Xinxia?”

Xinxia was confused about why she had asked the question.

Asha’ruiya added, “You never knew your other identity, right?”

Xinxia looked at Asha’ruiya, not knowing what she was trying to say.

“It looks like you really have no idea. Your soul is innocent, but the other soul is unforgivable!” Asha’ruiya declared coldly.

—

—

Mo Fan went back to his country after spending two months cultivating in seclusion.

Mo Fan knew the election was still ongoing. He proceeded to visit the Three Step Tower at the Pearl Institute to achieve the second-tier of his Fire and Lightning Advanced Spells, since his cultivation had improved significantly over the past two months.

He was only able to cultivate in the Three Step Tower for a limited time. He successfully improved the Advanced Fire Spell to the second-tier, allowing him to cast the Sky-Flame Funeral: Hellish Flames.

—

When Mo Fan finally returned to the Clearsky Hunter Agency, he immediately went to see Lingling, to see how much she had grown.

Lingling seemed to have reached early puberty. She had grown a lot, almost reaching Mo Fan’s shoulder, and her physique was more feminine, too.

“Lingling, let’s find some work. I’m thinking of buying a magic Shield. My Departing Nether Shield is broken already.” Mo Fan’s strength had improved a lot recently, so he was eager to test it out. He believed he could take on quests with huge rewards now!

Lingling was lying on the bar table. She slowly lifted her gaze.

She had a strange look. Mo Fan was struggling to describe it, but it felt like something serious had happened.

“What?” asked Mo Fan.

“I don’t know how I should tell you… my sister will explain to you when she comes,” Lingling said.

“Why would you think that? Don’t tell me it’s your first menstruation? HAHAHA, you are officially a woman now, Lingling…” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

Lingling did not react to Mo Fan’s joke, and did not even look at him disdainfully like she usually did.

Mo Fan quickly stopped smiling after seeing Lingling’s reaction. It seemed like something serious did happen…

“You better prepare yourself for it,” Lingling said.

“Me?” Mo Fan was startled.

Leng Qing came while they were still talking.

Tang Zhong and the Elder of the Magic Court, Tang Zhong, were with her. The three of them immediately had strange looks when they saw Mo Fan.

“Something happened?” Mo Fan asked.

Tangyue nodded and sat down beside Mo Fan.

Leng Qing stayed quiet.

The atmosphere was extremely weird. No one dared speak the truth.

“Are you all just going to stay quiet?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mo Fan, we really don’t know how we should tell you. We had a hard time believing it in the first place too. It sounded very ridiculous, but when we were shown the proof, we had no choice but to accept it,” Tang Zhong said.

“Just say it, is there anything that can scare me in this world?” Mo Fan demanded.

“Salan is caught,” Leng Qing said.

Mo Fan was startled.

His first reaction when he heard the news was thinking that it was impossible.

He believed Salan was not the kind of person that would be caught so easily. The woman was so smart that she was almost not human!

“Where?” Mo Fan asked.

“The Parthenon Temple,” Leng Qing said.

Mo Fan burst out laughing. Salan was hiding at the Parthenon Temple?

They always said the most dangerous place was actually the safest place, but how did they find her?

“Don’t you want to know who she is?” Tangyue asked softly.

“Who else could she be? She’s Salan. It’s good that she was caught, but I feel like the Parthenon Temple shouldn’t come to a conclusion so soon, because the person might not be Salan. No one has seen her true face… I did hear her voice before, but there are ways to change a person’s voice. Even appearance is changeable too,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was not too excited by the news, since it was impossible to tell if the person was actually Salan.

“There’s solid evidence to prove that she is.”

“What evidence? Oh, tell me who she is first,” Mo Fan said.

The three immediately fell silent. They looked at one another, yet none of them were willing to spill the beans.

Mo Fan was amused by them.

“It’s…it’s Xinxia,” Tang Zhong finally gathered his courage and said.

The smile on Mo Fan’s face instantly vanished!

The three could suddenly feel a savage aura from the blood flowing inside Mo Fan’s body. His temperament suddenly turned extremely terrifying!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Xinxia?” A twisted grin slowly surfaced on Mo Fan’s face.

The Parthenon Temple, that goddamned Parthenon Temple, could they do something even more ridiculous!?

“Mo Fan, calm down first,” Tangyue said hastily.

The three could sense Mo Fan’s demon blood being awakened for a second. The thing they worried about the most almost happened!

“There’s no point of calming down here. The Parthenon Temple is asking for it. I wouldn’t mind demolishing their temple and razing their mountain to the ground!” Mo Fan said coldly.

“Just listen until we finish explaining it,” Tang Zhong said.

“What else do you have to explain? Besides, are you three out of your minds too? Salan is Salan, Xinxia is Xinxia; there’s no way they are the same person! I didn’t think the Parthenon Temple would come up with such a ridiculous accusation for the sake of their election!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had already felt that something was not right when Xinxia was promoted to a Saintess so easily. He was wondering if someone was using her as a pawn.

As he thought, as the date of the election approached, the Candidates were taken out one by one, and it was Xinxia’s turn now…

Did the Parthenon Temple seriously fail to find a better excuse to disqualify Xinxia from the election? Did they seriously have to come up with such a ridiculous accusation? The truth was quite obvious, hence Mo Fan was unwilling to listen any further.

He would go to Greece at once and bring Xinxia back. If the maniacs of the Parthenon Temple dared to stop him, he would not show any mercy!

“Is she alright?” Mo Fan asked.

“She’s imprisoned in the Saintess’ Hall in the Hall of the Goddess. She’s fine for now, but the judges have started to vote whether if she’s guilty,” Tang Zhong said.

“I’ll leave right now!” Mo Fan turned around and headed for the exit, but Leng Qing immediately stepped in front of him.

“Listen to what we have to say before you make your decision. We won’t stop you, since someone you care the most is involved, but I do hope that you can understand the situation first, because everything that happened is very unfavorable for Xinxia! If you can’t prove Xinxia’s innocence and try to bring Xinxia away with force, you will be going against the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court! That’s pretty serious. Even if you use the Demon Element, you won’t be able to rescue Xinxia!” Leng Qing said to Mo Fan in a serious voice.

“Fine, I’ll listen,” Mo Fan sat down.

He was interested in seeing what ridiculous evidence did Parthenon Temple came up with.

This was absurd! Xinxia was Salan?

—

“First of all, you need to know why Xinxia was arrested. They accused her of killing the Saintess Panijia, and Xinxia admitted it too,” Leng Qing said.

“I won’t be surprised that someone was framed in the competition between the Saintesses. It’s normal if Xinxia was forced to admit it,” Mo Fan replied.

“Let’s assume Xinxia is Salan. Panijia asked Xinxia to meet her alone in the Saintess’ Hall. Saintess Panijia had evidence to prove that Xinxia was Salan, so she was planning to confront Xinxia, but Xinxia killed her. However, Panijia was being extra careful. As soon as Xinxia killed Panijia, she was surrounded by people in the Saintess’ Hall. No one witnessed the murder, but the two of them were the only people in the Saintess’ Hall, and Panijia’s heart was found beside Xinxia’s wheelchair, while her hands were covered in Panijia’s blood. Panijia still had her last breath when the people came in, and they saw her pointing at Xinxia before she fell,” Leng Qing said.

Mo Fan frowned.

Based on Leng Qing’s description, there were quite a lot of witnesses to the incident, and Panijia had only died moments before. From a normal person’s perspective, Xinxia was clearly the murderer, yet how did the culprit do it? How did the culprit force Xinxia to kill Panijia?

“Mind control, if Xinxia’s mind was being controlled, that explains why she did it,” Mo Fan rebuked.

“A master of the Psychic Element personally checked if Xinxia was being controlled, but the answer is no. The trace of a person’s mind being controlled will stay in the victim’s mind for at least seventy-two hours. If Xinxia really was being controlled, we should be able to find the Psychic Trace in Xinxia’s mind, but the result is negative. Xinxia was not controlled,” Leng Qing said.

“Was that master of Psychic Element reliable?” Mo Fan asked.

“He’s Pang Lai’s good friend, one of the best Psychic Mages of our country. He wouldn’t set Xinxia up, and it was only a coincidence that he was there. The Parthenon Temple initially wanted to let their Psychic Mage do it, but Fang Yunya was worried that Xinxia had been set up in the competition between the Saintesses. He volunteered to do the job, but in the end, he did not find any Psychic Trace in Xinxia’s Spiritual World,” Leng Qing said.

“There must be something we’ve missed,” Mo Fan said.

“Possibly, but let’s put that aside, it’s only the fuse to the whole incident. Whether or not Xinxia murdered the Saintess isn’t our concern here.”

A Saintess had been murdered…

An incident like that was surely going to shock the world, yet it was not even the priority compared to the thing they were about to discuss!

“Let’s talk about the accusation that Xinxia is Salan, Tangyue, you first,” Leng Qing said.

Tangyue nodded. Even though she was reluctant to spill the beans, she had no choice but to do so.

“Mo Fan, aren’t you curious why I was a teacher at Bo City?” Tangyue said.

Mo Fan nodded. Mo Fan had always wondered about it, but he later assumed Tangyue was sent to Bo City to track down the Black Vatican as a probationary member of the Enforcement Union.

“Are you thinking that Xinxia is too young to be Salan? The Calamity of Bo City was a conspiracy for over ten years. Xinxia was only around seven back then. There’s no way she was behind it,” Tangyue said.

“Obviously,” Mo Fan said.

“We’ve learned new information about Salan recently. Salan is only a nickname, there’s actually the first Salan, second Salan, and third Salan. Every Salan will choose a successor after they have inherited the name…” Tangyue said.

“I’m aware of that…”

“Therefore, let’s assume Xinxia is Salan. She was only a successor back then, not the real Salan. The members of the Black Vatican in Bo City were under the order of the previous Salan,” Tangyue said.

“But why is Xinxia a suspect?” Mo Fan said.

“You know how difficult it is for the members of the Black Vatican to verify the identity of their superiors. Even the Gray Priests, Black Clergies, and Blue Deacons have never seen the true face of the Red Cardinals, nor would they know who they were. In order to prove to the members who the Red Cardinals are, they refine Cardinal Blood Stones when someone becomes a Red Cardinal, or is chosen as a successor.

“These Cardinal Blood Stones are the only way to verify a Red Cardinal’s identity. The Cardinal Blood Stones split in two when they are refined. One is held by the Supreme Pontiff, and the other is given to Salan. When a Red Cardinal wants to prove their identity to the members, they only need to put a drop of blood on the Cardinal Blood Stone. If the Cardinal Blood Stone accepts the blood, it then proves the person is their Red Cardinal, Salan.”

Mo Fan listened carefully. He had heard about the Cardinal Blood Stone before, but he was unsure how it actually worked.

“We were just like you, we didn’t believe Xinxia is Salan, but to our surprise, the Cardinal Blood Stone accepted Xinxia’s blood,” Tang Zhong said.

“Is the Cardinal Blood Stone reliable?” Mo Fan asked.

Lingling, who had been silent until now, spoke up, “The Cardinal Blood Stone is real. There are only two pieces of Cardinal Blood Stones that can prove Salan’s identity. One is in Salan’s hands, and the other is currently in the Holy Judgment Court’s hands when they acquired it from the Black Vatican’s Supreme Pontiff. Grandpa hadn’t retired back then, and he was the person that appraised the Cardinal blood Stone. It’s made of the same material as the Stone of Guilt. It’s impossible to replicate, or modify after it is refined, so the Cardinal Blood Stone that was used to verify Salan’s identity was real.”

Mo Fan fell silent.

According to Lingling, Old Bao was once an authority of the Holy Judgment Court. There was no way he would set Xinxia up either, meaning that the Cardinal Blood Stone was the only way to prove Salan’s identity. The problem was, why would it accept Xinxia’s blood?

“It’s a piece of solid evidence, we can’t overturn it,” Tang Zhong said.

“Let’s not worry about the evidence for now. Xinxia has grown up together with me, how could she possibly manage the members as Salan? Besides, aren’t you familiar with Xinxia’s personality, she’s the least possible person to be Salan,” Mo Fan said.

“There’s something you aren’t aware of yet…” Leng Qing said.

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked.

“I believe once you learned it, you will have to admit that Xinxia is actually Salan,” Leng Qing lowered her voice.

“Just say it. Either way, I will never believe she’s Salan,” Mo Fan said firmly.

“Mo Fan, did you remember the Black Totem Snake sense an extremely dangerous aura in Hangzhou City? I told you that the big guy wasn’t afraid of you, but the person standing behind you. It was Xinxia,” Tangyue said.

Mo Fan stayed quiet. Tangyue did mention that before.

“We speculated that there must be something inside Xinxia’s body that the Black Totem Snake was scared of. The truth is, it might be another soul inside Xinxia’s body.”

“Another soul?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Xinxia is innocent. The Xinxia you know isn’t Salan, but there’s another soul in her body. It was also the reason why her body is weak and her legs are feeble. Her body is struggling to bear the heavy burden of having two souls in it.”

“And the other soul… is Salan!”

Mo Fan suddenly felt his brain buzzing, as if it was about to explode!

“How is that possible? That’s bullshit!” Mo Fan snapped.

“Mo Fan, calm down, I’ll tell you something else too.

“The reason why it’s impossible to have a traitor in the Enforcement Union is because every member has to swear an oath to the Tree of Souls. The people that broke the oath would be rejected the next time they visit the Tree of Souls… but as a matter of fact, there’s actually a member of the Black Vatican in the Enforcement Union. We weren’t able to figure out how they did it, until Han Ji came and told us something about the Amnesia Bug that the Black Vatican used at the Ancient Capital. I finally came to a realization,” Tang Zhong told him.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan did remember the Amnesia Bug, Zhang Xiaohou was once a victim of it.

“The Black Vatican has the Amnesia Bug, and they only use it on important members of the Enforcement Union. The members of the Black Vatican that snuck into the Enforcement Union didn’t know they were members of the Black Vatican, since their memories were controlled by the Amnesia Bug. The person would only reclaim their memories at a specific time, or through some special methods to awaken the Amnesia Bug, and then realize they are members of the Black Vatican,” Tang Zhong said.

Mo Fan listened quietly.

Seeing that Mo Fan did not say a word, Tang Zhong added, “Xinxia has the Amnesia Bug in her, so the people of the Parthenon Temple concluded that she is unaware of her identity. Her memories of the Black Vatican will only surface during specific times, which basically means she has another soul in her… when everything is done, the Amnesia Bug will then hide the memories again, making Xinxia look like just an ordinary person on the surface. It’s the main reason why we have trouble tracking down the Black Vatican. We tried very hard to find out who the members of the Black Vatican are, yet even they are unaware of their own identities, how are we supposed to bust them out?”

Salan was only a nickname.

Solid evidence.

Her legs were incurable because there was another soul in her body.

Xinxia’s innocent character was not fake, either, as even she had no idea that she was Salan because of the Amnesia Bug.

Tang Zhong, Leng Qing, and Tangyue struggled to believe it when they first heard the information, too. Their first reaction assumed that it was all a setup amid the election for the Goddess. They believed it was an absurd accusation, yet when the truth was revealed, they had no choice but to accept it…

The kind, pure-hearted Xinxia was innocent, but the memories of Salan hidden by the Amnesia Bug inside her, the soul and character that woke up at times, was the source of all evil.

They had told Mo Fan everything they knew. They knew it would be difficult for him to accept it, but that was the truth.

Xinxia was Salan, but Xinxia was not actually Salan. Both Xinxia and Salan’s souls were in the same body, but the Holy Judgment Court and the Parthenon Temple were surely going to find Xinxia guilty!

The room fell silent. The people could hear Mo Fan’s heavy breathing. Everything was too absurd to Mo Fan, yet the evidence was there, forcing him to believe it.

“What are you planning to do?” Lingling asked.

The whole incident was unprecedented, clearly a great blow to Mo Fan.

They were asking him to believe that the source of all evil, the culprit behind the Calamities of Bo City and the Ancient Capital, was actually someone that he was close with?

“I will go see her,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m afraid you can’t. She’s currently imprisoned in the Saintess’ Hall at the Parthenon Temple. No one is allowed to see her. Once everyone with the Stone of Guilt cast their votes, and if there are more black stones than the white stones, she will be officially accused as Salan,” Tang Zhong said.

“I don’t care about their evidence, or Stone of Guilt, I want to see her,” Mo Fan said confidently.

“The Parthenon Temple’s armed force is shocking, it’s not something you can take on alone,” Tang Zhong said with a sigh.

“When is the trial behind held?”

“Today, or tomorrow, I believe the evidence has convinced most people with the Stone of Guilt, and the outcome is most likely going to be…”

Mo Fan did not say another word. He left the Clearsky Hunter Agency.

He had only taken a few steps out of the door when Tangyue came out. She looked at Mo Fan and felt horrible, too. The news was even scarier to Mo Fan than being surrounded by demon creatures. It was as horrifying as realizing that he was a member of the Black Vatican after he woke up one day.

“If you really want to go, take this,” Tangyue said, and handed an orb to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan glanced at the orb and was quite touched.

He received it and said, “If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility for everything.”

“Your decision is our decision, too,” Tangyue said.

Mo Fan nodded.

—

—

Mo Fan received thousands of messages on his phone.

He was not in the mood to reply to them. He knew these people cared a lot about him, but his mind was fully occupied with a single person.

—

Mo Fan returned to Greece. He entered the Citadel of Athens, and went straight to the Parthenon Sacred Mountain.

The season had arrived later than usual. The flowers had only just started drifting in the wind. The sacred mountain covered in colorful petals was as beautiful as a stunning painting.

The petals drifted into the Citadel of Athens and fell onto the buildings and streets. The whole city was covered in a pleasant scent.

Mo Fan raised his head, glancing at the sacred Hall of the Goddess on the mountain up amid the petals and leaves. He immediately recalled that Xinxia said she was going to leave after the election came to an end…

“Mo Fan!” a voice called out.

Mo Fan looked to where the voices came from and saw Pang Lai, Han Ji, and Zhu Meng. They seemed to have waited a long time for him.

Zhu Meng’s face was still bearded. He walked up sternly and looked at Mo Fan firmly, “Are you sure about this?”

“No doubts about it,” Mo Fan said.

“We won’t be able to lend you a hand,” Han Ji told him.

If Mo Fan’s life was in danger, they were more than willing to provide their assistance. Tang Zhong would come with Mo Fan too, and the few of them could handle any kind of situation.

However, they were left with no choice this time. The Holy Judgment Court would not allow any country to challenge their authority. Anything the three did represented the Royal Guards, the Magic Association, and the Councilman of China. If they intervened, it would surely result in a greater mess.

“We’ll follow you, and the most we can do is save you if your life is in danger,” Zhu Meng said in a deep voice.

It was obvious that Tang Zhong had already told them what his plan was, or perhaps they already guessed that Mo Fan would pay the Parthenon Temple a visit.

They were not allowed to help Mo Fan take on the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court, but they could try their best to look after him.

The Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court had the right to execute a person once they were judged guilty, and Mo Fan would soon challenge their authority.

“Did Xi Yu vote a white stone?” Zhu Meng asked.

“Not sure,” Pang Lai said.

“I bet he doesn’t even care about the Chairman’s hint?” Zhu Meng laughed hollowly.

Mo Fan knew they had waited for him purposely. He was very grateful. He knew how serious what he was planning to do was, yet they were still willing to come and protect him.

“I’ll be going up, then,” Mo Fan said.

“Hang on, we’re still waiting for old Clergyman’s news,” Pang Lai said.

“Old Clergyman?”

“That old man of your Hunter Agency,” Pang Lai said.

Mo Fan’s mouth dropped in surprise.

It turned out that Old Bao was once a Clergyman of the Holy Judgment Court. A Clergyman was the highest level of the Holy Judgment Court, responsible for supervising the thirteen Magistrates.

The magistrates of the Holy Judgment Court were the people that owned the Stones of Guilt. These thirteen Magistrates, including the Great Magistrate, were responsible for sentencing people with shocking backgrounds. Even though the Clergymen were not directly involved in the trial, they were responsible for supervising the thirteen Magistrates. If any of them was biased, the Clergymen were allowed to intervene.

The status of the Magistrates of the Holy Judgment Court was shocking, but the Clergymen had even greater power than they did! Mo Fan already guessed that Old Bao was a great authority prior to his retirement, yet he had no idea how great of an authority the old man was!

—

The Holy Court of the Parthenon Temple…

A round table with thirteen chairs. They were the only objects in the enclosed room, a room heavily surrounded by soldiers.

Thirteen Magistrates from different countries were seated at the table. In front of them were many papers laying out the evidence.

Yesterday, they had conducted a trial at the Saintess’ Hall. They had also listened to Ye Xinxia’s testimony, even though they had wasted most of the time listening to the furious accusations from the Great Muse Mellaura. Even the Hall Mother, who had been supporting Ye Xinxia throughout the election, had remained silent during the trial. After all, she had witnessed Panijia’s death in Xinxia’s arms in person, and how Xinxia’s blood was accepted by Salan’s Cardinal Blood Stone.

The trial had ended. They were currently conducting a secret meeting. The thirteen Magistrates would be casting their votes here. Once everyone cast their votes, if the white stones were more than the black stones, it basically meant the accusation was flawed, and the evidence was not enough to prove that Xinxia was Salan. Xinxia would then be handed to China’s Enforcement Union.

However, if the black stones numbered more than the white stones, the accusation would be valid, meaning that Xinxia would be treated as Salan, and would be executed by the Holy Judgment Court.

“It’s quite obvious that the girl is innocent. How could Salan be a young girl in her twenties? Her information has clearly stated that she’s a very talented student, that’s all. As for the Cardinal Blood Stone, I’m more inclined to believe that there’s some other possibility for someone’s blood to be accepted by the Cardinal Blood Stone,” an old mage from Saint Paul Church, Leonard said.

“Leonard, I believe you have become too merciful as you age. The evidence is quite obvious, it’s meaningless to defend her. I won’t change my vote. The Cardinal Blood Stone is just like the Stone of Guilt, it will never lie, and it can’t be manipulated, either. She’s Salan. Age doesn’t mean anything. From what I know, the new Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, the Cold Prince, is also a very intelligent young man. We are quite sure that he’s responsible for the theft from the Sacred Hall of Liberty!” the Magistrate from the Parthenon Temple, Tulanc, exclaimed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There was not much dispute in the private meeting. Most Magistrates believed that the Cardinal Blood Stone was the best evidence they had. If the Cardinal Blood Stone could not identify a member of the Black Vatican, their Stone of Guilt would be useless, too.

When a person was chosen as a Magistrate, they would place a drop of blood on the Stone of Guilt to imprint it. The Clergymen would hold the Stones of Guilt. They would only be given to the Magistrates during a private meeting to cast their votes.

They strongly believed it was impossible to fool a Stone of Guilt. It was tightly bound to a Magistrate. It was the main reason why they strongly believed that the Cardinal Blood Stone was the best way to prove a person was the Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican.

As for why the young woman looked nowhere close to Salan, the reason was fairly obvious, too. The Amnesia Bug had been proven. The only thing left was for the woman to admit that she was Salan herself. Unfortunately, due to the Amnesia Bug, even she had no idea she had Salan’s memories and personalities. As such, it was quite meaningless for her to admit anything. Besides, would a criminal really admit they were guilty?

—

Finally, two Holy Court Mages opened the door of the room. The Holy Court Mages were responsible for the execution of the criminal once they were sentenced guilty.

What was even scarier was that each Holy Court Mage was a Super Mage!

Old Bao was waiting outside the room. Even though he was once a Clergyman, he was not allowed to enter the room. He could only wait for the outcome outside the room. That being said, he could easily use his influence to learn the decision from the thirteen Magistrates.

“I tried my best, old friend,” Leonard let out a sigh and patted Old Bao on his shoulder.

Old Bao’s surname was not actually Bao. He only decided to conceal his identity after retiring and opening the Clearsky Hunter Agency. His real name was Song Qiming.

Song Qiming glanced at the other Magistrates, and they all gave the same response.

Song Qiming knew that the guilty verdict had been placed.

“A rare guest, if I’m not mistaken. It’s been ten years since you bothered to care about the Holy Judgment Court?” the Great Magistrate Dulanc said with a smile when he saw Old Bao.

“I have nothing to say to you. You will end up just like Essendale!” Old Bao said coldly. He turned and left immediately.

Dulanc’s face darkened as he glared after Old Bao.

Since Old Bao had already known the outcome, he was most likely going to do the same thing as Zhu Meng, Han Ji, and Pang Lai.

However, even he could not guarantee that the four of them could protect Mo Fan from the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court.

—

—

Going up the mountain path, Mo Fan passed the Hall of Faith, skipped the Hall of Judgment, and soon arrived at the Starry Mountain Path leading to the Mountain of the Goddess.

Old Bao was already waiting for him at the Starry Mountain Path.

Han Ji immediately went up and asked, “How was it?”

If the Holy Judgment Court was able to make a fair judgment, they would be able to keep the situation under control, instead of worsening it. Han Ji was hoping that they could resolve it the easy way.

Old Bao shook his head and said, “I’m afraid they are going to announce it before night falls.”

“Mo Fan, if you really want to see her, you have no choice but to take the challenge. She’s still a member of the Parthenon Temple until the announcement. If you manage to overcome the challenge, you can request to see her in person. Even though the Parthenon Temple will not let anyone get close to Xinxia, I believe they have no choice but to obey the rule,” Pang Lai told Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nodded.

It was obvious that the people of the Parthenon Temple would not let him enter the Mountain of the Goddess, nor would they let him go any closer to the Hall of the Goddess. The challenge was the only way!

Old Bao walked up to Mo Fan and said to him in a low voice, “You have to use your own strength to overcome the challenge.”

“I understand,” Mo Fan replied.

Pang Lai had already mentioned that the Starry Mountain Path was protected by a powerful, ancient magic formation. Even the strongest power would be suppressed by it.

Even though Mo Fan had the Demon Element, if he really wanted to overcome the challenge and meet Xinxia in person, he would have to rely on his own strength!

“Mo Fan…” Pang Lai had the urge to say something.

Mo Fan turned to him, waiting for him to speak.

“If you fail, you might lose all your cultivation. The Holy Judgment Court has made its decision. Not many people in this world can change the outcome. Even the Holy Saint Wen Tai did not escape their judgment. Not long ago, Essendale, the strongest Shadow Mage in the world, failed too. You have just made a name in the World College Tournament, and you have received the Blessing of the God’s Seal. We all believe that you will surpass us in the future. There’s no limit to what you can achieve. I hope you understand that no matter what you do, you won’t be able to change the outcome. We sincerely wish that you can think about it calmly, so you won’t ruin your own life… at least, during the execution, I’ll ask the Chairman to request that you can see her one last time,” Pang Lai finally uttered the words he wanted to say all this time.

Tang Zhong did not say anything, because he was extremely familiar with Mo Fan’s character. Tang Zhong knew Xinxia’s fate had been sealed. He also had the urge to stop Mo Fan, and regardless of how reluctant Mo Fan was to accept it, it was still the truth that Xinxia was Salan. He did not want Mo Fan to sacrifice himself for nothing.

However, Tang Zhong was unable to say anything when he saw Mo Fan’s reaction.

Han Ji and Zhu Meng shared the same thoughts. If Mo Fan had not achieved his current heights by himself, they would surely have stopped him from trying anything ridiculous. Trying to barge in the Mountain of the Goddess was the same as challenging the decision and authority of the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court. Even a Forbidden Mage was unwilling to oppose two formidable factions that were stronger than the Magic Associations!

Mo Fan looked at Pang Lai, and the others that had come to protect him.

Mo Fan never thought such an accusation would befall Xinxia. He was thinking of bringing Xinxia back to their country not too long ago, and the two could live a comfortable, carefree life. Unfortunately, this bad news had come out of nowhere. It felt like he was having a ridiculous nightmare.

Mo Fan had always thought dealing with the Black Vatican was an extremely difficult task. He had no idea who they were, yet the Black Vatican was thinking of killing him at all times. They were hiding in the dark, and every calamity they stirred made him feel like he was extremely weak and tiny.

But in Mo Fan’s eyes, the accusation that had befallen Xinxia was ten times scarier than going against the Black Vatican!

Against the Black Vatican, Mo Fan knew all he had to do was to work harder and become stronger. As for the situation that Xinxia was in, Mo Fan suddenly felt like he had fallen into a deep abyss, where he could never see the light again!

However, he was well aware of one thing: he wanted to see her, no matter the odds. He had to stay by her side. If such news was devastating to him, what would it do to Xinxia?

When she was young, she was so weak that she kept struggling to stand like a normal person. She would shed tears when she was alone. How could a girl like her face the accusations on her own!?

“If I can’t protect her, what’s the point of becoming stronger, or earning more glory?” Mo Fan replied.

“But have you ever thought…” Pang Lai wanted to say something.

Old Bao shook his head at Pang Lai. Pang Lai did not continue.

Mo Fan placed his foot on the Starry Mountain Path. Only those with permission were allowed to enter it.

Two months ago, Mo Fan was given permission, but today, he was an unwanted guest!

“Friend, this is the Starry Mountain Path. If you step through the entrance without permission, you are going to die a cruel death. You should reconsider your action,” a Holy Court Mage standing at the entrance said sternly.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Mo Fan responded.

Pang Lai was more familiar with the dangers of the Starry Mountain Path than anyone else. His face turned pale when he saw Mo Fan entering it.

Pang Lai decided to give up on his attempt after assessing the situation, but Mo Fan was even more determined than he was. He was not going to give up until he met Xinxia in person. He was going to lose his cultivation!

“An intruder has entered the Starry Mountain Path!”

“An intruder has entered the Starry Mountain Path!”

“An intruder has entered the Starry Mountain Path!”

The loud voice echoed across the sacred mountain. An ancient bell started ringing. It had not rung in many years, and sounded extremely heavy!

A dark, blue light of the Chaos Element appeared on the Starry Mountain Path. The extraordinary energy was swaying regardless of which direction the people were looking at the sacred mountain.

As Pang Lai said, once the intruder stepped through the arc-shaped entrance, the magic formation would activate at once, shrouding the long mountain path. Even the sky above it was tightly sealed. Mo Fan felt like he was in a void tunnel, as he could not see anything around him. He only saw four statues with murderous auras barring the way on the stairs.

Mo Fan could feel his strength being suppressed, but the suppression was not too strong. He was still able to use his full power.

However, Pang Lai had clearly mentioned that it was impossible to overcome the challenge of the Starry Mountain Path without the strength of the Super Level.

The news of someone barging in immediately shook the entire sacred mountain. Even the believers of the Hall of Faith heard it. The news continued to spread throughout the Citadel of Athens…

It was an ancient taboo. It attracted everyone’s attention when a courageous man attempted to break it!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The people of the Hall of Faith crowded along the mountain path after hearing the news. They soon saw the back of a young man heading up the stairs through the magical barrier.

“That man…isn’t he Mo Fan, who defeated Zorro in the World College Tournament?”

“It does look like him, what is he doing? Doesn’t he know how serious the consequences are for barging into the sacred mountain?”

People quickly recognized Mo Fan on the Starry Mountain Path. The noise of their discussions soon echoed across the mountain.

The mountain path was soon crowded with people. They stared at the Chinese student who had grabbed the attention of the world in the World College Tournament. They were struggling to understand his reckless behavior.

—

Further ahead, the people of the Hall of Knights soon gathered at the exit of the Starry Mountain Path. They were able to see the entire place that was covered by the magical barrier, and the tiny Mo Fan, too.

“Who is he?”

“It doesn’t matter who he is, he’s digging his own grave!” Hall Master of the Hall of Knights Haylon declared coldly.

“I bet he’s here for Ye Xinxia,” Kulun said.

Kulun was standing close to Fiona. Kulun used to be Xinxia’s Guardian Knight. Since Xinxia’s status had risen significantly, Kulun had been receiving a lot of benefits as her Guardian Knight. However, Kulun was extremely terrified when he learned of the latest discovery.

As a matter of fact, he was unwilling to believe it, but he had no choice but to accept it when he saw the evidence!

“What an idiot!. Does he seriously think this is going to work? No one can possibly make it to the end!” Fiona said anxiously.

“He has reached the first statue.”

“Not many among those so-called geniuses are able to defeat the copper beast!”

—

Mo Fan reached the stair of the first statue. As he set his eyes on the statue, its eyes suddenly sprang open and stared at Mo Fan in return too, with a strong, intimidating presence of evil!

It was the first statue defending the Starry Mountain Path, the Bronze Beast of Greece!

It was an ancient creature of Greece, symbolizing slaughter. The founders of the Parthenon Temple had subdued the savage creature and arranged for it to guard the sacred mountain!

The Bronze Beast of Greece only had one eye. Its limbs were short and fleshy. Its body was bloated like a giant toad, while its head resembled a rhinoceros, with a sharp bronze horn on its nose.

The bronze horn pointed at Mo Fan as the Bronze Beast suddenly charged at him. He could only see a deadly, blue beam approaching him rapidly. It was too quick for him to react.

A small, bloody hole appeared on Mo Fan’s shoulder; fresh blood poured out and stained his shirt.

The Bronze Beast of Greece went to the other side. Its eye had a disdainful look, as if it had purposely missed the attack just so it could warm up further. Their Curse had forced the statues to remain still in the wind and rain for many years. They could only move when someone dared to take the challenge!

The Bronze Beast did not show any sign when it attacked. The auras of many creatures would shift when they were about to lunge, and their bodies would also tighten like an arrow about to be fired from a bow. But the Bronze Beast of Greece was half-lying on the ground, as if it was about to take a nap. However, it would suddenly charge forward with remarkable speed and puncture its enemy with the bronze horn.

Mo Fan suddenly felt lost, as he had no idea how to defend himself.

Mo Fan’s body was soon covered in wounds, but the wounds were not deadly. The Bronze Beast’s eyes had the same disdainful look.

It was quite obvious that the beast did not want to kill Mo Fan too quickly, since it would have to hibernate for many years until the next intruder showed up.

The Bronze Beast attacked once again. The same blue ray flickered past. This time, Mo Fan was knocked flying by the beast, rolling down the stairs.

“Why didn’t he dodge it!?” Zhu Meng said worriedly.

“It’s impossible to dodge it. The Bronze Beast’s eye and horn have a unique magic that can lock onto their target, making it extremely difficult to dodge its attack,” Pang Lai said.

“Impossible to dodge? How is Mo Fan going to defeat him?”

“Let’s hope that Mo Fan can come up with a plan.”

—

Mo Fan did not feel any pain, even though he was being hurt continuously. First, the injuries were not serious, and second, he had yet to collect his thoughts from the shock. When his mind was fully occupied on one thing, the pain he was feeling was negligible!

Mo Fan rose to his feet and quickly treated his wounds to stop them from bleeding.

It was not like he was not paying any attention, but the beast’s attacks were basically undodgeable. The beast was not particularly huge, yet its attacks were like he had just collided with a giant mountain!

The Bronze Beast laughed like a human, like it was mocking how weak its challenger was.

This time, the Bronze Beast seemed to be planning to deal a serious blow to Mo Fan. Its eyes flickered with a hint of savagery.

Another blue ray flickered past. It charged from the stairs all the way to the arc-shaped entrance.

Mo Fan did not bother dodging the incoming attack. He stared at the Bronze Beast coldly…

“Sky Lightning Claw!”

When the blue light arrived, Mo Fan clenched his fist into a claw and faced the Bronze Beast head-on!

Dark lightning burst out from the tip of his fingers and took the shape of a giant claw, crashing into the Bronze Beast on the stairs!

The power of the lightning was fairly shocking. The thick lightning arcs and the aura of the Sky Lightning Claw exceeded the Bronze Beast’s attack and landed on the beast, knocking it flying. The Bronze Beast slammed heavily into the stairs!

“Blink!”

The lightning arcs were still dancing wildly in the air when Mo Fan shuddered and vanished into thin air.

The spot the Bronze Beast was falling onto trembled as a mysterious silver glow flickered. Mo Fan came out from the crack. His arm was wrapped around in a black lightning spiral!

“Lightning Arm, Explode!” Mo Fan slammed his arm onto the Bronze Beast hard!

The deadly beams detonated with a terrifying explosion of lightning. Arcs soared into the sky like dragons. The blinding light surged across the place, blasting the stairs and the plants nearby into nothing.

The Bronze Beast was blasted into the air by the lightning arcs. It was surrounded by the lightning, as if its body was about to be disintegrated by the formidable power at any second…

“Tyrant Call!” Mo Fan’s gaze sharpened. A thick lightning bolt swept past and punched through the Bronze Beast from left to right.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Lightning Chain!” Mo Fan completed the Intermediate Spell before the Bronze Beast reached the ground.

The fifth-tier Thunderbolt appeared. Lightning arcs struck the Bronze Beast from all directions, inflicting serious damage on it.

The Bronze Beast finally had a chance to catch its breath, yet Mo Fan triggered the Tyrant Call once again, knocking it to the ground heavily.

Cracks began to surface on the Bronze Beast. It charged at Mo Fan furiously, emitting a brilliant blue light aura several times stronger than before.

“Flame Sword!”

The Calamity Fire burned in Mo Fan’s hands. It swiftly turned into a huge, fiery sword over ten meters long.

Mo Fan faced the furious Bronze Beast directly. He swung the sword down with both hands!

The continuous lightning strikes had inflicted serious damage on the Bronze Beast. Its outer layer had broken down, and the slash cut the Bronze Beast in half!

When the flames dissipated, the Bronze Beast was shattered into pieces. The lightning arcs that had dealt serious damage to the Bronze Beast surged out from its body.

Mo Fan walked up to the Bronze Beast and stomped it into pieces, preventing it from regenerating like the undead.

It was obvious that the Bronze Beast of Greece could no longer come back to life, at least for a short amount of time, after Mo Fan could no longer sense the beast’s aura. He proceeded up the stairs, heading toward the second statue!

—

“Did…did he just defeat the statue, just like that?” At the top of the mountain, Kulun’s face was filled with astonishment.

The other knights surrounding the place were utterly dumbfounded too. That was the Bronze Beast of Greece, there was no way it would be slaughtered so easily!

“Didn’t you guys see the brilliance of the God’s Seal in his lightning? It’s incredibly strong, it basically doubles the base damage of his Lightning Element!” Muse Tisu informed them.

The only person that could grant a Mage the Blessing of the God’s Seal with a multiplier of two was the previous Goddess, Izisha. The Blessing of the God’s Seal from the Hall Mother was obviously nowhere close to Izisha’s. Tisu was utterly confused as to how Mo Fan had managed to stop losing the energy from the Blessing of the God’s Seal!

“How is it possible for someone to obtain a multiplier of two, if his Soul-grade Seed…”

Many people had witnessed Mo Fan’s strength in the World College Tournament. He had dominated the event with his lightning, since the Lightning Tyrant had multiplied the damage of his Lightning Spells sixfold. Even Zorro did not stand a chance against it.

The base damage of his Lightning had now been doubled by the Blessing of the God’s Seal. His Sky Lightning Claw was absolutely unstoppable when he was up against an Advanced Mage.

It was obvious that the final fiery sword was not the attack that had destroyed the Bronze Beast, but the continuous lightning attacks that had destroyed its internals!

“He’s still trying to get himself killed after obtaining such a great gift? How idiotic!” someone cursed.

Even the people of the Hall of Knights did not have the chance to receive the Blessing of the God’s Seal, let alone being given one with a twofold multiplier! It would simply drive many Mages crazy. It was extremely difficult for them to improve the base damage of their Elements. These knights, who had been loyal to the sacred mountain for their whole lives, were extremely jealous of Mo Fan!

—

“Old Pang, why do I feel like that Bronze Beast is a bit too weak?” Zhu Meng murmured doubtfully, looking at the Bronze Beast’s remains.

“It’s not that the Bronze Beast is weak, but Mo Fan is just too strong. I’m pretty sure even the strongest Advanced Mages would have trouble against his Lightning, knowing that the damage of his Lightning Spells is multiplied twelve times over!” Pang Lai said.

Old Bao nodded agreement.

It was true that they could no longer think of Mo Fan as just an ordinary Advanced Mage after the World College Tournament’s rewards and cultivating in seclusion for two months. The suppression of the magic formation might be effective against Super Mages, but it did not affect Mo Fan much, since he was only an Advanced Mage.

“But the statues after the first one aren’t easy to deal with, either,” Pang Lai said.

“Let’s hope he can make it through.”

—

Mo Fan had now reached the second statue. It was a statue of a demon with giant wings like a bat, strange horns, and four limbs with claws.

Seeing that the statue had no intention of waking up, Mo Fan simply ignored it and headed for the stairs.

“Kid, aren’t you a bit naive, thinking that you can walk past me, just like that?” a strange and aged voice came from behind him.

Mo Fan quickly turned around and saw the Demon-Horned Statue standing less than a meter away. Its ghastly face stuck close to Mo Fan, the grin on its gray flesh looking extremely vicious and fake!

Mo Fan did not panic, staring back at the statue coldly. “You can talk?” he asked.

“I was once a human many years ago,” the Demon-Horned Statue replied.

“Will you let me pass?” Mo Fan asked.

The demon statue laughed. “What do you think?”

“Then what exactly are you? I’m not really in the mood, piss off!” Mo Fan’s fists burst into flames. He threw them at the demon statue, followed by a ferocious wave of fire!

“Tsk tsk, that’s quite a bad temper you have.” The demon statue floated away eerily. When the fists approached, it leaned sideways, dodging Mo Fan’s attack.

Mo Fan had no intention of wasting his time with the statue. He turned into a Shadow Bird and moved closer to the demon statue.

He gathered his will on his hands. Mo Fan grabbed the demon statue’s wings and slammed it down on the stairs with shocking might!

“Crush!” Mo Fan’s eyes flickered. The overwhelming force of Space Rhythm was immediately applied to the demon statue. It was soon crushed into dust by a silver flicker, the power of the Space Element!

“Tsk tsk, how vicious, it’s been a while since I last saw an interesting young man like you. That toad might have lost to you, but I will teach you that the Starry Mountain Path isn’t something that you can easily overcome!” the Demon-Horned Statue’s voice appeared on the other side. Its claws were grabbing onto a tree branch like a bird, and it seemed almost weightless. The tree branch did not bend under its weight.

“Clone Magic?” Mo Fan glanced at the thing crushed into dust by his Space Element. When he took a closer look, he realized that it was only a log instead of the demon statue.

Mo Fan was familiar with Clone Magic, allowing him to identify the trick that the Demon-Horned Statue was pulling at first glance.

“You do know a lot, but I will dig your guts out and see if they are any different than the others!” the Demon-Horned Statue appeared behind Mo Fan and swiped its claws at Mo Fan’s belly.

The demon statue seemed to have the ability to grab its target’s inner organs through the flesh. Its hand reached into Mo Fan’s body and grabbed his guts.

The demon statue had a cruel grin. It pulled its claw out fiercely, bringing Mo Fan’s guts with it!

The demon statue was not in a rush to kill Mo Fan. They were forced to guard the mountain path, and were extremely bored by the duty. As such, they were very excited whenever there was an intruder.

“Having outstanding offensive capabilities along isn’t enough, since you will need more than that to win battles!” the demon statue lectured while it slowly opened up its claw, to see if the man really had guts like a buffalo. Otherwise, why would he even bother to come and get himself killed?

A puff of black smoke floated out when the demon statue opened its hand. The Demon-Horned Statue was stunned. It quickly lifted its gaze and saw Mo Fan had turned into a puff of black smoke and floated away.

“You’re not the only one with the Clone Magic!” Mo Fan used the same trick in return and appeared behind the demon statue.

This time, the power contained by Mo Fan’s fists was even stronger. Fiery dragons slammed into the demon statue’s wings. It felt like its bones were about to collapse from the impact, as fiery dragons knocked the it down the mountain path.

However, the statue was not that weak. It quickly rose to its feet and beat its wings to rise into the air.

Its body was swaying around, implying that it did suffer quite some damage from the attack. However, it still had a menacing grin as it glared at Mo Fan and snapped, “I’m going to make you pay for that!”

“Telekinesis!” Mo Fan’s will turned into a strong force, pulling rocks out of the beruned mountain wall, which he promptly threw at the Demon-Horned Statue. It furiously summoned a cloudy wind, knocking the giant rocks in other directions.

“Blood Cross!” The Demon-Horned Statue emitted two blood-red rays that interwove and formed a cross, flying at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan quickly backed away, but he realized that the bloody cross was growing bigger, to the extent that he could no longer dodge it.

“Blink!” Mo Fan executed the Advanced Spell Magic. He vanished and reappeared a hundred meters away. The Blood Cross collided into the wall and left a huge cross-shaped crater on it!

When Mo Fan was cultivating in seclusion for two months, he had spent most of his time learning the Advanced Space Spell, apart from stabilizing the energy of the God’s Seal.

Mo Fan kept regretting that he had not learned the spell before the World College Tournament…

Even though he was still not familiar with it, he was no longer that passive when he was trying to dodge enemies’ attacks. In addition to that, the spell also allowed Mo Fan to move to advantageous positions, and launch his counterattack when his enemies had lowered their guard!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Demon-Horned Statue was quicker than the Bronze Beast. Mo Fan had already created some distance with Blink, but to his surprise, the demon statue was already sticking its evil face close to him while uttering a burst of cruel laughter that would make a person’s soul shiver!

“This time, I’m going to dig your chest out!” The demon statue swung its claws at lightning speed, aiming for Mo Fan’s chest. Its claws could easily rip Mo Fan’s ribs out of his body.

Mo Fan turned into a dark lightning ray. It flickered rapidly as Mo Fan backed towards the mountain wall.

As soon as he landed, the demon statue lunged at him once again. Mo Fan dodged the attack in the nick of time. The sturdy mountain wall behind him was smashed into pieces with a single swipe of the demon statue’s claw!

The rocks splintered. The demon statue was incredibly fast at recovering from its attack. It was already carrying out its second attack when the pieces of rocks were still splintering in the air, aiming for Mo Fan’s heart!

Mo Fan sank into the ground and quickly turned into a shadow bird, flying from the top of the stairs to the bottom.

“Is there anything else you can do apart from running away? You will never be able to see the girl at this rate. Such a pitiful girl, I already knew the tragic fate awaiting her when she walked past me the first day. Do you know what happens to those that are sentenced guilty? I have been here for thousands of years, and I have seen many great talents and gorgeous women beheaded. Their blood, their organs washed away by the rain and flowing down the stairs. Whenever it happens, I always have the same thought: that these so-called geniuses will never learn to bow their heads. They have no idea that there are some people they can never afford to offend. Even the slightest resistance would result in their horrible deaths!”

The Demon-Horned Statue did not chase after Mo Fan. It stood on the stairs arrogantly, as if it would consider going easy on Mo Fan if he decided not to enter its territory.

“Is that why you’ve forfeited your soul, so you can be a guard dog? Does it matter that you have lived for thousands of years? You will never be human again!” Mo Fan said mockingly.

A guard dog!

The words immediately lit the rage in the demon statue’s heart!

Mo Fan’s words were on point. The demon statue was once a human, it was the reason it could speak. It was placed under a curse by a Forbidden Mage, trapping it forever on the Parthenon Sacred Mountain. It was already tired of its life. The evil thoughts growing inside its bones were enough to cover the entire Citadel of Athens, yet it was sealed away like a statue.

It hated humans. It started to enjoy torturing them. Its only joy of living in this world was torturing intruders.

“Do you know that I dug out the guts of the last intruder and hung them on the old Flying Flower tree!?” the demon statue snapped furiously.

“A guard dog always barks the loudest,” Mo Fan replied indifferently.

The demon statue was about to explode with rage. It floated in the air like a phantom and split into lots of mirror images. Its claws poured down like rain, with nowhere to escape to.

“Lightning Tyrant Domain!” Mo Fan stomped the ground. A powerful aura of lightning spread out like a storm.

Clouds of rolling thunder appeared as black lightning dragons gathered above Mo Fan. They eventually turned into a thick lightning bolt, landing right on Mo Fan. The lightning arcs surged out wildly from his body, his aura as imposing as if he had just put on armor made of lightning!

The demon statue was struggling against Mo Fan’s enhanced lightning spells, the arcs still whipping at it. The strong paralyzing effect spread across its body, impairing its movement!

“Silent Deadly Bolt!” Lightning coils circled Mo Fan’s arms. As Mo Fan shoved his hands forward, they turned into lightning bolts, piercing right through the demon statue!

The demon statue had no chance of dodging the attack, especially since the Silent Deadly Bolt was one of the quickest attacks. The lightning beams left a hole on its chest, and also punctured its wings!

The demon statue uttered a piercing cry. Its chest and wings had scorched marks. Any other creature would have died after receiving the attack.

“Telekinesis!” Mo Fan did not give the demon statue any chance to escape. His hand emitted a silver light and grabbed at the arcs of lightning dancing wildly in the air.

The invisible hand grabbed the Demon-Horned Statue. Mo Fan strengthened his will and focused. He tightened his grip, trying to crush the demon statue.

The Demon-Horned Statue was stuck in the air. Its bones cracked under the pressure from Mo Fan’s invisible hand. It kept crying out in agony.

“Lightning Chain!”

Thousands of Lightning Strikes sprang out from Mo Fan’s hand and flowed right to the Demon-Horned Statue through the invisible hand.

Mo Fan’s powerful will was holding the Demon-Horned Statue in place. It was struck by the lightning before it could break free from the grab.

As the lightning surged across the invisible hand, it faintly outlined the limb in the air. It looked like a giant hand had grown out of Mo Fan’s arm, holding fast the enemy that the lightning strikes were landing on.

“Summoning Tide!”

A lunar-white Star Constellation started forming in front of Mo Fan. The brilliant Star Patterns combined into a sacred Star Constellation made up of three hundred and forty-three Stars, and opened up a gate to the other plane!

The howls of wolves burst out of the gap as a strong gust of wind blew a wall of thick dust out!

A huge white wolf stepped out from the gate. Each leg was as thick as a tree trunk. When its entire body stepped out from the gap, the mountain path suddenly felt crowded. Even the mountain walls were unable to conceal the enormous creature!

The white, enormous wolf locked its ferocious gaze on the demon statue and charged at it hungrily, trampling on the mountain path.

The Demon-Horned Statue quickly beat its wings, trying to escape from the ferocious wolf, but the paralyzing effect of the Lightning Strikes had slowed it down significantly.

Soon another enormous white wolf came out from the gap. It was not as huge as the one before, yet its speed was shocking. It actually caught up to the other wolf and leapt into the air, trying to pounce on the Demon-Horned Statue and slam it to the ground.

A third enormous white wolf came out from the gate. Its temper was even worse. Seeing that its comrades had taken down its prey, it immediately rushed forward to fight for a meal!

The fourth, fifth, and sixth wolves came out of the gate…

Huge wolves kept on coming out from the gate. It felt like they were going to crush the entire mountain path. They all surrounded the Demon-Horned Statue, tearing at its flesh, its organs, and its bones!

Cries of agony echoed in the air. The Demon-Horned Statue was undying, but once it was destroyed, it would take a long time for it to recover. In addition to that, its death was a lot more painful than ordinary creatures. The wolves were splitting the remains of the demon statue between them. They were not after its flesh, but if they could absorb the energy it contained, it would still help them grow stronger!

“You…why do you have five Elements, there’s no way you are a Forbidden Mage!?” the demon statue’s voice echoed over the mountain, but as soon as it finished the sentence, the first wolf swallowed its brain. Mo Fan was struggling to understand what the statue was saying, as its voice was echoing out from inside the wolf’s stomach!

Seeing the enormous, white wolves that were as savage as a bunch of bandits, even Mo Fan was utterly astounded by the scene before him. It turned out that violence was most effective against the demon creatures. It did not matter how quick the demon statue was, or how sharp its claws were, the pack of wolves only needed to rush forward and tear it into pieces!

—

“How cruel…” Han Ji’s face was blank. It took him some time to utter the words.

“Yeah,” Pang Lai nodded.

Mo Fan was incredibly powerful. As expected of the strongest participant in the World College Tournament, he was extremely adept at switching between his five Elements, giving his enemy no chance to react at all. If all five of his Elements reached the limit of the Advanced Level, they wondered how many Advanced Mages would be needed to take him down!

“Being an Advanced Mage has its benefits. At least he can fight with his full strength on the Starry Mountain Path. Having a stronger cultivation means a stronger suppression. However, an Advanced Mage is going to be the weakest once he reaches the Mountain of the Goddess,” Old Bao said.

“Pang Lai, what’s next? Is it tricky to deal with?” Zhu Meng let out a relieved sigh after seeing that Mo Fan had taken out the second statue.

“I lost to the third statue in the past. It’s a vampire… it has been alive for at least two thousand years,” Pang Lai told them.

“A…a vampire, over two thousand years old…”

“Isn’t a vampire over a thousand years old as strong as a Ruler-level creature?” Zhu Meng asked immediately.

“Yeah, if the vampire was in the outside world, Han Ji, even you and Zhu Meng would have trouble facing it. Luckily its strength is also limited by the magic formation. It’s weaker than a Ruler-level creature, but I’m worried that Mo Fan is still going to struggle against it,” Pang Lai said.

“Is it that strong?”

“Even I failed to defeat it; what do you think?” Pang Lai said.

—

Mo Fan proceeded forward. He was planning to take out the third statue while his Summoning Tide was still active.

The third statue was a man. Apart from the coat and sharp fangs, the man was no different than a human.

He had already woken up, standing at the stairs he was guarding while looking at the wolves disdainfully.

“I hate wolves the most!” the vampire said casually.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The vampire flipped his hands. Blood started appearing around him and turned into two long whips rapidly.

The vampire lashed out with the blood whips adeptly, hitting the enormous white wolves from different angles. The whips left shocking wounds on the muscular wolves, and even knocked them flying. The wolves slammed into the mountain walls and bled severely!

The vampire burst out laughing. Each whipping would result in cries of agony from the wolves. The pack of wolves charged forward, yet they struggled to move any closer to the vampire. The wolf that was the quickest in the pack finally made it to the vampire, yet the vampire disdainfully knocked the wolf to the bottom of the stairs with a flying kick. The wolf lost consciousness, and could no longer get up.

“Come, I’ll have some fun with you fools!” the vampire shouted proudly. He was less cunning and despicable than the previous statues. Each of his actions resembled that of a noble warrior while he played the wolves like a fiddle!

The wolves could not even touch the corner of the vampire’s robe. He was extremely good at evasion, and even Mo Fan could only see a blurry outline moving around.

Mo Fan was aware of the Blood Tribe’s abilities because of Liu Ru. However, Liu Ru was a few levels weaker than this proud vampire. If it wasn’t for the magic formation, even ten thousand Mo Fans would be no match for him.

The vampire was very agile. He stepped on a wolf’s head and launched himself into the air, while the wolf’s head slammed heavily onto the stairs, breaking a few of its fangs.

Another wolf leapt into the air and bit at the vampire. To its surprise, the vampire suddenly turned into a glowing purple bat and flew out between the gaps of its fangs.

The wolf missed. When it fell back to the ground, the vampire had already regained his human form. He grabbed the wolf’s leg and flung the beast around.

Another wolf with long claws pounced at the vampire, yet it ended up colliding with its comrade. The vampire stood there and watched the two wolves whose heads were spinning from the collision, chuckling scornfully.

——

“It…it’s like he’s beating up a bunch of puppies! What a strong vampire!” Zhu Meng exclaimed.

The vampire’s strength was already suppressed. If he had his full strength, he could easily stir up great chaos. The Parthenon Temple was really something, forcing a vampire to guard the mountain path for them!

“I already said it, this vampire is on a different level compared to the demon statue. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan will not be in danger if he loses here. The Blood Tribe is known for its strong self-esteem, they are too proud to use despicable methods. If Mo Fan loses to the vampire, he will not lose his cultivation. Speaking of which, I’m not sure which generation this vampire is from. He’s different from most of the Blood Tribe. He has a rather strong human nature, and he’s only willing to drink a specific person’s blood to sustain himself. It turns out that the person died years ago, meaning that he will die eventually after losing his supply of blood. Therefore, he volunteered to fall into a deep slumber on the Starry Mountain Path and guard the Parthenon Sacred Mountain,” Pang Lai said with a wry smile.

“Does that mean he can leave whenever he wants?” Zhu Meng asked.

“Yeah, I believe his ancestors are somehow related to the Parthenon Temple. Using the Parthenon Temple’s magic, he will lose his life force at a much slower rate,” Pang Lai confirmed.

“How do you know so much?” Han Ji asked.

Pang Lai coughed awkwardly and said, “I was young back then, and I’d never lost to anyone. Yet I ended up losing to him, so I went and investigated his background.”

“…”

“If Mo Fan wins, should you just find a hole and hide inside it?”

“Piss off!”

—

Tisu harrumphed coldly on the mountain.

During the ceremony for the Blessing of the God’s Seal, she had already been displeased with Mo Fan’s arrogance. She actually felt great when she saw the vampire Bola attacking.

It was necessary to teach any man who did not pay any respect to the Parthenon Temple a lesson!

“Bola should be able to defeat the kid easily. Humph, if he advances further, it’s going to damage our reputation!” Hall Master Haylon said.

Even Super Mages did not dare barge onto the Starry Mountain Path. However, if Mo Fan managed to overcome the challenge as only an Advanced Mage, many people were surely going to take on the challenge too! Even though the rule had been around for a long time, having many people taking on the challenge would surely damage their reputation too. As such, he hoped that the vampire Bola could take out this intruder as quickly as possible, so the others would not think that the Starry Mountain Path was easy to overcome.

“Hall Master, Mo Fan was the strongest participant in the World College Tournament. He’s even more dominating after obtaining the Blessing of the God’s Seal. He has five Elements, two powerful Summoned Beasts, strong Fire and Lightning… it’s reasonable that he managed to defeat the first two statues. From what I know, this Starry Mountain Path was built as a challenge for young, talented Mages under the Super Level,” the authority of the Shoreline Alliance, Conti, spoke up.

The Shoreline Alliance was responsible for tracking down the gigantic beast that had shown up in Venice. Conti had visited the Parthenon Temple, hoping that the Hall of Knights could lend them some elites to track down the beast. She happened to arrive as Mo Fan was barging into the mountain path.

The Hall of Knights was unable to dispense any knights because of the recent incident. A Saintess had been murdered, and the knights had to be on alert. The situation would only return to normal once Xinxia was executed. Conti had no choice but to wait at the Parthenon Temple so she could head straight out to the Mediterranean with the elites of the Hall of Knights once the execution was carried out.

—

Mo Fan glanced at the wolves lying across the place with serious injuries. He fixed his eyes on the powerful vampire in front of him.

The wolves were not dead. Mo Fan withdrew them into the Summoned Beast Plane. He believed the Flying Creek Snow Wolf would settle the wolves. The reason that Mo Fan had Summoned the wolves was that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was already the ruler of this tribe of White-Eyed Giant Wolves in the Summoned Beast Plane. Since the wolves were under the command of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, they would obey Mo Fan’s commands too, allowing Mo Fan to control them effectively.

The White-Eyed Giant Wolves were strong, but the vampire Bola was way stronger. He had taken out the White-Eyed Giant Wolves with ease.

Mo Fan’s heart sank. He could easily tell how strong his opponent was. The vampire was clearly stronger than the Dark Swordmaster. He would not be able to survive a single attack if the magic formation was not here!

Mo Fan calmly analyzed the situation while walking up the stairs. The blood of the White-Eyed Giant Wolves had dyed the stairs red. His footprints were left on the stairs when he walked past.

So what if he was facing a strong opponent? He had no choice but to fight! He could not wait a second further, he wanted to see Xinxia right now!

The vampire, Bola stood and watched Mo Fan as he came up the stairs. Bola knew Mo Fan was the master of the wolves. He was rather astonished, as this intruder was a lot younger than he had imagined.

Bola stared at Mo Fan and took a deep breath. He could tell his opponent’s mental state from how fast their blood was flowing. He would easily know if the man was scared, or nervous, or something else…

However, when Bola smelled Mo Fan’s blood, his expression changed instantly. He stared at Mo Fan with wide eyes. His pale, handsome face slowly filled with joy as his eyes burned passionately!

“Your blood… your blood!” Bola pointed at Mo Fan and screamed.

Mo Fan was confused. He had no idea what the vampire was excited about. “What’s wrong with my blood?” he asked.

“Stop pretending that you don’t know, the blood in your body isn’t normal! You’ve refined the Blood Sarira, but it didn’t turn you into a monster. That’s impossible…” Bora had a strange look. He was excited and overjoyed, yet he soon denied himself.

Mo Fan was shocked. This vampire knew about the Blood Sarira?

The Blood Sarira was the trigger to awaken the Demon Element. It was why Mo Fan demonized when he only had four Elements!

It turned out… that the Blood Sarira had been around for a long time!?

“You don’t look like an ordinary vampire, either,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan could sense that the vampire’s aura was similar to Liu Ru’s, meaning that his senior might not be a member of the Blood Tribe, but a person with the demon blood.

“Stop treating me like one of those filthy blood-drinking creatures. You didn’t turn into a demon! How did you manage to satisfy the lust of the demon!?” Bola asked.

“I don’t think I’m obliged to answer your questions,” Mo Fan said calmly.

Mo Fan’s true secret was not the Demon Element, but the seemingly-ordinary Little Loach Pendant on his neck. It had allowed Mo Fan to retain his human nature. Even though Mo Fan was quite surprised that the vampire knew about his Demon Element, it was unnecessary to discuss it any further, since he was not friendly!

“Very well, aren’t you courageous? I can’t wait to see what tricks you have up your sleeves, to act so arrogantly in front of me!” Bola seemed infuriated.

Bola flung his coat and turned into a purple bat. He swept through the air like a shadow and arrived in front of Mo Fan within the blink of an eye. He threw a heavy punch at Mo Fan’s chest.

“How quick!” Mo Fan was surprised, but quickly summoned the Black Snake Armor.

The armor protecting his chest caved in instantly. The strong force knocked Mo Fan flying to the side of the path, smashing a few boulders along the way into pieces!

“How weak, you aren’t worthy to possess the power of the demon!” Bola turned into a bat once again and flew in Mo Fan’s direction.

His hands produced a lump of bloody light and tossed it at the pile of broken rocks. It quickly turned into a pond of blood, crushing the rocks into dust.

“Humph, a mere little trick!” Bola noticed that Mo Fan had Blinked away. He immediately moved a hundred meters away with a flicker of motion.

Space trembled slightly. Mo Fan reappeared, but to his surprise, Bola was already waiting for him. He grabbed Mo Fan who had just Blinked to the spot and lifted him up with an icy stare!

Mo Fan was astounded. Exactly what kind of vampire was he? The vampire was able to predict where he would reappear after using Blink! He was a very experienced old vampire!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Tell me your secret, or I’ll turn you into a cripple!” Bola demanded coldly.

He gradually tightened his grip on Mo Fan’s throat.

The Black Snake Armor protecting Mo Fan’s neck failed to resist the vampire’s strength. The armor started to crack open.

Bola vaguely sensed an abnormal heat rising under his feet. The vampire was extremely sensitive to danger, and was quite startled. He immediately let go of Mo Fan and floated back.

Scorching lava erupted from the ground and sprang up like a giant, burning pillar.

A fiery dragon circled around Mo Fan. The brown, blazing-red fire attached to Mo Fan, turning him into a ruler of the flames, with an imperious aura!

Flame Belle had Possessed Mo Fan, granting him control over the fierce flames. Bola was quick to react in time. If he were any slower, the fire would have burned his hand to ashes!

Seeing the flames circling Mo Fan, Bola squinted and said, “Interesting! Blood Bat Impulse!”

Bola waved his hands, turning into a lump of viscous blood. It started expanding, and gradually turned into a giant bat with long wings.

The bat lunged at Mo Fan. The drops of blood that fell to the ground as it was flying corroded the stones below instantly!

“Rocket Wings!” Mo Fan turned the flames into feathers and launched himself higher. He stood on a mountain wall, but before he could stabilize himself, the giant bat rammed into the wall…

The thick wall started melting, leaving a shocking hole behind. Luckily, Mo Fan had propelled himself far away from it. Otherwise, the Black Snake Armor would have turned into a cloud of bubbles!

Mo Fan flew in a circle and saw Bola standing inside the hole. He threw a fist right at the vampire!

“Rain of Burning Fists!”

Burning fists began to pour down like a meteor shower, landing on the mountain wall. Bola sprinted across the wall, trying to find a safe spot from the Meteorite Fists. Despite the rapid blasts, he did not panic at all.

The fists left shocking craters across the wall. It was full of holes, like a bee hive, but apart from a slight burn, Bola was basically unharmed.

“Blood Whip!” Bola flung his sleeves, and a long blood whip swept in Mo Fan’s direction.

“Lightning Strike!” Mo Fan drew Star Orbits continuously, summoning thousands of Lightning Strikes. They combined into a lightning whip and collided with the blood whip.

“Thousand Piercing Fire Bursts!” The duration of the Rocket Wings would soon come to an end. Mo Fan immediately scattered the feathers in the air. The feathers flew toward Bola and filled up the space around him!

“Explode!” Mo Fan clenched his fist as a trigger, detonating the fiery feathers. The mountain path trembled as the light from the explosions lit up the place.

Bola stayed in the air. He had no chance of dodging such rapid explosions. However, he covered most of his body with his coat and dug his head under it. The special coat ended up blocking most of the energy from the explosions!

Mo Fan frowned. He was unable to inflict any damage on the vampire so far. Was his Lightning Element the only way he could deal damage to the vampire? If he continued to rely on the Lightning Element, he would waste too much of his energy. He had only reached the third statue, and there was another stronger statue waiting for him. How could he possibly make it to the end?

“Screw it, I’ll worry about it later!” Mo Fan clenched his teeth and stopped overthinking it.

If he could not defeat the third statue, it was meaningless for him to think about protecting Xinxia. That was pretty much the situation he was currently in. Worrying or overthinking would not make any difference. All he could do was to fight his opponent with everything he had!

“Lightning Tyrant Domain!”Lightning Strikes descended rapidly, blasting the mountain into pieces. Lightning arcs surged across the sky and formed a Lightning Domain looming over Mo Fan. Lightning Magic rapidly accumulated in the area.

“Calamity Fire Domain!” Mo Fan yelled. The Calamity Fire on him spread wildly, turning the mountain path into an ocean of flames!

“Sky Lightning Claw!” Mo Fan summoned the wild lightning. A lightning, demonic claw burst out from the clouds and hung right above Bola.

Bola turned into a bat and wove through the lightning claw. He managed to dodge most of the lightning claw’s power!

The lightning claw closed, limiting the space that Bola could move in…

“Sky-Flame Funeral: Hellish Flames!”

Mo Fan cast two spells simultaneously. Two Star Constellations intertwined and crashed into one another.

Amid the Lightning Strikes, a meteorite engulfed in flames fell from the sky. It was falling right toward the middle of the Sky Lightning Claw.

Bola did not expect someone would dare to use the two most dangerous Elements at the same time. As soon as he dodged the Sky Lightning Claw, he immediately noticed the giant meteorite falling down on him. He could not dodge it in time!

He quickly returned to human form and set a blood shield above him to defend himself!

The Hellish Flames smashed the blood shield to pieces. Mo Fan’s Rose Flame was not particularly outstanding, but as Little Flame Belle’s cultivation grew stronger, the strength of her Calamity Fire was gradually closer to the Lightning Tyrant. In addition to that, the Sky-Flame Funeral: Hellish Flames was the second-tier Advanced Fire Spell, and its damage was several times stronger than the Sky-Flame Funeral: Rain of Flames!

Bola was smashed down to the ground after the meteorite slammed into him.

A huge blast took place on the mountain path. The people could vaguely see a shocking meteorite landing on the upper section of the mountain path amid the dust that was swept into the air. The stairs were destroyed, and scorching heat was surging in all directions, setting the sacred mountain on fire.

Standing inside the pit left by the blast, Bola had not yet fallen. His body was emitting a bloody aura, which circled him like a shield and protected him.

He had a lot of burns on his body, and the lightning had also left a scorched-black wound on his back.

Mo Fan’s heart sank when he noticed that the vampire was not severely injured.

Using the two Domains had cost a lot of his energy. It was also one of the strongest moves that he had. If even that had failed to inflict serious damage on the vampire, it was unlikely that he was going to meet Xinxia today.

Thick smoke drifted in the air together with the ashes. Mo Fan clenched his fists.

He had no choice but to go all out. Even if it meant using all his energy, he could not afford to lose here. Mo Fan strongly believed in his demon flesh. He might not lose to the old vampire in a brawl!

—

Bola jumped out from the pit. He slowly approached Mo Fan along the mountain path that was destroyed beyond recognition.

His face was pale as usual, and his eyes no longer had the same pride as before.

Mo Fan walked toward the vampire too. His eyes were emitting a silver light. He applied Telekinesis on himself, prepared to fight the vampire in close combat!

“Enough,” Bola said.

Mo Fan frowned. He did not understand what the vampire was up to this time.

“Save some energy for the next opponent. Otherwise, you won’t reach the top alive,” Bola said.

“What do you mean by that? You’re letting me go?” Mo Fan asked in confusion.

“I won’t let you pass if you’re too weak, as it’s too late to regret it later. That guy is going to tear you to pieces,” Bola said.

“You’re trying to protect me?” Mo Fan said.

“You’re the only person that has inherited the demon lineage. I hope you will leave this place, and come back again when you’re stronger. There’s no need to seek your death now,” Bola had no intention to fight any further. His murderous aura had dissipated.

“I must go up today,” Mo Fan said firmly.

“You only managed to leave me in serious injuries after using everything you had, the next statue is a lot stronger than I am… are you seriously not afraid of death?” Bola said.

“Everyone is afraid of dying, but there are things that are placed above fears in your heart,” Mo Fan said.

“Oh humans, idiotic yet venerable! It was the reason your species has survived the ancient times, and now, even the demon creatures do not dare invade your cities recklessly. Unlike the merciless Blood Tribe, selfish yet lowly, treating their lives more preciously the longer they live, and now, they are on the verge of extinction. They can only struggle on while at death’s door in the dark tunnels and caves,” Bola sighed.

“You are a civilized vampire,” Mo Fan said.

“I am different. I only serve the great demon! I am a demon servant, loyal, courageous, the passing of age doesn’t alter the promise that we gave. It’s been a thousand years, I thought I was going to slowly rot away and be forgotten, but to my surprise, as I, Bola, am approaching death’s door, a real demon has risen. Please forgive me for testing you, and please accept my loyalty. My previous master only managed to hold the power of the demon for less than a day, and so I’ve sworn to protect this place and somehow forget the time that has passed. If you aren’t pleased with me, you can leave me here to rot. I don’t have much time left.” Bola spoke like an ancient noble. He even dropped to his knee, in some sort of etiquette that would date a thousand years back in history.

Mo Fan was astounded. He did not expect the vampire to concede, and not only that, he was abandoning his post and planning to swear loyalty to him!

He was not the vampire’s senior, but the same as Liu Ru, he could keep the vampire’s heart beating with his demon blood.

-Is this the meaning of… where there’s a will, there’s a way?-

Mo Fan had complicated feelings when he looked at Bola half-kneeling in front of him.

Hopefully there was a way indeed, as the Starry Mountain Path was only the beginning. He still had to face the Hall of Knights and the Holy Judgment Court. He was only at the mountain base!

However, with the vampire’s help, he believed he had a chance against the last statue!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m about to do something crazy. If you’re not scared, you can come with me,” Mo Fan said to Bola.

“In the world’s eyes, we have always been crazy!” Bola rose to his feet with an evil grin.

Mo Fan’s appearance had allowed the vampire to be reborn, and rebirth always took place amid flames and disasters. He would simply assume the madness was part of the disaster he had to go through!

“Are there any other demon servants like you in this world?” Mo Fan asked.

“From what I know, I’m the only one.”

“Oh, then you have a sister, starting today,” Mo Fan told him.

Bola seemed enlightened. “I would like to meet her, if we can leave this inviolable, sacred mountain in one piece.”

—

What…what is Bola doing? How could he kneel to an intruder? Is he out of his mind!?” Haylon yelled furiously.

The people of the Hall of Knights and the Hall of the Goddess were dumbfounded. The vampire that was the most mysterious among the four statues had half-knelt in front of someone, and he seemed to be following Mo Fan to the fourth statue…

No one understood what was going on. Finally, the Great Muse, Mellaura harrumphed coldly, “I always knew this vampire was not loyal to us. Perhaps he’s already thinking of rebelling, and he decided to use this chance to challenge the Parthenon Temple. We should have killed him long ago!”

Tisu, Kulun, and Fiona were dumbfounded. How did Mo Fan convince Bola to join him? They were clearly fighting one another to death just a moment ago, and Bola clearly had the upper hand.

“Humph, since he’s quitting, we’ll let Haobu kill them both!” Haylon snapped.

Mo Fan had already passed the third statue of the Starry Mountain Path. The believers and some busybodies were already stirring up chaos among the crowd. It felt like the Parthenon Temple had lost half of its reputation today.

The person who managed to defeat all four statues was allowed to meet the Goddess. Even the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights had to submit a request to the Hall Mother just to meet the Goddess in person. Once the Goddess granted her permission, he could only meet the Goddess in an official meeting, as the Great Muses would be present too. On the other hand, the person that overcame the challenge could meet the Goddess in person and alone, and the knights would have to wait outside!

The Goddess was respected and worshiped by the people. Many wanted a chance to meet her in person. If Mo Fan really overcame the challenge, or if the others assumed the Starry Mountain Path was actually not as difficult as it seemed, lots of bold challengers would come for the challenge. The Parthenon Temple would need to be renamed to Guarding Athena instead.

{TL Note: Guarding Athena is an arcade game in DotA 2}

—

Mo Fan and Bola approached the final stairs. The place was extremely spacious, with thick woods on both sides and cliffs rising at the back of the woods.

There were cliffs on both sides, like it was some sort of entrance. The path grew narrower as it approached the Mountain of the Goddess.

“Where’s the last guy?” Mo Fan looked around him, yet he did not see the last statue.

Bola was on alert. He had never seen the final statue, but he had sensed its aura many times, as it was shockingly powerful.

As they proceeded forward, Mo Fan immediately saw the entrance to the Mountain of the Goddess at the end of the woods. However, a huge shadow suddenly loomed over him. His hair stood on its end after feeling an incredible pressure.

Mo Fan raised his head and saw an enormous foot!

The creature’s skin was made of white rocks. Even its smallest toe was as big as Mo Fan!

“Watch out!” Bola reacted quickly. He grabbed Mo Fan and dragged him to the side, and hid in the bushes nearby.

BANG!

Mo Fan saw the enormous foot stomping on the spot he was previously standing on with a loud blast. The ground was smashed into pieces, a shocking footprint left on it!

Mo Fan took a deep breath. Before he could collect his thoughts, the same giant shadow loomed over him once again, blocking the sunlight!

“Let’s split up!” Bola swiftly turned into a bat and flew away from the enormous foot.

Mo Fan was well prepared this time. He also turned into a shadow bird and left the area.

The bushes and trees were smashed into the pit. A part of the dense woods was missing suddenly.

Standing in the distance, Mo Fan felt the encounter to be quite familiar. He jumped into the canopy and gazed at the mountain.

As he lifted his eyes, he discovered a humanoid figure close to the mountain cliffs after taking a closer look. Its outline was vague. Mo Fan would have had a hard time noticing it if he was not searching for it on purpose!

The outline was incredibly huge, covering half the cliffs. Even the trees were like bushes, barely reaching its knees. It was a stunning sight for Mo Fan, who was only around six feet tall!

“It’s a Tyrant Titan!” Mo Fan called out to Bola.

Bola had flown into the canopy too. His bloodshot eyes were staring at the face of the mountain.

“Why didn’t we notice something so enormous? Can it turn invisible?” the vampire asked.

“Tyrant Titans have the ability to change their color, like chameleons. They live in the mountains, and when their bodies are close to the rocks, their colors will turn so they can blend in with the mountains!” Mo Fan said.

“You know quite a lot, considering your age,” Bola said.

It was Asha’ruiya that had told Mo Fan about the Tyrant Titans. The Tyrant Titans hid in the mountains, and would appear out of nowhere. Many Mages that had died to the Tyrant Titans did not even realize what had killed them.

The Tyrant Titans were huge, but their ability to conceal themselves was outstanding. They could perfectly cosplay a little mountain. Even if they attacked, since most of their bodies retained the colors of the mountain, people would only realize they were in danger when the titans’ feet were hanging above their heads!

The Tyrant Titan revealed itself, knowing that it had lost its concealment.

It immediately scared the believers watching from the Hall of Faith. The enormous titan was standing in the woods along the mountain path. Even though it was quite a distance away, it was still incredibly huge. Some ordinary people that had not learned magic fell to the ground feebly.

The believers were regulars to the Hall of Faith, and yet such a terrifying creature was living on the mountain not far away! They immediately lost all their faith.

“Everyone, please remain calm, that Titan is a guardian of the mountain. It only targets intruders on the Mountain of the Goddess. There’s a magic barrier in place, so none of you are in danger!” A few Mages of Faith had come to maintain order.Read more chapter on our vipnovel.com

Despite their attempt to calm the people, the Tyrant Titan was simply too shocking to see. The ordinary people were having a hard time believing it!

—

“Aren’t Tyrant Titans enemies of the Parthenon Temple since the ancient times? Why would it defend the Parthenon Temple?” the knowledgeable Zhu Meng immediately blurted out.

“I…I have no idea either. The truth is, even many core members of the Parthenon Temple were unaware that the fourth statue guarding the mountain was actually a Tyrant Titan. It has been a long time since anyone managed to reach the fourth statue. Most people lost to Bola,” Pang Lai said.

Pang Lai was having complicated feelings, too. He was not sure if he should be happy knowing that Mo Fan had overcome the third statue, or should he be ashamed of himself. The vampire that he had lost to even with his cultivation of the peak Super Level had submitted to Mo Fan!

—

“Stay calm. Haobu is an orphan of the Tyrant Titans that the seventh Goddess of the Parthenon Temple adopted when she wiped out the tribe of Tyrant Titans. It did not inherit the savagery of the Tyrant Titans, and it is utterly loyal to the Mountain of the Goddess!” Great Muse Mellaura said calmly.

The people of the Hall of Faith were nervous when they saw the Tyrant Titan. Every now and thenTyrant Titans would come and provoke the Parthenon Temple. Many of the Mages of Faith and knights had died under the enormous feet of the Tyrant Titans, and their hatred of the Tyrant Titans was off the charts!

It was obvious that it had been a very long time since anyone had made it to the fourth statue of the Starry Mountain Path. Apart from the highest authorities, the rest of the people had no idea that the fourth statue guarding the Parthenon Temple was a Tyrant Titan!

“Aren’t the ranks of the knights, Blue Star, Silver Moon, and Golden Sun, taken from the lineage of the Tyrant Titans? This one here is a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan!” Kulun exclaimed.

A Blue Star Tyrant Titan was enough to inflict serious damage on the cities of Greece. A Silver Moon Tyrant Titan would immediately trigger a Blood Alert. If they failed to eliminate the threat in time, it would result in lots of casualties, and smaller cities would even be destroyed!

Silver Moon Tyrant Titans were rather terrifying, and this Tyrant Titan shrouded by a silver light was an elite among the Tyrant Titans!

——

Mo Fan knew a little about the ranks of the Tyrant Titans too. The one they stumbled into on Mount Tyrant was only a Blue Star Tyrant Titan. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was clearly a lot stronger than the one he saw before. No wonder he could not react in time when its foot was hanging above his head!

Mo Fan believed he had no chance against the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan without Bola’s help.

Meanwhile, the Tyrant Titan was making its move!

THUD THUD THUD!

The titan trampled the woods and slammed its fist down at the ground. The Silver Moon Fist Shockwave it created shook the mountain and destroyed the woods. Mo Fan and Bola had already withdrawn a fair distance away, yet they were still knocked flying by the terrifying force!

Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth BANG! The Tyrant Titan leapt into the air and landed on the woods. Both Mo Fan and Bola were knocked flying once again by the overwhelming force, before they could even stabilize themselves. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan attacked recklessly. It did not seem to be bothered with accuracy, as it simply aimed for where Mo Fan and Bola were roughly, like it was trying to stomp a little insect to death. It did not matter if it landed its thumb or foot on the target. Even if it missed, the impact alone was enough to give the little insect a miserable time! “We’ve already tried splitting up, but it can still attack us both at the same time. Do you have any strong Summoned Beasts to divert its attention? I don’t think the Tyrant Titans are very smart,” Bola said. The two had only been dodging since the start of the battle. Bola turned into a bat and flew around swiftly. If Mo Fan did not have the Shadow Element and Blink, he would have been dead long ago. He was relieved that he had learned Blink recently. Otherwise, he would definitely struggle against the Tyrant Titan, who kept on slamming its fists down and stomping its feet. “Flying Creek Snow Wolf!” Mo Fan decisively Summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. A lunar-white crack tore open, followed by the howl of a wolf. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf dashed out from the crack, his hair drifting off in the wind symbolizing his will to battle as one of the wolf tribe. The Tyrant Titan’s foot landed on the ground. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf that was about to display his remarkable prowess was knocked flying. He fell down the mountain slope miserably. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf rose to his feet and took a closer look at the opponent he was up against. He could not help but shiver in fear. Once again, he was up against an opponent several levels higher than him. Similar to Mo Fan and Bola, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was forced to sprint around the place to dodge its attacks. He did not have the slightest chance to attack the Tyrant Titan! Even though the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was unable to attack, he did lift the pressure from Mo Fan’s shoulders. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was definitely not the smartest thing around. If it only focused on any one of them, it would easily land its attacks, yet it kept getting distracted! “I’ll try trapping it, use your strongest attack on it!” Bola said. Mo Fan nodded. Bola swiftly appeared under the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s foot with a flicker. As he flapped his coat wildly, countless bats flew out of it like a huge puff of black smoke. The bats flew straight at the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan. Even though the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was surrounded by a strong aura that would crush anything that came too close, it was still overwhelmed by the endless number of bats. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was soon covered in thick layers of bats. The whole place was filled with their screeches. Mo Fan took hold of the opportunity. He immediately unleashed the Lightning Tyrant Domain and the Calamity Fire Domain. The two restless Domains combined and formed a fierce Elemental Storm. “Sky Lightning Claw!” Mo Fan unleashed the power of his lightning. The black lightning claw, its damage multiplied twelve-fold, landed on the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan. The bats that Bola had Summoned vanished right before the lightning struck the creature! The lightning claw swept across the Tyrant Titan’s flesh, leaving scorch marks on its silver armor. Unfortunately, the lightning was nowhere strong enough to fully penetrate the armor! “Such a remarkable defense!” Mo Fan exclaimed. Even his lightning was only able to leave a little bruise on the creature. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s defense was comparable to a Ruler-level creature! “Hellish Flames!” Mo Fan was not willing to accept his defeat. He evoked a giant meteorite. The Hellish Flames descended from the sky. However, the Tyrant Titan simply placed its arms above its head and braced for the impact. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan shuddered. The meteorite smashed heavily onto the creature, but Mo Fan knew it was far from enough to inflict serious damage on it. It was impossible for him to penetrate the creature’s defense with his Advanced Spells. There was no way he could defeat the creature! “It’s useless, even if its defense isn’t as strong as a Ruler-level creature, it’s not any weaker than one!” Mo Fan felt helpless when he saw how ineffective his strongest attacks were. “Calm down. My bats are very effective against creatures with a strong defense. The bats have actually injected poison into its body, but this Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s vitality is quite shocking, and its resistance to poison is high, too. It will take the poison some time to spread through its body and corrode its defense,” Bola said. “How strong is the poison?” Mo Fan asked. “If it actually works, its defense will be weaker than a Warrior-level creature. Your lightning can easily kill it,” Bola said. Mo Fan nodded. He just needed to find a way to break down the creature’s defense! “Its lineage is rather high. Once the poison of my bats starts to flow through its body, it will surely notice the poison and dispel it, so I have to keep poisoning the creature until the poison spreads throughout its body. You have to keep it busy, forcing it to fight with you. It will speed up its circulation, allowing the poison to spread a lot quicker. Most importantly, you have to keep its attention away from the poison,” Bola said. “Just do your thing, I’ll handle it!” Mo Fan understood what Bola was trying to say. “You will have to face the creature alone, I’m afraid…” Bola was slightly worried. Bola had been constantly harassing the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan to stop it from attacking Mo Fan. As such, Mo Fan would surely be in danger if he faced the creature by himself. “I won’t die so easily!” Mo Fan promised. Bola nodded. He could tell that Mo Fan was very determined to make it to the top, as if nothing could stop him. — “Old wolf!” Mo Fan called the Flying Creek Snow Wolf over and leapt on his back. Without the presence of the Ice Element, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was only as strong as an ordinary Commander-level creature. Mo Fan needed the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s help against the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan, but he had to be careful at all times, too. If he lowered his guard, the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan might actually kill the Flying Creek Snow Wolf! Mo Fan sat on the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s back. The wolf sprinted along the mountain wall while the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan chased after it. Despite its seemingly slow pace, every step it took covered a huge distance. It soon caught up to Mo Fan and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf! The mountain wall collapsed after the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan threw a punch into it. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf leapt between the rocks that were falling to the ground, but was still knocked flying by the incredible force. “Flame Sword!” Mo Fan did not give up. He Summoned a fiery sword over ten meters long and slashed at the Tyrant Titan’s chest, but the sword could not cut through it! The Tyrant Titan roared. The sound was strong enough to shatter anything into pieces. The sonic wave was impossible to dodge. Mo Fan was launched into the air once again, while the remaining energy of the sonic wave swept across the woods… The woods were shattered beyond recognition after the sonic wave uprooted the trees and crushed them to pieces. Mo Fan rose to his feet. He could not care if a few of his bones had broken when he recalled Bola’s words. “Rain of Flames!” Mo Fan swiftly completed the Star Constellation, Summoning dense burning fists pouring down from the sky. The fiery fists flew straight at the Tyrant Titan, but the creature was not bothered at all. It continued to move toward Mo Fan amid the Rain of Burning Fists. The strong blasts failed to leave a single scratch on it. Anyone would find themselves in despair when facing a creature with such an outstanding defense. The Sky Lightning Claw, Hellish Flames, and the Rain of Flames were Mo Fan’s strongest attacks, yet they could not even tickle the creature! A giant fist was falling down on Mo Fan. He quickly cast Blink when he felt the strong wind surging at him. The creature was simply too huge. It was unlikely Mo Fan could dodge all its attacks regardless of how agile he was. He was not quick enough to dodge the attacks without Blink. Mo Fan Blinked to the top of a cliff. He was just about to construct a new Star Constellation, when he was surprised to realize that the creature was sensitive to the Space Element too! The Tyrant Titan turned and spread its fingers, slapping at the cliff Mo Fan was standing on! Mo Fan was astounded. He could no longer dodge the attack. He quickly withdrew the Star Constellation and used Telekinesis! Mo Fan stared at the giant, silver palm. His entire figure was shrouded by the mysterious, silver light of the Space Element. He was using his will to create a strong resistance, trying to stop the Tyrant Titan’s hand! The Tyrant Titan’s hand slowed down a little. Mo Fan had already used all his strength to resist it, yet his mental strength was still too weak to stop a creature as strong as the Tyrant Titan. PA! Mo Fan was knocked flying together with the edge of the cliff. He slammed heavily onto another mountain wall behind him and ended up in a hole inside it… Mo Fan sank a few meters deep into the wall. It felt like his bones were about to collapse. Luckily, his Telekinesis had weakened the Tyrant Titan’s slap. Otherwise, he would have been pulped by now! Mo Fan was having difficulty focusing, as he was in great pain. However, the Tyrant Titan continued to approach him. The creature was utterly relentless! Mo Fan could no longer cast Blink. He clenched his teeth and used the Dark Noble Mantle’s power to sneak away by sticking close to the mountain wall. The Dark Noble Mantle saved Mo Fan’s life. The Tyrant Titan failed to notice where Mo Fan was. It furiously chased after Mo Fan after he reached a safe distance. Mo Fan could not afford to run too far away, as he was worried that the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan would notice the poison spreading in its body. Mo Fan’s body began to shake uncontrollably from his serious injuries. He lifted his gaze and gazed at the imperious Tyrant Titan. His heart was instantly set aflame by an unyielding spirit!

Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth A brilliant silver Star Constellation was circling Mo Fan. As it dissipated with a flicker, Mo Fan also vanished into thin air, leaving a glowing silhouette behind. The following second, Mo Fan surprisingly appeared on the Tyrant Titan’s shoulder. The light of the Space Element gradually disappeared… The others could feel their hearts pounding after seeing Mo Fan’s bold move. It was necessary to stay as far away from the creature as possible, but Mo Fan had Blinked closer to it instead! Was he trying to get himself killed!? Same as before, the Tyrant Titan was able to capture the slight ripple of the Space Element. It turned its head slightly. Its enormous face was facing Mo Fan, as its eyes like spotlights stared at him, giving him great pressure. The Tyrant Titan grinned, like it was mocking the petty, tiny human in its eyes. It waved its other arm at Mo Fan, like it was trying to slap a tiny little mosquito on its shoulder. Mo Fan did not dodge this time. He was engulfed in flames. He ignored the hand that was slapping at him and threw a fiery punch right at the Tyrant Titan’s face! A fiery dragon lunged at the Tyrant Titan’s face. The Tyrant Titan did not expect the little insect to attack under the circumstances. It was forced to withdraw its slap and use its hand to cover its face. The fiery dragon rammed into the Tyrant Titan’s palm. The scorching heat blasted the Tyrant Titan’s face, but unfortunately, the fiery dragon failed to blast the titan’s palm apart. Judging from the way it was protecting its face, the Tyrant Titan’s face might be slightly more vulnerable than the rest of its body. The blinding light of the explosion dissipated. When the Tyrant Titan recovered, it had lost track of where Mo Fan was. The sky began to darken out of nowhere. The area around the Tyrant Titan was covered in pitch-black darkness. The darkness loomed. The Tyrant Titan’s vision had just recovered from the blinding light, but it soon struggled to see its surroundings. Its eyes were glowing, but the range of its vision was limited! BANG! The Tyrant Titan suddenly threw a punch at the woods behind it. A silver shockwave surged over at the trees, and soon turned into a strong gust, destroying the trees in an instant! In the darkness, a shadow bird flew away, dodging the Tyrant Titan’s attack before disappearing in the Nyx Regime once again. The Tyrant Titan immediately chased after it. It had locked onto Mo Fan’s position, and was determined to smash the little insect! The Tyrant Titan soon found Mo Fan. It opened its mouth and produced another terrifying sonic wave! The sonic wave swept forward. Even though Mo Fan had turned into a shadow bird, he failed to dodge the sonic wave still. He was sent flying by the powerful force once again. Mo Fan finally came to a stop. He immediately felt something warm flowing out from his nose and his ears. He wiped it with his hand and saw a thick, red liquid on his filthy hand… His injuries kept on increasing. He could no longer move as nimbly, not that it would make any difference since he was already struggling to dodge the Tyrant Titan’s attacks. He could only drag on the fight with his Fleeing Shadow, Dark Noble Mantle, and Blink! Mo Fan stood still and watched the Tyrant Titan approaching him. The Tyrant Titan seemed aware that the little insect was no longer able to use the Space Magic. Not only did the sonic wave possess an overwhelming force, it would also disrupt the target’s mental state, preventing the target from casting an Advanced Spell while it was still suffering from the effects. It was an effective move that the Tyrant Titans had used a lot on humans, since a Mage that was unable to cast any spell was like a wild dog waiting to be slaughtered! The Tyrant Titan dashed forward. Its eyes showed no hint of mercy for the intruder. Even though it was domesticated by humans, hatred toward humans was still buried deep in its bones! It extended its body like a bowstring and lunged forward, its right fist behind it. A destructive, silver glow accumulated on the tip of its fist. As it threw the punch with all its might, it produced a deafening blast! The punch was strong enough to break a hole in a mountain. A Mage with no defense was surely going to die from it! Mo Fan did not move his feet. The blood flowing out of his nose and ears scattered in the air in the form of droplets. The injuries that he did not have time to treat were torn further from the overwhelming force surging at him! “Mo Fan!” Han Ji yelled. Even though the area was shrouded by the Nyx Regime, the people could still feel the extraordinary power of the Tyrant Titan’s punch. The power was enough to reduce Mo Fan to scattered ashes and dispersed smoke! — “Save him!” Pang Lai said. He was the first to react. He almost went right into the magic barrier. “Wait!” Old Bao reacted quickly and grabbed Pang Lai, who was about to rush into the barrier. They were currently at the Parthenon Temple. If they were to rush into the magic barrier. they would immediately be surrounded by the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple regardless of who they were. The Parthenon Temple would then decide their fate, and even Chairman Shao Zheng would be unable to help them. Most importantly, Mo Fan would lose his chance to meet Xinxia in person. Even if he demonized, it would still be extremely difficult for him to make his way down the mountain, let alone bring Xinxia along. Even a Forbidden Mage would have trouble taking on the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple! “He’s about to die!” Pang Lai yelled. “It is his choice!” Song Qiming snapped. Mo Fan had to overcome the mountain path on his own. If Xinxia was not Salan, it meant there was an unimaginable conspiracy that they were totally unaware of happening behind the scenes. As such, they could not afford to be captured now! Han Ji and Zhu Meng were the closest to Mo Fan, since they had gone through the Calamity of the Ancient Capital together. Even though they had told Mo Fan that they could not lend him any help, their emotions were stirred greatly when they saw Mo Fan take on the Tyrant Titan on his own, and how determined he was to meet the woman he loved! “Hold your ground! If Xinxia isn’t Salan, you know how important it is for us to find out the truth! She’s the only lead we have,” Song Qiming said. “But what if Ye Xinxia is actually Salan? The evidence is just too convincing,” Pang Lai said in a deep voice. “Then we don’t have to do anything, Mo Fan will be the one ending her life,” Old Bao said. “Perhaps it’s the best ending for her.” “But…” Zhu Meng took a deep breath. Wasn’t that too cruel for Mo Fan? A loud blast came from the darkness. The four never moved their gazes away from it. They were afraid to see Mo Fan’s lifeless body lying on the ground when the darkness cleared up. The path toward the entrance of the mountain was blocked off by rocks. They saw Mo Fan covered up by a few pieces of rocks, showing an arm engulfed in flames. — The Tyrant Titan stood two hundred meters away. It was staring down at the pile of rocks. It had a stiff smile, as it did not sense any presence of life from the rocks! The rocks started to loosen up. Mo Fan knocked the rocks off him with his shoulder and struggled to his feet. The demon blood in his body was becoming restless. The closer he was to death, the harder it was for him to control the Demon Element. When he finally lost control of it, it would devour Mo Fan’s weak flesh, and the demon would be awakened! It felt like a voice was whispering in Mo Fan’s mind, Let me out, I will tear this Silver Moon Tyrant Titan into pieces with a single swipe! “Silence!” Mo Fan snapped furiously, withholding the restless demon blood inside his body. The Demon Element had become restless while trying to protect Mo Fan. It wanted to assert control over his body, yet to Mo Fan, the Demon Element was merely his Sixth Element. It was a power that he had acquired. It would indeed grant him extraordinary powers, but he could not afford to rely on it too much, nor would he allow the Demon Element to take over his body! He was still in control! Mo Fan was well aware of how terrifying the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple were after visiting the place the first time. Using the Demon Element might allow him to reach Xinxia, but what was he going to do after that? Wouldn’t they both die together still? Even a Forbidden Mage would be suppressed by the magic formation. He believed the power of the Demon Element would be limited too. He could not afford to lose control just because he was provoked by the arrogant and idiotic Tyrant Titan. He could still stand, couldn’t he!? Mo Fan panted heavily. It felt like his chest was bloated, filled with broken bones and blood clots, but at least he could still breathe! “Formation of Giant Shadow Spikes!” Mo Fan managed to finish the Star Pattern. Mo Fan had been preparing the Formation of Giant Shadow Spikes since he established the Nyx Regime. Black shadow swords landed on the Tyrant Titan. They were only needles to the enormous creature, but Mo Fan had risked his life in exchange for the opportunity. He had to seal the Tyrant Titan’s limbs with it! The Nyx Regime was still intact. The shadow swords poked into the Tyrant Titan’s arms and legs. The Tyrant Titan was totally unaware that it had stepped into Mo Fan’s trap. It tried to move, but the shadow swords had nailed it in place. There was no chance Mo Fan could immobilize the Tyrant Titan fully. It was the reason why he had aimed the shadow swords at the Tyrant Titan’s limbs… The Tyrant Titan’s arms were soon restrained by the force of darkness. Even though it could still move, its speed had dropped significantly! Seeing the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was struggling to move, Mo Fan grinned. His expression seemed rather wild on his blood-smeared face! “Rocket Wings!” Mo Fan could no longer walk, but he could still fight with the Rocket Wings! The fiery wings extended out. The exploding force propelled Mo Fan into the air as he flew right at the Tyrant Titan’s face!

Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth “Have a taste of my fist!” The feathers exploded rapidly. The thousand fiery feathers all burned into ashes, tripling his speed! Mo Fan was no longer able to cast his powerful spells because of the injuries he was suffering. He could only turn speed into power, and punch the Tyrant Titan in the face! The fiery punch swept across the sky like a red meteor. Mo Fan reached the Tyrant Titan’s face and threw his fist right at it! There was no flickering light, as it was pure brute force. The punch slammed right into the Tyrant Titan’s face without resistance. Its face caved in, and the sound of bones breaking could not be any clearer! The force of darkness was still holding onto the Tyrant Titan’s legs. As the Tyrant Titan’s face was struck by the powerful blow, it immediately fell backward. The Tyrant Titan’s defense was quite shocking. It did not fall onto its back despite the strength of the force that struck it… “Explode!” Mo Fan roared. The sparks in the air exploded as an enormous Rupture was detonated on the Tyrant Titan’s face. This time, the Tyrant Titan could no longer hold its ground. Its face was blasted into pieces as its body fell to the ground! When the Tyrant Titan fell, the eyes of the people watching the battle widened. How reckless was this Mo Fan? He even managed to punch the Tyrant Titan in the face, and actually knocked it to the ground!… It was the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan! Perhaps even the Tyrant Titan did not expect that a petty human who was on his last breath could still wield such a strong force! Han Ji and Zhu Meng were even more touched seeing how hard Mo Fan was trying. They immediately recalled Mo Fan’s determination in the Space of Death. It had even impressed Super Mages like them, and today, they had witnessed it once again! “He tried his best…” Pang Lai let out a sigh. Pang Lai clearly knew how difficult it was to overcome the Starry Mountain Path. Mo Fan had made it to the final statue, and even knocked the Tyrant Titan to the ground once. He had really surpassed his limits. “What are you doing?” Old Bao glared at Pang Lai when he saw the man walking toward the magic barrier. “What can I do? Mo Fan’s punch might be impressive, but it’s all over once the Tyrant Titan rises to its feet,” Pang Lai said. “Who told you that the Tyrant Titan can still rise? Take a good look at it!” Song Qiming said. Pang Lai was startled. He quickly stared ahead. The Tyrant Titan lay on the ground. His body was twitching slightly. The force of darkness restraining him had disappeared, yet the Tyrant Titan remained on the ground. Mo Fan’s punch might seem powerful, but it was most likely a normal punch to the face, considering the Tyrant Titan’s defense. Its head would spin a little, with some blood coming out of its nose, but it was nowhere enough to knock the creature unconscious just like that, yet it seemed the Tyrant Titan was having trouble rising to its feet! “What…what happened there? Did the punch contain some other power?” Pang Lai asked immediately. “Bola’s poison is working,” Song Qiming said. Han Ji and Zhu Meng let out a relieved sigh, before their hearts filled with joy. “Does that mean Mo Fan defeated the Tyrant Titan?” Han Ji blurted out in excitement. Song Qiming nodded. He was smiling too! -Well done, the kid actually managed to overcome the challenge of the Starry Mountain Path. It was harder than coming first in the World College Tournament!- Pang Lai and the others were overjoyed, but the people of the Parthenon Temple on the mountain were wearing twisted faces! Their Starry Mountain Path had just been overcome by a Mage in his twenties. The four incredibly strong statues were a symbol of the inviolable sacredness of their Parthenon Temple. It represented the authority of the Parthenon Temple, yet the statues had lost right in front of the crowd! The Parthenon Temple had lost its dignity! “Without that goddamned vampire’s help, he would never have made it to the top, never!” Haylon yelled. It was quite obvious that the man was truly infuriated. Great Muse Mellaura’s expression darkened too. If the young man demanded to see Xinxia in person, the entire Parthenon Temple, including the Hall Mother, had to accept the request. It was definitely not a piece of good news to her! “But he did overcome the challenge,” Fiona rebutted. Fiona had been with Xinxia for a long time. She had even met Mo Fan in Croatia previously. She was confused, as she never expected that the man would risk everything he had to challenge the Parthenon Temple. Most importantly, he succeeded! Would anyone ever do the same thing for her? — “I’m afraid I have become a most unwelcome being for the Parthenon Temple. You will have to proceed alone,” Bola said. Mo Fan nodded. He headed for the Mountain of the Goddess. When he arrived at the Mountain of the Goddess, a huge crowd of the members of the Parthenon Temple immediately surrounded him. They were led by Haylon and Mellaura. Mo Fan turned around and glanced at Pang Lai, Old Bao, Han Ji, Zhu Meng, and the others, and discovered that they had been stopped from entering the Mountain of the Goddess. Mo Fan was fearless facing the people of the Parthenon Temple. Haylon harrumphed coldly and said, “Aren’t you impressive?” “I want to see Xinxia,” Mo Fan had no intention of wasting his time. “She’s a prisoner, you are not allowed to see her,” Mellaura said. “I have overcome the challenge of the Starry Mountain Path, I can see anyone as I wish!” Mo Fan replied coldly. “Great Muse, it’s fine for him to see the girl, since he did overcome the challenge. Besides, the Saintess’ Hall is guarded by ten Golden Sun Knights, and a Vice Hall Master is always on patrol. He won’t be able to stir up any trouble,” Muse Ciely said. “Come with me, I’ll bring you to the Saintess’ Hall,” Fiona immediately said to Mo Fan. Mo Fan nodded. “You two, follow him, just in case he tries to do anything stupid.” Haylon sent two Silver Moon Knights to follow Mo Fan. —— The Saintess’ Hall was located on the spacious mountain top. Every grand ceremony was held here on the spacious mountain top, laid out like an enormous public square. A platform made of white marble currently had a huge crowd on it. They consisted of Panijia’s followers and her relatives. Half of the Hall of Knights and the Hall of Judgment were here, too. They were all wearing gray funeral clothing, as they were holding a funeral. Panijia’s belongings were stacked into a pile at the center of the platform, on a wooden boat built with the Blue Silk Sacred Wood. It was decorated with Panijia’s favorite flower… Panijia’s corpse was placed at the highest on the boat. It was facing the blue sky, dressed in a robe as white as snow. The people gathered around the funeral in an orderly manner. The atmosphere was solemn and sorrowful. “We just have to execute that vicious woman now, so that Panijia can rest in peace!” Panjia’s Guardian Knight said furiously. The funeral ceremony was coming to an end. The officials, Knights, Muses, and believers had taken turns performing the ritual. The last procedure was to cremate Panijia’s remains, but obviously, they were going to wait until the execution of her murderer. “This is the Stone of Guilt, the Holy Judgment Court has judged the woman guilty. She can choose to end her life herself, or choose to let us execute her,” Dulanc, the Great Magistrate of the Holy Judgment Court, said. “She killed a Saintess and committed such grave sins. We should exterminate her soul, how could we allow her to end her life herself? People of the Hall of Judgment, bring that woman that killed Panijia here at once!” Shawshank, the Vice Hall Leader of the Hall of Judgment, snapped furiously. Shawshank was Panijia’s father, thus he was surely the most enraged among them all. He even had the urge to dig out the heart of his daughter’s murderer! “Please wait. Someone just overcame the challenge of the Starry Mountain Path and has requested to meet Ye Xinxia in person. The ancient rule has to be prioritized. Let Ye Xinxia meet her close-one for one last time,” the Hall Mother said. “It’s a sin to even let her live in this world for a moment longer!” Shawshank seemed extremely agitated! “It’s only for a moment, don’t you want to stay with Panijia for a little longer?” the Hall Mother replied. “Humph, I’ll keep an eye on them instead! Who knows what the vicious woman is planning, just so the man could rescue her!” Shawshank retorted. The others were amused by the words. “You’re being overly sensitive. No one in this world can rescue a person from the Parthenon Temple, not even Forbidden Mages,” Yulowa, the chief of the Golden Sun Knights, declared. “You all, come with me!” Shawshank ignored their words. He led two troops of Adjudicators toward the Saintess’ Hall. A troop of Adjudicators consisted of a hundred people. Shawshank was obviously overdoing it, leading two troops of Adjudicators with him! “He’s only an Advanced Mage, any of us could easily defeat him. He’s quite talented to have overcome the challenge of the Starry Mountain Path. We should just let him bid farewell to Ye Xinxia in peace,” Leonard of the Holy Judgment Court advised, seeing how tense the people were. “Yeah, I feel that the evidence isn’t solid enough to prove the girl is Salan either.” “But she did kill Panijia, that alone is enough to sentence her to death.” — The Saintess’ Hall was located to the south of the platform; behind it was a perfectly straight cliff. The place was protected by a powerful magic formation. No one was allowed to come closer or leave the Saintess’ Hall. The Saintess’ Hall only had a single exit facing the spacious platform. The entrance had a long, gray carpet extending all the way to the center of the platform. The followers of Panijia stood on both sides of the carpet. They were waiting for the murderer to be taken out and brought into the open, just so they could toss black ears of grain covered in thistles at the murderer to vent their hatred… Currently, at the entrance of the Saintess’ Hall, Mo Fan was surrounded by a bunch of Knights and Adjudicators. They were extremely cautious, as they were afraid that Mo Fan was planning to intervene with the execution and the funeral!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan glanced around him and saw the Saintess’ Hall was surrounded by people. The people that were allowed to enter the Mountain of the Goddess were at least Advanced Mages, and these Advanced Mages were only the ordinary soldiers of the Parthenon Temple’s army!

Ten Golden Sun Knights were lining up at the entrance of the Saintess’ Hall, staring at Mo Fan alertly.

“So you’re the guy that overcame the Starry Mountain Path? You don’t look special at all,” a captain of the Golden Sun Knights named Yafa inspected Mo Fan and grinned disdainfully.

Yafa was the youngest Super Mage of the Parthenon Temple. He was initially Saintess Andi’s Guardian Knight, but after she died, his hope of becoming the Guardian Knight of a Goddess was gone with her. He was appointed to guard the Saintess’ Hall instead.

Mo Fan’s achievement of overcoming the Starry Mountain Path had spread wildly through the Mountain of the Goddess. Yafa was extremely proud. Instead of behaving like a senior, he seemed rather displeased by Mo Fan’s reckless behavior.

On top of it, Yafa found Xinxia an eyesore. They had failed to find the reason for Andi’s death. He believed the vicious woman was somehow related to Andi’s death, too. She had been planning to take out every competitor all along, just so she could become the Goddess! Otherwise, how could she possibly rise from being just an insignificant Probationary Servant to a Saintess, and be only one last step away from becoming the Goddess?

Mo Fan did not even lift his gaze. He simply disregarded the mockery from the captain of the Golden Sun Knights.

The fact that he had overcome the Starry Mountain Path was like a loud slap to the face of every talented Mage in the Parthenon Temple, hence it was quite reasonable that he would be mocked by them.

Mo Fan walked forward and saw another person standing at the entrance. It was Asha’ruiya, with a veil over her face. Her simple, yet noble outfit reminded him of their first encounter.

However, his frame of mind was completely different.

Mo Fan looked at her. Asha’ruiya lifted her gaze and looked back at Mo Fan too.

Asha’ruiya was the first to speak, “Are you suspicious of me?”

“Yes,” Mo Fan nodded firmly.

“It’s true that Andi and Panijia were my biggest competitors. If nothing happened to them, I could never become a Goddess. Obviously, I’m the true winner if I can use Xinxia to take out Panijia, and as a matter of fact, I did consider it before. Deceit is just a part of the competition for the role of the Goddess. The last one standing that claims the seat of the Goddess will take all the fame and glory,” Asha’ruiya said blatantly in front of the knights.

“I’m only suspicious, I’m surely going to find the truth!” Mo Fan said coldly.

“Perhaps your suspicion is utterly meaningless, since you will realize that no one is manipulating her after seeing her in person. It was only an accident that Panijia discovered her true identity,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan did not respond. He demanded of Yafa coldly, “Open the door!”

Yafa did not like being ordered around. His expression twisted slightly.

“Open the door, so he can see the true colors of the person inside,” Asha’ruiya said.

The heavy door slowly opened. The magic spell on it vanished too.

—

The Saintess’ Hall was very dim. The light of a burning torch hanging on the tall pillar was nowhere enough to light up the spacious hall.

Mo Fan was unable to see inside the hall clearly. He hesitated slightly at the entrance before stepping into the hall.

As soon as he stepped inside the hall, the Vice Hall Master of the Hall of Judgment, Shawshank yelled, “Close the door!”

“He’s only an Advanced Mage. Vice Hall Master, aren’t you being overly worried? So what if he has overcome the Starry Mountain Path? I can take him out easily still,” Yafa said proudly.

“Humph, God knows what that evil woman has up in her sleeves. I have already let Panijia down, I will not allow anything to go wrong during her funeral. I will execute the woman myself, so Panijia can rest in peace!” Vice Hall Master Shawshank said.

The Hall of Judgment was supporting Panijia in the election, but now their candidate had died. They had no way to vent their rage and frustration. They could not wait to make Xinxia pay with her life!

—

The heavy door slammed shut. Magic Runes covered the door, preventing anything from entering or leaving the hall, including via use of Space Magic.

Mo Fan followed the dim light of the torch. The Saintess’ Hall was sealed tight. It felt slightly chilly.

The pillars had lots of faces on them, like a bunch of undying creatures looking down at a prisoner. There was no light or sacred brilliance in the Saintess’ Hall. It felt more like an altar of darkness.

Mo Fan followed the pillars and caught a glimpse of some flames ahead. Braziers were placed in a big circle up a flight of stairs.

The flames of the braziers swayed despite the lack of wind. It looked no different than the site of a burning execution.

At the top of the stairs was an extremely thick pillar. It was clearly the main pillar of the Saintess’ Hall, supporting the magnificent building.

A silver chain was wrapped around the pillar looming like a one-thousand-year-old ancient tree, and its other hand was fastened around the waist of a skinny woman.

She could not stand for too long, thus she had to sit on the icy, cold stone, surrounded by the braziers. The light of the flames shone upon her pale, lifeless face, setting off her haggardness…Read more chapter on our vipnovel.com

She was still wearing the dress of a Saintess. The huge dress spread on the stand like white snow, setting off her unique, sacred temperament.

Mo Fan went up the stairs. He could feel his heart breaking.

Xinxia remained still with her head lowered. She did not see Mo Fan approaching her.

“Xinxia, I’m here,” Mo Fan walked up to Xinxia and called out. He could not tell if she was asleep, or she was unwilling to face him.

Xinxia opened her eyes, filled with complicated feelings.

She knew Mo Fan would come for sure, but… she did not want Mo Fan to come. She was afraid of herself, afraid to face Mo Fan’s eyes.

She finally raised her head and looked at Mo Fan, and was shocked to see him covered in wounds and bruises. Some were still bleeding.

Xinxia covered her mouth as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

Mo Fan could not stand to see her cry. He quickly hugged her.

After hearing the shocking news, Mo Fan had totally lost control of his emotions. He finally reclaimed them when he touched Xinxia’s soft, feeble body. He was finally relieved when his chest was pressing hard against her!

“I’m bringing you out of here,” Mo Fan rose to his feet and broke the chain that was tying Xinxia down.

The chain was not enhanced by magic. Mo Fan took it off with ease. After all, the thing that was trapping Xinxia was not the chain, but the Saintess’ Hall, and the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple outside the Saintess’ Hall!

Mo Fan carried Xinxia in his arms. The girl was a lot skinnier. He could barely feel her weight. He could feel warm tears on the side of his face…

Mo Fan’s words had melted Xinxia’s heart and broke the struggle inside her, but she knew it was not the right thing to do. She was already satisfied she was able to see Mo Fan for the last time.

“Brother Mo Fan, aren’t you going to ask me anything?” Xinxia finally broke the silence.

“Ask what?” Mo Fan said.

“That I…I am someone else,” Xinxia bit her lips and said after a long pause.

Xinxia was struggling even more when Mo Fan did not mention it.

“I still have some blurry recollections in my mind that I was the one that killed Panijia, and even though I could have saved her with my Healing Magic, I watch her blood pour onto my hands. I didn’t feel anything, as if it was perfectly normal. It didn’t feel like me, but it was me,” Xinxia said.

Mo Fan did not speak. He just looked at the girl.

Xinxia did not dare to look Mo Fan in the eyes. She glanced at her legs that were too weak to walk.

Even the strongest Healing spells of the Parthenon Temple had failed to fix her legs. Xinxia had been bothered by it for quite some time, and she finally found an answer to it.

“I placed my blood on the Cardinal Blood Stone, and I saw it responding,” Xinxia said. She did not want to lie to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan remained silent still. Xinxia added, “When I was very young, I remember going to a place, I believe it’s the main altar of the Black Vatican, and I remembered seeing the Cardinal Blood Stone…”

“Before you moved to Bo City?” Mo Fan asked.

Xinxia nodded.

Mo Fan fell silent.

Xinxia bit her lips. She did not tell anyone about it, as she was still unsure if the blurry recollections were actually part of her memory.

“They did not accuse me falsely, Brother Mo Fan. I think… I’m really Salan,” Xinxia hesitated before spilling the beans.

It was utterly ridiculous, yet the evidence was there. No matter how ridiculous it might sound, it was still the truth.

There were different memories hidden inside her body, different personalities. She would be awakened at times to carry out the mission that the Black Vatican had long given her. When everything was done, the other soul would fall asleep, and the Amnesia Bug would hide the truth like it was all a dream.

It was the main reason why no one had seen Salan in person, and why no one knew who Salan was.

If even Salan herself did not know her true identity, how could the Enforcement Union possibly trace her down?

“I, I’m just a decoy to hide her identity… let me go, if I die, she will die too,” Xinxia had no idea how she could convince Mo Fan, but she had to. They could no longer alter the outcome.

“You are not,” Mo Fan said.

“It doesn’t really matter, everyone believes I am, and I did go to the Black Vatican. The Cardinal Blood Stone reacts to my blood, too…Bother Mo Fan, I hope that you are the one that will end my life,” Xinxia’s voice softened. She knew better than anyone else how cruel of a decision it was for Mo Fan.

But she wanted to be selfish for one last time, she just wanted to sleep quietly in Mo Fan’s arms, even if she would never wake up.

“I already told you, you are not Salan!” Mo Fan’s tone intensified.

“Brother Mo Fan…”

“Xinxia is Xinxia, and Salan is Salan, there’s no way they are the same person, nor would they exist in the same body! I don’t care what evidence they have, and I don’t care how many people believe you are her. I only know you are my Ye Xinxia, and no one can harm you, not even the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court, not even me!” Mo Fan said firmly, looking at Xinxia’s eyes that were gleaming with tears.

Mo Fan’s words echoed in Xinxia’s ears and landed a powerful blow on her heart. Seeing the firm look in Mo Fan’s eyes, the disguise that Xinxia had put on in order to stay calm collapsed entirely. She immediately turned into a sobbing little girl, hiding inside Mo Fan’s arms…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The long dress was dragged across the floor. Mo Fan carried Xinxia down the stairs and headed for the exit.

“I’m bringing you out of here,” Mo Fan said to Xinxia.

“Mmm,” Xinxia nodded heavily.

Mo Fan always said that he would give her a pair of wings, but Xinxia was never interested in luxurious magic equipment. What Mo Fan gave her was a great sense of security that was protecting her like a pair of wings. Many times, she was quite relieved that she could not walk in exchange for the protection she was receiving.

It no longer mattered if she could leave the place safely, she was already satisfied!

The heavy door opened slowly. Rays of sunlight poured into the hall. Xinxia should be relieved that she was able to see light again, yet she knew the real trouble had only just begun!

The Golden Sun Knights were already setting up their formation. Their magical auras had combined into a great pressure, making it extremely difficult to breathe.

Further behind were two troops of Adjudicators led by their Vice Hall Master, Shawshank. He had the urge to charge forward and kill Xinxia, just so his daughter could rest in peace!

Two hundred Adjudicators were in position. With just a single command, they would cast their destructive spells. The spells would pour down like rain, turning them both into nothing.

As Xinxia glanced further ahead, Panijia’s funeral was still taking place. The people of the Parthenon Temple were all present, including the powerful Holy Court Mages dressed in their noble coats. Their strength was unmatchable!

Mo Fan had no chance of leaving the place considering how heavily-guarded it was!

“Mo Fan, put her down! If you step out of the entrance with her, the Golden Sun Knights will execute you right on the spot!” Kulun threatened him.

The people saw Mo Fan carrying Xinxia in his arms as soon as the door opened. It was quite obvious that Mo Fan was planning to take the girl with him!

Mo Fan was allowed to meet any person in the Parthenon Temple as he wished after overcoming the Starry Mountain Path, but he was not allowed to take the person with him.

“They say ignorant people are fearless,” Yafa looked at Mo Fan and grinned.

“There are always lunatics that do something you will never understand.”

“Mo Fan, you better consider it carefully! Once you bring her out of the Saintess’ Hall, the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court will treat you as her accomplice. You might be the savior of the Ancient Capital, but Salan has committed grave sins, and as her accomplice, you won’t be forgiven either!” Tisu said.

“You are the ones that won’t be forgiven! You claim to be the justest and most righteous in the world. The Parthenon Temple, and the Holy Judgment Court are nothing but a bunch of brainless, useless people. You have never seen Salan in person, yet you could not wait to accuse a girl just because of your so-called evidence, and even come up with such ridiculous speculation… saying that there is another soul hiding in her body, that her other character is Salan herself! Tell me, which one of you have seen her carrying out the evil conspiracy, or commit any sinful acts? You can’t even judge from the simplest facts, and you would rather believe in evidence that sounds like pure nonsense to me. So this is how the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court deliver justice? You are no better than the Black Vatican that murders innocent people!” Mo Fan snapped furiously when he was confronted by the crowd.

The crowd was already shocked when they saw Mo Fan bringing Xinxia to the entrance. To their surprise, he proceeded to scold everyone at the scene. He did not bother lowering his voice. Almost everyone on the mountain heard it. The atmosphere intensified instantly as strong auras burst out of the bodies of the powerful Mages whose dignity was at stake!

“The evidence is solid enough! Why did the Cardinal Blood Stone only react to her blood?” Great Muse Mellaura said.

“So you’re saying that you’re familiar with the Black Vatican?” Mo Fan asked.

“I…”

“I have killed three hundred and seventy Gray Priests, fifty-four Black Clergymen, two Blue Deacons, and one Executioner of the Black Vatican. I’ve also destroyed one of their bases. Putting the Calamity of the Ancient Capital aside, may I ask, has anyone here killed more members of the Black Vatican than I have? If there is, please step forward and tell me everything that you know about the Black Vatican; how many Blue Deacons they have, the real identities of their Red Cardinals, and tell me you’re willing to take the risk and promise that the Cardinal Blood Stone can surely tell us who Salan is, even if the person is a little girl, a girl that can’t walk, or an old man, an authority of the Parthenon Temple, or even a Magistrate of the Holy Judgment Court!” Mo Fan snapped.

“Mo Fan, the Holy Judgment Court has already come to a conclusion and believes she is Salan. Why are you doing this still?” Glorkian of the Hall of Judgment sighed.

“Glorkian, what did you promise me before? I let you bring Xinxia to the Parthenon Temple, and you also promised me that nothing would happen to her. Did you choose to forget your promise now that it is against the Parthenon Temple? Do you really think doing the right thing is no longer important? Have you lost your ability to think reasonably, since you just need to blindly follow the orders of the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court?” Mo Fan pointed at Glorkian furiously.

“I…” Glorkian was left speechless. He too was doubtful of the outcome, yet what could he, a mere Adjudicator, do to change the outcome?

“The members of the Black Vatican treat the orders given to them as their sacred missions. They are accumulating their merits by doing harm to others. They would never doubt what they were told to do. They are all brainwashed into believing that the orders given by the Black Vatican are the noblest, yet look at you! Both you and the Black Vatican have strong beliefs. I initially thought the people of the Parthenon Temple were different, because you were still able to judge if an order given to you didn’t make any sense, but it turns out that you’re no different from them! You’re claiming that she is Salan and can’t wait to execute her just because of the so-called evidence you have; don’t you realize how ridiculous you are!?” The anger burning in Mo Fan’s chest turned into words stabbing the crowd like sharp swords.

“Mo Fan, that’s only from your point of view! No one in this world will believe that their close ones are criminals, but you still can’t change the fact that she has committed grave sins. Put her down, and leave the Saintess’ Hall, we won’t do any harm to you. You’ve done a lot to eradicate the Black Vatican… but it turned out that Salan is one of the closest people to you. I know it’s hard to accept it, but the verdict has been made. You won’t be able to change it anymore,” Tisu advised.

“So you’re just going to continue down the wrong path?” Mo Fan sneered.

“Even if it’s inappropriate, that’s just how it is. We’re talking about a Red Cardinal, our Holy Judgment Court has the right to execute any person that we suspect to be a Red Cardinal!” Dulanc, the Great Magistrate of the Holy Judgment Court finally spoke.

“Very well, so that’s the true attitude of the Holy Judgment Court; you would rather kill a thousand to stop the villain from running away?!” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

“If we killed the wrong person, we will admit our wrong to the deceased, but if she’s indeed Salan, we’ll be saving countless lives here! Ye Xinxia, if you still have a conscience, you should sacrifice yourself to stop the other demon living in you from endangering the world. You shouldn’t ruin Mo Fan, too, the man has a bright future ahead. This is the Parthenon Temple, we will not let anyone challenge our authority. We have the right to execute anyone on the spot!” Great Magistrate Dulanc shouted loudly.

Xinxia subconsciously glanced at Mo Fan.

“Don’t listen to him. Trust me, I’m bringing you out of here!” Mo Fan said confidently.

“Great Magistrate Dulanc, why do your words sound so familiar? I remembered that you were still a Probationary Magistrate when you said the same words to convince the great Holy Saint to surrender himself when he was surrounded by you lots too…” the voice of an old man appeared.

The crowd cleared a path as Old Bao (Song Qiming) slowly went forward.

The Holy Court Mages knelt on their knee when the old man walked past them.

“Clergyman Song!”

“Elder!”

“Clergyman Song!”

“Master!”

The Holy Court Mages consisted of Super Mages, each with a great reputation in the world, yet they did not dare to show their pride in front of the Old Clergyman, Song Qiming.

The new Clergyman had taken over a few years ago, yet in terms of influence, he was still incomparable to the Old Clergyman, Song Qiming.

“Song Qiming, you are a Clergyman. You are only responsible for supervising the Magistrates, but their votes have nothing to do with you. Besides, you are no longer a Clergyman, what right do you have to speak here!?” Dulanc snapped when he saw Song Qiming.

“I was only mentioning something that happened in the past. Many people were still clueless about the details of the judgment that befell the Holy Saint. I have no intention to offend the Goddess Izisha’s impartial vote, but we all knew he was a victim in the struggle for power. I really wish that we had someone like Mo Fan that stepped forward and woke us up, we could have avoided the huge mistake we made!” Song Qiming sighed.

“Silence, are you rebelling against the Holy Judgment Court!?” Dulanc snapped furiously.

The details of Wen Tai’s death were sealed away. The Holy Judgment Court had forbidden anyone from mentioning it, but Song Qiming had to spill the beans under the circumstances. Many people in the Parthenon Temple were still the Holy Saint’s followers. If Song Qiming continued, it was surely going to stir great chaos among the crowd!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Why am I considered rebelling when I was only mentioning a past incident? Or perhaps the Holy Judgment Court knew it was a mistake all along, but in order to protect its reputation, it has forbidden others from mentioning it?” Song Qiming harrumphed coldly. He did not hesitate to accuse Dulanc in return.

Dulanc’s expression darkened. He said, “It seems like you’re determined to protect them, but I’m telling you, they still are going to die. The Holy Judgment Court has never wrongly accused anyone. Calling us unjust is nothing but a one-sided statement!”

Song Qiming kept quiet. After all, it was true that he wanted to protect Mo Fan and Xinxia. He was extremely familiar with Mo Fan’s personality.

“Captain of the Golden Sun Knights, what are you waiting for? Why aren’t you taking down the prisoner’s accomplice? The Holy Judgment Court has the right to execute the prisoner on the spot. If he dares resist, you have the right to execute him!” Dulanc declared.

The people nearby were startled by his words. Many had learned that Mo Fan was the hero of the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, yet Dulanc was not showing any face to China by giving the order to execute Mo Fan on the spot.

Normally, the Holy Judgment Court would only detain the offender and ask China’s Enforcement Union to send their representative over to decide how they would deal with the offender. However, regardless of how infuriated the Enforcement Union was, they would surely be merciful considering Mo Fan’s contributions. Dulanc was not willing to let Mo Fan go!

“Dulanc, what do you think you are doing!?” Song Qiming snapped.

“What am I doing? I’m just doing what a Great Magistrate should do. If you try to defend them, I’ll treat you as their accomplice too!” Dulanc said.

“Old Bao, it’s meaningless to talk with someone like him.” Mo Fan understood Old Bao’s intention. He wanted to argue in favor of Xinxia, hoping that someone reputable would step forward and question the verdict, so they could further investigate the matter.

However, Mo Fan knew it was unlikely, judging from the Great Magistrate’s reaction.

Mo Fan was observing the situation calmly. Somehow, he felt that the Great Magistrate was very eager to sentence Xinxia to death. What exactly were the benefits tied to the conspiracy that they had to go to such extremes?

—

Mo Fan felt a great pressure directed at him. He lifted his gaze and saw a man with a malicious grin approaching him.

“Yafa, he hasn’t left the hall, you are not allowed to do any harm to him,” Glorkian said.

“The Great Magistrate has already given the order, I’m just following it. It’s quite obvious that he’s trying to save the prisoner!” Yafa continued forward.

He was very curious where this Advanced Mage had gotten the courage to dare provoke the crowd. He could not even defeat the weakest Golden Sun Knight with his petty strength!

“Mo Fan, don’t come out!” Tisu warned.

As long as Mo Fan did not bring Xinxia out of the hall, no one would do anything to him. Mo Fan’s status had risen too far. Even the Great Magistrate would be punished if he abused his power!

“I’m leaving with her. If any of you try to stop me, I won’t show any mercy!” Mo Fan said coldly.

Mo Fan stepped out of the entrance after finishing the sentence.

He was holding onto Xinxia tightly. He walked down the stairs under the crowd’s stare. The Golden Sun Knights nearby were at loss. Perhaps they were confused by the incident too, and could not believe the kind-hearted Xinxia had suddenly turned into a murderer and a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican.

“You are too full of yourself. It doesn’t matter if you’ve won the World College Tournament, you’re nothing but a little ant in our eyes!” Yafa shouted furiously.

Magnificent Star Constellations appeared around him. Seven of them combined into a brilliant Star Palace containing an overwhelming amount of energy in front of Yafa.

“Thousand Leaves Saber: Slaughtering Wind Slash!”

Fierce golden winds, like giant scythes, swept at Mo Fan from all directions.

The golden scythes combined into a giant scythe as tall as the Saintess’ Hall. It came down rapidly, aiming right at Mo Fan and Xinxia!

Mo Fan calmly faced the Super Spell. He was holding an orb covered in ancient runes in his hand. He tossed the orb into the air when the Slaughtering Wind Slash approached him.

A huge mist instantly spread across the place, limiting the vision of those watching. A faint, black outline appeared in the mist, before growing rapidly…

The stairs at the entrance of the Saintess’ Hall were soon fully occupied. The Golden Sun Knights surrounding Mo Fan and Xinxia realized that something was not right. They quickly fled into the distance.

Yafa’s Slaughtering Wind Slash landed on the enormous figure in the mist, yet it did not seem to inflict any damage on it. Mo Fan and Xinxia were behind the black figure, and perfectly unharmed!

Yafa stood still, staring at the mist that was expanding and dissipating into the surroundings. He saw a pair of huge, terrifying eyes in the mist, and immediately felt a great chill running down his spine, as if he was soaked in icy water.

“What…what on Earth is this thing!?” Yafa screamed.

As soon as he cried out, an enormous head poked out from the mist. Instead of doing anything fancy, it simply opened its mouth and swallowed the arrogant Yafa with a single bite!

Even the Vice Hall Master of the Hall of Judgment subconsciously took a few steps back. The two hundred Adjudicators behind him were stunned, too. Why would such an enormous creature appear out of nowhere in their Parthenon Temple? Was it a Tyrant Titan?

The entire mountain top was in an uproar. The mist continued to expand, and almost reached the gloomy sky. A bolt of lightning swept across the pallid sky as a huge rain started pouring down.

Strong winds followed the rain, blowing the colorful, soaked petals into the air. It was a spectacular yet uneasy sight.

As the rain poured down, the people were finally able to see the true appearance of the creature.

It was a Skyscraping Snake. The mist had prevented the people from seeing its entire body, but the head of the giant snake head had risen above the curtain of rain. It was staring down at the people on the mountain coldly.

“My…My God!”

“It’s a snake!”

“A Ruler-level creature, it must be a Ruler-level creature! How did it appear in the Parthenon Temple!?”…

The people were all crying out in shock. Even though there were quite a few Super Mages on the mountain, not many had seen a creature of the Black Totem Snake’s level.

A Ruler-level creature?

The Black Totem Snake was no ordinary Ruler-level creature! When he revealed himself and stared at the humans on the mountain, he was like an icy Snake God. His pride and dominating aura completely overwhelmed the hearts of the Mages on the mountain!

The Black Totem Snake slowly opened his mouth and spat Yafa out.

In a short time, the previously imperious Golden Sun Knight ended up falling to the ground in ragged clothes. It was like the creature was provoking Great Magistrate Dulanc on purpose. Yafa, covered in sticky gastric fluid, had landed right at his feet…

Dulanc’s face began to twitch when he saw Yafa trembling on the ground!

This Mo Fan had come prepared!

“The Mountain of the Goddess is well-protected. Even a Commander-level creature was not allowed to enter, let alone a Ruler-level creature. Is this snake Mo Fan’s Summoned Beast? Otherwise, how did it appear out of nowhere!?” The Hall Mother said.

“I saw a Totem Orb just now. Totem Beasts are able to hide inside Totem Orbs whenever they encounter danger. I believe Mo Fan did not accept the challenge of the Starry Mountain Path just so he could see Xinxia. He was planning to bring the Totem Orb into the Mountain of the Goddess too!” Mellaura said with a dark expression.

“It’s only a huge snake. How dare it behave unscrupulously in the Parthenon Temple? Shawshank, lead your men and kill the snake!” Dulanc snapped furiously.

He could not care less about the snake’s background. Anything that dared to challenge the authority of the Holy Judgment Court would die!

—

The Black Totem Snake slowly lowered his head to the ground, allowing Mo Fan to hop onto his head while carrying Xinxia.

The Black Totem Snake had a little hollow on his head. It would protect Mo Fan and Xinxia from the effects of spells.

Mo Fan gently placed Xinxia inside the hollow, but he stayed on the outside.

“He’s going to protect us, don’t worry,” Mo Fan knew Xinxia was extremely terrified. He forced a smile and comforted the girl.

The Black Totem Snake slowly raised his head. Mo Fan stood on it amid the rain and the drifting petals, and glanced down at the crowd.

“Mo Fan!”

“You’re out of your mind!”

Haylon pointed at the head of the Black Totem Snake and yelled angrily, “Are you seriously going against the Parthenon Temple!?”

The people below the mountain could also see the enormous snake at the top of the mountain. They were immediately struck with terror, as the previous Tyrant Titan was like a little finger compared to the skyscraping snake!

Mo Fan had made up his mind. He was going to bring Xinxia away today!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I already said, I will not show any mercy to anyone that tries to stop me!” Mo Fan glared down at the people of the Parthenon Temple coldly.

There was no way Mo Fan would let himself fall into the hands of the Parthenon Temple or the Holy Judgment Court. As a matter of fact, he already learned the ‘justice’ that these people proclaimed to serve. They were merely pursuing greater authority and power!

Mo Fan was not interested in power games. He simply had the urge to raze the authorities of the entire world to the ground!

“What are you waiting for? It’s only a Ruler-level creature, are you really just going to watch it destroy the pride of the Parthenon Temple?” Great Muse Mellaura said.

“For Parthenon!”

“For Parthenon!”

The Golden Sun Knights that were the closest to the Black Totem Snake found their courage. A white-gold light shrouded their bodies. Great Muse Mellaura was casting a Blessing Spell with her words, granting the knights greater power!

The white and gold light had increased the power of the knights by fifty percent. It was extremely significant for Super Mages.

“Holy Essence Formation!” a Golden Sun Knight yelled. Brilliant Star Constellations of the Light Element constructed an enormous Star Palace of 2401 Stars. The fact that the Mage was able to draw the Star Orbits, Star Patterns, Star Constellations, and combine them all into a magnificent Star Palace implied that the Golden Sun Knight was a very experienced Super Mage!

He had completed the Light Spell. Following him, four other Golden Sun Knights with the Light Element constructed their Star Palaces too! The brilliant light shone through the dim sky as five stunning Demon Judgment Swords descended from the sky, aiming right at the enormous, black snake on the mountain!

The Black Totem Snake lifted his gaze slightly and saw the energy connecting the five enormous light swords. He immediately sensed that the Super Spells were connected by a magic formation, which would further amplify their damage!

The Black Totem Snake was extremely smart. He completely disregarded the light swords and raised his tail instead.

He swept his tail across the ground, producing a powerful shockwave that surged in all directions, knocking the five Golden Sun Knights that were planning to join their spells into a formation into the air.

The five Golden Sun Knights were wearing their Armor, but the overwhelming force broke the Armor to pieces. They landed on the ground heavily and lost consciousness!

“Kill it, kill it now!” Shawshank screamed.

Behind him were two hundred Adjudicators, the elites among the Advanced Mages. However, they were overwhelmed by their fear of the Black Totem Snake, and struggling to cast spells.

There existed a strict divide between the levels of demon creatures. The Servant-class creatures were afraid of Warrior-level creatures, the Warrior-level creatures would submit themselves to the Commander-level creatures, and the Commander-level creatures would kneel before the Ruler-level creatures. The difference was not because of their lineage, but the strong aura of deterrence that the higher-level creatures emitted.

The aura was like an irresistible Psychic Spell, crushing the lines of defense inside the Mages’ hearts!

The Golden Sun Knights were not as intimidated when facing the Black Totem Snake, but the Adjudicators were only Advanced Mages. They were considered courageous if their legs were not trembling in fear!

“Battle Drum!”

Motivating drum beats came from behind. Great Muse Mellaura had made her move again, using her Sound Element to get rid of the fear inside the hearts of the Adjudicators.

The Adjudicators could finally cast their spells. Countless Star Constellations combined into a brilliant galaxy, as the energy of the Elements surged wildly.

How destructive was it when two hundred Advanced Mages were casting their spells simultaneously?

The Black Totem Snake sensed a strong energy accumulating. He suddenly lowered his head and faced the troop of Adjudicators…

He opened his mouth and spat out a strong black wind. The breath swept forward like an incredible storm, aiming right at the troops of Adjudicators.

The Adjudicators finally had the chance to cast their spells, yet they were immediately stricken by the strong wind. It rolled over them, hitting more than a thousand people…

The breath was normally poisonous, but the Black Totem Snake was not aiming to kill the humans. It only swept the Adjudicators into the sky like straws of grass. They spun a few circles in the air and fell back to the ground. The breath did not turn them into puddles instantly!

“Useless pricks!” Shawshank snapped.

Shawshank let out a roar, summoning a pair of golden wings on his back. The wings were filled with the energy of the Light Element. They would burn any dark creature that came into contact with them.

Shawshank had no idea if the Black Totem Snake was a dark creature. He simply assumed the creature that dared to challenge the authority of the Parthenon Temple was evil. He rose into the sky and emitted a blinding light to blind the Black Totem Snake temporarily.

The Black Totem Snake stuck his tongue out and swung it at Shawshank.

Shawshank nimbly dodged it in the sky, gradually approaching the Black Totem Snake. His hands fired a spiraling bolt of frost.

The frost landed on the Black Totem Snake. His scales were covered in a layer of frost, and it continued to spread.

Mo Fan was standing on the Black Totem Snake’s head and was aware of the rapidly-spreading frost. However, the Black Totem Snake seemed unaffected by it. The Black Totem Snake twisted his body and headed down the mountain.

The frost was still spreading, but as soon as the Black Totem Snake started moving, it began to fall off on its own. Compared to the Black Totem Snake’s size, the cold of the frost was like a popsicle to a normal human!

Shawshank could feel the rage exploding in his chest after seeing that the creature had totally ignored his Ice Magic!

There was no way he was going to let the snake escape with his daughter’s murderer!

“Song Qiming, you are out of your mind!” the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights, Haylon snapped.

“What does it have anything to do with me?” Song Qiming furrowed in confusion.

“Of course it has everything to do with you! Are you telling me that Mo Fan, who’s only an Advanced Mage can control a Totem Beast? Is the Enforcement Union challenging our authority too!?” Haylon said.

“Haylon, you’ve really overestimated me. To be frank, even I can’t control the Totem Beast. Mo Fan saved the Black Totem Snake’s life before. The Totem Beast willingly came to protect him to repay his kindness. If you want to pressure me just so I will withdraw the snake, I’m afraid I can’t really do that. We didn’t expect it to show up, either! Doesn’t your Parthenon Temple have a lot of experts? Can you please subdue the Totem Beast for us? The Black Totem Snake wouldn’t endanger the lives of humans, but it’s too enormous. It won’t be good if it ends up destroying the flowers and scaring the people of your city,” Old Bao replied very seriously.

Haylon and Dulanc almost vomited blood after hearing Song Qiming’s explanation.

The matter would seriously escalate now that China’s Totem Beast had shown up in the Parthenon Temple!

“Dulanc, ask the Holy Court Mages to attack now. Otherwise, we won’t be able to subdue the Totem Beast!” Haylon said.

“You all, follow Haylon’s orders. The Holy Judgment Court will totally lose its reputation if someone manages to snatch Salan away from us!” Dulanc blushed with rage.

The Parthenon Temple was known for its outstanding defenses, but a single Mo Fan had managed to stir great chaos in their territory. Not only had he overcome the Challenge of the Starry Mountain Path, he had also rescued the prisoner in the Saintess’ Hall right in front of them. To make it worse, the Black Totem Snake easily took down the defenses of the Parthenon Temple, which they all thought was unbreakable.

Dulanc was struggling to understand why a creature of such level was willing to obey the orders of a human. Even he was jealous of Mo Fan!

“Stop it, stop it now!” Haylon quickly gathered ten Golden Sun Mages. They rose into the sky to set up a strong magic formation.

“Lightning Punishment Formation: Oblivion!”

Haylon flew into the sky as lightning strikes fell rapidly. The Hall Master had drawn a spectacular Lightning Star Palace, giving him control of the lightning!

Sixteen enormous lightning birds came down from the clouds, bringing powerful lightning with them. They swiftly surrounded the Black Totem Snake.

The lightning birds spread their wings. As they approached the Black Totem Snake, they rapidly disintegrated and established a giant Lightning Punishment Formation around the Black Totem Snake. The entire sky was filled with an overwhelming energy!

Both Mo Fan and Xinxia sensed the terrifying magic. Even hiding inside the hollow on the Black Totem Snake, it felt like the apocalypse.

Haylon, the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights…

Mo Fan had seen quite a few Super Mages, but the Lightning Spell that Haylon had cast was surely the strongest. It was a lot stronger than Zhu Meng’s Lightning Punishment Formation, the Seal of Nine Laws!

The Black Totem Snake had been tortured by the powerful Lightning spell in West Lake!

The Black Totem Snake let out a cry, as if he was enraged by the Lightning spell. This time, he was not weakened by his ecdysis!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Black Totem Snake raised his head, staring at Haylon, the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights.

Terrifying lightning surged across the place, striking the Black Totem Snake, leaving scorch marks on his body.

Lightning was very penetrating, and it would still inflict a certain amount of damage on the Black Totem Snake, regardless of how thick his scales were.

The Lightning Punishment Formation not only contained destructive power, it was a strong Sealing magic, too. The lightning trapped its target, and even a Ruler-level creature would struggle to break free from it!

“You won’t escape this time!” Haylon harrumphed coldly. He hovered in the air with his subordinates behind him. He waved his hand with an icy expression, “All knights, Holy Court Mages, and Adjudicators, listen up! Let’s kill this demon snake at all cost!”

Brilliant Star Constellations and Star Palaces shone down upon the place. Even the weakest person among them was still an Advanced Mage. The combined light was like a magic cloud looming over the Parthenon Temple!

The deafening blasts of the magic spells came from behind. Mo Fan could feel the terrifying energy as the different Elements clashed. He turned around and saw different kinds of energy surging at him!

The flames and the howling frost combined into a rain of ice and fire. The sharp blades of wind and the flickering lightning intertwined, while shocking swords of light flew at him rapidly…

Mo Fan had never seen so many magic spells combined together, not even during the battle at the Ancient Capital. The armed forces of the Parthenon Temple were indeed terrifying!

The Black Totem Snake was trapped in the Lightning Punishment Formation, and having difficulty moving. He quickly coiled up as he sensed the great danger approaching!

The Black Totem Snake curled up into a hill, wrapping his body around his head. The magic spells landed on him, damaging his scales!

The sky darkened as the Advanced and Super Spells landed on their target. The whole mountain was razed flat.

The Black Totem Snake remained still. The magic blasts lasted for quite some time. After all, he was going against the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple. When they were determined to eliminate their enemy, even the Black Totem Snake would be injured to a certain degree.

The Black Totem Snake’s scales began to split. Blood started flowing down his scales.

—

“Keep it up, blast it into pieces!” Haylon ordered.

As long as his Lightning Punishment Formation was in place, the enormous snake was merely a huge, stationary target. The Mages just needed to attack with their strongest spells. Even a Totem Beast would eventually turn into scattered ashes and dispersed smoke!

The sacred mountain shook vigorously. The people in the Citadel of Athens could feel it strongly. The quake even spread to the cities further away.

The energy of the spells was already leaking out. If it wasn’t for the magic formation encapsulating the sacred mountain, the fire, lightning, and wind would have endangered the city.

A creature of the Black Totem Snake’s level could easily trigger a Purple Alert, especially when the Skyscraping Snake was on the sacred mountain of their city. Many people even saw the creature’s head reaching the clouds in the sky. Fear spread rapidly through the people!

Considering the risk of the magic formation collapsing, the Mages of the Hall of Faith immediately sounded the Purple Alert and evacuated the people around the sacred mountain.

The conflict between the Parthenon Temple and the Tyrant Titans was still around. Even in these times the Tyrant Titans would occasionally invade the city and attack the Parthenon Temple. As such, the area within five kilometers of the sacred mountain was extremely familiar with the evacuation procedures. Whenever the Tyrant Titans attacked, the Parthenon Temple would evacuate the people to at least five kilometers away so they could set up a barrier and avoid casualties!

The Parthenon Temple would give out the order to evacuate even if the intruder was only a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan. The Black Totem Snake was easily stronger than a Golden Sun Tyrant Titan. A Golden Sun Tyrant Titan could crush a whole street with a single stomp. Why couldn’t the Black Totem Snake raze half a district to the ground with a single sweep of his tail?

The Hall of Faith was responsible for guaranteeing the safety of the civilians. They would not stop and consider whether the Hall of Judgment and the Hall of Knights were able to control the situation. Whenever an emergency took place, they would evacuate civilians immediately to avoid unnecessary casualties!Read more chapter on our vipnovel.com

As a matter of fact, the magic formation was not perfectly safe, either. When so many Advanced and Super Spells were cast at the same time, even the slightest amount of destructive power that leaked out from the barrier could easily destroy an entire mountain…

The sacred mountain was on alert, and the areas nearby were being evacuated. The light of the spells looming over the place had turned into a black hole able to devour anything. The spells had yet to fall, the black hole continued to drag everything nearby into it, filling up the empty gap as the energy that had accumulated was simply too overwhelming.

—

The black hole was tearing at the Black Totem Snake’s body. The Black Totem Snake slowly extended his coils amid the chaotic wind, lightning, and fire. His scales were emitting wisps of blue light. They separated themselves from the Black Totem Snake’s scales and floated in the surroundings, forming a glowing barrier around the creature!

The Black Totem Snake’s defense was remarkable, and even Super Spells could only leave shallow wounds on his body. As the barrier surrounded the Black Totem Snake, the spells could no longer touch his scales. Even the lightning of the destructive Lightning Punishment Formation was blocked outside of the barrier!

The Black Totem Snake lifted his head out of his coils. He broke free from the Lightning Punishment Formation and curled around a deserted mountain…

The Black Totem Snake still looked stunning even when compared to the mountain, as he was able to coil around the whole peak easily.

The Black Totem Snake extended his head toward the black hole in the sky. He suddenly bit at the black hole and swallowed it down!

The black hole was formed by the combination of various Elements. When different Elements clashed, it would produce a destructive storm, and when the storm grew even stronger, it would result in a black hole…

The black hole that the Black Totem Snake ate consisted of countless Advanced and Super Spells, but the restless energy fell silent after it was swallowed by the Black Totem Snake…

It was as if the Black Totem Snake had digested the destructive energy. The sky immediately cleared up, and the whole place turned brightened up again.

Suddenly, the Black Totem Snake opened his mouth. A spiraling, black vortex came out of the creature’s mouth. It immediately devoured the sacred mountain and the smaller hills nearby. The Adjudicators and the Guardian Knights failed to hold their ground even when they were sticking close together. The strong energy tossed them into the air.

Their defense was a mere decoration in front of the vortex. Even Haylon and Shawshank were knocked flying by the impact!

Swallowing clouds and spitting out fog!

The Black Totem Snake was able to swallow energy and spit out an even stronger breath weapon. When the Black Totem Snake did not have any energy to use, the clouds in the sky were his best weapons…

The Elemental Vortex swept across the place. The armed forces that were previously in an orderly formation on the mountain were now in total disorder. Unconscious Mages were scattered across the place. It felt like none of them were actually strong enough to take on the Black Totem Snake!

The Black Totem Snake glanced at the mountain top aloofly. He started crawling down the steep mountain, and slowly moved away from the sacred mountain!

—

“Strengthen the magic formation!” Haylon snapped furiously.

The sacred mountain had a magic formation surrounding it. The Black Totem Snake would have to smash his way through it if he wanted to leave the place.

—

As the Black Totem Snake was heading down the mountain, a sacred golden magic formation appeared. Its surface was like a beehive shrouding the Mountain of the Goddess, preventing the Black Totem Snake from going any further.

The energy of the magic formation was like a scorching heat that could burn anything to ashes. The heat even melted the Black Totem Snake’s scales. Once he lost his scales, he would suffer great pain if he attempted to break through the barrier again!

The Black Totem Snake did not back away. He swung his tail and slammed it on the magic formation

The sacred, golden barrier shook hard. The scorching heat melted the scales on the Black Totem Snake’s tail. The flesh on the Black Totem Snake’s tail blistered when he continued to slam it on the barrier.

Mo Fan was well aware of how powerful the magic formation was. He was extremely touched seeing that the Black Totem Snake was trying hard to break through the barrier, even if it meant injuring himself!

“Big guy, I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve put you in, thank you so much,” Mo Fan said to the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake tried hard to break through the barrier. His head turned around and let out a hiss. It was obvious that the people of the Parthenon Temple were approaching.

As the Black Totem Snake continued to slam his tail onto the magic formation, arcs of lightning swept across the place randomly. The people of the Parthenon Temple knew how terrifying the power of the magic formation was. None of them dared to move any closer.

“You’re only digging your own grave. The magic formation will burn you into ashes, we don’t have to do anything at all!” Shawshank shouted, beating his wings and pointing at Mo Fan.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The magic formation is rather terrifying, we don’t dare to go any closer. What do we do now, Hall Master?…” a Holy Court Mage asked.

Haylon was more familiar with the magic formation than anyone else. The magic formation was applied to an area instead of just a thin barrier. The Black Totem Snake had currently entered the coverage of the magic formation, and had disrupted the flow of energy of the magic formation. The magic formation would instantly burn the weaker Mages to ashes if they got too close!

“Surround the place! Even if it manages to break through the magic formation, it will surely be a lot weaker. At that time, we’ll deactivate the magic formation and take them down!” Haylon ordered.

Shawshank quickly summoned more Adjudicators to him. They swiftly surrounded the area.

The magic formation would nullify every spell that landed on it. As such, the people of the Parthenon Temple were not in a rush to attack. Meanwhile, the Black Totem Snake was still too powerful. Once the magic formation of the sacred mountain weakened the creature, they would be able to subdue it!

The Black Totem Snake knew breaking through the magic formation was the only way out. When the flesh on his tail began to blister, he started ramming into the barrier with the middle section of his body.

The energy of the magic formation danced wildly. It spread to the nearby mountains, burning the plants into ashes within an instant, leaving them barren…

——

Most of the people stayed at the top of the mountain. They had only come for the funeral, so they had no obligation to lend a hand. They did not want to be involved in such a shocking battle.

Many Mages were dumbfounded by the Totem Beast’s strength. Even the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple were struggling to stop the skyscraping snake. The demon snake was most likely one of the strongest creatures in the whole world. Even Super Mages were unable to withstand a single blow from the creature!

“Hall…Hall Mother… something bad has happened!” A Muse hurriedly came riding over from the Hall of the Goddess on a deer-like beast.

The beast stopped in front of the Hall Mother. The Hall Mother frowned and snapped when she saw the Muse panicking, “Aren’t we busy dealing with the demon snake still? Can’t you wait until we are done!?”

“The remains… Izisha’s remains, she…” the Muse was struggling to speak. Her face was filled with horror.

“Say it!” the Hall Mother said coldly.

“Someone chopped her body into pieces!” the Muse finally managed to blurt out.

The Hall Mother’s expression changed instantly. She lifted her gaze. Her eyes flickered murderously.

The Muse subconsciously took a few steps back in fear.

“Go check it out, keep a low profile!” the Hall Mother said to one of her personal servants.

The servant nodded. She immediately mounted the deer-like beast and followed the Muse back to the Hall of the Goddess.

The Hall of the Goddess was located on the highest mountain. The journey did not take long since they were riding the Deer Beast. The Black Totem Snake was currently trapped inside the magic formation of the sacred mountain. The creature would not be able to leave in a short period, but the Hall Mother started to feel uneasy.

—

Not long after, the servant returned with the Deer Beast. She whispered into the Hall Mother’s ears.

At the same time, a great uproar took place on the mountain!

“What did you say? Izisha’s body was chopped into pieces?”

“That’s ridiculous! How absurd!”

“How useless are you knights? How could you possibly allow an intruder to sneak into the Hall of the Goddess!?”

“Who did it? Who!?”

The news spread rapidly, even Song Qiming had heard the news. He was standing beside Magistrate Leonard. The two exchanged glances with one another and saw the astonishment in one another’s eyes!

Izisha was the previous Goddess. Her remains were preserved in the Rear Hall of the Hall of the Goddess. Her remains would only be cremated after the new Goddess was elected.

The Mountain of the Goddess was the most heavily guarded place in the Parthenon Temple. There was no way an intruder could sneak inside without alerting anyone, but someone had chopped the previous Goddess’ body to bits! It was a great slap to the Parthenon Temple!

“It was a Probationary Servant, Saintess Andi’s subordinate. She killed herself with poison beside the Goddess’ remains, maybe she knew there’s no way she could escape,” the Muse said.

The Hall Mother, the Great Muse, and the Hall Masters were utterly infuriated!

It was most likely the most humiliating day for the Parthenon Temple ever. Not only did the murderer of a Saintess break out from their custody, but someone else had also blasphemed the body of their previous Goddess too! How unforgivable!

“Who was controlling her behind the scenes!?” the Hall Mother snapped furiously. Everyone immediately fell silent.

Someone had just chopped the body of their previous Goddess to pieces. It had to be part of a great conspiracy, plotted by a faction that had no respect for the Parthenon Temple!

It was basically declaring war against the Parthenon Temple!

What Mo Fan did today was already quite reckless, yet someone actually crossed the line even further, completely disregarding the authority of their Parthenon Temple!

“I was told the Spell of Resurrection is the greatest miracle of the Parthenon Temple. I’m quite interested to see if a person that has been chopped apart can be resurrected still!” a voice spoke up. The words seemed to be directed at the Hall Mother.

The Hall Mother was startled. She glanced at one of the guests, a woman that did not particularly stand out!

The woman was wearing a white dress, suitable attire for a funeral. She slowly stepped out from the panicking crowd, but the evil presence she was emitting was inharmonious with the presence of the people nearby!

She was wearing a huge hat with red lace covering her face and her neck. People could only see the outline of her face, but not her true appearance…

She was like a ghost, as her aura felt rather lifeless, yet her temperament and physique resembled that of an attractive woman!

Hall Mother Pamise glared at the woman that had uttered the scornful words, her chest heaving.

“Conti, what are you doing?”

“Are you out of your mind!?”

Many people recognized the woman. It was Conti from the Shoreline Alliance. She was a reputable representative of the Shoreline Alliance. They never thought Conti would bear such a great hatred for the Parthenon Temple that she would send someone to chop Izisha’s body into pieces, and even say such astounding words!

The people could see a wild grin under the lace covering Conti’s face. She ignored the comments of the people and walked forward.

She arrived at a spot where everyone could see her, before pointing at Magistrate Leonard.

Magistrate Leonard was clueless about what was going on. He suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood. It went half a meter high into the air, forcing the others to clear a path in panic.

Song Qiming was startled, too. Leonard was perfectly fine just a moment ago. Why would he vomit black blood all of a sudden!?

Besides, the black blood…

Every time Lingling finished a quest, she would send her report to Song Qiming, including the incident about the poison that the Black Vatican had used on Chongming Island. Song Qiming had purposely looked into it!

He was utterly surprised when he sensed the same poison from the black blood that Leonard had vomited out!

Wasn’t the poison something that the Black Vatican used? It was last seen in the hands of a Blue Deacon, Fang Shaoli, who was Salan’s student!

“Leonard, use all you have to protect your heart. If the poison reaches your heart, you are dead for sure!” Song Qiming blurted out.

Leonard was still vomiting blood. His right hand grabbed Song Qiming desperately while his left hand was pointing at the woman in the hat. He wanted to say something, yet he could not spit out even a single word…

The poison was spreading rapidly. The Holy Court Mage that was responsible for Leonard’s safety was infuriated. He immediately started for the woman!

“If you don’t want your Magistrate to turn into a dried corpse, I suggest you leave my line of sight now!” Conti said coldly. Her words were irresistible.

The Holy Court Mage was stunned. He turned around and glanced at Leonard. The man was using his cultivation to keep himself alive, yet it felt like he was going to die at any second!

The series of events had taken place too suddenly. The other Magistrates looked stunned.

The other Magistrates started to vomit black blood too. They did not spit the blood out like Leonard did, as their condition was not as serious. However, even the Muses of the Parthenon Temple had no clue how to stop the poison. It was still spreading inside the victims’ bodies. The whole place was in chaos!

“You…you are not Conti, who are you!? Why are you targeting the Magistrates!?” the Holy Court Mage snapped. His eyes were filled with murderous intent.

“Me?” the woman grinned disdainfully, and sneered, “I am… Salan!”

The people almost lost their minds when they heard her words!

Salan?

She’s Salan!?

The Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, one of the scariest leaders of the Black Vatican, the one responsible for the Calamity of Bo City and the Calamity of the Ancient Capital!

But, wasn’t Salan supposed to be Ye Xinxia, whom the Black Totem Snake was trying to rescue? Why was there another Salan that dared to show up right in front of the crowd!?

I am Salan…

That brief sentence had stirred great waves in the hearts of the powerful and prestigious people of the Parthenon Temple!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Humph, where did this clown come from? You really think by putting up a show, we’ll assume that you’re the true Salan?” Dulanc seemed rather calm, as if he was well aware of the person’s true intentions.

“Great Magistrate, are you implying that she is not Salan, and she’s only trying to distract us so Ye Xinxia can escape?” another Magistrate said.

“Exactly, how could a cunning person like Salan walk right into a trap?” Great Magistrate Dulanc said.

Salan would be a fool to show up in the Parthenon Temple and walk into the magic formation on the sacred mountain. It was no different than walking right into a trap!

Dulanc’s words were quite convincing, but to everyone’s surprise, the woman wearing a hat with laces suddenly burst out laughing. Her laughter was piercing their ears harshly.

“She is Salan!” Song Qiming said with a long sigh.

Song Qiming was once the Clergyman of the Parthenon Temple. He knew more about the past than most people present. As a matter of fact, when Pang Lai told him about the death of the Master of the Shadow Element, Essendale, Song Qiming had already guessed Salan’s true identity!

“Do you dare place your blood on this stone?” Great Muse Mellaura was holding the Cardinal Blood Stone as she snapped furiously.

Mellaura tossed the Cardinal Blood Stone forward. Salan caught the stone and touched the veins on its surface…

“The Supreme Pontiff has the other half of the Cardinal Blood Stones in order to control the seven Red Cardinals, to ensure that the Red Cardinals will not betray the Black Vatican. I could not help but wonder why the other half of my Cardinal Blood Stone is in your hands?” Salan played with the Cardinal Blood Stone and asked in an intrigued voice.

“Stop trying to scare us, we took it from the main headquarters of the Black Vatican after sacrificing lots of our men. You devil, hand over the antidote at once, or we won’t let you go!” a Holy Court Mage named Bol snapped furiously.

The woman did not bother looking at Bol. She slowly moved her finger to her lips and bit it.

A line of blood flowed down her finger, before a drop of blood fell onto the Cardinal Blood Stone.

The blood opened the Cardinal Blood Stone that had been sealed for many years like a key. The runes on the surface of the Cardinal Blood Stone vanished instantly, emitting a blood-colored light that covered the entire mountain top!

The crowd was stunned!

The Cardinal Blood Stone only reacted slightly to Xinxia’s blood, but it was far from enough to open up the seal of the Cardinal Blood Stone. The terrifying red light burst out of the stone like the gate to Hell had just opened. A strong sense of death lingered in the air!

“It’s been so long,” the woman stared at the Cardinal Blood Stone like a mother looking at her long lost child, displaying a weird affection for the stone.

The people soon noticed that the woman was holding onto another similar stone. It fit perfectly with the Cardinal Blood Stone. When they were combined together, it was like the bright red heart of a devil. The people almost felt like they were suffocating when they heard it beating!

“This…” the Magistrates were utterly dumbfounded.

Mellaura stood there with a blank face.

Not only did the woman awaken the Cardinal Blood Stone, she even took out the other half of the Cardinal Blood Stone, which only a Red Cardinal would have. When the two Cardinal Blood Stones combined into one, they were able to unleash an overwhelming evil aura!

She had Awakened the Blood Stone, and even possessed the other half of it!

The woman was the real Salan!

The Cardinal Blood Stone was the evidence that had convinced everyone that Xinxia was Salan, but now, someone else had thoroughly awakened the Cardinal Blood Stone. Not only did it prove that Xinxia was innocent, it also proved that the woman was the real Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, the one responsible for the Festival of Death at the Ancient Capital: Salan!

“I have come for two things. First, I will be taking back my Blood Stone, and second, I will be taking Dulanc’s life. It was just a spur of the moment that I decided to chop Izisha into pieces, nothing else. I have lots of time to settle my debts with her…” Salan admitted her identity, and even when she was alone among the people of the Parthenon Temple, she did not seem to be worried at all.

The people of the Parthenon Temple felt like their lungs were about to explode after hearing her words.

Izisha was their previous Goddess, the source of faith of the Parthenon Temple, yet the woman had chopped her remains into pieces. It was worse than killing her, and in addition to it, she even described it like it was nothing worth mentioning.

Just a spur of the moment, nothing else!

“Take her down!” The Hall Mother could not stand it any further.

The Black Totem Snake from China had given the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple a great slap in the face, and now, Salan’s actions had completely destroyed the Parthenon Temple’s dignity. How could the Parthenon Temple possibly retain their authority if they failed to eliminate these two heretics!?

“Yes!” Seven Golden Sun Knights that were standing close to the Hall Mother immediately stepped forward.

These seven Golden Sun Knights were responsible for the safety of the future Goddess of the Parthenon Temple. They did not attack when the Black Totem Snake showed up, as they were responsible for the safety of the Hall Mother and the Great Muse.

The seven Golden Sun Knights were obliged to obey the Hall Mother’s orders when the Goddess had not been elected yet. They could easily bring destruction to an entire country with their four fully-cultivated Elements!

Even if Salan was powerful, she had no chance against the seven Golden Sun Knights.

The seven Golden Sun Knights swiftly made their moves, yet Salan had no intention of running away. She surprisingly spread her arms, as if she was waiting to be arrested. However, the grin on her face was a clear indication that she had some other plan in mind!

The seven Golden Sun Knights subdued Salan in no time, yet the enraged Hall Mother suddenly vomited a mouthful of black blood onto Great Muse Mellaura.

Mellaura’s expression fell when she smelled the foul blood.

The knights immediately panicked. They quickly surrounded the Hall Mother, together with the Muses and the servants.

“How…how did you do it? That’s impossible!” The Hall Mother’s mouth was covered in black blood. She pointed a shaking finger at Salan in disbelief.

She was the Hall Mother of the Hall of the Goddess. She had the strongest Healing Magic, apart from the Goddess herself. She was basically immune to any kind of poison, it was impossible that the Black Vatican’s poison could threaten her!

“You can kill me now, I won’t resist, but if I die here, your Hall Mother is coming with me too!” Salan said calmly.

“You devil, what do you want!?” Mellaura snapped furiously.

Everyone assumed that only the Magistrates were poisoned, and their lives were currently in Salan’s control. To their surprise, even the Hall Mother had fallen victim to it. The Hall Mother’s cultivation was outstanding, yet the poison totally disregarded it. Even the Healing Magic was useless against it!

How did Salan do it? Could it be that the Black Vatican had penetrated the Parthenon Temple too!?

If so, the influence of the Black Vatican was simply too terrifying!

Salan did not speak. She glanced at the enormous snake that had almost broken through the magic formation.

“Song Qiming, you’re familiar with the poison. Why don’t you explain it to them?” Salan said.

Old Bao did not seem surprised that Salan knew what his name was. He let out a sigh and said, “It is a kind of parasitic poison. The poison can hide in a person’s body for a long time, and a creature called the Sudden-Death Poison Queen acts as a trigger to it. She must have the creature with her, and if the Sudden-Death Poison Queen dies, the poison will spread to the victim’s heart ten times quicker. There’s no cure for it, apart from the Spell of Resurrection.”

The Sudden-Death Poison Queen that Blue Deacon Fang Shaoli had was only a prototype. Old Bao had discovered how terrifying the Sudden-Death Poison Queen was after conducting more experiments on the creature. Old Bao initially thought the Black Vatican was still unable to fully control the creature, but it turned out that Salan already had a Sudden-Death Poison Queen that was much stronger.

The Sudden-Death Poison Queen was different from the one that Mo Fan stumbled into. If the queen died, the people that were poisoned would all be in danger!

Salan was obviously well-prepared before she dared to show up in the Parthenon Temple; the people had no idea how many of them were already poisoned!

“Pamise, are you ready to die with me?” Salan smiled. She seemed quite familiar with Pamise. It sounded like she was talking to an old friend.

The Hall Mother’s face was extremely pale. She was no longer able to talk properly, as blood kept surging out of her throat…

Salan stared at Pamise. She began to vomit black blood too!

As more black blood poured out of Salan’s mouth, her life was draining away rapidly.

Magistrate Leonard and Hall Mother Pamise both vomited mouthfuls of black blood. The foul odor spread through the air.

“Hall Mother!’

“Hall Mother!’

“Magistrate!”

The Muses and the Holy Court Mages immediately panicked, but there was nothing they could do. They could only stand and watch.

“Stop…stop it…” the Hall Mother blurted out. While Salan was ending her own life, the Hall Mother could sense the poison spreading even quicker inside her body!

The poison was not incurable. The Hall Mother believed she could cure herself given enough time, but Salan was threatening to suicide in exchange for the Hall Mother’s life!. The Hall Mother definitely did not stand a chance if the poison began to spread ten times faster!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Back off, back off now!’ the Hall Mother ordered the seven Golden Sun Knights in a weak voice.

The Golden Sun Knights immediately obeyed the Hall Mother’s order. They did not dare to provoke Salan any further.

“HAHAHA, Pamise, you are a selfish b**ch!” Salan burst out laughing.

The Black Vatican would be fine with one fewer Red Cardinal, but the Parthenon Temple could not afford to lose their Hall Mother. They had yet to elect a Goddess, and if the Hall Mother died, the Parthenon Temple would surely be in chaos!

Salan was basically a self-detonating bomb. She would not mind conducting a suicide attack on the authorities of the Parthenon Temple.

The Hall Mother and the Magistrates who cherished their lives would not dare to provoke such a madwoman. They had no choice but to swallow the humiliation.

Even they had never imagined that they would allow a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican to do as she pleased on the sacred mountain of the Parthenon Temple. Salan was clearly scarier than the rumors had mentioned, as even the Supreme Pontiff of the Black Vatican had never done anything like this!

“Dulanc, your talents are comparable to a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, coming up with such a brilliant plot. Have you ever thought that you would be torn into pieces by something?” Salan walked toward Dulanc.

Dulanc was staring at Salan. It was quite obvious that the Great Magistrate was panicking, yet he was trying hard to remain calm.

“There’s no way I have been poisoned by you,” Dulanc seemed very confident. He was not afraid of Salan, but no one dared to move, as the woman was controlling the lives of the Hall Mother and the Magistrates.

“The girl you are trying so hard to kill is protected by a man that even I am quite intimidated by. I won’t even need to do anything myself, as you are already a dead man,” Salan said.

Salan walked away from the mountain top.

Many people were surrounding the place, yet no one dared to stop the woman who was carrying great sins. She was utterly terrifying to deal with. Even the Supreme Pontiff of the Black Vatican had not left the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court in such a difficult situation before.

“Wait!” Song Qiming stopped Salan.

Salan had reached the mountain path that was already damaged beyond recognition. The people on the mountain top were hoping that the woman would take her Sudden-Death Poison Queen and leave as soon as possible. They were worried that they would be going down with the woman if she decided to proceed with the suicide attack.

“It has been so many years since the incident. Why do you have to vent your anger on the ordinary people? So many people died in Bo City and the Ancient Capital. If Wen Tai knew it was all your doing, how could he rest in peace?” Song Qiming pressed.

“It’s either black or white, he has obviously made the wrong choice! As long as he continues to hide in the mountain, I will continue to massacre his cities!” Salan replied instantly.

“Millions of people have died because of a single mistake.”

“It’s only the beginning,” Salan promised.

Song Qiming stood still. The complicated look in his eyes was replaced with a cold murderous intent!

He was less than a hundred meters away from Salan. Salan had always been untraceable. It was most likely her first time showing up in front of them, and she was currently in the Parthenon Temple, of all places. It was the best chance they had to kill this devil. Song Qiming could not allow a devil that would continue to stir up disasters to leave so easily, especially when he realized that it was all because of the judgment that was made in the past…

Salan continued down the mountain, and slowly faded into the distance. Meanwhile, Song Qiming remained unmoving…

He was strong enough to take down Salan, but he chose not to do so.

Apart from the fact that Magistrate Leonard would die together with Salan, if he failed to kill Salan here, considering how vengeful the woman was, the Magic City he lived in would most likely be her next target. Song Qiming suddenly lost his courage when he thought about the Calamity of the Ancient Capital!

A man that had grown old would have more worries, and would be less bold. Song Qiming could not help but glance at Mo Fan and the Black Totem Snake. If Mo Fan was in his shoes, he would surely have killed Salan at all costs!

As he was hesitating, Salan had already left. The scent of the black blood lingering on the mountain top had gradually weakened too.

Song Qiming returned to his friend Leonard and saw that he had fallen unconscious. He was unsure if the man had made it.

On the other hand, Hall Mother Pamise managed to subdue the poison. Her servant was about to chase after Salan, but the Hall Mother immediately stopped her. She immediately ordered a Muse to investigate the Hall of the Goddess and find every suspicious person!

The reason why Salan was able to place them under control was because the members of the Black Vatican had infiltrated the Hall of the Goddess. The Probationary Servant that chopped Izisha’s body into pieces had already committed suicide, but they still had to find out who had poisoned them!

“Hall Mother, now that Salan has shown up, it means that Ye Xinxia is innocent! I hope you will withdraw the magic formation and let Mo Fan and Xinxia go,” Song Qiming said when he saw the Hall Mother recovering quickly.

“It’s still a fact that Ye Xinxia murdered Panijia. She will be sentenced to death, regardless if she was Salan or not. Besides, Mo Fan dared to stir up chaos in our Parthenon Temple. There’s no way we can forgive him easily!” Mellaura immediately screamed.

The Hall Mother’s face was still black.

They had lost all their dignity today. They were too scared to do anything when Salan used her life to threaten theirs. As such, the Parthenon Temple would not forgive Mo Fan, Ye Xinxia, and the Black Snake easily!

“Humph, they are obviously guilty, if Mo Fan didn’t show up, Salan would never have been able to sneak into the Parthenon Temple. Perhaps Mo Fan has long colluded with Salan, his sins are unforgivable!” Great Magistrate Dulanc spoke up.

Song Qiming was infuriated by Dulanc’s words!

How shameless could these people be? They had failed to take down the Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, so they were planning to sacrifice the two young Mages so they could justify themselves. Since when were the Holy Judgment Court and the Parthenon Temple so corrupt? It was quite obvious that everything had happened because they had falsely accused Xinxia as Salan!

Ye Xinxia was not Salan, meaning that there was no motive for her to murder Panijia. There was a great conspiracy behind it, yet the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court still insisted on killing Xinxia instead of investigating the matter.

“Old Song, it’s no use, the judgment has been made. That girl will not survive,” Leonard said to Song Qiming feebly.

“What do you mean by that!?” Song Qiming yelled.

“Dulanc has performed the Dark Execution, the Holy Court Mages aren’t the executioners…” Leonard said.

Song Qiming’s expression darkened. He raised his head in disbelief and stared at the Black Totem Snake that was giving his all to break through the magic formation, and Mo Fan who was determined to rescue Xinxia at all cost!

“Dulanc, are you out of your mind!?” Song Qiming lost his temper. He could no longer stay calm. He yelled furiously and went right up to Dulanc.

Song Qiming’s eyes were filled with rage and murderous intent. His overwhelming mental strength surged toward Dulanc. The Holy Court Mages nearby almost fainted, unable to withstand the incredible pressure.

Dulanc stared right back at Song Qiming. A strong energy was circling him too. One was the old Clergyman of the Holy Judgment Court, and the other was the Great Magistrate. The auras of the two highest authorities of the Holy Judgment Court clashed with one another, knocking back the Super Mages nearby.

Not a single person was standing within a hundred meters of the two powerful Mages. They had yet to cast a single spell, yet the sky had already darkened tremendously!

“She is Salan, so it’s fine for me to use the Dark Execution on her. You are no longer the Clergyman, you have no right to question my decision!” Dulanc said.

“The girl is innocent, you are abusing your power!”

“I’m not the only person that voted with the black stone. Song Qiming, you really haven’t learned to judge the hour and size up the situation, haven’t you? Do you really think I’m the only one responsible for Wen Tai’s death? I only have one Stone of Guilt, but aren’t you aware of what happened to him? He was too bright, even Izisha felt threatened by his influence, and the only choice that he had was death!” Dulanc snapped.

“Then what about Ye Xinxia!?” Song Qiming snapped in return.

The Holy Court Mages and the Magistrates tried to stop them, but their auras were just too terrifying. None of them could get any closer.

“You already knew who Salan was, can’t you guess who the girl is now? Oh Song Qiming, you are bound to be a failure. You are not heartless enough to be an authority. Izisha was always our leader, only she could annihilate all opposing forces and reclaim the glory of the Holy Judgment Court!” Dulanc said.

“You…you all are responsible for it!” Song Qiming immediately realized who was behind the conspiracy all along after seeing Dulanc’s reaction.

However, when he learned the truth, it felt like he was having a ridiculous nightmare.

—

—

The Hall of the Goddess…

On the long corridor that was covered in purple crystals, the fair-skinned Asha’ruiya in a long, dark green dress was heading toward the end.

The end of the corridor was the Rear Hall, where a blue coffin in the shape of a sacred leaf was placed. A gorgeous woman was lying inside, covered in lots of fascinating jewelry.

Asha’ruiya went closer to the coffin. The Vice Hall Master that was guarding it hesitated slightly when he saw Asha’ruiya.

Asha’ruiya took a quick glance at the coffin and saw that the woman’s remains were still intact. She harrumphed coldly and said, “Didn’t they say Izisha’s body was chopped into pieces?”

The Vice Hall Master was unsure of what he should say. He took the initiative to move aside instead.

Asha’ruiya went closer and saw traces of blood in the coffin. However, when she took a closer look, her face went black.

The body had clear cuts on it, but the cuts were slowly healing!

The pieces of Izisha’s body… were joining back together on their own!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Asha’ruiya looked at Izisha, who was lying in the leaf-shaped coffin. She felt like the woman was only asleep. Her brows were shuddering slightly, and the imperious look on her face stopped Asha’ruiya from moving any closer.

Asha’ruiya subconsciously took a few steps back. She turned toward the Vice Hall Master who was guarding the place.

The Vice Hall Master did not speak. Great Muse Mellaura’s voice was coming from the corridor. She hurried over to the coffin and took a close look at Izisha’s remains before letting out a relieved sigh.

“You already knew?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“Yes,” Great Muse Mellaura nodded.

“Do you seriously think she is the only one that can bring glory to you? In my eyes, she’s leading the Parthenon Temple into a deep abyss instead!” Asha’ruiya said bluntly.

“Asha’ruiya, considering how many years you have spent at the Parthenon Temple, you should be aware that the Parthenon Temple’s status has been declining over the years. It’s not just because we have yet to elect our new Goddess, but because our leaders in the past were too weak, too merciful. Countless people across the world are suffering, the Black Vatican has been stirring up troubles, evil power is spreading its influence, plagues have destroyed lives, and the demon creatures are on the verge of making their moves. Our natural foe, the Tyrant Titans, has been restless too. Think of the time when Izisha was in power: our Parthenon Temple was never afraid of any country, and never compromised with any of them!” Mellaura said.

Only Asha’ruiya, Mellaura, and Vice Hall Master Lanjin, who was guarding Izisha’s remains, were present.

Vice Hall Master Lanjin was not any weaker than Haylon. He was an old knight, and he rarely spoke.

“Asha’ruiya, you always have a clear view of things; you should pick your side when you still have the time. Otherwise, you will lose all your footing in the Parthenon Temple,” Mellaura said.

“It seems like Andi died at your hands, too. You pretended to vow loyalty and devotion to Andi, but you were trying to kill her all along!” Asha’ruiya let out a hollow laugh.

“Andi was smart. She knew she didn’t lose to the other Saintesses, but had lost to her master, so she chose to end her life that way,” Mellaura said.

“How about Panijia?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“Her? Couldn’t you tell that she has been one of us right from the beginning?” Mellaura smiled.

“Ye Xinxia didn’t kill her, it was Panijia that killed herself, right?” Asha’ruiya deduced.

“Yes, the whole thing needed a fuse. The Hall Mother promoted Ye Xinxia to a Saintess, so we needed a reasonable excuse to judge her guilty. Don’t worry, as long as Izisha reclaims the role of the Goddess, Panijia’s death is basically her taking a nap. Izisha won’t allow a loyal disciple to die like that. Besides, she won’t hold onto the role of the Goddess forever, she needs a successor,” Mellaura said with a smile.

Mellaura was standing right beside the coffin. She saw Izisha’s body healing up completely, and her tightly-shut eyes blinking.

Mellaura was overjoyed by the sight of it. She had long waited for this day!

“You make it sound like it’s all for the sake of the Parthenon Temple, but in my opinion, you are just unwilling to give up your power. You enjoy hoarding the great authority!” Asha’ruiya said.

“The younger generation is unreliable, so we have no choice but to put in more effort for a few more years. So, have you made up your mind? Asha’ruiya, you’re smarter than Andi; you have been neutral all along, not posing any threat to either side, but you know we won’t allow it. You will either submit to us, or be annihilated!” Mellaura said.

Asha’ruiya glanced at Izisha’s body and said coldly, “I think Salan is still too merciful, since she didn’t chop Izisha into minced meat!”

Mellaura’s face darkened immediately. The disrespectful words from Asha’ruiya conveyed her stance.

“Do you really think she has the chance!? Izisha will surely pay her back tenfold!” Mellaura snapped furiously.

Asha’ruiya backed away. A thin, black sword suddenly appeared in her hand. She rapidly dashed toward Izisha’s coffin with a flicker and stabbed right at Izisha’s forehead.

The lifeless body suddenly opened its eyes, staring right at Asha’ruiya with a cold and merciless expression!

“How bold of you!” Mellaura yelled.

Vice Hall Master Lanjin did not expect Asha’ruiya to do such thing. He quickly went over to the coffin and unleashed a golden light to protect Izisha’s body!

Asha’ruiya quickly withdrew her sword as if she already knew her plan would not work. Her foot left a black rose on the ground as she rapidly disappeared into the dark corridor…

Mellaura and Vice Hall Master Lanjin were too preoccupied with Izisha’s safety. They did not expect Asha’ruiya to be so cunning. She pretended that she was determined to take down Izisha with her, yet she was actually planning to escape!

“Chase her, don’t let that little b**ch get away and ruin our plan!” Mellaura ordered.

Vice Hall Master Lanjin disappeared with a flicker, leaving an afterimage behind. He quickly chased after Asha’ruiya.

—

Vice Hall Master Lanjin was incredibly powerful. He soon caught up to Asha’ruiya and stood in front of her with a cold face. He did not speak, but his eyes displayed a strong murderous intent.

“Even you are willing to submit to them? Do you have any idea who the girl that was sentenced to Dark Execution is!?” Asha’ruiya asked, knowing she was no match for Vice Hall Master Lanjin.

“I have to make a choice!” Vice Hall Master Lanjin finally spoke.

“Izisha didn’t use the Spell of Resurrection of the Parthenon Temple, can’t you tell!?” Asha’ruiya said.

“I know, please apologize to Wen Tai on my behalf,” Vice Hall Master Lanjin raised his hand. A blue flame burned vigorously on his palm. Its light was shining upon Asha’ruiya’s pale face.

Asha’ruiya’s expression turned cold. Her eyes flickered icily.

A dark beam descended from the sky and covered Asha’ruiya. It turned into pieces of armor attached to Asha’ruiya’s body, granting her the power of darkness.

“It seems like you are involved with the evil forces, too,” Lanjin said calmly.

“The Parthenon Temple has turned into someone’s playground. Even if she has the upper hand, I will not surrender it readily!” Asha’ruiya drew her sword and stabbed forward. The dark light resembling a sword unleashed a devouring energy, forcing Lanjin to back away.

Lanjin used the fire as a shield to protect himself.

The energy of the dark light looked intimidating, yet it was actually just a diversion. By the time Lanjin refocused, Asha’ruiya had long vanished into thin air, leaving a trail of black wind behind.

—

Asha’ruiya escaped into the woods. She could sense Lanjin chasing after her like a wolf following the scent of its prey.

She looked into her surroundings and caught a glimpse of her sacred palace among the mountains, but it was no longer safe there. She had no idea how many people of the Parthenon Temple had submitted to Izisha. She would be their next target once Ye Xinxia died. Izisha would not allow any competitor to live!

The sky trembled under a deafening cry. The Black Totem Snake seemed to have broken through half of the magic formation. A small section of his body was already outside of the barrier.

Asha’ruiya clenched her teeth and sprinted rapidly toward the Black Totem Snake.

She had to rely on the Black Totem Snake’s power to leave the Parthenon Temple. The authorities of the Parthenon Temple had all submitted to Izisha. Even though she was a Saintess, they might still sentence her with a ridiculous accusation. It was the Parthenon Temple; only a few words were needed to sentence a person to death!

“Haylon, Shawshank, they are going to escape soon. I will strengthen the magic formation with my magic so it will destroy the snake!” Asha’ruiya arrived in front of the two Hall Masters.

“Saintess, it’s dangerous here; you should go somewhere safe,” a Golden Sun Knight spoke up.

“It’s fine, if we let them escape, the Parthenon Temple will be in disgrace,” Asha’ruiya said.

She seemed calm on the surface, yet she was actually quite worried that Haylon and Shawshank had submitted to Izisha. If so, she would have no chance of escaping.

“It doesn’t matter if they make it through the magic formation. My men are already waiting outside. They won’t be able to escape, but it will definitely help a lot if the Saintess is willing to strengthen the magic formation. This Totem Beast is quite tricky to deal with,” Haylon nodded, agreeing to let Asha’ruiya strengthen the magic formation.

The magic formation was Wen Tai’s work. It was Wen Tai that had set up the impenetrable defense for the Parthenon Temple. The man had given Asha’ruiya control of the magic formation, thus she was normally in charge of its maintenance.

Asha’ruiya headed toward the magic formation. Its energy was unable to distinguish between friendlies and enemies, yet it did not harm Asha’ruiya. It even cleared a path for her instead.

As soon as Asha’ruiya entered the magic formation, Lanjin arrived with a murderous aura and stared at Asha’ruiya, who had escaped into the magic formation.

“Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to guard the Hall of the Goddess?” Haylon raised his brows and said in a displeased tone.

“Asha’ruiya has colluded with the Black Vatican and chopped Izisha’s remains into pieces. I have come to arrest her at Great Muse Mellaura’s order,” Lanjin said, as smoothly as if he had long come up with the excuse.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What… Izisha’s corpse was chopped into pieces?” Both Haylon and Shawshank were infuriated.

A few older Golden Sun Knights were furious too.

Izisha was their previous Goddess. Many had devoted their lives to her. The Golden Sun Knights were willing to risk their lives to take down anyone with the slightest disrespect to her!

“How is that possible? Did you make a mistake!?” Haylon demanded in disbelief.

“The Great Muse said perhaps Asha’ruiya has always held a grudge against Izisha for voting the Stone of Guilt. She took hold of the opening amid the chaos to get her revenge. It doesn’t matter if she did it or not, we have to stop her from leaving the Mountain of the Goddess,” Lanjin said.

“But… she already went into the magic formation!”

“I will lead some men and go down the mountain through the Starry Mountain Path, to intercept her and prevent the Black Totem Snake from leaving with the offender, Ye Xinxia,” Lanjin stated.

“Alright, Vice Hall Master Lanjin, you will bring these men to the other side of the magic formation!” Haylon immediately dispensed his men to Lanjin without hesitation.

Lanjin led the elites among the knights and quickly proceeded to the mountain path. It was the only way down the mountain without being targeted by the magic formation.

The knights and Adjudicators led by Haylon and Shawshank were occupied with the battle against the Black Totem Snake. They were totally unaware of what was going on at the top of the mountain. Asha’ruiya had only gone to the Hall of the Goddess when she had sensed that a great conspiracy was taking place, and she had almost died because of it!

—

After entering the magic formation, Asha’ruiya raised her head and glanced at the Skyscraping Snake.

The magic formation was not targeting her. After all, her adoptive father was the one that set up the magic formation. No one was more familiar with it than Asha’ruiya.

“Mo Fan, I will bring you guys out of the magic formation!” Asha’ruiya yelled at the Black Totem Snake.

Mo Fan and Xinxia were being targeted by the magic formation too. If the Black Totem Snake had not protected them, the magic formation would have turned them into ashes long ago.

Mo Fan was a little suspicious when he saw Asha’ruiya. However, he decided to believe in her. If she was actually trying to set them up, she just needed to stand aside and watch.

“Big guy, don’t hurt her,” Mo Fan said to the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake moved his tail and scooped Asha’ruiya up, lifting her to his head.

Asha’ruiya landed on the Black Totem Snake’s head. The wild energy of the magic formation suddenly halted, allowing the Black Totem Snake to catch his breath.

“Ask the snake to move toward the valley, I’ll clear a path for you,” Asha’ruiya blurted out with a grim look.

Mo Fan immediately relayed the information to the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake was struggling to move inside the magic formation. He would trigger strong traps if he was too careless.

However, when following Asha’ruiya’s instructions, the Black Totem Snake clearly sensed that the magic formation was growing weaker, allowing him to move closer toward the exit.

“You’re injured?” Mo Fan quickly noticed that Asha’ruiya had scorch marks on her.

“The whole thing is a conspiracy!’ Asha’ruiya said.

“What happened?” Mo Fan asked.

“The four Saintesses aren’t the candidates of the election; the only candidate is the previous Goddess, Izisha!” Asha’ruiya snapped furiously.

“Isn’t that woman dead already?” Mo Fan said.

“Yes, or so everyone thought, but you forgot that the Parthenon Temple has the Spell of Resurrection!” Asha’ruiya said.

Spell of Resurrection!

The Parthenon Temple had such an exalted status mainly because of their Spell of Resurrection. However, the role of the Goddess had been unoccupied for quite some years, thus no one had seen the Spell of Resurrection for years!

Asha’ruiya glanced at Ye Xinxia and said, “You were always treated as a sacrifice to resurrect Izisha. Someone already learned your true identity the first day you stepped into the Parthenon Temple. They have been setting you up and have long waited for this day, to sentence you with the Dark Execution. Once Izisha is resurrected, she will reclaim the role of the Goddess, and be granted the Spell of Resurrection that she was never able to get her hands on!”

“My true identity?” Ye Xinxia was utterly confused. Didn’t everyone accuse her of being Salan not long ago?

“Have you really lost all your memories when you were still a kid? Or did Salan use the Amnesia Bug on you so you won’t remember it?” Asha’ruiya said.

“I really don’t know,” Xinxia said.

“Asha’ruiya, what do you mean by that? Xinxia is not Salan!” Mo Fan said.

“It’s true that she isn’t Salan, but she’s still closely related to Salan!. Mo Fan, you must admit that there’s no way she can’t remember what happened in the past, before she was staying at your place,” Asha’ruiya said.

“I really don’t remember, I only know that I’ve been to a lot of strange places. I initially thought I don’t remember because I was still too young. I can only remember the things after I moved to Bo City with my mum…” Xinxia said.

“Do you know why you and your mum went to Bo City?” Asha’ruiya said.

Xinxia shook her head.

“Back then, Izisha was hunting you and your mum. The two of you were on the run, and you eventually reached Bo City. You are Wen Tai’s daughter!” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan was greatly confused. Wasn’t Asha’ruiya Wen Tai’s daughter? Why was Xinxia her daughter all of a sudden?

“I was adopted, Ye Xinxia is his true daughter! She has Wen Tai’s blood flowing in her, but that’s not the main point,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Then what is?” Mo Fan said.

“Wen Tai was called the Holy Saint because his cultivation and mental power surpassed his sister, Izisha. Izisha was elected as the Goddess, but there was one thing that she didn’t inherit, the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. The Soul of the Parthenon Temple will attach itself to the new Goddess that is elected. It will grant the Goddess the Spell of Resurrection, making her the true ruler of the Parthenon Temple. Back then, Wen Tai’s name had spread across the world, and the Soul of the Parthenon Temple intuitively attached itself to him. Wen Tai was the one with the Spell of Resurrection. Even though Izisha was the Goddess, she gained her power through violence and brute force. She did not earn the approval of the Soul of the Parthenon Temple, hence she did not have the Spell of Resurrection,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan immediately remembered Asha’ruiya once mentioned that Izisha had voted with the Stone of Guilt to sentence Wen Tai to death. The reputable man was then executed without mercy. It turned out that Izisha did not cast the vote because she believed that Wen Tai was guilty, but because of the jealousy that had long filled up her heart!

Despite being a Goddess, she had never earned the approval of the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. It was obviously a humiliating blow to her. On top of that, Wen Tai’s reputation had exceeded hers. Even as his sister, Izisha could not stand Wen Tai’s existence!

“So this is the truth behind Wen Tai’s death?” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was not interested in the reason behind Wen Tai’s death, but he was quite surprised that Xinxia was actually Wen Tai’s daughter. Wouldn’t that mean Xinxia was living incognito in Bo City before she ended up staying in his house?

“Does that mean Xinxia enrolling in the Parthenon Temple and being promoted all the way to a Saintess was part of their arrangements too?” Mo Fan said.

“The Hall Mother should know Xinxia’s identity. She voted Wen Tai guilty, thus she decided to promote Xinxia to a higher position. However, her decision was reckless; she basically placed Xinxia in the control of the people who are planning to resurrect Izisha!” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan still had lots of things he did not understand. He was about to ask further when he saw the Black Totem Snake had left the magic formation of the sacred mountain.

Asha’ruiya had brought them out of the magic formation as she promised, but Mo Fan could not feel any joy, as lots of Mages of the Parthenon Temple were already waiting for them outside the magic formation.

The Parthenon Temple had even sent out their Mages of Faith. Mo Fan saw a whole army of them standing on the top of a mountain nearby. There were at least a thousand of them!

More troops were on standby at the base of the mountain. As for the Adjudicators and knights, some were flying in the sky, some stood on high grounds in formations. They had no intention of letting the Black Totem Snake escape!

They had wasted too much time breaking through the magic formation, yet it was the only way out of the Parthenon Temple. Based on the information that Asha’ruiya had given them, Mo Fan knew the Parthenon Temple was determined to kill Xinxia, as she played an important role in the resurrection of Izisha.

Mo Fan let out a hollow laugh when he saw the armed force of the Parthenon Temple moving into position.

Xinxia was not Salan, the accusation was no longer valid, yet these people still insisted on murdering the innocent girl.

The truth never mattered, nor was the question if the girl was guilty or not, since power was the most important thing. With power, they could sentence a person guilty or innocent; with power, these evil people could do as they pleased! Both Wen Tai and Xinxia were sharing the same fate!

“Did that b**ch Izisha really come back to life?” Mo Fan turned around and glanced at the magnificent Hall of the Goddess.

“Yeah, I saw her open her eyes. Her loyal subordinates have gotten rid of all the Saintesses. Once she comes back to life, she could easily tell the people that she had no choice but to reclaim the role of the Goddess since all the candidates were involved in accidents.” Asha’ruiya immediately felt hopeless when she saw the scale of the army in ahead. She said in a self-mocking voice, “What difference would it make now? There’s no way we can escape this place.”

Even a Forbidden Mage would have trouble breaking through the army!

It was the reason why those people would use even the most detestable methods, just to hold on to their power!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A cold wind blew at the sacred mountain, sweeping the bluish-green petals into the air. The slightly icy floral breeze briefly fondled the faces of the people.

The petals drifting in the wind were incredibly fragile. They soon broke into pieces, scattering in the air as a great storm started pouring down mercilessly.

Ye Xinxia lifted her gaze. Her mood was like the dark and gloomy sky. She once thought the Parthenon Temple had an inviolable, sacred brilliance surrounding it. She once had high hopes when she first arrived at the place, hoping that she could do something with her humble efforts…

However, it turned out that the sacred mountain was a lot more complicated than she had imagined. The Parthenon Temple might have a sacred outer veneer, but it also had the ugliest side to it that had been completely exposed by the cold rain: the disappointing greed of humans!

Why did she even bother putting in so much effort to come here?

She would not mind if she alone was deeply trapped in this swamp, but Mo Fan was also surrounded by the armed force of the Parthenon Temple!

“Maybe I should go with them, I am the only person they want…” Xinxia said.

Mo Fan shook his head. There was no way the Parthenon Temple would let any of them go. In order for Izisha to seize the role of the Goddess, they would surely eliminate every risk possible!

“They are coming,” Asha’ruiya said in a deep voice.

———

Under the cold rain and the flying petals, Great Muse Mellaura and Great Magistrate Dulanc were flying toward them, followed by a troop of Golden Sun Knights and an army of Silver Moon Knights. The light of their magic armor was bright enough to light up the mountain.

There were four Holy Court Mages behind Great Magistrate Dulanc, too. Their strength was immeasurable. Han Ji, Zhu Meng, Pang Lai, and the others had tried to keep them busy, but their efforts were to no avail.

Mellaura and Dulanc smiled when they saw that the Black Totem Snake’s flesh was badly mutilated.

The magic formation of the sacred mountain had still been powerful enough to inflict serious damage on the Totem Beast. It would prevent them from losing too many elites. After all, even a Super Mage could easily lose their life if they were being careless when fighting against a Supreme Ruler!

“Enough with the struggle, even a Totem Beast has no chance of escaping from the Parthenon Temple!” Mellaura grinned coldly.

The Black Totem Snake was unleashing his Domain in the form of a poisonous mist. The blue poison started to spread across the mountain. The poisonous mist would prevent Mages below the Super Level from coming any closer, preventing the army of Advanced Mages from blasting them continuously with spells. Considering the number of Advanced Mages that the Parthenon Temple had, their spells could easily raze the mountain to the ground. The Black Totem Snake’s scales had cracked open, thus the continuous blasts were still dangerous.

“I don’t understand, why would you go so far and use the Dark Execution? Is it because you feel better when you use it on Wen Tai’s daughter?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“You few, deal with the Black Totem Snake’s poison!” Dulanc ordered his subordinates.

They had many powerful Mages on their side. If they teamed up, they would have a great chance of taking out the Black Totem Snake. However, the Black Totem Snake was incredibly powerful. If a battle broke out, anyone could die in the battle! The number of Super Mages in the world was quite limited. Even losing one was considered a great loss. They did not want to go all out with the Black Totem Snake. The best choice they had was to let the army of Adjudicators and Mages of Faith wear out the Totem Beast slowly, since the creature had already been badly injured by the magic formation!

Dulanc and Mellaura were not in a rush, either. They knew Mo Fan and his crew were like trapped beasts. Even though Han Pang Lai, Han Ji, and the others insisted on protecting them, they were currently in the Parthenon Temple. They just needed to assign a few men to keep them busy while they slowly settled the matter on hand. Everything was going according to plan!

“You are about to die, does knowing the truth really matter?” Dulanc smiled.

“It’s just so I can tell my adoptive father the truth,” Asha’ruiya said.

Asha’ruiya still could not understand why Xinxia had to die.

It was true that Ye Xinxia was Wen Tai’s daughter, but Izisha had already opened her eyes, meaning that the girl was not the key to Izisha’s resurrection. Was Izisha trying to kill Ye Xinxia just because of her hatred for Wen Tai?

If so, they could easily do it behind the scenes. Why would they bother using the power of the Holy Judgment Court on her?

Dulanc did not mind spilling the beans. He pointed at Ye Xinxia and said, “Wen Tai was a very tricky opponent. He knew his death was approaching, so he used the power of the Dark Execution to seal the Soul of the Parthenon Temple inside her body!”

“The Soul of the Parthenon Temple is inside her body?” Asha’ruiya was shocked.

Mo Fan looked at Xinxia too.

“Yes, the Holy Judgment Court didn’t just make something up. There is actually another soul sleeping inside her body, but the soul isn’t Salan, it’s the Soul of the Parthenon Temple that Goddess Izisha needs the most! Since Wen Tai sealed the Soul of the Parthenon Temple inside her body with the Dark Execution, the only way to retrieve the Soul of the Parthenon Temple is by activating the Dark Execution!,” Dulanc declared.Read more chapter on vipnovel.com

It turned out Xinxia’s legs were feeble because her body could not bear the heavy burden of having two souls in it… they were not lying!

However, no one had expected that these people would come up with such a huge lie in order to reclaim the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. They had tricked everyone into believing that Xinxia was Salan. Even the girl thought that the lie was the truth!

If Salan had not shown up and revealed the ugly faces these people had, the others would still be kept in the dark!

“Aren’t you afraid that you will offend the Chinese Royal Palace and the Enforcement Union?” Asha’ruiya pressed.

Mo Fan, Xinxia, and the Black Totem Snake were from China. By now, Song Qiming, Pang Lai, and the others would have learned the truth too. If they still insisted on killing Mo Fan and Xinxia, they would basically fall out with China!

“Chinese Royal Palace and Enforcement Union? Asha’ruiya, how could you say such a thing when you are a member of the Parthenon Temple? Since when did the Parthenon Temple have to be wary of what others think? Do you really think the Chinese Royal Palace and Enforcement Union are a threat to us? Once Izisha claims the Soul of the Parthenon Temple and obtains the Spell of Resurrection, the Chinese might even come and beg us instead. Everyone is scared of death, especially the authorities and the leaders. If we give the Chinese a chance to resurrect someone, do you really think they are going to fall out with us because of these minor characters? The Spell of Resurrection is going to give us control over everything!” Dulanc burst out laughing. In his eyes, Asha’ruiya was simply too naive!

“Izisha already led the Parthenon Temple to a golden age without the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. Once she has the Spell of Resurrection, the five Magic Associations are going to lower their heads to us too! Asha’ruiya, Izisha has always been fond of you. She always saw you as her niece with great potential. She might not be satisfied with Panijia, I’m pretty sure that you know what that means. Why would you bother to go against her and walk on the path that’s going to lead to your death!?” Mellaura said.

“Who did you think helped the Probationary Servant sneak to Izisha’s coffin? I was quite regretful that I didn’t do it myself, or I would have shredded her into minced meat instead!” Asha’ruiya retorted coldly.

“It was you that colluded with Salan?” Mellaura said in astonishment.

“I didn’t know she was Salan, but her suggestion was something that I thought of doing every day!” Asha’ruiya said.

“Well, well, well, you were pretty good at hiding it. Since you’re so displeased with Izisha, I will surely relay your message to her, so she can take care of you!’ Mellaura sneered.

—

The sky was suddenly filled with the howl of a great Elemental Storm. It was like the ring of a giant knell in the Citadel of Athens.

The Holy Court Mages had driven the poisonous mist away while Dulanc and Mellaura were buying time. The Adjudicators and Mages of Fatih went into their positions on the high ground and fired their destructive spells at the enormous Black Totem Snake!

The first spells that descended upon the area were the Sky-Flame Funerals from the Adjudicators. The sky was set aflame, lighting up half the mountain. The rain continued to pour down with the fire. The flames were so densely packed that there was simply no escape from it.

The rain of fire was like a grand funeral. Destructive flames had filled up the entire sky. It was like the coming of the apocalypse!

How minuscule were mere humans in the face of a terrifying rain of fire at this scale?

The Black Totem Snake raised his head and observed the flames that were pouring down. He let out a furious roar fearlessly!

The Totem Seal flickered on his badly mutilated flesh. The Black Totem Snake leapt and swam up into the sky, drawing a huge, glowing seal along his trail.

The flames poured down from the sky, but those that collided with the seal were dispelled immediately, as if they never existed in the first place.

“Keep it going, kill that Totem Beast!” Dulanc said coldly to Lanjin behind him. Lanjin waved his hand and fired a blinding white light into the air, signaling the army of Mages to attack again!

The Adjudicators took a brief rest while lots of Star Patterns and Star Constellations lit up another mountain nearby. Two thousand Mages of Faith cast their magic. Countless wind spells combined into an enormous, black tornado that connected the sky and the ground…

The black tornado was a lot bigger than the Black Totem Snake. It wriggled and approached rapidly with overwhelming, tearing force!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The black tornado was still approaching, but it had almost uprooted the whole mountain. The Black Totem Snake quickly coiled up.

In order to prevent any harm from befalling Mo Fan and Ye Xinxia, the Black Totem Snake dug his head deeper between his body. He did not have many scales left to defend himself.

“Big guy!” Mo Fan did not feel pleasant after seeing how hard the Black Totem Snake was trying to protect him.

The Black Totem Snake was heavily outnumbered, after all. It was only a matter of time until his defenses were torn apart by such a huge army of Adjudicators and Mages of Faith, and it would soon start to drain away his life force.

“Xinxia, how long until I can fully recover?” Mo Fan asked panickingly.

“Your injuries were too serious, I still need some time!” Xinxia was already trying her best to heal Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had used up too much of his energy overcoming the challenge of the Starry Mountain Path. It was unlikely that he could fully recover in a short period. Most importantly, his energy had depleted!

If he demonized now, he would be a lot weaker than usual. The armed forces of the Parthenon Temple had gathered from the mountain waist to the base. He would struggle against the army of Adjudicators and Mages of Faith, let alone the Golden Sun Knights of the Super Level, and the Holy Court Mages that were even stronger!

Mo Fan was trying his best to recover while the Black Totem Snake was buying him time. The more he recovered, the stronger he would be when he demonized!

However, seeing how the Black Totem Snake was being attacked by thousands of Advanced Mages, Mo Fan was quite worried that the Totem Beast could not hold on for much longer.

“Even if you recovered, you are still an Advanced Mage, any of the Golden Sun Knights could easily take you out,” Asha’ruiya said hopelessly.

“Didn’t you have a magic Pendant that can help me recover? Quick, use it on me,” Mo Fan said.

The Black Totem Snake continued to resist the continuous magic blasts from the army of Mages. Mo Fan sensed the aura of the Black Totem Snake gradually weakening…

The Black Totem Snake could still take on the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple if it wasn’t for the magic formation of the sacred mountain. The magic formation had inflicted serious damage on the creature and greatly weakened him.

“Is it going to make a difference? Oh, you have no idea what the Dark Execution is, do you?” Asha’ruiya said with a wry smile.

“Just use it on me, can it replenish three-tenths of my energy?” Mo Fan blurted out.

“If it’s only you, my pendant can replenish all your energy,” Asha’ruiya said.

She did not understand why Mo Fan still insisted on recovering under the circumstances. Was he seriously not giving up yet? How stubborn and ignorant could he be…

“For real?” Mo Fan grabbed Asha’ruiya in joy.

“I don’t know what trump card you have up in your sleeves, but I have to say that the Dark Execution is the strongest power in the world. No one has ever escaped from it. My adoptive father Wen Tai was so close to becoming a Forbidden Mage, but he didn’t survive it either. Just give up, if the Black Totem Snake protects you with everything he has, you might be able to escape still, but it’s impossible for you to bring Xinxia away…” Asha’ruiya said.

“Just help me recover, quick!” Mo Fan snapped without listening to what Asha’ruiya had to say.

Asha’ruiya let out a sigh. She stepped closer to Mo Fan and took out the Pendant.

“I’ll need some time to fully replenish your energy, I’ll need you to…” Asha’ruiya was just about to tell what Mo Fan had to do when she saw a few stones glowing with a dark energy appearing out of nowhere in their surroundings.

Mo Fan was startled too. He looked at the black stones in confusion, but he somehow felt they were slightly familiar.

“The…the Stones of Guilt!” Asha’ruiya exclaimed.

The Black Totem Snake had dug his head between his body. It was impossible for anything to reach them without breaking through the Black Totem Snake’s body. However, the black stones seemed to possess the mysterious power of the Space Element. An otherworldly, icy energy was leaking out of the stones, like executioners searching for their prey…

The black stones moved closer to Xinxia, as if they had found their prey!

A few more Stones of Guilt appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Xinxia. Mo Fan was worried that the stones would harm Xinxia. He reached out his hand to grab them, yet a strong dark energy burst out of the stones and corroded his hand instantly!

Asha’ruiya reacted quickly. She cast a spell to protect Mo Fan. Otherwise, his hand would have corroded into bones within a few seconds!

“Don’t touch them, you will turn into a puddle!” Asha’ruiya warned.

More black stones appeared. Asha’ruiya counted quickly and realized there were ten of them!

There were thirteen Magistrates in total. In other words, ten out of thirteen had voted Xinxia guilty, and their Stones of Guilt were carrying out the Dark Execution!

The ten black stones were incredibly strange. They circled Xinxia like a ring and suddenly emitted a black light. It formed a dark seal imprinted on Xinxia’s forehead…

“Brother Mo Fan!” Xinxia felt utterly helpless. She could feel that her body had been isolated. Even though she was only a step away from Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya, it felt like she was in a different world. The black light of the Stones of Guilt shrouded her.

“Xinxia, it’s okay, don’t be scared!” Mo Fan was in a panic. He could no longer wait until his energy was replenished. His eyes were emitting a crimson-red glow.

It did not matter what the Dark Execution was, Mo Fan was going to tear it into pieces!

The black light flickered vigorously and vanished together with Xinxia right before Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya.

Just like how the black Stones of Guilt had traversed space to reach Xinxia, they had vanished without a single trace, bringing Xinxia with them!

A terrifying aura burst out of Mo Fan’s body as soon as Xinxia disappeared. The demon blood rushed in his veins, he was about to unleash the demonic power!

Asha’ruiya was astounded when she sensed the terrifying aura Mo Fan was emitting.

The Black Totem Snake slowly extended his body. He seemed to notice that Xinxia had been brought away by some unknown force. The furious Totem Beast slammed his tail onto the mountain…

The mountainside collapsed after receiving the tremendous blow. A troop of three hundred Mages of Faith died instantly, their blood splattered across the mountain!

“Calm down, calm down both of you! Ye Xinxia isn’t dead, she was brought to the Dark Execution Ground. Do you remember the Dark Dueling Ground? It’s a place of darkness that a contract establishes. The person that is bound to the contract will be trapped inside. The Stones of Guilt have brought Ye Xinxia to the Dark Execution Ground, a place that is similar to the Dark Dueling Ground. It’s at the bottom of the mountain, look!” Asha’ruiya quickly said when she saw Mo Fan and the Black Totem Snake about to lose control of themselves.

The wild energy Mo Fan possessed calmed down slightly. He glanced at the base of the mountain through the smoke produced by the magic blasts and saw a barrier separating a huge area of darkness.

The barrier had encapsulated a spacious area. It indeed resembled a spectacular execution ground from afar…

Mo Fan had seen it before. He remembered the Master of the Shadow Element, Essendale, had been trapped in a similar Dark Execution Ground too, before he was torn into pieces by the mystical beast called Hayla and dragged into the Realm of the Dead!

Mo Fan stared at the intimidating Dark Execution Ground and asked in shock, “Did Wen Tai die inside that?”

“Yeah, the Holy Judgment Court is able to keep their superiority mainly because of the Dark Execution’s power. No one can escape the Dark Execution! Mo Fan, they are aiming for the Soul of the Parthenon Temple inside Xinxia’s body. The Dark Execution is happening. There’s nothing you can do. You should just leave while they are focusing on retrieving the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. If you die here too, how are you going to avenge Ye Xinxia? The Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court aren’t something you can take on with your current strength…besides…” Asha’ruiya said.

Asha’ruiya hesitated slightly, as she was unsure if it was appropriate to tell Mo Fan what she was thinking.

“Besides, there’s something you should know. Ye Xinxia might not be Salan, but she’s most likely…”

Mo Fan looked at Asha’ruiya with cold eyes.

Asha’ruiya did not dare to say anything further. She could feel a terrifying aura bursting out of Mo Fan’s body. It was wild and icy, as if he had turned into a completely different person.

“You don’t care, do you?” Asha’ruiya sighed.

Mo Fan remained expressionless.

“If you really want to save her, the only way is to barge into the Dark Execution Ground and retrieve her soul, which is already half a step in the Realm of the Dead. Wen Tai has inflicted serious damage on Hayla. It isn’t as strong as it used to be, yet it still killed Essendale, the strongest Shadow Mage quite easily,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Try your best to replenish my energy. I will ask the Black Totem Snake to bring you to safety!” Mo Fan’s gaze never left the Dark Execution Ground.

“Why do you insist on saving her? Anyone can lose their loved ones, why can’t you? Wake up!” Asha’ruiya snapped furiously.

Asha’ruiya truly respected Mo Fan. Even when everyone believed that Xinxia was Salan, Mo Fan never doubted her. He insisted on bringing her away and had broken through the magic formation of the sacred mountain.

Even now, after the Dark Execution had fallen, even when Mo Fan was up against the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple, he did not give up.

But Ye Xinxia was already a dead woman! Even Wen Tai, one of the strongest Mages, had failed to survive the Dark Execution. How could someone as weak as them escape it?

She had to admit that Mo Fan’s love for Xinxia was far beyond the authority and the power that the people of the Parthenon Temple were thirsting for…

But that was it!

Mo Fan calmed down slightly after hearing Asha’ruiya’s words.

Mo Fan looked at Asha’ruiya, whose eyes had reddened. He could tell that she was yelling at him from the deepest part of her heart, as her only close one, Wen Tai had died to the same conspiracy. Compared to Xinxia, who had never seen Wen Tai before, Wen Tai was Asha’ruiya’s true father!

“Asha’ruiya, you are right, anyone can lose their loved ones, it’s just how it is…” Mo Fan agreed. He looked into Asha’ruiya’s tearful eyes and said, “But when it happens to me one day, I hope that I’ve used up every bit of my energy and my strength, I hope that every drop of my blood has dried up, and my heart has stopped beating!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The dust drifted into the air by the blasts swept at Mo Fan’s face.

Asha’ruiya’s heart skipped a beat after hearing Mo Fan’s words!

Until his heart stopped beating…

No one could really oppose the world, but it was enough as long as they were not left with any regrets!

Asha’ruiya slowly placed her hand on Mo Fan’s chest. She could feel the man’s heart pounding heavily. Many people were living like walking corpses, but the man before her was vivid and blazing like fire!

A blue light circled Asha’ruiya’s hand as energy kept pouring into Mo Fan’s body. Mo Fan could feel the energy in his Star Galaxies replenishing rapidly.

It was not only replenishing his energy. His wounds were recovering too, including his broken organs and bones. Mo Fan had no idea what magic Asha’ruiya was using, but he clearly felt himself recovering at an insane rate.

—

He fully recovered in just a short period of time. On the other hand, Asha’ruiya’s face was extremely pale, but she was still as gorgeous as usual.

“Hopefully the hidden power in your body is a lot stronger than I’ve imagined, as you are going to take on armed forces that can conquer half of the world!” Asha’ruiya had a faint smile, as if she was bidding him farewell.

The color of Mo Fan’s eyes shifted. An abnormal dark red filled his pupils. They were so dark that they could reflect the entire chaotic sky.

The demon blood that he had been withholding for a long time turned restless. They were like demons that had just been released from cages. They could not wait to descend upon the mundane world and unleash their wrath across the sacred mountain!

The Essence Orb was also emitting a brilliant and eerie light that soared into the clouds like a sword.

Mo Fan had saved up the energy for a long time. He had promised Old Bao that he would not use the Demon Element until he had filled up the Essence Orb. However, even if the orb was not filled up, he had no intention of suppressing the power of the Demon Element anymore!

The Black Vatican was detestable; he wanted nothing more than to send them all to Hell with everything he had, as they were not worthy to live in this world.

However, he was totally disappointed after learning the ridiculous lie that the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court had woven for their own greed. Humanity was constantly threatened by the demon creatures that ruled the world, but the leaders of the human race turned out to be unreliable, too!

Left with no choice, Mo Fan could only use violence to curb violence. Since they were willing to shed the blood of the innocent lives to acquire more power, Mo Fan was more than willing to shed their blood, too!

—

An enormous, white shadow stood firmly behind Mo Fan. It was a Demon Wolf Supreme that had been awakened from the deepest abyss in the Underworld. The wolf stared down at the sacred mountain. The savage light its eyes were emitting could easily tear these weaklings into pieces!

Mo Fan’s hair had turned white, the color that symbolized death. His long hair was like a coat of sharp spines on his back, and his body was covered in the runes that echoed with the enormous shadow of the Demon Wolf Supreme behind him. His enlarged muscles looked oddly terrifying!

{TL Note: White symbolizes death in certain countries, particularly Asian countries. White represents death, mourning, and bad luck, hence people normally wear white clothes during funerals.}

Asha’ruiya was so shocked that she could not find any words after seeing Mo Fan’s transformation.

Even though Mo Fan still retained his face, the strange runes had turned him into a demon from the Underworld. She felt extremely tiny before his icy aura. She believed that even if she was used the power of the Dark Contract, she would not stand a chance against Mo Fan at all!

The Black Totem Snake was already quite intimidating, yet Mo Fan’s presence was actually even more intimidating than it was!

The Black Totem Snake let out a cry. He had detected a bunch of Adjudicators casting powerful spells on a mountain not far away. The destructive aura spread through the woods and destroyed them!

Mo Fan lowered his gaze to the Black Totem Snake…

Fresh blood was flowing down his enormous body. His skin was dyed red too!

“Leave the rest to me,” Mo Fan gently petted the Black Totem Snake’s head.

He had done a lot; it was time for the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court to experience how it felt when they were up against a real demon!

—

Mo Fan launched himself into the air from the Black Totem Snake’s head. He was not able to fly, but he easily leapt over the tall hill in front of him and landed on the mountain among the Adjudicators like a meteorite.

The Adjudicators were drawing a huge Star Constellation. Sixty Mages were working together to cast a Plant Spell, and once it was done, it would prevent the Black Totem Snake from moving.

The Plant Element was very effective against larger targets. The battle would be over once their Plant Spell was completed.

“Who…who’s there!?” the middle-aged man leading the Adjudicators snapped furiously. He turned around and saw a ghastly figure with an overwhelming aura standing there. It felt like he could easily devour the mountain with a single breath!

The demonized Mo Fan did not answer the question. He merely uttered coldly, “Blood Shadow Strike!”

The giant wolf shadow behind Mo Fan sprang forward. It split into countless wolf shadows sprinting wildly across the mountain!

Tearing, biting, trampling, it was like a horde of demon wolves conquered the mountain in the blink of an eye. The Adjudicators died horrible deaths, their bodies torn apart and eaten, their limbs were scattered across the place. It was a massacre!

Their blood was flowing down the mountain like streams.

—-

Shawshank, who was commanding the battle up in the air, opened his eyes in disbelief as he watched his men die!

They were the elites among the Adjudicators, yet they were all wiped out in an instant… what exactly was the figure that was moving so fast? How did it possess such terrifying power!?

“Hall…Hall Master, the entire seventh squad has been wiped out!”

“Impossible!”

“Did anyone see what the thing was?”

“It jumped out from the Black Totem Snake. It’s too quick, it’s killing us like it is harvesting wheat!”

Shawshank was enraged. The Adjudicators played an important role in the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple. The Black Totem Snake had already killed many of them, but even more had died now. It was totally unacceptable!

“The Black Totem Snake is in its final struggle. Isn’t it normal for blood to be shed every time a new Goddess is being elected? How can we grow stronger without sacrifices?” Dulanc was not too bothered by the loss.

It was only a bunch of Adjudicators. Once they had the Spell of Resurrection, even Forbidden Mages would be willing to submit to them. Why would they care about the death of some Adjudicators?

Besides, the Adjudicators had sworn loyalty to Izisha. It was their honor to die for the sake of the Parthenon Temple!

Shawshank glanced at the woods now covered in blood and demanded, “Did you not see a human figure?”

“I didn’t, I’ll place you and Vice Hall Master Lanjin in charge, I suppose you know how to deal with Haylon,” Dulanc said.

They were finally at the most important part of their plan; claiming the Soul of the Parthenon Temple! Dulanc had to focus on the Dark Execution. He wanted to see Ye Xinxia being dragged into the Realm of the Dead just like Wen Tai and witness the Soul of the Parthenon Temple being granted to Izisha. These candidates or Saintesses were incomparable to Izisha!

Dulanc left and headed for the Dark Execution Ground.

Shawshank and Mellaura stayed to deal with the Black Totem Snake. Shawshank was still concerned about the thing that was massacring their men in the woods. It did not seem like a power of the Black Totem Snake…

“Mellaura, use your magic to find that guy…” Shawshank said.

“Mm… ugh…”

“Mellaura…” Shawshank turned to his back when he heard Mellaura stammering.

However, a great chill immediately ran down his spine as he took a quick glance!

A bloody hand had penetrated Mellaura’s back and come out her chest. The hand was holding her beating heart. Her eyes were wide in surprise, as she slowly turned and followed Shawshank’s gaze!

Behind Mellaura was a man shrouded by a demonic shadow with an evil, cold grin on his face. His bloody-red eyes had a strong aura of death, and did not look human at all!

“It’s…it’s him!” Shawshank was dumbfounded. He recognized the man’s face. He was none other than the young Mage that was trying to rescue Xinxia, Mo Fan!

However, his appearance had changed completely. He had transformed into a cold-blooded demon with a strong desire to kill.

“Great…Great Muse!”

“Mellaura!”

“You devil, let go of her!”

Five Golden Sun Knights were on standby close to Mellaura.

As the Great Muse, Mellaura’s Healing Magic and Blessing Elements were outstanding. Even though she was not a capable fighter, with her help, a Super Mage could easily take on three Super Mages of their level at the same time!

However, no one expected a demon to appear out of nowhere and drive his hand right through Mellaura’s back. None of the Golden Sun Knights had reacted in time. Even Mellaura herself could not use any of her magic equipment!

After all, no one expected they would die with so many protectors around them…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I thought your blood had already been corrupted and turned black, but it’s still so red!” Demon Mo Fan slowly pulled his hand out of Mellaura’s twitching body. He was admiring the blood on his hand as if it was a work of art!

Mellaura did not die instantly. She was still grasping onto her last breath, waiting for Shawshank to protect her.

If everything went according to the plan, Izisha would eventually obtain the Spell of Resurrection. As long as she could preserve her body and her soul, she still had a chance to be resurrected. Mellaura could feel her life draining away at an insane rate. She had only one final wish!

Mo Fan suddenly flipped his hand. A strong wind immediately surrounded Mellaura, destroying her final hope. She could even see pieces of her body drifting in the wind. It looked utterly terrifying!

She never thought she would die such a gruesome death at the hands of a demon that seemed to have come from a different world. Why would this Mo Fan, whom they never treated seriously, possess such terrifying power!?

Shawshank shivered in fear. He and the Golden Sun Knights were totally unaware when Mo Fan had shown up. If he had been aiming for them instead, they would have ended up just like Mellaura!

Mo Fan’s hatred for Mellaura was so strong that he was tearing her into pieces, leaving her no chance of being resurrected.

“Avenge…avenge the Great Muse!” A Golden Sun Knight that was blindly loyal to Mellaura let out a roar, trying to overcome his fear. Even though they were Super Mages, they had never seen anything like Mo Fan!

A giant Demon Judgment Sword of the Light Element descended from the sky, aimed right at Mo Fan’s head. The sword was as tall as a building. Shawshank managed to cast the spell right after recovering!

Mo Fan raised his head and looked at the Demon Judgment Sword, yet he did not try to dodge it.

He slowly raised his other hand. A deep, silver energy burst out of his palm.

He suddenly clenched his hand, aiming at the Demon Judgment Sword above him. The giant sword was immediately shrouded by the silver energy of the Space Element, and crushed into pieces before it could reach Mo Fan’s head!

Shawshank and the rest of the Golden Sun Knights took a deep breath. The demon was able to shatter a Super Spell so easily. How strong could he be?

“Let’s attack together!” A few Golden Sun Knights started constructing Star Palaces rapidly. It was obvious that these Golden Sun Knights had been in the Super Level for quite some time, considering how quickly they were casting their spells. A Thousand Leaves Saber soon appeared in front of the Golden Sun Knight that initiated the attack.

The leaves danced wildly and slashed at Demon Mo Fan like white scythes. They were dense and fierce, leaving no gaps between them.

Demon Mo Fan did not have the ability to fly. He stayed in the air briefly before landing on the ground. The Thousand Leaves Sabers pursued after him, cutting the plants across the mountain into dust scattering in the wind…

As soon as the Thousand Leaves Sabers disappeared, a Golden Sun Light sprang forward using the Slaughtering Wind Slash. He cut at Mo Fan using the wind as his weapon!

The Slaughtering Wind Slash sliced forward from one end of the hill to the other. Demon Mo Fan crossed his arms in front of him, before he slid across the ground after the Slaughtering Wind Slash struck him…

“He…he does not seem to be injured!” another knight exclaimed after taking a closer look.

The Golden Sun Knight with the Wind Element was dumbfounded. It was his strongest spell. Both the Thousand Leaves Saber and the Slaughtering Wind Slash were able to slaughter thousands of demon creatures in an instant, yet they did not leave even a single scratch on the guy. Was he even human!?

“Sinking Ground!” Shawshank yelled furiously from up in the air.

The woods shook. The ravine that Mo Fan was standing in suddenly sank rapidly, as if an enormous giant had just stomped on the ground, leaving a deep pit where Mo Fan was standing.

Demon Mo Fan fell into the sinking pit. His body was buried by the rocks. However, he was not crushed by the force. His eyes flickered coldly instead.

He broke free from the rocks and crouched like a stretched bowstring!

BANG!

With a loud blast, the mountain collapsed as Demon Mo Fan stomped the ground, launching him into the sky like a bolt of black lightning.

Shawshank activated all his defenses, including an expensive Magic Armor. However, when the bolt of lightning swept past him, he felt like all his bones had broken. He fell rapidly to the bottom of the mountain!

Shawshank did not stop even after landing on the ground. He slammed further into a deep hole in the city down the mountain.

His Magic Armor was broken into pieces. He was still alive, yet the tremendous pain in his chest prevented him from rising to his feet.

He was the Vice Hall Master of the Hall of Judgment; he never thought he would be defeated so easily one day!

Driving a man from the mountain’s waist to its foot. How strong would the impact have to be!?

After some time, Shawshank recovered slightly. He glanced at the mountain’s waist and saw the demon grabbing the Golden Sun Knight that had sworn his loyalty to Mellaura.

Shawshank could not see what the demon did. He only saw blood jetting up into the sky, before the Golden Sun Knight’s body was tossed into the valley like a piece of trash…

The Golden Sun Knights stood no chance against the demon. They were all taken out at different spots.

—

A loud cry sang out. The snake’s breath swept across the mountain like a black tornado. The armed forces hiding in the mountain immediately received a destructive blow, many human figures were knocked into the sky…

Mo Fan turned around and looked at the Black Totem Snake. He saw that it had slightly recovered during this short period. He was lending a hand by cleaning off the rest of the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple.

The number of Mages that the Parthenon Temple had was just too high. It was impossible to kill every single one of them. Besides, apart from those that had sworn loyalty to Izisha, Dulanc, and Mellaura, Mo Fan had never planned to kill every person of the Parthenon Temple!

Not everyone in the Parthenon Temple had submitted to Izisha. It was quite obvious that the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights, Haylon, was totally unaware of the conspiracy!

The people that wanted to kill Xinxia were Dulanc and Izisha!

Mo Fan did not waste his time further with the Adjudicators, Mages of Faith, and the Golden Sun Knights, knowing that the Black Totem Snake was clearing a path for him. He transformed into a bunch of Wolf Shadows and sprinted down the mountain.

The Mages of Faith did not stop attacking with their magic along the way, but most of the attacks only consisted of Intermediate Spells. They were unlikely to inflict any damage on Mo Fan, considering how fast he was moving.

Mo Fan’s Demon Element had grown stronger than it had been at the Ancient Capital. It turned out that the Demon Element also grew with his cultivation!

——

A black pillar stood between the sacred mountain and the flourishing city. The people nearby had been evacuated after the Parthenon Temple’s Hall of Faith sounded the alert. The city looked empty, and the boundary of the Dark Execution Ground made it look like something out of an apocalypse.

The city was deserted. The Dark Execution Ground had been established in the city, and a feeble woman was trapped in it alone…

The black Stones of Guilt were circling Xinxia. The seal of the Dark Execution had almost burned through her forehead, leaving her in great pain, her sweat pouring down like a rain.

A dark light was shining upon Xinxia. The shadow it was projecting was completely different from Xinxia’s outline. It was a slender figure, its waist-to-leg ratio different from normal humans. Its black hair was reaching its knees!

Outside the Dark Execution Ground, Dulanc acted as if he had just seen the most wonderful thing in the world when he saw the shadow being projected from Xinxia. His eyes were brimming with greed!

“It’s the Soul of the Parthenon Temple, it’s really on her!” Dulanc had the urge to pounce on the girl. However, he was not allowed to enter the Dark Execution Ground, and the Soul of the Parthenon Temple would not reside in the body of a Great Magistrate, either.

The Soul of the Parthenon Temple would only reside in the true successor of the Parthenon Temple. Only the Saintesses that had received the Blessing of the God’s Seal were able to inherit the Soul of the Parthenon Temple.

—

When the Soul of the Parthenon Temple was revealed, a figure standing on the observatory tower on the Hall of the Goddess glanced down the stairs. She could just see the Dark Execution Ground, and the stunning outline of the Soul of the Parthenon Temple was like a gorgeous painting on the ground.

The person grinned, her heart overflowing with joy.

Izisha had been waiting for years to get her hands on the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. Once she claimed the Soul of the Parthenon Temple, it was time for her to stand at the top of the world!

Izisha’s eyes were fixed on the Soul of the Parthenon Temple on the Dark Execution Ground. She did not seem bothered by the blood splattered across the mountain.

The battle for power in the Parthenon Temple had always been paid in blood. Even if the Black Totem Snake had not shown up, she would still take out every single person that was unwilling to submit to her, and the number of casualties would be several times greater than the number of people dying now!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sacred mountain flattened at its foot. Normally, the petals of the Flying Flowers would be scattered across the place. However, apart from the petals that were destroyed by the overwhelming energy, all that was left was the residue of the spells on the streets and the roofs.

The people in the Citadel of Athens were terrified when they saw the Dark Execution Ground, but what scared them the most was seeing people dying on the sacred mountain. They might not be aware of the complicated reasons behind the battle that was taking place there, but they knew it had been a long time since the Parthenon Temple was involved in such a tragedy.

Cold rain was still pouring down from the gray clouds looming over the Citadel of Athens. The sky was dark and cloudy, and between a few ancient buildings, a shadowy figure shrouded by an evil aura landed on the ground. Its eerily glowing eyes were staring at the spacious Dark Execution Ground.

A lightning halberd descended from the stormy clouds without a sound. It drove right into the ground between the buildings, as tall as the structures around it!

Lightning arcs burst out of it and sprang right at Mo Fan with a strong sealing force!

Demon Mo Fan reacted swiftly. He jumped onto a building and turned around. He saw a Mage in a golden robe standing opposite him. His face was covered by a mask. Mo Fan was unable to see his face, but he could tell how strong the man was from his powerful aura!

“I don’t care what you are, anything that comes any closer will die!” the Holy Court Mage stated coldly.

The fact that the Holy Court Mage could detect Mo Fan’s presence and sneak up on him easily proved that he was one of the strongest among the Holy Court Mages.

“You already knew the judgment was part of a great conspiracy, and yet you Holy Court Mages are still willing to obey Dulanc’s order?” Demon Mo Fan stared at the Holy Court Mage and demanded hoarsely.

The Holy Court Mage did not respond. It was quite obvious that he was on Dulanc’s side. Wild lightning burst out of his body once again as another lightning halberd fell from the sky and landed close to Mo Fan.

More lightning halberds began to fall soon after, twelve of them in total. The lightning halberds formed a magic formation with deadly lightning arcs moving between them.

The Holy Court Mage stood outside the magic formation and stared at Demon Mo Fan trapped inside it.

The Lightning Element was known for its incredible damage, but after reaching the Super Level, the Lightning Spell was very effective at trapping a target instead. The Holy Court Mage believed the magic formation was enough to trap the demon for some time.

The Holy Court Mage was just about to report back to Great Magistrate Dulanc when his vision blurred all of a sudden. The man with crimson-red eyes eerily blinked out of the magic formation and was now only half a meter away from him.

The Holy Court Mage immediately broke out in cold sweat. He did not think his target would be able to break out of the magic formation so easily, and he could already smell death from such a close distance!

—

Outside the Dark Execution Ground, Dulanc was still looking at the Soul of the Parthenon Temple greedily. He even wished that he could turn into Hayla, the Envoy of the Realm of the Dead, and end the girl’s life with his own hands. It would quicken the process of releasing the Soul of the Parthenon Temple from that lowly woman and giving it to the real Goddess.

In the past, he always enjoyed watching Hayla climbing out from the Realm of the Dead slowly and tearing the arrogant people that opposed him to pieces. However, he was not in the mood today. He wanted to get it done as quickly as possible and get rid of the voices that were rebelling against him, and get the situation back under control.

A man wearing the armor of a Holy Court Mage fell from the sky and slammed heavily onto the ground beside Dulanc.

The Holy Court Mage responsible for Dulanc’s safety yelled out in surprise and quickly stepped forward to protect Dulanc.

The man that fell from the sky was still sliding across the ground. He finally came to a stop after smashing through a few walls. Another Holy Court Mage quickly went up to take a look, before returning with a twisted expression.

“It’s Sisso! I think… I think he’s dead!” the Holy Court Mage called out.

Sisso was an elite among the Holy Court Mages. He had been asked to guard the perimeter of the Dark Execution Ground. They saw his Lightning Spell descend not long ago. They initially thought he would take out the enemy quite easily, but to their surprise, he was the one that died! The rest of the Holy Court Mages felt uneasy.

“That thing is coming, Great Magistrate!” a blue-haired Holy Court Mage exclaimed.

“Why are you panicking? Set up the defense!” Great Magistrate Dulanc harrumphed coldly.

“Dulanc, watch out, he’s very strong!” the injured Shawshank said.

Shawshank had been knocked down the mountain by Mo Fan. He had decided to stick close to Dulanc instead, as the Golden Sun Knights and the Adjudicators were weaker than the Holy Court Mages. He was hoping that Dulanc could take out the demon.

However, Shawshank immediately lost confidence when he learned that even Sisso, one of the strongest Holy Court Mages, had died too! He could not help but feel they had offended someone they could not afford to…Read more chapter on vipnovel.com

“The Barrier will stop him from getting any closer!” Dulanc said.

The barrier had the shape of an icy wall. It had covered the entire place and completely separated it from the space outside, preventing Mo Fan from entering the Dark Execution Ground.

The crystalline Barrier continued to grow thicker, like a glacier of blue ice.

—

The barrier was transparent. Demon Mo Fan walked up to the Barrier and stared at the people hiding inside.

Dulanc was inspecting Mo Fan in return. He was rather surprised. Wasn’t he the young man that was trying to rescue Xinxia? How did he leave Vice Hall Leader Shawshank with such serious injuries and even kill his trustworthy man, Sisso?

Demonic flames gradually burst out of Mo Fan’s body and engulfed the Wolf Soul Shadow behind him…

The flames attached to Mo Fan’s back formed the outline of the Flame Belle Empress. The previous evil aura had disappeared, replaced by the pure, destructive aura of fire currently enveloping Mo Fan!

Mo Fan’s appearance of a Wolf Demon had transformed into a blazing figure. The stunning outline of the Flame Belle Empress astonished the Holy Court Mages!

A Fire Demon!

Mo Fan’s power shifted tremendously when the shadow behind him changed. He raised his fist and slammed it heavily onto the Barrier of crystalline ice!

A giant fiery dragon sprang out of Mo Fan’s fist and slammed into the Barrier.

The Barrier began to crack rapidly under the overwhelming force of the flames. The cracks spread further, and soon covered half the barrier.

Dulanc, who was initially wearing a smug expression, immediately paled when he saw the damage dealt to the Barrier.

-That’s impossible! A single punch!-

The guy had broken his Barrier with a single punch!

The wild flames surged fiercely and filled up the space. The broken pieces of the Barrier melted within the blink of an eye.

Mo Fan stepped forward. The flames spread across the ground, following his steps, setting the place on fire. The terrifying flames did not burn everything into ashes. They were like a bunch of servants under the control of their master. They had temporarily occupied the territory, and would not move before receiving a command from their master!

The flames surrounded Dulanc, Shawshank, and the three Holy Court Mages…

“What exactly are you!?” Dulanc’s voice began to tremble when he saw Mo Fan coming closer.

As an authority, Dulanc was a powerful Mage too, yet unlike Pang Lai and Song Qiming who were able to climb to their positions with their outstanding strength, Dulanc had climbed to his current position with political tricks. He was not any stronger than Sisso, who had just died, and was weaker than Shawshank, too.

The strongest force in the Parthenon Temple was the Hall of Knights, especially the few Hall Masters that included Haylon. However, Haylon had started to withdraw the Golden Sun Knights and the Silver Moon Knights after realizing something.

“Protect the Great Magistrate!” Shawshank was still injured. He already knew it would come down to this when he realized the demon was just as strong as the Black Totem Snake. They needed an entire army of Mages to have a chance to take him on. Even Mellaura had died to him!

Shawshank did not want to die. As soon as he gave the order to protect the Great Magistrate, he fled in the opposite direction instead, leaving the Holy Court Mages to protect the Great Magistrate!

Mo Fan did not intend to let the ambitious man go. His gaze followed Shawshank. A fiery pillar burst out of the ground in the direction that Shawshank was running, intercepting him!

Shawshank was astounded. He used all his might to move a few hundred meters away when he felt the danger approaching. However, as soon as he came to a street surrounded by buildings, he saw the buildings erupting in flames and turning into a fiery ocean. The flames pounced on him fiercely!

The fire grew stronger quickly. Shawshank struggled in the flames. The three Holy Court Mages were overwhelmed by fear when they saw Mo Fan Summon such a powerful fire with just a simple glance!

Mo Fan glanced at the three Holy Court Mages and said mockingly, “If you run now, I will spare your life.”

The youngest Holy Court Mage among them turned around instantly and fled. Dulanc’s face contorted when he saw one of his trusted men abandon him so quickly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“AHHHH!!!” The Holy Court Mage on Dulanc’s right was just about to use his magic when Demon Mo Fan set his body on fire.

The flames were inextinguishable, but the man was a Super Water Mage. He immediately Summoned a strong tide. The waves splashed across the streets and flooded the roads, but still failed to put out the fire that was growing on him rapidly!

The fire burned through his defensive magic and destroyed his Magic Equipment. It then burned through the skin and turned the Holy Court Mage into a blackened corpse…

“A…a demon like you shouldn’t exist in this world. The Five Magic Associations and the Holy Judgment Court are going to send you back into Hell!” Dulanc yelled when he saw his men dying horribly.

In addition to bringing the authorities and the strongest Mages in the world to judgment, the Holy Judgment Court was also responsible for exterminating and forbidding evil magic!

The power that Mo Fan possessed was clearly unacceptable. Dulanc believed the Heresy Judgment Mages could easily eliminate the demon in front of him!

“I have only used my power against the people of the Black Vatican, but compared to them, you actually deserve to die more!” Mo Fan retorted.

The Holy Judgment Court was meant to serve justice and eliminate evil forces, but what did their Great Magistrate Dulanc do?

If the Holy Judgment Court was controlling the fate of the human race, he would not mind destroying it instead!

—

A deafening roar came from the spacious Dark Execution Ground.

The buildings and streets inside it had turned into a giant, black pool. A ghastly head wearing a horned helmet slowly rose from the muddy water. Black flying insects spread into the surroundings like thick clouds of smoke outlining a serpent.

Under the horned helmet was a face half-covered in tentacles. Its entire jaw was covered by long black beetles!

A pair of metallic, black horns curled to the back of its head. Its forehead was protected by the helmet, and its hollow eyes had a ghastly, crimson-red glow. It was glaring at Xinxia, who was bound to the Dark Execution Ground by the Stones of Guilt.

It felt like the woman would be completely destroyed by a single breath from the creature. Countless black insects were circling Xinxia, as if they could not wait to feast on her!

These Insects of Death rarely had a chance to taste such a tender sacrifice!

——

“It’s…it’s Hayla!”

“It’s over…”

Pang Lai and Song Qiming both saw the creature Summoned by the Stones of Guilt in the Dark Execution Ground.

The God of Death of Greece was one of the strongest creatures in the world. It had even killed Wen Tai, who was extremely close to becoming a Forbidden Mage. Even the strongest Mage would stand no chance against it!

Hayla was similar in size to the Black Totem Snake. Its shadow loomed over the Citadel of Athens. The creature could easily trample the city into ashes with a single stomp.

The people could see the enormous creature of darkness from every location on the sacred mountain. If the Dark Execution Ground was not cut off by the barrier, the flying insects and the overwhelming aura of death would surely have caused an unimaginable disaster to the Citadel of Athens.

The people of Athens hid behind the city’s barrier, yet they could not feel any sense of security. Humans were just too minuscule compared to the majestic creature!

——-

“HAHAHA, Hayla is here! There’s no way you can save her!” Great Magistrate Dulanc burst out laughing as soon as he saw Hayla’s appearance.

Mo Fan’s gaze was icy. He could sense how strong Hayla was. Its aura was even stronger than the Black Totem Snake!

The Mountain Zombie and the Black Totem Snake were the strongest creatures that Mo Fan had ever seen, but to his surprise, Hayla was even stronger than either Supreme Ruler.

The flames of fury inside Mo Fan’s heart burned higher as the thought of Xinxia being trapped with the creature crossed his mind.

The flames surged wildly and spread across the city, surrounding the entire Dark Execution Ground.

Dulanc and the last Holy Court Mage were devoured by the flames. Mo Fan could not care less if they were dead or alive. He tried to use his flames to tear a gap in the barrier of the Dark Execution Ground!

The Dark Execution Ground was similar to the Dark Dueling Ground. It had a barrier that would stop anyone apart from Ye Xinxia from entering. The only existences that were allowed in the Dark Dueling Ground were the target and the executioner, Hayla!

If Hayla was hostile toward the Citadel of Athens, it could easily raze the city to the ground, let alone killing Xinxia, who basically had no way of defending herself.

Mo Fan almost lost his mind when he saw Hayla slowly approaching Xinxia. His flames had already spread to the other areas, including the sacred mountain of the Parthenon Temple!

The people under the sacred mountain could only see the demon flames and the Dark Execution Ground…

The flames clashed with the dark energy. Even the Super Mages did not dare go any closer.

The civilians and the Mages on the sacred mountain were dumbfounded by the spectacular sight.

Pang Lai flew into the sky and yelled at Mo Fan, “Mo Fan! You’re too close to the Citadel of Athens. Control your flames, or else they are going to burn the innocent people to ashes. There are hundreds of thousand people behind the city’s barrier!”

Mo Fan took a quick glance in the direction of the city and saw that his flames were inches away from the city’s barrier. The Parthenon Temple had long evacuated the people into the barrier, but if he did not suppress the flames, they would devour thousands of people in an instant!

“We’ll help you to tear a gap on the barrier, but Hayla is very powerful, don’t force yourself!” Song Qiming said to Mo Fan.

Song Qiming and Pang Lai were worried that once Xinxia died after her soul was dragged into the Realm of Death. Mo Fan would totally lose control of himself and bring total destruction upon the Citadel of Athens!

They were the strongest Mages in China. Mo Fan’s demon flames were struggling to break through the barrier of the Dark Execution Ground, but Song Qiming was once the Clergyman of the Holy Judgment Court. He was quite familiar with the Dark Execution Ground.

He asked Pang Lai to lend him a hand, and they forcibly tore a gap open on the barrier of the Dark Execution Ground with the power of the Chaos Element!

Mo Fan turned into a meteorite and flew right at Hayla as soon as the gap was big enough for him to enter, leaving a trail of flames behind him. “Don’t you touch her!” he roared.

The flames were like a bright sun falling from the sky, slamming into the ground in front of Hayla.

Hayla was just about to reach out its claw and drag Xinxia into its territory. To its surprise, an intruder had barged in. The explosion forced Hayla to dodge sideways, but the flames had burned every flying insect they contacted to ashes!

Hayla was a real Supreme Ruler, a deity of darkness, no one had ever dared to provoke it like that.

It used its claws to put out the demon flames burning it. It took a heavy step forward and swung its claw at Mo Fan!

Hayla’s claws were enormous. A dark magic claw immediately surrounded Mo Fan. It was big enough to hold an entire mountain.

A silver flicker burst out of Mo Fan’s body, before he vanished into thin air with a shudder. The giant claw missed, but Hayla was able to sense the ripple of the Space Element. It Summoned a black pitchfork to its hand and hurled it at the spot Mo Fan was moving to!

Mo Fan had blinked continuously to move at least a kilometer away, but the dark pitchfork seemed to have locked onto him, able to track Mo Fan down still.

The dark pitchfork struck Mo Fan. He smashed through the walls of five buildings before he was nailed to the ground before a water fountain by the pitchfork.

The dark pitchfork was huge. Mo Fan was extremely tiny compared to it. He was struggling to break free from it.

Hayla easily leapt across the distance of one kilometer.

He landed beside the water fountain and grabbed the dark pitchfork that was nailing Mo Fan to the ground, before stabbing at the place Mo Fan was lying on repeatedly!

Each time the pitchfork landed on the ground, it would produce a tremendous shockwave, razing the structures nearby to the ground. Mo Fan gathered his demon flames in front of him to reduce the damage being inflicted on him.

Hayla’s strength was utterly terrifying. The Super Mages had barely left a single scratch on Mo Fan with their spells, but Hayla had already inflicted serious damage to Mo Fan with its attacks!

As Hayla was indulging in the violent attack, a lightning bolt came down out of nowhere. A normal lightning bolt was like a little sparkle to Hayla, but this bolt of lightning actually consisted of a few hundred lightning strikes. The creature cried out in agony when the lightning landed on its head!

The lightning kept hitting Hayla. The creature seemed to be afraid of lightning. It immediately backed away. The arcs of lightning scattered across the place and lasted for a long time…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Hayla was infuriated by the heavy blow from the lightning strike. It touched its horned helmet and discovered a huge hole in it. The lightning had almost penetrated its head! Tiny lightning arcs were still crawling on its skin, and it could feel a numbing pain from them!

Hayla let out a furious roar at Mo Fan. The spores on its body opened as countless black insects flew out like a disgusting cloud. They quickly surrounded Mo Fan, beating their barely visible wings!

Mo Fan maintained the flames around himself. The black insects were trying to put out the flames by abusing their number. Flames of normal temperatures were nowhere enough to kill them.

The shadow behind Mo Fan grew brighter. The temperature of the flames engulfing him rose.

When the flames were able to set the flying insects ablaze with the slightest touch, the insects suddenly became a great medium for the flames to rapidly spread through the air!

Hayla was able to keep releasing the black insects. The number of black insects was shocking, but they also allowed Mo Fan’s flames to spread even further and eventually reach the giant creature!

The flames burned Hayla’s skin. The creature came to grief once again, raising its hoof and stomping the ground.

Mo Fan did not understand what Hayla was trying to achieve. However, he soon felt a tremendous force targeting him from above!

It turned out to be a dark hoof several times bigger than the creature’s own. Its shadow had covered the entire carefully-planned area of the city. Black dust scattered across the place within the blink of an eye as the area collapsed!

Mo Fan was able to react in time and escape the area. However, he soon realized he was standing in the shadow of another dark hoof. They had sealed off every direction that Mo Fan could run to. Even space was sealed by an overwhelming energy, preventing Mo Fan from Blinking away.

A huge cloud of dust was swept into the air by the stomp. Hayla was indulging in the pleasure of bringing destruction upon the place. It kept trampling everything it could see around it.

The violence of the creature was clearly witnessed by many people. The Dark Execution Ground had isolated the area, but it was still a part of the city. The streets, buildings, and parks were razed to the ground. The whole area was covered in debris, apart from the spot where Xinxia was.

“So this is the kind of creature that the Holy Judgment Court is raising?” Pang Lai lifted his gaze and stared at the creature that was going berserk in the Dark Execution Ground.

They had lost track of Mo Fan due to the huge cloud of dust that the stomping hooves had swept into the air. They could not tell which of the stomps had caught Mo Fan and driven him into the ground. However, Mo Fan was most likely still alive. Otherwise, Hayla would not have had the urge to trample everything it saw into pieces.

The creature was venting its frustration on the city, since it was unable to locate Mo Fan!

Finally, Hayla seemed to have realized something. It turned around and placed its attention on the girl locked down by the Stones of Guilt.

The creature immediately displayed its savagery as it headed toward Xinxia. It would only take it a few steps to reach her.

Hayla opened its mouth. It was going to swallow Xinxia right away!

The sacrifices it received were usually powerful Mages, but it was an extremely weak girl this time. That being said, it found the soul inside her body quite interesting. It would have plenty of time to enjoy the soul once it dragged the girl into the Realm of the Dead!

Mo Fan was able to reach Xinxia a step quicker than Hayla. There were traces of blood on his lips. He was quite convinced that Hayla was stronger than the Mountain Zombie. A single stomp from the creature had inflicted serious damage on his organs. Even though he had dodged most of the stomps, the strong impacts still ended up inflicting a certain amount of damage to him.

Xinxia looked at Mo Fan. It was her first time seeing Mo Fan in his demonized form. The man felt oddly strange to her, as if he was a different person. His body was covered in bloody runes with a strong evil presence. Even his face had a strong disdain toward everything…

She was struggling to believe that the man was Mo Fan until she saw a gentle look in his crimson-red eyes. Her heart melted instantly.

What price had her Brother Mo Fan paid in order to stay alive? Ye Xinxia would not believe that filling the Essence Orb was the only requirement for gaining such extraordinary power. She could sense a coldness on Mo Fan’s face that did not belong to him…

Mo Fan’s heart was burning like a reckless inferno.

Xinxia fondled the demonic lines on Mo Fan’s face. They were like scars that would leave the man in tremendous pain every night, they were not as simple as a source of power!

He had done too much just to save her. She did not feel like she was worthy of being alive for so long.

Hayla was infuriated. Ye Xinxia was supposed to be an offering to it. Even the Ruler of Darkness would not dare to touch its food, yet the mutated human was attempting to take away the food on its plate!

Hayla raised its hoof once again. A giant shadow loomed over Mo Fan and Xinxia.

Xinxia raised her head and saw an enormous object that had completely blocked off the light. The only thought that was left in her mind as she saw the thing coming down was the pressure of death…

“Piss off!” Mo Fan’s sound had changed completely. Lightning that lit up the entire gloomy sky burst out of his body!

The lightning, enhanced by the silver energy of the Space Element, landed on Hayla’s chest, knocking the creature off balance as it was about to stomp the ground.

The fierce lightning struck the black armor on its chest, revealing skin crawling with black worms. The layers of worms on its skin were writhing about. It looked like the creature’s skin was wiggling from afar…

Hayla finally regained its balance. Seeing that the armor on its chest was broken, it tore away the armor that was hindering its movements.

Hayla’s true appearance was exposed. Only the spot that Mo Fan’s lightning had landed on was crawling with worms. It seemed to have a hole in it, which the worms were treating as their cave.

“Mo Fan, that’s the wound that Wen Tai left on it in the past. You have to focus your attacks on the wound, it’s the only chance you have to kill the creature!” Song Qiming shouted.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan glanced at the wound densely covered by the worms. He grabbed Xinxia and Blinked to somewhere safe before placing her down.

The clash between him and Hayla could easily destroy a small city. If Xinxia was too close to them, the energy could easily destroy her. After all, he was fighting against a Supreme Ruler!

Mo Fan quickly returned to the battlefield. He looked at the shocking wound on Hayla’s chest. It was unimaginable that the creature was still alive after losing such a huge chunk of its chest.

Mo Fan summoned blazing red flames and rode the tide of flames into the air.

The flames gathered toward Mo Fan and gradually turned him a fiery eagle the size of a cloud. The eagle let out a cry before diving at Hayla’s chest. The flames spreading from its wings set everything nearby aflame.

Black insects flew out like puffs of smoke, forming layers of defense. They were using their shells and dark auras to stop the flames from coming any closer.

The shells of these black insects stopped the flames from spreading. However, as Mo Fan’s flames reached a certain temperature, the flames began to melt the shells away, too…

Hayla roared and swiped its claws wildly, slicing the fiery eagle into multiple segments.

However, whenever the flames dissipated, the shadow of the Flame Belle Empress behind Mo Fan would brighten. More flames began to pour out of Mo Fan’s body. Their brilliance lit up the rain-drenched sacred mountain. The bloody mountain was brightly illuminated…

The raindrops evaporated in the scorching heat. The flames asserted their dominance over the area, charring the black insects to ashes.

The fiery eagle’s aura grew stronger. Hayla was no longer able to stop the flames. The flames pressed forward and dug their way into the hole on Hayla’s chest with a blinding explosion.

The fiery eagle penetrated the pitch-black body. The Calamity Fire spread wildly across the hole and burst out of Hayla’s back. The wild flames surged across Hayla’s chest, killing the worms. Their dried and burned bodies fell to the ground like raindrops.

Hayla cried out in pain. The attack made it to recall the humiliation it had received twenty years ago, when a human had managed to blast a hole in its chest and destroyed its heart. If the Ruler of Darkness had not replaced its heart with a filthy hive of insects, it would have died long ago!

Hayla bellowed. A thick black cloud loomed over the creature. Mo Fan initially thought the blow would deal significant damage to the creature, yet to his surprise, even more worms had appeared and filled up the burning hole.

The worms were using their bodies to extinguish the demon flames and fill up the wound. Hayla’s chest soon recovered, as if it was perfectly unharmed.

Hayla’s chest was crawling with black worms once again. Pang Lai, Song Qiming, and the others outside the Dark Execution Ground were astounded.

“Could they be the Dark Withering Worms, allowing the creature to keep recovering from its wounds?” Pang Lai asked. He seemed to have recognized the worms.

Song Qiming had a grim face too. He said in a deep voice, “It’s fine if they are the Dark Withering Worms, but it’s going to be troublesome if they are the Dark Undying Worms instead.”

—

The whole place was incredibly noisy due to the buzzing of the black insects. To make matters worse, these black insects would fly into the surroundings and devour everything they stumbled into.

The bricks on the street, the concrete of the buildings, the reinforced steel of the structures, the wooden furniture scattered across the place… the entire place was covered in debris from the buildings that Hayla had stomped on. Meanwhile, the clouds of black insects devoured it all like they were crops. Even the sturdiest material was gone in an instant.

The black insects bloated up after devouring the debris, and flew to the wounds that Mo Fan had inflicted on Hayla. Not only would the wounds recover in no time, the creature was also shrouded by a deathly light. Its skin was sturdier than the layer of insect shells covering it before!

The creature let out a deep breath, and a gust of death swept across the place. Mo Fan found himself in the middle of a chaotic storm. The color of his skin and his muscles began to change, as if a deadly poison was flowing across his body.

Mo Fan clenched his fists and crossed his arms in front of his chest. It summoned forth two giant silver arms in front of him, blocking the black breath.

He slowly skidded along the ground and eventually was forced back to the black barrier without noticing. He had reached the edge of the Dark Execution Ground. The strong breath of death continued to strike the dark barrier and spread to the area outside the barrier.

The area was empty, since the people had already been evacuated. However, as the black breath swept through the area, the buildings were covered in black dust. The buildings slowly vanished under the corroding power of the dust!

The barrier of the Dark Execution Ground was not impenetrable. Once a force surpassed its threshold, it could easily go through it. The people trembled in fear when they saw the black dust corroding the streets and the tall buildings…

They had no idea if there were people in the area who had failed to evacuate in time. The Holy Judgment Court was reckless, Summoning Hayla so close to the city just to put Xinxia to death quicker!

The Mages of Faith and Athens’ government were trying their best to reassure the people, telling them that the creature was under the control of the Holy Judgment Court. However, the people were still overwhelmed with fear when they saw the streets they lived in turning into black dust.

Anyone could tell how evil Hayla was. If the barrier was not protecting the city and the Dark Execution Ground, the creature would bring great destruction to the city. Countless people would die just so the creature could satisfy its lust for blood!

—

Up on the sacred mountain, Pamise looked feeble and worn out. She went to the observatory tower and glanced at Hayla, who kept unleashing the Dark Undying Worms recklessly…

“It has caused great panic in the Citadel of Athens. You have to put an end to it now, Izisha,” Hall Mother Pamise said helplessly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Hall Mother had never thought Izisha would wake up from the cold coffin. She felt uneasy looking at the woman, whose face did not change even the slightest.

Izisha was a scary woman. The Hall Mother had watched her grown up, from a gentle, innocent young girl into what she was now. The Hall Mother was struggling to adapt to her change. She was terrified by the decisions that Izisha had made in the past. Now that she had woken up again, it would surely draw the Parthenon Temple into a terrifying game of political power.

“I’m just taking back what should have been mine long ago. Look at that girl; no vision, no wisdom, no courage! If we continue to let her hold onto the Soul of the Parthenon Temple, the Parthenon Temple would soon be a laughingstock to the world. Is that what you want?” Izisha said without any emotion.

She had a strong disdain for anyone originating from her very bones, including the indecisive Hall Mother.

The Parthenon Temple would not do well without a Goddess. It could not afford to lose the Spell of Resurrection, either. The Hall Mother naively thought she could elect Ye Xinxia as the Goddess, but could the girl really take on the role with her delicate looks and merciful heart?

What a joke! If the Parthenon Temple only relied on being merciful, it would have long been wiped out by the Tyrant Titans and other factions that eyed them covetously.

“Once I claim the Soul of the Parthenon Temple, this crisis will come to an end. I’m not the one you should be convincing now, but the guy who naively thought he could take on the Holy Judgment Court and the Parthenon Temple. He is using an evil power that does not belong to this world. Ye Xinxia might be innocent, but you knew it was inevitable! As for the man with the evil power, he will eventually be taken out by the Heresy Judgment Mages!” Izisha declared.

“Perhaps you should put more attention on the Black Vatican, they already…” the Hall Mother said.

“Salan is nothing but a buffoon. The people of the Black Vatican have infiltrated the Parthenon Temple under your watch. It seems like it’s time for you to retire, too!” Izisha stated.

Izisha was blatantly forcing the Hall Mother to quit. The Hall Mother was startled, yet she could not do anything about it. She could easily tell how many people were supporting Izisha by the great conspiracy that was taking place. Even the Holy Judgment Court was under her influence…

She could easily take out anyone she pleased with the power of the Holy Judgment Court. The Holy Judgment Court focused on authorities and powerful Mages. Once Izisha successfully claimed the Soul of the Parthenon Temple, it meant she could take out or resurrect any person as she wished. Who could possibly stand against her?

=So this was what Izisha was aiming for all along!-

Her methods were as cruel and intimidating as usual!

“I…I just hope that you will think about the people more. Hayla’s power is already corroding the city. The people are overwhelmed with fear. They are starting to feel suspicious. It will greatly affect your influence,” the Hall Mother said.

Izisha did not respond. She glanced down at the Citadel of Athens and Mo Fan, the one who possessed the power of the demon!

She was sensitive towards any power that could threaten her. Mo Fan’s power had clearly caught her attention. The guy could face Hayla head-on. If she could not recruit him to her side, she would have to take him out!

She had no intention of putting a stop to the mess involving Mo Fan and Xinxia. Hayla would be the best weapon she had to eliminate anyone that opposed her. As for the fears of the city and the panicking people, she could easily comfort them once it was over. Most people were clueless, forgetful, and easily manipulated…

—

Lightning burst out of Mo Fan. Spears made of countless lightning arcs punctured Hayla’s chest once again. The lightning spears summoned a great storm that descended upon the place.Read more chapter on vipnovel.com

However, the Dark Undying Worms soon made a piercing and unpleasant sound. They spread out and devoured the debris nearby to fill up the wounds that had been inflicted on Hayla…

It seemed like they had started to run out of things to eat in the Dark Execution Ground. The Dark Undying Worms flew out of the barrier and turned into rapid-moving clouds that devoured everything they came into contact with.

The plants in the parks disappeared, the buildings on the streets vanished, the vehicles on the roads were gone, too. There was nothing they could not eat. The area within a kilometer of the Dark Execution Ground turned into barren land…

The people and the Mages inside the safety barrier were petrified.

Didn’t they say the creature could not leave the Dark Execution Ground? Why were the Dark Undying Worms able to leave the Dark Execution Ground and feast on the things outside? It was terrifying how the city was turned into empty land in an instant!

The Dark Undying Worms were not just targeting the city. The sacred mountain had fallen victim to the Dark Undying Worms too. The Dark Undying Worms seemed more interested in living things than plants and buildings. They went straight for the people on the sacred mountain!

The Hall of Faith and the Ten Thousand Stairs were not protected. Apart from the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple, there were still believers that had not been evacuated on the sacred mountain. The clouds of Dark Undying Worms in the form of clouds swept past, turning the believers into skeletons in the blink of an eye.

The rest of the people were dumbfounded by the sight of the skeletons scattered across the Ten Thousand Stairs.

“Run, quick!”

“Why would the Holy Judgment Court Summon such a monster!?”

The sacred mountain was in a huge mess. The Mages of Faith initially thought they could fend off the Dark Undying Worms with their spells. However, they were soon devoured and turned into a pile of bones, just like the rest of the people!

—

“Izisha!” the Hall Mother yelled.

Izisha remained emotionless. She was quite surprised that Hayla had started to devour the city and the people to strengthen itself, yet she had no plan to send the creature away.

The demon was not dead, and Ye Xinxia was still alive. As long as she had not claimed the Soul of the Parthenon Temple, the battle would not stop!

The Hall Mother knew how cold-blooded Izisha was. She did not stay any longer, since it was meaningless to try and convince Izisha. She immediately assembled the people of the Hall of Judgment and the Hall of Knights to defend the sacred mountain from the Dark Undying Worms. Otherwise, the sacred mountain would turn into a mountain of skeletons!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

After Mo Fan slightly scattered the black aura that was shrouding Hayla, the creature quickly obtained more energy from the Dark Undying Worms. It seemed to have grown stronger after obtaining the energy that the Dark Undying Worms had collected from humans.

It slowly leaned forward and aimed its horns at Mo Fan.

The oddly-shaped horns transformed into a pair of horns even bigger than the creature itself. It slammed the horns in Mo Fan’s direction. The whole place was trembling from the overwhelming force.

The black horns almost reached the sky. Mo Fan could sense a formidable force coming his way when the creature swung the horns at him. It felt like thousands of creatures with black horns were charging in his direction. The defense that Mo Fan had set up with his will collapsed instantly. The horns knocked him flying…

The black horns left Mo Fan no chance to dodge or escape and he slammed into the black barrier. Blood splattered across the dome. The unstoppable horns almost smashed the barrier of the Dark Execution Ground to pieces!

—

Xinxia could not stop tearing up after seeing the bloody wounds all across Mo Fan’s body.

Hayla was still growing stronger with the help of the Dark Undying Worms, but Mo Fan was left with more wounds and bruises as the fight continued. His strength was declining, too. Xinxia was extremely worried that Mo Fan would die to Hayla. Was there any meaning for her to live if he died?

Xinxia was trying her best to break free from the control of the Stones of Guilt. The Soul of the Parthenon Temple seemed to have partially woken up in the Dark Execution Ground. A gentle, blue light spread into her surroundings, battering the Stones of Guilt around her.

Xinxia could feel a gentle force flowing through her body. She intuitively glanced at the Soul of the Parthenon Temple behind her!

So this thing was the reason she couldn’t walk properly? It seemed to be granting her some kind of power…

Ye Xinxia did not want to be a burden. As long as she was trapped here, Mo Fan had no choice but to fight Hayla!

—

Fresh blood was smeared all across Mo Fan’s body. He fell from the black barrier like a fragile piece of paper.

He struggled to his feet and stared at the dark creature with the countless black insects circling it.

The Demon Element had granted Mo Fan great power, yet it was quite obvious that Hayla had surpassed the level of Ruler-level creatures. If Wen Tai had not left the creature with a serious injury, even the Demon Element and the Black Totem Snake were not enough to take the Death God of Greece on!

No wonder the Holy Judgment Court could do as they pleased; they would not have such power if it was not for their ability to sentence any person in the world to judgment!

Mo Fan turned around and looked at the Parthenon Temple, which the black insects were swarming towards.

Mo Fan was not a saint. Considering how the Parthenon Temple had treated Xinxia, he did not have any good impression of its people. As a matter of fact, he was actually elated when he saw the Dark Undying Worms devouring the Adjudicators and the Mages of Faith!

That being said, it would be better if their flesh would not make Hayla any stronger!

The Dark Undying Worms spread ever further. Hayla had ordered the Dark Undying Worms to head toward the barrier protecting the city after it had tasted the pleasant flesh of the humans.

The creature had sensed the strong presence of living humans inside the barrier. If it could devour them all, it would fully recover its strength. It would be able to easily defeat Ruler-level creatures with a single move!

It had a strong desire to recover its strength. The Dark Undying Worms had overpowered the Dark Contract. The creature greedily demanded more living people be given to it as an offering, just so it could regain its power!

Hayla was not able to kill Mo Fan for the time being. The creature was not in a rush, either. Its Dark Undying Worms covered the sky above the city. The black clouds moved rapidly toward the areas without any protection.

The black worms were extremely deadly to ordinary people. A swarm of them could devour hundreds of people in an instant!

The Magistrates and the Mages that came for the funeral on the sacred mountain were startled when they saw Hayla aiming for the people in the city.

In particular, the Magistrates and Holy Court Mages of the Holy Judgment Court were absolutely dumbfounded!

Hayla had never extended its claws beyond the Dark Execution Ground. Why would it suddenly go out of control? Or perhaps Hayla had always desired more death, just so it could grow stronger!

“You…you guys have Summoned a demon!” someone among the crowd screamed furiously.

“Stop the Dark Execution at once, or else the whole city is going to burn in ashes!” a Great Muse yelled.

Hayla had always been an evil existence; its very name represented death. The Holy Judgment Court had already crossed the line by performing the Dark Execution so close to the city, and now, the creature was planning to feast on the people on the sacred mountain and in the city…

They had to put a stop to the mess! They could not afford to let the demonized man and Hayla fight any further! The Citadel of Athens could not bear any more damage, as the barrier of the Dark Execution Ground was nowhere enough to restrain their power!

—

The Black Totem Snake made his way to the outside of the Dark Execution Ground and unleashed a poisonous mist.

The Dark Undying Worms died instantly after touching the poisonous mist, and fell from the sky.

The Dark Undying Worms had almost reached the areas with people. The armed forces of the Parthenon Temple were unable to stop them in time. However, the Black Totem Snake’s Poison Mist Domain came just in time, and stopped Hayla from obtaining more power!

The people of the Parthenon Temple were greatly relieved when they saw the Black Totem Snake’s poisonous mist killing the Dark Undying Worms.

The Black Totem Snake might look savage, but the kind-hearted guardian beast would not take innocent lives. He had actually gone easy on the people that had attacked him, which was the main reason why the people of the Parthenon Temple had managed to injure him. If the creature had not cared about their lives, the armed forces of the Parthenon Temple would have had to stay at least a kilometer away from the Black Totem Snake.

Hayla was infuriated when the Dark Undying Worms were wiped out. It went to the barrier and slammed its head on it wildly, as if it was trying to go out there and brawl with the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake was not scared of the creature, either. He opened his mouth and roared at Hayla. The two enormous creatures faced one another in a standoff, allowing Mo Fan to catch his breath. His body was recovering rapidly, using the power of his Demon Element.

The Black Totem Snake could not enter the Dark Execution Ground, and Hayla was obviously unable to leave it. The Dark Undying Worms were the only thing that could leave the Dark Execution Ground!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Hayla could not recover its power and heal its wounds without the energy provided by the Dark Undying Worms.

Mo Fan withdrew the flames around him. The shadow of the Flame Belle Empress was replaced by the Wolf Soul Shadow. Its strong aura of darkness spread across the Dark Execution Ground.

The Wolf Soul Shadow howled and leapt out of Mo Fan’s body, lunging at Hayla.

It swept its claws across Hayla fiercely, leaving wounds on the creature’s body. Viscous black liquid kept pouring out from the wounds.

Hayla attacked with his horns again, slamming them in Mo Fan’s direction. Mo Fan faced the creature head-on. More Shadow Wolves leapt out of Mo Fan’s body, forming an army that crashed into Hayla’s horns.

Both sides were using the power of darkness. The whole place fell into darkness as their forces collided. Mo Fan agilely weaved through the darkness and dashed toward Hayla’s position. He gathered his strength into his leg and kicked at Hayla’s waist!

Mo Fan’s kick fired off a black shockwave, slashing across Hayla’s waist!

The move only inflicted minor damage on Hayla. The creature turned and swung its claws fiercely. The claws were enhanced by the sealing force of the dark magic, and covered a much bigger area than they appeared to.

Mo Fan had already gotten used to the creature’s attacks, and was long prepared for this move. He dodged the claws in advance and appeared right in front of the creature.

The creature had lumps of meat poking out of its body. Mo Fan stepped on the meat lumps and made his way toward the creature’s chest.

Hayla realized what Mo Fan was up to. Its pores opened once again, and countless Dark Undying Worms flew out of…

Mo Fan was not to be outdone. Lightning burst out of his body and spread wildly across Hayla’s body. The black lightning arcs were as thick as dragons s as they coiled around the creature.

Countless Dark Undying Worms were killed instantly. The lightning also affected Hayla’s ability to move. Its upraised claw stiffened; it was struggling to bring it down.

As the creature was paralyzed by the lightning, Mo Fan quickly took hold of the opportunity and reached Hayla’s chest.

The wound on the creature’s chest was like a hollow cave. When Mo Fan took the Dark Undying Worms out with his lightning, he could even see the dark sky on the other side through the hole…

Mo Fan went inside the wound. His hands were covered by shadowy claws. If fire and lightning alone were not enough to kill the creature, Mo Fan had no choice but to tear the insides of the creature apart with brute force!

Mo Fan ripped wildly with his claws, tearing a bigger hole inside Hayla’s chest. More Dark Undying Worms came out of the wounds as black liquid jetted out from them!

Hayla let out a cry of pain. It reached its claw inside its chest and dragged a chunk of its flesh and bones that Mo Fan was hiding between out!

Hayla’s claw was covered in black blood and rotten flesh. It felt like it had just pulled its organs out.

Hayla tightened its grab, trying to squish Mo Fan into pieces. However, it soon felt a tremendous pain from its chest again, as something had torn its chest even further open.

Hayla finally realized that it was holding a shadow puppet in its claw. The human was still somewhere in its chest…

Viscous, black blood poured out of the wound like a stream. Hayla stopped trying to dig Mo Fan out with its claw. It focused on controlling the worms in its body instead…

Mo Fan kept clearing a new path inside Hayla’s body. The claws of the Demon Wolf Supreme were the sharpest weapons, especially when tearing through the flesh of an enemy.

Mo Fan forcibly tore the wound apart, until it was twice as large as before. The creature’s blood kept pouring down like rain.

When Mo Fan was trying to look for the creature’s organs inside its body, a huge worm that could easily swallow Mo Fan with a single bite suddenly sprang out from the walls of flesh!

Mo Fan nimbly dodged aside but realized that the walls of flesh had turned into the same worms, surrounding him while inside Hayla’s body!Read more chapter on vi pnovel

Mo Fan immediately realized that Hayla’s body was made up of different kinds of worms. It could devour its enemies even when they were inside its body!

The worms were tricky to deal with. Mo Fan was already struggling to attack at will in the limited space. He decisively went out into the open and summoned the shadow of the Flame Belle Empress to burn away the worms that chased after him.

Mo Fan cleared a path and moved out of Hayla’s body, burning most of the worms along the way. The wounds had stopped recovering, as the Dark Undying Worms could no longer provide Hayla with the energy it needed!

—

The creature totally lost its calm. Blood kept pouring out from the wound, and it was now even bigger and deeper. It chased after Mo Fan while stomping and smashing across the place, determined to turn Mo Fan into pulp.

It was difficult to inflict any damage on Hayla, but Mo Fan’s tantrum inside the creature’s body had proven to be effective. The creature’s aura had obviously weakened after it started losing its calm.

However, Mo Fan was definitely not in a good spot, either. The creature was just too strong. The endless attacks kept leaving more wounds on Mo Fan.

Despite the difference in size, Mo Fan was using the shadow claws and basically brawling the enormous creature in close combat until one of them fell to the ground first!

—

Pang Lai, Zhu Meng, Song Qiming, Han Ji, and the others were all left in great shock as they watched the fight develop.

Hayla was easily one of the strongest creatures in the world. It was the ace of the Holy Judgment Court, yet Mo Fan, who was only an Advanced Mage, was able to take it on with the power of the Demon Element!

Both Zhu Meng and Han Ji could tell that Mo Fan was a lot stronger compared to his display at the Ancient Capital. It showed that the Demon Element grew stronger as Mo Fan’s cultivation improved. If Mo Fan achieved the Super Level, granting him eight Elements, wouldn’t that mean even Hayla was no match for him?

If the power of the Demon Element actually surpassed Hayla’s, the Holy Judgment Court was surely going to lose their authority!

None of them had high hopes of Mo Fan defeating Hayla, but it was clear that they had all underestimated the Demon Element, the exclusive Element that only Mo Fan had!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Black blood was pouring out of Hayla’s body. Lots of dead worms were falling off it. The death of the worms meant that Hayla’s life was draining away.

Hayla was made up of countless worms. The death of the Dark Undying Worms was a serious blow to the creature, and now its insides had been torn up by Mo Fan using brute force. Its wounds continued to worsen during the brawl against Mo Fan.

Hayla stared at Mo Fan. The creature suddenly turned and charged in Xinxia’s direction. A black pool appeared in the same direction it was running to. It was the tunnel connected to the world it had come from.

Hayla was aware that it was meaningless to keep fighting with the demonized human. It was planning to snatch its offering and return to the Realm of the Dead. If the man insisted on chasing after it into its territory, it would have grown a lot stronger by then. It would have no problem killing him!

Mo Fan was covered in wounds too. When he saw Hayla was rushing toward Xinxia, he realized how cunning the creature actually was.

He immediately had a bad feeling about it. He gathered all his might and rushed toward Xinxia.

The black pool grew quickly. The area around Xinxia turned muddy. Her legs slowly sank into the muddy black pool.

Hayla was sinking into the ground too. The black pool was connected to another plane. Hayla had disappeared quickly. Half of its body had already submerged into the pool!

Hayla turned around, as if it was laughing at Mo Fan’s stupidity.

It was not necessary for it to fight Mo Fan to the death. All it wanted was the delicious offering. Once it dragged the offering into the Realm of the Dead, it would still have control over the situation!

Mo Fan was hot-blooded from the fight. He had not thought Hayla would be so cunning.

Normally, a high-level creature would not allow any existence to provoke them. Hayla was called the God of Death of Greece, thus it was supposed to fight its challenger to the death instead. To everyone’s surprise, even Hayla was scared to brawl with Demon Mo Fan any further. It had decided to escape with its offering. This had never happened in the past!

—

The face of the woman watching over the city from the observation tower on the sacred mountain twitched furiously when she saw Hayla trying to run away.

Hayla was supposed to kill Ye Xinxia in the Dark Execution Ground, so that she could claim the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. If Hayla dragged Xinxia into the Realm of the Dead, the Soul of the Parthenon Temple would disappear from the world too!

Everything she had done so far would be in vain! Izisha’s nails were already sinking into her palm. Her hateful eyes were glaring at Mo Fan!

Her plan would have been absolutely perfect, if not for Mo Fan and the Black Totem Snake!

—

Hayla was utterly shameless; it was initially quite a distance away from Xinxia. Mo Fan had been keeping an eye out on her during the battle against Hayla, but the creature simply opened up a gate from a distance to drag Xinxia into the Realm of the Dead.

Xinxia kept sinking into the black pool. Only her neck was still above the surface, her body was fully sunken into the pool.

Hayla knew Mo Fan would surely come and rescue Xinxia. The creature forcibly intercepted Mo Fan, even though it meant receiving another strong blow from him. Mo Fan could not do anything apart from watching Xinxia being dragged into the Realm of the Dead.

Hayla let out an imperious cry, yet it sounded like a treacherous laugh to Mo Fan.

When Hayla confirmed that Xinxia had been dragged into the tunnel, it also started immersing itself.

It was very impressive that Mo Fan had managed to take on Hayla, yet it was almost impossible for him to stop the Greek God of Death from running away!

Seeing that Xinxia had disappeared into the black pool, Mo Fan swung his shadow claws at the remaining part of Hayla that was still above the black pool in rage. Black blood splattered across the place as pieces of flesh scattered…

However, it still did not stop Hayla from escaping into the black muddy pool, even though half its shoulder and its neck were torn apart by Mo Fan. It continued to return to the Realm of the Dead with a sneer!

In the end, both Xinxia and Hayla disappeared into the black muddy pool. The pool was quickly shrinking!

The pool was the only tunnel to the Realm of the Dead. Mo Fan felt like his heart had been dug out when he saw the black pool closing up.

He could no longer feel Xinxia’s presence in this world. He would never hear her calling him Brother Mo Fan in a gentle voice. He could no longer go close to her and smell her sweet scent, and see her innocent, pure smile, and her blushing face whenever he teased her…

Mo Fan had wanted to slack off many times whenever he was cultivating. However, whenever he came up with an excuse that there was no need to train so hard, he kept remembering Xinxia’s body, curled up in the fridge just so she could survive Bo City!

Their cruel world had already left the girl covered all over with cuts and bruises, let alone the Realm of the Dead under the black muddy pool. The demons there would be even crueler. Its chill would pierce through her bones and her soul. She would be tortured endlessly down there, and most importantly, she would be all alone!

No one knew what was in the Realm of the Dead. All they knew about it were mere rumors, since no one had ever come back alive. However, the more clueless Mo Fan was about the Realm of the Dead, the scarier his imagination of the place was. Perhaps it was a deep slumber, perhaps it was a place that was ten times, hundred times, or even thousand times scarier than the rumors had mentioned!

Either way, he had to stop Xinxia from ending up in the Realm of the Dead. She was the most innocent, kindest girl he had ever seen. A girl like her did not deserve such an ending.

He would find a cure for her legs and bring her to the most beautiful beach so she could leave her first footprints on the sand. He would then bring her up a mountain on a clear day with a starry sky, to show her the most beautiful things in the world.

Even when Xinxia was falling into the black pool, Mo Fan did not hear the girl say a single word. She was only looking at him from the distance. She was already aware that she had no chance of living. She was hoping to use her final moments to remember Mo Fan’s face, as he was her precious man. She did not complain at all. Her heart was fully occupied with contradicting thoughts; a reluctance to part ways, but knowing that her man had done all he could for her…

The more Mo Fan thought about it, the harder it was for him to accept it.

Mo Fan did not forget how Zhang Xiaohou had burst into tears and cried when He Yu sacrificed herself for him. He did not forget how much pain Xu Zhaoting was in, he wanted to end his own life by tearing himself apart when he killed his own girlfriend after being turned into a Cursed Beast. He clearly remembered how Zhan Kong had shown up at the Tianshan Mountain to keep his promise, even though he had turned into an empty shell…

The things he went through were carved in his bones and engraved in his heart. Mo Fan knew that even if Xinxia was gone, he could continue on with his life just like everyone else, but every night, every time he was lost in his thoughts, she would show up in his mind.

The person he loved should always stay by his side; he wanted to enjoy her pleasant laughter, her gentle touch, and her flirtatious fondling instead of grieving for her and living in endless regret!

“I will never abandon you, I will not forsake you!” Mo Fan yelled.

Blood-red tears rolled down Mo Fan’s cheeks. The girl that had always been at his side had never felt so distant before. The distance between them was no longer an inviolable sacred mountain, but the boundaries between the human world and the Realm of the Dead.

Mo Fan dived right into the Gate of Hell as it was about to close up. He allowed the black muddy pool to devour him as he bid his farewell to the human world.

——

“Mo Fan!”

“Mo Fan!”

Pang Lai, Han Ji, Zhu Meng, and Song Qiming stared at Mo Fan in astonishment, watching him diving into the Gate of Hell recklessly.

Asha’ruiya stood on the Black Totem Snake in utter disbelief.

Some people lived for their own sake. They set up evil altars that were stacked with dead bodies, and even with the ability to resurrect, their rotten souls and bodies were still disgusting as usual.

But this man was like a blazing sun, setting his spirit on fire in order to proclaim his beliefs!

—

Hayla disappeared. The Dark Execution Ground disappeared. The innocent girl that stirred the great storm in the Citadel of Athens disappeared, together with the demonized man that stirred up chaos for the sake of the girl…

The area where the Dark Execution Ground had been was beyond recognition. Not even a single corpse was left. The sacred mountain stood firmly amid the rain, yet when the sun came out eventually, the people would see their mountain of faith full of holes.

Song Qiming raised his head. Raindrops fell on his pale face.

It was like a cycle; Wen Tai’s death had brought great chaos in the past, too. Wen Tai was the Holy Saint, the man that could have led the human race out of the danger posed by the demon creatures.

This time, it was his daughter. Similarly, Mo Fan who possessed the Demon Element, could have become the greatest weapon against the demon creatures.

They had tried their best to protect Mo Fan, but they still could not avoid the game of life, nor could they make the choice for Mo Fan.

Who was the winner in the end?

No one!

When the human race weakened slightly, the threat posed by the demon creatures would grow stronger!

The final winner was actually the demon creatures that were preying on humanity!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Her body was covered in sticky, black liquid. It was not as cold as she had imagined, but it felt suffocating as if her body was entangled in spider silk, like the worms crawling around her would come and devour her in any second.

Ye Xinxia opened her eyes but she could not see anything in the darkness. It felt like she was falling slowly. The weightlessness made her feel like she was nothing but a soul.

-Am I dead?- , Xinxia murmured in her heart.

There was no sound, no light, not even a single hint of warmth. Perhaps this was what death felt like. The emptiness that would make a person panic, the overwhelming sorrow from the sense of loneliness!

The sadness gradually turned into an unstoppable surge of emotions as she recalled her final moments.

Was she never going to see him again?

The loneliness was not what she was afraid of. She had long gotten used to being alone, until the boy that was a year older than her living next door kept coming to visit her. Even though she was too shy to speak, the boy would keep jabbering on his own. Just listening to him would drive all the boredom away…

She had lived at the very end of the street, and was not allowed to leave the house. She would rest her head on the window sill waiting for the boy’s face to show up; either he was tried to scare her or amuse her with a grimace, or maybe he was wearing a smile. She no longer felt like she was transparent after Mo Fan showed up; she was no longer someone that had been abandoned in an old house on a street!

Her anticipation of seeing Mo Fan did not disappear when she grew up. It was subconscious; her heart would be brimming with hope and joy whenever she saw him.

She was not afraid of being alone, but of the fact that she would never feel the anticipation again. Without it, she was basically dead on the inside. After all, it was Mo Fan that made her feel alive in the first place, the anticipation of seeing him had kept her going all this time…

She continued to fall as if the place was bottomless.

Ye Xinxia tried hard to stay awake, longing to remember his face. She believed it was the only thing she could do, as she eventually fell into a deep slumber!

She suddenly heard a sound that made her blood run cold nearby.

Ye Xinxia glanced around in the darkness. Even though she could not see anything, she could sense countless worms wriggling around her!

The worms were like huge maggots, with sharp teeth around their heads and necks.

More worms showed up. It felt like they had gathered around a dining table, and were ready for dinner. They could not wait any longer to feast on their prey.

Xinxia let out a self-mocking smile. It turned out that she was not dead. She still had to go through the pain of being eaten alive by the worms.

Xinxia closed her eyes and raised her head slightly. The fear on her face was replaced by a calm look as she gradually accepted the fate awaiting her…

The worms lunged at the girl like a strong tide.

“Die! Die! Die, you assholes!”

A huge flame lit up the dark tunnel like a brilliant sun. The fires knocked the worms aside and burned them into ashes.

The fire burned fiercely around Xinxia. She was unable to see the burning figure clearly, as it was just too fast for her. Her eyes followed the figure that was running around in the darkness while massacring the worms…

Ye Xinxia had no idea how many worms were in her surroundings. The whole place was pitch-black, and she was completely surrounded by the black worms. The burning figure had brought her a glimpse of light and warmth by killing the worms!

Ye Xinxia was able to take a quick glance at her surroundings with the light produced by the flames. She lifted her gaze and saw countless worms wriggling above her. There were so many of them that she could not see even the slightest opening!

“Brother…Brother Mo Fan!” Xinxia was totally aware of who the burning figure was. Her eyes widened in astonishment, before they slowly turned wet as tears burst out of them. The tears rolled down her cheeks, her neck and soaked her shirt!

Mo Fan did not hear her cry. He was lost in a frenzy from the endless killing. Since Hayla was planning to devour Xinxia in this place, Mo Fan would kill every single one of the billions of worms that Hayla was made of instead!

Hayla grew stronger after entering the dark tunnel. Mo Fan finally cleared a path through the thick layers of worms to reach Xinxia, but they were currently in Hayla’s territory. The creature had no intention of letting them leave!

The worms kept showing up. Mo Fan had barely cleared the area within a kilometer to create some space, but the worms soon filled up the space from all directions…

Ye Xinxia glanced around her. It felt like she and Mo Fan had ended up on a planet completely made of worms, and they were currently stuck in the core of the planet under countless layers of them!

Mo Fan did not stop killing. The shadow behind him flickered continuously. Whenever the black worms filled up the space around them, Mo Fan would emit an eerie, red glow that turned thousands of worms into nothing!

Mo Fan was killing the worms untiringly. He had no intention of stopping at all.

Xinxia never thought Mo Fan would come after her. She had been dragged into the abyss of Hell, she was nothing but a dead person!

—

Flames burst out of Mo Fan’s body and surged in different directions, each clearing a path through the layers of black worms, burning the worms along its path into ashes. The thousands of trails of flames immediately tore a huge gap through the worms…

Mo Fan immediately looked through the gap. He initially thought he could see an opening, but the worms just kept coming. It did not seem like their numbers were falling after all the killing he had done!

Mo Fan had already unleashed all his power. If he still could not clear a path through the worms, it was basically game over.

The little space that he had created was soon filled up by the worms. Mo Fan landed beside Xinxia. His face was finally filled with fatigue, yet Xinxia did not see the slightest despair on it…

Mo Fan was looking at Xinxia too. The redness in his eyes slowly faded away, and slowly reclaimed their original brown.

The two stared right into one another’s eyes. Neither of them said a single word, yet they could read one another’s minds just by looking into their eyes!

“I will bring you out of here!” Mo Fan swore.

Xinxia did not let Mo Fan fight any longer. She hugged Mo Fan from behind tightly. Her soft body hung tightly onto him. Her hands were wrapped around Mo Fan’s chest as she placed her head on Mo Fan’s back…

The only thing she wanted was to stay with Mo Fan while waiting for the worms to slowly fill up the space around them.

Mo Fan knew what Xinxia was thinking. As a matter of fact, he was completely worn out, too.

Mo Fan grabbed Xinxia’s cold hands and slowly loosened them. He turned around and faced her.

Mo Fan had a wry smile upon seeing the calm look in Xinxia’s eyes. He tugged her into his arms. Ye Xinxia’s petite body sank deep into Mo Fan’s chest, as if they had merged into one!

“Is this enough?” Mo Fan whispered into Xinxia’s ears.

“Mm, it’s more than enough,” Ye Xinxia nodded heavily.

Mo Fan and Xinxia did not tear up under the circumstances. Both their eyes and their hearts were calm and peaceful.

“Brother Mo Fan…”

“Mm?”

“I love you.”

Mo Fan was lost for words. Xinxia had never said those three words to him.

Mo Fan loved her, too. He always treated their relationship, a mix of the love of a family and romance preciously, but…

Hayla’s noisy cries kept harassing them. The creature still wanted to disturb them during their final moments!

Black worms kept moving closer. The space that the light of the flames could reach kept shrinking. The filthy worms impatiently surged forward while crying out greedily!

Mo Fan and Xinxia totally disregarded the worms surrounding them. Death was knocking impatiently on the door.

Mo Fan was engulfed in the brown Calamity Fire once again. It slowly rose from his feet to his chest and his head.

Xinxia looked at Mo Fan who had put on the fiery armor in astonishment. She did not understand what Mo Fan was up to.

“Sorry, I just can’t do it!” Mo Fan said, as his face was covered by the flames.

Xinxia wanted the two to wait for their deaths silently.

Mo Fan did not respond, as he could not really do it. He was not willing to wait for his death while the two were hugging one another.

The worms opened their mouths and lunged at their prey.

Mo Fan’s fists were set aflame. The flames spread wildly like dragons, killing every single worm nearby!

Xinxia looked at him. The flames engulfing him were no longer scorching and as powerful as they used to be.

Mo Fan was also looking at Xinxia. He said, “Allow me to fight for you until the very last moment, please?”

Before Ye Xinxia could give her answer, the figure that was surrounded by flames and lightning dove into the layers of worms. The black worms soon turned into pieces and dust as blood splattered across the place.

Xinxia remained still, her eyes closely following the figure moving rapidly among the worms…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The flames created a space without the black worms again. Mo Fan was so worn out that he was struggling to lift his hand. His energy had depleted and his mind had reached its limit.

The worms filled up the space again in no time. They soon lunged at Mo Fan and tore at him with their sharp teeth.

Even his demon flesh could not avoid being torn by so many worms at the same time. The worms started tearing through Mo Fan’s skin. Some smaller worms even dug into Mo Fan’s body.

Mo Fan no longer felt any pain. He slowly fell into the world of darkness as the army of worms devoured him.

He had indeed fought until the very last moment, except he still wanted to hug Xinxia again.

When Mo Fan was lying in the ocean of worms, a sad voice appeared in his mind.

Mo Fan slowly lifted his heavy eyelids and saw a bright light. It was blinding his eyes a little, but it felt extremely warm.

“Is this…” Mo Fan murmured. As he recovered consciousness, he realized that the shadow of the Flame Belle Empress had left him.

The thing ahead was a slender figure engulfed in flames. As Mo Fan realized what it was, the figure soared up above him. Mo Fan saw the Flame Belle Empress’ body disintegrating under the blinding light!

“Little Flame Belle, no, no, don’t do it, don’t…” Mo Fan realized what Little Flame Belle was trying to do, and screamed at the top of his lungs.

Flame Belle Empress rose to the highest spot. A great tide of Calamity Fire surged across the darkness the moment her body disintegrated completely!

The flames spread out wildly, like a howling tide, burning the black worms scattered in the surroundings to ashes before the flames even touched them…

Mo Fan clearly remembered the Fire Calamity that he had gone through at the North Burning Valley. It had set the entire place on fire, driving every creature that did not belong to the fire out. It indeed felt like a great calamity that the Heavens had brought to Earth.

Seeing how Little Flame Belle was summoning the Calamity Fire, Mo Fan finally realized the Calamity Fire did not originate from the Heavens nor the Earth. It did not appear out of nowhere, but it was Little Flame Belle’s life…

Little Flame Belle was burning her life!

Mo Fan could not move even a single finger. He lifted his gaze and saw Little Flame Belle burning her life force. His eyes kept moving, yet not a single tear was shed.

His sorrow was so strong that he could not shed a single tear. The huge Calamity Fire turned from a ring of flames into an unstoppable fire surging across the dark space. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, billions of black worms were burned to ashes. Mo Fan was no longer surrounded by darkness and worms, but the Calamity Fire that had set Mo Fan’s heart on fire, a Fire Calamity that Little Flame Belle had transformed into by sacrificing her life!

Little Flame Belle turned into flames dancing wildly across the place before she could bid him farewell. The whisper of flames scattered across the place elegantly after wiping out the black worms. They were like stars in a night sky, yet they had filled Mo Fan’s heart with coldness and grief.

—

—

Rain was still pouring down on the Citadel of Athens, washing away the blood, the filth, and the remains, yet it could not wash away the greed and filth that were imprinted in the hearts of the authorities.

The Dark Execution Ground had disappeared entirely, but there was still a pool of water where the gate initially was…

No one dared to get any closer. Only Pang Lai, Song Qiming, and the others were nearby. They were still staring at the Gate of Hell that had closed up long ago in disbelief.

Suddenly, the ground turned scorching hot. A spectacular pillar of flame burst out of the black pool. The flames soared into the sky, evaporated the raindrops and split the stormy clouds in half…

The light shone upon the Citadel of Athens, bringing warmth to the drenched city!

“Is this…” Song Qiming was astounded. He stared at the flames that had appeared out of nowhere in disbelief.

The flames lasted for some time, their warm light shining down upon the area within a hundred kilometers, like a sacred ritual.

Finally, Song Qiming and Pang Lai both saw two feeble figures being sent out by the fiery pillar. It was like they had ridden the current of the flames from another plane back to this world!

“It’s Mo Fan and Xinxia!” Song Qiming was the first to react.

Pang Lai was excited, and in utter disbelief, too.

Didn’t they already fall into the darkness? How was it possible for them to make their way back? Where did this abnormal pillar of flames come from? It was countless times purer and stronger than the flames that Mo Fan normally had!

Pang Lai and Song Qiming had countless questions, but they had to save the two first.

Mo Fan was carrying Ye Xinxia. He landed on the ground under Song Qiming and Pang Lai’s protection.

The fiery pillar slowly dissipated as soon as the two landed safely on the ground, as if it was there to escort them. The place returned to calm gradually.

Mo Fan placed Xinxia on the ground so Han Ji could treat her wounds. He walked toward the fiery pillar was.

“How did you…” Han Ji was just about to ask.

Xinxia said in a soft voice, “It was Little Flame Belle, she sacrificed her life to summon the Fire Calamity.”

Pang Lai, Song Qiming, Han Ji, and Zhu Meng realized what had happened. They looked at Mo Fan’s grieving back, not knowing how to comfort him.

Song Qiming was the most familiar with the Little Flame Belle. The little creature had grown up at Mo Fan’s side. She was intelligent, adorable, and charming. When the old Mages could not do anything to save Mo Fan and Xinxia, it was Little Flame Belle that had sacrificed her life to save them…

—

Mo Fan reached the spot. He could feel some heat on the ground still. He saw a tiny red leaf on the ground too. It was light as a feather, and had fallen before the Calamity Fire completely disappeared.

Mo Fan cautiously reached out his hands and held the last fire leaf that Little Flame Belle had left behind preciously.

He kissed the leaf softly, yet it felt like his heart was being torn apart. It was so painful that he was struggling to breathe.

“Brother Mo Fan…” Xinxia’s voice came from behind him.

Han Ji helped Xinxia over to where Mo Fan was. Xinxia placed her hands on Mo Fan’s back before reaching for the fire leaf that Little Flame Belle had left behind. “Let me hold her,” Xinxia said.

Mo Fan raised his head. He did not speak as he slowly handed Xinxia the fire leaf.

Xinxia held it carefully and closed her eyes.

Glowing dust like tiny crystals flew out of Xinxia’s body. She was eventually shrouded by a sacred light as a blurry, godly figure appeared behind her…

Her hair slowly drifted up, revealing her perfect face. As her eyes sprang open, they looked completely different!

The girl was no doubt Xinxia, but she had such a stern expression that it felt like she had turned into a different person, especially the eyes that clearly did not belong to her!

Xinxia was glowing now, and gradually merged with the light. The others were utterly confused, but they soon heard the clear sound of a heart beating.

A small heart made of light floated out of Xinxia’s chest. It landed on Xinxia’s hands, and the fire leaf that Little Flame Belle had left behind.

The fire leaf slowly merged with the heart of light, turning into a fruit in Xinxia’s hands when the light eventually disappeared.

“It…it’s the Spell of Resurrection!”

“The Spell of Resurrection!”

“She has the Spell of Resurrection!”

The light of the Spell of Resurrection was so unique that every member of the Parthenon Temple could recognize it instantly. Many Adjudicators and Guardian Knights had surrounded the place. They had witnessed Xinxia use the Spell of Resurrection in person, they had witnessed how the Soul of the Parthenon Temple had descended upon the place!

Who would have thought that the girl that was accused of being Salan, the girl that was dragged into the Realm of the Dead by Hayla, would possess the Spell of Resurrection!

The Guardian Knights initially wanted to apprehend Mo Fan and Xinxia, but they all dropped to their knees with their heads on the ground upon witnessing the scene.

The Adjudicators and the Mages of Faith half-knelt on the ground, too. The believers in the Hall of Faith were completely astounded. When some of the old believers who had seen the light of the Spell of Resurrection bowed sincerely, the rest of the believers began to kneel too!

The living had to endure the pain inflicted by death, and the only way to eliminate that pain was the Parthenon Temple’s Spell of Resurrection!

—

“Brother Mo Fan, ” Xinxia smiled. She never thought she would possess such power, nor had she ever been so relieved as when she had saved Little Flame Belle’s life.

Mo Fan was left in awe, staring at the Calamity Fruit.

Little Flame Belle was born from a Calamity Fruit. Did that mean Xinxia’s Spell of Resurrection had brought Little Flame Belle to reincarnate?

“Brother Mo Fan, she’s still the same Little Flame Belle, but she needs the purest and strongest baptism of fire to be reborn,” Xinxia cautiously placed the Calamity Fruit in Mo Fan’s hands.

Mo Fan held the Calamity Fruit. He could feel the heat inside the Calamity Fruit, and a rhythmic pounding like the beating of a heart.

“Xinxia, you…” Mo Fan immediately realized something. He raised his head and looked at Xinxia.

Xinxia let out the purest smile and shook her head, “It’s fine, we are sharing the same heart. I’m not with you always, but from today on, as long as Little Flame Belle is by your side, my heart is with you, too.”

Her steps were slower. She could never catch up to Mo Fan’s pace. However, the Little Flame Belle would always stay by Mo Fan’s side. They would go on adventures, fight battles, share moments of joy and sorrow together… and now, she did not need to worry about Mo Fan and miss him so much.

It was the best ending that Xinxia could have hoped for!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The rain started pouring again. The petals that rose into the air were scattered by the raindrops. Not many of them were left intact.

Izisha looked down coldly from the observation tower. She was like a phantom without a spirit, she did not have the slightest living presence.

The believers were not facing her. They had placed all their attention on the girl, and were bowing to her. It meant that her plan had failed. She had failed to take out all the Saintesses, and had failed to claim the Soul of the Parthenon Temple.

The girl had obtained the approval of the Soul of the Parthenon Temple, meaning that the Soul of the Parthenon Temple would not acknowledge a new master for the next ten years. Izisha could not afford to wait another ten years!

—

Below the sacred mountain, Dulanc was hiding in a shed in low spirits. He leaned against the pillar feebly, his face contorted.

He had clearly abused his powers. The Clergyman of the Holy Judgment Court would soon arrive to sentence him. He had no chance of living without Izisha’s help.

But then again, would Izisha have the power to save him?

The Soul of the Parthenon Temple had been Awakened. It had granted the girl they had accused of being Salan the Spell of Resurrection. It was a deadly blow to the people behind the conspiracy. It was impossible for them to recover now.

The whole Parthenon Temple would turn against them!

“Great Magistrate, we should leave at once. Izisha is surely going to pretend that she knows nothing, but it won’t be so easy for us,” Dulanc’s personal bodyguard spoke up.Read more chapter on vipnovel

Dulanc gathered his thoughts. The man was right. He could not just sit here and wait for his death. There was no way Izisha would admit that she was responsible for everything that had happened. Running away was the only option he had!

Dulanc immediately fled toward the sacred mountain while everyone was bowing to the girl. He headed for the Mediterranean Sea.

Dulanc still had some connections. He believed he could easily escape the disaster that was about to befall him. He just needed time to plan for a comeback.

Dulanc and his bodyguard fled the city. They could already see the waves of the Mediterranean Sea. The city and the sacred mountain were still not in order. No one put any attention on them.

Dulanc turned around and looked at the Citadel of Athens and the sacred mountain as he felt the sea breeze.

“Great Magistrate, we have to leave now,” the bodyguard prodded him.

“I can’t accept it! We were so close to getting the sacred mountain under our control! It’s not just the Citadel of Athens, but all of Europe too… but I have to run away like a coward now!” Dulanc snapped.

Everything had been going according to their plan. Dulanc had smelled victory the moment he cast the Dark Execution. It had guaranteed their victory in the past, taking out Wen Tai, yet to his surprise, the Dark Execution had failed this time, not to mention that it was against a young man!

-Who exactly was that Mo Fan? How could he possess such terrifying power? How did he even save her from the grasp of the God of Death!?-

“But there’s nothing you can do now; if you really don’t want to leave, I do have an idea,” the man said.

“What? What idea!?” Dulanc was startled. He glanced at the bodyguard that had followed him for fourteen years.

The bodyguard had always been Dulanc’s trusted aide. He was not the smartest, but Dulanc was very satisfied with his ability to complete the orders given to him. Dulanc was a little suspicious; even he was utterly helpless under the circumstances, how could the man come up with any brilliant plan?

The bodyguard stepped closer. He seemed rather mysterious.

Dulanc was feeling impatient. Perhaps he did have a brilliant plan?

As such, Dulanc took the initiative to step closer. However, the bodyguard suddenly stabbed Dulanc’s heart with a dagger made of ice.

Dulanc did not expect the blow at all. His other men had already left when they realized the pinch they were in. They knew Dulanc was in deep trouble. The loyal bodyguard was the only person that stayed by his side, as such Dulanc trusted him even more while cursing his other men countless times.

To his surprise, the bodyguard who seemed to be ready to die for him suddenly showed his true colors. His face was full of hatred and disgust, as if he had nursed this grievance for a long time. The bodyguard’s face even contorted with all the excitement he was feeling!

The dagger was made of ice. Dulanc did not die instantly from the blow. The chill was spreading from his heart to the rest of his body.

Dulanc stared at the bodyguard in disbelief. He still did not understand the reason behind it.

He heard the sound of heels tapping on rocks. Dulanc saw two legs wearing sharp heels coming toward him slowly…

Dulanc slowly lifted his gaze and saw a sharp chin and a pair of emotionless eyes.

“I said that I came to do two things, and the second thing was to take your life. Are you really that forgetful?” a cold voice said disdainfully.

Dulanc saw the woman’s face. This time, it was not covered by black lace and a hat, allowing him to see her face clearly.

“It’s…it’s you!” Dulanc began to truly panic. It sped up the rate of his life being drained away.

“There’s no reason for you to stay any longer in this world. I have already sent your family down there to wait for you. I didn’t leave a single one out, including your beloved bastard,” the woman said.

Dulanc totally lost his mind after hearing the words. He lunged at the cruel woman recklessly.

The woman did not move. Dulanc fell right at her toes as he totally lost all his energy to stand up properly.

Dulanc broke down mentally in an instant, his tears mixed with his snot. No one knew he had a bastard son in this world. Dulanc was extremely displeased by his daughters. None of them had inherited his wisdom and capabilities, until he surprisingly found his bastard son. Dulanc suddenly had some anticipation in his life. He even started paving a path for his son so he could inherit his power…

Dulanc had taken everything into consideration. Even if he failed, his son could still obtain great power in the future. However, Dulanc totally lost his will to live when he heard about the death of his son from Salan!

“Shi Qinghua, Essendale, and you, Dulanc… I’ll leave Izisha for the lucky last,” the woman said. She sounded like she was murmuring to herself.

Dulanc was already a dead man. The cold slowly took his life away. He died on a remote beach where no one would come, in ragged clothes, his face full of pain and despair…

His body would be corroded by the sea breeze and the heat of the sun. People rarely came to this place. When someone eventually discovered his corpse, they simply assumed it was the body of a victim involved in some kind of shipwreck, or someone that had been tossed into the sea…

Dulanc had thought about his death. It would surely take place in a huge church. The people would hold a great funeral, with children dressed in white clothes like angels singing for him. His descendants and his friends would be dressed in the most luxurious outfits, expressing their gratitude for the things he had done. Many powerful people would come and salute him!

It was nothing like the situation he was in now. He was forced to flee for his life in guilt and would now die a horrid death. His body would rot and stink while every single person of his family was brutally massacred!

“You have done well over these years,” Salan glanced at the bodyguard, whose hands were stained with blood.

“Madam, it’s the only thing I lived for since he was set up,” the bodyguard replied.

“Do you have any plans after this? You can come with me if you don’t,” Salan said.

“I’m sorry, I can’t do that; you have killed too much. I believe he wouldn’t want you to do that either, so many innocent lives…” the man answered in a serious voice.

“I only gave him my promise on the condition that he stayed alive,” Salan said.

“How did the girl awaken your Cardinal Blood Stone, could she be…” the man asked seriously.

The bodyguard no longer had any drive in his eyes after he took Dulanc out. However, he felt a glimpse of anticipation rising in his heart when he asked the question.

“Go ahead if you want to follow her, but we are surely going to stand on opposite sides one day, and I won’t show any mercy when that happens,” Salan said calmly.

“You are right, she is nothing like you. She reminded me of Master when I saw how calm she was facing the Dark Execution.” The man looked relieved.

He knew how cruel and wild the woman before him was. Luckily, their daughter had inherited the personality and temperament of her father.

“That is why I didn’t want to have anything to do with her.”

“So you abandoned her?”

“Yeah, she would grieve for a little dragonfly for the whole day. She’s kind and naive toward everyone, and I was disgusted by it. It kept reminding me of your stupid master.”

“Don’t describe my master like that; he was the smartest person in the world!”

“I told him I was going to kill as many people as he had saved if he died, but he still chose to die … he chose to believe in hypocrites instead of an evil but honest person like me. Isn’t that stupid?”

“So you’re doing all these because you hated him?”

“The people that cast the black stones were already dead in my eyes; he’s the one that I truly hated.”

“Madam, this is my last time calling you madam. If we are to meet after today, I’ll do everything I can to take your life.”

“Do as you please.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ten days later, the Citadel of Athens and the sacred mountain were still shrouded by a gloomy rain, but the crisis and the Dark Execution were finally put at an end by a fair judgment!

Two ex-Clergymen and two current Clergymen were responsible for supervising the Magistrates. They had to decide if the Magistrates had cast their votes for personal gain!

Five Magistrates who had colluded with Dulanc were busted. The rest of the Magistrates that voted with the black stones were fine, but they were still punished for not being able to assess the case objectively!

Dulanc’s corpse was found two days ago. The rotten body had a great stench. However, the body was present in court. The five Magistrates standing behind the body had grim faces!

Izisha was seated on the other side. She was also being interrogated by the four Clergymen. As long as the investigation continued, her freedom had been taken away, and her role in the Parthenon Temple had been temporarily suspended too! During the trial, Izisha only had one identity: the main person suspected as being responsible for the conspiracy. Once she was found guilty, there was only one outcome: her soul would perish!

Normally, a normal person would die after being executed. However, considering that she had just come back to life, sentencing her to death would not be effective. Her soul had to perish. At that time, even the strongest evil spell could not resurrect her, nor was it possible to turn her into a living dead, or an undead. She would cease to exist in this world!

“The five Magistrates have pleaded guilty, but they accused Izisha of being the mastermind. I hope that the Clergymen will understand that they are only accusing Izisha as the mastermind because of what Dulanc told them. It was quite obvious that Dulanc alone was responsible for the whole thing. He was trying to trick people to join him by abusing Izisha’s name, trying to achieve his goals by any means. Izisha was still asleep in the leaf coffin. I believe if she was alive, she would have tried to stop Dulanc too,” the lawyer defending Izisha claimed.

“Yeah, Izisha is innocent. Dulanc is the greatest evil. Even if he’s dead, he has to be punished too!” someone among the jury shouted.

Song Qiming sat in the seat of an ex-Clergyman. He seemed quite grim, as he strongly believed it was all Izisha’s doing. Dulanc might be ambitious and greedy, but he was not capable of plotting such a great conspiracy.

Izisha was terrifying because even though she was dead, she had already made plans for the next few years. They had said she died from sickness, but it was more likely that the woman had placed herself in a deep slumber until the Soul of the Parthenon Temple was found!

The investigation clearly found that Izisha did not really die back then. She held onto her final wisp of life force and had only woken up recently.

“Izisha, do you have anything to say?” the Magistrate Mochizuki Hachihebi inquired.

Mochizuki Hachihebi was from the Mochizuki Clan in Japan. The Twin Guardian Towers was the best place to lock away Magistrates, as no prison in the world was more suitable for imprisoning evil Mages.

“I was totally unaware of the whole thing. If the Clergymen find me guilty, I have no objection whatsoever. It’s true that it has all started because of me, but I’m hoping that the Clergymen will give me a chance to redeem myself. If the four Clergymen sentence me not guilty, I am willing to step down from the role of the Goddess and travel across the world as a Saintess. I want to contribute more for the sake of the Parthenon Temple and the people that are suffering across the world… As a Goddess, I have failed to guide my believers, and they have committed such unforgivable sins because of me. I am willing to suffer the consequences,” Izisha lowered her face. Her eyes had a sincere, irrefusable glow.

“Old Clergyman Song Qiming believes that if you aren’t sentenced guilty, you might proceed to harm Saintess Xinxia, who now has the Soul of the Parthenon Temple,” Mochizuki Hachihebi said.

“I can swear an Oath of Darkness that I will not do any harm to her. Not directly, not indirectly; I’m willing to let Clergyman Song Qiming hold onto the Dark Contract, and if it reacts even the slightest, I am willing to be punished accordingly,” Izisha said.

“Izisha will not do anything like that, there’s no need for the Dark Contract!” someone quickly exclaimed from among those watching.

Izisha smiled and comforted the person, “The trial must be fair. Everyone has a dark side in their hearts, including me. I am willing to sign the contract that will last for eternity.”

The four Clergymen discussed this among themselves.

Song Qiming insisted that Izisha was guilty, yet the other Clergymen believed they still needed more evidence.

However, would Izisha leave any evidence behind?

Izisha had been lying in the leaf coffin. There was no evidence; who would even look for evidence on a dead body?

Despite Song Qiming’s insistence, he was well aware of the difficulty of judging a person who had just come back to life guilty. All the accusations had been placed on Dulanc, Mellaura, and the five Magistrates. In addition to them, Panijia, Shawshank, and Vice Hall Master Lanjin would also be punished accordingly…

It was most likely why Izisha was so brilliant. Even in a struggle for power where everyone ended up with a torn body and crushed bones, she was still able to weather the consequences…

—

In the end, Song Qiming did not vote for Izisha’s guilt. They only needed two votes to sentence her, but Song Qiming knew that the other three Clergymen would not cast their votes, thus his vote would be completely meaningless.

After they were done with Izisha, it was Mo Fan’s turn.

Mo Fan had scorned the authority of the Parthenon Temple. The Black Totem Snake under his command had stirred up a great panic in the Parthenon Temple and killed many Adjudicators, Mages of Faith, and Holy Court Mages…

The trial to judge Mo Fan was not open to the public. Not only would the four Clergymen have to judge Mo Fan’s actions, they also had to evaluate Mo Fan’s Demon Element.

Once Mo Fan was sentenced, he would be punished too!

If Mo Fan’s Demon Element was regarded as evil, the Heresy Judgment Mages would treat Mo Fan as an evil Mage. They would either strip Mo Fan’s Demon Element or execute him.

Normally, Song Qiming would insist on judging Izisha guilty, as he believed it was the right thing to do, even if Izisha was not found guilty in the end…

However, for the sake of Mo Fan and the Black Totem Snake, he agreed to meet Izisha in secret.

If Song Qiming let her go, she would ask the other old Clergyman to spare Mo Fan and the Black Totem Snake.

Mo Fan and the Black Totem Snake had killed many people. No matter what the reason was, they still precipitated a bloodbath on the sacred mountain. Mo Fan could afford to ignore the laws and the order, yet it meant he would be blacklisted by the whole world.

Mo Fan had come in first in the World College Tournament, and the power of his Demon Element made him superior to demon creatures. He was surely their trump in dealing with the Black Vatican and the kingdoms of Demon Creatures in the future. Song Qiming wanted to send Izisha to Hell, yet he could not afford to let her take Mo Fan with her!

Izisha would basically lose most of her influence after the incident, but it was far from enough to stop her. Song Qiming believed Mo Fan would eventually send Izisha to Hell after he grew even stronger!

As a result, Mo Fan was found not guilty, too.

As for the Demon Element, not many people knew the demon was actually Mo Fan. Even Izisha could not actually tell.

The five Magic Associations would have to gather and discuss the Demon Element. It was a lengthy process. Mo Fan would still be fine for another one or two years.

However, the Heresy Judgment Court and the representatives of the five Magic Associations forbid Mo Fan from using the Demon Element before the final verdict had been decided. As long as Mo Fan kept that in mind, he would still be free until the Demon Element was judged to be evil magic.

Both Izisha and Mo Fan were found not guilty. Mo Fan’s identity was still recognized internationally and his Demon Element would not be made public. He was still the winner of the World College Tournament, but the Heresy Judgment Court, the five Magic Associations, the Citadel of Athens, and the Parthenon Temple no longer welcomed him.

Besides, even if they found Mo Fan guilty, there was another problem.

Were they going to use the Dark Execution on Mo Fan?

Didn’t he just kill Hayla not long ago? Not many organizations would be able to take him down if they fell out with him!

The Holy Judgment Court did not want to embarrass themselves again. After all, their faces were still burning and swollen from the slap that Mo Fan had left on them!

——

Mo Fan learned that the Parthenon Temple had a teleportation portal on the sacred mountain.

In order to chase the man of chaos away, the government of Athens did not want Mo Fan to leave on a plane. They simply asked Haylon to escort him to the teleportation portal in person to send him back home, despite the ridiculous cost involved!

Mo Fan was quite infuriated, but he reluctantly accepted the offer considering the teleportation portal was a lot quicker than taking a plane.

“Xinxia, where is your stuff?” Mo Fan asked when he saw Xinxia.

Xinxia was not bringing her belongings with her. They were supposed to leave today, no one could stop them from staying together from today on!

“Brother Mo Fan, I spent the whole night thinking about it… and I decided to stay,” Xinxia said with her head lowered. She was scared that Mo Fan would be angry. She had no idea how she was going to tell Mo Fan about it.

Mo Fan looked at the girl. He was not angry, but he was surprised.

“Why? This place is covered in blood and greed. Why would you want to stay?” Mo Fan said.

Haylon immediately glared at Mo Fan, wondering if the idiot had totally forgotten he was there.

“Is it because of that b**ch Izisha? You’re scared that if you leave, she will still become the Goddess in a few years, right? Who cares what’s going to happen to the Parthenon Temple?” Mo Fan sighed.

Xinxia shook her head. She seemed to be struggling to say something.

After some time, she finally spoke in an extremely soft voice, “I think I know why my blood was able to activate Salan’s blood stone.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan looked at the girl. Xinxia had always been gentle and soft in front of him. She would obey every decision that he made for her.

However, judging from Xinxia’s stern face, Mo Fan could tell that she was trying to tell him something very serious.

“You don’t need to say it; I already knew,” Mo Fan interrupted her.

He knew what Xinxia was trying to say. It was not difficult to come to the conclusion. Even if Asha’ruiya had not spilled the beans before, Mo Fan already knew the truth.

However, Xinxia was Xinxia, Salan was Salan. No one knew better than Mo Fan that despite the two being bonded by blood, they were completely different people!

“Xinxia, I understand what you think, but none of it is your fault. No child can choose who their parents are. Even if you have the blood of a Cardinal of the Black Vatican, it’s fine as long as you still have a clear conscience. Besides, if anyone really wants to argue that, you are Wen Tai’s daughter. The contributions he made easily override the sins that Salan has committed. To be fair, you were never in the limelight like Asha’ruiya, hence they had no right to put the blame on you just because you are Salan’s daughter. You are who you are!” Mo Fan declared.

Mo Fan knew it was something both he and Xinxia had to face.

Xinxia was able to activate Salan’s blood stone because she was Salan’s daughter. Mo Fan seriously had no idea that Salan was actually so close to him. He even saw her when he was still a kid. The woman had abandoned her daughter and left her in the hands of his father, and had never checked up on her…

Tangyue also told him that Salan had only shown up in Bo City because she was seeking assistance from Great Deacon Hu Jin, Mu He!.

Perhaps even Mu He had no idea that Salan had a daughter who had settled down in an ordinary family close to the Mu Family’s villa.

Without that incident, the truth would never have been revealed. Mo Fan was utterly astounded when he first learned the truth, but he did not mention it to Xinxia. Mo Fan hoped Xinxia would never learn the truth, Her mother was a woman who could not bear the loss of her husband; her mother was cruel enough to abandon her daughter who could not walk; her mother was the sinful, vicious Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican!…

Xinxia was obviously a lot smarter than Mo Fan thought. Perhaps she had always concealed her wisdom under her gentle expression, standing aloof from worldly affairs.

“Brother Mo Fan, I understand, but I have made up my mind after thinking about it for many days. I want to stay here and take the role of the Goddess from Izisha.” Xinxia’s eyes were not soft as they normally were.

Mo Fan rarely saw such strong determination from her. He believed she had indeed made up her mind.

However, how could Mo Fan not worry about leaving her in such a dangerous place?

Haylon was startled too. He asked curiously, “You want to compete with Izisha?”

Xinxia was simply too young and weak. If it wasn’t for the Hall Mother’s support, Xinxia would never have become a Saintess. She did not have many supporters, she did not have a strong influence; having a pure and kind heart was nowhere enough to be the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple!

The Soul of the Parthenon Temple might have chosen her, but it did not mean she was the Goddess. The Goddess had to have the ability to lead the Parthenon Temple and adapt to whatever situation she found herself in.

In Haylon’s eyes, Ye Xinxia was far from qualified to be the Goddess!

Xinxia looked at Haylon and asked seriously, “Knight Haylon, do you seriously believe Izisha isn’t behind all this?”

“I believe it’s her doing, as I never believed she would die so easily to some sickness,” Haylon admitted blatantly.

“Brother Mo Fan, my parents are still related to me. I can easily put the matter aside using the excuse that they are them, and I am who I am, but instead of being a bystander and watching even worse things happen, I want to learn how to be strong and take care of myself. I want to learn how I can face these inevitable conflicts… I can’t just let Izisha claim the role of the Goddess, and I can’t watch my mother take innocent lives without feeling any sense of guilt.

Xinxia slowly lowered her head, “I know Brother Mo Fan won’t agree, but I’m sorry, Brother Mo Fan, I’m going to stay, even if you don’t agree. It’s the right choice for me, and something I want to do from the bottom of my heart.

“I’m sorry, Brother Mo Fan, you have tried so hard to save my life, but I didn’t listen to your arrangements… I’m sorry…”

Xinxia’s eyes were filling with tears. She had made the decision so that she could face her complicated identity and herself, yet she could not afford to face Mo Fan. He had gone into Hell to drag her out of misery… but in just a few days, she had jumped right into it again. She was surely going to let Mo Fan down.

Mo Fan fondled her face and wiped away the tears. He chuckled, “You say you want to be stronger, yet you keep crying so easily…”

“Brother Mo Fan, I was worried that you were going to be angry,” Xinxia sobbed.

“Why would I be angry with you?” Mo Fan consoled her.

Mo Fan looked at Haylon and asked, “Fatty, is there any rule forbidding the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple from marrying someone?”

“Who are you calling a fatty!?… The Parthenon Temple is sacred and free. Every member of the Hall of the Goddess, from the Probationary Servants to the Goddess, are free to engage in relationships as they wish. However, the Goddess is usually too busy to care about relationships. Most Goddesses have been single,” Haylon snapped back furiously.

“Oh, good then,” Mo Fan nodded, and said to Xinxia, “I agree that the Parthenon Temple can’t afford to have a Goddess who doesn’t have the Soul of the Parthenon Temple.”

The Spell of Resurrection was just too important in this world, which was always in danger.

Xinxia was willing to stay at the Parthenon Temple despite everything that had happened. It showed how determined she was.

Izisha had already sworn that she would not harm Xinxia. The Dark Contract was currently in Old Bao’s hands, so Mo Fan did not need to worry if Izisha was trying to set Xinxia up. Meanwhile, the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights was appointed to be Xinxia’s Guardian Knight.

Haylon was more than worthy to take on the role. Mo Fan was relieved after learning that the fatty was looking after Xinxia’s safety. After all, Mo Fan was quite worried that Salan would try to do something to her after learning her true identity. Xinxia was just a nobody before, but she now had the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. If she continued to stay at the Parthenon Temple and fully mastered the Spell of Resurrection, Mo Fan strongly believed that Salan would find a way to abuse Xinxia’s power!

“Haylon, you better take good care of her. If she is missing a single strand of her hair, I will tear your Parthenon Temple down!” Mo Fan said.

“Humph!” Haylon harrumphed coldly, yet he did not say a word.

Haylon was well aware of Mo Fan’s capabilities. The Parthenon Temple could still handle Mo Fan on his own, but the man was able to bring the Black Totem Snake with him too! The demon and the Black Totem Snake could really raze the Parthenon Temple to the ground!

“Then… I’ll be going. I’ll come visit you if I miss you, and if you’re not comfortable here, I can come pick you up anytime. too,” Mo Fan said as he entered the teleportation portal.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan understood the Parthenon Temple was where Xinxia belonged …both her temperament and her character had seemed to merge with the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. Perhaps she could inherit Wen Tai’s will and become the Goddess respected by the whole world!

—

“Knight Haylon, are you willing to support me?” Xinxia watched Mo Fan leave. She hesitated for a moment before asking Haylon with a serious face.

Haylon was startled. Wasn’t this Goddess a bit too straightforward?

“I…I’m willing! Even though you don’t have the traits of the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple, you have the heart of a Goddess that thinks about the people of the world. It’s our honor that you are willing to stay behind and compete with Izisha. You will beat her one day! Their cunning and dirty tricks will only triumph temporarily, but mercy and kindness is the true spirit of the Parthenon Temple, and I believe it’s the reason why the Soul of the Parthenon Temple has forsaken Izisha!” Haylon declared firmly.

Haylon was relived that Mo Fan did not bring Xinxia away with him.

Xinxia was easily the worst candidate in history for the role of the Goddess, but she was currently the Parthenon Temple’s only hope. Izisha’s cold-bloodedness would eventually lead the Parthenon Temple to destruction. As the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights, Haylon was far more willing to support Xinxia!

—

—

Izisha soon learned that Ye Xinxia did not leave.

The Great Muse serving Izisha clearly saw the calm smile on her face disappearing as her face began to twist!

“She wants to compete with me for the role of the Goddess…” Izisha’s voice was icy. “She wants to compete with me for the role of the Goddess!” Her voice turned sharper.

Slowly, Izisha burst out laughing, her body shaking vigorously. She kept repeating the same phrase. “She wants to compete with me for the role of the Goddess?! HAHAHAHA!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The truth was, if Mo Fan was given another chance, he would rather take a first-class flight back to Shanghai!

The long-distance teleportation was nothing but torture to Mo Fan. Despite the fact that it only took a short time, Mo Fan felt like his mind was about to explode and his body was about to be torn into pieces after travelling through the turbulence of space!

It explained why the teleportation portal was not available to the public as a way of travel between the main cities. Normal people would surely be shredded by the turbulence of the trip.

—

Mo Fan flew back home after arriving in Shanghai. He fell feebly on the couch.

The filled-up Essence Orb had nullified the consequences of using the Demon Element. The whole trip to the sacred mountain felt like a long dream to Mo Fan. He was completely exhausted after waking up from the dream.

He was still living in the condo he had used when he was studying at the Pearl Institute. As a little reward for representing the national team in the World College Tournament, the school had already gifted Mo Fan the apartment. Mo Fan did not tell Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu, as the two sensitive girls might immediately move out of the place.

Xinxia was not around and Mu Ningxue was busy making preparations to establish her own clan. It was acceptable for him to keep two concubines in his own house, right? He was not allowed to cheat, but he still enjoyed watching Mu Nujiao’s slender legs as she walked by and Ai Tutu’s combination of cute face and huge bust!

—

Mo Fan finally recovered from the dizziness from using the teleportation portal.

He had heard of carsick, seasick, airsick, but he had never heard of ‘portalsick’!

Mo Fan headed straight for the Clearsky Hunter Agency that night. Even though he had settled everything on his hands, there was still one thing that kept bothering him: the resurrection of Little Flame Belle!

Little Flame Belle was still a Fire Calamity Fruit. Xinxia mentioned that Little Flame Belle was a living fire spirit of nature. She would only be reborn by placing her in an Elemental Sacred Land blessed with the fire of the Heavens and Earth.

Whenever Mo Fan recalled how Little Flame Belle had sacrificed her life to summon the Fire Calamity, his heart would race in a surge of emotion. He had to bring Little Flame Belle back to life as soon as possible, even if meant traversing mountains of daggers and seas of flames!

—

Liu Ru had long sensed Mo Fan’s presence. Her face was still the same, yet her temperament was like an elegant orchid, with her own unique charm.

“Mo Fan,” Liu Ru said in a soft voice. She had a happy smile, yet her eyes were a little shy.

“Liu Ru, you look well!” Mo Fan greeted her.

Mo Fan headed toward the bar right away. Liu Ru quickly followed behind him.

Liu Ru had no idea what had happened at the Parthenon Temple. She was clueless about the astonishing deeds that Mo Fan had done, too.

“Oh, by the way, I have found you a Junior Brother, his name is Bola. He will visit us once he is done with all the procedures. You should bring him on a tour around the Magic City. If there’s anyone you are not fond of, you can ask him to bite the person,” Mo Fan informed Liu Ru as a thought crossed his mind.

“A Junior Brother?” Liu Ru blinked in confusion.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan felt like Liu Ru was not a junior as she had been following him first. As such, he could only make Bola a junior instead; it was not like Bola would care.

“Mu Ningxue came to talk to me,” Liu Ru said.

“Oh, how was it?” Mo Fan inquired.

“She’s really pretty, I would fall for her if I was a man too…”

(Cough cough) “…I didn’t ask you about that. What did the rich people that you introduced to her think?”

“Not bad, most people are willing to work with her because of the reputation she earned in the World College Tournament. Some said they were not willing to have a young girl giving them orders… they all agreed after a beating,” Liu Ru reported.

Mo Fan was quite amused. Since when had Liu Ru turned into such a violent person?

That being said, it was necessary to be a little brutal, since they were planning to establish a clan.

“I will be going away soon. When Bola is here, you can let him look after the city. The Mu Clan won’t stop bothering Mu Ningxue, and the Lu Clan is going to look for troubles. If they can’t find me, they would go and trouble Mu Ningxue instead. It’s inevitable we’ll offend a few factions. We really need a Super Mage to oversee the clan.”

“Oh? Is he a Super Mage? He’s that strong?!” Liu Ru exclaimed.

Most clans with a Super Mage had a certain status in the major cities. If they managed to recruit a Super Mage, it would be a lot easier for Mu Ningxue to establish a clan, as it would certainly convince the people who were not initially confident in them to join up!

A Super Mage was the symbol of absolute strength. It did not matter what areas they were involved in, just having a Super Mage represented how powerful they were!

“He…he’s a lot stronger than a Super Mage,” Mo Fan smiled.

Unfortunately, Bola had to remain in the dark because of his identity. He would mostly be protecting Mu Ningxue and Liu Ru in the dark, preventing them from being set up by other factions.

Mo Fan was not too worried about Bola being in charge of their safety. He believed Mu Ningxue would be able to rise in no time and take the enormous Mu Clan on!

—

“Lingling, did you miss me?” Mo Fan asked when he saw Lingling walking out from behind the bar. He could see traces of milk on her lips. She must have just woken up from a nap and had a bottle of milk.

Lingling was quite surprised that Mo Fan had come back so soon. Even though she had learned that he was still alive from Old Bao, she was still surprised to see him well and alive.

Mo Fan immediately picked Lingling up and gave her a big kiss on her tender cheeks, like kissing rosy apples.

“I still want to marry someone!” Lingling anxiously pushed Mo Fan the lolicon away with a long face.

Lingling was rather angry that Mo Fan had gone to the Parthenon Temple without saying a word. He took the Black Totem Snake, but he did not bring her along!

He was up against the Parthenon Temple, surely she could have helped! Mo Fan’s approach was simply wild and terrible!

“Show it to me,” Lingling said.

“What?”

“Little Flame Belle!” Lingling said.

Mo Fan immediately took out the fruit that Little Flame Belle had turned into. Lingling caressed it. The fruit shuddered, as if it could sense Lingling’s presence. It seemed like Little Flame Belle had missed Lingling too!

“It should remember us still, right?” Lingling asked softly.

“Yeah, she does.”

“Actually, this might be a chance for her too. If we can find an Elemental Sacred Land for her to be reborn in it, her strength might grow even further!” Lingling said.

“Really? But isn’t it hard to find a place like that?” Mo Fan asked.

An Elemental Sacred Land was a place where Soul Seeds, extremely rare at the best of times, could be found. It was time for Mo Fan to look for a new Soul-grade Fire Seed, too. It would make his Fire Element a lot stronger when joined with Little Flame Belle’s Calamity Fire. It might be comparable to his Lightning Element, after it was enhanced by the Blessing of the God’s Seal!

“There’s actually a place that might be quite suitable, but we need to gather more people. It’s not the safest place to visit!” Lingling had already done the homework for Mo Fan, as usual.

Little Flame Belle’s resurrection was his first priority. Mo Fan could not afford to wait any longer, but when he heard Lingling mention that Little Flame Belle might grow even stronger if they picked the right place, he immediately felt great anticipation!

Little Flame Belle’s lineage and strength were outstanding. If she could evolve further, how strong would she end up being?

—

—

“I did consider putting Little Flame Belle back in the North Burning Valley, but the temperature of the place has gradually dropped after the Flame Belles were no longer there. The place is no longer suitable for Little Flame Belle’s resurrection. We have to place the Calamity Fruit in a stronger Elemental Sacred Land, that will give Little Flame Belle a better chance of being resurrected. Taking our overall strength into consideration, we might be able to take some risks and try our luck in the Taklamakan Desert. There are rumors that the place is scorching hot from around October until the end of the year every year. Some Hunters also reported that they had seen mountains engulfed in flames in a spectacular manner, but no one has found out the reason behind it…” Lingling explained what she had found out to Mo Fan.

The Taklamakan Desert was located in Xinjiang, between Tianshan Mountain, the Kunlun Mountain Range, and Altyn-Tagh. It was a vast basin, and in the middle of that basin was the infamous Taklamakan Desert!

The terrain along the coastline of China was rather flat, so most cities were built there. The majority of land in the northwest of China was not occupied by humans, but there were countless species of demon creatures!

Elite Hunters would spend most of their time in the west, as the places were filled with death and opportunities.

As for the Taklamakan Desert, even though it was not as terrifying as the Sahara Desert, most Hunters would still pull a long face at its name. Those that were able to come back in one piece after visiting the Taklamakan Desert could boast about it for the rest of their lives among fellow Hunters. Even the military had to hire Hunters when they were on a mission in the Taklamakan Desert, just so the whole squad would not be wiped out.

The desert was scorching hot. A place with high temperatures would have a high chance of nurturing a Fire Seed. Normally, Mo Fan would be reluctant to visit a place where he could easily get lost and lose control of the situation, but he simply cast all his doubts aside, since it was for the sake of Little Flame Belle!

No matter how dangerous the place was, there were still people that managed to come back alive, right?

——

“Brother Fan, you’re back, I’ve missed you!” Zhang Xiaohou’s voice said on the other end.

“Mm, are you busy lately?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not really, I’ve been rather free after we cleaned up Qinling Mountains. (Sigh) I’m actually struggling to get used to it since I’ve been fighting demon creatures for a long time. Brother Fan, why don’t we visit the Qinling Mountains again, perhaps we can find some great treasure there!” Zhang Xiaohou proposed.

“We’ll go next time, I have a better place in mind. Hehehe, I promise it won’t let you down!” Mo Fan smiled with squinting eyes.

Lingling could not help but whisper, “Can’t you trap someone else?”

“Brother Fan, the last time you invited me to Croatia for a vacation…”

“Houzi, I promise that I won’t trick you this time. It’s definitely a vacation, we’ll go witness a spectacular work that nature has made in the west and kill some demon creatures along the way. There won’t be any danger,” Mo Fan said in a serious voice.

“Alright, I’ll pack up my stuff now!”

—

Hanging up the call, Mo Fan immediately dropped his smile and poured himself a glass of iced beer. He emptied the glass and said, “One down!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The wind in autumn was soothing. The cars driving past occasionally would sweep the fallen leaves scattered on the ground into the air.

“Son of a b**ch, were you trying to show off your sports car!?” a young man yelled furiously from the side of the road.

Beside the young man was a man wearing sloppy clothes. He had pierced ears and his hair looked stylish. He also had a faint tattoo on his face. He must have great courage to have a tattoo on his face.

However, the courageous man did not dare show his temper. He stood with his head lowered. He did not dare to snap back at the seemingly ordinary young man who was scolding him.

As a matter of fact, no one would dare to say a word when an enormous white wolf more than ten feet tall was standing beside them!

“Bud…buddy, can you please put your wolf away? It’s disrupting traffic and scaring the people, too. I know that you have the license of a Hunter Master, but you have gathered a huge crowd…” A few traffic policemen tried to resolve the conflict, but they too did not dare speak too loudly.

“That’s what he gets for mocking me!” Mo Fan spat.

Mo Fan was planning to visit the Hunter Union. Since the place was not too far away, he decided to go for a run for a little exercise. To his surprise, the man with piercings went full torque and drove past Mo Fan while raising his middle finger!

Mo Fan was immediately enraged. He summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf right away and intercepted the man’s car in only a few seconds.

Were the people of his country blind? He had won the World College Tournament for the country, yet not only did they fail to recognize their hero? The man even gave him a middle-finger while driving past him, forcing him to ruin his image!

“Piss off, the next time I see you, I will tear your car apart!” Mo Fan snapped at the man.

“Yes, yes, I won’t do it again!” The man was utterly relieved. He immediately pressed hard on the pedal to leave the place as soon as possible.

“You’re still speeding? Don’t you know how to drive slower!?”

“Ok, ok!” The man immediately stepped on the brakes and obediently drove the sport car away like it was an electric scooter. The car slowly faded into the distance.

The traffic policemen were relieved. Didn’t they always say Advanced Mages would usually behave themselves? They would not bother being too fussy with normal folks. Why did they stumble into an Advanced Mage that seemed to enjoy stirring up trouble? The whole street was screaming after seeing his imperious frosty wolf!.

Besides, there was no ride that would catch more attention than the man’s Summoned Beast.

“Speaking of which, your wolf looks quite familiar. He looks like the wolf that the winner of the World College Tournament Mo Fan Summoned,” one of the policemen noticed.

Mo Fan smiled. Finally, someone that watched TV! He had such a brilliant performance in the World College Tournament. It did not make sense that no one would recognize him when he was walking on the street!

“It really is, friend; are you Mo Fan’s fan, too? You even dyed your wolf the same color as his Flying Creek Snow Wolf!” another policeman spoke up.

“…” Mo Fan had the urge to feed the two policemen to his wolf. Did he really look so different on screen and in real life!?

He had no one to blame but himself for rejecting all the personal interviews. It was quite difficult to see a participant’s face clearly on the screen during the matches of the World College Tournament.

—

—

Mo Fan proceeded on his way to the Hunter Union. The man that Mo Fan had taught a lesson just a few moments ago had left his car on the side of the road. He quickly went into a dimly-lit shop.

He went to a corner and smiled as he said to a skinny man with a long chin hiding in the shadows, “I’ve tested him. He’s just a hot-headed fool, he can’t endure the slightest provocation.”

“Humph, that’s not hot-headed, that’s something wrong with his brain. Otherwise, he would not dare to do such thing to my brother!” the man with a long chin said.

“Shall we proceed with the plan?” the man with piercings asked.

“Go ahead,” the man with a long chin said.

As soon as he finished the sentence, a man wearing half a mask slowly walked out from the shadows. His eyes were flickering with hatred, as if it had set his eyes aflame.

“Just do as you please, we’ll handle the rest!” the man with a long chin said to the masked man.

“I swear I’m going to make him pay!”

—

Mo Fan went to the area reserved for Hunter Masters as soon as he reached the Hunter Union.

Hunter Masters were close to the apex of the hierarchical pyramid of the Hunter Union. Most Hunter Masters were Advanced Mages and above. The place was less crowded than the hall where normal Hunters did business. Every Hunter Master would be accompanied by a Hunter Mistress in heels and black stockings. The Hunter Mistress would serve the Hunter Master a glass of wine.

Mo Fan’s rank was not low, either. The Hunter Master was classified into levels by the number of stars they had. Those with seven stars could register to be a Senior Hunter. However, they must have made great contributions or completed extremely difficult quests to become a Senior Hunter…

Exploring the Taklamakan Desert was considered a difficult quest by the Hunter Masters. Lingling had made it clear that they would have to join a party on their expedition to the Taklamakan Desert, as the few of them were not enough to take on its challenges. Mo Fan had no choice but to pay a visit to the Hunter Union and see if there were any teams planning to go on an expedition to the Taklamakan Desert.

“I would like some information about the teams that are heading for the Taklamakan Desert. Give me their information, and most importantly, their contacts,” Mo Fan said.

“Sure, mister… do you need anything else?” the Hunter Mistress asked with a smile.

“Oh, give me another cup of this, it’s quite nice,” Mo Fan pointed at the wine that he had already finished.

The Hunter Mistress was startled. She nodded and brought a new glass to the bar.

“Xiao Tu, what do you think? It’s rare to see such a young Hunter Master, he’s pretty cute too,” the beautiful bartender said.

“He’s just a nobody,” the Hunter Mistress sneered.

—

Mo Fan carefully went through the list and saw a familiar Hunter Group on it.

“Golden Battle Hunters… aren’t they the Hunter Group that was almost wiped out on Chongming Island against the Black Vatican? They are planning an expedition to the Taklamakan Desert too?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

The Taklamakan Desert was a ‘hell difficulty’ dungeon for most Hunters. Not many parties had managed to complete it successfully. It was necessary to gather a whole group of Hunters to go on an expedition!

Clans, associations, institutes, Hunter Groups, and many other organizations had to establish their reputations to attract new Mages to join them in order for them to grow stronger and expand their influence.

Many people were aware of the existence of Hunter Groups. They were groups of Mages that would do things that normal people did not dare to do. It was likely that the Golden Battle Hunters were planning to be one of the first to sample the crab. If they managed to set their flag in the infamous Taklamakan Desert, their reputation would grow significantly.

Most importantly, the places that no people dared to go were most likely full of resources, too! They would make a fortune if they happened to find a magic ore vein, an Elemental Sacred Land, an energy source, or an oasis full of incredibly useful herbs. They could use the money to retire, buy more resources, or bid for auctioned magic equipment that they had long yearned for. Either way, every Mage was in need of money!

“Their leader Ge Ming is leading the party. It seems like they are actually serious about the expedition!” Mo Fan murmured.

The leader of the Golden Battle Hunters, Ge Ming, was a Super Mage. Mo Fan would feel a lot more at ease with such a strong Mage leading the party.

Most of the demon beast territories in China had been explored by Hunters to a certain degree, including the Qinling Mountains, Kunlun Mountain Range, Tianshan Mountain, Dongting Lake, and the Dunhuang region. Many people had learned the distribution of the demon creatures, at the price of many lives. As such, even though it was extremely dangerous to visit those places, they could still explore as long as they avoided the nests of the demon creatures.

However, the terrain of the Taklamakan Desert kept changing. The authorities of the Hunter Union had deemed all information about the distribution of the demon creatures in the Taklamakan Desert to be unreliable for the last three years, as most groups that strictly stuck to the ‘safe routes’ had failed to return. As such, it was necessary to come up with the latest distribution of the demon creatures in the Taklamakan Desert, and clear a safe path across the dangerous desert to prevent Hunters from barging in like headless flies and dying horrible deaths!

Current maps with the distribution of demon creatures were extremely important to Hunters. Even the strongest Hunter would die if they accidentally stumbled into the nest or territory of a Ruler-level creature!

The Golden Battle Hunters were a courageous bunch, daring enough to take on the Black Vatican, and now go on an expedition into a wasteland full of unknowns. They were basically walking on the fangs of demon creatures…

“Lingling, do you have the Golden Battle Hunters’ leader’s contact number?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, he did come over a few times to look for you, saying that he wants to thank you in person, but you were never here,” Lingling said.

“They are going on an expedition to the Taklamakan Desert, let’s go with them!”

“Sure, but we have to make sure if their routes are safe. If they chose the wrong path, we are all going to die,” Lingling advised him.

“They must be prepared since they have the guts to go and are making the information public. Going with them is better than wandering aimlessly!” Mo Fan declared.

The Taklamakan Desert was mostly a red zone, with purple dots scattered across the map.

A group of Advanced Mages could still go on an adventure in a red zone, but if they accidentally stepped into the purple zones, they would have zero chance of surviving!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan soon contacted the leader of the Golden Battle Hunters. Ge Ming gladly accepted him into the group.

Mo Fan learned from Ge Ming that they were not bringing everyone from the Hunter Group to the Taklamakan Desert. Mere numbers would not make a difference when they were visiting such a dangerous place. They were only choosing the elite and experienced Hunters.

The team consisted of twelve people. Ge Ming was a Super Mage, while the others were all Advanced Mages.

Mo Fan was quite relieved after hearing Ge Ming’s explanation. Bringing a huge group sounded impressive, as they could just blast every demon creature they encountered with magic. Unfortunately, the numbers of the demon creatures were in the hundreds or thousands of times the number of human mages. Even if the government sent out a whole army, it had no chance of eliminating the demon creatures in the outer part of the Taklamakan Desert, let alone a Hunter Group…

“Mu Ningxue is too busy; we’ll have to find another person to look after you,” Mo Fan said.

“I don’t need anyone to protect me, but it’s going to be difficult finding the right person. Not only does the person have to be reliable, it has to be someone we can trust, too. After all, our focus is to bring Little Flame Belle back to life, instead of searching for loot,” Lingling told him.

Mo Fan was troubled too. Mu Ningxue would be very busy during this period, so Mo Fan did not even tell her what had happened at the Parthenon Temple, as he did not want to make her worry. He did not tell her that Little Flame Belle had been reduced to a Calamity Fruit once more.

Mo Fan did not plan to bring Mu Ningxue along. She had something important to focus on, but the problem was, Mo Fan was struggling to think of someone that he could rely on.

Mo Fan tried to contact Miss Tangyue, but she seemed to be on a mission. Her phone stayed off for some time.

“Why don’t we ask Mu Nujiao?” Lingling suggested.

Mu Nujiao was trustworthy, and she was reliable too, especially now that she had received the Blessing of the God’s Seal. Her clan was more than willing to provide her with any resources she needed. She was a lot stronger than before.

“Are you sure? Asking her to go to such a dangerous place?” Mo Fan hesitated.

“Then what about Zhang Xiaohou?”

“He’s different; he’s very smart and experienced. He won’t die so easily…” Mo Fan replied awkwardly.

“Just ask her, I stumbled into her recently. She did ask me if there’s any quest. It seems she has reached a bottleneck after cultivating in seclusion for too long. She needs practical experience to improve further,” Lingling informed him.

“Mm, alright, I’ll ask her.”

—

Mo Fan was about to pick up his phone to ask Mu Nujiao if she was interested in coming along when his phone rang.

It was a unique ringtone he had set for his father, Mo Jiaxin. The man’s smiling face showed up on the screen. Mo Fan was quite surprised.

Did someone tell his father about what had happened to him and Xinxia at the Parthenon Temple? Otherwise, why would the old man call him all of a sudden?

Since he had moved to the Magic City and Xinxia had gone off to study, Mo Jiaxin was completely freed from his burdens. He did not even call for months, enjoying his life in Bo City. Many times, it was Mo Fan that had given his father a call to see how he was doing. It had been a while since the old man took the initiative to call him!

“Hello, what do you want?” Mo Fan asked casually.

“Mo Fan?” another person’s voice came from the other end.

Mo Fan immediately frowned after hearing the voice.

Even though the voice was trying to hide it, Mo Fan still identified its owner instantly. It was someone that Mo Fan hated to the guts!

“It’s you!” Mo Fan’s face immediately turned icy.

“HAHAHA, it’s quite a surprise that you can still recognize my voice…” the man on the other end burst out laughing.

“What do you want?” Mo Fan asked expressionlessly.

“What do I want? It’s all your fault that I’m in my current situation. Your father is now in my hands, do you think I will go easy on him?” the man said.

“You have only yourself to blame,” Mo Fan said.

“Sure, your father has himself to blame, too. You can come to Beiyu (North Rain) Mountain now. If you’re late… you know what I did to Xu Zhaoting!” The man’s laughter was extremely piercing.

Mo Fan felt his heart was about to explode. However, he could not afford to lose his calm, as it would make him act irrationally. Things would only worsen if he did not act calmly!

Mo Fan tried his best to calm his thoughts, even though there was a dark, blood-colored flicker in his eyes.

Mo Fan dialed Lingling’s number right away. “Lingling, my father is in danger!”

“Your father? That’s impossible, he’s at Bo City. The city is now a military fortress. The military is surely looking after your father, not allowing any danger to befall him. Is it the Black Vatican?” Lingling said.

“It’s Yu Ang: he’s not dead!” Mo Fan replied in a deep voice.

“Yu Ang? That’s even more impossible. The Black Vatican has to send a Blue Deacon or someone with a higher rank to do any harm to your father. Yu Ang is just a stray dog, he will be killed instantly if he dares to set half a foot into the city, let alone kidnapping your father. There’s something wrong; did you hear your father’s voice?”

“I did, it didn’t sound like it was recorded,” Mo Fan said.

“Head to that Beiyu Mountain that Yu Ang mentioned; I will investigate it right away. Believe me, there’s no way the Black Vatican can hurt your father. It must be a trap,” Lingling said confidently.

Mo Fan had been a pain in the arse for the Black Vatican. As such, his immediate family members were all protected by the Enforcement Union and the military. Mo Jiaxin was living in Bo City, and Bo City was currently a military fortress. It was impossible for the Black Vatican to do any harm to him, let alone Yu Ang.

“Alright, thanks!” Mo Fan said seriously.

“Mm!” Lingling said. She had rarely heard Mo Fan thanking her so seriously before. She clearly knew how important Mo Jiaxin was to him.

—

Not long after, Lingling managed to contact the military in Bo City. She soon received an update from a reliable source. She immediately relayed the information to Mo Fan so he would not lose his calm.

“So you’re saying that some organization took my father away from the military? What organization?” Mo Fan demanded.

“Yes, they said that the people followed the right protocols, but I bet someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes, since you weren’t alerted. Give me a few minutes, I will find out the organization that took Uncle Mo away,” Lingling said.

“Alright, I’m on my way to Baiyu Mountain,” Mo Fan said.

In less than five minutes, Lingling called Mo Fan again. This time, her tone obviously shifted.

“So who took my father?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s…it’s the Enforcement Union!” Lingling replied.

“Enforcement Union? Why did the military let the Enforcement Union take my father? And how is Yu Ang right beside my father?” Mo Fan asked.

“Gramp and sister are both away. They aren’t around at such an important time, how frustrating!” Lingling snapped.

Leng Qing was the Vice Leader of the Enforcement Union. If the Enforcement Union took Mo Jiaxin away, they would have told Leng Qing about it, too. It seemed like they had skipped Leng Qing, too!

Leng Qing was not in the Magic City, while Tang Zhong was still cleaning up the mess that Mo Fan had left at the Parthenon Temple. Tangyue was away on a mission, too. The people of the Enforcement Union that Mo Fan knew were not around to help him.

“It seems like there’s something that we don’t know yet,” Mo Fan gradually calmed down.

“Mm, something must have gone wrong. There’s no way Yu Ang could kidnap Uncle Mo without alerting anyone. It’s likely that Uncle Mo is in the hands of the Enforcement Union. As for why Yu Ang is in the Enforcement Union… you will have to visit Beiyu Mountain to find out the truth, but I still think Yu Ang is just bluffing,” Lingling said.

“Alright, I got it.”

—

Mo Fan was furious even after he had learned it was the Enforcement Union who took Mo Jiaxin.

Mo Fan knew better than anyone what kind of a person Yu Ang was. Why would the people of the Enforcement Union be involved with him?

Mo Fan headed to Beiyu Mountain. Along the way, a pair of black wings approached him rapidly, hanging low under the gray clouds. Mo Fan only noticed their presence when they finally caught up to him.

“My master, you seem very angry!” The black wings spread open, revealing Bola’s face.

“Just in time; come with me to the Enforcement Union!” Mo Fan was overjoyed to see Bola.

“It seems like I have come at the right time!” Bola grinned.

“There’s no need to show any mercy,” Mo Fan said. He had zero tolerance.

Mo Fan knew the Enforcement Union had taken Mo Jiaxin through official procedures, yet he would not allow the Enforcement Union to have anything to do with a jerk like Yu Ang, especially after the scum was threatening him with his father’s life!

“That’s more like it. I don’t care if the person is righteous or evil, I won’t show any mercy to those that infuriate my master!”

Bola quickened his pace. He turned into a pair of black wings and brought Mo Fan with him as he flew toward Beiyu Mountain.

Bola had just gotten off a plane not long ago. He was looking for Mo Fan by following his scent. Somehow, he felt free in the land of the east. He was free, and his power was free too…

As for the Enforcement Union, he was not really afraid of it.

It had been a while since he had last unleashed the true power of the Blood Tribe, so long that he almost forgotten what it felt like.

He remembered he had fought an evil beast before he became a Guardian Statue at the Parthenon Temple. The fight lasted for a day and a night. In the end, he managed to kill the beast with his poisonous blood. The creature was most likely a Ruler-level creature, a savage man-eating tyrant that had ruled a mountain to the east of the Mediterranean Sea!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Beiyu Mountain…

A skinny man with a long chin stood at the top of the mountain. He was holding some small objects in his hands while staring at the fire in the brazier. He slowly placed the objects into the fire, letting the flames devour them slowly.

A probationary member of the Enforcement Union came up to Lu Zhantian with a phone. “The Councilman is calling.”

“Put it close to my ear,” Lu Zhantian said calmly. He was still putting the objects into the brazier.

The woman slowly knelt down and bent forward. Unfortunately, Lu Zhantian did not show any interest even though she was purposely doing it to seduce him.

“Father, are you not satisfied with my arrangements?” Lu Zhantian asked.

“You’re only going to bring more troubles to us. Mo Fan is no longer the same. Even though he has yet to join any faction, do you have any idea how many authorities are watching him in the dark? You are being too impatient!” Councilman Lu Xin snapped.

“I didn’t do anything that will get us in trouble. I have followed the right protocols. Is our Lu Clan seriously that weak that we have to worry about offending someone when we are just questioning a suspect?” Lu Zhantian threw the last belongings of his younger brother into the fire. He had the urge to destroy the fire. “I already promised that I was going to kill him when I heard the news, but you all said that it was not the right time. I chose to listen to you and waited until the end of the World College Tournament. It was over a long time ago, yet that asshole that killed my beloved brother and your son is still living as he pleases! Father, do you have any idea how many vultures were eating his remains when I went to retrieve his corpse!?”

Lu Zhantian was extremely angry. He stared at the brazier. The flames there suddenly surged wildly and spread out.

“I am as angry as you are, and I promise you that I will never forgive him, but what you are doing is not going to help. From what I know, that guy is a lunatic…” Lu Xin began.

“Our conversation ends here. You have been worrying too much since the day you claimed your high position,” Lu Zhantian replied.

The flames surged wildly and burned the remnants to ashes. Lu Zhantian checked the time and slowly rose to his feet. He said to the probationary member of the Enforcement Union, “It’s about time. Ask my men to gather at the base of the mountain. I can’t wait to see if the kid has three heads and six arms!”

——

Lu Zhantian went down to the mountain’s base. There were at least twenty members of the Enforcement Union with him, including a man whose face was half-masked with a monstrous presence.

Feng Jinglan, a Vice Leader of the Enforcement Union, frowned and looked at Lu Zhantian confusedly, “Leader, is there any reason you have summoned us here?”

“Nothing really, it’s just a safety precaution against someone that dares to look down the Beiyu Enforcement Union and stop us from serving justice…” Lu Zhantian said.

Feng Jinglan was even more confused. He was about to ask further when he saw an envoy of the Enforcement Union approaching them with a dark face. The man seemed quite angry.

“Nighthawk?” Feng Jinglan asked in confusion.

“Lu Zhantian, do you have any idea what you are doing!?” Nighthawk snapped coldly.

“You have no right to point your finger at me, I am the Leader of the Beiyu Enforcement Union, be off with you!” Lu Zhantian said.

“You are playing with fire! You are abusing your power for personal matters!”

“I am not,” Lu Zhantian laughed disdainfully.

“You should let Mo Fan’s father go before things go south,” Nighthawk swore furiously.

“He is a suspect, so I brought him here to interrogate him for a few days! There’s nothing wrong about it. Once I’m done interrogating him, clearing both his and someone else’s name, I will surely escort him back safely. I know Mo Fan is bright like the sun at high noon, but it doesn’t mean I have to lower my voice when talking to him while I’m interrogating him, especially when I’m a Leader of the Enforcement Union, right?” Lu Zhantian replied with a toothy smile.

“You have no right to take his father away!” Nighthawk hissed.

“Of course I do,” Lu Zhantian glanced at the half-masked man. The truth was, his hands were tied with a pair of silver handcuffs enhanced with dark sealing magic. It was the same method that the Enforcement Union used to seal the minds of their prisoners.

“He was once a Black Clergy of the Black Vatican, but he has turned over a new leaf and sworn loyalty to the Beiyu Enforcement Union instead. He is helping us hunt the members of the Black Vatican. I have already submitted a request to the higher-ups, and a Councilman has approved my request. The man told me that Great Deacon Hu Jin, Mu He, had initiated contact with Mo Fan’s father, Mo Jiaxin. As such, I can’t help but suspect that Mo Jiaxin was a member of the Black Vatican, even though his son is one of the main contributors to wiping out the Black Vatican. I believe the man might provide me with some useful information. After all, the person that Mo Jiaxin contacted might be Salan, the Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican! Nighthawk, do I now have a reason to interrogate him?” Lu Zhantian looked at Nighthawk with a disdainful grin.

The Enforcement Union had yet to find any useful information on Salan, but he might have a chance of learning Salan’s past, and if it was somehow related to Mo Fan’s father. It was a piece of great news to him. Not only would he be able to make worthy contributions to the Enforcement Union, he could also get his revenge on Mo Fan!

“Then why did I hear that someone is using his father to threaten Mo Fan!?” Nighthawk said.

“Threaten? I only asked him to tell Mo Fan that his father is in our hands, how is that threatening?” Lu Zhantian pointed at Yu Ang.

Nighthawk’s face darkened immediately. As the man in charge of the operation to wipe out the Black Vatican in the Magic City, Nighthawk clearly knew who Yu Ang was! “Don’t tell me you have no idea of the history between him and Mo Fan. You’re provoking him on purpose!” Nighthawk said.

“Nighthawk, I’m afraid you are thinking too much. I knew Yu Ang and Mo Fan were old acquaintances, and since Yu Ang has turned over a new leaf, I believed it was necessary for him to contact Mo Fan. I’ll mediate between them so the two can resolve their conflict peacefully. After all, Yu Ang is going to help us to find the members of the Black Vatican,” Lu Zhantian replied smoothly.

Nighthawk could feel his chest burning with rage after hearing Lu Zhantian’s excuse. Lu Zhantian was clearly setting up a trap for Mo Fan!

Nighthawk was aware that the Beiyu Enforcement Union had caught Yu Ang and was using him to hunt down the members of the Black Vatican. He initially thought Lu Zhantian would focus on taking out the Black Vatican, yet it turned out that the man was trying to use Yu Ang and his hatred against Mo Fan to avenge his brother, Lu Yilin!

Many people knew Mo Fan had indirectly killed Lu Yilin in Peru for trying to set him up. The Lu Clan was obviously not going to forgive Mo Fan for that, but the man had won the World College Tournament for the country. As such, the Lu Clan was hesitant to make a move. To their surprise, Lu Zhantian insisted on taking matters into his own hands. He insisted on killing Mo Fan to avenge his brother!

“I want to see Mo Jiaxin! I want to know if you have done anything to him!” Nighthawk said.

“He’s perfectly fine. I will take full responsibility for it, so don’t you worry. Nighthawk, I am the Leader of the Enforcement Union, you have no right to order me around, do you understand?” Lu Zhantian emphasized.

“You…you…” Nighthawk was so angry that he was lost for words.

He could easily tell what Lu Zhantian was up to, judging by the members of the Enforcement Union he had gathered. He only hoped that Mo Fan could stay calm, as Mo Jiaxin was still fine. He could only hope Lu Zhantian was not bold enough to harm his father.

“He’s here!” Yu Ang exclaimed. He seemed quite excited.

He finally had the chance to drive Mo Fan mad. He had waited a long time for this day!

Nighthawk glanced down the slope and saw Mo Fan arriving with a westerner dressed in strange clothes. He could immediately see the murderous look in Mo Fan’s eyes!

Nighthawk quickly went up to Mo Fan. “Mo Fan, stay calm. Give me a day, I promise you I will force Lu Zhantian to let your father go.” All he could do was to advise Mo Fan to not do anything recklessly.

The Beiyu Enforcement Union was a powerful organization. If anyone used violence, they had the right to execute the person on the spot. Lu Zhantian was trying to provoke Mo Fan with Yu Ang’s help so he would attack them recklessly. When that happened, Lu Zhantian would have an excuse for executing him on the spot!

The members of the Enforcement Union that were present could testify that it was Mo Fan who attacked first, and that he had broken the law first.

“Nighthawk, I know that,” Mo Fan replied to him coldly.

“That’s a relief, I was worried that you were going to do something reckless. Don’t let these idiots provoke you. Stay calm, I promise you that I won’t let them harm your father,” Nighthawk said seriously.

“The man is perfectly well, but you know, Yu Ang was once a member of the Black Vatican. I will place him in charge of the interrogation… after all, he knows your father too,” Lu Zhantian called out.

Yu Ang burst out laughing too. His eyes squinted viciously as he watched Mo Fan’s face closely. He could not wait to see Mo Fan lose his calm and pounce at them like a mad hound. Everything would then go according to their plan!

“Yu Ang is still a prisoner. The Enforcement Union is only using him to hunt down the remaining members of the Black Vatican…” Nighthawk explained. He did not want Mo Fan to misunderstand that the Enforcement Union had colluded with Yu Ang.

“I know that too,” Mo Fan replied.

Lingling had told him the whole thing. He already knew it was a trap.

However, that did not mean Mo Fan would endure it!

There was no way he would endure the things that had crossed his bottom line! These people had crossed two lines in his heart!

First, threatening him with his father!

Second, what happened to Xu Zhaoting had been constantly gnawing at Mo Fan. It did not matter if Yu Ang had turned over a new leaf, or how willing he was to help the Enforcement Union. As soon as Mo Fan knew where the man was, he had sworn to behead the man himself!

Some people were just unforgivable!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, you can’t use your magic here. It will only give them a valid excuse to take you out!” Nighthawk quickly said when he sensed the murderous intent rising inside Mo Fan.

“There are things you can never endure!” Black lightning burst out of Mo Fan’s body following the sentence. The lightning surged wildly in all directions like dragons!

The lightning was representing the lightning wrath in Mo Fan’s heart!

Endure?!

Why would he endure?

These people were serving justice just because they were called the Beiyu Enforcement Union?

Even the noble Parthenon Temple had an ugly side to it. Mo Fan was bold enough to trample the Parthenon Temple’s sacred mountain, why would he be scared of a little headquarters of the Enforcement Union?

The lightning flickered wildly, whipping the mountain slope. Yu Ang and Lu Zhantian stood higher up on the mountain, wearing the same grin on their faces.

Mo Fan had taken the bait, as they had expected. The man was simply a brainless, hot-headed fool!

“You have all seen it! This man is trying to stir up chaos in our territory. Take him down and execute him on the spot!” Lu Zhantian yelled. He almost sounded like he was very excited as he quickly gave the order to his men.

Feng Jinglan, the Vice Leader of Beiyu Enforcement Union, frowned. It was obvious that Lu Zhantian was abusing his power. He had purposely summoned the members of the Enforcement Union here as he knew Mo Fan would completely lose his calm. These members of the Enforcement Union were all his subordinates!

“Affirmative!” the members of the Enforcement Union immediately yelled after receiving the order.

A dozen Mages started constructing Star Constellations. The Star Constellations of different Elements formed a destructive Elemental aura surging in Mo Fan’s direction!

“Sky Lightning Claw!”

Mo Fan finished casting his spell first. His lightning was aiming at the Enforcer ( member of the Enforcement Union ) who was the closest to him. The man looked disdainful.

The Enforcer knew Mo Fan was the winner of the World College Tournament, but to someone like him, who had gone through countless battles, the World College Tournament was just like a little fight between kids. It was nothing worth mentioning.

He summoned a Water Curtain to defend himself. The blue barrier loomed over him…

The Sky Lightning Claw instantly blew through the Water Curtain. The water poured down on the Enforcer who had underestimated Mo Fan’s strength.

The lightning continued to strike down with an overwhelming force. The man stared at the lightning strike in disbelief.

-How is it possible for a Lightning Spell to be so powerful?-

The Enforcer desperately summoned his magic Armor, but he was still scorched by the Sky Lightning Claw. He fell unconscious to the ground.

The arrogant man never expected that Mo Fan’s lightning was twelve times stronger than a normal Mage’s lightning after receiving the Blessing of the God’s Seal!

The Enforcer did not even have a single Soul-grade Seed. Even after putting on his magic Armor, Mo Fan’s Sky Lightning Claw could defeat him easily!

“He dares to attack an Enforcer! Everyone, take this vile man down, show no mercy!” Lu Zhantian blurted out in joy when he saw Mo Fan attacking an Enforcer first.

Yu Ang was grinning too. They were currently at Beiyu Mountain. They had twenty Enforcers, while Lu Zhantian was a Super Mage. Mo Fan was surely going to die once they had the excuse to take him out!

He could finally get his revenge. He almost felt like he was about to ascend into Heaven!

The other Enforcers had channeled their Advanced Spells, and finally attacked after a slight hesitation. Destructive spells poured down upon the area, leaving Mo Fan no chance to dodge them!

With a series of explosions, the slope was almost razed to the ground by the blasts. A huge cloud of smoke lingered in the air.

Nighthawk almost went crazy. He furiously rushed toward the Enforcers and yelled at them, “Can’t you tell it’s a set-up? If you still have some conscience, you need to stop now! The man you are attacking has been risking his life to oppose the Black Vatican with his friends! He has given his all to save the Ancient Capital, and even won glory for our country with the national team. He deserves your utmost respect instead of this!”

A few of the Enforcers seemed troubled after hearing Nighthawk’s words.

They did know who Mo Fan was. The victory of the World College Tournament was inspiring to the whole country. They hesitated, and did not fire their spells at Mo Fan.

“Don’t forget who your superior is here!” Lu Zhantian stared at the Enforcers who did not attack with a cold smile.

Five Enforcers chose not to attack, while the rest did not show any mercy, as if they already knew why they were summoned here beforehand.

—

A pair of black wings had spread open in the smoke. It was like a pair of indestructible shields, perfectly protecting Mo Fan within them.

The black wings belonged to Bola. The destructive spells had not left a single scratch on his wings. His lips widened, revealing two pairs of fangs inside his mouth!

“You know what to do,” Mo Fan said coldly.

“I will spare the life of those that deserve it!” Bola smiled.

Bola transformed into a purple bat with a flicker of motion and appeared behind an Enforcer suddenly.

He lifted the Enforcer and slammed him into the ground. The Enforcer’s Advanced Spells were completely useless against him.

The impact broke all the bones in the Enforcer’s body. The man fainted on the spot.

“How weak!” Bola made his move again. This time, he aimed for two Enforcers who were standing together, attacking Mo Fan with Fire Spells. Judging from the looks on their faces, they were serious about taking Mo Fan’s life!

Bola would not go easy on people like them. He grabbed their arms and pulled them toward him.

He tore the arms off the two Enforcers ruthlessly, tossed them on the ground.

The Enforcers cried out in agony. They fell to the ground as blood poured out from the wounds. Bola walked up to them and stomped on their legs!

The bones in their quads shattered into pieces, and their legs were crushed into pulp. The two Enforcers cried out at the top of their lungs in pain, their tears and mucus mixing together.

“Blood Whip!”

Bola was incredibly fast with his attacks. After he was done with the two Enforcers, he immediately summoned a long whip in his hand formed from his poisonous blood. He swung the whip and entangled an Enforcer trying to cast a Psychic Spell on Mo Fan.

Bola tugged the whip, dragging the Enforcer toward him and exhaling a poisonous breath on him.

The man felt like thousands of worms were biting his body. He would be screaming in pain for quite some time!

“Blood Tribe!” Lu Zhantian’s face contorted after seeing Bola’s moves.

Lu Zhantian did not expect Mo Fan to bring a member of the Blood Tribe with him. He was bullying his men like they were little kids!

Lu Zhantian could not stand it any further, and took the initiative to join the fight. He did not go for Bola, but for Mo Fan. He was a Wind Mage, and his speed was quite outstanding. The man was planning to finish Mo Fan with a single move!

Mo Fan immediately sensed danger approaching. He saw a blurry figure shooting towards him from the distance. He quickly cast Blink and vanished into thin air with a flicker of silver light.

Lu Zhantian missed his opportunity. He chased after Mo Fan angrily.

Bola had regrouped with Mo Fan. His speed was strange and unpredictable, and he was even quicker than the Super Wind Mage Lu Zhantian. He kept following Lu Zhantian wherever he went!

“Master, I will need some time to handle this guy. Can you deal with his underlings on your own?” Bola asked.

Lu Zhantian was quite strong, especially his Wind Element. He could dash across the ground like a shadow or suddenly vanish into the air without a trace. Bola would have to be more serious in order to take him down.

The main reason was that it had been too many years since Bola had fought with his true strength. He barely remembered his own moves. In the past, he needed less than five minutes to take out a Super Mage!

“Break all his bones and tendons, make sure that he stays alive!” Mo Fan replied to Bola.

“As you wish!” Bola replied.

Lu Zhantian tried to stay a certain distance from Bola. Hovering in the air with his Wind Wings, he almost lost his calm when he heard the conversation between Mo Fan and Bola.

Why would such a strong member of the Blood Tribe show up after he set up the trap so perfectly? If the Blood Tribesman was not around, he could easily end Mo Fan’s life!

—

“Yu Ang, time for us to settle our debt!” Mo Fan lifted his gaze and stared at Yu Ang coldly.

The man had been extremely pleased with the outcome, but he no longer looked as calm and collected as before.

However, he did not panic at all. There were at least eight Enforcers on the mountain who were loyal to Lu Zhantian!

These Enforcers were all Advanced Mages. Based on Yu Ang’s understanding of Mo Fan, there was no way Mo Fan could possibly stand a chance against these Enforcers!

The thought immediately calmed Yu Ang down. He believed he should provoke Mo Fan a little more to drive him mad.

However, as Yu Ang was deciding if he should mention Xu Zhaoting or Mo Fan’s father, he was shocked to see Mo Fan knock a relatively strong Enforcer flying with a single punch. He could not even tell if the man was still alive!

Yu Ang was stunned.

-Since…since when is Mo Fan so strong!?-

-Wasn’t he just an Intermediate Mage back then!?-

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Hellish Flames!”

Fierce fire fell from the sky, landing between a few Enforcers. The three Enforcers were not weak Mages. They quickly cast Ice Spells to put out the flames.

Mo Fan glanced at the remaining flames on the ground. They were all bright red, like the color of roses.

Mo Fan had gotten used to the overwhelming power of Little Flame Belle’s Calamity Fire. His Fire Spells had dramatically weakened without his Summoned Beast’s help. Most importantly, Mo Fan was feeling quite down, too. This further convinced him that he had to bring Little Flame Belle back to life after he was done here. It did not feel right that his naughty daughter was not around to stir up trouble for him!

“Don’t be scared, let’s attack together! He won’t be able to take us on!” Enforcer Lu Bingfeng said.

Lu Bingfeng was obviously a member of the Lu Clan. He urged the other three Enforcers to use their sealing magic. One of the Enforcers was a Shadow Mage, hiding in one corner and planning to use the Nyx Regime and Giant Shadow Spikes to seal Mo Fan’s mind.

To his surprise, Mo Fan vanished immediately after the Nyx Regime was established. A few seconds later, the Shadow Mage felt a great chill from behind. Mo Fan had stabbed his waist and the back of his head with a pair of shadow daggers!

The strong sealing force restrained the Enforcer and bound his mind, preventing him from casting any spells.

“Humph, die!” Lu Bingfeng quickly took hold of the opportunity to summon a Demon Tree with a saw-toothed outer layer. The huge Demon Tree extended out toward Mo Fan!

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and stared at the saw-like Demon Tree. A silver light encapsulated the tree, preventing it from moving any further.

Lu Bingfeng was stunned. He was unable to tell what magic Mo Fan was using. He was not that experienced. “Get him!” he shouted furiously at the other two Enforcers. They were both Psychic Mages!

Psychic Mages played an important role among the Enforcers. They were usually the key to apprehending their targets. The two Psychic Mages cast Psychic Impact on Mo Fan simultaneously to stop him from casting any Advanced Spells!

Mo Fan backed away slightly to distance himself from the Demon Tree. He reached his hands out when he sensed the ripple of the Psychic Impacts surging at him!

He was resisting each Psychic Spell with a hand. Mo Fan quickly executed his counterattack, not giving the Psychic Mages any chance to interrupt his channeling.

“Don’t panic, our Psychic Impacts are quicker!” the elder Psychic Mage said.

They could sense Mo Fan’s Telekinesis approaching. They had two options: the first was to strengthen their Psychic Impacts, forcing Mo Fan to withdraw his spell. The second option was to back away immediately, but it meant they would miss the opportunity of utilizing their Psychic Spells!

The elder Psychic Mage was a lot more confident than the other Psychic Mage. He believed his Psychic Impact could overcome Mo Fan’s Telekinesis. After all, the Space Element also relied on a Mage’s mental strength. The Space Magic would dissipate once he landed his Psychic Impact on Mo Fan!

Buzz… A loud noise echoed in Mo Fan’s mind, disturbing his thoughts.

The elder Psychic Mage immediately grinned smugly. Not many people could cast their spells quicker than a Psychic Mage, as speed was the most important factor for them to effectively suppress their target. They had to land their spells before their targets could cast their spells in order to disrupt their channeling…

“Prepare to attack, he won’t be able to dodge… AH!” the elder Enforcer was about to give the order when a silver Illusionary Claw grabbed him firmly. His bones were already cracking from the strong grip. It was like a giant was grabbing him!

The elder Psychic Mage’s eyes widened. He stared at the silver-shrouded Mo Fan in disbelief!

Their Psychic Impacts had clearly landed on him! How was he still able to use Telekinesis?

Could it be that his mental strength was an entire level higher than theirs?

A Psychic Mage was not unbeatable. The Psychic Impact of a Basic Psychic Mage would barely do anything to an Advanced Mage or a Super Mage. Otherwise, a group of Basic Psychic Mages could easily render a Super Mage useless!

The Psychic Element, Space Element, and Curse Element were closely tied to the Mages’ mental strength. Mo Fan had reached the fourth level of mental strength, and was currently in the Intermediate Stage, while the elder Psychic Mage had only achieved the third level of mental strength, and was still in the Basic Stage.

A Mage in the first level might have a chance of interrupting the spell of a Mage in the second level, but the difference between the stages was huge. A Mage in the Basic Stage only had a two-percent-chance to disrupt the spell of a Mage in the Intermediate Stage. As such, Psychic Mages might be the Enforcement Union’s ace when detaining criminals, but against Mo Fan, whose mental strength was a lot higher, they did not pose any threat to him. Even if they were to cast their Advanced Psychic Spells, they would most likely fail against Mo Fan too!

“Attack him, what are you all waiting for? Attack him now!” Lu Bingfeng snapped furiously. Why were these idiots stunned by his petty Space Magic? They were supposed to be the elites of the Enforcement Union, true Enforcers!

Mo Fan had grabbed the two Psychic Mages with the Illusionary Claws, yet they were not the only ones he was up against. Ice cones over twenty meters long, fireballs, and wild Demon Trees soon approached him from three different directions…

“Time Stasis!” Mo Fan did not bother dodging the spells. The silver light shrouding him grew brighter as an energy field that could reduce every rapid-moving object to stillness manifested around him!

The three waves of attacks slowed down dramatically after entering the area of the Time Stasis. They eventually came to a stop less than five meters away from him.

The deadly ice cones, the rain of flames, and the giant Demon Trees had frozen in place like they were parts of a painting. Mo Fan was in full control inside the area. The silver light further set off his imperiousness!

Mo Fan walked out from the spell. As soon as he left, the flames, ice cones, and Demon Trees came back to life, bringing utter destruction as they converged. However, Mo Fan had already left the area. The spells did not even touch the corner of his shirt!

“Piss off!” Mo Fan set his gaze on the two Psychic Mages held in place by the Illusionary Claws. His Intermediate Stage mental strength summoned a great force, knocking them flying.

The Psychic Mages vomited blood and fell to the ground. They could not get back to their feet.

Mo Fan had already knocked out most of the Enforcers. Lu Bingfeng could feel himself breaking out in a cold sweat when he saw Mo Fan slowly approaching him…

He was just an Advanced Mage like them; how was he so much stronger than them?

How was it that he had managed to crush the Enforcers with every Element he had!?

“You…you are a dead man, our Lu Clan is going to make you pay!” Lu Bingfeng tried to stay calm. He did not think Mo Fan would dare do any harm to him if he mentioned his background.

“You’re from the Lu Clan? It was the Lu Clan that took my father?” Mo Fan asked coldly, stopping in front of Lu Bingfeng.

“So what if it’s us!?” Lu Bingfeng suddenly sounded a lot more confident.

He was an Enforcer. Only authorities with the rank of Councilman or above had the power to sentence them to death! Even so, they could only do it in a trial in the Enforcement Union’s Supreme Court. Councilmen were not allowed to harm them directly!

“The stupidest thing about your Lu Clan and Lu Yilin is how they keep thinking that the whole world revolves around them!” Mo Fan grinned coldly.

Mo Fan sealed Lu Bingfeng’s mind with the Shadow Element and tossed him high up into the air.

When Lu Bingfeng reached the highest point, Mo Fan suddenly emitted a blinding dark light!

Lightning strikes suddenly appeared in the form of a demon claw, reaching out from the stormy clouds.

Lu Bingfeng tried his best to Summon his magic Armor. He had already sensed that Mo Fan did not have the slightest hesitation about killing him. However, his magic Armor was completely useless against lightning twelve times stronger than an ordinary lightning spell!

There was a series of explosions, and Lu Bingfeng was shredded to pieces by the lightning. His scorched blood poured down like hot rain.

The rest of the Enforcers were utterly terrified after witnessing his death!

Was this guy out of his mind? Did he really just kill an Enforcer in their territory?

“Whoever is tired of living can step forward now!” Mo Fan demanded. The Enforcers froze in place. This man was serious about killing them, regardless of their identities and background!

Mo Fan proceeded forward. No Enforcers dared to attack him.

“Asshole, asshole, I’m going to kill you, Mo Fan, I’m going to kill you!” Lu Zhantian screamed at the top of his lungs, diving down at Mo Fan from the sky.

“It seems like you aren’t treating me seriously!” Bola showed up in front of Lu Zhantian with an eerie flicker of magic.

Bola struck with lightning speed, grabbing Lu Zhantian’s arm and pulling it down with irresistible force. His sharp claws penetrated Lu Zhantian’s skin, severing the arteries and tendons in his arm!

His master had asked him to break every single bone and tendon in the man’s body. It was actually quite a difficult request to fulfill. Even a butcher would have difficulty cutting the bones and tendons of a pig. If it was not for the request, the man would have died many times over by now…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

After getting rid of the resistance, Mo Fan slowly walked toward Yu Ang. His eyes looked like they were going to spit fire at any second, yet they were scarily calm too.

Yu Ang was still bound in handcuffs. His confidence and sneering expression had long disappeared.

They’d had a Leader of the Enforcement Union, a Super Mage, and around twenty Enforcers on their side. Yu Ang believed he could provoke Mo Fan and make him mad enough to use violence here at Beiyu Mountain, giving him an excuse to end Mo Fan’s life. Lu Zhantian would then take the matter into his own hands.

Their plan might not be perfect, yet it would have guaranteed Mo Fan’s death, and that alone was enough!

To their surprise, Mo Fan had brought a vampire who was strong enough to beat the crap out of a Super Mage easily, nor did they know Mo Fan’s own strength would be so terrifying. The Advanced Mage Enforcers did not stand a chance at all!

“Mo Fan… I’m considered to be working for the Enforcement Union… I can promise you that your father is perfectly fine, Lu Zhantian was just trying to scare you, but if you kill me, the Enforcement Union won’t forgive you easily…” Yu Ang immediately begged for his life when he sensed the strong murderous intent coming from Mo Fan.

Who else would Mo Fan not dare to kill, if he was bold enough to kill Lu Bingfeng?

“Yu Ang, you have to know that you are second only to Salan on my to-kill list, so don’t you try and convince me with those petty words! Just prepare to face death!” Mo Fan took another step forward.

When a person only had a single thought in their mind, their focus would be far stronger than normal. Mo Fan’s will had completely surrounded Yu Ang. He let out a furious roar with bloodshot eyes.

“Die!” Mo Fan’s voice was deafening. His strong murderous will penetrated Yu Ang’s body wildly.

It was like countless blades that could easily dismember an enemy, or a vengeful hammer, or a wild storm! Mo Fan’s will disintegrated Yu Ang as soon as he let out the roar!

Yu Ang’s body exploded, including his head. The second before it exploded, Yu Ang’s face was filled with terror. He had lingered on with his last breath until today. He wanted to live more than anyone else, but he ended up presenting himself to the demon. He very much regretted his decisions, but it no longer made any difference!

His eyeballs, hands, bones, and organs scattered across the place. Thick blood splattered in the air and slowly fell, some landing on Mo Fan.

2

After smelling Yu Ang’s filthy blood after ripping him to pieces, Mo Fan was finally able to vent the hatred that he had hidden deep inside his heart. At least he could finally stop recalling how Xu Zhaoting begged to be burned to ashes!

How the bastard died showed all of Mo Fan’s hatred toward him!

“Who was the Councilman that allowed Yu Ang to join the Enforcement Union?” Mo Fan looked at Feng Jinglan, who did not take part in the battle, nor make a single noise.

If a sinful person like Yu Ang was allowed to live, it was simply an utter humiliation to Xu Zhaoting, who had risked all he had just to get the names of the Blue Deacons. If even an unforgivable person like him was not punished for his sins, Mo Fan would rather stand on the opposite side of the Enforcement Union!

—

“Master, I have broken every single bone in his body, including those in his fingers. I have also drawn his tendons out. I have cast a spell on him just so he would not faint, so he can clearly sense the pain coming from every inch of his body!” Bola landed on the ground and dropped Lu Zhantian right before Mo Fan’s feet.

1

Lu Zhantian’s face had contorted, mostly because of pain, but also because of his anger at Mo Fan!

He was a Leader of the Enforcement Union, the person-in-charge of the Beiyu Enforcement Union! Even a Councilman was not allowed to do such a thing to him!

His bones had all been broken. His sinews were all drawn out. He would never forget the pain he had felt, and he swore that he would make Mo Fan suffer ten times, or even a hundred times what he went through!

“Mo Fan, spare his life, I went to check on your father. He’s fine; he isn’t injured, he’s just a little shocked…” Nighthawk informed him.

“Bring me to him,” Mo Fan said.

“Can…can you ask your friend to let Lu Zhantian go? He’s going to die at this rate,” Nighthawk said.

Mo Fan did not answer Nighthawk. Bola smiled and carried Lu Zhantian away with him. He had no intention to give the man to anyone.

Bola would not let the man go without Mo Fan’s permission. As for what was going to happen to him, it basically depended on Mo Jiaxin’s condition. Lu Zhantian better hoped he had not done anything to Mo Jiaxin. Otherwise, he would surely infuriate Mo Fan again!

As a matter of fact, even Bola was quite intimidated by Mo Fan when he was angry. The man even tore Hayla, the Greek’s God of Death, to pieces! Why did these imbeciles challenge the demon sleeping inside Mo Fan?

Oh, perhaps these fools still had no idea that the young man was responsible for the chaos at the Parthenon Temple!

—

Mo Fan went into the headquarters of the Enforcement Union. He saw Nighthawk’s man helping Mo Jiaxin come out as soon as he went into the main hall.

Mo Jiaxin looked a lot healthier than he used to be, but he was very haggard. His lips were dry, and he had heavy eyebags.

His eyes were wide, and he looked confused and a little panicked. He was just an ordinary man who had not learned any magic. Even though he was not injured physically, Mo Fan believed Lu Zhantian had tortured him mentally!

Mo Jiaxin finally calmed down a little when he saw Mo Fan.

He quickly went up to Mo Fan and said, “They told me you are in big trouble, that you have killed someone. It’s great to see that you’re fine.”

The anger in Mo Fan’s heart immediately dissipated as soon as he heard those words. He smiled wryly.

“Dad, you should be worried about yourself instead. I’m fine, but someone has got to pay the price!” Mo Fan said. He had no intention of letting things go so easily!

“Mo Fan, I’m fine too. That Yu Ang just came and scared me a few times. They didn’t do any harm to me. Let’s forget it, let’s not make the matters worse,” Mo Jiaxin did not want Mo Fan to do anything extreme. Nighthawk had already told him how serious the situation was. Mo Fan had already killed an Enforcer and reduced a Leader of the Enforcement Union into a cripple.

He had dealt with those responsible for abducting his old man. There was no need to escalate the situation further!

“Dad, to be honest, I have done many things for the army, the Magic Association, the government, and the country. I have risked my life many times, and I have never asked for anything from them. I just wanted them to take care of you when I was away, so the Black Vatican and my enemies won’t do any harm to you…but they can’t even keep their word! The military, the Lu Clan, the Enforcement Union; I won’t forgive every person that’s related to this!” Killing a few people was far from enough for Mo Fan to vent his anger.

“Mo Fan…” Mo Jiaxin sighed. Those who deserved to die were already dead. Mo Jiaxin really did not want Mo Fan to go any further.

However, judging from Mo Fan’s attitude, he knew he could not change his son’s mind.

“Dad, there are things that we shouldn’t endure. The more we endure, the greater the disappointment. If they could already do such a thing to me, what about those people that have devoted their whole lives to taking down the Black Vatican because they lost their loved ones?” Mo Fan said to Mo Jiaxin.

Mo Fan was well aware of Mo Jiaxin’s personality. Mo Fan did not mind enduring a little, but he could not stand it any longer when he learned that the people of the Enforcement Union could take his father from the military using such a lousy excuse and lock him up in a place without him knowing. They even allowed a member of the Black Vatican to get close to his father, who was just an ordinary man!

—

Mo Fan left the Beiyu Enforcement Union with Mo Jiaxin and brought him back to the Clearsky Hunter Agency. The Clearsky Hunter Agency was well fortified. It was the only place that Mo Fan felt was safe for now…

“Is Uncle Mo alright?” Lingling asked.

“He’s fine, but…” Mo Fan looked at Lingling and said, “Where is the Lu Clan located?”

“Head west, there’s a place called Manye Town. Half of the people there are from the Lu Clan. Their mansion is there, too,” Lingling said.

“Bola, bring that prick along. It’s time we pay Manye Town a visit,” Mo Fan stated.

—

Mo Fan Summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. He was not in a rush this time. He passed through the bustling streets of the Magic City and headed toward the town that was mostly occupied by the renowned clans.

“The news has already spread, are you sure you want to do this?” Lingling said worriedly, sitting behind him.

“I’m going to be fine with Bola around. Besides, if anything really happens, the Black Totem Snake will show up as soon as possible, too. Don’t worry; I promise you, I won’t use the Demon Element,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm,” Lingling nodded. There was nothing else that she had to worry about after Mo Fan gave his promise.

Mo Fan was taking his time because he was waiting for those that were supposed to be there to arrive, as they knew he was on his way to demand an explanation!

It was unlikely that the Lu Clan had not realized what was going on, since he had already killed one of their people. He did not care what kind of feast they were organizing for him. Bola could easily guarantee his safety, and even if things went south, Mo Fan would not mind Summoning the Black Totem Snake over to repeat the incident at the Parthenon Temple.

The Parthenon Temple might be able to take the Black Totem Snake on, but the Lu Clan? The Black Totem Snake could easily wipe their clan out!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan headed straight to the Lu Clan’s mansion after they entered Manye Town.

The people of the Lu Clan had obviously received the news. Many of their people were in position outside the mansion, as if they were going to make Mo Fan pay as soon as he set foot into the mansion.

However, none of them dared to move when they saw Bola dragging the half-dead Lu Zhantian along the ground behind Mo Fan.

Mo Fan strutted into the mansion. The women had all been evacuated. The men stayed, led by Lu Xin, who seemed to have developed a strong opinion about Mo Fan during the World College Tournament.

Lu Xin had an imperious look and a sharp gaze. However, he was immediately enraged when he saw how badly his son was beaten …

“Mo Fan, what do you think you are doing!?” Lu Xin snapped.

The Mages nearby immediately locked their gazes on Mo Fan. The atmosphere froze instantly. Mo Fan could sense the strong murderous intent lingering in the air!

“That should be my line! If you aren’t pleased with the death of that scum Lu Yilin, you should just come at me instead of pulling such a dirty trick. Do you seriously think I don’t dare to fall out with you!? I have dragged Lu Zhantian here because I’m quite interested in seeing how lowly you bunch of pricks are, who failed to teach your sons how to behave properly! Lu Yilin deserved to die. As for Lu Zhantian, it basically depends on your attitude!” Mo Fan shot right back.

“Do you think you can do as you please here? Do you even know that if someone dares to stir up trouble in a Councilman’s residence, we can kill the offender right on the spot!?” Lu Xin threatened him.

Mo Fan did not seem bothered by the threat. His son had said the same thing at Beiyu Enforcement Union, yet what had happened in the end?

“If that’s your attitude, I believe there’s no point for us to talk any further. Give them the corpse,” Mo Fan turned to Bola.

Bola reached out his claw and slowly stuck his nails into Lu Zhantian’s neck.

Lu Zhantian was now a cripple, yet he would not die easily with the vitality of a Super Mage. However, if his neck was sliced open, he would die in just half a minute!

“Stop! Stop it!” Lu Xin yelled in panic.

Mo Fan ignored his plea. This Lu Xin still thought he could act bossily in front of him. Did he not realize what his son was up to?

Lu Xin’s eyes almost fell out. He did not think Mo Fan would be so bold as to dare kill Lu Zhantian right in front of them. Not only did he not show any respect to him as a Councilman, he had no respect for the entire clan!

“Mo Fan, ask your friend to stop now…” a deep voice spoke up.

Mo Fan looked over and saw it was his old friend with a beard, Zhu Meng!

“Mo Fan, can you give me face and spare Lu Zhantian’s life for now?” Zhu Meng came up to Mo Fan and asked in a serious voice.

Mo Fan turned to Bola and signaled him to let Lu Zhantian go. There was already a deep cut on Lu Zhantian’s neck, and blood was slowly pouring out of it. Luckily, he had not severed the artery, or Lu Zhantian would be a dead man by now.

“You already know everything?” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah, I do. I have sent someone to arrest the people that broke the rules in the army. We’ll deal with them soon,” Zhu Meng said.

Mo Fan did not say a word. The situation had escalated significantly. As a Councilman, Zhu Meng was in charge of the Enforcement Union to a certain degree. He would surely handle the rest.

“Zhu Meng, my son is still in his hands. He’s threatening us with my son’s life, and yet you’re still standing on his side!?” Lu Xin was infuriated.

“Lu Xin, you should calm down too. I don’t believe that you’re completely unaware of things, even if you didn’t take part. You have most likely turned a blind eye. If you keep insisting, I can guarantee you that your son is going to be a dead man. You must know what kind of a person Mo Fan is,” Zhu Meng replied calmly.

Lu Xin wanted to say something, yet he swallowed the words when he saw Lu Zhantian’s condition.

He had already lost his younger son, Lu Yilin. He could not afford to lose his eldest son Lu Zhantian too!

Lu Xin was initially against Lu Zhantian’s plan, as he believed it was inappropriate, but Lu Zhantian insisted on taking matters into his own hands. Lu Zhantian was doing it to avenge his little brother, so Lu Xin did not intervene any further. He already knew Lu Zhantian would be in trouble after taking out Mo Fan, but not only did the plan fail, Lu Zhantian’s life was currently in Mo Fan’s hands too! The situation could not be any worse!

Mo Fan was currently like the sun at noon in the country. Their only chance was to take him out without leaking any news, but if they failed and their attempt was made known to the public, they would be in grave danger. He still remembered how Zu Huiyin was forced to step down under the pressure from the people!

This time, it was their Lu Clan who was in trouble!

“Spare his life, and we’ll talk!” Lu Xin finally compromised, after being left with no choice.

“Not going to happen,” Mo Fan responded coldly.

“Mo Fan, you’re too full of yourself!” Lu Xin felt like he was about to explode. He had already lowered his voice, despite his status as a Councilman. What else did this fool want? It was not going to end well for both sides if he stubbornly stood his ground!

Zhu Meng was left speechless on seeing how hot-headed the two were. He dragged Mo Fan aside and said, “The people in the army that were arrested are most likely going to confess that they were bribed by Lu Zhantian. The people of the Beiyu Enforcement Union will also testify how Lu Zhantian abused his powers and used a member of the Black Vatican to threaten your father. Lu Zhantian is going to spend the rest of his life in jail based on these accusations.

“If you kill him now, it’s over in an instant. It’s better to let him suffer in jail. If you kill Lu Zhantian like you killed Lu Yilin, you will only get yourself in trouble. Lu Zhantian is still a District Leader of the Enforcement Union, and only the Chairman has the right to punish him. If you kill him now, Lu Xin is surely going to bring the matter to the Chairman. Even that old man won’t be able to protect you.”

“So I’m in the wrong now?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“Not quite; it was Lu Zhantian who crossed the lines. Now that you’ve apprehended him, you can just hand him over to us. I promise you that he will get what he deserves, but if you take matters into your own hands, you will only give Lu Xin an excuse to keep troubling you,” Zhu Meng advised him tactfully.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan did not agree straightaway. He was still caught up in his anger.

He was not scared if Lu Xin was not willing to compromise, but what Zhu Meng said was reasonable, too.

Mo Fan was willing to trust Zhu Meng. If the man gave his word, it was very likely that Lu Zhantian’s career was done for.

“Lu Xin, I’ve already made it clear, you should express your stance too. It was your Lu Clan that started it all. As Lu Yilin and Lu Zhantian’s father, you knew better than anyone else the personalities of your sons. If they hadn’t provoked Mo Fan in the first place, nothing would have happened to them!” Zhu Meng scolded Lu Xin.

Lu Xin was very unhappy with the outcome. His sons were meant to have bright futures. One had become a Leader in the Enforcement Union at such a young age, and the other had joined the national team. His clan was going to surpass the status of the Mu and Bai Clans and dominate the Magic City, but both his sons had fallen at Mo Fan’s hands.

As a matter of fact, Lu Xin was actually quite afraid of the young man. Mo Fan was simply a time bomb!

Zhu Meng knew Lu Xin was still unwilling to compromise. He went up and asked the man to go to the side to have a little talk.

Lu Xin kept feeling that Zhu Meng was biased toward Mo Fan, so he was not willing to talk any further. He simply glared at Zhu Meng.

“Lu Xin, we have known each other for a long time. Do you seriously want the Lu Clan to be ruined at your hands? Do you have any idea at all of the contributions Mo Fan has made? Even us Councilmen haven’t have done as much as he has! As a word of advice, you should just put your pride as a Councilman aside,” Zhu Meng advised him.

“He’s threatening me with my son’s life!” Lu Xin snapped.

“You should be relieved that he’s still willing to negotiate. Do you have any idea how many people died at the Parthenon Temple just because they falsely accused Xinxia? Do you seriously think your Lu Clan is stronger than the Parthenon Temple?” Zhu Meng asked in a soft voice.

“What Parthenon Temple, what does that have anything to do with the kid?” Lu Xin was utterly confused.

“I thought you were always well-informed, including news that was off-limits to the public. You weren’t told who was responsible for the disaster that befell the Parthenon Temple? Do you think the Black Totem Snake showed up at the Parthenon Temple because he happened to pass by while on vacation?” Zhu Meng said.

2

“Well…” Lu Xin was stunned.

Zhu Meng had once insisted on taking out the Black Totem Snake because of his Threat-Elimination Strategy, but had failed in the end. Lu Xin heard it was because of a young man, and that young man had also resolved the plague in Hangzhou…

“Mo Fan saved the Black Totem Snake’s life back then, so in order to repay his kindness, the Black Totem Snake was willing to overturn the Parthenon Temple for him! Mo Fan also subdued that powerful Blood Tribesman there at the Parthenon Temple. Luckily, Mo Fan brought him along. If your son really had done anything to his father, I’m afraid he would have Summoned the Black Totem Snake and razed your Lu Clan to the ground…” Zhu Meng said.

“Can…can this kid really Summon the Black Totem Snake?” Lu Xin’s eyes widened.

Lu Xin had heard about the Parthenon Temple, but he was unaware of the details, as they were kept confidential. He had no idea Mo Fan was behind it.

Zhu Meng nodded slowly.

The Black Totem Snake only listened to two people: one was Tangyue, and the other was Mo Fan. If anything tried to hurt them, the Black Totem Snake would be enraged! How many Mages in the entire country would dare to take on the Black Totem Snake?

“Besides, the Black Totem Snake isn’t necessarily the scariest thing about him. You’re really playing with fire. If Mo Fan is forced to Summon the other thing, your Lu Clan is going to be in huge trouble!” Zhu Meng said.

“What are you talking about? Are you telling me that this kid has something scarier than the Black Totem Snake?” Lu Xin was stunned. He was struggling to believe it.

“I know it doesn’t sound convincing, but you can go ask the Chairman about it. Either way, you should be relieved that you can still settle the matter the easy way. Don’t escalate things further,” Zhu Meng told him.

Lu Xin felt like Zhu Meng was only bluffing. How could the kid have such great powers?

“It’s from the Chairman, you going to take it or not?” Zhu Meng handed his phone to Lu Xin.

Lu Xin hesitated slightly. He ended up picking up the call.

Lu Xin did not speak. He listened carefully to what Chairman Shao Zheng had to say. The man did not speak much, but Lu Xin had already paled.

“Don’t you worry, Chairman. I will never tell anyone about this,” Lu Xin said.

Lu Xin ended the call and gave Zhu Meng a grateful look.

If Zhu Meng had not arrived in time and persuaded Mo Fan and him to take a step back, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Lu Xin was not dumb enough to sacrifice his entire clan just because of his narrow-minded sons. He was only trying to stop Mo Fan from destroying the clan’s reputation. However, he immediately gave up after listening to the Chairman’s advice.

“Mo Fan, spare my son’s life and I can promise you that our Lu Clan will not trouble you or your family again!” Lu Xin promised.

“Before, Lu Yilin tried to kill me, so I killed him. This time, Lu Zhantian wanted me dead too, and you’re asking me to spare his life by saying that you won’t trouble me or my family again? How naive are you?” Mo Fan spat.

Lu Xin clenched his teeth. He saw Zhu Meng shaking his head at him. He let out a sigh and said, “Mo Fan, it’s my fault for not teaching them the right manners, resulting in their misbehavior. I will compensate you for the things that they have done. That’s all I can do, but I’m hoping that you can spare my son’s life, considering he didn’t really do any harm to your father!”

“Humph, if I had found a single scratch on my father, your son would already be a dead man,” Mo Fan declared coldly.

Mo Fan signaled Bola to release the man.

Bola released his grip, and Lu Zhantian fell feebly to the ground. The people of the Lu Clan could not even recognize him.

Lu Xin quickly went up. He thanked Mo Fan while asking the others to treat Lu Zhantian’s wounds.

“Lu Xin, your son has abused his powers as a Leader of the Enforcement Union. Once he recovers, I will bring him to the Chairman. I hope you will stay out of the process. You know what the Chairman will do. After all, Lu Zhantian’s actions are just too disappointing,” Zhu Meng advised him.

Lu Xin already knew things would turn out badly, but he never thought it would be this bad. It was his fault for not stopping Lu Zhantian from using such dirty tricks to get his revenge.

Luckily, his son was still alive…

Lu Xin seriously thought both his sons were dead when he heard Mo Fan had managed to wipe out the Enforcement Union on Beiyu Mountain.

As a matter of fact, even if Lu Zhantian’s plan had worked, he could not have guaranteed Lu Zhantian’s safety. Even he, a Councilman, did not dare touch Mo Fan now, let alone his son, who had only recently been promoted. It did not matter what kind of excuse he had, he was basically digging his own grave!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhu Meng did not let Mo Fan down. He soon took care of the general that had been bribed by Lu Zhantian. The military was extremely strict when it came to bribery. It was quite obvious that if the general had not been bribed by Lu Zhantian and stuck to the protocols, the people of the Enforcement Union would not have been able to take Mo Jiaxin away so easily.

Things might have seemed normal on the surface, but if they were to investigate further, they could easily find enough evidence to track down the people that were tied to the matter…

—

Mo Jiaxin was having a hard time living in the Magic City. He quickly returned to Bo City after things were settled, as he felt lost when living in a huge city. He had struggled to adapt to life there. Bo City was much smaller after it was rebuilt, but everyone was close and kind to one another, like a huge family.

Mo Fan sent his father back to Bo City. The commander at the fortress was infuriated after learning the truth. He immediately scolded the crap out of his men.

Family was everything for a soldier. If they could not protect their families, how could they possibly protect their country?

—

The Clearsky Hunter Agency…

Mo Fan was sitting at the bar. He rarely had the mood to sit down and read some books.

He was reading notes about the Taklamakan Desert written by a Hunter Master. The man had written down some unusual parts about the place and the things that other people should place their attention on if they were planning to go there.

(Ed. Note: N-n-noooooo! Mo Fan is doing RESEARCH! Aieeeeeeee!…)

2

“Mo Fan, the Enforcement Union found something interesting,” Lingling was holding a book in her hands too, but she was only pretending to read it. She spoke up as if she was not used to the silence in the room, “The Enforcement Union caught Yu Ang half a year ago and handed him to the Beiyu Enforcement Union. They initially planned to use him to catch the remaining members of the Black Vatican. However, the two suspects that Yu Ang pointed out were innocent. One of them was an important subordinate of Lu Zhantian’s political rival. In other words, Lu Zhantian has been using Yu Ang for personal gain. The accusation alone is enough for him to be locked away in the Twin Guardian Towers for the rest of his life!”

“Yu Ang is just a little underling. He never had any contact with the authorities of the Black Vatican,” Mo Fan snorted in contempt.

“Speaking of which, he was on equal footing with you around three years ago, but you can easily kill him with a single slap to his face now,” Lingling smiled.

Mo Fan’s strength had improved at an insane rate. No one could have anticipated that Mo Fan had become so strong in such a short time that he could now defeat Enforcers with ease. He had obtained lots of benefits from the World College Tournament!

“I’m going back to rest, I’m a little worn out. I definitely need some rest. We’ll set out once the Golden Battle Hunters have finished their preparations.” Mo Fan put the book down and left the Clearsky Hunter Agency.

——

Liu Ru and Bola were following Mo Fan. Mo Fan turned around and said with a smile, “Liu Ru, I’ve bought the place beside here. It’s your home now. You two are from the Blood Tribe, so your identities are a little sensitive. It’s better if you stay here with Old Bao.”

“Mm!” Liu Ru nodded with a smile.

She liked staying here. It was the area she had grown up in. Besides, Lingling, Old Bao, Leng Qing, and Old Bao’s disciples that occasionally showed up were all very friendly to her. Even though Mo Fan was not around all the time, it felt like home to her.

Bola was in a good mood after coming to a new environment, like he was about to start a new life.

Interestingly, Mo Fan was relieved that Bola insisted that Mo Fan draw his demon blood out for him. Bola was not used to drinking a man’s blood from his neck…

2

Mo Fan totally agreed with the method. He did not mind Liu Ru kissing his neck, since Liu Ru had a nice scent and her body was soft, making it quite a pleasant experience. But if it was Bola doing it, Mo Fan would rather leave him to die instead!

Bola ended up staying close to the Clearsky Hunter Agency. He would be a great help to Liu Ru as she continued to extend her control over the gray areas of the Magic City.

Bola had been alive for a long time. He had no intention of pursuing fame or glory. When Mo Fan was not around, he was willing to be Liu Ru’s bodyguard, and would not hesitate to lend a hand if necessary…

Mo Fan was not worried about Bola’s loyalty. Since Bola needed his blood to live, if he had the slightest intention of betraying Mo Fan, the vengeful demon blood would turn him into a dried corpse. Mo Fan did not even need to do anything!

——

Mo Fan took a hot shower to relax.

He laid down on the couch on the balcony, a dim light on. He was enjoying the nightscape of the bustling city. Lights of different colors intertwined and lit up the clouds. It was actually not that beautiful. Some would rather describe it as ‘light pollution’, as it had taken away the original beauty of the night sky. It was a relief to many if they could still see the outline of the moon, let alone the stars…

In Bo City, the night sky had always been filled with glowing stars, spread out like marbles. Some were crowded together, others were scattered across the place. Some felt like they were within the reach of your arms, while some were far apart, like the distance between two worlds…

Yu Ang’s sudden appearance had reminded Mo Fan of his past in Bo City.

“Oh, you’re back!?” a pleasant voice said. An alluring figure with elegant temperament approached under the dim light.

Mo Fan slowly lifted his gaze, and smiled when he saw Mu Nujiao in casual clothes.

Mo Fan enjoyed staying here, as he would occasionally see a pleasant sight like this whenever he was feeling down.

Mu Nujiao was wearing a singlet, since she was at home. She was most likely unaware that he was back, otherwise she would at least worn a thin cardigan instead.

Mo Fan squinted when he saw Mu Nujiao’s tender shoulders. He shifted his gaze down. The pair of hills soon caught his attention. Mu Nujiao was pretty good at concealing them. If the girl was not wearing a singlet, or if he did not use his Shadow Element to take a peep on the girls when they were showering, he would never know she had such an impressive bust. He could easily grab her slim waist with a single hand, but it would take more than a hand to hold her bust. For a second, Mo Fan really wished he was a pervert, since there was no one around.

Mu Nujiao was feeling uncomfortable at how Mo Fan was staring at her. Her clothes were not that exposing. Many young women would wear the same thing when going to the gym. Besides, she was not so conservative that she was unwilling to show some of her skin.

She did not leave. She looked at Mo Fan and saw a dull look in his eyes.

After a moment of silence, Mu Nujiao asked, “Do you have any plans lately? My cultivation is currently in an awkward position. My family has given me lots of resources, but I just can’t break through. I think I’m lacking practical experience…”

“Oh, right, I almost forgot about it. My mind is in a mess after those two assholes showed up out of nowhere.” Mo Fan finally remembered he had something to discuss with Mu Nujiao. Somehow, she had mentioned it first instead. “I’m planning to go to the Taklamakan Desert. Something happened to the Little Flame Belle.”

“Huh? What happened to her?” Mu Nujiao immediately panicked.

Little Flame Belle would refer to the girls around Mo Fan with numbers. Xinxia was the first mother, Mu Ningxue was the second mother, Mu Nujiao was the third mother, and Ai Tutu was the fourth mother.

Even though Little Flame Belle could not speak in the human tongue, Mo Fan knew the girls were ranked in this order in Little Flame Belle’s heart.

Mu Nujiao was particularly fond of Little Flame Belle. Her expression shifted as soon as she heard that Little Flame Belle was in trouble.

“Nothing too serious, she just needs an Elemental Sacred Land so she can be reborn in its flames. I’ve done some research, and some burning mountains will occasionally show up in the Taklamakan Desert. I believe it’s a suitable place for Little Flame Belle to be reborn,” Mo Fan said.

“Are you sure that she’s fine?” Mu Nujiao was still worried about Little Flame Belle.

“Don’t worry, she’s fine.” Mo Fan was not planning to tell Mu Nujiao about the incident at the Parthenon Temple. It was better if fewer people knew the truth.

“Mmm, when are we setting out?” Mu Nujiao asked.

“It’s very dangerous there. You don’t have to choose a place like that for your training,” Mo Fan was worried about putting Mu Nujiao in danger.

“Danger is necessary to trigger a breakthrough. Didn’t you grow stronger in dangerous situations?” Mu Nujiao replied.

Mo Fan looked Mu Nujiao in the eyes. He could see a strong desire to grow stronger in the woman. The World College Tournament had been a great opportunity for her, and now her clan had placed their hopes in her. She needed to grow stronger!

“We’ll be going with the Golden Battle Hunters. They are still making preparations. The place is full of danger, it’s more like an expedition. If we happen to take the wrong path, we might be in danger…” Mo Fan said.

“Even so, you are there to protect us, right?” Mu Nujiao smiled. She was totally unaware that she was subconsciously relying on Mo Fan a lot.

Mo Fan’s heart shuddered. His mind kept telling him that he was a pervert. If he pounced on the girl now, she would only resist slightly!

Mo Fan struggled mentally for some time before letting out a sigh.

It turned out that he was still a good man after all. He managed to be a hero that had risked his life to save the country, so why was he struggling so much to be a pervert?

It was most likely because he was lacking friends like Zhao Manyan. He was surrounded by Zhang Xiaohou, Xinxia, Zhan Kong, Tangyue, Mu Ningxue, Zhu Meng, and others with strong moral principles. It was the reason why he felt so much pressure when trying to cross the lines!

He was rather annoyed!

Spreading their seeds across the world? He couldn’t even spread his seeds in his house!

1

—

Speaking of which, Mo Fan was missing Zhao Manyan a little. He wondered if the man was still alive. He needed to know if the man was already dead, as he would constantly recall him…

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The day the group set out for Taklamakan Desert was surprisingly sunny, even though it was autumn. The warm sunlight felt rather soothing.

Mo Fan arrived at the airport to meet up with the others, following Ge Ming’s instructions.

Mo Fan was only bringing a few people with him. Zhang Xiaohou would be waiting for him at Xinjiang. Since they were taking a plane from Shanghai, they were basically flying across the whole country from east to west.

Those that took the flight would experience the vastness of their country. If it was Europe, they would be traveling across more than ten countries to cross the same distance!

Mo Fan saw someone approaching him when he arrived at the airport. He was actually quite surprised to see the person.

“HAHA, I heard Mu Ningxue mentioned that you guys are paying a visit to Taklamakan Desert. I have to say, Mo Fan, we’re quite fateful with one another. I was planning to go there to look for something too…” Jiang Shaoxu, who always sounded like she was teasing every man she was talking to, smiled at him.

“Why do you want to go there?” Mo Fan asked, confused.

“Something very important; don’t you worry, I won’t be a burden to the group. Besides, won’t you need a Psychic Mage for such a dangerous place?” Jiang Shaoxu did not reveal why she wanted to tag along.

Mo Fan was left with no choice. Jiang Shaoxu had come to the airport to intercept him. It seemed like he had to bring her along.

“Alright, fine, but I have to let Ge Ming know first,” Mo Fan agreed.

He totally didn’t mind Jiang Shaoxu tagging along. A Psychic Mage was useful at all times, be it a battle against Mages or when they were in the demon creatures’ territory. A single Pacify might even avoid a bloodbath at times…

Mo Fan told Ge Ming about it. The man did not seem to be bothered at all.

However, when they boarded the plane, Ge Ming’s men did double takes when they saw Mo Fan bringing three girls along, even though their destination was Taklamakan Desert. It was a great feast for their eyes, yet some among them sneered and mocked him instead.

Mo Fan had brought Lingling, Mu Nujiao, and Jiang Shaoxu with him.

Lingling was an adorable little loli, so adorable that anyone could feel their nose running. Both men and women would find her too cute, and would have the urge to hug her in their arms. She was conspicuous.

Mu Nujiao was the same; the goddess of the Pearl Institute possessed outstanding temperament and gracefulness. She was delicate, pretty, came from a well-respected family, but was natural and unrestrained. Lots of people would turn around to look at her whenever she walked by!

Jiang Shaoxu was a natural beauty. Her glittering eyes and the seductive look on her face never failed to hook the souls of men who lacked self-control…

Any of the three girls that Mo Fan had brought along could easily weaken the knees of a man. Even though Mo Fan was dressed casually, they set off his incomparable charm. However, the people of the Golden Battle Hunters did not seem too happy about it…

Their destination was a desert that could be considered the gates of Hell. Their leader, Ge Ming, insisted on choosing the elites of their Hunter Group. Not only were they extremely experienced, they had spent years walking a knife’s edge.

Even so, they were already feeling nervous while waiting for the plane. They had yet to set foot in the Taklamakan Desert, yet they felt like it was going to be a one-way journey.

They were treating it with utter seriousness, while Mo Fan was bringing three pretty ladies along, like he was going on a vacation!

The elites of the Golden Battle Hunters felt like it was humiliating their determination to put their lives at risk!

Lu Fang, a Hunter Master who was in charge of navigation, sneered, “Kid, do you think you are bringing them on a vacation?”

“I hope you understand what our goal is. If you are treating this trip as a summer holiday homework or using us to earn contribution points, you better find another team! We are all ready to die on this expedition!” a Hunter who was close to Mo Fan’s age exclaimed.

The man’s eyes were saying otherwise while he was speaking. Jiang Shaoxu easily read his emotions.

“Don’t worry, I’m prepared just like you are,” Mo Fan replied calmly.

Ge Ming stepped forward to mediate between the two sides. Ge Ming knew who Mo Fan was, and he also knew both Jiang Shaoxu and Mu Nujiao were members of the national team, so they would not have any problem taking care of themselves. Unfortunately, not every person had watched the World College Tournament. It was obvious that Lu Fang and Zheng Tong did not treat the World College Tournament too seriously. They had placed all their attention on the Hunter Competition.

It was the same for many arrogant Hunters. They always looked down on the Mages that had never experienced the cruelty of the outside world and were only putting up a show in tournaments held inside the cities. Even though they were told that Mo Fan and the others were strong Mages from their institutes, they still treated them like inexperienced kids.

It was not the Hunters being biased. As a matter of fact, many Mages with high positions in cities were extremely weak when they went up against real demon creatures. It was reasonable for the Hunters to despise prestigious Mages who only knew to hide in a city.

Most students ended up working for the government or the Magic Association. As such, the Hunters were looking down on students too, especially someone like Mo Fan, who was bringing three girls along. No matter how they looked at him, they still thought he was just here for show!

“That Zheng Tong is jealous of you,” Jiang Shaoxu whispered.

Mo Fan smiled.

Zheng Tong was the Hunter close to his age. He was a fighter, and kept looking at Mu Nujiao. Even though he was uttering disdainful comments at the girls, Mo Fan knew the man was setting his eyes on Mu Nujiao.

Mo Fan couldn’t have cared less about their questions. They were totally clueless about what he had done and what he was capable of. It was meaningless to boast about his achievements, yet Mo Fan enjoyed the fact that someone was jealous of him!

Mo Fan had gotten used to being ganged up on by the eyes of the crowd when he was with Mu Ningxue. However, he had brought three girls along this time, and the effects were clearly even more effective than bringing just Mu Ningxue along!

——

The group was not taking a civil flight. It was a military jet.

The military jet was guarded by Patrol Mages. They would be traversing unoccupied lands on the flight path the military jet was taking, meaning they would be flying across demon creatures’ territories. Even flying at a great height would not guarantee their safety…

A military jet was necessary for its speed. They had to move fast. If they flew slowly across the territory of a Ruler-level creature, they would be dragged from the sky to the ground within seconds. As such, it was important to move quickly!

——

In less than three hours, the plane landed at the military base that was the closest to Taklamakan Desert.

Zhang Xiaohou was already waiting at the base. He quickly went up to Mo Fan in joy as soon as he saw them arrive.

“He’s going with us too?” Zheng Tong harrumphed coldly.

Zhang Xiaohou was not too tall, and he was quite skinny too. There was a reason why Mo Fan kept calling him Houzi (Monkey). Besides, he had a naive look to his face, giving people a first impression that he was unreliable.

Zhang Xiaohou could not help with his appearance. He was not that young anymore, yet he had looked the same since high school. It did not change much despite his hardships in the military. He normally had the look of a soldier that had spent lots of time at war, but he immediately revealed his true colors as soon as he saw Mo Fan.

Lu Fang could not stand it anymore. He was not particularly happy when their leader mentioned some outsiders would be joining them. The scariest thing when going to a dangerous place was not the powerful demon creatures, but useless and unreliable teammates!

The group was quite infuriated when they saw Mo Fan bringing three girls along, like he was going on a vacation, and now, a naive-looking man was joining the team too! How were they supposed to go on the expedition? How much money did their leader get from bringing them along!?

“Why? I can’t go with you?” Zhang Xiaohou was totally unaware of the conflict between the members of the group. He thought there was something wrong about him.

Zheng Tong grinned with a strong disdainful look in his eyes. “You must be at least a Hunter Master to come with us. Even if you’re not a Hunter, you need to have an equivalent identity still. An intern in the army like you is thinking of going with us? In your dreams. We are going on an expedition, not an excursion that you can write on your resume!”

Zhang Xiaohou was not wearing a uniform. He was short and skinny, and he looked inexperienced, too. He did look like an intern compared to the tall, bulky soldiers.

Ge Ming only told them there were four outsiders. Mo Fan had already brought three girls along. The others decided to let it be as their way of respecting their leader, but now another person had shown up to join the group. Zheng Tong had more than enough reason to stop the man from joining the group, and teach Mo Fan that he should treat the expedition more seriously.

“I…” Zhang Xiaohou was left speechless after receiving the disdainful comments.

A few soldiers that were delivering supplies happened to pass by. They immediately halted in their tracks when they saw Zhang Xiaohou and saluted, “Commander Zhang!”

“Commander Zhang, we are grateful that you and your men got rid of the flying demon creatures at Qinling Mountains. Otherwise, the flight path connecting this place and the coastline would not have been possible!” a soldier said with a hint of admiration.

“Oh, it’s just part of my duty, proceed with your work.” Zhang Xiaohou returned the salute.

Zheng Tong’s face was immediately rich with embarrassment upon seeing this!

-What’s going on here? This naive-looking kid is a Commander?-

The ranks in the army were a lot stricter than the Hunters. Even though a Commander was considered the same rank as a Hunter Master, a Commander in charge of a troop had to be a lot more capable than a Hunter Master, be it in strength, experience, or the ability to command their men…

An Advanced Mage did not necessarily qualify to be a Commander, but a Commander was surely one of the most talented Advanced Mages out there!

Most importantly, this kid was the one that wiped out the flying demon creatures from the Qinling Mountains?

Qinling Mountains was an infamous territory full of demon creatures. If he managed to wipe out an entire nest, he had to be extremely strong!

Zheng Tong had a very awkward face. He was the one more like an intern here, if he was to compare himself to the man. Hunters usually traveled alone in the wild, thus the danger they faced was nothing like a battle against the demon creatures!

Zhang Xiaohou had spent most of his time fighting battles!

“Brother Fan, why do I feel like I’m not welcome to join the group?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“There’s no such thing like that. We just didn’t think you are a Commander, considering how young you are. It’s just a misunderstanding. The place we are heading to is very dangerous, so we needed to make sure that everyone in the group is strong enough to take care of themselves!” Ge Ming quickly stepped forward to mediate.

Ge Ming’s eyes glittered when he learned Zhang Xiaohou was a Commander. This young man would surely be a great help to their expedition!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Only those that came to the west would experience the marvels of nature here. Mo Fan was born in the south., which mainly consisted of mountains with smooth crests. Even after he had traveled around the world, he was still impressed by the spectacular sights before him when he came to the west of his country. He could not help but feel minuscule.

Becoming a Forbidden Mage was the limit for a human, and currently, the strongest power that Mo Fan held was the Demon Element. However, even if he was to demonize, he still felt extremely tiny in this boundless basin in the west.

A force that could destroy mountains was nothing but a tiny little scratch, barely visible in this vast basin. It was not even enough to scratch the itch of the land.

The Taklamakan Desert was located in the middle of the basin. Although the desert was incomparable to the Sahara Desert, to humans, this sand-covered land was a new world full of unfamiliarities, unknowns, and dangers. The demon creatures residing in the desert were the only ones that could survive in the desert for long periods.

“The Taklamakan Desert has a powerful horde of demon creatures. Its population is most likely over a million. In addition to that, there are also seven medium-sized hordes and over thirty small hordes. The total number of demon creatures is immeasurable. The whole desert is densely populated by demon creatures. Our mission is to clear a path to the lake of the desert. According to our information, the lake is a part of an oasis. The military once built a relay station there, but after the terrain of the desert shifted and the whole place was crawling with demon creatures, the original path is now occupied by demon creatures, and it’s not just one or two hordes we are talking about…” Ge Ming reminded the group.

“The relay station and the path leading to it have been buried for eleven years. Apart from the starting point, we will have to explore the area again. We have already come up with a path through simulations developed according to the information gathered by older Hunters,” Lu Fang, who was in charge of navigation, finsihed in a serious voice.

When the group was discussing the ideal path to take, the middle-aged man who seemed a little sloppy sounded surprisingly serious. His eyes were glittering, showing his confidence in his expertise!

“This device will detect the presence of demon creatures within five kilometers of us. We have to bury it into the ground when we reach that huge yellow mountain, and make sure we aren’t surrounded by demon creatures for the next five kilometers,” Wang Jiuming, the technical specialist, told everyone.

“Alright, let’s make our way to the mountain. One step at a time,” Mo Fan agreed.

Mo Fan did not have much experience with deserts. The only experience he had was the time he almost got lost in the Sahara Desert. As such, Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu were still a little intimidated by the thought of traversing a desert. Unfortunately, Mo Fan had a reason to be here, as did Jiang Shaoxu.

The group was walking on foot. They did not have another Summoner among them. The Summoners that Ge Ming knew were all Basic or Intermediate Mages. They could not let a Summoner come along to die just because they did not have a Summoned Beast to carry their belongings!

An Earth Mage was in charge of their belongings. In a place covered in sand like this, the man just needed to keep casting Earth Wave to move their supplies. He did not even need to walk.

Since they were in a desert, the biggest risk was getting lost. As such, they had brought a lot of supplies with them, especially food, medicine, and water.

—

Lingling’s stamina was not as good. Mo Fan had no choice but to carry her on his back. Luckily, she was not heavy at all. She was almost weightless when he was carrying her.

Lingling’s eyes would occasionally flicker with excitement whenever they arrived at a new location. It seemed like there were many places she wanted to go, but the loss of her father had sealed her curiosity of the world away.

“Is their path reliable?” Mo Fan asked Lingling softly.

“So far so good,” Lingling replied.

“What happened to the relay station?” Mo Fan asked.

“I don’t really know. How old do you think I was eleven years ago?” Lingling answered.

“…” Mo Fan rolled his eyes. The knowledge inside Lingling’s little head could easily drown most old professors…

—

The sand started to get thicker as the group ventured further into the desert. The sand was soft at the start, but it started to feel like a strong force was dragging at their legs as their feet sank into the sand. It was extremely difficult to walk on the sand, as it would just wear them out quicker. Together with the heat and the dryness, an ordinary human would be overwhelmed by fatigue in just half an hour.

“Old Tong, it’s fine escorting us here, we’ll continue on ourselves!” Zhang Xiaohou patted the shoulder of the Officer that was escorting them.

“Can…can I go with you all too?” Tong Li said with a troubled face.

“You want to go too?” Zhang Xiaohou was quite surprised.

Tong Li was an Advanced Mage, but his rank was not that high. He was only a Lieutenant, much lower than Zhang Xiaohou. He had grown up in the west, so he was quite familiar with the Tarim Basin and the Taklamakan Desert. When Zhang Xiaohou mentioned he was going to the Taklamakan Desert, Tong Li took the initiative to escort them to the entrance area.

The terrain of a desert would shift gradually. There was a chance that the standard entrance of the desert might have been covered in sand a few months ago. It was one of the reasons why it was extremely difficult to make a safe path across the desert.

“It’s awesome if Lieutenant Tong is willing to come with us!” Ge Ming blurted out, his arms wide open.Read more chapter on vipnovel.com

The others in the group were not fussy about it, either. Tong Li was a local, and no one was more familiar with the desert than him. They had come well-prepared, but having Tong Li in the group would still save them some trouble.

Mo Fan looked at Tong Li carefully. He could tell that something was bothering Tong Li, yet he did not ask, since the man had no intention of saying anything.

—

When they arrived at the entrance, it was filled up with sand, unlike they were expecting.

If the start of the path already had discrepancies, how could they possibly rely on the information they had? Everyone was grim when they did not find the oasis that was meant to be there!

Not a great start!

“The sand is thinner here, but thicker there. It means there was once an oasis here. Judging from the wind and the rate the sand is stacking up, the entrance is roughly a kilometer ahead,” Tong Li said confidently.

“I’ll go take a look!” Zhang Xiaohou immediately summoned a faint, blue wind and shot into the distance.

Not long afterwards, he reached the place that Tong Li mentioned. He placed his hand on the sand and used his Earth Element to explore the ground beneath.

“Tong Li is right! There are plants under the sand, but they have started to rot,” Zhang Xiaohou said to the group as they caught up with him.

“Being able to tell where the oasis was from the thickness of the sand and the wind… Tong Li, you’re a professional. It’s like we are teaching our grandmother to suck eggs!” Ge Ming complimented him.

The others were impressed too. Tong Li was surely going to save them a lot of trouble!.

“Come, it isn’t safe here. We should be able to see the Big Yellow Mountain if we head this way,” Tong Li said.

—

The Big Yellow Mountain was once a grand and hilly mountain. Sand eventually stacked up around it. Once, someone tried digging through the sand to see the mountain’s true appearance. In the end, they discovered that the sand covering the mountain was at least fifty meters thick. It was shocking, as they could not tell what terrifying creatures would be hiding in sand that was fifty meters thick!

The group arrived successfully at the Big Yellow Mountain. They could not help but feel extremely tiny after seeing the huge mound lying right before them.

The mountain served as the boundary of the Taklamakan Desert. Once they crossed the mountain, they would find themselves in the realm of demon creatures. It had been years since anyone last saw what was behind the Big Yellow Mountain.

The Big Yellow Mountain was occupied by a pack of Sandrock Golems. The group was expecting a battle when they arrived and planned to cross the mountain, but not a single Sandrock Golem had shown up even after they reached the mountain’s waist.

“I didn’t know she was a Psychic Mage. Mo Fan, your friend is pretty impressive,” Ge Ming remarked, looking at Jiang Shaoxu.

“I told you I wasn’t here for a vacation,” Mo Fan shrugged.

Jiang Shaoxu was a professional Psychic Mage. With just a single Spirit Ripple, the Elemental Creatures within a kilometer of the group didn’t bother them.

It was necessary to avoid as many battles as they could when they were wandering in the wild. Unfortunately, Psychic Mages were mostly on two extremes; either they were so weak that the teams would refer to them as psychologists instead of Psychic Mages, or they were so powerful that they would cost more to hire than a Healer, since if there was no fighting, no one would be injured!

Jiang Shaoxu’s Psychic Element was astonishingly powerful. It allowed the team to cross the Big Yellow Mountain and enter the Taklamakan Desert without a single demon creature harassing them.

——

After going down the Big Yellow Mountain, the golden-yellow sand of the desert completely filled their view. Its uniformity was a great contrast to the beautiful blue sky, but it was still a spectacular sight to the group!

The endless sand, the vast sky; they would be stuck in this world for the next fifteen days…

The place was separated from the rest of the world. It was mysterious and terrifying!

“We have to be extremely careful with every step we take from here on. Wang Jiuming, go find a suitable spot to set up the detector,” Ge Ming said.

“Got it!” Wang Jiuming answered.

“Wait, how long will it take for the detector to scan the area?” Lingling asked.

“Around an hour,” Wang Jiuming said.

“Can you give me a more specific time?”

“An hour and ten minutes,” Wang Jiuming was startled. He did not think the little girl would be so serious with the question.

“Help me connect this; I will do a scatter plot,” Lingling handed Wang Jiuming a tablet computer.

“Alright, pull yourself together, and prepare for a possible fight!” Ge Ming said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Both the Elemental Sensors and Demon Creatures Distribution Scanners were useful inventions, but they both shared the same shortcoming; their energy ripples would attract the demon creatures nearby when they were functioning. The range was not far, but it was still troublesome.

Jiang Shaoxu’s Pacify was not effective against demon creatures agitated by the energy ripples. It was similar to putting a loudspeaker close to a residential area occupied by the demon creatures. There was no way the hot-tempered demon creatures would not come to take a look…

“Any movement?” Zheng Tong looked around. He seemed calm, but the look in his eyes had betrayed him. He was feeling uneasy, as it was his first time in a desert.

“Not yet, only ten minutes have passed,” Wang Jiuming said.

“Shouldn’t we be happy about that? If we are safe for the whole hour, won’t that mean we’ll be perfectly safe for the next five kilometers?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“The device is just a reference, a data point. Even if there are no demon nests within five kilometers, it doesn’t mean we are safe,” Lingling corrected him.

“The little girl is right, the device is only a support tool. We still have to verify the safety of the path by exploring it on foot…” Wang Jiuming smiled. He seemed quite friendly.

“Speaking of which, where’s your Commander friend? Why is he running around for no reason? Isn’t he worried that he will be surrounded by the demon creatures?” Lu Fang asked Mo Fan when he realized Zhang Xiaohou was missing.

Normally, people would stick close together in a place like the desert to avoid losing their way. The chance of finding a missing person in a desert was less than ten percent. No one would dare to take the risk.

“Brother Lu Fang, don’t you worry about Commander Zhang. He was once a Scout; even if he accidentally stumbles into a horde of demon creatures, he has no problem escaping unscathed. He always managed to lead the demon creatures in the opposite direction of the team, too. As for losing his way, it is quite unlikely either. He left some turbulence in the air along the way. He can easily find his way back to us.” Tong Li was quite familiar with Zhang Xiaohou’s capabilities.

“Oh, that’s great,” Lu Fang nodded.

Mo Fan was not worried about Zhang Xiaohou. The man was too reliable, if Mo Fan was to compare him to Guan Yu and Li Kaifeng, who were in charge of reconnaissance on the national team. The two were incomparable to Zhang Xiaohou in terms of experience. He was the least likely to be surrounded by demon creatures on this whole team. He was too fast for them!

“Strange, why didn’t a single demon creature show up yet? Don’t tell me there isn’t a single creature in this area? That’s not possible. According to the information we have, there should be a bunch of Deathsand Carapace Insects below the Big Yellow Mountain. Were they really so slow that they haven’t noticed the energy ripples of the device, or Wang Jiuming’s device isn’t functioning properly?” Zheng Tong asked.

“It’s already collecting data,” Lingling said.

“That’s strange… something is coming!” Zheng Tong looked ahead and saw a gust of wind without any sand approaching them.

Zheng Tong quickly focused. He began to channel a Star Pattern under his feet.

“Calm down, it’s Zhang Xiaohou,” Mo Fan smiled.

It was a faint-blue wind, the color of Zhang Xiaohou’s Soul-grade Seed. The army had given Zhang Xiaohou lots of resources, since he was their brightest star. With the contributions he had made, the resources he received might even surpass those given to the national team. After all, the national team was only taking part in a tournament. They were incomparable to Zhang Xiaohou’s military contributions!

“Brother Fan, I saw a bunch of demon insects ahead. They seem to be heading our way. After they left their nests, I stole their eggs and lured them south. They won’t bother us for some time,” Zhang Xiaohou came back and reported.

“You…you lured the demon insects away? There are a few nests of them!” Ge Ming exclaimed, his eyes wide.

“They seemed particularly worried about their eggs. I only stole the eggs from a single nest, but the demon insects from the other nests came to flank me, too,” Zhang Xiaohou shrugged.

“And you managed to come back unscathed still?” Wang Jiuming was struggling to believe it too.

The rest of the team was relieved. They never thought their journey to the desert would be so smooth. They had managed to avoid a few battles that they thought were inevitable because of the outstanding capabilities of these outsiders.

These people had always been walking on a knife-edge since they became Hunters. They were glad to see how reliable these outsiders were. It was comforting to have people like them as their teammates!

“It turns out that we have overcome the threat here too,” Ge Ming smiled. He awkwardly rolled the paper that contained the strategies he had come up with beforehand and tossed it aside.

He had done a lot of preparations prior to the expedition, including analyzing the habits of the demon creatures and finding their weaknesses. His men even practiced certain formations just to handle the demon creatures, yet they had yet to use even a single spell until now.

Many teams of Hunter Masters would be covered in wounds and bruises after making it this far, yet when it came to them… it was like they had come for a vacation instead. The danger was resolved while all they did was have a casual chat.

—

“The scan has finished. Old Lu, come analyze the data,” Wang Jiuming retrieved the device and handed it to Lu Fang.

Lu Fang took the device and inserted the data into his own device. However, before the transmission was even done, Lingling spoke up.

“We have to leave now so we can reach the other side of this mountain here. We’ll be safe once we reach this place in the basin before the sun goes down,” Lingling had already printed out the map. She gave Ge Ming a copy casually.

Lu Fang’s lips twisted. He was about to rebuke the little girl when he took a glimpse on the map and the scatter plot of the demon creatures. His expression shifted instantly.

“What is it, Old Lu?” Ge Ming asked when he noticed Lu Fang’s reaction. Ge Ming was having difficulty believing the map that a little girl came up with.

Lu Fang glanced at the sun before looking back at the map. He said in a grim voice, “We have to go now. We’ll be in great trouble if we don’t leave this place before night comes!”

The group immediately packed their stuff and proceeded along the journey.

——

Zhang Xiaohou and another member of the group were scouting ahead. The others started to use magic to quicken their pace.

Zheng Tong and Wang Jiuming did not understand why Lu Fang would believe Lingling’s map all of a sudden, but it was Ge Ming that voiced his concern in the end, “Lu Fang, what’s wrong? Why do you look so pale?”

“The information we have isn’t accurate. The Deathsand Carapace Insects aren’t the only species under the Big Yellow Mountain. The Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demons are there too! They are living around forty meters down from the surface and have scattered across this area and the areas within four kilometers of where we are.

“The sun is going down soon. Once the sunlight disappears, these Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demons will drag every living creature above the surface into the sand. They are too many of them. We won’t stand a chance!” Lu Fang said grimly.

“What… screw that information vendor, he told us there wasn’t any danger under the Big Yellow Mountain! I swear I’ll kill him once we made it back!” Zheng Tong snapped furiously.

Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demons were the last thing that the travelers in a desert wanted to see!

“Didn’t we encounter a Pseudomorphing Demon in Jinlin City? Are the Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demons similar to it?” Mu Nujiao whispered to Mo Fan when the name crossed her mind.

“Yeah, they are the same species residing in different habitats. The Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demons usually live in dry places, and they only appear at night, as they aren’t fans of the sunlight. According to the information on Lingling’s tablet, there are at least five hundred Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demons in this area. They will all come when their roots sense movement above the sand. You can imagine how scary that would be,” Mo Fan had actually done his homework before coming here!.

Mu Nujiao fell silent immediately. Their whole team was almost wiped out when they stumbled into a single Pseudomorphing Demon back in Jinlin City, and now there were at least five hundred of them in this area… they were basically walking through a living cemetery!

“Little girl, how did you know they are Pseudomorphing Demons?” Lu Fang asked while picking up his pace.

“My name is Lingling!” Lingling said in displeasure.

“Oh, Lingling!” Lu Fang was panicking, but he was relieved too.

If the team waited he finished analyzing the data, it would be dark by now. All his efforts would be in vain, since as soon as the sun went down, the roots of the Pseudomorphing Demons would spread across the place.

On the other hand, Lu Fang was quite surprised too. How quickly was Lingling able to analyze the data? The girl had managed to analyze the data quicker than him!

The information they had stated that the area was occupied only by the Deathsand Carapace Insects. However, it was obvious that the person had only come during the day. If it was at night, even an entire army would be eaten alive by the Pseudomorphing Demons!

“There aren’t many life forms under the surface, yet they were covering a huge area. That alone caught my attention. Besides, there are only two kinds of life forms within five kilometers from us. One is hidden underground, and the other is the Deathsand Carapace Insects. These Deathsand Carapace Insects are something that flesh-eating demon plants hate the most, as they are unable to digest the thick carapaces of the insects. It proves that the life forms under the surface are the Pseudomorphing Demons, as they ate every species other than the Deathsand Carapace Insects!” Lingling stated.

“Hehe, luckily you learned what they were!” Lu Fang exclaimed.

“You forgot about day and night; it’s a deadly mistake,” Lingling chided him like she was an instructor.

Lu Fang had an awkward face. Luckily, they did manage to avoid the grave danger…

The desert was absolutely terrifying. If they stuck to their initial plan, the team would have been trapped by the Pseudomorphing Demons when night arrived. It was difficult to tell if they could even clear a path through the demon creatures. The more Lu Fang thought about it, the scarier it was!

“Quick, let’s go! I can see the curtain of night extending toward us!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The team clearly felt the sand moving under them.

The sand was not as thick as they initially thought. Below the layer of sand was a layer of soil. If the sand was moving, it meant something was digging its way up out of the soil.

Zhang Xiaohou led the way. He went to the higher ground to observe their surroundings. The curtain of night was approaching rapidly. Certain places were no longer covered by the sun. He could see roots wriggling like black centipedes and snakes in the shadows there. They spread rapidly toward the areas that were no longer covered by sunlight. He saw a huge creature accidentally step into an area without sunlight, and it was dragged into the sand by the roots in the blink of an eye!

He knew the creature would soon be reduced into a pile of bones, while its blood, flesh, and organs were turned into nutrients for the Pseudomorphing Demons!

“Quick, hurry up!” Zhang Xiaohou urged the rest of the team.

The sun had gone down quicker than they thought. They would be in grave danger if they did not leave the territory of the Pseudomorphing Demons in time!

“Houzi, go harden the soil ahead so they won’t be able to dig out of the ground so easily,” Mo Fan said to Zhang Xiaohou.

“Alright! Is anyone else an Earth Mage?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

Two other Hunters soon stepped forward from the group. Zhang Xiaohou summoned his Wind Wings and grabbed the two Hunters before flying forward rapidly, preparing themselves for the Pseudomorphing Demons.

—

The team was running as quickly as they could, but they still failed to outrun the curtain of night. As soon as the darkness fell across them, the temperature dropped significantly all of a sudden. The atmosphere changed as the team felt a strong aura of darkness surging at them.

“Over here!” Zhang Xiaohou yelled at the team.

The team regrouped with Zhang Xiaohou and the two Hunters. The ground nearby had been compressed and hardened. It was as sturdy as rocks.

Black roots sprang out of the areas no longer under sunlight. The sand splashed wildly, like the surface of an ocean, as if they were stirred by countless schools of fish. The roots were like the tentacles of a starving demon, surrounding the travelers from all directions.

When the tentacles were less than three hundred meters away, the team could easily tell that the speed of the roots was hindered. The hardened sand was providing some resistance to them!

“Quick, it’s only a matter of time until they catch up to us!” Lu Fang urged everyone.

The team did not dare wait any further, and hurried toward their destination.

“I’ll lead the way!” A Hunter whose primary Element was the Wind Element said. Ge Ming and the others usually referred to him as Feishu.

Feishu was quite nimble, and his steps were light. He did not leave a single footstep on the sand with the help of his Wind Magic.

“It’s safe here, this way…”

The sand below the man’s feet suddenly exploded up into the sky before pouring down like a rain.

A demon tree that looked like a terrifying beast sprang up amid the rain of sand. The demon tree could use its branches and intertwined roots under the sand to attack.

The roots and branches soon formed a cage trapping Feishu in all directions. Feishu turned around in disbelief, and realized he was already separated from the team by the cage. An overwhelming sense of death lunged at him!

“Feishu!” Lu Fang shouted.

Ge Ming reacted quickly. He cast a Light Spell in an instant. The Plummeting Rays turned into swords slashing at the roots and the branches.

However, the roots and the branches were just too thick. A single spell was nowhere enough to cut through the branches and roots that were trapping Feishu!

“Leader, behind us!” Zheng Tong said.

Ge Ming knew what was behind them without even turning around. He could imagine the deadly branches and roots without any gaps between them coming at them from behind!

“Keep going forward, I’ll save Feishu!” Ge Ming said.

Feishu was too impatient. The path he took was not the right path. He was too insensitive to the creatures under the surface.

“Come, quick, or we’ll all be stuck here!” Lu Fang shouted.

“Follow me, don’t go anywhere else, these things are good at setting up traps. We won’t be able to escape if we are caught in them,” Zhang Xiaohou sighed, and led the way.

Zhang Xiaohou gave up on flying. He was walking on the ground. He was risking his own life to detect the traps…

“These Pseudomorphing Demons have a limited area of movement!” Mo Fan called out.

The Pseudomorphing Demons were extremely slow at moving around. They usually disguised themselves and waited for their prey to stumble into their reach. The roots and branches of a Pseudomorphing Demon could only extend about three hundred meters away. The closer they were to a Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demon, the harder it would be to break free from the roots and branches. Feishu was trapped in an instant because he was too close to a Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demon!

Zhang Xiaohou was around five hundred meters ahead of the team. He kept laying down faint-blue Wind Tracks along the way to guarantee that he could instantly move in any direction at the highest speed.

Another loud blast took place. A Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demon in the direction that Zhang Xiaohou was heading into simply forfeited its disguise and came out of the ground to trap Zhang Xiaohou.

Countless roots dug out of the ground as flexible branches like tentacles dashed forward to surround its prey. They would bind the target and drag it into the sand to slowly devour it!

“Go the other way!” Zhang Xiaohou quickly turned around and yelled at the team.

If the path was not safe, they would have to find another path while maintaining a distance of three hundred meters from the Pseudomorphing Demon.

The team immediately headed in a different direction. They could still see a faint-blue figure dodging the roots and the branches. The Pseudomorphing Demon was having a hard time trapping Zhang Xiaohou, who was able to outrun the branches and roots before they formed a cage.

“He can handle it himself, let’s go. These Pseudomorphing Demons might be slow, but we are done for once they surround us!” Mo Fan warned.

“Well…who’s going to lead the way now?” Zheng Tong said.

They needed someone to lead the way. The Pseudomorphing Demons were extremely cunning. They would not show up the instant their prey was within their reach. They would only make their moves when their prey was close enough to have no chance of running away!

As such, someone had to lead the way to detect where the ‘mines’ were, or else the whole team would be in danger.

“I’ll go,” Mu Nujiao said.

“No way…” Zheng Tong was about to speak, but Mu Nujiao had already turned into a gust of wind and gone ahead.

“Follow her!” Mo Fan ordered.

The team quickly followed Mu Nujiao while maintaining a safe distance from her, just so the whole team would not fall into the traps of the Pseudomorphing Demons.

“Zheng Tong, you’re quite a disappointment,” Lu Fang glanced at the woman that went ahead alone and sighed.

Zheng Tong was actually looking at Mo Fan when he asked the question. The guy had been an eyesore to him. He had been giving orders without doing anything, and the girls were still willing to stick with him!

To his surprise, Mu Nujiao had volunteered instead, placing Zheng Tong in an awkward position. They had let a woman put her life at risk for their sake, not to mention that she was such a beautiful lady…

“You are responsible if anything happens to her!” Zheng Tong anxiously put the blame on Mo Fan instead when he was questioned by Lu Fang.

“I’m already responsible for her… so don’t you worry,” Mo Fan smiled in reply.

Zheng Tong was even more annoyed that Mo Fan still had the mood to joke around.

“It’s safe here!” Mu Nujiao’s voice came from ahead.

Lu Fang quickly led the others toward where Mu Nujiao was.

After Mu Nujiao moved another five hundred meters ahead, she notified the team that the area was safe.

“Is the girl reliable?” an aged Hunter in his fifties began to doubt.

“You can lead the way instead if you don’t trust her!” Jiang Shaoxu snapped instantly.

The person leading the way was putting their life at risk. Mu Nujiao was already risking her life for the team, yet the aged Hunter dared to question her capabilities?

“I’m just asking for the sake of the team. She asked us to catch up before she was sure that the area was safe. I bet she wants us to stay closer to her in case she was in danger,” the aged Hunter claimed.

“Yeah, I also think she’s being too careless,” someone agreed with the aged Hunter.

“I think it’s better to go this way. Ask her to regroup with us, it’s a matter of life and death. Dajian, you lead the way,” the aged Hunter said.

“Oh… sure thing!” Dajian nodded. He seemed quite daring. He immediately went forward without hesitation. The direction he was heading to was closer to their destination.

After Dajian moved around a hundred meters forward, Mu Nujiao immediately frowned. She had no idea what was happening among the members. She immediately yelled, “Don’t go that way!”

“Little girl, are you trying to set us up? My secondary Element is the Earth Element. I can sense a strong movement under the ground where you’re standing. It’s obvious that there’s something down there…” the aged Hunter said.

Mu Nujiao was startled. She quickly collected her thoughts and said, “It’s true that there’s a Pseudomorhing Demon here, but…”

“Humph, you all heard it. She’s leading us right into a Pseudomorphing Demon. Let’s follow Dajian. Young woman, you should regroup with the team. You won’t be able to do so if you keep going forward! We are grateful that you’re willing to risk your life, but you should know your limits too!” the aged Hunter, Xu Pingdong said.

“Don’t go that way!” Mu Nujiao’s face turned pale when she saw the direction that Dajian was moving into. She immediately yelled at the top of her lungs.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Three blasts occurred simultaneously, throwing sand into the air. The rain of sand pouring down was dangerous too!

As soon as the Mage called Dajian was two hundred meters away from the team, three enormous Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demons suddenly burst out of the ground and surrounded him. The sand that they were using as a disguise vanished completely, revealing the countless roots around Dajian, wriggling under his feet like starving worms!

Dajian was standing in the middle and completely dumbfounded. He had never seen anything so terrifying!

The trap that Feishu stumbled into still had gaps and room to breathe. Ge Ming was still able to save him, even if he was dragged into the ground. However, in Dajian’s situation, he had basically set his foot into the gates of Hell. Even Ge Ming had no chance of saving him!

“Blin… sigh…” A silver light glowed on Mo Fan, but he called it off while he was still channeling his magic.

The area that Dajian was in was crawling with roots and branches. There was no longer any opening for Mo Fan to blink into and save the man. Mo Fan did not feel good when he caught the final glimpse of disbelief and fear on Dajian’s face.

Prejudice would seriously get a man killed. Mo Fan had tried to avoid conflict with the members of the Golden Battle Hunters from the start, yet something like this had still happened in the end.

“Come over here, quick!” Mu Nujiao yelled. The team quickly focused.

“There’s a Pseudomorphing Demon there too!” Xu Pingdong protested in fear.

Dajian was dead for sure. The trap consisted of three Pseudomorphing Demons. An Advanced Mage had no chance of surviving it. Xu Pingdong was overwhelmed by guilt, but he still could not accept it. He immediately directed his hatred toward Mu Nujiao.

Mu Nujiao did not seem too bothered by it.

“Let’s go.”

“But…”

“He’s dead! There’s nothing we can do!”

The others crossed over to Mu Nujiao’s position. Mu Nujiao was still unharmed, meaning that her position was still safe for the time being.

When the team regrouped with Mu Nujiao, the sand below them was restless. The team was startled, but as their hearts filled with fear, Mu Nujiao began to emit a dark green light.

The roots of the Pseudomorphing Demon burst out of the sand. Its branches were swinging wildly, trying to drag the team into the ground.

However, a dark green Demon Tree appeared. Its branches tangled up with the branches and roots of the Pseudomorphing Demon, preventing the creature from attacking the team. The Demon Tree’s branches were outnumbered by the roots and branches of the Pseudomorphing Demon, but its branches were incredibly strong. The team had no trouble moving forward. They just needed to be cautious.

“It’s safe ahead!” Mu Nujiao remained still. She was controlling the Demon Tree, keeping the Pseudomorphing Demon at bay, staying stern and expressionless. The others could easily tell she was furious, yet she did not lose her calm!

The team continued forward. The path had been safe so far!

——

The team reached the destination not long after.

Most of the people were unharmed, yet they were all wearing a defeated and uneasy look.

Mu Nujiao and Zhang Xiaohou regrouped with the team. They were both fine too. They just needed some treatment for the minor wounds they had.

—

Some time later, Ge Ming forcibly cleared a path through the countless roots intercepting him, carrying a man covered in blood on his shoulder. As a Super Mage, he was the only person that could force his way through the Pseudomorphing Demons.

He seemed a little worn out, but there was a hint of relief in his eyes. Feishu was not dead, and had been saved from the jaws of death.

“What a relief, I managed to save him,” Ge Ming placed Feishu on the ground, allowing the Healer on the team to treat his wounds.

Feishu had mostly suffered physical injuries. His life was not in danger. With a Healer around, he could easily recover within an hour.

Ge Ming looked around and said smilingly, “Why do you all look so down? Didn’t I manage to save Feishu? That was indeed a close call, but we are all fine, aren’t we? It’s still a long journey ahead, we can’t afford to give up so easily.”

“Lea…leader, Dajian…” Lu Fang said in a trembling voice.

“Leader, it’s that girl’s fault. She led us into a Pseudomorphing Demon, and she was well aware of its existence. I was suspicious of her decision, so I asked Dajian to choose a different direction, but…” Xu Pingdong rose to his feet and glared at Mu Nujiao.

Ge Ming immediately pulled a long face.

Dajian had a strong sense of responsibility. Ge Ming had high hopes for him. The man might not be a leader, but he was the right-arm man that any leader would appreciate.

Ge Ming never thought another man would die while he was trying his best to save a man who was in danger.

Ge Ming was not mad at anyone. He was just sad for the loss!

“You knew there was a Pseudomorphing Demon there, right?” Ge Ming looked at Mu Nujiao.

Mu Nujiao nodded. She despised Xu Pingdong’s attempt to put the blame on the others. She said calmly, “The path we took was surrounded by the Pseudomorphing Demons. We would stumble into a trap no matter which direction we took, but there was only a single Pseudomorphing Demon on the path I chose, while the other directions had more than one. If I used my Demon Tree to keep the Pseudomorphing Demon at bay, I could guarantee the team’s safety…”

Xu Pingdong was utterly dumbfounded!

He stared at Mu Nujiao. His face was covered in cold sweat. He blurted out in a panic, “Why…why didn’t you say it earlier!?”

“Did I have the time to explain myself? You shouldn’t be so full of yourself. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Hunter Master, we are all rookies in this desert!” Mu Nujiao retorted coldly.

“Old Xu, you shouldn’t have made the decision for the team on your own…” Lu Fang sighed.Read more chapter on vipnovel.com

The rest of the team could easily tell whose fault it was. They were well aware that Mu Nujiao had made the right choice. She had chosen the safest path for the team. Xu Pingdong was the one who should be held responsible for Dajian’s death. The man had died because of his prejudice toward Mu Nujiao!

Ge Ming’s face darkened after learning the truth.

He did not say a word, nor did he rebuke the team, but the silence served as a greater torture to the members.

“Let’s take some rest and prepare ourselves for the journey ahead,” Ge Ming said a while later.

“Leader, Dajian’s family, I’ll take care of them…” Xu Pingdong’s eyes were rolling with tears. They eventually ran down his cheeks. He was filled with guilt and remorse!

“It’s not your fault, you didn’t push him to death. He chose the path himself,” Ge Ming said.

“But, leader…”

“Just be more careful and rational. Everyone is risking their life coming here. No one wants to die, don’t look down on the others. You didn’t even dare to leave the safe zone when you were their age, but they are brave enough to come to one of the most dangerous places in our country! You have no right to underestimate them just because of their age!” Ge Ming stated.

“I…I understand, I’m sorry!”

—

The team had already lost someone on the first night in the desert. They could not even retrieve Dajian’s remains. They had no choice but to leave him behind under the sand.

The desert was extremely cold at night, a great contrast with the heat of the day.

The clear sky was full of stars. Mo Fan went up to Jiang Shaoxu. The girl was staring at the night sky, immersed in her thoughts.

“Why are you here? You already saw how dangerous this place is. Even I won’t be able to guarantee your safety,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had wanted to save the Hunter called Dajian. Unlike the others, he did not think highly of himself. Unfortunately, the Pseudomorphing Demons were too quick for him. He did not even have any chance to save the man.

“Just here to experience the desert,” Jiang Shaoxu replied.

“Experience the desert? You think your life is a joke?” Mo Fan snorted.

The national team had taken the relatively safe path when they were traveling around the world to train themselves, but this Taklamakan Desert was a lot more dangerous. Even a Hunter Master would die within the blink of an eye!

“I had a brother who liked to go on adventures. He was oddly passionate about ancient ruins. I still don’t understand why the thrill of walking on the knife’s edge is better than living a calm life with your family in the city!” Jiang Shaoxu sighed.

“So you came to experience the thrill too? That’s pretty naive of you… everyone is different. Some people think that living on the edge is as exciting as falling in love for the first time. The thrill they get is more pleasant than making love. It’s quite obvious that your brother is that kind of a person, but you aren’t,” Mo Fan said.

Jiang Shaoxu giggled and nudged Mo Fan, “Can’t you mind your words? I’m talking about something sad here.”

“Being sad doesn’t mean you have to look miserable, you can still make jokes and laugh,” Mo Fan said.

“Speaking of which, you do remind me of my brother at times.” Jiang Shaoxu felt a lot better.

“No wonder you’re so fond of me…”

“I’m referring to your stubbornness in getting yourself in danger and living on the edge, it’s the same as my brother was.”

“I actually treat my life preciously.”

“But you can sacrifice it for something more important, right?” Jiang Shaoxu laughed.

“Perhaps.”

“Life is precious indeed…”

“Where did your brother successfully seek death?”

“I’m still looking, it should be somewhere in the desert, or it might be some other place. The last time I saw him, he mentioned something about how he had found ruins related to the strongest Totem Beast,” Jiang Shaoxu told him.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The desert was icy cold at midnight. It felt like they were walking in a world of ice and snow. Their faces hurt when the wind was blowing on their faces, which had stiffened due to the cold.

The team moved out before daybreak. When the sunlight first appeared, the warmth it brought was extremely comfortable. However, in less than an hour, their bodies were soon complaining about the scorching heat.

It was just how a desert was. They were pleasant places to visit. It was the reason why most Hunters avoided going to deserts!

Lu Fang took out the map. “If we keep heading this direction, we should find a meandering river of sand. We should be close to the relay station once we follow the river to its lower reaches.”

It was called a river, but all that was left was a deep ravine. Not a single drop of water was left. In addition to it, the sticky sand was extremely difficult to walk on.

The meandering river of sand was an important landmark for their journey. It took the team quite some time to find it. They almost thought they had lost their direction.

They just needed to follow the river from here on without worrying about if they were heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, the river was not as peaceful as it seemed.

“Did anyone notice that the sand is soft and sticky here? If we were walking slower, our bodies would slowly sink into the sand… it won’t be a problem here, but once we reach the lower reaches, the sand there is going to feel like mud in a swamp. We have to move at a certain speed to stop from sinking into the sand,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had collected some information about the place, particularly about the meandering sand river.

“Can’t we harden the sand?” Wang Jiuming asked, glancing at the Earth Mages on the team.

The Earth Mages shook their heads, “It’s very difficult to control the sand here. We can’t even use Earth Waves here.”

“That’s going to be a problem.”

“I’m already trotting here, but it still feels like I’m sinking into the sand.”

“Let’s pick up the pace then.”

The team of more than ten people left deep footprints along the river bed. Their legs were soon covered in sand, and the more sand their legs were covered in, the heavier their steps were. It was not much of a hassle for a short period, but the team was running along the river bed for half a day…

“Give me a hand, give me a hand, I’m sinking!” a Hunter in charge of logistics suddenly yelled at the back of the team.

The others looked behind and saw half of the man’s legs had already disappeared into the sand. It was as if he had stepped into a pit…

“Laosi (the fourth eldest), what are you doing? Pick up your pace, we’ll all sink if we don’t maintain our speed!” Ge Ming said.

“I…I…AH! Something is grabbing onto my legs!” Li Sichong suddenly yelled like a drowning man screaming for help.

Li Sichong had sunk into the sand because he was not moving quickly enough. If the others were to slow down, they would sink into the sand too! The sand in the area turned out to be deadly. It would wrap around anything that had sunk into it and hold them in place firmly to stop them from breaking free. The force was comparable to the strength of a Warrior-level creature’s jaws. It was the scariest part about the sand river!

“Nothing is grabbing you, you have sunk too much into the sand. Hang in there, I’ll pull you out!” Ge Ming maintained his speed and made a u-turn to help the man.

“I’ll do it,” Mo Fan said.

If they waited until Ge Ming made a u-turn while trying to maintain his speed, Li Sichong’s head would be under the sand by then.

“Telekinesis: Invisible Claws!” Mo Fan gathered his focus. The silver energy turned into a huge claw grabbing at Li Sichong’s upper body.

“Rise!” Mo Fan dragged the man out of the sand with his will. However, he immediately felt some resistance, preventing him from dragging Li Sichong out with his first attempt. It was a huge shock!

Li Sichong had only sunk halfway into the sand, but the force of the sand grabbing onto him was equivalent to the combined strength of a hundred demon creatures grabbing onto him firmly. Mo Fan initially thought he could easily drag the man out of the sand with his Telekinesis, but it failed!

Mo Fan immediately focused and strengthened his will.

“AHHHH! It hurts!” Li Sichong suddenly screamed out in pain. The expression on his face showed that he was serious.

“Houzi, find a way to scatter the sand!” Mo Fan quickly yelled at Zhang Xiaohou with a grim look.

Zhang Xiaohou immediately realized how serious the situation was. He summoned a gust of wind, blowing him into the air. He then cast the Eyes of the Rock Demon to resist the force of the sand.

Zhang Xiaohou was only aware of how terrifying the sand was after casting the Advanced Earth Spell. He finally understood why the sand was referred to as Man-Eating Sand. It was like each sand particle was alive. They rapidly gathered around anything that had sunk into the sand like starving beasts and held onto it with remarkable strength!

The Man-Eating Sand was pulling Li Sichong down while Mo Fan was trying to drag him out. Mo Fan did not dare apply a stronger force, as it might simply tear Li Sichong in half. The Man-Eating Sand was trickier to deal with than he first thought!

When Zhang Xiaohou drove the Man-Eating Sand away with the Eyes of the Rock Demon, Mo Fan immediately took hold of the opportunity and dragged Li Sichong out from the sand.

Crack!

Everyone heard the sound of bones breaking the moment Li Sichong was dragged out of the sand. The man fainted instantly…

“This…”

The team was dumbfounded. No one had expected the ordinary-looking sand to be so deadly. If Mo Fan had not happened to possess the Space Element, they had no idea how they could have dragged Li Sichong out!Read more chapter on vipnovel.com

“It’s only some dislocations, he’s fine. The strength of the Man-Eating Sand is over five tons, and the force increases exponentially the further you sink. Make sure you’re above the surface at all times. If the force is greater than ten tons, even if I try to drag you out, it will tear your body in half!” Mo Fan told the others.

Everyone had witnessed what happened just then, so none of them dared to doubt Mo Fan’s words. They immediately quickened their pace to prevent themselves from sinking into the sand!

—

“Why aren’t we there yet? Why do I feel like my legs weigh around five hundred kilograms?” Zheng Tong gasped.

Even maintaining the speed to prevent them from sinking into the sand was costing a lot more stamina than usual. The team would eventually be worn out if they never stopped running. Some were already struggling to keep up.

“Same here, I can’t move anymore!” Feishu who had yet to fully recover from his injuries spoke up.

“Aren’t we there yet? Leader?”

Ge Ming had a grim face. According to the map, there were still five hours worth of journey left in the river. The team would be in great trouble if someone was already at their limits!

The river was not particularly wide. They only needed to travel around two kilometers to reach the edge. The only problem was… both sides of the sand river were occupied by Sandstorm Demon Locusts, a kind of catastrophic demon creature. They always showed up in tens of thousands, and they did not feed on crops or plants, but living creatures!

These Sandstorm Demon Locusts were a pain to deal with. Once they found their prey, they would pursue it relentlessly. Even if there was another Super Mage on the team, they would still struggle to guarantee the safety of their members. As such, leaving the river bed was not an option. They would just deliver themselves to the Sandstorm Demon Locusts as their lunch!

As a matter of fact, the military had established its base in the Tarim Basin mainly to keep an eye on the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. Every invasion from the Sandstorm Demon Locusts would end up as an S-rank calamity. Many cities in the west had been wiped out by the Sandstorm Demon Locusts over the past few decades. It was basically Hell on Earth, as not a single human, livestock, plant, or even building remained when the Sandstorm Demon Locusts swept past like a gust of wind!

The horde of Sandstorm Demon Locusts had occupied a huge area. The meandering sand river was the only way through it, but it turned out that the team had underestimated the difficulty of traversing it!

“We are all going to die if we keep going. We have to go ashore now,” Lu Fang said.

Not everyone had outstanding stamina, like Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou. Jiang Shaoxu and Mu Nujiao were struggling to keep up too!

Mo Fan was carrying Lingling in his arms while taking turns carrying Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu on his back. He was as strong as an ox, mainly because of the passive abilities of his Demon Element. However, some of the aged Hunters were already at their limits!

“Should we just go ashore? I feel like we will be feeding ourselves to the sand if we keep going,” Wang Jiuming said.

“Going ashore is even worse. As soon as we set our foot on the shore, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts will immediately notice our presence…”

“Then what are we supposed to do? Are we seriously going to wait for our deaths here!?” someone cried out impatiently.

“We can’t afford to provoke the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. Let’s take turns laying down a path. It’s no use preserving our energy any further. Our first priority is to make it out alive. I’ll use my Ice Element and Plant Element to lay down a path, and the Wind Element to speed everyone up…” Mu Nujiao said.

The others looked at Ge Ming.

If they were to use their magic here, it meant they were putting their lives at risk. No one knew if there was a huge battle waiting for them at their destination. How were they supposed to fight if they already used up all their energy?

“It’s the only choice we have. Those with the Ice, Earth, and Plant Elements will lay down a path, and those with the Wind Element will speed us up. Quick, don’t slow down now. Pick up your pace!” Ge Ming said.

Mu Nujiao began to emit frost. The little ice crystals sprang forward and laid down an icy bridge ahead. Ge Ming led the way and sprinted along the bridge.

“Let’s go!” The Hunters sighed, but they had no other choice but to continue on their journey.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Building a path along the sand in the river bed would require a huge amount of energy, since the team was still a long journey away from reaching the end.

After the team traveled ten kilometers, Mu Nujiao was running low on energy. She switched to her Plant Element instead, as the energy consumption using the Plant Element was lower compared to the Ice Element. If she kept using the same plants to build a path in front of her, she would not need to Summon new plants.

However, she only lasted for another twenty kilometers before the energy in Mu Nujiao’s Plant Element was depleted too.

It was Xu Pingdong’s turn to lay down the path. He had the Earth Element and the Ice Element. He did not have as much energy as Mu Nujiao. He only lasted for twenty kilometers…

Both Mu Nujiao and Xu Pingdong had used up all their energy to help the team travel another fifty kilometers, but it felt like they were still in the same spot in the meandering sand river.

—

The others took turns constructing the path, but when everyone used up all their energy of the Earth Element, Ice Element, and Plant Element, they realized they had at least another seventy kilometers left!

“Let’s convert the energy of other Elements. It’s the only option we have. I have an Energy Conversion Bracelet here. It’s not as effective, but it’s better than nothing,” Ge Ming said.

“If we convert our energy to the energy of their Wind Element, Earth Element, and Plant Element, the conversion rate is only around thirty percent. How are we going to protect ourselves when we reach the end later? Leader, that’s too risky!” Lu Fang strongly disagreed with the suggestion.

“We have to overcome the situation before us first. Otherwise, we won’t even make it to the end,” Ge Ming replied.

The others began to convert their energy with Ge Ming’s bracelet and transferred the energy to Mu Nujiao, Xu Pingdong, Zhang Xiaohou, and the others with the suitable Elements to construct the path ahead.

The conversion rate was only thirty percent, meaning that the rate of consumption of the team’s energy had tripled. Most people on the team soon ran out of energy for two of their Elements.

Losing the energy for two Elements was basically the same as losing their arms. They completely lost any sense of security in this desert that was full of danger. Even though they could see the end of the sand river now, none of them seemed relieved.

The rate of recovery of a Mage’s energy was incredibly slow. Hunters usually treated their energy as their life, but they had already paid such a huge price just to follow the sand river!

“We should be able to rest up once we reach the relay station. Cheer up, everyone, the sand river is indeed a lot scarier than we expected,” Ge Ming comforted the members of the team.

Mo Fan was a fighter on the team, thus he did not transfer his energy to the others. There were only four people with full energy on the team: Mo Fan, Zheng Tong, Ge Ming, and a man called Tong Zhuang.

—

“There are still Sandstorm Demon Locusts in the area still. Let’s leave this place quickly,” Ge Ming told them.

“We’ll have to use the device after another kilometer. Otherwise, we might accidentally stumble into a horde. There are three hordes in this area,” Wang Jiuming said.

“Are you kidding me? Using the device now is suicide! It’s going to attract the demon creatures nearby. We can’t possibly hold them off!” Tong Zhuang was the first to disagree.

“Going forward blindly or staying here is going to get us killed too! We have to take the risks and stand our ground for an hour and ten minutes, at least it will allow us to keep going!” Wang Jiuming snapped back.

“Captain, the whole team is worn out just making it out of the sand river. Setting up the device is suicide now!” Tong Zhuang said.

Ge Ming frowned. He was struggling to make up his mind.

It was extremely dangerous if a battle broke out now. Only a few people on the team had energy. If they ended up aggravating Commander-level creatures or a horde of demon creatures, they would be done for.

They heard a distant howling, and the wind suddenly grew stronger. Mo Fan glanced in the direction of the wind and saw the clear, blue sky was shrouded by a yellow cloud of dust. He thought the cloud of dust was still at first glance, but he eventually realized it was slowly moving toward them.

“A sandstorm?” Jiang Shaoxu felt uneasy after witnessing the cloud of dust. She subconsciously recalled the Sandstorm Vengeful Spirit that the team encountered before, the ghastly figure that stood imperiously at the top of the sandstorm!

“No, something worse!” Lingling shook her head.

Ge Ming’s eyes widened. His face was gradually filled with fear.

“It’s the Sandstorm Demon Locusts!”

“My Heavens, didn’t we already leave their territory?”

“The Sandstorm Demon Locusts are highly invasive. They will occasionally invade the areas nearby. Even though they aren’t heading right toward us, we’re going to die if we stay here!” Mo Fan said.

The Sandstorm Demon Locusts were the scariest existence in the Taklamakan Desert that people were aware of. They would sweep across an area like a sandstorm, yet in comparison, a sandstorm would actually be considered a kind-hearted spirit. The photographs taken after a place was attacked by the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were utterly terrifying. The whole place would be barren, with skeletons scattered for five hundred kilometers!

“We have to move forward!” Ge Ming did not even need to make a choice. He immediately gave the order.

The members stopped arguing instantly and started moving forward. The demon creatures approaching them like a cloud of dust were not something their magic could possibly handle!

“It’s going to take them at least two hours to reach here,” Zhang Xiaohou looked into the sky and roughly estimated the speed of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts.

“Which means we still have enough time to scan the area,” Wang Jiuming said.

“Damn it, I’ve never visited a place like this. If I manage to make it back alive, I can boast about it for the rest of my life!” Lu Fang cursed. He was trying to embolden himself.

“Yeah, it feels like only one in ten is going to make it out alive…I’m starting to regret my decision coming here.”

The desert full of unknown dangers was a lot scarier than the team had thought. They had encountered so many different kinds of problems when they had just set foot into the desert. It felt like the whole team was going to be wiped out if they were being too careless.

—

“What do we do now? Either way, I’m already out of energy,” Xu Pingdong had a grim look.

“Yeah, so did we!”

“Say, if the Sandstorm Demon Locusts is approaching, does that mean the demon creatures nearby will not bother us?” someone on the team asked in a soft voice.

The eyes of the rest of the team flickered. It did make sense. Wouldn’t the Sandstorm Demon Locusts drive the other demon creatures away?

“Basically…” Mo Fan immediately interrupted, pouring a bucket of cold water on the team, “The demon creatures residing close to the territories of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts is because either the Sandstorm Demon Locusts aren’t interested in them, because they were picky eaters, or the demon creatures aren’t really afraid of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts! So, I’m afraid we aren’t safe either.”

“Humph, you sound like it’s none of your concern. You haven’t done anything since we came into the desert. You weren’t even willing to share your energy,” Zheng Tong snapped.

“Xiao Zheng, don’t say that. If it wasn’t for his Space Element, Li Sichong would have died in the sand river,” Lu Fang intervened.

“I know someone who was lucky enough to Awaken the Space Element, but it turns out to be a useless Element. It’s only a supportive Element in a battle,” Zheng Tong said.

A skinny man on the team had an awkward face when Zheng Tong was speaking.

“It’s because I haven’t really mastered it. I learned that I have to improve my mental strength if I want to improve the Space Element. I thought I just needed to familiarize myself with it…” the man said in a soft voice.

“I seriously don’t understand; why did a person like you end up Awakening the Space Element?” Zheng Tong sighed.

“Well, I have no idea either. I’m actually regretting it a little,” the man replied.

The man had awakened the Space Element as his tertiary Element. The Space Element would normally only be Awakened after a person had reached the Advanced Level. It was rare and mysterious. When Yang Bao first Awakened the Space Element, he thought he was going to rise and surpass his comrades. The Golden Battle Hunters had high hopes in him, too. To his surprise, the Space Element was extremely hard to master, not to mention that it was a lot weaker than the other Elements, be it Telekinesis or Space Rhythm…

Yang Bao was still looking forward to achieving the Advanced Level of the Space Element, since he believed Blink would come in handy for sure!

“It turns out that this Zheng Tong isn’t just jealous of you, but everyone else too…” Jiang Shaoxu whispered into Mo Fan’s ear.

“Indeed, it’s like he doesn’t want anything good to happen to others,” Mo Fan agreed.

“Why haven’t you taught him a lesson? I’ve never seen you so forgiving on the national team,” Jiang Shaoxu asked in confusion.

It was not Zheng Tong’s first time uttering scornful comments at Mo Fan, yet Mo Fan did not seem bothered at all. Jiang Shaoxu was actually quite surprised.

“It’s not the same this time. We’re like grasshoppers on the same boat. Infighting isn’t ideal right now,” Mo Fan said. He had only come to resurrect Little Flame Belle. He was fully focused at the moment, and too lazy to waste his time elsewhere. Besides, Ge Ming had informed Mo Fan of Zheng Tong’s personality before he joined the team.

“It should be grasshoppers tied to the same rope!” Jiang Shaoxu corrected him. “Ah, damn it, now is definitely not the time to mention grasshoppers!”

Jiang Shaoxu immediately glanced at the yellow cloud of dust in the distance and shuddered.

——

Wang Jiuming had planted the device into the sand. The team was currently in a valley surrounded by three hills. Any demon creatures were most likely going to come from the entrance to the valley. If they came down the hills, it would take them some time to cross, which would buy the team more time to handle them.

“I’m starting the device!” Wang Jiuming warned everyone.

The team immediately prepared themselves for battle. The demon creatures would show up soon after the device started working!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The endless howls of the sand filled the ears of the team, with occasional beastly cries that made their hearts skip a beat. They subconsciously tensed.

Not only were they up against the agitated demon creatures that were attracted by the device, there was a chance that they would have to face the Sandstorm Demon Locusts too! They were struggling to breathe properly under the overwhelming pressure.

“They are coming, at least two hundred of them. They are coming through the opening!” Zhang Xiaohou warned.

“What are they?” Mu Nujiao asked.

“Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards! There must be a den nearby. The whole den of the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards is coming!” Zhang Xiaohou exclaimed.

“Those creatures are quite tricky to deal with. Their bodies are covered in aquamarine armor, and their tails are deadlier and more powerful than normal snakes and scorpions. They are of the Earth Element, too. They can control sand and rocks, and their strength surpasses most creatures!” Ge Ming said.

The Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards were an all-arounder species. They had no clear weaknesses. Demon creatures of this kind would usually pose a great threat to Mages. Once they broke the team’s formation, everyone on the team would be in danger!

“Leader, it’s not looking good!” another Hunter with the Wind Element returned with a grim look.

“There are demon creatures coming from your direction too?” Ge Ming asked.

“Not at the moment, but I discovered a huge den nearby. I believe once the energy ripples extend further away, the entire den is going to show up. We won’t stand a chance against them!” the Hunter swore.

“How many?” Ge Ming asked.

“At least a thousand, Captain…”

“They haven’t moved yet, right?” Ge Ming asked.

“Yeah, but they are starting to get restless.”

“Lu Fang, I’m placing you in charge here. I’ll find a way to stop the demon creatures of the bigger den! A thousand Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards will likely overrun us. We can’t afford to attract them here!” Ge Ming said.

“Captain, how are we supposed to hold our ground if you aren’t with us? We don’t have much energy left!” Li Sichong protested.

Ge Ming did not waste any more time. The whole team had no chance of living if the demon creatures of the other den showed up too. He had to stop them at all costs!

Ge Ming was a Super Mage. He would not have any problem luring the den of demon creatures away. However, the team immediately felt uneasy after Ge Ming left. It was going to be difficult to fend off the creatures of the first den!

——

Preceded by a few yowls and cries, a few creatures whose bodies glittered with aquamarine light showed up in the opening between the hills. They were not sprinting toward the team, but approaching slowly instead.

The creatures let out a few roars after they discovered the humans. They were summoning their comrades, telling them that they had found some delicious food!

Not long after, more creatures resembling leopards covered in aquamarine armor showed up at the opening, and atop the hills too. They were fully covered in armor, with spikes like sharp fangs on their backs. The starving creatures set their eyes on their prey greedily!

Their tails were long, like whips made of steel rings connected together. The tips of their tails were a half-meter long stinger, poised like a sharp blade!

“Aren’t there a bit too many of them?” Wang Jiuming blurted out when he saw more demon creatures showing up in the distance.

“Those without energy, move to the back and protect yourselves now,” Lu Fang ordered.

“Zheng Tong, it’s all you now,” Xu Pingdong said.

The only people with full energy on the team were Mo Fan, Zheng Tong, Tong Zhuang, and Yang Bao. They stood in front of the team.

They had to defend the entrance of the valley. They could not afford to let the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards get too close to the team. Most of their members were running low on energy. Once they lost their formation, there would be lots of casualties!

“Yang Bao, take care of those on the hills. Tong Zhuang and I will watch the entrance. As for you, you better stay at the back of the team. I don’t want Leader to blame us for not taking care of you,” Zheng Tong said.

Zheng Tong and Tong Zhuang took a few steps forward before Mo Fan could say a word.

Zheng Tong’s primary Element was Fire. Normally, a fighter would have either the Fire Element or the Lightning Element as their primary Element.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest. A green fire slowly rose and gradually split into huge fireballs.

It was like the green fireballs were able to lock onto their enemies. They autonomously targeted the nearby Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards without needing Zheng Tong’s direction!

Tong Zhuang was a Curse Mage. He was already setting up traps using the Curse Element in their surroundings. The crimson red spiderwebs soon covered the entrance of the valley. A few Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards leading the way stumbled into the traps and died in an instant!

The souls of the demon creatures that the traps retrieved were converted into some energy collected by a necklace in Tong Zhuang’s hand that resembled prayer beads. After Tong Zhuang let out a furious cry, the energy spread across the place, implanting fear into the hearts of the demon creatures. They fled as the mist fell across them!

Mo Fan glanced at the Curse Mage in astonishment. It turned out that the man was the strongest Mage on the team, apart from the leader, Ge Ming. The man had been rather quiet along the journey, which once again proved that the hounds that bit rarely barked… ugh, the analogy was not really appropriate under the circumstances…

Zheng Tong’s fireballs soon made some contributions. The flames burned two Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards to death, while forming a wall of fire to stop the demon creatures from coming closer.

The Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards sent out as vanguards realized the humans were not easy prey. They roared into the sky.

The roars of the demon creatures echoed across the hills. The team heard more cries coming from the distance as the ground began to shake vigorously.

“Another den is coming!” Zhang Xiaohou, who was scouting from the air, warned the team.

“We’ll kill every single one of them! Humph, that’s all these Scorpion Leopards have!” Zheng Tong declared.

Zheng Tong had managed to kill the demon creatures before he even cast an Advanced Spell, implying that the creatures were not as strong as they initially thought. It was likely that the information they had was not accurate!

More Scorpion Leopards soon showed up in front of the team. Mo Fan immediately noticed that these demon creatures were different than the ones that showed up previously. Not only was their armor more reflective, each of them had three tails too!

One of the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards with three tails set its eyes on Zheng Tong. The cunning creature attacked while Zheng Tong was focused on attacking a bunch of Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards. The man was taken by surprise when a sharp, green light slashed in his direction.

Luckily, Zheng Tong was an experienced Hunter. He immediately used his secondary Element to summon a Water Barrier in front of him.

The defense of the Water Barrier was not too impressive. Zheng Tong still ended up being knocked flying for ten meters!

He quickly rose to his feet and glared at the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopard with three tails.Read more chapter on vipnovel.com

“Son of a b**ch, I’ll kill you!” Zheng Tong yelled. He lifted two spouts of flames in his hands and sent them into the sky.

The flames turned into a rain of fire pouring down rapidly across the place. It immediately turned the area into an ocean of fire.

The Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopard with three tails had nowhere to run to. Its armor began to crack open in the flames.

“Humph, how weak!” Zheng Tong sneered.

The Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopard with three tails soon turned into a scorched corpse on the ground. Zheng Tong turned around to the team and said, “I’ve taken out their leader, we shouldn’t have any problem cleaning up the rest.”

“What leader?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Zheng Tong, watch out!” Lu Fang yelled.

Zheng Tong was startled. He quickly turned around and saw more than ten Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards with three tails making their way toward him. Their tails swung wildly and produced sharp clanks as they collided with one another!

They all had three tails!

These Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards seemed a lot stronger than the ones before, especially with how the creatures could swing their tails as they pleased. The tails would follow up every attack that the creatures executed by stabbing at their enemy quickly. The tails were so fast that it was extremely difficult to see them clearly, let alone dodge them!

Zheng Tong had a blank face. Could it be that these creatures were the real Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards?

The ones that he killed with such ease previously were only their children!?

Zheng Tong had to use an Advanced Spell just to kill a single Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopard with three tails. How was he supposed to handle fifteen of them on his own?

Yang Bao, who was at the higher ground, suddenly screamed, “Help, help me!”

Zheng Tong was already in a pinch himself. He did not have time to look after Yang Bao.

Tong Zhuang frowned when he saw Yang Bao fending off thirty Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards on his own. He quickly moved toward Yang Bao to lend him a hand.

A black lightning bolt suddenly descended from the sky and struck an Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopard trying to ambush Tong Zhuang. The Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopard with three tails died instantly. Its armor and flesh were shredded beyond recognition!

Tong Zhuang halted in his tracks. He was so eager to lend Yang Bao a hand that he had been totally unaware of the cunning creature hidden in the sand dune behind him.

However, he was actually surprised that the lightning bolt had managed to kill the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopard instantly! Zheng Tong had to use an Advanced Spell to kill the same creature just then!

“Thanks!” Tong Zhuang said to Mo Fan.

“You and Yang Bao will defend the hills, leave the entrance to me,” Mo Fan said.

“Not a problem,” Tong Zhuang nodded. His thoughts were still occupied by the lightning bolt…

Wasn’t that Thunderbolt a little too strong to be true? Why did he feel like it was almost as strong as an Advanced Spell?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan walked up to the entrance and saw more than forty Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards on the move and moving rapidly. Some were flanking Zheng Tong, and some were charging at the team behind.

“Zheng Tong is being overrun!” Lu Fang said.

“We have to back off now. We have to maintain our formation,” Li Sichong said.

“Don’t worry, just hold your ground and focus on setting up your defense. Leave the rest to Mo Fan,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Are you kidding me? There are at least fifty Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards coming at us! Even Zheng Tong and Tong Zhuang didn’t manage to stop them. How could he possibly hold the demon creatures off by himself?” Lu Fang half-screamed.

Just as Lu Fang finished his sentence, he saw a stormy cloud loom over the sand dune with a deep rumble. A shocking lightning claw swept down, disintegrating more than ten Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards in an instant. Their blood splattered in the air.

The eyes of Lu Fang, Li Sichong, Xu Pingdong, and the others widened, their faces filled with astonishment!

The dark lightning claw was made up of extremely powerful lightning bolts. It had killed the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards in an instant!

A burned smell lingered in the air. Zheng Tong subconsciously turned around and stared at Mo Fan in astonishment…

-Was he the one that summoned the lightning claw?

1

-Did he seriously kill so many Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards with just a single move?-

“Holy crap, is he even human!?” Li Sichong exclaimed.

It took Zheng Tong and Tong Zhuang significant effort just to kill a single Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopard, but Mo Fan had simply killed a bunch of them with a single spell. Those struck by his lightning stood no chance at all. Words were not needed to describe the difference in their strength.

“Lightning Tyrant Domain!”

Mo Fan did not waste any more time. He immediately established his Domain when he saw the rest of the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards surrounding him.

Lightning Magic was plentiful within his Domain, allowing Mo Fan to cast his Lightning Spells even faster. When the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards gathered around him boldly, Mo Fan raised his head and looked up at the sky. Countless lightning strikes came down and surged across the area!

1

The lightning danced wildly. Every time a lightning strike struck the ground, it would further split into different lightning arcs. The lightning chains stacked on top of one another, forming a powerful lightning web spreading rapidly across the sand and the dunes…

The fifth-tier Thunderbolt worked perfectly in a situation like this. Mo Fan forcibly impeded the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards with his Lightning. The lightning arcs surged back and forth between the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards like whips!

With a huge blast, hundreds of yellow lightning bolts descended rapidly from the sky above Mo Fan, landing on the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards that had been tagged with marks. The Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards were severely injured after the first wave of lightning strikes, and were turned into scattering ashes, not a single corpse being left behind!

The people of the Golden Battle Hunters opened their eyes and mouths wide. Their team was in danger of being surrounded by demon creatures just a moment ago, but not a single demon creature remained after the spectacular lightning display.

Zheng Tong, Tong Zhuang, and Yang Bao were struggling to handle thirty Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards on their own, yet this young man had killed more than fifty Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards with his lightning alone. Was he a monster!?

—

Zheng Tong, Tong Zhuang, and Yang Bao stood on the hills, preventing the demon creatures from slipping through their perimeter. Meanwhile, the others were trying their best to recover their energy. However, their eyes were still glued to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan stood at the entrance. He had yet to use his other Elements, and he rarely used the Advanced Lightning Spell, either. The lightning surging around wildly was just too much for the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards, even when they were fully covered in armor. They stood no chance against Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant, which was twelve times stronger than an ordinary Lightning Spell!

Soon, Mo Fan had basically wiped out an entire leap of Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards. Zheng Tong was still in the middle of a battle, yet the number of demon creatures he had killed was nothing compared to Mo Fan!

“Why do I feel like he can easily take on them all by himself? So this is how strong the champion of the World College Tournament is? He’s an alien!” Li Sichong was amazed.

2

This young man was around ten, twenty years younger than them! He was just too strong! He had butchered the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards like they were mere cattle.

The others finally realized why Zhang Xiaohou, Mu Nujiao, Jiang Shaoxu, and the others were sticking close to him. The man’s firepower was equivalent to an entire team!

“Come back here, I’ll treat your injuries,” Li Sichong said.

“I’m fine, check on the others. The venom on the stingers is quite deadly. It’s necessary to treat their wounds now,” Mo Fan said.

The team had wiped out both dens of the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards. Mo Fan had killed most of them, since he was able to kill every demon creature caught by his Lightning. If the team had not seen how much Zheng Tong and the others were struggling, they would have assumed that the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards were just Servant-class creatures!

“How impressive, you don’t even have a single scratch on you… I saw that you used mostly Intermediate Spells too, so I bet you didn’t even expend much energy, right?” Lu Fang had a whole new level of respect for Mo Fan. He was utterly impressed.

The man was so strong at such a young age! It suddenly felt embarrassing how highly the older Hunters had thought of themselves.

Lu Fang was not feeling too bad, but Zheng Tong’s expression was as gloomy as could be. They might have resolved the danger, but somehow, he felt even worse than when he was surrounded by the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards!

He had been mocking Mo Fan for not contributing constantly along the journey.

It was obvious why Mo Fan had not contributed along the journey. He was a fighter. He had a poor sense of direction, so he could not really help with navigation. Ge Ming was commanding the team, Zhang Xiaohou was in charge of reconnaissance. There was basically nothing for him to do.

However, the aged Hunters were utterly dumbfounded as soon as he started contributing. Somehow, they felt like even their leader Ge Ming would not be able to kill the demon creatures so quickly!

“Brother Mo Fan, we actually didn’t agree with the leader taking you guys on the team, but it turns out that each one of you is an expert in your field. Please forgive our ignorance,” Lu Fang said with a smile.

“It’s true that most students from institutes didn’t have much practical experience. It’s reasonable for you to reject us in the first place,” Mo Fan smiled back. He was in a good mood after seeing how the attitude of the team had shifted all of a sudden.

Didn’t he keep quiet for so long just so he could give them such a huge surprise, after all?

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was a Hunter Master himself. His rank was even higher than some of the Hunters on the team. Lingling, whom the Hunters thought was just a little girl, might even have the highest rank on the team!

—

Another group of demon creatures showed up after the team managed to get some rest. However, these demon creatures were weaker than the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards, and they were even fewer in number. Mo Fan gladly claimed their Soul Remnants.

This time, Yang Bao and Tong Zhuang did not bother helping considering how slow they were at killing the demon creatures. They simply stayed with the team to rest up, to preparing themselves for the Commander-level creatures they might stumble into.

Zheng Tong was unwilling to accept his defeat. He even used his Advanced Spells a few times, yet they were still less efficient than Mo Fan’s fifth-tier Thunderbolt: Lightning Chain, and the following-up Tyrant Call. It was a great blow to Zheng Tong’s dignity!

The spells of each level were around ten times stronger than the spells of the previous level, and might be bigger, depending on the Elements. However, Zheng Tong was devastated when he learned that the Intermediate Spells of the man he looked down on turned out to be equivalent to his Advanced Spell. He had the urge to forfeit his cultivation!

Zheng Tong was completely worn out from the fight, yet Mo Fan looked as if he had just taken a stroll in the park. He had resolved the danger with his destructive Lightning, and did not even need to use his other Elements.

“Is everyone alright?” The team heard Ge Ming’s voice behind them.

Ge Ming regrouped with the team. He was actually feeling uneasy when he saw the strange looks on his members’ faces. Could it be that they had lost someone again?

“Leader, where did you meet this young man? He single-handedly annihilated the demon creatures! We didn’t even need to do anything. We thought it was going to be a tough battle, but we ended up sitting here and enjoying a sunbath,” Tong Zhuang spoke up.

Ge Ming was utterly relieved when he realized that there were no casualties. He looked at Mo Fan, who was taking out the remaining demon creatures.

Ge Ming had never seen Mo Fan in action. He did not watch the World College Tournament either, but judging from the remains of the demon creatures destroyed by the young man’s Lightning, he could easily tell how outstanding his strength was!

“We almost fell into the Black Vatican’s trap last time. It was Brother Mo Fan that saved us,” Ge Ming said.

“I remember now! Didn’t the President of the Clock Tower Magic Association announce some news recently? Don’t tell me he was referring to this young man?” Lu Fang blurted out as he recalled something.

“Yeah, that’s him,” Ge Ming nodded.

“Heavens, why didn’t you tell us earlier?!”

“I thought you already knew…”

“Why would we? We never cared about those things. We were too occupied with killing demon creatures!”

“No wonder he’s so strong! With him on the team, our journey is going to be a lot safer… but I never thought he was this young, I’m starting to feel ashamed of myself!”

Most people were struggling against the demon creatures, as their energy had depleted, yet Mo Fan’s team-equivalent firepower was just too unbelievable. They had seen many Advanced Mages with Domains too, yet none of them were as strong as Mo Fan!

“Mu Nujiao, do you feel like Mo Fan is a lot stronger than he was during the tournament?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

Mu Nujiao nodded back. They were both familiar with Mo Fan’s strength, yet the strength that he had displayed had exceeded their expectations once again…

“I bet the base damage of his Lightning has increased a lot after the Blessing of the God’s Seal… somehow, I feel like his Lightning is already beyond the potency of a Soul-grade Seed,” Jiang Shaoxu murmured.

“Indeed!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The data collecting was carried out smoothly. The team soon had a map of the area within five kilometers.

Mo Fan glanced at Lingling’s tablet and saw densely scattered purple dots on the verge of turning black behind the team. The number of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had reached an unimaginable level!

“Hurry up, they are getting closer!” Ge Ming ordered, glancing at the cloud of Sandstorm Demon Locusts behind them.

The team quickly figured out the safe path with the help of the map.

Everyone picked up their pace. Even though the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were not necessarily heading in their direction, the calamity they brought would surely cover a wide area. If they failed to leave the area in time, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were going to devour them, and not leave a single bone behind!

—

After traveling for three kilometers, a gust of hot wind blew at the team. The heat was unbearable.

When they looked behind, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had overrun the area they were in previously. It turned out that the creatures had little interest in the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards. Their armor somehow served as a protection for the Leopards from the other species, which explained why the Aquamarine Armor Scorpion Leopards had such overwhelming numbers.

The temperature of the desert kept rising. Every sand particle was scorching hot. It felt like the team was standing in a furnace. It was torture!

The heat was just too intolerable, and the Ice and Water Mages had to constantly cast their Basic Spells to help the members cooled down. The Water Mages and Ice Mages were constantly expending energy, meaning that their energy would eventually deplete too!

“We should be very close to the relay station. There used to be some Hunters stationed there, but it has been over ten years since anyone last came here. The path is crawling with demon creatures and filled with danger. The relay station is basically non-existent,” Ge Ming said.

“We should set up a flag there, still. If we don’t leave our signs, doesn’t that mean the whole world is under the reign of the demon creatures?”

“It should be just ahead,” Tong Li told them. Tong Li was extremely familiar with exploring a desert, able to detect things that were buried under the sand.

The team continued along the safe path. They would be able to get some rest once they reached the relay station in the oasis. After all, a place chosen to build a relay station at was surely not as hot, and there would be plants and a water supply too.

——

The relay station was built with rocks. Half of it was covered in sand when the team saw it from a distance. They also noticed some wooden structures outside. The roofs were less than half a meter above the surface.

Tong Li quickly explored the place as soon as he arrived. He seemed like he was looking for something in particular.

There was no sign of any demon creatures in the relay station. The oasis consisted of a little shrub of tenacious plants too, smaller than a little park in a city. As such, it did not help much with the heat.

“Mo Fan, the Burning Mountains aren’t too far from here. The temperature here is abnormal,” Lingling told him quietly.

Lingling had been taking readings along the journey. Using the Elemental Detector was not an option, but it using a normal thermometer was fine. The gusts of hot wind were blowing from the north of the relay station. It was likely that they were getting closer to the Burning Mountains that the old Hunter mentioned.

“Mm,” Mo Fan nodded. He called Zhang Xiaohou over and said, “Houzi, check if there’s anything in the north. Try to stay at a safe distance.”

“Alright, Brother Fan. Are we going separate ways?” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“They are likely to head west, since they are on an expedition. It only makes sense if they keep venturing deeper into the desert. This relay station was once an outpost for the Hunters and the military, so they haven’t really done any exploring,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m not too tired. I guess I’ll investigate the north now,” Zhang Xiaohou agreed.

“Alright, be careful,” Mo Fan told him.

——

Zhang Xiaohou headed north while the others were resting at the relay station. He did not fly, since it was unwise to do so in a desert.

After moving a kilometer away from the relay station, Zhang Xiaohou discovered that the ground was no longer covered in sand, but deep-colored rocks. The rocks had cracks from being burned at a high temperature. He could see faint sprouts of flames bursting out from the cracks too.

Zhang Xiaohou was overjoyed when he saw the flames. It seemed like they had come to the right place!

The place was most likely a rare Fire Elemental Sacred Land if it was the reason the temperature of the desert was so high. A place like this was a natural workshop of Soul Seeds, and usually had quite a number of them lying around. They were going to make a fortune if they had actually discovered an Elemental Sacred Land!

“Why is there a cave here? Is it occupied by some kind of demon creatures?” Zhang Xiaohou climbed up the rocks and saw a little cave opposite the direction of the relay station.

The cave was not deep. It did not seem like the den of some enormous demon creature. Zhang Xiaohou went inside and saw a beast hide spread across the ground with some overcooked food on it. There were also rusted tools like knives, flints, pots…

While Zhang Xiaohou was wondering if the tools were left behind from the relay station by the Hunters that were stationed there, he felt an outstanding heat approaching from behind.

-Danger!-

Zhang Xiaohou quickly dodged aside, and saw a fireball fly past and slam into the wall of the cave. It blasted a few rocks to pieces.

Zhang Xiaohou turned around and saw a tanned man wearing a pair of pants made of beast hide standing outside the cave. His body was covered in hair and he had a long beard. Only his eyes, which were like those of a beast, were visible as the man glared at Zhang Xiaohou.

The light of the fireball had lit up the cave. The man was stunned when he was able to take a clearer look at Zhang Xiaohou.

“A…a human?” the man was stuttering, as if he had forgotten how to speak.

“Who are you? Why are you living here!?” Zhang Xiaohou was shocked.

He immediately realized someone was living in the cave after he saw the tools scattered across the place.

“I…I…you…I…I’m a…soldier…I’ve…I’ve been living…” The man was struggling to speak, as if it had been a long time since he last said anything.

After some time, the man went into the cave and dug up a badge. He showed it to Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou saluted when he saw the badge. “So you are a soldier!”

The man shuddered when he saw Zhang Xiaohou saluting. He raised his hand and returned the salute.

“How long have you been trapped here?” Zhang Xiaohou looked at the man curiously.

“I…I don’t know…” the man shook his head.

“This place has been off-limits for eleven years. Does that mean you have been living here for eleven years!?” Zhang Xiaohou asked in amazement.

The man suddenly burst out in tears!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou brought the man back to the team. The man seemed a little cautious when he saw so many people had gathered around him. His eyes were scanning the people like a wary beast.

“His name is Lin Feili, he seems to be a soldier who has failed to retreat in time around ten years ago. The return path was blocked off by the sand and the demon creatures, so he was stranded here for many years,” Zhang Xiaohou said, briefly explaining the situation to the team.

Everyone was astounded when they learned the man had been living in the desert for eleven years. How unyielding was this man? Loneliness was the hardest thing to overcome as a human being. Most people would suffer mental breakdowns if they were isolated for three months. Those that were isolated for a year would begin to have suicidal thoughts, yet the man had been living in the desert alone for eleven years. They were utterly impressed by his man’s tenacity, not to mention that he survived in the territory of the demon creatures too!

“Feili, you’re Lin Feili! Do you recognize me? I’m Tong Li, Qin Xiaoyu’s brother. Lin Feili, I’ve lost contact with my sister. Do you remember where my sister Qin Xiaoyu was evacuated to? Please tell me!” Tong Li burst into tears when he heard the man’s name. He grabbed Lin Feili’s arm, as if he was the only hope he had found after so many years!

Lin Feili shook his arm free with a hostile look. The man seemed to have lost some rationality as a human after living in the desert for so long. He was easily spooked by the slightest movement around him.

“Tong Li, don’t irritate him. He seems to be suffering from some mental instability. I can help him recover with the Psychic Element,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Sorry, I’m sorry, I’m just too excited! My sister’s disappearance has been bothering me for so long, but I never had the chance to come to this place to search for her. I finally had the chance thanks to you all…” Tong Li said.

“So that’s why you were so eager to come with us, but eleven years have passed since then. It’s going to be difficult to find her,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“The third year after I joined the army, my sister and her squadron received the order to patrol the area. The desert was not as dangerous back then as it is now. They were transporting goods between the relay station and the military base too. However, they lost contact with the relay station, and my sister has been missing since then, too…” Tong Li sighed.

The team listened to Tong Li as he shared his past.

The relay station at the oasis was once called the Taklamakan Relay Station. It used to be at the scale of a little town. The black rocks that were burned at a high temperature contained Black Rock Pistil, an important material for construction. Many cities in the west were built with rocks containing the Black Rock Pistil. It allowed Mages to construct buildings easily, as Black Rock Pistil contained an abundant supply of the Earth Element.

The Black Rock Pistil was the main reason why the Taklamakan Relay Station was extremely important in the past. The place would be garrisoned by soldiers, and Hunters would come to the relay station before entering the mysterious desert full of treasure waiting to be discovered.

However, on a certain day, a huge sandstorm took place in the Taklamakan Desert. The wind was strong enough to move sand dunes. The relay station was buried by the sand in a single night. The safe area ended up becoming a part of the demon creatures’ territory!

The soldiers and the Hunters at the Taklamakan Relay Station all went missing, and Tong Li’s sister, Qin Xiaoyu, was one of the victims. Tong Li could not get over it even after so many years. He finally gathered his courage and volunteered to join the team when he heard Ge Ming and his team were planning an expedition in the desert.

He knew it was unlikely that he would find his sister, but at least he had tried!

“I’ve calmed him down and helped to restore his memories. He should recover soon,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“He’s very familiar with the area. Perhaps he can bring us to the Burning Mountains?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

The Burning Mountains were still a certain distance away from the relay station. It was impossible to tell how long it would take them to find the right place, since they only had the temperature as a guide. Spending an extra day in the desert meant placing themselves at a greater risk.

“How…how did you all come in here?” Lin Feili was more fluent after Jiang Shaoxu’s help.

“How else could we possibly come in here? We just forced our way in, but it was a hell of a journey. We almost died on our way here. I really can’t believe this area was once safe ten years ago!” Lu Fang answered.

“Lin Feili, you aren’t weak, why didn’t you try and leave this place?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“I…I don’t know either, maybe… maybe I’ve already gotten used to it, or maybe… I don’t know, I can’t remember,” Lin Feili said.

Mo Fan looked at Jiang Shaoxu. She quickly explained, “He must have suffered a serious shock before. It’s the best I can do to restore his memories, but I can’t help him remember the things that he forgot in order to protect himself.”

“Lin Feili, do you remember my sister?” Tong Li asked.

“A little, but…but I think she’s dead,” Lin Feili said.

“Did she escape from the relay station with the others?” Tong Li’s voice was aggravated.

“I…I don’t really remember.” Lin Feili shook his head.

“Tong Li, give him some time. I know you just want some answers, since you already know there’s no chance your sister is still alive,” Ge Ming said.

Tong Li let out a sigh. He did not ask any further questions.

“A Senior Hunter who passed by here years ago mentioned that there were some Burning Mountains in this desert. Do you know where they are?” Mo Fan asked impatiently. The information was extremely important to resurrect Little Flame Belle!

It was extremely rare to find a Fire Element Sacred Ground, which meant it was extremely difficult to fulfill the conditions in order to resurrect Little Flame Belle. Mo Fan would have to search for other places if the Burning Mountains were not the right place, which would mean he had no idea when he would be able to resurrect Little Flame Belle!

“The mountains are in that direction. They are blazing red at night.” Lin Feili pointed to the north.

“Can you bring us there? I’ve briefly investigated the terrain. It feels like a natural maze, the kind that is difficult to pass through even if we keep heading in one direction,” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Sure,” Lin Feili said. However, he shuddered and put on a strange look all of a sudden.

Zhang Xiaohou thought the man had just remembered something. However, the man remained silent and pointed ahead. “Come with me.”

“I’m actually quite interested in the Burning Mountains that you mentioned. Since we are just wandering around aimlessly, we might as well check out the Burning Mountains too, perhaps we can find something interesting there!” Tong Zhuang said.

The others nodded. If they were able to find the Burning Mountains, it meant there might be some impressive loot of the Fire Element there. They had come so far, they would not want to go back empty-handed.

“Should we stick together then? We can help each other out too,” Ge Ming said.

“Sure, I won’t need to worry much with you around,” Mo Fan agreed.

Mo Fan could still take on Commander-level creatures, but he was worried that they might stumble into Ruler-level creatures. His Demon Element was still on cooldown; if they happened to stumble into a Ruler-level creature, the whole team was going to die without the help of a Super Mage.

The team was well-rested. They had honed their strength for the upcoming danger. It was time for them to proceed on their journey!

——

The journey ahead consisted of black rocks and sand dunes. The team did find some magic ores that they could sell for some money. The members picked the magic ores up along the way. Only a place with a high temperature like this, where even the demon creatures did not dare to roam around, would have magic ores or Soul Seed Pieces lying scattered across the ground.

The temperature had risen significantly. Every member of the team was drenched in sweat. It was already midnight, yet the heat showed no sign of dropping.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and discovered the place ahead was covered in darkness. The ground was dark, and the sky was pitch-black without a single star.

When Mo Fan took a closer look, he finally realized that he was not looking at the night sky, but a mountain so big that it completely blocked the sky. He immediately felt a great pressure!

“Such a ridiculous mountain!” Zhang Xiaohou gasped.

“Strange, we should be able to see the mountain from the relay station considering how big it is, but why did we only see it when we are so close to it?” Mu Nujiao asked.

“It’s most likely because of the maze. It’s messing with our senses.”

For some reason, the heat was not as unbearable when they reached the mountain.

Lin Feili raised his head and looked into the sky. He then looked at the mountain top and said, “It’s coming.”

“What is?” Mo Fan asked. As soon as he spoke, a sprout of flame brighter than the stars in the sky suddenly lit up at the peak of the magnificent mountain. It spread rapidly across the outline of the mountain and soon covered an area of ten kilometers. It was basically highlighting the outline of the mountain with flames!

The fire had appeared so suddenly that before the team could react, an ocean of flames filled their vision. Their eyes hurt from the bright flames even after they shifted their gazes away.

The team was struggling to see the mountain, as it was pitch-black previously. However, as the flames lit up the mountain, the team was able to see its true appearance. Its imperiousness and scorching heat left the whole team greatly astonished.

When the flames lit up the sky, the team was surprised to hear the noise of wings beating at high frequency from all directions.

“Look, it’s the Sandstorm Demon Locusts!” Zhang Xiaohou suddenly pointed to the other side of the sky.

The Sandstorm Demon Locusts showed up like a cloud of dust. To their astonishment, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were diving right at the Burning Mountains!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What are they doing? Are they just trying to kill themselves?” Zhang Xiaohou asked in confusion.

“It must be some kind of a ritual. The flames always summon the Sandstorm Magic Locusts here. It’s as if they are trying to be reborn in the flames,” Lin Feili told them.

“The hell?”

While they were speaking, the team saw the Sandstorm Demon Locusts diving into the flames. Their bodies and wings were soon set aflame by the scorching heat.

As the Sandstorm Demon Locusts ventured deeper, more of them were devoured by the flames.

The flames continued to spread among the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. Those with their wings burned to ashes started pouring down on the mountain like rain.

Soon after, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were lighting up the sky like fireworks as the rain of flames poured down. It lit up the sky in the desert like magic.

The only difference was, these fireworks actually consisted of thousands of Sandstorm Demon Locusts that had just shown up not long ago. The thought of it sent shivers down the spines of the team.

“So this is their ritual? Jumping into a burning pit?” Jiang Shaoxu wondered.

——

The abnormal scene lasted for around an hour. The team could not help but be amazed by the number of Sandstorm Demon Locusts. Despite the overwhelming flames burning across the mountain, it still took such a long time to burn all the Sandstorm Demon Locusts to ashes.

The ashes of the insects scattered across the sky. The flames on the mountain eventually died down, too.

The team only dared to go closer after the flames disappeared. Lin Feili led the team toward the mountain’s top along a meandering path.

“I’m not sure when it all started, but every night, these Sandstorm Demon Locusts will come and set themselves on fire. They are fearless and reckless, as if diving into the flames is actually enjoyable for them. I have never seen a single Sandstorm Demon Locust flee because it’s scared to die,” Lin Feili told them.

“You’re telling me that the same thing actually happens every night? Wouldn’t the Sandstorm Demon Locusts be wiped out if so many of them died every single day?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“The Burning Mountains don’t really burn all the time. I don’t know where the flames come from, but every time the mountains are set aflame, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts come here,” Lin Feili said.

“How strange!”

“Humph, what does it matter? These Sandstorm Demon Locusts have been a huge problem in the west. The lands they attacked are still barren now because of their overwhelming numbers. Shouldn’t we be glad that they are killing themselves here?” Zheng Tong said.

“You’re right! The more that die to the fire, the fewer there are to bother us!”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”

The team could still feel the heat from the ground as they set foot on the mountain. It was like they were walking on a boiling pan. Soon people were struggling to keep up.

The temperature gradually increased the further they went up the mountain. Eventually, only those with the Fire Element were able to keep going.

“Brother Fan, I’m afraid we can’t go any further. It’s too hot for us,” Zhang Xiaohou said. His sweat was pouring down like rain.

Mu Nujiao, Jiang Shaoxu, and Lingling were unable to go any further. They could not withstand the heat. If they went any further, it was only a matter of time until they passed out from dehydration.

“You guys should head back to the relay station then. I’ll go ahead myself,” Mo Fan did not force the others to go with him.

Lin Feili was a Fire Mage. He told Mo Fan he should reach the top of the mountain if he stuck to the path. He might be able to find the Fire Elemental Sacred Ground there.

—

After Mo Fan left the team, the others had no choice but to take the same path back.

Tong Li was still preoccupied with the thoughts of his sister. He could not help but ask, “Feili, my sister mentioned in her last letter that her squadron had discovered an ore vein. She was told to guard the place. Do you know anything about the ore vein? I’m thinking of going there, perhaps I can find some clues about her whereabouts there.”

Lin Feili was obviously hesitating to answer the man’s question, especially when he mentioned the ore vein.

“I haven’t been able to sleep well these years. I just want an answer. Feili, if you know where my sister is, please tell me, even if she’s only a pile of bones now. I would like to bring her remains back to my hometown,” Tong Li said.

“Lin Feili, do you seriously not remember his sister?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

Lin Feili remained silent for some time. He finally said, “I’ll bring you there, but just you.”

“Sure, thank you, thank you so much. My parents will feel relieved too if I can find my sister’s remains!” Tong Li blurted out in excitement.

“You…you, come with me,” Lin Feili suddenly pointed at Zhang Xiaohou.

“Me? He’s going to get his sister’s remains, why do I have to come too?…” Zhang Xiaohou was confused.

“You’re the only one I trust,” Lin Feili said.

“It’s not like Tong Li is going to do you any harm,” Zhang Xiaohou said helplessly.

“Zhang Xiaohou, just go with them, Lin Feili has been living here for too long. You can’t blame him for being overly sensitive,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Fine.”

—

The others had returned to the relay station to plan their next path deeper into the desert. Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohou, Lin Feili, and Tong Li went to the mountain of black rocks. It was where Zhang Xiaohou had first met Lin Feili.

The three picked up their pace and soon arrived at the cave where Lin Feili was living.

“Why are we here?” Zhang Xiaohou was utterly confused.

Lin Feili went to a corner in the cave and pushed aside a huge rock blocking the path.

Zhang Xiaohou only realized the path was there after the rock was pushed aside. He could not even see the end of the tunnel.

The three ventured deeper into the darkness. Lin Feili seemed extremely familiar with the place. He clearly knew the directions even though the place was pitch-black.

—

After walking for half an hour, the path started heading upward. The three left the cave and found themselves in a basin surrounded by black mountains.

The place was enclosed by the cliffs of the black mountains. The mountains were preventing the wind from blowing the sand in. The basin felt like a secluded place, separated from the desert.

“She was buried here…” Lin Feili pointed at a pile of rocks and sand.

Tong Li was startled. His eyes soon reddened. It had been so many years. Despite the sorrow, the man was utterly relieved that he had managed to find his sister’s remains.

“Can I take her?” Tong Li asked.

“Sure.”

Tong Li moved the stones away and discovered the remains of a person with a smaller bone structure underneath them. He carefully retrieved the bones and placed them in a bag.

“Tong Li, where are you from? It seems like your hometown has the tradition of burying the dead in the place they were born. You risked your life to come here for the sake of it. You are a good man,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“My parents strongly believe that my sister’s soul isn’t going to find peace, since she died in the wild. Commander Zhang, our family will be remembering the dead in a few days. I was hoping to find my sister’s remains before that, so she wouldn’t become a lost soul. I guess I will have to leave soon,” Tong Li said.

“That quick?” Zhang Xiaohou was startled.

“Yeah, our family holds the ritual once every four years. Those that died away from home must return before the ritual, or they will have to wait another four years. I’m not sure if I can make it in time either, but I can’t just leave my sister’s remains here,” Tong Li said.

“But the others aren’t planning to go back yet.”

“We already put some markers down along the way back, so I can just follow the markers. The only problem is the sand river, but luckily, my secondary Element is the Wind Element. I should be able to look after myself. I wasn’t expecting much at the start, but you were able to find Lin Feili. Brother Lin Feili, thank you so much!” Tong Li said.

“I have been talking to her over the years. It’s good that you’re bringing her back. I believe she prefers to go back to her hometown,” Lin Feili said.

Zhang Xiaohou was startled, but he soon realized something.

Lin Feili must have come here quite often to talk to the graves. However, Zhang Xiaohou was still confused about one thing. Why was Lin Feili still living here on his own, instead of trying to leave the desert? Did he have some other reasons?

—

Tong Li left by himself. Zhang Xiaohou felt a surge of emotions watching the man leave. The man had put his life at risk just so he could bury his sister back in his hometown.

“Commander Zhang, where are you from?” Lin Feili asked. He was becoming more fluent.

“From the south, I’m from Bo City,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Why are you here in the west?” Lin Feili asked.

“To gain some knowledge and experience. How about you? Why did you choose to stay?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“I was told to guard this place,” Lin Feili said.

“An order?” Zhang Xiaohou was startled.

Lin Feili nodded.

“You almost forgot who you are. Why would you still care about the order? The person that gave you the order might even be dead by now,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“He’s already dead, and I should have died here too, but…” Lin Feili paused in the middle of the sentence. He was glancing around the spacious basin.

“Is there something else here? I feel like you’re quite mindful of it,” Zhang Xiaohou asked indifferently.

“Mm, I’m only alive because I didn’t want the truth to be hidden…”

“The truth?” Zhang Xiaohou asked confusedly.

“Do you really think that the relay station was gone because of a sandstorm?” Lin Feili asked.

“Wasn’t it?”

Lin Feili had a wry smile, but his eyes gradually filled with hatred.

“What happened?” Zhang Xiaohou knew something was not right. His voice was serious.

Lin Feili shook his head, and did not answer the question.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

If the heat was strong enough for Mo Fan to feel it, it indicated that the temperature on the mountain was incredibly high.

Mo Fan slowly made his way up toward the top of the mountain along the meandering path. He had yet to reach the tallest peak, but he had made it to the mountain top.

The sand of the desert was nowhere to be seen at this height, as it was impossible for the wind to blow the sand so high up. The mountain’s top consisted of solid rocks burned continuously by the fire. Soul Seed Pieces were scattered across the place too. Mo Fan did not hesitate to pick them up. He could definitely feed them to Little Flame Belle!

The quality of the Soul Seed Pieces here was rather impressive. He believed Little Flame Belle would enjoy them.

“Do I just wait for the fire here?” Mo Fan sat down on a stone and started to wonder.

Mo Fan would have to stay to see if the fire was able to help Little Flame Belle to be reborn. He could not tell if his demon flesh would be able to withstand the heat of the fire.

“I’ll just wait. It’s not easy coming up here. Besides, the others should be fine at the relay station,” Mo Fan murmured.

Mo Fan had already told the others that he was most likely going to wait for the fire on the mountain. Only then would Mo Fan be able to find the Sacred Ground of the Fire Element to resurrect Little Flame Belle. Mo Fan was willing to stay here for a year if need be, let alone a single day.

Mo Fan closed his eyes and started meditating. The place had an abundant supply of pure Fire Magic. The environment was significantly better than even the Three Step Tower. He could make use of the opportunity to consolidate his Fire Element!

Mo Fan threw himself into the process. He gradually forgot about time and how drenched in sweat he was.

Mo Fan opened his eyes once. The sun was still hanging high in the sky. However, the next time he opened his eyes, the sun was setting on the horizon. To his surprise, the temperature of the mountain was rising, the opposite of the setting sun.

——

Time went by quickly. It was night again soon. Lin Feili told him that the whole mountain would be set ablaze at night, and the Sandstorm Demon Locusts would show up again to burn themselves to ashes.

The whole mountain turned into a sea of flames as soon as the fire showed up. Mo Fan found himself surrounded by flames that were hotter than he had expected. His demon flesh was already being blistered by the overwhelming heat!

“Are you serious? It’s this strong!?” Mo Fan clenched his teeth. He suddenly felt like a little monkey that had been tossed into a furnace.

He was completely surrounded by fire. He was even struggling to open his eyes. How was he supposed to look for the source of the fire?

Mo Fan slowly moved forward. He was merely following his instincts…

“It must be here… damn it, I can’t even see anything. It’s nothing but fire!” Mo Fan ran through the fire. As a matter of fact, the fire had already burned his clothes to ashes, meaning that he was running naked across the mountain top!

2

The bunch of Sandstorm Demon Locusts suffering from ‘depression’ had gathered around the mountain. However, they were soon burned to ashes as their resistance to fire was nowhere close to Mo Fan’s.

Mo Fan suddenly discovered an interesting phenomenon. “Mmm? The Sandstorm Demon Locusts are all flying in that direction. Are they heading toward the Elemental Sacred Ground?”

It was a living creature’s nature to seek advantages. There must be something that the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were so obsessed with that they kept diving toward it recklessly.

Mo Fan followed the Sandstorm Demon Locusts and arrived at a place surrounded by enormous boulders. The fire here was pure and fierce! Mo Fan almost felt like he was going to be burned to ashes!

“This is it!” Mo Fan was overjoyed. He suddenly felt that the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were actually a bunch of cute little creatures. Otherwise, he had no idea how long it would have taken him to find the right place!

“Is there a Soul-grade Seed here?” Mo Fan was intrigued. What exactly was the source that set the mountain on fire every night? It would no doubt be treated as a spectacular attraction, if it was not so hidden away in the desert.

Mo Fan tried using his senses, but he did not detect the presence of a Soul-grade Seed.

It was very likely that the mountain had a Soul-grade Seed somewhere, but it seemed like it would be quite difficult to find where it was.

“Little Flame Belle, do you like this place?” Mo Fan held the Fire Calamity Fruit that Little Flame Belle turned into in his hands. His smile was a little twisted, as he was still being tortured by the heat.

Little Flame Belle seemed extremely fond of the place, but Mo Fan did not dare to stay any further. He quickly tossed the Fire Calamity Fruit into the Elemental Sacred Ground so Little Flame Belle could draw in as much energy as she needed for her resurrection!

Little Flame Belle was indeed a creature blessed by nature and born in fire. The Fire Calamity Fruit floated in the middle of the fire, yet the flames did not leave a single scratch on it. The tongues of fire were rapidly gathering toward Little Flame Belle!

Mo Fan could not afford to stay any longer, and quickly backed away. When he was possessed by Little Flame Belle, he had a remarkable Fire Resistance, but the cultivation of his Fire Element alone was still not enough to withstand the heat.

“Enjoy a nice bath in the hot spring, daddy can’t stand the heat any longer. I’ll wait outside and come pick you up when the fire is gone!” Mo Fan called out.

Mo Fan quickly left the area. He would seriously turn into a pile of ashes if he stayed any longer.

Mo Fan ran a kilometer away from the Elemental Sacred Ground. The temperature finally fell to within his acceptable range.

He took hold of the opportunity to cultivate. He didn’t believe many people could meditate in fire like he did. The Demon Element had indeed granted him lots of advantages!

Mo Fan heard wings flapping just when he was just about to close his eyes.

He turned around and saw a blue-red Sandstorm Demon Locust flapping its wings on a rock nearby. It was surrounded by flames around five meters high. However, the Sandstorm Demon Locust was not burned into ashes like the rest. It seemed to have a certain resistance to fire, just like Mo Fan!

The little creature was moving clumsily. Its body was a lot smaller than a normal Sandstorm Demon Locust. It was like a little locust that was born not long ago.

“It seems to be a little mutated demon locust. Come over here, you can keep me company,” Mo Fan was amused.

The Sandstorm Demon Locusts were able to withstand the outstanding heat, but they were extremely vulnerable to the flames that could easily set them all on fire in an instant and burn them to nothing. Mo Fan was surprised to find the mutated demon locust among the army of Sandstorm Demon Locusts, a mutated demon locust that was not afraid of fire!

The little locust did not seem to be afraid of humans either. It flew into the air and landed beside Mo Fan, staring at him with its big compound eyes. It was difficult to tell if it was wondering if Mo Fan could be food.

“Here, have some jerky,” Mo Fan took out a piece of jerky from the storage of his Space Element and gave it to the little demon locust.

The demon locust ate the jerky instantly. If it was any slower, the jerky would be overcooked in no time.

The demon locust was not hostile to Mo Fan. Mo Fan was not interested in killing a young demon locust either. He closed his eyes to meditate, while the mutated demon locust jumped around nearby. It seemed to be learning how to fly.

1

Its wings were extremely weak. It needed to stretch its wings and recover a few times in order to fly properly.

—

The fire eventually died down, Mo Fan immediately headed over to where Little Flame Belle was, but the Fire Calamity Fruit was perfectly intact, as if she had yet to absorb enough energy from the fire.

Mo Fan had no choice. He would have to stay for another night. The only relief was, he was slowly getting used to the heat after staying in the fire for the entire night. His blistered skin fell off and was replaced by a new skin that was more resistant toward fire!

1

The mutated demon locust was following Mo Fan closely. Its eyes were flickering greedily, as if it was looking forward to eating more roast jerky…

1

——

Mo Fan waited until it was night again patiently. He sat on a rock and waited until the mountain was devoured by the fire. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts appeared right on time, diving at the sacred ground of fire.

The little locust stood beside him. It was watching the breathtaking sight, just like Mo Fan. Perhaps the little creature was quite confused about what its people were doing. Why was it that its uncles and aunties were so weak that they all died in an instant after they were caught on fire? Didn’t they feel extremely comfortable in the fire?

Mo Fan threw Little Flame Belle into the Fire Elemental Sacred Ground again. He proceeded to throw the mutated demon locust into the fire, too! However, it turned out that the mutated demon locust was unable to withstand the scorching heat.

“It seems like Little Flame Belle’s level is higher!” Mo Fan burst out laughing when he saw the little demon locust fleeing for its life.

He initially thought the demon locust was immune to the fire, yet it turned out the flames would still burn it into ashes.

Mo Fan heard the sound of the Fire Calamity Fruit cracking. His heart immediately skipped a beat.

In the past, the Fiery Sorceress Jiang Feng had to pour her life into the Fire Calamity Fruit just so Little Flame Belle could be born. Mo Fan was overwhelmed with joy when he sensed the presence of Little Flame Belle gradually rising from the Fire Elemental Sacred Ground.

“Please resurrect!”

Little Flame Belle was a blessed creature born of heavenly flames. She was the only one of her kind in the world, and She could only reproduce under strict conditions. Her kind had always struggled to survive past the youth phase.

However, it was also the reason why her kind possessed overwhelming power after they reached their adult phase. Mo Fan was very much looking forward to seeing Little Flame Belle’s changes after she was reborn.

Mo Fan heard a familiar cry when the Fire Calamity Fruit cracked open. A petite figure engulfed in flames flew out of it.

She was swimming freely in the fire, like a fish in the water. However, the little creature did not indulge in the moment. She quickly rammed into Mo Fan’s chest and hugged him firmly.

1

Mo Fan was startled. Little Flame Belle had fallen right into his arms before he could take a look at her changes. How much did the little creature miss him?

Likewise, Mo Fan was not really concerned about her changes. He was only looking forward to the sense of relief when he felt the heat burning in his chest.

Mo Fan could feel Little Flame Belle’s heartbeat. He could feel Xinxia’s emotions from her, too!

“Let’s go home!” Mo Fan eased up and hugged Little Flame Belle.

Little Flame Belle shook her head and let out a cry, as if she was telling Mo Fan, I’m going to conquer this mountain!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was quite obvious that the Burning Mountain contained an abundant supply of Fire Magic, but Mo Fan was utterly confused. How was Little Flame Belle going to conquer the mountain? Was she seriously thinking of eating the whole mountain?

Mo Fan stood to the side quietly. He saw Little Flame Belle flying into the Fire Elemental Sacred Ground that she had flown out from.

She emitted a strong aura. The mountain seemed to be shuddering after sensing her power. The flames nearby began to circle around her before entering her body.

The sea of flames was rolling fiercely. Little Flame Belle was like a bottomless hole in the middle of it, a hole that could never be filled up, even when the water of the sea was pouring straight into it!

Little Flame Belle was only absorbing the flames nearby at the start, but soon the flames across the entire mountain were slowly moving toward her. Mo Fan watched in disbelief as the endless flames surged into her tiny body in a spectacular manner.

Little Flame Belle had a huge appetite, and kept devouring the flames. She even absorbed the energy of the Fire Elemental Sacred Ground. Her body was slowly emitting the color of the rose-tinted clouds at sunset. It was beautiful, yet it also possessed an extremely dangerous aura!

“What kind of fire is that?” Mo Fan was astounded.

The color of Little Flame Belle’s fire had changed. It was no longer the brown of the Fire Calamity, but a beautiful, ardent red. Mo Fan could easily tell how scorching and deadly the fire was without even touching it!

“Little Flame Belle, are you refining the fire?” Mo Fan asked.

Little Flame Belle was obviously absorbing the flames on the mountain to refine her own flames. She was not done with her rebirth, she was only just getting started!

Little Flame Belle uttered a cry. Her petite figure had the imperious aura of an empress. She was commanding the Fire Magic around her, asserting control over the fire!

The flames on the mountain were slowly extinguished, starting from the edge of the sea of fire. It was clearly not the time for the fire to disappear yet, but the fire of the Fire Elemental Sacred Ground was gradually being absorbed by Little Flame Belle. The remaining flames that were nowhere as strong or pure were treated as a whetstone by Little Flame Belle to hone her fire…

The ardent, rose-tinted light, with a gradient of light to dark, slowly merged with Little Flame Belle’s body.

Little Flame Belle was originally made of fire. The ardent flames granted her an imperious demeanor. Her aura now greatly resembled the destructive aura of the Flame Belle Empress!

—

Some time later, the flames on the mountain vanished completely, and the temperature on the mountain dropped too.

Little Flame Belle, engulfed in ardent flames, flew out of the Elemental Sacred Ground. She had a big satisfied smile on her face.

“What is the fire that you’ve refined?” Mo Fan asked.

Little Flame Belle was eager to show off her new power too. She summoned an ardent fireball and tossed it indifferently at a boulder nearby!

The fireball was only the size of a Fire Burst, yet the boulder burst into flames as soon as the fireball touched it. The fire burned the boulder into ashes within seconds!

The rocks in the desert were able to withstand incredible heat, let alone the rocks on the top of the Burning Mountain. They had been assaulted by the fire for many years. Those that remained were clearly indestructible to the fire, but Little Flame Belle’s flames were able to burn them to ashes with ease!

“Is that a Soul-grade Fire?” Mo Fan blurted out in joy. If Little Flame Belle had obtained a Soul-grade Fire, it meant he had access to it too!

Little Flame Belle let out a cry. Her body was soon engulfed in a fierce, brown fire that Mo Fan was very familiar with. It was the fire that Little Flame Belle once had, the Calamity Fire!

Mo Fan initially thought her Calamity Fire would be replaced by the new fire. The Calamity Fire was indeed incredibly powerful, as it was able to grow stronger together with Little Flame Belle. To Mo Fan’s surprise, Little Flame Belle was able to retain the Calamity Fire after she refined the new Soul-grade Fire!

“Does that mean you now have two types of Soul-grade Fire?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Little Flame Belle let out a happy cry.

Mo Fan remembered the Fiery Sorceress Jiang Feng had two different flames, too. One was used as her attack, and the other circled her defensively. It meant Little Flame Belle was extremely close to reaching Jiang Feng’s strength, since she now possessed two different kinds of fire!

Little Flame Belle had two different flames, while he had one, meaning that he would have three kinds of fire when he was Possessed by Little Flame Belle!

Different fires had different effects, and different Domains, too. Mo Fan could not imagine how unstoppable he would be once he managed to find a Soul-grade Fire Seed for himself!

“Calamity Fire, Ardent Sunset, Rose Flame, HAHAHA, I’m going to be unbeatable again!” Mo Fan burst out laughing imperiously, even though he was still standing naked on the barren mountain top.

Little Flame Belle stood on Mo Fan’s head. The naive little creature burst out laughing too. The only difference was she sounded a lot more adorable.

1

Little Flame Belle also had a new ability after she was reborn. She could shrink into a Tiny Flame Belle like a blazing red porcelain doll whenever she pleased, allowing her to lie on Mo Fan’s head or shoulder…

Mo Fan was still laughing egotistically, and Little Flame Belle followed suit.

The mutated demon locust looked at them in confusion. It eventually let out a few cries too, to liven things up further. It ended up making the scene even weirder.

“Let’s go, it’s time we go down the mountain and crush anyone that we find to be an eyesore!” Mo Fan strutted down the mountain. He was clearly in a good mood.

Little Flame Belle was a fan of destruction. Now that she had two different flames, she would definitely enjoy burning the bad guys even more.

“Little locust, it’s time to say goodbye. Remember to be a kind-hearted demon locust, do you understand?” Mo Fan did not forget to bid farewell to the mutated demon locust.

The demon locust seemed like it was unwilling to part ways with Mo Fan. He had no choice but to give the little creature another piece of jerky.

The little locust beat its wings and led Mo Fan to another side of the mountain.

After traveling for a kilometer, Mo Fan discovered black stones that looked like pebbles scattered across the place. It was quite a stunning sight.

The little locust found a crystalline, black rock and brought it to Mo Fan. It seemed to be giving Mo Fan a parting gift.

Mo Fan was startled. He could easily tell that the rock had crystalized as soon as he saw the gloss on its surface. A rock crystal was invaluable, it was the highest-quality Fundamental Crystal. Mo Fan never thought the little locust would be giving him such a huge gift.

“Do you want to go with us?” Mo Fan asked Little Flame Belle to translate for him.

To his surprise, Little Flame Belle was able to communicate with the demon locust. The little creature seemed quite intimidated by Little Flame Belle, since it was unable to withstand the heat of the Ardent Sunset engulfing her.

Little Flame Belle soon relayed the demon locust’s words to Mo Fan.

“You are staying here to guard this place? Is there even anything you can guard here apart from a pile of black pebbles? We’ll be going then. Remember to be a kind demon locust, and don’t you dare harm the crops!” Mo Fan patted the demon locust on its head. “By the way, how fast have you grown? You were only this small a few days ago, but you’re already so big now. Does your kind feed on fertilizer?”

3

—

Mo Fan went down the mountain with Little Flame Belle. The Burning Mountain was no longer as valuable as it used to be, since Little Flame Belle had absorbed most of the energy of the Fire Elemental Sacred Ground. Even if the mountain still burned at night, the scale of the flames were nowhere close to what they used to be.

Little Flame Belle reminded Mo Fan to bring her to places like this, so she could further refine her fire.

It was obviously a piece of good news to Mo Fan. Little Flame Belle’s rate of growth was actually quite slow. It would take years for her to grow into a Flame Belle Empress. However, if Little Flame Belle could continue to grow stronger by refining her fire, she would most likely become even stronger after she evolved into a Flame Belle Empress!

“We’ve spent almost three days here. I wonder how the others are doing?” Mo Fan hurriedly made his way down the mountain. He was worried about Zhang Xiaohou, Mu Nujiao, Lingling, Jiang Shaoxu, and the others, since he had been gone for quite some time.

The sand in the air thickened as they crossed the area with the black rocks.

Mo Fan eventually saw the structures of the relay station that were half-buried under the sand. However, he did not find a single person there.

“Strange, did they already leave? I’m quite sure Houzi and the others would be waiting for me here instead?” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

Little Flame Belle flew back and forth helping Mo Fan to search for the others. However, she did not find any trace of the people either.

“Lingling, Lingling, can you hear me? I’m back from the mountain,” Mo Fan took out the communication device to try contacting Lingling.

He did not receive a response. It was likely that the bad weather was stopping the signal from getting through.

The question was, where did they go? Why didn’t they leave some clue for him? How was he supposed to look for them?

Little Flame Belle let out a cry to call Mo Fan over. The little creature seemed to have found something.

Mo Fan went over and saw an arm exposed above the surface behind a structure. The rest of the body was buried under the sand.

Mo Fan’s heart sank. He quickly dug through the sand using Telekinesis.

The corpse was already died, implying that the person had been dead for more than a day.

After digging the corpse out, Mo Fan realized that it was Li Sichong, the man he had saved before!

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh. He was relieved that it was not Zhang Xiaohou or the girls… However, he immediately frowned. If Li Sichong had died here, it meant the others were in trouble now!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

A group of people wearing blue military jackets had gathered in a valley, some of them guarding the entrance.

“Tong Li, why are you doing this!? We trusted you!” Zhang Xiaohou yelled, glaring at Tong Li.

“It’s what I had to do in order to achieve our goals. Unfortunately, Lin Feili isn’t aware of the situation he’s in. Is he seriously going to keep the secret until we bury his bones under the sand? How stubborn, just like Squadron Leader Zhou,” Tong Li smiled.

“HAHAHA, they are pretty stupid too, thinking we are risking our lives to go an expedition for the sake of the others? Risking our lives for mere glory and reputation? Unfortunately, you guys had to poke your nose into other people’s business. You have seen what you’re not supposed to, so bad luck!” Zheng Tong burst out laughing.

“Zheng Tong, are you seriously doing this to your leader!?” Ge Ming snapped furiously.

“I’m sorry, leader. We were thinking of doing it silently, but we can’t help it since Lin Feili somehow recognized me,” Tong Zhuang said.

“You were the soldiers that were stationed here?” Ge Ming looked at the betrayers, his heart sinking to the bottom.

The Golden Battle Hunters had suffered a great loss after the incident related to the Black Vatican. Ge Ming was thinking of using this expedition to earn their reputation back. He had asked Tong Zhuang, whom he trusted, to find some reliable men, yet it turned out that he had been used all along!

Ge Ming looked at the soldiers and the scar-faced general. He was immediately overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness.

“Lin Feili, I will give you one more chance. Where is the Earth Pistil!?” Tong Li tightened his grip on Lin Feili’s throat. His eyes were almost poking out of the sockets, filled with greed and anger.

Zhang Xiaohou looked at Tong Li, who was like a completely different person and felt extremely guilty.

He always thought things were as simple as they looked. He was so naive to believe Tong Li’s words.

The man did not come for his sister’s remains. He did not even care about his sister’s death. He was here for the Earth Pistil, an important resource that would allow them to build a city in the desert!

“It was you that destroyed the relay station, right?” Jiang Shaoxu asked coldly.

Jiang Shaoxu had seen fragments of Lin Feili’s memory when she was helping him to recover. Lin Feili was unwilling to face the past, so even when he had recovered the ability to speak and his memory, his subconscious still chose to forget about the past.

No one would have thought that the team going on an expedition would be followed by a group of soldiers. They had long been planning to return to the desert…

Tong Li did not leave because he was bringing his sister’s remains back. He had gone to contact the soldiers. By the time the team realized what was going on, they were already surrounded by the soldiers.

“It was me that destroyed the relay station!” the general leading the soldiers, Shi Qianshou, declared without any expression.

“Aren’t you worried that you’re going to be sentenced to death by the military courts?” Zhang Xiaohou said.

As a soldier, Zhang Xiaohou found General Shi Qianshou’s actions intolerable.

A soldier’s job was to defend the relay stations, the towns, and the cities, yet not only did the scumbag fail to do his job, he even wiped out a relay station that once was the size of a little village.

To make things worse, the man abused his power and told his superiors that the relay station was buried by a huge sandstorm. The people simply forgot about the relay station together, with the crimes the general had committed. If Li Sichong had not discovered Tong Zhuang and Zheng Tong’s secret, they would never have realized they were being used.

“That relay station is nothing compared to a city. Don’t even bother saying that I’m being inhumane. There’s only one rule in this desert: whoever is alive has the right to speak! What I’m asking is very simple… hand over the Earth Pistil! If you hand it to the useless government, its energy is going to deplete in no time. The relay station will forever be a relay station, worse than a little village… If you give me the Earth Pistil, I can turn this place into a city, the only city that can survive in the desert. To our north is an endless supply of ores, and further away is a natural furnace. To our west is an endless supply of mutated seeds from the demon insects. This city is going to surpass everything!” Shi Qianshou proclaimed.

“As a soldier, you’re meant to hand in every resource you find, but you’re misappropriating the Earth Pistil just so you can become a local tyrant here. Stop trying to justify your act of destroying the relay station. You are no different than the demon insects and maggots here!” Zhang Xiaohou retorted.

“Lin Feili, I know the captain told you where the Earth Pistil is, and I believe it’s still here, but you know I don’t have the patience to dig up every place just to find it. You have one last chance. If you don’t hand it over, I will kill a person every minute until you’re the only one left. If you insist on holding on and watching these people die because of you, be my guest!” Shi Qianshou said.

Shi Qianshou soon set his eyes on Zhang Xiaohou.

He straightened his gaze as a signal. Zheng Tong and Tong Zhuang immediately went up to Zhang Xiaohou and pressed him down to the ground!

Lin Feili immediately went berserk, yet he was pinned down by the soldiers. He could not even budge. Even a Super Mage like Ge Ming was unable to break free from their control.

Zheng Tong gave Zhang Xiaohou a powerful kick and yelled, “Hey kid, why aren’t you acting arrogantly now? Didn’t you have a bright future ahead of you? Humph, you’re going to turn into a pile of bones soon!”

It was a pity that Mo Fan was not here! Otherwise, he would definitely enjoy torturing Mo Fan, as the man had been an eyesore to him for quite some time!

1

“So many years have passed, don’t you feel guilty even the slightest for what you have done!?” Lin Feili snapped with bloodshot eyes.

“Guilty? The old captain should be the one to feel guilty. If he had handed the thing to me, I could have sent my men to escort the people here away. They wouldn’t have been eaten by the Sandstorm Demon Locusts!” Shi Qianshou replied.

“You were the one that attracted the Sandstorm Demon Locusts here! I knew all along!” Lin Feili snapped.

“What if I did? Hurry up and make your decision! I know you’re not afraid to die, but are you going to watch these people die because of you, or hand over the Earth Pistil? Your choice!” Shi Qianshou said calmly.

Lin Feili was on the verge of losing his mind. There was no way he could handle the shock if what happened eleven years ago was to repeat itself again.

He was only alive because of two reasons; he wanted to guard the Earth Pistil, and second, he wanted to tear the crazy general to pieces with his bare hands!

There had been around two hundred people at the relay station, including the soldiers stationed there and the Hunters that were resting there temporarily. There were some people that had long settled down at the relay station, too. Shi Qianshou had led the Sandstorm Demon Locusts here to force the old captain to give the Earth Pistil up. The old captain did not accept his demand. In the end, Shi Qianshou, who was in charge of transportation and gathering back then, used his Domain to block off their escape, resulting in the people being eaten alive by the Sandstorm Demon Locusts…

Lin Feili was fortunate enough to survive. The only reason he did was because he ate a poisonous snake in despair. He was supposed to be dead, and the Sandstorm Demon Locusts did not touch him since he was poisoned.

However, Lin Feili had amazingly woken up. He realized that he had to eat the same poisonous snake every day to sustain his life. It was the main reason why he could not leave the desert…

He had been living like a beast in the desert, while the others had died because of Shi Qianshou’s greed and ambition!

Lin Feili thought Shi Qianshou did not mean to kill the people in the first place. He was just trying to get his hands on the Earth Pistil, but it somehow ended up in a tragedy. The man was only trying to force the old captain to hand over the Earth Pistil…

However, Lin Feili was wrong. Shi Qianshou never cared about the lives of the people. He was only interested in getting the things he wanted. He even had his own private army. He was planning to build a city in this resource-rich desert. He was planning to be a tyrant in the desert!

His private army had grown significantly after so many years. The man had never given up on the Earth Pistil, nor did he have any sign of remorse or guilt!

“Time’s up. Here, say goodbye to your new friend… oh, I forgot to mention, your friend is a Commander at Qinling Mountains. He has done quite a lot despite his young age. He was also a hero of the Ancient Capital, saving millions of lives. Tsk tsk tsk, he could easily reach my rank in a few years. Such a great talent, but he’s going to die here because of an idiot like you,” Shi Qianshou said. He sounded like he was feeling pity for having to kill the young and talented Commander.

Lin Feili was stunned. He glanced at Zhang Xiaohou. He never thought Zhang Xiaohou was a Commander at such a young age, not to mention that he had saved so many lives.

“If I tell you where it is, will you let them go?” Lin Feili took a deep breath and said to Shi Qianshou.

“Of course.”

“But they already know your crimes. I don’t believe you’re going to let them live,” Lin Feili said.

“HAHAHA, Lin Feili, how dumb could you be? Who cares about what happened eleven years ago? Even if someone actually cared, how are they going to prove I was the one that did it? I’m a General now. The military court can’t really prove me guilty without any solid evidence! So what if they heard about the incident? Telling them a story isn’t going to be considered a piece of evidence,” Shi Qianshou burst out laughing. He was not treating anyone seriously, including Ge Ming.

1

Ge Ming might be a Super Mage, but the power and influence of a mere Leader of the Golden Battle Hunters was nothing compared to his.

“Let them go, and I’ll tell you where it is!” Lin Feili said.

“Sure, Zheng Tong, Tong Zhuang, release them…”

“Let the ladies go first,” Zhang Xiaohou pointed at Jiang Shaoxu and Mu Nujiao.

“How gentlemanly of you, fine, let them go first,” Shi Qianshou waved his hand. He had no interest in the girls, despite their glamorous looks.

Compared to the chance of building a city and acquiring the power to rule over hundreds of thousands of people, Shi Qianshou seriously could not have cared less about a few women!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“I’ve already released the girls as you requested. Isn’t it time for you to tell me where the Earth Pistil is?” Shi Qianshou said deliberately.

“They have nothing to do with this, I don’t want any of them to die,” Lin Feili said.

“I know you want to save them all. You just need to tell me where the Earth Pistil is. I can’t be bothered killing them, either,” Shi Qianshou said.

“General, I mentioned there’s still another guy on the loose. That young man is quite strong. If you let these women go, they might go and find him,” Zheng Tong said.

“Is he a Super Mage?” Shi Qianshou asked.

“No, he’s just an Advanced Mage.”

“Should I waste my time on him then?” Shi Qianshou asked rhetorically.

“No, you’re right, General!” Zheng Tong said with a stiff expression.

“Lin Feili, you should at least tell me which direction the Earth Pistil is at. I know it’s somewhere here…” Shi Qianshou said.

“In that direction,” Lin Feili pointed at some jagged rocks.

Shi Qianshou waved his hand. A soldier immediately went over to the rocks and took out a device to scan the area.

The device started to glow soon. Shi Qianshou’s eyes flickered with excitement.

Lin Feili was not lying to him. The Earth Pistil was indeed in the direction that he said. The jagged rocks must be different from the black rocks nearby.

“Let them go, or you will never find the Earth Pistil,” Lin Feili said.

“Sure, but just so you aren’t trying to trick me, I’ll be holding him hostage still,” Shi Qianshou grabbed Zhang Xiaohou and smiled.

Lin Feili clenched his teeth. He went up to the jagged rocks and placed his hands on them. A dark brown energy rippled, spreading toward the surroundings as an invisible magic formation was withdrawn. The thick rocks suddenly softened and turned into mud.

As the mud continued to pour out, it revealed a long passage.

“So it’s a magic formation. The old captain is pretty cunning. It turns out that he was suspicious of me a long time ago,” Shi Qianshou smiled. He had an extremely greedy look in his eyes. “Tong Zhuang, you’ll keep an eye on this man. Lin Feili, take the lead. We are going in together.”

Tong Zhuang escorted Zhang Xiaohou and followed Lin Feili into the dark passage. Shi Qianshou waved his hand, signaling a team of soldiers to go on ahead before he also went into the passage.

Shi Qianshou turned around and looked at the rest of the soldiers when he was about to enter the passage. He glanced at the rest of the hostages and said, “Zhang Qihu, stay here. Kill anyone that shows up!”

“Affirmative!” Zhang Qihu saluted sharply.

“General Shi, are you seriously going to let the girls go? I know they won’t pose any threat to us, but they might cause some trouble…” Zheng Tong said with a menacing expression. It was obvious that the man did not want any potential risks.

The truth was, he was not happy that Mu Nujiao had run away. She was the kind of woman that he always wanted to get his hands on. In this unoccupied desert, strength and numbers were everything. No one would ever learn of their crimes!

“Do you really take me as the merciful kind? Don’t worry, they won’t be alive for long. Something else will take care of them,” Shi Qianshou showed his palm. A faint, poisonous light was glimmering on it.

Zheng Tong was astounded as soon as he saw the light. “I heard General Shi is able to control insects. Could it be that you were the one commanding the Sandstorm Demon Locusts to attack the relay station?”

Shi Qianshou smiled without answering the question.

“So the two girls…” Zheng Tong asked in a low voice.

“They won’t live for long.” Shi Qianshou looked at Zheng Tong and grinned, “You’re the typical kind of man that can’t achieve greatness. Women are great, but they can only satisfy your desires temporarily. When you have lots of power, you will understand the women are just a mere appendage.”

“You’re right, general. I just feel that it’s quite a pity for such a beautiful woman to die like that,” Zheng Tong said.

“You have done well this time. Without your help, we might have struggled to get into the desert safely. You will get all you want after I got my Earth Pistil. However, make sure those that are supposed to die are dead. Only the dead in the desert can reassure me,” Shi Qianshou said.

“Affirmative!”

——

Outside the basin, Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu were sprinting toward the Burning Mountains.

They had to tell Mo Fan what had happened. They had to find a way to rescue Zhang Xiaohou and the others at all costs.

“Right, Lingling, we haven’t seen her yet. Is she alright!?” Mu Nujiao blurted out when she remembered something.

“She’s smart; she must be hiding somewhere. I’m only worried that she couldn’t bear it, she’s only a little over ten years old…” Jiang Shaoxu murmured.

The two immediately panicked. They were wondering if they should look for Mo Fan or Lingling first.

A small figure with a pair of ponytails suddenly showed up. She was wearing a wind coat. Her eyes seemed calm and collected despite the odious environment. She was looking at the two girls.

“Don’t worry about me, just tell me what happened,” Lingling came over and said.

“It’s such a relief that you’re fine. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know what to tell Mo Fan!” Mu Nujiao was overjoyed.

Lingling suddenly disappeared when the military showed up. They did not know how she was able to tell something was wrong so quickly.

Luckily, Shi Qianshou, Zheng Tong, Tong Zhuang, and the others did not really consider Lingling a threat. They simply assumed the little girl was going to be eaten by the demon creatures when she was wandering on her own. Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu had the same worry. To their surprise, Lingling was perfectly fine. She even had the time to tidy her hair. She was indeed worthy of the title of Hunter Master. She was able to find the safest spot, even in the worst environments.

“Was Shi Qianshou behind it?” Lingling asked.

“Yeah, we didn’t expect he was responsible for the tragedy at the relay station. Why would there be such a deranged man!?” Jiang Shaoxu snapped furiously.

“So that means the Earth Pistil is real?” Lingling asked further.

The two girls were stunned. They were curious why Lingling knew about the Earth Pistil.

“What’s happening inside?”

“Lin Feili brought Shi Qianshou into a passage. It should lead them to the Earth Pistil. They must have taken Zhang Xiaohou and Ge Ming as hostages. Lu Fei, Yang Bao, Xu Pingdong, and the rest of the members of the Golden Battle Hunters were still in the basin being guarded by the soldiers,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Something’s strange,” Lingling murmured.

“Strange? What is?” Jiang Shaoxu was confused.

“There’s no way Shi Qianshou would spare anyone’s life. It’s just too strange that he let you go so easily…” Lingling said.

“…Girl, do you want us to be killed instead!?” Jiang Shaoxu snapped.

Mu Nujiao had the same suspicion.

Even though Shi Qianshou was quite full of himself, he was still a general. If someone knew what he had done here, he would still be sentenced to death. His private army would be put on trial, too!

A noisy sound was heard coming from the mountains. It was getting clearer gradually.

Lingling lifted her gaze and looked toward the mountains. She immediately realized what was happening when she saw a huge cloud approaching them.

“As I thought, Shi Qianshou never planned to let you live. The man is a Super Poison Mage. He is most likely the reason why the Sandstorm Demon Locusts built their nest here,” Lingling said.

“Oh Heavens, why are the Sandstorm Demon Locusts here? Aren’t they supposed to stay away from the relay station?” Jiang Shaoxu screamed.

The two girls were utterly terrified after seeing the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. They could clearly tell that the demon locusts were coming after them, but they could not understand why!

“Shi Qianshou must have marked you with some Poison Seals that are attracting the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. You can try running toward the Burning Mountains. You might have a chance to save yourself if you can make it to the Burning Mountains before they catch up with you, and if the Burning Mountains are still on fire… I’ll be going first. Best of luck,” Lingling immediately turned around and left.

The two girls were stunned for a moment as they watched the little figure disappearing into the distance.

Did Lingling really just abandon them like that?

The numbers of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were too overwhelming. They quickly ran toward the Burning Mountains when they saw the Sandstorm Demon Locusts approaching from the distance.

—

Lingling ran in the opposite direction. She was surprisingly quick, as if her boots were enchanted with magic.

Lingling ran to a hilltop and watched Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu running in the distance.

“Mo Fan wouldn’t blame me for leaving them to die, right?” Lingling sighed.

There was no chance of survival after they were targeted by the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. Shi Qianshou did not want them to leave the desert in one piece. He was only putting up an act in front of Lin Feili.

“Mo Fan is going to avenge you,” Lingling promised.

Lingling did not have any other choice. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts would kill them in an instant. She could only hope that Jiang Shaoxu and Mu Nujiao had some trump cards up their sleeves to survive the situation.

—

“Hehe, little girl, that’s very smart of you. You actually managed to escape from our surround!” a strange voice came from behind the rocks.

Lingling turned around and saw a tall, skinny man wearing a gray-blue military jacket coming out from the shadows.

The man had a ghastly appearance. His eyes were poking out from his eye sockets. The vicious look in his eyes meant he had no intention of showing any mercy to the little girl.

Lingling was taken by surprise. She did not think Shi Qianshou would be sending someone after Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu. Even if they managed to stay alive from the Sandstorm Demon Locusts, this man would still make sure they were dead in the end!

This Shi Qianshou was utterly vicious, yet extremely cautious, too!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Can your General really control the Sandstorm Demon Locusts?” Lingling asked. She did not seem to be panicking after facing the man that was planning some mischief.

“Does it even matter? I’m quite curious too; what is a young girl like you doing here? Girls at your age should be studying in schools and playing at home. You should be eating some dessert as you are going shopping, shouldn’t you?” the skinny soldier grinned and slowly moved toward Lingling.

“I hate all of those things,” Lingling replied.

“If it was me in the past, there’s no way I would kill a little girl like you, but you know I can’t disobey the orders of my superior. I am not allowed to let a word leave this place,” the skinny soldier came even closer, his cold eyes fixed on Lingling.

“No one is going to believe the words of a little kid,” Lingling raised her head and said in a serious voice.

The soldier chuckled. He was amused by the little girl.

“Sorry, can’t do, it’s an order. Anyone that comes in here is not allowed to leave. Some things are meant to be buried under the sand. You shouldn’t be digging them up, since more lives are just going to die because of it. The people thought the scariest thing in this desert was the Sandstorm Demon Locusts, but those that are familiar with General Shi know he’s the deadliest king of scorpions in this desert!” the soldier smiled, but it gradually lost its warmth.

He raised his right hand slightly. A black mist circled his hand, and slowly turned into a black blade pointed at Lingling’s temple.

“You do know you’re the bad guy?” Lingling said.

“I know, of course I know.” The skinny soldier was still smiling.

“But I bet you don’t know that most bad guys died in the end because they talked too much. They should have just focused on the job, idiot!” Lingling snapped.

The soldier was startled. As he was about to get angry, a shadowy black bird appeared beside him. The shadow quickly dissipated, and a human figure stepped out from it, standing stood less than half a meter away from him.

The man had dark brown eyes that looked like they were going to spit fire at any second. The soldier had never felt such a strong pressure. His whole body turned cold in an instant.

“I dare you to touch her!” The eyes belonged to Mo Fan. He had found Lingling by following the symbols she had left behind. He happened to arrive just as he saw the soldier threatening Lingling!

“Who…who are you!?” The soldier was shocked.

The soldier also had the Shadow Element, yet he was completely unaware of the man’s presence. It meant the man’s Shadow Element was significantly stronger than his!

It was also his first time seeing the Fleeing Shadow in the form of a shadow bird!

“You won’t need to know who I am. You just need to remember before you die that I’m ten times scarier than your General!” Mo Fan slammed his fist into the soldier’s chest.

His punch was enhanced by the overwhelming force of the Space Element. The soldier’s chest caved in before he flew into the distance like a bullet and slammed heavily into the black rocks.

The soldier vomited blood after slamming into the rocks. His magic Armor barely saved him, but he was in immense pain. as his bones were all broken!

“That’s…that’s all you got, you’re still nothing compared to General Shi…” the soldier said mockingly despite the condition he was in. He seemed to be fearless of death.

However, before he could finish his sentence, a huge flame suddenly burst out of his body. In less than a second, the soldier was completely devoured by the fierce flames of the Ardent Sunset. The flames even burned the rocks nearby into ashes!

The fire was still spreading across the rock of the hill. It had long burned the soldier and his Armor into nothing, but the flames were still spreading uncontrollably, just like Mo Fan’s fury!

“Who is this asshole General Shi?” Mo Fan clenched his fist and extinguished the flames in the distance. He turned around and asked Lingling.

“Forget about that for now, I think you should take care of those demon locusts first,” Lingling pointed in another direction. There were two vague figures out there.

Mo Fan was startled. He quickly realized the figures were Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu, and they were running toward the Burning Mountains. More importantly, they were being chased by countless Sandstorm Demon Locusts!

The demon locusts were like a gray cloud. They slowly turned into a veil in the sky, flying in a line. They gradually closed in on Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu. Some that were closer were already attacking them!

If more demon locusts reached them, they would soon turn into skeletons. Mo Fan did not have time to ask Lingling. He immediately cast Blink.

“I’m fine here, hurry and save them,” Lingling told him.

Mo Fan nodded. He connected the last Star Pattern for the Silver Constellation, a magic formation with a bigger coverage.

With a silver flicker, Mo Fan’s figure faded away in the trembling space. As the light’s brightness reached its limit, Mo Fan vanished into thin air and reappeared at the waist of the hill nearby within the blink of an eye…

Lingling glanced into the distance and saw the same silver Star Constellation. Mo Fan vanished once again after it flickered. Lingling looked further ahead and saw Mo Fan…

The same silver Star Constellation appeared. Mo Fan soon arrived behind the sand dunes. He was getting smaller and when as he drew closer to Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu.

Lingling let out a relieved sigh after she saw Mo Fan able to cover the distance so swiftly.

—

The demon locusts were beating their wings very quickly. The drone they produced was no longer just a sound, but a sonic wave surging across the sand dunes!

As the Sandstorm Demon Locusts drew closer, the sound was preventing Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu from channeling their spells. The vicious Sandstorm Demon Locusts flew past them. Their sharp claws and teeth tore through the girls’ clothes and skin, leaving cuts on their bodies.

The rest of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts picked up their pace after picking up the smell of blood. The demon locust swarm was going to eat the two girls!

“We are having trouble using our magic!” Jiang Shaoxu forcibly summoned her magic Armor, hoping to buy herself some extra time.

They finally understood why the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were unstoppable. Their wings produced a sonic wave that would stop the Mages from being able to focus on the channeling of their spells, meaning that just the sound they produced was dealing a deadly blow to a Mage!

The magic Armor that the two girls were wearing would not last for long. They were fully covered in the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. The creatures had stacked on top of them like two huge cocoons!

“Little Flame Belle, take them out!” a voice yelled as the two girls were about to reach their limit.

A petite figure flew into the cloud of Sandstorm Demon Locusts, surrounded by a circle of fire that slowly enlarged. The fire set the Sandstorm Demon Locusts on fire with the slightest touch…

Flames the color of the sky at sunset surged wildly through the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. The sky was soon dyed red by the fire. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts stood no chance against the overwhelming heat of the Ardent Sunset. Thousands of them died instantly to the fire!

Little Flame Belle felt like the demon locusts were still burning too slow. She took a deep breath, and blew out a brown fire that swiftly spun into a tornado made of Calamity Fire. It sprang up like a dragon and flew straight at the Sandstorm Demon Locusts!

The Calamity Fire’s damage was no weaker than the Ardent Sunset. The two Soul-grade Fires seemed to be competing against one another, seeing who was going to kill the most Sandstorm Demon Locusts!

The Sandstorm Demon Locusts were soon reduced into ashes and scattered in the air.

The ears of Mo Fan, Jiang Shaoxu, and Mu Nujiao could relax. As a matter of fact, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were a pain in the arse for even Mo Fan to deal with if he was alone. The sonic wave would reduce a Mage to an ordinary human. Luckily, Little Flame Belle had recently acquired the Ardent Sunset, which seemed to be the Sandstorm Demon Locusts’ natural foe. Otherwise, it was unlikely they could kill the Sandstorm Demon Locusts within a short period.

It was a relief that the Sandstorm Demon Locusts that were sent after Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu were only a small portion. If the entire army of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts was here, Mo Fan definitely would have had no chance of saving the girls. He could not tell how long it would take him to burn them all into ashes.

—

“Mo Fan!”

“Mo Fan, you’re finally here!”

The two girls were about to burst out crying. Being eaten by the Sandstorm Demon Locusts was surely the worst way to die!

“It’s fine, it’s fine now…” Mo Fan comforted them.

Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu were utterly terrified. Their experiences here in the desert were definitely beyond what they could bear. They were still lost in their thoughts after they somehow survived from the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. They did not even realize their clothes were ragged. Parts of their fair, tender skin that were not hurt were exposed. It was surprising how they were still not tanned after spending some days in the desert…

Mo Fan hugged the girls and comforted them. His eyes were looking back and forth between them.

After some time, the two girls finally realized Mo Fan had taken advantage of them countless times with his eyes. They quickly found a spot to treat their wounds and change their clothes.

“Mo Fan, are you seriously so strong that you can even face the Sandstorm Demon Locusts?” Jiang Shaoxu asked with a hint of admiration.

“Little Flame Belle has resurrected. She also obtained a new Soul-grade Fire that’s extremely effective against the Sandstorm Demon Locusts,” Mo Fan replied honestly.

The Ardent Sunset was indeed the Sandstorm Demon Locusts’ natural foe. Even the mutated Demon Locust that enjoyed staying inside the fire on the Burning Mountains did not dare to come any closer to Little Flame Belle, let alone the ordinary Sandstorm Demon Locusts. They were like little sticks that could be set on fire with the slightest spark!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group went close to the cave that Lin Feili lived in. Mo Fan quickly discovered two soldiers guarding the entrance. They clearly had no intention of letting let anyone pass.

“Jiang Shaoxu, can you take them out?” Mo Fan pointed at the two soldiers in gray-blue outfits.

“Their cultivation isn’t strong, I’ll handle them,” Jiang Shaoxu agreed.

“Be careful, they might be communicating constantly to see if everything is fine. If they don’t respond, the others might notice something is wrong,” Mo Fan reminded her.

“Don’t worry, I know how to control their minds.”

Jiang Shaoxu went into the rocks and cast an Advanced Psychic Element Spell to control the minds of the soldiers from over a hundred meters away.

The mental strength of the two soldiers was not high. Jiang Shaoxu was able to control them easily.

Mo Fan, Mu Nujiao, and Lingling strutted past the soldiers, yet they did not even react. One of them was still reporting through his communicator.

—

They walked inside and soon arrived in the valley. Hiding behind the rocks, Mo Fan peeked through the cracks and saw the people of the Golden Battle Hunters surrounded by a hundred soldiers. The person in charge was a bearded man with a bulky build. His face was like a brown-haired tiger.

“That guy is Zhang Qihu. He’s pretty strong. Shi Qianshou was only focusing on Ge Ming, while that Zhang Qihu took out the rest of us. We didn’t even have time to fight back,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“They have a lot of men. Can you tell how many Advanced Mages and Intermediate Mages they have?” Mo Fan asked.

“Sure, but it will take some time,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

It was necessary to understand the strength of their enemy. Jiang Shaoxu sneakily used her Psychic Element to inspect the soldiers’ cultivation levels, while Mo Fan silently moved into the valley with the Dark Noble Mantle.

The Dark Noble Mantle was extremely handy at preventing his presence from being exposed. Even a Super Mage was unable to notice him if they weren’t close enough.

Mo Fan observed the surroundings and realized only a few people were guarding the valley. The others had gone deeper into the valley through the passage.

It was good news for Mo Fan. It was incredibly difficult to take on the entire army, but if the soldiers split up, it was easier for him to take them out one by one!

“There are seven Advanced Mages, the rest are Intermediate Mages. I’m afraid we can’t really take them on, right?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

A hundred Intermediate Mages were stronger than ten Advanced Mages. If they could not make it past the entrance of the valley, how were they supposed to save Zhang Xiaohou, Lin Feili, Ge Ming, and the others that had gone deeper inside?

“We still have a chance if there’s only seven of them. Mu Nujiao, don’t show yourself. I’ll keep them distracted while you lay down a Demon Tree. Jiang Shaoxu, take care of those with the Psychic Element and the Curse Element, leave the rest to me!” Mo Fan said.

“Mo Fan, are you sure about going up against over a hundred Mages on your own?”

“Why not?”

Mu Nujiao did not say a word, she was already preparing her Demon Tree in the dark. All Plant Magic required a certain time to prepare. Once they planted enough roots and branches across the area, they were basically unbeatable inside it.

The ground was surprisingly sturdy in the area, so it was even harder to penetrate it with plants. However, it also had an advantage; the ground did not shake much, so the Mages with the Earth Element would not notice any abnormalities easily.

That being said, if the plants reached under their feet, and if the cultivation of the Mages was on par with Mu Nujiao’s, they would still sense her magic…

—

—

“Keep your chin up; when boss secures the Earth Pistil, we are all going to be living it up. We can do whatever we want, without having to be wary of what the army thinks!” Zhang Qihu said to the soldiers.

“Captain, it’s such a waste to let those two girls go. Shouldn’t we just have kept them so we could relieve the boredom?” a soldier replied promptly.

“Humph, you are all soldiers, but you are acting like bandits instead!” a female soldier snapped furiously.

“Lieutenant Huang Yi, you’re quite wrong about that. Aren’t soldiers basically the same as bandits in the old times? It simply depends on who’s holding the power in their hands. You can ask even the honest men among us if they were interested in the two girls just then. Not only were they gorgeous, their bodies were hot, too. They must have come from a nice background. It was the only chance that soldiers like us could taste them…” the upright soldier said. “Am I right, brothers?”

“Yes! HAHAHA!”

“We’ve been following orders from the military and guarding the cities and outskirts. We are sent to the most dangerous places, yet we don’t even get any benefits from it. We are risking our lives for the army, but we are living like refugees. Since we followed General Shi, even though we are still putting our lives at risk, the benefits he gave us are nothing like before!” Zhang Qihu agreed with the proud soldier, “Huang Yi, you should just turn your back on something like this. Us men who live on the edge have a lot of desires to satisfy still!”

“Captain is right, I’m just wondering if Black Falcon managed to catch up to them… perhaps he’s already enjoying the girls himself!”

The hidden Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu flushed. Their hearts were burning with anger.

What the proud soldier said about soldiers being the same as bandits was absolute nonsense. They had seen a lot of righteous soldiers!

Evil could not be justified. If anyone let the evil in their hearts take control, they would be scum and degenerates, regardless of their appearance on the outside. That Zhang Qihu and the proud soldier might be lieutenants, but it was ridiculous how they thought every other soldier was the same as them!

“It seems these people knew what they were doing all along. They are prepared to take the risks, too. I believe I won’t have to go easy on them!” Mo Fan scoffed.

Mo Fan had a good impression of soldiers because Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong and his men were willing to sacrifice their lives for others, without asking for anything in return.

It was obvious that these soldiers were corrupted!

They had abused the remoteness of the desert to foster the evil thoughts in their hearts. Mo Fan believed it was necessary for their souls to wander in the wild winds of the desert for hundreds, or even a thousand years, so they would realize how idiotic the path they had chosen was!

“Summoning Gate: Beast Tide!”

A lunar light shrouded Mo Fan as he swiftly constructed a Star Constellation. It glowed brightly as a giant Summoning Gaye slowly opened, and enormous white wolves rushed out!

The white wolves just kept coming. They were bulky and muscular, and the whole valley was shaking from the force their limbs were exerting.

—

The wolves charged into the valley, taking the soldiers that were expressing their ideas so freely by surprise!

“What’s happening!?”

“Demon creatures, we are being attacked!”

“Don’t panic, stand in your formations, prepare for battle!” the female Lieutenant Huang Yi yelled.

The soldiers were well-trained, since they were elites in the army. They moved into their positions in no time, despite the surprise attack. They quickly summoned Rock Barriers accurately around their formation to stop the wolves from getting any closer!

A Flying Creek Snow Wolf dashed out from the group of wolves. It pounced at the rocks and smashed them into pieces, then swung its claws at a soldier nearby.

The soldier was instantly torn to pieces with blood splattered across the area. The man had a perverted smile while talking to the proud soldier just a minute ago, but he had died a horrible death!

The Rock Barriers only managed to hold the enormous wolves back temporarily. Their thick flesh endured the flames, lightning, and wind directed at them as they tore savagely at the soldiers they could get their claws on!

“Maintain the formation! It’s only a bunch of wolves, there’s nothing to be afraid of!” The proud soldier was one of the people in charge. He stood on the higher ground and commanded his men.

The troops cast Fire Spells simultaneously. The Star Patterns stacked up before numerous fiery red rays swept past and landed on the wolves in the form of Fiery Fists!

Not long after, strong gusts of wind appeared and swept at the wolves, scattering them.

“Rain of Burning Fists!” Mo Fan stood on the shoulder of one of the wolves and fired flames into the air. Huge Fiery Fists soon poured down from the sky and landed on the soldiers, forcing them to split up!

“Who’s there!?” the proud soldier shouted furiously when he saw Mo Fan.

“Your ancestor!” Mo Fan leapt into the air as a pair of burning wings swiftly appeared on his back.

Using the wings, Mo Fan glided across the sky with the Fiery Fists. He locked his eyes on the proud soldier and threw a punch, sending a fiery dragon at him!

The fiery dragon sprang forward and easily penetrated the defense of the Light Element that the soldiers had set up. The flames of the dragon devoured the proud soldier and immediately burned him to ashes.

Both Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu were satisfied when they saw the proud soldier being incinerated. They knew the man was harboring evil thoughts on them when they were still in the soldiers’ custody. It served a man like him right!

“Mo Fan, it’s Mo Fan!” Yang Bao blurted out in joy.

“He’s a man of honor, he actually came to save us!” Xu Pingdong and the others were lost for words.

Despite being overwhelmed by numbers, Mo Fan had still forced his way in. They were very grateful, yet was it really wise for him to walk right into the trap?

“Brother Mo Fan, we are grateful for it, but you should run and leave the desert. Tell the army what happened here, so we can die content, knowing that justice has been served!” Xu Pingdong shouted out.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Trying to run away? No one is leaving this desert today!” Zhang Qihu looked at Mo Fan coldly, yet he did not attack right away.

He was a lieutenant. If he had to deal with a man that was courting death, what was the point of being in charge of the others?

He had quite a number of elites under his command. They could easily deal with this man that slipped through the net!

Zhang Qihu waved his hand and said disdainfully, “Huang Yi, Lao Yin, brother, I’ll let you three handle him!”

“Hehe, brother, you wouldn’t mind me detaining him alive so I can flay him slowly?” Zhang Dan smilingly said.

“Since when do you have such a weird fetish? I shouldn’t have placed you in charge of interrogating criminals. You can detain him and do your thing somewhere else,” Zhang Qihu snapped.

“Not a problem!” Zhang Dan jumped forward and landed on a rock. In a few seconds, Demon Trees with spikes burst out of the ground and whipped wildly around the man. It was a ghastly sight!

“He’s pretty strong. We should take him out together to avoid more casualties,” the female lieutenant Huang Yi said.

“That won’t be necessary, but that wolf is going to be a hassle to deal with. Forget it, the others will handle the wolf. Let’s focus on taking out the kid,” Lao Yin said.

All three of them were Advanced Mages. They rapidly surrounded Mo Fan.

Zhang Dan was a Plant Mage. He controlled the plants that were spreading around him adeptly.

Zhang Dan was the first to approach Mo Fan. As he pointed ahead, a bunch of Demon Tree Hands with spikes sprang forward!

Mo Fan had no intention of dodging the attack. When the Demon Tree Hands were around twenty meters from him, they suddenly burst into flames. The ardent flames spread fiercely and burned the Demon Trees to ashes in seconds!

“Telekinesis: Illusionary Claws!” Mo Fan reached his hand out and grabbed the throat of the lieutenant called Zhang Dan.

He lifted Zhang Dan off the ground. The man summoned his magic Armor in a panic, but his Armor was nothing impressive. It began to crack open when Mo Fan strengthened his grip!

“Damn it, take him out now!” Zhang Qihu immediately panicked upon seeing this.

Zhang Dan was his brother. He never thought the man could suppress his younger brother so easily, after seeing how young he looked. It was surprising the young man was an Advanced Mage!

A strong magical aura was surging around Mo Fan. A few other Advanced Mages were channeling their Star Constellations. One was the Muslin of the Sky, turning into a giant spear, and the other was a Water Curtain, pouring down like a waterfall!

The Water Curtain posed a greater threat to Mo Fan. It was like a crack had just opened above him. The current was strong enough to shatter the bones of an enormous wolf!

In addition to the two Advanced Spells, a group of soldiers was locking their spells onto Mo Fan. Fiery Fists and Rolling Waves lunged at him, followed by strong winds and purple lightning!

He was suddenly surrounded by destructive spells!

However, Mo Fan had no intention of letting Zhang Dan go. A silver Star Pattern was flickering under his feet as he held Zhang Dan across the distance…

A silver rhomboid loomed over the area Mo Fan was occupying. The area of the Space Rhythm was over fifty meters wide. It felt like time had frozen inside it!

“Time Stasis!” Mo Fan raised his hand and clenched it into a fist. The energy of the Time Stasis spread into his surroundings!

The Muslin of the Sky, the Water Curtain, the strong waves, winds, the dense burning fists, and lightning all came to a stop around Mo Fan, failing to move even a single inch forward!

Xu Pingdong, Yang Bao, Fei Shu, and the people of the Golden Battle Hunters were dumbfounded. They felt an urge to simply kneel in front of Mo Fan and worship him as he stood in the center of the colorful destructive spells!

“Is…is the Space Element really that strong!?” Yang Bao, who also had the Space Element, was restless.

The single Space Rhythm had nullified so many attacks and spells. Most importantly, the man’s imperiousness had instantly toppled Yang Bao’s impression of the Space Element!

The soldiers and lieutenants attacking Mo Fan were dumbfounded, too. They were stunned for a moment until they heard a loud crack. Zhang Dan’s neck had been snapped by the terrifying man!

Zhang Dan fell to the ground. His head was distorted while his eyes were rolling, his face frozen in a painful expression. The man was obviously dead.

Zhang Qihu’s eyes reddened. He was thinking of letting his brother gain more experience from the battle, yet the man had killed his brother in the blink of an eye! It completely infuriated him!

“I’m going to tear your head off!” Zhang Qihu yelled angrily. He charged toward Mo Fan like a heavy missile, and slammed into the ground. Sharp rocks burst out of the ground within a hundred meters of where he landed!

Mo Fan quickly jumped to higher ground to dodge the spikes. He saw Zhang Qihu’s skin hardening, as if he had just put on an armor of rocks. The man launched himself into the air and kicked at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan turned into a shadow bird and flew rapidly along the walls. To his surprise, the walls were under Zhang Qihu’s control, too. Rows of spikes poked out of the walls after Mo Fan…

“Destroy him!” Zhang Qihu took a deep breath. He waved his hand to signal the soldiers when he saw Mo Fan fleeing into the distance.

Star Patterns appeared under the feet of the soldiers. The energy of more than ten Intermediate Spells soon rumbled forth; the whole valley was trembling!

“Demon Tree Trap!”

As the Intermediate Mages were about to blast Mo Fan with their spells, the ground that they were standing on suddenly cracked open. Countless Demon Tree Hands sprang up like powerful huge arms and dragged the soldiers into the ground!

Mo Fan glanced at Mu Nujiao, still hiding behind a rock, with a hint of relief.

Mu Nujiao’s primary Element was the Plant Element. The trap she had set up was absolutely impressive. It immediately took out the soldiers of a few squads and disrupted the channeling of their spells.

Mo Fan had just used the Space Rhythm: Time Stasis. The spell was still on cooldown. It might be a struggle to stop so many spells at once!

“Useless pricks! Huang Yi, Lao Yin, come with me; we are going to skin him alive!” Zhang Qihu groaned and led his two old comrades after Mo Fan.

Zhang Qihu was incredibly adept at using the Eyes of the Rock Demon, especially the way he was using it both offensively and defensively, turning him into a rock beast. Mo Fan could only take him on directly with the help of Little Flame Belle.

The problem was that if he had to use Little Flame Belle here, how was he supposed to fight Shi Qianshou?

Zhang Qihu was most likely one of the strongest Advanced Mages. He was clearly not an easy opponent, especially with how deadly his Rock Spikes Domain was.

“Where are you going to run to this time? I’m going to avenge my brother!” Deadly rock spikes burst out of Zhang Qihu’s body as he charged forward like a tank.

Huang Yi and Lao Yin had forced Mo Fan into a corner, leaving him with no chance of escaping. Mo Fan had no choice but to face Zhang Qihu directly.

“Blink,” Mo Fan did not panic. Their attempt to flank him was useless as long as he had Blink available.

Zhang Qihu rammed into the rocks as Mo Fan had entered the tunnel of the Space Element just a second ahead of him. He reappeared a hundred meters behind Zhang Qihu with a silver flash, his face calm.

Huang Yi and Lao Yin frowned.

The young man was seriously a tough opponent to fight against. Not only did he dare to take them on alone, he was able to face Great Lieutenant Zhang Qihu calmly, too!

“Damn it!” Zhang Qihu broke free from the rocks. He turned around and almost lost his mind when he saw Mo Fan’s calm face!

It was humiliating knowing that he was being played like a fiddle by the young man!

Zhang Qihu did not attack recklessly again. He gave the order to his men, “Use the Shadow Element to seal his movement!”

He had a bunch of Shadow Mages on standby. Once they set up the Formation of Giant Shadow Spikes, it would prevent the young man from using Blink. Otherwise, they would never land any of their spells on him.

“How stupid,” Mo Fan chuckled when he sensed the energy of the Shadow Element rising around him.

Mo Fan cast the Advanced Shadow Spell before the Shadow Mages were done channeling their spells. “Nyx Regime!”

The light shining upon the valley was interrupted by darkness. A black mist loomed over the place. The people could not see a thing.

The soldiers with Shadow Element were strengthened by the darkness too, but they had lost track of their target. If they fired the Giant Shadow Spikes now, they might hit their own people instead!

Most importantly, the man’s Shadow Element was clearly a lot stronger than theirs. Would their Giant Shadow Spikes even do anything to him?

“Formation of Giant Shadow Spikes! Seal!”

As they thought, a stronger energy descended upon them. They could clearly sense the darkness infiltrating their bodies and minds, leaving them terrified!

The soldiers shuddered when the shadow swords landed on them. Their bodies and minds were completely Sealed off by the swords!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan immediately suppressed the Shadow Mages that were naively trying to seal his movements, infuriating Zhang Qihu even further.

In the pitch-black darkness, no one had noticed a petite figure moving silently to the members of the Golden Battle Hunters that were kept prisoner. She was able to remove the strong magic binding them with some unknown method.

Xu Pingdong, Yang Bao, Fei Shu, and the others were set free. They immediately cast Advanced Spells at the traitorous soldiers they were holding a huge grudge against!

“What happened!?” Zhang Qihu turned around and saw his men being ambushed.

“Someone has set the Hunters free. Leader, we should ask General Shi for backup!” a soldier exclaimed.

“Useless pricks, how is it that we can’t handle a few Hunters and a few kids!?” Zhang Qihu yelled.

He was staring at Mo Fan. He charged at Mo Fan fiercely, like a rhinoceros wearing thick stone armor, moving at an insane speed. He was somehow able to see where Mo Fan was in the darkness.

“You’re dead for sure!” Zhang Qihu laughed hollowly.

Mo Fan needed some time to use Blink. Zhang Qihu had found Mo Fan hiding in the darkness through the vibrations on the ground. He was quite confident that the young man had no time to use Blink.

The impact when Zhang Qihu rammed into Mo Fan was shocking. It instantly disintegrated Mo Fan as he froze in astonishment.

Zhang Qihu skidded a long distance away from the momentum before finally coming to a stop. He turned around to take a look at Mo Fan’s remains. Even a person wearing magic Armor was unlikely to survive the impact!

“How is that possible?” When Zhang Qihu turned around, he only saw clouds of black smoke scattering in the air.

There was no sign of Mo Fan’s blood or remains. The thing he rammed into was just a shadow clone!

“Scum, die!” Mo Fan had silently come up on Zhang Qihu’s side. Dark lightning was coiling about his arms.

Zhang Qihu was startled, then burst out laughing.

“Do you seriously think you can penetrate my rock armor? You’re the one that’s going to die!” Zhang Qihu stood disdainfully, as if daring Mo Fan to attack him.

Mo Fan did not say a word. The lightning coils on his arms gradually grew stronger, and fired a Silent Deadly Ray at Zhang Qihu’s chest!

When the lightning with a twelvefold damage multiplier transformed into a ray of light, even Advanced Spells had no chance of stopping it. The lightning swiftly penetrated the rock armor protecting Zhang Qihu’s chest; the unstoppable lightning ray punctured his chest too!

Zhang Qihu spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backward. The Silent Deadly Ray had left a scorched hole the size of a fist in his chest. His eyes were wide open even after he fell to the ground. He could not believe it!

The Earth Element was supposed to have a strong resistance toward the Lightning Element; why did the lightning still manage to penetrate his defense!?

“Not dead yet? You’re pretty tough!” Mo Fan looked down at Zhang Qihu lying on the ground.

Zhang Qihu was twitching. The Silent Deadly Bolt had not fully punctured his body, yet it had left him with serious injuries.

Mo Fan had no intention of letting the man live. As he clenched his fist, fire engulfed his hand and rapidly turned into a fiery sword…

“Leader!” Lao Yin recklessly rode a gust of wind and dashed over to Zhang Qihu when he saw the man’s life was in danger.

Mo Fan did not even bother looking at Lao Yin. His other hand emitted a silver light as he indifferently swung his arm in Lao Yin’s direction, like he was chasing a fly away.

A strong force of the Space Element struck Lao Yin and sent him flying.

Mo Fan raised the fiery sword and stabbed the bloody wound on Zhang Qihu’s chest.

The flames dug into Zhang Qihu’s hardened body. The flames of Ardent Sunset were strong enough to burn the rocks on the Burning Mountains to ashes; they would soon devour Zhang Qihu’s body and reduce him to dust!

Zhang Qihu cried out in agony. The pain of his organs being turned into ashes when his flesh was still intact was unbearable. He could easily tell that Mo Fan was not planning to kill him straightaway. Mo Fan wanted the man to suffer before his death!

“Be a good man in your next life, don’t be scum,” Mo Fan spat coldly.

Mo Fan inserted more scorching flames into the fiery sword. The flames surged wildly inside Zhang Qihu’s body. They eventually exploded, killing the man on the spot!

Zhang Qihu was thinking of avenging his brother, yet he too died a horrible death…

“Leader!” Lao Yin’s eyes reddened. He charged forward like a wild beast.

The female lieutenant was making her way over, too. It was obvious that Zhang Qihu’s death had infuriated them.

“Aren’t you two loyal? Unfortunately, you weren’t able to distinguish right and wrong. You have taken the side of the evildoer, which makes you guilty too!” Mo Fan glanced at the two lieutenants. Lightning was flickering wildly on his palm.

“Sky Lightning Claw!” Mo Fan targeted Lao Yin. The lightning sprang forward ferociously, and tore the man and his magic Armor to pieces. His blood sprayed and his flesh scattered across the ground.

The female lieutenant was startled. Her heart was filled with terror when she looked at Mo Fan again!

How was it possible for such a young Mage to possess such overwhelming strength? He was an Advanced Mage just like them, yet they could not survive a single attack from him!

Mo Fan looked at the female lieutenant, Huang Yi, and said, “Since you’re a woman, I’ll grant you a gentler death.”

Huang Yi had no intention of sitting and waiting for her death. She clenched her teeth, prepared to have a final showdown with Mo Fan…

Suddenly, a Flying Creek Snow Wolf pounced on Huang Yi from behind. His fangs bit her in two.

Her upper body was inside the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s mouth, while the other half with blood pouring out fell limply to the ground.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not want to waste its food. He swallowed the lower half of her body after gulping down upper. His mouth covered in blood, the Wolf even gave Mo Fan a smile.

Mo Fan was left utterly speechless.

He bet the female lieutenant was feeling some strong hatred for him prior to her death. He had just promised to grant her a gentle death, but she ended up being bitten in half. It was not Mo Fan’s fault either, as he never knew the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had such a weird fetish of treating bad women like that.

“Go wash your mouth, and don’t ever eat humans without my permission again!” Mo Fan said disgustedly when the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was trying to come closer.

“Awooo~” The Flying Creek Snow Wolf seemed excited, but when he saw Lingling looking at him with disgust too, he immediately realized he had done something wrong. He obediently went to the side to rinse his mouth. He spat out the remains that he had just eaten and buried them somewhere.

The truth was, humans didn’t taste that special at all…

After taking out the stronger Mages among the enemy, the remaining soldiers no longer posed any threat once the members of the Golden Battle Hunters joined the fight. The rest of the soldiers were mostly Intermediate Mages. They could not possibly do anything after they were suppressed. Mo Fan and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf eliminated half of them, Jiang Shaoxu subdued around ten, and a bunch of them were trapped by Mu Nujiao’s plants. The rest were taken out by the angry members of the Golden Battle Hunters.

“You guys are too kind,” Mo Fan looked around the basin and realized the Golden Battle Hunters had left many of the soldiers alive.

“We should let the army decide what to do with them. We just needed to kill those that tried to resist,” Xu Pingdong said.

“Brother Mo Fan, I have not been impressed by many people in my life, but you have definitely impressed me the most, apart from our leader!” Yang Bao blurted out excitedly. His eyes were brimming with admiration.

“I did hear that the strongest participant in the World College Tournament has Double Innate Elements, and every Element he had was incredibly powerful. I didn’t believe it at first, but I do now. I bet only Mages at the Super Level and above can stand a chance against you!” Fei Shu added.

The group had all seen how Mo Fan faced more than a hundred soldiers on his own. Not only did the Advanced Mages not stand a chance against him, even the spells cast by the squads of soldiers failed to do any harm to him. The man had also killed experienced soldiers like Zhang Qihu, Huang Yi, and Lao Yin as if he was slaughtering a few chickens!

“They weren’t that strong. They were trying to abuse their numbers, yet numbers don’t really make any difference to me,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was not afraid of being overwhelmed by numbers. The abilities of his six Elements allowed him to fight against huge groups of Mages with ease!

The greatest threat among the enemy had been Zhang Qihu. The man was a strong Advanced Mage, his strength equivalent to the Ice Mage that attacked him on the street in America since he had a unique Domain. However, Mo Fan had already had the strength to defeat that Ice Mage back then, so now that many of his Elements had improved significantly, he had no problem taking Zhang Qihu out!

“Where are Ge Ming and Zhang Xiaohou?” Mo Fan asked Xu Pingdong.

“They were brought into that passage. They were looking for the Earth Pistil,” Xu Pingdong pointed out.

“They should have some special way to keep in contact. The people inside are most likely aware of what happened here. Zhang Qihu isn’t scary, Shi Qianshou is the real threat to us. That guy is a Super Mage, even Ge Ming struggled to take him on.”

“Leader was set up by Tong Zhuang and Zheng Tong. He is definitely strong enough to face Shi Qianshou. Mo Fan, we know how capable you are, but Shi Qianshou is a lot stronger than these soldiers here. It’s going to be difficult for you to save the others alone. I believe we should save the Leader first, since he’s the only person that could take on Shi Qianshou,” Fei Shu said.

“Yeah, we’ll head inside and act according to the situation,” Mo Fan agreed.

“What should we do to them?” Jiang Shaoxu glanced at the soldiers that were left alive.

“That’s why I said it’s better to just kill them all. Otherwise, someone has to stay to look after them,” Mo Fan said.

The soldiers felt a chill running down their spines after hearing his words. The young man seemed approachable and dignified, yet he had shown them no mercy with his words. He had no intention of sparing their lives. Even they did not kill the members of the Golden Battle Hunters immediately after subduing them!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

In the pitch-black underground, a few Light Mages were tossing Brilliant Lights into the distance to light the place up.

The jagged rocks were like the fangs of monsters, like they were inside the body of an enormous creature. The path was sometimes narrow, and sometimes wide.

“It’s not far from here, you promised me that you would let them go. You better keep your promise, or you will never find the Earth Pistil!” Lin Feili snapped.

“You should know that I’m only interested in the Earth Pistil. Is it just ahead on the pile of rocks that look like fangs?” General Shi Qianshou’s eyes flickered. He did not bother concealing his greed and excitement.

“Let them go first,” Lin Feili said.

“The Earth Pistil, where is it?”

1 “There.”

“Go retrieve it for me. How do I know if you aren’t trying to trick me?” Shi Qianshou might be greedy, but he was as cautious as always.

Lin Feili went over to the rocks helplessly. He cautiously deactivated the layers of magic formations on them.

A brown-yellow light rippled as soon as the magic formation was deactivated. A pistil like a piece of rock slowly opened above the jagged rocks. Its fragrance and aura immediately caused countless dark lotuses to blossom in the underground.

“No wonder there’s an oasis here! I should have known, I should have known, HAHAHA!” Shi Qianshou was on the verge of pouncing on the Earth Pistil like a beast.

He would soon have his own city with the Earth Pistil. Who would dare to criticize him? Who would dare to threaten to bring him to trial at the military court because of the things he had done? He would be the law in the city!

“General Mu, just wait a little longer, I’ll definitely make you pay for forcing me into this!” Shi Qianshou went forward and grabbed the Earth Pistil.

As soon as he touched the Earth Pistil, a part of it wilted instantly. Shi Qianshou quickly withdrew his hand and snapped furiously at Lin Feili, “What just happened?”

“I don’t know either. I’ve already brought you to the Earth Pistil, Let them go,” Lin Feili replied.

Shi Qianshou ignored Lin Feili. He began to inspect the Earth Pistil with his will.

He was enraged after some time. He glared at Lin Feili and yelled, “This Earth Pistil is about to wilt soon. It doesn’t contain much energy; you tricked me, how dare you trick me!”

Shi Qianshou grabbed Lin Feili’s arm. A deadly poison spread rapidly through Lin Feili’s body. His hand and arm rotted in an instant from the poison!

“Do you have any idea the price I paid just to get this thing? Both you and the old captain deserve to die, everyone that opposes me deserves to die!” A poisonous aura burst out of Shi Qianshou’s body. Even the rocks were corroding because of it.

Lin Feili was unable to resist the poison. Shi Qianshou continued to torture him.

Shi Qianshou knew torturing Lin Feili would not help. The energy in the Earth Pistil was depleting. He had to find a way to replenish it. Otherwise, it was no different than a wilted flower!

“You all are willing to pledge your life to me to build our kingdom, am I right?” Shi Qianshou stood above the rocks and said to his men.

“Yes, sir!”

“To build our own kingdom!”

“All hail General Shi!”

The soldiers responded. They were all in high spirits. It seemed like they were not following Shi Qianshou because of their personal gains. They had been brainwashed by the man to a certain degree!

Zhang Xiaohou felt angry and sorry for the soldiers when he saw how passionate they were in following the greedy General.

Soldiers were obliged to obey the orders of their superior, but if their superior was abusing his power for personal gains and ambitions, he was basically committing treason. This Shi Qianshou had completely lost his mind in his pursuit of power. He was leading the soldiers into a deep abyss of sins!

“Very well, we are only one step away from achieving our goals. Brothers, it is time for you to sacrifice your lives generously. You will replenish the energy of the Earth Pistil with your unyielding spirits! I promise you I will carve your names on the gates of the city that I’m about to build!” Shi Qianshou suddenly switched his tone. He sounded terrifying and evil!

Zheng Tong, Tong Zhuang, and the rest of the soldiers were startled. They did not understand what Shi Qianshou was saying.

They understood only when countless poisonous insects suddenly flew out of Shi Qianshou’s body and landed on them!

Shi Qianshou was planning to use their lives to replenish the energy of the Earth Pistil, even though they were his subordinates!

The poisonous insects carried a deadly poison with a strong anesthetic effect. The soldiers standing closest to Shi Qianshou were soon staggering as if they were drunk. The poisonous insects that Shi Qianshou released entered their bodies through their nostrils, ears, and mouths…

The poisonous insects were only the size of a thumb at the start, but when they burst out of the soldiers’ stomachs, they were as big as a human fist. The swollen insects flew toward the Earth Pistil under Shi Qianshou’s control.

The poisonous insects self-detonated above the Earth Pistil. The energy obtained from the lives of the soldiers sprinkled on the Earth Pistil. The wilted part of it gradually recovered!

“This…this…” Zheng Tong was dumbfounded.

“Those with a higher cultivation will provide the Earth Pistil with more energy! Zheng Tong, I promise you that your name will be carved above everyone else’s!” Shi Qianshou stared at Zheng Tong coldly.

“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die, General, please, please spare my life… AHHH!”

Cries of agony echoed in the underground passage. Countless poisonous insects flew toward Zheng Tong. The man was trying to hold the insects back with his magic, but the poisonous insects soon infiltrated his body. Huge insects burst out from his stomach and flew toward the Earth Pistil… they were like bees collecting honey, except they were using a much crueler method.

Zheng Tong did not die instantly after the poisonous insects burst out of his stomach. There were insects crawling out from his eye sockets too…

He had actually believed in Shi Qianshou, especially after the man had told him recently that he could enjoy any woman he wished once they were able to construct their own city. He could have fun with a few, or more than ten women every day. He had never thought Shi Qianshou was such a devil. He never wanted to share prosperity with others. His subordinates were actually worthless to him, just like the people that he had killed at the relay station!

“He has completely lost his mind!” Ge Ming swore. Even Ge Ming felt sorry as he watched the soldiers falling to their deaths.

The poisonous insects were prioritizing those with higher cultivation and stronger auras. Since Zhang Xiaohou and Ge Ming’s cultivation was sealed away, the poisonous insects did not target them straightaway!

“Quick, run!”

Lin Feili, still covered in poisonous blisters rose to his feet as Ge Ming and Zhang Xiaohou were slowly waiting for their turns to die.

Lin Feili’s cultivation was not sealed away, but he was fully subjected to Shi Qianshou’s poison. Shi Qianshou had completely lost his interest in Lin Feili. He left him on the side and let the poison consume him. To Shi Qianshou’s surprise, Lin Feili was still able to run at an incredible pace prior to his death. He quickly grabbed Ge Ming and Zhang Xiaohou with his almost completely rotted hands and ran toward the other exit!

Shi Qianshou was so busy controlling the poisonous insects that he was not paying much attention to Lin Feili. It gave Lin Feili a chance to bring Ge Ming and Zhang Xiaohou to the narrow exit.

“Just follow the path and you will soon find a way out. You have to stay alive at all costs and let the outside world know what happened here…” Lin Feili brought them to a narrow passage. However, he did not go any further. He straightened up and blocked the path with his body.

“Lin Feili!” Zhang Xiaohou did not have much strength left. He tried to drag the man with him, yet his effort was in vain.

Lin Feili’s body was falling apart from the poison. His arms had fallen off now, as he used too much force. The wounds were full of poisonous blisters. Shi Qianshou’s poison was indeed terrifying…

Poisonous insects were approaching the passage. They wildly dug into Lin Feili’s body and continued their way toward the exit through the gaps. They had no intention of letting Zhang Xiaohou and Ge Ming go.

“Tell the outside world what happened…” Lin Feili set himself on fire. The flames devoured him and blocked the passage, burning the poisonous insects that tried to get past him to death.

Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes reddened after watching how Lin Feili was unwilling to give up until his death!

“Shi Qianshou, I’m going to kill you!” Zhang Xiaohou screamed in a hoarse voice, yet he had no choice but to go flee, using the light emitted by the fire consuming Lin Feili as a light source.

The light gradually faded away. Ge Ming and Zhang Xiaohou were supporting one another as they fled. They did not dare to turn around.

The two of them were trying to control their emotions. They had an urge to turn around and fight Shi Qianshou with all they had, but they knew Lin Feili’s sacrifice would be in vain if they died too!

—

The cries of agony never stopped. The soldiers were not as lucky as the two that had escaped into the tunnel. They were killed by the man they trusted the most in the cruelest way. Their dreams of being able to act as they pleased were destroyed; they were covered in the poisonous insects that drained their life away. They were filled with pain, anger, and hatred that they would never be able to vent, even if they turned into vengeful spirits!

However, it was meaningless to learn the truth at the last moment. The man that had given them their dream showed no pity at their deaths, as if the Earth Pistil was the only thing in life. His eyes were brimming with passion and excitement as he watched the energy of the Earth Pistil being replenished!

Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth Mo Fan was controlling a sprout of flame ahead of himself, lighting up the tunnel lined with jagged rocks, like fangs on the walls. He gradually picked up a terrible scent and heard faint and intimidating cries coming from deeper in the tunnel. “The path diverges here, which way do we go?” Mo Fan looked ahead and asked. “We don’t know.” As they were speaking, they heard soft footsteps approaching from one of the paths. Two familiar figures supporting one another came out. The light shone on their extremely pale faces. One of them had bloodshot eyes. “Houzi!” Mo Fan blurted out in joy when he saw them. 1 “Brother Fan!” Zhang Xiaohou quickly went up and hugged Mo Fan tightly, like an injured younger brother. Mo Fan could feel Zhang Xiaohou’s surge of emotions. He was not injured, yet the sorrow in his heart was pouring out. “What’s wrong?” Mo Fan comforted. “That asshole Shi Qianshou, he killed everyone inside!” Ge Ming swore. Ge Ming told them what happened in the underground space. Everyone gasped after hearing it. How vicious was this Shi Qianshou? He had brought at least two hundred people with him, yet he had killed every single one of his men just to replenish the energy of the Earth Pistil. How twisted would the man’s heart have to be to do such a thing? Mo Fan did not expect to stumble into such an evil general. He was relieved that Zhang Xiaohou was fine. “Help, help, help me!” A man in a military outfit staggered towards the group from the edge of the light. The man had run all the way to the crossroad. He felt like he had found his savior when he saw there were others. “It’s Tong Li!” Ge Ming’s eyes turned cold as he stared at him. Zhang Xiaohou was extremely angry with him, too. He had pretended to come to the desert with the others and abused Lin Feili’s kindness leading Shi Qianshou here and forcing Lin Feili to hand over the Earth Pistil. If he had not pulled those strings, none of this would have happened. He totally deserved what had happened to him! Mo Fan knew it was Tong Li that had betrayed them. His eyes flickered coldly and disdainfully when he saw the man asking for help. A huge cloud of poisonous insects showed up behind Tong Li, chasing down the man who had escaped. Tong Li’s cultivation was not weak. He managed to escape and reach the crossroad. He was around a hundred meters away from Mo Fan and the others. “Save me, please, I’m willing to tell you everything as long as you help me! I will plead guilty, I’m willing to be put on trial at the military court!…” Tong Li yelled. Mo Fan glanced at Zhang Xiaohou. His friend was quiet, a hint of disgust in his eyes. Mo Fan waved his hand. A silver light swiftly formed a wall in the tunnel to block the poisonous insects. However, Mo Fan was not trapping the poisonous insects. Tong Li slammed into the wall too! “Don’t, don’t do this, please!” Tong Li’s eyes were wide and filled with terror. Tong Li could no longer move forward. The poisonous insects easily caught up to him. They watched as the tiny insects attached themselves to Tong Li and dug into his body. Tong Li’s face contorted. He slammed his fists on the wall, trying to break through it, but Mo Fan did not budge. Tong Li’s movements slowed down as he became feeble. Some bloated poisonous insects had burst out of his stomach and returned into the cave, beating blood-covered wings. “Let’s leave this place. We are all done for if the poisonous insects come out now,” Ge Ming said. Ge Ming needed some time to recover his energy. He would not be able to face Shi Qianshou for the time being. They still would have trouble defeating Shi Qianshou even after he replenished his energy. The man had killed two hundred of his own men with ease! They could not afford to fight Shi Qianshou now. It was better for them to leave the desert and tell the army what had happened here. The army would deal with him. “Mm, since everyone is alright, we should leave as soon as possible. Otherwise, that madman is going to turn us into sacrifices too,” Jiang Shaoxu said. The group did not dare stay any further, and immediately headed for the exit. —— They regrouped with the rest of the members of the Golden Battle Hunters at the relay station. They had left the soldiers at the relay station. They had nothing to do with the life and death of those soldiers. They followed the same way back. The journey was easier compared to when they came in, but everyone had a heavy heart. Who would have thought they would stumble into a mad general when they were only planning to come for an expedition. Luckily, most members of the team were still alive. They did not suffer any great losses! The team left as quickly as possible. They did not bother to preserve their energy when traversing the Meandering Sand River. Not long after they reached the Meandering Sand River, they suddenly heard something like a dull clap of thunder from the desert behind. The blue sky was suddenly covered by a brown, blood-red cloud of dust. They could no longer see the sand dunes and the rocks. The thick cloud of dust was like the storm of an apocalypse sweeping at the horizon. “Is he able to control the Sandstorm Demon Locusts?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise. “I believe he’s only able to lure the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. He did mark the two girls with poisonous seals so the Sandstorm Demon Locusts would attack them. The relay station was wiped out because he purposely lured the Sandstorm Demon Locusts over. He doesn’t have full control over the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. No one does,” Lingling said. “Did we just make a huge mistake?” Jiang Shaoxu glanced at the sky behind her uneasily. Shi Qianshou was a strong Super Poison Mage. If they allowed him to hold onto the Earth Pistil, wouldn’t it simply turn him into a devil in the desert that killed people like scything wheat, considering how he was trying to control the Sandstorm Demon Locusts? “It’s not our fault. Even if we didn’t go to the desert, do you think Shi Qianshou was going to give up on finding the Earth Pistil? If we allow Shi Qianshou to have access to the energy of the Earth Pistil, together with his private army, who knows what sinful things they might do. At least we know the guy has lost his mind. We just need to notify the army to avoid further casualties,” Ge Ming said. “Yeah, Shi Qianshou is most likely going to become stronger. If we stayed behind and tried fighting him, no one would ever find out the truth!” The group did not act on impulse. After all, Shi Qianshou was a general. Anyone that was promoted to a general would surely possess remarkable strength. It was a relief that they were able to escape from the desert. They had to notify the Tarim Basin Fortress. If they did not deal with Shi Qianshou as soon as possible, it was going to be a disaster! — — The group finally made it out of the desert after a few days. The terrifying cloud of dust behind them was no longer visible. However, the group was not relieved yet. Shi Qianshou would not let them go so easily. He now had the Earth Pistil. He would surely try everything he could to replenish its energy, including a crazy massacre. The Tarim Basin Fortress was built with gray-white rocks. It was the scale of a city, with a population of around a few hundred thousand people. There were lots of ore veins, factories, and towns that focused on generating energy with wind and light within a hundred kilometers of the fortress. The towns were located in the safe zone. The Tarim Basin Fortress would appoint squadrons of soldiers to guard the towns every week, preventing the demon creatures in the desert, mountains, and caves from invading them. The area was not peaceful. There were usually two or three ambushes every month. Every town was protected by a barrier similar to the Tarim Basin Fortress. The workers and Mages were safe from the demon creatures as long as they stayed within the barrier. The group went straight to the Tarim Basin Fortress. Zhang Xiaohou was a soldier, so he easily made his way into the fortress. The others were worn out, but they all waited at the entrance, hoping the army would immediately send out a wanted order to arrest Shi Qianshou! Zhang Xiaohou made his way straight to the Commanding General. Every town nearby was guarded by a General. After all, lots of resources were needed to maintain a city. Each of the towns that the Tarim Basin Fortress was protecting was able to provide the energy needed for around six second-tier cities, including the barrier protecting them! “General, Commander Zhang Xiaohou from the Qinling Mountains is asking to meet you in person. He says he has something urgent to tell you,” a Communications Officer said. Currently, there was another General seated at the table, and the rest were Commanders. However, most of them were responsible for commanding and communications in the army. They were not Battle Commanders. Two advisors were seated beside General Mu Da, their faces stern. “We have yet to learn the reason behind it. Our first priority is to evacuate the workers, townsfolk, soldiers, and the Mages trapped in the emergency bunkers. They have been trapped for three days. They will soon run out of food and water. Many were injured too. They are going to die without medical attention,” a female advisor said. General Mu Da harrumphed coldly, “Do you think I’m not trying to save them? However, if we don’t find out the reason and drive the Sandstorm Demon Locusts away, every man that we send to Anjiao Town is just going to die. It has been three days, yet we still have no clue about what happened. We can’t even communicate with the people in the town. You are all good-for-nothing!” “General, Commander Zhang Xiaohou of the Qinling Mountains is asking to see you,” the officer repeated. “What the hell is the Commander of the Qinling Mountains here for? I’m busy!” General Mu Da snapped. “But he said it’s something urgent…” “How urgent could it be? Is it more important than saving the lives of ten thousand people that are trapped in Anjiao Town!?” “Err… sure, I’ll ask him to wait.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was waiting for Zhang Xiaohou at the entrance. He soon saw Zhang Xiaohou coming out with a grim face.

“What happened? They didn’t believe you?” Mo Fan asked.

Zhang Xiaohou’s words had a certain weight, since he was a Commander. Normally, a military court would attend to the matter right away. Even if they were unsure if Shi Qianshou was guilty, they would still dispense some men to investigate.

“It’s not they don’t believe what I say, but I didn’t even have a chance to say it. The Tarim Basin Fortress is facing something worse,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Something worse? Is there anything worse than that devil getting his hands on the Earth Pistil? Shi Qianshou is completely out of his mind. He even killed all his men without any mercy. If he leaves the desert, many innocent people are going to die!” Ge Ming exclaimed in agitation.

“We can’t really blame the army. I’ve already asked around. It turns out that Anjiao Town was invaded by the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts are circling the sky above the town and the lands nearby. Luckily, a patrolling squad saw what happened in time and asked the people in the town and the ore veins to evacuate to the underground bunkers. They managed to avoid a huge number of casualties, but right now over ten thousand people are trapped underground, and are running short on food, water, and medicine. They didn’t have time to transport the supplies into the bunkers. The food and supplies are gone because of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Seriously? Aren’t the towns protected by a barrier? Why would the towns be invaded so easily… did it have anything to do with Shi Qianshou?” Xu Pingdong asked.

Zhang Xiaohou shook his head, “It happened three days ago. We were still in the desert, and Shi Qianshou still hadn’t got his hands on the Earth Pistil.”

“It’s seriously adding hail to snow. Shi Qianshou is still on the loose, and now the Sandstorm Demon Locusts are stirring up chaos. It’s impossible to kill all the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. If the army sends soldiers to attack the Sandstorm Demon Locusts, they will most likely be wiped out, even if they managed to save the people,” Ge Ming said.

The Sandstorm Demon Locusts had always been a huge threat in the west. The barriers had significantly lowered their threat. They initially thought the towns could develop in peace, but something so terrifying had still happened so suddenly!

As long as the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were still around, there was no way they could build a city nearby. The lands would be left barren, and the Sandstorm Demon Locusts would eventually spread across the entire Tarim Basin and the places nearby. More places would become barren since fewer people were willing to stay around. It was an endless cycle.

The army at the Tarim Basin was trying to use the fortress as a foundation to develop the nearby towns with the resources that were available. The army was aiming to build a modern magic industrial city. However, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had easily overwhelmed the barrier that they thought was secure. All their efforts over so many years were in vain!

“The only relief was, there aren’t many casualties yet. However, if the people in the town die, most people are going to move away from the Tarim Basin Fortress. This resource-rich land will be listed as a dangerous zone not suitable for humans to live on. The military of the west has invested lots of manpower and funds to develop this area. Many soldiers have sacrificed their lives, but the Sandstorm Demon Locusts are about to ruin it all!” Zhang Xiaohou let out a sigh.

The Tarim Basin Fortress had always been a huge focus of the army in the west. The demon creatures were overpopulating and the number of Mages was limited. Humans had been giving up their territories over the years. The human territories had been shrinking slowly, especially in the west. They had no choice but to compromise when facing the unstoppable demon hordes.

The Tarim Basin Fortress was like a war that the humans had declared against the demon creatures, trying to take back their land. The attempt to build a safe zone and construct a city in the west was a huge breakthrough. It would be extremely meaningful if they succeeded!

However, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had ruined it just as everything was on the right track!

A town had more than ten thousand people. If all the towns were invaded, the Council would immediately call off the plan, as they would not risk the lives of tens of thousands of people just to construct a city. It was too dangerous, and no longer worth it to put in extra funds and manpower…

“That’s very serious… but Shi Qianshou is a huge threat too… I’m just worried that he’s going to run away…” Jiang Shaoxu said.

The others fell silent.

Zhang Xiaohou had the urge to tear Shi Qianshou into pieces when he was leaving the desert, but his rational side was telling him that the safety of Anjiao Town was more important than Shi Qianshou now. If the Tarim Basin Fortress did not find a way to resolve the danger, they would not have the time to deal with Shi Qianshou!

The group heard some footsteps coming from the entrance. A female soldier with a huge bust was coming out with a woman in the uniform of an advisor, followed by a few high-ranked Commanders.

The two women were discussing something. The one with a huge bust glanced at the entrance and caught a glimpse of Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou, who felt extremely familiar. She quickly took a closer look.

“Sister, give me a second,” the female soldier with a huge bust said to the advisor, and she walked toward Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan lifted their gazes when they saw someone approaching…

For some reason, Mo Fan thought the woman’s bust looked somewhat familiar. When they saw the handsome yet feminine face of the woman, they were both astounded.

“It’s you!” Mo Fan was the first to speak.

“The two brothers in hardship, it’s been a while,” the female Commander with an alluring figure said smilingly.

“Li Man, aren’t you in charge of the Dongting Lake? Why are you here in the west now?” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Dongting Lake is well taken care of. The army is only doing daily routines there. There are more opportunities here in the west, so I requested to be transferred here. I have been here for a year and a half. I didn’t think I would bump into you both here…” Commander Li Man glanced at Zhang Xiaohou before looking at Mo Fan. She smiled, “You’re a famous person now, little caveman.”

Mo Fan could only look awkward.

He was living like a caveman back when he was called the Deathbringer of Dongting Lake while getting rid of the aftereffects of using the Demon Element. He stumbled into Commander Li Man, who had gone to the Dongting Lake to investigate the place. They even worked together to kill some ferocious demon creatures.

Li Man had a deep impression of Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou. They were only Intermediate Mages back then, yet they were daring enough to provoke a Commander-level creature. They were utterly reckless.

Li Man had been following the news about them since then. She knew Zhang Xiaohou had joined the army in the Qinling Mountains and Mo Fan was representing their country in the World College Tournament. Without any surprise, both of them had earned a great reputation despite their young ages…

“Li Man, we are running short on time. You shouldn’t be wasting more time on catching up with your friends,” the middle-aged female advisor said calmly.

“Sis…oh, Advisor Shao, I’m running short on men. I was hoping these two could lend a hand. They are both reliable,” Li Man said to the strict-looking female advisor.

An advisor was on par with a General in terms of military rank, thus she might have a say in the matter regarding Shi Qianshou, too. Zhang Xiaohou never thought he would stumble into Advisor Shao of the fortress here, and it turned out that she was Li Man’s elder sister!

“Were you the one that reported Shi Qianshou’s betrayal?” Advisor Shao came over and asked.

“Yeah, he has turned against the army, and he now has the Earth Pistil. He is using innocent lives to replenish the energy of the Earth Pistil. He has killed around four hundred people by now…” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“I know how urgent it is, but we have to save Anjiao Town now. Don’t worry, we have zero tolerance for betrayers,” Advisor Shao said.

“Li Man, how could you rely on two outsiders to help us? Feel free to waste your time here. We’ll be going first. Advisor Shao, we should make our way to the camp as soon as possible!” a Commander behind Advisor Shao said.

Advisor Shao nodded, and did not talk any further. She led the Commanders and left the entrance. She must have been appointed to command the army on the front line.

Li Man hesitated for a moment. She looked at Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou and asked, “It’s pretty urgent, I was given the mission suddenly too. If you two are willing to help…”

Zhang Xiaohou looked at Mo Fan. He was obviously letting Mo Fan decide.

Mo Fan said helplessly, “If we don’t resolve the danger that Anjiao Town is in, the army wouldn’t have enough men to deal with Shi Qianshou. The longer it takes, the trickier it will be to track him down. We can help you, but we hope you can let the advisors and the Generals know how urgent it is. That Shi Qianshou is a huge threat; we have to take him down!”

“Mmm, come with me then,” Li Man smiled.

“They are coming with us. They are pretty strong too,” Mo Fan pointed at Mu Nujiao, Jiang Shaoxu, and Lingling.

“I recognize them. These two must be representatives of the national team too!” Li Man said.

The people of the Golden Battle Hunters did not join them. They were overwhelmed by fatigue after everything they had gone through.

Ge Ming was not in good condition, either. He was the strongest in the group, thus Shi Qianshou had made sure he was well taken care of. He would have to rest for a few days to regain his strength. However, Ge Ming also promised that he would lend them a hand as soon as he recovered.

“Li Man, shouldn’t you tell us what’s going on first? I thought every town was supposed to be protected by the barriers. It’s unlikely that the Sandstorm Demon Locusts could break it down so easily!” Zhang Xiaohou asked on the way.

“That’s what bothered us the most. There’s no way the Sandstorm Demon Locusts could just bypass the barrier,” Li Man said helplessly.

“We’ll have to go to the town to learn the truth,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, the only problem is, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts have fully occupied the area. It’s extremely difficult for us to enter their territory. We’ve lost contact with the people in the town too!” Li Man sighed. “My sister has been here for more than ten years! She is determined to turn this place into a safe zone, a city in the Tarim Basin. Who knew things would all go south within a night… if anything happens to the people in the town, everyone’s efforts will be in vain!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A dark brown cloud filled the sky. The ground was trembling from the sound it made. Countless Sandstorm Demon Locusts loomed over the place, like a storm hanging low in the sky, only a thousand times scarier!

The town was not very big. It had a few main streets with houses, factories, and buildings densely packed together. They were built with the sturdy stone found in the west. They had yet to end up as the Sandstorm Demon Locusts’ food.

However, the windows of these houses were gone. The strong vibrations had shattered every French window and the glass of the windows, mirrors, and cabinets to pieces. The streets were in a total mess…

The underground bunkers were located under the buildings on every street. The buildings were currently filled with the Sandstorm Demon Locusts without even the slightest gap between them. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts seemed to have picked up the scent of humans hiding underground. They were trying to break through the entrances of the emergency bunkers.

“Why aren’t they leaving yet? Are they seriously not giving up until they reduce us all to bones?” a tired middle-aged man behind the entrance said.

Battlemages were on standby close to the entrance. They took turns guarding while the others slept on the ground, preserving as much strength as possible. However, there were only slightly more than a hundred Battlemages behind the door. How would they stand a chance against thousands, or even tens of thousands of demon locusts?

The dim hall behind the Battlemages was crowded with trembling workers and residents. Their eyes had lost all their light after being constantly tortured by fatigue and fear!

“Can we make it out?”

“I don’t know,” the Battlemage replied.

Some burst into tears upon hearing the response. There were cries of kids, women, and even men.

“Li Qing, can’t you say something nice? What the hell is ‘I don’t know’?” a soldier beside him snapped furiously.

“I don’t feel like lying to them. It’s extremely difficult for the army to fight the Sandstorm Demon Locusts that are going to just keep coming. It has been three days, they couldn’t even get in contact with us. We all know how terrifying the Sandstorm Demon Locusts are. The army won’t give up on us, but I don’t believe they can save us, either. As long as the Sandstorm Demon Locusts are still around, we are all going to die,” Li Qing tried to sound as calm as he could, even though he was panicking.

“Is he being serious?” an old man asked.

The rest of the soldiers fell silent.

“I’m an old man, so it doesn’t matter if I die, but my granddaughter is only eight. You must make sure that she lives, I’m begging you!” the old man pleaded.

“Old man, we can’t even protect ourselves.”

“The food and water will only last for two days. Let’s just pray that the Sandstorm Demon Locusts will leave on their own.”

—

—

Fifteen kilometers away from Anjiao Town, soldiers were swiftly building a temporary camp behind a natural wall of rocks.

The camp was nothing fancy. It was just to prevent the Sandstorm Demon Locusts nearby from finding them.

Four troops of soldiers were dispatched here, each troop consisting a thousand soldiers and led by a Commander. Advisor Shao was in command of them.

Li Man was assigned to a special force established not long ago. She had less than fifty people under her lead. It mainly consisted of Intermediate Mages and above. Li Man was put in charge of the squad.

Mo Fan and his crew followed Li Man to the camp on the front line. Mo Fan saw an army in dark red uniforms heading toward Anjiao Town.

The terrain they were at was slightly higher. They could clearly see Anjiao Town located down in the basin. However, the black Sandstorm Demon Locusts were like a dark tornado that had originated from a different world. It was looming over Anjiao Town and the whole area within ten kilometers. The town was as tiny as a lonely island on a pitch-black ocean. It would be devoured by the huge waves at any second!

“It’s…it’s bigger than the Sandstorm Demon Locusts we encountered in the desert!” Mu Nujiao blurted out in astonishment.

“A troop of a thousand Mages is only like a little raft in the black ocean. Are they going to be fine entering the territories of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts so recklessly?” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“There’s no other choice. The food and water in the bunkers in Anjiao Town are only going to last for another two or three days. Advisor Shao has to do something. However, the situation isn’t as grim. The troop only consists of Fire Mages. The armor they are wearing has nodes for Star Orbits. If they cast their spells together, they can form a fiery barrier similar to the barrier of a town. The barrier will burn any Sandstorm Demon Locusts that come close into ashes. It’s the only reliable method we have come up with. They will bring food and water into the town and find out why the barrier has failed to protect the town,” Li Man said.

“They will soon reach the Sandstorm Demon Locusts.”

“Mm, is that barrier really going to work?” Mo Fan’s heart sank when he saw the troop of soldiers stepping into the devil’s nest.

He looked at Li Man and asked, “What’s with the barrier of the towns? Tell me the details.”

“A barrier is essential for the construction of a city. Without it, there’s no way a city could survive in a land crawling with demon creatures. This basin had a red danger level as soon as the Sandstorm Demon Locusts first showed up. The Council asked every person, city, and soldier to evacuate, but General Mu Da invented a fire barrier that could block the Sandstorm Demon Locusts from the fortress. With it, the Tarim Basin Fortress was able to expand further and build a few towns around it to extract the resources that are available…” Li Man explained.

“These Sandstorm Demon Locusts are afraid of fire, right?” Mu Nujiao asked.

Li Man nodded and said, “Fire is what they are scared of the most, so the fire barrier has guaranteed the safety of the towns for people to reside in, even though they were once listed as dangerous, but…”

Li Man glanced at Anjiao Town, surrounded by the Sandstorm Demon Locusts.

“Are there Sandstorm Demon Locusts that aren’t afraid of fire?” Lingling suddenly asked.

“That’s impossible; all Sandstorm Demon Locusts are afraid of fire!” Li Man said confidently.

Mo Fan shuddered as soon as he heard Lingling’s question. He immediately took out the Rock Crystal from the storage of his Space Element.

He had received the Rock Crystal from the mutated Sandstorm Demon Locust before he left the Burning Mountains. He had a feeling that something was not right, but when he realized something, a chill instantly ran down his spine!

“Huh, Mo Fan, that’s a crystal you got there; why is there something inside it?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Mo Fan did not respond. He pinched the crystal into pieces.

The crystal cracked open, exposing the thing that Jiang Shaoxu had noticed inside it. It was an insect with an odd shape. The insect had been dead for quite some time, but they could still tell that it had died while it was still in the egg!

“Why…why would the crystal have an insect that hasn’t been born yet!?”

“Is that a Sandstorm Demon Locust? A Sandstorm Demon Locust that hasn’t been born. It’s already dead…” Li Man exclaimed in surprise.

“Brother Fan, why do you have the Sandstorm Demon Locusts’ egg?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

Mo Fan did not answer the question. He dragged Li Man toward the main camp.

Li Man was utterly confused, but she could tell that it was something bad just by looking at Mo Fan’s expression.

The others knew Mo Fan rarely showed such fear, and quickly caught up to him.

—

—

Ten kilometers away from Anjiao Town, the deafening sound was messing up with the soldiers’ minds.

Luckily, they were using the nodes on their armor to maintain the fire barrier protecting them. Otherwise, they would not have had any chance to cast a single spell while being constantly harassed by the sonic wave.

Commander Fan Liang was leading the team. He seemed a little irascible, yet he had motivated countless soldiers to fearlessly charge into the front line with the same face. He had made worthy contributions repeatedly over his career.

“Don’t be scared, I have fought against these bugs for almost ten years. As long as we have the barrier, they are just going to wet their pants and run away. Charge, the people of the town are waiting for us. Our troop is going to be praised by every person in the west!” Fan Liang yelled at his men.

They were currently approaching the edge of the tornado of Sandstorm Demon Locusts. As soon as they set their foot in, thousands of Sandstorm Demon Locusts would be lunging at them.

“Repeat after me, We are fearless!”

“We are fearless!”

“We are unstoppable!”

“We are unstoppable!”

The troop of a thousand soldiers continued to move forward. They were carrying life-saving food and water as they approached the devil’s den.

The retreating path was no longer visible. Their vision was fully covered in darkness. The lonely town was swaying in the ‘tornado’ of the demon locusts.

“Fan Liang, Fan Liang, please respond. Retreat at once, retreat at once!” A soft distorted voice came from Commander Fan Liang’s communication device.

Fan Liang was struggling to hear it clearly. The noise produced by the wings of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts was just too deafening.

“What did you say? I can’t hear you. Don’t worry, we are going to accomplish our mission. My troop never fails our mission!”

“I say retreat! Retreat!” the seriously distorted voice was screaming.

“We will not fail, we will not hand over our Tarim Basin Fortress that we’ve put so much effort in to these filthy, greedy, disgusting bugs!” Fan Liang declared seriously.

“Re…retreat!”

—

—

The signal was cut off. All they heard were piercing screeches.

Up on the observation tower fifteen kilometers away, Mo Fan, Li Man, Advisor Shao, Zhang Xiaohou, and the other three Commanders were staring at the troop with wide eyes. They were watching the Sandstorm Demon Locusts slowly devouring the soldiers…

“Where…where is the fire?” a Commander sobbed.

Advisor Shao stood there, her face extremely pale. Her eyes were bloodshot.

“Why didn’t the fire barrier work? Why!? Why!?” a devastating cry echoed in the camp.

Mo Fan looked into the distance. He saw the Sandstorm Demon Locusts diving at the soldiers of the vanguard troop, he watched the insects turning the soldiers into piles of white bones.

Perhaps he could have prevented the tragedy from happening if he had realized the rocks on the Burning Mountains were actually the eggs of the mutated Sandstorm Demon Locusts!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s the mutated Sandstorm Demon Locusts… we saw how the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were diving at the Burning Mountains every night. They were doing it to select the mutated ones, so they could mass reproduce…” Mo Fan said numbly.

The place fell silent, yet everyone felt like there was some sound echoing in their ears. It was the cries of the soldiers five kilometers away dying in a horrible way.

A thousand soldiers had turned into bones in just a few minutes. The whole camp was having difficulty breathing under the immense pressure.

Some time later, Advisor Shao took a deep breath and straightened herself. She saluted in the direction of the troop that was wiped out. She did not allow the tears that were rolling in her eyes to run down her cheeks.

As the advisor, she had no right to cry. She had to organize her thoughts and remain calm at all times. The soldiers had sacrificed their lives in exchange for important information. She could not afford to put their sacrifices in vain.

“Tell the General to evacuate all the other towns right now. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts are no longer afraid of fire. Once Anjiao Town has fallen, the other towns will be in danger too!” Advisor Shao said to her subordinates.

“Affirmative!”

Advisor Shao glanced at Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou and said coldly, “Thank you for providing us with such an important piece of information. You all should evacuate with the rest of the army. We’ll take care of things here.”

Both Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou shook their heads. They could not just leave after witnessing what happened. There were still so many innocent lives in Anjiao Town.

“My fire is very effective against the Sandstorm Demon Locusts, including those that have mutated. If you are trying to deliver supplies into the town still, leave it to me,” Mo Fan stated seriously.

The Sandstorm Demon Locusts had mutated, meaning that the Tarim Basin Fortress was going to fall eventually. They had to evacuate right away.

However, Advisor Shao was clearly not willing to abandon the people in the Anjiao Town. They would fight until the very last second. It was their obligations as soldiers.

Mo Fan could tell that Advisor Shao was willing to die with the people of the Anjiao Town. However, Advisor Shao was struggling to come up with a better plan. The only possible outcome was that the people of this camp would all die too!

Mo Fan was not a busybody, yet they were times he felt like he had to step forward bravely. Besides, the Ardent Sunset that could suppress the Sandstorm Demon Locusts was the only chance to save these people!

“Mo Fan, they had just wiped out an entire troop, if you go…” Mu Nujiao said softly.

“Did you forget? I used my fire to burn the Sandstorm Demon Locusts that were chasing after you. I believe they were mutated Sandstorm Demon Locusts, too,” Mo Fan assued her. He knew the girl was worried about his safety.

“He’s right!”

“I’m not the Sandstorm Demon Locusts’ nemesis, but Little Flame Belle is,” Mo Fan declared.

“Little Flame Belle? Really!?”

“But you won’t be able to bring much supplies in on your own. There are more than ten thousand people in the town that need to eat and drink!” Advisor Shao said.

“I have the Space Element; I can bring a whole truckload of supplies with me. It’s only going to take a few runs,” Mo Fan said.

Advisor Shao and the other Commanders found some hope again!

They were now relieved that Li Man had brought these people along. Otherwise, they would be left clueless about what to do after losing a thousand soldiers. Their gaze toward Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and the others had changed too.

It was rare to see young Mages willing to step forward and risk their lives. Most talented Mages preferred to stay in the cities and enjoy their prestige and power. Their talents were usually wasted as they aged and achieved higher status.

“Brother Fan, I’ll go with you,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Zhang Xiaohou was extremely worried about letting Mo Fan go into the town alone. Mo Fan was his brother, he would rather go together with him. They were bold enough to jump into the Dark Abyss together. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts were nothing for them!

“Alright, but you have to stay within ten meters of me at all times,” Mo Fan nodded.

“How about us…”

“I can only bring one person with me at most. You girls should be on standby here. You can join us once we find the way to drive the Sandstorm Demon Locusts away,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Nujiao and Jiang Shaoxu nodded. They knew now was not the time to act on impulse. They should obey Advisor Shao’s arrangements instead.

“Withdraw at once if something goes wrong. The west army will still be grateful toward you all,” Advisor Shao said.

“We won’t force it, either!” Mo Fan treated his life more preciously than anyone else!

—

—

It was the same path, but this time, it was only Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou walking it. However, the people at the camp were feeling several times the pressure than what they were before. They were scared that the two would turn into bones within seconds, just like the others. Both of them had the option to leave. The death of the people and the disaster taking place had nothing to do with them.

“Brother Fan, are you scared?” Zhang Xiaohou could not help but ask as he walked alongside Mo Fan.

“I’m fine, perhaps I’m slowly getting used to it,” Mo Fan answered. He still remembered how a bunch of high school students were assigned to be the vanguard during the Calamity of Bo City, clearing the path for the entire school. Even though the danger they were facing back then was nowhere close to the current danger, they were extremely weak back then. It had been his first time putting his life at risk. His whole body had been trembling in fear.

However, they still had to move forward, even if they were scared. It was the same most of the time.

“I think I would be quite scared if I was alone, but I realize we can always overcome the situation whenever I’m with Brother Fan,” Zhang Xiaohou said optimistically.

Mo Fan knew Zhang Xiaohou trusted him.

Everyone had someone they could trust completely in their hearts. They would feel calm and collected even if they were heading toward the unknown or death as long as they were with the person they trusted. It seemed like he was the person that Zhang Xiaohou trusted in his heart.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan did not have one. It was the reason he kept trying so hard to become stronger!

—

Mo Fan felt like his brain was about to explode from the noise in his ears. He could barely cast a few Basic Spells and Intermediate Spells under the circumstances. There was no chance he could cast an Advanced Spell.

Luckily, Little Flame Belle had a ring of fire around her. She was escorting Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou after Mo Fan Summoned her.

The Sandstorm Demon Locusts were afraid of the fire of the Ardent Sunset. After all, they had mutated from the flames surrounding the Ardent Sunset, which were inferior to the flames of the Ardent Sunset. They did not dare challenge the much stronger Ardent Sunset. As a matter of fact, the Ardent Sunset was deadlier to them than any other kind of fire. Even the slightest touch would set the Fire Seed in their bodies aflame.

Little Flame Belle stood on Mo Fan’s shoulder. She did not need to release any energy. Her Domain alone was enough to keep the Sandstorm Demon Locusts ten meters away from them.

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou eventually reached the territory of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. The soldiers at the camp were utterly relieved when they saw Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan were fine in the ‘tornado’ of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts!

—

“Well done!”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

The faint ring of fire in the cloud of Sandstorm Demon Locusts was the last wisp of hope among the soldiers. They were utterly impressed by the two figures that were gradually moving into the distance!

—

The light was fully blocked off. It felt like they had entered a nest of demon creatures when so many Sandstorm Demon Locusts were circling and flying in the sky around them. Even an entire army would be devoured by the Sandstorm Demon Locusts once they came in here.

Humans were still too weak compared to demon creatures!

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou slowly entered Anjiao Town. Even the ground was covered in a layer of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. Their secretions were like a layer of wax above the ground in the town. It stank.

As the ring of the Ardent Sunset passed by, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts nearby quickly fled into the sky in a panic.

Mo Fan looked around and saw the remains of a Summoned Beast. It was likely that a Battlemage had sent their Summoned Beast out to investigate the situation outside, but it ended up as food that the Sandstorm Demon Locusts competed over.

The Sandstorm Demon Locusts were unwilling to give up. They could smell the living humans under the ground. They would not leave until they had eaten them all.

“It must be somewhere here, the building…holy crap, where did the building go?” Zhang Xiaohou was initially looking at the map, but he realized the place ahead was completely empty when he lifted his gaze.

There were supposed to be four buildings here, according to the map!

“What are these demon locusts up to? Why didn’t they eat the buildings in the first place? I remember seeing these buildings back at the camp…” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah, maybe it’s because they need time to digest their food?” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Digest… right!” Mo Fan realized something.

Mo Fan had stayed with the mutated Sandstorm Demon Locust on the Burning Mountains for some days. He gave the creature jerky at first, and the creature gladly ate the jerky. However, after it finished eating the jerky, it began to eat other things. It started with the burned weeds between the gaps of the rocks, the sand, and eventually the rocks. However, when Mo Fan gave the remaining jerky to the creature, it still ate it gladly…

It implied that the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had preferences for their food!

“These Sandstorm Demon Locusts will eat living things first. They will then eat fresh plants before eating metal, rocks, and finally…” Mo Fan glanced ahead as he was speaking.

Some Sandstorm Demon Locusts that were unable to find food were sniffing the soil on the surface, before they started chewing away at it.

“Crap, they are starting to eat the ground!” Zhang Xiaohou yelled.

“The soil and sand must be the most difficult thing for them to digest, so they won’t eat it unless they have no other choice. However, there’s nothing else to eat here, but there are living things under the ground!” Mo Fan shivered in fear as soon as he said the words.

If the Sandstorm Demon Locusts ate the ground, the people underground would have no way to escape!

“Why is there such a terrifying species in the world!?” Zhang Xiaohou swore.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou finally found the entrance to the underground bunker. They knocked on the entrance.

Zhang Xiaohou was a soldier. He only needed to use the secret knocking pattern of the army to notify the people inside that help had arrived.

The thick stone door was the last line of defense for the people inside the bunker. Their hearts were filled with hope when they heard something different from the endless buzzing of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts!

“They are here, help has arrived!” the soldiers guarding the entrance yelled out in excitement.

“But there are still so many Sandstorm Demon Locusts out there, my Summoned Beast just went out to investigate…”

“It’s the right password, open the door now!”

The people were relieved when they heard that help had arrived.

However, they only saw two young Mages standing outside the door. There was no army, no food and water, and no medicine. Their joy instantly dissipated like a puff of smoke.

“Just the two of you? Did they really give up on us?” the soldier that was depressed right from the start blurted out.

“A company of soldiers already died. Us two are the only people that can pass through the Sandstorm Demon Locusts,” Zhang Xiaohou answered.

Mo Fan opened the storage of his Space Element and distributed the supplies. They were not much, but they were still a glimpse of hope for the starving people.

“We’ll make a few more trips. Please wait patiently until we find a way to drive the Sandstorm Demon Locusts away,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“It has been so long. Hasn’t the army come up with any plan, or have they decided to abandon us? Did they send you two here just to deliver us our last meal!?” the soldier snapped furiously.

“Chen Yi, can you please calm down! The Sandstorm Demon Locusts are everywhere outside! Even the whole army won’t be able to kill them all. The army is obviously trying to come up with a plan to save us. They have risked their lives to transport food and medicine to us. How can you blame them instead!?” Captain Liu Zhuo exclaimed.

Chen Yi harrumphed coldly. He turned around and sat in the corner with a strong grudge.

“Keep the situation under control, make sure the people aren’t panicking,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Mo Fan pulled Zhang Xiaohou to the side and whispered, “By the time we come back with more supplies, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts would most likely finish eating the layer of dirt above the bunker.”

“What should we do then?” Zhang Xiaohou was uneasy. He glanced at the people in the bunker and saw them sitting closely together helplessly. He did not feel great.

“Not everyone here is trustworthy. It’s better not to tell them about the Sandstorm Demon Locusts eating the dirt. Call Captain Liu Zhuo over, let’s listen to what he has to say,” Mo Fan said.

Zhang Xiaohou called Liu Zhuo over and told him about the Sandstorm Demon Locusts that was eating the earth above them.

Liu Zhuo was startled. His eyes were filled with despair.

“We are only telling you because we are afraid people like Chen Yi would cause more panic among the people,” Mo Fan said.

” I understand. Forget it, just go. If you can come in here, you should be able to get out too. There’s no need for you to die with us. Either way, we are grateful for your help,” Liu Zhuo said.

“We aren’t leaving you all here. We want to hear your advice, maybe you have some idea how we can save these people. Time is running ou!” Zhang Xiaohou said seriously.

“The barrier is the only protection the town has. We don’t stand a chance without it,” Liu Zhuo said.

“Can we reactivate the barrier?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

Liu Zhuo shook his head, “It won’t make any difference. These Sandstorm Demon Locusts are no longer afraid of the fire of the barrier.”

“What fire does the barrier have? Can we use a different fire?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I believe you can change the fire. You just need to insert another flame into the Barrier Core. I saw the mayor doing it before,” Liu Zhuo said.

“Great, my fire is effective against the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. If we can reactivate the barrier with the fire of my Ardent Sunset, we might be able to get rid of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts,” Mo Fan said.

“Is your fire really that powerful?” Liu Zhuo was a little disbelieving.

“How do you think we managed to come here? Captain, we shouldn’t waste any more time. Even if the chance is slim, anything is better than waiting to die here!” Mo Fan said.

Liu Zhuo nodded in agreement.

The man was right, he could not afford to just wait here. Doing something that had the slightest chance of working was better than doing nothing.

“Alright, I’ll bring you to the Barrier Core!” Liu Zhong said.

—

They did not bring anyone else. It was only Zhang Xiaohou, Liu Zhuo, and Mo Fan. The three left the underground bunker.

The Barrier Core was located at the town hall, even though all that was left of it was debris.

The Barrier Core was underground, but it was not connected to the underground bunker. They had to walk quite a distance to the center of Anjiao Town.

Liu Zhuo was still a little worried. He was not sure how capable the two young men were until he saw the Sandstorm Demon Locusts backing away as soon as Mo Fan unleashed the flames of his Ardent Sunset. His eyes glimmered!

They had tried driving the Sandstorm Demon Locusts away with the Fire Element, but no matter how strong their spells were, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were not afraid at all. They had no choice but to give up, but to Liu Zhuo’s surprise, the young Mage actually possessed a fire that was the Sandstorm Demon Locusts’s nemesis. If he could insert the flames into the Barrier Core, Anjiao Town would be saved!

The noise kept buzzing in their ears and messing with their minds.

Liu Zhuo was drenched with cold sweat, despite the heat from Mo Fan’s Fire Domain.

“We’re close; the room is made of natural burning rocks. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts shouldn’t be able to enter it,” Liu Zhuo said.

Liu Zhuo went to the underground and moved the thick layer of debris aside, revealing an entrance to the underground.

The entrance was tightly sealed. It was protected by a magic aura, too. Liu Zhuo knew how to deactivate it. He crouched down and was about to get rid of the magic aura when he suddenly froze.

“What is it?” asked Mo Fan with a confused look.

“Someone deactivated the magic aura,” Liu Zhuo said. He grabbed the handle and pulled.

The door rose with ease after the pull, revealing some stairs leading down to the underground.

“Someone might be hiding down there because they weren’t able to make it to the emergency bunker in time,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Mm, that’s what I’m guessing, too. Let’s head down. If we let the Sandstorm Demon Locusts in, they are going to absorb the energy of the Barrier Core,” Liu Zhuo said.

The three immediately went down the stairs. The lights were still on, leading them toward the magic formation that was protecting the town.

It was Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou’s first time seeing a magic formation protecting a town. The magic formation of the barrier protecting a city would normally be hidden in the most secretive place, protected by the government. Its location was highly confidential, since if a city lost its barrier, it would soon be overrun by demon creatures. The people would be killed quickly!

The barrier of the town was not particularly huge. There was only a hall containing the magic formation in the underground.

The hall was built with fire crystals that could conduct magic. When energy was flowing in the Orbits, Patterns, or Constellations along the fire crystals, it was the same as Casting a spell. The Barrier Core would provide the energy needed to keep the magic formation going.

“The thing in the middle should be the Barrier Core. It’s the source of energy for the barrier. You just need to insert your fire into it, and the fire of the barrier should change too,” Liu Zhuo said.

“Alright, I’ll try,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan placed his hand on the Barrier Core and directed the fire of his Ardent Sunset into it. Mo Fan was soon surrounded by an ardent-red fire. The color of the fire of the Barrier Core gradually synchronized with Mo Fan’s fire.

Liu Zhuo and Zhang Xiaohou stood on the side. They were feeling a little nervous. Whether it was going to work or not would decide the fate of the people in the town. They were overjoyed when they saw the color of the Barrier Core changing under Mo Fan’s influence.

“I…I think it’s done,” Mo Fan opened his eyes and looked at the Core Barrier.

“The Barrier Core has absorbed the aura of your flames. Hopefully, it is enough to drive the Sandstorm Demon Locusts away when we activate the barrier,” Liu Zhuo said.

“So should we activate the barrier now?” Mo Fan asked.

Liu Zhuo nodded. He went to every corner of the hall to light up the magic nodes.

Every node was soon lighted up. Brilliant Star Orbits were gathering toward the Barrier Core from all directions. A brilliant, ardent-red flower was burning above the Barrier Core…

The light of the fire was not strong. Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan thought it would be a lot brighter, but the hall soon dimmed; the fire did not last for more than ten seconds!

“What’s going on? Did it not work?” Mo Fan asked quickly.

Liu Zhuo was frozen in surprise. He shook his head and said after some time, “Your fire works, and I believe the barrier will have the effects of your Ardent Sunset when it’s activated… but the Barrier Core… it doesn’t have any energy!”

“It’s empty?”

“Someone stole the Barrier Core’s energy!” Liu Zhuo said in despair.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Maybe you guys forgot to turn it off, so its energy has been depleted?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Impossible! I’m certain that I checked the Barrier Core recently. Its energy should last for more than half a month. The barrier was even shut off after it didn’t work against the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. How corrupted would a person have to be to steal the energy of the Barrier Core!?” Liu Zhuo was infuriated. He slammed his fist on the crystal wall nearby.

The Barrier Core was the town’s hope. Liu Zhuo finally found a glimpse of hope for Anjiao Town to survive, but he did not expect such an outrageous thing to happen.

“No wonder the magic aura was deactivated. The question is, who else knows about the Barrier Core apart from you?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

Mo Fan pulled Zhang Xiaohou’s arm and pointed at a crack. A black insect with broken wings was stuck inside.

“Don’t you feel like this insect is familiar?” Mo Fan asked.

Zhang Xiaohou took a closer look and shuddered. How could he not recognize the insect? It was the poisonous insects that had killed everyone in the cave where the Earth Pistil was, the same poisonous insects that Shi Qianshou was controlling!

“Could it be Shi Qianshou?” Zhang Xiaohou blurted out in shock.

“I bet it’s him. He just got his hands on the Earth Pistil, but its energy had been depleted, so he took the opportunity when Anjiao Town was attacked by the Sandstorm Demon Locusts to steal the energy of the Barrier Core so he could replenish the energy of the Earth Pistil!” Mo Fan said.

“I thought he ran away. I didn’t think he would be so bold as to show up again,” Zhang Xiaohou said through clenched teeth.

Zhang Xiaohou detested Shi Qianshou. He could not wait to kill the man with his bare hands, but to his surprise, Shi Qianshou was mad enough to sneak into the town to steal the Barrier Core’s energy!

If they left Shi Qianshou alone, who knew what kind of terrifying things he would do with the Earth Pistil?

“Wasn’t he able to control the Sandstorm Demon Locusts? I think he’s the only person that can enter Anjiao Town freely,” Mo Fan said.

“But he already left; how are we going to find him?” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“He shouldn’t be too far away. This kind of poisonous insect will die after it is separated from the host for too long. We can let this insect go, and it will lead us to Shi Qianshou,” Mo Fan said.

“Shi Qianshou, General Shi?” Liu Zhuo asked in surprise.

“Yes, it’s him, but he already turned into a devil.”

“If it’s him, he would know about the Barrier Core and the magic aura on the entrance too! However, there’s nothing you can do even if you found him. There’s no chance you can take him on,” Liu Zhuo said.

“It’s true that we don’t stand a chance against him at other places, but that might not apply here in Anjiao Town!” Mo Fan smiled.

—

Zhang Xiaohou followed Mo Fan’s instructions and released the poisonous insect with broken wings. It immediately headed in a certain direction. It was moving at a fast pace even without its wings.

The poisonous insect led the three to the west of Anjiao Town. The area mainly consisted of factories and accommodation for the miners. These houses clearly did not suit the Sandstorm Demon Locusts’ appetite. They were the only buildings left in Anjiao Town.

The factories were huge. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts were still flying in the sky outside. They would rest on the roofs of the factories when they were tired. The roof was covered in dark layers of insects. It was ghastly to see…

The little insect jumped to the roof of the factories. Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou finally saw a man in a military jacket covered in blood among the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. He was sitting right in the middle of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts, but the demon locusts did not attack him. They were circling him as if they were interested in something in his hand.

“Piss off, you lowly beings have no right to covet my treasure!” Shi Qianshou’s eyes were bloodshot. He had gone mad from the overwhelming greed driving him.

The Sandstorm Demon Locusts scattered after the man roared out. They were clearly afraid of the poisonous insects around him. They did not dare to harm him as long as the poisonous insects were around.

“Eat, eat as much as you want. Once you’re done, this land will be mine!” Shi Qianshou fondled the Earth Pistil in his hand, as if it was his child.

“Oh, I almost forgot, there should be people in the bunker still. Since they are going to die either way, they should make some meaningful contributions to me instead!” Shi Qianshou grinned when he suddenly remembered something.

His men and the energy of the Barrier Core he had recently obtained were nowhere enough to replenish the energy of the Earth Pistil.

The Barrier Core of a small town was like an insignificant piece to the Earth Pistil. The energy that he needed to replenish the energy of the Earth Pistil was equivalent to the energy needed to support the barrier of a city with around a million people. The Earth Pistil was even stronger than the Core of the Tarim Basin Fortress!

It would be perfect if the Core of the Tarim Basin Fortress was still intact!

Shi Qianshou jumped down from the factory. He was having a hard time remembering where the underground bunker was. Most of the buildings had been destroyed, and the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were everywhere. It was quite tricky to find the entrance to the underground bunker.

As soon as Shi Qianshou took a few steps, he discovered a ring of fire amid the dark Sandstorm Demon Locusts that were circling the area like a black tornado.

The Ardent Sunset was a special kind of fire. Its color hinted that it was no ordinary fire. Shi Qianshou was quite curious about who the Fire Mage was; the man was able to move freely among the Sandstorm Demon Locusts, just like him!

“Shi Qianshou!” Zhang Xiaohou yelled furiously. He had the urge to turn into a monster and tear the maniac into pieces.

Shi Qianshou waved his hand to drive the Sandstorm Demon Locusts that were blocking his vision away. He burst out laughing when he saw Zhang Xiaohou inside the ring of fire.

“So it’s you, the poor wretch that escaped! I believe the man beside you is the lucky kid that was away when we showed up. Both Zheng Tong and Tong Zhuang warned me about you. Mm, you’re quite impressive indeed, since you are able to move freely among the Sandstorm Demon Locusts,” Shi Qianshou said disdainfully when he saw it was them.

“The army knows what you did, you’re going to die!” Zhang Xiaohou snapped.

“HAHAHA, the army? What difference does it make? The army is struggling to look after themselves. What can the army do to me as long as I’m with the Sandstorm Demon Locusts? Once I replenish the energy of the Earth Pistil, the army is going to submit to me!” Shi Qianshou laughed wildly.

Shi Qianshou had noticed that the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had mutated and were invading human territories after he came out from the desert. He was overjoyed, since no one could possibly harm him as long as he stayed with the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. He could even abuse the Sandstorm Demon Locusts against his enemy.

He had used the Sandstorm Demon Locusts to kill everyone at the relay station that no one cared about, yet did anyone know that he was behind it?

Even now, as long as he was walking among the Sandstorm Demon Locusts, the Sandstorm Demon Locusts would take responsibility for every death he caused. As for what Zhang Xiaohou had told the army, Shi Qianshou was not afraid of the consequences. A little Commander without any evidence had no chance of taking him down, not to mention that he now had the Earth Pistil. The whole Tarim Basin Fortress would have to listen to him!

If he could maintain a barrier strong enough to protect a city with a million people, the people in the west would be treating him like a god. An accusation without evidence and a barrier that had come just in time to save the people; it was obvious that the army knew which was more important to them!

As for his mischief? Shi Qianshou was actually amused by how naive they were!

COMMENT

Was there any authority in a high position that had not done something that they did not want others to know about?

Compared to a city that could protect the lives of a million people he was trying to build and the achievements that would make him go down in history, the little mischief he had done was not even worth mentioning!

“To be honest, I’m really not that interested in taking your lives now. Tell me where the underground bunker is, and I might consider giving you a high position in my city. You know, I might have the Earth Pistil now, but I do lack some reliable subordinates. That being said, if you aren’t used to my methods of taking innocent lives, I can promise you that I’ll do a lot more good deeds after I become the mayor. I know better than you what a city needs, and what a mayor should do!” Shi Qianshou said indifferently.

Zhang Xiaohou felt like he was about to explode after hearing the words.

-Is this assh**e seriously asking me to bring him to the bunker so thousands of people will be made sacrifices to his insane ambition?-

“They are going to die either way. Isn’t it better if they die for a greater cause?” Shi Qianshou smiled.

“I think it’s better if you die, everything is going to be a lot simpler!” Mo Fan stepped forward. The fire of the Ardent Sunset grew stronger, driving the Sandstorm Demon Locusts further away.

“You want to kill me? Leaving aside the fact that your Intermediate and Advanced Spells aren’t strong enough to harm me, you won’t be able to cast a single spell because of the noise that the Sandstorm Demon Locusts are making. Just forget it, I’m like a god here. No one can oppose me!” Shi Qianshou smilingly said.

“Don’t you have trouble using your magic, too?” Mo Fan said.

The sound that the Sandstorm Demon Locusts was producing was like a huge magic-forbidding aura. Only those whose mental strength had reached the Advanced Stage could use their magic inside the strong interference!

Mo Fan did not believe Shi Qianshou’s mental strength had reached the Advanced Stage. Shi Qianshou was using the disastrous invasion of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts as his umbrella, but Mo Fan was also using it as his shroud. Mo Fan was able to take Shi Qianshou on, since he was unable to use his Advanced and Super Spells too!

“My Poison Element isn’t affected. My poisonous insects can deal with you easily!” Shi Qianshou sneered.

“Same as my fire, it’s unaffected, too!”

Mo Fan clenched his fist. The flames of the Ardent Sunset swam along Mo Fan’s arm like a dragon, gathering at his wrist and fist!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The aura of the Ardent Sunset fiery dragons had significantly surpassed the scale of the Intermediate Spell Fiery Fist. Shi Qianshou was forced to back away from the scorching heat when the flames lunged at him wildly.

The flames burned Shi Qianshou’s arm. He covered his eyes from the blinding light. The fiery dragons circled him and formed a ring of fire around him. The scorching heat of the flames continued to bake him.

Shi Qianshou’s face contorted in rage. He bent forward and spread his arms out.

A black gust of wind lifted his bloody military jacket. It flapped wildly as a thick poisonous gas spread into the surroundings and collided with Mo Fan’s flames.

The poison was so strong that it could even corrode the flames. Shi Qianshou let out a hollow laugh. As he opened his palms, poisonous insects beat their wings and sprang forward like a poisonous, black mist. It was difficult to tell if they had come out from Shi Qianshou’s body or if they were born in the poisonous, black mist. The poisonous insects had eyes poking out from their sockets and wings like scissors. Their legs were thin and long, like mosquitoes, while their mouths were sharp and pointy. They could pierce the skin of a human like a needle!

“Brother Fan, watch out for those poisonous insects!” Zhang Xiaohou reminded him.

“You and Liu Zhuo should head inside the factory and find somewhere safe,” Mo Fan told Zhang Xiaohou.

“Got it!” Zhang Xiaohou knew he and Liu Zhuo were unable to provide Mo Fan with any help since they could not cast a single spell due to the noise around them.

“Find some way to notify the army that Shi Qianshou is here!” Mo Fan said.

“Mmm, Brother Fan, don’t worry. I’ll leave Shi Qianshou to you!” Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

Even though he did not have the chance to kill Shi Qianshou himself, he was satisfied as long as Mo Fan was able to avenge Lin Feili on his behalf.

Zhang Xiaohou and Liu Zhuo ran for the factory when the two strong magicks collided once again. Liu Zhuo told Zhang Xiaohou there was an underground passage in the factories.

—

“We’ll die without the protection of the fire,” Liu Zhuo said uneasily.

“We will be fine as long as we don’t attract a whole bunch of Sandstorm Demon Locusts to us. Didn’t you say this factory has an underground passage to the mine? I remember the mine is in the north, it’s very close to where the camp is!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“It’s very close, but there are Sandstorm Demon Locusts along the way,” Liu Zhuo said.

“Then we’ll force our way out, we have to do something!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

—

Mo Fan’s ears were picking up another noise. The sound that the poisonous insects were making did not have the same scale as the noise of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts, but they were also extremely annoying, especially how their poison could spread rapidly from the tiniest cut on their target’s body.

“So you like to act like a hero, I’ll let you know how insignificant your attempt is!” Shi Qianshou yelled at him.

The poisonous insects rapidly coiled into an enormous spinning top and surrounded Mo Fan. They unleashed their poison while diving at Mo Fan like a bunch of greedy demons!

Mo Fan was shrouded by the poisonous mist. He summoned the Black Snake Armor without any hesitation.

The Black Snake Armor covered his body. The snake scales quickly absorbed the poison, clearing the cloudy mist around him.

Shi Qianshou was stunned. His Poison Element was at the Super Level, deadly enough to defeat a strong Commander-level creature with ease, yet the young man had something that could ignore his poison!

The Black Snake Armor was even more lustrous after absorbing the poison. It meant that the duration of the Armor had increased!

“Little Flame Belle, time to let this scum have a piece of our new fire!” Mo Fan said with an icy expression, his eyes burning like flames!

Little Flame Belle was shrouded by two different fires: the purest fire, the Calamity Fire, and the flames that even the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had to back away from, the Ardent Sunset. The two Soul-grade Fires merged into a stronger flame surrounding Mo Fan like a Domain!

Mo Fan’s body was set on fire as soon as Little Flame Belle’s soul merged with him. The Calamity Fire attached to the Black Snake Armor as an extra layer of protection, while the Ardent Sunset circled restlessly as his weapon!

It was Mo Fan’s first time merging with Little Flame Belle after she came back to life. Not only was Mo Fan feeling the destructive flames filling up his body, he could also sense the faint pulse of a pounding heart. It was surprisingly calming, like a clear spring amid the raging flames that were motivating him!

Mo Fan was lost in his thoughts for a second. He finally realized why it felt so familiar. It was as if he was hugging someone tightly in his arms, like she was currently fighting alongside him, since Little Flame Belle’s heart was also Xinxia’s heart.

The woman who was far away by the Mediterranean Sea knew he was currently in an intense fight!

“Little Flame Belle, we can’t let Mummy Xinxia worry about us. Let’s make it a quick one!” Mo Fan was engulfed in two Soul-grade Fires. He was utterly fearless, even if he was facing Shi Qianshou whose Poison Element was at the Super Level.

Little Flame Belle’s soul responded to Mo Fan’s words. Mo Fan could feel the excitement from her, the excitement that she could fight alongside him again. It was her greatest wish!

“Humph, it’s nothing but a show!” Shi Qianshou scoffed when he saw Mo Fan engulfing himself in fire.

So what if the young man had two Soul-grade Fires? He was a Super Poison Mage, his poisonous insects could destroy everything!

“Devouring Wind!” Shi Qianshou waved his hand, sending poisonous insects forward. They combined into a black gust surging ahead.

The Devouring Wind was formed by the poisonous insects. Similar to the Sandstorm Demon Locusts, the places that it swept past would be left barren. It was a vicious Poison Spell. Shi Qianshou was clearly planning to use the Devouring Wind to destroy Mo Fan and not leave a single piece of his bones behind.

The black tornado of millions of poisonous insects swept forward. Mo Fan thrust his right hand at it. The flames of the Ardent Sunset circling him spread rapidly. A huge arc-shaped barrier with dense fiery runes appeared before him. It completely blocked the Devouring Wind. The Poisonous Devouring Insects were turned into piles of black ashes when they collided with the burning shield.

The insects failed to get any closer. The flames of the Ardent Sunset were not only the Sandstorm Demon Locusts’s nemesis, they were basically every insect’s nemesis, as it could easily burn them all into ashes.

“Rise!” Shi Qianshou lifted his hands. The poisonous insects in the surroundings coiled about his legs and spiraled up, lifting him into the air.

The poisonous insects rose into the air and gradually covered Shi Qianshou’s body. They continued to stack on top of him, turning into a poisonous black giant!

BANG!

The poisonous giant that Shi Qianshou had turned into stomped in the air, sending a huge bunch of poisonous insects to the ground. His strength was on par with a muscular demon creature. The impact knocked the buildings nearby to the ground while the wave of inspects went after Mo Fan a few hundred meters away!

“Die!” Shi Qianshou raised his hands. Countless poisonous insects appeared from his palms and combined into an Insect Bomb made of thousands of poisonous insects above him!

The Insect Bomb grew bigger and bigger, reaching the size of a two-story building. Shi Qianshou tossed the Insect Bomb at Mo Fan a few hundred meters away.

The wings of the poisonous insects snapped like scissors. Their strength alone could shred a Commander-level creature to minced meat.

Mo Fan rode a wave of flame and dodged the Insect Bomb. As the Insect Bomb landed on the ground and left a huge pit behind, the poisonous insects scattered and chased after Mo Fan. It felt like they were trying to surround Mo Fan in a disgusting ball of insects!

“Fire Burst Feathers!” Mo Fan spread out the Calamity Fire that was covering him like armor. The fire turned into thousands of fiery feathers firing at the poisonous insects rapidly gathering toward him.

“Explode!” Mo Fan clenched his fist, detonating the fiery feathers in different locations. The flames caused by the explosions gradually formed a ball of fire with Mo Fan at the center. The spectacular flames immediately burned the poisonous insects aiming to surround him into ashes!

“Rocket Wings!”

Mo Fan took a step back. The Calamity Fire reappeared and engulfed him. This time, it did not just cover his body, but it also formed a pair of wings on his back. The wide wings were completely made of fire, giving him an imperious appearance.

However, that was not the end of it. A brighter and ardent-red fire rose from the base of the wings and spread rapidly, forming another pair of wings slightly above the wings of the Calamity Fire!

COMMENT

The wings of the Ardent Sunset were like burning clouds. The light it was emitting was even a little brighter than the Calamity Fire. The two fires set off Mo Fan’s appearance, making him look like an emperor just been born from the flames!

“I have a strong dislike of insects recently!” Mo Fan raised his head and looked at Shi Qianshou, now completely covered in insects.

Shi Qianshou sensed the overwhelming power of the flames, but the proud man showed no intention of backing away. He continued to Summon his insects, facing Mo Fan’s flames directly with his poisonous insects!

The giant made of Shi Qianshou’s insects shifted again. This time, they took the form of a giant centipede floating in the air instead. The giant centipede opened its mouth wide, revealing fangs made of the sharp wings of the poisonous insects.

The giant centipede dove forward. Its mouth was big enough to swallow an entire factory. Mo Fan was staring right into its dark, disgusting mouth!

Mo Fan did not back away from the ghastly bite. He stomped the ground, unleashing a shocking power from the wings of the Ardent Sunset and the Calamity Fire. It crazily boosted his speed, firing him into the air while a blazing red aftertrail and a strong wind followed behind. The force turned Mo Fan into a raging inferno bursting into the sky. The stunning ardent-red flames were trying to get rid of the cloudiness in the sky…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The flames filled the sky and shattered the giant mouth of the centipede made of poisonous insects. The flames even devoured the Sandstorm Demon Locusts in the distance. Countless poisonous insects and demon locusts were burned into ashes by the wild flames spreading kilometers away!

The streets and the roofs were covered in soot. Mo Fan soared into the cloudy sky like an eagle declaring its territory the moment it spread its wings!

Shi Qianshou hid among the insects. They were his weapon and his armor, but half of them had already been killed by Mo Fan’s raging flames. He needed a significant time to Summon them back, and most importantly, he would need to expend a significant amount of energy!

Shi Qianshou’s body was a little scorched from the heat. He landed on the street that was covered in debris, nervous now. The remaining poisonous insects flew around him uneasily while buzzing annoyingly.

Mo Fan descended from the sky and landed on the street too.

Mo Fan laughed when he saw Shi Qianshou was injured. “Take a look at yourself, you are like a pile of manure circled by flies. Mmm, a disgusting pile of manure! You should just build a latrine pit and trap yourself inside it, so you can enjoy the rotten smell coming out of your bones and soul together with your insects!”

Shi Qianshou’s face twisted. He was a General, the future mayor of a city. Everyone was going to circle him, just like his insects. His power, his authority, his influence were nothing close to what Mo Fan had described!

“An imbecile like you will never understand. You will never match the contributions I’ve made in the west, even in a few lifetimes. The higher-ups are riding roughshod over us while we expand their territories. However, they didn’t bother leaving our names on the booming lands!” Shi Qianshou said with a twisted look.

“Do you really think the people are going to live peacefully in a city built on top of countless corpses?” Mo Fan said disdainfully.

“Isn’t every city the same?”

“Forget it, I’m more used to beating the crap out of a maniac than trying to talk some sense into them!”

“Says an Advanced Mage like you?”

“I’ve defeated those that were ten thousand times stronger than you! And besides, I really hate bugs!” Mo Fan did not waste any more of his time with Shi Qianshou. The two flames intertwined on his right hand, and gradually formed a sword of the Fire Calamity and Ardent Sunset!

The sword was engulfed in the two different flames. A ring of flame was circling around the enormous sword. Mo Fan could feel that the fiery sword was more than twice as heavy as it used to be. Most importantly, the sword felt very solid. It was no longer just a body of energy, but a real sword of fire!

Little Flame Belle was getting stronger. Even the sword she Summoned felt similar to a real magic Weapon. It was definitely perfect for Mo Fan, who was a fan of violence!

1 He lifted his gaze to the ten-plus meter long fiery sword. Mo Fan believed it was necessary to change his habits. He should not keep throwing punches at someone’s face. He should act more gentlemanly, like a high-spirited swordsman that sliced things in half decisively and beheaded a jerk among scum like Shi Qianshou!

The Double-Flaming Fiery Sword slashed forward with a huge explosion. The entire street was filled with the destructive flames. The sword went right after Shi Qianshou, who was trying his best to back away. The buildings on both sides of the street collapsed to the ground. The street had survived the invasion of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts, yet it was razed to the ground by Mo Fan!

The sword was still intact, but it was too heavy for a single hand. Mo Fan held it with both hands and chased after Shi Qianshou. When he saw the man hiding behind a building, he brought the sword down heavily, despite the building that was in the way!

The flames spread rapidly from the sword. Shi Qianshou initially thought Mo Fan was going to stab, pierce, and slash with the sword, but the man had no clue how to use a sword at all. He was slamming it down like a hammer!

Shi Qianshou could easily dodge slashes of the fiery sword, since he could fly around with the help of the poisonous insects, but the heavy slams with a huge area of effect were giving him a huge headache. The rolling flames from each impact would burn some of his insects to death. Without the insects, his strength was going to decline significantly!

He could not help but admit that the Advanced Mage was a lot stronger than he had thought with the two Soul-grade Fires and the Fire Spirit Possessing him. Even his poisonous insects were greatly suppressed by the fires!

There were different ways of using the Poison Element. Breeding a huge number of poisonous insects was only one of them. It had abandoned the traditional way of casting Poison Spells, since the poisonous insects could be used both defensively and offensively. He could also transform the poisonous insects into creatures of different forms, similar to a Summoner. Usually, a Poison Mage using this method would be a lot stronger than a normal Poison Mage since they could do a lot more things in a fight. The only downside was that if they relied too much on the poisonous insects, they would find themselves at a huge disadvantage when facing someone like Mo Fan, whose fire was the poisonous insects’ nemesis!

Another kind of Poison Mages purely used the Poison Element to attack, harass, and torture their opponents. Shi Qianshou now wished that he was that kind, since he could easily corrode Mo Fan’s body away with a single Super Poison Spell!

However, the magic Armor that Mo Fan was wearing was a nuisance to deal with, too! It had absorbed all the poison that Shi Qianshou had unleashed. He could not help but wonder where the young man had gotten such a remarkable treasure from!

“Die!” Mo Fan detested the insects!

He slashed out, sending waves of flames surging at Shi Qianshou.

Shi Qianshou quickly backed away, controlling the poisonous insects to form a wall to stop the flames from hurting him.

The wasps were dying at an incredible pace. The flames were like starving wolves pouncing at the insects. They stood no chance against the flames of the Ardent Sunset!

The poisonous insects began to flee. They were overwhelmed by fear after witnessing the horrible deaths of their brothers and sisters. Shi Qianshou was hoping that the insects could buy him some time, but to his surprise, he saw the flames lunging at him as soon as the insects flew away.

Shi Qianshou had no choice but to Summon his magic Armor. It was obvious that Shi Qianshou was not a rich General, since his Armor was not high-quality.

Mo Fan was once on the national team. Every member of it was supported by factions or financial groups, so their equipment was among the best. Some even had luxurious equipment that was better than what a Super Mage owned. Shi Qianshou had most likely spent most of his savings on breeding his poisonous insects, so his gear was a little unpresentable.

His magic Armor managed to endure the flames, but Mo Fan believed it could not take any more hits. Shi Qianshou was done for once his poisonous insects were unwilling to obey his orders after they were overwhelmed by fear!

“Son of a b**ch, come back, come back here!” Shi Qianshou snapped furiously when he saw his poisonous insects fleeing.

The poisonous insects had to obey the orders of their master, but even the lowliest creatures would follow their instincts in front of death.

“You were inhumane toward your men, and now, even the insects most loyal to you have decided to betray you.” Mo Fan moved forward, glaring at Shi Qianshou whose poisonous insects were leaving him.

“I don’t need you to tell me how to use my magic!” Shi Qianshou’s eyes reddened like a devil’s.

The escape of the poisonous insects was a deadly blow to Shi Qianshou. Without them, it was extremely difficult for him to use his magic!

“If you didn’t treat them like that, these poisonous insects were more than willing to wrap around you to protect you by sacrificing their lives until the very last moment. I have seen many that tried to protect their master recklessly. You should reflect on how much of a scumbag you are. No one is willing to follow you anymore, not even the insects that you bred!”Mo Fan swung the fiery sword at the man without mercy.

The hit sent Shi Qianshou flying. His Armor had saved his life, but it began to crack apart too. It could endure a few more hits at most!

“Damn it!” Shi Qianshou rose to his feet. Not a single poisonous insect was left. The aura of his Poison Element was preventing the Sandstorm Demon Locusts from attacking him, but the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were the least of his concerns at the moment. His biggest threat was Mo Fan, who possessed two Soul-grade Fires!

The reincarnated Little Flame Belle had provided Mo Fan with some extremely powerful flames!

“Even if you’re stronger than me in here, I can still pinch you to death with a single hand out there!” Shi Qianshou rose to his feet.

He did not continue the fight with Mo Fan among the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. He covered himself in a poisonous mist.

He used the poisonous mist to force the poisonous insects to return to him. The poisonous insects soon gathered around him, back under his control. They lifted Shi Qianshou into the air and dragged him away from the Sandstorm Demon Locusts.

Mo Fan knew the man was planning to run away, but there was nothing much he could do if the Super Mage was serious about running away.

“Little Flame Belle, we can’t let him leave!” Mo Fan said.

Little Flame Belle summoned the burning feathers again to propel Mo Fan forward.

However, even though Mo Fan was incredibly strong in his current form and his temporary speed burst was impressive, he was clearly lacking in speed when traveling across a long distance. If he was still able to use the Shadow Element and the Space Element, he could easily catch up to Shi Qianshou in seconds!

Mo Fan chased after Shi Qianshou with all he had, yet the man was slowly getting away. He soon reached the outer ring of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts.

The effects of the noise grew weaker the further he was from the Sandstorm Demon Locusts.

“HAHAHA, I dare you to keep chasing. I will destroy you as soon as you set your foot out here!”

Shi Qianshou had left the tornado of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. There were only a bunch of Sandstorm Demon Locusts patrolling the area. The noise they were making was nowhere enough to disrupt Shi Qianshou’s magic.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan’s mind was no longer affected by the noise either, meaning that he could now use his other Elements!

The problem was, Shi Qianshou’s other Elements were most likely at the Super Level too! No matter how strong he was with Little Flame Belle’s double Soul-grade Fires, he still could not take on a Super Mage!

“Useless pricks, you will all die for disobeying my order!” Shi Qianshou stood on a sand dune. A strong wind suddenly blew and swept the sand around him into the air. The sand was spinning at an incredible speed!

The sand punctured the poisonous insects around Shi Qianshou. Their blood sprayed in the air like a mist. The sand had cruelly massacred the remaining poisonous insects in an instant!

Mo Fan’s heart was filled with rage when he saw Shi Qianshou killing his own poisonous insects that way!

This Shi Qianshou had so lost his mind; he was beyond redemption!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Didn’t you want to kill me? Come out, I dare you to come out!” Shi Qianshou stood outside the Sandstorm Demon Locusts and yelled like an enraged beast.

Mo Fan did not go out recklessly.

“Aren’t you trying to be a hero? I’m telling you, if you don’t kill me today, I’ll turn the people of a town, a city into sacrifices for the Earth Pistil! Great hero, come out and kill me! Aren’t you a saint, isn’t sacrificing your life for the others something you’re meant to do!?” Shi Qianshou continued to yell at Mo Fan while laughing wildly.

“You must have misunderstood. I never thought of myself as a hero or a saint. It’s just that I despise the actions of a scumbag like you!” Mo Fan stood there at the edge of the noise’s coverage.

He would not go out. Going out was suicidal! Even if Shi Qianshou was threatening him with the lives of the others, Mo Fan believed it was unwise to just go out impulsively.

He would die within a minute out there. Shi Qianshou’s Earth Element was obviously at the Super Level. Instead of living for a righteous cause for just another minute, he preferred to stay alive and call Han Ji or Zhu Meng over to take Shi Qianshou out before he could do any harm. If worse came to worse, he would not mind calling Pang Lai here, too. The man could destroy Shi Qianshou in less than a minute!

Shi Qianshou felt an urge to vomit blood when he saw Mo Fan standing at the edge with no intention of coming out and fighting him!

If Mo Fan insisted on staying inside with the Sandstorm Demon Locusts; wouldn’t that mean he was beaten up inside there for no reason?

He had also killed all his poisonous insects. His Poison Element was basically non-existent!

“You and I are the same kind, we are both selfish!” Shi Qianshou pointed at Mo Fan and claimed furiously.

“There’s still some difference between us. I might be selfish, but I don’t do harm to other people. I do save people’s lives at times, and trample some noisy self-righteous moralists. Don’t worry, even if you yell until your throat is gone, I still won’t go out… I’m a god inside the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. If you want to kill me, you can come in here instead. I’ll go easy on you by not using five of my Elements!” Mo Fan shot back.

Shi Qianshou clenched his teeth. He had an urge to go inside and slay Mo Fan!

How could there be such a shameless young man? Were his righteousness and his devotion to promoting justice eaten by a dog? Any Mage with the slightest conscience would come out and fight him instead! Shi Qianshou strongly believed if it was Zhang Xiaohou in Mo Fan’s place, he would surely come out from the Sandstorm Demon Locusts!

Shi Qianshou stared at Mo Fan. He suddenly burst out laughing as he recalled something.

“HAHAHAHA, you won’t dare to let me go. If you do, the people that are trapped in the bunker will all die. The Barrier Core, you need the Barrier Core to save the people! HAHAHA, I’ve changed my mind. If you dare to come out here, I will give the energy of the Barrier Core back. I will kill you at all costs today!” Shi Qianshou laughed. He felt like he finally had some information that he could use against Mo Fan.

Mo Fan just looked at Shi Qianshou. He said after some time, “Were you born in the Year of the Pig?”

“What did you say!?” Shi Qianshou’s smile froze.

“Advisor Shao, I’ll leave the rest to you! I feel extremely disgusted saying even an extra sentence to this pile of manure!” Mo Fan called out loudly.

Shi Qianshou was stunned for a second. He quickly looked around.

Lightning halberds slammed down from the sky. The twelve lightning halberds stuck into the ground in twelve different spots!

Advisor Shao was wearing a military jacket. She landed imperiously with the lightning, right beside Shi Qianshou. The twelve lightning halberds instantly produced a powerful sealing force, cutting off the area!

Shi Qianshou’s wild expression vanished when he saw the enormous lightning halberds…

A Super Lightning Spell! Furthermore, it was the second-tier Twelve Lightning Condemnation! The powerful terrifying lightning danced wildly around Shi Qianshou. He could feel himself trembling!

Shi Qianshou turned around and saw a woman standing with her hands behind her. It was none other than Advisor Shao, who was controlling the Lightning Punishment Formation. The remaining pride on Shi Qianshou’s face dissipated instantly, as he had just seen someone scarier than he was!

“Cap…captain!” Shi Qianshou’s legs trembled. He did not even dare to lift his gaze and look at Advisor Shao’s face.

“My greatest regret was going easy on a person like you!” Advisor Shao turned around and looked down at Shi Qianshou coldly.

“All…all I did was for the sake of the fortress. Those Councilmen only know to ride roughshod over us. They never knew the hardship we went through and how dangerous this place is. We are risking our lives to expand their territories out of loyalty, earning back our pride and our land from the demon creatures, and yet they ended up sending us further away, asking us to die again for their sake! My men and I didn’t want to die…” Shi Qianshou said timidly.

When Mo Fan walked out of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts, he was surprised to see Shi Qianshou kneeling in front of Advisor Shao inside the Lightning Punishment Formation.

To think that even someone as vicious as Shi Qianshou would be so afraid of someone that he could no longer speak properly, this Advisor Shao was surely someone very impressive!

“Hand it over, if you still think that you are a soldier!” Advisor Shao snapped coldly.

“Captain, listen to me, it’s only a matter of time until those Councilmen treat us like cannon fodder and we die in a battle against a horde or a kingdom of demon creatures. We’ve built and managed everything here, why can’t we claim this place as ours!?” Shi Qianshou added.

“Why?” Advisor Shao let out a hollow laugh. “We are humans, not cold-blooded demon creatures with a strong lust for blood. The number of demon creatures is a hundred or even a thousand times ours. Our country has some of the fiercest and the most ambitious demon creatures in the world, but we are still standing today instead of becoming their cattle! Do you know why?

“It’s our destiny to die battling against the demon creatures. If you didn’t know that the moment you put on your uniform, you should have just stayed in the cities. No one was forcing you to come out here and die. No one would condemn you for being a coward. You could just live in peace. If the demon creatures came, they would have to step over the corpses of soldiers like us, who clearly understood our obligations!

“However, if you chose to be a soldier, but what you do is worse than a demon creature, I swear I will destroy both your flesh and soul, and you will die in the most gruesome way that you could ever imagine!”

Advisor Shao’s thunderous voice kept striking down on the selfish ideas in Shi Qianshou’s mind. It was also echoing in the ears of the other soldiers nearby.

Shi Qianshou wanted every soldier to behave like demon creatures. He even wanted to tell the world that his path was the only way the people in the West could survive… but could a city that was built on death and hatred really stop the invasion of the demon creatures?

Mo Fan had witnessed how the Sandstorm Demon Locusts dove into the fire on the Burning Mountains. They were not trying to get themselves killed, but seeking a path of survival for their race. They were sacrificing themselves to select those that had a strong resistance to fire to reproduce again, just to prevent their race from being wiped out by fire!

Even demon creatures like the Sandstorm Demon Locusts knew to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their race, but someone was still thinking of harming their own kind just so they could live comfortably after stacking up the bones of hundreds or thousands of people under the walls of his city, while humans were constantly under the threat of demon creatures…

Luckily, people like him were only the minority. Mo Fan believed there were more people like Advisor Shao out there, who was not willing to give up on the life of a single person. They were not afraid to face the demon creatures, and they were not driven by their own greed. They were trying their best to contribute to the survival of mankind; to protect the cities, the lands, and their people. It was true that as soldiers, there might be a day where they had to dive into the flames, but they were doing it in exchange for new lives that were no longer afraid of fire and their nemesis; it was to ensure that humans could become stronger, and their enemy would be stricken with terror by then!

“Mo Fan, I’ll leave the rest to you.” Advisor Shao gave the Earth Pistil to Mo Fan.

The Earth Pistil contained a huge amount of energy. Not only was it able to support the fire barrier of the Anjiao Town, it was enough to protect the entire Tarim Basin Fortress!

However, Advisor Shao did not have the slightest hint of joy on her face.

They would have to give up on everything they had built here for more than ten years. The people would be evacuated to ‘safer’ places. Looking at the dense Sandstorm Demon Locusts, she could not help but admit that the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had indeed won the battle. They had claimed ownership over the land, driving the humans out.

“Sister…” Li Man walked up to Advisor Shao and comforted her.

Li Man was well aware of how much effort her sister had put in, but all her efforts for the last ten years were now in vain.

“I’m fine, as long as the people in Anjiao Town are safe. It’s all thanks to your two friends,” Advisor Shao did not shed a single tear. She fixed her eyes on Anjiao Town.

——

Mo Fan had set out for Anjiao Town with the Earth Pistil some time ago. Suddenly, a fiery ripple rose in the center of the Anjiao Town and loomed over the boundaries of the town like a half-sphere. The spectacular flames of the Ardent Sunset dyed the clouds as if the sun was setting, driving the cloudy dust of the Sandstorm Demon Locusts and the darkness away.

The light of the flames shone upon the faces of the soldiers at the front line, including the pale face of Advisor Shao. The warmth was oddly soothing to their uneasy hearts…

As long as the people were safe, the efforts for the past ten years might have been in vain, but they always had another ten years to spare!

“I almost forgot; what plan did you all use to force Shi Qianshou out from the Sandstorm Demon Locusts?” Advisor Shao asked Liu Zhuo after a thought crossed her mind.

“Plan? I believe that young man drove him out using brute force,” Liu Zhuo replied.

“Brute force? Mo Fan, all by himself? Isn’t Shi Qianshou a Super Poison Mage?” Li Man asked in disbelief.

Advisor Shao was astounded too.

They didn’t lure Shi Qianshou out with a plan? Did that mean Shi Qianshou was defeated by Mo Fan?

Advisor Shao turned around and looked at Shi Qianshou, who was kneeling in low spirits.

Shi Qianshou did not dare to exchange glances with Advisor Shao. Perhaps the man was not breaking down because of Advisor Shao’s speech, but the fact that he, a general, had lost to an Advanced Mage!

Even Advisor Shao couldn’t possibly do anything to him when he was hiding in the Sandstorm Demon Locusts!

“So he’s Mo Fan, the strongest participant in the World College Tournament? No wonder the chief has such high hopes for him!” Advisor Shao quickly realized who Mo Fan was. She did not realize they were the same person, since the name Mo Fan was just too common.

“Chief? Which chief?” Li Man was startled.

“Who else would it be?” Advisor Shao answered.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The people of Anjiao Town were safe and sound. It was a great relief amid all the misfortune.

Unfortunately, the Council still decided to forfeit the plan to construct a city in the desert. The army in the west was being withdrawn from the fortress. They were told to help the government evacuate the people from the fortress.

Mo Fan was well aware of the efforts that the army had put in, but the decision of the Council was reasonable, too. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts were beyond their expectations. They were different from demon creatures hidebound by convention. The Sandstorm Demon Locusts were evolving, just like humans. He could not help but wonder if the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had an intelligent leader that was bold enough to seek new hope amid the destruction. If every demon creature was the same, many human cities would be overrun. After all, despite being one of the smartest species in the world, many humans were at a standstill and resting on their laurels.

The fortress was being evacuated. The people were most likely going to move to the cities they were assigned to. What happened next was no longer Mo Fan’s concern. He believed the people of Anjiao Town and the rest of the towns would be safe with someone like Advisor Shao in charge.

Mo Fan did not keep the Earth Pistil to himself, returning it to Advisor Shao. Mo Fan was not shameless enough to keep the thing to himself out of greed after seeing how selfless Advisor Shao was. However, something beyond Mo Fan’s control still happened. The energy in the Earth Pistil that Shi Qianshou had replenished with the lives of his men was accidentally absorbed by the Essence Orb.

The Essence Orb was very interested in energy obtained from shady methods. Mo Fan could not stop the Essence Orb from doing as it pleased. Luckily, Advisor Shao did not think the energy was obtained by a proper method. The hatred it possessed was just too strong, so she would find some other ways to replenish the energy of the Earth Pistil.

A third of the Essence Orb was refilled. It was definitely a piece of good news for Mo Fan!

Mo Fan felt like his body was left hollowed out after he had used the Demon Element previously. He would be unable to use the Demon Element for some time. On top of that, the Holy Judgment Court had banned him from using it. Mo Fan believed it was necessary to fill up the Essence Orb again. Otherwise, if someone from the Black Vatican suddenly showed up, or Izisha, who held a huge grudge against him, sent a powerful assassin after him, wouldn’t he have no chance of protecting himself?

Mo Fan was not worried that Izisha would try to harm Xinxia, since she had already sworn a curse on her soul to prevent her from directly or indirectly inflicting any harm on Xinxia. The other half of the contract was in Old Bao’s possession. As long as Izisha had no intention of being imprisoned for a thousand years, she was restrained from trying to harm Xinxia.

But was Izisha really content with that outcome? Mo Fan believed otherwise.

The woman had suffered great losses, but once she recovered her influence, she was obviously going to pick on him first.

And there was Salan, too…

Izisha was out in the clear. There were people watching her every move, so it would be difficult for her to try anything. It was not easy for her to send someone after Mo Fan.

The same restrictions did not apply to Salan. He was perfectly safe in China, since he had plucked out her fangs in his homeland, but as soon as he left the country, the vicious woman would do anything to take his life. She knew the Demon Element would not be available for some time, which meant now was the perfect time for her to take him out!

“I should just stay in the country while filling up the Essence Orb!” Mo Fan was relieved when he saw a third of the Essence Orb had been refilled.

He sighed, “I can’t just keep relying on the Demon Element. It’s better if I can become stronger. I’m only lucky that I was able to defeat Shi Qianshou. A Super Mage is just too strong for me to handle now… but once I become a Super Mage, I should be able to go anywhere as I please. I will no longer have to worry about the two Women of Black and White Impermanence.”

{TL Note: Black and White Impermanence are two deities in Chinese folk religion that are said to be in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld. As the name suggested, they are dressed in black and white respectively.}

The Women of Black and White Impermanence were the nicknames Mo Fan came up with for Salan and Izisha.

The Woman of Black Impermanence obviously referred to Salan, while Izisha was the Woman of White Impermanence. They both had listed his cool name of Mo Fan at the very first line of the first page in their ‘Death Notes’!

1 —

—

Huge amounts of snow were covering a little hut by an icy lake, like a giant mink coat made of swan feathers. The wind was knocking on the window and the door. The frost-covered woods kept crackling, as if they were going to collapse at any second.

The wind and snow were landing on a cold face. The woman raised her hand and snatched an icicle from the roof, before stabbing the knee of a man lying on the ground.

The ice punctured the kneecap. The man cried out in pain, his voice echoing across the lake.

“You are quite devoted to the Cold Prince, but it seems like you don’t really understand who I am. Otherwise, why would you dare to set me up with your master?” The woman moved a chair closer and sat in front of the man. His blood was pouring out of his knee, but it soon froze in the cold as she sat there with her legs crossed.

“Master Salan, it’s all a misunderstanding, we had no idea she was related to you, I swear…” the man exclaimed. His tears and nasal mucus had mixed together, but they soon froze too.

The man was well aware that the pain he was feeling was only just the beginning. If he did not satisfy the woman with his answers, he would have to endure a hundred times the pain and torture that he was currently going through.

“I don’t really care if you’re trying to use her. She was never my concern, but I can’t accept that you’re using my name just to achieve something so petty. Many people in the world are waiting for my next masterpiece, and you guys almost destroyed the reputation I’ve worked hard to build in China. Now, tell me what you know, and perhaps I’ll allow the Cold Prince to come retrieve your corpse in one piece.” The woman took out a carving knife and began to trim her nails indifferently.

“I really don’t know anything, the Cold Prince never told me anything! Master Salan, we never meant to offend you, we were just trying to control Izisha and the Parthenon Temple…” the man tearing up in fear exclaimed.

“Idiot, do you seriously think the likes of you are smart enough to control Izisha? Do you think you would still be alive today if she wanted you dead?” Salan kicked the top of the icicle stuck in the man’s knee.

“Master Salan, I’m begging you, please spare my life. I’m just following orders. The plan that I had with the Cold Prince was never meant to set you up…” The man was trembling in pain as he spoke.

“Be gone, tell the Cold Prince to give me the thing he took from the Sacred Hall of Liberty, and I’ll consider sparing your life,” Salan gave a powerful kick to the man’s knee.

The man’s knee broke instantly. He did not dare stay in the hut a second further, despite the incredible pain he was in. He crawled out of the hut, afraid that the woman would suddenly change her mind.

The man left a long trail of blood on the frozen lake as he crawled slowly into the distance.

—

Salan sat inside the hut watching him go. She spoke even though it seemed empty, “What do you think?”

“It does seem like the Cold Prince was trying to control the Parthenon Temple,” a voice appeared out of nowhere from the shadow in a corner.

The man had been completely unaware of the person’s existence. Even if he was to look closely, he would only see a blurry silhouette.

“You’re considering it too superficially. The Cold Prince would never have the guts to interfere with my business,” Salan said.

“You’re saying that someone is behind the Cold Prince? But he’s a Red Cardinal, who could possibly order him around…” the man paused for a moment, “It’s… the Supreme Pontiff!”

Salan did not speak. She scratched the surface of the frozen table with her nails.

“Why would the Supreme Pontiff do that?”

“Perhaps he realized the two of us are beyond his control. The things he has put all his effort into have gradually turned into his threats,” Salan said calmly. “He gave me the name of Salan while trying to make that girl a Saintess, but in the end, people are falling to their knees in front of me, and Ye Xinxia has also noticed he’s trying to pull strings.”

“I bet the Supreme Pontiff never expected Izisha to come back to life…”

“Mm, Izisha always likes to be the oriole behind, but it’s better this way. I’ll leave her as my final dish.”

{ TL Note : The oriole here is referring to the idiom ‘the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it’.}

“What about the Supreme Pontiff? If he was trying to take you down…”

“I have both Cardinal Blood Stones now. The Contract of the Blood Stones no longer threatens me. I believe he will express goodwill to me soon and tell me he’s the most content with me among the seven Red Cardinals, hinting that he’s thinking of making me his successor,” Salan said.

“The Supreme Pontiff is looking for a successor?”

“Humph, he thinks he can live for a thousand years! Even if he’s lying in a coffin, he would still be holding onto his Supreme Pontiff Blood Stones. He will never look for a successor. He’s trying to get rid of everyone who is a threat to him!” Salan stated.

“What should we do then?”

“He has been the Supreme Pontiff for a long time, but has kept living on his past achievements. Unfortunately, people are quite forgetful. They always forget about the past, no matter how gruesome it was…” Salan replied calmly.

“We should plan carefully if we are thinking of taking down the Supreme Pontiff.”

“He will reveal his cloven foot soon.” Salan seemed very patient.

“By the way, the Saintess publicly announced her relationship with you recently. She has sworn to take you down, too,” the man in the dark said.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“You’ve asked me to protect her in the dark, but I believe someone is doing a better job than I am,” the man said.

“I don’t really care if she’s alive, I’m just keeping my promise of making sure she can live until she’s twenty. Perhaps I’ll kill her with my own hands the next time we meet,” Salan replied.

“I can’t do that for you.”

“Then I’ll do it myself, but it won’t be necessary for the time being. She can fulfill her role as Izisha’s stumbling block for now.”

“How about the kid with the Demon Element?”

“We must eliminate him as soon as we have the chance. He’s a disaster!”

“Hehe, to think that there’s someone that master is having trouble scheming against.”

Salan was startled after hearing the comment.

Hadn’t she always been in control of everyone’s lives? She would only allow those that were useful to her to live, and could end the life of anyone when the time came. Since when had Mo Fan become the exception?

Perhaps it was because she once had thousands of ways to kill Mo Fan, but the man eventually became a thorn in her side that she was struggling to kill, and the feeling had grown even stronger as time passed.

“He’s growing stronger at a terrifying rate, so terrifying that I can’t even tell how strong he will be when we meet again next time. We must get rid of him as soon as possible!” Salan stated.

1 “You’re right. We should take him out before he becomes a Super Mage,” the man agreed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

Zhang Xiaohou went back to the army in Qinling Mountains. The guy was supposed to go on a vacation with Mo Fan, yet he ended up making a huge contribution. His superior was most likely going to reward him after he went back to the army.

Jiang Shaoxu did not go home empty-handed, either. Advisor Shao mentioned that she had seen Shaoxu’s brother before. The girl had left in a hurry, most likely heading to her new destination.

Mu Nujiao and Mo Fan went back to the Magic City. Mo Fan felt troubled; Little Flame Belle had resurrected, and she had acquired a new Soul-grade Fire, too. On the other hand, Mu Nujiao did not get any benefits even though she had risked her life during the trip. He decided to give the rock crystals he had collected to Mu Nujiao. He could not just leave her empty-handed.

Mu Nujiao gladly accepted the crystals.

——

As soon as they arrived home, Mo Fan slammed right onto the couch without even taking a shower, taking up the whole couch. Mu Nujiao went to the fridge to grab some drinks. She gave Mo Fan a can too.

“Did you forget something?” Mu Nujiao asked.

“Oh, thanks,” Mo Fan emptied the drink and responded politely.

Mu Nujiao rolled her eyes and said in a serious voice, “It’s been a while since you last went back to school, right?”

“School? Why would I go there?” Mo Fan was confused.

“…” Mu Nujiao was utterly speechless. Did this guy seriously forget that he was still a student of the Pearl Institute!?

“We haven’t graduated!” Mu Nujiao emphasized, just in case the man was so full of himself that he had completely forgotten that he was still a student.

“Seriously? How is it that we haven’t graduated? We’ve won the World College Tournament and basically beat the crap out of the students of almost every magic university in the world…” Mo Fan said.

“The World College Tournament is one thing, but we haven’t graduated officially yet,” Mu Nujiao repeated.

“Ugh… didn’t they say we would graduate automatically as soon as we reached the Advanced Level?” Mo Fan said.

“Well, no one’s going to stop you from leaving, but are you seriously going to give up on the graduation gifts that the school is planning to give us? We’ve come in first in the World College Tournament, you might be receiving some collaborative gifts from the institutions across the country,” Mu Nujiao said.

“You’re saying that it might be something rewarding?” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered as soon as he heard about the gift.

“Well, since you’re so rich now, you might no longer be interested in the graduation gift that the school has prepared for us. I’ll let the school know that they can keep it for your juniors,” Mu Nujiao said.

“Hehe, I’m not the kind of person that you think.”

“We’ll have to pass the graduation exam first,” Mu Nujiao said.

“There’s an exam still!?”

“It’s just part of the procedures. I heard that the exam isn’t too difficult. The students are allowed to choose the kind of exam they are interested in, too.”

—

Mo Fan believed it was no longer necessary for him to go back to school even though he was still a student in the system. The resources provided by the school were negligible. Mo Fan did not even bother to claim them. He decided to graduate in advance so he could claim the reward that the institutions were giving them after they had won the World College Tournament.

“So both of you are thinking of graduating in advance? I’ll check and see who’s in charge of the students that are graduating,” Dean Xiao smiled when he saw Mo Fan and Mu Nujiao.

Dean Xiao had witnessed Mo Fan’s growth. He was extremely proud of the young man’s achievements. He did feel a little sad knowing that Mo Fan was going to graduate.

“Dean Xiao, don’t be sad. Mu Nujiao and I are living nearby, I’ll pay you a visit at times,” Mo Fan said with a smile. He knew the dean would be sad about them leaving the school.

Mu Nujiao pinched Mo Fan on the arm. Why did he make it sound like they were living together and currently in a relationship?

“Don’t bother visiting me, I’m glad that you two are graduating in advance. It’s true that there’s nothing you can learn anymore in the school,” Dean Xiao said.

Dean Xiao flipped through the papers in the files he had just picked from the shelves. The files contained records of the teachers in charge of students that were doing internships, and the teachers that were responsible for students applying for graduation.

The main campus of the Pearl Institute did not have a lot of restrictions on the students. They could stay at school if they wished, they just needed to do the work that the school had arranged for them. The students could also choose to graduate; there were three ways to do so.

The first way was to complete their courses. However, that alone would not grant the students the graduation badge of the Pearl Institute. Most students that chose to graduate that way were having trouble improving their cultivation any further. The Pearl Institute would admit that they had studied in the Pearl Institute before, but they would not qualify them for graduation.

The second way was to graduate officially. These students would be sent on a mission with a mentor. The mentor would report back to school on the performance of the students during the mission. The teachers l would then evaluate the students’ performance to see if they were qualified to graduate, before giving them their graduation badges.

The graduation badges of the Pearl Institute were quite significant. It was a symbol of their capabilities and identity that they could show to the Magic Association, the Hunter Union, and the renowned clans. A graduate of the Pearl Institute could easily find a job after entering society!

The third way to graduate was called graduating With Excellence.

Students that were planning to graduate With Excellence first had to make enough contributions to the school. The school would then arrange these students to complete some research or mission with a reputable mentor. The students would then be evaluated based on their performance. The mentor, dean, and the Elemental Directors would then decide if the student was qualified to graduate With Excellence.

Students that had graduated With Excellence would be given a Pearl Badge, showing that the Pearl Institute had acknowledged their brilliance. It was no longer as simple as finding a job in society. The different organizations would compete with one another just to recruit them. Those that had graduated With Excellence did not just have outstanding capabilities; most importantly, they were young!

Being young meant they had endless possibilities. It was the main reason why the different factions were active close to the institutions, hoping that they could discover some great talents that had a chance of achieving the Advanced Level. Having an extra Advanced Mage meant adding to their foundations. If they were lucky enough to recruit someone that eventually became a Super Mage, it was the same as hitting the jackpot!

Those that graduated With Excellence from the Pearl Institute were mostly Advanced Mages below the age of twenty-five. In other words, they were a bunch of crazily-talented monsters!

People that achieved the Advanced Level before the age of twenty-five had a chance of achieving the Super Level. As such, the various organizations would try everything possible to recruit students that had graduated With Excellence from a magic institution.

The standard of graduating With Excellence was the same for all magic institutions across the country, since they were using the difficulty of the missions and the contributions that the students had made to weigh the status and influence of the magic institutions in the country. As a result, the magic institutions were also ranked based on the number of students that had graduated With Excellence from them.

The Pearl Institute was ranked second in the country, and the number of its students that graduated With Excellence was the second-highest in the country, too!

The rewards for graduating With Excellence were gratifying. It was the reason why Mu Nujiao asked Mo Fan to graduate together with her.

On the other hand, the rewards given to the students that had won the World College Tournament would only be distributed after the students graduated. Both Mu Nujiao and Mo Fan needed resources in their current stage, thus the earlier they received the rewards, the earlier they could use them to improve their cultivation!

“I have looked around, and there isn’t any mission that’s suitable for you. They are just too easy, it won’t help much with the evaluation.” Dean Xiao flipped through the files and shook his head helplessly.

It was unlikely that he could find a mission that was suitable for their level for the time being.

“We aren’t in a rush either. Should we come back when Dean Xiao finds a suitable mentor for us?” Mu Nujiao asked.

“Well… I also did a quick check, and the mentors and professors that are eligible to guide students that are planning to graduate With Excellence are all busy. None of them will be available in the near future. Another reason is because of how talented you two are; I suppose the mentors aren’t even that much stronger than you two,” Dean Xiao said.

Dean Xiao’s lips twisted after finishing the sentence. He was wondering if he should be proud or feel sad about it.

The students were stronger than the mentors. Mm, mm, he should be proud of them… it was important to be open-minded as teachers!

“Doesn’t our school have quite a few mentors?” Mu Nujiao asked confusedly.

“Some had gone to undertake advanced studies. A couple of them will go every five years. Two of the directors had gone, too, leaving an old man like me behind!” He sighed. “It has to be done. It’s important for the teachers to improve, too. Otherwise, they are going to be left behind by the students eventually…” Dean Xiao exclaimed. A thought suddenly crossed his mind. He quickly looked at Mo Fan with a different smile.

“Dean Xiao, nothing good ever happens when you look at me like that,” the sensitive Mo Fan immediately said.

“Since our mentors have left for advanced studies, there are lots of research and missions that are vacant at the moment. I believe none of them would be difficult for you if you were under a mentor, and since it isn’t difficult enough, I won’t be able to evaluate your performance properly, right? How about this, Mo Fan; I’ll make you a mentor, and you will be leading a bunch of students that are planning to graduate instead!” Dean Xiao said happily.

Mo Fan’s expression stiffened.

For some reason, Dean Xiao seemed to be very excited, as if he was overjoyed that he finally found a way to graduate that would be troublesome for Mo Fan!

The Pearl Institute was a reputable institution, after all. Even if Mo Fan wanted to graduate, the process still had to be somewhat unforgettable. Otherwise, he would soon forget about his alma mater!

Dean Xiao never had the intention to let Mo Fan graduate peacefully!

“Dean Xiao, instead of treating the student that has greatly contributed to the school nicely, why did you make the situation even more difficult for me?” Mo Fan said with a wry smile.

“Mo Fan, you’ve completely misunderstood me. Aren’t you familiar with what kind of person I am? I’m only doing this because of how reliable you are. The school does have a lot of work that needs to be done… oh, I mean the target that you have to meet. As a member of the institution, you should feel obliged to lend a hand. Once you’re done with it, I will personally hand you the Pearl Badge!” Dean Xiao proclaimed.

“Dean Xiao, how could you set me up like that? This isn’t a target for a student, it’s an end-of-year evaluation of a teacher!” Mo Fan protested.

“Don’t mind the details, feel free to choose a field that you’re interested in. See, you are able to make the decisions as you please as a mentor, but if you’re just a student, the mentors will choose on your behalf instead, not to mention that you will have to see if your mentor has the time or is willing to guide you…” Dean Xiao added.

“I’m more willing to wait,” Mo Fan said.

This is ridiculous, I came to graduate as a student!

Mu Nujiao giggled and said, “Teacher Mo Fan, all the best!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In the corridor of a building by the lake at the Pearl Institute…

The sunlight was passing through the French windows of the classroom, shining upon the desks and chairs, the electrical equipment, and the ceiling lights. The only thing it failed to light up was the grim look on Mo Fan’s face as he sat behind the desk beside the speaker’s stand.

Mo Fan and Mu Nujiao were the only people in the classroom. The graduates would show up in another half an hour. Mu Nujiao was trying to comfort Mo Fan, although she could not help but laugh hysterically inside.

“There’s no way I would accept this if it wasn’t for the handsome rewards!” Mo Fan swore.

“I bet Dean Xiao is giving you a chance to experience how it feels to be a mentor. Perhaps he’s going to make you an honorable mentor of the Pearl Institute. It’s good for you,” Mu Nujiao encouraged him.

Mo Fan initially thought Dean Xiao was just joking. After all, he was still a student of the school, while a mentor would have to be qualified before they were allowed to guide a bunch of graduates.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan had underestimated how cunning Dean Xiao was!

Since Dean Xiao was the dean of the institution, it meant his clearance was higher than a mentor, and if the job was only available to the dean of an institution, the dean could then assign anyone to be his assistant mentor as he wished.

Normally, a job at this level would require two to five mentors, each with three to seven graduates under them, to be completed.

Dean Xiao currently had a job in progress, but the mentors under him had yet to make any progress. He had no choice but to put it aside. To his surprise, Mo Fan had suddenly shown up and said that he wanted to graduate. Dean Xiao believed it would be a waste of his talents to assign a job to him like any other graduate. He decided to make Mo Fan a mentor instead and ask him to lead a few students in taking care of the part of the job that had been troublesome so far!

It was impossible for Dean Xiao to handle everything on his own. If Mo Fan managed to get the job done for him, he was more than willing to let Mo Fan graduate With Excellence as he wished. It was killing two birds with one stone!

—

—

“We never thought we would actually be selected. It’s a job that Dean Xiao is in charge of. We didn’t make it when the four mentors were recruiting graduates for it since the guys that were ranked higher than us claimed all the spots. To our surprise, Dean Xiao ended up appointing another mentor to do the job. Thank God!” a dignified and old-fashioned young man exclaimed.

A few other young and good-looking students showed up. They exchanged glances with one another. A young man with spiky hair said, “Are you all here for the graduation mission too?”

“Yeah, I think the mentor is waiting for us upstairs. I hope it’s not a strict old woman. Otherwise, we are going to suffer. I’ve already signed a contract with the Shoreline Alliance. I’m just waiting to get my Pearl Badge,” the young man who seemed like he had walked out of a museum answered.

“Humph, does it matter who the mentor is if we’re good enough?” the young man with spiky hair said arrogantly.

“Hehe, that might be true, but each mentor is responsible for a part of the job. If the part assigned to us is so difficult that we just can’t finish it, we still won’t get our Pearl Badge no matter how good our performance is, right?” the old-fashioned fellow said.

“Let’s go, the mentor should be waiting for us,” a cute-looking girl hurried them along.

There were six of them. The six graduates met up at the ground floor. They gathered their courage and headed for the classroom.

After entering the classroom, the old-fashioned young man saw Mo Fan sitting at the speaker’s stand. He immediately frowned, “Hey, what you are doing? You shouldn’t be sitting on the mentor’s seat, even if he or she isn’t here yet. If the mentor has a bad first impression of us, we aren’t going to get our badges!”

Mo Fan was stunned. He could not react in time.

The handsome man with spiky hair went forward and dragged Mo Fan off the seat. He said, “I’m different from them. I’m aiming to graduate With Excellence, so you better not do anything that would make the mentor mad, or I’m going to make you pay for it!”

The cute-looking girl quickly came up to settle the dispute. “Hey, calm down, we’re a team. Let’s not ruin the mood now!”

Mo Fan glared at the student and snapped, “If you don’t let go soon, I’m afraid you will never graduate With Excellence!”

“What do you mean by that? Are you threatening me? I’ve seen the likes of you quite often, trying to be a freeloader on the team in order to graduate! I won’t be teaming up with you bunch of trash if some idiot hadn’t made a mistake that ruined the whole operation last time. I’m warning you, you don’t want to mess with me!” the man snapped angrily.

It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing such a bad-tempered and proud student.

The energy of the Space Element burst out of his body with a thought and struck the handsome student. The man was knocked all the way to the end of the classroom. His back slammed heavily into the wall.

The man was about to lose his calm and fight back with magic when he saw Mo Fan going back to the speaker’s stand and say to the astonished students, “I’m your mentor.”

The students were dumbfounded when Mo Fan used his magic, but they completely lost their minds after hearing his words!

What? This guy around their age was their new mentor!?

It felt as if the sky had collapsed all of a sudden, especially the old-fashioned student and the handsome young man that was still leaning against the wall with a blank face.

“He’s indeed your new mentor, and I’m his assistant. Nice to meet you all,” Mu Nujiao was done enjoying the show. She said to the students with a broad smile.

Mo Fan was pleased when he saw the disbelief on everyone’s faces. Being a mentor wasn’t as bad as he first thought. He could teach these arrogant students how to behave themselves as he wished…

Mm, the girls were pretty good-looking too. He heard some ill-mannered mentors would coerce female students for sexual favors. Would he be able to do that, too?

“Men…mentor… I’m sorry, I…I didn’t know you are…” The handsome young man completely lost his attitude. He had turned from a savage beast to a stammering little boy. He did not even dare to lift his head.

“Forget it, I won’t dwell on it further. Dean Xiao has asked me to replace a mentor and take on the job. I’m also here to help you graduate. Those that meet my expectations will receive the graduation badge, but those that perform poorly, I’m afraid you will have to stay at the Pearl Institute for a little longer,” Mo Fan coughed and said sternly.

“Sure, we’ll surely do our best. Sir, you look so young, how are you maintaining your skin?”

“Sir, you are so handsome.”

Mo Fan immediately smiled. Why were these students only noticing his good looks when he was a mentor instead of when he was a student?

“I will now brief you on the job. Dean Xiao is a Water Mage, and has constructed a Water Circulating Magic Formation covering the river, drains, and canals in Tongxiang. Not only is it used to irrigate the crops, it can also keep the demon creatures away. It can also be used as protection for humans when necessary. The project was commencing quite smoothly at the beginning. The other mentors had already laid down parts of the magic formation, but recently, the source of water in Tongxiang seems to have a blockage. The water stopped flowing…” Mo Fan explained the background of the job to the group.

“The source of water is usually located outside the safe zone,” the old-fashioned student spoke up.

“Exactly! Our job is to head to the source of water and investigate why the water has stopped flowing. Apparently, there are a few packs of demon creatures close to our destination. We’ll set out tomorrow. Please prepare the equipment that you will need for the journey by then,” Mo Fan said to the students.

“It doesn’t sound like an easy job,” a student with a chestnut hair../style commented with a wry smile.

“It does sound that way, but we still have the mentor to guide us. We just need to tag along,” a petite female student said with a smile.

“We can’t say for sure yet. Our mentor is so young, so I bet he isn’t strong either. If there’s some powerful demon creature at our destination, not only will we fail to get our graduation badge, we might even die,” someone whispered.

——

Mo Fan and Mu Nujiao went home after briefing the graduates.

Mo Fan took a closer look at the information about the job Dean Xiao was in charge of.

He could not help but admit how bold and smart Dean Xiao’s proposal was. The man had suggested utilizing the naturally flowing watercourse as the source of energy, combined with the waterways scattered across Jiangnan to construct a Water Circulation Magic Formation. It would make a significant difference to the region, since it would keep the demon creatures away, protect the crops, and serve as a refuge when necessary. Most importantly, since they were using the natural flowing water to drive the magic formation, there would be no consumption of energy!

The reason why barriers were difficult to set up was because of the enormous amount of magic ores and rock pistils needed to maintain their operation.

However, Dean Xiao’s proposal got rid of the biggest expense of maintaining the barrier.

If the proposal worked, it would surely be popularized, and greatly improve the safety of the region!

“By the way, if water is important to every life form, it means the demon creatures wouldn’t do anything to stop the flow of water, either. Why would the water stop flowing out of nowhere?” Mu Nujiao said in confusion.

Everyone knew the demon creatures would not bother destroying the flow of water, since they would die without water, too. It was extremely rare for a flowing waterway to go wrong. It was a law that every living creature would obey naturally.

“Are you listening to me?” Mu Nujiao said in a seemingly angry voice when she did not hear any response from Mo Fan.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and asked her, “Well… it’s my first time being a teacher. I think I was handling it pretty well… but what should I do tomorrow so they will think I’m an experienced teacher?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Early in the morning, the group took a train to Tongxiang. Mo Fan was excited, since it was his first time being a mentor, especially with how the students were being extremely respectful toward him. Even though he had never treated his teachers respectfully when he was a student, it did feel great when these proud young students were being extremely polite to him!

“Yeah, that’s the sore spot, rub it more, harder,” Mo Fan leaned on the comfortable seat and instructed the cute-looking girl.

“Is this the spot? Sir, you must have overworked yourself. You should be more careful and get more rest,” the girl said seriously.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, I’m still young and strong, you… Zhou Lixin, right? Get me a glass of orange juice, with ice,” Mo Fan looked to the back and said to the old-fashioned student.

“Right away!” Zhou Lixin immediately sprinted to the dining coach.

The handsome young man Bai Hongfei had a displeased look. Wasn’t their mentor ordering them about too much?

Besides, their mentor was just too young. Even though some men in their thirties still looked like they were only around the age of twenty if they took good care of their skin, the other mentors under Dean Xiao were already in their forties and fifties. The students under them normally had a better chance of graduating With Excellence. He could not help but wonder if their young mentor actually had the right to let them graduate With Excellence.

“Bai Hongfei, I can tell that you’re an arrogant young man that has grandiose aims, but puny abilities. You should keep your feet on the ground instead of reaching for what is beyond your grasp. There’s no such thing as reaching the sky in a single bound!” Mo Fan began to advise Bai Hongfei, as he had nothing better to do.

“Yes sir, I understand,” Bai Hongfei answered respectfully, despite the unpleasantness in his heart.

Mu Nujiao was amused when she saw how shameless Mo Fan was when he was pretending to be an experienced mentor. Wasn’t he arguing with Dean Xiao that he had no intention to be a mentor not long ago? Look at him now, he was fully indulging in it!

——

Mo Fan opened the map when the group arrived in Tongxiang. He discovered that many canals in Tongxiang had been modified as part of the project. However, it did not feel any different from down here. They could only see how brilliant the modifications were when they were looking down from five hundred meters.

“Let’s go, we’ll leave the safe zone and follow the waterway to see where it has stopped flowing…” Mo Fan said to the students.

The students were extremely cautious after they left the safe zone. Unlike Mo Fan, who had been dealing with demon creatures since high school, these students did not really have much experience of life and death. They began to feel nervous as soon as they left the safe zone.

“The waterway here should lead us to Biyuan Mountain, which means its source of water should be Qingyi Lake. Sir, I’ll go to Biyuan Mountain to do some investigation. I’ve been there before, so I’m quite familiar with the area,” Bai Hongfei volunteered bravely.

“You sure you’re going to be fine?” Mo Fan asked.

“We have come here for training. If our mentor is doing all the work, how are we supposed to be better? Besides, we are put on the team because we are expected to lend the mentor a hand. Our goal is to find the reason why the water has stopped flowing as soon as possible,” Bai Hongfei said sternly.

The other students quickly looked disdainful after hearing Bai Hongfei’s words. The man was acting arrogantly before, but he was shamelessly fawning upon the advisor now!

“Sir, I’ll investigate Xujia River then. I will definitely find the reason why it has stopped flowing!” another conceited student blurted out.

“Sir, I’ll take charge of Ming River!”

Mo Fan nodded gratifyingly when he saw the students volunteering to split the work.

It felt great to have lackeys doing the work for him. He felt like he did not even need to get his hands dirty.

“Be careful, and give me a signal right away if something goes wrong, I’ll be there as fast as I can!” Mo Fan said.

As a mentor, he was responsible for the students’ safety. He could not afford to be careless.

“Mu Nujiao, you should go after Bai Hongfei. The density of demon creatures at Biyuan Mountain is quite high. I’m worried about him,” Mo Fan said to Mu Nujiao.

“Sure, Biyuan Mountain is huge. I wouldn’t want him to go alone, either,” Mu Nujiao nodded. She suddenly realized something did not feel right after agreeing to the suggestion. She pinched Mo Fan’s waist and snapped, “Are you ordering me around like a student too?”

“Of course not, hehe, you’re the leader, you’re the leader!” Mo Fan smiled awkwardly.

“That’s more like it! I’ll be going!” Mu Nujiao quickly went after Bai Hongfei.

However, Mu Nujiao was only following Bai Hongfei from a distance. After all, the students would be evaluated based on their performance, to see if they were qualified for graduation. The mentor and assistant only had to guarantee the students’ safety. The students had to complete the work themselves.

“Sir, what should we do then?” the cute-looking girl stood beside Mo Fan and asked naively.

Mo Fan looked around him. It was a perfect crime scene consisting of a typical spot in the wild where the victim had no chance of getting any help. He turned around to the female student Cao Qinqin and said, “Let’s take a shower in Qinyi Lake, I’m dying in the heat.”

Cao Qinqin blushed instantly. The others had claimed all the places that needed to be investigated. She had no choice but to stay with the mentor. To her surprise, the mentor had said something that was against the exemplary character he was supposed to have.

“Oh, I meant I’m going for a swim, you just need to wait on land for the others,” Mo Fan quickly corrected himself when he saw the girl giving him a strange look.

“…”

——

Mo Fan realized why the lake was called Qinyi Lake when he saw the surface that was smooth as blue silk. It was a stunning sight, but unfortunately, the lake was located outside the safe zone. Otherwise, many people would have driven to this place late at night. The cars would be shaking as they were enjoying the view of the lake… something that the people living in the cities were fond of nowadays.

{ TL Note : Qinyi Lake literally means Blue Clothes Lake in Chinese.}

“Damn it, why do I keep having these vile thoughts when I’m a mentor?” Mo Fan murmured. Shouldn’t he be a model of virtue with his sense of righteousness for the students!?

“Sir, what did you say?” Cao Qinqin asked in confusion.

“Nothing, nothing at all. By the way, if we can somehow make a waterway from this Qinyi Lake to Tongxiang, wouldn’t we be able to turn it into an energy generator with a magic formation, too? The water is deep here, and the altitude is high. Unfortunately, it doesn’t flow in the direction of Tongxiang,” Mo Fan exclaimed while looking at the beautiful lake.

“Sir, didn’t you realize something strange?” Cao Qinqin suddenly stood behind Mo Fan as if she had just seen something terrifying.

“Something strange? I don’t see anything. This place has the mountains and the lake, and there’s no sign of demon creatures around too. It’s the perfect place to cleanse your soul… Cao Qinqin, now that you mention it, it does feel a little odd, but I can’t exactly tell why,” Mo Fan was standing around five hundred meters away from Qinyi Lake. Something felt odd to him as he looked at the perfectly calm lake.

“Reflections, sir, the reflections…” Cao Qinqin said in a soft voice.

Mo Fan was startled. He quickly lifted his gaze and shivered in fear after a glance.

The water was so still that he could not see the slightest ripple on it, yet he did not see any reflections on it, either!

The surface of the blue lake was extremely smooth, yet he could not see the reflections of the white clouds on it, nor was it reflecting the mountains and trees nearby. Mo Fan finally understood why Cao Qinqin was terrified!

“How can there be no reflections? Is it not water?” Mo Fan did not get any closer.

The lake had a diameter of over three kilometers. It was occupying a huge space, surrounded by mountains and trees, yet there was not a single reflection on it! It felt incredibly odd!

“Sir, can…can we leave?” Cao Qinqin was panicking.

The lake was so huge. If it wasn’t water, what was the lake filled with?

“Mm, let’s call the others back. Something doesn’t feel right here,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan did not go any closer. The heavens knew what the blue thing that had filled up the lake was. He would take a closer look if he was on his own, but he could not afford to do anything reckless when the students were scattered across the place!

—

Mo Fan soon summoned the others back to him. Mu Nujiao and Bai Hongfei were the last to regroup with the team. They were obviously caught in some trouble along the way.

“Anything strange?” Mo Fan asked.

“No, the water is normal. It’s also flowing in the direction of Tongxiang. It doesn’t seem to have a blockage anywhere.”

“Yeah, everything is perfectly normal.”

Mo Fan looked at Mu Nujiao. She spoke after a slight hesitation, “Apart from some Blood-Breaking Mosquito Demons, everything was normal.”

“Did you take a close look?” Mo Fan asked.

“No, we assumed there were demon creatures drinking water from the source, so we didn’t dare to go too close,” Bai Hongfei said.

“Then… did you see reflections on the surface?” Mo Fan asked.

“Reflections?”

The students were startled by Mo Fan’s sudden question. They were struggling to remember it clearly. After all, apart from calm lakes and ponds, it was difficult to see any reflection when the water was flowing.

“I…I believe not!” Mu Nujiao looked shocked as she realized something.

“Maybe the water was flowing…”

“No, I kept feeling that something did not seem right, so it turned out to be the lack of reflections. The surface of the pond that I investigated didn’t have a single reflection on it. It was just blue,” Mu Nujiao said confidently.

Mo Fan’s heart sank. It turned out that it was not just the water in Qinyi Lake that had the problem.

Was something wrong about the water, or was there something on the surface that was difficult to see?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan believed things were not as simple as they seemed. He quickly told Dean Xiao what they had found.

Dean Xiao soon contacted another mentor and asked him to investigate the matter together with Mo Fan.

It was night-time before the mentor came. Mo Fan believed they should wait until the next morning since it was difficult to see at night, but to his surprise, the mentor was not in a great mood.

“What’s there to be scared of? I, Zhou Jiantian can easily handle any demon creature that might show up. Let’s go, this is just wasting my time,” Zhou Jiantian said.

Zhou Jiantian had brought around six students along. It was obvious that the students were not too willing to come. After all, it was not part of the work that was assigned to them. If it wasn’t because the waterway that had stopped flowing was hindering the progress of their work, they would not even have bothered to come here.

The journey to Qinyi Lake was surprisingly smooth. They did not encounter any demon creatures along the way.

Mo Fan took a closer look at the surface of the lake when they arrived at Qinyi Lake…

For some reason, the lake no longer felt the same to him.

The surface of the lake was still. There was no wind and no gleaming reflection on the surface. However, when Mo Fan went a little closer, he could see the reflections of the stars in the night sky from the lake. It was like the surface of the lake was embroidered with mysterious gems, resulting in a stunning view.

The stars were glowing across the surface of the lake. The wind blew, bringing along the fragrance of nature. The comfortable feeling was a huge contrast to the spooky feeling in the day.

“Are you kidding me now? So much for no reflection! There’s nothing on the surface of the lake. The water is perfectly normal too,” Zhou Jiantian snapped furiously.

“Yeah, it’s just a normal lake. What a waste of our time.”

“Why the hell are we even here for!?”

Zhou Jiantian glared at Mo Fan and blurted out, “You useless prick, you can’t even handle such a simple task! The whole project was put on hold just because of this. If you are so scared of the mere reflections of a lake, I suggest you quit as soon as possible. I’ll ask Dean Xiao to find someone else for the job!”

Mo Fan was left speechless. The whole thing did not make any sense. Why was the lake normal at night when there was clearly something wrong about it in the day?

Zhou Jiantian left angrily with his students, leaving Mo Fan and his students looking at one another in dismay behind.

“Sir, they are so unreasonable. Did they seriously think we are lying to them? We all knew there was something weird about the lake in the morning,” Cao Qinqin said angrily.

“Forget it, I’ll look into the matter again. Let’s go back and rest. We’ll come again tomorrow,” Mo Fan said.

“Sure.”

—

Mo Fan was even more bothered by the lake when they reached the town in Tongxiang.

He considered himself to be experienced and knowledgeable, yet he was utterly clueless about what had happened today.

First of all, Mo Fan believed there was something on the surface of the lake in the morning, something that made the lake look perfectly still from the distance, and was only visible when he was close enough.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan did not take a close look in the morning. Otherwise, he would know what that thing was!

Mo Fan was unable to arrive at a conclusion. He stopped wasting his time and started meditating by the window.

—

In the wee hours, Mo Fan was still cultivating his Lightning Element. He was hoping to level up his Advanced Lightning Spell to the second-tier to further improve his strength.

Knock knock knock!

Someone was knocking hard on his door. Mo Fan stopped cultivating instantly.

“Sir, sir, Bai Hongfei is missing,” Cao Qinqin said in a panicking voice.

“Missing? Did he seriously go out to look for hookers in the middle of the night?” Mo Fan frowned and asked.

“He took his equipment with him,” Cao Qinqin said.

“That idiot, is he trying to find the truth on his own? That’s too reckless even if he’s trying to graduate With Excellence. He should have taken ut one step at a time…damn it, why am I talking so much like a typical old-fashioned teacher? Come, let’s go look for him. Hopefully, he’s not in some kind of trouble,” Mo Fan cursed.

He had to be constantly on his toes as a mentor, since the arrogant students kept thinking they could do something impressive on their own. Even Mo Fan felt a great chill running down his spine at Qinyi Lake that morning. Whatever the thing on the lake was, it was extremely dangerous. Bai Hongfei would find himself in great trouble trying to take the matters into his own hands. He had only reached the Advanced Level a short time ago!

—

—

The night was extremely quiet. Not a single cry of an insect was heard. The light emitted by the stars in the pitch-black sky was the only source of light. The whole place felt dead.

“I have to find the reason behind it. I must graduate With Excellence. I don’t want to be a disappointment to my family!” Bai Hongfei murmured angrily.

He pushed the tall grass aside and slowly made his way toward Qinyi Lake.

Qinyi Lake was as calm and beautiful as usual. The lake that was surrounded by the mountains felt like a giant piece of onyx. Bai Hongfei suddenly had a strange feeling as he set his eyes on the lake.

However, he did not back away. He gathered his courage and walked closer to the lake.

Bai Hongfei stuck his head out and looked into the water when he reached the edge…

He immediately realized something. He looked further away for a little longer and was shocked when he did not see a single reflection of the stars on the surface of the lake!

The water was perfectly calm, yet it was not reflecting the glowing stars in the night sky. The beautiful lake was giving Bai Hongfei the chills!

Something soft was beating on the surface of the lake. A pleasant fragrance lingered in the air.

Bai Hongfei heard denser sounds coming from the lake. He soon saw countless thin wings beating across the surface of the lake. When the wings were beating simultaneously, they looked like ripples along the surface of the lake. They were glimmering a little under the light of the stars too…

Before Bai Hongfei could recover from the shock. a huge bunch of the wings flew into the air and covered the sky like a cloudy blue veil. The same blue veil was initially covering the surface of the lake!

Bai Hongfei was absolutely dumbfounded. He stared at the countless wings, the tiny, fragile life forms that were combining into a huge veil that was glimmering magically in the sky!

“What are you doing here?” a gentle voice said all of a sudden behind Bai Hongfei.

The voice took Bai Hongfei by surprise. He quickly turned around and saw a woman dressed in old-fashioned clothes standing behind him. The woman leaned slightly forward. Her fringes were dangling beside her face and in front of her huge bust.

The woman was wearing a faint smile. Her glittering eyes were looking at Bai Hongfei curiously, with a flippant face.

“You…you scared the shit out of me. Miss, why are you here in the middle of the night? It’s extremely dangerous here,” Bai Hongfei let out a relieved sigh when he saw it was a woman.

“You haven’t answered my question,” the woman said.

“I’m a student from the Pearl Institute. I’m here for my graduate mission,” Bai Hongfei said honestly.

“Why are you alone then?” the woman continued to ask.

“I…I wanted to make some worthy contributions,” Bai Hongfei said awkwardly.

“Did you discover anything?” The woman walked to the side with the same faint smile on her face.

“Did you see the things that flew into the sky? They looked like butterflies, but it’s my first time seeing so many butterflies. They were so many of them that they had covered up the entire surface of the lake. By the way, you don’t look like a Mage to me. It’s too dangerous to come out of the safe zone if you’re not a Mage. Are you lost?” Bai Hongfei asked.

“Mm, I think I’m lost. I was picking some herbs… am I really outside the safe zone?” the woman replied after a brief pause.

“Yeah, you’re lucky that you bumped into me, or the demon creatures would have dragged you into their caves and eaten you. Come, I’ll escort you back, where do you live?” Bai Hongfei said.

“So you are a strong Mage?” The woman did not seem to be afraid at all.

“Me? To be honest with you, I am an Advanced Mage,” Bai Hongfei said.

“Oh, that’s very impressive. As a matter of fact, you don’t have to worry about me. I grew up in this area, so I’m very familiar with the mountains, the woods, and the lakes here. I know how to avoid the demon creatures too,” the woman said.

“There’s no way I’m going to leave you here. I’ll bring you back home. Where do you live?” Bai Hongfei said.

“How about your mission?” the woman asked with a smile.

“I’ll feel bad if something bad happens to you. Besides, I’ve already seen those things. I’ll go back and tell my mentor about it, and he’ll ask the government to send soldiers over to take care of them. By the way, did you see those things too? Do you think they are butterflies?” Bai Hongfei said.

The smile on the woman’s face gradually vanished. She looked at Bai Hongfei and said in a different tone, “Have you ever seen butterflies showing up at night?”

“Ah? You’re right…wait, what about the things that look like butterflies and would appear at night? What are they called?” Bai Hongfei said.

“Moths,” the woman said.

“Yeah, right, they must be moths. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I’ll never believe there are so many moths here. I wonder what kind of disasters they might cause,” Bai Hongfei said.

Bai Hongfei’s mind was preoccupied with the moths.

It was said that moths were similar to locusts, the kind of disastrous creatures that could leave a place barren. It also happened to be the season for the moths to mass reproduce. He did hear about the disastrous demon locusts in the west of his country. He was in the east, thus there were not many locusts around. However, there were lots of moths here!

Bai Hongfei suddenly heard the sound of wings beating, followed by a strong gust of wind that took him by surprise.

“Miss, watch out, the wind is getting stronger!” Bai Hongfei subconsciously tried to protect the woman beside him.

However, when he was about to step in front of the woman, he saw her standing still with her legs crossed and her eyes cold. She also had a pair of giant soft wings on her back…

The wings were clearly not some Wing Magical Equipment. They seemed to have grown out of her back, and the strong gust of wind was produced by the beating of the giant wings!

Bai Hongfei was dumbfounded when he saw the moths diving down from the sky like a tornado and circling the woman with the wings of a moth!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Dust-like pollen sprinkled down in the air. It had a unique fragrance. The pollen carried by the wind entered Bai Hongfei’s nose. He was overwhelmed by strong drowsiness.

“Who are you?” Bai Hongfei tried his best to stay awake and asked the woman.

“You sure have a lot of questions!” the woman said.

Bai Hongfei tried to run away, but the drowsiness gradually became stronger. He eventually fell unconscious onto the grass beside the lake.

Countless moths soon landed beside him and formed a stretcher to lift him up into the air.

The woman went deeper into the woods. The moths carrying Bai Hongfei followed behind her. The woman and her moths soon disappeared under the moonlight. The lake returned to calm, too!

—

Mo Fan and Cao Qinqin ran all the way to Qinyi Lake, but they did not see anything out of the ordinary. The clouds had started to block the stars, but they could still see some reflections on the surface of the lake. The moonlight glimmered on the lake when the wind blew, resulting in a stunning view.

“Sir, Bai Hongfei isn’t here,” Cao Qinqin searched around the place, but she did not see Bai Hongfei.

“He was here, and he’s most likely in some kind of danger,” Mo Fan frowned.

Mo Fan had found Bai Hongfei’s school badge on the ground. It was likely that Bai Hongfei had purposely left it behind, since it was hidden below the grass to prevent someone else from noticing it.

“Ah? Was he taken away by demon creatures?” Cao Qinqin said worriedly.

“I don’t think so. There’s no sign of a fight here. I didn’t see any trace of blood either,” Mo Fan said.

There was no sign of a fight, but there were no other traces either. Mo Fan fell into deep thought. Where exactly was Bai Hongfei? Did he see something abnormal about the lake?

“Sir, what should we do now?” Cao Qinqin asked.

“Take this, visit the closest Hunter Union’s branch and ask them to send someone over,” Mo Fan handed his Hunter Master badge to Cao Qinqin.

A Hunter Master had the right to put up a quest. Many Hunters were willing to accept the quest of a Hunter Master to earn contribution points. Mo Fan had saved up quite a lot of contribution points. As long as he offered a certain amount of contribution points, many Hunters were willing to accept a quest, especially when the place was not far away from a safe zone.

“Sir, you’re a Hunter Master too? That’s so cool!” Cao Qinqin said in admiration.

“Go on, I’ll continue to search around in the mountain,” Mo Fan said.

“Sure, I’ll be going.”

——

After Cao Qinqin left, Mo Fan searched around the lake again, but he did not discover anything useful.

He went back to the spot where he found the badge and fell into deep thought again. Meanwhile, the moon that was hiding behind the clouds gradually poked out from behind them. The bright moonlight shone upon the area that Mo Fan was standing on. Mo Fan immediately saw something glowing around him.

“What is this?” Mo Fan sharply noticed the glowing dust.

The glowing dust was sparse, but he could see a trail leading deeper into the woods. Mo Fan could not tell what creature would leave the trail of glowing dust behind. He decisively followed the trail into the woods.

The woods were extremely dark, as the moonlight was unable to penetrate the canopy. The glowing dust continued to grow fainter, making it difficult for Mo Fan to recognize the trail.

Mo Fan suddenly heard the sound of water flowing. He also heard something else.

Mo Fan went closer and discovered a stream. The water was very clear. He could even see the pebbles on the bed under the moonlight.

Mo Fan looked toward the source of the sound and saw an alluring figure sitting on a rock beside the stream. She was soaking her slender legs in the water.

Her hair was black and long, like a waterfall. It seemed like she had just taken a shower. She was combing her wet hair with her hands.

Mo Fan was intrigued. Why was there a woman here? Was she a Hunter hunting some demon creatures around the area?

Maybe he could ask her if she had seen Bai Hongfei.

Mo Fan walked up to the woman. However, he immediately realized he had made a mistake when he went closer!

While the woman was combing her hair, her busty chest was fully exposed to the air. They were shaking a little due to her movement. The moonlight was providing Mo Fan the perfect angle. He could even see glimmering drops of water slowly sliding down her breasts…

It was dark, and the moonlight was the only source of illumination, but Mo Fan could still see how perfect the woman’s skin was. It was fair like jade; her shoulders, waist, and legs were slim, but her bust was shocking. The shape of her bottom imprinted on the rock was like an exquisite piece of art, too!

Mo Fan immediately felt his mouth turning dry. He wanted to back away slowly, but the woman had already turned around. She looked a little confused at first, but her eyes were soon filled with shock and anger when she discovered Mo Fan’s presence!

“It’s a misunderstanding, I didn’t know you didn’t have any clothes on. It’s very dark too, so I wasn’t able to see anything clearly!” Mo Fan turned around and explained himself.

The woman obviously did not believe it. The moonlight was so bright, and she could also sense an aura of darkness from the man. It meant that the man was able to see in the dark to a certain degree. He must have seen everything!

The woman clenched her teeth. If he had not been concealing his presence, she would have noticed him way earlier!

“What are you doing here?” The woman quickly put on her clothes. She was surprisingly calm.

“One of my students is missing. I’m wondering if you have seen him around here. Speaking of which, it’s pretty dangerous for a woman like you to be taking a shower outside the safe zone.” Mo Fan was a little disappointed when he saw the woman quickly put on her clothes.

Why was he so stupid as to expose his presence to the woman? He could have taken a few more glances at her outstanding physique. It was extremely rare to find a woman with such a nice body!

“Could you come closer? I couldn’t hear you properly,” the woman said.

“I was saying that one of my students is missing, so I’ve come here to look for him. Did you happen to see him?” Mo Fan walked closer.

Mo Fan was able to see the woman’s face clearly this time. She was so gorgeous that it felt like she had come out of a painting. Her beauty was surreal. Even Mo Fan, who had seen many pretty women, was astounded by her looks. Mo Fan was aroused when he recalled how he had seen the woman’s naked body just a second ago.

“I haven’t seen him!” the woman snapped.

“Oh, oh, that’s a pity, but why are you here alone?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s none of your business!” the woman snapped furiously.

“You don’t look like a Mage,” Mo Fan said.

“Who told you that only Mages are allowed to leave the safe zone!?”

“Aren’t you afraid of demon creatures?” Mo Fan asked again.

“Not at all,” the woman said.

“I heard there’s a female man-eating monster in this mountain. Surely you aren’t the one they are referring to?” Mo Fan asked curiously, looking at the woman.

The woman was startled. The color of her eyes gradually shifted.

“HAHAHA, I was just joking. I have never seen a monster as gorgeous as you. By the way, I honestly didn’t see anything just then. I hope you won’t mind. If you do, I’m more than willing to be held responsible for it. I don’t really have any strength, but I’ve always been a responsible man…” Mo Fan said.

The woman had a cold face, yet she was trying not to show it. She pointed in another direction and said, “I heard some strange noise that way. You can go take a look if your student is missing. By the way, if you did see anything just then, I swear I’m going to dig your eyes out. I’m indeed a female monster!”

“I honestly didn’t see anything. Is this the right way?” Mo Fan headed in the direction the woman was pointing to. The path was covered by dense bushes and vines. It was difficult for an adult to pass through.

Mo Fan quickly summoned a tongue of flame to clear a path. The light of the Ardent Sunset lit up the surroundings and drove the darkness away.

The light shone upon the woman’s face. The icy expression on her face vanished. She seemed a little scared when she glanced at the fire on Mo Fan’s hand.

“Back away!” The woman quickly waved her hand, signaling the ‘branches’ to stop moving.

Mo Fan turned around. When he saw the strange look on the woman’s face, he asked, “Aren’t you planning to go back? It’s too dangerous out here. My student has gone missing in this area.”

“I’ve been living close to this place since I was young. There aren’t many dangerous creatures around here…” the woman smiled, trying to conceal her intentions.

Mo Fan smiled too. He looked into the woman’s eyes and said, “Or maybe it’s because you’re the most dangerous creature here!”

The woman was startled by his words. She quickly looked angry.

She never thought the young man could see through her disguise so easily. She could not help but wonder how the young man had managed to learn her true identity, since most people would not be suspicious of her because of her looks and her temperament!

“A gorgeous woman like you is always deadly to men… HAHAHA! What is it? If you didn’t like what I was saying, I’ll take it back then,” Mo Fan suddenly burst out laughing. He was acting like a completely different person.

The woman was stunned once again. She immediately felt an urge to curse at the boorish man!

It had given her quite the scare. She thought the man was a Hunter trying to set her up. She almost decided to silence him!

“Lady, what’s your name? I’m Mo Fan, nice to meet you,” Mo Fan said.

The woman let out a relieved sigh after seeing that the man had not seen through her disguise. She said, “I’m Yu Shishi, I’m quite familiar with this area. Should I help you find your student?”

“That would be great,” Mo Fan nodded.

The thought of having a gorgeous woman keeping him company in the wild under the moonlight was so enticing. Tsk tsk tsk… right, why was he here again?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan went into the forest together with Yu Shishi, following the directions she gave him.

Mo Fan picked up a fragrance not long after. He blurted out, “Have you seriously been living here away from civilization? Where do you get food and necessities?”

Mo Fan did hear about special groups of people that lived outside the safe zone. They were able to prevent demon creatures from harassing them by using some traditional methods, like the villages outside of the Ancient Capital had.

“Mm, I have a unique fragrance that prevents demon creatures from attacking me,” Yu Shishi said in a half-genuine voice.

“That’s amazing, let me smell it,” Mo Fan stuck his nose closer.

Yu Shishi immediately blushed. She glared at him and snapped, “You’re a jerk!”

“I’m just curious. If we can utilize your fragrance, us Mages could move freely in demon creatures’ territories as we pleased. We wouldn’t have to hide timidly in the cities,” Mo Fan said with a stern look.

Yu Shishi did not respond. Her expression was a little cold.

“I’m just joking, what’s with the cold look? You should smile more. You look younger and prettier that way. Like me, that’s why I’m so handsome,” Mo Fan continued.

“How shameless can you be?” Yu Shishi had never met a man like him. The man was going to pay for it once they went deeper into the woods.

“Don’t you think I’m handsome? Take a closer look.”

“It’s too dark, I can’t see you clearly.”

“You can touch me then.”

“Can you please shut up?”

—

The trees gradually became denser. Mo Fan had already lost his sense of direction. He sniffed and discovered the air was a little damp.

The leaves were moist, so was the ground. Even the trees had drops of water on them, as if they were sweating.

However, it was not the kind of moisture that would make people feel itchy and moldy. It seemed to have a faint unique fragrance that was soothing to the mind.

Mo Fan checked his surroundings and asked, “Did you really hear a noise coming from here? Are you sure that my student is here?”

Mo Fan had his back to Yu Shishi. The woman’s eyes sharpened. She slowly moved her finger to command the moths that were hiding behind the trees while she was talking to Mo Fan to lower his guard…

“By the way, what was the fire you were using just then? Why was it different from the fire of the Mages I saw before?” Yu Shishi asked curiously, slowly approaching Mo Fan from behind.

“Oh, it’s the fire of Ardent Sunset, a powerful fire I found in the desert. It’s particularly effective against insects and bugs… huh, isn’t this my student’s bag?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Yu Shishi was stunned. She quickly called off the moths that were preparing to ambush Mo Fan!

Yu Shishi knew that some fire was particularly deadly against insect-type creatures. If she failed to subdue this man right away, her little creatures would suffer heavy casualties!

“Great, he’s here.. .he isn’t injured too, but he…he seems to be asleep?” Mo Fan found Bai Hongfei in a wet bush.

The young man was not injured, but he had lost consciousness. Mo Fan was unable to wake him up. If he had not felt the idiot’s pulse, he would have assumed that the man was already dead.

“Your student is pretty bold to be sleeping here,” Yu Shishi said to Mo Fan after she called off the attack.

“He seems to have been put to sleep by some plants,” Mo Fan frowned.

“Let me see,” Yu Shishi went up and pretended to be inspecting Bai Hongfei’s condition, “I think so too. I did see plants like that on the mountain before.”

“Do you know how to wake him up?” Mo Fan asked.

Yu Shishi shook her head.

“Forget it, I’ll bring him back to town first. Perhaps the Healers might know how to wake him up. Come with me, I don’t want to leave you here in the mountain,” Mo Fan said.

“Sure, I live close to the town too,” Yu Shishi said.

—

Mo Fan carried Bai Hongfei on his back and chatted with Yu Shishi on the way back. He was quite interested in the fragrance that made her invisible to demon creatures. Unfortunately, Yu Shishi did not seem to be willing to share her secret.

Mo Fan did not force it. It was not like he could just tie her up on a table to experiment on her without her consent.

When they reached the base of the mountain, Mo Fan happened to see a huge group of people heading their direction. He could easily tell they were Hunters judging by the way they were dressed.

Yu Shishi was following behind Mo Fan. She only saw the group of people after turning the corner. She immediately realized something and fixed her eyes on Mo Fan.

“Did you ask them to come?” Yu Shishi said coldly.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan nodded.

Yu Shishi moved her finger again while she slowly unleashed an aura.

She hated being lied to the most. She had gone easy on Mo Fan since she thought he was not posing any threat to her. To her surprise, the man had asked a bunch of Hunters to set up a trap for her!

She had enough of being chased around by Hunters!

Yu Shishi was about to make her move on Mo Fan when the man quickly went up to Cao Qinqin and said, “I found him. Thanks for coming, I will still give you all the contribution points I promised. Sorry about that!”

The Hunters smiled as soon as they heard the words.

They did not even need to do anything to earn the contribution points. What else could they ask for? The Hunters were more than willing to accept it.

Yu Shishi stood still. She could not help but feel annoyed. Was this guy purposely trying to get on her nerves?

“Sir, why is that beautiful lady with you too?” Cao Qinqin looked at Yu Shishi and said in surprise.

“She was lost in the woods, so I brought her with me too. Oh, she helped me find Bai Hongfei too, I should be thanking her instead,” Mo Fan said.

—

Yu Shishi did not like to hang around the Hunters. She left after staying for a brief moment.

Mo Fan seemed reluctant to part ways with Yu Shishi. However, his expression changed as soon as the woman disappeared into the distance.

“Sir, what’s wrong?” Cao Qinqin asked.

“I can feel a strange aura from her. She’s most likely the reason why the water stopped flowing,” Mo Fan said.

“Huh? Sir, why didn’t you catch her?”

“If Bai Hongfei was dead when I found him, I won’t have gone easy on her,” Mo Fan said.

Since Yu Shishi did not kill Bai Hongfei, it meant Bai Hongfei must have seen something that he was not supposed to. Yu Shishi had no choice but to put him to sleep. As such, Mo Fan did not want to alert her. He wanted to find out what Yu Shishi was up to.

“But sir, she seems quite normal to me,” Cao Qinqin said.

“That just means you aren’t experienced enough, since you aren’t alerted when something that might pose a threat to you is around!” Mo Fan knocked on Cao Qinqin’s head.

“Sir, you aren’t that much older than me!” Cao Qinqin protested with a wronged face.

“Tell Zhou Lixin to follow her. She might be suspicious if I keep hanging around her. Besides, I’m just too handsome to keep a low profile. Zhou Lixin has the face of a Mr. Average. He won’t have trouble following her,” Mo Fan said.

“…” Cao Qinqin was left speechless for an instant. She said softly, “Sir, you’re pretty funny.”

“Cao Qinqin, it sounds like you want to spend an extra few years at school,” Mo Fan stared at Cao Qinqin.

“Sir, I’m sorry, you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever met.”

“My back is feeling a little sore after carrying that idiot Bai Hongfei for so long. A little massage might help.”

“Sure thing!”

—

—

Bai Hongfei did not wake up. Even the doctors had no clue what to do after he was admitted into the hospital.

Bai Hongfei was not injured, nor was he under a Curse. He had just fallen asleep like a patient in a persistent vegetative state. His conditions were perfectly normal. His stomach would even growl when he was hungry. The doctors could only feed him with infusions…

Mo Fan was having a headache too. He wanted to know why the river had stopped flowing. It was likely that Bai Hongfei might have found some clues about it, but he was still sleeping!

“Did any of you find any clue?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan had been sending the rest of the students to investigate the river since then, but the river was perfectly normal whenever they were around. However, as soon as they left, the water would stop flowing again. Not a single drop of water could reach Tongxiang, making it impossible for Dean Xiao’s formation to operate as intended.

The Water Circulation Magic Formation would only work when the water was flowing, helping irrigate the crops and protect the cities and towns…

“Sir, sir, we found out that apart from Bai Hongfei, some other people in the town are showing the same symptoms too. Do you want to go and take a look?” Cao Qinqin said.

Mo Fan pondered. They needed more clues. They still had no idea why Yu Shishi wanted to put these people to sleep. What was she trying to hide?

Only the person that tied the bell knew how to untie it. They could only find the answers from Yu Shishi!

Zhou Lixin showed up and hurried over to Mo Fan. “Sir, this is bad! The woman you asked me to keep an eye on was arrested by the City Hunters! When I asked them, they told me she’s an evil moth woman who has murdered many people!”

“The City Hunters? Moth woman?” Mo Fan was astounded.

He suddenly remembered the rumors he heard when he was at Chongming Island in the past. Apparently, there was a moth woman in Wuzhen that would appear at night and murder people!

Was Yu Shishi the moth woman?

“Sr, sir, we have a problem!” Mo Fan had yet to recover from the shocking news when another student hurried over to him.

“What’s going on?” Mo Fan asked.

“Many kids have suddenly fainted in Dongzha, they are on their way to the hospital!” the student blurted out.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Not long after, cries were heard across the hospital, most of them from women and the elderly.

Mo Fan went out and saw many parents had brought their children to the hospital. The medical personnel were awfully busy all of a sudden.

Mo Fan proceeded to the wards and saw that the children were all unconscious. Their auras were extremely weak, as if they had seriously fallen ill.

Every child had similar symptoms, similar to the unconscious Bai Hongfei. However, Bai Hongfei was in a better spot, since he was perfectly fine, apart from unable to wake up.

“Chief Wei, didn’t your men catch the moth woman? She must be the reason why our children ended up like this!” a woman yelled while sobbing in tears.

“Yeah, it must be her. We have had similar cases in the town for some time. Who would have thought that this female monster is so cruel, to even harm the kids! You must save the children!” an old man exclaimed.

“No, we’ll go right now! We should be able to get rid of the curse once the moth woman is dead!” a bunch of farmers snapped furiously.

The men were infuriated when they saw the kids unconscious and the women sobbing, accusing the moth woman of being responsible for it. They quickly left the hospital.

Mo Fan was startled. He followed the group of angry men too.

“Please calm down, none of you knows how to use magic! It’s no use being reckless now. Just leave it to us, the City Hunters will handle it!” Captain Feng Guangkuo said.

“No, we’ll kill her with our own hands!”

“Yeah, she’s been spreading fear around the town for some time, and she’s harming the kids now. We don’t care if she’s human or a monster, we are going to skin her alive!”

Their anger was contagious. The people in the town were constantly living in fear of the rumors about a moth woman after many people had gone missing and died in strange ways in the town. The City Hunters had paid countless visits to the town, yet they had done nothing to put a stop to it. The townfolks were terrified of the moth woman, but now that their kids had fallen ill and the moth woman had been arrested, the pressure they were feeling had turned them into vengeful beasts!

A whole bunch of people quickly made their way to the entrance of the town hall and ran right into the main hall. They were unstoppable.

“Where is the moth woman!? If anything happens to my kid, I’ll make sure that she pays for it!” a muscular farmer snapped furiously.

“There she is!” one of the men quickly noticed a woman tied firmly to a stone pillar close to the center.

The City Hunters were around too. They did not expect the townsfolk to just come rushing in like a furious tide. They immediately went up to stop them.

“Shishi? Why are you here!?” The farmer that was leading the group suddenly froze in his track. He stared blankly at the woman that was tied to the pillar with chains made of ice.

The rest of the men were dumbfounded too. Their murderous looks dissipated as soon as they saw the woman’s familiar face.

“Captain, did…did you make a mistake? Shishi is one of us,” the huge bloke Guan Ping said.

The captain Feng Guangkuo let out a sigh and said, “We didn’t make a mistake. It’s the reason why we didn’t want you to come here.”

“But…”

“Shishi is a kind woman, how is she the moth woman!?” Guan Ping said on behalf of the others.

“A kind woman my ass! Humph, I always thought something wasn’t right about her. She always comes back late at night and is missing most of the time. I thought it was only because her life was slatternly and she was messing around with the men, but I now realize that she doesn’t just flirt with the men, she’s a man-eating monster too!” a relatively plump woman blurted out harshly behind the group of men.

“Huh? Woman, did you really see her eating a man?” The rest of the young women had pale faces after hearing the words.

A number of women had followed the group of farmers to the town hall. They were shocked when they learned that Yu Shishi was the moth woman.

“Of course, did you remember the drunkard on the streets? Didn’t he always go to her place before he went missing!? The man is still missing now. Where else could he be apart from inside that monster’s stomach!?” the plump woman said.

“Yeah, she’s right, the drunkard did visit Yu Shishi quite often before he went missing!”

“Oh my, why would a woman like her eat people!?”

“She’s the moth woman, she can transform!”

“Dear, don’t say that. Why would Yu Shishi do such a thing? Once, our child tripped and fell into the drain when we were away. It was Yu Shishi that saved his life…” Guan Ping said.

“Humph, are you seriously trying to explain on behalf of the monster? Didn’t we all know that the kids like to hang around with her? Look what happened to them; she poisoned them all! She’s just putting up an act all this time, she’s just waiting for her chance to kill us all!” the plump woman Wang Tianhua declared.

“Yeah, she’s right, the kids in the towns and the villages like to hang around with her. She must be the reason why they have fallen ill! Don’t try and stop me, I’ll stab her to death right now!” a woman with bloodshot eyes ran forward holding a pair of scissors!

There were not many City Hunters around, so they were having a hard time calming the townfolk down.

Yu Shishi watched the people expressionlessly. When the woman tried to stab her with the scissors, strings of blue silk suddenly appeared from her and surrounded her like a cocoon. The scissors landed on the silk, but they were unable to move an inch further.

The blue silk was slightly transparent. The people could still see Yu Shishi’s pale face.

“Please calm down! Stop stirring up a mess here if you seriously care about your children! We’re still trying to figure out if the children are placed under a curse. If it’s a curse, we can get rid of it by killing her, but if it’s something else, the children will be in danger if we don’t find a way to save them through her!” Feng Guangkuo yelled.

More City Hunters soon showed up and drove the infuriated townfolk away.

“Captain, you have to save our children! I only have one child, I can’t let anything happen to him.”

“Just go home, you are only interfering with our investigation!” Feng Guangkuo snapped back.

Feng Guangkuo was quite popular among the townfolk. He had helped the town a lot whenever something happened in Tongxiang.

The crowd left while murmuring under their breath. Mo Fan was dumbfounded after witnessing it all. Wasn’t this a typical scene in an ancient drama?

The men in the village were particularly fond of a beautiful woman, so the other women in the village were extremely jealous of her. As such, when something happened in the village, the women would blame it all on the beautiful woman by accusing her of being a monster, and the reason why the disaster had happened in the first place…

The only difference was that Yu Shishi was indeed not an ordinary human. She was the moth woman, and she definitely had something to do with the children that had fallen ill!

“Why are you here still?” Feng Guangkuo asked in an unpleasant tone after he saw Mo Fan.

Mo Fan showed the man his Hunter Master badge and the proof of his identity as a mentor of the Pearl Institute before replying, “I’m here for an investigation. She seems to be the reason why the water has stopped flowing.”

“Oh, I didn’t expect you to be a Hunter Master at such a young age, not to mention a mentor of the Pearl Institute too. Pardon me!” Feng Guangkuo said.

“Can I have a few words with her?” Mo Fan asked.

“Sure, but I doubt she’s going to tell you anything. Whenever we try to do something to her, the silk will show up and protect her,” Feng Guangkuo said helplessly.

—

Mo Fan went up to Yu Shishi. The silk had disappeared on its own when Yu Shishi was not in danger.

The woman wearily lifted her gaze and looked at Mo Fan.

“I should have killed you back in the woods!” Yu Shishi was furious as soon when she saw Mo Fan.

She had spared Mo Fan’s life, but to her surprise, the man had reported her to the City Hunters instead.

“You’ve misunderstood me, I didn’t tell them anything. I did send someone to keep an eye on you, but I didn’t ask the City Hunters to arrest you. Are you the reason why the kids have fallen ill?” Mo Fan asked seriously.

“They won’t live if I’m dead, including your student!” Yu Shishi said coldly.

“Why are you doing this?” Mo Fan asked.

“Why?” Yu Shishi suddenly burst out laughing. Her smile was cold and sinister, “Does a demon creature need a reason to eat humans?”

Mo Fan was stunned.

She was right; if she really was a demon creature, she did not need a reason to kill and eat humans. It was part of her nature, just like how humans ate meat.

“Let the kids go, and I’ll make sure you leave unharmed. Otherwise, you will have to spend the rest of your life locked away,” Mo Fan said.

“Hehe, who do you think is going to compromise when the kids are about to die?” Yu Shishi said coldly.

“Fine, but why did you stop the water from flowing? Are you trying to take out the food supply of the entire Tongxiang valley?” Mo Fan asked.

Food was extremely important due to the limited space of human territories in the safe zone. The space available for crops-planting was limited. Tongxiang was a huge source of food. If the water stopped flowing, it would greatly hinder the production of food.

“That’s right! I want them all to starve to death!” Yu Shishi said.

“You are seriously an incisive monster, unlike the ones that pretend to be kind and pure-hearted in the TV dramas,” Mo Fan said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had no idea what to do with Yu Shishi. He did not have any other clues to follow, either. It was extremely annoying to roam about like a headless fly without any clue what he was looking for.

Luckily, Mo Fan was still able to remain calm considering the things he had gone through in the past. However, his students were extremely worried about the children that had fallen ill and the possibility that they were going to fail their mission.

“Just go back and rest. Waiting here isn’t going to help much,” Mo Fan told the students.

It was already late at night. The students went to get some rest. The City Hunters were obviously going to keep an eye on Yu Shishi, so it was unnecessary to worry too much about her.

Cao Qinqin quickly ran over to Mo Fan when he was about to leave the hospital. She pulled his arm and said, “Sir, sir, Bai Hongfei is awake!”

“Really?” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

He quickly went to the ward and discovered that Bai Hongfei was indeed awake. He seemed perfectly normal apart from the slightly pale expression.

“Sir, I’m sorry for making you worried,” Bai Hongfei said with an apologetic look.

“It’s fine as long as you’re well. By the way, what did you see at Qinyi Lake?” Mo Fan asked.

“Lots of moths! They were scattered across the surface of the lake. It’s the reason why the water has stopped flowing,” Bai Hongfei said immediately.

“I see!” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered.

The moths were stopping the water from flowing by staying on the surface. However, the moths would fly away when the students went to investigate the watercourse, thus everything looked perfectly normal to them.

“So it turns out that Yu Shishi is still responsible for it. We’ll take turns to guard the water; that way, the Water Circulation Magic Formation should be able to operate as intended!” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah! We can finally report back after we’re done with the job!”

“Mm, Bai Hongfei, well done!”

Bai Hongfei smiled, but his smile stiffened when he heard that Yu Shishi had been arrested.

——

Mo Fan went to the mountain with the rest of the students to keep the water flowing so Dean Xiao’s Water Circulation Magic Formation could operate normally.

Cao Qinqin did not go with them. She stayed at the hospital to take care of Bai Hongfei.

Bai Hongfei was unwilling to let Cao Qinqin stay up late just to look after him. He said, “You should go back and rest, I’m perfectly fine here.”

“Sir asked me to keep an eye on you,” Cao Qinqin said.

“I just fell asleep. There’s nothing to worry about, really. To be honest, I don’t think the moth woman is trying to harm me. Otherwise, she could have just left me in the wild to be eaten by the demon creatures, right?” Bai Hongfei said.

“Yeah, but everyone said that she’s a man-eating monster,” Cao Qinqin said.

“You should really go back and rest. I’m just going to meditate here. I know you haven’t gotten any rest since last night, as you and sir were looking for me. Look at the dark circles under your eyes,” Bai Hongfei said.

“Ah? Really? But…but sir asked me to keep an eye on you,” Cao Qinqin said.

“It’s going to be fine, go ahead. You can sleep in the next room too. You shouldn’t be staying up all night,” Bai Hongfei said.

“Alright.”

—

After Cao Qinqin left, Bai Hongfei was preoccupied with thoughts of Yu Shishi.

Bai Hongfei made sure that Cao Qinqin had fallen asleep. He quickly changed and made his way to the town hall late at night.

The town hall was heavily guarded. Bai Hongfei revealed who he was. The City Hunters did not try and stop him.

The City Hunters had not made any progress even though they had caught the moth woman that was responsible for it. They were hoping that Bai Hongfei could get some information from Yu Shishi.

Bai Hongfei arrived in front of Yu Shishi. He felt sorry for her when he saw the worn-out look on her face.

“It’s you,” Yu Shishi was the first to speak when she saw Bai Hongfei.

Yu Shishi had a good impression of Bai Hongfei. The man was not cunning and full of lies like Mo Fan. She had only put Bai Hongfei to sleep, as she was hoping that Bai Hongfei would not tell anyone about his discovery.

“Those kids that have fallen ill have nothing to do with you, right? Otherwise, I wouldn’t be awake now either,” Bai Hongfei asked sincerely.

Yu Shishi lowered her head and bit her lips.

Bai Hongfei knew something was wrong seeing her reaction.

“Tell me the truth if you believe me. You wouldn’t want the poor kids to die too, right?” Bai Hongfei said.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” Yu Shishi said.

“Then tell me why they have fallen ill, and why are you stopping the water from flowing? Is it because the water is putting Tongxiang and the people of the town in danger?” Bai Hongfei asked.

Yu Shishi glanced at the young man. The look in her eyes shifted.

“Thank you, everyone is suspecting me and accusing me to be a monster, yet you are willing to trust me even though I put you to sleep,” Yu Shishi said.

“Tell me the truth then. Don’t you worry, I’ll try my best to help,” Bai Hongfei smiled.

“The kids have fallen ill because of the water. There’s a Carnelian-Head Spider at the source of the water. Its poison has a paralyzing effect. I saw it injecting the poison into the water. The poison is extremely strong. Even though it was diluted after flowing through the watercourse, it’s still harmful to humans. The people in the town have been drinking the water, and their bodies would be severely exhausted after some time. The children have fallen ill first because their bodies are weaker,” Yu Shishi said.

“You’re telling me that everyone in the town is poisoned, and the adults aren’t showing any symptom yet because they are stronger?” Bai Hongfei exclaimed.

“Exactly. That Carnelian-Head Spider is my nemesis. I’ve been trying to come up with a plan to take it out, but it has laid down lots of spider webs in the woods. My moths couldn’t fly any deeper. Otherwise, I would have gotten rid of it ages ago…” Yu Shishi said.

“Which means, since Dean Xiao is circulating the water flowing into Tongxiang, it actually makes the situation worse by poisoning the kids and the people further. I have to let the mentor know as soon as possible!” Bai Hongfei said.

Bai Hongfei did not think the situation would be so serious. Luckily, he had decided to come and ask Yu Shishi the truth since he was feeling uneasy about the whole situation. Otherwise, he would never learn the secret.

“By the way, why didn’t you tell the secret to my mentor?” Bai Hongfei asked as he remembered something.

“He doesn’t seem to be reliable. Besides, everyone is treating me like a monster because I’m the moth woman. Who’s willing to trust me? The women in this town have long wanted a chance to set me up. They could not wait to drive me out of town. If I tell them there’s something wrong about the water, they are going to put the blame on me again,” Yu Shishi sighed.

“You’re right, I should tell Dean Xiao instead…” Bai Hongfei said.

Yu Shishi shook her head and said, “I’m happy that you’re willing to trust me, but I believe they are still going to put the blame on me before I have any evidence to prove that I’m innocent. Besides, I’m worried about the kids. It might be too late by then.”

“What should I do then?” Bai Hongfei asked.

“Head to the mountain and continue north. You will find a huge dark red forest that is covered in spider webs. You just need to get rid of the spider webs and my moths will take care of the Carnelian-Head Spider,” Yu Shishi said.

“But isn’t the Carnelian-Head Spider your nemesis? Many of your moths are going to die,” Bai Hongfei said.

“There’s no other choice. We have to take the Carnelian-Head Spider out first,” Yu Shishi said.

Bai Hongfei’s heart shuddered when he saw the determination on Yu Shishi’s face, “You are still willing to help the town when the people are treating you so harshly. Those moths are obviously very important to you.”

Yu Shishi lowered her head in silence.

Bai Hongfei was infuriated after seeing her reaction. Why did the town folks and the City Hunters falsely accuse her before learning the truth? Yu Shishi was seriously a lot more merciful compared to the insensitive and ridiculous town folks.

However, there was nothing he could do about it. The lack of understanding had always been a huge problem for many people!

“And make sure to stop the water from flowing into Tongxiang!” Yu Shishi reminded him.

“Got it…by the way, I’ll set you free first,” Bai Hongfei said.

Yu Shishi shook her head, “If you set me free now, everyone is going to think that I’m the main culprit. You just need to tear down the spider webs in the forest. I won’t run away from here even if the people hate me or are afraid of me. This is my home, I just want to protect it.”

Bai Hongfei took pity on the woman. He was the only person that could help Yu Shishi now. “I promise that I’ll help you.”

“Thank you.”

—

——

Bai Hongfei immediately made his way to the mountain. He ventured deeper by following the instructions from Yu Shishi.

He soon discovered the sinister-looking dark red forest that Yu Shishi mentioned. As soon as he walked into it, he quickly felt something sticky on his face.

He wiped his face and realized that it was some sticky spider webs!

Bai Hongfei was overjoyed. It seemed like Yu Shishi did not lie to him!

He took another few steps forward and soon discovered lots of blue moths stuck on the spider webs. As he went deeper, he saw lots of moths stuck together on the spider webs. Most of them had almost dried up, like specimens.

Bai Hongfei grieved upon seeing them.

It was very likely that Yu Shishi was trying to break through the spider webs forcibly with the moths, but she ended up sacrificing a huge number of them.

“You son of a b**ch, I swear I’m going to kill you today!” Bai Hongfei brushed away the spider webs with a murderous look in his eyes!

It was like the moths were diving into a fire when they were trying to break through the spider webs. Lots of moths were going to die for sure. Bai Hongfei did not want Yu Shishi to sacrifice too much for the town. He decided to kill the Carnelian-Head Spider himself.

1 That being said, he did not forget to get rid of the spider webs as he was told. That way, the moths could intercept the water to prevent it from flowing into Tongxiang.

—

—

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was leaning against a tree while he was keeping an eye on Qinyi Lake. He was currently in deep thoughts. He kept feeling that something was odd about the whole situation.

“Sir, sir, Bai Hongfei is missing again!” Cao Qinqin yelled in the call.

“F**k me, why can’t he just behave himself!?” Mo Fan cursed.

“I was worried that he’s going to run away again, so I put a locator in his bag. Sir, I think he’s deep inside the woods. You should go and take a look,” Cao Qinqin said.

“That was very smart of you. I’ll head over right now,” Mo Fan said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan soon found the dark red woods after following Cao Qinqin’s instructions. The forest was covered in sticky spider webs. It would be extremely difficult to break free from them if he was caught in them.

Mo Fan could not help but wonder what Bai Hongfei was doing here.

The dark red woods had a strange scent, too. Mo Fan soon saw some spider webs that had been destroyed. The further he went, the more cleared up the area was. He was able to proceed forward smoothly.

“Moths on the spider webs?” Mo Fan noticed lots of dead moths on the spider webs. Some of the moths were quite huge, the size of bats. They were mostly blue in color. When Mo Fan saw some moths diving at the spider webs, he immediately recalled the appearance of Qinyi Lake, which seemed like it was covered by a blue veil.

Bai Hongfei was right. The moths had stopped the water from flowing, but what were they trying to achieve?

A strange voice came from the woods. Mo Fan gathered his focus and saw a huge tree suddenly falling to the ground. The huge trunk and the branches immediately fell on top of the dark red shrubs nearby!

Mo Fan picked up his pace. He turned into a shadow bird and flew in the direction of the falling tree.

—

As soon as he arrived, he saw some blood spraying across the air and dyed the leaves of the shrubs red. It was particularly eye-catching.

“Ahhhh… my arm!” Bai Hongfei screamed in pain.

His severed arm fell to the ground. Bai Hongfei grabbed the stump and desperately backed away. He did not even dare retrieve his arm.

“Bai Hongfei!” Mo Fan was startled.

How reckless could the kid be? Why could not he understand how capable he was, going so deep into the woods and provoking such a deadly spider!?

Mo Fan had seen the hairy spider. It had the legs and lower body of a spider, but its upper body was densely covered in red skulls. From afar, the red skulls set off the carnelian head on its back. It was oddly spooky!

“Sir, run away…this thing is too strong!” Bai Hongfei yelled at Mo Fan while gritting his teeth against the tremendous pain.

1 Bai Hongfei had decided to take out the Carnelian-Head Spider, as he did not want Yu Shishi to sacrifice herself any further. He was an Advanced Mage. He assumed the creature was not too strong, since it was close to the safe zone. He would be able to take care of it by himself.

However, Bai Hongfei had thought wrong. The Carnelian-Head Spider was crazily strong. Each of the skulls was able to spit out poisonous silk, making it extremely difficult for Bai Hongfei to do anything.

He was already regretting it; he should not have been so full of himself!

As soon as Bai Hongfei warned Mo Fan, the creature quickly spat out poisonous silk in all directions as if it understood what they were saying.

The poisonous silk spread throughout the woods, covering the trunks, the canopy, and the shrubs, forming a huge spiderweb that would prevent the two humans from escaping. It even covered the space above their heads. They could no longer see the stars!

“We’re done for!” Bai Hongfei yelled.

“No, we’re not, get behind me!” Mo Fan snapped.

“Sir, you don’t stand a chance against it…”

Bai Hongfei was already an Advanced Mage himself. Even though he was clear that the young mentor was stronger than him, there was no way he could take the Carnelian-Head Spider on alone. They would need a group of Advanced Mages against this Commander-level creature!

The Carnelian-Head Spider charged forward after setting up its spider web. The creature’s legs were remarkably strong. They kept flicking the soil into the air as it charged forward. It thrust its sharp and strong front limbs in Mo Fan’s direction!

“Piss off!” Mo Fan yelled furiously. A fiery dragon coiled around his arm.

The fiery dragon surged around Mo Fan’s wrist as he threw a punch. Facing this demon creature that was over twenty meters tall, the flames bursting out of Mo Fan’s fist soared fifty meters high into the air and filled up the space between Mo Fan’s fist and the Carnelian-Head Spider!

The flames lit up the woods. An even greater fiery dragon sprang forward and chased after the Carnelian-Head Spider that had been knocked flying. It knocked the Carnelian-Head Spider further into the distance…

The woods were densely covered in spider webs, but they soon had a huge clearing that was burning fiercely. The trees along the path of the flames were burned into ashes. The Carnelian-Head Spider was at the end of the trail. Its sturdy dark red armor was severely damaged. It was still burning!

“This…this…” Bai Hongfei was dumbfounded!

Did his mentor just knock the powerful Commander-level Carnelian-Head Spider flying with a single punch?

How powerful would the punch have to be? Judging from the Carnelian-Head Spider’s condition, it was not as simple as knocking it into the distance. Mo Fan had actually managed to penetrate its defenses!

He had only used a single ability, an ordinary-looking Fiery Fist, but its aura and strength were a lot stronger than the Advanced Spell of the Fire Mages he normally saw!

“Who would expect to find such a strong Commander-level creature less than fifty kilometers from the safe zone! Give me a few minutes, I’ll take it out first, so it won’t do any harm to the town!” Mo Fan turned around and said to Bai Hongfei.

The areas within fifty kilometers of the safe zone were usually patrolled by the army. They were normally referred to as the sub-safe zones. Some important cities requested that not a single demon creature was allowed to exist within their sub-safe zones, not even a Servant-class creature!

However, they had ended up stumbling into a Commander-level creature in the sub-safe zone here in Tongxiang. If the Commander-level creature was trying to harm the people in the town, it would be a devastating blow to the town and the villages, which were not heavily guarded.

In the past, Bo City was almost wiped out by a single Darkwing Wolf and its tribe!

“A…a few minutes?” Bai Hongfei had a complicated face after hearing those words.

Bai Hongfei saw the young mentor charging at the Carnelian-Head Spider. He felt like his understanding of the world had toppled all of a sudden. Wasn’t a Mage supposed to stay as far away from a demon creature as possible, to ensure they were safe enough to cast their spells? Why was his mentor taking the initiative to get close to the demon creature instead?

2 —

Mo Fan was extremely quick, even though he was not using any movement spell. He had grown a lot stronger.

When he was thirty meters away from the Carnelian-Head Spider, the creature furiously leapt into the air, and landed on the spider web covering the canopy.

It was able to climb freely along the spider web using its legs. The webs further increased its speed!

“Don’t you dare run away! It’s my first time being a mentor, yet you are showing no respect by trying to kill him. Die!” Mo Fan yelled.

Mo Fan turned into a bolt of lightning and rose into the air, making his way toward the canopy layer. The Carnelian-Head Spider seemed to be afraid of Mo Fan’s punch. It quickly dodged aside and ran around in circles.

Mo Fan was having trouble landing his lightning on his target. When he decided to use an Advanced Spell, he suddenly realized that he was surrounded by silk that had appeared out of nowhere!

“Trying to trap me here?”

The Carnelian-Head Spider was very cunning. Even as it was dodging the attacks, it did not stop spitting out the invisible silk. The creature was running around in circles, trying to trap Mo Fan within the layers of silk!

Mo Fan found himself in an enclosed spider web. When the Carnelian-Head Spider pulled at the silk, the spider web began to tighten and contract rapidly, enclosing Mo Fan like a cage!

—

“Sir!” Bai Hongfei was startled upon seeing this.

The giant spider web did not give Mo Fan any chance to escape. If the Carnelian-Head Spider had used the move against him instead, he would have ended up inside the Carnelian-Head Spider’s stomach as food by now!

—

While Bai Hongfei was still immersed in shock, he discovered some space ripples not far away. Mo Fan’s blurry outline showed, silver lights gradually dissipating around him.

Bai Hongfei was stunned, but immediately looked very happy.

“Space Element, Blink!” Bai Hongfei did not expect his mentor to be an expert of the Space Element!

Mo Fan disregarded the passionate look in Bai Hongfei’s eyes. He lifted his gaze and stared at the Carnelian-Head Spider that was sitting up on the huge spider web and chuckled, “Sky-Flame Funeral: Hellish Flames!”

After acquiring the Ardent Sunset, his Fire Constellation looked even more stunning and imperious. A brilliant meteorite suddenly swept across the night sky, lighting up the sky and the woods. The meteorite enlarged as it gradually approached the ground. Its burning shadow was looming over the area!

The Carnelian-Head Spider was still looking forward to eating the prey it had just caught. To its surprise, the cage made of spider webs was completely empty. It soon realized that it was in a huge trouble when it sensed the scorching heat coming from above it.

The Carnelian-Head Spider was unable to escape the Advanced Spell’s huge area of effect in time. The Hellish Flames slammed down, burning the trees that were covered in spider webs to ashes!

The Ardent Sunset was a Soul-grade Fire, meaning that it was able to strengthen Mo Fan’s Sky-Flame Funeral: Hellish Flames by two to three times. Even the Commander-level Carnelian-Head Spider stood no chance against the violent flames!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

With a huge crash, the dark red woods were set aflame. The impact had resulted in an enormous pit, with a diameter over a hundred meters. Bai Hongfei was utterly dumbfounded by how destructive the spell was.

Even though his mentor was an Advanced Mage, just like him, the difference between their strength was absolutely insane. He could not even break through the Carnelian-Head Spider’s defense with his spells, yet his mentor’s spell was able to inflict serious damage on the Commander-level creature!

Many of the skulls on the Carnelian-Head Spider’s back were destroyed. Some of its limbs had broken, too. It anxiously rose to its feet and fled staggering into the woods.

There was no way Mo Fan would let it escape. Lightning flashes were surging on his palms. A stormy cloud rapidly appeared in the direction the Carnelian-Head Spider was fleeing. The stormy cloud flickered restlessly.

“Sky…” Mo Fan was just about to take the creature out with the Sky Lightning Claw when countless blue things suddenly flew out of the woods.

Mo Fan did not attack. The lightning continued to accumulate its power above the clouds.

The blue things turned out to be an overwhelming number of moths. Mo Fan had no idea where they had come from. The creatures were lunging at the Carnelian-Head Spider as if they had long awaited this opportunity.

The moths completely blocked off the Carnelian-Head Spider’s escape. They gathered together and began to emit a blue light. These lights were like sharp blades, piercing through the Carnelian-Head Spider’s damaged armor.

The Carnelian-Head Spider cried out in agony. Normally, the moths had no chance of inflicting any damage on it, due to the outstanding defense of its armor. Most importantly, if the moths drew any closer than three hundred meters, its webs would entrap every single one of them.

However, the Carnelian-Head Spider was still burning! It was unable to spit out its silk!

Mo Fan and Bai Hongfei stood still and watched the moths carrying out their attacks. They angrily cut the Carnelian-Head Spider into pieces. Its blood splattered onto the moths and dyed them an eerie red.

“It seems like they have long been nursing a grievance against it,” Mo Fan said.

“Yu Shishi mentioned that the spider is their natural enemy,” Bai Hongfei said.

“Yu Shishi? Hang on, did you talk to that woman again?” Mo Fan was startled, and stared at Bai Hongfei.

“Yeah, it was Yu Shishi that told me there’s a Carnelian-Head Spider here. We wouldn’t have expected such a powerful creature here. Oh, sir, Yu Shishi is really a kind woman. She was using the moths to stop the water from flowing into Tongxiang because the Carnelian-Head Spider has been poisoning the water. The kids fainted because of its poison,” Bai Hongfei said.

“She told you all that?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, everything is fine now. The Carnelian-Head Spider is dead, which means our job here is done. Many moths were trapped by the spider webs before. Yu Shishi must be happy now that they were set free,” Bai Hongfei smiled even though he was in great pain.

He raised his head and looked into the sky above the dense canopy. The spider webs had lost their magic after the Carnelian-Head Spider died. Many moths were flying out of the woods into the night sky. It was a spectacular sight.

Mo Fan was looking at the moths too. He was surprised by how many moths were trapped in the woods when he saw lots of them flying into the sky. They seemed to be heading into a certain direction too, as if they were being summoned…

“Mentor, let’s head back. I didn’t expect you to be so strong at such a young age. I always thought you are here just to make up the numbers,” Bai Hongfei said.

Even though he had consumed a blood serum, it did not relieve the pain by much. He retrieved his arm so he could reattach it after they got back to town.

Bai Hongfei could not wait to see the innocent gentle smile on Yu Shishi’s face when he went back. All he had gone through was worth it if he could win her affection. On top of that, he was surely going to graduate With Excellence this time, since not only was he able to complete his job, he also got rid of a huge threat to the town!

“Sir, aren’t we done with the job? Why are you frowning still?” Bai Hongfei asked in confusion.

“Don’t you think there are just too many of them?” Mo Fan pointed at the moths in the sky.

The sky that was covered in blue wings was as stunning, as if it was a remarkable piece of art. It was further set off by the dim lights of the town in the distance.

However, Mo Fan had an uneasy feeling…

Meanwhile, in the town hall, the hair of the woman that was tied to the stone pillar was drifting to the night breeze. Her pretty face looked pale and haggard. She seemed quite pitiful, but when she saw the spectacular blue veil that was approaching from the distance, she gradually smiled. Her smile slowly widened into a cunning evil grin!

“You’re all going to pay for this!”

—

—

The town hall was soon covered by a wild blue tornado of moths. The City Hunters immediately ran into the town hall, but the blue moths had completely blocked off their vision. They had no chance of stopping them.

The ice chains were broken, allowing Yu Shishi to gain her freedom. She was walking on bare feet. She stood on her toes and crossed over Captain Feng Guangkuo’s body.

The moths quickly gathered under Yu Shishi’s feet like a blue rug, as if they were surrounding their empress. They slowly lifted the woman into the air.

Yu Shishi rose into the night sky. She was eventually beyond the reach of the lights. The area within a kilometer from her was fully covered by the blue moths. Many moths that were a lot bigger were gathering toward her from the distance. It was not long before a terrifying tornado consisting of the moths loomed over the town. From afar, it looked like an enormous blue beast was about to devour the tiny little town with its mouth wide open!

The moths sprinkled their powder in the sky. The powder had a strong fragrance, and was deadly poisonous. The people in the town fell unconscious before they even came into contact with any of the moths.

More people fainted and fell to the ground as if they had all fallen asleep. The blue moths landed on them. They did not tear them into pieces savagely, but they seemed to be collecting something from them, like butterflies collecting nectar!

—

Mo Fan and Bai Hongfei were making their way back to the town as quickly as possible.

The rest of the students had also gone back to the town after they realized what happened.

“Sir, the moths are turning it into a disaster. What should we do now? They seem to be attacking the townsfolk!” Zhou Lixin blurted out in a panic.

The students stared at the town in disbelief too. They were utterly clueless about what was happening.

“They are most likely here to save Yu Shishi. They won’t attack the people…” Bai Hongfei said.

“How stupid do you have to be to still believe her!?” Mo Fan snapped.

“Sir…” Bai Hongfei was startled.

“That Yu Shishi is a vicious and greedy monster. She has played you like a fiddle and used you to finish her job. Damn it, why didn’t I realize that the Carnelian-Head Spider was Yu Shishi’s natural enemy. It was the most important thing needed to keep Yu Shishi under control!” Mo Fan cursed.

Mo Fan was condemning himself, too.

Commander Li Man had already told him at Dongting Lake that some powerful demon creatures in the same territory would suppress one another. The relationship between these creatures allowed humans to live in peace. The army would even go as far as sparing the lives of demon creatures at times just so they would prevent some other species from overpopulating the area!

Every living creature had its natural enemies. Otherwise, things would all go out of control, just like the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had. The Locusts pretty much had no natural enemies, especially those that had mutated after burning in a fire.

Similarly, it was likely that the moths had been around for some time. They had grown to a disastrous level under Yu Shishi’s leadership, and the Carnelian-Head Spider only showed up so close to the safe zone since the moths were delicious food to it!

The Carnelian-Head Spider had greatly controlled the number of the moths and stopped Yu Shishi from carrying out her plan with them. It was the reason why the town had been safe until now!

However, he had helped Yu Shishi eliminate her natural enemy by inflicting serious damage on the Carnelian-Head Spider. It had also set the countless moths that were trapped by the Carnelian-Head Spider free. The moths were going to massacre the townsfolk. They were demon creatures, after all. Eating humans was part of their nature, regardless of how pretty the moth woman might be!

Mo Fan never thought Yu Shishi was friendly, but he had decided to observe her for the time being since she did not harm Bai Hongfei. To his surprise, Yu Shishi was so cunning that she was planning to use the inexperienced Bai Hongfei to take out her natural enemy all along.

It was likely that Yu Shishi was thinking of using him too, but she realized it was not easy to trick him. It was true that Mo Fan never trusted Yu Shishi, but unfortunately, he had completely forgotten about the law of natural enemies between living creatures and ended up inflicting serious damage on the Carnelian-Head Spider!

“Why…why is this happening…” Bai Hongfei completely lost his mind. He could not believe that Yu Shishi had been lying to him.

But the truth was right before his eyes. Bai Hongfei felt like he was about to break down mentally after knowing that he had placed the town in such grave danger.

“She was using the moths to stop the water from flowing. She might be aware of Dean Xiao’s plan of using the Water Circulation Magic Formation to set up a barrier to protect the town, meaning that the barrier was effective against her!” Mo Fan clenched his teeth. His heart was burning in rage.

The truth had always been very simple. The City Hunters did not catch the wrong guy. The townsfolk were right too, but unfortunately, someone had fallen for the moth woman because of her seductive appearance!

“Sir, I’m sorry, I should have kept an eye on Bai Hongfei, just like you instructed!” Cao Qinqin was tearing up. She never thought the whole situation would end up like this!

“It’s useless to blame ourselves now. The few of you, go and find that puffed up mentor and ask him to activate the Water Circulation Magic Formation. The rest of you, try and find some way to increase the flow of the water… I’ll handle Yu Shishi and buy us more time. She must be absorbing the energy of the townsfolk without us noticing to make herself stronger. Her moths were all set free after her natural enemy was taken out. She is blatantly feeding on the energy of the townsfolk. They are still alive, we still have a chance to save them!” Mo Fan said seriously.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Sir, the powder of the blue moths seems to have a hypnotizing effect. I’ll go with you,” Cao Qinqin said.

Cao Qinqin was a Poison Mage. She could easily drive the powder away using Poison Cavity.

“You will go find a way to wake the City Hunters up. Ask them to evacuate the townsfolk to somewhere safe,” Mo Fan told Cao Qinqin.

“Will you be fine taking her on by yourself? She seems to be quite powerful,” Cao Qinqin asked, concerned.

“I will be fine,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan glanced at Bai Hongfei, who still had a blank face. He frowned and said, “Come with me. Do you really want the people of the town to die in Yu Shishi’s hands?”

Bai Hongfei nodded stiffly. He followed Mo Fan absent-mindedly.

—

It was a relief that the number of moths under Yu Shishi’s control was nowhere as terrifying as the Sandstorm Demon Locusts had been. However, the moths still posed a huge threat to the town.

“Ardent Sunset!” Flames like the clouds during sunset burst out of Mo Fan’s body and circled him. The strong flames surged at the moths and cleared a path with fire.

However, with so many moths around, the fire was like a torch in complete darkness. It was only able to provide them with limited visibility.

“She’s there!” The sense of defeat and astonishment in Bai Hongfei’s heart gradually turned into anger. He disregarded the moths that were flying around him and jumped straight onto the black tiles of a roof.

He went straight toward where Yu Shishi was. The moths did not try to stop him.

—

Yu Shishi was floating in the sky as if she was riding a flying blue raft. The intimidating glimmer of her eyes made her beautiful face oddly terrifying!

“Why did you lie to me!?” Bai Hongfei shouted at her from the roof.

Yu Shishi looked down at Bai Hongfei and giggled, “Didn’t you see how they were treating me in the day? I’m just paying back the favor!”

“The Carnelian Head Spider is already dead. Your moths are free too! Please don’t hurt the people in the town,” Bai Hongfei soon lost his rage.

“Are you seriously treating me like a woman? HAHAHA!” Yu Shishi burst out laughing. Her even teeth slowly turned into fangs.

Her beautiful face was shifting, too. Her skin began to glitter blue as a giant pair of wings grew out of the flesh on her back in a spray of pus.

Bai Hongfei’s eyes widened upon witnessing Yu Shishi’s changes.

Was this Yu Shishi human or a demon creature? Why was she able to transform into such a ghastly creature even though she looked completely human just a second ago?

“You’re such a naive little boy. Since you’ve done such a huge favor for me, I can let you leave unharmed. As for the people in this town… hehe, do you really think they are kind and pure? I’ve been living in this town for many years. I have seen how evil they are!” Yu Shishi laughed hollowly.

“But…but what about the kids? They didn’t do anything wrong,” Bai Hongfei said.

Yu Shishi did not answer. The number of moths around her kept increasing.

A bright flame swept past the cloudy night sky and went straight at Yu Shishi.

The moths around her were burned into ashes. Even the thickest wall of moths stood no chance against the fire.

Yu Shishi beat her wings in the direction of the fire as soon as she saw it. The fire initially heading for Yu Shishi ended up missing and flew off into the distance after it was deflected!

Another scorching Fiery Fist soon followed the first!

More Fiery Fists began to sweep past the night sky like a rain of meteorites. They were all heading toward Yu Shishi.

Yu Shishi continued to deflect the flames. However, she soon realized the flames were not only after her. She could see her moths turning into ashes by the Meteorite Fists. The cloud of moths around her shrank rapidly in just a few moments!

“Why did you even bother wasting your time talking to this b**ch!?” Mo Fan appeared on top of a building. The flames of Ardent Sunset were coiling around his arms, their ripples preventing the moths from coming any closer. The flames were oddly bright within the cloudy tornado of moths and darkness!

Yu Shishi stared at Mo Fan angrily.

Mo Fan’s Rain of Flames had killed many of her moths. She was only able to produce the moths with the energy she had acquired from the townsfolk. She used to be extremely cautious. To avoid exposing herself, she would try her best not to absorb the energy from the same person, nor did she kill anyone…

“I swear I’m going to absorb all your energy!” Yu Shishi cursed at him.

“Is that so? I doubt your skinny body would even let me break a sweat,” Mo Fan mocked her back.

Yu Shishi shuddered. How dare the Mage underestimate her!?

The moths covering the people of the town quickly rose into the sky. Their thin wings turned into sharp blades, sweeping in Mo Fan’s direction wildly.

The wings were shockingly powerful. The wind was strong enough to blow wooden structures into the air before shredding the tiles, planks, and ceilings into pieces.

“Bai Hongfei, save the people!” Mo Fan ordered Bai Hongfei sternly.

Bai Hongfei naively thought Yu Shishi would spare the lives of the townsfolk. To his surprise, Yu Shishi had lost it all after her identity was exposed. She was more than willing to destroy everything in her abhorrence of their evil!

“Yes…got it, sir!” Bai Hongfei did not dare to waste any time. He quickly went to the buildings that were in danger and dragged the unconscious townsfolk out of them.

Bai Hongfei was an Advanced Mage, after all. He had no trouble saving the people while Mo Fan was keeping Yu Shishi occupied.

3 Yu Shishi could not care less about the townsfolk, either. Her hatred of Mo Fan was the greatest after all the moths he had killed. If she absorbed the energy of a strong Mage like him, she could easily produce a huge bunch of powerful moths!

A few houses were razed to the ground. Mo Fan landed on an arching bridge. When the wind blades followed after him, he quickly moved to the roof of another building with a flicker of silver light.

Yu Shishi was struggling to keep track of him. When she finally realized where he was, Mo Fan had already Summoned a pair of wings made of the flames of the Ardent Sunset to propel himself at her.

Yu Shishi reacted quickly, beating her wings to dodge Mo Fan’s attack. However, Mo Fan was not trying to attack Yu Shishi. He fired his burning feathers into every direction. The feathers exploded as soon as they made contact with the moths!

The night sky was suddenly lit up by explosions that looked like fireworks. The blue moths had turned into scorched pieces falling from the sky after the brilliant explosions.

“Damn it, damn it!” Yu Shishi trembled in rage.

Mo Fan was abusing the flames of his Ardent Sunset to massacre her moths. It was costing her all the effort that she had put in for countless nights!

“Die!” Yu Shishi charged at Mo Fan in hate, quick as a gust of wind. The wind was carrying her poisonous powder with her!

“Little Flame Belle, Possess!” Mo Fan yelled. It felt like he had long been waiting for Yu Shishi to lose her calm.

1 The Ardent Sunset and the Calamity Fire erupted below Mo Fan’s feet. The wild flames shrouded him like invincible armor. His aura skyrocketed as the Domain of the two fires spread rapidly, burning the moths into ashes.

Yu Shishi was right in front of Mo Fan. She began to panic when she saw how formidable Mo Fan’s flames were.

Fire had always been a moth’s weakness. Yu Shishi never thought the ordinary-looking Mage would possess such overwhelming power. Her skin was blistering from the scorching heat of the flames!

1 “You have a new natural enemy from today on, and that’s me!”

1 The God of Flames descended from the sky, covered in flames. The flames spread recklessly under Mo Fan’s control, setting the moths in their path on fire and turning the sky into an ocean of flames!

Mo Fan dashed toward Yu Shishi with a blazing sword formed with both flames!

Mo Fan swept the sword down. The heat surged forward like a tide; Yu Shishi was unable to dodge it in time. Moths quickly gathered in front of her like walls to defend her!

The flames surged wildly, their force knocked Yu Shishi flying. It was impossible to tell how many moths had just died to the flames. Mo Fan was completely unstoppable against insects by abusing the flames of the Ardent Sunset. Even the spiderwebs of the Carnelian-Head Spider were not as effective as his flames!

Yu Shishi was not too strong on her own. She was swaying wildly in the air and had to rely on the moths for support.

“Since you didn’t kill the townsfolk, if you are willing to give the energy back to the kids, I’ll consider sparing your life!” Mo Fan lifted the fiery sword and pointed it at Yu Shishi. His flames showed no sign of dissipating, forcing the moths away from him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“No way! They are all going to die!” Yu Shishi declared coldly.

“I wonder how you’re going to harm them once I kill all your moths!” Mo Fan shot back.

His flames burned even more fiercely. He began to lift a huge fireball with his hands.

The fireball continued to expand. Its light was shining down upon the town like the sun.

“Go!” Mo Fan hurled the fireball into the air. The bright fireball rose to the highest point after his yell.

The scorching light did not damage the buildings and the ground, but the moths that had filled the sky were being reduced to ashes. Even the moths trying to hide under the ground and the buildings could not escape from the heat!

Half of the cloud of moths was driven away by the scorching light. Huge clusters of moths had died. They could not last for more than five seconds in the flames. Their flammable bodies were deadly to the other moths nearby, as they allowed the flames to spread rapidly, resulting in a spectacular ocean of flames in the sky above the town…

Yu Shishi was twitching crazily when she witnessed her moths being destroyed. She did not expect such a strong Fire Mage to show up after she finally got rid of the Carnelian-Head Spider!

1 It was exactly what the guy had said. He was her true nemesis, after all. The merciless flames showed no sign of stopping. Her little moths absolutely stood no chance against them. Their bodies scattered in the air when the wind blew at her. She was on the verge of losing her mind, and had completely lost her will to fight.

“Assh**e, stop it right now!” Yu Shishi screamed at him.

“I can’t afford to let these things that feed on humans live!” Mo Fan did not stop there. His hands began to lift another fireball.

He had spent more time preparing the fireball, so it was a lot bigger than the one before. Its light was going to eliminate even more moths once it rose into the sky.

Mo Fan’s face was expressionless. He was showing no mercy to the moths Yu Shishi treated so preciously. The huge fireball rose into the sky. Its brilliance lit up the entire town once again.

The moths suffered the same fate, burned into ashes once again. The blue tornado looming over the town had turned into a thin blue veil. More moths were fleeing from the town in fear and escaping back to the forest.

“I’ll take you down with me!” Yu Shishi returned to the appearance of a monster and charged at Mo Fan.

As she was flying toward Mo Fan, lots of silk burst out of her body, forming a huge cocoon around her…

Yu Shishi was diving at Mo Fan, so the giant cocoon was trapping Mo Fan within it as it closed around Yu Shishi.

Surprisingly, the flames of the Ardent Sunset were not able to burn through the cocoon as quickly as they did the moths. The cocoon had trapped the flames too!

The cocoon was the size of a house, and its extremely thick walls prevented Mo Fan’s flames from breaking out of it. However, Yu Shishi was trapped inside the cocoon, too! She was only doing it to protect the moths. The Ardent Sunset and the Calamity Fire were devouring her!

Yu Shishi was no match for a violent Mage like Mo Fan. She had basically tossed herself into a huge furnace by trapping herself in the confined space. The Soul-grade Flames were devouring her!

Bai Hongfei took the people nearby to safety and glanced at the huge cocoon hanging between two buildings. He felt a surge of emotions flowing through him.

He admitted that he naively thought Yu Shishi might still have some conscience deep within her heart.

However, his rationality was telling him that his mentor was right. Perhaps Yu Shishi did not kill brutally like the rest of the demon creatures, but she was no kind being. She was using the appearance of a beautiful woman to disguise herself so she could steal the energy from people at night! She was still a threat!

Cao Qinqin came over and asked him, “Bai Hongfei, how do you feel?”

Cao Qinqin was with a few City Hunters. They were all staring at the huge cocoon with wide eyes. They did not expect the situation to come down to this.

“Luckily we had a mentor from the Pearl Institute with us. Otherwise, we would be in huge trouble. Speaking of which, your mentor is so strong. He’s the strongest Fire Mage I’ve ever seen!” one of the City Hunters admitted.

“Of course, our mentor is the best, but I can’t tell what’s happening inside there. I’m worried that the monster is serious about taking him down with her…” Cao Qinqin murmured.

—

The flames were still burning inside the cocoon. Yu Shishi clenched her teeth and glared at Mo Fan. She had no intention of breaking the cocoon apart.

Mo Fan soon realized that the cocoon was slowly contracting. He would eventually suffocate if the cocoon kept shrinking and trapping him.

“I’m a Space Mage, do you really think you can trap me in here?” Mo Fan said indifferently to Yu Shishi.

“I won’t give you a chance to use it!” Yu Shishi said firmly.

“You won’t live for much longer, my flames are a lot stronger than you have imagined,” Mo Fan said.

“Try it, then!” Yu Shishi had obviously decided to sacrifice herself.

“Let’s put the fact that you will never be able to kill me aside, even if you did take me down with you, it’s only a matter of time until the moths die to other demon creatures in the woods. They will still die, even if I don’t burn them into ashes,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s all your fault!” Yu Shishi screamed at him.

“Humph, if you weren’t trying to harm the people, why would I even bother taking you out? I’m no saint, I don’t really care about serving justice or condemning the evil. Do you think I would care what you are if you didn’t cross the line?” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

“It’s no use telling me all that now. If I die, the kids are going to die too, and so are you!” Yu Shishi said.

“Let the kids go, and I’ll spare your life,” Mo Fan said seriously.

Mo Fan was not willing to go easy on Yu Shishi, since she did kill some of the townsfolk. However, killing her would not make any difference. It was more important to find a way to save the kids. If he kept insisting on punishing evil, everything would simply fall apart…

“I don’t trust you!” Yu Shishi said.

“I have a girl who’s from the Blood Tribe. She’s currently living in the dark in a city. She won’t harm anyone, so I will try my best to protect her too… What you are doesn’t really matter to me, it’s more about what you do. I can swear to Heaven that if those kids die, I will spend the rest of my life in the woods where I saw you and kill every single moth, including those that are just born! However, I can also promise you that if you save the kids, I will let you and the moths go. I can even ask the City Hunters to let you go! You can think of the moths that died as a punishment for the chaos that you stirred up. If you still want to avenge them, you can come find me anytime!”

Yu Shishi fell silent for a long time.

Mo Fan slowly tamped his flames after noticing that Yu Shishi was withdrawing her aura.

Mo Fan did not force Yu Shishi to make her decision right away. He had already told her everything he needed to. If she still insisted on taking him down with her, Mo Fan would destroy her with his flames, then contact Xinxia to send Healers of the Parthenon Temple here to save the kids.

Mo Fan already had a plan to save the kids, but he chose to give Yu Shishi a chance to decide whether she wanted to put the grudges aside, or vent her hatred instead!

“You’ve killed so many of my moths, but you’re asking me to surrender instead. You’re an out-and-out devil!” Yu Shishi was still holding a strong grudge, but she was obviously directing it toward Mo Fan now.

Mo Fan was ten times, or even a hundred times, scarier to Yu Shishi than the townsfolk!

“As I said, you can try to get your revenge on me, as long as you think you can kill me!” Mo Fan replied easily.

“Even killing you ten thousand times won’t be enough!”

Mo Fan did not respond. He did not want to provoke her; she was currently on edge, even after he had already convinced her.

—

The giant cocoon slowly fell apart. The moths did not run away. They seemed to be worried about Yu Shishi, who had sacrificed herself for them, and flew uneasily around the cocoon. The moths were startled when they saw Mo Fan. They immediately dove at Mo Fan, as if they were about to sacrifice themselves to take him out.

“Forget it, come back here!” Yu Shishi told the moths.

It was literally moths flying into flames at this rate. Yu Shishi knew the young Mage was powerful beyond reason. There was nothing she could do to him!

“Go and return the energy to the kids,” Yu Shishi murmured to the moths.

——

Some half-transparent moths quickly flew toward the hospital.

They stopped on the kids and emitted a soft light that sprinkled down onto the kids.

The kids slowly recovered. Their eyes began to blink.

The rest of the adults were still unconscious. The kid’s eyes widened when they saw everyone else sleeping soundly in the hospital. They were totally unaware of what had happened.

“I’m sorry, I will never catch you and break your wings again…”

“I won’t turn you into samples again,” a little girl promised softly.

“It’s all your fault, you said that you’re going to catch them and hang their wings across the walls.”

“But they are pests!” an older kid said firmly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sky was overlaid with a hint of gold as the fiery red sun rose above the canopy in the distance. When its light reached the town, the people awoke.

They were overjoyed when they learned their kids were awake and perfectly fine. They did not really care about the reason why they were sleeping in random places. They had no clue how dangerous the night before was, nor did they see the moths that had been looming over the city.

The ashes that fell into the town were blown and scattered into the woods and mountains by the wind. The remains of the moths had returned to where they belonged.

——

“Are you going to keep your promise?” Yu Shishi glanced at Mo Fan coldly.

“Go now, and don’t ever hurt humans again,” Mo Fan said calmly.

Mo Fan withdrew the energy binding Yu Shishi. The woman was still looking at Mo Fan.

Perhaps Yu Shishi was struggling to believe that Mo Fan was willing to let her go so easily. She was observing him closely, to see if he was trying to trick her.

However, Yu Shishi did not see any sign of deceit from him.

She began to walk away. Mo Fan did not stop her. She summoned her damaged wings that were seriously damaged and slowly rose into the sky as her wings spread…

A group of blue moths circled her as she struggled to fly properly.

Yu Shishi turned around and saw that Mo Fan still had no intention of attacking her.

In Yu Shishi’s eyes, now that the kids and the townsfolk were safe, there was no reason for her to be alive anymore.

“Why haven’t you left yet? Are you waiting for the New Year to come?” Mo Fan lifted his gaze and harrumphed coldly.

Yu Shishi bit her lips. She had been living here for a long time. She would be lying if she said she was not reluctant to leave.

However, she had destroyed her chance with her own hands. No one could possibly accept her after what she did. She was not a pure demon creature, so it was unlikely that she could survive in the wild. She had to find a new place to stay, but she had no idea where to go.

Yu Shishi beat her wings and flew toward the woods. The moths followed closely around her. They were not particularly fond of the sunlight, so they quickly picked up their pace.

—

“Sir, did you really let her go just like that? She killed Captain Feng Guangkuo,” Zhou Lixin said discontentedly.

They would have trouble explaining why they had spared the monster’s life to the townsfolk and the City Hunters, especially after the situation had escalated. It was unlikely that the Magic Association would turn a blind eye to it too. There was no reason to let her go.

“Fighting until the net splits isn’t going to do us any good. If we killed Yu Shishi, those moths would soon return to avenge her. They are able to reproduce quickly, are active at night, and are poisonous too. They will come and feed on the townsfolk when it’s the right season. It will end up as a worse disaster for the people in Jiangnan. It’s better to let Yu Shishi keep them under control,” Mo Fan replied.

It was impossible to tell exactly what the right thing to do was. Not every evil presence deserved to be eliminated, and not every kind existence was trustworthy, either…

Nature had its laws, and the cycle would just keep repeating. Mo Fan could not tell if letting Yu Shishi go would result in a worse tragedy in the future, nor did he know if the moths were better controlled by sparing Yu Shishi’s life. Since everything was still unknown, he just needed to do what he thought was right.

As for the price that Yu Shishi was supposed to pay for the lives she took, it was none of Mo Fan’s business. He was not the police or a judge. He was never driven by righteousness, or the obligation to serve justice. He was only following his conscience, and that included saving the kids!

—

Since Yu Shishi was no longer using the moths to stop the flow of the water, it was flowing smoothly again.

Bai Hongfei still thought Yu Shishi was not wholly lying to him. He had collected some water to conduct some tests.

Unfortunately, Yu Shishi had indeed lied to him. She had deceived him with her beautiful looks, and abused his innocence. The young man was clearly having a hard time recovering from it.

He was utterly disappointed by how cunning Yu Shishi was. On the other hand, he had almost become her accomplice in her deadly plot because of how stupid he was.

Bai Hongfei knew he had committed a huge mistake. He did not request that he graduate With Excellence.

He even thought that he was no longer worthy to be a student of the Pearl Institute. He chose to leave the school without asking to graduate normally.

“Sir, I’m thinking of going on adventures. If I just keep staying in the cities, I’ll soon lose the courage to take on demon creatures, and the ability to see through their deceit… I kept thinking that I’ll be able to acquire a nice job in the renowned clans or organizations once I graduated With Excellence. I would be able to earn respect and fame, but I now realize how useless they are. Only I know what I’m actually capable of.”

Bai Hongfei was standing in front of Mo Fan. The young man who was acting arrogantly when he first joined the team, who began to fawn upon Mo Fan after knowing that he was their mentor, was now being honest and sincere, utterly impressed by Mo Fan. Bai Hongfei knew there were many things he could learn, things he would never learn just by staying at school. It was time for him to get out of his comfort zone.

“I’m relieved to hear that. It’s good going out on adventures, it will help you grow faster. There’s no need to dwell on the past. When you’re finally as experienced as I am when it comes to dealing with women, you will not be easily tricked by Yu Shishi again!” Mo Fan patted Bai Hongfei on the shoulder.

“Sir, apart from how you’re able to just follow your heart, I’m also impressed by your shameless bearing. I’m afraid I will never learn these two things,” Bai Hongfei smiled.

Mo Fan’s expression stiffened. Mu Nujiao laughed so hard that she could not even stand straight. Her pleasant laughter and her gorgeous smile…

“Bai Hongfei, I believe you no longer want to graduate for the rest of your life,” Mo Fan glared at him.

“Sir, I actually decided not to graduate. Anyway, thank you for being our mentor. I didn’t manage to graduate With Excellence, but I’ve learned something more valuable than that. I’ll be going. Feel free to visit the Bai Clan whenever you want,” Bai Hongfei said.

Bai Hongfei waved and left the Pearl Institute with his belongings.

Mo Fan waved back helplessly. Seriously, where was the kid’s respect for his mentor?…

“Mo Fan, it seems like you’re actually pretty good at being a mentor.” Dean Xiao walked toward him with a smile.

Even though having one extra student graduating With Excellence would bring more fame to the school, Dean Xiao believed Bai Hongfei was going to achieve much more than mere fame from here on. He was still young, yet he was already an Advanced Mage. The only hindrance was his pride and stubbornness. If he was willing to take the step, he would be reborn and soar even higher and further!

“Dean Xiao, Bai Hongfei has willingly given up his chance to graduate With Excellence. Doesn’t that mean I can take his spot instead?” Mo Fan said.

“…” Dean Xiao was left speechless. It turned out that it was what Mo Fan had been planning all along!

——

Dean Xiao gave Mo Fan the Pearl Badge of Excellence as he wished. As a matter of fact, Dean Xiao was willing to make Mo Fan an official mentor, too…

However, Mo Fan had gotten used to enjoying his freedom. It was just too tiring to lead a bunch of inexperienced students on a job!

“Mo Fan, come with me and get yourself some equipment. Apart from the Black Snake Armor, nothing that you are wearing is worth your achievement of winning the World College Tournament. I thought you were pretty rich, how come you didn’t even have a full set of magic Equipment? It’s going to be a disgrace if you tell the others that you have graduated With Excellence from the Pearl Institute. Look at you, you’re still wearing the Blood Tabi that I gave you ages ago…” Dean Xiao said.

Mo Fan’s face darkened upon hearing Dean Xiao’s words.

-Damn it, since when was I rich? I am nothing but a povo. The others only need to worry about getting enough resources to feed their three Elements, but what about me?-

The Lightning and Fire Elements were the most expensive Elements to maintain. The cost needed to improve the Shadow Element was not too bad, but the Summoning Element was a bottomless pit. Little Flame Belle and the wolf could digest every yuan he threw at them. He could not even afford Little Flame Belle’s milk powder with the petty money that he earned from his part-time work.

And then there was the Space Element…

The Space Element was just another bottomless pit too, as spending resources on it would actually make a huge difference. Yang Bao from the Golden Battle Hunters was a Space Mage too. However, because of how poor he was, his Space Element was basically useless. It was extremely unlikely that he could find something like the Stone of Will to improve his Space Element. If he tried to buy it from an auction, it would cost at least a few billion!

A few f**king billion, the whole country only had just over a billion people. Everyone else only needed a billion at most at the Advanced Level, yet it was only enough for him to buy something that could improve his mental strength!

Luckily it was Dean Xiao that was talking to him; if anyone else said that he was rich, he would simply have the urge to slap them to death!

As for his magic Equipment… Each of his Elements was a bottomless money-burning pit, how could he possibly afford some high-quality magic Equipment!?

“Don’t look at me like that. Considering the things you have done for the school, I’ll discuss with the other deans and see if we can give you one of our heirloom treasures,” Dean Xiao chuckled. He was well aware of Mo Fan’s struggles.

Either way, Mo Fan had won the World College Tournament. The name of the Pearl Institute had spread across the world. On top of that, Mo Fan had successfully graduated. It was necessary for them to give him rewards!

“Don’t even bother if it’s worth less than a hundred million. Save it for my juniors instead,” Mo Fan said indifferently.

Mo Fan suddenly felt a great esteem after finishing the sentence. He once had to risk his life and fight against demon creatures just to earn a few million, but he was no longer interested in things that were worth less than a hundred million. Tsk tsk tsk…but it did not really change the fact that he would be a povo forever…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Do you really think an heirloom treasure is worthless? They are all priceless. They are mostly some old magic Equipment that Super Mages donated to our school to express their gratitude as alumni,” Dean Xiao said.

“Seriously!?” Mo Fan blurted out.

The Dark Noble Mantle that he had received was a donation from Essendale, the strongest Shadow Mage. Even though the guy was condemned by the world so much that his coffin was about to explode, it did not stop his Dark Noble Mantle from leaving a mark for generations to come.

Many people still had no idea that Mo Fan had the Dark Noble Mantle. It was the most expensive equipment that Mo Fan had, apart from the Black Snake Armor. It was perfect for sneaking, running away, and ambushing his target!

—

Mo Fan followed Dean Xiao to the Three Step Tower. He was a little confused. He could not help but wonder… was Dean Xiao actually thinking of offering him a chance to cultivate in the Three Step Tower for a year or a half as the reward?

Mo Fan had spent some time cultivating on the Mountain of Blessing in Greece. It was a lot more efficient than cultivating in the Three Step Tower. The Three Step Tower did not really help much with his current cultivation, since it was more effective for Elements below the Advanced Level. It would only be useful once he Awakened his seventh and eighth Elements! He would still benefit a lot from cultivating in the Three Step Tower before the two new Elements reached the Advanced Level, however!

“Come with me,” Dean Xiao led Mo Fan into the Three Step Tower.

Most interestingly, Dean Xiao did not bring Mo Fan to the cultivating corridor. There was another path that Mo Fan had never seen before, leading to a different place.

They went through a heavy door protected with magic. Mo Fan found himself in a room with lots of bookshelves and cabinets filled with ancient artifacts. It was like a museum, but somehow more dignified. It even had a pressure urging them to breathe slower and lighter. The things that were displayed had a certain aura to them…

“Look at all these treasures!” Mo Fan was astounded. He never thought the Pearl Institute would have a place like this.

High-level Equipment was normally referred to as a Soul-grade Equipment. These pieces of Equipment would have their own tempers, innate characters, power, and integrity, just like a living being. It was also why Mo Fan subconsciously held his breath as soon as he set foot into the room!

“Professor Shi, I’ve brought a student here to pick his reward. This is Mo Fan, the one that won the World College Tournament. He just graduated,” Dean Xiao walked up to an empty chair.

Mo Fan was stunned. Why was Dean Xiao talking to a chair?

However, when Mo Fan took a closer look, he realized that someone was actually leaning against the chair. The shadow had blocked his vision. The man was like a transparent ghost in the shadow. It took Mo Fan by surprise.

Mo Fan had the Shadow Element too, yet it was significantly weaker than the old man’s. He could not even detect the old man’s presence at such a close distance. Most importantly, the man was not using his magic at all. It was only the natural effect after his Shadow Element had reached a certain level.

“Oh, I’ve met the kid before.” The professor leaned back and rocked the chair a little.

Mo Fan went closer and realized that the old man did look familiar. However, he just could not remember where he had met the old man before.

“On the train you took when you left Bo City, you asked me if there was any special way you can enter the Pearl Institute. I told you there was none,” the professor reminded him.

Mo Fan finally remembered. On the train he, Xinxia, and his father took to Xiamen, they had a quick chat with a stubborn old professor they had stumbled into.

“So it’s you! How fateful are we…” Mo Fan blurted out.

“Fateful my ass! I already told you I was a professor at the Pearl Institute, but did you bother to come and visit me, despite being around in the school for so long?” the old man snapped.

“I thought you were a liar, HAHAHA!” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

“I won’t be fussy about it, considering the things you have done for the school.” The old professor smiled too.

“I’ll bring him around then,” Dean Xiao told the old professor.

“Yeah, feel free to do that.” The old professor did not talk further. He had a languid demeanor.

——

Mo Fan followed Dean Xiao around the room. He turned around and took a quick look at the old professor, and discovered that the old man had vanished into thin air again.

Dean Xiao led Mo Fan deeper into the room. They soon reached a cabinet filled with Deathstrike Equipment.

Dean Xiao was thinking of getting Mo Fan a Deathstrike item, since they were usually more costly. Mo Fan still did not own a Deathstrike item.

“Dean, forget about the Deathstrike Equipment, I already have too many attacking moves,” Mo Fan told him.

“You’re right, what are you looking for then?” Dean Xiao asked.

“Some defensive equipment. My defense is lacking,” Mo Fan said.

Dean Xiao nodded. He brought Mo Fan to the section where the defensive Equipment was placed. As a matter of fact, there were not many pieces of magic Equipment. Each magic Equipment had its own display, with a long description of its lore.

“Wait here, I’ll take a look at the records. It’s been a while since I last came here,” Dean Xiao said.

“Alright.” Mo Fan proceeded to look around on his own.

He soon discovered a bright feather placed inside a glass cabinet. It was only a single feather, but it was as big as a fan. He could even see the lines on it.

Somehow, Mo Fan felt the pattern of the lines were familiar!

He soon recalled the pattern that he had seen in the little hut on the heart-shaped island at West Lake, and the lines on Zhao Manyan’s wooden clapper…

“Professor Timo…oh, Professor Shi, what is this feather?” Mo Fan said to the chair behind him.

1 Professor Shi slowly appeared. He said without even looking at the feather, “The only evidence that proves some powerful creature once existed in this world.”

“What creature?” Mo Fan asked.

“What do you think the strongest creature in our country over five thousand years ago was?” Professor Shi asked.

“Women,” Mo Fan blurted out. He quickly straightened his face when he saw the displeased look on Professor Shi’s face, “I bet it’s the totem beasts?”

1 “Not bad! Many old Mages still have no clue what totem beasts are,” Professor Shi said.

“Don’t tell me it’s the feather of a totem beast?” Mo Fan glanced at the feather and tried to imagine what the creature would look like.

If a single feather was already this big, what would the actual creature even look like?

“How much do you know about the totem beasts?” Professor Shi asked.

“A little. I’m only familiar with the Black Totem Snake,” Mo Fan said.

“Humans were at the bottom of the food chain in the early days. Back then, there were no Mages. The only reason we didn’t go extinct was that we were worshiping the Totem Beasts. Each primitive tribe worshipped their own Totem Beast, and in return, the Totem Beasts provided the vulnerable humans a safe environment. They were lots of Totem Beasts back in the day: Eagle Gods, Shark Gods, Snake Gods, Wolf Gods… different tribes were protected by different Totem Beasts,” Professor Shi explained.

The history textbooks did not mention anything about the past. They did not even mention the words Totem Beasts.

“Why don’t the textbooks mention anything about the Totem Beasts?” Mo Fan asked, confused.

“Humans have gotten stronger now with the help of magic. Who would be willing to admit that they were once ruled by the Totem Beasts like slaves, even though the Totem Beasts had always been friendly to us?” Professor Shi said.

“Fine,” Mo Fan understood.

Humans had gone through three eras. The first era was the Era of the Totem Beasts.

There were no cities, humans were living in the wild like the demon creatures. The humans had to rely on the protection of powerful Totem Beasts in order to not end up as food. A Totem Beast protected a human tribe. The Totem Beasts were also the symbols of the human tribes. Humans were weak and petty during that era!

The second era was when magic first appeared. Humans started Awakening Elements and became Mages. They slowly parted ways with the Totem Beasts and set up their own territories.

The third era was when magic became prosperous. Humans started to have lots of different Elements and build cities under the protection of magic barriers that even demon creatures had a hard time breaking through. Humans started living in cities and set up the safe zones, slowly expanding their territories while competing against the demon creatures. Even though humans were still weak compared to the demon creatures with overwhelming numbers, they no longer lived pettily like in the past.

Every textbook in schools only recorded the history since the Awakening of magic. They never mentioned about the era where there were no Mages, nor did they mention the Totem Beasts.

“Why did the Totem Beasts disappear? Didn’t you say there were many of them? Did the demon creatures kill them all?” Mo Fan asked.

The only Totem Beast left in the country was the Black Totem Snake. It was too much of a difference compared to the era where every tribe was protected by a Totem Beast. Weren’t the Totem Beasts so powerful that the demon creatures would not dare to provoke? Why did so many of them disappear?

“I think so. The demon creatures have always been unfriendly to the Totem Beasts. However, the Totem Beasts were born for battle, yet their natural enemies weren’t the demon creatures…” Professor Shi said. He did not continue.

Mo Fan felt silent, too.

Perhaps the reason that humans were unwilling to mention the Totem Beasts was not just because they felt humiliated.

“No one knew what actually happened, since it’s been so long…” Professor Shi said.

Professor Shi did not continue the topic. Mo Fan lowered his head and read the description on the feather instead.

The description was extremely long, but most of it was just speculation. Even the person that wrote it emphasized that he could only speculate about the Totem Beast due to the lack of evidence.

Mo Fan read until the end and noticed a familiar name at the bottom.

“Jiang Shaoguan?” Mo Fan read the name out.

“A good kid who’s extremely fond of the Totem Beasts. Unfortunately, he never came back after he discovered the ruins of a powerful Totem Beast,” Professor Shi said.

Mo Fan had heard the name from Jiang Shaoxu!

She had gone to the desert to look for clues of her brother’s whereabouts. Mo Fan had not expected that Jiang Shaoxu’s brother had found the feather of a Totem Beast. It was a remarkable discovery!

Without those people exploring the ancient ruins, humans would eventually forget about the Totem Beasts!

History was never something to feel ashamed of, or scars that people were not willing to reveal. It was actually a reminder of how humans had been moving forward!

There were no species that could not go extinct in the world. Even the Totem Beasts that were born for battle had become a part of history…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, you’re not in luck; there doesn’t seem to be any defensive equipment that suits you right now,” Dean Xiao’s voice came from behind him.

Mo Fan headed toward Dean Xiao and saw him holding a piece of magic Equipment that resembled a gauntlet. It had three parts, and looked extremely cool!

“What is this?” Mo Fan had never seen a gauntlet-type defensive magic Equipment.

“It’s the Hand of Silent Thunder, a very special magical device. It’s not necessarily a defensive magic Equipment, since it’s not going to nullify or weaken attacks for you,” Dean Xiao told him.

“Huh? What can it even do then?” Mo Fan was left speechless. Why would he need a piece of defensive Equipment that couldn’t defend him!?

“Be patient and listen to me. It’s basically useless to many people, but it’s extremely useful for you. Even though it can’t be used for defensive purposes, it has a remarkable power; the ability to transform the Element of the attacks that the bearer is receiving to other Elements. You can think of it as an Element Transformer at a ratio of one to one,” Dean Xiao said.

Changing the Element of spells targeting him without weakening them…

“Dean Xiao, are you being serious now? If it doesn’t weaken the attacks, what’s the use of changing their Element? If someone’s Wind Spell is strong enough to kill me, wouldn’t it kill me still if it’s changed into the Light Element?” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah, the damage remains the same. You’re still going to die if you change the Wind Element to the Light Element, but what if you turn it into the Lightning Element?” Dean Xiao asked him sternly.

Mo Fan was startled.

-F**k me! It’s a f**king gem! This thing is a f**king gem!-

2 Mo Fan had extraordinary Lightning Resistance, especially after obtaining the Lightning Tyrant. He did not even need to dodge the attacks from ordinary Spirit-grade Seeds.

If an Advanced Light Spell landed right on Mo Fan when he did not have any protection, it would inflict serious harm on him. However, he would be perfectly fine if it was an Advanced Lightning Spell!

“Can this Hand of Silent Thunder really turn other Elements into the Lightning Element?” Mo Fan asked excitedly.

Dean Xiao nodded with a smile, “Which is why I say this thing is useless to others, but priceless to you! I clearly remember that you were able to defeat Zorro, the strongest genius from England, by abusing your Lightning Resistance!”

Mo Fan nodded in agreement. Without the Lightning Tyrant’s ability to absorb lightning and his Lightning Resistance, he had no chance of defeating Zorro. He only managed to defeat him after multiplying the damage of the Sky Lightning Claw at least fivefold. Mo Fan would never forget how destructive it was!

“It was not a piece of defensive equipment, but if it’s able to transform the Element of spells to Lightning , it’s the best defensive equipment that you could ever hope for,” Dean Xiao said.

“HAHAHA, thanks, Dean Xiao!” Mo Fan gladly accepted the gift.

It was better than he could have imagined! Mo Fan was very satisfied with it. He decisively established the spiritual link with the Hand of Silent Thunder.

“Do you want to try it out?” Dean Xiao asked.

“Sure!” Mo Fan nodded.

“Try it somewhere else, this isn’t your home!” Professor Shi snapped in displeasure.

—

Mo Fan and Dean Xiao went to the training ground. Dean Xiao cast a Rolling Wave at Mo Fan, a typical Water Spell.

Mo Fan did not defend himself, and activated the Hand of Silent Thunder. A blurry purple outline resembling a hand of lightning surrounded Mo Fan. The Rolling Wave disappeared as soon as it reached the purple outline. The next second, the shield formed by the Hand of Silent Thunder fired a series of lightning strikes at Mo Fan.

The Lightning was incredibly powerful. Mo Fan had no clue what tier Dean Xiao’s Rolling Wave was. However, he could feel a burning sensation from the lightning.

“Lightning Tyrant Domain!” Mo Fan unleashed his Domain and absorbed the lightning targeting him.

The lightning arcs surged wildly over Mo Fan, but soon vanished within his Domain. Mo Fan flipped his hand and tossed a strengthened Lightning Strike at the training dummy nearby!

The training dummy turned into ashes instantly. It clearly could not withstand Mo Fan’s extraordinary power!

“Not bad, not bad! It’s brilliant!” Mo Fan had a very happy face.

“Use it wisely, it can only activate once. It needs time for its energy to replenish. Use it as your final resort,” Dean Xiao reminded.

“I understand!” Mo Fan nodded. He knew he could treat it as a trump card, especially when he was up against enemies who were stronger than him!

—

—

Mo Fan was in a great mood after receiving the gift.

Mo Fan hummed pleasantly on his way home. He was surprised to discover a pair of heels at the entrance. He could imagine the tender smooth legs of their owner just by looking at the tiny crystalline shoes…

Mo Fan went inside, wondering who was paying him a visit. It was definitely not Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu, since they always placed their shoes inside.

Mo Fan picked up a unique scent as soon as he went inside. There was indeed a woman visitor. If only he could recognize women just by picking up their scent, he would be able to say the name of the woman before seeing her. It would surely pull the strings of her heart!…

“Mo Fan, what are you doing?” Ai Tutu asked in confusion.

“Oh, oh, nothing, I’m just wondering who it is… Oh, Xuexue, I knew it was you. HAHAHA, no wonder I was in such a good mood on my way here!” Mo Fan’s smile widened as soon as he saw Mu Ningxue.

However, he was feeling a little awkward too. He was thinking of recognizing women just by picking up their scent, but he could not even tell the scent of his Big Wife. He clearly had no talent in that area.

Mu Ningxue was drinking a cup of tea. She looked at Mo Fan and poured a cup of tea for him, too. She placed the cup opposite her, signaling Mo Fan to sit down. She had something to talk to him about.

Mu Ningxue had indeed come to talk to Mo Fan. She needed his help!

To her surprise, the shameless man simply sat beside her and stuck very closely to her. He picked up Mu Ningxue’s cup and emptied it in one gulp.

He had no idea how expensive the tea was. Mu Ningxue had purposely brought it to share with Mu Nujiao and Ai Tutu. The two were slowly enjoying the delicate tea, yet Mo Fan just gulped it down to quench his thirst. He even took his bottle and poured the rest of the tea into it…

After becoming aware of the cold look from the others, Mo Fan finally realized that he had wasted the exquisite tea. He chuckled awkwardly and asked, “How is your clan doing?”

“We have a problem,” Mu Ningxue said.

“So you need my help?” Mo Fan smiled.

“Yeah, I just bought some land. The Magic Association recently evaluated it, and they say we aren’t allowed to use it as a private property of the clan,” Mu Ningxue said.

A clan had to have their own land. Having a few houses in the city was just a parvenu instead of a magic clan, let alone a renowned clan.

Mu Ningxue had basically started from scratch. The clan needed time to grow; it would not take only a day or two to become a renowned clan.

“Should I go and beat the crap out of the people that evaluated it?” Mo Fan asked.

Mu Ningxue rolled her eyes and said, “Someone was pulling the strings and tricking us. We never knew the Magic Association had marked the land gray just before we bought it.”

“So someone set you up?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

Mu Ningxue shook her head and said, “Not really, the land didn’t cost much. It’s all we got. It actually has a great potential. If we can fix the problem, the land will be worth even more than the price we bought it for. It’s perfect for our development, too!”

“I’ll go to the Magic Association with you. Let’s see what they have to say,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, I’ll need your help with it. If there really is any problem with the land, we’ll just give it up,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

“Humph, if they are doing it on purpose, I’ll beat the teeth out of the people responsible for it. They are asking for a death wish by messing with my woman. Why didn’t they ask how the Enforcement Union at Beiyu Mountain went down?” Mo Fan said.

“Should I ask my family to help you, too? It’s not a huge problem. You just need to maintain a good relationship with the person in charge at the Magic Association. We do have some people that know what to do in our clan. You should be able to get it done quickly,” Mu Nujiao said.

Mu Ningxue shook her head, “We should do it ourselves. The evaluation report does have a valid reason why the land is dangerous to be used by the clan.”

“Sure, just tell me if you need any help,” Mu Nujiao said.

The Magic Association was in charge of a lot of things. A clan basically had to get their permission when it came to setting up their territory, getting Awakening Stones, reporting their numbers and resources, paying taxes, and a whole other bunch of stuff. None of it was Mo Fan’s concern. Only Mu Ningxue, who was eager to set up her own clan had the patience to deal with all of them…

Luckily, Mu Ningxue was not in charge of everything, either. She only had to attend serious matters like this.

“The Magic Association has an Evaluation Committee?” Mo Fan asked.

“Since when does a person that solely focuses on your cultivation and hunting demon creatures spend any time with the Magic Association?” Mu Nujiao said.

“You’re right, HAHA! I only went to the Magic Association when I first reached the Intermediate Level to Awaken new Elements. I think it was my last time there. I really should develop a better relationship with them. I heard they are in charge of almost everything.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The two went to the Oriental Pearl Tower and headed straight up to the sphere. Mo Fan was wondering when he would ever have the chance to come up here to enjoy the view, and never expected he would be here to buy some land.

They went to the Evaluation Committee. Mo Fan discovered there were fewer visitors than workers.

Most interesting, even though there were not many visitors around, they waited for a long time before they were attended to. Mo Fan looked at Mu Ningxue and said, “It seems like the people here really have a grudge against us?”

A plump middle-aged man finally showed up after a long time. He said apologetically, “Sorry for the wait, there was a meeting that I had to attend. I’ve checked the land that you bought. The land is indeed inhabitable, especially with how you registered for three hundred people to inhibit the land. Three hundred people are basically a village. Being in the safe zone isn’t enough, it has to be a hundred kilometers away from the demon creatures’ territory, too!”

“That’s something I don’t understand, Mr. Pan. I already asked my friend to evaluate the land for me. Your men told my friend there wasn’t a problem with the land, but now you’re telling me otherwise?” Mu Ningxue asked seriously.

“Well, it’s subject to changes. After all, demon creatures are constantly on the move. According to the report from the Hunter Union, there’s a huge pack of demon creatures around thirty kilometers from the land. There’s also a huge tribe of demon creatures around forty kilometers to the north. We are more than happy to let you set up your clan there if you have a barrier protecting you, or if you have enough Mages patrolling the vicinity. However, you have neither of them. How can I possibly give you the green light? The safety of the people is our priority. If something happens, you can easily compensate people for the loss with money, but wouldn’t the public be doubting us then?” Senior Evaluator Pan said sternly.

“Why do you sound like we don’t really care if our people die?” Mo Fan asked in return.

Senior Evaluator Pan kept his gravity and said, “I’m just talking about facts. Well, if you’ll excuse me, I hope you will think about it. The land is strictly off-limits.”

The man turned and headed to his office proudly.

—

After Senior Evaluator Pan left, Mo Fan glanced at Mu Ningxue, who was looking at him too.

“Do you know that guy?” Mo Fan asked her.

Mu Ningxue shook her head. “He’s very powerful. The lands that he considered risky have all turned into wastelands. You do know that every inch of the lands along the borders of the safe zone are worth gold. Even though the government hasn’t developed them, it’s difficult for private organizations to buy them!”

“Haven’t the renowned families and clans already claim the good places?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes. By the way, the land I bought is pretty close to Feiniao City.” Mu Ningxue took out a map and handed it to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan took a look at it, and saw that Feiniao City was indeed very close to it.

Feiniao City had been growing rapidly since the sea monsters were removed. It was a pretty good choice for Mu Ningxue to set up her clan there. It was not too far away from the Magic City, too!

“I’ve asked the Magic Association at Feiniao City to evaluate the land for me. They told me that there isn’t much of a problem with using it. The risk is just within the acceptable range. The local Magic Association submitted their approval to the headquarters, but for some reason, Senior Evaluator Pan has rejected it,” Mu Ningxue said.

“I’ll try sneaking inside…” Mo Fan went to the man’s office.

The door had a little gap. Mo Fan easily snuck into the room with the Fleeing Shadow. Mu Ningxue tried to stop him, but he already vanished.

Mo Fan was pretty bold to eavesdrop on the man inside the Magic Association. The Dark Noble Mantle allowed him to trick the eyes of the people there, who were just as strong as he was.

Mo Fan heard another woman’s voice when he reached Senior Evaluator Pan’s office.

“Don’t you worry, she will not get the approval for her land as long as I’m in charge. I have been doing this for many years. No one dares to question my decisions,” Senior Evaluator Pan said.

The man was leaning back on his chair with a cigarette between his fingers.

A pretty woman with long curly hairwas there, sitting opposite of Senior Evaluator Pan. She said with a smile, “It’s just a favor that Sister Zhou Yilin asked for. She used to be a good girl, but she became ungrateful after she grew stronger and became a star in the World College Tournament. Our Mu Clan has spent so many resources on her, yet not only didn’t she pay our kindness back, she even wanted to take us on. If not, why would we bother doing this to her?”

“Humph, I despise people like her the most. Don’t you worry, if she wants to challenge the Mu Clan, I’ll make sure that she can’t even set up a clan,” Senior Evaluator Pan replied. He squinted and looked at the edge of the short skirt that the woman was wearing.

“You have our thanks, Mr. Pan. Please do visit our Li Family when you have the chance. You will know how hospitable we are!” the woman smiled.

“Yeah, sure thing, I still remember going to the villa of your clan. It’s a nice place,” Senior Evaluator Pan said.

“Right, I almost forgot. I’m afraid you won’t be able to visit the villa for some time. Some Hunters found traces of a Ghastly Mountain Beast in the area. Our clan has been constantly patrolling the area to ensure the safety of the people. However, the Hunters still passed on their groundless accusations to the local Magic Association. We have no choice but to close it down to clear the demon creatures in the area. Unfortunately, the Mages of our clan has been busy preparing for the Renowned Families Tournament. It’s difficult to investigate the whole mountain. You know how many people and time we’ll need for that…” the woman grumbled.

“If the Hunters did find the traces of demon creatures and provide solid evidence, it’s reasonable that the local Magic Association is treating it with extra caution,” Senior Evaluator Pan said.

“I already went to investigate it. It isn’t traces of the Ghastly Mountain Beast. It’s just a wild beast that’s slightly bigger. It’s very common to find wild beasts in the mountains. Besides, many people that went to the villa on a vacation enjoy hunting and eating those beasts, too. Senior Evaluator Pan, you are well aware of the money and people needed to clear the mountain; can’t you just settle it with a few words?” the woman said while blinking her eyes.

“Well…” Senior Evaluator Pan seemed troubled.

“The next time you go to the villa, I’ll drop by and drink some tea too. The night breeze is very soothing there.” The woman’s voice sounded a lot softer. It was obvious that she was giving hints.

Senior Evaluator Pan immediately knew what she was hinting. However, his expression remained the same as he said, “It’s nothing, I’ll let the local Magic Association know right away. Besides, I’m particularly fond of the villa myself too. I’ll be damned if it’s closed.”

“Mm, mm, thank you, Mr. Pan. I’ll personally brew you a nice cup of tea when the time comes.”

“Sure!” Senior Evaluator Pan smiled and squinted as he thought about the luxurious villa, the pitch-black night with some nice tea and a deserted bamboo grove, where he would find a gorgeous woman that he could freely do anything to. Senior Evaluator Pan could already feel his pants tightening.

—

Mo Fan shook his head after he left the man’s office.

It seemed like society still was full of unspoken rules. He could not help but wonder how many shameless deeds this fatty had done by abusing his power.

Mo Fan went back to Mu Ningxue and told her what he learned.

Mu Ningxue frowned immediately, very displeased.

The truth was, the man had invited her to discuss the matter with him alone. The place was a remote tea house, too. It seemed like the guy was actually trying to give her hints. If she did not satisfy him, he would not give her permission to use the land!

Why would such a shameless man be given such an important role in the Magic Association!?

“The man’s cultivation is pretty strong. He almost noticed me, even though I was using the Dark Noble Mantle. It’s unlikely I’ll be able to find a chance to teach him a lesson,” Mo Fan said.

“Don’t touch him; he still has quite a reputation in the Magic Association. It will only cause us more trouble. As for the Li Family you mentioned… they are indeed a renowned family who have attached themselves to the Mu Clan. They are mainly in charge of luxurious villas, but they are mostly used for bribing and coaxing the authorities of the Magic Association. They are in charge of the Mu Clan’s public relations,” Mu Ningxue said.

A renowned clan would have a number of renowned families attached to them. The Mu Clan was one of the biggest renowned clans in the country. Almost every city felt its influence.

The Li Family was a renowned family situated in Feiniao City and Tongshan City. Mu Ningxue was obviously going to stumble into the Li Family since she was planning to set up her clan in Feiniao City, but she did not think the local tyrant would set their eyes on her so soon!

“By the way, what does clearing up a mountain mean?” Mo Fan asked Mu Ningxue.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Every renowned family and clan has its private territories. These territories are protected by their Mages, but to guarantee the safety of these private territories, the Magic Association will evaluate these territories every year with information collected by Hunters. If they discover any potential threat, they will immediately request the clans cleanse the territories. Normally, the clans are obligated to cleanse their territories and the nearby areas every now and then to ensure the people are safe, but since it demands lots of resources, most clans are reluctant to do it unless the Magic Association forces them to do so,” Mu Ningxue told him.

“That doesn’t sound too good,” Mo Fan said.

“I know, that’s why I won’t allow it to happen to my clan. No matter how short we are on funds, we shouldn’t compromise the safety of our people,” Mu Ningxue said seriously.

“Speaking of which, if we cleanse the land that we just bought and ask the people of the Magic Association to evaluate it, it should work right? That fatty can’t just lie through his teeth and reject our application?” Mo Fan said.

“Actually…” Mu Ningxue said after a slight hesitation, “I asked for a territory that had been cleansed, before buying it. We don’t have the funds to clean it up again.”

“Huh?” Mo Fan scratched his head. He suddenly realized how troublesome and annoying it was to establish a clan. In addition to that, Mu Ningxue had clearly been set up. The land had already been cleansed before, meaning that it had met the standard, yet the fatty from the Magic Association had to get in the way. Most importantly, the local Magic Association had already given its approval, but the fatty still rejected the application!

“If there’s no other way, I guess we’ll have to find another land,” Mu Ningxue sighed.

“Do you have something in mind?” Mo Fan asked.

“Lands that aren’t cleansed are a lot cheaper. If we really have to cleanse the land again for it to be accepted, we can consider buying a bigger plot. There’s actually one in the other direction of Feiniao City. It’s the most ideal option for us, since Feiniao City is eventually going to extend in that direction. Unfortunately, the land is just too spacious. It’s going to cost us a crazy fortune just to cleanse it,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Is there any other way to cleanse it?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s a lot simpler if we can set up a barrier around it, since the barrier will automatically drive any demon creatures away. However, considering the size of the land, we will need a City Pistil. I don’t think any city is willing to lend us theirs just so we can cleanse the land,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Is a City Pistil the same as an Earth Pistil?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

“So how long is it going to take to cleanse the land if we have an Earth Pistil?” Mo Fan asked.

“Just three days, and we won’t need many people to do it, either,” Mu Ningxue informed him.

“I should be able to borrow an Earth Pistil; you can go ahead and buy the land,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Ningxue looked at him in confusion.

An Earth Pistil was deeply involved with the safety of a city. Mu Ningxue did not believe Mo Fan could convince a city to deactivate its barrier for three days and loan them its Earth Pistil to clean up an area that was not even their concern. The Earth Pistils were priceless, and most of them were in the hands of the military and the government. She had never heard of any renowned families or clans that had used an Earth Pistil to cleanse their territories!

“What? Do you think I’m lying?” Mo Fan chuckled when he saw the doubt in Mu Ningxue’s eyes.

“Mm, it’s not something you can borrow so easily! Even the Ancient Capital won’t lend theirs to you for your own purposes,” Mu Ningxue stated firmly.

“Why don’t we have a bet? If I manage to get an Earth Pistil, you’ll give me a kiss?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“Can’t you ask for something else?” Mu Ningxue snapped.

“That’s all I’m asking for,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Ningxue was hesitant. She was familiar with Mo Fan’s character. If the man dared to ask for it, it meant he was feeling confident.

However, she found it difficult to believe Mo Fan could get her an Earth Pistil. Even someone like Mu Gong would have trouble borrowing one with his connections.

“Alright.” Mu Ningxue thought about it and assumed Mo Fan was just joking with her. She ignored the implications of his shameless request.

——

When they arrived back at the apartment, Mo Fan asked Mu Ningxue to rest in the living room while he went to the balcony to make a call.

Mo Fan had deliberately acquired Li Man and Advisor Shao’s numbers before he left the Tarim Basin Fortress. The Earth Pistil was in Advisor Shao’s hand. He just needed to give her a call.

“You want to use the Earth Pistil to cleanse a land?” Advisor Shao sounded a little surprised, since the Earth Pistils were mostly used to protect an area. Using it to cleanse a land was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. After all, the Earth Pistils were one of the most precious possessions of humans.

“Mm, just for three days,” Mo Fan said.

“You never cease to amaze me, but I’m curious what clan has to go as far as using an Earth Pistil just to cleanse their land?” Advisor Shao asked with a smile.

“Well… it’s a new clan that my wife is establishing. We’re running short on funds, so we can’t really afford to hire people to cleanse the land. I heard from Li Man that you’re still looking for suitable land for a new fortress, so you won’t be using the Earth Pistil for some time. I’m just trying to save some money!” Mo Fan explained honestly.

“It was you who brought the Earth Pistil back, feel free to borrow it if you need it. I’ll ask Li Man to bring it to you. You can keep it until we find the right place to build a new fortress,” Advisor Shao said.

“That won’t be necessary, I understand how valuable the thing is,” Mo Fan said.

The Tarim Basin Fortress was completely abandoned. It once held a few hundred thousand people, the result of the effort that many people had put in. Many people would be left in despair if they had not found the Earth Pistil. Mo Fan knew how valuable the Earth Pistil was to them, hence he had no intention to keep it to himself. He just wanted to borrow it for a few days.

“Alright, just ask if you need any help,” Advisor Shao said.

“Can you lend Li Man to me for a few days too?” Mo Fan said.

“Sure, should I just ask her to marry you instead, so you won’t have to give her back?” Advisor Shao smiled in reply.

“HAHAHA, I don’t mind if she agrees. The last thing I will reject is a beautiful woman!” Mo Fan replied instantly.

—

Mo Fan was brimming with joy after the call.

He was extremely excited, since he would finally be able to kiss Mu Ningxue’s alluring lips.

On second thought, after realizing how long it took for the revolutionary progress, he figured that if his life up to now was written into a novel, it would be almost three million words, yet he had only managed to kiss his goddess once by now. It was quite disappointing.

“Xuexue, you can go ahead and buy the land,” Mo Fan sat beside Mu Ningxue with a confident smile.

“Did you really get an Earth Pistil?” Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan with her mouth wide open.

“Of course,” Mo Fan went to the walls and switched off the main light as he was speaking. He turned on a dim yellow light and a fancy purple lamp instead.

“What are you doing?” Mu Ningxue rolled her eyes.

“Trying to get the mood right…”

“…”

“Should I get us some red wine? Ah, we’ll need some music too…” Mo Fan headed to the bar as the thought crossed his mind. He remembered there was still some wine.

When Mo Fan came back with the wine, he somehow could see a huge word written on Mu Ningxue’s expressionless face… retard!

Mo Fan awkwardly put the wine back and sat beside Mu Ningxue. He said with a smile, “Didn’t you already promise me? The Earth Pistil will be here tomorrow. Did you really think I’d lie to you for a kiss?”

“It’s only valid once I see the Earth Pistil!” Mu Ningxue harrumphed coldly.

Why would Mu Ningxue trust Mo Fan? She remembered when she was still naive, when she placed all her trust in Mo Fan, the shameless guy had abused it to take away her first kiss. It was a very obvious lie, too. The little boy said the wind had blown some dust into his eyes, so she subconsciously pouted to blow the dust away from his eyes…

Mu Ningxue clearly remembered every detail of it. She even remembered how fast her heart was beating. For some reason, she was having the same feeling just then, even though nothing had happened.

If she had to describe what a kiss felt like, it was not warm and sweet, or a surge of electricity like the novels had described. However, in that particular instant, she had to remind herself that it was a kiss. She was just taken by surprise, and her mind immediately went blank.

Mu Ningxue sat still as she slowly recalled the memories that she had hidden deeply away…

However, as she was having the thoughts, she suddenly felt a hot breath coming toward her. Before she realized what was happening, a face with a stern look stuck up close. She immediately felt the breath coming from his nose. Following it was a warm sensation on her lips, and a surge of electricity that spread throughout her body.

Mu Ningxue’s eyes widened. She did not expect Mo Fan would kiss her when she was completely defenseless, just like in the past! She did not shove him away, nor did she feel angry. She was just panicking!

She…she was tricked again!

Mu Ningxue slowly closed her eyes. Her feelings turned from panic to complicated, with an urge to just go with the flow.

The tip of his tongue slowly pried her teeth open. Mo Fan was clearly not satisfied with just a little peck. He wanted Mu Ningxue’s tongue, its softness and tenderness that allowed him to express his affection to the woman he was in love with, at least it was what Mo Fan was feeling since he was the one taking the initiative… even though it was just a kiss.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Have you two seen my little ‘huehue’?” a voice came down from the stairs. Ai Tutu peeked down from the stairs and saw Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue sitting close together with their lips attached. The man’s hand was slowly moving from Mu Ningxue’s shoulder to her chest…

{ TL Note : Little ‘huehue’ is a nickname. It might be referring to a pet or maybe her pillow, possibly the one she’s been sleeping with since she was a kid.}

Mu Ningxue quickly shoved Mo Fan away, blushing instantly. Mu Ningxue already had a beautiful face, and she looked even more feminine because of the blush. Mo Fan could feel his beastly blood rushing!

“What are you doing!?” Mu Ningxue snapped when he saw Mo Fan moving toward her again.

“She already went back to her room,” Mo Fan answered, after taking a glance at the stairs.

“I’m leaving,” Mu Ningxue hurried to her feet and headed for the door.

There was no chance Mo Fan would let her go. He pulled her back.

“You!” Mu Ningxue was embarrassed and angry. It seemed like she could only drive the man away with the usual methods of dealing with gangsters and perverts, but she just could not get herself to do it.

She ended up being pulled back to Mo Fan. He had no intention to give up. He had just started to enjoy the kiss, he would not just give up because of some external factor. It was the first breakthrough he had with Mu Ningxue after so long. Considering the kind of person Mu Ningxue was, the girl would not even let a man touch a single strand of her hair. However, if he could already kiss her, it meant he was not far from being able to sleep with her…

Up on the stairs, Ai Tutu did not make any noise this time. She sneakily poked her head out to see if the two were done, but she saw the two had changed from sitting down to standing up. She immediately dropped her jaw!

Did they really have to change posture while they were just kissing?

Besides, did they seriously just ignore her… oh my, Mo Fan the perverted was seriously moving his hands up, but Mu Ningxue still hadn’t frozen him to death. Was she drugged?

-Don’t tell me they are simply going to do it in the living room and on the couch, that’s too open-minded!-

—

After some time, Mu Ningxue finally collected her thoughts. She finally shoved Mo Fan aside.

She had no choice but to use greater force. A polite nudge was never going to stop a jerk like Mo Fan, who preferred to do things his way!

If she did not shove him away, who knew what he would do to her…

“You’ve overdone it!” Mu Ningxue glared at the man. The blush on her face was replaced with frost.

“I didn’t mean it, it was just difficult to restrain the urge…” Mo Fan chuckled.

Mu Ningxue had no intention to stay with the man any longer. She went out to the balcony.

She did not even bother leaving through the door. She summoned a white gust of wind that turned into three pairs of Wind Wings on her back.

The wings spread apart, and Mu Ningxue quickly fled from the apartment. The strong wind surged wildly across the balcony.

This time, Mo Fan could no longer follow up the victory with hot pursuit. He was clearly outmatched by Mu Ningxue’s speed.

-So this is the meaning of a cooked duck flying away?-

Mo Fan blamed it on the world of magic. If he was still back in the world of science, Mu Ningxue would have had no chance of escaping him!

2 —

Mo Fan was still enjoying the lingering taste on his lips. He was overwhelmed with excitement. Words could not describe the sensation. He could kiss Mu Ningxue’s alluring, soft, tender lips for his whole life!

“How was it?” Ai Tutu poked her head out and asked curiously.

“How was what?” Mo Fan said.

“How did it feel when a pleb like you finally won the heart of your goddess? The toad finally got its hands on the swan. I bet you’re feeling something special. Quick, tell me about it!” Ai Tutu asked in high spirits.

“You want to hear about it?” Mo Fan chuckled when he saw Ai Tutu’s reaction. “Go get me a glass of water.”

Ai Tutu had a dirty mind, but it only applied to her thoughts. Not many dared to approach her because of her tanned and overbearing brother. As a result, despite having knowledge of the most complicated postures, she was still single and inexperienced!

Ai Tutu surprisingly went to pour Mo Fan a glass of water. Mo Fan was amused by how obedient she was.

He was actually feeling a little thirsty after the kiss.

Mo Fan sat on the couch and acted like he was about to give a lecture while Ai Tutu sat down and listened carefully, like a hardworking student.

Mu Nujiao came home just after Mo Fan started to give his talk. She seemed worn out after spending the whole day cultivating magic. She was actually more hardworking than Mo Fan at times, especially the way she stuck strictly to her routine.

“Jiaojiao, come over quickly, Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue just kissed the crap out in the living room. Do you want to listen?” Ai Tutu said.

Mu Nujiao was startled. She looked at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan smiled back awkwardly.

Mu Nujiao gave Ai Tutu a quick stare and said, “What the heck are you thinking? Why are you so excited about it!?”

Mu Nujiao clearly had no interest in it. She changed into her in-house slippers and tiredly went upstairs to her room.

—

—

Li Man arrived at the Magic City the next morning. Mo Fan quickly went to visit Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue was still angry about what happened the day before. She looked like she was unwilling to talk to Mo Fan.

“Xuexue, aren’t you going to take a look at the Earth Pistil?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan went up to Mu Ningxue. The girl was surprised when she saw the Earth Pistil in his hand.

“Is that really an Earth Pistil?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Of course.”

Mu Ningxue really thought Mo Fan was just lying to her. After all, the Earth Pistil was not just a piece of magic equipment or some resources that one could buy with money.

Mu Ningxue assumed Mo Fan was just trying to take advantage of her yesterday, but it turned out that Mo Fan was telling the truth. He did borrow the Earth Pistil for her…

The joy at seeing the Earth Pistil soon replaced the grudge she had against Mo Fan. She went to the land auction and bought the land to the north of Feiniao City.

The area was huge, roughly half the size of Bo City. It was considered a sub-safe zone since it was had not been cleansed before. The local government was more than willing to sell the lands for development by renowned families and clans. They would slowly include those lands into the safe zone, allowing human territories to expand, giving them more lands for farming, mining, and construction.

Mu Zhuoyun showed up not long after they bought the land.

“Ningxue, why did you buy the land in the sub-safe zone? I know it’s full of resources, but it’s still not within the safe zone. If we set up our clan there, no Mages would be willing to join us. It’s very important to have people living there too, since they are our labor for mining and production. Aren’t you wasting money buying land that’s uninhabitable?” Mu Zhuoyun demanded.

Mu Zhuoyun was well aware of the procedures of setting up a clan. He was once the ruler of Bo City. He was extremely worried when he heard Mu Ningxue had bought the empty land.

Her daughter was a genius Mage, yet why was she constantly being tricked when it came to managing a clan? It seemed like she was still too naive, trying to set up her own clan…

“The land will soon be included in the safe zone. I’ll submit a request to the Magic Association. We just need someone with a rank of Hunter Master or above from the Hunter Union to verify that the place is safe, and ask the Magic Association to send someone over when we are cleansing it. We also need people from the government and the military to inspect the place, and it will soon be considered the territory of our Fanxue Mountain,” Mu Ningxue said seriously. The smile on her face was quite obvious.

It was a sense of belonging. They no longer had to rely on others or take orders from someone else. It felt like the chains binding them for so long had finally come apart. They no longer felt any burden on their shoulders. Even breathing felt a lot smoother!

“Fanxue Mountain?” Mo Fan was surprised when he heard the name of the clan.

1 Mu Ningxue had used his name as part of the new clan! The name sounded like the clan was a love crystal managed by them both as husband and wife. It was not something Mo Fan had expected.

Could it be that Mu Ningxue had finally started to open her heart after the World College Tournament?

“I…I was just trying to use your reputation. Don’t think too much,” Mu Ningxue quickly explained when she saw the weird look in Mo Fan’s eyes.

“Kid, don’t get the wrong idea here. If it wasn’t because of the huge sum of money you contributed, I would never have let Ningxue use the name! Humph!” Mu Zhuoyun glared at Mo Fan, as if he was extremely discontent that a wild boar had snatched the cabbage that he had put so much effort into!

“Old Mu, what did I say back then? It’s only a matter of time until your daughter is mine, nothing can stop me!” Mo Fan said proudly.

“You little brat, I’m telling you, even though Mu Ningxue has grown up, she still listens to me. I will never let her marry you!” Mu Zhuoyun was not to be outdone.

“You still have the same stinky temper, just you wait!”

“So be it!”

Mu Ningxue snapped as the two kept arguing beside her, “Enough, both of you!”

Li Man giggled when she saw Mo Fan and Mu Zhuoyun quarreling like two kids.

Mu Zhuoyun did not waste any further time with Mo Fan. He turned and asked Li Man, “And you are?”

Li Man briefly introduced herself and told Mu Zhuoyun that she had the right to sign the documents on behalf of the military.

Li Man was actually a Land Surveyor for the army. Otherwise, she would not have been entrusted with the mission of investigating Dongting Lake.

Mo Fan was thinking of letting Li Man inspect their land when he said he was going to borrow her for a few days, just so she could sign the document to prove that the land was safe on behalf of the army.

As for the verification from the Hunter Union, it was even simpler. Mo Fan was a Hunter Master himself. He was ranked high enough to verify if a land was safe. He just needed to sign the document as a Hunter Master. That being said, Mo Fan was not too familiar with the procedures, but he could easily ask Lingling for help since she was a Hunter Master, too. Her rank was even higher than Mo Fan’s. Two Hunter Masters should be more than enough. If not, they could still ask Old Bao to come instead. As a Senior Hunter, his verification would be even more convincing than theirs!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The new land that Mu Ningxue bought was to the north of Feiniao City. Its terrain was quite unique. It was a spacious flatland close to two long and narrow mountain ranges, slightly higher in altitude than Feiniao City.

The mountain range to the west was Feiyue (Flying Moon) Mountain. The ridge served as a natural barrier that cut the demon creatures off from the Nanling Mountains. Most demon creatures would not bother crossing the mountain to attack humans.

The mountain to the east, facing the ocean, was called Shuangyang (Double Sun) Mountain. It actually consisted of two huge mountains with a valley and a river between them, connected to the Yueyang (Moon Sun) Land. As such, the Yueyang Land was connected to the ocean, too!

If they kept heading north, they would cross the Hangzhou and reach Shanghai, the Magic City.

To the south was Feiniao City, less than ten kilometers away.

Mu Ningxue brought Mo Fan along and flew five thousand meters into the sky, allowing Mo Fan to fully observe the Yueyang Land. Mo Fan was utterly impressed by Mu Ningxue’s foresight. Not only was the land flat and spacious, it also had two mountains that served as natural barriers protecting it. With enough funds, they could develop the place into an extremely safe town and city!

As a matter of fact, resources were the most important to a city, since exploitation and excavation were usually the main reasons why a city existed in the first place. However, both Mu Ningxue and Mu Zhuoyun had placed safety first after going through the Calamity of Bo City. They had to admit that the place was a lot safer than Bo City. As for the resources, the ocean was just a mountain away, the land was quite fertile, and even though the area was not rich in resources, it was still acceptable.

“If it wasn’t because this place isn’t within the safe zone, I bet Lin Junxian would have planned to extend Feiniao City this way!” even a novice like Mo Fan could not help but exclaim.

The land was perfect, but the big problem was the effort needed to cleanse the area. It was very troublesome to build a town without the help of the military.

“Once we cleanse the area, we can set up sentries there on Feiyue Mountain. We will then widen and deepen the river on Shuangyang Mountain, and turn it into a harbor with a waterway out to the ocean. This place will soon surpass Bo City!” Mu Zhuoyun was very satisfied with the place.

Mu Zhuoyun had been waiting for this day after living in dejection for many years. After Bo City went down, the scars from it could only be healed by building a new city. Most importantly, this city would be theirs alone. They no longer had to obey the orders of the Mu Clan, nor did they have to abide by the Mu Clan’s will!

“I’ve talked to Lin Junxian. He said that once we include the land in the safe zone, he’s more than willing to work with us. He will gladly handle the construction and offer us a great price for it. I didn’t know you made friends with such an influential businessman when you were still on training with the national team!” Mu Zhuoyun’s face was brimming with joy. He saw hope the moment he saw the place. Although they had to start from scratch, they no longer had to live in the dark!

Mo Fan was utterly clueless about how to develop a city, but with Mu Zhuoyun’s help, he believed they would not have much trouble building it up, starting from a small town. The man was once the ruler of Bo City. As for whether they could further expand the town into a city, it was none of Mo Fan’s concern. Building a city was not an easy task. Even though it was a lot easier to build a city in the east, it still needed quite some time…

—

—

A villa on Daqin Mountain…

Li Qing was sitting on a pair of plump legs while wiggling her hips like a snake. She was grinding against Pan Di’s chest half-reluctantly to arouse the man.

Unfortunately, just when Manager Pan was about to pounce on the sheep like a starving wolf, a faint glow suddenly flickered in the night sky in the distance.

The light was faint yet spectacular in the night. The faint light loomed over an area. The blue-brown surface of the barrier felt slightly mysterious.

“What…what’s that?” Li Qing was stunned. She stared into the distance with a blank face.

“It…it looks like a barrier. How is that possible? How could there be such a huge barrier?” As a professional, Manager Pan immediately recognized the light as the barrier of a city.

Why would a barrier suddenly show up over the empty land? The barrier was comparable to the shieldof Feiniao City. Who could possibly own such a powerful Earth Pistil, and activate that powerful barrier!?

“Isn’t the Yueyang Land there? My Heavens, are they using an Earth Pistil to cleanse the area? Is the military planning to include that area in the safe zone?” Li Qing’s jaw dropped after realizing something.

No power other than the military could possibly perform such a shocking feat!

“It’s not the military, I didn’t receive any notice about it. But I heard Mu Ningxue bought the land recently,” Pan Di said.

“She bought the land, and now there’s a barrier protecting it! Is she trying to use it to establish her clan?”

“The place is unpopulated, so it requires strenuous effort to cleanse it. Even a renowned clan wouldn’t have the funds to do so, so I didn’t bother intervening with the purchase, but…but…how did they find such a huge Earth Pistil? That’s impossible!” Pan Di was dumbfounded.

He had already promised the Li Family that he would not allow Mu Ningxue to establish her clan. He had already received the benefits, but this barrier had taken him completely by surprise!

Once the barrier was established, every demon creature within its area would be marked by its light. Not a single one could escape, not even the insects that were hiding underground…

As such, it would be very easy to cleanse the area. They just needed to eliminate the demon creatures tagged by the barrier, and ask a representative of the military, the local Magic Association, the Hunter Union, and the local government to verify that the place was qualified to be included in the safe zone!

An Earth Pistil was the most effective way to prove the area was safe. The headquarters of the Magic Association would not doubt the safety of a territory cleansed using an Earth Pistil, meaning that Manager Pan could no longer abuse his powers to reject Mu Ningxue’s request to set up a clan there!

Most importantly, many people were well aware of the potential that the Yueyang Land had. Many renowned families and organizations had already set their eyes on it, yet they had no choice but to give up due to the time and money required to cleanse the area.

They all knew how remarkable the place was, and it had now become Mu Ningxue’s private land. The place was significantly better and more spacious than the land that Mu Ningxue had tried to acquire before!

——

Li Qing soon received a call from the Mu Clan.”Yes, I got it. I’ll attend to it right away, please calm down. I’ll investigate it right away.”

The Li Family was meant to trouble Mu Ningxue, but the people of the Mu Clan had suddenly been told that Mu Ningxue had successfully claimed a private area to establish her clan. They immediately scolded the crap out of Li Qing.

Li Qing clearly was not in the mood to entertain Manager Pan. She left quickly. Her only option was to manipulate the local government into stopping them from granting Mu Ningxue approval…

“Damn it, damn it, that b**ch just ignored me!” Manager Pan’s face immediately darkened when he saw Li Qing leave without saying a single word to him…

—

—

The rest of the procedures were no longer Mo Fan’s concern, since he had no clue what to do. He had done everything he could.

Mo Fan was extremely satisfied with the name of their new territory. It was the fruit of the efforts that he and Mu Ningxue had both put in. It would surely make headlines when the public learned they were using an Earth Pistil just to cleanse the area. Even though it was not enough to attract many Mages to join them, it would surely help with their reputation!

Mu Ningxue earning a reputation was clearly something that the Mu Clan least wanted to see. People already knew the Mu Clan had abandoned Mu Ningxue after the World College Tournament, and now, Mu Ningxue had attracted so much attention while trying to set up her own clan. It was nothing but a huge slap to the face of the Mu Clan! It was burning and painful!

—

The Mu Clan soon held a small meeting.

Mu Ningxue’s departure did not affect the Mu Clan’s influence much, but it did result in significant damage to their reputation. She gained lots of support when the people learned that Mu Ningxue was expelled by the Mu Clan prior to the World College Tournament, yet the girl had managed to claim a spot on the national team and had an outstanding performance during the World College Tournament still.

COMMENT

Many Mages that were thinking of joining the Mu Clan were disappointed by what the clan had done to Mu Ningxue. If Mu Ningxue proceeded to establish her own clan, it would bring the Mu Clan into the limelight in a poor way, since whenever they talked about Mu Ningxue’s clan, they would surely doubt the Mu Clan even further!

These doubts were unlikely to result in any losses to the Mu Clan, but many Mages that were still figuring out which renowned clans to join, or the people who were considering the Mu Clan as business partners, would turn to other renowned clans instead!

—

“Mu Ningxue, who left the Mu Clan, has established Fanxue Mountain, ready to challenge the Mu Clan head-on!”

“The big contributor to the World College Tournament, Mu Ningxue, is planning to build a new city. The remarkable light of the protective barrier lights up the entire sky of Feiniao City!”

“Everyone knows how the Mu Clan has treated Mu Ningxue. If they are so cruel to their own people, how would they treat outsiders?”

—

As expected, the barrier immediately attracted the attention of the media. Mu Ningxue had not told the media about her intention to establish Fanxue Mountain and her plan to cleanse the area, but not only did the reporters show up like a nest of bees, people and Mages were discussing it on the internet too!

The job was done in no time. It was a lot simpler with the help of the barrier. Mo Fan finally realized why Shi Qianshou was so crazy about the Earth Pistil. It was true that the person controlling an Earth Pistil would control an entire city!

——

“Thank you, Mo Fan!” Mu Ningxue glanced at the land protected by the barrier. The stunning sky was soothing to look at. The place was brimming with hope now.

“Just marry me if you want to thank me. You do know I’ve liked you since a long time ago,” Mo Fan smiled back.

1 He never thought he would be able to give Mu Ningxue a city, even though it was only an empty land for now. It felt great seeing the smile on Mu Ningxue’s face, like when she was looking forward to her bright future when she was still a kid.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

After going back to the Magic City, Mo Fan was wondering if it was possible to construct Dean Xiao’s Water Circulation Magic Formation in their new territory. Wouldn’t it significantly increase the safety of the area?

He would have to give the Earth Pistil back to Advisor Shao eventually, but Mo Fan would only feel relieved if Fanxue Mountain had a barrier protecting it. After all, Feiniao City was constantly under the threat of sea monsters, and it was unlikely that Mu Ningxue could recruit enough people to protect the land for a short period of time.

Having this thought, Mo Fan visited Tongxiang again to check on the progress of the Water Circulation Magic Formation.

To his surprise, Cao Qinqin came looking for him after he had just arrived.

“So this is your mentor?” A man in casual clothes, wearing the badge of the Magic Association, glanced up and down at Mo Fan in disbelief.

Mo Fan looked far too young to be a mentor of the Pearl Institute.

“Yeah, didn’t you say you have something important to talk to him about? Sir, they are from the Magic Association’s Research Union,” Cao Qinqin said.

“Oh? What is it?” Mo Fan did recall receiving a letter sent to his apartment. He vaguely remembered that it was from some Research Union of the Magic Association. The letter told Mo Fan to pay them a visit, but Mo Fan had completely ignored it.

Apart from a summons from the Enforcement Union, Mo Fan could not have cared less about the other departments of the Magic Association!

“I’m a committee member of the Research Union under Donghai (East Ocean) Magic Association, the highest Magic Association of Asia, Ke Lingxi. We heard that you are the one that let the moth woman that we’ve been trailing for some time escape?” the lofty man said.

“What do you mean by that?” Mo Fan demanded, displeased when he sensed hostility from the man’s voice.

“Humph, what do we mean? The moth woman is an eccentric being that we’ve been investigating for a long time. She’s very important to us, yet you’ve let her go instead! We are now having a hard time tracking her down. Who gave you the right to make the decision? You’ve ruined our important experiment!” Ke Lingxi snapped at him.

Mo Fan’s eyes widened when he heard the man’s accusation. “Who the hell cares about your experiments? I can let anyone go as I please. I suggest you leave if you have nothing else, I have no time to waste with the likes of you!”

“What’s with that attitude? We are under the highest Magic Association of Asia; every Magic Association in Asia is obliged to conform with our instructions and investigations. I now order you to track the moth woman down, or we won’t go easy on you!” Ke Lingxi frowned and ordered him angrily.

“Don’t force me to ask you to piss off!” Mo Fan returned coldly.

“How dare you disrespect our Magic Association at your age? You should know that the Research Union has the right to deprive a Mage of their cultivation!” Ke Lingxi threatened him.

“An imbecile like you dares to threaten me? Even if you are a member of Asia’s Magic Association, I’ll beat the crap out of you so badly that your mother won’t even recognize you, let alone the f**king organization that’s attached to it. Leave before I get mad!” Mo Fan was fed up by these people who kept thinking they were superior just because of their positions.

1 Did they seriously think they could point their fingers around just because they belonged to a committee of the Magic Association?

“You’ve asked for it!” Ke Lingxi’s face went dark. He had never seen such a disrespectful kid. He would not mind venting his frustration on him!

Layers of frost appeared on Ke Lingxi’s body, soon turning into ice spikes surrounding him. The number of ice spikes was shocking. They looked like arrows bundled together, their tips pointing at Mo Fan.

Ke Lingxi did not attack right away. He let out a hollow laugh and said, “This is my Sharp Ice Domain. Do as you are told and find where the moth woman is, it will save you the trouble! Our Research Union focuses on the invention of magic. Without us, there wouldn’t be any magic equipment or magic barrier. It’s because of us that you’re able to live comfortably in the cities, instead of facing the starving demon creatures!”

“Piss off!” Mo Fan immediately unleashed a fierce ring of flames. He had enough of the man’s constant nagging.

The Ardent Sunset’s flames were utterly imperious. The heat immediately turned Ke Lingxi’s Sharp Ice Domain into water vapor. The flames extended out like a rug and burned vigorously under Mo Fan’s control.

“You…you dare attack members of the Research Union!” Ke Lingxi’s eyes widened. The two men he had brought along were dumbfounded too!

They were being harsh toward Mo Fan after seeing how young the man was, and how he had messed up their experiment. The Research Union never bothered paying any respect to young, inexperienced Mages.

Ke Lingxi initially thought the kid would wet his pants after unleashing his Sharp Ice Domain. To his surprise, he was miserably driven a few steps back by the young man’s flames instead.

“You have really gotten on my nerves!” Fiery dragons were rolling on Mo Fan’s fists. The three members of the Research Union quickly summoned their defensive Equipment to resist the Fiery Fist.

To their surprise, Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist was stronger than a normal Advanced Spell after the added imperious power of the Ardent Sunset. It ended up knocking the three men flying!

Ke Lingxi was the strongest among the three, but they were all burned by the scorching heat. Their flesh blistered as they stood amid Mo Fan’s flames with twisted faces.

The Magic Association had always been the one that dared to use magic against other Mages. Was the kid out of his mind to cast such a strong spell at them!?

“Kid, you’re dead, you’re dead for sure!” Ke Lingxi pointed at Mo Fan and swore.

“You just go back and train for a few years before saying that. I don’t understand why a piece of trash like you dares to act so full of yourself in front of me!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

He initially thought the members of the Research Union were strong, but he had left them in such a miserable state with a single punch. How amusing!

“Icebound Coffin!” Ke Lingxi yelled, casting the Advanced Ice Spell.

Ke Lingxi had a Domain. The Icebound Coffin he summoned was surrounded by the same ice spikes from before. They flickered coldly as the Icebound Coffin descended from the sky. Cao Qinqin quickly hid in the distance when she saw the men were serious about the fight.

Mo Fan did not try to dodge as the Icebound Coffin descended with its spikes. The ground below his feet cracked apart as scorching flames burst out like a wild geyser.

A thick burning pillar rose into the sky. Mo Fan remained under the pillar. The wild flames punched through the Icebound Coffin and instantly melted it!

Even though the Ice Element and Fire Element were effective against one another, it solely depended on which side was stronger. The stronger side would always overwhelm the weaker side.

It was obvious that Mo Fan’s Ardent Sunset was stronger than Ke Lingxi’s Domain. Ke Lingxi had never fought against anyone with such unstoppable flames. His Ice Element was completely useless!

Ke Lingxi did not attack again. He muttered petulantly, “We will report your misbehavior to the Magic Association. The Enforcement Union will deal with you!”

“If I were you, I’d just tug my tails between my legs and leave. You’re so weak!” Mo Fan spat back disdainfully.

Ke Lingxi was so mad that his face was twitching.

The Research Union mainly focused on inventing and improving magic. They were more like builders, armor forgers, or formation constructors. Their cultivation was not weak, but their fighting ability was significantly weaker when compared to the Enforcement Union.

However, they were the ones that started the fight. They had no choice but to swallow the humiliation!

They were not in a rush to get their revenge. The other departments of the Magic Association would occasionally ask the Research Union for favors. They had the right to send out members of the Enforcement Union, too. This man was going to pay for what he did!

“Let’s go!” Ke Lingxi left with his two subordinates.

They were injured and their clothes were ragged. They had completely lost their arrogant bearing.

One of the men whispered, “How is this kid so strong!?”

“It seems like he’s really a mentor of the Pearl Institute…”

“Humph, I don’t care who he is; anyone that goes against the Research Union will suffer!”

—

Cao Qinqin only dared to come up to Mo Fan after the fight ended. Her eyes were glittering like stars, with a strong hint of admiration.

Mo Fan’s fire was just too outstanding. Cao Qinqin did not have a chance to observe it closely when he was battling against the moth woman. She finally had a chance to see the Ardent Sunset in person this time. The flames with the color of the sky at sunset, with an overwhelming heat that could even set the sky on fire!

“Sir, you’re so strong. What training did you normally do? You’re perfectly synchronized with your fire! Can you control it as you wish?” Cao Qinqin asked excitedly.

“Too many questions, and stop bringing weird people to me,” Mo Fan snapped.

“Oh, I didn’t know they were trying to stir up trouble. The Research Union is an impressive department of the Magic Association, how are they weird? I’ve graduated, but I haven’t found an organization to join yet. I’m thinking of joining the Magic Association, but I’m not even qualified to be an intern,” Cao Qinqin said.

“What’s the Donghai Magic Association about?” Magic Association asked.

1 “Sir, are you being serious? The Donghai Magic Association is a branch office of the Asia Magic Association in our country. It’s only inferior to the Dongfang Oriental Magic Association!” Cao Qinqin said.

“I didn’t really have much business with the Magic Association. By the way, you’ve been around for quite some time. Have you learned how the Water Circulation Magic Formation works?” Mo Fan asked.

“Only the basics, I’m quite interested to learn more about it. If I can master the art of constructing a magic formation, I believe I can become a well-respected Mage… Unfortunately, I’m just a student. The mentors aren’t willing to share the essence of the magic formations with me,” Cao Qinqin grumbled.

Chapter 1253: Bashing the Research Union

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Do you know how to construct formations?” Mo Fan asked.

“Sir, that’s what I’ve been studying. My primary Element is Water. Poison is only my secondary Element,” Cao Qinqin said, blinking her eyes.

“Great, I’ll ask Dean Xiao to teach you the Water Circulation Magic Formation, but once you learn it, you will have to construct one for me,” Mo Fan told her.

Cao Qinqin’s eyes glittered.

The Water Circulation Magic Formation was officially in operation in Tongxiang. Cao Qinqin had already witnessed how powerful the magic formation using the energy generated from flowing water was, and how it could protect the town. Even though it was incomparable to the absolute defense provided by an Earth Pistil, it was an impressive invention since it was still able to fend off ordinary demon creatures.

Dean Xiao was truly impressive, being able to invent a magic formation like this. Cao Qinqin was very interested in learning it. She had been staying around even though she had graduated, hoping to learn more about the formation.

“Sir, can you really convince Dean Xiao to teach me?” Cao Qinqin said excitedly. She was just a student. She had no chance of interacting with people like Dean Xiao. Only a few like Mo Fan could just barge into Dean Xiao’s office and chat with him as he pleased.

“Of course, but you must do your best to learn it. Otherwise, I’ll take away your graduation badge!” Mo Fan said.

“Ah? Sir, you’re just as unreasonable as the people of the Research Union,” Cao Qinqin protested. However, she was quite confident that she would be able to learn the magic formation. She quickly nodded, “Sir, thank you for the opportunity you’ve given me. Why don’t I join your faction then? I don’t really have anywhere to go.”

“…” Mo Fan was starting to be impressed by his own charm. The girl’s admiration of him was already off the charts even though all he did was guide her on a graduation mission. Sigh, since she had such great hindsight, he would not mind taking her in as his concu…as his disciple. Besides, his Fanxue Mountain was recruiting too. Cao Qinqin was a graduate of the Pearl Institute. She was more than qualified for it!

“After you’re done learning it, just come to the Fanxue Mountain,” Mo Fan said.

“Alright, sure, I promise I’ll set up the same Water Circulation Magic Formation in sir’s territory!” Cao Qinqin promised.

“Speaking of which, what did those idiots want from Yu Shishi? I heard them saying that they have had their eyes on her for quite some time?” Mo Fan fell into deep thought when he recalled the doubts he had.

“She’s eccentric and special, the people of the Research Union like to conduct weird experiments. I bet they are treating her as a subject for their experiments, trying to learn if she’s actually a human or a demon creature, or a combination of both,” Cao Qinqin said.

“You know a lot, don’t you?” Mo Fan had a whole new impression of Cao Qinqin.

“Sir, I’m not a good fighter, but not many people in the Pearl Institute are more knowledgeable than me!” Cao Qinqin stuck her tongue out.

“It’s because you have been overemphasizing it, right? But then again, we need people specializing in different fields, too. If you can really learn the complete Water Circulation Magic Formation, you will be better than hundreds, or even thousands of Mages,” Mo Fan realized.

“I can do it, as long as Dean Xiao is willing to teach me. I’m a fast learner!” Cao Qinqin was very confident in herself.

——

Dean Xiao happened to be in Tongxiang, too. He must have been here to see how the magic formation was doing. Mo Fan went straight to him.

Dean Xiao glared at Mo Fan, knowing how benefit-oriented he was, “You really know what to take from me! I spent ten years on the Water Circulation Magic Formation before finally completing it, and now you’re asking me for it. I’m more than willing to teach you if you want to learn it yourself, but you’re sending someone to learn it instead!”

“Hehe, Dean Xiao, isn’t the goal of your magic formation to help mankind? Look at how reputable the Pearl Institute is; I’ve contributed a fair lot to it. As my teacher, shouldn’t you be teaching your student everything you have to?” Mo Fan asked shamelessly.

Mo Fan was well aware of how valuable Dean Xiao’s magic formation was. It was clearly a worthy invention. He believed the government, the military, and the renowned clans would pay him a visit and request Dean Xiao set up the magic formation for them too. It was valuable even at the international level.

“You can’t just set up the formation anywhere you want. It relies highly on the layout of the waterways. If the waterways aren’t suitable, you will have to modify them accordingly! You do know many of the rivers and streams are the territories of the demon creatures. If you try modifying them, they will just attack you recklessly!” Dean Xiao declared.

“So are you going to give it to me or not?” Mo Fan was wicked too. He was trying to convince Dean Xiao by saying how noble and glorious he was as a teacher.

“Don’t you worry, I have no plan to keep it to myself. Once it’s finalized, I’ll open it to the students of the Pearl Institute. Every student that studies magic formations will have a chance to learn it, but it’s up to the students if they can really understand it. It’s a very complicated magic formation. The girl you mentioned might not be able to complete it on her own. If she can’t do it, I’ll just pay a visit to Fanxue Mountain myself and set it up for you,” Dean Xiao said.

Dean Xiao treated Mo Fan as his disciple. He was more than willing to teach Mo Fan everything he knew. Unfortunately, the Water Circulation Magic Formation had strict requirements, and it was difficult to master.

“It’s fine, Dean Xiao, you can just give Cao Qinqin some advice. She was one of the students that helped set up the Water Circulation Magic Formation as part of her graduate mission too. You are always so busy, how could I ask you to waste your time on my little territory? The magic formation has to be maintained and upgraded in the future, too. It doesn’t make sense to keep calling you over, right? It’s easier to let Cao Qinqin learn from you. She can just set it up at her own pace since everything is still in progress,” Mo Fan said.

“Fine… oh, by the way, did the people of the Research Union talk to you? The people of the Research Union have the worst tempers in the Magic Association. You should just go easy on them. Try not to stir any trouble,” Dean Xiao said to Mo Fan when he remembered something.

“Oh, they did; I beat the crap out of them,” Mo Fan replied.

“…” Dean Xiao was left speechless.

“They seem to be after the moth woman. I’m quite confused. Is there something special about Yu Shishi?” Mo Fan asked.

“The moth woman is indeed a unique existence. Her secrets might allow the researchers to learn something new. I got the idea of the Water Circulation Magic Formation from a powerful demon creature that gathers energy from natural waterways, for example,” Dean Xiao explained.

“Which means, if the Heresy Judgment Court gets their hands on me, I’d most likely end up as a test subject too?” Mo Fan asked.

“No doubt about it, the Demon Element is crazily strong. The reason why the Demon Element was forbidden was because of how corrupted and uncontrollable it is, but now, you are perfectly fine even after you’ve turned into a demon. It goes without saying that they wanted to replicate more people like you, so they won’t need to worry about the demon creatures anymore,” Dean Xiao said.

“…I guess I should just stay as far away as possible from the Heresy Judgment Court,” Mo Fan smiled wryly.

The reason why the Demon Element was successful for him was not just because of his Double Innate Elements, but the Soul Essences provided by the Little Loach Pendant, allowing him to pay the cost of using the Demon Element.

His Double Innate Elements were no longer a secret, but he had never told anyone about the Little Loach Pendant. He could not afford to fall into the hands of the Heresy Judgment Court!

“Speaking of which, the Research Union isn’t acting humanely. Regardless of what Yu Shishi is, she still has the right to choose. It’s her choice if she doesn’t want anything to do with the Research Union…” Dean Xiao said.

“I’ll just beat the crap out of them every time they show up. I’ve never seen anyone as annoying as them from the Magic Association!” Mo Fan said.

“Why don’t you take care of your wild temper first?” Dean Xiao said helplessly.

“I don’t go around and provoke people, but that doesn’t mean I can tolerant of scum like them!”

“I’ll talk to the Research Union about it.”

“It’s fine; if they are asking for trouble, let them come! My hands have been itchy too! Ask them to send some experts, I feel like loosening my muscles,” Mo Fan grinned. He was nothing but a battle maniac.

—

—

Mo Fan failed to catch the train back to Shanghai that night. He had no choice but to Summon the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was faster than a train when running at full speed. However, Mo Fan could only travel along the border of the safe zone so he wouldn’t scare civilians.

However, considering that Mu Ningxue had slowly begun to accept him, Mo Fan suddenly decided to stay at Feiniao City for the time being instead. He should make use of the chance to talk and flirt with her more.

“Old wolf, turn around, we’re going to Feiniao City,” Mo Fan tightened the grip of his legs, as if he was riding a horse.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had an unhappy face. His master had not Summoned him for a fight recently, only using him for transportation, even though he was a Commander-level wolf!

Little Flame Belle sat on the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s head. Her legs were dangling above the creature’s nose while grabbing his upright ears. The little princess was definitely enjoying the ride.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf suddenly came to a stop. He glared at a mountain wall nearby hostilely.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was extremely sensitive towards murderous auras. Mo Fan was immediately alert after learning trouble had come.

A bunch of blue moths beat their wings as they flew out of the mountain wall. They seemed to be afraid of Little Flame Belle, and didn’t dare get within ten meters from her.

More moths began to appear and outline an alluring figure.

The moths suddenly spread into the surroundings and flew towards the mountain. A woman wearing a hat and hemp garment was standing at the spot where the moths were gathering, hiding her face with the hat. She slowly lifted her head, revealing her glimmering eyes. They were dazzling under the night sky.

“It’s you. Have you come for revenge?” Mo Fan chuckled when he recognized her.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I once thought of murdering you and cutting you into pieces, but I need your help,” Yu Shishi replied.

“Hehe, is that what a person asking for a favor should be saying? I have no time to waste on you, just do whatever you want,” Mo Fan patted the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, signaling him to proceed on their way.

“Wait!” Yu Shishi stopped Mo Fan.

“Don’t ever come to me again. I’ll hand you to the Enforcement Union if you annoy me again,” Mo Fan snapped impatiently.

Mo Fan was not in a good mood after the people of the Research Union showed up. He did not care about what would happen to Yu Shishi, nor was he interested in the secret she had that the Research Union was after.

“I’ve been to the land that you bought,” Yu Shishi said.

“You’ve been stalking me?” Mo Fan glared at the woman icily. He had only spared her life because she did not go around killing nnocent people. However, if the woman was trying to harm the people around him, he would not hesitate to eliminate her!

“I just went to see the girl who you mentioned was in a similar situation as I am.” Yu Shishi seemed a little intimidated when she saw the flames rising from Mo Fan’s body. It was the same fire that had destroyed countless numbers of her moths. It felt worse than death!

She had long lost her family. The moths had become her friends, her family, yet Mo Fan had killed almost half of them. She had the urge to tear Mo Fan into pieces, yet she had no choice but to come to Mo Fan for the sake of the remaining moths.

“Oh, you saw her?” Mo Fan withdrew the flames.

“I did,” Yu Shishi said.

“Just tell me what you want, I’m in a hurry here,” Mo Fan snapped.

“I’m trying to run away from the Research Union. They have never treated me as a human. It’s not going to end well if I fall into their hands…” Yu Shishi said.

“You better hide then,” Mo Fan said.

“I…” Yu Shishi lowered her head. She was obviously stirred up emotionally, “I swear I just want to live peacefully! Why can’t the people of the Research Union just leave me alone? If they didn’t keep forcing me, I wouldn’t kill the people that are weak and troubled by sickness by accident. I admit that I’ve killed people that went missing, but I never wanted to take their lives. I just want to protect myself and the moths. I just want to live, I don’t want to die…”

“You’ve killed some innocent people, whether you meant it or not. It’s your fault that you’ve nowhere to go now,” Mo Fan said.

“I’ve checked your information. You are Mo Fan, the strongest participant in the World College Tournament, the man that saved the Ancient Capital during the calamity. You aren’t afraid of the Magic Association, nor are you afraid of the Research Union…” Yu Shishi went on.

“Forget it, there’s no way I’m helping you,” Mo Fan said decisively.

Yu Shishi looked at Mo Fan. She did not think the man would reject her so mercilessly.

“Then…then why are you willing to keep the Blood Tribe girl with you?” Yu Shishi asked.

“I’ve already said it, I don’t really care what you really are. The truth is, your beautiful looks and stunning figure are bonus points to me… but they aren’t really that important. It’s more about what you’ve done,” Mo Fan explained.

“Don’t you want to know why the Research Union keeps trying to hunt me down? I’ll tell you my secret if you’re willing to help me,” Yu Shishi said.

Mo Fan pondered for a moment. Judging from the Research Union’s eagerness, Yu Shishi’s secret must be very important to them. Otherwise, they would not send a committee member after her, especially since the person was receiving orders directly from the Asia Magic Association.

It must be a serious business if a Magic Association at the international level was involved. Eccentric people had always been rare, yet Yu Shishi was clearly not the only strange kind. The Blood Tribe was also unorthodox. If the Research Union was only interested in weird people, why were they so fond of Yu Shishi, instead of hunting down the Blood Tribe?

According to Yu Shishi, the Research Union had been after her for quite some time…

“Tell me about it,” Mo Fan said.

“Do you remember when we met for the first time, you asked me why I’m not afraid of demon creatures when I’m alone in the wild?” Yu Shishi said.

Mo Fan remembered. He even saw her naked body. It was stunning, especially her huge yet firm breasts. He believed if she had her blue moth wings out, it would add even more charm to her!

“You aren’t afraid because of the moths,” Mo Fan said.

“No, I told you the reason before,” Yu Shishi said.

“Did you?” Mo Fan recalled the encounter and realized something, “You mentioned that the demon creatures don’t attack you because of the fragrance you had?”

Yu Shishi nodded.

“Wait, you were telling the truth?” Mo Fan looked at Yu Shishi in surprise.

“I wasn’t lying,” Yu Shishi answered.

Mo Fan was shocked. He subconsciously went up to Yu Shishi and sniffed. He wanted to know what she would smell like.

Yu Shishi did not think Mo Fan would just come up to her and sniff her. Her eyes flickered with a hint of embarrassment, but considering he was the only person that could help her, she remained still and let the man sniff her instead.

“I didn’t smell anything special; it’s similar to the body fragrance of an ordinary girl,” Mo Fan said.

“Are you expecting it to be a pungent smell? Wouldn’t everyone just treat me like a monster that way!?” Yu Shishi snapped.

“You’re right, but does it really allow you to move freely among the demon creatures? Do they just ignore you?” Mo Fan asked seriously.

“Shall we try it out then?” Yu Shishi said.

“Sure, seeing is believing,” Mo Fan said.

If Yu Shishi was telling the truth about her scent, Mo Fan would believe why the Research Union was so interested in her.

Demon creatures were extremely hostile toward humans. They could tolerate some living creatures passing by their territories, or some other species hunting for food in their territories, but they would never allow a human to set foot in them. It felt like the ‘food’ they had trapped in their cages had come out and was roaming around outside the cages instead. It seemed it was a great humiliation to them!

Many demon creatures had strong senses. Their hearing was able to pick up human footsteps from over a kilometer away. Their sense of smell could sniff out the presence of a human on the other side of a mountain. Their outstanding sight could distinguish the skin of a human more than ten thousand meters away… They had lots of other ways to detect human presences that were even more shocking than the ones mentioned above. These unknown abilities were the main reason why lots of Hunters and soldiers died brutal deaths.

Mo Fan had been to the desert in Tarim Basin himself. The relay station they visited was only in the outer region of the desert. They did not even make it to the middle sector. It clearly showed how difficult it was to explore the territories of demon creatures!

As such, if they could mass produce Yu Shishi’s scent to cover up their human presence, wouldn’t it allow humans to freely enter the demon creatures’ territories?

It was definitely going to be a huge breakthrough for mankind. It easily explained why the people of the Magic Association were so eager to get their hands on her!

——

Mo Fan agreed to bring Yu Shishi to Yueyang Land.

The west of Feiyue Mountain was connected to the Nanling Mountains. It was the territory of the Silver Skyruler, where many demon creatures resided, beyond the White Magic Falcons that ruled over the area.

Mo Fan found one of the species in Nanling Mountains, so Yu Shishi could demonstrate her ability.

“I can move freely in their territory as long as I don’t enter their nest,” Yu Shishi said.

Yu Shishi was walking through the tall brush. She had entered the territory of the Hunter Fang Panther Demons, one of the species posing the greatest threat to Yueyang Land. Their physical finesse allowed them to cross mountains and ridges easily. There had been many Hunter Fang Panther Demons that had accidentally ended up in the Yueyang Land. When they were cleansing the area with the Earth Pistil, they had found a few packs of Hunter Fang Panther Demons hidden in caves. If they had not had the Earth Pistil, they would only have found these Hunter Fang Panther Demons by conducting a thorough search with a huge number of Mages!

A bulky Hunter Fang Panther Demon was half-crawling through the brush. Its huge eyes were staring in Yu Shishi’s direction.

Mo Fan hid in the dark. He was not worried that these low-level demon creatures would sense his presence when he was using the Dark Noble Mantle, as long as he stayed a certain distance away.

Yu Shishi continued forward until she reached the Hunter Fang Panther Demon. Surprisingly, the demon creature was still staring at her…

Mo Fan followed its gaze and discovered two gray-black Hunter Fang Panther Demons in the tall brush. Their bodies were stacked on top of one another under the brush and were rubbing against one another without making any noises!

Mo Fan’s eyes widened!

-Holy crap, the two Hunter Fang Panther Demons are rolling in the bed… rolling in the brush!-

1 {TL Note: Rolling in the bed is a slang for having sexual intercourse.}

The bulky Hunter Fang Panther Demon seemed to have discovered that it was wearing a green hat. It immediately unleashed a strong aura. It completely ignored Yu Shishi’s presence!

The bulky Hunter Fang Panther Demon pounced forward and tore at the neck of the Hunter Fang Panther Demon having an affair with its partner, leaving a bloody wound on its neck!

The demon creature twitched vigorously as blood poured out from its neck. The female Hunter Fang Panther Demon rose to its feet when it realized its lover had died…

Mo Fan was utterly dumbfounded by the next scene.

He initially thought the male Hunter Fang Panther Demons were dominant, judging from their greater size. To his surprise, the female Hunter Fang Panther Demons were even more violent. The female Hunter Fang Panther Demon clawed fiercely at the bulky male Hunter Fang Panther Demon instead.

The male Hunter Fang Panther Demon did not dare to fight back. It lowered its head and followed behind the female Hunter Fang Panther Demon, as if it was fawning after her!

“So the females of the species are the dominant ones… these female Hunter Fang Panther Demons are a lot fiercer than the males. The males are submissive, and have to fight one another to mate with the females!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan brought Yu Shishi to Mu Ningxue after they returned to Feiniao City. Mu Ningxue had rented a villa with a front yard as a temporary gathering place for the members of Fanxue Mountain.

Mo Fan looked around briefly. The members of Fanxue Mountain mainly consisted of the people of the Mu Family who ended up staying with Mu Zhuoyun and Mu Ningxue after everything that had happened. They were clearly the people they trusted most.

Not many had come to join them yet. A clan without a territory and resources was unlikely to convince anyone to join it despite the incredible offers they were giving. It did not matter much for the time being, as everything would eventually be on the right track.

“There’s an incident in the outskirts of Feiniao City again. Apparently, a man and his wife doing some photographing were attacked by the Hunter Fang Panther Demons. Only their remains were left. (Sigh), why would they go to such dangerous places? Why aren’t they afraid of dying?” Mu Linsheng grumbled while reading the news.

Mu Linsheng was Mu Ningxue’s elder cousin. He was not particularly close to Mu Ningxue’s family before, nor did the Mu Family ever help him in any way. However, he was willing to lend a hand to Mu Zhuoyun during desperate times. The man was quite reliable, so when the new clan was established, Mu Zhuoyun immediately called Mu Linsheng over, hoping that he could help manage the place.

Mu Linsheng was a smart man. He was good at judging the moment and sizing up the situation. He quickly learned everything he needed to about Feiniao City the moment he arrived. Although the sea monsters troubling the city had been taken care of, the Nanling Mountains were still the territory of the demon creatures. They had been very active in the outskirts recently. The people were starting to feel anxious about it.

The government of Feiniao City was too preoccupied with the threat of the sea monsters, and had somewhat neglected the threat on land and from the mountains. Unfortunately, the city was not considered a tier-one city, so it had trouble dispensing Mages to resolve every threat!

“Why do you care so much about it?” Liu Ru asked him, confused.

“Of course I should care about it. When a clan moves here, it’s the same as an outsider trying to open a business here. What’s the most important thing you need if you want to attract customers? Isn’t it reputation? We do have some reputation across the country, but it’s not enough, especially when we’ve only gotten our reputation because people are saying that we’re setting up the clan to challenge the Mu Clan. Not only would it not bring customers to us, it might even drive them away!

“I’m not saying that we shouldn’t challenge the Mu Clan. What I’m trying to say is, we should focus on making a name in the area first. We should make some contributions so the locals know about us. It’s no use if the people in other places learn about us. The people in Feiniao City have to know about us, so we can continue to grow here!” Mu Linsheng declared.

“But does it have anything to do with the Hunter Fang Panther Demons?” Liu Ru continued.

“Of course it does! The people of Feiniao City are anxious because no one is doing anything about the Hunter Fang Panther Demons, even though they kept attacking. No one is willing to help because of how troublesome it is to deal with the Hunter Fang Panther Demons. If we can take them out, wouldn’t it immediately make us famous in Feiniao City? Our reputation will quickly spread among the people…” Mu Linsheng said.

“Why didn’t you just say we just have to eliminate the Hunter Fang Panther Demons!?” Liu Ru sighed, clapping her forehead.

“You make it sound so easy. The Hunter Fang Panther Demons is a species that lives in packs. Why do you think the other factions aren’t using it as a chance to make a name for themselves? Isn’t it obvious how difficult it would be to eliminate them? If we simply send Mages to deal with them, many people would die instead!” Mu Linsheng replied.

“It’s just a bunch of panthers, there isn’t too much to worry about. I’ll go right to their den tomorrow and see if they dare to come close to the outskirts of the city again!” Liu Ru said.

Mo Fan happened to walk in with Yu Shishi when they were discussing the matter.

Liu Ru quickly went up to Mo Fan and told him about their plan to eliminate the Hunter Fang Panther Demons.

“Hunter Fang Panther Demons?” Mo Fan was left speechless. He just came from their territory. If they said it earlier, he would gladly have done the favor instead.

“The horde has been living to the west of Feiniao City for a long time. They have killed many innocent people. We should take them out as soon as possible, considering how close they are to our territory. We are only a mountain apart,” Mu Zhuoyun told him.

He agreed that it was necessary to take the Hunter Fang Panther Demons out as soon as possible, yet it was not an easy job to wipe out an entire horde. The Demon Wolves Horde had brought a bloodbath to Bo City!

“We’ll come up with a plan tomorrow,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Leave it to me!” Mu Linsheng declared.

“I’ll just handle the killing,” Liu Ru added. She immediately realized Mo Fan was right beside her, and suddenly felt like it was inappropriate to say that. She nodded at Mo Fan in embarrassment.

Liu Ru finally noticed the pretty woman standing beside Mo Fan. However, her expression changed when she picked up the woman’s scent. She blurted out, “It was you, the one who was sneaking around!”

Yu Shishi was startled. She had only been observing Liu Ru in the dark, but the girl already knew her scent. As expected of the Blood Tribe, their ability to scent others was utterly impressive.

“The Hunter Fang Panther Demons live in packs, and the females are the dominant ones. There’s a queen leading the horde in the mountain. If you are planning to take the Hunter Fang Panther Demons out, it’s best to get rid of the queen first. Otherwise, those cunning creatures would just withdraw temporarily and wait for their chance to get their revenge,” Yu Shishi did not answer Liu Ru’s question, explaining about the Hunter Fang Panther Demons instead.

“Revenge?”

“Yes, these creatures are vengeful, but they only bully the weak, as they fear the strong. I know you all are strong enough to take the Hunter Fang Panther Demons out, but as soon as they learn how strong you are, they are going to flee into the mountains. It’s unlikely that you can search every mountain to hunt and kill them all. It will take years to do so… they will just wait until you leave and lay low for a while, before taking revenge by ambushing the towns in the outskirts and killing more people. You won’t have enough people to protect the border, not to mention there are lots of people that will have to put themselves in danger,” Yu Shishi went on.

Mo Fan looked at Yu Shishi and asked curiously, “You sound like you’re familiar with the Hunter Fang Panther Demons?”

“It’s my talent,” Yu Shishi replied. The moths were not the only creatures she could relate to. She could understand the traits of demon creatures, too. She had already learned the habits and traits of the Hunter Fang Panther Demons when she was demonstrating her ability to Mo Fan in the mountains.

Mu Ningxue had decided to eliminate the Hunter Fang Panther Demons. It was the right decision to make, but it was extremely difficult to do. It would only result in more trouble if they failed to kill the leader of the Hunter Fang Panther Demons!

“She’s right. We have to think twice before taking on an entire horde of demon creatures,” Mu Zhuoyun was once the ruler of a city. He knew being strong was not enough to take out an entire horde. There were many factors they had to take into consideration.

“What plan do you have, then?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’ll help you if you promise to help me,” Yu Shishi replied.

“Forget it then. I’ll deal with the Hunter Fang Panther Demons myself. I can kill as many as they have. It’s not a big deal for me,” Mo Fan said.

“You are too naive. Further northwest is the Silver Skyruler’s Nanling Mountains. Even if you killed the Hunter Fang Panther Demons or drove them away, a huge bunch of White Magic Falcons will take over their territories. The place is rich in the Blue-Golden Berry that can sharpen the claws of the White Magic Falcons after they eat it. The White Magic Falcons are very fond of it… you can kill all the Hunter Fang Panther Demons you wish, but the White Magic Falcons will be next. Of course, you can disregard what I just said if you can handle the horde of White Magic Falcons!” Yu Shishi lobbed right back at him.

“Mo Fan, what is she after?” Mu Ningxue asked. What Yu Shishi said made a lot of sense. They had completely neglected the consequences and possibilities of a bigger problem if they just went and took out a horde of demon creatures.

“I’m just asking for a place to stay, to hide from people that harbor evil intentions against me,” Yu Shishi briefly explained. She was well aware of the situation that the people were in. She added, “If you’re willing to take me in, I’ll help you take care of the demon creatures. I will not let them enter your territory or Feiniao City.”

“Can you really do that?” Mu Zhuoyun found it hard to believe.

Yu Shishi nodded seriously. She looked at Mu Ningxue and said softly, “Can I have a quick chat with you?”

Mu Ningxue was confused, but she agreed to it.

——

Mu Ningxue and Yu Shishi returned not long after. Mo Fan noticed a relieved and pleased look from Yu Shishi.

“Xuexue, did you accept her request? She’s good at tricking people,” Mo Fan inquired.

“Mm, I gave her my promise. She told me everything,” Mu Ningxue said.

“…then why did you still accept her request? She’s definitely not friendly; she holds a grudge against me too, and she tried to kill me,” Mo Fan said.

“But you still brought her here, didn’t you?” Mu Ningxue asked in return.

Mo Fan was left speechless. Indeed, he would not bring her here if he did not trust her.

Was he just pitying Yu Shishi? Or was he seduced by her?

“My master, I’ll keep an eye on her for you. Don’t you worry, her abilities are special. She might play an important role in your new territory.” Bola’s voice suddenly appeared from a dark corner.

Mo Fan glanced around, but did not see where the guy was. He was dumbfounded. Bola was seriously good at hiding himself. He was definitely a qualified watcher in the dark!

As long as Bola was around, if Yu Shishi really tried to do anything stupid, she would suffer an even worse outcome.

Mo Fan was less worried knowing that Bola was around, too.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Dubai Magician Tower, the Sky Meeting Room…

Bright sunlight was shining upon the veil around the room. The gentle sunlight lit up the entire room.

“Chief, I believe not every country is connected by the ocean, so I don’t agree that the Asia Magic Association should take responsibility for it. Doesn’t every country have its own soldiers? I believe it’s none of our concern,” Continent Councilman Su Lu spoke up.

The Sky Meeting Room had always been used by the Asia Magic Association to hold the highest-level meetings. It was where the Councilmen would gather to discuss important matters and agree with the measures to be taken.

“Since Councilman Su Lu chose to disagree with it, we should set aside the project regarding the shoreline too.

“The teeth are exposed to the cold if the lips are gone. I hope everyone understands the situation we are in. The oceans have always been treated as common ground by the countries, yet why are only the countries located along the shoreline like us responsible for protecting the rest of the countries from the threats of the oceans? The sea monsters have always been the greatest threat to us. If Asia or even the Five Continents don’t work together, we will all pay the price eventually!” Chairman Shao Zheng rose to his feet. He was infuriated by the decision to set aside the plan.

“Chairman Shao Zheng, it’s obvious that you just want the United Forces to guard the shoreline on behalf of your country. If your country really thinks the oceans are too dangerous, you can just let other countries take over the oceans. I believe Japan, Korea, India, Singapore, and Philippines are very willing to take over your oceans,” Councilman Su Lu smiled at him.

“What do you mean by that!?” Shao Zheng snapped furiously, glaring at Su Lu.

“It depends on how you’re looking at it. Either way, I strongly disagree with the suggestion. The countries should be looking after their own shorelines. Don’t even try to tell me your ancient Chinese expression of how the teeth will be exposed when the lips are gone. This is the Asia Magic Association…” Su Lu said.

“Su Lu, we are having a meeting here. If I hear you making insinuations on purpose again, I won’t go easy on you!” Shao Zheng said to Su Lu.

“Shao Zheng, Su Lu is just joking about it. Don’t take it too seriously.”

“Humph, joking about a country’s territory? It’s fine if other people said it, but he’s a Continent Councilman. I will not tolerate it, even if you all can!” Shao Zheng snapped.

“HAHAHA, it turns out not every Chinese is timid and weak! At least I can see an unyielding spirit from you still. I apologize for what I said,” Su Lu suddenly burst out laughing and bowed slightly to apologize.

“Take your insincere apology back. Don’t think I’ll ignore what you said just because you’re pretending to be modest here. Not every Chinese is timid and weak? I seriously don’t understand why you would say that after what happened during the World College Tournament!” Shao Zheng rebuked with a chilling laugh.

China had come in first in the World College Tournament. It clearly showed how talented the younger generation in China was.

The rest of the countries in Asia had failed to achieve results worth mentioning. Shao Zheng was well aware of who was pulling the strings behind the scenes. He also knew why the plan had failed!

“It’s within our territories, so we will surely do our best to defend them. However, for those that rejected the plan, if someday your country is facing the same problem and is asking for our help, please remember the attitude you’ve shown us today…” Shao Zheng stood up and headed for the door.

He had no reason to stay any further, since the Asia Magic Association was unwilling to help.

——

The meeting soon came to an end. Su Lu walked to the glass-covered corridor outside the room. The corridor extended beyond the tower. It felt like one could touch the blue sky when standing in it.

He lit up a cigarette and took a huge puff. He exhaled deeply, facing the blue sky and grinned.

“Councilman, there’s an update from the Donghai Magic Association. They have failed to acquire the target; someone intervened,” A woman wearing heels over fifteen centimeters tall came over. She stood a certain distance away from Councilman Su Lu while speaking.

“The Donghai Magic Association might be taking orders from us, but they are still a bunch of Chinese. It’s not surprising how useless they are,” Su Lu replied.

“Should we ask them to withdraw then?” the assistant asked.

“No, I’m in quite a good mood today. I’ll give them another chance… oh, we’ll lend them the hounds. If they fail to return with the clues about the Totem Beast again, I’ll teach them the price they have to pay for being so useless!” Su Lu said.

“You’ve completely fallen out with Chairman Shao Zheng. Will he intervene with the Donghai Magic Association?” the female assistant said.

“He’s more concerned about the shorelines for the time being. As long as I don’t send my pets with my name on them, he won’t bother troubling me,” Su Lu answered.

“Sure, I’ll let the Donghai Magic Association know right away.”

“Say, can you imagine the expression that Shao Zheng will have when I ride their Totem Beast to a meeting?”

1 “I bet he will feel very ashamed!”

“HAHAHA, he’s the kind of person that will go mad when it’s something related to the dignity of their country. Ask the people of the Research Union to pick up the pace. I’ll personally reward them if they manage to find the Totem Beast. I believe it will motivate them to do their best,” Su Lu said.

“There’s something you should know too,” the female assistant said.

“What is it?”

“The Parthenon Temple has decided to take back the herb mountains that were contracted to you before, even when we tried to offer more for them,” the assistant said. “It seems like they have noticed something fishy about the herb mountains…” she added.

He sighed. “Our relationship with the Parthenon Temple has worsened since the deaths of Saint Andi and Mellaura. Contact Izisha on my behalf. She’s an old friend of mine. I believe she can restore the mountains to us.”

—

—

The cold breeze from the ocean blew along the valley of the Shuangyang Mountain. It was biting cold when it eventually reached the Yueyang Valley.

Mu Ningxue purposely hired someone to set up a magic formation to block the wind so the place would not be as cold.

Fanxue Mountain was established at an impressive pace. It was not too difficult to build a town with Lin Junxian’s help.

Mu Ningxue had agreed to take Yu Shishi in. The woman had taken care of the Hunter Fang Panther Demons as she had promised.

As a matter of fact, Yu Shishi was not helping Mu Ningxue sincerely. She just wanted a safe place to stay while using Mo Fan, whom she had a grudge against, as her shield.

Yu Shishi claimed her own territory on Feiyue Mountain, close to the territory of the Hunter Fang Panther Demons.

Yu Shishi had to live in a city. Similar to the Blood Tribe, she was more like a human than a demon creature, yet she could not just abandon her moths. She had to provide them with a safe environment. As such, she needed a place for herself and her moths.

Yu Shishi and her moths were staying on Feiyue Mountain, the mountain that served as a natural barrier to the west of Fanxue Town.

The mountain served as a line of defense for the town. They did not even need to build watchtowers since the moths were living on it. The moths had become an impenetrable line of defense for Fanxue Town.

The moths had remarkable senses. They were extremely sensitive toward any potential danger. As soon as a demon creature entered their territory, they would immediately alert the people of the town. In the meantime, some moths would trail the demon creatures, allowing the people of Fanxue Mountain to hunt them down with ease!

The safety measures were more effective than having an entire army guarding the perimeter. As long as Yu Shishi was not thinking of betraying them, Mo Fan realized how useful the woman could be to them.

She told Mo Fan that if her moths could recover to the scale they used to be in Tongxiang, the moths could easily protect the whole town.

“If you promise the people of Fanxue Mountain won’t hurt them, they will provide you with the best defense you could ever hope for. Once I train the battle moths too, your Mages won’t even need to worry about the demon creatures. These battle moths will take all the intruders out on their own,” Yu Shishi said confidently.

“That’s the reason why you’re here, right?” Mo Fan finally realized why Yu Shishi had chosen Mu Ningxue.

A new territory was desperately in need of protection around its perimeter, and Yu Shishi was perfect for that. Yu Shishi could also ask Mu Ningxue for a place where her moths would no longer be rejected!

“As long as they don’t harm the people and can actually protect the town, I will give you my word that I will make a rule of forbidding people from hurting the moths. The Disciplinary Mages will make sure everyone is obeying it,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Don’t worry, these moths actually feed on plants, the kind that can be planted easily on the mountain,” Yu Shishi replied.

The Blue-Golden Berries were perfect for the moths. Yu Shishi had discovered how suitable the mountain was when she came to observe Liu Ru the first time. It was also the main reason why she had asked Mo Fan for help.

Mu Ningxue was planning to establish her clan here, which meant she had also found a new habitat. It consisted of a city, woods, and she could also enjoy the pleasant view of the sea as she pleased, too…

Perhaps starting over was not as bad as she first thought. It would have been perfect if she did not have to see Mo Fan’s detestable face!

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Come with me to the mountain, I need your help to burn the weeds,” Yu Shishi told Mo Fan.

“Are you kidding me? I’m not your servant. Burning the mountain and fertilizing the soil aren’t my job!” Mo Fan was left speechless. Was the woman seriously asking him to do every kind of favor for her?

Did she think she could do as she pleased after convincing Mu Ningxue to take her in? Mo Fan could not care less about her!

“Don’t you want to know my secret? Didn’t I promise to tell you?” Yu Shishi said.

“Only you can hold on to the fragrance. What’s the point if we can’t mass produce it? Just focus on raising your moths, and find someone else to burn the mountain for you,” Mo Fan replied.

The unique fragrance that Yu Shishi had was surprisingly effective, yet it was some ability that only belonged to her, like a natural talent.

It was impossible to replicate natural talent. Otherwise, the Magic Association would have tried to replicate his Double Innate Elements. Wouldn’t that simply double the strength of all Mages?

Mo Fan did not hold a grudge against Yu Shishi. Instead, he was hoping that she could help protect Fanxue Mountain.

—

Yu Shishi was afraid of fire, but Feiyue Mountain was full of Moss-skinned Weeds that ordinary fire could not burn down. The weeds covering the mountain had claimed most of the nutrients in the soil. If they were not taken care of, it was unlikely she could plant the Blue-Golden Berries.

Burning the weeds would also return the nutrients to the soil!

Yu Shishi went ahead and called a number. As she expected, the unwilling Mo Fan obediently showed up to be her ‘gardener’. Yu Shishi was amused when she saw how reluctant and displeased he was.

“It turns out there’s still someone that can order you around in this world,” Yu Shishi said.

“You shouldn’t disturb Mu Ningxue unless it’s urgent. She’s very busy!” Mo Fan snapped.

“You killed so many of my moths. I’m not asking much at all, I just need your help for some labor. That way, I might forgive you slowly,” Yu Shishi said.

1 “That doesn’t make much sense. You do realize that it was me that spared your life!” Mo Fan retorted.

—

Mo Fan soon noticed the weeds that Yu Shishi had mentioned when they arrived at the mountain. Even plants had different levels. These weeds were obviously some higher-level species, meaning that ordinary fire was not as effective against them.

“I’ll start burning the weeds here to the north,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was very good at controlling his flames. He could precisely target the weeds without endangering other plants. It was the main reason Yu Shishi was eager to ask him for help. The work required a reasonable amount of skill, and she needed to find someone reliable.

Yu Shishi found herself a resting spot. She glanced down at Yueyang Land from the mountain and discovered that the town was starting to take shape. She believed she would be seeing rows of spectacular buildings in no time…

Roads were being constructed too. They had invested a lot of money in the roads, so it was most likely going to be a slow and huge project.

They needed time to build the harbor and the canal in the valley, too.

For some reason, Yu Shishi felt calmer seeing the town slowly developing. She was surprised to be looking forward to it, too…

Flames were surging to the north of the mountain. They were like the bright clouds at sunset. The flames soon spread across the mountain.

The fire immediately dyed the sky red, but it did not produce any smoke. The flames surged across the mountain like agile dragons and rapidly burned the weeds into ashes. Heat waves kept coming from the direction of the flames.

Yu Shishi felt nervous when she saw the flames. The moths around her were uneasy, too.

Yu Shishi tried to stay calm while comforting the moths with a soft voice.

Meanwhile, a huge fire broke out in another direction. It was golden in color. It burned vigorously to the south of where Yu Shishi was. It immediately spread across the mountain when Yu Shishi was still lost in her thoughts!

Yu Shishi turned around and was dumbfounded!

Mo Fan was clearly in the north, yet why was there a fire in the south too!?

Most importantly, the direction that the fire broke out was where her moths were!

Yu Shishi had purposely gathered them to the other side of the mountain as she knew they were vulnerable to Mo Fan’s fire. However, the place was currently devoured by the golden fire. The sight of it was nothing but a nightmare to Yu Shishi!

—

Mo Fan also saw the golden fire burning on the mountain.

He was initially confused about why Yu Shishi would want to waste his time if she had already asked someone else to help her.

However, he quickly realized something was wrong after a second thought.

He quickly headed over to where Yu Shishi was, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. He caught a glimpse of a pair of wings flying in the direction the golden fire was soaring into the sky.

“What…what’s going on?” Mo Fan had no idea what happened. He quickly Summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and headed in the same direction.

—

The golden flames were incredibly strong. The moths that were less energetic in the day had no chance of escaping from them when they realized they were in danger. Their wings were swiftly burned into ashes in the fire, and their bodies fell to the scorching ground. Even though they could last for a moment, it was impossible to go anywhere without their wings.

Huge groups of moths fell to the ground and stacked up in piles. The moths that lost their wings soon turned into dried remains in the golden fire.

The moths on the mountain were the remaining moths that Yu Shishi had brought with her from Tongxiang. They had suffered a great loss in numbers from Mo Fan’s fire, and now they were on the verge of being wiped out by the golden flames. The merciless golden fire did not even leave them a chance to cry out in agony. They tried their best to clump together, trying their best to preserve the remaining few of them.

“I hate these things the most. Bugs with wings, how disgusting,” A man in a golden robe stood in the fire at the top of the mountain. He had a disgusted look.

“Err…we’re just trying to lure the moth woman out. I believe we’re currently in someone’s private land, we shouldn’t be making a huge fuss,” the committee member of the Research Union, Ke Lingxi, said.

Ke Lingxi was from the Donghai Magic Association. He was well aware that Mu Ningxue had secured the land as her private property. The government and the Magic Association had strictly forbidden Mages from using destructive spells at the Advanced Level or above in cities or private lands.

Zeng Guanglie burning the entire mountain was clearly inappropriate!

“I’m not even scared of the renowned clans, why would I worry about a little clan that was recently established? I just want to get things done as soon as possible. Don’t you forget, if we mess this up, Mr. Su Lu is going to be very mad at us! Once that happens, it won’t be as easy as burning a mountain!” Zeng Guanglie said.

Zeng Guanglie continued to spread his golden flames wildly across the mountain. The flames started spreading to the hills nearby!

“I seriously don’t understand how you’re a member of the Research Union. The Donghai Magic Association is taking orders from the Asia Magic Association. Why do you even care what the others think, apart from the Donghai Magic Association? It’s a direct order from Mr. Su Lu, you’re worrying too much! We will take out their entire clan if necessary, let alone burning the mountain of a private land!” Zeng Guanglie snapped.

1 “We didn’t know Mr. Su Lu was in charge of it,” Ke Lingxi said humbly.

Ke Lingxi had accidentally stumbled into traces of a Totem Beast. He quickly reported it to the authorities of the Donghai Magic Association. He never thought they would bring it straight to Councilman Su Lu…

Ke Lingxi was many ranks lower than a Councilman, and never thought he would be taking orders directly from one. No wonder Zeng Guanglie did not treat the local government and the Magic Association seriously. Who dared to stop them after learning that Councilman Su Lu was supporting them?

“Stop it! Stop it right now!” a hoarse voice screamed from the air.

Ke Lingxi, Zeng Guanglie, and their men raised their heads and saw Yu Shishi flying up there with the wings of a moth.

“A moth woman…she really exists!” a member of the Research Union blurted out in astonishment while staring at her.

“Is she the one?” Zeng Guanglie asked with a grin.

“Yes, she’s the one we are after!”

“See how effective is my simple and violent approach? It didn’t take us long to find her,” Zeng Guanglie’s grin widened. His half-squinted eyes were flickering with a hint of cruelty.

Even Ke Lingxi was slightly intimidated after seeing how vicious the man was. He could not help but wonder what other things he might have done under the orders of Councilman Su Lu.

“Moth lady, you’re pretty lucky that you’ve caught our boss’s attention. Do you know how valuable you are to us?” Zeng Guanglie said.

He stomped on the remains of the moths while speaking.

Yu Shishi looked into the golden fire. She almost lost her mind when she saw the piles of moth remains on the ground…

She had finally found a place to settle down. She was finally able to live a carefree life without being disturbed by the others. She had clearly done nothing wrong; why did it end up like this again!?

Seeing the moths that were like her family turning into dried ashes in the fire, Yu Shishi’s face of rolling tears was soon covered in blue veins!

She let out a painful cry as her fangs were exposed!

It was like she was going to eat these men that had brutally killed her moths!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Yu Shishi beat her wings strongly, and a blue poisonous gust quickly circled her and surged across the place. The poisonous wind struck the members of the Magic Association and left them with scratches.

“Watch out, it has a strong hypnotizing effect!” Ke Lingxi immediately warned the others.

As the wind penetrated the skin, the pollen’s hypnotizing effect would enter their blood and spread throughout their bodies.

“Your little trick isn’t going to work against me!” Zeng Guanglie glanced at Yu Shishi coldly. Strange Star Patterns appeared under his feet.

The Star Patterns quickly formed a Cursed Seal, landing on Yu Shishi accurately. The Seal swiftly emitted deadly rays. An enormous demon showed up behind her. It grabbed Yu Shishi’s waist with its claws and held her in place!

“AHHH!!!” The pain from the Demon Torture spread across Yu Shishi’s body. Her mind was tortured by the Curse Spell. The ghastly-looking demon was tearing at Yu Shishi’s soul with its claws.

“Women only know how to behave after feeling some pain. Don’t worry, I will make sure she’s still alive,” Zeng Guanglie controlled the Curse Demon with a wild grin. He seemed to be having fun using the Demon Torture on his target. He was oddly satisfied when he heard the painful cries of beautiful women and saw them struggling in pain!

The demon continued to tear at Yu Shishi’s soul. The woman suddenly looked haggard. She did not expect the Research Union to bring someone so powerful. She had no chance to break free from the spell.

When Zeng Guanglie was still laughing, a giant fiery sword suddenly appeared from the distance. It was approaching the mountain at a crazy pace.

The fiery sword stuck into the mountain at a slanted angle less than ten meters away from Zeng Guanglie, Ke Lingxi, and their men. A strong wave of flames spread into the surroundings from the fiery sword. Ardent flames swiftly devoured the place, forcing Zeng Guanglie, Ke Lingxi, and their men to defend themselves with defensive spells and magic Equipment.

The flames were incredibly strong. They managed to resist the scorching heat, but they failed to resist the enormous force completely.

“Who’s there!?” Zeng Guanglie lifted his gaze angrily and stared at the enormous fiery sword.

The fiery sword stood firmly. Mo Fan was on top of it, engulfed in a different brown fire. As soon as he touched the fiery sword, its flames grew even stronger, knocking Ke Lingxi and the others back even further.

“It’s…it’s him!” Ke Lingxi blurted out, pointing at Mo Fan standing on the sword. He would never forget Mo Fan’s Ardent Sunset.

“Humph, how bold of you to intervene with the Donghai Magic Association’s business. Kid, are you tired of living!?” Zeng Guanglie spat.

“I believe it’s you that’s tired of living. Why don’t you see whose territory you are in? Who gave you the permission to brutally kill the protected species of Fanxue Mountain? Drop to your knees and apologize at once, and pay us a billion to compensate us for the loss. Otherwise, you won’t be leaving Fanxue Mountain today!” Mo Fan demanded.

“A billion to compensate for the loss?” Zeng Guanglie was amused.

The Magic Association had always been high and mighty. They were the ones that normally demanded penalties from the renowned families and clans. No one had ever dared to ask them for money!

“I know you have no intention to pay the money, so I guess I’ll have to beat the crap out of you all!” Mo Fan had freed Yu Shishi from the Demon Torture while he was bullshitting.

The level of the Demon Torture was surprisingly high. A normal Demon Torture would only focus on its target. The Curse would disappear once the target was out of its reach.

However, Mo Fan had triggered a revenge Seal while he was helping Yu Shishi breaking free from the Curse. It meant the person that tried to break the Curse would be targeted by the Curse instead!

The ghastly-looking demon suddenly emitted a terrifying blood-colored light. It had evolved further after the revenge Seal was triggered. Blood-red eyes began to appear on its body, arms, legs, and chest…

“Vengeful Eyes Fiend!” Mo Fan recognized the creature. It was the effect of the tier-three Advanced Curse Spell. Mo Fan subconsciously glanced at the man in a golden robe. He was quite surprised that the man had upgraded his Advanced Spell to the third-tier!

Every tier advancement in the Advanced Level would bring significant changes and improvements to the spell.

Yu Shishi had broken free from the Demon Torture, but Mo Fan had ended up triggering a worse Curse instead.

The fiend covered in red eyes charged at Mo Fan. It thrust claws that were capable of dragging a person’s soul out right at Mo Fan’s chest!

There was no way Mo Fan would let the demon drag his soul out. He quickly rode the waves of fire and moved in the opposite direction.

The Vengeful Eyes Fiend was surprisingly quick. It caught up to Mo Fan in the following second. Terrifying rays burst out of its eyes, targeting Mo Fan’s mind!

Mo Fan had not fought against the demon before. He felt like his Spiritual World was being stabbed by countless needles. He quickly activated the Focus Necklace.

A watery blue light rippled and gently wrapped around him. It gradually erased the effects that the red light was inflicting on his mind.

“Son of a b**ch, have a taste of my lightning!” Mo Fan backed away a little. A dark lightning flickered on his palm.

A stormy cloud appeared in the sky as lightning bolts swiftly gathered toward Mo Fan. They slammed down on the Vengeful Eyes Fiend under Mo Fan’s guidance!

The lightning with a damage multiplier of twelve was very effective against the Curse Demon. The fierce lightning disintegrated the demon’s arms, head, and body.

“What…” Zeng Guanglie was stunned.

The Curse Demon of his tier-three Demon Torture was as strong as a Commander-level creature. How did the kid disintegrate it with a single Lightning Spell?

“Mo Fan, kill them! I’ll do everything you ask me to!” Yu Shishi snapped angrily.

Many of her moths had died in Tongxiang, but after she calmed down, she did believe she had only herself to blame for it. However, she had completely lost it after seeing what happened today. She had a strong urge to kill, she wanted to murder every single one of these assh***es!

“Moth lady, you’re overestimating this kid’s strength. He’s still too weak to take me on!” Zeng Guanglie was not intimidated by Mo Fan’s Sky Lightning Claw. After all, he considered himself one of the strongest Advanced Mages in the world. He would not believe the young man would stand a chance against him!

“Young man, since you’re a Fire Mage too, why don’t you have a piece of my Sky-Flame Funeral!?” Zeng Guanglie lifted two enormous fireballs into the air.

He tossed the golden fireballs into the sky. A burning flower with an overwhelming deadly aura descended from the sky. The flower consisted of a thousand burning petals. As they began to fall from the sky, the suffocating pressure they brought was enough to overwhelm anyone with despair!

The flames resembling burning petals fell rapidly, like a volcano that had been deeply asleep suddenly venting its wrath at the world. Even the mountains nearby were devoured by the golden flames of the petals!

A series of explosions took place. The mountain was soon left with holes with fires burning everywhere.

Mo Fan had no chance of dodging the spell. He quickly dragged Yu Shishi to him and unleashed his two Soul-grade Fires, trying to block the golden flames from breaking through.

Even so, Mo Fan could still feel the incredible heat of the golden flames. The man was using the tier-three Sky-Flame Funeral. The spell was terrifyingly strong; even Mo Fan was barely holding his ground with his Fire Resistance!

The burning petals kept falling onto Mo Fan, resulting in continuous explosions that were followed by Zeng Guanglie’s wild laughter.

“I, Zeng Guanglie, ain’t someone a kid from the poor countryside like you can measure yourself against!” Zeng Guanglie proclaimed arrogantly. He continued to toss fireballs into the sky to summon more burning petals.

The flames were already around thirty meters high, yet Zeng Guanglie showed no sign of stopping. He could tell that the kid was using Soul-grade Fires too. He would have a hard time taking the kid down if he did not strengthen his attack!

—

—

Fanxue Mountain, someone was screaming about the fire.

Mu Ningxue glanced at Feiyue Mountain in the distance.

“It’s nothing to be worried about. It must be Mo Fan burning those annoying weeds. Let’s get back to work,” Mu Zhuoyun said.

Mu Zhuoyun was aware of the call from Yu Shishi, asking to borrow Mo Fan to burn the weeds on the mountain, thus they did not seem too bothered by it.

“That’s not Mo Fan’s fire,” Mu Ningxue frowned.

Mo Fan’s Rose Flame, Calamity Fire, and the Ardent Sunset that he had recently acquired were not golden. Judging from the shape of the fire burning in the sky, it was the tier-three Advanced Fire Spell!

Mo Fan had only reached tier-two not long ago, and the color of the fire was different…

It was not Mo Fan’s fire!

“Something’s wrong, I’ll go check it out!” Mu Ningxue immediately summoned a gust of wind as soon as she realized something was off.

The white wind circled her and quickly turned into wings on her back. The wings beat and launched her into the sky. Mu Ningxue soared into the sky like a wind fairy and headed into the direction of Feiyue Mountain.

“Six wings…” Mu Linsheng stared at Mu Ningxue’s departing figure in astonishment. He blurted out in disbelief, “Isn’t Ice her primary Element? How is her Wind Element so strong too?!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The golden flames burned fiercely. Yu Shishi was under Mo Fan’s protection amid the sea of flames, but even when Mo Fan and his outstanding Fire Resistance was separating her and the flames, she could still sense how deadly and unstoppable the flames were.

The golden flames were very aggressive. They kept lunging at any living thing nearby like starving beasts.

“Are you alright?” Yu Shishi was shocked when she noticed that Mo Fan was defenseless. She could tell that Mo Fan was suffering from the golden flames too.

“I’ll send you out there. Save as many of your moths as you can. I’ll deal with them,” Mo Fan told Yu Shishi.

“How are you going to send me out there? We are surrounded by the flames!” Yu Shishi exclaimed.

“Enough talk, hurry up and save your moths!” Mo Fan was already emitting a silver light.

The silver Stars rapidly formed Star Orbits, which combined into Star Patterns. The seven Star Patterns constructed a silver Star Constellation. Its light encapsulated Yu Shishi, and as its brilliance reached the limit, it teleported Yu Shishi out of the flames.

A second later, Yu Shishi showed up over three hundred meters away. She had escaped the scorching heat of the fire!

Yu Shishi looked at Mo Fan curiously. She never thought Mo Fan would go so far as to protect her. At the same time, she was utterly confused too. Why didn’t he use Blink to move out of the fire too? Why did he have to suffer inside the flames?

The flames continued to spread. Yu Shishi had no time to waste. She quickly flew to the woods and summoned the moths that were still alive to her.

Luckily, she had come just in time. Not every moth had died to the fire. Some of the little moths had managed to escape with the help of the other moths that sacrificed themselves. Yu Shishi was relieved to see them alive.

She took another glance in Mo Fan’s direction. She could not help but worry about Mo Fan’s safety. The Mage that the Research Union had sent was very strong!

—

“Your fire isn’t really that impressive!” Mo Fan stood inside the golden flames, and continued to provoke Zeng Guanglie.

“Kid, you’re asking for it. Don’t blame it on me!” Zeng Guanglie was getting angry. He had been going easy as he did not want to kill anyone, yet the disrespectful young man still dared to mock him!

Zeng Guanglie had long gotten used to being fawned upon and treated with utter respect with his current status and strength. He could not tolerate the slightest disrespect!

“Golden Flames Domain!” Zeng Guanglie yelled. The Fire Magic within a few kilometers swiftly gathered toward him.

The fire burning the woods grew stronger. It was gathering toward Mo Fan like an enraged beast, even though Zeng Guanglie had yet to cast any spell.

—

The golden flames grew bigger. They were like an army of soldiers on horses, unstoppable and completely surrounding Mo Fan.

“That’s more like it!” Mo Fan continued to utter scornful comments.

Mo Fan touched his elbow while he was speaking. A formless hand surrounded Mo Fan as the golden flames lunged at him. Its purple outline was vague under the brilliance of the golden flames. It was almost invisible.

However, the Hand of Silent Thunder had transformed the energy of the flames that made contact with Mo Fan into lightning!

The lightning was as strong as the flames. Mo Fan’s Fire Resistance was already shocking, but his Lightning Resistance was even more astounding!

“Lightning Tyrant Domain!” Mo Fan Summoned his Lightning Domain in response!

Thunder rumbled in the sky as bolts of lightning without a specific target descended upon the woods.

—

The lightning flickered and surged wildly. It took Zeng Guanglie by surprise, but he soon burst out laughing!

“Idiot, your Lightning Domain is useless against my golden flames. Are you seriously thinking that you can put out my fire with your lightning!?” Zeng Guanglie yelled at him.

Zeng Guanglie did not expect that the young man would have a Domain, too! After all, it was already quite surprising that the young man was an Advanced Mage at his age, let alone having a Domain. Zeng Guanglie was laughing because the man might have had a chance against his flames if he had unleashed his Domain at the start of the fight. However, he had already claimed the upper hand, and his flames had spread across the mountain. If the young man did not find a way to put out the flames, it was unlikely that he could use his Lightning!

The young man was too inexperienced. Even though he had a Domain, he had no idea he was supposed to use it to put himself in an advantageous position!

—

The flames pounced at Mo Fan wildly. However, it did not seem like he was fighting back. He simply let his body burn in the fire.

The stronger the fire that was burning him, the stronger the lightning he accumulated. Mo Fan’s Lightning Resistance had improved greatly after the World College Tournament. The damage he was receiving was nothing to him!

—

The Hand of Silent Thunder continued to transform the energy of the flames into the Lightning Element. Zeng Guanglie was agitated after seeing Mo Fan still standing after roasting in the flames for some time. He proceeded to cast Advanced Spells continuously to eliminate him.

To his surprise, Mo Fan remained standing. The lightning flickering around the young man started to make him panic!

“What…what’s going on here? Why isn’t the fire killing him!?” Zeng Guanglie lost his calm. He looked at Mo Fan standing in the golden flames like he was looking at a monster.

“I’ve given you so many changes. It’s your turn to have a taste of my lightning!” Mo Fan chuckled. The lightning danced wildly around him, as if it was awaiting the order of the Lightning Emperor. The imperious aura of the Lightning Tyrant Domain firmly suppressed Zeng Guanglie and Ke Lingxi!

2 Their hearts were pounding before the lightning even came down at them. The people of the Research Union saw an enormous dark lightning claw in the sky. Its brilliant light clearly broadcast great danger. As it loomed over them, it felt like the claw of an enormous beast ready to tear the mountain into pieces!

“Sky Lightning Giant Claw!”

The energy that Mo Fan had absorbed had multiplied the strength of his Lightning. It allowed Mo Fan to unleash the same Sky Lightning Giant Claw that had defeated Zorro instantly during the World College Tournament!

Ke Lingxi, Zeng Guanglie, and their men were pale when they saw the enormous Sky Lightning Claw coming down at them. They could not believe it was from a young man that seemed to only be in his twenties!

-Is that really still an Advanced Spell? Its aura is so strong that it feels like I’m suffocating!-

As soon as the Sky Lightning Claw landed, it immediately crushed Zeng Guanglie’s Fire Domain. The lightning struck him and swiftly penetrated his defense.

Zeng Guanglie and Ke Lingxi had used all their defensive spells and gear, including a huge ocean-blue Shield, a Light Element barrier, three stacking defensive spells, and Armor that could absorb damage…

Their defense was enough to defend them against a series of Advanced Spells, but they did not stand a chance against the fourteen-fold Sky Lightning Giant Claw, not to mention the Lightning Element was already known for its ability to penetrate the defense of magic Equipment!

Ke Lingxi and his men ended up in a miserable state after they were struck by the terrifying lightning claw. One of them was blasted unconscious instantly.

Zeng Guanglie was relatively stronger than the others, so his defense was the best among them, yet his skin still blistered after he was struck by the lightning.

His face was wounded, with blood flowing down. He quickly wiped the blood off and staggered to his feet.

“Damn it, damn it!” Zeng Guanglie yelled furiously. He clenched his teeth and glared at Mo Fan.

A young Mage that came out of nowhere was able to inflict serious damage on him. The defense that he was incredibly proud of could not withstand a single attack!

Who exactly was this young man? How was it possible for him to be so strong?

How was his lightning so powerful? Even if he had the best Lightning Soul-grade Seed in the world, it would only multiply his Lightning six times at most. His defense was supposedly strong enough to resist it; how did he end up being injured so badly?

Zeng Guanglie was unable to use his magic after being struck by the lightning. He was in such pain that it felt like his body was being torn apart.

1 “HAHAHA, Zeng Guanglie, I never thought I would see you fail so miserably one day. It seems like those old folk have been overestimating you. You can’t even take out a young Mage!” a man wearing a shirt with black and red stripes approached from the direction the flames did not cover with a burst of laughter.

The man had been watching the fight all along, hiding behind the woods and the rocks. Neither Mo Fan and Yu Shishi noticed he was there.

The man was holding a huge metal ring, and his hands had some black hoops on them too. He was dressed in a weird way. Most importantly, the hoops on his hands were tied to some dark red chains.

As the man slowly walked forward, two pairs of fierce-looking eyes with green glows appeared from the darkness. As they walked into the light of the flames, they turned out to be two demon hounds covered in cursed runes, and tied to the chains!

The demon hounds were as tall as a three-story building. Their sizes were normal for Commander-level creatures, but their overwhelming auras seemed to originate from the deepest part of Hell, and could easily make a person shiver in fear!

“Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds!”

Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth “Move aside, will you? No wonder Mr. Su Lu never brought you with him. Your capabilities have explained it all. You will be stuck at the Advanced Level for the rest of your life. You will never become a Super Mage.” The man leading the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds laughed sinisterly as he slowly approached the group. The man had a strong baleful aura. Mo Fan could even pick up the scent of the dead from him. The man was clearly human, yet he had a strong presence of the dead. It was either because he had murdered countless people, or he had been experimenting on the dead. It was possible to acquire unimaginable power from the dead. Judging from the rotten smell from the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds, he could easily tell that the man had been feeding the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds human corpses! People like him had done lots of evil acts, yet the Magic Associations could not find any evidence to prove they were refining the living and the dead to become stronger! “This kid isn’t as simple as he seems, Houndman. Don’t you underestimate him,” Zeng Guanglie moved to the side. He was seriously injured, and needed some time to treat his wounds. “Don’t worry, I know him better than you do!” The man referred to as Houndman approached Mo Fan. He inspected Mo Fan and said, “If I’m not mistaken, you must be the strongest participant in the World College Tournament. I really couldn’t think of any other young Mage that might be as strong as him. You must be him, seeing how strong your Fire, Lightning, and Space Elements are.” “Finally someone that isn’t blind. Why don’t you piss off now that you know who I am?” Mo Fan burst out laughing. “Don’t be so full of yourself, the World College Tournament is just a child fight! Coming first simply means you are the strongest among students, but that might not be enough in this complicated society. I at least have a ten to twenty years head start compared to you, and I wasn’t less talented than you at your age. Do you really think you can beat me? I have never lost to an Advanced Mage before now, and I have even fought against Super Mages,” Houndman said proudly. “With the two stupid dogs you have there?” Mo Fan raised his brows. He glanced at the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds tied down by the chains. Mo Fan recognized the creature. After Mu Ningxue complained about how ill-informed he was, he had spent quite some time studying. There was a special group of Mages that had Awakened the Summoning, Curse, and Undead Elements. They could combine the power of the three Elements with some unique method to Summon creatures that were like the order upholders in the Summoned Beast Plane, the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds! The Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds were the order upholders and predators in the Summoned Beast Plane. They were mainly responsible for cleaning up corpses and killing creatures that were disrupting the order of the Summoned Beast Plane. Most creatures targeted by the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds ended up dead. “Don’t you have a powerful Summoned Beast, too? Feel free to bring him out and try. If my Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds really are stupid dogs, I’m interested to see if your Flying Creek Snow Wolf is just a piece of trash!” The man seemed to be quite familiar with Mo Fan. He even knew the name of Mo Fan’s Summoned Beast. Mo Fan summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf without further ado. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was smaller than the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds. In addition to that, Mo Fan could clearly sense the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was intimidated by the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds. The Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds were the last thing that the other creatures in the Summoned Beast Plane wanted to stumble into. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf subconsciously tensed; he naturally felt inferior before the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds. “Do they really have such strong dominance over other creatures?” The reaction of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had proven the information Mo Fan had learned from the books was accurate. “HAHAHA, the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds are the rulers of the Summoned Beast Plane! Even if you summon a pseudo-dragon, it will still be afraid of my Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds, let alone your demon wolf that isn’t that high-level!” Houndman burst out laughing. “I’ve long been waiting a chance to fight these dark red b**ches when I read about the possibility of combining the power of the three Elements. It’s been getting colder recently. I wouldn’t mind eating some dog meat to warm myself up!” Mo Fan knew the Flying Creek Snow Wolf would not be able to help him much. He decisively sent him back to the Summoned Beast Plane. He did not want to put the Flying Creek Snow Wolf in a difficult position after he was suppressed by the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds! “You’re being too overconfident. Go and tear his limbs off!” Houndman ordered. The curse hoops on his wrists emitted an icy light. The chains restraining the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds fell off. Their glowing eyes stared at Mo Fan like spotlights. Their auras had skyrocketed as soon as they were set free. As their overwhelming presence of the underworld surged forward like a gust of wind, Mo Fan subconsciously took a few steps back. The chains were obviously suppressing the strength and wild aura of the two Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds. After gaining their freedom, the two beasts immediately set their eyes on Mo Fan, and pounced at him. They were a lot quicker than Mo Fan’s Flying Creek Snow Wolf. It looked like the two Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds knew how to work together, as they engaged Mo Fan from both directions. The angle of their claws perfectly sealed off Mo Fan’s escape. Their cursed aura could even freeze a weaker being in place. “Eyes of Terror?” “Heart-Tearing Blood Claws?” The creatures had the power of the Curse Element. As such, as they were attacking Mo Fan, one immediately cast Eyes of Terror on Mo Fan to inflict fear on him. Before Mo Fan could recover from it, the Heart-Tearing Blood Claws immediately came to take his life! Mo Fan was shocked. The two creatures were a lot stronger than he had imagined! “Rupture Fists!” Mo Fan’s fists burned wildly. He would have difficulty Casting a complicated spell like Blink under the effects of the Eyes of Terror. Luckily, he was very adept at Casting Intermediate Spells! The burning fists sprang forward and a huge explosion detonated in front of Mo Fan. The damage of the explosion was nowhere enough to wound the two Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds. They ignored the explosion and the flames and continued to press forward. Mo Fan knew it was unlikely he could drive the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds away with the move. He instead propelled himself backward with the force of the explosion, creating more distance between him and the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds! The Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds were incredibly agile. One of them kicked the ground and pounced at Mo Fan after missing its first attack. It was trying to bite Mo Fan with its cursed fangs while Mo Fan was still moving backward in the air! The fangs had a strong odor to them. They were blood-red, as if they were stained with the blood of prey that had just been eaten recently. Mo Fan lifted his gaze and saw the fangs of the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds were only inches away! “Lightning!’ Mo Fan quickly summoned a bolt of lightning. A bolt of dark lightning swiftly descended from the sky, landing right on the face of the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound and knocking its head down slightly, allowing Mo Fan to barely dodge its fangs. “Blink!” Mo Fan decisively used the Space Magic as he temporarily broke free from the effects of the Eyes of Terror. A spell like Blink had a certain channeling time. It was more useful if one could Cast it quicker. Luckily, Mo Fan did not slack when it came to cultivating the Space Element. He soon finished constructing the silver Star Constellation! A roar was came from another direction. The other Dreadful Curse Hell Hound opened its mouth and let out a rotten breath in Mo Fan’s direction. It was like a black light beam directed at Mo Fan’s Star Constellation. At the same time, Mo Fan disappeared into the rift and reappeared at the mountain’s waist, where the trees were already burned into ashes. Not far away, Yu Shishi broke into a frightened sweat. From her perspective, it looked like the corrosive breath had turned Mo Fan into a bunch of silver patches. Luckily, he had managed to teleport away from the danger. It was such a close call! The two Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds had a keen sense of smell. They immediately picked up Mo Fan’s scent as soon as he Blinked away. They spread their muscular legs and dashed towards the mountain’s slopes, pursuing Mo Fan relentlessly. “Lightning Explosion!” As soon as the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds showed up before Mo Fan, a huge lightning explosion took place as if the creatures had walked right into Mo Fan’s trap. Thick lightning bolts danced wildly and knocked the two Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds flying. “That’s not going to hurt them at all!” Houndman laughed mockingly. The two Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds quickly rose to their feet. The dark red runes on their bodies started to glow as countless cursed seals sprang at Mo Fan like black chains, forming a black pattern on the ground Mo Fan was standing on. Mo Fan seemed incredibly tiny standing on the pattern. A Sealing force rose up from the pattern. It was so strong that Mo Fan could not even raise his finger. “Blin…damn it, I’m trapped!” Mo Fan was slightly slower at Casting his spell. The Cursed Prison had bound him to the Cursed pattern, stopping him from using the Space Element. The Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds grinned. They seemed very excited, as they could finally get their hands on their prey. The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound that was moving agilely made its move first. It dashed across the burning woods… “Don’t kill him. Remember what I said, I only want his limbs! It’s necessary to teach the arrogant young Mages a lesson. Otherwise, the young man is going to think he’s unbeatable just because he won the World College Tournament, HAHAHA!” Houndman laughed recklessly. Houndman did not dare kill Mo Fan after realizing who he was. However, he would not mind leaving the young man with a painful experience, considering how arrogant he was!

Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth The temperature dropped rapidly. Half of the fire that was still burning the woods was put out as white snow like feathers of swan fell from the sky. It soon turned the mountain white! “Wind Snow Arrow!” It was difficult to tell if the arrows were made of wind or snow. Either way, a huge rain of arrows suddenly poured down from nowhere at the two Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds. Despite the sturdy flesh of the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds, the fierce wind and snow still forced them to back away. The Wind Snow Arrows landed right in front of Mo Fan, stopping the creatures from attacking the paralyzed Mo Fan. Mo Fan knew it was Mu Ningxue as soon as he saw the falling snow. He raised his head and saw a glamorous woman hovering in the middle of the snow like a fairy. Her unique temperament and her attractive face made her look otherworldly. Mo Fan quickly took hold of the opportunity that Mu Ningxue had bought him to break free from the Seal. He turned to Mu Ningxue and warned her, “These creatures are pretty tough, be careful!” Mu Ningxue nodded. She beat the six white Wind Wings on her back and slowly landed beside him. Houndman squinted and took a closer look at the beautiful woman. He soon regained a flippant grin and remarked, “A beauty, just like the rumors mentioned. I’m quite honored to stumble into two of the strongest students of the national team. This is starting to get interesting!” Houndman had clearly recognized Mu Ningxue too. He did not seem to be worried about Mo Fan having a helper with him. His expression remained disdainful. Mu Ningxue never liked to waste her time bullshitting with people. The fact that the place was destroyed beyond recognition was enough to show the man was not friendly. “I’ll deal with this one, you handle the other,” Mo Fan told Mu Ningxue. The Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds were remarkably strong. Mo Fan was having trouble fighting them on his own. The creatures were indeed tricky to deal with. It explained why they were called the strongest Summoned Beasts. Mo Fan understood that it was not the time to act tough. They had to take the enemy out as quickly as possible. Mu Ningxue nodded. She murmured softly. A brief moment later, ice chains quickly appeared and surrounded her completely. She was now able to control a few dozen ice chains simultaneously. The muscular Dreadful Curse Hell Hound unleashed its strong murderous aura, as if it had decided on its opponent too. It pressed forward quickly, trying to limit Mu Ningxue’s range of movement. Mu Ningxue was incredibly fast, using the six Wind Wings to slide along the ground. The frost circling her would lunge at any threat nearby and freeze the enemy’s limbs and body without her needing to control it. The rotting murderous aura of the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound did help the creature resist the frost. It sprang forward and swung its claws fiercely. A few bloody slashes swept past, leaving astonishing gashes in the ground… Mu Ningxue backed away to the mountain waist. She spread her Wind Wings and glided nimbly in the air. The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound went down on its lower limbs. With a powerful kick, it sprang at Mu Ningxue at a crazy speed, planning to intercept her. “Icebound Coffin!” Mu Ningxue completed an Ice Constellation. An Icebound Coffin huge enough to crush the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound fell from the sky and pressed the creature down to the ground. The rotting aura spread rapidly. It was unlikely that the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound would be frozen so easily. As soon as its aura shattered the ice, the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound lifted its gaze as if it was about to unleash its breath on Mu Ningxue. Mu Ningxue reacted swiftly, moving her fingers as if she was pulling some strings. They controlled the ice chains that she had long set up across the place, and they accurately wrapped around the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound’s mouth like a rope. Its breath was stuck right in its throat, and it had no choice but to swallow it back! It was obvious that the creature was not feeling great after swallowing the energy down. However, it was not the thing that worried the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound the most, as the remaining ice chains quickly wrapped around its head, neck, legs, and body. Their pointy tips stabbed the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound before nailing it deeply into the rocks with the other ends, making it extremely difficult for the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound to move around! “Xuexue, let me finish it!” Mo Fan suddenly yelled. Mu Ningxue turned around and saw Mo Fan, who was supposedly fighting the other Dreadful Curse Hell Hound, had surprisingly fled from the battle. He was targeting the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound that she had managed to suppress. The agile Dreadful Curse Hell Hound was completely taken by surprise when it saw Mo Fan suddenly run to its other comrade. It was supposed to be a one-on-one battle, but the man shamelessly turned to attack its comrade instead! Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan had fought their way through the World College Tournament. Their synergy was definitely on point. Mu Ningxue’s magic was good at suppressing and controlling the enemy, yet in terms of destruction, Mo Fan’s magic was clearly stronger. She would focus on restricting the movements of their targets while Mo Fan would deal the finishing blow. It was the most common tactic they had used against the Commander-level creatures they had fought against! Mo Fan quickly moved toward the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound suppressed by the ice chains. Mu Ningxue also summoned an ice dune in no time to stop the other Dreadful Curse Hell Hound from intervening. Mo Fan arrived in front of the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound that was bound to the ground. He leapt into the air and turned himself into a dark bolt of lightning, slamming right into the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound! Mo Fan’s reckless attack left a scorched hole on the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound’s back. He ignored the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound’s cry of agony and threw a Meteorite Fist right into the hole that he had just inflicted! The force of the punch smashed the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound to the ground. Its blistered back was covered in blood after the explosion. “Little Flame Belle, Possess!” Mo Fan was not done yet. He placed his hand on his chest. The flames of the Ardent Sunset and Fire Calamity erupted and swiftly engulfed him in like armor. “Sky-Flame Nine Palaces!” Mo Fan threw a few punches fiercely. Nine thick pillars of lava fell from the sky and slammed right onto the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound that was still lying on the ground! The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound could not even get back to its feet. It was knocked into a pit over ten meters deep!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The flames of the Sky-Flame Nine Palaces rose into the sky and formed a burning mountain spitting out countless fireballs. The Ardent Sunset flaunted how unstoppable its flames were. The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound’s body blistered in the scorching heat as the flames continued to burn through its body parts!

The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound cried out in agony. Not only was it struggling to fight back under Mo Fan’s fierce attacks, it could not dodge them, as it was bound to the ground by Mu Ningxue’s Ice Lock Formation!

After a series of explosions, the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound finally managed to break free from the ice chains. It immediately fled and hid behind its companion.

It had lost its initial imposing bearing. It was intimidated by Mo Fan’s flames!

“Humph, I’ll break all your fangs next time!” Mo Fan promised the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound.

Little Flame Belle was remarkably stronger after she was brought back to life, almost as strong as a Dreadful Curse Hell Hound on her own. However, when she merged with Mo Fan, it was like two swords combining into one. Their attacks were powerful enough to inflict serious damage on the creature described as the strongest Summoned Beast.

Houndman was completely dumbfounded after witnessing Mo Fan’s strength while he was Possessed by Little Flame Belle. He knew better than anyone how sturdy his Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds were. Most Advanced Spells could not leave a single scratch on the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds! He never thought the young man’s Fire would be so terrifying!

More importantly, Houndman was greatly annoyed by the teamwork between Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. Considering how agile the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds were, it was very unlikely Mo Fan could directly land his attacks on them. It turned out that he had underestimated Mu Ningxue’s capabilities, too!

“One left!” Mo Fan shifted his attention to the other Dreadful Curse Hell Hound. This creature was a lot quicker than the other one. If it had not been not blocked off by Mu Ningxue’s ice dune, Mo Fan would not have had such a perfect chance to land his attacks on the first Dreadful Curse Hell Hound. It definitely felt great landing all his punches on the creature!

“Nyx Regime!” Mo Fan was well aware of how agile the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound was. He decisively Summoned the darkness.

Blackness loomed over the area. However, the eyes of the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound were surprisingly sharper in the darkness.

Mo Fan frowned. It seemed like the Nyx Regime was not that effective against the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound, let alone the Giant Shadow Spikes.

He soon gave up the plan of trying to seal the creature’s movement with his Shadow Element. However, Mo Fan could still abuse the Nyx Regime to keep the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound busy with his Fleeing Shadow, buying time for Mu Ningxue to prepare her Ice Spells!

The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound moved and attacked swiftly. It was able to change direction almost instantly after missing its attacks. However, Mo Fan continued to abuse his two powerful movement spells. He first used shadow clones to confuse and distract the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound, then managed to trick the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound into wasting its attacks on a shadow puppet.

Mo Fan used Blink to quickly back away from the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound after he successfully infuriated it. Soon enough, Mu Ningxue was done preparing her Ice Spell. The temperature began to drop rapidly as white frost covered the mountain.

The freezing Ice Spread spread rapidly across the place. The ice chased rapidly after the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound, regardless of which direction it was running!

The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound was forced into a corner. It began to unleash its rotting aura recklessly to drive away the ice. However, Mu Ningxue’s Ice Element was very powerful, and even the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound could not bear it. Its limbs were soon frozen while ice was creeping up its body from the ground!

The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound was unwilling to admit defeat. It tried its best to break the ice slowly covering its body. Shards of ice scattered in the air.

“Gravity Space!”

Mo Fan summoned a silver Star Pattern at the perfect time. The rhomboid Space Rhythm bore down on the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound. The creature was struggling even harder to get rid of the ice, as if countless iron balls were tying it down.

The creature was constantly injured by the frost and the gravitational force pressing down on it. Half of its body was eventually covered in a thick layer of ice. The struggling creature eventually grew still!

Houndman realized that the situation was unfavorable to him. He immediately cast the Summoning Spell to forcibly withdraw the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound back into the Summoning Plane.

He would have trouble withdrawing the creature if he was slightly slower. Even so, it was unlikely he could Summon the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound back out to fight again!

“Humph, I wasn’t well-prepared today. I’ll come again next time! By then, you will hand over the moth woman obediently, or I assure you that your Fanxue Mountain is going to suffer for it!” Houndman harrumphed coldly with a smug look.

“So, you’re about to flee by tugging your tail between your legs, why must you sound like you’re proud of it? Besides, do you really think Fanxue Mountain is a place where you can come and go as you wish? I’ll make sure to make it an unforgettable experience for you!” Mo Fan laughed in his face.

Mo Fan saw Houndman Channeling his magic to withdraw the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound that was injured first. In response, Mo Fan quickly reacted and dragged the injured Dreadful Curse Hell Hound back out from the lunar-white gap with his Illusionary Claw. He did not allow the creature to escape back into the Summoned Beast Plane!

“What are you doing!?” Houndman’s expression faltered at the sight.

“Didn’t you ask them to tear off my limbs? I believe it’s fine if I kill one of these b**ches in return!” Mo Fan forcibly dragged the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound over to him.

Mu Ningxue had the same thought as Mo Fan. She knew Houndman would try his best to intervene. She quickly Summoned a strong gust of wind, sweeping it in Houndman’s direction.

The wind gradually turned into a tornado, spiraling like a dragon. It almost tossed Houndman, Zeng Guanglie, and their men into the sky. The Wind Spell flatly proved that Mu Ningxue’s cultivation was no weaker than an experienced Mage like Zeng Guanglie’s. Both Houndman and Zeng Guanglie were astounded by how strong the wind was!

“Lightning Tyrant Domain!”

“Ardent Sunset Domain!”

Mo Fan unleashed both his Domains. The strong fire and wild lightning clashed into one another, forming a terrifying destructive aura. The whole mountain began to tremble!

A huge lightning claw came shrieking down, and landed on the injured Dreadful Curse Hell Hound.

The dark lightning claw tore at the creature hard, leaving deep wounds on it. The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound’s vitality was quite surprising; any other ordinary Commander-level creature would have turned into ashes scattering in the air after receiving Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist. Meanwhile, the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound was still breathing after enduring the Sky Lightning Claw with its twelvefold damage.

However, the Sky Lightning Claw was not the end of Mo Fan’s attacks. The Hellish Flames combined with the flames of the Calamity Fire, the Ardent Sunset, and the Rose Flame was the real deal. Burning meteorites plummeted from the sky, and destroyed the remaining life force of the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound before the effects of the Sky Lightning Claw disappeared!

The people saw the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound get smashed into pieces amid the flames. Its head was crushed while its body was burned into ashes. Its blood evaporated in the overwhelming heat.

The flames continued to spread wildly, forcing Zeng Guanglie, Houndman, and the others to back away.

Houndman’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets. He was bound to the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds with a soul contract. The death of the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound created in a strong backlash against him. His face contorted and twisted in pain and rage!

1 “You…you dared to kill my Summoned Beast!” Houndman yelled like an enraged beast.

“You can Summon the other one again. I wouldn’t mind killing it too!” Mo Fan shot back.

Mo Fan seriously had no idea why the man had such a strong ego. Mo Fan never showed any mercy to people like him…

“Houndman, we’ve underestimated them. We should leave and come back again once we recover from our injuries. The kid isn’t going to run away, and we won’t have any trouble tracking down the moth woman with the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound’s help…” Zeng Guanglie quickly advised. He knew they had messed up this time.

They were in the wrong, as they had trespassed into a private land. If they ended up being caught and handed to the Enforcement Union, their superior would have to bust them out.

Councilman Su Lu despised people that were useless to him. They could not afford to let him know what had happened. They must retreat for now and find a way to get their revenge and accomplish their mission!

“Let’s go!” Houndman’s face was twitching in pain and anger. It had been a long time since he felt so humiliated.

Both he and Zeng Guanglie were supposed to be elites of the Advanced Level, yet they had lost to two students from the national team. If their defeat was made public, they would be too ashamed to show their faces again. They had to get revenge at all costs!

“Come, time to leave!” Ke Lingxi did not even have the courage to speak. Both Zeng Guanglie and Houndman were stronger than him, yet they were still no match for the two young Mages.

These two students that helped the national team win the World College Tournament were indeed monsters. He had seen many graduates of magic institutions working as interns at the Research Union. They were mostly ordered around like servants by older Mages like him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

{ TL Note: If you’re interested in what the actual reference of the creature is, it’s the Chinese moon moth with the scientific name Actias Ningpoana.}

“Who were these people?” Mu Ningxue asked.

The moths that survived finally had a chance to catch their breath after Mu Ningxue put out the fire. Mu Ningxue observed the dried remains of the moths scattered across the mountain. She could not understand why the group of people would do such a cruel act to Yu Shishi.

“They are from the Research Union. They have been stalking Yu Shishi for some time. They want to use her for their experiments,” Mo Fan answered.

“How bad is the situation?” Mu Ningxue observed her surroundings.

“Not great. Many moths have died, but some still managed to survive. Let’s check on her,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue went up to Yu Shishi and saw her cautiously holding the youngest moths in her arms. She was comforting the little creatures in a soft voice. It seemed the little moths that had survived were greatly scared by the flames!

Yu Shishi turned around and saw Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan. She forced a pitiful smile and said, “Is it true that someone like me doesn’t deserve to live peacefully in this world?”

“Don’t you say that. You’re welcome to stay here, but I believe you haven’t told us everything about you. Are you sure they are the people of the Research Union?” Mu Ningxue asked calmly.

The Research Union was still under the Magic Association, but the behavior of Zeng Guanglie and Houndman clearly did not represent the Magic Association. It was likely that someone else was after Yu Shishi!

“I…” Yu Shishi looked away. She was clearly hiding something.

“We won’t force you if you don’t feel like telling us your secret, but if you are serious about staying here and want us to protect you and your moths, you should at least tell us the reason why they are so eager to get their hands on you, so we can think of a way to get rid of them,” Mu Ningxue stated firmly.

Yu Shishi remained silent for some time. She glanced around the woods, now burned beyond recognition.

She let out a heavy sigh and said, “I’m afraid they are after a Totem Beast.”

“A Totem Beast!” Mo Fan was startled.

They were after a Totem Beast?!

A Totem Beast was incredibly powerful. If they could find traces of one’s whereabouts from some ancient ruins and utilize it, they would be invincible!

The safety that the Black Totem Snake provided Hangzhou was remarkable.

It turned out that there were still people looking for Totem Beasts out there , but did they really exist?

“What Totem Beast is it?” Mo Fan asked.

“The Moon Moth Phoenix!” Yu Shishi said.

—

“I hope you’ll keep everything I’m about to tell you a secret at all costs, as it might bring danger to the Moon Moth Phoenix. The Totem Beasts are powerful, but they are extremely vulnerable in this era too. Compared to other demon creatures that continue to reproduce and evolve, the Totem Beasts are easier to kill off due to man-made disasters,” Yu Shishi began earnestly while sitting on a boulder.

“I’ve heard a thing or two about the Moon Moth Phoenix. I remember that it was the Totem Beast of the Yueli Tribe to the south of Huang He (the Yellow River). It used to rule over the south of Huang He in the past, a well-developed human tribe, but I heard they were defeated and annexed by a stronger tribe. Its Totem Beast, the Moon Moth Phoenix went missing, too. Rumors say the Moon Moth Phoenix was the descendant of the most authoritative Totem Beast in history…” Mo Fan quickly explained what he knew about the Moon Moth Phoenix.

Professor Shi had told Mo Fan a lot of information about the Totem Beasts. Among the stories was information about the Moon Moth Phoenix, so he recognized it when Yu Shishi mentioned its name.

Yu Shishi never expected Mo Fan to know about the Moon Moth Phoenix. She added, “The Moon Moth Phoenix is hibernating most of the time. As its life approaches the end, it will turn into a cocoon and be reborn after a prolonged period to refresh its lifespan.”

“So you’re implying the Moon Moth Phoenix is currently in its cocoon phase, and you know where it is?” Mo Fan said.

Yu Shishi nodded. It was the Moon Moth Phoenix that had granted her the unique scent. The people of the Research Union must have noticed traces of the Moon Moth Phoenix after observing her. They were after the Moon Moth Phoenix, not her.

“I won’t tell anyone where the Moon Moth Phoenix is,” Yu Shishi said firmly.

“How did you become a moth woman?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“I was gravely ill when I was young. My family gave up on me, and abandoned me in a forest. I knew I won’t be able to live for long, so I kept wandering aimlessly. I ended up fainting on some warm moist grass… I thought I was dead when I was wrapped up inside a white thing that I thought was a coffin, but I later realized it was actually a cocoon. I was inside it asleep for many years. When the cocoon broke apart, I was reborn like the Moon Moth Phoenix. I was no longer sick, nor was my body weak, but I suddenly had wings and fangs. My body is no longer human, apart from my appearance,” Yu Shishi explained.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue finally understood why Yu Shishi was trying so hard to protect the moths. It was the moths that had saved her when she had lost all hope. It was the moths that cured her and granted her power.

The moths had saved her, while her family had abandoned her. The great contrast further convinced her that the moths were more like family to her. She was willing to risk everything just to protect the moths!

“Is the Moon Moth Phoenix really still alive?” Mo Fan asked.

Yu Shishi nodded and said, “The Moon Moth Phoenix isn’t the only Totem Beast that’s still alive. Humans no longer need the Totem Beasts, so they have been living deep in the mountains and forests. They have turned untamed and wild. Some died and are lost to history. Some are deeply asleep and have no intention to wake up no matter what happens. The Moon Moth Phoenix belongs to the past. She only wants to live peacefully and observe the changes in the world until her death. I don’t understand why those people keep trying to hunt her down. Are they thinking of taming her so she would fight for them like their Summoned Beast? There’s no way the Moon Moth Phoenix would be enslaved by them!”

“Humans were more like slaves to the Totem Beasts in the past…” Mo Fan explained calmly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“If they are here for the Totem Beast, they won’t give up so easily,” Mu Ningxue stated.

“Not many people know about the Totem Beasts. I bet there’s someone giving orders behind the Research Union. You should be more careful from now on. Try not to fall into their hands,” Mo Fan advised her.

“Maybe we should assign Bola to protect her for the time being,” Mu Ningxue ventured. Mu Ningxue did not want to lose Yu Shishi after learning her extraordinary capabilities that were perfect for defending their territory.

“Bola has his own mission,” Mo Fan was unwilling to assign Bola to protect Yu Shishi. Mo Fan was only helping Yu Shishi because he was bored. He would never assign Bola, who was assigned to protect Mu Ningxue, Lingling, Liu Ru, and the others to protect someone else.

—

After settling Yu Shishi down, Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue stayed behind and discussed matters.

“Things are getting serious now that a Totem Beast is involved. Those guys clearly have a great authority giving orders behind them. It’s going to be tricky if we want to protect Yu Shishi,” Mo Fan said.

“But if we can help her overcome the trouble, she might be willing to swear loyalty to us. I can’t think of anyone more suitable than her to protect our land,” Mu Ningxue agreed.

“By the way, I should pay Professor Shi a visit. He might not even believe there are Totem Beasts still alive apart other than the Black Totem Snake, and Yu Shishi is the main lead,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, it’s better if we ask for more information.”

——

Mo Fan went back to the Magic City. Instead of going straight to Professor Shu, he went to the Clearsky Hunter Agency first.

He pushed open the door with the little bell on it; the crisp chime echoed inside the room. He looked into the room and saw Lingling leaning forward onto the bar with a schoolbag on her back. It was like she was about to become moldy from boredom.

Lingling smiled as soon as she saw Mo Fan. However, her smile was soon replaced with a strong grievance. The little girl harrumphed coldly!

Mo Fan walked up to Lingling and gave the little girl a huge hug. He said with a grin, “My little Lingling, have you been missing me?”

“I thought you forgot that you’re still a Hunter of the Clearsky Hunter Agency!” Lingling snapped back.

She had to go to school obediently whenever Mo Fan was not around. The problem was, sending someone as intelligent as Lingling to school was like asking a university student to go to kindergarten!

She was happy that Mo Fan had come, as she could finally hunt some demon creatures, go on an adventure, or start some high-reward quests!

“Any jobs worth doing lately?” Mo Fan asked with a shameless grin.

“We’ve missed out on the good ones. The rest are either too dangerous or not rewarding enough.” Lingling was clearly still holding a grudge against Mo Fan.

“Let’s put our Hunters work aside for now, then. I need you to investigate the Totem Beast that once ruled over the Huang He region in the past, as much information as you can!” Mo Fan said.

“A Totem Beast?” Lingling’s eyes suddenly glittered. The little girl immediately livened up.

The Totem Beasts were legendary existences. The Hunter Union had many quests that had been around for a long time, since no one had managed to accomplish them; some of them were related to the Totem Beasts. Lingling had already collected the information that the Hunter Union had on the Totem Beasts. She was waiting for Mo Fan to become stronger before they attempted to solve the mysteries of the Totem Beasts. To her surprise, Mo Fan had found the clues about a Totem Beast first!

Information about the Totem Beasts was extremely lacking. The ancient ruins had either faded into history or were buried in the territories of demon creatures. It was extremely difficult to dig up any trace of the Totem Beasts, let alone have any clues about their whereabouts.

“Which Totem Beast is it? Gramps might have some information about it!” Lingling was more cheerful now that she finally had something to do.

“I only came because Old Bao might know something about it. I heard from Liu Ru that he has a lot of information about the past. It’s the Moon Moth Phoenix. Do you remember the moth woman that I was dealing with? Mu Ningxue is willing to take her in so she can protect our territory. To our surprise, the moth woman is somehow related to the Totem Beast, the Moon Moth Phoenix! She’s currently being targeted by the people of the Research Union, but I believe there’s someone else behind the Research Union. I’ll need you to investigate and see who the people trying to get their hands on the Moon Moth Phoenix are,” Mo Fan told her.

“Alright, wait here, I’ll take a look upstairs!” Lingling dashed up the stairs. There were gaps between the stairs. The little girl completely forgot that she was wearing a short skirt. She carelessly climbed up the stairs right in front of Mo Fan.

Mo Fan quickly moved his gaze away. It was inappropriate to have evil thoughts on the gorgeous little Lingling, even when she was purposely exposing her cute baby blue panties in front of him.

3 —

Lingling came down the stairs with a huge book. “I found something. The human tribe under the Moon Moth Phoenix flourished quickly, but they declined rapidly, too. They were only around for a short period in history. I believe it’s mainly because of the short lifespan of the Moon Moth Phoenix… based on the information I have, moths are short-lived creatures. Some only live for a few nights. Although the Moon Moth Phoenix is a Totem Beast, she could not violate the laws of nature. She could only live for seven months, and will then revert into a cocoon after seven months!”

The little girl was very engrossed in things she was interested in. She did not even realize she was about to trip. Luckily, the observant Mo Fan quickly used his Telekinesis to stop her from falling.

“Seven months, that short?” Mo Fan was surprised.

The Black Totem Snake would only go through ecdysis once every ten years or so. However, it was not born again with the ecdysis, it was only changing his skin.

The Moon Moth Phoenix was a Totem Beast too, yet her lifespan was only seven months. How did she manage to survive for so long?

It was just as Yu Shishi had mentioned. The Totem Beasts might be powerful, but they were vulnerable too similar to the moths. If someone was plotting against them on purpose, they would die very easily!

“Are we trying to find the Moon Moth Phoenix?” Lingling asked.

Mo Fan shook his head and said, “We’re trying to stop the people of the Research Union from finding her. Totem Beasts have always been kind to humans. We might even need their help against the demon creatures in the future…”

“Alright, I’ll investigate who’s behind the Research Union. It’s quite serious if it has something to do with a Totem Beast! You should discuss it with Zhu Meng and my sister,” Lingling said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The Magic Association in the capital…

A man in uniform was hurriedly making his way to a retro-decorated room.

A man in a military coat with the badge of a chief in front of his chest was sitting inside. The man in uniform was startled. He immediately saluted and said, “Pardon me, chief, I didn’t know you were here, too!”

The man in a military jacket had a black beard. He turned around and smiled, “Is there something urgent you want to discuss with Xiao Shao (Shao Zheng)? Should I excuse myself first?”

“No, there’s nothing urgent, it’s nothing important either. It’s just something the Chairman has asked me to keep an eye on, so…” the secretary seemed a little reserved.

He had just been promoted to a secretary. He never thought he would stumble into the man he admired the most today, not to mention he was standing so close to him.

The man before him was a real legend!

“Just tell us what it is then. We were just having a casual chat here,” Chairman Shao Zheng said.

“Well, after you asked me to keep an eye on what Su Lu is up to, I’ve managed to learn that he seems to be ordering the people of the Donghai Magic Association to handle something for him. Just a moment ago, someone was using Mr. Song Qiming’s credentials to log into the database and query about who’s in charge of the Donghai Magic Association. I have already asked Mr. Song Qiming and Vice Elder Leng Qing. They told me that it might have something to do with Mo Fan. Around yesterday, one of Su Lu’s men called Houndman seems to have shown up at Fanxue Mountain. I believe it ended up with an intense battle between them. It likely has something to do with the Totem Beast that Su Lu is searching for,” the young secretary said.

“So, it’s something to do with Mo Fan again!” the military chief smiled.

“It looks like he’s starting to contact the Totem Beasts. Speaking of which, he’s surprisingly destined with the Totem Beasts,” Shao Zheng said.

“Well, he doesn’t have much going on at the moment. He didn’t let me down after I put him on the national team, either. He managed to earn lots of glory for our country. If you still haven’t found a suitable candidate to take Jiang Shaojun’s role, maybe we can consider leaving the Totem Beasts to Mo Fan,” the military chief proposed.

“Him?” Shao Zheng pondered for a moment and said, “That’s not a bad suggestion. He’s very close to the Black Totem Snake, and he’s somehow involved with the Totem Beast that Su Lu is targeting, too. He might actually surprise us if we let him handle the Totem Beasts.”

“Let him handle it. The kid might be a little wild, but he’s been able to bring us lots of surprises so far. The threat along the coastline that you mentioned is surely going to give us a deadly blow, but if we can really awaken the ancient Totem Beasts, they might be the key to resolving the danger,” the military chief said.

“If you say so. I guess I’ll pay a visit to Shanghai; it’s better to talk to him in person,” Shao Zheng said.

“Mmm, sounds good. The Totem Beasts are one of our options. We do need someone reliable to handle it,” the military chief said.

“Do you want to meet him instead? You seem to be quite fond of him,” Shao Zheng asked.

“Forget it, I wasn’t paying much attention when Zhan Kong mentioned him in the first place, but he just kept giving me surprises after that… Poor Zhan Kong chose the path of no return, but he did recommend an impressive kid to me,” the military chief replied.

“Your student Zhan Kong is very impressive, too. Without him, the Ancient Capital would be razed to the ground by now. You should be very proud of him,” Shao Zheng said.

“Yeah, he has always been my favorite student. I guess I’ll be leaving the student of my student, Mo Fan, in your hands for now,” the military chief answered.

“Don’t you worry, I’ll make sure to use him as much as I can!”

“HAHA! Whatever you say! If he really can help with the Totem Beasts, I will be very impressed and pleased!” the military chief laughed.

—

—

The Pearl Institute…

Mo Fan set up an appointment with Professor Shi to learn more about the Moon Moth Phoenix.

He decided to meet the man at a cafe, but he was surprised to see another man as he walked in. He knew who the man was, as it was someone that he greatly respected!

“Chairman, why are you here?” Mo Fan was a little surprised.

For some reason, Mo Fan could sense that Chairman Shao Zheng was looking at him in a weird way. He felt like he was in some kind of trouble.

“I heard you’re trying to learn about a Totem Beast?” Chairman Shao Zheng asked with a smile.

“Ugh… I’m just trying to learn more about the Black Totem Snake. I happened to stumble into another Totem Beast too, and it’s pretty urgent. Chairman, since you’re here, I can just make it clear. Can you ask the people of the Donghai Magic Association to leave? If they keep coming to trouble me, I’m afraid I might overstep some boundaries,” Mo Fan replied quickly.

“The Donghai Magic Association isn’t under my jurisdiction. It’s actually under one of my sworn enemies, and I believe you already know who he is?” Shao Zheng said.

“Continent Councilman Su Lu?” Mo Fan guessed.

Shao Zheng nodded slightly.

“Well, Mr. Chairman, I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but why do I keep feeling you have something to say to me, something that is strenuous and unrewarding,” Mo Fan ventured.

Professor Shi stared at Mo Fan and snapped, “Is that how you are supposed to talk to the Chairman!?”

“The kid is right,” Shao Zheng smiled and continued, “I’ve come to discuss something very important with you.”

“Chairman, I’m just an Advanced Mage. Doesn’t it feel weird that someone who’s so close to being a Forbidden Mage like you is asking me for a favor?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“Someone recommended you to me, and I also believe there’s no one more suitable than you to take the job,” Shao Zheng said.

“Which assh*** recommended me?” Mo Fan said.

Shao Zheng burst out laughing and said, “I bet you’re the only one that dares call him an assh***! Have you forgotten who put you on the national team?”

“Oh, it’s him. Who exactly is he? Why hasn’t he met me yet?” Mo Fan said.

“Maybe he thinks it isn’t the right time yet. Besides, you’ve been cultivating and growing on your own all this time. He doesn’t want to intervene too much. This way, you’re able to surprise us all the time,” Shao Zheng said.

“That man really likes to put up a mannered act. By the way, Chairman, did you really come here despite your busy schedule to ask me a favor?” Mo Fan said.

“Yes, and it’s very important. It might concern the safety of our country for a long time,” Shao Zheng confirmed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Safety of the country?” Mo Fan raised his brows. He could not help but wonder if something serious was happening.

Shao Zheng took a sip of his tea. He let out a sigh and said, “I really hope I’ve predicted it wrong, and our east shoreline will remain peaceful without heaving to fight a cruel war, but I’m around ninety percent sure that there will be a war. The eastern shoreline will be facing a great challenge.”

“What’s the danger?” Mo Fan asked.

“The sea monsters. A few years from now, we’ll be fighting a huge war against the sea monsters. I was hoping that the Asia Magic Association would treat it as part of their responsibility, but Su Lu rejected my suggestion, meaning that our country will have to face the sea monsters of the Pacific Ocean alone. It’s hard to say how much of the shoreline will be under attack, but if a war breaks out, there’s no way our country will stand a chance against the immeasurably powerful kingdoms of sea monsters… I’ve already come up with a strategy, but our forces are still too weak compared to the estimated scale of the sea monsters’ army.

“Around five years ago, an archaeologist had a long discussion with me. He told me about the great powers that are hibernating in our country, something that might help us fend off the sea monsters if we find a way to wake them up. The threat along the shoreline will be resolved. I agree with what the man said, so I asked him to investigate the ancient ruins to search for the Totem Beasts…” Shao Zheng said.

A name immediately popped up in Mo Fan’s mind. “Are you referring to Jiang Shaojun?” he blurted out.

“Yes, he’s the one. I always thought he was our chance of resolving the danger, but he went missing while searching for the ancient ruins. The strategy he proposed went down with his disappearance, too,” Shao Zheng sighed.

“You’re hoping that I’ll take over his role and find a way to awaken the hibernating, forgotten Totem Beasts, and prepare ourselves for the war against the sea monsters?” Mo Fan said.

“Exactly. I’m hoping you are willing to take up the great responsibility. The Totem Beasts are a bunch of unique existences. Those that aren’t destined won’t have any chance to interact with them. You’re the closest person to the Totem Beasts that we have. The Black Totem Snake before, and now the Moon Moth Phoenix; I hope that you can awaken one or two powerful Totem Beasts to lend us a hand in fending off the sea monsters. Otherwise, the burden is a lot heavier than what we could possibly bear.

“Unfortunately, I’m the only person who believes it’s necessary to prepare ourselves for the threat. The Magic Association doesn’t agree with my suggestion. Even some of the parties in our country are against my proposal. They believe I’m wasting resources on a threat that might not even happen… I’ve done everything I could, but I will be a lot more at ease if the Totem Beasts are on our side,” Shao Zheng said.

“Is the threat really that serious?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Shao Zheng nodded and said, “Very serious, worse than any war we’ve fought before. There’s a chance that we might even lose a part of the shoreline… I really hope you are willing to believe what I’ve just said and will lend me a hand.”

“My Fanxue Mountain is along the shoreline too, so I’m afraid it’s going to fall with the shoreline, too. To be honest, I’m quite interested in the Totem Beasts, not to mention that you, the Chairman have come in person just to discuss it with me. I don’t think I have any reason to decline it. I’m just worried that my capabilities are limited. There’s a chance that I might not even manage to awaken a single Totem Beast,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s fine, I’m utterly grateful as long as you do your best!” Shao Zheng replied sincerely.

It turned out there were a lot of things that the Chairman would feel helpless about too.

“You’re overstating things. Finding the Totem Beasts is a good way to train myself, too. If the Black Totem Snake wasn’t protecting me, I would have died ten thousand times when I was going up against the Parthenon Temple,” Mo Fan said.

“You were really bold back then. I’ll leave the Totem Beasts in your hands. I’ll send someone to give you the information about the Totem Beasts that Jiang Shaojun collected before. I believe knew something about the Moon Moth Phoenix, too… please keep an eye on the Moon Moth Phoenix too, don’t let Su Lu get his hands on the Totem Beast. He has been longing for our country’s Totem Beasts for a long time, but there’s no way we’ll allow the Guardian Beasts of our land to fall into the hands of an outsider,” Shao Zheng said.

“Of course!” Mo Fan agreed.

“Oh, speaking of which, I believe it’s time to tell you a little secret too,” Shao Zheng said.

“What is it?”

“Didn’t Zhao Manyan, a member of the national team go missing? Rumors said he was dead, eaten by a gigantic beast,” Shao Zheng said.

“Yeah, what about it?” Mo Fan asked.

“According to the information that Jiang Shaojun gathered, the gigantic beast that ate Zhao Manyan is most likely a Totem Beast too,” Shao Zheng said.

“Another Totem Beast?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“If I’m not mistaken, it’s Baxia,” Shao Zheng said.

“Baxia?” Mo Fan was startled. He felt like he had heard the name of the Totem Beast before.

“Our country once had the four strongest Totem Beasts. One of them, the Black Tortoise, had two descendants. One is the Black Totem Snake that you’re very close with, and the other is Baxia. It’s unlikely that a Totem Beast would harm a human being. Even if they are forgotten, they still treat humans as their people. I don’t understand why Baxia would eat Zhao Manyan,” Shao Zheng said.

“Baxia had been following us since we were in Japan,” Mo Fan said.

“Did something happen when the team was in Japan?” Shao Zheng asked promptly.

Mo Fan pondered. The only possibility he could think of was the Lifetime Vessel that Zhao Manyan found, the wooden clapper.

Mo Fan immediately told Shao Zheng about the wooden clapper.

Shao Zheng hesitated for a moment in thought. “The wooden clapper is most likely Baxia’s symbolic vessel. Many Totem Beasts have a symbolic vessel that allows a person to sign a soul contract with them. The Totem Beast will then stay close to the person to protect them. In the past, the leaders of the tribes would be the ones holding onto the symbolic vessels.”

“So you’re saying Zhao Manyan actually found a great treasure. No wonder the patterns on the wooden clapper were similar to those I saw on the ancient drawings in the building in the middle of the lake in Hangzhou. The creature is actually the Totem Beast Baxia, the Black Totem Snake’s brother! Does that mean Zhao Manyan is still alive, too?” Mo Fan said.

“Most likely, if he really has the symbolic vessel, the Totem Beast will not harm him,” Shao Zheng said.

“That’s good to know.”

Mo Fan was relieved after hearing Shao Zheng’s speculation. Not only was Zhao Manyan still alive, he was a lucky bastard too!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Shao Zheng sent the information about the Moon Moth Phoenix in no time. There was also information about other Totem Beasts. It all seemed rather complicated. It was going to take Mo Fan some time to understand everything.

Mo Fan went back to the Clearsky Hunter Agency. Lingling was already doing her homework, and it was obviously not the homework from school. She seemed quite interested in the Totem Beasts, too. After all, the Totem Beasts were legends that had been around for the longest time. They were a bunch of creatures born for fighting, but surprisingly were not hostile toward humans. They were too many mysteries around them.

“What did you find? Is the Moon Moth Phoenix as strong as the Black Totem Snake?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not really; the Black Totem Snake is clearly one of the strongest Totem Beasts out there. The Moon Moth Phoenix’s strength should be on par with the Silver Skyruler instead, or perhaps slightly stronger. I can’t really say for sure either, but there’s one thing I know for sure; every Totem Beast has their own special abilities that make them unbeatable against the leaders of the demon creatures,” Lingling informed him.

“I see. Speaking of which, have you heard anything about the threat along the shoreline?” Mo Fan said.

Lingling shook her head. She had not heard anything about it yet.

“By the way, Jiang Shaojun pretty much wrote every article here. It seems he was working with a colleague when he went looking for the Moon Moth Phoenix. His colleague might still be around, that might be the clue we are looking for,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan nodded. He was about to ask Lingling for the name of Jiang Shaojun’s colleague when his phone started ringing.

“Mo Fan, you better come right now, something’s happening,” Mu Ningxue said.

“What is it?” asked Mo Fan.

“The people of the Research Union might have found where the Moon Moth Phoenix is. Yu Shishi is already making her way there despite my advising against it. It’s too dangerous to leave her alone, so I’m going with her. I wasn’t able to bring Bola with us since he’s still asleep,” Mu Ningxue said.

“He doesn’t have much time left, so he’s asleep most of the time. We’ll handle it ourselves. Where are you now? I’m on my way,” Mo Fan said.

It was more suitable for Bola to guard a specific place due to his circumstances. It was not good to ask him to follow a person around. Besides, Mo Fan was not necessarily Bola’s senior. He was just trying to live longer by taking in Mo Fan’s demonic aura. Unlike Liu Ru, he did not have many years left. He spent most of his time sleeping in a coffin.

“I brought my national team badge with me. You can locate me with it,” Mu Ningxue said.

She was not too sure about her whereabouts either. She only knew they had gone pretty deep into the woods.

“Alright, but why would the people of the Research Union know where the Moon Moth Phoenix’s cocoon is?” Mo Fan asked.

“I have no idea.”

—

It was difficult to figure what was going on through the phone. Mo Fan immediately gave his national team’s badge to Lingling and asked her to track where Mu Ningxue was.

“Got it, she’s in the forest in Nanling Mountains. It’s quite a distance from where we are. I’m afraid we won’t make it in time with your wolf,” Lingling said.

“What should we do then? There isn’t a Space Teleportation Formation around here,” Mo Fan said.

“We can ask Nighthawk to give us a ride!”

—

Nighthawk happened to be in the Magic City, too. He was promoted to a Vice Elder of the Enforcement Union after what happened to the Beiyu Enforcement Union.

As a matter of fact, Nighthawk was long since qualified to be a Vice Elder of the Enforcement Union, since he was usually in charge of most operations related to the Black Vatican. Unfortunately, he never got along well with the man with the surname Lu, thus he was stuck as an Enforcer.

“It’s midnight and you two have called me over to be your driver!” Nighthawk sighed helplessly. Only Lingling had the guts to order a Vice Elder of the Enforcement Union around.

“Enough talk, just hurry up, will you? It’s something important that the Chairman has asked us to keep an eye on!” Lingling said proudly.

“Chairman? Chairman Shao Zheng!?” Nighthawk exclaimed. He immediately stopped grumbling when he learned they were receiving orders from Chairman Shao Zheng.

Nighthawk’s Summoned Beast, a Light-Curtain Eagle, was one of the fastest flying creatures in the Enforcement Union. It was the main reason Lingling had asked him for help.

—

The three made their way up to the roof. Nighthawk chanted under his breath. Wisps of darkness soon appeared around him and consumed the light of the street lamps nearby. It was as like a black hole was appearing on the roof.

A pair of cold stunning wings spread apart from inside the black hole. Their black feathers had a metallic luster to them. The wings loomed over the entire building when they were fully spread!

The black wings beat softly, producing a strong gust of wind sweeping the street and the roof. Clothes that were being dried outside flapped wildly, while the window panels rattled.

The wind blew dried leaves and dust into the air. Nighthawk jumped onto the Light-Curtain Eagle’s back and asked Mo Fan and Lingling to hop on, too.

The two followed him immediately. The Light-Curtain Eagle beat its wings and left the roof, rising quickly into the air. There was a tall building just ahead. The light that the Light-Curtain Eagle was reflecting shone upon the building’s windows. The people on the street immediately screamed at the top of their lungs!

The Light-Curtain Eagle reached the building’s roof. It kicked its feet and thrust itself higher into the sky, where the light of the city could no longer reach. It glided silently into the sky, heading for the woods in the distance!

“Your eagle is pretty cool. Can I trade my Flying Creek Snow Wolf for him?” Mo Fan was thrilled as he felt the night breeze sweeping at him while sitting on the eagle’s back.

Little Flame Belle cried out in displeasure after hearing Mo Fan’s words. -Uncle wolf is so naively adorable, how could you trade him away? Little Flame Belle enjoys bullying uncle wolf!-

“HAHA, I was just kidding. By the way, aren’t you supposed to be sleeping? Don’t you know it’s important for a kid to get enough rest while you’re still growing?” Mo Fan dragged Little Flame Belle down from his shoulder and flicked her on her forehead.

Little Flame Belle twisted her lips in displeasure and went to Lingling to be comforted instead.

“I’ll trade him for your adorable Little Flame Belle,” Nighthawk said with a smile.

“No way, Little Flame Belle is my daughter,” Mo Fan replied decisively.

“If the Flying Creek Snow Wolf knew the true face of his master, he would definitely break the contract with you, even if it meant damaging his soul!” Lingling sniffed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Night-Curtain Eagle was shockingly fast. It did not take them too long to reach the Nanling Mountains.

“We are currently in the White Magic Falcons’ territory. Luckily, my eagle shares the same lineage. We won’t have much trouble flying across their territory,” Nighthawk said while pointing at the mountains that were covered in dense trees below.

“We should be very close to them,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan observed the pitch-black mountains. He was able to see clearer with his Shadow Element.

—

—

The canopy layer of the palm forest was a favorable habitat for flying creatures. Many demon creatures hid their nests in the thick canopy, allowing flocks of flying creatures to soar into the sky and form a huge net to defend their territory when necessary.

The middle of the palm forest was a swamp, and the trees had long been soaked in it. The water was not deep, barely reaching the ankles of a person. The clear water was flowing slowly. It looked like the forest was growing out of the surface of a lake under the moonlight. The surface of the water was glittering like crystals.

The forest was deadly silent. A hellish hound with a menacing aura walked past, and the little creatures in the area immediately fled for their lives in panic.

“Lian Xishan, are you sure this is the right place?” Houndman asked impatiently.

“Of course, we already discovered this place when we were searching for the Totem Beast. According to the man, this is where the Totem Beast lives, but for some reason, he suddenly decided to leave. He’s always been a strange man,” the man called Lian Xishan said confidently.

“I also think this is the place we have been looking for,” Ke Lingxi of the Research Union said.

Many species had their own living habits. Ke Lingxi had only learned there was such a unique forest in Nanling Mountains a little while ago.

Moths preferred to live in woods with a readily-available source of water. Ke Lingxi believed the place was perfect for the Moon Moth Phoenix to fall into a deep slumber!

“This place isn’t very big, we should be able to find it quite easily. You two, go up to the canopy and look around, the rest of us will be heading in this direction,” Zeng Guanglie said.

The group began to split up. Some time later, the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound started sniffing, as if it had picked up a scent.

“This way,” the Houndman told the others after receiving his Summoned Beast’s hint.

The group immediately followed the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound. They soon discovered a spacious pond that did not have many trees in it. The water was still enough to reflect the starry night sky, unbelievably stunning.

An oval cocoon was hanging above the center of the spacious pond. They could see its shadow on the surface of the pond. Houndman, Ke Lingxi, Zeng Guanglie, and the others held their breaths upon seeing the cocoon. Their faces were soon brimming with joy!

They found it! They actually found it!

They had found an ancient Totem Beast. They would achieve great success once they handed it to Su Lu!

The discovery of a Totem Beast was extremely significant. The Black Totem Snake of Hangzhou was able to drive away the demon creatures of the Nanling Mountains that were invading the city all by himself. A Totem Beast was far stronger than an ordinary Ruler creature in the wild!

The giant blue cocoon was floating in the air between the sky and the spectacular painting across the surface of the pond. However, as they took a closer look, they realized the cocoon was being held by tiny strings of silk, their ends tied to the trees nearby. In other words, the giant cocoon was actually hanging in the air. It was a rare and spectacular sight.

They were quite confident that the Totem Beast, Moon Moth Phoenix that they had been looking for was inside the giant cocoon!

The light of the moon and the stars were watching over the giant blue cocoon. Meanwhile, the cocoon seemed to be absorbing the energy of nature, like a beating blue heart!

“Are we going to break the cocoon apart or bring the whole thing back?” Zeng Guanglie asked.

“Just bring the whole thing back. I doubt we can break through the cocoon that easily,” Houndman said.

“You people, go and break the silk,” Ke Lingxi ordered his men.

A few Mages jumped onto the trees that the strings of silk were tied to. However, they failed to break the silk despite trying everything they tried. Even burning them with fire did not seem to work.

“Humph, move aside, a bunch of useless pricks!” Zeng Guanglie mocked them. He quickly summoned his golden flames.

The golden flames sprang at the strings of silk. The silk finally started to melt away slowly after burning for some time.

“As expected of a Totem Beast! Only a Soul-grade Fire can burn through the silk,” Ke Lingxi exclaimed.

His flames finally ate through a section of the strings holding the giant cocoon up after some time. The giant cocoon slanted sideways after the silk broke. The remaining strings of silk continued to hold it in place, preventing it from falling to the water below.

“Say, is the thing inside still alive?” Houndman asked curiously, studying the cocoon. He had already ordered the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound to take a closer look as he spoke.

The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound stood below the cocoon and started sniffing. It suddenly lifted its gaze and grinned, revealing its fangs while uttering a deep growl.

Houndman followed its gaze, and saw a woman with the wings of a moth on her back walking out from the woods. She was glaring at them with eerie eyes. Her face had turned a strange blue too. She seemed pretty angry!

“It’s you. I’m sorry, we are no longer interested in you. You better leave now if you don’t want to die,” Houndman grinned mockingly when he saw it was the moth woman, Yu Shishi!

They obviously knew Yu Shishi had been turned into a moth woman by the Moon Moth Phoenix. The Moon Moth Phoenix was much more valuable than she was!

“What are you trying to do!?” Yu Shishi snapped furiously.

“Nothing really, it’s just that our master has a hobby of collecting antiques. We believe the Moon Moth Phoenix is the perfect present for his fiftieth birthday. We also believe that only a special creature like a Totem Beast is worthy to be our master’s mount and Contracted Beast!” Houndman smiled.

“A Totem Beast will never sign a contract with a human, nor will it submit to a human to be his mount!” Yu Shishi snapped.

“Don’t you worry about that, our master has his ways!” Houndman rebutted.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I won’t let you take her!” Yu Shishi declared firmly.

Lots of blue moths flew out of the canopy as she was speaking. The moths were just as numerous as the leaves on the trees. They quickly surrounded the people that were trying to snatch the giant cocoon.

Zeng Guanglie was utterly annoyed by the noise of their beating wings.

He smirked as he saw the number of moths continued to increase, “You were desperately trying to save them before, why would you bother summoning them out to die now?”

Yu Shishi bit her lips. There were not many moths left after the recent massacre. Some of them were not even adults yet. The lifespan of these moths was already very short, yet they could not even live until their final moments. It was a great torture to Yu Shishi to send these moths to their deaths.

However, she could not afford to let this group of people take the giant cocoon away, either. The creature that was asleep in the cocoon was the queen of these fragile little creatures who had no chance of surviving on their own. She was their only hope!

These moths were not as strong as other demon creatures. They normally ended up as food to other creatures while wandering around aimlessly. They were like a bunch of tiny insects living in the little gaps of the world. Their life and death was never nature’s concern.

The situation improved slightly after the Moon Moth Phoenix was awakened. They could finally live a peaceful life after claiming their own territory. Their numbers slowly grew into a pack and soon a horde. They were finally able to protect themselves…

As such, even if it meant sacrificing every moth in the adult phase or the youth phase, they had to stop the humans from taking the Moon Moth Phoenix! These blue moths were left with no other choice. If they could not survive until the Moon Moth Phoenix was born again, they would surely be eliminated by nature’s ruthless law of jungle!

Yu Shishi had been abandoned by her family. She was only well and alive because of the Moon Moth Phoenix and the moths. The moment she was born again, she swore an oath to protect the moths until her death!

“You can only bring the Moon Moth Phoenix away over our dead bodies!” Yu Shishi swore.

The blue moths flew toward the giant cocoon swiftly and formed a barrier to prevent the people of the Research Union from moving any closer.

“What a joke, it’s too easy killing these little creatures!” Zeng Guanglie said disdainfully.

The golden flames rose once again and swept at the barrier that the moths had formed like a wild golden-red tide.

The blue moths had connected their bodies and wings together to form the barrier. The tide of flames soon ignited them. However, the moths that were set on fire quickly separated themselves from the barrier to prevent the flames from spreading to their friends. They soon burned into ashes, scattered across the surface of the pond.

The pond received the remains of the burned moths. At the start, only the remains of several moths were floating on the water like wilted petals of a flower, but the whole surface of the pond was soon covered by their remains.

As the flames continued to grow stronger, the moths were dying quicker. Yu Shishi’s eyes were rolling with tears. She could not bear to watch the deaths of the moths any longer.

It was true that these moths only had a short lifespan, but each of them still lived a magnificent life. Yu Shishi could sense their curiosity, passion, and joy toward nature. To some extent, Yu Shishi believed they were richer in emotions and more sincere than cold-blooded humans. Yu Shishi had met many people that had let her down. She was definitely not feeling great after witnessing the continuous deaths of the remaining moths as they were protecting the Moon Moth Phoenix.

“Don’t be sad, from what I know, these moths can only live for seven days. Seven days are gone in the blink of an eye. They either die to the fire here, or die after their life comes to an end. What’s the difference if they can only live for an extra day or two!?” Zeng Guanglie mocked her.

The words had greatly infuriated Yu Shishi!

Most moths could only live for seven days, yet were their lives meaningless simply because they had a short lifespan?

“The Moon Moth Phoenix is a Totem Guardian. She was once the protector of humans, but you’re trying to make her your slave instead! Yes, these little creatures can only live for seven days, but they are giving their all to protect their queen because she’s their only chance of survival. They are unwilling to give up even if they have to face destruction! Look at you humans, biting the hand that feeds you! Not only are you not grateful for what the Totem Beasts have done, you’ve massacred the Totem Beasts in the past! The Totem Beasts voluntarily left your territory and gave up their control over the land, but you continued to mistreat and harm them with your filthy acts! You filthy humans will never change, even if you live for another thousand or ten thousand years!” Yu Shishi condemned angrily.

The Moon Moth Phoenix had granted her a second chance of life, including the power and lineage that transformed her into a moth woman. The Moon Moth Phoenix was like a mother to Yu Shishi, since she had taken care of her. Yu Shishi also learned about the past from the Moon Moth Phoenix!

Why did the Totem Beasts go into hiding? Wasn’t it because the ungrateful humans were trying to kill them all as they could no longer control their desires and wild ambitions!?

No Mage was willing to mention the Totem Beasts, no human would dare to admit that it was they who had killed the Totem Beasts and driven them out of their territory, even though they had been protecting the humans all along.

“I never thought a moth woman like you could come up with such nonsense! I have to say, I’m quite amused. Both you and these stupid Totem Beasts seem to have not realized that nature has always followed the law of jungle. Your moths are unaware of how weak they are. The only possible outcome for them is death! Those Totem Beasts that assumed they were unbeatable because of their extraordinary strength were defeated by our magic too! We should really thank our ancestors who invented so many Elements, granting us, their descendants such formidable power! The truth is, the same principles apply to us humans too. If you can climb to Mr. Su Lu’s height too, you can also decide one’s fate with a single sentence!” Houndman was sitting on his Dreadful Curse Hell Hound, greatly amused by Yu Shishi’s words!

Chapter 1270: The Hell Forge Ritual

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Similarly, it’s just a matter of a thought if I want you and your moths dead. There’s really no need to think there’s a purpose behind everything. You and your moths are weak and petty, like a bunch of annoying bugs. If you really want to survive in this world, you should stop doing stupid stuff and overestimating yourself. It will only speed up your destruction!” Houndman said.

Houndman’s eyes glittered after finishing the sentence. The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound that was in tune with his thoughts immediately let out a deadly breath at the moths blocking its path!

The deadly breath landed on the blue moths and soon corroded them away while applying a foul stench to them. They slowly fell onto the surface of the pond like nasal mucus…

The moth’s limited numbers could not hold their place any longer facing both the golden flames and the deadly breath at the same time. A part of the Moon Moth Phoenix’s cocoon was soon exposed.

Houndman and Zeng Guanglie grinned disdainfully. They immediately ordered their men to break the remaining silk strands so they could take the cocoon away!

An icy wind blew from the woods and swept right at Zeng Guanglie and Houndman. The trunks of the trees nearby that were cut in half and fell on them!

Houndman’s Dreadful Curse Hell Hound reacted quickly. It jumped in front of them and used its body to resist the deadly gust of wind.

Lots of trees fell to the ground, while the droplets of water scattered across the air. Houndman looked up at the shadow in the canopy and saw a woman with silver-hair shining under the moonlight descending slowly. She was wearing an ivory dress down to her knees, revealing her smooth and tender shins, as she was not wearing stockings. They were slim, but not overly skinny!

“It’s you again!” Houndman’s face was filled with rage when he saw Mu Ningxue. One of his Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds had died at the hands of this woman and Mo Fan not long ago!

Zeng Guanglie glared at Mu Ningxue, too. The woman was no weaker than him, and her Nirvana Ice Domain was incredibly powerful. The water on the ground slowly froze. Even Zeng Guanglie’s golden flames were put out by the ice and the snow!

“It looks like she’s alone…” Ke Lingxi quickly noticed that Mo Fan was not around.

Houndman also noticed that. He harrumphed coldly and said, “We are no longer in your territory! If you dare to intervene with our business again, you better watch out for the paltry reputation you’ve finally earned after putting in so much work. The person behind us can destroy it with just a few words, and you’ll have no choice but to go back to your Mu Clan like a petty b**ch!”

Mu Ningxue’s expression did not change much after hearing the words. She had gotten used to being humiliated verbally. She was not Mo Fan, who could always come up with words that sounded ten times worse than what people were saying to him before beating the crap out of them.

Mu Ningxue was used to only doing the last part of it, beating the crap out of them!

“Sticky Ice Freezing Aura!”

The frost in the air gradually grew thicker. Not only did the water of the pond turn into ice, the whole woods had turned into an icy forest. A visible frosty aura was rising around Zeng Guanglie and Houndman under the overwhelming presence of the Nirvana Ice Domain!

The frosty aura formed clingy pieces of ice. They rapidly flew at their targets, attaching themselves to the other ice pieces to thicken the rime further and increase the pace of freezing everything around them.

The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound was soon covered by the frost. Both Zeng Guanglie and Houndman immediately fled for their lives, worried they would turn into ice statues in the frosty aura. They simply left the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound to resist the frosty aura alone.

“Absolute Kingdom of Ice!” Mu Ningxue cast. Her outstanding control of the Ice Element allowed her to cast Ice Magic in any form as she wished. She no longer needed to draw Magic Patterns just to cast her spells.

White snow fell rapidly from a sky fully filled with Ice Magic. The Sticky Ice Freezing Aura was pulling the snow toward it like magnets. The ice that Mu Ningxue’s Ice Domain had just produced immediately piled on the frosty aura. The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound covered in clinging rime soon turned into a giant ball of ice!

Mu Ningxue was not just freezing the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound. The rime also flew at the giant cocoon and formed a layer of protection around the moths and the giant cocoon.

Mu Ningxue could easily tell that Yu Shishi’s heart was bleeding when she witnessed the deaths of each moth. It was her turn to save the woman from her sense of helplessness!

“Damn it, do you really think I’m just a little underling you can crush as you please!? If my ritual wasn’t on cooldown last time, there’s no way you and that kid would stand a chance against me. Since you keep asking for it, I’ll show you the true strength of the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound!” Houndman proclaimed furiously.

The woman had shown up before he even took the initiative to get his revenge on her. This time, not only was Houndman going to get his revenge, he would let the woman know that he was not someone she wanted to mess with!

Houndman started drawing a strange Star Pattern that had an odd color to it, as if it was the combination of the colors of a few different Elements. It soon formed strange runes and patterns on the ice to conduct a Summoning ritual!

The pattern was completed in no time. A strong sense of death burst out from it. Even the presence of Mu Ningxue’s Nirvana Ice Domain weakened slightly under it.

“Hell Forge!” Houndman shrieked and withdrew the frozen Dreadful Curse Hell Hound back into the ritual.

If they looked down from high above, they would have noticed that the pattern of the ritual actually resembled the opening of a furnace. The Dreadful Curse Hell Hound was being tossed right into it.

Zeng Guanglie gasped when he saw two other Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds inside the forge. The creatures were being torn into pieces, but their heads, limbs, bodies, organs, and fangs were slowly joining together!

Three heads were connected to a single sturdy neck. The Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds had turned into a three-headed hellish creature! The cruel process gave the creature a painful, hateful, and murderous aura even before its form was completed!

Chapter 1271: The Dreadful Curse Cerberus!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A demonic glow rose into the sky in the distance. A strong gust of wind swept in all directions from the center of the white woods. The trees swayed like strong waves of an ocean. The broken leaves and trees scattered in the night sky.

The evil glow continued to grow brighter. Nighthawk stood on the head of the Light-Curtain Eagle, the strong wind blowing at his face. The man lifted his sharply-defined face, revealing a long scar that went from his neck to the back of his ear!

“This presence…” Nighthawk frowned. His expression turned cold too.

“What is it? You know what it is?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan was well aware that the presence belonged to the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds, but there was something different about it this time. It felt stronger and scarier!

“Can you see the scar on my face?” Nighthawk twisted his lips. He flipped his hair up to fully expose the scar.

Mo Fan was finally able to get a close look at the scar. It was terrifying. The lumps across the scar showed how deep and wide the wound had been!

“I thought I wasn’t going to live back then. I can still feel that I’m lying in my own pool of blood…” Nighthawk recalled the past with a painful look. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and said, “It’s the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound. When I was hunting down a criminal, it was his Dreadful Curse Hell Hound that bit my neck!”

“It’s indeed the presence of a Dreadful Curse Hell Hound, but the man is from the Research Union,” Mo Fan said.

Nighthawk nodded and said, “There isn’t just one person that owns the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds, but judging from how strong its presence is, I’m afraid the guy has access to the Hell Forge Ritual!”

“Hell Forge Ritual? What does that mean?” Mo Fan was confused.

As soon as Mo Fan finished the sentence, three ghastly heads of Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds poked out from the canopy layer of the woods. Their eyes were swaying like fires, emitting an intimidating light. Dark red breaths were coming out between their fangs. The snow that landed close to them was evaporated by the scorching heat instantly!

The Light-Curtain Eagle subconsciously beat its wings to slow down when it felt threatened. The creature was obviously intimidated by the overwhelming presence of the deadly beast. It even lost its balance slightly when it felt the strong aura of the beast sweeping at it.

As they got a little closer, Mo Fan realized the three heads of the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds were actually connected to the same thick neck, all covered in dreadful curses!

The neck had three heads on it, each with a different aura and color. Even the fierce light from their eyes was different!

“You have found yourself a formidable opponent. The man can already merge three Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds into one. He has forged three Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds into a Dreadful Curse Cerberus several times stronger than a Dreadful Curse Hell Hound!” Nighthawk said.

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus was at least five times bigger than a normal Dreadful Curse Hell Hound. The trees were over fifty meters tall, but were nowhere enough to conceal the creature’s size.

Its three heads loomed above the canopy. Two of them were roaring fiercely into the night sky, while the remaining one was staring at the canopy as if searching for something hiding in it.

The head with green burning eyes suddenly discovered something. The other two heads immediately locked murderous gazes on a slim figure weaving through the trees with her wind in the canopy!

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus dashed forward, and ramming the trees into pieces. They poked their heads forward, as if they were fighting for the chance to swallow Mu Ningxue down!

The beast’s speed and strength were absolutely terrifying. It had managed to catch up to Mu Ningxue even though she was making a run with her Nimble Wind. She kept switching her positions like an ice fairy. Whenever the Dreadful Curse Cerberus was about to catch up to her, she would make an urgent turn to distance herself…

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus kept charging forward, knocking down a huge bunch of innocent trees like it was running through a field of grain. It continued to change direction and pursue Mu Ningxue relentlessly.

The head engulfed in a green fire suddenly opened its mouth and spat out sinister green flames at her!

The green flames surged through the woods like a long green tongue, rapidly closing in on Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue glanced back and saw the green flames. She also noticed the other two heads of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus were watching her closely. They would lunge in the same direction she was dodging into. She had nowhere to run to!

Mu Ningxue’s heart pounded heavily. The Dreadful Curse Cerberus was easily the strongest Commander-level creature she had ever encountered. Even her frost had no chance of suppressing its hellish aura!

If she did not have enough time to set up her ice, if her Ice Magic failed to suppress her opponent, there was no way she could take on the formidable beast!

As she thought, as soon as she tried to dodge, the moment she slowed down a little, the other two heads of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus lunged at her simultaneously. As they opened their mouths, the deadly aura circling them suddenly turned into a pitch-black cave with sharp fangs. They were not biting at her, they were trying to swallow her directly!

“Wind Wings: Six Wings Protection!”

The white Wind Wings extended and bent forward. They stacked on top of one another to protect Mu Ningxue!

The Six Wings Protection was an outstanding defensive spell of the Advanced Level, one of the uses of the Wind Wings. The only downside was, once the Wind Wings were used as protection, they would soon dissipate. It would take some time before the Mage could summon new Wind Wings again!

The wind surged wildly. The Six Wings Protection did resist the attack of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus, but Mu Ningxue also fell to the ground after losing her Wind Wings.

Without them, Mu Ningxue had no chance of escaping from the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. The Dreadful Curse Cerberus seemed quite intelligent. Every move it took had a goal in mind. It was gradually driving its prey into a dead end!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You son of a b**ch, don’t you touch my wife!” Mo Fan’s thunderous voice came from the sky.

The Light-Curtain Eagle had finally reached the sky above the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. Mo Fan could not bear to watch the creature bully Mu Ningxue. He immediately jumped down from over a thousand meters in the sky!

“Little Flame Belle, what are you waiting for!?” Mo Fan turned around and yelled at Little Flame Belle on the Light-Curtain Eagle as he was falling.

Little Flame Belle was a little slow with her reaction. She followed Mo Fan and dove down from the sky after hearing his cry. She clenched her fists and extended them forward while using her fire to form a little cape behind her…

3 Upon seeing that, Mo Fan swore he would never let Little Flame Belle watch those boring animes ever again.

2 Mo Fan was already engulfed in bright red flames as he was falling from the sky. Little Flame Belle finally caught up to him when he was around two hundred meters from the ground. She slammed into Mo Fan’s chest together with the flames of her Calamity Fire and Ardent Sunset!

Mo Fan had his own fire, too. As soon as he made contact with Little Flame Belle, the flames were burning so fiercely that it felt like he had turned into a devil from Hell. His aura skyrocketed as the strong flames filled up the sky above the canopy layer!

“You better piss off!”

The flames burning on Mo Fan gradually grew stronger. He was diving right at the Dreadful Curse Cerberus like a meteorite!

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus’s heads were still fighting over the chance of having the first bite when the ‘meteorite’ came down from the sky and knocked the enormous beast flying!

The beast had thick and sturdy skin. It skidded along the ground, gouging out a trail a hundred meters long behind it. However, when the Dreadful Curse Cerberus rose to its feet again after the strong impact, there were only a few minor scratches on it…

The head with eyes engulfed in orange flames let out a furious cry at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan recognized the head. It was the Dreadful Curse Hellish Hound that had managed to escape previously. He could still see the scar left by his lightning on its head!

“You son of a b**ch, I’m going to chop you into pieces today!” Mo Fan taunted when he sensed the rage and animosity from the beast.

Mu Ningxue felt a lot more at ease knowing that Mo Fan had made it there. She was obviously no match against the Dreadful Curse Cerberus, but things would be different if Mo Fan was here!

“Mo Fan, the beast is pretty strong, be careful,” Mu Ningxue warned him.

They could not afford to make a single mistake when facing the formidable beast. The cunning and dangerous Dreadful Curse Cerberus seemed to be good at discerning the weaknesses of its enemy. It would target those weaknesses relentlessly!

“How is Yu Shishi doing?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not great! She can’t take on Zeng Guanglie on her own,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Don’t worry, I’ve brought a helper with me,” Mo Fan looked into the sky and yelled, “Nighthawk, go ahead and help the woman with wings!”

“Got it, but you have to be careful! The Dreadful Curse Cerberus is very dangerous!” Nighthawk yelled.

—

“Humph, you were only lucky last time since I hadn’t completed my Hell Forge Ritual. Otherwise, I would have razed your Fanxue Mountain to the ground! Now that you two have walked right into the trap! I’m sorry to say you won’t be able to leave in one piece!” Houndman walked out from the shadows. He jumped onto the Dreadful Curse Cerberus and looked down at them.

His eyes were murderous.

The value of the Totem Beast was unimaginable. Houndman was trying to trade it for resources that would help him achieve the Super Level. There was no way he would let two young Mages ruin his ambition!

“Kill them!” Houndman ordered coldly.

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ aura skyrocketed. As its aura surged forward, it surprisingly disturbed their mind by inflicting a strong fear on them. It slowed down the channeling of their spells…

Mo Fan frowned as he noticed it, “The creature’s Domain is stronger than ours.”

“Mm, we can’t force a fight with it,” Mu Ningxue had deduced.

Her strength was in suppressing her target with her Ice Magic, but it was not as effective when she was facing an opponent stronger than her magic.

Similarly, Mo Fan mainly relied on the destructiveness of his spells. He was greatly restrained when his spells could no longer break through the defense of the enemy.

“The Dreadful Curse Cerberus might be tricky to fight against, but Houndman isn’t that strong. We should find a chance to take him out,” Mo Fan said.

“The guy is pretty cautious.”

“We’ll find a way…”

Mo Fan let Mu Ningxue cover him as he pretended to be accumulating power to attack the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. However, he suddenly cast Blink, leaving only a ring of fire where he was standing while he moved to the back of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus!

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus raised its claw and swung it at the ring of fire. It swept the dust into the air and cracked the ground. The force was strong, but it did not land on Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was already behind the Dreadful Curse Cerberus, trying to drag Houndman down from the beast…

As soon as Mo Fan cast his Space Magic, the Dreadful Curse Cerberus immediately unleashed its bloody aura, forming a barrier that encapsulated itself and Houndman. The runes covering its body began to glow too!

“So that’s the reason why it wasn’t injured after I hit it!” Mo Fan immediately realized the truth behind the creature’s outstanding defense when he saw the barrier.

The ‘meteorite’ that he and Little Flame Belle had turned into possessed extraordinary force, yet it had only left the Dreadful Curse Cerberus with a few scratches. Even Mo Fan found it hard to believe. He had fought against Commander-level creatures with sturdy defenses before, yet none of them were as agile and powerful as the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. If the beast really had such impressive defense, speed, and strength, wouldn’t it be as strong as a Ruler-level creature?

“It’s not going to work. Just accept your fate!” Houndman chuckled when he realized what Mo Fan was up to.

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus turned around. Its three pairs of eyes flickered coldly!

Mo Fan felt his scalp turning numb the moment the six burning eyes of three different colors stared at him. When he tried to look away, he suddenly realized he was surrounded by a line of the same eyes!

Green, orange, and brown!

The eyes of three different colors showed up on Mo Fan’s left. As he moved in a different direction, he was shocked to see that the eyes were still chasing after him. He clearly felt the savagery of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus hiding in the shadows just by looking at the eyes!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan quickly backed away, but the eyes kept following him around. The more he looked at them, the stronger the fear inside his heart grew.

Mo Fan forcibly closed his eyes. His surroundings turned pitch-black. He initially thought he would be able to escape the stare of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus, but the ghastly eyes continued to appear in his mind and project fear into his heart. He started having trouble breathing properly.

Most terrifyingly, there were no longer just six eyes. It was like a dozen or more Dreadful Curse Cerberus were surrounding him. Over a hundred eyes engulfed in flames were staring at him. It was so horrifying that it felt like his spirit would scatter like ash!

Mo Fan was utterly spooked. The Eyes of Terror of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus were overwhelming. Even he was feeling tortured, despite his fourth-stage mental strength.

As Mo Fan was struggling to break free from the fear inflicted on him, his necklace started emitting a watery blue light. It began to spread like ripples, each wave soothing Mo Fan’s heart as it was on the verge of being crushed into pieces!

Mo Fan finally regained consciousness after some time. He could not open his eyes, yet he could hear Mu Ningxue’s scream.

“Mo Fan! Wake up!” Mu Ningxue was shoving Mo Fan heavily. She sounded panicked.

Mo Fan opened his eyes. Before he could come to his senses, he was shocked to see the body of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus looming up right before him. It had raised its burning, rotten paws right above him.

Mo Fan’s heart pounded. He glanced at Mu Ningxue, who did not escape to save herself. He calmed his thoughts in the nick of time.

“Grab onto me!” Mo Fan reached his hand out and hugged Mu Ningxue around her waist.

Mu Ningxue shuddered when Mo Fan wrapped his arm around her waist, but she knew now was not the time to complain.

“Blink!” Mo Fan endured both the physical and mental pressure he was under and forcibly cast the Advanced Spell of the Space Element.

Silver stars rapidly appeared and formed Star Orbits and Star Patterns under Mo Fan’s feet. Even though their pace was dazzling, the Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ paws were only inches away…

“How naive, are you seriously trying to use the Advanced Space Spell in the short period of time you have!?” Houndman scoffed disdainfully.

The Space Element was regarded as the most complicated Element. Not many people were able to use it adeptly or perfectly master it. A Space Mage needed a lot of time to practice and improve the Space Element, which basically meant they would have to sacrifice the time to practice their other Elements!

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus stomped down. The ground cracked open as rock splinters scattered in all directions. The force continued to spread out, knocking the trees down. The force almost razed the entire woods to the ground. The area affected by the blow was over two hundred meters across!

The silver light dots were as small as fireflies, and swayed and dimmed amid the flying dust. The Dreadful Curse Cerberus slowly raised its front paw…

Normally, the Dreadful Curse Cerberus enjoyed the sensation of the viscous blood of its prey sticking onto its paws whenever it crushed them into pulp. Even though its prey was humans this time, meaning there would not be much blood, it was more satisfying for the creature, knowing that it had avenged its fallen comrade!

The creature lifted its paws half a meter into the air, yet there was nothing below it, apart from some rock splinters, not even a single drop of blood.

Houndman and the Dreadful Curse Cerberus were shocked. Master and servant finally realized their prey had already escaped!

“How did he do it!?” Houndman exclaimed.

Regardless of how quick Blink was, he still needed a certain time to channel the spell, especially when it involved constructing a Star Constellation made up of 343 Stars. How could the kid possibly cast the spell so quickly?

“Flame sword!”

Mo Fan suddenly appeared behind the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. He swung a huge burning sword forward in the shape of a crescent.

The damage of the flame sword had nothing to do with its sharpness. It was purely abusing the explosive energy when the flames were compressed together. It immediately unleashed its destructive force when it landed on the Dreadful Curse Cerberus.

The flames of the Ardent Sunset and Calamity Fire spread rapidly after knocking the Dreadful Curse Cerberus flying. The creature was soon engulfed in flames. It cried wildly as it was being burned by the flames.

“It looks like it didn’t have time to set up its barrier!” Mu Ningxue realized the creature’s weakness when she saw the scorched wound left by the flame sword on the Dreadful Curse Hell Hound.

“Mm, it’s very likely that using the barrier consumes a lot of energy, so it can’t afford to use it all the time. If that’s the case, we might have a chance to kill it!” Mo Fan said.

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus had failed to react to Mo Fan’s surprise attack. The flame sword had left a huge wound on its body. Furthermore, it was continuing to burn and worsen the injury. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were in an advantageous position!

“Damn it!” Houndman clenched his teeth. Words were not needed to describe how agitated he was.

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus should have been able to kill the two young Mages very easily, yet they were still standing after so long!

“Dreadful Curse Glare!” Houndman ordered.

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ eyes began to emit light rays at Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue.

“Nyx Regime!” Mo Fan reacted swiftly. A dark aura loomed over the place and soon consumed the area in pitch-black darkness.

The Nyx Regime was Mo Fan’s Dark Domain. Any attacks directed at Mo Fan’s mind were greatly weakened within it. Most importantly, the Dreadful Curse Cerberus was having trouble tracking Mo Fan down in the darkness, so it had no chance of inflicting fear on him!

Mo Fan would not fall for the same trick twice!

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ eyes flickered wildly, yet it could not find exactly where Mo Fan had gone to. Mo Fan constantly changed his positions in the Nyx Regime. He appeared beside the Dreadful Curse Cerberus suddenly and threw a fiery fist at it.

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus was struggling to see properly. It subconsciously unleashed a bloody aura when it saw the light of the flames.

The bloody aura formed a powerful barrier around the Dreadful Curse Cerberus and Houndman. However, Houndman was angry when he realized the attack that Mo Fan had just executed was extremely weak. It would not have inflicted any damage on the Dreadful Curse Cerberus even without the protection of the barrier!

“Have a piece of my strongest destructive spell!” an excited voice said from another direction.

Houndman turned around and immediately saw brilliant flames approaching from the dark. A strong wave of heat preceded it.

It was an attack made up of three types of flames. Houndman quickly warned the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. The creature let out a roar and strengthened the protection around itself.

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus had taken a serious blow from the flame sword. Its strength would fall significantly if it kept on receiving those attacks.

With a slight breeze, a little blast landed on the Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ thick barrier.

The flames crackled and swayed wildly. It looked like mere firecrackers thrown at an indestructible mountain wall when compared to the enormous body of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus.

Houndman’s face reddened in rage when he saw the little spark. The heads of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus slanted to the side too, as if they were completely confused.

The strongest destructive spell?

Houndman immediately realized he had been tricked again. His heart was raging in his chest!

“Ice Hollow Roses!”

Mu Ningxue secretly completed her Ice Spell. Several icy roses suddenly blossomed close to the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. The icy thorns appeared right when the Dreadful Curse Cerberus withdrew its barrier. The icy roses turned into deadly weapons pouring down on the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. The creature was soon covered in bleeding holes!

The holes were tiny, yet it was still stunning to see almost a thousand holes poked in the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. The creature was covered in blood. Meanwhile, the passive ability of every Ice Spell, the penetrating frost, was digging into the Dreadful Curse Cerberus’s body through the wounds…

The creature’s blood flow began to slow down. It was clearly not in favor of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. Its movement speed was reduced under the effects of the Ice Magic!

The wound inflicted by the flames was already hindering its movements, as whenever it tried to accumulate force in its back legs, the wound would split open and bleed. Now the frost was penetrating the creature’s body too! The creature was greatly weakened by its injuries.

Houndman was sullen. The Dreadful Curse Cerberus was supposed to be unbeatable when facing Advanced Mages with its Blood Barrier. He never thought he would be tricked by Mo Fan’s shameless moves twice…

Houndman just could not understand. Wasn’t Mo Fan supposed to be the strongest participant in the World College Tournament? How could he be so shameless in a fight? He was yelling so loud that he was using his strongest destructive spell! Both Houndman and the Dreadful Curse Cerberus were so convinced by it, yet it was just a tiny little fireball that was only good for illuminating the area. When Houndman thought about how the little fireball had wasted the creature’s important Blood Barrier, he had an urge to turn into a Dreadful Curse Hound to tear Mo Fan into pieces himself!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Nirvana Ice Domain!”

Mu Ningxue’s Nirvana Ice Domain grew stronger as soon as the Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ aura weakened. It gradually surpassed the aura of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus.

She had managed to implant the frosty aura in the Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ body, making it easier for her to restrain the creature’s movement with her Ice Magic. Her ice was finally able to control the pace of the battle after it gradually penetrated the creature’s body through its wounds.

The temperature of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus’s blood dropped faster the lower it was. Its body temperature soon dropped to half of its initial level!

It was very crucial to restrain the creature’s speed, finally allowing Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan to dodge the creature’s attacks. It also allowed Mu Ningxue to kite the Dreadful Curse Cerberus with her agile Wind Element and ability to manipulate the terrain with her Ice Element.

“Tyrant Call!”

Mo Fan changed his approach to work better with Mu Ningxue’s Ice Magic. He no longer used his Fire. The continuous lightning strikes left Lightning Tyrant Scars all over the Dreadful Curse Cerberus.

The yellow Lightning Tyrant Scars glowed wildly on the Dreadful Curse Cerberus in many places. However, Houndman had no clue that they were going to trigger the Tyrant Call!

Mo Fan was smart with his approach. He triggered the Tyrant Call as soon as the Dreadful Curse Cerberus was done with its attack. The lightning strike triggered by more than a hundred stacks of the Lightning Tyrant Scars slammed down from the sky and landed right on the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. The powerful blast left a huge scorched hole on the creature’s back!

The hole was so big that the bones inside the creature’s body were visible. The ice poured into the open wound on the Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ body without restraint!

Mu Ningxue was better at fighting battles of attrition, since her Ice would grow stronger as the fight went on. She confidently directed her frost to lunge into the Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ body after Mo Fan blasted its skin apart. They could easily tell that the creature was getting weaker.

The creature’s aura had weakened, because it was dying.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had perfectly utilized the strength of their Lightning Tyrant and Nirvana Ice Domains. In addition to that, Mo Fan’s Lightning was significantly stronger than normal Lightning Mages. Since the Dreadful Curse Cerberus could no longer use its Blood Barrier, Mo Fan continuously summoned wild lightning down on it. The heads of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus were severely blistered from the continuous strokes.

Blood was pouring out from the creature’s wounds. Seriously injured by the ice and lightning, the Dreadful Curse Cerebus still attacked furiously, but Mu Ningxue dodged it with ease while triggering the Storm Trap that she had left behind.

A powerful wind with bearing frozen blades swept the gargantuan Dreadful Curse Cerberus into the air. The strong blades sliced at the creature, leaving even bigger wounds all over it.

Houndman was also in a miserable state after losing the protection of its blood barrier. He was covered in blood, just like the Dreadful Curse Hell Cerberus!

“Damn it, damn it, who do you think you are to challenge me? Die!” Houndman felt like he was about to lose his mind. He had actually lost to two students that had just graduated, when he was basically dominating the Advanced Level. The Dreadful Curse Cerberus that he was extremely proud of was suffering from serious injuries!

Houndman jumped down from the Dreadful Curse Cerberus when he saw the creature was struggling to rise to its feet. He was going to take Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue on with his magic.

“Why do I think the dog is all you got? You’re useless on your own!” Mo Fan grabbed Houndman’s throat with Telekinesis when he saw the man charging at him recklessly.

The Curse Spell that Houndman just cast dissipated straightaway. He had almost suffocated from Mo Fan’s powerful grip.

“Why aren’t you acting smug now!?” Mo Fan raised his other hand and gave Houndman a great slap to the face.

The slap strengthened by the Space Element was not something a human Mage could possibly endure. Houndman immediately lost two of his front teeth. He spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was beyond recognition after taking the slap.

“This is for bringing your dogs to my territory, you piece of shit!” Mo Fan gave Houndman a huge slap to the other side of his face before he could even react. His face was swollen even further after losing a few more teeth!

1 “That’s what you get for trying to be a bully under your dog’s protection! Do you really think you can lay your hands on the Totem Beast?” Mo Fan did not show any mercy. He slapped Houndman on the face again, knocking him unconscious.

Houndman’s face was covered in blood, swollen like a roasted pig. When he regained consciousness, he realized Mo Fan was still holding him in the air. He immediately fainted, overwhelmed by his anger.

Mo Fan never cared about righteousness and justice. When Mu Ningxue asked him what they should do about the Dreadful Curse Cerberus, Mo Fan decisively cast a Sky Lightning Claw to tear the Dreadful Curse Cerberus into pieces!

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus was extremely strong. It posed a great threat even when he was teaming up with Mu Ningxue. Why would he bother sparing the creature’s life?

“You’re still pretending to be unconscious!?” Mo Fan woke Houndman up with another slap to the face. Houndman could no longer speak properly after losing his teeth. His nose and mouth were basically mashed flat and looked like one big smear.

When Houndman saw the Dreadful Curse Cerberus that he had spent all his life raising torn to pieces by lightning, his eyes rolled up as he fainted in despair!

1 Killing the Summoned Beast of a Mage using the Summoning Element as their primary Element was the same as crippling their cultivation. It was unlikely that they could raise the same Summoned Beasts again. Houndman was in so much despair that he fainted straightaway!

“Did you really just wake him up just so he could see the dead body of his Summoned Beast?” Mu Ningxue rolled her eyes at Mo Fan.

1 Mo Fan grinned; he was enjoying torturing the man!

When Mo Fan was about to say something, three brilliant lights floated out of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ body. They seemed to be confused after leaving the body, but after the Little Loach Pendant shuddered, they immediately flew toward Mo Fan.

“Are those…” Mo Fan seemed surprised.

It was already a great fortune if he could obtain a Soul Essence from killing a Commander-level creature. To his amazement, killing the Dreadful Curse Cerberus actually gave him three Soul Essences!

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus was clearly one of the strongest Commander-level creatures he had ever fought against, meaning that the three Soul Essences were most likely better than normal Soul Essences too. He could definitely make a fortune by selling them!

1 Mo Fan burst out laughing.

Mu Ningxue was unable to see the Soul Essences that Mo Fan had collected. She assumed Mo Fan had started to lose himself as he indulged in the pleasure of torturing the man.

—

“Nighthawk, how are you doing?” Mo Fan showed up while dragging the unconscious Houndman along the ground.

Nighthawk turned around. He was surprised to see Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue.

“Where’s the Dreadful Curse Cerberus?” Nighthawk asked.

“Dead,” Mo Fan said.

“You killed it?” Nighthawk found it hard to believe.

Nighthawk still had a lingering fear for the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. He could still feel pain from the scar on his neck every time he recalled the past. Even though he might be strong enough to take down the creature now, it was still an unhealable wound…

“You actually killed the Dreadful Curse Cerberus…” It took Nighthawk some time to collect his thoughts. He shook his head helplessly and said, “You two are seriously monsters.”

Nighthawk finally understood why China had come first in the World College Tournament. These two were just insanely strong if they could kill even a Dreadful Curse Cerberus!

“There’s nothing we can’t beat when us husband and wife work together!” Mo Fan laughed.

1 Mu Ningxue was too lazy to refute it. She went over to Yu Shishi instead.

1 Nighthawk had taken care of Zeng Guanglie, Ke Lingxi, and the underlings. He did not have any problem dealing with them, considering how strong he was. He could even take out Houndman too, if it was not for his subconscious fear of the Dreadful Curse Hell Hounds.

“Nighthawk, how dare you help outsiders against the members of the Magic Association? I’ll tell the council about it! They will make you pay for it!” Ke Lingxi barked like a dog. He had recognized Nighthawk.

“Ke Lingxi, you knew they were after the Totem Beast, yet you still tried to help them steal it. Feel free to explain yourself to the Chairman. I can’t wait to see how many years in prison you will be sentenced to since you, a committee member of the Research Union, has been giving important information about our country’s Totem Beasts to outsiders!” Nighthawk replied disdainfully.

The Research Union had clearly crossed the line. If they were only after Yu Shishi to research the unique scent that stopped the demon creatures from attacking her, no one could possibly do anything to them. However, things were different as soon as a Totem Beast was involved!

Even though people were not willing to mention the Totem Beasts, they were still the heritage of their country. Since the incident that had involved the Black Totem Snake, these Totem Beasts had been under protection, like the ancient heritage of their country, yet Ke Lingxi still dared to trade the information of the Magic Association to the people of the Asia Magic Association!

“Ke Lingxi, you know what you’ve done. You better tell us who’s behind it. Perhaps the Chairman might go easy on you. Otherwise, there’s a chance that you might be charged with treason!” Nighthawk said imperiously. Ke Lingxi’s threat was clearly useless against him.

Ke Lingxi was dumbfounded. As a matter of fact, he knew there would be great consequences if Houndman was caught, since he was not a Mage from their country…

“What’s going on here?” Mu Ningxue was confused after hearing Nighthawk’s words.

“Continent Councilman Su Lu of the Asia Magic Association isn’t on friendly terms with Chairman Shao Zheng. Su Lu is using the Donghai Magic Association to search for Totem Beasts. If Ke Lingxi is willing to testify that Su Lu is behind it, Chairman Shao Zheng will easily make Su Lu pay for it!” Mo Fan told Mu Ningxue.

“Then what about Yu Shishi…” Mu Ningxue hesitated.

“Don’t worry, Shao Zheng has left me in charge of the Totem Beasts. I’m pretty much the ambassador of Totem Beasts now, so Yu Shishi is under my care. No one apart from the Councilmen can lay a hand on her,” Mo Fan declared.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Moon Moth Phoenix was safe now, but she still showed no sign of waking up. Yu Shishi’s face was covered in tears. Almost all of the blue moths had died in the battle. The ones left alive were injured too. They were flying pitifully around Yu Shishi in circles.

“Cheer up,” Mu Ningxue comforted her.

Yu Shishi wiped her tears and forced a pitiful smile. “It’s worth it as long as the Moon Moth Phoenix is safe!”

“You’re safe too. I believe they can reproduce pretty fast again under your delicate care,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Mm, you’re right!” Yu Shishi nodded.

Either way, she had fulfilled her role and protected the Moon Moth Phoenix. It would be worse if the Moon Moth Phoenix was taken away after she had sacrificed everything. If that happened, she would never be able to recover from the loss!

“I’ll have to find a new hiding spot for her. I’m sorry I can’t tell you where she would be relocated to,” Yu Shishi said.

“Hang on,” Mo Fan stopped Yu Shishi.

Yu Shishi was obviously still holding a grudge against Mo Fan. She looked at Mo Fan alertly. She was afraid that these benefactors that helped to drive away the people that were harboring malicious intent toward the Moon Moth Phoenix were having other thoughts about the Moon Moth Phoenix, too.

“No one is supposed to know where the Moon Moth Phoenix apart from you, yet how did they manage to find this place?” Mo Fan asked, his eyes narrowed.

“I…I don’t know either,” Yu Shishi fell into deep thought. – Yeah, how did they know where the Moon Moth Phoenix is?-

Meanwhile, Lingling walked up to the group of people that Nighthawk had subdued and stared at one of the men with his head lowered.

“You are Lian Xishan, right?” Lingling asked.

The man raised his head. He seemed to be in a panic.

Lian Xishan never expected that Chairman Shao Zheng was paying attention to the Totem Beasts. Ke Lingxi was clearly colluding with outsiders to steal the Totem Beast, meaning that he would have to face grave consequences too!

“I’m…I’m not,” Lian Xishan quickly denied.

“You’re seriously a disgrace to Jiang Shaojun. The man risked his life to search for the Totem Beasts, but you sold the information to these people that tried to harm the Totem Beasts instead!” Lingling harrumphed coldly. She sounded a little angry.

“Is he the colleague that Jiang Shaojun mentioned in his journal?” Mo Fan looked at Lian Xishan.

“Mm, a piece of scum,” Lingling confirmed.

Mo Fan went up to Lian Xishan and snapped, “I’ve asked around and learned that Jiang Shaojun went missing while he was looking for an ancient Totem Beast. Were you the one that killed him!?”

Lian Xishan’s face paled after hearing the accusation!

“Heavens, I never killed Jiang Shaojun!” Lian Xishan shook his head urgently and said, “I have nothing to do with it. I didn’t kill him. He insisted on going to look for the ancient Totem Beast. I thought it was too dangerous, and his speculation was just too ridiculous, so our team didn’t go with him!”

“Oh? Do you know where he went then?” Mo Fan asked.

“He went to a few places. Once, he visited Hangzhou, and he came to me looking very excited. He told me that he had discovered a great secret. He was hoping that I could help him find the Totem Beast. I assumed he had gone crazy, so I just ignored him. He was very disappointed with me, and then he went north,” Lian Xishan said.

Lian Xishan quickly told Mo Fan everything he knew after he was accused of killing Jiang Shaojun.

“He went to Hangzhou?” Mo Fan fell into deep thought.

“I only knew he went somewhere in Gansu,” Lian Xishan said. His forehead was covered in sweat.

“Well, do you recognize this feather?” Mo Fan took out a huge feather from the storage of his Space Element.

Lian Xishan obviously recognized the feather. The expression on his face said it all.

Lian Xishan collected his thoughts after some time. He stammered, “It took us a great amount of effort to find this feather. However, there was a huge disagreement in the team after that, so we didn’t continue with the search.”

“Where did you find this feather?” Mo Fan asked

“In Yantai! I can give you all the information I have if you’re interested!” Lian Xishan exclaimed.

“It seems like you’re still of some use. I guess I’ll hand you to the Enforcement Union later,” Mo Fan smiled.

Lian Xishan immediately looked grateful. If he really ended up in Chairman Shao Zheng’s hands, a little archaeologist like him was surely going to face great problems…

“I’ll be going then,” Yu Shishi said.

“If the Moon Moth Phoenix wakes up, can you please ask if she knows of the other Totem Beasts?” Mo Fan asked.

“Sure!” Yu Shishi nodded. The favor Mo Fan asked was nothing compared to the help that he and Mu Ningxue had provided.

—

—

The forest happened to be closer to Hangzhou, so Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, Nighthawk, and Lingling decided to escort the people to Hangzhou instead.

Tangyue was around when they arrived at the Lingyin Enforcement Union. She looked at Mo Fan, Nighthawk, Mu Ningxue, and Lingling with wide eyes.

Tang Zhong was around, too. Mo Fan spoke before he could even speak, “Old Tang, can I borrow the prison of your Enforcement Union for some days? These people are very important to the Chairman.”

“Can you at least tell me what’s going on first? Zeng Guanglie, Ke Lingxi… what the heck have you done this time?” Tang Zhong recognized the prisoners.

The Donghai Magic Association occasionally had dealings with the Hangzhou Magic Association, and both Zeng Guanglie and Ke Lingxi held fairly high ranks in the Donghai Magic Association too. Why did they end up being escorted by Nighthawk like they were criminals?

Tang Zhong learned the truth after a brief explanation from Nighthawk.

“You are a fool!” Tang Zhong berated them sadly. He seemed to be quite close to Ke Lingxi.

“Brother Tang Zhong, I didn’t think it would end up like this. I was blinded by my greed,” Ke Lingxi let out a heavy sigh.

It was useless to say anything now. He had colluded with outsiders instead of telling anyone about his discovery of a Totem Beast. There was no way he could escape punishment.

“Just tell the Chairman everything you know, and he might go easy on you for it,” Tang Zhong said.

“I will,” Ke Lingxi sighed haggardly.

“Tangyue, escort them to the prison,” Tang Zhong said.

“A lot of things have been happening lately. Our cells are almost full,” Tangyue nodded, somewhat amused.

—

—

It was already late at night. Mo Fan did not leave straightaway. He decided to spend the night at Hangzhou with Mu Ningxue.

If he had to find the perfect place for a date, it would definitely be the island at the heart of West Lake with its stunning view. Mo Fan had never been to shadowy shrubs with a clear beautiful lake together with Mu Ningxue. He purposely brought Mu Ningxue to the island in the middle of West Lake. The place was surrounded by water with a spectacular pavilion on it. It kept placing Mo Fan in a reverie…

“Are you serious about looking for the Totem Beasts?” Mu Ningxue asked him.

“Yeah, you have been improving so much that I’m having a hard time catching up,” Mo Fan said.

“What does it have anything to do with searching for the Totem Beasts?” Mu Ningxue was confused.

“I don’t know, I just feel like I’m tied to the Totem Beasts in some ways. There’s this voice that keeps calling me. The voice grows stronger whenever I come into contact with a Totem Beast,” Mo Fan said seriously.

Mu Ningxue rolled her eyes as she listened to Mo Fan’s explanation, “Bullshit! You can just go search for the Totem Beasts if you are interested in them. It’s not like you can just stay at a place and behave yourself.”

“Xuexue, you know me well,” Mo Fan took the initiative to stick his face closer.

Mu Ningxue was well aware of Mo Fan’s intentions. She picked up her pace and went inside the building nearby.

“You mentioned the drawings here before,” Mu Ningxue observed the drawings on the walls to distract herself from Mo Fan’s pursuit.

“Ah, these. I’ve been here a lot of times, but I can’t figure out what they mean… these bits here are similar to the patterns on the wooden clapper we saw in Japan. It looks like characters, or diagrams, or nothing at all. These bits are on the Black Totem Snake. Look here, it’s like the body of a snake protecting a village, which might be referring to the Black Totem Snake…and these bits…” Mo Fan suddenly fell silent. A sudden thought crossed his mind as he was explaining his discovery to Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan after he suddenly became quiet. She was breathing as softly as she could.

Mu Ningxue was familiar with Mo Fan. It was obvious that he had thought of something, so she did not make a sound to disturb him.

As she thought, Mo Fan suddenly focused the drawings on the walls. He first looked at the Totem Beast that resembled the Black Totem Snake, before looking at the pattern that was related to the wooden clapper!

“Xuexue, look here, isn’t this shape similar to the pattern we saw on the Moon Moth Phoenix’s cocoon!?” Mo Fan went up to the wall and pointed at a strange pattern.

Mu Ningxue followed Mo Fan’s finger and recalled the pattern on the giant cocoon. She nodded and said, “You’re right, they are alike!”

“Take a look at this!” Mo Fan took out the feather of a Totem Beast that he had shown to Lian Xishan before. He placed the feather above the pattern of the Moon Moth Phoenix.

Mu Ningxue observed closely. After comparing the two, she was surprised to see that the pattern of the Moon Moth Phoenix was actually very similar to the pattern on the feather. They could even stack on top of one another. It was like two fingerprints that were ninety-percent identical!

That being said, the patterns on the Totem Beasts were a few dozen times bigger than fingerprints!

Was it just a coincidence? The pattern of the Moon Moth Phoenix was almost the same as the pattern on the mysterious feather!

“Xuexue, have you heard the legend about the Black Tortoise?” Mo Fan asked.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan, waiting for him to keep going.

“It’s something that Zhao Manyan told me before. I was quite curious why he was suddenly interested in Totem Beasts and even started researching about them,” Mo Fan recalled the words that Zhao Manyan had told him and linked them to the information about Baxia that Chairman Shao Zheng had told him recently. He organized the information before explaining it to Mu Ningxue.

“Zhao Manyan told me the legend of the Black Tortoise, how it had two descendants. One is the Black Totem Snake, and the other is Baxia. Based on Old Bao and Chairman Shao Zheng’s speculation, the wooden clapper that Zhao Manyan found is a symbolic artifact of Baxia, something that was normally in the possession of the chiefs of the ancient tribes that were protected by the Totem Beasts. Take a look at this; it’s the pattern of the Totem Beast that Jiang Shaojun was searching for. I believe it’s the seal of the Black Tortoise.”

Mo Fan took out Jiang Shaojun’s journal. There was a scribbled line tagging the Black Tortoise in it.

Most importantly, the seal of the Black Tortoise looked very familiar to Mu Ningxue…

“The…the seal of the Black Tortoise seems to be the combination of the seals of the Black Totem Snake and the wooden clapper!” Mu Ningxue concluded after recalling the pattern on Zhao Manyan’s wooden clapper.

“Exactly, it’s the combination of both! The two seals can combine into the seal of the Black Tortoise… it basically verifies the legend that the Black Tortoise had two descendants, Xuanshe and Baxia!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mu Ningxue nodded. She noticed Mo Fan was quite excited after solving a mystery.

“Look at this part of the feather,” Mo Fan placed the mysterious feather on the wall and used his hand to cover a part of it.

“Mm, it’s similar to the Moon Moth Phoenix’s pattern, you already mentioned that,” Mu Ningxue said.

“If our speculation of how the Black Totem Snake and Baxia are related to the Black Tortoise, it means the Moon Moth Phoenix is actually one of the descendants of this feather’s owner!” Mo Fan said.

Mu Ningxue’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing the words. An indescribable excitement was echoing in her heart!

If the Moon Moth Phoenix was only the descendant of the feather’s owner, what exactly would the Totem Beast that the feather belonged to be like?

“Hang on! If we already know the Moon Moth Phoenix’s Totem Seal and the seal of the feather’s owner, we can use subtraction to find out the seal of the other Totem Beast?” Mu Ningxue was excited after realizing that.

“Exactly!” Mo Fan nodded quickly.

The formula for the Totem Seals was simple. The seal of Baxia + the seal of the Black Totem Snake was the seal of the Black Tortoise!

It also implied that the seal of the mysterious feather’s owner – the seal of the Moon Moth Phoenix = the seal of an unknown Totem Beast!

The traces of Totem Beasts had been erased by time. It was extremely difficult to search for clues about them. However, if they knew the seal of a Totem Beast beforehand, it might be a useful clue to tracking down that Totem Beast!

“Maybe Jiang Shaojun figured out how the Totem Beasts are related to one another from the drawings here?” Mu Ningxue recalled what Lian Xishan said.

“That must be it. He insisted on exploring the south even if it meant going alone. He must have figured out there was a powerful Totem Beast there using the Totem Seals. He even mentioned it in the journal!” Mo Fan exclaimed eagerly.

Jiang Shaojun had found the truth to a Great Totem Beast with the help of the Totem Seals. However, no one had believed him back then, so he decided to prove it himself.

A man who was so passionate about the past, a man that was willing to sacrifice everything to seek the truth, a man who had discovered the secrets of the Totem Beasts ended up missing… Mo Fan had heard Jiang Shaoxu talking about her brother Jiang Shaojun many times. He could not relate much to the man, but now that he had discovered the secret, his heart was pounding heavily too!

What could the Totem Beast that the feather belonged to, the creature whose rank was higher than the Moon Moth Phoenix, be? On the other hand, what was the Totem Beast that was on the same level as the Moon Moth Phoenix?

What was the Great Totem Beast that Jiang Shaojun kept mentioning in his journal? Was it the same Totem Beast that the feather belonged to? Or was it something else?

“Even though I don’t really understand why you are so passionate about the Totem Beasts, I strongly believe you will find the other Totem Beasts, beyond the Black Totem Snake and the Moon Moth Phoenix,” Mu Ningxue encouraged him quietly.

Mo Fan could not tell for sure either.

Why was he so passionate about the Totem Beasts? Was it because of their power?

Was it because he was interested in the overwhelming strength of the Totem Beasts? Was he fascinated by the fact that he could roam freely across the world if he could subdue one or two of them!?

“By the way, do you know what happened to Zhao Manyan?” Mu Ningxue said as the thought crossed her mind.

“About that, there’s something I couldn’t understand,” Mo Fan replied.

“What is it?” Mu Ningxue was quite curious too. She had heard the specifics of Zhao Manyan being eaten by a giant creature from the others.

“If Baxia was following us all the way from Japan to Venice, why did he show up all of a sudden after the end of the World College Tournament? I kept feeling that things aren’t as simple as they seem!” Mo Fan said.

Mu Ningxue glanced outside the building and happened to see the Black Totem Snake poking his enormous head closer. It was obvious that the Black Totem Snake was aware of Mo Fan’s presence, and had come to greet him.

A thought crossed Mu Ningxue’s mind when she saw how friendly the Black Totem Snake was to Mo Fan, “Mo Fan, is it possible that Zhao Manyan’s life was in danger? Baxia didn’t show up to destroy anything, nor was he trying to eat Zhao Manyan. He was actually trying to protect him!”

Mu Ningxue’s words immediately cleared up Mo Fan’s doubts!

Yeah, Baxia had obviously been following Zhao Manyan, since the wooden clapper was its symbolic vessel. Zhao Manyan was like the chief of the ancient tribe the Totem Beast was protecting, so he suddenly showed up when Zhao Manyan’s life was in danger!

Why did he not think about that in the first place!? That meant that something did happen to Zhao Manyan…

“Do you remember what Zhao Manyan was discussing with you?” Mu Ningxue said.

“He seemed pretty dispirited, mainly because of his father. He was hoping to make his father proud of his contributions. There was something he wanted to tell me too, but he didn’t say it in the end. It felt like it’s going to hurt if he said it,” Mo Fan recalled.

“Aren’t you very close to him? Why would he not tell you about it?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“I…I don’t know,” Mo Fan had no clue either.

“Normally, there are a few possibilities why he didn’t want to say it. First, it might hurt the person he’s talking to. Second, it might hurt someone that’s as important as you are to him. Third, it might hurt himself,” Mu Ningxue told him.

Mu Ningxue was able to give Mo Fan a different view of the questions he had. If Baxia only showed up because Zhao Manyan was in danger, was Zhao Manyan not willing to tell him everything because it was going to put his life in danger?

A loud cry from the sky interrupted Mo Fan’s thoughts.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue went outside and saw Nighthawk and his Light-Curtain Eagle circling in the sky.

The Black Totem Snake had already submerged into the water, just so he did not scare the Light-Curtain Eagle so much that it would not dare to land.

“Mo Fan, something bad happened!” Nighthawk said with a frown.

“What is it?” Mo Fan said.

“We’ll talk after we reach the Lingyin Enforcement Union,” Nighthawk signaled Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue to come onto his Light-Curtain Eagle.

—

They rode the Light-Curtain Eagle as it flew across the lake and headed toward Lingyin Mountain…

Nighthawk brought them straight to the prison. Tang Zhong and Tangyue were there too. They were wearing terrible looks. They could not find any word to say when they saw Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue.

Mo Fan looked into the prison and saw one of the cells had a huge pool of blood and a corpse that was beyond recognition in it.

In the other corner, Houndman looked up with a ferocious gaze. His hands were covered in blood. The blood was slowly dripping onto the floor.

“He killed Ke Lingxi,” Tangyue said with a self-blaming look, “I shouldn’t have locked them up in the same cell.”

Mo Fan was astounded by the sight.

The minds of the prisoners were suppressed when they were in the cells, meaning that they could not cast a single spell. In other words, Houndman had killed Ke Lingxi in the most brutal way.

Ke Lingxi’s death meant that they no longer had any evidence to accuse Continent Councilman Su Lu!

“Why did you do it!? The offenses you’ve committed aren’t even that serious. You just needed to spend a few years in jail, and you could still be a Mage after that. However, there’s no way you’re coming out of prison after killing Ke Lingxi!” Tang Zhong snapped.

“I’m more afraid of Su Lu than being imprisoned forever,” Houndman looked up. He did not wear a proud grin, like things had gone according to his plan. Instead, his face was pale and he was covered in a sweat of uneasiness and fear!

Su Lu hated being let down by his men the most. Houndman knew he would suffer greatly if not only did he fail to accomplish his mission, but he also ended up bringing trouble to Su Lu.

Houndman would rather make amends, even if it meant committing a serious offense by killing a committee member of the Research Union. He would rather spend the rest of his life in jail than be punished by the enraged Su Lu!

“Is that guy really that scary?” Mo Fan asked, seeing Houndman’s reaction. It was hard to imagine why a man who was almost unbeatable in the Advanced Mage would be so scared of a person!

“You don’t understand, you will never understand… you better be prepared too. Su Lu never forgives anyone that opposes him. Soon… you will be wearing my shoes,” Houndman curled up in the corner. It felt like he was suffering from a mental disorder.

1 “… let’s go,” Mo Fan sighed.

Tangyue was still blaming herself for it. Mo Fan reassured her that she was not to blame.

Tangyue might be an Enforcer, but she was too kind to understand how twisted humans could be. It was definitely not her fault…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Lujiang Private Hospital in the Magic City was located on the side of a hill. Its unique position and the spectacular woods surrounding it made it one of the most luxurious hospitals available. The majority of the people here were not patients, but medical personnel. It was common to see an aged patient followed by a group of medical personnel. They would even measure the wind speed as a safety precaution…

There was a spacious ward on the fourth floor. It was already midnight, so most of the medical personnel had left. Only a few had stayed to be on guard. The nurses were dozing off. They looked quite tired.

“Mother, I’ll bring you home. You aren’t used to resting here,” a man with glossy hair spoke up.

“I want to stay here,” the woman said.

“It’s fine, I’ll be keeping an eye here,” the man said.

“Al…alright. Oh Youqian, I wouldn’t know what to do if you weren’t here with me.” The woman seemed haggard.

The family had suddenly ended up in such a miserable state that only pain and grief were left. Bai Mingjing felt like she could not bear it any longer.

The man sent Bai Mingjing on her way and came back to the fourth floor. He glanced at a man with a scarred face and said, “Do me a favor tonight.”

“You can’t do it yourself, right?” the scarface said.

“Wait until it’s two in the morning. I didn’t expect the old man to last for so long,” Zhao Youqian said.

“You’re seriously the most cold-blooded person I’ve ever seen,” the scarface grinned.

“An assassin like you has no right to criticize me,” Zhao Youqian harrumphed.

The scarface leaned against the wall beside the door and watched Zhao Youqian leave. His eyes flickered with a slight hint of hostility.

He was holding a certain grudge against Zhao Youqian. His wife would not have been eaten by the island monster if the man had not hired them for the job.

That being said, it was not too bad working for Zhao Youqian; at least he would receive great benefits once the man took over the Zhao Clan.

After taking a look at his watch, Bacon lit up a cigarette and started smoking on the spot.

“Sir, you’re not allowed to smoke here. Please smoke at the end of the corridor,” a nurse that was dozing off spoke up immediately.

Bacon smacked his lips. However, he was not too bothered by it. He slowly moved to the end of the corridor.

“Wait, sir, there’s an injection scheduled soon. Can you please let Dr. Mo in first?” the nurse said.

“Here’s the magic lock, do whatever you want,” Bacon indifferently tossed the key to the magic lock to the nurse.

The nurse caught it and placed it aside. She began to do some paperwork.

Not long after, a doctor wearing a mask showed up. He glanced at the scarface Bacon standing at the end of the corridor alertly, but soon averted his gaze. He nodded at the nurse that had managed to get the key to the magic lock.

He went inside the ward. The room was fairly spacious with all kinds of instruments. However, it felt extremely cold inside.

The room had French windows, so it was possible to see into the room from the outside. The nurse went into the room and drew the curtains. The two Mages on duty felt it was inappropriate, but the nurse simply glared at them and continued to draw the curtains.

—

“Thanks, you’ve done me a huge favor,” the doctor said sincerely.

“Just hurry up, the guy is going to be back after he’s done smoking,” the nurse said.

The doctor went over to the sickbed. His eyes reddened when he saw the old man lying on the bed who had no sign of vitality on his face.

In Zhao Manyan’s memories, that face always had the imperious expression of someone that ruled over a renowned clan, but it would occasionally have a patient and loving look when the man was looking at him. However, it had now wilted like an old tree. Zhao Manyan suddenly felt he was having difficulty breathing properly!

Zhao Manyan took a deep breath. His whole throat felt sour. He was trying his best to keep his calm.

However, the face like a wilted tree shuddered a little. The man’s eyes slowly opened. The dull eyes that were overwhelmed with fatigue glanced at Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan was stunned. He did not dare to say a word.

The old man suddenly became restless. He tried to reach his hand toward Zhao Manyan’s face.

Zhao Manyan was still wearing a mask. He did not expect his father would be able to recognize him at first glance. When the cold fingers touched his face, he could no longer hold back the tears that were spinning in his eyes. They began to run down his face.

Zhao Manyan held the old man’s skinny hand. There were lots of things he wanted to say, but he was choked with sobs.

“Dad…” Zhao Manyan finally gathered his thoughts, but to his astonishment, the old man’s hand fell to the side as if it had lost its strength…

His eyes that were glittering were tightly shut now. There was less pain on his face, but it had lost all vitality.

His father had passed away…

His heart had stopped beating. His body had lost its warmth. He had really passed away.

Zhao Manyan crouched still. His heart was experiencing a great surge of emotions. His face greatly contorted in pain.

“You…you were waiting for me all along?” Zhao Manyan finally spoke, staring at the old man who was already dead.

His father was gravely ill after the World College Tournament. Zhao Manyan was told that he would not live for more than half a month. The family had agreed to let him die peacefully in advance, to avoid being tortured by the illness.

However, it had already been half a year since then, but the old man was still holding onto his last breath.

The man had endured the pain and torture for half a year… just to hear the news that he was still alive and see his son for one last time!

Zhao Manyan could no longer withhold the emotions in his heart. He fell onto the chest of the old man that was slowly growing cold and burst out crying like a kid.

The nurse let out a sigh upon seeing this.

The father and son were separated by death right after they had reunited. The old man had endured the torture of the illness for half a year just for this moment. The past half a year was longer than the old man’s entire life.

Luckily, he made it. His father could finally rest in peace.

—

“Sir, you still have the smell of a cigarette on you, you can’t go in there!” a nurse yelled loudly outside the room.

“Time’s up; having the smell or not doesn’t matter to the old man now,” Bacon smiled.

“How can you say that? He’s still a patient. He’s still alive as long as he’s breathing,” the nurse snapped.

“You still don’t know what I do for a living, right?” Bacon looked at the stubborn nurse with a cold grin, “You save people’s lives, but I’m quite the opposite!”

The nurse backed away subconsciously after seeing the man’s terrifying gaze.

Bacon opened the door and immediately noticed the man wearing a mask.

“Who are you?” Bacon immediately showed strong hostility and glared at Zhao Manyan sharply.

“Sir, he’s Dr. Mo, he’s working the night shift today,” the nurse quickly explained.

“Take off the mask,” Bacon snapped coldly, but did not attack right away.

“Mr. Bacon, there’s no need to be so rude…”

“It’s none of your business!” Bacon glared at the nurse. The nurse froze in place. She was so terrified that she could not even speak.

Bacon walked up to Zhao Manyan and repeated, “Take off the mask!”

Zhao Manyan’s breathing intensified after feeling the enormous pressure from the man.

Zhao Manyan recognized the man. He was one of the assassins that Zhao Youqian had hired to kill him. He was a Super Mage. Zhao Manyan did not stand a chance against him.

Zhao Manyan slowly took off the mask under the pressure, revealing his face. It was a haggard but handsome face.

Bacon stared at Zhao Manyan. His murderous aura rose for a moment, but it soon dissipated rapidly.

“I’m sorry, I’ve never seen you before. Dr. Mo, right? How’s the old man?” Bacon withdrew his intimidating demeanor and wore an insincerely apologetic smile.

“He passed away, just a moment ago,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Oh? Guess it makes me less guilty,” Bacon said.

“Tell the family to make arrangements,” Zhao Manyan donned the mask and left the ward with a cold expression.

“Don’t you worry, it will surely be a grand funeral knowing how rich the family is, hehe!” Bacon replied.

Zhao Manyan took a deep breath again while heading out of the room. The nurse followed quickly.

—

—

After going outside, Zhao Manyan was struggling to breathe. The tears that he tried his very best to hold still ended up pouring down like a rain.

Zhao Manyan had the urge to tear the scarface into pieces with his bare hands when he was uttering disrespectful words at his father. Unfortunately, he could not do it, since he was still too weak to take the man on, nor could he do anything to Zhao Youqian, who basically had the whole Zhao Clan under his control now.

Zhao Manyan walked aimlessly on the streets, like a zombie. The city was still lively at night. In the past, he would be spending his money recklessly by now. However, the city looked completely empty in his eyes. All he could see was a boundless darkness!

There was no sense of direction, nor a single glimpse of light in it.

—

Zhao Manyan had no idea where he was after wandering around aimlessly. He only sensed a black shadow moving past him from the side.

Zhao Manyan lifted his gaze and saw a familiar figure slowly walking out of the shadow with a pure and sincere smile.

“Old Zhao, I knew you weren’t dead!” Mo Fan quickened his pace after appearing from the shadows.

Zhao Manyan was stunned. He smiled too, even though his smile looked rather ugly.

Chapter 1278: The Seal on the Little Loach

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Did you manage to see him one last time?” Mo Fan asked.

“I did,” Zhao Manyan nodded.

“It’s Zhao Youqian, right? Do you want to get revenge? I can help you,” Mo Fan offered.

“Not now,” Zhao Manyan shook his head.

Zhao Youqian was a maniac. Zhao Manyan was worried that Zhao Youqian might harm his mother if his brother knew he was still alive.

Besides, he was still too weak now. Zhao Youqian might not be able to cast a single spell, but he had lots of experts protecting him. Zhao Manyan could not even take on the scarfaced Bacon.

Zhao Manyan had matured a lot. He knew that if he was too preoccupied with the thought of getting revenge, he would just let his father down. Didn’t his father hold onto his last breath just long enough to learn he was still alive?

Many people believed that death was honorable, and being reckless was being brave. However, most of the time, the people that chose to die were only trying to be freed from their burdens, as they were not brave enough to face the heavy blows and carry the anticipation of the people that had passed away. Choosing to die was actually the cowardly act here!

Zhao Manyan did not want to do anything stupid, nor would he let his father down. He would live comfortably, live longer than anyone else, and live freely!

“How did you know?” Zhao Manyan was quite surprised that Mo Fan knew Zhao Youqian had set him up, and the fact that he was still alive.

“I guessed it. I was in Hangzhou not long ago when the Black Totem Snake vaguely sensed that Baxia was approaching the shoreline of our country, so I guessed that you were coming back. I’ve been waiting at your father’s hospital ever since. I’m glad that I was right,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan recalled that Zhao Manyan was discussing his brother after being reminded by Mu Ningxue.

Zhao Manyan and Zhao Youqian were brothers by blood, thus it was difficult for Mo Fan to even think about the possibility. However, he immediately arrived at the conclusion after asking Lingling to investigate the Zhao Clan.

The discovery was very heartbreaking; to think that even a family member related by blood would do such a thing. It would shatter even the strongest belief…

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. It was only a matter of time until my father passed away. Zhao Youqian tried to kill me, but I’m still alive. Nothing has changed,” Zhao Youqian said.

“If you’re not planning to get your revenge for now, what are you thinking of doing?” Mo Fan asked.

“I was thinking of the same thing too… it seems like the plan we initially had isn’t going to work now,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Yeah, we were supposed to be derelict in our duties as we went on and get laid by the Japanese lolis, the mature women and b**ches in America and England, but we ended up winning the first place in the World College Tournament and becoming the role model of the people in our country,” Mo Fan exclaimed in mock protest. He could not understand which part had gone wrong along the journey that led them accidentally to performing as exemplars during the World College Tournament.

“Maybe I’ll travel around the world for a year or two to liven up myself. I’ll worry about what to do later,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Ah, traveling, why don’t you come with me? I’m on a job that involves a lot of traveling too. I bet you’ll like it. To make it better, the government is paying all the fees!” Mo Fan said.

“Sounds great, where are we going first?” Zhao Manyan’s eyes glittered after hearing Mo Fan’s plan.

The truth was, Zhao Manyan wanted to become stronger. He believed the traveling that Mo Fan mentioned was clearly going to involve training too. It was more efficient to go on adventures than just cultivating diligently. He accepted as soon as Mo Fan mentioned it.

“We’re going to Yantai. Speaking of which, it might have something to do with you too,” Mo Fan said.

“Me?” Zhao Manyan was confused.

“The creature that escorted you here is the Totem Beast Baxia, right?” Mo Fan said.

“Hehe, so you already knew! I wasn’t sure in the first place until he showed up in Venice. I thought I was dead for sure, but he brought me to a place, I have no idea where. I was seriously injured. It took me months just to recover, so I ended up spending all my time cultivating at that shitty place,” Zhao Manyan said.

“I didn’t think you would be so lucky,” Mo Fan said.

“Baxia isn’t fond of interacting with humans. I think he has gone back to the Pacific Ocean. Besides, I’m too weak, so he wasn’t too fond of me, either. It took a great effort just to convince him to bring me back here,” Zhao Manyan explained.

“A tsundere old turtle, so it seems. I’m curious how spectacular it would be if he was standing together with the Black Totem Snake,” Mo Fan said.

“He wasn’t fond of the Black Totem Snake either, even though they are brothers. They are like the kind that don’t want anything to do with one another,” Zhao Manyan said.

“…” Mo Fan felt his head hurting. It explained why the Black Totem Snake never mentioned that he had a brother.

“What did you mean by traveling?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“We are looking for Totem Beasts!”

Zhao Manyan’s jaw dropped.

That was a hell of a job! As expected of Mo Fan, the man who was always caught up in things that no one would even bother doing!

If Zhao Manyan had not come into contact with Baxia, he would be calling Mo Fan crazy right now. Totem Beasts were like ancient artifacts that had existed in the last era. They might be buried thousands of meters deep under the ground. They were most likely going to end up finding some bones and remains of the Totem Beasts…

However, Zhao Manyan now believed there were still Totem Beasts alive across the world. Some had indeed died off, but there were those that were secluded from mankind, similar to Baxia, by living in the territories of demon creatures!

“It’s going to be an interesting job. By the way, do you know that there’s still a seal on the wooden clapper? I can only unleash its full potential with an equivalent level of strength. Baxia isn’t willing to take my orders because I haven’t completely opened the seal of the wooden clapper,” Zhao Manyan said.

“That’s great then! Once you use the power of other Totem Beasts to crack open the seal, you’re basically invincible in the country. I bet Zhao Youqian wouldn’t even dare to lift his finger if you sent Baxia after him,” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan nodded. He needed power, and the only way he could be powerful enough to face Zhao Youqian was with the Totem Beast!

Zhao Manyan no longer looked so lost after having a goal and a direction in mind. Zhao Manyan could not wait for the day that he finally earned the approval of the tsundere old turtle and gained his formidable power!

—

Zhao Manyan went back to school. He secretly bought an apartment as a playground for him and his girlfriends. His family was clueless about it, meaning that Zhao Youqian would not be looking for him there, either.

The place was very close to Mo Fan’s place. Mo Fan asked Zhao Manyan to give him Baxia’s Totem Seal. That way, he finally had the complete Totem Seal of the Black Tortoise!

The Totem Seal of the Black Tortoise might not be useful now, but who knew that it might turn out to be an important clue that would help them track down the other Totem Beasts. Mo Fan was still unsure if the Totem Beasts were connected to one another.

Zhao Manyan went back to his apartment to organize the information he had on Totem Beasts. Meanwhile, Mo Fan was lying on the resting chair on the balcony of his apartment.

He was the only person in the apartment. Both Ai Tutu and Mu Nujiao were nowhere to be seen.

Mo Fan suddenly sat upright after some time. He took out the Little Loach Pendant below his shirt.

Finding the Totem Beasts was indeed exciting, and the benefits were incredible too. However, they were not the main reason why Mo Fan was interested in them…

Little Loach, the special pendant that had been keeping Mo Fan company for a long time, felt alive to him too.

Nanyu had an interest in learning ancient lore, and had mentioned that the Little Loach Pendant was a vessel stronger than the wooden clapper.

If the wooden clapper was the symbolic vessel of Baxia, the descendant of the Black Tortoise, what was the Little Loach Pendant?

The Little Loach Pendant’s existence had always been a mystery. Mo Fan believed it might have represented a Totem Beast in the past, too…

He could only solve the mystery by finding the Totem Beast it was representing!

“Little Loach, you have a seal on you too, right? Every time you eat something delicious, the seal will open a little, giving me great benefits… I bet the energy that the Totem Beasts have is your favorite too!” Mo Fan murmured to himself, looking at the Little Loach Pendant.

Mo Fan’s rate of improvement was still too slow. At least, he thought it was slow, compared to how quickly Mu Ningxue was improving.

Mu Ningxue had been cultivating diligently. The power she received from activating the pieces of the Ice Crystal Bow was quite remarkable, too.

Since Mo Fan had six Elements to take care of, just being diligent was never going to be enough for him, not to mention that he would have eight Elements in total once he became a Super Mage.

Therefore, it was necessary to upgrade the Little Loach Pendant further!

Well, it might be inappropriate to say it was upgrading…

Initially, Tangyue told Mo Fan that the Little Loach Pendant was the kind of magic equipment that was able to grow, thus Mo Fan assumed that the Little Loach Pendant had been growing after devouring the things it was interested in.

However, it turned out that the Little Loach Pendant was most likely a symbolic vessel placed under a seal. It was closely related to the Totem Beasts. Every time it devoured some suitable source of energy, it would open the seal restricting its powers a little bit, thus granting Mo Fan more energy and benefits!

Mo Fan understood what he had to do after arriving at that conclusion.

It was also the reason why Mo Fan had accepted the job right away after Shao Zheng told him about the Totem Beasts.

There was nothing that could make him stronger as efficiently as the Little Loach Pendant. If he already had a mountain of gold waiting to be dug up, why would he bother wandering around aimlessly?

Besides, Mo Fan was very eager to learn the secrets of the Little Loach Pendant!

If Baxia was already so powerful, how powerful would the Totem Beast that the Little Loach Pendant was linked to be?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Houndman had provided Mo Fan with three Commander-level Soul Essences, each of them of high-quality. It was definitely a handsome profit for Mo Fan!

When Mo Fan was thinking of how he should spend the money, Little Flame Belle laid down half-heartedly on Mo Fan’s shoulder. She did not seem to be in a good mood.

“What is it?” Mo Fan touched Little Flame Belle’s head.

As soon as he touched the little creature’s head, he immediately felt a scorching heat.

Even though Little Flame Belle was a Fire Spirit, her temperature was normally within the range of a human’s body temperature when she was not showing hostility towards something. It was why Lingling was able to keep hugging her.

Therefore, it was strange to feel a strong heat when he touched her head.

“Is she having a fever?” Mo Fan asked. He realized how stupid he was after asking the question. Would a Fire Spirit even get a fever!?

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle seemed very down, like a kid feeling dizzy from a fever. Mo Fan’s heart ached when he saw her gloomy face.

Little Flame Belle had no idea what was happening to her. She was having difficulty controlling the temperature of her flames.

Mo Fan did not dare leave her at home, as there was a chance that the unit he had bought for over ten million would be burned to ashes in the blink of an eye.

——

Mo Fan brought Little Flame Belle to the Clearsky Hunter Agency. As he expected, Lingling had skipped school to research the clues that Jiang Shaojun had left behind.

She immediately told Mo Fan her discoveries when she saw him walking in, “There are indeed traces of a Totem Beast in Yantai, Lian Xishan didn’t lie to us. With the help of the Moon Moth Phoenix’s Totem Seal, there’s a chance we can find the truth about the Totem Beast there. It would be best if we could find the actual Totem Beast instead!”

“Lingling, we’ll discuss it later. Can you tell what’s happening to Little Flame Belle?” Mo Fan placed Little Flame Belle who was like a little furnace on the bar.

To his surprise, Little Flame Belle quickly left a scorched mark on the wooden bar. Mo Fan hastily picked her up again. She had almost destroyed Old Bao’s precious bar!

“She’s very hot!” Even Lingling had to stay a distance away.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle cried helplessly. She had no idea why she could not control her flames. She felt like a stronger flame would burst out from her body at any second.

It did not feel good. It was bad news if a Fire Spirit could not control her own flames!

“By the way, didn’t Little Flame Belle behave like this before?” Lingling asked, recalling something.

“Did she?” Mo Fan could not recall Little Flame Belle having difficulty controlling her flames.

“Back when she was entering the Youth Phase, didn’t she keep burning everything around her? You ended up paying lots of money out before,” Lingling reminded him.

“Oh, you’re right, but she was just being naughty. I don’t think it has anything to do with her condition now, right?” Mo Fan said.

“I believe they are the same thing. Back then, there must be some energy that she was having trouble controlling, so she kept releasing it instead. After all, she was still very young, so she didn’t know releasing the fire as she pleased was not right. She is able to control herself now, but the energy inside her body after reaching the Adolescent Phase was just too powerful. She was struggling to control it, resulting in the increase in her temperature,” Lingling said.

“So you’re saying that Little Flame Belle is about to evolve?” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

“That’s what I think. We estimated that it would take Little Flame Belle three to five years to reach the Adolescent Phase, but I believe the Time Liquid and being reborn with the Ardent Sunset has sped up her growth. She must be advancing into the Adolescent Phase!” Lingling judged confidently.

“HAHAHA, Little Flame Belle, you’re about to reach the Adolescent Phase!” Mo Fan was overwhelmed with joy.

Little Flame Belle had been in the Youth Phase for a very long time. Most importantly, she was already as strong as a Commander-level creature while in the Youth Phase. Her strength improved significantly after she was reborn with the Ardent Sunset, too!

The truth was, Mo Fan did feel a little strange that Little Flame Belle’s strength had not improved as much as he had expected after she was reborn.

Now that he thought about it, it was not because Little Flame Belle’s strength had not improved, but because she was still entering the Adolescent Phase!

The Adolescent Phase would not just improve her strength; even her appearance would change again!

“She changed a little before, so I thought she had already entered the Adolescent Phase,” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“The changes should be very obvious once she entered the Adolescent Phase. She wouldn’t look like a little girl still,” Lingling sniffed at the thick-headed idiot’s words.

“What should I do now?” Mo Fan asked.

“Do you have money?” Lingling asked.

“Well, I earned some recently,” Mo Fan said.

“How much?” Lingling said.

“Three high-quality Commander-level Soul Essences. I believe each one is worth around five hundred million!” Mo Fan said.

Houndman had clearly invested more than fifteen hundred million on the Dreadful Curse Cerberus; Mo Fan earned a fortune from killing the creature!

It was easier to earn money after his cultivation improved!

“Oh, I think that’s enough to buy a Soul-grade Fire Seed or two. I’ll go with you to the Shanghai Plaza and look around. We’ll buy one or two Soul-grade Fire Seeds that suit Little Flame Belle’s taste,” Lingling said.

“…” Mo Fan almost dropped his jaw to the ground.

What did she mean, buy one or two Soul-grade Fire Seeds that suited Little Flame Belle’s taste!?

Every Soul-grade Fire Seed was crazily expensive. Mo Fan had yet to find a suitable Soul-grade Fire Seed to upgrade his Rose Flame. He finally had a sum of money to replace the Rose Flame, but his head started spinning after hearing Lingling’s words!

“Are you seriously telling me that she has to eat Soul-grade Fire Seeds in the Adolescent Phase?” Mo Fan blurted out in shock.

“Not necessarily. You can still feed her Spirit-grade Seeds normally, but feeding her fragments of Seeds isn’t going to help anymore. However, since she’s at a crucial time of entering the Adolescent Phase, you’ll need Soul-grade Fire Seeds to ensure that she can successfully enter the Adolescent Phase. You can easily tell that Little Flame Belle is suffering. It’s because the energy inside her is beyond what her body can contain. Her life might be in danger if we don’t lend her a hand. I’ve heard many special creatures die when advancing to the next phase,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan immediately became serious when he heard Little Flame Belle’s life might be in danger.

However, Mo Fan’s heart was still aching. He had finally earned some money after so long, yet he was about to burn it all like joss paper…

His Double Innate Elements was already using a lot of his money. To his surprise, Little Flame Belle was using his money even quicker! Like father, like daughter, indeed!

“Don’t worry, you’ll know how worthwhile it is to spend the money soon!” Lingling assured him. She was well aware of Mo Fan’s financial problems.

“I know, I’ve seen the list of the items being auctioned not long ago. There will be an international auction at Shanghai Plaza in a week. There are many Soul-grade Seeds being auctioned off. Since we’re helping Little Flame Bellereach the Adolescent Phase, we’ll have to prepare enough money to compete with the rich people,” Mo Fan said.

“I agree, let’s try to secure three Soul-grade Fire Seeds just in case, but we won’t need the kind that have a Domain,” Lingling said.

Little Flame Belle already had two Domains. Therefore, the Soul-grade Fire Seeds with a Domain would not provide her any help. She just needed the pure fire energy that the Soul-grade Fire Seeds contained!

“Are there any jobs worth taking recently? Let’s try and earn some money with the time we have left,” Mo Fan said.

“Now that you mention it,” Lingling quickly opened up her notebook and downloaded the information about a job. She showed it to Mo Fan and said, “When I was researching about the Totem Beast in Yantai, I accidentally found out that a big corporation producing magic equipment is collecting a special part from some demon creatures. They are offering a hundred thousand for each piece. The price is negotiable, depending on the quality…and they are buying as many as people have. A few Hunter Groups have gone to Yantai recently because of the job. I think it’s perfect for us, since we’ll be searching for traces of the Totem Beast in Yantai, too.”

“Sounds good, speaking of killing two birds with one stone! I’ll ask Zhao Manyan to come along too. We’ll go to Yantai tomorrow!” Mo Fan nodded.

“He’s alive?” Lingling gasped in astonishment.

“It turned out that my speculation was right, but it was his brother that set him up. He will have to fake his identity for the time being,” Mo Fan said.

“Alright, I’ll collect more information about our job tonight.”

Lingling was extremely happy that they were on a job. That way, her grandfather would not force her to go to school.

Lingling always looked forward to Mo Fan showing up. Mo Fan was her partner. If Mo Fan was looking for a job, she could conveniently and magically transform into a Hunter Master!

——

“Little Flame Belle, if you aren’t feeling well, you should rest in the Contracted Space. Don’t worry, I’ll buy you a few Soul-grade Seeds once I have the money and guarantee that you can enter the Adolescent Phase right away!” Mo Fan hugged the scorchingly hot Little Flame Belle.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle was surprisingly obedient. She returned to the Contracted Space after enjoying Mo Fan’s hug for a while.

“They are collecting as many crests of demon creatures as everyone can gather… this corporation is pretty rich. With Lingling’s help, there won’t be any trouble obtaining the crests they are looking for. I’ll do my best to make them go bankrupt!” Mo Fan glanced at the information that Lingling sent him with a cunning grin!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Their plane headed north along the eastern coastline. It arrived at Penglai International Airport in Yantai after a little over an hour.

The group headed to Yantai City after the flight. Lingling explained the details of the job to Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan on the coach.

“These demon crests aren’t something like the feathers growing on the heads of demon creatures, but a special leaf containing the essence nature at the top of a certain plant. It only grows on top of a plant called the Giant Purple Linden. The leaves of Giant Purple Lindens are able to gather the energy of the Sun into the fruit they bear. As such, the demon creatures that feed on their fruits are usually stronger. Therefore, every Giant Purple Linden actually has a small ecosystem of guardian beasts protecting the tree and little creatures residing in the vicinity of it. The demon crests are the most important part of the Giant Purple Lindens, helping gather the energy of the Sun. I’ve done some research: the corporation needs to utilize a large amount of energy from the demon crests, since they mainly produce magic Equipment of the Light Element,” Lingling informed them.

“I know the corporation you’re talking about. They were established here in Yantai around five years ago. In simple words, they were able to grow so quickly because they invented the technology to produce magic Equipment from the demon crests. Currently, the majority of the Light Element Equipment in Asia and Europe is produced by them. They have gained a great reputation. I believe they are supported by Tokyo’s Shrine of Mages, from Japan. Apparently, the corporation plays an important role in improving the economy along the coastline. They are collecting and refining the raw materials here. They then transport them to Dalian by sea to their production line to produce defensive magic Equipment, before selling them in Japan. The Equipment is made in China, but their prices rise significantly after they reach Japan,” Zhao Manyan added on.

Zhao Manyan knew a thing or two when it was related to money and business. He always had a way to find out how a business was operating behind the scenes.

“These demon crests weren’t that valuable in the past. A demon crest used to be around ten thousand yuan, and not many people bothered gathering them. However, in just five years, the demand for the demon crests in Yantai skyrocketed. Each demon crest is worth a hundred thousand now. But, even so, Tokyo’s Shrine of Mages is still making bank from it. The cost of a single piece of Equipment produced from the demon crests is two hundred thousand at most, but it can be sold at a price of five hundred thousand!” Zhao Manyan informed them.

“These cunning businesses always get away with the money that the Mages have risked their lives to earn!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Defensive Equipment had always been the thing that below-average Mages lacked the most. Hunters spent most of their time fighting demon creatures, so they were well aware of the difference that a piece of defensive Equipment could make. As a result, most of the money they earned ended up in the pockets of the companies that were manufacturing defensive Equipment!

“A hundred thousand is a reasonable price for the demon creatures. Back when it was only ten thousand, the Japanese managed to earn a great fortune!” Zhao Manyan agreed.

“Speaking of which, it feels like we are a little too late. I heard many people discussing the demon crests on our way here,” Lingling said.

When they landed in Penglai International Airport, the place was crowded with Hunters. She even noticed mercenaries and Hunter Groups from other countries. It was obvious that the news regarding the gold mine of demon crests had spread wildly.

Lingling and Mo Fan were quite disappointed after seeing the competition they were facing.

However, it was part of the nature of their career. It was impossible for every job to go smoothly!

“Chen Yi is in Yantai, we can ask her to be our guide,” Zhao Manyan mentioned.

“Is she from Yantai?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Yeah, it’s her hometown. She will be happy to see us,” Zhao Manyan smiled.

“Such a pity that Little Flame Belle is sleeping. She would be happier if she sees the little creature,” Mo Fan murmured.

Mo Fan had not met Zhao Manyan’s cousin Chen Yi after the incident of the Fiery Sorceress Jiang Feng. He knew it would take Chen Yi a very long time to get over the past. After all, she had ended her mother’s life with her own hands, even though Jiang Feng had no regrets.

——

They soon managed to find Chen Yi’s home. It was a little hut facing the sea along the coastline, surrounded by blooming flowers as if spring had just arrived.

An old woman was lying in the garden. The sunlight shone upon a face full of wrinkles. She looked very peaceful.

Chen Yi was wearing a dress and holding a pair of scissors, trimming the wilted branches of the old trees in the garden. She asked while doing her job, “Grandma, can’t we just wait for the branches to fall on their own? Why do we bother cutting them off?”

“Girl, taking care of a tree is just like looking after a person. If you don’t fix a person’s bad habits in time, the evil will corrode the bones and even the hearts. These branches might not look harmful on the surface, but their dying cells will spread to the roots and destroy them. A tree without roots is basically dead,” the old woman replied in a doddering manner, her eyes squinted. However, her mind seemed to be clear.

The old woman slowly opened her eyes when she sensed someone approaching, and saw Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan walking in…

“Girl, the jerks that are hitting on you are back again,” the old woman called out mockingly.

“Grandaunt, I’m Zhao Manyan, Bai Mingjing’s son!” Zhao Manyan quickly explained with an awkward face.

Chen Yi was surprised to see Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan. “Why are you here!?”

Chen Yi clearly had no idea that Zhao Manyan had gone missing. The incident was not completely revealed to the public. Chen Yi had spent all her time in Yantai, so she was clueless about what happened in the Magic City.

“You are Mingjing’s son. I remember you; I told you not to harm the little sparrows so you wouldn’t develop the habit of thinking that it’s fine to hurt the little animals or other people, as long as it doesn’t affect you. Have you fixed your bad habits now?” The old woman looked at Zhao Manyan sternly.

“Ugh… I believe you’re referring to my elder brother?” Zhao Manyan vaguely remembered it. They were playful when they were still kids. They once tortured the little sparrows in the garden and ended up being scolded by their grandaunt.

Zhao Manyan set the sparrows free, but Zhao Youqian flung the sparrows to the ground and killed them in a rage.

“You are the younger one… oh, I heard Chen Yi mention you. What about your brother? How is he doing… if a person doesn’t fix his habits, it might rot their bones. You can still dig it out from the bones while enduring the pain, but once it reaches your heart, there’s no way you will be able to fix it. He might end up harming people!” the old woman said.

Zhao Manyan had never taken his grandaunt’s words seriously. However, after what happened, he did not feel good hearing them again.

Perhaps it was exactly what his grandaunt had said: Zhao Youqian’s habits had rotted his heart. All he cared about was his own benefits. He had lost his conscience and human empathy.

“Don’t tell me you’re here for the demon crests, too?” Chen Yi asked.

“Yeah, we thought only a few of us had the information. Who knew that the streets would be crowded with Hunters. Even the inns are three times as expensive as usual!” Mo Fan grumbled.

“You can just stay here with me and my grandma, I’ll prepare the rooms. Just place your stuff in the living room!” Chen Yi was very happy. It had been a while since anyone visited her. She had been living peacefully here and gradually forgot about the past, but she did feel a little lonely since she did not have any friends around her own age.

“Did you stop practicing magic?” Mo Fan asked when he sensed that Chen Yi’s cultivation had not changed much.

Chen Yi shook her head and said, “There’s no end to it. I’m already content with how strong I am, since I don’t go around and fight demon creatures. I feel happy that I can teach the young Mages who have just Awakened their magic in the Penglai Magic Association. I couldn’t be a great person, but it’s not bad being the teacher of future great people, either!”

Mo Fan realized that Chen Yi’s temperament had changed a lot. She used to be a little proud with a blind ambition of pursuing everything she saw. However, it seemed like she had figured out what she really wanted. She was like an orchid with a unique fragrance, waiting for her time to blossom.

It explained why the old woman thought they were trying to hit on Chen Yi. The girl was indeed more charming now!

“We are actually here for something else. We are only interested in the demon crests to earn some quick money,” Zhao Manyan said.

The Totem Beast was still their first priority. Yu Shishi was not willing to let anyone come into contact with the Moon Moth Phoenix. It could not be helped since she was being very cautious after everything she had gone through. However, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan believed if they could find the other Totem Beasts, they would be able to unleash the full potential of their symbolic vessels!

Zhao Manyan had confirmed it with Baxia. Mo Fan strongly believed it, too!

“Grandaunt, you’ve been living here for so long. Have you seen anything like this before? It’s an ancient Seal, related to a certain ancient existence,” Zhao Manyan said, showing the seal that Mo Fan had derived to the old woman.

The old woman opened her eyes. She acted languidly at first, but her eyes glittered when she took a glance at the Seal. She started to tremble, as if a shocking memory had risen up!

Mo Fan and Lingling exchanged glances.

The old woman had recognized the Seal!

Their speculation on the Totem Seals was right! After taking out the Totem Seal of the Moon Moth Phoenix from the Totem Seal of the feather, the remaining Totem Seal was related to another Totem Beast!

It turned out that the Totem Beast was really here in Penglai, or at least the old woman had seen the Seal before!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I don’t know it.” The old woman’s voice turned cold suddenly. She turned her head way, as if she was unwilling to speak any further.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Lingling were utterly confused by the old woman’s reaction. It was obvious that she had seen the Totem Seal before; why did her attitude change all of a sudden?

“Grandma, just tell them if you know something. They aren’t bad guys,” Chen Yi blurted out. Even she knew her grandmother was lying.

“Humph, one may know a person for a long time without understanding their true nature. Either way, I have never seen it before. You can stay here if you want. I’m tired.” The old woman closed her eyes. She did not say a further word.

There was nothing Chen Yi could say to convince her grandmother. The others subconsciously exchanged glances with one another.

Left with no choice, Chen Yi led them into the house and cleaned up rooms for them to stay in.

—

“Where’s Little Flame Belle? It’s been a while since I last saw her,” Chen Yi asked after finishing up with Mo Fan’s room.

“She’s sleeping. She’s about to enter the Adolescent Phase. I’m running short of funds to buy enough Soul-grade Fire Seeds for her, so I’ve come to see if I can earn some quick money,” Mo Fan said.

“The Adolescent Phase already?” Chen Yi sounded a little excited. “Tell me if you need anything! I’ll try my best to help. I’ll talk to my grandmother too. Maybe it’s something she doesn’t want to remember.”

“It’s fine if she isn’t willing to talk. We meant to look for the clues ourselves. We just didn’t think we would find one so quickly,” Mo Fan said.

“Take your time; you can stay here as long as you want.”

“Alright!”

—

—

Mount Kunyu had always been an attraction in Yantai, but its outer slopes to the south were occupied by demon creatures.

The inner mountain was located within the safe zone. The natural ecosystem on it was well preserved, as both the government and the Magic Association were working together to look after it. The place had lots of rare plants and herbs, and because of the weather, the herbs on Mount Kunyu were useful in producing special medications. The Bone-connecting Ointment was a popular product of Mount Kunyu.

It was common for Mages to lose their limbs in fights against demon creatures. Even though a Healer was able to fix their limbs back up, not every group would have a Healer with them. As such, the Bone-connecting Ointment was a necessity for Hunters. If their hands were torn off by demon creatures, they just needed to apply the ointment on the cut and wrap the hand in place with bandages. It would connect the hand back in five days, and on the seventh day, they would already be able to move their hand. The wound would heal completely in ten days. It would be even more effective if a Healer was treating the wound with the Bone-connecting Ointment.

As such, even if it meant investing lots of human resources, the government insisted on protecting Mount Kunyu at all costs, just so they could continue to produce the Bone-connecting Ointment!

The far side of Mount Kunyu was a dangerous place. Unlike most cities, the other side of Mount Kunyu was a mountain ridge ruled by a powerful demon creature. It was referred to as the King of Beasts of Mount Kunyu. Its strength was comparable to the Silver Skyruler of the Nanling Mountains.

Yantai was safe not because the place was well-defended like Hangzhou, but because the King of Beast on Mount Kunyu was not as invasive as the demon creatures of the Nanling Mountains. For many years, sea monsters were the main threat to Yantai’s safety. They hardly had any cases where the demon creatures on Mount Kunyu invaded the city.

The demon creatures on the outer Mount Kunyu did not bother troubling the humans, but the humans liked to explore their territories in return, especially when the job looking for demon crests was put up. Many Hunters formed groups to hunt demon creatures on the mountain. The government was worried that it would provoke the powerful creature on the mountain, so they started restricting the Hunters!

——

“What in the world, I’ve heard of restricting the numbers of vehicles or tourists, but I’ve never heard of restricting Hunters hunting down demon creatures! How long do we have to wait until it’s our turn!?” Zhao Manyan cursed.

There was only one path leading to the other side of Mount Kunyu. Any other route involved making their way through poisonous valleys with rough terrain. It was easy to enter the valleys, but extremely difficult to get out. Therefore, the path that the government had built was the only possible way to hunt for demon crests on the far side of Mount Kunyu.

To their surprise, the bridge leading to the outer Mount Kunyu was crowded with people. Many had Hunter badges. There were also teachers leading groups of students and members of the Magic Association. It was like the other side of Mount Kunyu had suddenly become a mountain of gold that everyone wanted a piece of!

“We can’t help it; a dungeon with good loot is always packed with people!” Lingling said. She was clearly an experienced gamer.

Mo Fan walked up to the soldiers on duty and showed them a different identification while explaining why he was here.

“You’re helping the Chairman?” the soldier asked suspiciously.

“Yeah, you can think of us as archaeologists. We didn’t expect to bump into a huge crowd during the ‘festive season’,” Mo Fan said.

“Very well, you and your team can skip the queue and enter the far side of Mount Kunyu. Be aware that the place is very crowded now. The number of people is greater than the number of demon creatures. If anything happens, the rescue team will have trouble reaching you, so just be cautious. Don’t go too deep into the mountain!” the soldier warned them.

“Don’t worry, we can look after ourselves… but is this really a wise thing to do? The people are rushing into the mountain like ducks. Isn’t the other side of Mount Kunyu the territory of a powerful creature? If it goes mad, wouldn’t the people of Yantai and soldiers like you suffer instead?” Mo Fan said.

“You didn’t know?” the soldier asked.

“Know what?” Mo Fan said.

“That creature is dead,” the soldier said.

“Dead?” Mo Fan was stunned. His face was filled with surprise.

“Yeah, we don’t know how it died, but some Hunters did take pictures of its remains. The other side of Mount Kunyu has turned into a mountain of gold after the creature died. Why did you think there were so many Hunters here?” the soldier said.

“I see,” Zhao Manyan seemed to have realized something. He told Mo Fan, “It looks like the government and the Magic Association are planning to sweep the other side of Mount Kunyu into the safe zone, so they have been spreading the job about the demon crests around to attract Hunters here. The Hunters are pretty much cleaning up the mountain for free as they are exploring it. Once the other side Mount Kunyu is free of demon creatures, the Magic Association and the government are going to make a fortune!”

Lingling nodded in agreement. “The local government is pretty smart. They can’t afford to swallow the whole mountain of gold themselves, so they decided to share it instead! The Hunters will get the loot, while the government claims the mountain. The corporation will get the demon crests, and the influx of people will also help the economy…”

“That’s absurd!” the soldier blurted out after hearing their discussion.

Zhao Manyan and Lingling exchanged smiles with one another. They knew they had guessed it right after seeing the soldier’s reaction.

What a nice move that the government was using; hopefully the Hunters would get what they came for. Otherwise, they were basically doing volunteer work for the government and the army!

—

“Chen Yi, Chen Yi, I didn’t expect to see you here!” A well-dressed man came up to them. Either the man was too tall, or he was too full of himself, as he liked to lift his chin when looking at people.

His chin was soon facing Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, since they seemed to be quite close to Chen Yi. They did not look like they were just ordinary friends to Chen Yi. The man asked, “And they are…”

“He’s my brother, Zhao…” Chen Yi introduced.

“Zhao Xiaotian!” Zhao Manyan replied.

Mo Fan and Lingling were left speechless instantly. What the heck was the name Zhao Xiaotian? Was he seriously trying to act cute when he was coming up with a fake name? Why didn’t he call himself Zhao Ritian instead!?

{TL Note: ‘Ri’ is a slang for f**k, and ‘Tian’ means sky (or Heavens). So ‘Ritian’ can mean f**k the sky!}

Chen Yi was amused by the name. She proceeded to introduce Mo Fan and Lingling.

“Are you all heading to the other side of Mount Kunyu too? Is it just the few of you? Why don’t you come with us? My uncle is a Vice Elder of the Penglai Magic Association. He’s leading the team so the younger generation like us can learn from him. Why don’t you join us? You will learn a lot from it!” the man said passionately.

“I already promised them…” Chen Yi said.

“What promise, they aren’t any slots left for today. The soldiers won’t let you pass if you don’t come with us. Let’s go, my uncle is different from those novice Hunters. He’s very familiar with the other side of Mount Kunyu. He likes studying history and collecting stuff. Collecting demon crests is just one of his hobbies,” the man kept talking.

“Actually, we’ve already obtained…” Chen Yi was going to say that they already had the permission to pass.

However, when Mo Fan heard the Vice Elder of the Penglai Magic Association was interested in archeology too, he immediately interrupted, “Chen Yi, we should follow them since someone experienced is leading the group. It’s better than us wandering around aimlessly like headless flies!”

“Sure, if you say so,” Chen Yi nodded.

The tall man immediately cast an unfriendly gaze at Mo Fan.

Chen Yi was obviously hesitant to accept his offer. She was even going to reject it, but she immediately agreed after hearing what this new man said. The tall man was utterly displeased. Wasn’t Chen Yi too obedient to the man? Did she keep rejecting him because of him, too?

Humph, just in time! He would show Chen Yi his true strength during the journey, so those that were outwardly attractive but worthless inside would feel embarrassed to even compete with him, Wang Hua!

—

“Why did you bring more people here?” the aged Mage of the Penglai Magic Association asked in a displeased tone.

“Uncle, you’ve met Chen Yi before. She’s the teacher of Basic Mages in our Magic Association. She’s going on an adventure with her friends. Since there aren’t too many of them, and they didn’t have anyone experienced leading them, they are interested in coming with us so they could learn from you,” Wang Hua quickly explained.

Wang Hua moved closer to the aged Mage and said, “Uncle, Chen Yi is the girl I’m interested in, just do me a favor. Her father is no ordinary person, either. It might help you if it works out.”

“Humph, just tell them to behave themselves. I don’t want them to hold me back!” the aged Wang Dakuo answered with a snort.

Wang Hua immediately smiled. However, he quickly regained a stern face as he warned Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Lingling, “You all better keep up with the group and do as you are told. It’s fine if you aren’t strong, but don’t you dare stir up any trouble!”

“Don’t worry, we know that… ah, it’s so lucky we managed to follow an experienced team around. I bet we are going to score high in our homework this time, lucky!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Wang Hua grinned after hearing Zhao Manyan’s words. He smiled disdainfully and said, “This adventure is more than enough for students of ordinary Magic Institutions to score a high mark. If you behave well, I might even ask my uncle to stamp your document. I bet the teachers at your school are going to be very impressed!”

“Really? Brother Wang Hua, you have my thanks!” Zhao Manyan smiled. His acting was so good that the others were left completely speechless.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Wang Hua enjoyed being fawned upon by Zhao Manyan, especially when he learned that Zhao Manyan and Chen Yi were close relatives. He definitely needed Zhao Manyan’s help to improve his image around Chen Yi.

It would be great if he managed to win Chen Yi’s affection. First of all, Chen Yi was definitely his type. He had been trying to win her over for some time. On top of that, he did not expect an ordinary-looking Mage like Chen Yi to have such a formidable background. Her father in Shanghai was extremely rich, and was also a member of the renowned Zhao Clan!

Wang Hua did not understand why Chen Yi would bother living here when she had such a wealthy family, but nevertheless, he had to take hold of the opportunity!

“Is your friend close to your sister?” Wang Hua asked.

“Not really, but I think she has a good impression of him,” Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Manyan was not lying. He knew Chen Yi admired Mo Fan. As for whether she had any affection for him, Zhao Manyan believed if Mo Fan flirted with her, she would not reject him…

Wang Hua immediately frowned. It was clearly not good news!

——

The mountain range extended continuously into the distance, covered by thick woods and deep valleys. The trunks of the trees rose into the blue sky. Normally, a sight like this was only possible deep in a mountain that would be crawling with demon creatures and no sign of humans around, but it was less than a hundred kilometers away from Yantai City. It was a great surprise!

The group followed Wang Dakuo’s lead and hiked past the deep valleys. They would occasionally see a few demon sparrows flying between the branches in the canopy while letting out alarmed cries, but it was more common for them to bump into Hunters chasing demon creatures in the mountain.

Luckily, the mountain and the forest were pretty big. As they ventured deeper, it became more unlikely for two groups of people to be caught staring at one another with astounded faces when they were expecting danger to show up.

“It really feels like the Hunter Competition,” a plump man in the group said.

“Guo Muzhuang, we almost forgot that you’ve taken part in the Hunter Competition before. Weren’t you disqualified shortly after the competition started? I heard you fainted after being scared by someone’s Summoned Beast. HAHAHA,” Wang Hua replied.

The others burst out laughing too after hearing Wang Hua’s words.

Guo Muzhuang immediately blushed. He argued, “At least I took part in it. Were you even qualified for it?”

“We are from the Magic Association. Why would we bother taking part in the Hunter Competition?”

“We are paid better than those uncivilized people. We didn’t have to eat and live in the wild, either. Do you really think we would be jealous that you are a Hunter who once took part in a Hunter Competition?” a man named Chen Binbin, who seemed to be quite close to Wang Hua, spoke up.

1 Speaking of the Hunter Competition, Mo Fan was once interested in it, too. However, he somehow missed it after he was caught up in the calamity of the Ancient Capital, and was preoccupied with the World College Tournament.

It was quite a pity. Mo Fan did think of taking part in the Hunter Competition. It would be a great place to demonstrate his strength!

But then again, the people of the Magic Association did not seem to have much respect for the people of the Hunter Union. It just did not happen in certain places.

Most members of the Magic Association had great power, since they were in charge of the Awakening and development of Mages, and the distribution of resources. The Magic Association was like the law enforcer among Mages. Strictly speaking, the Hunters were under their jurisdiction, too!

——

“Stop making noise.” Wang Dakuo was a reserved man. The others immediately went quiet after his curt order.

He knelt down and picked up a stalk of grass from a bush that resembled the ball-shaped tail of a rabbit. He observed it closely.

“Blue and white like a brick, with the shape of dandelion and a stem like a screw; it must be the Dandelion Grass!” Lingling appeared beside Wang Dakuo out of nowhere. Her voice disturbed his thoughts.

Wang Dakuo was about to lose his temper, but was startled when he realized what Lingling had just said. He blurted out sourly, “Why would a little girl like you know about the Dandelion Grass?”

Lingling snatched the Dandelion Grass and blew at it. The blue-white seedheads flew into the sky like snowflakes, and drifted deeper into the woods.

“We should be able to find the Giant Purple Linden by following them!” Lingling declared.

Wang Dakuo was stunned. He never thought a girl around the age of ten would be so familiar with the secrets of the Dandelion Grass!

The Dandelion Grass was no different than the other dandelions on the mountain, but if it was blue-white with a stem that resembled a screw, it meant that the Dandelion Grass was feeding on the oil of the Giant Purple Linden. Therefore, once they found the blue-white Dandelion grass, it meant they were getting closer to the Giant Purple Linden!

The seedheads of these Dandelion Grass were attracted to the Giant Purple Linden. In the absence of wind, the drifting seeds would be able to guide them to the Giant Purple Linden!

Only avid scholars would know the connection between the Dandelion Grass and the Giant Purple Linden. Wang Dakuo was initially planning to show off in front of the younger generation while mocking the Hunters for trying to look for a Giant Purple Linden aimlessly in the woods. To his surprise, Lingling had ruined it all!

How could he possibly show off how knowledgeable he was if a ten-year-old girl already knew it? He let out an awkward cough and urged the rest of the group to follow him.

——

Without any surprise, the group managed to find a Giant Purple Linden by following the blue-white seedheads of the Dandelion Grass. They saw a Giant Purple Linden standing out among the trees across a fault. Under the sunlight, its complicated branches reflected a purple light, while its leaves had a stunning purple glimmer, as if they were breathing!

“So this is the Giant Purple Linden. It’s so pretty!” Chen Yi marveled at the sight.

“The tree has several thousand leaves. There isn’t much difference between the leaves in the canopy and the other leaves, how are we supposed to find the leaves that are the demon crests?” a Maga in the group asked.

“The demon crests of every Giant Purple Linden are different, so many people think it’s almost impossible to identify them. However, if you spend some time observing a Giant Purple Linden, you will be able to tell which leaves are the demon crests. They will only grow on certain branches that secrete tree oil, so the first thing you have to do is to find the oily branches!” Lingling pointed at the Giant Purple Linden. There was indeed a branch that seemed to be covered in a layer of waxy substance. It was difficult to notice without looking for it on purpose.

Wang Dakuo’s expression darkened, but he did not interrupt.

“What next? There are still almost a thousand leaves on a branch!” Mo Fan pressed.

“Put the seedheads close to the branch. The leaves that they are circling are most likely the demon crests,” Lingling pointed at the seeds of the Dandelion Grass.

“That’s if we can find the Dandelion Grass in the first place!” Wang Dakuo coughed.

Guo Dazhuang followed Lingling’s instructions. He climbed up to the Giant Purple Linden and sprinkled a bunch of seedheads of the Dandelion Grass. He soon locked his eyes on a leaf.

He plucked the leaf from the branch. The Giant Purple Linden immediately emitted purple light and a rustling noise.

Guo Muzhuang quickly backed away and regrouped with the others, panting heavily.

“Elder, I feel like something is watching me. I think there’s something guarding the tree,” Guo Muzhuang said.

“The Giant Purple Linden is normally protected by the creatures that reside close to it. The demon crests aren’t that important to the Giant Purple Linden, so it doesn’t really affect the tree if you pluck them. The creatures are more interested in the fruits of the Giant Purple Linden. As long as you don’t touch the fruits, the creatures will just turn a blind eye,’ Wang Dakuo said.

“Oh, it scared the shit out of me. Does that mean our operation isn’t dangerous at all?” Guo Muzhuang said.

Wang Dakuo shook his head, “The Giant Purple Linden is like a shelter for demon creatures. Not every demon creature prefers to avoid troubles. Some fierce creatures will try to kill you as soon as you are within a thousand meters of the Giant Purple Linden, let alone give you a chance to pluck its leaves!”

“Seriously?” Guo Muzhuang broke out in cold sweat.

“If you’re scared, I’ll pluck the leaves next time,” Wang Hua said. He was obviously trying to show off.

“Mm, Wang Hua is stronger, so he can handle himself better if there’s any danger. However, keep in mind not to use your magic unless it’s necessary, and don’t step into the vicinity of the Giant Purple Linden recklessly. It might bring greater trouble to the rest of the team,” Wang Dakuo advised.

“Isn’t it easier if we do it together?” Chen Binbin asked with a smile.

Wang Dakuo glared at him and snapped, “Just do as you’re told!”

“Alright… I got it!” Chen Binbin’s expression darkened. He had no idea why Wang Dakuo had to be so angry at him.

Mo Fan was curious when he heard Wang Dakuo being so serious all of a sudden. He subconsciously looked at Lingling.

Lingling was about to speak when they heard a cry of agony from a certain direction.

The cry echoed among the woods, sending chills down the spines of the group. What exactly happened to the person that had uttered such a ghastly cry?

“Let’s check it out!” Wang Dakuo said unhappily. He led the group in the direction of the cry.

The others quickly followed. They could feel a breeze coming from the same direction they were heading to. They felt uneasy when they noticed a strong scent of blood!

“It turns out there’s more than a Giant Purple Linden here,” Lingling said.

“Shouldn’t it be safe if we just collect the demon crests?” Mo Fan said.

“Even though the demon crests aren’t that important to the Giant Purple Lindens, there’s still a chance for a tragedy to happen if people are too careless. You shouldn’t underestimate the danger that a Giant Purple Linden can attract. Even you might struggle against it!” Lingling said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Ah~!”

The scream took everyone on the team by surprise. The man named Chen Binbin quickly went over to the beautiful girl with shoulder-length hair and asked in a panic, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“It’s an arm!” The beautiful woman pointed at something hanging on the tree branch with a pale face.

Lingling was nearby too. She raised her head and saw an arm with blood dripping from it, torn off around the elbow. The cut was imperfect; she could still see the tendons and vessels dangling from it!

“Silence! As a Mage, even if you discovered a corpse that has been torn to pieces, you can’t afford to be making any sound under the circumstances!” Wang Dakuo glared at the woman.

The other young Mages had grim faces, too. They had spent most of their time working in an office. Even though they had seen dead bodies before, they had never seen anything so gruesome. They could not help but wonder what happened to the owner of the arm.

“It’s a demon creature with outstanding physical strength,” Lingling said as she inspected the torn arm.

Chen Binbin had a strange expression. Even he did not dare look straight at the arm. How could the little girl have the courage to study it so closely? Chen Binbin felt uneasy when he imagined the person being torn into pieces.

“Elder, maybe…maybe we should just get out of here,” Guo Muzhuang proposed worriedly.

“How could we turn a blind eye at someone that needs our help?!” Wang Dakuo snapped.

He immediately led the way. The others had no choice but to follow him when they felt danger approaching.

—

“This must be his head,” Lingling suddenly called out.

The beautiful woman walking beside Lingling was dumbfounded. She screamed and immediately backed away.

Lingling moved the giant leaf blocking the view aside. There was indeed a head lying on the ground. Most terrifyingly, the torn skin under the head was irregular too. It even had lots of stretch marks, as if it was twisted and ripped off with brute force!

“Twisting, tearing, and bite marks… it’s most likely a Hillman!” Lingling told Mo Fan.

Lingling was not referring to the people living in hills or mountains. A Hillman was a kind of demon creature. They looked similar to humans, but they had fangs like wild boars, skin like a tree, and paws like a bear. They could not use magic, but they were one of the strongest demon creatures physically.

They were extremely quick and good at ambushing their targets. They always killed their targets in the most gruesome way, tearing their prey to pieces.

The Hillmen normally resided in primordial forests. There was a huge horde of Hillmen in Shennongjia. It was quite a surprise to find Hillmen here on Mount Kunyu!

Wang Dakuo did not disagree with Lingling’s speculation, as he had noticed some large footprints on the ground. The Hillmen were not that much bigger than a human, between two to four meters tall. Only Hillmen would leave such large footprints behind, since a Hunter with a massive build would be wearing shoes!

Cries in the distance implied that there were still people alive ahead. The group continued forward, but the beautiful woman that came with Chen Binbin was too scared to go any deeper.

She had only seen something being torn into pieces on the TV, and the remains were still in good condition. However, the remains she had seen after coming here were just too horrible. She was completely overwhelmed by fear.

“I’m not going, there’s no way I’m going any deeper into the forest!” the girl said in tears.

“We have to go now, or we’ll be left behind,” Chen Binbin dragged the girl along while watching the others fading into the distance.

The rest of the team had gone ahead. The trees were dense and thick. It was extremely difficult to regroup with the team once they were around a hundred meters apart. Chen Binbin was having difficulties dragging the girl with him. He broke out in cold sweat as soon as he heard some movement nearby.

“I’m going to die because of you!” Chen Binbin snapped furiously. He simply left the woman behind and hurriedly went forward to catch up with the others.

“Don’t leave me behind!…”

—

The scent of blood thickened. Mo Fan and Wang Dakuo were leading the way. As soon as they spread some bushes open with their hands, Mo Fan immediately caught a glimpse of a human figure with muscular arms and legs covered in fresh blood…

“Assh***, where do you think you’re going!?” Wang Dakuo yelled furiously. He immediately chased after the Hillman.

The Hillman quickened its pace when it sensed a strong presence approaching. It quickly wove through the trees and vanished.

Mo Fan did not chase after the creature. He looked down and saw a bloody pile of organs. He recognized some intestines too, he just could not tell if they were human.

Mo Fan had gotten used to seeing blood and gore, but he was still spooked by how brutal the Hillmen were.

The others had caught up too. Some vomited when they saw the remains on the ground. Even Hunters would be troubled by the sight of it, let alone these Mages who rarely came to the wild.

“Where’s the Elder?” Guo Muzhuang asked.

“He went after the Hillman. He’s too quick, I can’t keep up with him,” Mo Fan said.

“Ah? How could the Elder just leave us behind? What should we do now?” a Maga named Zhong Mi cried out.

“Why is it only the few of you? Where are the rest?” Mo Fan looked behind him and realized Zhao Manyan, Chen Binbin, and the beautiful woman were not around. He remembered they were not far behind the team just a moment ago.

Chen Yi turned around and was shocked when she failed to see the others behind them.

“Why…why didn’t they stick with the team!?” Wang Hua sputtered in agitation.

“AHHHH!!!” A piercing cry suddenly came from the direction they had come from.

The cry was full of agony, like someone being tortured. It immediately sent chills down everyone’s spine.

“It…it sounds like Hu Duo!” Zhong Mi said in disbelief.

“Did something happen to her?”

Everyone’s face turned pale as they recalled the corpses torn into pieces and the remains stacked up in a pile.

“Phew, phew, I finally caught up to you guys. How fast were you guys running…” Chen Binbin finally showed up. He was panting heavily.

As soon as he caught his breath, he caught a glimpse of the pile of remains on the ground and subconsciously took a closer look at them. He immediately vomited after realizing what it was. He could not even speak a single word for a long time.

“Wasn’t Hu Duo with you?” Guo Muzhuang’s eyes widened.

“Ah? I was afraid to be left behind, so I went ahead while she followed behind me. What about her?” Chen Binbin said.

“You…you son of a b**ch, I won’t forgive you if anything happens to her!” Guo Muzhuang snapped. He quickly headed back in the direction of Hu Duo’s cry before everyone made up their minds.

“Don’t go alone!” the skinny man with Guo Muzhuang yelled. He clenched his teeth and went after Guo Muzhuang.

—

The others stayed put. The person they were relying on, Wang Dakuo, had gone deeper into the woods. They might completely lose contact with him if they kept wandering around aimlessly.

Meanwhile, Zhao Manyan and another girl were separated from the group. Mo Fan was not worried about Zhao Manyan’s safety. He could easily look after himself. He was more worried about Hu Duo, whom Chen Binbin had left behind. It was too dangerous to be alone in such a dangerous place!

“Hillmen are quite intelligent for demon creatures. Even the low-level Hillmen know how to work together to hunt down their prey…” Lingling said.

“Did the Giant Purple Linden summon them here?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s hard to say. I believe the Giant Purple Lindens are only willing to provide shelter to creatures that are more neutral. I don’t think they will accept Hillmen, who have to eat a few living creatures every day,” Lingling answered.

“Speaking of which, we heard a lot of cries before, like a whole team was being attacked, but if we combined all the remains we’ve seen so far, it’s only a single person…” Mo Fan said.

“Say, is now really the time to discuss it? I bet the creatures have eaten everything else!” the pale-faced Chen Binbin exclaimed after he finally calmed down.

“It just felt very weird…” Mo Fan said.

While Mo Fan was talking to Lingling, there was a sudden movement in the bushes nearby. Everyone immediately turned to the bushes and tensed. They subconsciously drew Star Orbits and Star Patterns of different colors.

In the end, a slimly beautiful woman walked out of the bushes. The group was surprised to see Hu Duo!

The girl was still lost in her thoughts, like she had yet to recover from a fright. She asked timidly when she saw everyone looking at her with blank faces, “What…what’s wrong?”

“Did you encounter something along the way?” Mo Fan quickly asked when he realized something did not feel right.

“No, I was just scared. I thought I lost you guys just then. Chen Binbin didn’t wait for me either…” Hu Duo said.

“But…but we heard your…” Zhong Mi said in disbelief.

“I didn’t make any noise, I was scared it was going to attract the creatures to me. I was covering my mouth all the time…” Hu Duo looked confused too.

Mo Fan and Lingling immediately exchanged uneasy looks with one another!

“Crap, Guo Muzhuang and the other guy might have walked into a trap!” Mo Fan said.

“What the hell is going on?” Wang Hua was utterly lost.

“I’m afraid the Hillmen know how to imitate our voices. I’m afraid Guo Muzhuang and the other guy are in trouble!” Lingling said in an oddly confident voice.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan initially planned to chase after Guo Muzhuang. However, he realized that if he left, he would be leaving the girls including Lingling, Chen Binbin, Zhong Mi, and Hu Duo in Chen Binbin and Wang Hua’s hands. Chen Binbin was clearly unreliable, considering how he had left Hu Duo behind. As for Wang Hua, Mo Fan did not feel the man was reliable, either.

1 Meanwhile, he had no idea where Zhao Manyan was and how he was doing either.

—

Besides a stream in the forest, a handsome man was leaning against a tall tree while staring provokingly down at the cleavage through Guan Xixi’s collar. The cleavage between the two ‘meatballs’ was stunning, but Zhao Manyan did not stare at it for too long. As an experienced ‘ladykiller’, he knew he should be looking into the girl’s eyes in a moment like this, even when he was more interested in the woman’s huge and soft breasts. It was important to look into the woman’s eyes and convince her that he was a man of heart instead of a man of pure desires!

On the other hand, it seemed like Guan Xixi was not that experienced. She was fully blushing from being teased a little.

“Err, shouldn’t we be sticking with the team? I did hear some…some terrifying sounds,” Guan Xixi said softly.

“It’s fine, don’t you trust me?” Zhao Manyan said confidently.

“But…but we’re in the wild,” Guan Xixi’s voice softened further. Her breathing intensified.

“Isn’t this perfect? The beautiful mountains and trees, and a woman so beautiful that I will never forget her with the slightest glance. I have to say, I’m never this impatient, but I just can’t control myself after I saw you. Please forgive me for dragging you here all of a sudden…” Zhao Manyan said sincerely.

Zhao Manyan and Guan Xixi were well behind the team even before they discovered the torn arm. As such, they were utterly clueless about the entire situation.

Zhao Manyan had a very handsome face. His prince-like temperament as he spoke gently could easily overwhelm any inexperienced girl. It definitely convinced Guan Xixi, who lowered her head in embarrassment.

Zhao Manyan knew it was his chance to secure the second base… perhaps he could even score a home run here in this beautiful forest. He had spent half a year recovering from his injuries on a deserted island. He did not even see a single female turtle, let alone a woman. He had been polluting the ocean instead of spreading his seeds across the world!

{TL Note: You can search for ‘baseball metaphors on sex’ on Google if you aren’t aware of what ‘second base’ means here.}

He could finally release the primitive force he had been saving up for half a year. Hell yeah!

Zhao Manyan lowered his head. His heart was roaring like a beast, yet his actions were like a gentleman…

BANG!

A thud came from a trunk nearby. The girl immediately opened her eyes alertly since they were still in the wild. She glanced into the direction of the sound in fear.

The girl completely lost her mind after a quick glance. It was a bloody leg…

It seemed to be a human’s leg. It was still wearing pants and a shoe, but it was empty above the knee!

“AHHHH!!!” Guan Xixi screamed at the top of her lungs. It felt like her spirit had faded away.

Zhao Manyan’s face immediately darkened. He turned around in displeasure to see what had intervened with his business, but all he saw was a leg.

He looked further ahead and saw a man covered in blood crawling out of the bushes toward them with his hands. Zhao Manyan was shocked when he saw that the man had lost his lower legs!

The man had left a trail of blood over half a meter behind as he continued to drag himself forward. To their surprise, they knew who he was. It was Guo Muzhuang, who had goneto pluck the demon crests before!

“It’s…it’s Muzhuang!” Guan Xixi was mentally stronger. She did not lose her calm like Hu Duo. She had recognized Guo Muzhuang, even though his face was covered in blood!

Guo Muzhuang desperately crawled out of the bush. A bulky figure suddenly leapt out from it. It had a beastly human face with fangs of a boar. Its huge paws like those of a bear were holding his the other missing leg.

It took a huge bite of the leg, like a caveman biting a lamb shank. The only difference was, it was the leg of a human instead of a lamb! The sight of it was gruesome enough to make a person’s scalp turn numb!

“Holy crap, what the hell is that!?” Zhao Manyan cursed.

“Help…help me…” Guo Muzhuang was struggling to speak, as his mouth was filled with blood. He was staring at Zhao Manyan and Guan Xixi in fear, his eyes pleading!

“Light Protection!” Zhao Manyan immediately cast a Light Spell when he saw the monster about to attack the man. A golden light shield appeared and protected Guo Muzhuang.

The Hillman was not satisfied yet, and was infuriated by the light shield separating it from its food. It jumped over Guo Muzhuang, and went right at Zhao Manyan!

“I will give you a month’s time. If you can break through my defense, I’ll f**king cook my own meat and feed it to you!” Zhao Manyan finished casting another spell while he was speaking. A circle of rocks Summoned with the Eyes of the Rock Demon formed a thick barrier around the Hillman.

The thick barrier completely surrounded the Hillman. It went berserk and attacked the barrier, but it did not even budge. The barrier trapped the creature like a cage.

“Save him quick,” Zhao Manyan told Guan Xixi.

Guan Xixi nodded. She quickly moved over to Guo Muzhuang.

Guo Muzhuang had lost his lower limbs. Luckily, the monster had only torn Guo Muzhuang’s legs off. Apart from the excessive amount of blood he was losing, his vital parts were still intact. Guan Xixi quickly took out the Bone-connecting Ointment and applied it to the wounds to temporarily stop the bleeding.

Guo Muzhuang was extremely weak. Him being a Mage had given him a glimpse of hope to survive. Any normal person would be dead by now after suffering his injuries.

“He’s in bad shape. He won’t live for long if we don’t find a Healer soon,” Guan Xixi said.

“I’ll carry him, let’s regroup with the others first,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Mm.”

—

The two found the spacious area where the rest of the team were. Guan Xixi let out a relieved sigh when she learned that the others were fine.

“I found him on my way here. What’s going on?” Zhao Manyan placed Guo Muzhuang down. The Bone-connecting Ointment had closed up the wounds and stopped the bleeding.

However, Guo Muzhuang had lost too much blood. He would die still without the help of a Healer.

Guo Muzhuang feebly looked at Hu Duo and said, “Hu…Hu Duo…it’s good to…to see that you’re fine!”

“Did you go looking for me?” Hu Duo had completely forgotten her fear after seeing Guo Muzhuang’s condition.

“Where’s the other one?” Mo Fan asked Zhao Manyan.

“There’s another one?” Zhao Manyan was stunned.

The others immediately fell silent. Another guy had gone after Guo Muzhuang too, but Zhao Manyan had only saved one of them. It was likely that the guy…

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I came here straight away because his injuries were too serious,” Zhao Manyan sighed.

If Zhao Manyan knew there was another guy, he would have tried his best to save him, too. It was a human life, after all.

“I’ll go look for him. Old Zhao, look after the girls,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was at ease now that Zhao Manyan had regrouped with the team. Otherwise, he would not dare to leave the girls after learning how cunning the Hillmen were.

“I’ll go with you,” Chen Yi said.

“Chen Yi, we should wait for the Elder here. If anything happens again… the guy is most likely dead. You can tell just by seeing what happened to Guo Muzhuang!” Wang Hua seemed a little frightened.

“We can’t just leave him behind, since we haven’t found his corpse. He’s only in trouble because he was trying to help Hu Duo!” Chen Yi said.

Mo Fan was not in the mood to waste his time talking to the others. He quickly headed in the direction that Zhao Manyan mentioned. Chen Yi immediately went after him. She seemed nervous.

Wang Hua did not dare to go with them. However, his face gradually darkened when he saw Chen Yi leaving with Mo Fan.

“Humph, trying to act tough; he’s going to die for sure!” Wang Hua snapped.

“Wang Hua, how could you say that? You didn’t dare to help, yet you’re still sneering at him!” Zhong Mi snapped, displeased by Wang Hua’s reaction.

The others were not unreasonable. They were impressed that Mo Fan had the courage to step forward and volunteer his help despite the risks involved.

“Do you seriously think the guy is still alive after seeing what happened to Guo Muzhuang? The team is just going to get split up now that he has wandered off. It’s only going to get us killed if we keep splitting up. He’s just an amateur who has no clue what he’s doing, yet he’s trying to act tough!” Wang Hua rebuked.

1 The others did not dare say a word.

Zhao Manyan looked at Wang Hua with a cold smirk. He chose to be quiet.

“How long can he last for?” Zhao Manyan asked Guan Xixi, looking at Guo Muzhuang’s pained expression.

“Not more than two hours,” Guan Xixi said.

“It’s going to take us half a day if we turn back now. It’s meaningless to just wait here. We’ll have to find the other teams. If they have a Healer, Guo Muzhuang might still live,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Are…are you kidding now? The Elder already told us not to wander off. Heaven knows how many Hillmen there are around this area. We should just wait for the Elder here!” Chen Binbin said.

“So you’re just going to watch Guo Muzhuang die then?” Zhao Manyan demanded.

“I didn’t say that, I’m just stating the facts. There’s no chance we can find the other teams in this forest. Even if we did, it’s unlikely they would have a Healer!” Chen Binbin said.

“Go look for other teams yourself if you want!” Wang Hua snapped coldly.

“How could you do this? Why can’t we just go together? Those Hillmen are trying to split us up on purpose, which means they won’t dare to attack as long as we are together… Hu Duo, don’t you agree?” Guan Xixi said.

Hu Duo had a complicated look. She occasionally glanced at Guo Muzhuang, but she finally moved closer to Chen Binbin and said, “I think… it’s better to wait for the Elder here.”

Chen Binbin placed his arm around the girl’s shoulder and said, “Yeah, we can’t afford to place the rest of the team in danger for the sake of a dying man.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Chen Yi proceeded into the direction that Guo Muzhuang had mentioned. They discovered the remains of a person, but they could not tell if it belonged to the guy they were looking for.

“It must be him. I remember seeing him wearing a bracelet,” Chen Yi glanced at the corpse left in the bushes and said softly, “I thought it was going to be a normal adventure. I didn’t think something so scary would happen so quickly.”

“It seems like the government didn’t really investigate the mountain thoroughly. These Hillmen are brutal and like to feed on humans. They are no weaker than Warrior-level creatures, and they know how to work together to set up traps for their prey, too. Hopefully, there aren’t too many of these Hillmen in Mount Kunyu. Otherwise, many inexperienced Hunters are just going to fall into their hands,” Mo Fan said.

After burying the man’s corpse, Mo Fan and Chen Yi took the same way back.

Neither was that good with directions, so they ended up going to a different place. They noticed a purple light glittering in the distance. It was like a sacred tree in a primordial forest mentioned in a fairy tale!

“There’s a Giant Purple Linden here too!” Chen Yi blurted out in surprise.

“This Giant Purple Linden is more aged. Its crown is almost touching the ground,” Mo Fan noticed.

Since they were standing quite a distance away, they could only see the tree’s leaves at first. However, they halted in their track after taking a few more steps forward. They stared at the patches of grass covered in fresh blood surrounding the Giant Purple Linden!

There was blood and remains everywhere. Some were in such bad shape that it was impossible to tell if they belonged to a human. However, the backpacks, clothes, and torn limbs clearly indicated that they were most likely humans!

“My Heavens!” Chen Yi’s face turned pale. Even she lost her calm, despite how experienced she was. She leaned against a tree nearby and started vomiting.

Mo Fan frowned. Some young Hunters would have fainted right away upon witnessing the ‘colorful’ sight.

“Many have died here. It seems not every cry we heard was the Hillmen imitating us, but the cries of the victims that fell into their hands,” Mo Fan said.

“What…what exactly is going on here!?” Chen Yi was completely lost for words.

Chen Yi was clearly scarred by the gruesome sight. Mo Fan decided to tell her something even more disgusting, hoping that it would help to clear her mind.

Mo Fan saw the others quarreling as they regrouped with the team.

“Any luck?” Zhong Mi quickly asked.

“We only found this,” Mo Fan placed the bracelet that was stained with blood on the ground.

Everyone’s face immediately paled.

Chen Binbin strongly disagreed with the suggestion of leaving after seeing the bracelet. He insisted on staying put until Elder Wang Dakuo returned.

Most of the others wanted to stay behind too.

“We can’t just watch him die,” Zhao Manyan said with a sigh, looking at Guo Muzhuang.

“We’ll try to find a Healer then,” Mo Fan said.

Guo Muzhuang was still holding onto his last breath. There was an excellent chance he would survive if they could find a Healer. Therefore, there was no reason for them to watch him die in pain.

“I think it’s better if we leave this place. Mo Fan and I saw another Giant Purple Linden not far away from here. The area was stacked with corpses,” Chen Yi said.

“But…but if we keep wandering around aimlessly, we won’t be able to regroup with the Elder. He should be back any time now!” Chen Binbin exclaimed.

“Humph, just go if you want. Make sure you don’t end up as a skeleton somewhere,” Wang Hua said.

“Let’s just stick with Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan. They are just as strong as the Elder,” Chen Yi said.

“HAHAHA, are you seriously comparing them with the Elder? They are just pretending to be heroes!”

1 —

The team ended up splitting into two. Mo Fan did not force the others to come with them. They had to try and save Guo Muzhuang. As such, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan decided to part ways with the others.

Zhao Manyan was carrying Guo Muzhuang, whose lost legs were roughly sealed, on his back. Guan Xixi chose to stick with them, too.

“Lingling, everything that happened so far has been unbelievable. The information we gathered never mentioned anything about the Hillmen,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was quite bothered by the corpses around the Giant Purple Linden. It did not feel like the Hunters were searching for treasure, but that they had walked right into a trap that the demon creatures had carefully planned!

“The Hillmen aren’t from around here. As a matter of fact, whenever a territory loses its ruler, lots of demon creatures would come and compete for it. I just didn’t expect a dangerous species like the Hillmen to come all the way to Mount Kunyu too! I believe it’s necessary to alert the government and the army, so they can call off the Hunters who came to try their luck,” Lingling said.

Not every Hunter was as strong as Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan. Zhao Manyan could take out a Hillman easily because he was an Advanced Mage, not to mention the training he had gone through…

Meanwhile, most Hunters that came to Mount Kunyu were only in the Intermediate Level, or even lower! Mages below the Intermediate Level clearly had no chance against the Hillmen, and would end up dying brutally. Even the Intermediate Mages did not necessarily stand a chance against the Hillmen.

A group of seven Intermediate Mages with a certain level of synergy could barely handle a Hillman. Unfortunately, the Hillmen knew how to work together, too. They even knew to imitate, terrorize, and split up their prey. Most people that came to Mount Kunyu were Hunters, but somehow Mo Fan believed that the Hillmen were the real hunters instead, since many Hunters had ended up as a grand feast to them!

“The problem is that we don’t really know how many Hillmen there are. If there’s only a bunch of them, most experienced Hunters wouldn’t even care. These man-eating Hillmen are the least of their concerns, compared to the chance of earning a few hundred thousand yuan with every few steps,” Zhao Manyan said.

Lingling did not want to risk more innocent lives. Almost seventy percent of the groups that came to Mount Kunyu could not handle the Hillmen. She felt uneasy whenever she thought about the people being brutally eaten by the creatures.

“Yeah, I guess what we say doesn’t really matter. The government and the army wouldn’t give up their plan to cleanse the mountain so easily, and the Hunters aren’t going to give up their chance of earning a fortune,” Mo Fan said.

“Let’s just focus on finding a Healer,” Chen Yi said.

—

Mo Fan summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, who could easily pick up the scent of humans.

They soon stumbled into a group of Hunters who seemed to have earned a lot from the adventure. However, when Mo Fan mentioned the Hillmen, they all shook their heads and said they did not stumble into them.

It was a pity that there was no Healer in the group of Hunters. The chance of Guo Muzhuang surviving became slimmer.

Left with no choice, they continued to look for other teams. They were used to having a Healer with them when they were on the national team. However, as they kept searching for a Healer in the woods while watching Guo Muzhuang dying, both Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan realized how cruel it was to watch a person who had a chance to live dying slowly just because they could not find a Healer.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had spent most of their time in reputable schools or teams with elites. It was not difficult for them to recruit a Healer, considering how strong they were. Some Healers would even take the initiative to approach them…

Unfortunately, Healers were extremely rare among Hunters, even the more famous Hunter Groups.

It was more appropriate to say that Guo Muzhuang had no chance of surviving. If he was lucky enough to find a Healer, it would probably be because he had done a lot of good deeds in his previous life!

——

“Brother Mao, those young Mages said there are Hillmen around here. Do you believe them?” asked a man in a green shirt in the group of Hunters that Mo Fan had just stumbled into.

The Hunter referred to as Brother Mao glanced into the direction that Mo Fan and his crew were heading. He spat on the ground and said, “Is it your first time out in the wild? Haven’t you heard that some novice Hunters like to spread rumors to scare their competitors away?”

“Huh? Why would they do that?” the man asked confusedly.

Brother Mao slapped the man on the head and snapped, “Are you as dumb as a pig?”

COMMENT

“Rumors are normally scarier than the truth. I bet their description of how the Hillmen were torturing and eating humans brutally is just something they came up with, or perhaps they heard it from someone else too. They are just trying to scare some Hunters away, so they could secure more loot,” a girl wearing a pair of glasses with black frames said with a strange grin.

“I see, I see, how cunning were they, I almost fell for it…ah, hang on, I did see that the man they were carrying had lost his lower legs…”

“Are you stupid? They must have infuriated some creatures guarding a Giant Purple Linden, and the man ended up losing his lower limbs. Isn’t that pretty common?”

“You’re right. They must be jealous after seeing the others with the demon crests, so they started spreading rumors around.”

“Xiao Bao, you only became a Hunter a few months ago. There are lots of things to learn still. Don’t just believe everything someone tells you!” Brother Mao stood in front of the group and gave his piece of advice.

“Brother Mao is right!”

Brother Mao continued forward. He was about to tell Xiao Bao the common tricks that Hunters usually used against their competitors when he accidentally stepped into a pond of water.

Luckily, Brother Mao was pretty nimble. He turned around and did a cool side flip to avoid the pond while stabilizing himself.

“Holy shit, why didn’t any of you warn me…” Brother Mao blurted out. However, he was stunned as he looked down.

His eyes widened. His face was filled with fear. The pond was not filled with water, but the blood, remains, and organs of humans. Most terrifyingly, when he spread the bushes nearby apart with his hands, he saw a piece of skin hanging in the air. it was covered in blood, and it looked like it belonged to a human!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Is it this way? Are you sure you picked up the scent of a girl’s perfume?” Mo Fan asked the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf nodded confidently.

“Why do I feel like you’re pretty good at picking up the smell of perfume?” Mo Fan cast a side glance at the wolf.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled, insisting that he had no interest in humans. He proceeded to tell Mo Fan that he already had a mate in the Summoned Beast Plane, a female wolf with beautiful blue hair…

2 They continued searching for other teams under the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s guidance.

It was already the seventh team they had found. If Mo Fan did not have a medicine specifically made by Xinxia that helped Guo Muzhuang to live for another hour, he would be a corpse by now.

—

There was a stream slowly flowing down the mountain. Liu Xiaojia was the student of a nearby Magic Institution. It was her first time going to the wild for training with her mentor. She was extremely nervous, even though she was only getting some water from a stream not far away from the team.

Normally, it was the men who were responsible for getting water. However, since she was feeling a little guilty for not doing much on the team, she volunteered for the job instead!

“Creatures of Mount Kunyu, please go easy on a little intern like me, please don’t come and find me…” Liu Xiaojia murmured in her heart.

However, as soon as Liu Xiaojia filled up the bucket, she saw a huge head covered in white hair poking out from the bushes, followed by a handsome-looking wolf-like creature with hair as white as snow!

Liu Xiaojia closed her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs. Her voice echoed through the woods.

The others on the team immediately ran over after hearing the scream.

“Se…senior, help…help me!” Liu Xiaojia was about to burst into tears. She did not even dare to move while facing the enormous white wolf.

“Quick, call the mentor over!” the two boys yelled to alert their mentor. Not long after, a Mage in his fifties showed up.

The man was a little bald, his body covered in a magical glow. He was obviously ready for battle, but he froze as soon as he saw the creature that was approaching Liu Xiaojia!

“Com…Commander-level!” The teacher’s voice began to tremble. It was his first time standing so close to a Commander-level creature!

“Quick, run as far as you can! It’s a Commander-level creature. Split up and run…” the bald teacher turned out to be quite responsible. He gathered his courage to step forward while yelling at his students.

The students were dumbfounded. A Warrior-level creature was already extremely terrifying to them. They never thought they would attract the attention of a Commander-level creature when they just wanted to get some water!

“Don’t panic, it’s fine, he’s my Summoned Beast!…” A young man in a light-colored T-shirt leapt out from the bushes in the nick of time. After briefly explaining things to the group, he kicked the Commander-level creature in the head under the astounded gaze of the others and snapped furiously, “Why the hell are you running so far ahead? You already scared a whole team away last time!”

A Summoned Beast looked very similar to a demon creature. Even though the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was not showing any hostility, its Commander-level aura was still too overwhelming for Mages below the Advanced Level!

Not long after, Zhao Manyan, Lingling, Chen Yi, and Guan Xixi showed up too. They shook their heads helplessly after seeing how terrified the group of students was.

“Off you go, I’ll Summon you out again later!” Mo Fan sent the Flying Creek Snow Wolf back to the Summoned Beast Plane.

He could not understand why the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was so excited. He only asked him to lead the way, not stick his face close to someone. To think such a stupid wolf managed to find a girlfriend!

3 —

“Was…was that really your Summoned Beast?” The teacher was wearing a rich expression as he let out a relieved sigh.

“I’m sorry, we are in a rush because someone’s life is in danger.” Mo Fan pointed at Guo Muzhuang on Zhao Manyan’s back and said, “Is there a Healer here? He’s almost at his limit.”

“Liu Xiaojia is a Healer, but I doubt if she can still use her magic, seeing how terrified she is,” one of the boys snickered.

“I can do it!” Liu Xiaojia instantly retorted confidently.

“I’m leaving him in your hands then!” Mo Fan asked Zhao Manyan to place Guo Muzhuang down. He placed some leaves on the ground.

Liu Xiaojia came over. She stared at Mo Fan for some time and finally asked, “Was that your Summoned Beast?”

“Yeah, he’s a Flying Creek Snow Wolf,” Mo Fan said.

“Is your father the Chairman of a Magic Association?” Liu Xiaojia asked.

“Excuse me?” Mo Fan was utterly confused.

“If not, why would you have a Commander-level Summoned Beast? You seem to be around our age. A Commander-level creature can take on around eight Advanced Mages at the same time. Does that mean you’re an Advanced Mage too? You’re so strong, so your father must be someone very impressive,” Liu Xiaojia concluded.

“My father is just a normal person. He’s not a Mage,” Mo Fan was left speechless.

“So are you an Advanced Mage?” Liu Xiaojia asked.

“Yes.”

“Ah, how did you train then? I’ve only reached the Intermediate Level, but you’re already in the Advanced Level. Our teacher is only an Advanced Mage too, but he was asking us to run for our lives just now. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t stand a chance against your Summoned Beast…” Liu Xiaojia went on.

Mo Fan’s face darkened, “Girl, could you please save this man first?”

—

Guan Xixi let out a relieved sigh when she saw Guo Muzhuang slowly regaining his vitality.

His life was no longer in danger. He had regained consciousness after the healing eased his pain.

“Am…Am I dead?” Guo Muzhuang glanced around him. His face was filled with surprise when he realized he could now feel his body, except for his lower legs!

He managed to survive!

Guo Muzhuang could not believe it. He looked at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan…

He thought about his classmates Chen Binbin and Wang Hua, whom he had known for eight years, and Hu Duo, who had completely broken his heart. He then looked at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, whom he had just met not long ago. He soon broke into tears while expressing his gratitude to them sobbingly!

“There’s no point thinking about a woman like her. Rest up after you’re back and become stronger!” Mo Fan let out a sigh when he saw the man sobbing. He patted him on the shoulder.

Guo Muzhuang had only ended up in his current state because he was trying to save Hu Duo. It was the main reason why Mo Fan was not willing to just watch him die.

The truth was, the most painful thing to him was not being tortured by the Hillman and losing his lower limbs, but seeing the girl whom he risked his life to save deciding to stick with that timid man just because of his background. Guo Muzhuang even thought it was better for him to die at that moment…

Guo Muzhuang was completely disappointed with his friends in just a few days’ time.

“You guys saw a Hillman?” the teacher asked curiously.

“Right! Guo Muzhuang, what happened back then? Tell us,” Mo Fan said.

Guo Muzhuang trembled in fear as he recalled the incident that had happened recently. However, he still managed to gather his courage to tell everyone the tragedy, “Shounan and I followed the sound. We felt like Hu Duo was very close to us, but four human-like creatures with fangs like wild boars showed up. They grabbed Shounan first, tore his arms off, and ate them…”

Some of the students could not bear hearing any more.

“You’re saying that they didn’t kill Shounan right away, but tore off his limbs when he was still alive? They then dug out his organs… when he was still alive too?” Mo Fan repeated.

Guo Muzhuang’s face was covered in blue veins. He had been held firmly by another Hillman. He had watched how the other three Hillmen tortured Shounan to death…

He would never forget the expression on Shounan’s face when he was breathing his last breath!

“Tearing off their limbs and torturing them to death… I’ve always heard how brutal these Hillmen are, but I never thought they would be this brutal!” Lingling said furiously.

“It’s very rare to see such cruel demon creatures. Even though it is common for demon creatures to feed on humans, most of them either kill the people first or just swallow them right away… These Hillmen seems to be familiar with our body structure. They will purposely avoid the vital organs and slowly torture their prey to death. They will even eat your limbs and organs right in front of you,” Mo Fan murmured.

The way the Hillmen treated their prey was totally unacceptable. The people were already spooked after listening to Guo Muzhuang’s description. They could not imagine how terrifying it would be to witness it happening in person!

“Those things should all go to Hell!” Lingling said.

“They are extremely cunning. They know some people in a team are stronger, so they will lure them away from the team first to make them more vulnerable… I swear if I get my hands on them, I’ll let them have a piece of the same pain that they like to inflict on their prey!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly. As someone who liked to use violence against violence, there was no way he was going to go easy on these Hillmen!

“I think it’s better to tell the government as soon as possible. The Hillmen are too dangerous. We don’t even know how many Hunters are going to fall at their hands, considering the number of people that have come for the demon crests. Many of them are too inexperienced. They won’t stand a chance against the Hillmen!” the teacher, Mr. Gao said seriously.

Mr. Gao was furious after learning that they were other people being tortured by the Hillmen while they were speaking!

“We can’t let them do as they please. We must think of a way to lure them out,” Zhao Manyan said thoughtfully.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Guo Muzhuang’s condition slowly improved, but it would take a long time for his legs to regrow. After learning there were a lot of Hillmen in the area, Mr. Gao decided to head back to the city with his students and alert the government and army about what was happening.

However, it would take at least half a day to make it back to the other side of Mount Kunyu. Many people were going to die by the time the government reacted to the situation!

—

“There’s a Giant Purple Linden ahead,” Lingling said to the others.

Mr. Gao did not bring all the students with him. He only brought a few that were quicker, to ensure that they could alert the authorities as soon as possible. As a result, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had to take care of the rest.

Mr. Gao was more than willing to leave his students with Mo Fan after seeing the Commander-level Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

“Let’s go and take a look,” Mo Fan said.

It was very likely that there would be other Hunters at the Giant Purple Linden. The group noticed something different as they approached the Giant Purple Linden.

“It seems like there are other Hunters around here,” Liu Xiaojia leaned forward and looked around.

“We’ve already come so deep into the mountain, yet it’s still so easy to stumble into different groups of Hunters. How many Hunters are there on this mountain?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

It was a huge Giant Purple Linden. There was normally more than one demon crest on a Giant Purple Linden. Some mature Giant Purple Lindens would have two to four demon crests. The Giant Purple Lindens they had encountered so far were all above a hundred years old, with tall trunks and deep roots into the ground. This one’s branches were like an enormous umbrella covering a huge area.

Most Giant Purple Lindens had a strong demand for nutrients from the soil, so it was unlikely to see other plants nearby. The place was a spacious clearing that only tenacious weeds could survive in!

There were around fifteen people in the area. They were obviously from two different Hunter Groups. They seemed to be competing for ownership of the Giant Purple Linden.

Colorful lights resembling different Elements from both sides clashed with one another, followed by a fierce wind, rolling waves, and shifting terrains. The force produced by the collisions continuously swept in all directions.

“Both sides are being serious!” a male student exclaimed.

Both sides were mostly using Intermediate Spells. The two groups were pretty strong. The battle had been going on for a while, and each side already had a few injured!

“These people are so dumb,” Lingling said.

“It’s pretty common. Humans die in pursuit of wealth, just like birds die in pursuit of food,” Chen Yi said.

“The Giant Purple Lindens are quite friendly to all creatures, including humans. They won’t really mind humans taking their demon crests, but that doesn’t mean they are harmless. They have their own sense of danger, too. If they are too many humans around, and their spells start to threaten the Giant Purple Linden, it will send out a signal attracting the attention of the demon creatures residing around it. These people still have the mood to be fighting one another; they are going to suffer the consequences soon!” Lingling informed them.

Lingling’s words immediately reminded Mo Fan of the warnings that Elder Wang Dakuo gave the others. He strongly insisted that only one person was allowed to retrieve the demon crests from a Giant Purple Linden, in order to prevent disasters from happening!

As Lingling expected, they soon heard roars of demon creatures coming from different directions. Even the surrounding trees were bending forward at the powerful roars.

The Hunters were busy fighting one another, and were utterly clueless about the approaching danger. Liu Xiaojia was a kind girl. She quickly ran over to warn the Hunters, yet they completely ignored her, unwilling to give up on the demon crests!

“Forget it, it’s none of our business,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was not that interested in their competition. Liu Xiaojia already did her best to warn them. If they still did not want to leave, they would have to bear the consequences themselves!

Mo Fan was definitely not a Buddha. He could not care less about people that wanted to get themselves killed. There were just too many idiots out there, taking into account the huge population of his country!

—

They proceeded in another direction to continue their search for the Hillmen. They soon heard cries of agony coming from the area they had just left.

Zhao Manyan came to a stop. He looked back in the direction of the Giant Purple Linden and harrumphed coldly, “They asked for it!”

“Should…should we head back? They sound like they are in agony!” Liu Xiaojia said softly.

“They are all grown-ups. They should be ready to bear the consequences of the choices they made. We aren’t from the Red Cross.” Mo Fan did not have the intention to turn back.

Lingling came to a stop too. She turned to Mo Fan and asked, “Do you feel their cries sound…”

Mo Fan halted in his tracks and listened carefully. He soon realized the cries sounded like they were being tortured, instead of the cries right before their death. They were cries from deep within one’s soul after being tortured continuously!

“Could it be the Hillmen?” Guan Xixi asked worriedly.

“Damn it, let’s head back!” Mo Fan cursed. He could not help but wonder why he had to keep wiping people’s butts on their behalf.

——

The group hurried back to the Giant Purple Linden. It was the same spacious area. The Giant Purple Linden was still swaying in the wind at the center, but there were lots of ghastly corpses lying where the Hunters were previously fighting!

The place was covered in blood with torn limbs scattered across it. Mo Fan and Chen Yi had witnessed something similar before. It was clearly the work of the brutal Hillmen!

Some of the students began vomiting. They had only heard it from Guo Muzhuang before, but it was ten times scarier and more disgusting when they actually witnessed it in person!

“The rest of them were dragged into the woods!” Lingling followed the trail of blood along the ground and pointed at the trees in another direction.

Mo Fan immediately led the way, running into the woods.

The trees were smeared with blood. As soon as Mo Fan ran into the woods, he immediately saw a tall hairy figure. It was laughing piercingly while jumping around, like it was celebrating a party.

The monster was dragging a Maga with its muscular right hand!

The Maga’s clothes were shredded. The creature was holding her ankles while dragging her across the ground. Fresh blood was pouring out from her stomach, leaving a smeared trail behind on the grass!

The girl had pale skin and alluring curves, but was covered in blood. Even her hair was dyed red by her own blood as she was dragged across the ground.

The girl’s screams echoed in Mo Fan’s ears. Mo Fan completely lost it when he saw the girl’s face twitching in pain, her back was rubbing against the ground and the hollow look in her eyes!

He saw the plea in the girl’s eyes, the look when she saw a glimpse of hope, begging him to save her. Mo Fan had seen the same look many times, yet every time he saw it, his chest would burn with rage!

Mo Fan would not be so mad if the Hillman had killed the girl and dragged her body away. After all, humans were not excluded from the cruelty of nature. However, the girl was clearly still alive, yet her blood and entrails were pouring out continuously as she was being dragged along the ground. Any person would not be able to keep calm after seeing it!

“You son of a b**ch, die!” Mo Fan used Blink to catch up to the Hillman celebrating its victory. Its ugly face was filled with shock when Mo Fan intercepted it. It had clearly never seen a human using such strange magic.

However, the Hillman soon grinned cruelly. It tossed the girl aside while slowly revealing its rock-hard muscles!

“Die!” Mo Fan chuckled. He Cast more than ten lightning bolts, each tens of meters long. The dark lightning bolts sprang forward and punctured multiple parts of the Hillman’s body!

The Hillman tried to dodge them, but Mo Fan was just too good at controlling his magic. The lightning bolts were surprisingly quick, too, with a strong paralyzing effect. The Hillman froze on the spot as the lightning strikes continued to land on it!

“Have a piece of these!” Mo Fan was utterly infuriated. He perfectly controlled the damage of the lightning strikes.

The lightning went inside the creature’s body and destroyed its organs. Mo Fan purposely avoided the vital organs just so the creature could suffer more!

“AHHHH!” The Hillman’s cries of agony were similar to a human’s. Even its soul was in great pain, tortured by Mo Fan’s lightning. It was exactly what Mo Fan wanted!

-You’re cruel? Let’s see who’s crueler!-

Chen Yi caught up to Mo Fan and said, “Mo Fan, forget it, just kill it!”

“Humph, go to Hell!” Mo Fan strengthened his lightning. A strong Lightning Spell with its damage amplified twelvefold sent the Hillman flying over a hundred meters away.

The creature slammed heavily into a tree, turned into scorched meat. Perhaps the Hillman never thought a species as strong as it would be killed so easily by a human!

“Miss, don’t be afraid, I’ll treat your wounds now, hang in there!” Liu Xiaojia quickly went up to the girl.

Her heart was burning with rage when she saw how the girl’s belly had been torn apart. What these Hillmen did was unforgivable!

COMMENT

The girl was feeble and in pain. She looked at Mo Fan gratefully. It was likely that she would do anything just to repay Mo Fan’s kindness. After all, she had already wanted to die when the Hillman was torturing her by dragging her across the ground.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The girl’s injuries healed fairly quickly with the help of a Healer. Liu Xiaojia’s Healing Element was surprisingly impressive.

The girl’s wounds had started to mend. She was now covered by Mo Fan’s T-shirt, and had yet to fully recover from her shock.

It was not her first time going on an adventure as a Hunter, but it was definitely her first time experiencing anything so bizarre.

Many Hunters thought death was the worst possible outcome when facing demon creatures, but there were times where death was far from the worst!

“Where are the others?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan remembered there were more people than the bodies left behind. There had to be others who were still alive…

“That way, there are around three or four of them that are still alive!” The girl pointed at the gray woods.

“Rest here. I’ll slay those Hillmen and save your friends!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan quickly cast the Summoning Spell while he was talking. A great wolf with snow-white hair leapt out from a lunar-white crack, leaving a trail of frost across the ground with an imposing aura.

Mo Fan jumped onto the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s back before taking off at a crazy speed, disappearing into the woods in the blink of an eye.

——

The rest of the group had envious looks as they watched Mo Fan’s handsome back fading into the distance.

The guy was around their age, yet how was he so cool and flashy!?

“Mo Fan is so strong. He killed the Warrior-level monster like it was just a little creature…” the male students exclaimed.

Liu Xiaojia’s eyes were brimming with admiration. It was her first time seeing such a powerful Mage around her age. Most importantly, he looked so handsome when he was angry. He was overflowing with masculine charm!

“Speaking of which, these Hillmen are showing up too frequently. It feels like they are showing up at every Giant Purple Linden,” Zhao Manyan said to Lingling, looking at the tall Giant Purple Linden behind him.

“Mm, I’m afraid the Hunters have become the hunted instead. It seems these Hillmen are well aware of our greed. They know we will keep showing up at the Giant Purple Lindens, so they just need to wait at the Giant Purple Lindens and ambush us, or find a way to split the teams up, or strike when two groups are at their weakest state after fighting one another. Either way, they are like a bunch of hunters waiting for their prey to lower their guard. I’m afraid there will be more casualties on Mount Kunyu than we thought!” Lingling agreed.

“Let’s hope Mr. Gao is able to convince the government to send some backup. The situation should improve once the army intervenes and evacuate the Hunters that are here for the money. They thought it was a great chance to earn some quick money, yet it turned out to be a slaughter!” Lingling sighed.

1 Hillmen had been showing up close to the Giant Purple Lindens to ambush the humans that had come for the demon crests. It had proven to be very effective.

Most groups were not strong enough to face the Hillmen. Even those that were strong enough still struggled after they were set up by the cunning creatures!

——

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf took a deep breath, searching for the scent of the Hillmen.

Due to their brutal habits, it was a lot easier for Mo Fan to track them down. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was able to capture the scent of blood in the air easily, allowing him to locate his targets.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was much faster than the Hillmen. Mo Fan soon noticed a few bulky figures after following the scent trail for a few kilometers. The figures were carrying some incomplete bodies on their shoulders. Mo Fan couldn’t tell if the people were still alive!

Mo Fan completely lost his temper when he saw the Hillmen and smelled the stench of blood lingering in the air!

“Shadow Imprisonment!”

A few shadow daggers appeared in Mo Fan’s hands and slowly vanished in the air. They soon reappeared close to the three Hillmen!

The daggers nailed the shadows of the Hillmen accurately, sealing off their waists and necks and greatly impairing their movement.

“Get your ass over here!” Mo Fan split his will into three parts, grabbing at the Hillmen. It forcibly lifted the creatures into the air and dragged them back to him.

The Hillmen shrieked like apes. They tossed their prey down and tried to flee for their lives, but these Warrior-level creatures had no chance of breaking free from Mo Fan’s Shadow Imprisonment and Space Magic!

“You enjoy torturing humans when they are still alive right? I guess I’ll burn you alive, then!” Mo Fan snapped.

Mo Fan strengthened the Shadow Imprisonment. The creatures could not even struggle. Mo Fan further applied Gravity Space to the creatures. The three Hillmen could not even budge.

Mo Fan soon set up a burning ‘hanging post’. The flames slowly rose and crawled onto the Hillmen.

Mo Fan perfectly controlled the temperature of the flames, so they would not burn the creatures to death too quickly, maximizing the pain they had to go through!

As Mo Fan was about to strengthen the flames to inflict more pain on the Hillmen, a figure over three meters jumped out from the bush to his right and swung its sharp claws at his chest!

The creature’s speed when moving and striking was so fast that it looked like a brown blur flickering past. It immediately threatened Mo Fan!

“Awoo~!” The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was no mere decoration. He leapt and pounced on the Hillman while it was still in mid-air. He was providing cover while Mo Fan was busy ‘roasting’ the creatures.

“Well done!” Mo Fan complimented the wolf.

He set up the flames and quickly headed to the people, having no idea if they were alive or dead. He should be saving the people first.

There were three of them, two men and a woman. They were from the two groups of Hunters that were fighting one another. The two men had their limbs torn off. The Hillmen had most likely done so to prevent them from fighting back.

The woman was still in good condition, and was barely injured. She was only unconscious from overwhelming fright.

It was a great relief amid the misfortune. Mo Fan was quite confused why the Hillmen did not tear her limbs off like the others…

The three Hunters were still alive. If he was any slower, the Hillmen would most likely have dragged them off to a remote cave and enjoyed torturing them slowly. It was obvious that the Hillmen were not killing humans just to fill their stomachs. They were torturing humans to entertain themselves!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled. An icy gust swept past, knocking down all the trees within a hundred meters.

A Hillman over three meters tall was moving nimbly among the falling trees. It managed to dodge the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s attack.

It continued to back away while staring at the three Hillmen that Mo Fan had set on fire. It quickly realized how tough of an opponent the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was. It jumped onto the trunk of a tree and held on like an ape.

The Hillman was surprisingly quick when it was moving between the branches and the trees. Even the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was having a hard time catching up to it.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled furiously and knocked down the trees acting as obstacles. Unfortunately, the Hillman was just too quick. It glared at Mo Fan and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf before quickly disappearing into the woods!

“Stop chasing, that creature is pretty tough. It’s a Commander too!” Mo Fan called the Flying Creek Snow Wolf back. He was having difficulty carrying the three people on his own, so he needed the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to do the manual labor.

Mo Fan quickly used Blood Serums and Bone-connecting Ointment to treat the Hunters’ injuries. It was enough to help them live until they regrouped with Liu Xiaojia and the others.

“Let me go, let me go!” the woman who was barely injured suddenly screamed and Summoned a strong blast of wind.

The wind flew right at Mo Fan. She was so terrified that she could not even tell who was friendly!

“Calm down, you’re fine now.” Mo Fan waved his hand and shattered the woman’s Wind with his Telekinesis.

The Wind Maga was stunned. She did not expect the man to nullify her Wind Disc just by waving his hand!

The woman soon noticed the three Hillmen burned into charcoal. She let out a relieved sigh and thanked Mo Fan.

“I already warned you guys, but none of you listened. There are times when you shouldn’t be so greedy. You still have other chances to make money, but you only live once,” Mo Fan sighed. This woman was actually quite lucky considering what happened to the other girl and Guo Muzhuang…

“They are all dead… what exactly are these things?” The woman burst into tears.

“They are Hillmen, a species that enjoys torturing humans. The previous ruler of Mount Kunyu is dead, so lots of demon creatures have come for the Giant Purple Lindens. To these creature’s delight, the Hunters kept feeding themselves to them! Therefore, these Hillmen ended up holding a feast by hunting the Hunters, after learning their patterns,” Mo Fan explained.

The woman opened her mouth in disbelief.

However, after what she had gone through, and seeing her two teammates with their limbs torn off, she had no choice but to accept the truth.

“We’ve already sent someone to alert the government and army,” Mo Fan went on.

“Then what are you doing here still? Aren’t you supposed to be running too?” The woman seemed a little confused.

Mo Fan looked at the Wind Maga. He had to admit that she was a beautiful woman. She had a ponytail and an attractive face, while her skin was as smooth as milk. Mo Fan would definitely go crazy if such a beautiful woman died a horrible death at the hands of the Hillmen!

“Why should I be running?” Mo Fan stood up. He looked at the burned remains of the Hillmen and said sternly, “It will take the government and the army some time to reach here, so before that, I will kill as many Hillmen as I can!”

The woman looked at Mo Fan with a blank expression.

She did not expect such words from a man who seemed younger than she was. However, she felt he was strong enough to make good on his boasts. Otherwise, how did he manage to save her and her teammates from the Hillmen?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It did not take long to reconnect the torn limbs with the help of Healing Magic. The Intermediate Healing Spell was quite efficient at healing bones. Liu Xiaojia did not expect to have so many chances to practice her Healing Spells at Mount Kunyu. She was still a little intimidated whenever she thought about how brutal the Hillmen were.

“I saw a three-meter-tall Hillman with brown hair like an ape and slightly longer copper fangs,” Mo Fan informed the others when they caught up to him.

“A Bronze-Fang Hillman, it’s a Commander-level creature. These Hillmen use their fangs to assert superiority among themselves. The low-level Hillmen are slaves to the high-level Hillmen,” Lingling confirmed.

“There’s even a Commander-level Hillman here? That means ninety percent of the groups that came in here are going to end up in misfortune!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Mm, I don’t think the government can send reinforcements in time,” Chen Yi said.

“By the way, I also found these,” Mo Fan handed some demon crests to Lingling and said, “These Hillmen seem to be using the demon crests as a bait. Those three that I just killed had fifteen demon crests! They might have taken them from the people they killed. I think they know they can use the demon crests to bait people!”

“It’s like the bait for fishing!” Still a little girl, Lingling was seriously speechless at how brainless grown-ups could be. She said, “I never thought that human Mages would be treated like this one day. Too many people are blinded by their greed! We’ll be taking these demon crests to compensate us the huge amount of effort we’re putting in.”

Mo Fan grinned when he heard that Lingling had no intention to give the demon crests back.

“I’ve tagged the Bronze-Fang Hillman with my Shadow Element. I have decided to pay their den a visit after escorting you all to safety,” Mo Fan said.

The Wind Maga looked at Mo Fan and opened her mouth; she had something to say. “Our group wasn’t even that weak. We wouldn’t have ended up like this if we didn’t step into their trap… count me in if you’re planning to hunt the Hillmen down,” the Wind Maga said.

“Yeah, we can help too,” Liu Xiaojia and the others said.

“I don’t need too many people. I believe there would be a lot of Hillmen at their den. Zhao Manyan and I will have difficulty protecting everyone if too many of you came along. Liu Xiaojia, you will come with us. Is anyone a Shadow Mage here? I just need one. The rest of you, get to safety as soon as possible,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan noticed that the Hillmen could not sense the Shadow Element. The Fleeing Shadow, the Giant Shadow Spikes, and the Shadow Imprisonment had proven to be very useful.

A Shadow Mage had the ability to look after themselves, so Mo Fan only allowed students with the Shadow Element to stay, and the Healer, Liu Xiaojia.

The beautiful lady with the Wind Element was not bad, either. She was most likely an Advanced Mage, but she was not yet skilled at casting Advanced Spells. It was likely that the Bronze-Fang Hillman was the one that had knocked her unconscious.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

——

The two Hunters that had recovered were in charge of escorting the students. They should not have much problem making it to safety. Mo Fan also realized that the Hillmen did not dare take on a group of people. There were many groups that had fallen into their traps in pursuit of the demon crests, so they had not had to risk their lives taking on the intact groups.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Lingling, and the rest went after the Bronze-Fang Hillman, following the mark that Mo Fan had left on it previously.

“I was wondering why you let the Commander-level Hillman run away. It turns out that you’re only releasing the fish back to the pond so you can get them all,” Zhao Manyan smiled.

Mo Fan was clearly more cunning than the Hillmen!

“Huh? Did you really let it go on purpose? Didn’t it manage to run away from you?” Liu Xiaojia asked, blinking her eyes.

Liu Xiaojia was like a curious little kid, asking whatever question that crossed her mind. Mo Fan was a little scared to answer her question. Speaking of which, Mo Fan was speechless when he realized who was with him.

Chen Yi, Guan Xixi, Liu Xiaojia, the Wind Maga Lan Luo, and the gorgeous little Lingling; why was he with a bunch of girls again!?

To be honest, Mo Fan was more used to doing cruel things like this with vicious and merciless blokes, someone like Ai Jiangtu…

The Seal of Darkness had left a trail that only the Mage that had implanted it could sense. Mo Fan just needed to follow the trail to locate the Bronze-Fang Hillman. Since Mo Fan’s Shadow Element was at the Advanced Level, the Seal of Darkness could last for quite a long time. It would still be around after three days!

——

“Seriously, how far did that creature run? We’ve already crossed a few ridges,” Zhao Manyan complained, a little worn out from the journey.

It was not suitable to fly around the mountain, or Zhao Manyan would have long taken out his flashy golden wings.

“I’ll give you all a little help.” Lan Luo drew a Star Pattern, laying a trail of wind on the path the group was taking, making it easier for them to traverse the difficult terrain.

Mo Fan did not dare Summon the Flying Creek Snow Wolf either, since his level was relatively high among the demon creatures. His presence would easily scare the Hillmen away.

After crossing yet another tall ridge, the trail of the Seal of Darkness led them to a spacious valley.

Most valleys in the mountain had beautiful thick forests, with a strong presence of the ancient times, like those in a drawing. However, this spacious valley was totally different. When they looked down at the valley from the high ground, they were surprised to see a huge grassland. The grass was very tall. The waves flowing across them as they swayed when the wind blew were stunning. It was like the waves on the surface of a green lake…

“There must be a Giant Purple Linden here,” Lingling said confidently.

They followed the path into a canyon, two mountain walls high up on the sides. Their view opened up after they reached the end of the canyon. A spacious grassland entered their vision. They could not even see the end of the valley!

The grass was surprisingly tall, around two to three meters. It felt like they had been shrunk down as they walked through the grass. They had to lift their heads to see the cobs swaying in the wind.

The cobs blocked off vision ahead. They could barely see a distance of six meters around themselves. Even the slightest sound would make them feel uneasy as they were walking through the grass. The Hillmen had indeed found a very remote place to build their den!

The group spread the grass apart and proceeded forward. Zhao Manyan could not help but ask, “Are we getting close?”

“It’s not too far now, but it will be very easy for us to get split up if a fight happens here,” Mo Fan said.

The grassland was too spacious. It would be fine if the grass only reached their ankles, since they could easily see their teammates and any approaching enemy with a quick glance. However, the grass was taller than they were. Their vision was more limited than walking in the woods…

“Give me a second,” Zhao Manyan felt an urge to empty his bladder. He did not say it too obviously since there were more girls in the group.

He split up with the team and went further ahead to make sure he did not ruin Guan Xixi’s impression of him. He made sure he was far enough to prevent the others from hearing him peeing and unzipped his pants…

The sound of him peeing was pretty loud. Zhao Manyan had been holding his bladder for some time. He even had the urge to hum joyfully the moment he turned on the valve.

The stalks nearby suddenly swayed. Zhao Manyan immediately turned around as soon as he heard the sound.

In order to take a closer look, Zhao Manyan used his other hand to spread the grass. He immediately saw a hideous face behind it!

It was a ghastly face with fangs like a boar exposed to the air. The two bloodshot eyes in particular were oddly frightening!

“Screw you!” Zhao Manyan cursed after he was given a great fright. His right hand adeptly moved ‘little Zhao Manyan’ back into his pants before pulling the zip up. Meanwhile, his other hand started casting a Water Barrier between him and the Hillman…

Ideally, Zhao Manyan thought he could set up his defense in time. To his surprise, the zipper somehow caught ‘little Zhao Manyan’ for a brief second. He immediately felt a sharp pain from his lower body. The Star Orbit of the Water Barrier — one of the most basic spells — broke at its sixth Star!

The Hillman raised its sharp paw. It clearly had no intention to go easy on him!

Zhao Manyan cursed under his breath and subconsciously rolled to the side with his years of experience fighting demon creatures. He barely dodged the attack of the disgusting Hillman.

Zhao Manyan rose to his feet and took a deep breath. He quickly sorted out the problem of his lower body, furious now!

“I’m going to pluck your fangs out!” Zhao Manyan snapped. “Sky Waterfall!”

Zhao Manyan cast his spell angrily. White rolling waves suddenly poured down from the sky and descended rapidly on the Hillman. The unstoppable waves struck the creature fiercely!

The white waves rolled more than ten meters away. The Sky Waterfall instantly broke many of the bones in the Hillman’s body. It did not even have a chance to cry out in pain.

The strong waves swept forward. A certain area of the grassland even sank down at the strong impact. Mo Fan and the others quickly came over and heard Zhao Manyan cursing wildly!

—

The Sky Waterfall lasted for half a minute. The Hillman lay still on the ground. Most of its bones were broken by the fierce waves. It was almost dead.

“He’s an Advanced Mage too,” Lan Luo was dumbfounded, seeing the area that had been destroyed by the waves.

Even though Zhao Manyan had only used an Intermediate Spell, the sight of the Sky Waterfall was just too shocking. The spell had killed the Warrior-level Hillman almost instantly! Only an Advanced Mage with a Soul-grade Water Seed could possibly achieve the feat!

“That thing dared to ambush me when I’m trying to empty my bladder,” Zhao Manyan withdrew the huge puddles and went up to the half-dead Hillman. He kicked at the creature’s limp body.

“These things have always been cunning,” Mo Fan agreed.

“This place is a natural hunting ground for them. The grass is just too thick. They can easily sneak up to their targets. Even if a whole team of Mages was here, it would be hard to tell if anyone is missing from the team. Most importantly, it’s extremely difficult to save the people who get dragged away!” Lingling judged after analyzing the situation.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A desert was scary because it was hard to tell if anything was hiding in the sand, resulting in people entering the territories of demon creatures unknowingly and being wiped out. It also meant there was no place in a desert that was perfectly safe.

Likewise, the valley of tall grass was incredibly dangerous, too. The grass grew taller than their heads. The sky that a person standing in the grass could see was only the size of a palm. They had to spread the dense grass to move forward too, and since they were surrounded by grass, they were unlikely to notice if something was approaching them…

“Let’s hope none of the other groups are here.” Chen Yi felt uneasier the more she thought about Lingling’s analysis.

“Considering how cunning the Hillmen are, I believe they will try their very best to lure the Hunters here. It’s the perfect slaughtering ground,” Zhao Manyan said.

“If I was a Hillman…” Mo Fan murmured. However, he immediately had an uneasy feeling as soon as he said it. He turned to Lingling.

Lingling was initially confused, but she soon realized what Mo Fan was worried about seeing the look in his eyes.

“Lingling, why were you so sure that there’s a Giant Purple Linden here?” Mo Fan asked.

“First, the Yu Grass. There’s no other plant that can grow near a Giant Purple Linden, apart from this kind of grass. This grassland mainly consists of the Yu Grass, the same kind that we saw growing around the Giant Purple Lindens that we’ve discovered so far!”

“But why is this Yu Grass so tall?” Zhao Manyan had to ask.

“I’m not sure, perhaps some kind of mutation?” Lingling answered.

“Is that so?” Mo Fan wondered.

The Yu Grass was everywhere. Mo Fan was worried if it would attract the other Hunters here.

“There’s another important reason too; didn’t I already explain before?” Lingling said.

Mo Fan was struggling to recall it. He was about to ask when he noticed something white floating past in the blue sky.

The cobs of the grass had blocked off their vision. Even when they lifted their heads, their vision was still limited. Mo Fan initially thought it was just a white cloud, but when he looked up, he immediately realized he had seen it before!

The white flossy things were like little fairies flying under the blue sky. Mo Fan stared at the endless white dandelions drifting past in the air…

“The Dandelion Grass, I mentioned it before. Their seedheads are attracted to the Giant Purple Linden. I noticed quite a few of them heading toward this place before we even entered the valley,” Lingling stated, looking up into the sky.

Mo Fan frowned and said to Zhao Manyan, “Something doesn’t feel right. Old Zhao, lift me up into the sky!”

Zhao Manyan was overjoyed. He finally had a reasonable excuse to show off his flashy wings.

He summoned his golden wings. The spectacular Wing Magical Equipment stunned Guan Xixi and Lan Luo immediately. They had rarely met any Mage that could afford Wing Magical Equipment!

“Stop being a show-off. Hurry and lift me up. Something bad is going to happen!” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan soared into the sky bringing Mo Fan with him. The grassland gradually became smaller below them. To Zhao Manyan’s astonishment, the valley was even more spacious than he had imagined. He still could not see its end even after reaching a height of five hundred meters!

“This place is so huge!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Zhao Manyan noticed something floating in the sky. They were white like clouds, but not as huge. They were a lot thinner, and were only visible with the blue sky as the background…

“Go higher,” Mo Fan said.

They continued to rise, reaching a height of a thousand meters, but they still could not see the end of the valley. However, they were incredibly shocked when they saw countless white seedheads drifting in the wind…their numbers kept increasing!

The white seedheads were coming from all directions. They could even see them being lifted up into the sky before heading toward the valley!

“What’s going on here? Why are there so many Dandelion Grass puffs…” Zhao Manyan was confused.

“Can’t you see they are all heading in the same direction?” Mo Fan said.

“I think so; it’s the same direction we’re heading into, somewhere deep in the valley!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Do you think the Hunters on the outside of Mount Kunyu can see what we are seeing?” Mo Fan said.

“Of course they can, there are so many of them. They are definitely going to see it unless they are blind,” Zhao Manyan replied. He realized something after finishing the sentence. He looked at Mo Fan with wide eyes…

Mo Fan could not find any words. It seemed like nature had really placed them at the bottom of the food chain this time!

—

The white Dandelion Grass floated in the sky above Mount Kunyu despite the absence of wind. They were like a pack of white birds migrating slowly…

The sky above Mount Kunyu was clear and blue. As more and more white seedheads rose into the sky and headed in the same direction, as if something was summoning them, they made a stunning magical scene, a view that was only possible in a place brimming with a primordial aura like the outer slopes of Mount Kunyu!

However, the danger concealed by the spectacular view was sending a great chill down Mo Fan’s spine!

Many Hunters were not experienced enough to identify the Dandelion Grass, but even the most inexperienced Hunters on Mount Kunyu knew they should follow any white seedheads they saw drifting in the air. These white puffballs were like adorable little fairies guiding them to the treasure they were searching for. They could not afford to miss out on the opportunity!

Lots of Dandelion Grass kept flying into the Valley of Yu Grass. It was quite obvious that every Hunter in the outer Mount Kunyu would immediately make their way to the valley following the Dandelion Grass…

Mo Fan had followed the Seal of Darkness he had tagged the Bronze-Fang Hillman with here. The Commander-level creature was most likely making its way back to the Hillmen’s den.

Zhao Manyan was ambushed by a Hillman not long ago. Even though there was only one of them, who could possibly tell how many Hillmen there were in this spacious valley, which was as complicated as a maze?

The stunning view was not a blessing from Heavens to the Hunters, it was the white flowers displayed at a giant cemetery!

Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth The gray-uniformed Elder Wang Dakuo was crouching beside a mountain stream and filling his bottle. Even so, he still turned to Wang Hua and the others and scolded them, “You guys are from the same Magic Association. How could you not help him if he was dying? I’m so disappointed. If anything happens to Guo Muzhuang, what am I supposed to tell the people of the Magic Association?” Wang Dakuo berated them. Wang Dakuo utterly regretted his decision of pursuing the Hillman hot-headedly. He almost forgot his way back, and because he did not stick with the group, a man had died, and Guo Muzhuang was most likely not going to survive either. “We are just trying to avoid more casualties!” Wang Hua protested. “Elder, look above you!” Hu Duo blurted out in excitement while pointing into the sky. “It’s the Dandelion Grass. I didn’t think we would be so lucky to see these natural Dandelion Grass seeds floating in the sky. Quick, let’s follow them. There must be quite a few Giant Purple Lindens nearby!” Wang Dakuo was overjoyed, as if he had completely forgotten about what happened to the group. Wang Dakuo led the group and soon arrived at a place with a clear view. They were overwhelmed with joy when they noticed even more Dandelion Grass than they had initially seen floating in the air. “There must be lots of Giant Purple Lindens there. It’s a blessing from the Heavens!” Wang Hua blurted out. “Quick, we’re about to make a huge fortune!” — — In the grassy valley, a team of young Hunters slowly made their way through the tall Yu Grass. They spread the tall grass apart while venturing deeper into the valley. Whenever they lost their sense of direction, they just needed to look up into the sky and follow the white seedheads to make sure they were heading in the right direction. “Da Fei, I’m telling you, the last adventure I had was such a close call. We stumbled into a bunch of Blue Ice Sea Monsters as soon as we went out to the ocean. The demon creatures were out hunting for food. There were at least fifty Mages on the ship, but more than half died in the battle. It’s why I think this Mount Kunyu isn’t even that exciting,” a man with a broken nose toward the back of the team declared. The man continued forward and shoved the grass blocking his path to the side impatiently while talking to his teammate Da Fei behind him, “What is it? You don’t believe what I said?” The man heard heavy breathing behind him. He twisted his lips and turned around. He was about to explain what happened during his previous adventure in detail when he surprisingly saw the man standing behind him was a head taller than him. He was stunned. Wasn’t Da Fei supposed to be half a head shorter than him? Since when did he have to raise his head just to see his face? The man with the broken nose immediately realized the person was not Da Fei as soon as he lifted his gaze. It was a hideous face with exposed tusks. The man subconsciously took a few steps back staggeringly upon seeing the face. A huge paw swung fiercely and hit the man in the face. Blood immediately sprayed in the air. The Hillman grabbed the man’s throat and hurled him to the ground before he could even cry out in pain. The man was trying to use magic, but the sudden move took him by surprise. He felt like he was about to suffocate from the enormous pressure around his neck. The Hillman controlled its strength perfectly. It was enough to knock the man unconscious without killing him. After the man stopped struggling, the Hillman carried the bloke around the height of one-eighty on its shoulder and disappeared into a bush nearby. The whole sequence ended pretty quickly. Nothing was left behind apart from some unnoticeable traces of blood. — “Stick together, make sure you don’t get lost in here,” the captain of the team of Hunters called out. “Da Fei, where do you think you are going? Come back here!” The man called Da Fei realized he was straying away from the team even though he was less than ten meters away. He quickly regrouped with the others with an awkward face. “Da Fei, wasn’t Lao He in front of you?” the captain asked. “Huh? Isn’t Lao He with the others?” Da Fei asked, puzzled. “Stop, everyone, stop moving. I need a headcount!” The experienced captain immediately gathered the team when he realized something was wrong. The team initially had ten members. However, he had not seen the man with the broken nose for quite some time! The rest of the team quickly searched their surroundings within a certain radius. However, the grass was just too tall and thick. They were still struggling to find the man with a sunken nose even though Da Fei mentioned he still heard the man blabbering less than a minute ago… “Come back, regroup at once!” The captain immediately summoned the members when he realized something was odd. “F**k me, where’s Shi Niu? Why isn’t he back yet?” someone soon blurted out in the team. “There’s something here. Stay on your guard!” the captain said sternly. The rest of the team fell silent. They focused their attention on the grass nearby. One of them could no longer stand the limited space they had. He recklessly used a spell to get rid of the grass nearby to create some space. However, it was utterly meaningless. The area outside of the space he created was still covered in dense grass. There was no sign of the two members that had gone missing. “What should we do now?” “How are we going to find Shi Niu…” “We can’t afford to go and find them. It’s only going to make things worse. Hold your ground, and stay calm!” the captain said. The atmosphere suddenly became extremely weird. Even the slightest sound was making the team feel uneasy… — The sea of grass swayed in the wind. The sight of the cobs rolling forward like waves was spectacular. The sky was perfectly blue while the ground was a boundless green sea of grass. If someone looked down from a great height, they would see little paths like the trails left by a small raft on a lake across the valley. Occasionally, there would be a little disturbance with blood and grass scattering in the air. There were also dull cries and deep roars blended with the howling wind and rustling grass. Similar situations were happening continuously across the valley. Unfortunately, the sea of grass was too tall and spacious. The sounds were too soft and blurred when they reached the open sky… — Deeper within the valley, Mo Fan and his crew began to pick up their pace. The grass ahead was being split apart like waves. The areas where the grass was too dense were set aflame instead, burning the grass into ashes! Mo Fan did not let the fire spread, as it might place other Hunters in a more difficult position. The grass had a surprisingly strong resistance to fire, making it difficult for the fire to spread. “We must take out the den before more Hunters arrive. Otherwise, more than a thousand Hunters are going to die here!” Mo Fan swore. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had discovered many Hillmen hidden in the grass on their way here. They had to find the Giant Purple Lindens or the Hillmen’s den as quickly as possible to avoid more people dying in this terrifying sea of grass… It was a journey of no return for the Hunters who were not strong enough!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

An odd sound was coming from the bushes. Lan Luo immediately scanned her surroundings cautiously.

It was difficult to tell if the grass was rustling because of the wind or there was indeed something moving among the grass. Therefore, they had to be on alert at all times, which was very mentally draining.

“I can’t sense where they are,” Zhao Manyan murmured.

“It’s their natural slaughterhouse here. They should have some way to avoid detection,” Mo Fan agreed.

“There are voices in this direction…” Lan Luo turned to her side before quickly turning around and blurting out, “There’s some movement here… and here too!”

Mo Fan looked around him. He grinned and said, “It looks like we’re getting close to their den, so a lot of them have come to intercept us!”

With a loud thud, a Hillman over two meters tall charged out from the grass right in front of Mo Fan and lunged at him. The creature was hiding less than ten meters away, close enough to pounce on Mo Fan right away!

Mo Fan cast an indifferent gaze at the creature. His eyes emitted a mysterious silver light when the Hillman drew close enough. The light instantly transformed into an invisible force.

Mo Fan used Telekinesis to knock the Hillman over ten meters into the air. A dark lightning bolt descended from the clear sky and landed precisely on the Hillman before it could react!

The bolt of lightning went through the Hillman’s body and immediately blew the creature into blood droplets. Its thick flesh, sturdy skin, and muscular build were completely useless against Mo Fan’s lightning with its twelvefold damage!

“So strong!” Lan Luo’s eyes glittered when she saw how Mo Fan had killed the Hillman so easily.

Hillmen were strong Warrior-level creatures, considering how they were able to wipe out groups of Hunters easily. Even so, they did not stand a chance against the young man. Lan Luo already had some idea on who Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were. After all, there were not many Mages so powerful at such a young age!

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“A bunch of clowns, come out here!” Mo Fan snapped while completing a silver Star Pattern.

A silver rhomboid appeared above Mo Fan. It landed under Mo Fan’s control, applying a strong force across a huge area. The tall grass within three hundred meters was pressed flat to the ground. Even the ground sank a little under the pressure!

The grass was pressed flat. The Hillmen hiding in it while slowly sneaking up on the humans were completely exposed. The creatures stared at one another with blank faces. They did not expect the human Mage to have such domineering power!

However, the brutal Hillmen quickly unleashed a blood-red light and charged fiercely at the humans.

Lan Luo saw a few dozen Hillmen as soon as the area was exposed. Even an experienced Mage like her felt her scalp turning numb.

1 As for Guan Xixi and Liu Xiaojia, it was their first time seeing so many Warrior-level creatures. They were already hugging one another with trembling legs after feeling the terrifying auras of the creatures, so much stronger than the presence of mere Servant-class creatures!

“Why are they so many of them? I’m leaving these to you, I’ll hold this direction; Zhao Manyan, look after the girls,” Lan Luo said. She seemed pretty calm.

However, when eight Hillmen began to charge at her, she slightly lost her ground. She even failed to cast an Advanced Spell!

It could not be helped. Even when she was in some strong teams, she had never found herself in a situation like this. They were going up against around forty Warrior-level creatures. Each was strong enough to bring real danger to their team!

“I thought there would be hundreds of them waiting for us here. It looks like they aren’t treating us seriously enough, Mo Fan,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Same here, should I do it or you?” Mo Fan asked.

“You can do it, I’ll look after the girls!” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan nodded. He slowly lifted his finger and pointed at the sky.

Lightning strikes suddenly flashed across the clear sky. They soon split into lightning arcs and rapidly gathered above Mo Fan’s finger…

The lightning arcs crackled sharply. At Mo Fan’s command, the lightning strikes descended rapidly, each over a hundred meters long and thick as an aged tree. When the dark lightning bolts struck the ground, they immediately spread into arcs of electricity, resembling a spider web covering an area of over a hundred meters. It started with a few dozen lightning strikes, but by the moment they reached the ground, there were hundreds or even thousands of lightning threads flickering wildly across the place!

The lightning was dazzling and loud, inflicting damage on every single Hillman scattered across the area, paralyzing the creatures while puncturing them…

The Hillmen cried out like apes in their pain. They continuously fell to the ground while twitching in the giant lightning web. Only a dozen or so were still standing after just a brief moment, barely withstanding the damage inflicted by the lightning!

“Tyrant Call!” Mo Fan hissed.

The Lightning Tyrant Scars had been stacking on the Hillmen, each able to call down an Exploding Apex with its damage amplified twelvefold. If there were more scars on the same Hillman, the lightning they triggered would be even stronger!

Hundreds of lightning strikes came down simultaneously at his trigger, sweeping the soil into the air while the flesh and blood of the Hillmen sprayed in the air after they were pulverized!

The lightning of Tyrant Call was insanely quick. It did not fork before attacking its target; it was just a blast with brute force that slaughtered the Hillmen, whether they were standing or lying on the ground!

A destructive aura lingered in the air, with the smell of burned flesh. Lan Luo, Guan Xixi, and Liu Xiaojia were completely dumbfounded…

That was more than forty Warrior-level creatures! Normally, they would need a huge team of Hunters against such a group of demon creatures, yet the young man had wiped them all out in just half a minute!

Lan Luo had already thought Mo Fan was insanely strong when she saw him killing a Hillman instantly. She did not expect he would be able to kill more than forty Warrior-level creatures like he was reaping crops… it completely toppled her understanding of magic!

“Come, I think we’re pretty close to their den,” Mo Fan said indifferently, dusting off his hands.

The three girls stood dumb like wooden chickens. It took them a while to recover from the shock!

Liu Xiaojia’s eyes were filled with glittering stars of admiration. She suddenly saw Mo Fan as her Prince Charming!

The man’s charm was off the charts compared to the boys who were outwardly attractive, but worthless inside. The way he controlled his lightning imperiously had changed her view of a man!

“Are…are you a Super Mage?” Lan Luo could not help but ask.

Lan Luo suddenly realized how stupid she sounded after asking the question. How was it possible for anyone to reach the Super Level at his age?

“No, it’s because I have a strong Soul-grade Seed and Domain,” Mo Fan said.

“Oh, I see! You are most likely the strongest Advanced Mage I have ever met, stronger than the old Hunter Masters too! I now understand why you’re bold enough to come here,” Lan Luo said.

Lan Luo was aware that Mo Fan had a Commander-level creature whose strength was already beyond their level. As such, she assumed Mo Fan’s Primary Element was the Summoning Element. She thought he would rely on his wolf to fight, but it turned out he did not even need the Summoned Beast’s help!

He had only drawn Star Patterns to cast his spells. He had yet to use a single Advanced Spell!

Anyone could tell how crazily strong his Intermediate Lightning Spells were, which meant his Advanced Lightning Spells would be even crazier!

—

They started hearing more sounds coming from nearby after advancing less than three kilometers.

The girls were not as intimidated after witnessing Mo Fan’s strength. They continued to move forward.

The creatures could hide or come out all they wanted. Either way, the group was still going to reach their den.

“We’re close,” Mo Fan said.

The presence of the Seal of Darkness was stronger, indicating that the creature he had marked was just ahead.

The Hillmen were quite intelligent. Even though a huge number of them had gotten close to the group of humans, they still showed no intention of attacking recklessly.

“Holy crap! Everyone, look up!” Zhao Manyan suddenly yelled.

The yell gave the girls a great fright. It even scared some of the Hillmen that were hiding in the surroundings, who immediately fled for their lives…

Mo Fan lifted his gaze. He was struggling to see the sky because of the tall grass around. However, he soon noticed a huge canopy at the edge of his vision!

The canopy was extremely tall. It felt like it was as tall as the tallest mountain in the area. Mo Fan was wondering if it was a tree growing at the top of a mountain. However, as he spread the grass blocking his view, he realized the tree was a lot bigger than he had imagined!

As he continued to clear the view, he gasped when he saw the canopy extending into the distance without a visible end to it!

“The…the tree is too… f**king huge!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mo Fan quickly jumped into the air and stood on the grass that was blocking his view.

When Mo Fan reached the top, he subconsciously held his breath. His field of view was dominated by a huge towering tree located at the center of the valley. The canopy he saw was not even the tree’s uppermost branches. They were just the lowest branches of the tree, and only consisted of a tiny portion of the actual tree. What he could not see before was a trunk as huge as a mountain, with branches intertwining with one another. It was like a huge curtain connecting the ground and the sky!

Mo Fan suddenly realized why the Yu Grass only reached their ankles like normal weeds in other places, but was taller than humans in this valley!

The Giant Purple Linden here was so huge that it was able to reach the sky and veil it…

Even when Mo Fan jumped into the air, he still could not see the entire tree!

Mo Fan had been to many places, but it was definitely his first seeing something so spectacular. He could no longer describe it as a tree if it was like a small world on its own. The trunk would be like climbing a mountain…

“No wonder the Dandelion Grass puffballs are all heading toward the valley. Who would have thought there was such a sacred Giant Purple Linden here outside Mount Kunyu. I believe the previous ruler of the outer Mount Kunyu was living in it…” Lingling murmured.

The tree was hidden in a spacious valley deep in the wild. There had always been rumors of a wonderland in Yantai. The Giant Purple Linden could easily be considered a great wonder. It was like the Roots of Heaven!

“Mo Fan, how many demon crests do you think are on the tree?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Are you seriously worried about that now? Do you think a tree of this level will only have demon crests on it?” Mo Fan replied.

“It’s really something. If the ruler of the mountain didn’t die, I can’t imagine how many years it would take for us to find the tree. I feel like we could even build a whole city on it!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“I can’t help but wonder how many demon creatures are living around the tree… I’m afraid it’s on the scale of a horde!” Mo Fan shouted, studying the branches of the tree.

Lingling mentioned that every Giant Purple Linden was like an ecosystem for demon creatures. Many creatures of different levels would reside around it. With that in mind, the enormous Giant Purple Linden was easily a city of demon creatures, a paradise for them!

Should they even bother entering a place like that?

Could a few Advanced Mages really stand a chance against the demon creatures here?

Mo Fan suddenly lost the confidence he had displayed when he said that he was going to wipe out the Hillmen’s den after seeing the magnificent tree.

A human was not even the size of a little bug compared to the tree!

“I believe the Hillmen have only occupied one of the branches as their den, since they have come from other places. It’s unlikely they could claim a huge territory unless they have a Ruler-level Hillman with them…” Lingling said.

Shennongjia was the real place of origin of the Hillmen. Lingling did not believe they would find a Ruler-level Hillman here.

If there really was a Ruler-level Hillman, Lingling would have no choice but to alert her grandfather. Only people at her grandfather’s level were capable of dealing with the matter. The Hillmen butchered humans to entertain themselves. The human leaders would never allow a Ruler-level Hillman to stay so close to a city!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and his crew eventually reached the shade under the giant tree.

Although the branches of the Giant Purple Sacred Linen were as complicated as a maze, its leaves were not dense enough to completely block off the sunlight. Otherwise, the whole place would be in pitch-black darkness, considering how big the shade was!

Rays of sunlight peeked through the gaps between the branches of the giant tree. It was easy for people to ignore how beautiful sunlight could be since it normally covered huge areas. However, when the sunlight was filtered out by the branches and leaves into beams of light, they would notice how stunning it could be.

“We’re here,” Lingling announced.

The ground began to rise like a little slope. However, the ground was not actually rising. It was only getting higher because they were getting closer to the Giant Purple Linden, whose roots were pushing the ground up like hills. Half of the roots were above ground, while the other half had spread and grown in all directions…

A single root had the width of a city street. Even following the roots of the tree, they had to walk almost two kilometers before they could reach the main trunk!

The main trunk of the Giant Purple Sacred Linen seemed to be the combination of many trees bundled together. The trunk had large vein lines and many vines.

They were initially worried about how they were going to climb the tree, but they realized they would have no problem climbing the tree as they approached the trunk. Even when they were still a distance away, they could see that the veins were like stairs they could walk on. They would not have any problem climbing the tree!

“Mo Fan, it looks like they finally know how to respect their guests. They have prepared a huge banquet for us this time,” Zhao Manyan proclaimed, pointing ahead.

The Yu Grass was no longer limiting their vision after they reached the roots of the tree. They were currently on a little slope, allowing them to see a massive number of figures moving on another spacious hill ahead…

“So many of them!” Lan Luo blurted out.

“It looks like the guy that I tagged with the Seal of Darkness knows that I’m here for him. It has gathered so many Hillmen,” Mo Fan mused.

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Mo Fan followed the guidance of his Eyes of Darkness. He quickly fixed his gaze on a Hillman standing at the highest part of the roots connected to the trunk. It was slightly bigger than the other Hillmen nearby. The bronze tusks that it was extremely proud of were emanating its noble aura!

The Hillman cried out like an ape while waving its paws around. It was difficult to tell what it was up to.

Every Hillman in the surroundings uttered similar cries and waved their paws in the air too. They seemed very excited.

“Are they seriously welcoming us? I heard that some creatures are very respectful toward powerful existences. The more you beat them up, the more respect they have for you,” Zhao Manyan wondered, seeing the strange reaction of the Hillmen.

“I think so too. Why don’t you go ahead first?” Mo Fan shot back.

Zhao Manyan chuckled. He was not stupid enough to believe such ridiculous sayings. He could easily tell how strong the hatred and grudge the Hillmen had against humans was from how brutally they treated the Hunters.

They were making a huge amount of noise. They began to feel uneasy hearing the cries of the Hillmen.

Soon, the same cries were coming from the sea of grass behind them. Lingling turned around and lots of movements in the grass, heading in their direction.

A Hillman jumped out from the grass and landed on the roots right behind Mo Fan’s group.

The grass split apart as more figures continuously jumped out and flanked the group from behind, completely blocked off its escape!

The number of cries increased. There were so many Hillmen that the path that Mo Fan and his crew had taken was completely blocked off. The number of Hillmen was a lot higher than what everyone had expected!

“Are you now satisfied with their welcoming ceremony?” Zhao Manyan looked around and discovered the number of Hillmen had suddenly doubled. They had filled up the entire slope leading to the Giant Purple Sacred Linden.

“Ugh, they are overdoing it a little,” Mo Fan did not think there would be so many Hillmen.

These were Warrior-level creatures; to think that thousands of them had suddenly appeared out of nowhere! Mo Fan now realized how scary a horde of demon creatures was. They could be torn to pieces at any minute if they were too careless.

“I’ll take care of defense. Stop hiding tricks up your sleeves. Show them what you have, or else they are really going to cook us alive,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Well… Little Flame Belle is still hibernating, so my Fire Element isn’t as strong now,” Mo Fan said softly.

Zhao Manyan’s face twisted as soon as he heard the words. He cursed, “F**k me, did you seriously bring me here when Little Flame Belle isn’t available?”

Zhao Manyan almost lost his mind. Half of the reason that Mo Fan’s magic was so strong was the control of the Fire Element that Little Flame Belle granted him, allowing him to use Fire Magic in any form as he pleased. It also granted Mo Fan the ability to take on huge numbers of demon creatures at close range.

If Little Flame Belle was not around, Mo Fan was just a certain level stronger than most Advanced Mages…

Even if Mo Fan could take on ten or twenty Hillmen himself, they were currently facing at least three thousand Hillmen. Leaving the Commander-level Hillmen aside, three thousand Warrior-level Hillmen were already an unstoppable wave; how were the few of them supposed to handle it?

“I was thinking that we wouldn’t have trouble running even if we couldn’t defeat them,” Mo Fan admitted.

“You are seriously going to get us killed. I’ll try to hold them back as long as I can. You better think of a plan to escape this shithole!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“If we are thinking of clearing a path out, I suggest we move forward,” Lingling proposed.

“Are you kidding me? We’re going forward?” Liu Xiaojia said. They were already at the Hillmen’s den, wasn’t going deeper only going to worsen the situation?

“Yeah, we can’t go back. There are more Hillmen behind us. We can’t really tell how many Hillmen are still roaming in the sea of grass. They are going to intercept us if we try to go back. Our only choice is to go forward. There should be other species of demon creatures. We can try hiding in their territories for now,” Mo Fan agreed with Lingling’s suggestion.

“You guys are ballsier than the Heavens,” Lan Luo said with a wry smile. For some reason, she also agreed that it was the only choice they had after hearing the explanation.

Chapter 1294 Wolves vs Hillmen

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Charge!” Mo Fan yelled, his eyes emitting a sharp silver flicker.

Silver Star Orbits circled Mo Fan and transformed into wisps of strong forces, crashing into the Hillmen standing in a line ahead.

The Hillmen spat out mouthfuls of blood. They went flying to the sides as if a heavy truck had just rammed into them.

Mo Fan had cleared a path for the group by knocking the Hillmen that were blocking it away with Telekinesis. The others quickly sprinted up the thick roots before the Hillmen caught up from behind!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman roared. It had purposely ordered its underlings to gather behind the humans to prevent them from running away. It never thought the humans would be charging in its direction instead!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman kept letting out cries while swinging its arms around like a commander.

Mo Fan recklessly charged forward along the giant sloping roots while knocking the Hillmen blocking the path flying. Some flew into the air while others fell off from the edges of the roots. Unfortunately, Mo Fan’s mental strength was still too weak. If it was in the fifth stage, he could instantly kill the creatures with his Telekinesis!

To ensure that the wisps of forces were strong enough to knock the Hillmen flying, Mo Fan could divide the force into only seven wisps at a time. However, as more Hillmen began to show up from different directions, Mo Fan was struggling to hold them back by himself!

“Old Wolf, clear a path for me!” Mo Fan did not hesitate further. He immediately Summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf!

“Awoooo~!!!”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf leapt out from the Summoned Beast Plane and dashed two hundred meters ahead so quickly that he only left a faint afterimage behind. In comparison, the Hillmen seemed to be in slow-motion or perfectly still. When the wolf’s afterimage disappeared, a huge mist of blood sprayed in the air from the wounds inflicted on the Hillmen by the wolf’s claws. The Hillmen slowly fell to the ground and lay still.

The difference between the Commander-level and the Warrior-level was just too huge. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was howling excitedly, as it had been a while since he had last fought a good battle!

However, the tribe of Hillmen was not just mere decorations. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was soon surrounded by over a hundred Hillmen before he was done being a show-off. The Hillmen knew the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was strong enough to kill them instantly, so they split into groups and took turns attacking the Flying Creek Snow Wolf!

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For some reason, since the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was surrounded by the Hillmen, he kept missing his attacks, even though he was aiming right at them…

The Hillmen were swinging their arms and legs around and doing strange movements, like a bunch of savages dancing around a fire. The sight soon dazzled the Flying Creek Snow Wolf!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had not killed a single Hillman after a while. It significantly slowed down the pace of the group moving forward. Zhao Manyan felt great pressure when he heard the cries of the Hillmen behind approaching them.

“You’re such a disappointment!” Mo Fan cursed at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf felt wronged. He could not understand why either; he was clearly faster and stronger than the Hillmen. He could easily kill a few of them just by swinging his claws around randomly since there were so many of them around him. However, he just kept missing. The creatures were surprisingly quick at dodging!

“Thunderbolt!” Mo Fan pointed his finger into the sky and summoned a dark lightning strike!

The Thunderbolt descended rapidly in a destructive manner, aiming right at the Hillmen that were behaving strangely.

The Lightning Strike landed on the roots and left a huge hole. The Hillmen had managed to dodge the lightning strike, as if they had anticipated it beforehand.

Mo Fan was stunned when he saw his lightning miss the Hillmen…

He was a strong Lightning Mage that had gone through countless battles. How could his attacks possibly miss these Hillmen when they were not even that quick?

Mo Fan was extremely quick at XCasting his spells. Several Star Patterns flickered continuously under his feet as more lightning strikes began to appear from the sky. They either forked into lightning arcs, fell right down, or formed a web of lightning on the ground…

However, for some reason, the Hillmen still managed to dodge most of the attacks with strange movements. The number of Hillmen that died was a lot lower than Mo Fan had imagined!

Mo Fan was dumbfounded!

What the hell was going on? They had only killed a few dozen of Hillmen after so long, but a few hundred of them were already coming up from behind. They would soon be stuck here!

“The oddity effect!” Lingling exclaimed with a frown when she saw Mo Fan and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf were being played like a fiddle.

“The what now?” the ignorant Mo Fan said.

“In the ocean, when the larger predators are attacking a school of fish, the fish will suddenly split up and swim in an orderly manner, allowing them to dodge the attacks of the predators! It’s called the oddity effect. These Hillmen are used to working together. They are similar to us humans in some ways. Didn’t you notice? You think that you can just easily pick a target, but you end up missing the attack,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan held his breath and fell into deep thought.

“F**k me, hurry up and clear the path. I can’t hold on for any longer!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“It’s like an illusion. These Hillmen all look the same, they will move according to others’ movement, but from your perspective, it feels like some of them are slower than the others, tricking you into thinking that you can easily land your attacks on them. However, the Hillmen were actually moving very quickly. Their strange random movements are just to let you misjudge their speed and the directions they are moving!” Lingling said in a professional manner.

Lan Luo and Liu Xiaojia were utterly surprised. Why would a little girl know something so complicated?

“What should I do, then?” Mo Fan asked immediately.

“If your Fire Element is available, you can easily abuse the wide coverage of your Fire Magic to defeat them. After all, the Lightning Element is better at targeting single entities… use the Summoning Gate to disrupt their tempo!” Lingling said.

“Got it! Old Zhao, hang in there!” Mo Fan nodded.

Zhao Manyan’s face darkened. He was barely connecting his defensive spells. There were not many pieces of defensive Equipment left either!

“Summoning Gate: Beast Tide!”

Luckily, the reliable Zhao Manyan managed to buy enough time for Mo Fan to construct the Star Constellation.

The Star Constellation of the Summoning Element needed the most time to build of the Advanced Spells of the Elements. It was very easy to interrupt the Channeling of the spell, and Mo Fan was still not too familiar with it too. Zhao Manyan almost reached his limit while Mo Fan was Channeling the spell. There were hundreds of Hillmen hanging on his Light Barrier. His defense would have collapsed long ago if it weren’t for the buffs from the Totem Seal of the wooden clapper!

The Summoning Gate sprang open. A bunch of huge muscular white wolves charged out of it, howling loudly. These wolves were very aggressive. They immediately lunged at the tiny Hillmen without waiting for Mo Fan’s instructions!

It was not easy to control the Beast Tide, since it was basically a large-scale spell that did not distinguish between friendlies and hostiles. As more wolves came out of the Summoning Gate, these aggressive white wolves immediately started a massive battle with the Hillmen!

“Awooo!”

While the white wolves were messily engaging the Hillmen, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf at the front suddenly let out a deafening howl. The white wolves immediately shuddered and froze in place.

The white wolves stopped attacking and stood in formations like soldiers before charging forward with the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

Each wolf was a lot stronger than a Hillman, and due to their huge size, they were like a squad of white tanks advancing when they were charged forward in formation. It destroyed the formation of the Hillmen!

The wolves immediately cleared the path ahead. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf led the rest of the wolves and charged four hundred meters ahead. They simply ignored the Hillmen that were dancing around like clowns and continued making their way to the trunk!

“Well done!” Mo Fan exclaimed. He finally recalled that these white wolves were the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s underlings in the Summoned Beast Plane. The tide of beasts was very disciplined with the Flying Creek Snow Wolf leading them!

A group of disciplined criminals was the deadliest. Mo Fan was overjoyed when he saw the Hillmen being crushed by the wolves.

“Hurry up, the Beast Tide won’t last for long!” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan felt like he was about to collapse. When he heard that they could finally leave, he dragged Liu Xiaojia and Guan Xixi and fled as quickly as possible. Lan Luo cast Wind Track in time to speed everyone up, too.

“Gravity Space!” Mo Fan set up a rhomboid behind the group when he saw the Hillmen catching up. The Hillmen within it slowed down significantly, as if huge metal balls were tied to their legs.

The Bronze-Fang Hillman realized its underlings were having trouble stopping them. It cried out furiously and jumped down from the higher ground. It had decided to engage the humans himself!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman had around a hundred Hillmen who were almost three-meters-tall with it. They seemed to be the elites among the Hillmen. They cried imposingly as they charged down at the wolves!

“Awooo!” The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had no intention to back away. He uttered a furious howl and led the wolves to engage the Hillmen!

The area below the Giant Purple Sacred Linden belonged to the wolves!

Chapter 1295 The Ass-Kicking Flying Creek Snow Wolf!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf pounced at the Bronze-Fang Hillman, biting recklessly at the Hillman’s shoulder. To his surprise, the Bronze-Fang Hillman was reckless too! It did not even bother dodging. It swiped its sharp paws at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s stomach instead!

Blood jetted out from both the creature’s wounds. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf snapped the Bronze-Fang Hillman’s scapula and tore its arm off. Meanwhile, the Bronze-Fang Hillman tore open a long cut on the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s stomach, ripping some of his intestines as blood kept pouring out from the wound.

“Wolf, I think you’re at a disadvantage!” Lingling was not responsible for fighting and had time to analyze things.

“Awoo!” The words seemed to have infuriated the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. He ignored the wound on his stomach and crossed his claws as he pounced forward. He pinned the Bronze-Fang Hillman down on the roots and bit at the creature’s head!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman lifted its head and viciously pointed its sharp tusks at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s throat!

Luckily, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf reacted swiftly and backed away. He opened his mouth and let out an icy breath.

A huge icy mist swept at the Bronze-Fang Hillman. The roots were covered in a thick layer of ice as soon as they made contact with the mist. The Bronze-Fang Hillman failed to react in time. Its legs were frozen by the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s breath!

Seeing the opportunity, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf executed an Ice Spell again and lifted his gaze. With an icy flash of light, a crystalline ice cone appeared right above the Bronze-Fang Hillman.

The ice cone fell rapidly, growing continuously as it was falling. When it was only ten meters away from the Bronze-Fang Hillman, it had turned into an icicle with a sharp tip falling onto the Bronze-Fang Hillman at terrifying speed!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman cried when it sensed the approaching danger.

Several Hillmen jumped onto it after hearing the cry. They stacked on top of one another above the Bronze-Fang Hillman, using their bodies to shield it!

The icicle went through the Hillmen like a meat skewer. Fresh blood poured out from the holes on their bodies.

Meanwhile, the Bronze-Fang Hillman finally broke free from the ice. It smacked the iceberg into pieces and rose to its feet. It did not bother looking at the Hillmen that had died for it. Instead, it glared at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf as if it had just been humiliated!

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The Flying Creek Snow Wolf smirked disdainfully at the Bronze-Fang Hillman. It was meant to be a duel, yet the creature had sacrificed its underlings to save itself!

As a matter of fact, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was not in a good mood, either. If his mother Mu Ningxue was around, he could easily beat the crap out of the Bronze-Fang Hillman. He could not unleash the full potential of his lineage without the presence of Ice Magic, thus he was not much stronger than an ordinary Commander-level creature!

Lingling, who had been watching the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s battle, turned around and asked, “Is anyone an Ice Mage?”

“I am, but it’s not that strong,” Lan Luo said.

“That’s fine; just keep casting Ice Spread to lower the temperature!” Lingling ordered.

“Sure,” Lan Luo had no clue how it could help, but she began to use her Ice Magic.

Lan Luo did not use her Ice Spells mainly because her Ice Magic had no chance of slowing down the Hillmen. She had focused on using the Wind Element to speed up the group. There were almost two thousand Hillmen chasing after them. They would die for sure if they slowed down even a little!

To their relief, the roots of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden were like a steep slope. The higher they went, the steeper they became. As such, the Hillmen were having trouble forming a circle around them…

“Ice Spread: Blizzard!” Lan Luo followed Lingling’s instructions and cast the Ice Spell close to where the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was fighting.

The white wolves seemed to be fond of the Ice Magic too. Their morale increased as they continued to take down the elite Hillmen with ease!

Dead bodies littered the area, with blood flowing down the roots like a river. To Lan Luo, Liu Xiaojia, and Guan Xixi’s surprise, they actually managed to clear a path through such a huge number of Hillmen! They were getting closer to the trunk!

Mo Fan was clearing a path at the front while Zhao Manyan held the Hillmen that were chasing after them back. Their combined strength was comparable to that of an army!

“Tyrant Call!” Mo Fan’s yell immediately activated the Lightning Tyrant Scars inflicted on the creatures by the wild lightning arcs. Countless lightning strikes descended like rain. The roots of the tree were scorched and blistered after hundreds of dark lightning bolts blasted it. This time, the Hillmen that were forced to split up were struggling to dodge the lightning. More than a hundred of them died to the spell. It suddenly cleared the path ahead!

“Assh**es, have a piece of that!” Mo Fan cursed them.

Mo Fan had purposely accumulated lots of Lightning Tyrant Scars. The Hillmen were able to dodge powerful spells like the Sky Lightning Claw with their strange movements. As such, Mo Fan decided to use Basic and Intermediate Spells like Lightning Strikes and Thunderbolts to keep applying Lightning Tyrant Scars on the Hillmen instead.

The spells were nowhere enough to kill the Hillmen, but when the number of Lightning Tyrant Scars on each Hillman reached a certain number, a single Little Tyrant Domain and Tyrant Call ended up killing a whole bunch of them. Lots of Soul Remnants and Soul Essences flew into the Little Loach Pendant like densely-packed fireflies that were densely packed together, giving Mo Fan a great fortune.

The Hillmen were collecting demon crests, too. Many of the Hillmen that Mo Fan killed had some demon crests on them. Mo Fan quickly said to Chen Yi, “Don’t forget the demon crests, these creatures have a lot of them.”

“…” Chen Yi was left speechless. How money-driven was the man? Was he really concerned about the demon crests in a situation like this?

Chen Yi’s cultivation was pretty high, too. She had only pretended to be weaker at the Magic Association, yet she felt a little helpless when Mo Fan asked her to collect the demon crests from the dead Hillmen instead.

Frost stacked up on the roots as the temperature continued to drop. The power of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s lineage was slowly awakened, allowing him to utilize his full strength, speed, vitality, and Ice Magic!

The wound on the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s stomach was greatly hindering his movement. However, the wound started recovering at a remarkable pace as soon as his lineage was awakened, the same with his other wounds!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s speed more than doubled, leaving a stunning afterimage behind.

His white figure swept past the Bronze-Fang Hillman, which was dazzled by his rapid movement. His claws flickered continuously around the creature.

The Bronze-Fang Hillman did not even realize what had just happened. Its body was covered in deep claw marks, from which blood was jetting out.

“Awoo!” The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was not done with his attack. He howled and fired arrow-like icicles at the Bronze-Fang Hillman from different directions. The Bronze-Fang Hillman rolled on the ground trying to dodge them, but some of the icicles still landed on it.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf crouched as a strong icy aura rose. The chill in the air intensified, and even breathing felt harder.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf stomped the ground with his front limbs. A huge icy storm chased after the limping Bronze-Fang Hillman.

The Bronze-Fang Hillman was desperately summoning the normal Hillmen to block the storm for it. However, the strong wind tossed the tiny Hillmen into the sky, and they were reduced to a bloody mist upon reaching a certain height.

The Bronze-Fang Hillman cried out in panic, hugging a thick vine firmly. However, the icy storm dragged the vine right into it!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman let out cries of agony. It was utterly confused amid the incredible pain. How did the wolf suddenly become so strong, even though the wolf was barely any stronger than it in the first place?

BANG!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman slammed heavily on the roots, breaking most of its bones. Even if it managed to rise to its feet, it had lost its ability to fight.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf dashed forward like an icy arrow, arriving before the swaying Bronze-Fang Hillman in the blink of an eye. His sharp claws swept past. The Bronze-Fang Hillman remained still for a second before its head split from its body, a pillar of blood jetting into the sky.

The head rolled down the roots and fell into a dim hole.

“The Commander of the Hillmen is dead!” Zhao Manyan blurted out in joy.

Species that lived together had a great weakness. When their leader died, they would scatter like a sheet of loose sand. They would subconsciously flee for their lives, which was why Zhao Manyan was feeling relieved.

“Now is not the time to celebrate; we have to climb up the tree!” Lingling reminded him.

The resistance from the Hillmen ahead dropped significantly after the death of the Bronze-Fang Hillman. However, the Hillmen chasing after them from behind showed no sign of stopping…

“They have more than one Commander, we have to go now!” Mo Fan ordered.

The trunk of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden was like a steep cliff. Mo Fan called the Flying Creek Snow Wolf over and let him carry the girls.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was very agile. As soon as the girls were in position, he jumped and sprinted up the trunk like it was perfectly flat.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan stayed behind to cover for the others. It felt like the number of Hillmen was still the same. They kept pursuing them relentlessly.

“Go up first!” Mo Fan said.

“Alright!” Zhao Manyan did not waste a second. He extended his golden wings, and with a beat of them, he soared up, sticking close to the trunk. He soon caught up to the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

The white wolves had returned to the Summoned Beast Plane not long ago. They were starting to lose control of the situation. Mo Fan also learned that the Hillmen were surprisingly good at climbing the trunk. More than a hundred of them had already climbed sixty meters up the trunk…

Chapter 1296 Bloody Battle, At Wits“ End!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Lightning Strike!”

Mo Fan fired hundreds of lightning strikes at the Hillmen making their way up the trunk. The lightning arcs were whipping at the Hillmen that were rolling at him like a tide.

The lightning strikes were not strong enough to inflict serious damage on the Warrior-level creatures, but they were enough to infuriate them. The Hillmen seemed to have realized that Mo Fan had been abandoned by his teammates. They also realized that this man was the most detestable, since he had killed most of their fallen comrades. The Hillmen that were climbing the tree turned around and headed down instead to flank Mo Fan together with the others that were approaching.

Mo Fan looked at the savage Hillmen calmly. He first used Telekinesis to knock the Hillmen that were the closest to him into the air. His body immediately unleashed a brilliant silver light…

“Blink!” A huge Star Pattern appeared under Mo Fan’s feet, followed by more Star Patterns as they combined into a majestic Star Constellation made up of three hundred and forty-three Stars. It opened up a Space tunnel that Mo Fan was flying into to escape from the huge encirclement…

BANG!

Just as Mo Fan was about to escape the huge surround, a four-meter Bronze-Fang Hillman appeared out of nowhere and rammed into his chest. Its incredible impact was like a tsunami!

Mo Fan was only seconds away from entering the Space tunnel, but the surprise attack ended up knocking him out of the tunnel!

Mo Fan slammed a few meters deep into the trunk. A few of his ribs had broken. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Incredible pain surged throughout his body, and he almost lost consciousness. He did not expect a stronger Hillman hiding nearby would suddenly appear and gave him such a deadly blow. He would have died if it wasn’t for the physical attributes of his Demon Element!

-How cunning!-

Mo Fan wiped the blood from his lips. He forcibly unleashing his lightning to stop the Hillmen from getting any closer.

There were too many Hillmen. It was as difficult as driving a huge tide back. In just the blink of an eye, there were almost a hundred Hillmen less than twenty meters from Mo Fan. They were almost close enough to tear him into pieces!

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“Back off!” Mo Fan knocked some of the Hillmen back with Telekinesis. However, more Hillmen kept showing up after he knocked the first wave back. He would not be able to resolve the danger with his current approach unless his Telekinesis was able to knock all the Hillmen back at once.

The cries of the creatures were deafening. However, Mo Fan felt like he could hear the Bronze-Fang Hillman that had ambushed him laughing viciously…

—

“Shit, Mo Fan failed to Blink up here!” Chen Yi’s face turned pale as she glanced down.

Mo Fan’s figure was surrounded by the enormous wave of Hillmen. Anyone would assume that the Hillmen had torn Mo Fan to pieces if they did not see the flickering of the lightning and the silver glow below.

“Keep going up, leave it to me!” Zhao Manyan dove back down as soon as he realized something was not right. However, there was not much he could do since the Hillmen had already stacked up in layers. He could only cast his defensive spells on a clear target, but he could not even see Mo Fan now…

—

“I’ll kill you all before I die!”

Mo Fan continued to unleash his will. His blood boiled vigorously as the danger worsened. His will was improving significantly, too…

A gravitational force appeared and compressed a circle of Hillmen around him into minced meat. Their blood splashed onto Mo Fan, turning him into a bloody mad man.

He did not have enough time to cast stronger spells. His outstanding mental strength and the Basic and Intermediate Lightning Spells were the most reliable in his current situation, since he was able to cast them with a thought. It was the only way he could survive!.

Circles of dead bodies kept falling to the ground. It was definitely not Mo Fan’s first time fighting under dire circumstances like this. When he was in the Space of Death, he ended up stacking up a huge pile of bones. The urge to surpass his limits, the feeling of burning his battle intent thoroughly, the danger and thrill from facing his death at every second were awakening the great potential hidden deep within his soul!

It was not that easy to kill Mo Fan. Even without awakening the true demon sleeping deep within him, he could still unleash the full potential of the demon blood flowing in his body. His speed increased and his thoughts were quicker. He was able to cast spells more fluently while using his mental strength at maximum output for a long time!

Mo Fan was relying more on his Space Element. His will was obviously quicker than casting spells. He had to clear up some space with the Space Element before he could cast his Lightning Spells…

“Quicker, stronger!”

It was not enough. He would not be able to stop the Hillmen from closing in at this rate!

The strong desire of exceeding the limit of his mental strength exploded amid the great pain he was feeling from his chest. Every cell in his body tensed under the enormous pressure of death. Their energy kept colliding into the barrier holding back his mental strength!

“AHHHH!!!” Mo Fan let out a huge cry. The brilliance of the silver light he was emitting reached its peak as a strong force surged in all directions like a tornado. Hundreds of Hillmen closing in were knocked flying by the incredible force!

The area that barely had any gaps suddenly cleared up. Despite being covered in blood, Mo Fan’s aura showed no sign of weakening. It continued to rise vigorously instead.

“Die you motherf***ers, Sky Lightning Claw!”

Mo Fan finally had the chance to use his strongest Lightning Spell with the time he had bought himself.

The Lightning Tyrant Domain seemed to have grown stronger after the breakthrough in his mental strength. The Hillmen subconsciously backed away after feeling the overwhelming presence. They were now hesitating to move any closer!

It ended up buying Mo Fan even more time to Cast! The Sky Lightning Claw descended from the sky and tore the Hillmen to pieces mercilessly. The Hillmen had no chance to dodge the attack, since they were too densely packed together. Their blood and flesh scattered in the air!

Countless Hillmen died horrible deaths to the Sky Lightning Claw. However, it was far from the end of it. Lightning descended like feasting dragons and swept across the place in the form of lightning claws, branches, chains, and arcs. They fell straight down, spread wildly like webs, and punctured the bodies of the creatures…

Groups of Hillmen died continuously, blood and flesh flew everywhere. The bloody remains that the Hillmen were reduced to by the lightning splattered on the others. Some fell to the ground as their bodies were scorched black. The rest of the Hillmen stood on the roots with blank faces. They suddenly lost their courage to move forward!

“Mo Fan!” Zhao Manyan and his golden wings dove from the sky, yelling at him.

Mo Fan took a deep breath. He did not seem to have any intention to leave.

Zhao Manyan was utterly stunned when he saw Mo Fan covered in blood. The man was an absolute monster. He had managed to ruin the morale of thousands of Hillmen by himself, even though he was seriously injured.

“Let’s go!” Mo Fan stomped the root and jumped into the air.

Zhao Manyan reached his hand out and grabbed Mo Fan’s. He quickly headed back up.

The Hillmen on the ground became tinier. They watched Mo Fan leave with terror-stricken faces.

The Bronze-Fang Hillman cried out furiously. It never expected the human to escape from their encirclement. It even brutally tore a few of its underlings into pieces to vent its frustrations!

Mo Fan looked down and stared at the Hillman that had ambushed him coldly.

His eyes were bloody red. He did not say a word, yet it felt like he was telling the Bronze-Fang Hillman, I’ll definitely come back and take your life!

—

They finally found a clear branch after flying a few hundred meters up the trunk. It was as spacious as a road they could run freely on. It felt like they were just standing on a brown patch of land when they looked ahead standing on the branch.

Mo Fan heard the sound of a heart pounding heavily. It was not his. His heart had calmed down a while ago. It was most likely Xinxia, feeling uneasy after realizing he was in danger.

Mo Fan fondled the fast-asleep Little Flame Belle, telling her not to worry about him. It was not her fault she was not available to fight for the time being. It was him being careless. He was not cautious enough, even though he knew the Hillmen had more than one Commander.

“How is he? Is he in danger?” Chen Yi asked nervously. Tears were rolling in her eyes. She almost lost her soul when she saw the condition Mo Fan was in.

“Strange, his body is oddly strong. The bleeding of some of his wounds has already stopped before they were treated… most importantly, the wound on his chest, it’s unbelievable!” Liu Xiaojia immediately went up to treat Mo Fan. However, she discovered that Mo Fan’s body was inhuman as soon as she touched him. How was it possible for a human to have a body as strong as a demon creature?

“I’m fine, I just need a little rest,” Mo Fan smiled.

Chen Yi had used her spell to wash most of the blood off. Mo Fan rose to his feet. Apart from the pain in his chest, he felt pretty good.

He let out a heavy sigh.

Liu Xiaojia, Chen Yi, and Lan Luo assumed Mo Fan was feeling uncomfortable. They quickly went up to him and asked if anything was wrong. To their surprise, Mo Fan glanced down at the dead bodies of the Hillmen that had piled up and said, “I didn’t have time to collect the demon crests. What a great loss.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

The three girls were left speechless. They suddenly felt an urge to strangle the man to death!

“Mo Fan, did you remember something Jiang Shaojun mentioned in his journal, about a Totem Beast that lives in an unusual tree?” Lingling looked up, staring at the towering Giant Purple Sacred Linden.

“It looks like those goddamn Hillmen have actually pointed us in the right direction!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

There was another huge benefit he had gotten from the Hillmen too. His mental strength had reached the fifth stage!

The difference between each stage was insane!

He remembered that Ai Jiangtu’s mental strength was in the fifth stage before. He had finally caught up to Ai Jiangtu’s level!

Chapter 1297 The World in the Tree

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group continued to climb up the trunk of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. They soon realized that the main trunk branched off into more trunks. Even though the trunks were splitting off from the main trunk, each trunk still had remarkable width, with no sign of the top.

“The main trunk has branched into five trunks. Which one should we take?” Lan Luo asked.

“Let’s take the one in the middle,” Mo Fan pointed at one of them and said.

Each of the trunks had a slightly different color. They continued with their journey after choosing the trunk with a blue-yellow surface.

The wind gently touched their face. It was Mo Fan’s time feeling like he was high on a mountain with a steep cliff, even though he was only climbing a tree. He took a glance down and was able to see the whole Valley of Yu Grass. It looked like a huge ocean!

—

“Holy crap, what the hell is that!?” Zhao Manyan shrieked. A creature with a segmented body showed up in front of the group. It was moving slowly along the trunk in an undulating wave motion.

“It looks like a caterpillar,” Chen Yi remarked.

The creature did resemble a caterpillar, with a strange-looking head and a green body with spikes. However, the group was having trouble believing it, mainly because of its unbelievable size!

“Are the creatures here fed with hormones or what? How is a caterpillar so big!?” Zhao Manyan demanded.

“The Giant Purple Lindens are indeed rich in nutrients for other living creatures. The amount of nutrients that this Giant Purple Sacred Linden has is immeasurable,” Lingling said calmly.

“Are we sure we should be going up then?” Liu Xiaojia said in a worried tone.

Who knew what terrifying creatures they would encounter if they kept going up the tree. Liu Xiaojia was starting to feel intimidated by the things awaiting them up there.

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“Mo Fan hasn’t fully recovered yet. Going down is basically suicide,” Lingling replied.

——

The group continued up. They were a significant distance away from the ground. As they looked around them, they could see some clouds at the same height as them. The wind was strong enough to blow them off the ground…

“I see some branches!” Guan Xixi exclaimed.

It turned out that climbing the tree was tiring than making it up a mountain. They had finally gone high enough to see the branches of the tree.

The branches were also incredibly huge. They were more than wide enough for humans to run and jump on them. The long branches extended into the distance without a specific pattern, like roads in a city that would lead them to some unknown places.

The leaves were not very dense, or the sunlight would have trouble passing through the gaps between them. The sunbeams that made it through the canopy were spectacular in the dim world among the branches.

They heard something tapping on the leaves, but they did not see a thing when they followed the sound.

The leaves of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden were bigger than palm leaves. Someone as light as Lingling could even jump onto the leaves. They were strong enough to support her as long as she did not stomp on them on purpose.

They could still hear the sound of something tapping the leaves. It did not sound like the wind. Everyone stayed on alert.

A strange cry was heard. It felt like it had come from higher above, or from other trunks that had branched off from the main trunk.

After all, they had little knowledge of the environment they were in. Even the rustling of the leaves would make them feel uneasy. Zhao Manyan glanced at Mo Fan, who still looked feeble and said, “You better recover soon. The rest of us won’t stand any chance if some powerful demon creatures show up.”

Mo Fan smacked his lips. He was already trying his best to recover. Liu Xiaojia’s Healing Element was not as efficient as the Healing Element of the Parthenon Temple. If Xinxia was around, it would only take her a few spells for him to fully recover.

“I keep feeling that something is watching us,” Liu Xiaojia said nervously.

“We are currently in another creature’s territory. It would be strange if there wasn’t something watching us. Let’s just hope it’s not some savage species,” Zhao Manyan murmured.

Another cry occurred. The sound was a lot closer this time. The group immediately felt uncomfortable at how sharp the screech was.

The leaves nearby shrouding the sky suddenly crackled loudly, followed by the sound of wings beating rapidly and sharp screeches. The silence was replaced with deafening noises!

Blue-white figures appeared from below the leaves and the branch they were walking on. Some were flying in circles in the shadows nearby…

“It’s the demon sparrows!” Lingling said.

“Run!” Mo Fan yelled.

Zhao Manyan cast a Water Spell and a Light Spell to defend the others in the group from the sharp claws of the demon sparrows.

The sharp claws of the demon sparrows soon left cracks on the barrier of light. Even with the Totem Seal’s effects, Zhao Manyan’s defense was collapsing shockingly fast.

Zhao Manyan would not have trouble protecting a single person against the demon sparrows. However, since there were more people in the group, the defensive barriers he needed to set up were a lot bigger, so they were not as thick as the defense he usually set up for a single person.

Lan Luo quickly cast a Wind Spell to speed everyone up. They had obviously trespassed into the demon sparrow’s territory. The demon creatures seemed very angry!

“Water Curtain!”

Zhao Manyan cast Advanced Spells continuously. He was expending a lot of his energy, but it was the only way to protect the group from the fierce attacks of the demon sparrows!

“This way!” Lingling was sitting on the back of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf as she led the way.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf jumped between the branches and leaves and went higher into the tree. There were not many demon sparrows nearby. It seemed like they had left the demon sparrows’ territory.

Zhao Manyan protected the group as they went higher into the tree. The demon sparrows stopped pursuing after a while. It seemed they were only active between the height of fifteen hundred meters to two thousand meters on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden.

“These demon sparrows are supposed to be Servant-class creatures, but they are way stronger here!” Mo Fan observed.

The demon sparrows were a common species in many places. They had strong reproductive abilities, and could be found in most jungles. Even though they were at the bottom of the food chain, they could still pose a huge threat by abusing their numbers…

It turned out that sections between the height of fifteen hundred meters to two thousand meters were only the bottommost level of the Giant Purple Sacred Tree. The demon sparrows were only the lowest level residents of the tree, but even so, they still gave the group a great scare, as they had rarely seen demon sparrows being so aggressive!

“The Hillmen must have occupied the sea of grass and the roots. I believe the species living on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden didn’t change much,” Lingling added.

“The tree is so tall. If we split it into layers, we can’t even tell how many layers there are. If these fierce demon sparrows are considered the bottommost level, what would the creatures living at the top be like?” Lan Luo lifted his gaze and looked up into the tree with no visible end.

Mo Fan and Lingling exchanged glances with one another. The Giant Purple Sacred Linden had clearly been around for a long time. There was a possibility that the top of the tree was the nest of the Totem Beast of Yantai!

“I don’t think we should be going any higher. Didn’t we come to take out the Hillmen in the first place?” Liu Xiaojia said timidly.

“It’s true that we shouldn’t go any higher. We can still protect ourselves against these demon sparrows, but we are likely to stumble into stronger species the higher we go,” Lingling agreed.

Although she was very curious about the world higher up in the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, she had no choice but to focus on their current circumstances.

They found a hole in the trunk. Zhao Manyan set up a barrier to prevent creatures from ambushing them while they were taking a rest.

The hole was not in the main trunk. Even the minor trunks branching off from the main trunk were thicker than a tree more than a hundred years old. There were quite a number of holes in the trunks. Some were dry, perfect for the group to rest up in despite the smell of blood inside them.

Zhao Manyan had almost consumed all his energy. He desperately needed a rest. Mo Fan’s injuries were still mending, too. He was energetic once again, but he had the same problem as Zhao Manyan; he needed a long time to recover the energy that he had expended!

—

Mo Fan heard a soft rustle from the outside as he was about to doze off.

He immediately opened his eyes. They emitted a sharp flicker amid the darkness.

There was initially a barrier protecting the entrance, but it had been torn down without them knowing. A dark figure slowly crawled inside the hole. Its eyes looked around before reaching its hands toward Lan Luo…

Lan Luo was quite slim. The creature was thinking of snatching her away and making its run!

“You asked for it!” Mo Fan grinned coldly. His eyes emitted a sharp flicker as a strong force rammed into the cunning Hillman who was trying to kidnap the girl.

Following the sound of bones cracking, the cunning Hillman was knocked out of the cave. It fell down and landed heavily on another branch below, turning into a pile of mincemeat!

Unpleasant cries were heard from all directions, waking the rest of the group up. When they looked out of the cave, they were shocked to see lots of Hillmen piling up on the branch. Their eyes glowed red in the dark, like stars in the night sky… but were a lot scarier!

“Damn it, how petty are those demon sparrows? Did they seriously just let these Hillmen go through their territory!?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

They purposely went through the territory of a demon species to prevent the Hillmen from chasing after them. They thought the Hillmen would think twice before crossing another species’ territory. They did not think the demon sparrows were so undignified that they simply let the Hillmen cross their territory without making a single noise!

“Time to go!” Mo Fan was well-rested. He immediately led the others out of the tree hole.

He took a quick glance down and saw many black figures moving across the branches below. They were moving like nimble apes between the leaves and branches. They were a lot quicker at climbing the trees than the group of Mages was!

Chapter 1298 The Shameless Hillmen

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Cries of agony continued to echo among the branches as more Hillmen fell from a great height. Some barely held onto the branches with their claws, but most of them slammed heavily onto the lower branches and turned into bloody meat.

The silver light of Telekinesis flickered continuously, knocking the Hillmen trying to approach Mo Fan and his team into the air. The Hillmen could only get to thirty meters from Mo Fan. As soon as they crossed that line, they would be sent flying by the powerful force of his Telekinesis!

Mo Fan was now able to split his will further into more wisps. Each wisp was a lot stronger, too. It could even kill a Hillman instantly if it struck the creature at the right angle…

Ai Jiangtu was able to dominate most of his battles with just a single spell, and Mo Fan had finally caught up to him. He felt more at ease when dealing with the Hillmen after his mental strength had improved!

That being said, he would be able to kill the Hillmen even faster if he was Possessed by Little Flame Belle.

“Watch your left!” Lingling warned.

Mo Fan did not even turn his head. A wisp of his will struck the Hillman that was leaping at him from his blind spot. The Hillman barely reached a distance of ten meters from Mo Fan, before spitting out a mouthful of blood as it slammed heavily into the main trunk.

“Keep going up!” Zhao Manyan had no choice but to constantly switch between attacking and defending. The Hillmen kept coming down from above. It was obvious that they had long moved into position, trying to prevent the humans from escaping again.

The branches below were filled with black figures. It was almost impossible to even count how many of them there were. These Hillmen were more stubborn than anyone had imagined!

Mo Fan was running short on energy. Otherwise, he would have gone down and snapped the neck of the Bronze-Fang Hillman that had inflicted serious damage on him in half!

The group continued to move up the tree. Luckily, Mo Fan’s Space Element was a lot stronger after his mentality reached the fifth stage. Otherwise, things would be a lot worse while the Hillmen were ambushing them in the dark!

—

Zhao Manyan panted heavily. He was absolutely worn out.

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He barely had energy left after helping the group pass the demon sparrows’ territory safely. The group was on the run again before he could even rest up. His energy was seriously depleted.

Any Mage would feel extremely uneasy when they ran out of energy, especially when on a giant tree where a powerful creature could show up at any second…

“The Hillmen are below us, and unknown creatures are above us. We are seriously going to die at this rate. Damn it, I thought about the possibilities of dying on a battlefield, in a city, or at sea, but I never thought I would die on a f**king tree!” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

He had run out of energy. He could only grumble and complain to vent the enormous pressure he was feeling.

Mo Fan was still doing fine. After all, he was mostly using Basic and Intermediate Spells, reducing the consumption rate of his energy.

“They seem to have stopped chasing us,” Lingling told everyone.

Zhao Manyan looked down and saw the Hillmen crouching on the branches below them, watching them. They looked like they were too afraid to pursue any further, even though they were unwilling to let their prey go.

Zhao Manyan did not feel any relief from seeing that. Anyone who had been in the wild would know that when the demon creatures stopped pursuing suddenly, it did not mean the demon creatures had suddenly decided to spare their lives, but that there was something even scarier waiting for them ahead!

“What are you waiting for? Keep going up!”

“But what if there’s something even scarier up there?” Zhao Manyan protested.

“Scarier my ass!” Mo Fan was reluctant to believe that their luck was that bad. He immediately climbed higher with the girls.

Zhao Manyan’s timid character was exposed as soon as his energy was depleted. The Hillmen were very intelligent, indeed. They knew Mo Fan and his crew were almost at their limits, thus they did not give up on their pursuit.

They managed to run away from the Hillmen after climbing a few hundred meters up the tree. However, the Hillmen did not seem to have any intention of leaving. They stood there waiting on the branches, as if they knew the humans would eventually come down again.

Mo Fan greatly detested these Hillmen. He swore he would kill every single one of them once his energy recovered!

—

“It’s too quiet here,” Lingling said softly.

The view was the same in all directions. They were surrounded by huge leaves and intertwining branches. The branches were like a huge, complicated maze. They could no longer tell which one was the main trunk of the tree. It was very dark too, as the light of the stars was not bright enough to illuminate their surroundings, leaving everyone on their toes.

A sound gradually approached, followed by a gust of wind with a rotting odor. It sounded like a creature snoring.

Everyone looked around them, trying to figure out what the creature was.

Mo Fan was able to see clearly at night. He looked ahead and saw a creature with a lizard’s head but a leopard’s body fast asleep at a fork of two branches. It was totally unaware of the presence of the intruders.

Mo Fan did not dare speak. He slowly pointed his finger at the fork, at the deadly-looking creature mostly covered by branches and leaves.

Lingling was an absolute genius. She could tell what the creature was just by looking at the outline of the creature’s face. She said with an extremely soft voice, “It’s a Four-Lives Salamander Tiger, a powerful Commander-level creature. It spends most of its time sleeping, but it’s very dangerous when it’s awake!”

“Does that mean it has four lives?” Zhao Manyan asked worriedly.

“Exactly, it’s a very strange life form. It only needs to sleep for a day to fully recover even after suffering life-threatening injuries. As a result, the Four-Lives Salamander Tigers dare to provoke any creature. They aren’t afraid of challenging those that are stronger than them, including Ruler-level creatures!” Lingling said.

“We are lucky that it’s sleeping. It doesn’t seem to be bothered by us.”

“We should really thank the Heavens for that. Let’s find somewhere safe before it wakes up,” Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Manyan was like a different person after he ran out of energy, like a little rat desperately trying to survive on the streets…

—

Everyone was tiptoeing as they continued up the tree, trying their best to stay away from the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger.

They were holding their breath while moving up the tree, fully focused. For some reason, their hearts were pounding heavily. They were afraid the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger would suddenly wake up!

Suddenly, they heard an inharmonious sound.

They had almost left the area when they saw a tiny Hillman making its way up to the branch. It then ran over to the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger under the gazes of Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Guan Xixi, Liu Xiaojia, Lan Luo, Liu Xiaojia, and Chen Yi, who were all staring at it with wide eyes!

At that particular moment, both Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan felt like there were thousands of llamas galloping in their hearts!

The little Hillman rushed up to the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger’s mouth and started making noise. It kept crying out loudly, even though it was extremely scared.

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger woke up right away. It opened its mouth and swallowed the little clown that disturbed its sleep promptly!

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger barely felt the Hillman that it had just eaten. The Commander-level creature had extremely sharp hearing. As soon as it woke up, it lifted its gaze and stared right at Mo Fan and his team, who were already quite a distance away…

“F**k this shit!” Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan cursed at the same time. They all knew how cunning and vicious the Hillmen were, yet they never thought they would do something so shameless.

They had sent one of their own up to die just to wake the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger up. Was it really fair for demon creatures to have such intelligence?

“What are you waiting for? Keep running, are you waiting to celebrate New Year here!?”

“Come to me, quick!” Mo Fan yelled.

The others realized what Mo Fan’s plan was when they saw a silver light circling him. They quickly stuck close to Mo Fan.

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger was terrifyingly quick. It was able to move at maximum speed despite the complicated branches and leaves that were in the way. It was approaching the group so quickly that it looked like an illusion!

“Blink!” Mo Fan completed the Advanced Space Spell. The silver Star Constellation encapsulated everyone.

They quickly vanished into the tunnel of Space as soon as it opened up.

With a brief flicker, the group vanished into thin air, reappearing at a spot around three hundred meters away.

Mo Fan did not lower his guard, as he was afraid that the creature could still catch up to them. He immediately drew another Star Constellation!

The energy he needed to teleport seven people twice in a row was insane. Mo Fan already felt his head spinning, a sign that he had overdrawn his energy!

Luckily, they had managed to escape from the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger. The creature would have a hard time finding them with the leaves and branches limiting its vision.

None of them dared make a sound. They even held their breaths as long as possible. There was no sign of the Commander-level creature after ten minutes. They finally let out a relieved sigh.

“Those f**king sons of b**ches, I swear I’ll kill them all after we have all recovered!” Zhao Manyan stomped and yelled furiously.

Mo Fan was disgusted by what the Hillmen had done, too. It was his first time encountering such a shameless species. If the undead attacking the Ancient Capital were as intelligent as the Hillmen, the Ancient Capital would have fallen long ago!

Either way, Mo Fan shared the same thoughts as Zhao Manyan. He had an urge to just charge down the tree and slaughter every single one of the Hillmen!

“Let’s hide here for now. The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger isn’t as aggressive. I don’t think it’s going to chase us relentlessly. Mo Fan, use your Shadow Element to conceal our presence. The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger is not as sharp at night,” Lingling said.

“Mm, let’s rest up. We should be fine after recovering our energy.”

“We should be around three thousand meters high now?” Guan Xixi wondered aloud. She was talking to Chen Yi, but the girl was staring at the night sky with a blank expression instead.

“What’s wrong, Chen Yi?” Guan Xixi asked worriedly.

“I…I think I’ve seen this before…” Chen Yi said seriously. However, she shook her head and corrected herself, “I’ve seen something similar before!”

“Hardly anyone knows about the existence of this Giant Purple Sacred Linden. We wouldn’t even have found it if it wasn’t for the Hillmen,” Mo Fan interjected.

“It’s a drawing, I’ve seen a similar drawing… I remember now! It’s in my grandmother’s house. She has a drawing like this in her house. The leaves that reach the sky, the branches that are wide like roads, and the starry sky in the distance!”

Chapter 1299 The Importance of Sound Mages

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Chen Yi had seen a similar sight before. It was in the drawing in her grandmother’s bedroom!

“Does that mean your grandmother has been here before?” Mo Fan asked, surprised.

Even though the Giant Purple Sacred Linden was stunning, it had long been dominated by demon creatures, especially flying species. There was no way a plane would have passed by the area, so not many people would know about the existence of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. To his surprise, Chen Yi’s grandmother had found out about the tree before the authorities of the Magic Association, the military, and the government!

The question was… if she knew about the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, why didn’t she tell anyone? Even if it was just a piece of information, it would attract the attention of countless people to come and look for it!

“It seems like we’re quite in luck. We somehow found the right place.” Chen Yi was clueless about how her grandmother knew about the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. They would have to ask her grandmother some other time!

The group finally had a chance to catch their breath, hiding in Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic. The place was deadly silent for the rest of the night. Perhaps it was because the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger was good at maintaining its territory, or most creatures living on the tree had strict routines. Despite trying to stay alert, they soon fell asleep, overwhelmed by fatigue.

——

A long drawbridge connected the inner and outer slopes of Mount Kunyu. The military had stationed soldiers to guard the drawbridge on one end.

Currently, thousands of people had gathered at the slope close to the drawbridge. They mainly consisted of Hunters planning to earn some quick money. The outer slopes of Mount Kunyu were known to have a lot of Giant Purple Lindens. If they were lucky enough to find a few of the trees, they could easily earn up to a million yuan. Even inexperienced Hunters had a chance to earn some money, so they could not wait to enter the outer slopes to search for the demon crests!

“Why aren’t you letting us in? What are we waiting for? I’ve come all the way from Guangdong Province just to earn some money, and now you’re stopping us from going in. What do you mean by this!?” a man yelled furiously.

The man had come to Yantai from Guangdong Province, which meant he had traveled across half of China just to come here. He thought he was going to make bank, but the government and the military were stopping people from crossing the bridge.

“He’s right, why didn’t you stop the Hunters that went in first? Why do we have to wait so long here!?”

“It’s not fair!”

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“Are you purposely keeping us here because they have bribed you!?”

Thousands of people were yelling angrily. The officials were having a hard time controlling the situation. Some Hunters at the front of the line were about to use violence after they were provoked by the others.

Things would gry out of control as soon as people started using magic. Even though it was rare to see independent Mages getting into a fight with the personnel of the Magic Association, the government, or the military, as the saying went, “stopping a man from earning money is like killing his parents”. The Hunters were on the verge of losing their tempers!

“Who’s causing a scene here!?”

An imperious voice exploded like a deafening thunderclap as the Hunters were about to lose control. The words echoed in everyone’s ears like the chimes of a bell. The Mages immediately felt their ears ringing and their heads spinning. They could not even cast a single Spell in their current state!

“It’s…it’s Nie Lengshan!”

“My ears are hurting!”

It took a while for the sound affecting the people to disappear. The Hunters at the front saw a man in his thirties with wings on his back landing in front of the drawbridge. He was glaring coldly at the Hunters who were on the verge of losing control!

“Nie Lengshan, don’t you dare use your identity and strength to put pressure on us. We just want to make some money, but these assh**** are blocking us here because they were bribed by the Hunters that went in first! They even came up with such a bad excuse…” the Hunter at the front of the queue snapped.

“Open your goddamn eyes and tell me what these are!” Nie Lengshan casually tossed a bag onto the ground.

The bag was tied very loosely. Something fell out of it as soon as it hit the ground.

The Hunters immediately looked at the bag and saw tusks covered in blood scattered across the ground. One of the Hunters went forward to empty the bag. He found the head of a Hillman inside!

“A huge number of Hillmen have shown up in the outer Mount Kunyu. They are using the demon crests as bait to hunt greedy idiots like you. More than two hundred people have died! These are the photos of the dead that some of the Hunters that returned gave to us. Take a look at them yourselves!” Nie Lengshan took out some photos to back up his claim and tossed them into the crowd of Hunters.

Most of the Hunters were convinced as soon as they saw the head and the tusks of a Hillman on the ground. However, their faces paled when they looked at the horrible corpses of the people that had been brutally killed by the Hillmen.

There were lots of photos, each displaying a horrible sight. Some relatively young Hunters among the crowd even vomited!

“If you still want to head inside, I won’t stop you. We just happen to need a bunch of reliable Hunters to help us deal with the Hillmen. These brutal Hillmen torture humans to entertain themselves. The outer slopes of Mount Kunyu are too close to Yantai, we will not allow the Hillmen to set up their territory here!” Nie Lengshan declared. His voice was loud and clear to everyone.

“Hillmen…Hillmen are Warrior-level creatures, and they are good at working together, too. I think we’ll pass,” a middle-aged Hunter said.

“We only came to join in on the fun, so we’ll pass too. Hehe!”

“We’ll be going since it’s so dangerous. We can find somewhere else to hunt demon creatures too. Am I right?”

Most Hunters did not have the courage to face the Hillmen. In just a few moments, the majority of the Hunters that were demanding to enter the outer Mount Kunyu left. The Hunters that stayed were either confident in their strength, or were part of a strong Hunter Group!

“Brother Nie, feel free to tell us if you need our help. Our Leopard Head Hunter Group might not be as reputable as you, but we won’t show any mercy when it comes to killing demon creatures either,” a bloke wearing a leopard head cap said.

“We do need your help to solve a serious problem. Commander Sun has already led his squad to the Valley of Yu Grass. I have come back here to request reinforcements,” Nie Lengshan said.

“Everyone in our team is an Advanced Mage. If there really are Hillmen in there, as Mages of Yantai, we are more than willing to help,” a mature woman in her thirties said.

“Very well, come with me.”

Of the crowd of over three thousand Hunters, only around three hundred were willing to take on the Hillmen. That being said, everyone that chose to stay was an elite. Their help was much needed!

“What happened, exactly?” the leader of the Leopard Head Hunter Group asked.

“A strange phenomenon occurred. The Dandelion Grass in the mountain is all flying in the same direction, and that place turned out to be the perfect hunting ground for the Hillmen. Ninety percent of the Hunters that entered the mountain have made their way to the valley. We have no idea how many Hillmen are inside the Valley of Yu Grass. We have to kill the Hillmen as quickly as possible. Otherwise, almost eighty percent of the Hunters are going to die in there!” Nie Lengshan informed them.

“There should be at least four thousand Hunters who went onto the outer slopes. Are the Hillmen really that scary? Can they really kill thousands of Mages?”

“They could only kill a few hundred at most with some tricks, but that won’t be the case if all the Hunters went into the sea of grass!”

——

The experienced Hunters did not believe the Hillmen could pose that much of a threat. However, they were astounded after they followed Nie Lengshan to the valley covered in grass higher than their heads!

They would completely lose track of anyone that walked into the grass. The Hillmen were able to conceal themselves perfectly within the grass. Even if the members of a team were sticking closely together, the Hillmen could still find a chance to attack those that were slightly separated from the team. They finally understood why Nie Lengshan was taking it so seriously!

“We’ve already sent out an emergency alert to summon every Sound Mage in Yantai and the nearby cities. We only managed to gather seven of them,” Commander Sun Yi sighed.

“Only seven of them?” Nie Lengshan seemed disappointed.

It did not matter how strong they were once they went into the grass. Even a Super Mage could only kill a few Hillmen that were scouting in the valley…

Being strong enough was not the key to solving the problem. More importantly, they had to find a way to locate the Hillmen hiding in the sea of grass!

Nie Lengshan was a Sound Mage. He could easily locate the Hillmen in the sea of grass. As such, he was the main person in charge of the operation. However, it was impossible for him to do it alone. It would be ideal if every team had a Sound Mage. That way, the Hillmen would no longer be able to hide themselves here!

“Seven it is. We’ll split into eight teams and enter the valley. Let’s find the Hillmen’s den and kill them all, to avenge those that have fallen!” Nie Lengshan stated.

The military, government, and Magic Association had dispatched a thousand elite Mages. There were around four hundred Hunters, too. They immediately split up into eight teams and went into the sea of grass to take on the Hillmen, under the lead of the Sound Mages!

“Sigh, if only there were more Sound Mages.”

“We can’t help it, the Sound Element is a kind of Dimensional Magic. It’s very unlikely for people to Awaken it in the early levels!”

The situation clearly highlighted the importance of Sound Mages. As a matter of fact, there was always a high demand for Sound Mages due to their outstanding ability to sense danger for the team. They were good at avoiding danger, hunting down targets, disturbing the enemy, and suppressing fire…

Most Mages were basically blind when moving in the sea of grass. Having a huge army would not make any difference. Only the Sound Mages could extend their senses through the thick grass!

Chapter 1300 Shao Ru, the Sound Maga

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“There, watch where my Brilliant Light is!” a woman yelled.

The Brilliant Light flew across the sea of grass and landed on a swaying stalk of Yu Grass. Underneath it was a ghastly creature, whose eyes widened in disbelief!

The Hillman was waiting for its target to move closer. It already had its eyes on a slim Maga with tender skin and could not wait to have a taste of her. It never thought the humans could locate it when it was staying perfectly still. The blinding light immediately revealed its silhouette in the darkness!

“Where do you think you are running to!?”

“Die!”

The Battlemages cooperated with perfect synergy and surrounded the Hillman in no time!

A soldier with the Plant Element quickly tossed binding roots forward with a sharp gaze. The roots firmly tangled the legs of the Hillman.

The Hillman tried to break free from the roots, but the surrounding temperature began to drop rapidly. Small pieces of ice gathered around the creature like they were being attracted to a magnet, forming a layer of frost on it.

The Hillman’s speed was greatly reduced. A few destructive spells followed and broke through the Hillman’s defense, inflicting serious damage on it.

“Kill it!” the Sound Maga said.

“Affirmative!”

The Battlemages decisively killed the Hillman and retrieved its tusks.

They were collecting the Hillmen’s tusks were first because the tusks were valuable, and second because it was a symbol of avenging the humans that these Hillmen had killed. They had brutally slaughtered many Mages on Mount Kunyu. It was necessary to teach these demon creatures that humans were not something they could slaughter as they wished. They were keeping the tusks that the Hillmen were proud of to let them have a piece of the humiliation and terror they were applying to the victims!

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“Found a corpse here!”

“Here too!”

The Battlemages soon found the remains of a few Hunters close to the spot where the Hillman was hiding. Most of the corpses were no longer intact.

“Take one of their belongings and bury the bodies,” the Sound Maga said.

It was impossible to bring all the corpses back, as there were too many of them. Besides, most of the bodies had been torn apart, so it would be pointless to bring them back. There was a code among the Hunters and Mages in the wild. If they could not retrieve the corpses of their fallen comrades, they would take one of their belongings for their families to identify and bury the dead bodies on the spot.

Most Hunters in the wild would carry a badge with them. It was the most effective way to identify those that had died since the badge was durable and unique to each Hunter.

As people that were constantly risking their lives at the front lines, it was the least they could do. The Battlemages could not afford to be bound by formalities. All they needed to do was to show the Hillmen how they were going to avenge the victims they had brutally killed!

“These sons of b**ches, they have killed so many…” Nie Lengshan hovered above the valley and looked into the distance of the boundless valley.

How many corpses were concealed by the tall grass? The thought alone was enough to send shivers down his spine!

“Brilliant Light!” The talented Sound Maga found traces of the Hillmen once again.

This time, she tagged a bunch of Hillmen with the Brilliant Light. The Hillmen were used to working together. Most of them would stick together in groups if they were not being overly greedy. The Brilliant Light revealed the entire group of Hillmen. The Battlemages could easily find them by following the Brilliant Light!

“Basic Spells are a lot more useful at times like this!” someone exclaimed.

“Yeah, but who exactly is the woman? She’s doing such a good job. Her senses are so sharp. Not a single Hillman within a few kilometers has managed to hide from her. Our team has already killed over three hundred Hillmen. We are having trouble carrying all the tusks!” exclaimed Wang Dabao, who was in the Sound Maga’s team.

The Leopard Head Hunter Group was assigned to the fourth team, led by a Sound Maga that was summoned here by the emergency alert. Not only did she possess outstanding cultivation, she was able to make the right calls all the time. She was hunting down the Hillmen like they were nothing but a bunch of clowns!

“I heard someone calling her Shao Ru; I believe it’s her nickname, but I’m not sure if she’s a Hunter, a member of the Magic Association, the government, or a renowned clan. She seems to be pretty famous around here,” another member of the Leopard Head Hunter Group, named Li Sikang, someone spoke up.

“So she’s Shao Ru?” someone in the team exclaimed.

Every local Mage seemed to have heard the name Shao Ru before. Their gazes at the Sound Maga with a cold personality were immediately filled with respect.

“A year ago, the Blue Ice Sea Monsters attacked a fishing village and kidnapped more than ten fishermen. Not many people dared to pursue the culprits after learning that the Blue Ice Sea Monsters were responsible. However, not long after, she went to the Blue Ice Sea Monsters’ den alone and wiped out the entire den of Blue Ice Sea Monsters! The news shocked many of the renowned clans. Many of them tried to recruit her, but she ended up rejecting every invitation. Apparently, she even beat the crap out of the second son of the Penglai Clan!” a Hunter from Yantai said.

“The second son of the Penglai Clan, Lu Wenxing? Isn’t he the strongest Mage among the younger generations in Yantai?”

“Exactly, Lu Wenxing even came third in the Hunter Competition. He’s easily one of the most talented young Mages in our country, but he still lost to Shao Ru. Many people saw it in person!”

Most people on the team were unaware of who the woman was. The others quickly spread it around when they heard it from the people that were discussing it. Who would have thought that such a cold and delicate woman would possess such remarkable strength! The men on the team no longer dared to underestimate her!

“Miss Shao, I’m utterly impressed by how observant you are. HAHAHA, we’ve managed to kill a whole bunch of Hillmen!” a captain with rough facial features said.

The captain was an Advanced Mage with over a hundred soldiers under his command. Even though they were a strong squad, they could not possibly do anything without the Sound Maga’s help.

“It’s a pity that one of them managed to get away by faking its death. It managed to sneak away into the grass when we were retrieving the tusks. By the time we realized it, it had already disappeared,” a soldier said. His gaze toward Shao Ru was oddly passionate.

“I know where it went, but another group of Hunters around three kilometers away is in trouble. We should head over at once,” Shao Ru turned in the direction of the moon. The moonlight sprinkled on the grass like a thin layer of makeup, setting off the elegant temperament of the mysterious and powerful Maga. The men on the team could feel their hearts itching.

“We should hurry, let’s hope we can make it in time to save them!” the captain said.

The captain immediately led the way while the Leopard Head Hunter Group followed.

“I believe our team is the most efficient so far…”

“Of course! Let’s keep it up. We might be able to make a name for our Leopard Head Hunter Group if we do well in this operation!” Wang Dabao proclaimed, in high spirits.

It was rare to have a chance to work together with a reputable Maga like Shao Ru!

—

The teams proceeded to hunt down the Hillmen. With the help of the Sound Mages, the Hillmen had no chance of escaping. The number of Hillmen that were preying on the Hunters gradually fell. The Hunter Groups were also evacuated from the valley to prevent further casualties.

However, the teams still discovered lots of corpses in horrible conditions along the way. They were infuriated every time they saw the brutal deaths the victims had suffered!

The Hillmen had to die!

—

“Someone is screaming for help in this direction. It sounds like a big group!” Shao Ru said.

“This way?” the captain asked.

Shao Ru nodded.

“Brothers, follow me to the rescue!” the captain left with a hundred elites.

“There are people in this direction too. There aren’t many, but we must save them too,” Shao Ru pointed in another direction.

“Shao Ru, these Hillmen can mimic our voices. Please be mindful of it when you hear the screams for help!” The teacher, Mr. Gao, was also on the team.

“Yeah, Brother Mo Fan who was the first to find out the Hillmen’s conspiracy told us so. The Hillmen are very cunning and intelligent. We shouldn’t walk into their traps,” Liu Xiaojia’s senior said.

“I’m aware of that!” Shao Ru said confidently. She looked in another direction and said to Mr. Gao, “I need you to head there with a team to save the survivors.”

“Got it!”

“Leopard Head Hunter Group, there are seven Hillmen a kilometer away from us. My Brilliant Light will chase after them. I’ll leave them in your hands,” Shao Ru calmly instructed.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure to take them all out!”

“There are a lot more Hillmen around here. It looks like we’re getting closer to their den.”

—

The members of the fourth team split up to rescue the survivors and kill the Hillmen. They followed Shao Ru’s instructions and the guidance of her Brilliant Light with great discipline. They did not panic despite the confusing terrain in the sea of grass.

A strange voice was heard coming from the bushes nearby. Shao Ru frowned and scanned her surroundings, on high alert.

A Hillman taller than the ones they had encountered so far suddenly appeared from behind Shao Ru. The creature looked even scarier when it revealed its bronze tusks!

Shao Ru was taken by surprise. She did not expect a Hillman would be able to escape the detection of her Sound Element!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman attacked at a crazy speed. The soldiers that were protecting Shao Ru could not react in time. Its sharp paws swept fiercely at her chest.

Shao Ru barely reacted in time. However, her shoulder was still sliced open. She almost lost her arm!

Fresh blood poured out from the wound. The Bronze-Fang Hillman was not done yet. It swung its other paw down at Shao Ru’s leg as she was dodging aside, trying to drag her back!

Once the creature dragged Shao Ru back, it would obviously stab its tusks through her. However, Shao Ru was having trouble dodging the grab!

“Tone: Kill!”

Shao Ru cast a Sound Spell in the nick of time. The sonic wave whipped the savage Bronze-Fang Hillman hard…

Shao Ru quickly drew her legs back as the Bronze-Fang Hillman was knocked off-balance briefly. To her surprise, the Bronze-Fang Hillman still managed to swipe its paw down, leaving a long bloody wound down her leg with its claws!

1301 Mo Fan to the Rescue

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Protect the leader!”

The soldiers finally reacted. They quickly cast all kinds of spells.

The soldiers were in a panic, trying to save Shao Ru. Unfortunately, their spells were ineffective against the Bronze-Fang Hillman. The spells did not stop the creature from moving closer to Shao Ru, who was already suffering serious injuries.

The Bronze-Fang Hillman seemed to be aware that the woman was the main reason that its underlings were dying so quickly. It persisted in trying to kill her first!

Meanwhile, Shao Ru’s eyes flickered with panic and regret as death approached.

She was too careless. She had clearly underestimated the Hillmen’s intelligence. It turned out that they had purposely created the distractions in different directions. She had good hearing, but if the surroundings were too noisy when a powerful creature was slowly sneaking up to her, there was still a chance she could miss it.

Shao Ru had no chance of using her magic, as the Bronze-Fang Hillman kept going after her. She was just a typical Mage who was unable to take on a Commander-level creature at close distance!

“Protect her!” a soldier yelled and stood in between the Bronze-Fang Hillman and Shao Ru. He only had a thin layer of Water Barrier as his defense!

“Don’t!” Shao Ru screamed, but a sharp paw directly went through the soldier’s chest and came out from his back while her voice was still lingering in the air.

The soldier’s body was still twitching. He could not believe that his defense was non-existent against the creature’s attack. He stared at the Bronze-Fang Hillman with wide eyes…

The Bronze-Fang Hillman drew out its paw. However, the soldier used his final breath to hold onto the paw, preventing the creature from pulling it out.

The Bronze-Fang Hillman was infuriated. It swung its other paw wildly and tore the soldier into pieces within a second. Shao Ru’s eyes reddened as she watched the soldier’s flesh and blood scattering in the air!

“Run, we’ll protect you!” The other soldiers continued to engage one-by-one to stop the Bronze-Fang Hillman from attacking Shao Ru.

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Shao Ru had lost all her fighting capacity due to her serious injuries. She was not stupid enough to stay behind and fight the Bronze-Fang Hillman. It would only mean the sacrifices of the soldiers were in vain!

“I swear that I’ll avenge you all!” Shao Ru yelled furiously and staggered into a bush nearby.

The Bronze-Fang Hillman was enraged. It did not think it would fail to kill the woman that was posing a great threat to its underlings.

It vented its frustrations and rage on the remaining soldiers. It tore all five of them into pieces. Their blood splattered on the grass nearby where the cold moonlight was pouring down on like an eerie crimson rain!

——

The captain of the team arrived at the place Shao Ru had mentioned . He split the grass blocking the path and saw a few Hillmen behaving strangely. They were surrounding three Hunters that they had tied up, instead of tearing their limbs off like everyone expected.

“What are they up to?” a young soldier asked, confused.

“I have no clue. Let’s save them first,” the captain said.

The soldiers immediately went forward. However, the Hillmen turned around and left as soon as they saw the Battlemages showing up. They had no intention to fight at all.

The young soldier was a little suspicious after seeing the Hillmen’s reaction. He went up to the Hunters that were tied up and asked, “Why didn’t they kill you?”

“I don’t know. They… they were just hurting us to make us scream. The louder we screamed, the lesser the pain they inflicted on us. We had no choice but to scream at the top of our lungs!” the Hunters said.

The others in their group were all dead, only these three Hunters had survived. It was like the Hillmen had purposely kept them alive so they could scream for help. Something did not feel right about it...

“Shit, they were luring us here on purpose!” the captain soon realized. He immediately headed back to the team.

“Squad four-seven, are you with Shao Ru?”

“We’ve found a few survivors. The Hillmen ran as soon as they saw us…”

“Turn back at once. We’ve been tricked!”

A few other squads immediately headed back to where Shao Ru had been. However, they were greeted by a strong smell of blood. Their expressions fell immediately.

They split the grass and saw puddles of blood across the place and splattered on the grass nearby. Body parts mangled beyond recognition were scattered across the place. Everyone stood there with wide eyes; they could not believe what had happened…

“These Hillmen…” the soldiers were not astounded by the deaths of their comrades, but the intelligence that the Hillmen had shown!

The Hillmen had used their eagerness to save the Hunters to split the team up. They even used some Hillmen as bait to lure people away. Their real target was Shao Ru all along!

The Hillmen knew that Shao Ru’s Sound Element was a great threat to them, so they had set up a trap for them!

Most demon creatures were not intelligent. Besides, they had never encountered a species with such great teamwork. The soldiers had never thought that they as humans would be tricked by the demon creatures one day!

“Where’s Shao Ru? Where is she!?”

“Look at the mess; how can we possibly tell who is who?”

“She isn’t here. She might be alive still. Split up and search the area. We must protect her at all costs!” the captain ordered.

“We left quite a number of men behind, yet they still lost so quickly. Does that mean…”

“A Commander-level creature, it’s a Commander-level Hillman!”

—

—

Daylight was still some time away. Mo Fan slowly slid down the trunk with the Fleeing Shadow.

The height the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger occupied was most likely the highest they could go. They had no clue what terrifying species they would encounter if they kept going up the tree. Their priority was to take out the cunning Hillmen. Mo Fan decided to do some scouting after he had rested up.

The Hillmen were not sensitive to the Shadow Element. Mo Fan managed to reach the spot where the main trunk branched off into five other trunks. He could see the distribution of the Hillmen on the roots from here.

It was obvious that the Hillmen had occupied the roots of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. Mo Fan went around in a circle to see if the Hillmen had truly occupied the entire root system of the Linden…

After some time, Mo Fan discovered that the Hillmen were not defending every direction. There was a certain direction where there was barely any Hillmen around.

He slowly made his way down and saw a slim figure in torn clothes covered in blood lying in a gap between the roots. Mo Fan was quite surprised that someone had made it to the tree. However, he could not tell if the woman was alive.

Mo Fan went forward cautiously. There were a few Hillmen patrolling on the slope nearby. He was wondering how the women had managed to avoid the Hillmen and reach the spot under the tree.

The woman’s upper body was greatly exposed. The two round white ‘rabbits’ had an urge to jump out from their cover. There was a huge wound along her shoulder. It had almost destroyed the woman’s sexiest part. It was a great relief despite the misfortune.

He moved his gaze down. The wound on the woman’s leg was even deadlier. The cut went from her quads to her ankles. It was almost a meter long!

Mo Fan was shocked when he saw how long the woman’s legs were. It was a pity that her leg was so heavily damaged.

“She’s alive still,” Mo Fan noticed that the woman was still breathing. She had fallen unconscious after losing too much blood.

Mo Fan took out a high-quality Blood Serum to replenish the blood she had lost.

She did not have a chance to wrap and treat her wounds. It was likely that she had been on the run for some time…

Mo Fan had no choice but to take out the medicine that Xinxia had given him to save the woman’s life!

Xinxia’s medicine was crazily effective. The woman was barely breathing just a second ago, but her breathing soon became steady and the wounds that were bleeding continuously were slowly mending!

“Ugh…” The woman moaned softly. She opened her eyes and saw a human’s face. She was stunned for a moment before letting out a relieved sigh.

Before Mo Fan could speak, he heard an unpleasant cry from nearby.

Shao Ru rose to her feet. Her head was spinning a little due to excessive loss of blood. However, she could barely stand. She stared at the Bronze-Fang Hillman that was approaching.

The Bronze-Fang Hillman was still pursuing her relentlessly, even though she had run so far away.

“You should leave at once,” Shao Ru said coldly, not turning around.

Mo Fan opened his mouth. He looked closely at Shao Ru’s face from the side and noticed the woman’s temperament was similar to Mu Ningxue’s. It was rare to see a Maga with an aura like an iceberg, but somehow, he found women like her quite attractive!

“You’re in such a bad condition. Let me handle it,” Mo Fan said.

“Nonsense!” Shao Ru snapped in an irresistible tone. “Do you have any idea what it is? You should run if you want to live, as far away as possible!”

Shao Ru’s heart was burning with anger when she recalled the soldiers that had sacrificed their lives for her. Since she could no longer run away, she had decided to fight the Bronze-Fang Hillman to the death. It was still too early to tell who would be the last one standing!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman cried and dashed at them like an arrow, followed by a loud gust of wind!

Even though every Bronze-Fang Hillman was just as ugly in Mo Fan’s eyes, he could still tell that it was a different Bronze-Fang Hillman than the one he encountered before!

“Have you asked me for permission before trying to kill someone?” Mo Fan stomped the ground. Lightning arcs danced around him like dragons…

He crossed his arms in front of him, and fired two lightning bolts at the Bronze-Fang Hillman!

1302 Opposing Species

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The lightning lit up Shao Ru’s pale face. She stared at the man who had appeared out of nowhere in astonishment.

“You’re…” Shao Ru was a little furious. She did not want anyone to die for her again!

However, as the lightning grew stronger, Shao Ru forgot what she was trying to say. She saw the two lightning beams crossing paths in front of the Bronze-Fang Hillman. A lightning strike soared up into the sky like a dragon before it was set off like a huge explosion. Its overwhelming force instantly destroyed the Bronze-Fang Hillman’s sturdy skin!

Blood and flesh flew scattered in the air. Even the Bronze-Fang Hillman’s outstanding defense failed to protect it from the lightning explosion. The overwhelming force knocked the Bronze-Fang Hillman flying before it slammed heavily into the tall grass nearby. The lightning explosion razed the tall grass to the ground, clearing a huge area.

The lightning arcs were still flickering on the Bronze-Fang Hillman. The creature was struggling to rise to its feet. The attack had obviously inflicted serious damage on it.

Shao Ru looked at the Bronze-Fang Hillman in disbelief. She slowly shifted her gaze back to Mo Fan!

Mo Fan realized the woman had attractive eyes. Even when they were filled with astonishment, they had a different charm than their usual cold look.

“Were you trying to say that I’m too naive?” Mo Fan smiled.

Shao Ru was so shocked that she even forgot to close her mouth. It was mainly because he looked so young. She could hardly imagine anyone at his age possessing such ridiculous strength!

Who would ever think that such an ordinary-looking young man was able to inflict serious damage on a Commander-level with a single Lightning Spell?

“Let’s go up the tree. A whole bunch of them are going to show up soon,” Mo Fan told her.

Shao Ru nodded after she finally recovered her wits.

“Let me help you,” Mo Fan wrapped his hand around the woman’s waist when he saw she was struggling to move on her own. The woman’s waist was crazily slim. It was rare to see a woman as slim as her with such a stunning bust. Her figure was absolutely insane. Mo Fan believed he would be having a boner if it wasn’t for the excessive blood and gore he had witnessed lately…

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Mo Fan transformed into a Shadow Bird and brought Shao Ru up the trunk.

——

As Mo Fan thought, the Bronze-Fang Hillman started crying for help to hunt them down.

Mo Fan had fully recovered from his injuries, and was able to fully utilize his Shadow Element. In addition, he was not surrounded by the Hillmen. They would have trouble finding him, no matter how quick they were able to climb the tree.

The first glimpse of light had risen in the horizon, dying the clouds blazing red. It was a little eerie to look at.

Mo Fan found a safe spot and placed Shao Ru down so she could rest. After all, she was seriously injured. Her condition would worsen if she moved excessively.

“I was running short on time just then. Here, let me treat your wound,” Mo Fan took a few leaves and placed them down for Shao Ru to lie on.

The leaves were huge. He could easily turn them into a mattress by stacking them together. Mo Fan knelt down beside Shao Ru’s leg and tore her pants that were little more than dangling cloth, revealing her injured leg.

It was Mo Fan’s first time using such a rough approach. The pants were easier to rip off than he had imagined. He tore the pants all the way up to Shao Ru’s waist. He could vaguely see her black lace underwear in the gap. The part of Shao Ru’s quad that was not injured was whiter and tender, too.

It was not Mo Fan’s first time being a pervert. He pretended to be treating the wound without moving his gaze away. He even explained the special uses of the ointment as he was applying it to the wound. He did not give Shao Ru any chance to feel embarrassed!

A man who was placing his full attention on the task of hand would be less likely to be regarded as someone with malicious thoughts, especially when he was showing an indifferent attitude, like a doctor treating a patient. Even if he did take advantage of a girl, she would most likely just accept it. Mo Fan was extremely experienced with his approach. He saw all he wanted to see without making the girl feel uncomfortable!

“I’ll do it myself,” Shao Ru interrupted when she saw Mo Fan was going to treat the wound on her chest.

Mo Fan was pretty interested in seeing how her slim waist was able to support her huge bust. Unfortunately, the woman was reluctant to give him the chance to do so.

“Are you a Hunter, too?” Mo Fan asked.

Shao Ru briefly explained her situation to Mo Fan. He was quite surprised after hearing her. It turned out that she was an elite Sound Maga whom the government had asked for help, but her team ended up being set up by the Hillmen!

“The number of Hillmen is a lot higher than we thought,” Shao Ru admitted.

“I already warned the government to be extremely cautious!” Mo Fan sighed. He was hoping the same fate did not befall the other teams. Otherwise, the representatives of the government, the military, the Magic Association, and the Hunters would all be wiped out here!

“You’re Mo Fan? The strongest participant in the World College Tournament?” Shao Ru observed Mo Fan closely.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan nodded.

There were too many people with the name Mo Fan around. As such, most people he met would not think too much whenever he told them his name.

“No wonder… let’s have a duel some time,” Shao Ru said.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless. What the heck was she even thinking!?

“Do you think I’m not worthy to be your opponent?” Shao Ru frowned. She looked down and harrumphed, “There’s no way I would end up like this if I wasn’t taken by surprise.”

“Just rest up for now,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

The injures that Shao Ru had suffered were not deadly, but she had lost too much blood from the bleeding. Mo Fan’s medicine was very effective. The woman was able to recover pretty quickly.

——

Mo Fan brought her higher up the tree to regroup with the others.

Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened when he saw Mo Fan returning with a beautiful woman. However, when he recovered from the shock of seeing Shao Ru, he put on a wry smile and said, “Mo Fan, how many women are you thinking of bringing with us?”

Mo Fan also realized it was a little crazy when Shao Ru joined the other girls.

Chen Yi, Lingling, Guan Xixi, Lan Luo, Liu Xiaojia, Shao Ru… the two of them had to look after six women. How ‘frightening’!

—

“I went down to take a look around. The direction the sun rose has the least number of Hillmen. The other places are all crowded with them. There should be around three or four thousand of them. According to Shao Ru, there were a few thousand Hillmen in the sea of grass too, which means their number is above five thousand!” Mo Fan said.

“Five thousand… it’s pretty much a horde!” Lingling exclaimed.

The Hillmen were a Warrior-level species. The combined strength of five thousand Hillmen was obviously a lot greater than a horde of Servant-class creatures. It was obvious that the government’s plan had gone south this time.

“We have to take out the leaders of the Hillmen to weaken them so the government and the military can take them all out at once,” Shao Ru said.

She had learned from the experience that the higher the level of the Hillmen, the smarter they were. Therefore, taking out their leaders was the best way to crush their teamwork. If the Hillmen were united, the humans would still pay a huge price, even if they managed to defeat them!

“One more thing; the Bronze-Fang Hillmen are very cunning! They prefer to sacrifice the lives of their underlings. They won’t involve themselves in a battle unless it’s necessary. The Bronze-Fang Hillmen cherish their lives. They are well aware that there are powerful Mages among us!” Lingling said.

Mo Fan could easily relate to what Lingling had just said. It was exactly what the cunning Bronze-Fang Hillman that had ambushed him did!

“Should we try and use the other species on the tree, then? I believe some of the creatures living on the tree are quite strong,” Zhao Manyan suggested.

“It wouldn’t work. If the Hillmen are able to occupy the roots, it means the Giant Purple Sacred Linden has permitted them to stay. Didn’t you see the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger wouldn’t target creatures outside its territory? It feels like they have some sort of agreement regarding their territories,” Lingling said.

It was difficult to get two species to fight one another unless they were each other’s natural enemies.

“Strange! I heard the old people mentioned that the Giant Purple Linden only allows gentle species to stay around it. If this Giant Purple Sacred Linden has been around for a long time, it doesn’t make sense that it would allow an aggressive species like the Hillmen to set up their territory here,” Chen Yi said, confused.

“Do you know what the ruler of the outer Mount Kunyu before was?” Lingling asked.

Chen Yi shook her head and said, “I only knew it was a less aggressive species. It doesn’t really pose any threat to Yantai. My grandmother even told me that the ruler of outer Mount Kunyu was actually protecting Yantai…”

“Isn’t it something that only a Totem Beast would do?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Was the ruler that died a Totem Beast?”

“I can’t say for sure, but it’s possible…” Lingling said.

“Now that you mention it, it reminds me of something. When I was attacked by the Bronze-Fang Hillman, a bunch of birds with colorful tails showed up when the Bronze-Fang Hillman almost caught up to me. I barely escaped because they were keeping the Bronze-Fang Hillman busy for a while,” Shao Ru exclaimed.

“Birds with colorful tails… we haven’t seen anything like them. We only saw a bunch of unfriendly shameless demon sparrows,” Liu Xiaojia said.

“Why were they helping you?”

“I don’t know, I thought they were just hostile toward the Hillmen…”

“That must be it. Look at the trees in the distance!” Lingling pointed in the direction of the rising sun as she discovered something.

The sunlight sprayed across the top of the dense trees, and the sound of birds singing and chirping was heard. Not long afterwards, birds with multi-colored tails started to appear and weave through the branches above the layer occupied by the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger.

“It seems they are lining up to dive from the tree…” Zhao Manyan observed.

“It explains why there aren’t many Hillmen in this direction. It’s likely they are enemies with the Hillmen!” Mo Fan deduced excitedly.

1303 The Rivers of Blood Under the Tree

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The sea breeze swept past gently. The white waves were calm, too. A few stalks of flowers close to the beach were swaying slightly. A pair of old slippers were cautiously placed to the side to avoid damaging the flowers that were adding some color to the beach.

An old lady had her back to the sun. Her slim figure was sitting on a chair that she had brought along with her leisurely.

The sound of someone crying came from nearby. Before the old lady could enjoy some peaceful moments, a little girl beside came up to her with tearful eyes.

“What is it? Xiao Dongxia?” the old lady asked confusedly.

“My Xiao Fei is dead. He had always been obedient. He would show up every day at this time to play with me, but he didn’t show up after I finished school today. I went to your garden to find him, but I found him under a tree. He wasn’t flying or skipping around. I kept calling him, but he didn’t respond,” the little girl was overwhelmed by sorrow.

“How did he die?” the old lady asked.

“I don’t know. I buried him under the tree. No one is going to wait for me to come home after school every day,” Xiao Dongxian cried.

Chen Yi’s grandmother let out a sigh. Xiao Dongxia’s parents were both Hunters. They were usually away because of their work, thus they seldom looked after Xiao Dongxia. The little girl used to have a grandmother around Chen Yi’s grandmother’s age waiting for her to come back from school every day. After her grandmother passed away, Xiao Dongxia kept an intelligent sparrow as her pet. The sparrow would wait for her in front of her house every afternoon. He was the lonely girl’s best friend.

Chen Yi’s grandmother was surprised to learn that the sparrow had died. The sparrow seemed to possess a little of the lineage of the demon creatures. Although it would not grow into an aggressive demon creature, it was unlikely to die so easily…

“It’s alright, I’ll be waiting for you from today on. Grandma Yan still has a few years left, I can look after you until you have grown up,” Yan Shi said.

“Really?”

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“I promise. You can come to my house when your daddy and mummy are away. Chen Yi can teach you lots of things too!”

“Sure!” Xiao Dongxian nodded and wiped her tears off with her hand.

Xiao Dongxie left after she stopped crying. Yan Shi looked at the little girl as she left and let out a sigh.

It was heartbreaking to see a little child treating the joy and company that a little sparrow was giving her so preciously.

Why couldn’t the younger generation be more sensible? If they couldn’t give up pursuing wealth blindly or seeking thrills in life, they shouldn’t have given birth and left the poor little child to grow up alone… Shouldn’t they feel guilty about it?

Yan Shi had lost the mood to relax. She rose to her feet and slowly made her way back to her garden.

She saw the traces of the ground being dug up under a tree. It was obviously where Xiao Dongxia had buried the sparrow. Yan Shi hesitated for a moment before she crouched in front of the tree and slowly dug up the sparrow’s body to see how it died. She would not allow anything to pose a threat to the peaceful town!

She might be old, but she would have no problem taking out some demon creatures…

“How strange,” Yan Shi had dug up the remains of the sparrow, but its body had already started to decompose, as if it had been buried for more than a week. There was only a pile of feathers and rotten meat…

How did the body decompose so quickly?

Yan Shi slowly re-buried the sparrow and fell into deep thought.

A few minutes later, Yan Shi suddenly looked around her garden. Her dim eyes flickered with astonishment. Her hands began to tremble too.

“Could it be… could it really be!?

“But… there are no other possibilities!

“I should have known, I should have known!” Yan Shi kept smashing the things around her as if she had gone mad.

She soon calmed down. However, she was now emitting a formidable aura. She was clearly withholding her power, but it still knocked over the things in the garden. Even the tree had bent away from her!

She looked towards Mount Kunyu. Her crooked body suddenly unleashed a shocking power and soared a thousand meters into the sky. The old woman who looked so weak that even the wind could blow her away had flown into the sky like an enraged eagle!

—

—

The Dandelion Grass was still drifting in the wind, like elegant little fairies dancing around their protector.

The Giant Purple Sacred Linden reflected a purple light under the sun. The blue sea of grass had no visible ends to it, and the sacred tree in the center of it was breathtaking. However, under the rays sprinkling down from the tree, bright red blood was flowing along the roots and the ground like a river. Dead bodies beyond recognition were scattered across the place. The wind was brimming with the scent of death…

“It seems like the Giant Purple Lindens doesn’t welcome these brutal Hillmen. Let’s take them all out with the help of the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows!” Nie Lengshan’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

The area between the branches and the roots was relatively spacious. There were currently lots of Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows flying around. They seemed to have reached the end of their patience after the Hillmen intruded on their territory. They had launched a huge attack to take out the Hillmen.

Meanwhile, the human soldiers had found the Giant Purple Sacred Linden by following the Dandelion Grass. Most of the Hunters that had gone to the outer slopes of Mount Kunyu had ended up here. The brutal deaths that the Hillmen had inflicted on them had greatly infuriated the humans. They split into squads under the leadership of the government and the military and swore to take down every Hillman. They would reclaim the dignity they had lost and avenge those that had died horrible deaths!

The Hunters had gotten used to being undisciplined. They might be stronger than the average soldier, but since they had not undergone systematic training, they did not have an advantage facing the thousands of demon creatures, unlike the soldiers!

When Mages worked together in groups and set up barriers as their defense while attacking with destructive spells from a distance, it was usually more effective than fighting the demon creatures in small teams or on their own. Most importantly, some Mages were able to set up magic formations against the demon creatures. The comparison of one Warrior-level creature to seven Intermediate Mages was no longer valid!

The Commander leading the army was an outstanding leader. Meanwhile, Nie Lengshan, the expert with the Sound Element, was asserting control over the battle too. More than two thousand Hillmen had died so far…

The cunning Bronze-Fang Hillmen could not afford to hide any further. There were seven of them, each holding back the troops of soldiers with their Commander-level strength…

“We shall avenge Shao Ru and our fallen brothers. Kill these sons of b**ches!” the Captain with rough facial features roared.

He was leading a hundred elites of his company to forcibly clear a path among the Hillmen. The Summoned Beasts charged forward like a strong wave, crumbling the oddity effect the Hillmen were abusing. The Hillmen were forced to retreat to the roots of the tree constantly.

More blood was pouring out like rivers and streams. It permeated the ground and reached the thick roots of the tree…

The remains of the Hillmen, feathers of the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows, and limbs of humans were stacked up together. The place had suddenly turned into a bloody Hell.

—

“Let’s make our way down too. How could we miss the party?” Zhao Manyan said excitedly, looking down from atop a great branch.

The guy had reclaimed his arrogance after his energy recovered. He was once again full of himself, as if he could take the whole world on!

Mo Fan looked at the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows that had suddenly engaged the Hillmen. Not long ago, they were trying to figure a way to get the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows to fight against the Hillmen after learning the species were enemies. To their surprise, the hot-tempered Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows simply dove down from the tree and engaged the Hillmen before they could do anything!

The Hillmen were suffering heavy casualties after they were flanked by both the humans and the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows!

“The army below is pretty strong. Who’s leading them?” Lingling asked.

Not many armies were able to take on a horde of Warrior-level creatures. A group of Warrior-level creatures could easily eliminate a group of a hundred Battlemages when attacking at the perfect time, but even though the army below did not consist of a huge number of soldiers, each of them was very strong. It was obviously not an ordinary army!

“Nie Lengshan is giving orders, and the Commander is an experienced General too. They must be Yantai’s Ace!” Shao Ru said.

“Nie Lengshan? I think I’ve heard the name before,” Mo Fan remarked.

“He’s one of the strongest Advanced Mages in our country. Since he’s a Sound Mage, he is actually more useful than some Super Mages in a battle,” Lingling said.

Lingling was familiar with some of the reputable people of their country. She was surprised that Nie Lengshan was put in charge of the operation. It explained why the horde of Hillmen was struggling to hold their ground…

“Houndman or Nie Lengshan, who’s stronger?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Houndman was the strongest Advanced Mage that Mo Fan had encountered so far. He had little chance of beating Houndman on his own. He had only managed to defeat Houndman because Mu Ningxue was around!

“Houndman is pretty strong in the Advanced Level, but he’s definitely not at the top. I believe Nie Lengshan could take out Houndman in just ten rounds,” Lingling said.

Lingling had some idea how strong the Dreadful Curse Cerberus was, so she was able to make the comparisons even though she did not watch the battle between Mo Fan and Houndman.

“That means he’s really strong… there are quite a lot of experts in our country!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“You might have a chance against him after Little Flame Belle advances to the next stage,” Lingling admitted.

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered at the mention of Little Flame Belle!

“So, are we going down or not?” Zhao Manyan asked impatiently.

“Have patience; the Bronze-Fang Hillman that attacked us hasn’t shown up yet. It’s our target,” Mo Fan answered.

Mo Fan would not forget the injuries it had inflicted on him!

1304 Who Blew the Dandelion Grass?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was important to kill the Bronze-Fang Hillmen. These Hillmen knew how to fight in formations under the commands of their leaders. Therefore, it was necessary to take out their leaders first!

“Is that the one you were referring to?” Shao Ru pointed at the roots. A Hillman was hiding inside a gap between them.

The battle below was too messy. It was extremely difficult to pinpoint a target accurately. Mo Fan was surprised when he saw the creature that Shao Ru was pointing to was exactly the Bronze-Fang Hillman he was looking for!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman was hiding instead of engaging the enemy. However, its position was quite close to the captain of a troop nearby. It seemed to be waiting for its chance to ambush the captain.

“That guy only knows to sneak up to its target. How did you find it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Heartbeats. The other Hillmen have rapid heartbeats, but that creature is different. I’m good at hearing heartbeats. There’s barely any living creature that can escape my hearing,” Shao Ru said.

“You’ve done a great job!” Mo Fan glared at the Bronze-Fang Hillman. He could finally get his revenge. He swore he would make the creature feel the pain this time!

“Zhao Manyan, escort them to the army. It’s safer there. I’m going to take out that creature!” Mo Fan said.

“Screw you, why am I the nanny, while you go and act like a hero?” Zhao Manyan snapped.

“Fine, I’ll escort them to safety. You go take out the Bronze-Fang Hillman!” Mo Fan replied.

“I’ll be the nanny instead…”

—

Mo Fan was very confident in Zhao Manyan’s defense. Even if the group had to travel across the battlefield, it would take at least seven Bronze-Fang Hillmen or thousands of Hillmen to break through his defense!

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“I’ll go with you,” Shao Ru said with a firm expression.

“Are you sure? How are your injuries?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m fine.” Liu Xiaojia’s Healing Magic had been enough to heal Shao Ru’s wounds.

Mo Fan knew Shao Ru was strong. It would be easier for him to travel across the battlefield with the Sound Maga’s help.

“Mo Fan, be careful,” Lingling suddenly said with a stern face.

“What is it? Are you having a bad feeling about this?” Mo Fan said.

Lingling was a super genius. She was able to analyze most situations, but when a situation was too complicated even for her, or if she did not have enough information, she would come up with different speculations, and some of them were clearly not in their favor. She would always warn Mo Fan to be careful whenever she was struggling to understand something.

“Mm, there’s something I can’t figure out yet. Anyway, just be careful!” Lingling said.

“Alright, I promise you I’ll run as soon as I realize something isn’t right,” Mo Fan smiled and pinched the little adorable girl’s chin.

To his surprise, Lingling was not angry at him. It did not necessarily mean she had given Mo Fan permission to pinch her face. She was just too preoccupied with her thoughts.

—

Mo Fan and Shao Ru took another direction. They were planning to reach a spot above the Bronze-Fang Hillman along the tree and attacked the creature with an element of surprise from above.

However, they would have to go through the demon sparrows’ territory. That being said, with Shao Ru’s Sound Element, they could easily sneak past the demon sparrows without alerting them.

“Run as soon as something doesn’t feel right? Is that something you always do? Aren’t you supposed to be a hero?” Shao Ru suddenly turned around and asked. She seemed a little familiar with Mo Fan’s achievements.

“Let me tell you, heroes don’t really exist in this world. Most of the time, it’s like a situation where a person is drowning, and the only ones nearby are a dog that can’t swim, a cat that simply ignores the cries for help, a woman who keeps screaming on the shore, and you who aren’t really that good at swimming. You have no choice but to go and save the drowning person. The truth is, I always find myself struggling between someone who just can’t afford to watch someone die before me, and a selfish person who’s not willing to risk his life to save the person,” Mo Fan said.

“What kind of reasoning is that?” Shao Ru snapped.

“In simpler words, if there’s someone better than me around, there’s no way I will volunteer myself like an idiot. If it’s obvious that I’m going to die for sure, I’ll be the first to run!” Mo Fan said.

“But I heard what happened in the Ancient Capital was pretty grim too, yet you still stepped forward, didn’t you?” Shao Ru said.

“Oh, I was going to die either way, I just chose to die in glory,” Mo Fan replied forthrightly.

“…” Shao Ru was lost for words.

Shao Ru had been wearing a cold face all along. She did not seem grateful, even though Mo Fan had saved her life. As a matter of fact, Shao Ru had known who Mo Fan was for a long time. She knew his Innate Talent was ranked fifth, she knew what he had achieved in the World College Tournament, and she also knew he was declared the hero who had saved the Ancient Capital during the calamity. Shao Ru always imagined the man to be righteous and courteous. Every action he did should have had the demeanor of a trustworthy leader. Otherwise, how could he possibly achieve so many remarkable deeds…

She never thought she would meet the legendary man when she was dying from serious injuries. To her surprise, the man was no different than the usual perverted men. He even acted like a hypocrite. She was left speechless most of the time after hearing his words. It was even worse when he was speaking to his friend Zhao Manyan.

As a result, Shao Ru’s impression of the two reputable representatives of the national team had crumbled completely. Her eagerness to duel Mo Fan and her curiosity toward him had dropped by more than half. She initially thought she could defeat a few national representatives to prove herself…

“Someone like you managed to resolve the calamity that even Forbidden Mages struggled against. How lucky were you?” Shao Ru had to ask.

“It’s not luck,” Mo Fan was displeased by Shao Ru’s words. He knew many people were biased against him. He said, “It’s just that people have the urge to bind an achievement to a specific person and purposely make him a hero so everyone else can remember what happened. I just happened to win the World College Tournament, so when Han Ji revealed it to the public, many people just thought I was the person that saved the Ancient Capital. Do you want to know what happened exactly?” Mo Fan replied as they continued on their way.

“Sure,” Shao Ru was indeed interested.

“The Clock Tower Magic Association was planning to kill ten authorities in order to get their hands on Salan. We are speaking of ten Super Mages with superior status who have contributed greatly in the past… They were willing to sacrifice them just because it was their best chance at getting rid of Salan, the Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican! However, the Black Vatican was willing to compromise. They told us the secrets of the Dark Abyss in exchange for Salan’s life. It was a glimpse of hope for the Ancient Capital. In order to make our way to the Dark Abyss, we did something very inhumane. We sacrificed innocent lives to bait the undead just so we could clear a path; those people were not even Mages. They were defenseless against the undead. They sacrificed themselves just to serve as a distraction. Meanwhile, the troop clearing a path to the Dark Abyss only had a plan on how they were going to reach the Dark Abyss, but they never planned how they were going to make it back to the city. My friends and I were in the center of the troop. They did not allow us to use a single spell. They only asked us to try our best and find the ancestor of the undead in the Dark Abyss. As we made our way to the Dark Abyss, people just kept dying around us, including Intermediate, Advanced, and Super Mages. I don’t remember many of their names, but I do know that human lives were the lowliest at that time. They could not even afford to cast an extra glance at their closest comrade who died… I can never be like them. I was more afraid of dying than any of them, but unfortunately, I was the one being protected, just because I was allowed to enter the Dark Abyss…

“So many people died, but not many people are going to remember them. They were all volunteers, even though they didn’t even know one another’s names. They died, I lived, so I ended up becoming the hero. It was like I was the only person contributing… screw that, there’s no way I could do it on my own. I’m only proud that I was able to crush the opponents from all over the world during the World College Tournament. As for the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, I don’t think it was my doing. Besides, I’m not the person who saved the Ancient Capital. They won’t mention that person’s name even now.”

Shao Ru was stunned after hearing Mo Fan’s words. She turned around and looked at Mo Fan. His face had a grim expression, even though he was explaining the details with a calm voice.

“I’m sorry,” Shao Ru said softly.

“You seem to be particularly interested in what happened at the Ancient Capital. Did any of your close ones die there?” Mo Fan asked. He knew Shao Ru was placing a lot of attention on the topic.

“My father was there. He wasn’t a Mage. I kept hearing things about you, and every time I hear your achievements, it reminds me of the letter he left for me…” Shao Ru said.

“What did the letter say?”

“He said that he had made a decision that a man should make. It did not feel significant, but he did not regret it,” Shao Ru said.

“Was he one of the people that was sacrificed as bait?” Mo Fan quickly deduced.

“I went to the Ancient Capital. I wanted to kill the person that came up with the idea of using civilians as bait. I spent a long time searching for the person, but I eventually found out that the man had also volunteered as bait… from that moment on, I knew it wasn’t easy surviving the Calamity of the Ancient Capital,” Shao Ru said.

Mo Fan understood why Shao Ru seemed to be holding a grudge against him, even though he had saved her life.

Her father had died namelessly, but he had ended up with all the glory!

She was apologizing for being biased against him.

“Let’s discuss it some other time. We should focus on the problem at hand for now,” Mo Fan pointed down.

They had gone past the territory of the demon sparrows and reached the spot right above the Bronze-Fang Hillman. The creature had no clue that two pairs of eyes were watching him closely from the branch above it.

“We’ll strike when there are fewer Hillmen around it,” Shao Ru said.

“Mmm, you should be careful, too. Just like Lingling, there’s something that keeps bothering me…” Mo Fan murmured.

“What is it?”

“It seems like the Hillmen aren’t responsible for all the Dandelion Grass that is flying here… so, the question is, who’s helping the Hillmen hunt the humans?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

1305 Great Lightning Explosion

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Bronze-Fang Hillman was surprisingly patient. Mo Fan would strike without hesitation as soon as the creature started to make its move. To his surprise, the Bronze-Fang Hillman remained in its position even after the captain of the troop had moved past it. It seemed to be waiting for more prey to walk into its trap.

“It’s about to attack. I can hear its heartbeat speeding up,” Shao Ru warned Mo Fan.

“Did you hear my excitement rising, then?” Mo Fan smiled, before turning into a Shadow Bird that dissolved into the shadows of the leaves, and reappeared right behind the Bronze-Fang Hillman!

“Lightning Explosion!”

Mo Fan unleashed the Lightning Magic he had accumulated. Wild lightning arcs appeared after a shocking explosion of dark lightning. The overwhelming force disintegrated everything it came into contact with!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman did not expect the attack. Its hide blistered under to the terrifying lightning explosion, revealing a whole chunk of scorched meat. It looked utterly miserable!

“I told you I’d be back to get my revenge!” Mo Fan stared at the Bronze-Fang Hillman coldly.

It was obvious that this Bronze-Fang Hillman was the main leader of the horde of Hillmen. The creature was significantly stronger than the rest of the Bronze-Fang Hillmen, or the creature would not have been able to inflict serious damage on Mo Fan, who had quick reflexes!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman lost its temper as soon as it saw Mo Fan. It let out a furious howl.

It had failed to take out this human after losing so many of its underlings, and now the human was vigorous and lively once again…

It strongly believed this human was responsible for leading the humans straight to its den!

“Tone: Kill!”

Shao Ru came down from above too. She quickly moved her fingers in the air when she saw a few groups of Hillmen approaching. She was moving her fingers as if there was a zither right in front of her. Each note she played would unleash a strong sonic wave, knocking the Hillmen flying, slicing their throats, or even producing a deafening sound in their skulls…

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She acted very quickly. She was even more impressive than Nanyu when it came to using her Sound Element offensively. It was something that Mo Fan did not expect.

“Help me take out the small ones!” Mo Fan told Shao Ru.

“Got it!” Shao Ru’s impression of Mo Fan had improved slightly. She was willing to act in a supporting role.

The glowing tones swept forward in a dazzling display. The Hillmen that showed up did not stand a chance against Shao Ru’s attacks. Mo Fan could finally focus on fighting the Bronze-Fang Hillman after seeing how remarkable her strength was!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman was already charging at Mo Fan. The speed that the creature was moving at with its muscular limbs stirred up a fierce gust of wind, accompanied by an enormous pressure!

Mo Fan clearly felt the might of the Commander-level creature. Its presence alone was enough to make the legs of low-level creatures tremble. It could easily abuse its overwhelming presence to slaughter creatures that were weaker with ease. The aura could even suppress enemies that were as strong as itself!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman’s aura mainly consisted of its natural bloodlust after taking countless lives. Mo Fan would never allow himself to be in a disadvantageous position. He let out a roar to summon the lightning and establish the Lightning Tyrant Domain!

The Lightning Tyrant Domain and the fierce aura of the Bronze-Fang Hillman resulted in two opposing forces clashing into one another. The rapid flickering and smell of ozone in the air that symbolized the wild nature of the Lightning Magic was on equal footing with the aura of bloodlust that the Bronze-Fang Hillman possessed…

“Silent Deadly Ray: Lightning Arm!”

Lightning coils covered Mo Fan’s arms. He crossed his arms before himself as the Bronze-Fang Hillman was about to ram into him. The lightning flickering around him spread forward like a web and covered the area with high-voltage electricity…

The Bronze-Fang Hillman was very agile. It wove through the lightning arcs and managed to dodge those that were posing a greater threat to it. It even evaded Mo Fan’s Silent Deadly Bolt!

The intertwining lightning arcs and the crucial Silent Deadly Bolt failed to inflict any damage on the Bronze-Fang Hillman. It was obvious that the creature was no ordinary Commander-level creature!

BANG!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman kicked out after dodging Mo Fan’s lightning. The force of its kick propelled the flowing air in the opposite direction!

The kick was aiming right at Mo Fan’s waist. The power it contained could easily smash a living person to pieces of bloody flesh flying in the air!

Mo Fan swiftly turned into a shadow and moved a hundred meters away along the shadow of the tree. He could move freely among the shadows nearby…

A place full of shadows was the most ideal place for Mo Fan to fight, as it would make his movements nimble and untraceable!

The Shadow Element turned out to be the Bronze-Fang Hillman’s weakness. It was unable to locate Mo Fan right away. Even if Mo Fan was only using a low-level Fleeing Shadow that was not sending out a clone, the creature still had to wait for Mo Fan to show himself again.

Mo Fan could not afford to stay in the shadows, since he would not be able to use his magic when he was in the shadows. Mo Fan had come to get revenge. He did not come to play hide and seek with the creature!

Mo Fan came out of the shadow and stood there, accumulating energy for a huge attack.

The Bronze-Fang Hillman sprang forward instantly. Its explosive power allowed it to rapidly reach maximum speed, like a steel chariot charging forward. Its swiftness as it swept forward like the wind was just unbelievable!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman was well aware of the weaknesses of human Mages. They needed time to cast their spells, and the stronger the spells, the longer the Channeling. Therefore, as soon as it sensed the dangerous energy gathering, it decisively surged ahead, not giving the human any chance to cast his destructive spells!

Mo Fan chuckled when he saw the Bronze-Fang Hillman approaching rapidly. A dark shadow suddenly loomed over him.

Mo Fan’s figure faded away in the darkness. It felt like he had completely dissolved inside the area. The Bronze-Fang Hillman’s attack missed completely after it arrived in the area. It instantly felt uneasy at the darkness surrounding it!

Hillmen had a strong awareness of danger; the Bronze-Fang Hillman would not be afraid of normal darkness. It decisively turned around and fled the area.

“Giant Shadow Spikes: Sealing Magic Formation!”

The Giant Shadow Spikes were silent, and it was difficult to notice their presence, but if someone took a closer look at the rays of sunlight, they would discover that the rays were shattered into pieces by sharp black shadows. The deadly Giant Shadow Spikes had long formed a formation in the area, waiting for its prey to step into the trap!

The Magic Formation of Giant Shadow Spikes nailed into the Bronze-Fang Hillman to restrict its outstanding movement speed. It was a critical blow!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman had outstanding strength and speed, but its defense was relatively average. Mo Fan had set up the Nyx Regime to impair its movements. He would treat the rare chance he had bought himself preciously to take revenge on the creature that had ambushed him last time!

“Lightning Explosion!”

Mo Fan had plenty of time to prepare his attack. The dark Magic Formation was very effective against the Bronze-Fang Hillman. He needed time to cast a Lightning Spell strong enough to blast the crap out of the Bronze-Fang Hillman.

Since he only had the Rose Flame for the time being, his Fire Magic was nowhere strong enough to handle a battle at this level. Mo Fan had decided to utilize the full potential of his Lightning Element!

Lightning strikes fell densely from the sky and landed on Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s hair was standing upright as he stood in the middle of the wild lightning strikes. His body reflected black light, as if it was forged with lightning. The spectacular sight left Shao Ru astonished…

“Is that the same spell he used to defeat Zorro?” Shao Ru recalled the spectacular fight during the World College Tournament in Venice. She was one of the spectators back then, and just like everyone else, she thought Mo Fan was surely going to lose the fight. To her surprise, Mo Fan hit himself with lightning strikes to overload Zorro’s unbeatable Chaos Element.

Mo Fan had accumulated an unknown level of Lightning Magic. It felt like the energy was able to raze the whole place to the ground at any second…

“Giant Lightning Explosion!” Mo Fan yelled, and fired two Silent Deadly Bolts. The dark lightning rays crossed paths at a certain point. It felt like the air nearby was being sucked into a black hole. A marvelous lightning dragon soared into the sky, setting off a huge explosion that spread outward like a glowing ring!

The sound of the blast came after a brief moment of silence. The fallout lasted for a long time. As the strong gusts of wind swept in all directions, the dust the explosion stirred up blanketed things a great distance away from the center…

Countless Hillmen were knocked flying by the huge explosion. The Bronze-Fang Hillman right in the middle of the explosion had clearly felt Mo Fan’s wrath this time. Not only was its body covered in wounds, half of its body was missing!

The Bronze-Fang Hillman only had a bloody head and the right half of its body left, the bones and organs exposed in the air. The other half of its body was nowhere to be seen.

Shao Ru was intent on taking out the rest of the Hillmen, and turned around. She was utterly shocked after witnessing the destructive power of Mo Fan’s Lightning Spell.

How was it possible for his Lightning Spell to be that strong? Was that lightning only from a Soul-grade Seed?

The vitality of Commander-level creatures was superior. Even a few destructive Advanced Spells executed with Soul-grade Seeds were unlikely to inflict any serious wounds on a Commander-level creature. Even if the Bronze-Fang Hillman did not have an outstanding defense, it still did not make sense that a single Lightning Spell could blast half of its body away…

It seemed like Mo Fan’s Advanced Lightning Spell was only in the first-tier, too, yet the spell had almost killed a Commander-level creature instantly. He was not just a Mage, he was a monster!

“Is that the Blessing of the God’s Seal? Did you apply it to your Lightning Element?” Shao Ru exclaimed as a sudden thought crossed her mind.

Mo Fan did not expect Shao Ru to be so familiar with the details of the World College Tournament. He nodded and said in a serious tone, “I’ll need to catch my breath. Keep an eye on it for me, it’s not dead yet.”

The Bronze-Fang Hillman was still able to move even after losing half of its body. Most Commander-level creatures had the ability to flee for their lives as long as they were still breathing!

Shao Ru immediately cast a Demon Tree Hand to trap the Bronze-Fang Hillman that was trying to run away.

1306 Appropriate to Oneself

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Demon Tree Hand was clearly stronger when it was cast close to the roots of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. One could even use the spell to control the thick roots of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden and fling them around at the Hillmen that were trying to protect the Bronze-Fang Hillman. The roots swiftly wrapped up the Bronze-Fang Hillman before it could flee!

Shao Ru controlled the roots to drag the half-dead Bronze-Fang Hillman toward her. To her surprise, despite the injuries that the creature was suffering, the creature displayed its strong will to live by biting through the roots that were binding it. It did not give up on trying to run away!

It kept screaming to summon its comrades. A huge group of Hillmen quickly showed up. They had come recklessly to save the Bronze-Fang Hillman, even though many of them were dying to the spells from the army of Battlemages.

“These creatures are pretty loyal!” Mo Fan chuckled when he saw the Hillmen panicking, “But the question is, is that enough to save their leader?”

The Hillmen tore and bit at the roots to clear a path to their leader. It finally freed up the Bronze-Fang Hillman a little. However, several Giant Shadow Spikes landed on it as it was planning to run away, nailing it to the spot.

Fresh blood kept pouring out from its wounds. The Bronze-Fang Hillman was almost at its limit. The Shadow Magic was incorporeal. It was amusing to see the Hillmen trying to get rid of the Giant Shadow Spikes and free the Bronze-Fang Hillman.

They might be able to tear and bite the roots, but they could not remove the Giant Shadow Spikes!

“Sky-Flame Funeral: Hellish Flames!”

Mo Fan completed another Advanced Spell. The blazing red Rose Flame appeared and swiftly turned into a huge meteorite sweeping across the sky as it descended.

Even though the Spirit-grade flame was not that strong, Hellish Flames was a second-tier Advanced Spell. Its power was still useful against the Warrior-level Hillmen. They had clustered up as they were trying to save their leader. The wide area of the Hellish Flames would burn them all to ashes!

The remaining body of the Bronze-Fang Hillman suffered greatly in the scorching heat. Its presence began to weaken as it cried out in agony from amid the flames.

The light of the flames reached a long distance away. Some of the Mages that were standing on the lower grounds were shocked when they saw the flames.

“Isnt…isn’t that a Bronze-Fang Hillman? It’s around four meters tall!” Chen Binbin exclaimed.

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“I wonder who managed to kill a Bronze-Fang Hillman of that level!” Wang Dakuo went forward to take a closer look at the Mage.

“Why does he look so familiar?” Hu Duo pointed in the direction of the mage.

Wang Hua was wearing a twisted expression. He was the first to recognize who the man was. He was having a hard time believing that the young man possessed such remarkable strength.

Even his uncle Wang Dakuo, whom he was extremely proud of, was unlikely to take on a Bronze-Fang Hillman by himself, yet that man had done it!

“Yo, it’s you guys,” Mo Fan turned around and saw Wang Hua, Wang Dakuo, and the others. He did not expect to bump into them here. It seemed like they had come with the army.

Mo Fan took a closer look and discovered that a person was missing from the group. He did not need to ask to know that the person had most likely died either when they were waiting for Wang Dakuo in the woods, or after they had come to the valley. He was quite surprised that these people actually had the guts to come into the valley and fight the Hillmen…

“Is that a Bronze-Fang Hillman?” The Commander of the army came forward. He was both shocked and confused when he saw the remains of the four-meter-tall Bronze-Fang Hillman.

The remaining Hillmen had suddenly lost their will to fight. The army was then able to break through the Hillmen’s line of defense with ease, as the Hillmen were starting to flee for their lives. The Commander was initially wondering what had happened. It turned out that someone had killed the Hillmen’s leader!

“The Bronze-Fang Hillman is dead. Brothers, charge!”

“The Bronze-Fang Hillman, let’s kill the rest of them!”

The remaining Hillmen were like a sheet of loose sand after losing their leader. Most importantly, the morale of the human army rose as soon as the news of the Bronze-Fang Hillman’s death spread among the soldiers. The soldiers suddenly became unstoppable. Even the Hunters had placed their doubts behind them and focused on killing the Hillmen!

The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows became more aggressive, too. The battle was suddenly one-sided!

“It seems like we’ve taken out one of the Hillmen’s main leaders!” Shao Ru noted when she saw the Hillmen losing their morale.

Mo Fan taking down the Hillmen’s leader had proven extremely effective. It had prevented more people from dying and secured the victory for the humans. Unfortunately, not many people were able to take out the demon creatures’ leader alone like him. Shao Ru’s thoughts were still filled with the astonishment of witnessing the Giant Lightning Explosion!

“Their leader is dead!”

“The Hillmen’s leader is dead!”

Cheers were heard coming from another direction.

The people immediately looked in the direction of the cheers and saw a man with brown wings floating in the sky while holding the giant head of a Bronze-Fang Hillman.

He tossed the head at the Hillmen. His imposing demeanor even stopped the Hillmen from attacking him!

“It seems like Nie Lengshan was the one who killed the highest leader of the Hillmen. The Hillmen have lost their will to fight!” Shao Ru smiled wryly as she looked into the distance.

The Bronze-Fang Hillman that Mo Fan had killed was slightly inferior, one could easily tell from the length of their fangs. The Hillmen were trembling in fear after learning that their two leaders had fallen!

The human’s hatred of the Hillmen was off the charts. They were not willing to spare the Hillmen even when the creatures were fleeing for their lives. It eventually turned into a great hunt.

The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows hated the Hillmen’s guts too. They kept intercepting the Hillmen to prevent them from running away. The situation eventually turned into a one-sided massacre as more Hillmen fell dead to the ground.

These creatures that enjoyed torturing other living creatures finally felt the fear of death. Unfortunately, the magic that most Mages had was more suitable for killing rather than torturing. These brutal creatures died too quickly!

The Hillmen died rapidly, their remains scattered across the place. The area below the spectacular Giant Purple Sacred Linden was covered in rivers of blood. Its roots were dyed red, too.

“I wonder if what we are doing is a blasphemy to the sacred tree,” Guan Xixi suddenly sighed.

“Why would you think that? Everyone is pleased with the outcome. Didn’t you see? Even the other species residing on the tree are not pleased with the Hillmen. Otherwise, why would they help us in the battle against the Hillmen? We wouldn’t have been able to win the battle so easily without the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows’ help!” Liu Xiaojia said.

“Indeed, these demon sparrows’ hatred toward the Hillmen is stronger than ours. Didn’t you see that they barely left any of the Hillmen alive?” Nie Lengshan glanced into the distance.

Nie Lengshan did not give the command to chase after the Hillmen that fled. First, it was unwise to chase after the Hillmen in the sea of grass. Second, the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows were already pursuing the Hillmen and cleaning up the rest of them. All they needed to do was organize the people, clean up the corpses, and return to the city after a great victory.

The human army did not suffer great casualties since Mo Fan and Nie Lengshan had slain the two leaders of the Hillmen pretty early, putting an end to the battle. It had greatly minimized their losses.

“I suggest we leave as soon as possible. We are still in outer Mount Kunyu, the demon creatures’ territory. The smell of blood is going to bring us more trouble,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, I agree with you. Mr. Tong…” Nie Lengshan nodded.

“Are you kidding me? We’ve just managed to cleanse the outer slopes of Mount Kunyu. How could we leave like this? This Giant Purple Sacred Linden is a miracle. It might make Yantai the richest city along the coastline!” exclaimed Tong Shang, the representative of the government.

“There are a lot of strong species living on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. It’s in our best interest not to provoke them,” Mo Fan refuted him instantly.

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger was clearly not the strongest species on the tree. Mo Fan was feeling uneasy about something else higher up in the tree. Most importantly, who was the one that had killed the previous ruler of the outer Mount Kunyu?

Was it the Hillmen?

The answer was quite obvious. The Hillmen had overwhelming numbers and quite a few Commander-level creatures leading them, yet even their strongest leader was no match for Nie Lengshan. It was unlikely that the Ruler-level creature that was previously ruled over outer Mount Kunyu died to the Hillmen!

Mo Fan immediately shared his worries. However, Tong Shang burst out laughing and said, “Even Ruler-level creatures will eventually die one day. It’s obvious that it reached the end of its life. It died a natural death… It’s too good of an opportunity for us! We can’t afford to miss it!”

The inner slopes of Mount Kunyu had brought unimaginable benefits to Yantai. If they could make the outer slopes of Mount Kunyu part of the safe zone too, it simply meant they would end up with an endless gold mine. It would help Yantai grow into a super city along the shoreline in just a few years. They would no longer be afraid of being invaded by demon creatures!

Tong Shang did not want to waste the hard-earned victory. He wanted to appropriate the miraculous Giant Purple Sacred Linden too!

As for the creatures living on the tree?

What danger could they possibly bring? There were Super Mages in Yantai too! He could easily convince them to lend a hand if he told them about the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. He could gather enough people to eliminate the demon creatures on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden by promising certain benefits in return. They would be able to claim all the resources on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden!

The ruler of the outer Mount Kunyu was dead, meaning that the tree was unclaimed for the time being. It would be a great waste if it only served as a habitat for the demon creatures!

If the Giant Purple Sacred Linden was able to generate energy to strengthen demon creatures, it could also help humans improve their cultivation, allowing Yantai to train more talented Mages.

Either way, Tong Shang had no intention of leaving. He had decided to claim Outer Mount Kunyu, even if it meant shedding the same amount of blood that was flowing like rivers under the tree!

1307 The Hostile Demon Sparrows, Part One

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“So you’re telling me that you’re the one who was spreading the news about the Giant Purple Lindens?” Mo Fan asked the stubborn Tong Shang.

“That’s right, I did spread the news! Of course, I didn’t expect the Hillmen to show up. I was just telling the truth. Everyone knows how valuable these Giant Purple Lindens are. The Hunters should bear the risks themselves,” Tong Shang declared. He did not bother keeping it a secret.

“Screw you!” Mo Fan lifted his leg and kicked Tong Zhuang right in the stomach.

Tong Shang was a government official. He believed he was perfectly safe with Nie Lengshan and a few captains standing around him. To his surprise, Mo Fan was still bold enough to kick him right in the guts!

Tong Shang went flying. His chin slammed heavily onto the firm root of the tree nearby. His mouth was full of blood after he broke one of his incisors!

Wang Dakuo was enraged. He pointed his finger at Mo Fan for some time before uttering, “You! What do you think you’re doing!?”

The other captains immediately surrounded Mo Fan and glared at him. The Mages that were working for the government quickly went over to Tong Shang and helped him up.

Tong Shang wiped the blood on his face with a dark face and a fierce look in his eyes. He shoved the people away and returned to the same spot. He said coldly, “Mo Fan, I will accept the kick, since I’ve neglected my duty for making a wrong decision that led to unnecessary deaths. However, I won’t go easy on you if you insist on stopping me. Even if you came in first in the World College Tournament, even if you are the savior of the Ancient Capital, I will not show any mercy!”

Tong Shang waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to back away.

“As expected of a government official! Your mistake has caused so many deaths, yet you still think you can just get over it with a single ‘sorry’!” Shao Ru was utterly displeased by Tong Shang’s attitude too.

“Humph, who do you think you are to dare point your fingers at Mr. Tong!?” Wang Hua snapped. He turned to Wang Dakuo and said, “Uncle, you are on Mr. Tong’s side, right?”

“Well, I’ll have to discuss it with the Elders of the Magic Association first,” Wang Dakuo deferred.

Wang Dakuo was a representative of Yantai’s Magic Association. He was actually quite interested in lending a hand. As the saying went, “The boat floats high as the tide rises.” If the city was able to grow, it would attract more talents, thus benefiting the Magic Association, too. The Penglai Magic Association was only at the scale of a local Magic Association. Their influence was still too weak.

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Even though Nie Lengshan was a representative of the military, he was only placed in charge of the operation. He did not have a say in the safety and development of the city.

If Tong Shang insisted on proceeding with his plan, it was likely that the person in charge of the military in Yantai would agree too!

The Giant Purple Lindens in the outer Mount Kunyu were already attractive to them, let alone this Giant Purple Sacred Linden that was like a blessing from Heavens. They could easily claim the resources now that the ruler of the outer Mount Kunyu had died!

“This battle is only the beginning. For the sake of Yantai, for the sake of the people and the growth of the city, we shall not be afraid of bleeding or sacrificing ourselves. I believe many people would be proud that they had fought to their death under the Giant Purple Sacred Linden,” Tong Shang stated pompously.

The Captains were obviously following Tong Shang’s lead. They were willing to risk their lives for his proposal.

Nie Lengshan did not say a word. If the authorities decided to make Outer Mount Kunyu a part of the safe zone to claim the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, he would have no choice but to continue fighting.

There was nothing Mo Fan could do to a government official like Tong Shang. Even if he asked Councilman Zhu Meng or Chairman Shao Zheng for help, it was unlikely they could convince the authorities to give up on the potentially bright future of the city with the small risks they were taking. Even though many Hunters had died, they had all come willingly. They were responsible for their own lives. Besides, Tong Shang had not done anything wrong. He had gathered a strong army to eliminate the Hillmen as soon as he was alerted to their existence. He had managed to save the Hunters that were in the danger of being wiped out.

The surviving Hunters were actually grateful for what he had done!

As a matter of fact, some other Hunters had alerted the government about the Bronze-Fang Hillmen before Mo Fan asked Mr. Gao to relay the information on his behalf. Therefore, apart from killing the Bronze-Fang Hillman who was the second leader of the Hillmen, Mo Fan had not contributed much, so he did not really have a say in the decision, either!

The power was still in the hands of the authorities. The only thing that Mo Fan could do was give the man a kick, knowing that he could not do anything to him in return!

“Mo Fan, forget it, it’s their own business,” Zhao Manyan advised him.

“Nie Lengshan, can you do me a favor? Can you take a picture if you happen to see a pattern like this when you’re exploring the tree?” Mo Fan did not forget about the Totem Beast. He showed Nie Lengshan the Seal of the Totem Beast that they had derived.

“Not a problem,” Nie Lengshan gladly promised.

“By the way, please be careful when you’re exploring the tree. It’s not as simple as it looks,” Mo Fan said firmly.

“Do you have any evidence to back up your claim? If you do, I believe the Councilmen will reject the proposal to claim the tree.” Nie Lengshan had a feeling that Mo Fan’s worries were on point.

“I don’t,” Mo Fan said.

Perhaps they might find something interesting if they went higher up the tree, but their strength and condition prevented them from going any further. The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger was already their limit.

Nie Lengshan fell silent.

He believed they should treat Mo Fan’s instincts more seriously. Unfortunately, it was not enough to convince the authorities and officials of Yantai, who seemed to have foreseen a bright future for the city…

——

“Mr. Tong, we are having some difficulties retrieving the corpses of our soldiers,” the Captain with a rough face said.

“We must retrieve them, even if it’s difficult. We shouldn’t abandon them just because their remains are all over the place!” Tong Shang was not an idiot. He knew how to earn people’s respect. If he did not retrieve those who had died in the battle, it would dishearten the people!

“Well, that’s not really the problem…” the Captain was about to explain when they suddenly heard loud noises from the tree above.

The low-level demon sparrows had left their territory. They started to utter piercing screech while flying above the humans who were standing below the Giant Purple Sacred Linden.

“What do these demon sparrows want? Are they trying to drive us away?” Tong Shang let out a hollow laugh, looking at the low-level demon sparrows.

The demon sparrows were the weakest species on the tree. They were a little stronger than ordinary Servant-class creatures. They only had an advantage in numbers. It would be annoying if they attacked in huge groups, but the army would not have much trouble eliminating them.

The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows were the real threat to the army. Their strength was comparable to the Hillmen’s. They resided in the layer above the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger, at an altitude of around four thousand meters. There were lots of Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows at that height. They were like nobles when compared to the low-level demon sparrows!

“Just ignore them as long as they don’t attack us… oh, the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows have returned. I didn’t expect them to have such a strong hatred toward the Hillmen. They actually chased the Hillmen so far away,” Tong Shang murmured.

“Yeah, I bet they killed every Hillman that managed to escape. It did save us lots of time and trouble. Unfortunately, we will be fighting them fairly soon,” Captain Sun said.

“They are quite friendly to humans. It’s good that they have returned. They can keep an eye on these demon sparrows for us. Their cries are so annoying!” Tong Shang said impatiently.

Tong Shang was planning to assign a troop to Nie Lengshan and let him scout the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. It would be great if they could find out all the species that were living on the tree, so they could figure out how much manpower they would need to claim the Giant Purple Sacred Linden.

—

Fresh blood was dripping into the soil under the tree. Some fell onto the shoulder of a Maga in her thirties. A hand suddenly reached over to prevent the blood from falling onto the girl’s shoulder, just so she would not be soaked in blood.

The female Hunter turned around with a smile and said to the caring man, “We might be able to earn a fortune this time. We can live a comfortable life, even if we stop working for a year or two. I’m missing Xiao Dongxia a little. We should really spend more time with her.”

“Mm, you’re right. We’ll rest for a year and focus on improving our cultivation, to see if we can reach the Advanced Level, even if it’s only one of us. We won’t have to risk our lives in the wild just to make a living anymore. I’ve already contacted the people of the Lu Clan. It’s better to be working for a renowned clan since we’re planning to settle down. That way, Xiao Dongxia will have a bright future ahead too. She won’t have to risk her life like us…” Dong Jia said with a smile.

The woman nodded heavily. She was about to speak when she heard a chirp nearby.

She was instantly wary and looked around. She let out a relieved sigh when she discovered that it was the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows who had returned from their hunt.

“It’s them, they have done us a great favor this time,” the female Hunter, Qing Shu said with a smile. “I remember Xiao Dongxia has a pet sparrow too. They really are our mascots.”

Qing Shu saw the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrow descending slowly. She reached her hand out, holding a piece of biscuit to express her friendliness to the demon sparrow.

The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrow was less than two meters away from Qing Shu. It suddenly beat its wings and produced a gust of wind that cut at Qing Shu murderously!

“Look out!” Dong Jia immediately cast a Light Barrier to protect Qing Shu as soon as he sensed the approaching danger.

Qing Shu took a few steps back in fear. Luckily, the Light Barrier had appeared in time, or the gust of wind would have stabbed right through her! Qing Shu was utterly confused. Why was the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrow attacking her, when they had always been friendly toward them? Did she do something that had enraged the demon sparrows?

1308 Soul-Twisting Melody: Broken Inearth

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrow backed away temporarily after its attack failed, waiting for an opportunity to strike again.

“I’m glad you were with me…” Qing Shu let out a relieved sigh. She glanced at her husband, Dong Jia lovingly. She felt a strong sense of security whenever she was with him. He was the reason why someone careless like her did not die like the others, even when she had made a lot of mistakes in the past.

“Hehe…ugh!” Dong Jia wore a smile. However, it immediately stiffened in the next second as he groaned in pain!

Dong Jia slowly lowered his head and saw a long deadly beak poking out of his chest. Fresh blood was surging to his throat and pouring out of his chest at the same time. An enormous pain slowly replaced the strong love towards his wife.

“AHHHH!!!” Qing Shu screamed. Before she could react, the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrow had lifted her husband into the air…

The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrow beat its wings. Its strength was utterly shocking. It flew into the sky while holding Dong Jia with its long beak. When he breathed his final breath, it flung its beak and tossed the man to the ground.

Qing Shu watched her husband landing limply on the ground. She suffered a mental breakdown when she saw her husband’s remains were beyond recognition. She immediately pursued the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrow that had appeared out of nowhere…

However, when she jumped onto the roots, she heard cries of agony coming from all directions. The Mages that were cleaning up the corpses were under attack by the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows. Many corpses with holes in their chests were hurled to the ground mercilessly. There were a lot of casualties, as they had all dropped their guard against the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows!

Qing Shu was no longer able to tell which Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrow was responsible for her husband’s death. She stood still and watched the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows massacring the people in disbelief. She did not expect the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows, whom she thought were their mascots not long ago, would suddenly butcher them as brutally as they had the Hillmen. Both the army and the Hunters suffered great losses. The area below the enormous tree was covered in blood once again as endless cries of agony echoed across the place!

—

A few authorities were still discussing their plan of securing Outer Mount Kunyu under the main trunk when they heard loud cries coming from the distance. They immediately frowned.

“What’s going on?” Captain Su asked with wide eyes.

“We are being ambushed!” a soldier responded through the radio.

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“Is it those lowly demon sparrows? How bold of them! We won’t show any mercy to them!” Tong Shang let out a hollow laugh.

He initially planned to let the demon sparrows live for a little longer. He was considering sparing their lives if they were willing to move away. He did not expect the demon sparrows to take the initiative to attack them instead. It seemed like he would have to kill them all now!

“No, it’s…it’s the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows! The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows are attacking us!” the soldier yelled. It was so loud that everyone could hear him.

Nie Lengshan, Captain Sun, Tong Shang, and Wang Dakuo were stunned. They quickly headed over to a spot with a clearer view. They ran up the roots and immediately saw the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows who had just returned from their hunt diving at the soldiers and Hunters fiercely!

Everyone was busy retrieving the corpses of their fallen comrades and the loot from the demon creatures. The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows were their allies in the battle that had just ended. They had not attacked a single human during the battle, thus everyone assumed they were friendly. They did not place much attention on the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows, even when they were flying closely around them. To their surprise, these Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows were even deadlier than the Hillmen. Countless people had already died to their claws and beaks!

Fresh blood was splattered across the place before the blood that was shed in the previous battle had even dried up. The area under the Giant Purple Sacred Linden was dyed red once again…

“What the heck is going on? Why are the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows attacking us!?”

“Damn it, what are you all waiting for!? Return fire!”

“The second squad is wiped out!”

“Advisor, the seventh squad is dead too.”

“Those low-level demon sparrows are making their moves too. There are too many of them!”

The demon sparrows had filled up the whole space below the tree. These demon sparrows were good at diving at their targets. The Servant-class demon sparrows did not pose much threat to the elite Mages, but the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows’ strength was comparable to the Hillmen’s. They were dealing serious damage to the army whenever they engaged the soldiers at close range.

Just not long ago, the humans were working with the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows to wipe out the brutal Hillmen. Who would have thought that the humans would be massacred by the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows so soon!?

“How is this possible? How is this possible!? Did they find out we’re planning to drive them away from the Giant Purple Sacred Linden?”

“Impossible, there’s no way they could understand us!” Tong Shang had a grim face.

“We have to retreat now!” Nie Lengshan snapped.

The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows would not have been able to deal such serious damage to the army if they were still on their guard. Unfortunately, it was too late for them to react now. Hundreds, or even thousands of Mages had died to the demon sparrows’ merciless attacks.

“But…”

“There’s no other choice. We have to retreat now! The Servant-class demon sparrows are forming a circle further away. They aren’t just trying to stop us from using magic, they are planning to trap us all here under the tree! We have to force our way through before they set up the cage. Otherwise, no one is going to leave this place alive!” Nie Lengshan snapped.

Nie Lengshan had the highest authority during a battle. Even though Tong Shang was unwilling to give up on the opportunity, he had no choice but to agree with Nie Lengshan’s decision.

“These goddamn Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows! I’ll assemble a greater army when we make it back to the city and kill them all!” Tong Shang snapped furiously.

“Everyone, head east, we’re going to fight our way through!” Nie Lengshan’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

The soldiers and Hunters were finally able to recover from the messy situation under the command of the Sound Mage. They quickly moved into formations and barely held their ground against the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows.

As for the Mages that failed to regroup with the army in time, they ended up being butchered by the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows, despite trying their best to make their way to the army. Many people broke into tears watching their comrades falling to the ground. It was meant to be a great victory; why did it end up like this!?

—

The soldiers and Hunters regrouped under Nie Lengshan’s command after suffering great casualties. They returned fire by firing their spells into the air continuously, killing a significant number of Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows. Unfortunately, the situation was just too one-sided. They had to retreat at once!

“Soul-Twisting Melody: Broken Inearth!” Nie Lengshan murmured under his breath. Each tone he produced was like a strong beat of the drum of death. The sound produced directly penetrated the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows’ flesh and snapped their souls in half!

Nie Lengshan rarely used the Soul-Twisting Melody. However, after seeing how everyone just kept dying around him, he angrily played the deadly melody, even though it would damage his soul in return!

The melody of Broken Inearth overwhelmed every single sound in the area. It felt like the dark presence of countless envoys of death were circling in the air. The area of the spell was incredibly huge. The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows started losing their balance as if they were intoxicated as soon as they were caught by the deadly melody. A moment later, their eyes, mouth, and ears started bleeding as if the devils had harvested their souls. They fell from the sky and smashed heavily into the ground…

The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows started pouring down from the sky like rain. The incredible spell had provided some relief for the army. The soldiers and Hunters did not expect Nie Lengshan to possess such astounding power. The Soul-Twisting Melody was as strong as a destructive Super Spell!

“Well done, Nie Lengshan!” Captain Su and Tong Shang exclaimed.

The Soul-Twisting Melody had killed many of the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows. It was utterly satisfying to the humans. It should have taught the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows a great lesson about messing with the humans!

Nie Lengshan took a deep breath after he finished the Soul-Twisting Melody…

The attack was very effective, but it was nowhere enough to overcome the situation. He clenched his teeth and began to murmur under his breath again to cast the same spell!

“Lengshan, don’t…” a female Captain immediately advised against it.

“There’s no other choice. I can’t just watch them die,” Nie Lengshan did not take the advice. He insisted on playing the melody. However, he immediately felt a great blow to his soul. Not many Sound Mages would dare to play the Soul-Twisting Melody consecutively. It was no different than committing suicide!

Suddenly, a long sharp tree branch came down from the sky. It reached the ground before anyone could react…

The tree was so huge that it was shrouding a huge part of the sky. The army had yet to leave the enormous shadow that it was projecting. The branch was like a deadly spear that a deity from the heavens had tossed down. It punched right through Nie Lengshan from above…

“Lengshan!” the female Captain burst into tears and screamed in agony.

The branch was withdrawn rapidly, lifting Nie Lengshan up with it. Everyone immediately looked up, but there was already no sign of Nie Lengshan, apart from a few drops of his blood falling onto their faces…

An overwhelming fear immediately filled their souls!

What just happened!?

What the hell was that!?

The thing had stabbed Nie Lengshan and dragged him right up into the tree within the blink of an eye… It had killed the emotional support of their army so easily!

What exactly killed him!?

The female Captain that was beside Nie Lengshan never shifted her gaze away from the tree…

When they first arrived, the female Captain marveled at the beauty of nature as soon as she set her eyes on the spectacular tree. She never thought she would be able to see something so magical. A huge tree shrouding the sky, tall enough to touch the heavens…

But now, she was trembling in fear when she looked up at the enormous tree once again… her body was spasming violently!

1309 The Guardian of the Moon Moth Phoenix

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The wind started blowing from behind them. It was not as refreshing as Mo Fan assumed to be. He came to a stop and looked behind him.

For some reason, despite the incredible size of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, it was impossible to see the tree after reaching a certain distance away. Mo Fan could no longer see it from his current distance…

“What is it?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“I have picked up the smell of blood on the wind,” Mo Fan said. He was particularly sensitive toward the scent after being a Hunter for a long time, even though the scent was extremely faint after the wind had carried it a long distance away.

“Maybe we aren’t far enough,” Mr. Gao said.

“No, it’s the smell of fresh blood,” Mo Fan said confidently.

The group turned around, but they could not see anything out of place. Zhao Manyan believed Mo Fan was not just trying to scare them. He summoned his golden wings and sprang into the sky.

—

A strong wind swept past Zhao Manyan’s ears as he rose a thousand meters into the sky to take a glance at the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. However, he still failed to see anything. The blue sky was connected to the sea of grass in the distance, yet there was no sign of the enormous tree.

While Zhao Manyan was deep in thought, a strong wind carrying a figure was approaching from another direction.

“Such incredible speed!” Zhao Manyan was stunned.

The figure had just appeared from the distance, yet she had arrived in front of him in the blink of an eye. The person seemed to have noticed Zhao Manyan’s presence too. She took a detour and flew toward Zhao Manyan rapidly!

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Her clothes were flapping wildly in the strong wind. The strong wind swept at Zhao Manyan’s face, which was filled with great astonishment after he took a closer look at the woman in front of him. He stared at the old woman in disbelief.

“Xiao Yan?”

“Grandaunt?” Zhao Manyan almost dropped his jaw to the ground. From what he could remember, the old woman had always been weak and troubled by sickness. She was the kind that would be knocked down by a little breeze, yet she was currently hovering in the sky while her white hair was drifting in the wind. Her back was upright instead of stooping forward as usual. Her eyes had the imperious look of a strong Mage!

“Where’s Chen Yi?” Yan Shi asked.

“She’s down there. Grandaunt, you…you’re a Mage?” Zhao Manyan was still having a hard time believing it.

“I stopped being one many years ago.”

—

Zhao Manyan and Yan Shi landed on the ground. Chen Yi had the same reaction when she saw her grandmother with a completely different appearance and temperament.

Neither of them knew Yan Shi was a Mage, not to mention that she was a Super Mage with unimaginable cultivation!

“Grandma, what’s going on?” Chen Yi asked.

“Where are the others? Why didn’t they leave with you? Where are the army and the Hunters?” Yan Shi asked.

Yan Shi was relieved to see that Chen Yi was perfectly fine. However, she frowned as soon as she realized there were not many people around.

“Tong Shang is planning to claim the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. I believe he’s sending people to scout the tree before requesting more backup to clear the tree,” Mo Fan explained.

Even though he was utterly clueless about the situation, he could easily tell that something bad was happening, just like he and Lingling had predicted.

It did not mean Mo Fan and Lingling had some special abilities to sense danger. There were just too many things that they could not explain. The more unknowns there were, the more dangerous the situation could be. Both Lingling and Mo Fan were experienced Hunters. Drawing on advantages and avoiding disadvantages was already part of their nature!

“Idiots!” Yan Shi snapped furiously when she learned Tong Shang’s decision.

“I’ve just picked up the smell of fresh blood,” Mo Fan said.

“Damn it, that devil that is disguising itself as a sacred existence. Why didn’t they realize it was behind everything all along!?” Yan Shi said anxiously.

“Grandma, what’s going on?” Chen Yi asked.

Mo Fan looked at Yan Shi. He too was interested in the answers. What was the devil that she was referring to? Was it the Hillmen, or something that was living higher up in the tree?

“We learned of the existence of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden thirty years ago. Back then, the White Magic Falcons were invading the outer Magic Association. There was a huge war between them and the horde of demon creatures living on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. The remains and blood of the demon creatures filled up the valley and turned into nutrients for the Yu Grass, resulting in the sea of grass. The army that was stationed at the Bohai Sea was worried that the war would spread to Yantai, so they set up a perimeter with the Magic Associations along the shoreline to prevent the horde on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden and the White Magic Falcons from invading the city…”

“It’s the White Magic Falcons again,” Mo Fan sighed.

“The White Magic Falcons were already a massive horde thirty years ago. We all knew that if the White Magic Falcons ended up securing the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, it would turn into a kingdom of White Magic Falcons in thirty years. When that happened, every city to the north of the Qinling Mountains and the Huai River would cease to exist!” Yan Shi informed them.

Mo Fan gaped. He did not think the horde of White Magic Falcons already posed such a great threat thirty years ago!

“Our leaders believed it was unwise to just defend passively. The fate of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden would directly decide our fate too. As such, we sent a huge army to help the Giant Purple Sacred Linden and stop the invasion of the White Magic Falcons…” Yan Shi said.

“No wonder the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows were helping us to fight the Hillmen; it turns out that we already helped one another thirty years ago,” Chen Yi said.

Yan Shi did not seem to agree with them.

“The sky here is under Dimensional Disorder. It’s stopping me from flying to the Giant Purple Sacred Tree. Bring me to it, I’ll explain the details along the way,” Yan Shi said.

“Sure,” Mo Fan nodded.

Dimensional Disorder was something like a maze of illusions. It was most likely why they could not see the Giant Purple Sacred Linden after reaching a certain distance away.

It was impossible to reach the Giant Purple Sacred Linden from the sky. The only way was through the sea of grass on the ground. It made sense that Yu Shi was struggling to find the right way, even though she had participated in the war thirty years ago!

“How did you find the Totem Seal?” Yan Shi suddenly asked.

“We found the Moon Moth Phoenix, and the feather of another Totem Beast. We managed to derive the Totem Seal from them,” Mo Fan said.

“The Moon Moth Phoenix… she…she’s still alive!?” Yan Shi was stunned. She looked at Mo Fan in disbelief.

Mo Fan was confused about why Yan Shi was surprised all of a sudden. Her face was filled with a strong hint of remorse!

“You know about the Moon Moth Phoenix?” Mo Fan asked.

“Are you sure she’s still alive!?” Yan Shi asked.

“I think so, she is currently inside a huge cocoon hidden in the woods,” Mo Fan briefly explained his encounter with the Moon Moth Phoenix.

Yan Shi was in tears before Mo Fan was done speaking. She kept wiping off the tears on her face with her sleeves.

“I have let her down, it’s all my fault…” Yan Shi was struggling to control her emotions the more she spoke. She was like a completely different person compared to the demeanor she had as a Super Mage before.

“What happened?” Mo Fan was even more confused now!

“I…I…” Yan Shi was stammering a little. It took her a while to spill the beans, I…I was the guardian of the Moon Moth Phoenix!”

Yan Shi slowly opened up her trembling hand as she spoke. She showed a chain bracelet resembling the tail of a moth to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan glanced at it, and was surprised to see the exact same Totem Seal he had discovered on the Moon Moth Phoenix!

Yan Shi was just like Tangyue; she was a descendant of a tribe that was protecting the Totem Beasts!

But why was she shedding tears of remorse? Why was she in such pain that it felt like she would rather end her life with her own hands?

“If you’re the Totem Guardian of the Moon Moth Phoenix, why didn’t you stay with her?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s because… I killed her,” Yan Shi said.

It was only a few words, yet they seemed to have drawn away all the remaining life force that the old woman had.

She was not willing to use a single spell for thirty years. She would rather wait for her death in a lonely shed by the sea in remorse.

“You killed her?” Mo Fan was even more confused.

A Totem Guardian killed a Totem Beast?

The Totem Guardians were the only people left in the world who were still treating the ancient Totem Beasts as their gods. Their ideology had been passed down for thousands of years, but it was unaccepted and even despised by the current society. Even so, judging from Tangyue’s feelings toward the Black Totem Snake, Mo Fan was confident that every Totem Guardian would never hurt the Totem Beasts, since they were willing to sacrifice everything to protect them!

Why did Yan Shi kill the Moon Moth Phoenix!?

Did that mean the Moon Moth Phoenix was in a giant cocoon, not because she had reached the end of her life cycle, but she was actually dying from some serious injuries!?

Which meant… Yu Shishi wasn’t telling him the truth, either?

She wasn’t waiting for the Moon Moth Phoenix to wake up, but only taking care of the Moon Moth Phoenix in her deathbed struggle?

“Why?” Mo Fan could not understand.

The Moon Moth Phoenix had saved Yu Shishi’s life when she was abandoned in the wild. It implied that she was still friendly to humans; why would Yan Shi want to kill her!?

“Because she was helping the White Magic Falcons,” Yan Shi said.

Helping the White Magic Falcons?

Mo Fan was dumbfounded again. He immediately asked, “Weren’t the White Magic Falcons killing the creatures on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden to claim it as their territory? Weren’t they posing a great threat to humans…”

Yan Shi nodded. She was finally able to calm herself. It seemed like she had finally found a reason to stand back up on her feet after learning that the Moon Moth Phoenix was still alive!

“That’s strange, the Moon Moth Phoenix is a Totem Beast; why was she helping the White Magic Falcons? It would only place humans in danger,” Mo Fan had to say.

1310 Devil Tree Spikes

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan, Yan Shi, Shao Ru, and Zhao Manyan continued on their way to the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. Yan Shi explained the details of what happened along the journey.

Thirty years ago, the horde of White Magic Falcons was invading the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. Yan Shi and a bunch of Super Mages realized that the war between the demon creatures was going to endanger Yan Shi and the other cities nearby. The military, government, Magic Association, Hunter Union, and the alliance of renowned clans would not allow the horde of White Magic Falcons to set up a new kingdom. They decided to take the initiative instead, and help the Giant Purple Sacred Linden drive the White Magic Falcons away…

The blood that was shed during the battle filled up the valley. Corpses stacked up like hills as the humans, the White Magic Falcons, and the horde of demon creatures on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden fought to their death.

After an epic battle that lasted for ten days, the alliance between the humans and the demon creatures on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden managed to drive the White Magic Falcons back. However, when the White Magic Falcons was about to suffer a humiliating defeat, the Moon Moth Phoenix showed up together with her army of moths…

The moths stopped the humans from killing the White Magic Falcons. They were crazily attacking the horde on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. They stood on the opposite side of the humans. Once again, the scale started to lean in the opposite direction.

The authorities placed the blame on Yan Shi since she had been telling them that the Totem Beasts were always on their side. However, the Moon Moth Phoenix’s actions greatly infuriated the leaders…

Yan Shi was left with no choice. She used her power as a Totem Guardian to summon the Moon Moth Phoenix…

The Moon Moth Phoenix did not reject her call. Little did she know, she had walked right into a deadly trap that Yan Shi had set up for her!

The Moon Moth Phoenix suffered serious injuries. Everyone saw her body disintegrating into tiny little moths and flying away into the distance. Yan Shi regained the trust of the human leaders, yet she was deeply in remorse ever since. She left the scene and stopped being a Mage after the war.

In the end, the horde of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden won the war. The humans managed to stop the rise of the kingdom of White Magic Falcons too. The White Magic Falcons fled to the north after suffering great losses and struggled on in the Nanling Mountains. They had only recovered in the last few years.

Since the Giant Purple Sacred Linden helped them to drive the White Magic Falcons away, the authorities signed a pact to keep the secret, allowing the Giant Purple Sacred Linden to stay in Outer Mount Kunyu. The humans would not disturb it. The Giant Purple Sacred Linden seemed to have some level of intelligence, too. It restricted the demon creatures in Outer Mount Kunyu from invading human territories, too.

Therefore, for the past thirty years, Yantai had only needed to worry about the sea monsters. There was no danger inland!

“So you’re saying that if Tong Shang insists on proceeding with his plan, the Giant Purple Sacred Linden might kill them all instead?” Mo Fan said.

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The smell of blood was stronger the closer they were to the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. Mo Fan could already imagine what the place would look like. He had complicated feelings.

Yan Shi shook her head and said, “No, we’ve been played like a fiddle all along!”

Mo Fan did not understand what Yan Shi meant by it. Who was playing them like a fiddle?

—

The strong smell of blood lingered in the air. The group split the tall grass apart and saw the blurry yet magnificent figure of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden before them.

Mo Fan and Yan Shi picked up their pace. When they finally reached the trunk was, they halted in their track and glanced ahead with wide eyes!

There were dead bodies covered in blood everywhere!

They all died in different ways, but not a single corpse was intact. Their body parts were scattered on the roots, the slopes, and on the ground. Some were dangling from the branches above, with blood dripping down like a string…

Mo Fan felt like he was suffocating!

He initially thought only some of the people would die after the group was punished by the Giant Purple Sacred Linden for their greed. He never expected to see every soldier, Hunter, and personnel of the government lying dead under the tree. The sight was worse than seeing the Hillmen killing humans brutally.

“They are all… dead?” Mo Fan stood still. His heart was rolling with shock, fear, and anger!

“We were still too late.” Yan Shi wore an expressionless face, yet her eyes were burning with rage.

So many people, including the impressive Nie Lengshan, had died!

Captain Sun was dead, Tong Shang was dead, their men were dead…

Wang Dakuo was dead, Wang Hua’s head was lying beside Chen Binbin’s severed limbs. Even the selfish girl called Hu Duo was dead. She was hanging on a branch with a hollow stomach…

Not a single person was alive!

It was a terrifying, hellish sight. Even Mo Fan, who had seen lots of deaths and gore, felt his soul trembling upon witnessing it!

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and looked at the Giant Purple Sacred Linden covered in blood. For some reason, Mo Fan was having trouble breathing inside the shadow projected by the giant tree. It felt like a devil whose claws stained in blood were looming over him…

“Let’s go!” Yan Shi yelled.

Mo Fan was still in shock. He soon heard Yan Shi yelling again.

“Quick, the devil won’t let anyone that sees its true nature live!” Yan Shi said.

Mo Fan turned around and started running. He could feel the devil’s bloody claw coming down at him. He was about to turn into one of the sacrifices!

A sharp branch sprang down from the tree and stabbed in the direction that Mo Fan was running to, like a spear of judgment from the Heavens. Mo Fan subconsciously held his breath, feeling the strong sense of death approaching!

Mo Fan split into four shadows, flying into different directions like birds.

The branch plunged right into the soil. Even the ground could not endure its strength. Mo Fan shivered in fear when he saw the branch landing less than half a meter away from the shadow bird he had turned into!

If he was not on alert, the branch could have easily nailed him to death. Even the Black Snake Armor stood no chance against it.

“Dark Noble Mantle!”

Mo Fan realized the extreme danger he was in. He quickly activated the mantle to conceal himself in the shadows…

However, the move that Mo Fan was extremely proud of was like an amusing child’s play in front of the devil. Another branch came down from above and tore Mo Fan’s clothes apart as he barely dodged it!

Mo Fan did not dare waste a second further. He quickly gathered his focus and glanced upward at the tree. However, he immediately stood still as if he was struck by lightning in the following second!

The branches started falling again. It was not like Mo Fan was not trying to dodge them, but he seriously had no clue where he should be dodging into. The Devil Tree Spikes densely covered an area over a thousand meters in the air. He could barely see any gaps between them. They were descending faster than a human could think. Even if Mo Fan cast Blink a few times consecutively, he would still be turned into mincemeat!

It was like the Heavens had sentenced him to death. It was utterly meaningless to try and escape it.

The difference in strength was just too huge!

1311 The Palpable Lie

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Rock Dragon Vein!” someone shouted behind Mo Fan. A huge boulder, like the spine of a dragon, swept past above Mo Fan as he found himself in a pinch. Its enormous body covered the space above Mo Fan, blocking the Devil Tree Spikes slamming down on an area with a radius of over a thousand meters!

It was like a rock dragon had flown by and used its body to defend Mo Fan. Mo Fan heard the piercing clanks as the sharp branches struck the rock. However, the Rock Dragon Vein stood firmly. It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing such an imperious spell!

Mo Fan turned around and saw a brilliant brown Star Palace fading away close to Yan Shi. He was struggling to believe the old woman was able to cast such a majestic Earth Spell. It felt like she could control the entire mountain freely!

“Leave at once. Tell Chen Yi that this is something I’ve wanted to do the most for the past thirty years. Don’t grieve for me, my soul will only find its peace if I can take this devil down with me!” Yan Shi’s white hair drifted wildly in her strong aura. Her aged face was displaying a strong determination!

Mo Fan knew he was no match for a monster of this level. He picked up his pace under the protection of the Rock Dragon Vein and hurriedly ran directly away from the enormous tree.

Yan Shi tried her best to protect Mo Fan. The Rock Dragon Vein continued to hover above Mo Fan under her control. The merciless branches of the devil tree were unable to pierce it.

Yan Shi let out a relieved sigh after seeing Mo Fan disappearing into the distance. She lifted her gaze and stared at the tree shrouding the sky and looming over the valley…

“Xiao Dongxia, I’m sorry, I won’t be able to keep my promise,” Yan Shi murmured. Her skinny figure suddenly emitted a brilliant light. Three different destructive auras descended upon the place like a great storm!

The leaves and branches drifted wildly in the wind. The grass in the valley was flattened to the ground. Even some of the Demon Tree Spikes broke into pieces. The deadly spikes that were stained with the blood of the people they had killed flew scattered in the air…

Earth Element, Fire Element, Wind Element!

The presence of the three Elements reached its limit, as if a little thought was enough to cast a tremendous spell. Every action that Yan Shi made was displaying the superb control of a Supreme Mage over their magic. It was no longer bound by the Star Orbits, Star Patterns, Star Constellations, or Star Palaces. The thousand fiery birds coming down from the sky, the cloudy tornado that was whipping like the tail of an enormous serpent, or the mountains that were rising from the ground were all at her fingertips!

Due to the massive size of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, the destructive spells of an Advanced Mage were only like a little breeze to it. However, a Supreme Mage who could cast Super Spells freely would still pose a certain threat to the Giant Purple Sacred Linden!

The branches as wide as roads snapped and fell like twigs. The broken branches flew wildly in the wind…

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One of the main trunks was seriously damaged. It began to collapse to the ground. The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows residing on it fled in panic…

Mo Fan turned around in the distance. His entire view was filled up by different parts of the tree. Some drifted in the air, some were sent flying into the distance, some fell to the ground and swept a huge cloud of dust into the air…Mo Fan was so shocked that it felt like his heart was about to burst out of his body when he sensed the destructive aura from the combination of three different Elements!

Was Jiang Feng’s mother a Forbidden Mage?!

Mo Fan had gone through some epic moments. The Super Spells that the ten authorities had cast during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, and the Golden Sun Knights and the powerful Mages he faced at the Parthenon Temple, were some of the strongest Mages in the world, yet they still felt insignificant compared to Yan Shi’s magic…

Her aura was even stronger than Pang Lai’s!

A piercing cry came from the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. The cry contained a destructive power. As it swept past the valley, it instantly turned the grass into ashes. Mo Fan was running in the valley, but had no choice but to halt in his tracks and summon the Black Snake Armor to defend himself.

Mo Fan’s heart was trembling. What kind of monster was this? What exactly was living on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden?

Mo Fan looked at the cloudy sky and the ground that had cracked apart. He stood still in place as a great terror struck his soul like a wave. He began to tremble in fear.

He had the same feeling when he was facing the Mountain Zombie, but the thing was, he was a lot stronger than before!

It was the scariest and spookiest thing that Mo Fan had ever seen. He kept thinking there was a terrifying devil hiding in the Giant Purple Sacred Linden that was bringing death upon the place… until he realized the devil was none other than the Giant Purple Sacred Linden itself!

The tree had an awe-imposing appearance. Anyone would marvel at the work of nature just by looking at it, assuming it to be the incarnation of a deity from the Heavens, allowing countless species to live around it, to reproduce and grow stronger…

Therefore, when Tong Shang decided to claim the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, Mo Fan subconsciously disagreed with the proposal. Did they really have to corrupt the sacred tree because of their greed?

But now, Mo Fan had witnessed its true form!

The roots that were hidden under the ground and growing above the surface like hills rose into the air. They were all covered in fresh blood. The roots were wriggling around like huge Blood-Drinking Maggots. Some were still devouring the dead bodies on the surface. The Blood-Drinking Maggots started attacking Yan Shi, recklessly as if they were being provoked…

It was only part of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden’s hideous appearance that it had concealed underground. When Yan Shi destroyed another trunk with her spells, it revealed a face between the leaves and the branches!

The face was made up of the five main trunks. It was impossible to see up close that each of the main trunks was actually a part of a face. One could only see the face when standing far away. It was contorted, twisted, and full of hatred, something that would easily terrorize anyone that saw it!

The face of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden reminded Mo Fan of the Night Terror Pseudomorphing Demon he had once encountered in the desert. It was a creature that disguised itself as a plant, waiting for its prey to come close to it. The Giant Purple Sacred Linden was the same, except that it was a few hundred times bigger, better at disguising itself, and was more ambitious and patient!

“Does that mean every battle that happened around it was only a ploy to feed itself?” Mo Fan was struggling to believe it. The shock of learning the Giant Purple Sacred Linden’s true nature was just too overwhelming.

It was a trap…

Mo Fan knew it was a trap all along. The Hunters were killed by the Hillmen because they were greedy. Humans were killed by the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows because they were trying to claim the Giant Purple Sacred Linden out of greed. As a result, every creature that died and the blood they shed had become delicious nutrients for the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. They had turned into its massive figure, leaves that shrouded the sky, and intertwining branches that were like a world on their own…

No wonder it was so huge, no wonder it was so vivid, no wonder it allowed creatures to come and live on it. It was a devil that had perfectly disguised itself as a work of nature. It was using lies, incidents that the world had forgotten, to trick one living thing after another to walk into its trap and become its food!

Mo Fan was so shocked that he felt speechless. He knew it was a trap, he knew there was danger, yet he never thought the real culprit was the seemingly-harmless tree!

He could even imagine that the war between the White Magic Falcons, the creatures on the tree, and the humans was not the first tragedy in history. Similar things must have happened hundreds, or even thousands of years ago, but they either failed to discover its secrets, or died after seeing its true form.

“The Moon Moth Phoenix… it wasn’t opposing the humans. It knew the Giant Purple Sacred Linden was a devil, it was trying to let the White Magic Falcons destroy it!” Mo Fan suddenly realized.

The Totem Beast, the Moon Moth Phoenix, had fallen victim to the tragedy too!

Mo Fan finally understood why Yan Shi showed such deep remorse and such strong hatred toward the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. He understood why she wanted to take down the devil with her…

The anger of being tricked, the pain she suffered after killing the Totem Beast she was supposed to protect with her own hands, the grief over the lives that were lost here; Mo Fan could easily feel all kinds of emotions that Yan Shi was venting from the howls of her magic!

The spells that had inherited Yan Shi’s emotions provoked a series of deafening blasts again. The second main trunk of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden was about to collapse after suffering a serious blow.

Yan Shi’s tiny figure was suddenly devoured by the branches and leaves that were drifting in the air, as if the devil had just swallowed her. Mo Fan was having difficulty seeing her amid the blinding light that her magic was producing…

Yan Shi was very strong, easily the strongest Mage that Mo Fan had met. Her cultivation was stronger than Pang Lai’s. She was very close to being a Forbidden Mage. She might actually be one now if she had not given up on her magic for thirty years. However, the Giant Purple Sacred Linden was an absolute demon, too. It was able to stand firmly even after enduring lots of Super Spells. It was hard to imagine how many powerful Mages it would take just to take it down!

Mo Fan continued to run away. However, the Giant Purple Sacred Linden had no intention of sparing his life.

Countless Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows flew out from the tree and chased after Mo Fan.

Mo Fan also caught a glimpse of a creature with a lizard’s head and a tiger’s body. It was leaping between the falling debris in the air while heading in his direction!

1312 The Moon Moth Phoenix Appears

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Outside the valley, Zhao Manyan was able to locate Mo Fan with the badge of the national team. However, before he could reach the middle of the valley, he suddenly saw Mo Fan rapidly approaching him.

“Lingling, look, I told you Mo Fan is fine. He’s heading toward us. He seems pretty eager to see us. He’s moving pretty fast!” Zhao Manyan said to Lingling with a smile.

“It’s not a smart choice to expend your energy just to travel quicker,” Shao Ru said.

They were still in Outer Mount Kunyu. There was still danger around. Any experienced Hunter would not use their energy just to travel quicker!

“Now that you mention, Mo Fan is indeed moving a little too fast…” Zhao Manyan nodded.

The group continued forward. Ten minutes later, there was a huge movement ahead. It felt like something was sprinting swiftly in the valley, it even split the grass part like a wave.

“It’s Mo Fan!” Zhao Manyan noticed his badge was shining brightly. It meant Mo Fan was very close to him.

The grass split apart. A man panting heavily with a red face showed up in front of them. However, it seemed like Mo Fan had no clue that the group was trying to regroup with him. He maintained his speed and raced past them.

Zhao Manyan saw Mo Fan turning to the side and looking at them in astonishment.

Mo Fan could not slow down in time. He was soon a hundred meters away from the group. The rest of the group exchanged glances with one another after seeing Mo Fan running into the distance.

“What is he doing?”

“Did he forget who we are?”

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Zhao Manyan was utterly confused. However, Shao Ru suddenly frowned. She used her Plant Spell to split apart the sea of grass ahead.

It broadened the view of the group. However, the muscles on their faces stiffened the next second.

A huge bunch of demon creatures was chasing after Mo Fan. There were the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows, the Salamander Tigers, the Demon Insects, the Kingkong Demon Macaques… the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows were in the sky uttering piercing cries. They seemed extremely angry. Their colorful tails were like a huge cloud moving rapidly. The rest of the species were sprinting on the ground and knocking the grass down like a huge wave!

“What the heck are you all standing there for!? Run!” Mo Fan’s voice came from a hundred meters away.

The noise kept getting louder as the ground began to tremble. Zhao Manyan did not dare to waste a second further. He grabbed Chen Yi’s hand and activated his magic boots before sprinting in Mo Fan’s direction.

Shao Ru grabbed Lingling’s hand and controlled the grass to form a long path for them to slide on, staying as far away from the enraged demon creatures as possible.

“What the hell is going on!?” Zhao Manyan yelled after he caught up to Mo Fan.

“You don’t want to know. Let’s leave this place first,” Mo Fan found it hard to explain the situation to them. They had to find a way to escape the demon creatures for now.

“Aren’t the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows friendly?” Chen Yi asked.

“The creatures living on the Giant Purple Sacred Linden are all its slaves. Your grandmother seems to have decided to take the Giant Purple Sacred Linden down with her. It’s not something we can interfere with. Let’s hurry up and leave this place!” Mo Fan said.

As soon as he finished the sentence, an overwhelming aura surged at them from the direction of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows in the sky lost their balance after they were struck by the strong wind produced from the powerful blast.

The wind managed to speed the group up like a push to their back. However, Mo Fan could not help but turn around…

Unfortunately, he could no longer see the Giant Purple Sacred Linden from his current distance. He could vaguely see the brilliance of the magic lighting up the edge of the sky. Yan Shi must have used a high-level spell. Otherwise, there was no way the energy it produced could reach ten kilometers away.

Mo Fan did not want Yan Shi to die. However, judging from the situation, if Yan Shi did not risk her life to fight the Giant Purple Sacred Linden recklessly, it was unlikely she could inflict any damage to the tree. The devil had been around for a long time. Even an entire army would have trouble taking it out!

Mo Fan did not expect to discover such a ridiculous demon during their adventure to Outer Mount Kunyu. It was impossible to tell how many corpses had been buried in this valley over the past thousand years…

“We’re going to run out energy at this rate!” Shao Ru exclaimed.

The demon creatures had outstanding physical attributes, and were able to travel at high speed for a long time. Meanwhile, humans had to expend their energy to attain a speed comparable to the demon creatures. The sea of grass was boundless. It would take a long time before they made it out of the valley. As soon as they ran out of energy, the army of demon creatures would catch up to them!

The Giant Purple Sacred Linden was vicious indeed. It knew the creatures on the tree were unable to pose any threat to a Mage like Yan Shi. Therefore, it had sent them all after Mo Fan instead.

It would be extremely difficult for humans to make it out of the vast valley in time!

“They are too many of them. The terrain is too spacious here. We’re all going to die if we choose to fight here. We only have a chance once we reach the ridges and the mountains,” Mo Fan said.

“Luckily, the others have already left first. Otherwise, it would be worse than this,” Lingling agreed.

“By the way, where are the others? Weren’t they a lot of people that decided to stay behind? There should be an army at the tree. Why would Nie Lengshan and his elite soldiers allow these demon creatures to do as they please?” Shao Ru said.

“They are dead, all of them,” Mo Fan said grimly.

“Mo Fan, please tell me you’re joking! That was an army of elites and talented Hunters. How can they just die like that?” Zhao Manyan protested.

“Nie Lengshan is dead too. If it wasn’t for Chen Yi’s grandmother, I would be dead too… I’ll explain the details once we reached the safety zone. Old Zhao, hurry up and think of a plan,” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan turned around and looked at the demon creatures chasing after them. There were at least more than five thousand high-level demon creatures. How could a defensive Mage like him possibly come up with a plan against them? The only plan was to run!

“Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, your badges are glowing,” Lingling suddenly said.

“Badges?” Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan lowered their head simultaneously and discovered that their badges were indeed glowing.

“The badge of the national team is specially made. It will only behave like that when a teammate is approaching. Why would it be glowing in a place like this? Is it broken?” Zhao Manyan said confusedly.

The badge was like a little pin for decorative purposes. Most members of the national team still wore it since it was easier for them to contact one another when needed.

“Someone is coming toward us!” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

“Huh? Who is it…” Zhao Manyan stared at the badge and saw it was glowing brighter. It indicated the person was approaching them at a shocking pace.

“Such speed!” Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

It was ridiculously quick. Even the Wing Magical Equipment was less than a tenth as fast.

However, they couldn’t think of anyone on the national team that had such a terrifying speed.

The person was initially a few dozen kilometers away, but it felt like the person was about to arrive at any second!

—

—

In a blue sky as clear as a lake, two thin and softly furred wings were beating gently. They seemed to be beating slowly, yet were able to travel a great distance in just a short period of time, leaving the sky, mountains, valleys, and lands behind.

Riding on the elegant creature were two women with alluring figures. One was wearing a headscarf commonly seen in Jiangnan. Her silky black hair reached her shoulders, while the rest was tied up in a bunch and barely reached her curves. The other woman had silver hair, and skin as pale as snow. She looked like a fairy from an icy world, tall yet slender. Her lips, hands, and feet were utterly attractive.

“Shishi, wait, I think they are around here,” Mu Ningxue said suddenly.

Yu Shishi looked down and saw the sea of grass waving, yet she failed to see any trace of humans. She said, “Are you sure? The Moon Moth Phoenix seems to be in a rush…”

The creature with beautiful wings suddenly dove to the ground…

The Moon Moth Phoenix was extremely quick, like a meteorite sweeping across the sky. She had descended extremely close to the ground in the blink of an eye.

The Moon Moth Phoenix shuddered, shaking both Yu Shishi and Mu Ningxue off. She quickly rose into the sky before the two girls could react and disappeared in the direction of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden.

—

Mo Fan and his crew looked up with blank faces.

“Is that… the Totem Beast, the Moon Moth Phoenix?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise.

The Moon Moth Phoenix had a luminescent glow, like the countless stars in the night sky. Her long tail and blue wings were breathtaking. She had a noble presence that urged other creatures to submit before her, an imposing demeanor that no creature would dare to provoke, like an empress with a unique temperament and charm!

“What happened here? The Moon Moth Phoenix suddenly broke out of her cocoon. Mu Ningxue and I were a little worried, so we followed her here,” Yu Shishi said in a panic.

She had been looking after the Moon Moth Phoenix for so many years, yet she had never seen her behave like this. She had forcibly woken up from deep slumber, even though she had yet to recover from her injuries. She then flew here recklessly…

“A powerful demon, one that has been hiding here for more than a thousand years. It almost tricked the humans into killing the Moon Moth Phoenix thirty years ago… luckily you two showed up just in time. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know what to do,” Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh.

“Mo Fan… well, I don’t think the Moon Moth Phoenix is going to help us to deal with the demon creatures,” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan was stunned. He turned around and discovered that the dust that was swept into the air by the demon creatures that were chasing after them was still around, and it was getting closer!

-F**k me!

-How could the Totem Beast do this to us!?-

1313 Blood-Switching Vigorous Tiger

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Follow me!”

Mu Ningxue summoned her six Wind Wings and glided across the sea of grass while leading the way. Her Wind Wings were able to leave a special track behind. As long as the group was following the track, it would speed them up greatly.

“Six wings…” Shao Ru murmured, looking at Mu Ningxue leading the way.

As a matter of fact, Shao Ru was on her way south, planning to visit Fanxue Mountain to challenge the strongest female participant of the World College Tournament, Mu Ningxue! She did not expect to stumble into her here. However, she immediately lost confidence after learning that Mu Ningxue’s Wind Element had already reached the third-tier, even when her primary Element was Ice!

If her Wind Element was already this strong, what about the Ice Element she was born with?

She followed the wind trail with a wry smile. She was wondering if she should change her mind!

“Is Bola sleeping again!?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mmm, he asked me to apologize to you on his behalf,” Mu Ningxue said.

Mo Fan felt his balls hurting. He thought he would have an extremely powerful subordinate whom he could command as he wished after bringing Bola back to his country. To his surprise, apart from the time when he stirred up a great scene at the Beiyu Enforcement Union, the guy had been asleep for twenty-five hours every day. He was not that surprised that the guy had been alive for more than a thousand years!

“But still, it’s a relief that you’ve made it in time. We’re about to run out of energy,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Ningxue’s Wind Magic was outstanding. They were able to gradually distance themselves from the demon creatures that were chasing them.

—

They eventually left the valley. The group went right into the mountains. The Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows were quite a distance away, but it seemed the high-level creatures had no intention of giving up the pursuit!

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If they wanted to stop the chase, they would have to take out the Commander-level creatures. Otherwise, the Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows and the army of Kingkong Demon Macaques would eventually catch up to them.

“Let’s take out the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger!” Mo Fan halted in his tracks and stared at the creature around a thousand meters away.

A distance of a thousand meters was not that far for a Commander-level creature. The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger soon showed up. The bright-colored Four-Lives Salamander Tiger was surprised that the humans had stopped running…

“Heaven Spider Ice Locking Formation!”

Mu Ningxue was extremely familiar with fighting alongside Mo Fan. She promptly set up a trap with her Ice Locks when Mo Fan decided to turn around and fight.

The thick ice chains rapidly wove around the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger and constructed a deadly formation. The chains tied the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger down firmly and wrapped around its limbs, while the icy frost penetrated its blood and bones. The strong formation immediately prevented the creature from moving.

Mu Ningxue was in charge of restraining and binding the targets while Mo Fan was in charge of dealing the killing blows. They were more than happy to keep it that way. The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger soon had a taste of Mo Fan’s Sky Lightning Claw with its damage amplified twelvefold. The creature could not dodge a single Sky Lightning Claw while bound by the Heaven Spider Ice Locking Formation…

However, as expected of a strong Commander-level creature, the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger’s skin was incredibly tough. The Sky Lightning Claw had inflicted serious injuries on the creature, but it was not enough to take its life!

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger broke free of the ice chains. The pieces of ice turned into dark arc-shaped rays, slashing in Mu Ningxue’s direction.

“Plummeting Rays!”

“Plummeting Rays!”

Two voices yelled almost simultaenously. The first person to cast the Advanced Light Spell was Zhao Manyan. He controlled the light to form a strong layer of defense around Mu Ningxue, further strengthened by the wooden clapper. Even the powerful attack of a Commander-level creature was unlikely to break through Zhao Manyan’s Light Spell.

The second Plummeting Rays were from Shao Ru. Her Plummeting Rays were not for defensive purposes. She was firing the light rays at the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger instead!

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger was in an attacking stance, so it was unable to dodge the attack in time. The golden rays further enlarged the wounds that Mo Fan’s lightning had left on the creature. The paralyzing lightning and burning light continued to inflict pain on the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger. It kept uttering deep groans.

“Attack!”

As Mo Fan gave the order, many giant white wolves came out from a Dimensional Gate and pounced at the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger already covered in wounds, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf in the lead.

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger wove through the wolves nimbly. It was indeed very experienced in combat, able to take out the white wolves with ease. It even knocked the Flying Creek Snow Wolf flying with a swing of its paw.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was enraged. He ignored his injuries and came back. He was able to utilize the full potential of his lineage since Mu Ningxue was around. The injuries were nothing to him!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf unleashed the full power of his lineage. His strength immediately skyrocketed. He would continue to grow stronger as the surrounding temperature continued to drop!

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger was a Great Commander-level creature, so its level was superior to the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. However, it carelessly gave the Flying Creek Snow Wolf a chance to bite a huge chunk of its flesh off after the Flying Creek Snow Wolf started using his full strength. Blood kept pouring out from the wound. Its speed had fallen dramatically, too!

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger let out a few cries, and decided to withdraw temporarily. It seemed to be waiting for its reinforcements. Mo Fan immediately used the Nyx Regime to trap the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger and make sure it was stranded.

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger started emitting a beastly glow. Its injured body suddenly grew stronger!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was about to deal a serious blow to the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger, but the creature was able to pin the Flying Creek Snow Wolf down and tear into his neck with its fangs!

Luckily, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had spent most of his existence fighting battles of life and death. He swiped his claws at the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger’s eyes as soon as he was pinned down. The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger realized it would no longer stand a chance if it lost its eyes. It quickly let go of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s neck and backed away…

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf quickly withdrew. Fresh blood kept pouring out of the creature’s neck, not showing any sign of stopping. Mo Fan was utterly dumbfounded by the sight. He quickly took out the medicine that Xinxia had given him and let the Flying Creek Snow Wolf consume it.

“The creature’s aura was clearly weakening just then. How did it become so strong all of a sudden?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“This creature has four lives. It Awakened its second life to recover from the injuries!” Lingling told them.

“Damn it, it almost killed my wolf!” Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh when he saw the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was in a stable condition. Luckily, Xinxia had prepared some extremely valuable medicine for him before he parted ways with her. Otherwise, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf would most likely have died from his injuries, since there was no Healer around!

Either way, the Great Commander-level creature was a formidable opponent. It was difficult for him to defeat the creature with just his Lightning Spells, since Little Flame Belle was not available for the time being!

The giant white wolves lost their calm when they saw the Flying Creek Snow Wolf suffering serious injuries. These loyal creatures pounced at the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger recklessly, just to inflict more wounds on it.

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger had recovered its strength after giving up on its first life. The injuries that were inflicted on it before had disappeared. Mo Fan and his crew had never seen such a rare species.

“I’ll kill you even if you have nine lives!” Mo Fan was infuriated, and eager to avenge his wolf.

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger was well aware of how strong Mo Fan’s lightning was. It tried its best to dodge the Lightning Spells. Mu Ningxue and Shao Ru knew Mo Fan’s twelvefold lightning was their only way to inflict serious damage on the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger. They kept using their Ice and Plant Magic to restrict the movements of the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger.

Shao Ru’s Demon Tree Hand came in very handy. The Demon Tree Hand grabbed the Salamander Tiger’s legs firmly while Mu Ningxue’s ice froze them in place. The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger could only watch two Deadly Silent Rays crossing paths before it, triggering a strong lightning explosion. The thick lightning bolts penetrated its body and destroyed its organs!

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger chose to retreat again. However, the Nyx Regime was still around. The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger was struggling to break free from the maze of darkness. Mo Fan knew there was a great chance that the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger would give up on its current life and be reborn again. He quickly activated the Giant Shadow Spikes…

Countless shadow swords nailed the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger in place just as it broke free from the ice!

“Icebound Coffin!” A huge ice coffin fell from the sky and landed right on the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger.

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger was no longer able to move. The frost had stopped its blood from flowing too, stopping it from switching its blood.

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger had four lives because it could switch its blood as it wished. Its body contained three reserves of blood. Each time it switched its blood, it would mend its wounds and strengthen its flesh, allowing it to regain its fighting capacity. However, if the creature was killed before it could switch its blood, or if its blood stopped flowing, it meant its death was just around the corner!

It did not have extra lives that allowed it to resurrect from the dead, nor did it have the ability to regenerate its body after it was chopped into pieces. It was just faking that it had four lives.

Mu Ningxue immediately changed her approach after hearing Lingling’s explanation of the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger’s secret. She decided to penetrate the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger’s body with her ice and freeze its blood while it was trying to switch it out. That would stop the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger from recovering from its injuries again!

“Let’s go!” Mu Ningxue said to the others.

“Aren’t we going to kill it first?” Shao Ru was confused.

The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger had a strong tracking ability. It could still follow their trail even when they were far away. It would just lead the rest of the demon creatures to them!

“It’s already dead,” Mu Ningxue said.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were familiar with Mu Ningxue’s character. They quickly followed the trail of wind she was leaving without further ado and left the area. The army of Rainbow-Tailed Demon Sparrows and Kingkong Demon Macaques had almost arrived, as they had spent a long time just taking out the Four-Lives Salamander Tiger…

Shao Ru followed the rest of the group doubtfully. She suddenly heard a huge crack from behind them after they had run five hundred meters away. The Icebound Coffin suddenly cracked into pieces. The Four-Lives Salamander Tiger inside it was turned into an ice statue. It shattered into pieces, together with the Icebound Coffin!

1314 Half a Forbidden Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The blue sky of Outer Mount Kunyu was replaced by a different view. Looking into the distance, black voids from elemental explosions scattered between the sky and the ground. The wild chaotic energy lingered in a place messily covered in the debris from the tree.

The space was on the verge of collapsing. It had severely twisted from the overwhelming energy present. The berserk energy had created a chaotic storm, aiming to bring utter destruction upon the place!

The vast sea of grass was currently covered in holes, ravines, and pits. The sacred tree was in ruins, too. It was no longer magnificent and spectacular!

“I…I’ve let many people down, but most importantly, I’ve let you down. If I can still do something for you and the others. I’ll use everything I have to destroy this devil!” Yan Shi’s hair was falling off, a sign that her life had reached its end, that she had used up all the energy of her soul.

The Moon Moth Phoenix beat her wings and caught Yan Shi, who was falling along with the broken branches in the air. The demon tree still had not given up on murdering the old woman, even in her final moments. Roots wriggling like maggots rose into the air, aiming to suck all the life force from the Moon Moth Phoenix.

If it could acquire the energy of a Totem Beast, it could easily recover in ten years. Outer Mount Kunyu was no longer suitable for it. It had decided to move somewhere else. It was difficult for a plant-type demon creature like it to migrate, but anything was better than being annihilated by the humans eventually!

The demon tree knew there was a human who was strong enough to kill a Totem Beast in Yantai a long time ago. It initially thought the human had already passed away, since they normally had a short lifespan. To its surprise, she was still alive, and had managed to learn its secret!

When a human who could be considered a half- Forbidden Mage tried to take something down with her, even a demon tree that had lived for a thousand years or more could not remain unscathed. The Giant Purple Sacred Linden had suffered serious damage. Four of its main trunks had collapsed before it managed to inflict serious injuries on her. However, the Moon Moth Phoenix showed up just as the human was about to die!

—

The Moon Moth Phoenix flew across the cloudy sky and headed toward the exit of the valley.

She had helped Yan Shi destroy the fourth trunk of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, but she too had reached her limit…

The Moon Moth Phoenix used all her strength to escape with Yan Shi. Even though they had a chance to kill the devil by taking out the last trunk, even though they were unwilling to accept the outcome, they had no choice but to admit that they had passed their prime.

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The sky eventually cleared up ahead. The valley filled with blood and corpses faded into the distance. The Moon Moth Phoenix was able to locate Mo Fan and the others by following Yu Shishi’s presence…

—

“It’s the Moon Moth Phoenix!” Lingling pointed into the sky.

Yu Shishi looked up and saw the Moon Moth Phoenix now covered in wounds. She was so feeble that it felt like she was about to collapse in any second.

Mo Fan quickly took out his medicine, but it was no use. The injuries inflicted by the demon tree were incurable. Besides, Yan Shi had reached already the brink of death. Healing her physical injuries would not make any difference.

“Grandma…” Chen Yi’s eyes reddened. Seeing Yan Shi like this reminded Chen Yi of her mother.

Yan Shi and Jiang Feng were truly mother and daughter. They were both willing to sacrifice everything for their beliefs!

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Yan Shi was laying on some soft leaves. Her eyes were staring at the Moon Moth Phoenix as she kept repeating the same words.

The Moon Moth Phoenix suddenly turned into light dots and vanished before the group. A tiny glowing moth beat its wings and landed on Yan Shi’s shoulder.

Yan Shi had reached her limit. She was reliving her past. She had gone from an intern whose legs were trembling when she faced a demon creature to a leader of the magic community. She had earned the respect of people with her legendary achievements, yet she had deemed herself a failure for the last thirty years of her life!

She had failed as a mother. She was unable to protect her daughter Jiang Feng when she was suffering. She was a heartless Totem Guardian. She had abandoned her beliefs and tried to kill the Totem Beast she was supposed to be protecting. Everyone had high hopes that she would become a Forbidden Mage. She also thought becoming a Forbidden Mage was her life goal, but she realized all that would be left of her on the day she became a Forbidden Mage would be an empty shell, as she had let everyone who was close to her down. What was the point of becoming a Forbidden Mage?

Compared to Jiang Feng, who gave her all to protect Chen Yi; to her daughter who was willing to live a lonely life in the North Burning Valley just to keep her promise; to the Moon Moth Phoenix who was willing to believe her and walk into her trap; to the little Moon Moth Phoenix who was still willing to stand on her shoulder even after she had betrayed her, she was absolutely nothing and insignificant. She could not even keep the promise that she had given to Xiao Dongxia…

Yan Shi kept murmuring to herself. She kept repeating the painful words in deep remorse.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan looked at the old woman. They were shocked to learn that she was a half-Forbidden Mage, but they were more touched by the remorse she was showing.

Yan Shi stretched her hands out, as if she could no longer see. She happened to catch Mo Fan’s hand.

Mo Fan thought Yan Shi was looking for Chen Yi. He was helping her to reach Chen Yi’s hand, but Yan Shi grabbed his hand tightly instead.

“Don’t…don’t let the people close to you down, don’t let the people close to you…”

Mo Fan thought Yan Shi would keep repeating the same words, but the temperature of her body dropped before she could repeat it a second time!

The little moth that the Moon Moth Phoenix had turned into was now wrapped inside a white cocoon. She had reached the end of her current cycle, together with Yan Shi’s death…

Yu Shishi nervously held the moth in her hands. The Moon Moth Phoenix was incredibly weak, no different than an ordinary blue moth. Its glow slowly moved toward Yu Shishi and disappeared into her body, as if it had established a special connection with her.

“You are the next Totem Guardian of the Moon Moth Phoenix,” Lingling told the helpless Yu Shishi.

“Will she remember everything that happened?” Yu Shishi asked.

Yu Shishi could sense that the Moon Moth Phoenix was constantly in pain. She was trying to escape from reality by falling into a deep slumber.

“Perhaps not. She has reached the end of her current life cycle, together with the old woman,” Lingling said.

“Mm, I’ll take good care of her,” Yu Shishi nodded.

Yu Shishi had not known the Moon Moth Phoenix had such a past. She was extremely moved when she realized that the Moon Moth Phoenix was willing to save her and grant her a new life, even after she was brutally betrayed by the humans.

Were the Totem Beasts really just some dangerous existence that would turn into man-eating devils, as some people had claimed?

1315 Second Contracted Beas

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

After returning to Yantai, they soon alerted the government, the Magic Association, and the military about the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. What happened next was no longer Mo Fan and the others’ concern.

So many people had died, including a retired half-Forbidden Mage. It was clearly a serious blow to Yantai.

However, Outer Mount Kunyu was able to regain its peace after the Giant Purple Sacred Linden fled. Otherwise, the whole city might suddenly end up as food to the devil, far worse than what had happened!

Lingling found some clues about the Totem Beast they were looking for among Yan Shi’s possessions. However, they mostly consisted of ancient words and glyphs. Lingling would have to ask experts in the relevant field to learn the meaning behind them.

Since the Moon Moth Phoenix had gone into a new life cycle, they were unable to learn more clues about the identity of the Totem Beast from the Seal they had deduced. The clues that Lingling deduced from Yan Shi’s belongings were leading them to Gansu instead of Yan Shi, the same place mentioned in Jiang Shaojun’s journal… the same place where Jiang Shaojun went missing. They could not help but wonder what exactly had happened to him while he was searching for the Totem Beast!

There was another Totem Beast in Yantai whose identity remained a mystery. They could not tell if it was the owner of the mysterious feather or a different creature. Either way, they learned from Yan Shi’s belongings that the Totem Beast once lived at the top of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, and it seemed to be stronger than both the Moon Moth Phoenix and the demon tree!

——

“Why does it feel like nothing good ever happens when I’m with you? It’s like we just keep stirring up hornets’ nests!” Zhao Manyan grumbled as they waited in the hall of Penglai International Airport.

“Do you think I’m a fan of that? Well, at least we know the Giant Purple Sacred Linden and the Moon Moth Phoenix are somehow related to the Totem Beast we were looking for. We just have to wait until Lingling finds some new clues,” Mo Fan replied.

“I thought you said we were going to make a fortune?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Aren’t these enough?” Mo Fan swiped his hand to reveal the storage space of his Space Element.

One of the benefits of having the Space Element was that Mo Fan did not need to carry a backpack around. He could create a storage space for himself, and the higher his cultivation, the higher the capacity of the storage. Mo Fan’s storage space was the size of a small truck. It was like a super mobile suitcase!

“Demon crests? Holy cow, where did you get all these demon crests?” Zhao Manyan stared at the space filled with a special kind of leaf in disbelief.

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“I conveniently picked them up!” Mo Fan replied smugly.

Another benefit of having the Space Element was how he could retrieve things with ease. He was able to split his will into dozens of hands to retrieve any loot as he wished!

“My Heavens, how bold were you, having the guts to retrieve them under such dire circumstances?!” Zhao Manyan was utterly impressed by Mo Fan’s courage. He was overwhelmed with fear merely hearing about the Giant Purple Sacred Linden.

“Humans die in pursuit of wealth, just like birds die in pursuit of food.” Mo Fan grieved for the people that died, but it did not stop him from taking the loot. Besides, Yan Shi’s destructive spells were going to destroy them all if he had not taken them.

“What a pity. If only more people listened to us and left when they had the chance. It wouldn’t have ended like that...”

——

After returning to the Magic City, Mo Fan sold the demon crests to another company.

The Japanese corporation was also responsible for what had happened, as they were the ones that convinced the Hunters to search for the demon crests. Little did they know, the seemingly-harmless Giant Purple Lindens were nothing but traps. Those that were lucky were able to leave with some demon crests and make a fortune, while the others were buried under the trees and turned into nutrients for the Giant Purple Lindens.

Even though the price offered by the other companies were slightly lower, Mo Fan felt more comfortable selling the demon crests to them.

“These are the two Soul-grade Fire Seeds I’ve chosen for Little Flame Belle. Neither had a Domain, and their price is reasonable too,” Lingling said.

“We’ll give the rest of the money to Yantai,” Mo Fan said.

It was quite a huge sum, but it was ill-gotten wealth, too. Mo Fan was not greedy enough to claim the rest of the money after he had bought the Soul-grade Seeds he needed. He handed the money to Mr. Gao in Yantai. The man would distribute the money to the families whose loved ones had died in the incident…

Mo Fan was no philanthropist. He had taken the risk of being turned into a beehive by the Giant Purple Sacred Linden to acquire the demon crests. It was already generous that he was willing to donate the rest of the money.

——

The days without Little Flame Belle were starting to make Mo Fan a little sulky, especially when he was up against those son of b****es Hillmen.

Mo Fan stood no chance against the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, yet he did not have a chance to beat the crap out of the Hillmen after they kept stepping on his toes. The grudge in his heart was still bothering him.

Mo Fan’s Lightning Element was powerful, yet he was unable to use it as freely as the Fire Element. He would always let Little Flame Belle Possess him whenever he was fighting against a huge number of demon creatures, so he could turn into a fire-using battlemage. It was a lot more effective than using the inflexible Lightning Element.

“Little Flame Belle, your supplements are here. I’ve even kept the Soul Essence of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus for you as a guarantee, to make sure that you can reach the Adolescent Phase with ease!” Mo Fan woke Little Flame Belle up. The little creature had been asleep for a long time.

Two Soul-grade Fire Seeds and a high-quality Soul Essence of a Commander-level creature. It was overkill to use them all at once. Normal Summoners would not be willing to waste these resources just to help their Contracted Beast reach the Adolescent Phase.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle was having difficulty controlling her temperature. She was like a little child with a high fever. She seemed a little down-spirited. She was hoping that she could evolve as soon as possible, so she could become stronger!

“Without surprise, Little Flame Belle will be as strong as her mother once she reaches the Adolescent Phase,” Lingling said.

Lingling was clearly referring to the Fiery Sorceress, Jiang Feng. He still remembered how she had followed them all the way from the North Burning Valley to the outskirts of the Magic City, and forced her way through the entrance of a renowned clan. She almost turned the entire Lehuo Town into an ocean of flames!

Her domineering control over the Fire Magic was not something an Advanced Mage could possibly obtain!

Mo Fan was very excited when he heard Little Flame Belle was soon going to be as strong as Jiang Feng. Wouldn’t that make him unbeatable against Advanced Mages whenever Little Flame Belle was Possessing him?

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch; Little Flame Belle is still very young. She has reached the Adolescent Phase earlier than she’s supposed to. It’s like pulling up seedlings to help them grow, so you have to be extremely cautious when she’s evolving!” Lingling reminded him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll try my best!”

The connection between the Summoner and the Contracted Beast played an important role, since their souls were bound together. The will of a Summoner would become the will of his Contract Beast. Besides, Little Flame Belle was also sharing the same heart with Xinxia!. There was no way Mo Fan would be careless about the process!

Failing the process might harm Little Flame Belle, and would most likely harm Xinxia too…

“By the way, I learned from an old book that Contract Summoning is able to form a second contract, which means you can have a second Contracted Beast!” Lingling told him abruptly.

1316 The Overbearing Renowned Clans

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The headquarters of the Donghai Magic Association was in Gulangyu, close to the mouth of Min River. Not only was the lovely island in the south of China a famous attraction, it was also an authoritative sacred land of magic along the east coast. Since the Donghai Magic Association was directly affiliated with the Dubai Magician Tower representing the Magic Association of Asia, even the Dongfang Oriental Tower, which was considered the biggest Magic Association in the country, had no right to intervene with the Donghai Magic Association’s business.

Even though the Donghai Magic Association was affiliated with the Dubai Magician Tower, it was still a local Magic Association. The cities along the east coast from the south of Hangzhou to the South China Sea were all under the jurisdiction of the Donghai Magic Association.

Currently, Gulangyu was temporarily off-limits to tourists. However, there were still many tourists and locals admiring the beauty of the island from the cruise ships around it. They could still see the flickering light of magic spells on the island, despite the barrier that was in place. The strong energy kept stirring up waves sweeping back at the ships, too.

“What’s happening there?” someone asked.

“The tournament between the renowned clans. It’s an annual event on Gulangyu. Clans like the Dongfang Clan, the Bai Clan, the Nanrong Clan, the Dali Clan, and the Lin Clan have all come,” a Mage who had come to enjoy the bustling scene answered.

“Are they competing?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Every renowned clan is very resourceful. They are using it as a way to decide the ownership of the resources available! For example, Yinyao Mountain in Nanling, the Languang Mines, the Huoguo Jungle, the Mijing Shoal… every single one of them is like a money-printing machine. It’s more profitable for the government to distribute these natural resources to the renowned clans with their respective expertise. The government will then receive some dividends from the profits,” the Mage explained.

“I see. Judging from the brilliance of the spells, most of the spells are in the Advanced Level. That’s pretty intense. It’s a pity that we can’t really watch the duels from here. I wonder who’s taking part in the duels.”

“The Nanrong Clan is pretty strong this year. I believe they will end up claiming most of the resources. Haven’t you heard? Someone found a huge Fragmented Crystal Vein to the south of Feiniao City. Lots of renowned clans are eager to get their hands on it…”

“Feiniao City? Wasn’t the Fanxue Mountain established in Feiniao City? The place you mentioned sounds very close to Fanxue Mountain. Doesn’t that mean the Fragmented Crystal Vein would belong to Fanxue Mountain instead?”

“Nonsense, the Fanxue Mountain is only a small clan. Even if the vein is within their territory, do you think a small lamb is able to compete with these savage wolves?”

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“You’re right, they are no match for the renowned clans.”

—

—

Inside Gulangyu, a huge crowd surrounded the dueling ground. A blue Water Curtain had encapsulated the entire stage. Gulangyu was not huge, nor was it sturdy. A single Super Spell could easily destroy half of the island if there was no protection.

Luckily, the headquarters of the Donghai Magic Association was established on the island a long time ago. Lots of magic formations and magic barriers were helping the island retain its spectacular appearance.

A strong blue tide knocked a fierce beast flying. The creature slammed into a man wearing bright-colored clothes. It put out the flames engulfing the man and knocked him flying too. He slammed into the edge of the barrier and fell feebly to the ground.

“The winner is Li Ling of the Dali Clan!”

Following the declaration of the judge, the handsome man who was controlling the tide on the stage smiled. He looked down at the man lying on the ground disdainfully and said, “I thought you were able to endure a few more hits, but you’re just as useless as the others!”

“You… don’t you dare say a word further!” Mu Linsheng snapped furiously.

The members of Fanxue Mountain hurried over and helped Tian Tingbu, who was severely injured, down from the stage.

“If it wasn’t for the fact that a part of the Fragmented Crystal Vein happens to be in your territory, do you really think a small clan like you has the right to be sitting here with the rest of the renowned clans? Some people only learn where they belong after they are taught a lesson,” Li Ling answered with a calm face.

He acted as if defeating a minor character like Tian Tingbu, who was representing Fanxue Mountain, was nothing to be proud of.

“I’ll do it…” Mu Ningxue’s gaze sharpened. She had decided to take part in the duel.

“No, that won’t do, you are the head of our Fanxue Mountain. It’s inappropriate for you to take part in the duel. Besides, if you involve yourself against someone like Li Ling, it will only indicate that our Fanxue Mountain is inferior to them,” Mu Linsheng denied her.

The renowned clans would only send out the younger generations to participate in the duels. The older generations mainly consisted of Advanced Mages, and even Super Mages. If they went all out in the duels, the island would most likely sink. Besides, the Magic Association also strictly forbade Mages above the age of thirty from dueling one another!

Tian Tingbu had joined the Fanxue Mountain not long after it was established. He was considered strong for his age, but he was still no match for Li Ling. He could not even endure a single spell from Li Ling.

“Ningxue, I know you are eager to expand your Fanxue Mountain, but I don’t think you are going to get anywhere by recruiting these weaklings. Most of the renowned clans spent many years to reach their current level. I doubt your Fanxue Mountain will receive an official invitation from the Donghai Magic Association to join the annual meeting anytime soon.” Nanrong Ni was seated only two seats away from Mu Ningxue.

In the past, Nanrong Ni had always disguised herself as a gentle, compassionate girl. She would rarely utter harsh words to hurt others. As a matter of fact, Nanrong Ni would normally behave herself, too. She was able to win over the support of more people from her clan after the World College Tournament. However, Nanrong Ni felt like there was no need for her to wear the mask whenever she was around Mu Ningxue.

She sounded like she was giving a friend a piece of advice, yet the disdain and mockery in her words were blatant.

Mu Ningxue did not expect to stumble into Nanrong Ni at the annual meeting between the renowned clans that the Donghai Magic Association had organized. She felt more uncomfortable when she saw how every renowned clan was mocking and treating Fanxue Mountain… They all knew Mu Ningxue had established her own clan to oppose the Mu Clan. In other words, she was basically leading her members to their grave!

“Mu Ningxue, since the representatives of your clan have lost, you no longer have a say in the ownership of the Fragmented Crystal Vein,” the person in charge of the meeting was Lin Ze, an elder of the Donghai Magic Association.

An Elder of a Magic Association was similar to the role of a Councilman. Their actual status was dependent on the level of the Magic Association.

An Elder of the Oriental Pearl Tower was equivalent to a Councilman of the country.

An Elder of the Donghai Magic Association was slightly inferior to a Councilman of the country, but in some cases, their power was higher than a Councilman when it came to managing Mages and renowned clans.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with the outcome of the duels. According to the rules of our country’s Magic Association regarding the ownership of a newly discovered vein, 70% of it belongs to the government and the Magic Association, 10% belongs to the organization that discovered it, and 20% belongs to the owner of the land where the vein was discovered. Even if we’ve lost the duel, it doesn’t make any sense that we are not getting anything from it!” Mu Linsheng snapped.

“First of all, we are the Donghai Magic Association; the rules of the Oriental Pearl Tower are none of our concern. We only obey the rules of the Donghai Magic Association. Second, your people aren’t the ones that discovered the Fragmented Crystal Vein. Third, you are not a renowned clan, so you are not worthy to be competing for its ownership. You are only lucky that part of the vein is within your territory, so you were invited here to discuss the matter. Unfortunately, you have lost in the fair duel…” Lin Ze replied expressionlessly.

The representatives of the other renowned clans nodded in agreement. As long as Fanxue Mountain was forced to give up on the crystal vein, each of the renowned clans would have a share in it. Imagine the money that the crystal vein would give them every year!

“Fair? You dare say it’s fair when you are challenging a newly established clan to a duel!?” Mu Linsheng said furiously.

“You can only blame yourself for being incompetent!” Li Ling grinned.

“Humph, it’s obvious that you are colluding with one another to pick on us so you could claim the ownership of the ore vein!” Mu Linsheng pointed at the detestable representatives of the renowned clans.

Nanrong Ni giggled upon seeing Mu Linsheng’s reaction. She whispered to Mu Ningxue, “Where did you even find this man who only knows how to throw a tantrum to manage your clan? If he was smart, he would have told you that there’s no chance you can compete with us.”

Mu Ningxue looked at Nanrong Ni. She had an urge to vomit right on the b**ch’s face.

Nanrong Ni was pleased to see Mu Ningxue keeping quiet.

Mu Tingying had gotten the most attention during the World College Tournament. As a result, both Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying were left to rot in a corner.

Luckily, Mu Ningxue had chosen a dead-end by establishing her own clan. Nanrong Ni was quite worried that she would end up joining a formidable renowned clan. That way, she would have had a hard time picking on Mu Ningxue.

“I’ll take him on,” a woman said calmly as Fanxue Mountain was being picked on.

It was not like the Fanxue Mountain had no competent representatives. They could easily send out Liu Ru to beat the crap out of every young Mage that the other renowned clans had. However, Liu Ru was not allowed to take part in the duels because of her awkward identity!

Mu Ningxue thought it was Liu Ru that spoke, as she could no longer just stand and watch these people picking on the Fanxue Mountain. To Mu Ningxue’s surprise, it was Shao Yu who spoke up.

Shao Yu was Shao Ru’s actual name. She had gone to Fanxue Mountain after leaving Yantai with one goal in mind: challenging Mu Ningxue to a duel!

Mu Ningxue was clearly one of the strongest Maga among the younger generations in their country. There were lots of people who were interested in challenging her to a duel, but she ended up rejecting all of them. However, Mu Ningxue did not reject Shao Yu’s challenge, but asked her to wait until the end of the annual meeting between the renowned clans.

Shao Yu had nothing else to do for the time being, hence she had followed Mu Ningxue to Gulangyu to attend the meeting instead.

Even Shao Yu was disgusted by how the renowned clans were picking on Fanxue Mountain!

“But you’re not one of us,” Mu Ningxue said quietly.

“Just act like I am for now. If I lose against you later, I wouldn’t mind joining Fanxue Mountain,” Shao Yu replied.

1317 The Shameless Dali Clan

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Who is this woman? Her looks definitely suit my taste!” Li Ling grinned when he saw Shao Yu walking onto the stage.

“They are huge!” One of Li Ling’s men stared at Shao Yu covetously.

Shao Yu’s waist and shoulders were very slim, yet her bust was unusually large. They could even tell when watching her from behind. Li Ling was an infamous playboy. Shao Yu earned his attention as soon as he set his eyes on her.

It turned out that the duel would not be as boring as he first thought. Fanxue Mountain did have a lot of gorgeous women!

“So you are the one that wants to fight me?” Li Ling went forward and observed Shao Yu closely. He was even more aroused after seeing how good-looking the woman was up close.

Her slightly cold temperament, as if no man was allowed to stand close to her, was particularly tempting. He enjoyed turning cold women like her into a slutty b****es…

Shao Yu stood on the stage and glanced at the representatives of the renowned clans.

Not many people had come to the meeting. Each renowned clan had only sent their representatives and a few young Mages. The rest were the people of the Donghai Magic Association. They were all looking at Shao Yu curiously with faint grins.

“Fanxue Mountain only has a bunch of scrubs. Why would a young and beautiful girl like you stay at a little clan that is about to meet its end? Come to our Dali Clan, I can give you everything you want; the respect of people, your family will feel proud of you. There are endless resources and luxurious magic Equipment…” Li Ling was recruiting Shao Yu before the fight even started.

“How do you know I’m qualified to join your Dali Clan before I even cast a single spell?” Shao Yu asked in amusement.

“It doesn’t matter, all it matters is that I’m strong enough. I can recruit whoever I want, and no one will say a single word. Our Dali Clan has everything you can hope for,” Li Ling declared confidently.

“I don’t know how the Dali Clan is like, but after seeing what an idiot you are, I can imagine that the Dali Clan won’t be far from its destruction,” Shao Yu replied a calm voice.

However, the calmer she sounded, the angrier Li Ling felt, as if his chest was about to explode!

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“How dare you underestimate me! Didn’t you see how they have all lost to me in a single round!?” Li Ling snapped.

“I did, which is why I’m convinced that you are a self-righteous retard!” Shao Yu retorted.

Li Ling’s expression sank. He started to look vicious.

He was initially thinking of going easy on the woman, since she was his type. However, it turned out he would have to make her feel pain so she would take back her pride!

“Soaring Wild Wave!” Li Ling summoned a fierce tide to let loose the rage in his heart.

His Spirit-grade Seed amplified the Rolling Wave. It was an Intermediate Spell, yet its aura was greater than some Advanced Spells!

“Sound Disturbance!”

Shao Yu reacted swiftly. She plucked the air like there was an invisible string!

The sound of the string did not spread. The crowd only heard a soft buzz, yet it was far from a harmonious chord in Li Ling’s brain. It felt like his Spiritual World was going to collapse under the piercing screech!

The rolling waves began to dissipate after Li Ling lost control over them. He was unable to focus on controlling the Water Star Pattern. He covered his ears, yet the noise kept echoing in his skull. He had no clue how to stop it.

“Swallow Blossom!”

Shao Yu immediately cast an Advanced Plant Spell. It was a dark red flower resembling a morning glory instead of the usual Demon Tree Hand. The huge flower grabbed Li Ling’s leg and swallowed him before he could react!

Li Ling was drowned in a corrosive liquid inside the walls of the flower. The man was in incredible pain, yet was unable to scream for help. It felt like he had fallen into a deep swamp from which there was no escape!

“Stop it!” Li Hongmei from the Dali Clan yelled furiously in a panic.

Shao Yu did not stop her attack. She was purposely controlling the damage output of the plant to teach the arrogant man a lesson.

However, Li Hongmei was infuriated. She turned into a black shadow and suddenly showed up behind Shao Yu.

Shao Yu immediately cast a Rampart to protect herself after sensing the danger from behind. To everyone’s surprise, Li Ling’s mother, Li Hongmei, furiously used her magic to summon a stone pillar, ramming it into Shao Yu’s back.

The stone pillar was incredibly powerful. It broke Shao Yu’s Rampart into pieces and knocked her flying. She spat out some blood after taking the hit.

“How shameless!” Mu Ningxue was infuriated.

These people of a renowned clan were showing no respect to the people of Fanxue Mountain. It was meant to be a duel, so the participants were clearly not in any danger, yet Li Hongmei still intervened and even hurt Shao Yu!

Mu Ningxue could no longer stand the detestable woman. The temperature began to drop rapidly as countless ice crystals in the shape of cones appeared around her. She fired the ice spikes at Li Hongmei with a wave!

“Mu Ningxue, are you trying to break the rules!?” Elder Lin Ze snapped. His Psychic Impact surged forward like a wave, nullifying Mu Ningxue’s magic.

Mu Ningxue did not force it. She stared at Lin Ze coldly.

“Very well, you didn’t stop Li Hongmei when she hurt my friend, but you’re stopping me when I’m trying to get even with her!” Mu Ningxue realized that the meeting had been purposely held just to pick on Fanxue Mountain!

“Li Hongmei was just worried about her son, yet you are breaking the rules since you’re trying to provoke her!” Lin Ze said.

Li Hongmei had freed Li Ling from the Swallow Blossom. Li Ling was drenched wet in the sticky stuff. His hair and clothes were ragged. He looked completely different from his previous imposing appearance. Some among the crowd even chuckled after seeing his miserable state.

Li Ling trembled in anger. He never thought he would be defeated by a woman so easily!

“Are you alright? Mum will teach her a lesson for you!” Li Hongmei said.

Shao Yu was only minorly injured. She rose to her feet and wiped off the blood by her lips. She giggled and said, “So you’re only a kid who still needs his mother’s protection. No wonder you’re acting so tough even when you’re so useless.”

Li Ling was enraged as soon as he heard the words!

He knocked Li Hongmei’s hand away and snapped, “Again, I was only taken by surprise by your Sound Element!”

“You will be no match for me even after a thousand attempts!” Shao Yu retorted disdainfully.

1318 The Battle on Gulangyu

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Shao Yu glanced at Li Hongmei coldly and said, “I, Shao Yu, will be sure to remember your dirty move today. Dali Clan… humph, just a bunch of lackeys!”

The people of the Dali Clan were displeased by the words. They disliked it when people humiliated them by calling them lackeys. After all, it was true that they had always worked for the Mu Clan and followed their orders blindly!

Shao Yu returned to Mu Ningxue’s side. She shook her head when Mu Ningxue asked if she was hurt. “I finally understand why you have chosen to leave the clan and establish your own. It’s a disgrace to your talents to leave the world in the hands of these pricks!”

“I’m sorry that you’re involved in this,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m actually looking forward to joining you now!” Shao Yu declared.

Mu Ningxue asked someone to bring Shao Yu to rest. It was meaningless for them to stay any further at the meeting that was held to insult them.

The rest of the people burst out laughing when Mu Ningxue and her people left.

When the people of Fanxue Mountain left, Nanrong Xi of the Nanrong Clan was the first to speak. He looked at Lin Ze who was in charge of the meeting and said, “Elder, you’ve been a great help to us.”

“A little clan like them doesn’t really bother me. I believe they won’t be attending the rest of the meeting for the next few days,” Lin Ze said.

“We are all reputable renowned clans. Isn’t it a little inappropriate to be picking on a clan that was only established recently?” Bai Liu’an of the Bai Clan said.

“What’s the problem? Is the Bai Clan trying to speak on their behalf?”

“Forget it, it’s only… sigh, forget it,” Bai Liu’an shook his head helplessly.

Li Ling glared at Shao Yu as she left. She clenched her fists in frustration and said, “Damn it, that won’t be the end of it!”

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——

The group from Fanxue Mountain was staying on Gulangyu. There were a few more meetings still, but Mu Ningxue was wondering if there was any reason for them to stay after what happened today.

But to leave just like this? To surrender their rights so easily?

Mu Ningxue was not willing to give up. If they left, they would be doing exactly what those pricks wanted!

Mu Ningxue followed the path along the edge of the island. She looked at the blossoming flowers swaying in the wind, and at the waves rolling on the ocean. She was able to calm her thoughts…

It was indeed a terrible meeting. Fanxue Mountain was facing a lot of difficulties in almost every area. She could easily tell that the people of the Mu Clan were pulling the strings behind the scenes. That being said, Gulangyu was indeed a unique place, suitable for a retreat from the turmoil of the world. Separated by the sea, the modernity and impetuosity of the skyscrapers on the other side served as a great contrast to the lovely island covered in flowers, as if spring was the only season here. It did not feel too lonely, yet it could set one free from the worries of living in the city.

Mu Ningxue sat down on a boulder by the sea. Her hair was drifting in the wind. She recalled the events that took place on the bridge in Venice. The things that happened today were nothing compared to the despair she felt back then. She was prepared to face all the challenges the day she decided to take this path.

“You’re enjoying yourself, aren’t you? You are now a strong Advanced Mage, and you even managed to establish your own clan, but don’t you forget that you were just a nobody ten years ago!” an eerie voice said.

Mu Ningxue did not even need to turn around to know who the person was. The man was seriously like a ghost haunting her.

Mu Ningxue ignored him. If he tried to start a fight here, she would make him pay too!

“Hand over the pieces of the Ice Crystal Bow. Otherwise, you won’t be able to leave here in one piece!” Pan Xi snapped, his face contorted in anger. He was wearing a black robe, the outfit of a Disciplinary Mage.

How could Pan Xi not be angry? He was an authority of the Mu Clan, responsible for choosing suitable vessels to inherit the Ice Crystal Bow. If someone managed to gain full control of the Ice Crystal Bow, the whole Mu Clan would have to submit to him! The country would not dare to provoke them, and they would even gain a certain standing in the world.

Pan Xi never thought the Mu Ningxue he had brought up would take away the thing he treated as his precious. She had even established her own clan!

Would the Mu Clan let Mu Ningxue get away with the Ice Crystal Bow, when she was surely going to use it against them in return?

Pan Xi had been demoted by the head of the clan to a Disciplinary Mage, unless he was able to retrieve the Ice Crystal Bow!

“If you dare draw half a Star, I will make you vanish from this world,” Mu Ningxue replied coldly.

She had reached the third-tier of the Advanced Level. She would no longer overdraw her energy if she used the Ice Crystal Bow. She could utilize the full strength of the Ice Crystal Bow without damaging her soul.

Mu Ningxue would not mind sending Pan Xi to his death if he dared to make a move, especially if he was trying to harm the people around her.

Pan Xi had turned from the person pulling the strings behind the scene to a maniac who would do anything just to take the Ice Crystal Bow back!

“You should know that I’m well prepared if I dare to show up. You won’t be able to use the Ice Crystal Bow this time!” Pan Xi chuckled.

“Mu Ningxue, why can’t you just give up and live peacefully like a cripple? There are many people who aren’t Mages, yet you have to act like you can’t live if you aren’t a Mage!” Nanrong Xi slowly walked up to them. She could feel a strong hatred burning inside her every time she looked at Mu Ningxue!

She did not believe that they were unable to take Mu Ningxue out this time!

“Pan Xi, I’m willing to help, as long as the mine of Exquisite Brown Rocks on Beihuang Mountain…” Nanrong Xi said with a smile.

“Help me to get the pieces of the Ice Crystal Bow back, and anything is possible!”

“I’ve long found her an eyesore too. The Mu Clan has granted her a noble status and as many resources as she needed, yet she turned her back on the Mu Clan after earning a spot on the national team. Even a dog is more grateful than her,” Li Hongmei walked out from the trees behind. Her face was filled with disgust and disdain toward Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue looked at them. She was not too surprised to find herself in the current situation.

She calmly stood up. Her Ice Magic began to spread from the boulder she was standing on. The water droplets splashing in the air turned into ice crystals and fell onto the sea that had frozen just a second ago, producing crisp clinks…

The ice continued to spread. The breaker on the sand, the waves pushing the ones in front, and the tide in the distance all came to a stop. The pebbles on the path, the blossoming flowers, and the trees were soon covered in a layer of frost!

“Don’t underestimate her! It’s her Innate Talent, Nirvana Ice Domain! Her Ice Magic will grow stronger the longer the fight goes on. We should end it as quickly as possible,” Nanrong Ni, who was extremely familiar with Mu Ningxue’s capabilities, reminded the others.

Mu Ningxue’s Domain was domineering. Nanrong Xi, Li Hongmei, and Pan Xi were all Advanced Mages with Domains, yet their Domains were greatly suppressed by Mu Ningxue’s Nirvana Ice Domain!

Pan Xi was enraged when he saw Mu Ningxue’s dominating aura. Mu Ningxue’s strength had improved significantly. She was a lot stronger than she was at Venice, and the only way she could improve so much in such a short time was through the pieces of Ice Crystal Bow! Each piece that she awakened would grant her the energy provided by the souls of those who used to bear the crystals. Pan Xi had prepared so many bearers and brutally turned them into cripples just so he could reap the rewards one day, yet it ended up benefiting Mu Ningxue instead!

“Humph, an ungrateful b**ch like her thinks she stands a chance because of her Innate Talent?” Li Hongmei was not treating Mu Ningxue seriously.

A representative of the national team?

Each of them was an authority of the renowned clan they were representing. There was no way a fresh graduate could pose any threat to them!

Li Hongmei even thought it was excessive for Pan Xi to ask her and Nanrong Xi for help!

“It would be easier to take her down if Dongfang Zhu was here. Too bad the guy wasn’t willing to help.”

“Enough talk, let’s take her down!”

“By the way, it’s against the rules to be fighting here. The Donghai Magic Association won’t turn a blind eye to it. Li Hongmei, are you sure you’ve made the necessary arrangements?”

“Don’t worry, Lin Ze is one of us!”

The group of three immediately unleashed their Domains to resist Mu Ningxue’s Nirvana Ice Domain.

Li Hongmei had the Flying Rock Domain. As she gathered her focus, the reefs scattered alongside the beach began to tremble. With a grunt from her, the reefs broke into pieces and floated in the air.

The rocks were able to take any form under Li Hongmei’s control. Her control of the Earth Element had obviously surpassed the restrictions of the Star Orbits, Star Patterns, and Star Constellations. She was able to control the Earth Magic as she pleased!

Only the most experienced Advanced Mages could achieve such an astounding feat, and there was an important prerequisite to achieving it: the person must have a Domain!

A Domain was able to condense its Element. Only then will a Mage be able to show their control of the Element!

The rocks combined into a giant serpent in the air. It flung its tail forward with great might. Its power had already surpassed that of the Advanced Spell, Eyes of the Rock Demon!

“You’ve only briefly touched upon the ultimate of magic. It’s time to show you what real magic is!” Li Hongmei said disdainfully. The rock serpent’s tail contained such force that the whole beach was quivering.

BANG!

With a huge blast, a great fissure split the frozen ground and continued to spread across the frozen sea. The layers of ice began to crack rapidly…

Mu Ningxue rode a gust of wind and dodged the rock serpent’s tail. She landed steadily on an ice floe, like an agile crane!

1319 Posthaste Backup, Ardent Star!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Skyreach Sea Pillar!”

An expert of the Water Magic had combined the Rolling Wave and Water Curtain into a water pillar rising into the sky!

The pillar had a diameter of over a hundred meters. It looked like a skyscraper built on the surface of the ocean!

The weight of the pillar could easily break someone’s bones, not to mention the damage inflicted on the target when it fell from a great height. The force would completely remove the target’s control over its body. The impact when crashing to the surface of the sea would most likely shatter every single bone inside a person’s body!

Nanrong Xi had cast his Water Spell at the perfect time. Mu Ningxue happened to be right in the middle of the pillar. There was no way she could move fifty meters away within less than a second to dodge the attack.

The only way Mu Ningxue could dodge it was with Blink. Even the Wind Element was unable to make her fast enough to dodge the attack!

“Brother is impressive as usual,” Nanrong Ni stood beside Nanrong Xi with a pleased look.

“Don’t worry, I will not go easy on the woman who makes you feel uncomfortable!” Nanrong Xi grinned. It felt like he did not have much trouble casting the powerful spell.

The water surged wildly at a shocking pace. Mu Ningxue initially tried to escape from the area of the spell with her Wind Wings, but she was forced to wrap the wings around her to protect herself…

She was devoured by the pillar and knocked high up into the air. She could feel the strong impact even under the protection of her six wings.

The pillar rose and fell rapidly. Mu Ningxue’s head was spinning a little as she had failed to set up her defense as she was falling.

Meanwhile, Pan Xi, who hated Mu Ningxue to his guts, cast a Curse Spell when he saw Mu Ningxue briefly losing consciousness as she was falling, leaving a Cursed Execution Ground on the spot where Mu Ningxue was falling into!

The black Cursed Execution Ground materialized on the surface of the sea. The brutal devil serving as the executioner would tear Mu Ningxue’s soul into pieces as soon as she landed in it. Pan Xi could only vent his hatred by making Mu Ningxue suffer greatly!

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Mu Ningxue regained her consciousness not long after she started falling. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the Cursed Execution Ground brimming with evil and hatred below her. She bit her lips to get rid of the dizziness.

The pain helped Mu Ningxue concentrate. She spread her remaining two wings, already drenched, and hurled the water droplets on them in all directions…

Mu Ningxue decelerated as her wings fully extended. She came to a stop less than ten meters above the Cursed Execution Ground. Mu Ningxue could imagine the torture she would experience if she was caught in the Cursed Execution Ground!

Mu Ningxue swayed while flying in the air. She was trying hard to speed herself up.

If she was unable to travel more than fifty meters in a second, the terrifying sea pillar would inflict serious damage on her again!

Mu Ningxue tried to use the Ice Crystal Bow, but there seemed to be something restraining her power. The Ice Crystal Bow remained inactive no matter how hard she was summoning it. It was obvious that Pan Xi had found a way to suppress the Ice Crystal Bow.

As a matter of fact, Mu Ningxue already knew Pan Xi must have found a way to handle the Ice Crystal Bow once he dared to show up. Otherwise, he would only be asking for his death!

The sea pillar sprang up once again. It barely caught Mu Ningxue at the edge. She could vaguely feel the force that was able to crush her bones. Luckily, she had managed to dodge it for now!

There was an indication every time the sea pillar was about to rise. The water within a diameter of a hundred meters would vibrate visibly. It looked like a giant white circle when looking down from a certain height. However, its speed and area were insane. Most of the time, it was too late for anyone to react and dodge the attack even if they noticed the white circle beforehand.

Most importantly, Li Hongmei kept setting up barricades with rocks to limit the space Mu Ningxue had. It was applying great pressure to her!

“Where do you think you are running to!?” Li Hongmei grinned. She formed a thick wall with rock, blocking the direction Mu Ningxue was moving to.

A giant white circle had appeared on the surface of the ocean below Mu Ningxue. She was planning to make her way to the shore, but unfortunately, Li Hongmei was able to read her mind.

It was too late to dodge in a different direction now. Mu Ningxue could already see the pillar rising with a deafening noise.

“Instant Freeze!”

Mu Ningxue’s eyes reflected a brilliant Star Constellation, unleashing a formidable freezing energy at the giant water pillar rising below her.

It was extremely difficult to freeze a rapid-moving target, but it was still possible if the freezing energy was strong enough!

The pillar froze from the center. The ice spread rapidly across it. The hundred-meter wide pillar suddenly stopped when it was three meters away from Mu Ningxue. Its crystalline surface was glittering under the sunlight. The whole pillar had turned into a jagged-edged ice structure within a few seconds…

Mu Ningxue let out a relieved sigh. It was her first time trying to freeze a strong tide in the limited time she had. After all, she was not under any protection. If she failed, or if she doubted herself, she would end up with all her bones broken.

“She…she froze it!” Nanrong Xi gaped at the ice pillar in astonishment.

How incredible was the control of an Ice Mage who could freeze such a powerful Water Spell in such a short time?

“It’s nothing to worry about. Let’s take her out together!” Pan Xi swore viciously.

Mu Ningxue’s cultivation had improved too quickly. She was nowhere strong enough to face Pan Xi in Venice. The difference between their strength was too huge, even though they were both Advanced Mages.

But now, she was still able to handle herself when being attacked by the three of them. How long had it been?

At this rate, Pan Xi would never be able to redeem himself. She might even leave him far behind!

“I must take her out at all costs!” Similarly, Nanrong Ni was feeling uneasy after seeing Mu Ningxue’s outstanding capabilities.

If she faced Mu Ningxue on her own, she would not last even five rounds. The distance between their strength was making Nanrong Ni feel uncomfortable. She was even starting to feel scared!

How was Mu Ningxue able to improve so quickly?

“Absolute Petrify!” Pan Xi’s eyes emitted a strange light. A petrifying energy spread subtly into the surroundings…

Petrifying was similar to freezing, but the former was a lot deadlier. When the blood and organs of a person were petrified, the person was more or less dead!

Absolute Petrify was one of Pan Xi’s trump cards. He had no intention of sparing Mu Ningxue’s life!

Mu Ningxue was busy handling Li Hongmei and Nanrong Xi. She was unaware of the unusual spell that Pan Xi had cast. When she finally sensed the danger approaching, her legs had already stiffened and become exceedingly heavy.

She lowered her head and was shocked to see that her legs below her knees had hardened like rocks. It felt like half a boulder was tied to her. She began to fall, her wings unable to support the weight of her petrified body.

Mu Ningxue used her Ice Magic to stop the Petrify from spreading any further, yet it also meant she could no longer dodge the next wave of attacks.

“Humph, it took us quite an effort!” Li Hongmei said.

They were the experts in their respective clans. They thought they could easily take Mu Ningxue out with just a few moves, yet the fight was longer than they had expected. It had even resulted in a great uproar among the people on the nearby cruises…

“I’ll do it!” Nanrong Ni was only willing to make her move after Mu Ningxue was completely restrained.

She had prepared lots of deadly seaweed under the water while the others were busy fighting Mu Ningxue. The seaweed appeared above the surface and sprang at Mu Ningxue with a deadly poison.

The seaweeds bound Mu Ningxue’s hands firmly, with one containing a deadly poison reaching for Mu Ningxue’s throat. Nanrong Xi was quite shocked after seeing it.

Was his sister trying to take Mu Ningxue’s life? They would surely be held responsible for her death if she actually did so!

—

The people on the cruise ships burst into an uproar. The ordinary civilians stood far away, as they were afraid of the blasts of the spells. The Mages stood along the shore while watching the spectacular battle on Gulangyu. It had obviously surpassed the level of normal duels. It would surely attract the attention of the local Magic Association and the government.

“Isn’t…isn’t that Mu Ningxue, a representative of the national team!?”

“No way, are they trying to murder her? Who are those people!?”

“It looks like a few renowned clans have teamed up against her. These renowned clans are insane. Not only are they fighting in broad daylight, they dare to attack a representative of the national team who earned glory for the country!”

As the people were discussing, a streak of fire flashed across the gap between two steel-glass buildings like a blazing meteorite. It flew past the cruise ships and went right at the island!

The flames had dyed the sky above the streets blazing red. The people were only able to see the thing clearly as it approached Gulangyu. It was a meteorite with a diameter of over two hundred meters. It felt like it was going to sink the tiny island if it collided with it. People started screaming upon seeing it!

“I think I saw someone in the flames!”

“How is that possible? A meteorite of that size…”

“I’m being serious, there’s someone standing on top of the meteorite, someone engulfed in flames!”

1320 Nine Palace: Fiery Serpent Dragons

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The meteorite descended from the sky and exploded between Pan Xi, Li Hongmei, and Nanrong Xi. The flames sprang forward and instantly knocked them flying.

A scorching heat swept at them. The three immediately activated their defensive Equipment and could barely resist the overwhelming heat!

A human figure gradually appeared from the flames. He was engulfed in two different kinds of flames. One was bright red like the sky when the sun was setting, the other was dark brown with a deadly aura!

Previously, the aura of the Calamity Fire was a little weaker than the Ardent Sunset. However, once Little Flame Belle successfully reached the Adolescent Phase, she was able to grant Mo Fan a stronger and purer Calamity Fire that originated from the North Burning Valley!

The brilliance of the two flames set off Mo Fan’s burning appearance. The others felt like suffocating when faced with the overwhelming aura of the flames!

“You piece of shit, I’ll do you a favor so you can be reincarnated if you’re so tired of living already!” Mo Fan was utterly enraged. The flames kept spreading into his surroundings like waves.

He glared at the foursome of Pan Xi, Nanrong Xi, Li Hongmei, and Nanrong Ni. They subconsciously took a few steps back after seeing his burning eyes.

“What the heck is this thing!?” Li Hongmei exclaimed, looking at Mo Fan. She was trying her best to remain calm.

“It’s Mo Fan! Don’t worry, he is no match for you all,” Nanrong Ni naturally recognized Mo Fan right away.

Mo Fan was able to abuse the special ability to engulf himself in flames after being possessed by his Elemental Creature to come in first in the World College Tournament. However, he still stood no chance against powerful Mages of renowned clans like Pan Xi, Nanrong Xi, and Li Hongmei. They were easily some of the strongest Mages of the Advanced Level!

“Humph, I was wondering who it was. It’s the kid who was able to make a name for himself with mere luck!” Li Hongmei did not treat Mo Fan too seriously.

In terms of cultivation, the three of them were clearly a lot stronger than a kid who was only in his twenties. Being the strongest in the World College Tournament did not make Mo Fan unbeatable. He was only deemed the strongest among the younger generation, but they were mentors of the younger generations!

“I’ll take him on!” Li Hongmei said, signaling the other two to take care of Mu Ningxue as quickly as possible.

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A huge crowd had gathered along the shore. Even though they had colluded with Lin Ze of the Donghai Magic Association to take care of the press, it was impossible to hide the truth if they kept attracting such attention!

Li Hongmei had summoned a few boulders and set them up like stairs. As she walked up the stairs, she gathered more rocks to form a circle around Mo Fan. The rocks gradually shrank inward.

The rocks were spinning quicker as their momentum increased. They kept following Mo Fan regardless of the direction he was moving in. It greatly restricted his movements.

“Stop trying to seek the limelight, your luck won’t always be good throughout your life,” Li Hongmei mocked sharply.

“An old woman like you shouldn’t be seeking publicity here either! Your saggy tits have already reached the fat on your stomach. It’s disgusting to look at!” Mo Fan cursed her back.

Li Hongmei felt herself burning after hearing the words. How was she even close to being an old woman? Many people kept saying that she looked like she was only in her thirties. She almost lost her mind, especially when she heard the second half of the retort!

“I’m going to rip your mouth off!” Li Hongmei screeched at him.

Li Hongmei was about to apply pressure to Mo Fan with her presence, but the space before her trembled suddenly. She reacted as soon as she saw the silver flash of Space Magic. It was Blink, the Advanced Spell of the Space Element!

She quickly backed away. As she thought, the flaming Mo Fan suddenly showed up at the spot she was in previously. His burning aura even blossomed like a fiery lotus and swept forward in the air.

“Such a petty little trick…” Li Hongmei sneered.

Suddenly, a huge burning fist appeared right in front of Li Hongmei. The fist continued to grow, reaching a size that Li Hongmei had no chance of dodging it. It felt like a giant burning mountain was flying at her!

Li Hongmei quickly stacked up layers of rocks in front of her to defend her, yet the fist shattered them to pieces.

The burning fist rammed through every layer of defense that Li Hongmei set up. She finally realized that the young man was not as simple as they had all imagined!

Li Hongmei spat out a mouthful of blood as she was devoured by the flames. She went flying for quite a distance before slamming into the ocean.

Even the water of the ocean was unable to put out Mo Fan’s flames easily. The flames continued to burn Li Hongmei after she fell into the water, leaving her in intolerable pain!

—

Meanwhile, Nanrong Xi and Pan Xi had used their strongest moves to put an end to the battle as soon as possible. Mu Ningxue would have lost if it wasn’t for her outstanding strength.

Mo Fan glared at Pan Xi after he was done with Li Hongmei!

Mo Fan failed to show up when Mu Ningxue needed him the most at Venice, allowing Pan Xi to get his way. It almost destroyed the relationship that he had spent so much effort building with Mu Ningxue. Therefore, there was no way Mo Fan would let Pan Xi go this time!

“Piss off if you don’t want to die!” Mo Fan cast Blink and showed up in front of Nanrong Xi.

“Who do you even think you are? How dare you talk to me like that!?” Nanrong Xi had the typical demeanor of a member of royalty. His whole person was brimming with pride.

“You better remember who I am from today onward. I’m the one who’s going to beat you into a cripple!” Mo Fan unleashed his flames. The two Fire Domains spread across the place. The water below him started to boil from the heat he was emitting!

Nanrong Xi also had a Domain. Water was his Primary Element.

Since Water was effective against Fire, Nanrong Xi did not think Mo Fan was much of a threat. However, he was panicking as soon as Mo Fan unleashed his Domains.

The water was evaporating!

Mo Fan’s formidable Fire Magic had asserted dominance over the area. As a result, Nanrong Ni’s Water Spells were significantly weakened!

“Nine Palace: Fiery Serpent Dragons!”

The Fire Magic had reached its threshold. Mo Fan threw his fist into the air. Nine enormous serpent-like dragons sprang into the sky out of the boiling water. The moment they soared into the sky in the pattern of the Nine Palace, the island trembled from their power, while the ocean trembled. Both the aura and the strength of the spell were utterly shocking!

Chapter 1321 One More Word and You“ll Lose Your Leg

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Nanrong Xi was extremely shocked. He had used all his energy to form a Water Barrier and cast a Water Curtain, yet they were completely useless against Mo Fan’s Nine Palace: Fiery Serpent Dragons!

Circles of flames spread across the ocean. Their brilliance dyed the whole sky blazing red. The people that were watching the battle were terrified. The whole place was soon in chaos!

Each of the dragons was gigantic! The area of each dragon had exceeded the expectations of most Mages. Nanrong Xi was right in the middle of the fiery dragons, and suffered greatly from the scorching heat. He had no choice but to withdraw from the battle!

He barely made it to Gulangyu under the protection of a few layers of Water Curtains. The beach was already being devoured by the flames, and they had almost spread to the woods. Nanrong Xi stood behind the flames, his face covered in soot. He glared at his sister Nanrong Ni and said, “Did you really tell us not to worry about him? Look at how strong his Fire Element is!”

Nanrong Ni could not believe it, either. Mo Fan was not able to cast such a terrifying Fire Spell, even when he was Possessed by Little Flame Belle during the World College Tournament. The formidable aura of the fiery dragons was incredibly close to that of a Super Spell. There was no way they stood a chance against it!

Nanrong Xi looked at the people of the other renowned clans that had gathered along the shore on Gulangyu. He already knew that what they were doing had crossed the line; it was unlikely they could get it done now that Mo Fan had shown up!

“Pan Xi, you are on your own!” Nanrong Xi decisively chose to withdraw from the fight. He did not want to damage the Nanrong Clan’s reputation just for helping Pan Xi. They would end up as a laughing stock if the others knew they had failed to take out a single representative of the national team!

Pan Xi clenched his teeth. He was moments away from defeating Mu Ningxue and claiming the Ice Crystal Bow, yet Mo Fan just had to show up out of nowhere!

Most importantly, Mo Fan’s strength had improved at an insane rate too! Even Advanced Mages like Li Hongmei and Nanrong Xi had lost to him!

The strong heat waves were already surging for Pan Xi. He had failed to take Mu Ningxue out in time. The injuries that he had inflicted on her were not serious enough.

Pan Xi was filled with great remorse. He used to be able to kill Mu Ningxue easily, but he had failed to defeat her after so long. He doubted he would stand a chance against her if he was fighting her alone!

If he failed now, he would never be able to retrieve the Ice Crystal Bow!

Pan Xi was unwilling to admit defeat. Whenever he recalled how the woman had taken everything from him, a strong anger would rise inside him. His eyes were brimming with murderous intent as he glared at Mi Ningxue!

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If he was unable to take it back, he would not allow the woman to have it either! He would destroy her once and for all!

Mu Ningxue was already injured from the effects of the Curse Element. The torturous spell was preventing her from concentrating. Her movements were a lot slower.

Pan Xi went up to Mu Ningxue and directly triggered the Sinister Spider Trap. The deadly red silks of the spiderweb tangled Mu Ningxue up and started drawing the energy of her soul away!

Mo Fan recognized the Sinister Spider Trap right away. He felt like his chest was about to erupt like a volcano when he saw Pan Xi using it against Mu Ningxue.

“You’re asking for it!” Mo Fan’s voice turned icy.

Mo Fan treated everything about Mu Ningxue preciously. He would not forgive Pan Xi if he dared to touch a single strand of Mu Ningxue’s hair, let alone damage her soul, which would influence her lifespan!

“Wrath of the Flame Belle!” A blazing red line swept across the sky like a trail of blood, and erupted into flames!

The flames did not spread out like the ones that had set the ocean on fire. They started pouring down like a waterfall at Mo Fan’s enraged roar!

The flames in the sky took the shape of a long river. As they were falling from the sky, theri waves filled the space above Gulangyu, painting the sea and the tall buildings of the city red. As the flames poured down, it felt like the God of Flames in Heaven had kicked his furnace over to burn the mundane world into ashes!

The formidable flames surged at Pan Xi, who was channeling his Curse Spell. Pan Xi lifted his gaze and saw Mo Fan’s bloodshot eyes and the burning funeral being held specifically for him, made up of scorching lava, raging flames, and fiery whirlpools…

Pan Xi was trying to take Mu Ningxue’s life, meaning that he did not have a chance to set up a defense. When Mo Fan dove at him like a great fire descending from the sky, he finally realized he was the one that was about to die, instead of Mu Ningxue!

His eyes were filled with disbelief. He had not believed Mo Fan possessed such extraordinary strength, nor had he believed Mo Fan would dare kill him in a place like this!

However, when the lava burned through Pan Xi’s skin and poured into his body, eating his blood and destroying his organs, he finally realized amid his agony that Mo Fan was a reckless maniac!

Mo Fan was not actually a maniac, but if anyone dared to harm Mu Ningxue, he would become scarier than a maniac that anyone could possibly imagine!

Mo Fan had killed the man mercilessly even under the eyes of thousands of people on the cruise ships and the members of the renowned clans along the shore watching him. Mo Fan was more than willing to crush the soul of any scum who was trying to take away Mu Ningxue’s soul!

—

The burning waterfall continued to pour down and set a huge chunk of the sea on fire. The fire only died out after burning for a long time.

Pan Xi had received the flames all by himself. Not even the ashes of his body were left, let alone his remains.

Nanrong Xi and Li Hongmei shuddered upon seeing this. They were starting to feel a little scared.

However, it seemed like Mo Fan had no intention of letting it go so easily. He rode the flames and approached Nanrong Xi and Li Hongmei with a fierce glare.

“What…what do you want!?” Li Hongmei was terrified.

Nanrong Ni was scared, too. Both she and Nanrong Xi kept backing away.

Nanrong Ni was familiar with Mo Fan’s temper. The man was reckless enough to do anything when he lost his temper. He would disregard all the rules and laws!

“How dare you start a fight and murder a Mage brutally in the territory of the Donghai Magic Association? You have committed an unforgivable crime!” an old Mage came from the distance.

Nanrong Xi and Li Hongmei let out a relieved sigh when they saw the person.

It was Elder Lin Ze of the Donghai Magic Association. He had shown up just in time!

Lin Ze was a Super Mage. No matter how strong Mo Fan was as an Advanced Mage, there was no way he would stand a chance against a Super Mage!

Mo Fan had indeed killed someone in front of so many people. Lin Ze could use it as an excuse to arrest Mo Fan. There was no escape for him!

“Screw you, as an Elder of the Magic Association, you didn’t even show up when they were trying to kill her, and now you have come to utter all this nonsense…” Mo Fan cursed Elder Lin Ze right away.

“I was busy with some research in a hidden chamber, so I couldn’t hear anything. However, I happened to see you committing a murder when I came out. You better surrender, and I’ll give you my word that you won’t suffer much,” Elder Lin Ze replied sternly.

Mu Ningxue’s eyes were brimming with rage after hearing Elder Lin Ze’s words!

Gulangyu was where the headquarters of the Donghai Magic Association was located. It was meant to have the highest security, yet apart from the fact that not a single patrolling team had shown up even though the fight had been going on for so long, the fight did not trigger any magic formation protecting the island either! Many Mages on the shore across the harbor had seen the battle. Even the City Mages had gathered, but they had no right to intervene with the fight since it was taking place on the territory of the Donghai Magic Association!

If Li Hongmei, Pan Xi, and Nanrong Xi did not obtain permission from Lin Ze, how would they even have a chance to kill someone here? Mu Ningxue would not have ended up in such a pinch, either…

It was obvious that the invitation from the Donghai Magic Association was just a cover for the murderous plot against her!

This Elder Lin Ze was absolutely detestable!

Mo Fan had no idea what Mu Ningxue had been through, but he could easily tell that Elder Lin Ze was on Pan Xi’s side. He was amused when the old man was trying to falsely accuse him in a righteous manner.

“Bola!” Mo Fan had no intention of wasting his time any further!

“I’m here!” the vampire who only just arrived came up to Mo Fan. His black coat had basically concealed his appearance, revealing only a pair of red leather shoes and a pale face.

“Beat the crap out of this old prick, make sure he loses all his teeth. Leaving him half-dead will do,” Mo Fan said.

“Acknowledged!” Bola knew he had failed to fulfill his obligations, as he had failed to protect Mu Ningxue. He was well aware of how angry Mo Fan was!

The only way Bola could help Mo Fan cool his temper was by beating the crap out of the abusive Elder Lin Ze!

“You’re unbelievable, you are going to pay for what you’ve done…” Elder Lin Ze was infuriated. How could he allow an imbecile to act arrogantly in the territory of the Donghai Magic Association!?

“One more word, and you’re going to lose your leg!” Mo Fan retorted.

“Hehe, not a problem,” Bola sneered eerily.

Elder Lin Ze was a Super Mage, and he had his own pride. He was treating Mo Fan’s threats with disdain. A mere representative of the national team dared threaten him?

Elder Lin Ze was about to subdue Mo Fan when a slight breeze swept past. The man in a black coat had suddenly shown up behind him. He began to break out in a cold sweat as a great chill ran down his spine after he sensed the dangerous breath on his neck!

Chapter 1322 Getting Even

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The area was devoured by complete darkness when the man flung out his coat. Elder Lin Ze took a huge punch to the side of his face before he could even understand what was happening!

The force of the punch was right on point. It was just enough to knock some teeth loose from the old man without inflicting serious injuries on him. Two of Elder Lin Ze’s teeth flew out of his mouth!

Lin Ze was utterly infuriated. His aura skyrocketed, but his magic was weakened by at least thirty percent inside the darkness unleashed by Bola’s unique mantle. He was struggling to locate Bola in the darkness. He kept firing his spells recklessly in all directions, yet was only exposing his own location.

Bola was taking his time. He was like a patient hunter observing some prey that was behaving wildly inside his trap after losing its sight. He would strike when the prey was finally worn out.

The vampire kicked Elder Lin Ze right in the face with his exquisite red shoes.

The kick broke Elder Lin Ze’s nose and knocked three more teeth out. His nose and mouth were covered in blood.

Bola’s ../style was perfect against an opponent like Lin Ze, who was a destructive Mage. His outstanding offensive abilities were completely useless against Bola in the darkness. Instead, he was being played like a fiddle!

Bola continued to knock out Elder Lin Ze’s teeth. The old man felt greatly humiliated. He now had the urge to take Bola down with him!

Bola was not in a rush. His master had instructed him to break the old man’s leg, too. He was waiting for the man to break down mentally so he could strike at the perfect time and break his leg!

The old man had the typical look of a lackey who only knew to fawn upon the renowned clans. He had clearly abused his powers to pick on people. It definitely served him right!

——

The people of the renowned clans and the Magic Association began to panic when they saw Bola beating the crap out of Elder Lin Ze.

No one dared to intervene when an Elder of the Donghai Magic Association was being badly beaten up. Were they going to keep beating him until he was dead?

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“Mo Fan, forget it,” Mu Ningxue said.

It was unnecessary to complicate the situation any further. Pan Xi deserved to die, but if they ended up killing an Elder of the Magic Association too, even a Councilman would not be able to speak on Mo Fan’s behalf.

Elder Lin Ze completely lost his imposing demeanor after the beating. Bola dragged the old man over to Mo Fan like a badly beaten dog.

The rest of the renowned clans that were neutral were relieved that they did not listen to the enticement from Pan Xi and the representatives of the Nanrong and Dali Clans to team up against Mu Ningxue. Otherwise, they would have ended up in a similar spot too.

Wasn’t the person beside Mo Fan a little too strong to be real? It did not take him much effort to beat a Super Mage up!

“Why aren’t you talking now? Hurry up and accuse me of something. Weren’t you acting high and mighty before just because you are an Elder?” Mo Fan grinned like a devil. Anyone that offended him must bear the consequences!

The other renowned clans finally witnessed how arrogant Mo Fan was, daring to beat up anyone that he was displeased with… but he did have the strength to do so!

“Ugh… are you Mo Fan of the national team?” A middle-aged man whose long hair was tied up in a bun had shown up. He was wearing the same outfit as Lin Ze, with brightly colored magic patterns.

“Who is it this time? Are you trying to help this old jerk? I don’t mind beating you up too!” Mo Fan snarled mercilessly.

“Young man, you should really control your temper. You’ve killed someone, after all. Even if you had a valid reason to do so, you still have to explain the situation to us and let us hear from the victim. We’ll leave it in the hands of the Enforcement Union. If you keep doing it your way, it’s only going to make things worse,” the middle-aged man said.

“You’re right, but they were the ones that attacked first! I was only trying to defend myself,” Mo Fan replied.

“Then you should let Lin Ze go so he can get treated. I’ll make sure justice is served here,” the middle-aged man declared.

“Someone who’s in charge finally showed up! I thought this idiot was in charge of the Donghai Magic Association, since he could do whatever he wanted and accuse whoever he pleased. He’s acting so shamelessly despite his age, I had no choice but to beat some sense into him! I’m a role model for the younger generation of our country. Do you seriously think I like hurting people and settling disputes with violence? These people forced me to do it!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Elder Kang was left speechless after hearing Mo Fan’s explanation.

Even though Li Hongmei, Nanrong Xi, and Pan Xi were the ones to attack first, Mo Fan did kill Pan Xi and injure Li Hongmei and Nanrong Xi. Even Elder Lin Ze was beaten beyond recognition for siding with them…

He had heard of the special character that the strongest participant in the World College Tournament possessed. It turned out that the rumors were true. His violent temper of insisting on getting even with people harboring malicious intentions toward him was even more shocking than the rumors had mentioned!

Elder Kang quickly went over and helped Lin Ze stand properly after Mo Fan let him go.

“Great Elder Kang, you can’t let him go so easily. All men are equal in the eyes of the law. Even if he won the World College Tournament, he had just committed murder! We must punish him for it! Otherwise, no one is going to treat our Magic Association seriously. The people are going to look down at us!” Elder Lin Ze was badly beaten, yet it did not mean he had gotten over it.

Mo Fan regretted not asking Bola to break Lin Ze’s ‘third leg’ too after hearing the accusation!

“I’ve already learned what happened from someone else. He clearly stated that it was Pan Xi who was trying to kill Mi Ningxue with his Curse Magic first… Elder Lin, aren’t you being stubborn and arrogant to simply accuse him of murder without investigating the matter first? Besides, as the Disciplinary Elder of Gulangyu, why did it take you so long to intervene with the battle? I’m utterly disappointed by your failure to fulfill your obligations!” Elder Kang said.

Mo Fan nodded after hearing Elder Kang’s scolding. It turned out that not everyone in a higher-level Magic Association was a fool like Lin Ze. There were still people that were reasonable and righteous.

Mo Fan was not someone who would kill indiscriminately. He was willing to spare Pan Xi’s life if he had not used his Curse Element!

The Curse Element had always been a malicious Element. It had been forbidden by the Magic Association for a long time until they found a way to control the damage it caused. It was eventually accepted by the Magic Association.

However, there was one condition when using the Curse Element; its wielders were not allowed to use life-threatening Curse Spells on someone else!

There were a few different kinds of Curse Spells. One was normally used to torture the target, and the other was used to endanger the target’s life, based on the Mage’s control of the Curse Element. It was very easy to identify a life-threatening Curse Spell. Any spell that emitted a crimson-red light was a life-threatening Curse Spell. It was able to kill a person by draining the energy of their soul dry!

Pan Xi was using a life-threatening Curse Spell. He was trying to take away her soul, instead of inflicting permanent damage. It would turn her into an empty shell, like Wang Xiaojun. A cruel spell like that was completely forbidden by the Magic Association!

Many people had seen Pan Xi using the deadly Curse Spell, so Mo Fan was not worried that there were no witnesses to back him up. Since the man had crossed the line first, Mo Fan’s actions were considered self-defense.

Mo Fan was not worried about being accused of excessive self-defense. He had earned so much glory for the country by winning the World College Tournament. If he did not even have the right to kill someone who was using a forbidden spell, what was the point of him contributing so much to the country?

It was not Mo Fan’s first day stirring up troubles. He had caused a great scene at the Magic Association at the Beiyu Mountain, yet nothing had happened to him. As such, there was no reason for him to be worried about something insignificant like this.

He was not disregarding the law for no reason, but he could not care less about the law when someone was trying to bully him. He would only let it go after beating the crap out of the person!

—

“So he’s Mo Fan, the one they referred to as the strongest participant in the World College Tournament!”

“No wonder he’s so impressive. I’m the same age as him, but I haven’t even reached the Intermediate Level.”

“What kind of ability was he using to engulf himself in flames? Not only was it cool to look at, it was ridiculously strong, too! Didn’t you see how he beat the crap out of the representatives of the renowned clans?”

The spectators on the cruise ships were discussing among themselves.

—

Things were soon sorted out after Elder Kang took charge of the situation.

Elder Lin Ze was clearly abusing his powers to side with some of the renowned clans and pick on Fanxue Mountain. When Mu Ningxue told Elder Kang everything that had happened, he immediately interrogated Nanrong Xi and Li Hongmei.

Nanrong Xi and Li Hongmei denied it at first, but since Mu Ningxue was able to drag out the battle for so long, too many people had witnessed what had happened. Not every member of the Donghai Magic Association on Gulangyu had colluded with Elder Lin, either. Some of them gave their testimonies and brought up the footage of the surveillance cameras nearby to prove that Nanrong Xi and Li Hongmei had attacked Mu Ningxue first!

“I’m afraid you will have to leave Gulangyu with the members of your clan. You are no longer welcomed by the Donghai Magic Association.” Elder Kang’s gaze turned cold as soon as he heard the testimonies and saw the footage.

Nanrong Xi and Li Hongmei were stunned. They were only trying to teach the young girl a punishment, yet the Donghai Magic Association was asking them to leave as a punishment!

“What about the meetings…” Li Hongmei said.

“From now onward, the Donghai Magic Association will no longer work with your clans. Respect goes both ways. You’ve failed to treat the rules of the Donghai Magic Association seriously, thus the Donghai Magic Association will not treat you with respect, either. We will reclaim the ore veins, mineral veins, and crystal veins that we are sharing with your clans. We’ll be working with some other clans instead!” Elder Kang declared.

Chapter 1323 Extortion!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Elder Kang, please think twice about it, the profit that our Dali Clan is bringing to the Donghai Magic Association is a lot higher than what a little clan like them can bring you! If you are rejecting us for their sake, it’s going to be a loss for the Donghai Magic Association!” Li Hongmei protested, pointing her finger at Elder Kang.

Nanrong Xi remained silent, but his expression was clearly saying that they would be the ones suffering greater losses if the Donghai Magic Association was serious about ending the cooperation with their renowned clan!

“We can cooperate with smaller clans. We are willing to spend more time evaluating trustworthy partners. I thought as a renowned clan, as an honorable guest that our Donghai Magic Association had invited, you would place the wellbeing of your clan first before doing anything, and that you would strictly conform to the expected behavior of a Mage and a disciple of a renowned clan, but it turns out that I was wrong. Whether it is a normal clan or a renowned clan, everyone that is invited here is a guest of the Donghai Magic Association, and it’s our obligation to guarantee their safety… I would rather earn less and spend more time than see the Donghai Magic Association being corrupted and so despised by the people!” Elder Kang proclaimed.

The Donghai Magic Association was affiliated with the Asia Magic Association, so it could be regarded as an international organization. As a result, the members of the Donghai Magic Association had a sense of superiority. Even those working with them would feel superior to the others. It was clearly not a healthy thought. It would lead the Donghai Magic Association to destruction!

“Even if it was just an intern being picked on here in the territory of the Donghai Magic Association, it would bring great shame to our name, let alone Mu Ningxue, who has done our country a great deed as a representative of the national team!”

Elder Kang’s words were exactly what the little clans had waited to hear. Unfairness had always been a great problem, especially for the members of the Donghai Magic Association, who usually acted high and mighty. They did not even show any respect to the Oriental Pearl Tower, even when it was the highest Magic Association in the country. The little clans could only remain silent and endure the mistreatment.

Finally, an authoritative Great Elder was willing to step forward and speak on their behalf, condemning those that kept abusing their powers. How could they not agree with him!?

“You’re going to regret it!” Li Hongmei flushed after hearing the support Elder Kang was receiving. She left quickly after uttering those words.

“Great Elder Kang, I’m indeed sorry for what I’ve done. I was misled by Pan Xi’s one-sided statement. I thought Mu Ningxue was being ungrateful toward the Mu Clan, thus I offered him my help. The Nanrong Clan is willing to accept the punishment, but I hope Great Elder Kang could give us another chance. The Nanrong Clan is willing to give Fanxue Mountain the Cliff of Ages to compensate them for their loss,” Nanrong Xi said sincerely to Elder Kang.

“Brother, what are you doing? How could you…” Nanrong Ni immediately shook her head in disapproval.

The Cliff of Ages had always brought the Nanrong Clan handsome profits. It had great potential, but Nanrong Xi had offered to give it to Mu Ningxue’s Fanxue Mountain. Nanrong Ni felt like she was about to go mad!

“Silence!” Nanrong Xi glared at Nanrong Ni.

“Are all the people of the Nanrong Clan hypocrites?” Mo Fan mocked them.

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“We are sincerely trying to make amends,” Nanrong Xi said smoothly.

Elder Kang was experienced with situations like these. He had not said those words to sever the relationship of the Magic Association to the renowned clans. He was just reminding the renowned clans to be mindful of their actions and stop disrespecting others.

He looked at Mu Ningxue and said, “The Donghai Magic Association is in the wrong, too. We can’t change the rules that have been set, and the same goes for every decision we make. But if the person involved, Mu Ningxue of Fanxue Mountain, is willing to accept your apology, we are more than happy for you to settle the dispute that way.”

“Giving someone you’ve just beaten up a candy, there’s no way I’m going to…” Mo Fan clearly did not accept the Nanrong Clan’s apology. He already decided to intercept Nanrong Ni and Nanrong Xi after they left Gulangyu and beat the crap out of them!

“Sure, we accept it. Fanxue Mountain will be taking the Cliff of Ages!” Mu Ningxue quickly accepted their offer.

Mu Ningxue had nodded before Mo Fan could finish his sentence. It left Mo Fan in quite an awkward spot!

“Xuexue, it’s better to do it my way!” Mo Fan whispered.

Mu Ningxue shook her head and said, “Fanxue Mountain needs the Cliff of Ages. Compared to your meaningless way of venting frustration, it’s more valuable to claim the Cliff of Ages!”

“But…” Mo Fan was still not pleased with the outcome.

“Don’t worry, I’m still fine, right? Thanks to you,” Mu Ningxue smiled at Mo Fan. Her alluring eyes were no longer as cold and expressionless to him. Their charm was ten times stronger than usual, triggering an electricity spike that scorched Mo Fan’s beating heart.

“Whatever my wife says!” Mo Fan stopped advising against it.

Mo Fan was a shameless man and purposely said the words out loud. One could easily imagine how terrible the people around were feeling after being fed such a huge sack of dog food.

“It’s settled, then. The Dali Clan will not be joining the rest of the meeting. They will not be invited to the annual meeting from today on. The Nanrong Clan has misunderstood the situation and is willing to compensate for it. They no longer have any say in the resources this year, but they will still be our honorable guest next year,” Elder Kang said.

“Hey, wait a second, old man, you’ve taken charge of the situation and placed the blame on them, but your Magic Association should be held responsible for it, too. You didn’t bother to show up even when the island almost sank during the fight… the Nanrong Clan is willing to compromise and apologize because they didn’t want to give up on their relationship with you, but your Donghai Magic Association hasn’t really done anything. You think you can get over it by just saying a few nice sentences to us?” Mo Fan pressed angrily.

Elder Kang was startled, and groaned inwardly. -How cunning, he managed to see through my trick…-

He had punished the Dali Clan and forced the Nanrong Clan to compromise and compensate them for the loss. It seemed like the Donghai Magic Association had been making amends on the surface, yet they had not really given up anything. Chasing the Dali Clan away was not necessarily a loss for them!

He had executed it perfectly, yet Mo Fan had to ruin all of it when he was about to dismiss the crowd!

“Shouldn’t you be compensating us for our loss too? As the reputable Donghai Magic Association in charge of the cities along the coastline, as an international organization, I believe you will be giving us more than the Nanrong Clan has given us, right?”

“Well…” Elder Kang found himself in an awkward position. His trick had worked every time before. He had managed to improve their reputation, rectify the name of the Donghai Magic Association, warn the renowned clans, and get rid of a foolish partner; how did his plan fail miserably all of a sudden!?

Mu Ningxue pinched Mo Fan’s waist, as he was trying to demand more benefits through extortion. She suddenly felt like it was such a waste for him to be a Mage. He should have become an unscrupulous merchant instead!

“I’m just trying to earn more money to buy you some facial masks, look at your injuries…” Mo Fan said softly.

“Initially, you wouldn’t be able to get a greater share of the Fragmented Crystal Vein, since you already own a portion of it, but we’ll be giving you the share that was previously allocated to the Dali Clan instead. If you are able to manage it wisely, I believe we will have more opportunities to work together in the future. What do you think?” Elder Kang said.

“But that’s from the Dali Clan, not the Donghai Magic Association…” Mo Fan continued relentlessly.

Elder Kang’s expression darkened. He had never seen such a shameless young man before!

“That will do, we’ll take care of the Dali Clan’s share. Leave it to us,” Mu Ningxue quickly intervened between the two. She did feel like Mo Fan was pushing the limit…

“Mm, very well then,” Elder Kang nodded. He was afraid that Mo Fan would bite at him again!

Mo Fan also knew how difficult it was for the Donghai Magic Association to give something up. However, he was more than willing to take the Dali Clan’s share of the Fragmented Crystal Vein, even though he had no clue what it actually was…

——

The rest of the procedures were straightforward. The Nanrong Clan soon transferred ownership of the Cliff of Ages to Fanxue Mountain. Meanwhile, Fanxue Mountain was also part of the group managing the extraction of the Fragmented Crystal Vein. On top of that, the share that the Dali Clan initially held was quite a big portion, since both the territories of the Dongfang Clan and the Bai Clan were further away from the Fragmented Crystal Vein than the Dali Clan. After all, the main headquarters of the Dali Clan was around Feiniao City too! That being said, Fanxue Mountain was still the closest. It was right beside Fanxue Mountain’s territory, but Mu Ningxue’s clan would have difficulty eating the entire cake…

——

“Did Little Flame Belle evolve?”

“Yeah, she’s in the Adolescent Phase now. Her strength is equivalent to a Commander-level creature in the Advancing Period, but there’s a huge problem now,” Mo Fan told her, placing his hands behind his head.

He enjoyed going for a walk with Mu Ningxue. Even though the woman was within an arm’s reach, they were still not as intimate as a pair of lovers… but the ambiguous feeling was special and comfortable. It was just like how they were when they were still kids. He was hoping to take the next step, yet he did not want to rush it and ruin the atmosphere between them. It was so pure that Mo Fan was struggling to believe it was something that he had wanted for so long!

“What is it?” Mu Ningxue asked immediately.

A Commander-level in the Advancing Period was remarkably strong. Only a Super Mage could take on a creature like that!

If Little Flame Belle had become so strong, Mo Fan was basically unbeatable against Mages below the Super Level!

“My cultivation is too weak. There’s a chance I will explode if Little Flame Belle Possesses me,” Mo Fan smiled wryly.

“Which means you won’t be able to use it as often?”

“Mm, it will become stabler once my cultivation improves,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“Sounds good; it means you’ll be training even harder!”

“Why don’t we find a secret room and cultivate in seclusion together? Like Xiaolongnu and Yang Guo…” Mo Fan suggested.

“Your fire is going to affect my ice,” Mu Ningxue rejected him promptly.

How could she not know what Mo Fan was thinking? The man with his vile thoughts!

Chapter 1324 Flame Belle“s Space Elemen

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan felt like he had to train harder. Mu Ningxue’s cultivation was a lot stronger than his now.

That being said, Mo Fan was not planning to just cultivate diligently. When he needed to meditate, he would spend more time meditating than anyone else, but to improve his efficiency, there was no point in him just meditating.

The biggest thing that had allowed Mo Fan to improve so quickly was the Little Loach Pendant. Therefore, he was trying to find a way to upgrade the Little Loach Pendant, so as to ensure all six of his Elements could improve rapidly.

After returning to Fanxue Mountain, Mo Fan spent a month meditating. He was trying to improve the other Elements, but the higher their levels, the harder it was to break through the bottlenecks. A few of Mo Fan’s Elements had been stuck in the first and second tiers for quite some time…

That being said, compared to other Mages, Mo Fan’s rate of improvement was still like the speed of a jet. Most Mages had trouble improving their Elements by a single tier without the help of some incredible loot!

“(sigh) I guess I’ll practice my Space Element then…” Mo Fan had no choice but to focus on mastering his skills, since it was unlikely he would have a breakthrough without some special circumstances.

Practicing skills was useful in refining his control over the related Element. His control of the Fire Element was the best among the Elements he had. With Little Flame Belle’s help, his control of the Fire Element was very close to the level of a Super Mage. He was able to alter the forms of his Fire and attack as he pleased now. Meanwhile, Little Flame Belle, who was now at the peak of the Commander-level, also granted Mo Fan incredible strength when using the Fire Element.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan was having trouble enduring the formidable power of Little Flame Belle after she reached the Adolescent Phase. He needed to improve his Fire Element to the Third Tier of the Advanced Level.

The Element he had the second-best control over was the Lightning Element. Due to the Lightning Tyrant Domain and the Blessing of the God’s Seal, the Lightning Element was more like his trump card. Normally, it would take a person a long time to defeat a Commander-level creature, but Mo Fan would have no trouble killing a slightly weaker Commander-level creature in an instant if he used his Lightning Element at the perfect time!

The Element that Mo Fan had the third-best control over was the Space Element. After achieving the fifth stage of mental strength, Mo Fan’s Space Magic had improved significantly, allowing him to attack, control, engage a group of enemies, or focus on a single target at will. Space Magic was capable of doing everything as long as his mental strength was high enough!

The fourth Element was the Shadow Element. It had been a while since it had any improvements. He mainly used the Nyx Regime as a Shadow Domain. If his Shadow Element could reach the Second Tier of the Advanced Level, he believed the crowd-control abilities of his Shadow Spells would improve by a lot.

As for the Summoning Element, it was the Element that Mo Fan spent the least amount of time on. Even the outstanding ability to Summon a Beast Tide had gradually become ineffective as Mo Fan continued to grow stronger. Many Summoners would put a lot of focus on improving the Advanced Summoning Spell, since the destruction that a Beast Tide could bring was comparable to that of a horde of demon creatures.

Mo Fan was keen to improve them all. Sometimes, he felt like having too many Elements was a kind of burden. Every time he wanted to cultivate diligently, he would discover so many things he had to work on; it gave him a huge headache!

—

Little Flame Belle sat on a rock holding a Fire Soul Seed like a little squirrel gnawing on a nut. She did not forget to cheer for Mo Fan to motivate him.

Little Flame Belle had grown into a teenage girl after consuming the Time Liquid. Mo Fan had assumed Little Flame Belle had reached the Adolescent Phase back then, but to his surprise, Little Flame Belle actually had the appearance of an adult woman after reaching the Adolescent Phase.

Her legs were slim. Whenever she mimicked the beautiful ladies in the city by wearing heels, it would highlight her slender figure. The two buns on her head had disappeared. They were replaced by long hair reaching her knees, similar to Jiang Feng’s ../style.

The flames of the Ardent Sunset were visible on her face, like a veil shrouding her head. Her eyes glowed brilliantly, like gems. Little Flame Belle was even more glamorous than Jiang Feng after reaching the Adolescent Phase. Her flames set off her unique charm.

When the current Little Flame Belle stood beside Mu Ningxue with her Nirvana Ice Domain, it resulted in quite a contrast between the two, enough to place them both in the limelight.

Little Flame Belle had finally grown into an actual belle. To be honest, Mo Fan was still not used to it. Little Flame Belle would no longer step on his face while he was sleeping. She would no longer ask for hugs or lie on his head. He could not help but wonder what the others would think when they saw the fiery belle with an outstanding demeanor walking beside him.

Unfortunately, as Mo Fan was imagining how astounded people would be, Little Flame Belle slowly shrank as she was sitting on the rock. Her Ardent Sunset and the Calamity Fire weakened significantly, too. The mature woman turned into the same porcelain doll in just a few seconds. Her huge eyes kept blinking as she asked Mo Fan for a hug, like a little baby wanting to take a nap after she was fed!

“That works?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened when he saw Little Flame Belle reclaiming her appearance of the Infant Stage.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle seemed quite happy. Her mind was still that of a little kid. It was unlikely she would stop relying on Mo Fan as much in a short time. She was not fond of her Adolescent Phase appearance. She preferred to stay a little loli, sleeping after eating, asking for a hug after sleeping, and eating after she had gotten enough hugs…

Mo Fan was left speechless by Little Flame Belle’s ability to shift between different forms. A porcelain doll and a glamorous belle… how enticing!

“You’re sleeping too much. Aren’t you worried that you’re going to turn into a ball at this rate? You won’t look as beautiful then,” Mo Fan knocked on Little Flame Belle’s head.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle twisted her lips, indicating that she had nothing to do since she had just evolved.

“Your mummy was able to use Space Magic, you should be able to use it too. Have a go, see if you have Awakened the Space Element,” Mo Fan placed Little Flame Belle down. She was like a sticky little octopus who wanted to hang onto him for the rest of her life.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle hesitated for a while before trying to control her will.

Mo Fan clearly remembered how impressive Jiang Feng’s Space Element was, especially when she was using it together with her Fire. Even though it did not make her as strong as a Ruler-level creature, her strength was still insane!

“The rock you were sitting on, try lifting it up. Remember, you have to focus, absolute focus. Imagine you can see your will in your mind. Wrap it around the rock and slowly lift it up,” Mo Fan explained to Little Flame Belle how to use her Space Element.

Little Flame Belle stood aside and stared at the rock with wide eyes. The rock remained still no matter how hard she was staring at it. Little Flame Belle had an urge to burn it into ashes!

“Try it out in your Adolescent Form,” Mo Fan said.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle was engulfed in two different flames sprouting up wildly. The slender figure of Flame Belle gradually took shape in the flames. The wild flames gradually turned into a blazing red dress, setting off the glamorous belle.

“Try it again,” Mo Fan urged her.

Flame Belle’s eyes flickered with a unique glow. Her body emitted a vague silver light as she followed Mo Fan’s instructions. The rock that Flame Belle was directing her will at began to vibrate…

BANG!

The rock suddenly exploded into splinters flying in all directions!

Little Flame withdrew the light. She glanced at the pieces of the rock, then at Mo Fan with a confused look.

“You didn’t do it right. After wrapping your will around your target, you have to give it a command, for example, letting it fly, like this…” Mo Fan looked at a piece of rock on the ground. The rock was dragged out from the soil when Mo Fan’s eyes flickered. It floated in the air.

Flame Belle was a fast learner. She started controlling another piece of rock by following Mo Fan’s actions. This time, the rock did not explode. It was floating in the air too, but it was trembling since she was still not familiar with controlling it.

“Well done, try practicing it a few more times. You can control a single target, or multiple targets by dividing your will if your mental strength is high enough. It can be harmless like a soft breeze, or puncture and crush everything!” Mo Fan patiently demonstrated the capabilities of Space Magic.

Mo Fan did not learn it all that by himself. Ai Jiangtu had given Mo Fan a lot of help in mastering the Space Element when he was on the national team.

“After you’ve learned how to use Telekinesis, I’ll teach you the Space Rhythm. You can try manipulating it as you wish after learning the basics…” Mo Fan went on.

There were differences in the way Flame Belle controlled Space Magic compared to humans. The spells of Elemental Beasts were a lot different than spells humans could cast. Mo Fan believed Flame Belle had some other abilities that she needed to discover herself. He could only teach her the basics.

Unlike humans, who had to start learning from scratch, Flame Belle’s Space Element was more like a natural ability. Her mental strength was remarkable. Otherwise, she would not be able to shatter that rock to pieces right from the beginning, nor would she be able to lift up all the rocks within half a kilometer and form a spectacular formation in the air like she was doing now!

Chapter 1325 Compressive Explosion

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’ll now teach you the Space Rhythm. Let’s start by compressing the space!” Mo Fan proceeded with the next lesson after seeing Flame Belle mastering the first step in no time.

Flame Belle mastered the Space Rhythm quicker than Mo Fan expected. As a matter of fact, she would gradually awaken her abilities as she gained more experience from fighting. Mo Fan was only helping her awaken her abilities earlier.

“That’s right, compress the space in that area; not the fire, the ground. Turn the loose soil into firm rocks,” Mo Fan said.

The area of Flame Belle’s Space Magic was incredibly huge. Not only did it include the loose soil, it was also compressing the little flames she had left behind previously.

Little Flame Belle had tossed a fireball out of boredom to set the weeds on fire. The flames covered an area a meter square, but they suddenly shrank into the size of a candleflame as the space was being compressed, down to the size of a thumb.

Mo Fan went forward to check if the loose soil had solidified into rock, but the flames that were compressed into a candlelight suddenly exploded!

“Ling~” Flame Belle stuck her tongue out at Mo Fan after failing to control her magic.

Mo Fan stood still, in deep thought.

Little Flame Belle had just compressed the flames covering an area of a meter square into a tiny candlelight, but not only did it not weaken the flames, the explosion was actually stronger than the energy that the flames initially contained…

“If a small fire could trigger such a powerful explosion after it was compressed, what would happen if it’s a big fire?” Mo Fan murmured.

Mo Fan immediately decided to have a go at it. He said, “Little Flame Belle, toss your fire into the space I’m compressing, as much as possible.”

Mo Fan began to emit a silver light. A brilliant Star Pattern was completed swiftly. A rhomboid appeared in front of Flame Belle.

Flame Belle followed Mo Fan’s instructions and poured her fire into the rhomboid continuously.

Normally, the fire that Flame Belle unleashed was enough to set the whole side of the mountain ablaze, and even spread further to the other side. However, as Mo Fan continued to use the Space Rhythm to compress the fire, it remained the size of a little glowing crystal.

The crystal was not that big. It was similar to a basic level Fire Burst when it was being tossed forward.

“I’m almost at my limit,” Mo Fan was struggling to control the compressed space as more energy was poured into it.

Flame Belle seemed to be enjoying herself. She kept pouring her flames into the rhomboid despite Mo Fan’s warning.

“Enough, that’s enough!” Mo Fan blurted out when he realized something did not feel right.

Flame Belle finally stopped pouring her flames, but the compressed space was already on the verge of collapsing. The rhomboid instantly crumbled as soon as Mo Fan slightly lost control of it.

The energy stored inside the rhomboid emitted a blinding flicker as soon as the walls containing it collapsed. The energy began to surge in all directions!

“Crap!” Mo Fan immediately Summoned the Black Snake Armor as soon as he sensed danger.

The fiery crystal exploded as soon as Mo Fan cursed. A huge shockwave swept across the place and crushed the irregular peaks of the mountain. The scorching flames surged forward like a tide of wild beasts!

A mushroom cloud rose into the sky. An apocalyptic impact razed the mountain to the ground!

Both Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle were taken by surprise. They were sent flying by the formidable explosion, followed by a deafening blast.

Mo Fan clearly felt how terrifying the energy of the flames was as it landed on him. If he had not summoned the Black Snake Armor to defend himself in time, it would most likely have blasted him to pieces!

“Cool!” Mo Fan blurted out in excitement as he rose to his feet and glanced at the area that was now scorched black.

He never thought of this before. When he compressed a huge blaze with the Space Magic into a tiny little fire, if he suddenly withdrew the Space Magic containing the energy of the blaze, it would trigger a terrifying explosion that would inflict more damage than the initial blaze!

“HAHAHA, Little Flame Belle, let’s try it again! I think we’ve found our new trump card!” Mo Fan exclaimed excitedly.

Little Flame Belle nodded happily too. Was there anything more entertaining than unleashing her flames as she pleased and triggering huge explosions?

——

The villa of Fanxue Mountain…

Mu Ningxue, Mu Linsheng, Yu Shishi, and the others were discussing the Cliff of Ages when someone suddenly barged into the room in a panic.

“I believe our west is being attacked by the Dali Clan, who has come to get their revenge. They have sent out an extremely powerful Fire Mage to blow up our territory. A few of the hill have been razed to the ground,” a member of Fanxue Mountain who was on patrol said.

“Those scumbags of the Dali Clan, how dare they mess with us in our territory…” Mu Linsheng swore furiously.

They had already come to stir troubles even though the incident at Gulangyu had only ended not long ago?

“Strange, why didn’t my moths notice any intruders?” Yu Shishi asked in confusion.

“It’s a Fire Mage; maybe your moths were driven away by the fire?”

“Impossible,” Yu Shishi shook her head.

Even if the moths were scared, they would still alert her. There must be some other reason if they were not warning her about the danger.

“Patrol captain, did you see who it was?” Mu Linsheng asked.

“No, the enemy’s cultivation is strong and the attack was utterly terrifying. I didn’t dare go any closer,” the captain said.

A tiny moth flew into the room and landed on Yu Shishi’s shoulder. It beat its wings to relay a message to Yu Shishi.

Yu Shishi giggled after receiving the message, “It’s fine, captain; it’s one of us.”

“One of us?” the captain was stunned. “Why would anyone blow up our own territory? The explosions have razed the hills to the ground like a bulldozer. Even the mountains are barren…”

“It’s Mo Fan, right?” Mu Ningxue asked.

Mu Ningxue vaguely remembered Mo Fan mention he was going to the barren mountains to the west to practice his magic. She did not expect him to cause such a scene that it scared the shit out of the patrol captain.

“It’s him; it seems like he has invented a strange ability,” Yu Shishi confirmed.

“So it’s Mo Fan… I thought the Dali Clan had sent a Super Mage!” the captain said with a wry smile.

“You do know the difference between the Advanced Level and the Super Level.”

“I do, but the explosion that Clan Leader Mo triggered was just too…” The patrol captain’s heart pounded heavily as he recalled the extraordinary explosion that he had seen.

—

—

Mo Fan had discovered a new ability, and was so excited that he kept practicing it. In the end, Mu Ningxue drove Mo Fan off to the bay as she could not stand the destruction he was causing in her territory. He could trigger as many explosions as he wanted at the bay.

Mo Fan actually went to the ocean, and it was the sea monsters’ turn to suffer. A group of sea monsters was planning to stir up some trouble along the coastline, but they immediately fled after the explosions scared the crap out of them.

After practicing for a few days, Mo Fan could now compress a huge fire at will, but there was one little weakness to the new ability: the time needed to cast it was a little long.

He had to keep pouring energy into the space; if he wanted to trigger an explosion strong enough to raze everything to the ground, he needed at least the amount of time that he usually required to cast two Advanced Spells!

That being said, Mo Fan was satisfied with the new ability.

“If I was able to do this when I was fighting the Hillmen, I would only have needed a few of these Fire Crystal Bombs to blow them all up!” Mo Fan declared.

He did not have a breakthrough, but he had discovered a way to perfectly combine Fire Magic and Space Magic. It was more exciting than advancing his Element by a tier!

——

Mo Fan returned to Fanxue Mountain contentedly after his energy ran out. He was going to hear about at the decisions that the others had arrived at regarding the future plans of Fanxue Mountain when his phone started ringing.

“Mo Fan!” Lingling sounded a little anxious.

“Did you find some clues about the Totem Beasts?” Mo Fan asked.

“No, but my sister is in trouble,” Lingling said worriedly.

“Calm down, tell me what happened,” Mo Fan said calmly.

Lingling’s sister, Leng Qing, was going to be promoted to an Elder of the Magic Court. Her cultivation was not particularly outstanding in the Enforcement Union, but her leadership and commanding skills were exemplary. Many members and Enforcers followed her lead. She had made a lot of contributions to the Enforcement Union, too, including the operation that took out the Black Vatican on Chongming Island.

Mo Fan had been told that Leng Qing was about to be promoted to an Elder. Why did Lingling sound like something bad had happened?

“An expert of the Hall of Assassins is targeting my sister. She almost died in the Demon City (Guangzhou)!” Lingling sounded uneasy and scared.

It was rare to see Lingling helpless and clueless about what to do, like another girl of her age. Mo Fan comforted her on the phone and went straight to the Magic City.

——

He found Lingling alone at the Clearsky Hunter Agency.

“I was told that my sister is still in danger. There’s a chance that the assassin will strike again,” Lingling said.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go to the Demon City with you. I won’t let anything happen to your sister,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, we must hunt the assassin down!” Lingling said.

“What exactly is the Hall of Assassins?” Mo Fan asked.

“The Hall of Assassins is similar to the Black Vatican. The Black Vatican is like a cancerous tumor that will do anything to destroy the world, but the Hall of Assassins is after profits. They will assassinate anyone, regardless of the consequences, as soon as they are paid to do it!” Lingling said.

“Humph, the Hall of Assassins?!” Zhao Manyan harrumphed coldly as he walked into the Clearsky Hunter Agency. He absolutely despised the Hall of Assassins!

The two assassins that Zhao Youqian hired to kill him were from the Hall of Assassins!

They were a bunch of scum who could not care less about a person’s life!

Chapter 1326 Red Cardinal, the Cold Prince

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The cold wind swept fiercely across a structure standing firmly above the mist of the night sky to a height of 454 meters.

On the tallest observation deck of the Canton Tower, a man in a black windbreaker, his face covered by a black scarf, stood on the rails. The rails were only as wide as a thumb, yet the man was able to stand on them. His clothes flapped wildly in the cold wind.

A teenager with purple eyes came up to the man and asked, “Why did you ask me to meet you here? Don’t you think it’s a little exposed?”

“I hate to be of no interest to anyone. Loneliness is very scary, and the world has always been cold,” the man replied.

“Don’t you think it’s amusing to hear that from an assassin like you, who just kills just for fun?” the teenage boy with purple eyes chuckled.

“I’m afraid that’s a great misunderstanding. I’m a kind-hearted person most of the time!” the man answered.

“Fine, you’re a kind man who enjoys killing, but can you please make sure the woman is dead? I don’t want the Enforcement Union wiping out my men suddenly when my delicate plan in the North Valley is in motion… Bei Jiang!” the teenage boy said.

“Cold Prince, I have no interest in your plan. None of my targets has ever escaped me. I believe even you won’t be able to escape from me if someone asked me to take your life,” Bei Jiang stated.

“I believe so, but the person you’re dealing with isn’t just a little lamb waiting to be slaughtered. They have been spreading news to fake that Vice Elder’s death. Luckily, I’ve been keeping an eye around. Don’t let those imbeciles ruin my plan again. This world can’t afford to have just Salan, instead of the Cold Prince!” the teenage boy declared.

“As you wish.”

The teenage boy put on a mask and headed for the lift like a normal tourist. He soon vanished among the crowd.

Bei Jiang remained standing on the rail. Many visitors felt their legs turning to jelly as they walked past the man, but they just assumed the man to be a Mage, thus they were not too bothered by his strange behavior.

“AHHHHH!”

A loud scream was heard coming from below. It had come from the Ferris Wheel below the observation deck. A naughty kid had climbed across the safety rails just to skip the queue.

The Ferris wheel was hanging from the tower. Even with the safety measures in place, they still failed to stop a kid who was trying to get himself killed. The workers rushed forward to try and grab the kid, but the kid lost his footing and fell off the rails!

There were many tourists, but only a few of them were Mages. It had all happened too quickly. The ten-year-old boy started falling from the tower.

The Canton Tower was over four hundred meters tall, with more than a hundred floors. There was no chance the boy could survive the fall. His mother had already fainted from shock!

The man standing on the observation deck at a height of 454 meters looked down from above.

He suddenly disappeared in the mist without a single trace. He reappeared on the Ferris wheel in the following second. He crouched slowly and fixed his gaze on the boy that had fallen a hundred meters down from the tower.

“A Mage, you must be a Mage!” A woman was overjoyed when she saw the man appearing out of nowhere.

The rest of the crowd assumed the man that had suddenly appeared to be a Mage too.

“Sir, my kid had fallen off the rails, please save him!” the kid’s father said.

Bei Jiang remained still. It looked as if he was channeling his magic, yet he still did not move after two seconds.

Meanwhile, the kid was already more than two hundred meters down the tower, as tiny as a sesame seed, getting closer to the ground. Everyone was placing all their hopes on the Mage when they imagined the horrible death that would befall the little kid.

“It’s a misunderstanding,” Bei Jiang grinned. Even though his face was covered, the crowd could still tell that he was smiling, “I have only come to enjoy the sight of him smashing to a pulp…”

Bei Jiang had a wide smile, so wide that it sent shivers down the spines of the crowd!

—

—

The flight from the Magic City finally arrived at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport after a two-hour delay. Both Mo Fan and Lingling had the urge to tear down the airline for wasting so much of their time. It would have been quicker if Mo Fan traveled here by casting Blink continuously, if he actually had the energy to do so!

They immediately went to where Leng Qing was hiding. Lingling’s eyes reddened as soon as she saw Leng Qing lying on a wooden bed, breathing faintly.

Lingling was just a little girl. It did not matter how calm and strong she seemed to be normally, she still could not control her emotions when seeing her loved ones dying. She did not want the same thing that had happened to her father to happen to anyone around her again, as the long-lasting pain was unbearable!

Leng Qing was not hiding at the Enforcement Union. She was in a simply furnished, rented property hidden in an urban village in Guangzhou City. Mo Fan did not understand why Leng Qing was hiding here instead of being treated at a hospital. She was going to die from her injuries at this rate!

“I’m bringing her to the hospital,” Mo Fan put the feeble Leng Qing on his back.

“No, you can’t!” the Enforcer looking after Leng Qing said.

The Enforcer was a woman too. She seemed pretty young; she was most likely Leng Qing’s reliable assistant. Mo Fan had seen her with Leng Qing at the Clearsky Hunter Agency before. Her name was Xiao Ping.

Xiao Ping had a haggard look. It must have been days since she last slept. She immediately stood in front of Mo Fan when he suggested bringing Leng Qing to the hospital.

“What’s going on? She’s going to die if she doesn’t get treated!” Mo Fan said.

Xiao Ping’s eyes flickered with fear. She was even stuttering.

“You can’t go to the hospital. The guy is watching us!” Xiao Ping said.

“The guy? Who’s watching you?” Mo Fan said.

“The assassin! We were going to bring her to the hospital, but she said she had something to tell me, so my senior left before us and died in the street. It feels like his eyes are circling in the sky like an eagle. He’s able to track us wherever we go!” Xiao Ping said.

“Where’s the Enforcement Union? Why didn’t you contact the local Enforcement Union?” Mo Fan asked.

“The Enforcement Union is located in the middle floors of the Canton Tower, but there’s no way we can make it there,” Xiao Ping said.

Mo Fan’s heart was pounding heavily.

How terrifying exactly was the assassin, that these Enforcers would feel so insecure even when they were in the middle of a city? They were acting like they were going to die as soon as they set foot outside!

Mo Fan could sense Xiao Ping’s fear. She was indeed terrified, so terrified that she had lost her dignity as an Enforcer!

Lingling pulled the curtain to the side and peeked through the dirty glass of the window. She was able to see the magnificent Canton Tower standing firmly in the middle of the city behind the other, smaller buildings.

Guangzhou was referred to as the Demon City, and the Canton Tower was called the Demon Tower. It was the most popular attraction in the city, and the base of the Nanguo Magic Association. The reputable Nanguo Enforcement Union was located in the tower, too. Between the urban village and the Canton Tower was the lively, heavily populated Tianhe District, but the assassin was bold enough to kill an Enforcer on the street. It would be tricky for them to make their way to the tower!

“Sister must have realized her life was in danger and she was unable to get any help, so she contacted me with a secret method,” Lingling said.

“Is the traitor behind this?” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan remembered Leng Qing telling him there was an undiscovered traitor in the Enforcement Union. If that was the case, it explained why Leng Qing was hesitating to ask the Nanguo Enforcement Union for help, since it might expose her location instead.

Leng Qing was a rational person. She was able to think further ahead than most people. She realized she was on her own, and it was only safe if she could make it back to the Lingyin Enforcement Union!

“What happened? Why is the Hall of Assassins after her?” Mo Fan asked.

“She has been investigating the Black Vatican all along, and she stumbled into… into…” Xiao Ping was a little hesitant to spill the beans.

She did not dare to say it, as the stakes were too high. Things would easily get out of hand if too many people were dragged into the mess.

“What is it? Just say it! Are you going to wait until we are all dead?” Mo Fan said impatiently. How could she be so scared as an Enforcer?

“It’s a Red Cardinal, she managed to track down another Red Cardinal! But the Red Cardinal was very alert. We were perfectly disguised as ordinary people, yet he still sent someone to investigate us. We tried to run away as soon as we realized our cover was blown. We thought we were safe in the city, but we almost died to the assassin!” Xiao Ping said.

“A Red Cardinal?” Mo Fan and Lingling were stunned.

She was investigating one of the seven Red Cardinals of the Black Vatican. How deep did she go this time? Was she out of her mind?

“Which one!?” Mo Fan demanded.

“The…The Cold Prince…” For some reason, Xiao Ping felt a chill running down her spine as soon as she mentioned the name, as if a pair of purple eyes were watching her from outside the window!

Chapter 1327 The Ubiquitous Pursuit of Darkness

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

An Elder of the Magic Court had almost died just because she had learned the whereabouts of a Red Cardinal. What kind of outstanding capabilities did these Red Cardinals of the Black Vatican have, to be able to murder strong Mages like them so easily?

It took Mo Fan some time to calm down. He went up to Leng Qing and inspected her injuries.

Leng Qing had not suffered many physical injuries, but her pale skin had turned completely black, as if she was soaked in a black liquid for a very long time.

She was not poisoned, yet her body was severely damaged by Dark Energy. Even her blood was corrupted by the Dark Magic. Normal medicines were useless for her condition. The only cure was the Healing Element, which was a kind of the White Magic!

“Such a strong Dark Energy!” Mo Fan placed his hand on Leng Qing’s body, but the Dark Energy immediately spread to Mo Fan’s hand like a deadly virus.

Mo Fan was a Shadow Mage, yet even he was unable to withstand the Dark Energy. He lost feeling in his hand in just a matter of seconds!

“Mmm, the assassin seems to be everywhere. We’ve tried so hard to run away from him. We’ve cut off all communications, we didn’t dare to use our magic, or even medicines, just to escape from that maniac,” Xiao Ping said.

Mo Fan fell into deep thought. How did the assassin have such a terrifying tracking ability?

There were varieties of Dark Magic. Mo Fan was specialized in using shadows. He could move between shadows, conceal his presence, and impair the movement of his enemies. He could also form a Seal of Darkness with his will to mark a target, allowing him to track down a target. It was how he was able to follow the Bronze-Fang Hillman on Outer Mount Kunyu.

The Seal of Darkness was merely one of the basic abilities of the Dark Magic. Mo Fan had already inspected Leng Qing, but he did not find any Seal of Darkness on her.

Even if there was one, Leng Qing would have gotten rid of it long ago. It was not difficult to get rid of a Seal of Darkness.

Which came back to the question… how was the assassin tracking them?

They had stopped using spells, communication devices, and medicines. In other words, even the slightest presence of magic would expose their location to the assassin!

As the level of a Mage rose, the number of ways a Mage could use their spells increased too. Even though Mo Fan was a Shadow Mage, he still had no clue what the secret was.

Mo Fan looked at Lingling, but even the knowledgeable Lingling was shaking her head. She too was clueless about it.

“It’s…it’s the Darkness Corruption…” a feeble voice said.

Mo Fan followed the voice and realized Leng Qing was awake. Her eyelids were half-opened. Even moving her lips cost her lots of energy. She had been listening to their conversation, but she was too weak to respond.

“The Darkness Corruption is able to mark everything close to its target. Communication devices, spells, the people, the medicines… it will alert the assassin about the slightest energy it has detected…” Leng Qing said feebly.

“So you’re saying that we can’t even use a single spell. Otherwise, the assassin will know where we are?” Mo Fan asked.

Both Mo Fan and Lingling had made physical contact with Leng Qing. The Dark Magic had even attacked Mo Fan. Therefore, everything they did would be reflected to the assassin!

“Mm,” Leng Qing said.

“What should we do then? The guy is somewhere in the city. If we try going to the Nanguo Enforcement Union, he’s sure to intercept us. If we try asking for help or using any magic, he will know too. We can’t even use any medicine. Doesn’t that mean there’s nothing we can do but watch her die in pain?” Xiao Ping said in despair.

The biggest problem they were facing was Leng Qing’s injuries. Mo Fan believed she would not last for more than twenty-four hours if she was not treated.

“I…” Leng Qing wanted to say something, but she was just too weak. She tried her best to open her eyes, as if she had something important to pass on to Lingling and Mo Fan.

“I don’t care what you found or learned, but I won’t allow you to give up now. What’s going to happen to Lingling if you die? You are all she has! Just close your eyes, rest well, and hang in there. I’ll take care of the assassin and get you treated!” Mo Fan stopped Leng Qing from saying a word further.

Leng Qing was too weak. Every word she said would shorten her life.

Leng Qing turned to Lingling after hearing Mo Fan’s words.

Tears were rolling in Lingling’s eyes after seeing her sister was dying and hearing Mo Fan’s words. She furiously punched Mo Fan on the chest and snapped, “My grandfather is still alive!”

“Oh, I was just saying so your sister will care more about you, so she won’t think she can die in glory now, just because she has fulfilled her duty after discovering some information about a Red Cardinal. A real woman among women should take care of her family while swearing loyalty to the country! Those who have failed to make both ends meet aren’t considered great. It’s the same as being a one-trick pony. If your Fire Element is strong, but your Lightning Element is weak, people won’t be impressed by you. It just means you’ve spent all your time practicing the Fire Element. You’re no different than those that are bad in both Elements! What I’m trying to say is, Senior Sister, even though you’ve done a lot for the Enforcement Union, you haven’t been taking good care of Lingling, which makes you a terrible person…” Mo Fan kept blabbing.

Leng Qing glanced at Mo Fan. If she had the energy, she would kick Mo Fan out of the room for uttering such nonsense.

Who would choose to die if they were given an option? The problem was that she did not think she had any chance of surviving. The assassin was too strong for them. Leng Qing had only managed to contact Lingling with a special method. She tried to contact Old Bao, but he was still out of the country. He seemed to be involved in something important!

“Those guys are never around when we need their help!” Lingling snapped furiously.

The Clearsky Hunter Agency had a lot of experts, but the others usually came and went like shadows. It was rare to see them around, so it was difficult to ask them for help during an emergency.

“Is the assassin a Super Mage?” Mo Fan asked.

“No, but I think he’s scarier than a Super Mage,” Xiao Ping said.

If they were up against a normal Super Mage, they just needed to run away, but it was impossible to escape from the assassin. Every time they thought they were safe, the assassin would stab at their throats with his black dagger, placing them under a suffocating pressure.

“We still have a chance if he’s not a Super Mage. Since we can’t ask other people for help, we’ll have to take him on ourselves,” Mo Fan said.

They would have to save Leng Qing first if they wanted to learn what she had discovered about the Red Cardinal.

An elusive ubiquitous assassin pursuing them in the darkness… Mo Fan decided to confront him directly!

—

Mo Fan did not have much time left. He initially planned to wait until Zhao Manyan was here, but that was no longer an option. Many flights were delayed or even canceled due to the thick mist looming over the city. The only way Zhao Manyan could make it in time was by flying here with his golden wings. However, he had to stay on the right path. Otherwise, he would be feeding himself to demon creatures instead!

“I’ll leave Little Flame Belle behind and head over to the Canton Tower. I’ll see if the assassin knows where I am if I don’t use my magic,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was now corrupted by the Dark Magic too. Luckily, Little Flame Belle was sleeping on his shoulder in her porcelain doll form. Otherwise, their location would be exposed once he had to summon the Little Flame Belle.

——

Mo Fan was confident in Little Flame Belle’s strength. He left by himself and proceeded along the busy streets. He found himself in a noisy market.

The market was crowded with people; vegetable vendors, butchers, middle-aged women negotiating for a lower price, young couples complaining about how dirty the place was. Mo Fan did not wear the outfit of a Mage, nor did he have any badge on him. He was weaving through the crowd like a normal person!

He kept going and soon reached the Tianhe District, with its tall buildings and overpasses. It was like a different world compared to the urban village. The skyscrapers with steel glasses, the delicate parks combined with spacious plazas, the streets with slow-moving traffic… the traffic here was even worse than the Magic City!…

The reason why Guangzhou was called the Demon City was mainly because of its ever-changing weather. It always gave the weather forecast huge slaps to the face. It was misty when Mo Fan left the house the others were hiding in, but it was already raining now.

Mo Fan was getting closer to the Canton Tower, moving at a fast pace. He was merely employing the physical traits of a Mage, without relying on his magic, so he was not unleashing any magic ripples.

The Canton Tower showed off its unique charm at night. Mo Fan didn’t expect the simple design of the tower and its squares would be so magnificent when he was looking at it from a close distance!

“Someone is falling!”

“My Heavens, someone is falling from the tower!”

“Holy crap, it’s a kid!”

An uproar suddenly occurred ahead of Mo Fan. The people started screaming.

Mo Fan raised his head and saw a vague figure descending rapidly. It must have been falling for some time.

A normal Mage would not dare to catch the figure, since its momentum from the constant acceleration would be too much for them to handle. The impact would crush the kid as soon as he made contact with anything, let alone the ground!

“Damn it, is every Mage of the Nanguo Magic Association blind!?” Mo Fan cursed.

Mo Fan was quite impressed by his own luck. The kid was less than fifty meters above the ground. A few Mages were diving from the tower to save him, but they were unable to reach the kid in time!

Mo Fan was close to where the kid was falling. He kept reminding himself not to use a single spell, yet he could not bear to just watch the kid fall to his death!

“Consider myself unlucky!” Mo Fan always found these naughty kids annoying. He vanished as he was forced to use Blink.

The moment his body emitted a silver flicker, an invisible dark energy immediately rose from his body and turned into tiny black flies, flying into the sky toward the top of the Canton Tower!

1328 Swamp of Darkness

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Tsk tsk tsk, such a pity!” Bei Jiang exclaimed when he saw a Space Mage save the boy that had fallen off the tower.

The boy had almost reached the ground. The Mages that dove from the tower had no chance of catching up to him. The boy was going to turn into a bright red carpet if there was no Mage on the ground nearby. Bei Jiang would then be able to enjoy the cries of agony of his parents. It was indeed an enjoyable night!

Bei Jiang shook his head helplessly and left.

However, a familiar black fly slowly approached him. He was the only person that could see it. The fly was invisible to the others.

Bei Jiang’s gaze sharpened. He immediately looked down from the height of a few hundred meters and placed his attention on the man that had used his Space Magic to save the kid.

Bei Jiang smiled again; it was as fake and terrifying as his previous one.

“Fancy finding the thing that I’ve searched for far and wide with sheer luck!” Bei Jiang murmured.

Bei Jiang jumped from the top of the Canton Tower and dove at the ground. He was like a black bat with its wings withdrawn, diving in the strong cold wind!

Screams were heard once again. The people did not expect another person to fall from the Canton Tower right after the boy. However, the person was obviously not falling helplessly. He was plunging right at the man that had saved the boy, like a glowing black sword!

——

“Kid, I bet you won’t dare to climb up the rails next time. If I didn’t happen to be passing by, your fat meat would have been stuck to the ground in a mess by now!” Mo Fan placed the kid on the ground.

The kid was recovering from his fright, but he fainted right away after hearing the words.

Mo Fan had no intention to waste his time on the kid. He left the kid on a bench in the square nearby.

Mo Fan felt a cold murderous intent coming from above. He was shocked when he sensed the dangerous presence approaching him rapidly. He immediately cast Blink to back away from it!

A cold dagger slammed onto the ground and left a hole in the plaza. Its cold aura spread into the surroundings.

Even though Mo Fan had managed to dodge the attack, he could still feel his blood running cold.

Was the assassin really that insane? It had been less than a minute since he used his spell, but the guy had appeared right before him. How did he do it?

Mo Fan was troubled by the thought. His heart shuddered when he looked at the assassin in a black windbreaker. Mo Fan finally understood why Xiao Ping was so scared, as he was having the same feeling too!

“Bring me to the woman, and perhaps I’ll spare your life,” Bei Jiang stood in front of Mo Fan, radiating a demonic aura.

“So you’re the assassin?” Mo Fan asked.

“I am Bei Jiang,” Bei Jiang declared with a proud look in his hollow eyes.

“This is the territory of the Nanguo Magic Association. Are you sure you want to start a fight here?” Mo Fan smirked when he saw a few Mages gathering around them.

“Do you think I’m worried about them? I don’t like to repeat myself. I’m only asking you to bring me to her to save me some time. The truth is, I can already find where she is,” Bei Jiang was very confident in his capabilities. He did not mind sharing it with Mo Fan.

“You will have to get over my dead body if you want to do anything to her!” Mo Fan had no intention to back away now that he had stumbled into the assassin. His aura shifted as he turned grim.

“There are always idiots like you who make the wrong choice when it’s a matter of life and death!” Bei Jiang sneered.

Bei Jiang made his move. He seemed to have completely disregarded the magnificent Canton Tower behind him. There were a lot of experts stationed at the Nanguo Magic Association, yet he was treating them as mere decorations!

The man suddenly disappeared from under the colorful lights of the tower. Mo Fan could not even see where he was, as if he had completely vanished into thin air.

Mo Fan tried to locate the man with his Shadow Element, yet he discovered unusual energy ripples in eight different spots, preventing him from tracking the man down.

A black ray suddenly came down at Mo Fan like an icy sword. Mo Fan raised his head and saw a pair of black pupils with an intimidating glow, like those of a poisonous snake. The stare stopped him from moving as if he had been paralyzed.

The black icy sword moved closer, yet Mo Fan was unable to move. It felt similar to when he was bound by the stare of the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. He could not even use Blink!

Mo Fan had rarely fought against an expert of the Shadow Element. The man was clearly better than him in terms of the Shadow Element!

Mo Fan forcibly unleashed his Lightning as he was struggling to move around. Huge lightning arcs sprang up and clashed with the black sword, before lunging at the eyes that were hidden in the shadows.

The Lightning with its damaged amplified twelvefold was very effective. Bei Jiang did not expect Mo Fan’s Lightning to be so powerful.

The wild lightning arcs allowed Mo Fan to break free from his restraint. However, he was shocked to see that the ground below him had disappeared when he moved a little distance away. It had turned into a spacious black swamp!

Black hands were reaching out from the swamp, grabbing at Mo Fan’s legs. They were trying to drag Mo Fan into the swamp!

“Second-tier Nyx Regime: the Swamp of Darkness!” Mo Fan immediately recognized the spell. However, it was not easy to break free from the sticky and restraining swamp. The assassin was good at restraining his target before dealing a killing blow!

As Mo Fan was held in place by the demonic hands, a figure slowly rose from the swamp with an eerie weapon in his hand.

“Rebelling Shadow Throat Slice!” Bei Jiang uttered like a cold-blooded killer.

The kid that Mo Fan saved had woken up. He witnessed a shocking sight as soon as he opened his eyes. The shadow of the big brother who had saved his life rose on its own and climbed onto his back with an eerie grin. It was extending its dagger toward the big brother’s neck without making any noise!

A shadow that could kill, and it was killing its own master!

The little boy had never seen anything so terrifying. When the dagger sliced Mo Fan’s throat, the kid rolled his eyes and fainted again.

Mo Fan’s own shadow was slicing his throat, as if it had suddenly come alive. It was spooky and impossible to defend against!

“Die!” Bei Jiang grinned coldly, ordering Mo Fan’s shadow to stab the dagger deeper.

Too many Mages had died to this move at Bei Jiang’s hands. No one would ever keep an eye on their own shadow, but the shadow under his control had almost a one hundred percent chance of killing its master!

A black aura flickered. The Mo Fan whose throat was sliced open suddenly turned into a black cloak and floated away.

The real Mo Fan reappeared in a different direction. His black eyes were staring at Bei Jiang. Strong lightning appeared, crackling around him!

Bei Jiang was startled. His face was filled with astonishment.

“Interesting,” Bei Jiang’s lips curled up.

It would be boring if he kept killing his target so easily. The young Mage had turned out to be a Shadow Mage too, and might be able to entertain him a little!

“Shadow Clone… that’s not an ability that a normal Shadow Mage would have,” Bei Jiang said.

Mo Fan had left a clone behind, so the Rebelling Shadow had only killed a clone. The showdown between their Shadow Elements triggered Bei Jiang’s bloodlust. Killing a worthy opponent would bring him more joy!

“Lightning Whip!”

Mo Fan turned his lightning into a long thick whip. He lashed it in Bei Jiang’s direction.

They were still in the plaza. There were lots of ordinary people around, so Mo Fan did not dare use the Silent Deadly Rays and the Sky Lightning Claw, as they might harm innocent lives.

“You will never hit me!” Bei Jiang’s figure suddenly blurred.

He floated in the air like a black mist, splitting up into different shadows and disappearing into the black swamp without a trace!

The people of the Magic Association finally showed up. A man with a thick mustache yelled, “Who’s fighting here!?”

“Evacuate the people and set up a perimeter!” another Maga said.

The area of the black swamp was huge. Many people were caught in it and unable to move. They could only cry for help as their bodies continued to sink into the swamp.

The people of the Magic Association quickly lent a hand when they saw a few people sink completely into the swamp.

Unfortunately, the Mages that showed up were not too strong. The strongest among them was only an Advanced Mage. These members of the Magic Association were mere decorations to Bei Jiang. He sank into the swamp and reappeared less than ten meters away from Mo Fan…

Mo Fan was concentrating. He was unsure which one was the real Bei Jiang. The man was able to move inside the swamp and stir up images to confuse his senses, waiting for the perfect chance to deliver a killing blow!

1329 The Black Axe Phantom Vassal

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How dare you venture here!?”

A thunderous voice came from above as a man in a white coat descended on the wind. His presence was overwhelming. It almost drew away the air in the area that Mo Fan and Bei Jiang were fighting in, turning it into a vacuum.

As the pressure was withdrawn, the air further away began to fill up the area rapidly, resulting in a great storm!

“A Super Mage!” Mo Fan lifted his gaze and fixed his eyes on the man in a white coat.

Bei Jiang was in the dark swamp, and was aware of the Super Mage’s presence, too. The storm continued to shrink, limiting the space that Mo Fan and Bei Jiang could move in.

“Consider yourself lucky!” Bei Jiang laughed mockingly.

The black swamp slowly disappeared. The vacuum storm had suppressed the darkness, but when Mo Fan was planning to use the chance provided by the vacuum storm to take Bei Jiang out, the assassin’s presence suddenly vanished.

The dark swamp had covered the entire plaza. Bei Jiang had disappeared without a trace amid the vacuum storm. The Super Wind Mage in a white coat noticed it too. He stopped the storm from shrinking any further.

Mo Fan did not stand a chance against the Super Spell. He immediately told the Super Mage who he was.

The Mage in a white coat entered the storm and repeated, “You’re Mo Fan, the guy on the national team?”

“Here is my badge, the other guy was an assassin!” Mo Fan briefly told the Super Mage what had happened.

The Super Mage knew the badge could not be a forgery. The others of the Magic Association also saw Mo Fan save the kid who had fallen off the tower before fighting a man in a black robe.

“The assassin is trying to kill an Elder of the Enforcement Union. I don’t have much time to explain the details to you. I’m afraid he’s going after the Elder,” Mo Fan said.

Even a Super Mage had failed to stop Bei Jiang from running away. It explained why the assassin was bold enough to attack Mo Fan in front of the Magic Association. It would be troublesome if they allowed someone like Bei Jiang to escape.

“I’m coming with you!” the Super Wind Mage said.

Feng Zhoulong summoned his Wind Wings and headed straight for the house that Leng Qing was hiding in, together with Mo Fan.

—

—

Inside the house, a rotting smell lingered in the air. Xiao Ping was so scared that she did not even dare to open the windows.

The people left in the unit were Xiao Ping; Lingling; Leng Qing, who was lying on the bed; and Little Flame Belle, who was lying beside Lingling. Xiao Ping was feeling very insecure.

“I’ll go get some food,” Xiao Ping said.

She went to the kitchen. An old light bulb was hanging above her. It swayed slightly as she entered the kitchen. Its light projected a tiny shadow under Xiao Ping’s feet.

Xiao Ping was preparing some simple food. She was tensed and spooked, yet she did not notice the shadow under her feet moving eerily, like an evil phantom. It was silently climbing her back…

“Ling!~”

Little Flame Belle suddenly opened her eyes. She stared towards the kitchen.

Following a groan, a slender figure fell to the floor in the kitchen. Fresh blood started pouring out from the body and flowed into the next room.

Lingling’s eyes widened. She was struggling to believe Xiao Ping, an Enforcer, could die so easily, like an ordinary girl.

“Ling~!”

Little Flame Belle unleashed the flames of Ardent Sunset when she sensed danger approaching. The flames rose and spread across the ceiling.

The blazing flames immediately drove away the shadow moving behind Lingling, and the black claw that was reaching out from under Leng Qing’s bed!

The flames had driven away the darkness and defended them from its attacks for the time being. Lingling was surrounded by the heat of the scorching flames, yet she was still breaking out in a cold sweat.

There was really an assassin who could kill without making a single noise in this world!

“Pendant of Protection!”

Lingling knew her sister was in danger. She jumped onto Leng Qing’s chest and clutched a charm she was wearing firmly.

The charm glowed with a yellow light. A barrier with the appearance of a honeycomb surrounded them completely.

Meanwhile, a loud crash came from the metal sheet roof above the house. A black axe broke through the roof and went right at Leng Qing’s head!

Clank!

The black axe failed to penetrate the yellow honeycomb barrier. However, the house collapsed, as it could not withstand the impact, revealing Lingling, Little Flame Belle, and Leng Qing inside it.

When the building collapsed, Lingling noticed a phantom holding a black axe standing outside. It was half again as tall as the house. Its outline was vague and blurry.

There were other residents in the area, but they were unable to see the creature. It had the ability to blend into the night!

The noise had woken the nearby residents up. They did not even have the time to put on their clothes. They immediately ran out of their houses and fled in all directions.

Luckily, the Black Axe Phantom Vassal was not interested in their lives. It lifted its axe with both hands and slammed it down.

The powerful hit left a huge crack on Lingling’s honeycomb barrier. It could only endure a few more blows!

“Ling!~”

Little Flame Belle could not do anything to the phantom. Her flames were useless against it. Luckily, the smart Little Flame Belle suddenly unleashed another flame, which swiftly wrapped around her.

The two flames combined as a slender figure appeared amid them. Little Flame Belle had to transform into her real form to use her power to maximum potential!

Flame Belle’s gaze sharpened as she emitted a silver light. Her will slammed into the Black Axe Phantom Vassal like a fierce tide.

The Space Element was effective. The Black Axe Phantom Vassal was knocked back by the force and fell heavily to the ground. However, even though it had fallen onto a house, the house was perfectly fine!

“Fire Elemental Spirit, Flame Belle?” a deep voice on the street spoke up. The figure was wearing a black robe and a mask. It was impossible to see his true appearance on the dimly-lit street. It would have been difficult to notice his presence if he had not spoken first.

Bei Jiang did not expect Leng Qing to have a Fire Elemental Creature protecting her!

Luckily, his Phantom Vassal was formless, so Elemental Magic was ineffective against it. Otherwise, he might have had trouble dealing with the Flame Belle!

Flame Belle soon noticed the culprit behind the attack on the deserted street.

She reached her hand out and pointed in Bei Jiang’s direction. Her flames rose suddenly and fired several fireballs at the street rapidly, leaving scorched holes in it!

Bei Jiang remained calm. He had vanished into thin air as the fireballs were flying in his direction. As usual, he had disappeared without a trace. Flame Belle tried to look around, yet she had no idea where he went.

Meanwhile, the Black Axe Phantom Vassal had risen to its feet. To Flame Belle’s surprise, the enormous creature vanished into thin air too, as if they had both left the place…

The dark energy was still lingering in the air, so there was still danger around. Flame Belle knew her job was to look after Lingling and Leng Qing, so she did not dare to move away. She stood beside Lingling and Leng Qing, using her flames to set up a circle of defense, not allowing anything to move closer to them.

“Six Wings Protection!” a voice came from the sky.

It was the Super Wind Mage, Feng Zhoulong. His white Wind Wings were stacking over top of Lingling and Leng Qing like the wings of an angel.

The Serpents of Darkness were pouncing at them. Flame Belle was totally unaware of the attacks. Her flames were unable to detect them.

The Six Wings Protection had appeared right on time. The Serpents of Darkness were attacking from all directions. The ghastly-looking serpents wriggled their bodies, but soon dissipated into black mist after the Six Wings Protection successfully stopped them.

“I’ll be back again, tsk tsk…”

Bei Jiang’s laughter echoed through the urban village. Mo Fan and Feng Zhoulong tried to chase after him, but it was exactly the same as before. They were unable to track Bei Jiang down. The guy had simply vanished into thin air!

“Such terrifying ability!” Feng Zhoulong murmured.

A Super Mage was a lot more perceptive than an Advanced Mage, yet Feng Zhoulong still could not sense Bei Jiang. An assassin like him was truly terrifying. Even a Super Mage could be killed by him if they were not being cautious enough!

Mo Fan was feeling uneasy, too. It was his first time going up against such a terrifying and tricky enemy. Mo Fan felt he would die the instant he lowered his guard when he was fighting the assassin. To make things worse, they were completely exposed, while the assassin was hiding somewhere. He seemed very confident in his abilities. It was difficult to tell when he was going to strike again, and it was unlikely they could be on guard for twenty-four hours every day!

“Xiao Ping, quick, take a look at her,” Lingling urged.

Mo Fan went to the kitchen and saw Xiao Ping lying in a pool of blood…

“She’s still alive!” Mo Fan did not hesitate to use his sacred medicine to save Xiao Ping’s life.

Xiao Ping’s throat was sliced, so she was losing blood quickly. If he was any slower, she would not have had any chance of surviving.

Perhaps Bei Jiang did not think Mo Fan and Feng Zhoulong would arrive so quickly, nor did he expect Leng Qing to be protected by a powerful Flame Belle.

Most importantly, Mo Fan had the sacred medicine of the Parthenon Temple. Without it, Xiao Ping would be dead for sure!

Even Bei Jiang assumed Xiao Ping was going to die, so he could not have cared less about her. He could not have expected that his target would have the sacred medicine of the Parthenon Temple, since not every person would be carrying some around with them. Besides, his actual target was Leng Qing!

1330 Shadow Demon Assassinate

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A Healer at the Magic Association barely saved Leng Qing’s life after they brought her to the Canton Tower. However, it was unlikely that they could cleanse the dark energy inside her body.

Xiao Ping was barely in better condition. They were able to replenish the blood she had lost in time. Their sickbeds were placed together. Lingling and Mo Fan stayed around, yet they were still feeling uneasy.

“You two better get some rest. They won’t wake up anytime soon, but their lives are no longer in danger. I believe the Healers will find a way to help them recover.” Feng Zhoulong patted Mo Fan and Lingling on the shoulder, telling them not to worry too much about it.

Mo Fan and Lingling were indeed worn out. They had come all the way from the Magic City and headed to Leng Qing right away. They had to be on alert against the assassin at all times as they escorted the two injured people to the Magic Association to receive the treatment they desperately needed.

“Go get some rest in the next room. Don’t you worry, there’s no chance the assassin can break into our Nanguo Magic Association,” Feng Zhoulong declared.

Mo Fan and Lingling were at their limits. They went to the next room to get some rest. Feng Zhoulong assigned a few Mages to keep an eye on Leng Qing and Xiao Ping as an extra safety precaution.

“Don’t worry, your sister will be fine,” Mo Fan comforted Lingling.

Lingling had been panicking a lot while her sister was in danger. The little girl had been able to face any situation calmly before, yet she could only lean on Mo Fan’s arm with a helpless look.

“Here, get some rest,” Mo Fan put Lingling to bed and placed the blanket over her.

Lingling looked at Mo Fan with wide eyes. Mo Fan flicked her forehead and said, “Hurry up and sleep.”

“I’m not used to having a man around when I sleep…” Lingling told him.

“…”

Mo Fan left the room with a helpless look. He went for a walk along a glass corridor. His mental strength was quite impressive. He was already resting as long as he was not in a fight.

Mo Fan sat down. He was planning to meditate to recover his energy when his phone started ringing.

“Brother Mo Fan!” Xinxia’s voice came from the other end, soothing Mo Fan’s thoughts. He had an urge to dive into the phone and reach Xinxia on the other end when he heard her voice, just so he could hug the sweet girl and fondle her.

However, before Mo Fan could speak, Xinxia exclaimed joyfully, “Guess where I am now?”

“Mm?” Mo Fan raised his brows. If Xinxia was asking him that question, it meant that she was somewhere close to him.

Could it be that the Parthenon Temple had finally given Xinxia some time off? Was she coming back to the country?

Mo Fan had been staying in China lately, since he was busy with all kinds of things. He promised Xinxia he would visit the Parthenon Temple, yet he had not fulfilled his promise yet. He was feeling a little guilty.

Having a long distance relationship was an absolute struggle. When was he going to master the spell Blink? Perhaps he could build his own teleporting formation in Xinxia’s bedroom in the Parthenon Temple, so he could just teleport to her whenever he was missing her. He would climb onto her when she was fast asleep… hehehe!

“Little Flame Belle, tell me, where is your mummy?” Mo Fan asked.

“AH, that’s not fair!” Xinxia complained.

Little Flame Belle would know where Xinxia was since they were sharing the same heart. However, Little Flame Belle was currently fast asleep. Mo Fan was just joking with Xinxia.

“You’re back in the country?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm!” Xinxia replied.

“In the Magic City?” Mo Fan asked.

“Wrong,” Xinxia seemed a little pleased.

“Your Highness, can you at least wear a hat? It’s going to be troublesome if someone recognizes us. You’re no longer the same as before. You have to member that you’re a Candidate of the Parthenon Temple, no matter where you go. Tens of thousand of disciples are concerned about your wellbeing. You shouldn’t make yourself vulnerable to danger…”

Mo Fan heard someone speaking while he was on the phone with Xinxia. The person was speaking in English, so Mo Fan could understand it.

Xinxia had mentioned the wise woman to Mo Fan several times when they were on the phone previously. She kept saying how overcautious the old lady was. She kept repeating the same advice. Xinxia mentioned the old lady would be a perfect caretaker if she did not talk so much.

“Where are you then? Don’t tell me you’re in Guangzhou,” Mo Fan ignored the old woman standing beside Xinxia.

“Look above you,” Xinxia said.

Mo Fan raised his head. He was currently on the seventieth floor in the Canton Tower. The only thing he could see above him was the dark sky shrouded by a mist.

Mo Fan stared at the sky a little longer, and saw a red dot winking on and off, and moving slowly across the sky. It was flying above Guangzhou City!

“You’re on that plane?” Mo Fan smiled. He sounded excited.

“Yes!” Xinxia was happy.

She had come to give Mo Fan a little surprise. She only knew Mo Fan was in Canton Tower because she could sense Little Flame Belle’s presence.

“What seat did you buy? Why can you use a phone?” Mo Fan asked.

“Brother Mo Fan, you always ask the weirdest questions…”

“HAHAHA, just jump down from the plane. I promise that I’ll catch you!” Mo Fan was looking forward to seeing Xinxia. He kept staring at the plane with a glowing red light.

“Tata will never allow it,” Xinxia answered.

—

—

While Mo Fan and Xinxia were on the phone a few thousand meters apart, Xiao Ping, who was lying on the sickbed, let out a soft moan.

The person guarding the entrance looked into the room after hearing the sound. He did not put much attention on it after realizing it was from one of the patients. The man looked to his left and right. He hesitated for a moment before lighting up a cigarette and walking further away to take a smoke.

Only a Forbidden Mage would be able to infiltrate the heavily guarded Canton Tower without alerting anyone. The man assumed the job he had been assigned to was a complete waste of his time.

The light in the ward was slightly dimmer, to ensure the patients could get a good rest.

Xiao Ping was lying on a white sickbed. The wound on her neck was wrapped in bandages. The vein that had been sliced open was slowly mending under the effects of medicine and Healing Magic.

However, black blood suddenly poured out from Xiao Ping’s wound. The blood stained the bandages as something strange leaked out from it.

More black blood began to pour out from the wound. The girl’s body was trembling.

The black blood suddenly emitted a strange light. The light projected her shadow on the nearby wall. It was a black outline of her lying on the bed.

The black outline suddenly rose to her feet, walking in a strange manner.

The shadow resembling Xiao Ping tiptoed over to Leng Qing’s bed. It grinned as it faced the entrance, as if it was laughing at the people that were trying to protect Leng Qing.

The hand of the shadow turned into a blade as it stabbed into Leng Qing’s chest. The shadow blade punctured Leng Qing’s heart without leaving any visible wound on her, yet the deadly dark energy was pouring into her heart!

Leng Qing’s heart was beating slowly, but it suddenly wilted away like a flower that had been poisoned!

—

“AHHHH!”

Mo Fan whirled around when he heard the scream. He realized the sound had come from Leng Qing’s ward.

Mo Fan quickly went over to the ward and saw Lingling sitting on the ground with a blank face. Tears were running down her face.

“Mo Fan, my sister is dead, she’s dead!” Lingling slightly recovered after seeing Mo Fan, but she was on the verge of having a mental breakdown.

It took them great efforts to bring Leng Qing to the Magic Association. They had placed her under heavy surveillance and her condition had finally stabilized. However, she had died all of a sudden briefly after.

“Her heart has stopped beating,” Feng Zhoulong said. His face was filled with disbelief as he spoke.

How did Leng Qing die? The old Healer clearly stated that her condition was stable. Why would her heart stop beating all of a sudden?

“Dark energy,” Mo Fan pointed at Leng Qing’s chest as soon as he sensed something unusual.

Mo Fan followed the trail of the dark energy and discovered that it had come from Xiao Ping who was still unconscious.

“Damn it!” Mo Fan cursed furiously.

Xiao Ping was corrupted by the dark energy, too. Bei Jiang had controlled Xiao Ping’s shadow and killed Leng Qing!

Mo Fan had never heard of anything like it. Even a Super Mage like Feng Zhoulong was dumbfounded. The Hall of Assassins had managed to kill an Elder of the Enforcement Union while she was under their protection!

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan, what should I do, what should I do!?” Lingling was full of tears. Losing her father had turned her into a quiet mature girl, but when the same tragedy happened again, it felt like she had turned into a little girl again. She kept repeating the same words while crying in agony.

Mo Fan was suffering when he saw Lingling’s reaction.

He swore to kill the assassin who was treating human lives like something he could trample as he wished!

“Brother Mo Fan… Brother Mo Fan, did something happen?” Xinxia’s worried voice came from the phone. Her voice stood out as the room fell silent as everyone was overwhelmed by Leng Qing’s death.

Mo Fan was going to say he would explain it to Xinxia after she had landed, but he felt a surge of lightning within him as a thought crossed his mind.

“Xinxia, Xinxia, can you save a person whose heart has just stopped beating!?” Mo Fan asked.

Xinxia was unable to use the Spell of Resurrection since her cultivation was still too weak. She had to pay a great price in order to resurrect someone. She had sacrificed her heart when she resurrected Little Flame Belle. She would most likely have to sacrifice her life if she wanted to resurrect someone again! Mo Fan was well aware of that!

However, there had always been sayings about how the Healing Magic of the Parthenon Temple was able to save someone from the dead. Even a Healer at the Super Level would have no hope of bringing Leng Qing back to life, but Xinxia might have a chance since she was a Saintess of the Parthenon Temple!

1331 A Kind of Disease

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Goddess, what are we even doing? If the Hall Mother learns I let you jump down from four thousand meters in the sky, she’s going to pinch my ear off and hang it on my bedside!” Tata said in Greek, like an old woman offering her prayer.

As she was saying it, she had already jumped out from the plane through the emergency exit while dragging Xinxia with her. They had chosen to land in advance rather than landing in Baiyun International Airport!

A pair of silver-white wings, like those of an elegant swan, spread in the air. Tata dove through the night sky with Xinxia, heading for the Canton Tower.

Xinxia’s legs were impaired, so it was quite a risky move. However, they had no other choice considering Leng Qing’s condition. If they acted according to convention, they would miss out on many opportunities!

“Let’s hope it doesn’t have a magic formation… forget it, I shouldn’t have any problem breaking through it,” Tata murmured, staring at the colorful Canton Tower coming up below them.

—

They landed on the top of the tower. The guards were completely dumbfounded, but Tata and Xinxia did not have time to explain themselves. They immediately took the lift to the seventieth floor.

The sequence had wasted a little time. Roughly six minutes had passed since Leng Qing’s heart had stopped beating.

If a person’s heart stopped beating for ten minutes, there was no way they could help the person come back to life!

The lift descended rapidly. Tata was carrying Xinxia on her back as she walked into the ward. Mo Fan was overjoyed when he saw Xinxia.

“Goddess, please forgive my outrageous acts,” Tata started praying.

Xinxia ignored the old woman. She sat down beside Leng Qing’s cold body.

“Just accept it, I’m the third-best Healer of the Nanguo Magic Association. Do you think I would declare her dead if there was still a way to save her?” the middle-aged Healer scoffed.

“Keep quiet,” Xinxia said sternly.

“Humph!” Xiao Anzhi twisted his lips disdainfully.

Xinxia closed her eyes. She gently placed her hand on Leng Qing’s chest, which was now covered in dark energy. An unusual milky-white light surfaced. It was the glow of an ordinary Healing Spell, but it contained a hint of a different color, a sacred blue!

Everyone remained silent. They were all watching Xinxia.

Xinxia was still. The sacred light she was emitting grew stronger, as if she was being devoured by it.

The light gradually drove the dark energy away. Leng Qing’s wilted heart recovered under the gentle light. It returned to life with a weak pulse.

“How?…” Feng Zhoulong could hear the faint beating of Leng Qing’s heart.

“How is this possible!?” Xiao Anzhi’s eyes widened. His eyes almost popped out from their sockets.

The electrocardiogram was showing a faint signal, proving that Leng Qing had regained her pulse. It was so weak that it was barely any different than a dead person. Normally, a person with such a weak pulse would die at any second, but it meant that the person was still alive!

“How dare you imbeciles underestimate the sacred magic of our Parthenon Temple! Ah, pardon me, what have I said!?” Tata exclaimed.

Xinxia moved her hand away from Leng Qing’s body with a tired face.

Bringing someone who had passed the gate of Hell back to life forcibly was a strenuous task. Xinxia’s cultivation was not that impressive, so she was worn out after using the sacred magic.

“I can only maintain her pulse for now. I have only bought us some time,” Xinxia said.

“Bought us some time?” Lingling said with a blank face.

“It’s an ancient spell, Dark Wither! If we can extinguish the source of the dark energy, it will expel the dark energy inside Leng Qing’s body. Her heart will slowly recover once the dark energy is gone,” Xinxia stated seriously.

“That doesn’t make any sense. I’ve been a Healer for so long, but I’ve never heard that dark energy has a source. Something like that only applies to the Curse Element, where a Curse Spell could be nullified by taking out the person casting it!” Xiao Anzhi blurted out. No reputable Healer would admit they were inferior. What Xinxia had said was too ridiculous.

“Old Xiao, please keep your calm, I think what she just said is reasonable. The assassin’s Dark Magic was pretty unusual. He must have some unique source of dark energy, something similar to the Spirit-grade Seeds and Soul-grade Seeds of Elemental Magic… his dark energy is contagious and dangerous. It also allows the assassin to track down his targets. If we don’t get rid of the source of the dark energy, Elder Leng Qing will never recover from her current state,” Feng Zhoulong said.

“But the problem is, the assassin is hiding somewhere in Guangzhou City. Do you know how big Guangzhou is? He has already gotten what he wanted. Finding him is like looking for a needle in the ocean,” Xiao Anzhi protested.

Mo Fan ignored Xiao Anzhi’s pessimism. He asked Xinxia, “If we find the assassin and destroy the source, will you be able to save Leng Qing?”

“I can, but…” Xinxia gently swiped her hand across Leng Qing’s heart as she was speaking. She seemed to grab something and placed it on Mo Fan’s hand, “She will die when all the petals fall off.”

Mo Fan noticed Xinxia holding a flower made of dark energy. The flower was imprinted on Mo Fan’s palm. It had seven black petals, but one of them was already very faint.

Mo Fan glanced at the flower, which looked like it would disappear with a single blow, and glanced at the stricken Lingling.

He clenched his fist and hid the flower. He said, “I’ll find him!”

“The Hall of Assassins, Bei Jiang… who would have thought that organization has been stirring up troubles again,” Tata murmured.

“You know the assassin?” Mo Fan said with a hint of surprise.

“I’ve never met the assassin you were talking about, but I did come across his accomplice in the past. His name was Mu Jiang (Tomb Craftsman). I believe this Bei Jiang is a new talent after him,” Tata said.

“Do you know how we can find him?” Xinxia blurted out.

Tata shook her head and said, “The Four Craftsmen of the Hall of Assassins are known for their elusiveness. Even the old folk of the Continent Magic Associations have no clue how to track them down. I’m afraid the young woman has stumbled upon something she wasn’t supposed to know. Otherwise, she would not be targeted by the Hall of Assassins. However, I do have a piece of advice for you: don’t bother wasting your time trying to find the guy. Not many people are capable of finding a Craftsman who has gone into hiding; at least I don’t think there’s any person that can find him in your country…”

“What good does your piece of advice even do? What else can we do if we don’t look for him?” Xiao Anzhi said, displeased.

Mo Fan looked at Lingling and placed his hand firmly on Lingling’s shoulder. He said, “Lingling, if you really want to save your sister, you have to pull yourself together. The rest of us have no clue how to find the assassin. I hope you can find him with your extraordinary wisdom. Didn’t you realize something? Your sister immediately thought of you when her life was in danger. It means she has faith in you, she believes you can help her overcome the situation! So, you have to snap out of it. Focus, recall any details that might help us find the assassin, analyze the assassin and interpret his next move, find him before these seven… six petals wilt!”

Lingling looked at Mo Fan with a blank face. Her unfocused pupils reflected Mo Fan’s stern and determined face…

Her eyes slowly regained focus, the look that represented wisdom beyond her years. A flame had erupted deep within her heart, a fire carrying a strong determination!

Lingling wiped the tears from her face, pulling herself together faster than Mo Fan had imagined. Perhaps she realized she could not afford to cry like a girl her age would, as her sister’s life was at stake. She did not want the past to repeat itself, and be told heartbreaking news. This time, she would do what she could to save her sister!

“Old lady, is there really no way that we can find these Craftsmen?” Lingling said with a slightly trembling voice.

“I swear in the name of the Parthenon Temple!” Tata stated firmly.

“So there’s nothing we could do to save her?” Feng Zhoulong said.

If no one in their country could find a Craftsman that had gone into hiding, Leng Qing would still die eventually!

Leng Qing shook his head. She glanced at the dying Leng Qing. She was more determined to find the assassin after she imagined her sister ending up as an icy corpse. She said, “If we can’t find him, we’ll make him show himself!”

Tata smiled upon hearing Lingling’s words.

It was exactly what she was trying to tell the others. No one in the world could find the Craftsmen, unless they showed up themselves!

—

—

Casie Hotel, inside a pitch-black room…

A chubby little boy ran to the bathroom. It took him some time to find the switch. The light soon lit up the spacious bathroom.

The kid needed to relieve himself urgently. Since he had fallen from a height of more than four hundred meters, he kept having an urge to pee. He had to go to the toilet once every ten minutes, even when his bladder was completely empty…

“Tsk tsk tsk, little kid, do you know a very bad habit that I have?” a voice suddenly appeared behind him.

The voice spooked the kid. He was about to scream when he saw his shadow climbing onto his back and using its hand to cover his mouth.

Bei Jiang slowly pushed the window of the bathroom to the side…

“I’m suffering from a disease where I feel extremely painful when a person I assume is going to die is still alive. Therefore, can I please ask you to jump off the building again? It’s not as tall as the tower, but it’s enough!” Bei Jiang smiled widely.

The shadow slowly dragged the chubby kid to the window. The kid could not say a single word. Half of his body was already sticking outside the window.

—

BANG!

With a loud thud, blood splattered on the ground of the car park in front of the hotel. Several loud screams rose quickly.

“That feels a lot better!” a voice commented.

1332 Using the Traitor

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Sister Xinxia, can you wake my sister up? Just a brief moment is enough,” Lingling said.

“I can, but her life force will deplete faster when she’s conscious,” Xinxia said.

“There’s no other choice,” Lingling said.

“Lingling, what are you planning to do?” Mo Fan had no clue how Lingling was going to lure the assassin out of hiding, but he believed Lingling had recovered her wisdom.

“There’s a traitor in the Enforcement Union, so much of the information relayed to the Enforcement Union will be intercepted. If sister is being targeted because she has learned something about the Cold Prince, their aim isn’t really about killing her, but to prevent her from bringing the information back to the Enforcement Union,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered. He agreed with Lingling’s analysis.

-Yeah, weren’t they trying to kill Leng Qing because she learned something crucial about the Cold Prince?-

In other words, the assassin was after anyone that had the information and was trying to bring it back to the Enforcement Union.

“Even though sister can’t tell us the information since she’s unconscious, we just need her to tell the Lingyin Enforcement Union personally that she has entrusted us to bring the information back to the Lingyin Enforcement Union. That way, the assassin will come looking for us. At the same time, we should use the traitor, too,” Lingling said.

Xinxia realized what Lingling was up to. She murmured a chant to allow Leng Qing to momentarily regain consciousness. She used the Psychic Element to tell Leng Qing what she had to do.

Leng Qing woke up. Even breathing was extremely strenuous for her. She tried her best to transmit a secret message with a code that only the Elder of the Linyin Enforcement Union had access to…

When Leng Qing finished transmitting the message, Mo Fan noticed the flower on his palm had lost two of its petals. Leng Qing’s life force had depleted by so much in such a short time!…

“Senior Sister Leng Qing, don’t you worry, we will save you. The important information you’ve risked your life for won’t be lost! If the Black Vatican dares to set foot in our country, we’ll uproot it without mercy!” Mo Fan’s hatred of the Black Vatican was off the charts.

They had tried so hard just to drive Salan away. How could they allow the Cold Prince to establish his influence? Too many people had died in the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. They could not afford to let the same tragedy happen again!

Leng Qing looked at Mo Fan. Her eyes closed heavily. A black tear slid down from the corner of her eye.

The Enforcement Union had never taken the lead in the battle against the Black Vatican. Too many people were afraid of the Black Vatican. They were scared of being targeted by its vengeance and intimidated by their brutality. It was all more the reason for them not to cower!

Leng Qing had witnessed too many of her comrades die in the battle against the Black Vatican. She had also seen many that had fallen victim to the Black Vatican’s conspiracies. Every time she saw the family of the victims grieving over the deaths of their loved ones, she always told herself that it would be the last time…

And yet, the number of victims kept on increasing. More people were hurt. The seniors of the Enforcement Union told her that if she kept pursuing the Black Vatican, she would end up in the same fate. A person could not do much against the formidable Black Vatican, but a person might be everything for a family!

Was that really the case?

Just because the effort of a single person was negligible, they should let more innocent families suffer, to be stranded, and to live in darkness and despair?

Leng Qing could not bear to be a bystander. Every death and sorrowful family she saw would make her feel even more guilty, and when the guilt accumulated to a certain level, she even believed it was worth sacrificing her life for the information on a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican!

The only worry she had was that Lingling was still so young. She had decided to infiltrate the Black Vatican deeply to assuage the guilt that had long stacked up inside her. She did not bring disgrace to her role as a member of the Enforcement Union, she did not let the families that were destroyed by the Black Vatican down, but she had forced Lingling to bear all the pain.

The little girl was surely going to hate her, just like how she hated the dumb decision that their father had made.

Leng Qing closed her eyes. In her brief moment of consciousness, lots of things had crossed her mind. It was like the reflection of her life prior to her death, everything from her birth to now, everything she remembered, everything she forgot had surfaced in her mind!

—

—

A blue swimming pool was surrounded by colorful spotlights, giving the pool a magical appearance.

Inside the mansion beyond the swimming pool, a man was hanging from a balcony, his body swaying in the wind. His neck was wrapped by a thick rope. His face had turned blue and his eyes had rolled up.

“How dare he bring an Elder of the Enforcement Union to us? Humph, he almost ruined my plan. Useless prick, leave him there for a few days!” A teenaged young man with purple eyes glared at the swaying corpse with a hint of disgust.

“Master Cold Prince, a message for you,” a glamorous woman in a flowery dark purple cheongsam showed up with a smile.

“Got it.” The teenage boy went to another room. Around five minutes later, he returned with a dark expression. He picked up a paring knife from the table and threw it at the target swaying on the balcony. The knife stuck into the corpse that had no longer shed blood. There were lots of those stab wounds on the corpse.

“Bei Jiang, that unreliable prick, didn’t he tell me he had already killed the woman? If she’s already dead, how was she able to relay a message back to the Linyin Enforcement Union!?” the Cold Prince raged in a tantrum.

“We can still fix it. Let Bei Jiang deal with it. He’s still one of the best we have.”

“Humph, let’s hope he doesn’t let me down again. I don’t have a high tolerance for trash!”

—

The glamorous woman put the paring knife back on the table. She approached the pool and took off her clothes, revealing her tender skin before she went into the cold water.

After swimming a lap, she flung her hair back and spoke towards a dark corner, “Don’t tell me you’re going to stay there and watch for the whole night? You heard the Cold Prince, don’t you have some matters to attend to?”

“I’m just confused. Why didn’t Leng Qing die? No one has managed to survive the Dark Wither!” A tall figure slowly materialized from the shadow.

“The man carrying the information that Leng Qing mentioned is called Mo Fan. He was the one that managed to get the better of Salan a few times. If you can kill him, the Cold Prince will be impressed…” the woman said.

“I’ve fought against him, there wasn’t anything special about him.”

1333 Face of Darkness

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Are you sure about this, letting Mo Fan take on Bei Jiang alone?” Feng Zhoulong said.

“The guy is in the dark. If Super Mages like you are around, he won’t show himself. He can easily tell it’s a trap, and so all our efforts will be in vain,” Lingling said.

Lingling was sitting beside Leng Qing’s bed. Her face was expressionless, yet she was more worried than anyone else!

The two lives dearest to her were at stake. If Mo Fan lost to Bei Jiang, he would be in trouble, and Leng Qing was most likely going to die too.

To make things worse, there was nothing else she could do apart from waiting here. Waiting was more of a torture than fighting!

—

—

It was night again. Normally, Mo Fan preferred fighting at night since it allowed him to utilize his Shadow Element.

However, this time Mo Fan did not feel relieved. His petty Shadow Element was as unthreatening as a crying little baby to his opponent.

It was Mo Fan’s first time feeling a strong pressure from Dark Magic, it was clenching his throat in a suffocating grip. It had completely changed his view of Dark Magic.

Mo Fan arrived on the outskirts and found himself in a spacious area. The straight road only had a few lights from the houses scattered in the distance.

Behind him was the bustling city, shining with great brilliance, while the path ahead was completely dark. The further he went, the tenser he was. He had never expected that a Shadow Mage like him would be afraid of walking in the dark!

He took a quick glance at the black flower with only two petals left. His uneasiness gradually dissipated, replaced by a hint of panic.

If the assassin decided not to show up, Leng Qing would die for sure. There was not much time left. Judging from the previous fight against the assassin, even if the guy showed up eventually, it was unlikely he could kill the assassin in the time that was left.

Even a Super Mage like Feng Zhoulong had failed to restrain him!

Time gradually passed. The panic grew in Mo Fan. After all, Leng Qing’s life was at stake. Mo Fan was unable to accept it like the others.

“You can’t save anyone.” A black figure appeared out of nowhere, standing in the middle of the road. He was staring right at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not speak. He halted in his tracks and looked at his formidable opponent.

“Remember the chubby kid from before? The color of his brain was brighter than I imagined, tsk tsk…” Bei Jiang grinned. The shadows set off his intimidating face.

“You killed him?” Mo Fan blurted out in astonishment.

“I’m troubled by a certain disease. I wonder if the Healer that managed to sustain Leng Qing’s life could heal me?” Bei Jiang said.

“You should visit a vet,” Mo Fan replied.

“I know you are trying to lure me out of hiding. I also know Leng Qing has no chance of surviving. Unfortunately, my superior seems quite interested in you, and considering that you’ve sincerely invited me here, here I am,” Bei Jiang raised his pale right hand and looked at his watch. He said, “Fifteen minutes, that’s how much time Leng Qing has left. You know, I could have easily shown up after fifteen minutes when she was dead and killed you… but, that’s just too boring. I decide to give your petty plan a little glimpse of hope.”

Mo Fan glared at the assassin. His heart was rolling with rage, but he maintained a calm face. He could not afford to show any hint of panic against a formidable opponent. His enemy would easily abuse it!

However, Mo Fan did not expect Bei Jiang to see through their plan. He had not shown up because he was tricked by Lingling’s plan. He was just playing them and everyone else like a fiddle, as he firmly believed no one could possibly live if he assumed them to be dead!

“That being said, this game won’t last for fifteen minutes. I can easily kill you in just five minutes!” Bei Jiang added.

Bei Jiang slowly faded into the darkness behind him. A face with an eerie grin slowly appeared in the darkness. Its outline turned from blurry to solid. It was impossible to tell if it was real. It was staring down at the minuscule Mo Fan!

If the guy had not been his enemy, if his personality was not so twisted and enraging, Mo Fan would be impressed by the man’s control of the Shadow Element after he saw the eerie face in the darkness. It was like the man was giving Mo Fan an exciting lecture on how powerful the Shadow Element could be!

Mo Fan didn’t want to display his petty skill before an expert. He knew what his advantages were, and he knew it was a fight he could not afford to lose.

He only had fifteen minutes. Life was always so fragile, yet he had no choice but to give all he had to protect it!

“The Face of Darkness!”

The enormous grinning face solidified and lunged at Mo Fan. Its laughter penetrated Mo Fan’s mind and interfered with his thoughts. It greatly slowed down Mo Fan’s channeling and reaction time as it filled him with terror!

Mo Fan was not worried about himself. He was worried that Lingling would be overwhelmed with the grief of losing her sister. He was worried about seeing Lingling in tears. The darkness magnified those worries to overwhelm him!

The Face of Darkness was already within inches of him. Mo Fan kept moving backward. The spell was unable to inflict any damage on its target. It was only trying to break down the psychological defenses of the target, and take away the will to fight. The target might even lose its will to live after suffering the overwhelming fear and sorrow the spell had brought…

Mo Fan continued to back away. He suddenly heard a burst of laughter behind him. He turned around and saw another huge Face of Darkness charging at him!

The Focus Necklace around his neck shuddered slightly, unleashing ripples of blue energy. Each ripple helped erase the fear being implanted in his mind.

Mo Fan’s thoughts cleared up. When he opened his eyes, the Faces of Darkness had both disappeared.

Mo Fan looked at the necklace. He still had a grim face, even though the spell had been nullified.

The battle had just begun, but he had already used a strong piece of his Equipment. How could he possibly defend himself from the upcoming attacks?

If he continued to be this passive, how could he possibly defeat the assassin in fifteen minutes?

Chapter 1334 Own Demonic Shadows

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“There!” Mo Fan immediately unleashed lightning from his hand after he recovered from the spell. The lightning arcs surged across the road and drove the darkness away, revealing a tall figure hiding there.

Mo Fan saw the figure smiling as the lightning flickered, but it suddenly disappeared from Mo Fan’s sight as the lightning was about to reach it. A twisted laugh echoed in the air. The great disdain the assassin displayed was truly infuriating!

“Time is running out!” Bei Jiang said. There was no trace of him whatsoever.

Mo Fan searched for the assassin calmly. He thought of every possibility of where the man might be hiding, but as he was preoccupied, he failed to notice that the road below him was gradually being devoured by a dark swamp. It slowly expanded from a black pool into a huge swamp!

——

There were not many cars on the road. The highway had been replaced by another tunnel nearby. It led to the Pearl River on the outskirts of the city. Occasionally, a few street racers would have some fun here, but the road had surprisingly disappeared tonight, as if it had been consumed by the darkness. A few luxurious cars had stopped at the entrance. Several well-dressed fuerdais were staring at the darkness in fear. None of them dared to drive into it.

“Why are we all so scared? It’s more thrilling the darker it is. Imagine you are driving at one-eighty when you can only see two hundred meters away. You will constantly be on your toes, as you never know when the next corner is coming up. I bet none of you have tried anything like it before!” a handsome man with braids challenged the others recklessly.

He slammed on the gas. The car soon reached a hundred kph!

The car continued to speed up. The man grinned when he heard the girls cheering for him. It was likely that he would be having some fun with at least two of them tonight. Girls always found dangerous men attractive, as if the thrill was able to help them reach the climax easier!

The whole place was covered in pitch-black darkness. To the man’s disbelief, he noticed some lightning flickering in the darkness!

The lightning arcs were surprisingly thick. The lightning forks they produced scattered in the air above like a giant web of lightning within a hand’s reach of his car…

“F**k me, what the hell is this place!?” the man screamed at the top of his lungs.

It felt like there was no end to the road. The terrified man sped up to two hundred kph, yet it felt like he was still in the same spot.

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A figure suddenly appeared in front of the car. The man screamed, but it was too late to slam on the brakes. His car went right through it!

There was no collision, nor did he hear any noise. The figure dissipated like a cloud of black smoke when the car drew past it and dissipated with the wind behind the car.

The man turned around and almost peed himself. The black smoke came together again behind the car, reassuming the appearance of a human. The momentum of the car at such an insane speed could easily smash every bone inside a Mage, yet the figure was perfectly fine. It even turned around and grinned at the man, who immediately felt his skin crawl…

—

“Five minutes have passed. You’re doing better than I expected,” Bei Jiang said.

Mo Fan stood on the road that had been completely turned into a black swamp with a straight face.

Lots of figures had appeared around him. They did not look terrifying and scary, like deadly assassins, nor did they resemble Bei Jiang. They were all shadows of Mo Fan!

Each shadow had the same physique and height as Mo Fan. They even had a blurry face that looked like his. Mo Fan suddenly felt like he was surrounded by magic mirrors; his reflections in them had their own expressions, the same grin and glare!

“Lightning Whip!” Mo Fan gathered his lightning and swung it at the shadows like a whip.

A piercing burst of laughter broke out. The figures remained unmoving, mocking Mo Fan’s meaningless attack. The lightning whip shattered the shadows into black mist, but they regained the same appearance within seconds!

As soon as Mo Fan was done with his attacks, the shadows moved closer. Some were holding daggers, some were clutching their hands like claws, some were holding their bare fists. Mo Fan’s attacks were completely useless against them, yet their powerful attacks had left many bruises and wounds on him.

The wounds kept bleeding as the dark energy penetrated his body, slowing his blood flow and corrupting his cells and flesh. His organs were slowly wilting, too. The more wounds, the deeper the dark energy was penetrating into his body, and the faster his organs were wilting!

Mo Fan’s destructive spells were utterly useless. He initially thought only a Super Mage would be able to pose a threat to him. He never thought a man who had mastered the Shadow Element would leave him in such a pinch…

Time continued to pass, yet Mo Fan had not beaten a single one of the shadows…

A dagger stabbed at his throat. Mo Fan dodged aside and accumulated flames in his right fist. He threw the burning fist at the shadow whose dagger was still hanging in the air.

Fiery dragons sprang forward and shattered the shadow into black mist…

However, before Mo Fan could withdraw his hand, the eerie black mist gathered above Mo Fan. A shadow that looked exactly like him poked out of it and stabbed at his head with a dagger!

“Piss off!” Mo Fan reacted swiftly. A silver light burst out of his body, followed by a repelling force. The shadow holding a dagger realized that its attack was in vain again. It took the initiative to turn into a cloud of black smoke and drifted into the distance to dodge Mo Fan’s Space Magic.

Mo Fan took a deep breath. He did not have any time to catch his breath. A shadow with sharp claws rose from the swamp below and stabbed at his legs!

“AH!” Its claws tore the flesh on Mo Fan’s legs. The pain struck deep into Mo Fan’s soul.

Flame Belle quickly returned to Mo Fan’s side after seeing him injured. She recklessly unleashed her flames at the black swamp.

The swamp absorbed the energy like a bottomless hole. No matter how powerful Flame Belle’s flames were, they could not destroy the swamp, nor could they inflict any damage on the shadows.

The shadow with sharp claws did not dissipate into a cloud of smoke. It had the ability to move freely in the swamp, like a fierce demon fish waiting to ambush its target at the perfect timing after its prey had lowered its guard!

Blood poured out from the wounds. Mo Fan could even see his bones from the wounds. He forced himself to stand straight despite the incredible pain.

If he swayed even a little, it would give his opponent more opportunities to strike. At that time, it was not just the flesh of his legs, he would even lose his heart!

“Actually, you can just lie on the ground and cry in agony. No one will think you’re disgracing yourself. If they know you’ve died to I, Bei Jiang, they are only going to say, ‘That made sense,’” Bei Jiang’s voice echoed from nowhere.

Mo Fan still had no clue where the assassin was. If he could only find the assassin, he could beat the man into a crippled dog with a single punch!

“I’ve fought against people that are stronger than you. If you can’t kill me in the first five minutes, you’ll never be able to kill me. Keep trying your best to dodge my attacks. I once lived in poverty. There were always some rats hiding in the storage, the wooden racks, and in the pipes in my house. They would come and eat my biscuits, and bite my chairs whenever I was asleep. They thought they were good, being able to play me like a fiddle even though we are a lot bigger than them. They would squeak to provoke us… do you know what happened to them in the end?”

Mo Fan remained standing. His legs were trembling as his blood dripped onto the ground. He had imagined all kinds of horrible deaths he might die the moment he had decided to take on the Black Vatican. He was prepared to be covered in bruises and wounds, but as long as he was still able to get back on his feet, he would send every single one of these scum to Hell!

“You’re pretty optimistic; don’t you feel like a rat whose legs have been cut off, trapped inside a cage?” Bei Jiang’s voice was moving closer to Mo Fan.

Bei Jiang slowly approached Mo Fan with a smile; he was now less than twenty meters away from him. His steps were not making any noise, yet it felt like a huge mountain was crumbling onto him.

Mo Fan took a deep breath and calmed his thoughts. He could not understand why Bei Jiang was able to manipulate his Shadow Magic so perfectly. He was clueless about why Bei Jiang was able to disappear without a trace. Wouldn’t Super Mages struggle against him too?…

Was it because of the Source of Darkness?

What exactly was the Source of Darkness?

Or perhaps it was his…

Innate Talent!

Mo Fan immediately thought of something. He had completely forgotten about the possibility that the man’s capabilities might be part of his Innate Talent!

He was not the only person with an outstanding Innate Talent in the world. There were others with extraordinary talents who were almost unbeatable against opponents of the same level, too!

It was likely that Bei Jiang had some kind of Innate Talent related to the Shadow Element, and together with the Source of Darkness, it had made him a perfect Dominator of Darkness!

Chapter 1335 See Through the Order of Darkness

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Xinxia sat beside Leng Qing with her eyes closed. She was trying to feel the battle with her heartbeat.

Little Flame Belle was furious, sensing that Mo Fan was seriously injured. It was likely that the battle did not go according to plan.

“How much time do we have left?” Feng Zhoulong asked.

“Less than five minutes,” Lingling said expressionlessly.

Five minutes. Normally, it would be gone very quickly with a little daydreaming, but Lingling had the urge to make it last for the whole day, or even for the whole year!

“We’re asking too much from him. Bei Jiang is extremely talented. The fact that he earned his reputation before he even reached the Super Level indicates that he’s even scarier than some of the Super Mages… we should just call it off if it won’t work out. If we know we can’t save her, we should avoid more unnecessary casualties,” Tata spoke up.

“Damn it, the Nanguo Magic Association can’t even do anything to the assassin. Such a disgrace!” Feng Zhoulong blurted out furiously.

They had a lot of powerful Mages, yet none of them was of any use in this situation. If any of them drew closer to the highway, Bei Jiang would surely flee, and Leng Qing would have no chance of survival!

Mo Fan was their only hope, but they were worried that Mo Fan would die to the assassin too!

——

The sound of the cars faded into the distance. Mo Fan was surprised by their sudden intrusion. He had chosen this desolated place to avoid unnecessary casualties.

Bei Jiang was not interested in the man driving the sports car, being focused on the battle against Mo Fan. If he could take Mo Fan down, his reputation among the assassins would rise dramatically. After all, even Salan could not do anything about him!

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“It doesn’t feel good, right? Dying isn’t a hassle, but you’re still carrying the burden of trying to save a woman’s life on your shoulders … say, why don’t we make a little deal? I’m not a greedy man. Killing Leng Qing is just business. I’m not really fond of the Cold Prince of the Black Vatican. His arrogance annoys me. I’ll withdraw my Dark energy so Leng Qing can slowly recover, and you will stop struggling and extend your neck, so I can sever your head with a clean cut…” Bei Jiang offered.

As time passed, Bei Jiang was enjoying the battle more. He could sense Mo Fan’s impatience and panic; it was utterly pleasing!

Mo Fan ignored Bei Jiang’s proud remarks. Judging from the direction of the voice, Bei Jiang was standing right in front of him. However, the man surely had some tricks up in his sleeves. He would not dare stand in front of Mo Fan, since Mo Fan could easily inflict serious damage on him with a full-on destructive spell!

Mo Fan withheld the urge to attack. He continued to dodge the continuous attacks from the demonic shadows while analyzing the traits of Bei Jiang’s abilities…

Mo Fan heard the man driving the sports car being mocked by his friends for wetting his pants in the distance. Mo Fan was left speechless by those guys. Did they not have any brains? The road was so dark, with occasional electricity flickers. It was obviously not just a natural phenomenon!

Wait a second, wasn’t the guy driving straight ahead? When did he turn back? The thought crossed Mo Fan’s mind and stuck there.

The man obviously could not think straight after getting the shit scared out of him. He just kept driving straight ahead since he was too terrified to turn around. Mo Fan did not see the car turn around, nor was there any sign that the man had driven across the black swamp a second time!

The road was perfectly straight. If he kept driving ahead, how did he end up going back to his friends?

“The Chaos Element?” Mo Fan finally realized something important.

He naively assumed Bei Jiang was using the Shadow Element! The man was able to disappear and reappear as he pleased. Even when he was standing right in front of Mo Fan, it was more like a black shadow projected in front of him. Mo Fan was struggling to lock down his enemy’s actual position…

The Chaos Element was Dimensional Magic, capable of manipulating the order of the dimensions. The directions could be reversed, energy could be deflected, attacks could be reflected, and even the space would be in disarray. When a moving object entered an area manipulated by Chaos Magic, it would return to the same spot even when they kept moving in the same direction.

Normally, if an area was manipulated by the Chaos Magic, most people could easily tell what was happening by looking at their surroundings. For example, the straight road was now meandering, indicating that Chaos Magic had altered it. If the sky was seemingly below him, it indicated that gravity had been reversed…

However, the whole place was in pitch-black darkness due to the black swamp. It did not matter how twisted and deranged his surroundings were, Mo Fan was not able to tell!

It explained why the sports car had gone back to where it had come from, even though it was driving straight ahead. It also explained why the demonic shadows could eerily change their positions, and why he was struggling so much to land his attacks!

The Shadow Element and the Chaos Element!

It was impossible to merge two different Elements, unless the person’s control over the two Elements was strong enough to stack them up perfectly…

Bei Jiang’s Innate Talent had allowed him to merge the Chaos Element and the Shadow Element!

It was the reason why his shadows could show up anywhere. It explained why no one was able to find him. When the Shadow Element and the Chaos Element combined together, they would only feel the presence of the Shadow Element without a single trace of the Chaos Element, misleading them into assuming the man was only using the Shadow Element. They never thought the man had the ability to manipulate the order inside the darkness as he pleased, making him the Ruler of Darkness!

“That’s why!” A strong will erupted inside Mo Fan. He had waited so long for his turn to counterattack!

Mo Fan did not stay in the same spot. He ignored his injuries and sprinted in the direction the sports car was heading to previously, under Flame Belle’s protection.

Mo Fan’s lightning had landed on the sports car’s spoiler when it drove past. The broken parts had scattered across the ground. He searched for the broken parts to ensure he was moving in the right direction…

Luckily, the area had not been shifted again by the Chaos Magic. Mo Fan found pieces of metal on the ground, telling him he was standing at the spot where directions were reversed!

“Oh? Have you made up your mind? Did you decide to save yourself and let Leng Qing die?” Bei Jiang slowly followed behind Mo Fan.

He just needed to let his obedient shadows do the killing. He did not have to do it himself. He grinned when he saw Mo Fan trying to escape.

Humans were all selfish. It was reasonable that Mo Fan did not agree with his suggestion. Either way, Bei Jiang had no intention of letting Mo Fan escape in one piece!

Both Leng Qing and Mo Fan had to die. Did this fool seriously think he could escape from his Order of Darkness? Bei Jiang smirked.

“There’s no escape,” Bei Jiang was like a wolf following the trail of blood that the wild ox Mo Fan had left behind.

The demonic shadows continued to attack and leave Mo Fan with more wounds. He was still bleeding. His blood had left a long trail along the road. It was quite a gory sight.

Mo Fan slowly lifted his right hand. Wisps of flames circled his hand…

He kept pouring his energy into the flames, yet the candlelight on his hand retained its size. Its color gradually darkened as it burned vigorously.

“Do you still think you can hurt me with your magic? I’m afraid I don’t have the patience to play with you anymore. I’ll have to cut you into pieces to make myself feel better.” Bei Jiang did not bother dodging Mo Fan’s attack.

A black knife with jagged edges slowly appeared in his hand, like it had grown out of his arm. The knife smelled like fresh blood. It was difficult to tell how many arteries the deadly weapon had sliced open!

Bei Jiang continued to move closer to Mo Fan without dodging the attack. He was acting calmly, like he could not see the flames on Mo Fan’s hand!

“Keep that Flame Belle busy!” Bei Jiang ordered the shadows.

It was obvious that Bei Jiang had decided to cut Mo Fan’s head off himself. He believed Mo Fan, whose legs were severely injured, had no chance of running away from him.

Mo Fan looked at the approaching shadow. He continued to accumulate fiery energy in the flames burning on his hand. The enormous pressure that Bei Jiang was applying to him did not change his mind. It was time for the final showdown!

The last petal on his palm faded away. Mo Fan felt a sharp pain, as if his heart had just been stabbed. He could not help but gasp.

However, he could not afford to be overwhelmed by sorrow now. He turned the surge of emotion into raging energy accumulating on his palm…

“Still not going to attack? Die then!” Bei Jiang lifted the black knife and slashed at Mo Fan from a safe distance away!

He did not dare to stand too close to Mo Fan, as the man was like an explosive powderkeg. It was better for him to stay a safe distance away!

Mo Fan had long waited for this moment. He lifted the candlelight that was already at its limit.

Bei Jiang was not too bothered by it. He had a disdainful grin as he continued to absorb dark energy. The formidable magic formed a black whirlpool on his knife…

“Die!” “Die!” Two voices uttered simultaneously. Mo Fan was the first to attack. He tossed the candlelight in his hand ahead of him.

Bei Jiang swung the Dark Magic-enhanced knife. He believed his shadows had worn down Mo Fan’s defense. He did not care if the man had attacked slightly earlier than him.

There was no way Mo Fan’s attacks could land on him, not to mention how insignificant the little candlelight seemed…

The two kinds of formidable energy faced one another. They were about to trigger a great storm as the energy crashed into one another, but as they reached a point where they could no longer back away, Mo Fan suddenly turned around!

He had tossed the candlelight, but was tossing it behind him instead!

Bei Jiang was right in front of him, yet he had tossed the flame that served as his last glimpse of hope in the opposite direction of the enemy that was trying to take his life…

Mo Fan’s action was so idiotic that anyone would immediately burst out laughing if they were fighting against him.

However, Bei Jiang’s expression shifted. His eyes flickered with disbelief. The candlelight that had been tossed in the opposite direction was growing larger in his eyes!

Chapter 1336 The Framework of Hell

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Bei Jiang panicked briefly, but quickly calmed himself.

He had panicked, since he did not expect Mo Fan to see through his Order of Darkness. He had been an assassin for many years. Even those stronger than him had failed to learn the secret before they died, so how did this young man manage to see through his trick?

It was an utter disgrace. If the world knew he was using the Chaos Element together with his Shadow Element, it would be harder for him to kill his targets in the future!

The question was… how did the kid see through his trick? Was it just a coincidence?

The candlelight slowly approached Bei Jiang. Even though Mo Fan had learned his secret, it did not necessarily mean Bei Jiang was unable to dodge the attack. He quickly reacted after a brief moment of panic and moved to his left. He also put the black knife away.

“It looks like I have to make sure you won’t leave this place alive!” Bei Jiang said coldly.

“Do you seriously think you still have the chance?” Mo Fan grinned. It was his turn to wear a wide arrogant smile!

Mo Fan spread his other hand, and a sharp silver light burst out!

It withdrew the rhomboid restraining the energy of the flames. The blazing energy of the tiny candlelight suddenly exploded in all directions!

The scorching flames devoured the entire road. The destructive force left Bei Jiang’s face blank!

“How…how is this possible!…” Bei Jiang saw the flames lunging at him like fiery dragons. The cunning and confident look on his face completely disappeared. The light of the flames lit up his astonished face!

BOOM!

The flames of the tiny candlelight devoured everything they came across. The huge explosion left a pit over five hundred meters wide in the open area!

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The scorching heat swept in Mo Fan’s direction and burned his ragged clothes. Its strong wind blew his hair back. A different flame encapsulated his figure, a red battle robe as bright as blood!

The demonic shadows disappeared in the raging flames before they faded away.

Mo Fan went forward and approached Bei Jiang, who was beyond recognition after suffering the enormous blast.

Mo Fan had to admit that his Shadow Element was no match for the assassin. However, in terms of destructive power, Mo Fan only needed to land a single spell on a man who had devoted himself to mastering the Shadow Element to defeat him!

Bei Jiang did not expect Mo Fan to see through his trick, nor did he expect the insignificant candlelight to possess such terrifying force. His defense was non-existent against the Compressive Explosion!

The whole area was scorched black by the flames. Mo Fan was a true demon of destruction. He walked up to Bei Jiang and stared down at the man lying on the ground, holding onto his last breath.

Bei Jiang’s skin was scorched black. He looked no different from a dried corpse. He had tried his best to escape Mo Fan’s flames by fleeing into his black swamp, yet he only managed to move a dozen meters. The flames of the explosion had extended almost a kilometer across!

“You…you can’t save anyone… Leng Qing is dead, she’s already dead, that kid… he’s dead too! Leng Qing is dead, you are just a piece of trash, HAHAHA!” Bei Jiang screamed while crawling on the ground.

“It’s true that I have failed to save them. There are too many deranged scum like you in this world. Even Forbidden Mages are unable to save them all, let alone me…” Mo Fan stomped his foot on the reputable assassin of the Hall of Assassins and used all his might to grind down on his head, trying to apply some of the torture that Leng Qing had endured to the psychopath. He said as he continued to apply more pressure, “But remember this: as long as I, Mo Fan, am alive, I’ll send you all to Hell one by one!

“The people that you’ve brutally killed and tortured to death are waiting for you down there. They can’t wait to skin you, pull out your tendons, and tear you apart a million times!

“Your soul won’t die in Hell. You’ll be reborn again after they have torn you apart. However, the pain will forever be inflicted on your soul. They will pounce on you again and ask you why you killed them while cutting your flesh off!”

A person’s mind was at its weakest prior to their death. The thoughts pouring into their minds in their final moments would haunt them like a nightmare. If Mo Fan had said this when Bei Jiang was fully conscious, he would only laugh it off. But now, he was on his last breath. He no longer had control over his life and dignity. The words immediately laid down the structure of the prolonged torture he would suffer after his death…

Death would be the end of it, was the thought of most villains!

How amusing; death was only just the beginning! What awaited them ahead was a furnace that would bring these evil souls eternal pain, torture, and despair!

Mo Fan had no idea if Hell even existed, but he had constructed that spiritual Hell for Bei Jiang in his last moment. He was mentally trapped inside the idea of the endless torture awaiting him for his crimes and sins!

Mo Fan stomped his flaming foot on Bei Jiang’s charred head and crushed his skull to pieces. The eyeballs, still filled with terror, rolled to the side and were burned into ashes by his flames.

Mo Fan took a deep breath. He opened his palm and glanced at the black flower.

All the petals had fallen off. He had failed to save Leng Qing in the end. It felt as if his efforts were all in vain… however, the world had one fewer psychopath, thanks to him…

——

The flames continued to burn for a long time. The abandoned highway was completely erased from the outskirts of the city.

A few luxury cars were parked at the entrance to the highway. The drivers were dumbfounded when they saw the sea of flames ahead. They even forgot to flee for their lives.

A figure engulfed in flames slowly walked out from the blazing fire. He was dragging a scorched corpse with him. The man was covered in injuries, yet his dark brown eyes were glittering with an extremely dangerous look!

“Give me a ride; bring me back to the city.”

Before anyone could react, the man jumped into the passenger’s seat of a car owned by a red-haired woman.

The woman was stunned for a moment. She eventually fired up the engine with a trembling hand.

—

—

A glamorous woman in a bathrobe was lying on a chair beside a colorful swimming pool. Her glittering golden eyes were staring at the cloudy dark sky above Guangzhou.

“Humph, the brightest talent of the Hall of Assassins? I am seriously impressed!” A teenager with purple eyes tossed the pieces of Bei Jiang’s skull that his men had retrieved in front of the woman.

“He’s dead?” The woman’s eyes widened. “It seems there’s a reason the kid has been such a pain in the arse to Salan…”

“It’s a relief that Leng Qing is dead. Otherwise, it would ruin my plan!” the young man replied.

“That’s good to hear. If it wasn’t because of how difficult it is for members of the Black Vatican to do anything in China, we wouldn’t have had to let the Hall of Assassins handle the problem for us,” the woman with golden eyes agreed.

“Master, if you had let me handle it, Leng Qing would have been dead before she even arrived in Guangzhou. Bei Jiang was too young, and too full of himself…” a bulky man with a naked upper body said.

The man’s skin tone was quite strange. It seemed to change color in response to the lights shining on the pool.

“We can’t afford to expose ourselves. I don’t want to lose any men that might be useful to me before we even carry out the plan,” the Cold Prince muttered.

Since the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, China had been the hardest country for the Black Vatican to infiltrate. Even authorities with proper identities were only allowed to visit the country as tourists. They could not afford to stir up any trouble, or the Enforcement Union and the Mages determined to get their revenge would annihilate them right away.

“Master, am I just someone that might be useful?” The bulky man pointed at his nose. He looked simple and honest, like a bear.

“Yes, just that.”

“Hehehe, how about me, Master Cold Prince?” the woman smiled and pointed at herself.

The teenager placed his hand inside the woman’s bathrobe and asked with raised brows, “In what areas?”

“What do you think?”

“You have won my heart.”

“Is that all?” The woman slowly drew closer, and licked the teenage boy’s palm.

The teenager pounced on the woman. The woman was not wearing anything under the bathrobe. He was enjoying himself, swimming in her soft embrace.

The teenage boy suddenly turned to the bulky man and said, “Do you want to hold her in place for me?”

“No, no, master can easily subdue her on your own,” the bulky man answered quickly.

“Then why the f**k are you staying around!?” the teenage boy snapped.

“Yes, I’ll be going!” The man quickly left.

“If you had the slightest bit of brains, you wouldn’t be useful to me!” the teenage boy swore as he watched the man leave.

The curvaceous woman under the teenage boy wriggled alluringly, as if she was asking to be ‘devastated’. She kept teasing the teenage boy while moaning, yet suddenly said off-topic, “Master Cold Prince, you’re still haven’t told me what you and Salan stole from the Sacred Hall of Liberty.”

“You don’t need to know, b**ch!”

“AH… I love it when you call me that!”

Chapter 1337 Luring the Traitor Ou

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Covered in filth and ashes, Mo Fan walked into the Canton Tower and made his way to the ward on the seventieth floor.

He could not afford to sit still. Someone was waiting for him to return safely, and someone was waiting to be comforted by him with everything he had.

“What should I even tell the Hall Mother? Please don’t do anything so reckless next time. I know that every person’s life is precious, but we from the Parthenon Temple should only do things that are within our powers, to ensure that we can do more meaningful things…” Tata was speaking quickly. Mo Fan could hear her Greek accented speech before entering the room.

“My Heavens, you’re finally back! I thought you were killed too!” Feng Zhoulong immediately walked up to Mo Fan.

Lingling went up to Mo Fan too. She quickly helped him to a sickbed after seeing his injuries.

“Lingling, I’m sorry…” Mo Fan said grimly.

If he had managed to see through Bei Jiang’s abilities earlier, he would have been able to save Leng Qing’s life.

Bei Jiang was dead, but he would trade many Bei Jiang for Leng Qing’s life!

“What is there to be sorry about? Humph, didn’t you notice that someone has fainted?” Tata spoke up, displeased.

Mo Fan looked around and saw Xinxia lying beside Leng Qing’s bed like she had fallen asleep, yet Mo Fan knew Xinxia would never fall asleep in a situation like this.

He went over to Xinxia and noticed how terrifyingly pale her face was. It was like she had endured great torture.

“What happened?” Mo Fan asked.

“I don’t know what we owe you, but Her Highness used a sacred art of the Parthenon Temple, one she has yet to master…” Tata kept grumbling.

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Xinxia slowly regained consciousness when she heard Mo Fan’s voice. She smiled when she saw Mo Fan standing in front of her, but her eyes were flickering when she saw Mo Fan’s injuries.

“I’ll…I’ll treat your…”

Tata immediately interrupted as Xinxia was trying to say something. “My little Saintess, are you trying to make me a sinner of the Parthenon Temple?! Let others worry about his injuries. Don’t you cast another spell, or I’ll have no choice but to drag you back to the Parthenon Temple!” Tata screamed.

Xinxia began to panic as soon as she saw Mo Fan’s injuries. It was common to see Mo Fan with injuries, but they had never been as serious as the ones he currently had. A few of them had almost cut his throat open. She could not imagine how close to death Mo Fan was in the fight. He might not have returned!

“Did you use the Spell of Resurrection?” Mo Fan asked.

Xinxia shook her head and said, “I didn’t use the Spell of Resurrection. I only used the Greater Healing Blessing of the Parthenon Temple. My cultivation is not strong enough, so I was worn out by it.”

“Worn out? Do you think I don’t understand your words? You’ve damaged your soul for it, and you’ve only preserved the soul of her body for now. If you don’t cast the Greater Healing Blessing on her every month, she is still going to die!,” Tata exclaimed.

“Sister Xinxia, my grandpa always says that our fate is in the hands of the Heavens. We’ve done all we could for our sister. You don’t have to sacrifice your soul for her… it was my sister’s decision. She knew something like this would happen one day the moment she chose this path,” Lingling did not cry this time. She even tried to comfort Xinxia.

Xinxia did not agree with her. She placed her hand on Leng Qing’s palm and said softly, “If our fate is really in the hands of the Heavens, it means fate has brought me here to save Sister Leng Qing’s life. Don’t worry, it’s not as serious as Tata is saying. I can cast the Greater Healing Blessing on Leng Qing once every month after my cultivation improves. I’ll bring her to the Parthenon Temple. You all have tried so hard to save her, how can I not do anything?

“The Source of Darkness has been destroyed. Even though she has stepped into the Gates of Hell, there are cases where people with wilted hearts came back to life in the history of the Parthenon Temple, which is why I’m eager to preserve her soul. It’s a reminder that I shouldn’t be slacking on my cultivation, too. Don’t worry, I won’t force myself, and I won’t do anything excessive, but I’ll try my best to save her. If one year isn’t enough, I’ll spend two years, or three years…”

Mo Fan was touched by Xinxia’s determination. There were many things he wanted to say, but he expressed them with a hug.

“I was thinking of giving Brother Mo Fan a surprise and staying with you for a few days, but I’ll have to bring Sister Leng Qing back to the Parthenon Temple…” Xinxia said apologetically.

“It’s my fault. Stay until tomorrow,” Mo Fan felt guilty.

Xinxia finally had a chance to rest, yet she ended up so worn out because of him!

“Mm!” Xinxia nodded.

—

—

When Mo Fan woke up the next morning, half of the bed was already empty, with only a faint pleasant scent left. Mo Fan was already missing her. He also felt a little helpless.

Did she already leave?

Why did he have to sleep like a pig? His injuries had already recovered by the end of the night. He could have woken up earlier to do something shameless, yet he had missed out on the opportunity.

He should really pay a visit to Greece. He believed the old antiques of the Parthenon Temple were missing him too…

“Mo Fan, I’ve decided to dig the Cold Prince out!” Lingling’s voice came out of nowhere.

It scared the shit out of Mo Fan. Since when did Lingling learn to come and go like a shadow?

“Bei Jiang was only an assassin. The person that wanted my sister dead was the Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, known as the Cold Prince. The information that my sister risked her life for is clearly something very important. Every Red Cardinal is a psychopath. I believe my sister discovered something terrifying,” Lingling said sternly.

“We should discuss it with your grandfather first. It’s a little difficult for us to take on a Red Cardinal yet,” Mo Fan replied.

“My grandpa won’t be coming back to the country for some time. Something huge must have happened,” Lingling told him.

“Then we’ll go talk to Zhu Meng and the others. We don’t have a single clue where to start, unless your sister is able to wake up now,” Mo Fan said.

Lingling shook her head and said, “We do have one.”

Mo Fan glanced at Lingling in confusion.

Leng Qing did not tell them anything. It was likely something that could not be explained clearly in a few words. It might be a place, a secret lair, or part of a conspiracy.

“Do you remember how we were using the traitor to relay the information to the Cold Prince?” Lingling said.

“Of course. It’s actually quite terrifying, knowing that someone in the Enforcement Union is working for the Black Vatican,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan remembered Leng Qing mentioning that there was a traitor in the Enforcement Union, but the traitor was not necessarily a member of the Black Vatican. He was still an Enforcer, yet he was unaware that he was betraying his colleagues. He was most likely giving away information to a certain organization in return for some benefits, but the Black Vatican was able to secure the information, too. Therefore, it did not necessarily mean someone in the Enforcement Union was a spy sent by the Black Vatican, but it was obvious that there was a breach. It was not safe to pass important information to the Enforcement Union. Even the secret message encrypted by an Elder had ended up in the hands of the Black Vatican in no time.

However, the person leaking the information in the Enforcement Union was clearly a huge problem, considering how quickly the message had ended up in the Cold Prince’s hands!

“I handled the encrypted message differently when I was sending it out. I duplicated the message and requested the Enforcement Union of different places meet us at the road where you went, but the cities I wrote were Foshan, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Kunming… these cities have the same address of the road in Guangzhou,” Lingling told him.

“You purposely gave them the wrong address? How did Bei Jiang know where I am then… ah, I understand now. The Cold Prince and Bei Jiang know we are in Guangzhou, thus the person we were trying to contact was going to be in Guangzhou, too. When they saw the wrong addresses, they would have assumed we were trying to trick them. They would still go to the same road to look for me,” Mo Fan said.

“But the traitor knew we were in Guangzhou and my sister’s condition. The person knew we hadn’t learned anything important. It was obvious that the message we sent was bait,” Lingling said.

“But how do we know who’s the traitor? Every city has a different person who will receive the person that sent the secret message,” Mo Fan said.

“Which is why I used my role as a Hunter Master to request a Hunter meet with the recipient in Foshan, Xiamen, Shenzhen, and Kunming… I was just trying my luck to see if the traitor would make a mistake,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan was stunned. Lingling’s move was absolutely brilliant!

Lingling purposely sent the wrong address to trick the traitor into believing that it was just bait, yet she still ended up sending people to meet with the recipients!

“Last night, the Hunter in Kunming told me that there was no one waiting for him at the designated location, which means the person that received the secret message in Kunming is working for the Black Vatican. His mistake has exposed himself, but he doesn’t know it. The person must have quite a high status and role in the Enforcement Union. I was thinking of taking him out right away, but now that we’ve learned the Cold Prince is up to something, I believe we should keep the line there. We might be able to track the Red Cardinal down with it!” Lingling’s eyes glittered.

“Lingling, you are an absolute genius! Well done, we finally have some clues we can work on, which means we are no longer passive… we might be able to take the lead and take down the Red Cardinal!” Mo Fan exclaimed excitedly.

Lingling’s plan was impressive, especially how she had purposely given out the wrong address, yet still sent someone to meet the recipients. If the traitor was more cautious and sent someone to the address just in case, they would have ended up empty-handed still. However, the receiver in Kunming did not show up as expected; the person must have been too busy enjoying a sense of achievement after taking out an Elder of the Enforcement Union!

1338 The Cold Prince of the Mediterranean Sea

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was easy to eavesdrop on normal magic transmission equipment. Many members of the Enforcement Union were working as spies, so they would rarely use normal magic transmission equipment to pass important information around. To ensure that orders received were reliable, Elders of the Enforcement Union had to deliver them personally, and each Elder had their own encryption code.

If the message being delivered was encrypted by an Elder, it showed the importance of the message, especially information related to the Black Vatican. Many members of the Black Vatican lurked in the cities. It was impossible to identify them unless they exposed themselves. Therefore, it was extremely important to encrypt the messages!

The process was complicated, but it was the safest way of transmitting important messages when going against the Black Vatican.

The secret code kept changing. Only the designated Receiver of each Enforcement Union would know the secret code to decrypt messages. When an Elder wanted to pass on an important message that could not afford to be intercepted or eavesdropped on, they would deliver the secret message to set up a meeting with the Receiver of a local Enforcement Union.

Things were a lot simpler after meeting with the Receiver. The information would be relayed straight back to headquarters; only people with the ranks of Councilman and above had access to the information. There was no way the information could be intercepted and eavesdropped on. If there was any important evidence, like lists of names or objects, the Receiver would activate a portal and transfer the important evidence to a specific department that only Councilmen had access to.

The Enforcers relayed most of their information back to the Enforcement Union with normal communication methods. After all, they were currently in the Magic Technology Era. It was not as complicated as delivering messages with pigeons in ancient times. However, it was necessary to come up with a way to deliver important messages, especially when they were up against the Black Vatican. They never knew if the person they were telling the information to was a member of the Black Vatican. It was extremely difficult to learn if a person was a spy from the Black Vatican!

Lingling was familiar with the process of sending confidential information. Therefore, when she asked Leng Qing to send the message, not only was she using the traitor to lure Bei Jiang out of hiding, she was planning to take out a traitor that had long infiltrated the Enforcement Union, too!

“From the looks of it, the traitor is most likely taking orders from the Cold Prince. Therefore, we didn’t get rid of him when we were annihilating Salan’s henchmen,” Lingling said.

They had gotten rid of Salan’s influence in the country, including the low-ranking Gray Priests and the higher-ranking Blue Deacons. Salan had gathered everyone under her orders during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. She had even summoned her henchmen who were hiding in the Ancient Capital to enjoy the festival she had prepared for them. As a result, her henchmen were all taken out because of it.

Despite that, they were only members of the Black Vatican under Salan’s leadership. Who knew if the other Red Cardinals had planted their own chess pieces in the country, too?

“My sister always thought the traitor was under Salan’s command. It allowed the traitor to remain in hiding for so long,” Lingling explained.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect that, either! Who exactly is this Cold Prince?” Mo Fan asked her

“I have heard things about the Cold Prince,” Zhao Manyan spoke up. He would occasionally visit other countries, thus he had heard rumors about things there. “The Cold Prince is active in the Mediterranean Sea. His main influence is in countries to the south of the Mediterranean. No one has ever seen his true face, but rumors say he has purple eyes.”

“Purple eyes… that’s a very distinctive feature, but then again, there are lots of people who wear colored contact lenses to pretend they look cool. It won’t be easy to find him if that’s the only clue we have. Besides, if I was the Cold Prince, I’d be wearing contact lenses of different colors,” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah, this Cold Prince is the same as Salan…” Zhao Manyan agreed.

“Same? He’s a woman?” Mo Fan asked.

“No, the Cold Prince is a man; we know that at least. I’m referring to their ../style of approach, the way they bring fear to the world. Some of the Red Cardinals possess insane strength and cultivation, so even the Holy Judgment Court would not stand a chance against them. Those who are good at conspiring and making necessary arrangements to achieve their plans aren’t that much stronger than us, and yet, the experts willing to take their orders, and their cunning, are much scarier than the Red Cardinals with outstanding strength,” Zhao Manyan stated.

Mo Fan agreed with Zhao Manyan.

As a matter of fact, Salan might not even stand a chance against the Enforcement Union. The Enforcement Union could easily send an expert to crush them, but they were good at concealing their identities and executing conspiracies.

The Ancient Capital had existed for thousands of years. Normally, it would require several armies to destroy it. Even if the Black Vatican had ten times more members than it currently had, it would still struggle to take down the walls of the Ancient Capital…

Magic might be scary, but an outstanding talent for bringing destruction and committing crimes certain people possessed were even more terrifying. The only thing that could destroy humanity were humans themselves!

“So you’re saying that the Cold Prince is plotting something, something similar to Salan’s conspiracy that led to the Calamity of the Ancient Capital?” Mo Fan asked in a deep voice.

Leng Qing had risked her life just to bring the information back. If that conspiracy had made the life of an Elder of the Enforcement Union so fragile, there was no way it was going to be just a little scuffle!

“In the past, the Cold Prince’s reputation actually exceeded Salan’s… I mean infamy. However, since the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, criminals across the world have been worshiping Salan as their god, treating her as their role model for bringing destruction upon this world. Therefore, even though Salan was forced to flee to other countries like a beaten dog and her influence in China has been completely wiped out by the Enforcement Union, as long as she’s alive, she has plenty of chances to make a comeback. Many deviants are willing to submit themselves to her, wanted criminals will join her, and psychopaths will take orders from her…” Zhao Manyan said.

The truth had always been cruel. Mo Fan was deeply troubled by Zhao Manyan’s words.

Salan’s festival at the Ancient Capital was, in fact, still a great success for her. The lives that were lost were like sacrifices offered to build her throne at the top of the world, so all the maniacs and psychopaths across the world could see her brilliance as a Goddess of Death…

Now that he thought about it, if Salan was truly defeated back then and forced to flee by the Enforcement Union, why would she bother showing up so blatantly at the Parthenon Temple?

She was getting more powerful. She no longer had to hide in the dark. She just stood in the plaza of the sacred Parthenon Temple and told everyone that she was Salan. She blatantly took what she came for, killed the people she wanted to kill, and disappeared without a trace…

Perhaps someone like her was indeed worthy to be called a goddess?

1339 The Alert Over Five Thousand Kilometers of Shoreline

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The Cold Prince is a great strategist, just like Salan. His infamous masterpiece was the incident of the Red Mediterranean Sea. The water in the eastern Mediterranean Sea turned red for half a month. The scent of blood lingered in the cities along the coastlines of Greece, Egypt, Italy, Turkey, and several other countries. It led to the worst plague and invasion of sea monsters in the past decade, resulting in uncounted deaths,” Zhao Manyan informed him.

“Incident of the Red Mediterranean Sea? Why have I not heard of it before? Why didn’t the media report it, if it was that serious?” Mo Fan asked, confused.

Mo Fan knew how big the Mediterranean Sea was. How many people’s blood would it take to turn the sea red and the scent of blood linger in so many countries along the coastline?

“Do you think it’s something they could afford to tell the public? Lots of people kept demanding to learn the truth, they asked for democracy, but there are certain things that can’t be made public. Publicity means giving exposure to the mastermind of the incident. It will stir up the urge to commit crimes among the lunatics. Those that hold a strong grudge and hatred for society will follow in their steps. It would further strengthen the Black Vatican’s influence in the world and help them grow!

“Just look at Salan; so many people are mimicking her after the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. Many cities are suffering because of her. The number of Salan’s worshipers could fill up the entire Mediterranean Sea. Even the younger generations who have had enough of society think of how ‘cool’ Salan is. Studies have proven that laughter is contagious, but so is evil. The maniacs of the Black Vatican might just be some people that have thoughts after being mistreated, and which eventually led them astray… perhaps they were only ordinary people before,” Lingling said sternly.

Every person had good and evil sides. There was no clear boundary between what was good and evil. A mother who stole money just to feed her daughter was not necessarily evil, nor was the daughter who killed the judge for pronouncing her mother guilty for stealing the money kind. Even a gentle person could turn into an unforgivable criminal after they were provoked!

Many people had lots of negativity in them. Their minds were constantly occupied by thoughts of killing the people that bullied and humiliated them to vent their frustrations. Those that were poor were hoping that everyone else would suffer together with them. They hoped the rich and the blissful people would suffer just like them. If they were given a button to make everyone suffer like them, it was very likely they would press the button, since they believed they were beyond redemption and burst out laughing…

The button did exist. The Black Vatican was the button. Zhao Pinlin was one of the people that had decided to press the button. He was just an arrogant, proud student on the bus, but what did he become at the villa?

If the Calamity of the Ancient Capital had not happened, his mind might not have been filled with evil thoughts. Without those thoughts, he might not have chosen to step into Fang Shaoli’s trap…

Most people did not have their own moral strength. They would pretend to be mature by arguing it was just how the world was in coldness, disdain, and envy. The truth was, they were no different from immature kids; they did not have their own beliefs, and they lacked the ability to judge on their own. They were blindly following others. Parents did not allow kids to watch gory and violent movies because they were afraid the kids would be influenced by the movies, since they had yet to discover the right values. It was the same reason the authorities would try their best to gloss over news about tragedies from the public.

Not every adult had mature thoughts and beliefs. Perhaps they might not immediately become a crook after seeing evil deeds, but if they found a chance to do evil, they might hesitate and make the wrong decision, just like Zhao Pinlin had made.

Even if the odds of making a wrong decision were only increased by a hundredth, or even a thousandth, it would still be devastating for the world. If they were unlucky and another criminal genius like the Cold Prince or Salan was born, the time before another tragedy would happen would start ticking!

Therefore, was it really necessary to tell the people who demanded democracy everything, when most of them were just trying to satisfy their curiosity, or even gloat over the sufferings of others?

If they could reduce the number of criminals in the world by thousands or even tens of thousand by trading away the right to know everything that happened, why would they even bother with democracy?

—

The incident of the Red Mediterranean Sea that the Cold Prince was responsible for was not made public, sealed off by the European Union and the Shoreline Alliance. Therefore, it was unlikely for Mo Fan, who learned most of his knowledge from textbooks, to read about it. As a matter of fact, many incidents across the world were sealed off by the authorities. They were not trying to point their fingers at others, but to limit the negative impact of the incidents, since there were just too many fools in this world.

“Salan’s influence is even greater than the Supreme Pontiff of the Black Vatican. I believe the Cold Prince, who’s also a psychopath, doesn’t want people to think he’s inferior to Salan. The incident of the Red Mediterranean Sea wasn’t that significant compared to Salan’s achievements. If the Cold Prince is planning something, it’s going to be worse than the incident of the Red Mediterranean Sea without a doubt, and there’s a chance it will happen in our country,” Lingling said.

“F**k the Black Vatican; why do they have to pick on our country when there are so many countries in the world?” Zhao Manyan cursed.

“We can’t let it happen!” Mo Fan swore.

Mo Fan was aware that the conspiracy was beyond what the few of them could handle. They had to ask the authorities for help. Mo Fan immediately thought of Han Ji. The man would clearly be the first to step forward if he learned the Black Vatican was up to something.

However, Han Ji could only represent the Clock Tower Magic Association. If the Cold Prince was planning something worse than the incident of the Red Mediterranean Sea, he obviously needed the help of someone with greater power. Mo Fan believed it was better to contact Zhu Meng. As a Councilman, he would have more say in things like this.

“Aren’t you close with Chairman Shao Zheng? Why don’t you try contacting him? If he gives us permission to investigate the Cold Prince, we should be able to get more help,” Zhao Manyan also had the same idea.

“I’ll try.” Mo Fan dialed Chairman Shao Zheng’s number, but his secretary answered the call.

“Mo Fan, have you found any new clues about the Totem Beasts? I’ve read your report regarding Outer Mount Kunyu and told the Chairman about it. We did send some people to search for the Giant Purple Sacred Linden, but they weren’t able to find anything useful. It’s very likely that the demon has gone into hiding. It won’t dare to show itself for a long time,” the secretary, Gu Lian, said to him immediately..

“Well, there isn’t anything to report about the Totem Beasts, but I do have something that I believe the Chairman should know. Is he available?” Mo Fan asked.

“The Chairman is currently at Dalian’s maritime battlefield. The situation along the shoreline isn’t looking good. Something serious is about to happen. The Chairman has already proposed sounding the alert for five thousand kilometers along the shoreline. I’m afraid he will be very busy with it for some time. You can let me know if there’s anything important,” Gu Lian said.

An alert for five thousand kilometers of shoreline?

Mo Fan initially thought he had heard it wrong. He asked Gu Lian to confirm that, and to his surprise, Gu Lian repeated exactly the same words!

“Isn’t the shoreline of our country only around twenty thousand kilometers long?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes, which means more than a quarter of the shoreline will be placed on alert. It’s been a long time since the Chairman had a chance to get any rest. He’s trying to convince the country to place more attention on it, but the politicians think he’s overreacting. They said it’s normal for the sea level to rise every year,” Gu Lian said.

“But still… placing a quarters of the shoreline on alert, isn’t that…” Mo Fan agreed that the proposal sounded a little crazy.

“I know, a lot of people are assuming our Chairman is going nuts (sigh) but the Chairman insisted on trusting his instincts. Is the thing you mentioned more serious than that?” Gu Lian asked.

“Ugh, it does sound more important than what I have… but I still think it’s important to say it,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan briefly explained the possibility of the Cold Prince conspiring in their country to Gu Lian, and how an Elder of the Enforcement Union had already fallen victim to it.

“Do you have any solid evidence?” Gu Lian asked seriously.

“We have found out there’s a traitor in the Enforcement Union, but we haven’t learned anything much,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m afraid the Chairman can’t do anything about it if that’s all you have. He’s allocating every resource he has to the shoreline. It’s true that we should be treating a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican seriously, but the Chairman can’t attend to two things at once. The Chairman could only assign the other Councilmen who aren’t cooperating with him at the moment to handle it if you have enough proof,” Gu Lian said.

“I thought our nation would be united if there is any trace of the Black Vatican after what happened at the Ancient Capital,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Don’t worry, if there’s solid evidence, no one will dare waste a second further. Therefore, can you please get some evidence from the traitor? We must locate the Cold Prince and learn what he’s up to. That way, we’ll be able to allocate resources to the matter accordingly!” Gu Lian encouraged him.

“So the higher-ups are only willing to make a move if we have information on the Red Cardinal or solid evidence about what he’s up to?” Mo Fan asked.

“There’s a Preventive Committee. You may be able to ask them for help, or let them handle it from here if you want. I believe they can handle it well,” Gu Lian told him.

—

Mo Fan’s heart sank after hanging up the call.

He did not blame the Chairman and the secretary for not taking his warning seriously. What Gu Lian said was reasonable, if they tried to make a move before collecting enough evidence, it might be a waste of their time and resources. Besides, sending too many people to search for the Cold Prince might alert him instead! On the other hand, there were other problems that needed more attention for the time being…

“How is it?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“We’ll have to find some convincing proof,” Mo Fan replied.

“Mm, we are just giving them a heads-up,” Lingling seemed to have predicted the outcome.

“Then let’s start with the traitor! Humph, we’ll be making the move instead this time, and giving the Black Vatican a devastating blow!” Mo Fan promised coldly.

Chapter 1340 Putting the Blame on Others

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

At noon, Mo Fan and Lingling could not be bothered to go out and eat. They found a spot on the highest floor of the Canton Tower and enjoyed some Cantonese delicacies they had ordered for delivery. They also enjoyed the wind and the sight of the tallest building in the city below their feet.

In front of the tower was Victoria Square. The pedestrians were just little dots below them. It looked like they were standing still even when they were walking.

A pair of golden wings sprang up from Victoria Square. The man soared up past the skyscrapers nearby and continued to approach the tower. He was holding two smoking takeaway boxes in his hands. The pleasant aroma of food was leaking out from the boxes.

“Here you go, fresh rice noodle rolls, beef meatballs, roasted pork buns…” Zhao Manyan placed the food down.

The strong wind blew one of the takeaway boxes away when he was not paying attention. The white takeaway box flew into the distance and floated in the sky above the city. It kept flying higher instead of falling…

“No littering!” Mo Fan said.

“I didn’t mean it, the wind is too strong here. It’s not like I’m the one that suggested eating up here…” Zhao Manyan said.

Normally, if you were the first person to own a car among your friends, you would immediately become the dedicated driver in the group. The same logic applied to Magicians. If you had a pair of wings or achieved the Advanced Level of the Wind Element, you would be in charge of taking away food, delivering stuff, and providing emergency backup.

“F**k me, my roasted pork bun,” Zhao Manyan’s hand had slipped. The smoking bun fell off the tower. He immediately turned to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan ignored his pleading look. He would not use his Space Magic to retrieve a bun that some fool had dropped. He even justified himself, “The air quality in Guangzhou is extremely bad. There’s dust everywhere. If your bun falls a hundred meters down, it’s no different than rolling in a pool of mud. Don’t even think about eating it.”

“Cut the crap, you’re just unwilling to help!” Zhao Manyan was not willing to give up. He loved eating roasted pork buns, and the sweet sensation when the soft texture of the bun was mixed with the juice of the roasted pork. He rose to his feet and dived from the tower after the roasted pork bun like a professional diver.

Mo Fan and Lingling simply ignored him, and continued to enjoy their food. They soon heard people screaming. It was likely they thought someone had fallen off the tower again…

Read more chapter on vipnovel.com

“Have you come up with a plan?” Mo Fan asked.

“I have,” Lingling nodded.

—

—

Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union…

Mount Jueguai was the mountain base of the Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union. Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union was mainly responsible for the areas to the south of Nanling Mountains. Apart from keeping an eye on the One-eyed Magic Wolf Horde, they were also responsible for the safety of Fujian, Jiangxi, and the provinces nearby.

A woman in her forties was alone on the balcony of a building on Mount Jueguai. The sun was shining on the umbrella. The sunlight was already peeking through the umbrella as the sun shifted in the sky, but the woman seemed totally unaware of it. She sat on the chair as her eyes stared at the mountains and a tall cliff leading to a valley in front of her…

“Did they realize something? Impossible, I was being so cautious, there’s no way they could track me down!” the woman murmured. Her eyes were rolling around uneasily.

She grabbed her pants tightly before loosening the grip after some time.

The woman rose to her feet and murmured as if she had made up her mind, “I can’t let them find me!”

A young female Enforcer came up to the woman and asked softly, “Who’s trying to find you? Aunt Cheng Ying, did you hear? Elder Leng Qing of the Lingyin Enforcement Union was assassinated. Apparently, she was killed by the Hall of Assassins. The higher-ups of the Enforcement Union are so mad about it. They have given the orders to hunt down the people of the Hall of Assassins!”

Cheng Ying glanced at the Enforcer. The fierce look in her eyes dissipated after she confirmed the Enforcer was not trying to bait her into saying something.

“I have some matters to attend to, please tell the supervisor on my behalf,” Cheng Ying said.

“Aunt, are you alright? Aren’t you the supervisor now? Did you fry your brain from just spending some time in the sun?” The Enforcer was amused.

“Oh, I am too used to reporting to Supervisor Luo. He was the supervisor for ten years,” Cheng Ying explained.

“I can’t believe Supervisor Luo would fall sick all of a sudden and resign. That being said, if he didn’t fall sick, I bet you wouldn’t have become the supervisor either!” the Enforcer said thoughtlessly.

“Nonsense! Don’t say anything like that again,” Cheng Ying scolded her sternly, her expression dark.

“I’m sorry, the words just slipped out of my mouth,” the young woman apologized immediately.

“Tell the others that I’ll be busy for the next two days. Tell them to report to the Elder if there’s anything important.”

“Sure, but aunt, where are you going?”

“You’re asking too many questions. I didn’t take you from your mum so you can annoy me with your questions. Just do as you’re told! By the way, Leng Qing sent us an encoded message asking for backup. Don’t tell anyone that I asked you to relay the message to the Kunming Enforcement Union, because she specified Kunming as the destination. Now that Leng Qing is dead, the higher-ups will be pointing their fingers around. You must keep it a secret if you don’t want to take the blame!” Cheng Ying warned her.

“Ah? Why would they blame me for it? I was just following protocol!” Su Qingqing asked.

“An Elder has died, so someone must pay for it. If they can’t find the culprit, they won’t be able to explain themselves to the superiors or the Lingyin Enforcement Union. They will surely find a scapegoat, and the scapegoat is usually someone that has made the smallest mistake, even though that wouldn’t even lift their brows normally. A tiny mistake might become deadly, even if you have nothing to do with it!” Cheng Ying said.

“I…I’ll make sure to keep it a secret. Aunt, you’re so nice to me. If you hadn’t been telling me what to do over the past few years, I’d just be a nobody at the bottom. My mother didn’t teach me anything apart from drinking and beating me up. But now, even those that mistreated me before are being respectful to me after they learn I’m an Enforcer now,” Su Qingqing said.

“You’re grateful to me?” Cheng Ying raised her brows and asked the naive young woman.

“Of course!”

“Then I have a favor to ask you, and don’t tell anyone else. I don’t really trust them, especially after learning there’s a traitor among us. I wouldn’t want them to mess with my plan,” Cheng Ying said.

“Not a problem.”

—

—

To the west of Mount Jueguai was the Flying Cliff Bridge between two mountains. A tragedy once took place on the second mountain, so it had been abandoned since. The Flying Cliff Bridge ended up as a decoration.

A young woman was hanging on the side of the bridge. Her legs were dangling above a canyon creek.

“Aunt…” the girl struggled, kicking her legs. Her body was restrained by a special force, preventing her from using any magic. She was no different from an ordinary human.

The rope was tied firmly around her pale throat. Her face was turning blue as her eyes were rolling upward. Her twisted face showed she was suffocating painfully!

“Didn’t I tell you that your soul will live forever if you give up your life? Those with great contributions will rule in the afterworld. You will no longer have to take orders from the others, nor will you suffer or feel inferior. Go, as a Blue Deacon, I present to you the Kingdom of Death!” Cheng Ying said expressionlessly.

Su Qinging was overwhelmed with fear. She did not understand a single word the woman said. She was in great pain and terrified. She did not understand why the aunt who had been kind to her would do something like this to her.

She was born poor and lowly. Her mother would scold and beat her every day, and force her to do never-ending chores. It was her aunt that saved her from her mother after she awakened the Plant Element and enrolled in a magic high school. Her aunt, Cheng Ying, was a splendid Mage. She worked in the Enforcement Union, first as an Enforcer, and now a Supervisor. She had always worked hard. She was perfect, a role model for Su Qingqing, and the person that Su Qingqing respected the most. Su Qingqing always thought of Cheng Ying as her mother, while her biological mother was nothing but a scum!

Why would the woman she treated as her mother do this? What was happening before her was worse than a nightmare. The woman who had given her a new life had suddenly turned into a devil who tied the rope around her neck mercilessly. The grip on her neck gradually tightened. The mother-and-daughter relationship between them over the past ten years did not cause the woman any hesitation, even if she could soften the grip a little, even if she could explain to her why she was doing it…

Su Qingqing tried her best to raise her head. She knew she did not have long to live, but she did not show any hatred. The woman had given her everything, so she did not complain when the woman wanted to kill her. She just wanted to see if Cheng Ying was forced to do it. She wanted to see if the woman was in pain just like she was, to see a hint of unwillingness from her…

But there was none!

None at all!

The woman was like a stranger!

—

A cold wind blew heavily on the corpse like a merciless whip; it gradually lost its temperature.

The corpse hanging from the Flying Cliff Bridge was exposed under the sun swayed as the wind blew. Su Qingqing’s tender skin began to crack from being too dry…

“There’s a plank hanging beside the bridge. It looks like it’s going to fall…” a patrolling officer suddenly yelled.

Another officer took a closer look. “A plank? It…it looks like a body!”

“It…it really is, my Heavens, call for backup!”

Chapter 1341 The Chief Extraditor

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

That night, Mo Fan, Lingling, and Zhao Manyan arrived at Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union. They went to Mount Jueguai and soon noticed the place was in a mess. It was obvious that something had happened.

They went into the main hall and saw a group of people talking amongst themselves with strange looks.

A woman was crying sadly in the main hall. They went forward through the heavy and depressing atmosphere and saw a few Enforcers.

“I believe she’s Su Qingqing, the person you are looking for…” the Enforcer leading Mo Fan and his crew said with a frown.

“We are one step late,” Mo Fan said.

“And you are?” An Elder looked at Mo Fan and his crew doubtfully.

“This is Mo Fan, the strongest participant in the World College Tournament. These two are his partners. They are investigating Elder Leng Qing’s murder,” Enforcer Qi Yang answered.

Qi Yang was a member of the Preventive Committee. He had the authority to investigate members of the Enforcement Union. Secretary Gu Lian had asked him to assist Mo Fan with the investigation.

“What does Elder Leng Qing’s murder have anything to do with us?” the Elder of Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union, Zou Hui, asked.

“We have discovered a traitor in the Enforcement Union was responsible for Leng Qing’s death. We just found out that the traitor is here in Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union, and was Su Qingqing. However, she’s dead now,” Mo Fan said.

Zou Hui frowned. He said in a deep voice, “We believe it was a suicide.”

“She killed herself out of guilt?”

“Who could have thought that Su Qingqing was one of the Black Vatican…”

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“She must have realized that she had been exposed, so she chose to kill herself!”

The rest of the crowd burst into an uproar. The members of Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union did not expect it to turn out like this. They immediately investigated everything Su Qingqing had done and her possessions.

The process was conducted smoothly. They soon discovered the confidential information that Su Qingqing had leaked and traces of her sending the information to outsiders. They also found things that could possibly identify her as one of the Black Vatican among her belongings.

Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union was shaken by the findings. They never suspected such a young Enforcer would be a spy of the Black Vatican, nor did they have any idea how she was able to trick the Tree of Vows!

—

“I thought we finally found a clue, but it’s gone again. How cunning the Black Vatican is!” Zhao Manyan burst out angrily.

If they could get their hands on Su Qingqing, they could easily track down the member of the Black Vatican she was contacting. That person would at least have the rank of Blue Deacon, which might lead them to the Cold Prince…

Now that Su Qingqing was dead, the trail was gone too.

“Yeah, we are back to square one!” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“What should we do next?” Zhao Manyan said.

“What else can we do? The trail has stopped here. We can only think of something else. Let’s go back tomorrow morning. We’ll bring Su Qingqing’s corpse, so we can explain it to Lingyin Enforcement Union,” Mo Fan said.

“I guess that’s all we can do.”

—

—

The third day after Su Qingqing’s death, the higher-ups thoroughly investigated the Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union. Its members were severely impacted. The members, Enforcers, Supervisors, and Elder all suffered the wrath of the higher-ups.

Luckily, it had all come to an end. Su Qingqing and Bei Jiang had paid for Leng Qing’s death.

Half a month later, Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union was back to normal. The disturbance slowly faded away.

Supervisor Cheng Ying requested for a vacation to take some time off. Elder Zou Hui did not have any objection. After all, the Enforcement Union was now in a slump after they discovered there was a traitor among them. It was necessary for them to take a little break.

Cheng Ying left Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union without leaving any traces behind. The first thing she did after she left was find a desolate altar and activate it.

The altar was connected to her soul. She endured the pain and forcibly severed the vow she had taken as a member of the Enforcement Union.

Severing the vow inflicted serious damage on her soul. She fell feebly to the ground and took a long time to recover. She dug up a black stone behind the altar…

She staggered to the pond nearby and placed the stone in the water. The water immediately turned black, reflecting Cheng Ying’s pale face on its surface.

Cheng Ying murmured a strange mantra. A few ripples appeared on the surface of the pond. It immediately displayed the image of a person wearing the crimson-red mask of a demon!

“Crimson Demon, it’s me, Blue Deacon Eagle Eye,” Cheng Ying said.

“Master Cold Prince just mentioned you recently. You have done well. Once you’re back, we might consider promoting you to a Great Deacon!” the man wearing the crimson-red demon mask answered.

Cheng Ying was suffused with joy, her body shaking in excitement. However, she soon realized the situation she was in and said, “My cover has been compromised, but I managed to trick them with the girl I had long prepared as a scapegoat.”

No one in the Enforcement Union knew about the relationship between Cheng Ying and Su Qingqing. Cheng Ying had never allowed Su Qingqing to meet her when there was someone else around, nor did she allow the girl to call her aunt in front of others. Therefore, she was not implicated after Su Qingqing’s death. The higher-ups did not find anything suspicious about her, either. Cheng Ying had done everything that involved betraying the Enforcement Union under Su Qingqing’s name.

Of course, Su Qingqing had been totally unaware of it!

“You’re very cautious. You already knew something like this would happen!” the man smiled.

“The higher-ups have given up on Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union. I don’t think I will need to stay here any further. I will find a valid excuse to leave the Enforcement Union and return to the organization,” Cheng Ying said.

“Very well. The Cold Prince is busy preparing a great plan, so he definitely needs some help. Go to him after you’re done cleaning up your trail. I’ll send an Extraditor to pick you up,” the man said.

“Thank you, Master Crimson Demon! Please send my humble regards to Master Cold Prince.” Cheng Ying bowed and kissed the rock in front of her like a humble servant.

—

Cheng Ying left the cave and proceeded with her plan of taking a vacation.

She could finally go back to where she belonged after so many years. It was tiring wearing this disguise. She was looking forward to relaxing and getting rid of her burdens during this vacation!

However, little did Cheng Ying know, that as she was just about to welcome her new life, a man had witnessed everything that had happened in the cave!

—

Mo Fan picked up the unique black stone and walked out of the dark hole. He chuckled when he saw Cheng Ying leaving in high spirits.

“So this is the Black Vatican’s Messenger Stone, something that only a Blue Deacon would have…” Lingling came out from the woods near the cave and inspected the stone.

“How was it? Did we manage to locate the Red Cardinal?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Mo Fan shook his head and said, “She was talking to a guy called the Crimson Demon. He said that he would send an Extraditor to pick her up…”

“He must be the Chief Extraditor! I didn’t expect her rank to be high enough to have direct contact with an Extraditor… my sister told me about the Chief Extraditor of the Black Vatican before. The Chief Extraditor is even more mysterious than a Red Cardinal, since only the Chief Extraditor has the complete list of members of the Black Vatican! This Cheng Ying is clearly a deadly chess piece that the Black Vatican has long placed in the Enforcement Union, if she’s taking orders from the Chief Extraditor!” Lingling murmured.

“Which means we are really dealing with the authorities of the Black Vatican now!?” Mo Fan asked.

The Chief Extraditor was only slightly inferior to a Red Cardinal. The guy called Crimson Ghost had the list of members under a Red Cardinal. If they could get their hands on the Chief Extraditor, wouldn’t that mean they could take out a seventh of the entire Black Vatican!?

The Black Vatican was infamous for its ability to conceal its members’ identities. Most of their members were disguised as ordinary civilians. They were like human time bombs, posing a great threat to society. If the Extraditor really had the information on those people, taking him down would allow them to find many members of the Black Vatican too!

“Yeah, he must be the Chief Extraditor, but unfortunately, he isn’t the one picking Cheng Ying up. Otherwise, we could just take him down and take out the Cold Prince!” Lingling swore.

“Yeah, he’s only sending an Extraditor over, meaning he won’t show himself.”

“I believe we can’t afford to touch this Cheng Ying yet. If an Extraditor is coming to bring her back to the Black Vatican, we might be able to follow them to their secret lair and learn the Cold Prince or the Chief Extraditor’s true identity…” Mo Fan said.

It was an extremely risky move. It was likely that Leng Qing had done the same thing, which eventually led to her death.

However, it did not necessarily mean Mo Fan and Lingling would back away!

The Calamity of the Ancient Capital had too much of an emotional impact on Mo Fan. He would not allow the same thing to happen again in his country. He would be filled with remorse for the rest of his life if his homeland was stacked with corpses and rivers of blood!

However, Mo Fan could not afford to act recklessly either. The Black Vatican was brutal and cautious. Even someone as smart as Leng Qing did not escape from them. Mo Fan was unwilling to follow in her footsteps. Every step forward was like walking on a thin layer of ice. He had to think carefully before making any move!

Chapter 1342 Transferring Dark Material

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan was not in a rush. The Preventive Committee had already allocated an expert to spy on Cheng Ying. All he needed to do was to improve his strength.

Being strong enough was the key to taking on the Black Vatican. Mo Fan once again realized how many extraordinary talents there were in the world after he fought Bei Jiang. Perhaps he might find himself in a dead end someday. Therefore, it was important to focus on becoming stronger, so he could handle any kind of situation when the time came!

Mo Fan went back to Guangzhou. Feng Zhoulong seemed to have something urgent to tell him.

Mo Fan initially thought Feng Zhoulong had learned some useful information from Xiao Ping after she recovered. To his surprise, Feng Zhoulong brought him to Canton Tower’s basement instead.

Mo Fan did not know there was a spacious magic lab right under the tower. Feng Zhoulong turned out to be the head of the lab. He cautiously brought Mo Fan to a room separated by white steel plates.

Mo Fan stood in front of a transparent steel glass window. He could see a scorched corpse on an operating table in the room.

“Old Feng, did you really ask me to come all the way from Fujian to show me a burned corpse? And can you stop looking at me with glittering eyes? I’m starting to feel uneasy,” Mo Fan said.

Feng Zhoulong was an easy-going person, not really a Battlemage. He was more into researching magic, similar to Dean Xiao.

“Don’t you recognize it?” Feng Zhoulong asked.

“Are you serious? Why are you expecting me to recognize something that disgusting?” Mo Fan said.

“Kid, it’s Bei Jiang’s corpse; you dragged it back here. You’re the first person to drag a corpse into the Nanguo Magic Association. Do you have any idea how many civilians you scared back then?” Feng Zhoulong snapped.

“I only brought him back to serve justice for Leng Qing and the Lingyin Enforcement Union, I didn’t ask you to keep it…” Mo Fan said.

“This Bei Jiang has something similar to you. Do you know what it is?” Feng Zhoulong hinted at him.

“Mr. Feng, I’ll be leaving if there isn’t anything else. I’m a busy man,” Mo Fan replied, rolling his eyes.

“Fine, I’ll cut straight to the main point. Bei Jiang’s Innate Talent is very similar to yours. He Awakened two Elements at the Basic Level; the Shadow Element and the Chaos Element. Most importantly, the two Elements shared the same Star Dust!” Feng Zhoulong exclaimed.

“Two Elements sharing the same Star Dust?” It was Mo Fan’s first time hearing anything like it.

Elements were not compatible with one another. Even though many Mages in the Advanced Level and the Super Level were able to combine two spells into one powerful spell with enough control, it was only possible if the Mage could cast the spells within a short period of time, while preventing their energy from clashing with one another.

The simplest example was how Mu Ningxue was using both her Wind Element and Ice Element simultaneously to summon forth a strong tornado with icicles. It was only possible due to her outstanding control. They were actually different spells that she had skillfully combined into one.

However, according to Feng Zhoulong, Bei Jiang’s Shadow Element and Chaos Element had merged into one, since they shared the same Star Dust. It was against the principles of scien… the principles of magic, or at least the basic principles that every student was taught over nine years of school. Those rules clearly stated that every Element could only have one Star Dust. It was an unamendable rule of magic!

“If he had Awakened two Elements that had merged into one, wouldn’t that make it a new Element? Like the Shadow Chaos Element?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Feng Zhoulong shook his head and explained like a knowledgeable scholar, “No, it’s definitely not a new Element. Its traits are exactly the same as the Shadow Element and the Chaos Element, even though it’s leaning more toward the Shadow Element. However, his Innate Talent has proven one thing; it’s possible to merge different Elements, resulting in unimaginable abilities! For example, the way he corrupted his targets with the dark energy, the manipulation of his shadows, the unusual behavior of his Shadow Domain… if we can prove there’s a way to merge the Elements, it might be a world-changing evolution to the Elements!”

“I’m sorry, I’m not really good at studying; I don’t really understand something that complicated,” Mo Fan admitted awkwardly.

He was utterly clueless about the history, basic principles, and experiments of magic. Otherwise, he would have known more than just understanding the questions on the high school exam.

“HAHA, don’t mind it, I was too excited with the discovery after you’ve killed Bei Jiang, it’s the start of a new domain for us! Even though we still have no clue why Bei Jiang’s two Elements merged into one, we believe we’ll learn many things if we keep heading in the same direction. Think about it! If we found a way to merge the Elements, how strong would humans be? We would no longer have to hide in the cities…” Feng Zhoulong said excitedly.

“I understand, but unfortunately, it’s not my area of expertise. I’ll leave the future of mankind in your hands. Now, if there isn’t anything else, please excuse me!” Mo Fan said.

“Why are you in a rush? I didn’t say I was going to conduct experiments on your Double Innate Elements. The Research Union of the Magic Association’s main headquarters did propose treating you as a test subject, to see if we can duplicate your Double Innate Elements, but that proposal has long been rejected. Innate Talents are like the unique traits of a person. It had long been proven that it’s impossible to duplicate Innate Talents…” Feng Zhoulong added.

Mo Fan rolled his eyes. He only realized how much of a nerd Feng Zhoulong was now, despite his appearance. Whenever the topic was about something technical, he could do all the questioning and answering passionately, all by himself!

“I really have to go if there isn’t anything else!” Mo Fan emphasized.

“Mm, go ahead,” Feng Zhoulong nodded. He suddenly acted indifferently.

There was no reason for Mo Fan to stay any longer. He would have asked Feng Zhoulong to compensate him for the flight ticket if it wasn’t for the fact that the man was the head of the Research Union of the Nanguo Magic Association.

Mo Fan had just turned around when Feng Zhoulong said casually, “Feel free to leave if you aren’t interested in obtaining Bei Jiang’s power of the Shadow Element. There are lots of Shadow Mages in our Nanguo Magic Association that are begging us to give them a chance. (Sigh) Such a pity, I was considering giving it to you since you were the one that defeated him. I didn’t think you would have no interest in it. I guess someone like you who’s the strongest participant in the World College Tournament isn’t too fussy about it.”

Mo Fan’s hand froze on the button to open the sliding door. The hint of dislike on his face was gradually replaced with joy and excitement!

“AH, I suddenly realized I’m not really in a rush to go back! Brother Feng, what do you want for dinner? My treat! As a junior, I never had the chance to pay my respects. I apologize for that,” Mo Fan turned around with a smile.

“Seriously, I’ve never seen a young man less patient than you!” Feng Zhoulong said with a displeased voice.

“Are you saying that you’ve managed to acquire Bei Jiang’s Dark Material?” Mo Fan asked.

The Dark Material had dissipated as soon as Mo Fan killed Bei Jiang. Since it was impossible to take away a person’s Spirit-grade Seed or Soul-grade Seed, Mo Fan did not really care much about it.

“My Secondary Element is the Undead Element. I’m very familiar with dealing with corpses. To me, every corpse is like a fortune,” Feng Zhoulong said.

“I see; no wonder you were able to figure out Bei Jiang’s two Elements have merged into one!” Mo Fan nodded.

“Acquiring the power of a dead body was my field of research during university. Everything being lost after death is a terrible belief. I’ve managed to acquire toxins from dead sea monsters that made us immune to their deadly poisons. I’ve retrieved the Summoned Beasts of the Summoners that died and prevented them powerful Summoned Beasts from going astray in the Summoned Beast Plane after their masters have died. I’ve… fine, considering how impatient you are, I’ll cut straight to the main point.

“I’ve obtained the Dark Material inside Bei Jiang’s body. It didn’t disappear after Bei Jiang died, but it has gathered like an elemental energy on Bei Jiang’s Soul Remnant. The problem is separating the Dark Material from Bei Jiang’s Soul Remnant. The two are tightly bound together. If you want to accept the Dark Material to enhance your Shadow Element, you will have to accept Bei Jiang’s Soul Remnant, too. I’m worried that it might result in negative mental impacts,” Feng Zhoulong said.

“So you’re saying that it’s possible for me to use the Dark Material?” Mo Fan said.

“You won’t be able to acquire his Innate Talent, but you can absorb his special Dark Material. With some practice, you should be able to control your shadows like he did, and use the Darkness Corruption. You should know that the power of darkness is like a contract. You can think of the Dark Material as a non-living Summoned Beast. It will look for a new master once their previous master dies… Back to the question, the Dark Material contains Bei Jiang’s Soul Remnant. Considering his hatred of you, when you bind the Dark Material to your soul, he will make use of the opportunity to attack you, and it might cost you your life!” Feng Zhoulong said.

“The power to control shadows, the Darkness Corruption… those are more than enough. Quick, tell me, what should I do!” Mo Fan answered excitedly, not caring about the risk!

Chapter 1343 The Fiendish Night Contrac

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The scariest thing about Bei Jiang’s Darkness Corruption was the ability to track down its target. Every person, device, and energy ripple of spells that the target had contact with would provide feedback to the caster. No tracking ability was more impressive than that. Mo Fan desperately needed its power to track down the Cold Prince!

The ability to manipulate shadows was even crazier. Mo Fan would never forget how the demonic shadows had left him with injuries and bruises, or the shadow waiting to backstab him at any moment!

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked when he saw Feng Zhoulong glaring at him.

“Do your ears only hear the things you want to hear? Bei Jiang’s Soul Remnant is a huge problem. It might inflict serious damage on your soul!” Feng Zhoulong exclaimed.

“Oh, that, don’t worry about it, my soul is pretty strong. He won’t have any chance to damage it,” Mo Fan said casually.

“You should treat it more seriously. If you want to obtain the Dark Material, you will need to accept it with your soul. It’s similar to forming a pact with your Contracted Beast, and since the Dark Material is so close to your soul, Bei Jiang’s Soul Remnant can easily inflict serious mental and spiritual damage to you. It will haunt you like your shadow for a long time,” Feng Zhoulong told him.

“Everything will be fine. I wouldn’t take the risk if I wasn’t confident enough. Just teach me how to accept the Dark Material. I’ll deal with the Soul Remnant. Why would I be afraid of his soul if I’ve already killed him?” Mo Fan said confidently.

“Fine, I can tell you’ve already made up your mind. The Dark Material is called the Fiendish Night. It’s more powerful than a Soul-grade Elemental Seed. It can significantly boost the power and abilities of your Shadow Element, but to freely manipulate it like Bei Jiang, you will have to improve your Shadow Element. Your Shadow Element isn’t that impressive at only the first-tier of the Advanced Level,” Feng Zhoulong advised him.

“Of course I will train it harder after acquiring the power!” Mo Fan promised.

“Mm, you can accept the Fiendish Night here. No one will disturb you,” Feng Zhoulong told him.

Mo Fan nodded…

——

Feng Zhoulong soon returned with a container. It looked like a typical magic container that was used to contain souls. It was likely that the Dark Material could not be stored like Elemental energy, and could only be stored like a soul.

“The Dark Material will look for a new master on its own, so you won’t have to guide it into your body and your soul like an Elemental Seed. You just have to wait for it to approach you and accept it. Remember what I told you; the thing is basically Bei Jiang’s Soul Remnant. If you expose your soul to it, it will surely tear your soul into pieces!” Feng Zhoulong said.

“Bring it on, I’m ready!” Mo Fan declared.

Feng Zhoulong did not say a word further. He did not believe Mo Fan was a careless man. He was utterly impressed by the young man after seeing how he had tried to save Leng Qing. Otherwise, he would not have asked Mo Fan to pay him a visit as soon after he obtained the Dark Material.

“I’ll be leaving after releasing it. Be careful!” Feng Zhoulong warned him again.

It was necessary to leave, so as to avoid the Dark Material approaching him!

—

Feng Zhoulong left the room and closed the door, leaving Mo Fan alone with a black mist in the space surrounded by white steel plates.

Mo Fan could see a twisted face in the black mist. It was obviously Bei Jiang. A wisp of his soul had turned into a vengeful spirit. He wondered if it was Feng Zhoulong’s doing.

Mo Fan could see Bei Jiang’s hatred of him from the face. The strong hatred soon filled up the space.

Mo Fan waited patiently for the Fiendish Night to enter his soul. He closed his eyes and meditated. As he thought, his Spiritual World was covered in darkness. It even shrouded the brilliance of his other Elements.

“An imbecile like you is trying to claim my power? HAHA, I’ll definitely make you suffer!” Bei Jiang’s voice echoed in Mo Fan’s mind.

Mo Fan was not bothered by the vengeful spirit. He slowly accepted the Fiendish Night. He was not trying to merge the Dark Material with his soul. It was more like expressing sincerity to one another before forming a pact.

The power of darkness was from the Kingdom of Darkness. The process of drawing the Stars of the Shadow Element was actually sacrificing energy to the Lord of Darkness in exchange for its power. It was different from the Elemental energy readily available from one’s surroundings.

The Curse Element and the Undead Element were the same, too. They were the powers of the Lord of Darkness.

A long time ago, humans were sacrificing souls and lives in exchange for the Lord of Darkness’ power. It was the reason why Dark Magic was forbidden by the Magic Association. Western countries even killed many wizards and witches during a certain era…

Humans eventually discovered the sacrifices offered to the Lord of Darkness did not necessarily have to be their souls and lives. The sacrifices were not restricted to mere fresh blood and death. The Lord of Darkness was more interested in the Dark Energy. Since then, Dark Magic had been slowly accepted by the Magic Association and was included in the teaching materials.

The Dark Contract was not something as terrifying as selling their soul to the Lord of Darkness. It was just an agreement that the person would provide Dark Energy to the Lord of Darkness in exchange for certain abilities, resulting in a mutually beneficial relationship.

It was orthodox Dark Magic, a pact that most Dark Mages had formed with the Lord of Darkness.

As for the Dark Material Fiendish Night, it had an extra requirement. When Mo Fan was trying to form a pact with it, it stated that Mo Fan would have to offer it a Soul Remnant every time he wanted to use its power.

In other words, using the Darkness Corruption would not only cost Mo Fan energy, but a Warrior-level Soul Remnant too!

Every time he cast the Demon Shadow, apart from expending the energy required for an Advanced Spell, he also needed to expend a Commander-level Soul Remnant!

No Soul Remnants meant no power. The energy was for the Lord of Darkness, and the Fiendish Night wanted the Soul Remnants. Otherwise, where did the shadows even come from!?

It was Mo Fan’s first time signing a contract with a high-level Dark Material. He initially thought the Shadow Element had things like the Spirit-grade Seeds and Soul-grade Seeds too, but Zhao Manyan had laughed so hard and called him an idiot after hearing that from him. Since then, Mo Fan felt like his Shadow Element was too inflexible, so it was not that useful in fights anymore.

However, it was no longer the case after obtaining the Dark Material!

Despite having a higher consumption, it did not matter much to Mo Fan, since it was only asking for Soul Remnants!

“Deal!” Mo Fan signed the contract.

The Fiendish Night swiftly entered Mo Fan’s soul and made his Shadow Element stronger, more imperious, and more unpredictable. It also granted Mo Fan two new abilities: the Darkness Corruption and the Demon Shadow!

“Don’t you dare, you imbecile! I will not give my power to you!” Bei Jiang’s vengeful spirit screamed.

It was like seeing his gorgeous ex-wife having an affair with a handsome rich man. He would not allow it, even though he was already dead!

Bei Jiang’s vengeful spirit lunged at Mo Fan’s soul. Since the Fiendish Night had entered Mo Fan’s soul, it allowed Bei Jiang to attack Mo Fan’s soul directly, too. A Mage’s soul was strong since all magic originated from the soul. However, the soul was fragile, too. A single stab could leave a person in great pain, and the damage was usually incurable!

It was Bei Jiang’s perfect chance to take revenge. He had already died, yet he would not allow Mo Fan to get the better of him. Besides, the person that killed him had claimed the power he was most proud of. It was a great humiliation to him!

“Bei Jiang, to be honest with you, I have a special power too. I will normally use it on creatures that I have killed, but to prevent someone as filthy as you from corrupting my precious, I normally just throw the souls of people like you away like trash and let the Heavens deal with you. However, you are too naive if you think you can do anything to me just because I have accepted the Fiendish Night!” Mo Fan replied coolly.

“You’re the one that is naive. I might just be a vengeful spirit, but I can still tear a huge hole on your soul. HAHAHA, besides, Leng Qing is already dead! It’s worth it if I can inflict serious damage on your soul!” Bei Jiang laughed hysterically. He assumed Mo Fan was just bluffing.

“Who told you Leng Qing is dead?… oh, I forgot to mention, my wife is a Saintess of the Parthenon Temple, a candidate for the role of the Goddess. If she can bring a dead person back to life, why can’t she save a person who merely has a wilted heart?” Mo Fan said confidently.

“The Parthenon Temple…” Bei Jiang murmured. He immediately realized why Leng Qing was able to come back to life and send a secret message to the Enforcement Union when she was supposed to be dead!

If it was someone from the Parthenon Temple, it was indeed possible for them to save Leng Qing’s life!

“There’s no way she survived, there’s no way!” Bei Jiang shrieked.

“You are already so close to my soul. I believe you can easily tell if I’m lying or not. You just chose not to believe the truth!” Mo Fan replied.

Bei Jiang’s aura weakened slightly. It was indeed as Mo Fan had said. There was no way a person could lie to their soul, unless even they did not realize it was a lie!

“So you still think you can hurt me? Idiot?” Mo Fan remained calm.

The hate-driven Bei Jiang finally noticed a strong force dragging him in another direction as he was approaching Mo Fan’s soul. The force was like a whirlpool with a radius of over a thousand meters. He was like a tiny plank drifting in the strong current. He had no chance of breaking free from it. Bei Jiang was well aware of what it was, since he was also an Undead Mage!

“A Soul Container!” Bei Jiang was dumbfounded. He could sense the extraordinary power of the Soul Container. It was way beyond the power of the Soul Containers he normally used to collect Soul Remnants and Soul Essences. He could not imagine what level the Soul Container was, that even a powerful vengeful spirit like him was extremely tiny before it!

“I have to spend a Commander-level Soul Remnant every time I use the Demon Shadow. Mm, I have already collected one extra here,” Mo Fan murmured.

The Little Loach Pendant was the master of soul collectors. What chance did a little vengeful spirit even stand against it?

It was the reason why Mo Fan did not treat Feng Zhoulong’s warning seriously. He could easily absorb ten thousand Bei Jiang-class vengeful spirits with the Little Loach Pendant!

Chapter 1344 Seed of Darkness

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How was it? Are you alright? What did you do to the vengeful spirit? Tell me immediately if you feel anything,” Feng Zhoulong asked worriedly.

Mo Fan slowly opened his eyes. A dark substance was flowing in his dark brown eyes. They looked as if they had sealed a strange life form inside.

“It’s fine, that guy couldn’t really do anything to me, but the Dark Material is quite special. It needs sacrifices other than the energy when using it,” Mo Fan said.

“Sacrifices? Is it something evil? You should give it up if that is the case!” Feng Zhoulong said quickly.

“It needs Soul Remnants; it’s not really evil,” Mo Fan explained.

Soul Remnants were purchasable. After all, they were essential for the tools used to increase a person’s rate of cultivation. However, only Undead Mages could forge rare and expensive tools like the Soul Containers.

“It’s not too bad if it only needs Soul Remnants. Speaking of which, I do have a Soul Container here. I can give it to you,” Feng Zhoulong said.

“That’s fine, I have one already, it’s useful enough for me. The Dark Material is already a great gift, HAHAHA!” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

“Well, you were the one that killed him, so you have the right to claim the loot first. Besides, you’ve already pointed us in a new direction for our research. Once I learn the secrets of merging different Elements, I promise to tell you our discovery first… I have other things to attend to, but feel free to rest up here and familiarize yourself with the Dark Material. There’s a spacious training ground a level below that you can use,” Feng Zhoulong said.

“Alright, thanks!”

——

Mo Fan went to the fourth floor underground and found a spacious training ground. It was built with a kind of sturdy white rock strong enough to endure Advanced Spells. Mo Fan did not have to worry about the impact of his magic bringing down a few streets on the surface!

That being said, Mo Fan was not going to use his destructive magic. He had just obtained the Fiendish Night, thus he was planning to familiarize himself with it.

Little Loach Pendant had stored lots of Soul Remnants. The number of Soul Remnants was not enough to refine Soul Essences, but they were perfect to be used as sacrifices!

“Old Wolf, come out here!” Mo Fan swiftly tore open a rift and summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf from the Summoned Beast Plane.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf observed its surroundings and saw the mischievous grin on Mo Fan’s face. He immediately realized he was summoned here to be Mo Fan’s punching bag!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf unwillingly stood in a corner and howled, indicating that he was ready.

“Darkness Corruption!”

Mo Fan waved his hand. The invisible aura moved without leaving any trace. A strange black mist appeared out of nowhere at the spot Mo Fan was focusing on. It went into the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s body like a little squid setting up an ambush for a creature larger than it.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf turned around as he sensed something, yet he did not see a single thing. He was totally unaware that the dark substance had already gone into his body!

“Invisible and untraceable, even the victim is unaware of it! Brilliant!” Mo Fan mumbled.

The Darkness Corruption was different from the Giant Shadow Spikes. It was still possible to track the Giant Shadow Spikes with the mind and follow their trails through certain reflections. Meanwhile, the Darkness Corruption was able to appear out of nowhere. When the Seed of Darkness was planted inside the target’s body, it would grow and sprout on its own. It could even spread to things nearby, while keeping the target under surveillance…

“I remember Leng Qing was murdered by the Demon Shadow that came out of Xiao Ping’s body, which means Xiao Ping was a victim of the Darkness Corruption, too. The Seed of Darkness was planted in her body. Even if Bei Jiang was quite a distance away, the Sprout of Darkness can still turn into a Shadow Demon…” Mo Fan analyzed.

Mo Fan could see the Seed of Darkness growing in the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s body. The dark energy was flowing in the creature’s blood, muscles, and bones. When Mo Fan gave his order, the Fiendish Night could activate the dark energy that was corrupting the target!

“Summon Servant!” Mo Fan instructed.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf remained still. His head was full of question marks.

Normally, his master would have fired destructive spells at him; why was he acting so calm today? Did he misunderstand his master? He was not treating him as a punching bag today?

“Awoo!” The Flying Creek Snow Wolf suddenly let out a painful cry. Something had just stabbed him on the back. The pain he felt was several times stronger than usual. He furiously turned around to see. He wanted to know what was trying to mess with him!

However, he did not see anything after he turned around.

“Awoo!”

Before he could react, something stabbed him on the back of his leg. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf immediately realized the place he was standing on was dangerous. He spread his limbs and sprinted across the training ground.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf kept turning his head around to find the thing that was attacking him. He believed it would struggle to hit him while he was running.

“Awooo!”

To the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s surprise, he felt a sharp pain from his head. It immediately drove the creature mad. He swung his claws around. It did not matter if the enemy was close to him. He had to counterattack first!

“HAHAHAHA!” Mo Fan burst out laughing after seeing how miserable the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was.

Little Flame Belle had snuck out too. She sat on Mo Fan’s shoulder and burst into laughter.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf concentrated. He finally noticed his shadow moving into a blind spot. The pain had come from the shadow’s claw!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not understand why his shadow was attacking him all of a sudden. He started running again.

The only problem was… how could a creature possibly outrun its own shadow? The Flying Creek Snow Wolf soon howled in pain again.

“The sequence of using the Darkness Corruption is to first plant a Seed of Darkness, then wait for it to sprout. I can then Summon a Shadow Fiend Demon Servant from it, basically the target’s own shadow. The target has no chance of running away from its attacks…” Mo Fan finally understood why Leng Qing’s heart had stopped beating, even when she was under heavy surveillance!

It was impossible to defend against the ability if they were unaware of it in the first place!

Chapter 1345 The Shadow Fiend Demon General

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Next is the Shadow Fiend Demon General!” Mo Fan continued with his experiment.

Mo Fan used the Shadow Manipulating Art, but the Shadow Fiend Demon Generals did not show up around the Flying Creek Snow Wolf as he had expected. He had no idea what went wrong.

He remembered how Bei Jiang had summoned many Demon Shadows when fighting him. The shadows looked exactly the same as him, and possessed remarkable strength. Mo Fan could not find a way to get rid of them or kill them. Most of the injuries he had suffered were inflicted by the demon shadows.

Mo Fan was able to Summon the Shadow Fiend Demon Servant from the seeds of Darkness Corruption. However, he believed Bei Jiang was able to Summon many shadows in a shorter time. They did not have to rely on a body as a medium. They could roam freely, like they were alive, and they knew how to work together, too. They were clearly separate from the target’s shadow.

The ability was quite powerful. Even though the Darkness Corruption was useful in many ways, the ability to Summon duplicate Demon Shadows was the one that would significantly improve his strength!

“Why isn’t it working?” Mo Fan was confused.

He had already sacrificed a Commander-level Soul Remnant, but there was still no sign of the Shadow Fiend Demon Generals around the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, the shadow fiends that were capable of attacking on their own, surrounding the target, and had special abilities…

Mo Fan suddenly realized something after a while.

The Shadow Fiend Demon Servant only showed up when the Darkness Corruption had accumulated enough dark energy in the target’s body. If so, he would need a certain amount of dark energy to Summon Shadow Fiend Demon Generals powerful enough to move around and attack the enemy!

“Let’s have a go at it… Nyx Regime!” Mo Fan constructed a Shadow Star Constellation.

The training ground was ten meters high; quite impressive, considering the place was built underground. It was completely sealed off by the white bricks. The ceiling was domed like an egg. As Mo Fan completed the Advanced Shadow Spell, the spacious training ground was immersed in complete darkness, as if the lights had been turned off.

The Nyx Regime’s darkness was not as simple as turning off the lights and shrouding the sun. It would also strengthen the presence of Dark energy in the area. Its iciness and emptiness would amplify the negative emotions of humans, especially fear. Meanwhile, Darkness Creatures would become significantly stronger in the darkness!

If Mo Fan had a Shadow Element Summoned Beast, it would work well with his Nyx Regime…

The Nyx Regime was established. Mo Fan could see clearly in the darkness. He stared at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and sacrificed a Commander-level Soul Remnant to Summon the Shadow Fiend Demon Generals!

A silhouette soon appeared in the darkness. The darkness surrounding it seemed a little stronger. It was like a puff of gas floating freely.

As Mo Fan finished channeling the spell, the puff of gas slowly took the shape of a wolf, starting from the head, then the body, and finally the limbs and tail. In just a short period of time, the black gas had turned into a Shadow Fiend Demon General that looked like the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. It emitted a mysterious and dangerous aura!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf seemed to have realized that something was behind him. He turned around and bit with his fangs, confident that his attack would land on his enemy.

The bite was deadly and quick. It was powerful enough to easily crush a meter-thick block of steel.

The Shadow Fiend Demon General immediately turned into mist when it was attacked and spread into its surroundings. The mist slowly gathered in another spot not far away from the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

Mo Fan gave the order to attack. The Shadow Fiend Demon General bit at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf the same way he was biting at the shadow previously!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was not that intelligent. He was still searching for the Shadow Fiend Demon General when he was attacked from behind. The bite did not cause him to bleed, but his flesh had turned black and corrupted, as if the cells were dead!

“I see! Bei Jiang was using the Dark Swamp to summon the Shadow Fiend Demon General, which means I’ll need some sort of Shadow Domain to set up an ideal environment!” Mo Fan finally understood how to use the ability.

Mo Fan had gained a lot of confidence after testing out the two abilities.

Mo Fan was using the Shadow Element as an escape tool most of the time, as the Shadow Element was not compatible with his violent fighting ../style. However, with the two new abilities, the Shadow Element had become very powerful in fights. The untraceable Darkness Corruption, the betraying shadow that could rise without alerting the target, and the Shadow Fiend Demon Generals that were like duplicates of the target; once Mo Fan improved his Shadow Element, he could defeat lots of experts with just these abilities!

Unfortunately, Mo Fan could only Summon one Shadow Fiend Demon General at most. He was unable to Summon a bunch of them to flank the enemy like Bei Jiang had.

“I’ll need to improve my Fire Element. Otherwise, Little Flame Belle won’t be able to Possess me.

“I need to improve my Shadow Element as soon as possible to Summon the Shadow Fiend Demon Generals…

“AH, I can’t afford to fall behind on the other Elements either! The Space Element, the Lightning Element, the Summoning Element… I still haven’t found the way to Awaken the Second Contract. I’ll become even stronger if I have another Contracted Beast. It’s best if I could get a Shadow Contracted Beast and utilize the maximum potential of the Nyx Regime!”

Mo Fan reflected on his cultivation while sitting in the spacious training ground. He was now strong enough to take on the experts of the Black Vatican!

——

Mo Fan did not stay in Guangzhou for too long. He went back to the Mount Wuyi Enforcement Union to plant a Seed of Darkness in Cheng Ying, preventing her from evading them regardless of what she was planning.

Mo Fan felt a lot more confident against the Black Vatican after obtaining Bei Jiang’s power!

—

—

Feng Zhoulong was finally done with the tasks on hand. He went to the training ground to see how Mo Fan was doing with the new Dark Material. However, the guard told him that Mo Fan had already left Guangzhou.

“That ungrateful prick; didn’t he promise to treat me to dinner, yet he already left without telling me!” Feng Zhoulong cursed.

Feng Zhoulong shook his head, but he was not too fussed about it.

His thoughts were all on the possibility of merging different Elements. Why were Bei Jiang’s Shadow and Chaos Elements merged as one? Was it a sign that the other Elements could merge into one, too? What would happen when the Elements were merged? Would they become stronger, or more unpredictable?

Chapter 1346 Extraditor, the Shepherd

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

China’s Northwest…

A herd of sheep was moving slowly up a slope. Their white fur resembled the clouds floating in the sky, like reflections of the clouds.

A shepherd sat on a boulder, away from the sunlight. He was munching something, and seemed to be enjoying it. He was not in a rush to tend the sheep. He just let the sheep move on their own, as if he was not worried that they would stray away, or be eaten by the wolves in the wild.

He was about to take a nap when he suddenly sensed something behind him.

He turned around and saw a drawing appearing on the loose ground behind the boulder. The drawing formed a line of unknown characters.

The Shepherd smiled when he saw the magical characters. “You finally remembered me.”

It took the words some time to complete a sentence. Extradite Blue Deacon Eagle Eye from Mount Wuyi. She has just taken out an Elder of the Enforcement Union for the Cold Prince. She has merits.

The Shepherd read the sentence, acting as if he was having a conversation with them. He even bowed sincerely at the words.

“I’m willing to serve, but is it really necessary for me to do so for only a Blue Deacon? Where are the stupider, younger Extraditors?” the Shepherd asked.

The Cold Prince is in need of manpower. I’ve already sent out many of the Extraditors to retrieve capable disciples. The situation Blue Deacon Eagle Eye is in isn’t as simple as you imagine. The Enforcement Union might be keeping an eye on her still… appeared on the ground.

“I see. You want me to conveniently take out the pests tailing her, too. Hopefully, the Enforcement Union will send out someone capable. Otherwise, killing them is easier than killing sheep… which is why I would rather tend the sheep now,” the Shepherd replied.

There was no further response, since the Shepherd understood his mission.

The Shepherd blew a heavy whistle. The sheep scattered across the place immediately gathered to the Shepherd…

They seemed to be hurrying; not because they were well-trained, but because something terrible would happen to them if they were late…

“Let’s go. I bet you all are tired of eating grass, too! Time to change it up…” the Shepherd told them.

—

—

Nanping City…

A bus arrived from Mount Wuyi in the city. Cheng Ying, wearing a light blue sweatshirt, came down from the bus.

Behind her was an old man with a walking stick. He was a little scared when he was taking the stairs down the bus. Cheng Ying had a gentle smile and reached her hand out to help the old man.

The old man expressed his gratitude. He even gave Cheng Ying a mandarin peach and said, “Take it, it’s very sweet, I planted it myself!”

Cheng Ying took the mandarin and headed to the other side of the bus stop. She seemed to be switching to another bus here. She threw the mandarin into a bin she walked past with a disgusted face.

She hated pretending to be a friendly person. It felt as if she was stained by a disgusting thing, yet she had no choice but to wear the disguise as an authority of the Enforcement Union.

She took a deep breath. She could already smell freedom. She no longer had to wear a mask after today. She no longer had to drape a filthy human skin over her shoulders. She could just be herself; she could torture others and herself as she wished!

There was a bus parked in the corner of the bus station. It was a coach, heading to a different city.

Cheng Ying sat down in the last row. There were a few passengers on the coach. In front of her was a man wearing a gray hat and an outfit common in the northwest. His legs were on the seats in front of him as he leaned against the chair. His face was covered by the hat, fast asleep.

Members of the Black Vatican did not like meeting in suburban areas; it was unwise to do so. The Enforcement Union would never find them as long as they blended into the crowd and society.

“Blue Deacon Eagle Eye?” the man sleeping on the seat in front other spoke up. He did not purposely lower his voice.

Chen Ying was startled. She initially thought she would meet the Extraditor at her destination. She was surprised to see the Extraditor here on the coach.

“I am,” Cheng Ying knew that only someone from the Black Vatican would know her title.

“I am the Shepherd.”

“It’s you… Did the Chief Extraditor send you to me!?” Cheng Ying was overjoyed.

The Shepherd was famous among the Extraditors. It was a great honor for anyone in the Black Vatican to be extradited by him. She believed she had done a great job helping the Cold Prince take out the Elder of the Enforcement Union. She might be promoted to a Great Deacon after returning to the Black Vatican, and even become the right arm of a Red Cardinal!

“You are clearly not worthy enough to be extradited by me. I believe the Chief Extraditor has sent me here to make sure the Enforcement Union doesn’t mess with their plan… Master Cold Prince is up to something huge this time, I can feel it! The smile he had was wider than the one he had during the bloodbath of the Mediterranean Sea. I feel bad for China; they first lost their pride as a nation against Salan, and now, they will be trampled by Master Cold Prince again!” the Shepherd replied.

“I’m willing to take part! Mr. Shepherd, please extradite me, I will not let you down!” Cheng Ying said.

“There’s no rush; let’s see how many of the Enforcement Union are on your trail,” the Shepherd said.

“On my trail? That’s impossible. I used a perfect chess piece I had prepared as a decoy. There’s no way they will suspect me. I don’t think anyone is following me, either,” Cheng Ying said confidently.

“Is that so?” The Shepherd smiled and fell silent.

Cheng Ying was aware of the Shepherd’s capabilities. She remained quiet, too.

The coach soon left the city and went off on the highway…

——

The highway from Nanping to Jiangxi was along ridges and mountains with a meandering path. The highway either went along the middle of mountains or crossed tall bridges between two mountains and drove through tunnels through the huge mountains. The coach would drive from one mountain to another, so the journey was framed by never-ending mountains and faint mists…

“Here will do,” the Shepherd stated.

“What do you mean?” Cheng Ying was confused.

“So you’re an unqualified Blue Deacon? You should know what you’re supposed to do, a simple way to find out if anyone is on your trail,” the Shepherd said.

“You’re asking me to…” Cheng Ying soon realized what he was referring to…

Chapter 1347 The Gruesome Battle on the Bus

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

An old man slowly rose to his feet on the bus. He cautiously hid some mandarin peaches behind his seat and used an old shirt to cover them, as if he was worried that someone would steal the mandarins.

He went to the washroom at the back of the bus. He decided to relieve himself after struggling for some time. There was still more than an hour’s journey before he reached his son’s place.

“Ah, you’re on this bus too, what a coincidence!” The old man immediately recognized Cheng Ying seated in the last row. He had a friendly smile like he was eager to converse with her. “People are less polite nowadays. It’s really rare to see someone like you, who’s willing to help the elderly. Was the mandarin I gave you sweet? I planted it myself. My son loved them when they were young. I always bring him some whenever I visit him in the city. (Sigh)…he rarely comes home after he started working in the city. We aren’t as close now, I wonder if I’m troubling him and his family with my visits…”

Cheng Ying looked at the old man silently. She had already noticed the old man was heading to the same destination as her.

The old man seemed to have misunderstood her. He thought Cheng Ying was willing to hear him out. He added, “There seems to be something wrong with my legs. I can no longer live in the mountains and plant fruits. The doctor suggested me to move to the city since it’s cold in the mountains, but my daughter-in-law doesn’t seem to like me very much. Besides, I’m having trouble moving on my own because of my legs. I wonder if I’m going to be a hassle for my son. I wouldn’t want to disturb them…”

“I can help if it really is troubling you,” Cheng Ying said.

“Really? Please tell me,” the old man blurted out.

“It’s no longer a problem if you were to die now!” Cheng Ying’s voice turned cold. She held a sharp icicle that had appeared out of nowhere. She stabbed the defenseless old man in the heart.

The old man did not feel any pain at the start. He only felt a chill around his heart. There was no blood pouring out, as it was frozen by the ice.

Even his breath had turned into a mist. He looked at the woman in astonishment.

The old man had assumed Cheng Ying was a gentle, kind-hearted woman. She even helped him down the stairs, and he had given her a peach as a token of gratitude. The little encounter had provided the old man some relief. If even a stranger was so friendly to him, his son’s family would not think of him as a hassle, either.

He never thought the kind-hearted woman would suddenly turn into a detestable murderer!

“Your mandarin was terrible, I believe your son only likes them because he doesn’t want to hurt the ego of a piece of trash like you!” Cheng Ying grinned and shoved the old man away.

The old man stared at her. The thought of his son’s disgusted face crossed his mind prior to his death.

Was it true?

Was it really that bad?

Was he really a piece of trash?

The pain surged across his body, but for some reason, the emotional pain was worse than the pain from his heart.

“AHHHH!” The other passengers had seen what had happened, and screamed in fear, “Help, she’s a murderer!”

The driver quickly slammed on the brakes to stop the bus so the passengers could escape, but a strange voice suddenly barged into his mind, forcing him to lock the doors and continue driving.

The passengers completely lost their calm. They never expected that there would be two cold-blooded murderers on the bus!

“The Enforcement Union will never stand a chance against us. It’s too easy to kill someone, but saving a person’s life is ten times harder than that! It’s very simple to find out if the Enforcement Union is on our trail. We just have to kill these useless vermin of society. If they are nearby, they will show themselves to stop us,” the Shepherd yawned.

Every member of the Black Vatican being extradited was an important clue that could lead the Enforcement Union to the Black Vatican. Therefore, every time the Shepherd did his job, he would always use this simple yet effective method.

Killing the people!

Killing at will!

The more innocent the people were, the better!

If the scum of the Enforcement Union were around, they would surely intervene!

If they were not around, they could just treat it as a way to entertain themselves. Besides, the number of people in the world was so high. Even if they were to kill from morning to night, it would still not make any difference to the world!

“Continue with it, take your time, let’s torture the people that are on our trail,” the Shepherd said.

“I have waited too long for this day!” Cheng Ying laughed. She stared at the timid passengers hiding and screaming in the corners.

—

—

A pair of golden wings were soaring in the sky above the mountains. He remained on one side of the mountain to prevent the people on the bus from seeing him.

“Shit, they seemed to be murdering the people on the bus!” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

“Those assholes of the Black Vatican!” Mo Fan’s heart burned in rage.

“What are you doing?” Qi Yang of the Preventive Committee immediately stopped Mo Fan.

“Saving the people, of course!” Mo Fan said.

“If you show yourself now, they will know that we are following them. This is the common approach that the Black Vatican use when they are extraditing someone important. If we are serious about taking down the important authorities of the Black Vatican, we have to ignore it. Saving them is the duty of the Enforcers, but our duty is to track them down. If we all act on impulse like you when dealing with the Black Vatican, we’ll never be able to track down their Blue Deacons and Red Cardinals!” Qi Yang held Mo Fan firmly, not willing to let Mo Fan act recklessly.

Qi Yang had been hunting for the Black Vatican for a long time. The Black Vatican had always played them like a fiddle. The Enforcement Union never made any progress because of this, thus they came up with a different approach.

People like them were only responsible for tracking the Black Vatican. They were not allowed to show themselves, no matter what happened.

Against a cult like the Black Vatican, they would never make any progress by adhering to normal ways!

“So you’re telling me to just watch them die?” Mo Fan looked at Qi Yang.

“If you are serious about tracking down a Red Cardinal, you will have to bear the condemnation of your conscience. Cheng Ying is a Blue Deacon, and the Extraditor with her is one of the best they have. Not only is he extremely powerful, he also has direct access to the higher-ups of the Black Vatican. There’s a good chance we’ll learn the identity of a Chief Extraditor, or even a Red Cardinal. There are only around a dozen people on the bus. It’s worth it if we can stop something like the Incident of the Red Mediterranean Sea from happening!” Qi Yang said sternly.

Mo Fan was in the car right behind the bus. He took a deep breath.

He stood up with silver Stars flickering around him. The Stars joined into Star Orbits, which further combined into Star Patterns, and eventually constructed a Star Constellation…

“I’m afraid I don’t agree with you. I’m not a Tracker like you, and I don’t really care about the bigger picture here. We can always find another way to stop them, but the dead will never return. I don’t want to carry the guilt for the rest of my life!” Mo Fan said.

As he finished the sentence, the number of Stars around him had reached 343.

The brilliance of the Stars reached its limit. They soon shattered into pieces and disappeared magically.

The following second, Mo Fan appeared on the roof of the bus.

Qi Yang looked at Mo Fan’s figure standing in the strong wind. He was left speechless for a moment.

Every person had their own decisions to make. It did not necessarily mean Mo Fan was doing the wrong thing. Qi Yang had understood that the heart of the strongest participant in the World College Tournament was like a fire burning without restrictions.

“Damn it, I can’t stand it any further too. I’ll kill those two sons of b**ches!” Zhao Manyan dove from the sky and landed heavily on the roof of the bus.

The impact blasted a hole in the roof. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan jumped into the bus.

The bus was quite big, with a spacious walkway. The driver’s mind was being controlled. The bus was still picking up speed on the highway. A strong wind was now blowing in through the hole, knocking the things inside the bus flying.

“Save the people,” Mo Fan told Zhao Manyan.

“Got it!” Zhao Manyan had outstanding defensive powers. He would not have any problem protecting the civilians.

He immediately cast Water Barrier on the passengers. A golden Rampart split the bus in two, preventing any harm from befalling the passengers.

Mo Fan saw the passengers were all at the front of the bus. He decisively summoned a bolt of lightning.

The bolt of lightning slashed at the spot where Zhao Manyan had placed his Rampart, splitting the bus in two!

The second half of the bus began to lose its momentum, but the front half sped up and pulled away!

Mo Fan was left in the second half of the bus. He stood close to where the bus was split in half and stared at the Shepherd and Cheng Ying coldly. His chest was burning with rage when he saw the dead old man.

“You couldn’t even bear it when we only killed one person,” the Shepherd sighed. “You’re most likely a new Enforcer…there were fifteen people on the bus. If you didn’t show up, only fifteen would die, but it’s now seventeen, including you and your partner,” The Shepherd remained seated even while the second half of the bus was shaking vigorously.

“Extraditor, he’s not an Enforcer, he’s Mo Fan!” Cheng Ying recognized Mo Fan right away.

Cheng Ying was surprised to learn that she was actually being followed. In other words, she had killed Su Qingqing for nothing. Her identity had been exposed!

“Mo Fan? Oh, I remember now, you’re the guy that gave Salan a huge headache! I believe they also call you the strongest participant in the World College Tournament… it turns out that the Chief Extraditor wasn’t lying to me. This is indeed an interesting job!” The Shepherd finally rose to his feet and took a closer look at Mo Fan.

Chapter 1348 Black Goat General

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Come out! Time to enjoy the delicacy you all have long waited for!” the Shepherd declared. Evil lunar-colored Stars connected in lines and combined into a dimensional gate.

A strong presence of evil burst out of the dimensional gate. Mo Fan first saw a pair of giant black horns emitting a strong aura of the dead. It looked like countless vengeful spirits were circling the horns.

A black creature stepped out of the gate. The bound spirits were creatures that its horns had brutally killed and tortured. They broadcast their pain and fear at Mo Fan as they lunged at him.

Mo Fan could not care less about the vengeful spirits. He was staring at the creature with black goat horns.

As a matter of fact, the creature did resemble a goat, but it was standing like a human, its body leaning forward. Its chest, arms, and stomach were covered by black armor. It had hands, currently holding two blood-stained giant black hammers. Obviously the creature used the hammers to smash meat!

The Black-Armored Goat-Horned Demon let out a roar. The deafening cry penetrated Mo Fan’s Spiritual World eerily and disrupted the order of his Stars.

Mo Fan hated creatures with the ability to disrupt his mind the most, since he would have trouble using his magic. He took a few steps back.

Cheng Ying grinned cruelly. She waved her hands, firing blue light dots all over what remained of the bus. Several Man-Eating Plants grew out from them. Their stems and roots started attacking Mo Fan at his blind spots.

Mo Fan’s Spiritual World was still being disrupted by the Black-Armored Goat-Horned Demon’s roar. He had no choice but to keep moving back. When he noticed the bus was about to enter a tunnel, he decisively jumped out onto the flat highway.

The second half of the bus lost control, and eventually slammed into the wall of the tunnel. Both the Shepherd and Cheng Ying jumped off the bus before it crashed.

Thick smoke rose as the bus burst into flames. Mo Fan glanced at the bus, his eyes emitting a silvery glitter.

Mo Fan controlled the bus that had erupted in flames with Telekinesis, hurling the bus at the Black-Armored Goat-Horned Demon. He would not let the creature utter that annoying roar again!

The Black-Armored Goat-Horned Demon swung its hammers and smashed the bus away and down the mountainside. The sounds the bus made as it rolled down the mountain gradually faded into the distance.

“Nine Dragons!” Mo Fan slammed his fist into the ground. The road cracked apart in front of him as pillars of lava burst out like fiery dragons, a spectacular and deadly sight.

The nine pillars of lava did not form the pattern of the Nine Palace, springing up in a straight line instead. A strong fire burst out as they approached the Black-Armored Goat-Horned Demon, instantly devouring it!

The creature’s armor turned blazing red from the heat, and the impact sent the Black-Armored Goat-Horned Demon flying. It took the creature some time to fall back to the ground.

However, a blinding lightning bolt swept across the dim sky and struck the creature before it reached the ground!

The armor of the Black-Armored Goat-Horned Demon was not effective against the lightning, especially when its damage was amplified twelvefold. Even its flesh blistered after the lightning broke through its armor!

The blast left a scorched hole in the Black-Armored Goat-Horned Demon, yet it soon rose to its feet, as if it did not feel any pain. It started swinging the hammers around again.

The hammers slammed into one another, unleashing inky-black sparks in Mo Fan’s direction . He dodged aside with the Fleeing Shadow, not daring to underestimate the dancing black motes.

The sparks crashed into the mountain wall and left huge cracks on it. A few seconds later, the cracks had drive deep into the stone. The mountainside soon shattered, and exploded into pieces!

Mo Fan glanced at the remains of the mountainside in shock. The creature possessed remarkable strength. The sparks it fired would crush a living thing to pieces!

“Man-Eating Plant!” Cheng Ying cast after she located him.

Mo Fan had turned into a tiny shadow standing at the entrance of the tunnel. The mouth of a huge plant came down from the ceiling of the tunnel and lunged at him fiercely.

The stomach of the Man-Eating Plant was extremely thick. Once the creature swallowed its target, not only would its victim struggle to break through its stomach, its strength would decrease significantly due to the plant’s secretions. The longer its prey spent in its stomach, the greater the danger it was in!

Mo Fan immediately cast the advanced Fleeing Shadow. His shadow split into six and fled rapidly in different directions. The shadows all looked exactly the same. It was unlikely that anything could tell which one was real quickly enough to attack him!

The shadows scattered like a school of fish. The Man-Eating Plant’s attack missed.

Mo Fan snuck into the dim tunnel. It was more favorable for him.

The Shepherd and Cheng Ying followed him into the tunnel, eager to murder him. Cheng Ying’s Man-Eating Plants were everywhere. Mo Fan kept feeling a chill going down his back wherever he went.

Meanwhile, the creature that the Shepherd had Summoned was clearly not as simple as it seemed. It was surprisingly quick, and suddenly charged at Mo Fan with a burst of speed. Mo Fan barely dodged the creature by sticking close to the edge of the tunnel.

“Nyx Regime!” Mo Fan did not want to be so passive in the battle, especially since the goat-horned creature was able to disrupt his magic.

Thick darkness billowed up the long tunnel. The lights inside it could no longer illuminate anything. The Domain would at least prevent the Goat-Horned Demon from roaring at Mo Fan directly!

The creature’s roars fanned out from it. Even though it did not necessarily mean Mo Fan could not hear the roar if he was behind it, the disturbance to his mind was significantly weaker, so he could Cast more easily!

“If you’re so keen on using these little tricks, my Black Goat General is more than willing to play with you!” the Shepherd called out disdainfully.

Cheng Ying and the Shepherd had no reason to stay any longer. It was obvious that the Enforcement Union was trying to follow them to the Black Vatican’s headquarters, and they were still in the Enforcement Union’s territory, after all. If they stayed too long, they would have a hard time running away once the Enforcement Union’s experts showed up!

The Shepherd uttered a strange chant that drove the Black Goat General mad. It slammed its hammers onto its chest. Every strike produced a ripple of black energy, and the creature began to grow!

After a few blows, the Black Goat General, which was initially around four meters tall, reached the ceiling of the tunnel. It continued to grow larger. The tunnel began to tremble under the pressure…

Chapter 1349 Fury Flames Sky Diagram

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The tunnel could not withstand the pressure. The creature’s head smashed through the ceiling.

The tunnel was ran through a mountain. As the Black Goat General kept growing, the mountain began to shake, and huge rocks began to tumble down from it. Half the mountain collapsed, together with the tunnel!

“Damn it, it’s still growing?” Mo Fan stared at the Black Goat General. He could not help but wonder what kind of monster it was.

The Shepherd was obviously a Summoner, and his Summoned Beast was extremely unique. Mo Fan had no clue how to deal with it. He could only watch it keep growing…

—

On the other side of the mountain, rocks and soil crumbled as the tunnel began to collapse. The front half of the bus was still moving down the road.

As the mountain shook, the bridge connecting the mountain outside the tunnel began to collapse. Zhao Manyan was standing on the roof of the bus. He yelled at the driver when he saw the bus was still picking up speed, “Stop, stop outside the tunnel, don’t go onto the bridge!”

Zhao Manyan’s shout was ineffective. It seemed the driver was determined to take every passenger with him to death, as he stepped hard on the gas. The bus raced out onto the bridge, which was already crumbling!

The bridge was built between two mountains, held in place by supports rising from the narrow valley below. A few of the supports had already collapsed when the mountain rocked behind them!

The bridge began to collapse in front of them after the supports broke. It was like the bridge was diving straight down. The passengers on the bus were terrified. Some immediately fainted, while the ones that were still conscious were screaming at the top of their lungs.

“Damn it, the driver is being controlled. The Extraditor is still trying to kill everyone on the bus!” Zhao Manyan jumped back into the bus after he realized something was not right.

He glanced at the driver before knocking him out with a single punch.

The bus shook and occasionally slammed into the barriers on the sides of the bridge. It almost went over the side a few times. To make things even worse, the middle wheels began to fall off under the vibrations. The bus started to skid as it slowed down, but it was moving too quickly. It continued its descent into the canyon below!

Zhao Manyan hopped into the driver’s seat and grabbed the wheel. “Hold on tight!” he yelled at the passengers.

The color of his pupils shifted. A brown light glowed in them as he activated the Eyes of the Rock Demon!

Zhao Manyan gained control of the crumbling stone. He swiftly gathered them to where the bridge had broken. The bus hurtled into the gap, but a bridge made of rocks had formed a path for it!

The bus continued forward onto the bridge that Zhao Manyan had built with the Eyes of the Rock Demon. The stones behind them collapsed completely, while the bridge kept extending forward in front of them. It felt like the bus was riding on air!

With a massive bump, the bus landed on the other half of the bridge. The road there was still intact. Zhao Manyan set up a Water Curtain about the bus, preventing it from ramming into the mountain wall!

“Phew~! Such a close call!” Zhao Manyan had full control of the bus now, and let out a relieved sigh.

He had never dared to fly across bridge-gaps in his sports car, but now he had experienced it first hand while driving a bus!

He turned around and saw most of the passengers were unharmed, apart from a few bumps. No one had been flung from the bus, either.

“Consider yourself lucky, to bump into me, Zhao Xiaotian!” Zhao Manyan smiled.

The passengers were troubled by nausea, and some even vomited. They were just ordinary people. It was too terrifying an experience to be flying across the valley just now.

As Zhao Manyan was treating the injured, a huge explosion came from the tunnel. The passengers had yet to recover when they saw the mountain collapsing behind them. As it was happening, an enormous figure stood up from within, rocks and boulders rolling off its body!

Zhao Manyan whirled around and stared in astonishment!

He initially thought the mountain had collapsed because of Mo Fan’s destructive magic, but it turned out the mountain had collapsed because that enormous creature kept on growing!

“Get on your feet and run!” Zhao Manyan did not dare let the passengers rest. He quickly used Earth Wave to send the people on ahead.

The creature was just too huge! Humans were like mere insects to it. Even the vehicles on the highway were like toys to it. It could easily smash them flat with a slap!

Huge deafening impacts continued. The ridges nearby were starting to collapse now!

Zhao Manyan saw the goat-horned monster was holding two steel hammers. It smashed the hammer down at a hillside, and almost broke it to pieces.

Zhao Manyan noticed a black figure hopping nimbly between the falling rocks. He was using the rocks as stepping stones…

The figure reached the area where the bridge had collapsed. The monster swung its hammer down at the same time. Zhao Manyan was aghast; he thought Mo Fan was about to turn into a meat patty, and then Mo Fan suddenly showed up beside him after a silver light flickered beneath the descending hammer. He still had a faint silver glow about him!

“What the heck is that!?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“How do I f**king know?! Let’s find a place to hide!” Mo Fan had almost been buried under the mountain!

Mo Fan thought the Black Goat General would only grow a few times bigger, to a maximum height of forty meters. He had fought against huge creatures before. To his surprise, the creature just kept growing. It even destroyed the tunnel, and the mountain above! The four-lane highway was barely big enough to fit its hoof. A little stomp had destroyed more than two kilometers of the road!

Luckily, Qi Yang had stopped other vehicles from entering this stretch of road. Otherwise, a lot more people would have died!

The Shepherd was out of his mind, causing such destruction on purpose, as if he simply wanted to create chaos. Only members of the Black Vatican who were confident in their strength would dare to blatantly cause so much destruction. The Enforcement Union was not just mere decoration!

However, the Shepherd did indeed treat the Enforcement Union as just air. He had no respect for them whatsoever!

“Where are they?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“They ran away. Let’s take this monster out first. Otherwise, everyone on the highway is going to die!” Mo Fan said.

“You say it like it’s easy! A small creature isn’t necessarily weak, but a huge creature is always strong. It can knock us to the other side of the mountain with a sneeze!” Zhao Manyan complained.

“Cut the crap, and lure it away from the highway with me. We’ll take it out in the basin there!” Mo Fan pointed.

—

They tried luring the creature to somewhere favorable for them to fight, but the Black Goat General seemed intelligent, and was reluctant to leave the highway. It started destroying the hillsides as soon as Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan tried to leave.

They were left with no choice. They had to fight the Black Goat General here!

A swing of a hammer brought down the second half of the bridge. Zhao Manyan failed to find himself a foothold. He fell into the stream, together with the bridge, rocks covering him…

Zhao Manyan activated his Magic Wings as he almost reached the bottom, and came to a stop in midair. However, more concrete, debris, and rocks collapsed on him, and he still ended up being buried in the waters below!

“Damn it, how useless is he!?” Mo Fan cursed when he saw Zhao Manyan buried under the debris.

Mo Fan raised his head almost ninety degrees. He was shocked to see the Black Goat General opening its mouth again. It was trying to unleash the sonic wave again!

The sonic wave had created a great disturbance in his mind when the creature was only a few meters tall. Mo Fan bet the sonic wave at its current height would make him explode!

“Sky Lightning Claw!”

Mo Fan didn’t allow the creature to have its way. He clenched his hands into claws, lightning flickering around them. A stormy cloud quickly gathered above the Black Goat General, and a dark Sky Lightning Claw swept down when the Black Goat General opened its mouth.

The Black Goat General did not dare eat the lightning. It quickly closed its mouth and raised a giant hammer to resist Mo Fan’s Sky Lightning Claw.

The lightning attached to the hammer instead of dissipating. The intelligent Black Goat General swung the hammer, firing a shocking lightning bolt in Mo Fan’s direction!

Mo Fan was dumbfounded. The creature had used the hammer to absorb his lightning!?

Mo Fan dodged the hammer, but the black sparks and the lightning were right on his trail. Mo Fan had no choice but to bring out his Black Snake Armor.

The Black Snake Armor was not that effective against the lightning. The black sparks the hammer produced were shockingly powerful, too! The Black Snake Armor was severely damaged even though Mo Fan had just put it on. Great pain surged across his body as he spat a mouthful of blood out.

“Little Flame Belle!”

Mo Fan knew he did not stand a chance against the enormous creature. He immediately Summoned Little Flame Belle.

Little Flame Belle was at the Advanced Commander-level. Her body was engulfed in two different kinds of flames. As her flames sprang into the sky, a glamorous sorceress with elegant long hair appeared!

Flame Belle was enraged when she saw Mo Fan was injured, and let out a cry into the sky. The flames swiftly dyed the blue sky red and scattered across it, forming a spectacular blazing diagram above the Black Goat General!

Chapter 1350 Act in Contravention

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Flames poured down from the Fury Flames Sky Diagram. The trails of the flames burst through the clouds and ridges, forming spectacular fiery pillars. The flames lunged at the Black Goat General. The creature raised its hammer again to defend itself.

However, the Black Goat General was struggling to resist the Flame Belle’s overwhelming power. The flames spread wildly after landing on the hammer, covering everything within a kilometer. It was a great display of how powerful the flames were.

The Black Goat General slid down the mountain and was knocked to a lower altitude by the flames. There were a few gentle slopes nearby, but they were only around the height of the Black Goat General’s knees.

The Black Goat General slid across the hills and razed them to the ground!

Its hammers were blazing red from the heat of the flames. Their scorching heat spread to the Black Goat General’s arms, forcing it to toss the hammers to the ground. The hammers were the same size as the hills!

“Nicely done!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

As he thought, Little Flame Belle was strong enough to take on the creature. Mo Fan was clearly struggling against it. The new abilities he had recently acquired was obviously not that effective against the enormous creature.

Mo Fan had no intention of using his newest abilities for the time being, either. Cheng Ying and the Shepherd would be much more cautious if they learned he had acquired Bei Jiang’s abilities!

Flame Belle was not done with her attacks. She floated freely in the sky and glided down the steep slopes, followed by flames engulfing her like a blazing robe.

The Calamity Fire burned vigorously as she was gliding down. She gradually turned into the outline of a Vermilion Bird as she charged at the Black Goat General.

The Vermilion Bird’s size was quite impressive. It was like a cloud when it fully extended its wings, ramming into the Black Goat General and stirring up a great storm as it knocked the Black Goat General to the ground.

The mountains were devoured by the flames. Mo Fan looked down and saw the entire basin had turned into a burning ocean. He could not help but feel impressed by Little Flame Belle’s strength. Mo Fan felt like he did not even need to take part in the battle.

“Little Flame Belle is taking care of the monster. Let’s go after those two. We can’t let them run away!” Zhao Manyan finally showed up again.

“It’s fine, we’ll take care of this Black Goat General first,” Mo Fan shook his head.

“Why? Are you seriously willing to let them run away?” Zhao Manyan said.

“I’ve already planted the Dark Material in their bodies. I can easily tell where they are. Just let them go. If they don’t feel confident and safe, we’ll never come into contact with the Chief Extraditor and the Red Cardinals,” Mo Fan told him.

The Fiendish Night was the best Dark Material when it came to tracking down targets. Mo Fan would immediately receive feedback from the Dark Material whenever Cheng Ying and the Shepherd cast the simplest spell. Mo Fan did not show up intending to take the assholes out. He believed they would assume they had gotten away safely after this encounter, allowing him to track down the authorities of the Black Vatican!

“What Dark Material?” Zhao Manyan was clueless about what Mo Fan was saying.

“Anyway, they won’t run away from us… I’m feeling a little hungry, let’s have some roasted lamb tonight!” Mo Fan said.

“…” Zhao Manyan was left speechless.

Mo Fan was a battle maniac. He could not rely on Little Flame Belle every time. If he was up against someone like Bei Jiang, even Little Flame Belle could not do anything to them. As such, he had to keep improving through endless battles!

—

“I’m seriously going to die because of you one day!” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

Zhao Manyan was circling in the sky like a golden eagle.

Around a thousand meters below them, the enormous Black Goat General was recklessly destroying everything. It tried to climb back up to the highway to kill more humans, but Flame Belle did not give it a chance. She continued to blast the Black Goat General and injure it.

A huge creature usually had outstanding vitality. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan did not want the creature to continue with its tantrum. They were waiting for an opportunity to strike while circling in the air!

“Go down!” Mo Fan said.

“Now?”

“Of course!”

Zhao Manyan dove from a thousand meters with Mo Fan.

Mo Fan began to unleash his lightning. It was like a lightning tribulation from the Heavens, coming down right at the Black Goat General.

Mo Fan had accumulated lightning in the sky for a long time. Its power was more than double normal as it drilled its way down!

Mo Fan blasted a hole in the Black Goat General’s head. Its brains scattered in the air.

The Black Goat General was focused on the battle against the Flame Belle, totally unaware that Mo Fan was in the sky above it. The powerful lightning bolt staggered the creature. Flame Belle, whose mind was linked to Mo Fan’s, immediately took hold of the opportunity. She uttered a cry, summoning the Calamity Fire of the Heavens and Earth!

The flames swiftly formed a burning sword as tall as a building. Its ripples spread through the sky and burned the trees within a kilometer into ashes.

The burning sword howled and stabbed the Black Goat General in the hole that she had previously left in the creature’s chest. A third of the sword went into the creature’s body. The raging flames set its insides on fire.

The Black Goat General cried out in agony. An evil aura jetted out from the stab wound like a black gas. The Black Goat General began to shrink in size.

The enormous creature that had been like a giant pillar between the sky and the ground soon became small enough to hide among the trees on the mountain.

The little black goat realized it was no match for these maniacs. It immediately fled for its life, but Flame Belle saw through its disguise right away. She forcibly dragged the creature back with Space Magic and prepared to roast it with the Calamity Fire.

Perhaps she had heard Mo Fan mentioning that he wanted to eat some roasted lamb tonight. She could easily roast some delicious lamb shanks for him!

“Oh my! Since when is your Little Flame Belle so strong?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The enormous creature was so unstoppable, yet it could not do anything to Little Flame Belle. Little Flame Belle in the Adolescent Phase was still dominating when going up against regular creatures!

“She’s currently in the Advanced Commander-level!” Mo Fan smiled.

“Doesn’t that mean she is very close to becoming a Ruler-level creature?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed. “If she’s already so strong in the Adolescent Phase, won’t she be a lot stronger than normal Ruler-level creatures once she reaches the Adult Phase? What a lucky bastard you are!”

“Do you have any idea how much I’ve spent on her ‘milk powder’?” Mo Fan retorted.

The money he had spent on Little Flame Belle was almost the same as the money he had spent on himself! Lingling had already mentioned right at the beginning that if he fed Little Flame Belle ‘milk powder’ of the best quality, she would be stronger than normal Flame Belles. After all, the Flame Belles were a unique Fire Elemental species. Giving her a stronger source of flames would help her to awaken stronger powers!

That being said, Zhao Manyan was right, too. If Little Flame Belle was already so strong in the Adolescent Phase, she was clearly going to be a formidable Ruler-level creature once she reached the Adult Phase!

“Why do I feel like there’s nothing special about the Shepherd? The monster goat is pretty tough, but it’s not something that we can’t defeat,” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan shook his head and said, “I’m afraid you are wrong. He just left the Black Goat General here without bothering to retrieve it. It just means he doesn’t even care about this Summoned Beast. Besides, he’s called the Shepherd. Have you ever seen a shepherd with only one sheep?”

Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise, “Holy crap, are you saying the guy has a whole pack of these monsters?”

“I bet so; the Shepherd is very powerful, indeed. It won’t end up well if we insisted on chasing him down,” Mo Fan said.

—

—

Mo Fan soon regrouped with Qi Yang.

Qi Yang was an experienced Enforcer. He had done a great job at preventive measures. He immediately intercepted all the vehicles on the highway when Mo Fan decided to engage the enemy, limiting the casualties for this incident.

Zhao Manyan managed to save the passengers on the bus, too. The driver was still in a terrible state. It would take him a long time to recover.

Apart from the Summoning Element, the Shepherd also had the Psychic Element. His mental strength was very impressive. Most ordinary people would be trapped in a vegetative state after falling victim to him. It was a great relief that the driver was still able to recover.

“A person still died on the bus, but it’s the best we could do. You guys… not only did you lose the important person we were tailing, people are going to comment on how bad you guys were, causing such devastating damage to the highway and stirring up panic!” Qi Yang sighed.

“Who cares? There are too many idiots in this world. If we cared so much about what they thought, we would only wear ourselves out,” Zhao Manyan answered.

“Don’t worry, they won’t get away this time. I know where they are,” Mo Fan smiled. He slowly opened his palm. A little black fly-like fairy landed on it. “They have crossed the mountains and are heading for the city. How cunning are they, acting in contravention. They were planning to hide in the city all along…”

“They went back to the city?” Qi Yang was stunned.

He had already sent his men to search for them in the mountains after they disappeared, hoping to pick up their trail again. He was surprised to learn they had gone back to the city instead. If so, they would not find any clues, even if they searched in the mountains for days!

Chapter 1351 Put My Life on the Line For You Once Again

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Qi Yang received a secret call soon after he returned to Nanping City.

“Sir, you asked Xianren to investigate if there was anyone suspicious who had bought tickets for trains, coaches, or flights. He did find out that someone special bought two tickets for the flight from Nanping’s Mount Wuyi. The flight is a week from now. Should we investigate further, and see if we can find out the details of the two passengers?”

“That won’t be necessary. It’s fine as it is. Ask Xianren not to investigate further, or he might end up alerting the enemy,” Qi Yang said.

“Should we continue with the investigation, then?” the person asked.

“No, just focus on the tasks on hand. Let me know if there’s anything else as usual,” Qi Yang replied.

Qi Yang ended the call. His face showed his astonishment. He looked at Mo Fan and asked in confusion, “How did you know they had returned to Nanping City, instead of escaping into the mountains?”

“It’s a new ability I have. I won’t explain the details. It looks like your men have verified the information?” Mo Fan answered.

“Mm, the flight is a week from now, but there’s no way we would have noticed it if we didn’t focus on the city…” Qi Yang confirmed.

As the Leader of the Preventive Committee, Qi Yang was an expert at tracking down targets, yet he had no clue how Mo Fan was able to tell exactly where their targets had gone.

Both the Shepherd and Cheng Ying were extremely cunning. Normally, they would have lost track of the two by now. They had not even realized that they were hiding somewhere in the city!

“We just have to do what we are supposed to, so they won’t be suspicious. I bet they won’t do anything reckless for a week, either,” Mo Fan went on.

“You’re right; the higher their positions in the Black Vatican, the more cautious they will be. If they managed to make their way back to the city, they won’t do anything to catch our attention, as it would only bring more troubles to their higher-ups. The Extraditors are responsible for bringing their disciples back safely. They won’t allow any mistakes… it seems like we are going to have a huge catch this time. The Shepherd… who would have thought… we have not had the chance to come into contact with someone of his level in many years!” Qi Yang blurted out in excitement.

The Black Vatican had been infamous across the world for a long time. Even taking out a Blue Deacon was a great contribution for an Enforcer. That alone was enough to guarantee a promotion, let alone someone as important as an Extraditor…

Qi Yang had a feeling he might be able to make some great contributions by following Mo Fan!

——

Mo Fan was not in a rush to deal with the two targets for the time being. The Fiendish Night was a divine power when it came to tracking down targets. Mo Fan would immediately receive feedback after the slightest presence of magic around his targets. He was well aware of what they were doing and where they had gone.

“Are you serious? They are just walking around on the street and enjoying delicacies?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Mm, the Shepherd and Cheng Ying must have disguised themselves as ordinary civilians, eating and having fun as they please. They haven’t been using any spells for a long time. There weren’t even any magic ripples, so I thought I’d lost them…” Mo Fan said.

“How bold is that Shepherd? He clearly has no respect for the Enforcement Union,” Zhao Manyan spat.

“Boldness of execution stems from superb skill, and he is indeed skillful enough. Even if his cover was blown in the city, he could still run away easily,” Mo Fan judged.

The Shepherd was extremely powerful. Mo Fan could not afford to lower his guard!

Unfortunately, the Shepherd’s position was not high enough to convince the authorities to dispatch a Super Mage. However, it would be a different story if they could lure out the person behind the Shepherd!

“Say, what do you think the Cold Prince is planning?” Zhao Manyan asked in mid-thought.

Each time a Red Cardinal was up to something, it would result in a terrible disaster. It was the main reason why Mo Fan had to intervene now!

Zhao Manyan was eager to learn what the Cold Prince was up to. Why would he come to China for it? What was he trying to achieve? The Enforcement Union was already keeping an eye on the Black Vatican, yet they still dared to plot something in China!

“To be honest, I’m a little worried too,” Mo Fan could only reply.

“Are you worried that the conspiracy is worse than we could ever imagine, and we aren’t capable enough to stop it?” Zhao Manyan knew what Mo Fan was thinking.

“Yeah, we can’t afford to underestimate any member of the Black Vatican. The way they hide in the cities and the countries… they are like a cancerous cell in a healthy person; you never know when they will turn into a deadly disease, and when you realize it’s destroying your health, it’s already too late to stop it. You can only endure it, and if you don’t resist it, death will be the only possible outcome!” Mo Fan said grimly.

It was the same that had happened to Bo City and the Ancient Capital. Whenever the Black Vatican made their move, it was like the mountain was collapsing and the ground was cracking apart. Everything they learned was so insignificant and useless…

Nothing was scarier than the thought of it happening again!

How could Mo Fan not be worried? He was afraid to experience the suffocation and the sense of helplessness after learning there was another conspiracy afoot.

His strength had improved at an insane speed. He was doing everything he could to become stronger, yet it still did not make any difference, since his enemy was always stronger than him!

“Why don’t we let the Preventive Committee handle it? The Enforcement Union, Preventive Committee, Magic Association, military, and the government will handle it. Even an Elder of the Enforcement Union has died so easily, let alone us! We won’t stand a chance if we really are up against a Red Cardinal of the Chief Extraditor…” Zhao Manyan was hesitant.

He was not mentally prepared to face something as huge as the Black Vatican.

He felt like they should just focus on looking for the Totem Beasts… hang on, even looking for the Totem Beasts was not necessarily a safe task, when he recalled what had happened during the incident of the Giant Purple Sacred Linden. He still had nightmares of climbing up the filthy, terrifying, and dangerous body of the demon tree!

“It’s too late to give up now. Only I have the ability to track down the Shepherd. Perhaps even the Heavens think I’m the most suitable person to take down the Black Vatican, so they gave me the Fiendish Night. We might have no clue about what the Cold Prince wants to do, or what he’s planning, but it also means they are still in the early phase. It’s the same as the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. If we had realized that the Calamity of Bo City was just a test run, we could have stopped the Calamity of the Ancient Capital from taking place. Similarly, if we can learn something important right from the start, we should be able to prevent an incident similar to the Red Mediterranean Sea… I would regret it if I gave up now!” Mo Fan told him.

Only those who had experienced the Calamity of Bo City and the Ancient Capital would know the pain of wishing that time could be reverted!

Unfortunately, time would never be reversed; all that mattered was the present!

Zhao Manyan was lost in thought after seeing Mo Fan’s determination. He finally made up his mind after some time, “I didn’t expect to hear something like that from you. I always thought you were a rascal. Screw it; I, Zhao Manyan have decided to put my life on the line for you once again!”

Chapter 1352 The Power of the Moon Moth Phoenix

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

There were three days left until Mo Fan had to follow the Shepherd and Cheng Ying to the Black Vatican’s headquarters. He had to be extremely careful; they could not afford to ask for any help, to avoid the Black Vatican from becoming suspicious.

It was the same for anyone who was trying to infiltrate the Black Vatican. It was like climbing down into a pitch-black abyss without any safety devices. You could never tell if there were traps ahead, nor how deep the abyss was…

Mo Fan did not discuss his decision with anyone. Mu Ningxue was extremely furious when she found out what Mo Fan was up to. She believed Mo Fan should at least discuss it with her. She knew Mo Fan would not necessarily take her advice, but she was still angry at Mo Fan for not telling her beforehand!

“Come to Fanxue Mountain!” Mu Ningxue ordered him.

“But they are leaving in three days…” Mo Fan said. He did not want anything to go wrong with the plan at such a crucial time.

“The journey doesn’t take long. Besides, isn’t it riskier to be waiting there instead? The Black Vatican won’t have trouble finding where you are,” Mu Ningxue replied.

“You’re right,” Mo Fan finally agreed.

—

Mo Fan took a flight to Feiniao City. The trip was only a few hours long. He consumed some energy to cast a few Blinks and showed up in front of Mu Ningxue as quickly as possible.

As he expected, Mu Ningxue was clearly not in a good mood. Their relationship had been improving a lot since the establishment of Fanxue Mountain. Mo Fan was now able to hold hands with her and even give her a quick kiss sneakily at times. Their relationship was pure like middle school kids, yet judging from Mu Ningxue’s reactions, he believed he would not have any chance of doing so today.

“Hehe…” Mo Fan put on a wry smile when he saw Mu Ningxue’s icy expression.

Mo Fan did admit that he was being too reckless. Even though a man could do anything he wanted, he had to respect his wife’s opinion too!

“Put this on.” Mu Ningxue stretched her hand out. There was a blue ring on her palm.

“Oh my!” Mo Fan stared at Mu Ningxue with wide eyes.

Was she for real? Since when did Mu Ningxue buy a pair of rings without him knowing? Shouldn’t they be doing this together?

Mo Fan rubbed his head and smiled, looking at the ring. He demurred, having wild thoughts popping up. “I don’t think I should wear it now. If you were to say something along the lines of “let’s get engaged after I’m back”, I’d be afraid I wouldn’t be coming back. Last words are quite scary sometimes!”

“It’s the Ring of Venice!” Mu Ningxue snapped, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, I see, it’s not our engagement ring?” Mo Fan finally realized.

“Wasn’t your Ring of Venice destroyed when you went up against Zorro? This ring is an old Ring of Venice…” Mu Ningxue placed the ring on Mo Fan’s hand.

“Didn’t you win it yourself? You should keep it for yourself, then. It’s not like you are in a safer spot than I am,” Mo Fan had no intention of accepting it.

Every participant in the finals of the World College Tournament was given a Ring of Venice, but they were not high quality. However, the ring Mu Ningxue had was the real Ring of Venice. The organizer had given it to the most influential participant during the World College Tournament. Mu Ningxue had gone from being disqualified from the national team and leaving her renowned clan to making a comeback and proving herself during the World College Tournament, despite the burden she had to bear with one of her family members being a member of the Black Vatican. The organizer and many others were impressed by her, and decided to give her the special honor.

Mo Fan’s ring was destroyed by Zorro during the tournament. The organizers were so stingy that they did not even bother replacing it for him!

“Put it on, or I’ll freeze you right here!” Mu Ningxue demanded.

Mo Fan could tell that Mu Ningxue was serious. He quickly put the ring on his finger and told Mu Ningxue not to worry about him.

How could Mu Ningxue not worry? It did not matter what Mo Fan did normally, whether it was going on an adventure in a desert, venturing deep into an old forest, or fighting against demon creatures; Mu Ningxue believed Mo Fan knew what he was doing, and was able to look after himself.

But this time, he was up against the Black Vatican, and he was trying to track down a Red Cardinal. Those people were devils wearing human skins as a disguise, ten times scarier than the demon creatures. How could she not worry?

“Xuexue…” Mo Fan grabbed Mu Ningxue’s hands after seeing the firm look in her eyes. He wanted to say something to her, yet he ended up shaking his head when he recalled the ridiculous thing he just mentioned. “Forget it, I shouldn’t be saying it. What if something bad happens. just like how it always does in the TV dramas?”

“Just say it; are you still so superstitious at your current age?” Mu Ningxue scoffed at him.

“Oh alright…” Mo Fan nodded. He decided to say it in the end, “After I’m back, let’s settle down. You can invite your relatives and friends, I’ll ask my friends to come too. It’s fine if you want to make it luxurious and magical, I’m kind of rich now, or if you only want it to be simple and quiet with just the two of us, that’s fine by me too.”

Mu Ningxue was touched by the words, even though she had prepared herself for them.

It was the same as when she walked out after arguing with her family. Mo Fan was waiting for her on the mountain behind her house. He asked where she was going, and she said anywhere, as long as they were together.

She had completely changed over the years. She was struggling to remember the words she said, the things she had done, and the promises she had made, but the man before her was still the same.

“But… maybe I’m no longer the Mu Ningxue you love,” Mu Ningxue said at a loss. Even she had no idea why she would say something like that.

“I like your body, not your person,” Mo Fan whispered subconsciously.

“What did you say!?”

“Oh, what I meant was, don’t overthink it. You are you, we’ve known one another for so long. Look at how compatible we are. We’ve never fought, we’ve always been a lovely couple…” Mo Fan quickly corrected himself.

Mu Ningxue fell into deep thought.

Even though they had now grown up, Mo Fan never failed to amuse her and help her get over the tough times. She had always been glad to have him around.

“What do you say?” Mo Fan asked nervously.

“No deal,” Mu Ningxue rejected after a slight hesitation.

“Why?” Mo Fan was stunned. He thought his attempt was going to be successful, since he was like a soldier going to war!

Mu Ningxue did not answer him. She told Mo Fan to pay Yu Shishi a visit. She seemed to have something related to the Totem Beasts to show to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan pressed further for the reason, but Mu Ningxue insisted on not telling him. Mo Fan had no choice but to leave with regret.

After Mo Fan left, Mu Ningxue shook her head self-mockingly and said, “I am the one that is being superstitious…”

—

Amid his great confusion, Mo Fan went to Lunar Fang Mountain to look for Yu Shishi, who was taking care of her cute little moths.

Yu Shishi had ‘reproduced’ a lot of moths in no time. The little creatures seemed to have an outstanding reproductive ability. Their numbers had recovered quickly, despite losing so many recently…

“Hey, are you listening!?” Yu Shishi glared at Mo Fan.

“What were you saying?” Mo Fan replied.

“Nothing… why do you look so lost?” Yu Shishi asked.

“Oh, you are considered a woman too, can I ask you something… chill, relax, take your fangs away, I don’t want you to be poisoned after drinking my filthy blood,” Mo Fan quickly blurted out. He continued with an awkward smile, “I was going to ask what you women are thinking…”

Mo Fan told Yu Shishi what happened between him and Mu Ningxue. He was hoping Yu Shishi could explain Mu Ningxue’s reaction to him. He felt like it was the right time to say it.

“I think she likes you too, she should agree normally… but let me ask you a question first,” Yu Shishi said.

“What is it?” Mo Fan said.

“Do you have another woman too?” Yu Shishi asked.

“Yeah, just one.”

“Oh, she really likes you, then. Otherwise, you would have been torn into pieces by now… if I was her!” Yu Shishi snapped. She had never seen anyone so shameless!

“Is it really because of that… I thought she had slowly accepted it,” Mo Fan murmured.

“Are you a retard!?”

“Every human needs some kind of ambitions. My ambition is to have two wives!”

“You can go die now, you’re beyond redemption!”

“Aren’t you looking for me? I must tell you, I will only have two wives. Even though your body is hot and your chest is huge, I believe our relationship should stop at physical interactions between us. I shouldn’t go too far… hey hey, I was just joking, why are you showing your fangs again? Can’t you just be a proper human? Stop showing your beastly side, it’s weird,” Mo Fan chided her shamelessly.

Yu Shishi felt her lungs were about to explode. Mu Ningxue was such an honorable person. Even Yu Shishi was very impressed by her; why would she fall for a retard like Mo Fan?!

“The Moon Moth Phoenix is entering her reincarnation cycle soon. Her current power will dissipate. I heard Liu Ru mention that you are in need of the power of the Totem Beasts. If you can absorb it, be ready when the whole moon comes out tonight. Otherwise, you’re going to miss out on the opportunity,” Yu Shishi withheld her urge to curse and him, trying her best to speak calmly.

“Tonight?”

“Yes, tonight! You should be well prepared. I must warn you, the power of the Totem Beasts is very special. It’s not something a person can absorb easily. You might end up with serious injuries,” Yu Shishi warned him.

Mo Fan was overjoyed. He initially thought he had achieved nothing by saving the Moon Moth Phoenix, but to his surprise, her power would dissipate whenever she entered the reincarnation cycle…

Instead of giving her power back to nature, it was better to give it to Little Loach. The little creature had been starving for a long time!

Mo Fan’s cultivation would improve significantly once he fed Little Loach. He could not ask for better timing, as he was about to have a showdown with the Black Vatican!

Chapter 1353 Absorbing the Totem Fairy Ligh

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sky was clear that night. A whole moon was hanging in the sky. Its brilliance shone down upon Lunar Fang Mountain and sprinkled on the blue moths that were dancing in the air. The mountain looked like it was glowing, a stunning sight from the distance.

Mo Fan was sitting beside a giant cocoon. The Moon Moth Phoenix had degenerated after the battle. Most Totem Beasts were imbued with the same spirit, and some would even say they were the same entity over thousands of years. When they approached the end of their lifespan, they would degenerate and return to their younger stage and grow slowly again. They would lose their memories, too.

The Moon Moth Phoenix was that kind. Her soul and flesh were severely injured. She had been enduring pain for many years. It felt like she had long waited for this moment.

The moonlight descended. The giant cocoon of the Moon Moth Phoenix began to emit the same light as the blue moths. Mo Fan recognized it as the power of the Totem Beasts that he was looking for without needing Yu Shishi’s explanation. This power would normally dissipate as the Moon Moth Phoenix entered the reincarnation cycle…

As a matter of fact, it was the Moon Moth Phoenix’s cultivation, built up over the years she had lived in the current cycle. Mo Fan had always wanted to verify if the power of the Totem Beasts was enough to upgrade Little Loach. It was a once in a blue moon opportunity!

Mo Fan took off the Little Loach Pendant and slowly placed it beside the giant cocoon. The fluorescent light began to scatter, yet Mo Fan’s Little Loach Pendant did not show any sign of reacting. However, after a minute or two, Little Loach seemed to grasp the traits of the power. The Pendant began emitting a similar light!

As soon as its light appeared, the Totem Power dissipating into the surroundings started gathering toward the Little Loach Pendant at an increasing speed.

“It really works!” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

Mo Fan looked into the world inside the Little Loach Pendant and discovered that the Nether River containing countless Soul Remnants was crazily absorbing the Totem Power. Its width was increasing, too…

The truth was, Little Loach Pendant’s Nether River was already a huge river to begin with. The calm and clear river reflected the lights of souls as if they were tiny lanterns. The Totem Fairy Light scattered across the Nether River. The still surface of the river reflected its brilliance.

The spacious Nether River was slowly filled up by the light. It went from several dots of light to as dazzling as carnelian jewelry; a spectacular glowing diagram formed in the world inside the Little Loach Pendant!

Mo Fan had seen something like it before when he was killing a vast number of demon creatures, but the light of the Soul Remnants was nowhere as pure as the Totem Fairy Light. Since the Soul Remnants contained the hatred, grudges, and unwillingness of the demon creatures, the Nether River would have a foul atmosphere. It needed a long time for the water to clear them up before Little Loach could refine the Soul Essences that Mo Fan needed to strengthen his spells.

The Totem Power was like several high-quality Soul Essences, without any negative emotions. When the Little Loach Pendant was absorbing them, they soon accommodated themselves to the new environment!

The expansion of the Nether River showed that the Little Loach Pendant had upgraded. Mo Fan had clearly felt his cultivation rate decreasing significantly after reaching the Advanced Level. The energy of the Underground Holy Spring was no longer enough to enhance his current level of cultivation. He needed a new energy that would allow him to improve rapidly in the Advanced Level, especially considering the number of Elements he had to look after!

“The surface of the water is glowing! It seems the Totem Power is indeed good enough to help the Little Loach Pendant evolve!” Mo Fan blurted out in excitement.

Little Loach had always been picky. He had not eaten much food recently. It was not like Mo Fan had forgotten about him, but he was having trouble finding things that were suitable for Little Loach. The little creature only bothered to lift his eyebrows at extremely rare resources.

Mo Fan had finally found something that suited Little Loach’s tastes!

For some reason, Mo Fan could tell that Little Loach was extremely fond of pure energy like this Totem Power.

“By the way, why weren’t you reacting like this before, when I was with the Black Totem Snake?” Mo Fan suddenly recalled as he observed the Little Loach’s transformation.

“Oh, the Black Totem Snake was only going through ecdysis; he wasn’t entering another reincarnation cycle, so he did not give up his Totem Power,” Mo Fan answered his own question.

However, Mo Fan soon thought of another question. If the Totem Power of a Totem Beast would only dissipate when the Totem Beast was entering the next cycle, wouldn’t that mean he would have to find the rest of the Totem Beasts and kill them for Little Loach to keep growing?

After that wild thought, Mo Fan sat down on the ground and prepared himself for a breakthrough of his cultivation after Little Loach was done absorbing the power.

Fire Element: Second-tier Advanced Level.

Lightning Element: First-tier Advanced Level.

Shadow Element: First-tier Advanced Level.

Summoning Element: First-tier Advanced Level.

Space Element: First-tier Advanced Level.

Mental strength: the fifth stage.

Mo Fan decisively focused on the Lightning Element. At the current stage, his Lightning Element had the highest chance of having a breakthrough. His Lightning Element had been stuck at the first tier for quite some time…

Normally, a Mage would focus on certain Elements as their cultivation continued to increase. Even Mo Fan was unable to improve his Lightning Element for such a long time, let alone the Mages that lacked resources!

—

Mo Fan easily broke through the barrier of the Lightning Element; it was smoother than he had anticipated. The Lightning Element had long been in a saturated state, so it easily reached the second tier with a little push from the energy Little Loach had provided.

Every tier of advancement would grant the Mage a new branch of the respective spell at the new level. The Mage’s control and mental strength would improve significantly, too. The mental strength development was essential for Mo Fan’s Space Element, and it also played an important role when resisting spells targeting his mind, so it was very important to keep improving his mental strength!

The Lightning Element had a successful breakthrough, but it was clearly not enough. His other Elements desperately needed some improvements too, be it the Space Element, the Shadow Element, or the Summoning Element. They were all extremely useful to Mo Fan, as any improvements to the Elements would improve his overall strength too!

—

“So your cultivation isn’t really that impressive at all,” Yu Shishi commented, after observing the whole process.

“Why? Do you want to try avenging your little moths now?” Mo Fan raised his eyebrows at her.

“Humph!” Yu Shishi responded with a snort.

She was in fact quite surprised. Mo Fan’s cultivation was weaker than she thought, yet he was almost unbeatable among Advanced Mages…

If he achieved the highest tier of the Advanced Level for all his Elements, how terrifying would his strength be?

Chapter 1354 Osiris and Khonsu

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The northern boundary of the country…

“Are you asking us why we are so respectful toward young girls? It’s because of a legend that everyone here believes…” an old herdsman said as he moved along.

Fresh air without a single trace of dust swept past. With just a deep breath, one felt like they were taking the unique fragrance of a vast and spacious land into their lungs. The area was surprisingly open. There were no trees, no mountains, and no buildings within sight. There was only a wide expanse of flat valley and spectacular geometric lines with a slight arc further away connected with the blue sky on the horizon…

The vast land would occasionally be embroidered by a silver ribbon; it was clean and simple, yet it turned out to be a most stunning scene!

“A legend, I love legends. A local legend always reflects how stupid the local people are,” a teenage boy wearing a pair of sunglasses replied indifferently.

“You can listen to the story first, before coming to a conclusion. In the early days, the valley was barren. There wasn’t any grass, the water was dried up, and the land was constantly troubled by locusts. The locals were struggling to make a living. The livestock kept dying, there was no production of milk and meat, and barely any agriculture…” the old herdsman casually flicked out his whip.

“A very cliche opening,” the teenage boy snorted.

“To stop the people from leaving their hometown and living as nomads… oh, it means without having our own land and source of water… a young girl called Qiqige decided to climb the mountains. She knew the source of the rivers was the springs in the mountains. She went far away and climbed to a great height to find the source, and she discovered the source had frozen because of the cold. The temperatures are lower when the altitude increases,” the old herdsman went on.

“So what did the girl do?” the teenage boy asked. He seemed a little intrigued now.

“She did not have any power, but a sincere heart to help her people. She took off her clothes, revealing her body as she hugged the bone-piercing ice tightly. She tried to use her body temperature to melt the ice. The water from the ice she melted with her pure body entered the stream. The spring and the water veins contained the fragrance of her virginity… the spring came back to live again, returning life to this land. What we have here… is Qiqige’s statue. It was her holding the ice, the spring that nurtures our lives,” the old herdsman pointed ahead.

In front of them stood a unique statue; a young woman painted white. Its shape was quite abstract. Most people would assume it to be a boulder that served as a landmark if they did not hear the story behind it.

“I see, no wonder half of the girls here are given the name Qiqige,” the teenage boy said with a smile.

“Exactly, every young woman is a blessing to us. Every family is proud to have a girl too,” the old herdsman said with a sincere smile.

The young man walked around the statue in circles. He looked at the map he was holding with a sinister smile.

He turned around and looked at the glamorous woman in a short dress accompanying him and said, “I believe it’s a sign from the Heavens. We should set our coordinates here, right where the status is.”

“If you say so,” the glamorous woman smiled.

“Old mister, have you heard of another legend that isn’t from our country? I think it suits the story you just told pretty well,” the teenage boy turned back to the old herdsman.

“Is that so? I’m rather curious about it, please tell me.” The old herdsman sat down and started smoking. He was quite relaxed.

“It happened in Egypt, where women have always had a low status. They were slaves and toys to the men. You could even trade two healthy cows for a healthy woman. There was a girl called Khonsu. She was greatly tortured and humiliated, living a lowly life. One day, she stole a beautiful gold necklace from her master. She tried to sell it for money and run away, but the necklace was special. A demon spirit came out of it at night… Ah, you can think of it as a genie, it doesn’t really matter… the demon spirit told her that it could fulfill a wish for her, but the girl would have to trade her soul for it. Khonsu immediately agreed to it in exchange for respect and love from the people. After that, she enjoyed ten years of fame and the love of countless men. She ended up with a higher status and more wealth than the slave masters.

“But, the demon spirit returned after ten years, as it had promised. It had come back for her soul.

“Khonsu was a scheming and extremely greedy woman. She wanted more; she wanted to enjoy her fame for a longer time. She had been looking for ways to avoid the demon spirit even before it showed up, so she would not have to give up on her soul.”

The teenage boy was telling the story passionately. He paused briefly and glanced at the old herdsman.

The old herdsman shook the cigarette butts off and exclaimed, “She’s indeed incomparable to our Qiqige. She’s filthy, greedy, and selfish… so, what did she do? Was she given the punishment that she deserved?”

“Now here is the best part of the story. Khonsu had done her homework over the years. She learned that the demon spirit was actually Osiris, the Lord of the Underworld. He would trade with humans at times, and he would lock her soul up as one of his concubines. She would become his toy and be tortured forever. Khonsu knew she had enjoyed living her dream for ten years, but the price she had to pay was to suffer an even worse fate than her life from before. She decided to fight until the end. She knew Osiris had a residence in the mundane world, and I bet you’ve heard it before…

“Osiris’ residence in the mundane world is the pyramids. He had to rely on the power of the pyramids to roam around in this world.”

The old herdsman’s eyes widened after hearing the keyword. He nodded and said, “The pyramids, they are pretty famous. So what happened then?”

“Khonsu utilized the reputation, wealth, and power she had accumulated over ten years to collect something special. It was called the Triangle Dimensional Mirror. She used it to refract the brilliance of the pyramids, so it would never reach the city and the place she lived in…” the teenage boy said.

“She’s a smart girl, but a pitiful girl too. She was only trying her best to stay alive,” the old herdsman observed.

“However, she ended up infuriating Osiris. The Lord of the Underworld would not allow a petty human to trick him like that after failing to fulfill her end of the trade… Osiris can only visit the mundane world once every ten years, yet because the image of the pyramids couldn’t reach where Khonsu was, Osiris decided to vent his anger on humanity.

“Since the Triangle Dimensional Mirror was only reflecting the light of the pyramids instead of absorbing them, the brilliance of the pyramids still ended up in other cities and areas. Therefore, Osiris and his undead would trample the cities and massacre the people there to vent their frustration toward the despicable humans!”

The old herdsman was lost in the story. For some reason, the story that the teenage boy was telling was different from his. Even though it sounded more ridiculous, and had a more bizarre setting, somehow he felt like it had actually happened in the past!

“Every ten years, Khonsu brought a bloodbath to a city just to protect herself. Lots of lives were lost!” the teenage boy said. He seemed unusually excited.

“Such a detestable woman!” the old herdsman murmured.

“Yeah, she’s the complete opposite compared to Qiqige. However, that’s not the end of the story,” the teenage boy agreed.

“It’s not the end yet? Did she finally pay for what she had done?” the old herdsman asked.

“Yeah, she got her punishment. A boy who was the survivor of one of the cities that were destroyed became Khonsu’s servant. The boy was smart and handsome, and extremely loyal to Khonsu, and he soon became her favorite. When Khonsu thought she had finally found her true love, the boy stole Khonsu’s Triangle Dimensional Mirror. There was a thunderstorm that day. The boy tossed the Triangle Dimensional Mirror into the sky. Khonsu watched the lightning blasting the mirror into pieces and dust…” the teenage boy said.

“Well done! It served her right. You can’t just let innocent people die because Khonsu wasn’t willing to fulfill her end of the deal,” the old herdsman exclaimed.

“No no no, the man didn’t earn the respect of the people, either. Osiris did end up taking Khonsu away, and she’s still suffering even today, but the man was spurned and cursed by the people too. His corpse is still in front of the royal palace in Egypt, trampled by everyone walking past,” the teenage boy corrected him.

“Why is that?” The old herdsman was confused.

“Because even though the Triangle Dimensional Mirror had turned into dust, it still persisted in the air in Egypt. It’s smaller than dust particles, and impossible to drive away. They are meant to exist forever, and once in a while, the seasonal winds will blow the particles of the Triangle Dimensional Mirror together to refract the light of the pyramids. The pyramids will show up near a city. Osiris’ anger toward humans has never ceased, so he keeps sending the undead to attack the cities…” the teenage boy grinned.

“Why do I feel like I’ve heard it before…” the old herdsman was not completely uneducated. He had heard things about Egypt before.

“Of course, it’s called… the Mirage!”

Chapter 1355 Triangle Dimensional Mirror

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The infamous disasters in Egypt: the mirages!

It was not just a natural optical phenomenon caused by the refraction of light. In Egypt, a mirage was more like a sign that Osiris’ army had descended upon the mundane world again, a sign of a bloodbath!

The old herdsman was slightly knowledgeable. He had read about the major incidents across the world in some books. For some reason, the story felt unusually real, just like there was actually a Qiqige who sacrificed her body to melt the ice.

“What do you think? Is Khonsu more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, or your Qiqige?” the young man asked with a smile.

“Well… I still think our Qiqige is more impressive,” the old herdsman said.

“HAHAHA, but your Qiqige is only well-known in such a small place here. Meanwhile, Khonsu has been the nickname for evil women in Egypt for centuries! The truth is, people are more likely to remember bad things that are wildly spread for a long time. By the way, have you heard about the strength of faith?” the young man seemed quite interested in talking with the old herdsman.

The old herdsman nodded. He was clearly not an ignorant old man.

“There are many deities in this world. Their power is stronger when the numbers of their believers are higher, and their believers are more sincere. As a result, in the past, lots of the deities were willing to do meaningful things for humans so they could acquire more power through their believers’ faith. The respect, sincerity, and loyalty that the believers showed to the deities became the strength of faith and floated to the realm of the gods, making them stronger,” the young man told him.

“Yes, we do believe in ideas like that,” the old herdsman agreed.

“But do you know there’s more to the strength of faith, that isn’t so wildly spread?” the young man inquired.

“More to it?” the old herdsman was confused.

“If respect, worship, and loyalty from humans give the deities the strength of faith, what about the detest, hatred, and disgust from humans toward the devils? Will they give the devils power, too?” the young man said.

The old herdsman was startled. He did not know the answer to that question.

If the faith of humans could make deities stronger, wouldn’t the hatred they accumulated make devils stronger, too?

“So, do you reckon there are more people like Qiqige or Khonsu in this world?” the young man inquired.

The old herdsman was left speechless.

The truth was, there were too many people like Khonsu. She was the depiction of human nature!

“If the deities are grouped into kind and wicked, and if we are to determine the strength of each side based on the strength of faith they receive, it’s pretty obvious that the evil deities possess more power than the kind gods!” the young man said.

“I can’t find any reason to disagree with you,” the old herdsman said.

“That goes without saying; how do you even disagree with the truth?” the young man said proudly.

“I don’t understand, why would you know all this? It’s not something someone of your age would know, right?” the old herdsman asked in confusion.

“Why would I know this?” The young man suddenly burst out laughing. He patted the old herdsman on the shoulder and said, “Old man, it’s because we are the worshipers of the evil deities. The world spurns our church and hates our disciples. The more they hate the evil gods we believe in, the stronger we are!”

The old herdsman looked at the young man in disbelief. He said after some time, “Son, there might be a misunderstanding. It shouldn’t be like that.”

“Human leaders keep coming up with countless ideas of utopias and stories like Qiqige to restrain the nature of humans, thus restraining the power of evil gods, but can humans really stop their hatred and anger? Can a person really not have any negative thoughts after being mistreated, being looked down at, and suffering torture?” the young man went on.

“It’s possible, son. There are still many kind and innocent people like Qiqige,” the old herdsman did not sound as confident.

“I guess so. Why don’t we have a bet between us?” the young man said.

“A bet? On what?” The old herdsman was confused again.

“This is your hometown, right? We just went past your house and saw your daughter, your wife, and your mother, who’s still healthy even though she’s over eighty years old. She even gave me a straw ring, didn’t she?” the young man said.

“Yes, my mother is very fond of you. She says your purple eyes are beautiful, like those of a fairy,” the old herdsman said.

“Your neighbors are very friendly, too. I met them. They are optimistic, even though they are poor. They are very hospitable too, right?” the young man added.

“Yeah, they are good neighbors,” the old herdsman said.

“Because of the legend of Qiqige, the people here are kind, friendly, and passionate. They are respectful of young women, too. It’s a tribe that deserves to be complimented,” the young man said.

“Of course, our Qiqige Tribe is well regarded by the outside world too,” the old herdsman smiled proudly.

The young man turned to the glamorous woman behind her. He smiled when he noticed she was done with the preparations, “Then why don’t we use it as our stake?”

“I don’t quite understand,” the old herdsman said.

“You win if you don’t hate me or detest me. I will give up on my role as a Red Cardinal, and I give you my promise that I’ll be a kind person like Qiqige!” the young man smiled. It was a warm smile, yet there were evil and hypocrisy underneath!

“Why would I do that? Your ideas might be strange, but you are a polite kid after all…” the old herdsman was still confused.

“Being polite is part of my manners, but doing evil is my nature,” the young man said.

“You are really a strange kid.” The old herdsman shook his head helplessly. He realized he could not convince the young man. His thought process and knowledge were more advanced than an old herdsman like him.

He turned to the glamorous woman and asked, “Aren’t you going to give your brother a piece of advice? He keeps having these troubling thoughts.”

“You’ve misunderstood. He isn’t my brother, he’s my master… mm, our relationship is similar to Khonsu and her slave. I’m his slave,” the glamorous woman smiled.

“What…” The old herdsman was lost for words. He was about to say something when he saw the woman pointing her finger at the statue of Qiqige!

The white statue broke into dust scattering in the air and falling onto the grass. The old herdsman was immediately enraged.

“What do you think you are doing!?” the old herdsman shouted.

“I’m setting our landmark here,” the woman replied, as if it was meant to be.

“Old man, you’re already mad? I’m afraid you’re going to lose the bet,” the young man said.

“I’m not mad, we can always rebuild the statue! But you shouldn’t be doing this, it’s disrespectful to us… what are you holding?” the old herdsman asked haltingly.

The woman lifted a delicate, exquisite triangular device and asked, “Are you referring to this?”

“Yes,” the old herdsman confrimed.

“It’s something precious,” the young man explained. “It took Salan and I great efforts to steal an important component to complete it. Do you remember the Triangle Dimensional Mirror I mentioned?”

“I do; didn’t you say it was shattered by a lightning strike?” the old herdsman answered.

“Oh, that wasn’t the real Triangle Dimensional Mirror. The Triangle Dimensional Mirror that Khonsu had was just a replica. It was only useful for refracting light. It’s more suitable to call it the Triangle Void Mirror. It somehow ended up in Egypt, and Khonsu managed to get her hands on it. This one here is the real Triangle Dimensional Mirror. You will soon witness its marvelous power,” the young man said.

The old herdsman was stunned.

If the legend about Egypt was real, the Triangle Dimensional Mirror was capable of refracting the images of the pyramids. It was definitely not good news!

“Master Cold Prince, I’m ready,” the woman smiled.

“Mm, time to show the old man what we have!” the young man said.

—

The Triangle Dimensional Mirror was placed on the remains of Qiqige’s statue. A few of the Cold Prince’s subordinates infused a special energy into the device. The Triangle Dimensional Mirror suddenly emitted an icy light, like the cold brilliance of the moon.

The light soared and left a boundary in the vast blue sky, as if it had become another dimension!

The boundary across the sky was emitted by just one of the Triangle Dimensional Mirror’s surfaces.

Another horizontal line soon swept across the vast grassland into the horizon, the remnants of Qiqige’s statue at its center.

Another line perpendicular to the second line appeared and swept into the distance. It had split the land in four. If anyone was looking down from the sky, they would have seen the spectacular sight of the land being split into four!

A line soaring into the sky!

Two horizontal lines perpendicular to one another extending into the horizon!

The three lines crossed paths at specific coordinates. A unique icy glow filled the area. It was supposed to be a clear day in the afternoon, with a bright sun, but the whole place suddenly turned gloomy and cold!

“Behold, the most beautiful moment is about to arrive!” The young man’s eyes were filled with passion.

The old herdsman was in disbelief. He had never seen anything like it!

“What exactly is this?” the old herdsman asked faintly.

Chapter 1356 The Appearance of the Underworld Brilliance

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It looked like a different space had been moved here. The scene was incompatible with the vast grassland and open sky.

As the old herdsman was filled with astonishment, he suddenly saw a giant silhouette appearing at the spot where the lines crossed paths.

The silhouette felt like an illusionary projection at the start. It was unreal.

However, its outline gradually became clearer. The old herdsman realized he was looking at a structure the size of a hill. The stairs leading up to the narrow top were made of golden stones. Each golden stone was perfectly cut, with sharp edges!

Each cut stone was far taller than a person!

The entire building was made of tens of thousands of these golden stones. They were stacked together to form a magnificent structure with triangular surfaces!

The old herdsman felt like he was dreaming. He never thought he would see such a golden structure at such close range. It had suddenly appeared on the grassland, as if it had just mysteriously traveled here through space!

As it became more real, the old herdsman began to feel an enormous pressure from it…

Why would it show up here!?

Why would a pyramid show up here!?

“This is the real mirage,” the old herdsman heard the young man say.

The old herdsman fell to the ground, feeling like his soul was crumbling to pieces under the imperious aura of the pyramid that traveled across space. The pieces of his soul were drifting in a new wind that was filled with the aura of death…

“Can you feel it?” the young man said, sounding like a devil now. “This light that doesn’t have any heat, it’s even sending chills down my spine and making my hair stand on end… this is the light of the Underworld!” the young man proclaimed.

The old herdsman saw it and felt it too.

It was exactly what the young man had described. Even the sun had darkened under this light. The sky had turned gray and gloomy. The land was shrouded by a mist, and the temperature had dropped significantly too!

The light of the Underworld!

The gloom that allows the dead to roam freely!

The old herdsman finally realized everything that the young man had said was real.

Ghastly shrieks came from across the place. The old herdsman broke out in a cold sweat.

“The kingdom of the dead exists in another dimension, and the gate that leads it to the mundane world isn’t our land, but Osiris’ residence, and the places its light can reach!” the young man said.

Every sentence that the young man said was like a heavy blow to the old herdsman. He could barely withhold the shock he was receiving!

The grass had wilted. The plants had fallen and scattered about.

If the grassland was a huge green painting, it was like someone was scribbling on it with black, gray, and dark colors, giving it a spooky, terrifying shade. The process did not last long, moving quicker than a scene suddenly shifted in a nightmare. It was unbelievable…

The icy land cracked apart. One after another, ferocious-looking undead climbed out of the cracks. They were restless under the brilliance of the pyramid, and had a dangerous vibe. The sounds they produced spread into the distance…

Their numbers continued to increase, soon as dense as a herd of livestock. When the wind blew from the town, the scent of the living roused them. Their eyes emitted a savage flicker!

The undead were unaware of the presence of the old herdsman, the young man, and his subordinates. They let out starving cries and sprinted toward the town the old herdsman came from wildly.

The army of undead was like Osiris’ soldiers. The old herdsman clearly felt Osiris’ hatred and anger toward humanity in that particular moment…

The old herdsman finally reacted after some time. He ran as quickly as possible when he saw the undead heading toward his home.

However, the old herdsman could not mount his horse, which had already fainted. He used all his strength to keep running. He fell to the ground feebly, but he did not feel the pain. He rose to his feet numbly again…

The old herdsman’s speed was obviously no match for the undead. When he stood on the hill panting heavily and trying to catch his breath, he looked down at the town and saw how the beautiful, kind town had been replaced by Hell!

Bloodstains were everywhere. White bones were scattered across the ground. Cries of agony howled on the wind across the land. The people that he was close to and the strangers had all turned into corpses, all beyond recognition when the old herdsman reached the town. Most of them were no longer intact.

The daughter that he was most proud of…

His healthy, optimistic mother…

His diligent wife…

His poor yet friendly neighbors…

The people of his tribe who believed there was still kindness in the world…

Not a single one of them was alive!

Why, why, why did they do this!?

The old herdsman turned around. He could not shed a single tear. Tears were meant to vent the sorrow in a person’s heart, but even shedding tears would not make any difference when grief had reached its limit. All that was left was the confusion, doubt, anger, and hatred that had filled up the old man’s chest.

“Why…why?…” The old herdsman was like an empty shell.

The young man slowly approached and said with a calm voice, “Didn’t I already say it? I’m having a bet with you.”

“A bet?” The old herdsman could not believe his ears.

For a moment, the old herdsman believed the young man held a strong grudge against them. He had surely endured prolonged suffering and torture if he would go so far to get his revenge.

Yet the people of the Qiqige Tribe had always been friendly to the others; since when did they provoke this devil?

“Yeah, so do you hate me now?” the young man asked.

The old herdsman almost lost his mind when he heard the question.

This bastard had killed all his family and people, and yet was asking him the question so calmly!?

What was his answer? It was obvious! He had the urge to eat the devil’s flesh alive, to gnaw his bones, and drink his blood!

“You’ve lost,” the young man smiled. He could see the answer from the old herdsman’s twisted expression. “You should be like Qiqige. You should cast away your hatred and grudge, and continue to be friendly toward me. That way, I would give up on my role as a Red Cardinal, I would undo the sins I’ve inflicted on your tribe… but you couldn’t do it. You hate me, you detest me, you’re angry at me…”

The young man paused briefly. The gentle smile on his face gradually became icy and aloof, with a strong hint of disdain and loathing.

“You lost, and as the price, I will be taking your insignificant strength of faith!”

Chapter 1357 The Truth Crawling Out from the Ground

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan received a call from Qi Yang as soon as he got off the plane. Qi Yang asked Mo Fan, Lingling, and Zhao Manyan to head north right away.

Despite being confused, the three drove an off-road vehicle that the Preventive Committee had provided for them. They followed the highway to a spacious grassland…

They were driving very quickly, and kept going forward recklessly even when there was no road available. Judging by Qi Yang’s tone, something serious had happened.

—

The trio met Qi Yang’s Preventive Committee after they arrived in the valley behind a mountain.

There were ten members in the Preventive Committee. Qi Yang was the Leader and the commander. As for the remaining nine members, two were Battlemages, and the rest were spies, watchers, and trackers.

In terms of strength, they were not that impressive. Mo Fan might be able to take down the whole Committee by himself. That being said, the Preventive Committee was established to collect solid evidence. Once they had enough evidence to prove a great conspiracy was happening, they would request the assistance of the Magic Association!

“What happened?” Mo Fan asked.

“We received a report not long ago that the town here has gone missing,” Qi Yang said.

“Shouldn’t it be something the Magic Association is responsible for?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

The government could not possibly ask them to do everything. They were currently following the trail of an Extraditor of the Black Vatican. All their efforts would be in vain if the Extraditor got away!

“It definitely has something to do with the Black Vatican,” an ordinary-looking man of the Preventive Committee said.

“Let’s check it out first,” Lingling said.

The group went to the town and discovered the buildings were still around. Even the tents scattered across the field were intact. It did not seem like anything serious had happened apart from the slight disorder.

The town was in a mess, yet the valuables were still around. It clearly was not the work of bandits. It was rare to see a huge town being robbed in China.

The town was deserted. Not a single person was around, but there were bloodstains everywhere. It was what the Preventive Committee was worried about the most. The bloodstains were a clear sign that something gruesome had happened here…

“A lot of people must have died, but I don’t understand it. There wasn’t a single corpse, not even a single part of their bodies,” Qi Yang frowned.

It was the Preventive Committee’s first time encountering anything like it. The place was full of bloodstains that had dried up in the wind. They could all imagine the massacre, but why would the culprit bother cleaning up all the remains? It was hard work, and it had not been long since the town last contacted the outside world. It was impossible for the culprit to have enough time to clean up the mess.

Lingling was closely inspecting the town. A member of the Preventive Committee came up to Qi Yang and was about to whisper into his ear. Qi Yang glared at him. The man quickly reacted and said aloud, “We found a mentally unstable old herdsman. He was sent to the nearest city to be treated. He seems to be a resident of this town.”

“Can he talk properly?” Qi Yang asked.

The man shook his head.

“We’ll pay him a visit after he recovers. Did any of you find anything?” Qi Yang asked his members.

“I think it’s the Beijiang (North of Xinjiang) Desolate Beasts. They have been living in the northern boundary of our country. This Beiji Grassland is very close to the northern boundary. It’s likely that the whole town is wiped out by the demon creatures before they could call for help… as for the corpses, I bet the savage Beijiang Desolate Beasts ate them all up,” a man with a rough face and thick lips said.

“I agree with Daxie (Big Scorpion),” a woman agreed. Everyone called her Fujie (Sister Fu).

“There’s another possibility. A Super Poison Spell might have caused it. The poison was strong enough to liquefy the remains… I also discovered wilted plants in the grassland to the north. The plants were stained with destructive energy; it’s a sign of the Poison Element,” the member that first showed up with information, Qu Kang, spoke up.

Qi Yang fell into deep thought after listening to the reports and speculations from his underlings.

As a matter of fact, he believed everything they had said was too one-sided. Something did not feel right to him.

He looked at Mo Fan and asked, “What do you think?”

“None of them are right,” Mo Fan said.

“Why would you say so? It’s obviously a Super Poison Spell!”

“You’re so young, you might not have enough experience. It’s what greedy creatures like the Beijiang Desolated Beasts do. They always ate up all the remains of their prey. There was a similar incident around thirteen years ago. It also took the authorities a long time to figure out the truth…” Daxie said.

“Don’t just all talk at once, wait for your turn,” Qi Yang said.

“That won’t be necessary. Is there something to eat? We haven’t eaten since the flight,” Mo Fan asked.

“…”

The members of the Preventive Committee opened their eyes wide. They all looked at Mo Fan as if he was a monster.

The man still had the appetite to eat after learning such a horrible tragedy had occurred. The whole place was covered in blood. It was extremely gory, yet he still noticed that he was starving…

“You over there, set the place up so we can sit on the ground. You will soon know what happened here,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan, Lingling, Zhao Manyan sat on the ground and ate some food. Meanwhile, the members of the Preventive Committee continued to search for clues, as they were not pleased with Mo Fan’s response.

—

“Leader, are they really here to lead us? Why do I feel like they are just a bunch of kids with some background?” Daxie asked Qi Yang in a soft voice.

“I think so too; they don’t even bother listening to us or searching for clues. They didn’t even care about the investigation. What were they thinking?” Fujie harrumphed coldly.

“He is…” Qi Yang was about to introduce Mo Fan to them when he suddenly felt the ground loosening, like something was about to come out of the ground.

Qi Yang was confused. He took a close look at the ground, but did not notice anything.

Mo Fan was done with his meal, and shouted, asking everyone to gather before him.

The members of the Preventive Committee were displeased, as they were still busy with their investigations, yet they had no choice but to obey the order. After all, Mo Fan and his crew were in charge now.

“Do you know what’s causing this?” Qu Kang snapped.

Mo Fan looked into the horizon. The sun was slowly setting in the west. Its remaining brilliance scattered across the land, while the darkness slowly invaded from the horizon in the opposite direction…

Qu Kang went enraged when he saw Mo Fan enjoying the view of the sunset instead of answering his question, “What the heck are you all doing here? Are you only here to go through the motions? You’re done now, hurry back to your comfortable cities!”

“Qu Kang!” Qi Yang snapped, his face dark.

Qu Kang was a stubborn man. He kept glaring at Mo Fan and his crew.

“Take a look yourself, they should be out at any second,” Mo Fan pointed at the bloody town and said helplessly.

“What are we supposed to look at? Are you telling me the culprit is going to show up on its own!?” Qu Kang yelled.

Ghastly cries like wild beasts were suddenly coming from the town, piercing and eerie. The cries were coming from the ground, echoing in the ears of the members of the Preventive Committee.

The soil covered by dried bloodstains began to loosen up. The firm ground cracked apart as rotten hands reached out from the gaps, followed by broken heads and savage gazes, and finally festered bodies covered in blood!

Their bodies were quite disgusting to look at. Even though most of them still had arms, legs, and bodies, their body ratios were incompatible. It was as if… they were made of the body parts of different people!

Every corpse consisted of body parts of different people. Some had a man’s head, but a woman’s slender body. Some had bulky figures, but their arms and legs were those of children!

Their appearance would be amusing if they were made of playdough, but they were clearly living humans recently. The way their body parts were connected together was sending chills down the Preventive Committee’s spines!

“My Heavens…” Fujie screamed. She was frozen with shock.

“Are these… the people of the town?” Daxie blurted out in disbelief.

“Undead! It’s the undead!” Qi Yang said.

Mo Fan did not seem surprised when he saw the undead crawling out of the ground. He said, “If there’s only blood, but no corpses, it’s pretty obvious that the corpses have gone into the ground, and would only show up at night. You call yourself elites of the Preventive Committee? You don’t even have the basic knowledge about the undead!”

Mo Fan was clearly very familiar with the undead after his encounter at the Ancient Capital.

The moment he set foot into the town, he knew who the culprit was, but he did not understand; the undead had already gone back to their graves, to their underground palace after the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. Why would they show up now?

Why would the town be overrun by undead?

Besides, the town was quite a distance away from the Land of the Undead. He had never heard of there being undead in Beijiang. A land that the sun was shining brightly upon was clearly not suitable for the undead!

The members of the Preventive Committee were ashamed after being scolded by Mo Fan. Indeed, they had not expected the undead were behind it.

“It’s getting more complicated. Let’s hope the two aren’t related…” Lingling looked at the ghastly undead.

She could imagine what the people of the town had gone through, seeing how twisted and messed up they were. Apart from sorrow and grief, she was brimming with the anger from the sense of helplessness!

“The rest of you will continue to follow the Shepherd’s trail, I’ll let you know his whereabouts at all time. Send out your spies if necessary. I’ll investigate the incident of this town myself. If the undead of the Ancient Capital is really behind it…” Mo Fan stopped talking.

The Calamity of the Ancient Capital would always remain an incurable scar in Mo Fan’s heart. Whenever the scar was touched, hidden under his calm expression was anger that was building like a volcano!

Chapter 1358 Into the Dark Abyss Again

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan left Lingling and Zhao Manyan at Beijiang. He paid a visit to the Ancient Capital alone.

Mo Fan went to the Clock Tower Magic Association the very same night and found Han Ji. The old man was doing some research on incidents that had happened in the past. He was quite surprised to see Mo Fan.

Speaking of which, Mo Fan had not gone to the Ancient Capital since the calamity. The city had been rebuilding since then, trying to recover its past glory. The people were very strong here. They chose to stay, but it still felt like something was missing. They needed a long time to forget about the past.

“Did something happen?” Han Ji asked.

“I believe you guys are constantly calculating the location of the Dark Abyss, right?” Mo Fan asked.

Since Han Ji had learned that the Dark Abyss was the entrance to the Ancient King’s imperial tomb, he had allocated some of his men to keep an eye on the Dark Abyss. Han Ji did not want such events to happen again!

“Mm, we are,” Han Ji nodded.

“Where is it now?” Mo Fan asked sternly.

“Give me a second.”

Han Ji left briefly and came back with a thick book. He was accompanied by a scholar who seemed to be an expert of the Space Element. Han Ji carefully listened to what the scholar was telling him.

“The Dark Abyss will actually relocate when the sun sets tomorrow, it will relocate to here…” Han Ji pointed to the map.

Han Ji was the only person who had access to the coordinates of the Dark Abyss. He would not allow anyone to know the pattern of the Dark Abyss’ movements, but he did not hesitate to share the information with Mo Fan.

“I’m paying it a visit,” Mo Fan said.

“Paying it a visit? You mean you’re going to the Dark Abyss? What for?” Han Ji asked quickly.

“There’s something I must ask them in person. I’ll be going. Mm, it’s pretty close to Ganxi City. I can take a plane there, it won’t take long,” Mo Fan said.

——

Mo Fan did not stay in the Ancient Capital for too long, taking a plane to Ganxi City. The next opening of the Dark Abyss would be around two hundred kilometers from the city.

When Mo Fan arrived at the desolated yellow land the next day, the Dark Abyss was already there. The dark aura from it was like an ill omen that a demon king was about to appear. Anyone in their right mind would not dare to set foot in the Dark Abyss.

There was no sign of undead around the Dark Abyss. It was unlikely to see undead in living human territories. Mo Fan’s tiny figure slowly disappeared into the entrance of the pitch-black furnace of the underworld, as he entered the mysterious and terrifying world!

Mo Fan stood on the edge of the Dark Abyss and took a deep breath. He looked down into the abyss and saw the faces filled with hatred, hunger, and rage that he had expected. The faces were blended into one as the Dark Abyss slowly spun around, like a vast ocean with endless pain.

Mo Fan had jumped into the Dark Abyss once. He knew the Little Loach Pendant’s light would help him reach the bottom of the abyss safely. However, he really did not want to experience that fear a second time.

Mo Fan closed his eyes. The dark aura was strong as usual.

Mo Fan jumped into the abyss and disappeared into the sea of undead…

—

After landing in the dark space, Mo Fan followed the path and ventured deeper. As usual, countless undead were wriggling like slow-moving clouds above him. Corpses were falling onto the ground like rain, but those that landed close to Mo Fan turned into puddles of bloody mud.

Mo Fan continued forward, and reached the white tomb. The imperial tomb that had existed for more than a few thousand years was exactly the same as before. It still gave Mo Fan a chill when he saw it

The watching evil eyes were still there!

Mo Fan reached the corridor. There was no resistance. He successfully walked to the end.

The Eternal Wicked Lotus was no longer there. Mo Fan had no trouble entering the next hall, since the door was no longer there.

Mo Fan simply picked one of the bridges among the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life. The bridge did not lead him to the Space of Death. It led Mo Fan straight to the Blood Altar, to the Blood Throne…

Mo Fan had not been to the Blood Altar last time, so this was his first time seeing it. The floor was black, and smooth enough that he could see his own reflection. His surroundings were as pitch-black as the cold, void, eternal galaxy…

The Blood Altar floated in the emptiness, spinning slowly. However, people standing on it were unaware of the spin. It was impossible to tell directions.

A suit of black armor was seated on the Blood Throne. It was empty inside, yet it remained in a certain posture, as if there was a person in deep thought or slumbering like a statue inside it. However, it emitted an overwhelming presence!

“Chief Military Instructor,” Mo Fan said, his emotions stirring when he saw the black armor.

“You are not my descendant,” Zhan Kong’s voice replied, even though there was nothing inside the armor. However, the eyes inside the armor lit up.

“I might not be a pure descendant of Bo City, but I’m your student!” Mo Fan answered.

The Ancient King did not respond.

Mo Fan knew the ‘person’ inside the black armor was not completely the savage and magnificent king of the undead. It still possessed the soul and memory of the Chief Military Instructor that had sworn to protect Bo City to the death.

He had gone to Tianshan Mountain to save Qin Yu’Er. That alone had proven that he was still the Zhan Kong he knew!

Besides, the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life did not lead Mo Fan to the Space of Death, indicating that the Ancient King was being merciful to him.

“A town in Beijiang was wiped out by undead. Everyone in the town died and was turned into undead… are your underlings responsible for that?” Mo Fan asked.

The ‘person’ before Mo Fan was the ruler of the Kingdom of Undead. Even Han Ji would not expect Mo Fan to go into the Dark Abyss to ask if he was responsible for it!

The fate of a little town seemed insignificant when compared to some of the calamities that happened, but to Mo Fan, it was more serious than any of the calamities…

If the undead at the Ancient Capital were responsible for it, it meant the current peace would be broken once again. The undead would no longer stay in their tombs, and would start to invade human territories again. It also meant that the Ancient King had declared war against humans as the ruler of the Undead, and intended to drag the living into the abyss of death!

It was definitely something that Mo Fan did not want to see!

He was afraid that the Ancient King’s response would be “Yes!”.

It would mean Mo Fan would be declaring war against the Ancient King, even though there was still a part of the person he respected the most in the entity before him. As a living human, Mo Fan would have to fight the ruler of the Undead to death!

“No,” the Ancient King replied.

Mo Fan finally recovered his usual expression. He let out a relieved sigh.

He was afraid of hearing the Ancient King say “yes”, but he still had to ask. He would have no choice but to demonize. The truth was, even Mo Fan was not confident he would stand a chance against the Ancient King, even with the power of the Demon Element!

“She wants to see you, no matter what you’ve become,” Mo Fan told him.

Qin Yu’Er had returned to her own life, but she was waiting alone for him. Mu Ningxue would visit her and talk to her occasionally, and she could easily tell that…

The Ancient King’s face slowly appeared under the hollow helmet. It was Zhan Kong’s face, but his skin was gray, and transparent enough to see the intertwining veins underneath.

However, his face soon disappeared once mroe, leaving just a pair of cold eyes again.

The eyes eventually disappeared too, leaving just the black armor in a sitting posture on the Blood Throne. There was no sign of life, yet its presence was as overwhelming as a mountain!

“Chief Military Instructor…” Mo Fan said. His emotions were a little unstable.

There was no response. The only sound echoing at the Blood Altar was Mo Fan’s own voice.

“Thank you for teaching me many things,” Mo Fan took a step back. He saluted the black armor the same way he did when he was training at Snowy Peak Mountain. “I told Zhang Xiaohou that everyone has someone that serves as a spiritual pillar in their heart. Even if we are facing the most difficult situation, we won’t panic as long as that spiritual pillar is with us, as that person will support us even if the sky was to fall… Zhang Xiaohou told me that I’m a person like that to him. He asked me if I have anyone like that, but I said no…”

The black armor remained stationary. It was like Mo Fan was talking to himself…

After everything fell silent, Mo Fan continued with a self-mocking laugh, “I actually lied to him. Many times, I’m the one that is trembling in fear because of how useless I am.”

Chapter 1359 Stand By a Tree Stump and Wait For a Hare

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan made his way back to Hohhot and transited to Hanzhong. He received an update after leaving the Dark Abyss. The old herdsman that had witnessed the destruction of his town had woken up.

Mo Fan made his way to the hospital, but he realized everyone in the room was silent.

He glanced around and noticed Qu Kang and Fujie were not around. The other members of the Preventive Committee had gathered at the old herdsman’s sickbed.

The old herdsman’s eyes were hollow, a sign that he had suffered a tremendous blow mentally. Mo Fan was wondering if the man had actually recovered from the shock.

“Mo Fan, you better hear what he has to say,” Zhao Manyan said in a deep voice.

Mo Fan went up to the old herdsman. He could see the old man’s hands were trembling.

“Old man, did you really see the pyramid?” Mo Fan asked sternly.

Mo Fan had come immediately after hearing a brief description of the old man’s statement on the phone. He believed it would be best to ask the old man in person.

The old man raised his head and looked at Mo Fan with dull eyes. He nodded.

“Can you briefly describe what happened when you saw the pyramid? I’ve seen the pyramid in Egypt, so I would like to compare it with the one you saw,” Mo Fan said.

“There’s the deathly light, the Realm of the pyramid, and lots of undead, black and gray, the triangle mirror…” the old herdsman’s words were barely intelligible.

When people experienced extreme sorrow and fear, they would selectively forget the past if the scenes were too painful.

The old herdsman was currently in a situation like that. He had witnessed something unusually terrifying. He was struggling to describe what he had seen in detail. He only remembered seeing the pyramid, the undead, and blood everywhere…

“The deathlight of the pyramid… Mo Fan, only a pyramid’s Realm would allow the undead to move about in broad daylight. I already asked the old man about it before you came. His description of the light is the same as the glow of the mirages we saw in Egypt. I don’t think the old man made it all up,” Zhao Manyan spoke up.

“The undead of the Ancient Capital are still in their tombs. They have nothing to do with the incident.” Mo Fan looked out of the window. For some reason, he did not feel the usual warmth from the clear sky. It felt like something was making the sky hazy and was blocking it.

“Could it really be undead from Egypt? But, why would Egypt’s undead show up in the northern territory of our country? That’s impossible!” Qi Yang blurted out in disbelief.

He had never heard of Egypt’s undead showing up in other countries. Qi Yang had already reported the incident to the Magic Association, but the Beiguo (North Country) Magic Association insisted it was just some misbehaving undead coming out from their graves and had killed everyone in the town.

Mo Fan was about to ask more questions when a few people wearing the white-orange uniforms of the Enforcement Union came into the room. One of them was wearing a tall hat. It was rather artistic and strange.

He Feikun strutted up to them. “I’m an Enforcer of the Beiguo Magic Association, He Feikun! We have some questions to ask this survivor!”

He was clearly not asking for permission, but notifying them what he was here for.

“Old man, did you say you saw the pyramid?” He Feikun asked. He sounded suspicious of the old man.

“I…I already told you everything!” The old herdsman was mentally unstable. He immediately lost control of his emotions when the man doubted him.

“Humph, what a ridiculous excuse you’ve come up with! I believe you’re covering up for the culprit, am I right?” He Feikun took another step forward.

“How can you say something like that!?” Qi Yang snapped.

“I can say whatever I want! The Beiguo Enforcement Union is in charge now. You can hold me responsible if anything happens. Your Preventive Committee can continue on with your work, and stop interfering with ours,” He Feikun replied disdainfully.

He Feikun went forward without waiting for the others’ response. He snapped imperiously, “What pyramid? I’m sure it was just the work of an evil Undead Mage. We’ll be taking the old man with us.”

“What? He’s our important clue. How can you take him just like that?” Qi Yang was furious.

“Can you please use your brain?” the Enforcer, He Feikun, snapped. He glanced at the Preventive Committee and Mo Fan’s crew disdainfully and said, “The whole town is dead, but why is he alive? He doesn’t know any magic. If he witnessed it all, how is he still alive? Most ridiculously, he said that he saw a pyramid! The pyramids are in Egypt; since when does our country have a pyramid? None of his words make any sense. He’s either a lunatic that has lost his mind and kept thinking about ridiculous things, or he’s an accomplice of the culprit, trying to mess with our investigation!”

The members of the Preventive Committee were left speechless.

The truth was, they were willing to believe the old man in the beginning. After all, he did see the undead, and his description of what happened matched the details they noticed at the scenes. However, as soon as he mentioned the pyramid, everyone assumed the old man had yet to recover from his shock.

“I’ll find some valuable information from him. Isn’t the Preventive Committee following the trail of the Black Vatican? If it really has something to do with the Black Vatican, I don’t mind you being involved. If not, just mind your own business!” He Feikun snarled.

Before anyone could speak, He Feikun dragged the old herdsman away and left. The old herdsman suffered a mental breakdown again after being forced around and interrogated. He kept smashing the things around him and cursing.

“See, I told you he’s crazy,” He Feikun grinned coldly back at them.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Lingling were overwhelmed by anger. They had come all the way here to search for clues and find out the truth, yet this asshole had come out of nowhere and driven their important witness insane. How were they supposed to continue with the investigation?

“Mo Fan, what do you think?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“I don’t know. What the old man said was indeed ridiculous. The pyramid… that’s not possible. I was also thinking that an evil Undead Mage was behind it on my way here,” Mo Fan admitted.

“I’ll show you the recording. See if you think the old man’s description of the Realm of the pyramid was on point. I’m a little light-headed now,” Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Manyan played the recording for Mo Fan. It was the description that the old man had given about the Realm of the pyramid when Mo Fan was not around.

Mo Fan listened to the recording carefully and frowned.

“I don’t think anyone that hasn’t seen the Realm of the pyramids before could describe it in such detail,” Zhao Manyan declared.

“Likewise; it seems he did see the Realm of the pyramid,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Doesn’t that mean he actually saw a pyramid?”

“Is there really a power that can move the pyramid to somewhere so far away in this world?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m afraid it’s actually possible,” Lingling said.

The old man’s description was on point. If they could find the reason why only he survived, it would mean he was telling them the truth!

“It’s useless making wild guesses here. They are the only clue we have,” Mo Fan whispered.

“Are you referring to the Shepherd and Cheng Ying?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Mm, I really hope the old man was only imagining it, and mixed up the things he saw in a movie with what happened in real life,” Mo Fan said.

It was not like Mo Fan did not have any pity for the old herdsman, but even he was having a hard time imagining what would happen if a pyramid actually showed up in Beijiang…

—

—

Normally, the Enforcement Union was responsible for incidents like this. It was obvious that He Feikun was an absolute asshole and a piece of trash, but unfortunately, the Preventive Committee’s first priority was to track down the Black Vatican and gain access to its higher-ups.

The Shepherd and Cheng Ying were still on the loose, living like normal people. They were even being extremely friendly to the strangers around them. No one would possibly think they had anything to do with the Black Vatican.

Mo Fan did not make a move, either. The Black Vatican was being extremely cautious. The two were still waiting patiently, even after they assumed they had gotten away. Perhaps their higher-ups were afraid the two would bring them trouble if their identities had been compromised.

“Say, is there a chance that the Cold Prince and the Chief Extraditor have given up on them?” Zhao Manyan was getting a little impatient.

The Shepherd and Cheng Ying were not moving after so long. Mo Fan’s Darkness Corruption would not last forever. Once its effects were gone, the two would surely slip away. Everything they had done so far would be in vain!

“Their ranks aren’t low; I don’t think the Black Vatican is going to give up on them. They are probably trying to make sure everything is fine,” Mo Fan said confidently.

“But what if they aren’t crucial to the conspiracy they are busy with?” Zhao Manyan said.

It was a possibility. They had to consider every scenario, knowing the risks involved.

“We’ve tried our best,” Mo Fan could only say.

The only thing that Mo Fan could do was stay on the two’s trail. They were an important clue that Leng Qing had traded her life for. He had to keep following them. Even if he was not able to find the authorities of the Black Vatican, Mo Fan would not have any regrets, since he had done everything he could!

—

His targets were extremely patient. Mo Fan took his time, too. He continued to cultivate with the energy he had obtained from Little Loach’s recent upgrade.

His Shadow Element was about to have a breakthrough. He was using every second he had, hoping to increase his odds against the Black Vatican before the clash took place!

Zhao Manyan was pretty bored, and kept walking back and forth. When he returned to Mo Fan, he felt like he was about to go insane when he saw Mo Fan calmly meditating.

Mo Fan’s eyes suddenly sprang open as Zhao Manyan was about to leave. His eyes emitted a sharp glitter!

“A breakthrough?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Mm! And… they are on the move!” Mo Fan replied.

Chapter 1360 Red Alert, Part One

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Northguard Fortress…

The city had existed for a long time. It used to be called Northguard Pass, but it was upgraded into a fortress, a special checkpoint along the boundary with a magic market.

The market was inside the fortress. The fortress was surrounded by thick steel walls, with huge towers at the front and back. It was spectacular and magnificent, with a stern and imperious aura!

Mo Fan and his crew were utterly confused. When the Shepherd and Cheng Ying left the city, they came straight to the Northguard Fortress, and headed north to the Yellow Valley.

Since they were heading to somewhere remote and desolate, Zhao Manyan had no choice but to stay behind at the fortress. There was nothing but barren yellow land ahead!

——

Zhao Manyan and Lingling waited inside the fortress. Only an expert of the Shadow Element like Mo Fan could afford to stay on the trail of their targets. If they went with him, the enemy would most likely notice their presence. The Black Vatican was known for how cautious they were. They had not lowered their guard even now…

Lingling was still investigating the incident of the little town. She had found some information related to ancient Egypt.

“I doubt you will find anything at this rate, why don’t you just ask?” Zhao Manyan said when he saw the topic that Lingling was researching.

“Ask who?” Lingling nudged her huge glasses.

“General Fenna; she’s in charge of a city in Egypt. I still have her number, hehe!” Zhao Manyan chuckled.

Before the finals of the World College Tournament, Zhao Manyan was greatly impressed by the lady General during the battle against the undead in Egypt. She gladly gave Zhao Manyan her number and told him to contact her if he needed anything.

Zhao Manyan had been extremely busy lately. He had completely forgotten about her.

Zhao Manyan dialed an international number. He could share their situation with her and ask for her thoughts.

“Is this General Fenna?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“It’s me, why are you calling me again? I told you I’m not interested in Asian men,” General Fenna replied coldly.

“…” Zhao Manyan was left speechless. Fine, he admitted that he did try to flirt with her… “I really have some business to discuss with you this time.”

Zhao Manyan told General Fenna everything that the old herdsman had told him.

Fenna fell silent for some time. She finally responded when Zhao Manyan asked if she knew anything. “Theoretically, it’s not impossible.”

“Theory or not isn’t really our concern. Mo Fan has already dove pretty deep into the Black Vatican…” Zhao Manyan replied.

“Basically, there’s an ancient legend about the mirages in Egypt. Even we can’t tell if it’s real or not,” Fenna said.

“What legend?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“It’s about Osiris and Khonsu; it’s a story similar to Pandora’s Box… I’ll briefly explain it to you,” Fenna said.

The story about Osiris and Khonsu was not widely known in Egypt. The Egyptians assumed the mirages were just a natural phenomenon, a heavenly punishment.

Only a few knew about Khonsu’s story. Fenna was a general, so she had more or less heard about the ancient legend. However, it was impossible to verify if the legend was true.

“Triangle Dimensional Mirror?” Zhao Manyan and Lingling exchanged glances with one another in astonishment.

The old herdsman did mention something similar when he was murmuring to himself. However, everything that the old man said was too unbelievable!

“Apparently, the Triangle Dimensional Mirror doesn’t really exist. Some say it’s placed inside the pyramid… I’m not really an expert when it comes to ancient artifacts. Give me some time, I’ll try asking about the Triangle Dimensional Mirror,” Fenna said.

Fenna was astounded to hear a mirage had shown up in China. It was definitely necessary for her to look into it.

“Alright, please hurry!” Zhao Manyan felt a great chill running down his spine after hearing the tale of the legend from Fenna.

Lingling shared the same feeling. The legend about Osiris and Khonsu matched some of the things that the old man had tried to tell them. They now had a stronger feeling that the old herdsman was actually telling the truth!

——

Fenna needed some time to investigate the ancient legend. However, Zhao Manyan had a strong feeling that the legend was real. He was feeling extremely uneasy being on standby.

“Why don’t we go buy some equipment that’s useful against the undead? There’s a huge magic market here, I bet we can find everything we need,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Sure,” Lingling nodded.

Waiting blindly was not going to do them any good. It was better to take some precautions. Perhaps they were really up against Egypt’s undead. They both felt that the old man had spoken the truth!

Hopefully, Mo Fan was able to collect some important information. They had a feeling that something serious was about to happen!

——

The two went to the magic city. Zhao Manyan focused on buying antidotes, since most undead had strong poison. A whole arm would fester if one did not treat a tiny scratch inflicted by an undead nail!

In addition to that, if they could buy one or two pieces of Ice Element equipment, it would be extremely useful against the undead. Zhao Manyan had quite a lot of money with him. It was better to be prepared than not!

“Speaking of which, isn’t this Northguard Garrison a part of the Great Wall?” Zhao Manyan glanced around the fortress as he recalled something.

The magic city was surrounded by the tall walls of the fortress. If they kept heading north, there was indeed an ancient long wall. Its aged bricks were aligned with the yellow land and the hills; the wall continued to the east and the west, forming a magnificent barrier protecting the Central Plains.

“The wall was built to defend ourselves against the Beijiang Desolate Beasts,” Lingling said.

“Aren’t Beijiang Desolate Beasts massive and strong? Can the walls really fend them off?” Zhao Manyan glanced into the distance.

The wall was huge compared to the size of a human. It was extremely difficult for humans to climb over it, so it could easily fend off an invading army.

The problem was, the wall was only useful against ordinary people. A Mage would have no problems crossing it, let alone demon creatures who could jump twenty meters into the air!

The demon creatures could easily trample the rock wall to the ground. He wondered why the wall was still standing today.

“You’re clearly an uncivilized man!” a tanned woman harrumphed coldly when Zhao Manyan expressed his doubts.

Zhao Manyan was standing on the wall surrounding the fortress. There were a lot of Battlemages around him.

The person that scoffed at Zhao Manyan was a female soldier. She had a slim waist and an extremely huge bust. Her handsome stance was perfect for someone like Zhao Manyan, who had a uniform fetish!

Zhao Manyan never cared what a beautiful lady said, even if she was despising him. He would always approach a woman with a shameless smile.

“Can you please explain to me what’s special about the wall, then?” Zhao Manyan inquired.

“Northguard Garrison has been attacked countless times during the last thousand years. The enemy’s numbers were always higher than the number of defenders on the walls, but they never invaded the fortress successfully! It’s all because of the Great Wall!” The woman obviously had great faith and respect for the ancient wall. She would not allow anyone to disrespect it!

“Is that so? But I feel like the spells of a bunch of Earth Mages aren’t necessarily weaker than the wall, right?” Zhao Manyan pressed.

“Imbecile!” The female soldier despised Zhao Manyan even more.

“Hey, don’t go yet; you haven’t told me the reason!”

“I have no intention to speak to the likes of you,” The female soldier left, followed by a patrol of Battlemages. They were all glaring at Zhao Manyan with great hostility.

Zhao Manyan was utterly confused. He did not believe he had said anything wrong. The Great Wall was just a tourist attraction now. It would not provide them with any practical value if a battle was to break out.

Zhao Manyan’s phone started ringing as he was cursing the proud lady soldier under his breath. Zhao Manyan thought it was Fenna, but he heard Mo Fan’s voice yelling into his ear when he picked up.

“Ask the Northern Pass to go on red alert right now!”

Chapter 1361 Red Alert, Part Two

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan was stunned when he heard Mo Fan’s words. Mo Fan definitely did not sound like he was joking.

Before Zhao Manyan could ask why, Mo Fan had already hung up. He was likely very close to the Black Vatican, and any form of communication would alert them. Mo Fan did not dare be on the call for too long.

“Hey, hey, don’t run away!” Zhao Manyan blurted out, running after the female soldier.

The female soldier turned around, her face still scornful, glaring at Zhao Manyan. She did not seem to be in a good mood…

“We are currently leading the Preventive Committee! My partner has found out something serious, he’s asking the Northguard Fortress to be on full alert!”

The female soldier clearly had a high rank, Zhao Manyan could tell from her insignia. He had no clue where to look for the general who was in charge of the fortress, nor did he know anyone that had the right to see the general. He could only ask the person with the highest rank around!

“What do you think this place is!?” the female soldier snapped angrily.

She had no intent of wasting her time talking to a rascal who was disrespectful to the Great Wall!

“I’m not kidding! Hurry up, tell your general to place the fortress on red alert!” Zhao Manyan said sternly. He quickly showed them his identification as he was speaking. It might just be temporary, but it still proved how serious he was.

The other soldiers beside the woman burst out laughing.

A tall and handsome soldier said, “We’ve seen people trying to flirt with our boss with different excuses, but I have to say, it’s my first time seeing an excuse like yours. Do you know reporting false military intelligence is a serious offense? Take your words back, and we’ll pretend we didn’t hear it.”

“Damn it, are you blind? I told you I’m from the Preventive Committee!” Zhao Manyan was furious.

Was the title of the Preventive Committee a mere decoration? Why were the soldiers acting like they had never heard of it? What was the point of having the title if it did not give him any power?

“What’s your name?” the female soldier asked.

“Zhao Xiao…” Zhao Manyan was about to use his alias, but he realized how unconvincing it would be. He decisively showed the her his national team badge and said, “I’m Zhao Manyan, a representative of the national team during the World College Tournament. I’m currently the Vice Leader of the Preventive Committee. I’m not kidding, my partner Mo Fan wouldn’t joke around with his life at stake! Now, hurry up, tell the commander to put the fortress on red alert!”

Zhao Manyan’s voice was extremely loud. He was basically yelling at the soldiers now!

He trusted Mo Fan. It was unusual for Mo Fan to warn him without saying an extra word and showing any emotions.

The woman looked at Zhao Manyan before looking north.

Her subordinates were about to say something, but she raised her hand and stopped them from talking.

A moment later, the female soldier said, “Red Alert!”

“I’m asking you to tell your commander to place the fortress in red alert! Why the hell are you calling a red alert here for?” Zhao Manyan was infuriated. He had the urge to beat the proud woman up.

The female soldier looked at Zhao Manyan and said in an imperious voice, “I’m the Chief Commander here!”

—

Red alert meant that, every Battlemage, officer, and soldier that was on duty, off duty, or on standby, apart from those that were responsible for important tasks or jobs around the fortress, had to prepare for a battle right away.

The Northguard Fortress was a typical defensive city with a magic market. There were not many ordinary civilians here. Most of the people were businessmen, Hunters, soldiers, Mages on adventures, or members of a Magic Association. Since it was common for the Beijiang Savage Beasts to attack the fortress, there were constant battles happening here. It was rare to see the fortress being put on red alert just for a drill. Whenever the alarm was sounded, it meant a battle was about to break out. If anyone dared neglect their duty, they would be punished according to military law!

Up on the tower, Commander Bin Wei had changed into a battle robe. Her temperament changed significantly when she donned her full battle uniform. When Zhao Manyan saw her again, he realized he had stumbled into someone on par with General Fenna in Egypt. Most distractingly, the woman was young, and her skin was so smooth and fair that people would assume she was just a pretty face in the army.

“If it ends up being a false alarm, I’ll hang your head on the wall!” Bin Wei glanced at Zhao Manyan. Her first impression of him was that he was frivolous and ignorant.

However, Bin Wei had to treat his being on the Preventive Committee and the national team seriously. If something terrible ended up happening, even though she was biased against him, she would be neglecting her duty as the person in charge of the fortress.

She was not familiar with the Preventive Committee, but her superiors had told them to treat every piece of information provided by the Preventive Committee seriously, and act accordingly.

“General, are we overreacting here? Even if he’s from the Preventive Committee, isn’t it enough to just add an extra layer of defense, instead of placing the entire fortress on red alert? If it turns out to be a false alarm, it’s going to seriously damage your reputation. The captains will pick on you because of your misjudgment…” the tall and handsome aide-de-camp murmured to her.

“That’s right, many people are interested in your role. Maybe your opposition purposely sent that kid here so you would make a mistake, giving them a reason to replace you…”

“I agree that it’s more appropriate to add an extra layer of defense, or perhaps two. They won’t say we are neglecting our duty that way. Most importantly, if anything happens, you won’t be blamed, either,” another advisor agreed.

——

“There isn’t a single sound. How is there still no movement if the threat is huge enough for the city to be placed on red alert? What is that woman whose brains have grown on her chest thinking? Is she playing with us, like we are her lackeys?” a captain grumbled on the wall.

“I knew it was stupid to place her in charge of the fortress. We’ve been on patrol the whole night. We finally had a chance to get some rest, but she just had to wake us up!”

“I can’t believe it; we have to think of some way to get rid of her. They always mentioned what she did to get to her current rank; I didn’t believe it before, but I’m a little convinced now!”

The guard towers, walls, watchtowers, and city were filled with complaints. A worthy Commander would make the right call according to the information gathered, the situation, and the enemy’s numbers. Red alert was the highest security level in the military. It was similar to the Blood Alert of a city. Even though most people in the fortress were Mages, it was still a very serious thing to declare!

The allocation of manpower, the activation of the defensive barriers and equipment, the expense of resources… the costs were huge, even if it was only a drill!

—

Feedback was soon relayed back to Commander Bin Wei. However, she was still staring tinto the distance to the north.

Her subordinates were already discussing how to minimize the loss. It was obviously a ridiculous order.

“I still don’t understand why you are doing this,” the aide-de-camp with a deep voice beside Bin Wei asked.

“This place is called the Northguard Fortress. Our eyes are always fixed on the north, but do we actually care more about the north, or what’s behind us?” Bin Wei asked.

“But…” The aide-de-camp was lost for words.

“You are worried about the enemy and your rank, but I’m concerned about the safety of Yulin City, Anqing City, Feihuang City, and Ningcheng County… people that have no fighting capacity beyond this line of defense! Perhaps that is the reason why it’s necessary to have female Generals in the army; the men always place their attention on killing the enemy and making contributions, but they neglect their actual duty!

“You keep saying how ridiculous it is, what if there was no enemy… but what if the fortress is really in danger? I can’t afford to risk so many lives for it! It’s not just this time, but I’ll do the same thing in similar situations in the future, too! They can scold me and replace me all they want, but as long as I’m the Commander, I will not allow any threat to befall the Central Plain behind this Northguard Fortress!” Bin Wei declared.

Zhao Manyan was touched by her words. His view of his Commander changed thoroughly.

The fortress was in Red Alert status. The walls were crowded with Mages. The Wind Mages and Light Mages were relaying orders. The captains, squad leaders, and defending troops were staring to the north with full focus. Even the Great Wall, standing there like a ridge felt more imperious than usual!

Silence…

Both the vast yellow land and the bustling fortress were dead silent. Despite the grudge and biased opinions, the soldiers could only complain and murmur in their hearts. No one dared to doubt the Commander’s decision when the fortress was on Red Alert.

Zhao Manyan was extremely nervous, too. He could not help but wonder what the danger that Mo Fan was warning them about was. On the other hand, the icy atmosphere lingering in the fortress when it was placed in Red Alert was more intense than the atmosphere when a city was under attack. It showed that the fortress was used to constant fighting!

“General…” The aide-de-camp had run out of patience.

“Stop talking!” Bin Wei was staring at the land beyond the Great Wall. She was like a leopardess about to pounce on her prey, her hair standing on end.

She had noticed something. She was extremely focused, her aura sharp and stern!

Her subordinates soon felt it too. Something was coming…

Something with an overwhelming presence!

Chapter 1362 The Yoked

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The wind swept past, yellow sand drifted in the air. The dust limited the vision of the soldiers.

In the distant sandstorm, a human figure slowly appeared on the yellow land. It was approaching the fortress one step at a time!

Clank! Clank!

The sound of metal hitting the ground came to them. It was oddly piercing.

The soldiers had never seen anything like it. They continued to stare intently…

“Are those chains on its back?” a soldier on the watchtower blurted out in astonishment.

It looked like a homeless refugee in ragged clothes, covered in filthy stains. It had a bulky build; its skin was like a dead tree, wilted and lifeless. It was leashed by chains as thick as an adult human’s wrist, wrapped around it twice.

The creature was obviously hauling a great weight. Every step it took would leave a deep footprint on the yellow sand. Its body was covered in bulging veins!

The soldiers of Northguard Fortress were dumbfounded.

What the hell was that? It looked like a human, and despite its muscular build, it seemed to be bent over by fatigue. The great effort it was putting in just to move forward, and the hatred and grudge it was bearing…

Was it really so much of a threat that the fortress had to be placed on red alert?

A similar figure walked out from the sandstorm as the soldiers were all confused.

The second figure was following the same line as the first creature, also hauling a chain. Other figures were visible when the dust was blown away by the wind!

As the sandstorm in the distance slowly faded away, more bulky figures bound in chains showed up. They moved forward at the same time, and every time they took a huge step forward, they would let out a deep groan, as if they were using all their strength!

The creatures kept repeating the same actions, moving forward with great effort, slowly drawing closer to the Northguard Fortress. To everyone’s astonishment, the numbers of these bulky figures with ragged clothes and skin like a tree was a lot higher than they had imagined. Most importantly, they were all yoked to chains!

The chains were stiff and straight; they were all dragging something behind them! The spectacular sight of thousands of these bulky creatures dragging something so heavy behind them was terrifying!

They finally saw something being dragged out of the faint yellow line on the horizon. It had a bloated, ugly face; its mouth was as wide as its face, and its unusually large eyes were poking out. It did not have eye sockets…

It was shockingly massive, like a mountain of flesh filled with lumps, and the lumps had holes, too! The chains were tied to the lumps, allowing the muscular creatures to drag it along the ground.

The mountain of flesh was reluctant to move, and was in great pain whenever the chains pulled it. It was forced to step forward, or more appropriately, skid forward!

A few thousand muscular creatures dragging an enormous monster frog-thing forward with chains. How striking was the sight?

The soldiers defending the Northguard Fortress were stunned. They had never seen anything like this, nor had they faced an enemy with such a formation. What were the creatures that were dragging the chains, and what exactly was the eerie-looking monster frog?

The muscular creatures moved forward like enslaved haulers on a riverbank. Some of the creatures eventually fell to the ground, overwhelmed by fatigue. As the giant demon frog eventually caught up to the creatures that had fallen to the ground, it stuck its tongue out and ate them straight away!

It explained why the muscular creatures were brimming with fear, and why they were trying so hard to keep moving forward despite being overwhelmed by fatigue.

“Eternal labor, eternal pain; it’s the Underworld Monarch Frog!” Lingling’s eyes flickered with astonishment upon seeing it.

Lingling had read about it before. It was an ancient recording about the early era of slaves in the west. Slave masters had set up a terrifying Curse to force their slaves to keep working.

Anyone that signed the Contract sold themselves into slavery; they would turn into one of the Yoked when they died if they slacked even the slightest as a slave. These slaves had to drag the heavy frog around while searching for a residence for it. Their souls were bound by the chains, and they were bowed down by fatigue for eternity. If they stopped, they would be eaten by the frog. The Underworld Frog would slowly digest them, from their skin to their flesh, then to their bones. In addition, they would remain conscious during the digestive process…

The tortured souls would not vanish. The Underworld Frog would spit the slaves out again after the torture, forcing them to keep hauling!

Lingling always thought the Curse was amusing. She assumed it was just a lie to trick the slaves and force them to work as hard as they could. To her surprise, the Curse was real in Egypt’s underworld. The Underworld Monarch and the Yoked were real, too…

Compared to the abstract drawings in the ancient records, the sight of the enslaved haulers in ragged clothes being forced to march forward in great pain by the greedy slothful Underworld Monarch before her was suffocating!

“What the hell is that thing!?” The people of the Northguard Fortress were about to lose their minds. The pain that the Yoked were displaying was so real. It felt like they were being tortured themselves!

“Do you know what they are?” Commander Bin Wei asked Lingling.

She was shocked, too. She had been living here for many years, yet she had never seen such spooky monsters. These were no living creatures of their world; they were a bunch of demons from Hell!

“These slave haulers seem very tired. Does that mean we just need to kill that giant frog?” the aide-de-camp speculated.

To his surprise, Lingling shook her head and said, “The Yoked are under endless torture. The only relief for them is when they find a city full of living humans. Every human that the Underworld Monarch Frog kills makes their chains lighter. Can you imagine how mad and passionate these endlessly tortured demons are about finding some relief from their pain?”

The aide-de-camp gaped in disbelief.

What kind of war was this going to be? Why was it different from the beasts they normally faced?

Did they really stand a chance against these terrifying existences of the underworld?

Chapter 1363 Living Versus Underworld Creatures

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan finally understood why Mo Fan sounded so serious on his call.

They felt an enormous pressure after seeing the great pain the undead chain gang was displaying, let alone the sight of the cruel Underworld Monarch Frog’s heavy, fleshy body, and its rough skin tied to the chains…

The Underworld Monarch Frog let out an unpleasant cry. The lumps on its body began to expand suddenly. Its chains broke loose as strange Curses of the Underworld surfaced on its skin, and then flew off towards the Yoked!

The Curses imprinted on the Yoked immediately glowed with a bloody red light. They were under great pain just a moment ago, but they had now been released. Their hollow pupils emitted an intimidating light as they stared at the Northguard Fortress!

“Where…where did they come from?” the spooked aide-de-camp blurted out.

No one on the walls was complaining about the Commander’s decision now. They had never seen such terrifying creatures. They could not even tell if their magic would be effective against these underworld existences!

They had yet to receive an order. Even their superiors were clueless about what they were supposed to do!

“Sentries, stay alert; attack!” a woman’s icy voice echoed throughout the Northguard Fortress.

The sentry towers were set up in different positions, forming an octagon. Each sentry tower was stationed by fifty destructive Mages. When they all cast the same spell, it would activate the Octagon Sentry Formation!

“Wind Octagon Formation!” Commander Bin Wei ordered.

A green light bearing the sharpness of wind rose from the eight sentry towers. The air of the entire yellow land suddenly felt thinner; Wind Patterns appeared one after another above the sentry towers, forming a spectacular, massive octahedral pattern!

“It’s a Layering Formation!” Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise when he saw the giant Wind Pattern.

A Layering Formation was extremely powerful and effective in a battle. Super and Advanced Mages were extremely low in number compared to the rest of the army. However, most Basic and Intermediate Mages struggled to inflict any damage on demon creatures, who usually had sturdy skins and high defenses, even if they were all attacking at the same time. However, a Layer Formation was able to absorb the energy and Star Patterns within the formation and combine them into a single powerful spell!

“Sallow Heaven Tornado!” a captain yelled in the Octagon Sentry Formation. The massive Wind Formation gradually dissipated, replaced by a wind dragon soaring into the sky. It went from covering a circle a hundred meters across to being almost a thousand meters long. It had grown from a young little dragon to a heavenly dragon!

The strong wind swept out fiercely. The Layering Formation had turned the Wind Disc into a spell more than a hundred times larger than an Intermediate Spell. Its strength was comparable to a Super Spell, too!

Zhao Manyan felt a little relieved when he saw the giant tornado heading toward the Yoked charging at the fortress. The defenses of the Northguard Fortress were a lot stronger than he had imagined. They had cast a powerful Wind Spell with the Layering Formation right away!

The Yoked charged forward fearlessly, even when they were facing the enormous Wind Spell. Perhaps they were afraid of being eaten by the Underworld Monarch Frog if they backed off. They would rather charge into battle instead of being digested slowly in the Underworld Monarch Frog’s guts.

Killing a living human would ease their suffering a little. The Yoked had long desired to see a living city. They wanted every human in the city to die at their hands, just so they could free themselves from the eternal torture!

The Yoked were still bound with chains. When the giant tornado swept at them, they whipped their chains into the ground.

The Yoked had great teamwork and a close relationship among themselves. They fixed their chains to the ground and held one another to withstand the strong wind!

The massive Wind Disc was effective at blowing enemies into the air. The enemies would lose their sense of direction and feel dizzy from the rapid spinning. Their bones would break into pieces when they slammed back to the ground.

However, the Yoked did not lose their intelligence. They were supporting one another and holding on tight, forming a sturdy wall of bodies chained to the ground. The Super Spell-strength Wind Spell howled down on them as it made contact with their wall!

Yellow sand was blown into the air. The ground seemed to heave a few meters. However, the relieved look that Zhao Manyan had just a while ago was gone now.

Not a single one of them was blown into the air!

The powerful Wind Spell did not even hurt any of the Yoked, who were supposed to be worn out by fatigue!

Zhao Manyan took a deep breath. He saw the yellow sand dispersing, revealing the bulky and fearless Yoked holding their ground firmly…

The Octagon Sentry Formation was a powerful Layering Formation, but these Yoked, chained together and enslaved by the Underworld Monarch Frog, were like a well-trained army. Even a Super Spell was unable to destroy the wall they had formed!

“It…it didn’t work!” The aide-de-camp, Guan Pingfang, was stunned. As a Mage specialized in Magic Formations, he was well aware of how powerful the Octagon Sentry Formation was; he never expected the Octagon Sentry Formation that he was so proud of to be defeated so easily!

Commander Bin Wei was not very surprised. She had the highest cultivation among the soldiers. She could easily tell that these underworld slaves were stronger than ordinary demon creatures, judging from their auras alone. She already knew the battle was not going to be easy!

Bin Wei looked at Lingling and asked, “Do you know any way to deal with them?”

“Theoretically, once we kill the Underworld Monarch Frog, its slaves will turn into empty shells, but judging from the situation, I doubt we can get close to the Underworld Monarch Frog without killing all the Yoked…” Lingling replied.

Lingling had only read the ancient record briefly. She had no clue what the weaknesses of these underworld creatures were!

“Then let’s kill them all! I don’t believe these filthy undead stand a chance against our Northguard Fortress!” Captain Chang Yi swore angrily.

They would counter soldiers with arms, and water with an earth weir. It was just a bunch of undead, it was not like they had never fought them before!

“General, allow my vanguards to crush them!” Chang Yi volunteered.

“Be patient, we’ll see what they are capable of first,” Bin Wei replied shortly.

“These undead are no ordinary undead! It’s unwise to fight them at a close distance. Their soul chains are deadly, and might result in great losses to us!” Lingling interjected.

Chapter 1364 The Defeat of the Vanguard

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Chang Yi, send out the Summoner troop,” Bin Wei ordered the captain.

“Acknowledged!” A general’s order was absolute in the army. Chang Yi immediately relayed the order to the Summoners on standby in the fortress.

The number of Summoners was not particularly high, but their strength and their Summoned Beasts had made them the elites of the Northguard Fortress, especially with the experience they had gained from their battles against the Beijiang Desolate Beasts over the years. Their Summoned Beasts were fiercer and stronger than those at most other places!

A lunar-white glow shone upon the fortress, forming a brilliant rift. Its light flickered continuously as Summoned Beasts arrived from the other plane. The previously deserted entrance was soon crowded with huge muscular Summoned Beasts.

The Summoned Beasts formed the vanguard troop, with the Summoners sitting on top of them. These Summoners were capable of close combat. Their magic and the teamwork between them and their Summoned Beasts allowed them to move about unrestrained on the battlefield. They were able to press forward, or retreat as they wished!

The leader of the Summoner Troop was a short man with energetic eyes. The man glanced at the approaching Yoked. He was expressionless and fearless.

“Charge!” Their leader Zhang Hao led the way. He was riding an imperious wolf covered by fiery runes. The beast left a scorched trail behind it as it sprinted forward!

The Flame Wolf’s speed was the highest among the Summoned Beasts. The rest of the beasts had to use all their might to keep up with it…

“That Flame Wolf’s level is pretty high!” Zhao Manyan murmured, staring at the wolf. The Northguard Fortress had a lot of concealed talents. Even the leader of the Summoner Troop had a Commander-level Summoned Beast!

The Flame Wolf was no weaker than Mo Fan’s Flying Creek Snow Wolf, if the power of his Icy lineage was not active.

Zhang Hao’s Flame Wolf engaged a Yoked. The undead seemed to be struggling to move under the weight of the chains around it, but when the Flame Wolf crashed into it, the undead creature was able to hold the Flame Wolf’s claws back with only its arms, despite the momentum the wolf had accumulated!

The Yoked was knocked flying. It had some injuries, yet it was able to rise to its feet instantly. It did not suffer any serious injuries!

Zhang Hao was dumbfounded. He was well aware of his Flame Wolf’s strength. It had never needed to bother with a second attack against most Warrior-level creatures, yet it had failed to kill the Yoked, despite using all its power!

The Yoked cried out simultaneously, sounding like soul-shaking drum rolls. A few dozen of the Yoked leading the way suddenly picked up their pace and whipped their chains at the Flame Wolf.

The chains had a lot of jagged edges. They were quite deadly when they were swung around fiercely. The Flame Wolf’s defense was not outstanding, and it had no choice but to dodge the chains.

The Yoked continued to press forward. Over a hundred of them were attacking the Flame Wolf at once, leaving injuries on it. The chains almost knocked the Summoned Beast to the ground a few times.

“Leader, we are here to help!” The other Summoners finally arrived. Their Summoned Beasts lunged at the Yoked. There were around two hundred of them at different levels. Their average strength was well above normal Warrior-level creatures.

Most of the soldiers that were stationed in the Northguard Fortress were elites. They just needed to make some contributions here to be allocated to other cities and become officers. The two hundred Summoned Beasts were like a fierce tide as they charged forward!

The Yoked further behind began to make their moves as well. They began to snap their chains ahead. The tips of the chains were extremely sharp, whipping forward in parallel, followed by a howling wind!

The Summoned Beasts quickly scattered to dodge the chains. To their surprise, the chains they dodged ended up intertwining with one another behind them.

Clank!

The chains crashed into one another hard. They soon combined into an enormous net weaving through the beasts.

The Yoked roared again. Their souls seemed to have connected with one another after their prolonged labor. They pulled the chains back simultaneously, like a group of fishermen pulling in a net by the river!

The Yoked were oddly strong. The Summoned Beasts were tripped, knocked to the ground, or dragged away by the chains. The vanguard troop was in total disorder before it even reached the enemy…

“Save me, save me!”

One of the Summoned Beasts that looked like a rhinoceros was tied by the chains. Their sharp tips had stabbed into its body, dragging both it and the Summoner riding it toward the Yoked.

The rest of the Summoners were in a pinch, too. Before they had the chance to lend a hand, the Summoner was already screaming at the top of his lungs before both him and his Summoned Beast were beaten to death!

The skin of a Yoked was dry and rigid, but as sturdy as metal. As they stomped the Mage, his flesh and blood splattered across the ground.

The Brute Rhinoceros Beast had extremely thick skin and flesh, but it looked so fragile under the Yoked’s bloody stomps!

The Yoked grew even more excited and deranged when fresh blood splattered under their feet. It was completely different than the worn out, pitiful, and sorrowful appearance they initially had. Perhaps it was because they were finally able to vent the grudges that had long stacked up in their hearts!

The Summoned Beasts were taken out in bulk. Their blood and liquid scattered while their flesh and bones were laid across the ground. The soldiers on the walls of the fortress could not believe their eyes. These slavish Yoked were beyond terrifying. The vanguard troop was struggling to kill even one of them!

“Retreat!” Bin Wei decisively commanded after seeing the situation.

“If they withdraw, there won’t be anyone guarding the entrance!” Chang Yi said.

“Enough with the meaningless sacrifices, retreat!” Bin Wei said.

“Yes…yes Ma’am!” Chang Yi did not dare to say anything else. He immediately ordered the Summoner Troop to retreat.

The vanguard troop was meant to boost their morale, so the Northguard Fortress had invested a lot in the Summoner Troop. Who could have expected their first wave of attack to be crushed so thoroughly? Didn’t that mean their Northguard Fortress didn’t stand a chance at all?

How were they supposed to fight this battle?

There were more than two thousand Yoked. If killing one of them was already so difficult, could they really defend the Northguard Fortress?

Chapter 1365 The Quiet Great Wall

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How are those things so strong!?” Chang Yi was astounded, staring at the dead Summoned Beasts.

In the past, the Warrior-level Beijiang Desolate Beasts had not stood a chance against their Summoner Troop. Didn’t that mean each of the Yoked was stronger than a Warrior-level creature?

If that was the case, how could they possibly defend the Northguard Fortress?

“They are coming!” the aide-de-camp said with a grim look. He was clueless about how they should continue the battle. They had no clue what their enemy was capable of, apart from their formidable strength.

“Fire Squads, the Fire Pool!” Commander Bin Wei said.

The order quickly spread among the soldiers. The Fire Mages of the Northguard Fortress quickly went forward and drew Star Patterns.

One Fiery Fist after another poured down from the walls of the fortress like small meteorites, slamming heavily onto the yellow land.

The Fiery Fists concentrated on a specific area where the density of the Yoked was higher. The flames blasted and burned the Yoked that were leading the way. The pits that the Fiery Fists produced soon combined into a huge scorching pool of flames!

The flames intertwined and burned vigorously within the huge pool. The Yoked were stuck in the pool. Their chains were blazing red from the heat. Their skin was like wilted trees, and began to crack open.

However, the Yoked continued forward like they did not feel any pain from the flames that were burning over them!

Many of the Yoked were engulfed in flames, but they did not seem to be bothered at all. Their eyes retained a terrifying glow, staring at the Northguard Fortress.

The flames actually made the Yoked look more ghastly, like demons crawling out of the furnace of Hell. The watchers trembled in fear upon witnessing the sight. They had been through countless battles, yet they never felt so helpless facing an enemy!

“It doesn’t work at all. Why aren’t the flames working?”

“What kind of monsters are they…”

The Yoked resumed their marching. The pressure on the soldiers intensified as the demon frog with the demeanor of a greedy tyrant approached. The soldiers began to shuffle uneasily.

“Fire at will!” Commander Bin Wei ordered.

Almost every Mage cast their spells, mostly Elemental Magic. There were rolling rocks and sand along the ground, burning fists flying across the sky, tornadoes, lightning, and fierce tides and icy chains that appeared out of nowhere lunged at the creatures murderously…

The clanking of the chains kept coming. The creatures were still moving forward, like they did not know what pain was. Even when their legs were broken, they would continue to crawl forward with their hands, like a bunch of fanatical death-sworn soldiers!

The Mages were clueless about what to do against these creatures. The Beijiang Desolate Beasts would end up as pieces of meat and pools of blood scattered across the ground, or flee for their lives. Meanwhile, these underworld creatures were still pushing forward. They would soon reach the fortress!

“It’s no use, we even tried using Advanced Spells against them, but we still couldn’t take them out!” Chang Yi began to panic.

“Two thousand creatures that are stronger than Warrior-level creatures, and a Ruler-level demon frog. I don’t think we stand a chance against them unless we have several Super Mages with us!” the aide-de-camp exclaimed.

The Battlemages had immediately cast their spells at the enemy after receiving the order. It was supposed to deal the highest damage to the enemy. After all, the Northguard Fortress had a lot of Intermediate Mages. The endless blasts were expected to kill a lot of Warrior-level creatures.

But the number of deaths among the Yoked was extremely low. Some did fall to their deaths, yet the overall size of their army still looked the same. One could easily tell which side had the upper hand in the battle!

The doubts and disdain that the soldiers had when they first received the order to enter red alert state were replaced by panic and fear. Some of them even made mistakes when casting their spells under the enormous pressure.

“Tell the cities to the south of Northguard Fortress to start the first-level evacuation!” Bin Wei said to the aide-de-camp.

“The first-level evacuation?” The aide-de-camp was stunned.

Was the order really necessary? Wouldn’t they only evacuate all the cities during a great calamity?

“Do as I say!” Bin Wei repeated sternly.

The aide-de-camp was shocked. He glanced at the Yoked that seemed to be unharmed…

She was right; if their Northguard Fortress, known to have the strongest defense in the north, was struggling to eliminate these underworld creatures, how could the rest of the cities stand a chance against them?

Once these creatures broke through Northguard Fortress, many cities would be destroyed, resulting in insane casualties!

The fact that the evacuation order was given when the battle had only started indicated that the attack the fortress was facing was no ordinary invasion. It was likely to be an unstoppable disaster!

“But even if we give the cities the order to evacuate, they still need time to evacuate the people!” Chang Yi said.

Chang Yi did not think the evacuation order was inappropriate. The Yoked were a lot stronger than they had imagined. Even an army ten times the size might struggle against the army of undead. It was very likely that Northguard Fortress would fall this time!

“If these foreign creatures of the underworld think they can overrun Northguard Fortress easily, they have made a huge mistake!” Bin Wei snapped coldly.

Her face showed no signs of defeat. The truth was, most of the soldiers had lost their confidence after seeing how tenacious the creatures were, but Commander Bin Wei never did.

She had asked the cities behind the fortress to evacuate because she had a feeling the invasion of these underworld creatures was not as simple as it seemed. She could not afford to endanger the cities and the civilians, but it did not mean she was left with no choice!

It was impossible for the Yoked to be so strong that their defense was comparable to half a Commander-level creature. If they were truly as strong as Commander-level creatures, how were they only slaves?

There must be some special power that granted these Yoked such abnormal tenacity…

“I won’t let you come any closer to my Northguard Fortress!” Bin Wei grabbed her military coat and flung it aside.

She rose into the air, her graceful figure springing into the sky above the fortress. An enormous devil lily blossomed in front of the fortress and grew to a height that was taller than the fortress in just a few seconds…

Bin Wei landed on the enormous lily. She briefly glanced at the Yoked before fixing her gaze on the ancient wall in front of the fortress!

The ancient wall was lying like the backbone of a mountain range. It was a magnificent mountain that suddenly erupted along the horizon, further extending a few kilometers into the distance. It was utterly spectacular.

As a matter of fact, the Yoked were able to climb over the ancient wall easily. It was just like Zhao Manyan mentioned, it was a mere decoration.

But was the Great Wall really just a decoration?

“Entrance-Sealing Formation!”

Bin Wei’s eyes gradually turned gray, the same color as the ancient wall. Meanwhile, the ancient wall began to rise rapidly!

The ancient wall suddenly rose thirty meters high within seconds, and continued to rise higher still…

Chapter 1366 Behind the Underworld Monarch Frog

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This…this…” Zhao Manyan gasped in disbelief. He did not expect the ancient ruins lying across the yellow land were actually consisted of such a magnificent Earth Magic!

The ancient wall swiftly emerged from the ground. It went from a short barrier to an enormous rocky dam. Its height had surpassed the buildings in the fortress, as if it was rising straight into the sky!

The people in the Northguard Fortress stared at the imperious wall in disbelief. They had been here for quite some time, yet they never knew the ancient wall was actually a line of defense like a heavenly dam. Even the Yoked were helpless against the sturdy and magnificent ancient wall!

The wall was surprisingly solid. Even though the Yoked were flinging their chains at the wall, they did not leave a single scratch on it. The Yoked combined their strength and tried to raze the wall to the ground, yet it remained solid, and did not even budge.

“Come with me!” Commander Bin Wei yelled.

Several demon lilies grew toward the ancient wall continuously. Its petals formed a bridge to the top of the magnificent wall!

The soldiers were dazed. It took some time for Captain Chang Yi and the aide-de-camp to finally gather their wits. They quickly led the soldiers and made their way toward the marvelous ancient wall across the bridge of lilies…

“It’s my first time witnessing the true appearance of the Great Wall…” Lingling lifted her gaze and stared at the enormous wall. She was also struggling to stay calm.

She had long heard rumors about a special group of people in their country that had inherited the power to control the Great Wall. In the past, when humans stopped relying on the protection of Totem Beasts, the Great Wall was the most important line of defense protecting the Central Plain. Their ancestors used to face hordes or even kingdoms of demon creatures, so many people were confused about why they relied on such an ordinary-looking wall protecting the country during ancient times.

The territory of their country had expanded further north. Inner Mongolia was now part of their country. The Great Wall ended up as a line of defense within their country, and was no longer the northernmost defense of their country. On top of that, as time passed, the number of people that knew how to control the ancient defensive formation gradually decreased…

It explained why Bin Wei was so angry at Zhao Manyan’s comment at the beginning. It turned out that she was one of the successors who had inherited the power to control the Great Wall!

A person like her was indeed the best candidate to be the Commander of the Northguard Fortress!

“Who would have expected that our Northguard Fortress had such a powerful ancient wall as our defense, HAHAHA!” Chang Yi burst out laughing. The pressure and fear he felt from the undead had dissipated.

Many people were unaware of why the Northguard Fortress existed in the first place, until they witnessed the true appearance of the ancient wall today. The soldiers regained their confidence after seeing the spectacular defense, like a natural wall of mountains!

Many Mages had arrived above the ancient wall. When they glanced down from the wall, the Yoked were like a bunch of insects trying to climb up a steel barrel. They were unable to take a step further!

“Seal the gate!” Commander Bin Wei yelled. Her black pupils turned gray once again.

The entire Northguard Pass was only a few kilometers across, but the enormous dam that had emerged only covered a distance of two kilometers of that. The remaining ancient wall began to rise slowly on both sides under Bin Wei’s control, trapping the Yoked in an enclosed area.

The Yoked leading the army of undead numbered around eight hundred. They had no idea that they were being trapped by the sturdy walls, like an enemy troop being lured into an empty city. All three sides were huge and impassable walls. Their retreat was blocked off by Bin Wei’s Earth Spell, separating them from the army of undead and the Underworld Monarch Frog.

“The gravity inside the confined area will increase, they won’t be able to climb up the wall. The ancient wall won’t last for long. Use everything you have to eliminate them!” Commander Bin Wei stood on a demon lily as she gave the order.

After seeing how Bin Wei had controlled the ancient wall and trapped the enemy, the soldiers’ impression of their commander changed completely. It was easily the strongest Earth Magic in their country’s history, and not only had they witnessed it today, they were also fighting the enemy on the ancient wall. How could they not be excited about it?

It was necessary to provide Mages a safe environment to channel their spells. They did not have to worry about any threat while standing on the magnificent ancient wall. All they needed to do was blast the enemy with their spells and eliminate the undead that dared to invade their Northguard Fortress!

The Yoked that were trapped between the walls rammed into them recklessly, like headless flies. The Curses on their bodies faded away, as if they had lost the connection between them and the Underworld Monarch Frog.

When an Advanced Fire Spell poured down at the Yoked, the fierce flames burned several of them to death. The captain that cast the spell yelled excitedly, “Attack those whose Curses are starting to fade away, their defense is weaker!”

The other captains immediately ordered their troops to focus on the Yoked whose Curses had faded away. Those Yoked’s defenses were not as impressive as before. After a few waves of attacks, the undead were blasted to pieces by the intertwining lightning, fire, and wind!

“What’s going on?” The aide-de-camp was confused when he noticed the drop in the Yoked’s defense.

“I understand now! Those Curses must have enhanced these undeads defenses! Did you notice how similar the glowing Curses are to the Curses on the Underworld Monarch Frog? These Yoked are enslaved by the Underworld Monarch Frog, so the Curses must be something the Underworld Monarch Frog granted them to boost their defense! Once they lost their connection to the Underworld Monarch Frog, they are just a bunch of ordinary undead!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The Underworld Curses were similar to the Baxia Seal that he had obtained from the wooden clapper. The Baxia Seal was able to strengthen his defensive spells, endowing him with an outstanding defense.

Previously, the defenses and magic immunity of the Yoked were comparable to a Commander-level creature. The question was… were these low-level undead really that strong?

There had to be a reason behind it!

“I assume we can treat the Underworld Monarch Frog as the heart of a formation, and the Yoked are its lattice points. If the lattice points aren’t connected to the heart of the formation to maintain it, the Yoked that aren’t within the formation will lose the effects of the Curses! When the Yoked were trapped by the walls, and their movement was restricted by the increased gravity, they were no longer able to stay in formation with the rest of the army… I was wondering why they were advancing so slowly, when their speed wasn’t particularly slow. It seems it was because they were trying to stay inside the formation,” Lingling agreed after thinking.

If the Yoked were so strong that they were not even afraid of Super Spells, the undead would have overrun Egypt long ago. Lingling had been observing the undead since the battle began. Luckily, Commander Bin Wei had inherited the power of controlling the ancient wall. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to notice the undead’s weakness when they were advancing in such an orderly manner.

“So does that mean we should be able to eliminate them quickly, if we keep repeating the same tactic? Should we withdraw the evacuation order too?” the aide-de-camp asked.

Commander Bin Wei shook her head and said, “Look at the Underworld Monarch Frog.”

The soldiers were confused. The Underworld Monarch Frog was not really contributing; it was just ordering the Yoked to charge at the enemy. However, the Underworld Monarch Frog was moving very slowly. It had to rely on the Yoked to drag its extremely heavy body forward. If the Yoked stopped advancing, it would remain in the same spot.

In some ways, the Underworld Monarch Frog was not necessarily the greatest threat to them, if it relied on the Yoked to move around!

“I don’t think the Underworld Monarch Frog is a threat to us. It might have the presence of a Ruler-level creature, but the danger is mainly from the savage and brutal Yoked. I bet the Underworld Monarch Frog is just a mere display,” an advisor said.

“Chang Yi, engage the enemy, use all you have to eliminate them,” Commander Bin Wei placed Chang Yi in charge. She turned to the rest of the commanding authority and said, “You haven’t seen everything yet. Follow me.”

Bin Wei waved her hand without using any magic. A demon flower blossomed under their feet. Several vines rose rapidly, lifting the demon lily into the sky.

Zhao Manyan, Lingling, the aide-de-camp, and the advisors rose higher into the sky. The height of the ancient wall was around fifty meters. If they continued to rise, they would soon reach a height of a hundred meters…

Yellow dust lingered in the air. However, as the demon lily continued to rise, the dust gradually cleared up. The magnificent wall slowly faded into the distance below them, although its outline still served as a great contrast to the tiny undead.

The giant Underworld Monarch Frog was a lot smaller, too. The group could finally see the land behind it…

“Did you see it now?” Bin Wei said.

“Is…is that a chain?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in shock.

There was a chain coming out of the Underworld Monarch Frog’s body. It dangled above the vast yellow land, went past the hills, crossed a long ravine and spacious field shrouded by dust… it continued to extend into the distance, beyond their range of vision. They had no idea what the other end of the chain was connected to!

Everyone was already terrified when they saw the Yoked being chained to the Underworld Monarch Frog. To the advisors and the aide-de-camp’s surprise, the Underworld Monarch Frog was not the end of it. The Underworld Monarch Frog was dragging something too! The chain had gone beyond the horizon. It felt like there was something bigger and unknown slowly being dragged forth by the Yoked and the Underworld Monarch Frog, into the mundane world!

Zhao Manyan felt like his brain was about to explode!

What exactly was the thing behind the Underworld Monarch Frog!?

What kind of existence would a Ruler-level creature be hauling like a slave?

Chapter 1367 Adding Hail to Snow

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“We can’t let them continue to push forward. Heavens know what kind of devil the Underworld Monarch Frog and the Yoked are going to drag out of the Underworld. I’m afraid it’s something we wouldn’t stand a chance against,” Bin Wei said sternly.

“Something we wouldn’t stand a chance against…” the aide-de-camp murmured.

Similarly, the rest of the advisors had grim looks on their faces. The ancient Wall had finally given them a glimpse of hope in the battle. Little did they know there was something even scarier behind the Underworld Monarch Frog. It was easily the strongest enemy they had ever faced over the years they were stationed at the Northguard Fortress.

“We need backup,” Advisor Guang Ming spoke up quickly.

“I’ve already requested backup, but we received some bad news from the East while we were fighting the Yoked,” Bin Wei interjected.

The news had arrived just before the battle. Bin Wei was the General in charge of the fortress. Only people of her rank would receive the news.

“Some bad news? Could it be worse than these undead we are up against? These are creatures from the Underworld! Putting aside where they have come from, a single Ruler-level creature is enough reason for us to be on red alert. What exactly are those Magic Associations, Magic Clans, and the Government doing? Are they really waiting for us soldiers to be wiped out here so they can give us a heroic badge in honor of our sacrifices!?” the aide-de-camp exclaimed.

This invasion of Underworld Creatures was unprecedented. Shouldn’t the people of the Magic Association prioritize investigating the truth behind it?

If something like this was not their priority, what exactly were they busy with at the moment?

“I have no idea what happened exactly, but they didn’t send me any information. It was an order to deploy our troops,” Bin Wei said gravely.

“What?” the advisors exclaimed simultaneously.

Deploy our troops?

They were told to send their troops east?

Were they serious now? They were up against unknown creatures of the Underworld! They were in dire need of immediate backup, but not only were their superiors reluctant to send them backup, but they were ordering them to deploy their troop elsewhere instead? Were they seriously trying to get them wiped out?

“Are they asking us to abandon a dozen cities and the hundreds of towns behind us? Are they out of their minds!?” the aide-de-camp yelled. He could barely control his anger.

The demon lily descended back to the walls. The presence of magic lingered in their surroundings.

Words could not describe the expressions of the aide-de-camp and the advisors. Speaking of making things worse when they were already in a bind! No one spoke for a long time.

The only relief was Captain Chang Yi’s outstanding performance. Under his leadership, the Battlemages had eliminated the Yoked trapped by the walls. He also led the Summoner Troop and redeemed the morale they had lost after their humiliating defeat at the start of the battle!

Chang Yi might seem like a rough bloke, but he was meticulous when it came to fighting a battle. He did not send his men to pursue the Yoked outside the walls. He had noticed certain patterns to the Yoked by now. Even Advanced Spells had a hard time killing the Yoked whose defenses were enhanced by the glowing Curses.

He could not afford to rush the pace of the battle. The ancient Wall was still around. It was unwise to be overhasty when they had just regained their ground in the battle. It was important to observe the enemy and act accordingly.

“Chang Yi, well done!” Advisor Guang Ming complimented.

“Humph, these things only look scary and are abusing some misleading tricks. If we knew their weaknesses, we would definitely crush them all and force them to piss off back to the Underworld. We’ll teach them how inviolable the sacred land of our country is!” Chang Yi answered.

His men seemed to be in high spirits, too. Their gazes at Commander Bin Wei were full of respect.

She was clearly worthy to be their commander! The sturdy walls had taught the creatures of the Underworld how to stay dead. The walls had also allowed them to vent their grudge and frustrations too. They no longer felt as helpless as before!

“Chang Yi!” Commander Bin Wei said expressionlessly.

“Yes!” Chang Yi saluted. He could feel his blood boiling. He could not wait to receive his next order from the commander.

They were battling against creatures of the Underworld, and it even involved a Ruler-level creature. Chang Yi believed he could boast about it for the rest of his life if they managed to survive!

“You will lead the Fourth Troop of the Northguard Fortress and head east,” Commander Bin Wei informed him.

Everyone was stunned when they heard the order. Their faces filled with astonishment.

“Commander… did…did I hear it wrong?” Chang Yi replied softly, his expression weird.

“Lead the Fourth Troop of the Northguard Fortress and head east. Off you go, now!” Bin Wei repeated.

Chang Yi’s Vice Captains were immediately enraged. The one with the hottest temper among them pointed at Bin Wei and snapped furiously, “Are you out of your mind? We are still in a bad spot here, yet you are thinking of deploying us elsewhere? Are you worried that we’ll take all your glory? Our Summoner Troop has sacrificed so much! Some of our men even went down the walls to intercept the Yoked that tried to retreat to the Underworld Monarch Frog. We still don’t know if they are alive or not!

“What exactly did our Fourth Troop do that triggered you? Why must you trample our dignity like this!?”

Chang remained silent. He looked at Bin Wei, who remained expressionless while his Vice Captains continued to complain.

The soldiers were on the verge of losing their minds after hearing her decision. They had finally regained their morale from the Yoked, but now they were being deployed elsewhere. Did she not realize they were still in the middle of a battle!?

“Commander, are you sure about that?” Chang Yi asked.

“You heard the order,” Bin Wei replied.

“Alright, I’ll follow your order. My hometown, Yulin City is behind the Northguard Fortress. The city was told to evacuate, but they still need three days to fully evacuate the city. I can leave the fortress and head east, but if anything happens to Yulin City, I won’t forgive you, even if you are my general!” Chang Yi said with a reddened face.

The Vice Captains were surprised by Chang Yi’s decision. They all looked like they were about to go crazy.

Chang Yi yelled, signaling everyone to be quiet. “An order is an order! Fourth Troop, heed my call! Prepare to head east immediately,” Chang Yi took off his blood-soaked coat. He turned and headed down the walls.

“Don’t you worry. The only way these creatures will bring any harm to your city is over my dead body,” Bin Wei murmured, taking a deep breath and staring after Chang Yi as he left.

——

Chang Yi followed the bridge of vines and led the Fourth Troop back to the Northguard Fortress. He slammed his fist on the wall as he reached the fortress. The wall shook at the blow.

“Asshole, you’ve never treated her as your captain for so many years. Why are you following her order now! If something was to happen to Yulin… asshole, asshole!” Chang Yi cursed furiously, slamming his fists on the wall.

The Vice Captains’ hearts ached seeing their Captain in such pain. As they thought, the woman was holding a grudge against them for being disrespectful to her. She was envious of the Fourth Troop’s strength and bravery. She was planning to establish her own influence in the Northguard Fortress instead!

—

“Three days! I don’t care what’s behind the Underworld Monarch Frog, I will not let them cross for the next three days!” Bin Wei clenched her fists. She did not turn around and look at Chang Yi and his men.

What exactly had happened?

Bin Wei had no idea, but her superiors had ordered her to deploy troops to the east, even after knowing they were under attack by unknown creatures of the Underworld. It meant that something serious was about to happen!

The Northguard Fortress was facing the most difficult time in its history. If it wasn’t for the Great Wall, the soldiers of the Northguard Fortress would not have stood a chance against the Yoked. Not only did they fail to receive any backup, they even had to send their strongest troops away. How could Bin Wei not be disheartened by it?

However, no matter how disheartened she was or how grim the situation seemed, she had to guard the fortress. There were many cities behind them. The cities were not huge, and their defenses were not strong. The Northguard Fortress was the only protection they had. They could not afford to let any of the demon creatures pass!

“Where is your friend?” Bin Wei asked Zhao Manyan after calming down.

“Are you referring to Mo Fan?” Zhao Manyan asked. Bin Wei nodded.

Mo Fan had learned the Underworld Creatures would show up earlier than their sentries had, meaning that he must have some important information. Bin Wei desperately wanted to know how many Underworld Creatures they were facing, and where had they come from!

“We don’t know, either,” Lingling shook her head.

It had been some time since Mo Fan last contacted them. Lingling had no idea where Mo Fan was, nor if he was able to discover the Black Vatican.

“But I believe he’s trying his very best to stop them,” Lingling added.

Lingling was too familiar with Mo Fan. He would never back off. The unyielding spirit in his bones was hotter than flames. It might seem like the worst was already happening. The danger was hitting them in the face, but he must have done all he could to make the situation even worse…

“Mm, I believe in him, I’ll do my best to stop the Underworld Monarch Frog too,” Bin Wei nodded.

“Commander, I have a question,” Lingling asked.

“What is it?” Bin Wei looked at the Underworld Monarch Frog that had come to a halt.

It seemed like the Underworld Monarch Frog was intimidated by the sturdy walls after its loss. It did not launch another attack recklessly. It had given the soldiers of the Northguard Fortress some time to catch their breath.

“The Great Wall doesn’t only exist here in the Northguard Pass, right? There’s a part of it at the Ancient Capital, and I believe the Ancient Capital has someone like you who has inherited the power to control it. Why didn’t they use it as a defense during the Calamity of the Undead? Even though it wasn’t enough to stop the invasion completely, wouldn’t it still have bought some time for more people to evacuate to the inner city?” Lingling asked.

Bin Wei smiled wryly. She seemed reluctant to answer the question. After some time, she said, “Who do you think the person that built the Great Wall was?”

Lingling was stunned. Her face was filled with astonishment after she realized something. A brief statement taught in history class at school echoed in her mind.

The Ancient King, the greatest Mage in history, the inventor of the Undead Element, whose Earth Element had reached great heights, too…

Chapter 1368 The Lone Survivor Under the Condor

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Hall of the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple…

The mountain was drenched from the rain. The green plants were blown into pieces by the strong wind. They drifted aimlessly in the wind. They did not know when they would land on the soil again…

The clouds were hanging low in the sky. The Citadel of Athens had lost its brilliance, too. The usually colorful towers, buildings, and churches had turned gray. The peak of the Mountain of the Goddess almost touched the clouds.

Tata stood in a pavilion with white curtains. The curtains were swinging wildly, like a woman’s dress. She was staring at the candidate that had come from the east helplessly, as she had no idea how she could comfort her.

Tata had been with the Saintess for some time. The doubts, disdain, and difficulties she had gone through personally never left her so depressed. There was only one thing that would turn her into an ordinary girl who could not help but worry, panic, and have bad thoughts.

“Now that I’ve met him, I know he isn’t someone that will easily place his life in fate’s hands. I told you he would live a long life, didn’t I? You don’t have to worry so much about him,” Tata finally said in a slightly superstitious manner.

“In the past, he always joked with me about a different world. He told me there are no demon creatures in that world. Everything that we are devoting our time to now is just superstitious beliefs in that world. People in that world used knowledge to change their lives instead… who exactly invented magic, invented destruction, and the power to casually decide a person’s life and death?…” Xinxia asked.

For some reason, Xinxia had started to yearn for the world that Mo Fan told her about, but she would feel depressed when she realized it was just something that Mo Fan came up with to cheer her up. No matter how realistic he sounded, no matter how he described the world as if he had actually been to it before, everything he was doing now was against what he believed in. He kept roaming between the boundaries of life and death, he kept resisting, from poverty and his humble status in the past to the cruel merciless devils of the Black Vatican now…

He always argued he treated his life very preciously. If he knew he could not win, he would definitely run away just to stay alive… but what was he doing now? In the past, when she was not around, she would automatically ignore what he had been through whenever she saw him returning safely in one piece. For example, during the Calamity of Bo City, when she was hiding in the freezer, she only saw him coming to save her life, but she did not see how he had snuck past the demon creatures along the way, the dangerous situations he was in, and the number of demon creatures chasing after him…

But now, ever since Xinxia had shared her heart with Little Flame Belle, she could clearly sense his presence, whether it was strong or weak. She could even capture some of his emotions, be it anger, joy, or discontent…

Currently, Mo Fan’s presence was extremely weak. It was worse than his condition after the fight with Bei Jiang. Even Little Flame Belle had reached her limit.

He was not dead, but Xinxia could tell with Little Flame Belle’s help that he was lying in a pile of corpses. He was so worn out that he could not even move his body. If someone from the Black Vatican showed up, he would die for sure.

How could she not be worried?

Unfortunately, she had no idea where he was.

Tata believed it was meaningless for her to constantly worry about Mo Fan. She tried using other things to divert her attention. She said, “Our people have found out that Izisha’s resurrection has nothing to do with the Parthenon Temple’s Spell of Resurrection. I noticed a strange scent from her before. If I’m not mistaken, her resurrection must have something to do with the Pharaoh Spring. Didn’t Egypt’s national team perform brilliantly during the World College Tournament? They must have relied on the Pharaoh Spring to keep Summoning their undead. It’s likely that Izisha was using Egypt’s evil magic…”

—

—

Dust was continuously being swept into the air. A loess would end up as barren land with jagged edges after being exposed to strong winds for a certain period. As time passed, they would turn into rocks, deserts, or badlands…

The dust was being blown away by the wind. The land looked like irregular boulders spread across a vast land from afar. The boulders were smeared with blood that even the wind had failed to erase. It slowly dissolved into the harsh yellow soil.

Over a hundred corpses were scattered across the place. Most of them were blown to pieces, only a few were barely intact. The area was full of holes, including ravines that were still burning, and pits scorched by lightning. There was also a kilometer of ice that had not fully melted yet…

A pack of condors was circling in the dim sky. They were low-level creatures, absolutely terrified by the destruction that had occurred in the area, but they eventually returned after everything returned to calm. Their need for food was stronger than their fear of destruction.

They circled in the air for some time to confirm there was no movement in the area, and slowly descended to the ground.

A rather bold Gray Condor landed on the ground and pecked the corpse of a man in a black outfit hungrily. The man’s chest already had a hole in it, and the condor immediately tasted the freshness of his flesh. The condor was so satisfied that it started beating its wings.

The rest of the condors landed on the ground and began to enjoy the feast after seeing their companion was perfectly fine.

Suddenly, a condor cried and flew back up into the sky in fear.

It had noticed that one of the bodies was still alive…

However, a few other condors noticed that the guy was no different than a corpse. They boldly went up to him.

A condor pecked at the man’s face and left a bloody wound on it. The other condors quickly came over, trying to peck the man to death. The man’s face was soon damaged beyond recognition.

The man simply laid still while the condors were pecking at his face.

He was able to move his hand, yet he did not drive the condors away. He surprisingly grabbed a gray-blue outfit from one of the corpses nearby and slowly put it on. He used his finger to guide the dark energy and swipe his nail across his chest…

His chest began to bleed, attracting a few other condors over. They started pecking at his chest fiercely, leaving him bloody.

The condors were not fond of corpses. They preferred eating living things that were about to die, as the flesh was fresher!

—

A condor acting as a sentry screeched suddenly. The condors that were enjoying their food quickly flew into the sky and fled for their lives.

Not long after, a man and a woman in gray-blue outfits showed up. They glanced at the corpses lying across the place. The man harrumphed coldly, “We didn’t expect the Enforcement Union to be watching us so closely.”

“Luckily, the Chief Extraditor was being extremely cautious. He didn’t receive the Shepherd and Blue Deacon Eagle Eye right away. Otherwise, things would have been a lot worse. The Cold Prince will surely feel it to be a waste now that they are both dead,” the woman said.

“The Shepherd was one of the best Extraditors we had. It’s quite a surprise that he was killed. It seems like the Enforcement Union sent out an expert this time,” the man said.

“Yeah, they even killed so many of our people,” the woman agreed.

“Let’s go, I believe we’ve already thrown them off…” the man said.

“What should we do with the corpses?” the woman asked.

“Don’t worry about them. The condors will clean them up for us. Besides, we have something important to do, don’t we?” the man said.

“Yeah, it’s a mission that Unas assigned to us personally…” the woman said.

“I wonder when the Cold Prince will assign us a mission himself. It would mean we have successfully made a name for ourselves, hahaha!” the man sighed.

The two were having a pleasant conversation while facing the corpses. They clearly had no mercy for their fallen comrades.

A moan came from the corpses as they were about to leave.

The woman had better hearing, and quickly turned around. She hurried over to the man, whose face was chewed up beyond recognition after being pecked at by the condors.

“There’s one alive still,” the woman said.

“Oh?” The man came over too.

They did not lend the man a hand right away, but inspected him thoroughly first.

“He’s a Blue Deacon too!” the woman observed. She proceeded to undo his shirt to reveal his chest.

To her surprise, the man’s chest was covered in bloody holes left by the condors. The condors had almost stabbed through his heart. However, she could vaguely see a seal among the wounds.

“The condors have messed up his seal. He must be one of us, but I can’t figure out his codename,” the woman said confidently.

“Are you sure?” the man asked.

“I am,” the woman nodded.

“Ask him for his codename,” the man said.

“Can he really answer us in such condition?” the woman had to ask.

“It depends on him now. If he can’t say his codename, we have no choice but to kill him. The Chief Extraditor doesn’t want anyone left alive,” the man stated heartlessly.

The woman went closer. The man’s face was heavily ruined. Blood was pouring out of his eyes, mouth, and face…

However, the Blue Deacons would not recognize one another unless they were on the same mission. Therefore, it did not really matter if the man’s face was beyond recognition.

The man began to panic when he heard he would die if he did not give them his codename. He tried his very best to open his mouth and say something.

“North…Northdeer…” The man finally used all his might to say his codename.

“Ah, it’s Northdeer… Master Cold Prince mentioned him before. He’s a reliable and intelligent new recruit. He was promoted to a Blue Deacon in just a few years!” The woman seemed to have heard of the codename before.

“It’s him, even though I’ve never met him… how miserable, those petty condors almost ate him alive, hehe,” the man said mockingly, instead of showing any pity.

“Should we save him?” The woman did not truly care.

“Sure, we just happen to need some help. We can’t just leave our comrade to die here,” the man said ironically.

One could easily tell from his expression that he was not really willing to save the man. However, knowing how difficult their mission was, he believed having an extra Blue Deacon would significantly increase the odds of them completing the mission, so he decided to save the man. He did not want to mess up the first mission that Unas personally assigned them, since Unas was the closest person to the Cold Prince!

Chapter 1369 Blue Deacon Mo Fan

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan thought he was lying on his own bed when he woke up. He had not fallen fully unconscious since he started cultivating magic. Normally, he would retain consciousness while he was meditating or resting, to make sure he did not get hit by a meteorite, ambushed by dark magic, or have his throat slit by the Black Vatican…

Surprisingly, the place he had the best sleep at was not at home, but a bed that the people of the Black Vatican had arranged for him…

“You’re awake?” a woman asked gently.

Mo Fan opened his eyes and immediately felt great pain. His eyes still had the injuries left by the pecks of the condors that almost ate them. The wounds were clearly still recovering, as he was unable to fully open his eyes. He could only squint, and in the little gap, see a beautiful and mature woman who was most likely less than thirty. Her faint smile was friendly and warm.

Mo Fan immediately recognized the woman as the female Blue Deacon when he heard her voice. He did not expect the woman to look so harmless. He wondered how many innocent people had died to this woman and her kind, innocent face to get her promoted to a Blue Deacon.

“Thanks, you saved my life,” Mo Fan rasped.

“Don’t worry about it, we are in this together. My partner has already left. I’m on standby here. There’s nothing much to do for now, why don’t we take a walk around? It might help with your recovery,” the Blue Deacon said.

Mo Fan rose to his feet. He still could not open his eyes. He touched his face and found it was full of scars. They did not wrap his face in bandages. He must be very ugly now.

“Your face was destroyed by the condors’ poisonous saliva. Normal Healing spells won’t repair your face. After we are done here, you can switch to a different identity and visit the Parthenon Temple. You can regain your face there. That being said, you have to be extremely careful. Another Candidate is now in charge of the Parthenon Temple. She hates us to the guts,” the woman told him patiently.

“It’s good to know that my face can be recovered. Speaking of which, I didn’t have a chance to report back to the Chief Extraditor…” Mo Fan blurted out.

“The Chief Extraditor has asked us to clean the mess up. Anyone left alive will be allocated to us. You’re quite lucky that you’re still alive. By the way, who exactly was the person from the Enforcement Union that you stumbled into? So many Blue Deacons and Black Clergy were killed. The Shepherd was an expert among the Extraditors!” the female Blue Deacon asked.

“We didn’t stumble into someone from the Enforcement Union. It was a young man. He seemed to have been following the Shepherd for some time. He attacked us when the Shepherd was Summoning the second and third Underworld Monarch Frogs. He was very strong. I thought I was dead for sure…” Mo Fan said.

“You’re really lucky. The lightning bolt that went through your body didn’t hit any of your organs. I bet the guy assumed you were dead. If we arrived just a bit late, you would have ended up being eaten by the condors too! I bet it felt terrible back then,” the woman said.

Mo Fan chuckled and said, “I couldn’t really feel anything. I only knew there were lots of things on me…”

“I’m surprised you can still laugh after all that.” The woman was amused too. How cheerful was he?

“What’s your name?” Mo Fan asked.

“Blue Bat,” the woman said.

“Oh, I wasn’t asking for your codename,” Mo Fan said.

The woman was startled. She slightly moved her gaze away when she saw the man staring at her. She said softly, “That’s very sudden of you. You know that we aren’t allowed to ask each other’s names.”

“I’m Northdeer, my true name is Fan Mo,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m Blue Bat, true name… my true name…” the woman could see the sincere look in the man’s half-open eyes. She hesitated for a moment and said, “Just call me Blue Bat.”

“How many have you killed?” Mo Fan added.

The woman was stunned. She was struggling to keep up with Mo Fan’s thoughts. She said after some time, “One.”

“One? How did you become a Blue Deacon?” Mo Fan was surprised. The woman did not sound like she was lying.

“Many lives were cheap, a thousand lives might even be less valuable than one. The person I killed was the general in charge of an important shoreline fortress at the Mediterranean Sea,” Blue Bat said.

“The Red Sea Ceremony?” Mo Fan asked. He knew that the Black Vatican referred to their gory achievements as ceremonies.

“Mm,” Blue Bat nodded.

“I didn’t take part in it. How did you do it?” Mo Fan asked.

“The general was my husband,” Blue Bat stated.

Mo Fan was slightly surprised. He glanced at the beautiful mature woman and grinned after some time, “So, does that mean you’re single now?”

Blue Bat opened her mouth and stared at Mo Fan like he was a weirdo. She eventually giggled, displaying the charm of a mature-looking yet inexperienced woman.

“Let’s go for a walk. Didn’t you say I should be walking more?” Mo Fan said.

“Alright,” Blue Bat helped Mo Fan up. As they headed toward the exit, she suddenly stared at Mo Fan sternly as a thought crossed her mind.

Mo Fan’s heart shuddered. He immediately had a bad feeling.

Since he was a fake, he had been asking the woman a lot of questions preemptively to prevent the woman from asking him some tricky questions.

“How many have you killed?” Blue Bat asked.

Mo Fan did not show it, even though he was relieved on the inside. He grinned again, “So many that I can no longer keep count of them. Most of them were my associates. It’s the quickest way to climb the ranks.”

“Oh, then we are one of a kind,” Blue Bat said.

Mo Fan understood what she was referring to. He kept smiling.

The woman was not suspicious of his identity at all. As he thought, after losing his handsome and righteous face, he looked more like an unforgivable crook!

“Where are we?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan found himself in an ordinary-looking village when he came outside.

Many villages in the north were located in rather remote places because of the fortress. The main threat to the villages were the Beijiang Desolate Beasts. Since the fortress kept the Beijiang Desolate Beasts outside the Great Wall, these villagers remained outside the safe zone to make a living. They mainly focused on planting fruits, herbs, and plants that would only grow in certain soils.

There were lots of villages, towns, and small cities warded by the Northguard Fortress. The people were swiftly evacuated to the south as soon as they received the evacuation order.

Feihuang City was located further south. It was the defensive centerpoint of the military, magic, and economy in the north. It also had underground bunkers that could hold the residents of the cities protected by the Northguard Fortress. If the Northguard Fortress was overrun, the underground bunkers were the safest option for the people in the North Valley.

“Liyan Village,” Blue Bat said.

“Are you here to open the Underworld Gate to summon the Underworld Monarch Frog?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s none of your concern,” Blue Bat replied.

“Oh, I will take that as a yes,” Mo Fan said.

“Didn’t the Chief Extraditor teach you not to ask about your associates’ jobs?” Blue Bat snapped.

“It doesn’t really matter. I’ll get rid of the rule when I become the Chief Extraditor in the future. We are all working for the Church. We should be united and helping one another out. If we keep splitting up into smaller groups, it’s easier for the enemy to take us out one at a time. It’s also very difficult to find out if anyone from the Enforcement Union or those that are against us has infiltrated the Church. Let’s hope they haven’t gotten access to our superiors,” Mo Fan said indifferently.

“You’re pretty bold, aren’t you? You would lose your head if the Chief Extraditor heard what you just said. Why do I feel like you’re more like a spy instead? You aren’t following the rules, and you keep talking nonsense too!” Blue Bat said.

“I’m only being honest. I do hope the Church can grow and become stronger, but our system is a little too conservative,” Mo Fan replied, as if he had great insight into the big picture.

Blue Bat was left speechless by Mo Fan’s words. She continued bringing Mo Fan around and seeing if the people in the village had been evacuated.

—

After some time, Blue Bat discovered that some of the villages were only being evacuated tonight. Many older folks were unwilling to leave, as they did not want to give up their land. To them, giving up on the crops that they had invested so much in to make a living was no different than taking their lives.

Fortunately, the officials had forcibly dragged those old folks away. However, it also meant it would take them more time to evacuate the villages.

Mo Fan did some observing, too. By the looks of it, he was afraid it would take five days before the people behind the Northguard Fortress were evacuated to Feihuang City…

Mo Fan began to panic. The Northguard Fortress was clearly short on numbers. If a second Underworld Monarch Frog showed up, it would surely trample the fortress to the ground. The Yoked would reap human lives across the land like crops!

“Ah, there’s a kid here,” Blue Bat saw a kid around the age of seven sleeping in a pile of straw in the village.

The kid was most likely an orphan. No one had noticed he was not with the people that were being evacuated.

“Since he’s going to die eventually, I’ll send him on his way instead to save him the pain,” Mo Fan smiled, and approached the kid that was fast asleep.

“Don’t, it will expose our identities. How the hell did you even become a Blue Deacon?” Blue Bat advised him.

“Hehe,” Mo Fan let out a hollow laugh. He glanced further north and saw the ghostly light flickering in the night sky.

Mo Fan frowned. It seemed like the other Blue Deacon was already Summoning the Underworld Gate…

He had to find a way to stop him. Otherwise, everyone in this village, which was being evacuated at the speed of a donkey, was going to die!

Chapter 1370 The Seven Ghosts

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Is that the Underworld Monarch Frog, too?” Mo Fan asked, pointing at the deathly light in the night sky.

“I told you it’s none of your concern!” Blue Bat seemed a little angry.

However, she was not suspicious at all. Those that were capable in the Black Vatican were normally inclined to act as they pleased.

“I’ll take that as a yes then! I’m looking forward to it!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Looking forward to what?” Blue Bat asked in a confused voice.

“Aren’t you looking forward to seeing what kind of ceremony our Master Cold Prince prepared for us? Aren’t you interested in what the Underworld Monarch Frogs are pulling?” Mo Fan asked like a typical maniac.

“I guess,” Blue Bat answered casually.

Mo Fan had yet to recover his strength, due to his injuries. It was unlikely he could stop the Underworld Monarch Frog.

Mo Fan was confident that there was more than one Underworld Monarch Frog. The members of the Black Vatican were sent to different locations to summon the Underworld Monarch Frogs!

Each Underworld Monarch Frog had around two thousand Yoked under its command. These Yoked were a lot stronger than ordinary undead. They were like an army of undead marching toward the Central Plain.

The Yoked already posed a great threat to the Central Plain, but Mo Fan was more worried about whatever existed at the end of the chains that the Underworld Monarch Frogs were tied to. Mo Fan had yet to see any true authority of the Black Vatican. He was sure people like the Chief Extraditor, Unas, and the Cold Prince were responsible for this conspiracy. These Blue Deacons he had stumbled into were just a minor part of it.

It was like the chains around the Underworld Monarch Frogs. The Yoked were leading at the front, followed by the Underworld Monarch Frogs that were mostly still in the Underworld. There was something even deadlier behind the Underworld Monarch Frogs!

Mo Fan could not afford to expose himself yet. There was more than one Underworld Monarch Frog. Taking one of them out would only delay the Black Vatican’s plan a little. It was meaningless.

Northdeer was not a codename he had randomly come up with. As a matter of fact, it was an important agent that Leng Qing had managed to identify inside the Black Vatican. It was not just a person, but a codename. The people of the Black Vatican knew the codename, and it seemed to be quite reputable.

Leng Qing had managed to learn the codename. She could have used it to escape the hunt, but she chose not to. When Mo Fan was pursuing the Shepherd and Cheng Ying, the person with the codename noticed Mo Fan and identified himself as Northdeer. To successfully infiltrate the Black Vatican, Mo Fan had gone all out and killed every member of the Black Vatican sent by the Chief Extraditor, including the Shepherd, Cheng Ying, and Northdeer!

Mo Fan was truly worn out after the battle, but he had purposely endured the pain from the pecking of the condors…

There was more than one Underworld Monarch Frog. The Shepherd and Cheng Ying were only a part of the conspiracy. Mo Fan knew the risk of being exposed if he used the codename Northdeer and infiltrated the Black Vatican, but he had no choice but to take it!

The trail that Leng Qing followed had ended at the codename Northdeer, so Mo Fan had no idea where to start. The dangers waiting ahead were completely unknown. Mo Fan had no choice but to continue with his disguise until he learned the Black Vatican’s final plan…

Luckily, the Cold Prince’s way of doing things was not as confusing as Salan’s. Even if Mo Fan managed to disguise himself as a Blue Deacon when Salan’s conspiracy was in motion, it was very likely that he would still have no idea what she was up to, since the key to her conspiracy was a cold rain that could occur at any time!

“I feel sorry for these people. Look, that farmer doesn’t even know where he should be going,” Blue Bat said mockingly, staring at one of the farmers.

Mo Fan was surprised after he took a glance at the farmer.

“Is your job just to stand here and watch?” Mo Fan asked.

“I told you it’s none of your concern!” Blue Bat snapped.

“Let’s take a look over there. Maybe a little accident is going to happen,” Mo Fan said, pointing at the vague deathlight in the distance.

Blue Bat hesitated for a while before nodding.

The two approached the deathlight. The Ritual was being conducted behind a barren hill. It was impossible to tell the difference between the deathlight and the night sky without taking a close look at it.

Mo Fan picked up an unpleasant scent after crossing the hill. It was most likely the unique smell of the Dark Beast Monsters and Cursed Beasts, a stench that gave him an urge to massacre them all on the spot!

Mo Fan and Blue Bat continued on. Since they were both Blue Deacons, the Black Clergy at the entrance fell to their knees and submitted to them. The strong disparities between the ranks in the Black Vatican were similar to feudalism!

Mo Fan played the part of Northdeer, who was known for his strange behavior, perfectly. When he walked past, he stomped on the head of a Black Clergy whom he found to be an eyesore, slamming the Black Clergy’s head to the ground.

“What are you doing?” Blue Bat said disgustedly.

“Didn’t you see? Everyone else’s heads are almost sticking to the ground, but his was still ten centimeters above it. He doesn’t respect us enough,” Mo Fan replied indifferently.

The rest of the Black Clergy immediately dropped their heads lower after witnessing Mo Fan’s violence. They did not even dare to look at Mo Fan’s shoes.

The face of the Black Clergy whom Mo Fan had stomped on was covered in blood. He did not dare say a single word or resist despite the grudge he was holding.

“When you’ve reached my rank, you can step on whoever’s face as you please, including mine…” Mo Fan let out a hollow laugh and strutted past the Black Clergy.

Blue Bat was left speechless. She waved her hand, signaling one of her men to carry the injured man away.

—

As they kept going, they finally saw more Blue Deacons. Countless curse marks were floating in the air behind the barren hill. They were aligned in a strange Star Palace and assembling a gate connecting the different dimensions.

The gate was still being constructed. It looked like a magnificent project. Mo Fan had already seen something similar being done by the Shepherd and Cheng Ying, whom he had conveniently killed.

However, someone had Summoned an Underworld Monarch Frog before them. Mo Fan was unable to stop it. He could only inform Zhao Manyan urgently, hoping that the fortress could stop it…

“You seem to have left your post?” a hoarse voice spoke up.

Mo Fan saw a Blue Deacon talking to him. He immediately recognized the man as the Blue Deacon who was with Blue Bat previously by his voice. His rank seemed to be a little higher…

The man looked at Mo Fan and chuckled when he saw his scarred face, “How does it feel to have your face destroyed?”

“Not too bad, at least Blue Bat still thinks I’m charming!” Mo Fan chuckled back.

They were both Blue Deacons, so it was unnecessary to be courteous to one another. Since the man had agreed to take him in, they were now associates, even though the man was still in command.

“We’ve investigated the village. There isn’t anyone suspicious,” Blue Bat said.

“Violet Ghost.” The man reached his hand out like a gentleman.

“Northdeer.” Mo Fan placed his hands behind his head. He completely ignored Violet Ghost’s friendly gesture.

“I know…” Violet Ghost stared at Mo Fan closely. He seemed to be a little suspicious.

Violet Ghost was obviously a lot more scheming than the naive Blue Bat. He did not trust Mo Fan fully. He might believe Mo Fan was Northdeer, but he was used to suspecting everyone around him after so many years. It had helped him to expose many people who were trying to infiltrate them. Violet Ghost had been entrusted with the task of ferreting out the spies among them for a long time. He tortured them for years…

“How’s the progress?” Mo Fan asked.

“Better than your group; at least we won’t be wiped out,” Violet Ghost glanced at a few of the Mages who were setting up the magic formation.

These Mages were sacrificing their souls to open a gate connected to the Underworld. It was necessary to sacrifice a few lives. These Mages were extremely fanatical. They were willing to sacrifice themselves for the Church, in exchange for a formidable status in the kingdom of the dead!

The truth was, most Blue Deacons did not believe in the idea. They only believed in the Red Cardinals; the Disciples and Clergy were under their control, people whom they could order around like slaves!

The Blue Deacons treated their own lives preciously, but they were crueler than anyone!

“We can only blame it on the Shepherd for being an idiot. He didn’t even know he was being followed. Luckily, the Chief Extraditor was able to predict it…” Mo Fan said.

“Oh? So you’re one of the Chief Extraditor’s men? What is he called?” Violet Ghost squinted and asked.

“You really got me there! Maybe I’m from the Enforcement Union, since I really have no idea what his name is, but that would also mean everyone here is from the Enforcement Union, since none of you know his name either…” Mo Fan replied.

“I’m not asking for his name!” Violet Ghost snarled.

“Oh, Crimson Ghost,” Mo Fan replied casually.

Violet Ghost was startled. He soon burst out laughing. His doubts were all gone.

Mo Fan was relieved when he saw the man lowering his guard.

Luckily he had learned the Chief Extraditor’s codename when he was eavesdropping on the conversation between Cheng Ying and the Chief Extraditor in the cave. Otherwise, his identity would definitely have been exposed by the suspicious Blue Deacon!

“Are you one of the Chief Extraditor’s men too, Violet Ghost?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, I’m one of the Seven Ghosts,” Violet Ghost said.

The Cold Prince had Seven Ghosts under his lead. Among them, Crimson Ghost was the Chief Extraditor, while Orange Ghost, Yellow Ghost, Green Ghost, Blue Ghost, Indigo Ghost, and Violet Ghost were all Deacons and Great Deacons, their power slightly higher than the normal Blue Deacons.

“No wonder you’re ranked the lowest…” Mo Fan chuckled when he saw the proud look on Violet Ghost’s face.

“What did you just say!?” Violet Ghost’s expression shifted. A murderous aura burst out of his body like a storm.

“Calm down. I’ll tell you something to thank you for saving my life,” Mo Fan continued.

“Humph, if it’s some kind of nonsense, I’ll feed you to the condors and make sure not even a single bone is left!” Violet Ghost promised.

“I saw an old farmer roaming aimlessly around in a panic, yet he seems to be heading this way. Are the men that you’ve arranged to be on guard just for display?” Mo Fan inquired.

Violet Ghost looked at Blue Bat. The woman nodded, indicating that she had seen the old farmer, too.

“Is there something wrong about him?” Blue Bat asked.

“He’s from the Enforcement Union!” Mo Fan stated.

Chapter 1371 Fighting a Lone Battle

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Blue Bat and Violet Ghost were shocked, but the latter was able to keep his calm. He asked in a solemn voice, “How did you know?”

“I killed his female associate and forced him to eat her heart. I was quite enjoying myself, but he managed to run away while I was being careless,” Mo Fan chuckled. The Black Clergy nearby shivered in fear upon seeing his smile.

This Northdeer was clearly insane!

Violet Ghost believed in Mo Fan. He glared at his men.

“How did the Enforcement Union find us!?” Violet Ghost hissed.

Violet Ghost did not suspect Mo Fan. First of all, Mo Fan had been unconscious and half-dead. It was impossible for him to lead the Enforcement Union to them. Secondly, if Mo Fan had really brought the Enforcement Union to them, why would he bother telling them now, just to earn their trust? It was meaningless.

“I’ll deal with him. Now that I’ve joined you, I must show you how valuable I am,” Mo Fan said to Violet Ghost.

“Alright, but don’t make a move unless it’s necessary. Let’s see how many people they have,” Violet Ghost said cautiously.

The place was no longer safe if the people of the Enforcement Union were aware of their location. Violet Ghost immediately stopped the Summoning of the Underworld Gate and ordered his men to relocate the magic formation.

The Black Clergy stayed to protect the Mages who were in charge of the magic formation. They left under Violet Ghost’s lead.

The group began to withdraw, but Blue Bat remained beside Mo Fan.

“I’ll come with you,” Blue Bat said.

“Sure, as long as you can keep up with me,” Mo Fan grinned indifferently.

Before Blue Bat could react, she saw Mo Fan’s grin slowly turning into a black puff of smoke. When she took a closer look, there was only a black mist scattering in the air, with no sign of Mo Fan.

Blue Bat wanted to follow him, but he was just too quick for her. Left with no choice, she could only follow Violet Ghost and the others who were relocating to another place.

Opening the Underworld Gate was not a simple task, so they could not afford to be disturbed at all. Since the people of the Enforcement Union had shown up, there was no way Violet Ghost would stay in the same spot.

That being said, Violet Ghost did not trust Mo Fan completely. However, while they were withdrawing from the place, the informer that Violet Ghost had planted close to the Enforcement Union told him a bunch of Enforcers were on their way to his location. Violet Ghost was even more convinced that Mo Fan was Northdeer. He was also glad that he had decided to save Mo Fan’s life, as he ended up saving his own life too!

—

Mo Fan had Fiendish Night. Even a Super Mage would struggle to avoid being tracked by him, let alone a normal Enforcer.

An Enforcer’s rank was higher than a regular member of the Enforcement Union. They were usually more experienced and stronger than regular members of the Enforcement Union, and were entrusted with special missions.

Mo Fan had met the Enforcer before. He was one of He Feikun’s associates, who had come to bring the mentally-unstable old herdsman away.

Mo Fan was clear on the overall strength of He Feikun’s squad. If they were thinking of taking out this force of the Black Vatican led by Violet Ghost on their own, they were most likely going to be wiped out instead!

As such, Mo Fan did not expose them to set them up. He was saving their lives! Violet Ghost was no weaker than him, and had four other Blue Deacons with him, including Blue Bat, whose strength remained unknown, not to mention around a hundred Black Clergy. He Feikun would only stand a chance if he brought along a Vice Elder of the Enforcement Union. Otherwise, he was only going to get himself killed!

—

“What are you looking for?” an eerie voice appeared behind Jiang Lin. He quickly turned around in a cold sweat.

He saw a man in a blue outfit, their face full of scars. Most importantly, it felt like something was grabbing onto him firmly. His mouth was covered by two hands, preventing him from screaming for help…

When Jiang Lin stopped panicking, he was shocked to see that his own shadow was grabbing onto him!

-What kind of ability is this?- Jiang Lin had never seen an ability like this before. He stared at the Blue Deacon with wide eyes. He could feel his death approaching.

“Don’t panic, listen to me carefully,” Mo Fan smiled. He knew the smile on his current face would not seem too friendly, nor was it any convincing, but this was where his temperament came into play. He believed he could explain the situation to the man in the shortest time possible, “You’re with He Feikun, right? I’m the Tree of Oath.”

“Tree of Oath?” Jiang Lin was astounded when he heard the name.

The Tree of Oath was the Enforcement Union’s secret code. Even though there was a chance that the Black Vatican had figured it out somehow, the mention of the name could still ease the atmosphere slightly.

“You do know that it’s very easy for me to kill you,” Mo Fan continued calmly.

Jiang Lin nodded. He believed in his instincts. If his shadow stabbed him with its claws, he could not even struggle. He was an Advanced Mage, but he had a feeling that the man could kill him as easy as the flip of his hand!

“How many men do you have?” Mo Fan asked.

“He Feikun is in charge; there are three Enforcers, including me, and ten other members of the Enforcement Union,” Jiang Lin said honestly.

“It’s not enough. The enemy has more, and Violet Ghost is among them, too. Take your men and leave, I’ll stay on the trail,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had two plans in mind. If the Enforcement Union had enough people, he would immediately lead them to Violet Ghost and take the Black Vatican out. He would then put up an act and save both Violet Ghost and Blue Bat so they would lead him to the Chief Extraditor and Unas, who were the closest to the Cold Prince.

If the Enforcement Union’s numbers were not enough, Mo Fan would advise them to leave. First, they would only end up dying if they were to engage the enemy. Second, he had already earned Violet Ghost’s trust. This group of the Black Vatican was only a part of the conspiracy. Taking them out now might even mess up his plan!

“What should I tell He Feikun? He’s a very impatient guy,” Jiang Lin said.

“He’s an idiot. It’s only going to mess up the whole operation. Tell him the Black Vatican isn’t here. They had already withdrawn when you arrived,” Mo Fan told him.

Jiang Lin nodded. If he told He Feikun everything, the man would never believe what Mo Fan said. He would lead his men and come here right away. Jiang Lin had worked with He Feikun for a long time, and was extremely familiar with his character. Mo Fan had also met He Feikun at the hospital. He knew how stubborn and arrogant the man was, definitely not the kind to achieve great things.

“May I ask who you are… you must be one of the respectful seniors if you managed to sneak into the Black Vatican as a Blue Deacon?” Jiang Lin asked.

Mo Fan shook his head with a wry smile.

Mo Fan was just a nobody. Taking the identity of Northdeer was made possible by sacrificing endless lives. Even Leng Qing, an Elder of the Enforcement Union, had ‘died’ to preserve it. Mo Fan only happened to be the last person receiving the baton. The people might cheer him for making it to the finishing line, but they would completely forget about the others that were panting heavily while lying on the spots where they passed on the baton.

“What is happening in the east?” Mo Fan asked as he recalled something.

“We don’t know either. Our superiors ordered us to work together with the Preventive Committee and deal with the members of the Black Vatican that are hiding here. However, during this period, many fortresses have dispatched their troops to the east. Senior, what’s happening here?” Jiang Lin asked.

“We only found out that the Black Vatican is Summoning creatures from the Underworld to invade our land… yet the majority of the troops are being sent east, where a great storm is coming, further weakening our defense. Speaking of adding hail to snow!” Mo Fan sighed.

Mo Fan was angry, too. The information he had gathered was enough to prove that the Cold Prince was up to something, yet the backup he requested never arrived. The members of the Enforcement Union that had been sent here were clearly nowhere enough!

It was like a rat plague was about to happen. The streets were already crawling with rats, but not only was the government reluctant to act, the authorities were placing their attention somewhere else instead. How could he not be disappointed?

However, how could Mo Fan withdraw after learning what was happening?

His face was calm, but his rage had erupted like a volcano when he learned how the Black Vatican had brutally massacred the people of the Qiqige Tribe, let alone the slaughter they were planning to bring to the cities warded by the Northguard Fortress!

There was no backup and response from the authorities. If he gave up, the whole land would turn into Hell. The people being evacuated to Feihuang City would be trampled to death by the creatures of the Underworld!

Mo Fan might be disappointed, but he had no choice but to clench his teeth and stay on the trail. Once he was done here, he swore he would punch the cold-hearted authorities in the face!

“Don’t tell anyone you saw me,” Mo Fan said.

Jiang Lin nodded. He knew not everyone in the Enforcement Union was trustworthy.

“Can you please pass on a message to Commander Zhang Xiaohou at the Ancient Capital? Tell him to convince the remaining army in the North Valley to hold their line of defense at all costs,” Mo Fan said.

“I give you my word, senior…senior, is the situation really that serious?” Jiang Lin asked seriously.

The line of defense at the North Valley…

The scale of the battle sounded like nothing he had been through. He could not help but doubt if the Black Vatican could really stir up something so crazy.

“I really don’t want to see an entire city stacked up with dead bodies again,” Mo Fan replied.

“Is senior a survivor of the Ancient Capital? Senior, don’t you worry, we will not let the Black Vatican get its way, I swear on my life!” Jiang Lin swore.

Mo Fan was slightly relieved after seeing Jiang Lin’s determination. It turned out that he was not fighting a lone battle, after all!

“I’ll be going,” Mo Fan said.

“Take care, senior,” Jiang Lin replied.

“You too.”

The darker the journey ahead, the more precious it was to find a companion along the way. Mo Fan had no idea if he would see the Enforcer again.

—

Mo Fan stumbled into Blue Bat on his way back.

Blue Bat looked at Mo Fan and asked, “Where is the guy?”

“There, mixed up with the soil. You want to take a look?” Mo Fan asked.

“Violet Ghost told you to stay put!” Blue Bat was displeased by Mo Fan’s carelessness.

“Oh, I might consider listening to that if it came from you,” Mo Fan replied.

Blue Bat could not react for a moment. She quickly dodged Mo Fan’s gaze after calming down and changed the topic, “Let’s go; the guy is most likely the Enforcement Union’s scout. Things are going to be troublesome when they realize he’s dead!”

“It’s fine, I’ll kill them all when they come,” Mo Fan replied.

“Humph, did you forget that you were almost eaten by the condors?” Blue Bat said.

“I admit that I couldn’t take the guy on, but one day, I’ll hang him on a cliff and let the condors eat him slowly while he is still wide awake!” Mo Fan promised.

Blue Bat had already gotten used to how bombastic a person Mo Fan was. She simply ignored him and did not even bother checking the ‘remains’ of the Enforcer, quickly leaving with Mo Fan.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was having a weird feeling, too. He bet not many people could curse themselves so descriptively and blatantly like him!

Chapter 1372 I Dare to Stop the Ruler-level Creatures, Too!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Northguard Fortress…

As the ancient wall disappeared, the Yoked carried out their new wave of attacks.

The soldiers of the Northguard Fortress had no choice but to face the Yoked head-on. Many Mages had to go down the wall and hope they could survive while being surrounded by the Yoked.

They had to send someone to destroy the Cursed Runes that were enhancing the Yoked’s defenses. Otherwise, even Advanced Spells were not enough to kill the Yoked!

To do that, the Mages with the Wind Element, Shadow Element, and Earth Element had to sneak into the enemy’s army, resulting in lots of casualties. The majority of them never returned. They were either intercepted by the Yoked or dragged away by the Underworld Monarch Frog’s tongue when they accidentally got too close to the creature.

Several Advanced Mages died to the Underworld Monarch Frog. The soldiers of the Northguard Fortress had no choice but to risk their lives just to keep the army of undead at bay.

“Watch for the Yoked with several layers of Runes on them. They are the key targets!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Many soldiers had died in the first wave. Zhao Manyan had volunteered to help; he could not sit back, knowing they were short on numbers.

He was now with the troop entrusted with taking out the Yoked who were distributing the Runes!

Lingling’s analysis and observation discerned that there were two kinds of the Yoked. One was the Yoked that received the defensive Runes from the Underworld Monarch Frog. The other kind were Runic Yoked, who were distributing the defensive Runes to the rest of the Yoked through the chains.

In other words, the Underworld Monarch Frog could not directly transfer the defensive runes to the Yoked at the front. It could only transfer the Runes to the Runic Yoked, and let them distribute the Runes to the rest of the Yoked.

It was a great weakness of the Underworld Monarch Frog. In other words, even without relying on the ancient walls, they just had to kill the Runic Yoked first, and the rest of the Yoked would turn into ordinary Warrior-level creatures. They would then be vulnerable to the magic blasts and the Advanced Spells.

The Runic Yoked’s defense was not enhanced by the defensive Runes, so it was possible to kill them. Unfortunately, most of these Runic Yoked were very close to the Underworld Monarch Frog, so when the Mages were close enough to attack the Runic Yoked, they were also within the attack range of the Underworld Monarch Frog! It was difficult to keep track of the range. Many Mages had already died!

Zhao Manyan also had an unyielding spirit too. He had volunteered to join the front line and drive the Underworld Monarch Frog back to the Underworld at all costs.

In terms of defense, Zhao Manyan was clearly no weaker than the Yoked strengthened by the defensive Runes. Most importantly, despite their outstanding defense, the Yoked’s attacks were only average. If both sides were similarly sturdy, why would they bother wasting their time on the Yoked?

As a result, the troop that Zhao Manyan was in managed to break through the Yoked’s defense and go right at the Runic Yoked hiding at the back of the army.

“I’ll attract the Underworld Monarch Frog’s attention. Get it done as quickly as possible!” Commander Bin Wei was fighting in the front line now. She used the demon lilies to move through the air and approach the Underworld Monarch Frog rapidly.

The Underworld Monarch Frog’s eyes bulged from their sockets. Similar to true frogs, it had bad eyesight. It could only see things that were moving quickly.

Its eyes rolled upward, obviously watching Bin Wei. It suddenly flicked its tongue out and snapped a huge demon lily in half!

Bin Wei crossed her hands in front of her and pulled her fingers apart gently.

Something was moving in the air. It was completely transparent initially, but barely visible when the dust swept past. Countless vines scattered above the Underworld Monarch Frog. Poisonous and thorned, the vines grew rapidly as soon as they made contact with the Underworld Monarch Frog. They completely covered the monster, who was like a small mountain of flesh, in an instant!

The Underworld Monarch Frog let out a loud croak and shook itself. It shattered the thorny vines to pieces with ease. The vines were clearly not strong enough to penetrate the Underworld Monarch Frog’s body. If the vines could inject their poison into the Underworld Monarch Frog, they would paralyze the creature temporarily.

The Underworld Monarch Frog locked its gaze on Bin Wei as its body suddenly sank a little. The yellow ground began to crack apart as it could no longer withstand its weight.

The Underworld Monarch Frog bounced up into the air, its pitch-black mouth lunging at Bin Wei like a terrifying abyss. It did not matter which direction Bin Wei tried to dodge in, as it would not make any difference at all.

The Underworld Monarch Frog’s mouth was big enough to swallow a cloud. Bin Wei quickly grabbed up, feeling a strong sense of death approaching!

An invisible vine appeared in her hand out of nowhere. Its other end was connected to the clouds. With a mere thought, the vine dragged Bin Wei high up into the sky at its fastest speed!

The black mouth had already trapped her, but just as the Underworld Monarch Frog was about to close it, she soared higher into the sky.

Bin Wei looked at the vine that had descended from the clouds and let out a relieved sigh.

She had the Cloud Vines and the Demon Lilies, two special plant species. The Cloud Vines allowed her to move freely in the air!

However, just as Bin Wei was feeling relieved after escaping from the Underworld Monarch Frog’s mouth, the creature flung its enormous tongue at Bin Wei as it was falling, taking her by surprise.

“Water Curtain!”

Zhao Manyan quickly tossed a huge Water Curtain into the air. The Water Curtain stood between Bin Wei and the Underworld Monarch Frog, blocking the deadly tongue.

Bin Wei was quite experienced. She immediately soared higher with the Cloud Vine after receiving the help to distance herself from the Underworld Monarch Frog.

BANG!

The ground cracked into pieces when the Underworld Monarch Frog landed heavily. The surrounding Yoked and Mages were knocked to the ground by the enormous impact.

Zhao Manyan had long braced himself for it, yet he still staggered a little…

Unfortunately, a Yoked that was knocked flying by the impact happened to come right at him!

Zhao Manyan managed to react in time. He avoided the crash by twisting his body beyond the normal capabilities of a human in mid-air.

“It’s a Runic Yoked!” Zhao Manyan turned around and instantly noticed the brighter Runes on the Yoked.

They were desperately searching for the Runic Yoked, but one of them had suddenly shown up right in front of them. Zhao Manyan stabilized himself and slammed his palms onto the ground heavily!

Obvious ripples appeared along the ground and swiftly spread to the spot where the Runic Yoked had landed. The perfectly-timed wave knocked the Runic Yoked back toward Zhao Manyan like a fish’s tail flip.

“Get him!” Zhao Manyan yelled at the soldiers around him, since he did not really have any move that could kill the creature instantly.

Several destructive spells were fired at the Runic Yoked before it could even land, blasting it into pieces, that were then burned to ashes by a Fiery Fist: Nine Halls!

As soon as the Runic Yoked died, the Yoked receiving the defensive Runes through the chains connected to it basically lost their armor.

It was very easy to identify the Yoked that had lost their defensive Runes. The soldiers on the walls of the fortress cheered whenever they saw the Yoked without their outstanding defense, followed by a rain of Elemental Spells pouring down on them. Those Yoked had no chance of survival against spells after losing their defenses!

“Well done!” Bin Wei exclaimed, standing on a Cloud Vine. Her impression of Zhao Manyan changed completely after seeing him take down another Runic Yoked for the troop.

His Water Curtain had come at a very opportune time, too. She might have died if not for that!

The Underworld Monarch Frog was an unusually slow but powerful creature. Most attacks could not inflict any damage on it, but if they managed to dodge a few of its attacks, the fleshy creature would have to rest for a period to recover its strength!

“There’s one here!” the captain of a Summoner troop riding a Fiery Wolf yelled from not far away.

The man was extremely bold. He had woven through a few hundred Yoked alone and dragged the Runic Yoked out with him. He was handling himself perfectly even after taking on a group of the Yoked on his own for more than ten minutes.

“Don’t let him run away. Eyes of the Rock Demon: Petrify!” Zhao Manyan cast the Advanced Earth Spell decisively when he saw the man was being chased by a huge number of the Yoked.

Zhao Manyan’s casting speed was a lot quicker than the rest of the Advanced Earth Mages. As a Mage who owned a Soul-grade Earth Seed, his performance in a battle also significantly outmatched the Advanced Mages who only had normal Spirit-grade Seeds!

A few dozen of the Yoked froze in their tracks when Zhao Manyan glanced into their eyes. Another Earth Mage using the same spell only managed to petrify nine Yoked, who managed to break free from the spell just a brief moment later.

“My Earth Element has received the Blessing of the God’s Seal, its base damage is 1.5 now,” Zhao Manyan explained with a smile when he saw the defeated face of the captain beside him.

“You have a Soul-grade Earth Seed, your Earth Element’s base damage is 1.5, and every defensive spell you cast seems to be enhanced by a special Rune. It’s similar to the Runes that the Yoked have…” the captain observed aloud, while catching his breath.

“Yeah…” Zhao Manyan nodded.

An uproar arose from the troop ahead. The soldiers were quickly backing toward them.

“Underworld Monarch Frog, it’s coming toward us, retreat!”

“Retreat, quick!”

The Yoked that they were struggling to kill were not the scariest enemy to the soldiers. The one that would bring them despair was the Underworld Monarch Frog. No one, apart from General Bin Wei, could possibly stand a chance against its tongue!

“It’s about to shoot its tongue out, dodge it!”

“It’s impossible, its range is too far!” the soldiers cried out in fear.

Zhao Manyan fixed his gaze on the Underworld Monarch Frog with a determined face.

He muttered, “It’s why I dare to stop a Ruler-level creature’s attacks, too!”

Chapter 1373

Slaying the Underworld Monarch Frog

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan stepped forward when the others were backing away. The soldiers fleeing for their lives were impressed by his courage.

When Zhao Manyan made it to the front, the Underworld Monarch Frog’s deadly tongue was already flying toward him. The angle it was coming from and the power it contained were clearly going to sweep a dozen people into its stomach!

The soldiers on the front line were mostly elites, consisting of talented Intermediate and Advanced Mages. They did not suffer many casualties when fighting against the Yoked, but whenever the Underworld Monarch Frog made its move, their only outcome was to be eaten like the lowliest insects!

“Baxia Seal, Skytemper Rocks, Eyes of the Rock Demon, Titan Body!” Zhao Manyan yelled at the top of his lungs and spread his hands like wings, blocking for the soldiers.

His eyes emitted a blue-brown light. His body was engulfed in the brilliant glow of the Earth Element!

The Baxia Seal circled around him. The brilliant light of the Earth Element outlining Zhao Manyan pushed forward. The outline would expand a few times for every meter it covered. When it reached twenty meters away, its outline had turned into a giant!

Its body was made of blue-brown rocks, its shape exactly the same as Zhao Manyan, its arms spread wide. Just as everyone thought the Underworld Monarch Frog was going to eat them all, the giant rock statue defended them all!

The Underworld Monarch Frog’s tongue landed on the giant rock statue. Even though it managed to break the statue into pieces, and even though Zhao Manyan spit out a mouthful of blood from the feedback he received, he did not allow any damage to be inflicted on the soldiers…

Zhao Manyan staggered a few steps back, but he was wearing a reckless grin.

Ruler-level!

So what if it was an attack from a Ruler-level creature, he still managed to resist it!

The captain with the Earth Element standing beside Zhao Manyan stared at his smiling face like he was looking at a monster…

An Advanced Mage who could resist the full strength of a Ruler-level creature? Was he even human!?

Most Super Mages did not prioritize improving their defenses, so they were very vulnerable when facing Ruler-level creatures. However, this young man had actually resisted a Ruler-level creature’s attack. The giant statue slowly collapsing to the ground was like Zhao Manyan himself. The captain was beyond impressed!

Bin Wei, who had failed to stop the Underworld Monarch Frog busy, gasped in disbelief. She initially thought the troop on the front line was going to suffer incredible losses. She did not expect the pompous young man to possess such remarkable strength. He had really stopped the Underworld Monarch Frog’s attack!

The Titan Body’s defense was so outstanding that even a Ruler-level creature could not break through it easily…

They all thought the defensive Runes of the Yoked were incredibly powerful, but it turned out that the person with the greatest defense was in the Northguard Fortress. It explained why the troop had managed to get so far this time!

The Underworld Monarch Frog’s strength was solely in its powerful attacks, its undodgeable rolling tongue, and the Yoked that were its slaves. When Zhao Manyan used the Titan Body to stop its attack, it basically destroyed the Underworld Monarch Frog’s plan to wipe out the troop of Battlemages. The Battlemages quickly withdrew to a safe distance with the time that Zhao Manyan had bought them.

They had killed a dozen Runic Yoked in a short period of time, and taken down hundreds of the Yoked, too. The number of the Yoked were dropping rapidly. The Underworld Monarch Frog bellowed furiously, yet its movements were restrained by Bin Wei’s outstanding Plant Magic!

“I found another one!” The morale of the troop rose tremendously after Zhao Manyan defended the soldiers with the Titan Body.

Morale played an important role in a battle. The Underworld Monarch Frog was like an unstoppable devil to the soldiers. There were deaths whenever it attacked, but if someone managed to step forward and stop the Underworld Monarch Frog’s attacks, it was like giving the soldiers a powerful stim pack. Even though Zhao Manyan was only able to stop the attack once, it was still completely different than trembling in fear and waiting for their deaths previously!

“Don’t you dare run away! Lightning Swordbird, get him!” An expert of the Summoning Element locked his gaze on a Runic Yoked that was fleeing toward the Underworld Monarch Frog.

A bird covered with feathers flickering with lightning and wings resembling huge fans of swords dove from the sky. Its Summoner stood up on the back of the Lightning Swordbird and fired Giant Shadow Spikes down. They picked out the Runic Yoked from among the Yoked and nailed it to the spot.

The Lightning Swordbird swept past the Yoked and grabbed the Runic Yoked with its claws.

The Yoked tried to grab onto the Runic Yoked to prevent it from being abducted, but the Lightning Swordbird immediately unleashed lightning swords, stabbing down at them.

The Lightning Element had a strong penetrating nature, the unique trait of the Lightning Element. Even the Yoked’s incredible defenses were not so effective against the Lightning Element!

The lightning swords knocked a bunch of the Yoked to the ground. The Runic Yoked was unable to escape the claws, and was lifted into the sky!

The Lightning Swordbird tossed the Runic Yoked towards the army of Battlemages. The soldiers synchronized their spells and tore the Runic Yoked to pieces before it could even hit the ground!

“It’s Ye Hong! He finally showed up!” someone exclaimed.

The captain of the Summoner Troop, riding a Fiery Wolf, lifted his gaze, his face respectful. It was obvious that airborne Ye Hong was more reputable than him among the Summoners.

“Who’s that guy? He’s very strong!” Zhao Manyan was relieved after seeing an expert had shown up.

“The prodigal son of the Northguard Fortress. He normally just stays at the Northguard Fortress for a month every year, and spends the rest of the time traveling between places. It’s surprising that he has come back. It turns out that he still cares a lot about the Northguard Fortress,” the captain with the Earth Element, Feng Changyu, told him.

“He has been looking for the opportunity to reach the Super Level. He believes there won’t be any chance if he keeps staying at the Northguard Fortress. He used to be Chang Yi’s superior. He was in charge of the Fourth Troop, the strongest troop we ever had,” an old soldier added.

The man riding the Lightning Swordbird was very strong. He was roaming freely through the air, while the Lightning Swordbird was searching for the Runic Yoked with its sharp eyes. He had taken the pressure of around three hundred Yoked from the shoulders of the soldiers on the front line.

Many soldiers in the troop knew who Ye Hong was. The troop’s morale had skyrocketed when Zhao Manyan stopped the Underworld Monarch Frog’s attack, but the soldiers completely united and fought with an even stronger spirit when Ye Hong showed up. Suddenly, even the Yoked strengthened by the defensive Runes were not as scary!

“Three troops to the west! Seventh Troop, hold your position; Tenth Troop, fire Brilliant Light at will; Wind Mages of the Second Troop, stay at the back and assist the others with their retreat!” Ye Hong ordered from the sky.

Bin Wei was the commander of the army, but she was unable to give orders since she was busy fighting the Underworld Monarch Frog. As a result, the troops were simply following their instincts when fighting against the Yoked. The army became a lot more disciplined after receiving orders from Ye Hong.

Zhao Manyan was a little confused. Why did the man ask the Wind Mages of the Second Troop to assist with the retreat? Wasn’t it the perfect time to push forward and take out more Runic Yoked while they still had the chance? However, Ye Hong had ordered everyone to withdraw instead!

The soldiers obviously believed in him. The captains withdrew their troops immediately upon receiving the order. As the army was retreating, the Underworld Monarch Frog suddenly charged ahead and swallowed a huge area into its stomach. If the army had stayed and fought the Yoked, at least three companies would have been wiped out!

A company consisted of a hundred soldiers. How long would it take the Northguard Fortress to train three hundred soldiers?

When Zhao Manyan saw the reason behind the orders, he was impressed by Commander Ye Hong, who had just joined the battle not long ago. He had to be an experienced commander who had fought countless battles!

The Underworld Monarch Frog had long gathered its strength for an attack, but it ended up in failure. Most of the Runic Yoked were now dead, too. The number of the Yoked decreased rapidly. Only around three hundred were left!

“Now is our chance!” Ye Hong declared.

They had to kill the Yoked before dealing with the Underworld Monarch Frog. The Underworld Monarch Frog’s main fighting force was the Yoked. If they eliminated all the Yoked, it was the same as severing its limbs.

The soldiers of the Northguard Fortress united. They were clearly in control of the battle. They proceeded to slaughter the remaining Yoked!

——

The three hundred Yoked were slain in no time. Only the Underworld Monarch Frog and the Battlemages surrounding it remained on the battlefield, the remains of the Yoked scattered around.

“I never thought I’d have the chance to kill a Ruler-level creature one day!” Captain Feng Changyu blurted out excitedly.

Zhao Manyan was as excited as the soldiers were. Although he had fought a similar battle in Egypt before, this situation was just as grim. Mo Fan was around then to eliminate the Dark Swordmaster with the help of Little Flame Belle in her Adult Phase. Since Mo Fan was not around, Zhao Manyan had become a key person in the battle. He was being admired by the soldiers, just like Bin Wei and Ye Hong.

In the past, Zhao Manyan always thought soldiers were idiots whose lives were always at risk. He never wanted to be a soldier because of that, but after they managed to defend the Northguard Fortress and defeat the army of the Yoked led by a Ruler-level creature, he realized how passionate, exciting, and glorious it was to win a battle!

—

“It turns out that you’re more suitable to take my role after all.” General Bin Wei was a little worn out. She barely survived in the fight against the Underworld Monarch Frog. She was finally able to catch her breath when she saw Ye Hong coming to back her up on his Lightning Swordbird.

“My old comrades have given you quite some trouble. I apologize for that, but I believe no one is ever going to doubt you after today. You achieved the Super Level earlier than me, and you know the secret of the Great Wall. How could someone like me, who only knows how to kill, achieve anything?” Commander Ye Hong replied.

“Then I shall let you command the army to take down the Underworld Monarch Frog,” General Bin Wei informed him.

“My pleasure!” Commander Ye Hong acknowledged confidently.

Even though the man had yet to achieve the Super Level, this previous Commander of the Northguard Fortress clearly had the courage and capabilities of a Super Mage. General Bin Wei believed he would break through the barrier that had stopped him for almost ten years soon. He would surely achieve the Super Level and soar into the sky!

Chapter 1374 Self-Detonating Frog

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Watch out for the poison!” General Bin Wei warned him.

Poisonous liquid jetted out like beams. Even a few drops were enough to turn a person into a puddle. General Bin Wei ordered the majority of the army to back away from the Ruler-level creature to avoid unnecessary casualties.

The Underworld Monarch Frog did not have aggressive moves. Most of its strength came from the Yoked. It was quite effective if the soldiers just fired their spells at the creature from a safe distance.

The rain of spells poured down on the Underworld Monarch Frog, but its body was covered in the defensive Runes that defied the spells. The soldiers were powerless against its outstanding defense.

“Keep going, there’s no way the runes will last forever!” Commander Ye Hong ordered.

The spells did not stop pouring down. There were still a lot of Mages with long-range attacks in the fortress, up in the safest positions. As long as they still had energy, they could just continue to fire their spells and vent all their frustrations on the enormous creature, regardless if the spells were actually doing any harm to it.

After a few rounds, the Runes had clearly dimmed, giving the soldiers a great boost in confidence.

“I thought its defense was unbreakable, but it seems to be falling apart. Brothers, let’s keep it up, we are about to kill a Ruler-level creature!” the sergeant of a troop of magic cannon Mages on the wall yelled.

A huge bunch of Star Patterns appeared, lights of different colors swept through the sky and dove at the creature.

“Layering Formation! Super Fiery Fist!”

The Octagon Sentry Formation in the Northguard Fortress lit up again. A huge group of Intermediate Fire Mages poured their energy into it crazily. The scorching Fire Patterns filled the sky above the Northguard Fortress in a spectacular show!

A huge Fiery Fist the size of a tower sprang forward. The spells flying across the sky were like little shrimps next to a giant whale. The enormous spell howled, dyeing the sky and ground red as it lunged at the Underworld Monarch Frog. Even the mountain-sized creature began to panic when it saw the spell coming at it.

It moved its body, trying to dodge the Super Fiery Fist, but the burning fist was as big as a meteorite. The whole place was set aflame before it even hit the ground!

The whole land was engulfed in fire, the soldiers could not even see it clearly. The Underworld Monarch Frog’s heavy body was knocked flying by the enormous impact. The scorching heat was melting its Runes and flesh!

The flames finally broke through its outer skin. The stinking flesh underneath emitted a disgusting smell as thick smoke rolled into its surroundings.

The Underworld Monarch Frog cried out in agony, twisting its body around. It was trying to attack the soldiers nearby with the chains hanging from it.

The Mages quickly spread out, but suddenly the Underworld Monarch Frog started rolling forward, the flames still burning on it. It had turned into a fiery ball! The creature seemed to be holding a strong grudge; it was planning to crash right into the wall of the Northguard Fortress!

The Underworld Monarch Frog was struggling to move previously; now it was like a giant tank of meat, rolling like a ball and bringing the inextinguishable flames with it!

“Shit, it’s about to slam into the Northguard Fortress!” Ye Hong exclaimed. “Stop it!”

The soldiers immediately worked together and cast barricading spells to intercept the Underworld Monarch Frog. However, the momentum of the Underworld Monarch Frog was just too overwhelming, considering how heavy it was. The spells could only slow the creature down slightly, they were nowhere enough to stop it!

The Underworld Monarch Frog smashed flat the land, which was already in extremely bad condition, quickly approaching the Northguard Fortress. There were at least a few thousand Mages on the wall. Many of them were going to die if the Underworld Monarch Frog smashed into the wall with such great force!

No one had expected the clumsy Underworld Monarch Frog to have such a move up its sleeves during its deathbed struggle. A Ruler-level creature would normally try their best to stay alive. If it had rolled away instead, they clearly would have had no chance of stopping it from running away!

Lingling was on the wall, too. She watched the Underworld Monarch Frog closing in and filling up her vision. She did not understand why the Underworld Monarch Frog did not run away!

A Ruler-level creature should treat their life preciously. It could have used the same move to run away; why would it insist on razing the Northguard Fortress to the ground and taking out the Mages that were the least of his concern, if it meant sacrificing its life? A Ruler-level creature should have its own intelligence. It was unlike low-level creatures that would fight back simple-mindedly when they were under attack…

Could it be that there was something even scarier than it behind its chains? It had no choice but to advance like the Yoked, since it was not allowed to retreat!?

“City of Steel!” General Bin Wei’s thunderous voice came from the sky.

The ground a hundred meters ahead of the Northguard Fortress began to shake. A magnificent wall of boulders emerged from the ground.

Unlike the Entrance-Sealing Wall from before, the ancient wall was split into several segments this time, each around fifty meters long. They were arranged in rows like ancient soldiers, using their mass to block the Underworld Monarch Frog!

The Underworld Monarch Frog’s strength was absolutely terrifying, and could even smash through the sturdy ancient wall, but it eventually came to a stop after destroying three segments of the Great Wall!

The strength of the Great Wall was several times that of the fortress. The three segments were over fifty meters wide when they rose in lines. The wall of the fortress was only slightly over twenty meters wide. If the Great Wall had not emerged from the ground and lined up to defend them, it was likely that half of the fortress would have been destroyed!

When everyone was still astonished, the Underworld Monarch Frog began to expand rapidly, exploding after a huge blast. Its flesh splintered into thousands of pieces and flew in all directions. The poisonous liquid in its body turned into rains of killing liquid arrows, covering an area over a kilometer wide!

“Quick, defend yourself!”

“Look out!”

The fortress was in a great mess. No one had known the Underworld Monarch Frog had the ability to blow itself up! A few drops of its acidic poison were enough to melt a person. It could even melt the walls of the fortress, let alone a human’s body!

“Layering Spell, Water Barrier!” a commander yelled at the Octagon Sentry Formation.

The Water Mages swiftly cast the Water Barrier. The Star Orbits intertwined with one another and hung elegantly in the sky.

Water ribbons appeared on the Northguard Fortress and quickly formed a circular barrier to stop the poisonous acid rain!

However, since they had only set up the defense in reaction, the Water Barrier was primarily protecting the Mages on the walls. There were lots of areas that it could not cover. The rain of poison acid poured down and melted through the structures.

The stone buildings made of stones melted at an insane speed, like sand that was soaked wet. There were people that failed to hide from it. They cried out in agony and turned into puddles of blood before the others could lend them a hand.

The same scene occurred in many places across the fortress. Countless innocent lives were lost. The people stood still in silence for some time.

Commander Ye Hong let out a long sigh.

They had tried so hard to protect and preserve the Northguard Fortress. They had cautiously avoided casualties among the soldiers, and even prevented the walls and towers from collapsing. However, the streets inside the fortress were in a great mess. The number of deaths was not that high, but it was still a pity that their lives had been lost.

General Bin Wei was not feeling well, either. The rain of acidic poison had caused massive destruction. The fortress was basically in ruins, and had lost its magnificence. She initially thought it was going to be a great victory…

“It was still a Ruler-level creature after all,” Zhao Manyan said helplessly.

The Underworld Monarch Frog did not destroy the fortress, but it posed a great threat to it until the very end. It even took down a few hundred Battlemages with it…

“Either way, we’ve won the battle. We’ve protected the Northguard Fortress. Even a Ruler-level creature wasn’t able to get past us!” Captain Feng Changyu exclaimed.

“He’s right!”

“There’s nothing much we could do when a Ruler-level creature is pulling a kamikaze on us, but it doesn’t change the fact that we’ve killed them all!”

“Let’s go back to the fortress!”

“Time to go back, we’ve won the battle!”

Casualties were unavoidable in a battle, but the victory was still theirs. Everyone at the fortress had been prepared to die in the battle, but they would not allow failure. If they lost, the cities behind them would be massacred. Most of the soldiers at the fortress were locals. Their parents, wives, relatives, and friends were in the cities shielded by the Northguard Fortress!

Over two thousand Battlemages took part in the battle, but the casualties were not particularly serious. Their performance was quite outstanding compared to the battles they normally fought against the Beijiang Desolate Beasts.

The soldiers gathered around Bin Wei and Ye Hong as they returned to the fortress. Zhao Manyan was thrown into the air by the soldiers he was leading. Everyone returned to the fortress in high spirits and cheers…

“Holy crap, go easier!”

“Don’t throw me so high!”

The Mages were very strong. Normally, it was quite impressive for people to toss someone half a meter high into the air, but Zhao Manyan was thrown around twenty meters up. Every time he went up, it would take him some time to fall back down again, as if he was playing the jumping machine…

“Ohhhhh!” Zhao Manyan was thrown into the air again. This time, the soldiers were challenging themselves to see if they could toss him thirty meters into the air. Zhao Manyan lost his balance when he reached the top. He began to spin…

He caught a quick glimpse of the horizon. The dust had yet to clear away, but he could see an enormous silhouette standing there. He even saw the flicker in its eyes, and felt a strong presence of death across the distance, sending a great chill down his spine!

What the hell was that?

Once again, Zhao Manyan was overwhelmed by shock!

Chapter 1375 Carriers of the Underworld

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan was still wondering if he had seen it wrong when he landed in the hands of the soldiers. When they tossed him back up into the air, he activated his golden wings and stopped up there.

Zhao Manyan beat his wings to soar higher into the sky. He swiftly reached a height of a hundred meters and stared in the same direction to get a better look.

The dust that was drifting in the wind gradually cleared up. The enormous silhouette that left Zhao Manyan in great astonishment was still there…

“Is that a person’s face?” Zhao Manyan stared into the dust-shrouded distance, trying hard to get a closer look.

Amid the dust was an enormous human face, hanging at the same height that Zhao Manyan was at. It was more than a hundred meters in the air!

A giant face over a hundred meters up?

Zhao Manyan only knew of the Tyrant Titans possibly being that huge. However, he was confused, as he could not see its body.

The dust in the distance did not clear up entirely. Zhao Manyan could only see a face hanging in the sky. The enormous silhouette was something that Zhao Manyan had imagined subjectively. The truth was, he could not see the creature’s outline, as if its body was hidden behind the dust.

“What is it?” Commander Ye Hong asked. He had shown up on his Lightning Swordbird.

The commander could easily see that Zhao Manyan was behaving strangely. He was worried that the fortress was still being threatened.

“Can you see it? The human face?” Zhao Manyan pointed into the distance.

Commander Ye Hong followed Zhao Manyan’s finger. He shook his head after a while. “I see nothing!”

Zhao Manyan was a little confused. He soon guessed that the Blessing of the God’s Seal had made his eyesight better than others.

As a matter of fact, Zhao Manyan was feeling some fear, especially when the face was looking at him. He could feel himself freezing in place, barely able to move his finger. It was a natural fear when a living thing was facing a greatly superior existence!

Zhao Manyan gathered his courage to look at the face again, but it had vanished into the dust.

The dust slowly faded away, returning to them a clear view of the vast land. Zhao Manyan was now able to see a great distance, yet there was no sign of the human face.

Its disappearance left Zhao Manyan extremely worried!

“Was it something terrifying?” Commander Ye Hong asked in a serious voice.

“The word ‘terrifying’ wasn’t enough to describe it,” Zhao Manyan replied softly.

Zhao Manyan had seen the Black Totem Snake, and had even lived close to a Supreme Ruler like Baxia. The fear that the face floating in the dusty sky gave him was no weaker than them, which meant it was something that was countless times stronger than the Underworld Monarch Frog!

The Commander-level had different levels. Using Mo Fan’s strength as a standard, he could kill weaker Commander-level creatures instantly with his lightning. However, he would have to work with Mu Ningxue to barely handle a strong Commander-level creature. As for some Supreme Commanders, similar to Little Flame Belle’s current level, even Mo Fan would not stand a chance against them…

The same thing applied to Ruler-level creatures. The difference between strong Ruler-level creatures and weak Ruler-level creatures was extremely huge. The Underworld Monarch Frog was clearly at the bottom of the Ruler-level, while the Black Totem Snake and Baxia were both among the strongest existences among the Ruler-level creatures. Normally, Ruler-level creatures comparable to the Black Totem Snake and Baxia were extremely rare in this world; the mysterious human face of an unknown creature was such an existence, and it was only ten kilometers away from the Northguard Fortress!

It did not approach the Northguard Fortress. It was like an emperor casually observing the work of its men. It could not care less about their deaths, since they were nothing but its lackeys.

Zhao Manyan was struggling to identify if he was afraid of the unknown and was imagining things in his mind, or he was actually terrified from the pressure that the creature had put him under. He was extremely cautious even when he was breathing.

“What exactly happened?” Commander Ye Hong asked solemnly.

“We only thought those things were from Egypt…” Zhao Manyan replied.

—

—

Fenna finally obtained the information Lingling had asked for. She e-mailed everything she found to Lingling.

The information was all very mixed-up. Lingling had to filter the information according to the situation that had occurred at the Northguard Fortress. Many were ancient legends in Egypt. Some of them were real, from undisclosed records. Some were just stories that the locals came up with after seeing some natural phenomena, thus only some part of the stories were true. It was necessary to filter out irrelevant information.

The majority of the history was speculation. As a result, historical records and artifacts were extremely meaningful, as they were the only evidence to prove what was right!

Egypt’s history was extremely complicated. The creatures of the Underworld closely followed the changes of their dynasty, to an extent that there existed two kinds of status in Egypt; one was their status when they were still alive, and one was their status in the Underworld!

“Underworld Monarch Frogs, the most ancient creatures of the Underworld. They used to be the Pharaohs’ mounts. They can carry an entire city while traveling across deserts and oceans…”

“The Yoked: loyal, passionate, and vicious slaves of the Underworld Monarch Frog. They are only a bunch of lost souls if they are separated from the Underworld Monarch Frog. They were placed under the Pharaoh’s Curse when they were alive, so they cannot find peace after they died. The stronger the grudge they were holding, the greater the power they would receive from the Underworld Monarch Frog. In addition to that, they can obtain more power through killing, too.”

“The Triangle Void Mirror, an artifact that originated from the legend of Osiris and Khonsu…” Lingling quickly read through the legends of ancient Egypt and records that had been verified.

“Long ago, it was proven that the Triangle Void Mirror did not exist. It was just a story that someone had come up with, to direct the hatred of Egypt’s people toward the mirages to someone that did not exist. Khonsu was just a sacrifice that the ruler used to put the blame on.

“The Triangle Dimensional Mirror is an artifact forged by an unknown master, with the ability to combine two kinds of Dimensional Magic. It has the power to reflect an object beyond the limitations of space and distance. Since the energy that it requires is said to be evil, an ancient Magic Association dismantled it. Its parts were kept in different Magic Associations and the method to reassemble them was lost.”

Lingling read the story while flipping through some of the records.

There was indeed a document that proved the Triangle Dimensional Mirror had been dismantled. The document had the symbol of a Magic Association, and to Lingling’s surprise, the symbol actually belonged to a Magic Association in China, the Potala Palace Magic Association!

“One of its core components is kept inside the Sacred Hall of Liberty. The Research Union is conducting experiments on it to discover its secrets…”

Lingling suddenly recalled something.

When Mo Fan was attacked by an Executioner in New York, the people of the Black Vatican had used the opportunity when the Mages of the Sacred Hall of Liberty were busy searching for the Executioner, stealing something from the Sacred Hall of Liberty!

“Could it be that the Cold Prince found the descendant of the person that forged the Triangle Dimensional Mirror? Was he using the opportunity to steal the core component of the Triangle Dimensional Mirror?” Lingling slowly pieced the information together.

Lingling had not put much attention on the stolen item. The Sacred Hall of Liberty did not say a word, either. They never told anyone what the missing item was.

“Maybe they didn’t think someone would know the method to reassemble the Triangle Dimensional Mirror, so they didn’t really care when it was stolen, since it wasn’t something that is used commonly,” Lingling reasoned why the Sacred Hall of Liberty did not treat the stolen item seriously, but she was very displeased by them.

If the Sacred Hall of Liberty had not hidden the truth, perhaps they would have found out what the Cold Prince was up to earlier!

“That means the Cold Prince has reassembled the Triangle Dimensional Mirror! He’s moving a pyramid from Egypt to here to open up an entrance to the Underworld,” Lingling conjectured.

The answer was fairly obvious… but how could they possibly stop it from happening?

The Cold Prince was nowhere to be found, nor did they know where he was going to use the Triangle Dimensional Mirror next. It even felt like they were already done with the plan. What awaited the Northguard Fortress were the endless creatures of the Underworld!

Lingling smiled wryly upon having the thought.

It felt like it was meaningless to learn everything, since there was no way they could stop it from happening!

“The Underworld Monarch Frogs are the pack beasts of the Underworld. An Underworld Monarch Frog can lift and drag a small pyramid…” Lingling continued to read. She suddenly paused in the middle of her sentence.

Zhao Manyan was standing beside Lingling. His thoughts were preoccupied by the monster with a human face. He did not really hear what Lingling had said. When he saw Lingling staring at him with a terrified expression, he asked nervously, “What’s wrong?”

“Have you seen the pyramid?” Lingling asked.

“What pyramid? I didn’t see one,” Zhao Manyan replied.

“The record says the Underworld Monarch Frogs are the carriers of the Underworld Palaces! An Underworld Monarch Frog can carry a small Underworld Palace. These Underworld Palaces are similar to the pyramids. In Egypt, whenever an Underworld Monarch Frog shows up, it means a pyramid is being moved. The whole country would go into Red Alert!” Lingling exclaimed.

The pyramids could be moved, but the only way to do so was the Underworld Monarch Frogs!

“No, we didn’t see any pyramids. The chains on the Underworld Monarch Frog disappeared on their own after it died,” Zhao Manyan said.

“The Underworld Monarch Frog wasn’t carrying a pyramid on its back…” Lingling had a terrible look. She finally blurted out, “Which means there isn’t only one Underworld Monarch Frog moving it!”

Zhao Manyan dropped his jaw. His mouth remained open for some time.

The Underworld Monarch Frog was dragging a pyramid with its chains?

The same pyramid that contained countless undead and served as the gate between the living world and the world of the dead? The terrifying place not a single person had come back alive from!?

Zhao Manyan was there when the mirages appeared. He clearly knew the destruction that a small pyramid could bring…

Chapter 1376 Swooning in Frigh

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Old Zhao, take a look at this!” Lingling suddenly exclaimed.

Zhao Manyan was still lost in his thoughts. He quickly went up to Lingling when he heard her yelling.

There was a diagram of celestial bodies on Lingling’s laptop. Lingling had processed the diagram and discovered that the distribution of the ancient celestial bodies matched the geographical distribution of the pyramids!

“Celestial bodies and the pyramids, this article was proven to be valid. Every pyramid in Egypt corresponds to a star in the galaxy. These stars are constantly moving, but they will return to their initial position on a certain day, and the position corresponds to the location of an ancient pyramid. They are called the Star Coordinates,” Lingling said.

“Holy crap, how could I possibly understand something so complicated? There are so many stars in the sky! Wouldn’t a random latrine pit that those Egyptians built in the past correspond to the coordinates of a star, too? It’s too vague of a statement,” Zhao Manyan protested.

“No no no, someone did deduce the distribution graph of the pyramids… give me a second, I’ll verify it now,” Lingling quickly typed on the laptop. She was switching between images at such an insane speed that Zhao Manyan’s eyes were dazed.

A moment later, Lingling came up with a set of Star Coordinates. If Mo Fan was looking at them, he would just assume them to be normal latitude and longitude coordinates, but the well-educated Zhao Manyan still knew the difference between mundane geography and Star Coordinates.

“Isn’t this place the Qiqige Tribe’s town?” Zhao Manyan noticed that the coordinates were located in the town the Qiqige Tribe resided in.

“Didn’t the old herdsman mention he saw a pyramid? Let’s verify if the Star Coordinates correspond to the location of a pyramid in Egypt,” Lingling said.

“…” Zhao Manyan rolled his eyes. How were they supposed to verify it? The calculations involved already sounded extremely complicated.

Most importantly, if the stars were constantly moving, how was it possible for the land of Egypt to correspond to the same Star Coordinates as the land of China?

“These are the Star Coordinates of every pyramid in Egypt. Luckily, General Fenna included them in the information she provided. I believe it’s part of their military secrets,” Lingling nattered on. “Here is the formula to calculate the orbit of a star…”

Zhao Manyan’s head was spinning. How could they possibly know which star they should be looking at?

To his surprise, Lingling quickly entered the Qiqige Tribe’s coordinates. The laptop immediately filtered out the stars that would appear in the sky above the coordinates throughout every season.

The old herdsman kept mentioning how the pyramid had shown up where the statue of Qiqige was located, allowing Lingling to get the precise coordinates for it. There were quite a number of stars that directly corresponded to it throughout the year. The filtered results had more than ten pages.

A lot of the names were in English. Zhao Manyan did not have any interest in astronomy. He had no clue what the stars were.

“Alright, we’ve filtered out the stars that would pass by the coordinates of the statue,” Lingling’s eyes were glittering. She was in an extremely focused state.

“What’s next, little fairy?” Zhao Manyan prodded her.

“It’s simple; we just need to match them with the stars that correspond to the coordinates of every pyramid in Egypt!” Lingling said.

Zhao Manyan found it extremely difficult to believe. First, there were so many stars that would pass by the coordinates of Qiqige’s statue. The filtered results did not really mean anything. Second, they were not sure if the pyramids actually corresponded to the stars. Even if they were, how were the two even related?

“Found it! It’s a star called Unas,” Lingling looked excited. She pointed at the star that matched the criteria.

“The Pyramid of Unas?” Zhao Manyan scrolled down the information and was surprised to see there was actually a pyramid called Unas!

“We’re pretty lucky. It happens to be a pyramid that is named after the star, which also means everything the old herdsman said is the truth,” Lingling stated.

“Holy crap, Lingling, you’re unbelievable!” Zhao Manyan was utterly impressed by Lingling’s intelligence.

Anyone would have a headache reading the ancient records, yet Lingling was able to find out which pyramid had appeared at the town of Qiqige Tribe.

It was unlikely that everything was just a mere coincidence. Lingling had filtered out the orbits of the stars and found a match through them. In terms of probability, the number of stars that the pyramids in Egypt corresponded to were around a hundred, and among the countless stars, only one had matched the criteria. The only explanation was, the theory behind the relation between the pyramids and the stars was right!

“I’ll ask General Fenna right away!” Zhao Manyan quickly contacted Fenna after learning the name of the pyramid.

——

General Fenna immediately sent her men to investigate the Pyramid of Unas in Egypt.

The area within a hundred kilometers from a pyramid was forbidden, thus no one would know if a pyramid had disappeared. However, someone among the Hunters in the area might have noticed something unusual.

As they thought, someone from Egypt’s Hunter Union said there was indeed a strange glow coming from the territory of the undead around the Pyramid of Unas. When the glow appeared, the undead close to the pyramid went under the ground and disappeared. The pyramid’s outline became faint for some time too, but the others assumed it was pure nonsense.

However, it suddenly become the most convincing proof!

The Pyramid of Unas did disappear for a moment. The Hunter had also seen the undead disappearing into the ground. Meanwhile, undead had shown up at Qiqige Town and the old herdsman had seen a pyramid at the corresponding Star Coordinates. It clearly hinted that the Pyramid of Unas did appear in their country!

“Unbelievable…” Zhao Manyan took a deep breath.

He still could not believe it had really happened. He wanted to think that the people of the Black Vatican had only found a way to open a rift to the Realm of the Undead, allowing the creatures of the Underworld to stir some trouble in their world. The appearance of the pyramid sounded impossible, and yet he had started to believe it now.

It was not just a mirage, it was the real pyramid!

They were only up against an illusion of the pyramid during the battle in Egypt. The undead they faced were only those that were living in the outer area of the pyramid. The whole army was on the brink of being wiped out because a Dark Swordmaster had accidentally shown up…

But now, it was hard to tell if the Triangle Dimensional Mirror could only produce the mirage of a pyramid, or if it could actually move the real pyramid to their country. After all, the Underworld Monarch Frogs would not just follow the mirages around, since their job was to move a real pyramid!

“Was the Underworld Monarch Frog we killed moving the Pyramid of Unas?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Lingling shook her head and said, “The Pyramid of Unas is just a small pyramid. A single Underworld Monarch Frog is enough to move it.”

“Then…then what exactly is the pyramid we are about to face?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Assuming the theory of the Star Coordinates is right, I can list the stars corresponding to the pyramids in Egypt that will pass by the North Valley soon. There are around a hundred stars corresponding to the pyramids in Egypt. I believe the odds of them passing by our country are extremely low. Unas is already one of them, and it happened to be right above Qiqige Town at night half a month ago. If any stars passing by our country around this time correspond to a pyramid in Egypt, it’s most likely the pyramid that the Underworld Monarch Frog’s chains were tied to!” Lingling declared.

“Mmm, go ahead,” Zhao Manyan nodded.

——

General Bin Wei and Ye Hong came inside while they were busy finding out the truth. They were extremely tired. As the commanders of the Northguard Fortress, they were usually the last people to get some rest.

They only came after settling everything in the Northguard Fortress. They were not simple-minded people, and they wanted to know what exactly was going on, too.

Zhao Manyan explained their discoveries to them while Lingling was busy with the calculations.

General Bin Wei and Ye Hong were completely dumbfounded after listening to Zhao Manyan. They were lost for words for a long time.

A pyramid!

An undead ruler’s palace in Egypt actually appeared in their country! It was unbelievable!

“We’ve contacted Egypt and verified that the Pyramid of Unas did behave unusually,” Zhao Manyan stated.

“It’s so difficult to believe it, but after everything that happened, I would rather believe that it actually happened,” Ye Hong said.

“Mmm, the appearance of the Underworld Monarch Frog is enough to prove how serious the situation is,” General Bin Wei agreed.

“You’ve done the right thing, asking the cities behind us to be evacuated. If a pyramid does appear, all the Northguard Fortress can do is to buy some time,” Ye Hong said.

“Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to execute the order. I wonder if a week is enough for the people to be evacuated to Feihuang City,” Bin Wei sighed.

The people were unaware of the danger involved. Even if everything was exactly as they had deduced, they still lacked the evidence to prove it. The people were likely reluctant to understand and follow the evacuation order…

The problem was… would they still have time to run when they saw an army of undead charging at them?

Smash! Lingling’s laptop suddenly fell from the table and smashed on the ground.

The loud crash gave the other three a great fright as they were discussing the terrifying truth. They quickly turned around, noticing that Lingling did not even care to pick up the laptop. Her face was extremely pale, while her eyes were filled with disbelief and fear!

“Lingling?” Zhao Manyan’s heart skipped a beat when he saw Lingling’s face.

‘Is there really a star corresponding to a pyramid that is passing by our country soon?” General Bin Wei asked quietly.

Lingling nodded.

“What star is it?” Ye Hong asked, even more softly.

“Orion…” Lingling lifted her eyes. Her pupils were unfocused. She stared at Ye Hong, Zhao Manyan, and General Bin Wei silently for a moment before saying, even she was struggling to believe it, “The pyramid that Orion corresponds to is… Giza!”

When Lingling mentioned the name “Giza”, it felt like a ferocious tide was suddenly coming down at them from the icy night sky… making their souls shiver in fright!

Chapter 1377 The Great Pyramid of Giza

The night suddenly fell silent. The weather was not cold, yet it felt like they were all standing in ice.

The four people inside the room had stopped breathing. Their pupils were hollow, as if they were stuck in a nightmare.

They had completely lost their ability to think under the feeling of suffocation and mental impact that conclusion had brought them!

The Underworld Monarch Frog was pulling the Great Pyramid of Giza…

The Great Pyramid of Giza!

It was the huge kingdom of undead that could easily devour half of Egypt, the most magnificent of the Underworld Palaces. If the pyramid appeared in their land, what would happen to Beijiang once the pyramid started covering the land with its deathlight!?

“I don’t think we are only having a nightmare…” someone finally spoke in the silent room. Ye Hong was the first to break the silence, “A nightmare is normally something bad that a person was imagining during the day, but I’ve never, ever, imagined anything like this! I would never think such a thing!”

The discovery completely exceeded Ye Hong’s understanding of how terrible a situation could be. Only the cruelest truth would continue to throw punches at them when they could not even endure them!

Similarly, as a Super Mage and the commander of almost ten thousand elite Mages of the Northguard Fortress, Bin Wei felt so tiny after hearing that conclusion. A single gust of undead that the Great Pyramid of Giza stirred up could easily tear a Super Mage like her to pieces!

The Underworld Monarch Frog…

The Northguard Fortress had used everything they had to barely stop the invasion of a single Underworld Monarch Frog. They were even so proud of their achievement. Little did they know, the Underworld Monarch Frog was nothing but an insignificant slave with the appearance of a frog before the Great Pyramid of Giza!

“What… what should we do?” Zhao Manyan asked after staring at the others for some time.

What could they possibly do? Bin Wei did not know, nor did Ye Hong. It felt like there was nothing they could do, apart from being trampled entirely!

Lingling suddenly recovered from her dispirited state and said, “We have to look for Mo Fan!”

“Right, look for Mo Fan, he must have some way…” Zhao Manyan said.

Lingling shook her head and said, “Find Mo Fan, tell him the truth, and we’ll leave this place at once.”

Zhao Manyan was startled. He did not expect those words from Lingling.

On second thought, her decision was clearly the most rational choice! What could they possibly do against the Great Pyramid of Giza, apart from getting themselves killed?

Since the stars were constantly moving, and the Great Pyramid of Giza was temporarily moved here by the Triangle Dimensional Mirror, it would only last for a few days. Their only chance was to evacuate the land. They were going to die for sure if they tried to resist…

“Alright, I’ll go look for Mo Fan now… damn it, I don’t even know where he is, he didn’t bring the badge of the national team with him,” Zhao Manyan cursed in a panic.

“I think I know where Brother Fan is,” a voice entered the room.

The group turned around and saw a skinny but energetic young man in the uniform of a general walking in.

His expression alone had indicated that he had heard everything too, but he had been standing at the entrance, struggling to collect his thoughts.

“Zhang Xiaohou!” Zhao Manyan was overjoyed.

He had shown up just in time. It would be a lot easier for them to look for Mo Fan with his help. They could not afford to give up on Mo Fan. He was trying so hard to stop the Black Vatican, but it turned out all their efforts were in vain. Beijiang’s fate was now in the hands of the Heavens, but they would not allow Mo Fan to die. They had to find him at all costs. They had to stop him from going any further and leave this place at once!

“Lingling, is it true?” Zhang Xiaohou looked at Lingling with a helpless wry smile.

“It’s just my speculation. I didn’t have any proof, and I know it’s not enough to convince the government, the military, and the Magic Association, but trust me, it’s the truth. It will happen. It’s useless to do or say anything now. We have to find Mo Fan and leave at once!” Lingling had never reacted like this. She might sound calm, but her heart was clearly on the verge of collapsing.

The room fell silent again. The last glimpse of hope in Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes disappeared.

General Bin Wei and Commander Ye Hong stared at one another in silence.

Zhao Manyan looked at them and snapped, “What are you two waiting for? Hurry up and tell everyone to evacuate the fortress! You are all Mages, there’s still time if you start running now. It’s too late once the Underworld Monarch Frogs move the Great Pyramid of Giza here!”

“We have sworn an oath to protect the Northguard Fortress!” Commander Ye Hong said.

“How the hell could you possibly protect it? The fortress has already ended up like this when we were only up against an Underworld Monarch Frog. Do you have any idea how terrifying the undead in Egypt are? I was there when they were fighting a mirage. The undead in the outer area of a pyramid were already troublesome to deal with, due to their insane numbers. The Northguard Fortress wouldn’t stand a chance against even a small pyramid, let alone the Great Pyramid of Giza. Any entity in the Great Pyramid of Giza could easily raze this Northguard Fortress to the ground!” Zhao Manyan swore.

The Northguard Fortress was nothing but a little wooden fence to the Great Pyramid of Giza. It could not even withstand the force of a wild beast crashing into it, not to mention the whole tide of wild beasts was coming. Why would they even bother staying? Were they really going to let thousands of people die just to buy a few minutes?

“Hunters may leave, the businessmen and magic students may leave, the civilians may leave, but how can we soldiers abandon our posts?” Commander Ye Hong said.

“Unless we receive the order to retreat from our superiors,” General Bin Wei said.

“Your superiors? Are you out of your mind? Your superiors even dispatched the best troop you have elsewhere when you were under attack by the Underworld Monarch Frog! I would be damned if they believed the speculation of a little girl around the age of ten. Why do you think Mo Fan has taken so many risks just to infiltrate the Black Vatican? Isn’t it obvious that he’s trying to collect evidence? But does it even matter? Did the authorities even say a word?” Zhao Manyan was on the verge of losing his temper.

What the heck was happening in their country? Could the problem in the East be more serious than what they were facing now!?

“I’ll try and convince our superiors, but we won’t be able to leave without an order to retreat,” Bin Wei replied.

“I’ll ask the people that aren’t from the military to evacuate at once,” Ye Hong said. Ye Hong believed in Lingling’s speculation. Everything that happened so far was enough proof that the worst had yet to come!

“My Heavens, I don’t even care anymore. Lingling, Zhang Xiaohou, let’s go. We have to find Mo Fan as soon as possible!” Zhao Manyan believed they were completely out of their minds.

To hell with the duty of a soldier; if they chose to wait for their deaths just because it was an order, instead of sizing up the situation when necessary, what would they even need living humans for? Why didn’t they just join the army of undead that was already on their way!?

Chapter 1378 The Prophet of the Sacred City

The group traveled across the North Valley with incredibly heavy hearts. Somehow, the sky did not feel as vast as it used to be. They were having difficulty breathing from the pressure it was putting on them.

Zhao Manyan recalled Mo Fan’s words, which had stirred up great emotions in him along the journey.

If they did not try their best, they would only live with enormous regrets after everything happened. The pain would leave a lasting mark deep in their hearts, leaving them in endless torture.

But they had already done everything they could. The only problem was… how could just the few of them possibly stop the Black Vatican?

The Black Vatican was the public enemy of the whole world. The seven Red Cardinals were wanted criminals with the highest bounties; everyone in the world wanted to get rid of them, yet how many in the world actually stood a chance against them? The Magic Associations of the five continents? The Parthenon Temple? The Holy Judgment Court? The Hunter Union?

The seven Red Cardinals were still at large. They had become the idols of criminals and the wicked. Many strong Mages were willing to submit themselves to them.

They had overestimated their capabilities. In the end, there was nothing they could do. It was just the few of them, a useless Preventive Committee, and some stubborn members of the Enforcement Union… how ridiculous…

The country did not even care, yet they were still wasting their time and efforts trying to uncover the Black Vatican’s conspiracy. They had ended up discovering an enormous glacier crashing down upon them. They might feel better if they had not uncovered it, if they had just continued to live in ignorance!

“We are meeting up in Guli Village,” Zhang Xiaohou told Zhao Manyan.

Apart from Lingling and Zhao Manyan, Ye Hong and Bin Wei had tagged along too. Even though they believed in Lingling, they wanted to see the truth with their own eyes.

If they did not witness it personally, they would not be able to convince the commanders of northern military to give the order to retreat. The commanders of the Northern Fortress would not want their men to sacrifice their lives for nothing!

“I know where Guli Village is. It’s a lot faster this way, but there’s a very deep canyon,” Ye Hong said.

The group followed Ye Hong’s guidance to Guli Village. If it was somewhere Mo Fan had planned to meet them, it would be fairly close to the Black Vatican’s location. They had to be extremely cautious.

Luckily, the overall strength of the group was quite high. Bin Wei was a Super Mage with the Earth Element and the Plant Element. They would have no problem retreating if they found themselves in any danger.

——

Commander Ye Hong immediately frowned when they arrived in Guli Village.

There were still a lot of people in Guli Village who had yet to be evacuate. Was it because they did not receive the evacuation order, or they were unwilling to obey it?

They went to a memorial hall in the village, but the person waiting for them was not Mo Fan. It was a man in a gray-white robe whose face was covered.

Zhao Manyan and Lingling were confused and alert, as they did not know who the person was, but Zhang Xiaohou approached the man and chatted with him. It seemed like Zhang Xiaohou had recognized him.

“I believe you two are the commanders of Northguard Fortress?” the mysterious man asked, looking at General Bin Wei and Commander Ye Hong.

“We are, may I ask who you are?…” Ye Hong was even more confused about the identity of the mysterious man.

“I don’t have a name, or a codename. I’m only a phantom that doesn’t exist,” the mysterious man replied.

Nobody lowered their guard after hearing his words. Zhang Xiaohou proceeded to explain, “He is the Prophet of the Sacred City. He was the one that figured out Salan was among the authorities during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, and proposed the plan to execute them all.”

The Northguard Fortress was not too far from the Ancient Capital. General Bin Wei knew about the plan to execute the authorities, but she was still quite shocked after hearing the words.

She had not heard about any Prophet of the Sacred City before, but the execution plan was quite well known among the generals. If it wasn’t for the plan, the Ancient Capital would not have been able to survive the calamity. In other words, the man had played an important role in finding out who Salan was!

On top of that, General Bin Wei was very impressed with the man’s decisiveness, ready to sacrifice ten powerful figures just to get their revenge on the Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican. It clearly took the Black Vatican by surprise. Even Salan never thought she would end up in such a trap.

The plan had brought the Ancient Capital hope and given it the chance to survive the calamity. The mysterious man’s contribution certainly could not be overlooked, but their superiors had never mentioned anything about him. It was just as the man had said himself, he was only a phantom!

“What prophet, if I really had the power to foresee the future, things would not end up like this,” the mysterious man said self-mockingly. “Lingling, Zhang Xiaohou has already told me about your speculation.” He sighed. “To think that our great nation has taken the calm and peace so for granted that they couldn’t even see through the Black Vatican’s conspiracy better than a little girl. If anyone is the prophet, you clearly did a better job than me.”

“It’s all thanks to my sister and Mo Fan. They strongly believe that the Black Vatican is up to something!” Lingling replied.

“Since the Prophet of the Sacred City is here, does that mean there’s still a way to fix it?” General Bin Wei asked, hoping.

“No, I’m afraid we don’t really have a plan to turn the tables around. All we have is an ill-advised plan, but let’s wait for Mo Fan first. We’ll need the information he has gathered from the Black Vatican. Otherwise, everything we decide won’t mean anything…” the mysterious man replied.

The mysterious man faced the altar inside the memorial hall, leaving a lonely back to the others.

It was obvious that he had just made it there too. His eyes were lackluster.

“Did something serious happen in the East?” General Bin Wei asked.

“Mmm, I just came from there. You will know what happened soon. Let’s focus on the North Valley for now. Hopefully, you won’t blame our country for being too harsh on you…” the mysterious man answered.

General Bin Wei and Commander Ye Hong exchanged glances with one another. Their expressions turned grimmer.

Something serious must have happened!

“Zhang Xiaohou, how is Mo Fan doing?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“I’m not sure, he only asked someone to deliver a message to me…” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“It’s quite worrying to let him infiltrate the Black Vatican on his own,” Zhao Manyan sighed.

The mysterious man turned around. He looked at Zhao Manyan and said, “He reminds me of someone.”

“Who?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Zhan Kong! Before the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, Zhan Kong had found out there was more to the Black Vatican’s plan when he took out the Darkwing Wolf. He found me and asked me to help him infiltrate the Black Vatican. I happened to have a codename available, so I told him that once he took over the codename, he would have to disappear from this world. He did not hesitate, he did not even have to think about it…” the mysterious man said.

Zhang Xiaohou opened his mouth. He stared at the mysterious man in disbelief.

Zhang Xiaohou still did not understand why their Chief Military Instructor showed up at the Dark Abyss out of nowhere. It turned out that he had long given up his identity to infiltrate the Black Vatican…

Zhang Xiaohou took a deep breath. He was not feeling good…

“I was only able to lock down Salan with the clues that Zhan Kong had provided… when the country is in trouble, some people will only tremble in fear, but some chose to sacrifice themselves. I’m relieved that we have people like them among us.” He sighed again. “I really wished that more people knew what he had done,” the mysterious man said.

Zhang Xiaohou finally understood why Mo Fan had made the decision to infiltrate the Black Vatican.

The place fell silent for some time, until they heard heavy footsteps approaching slowly.

They followed the sound of the footsteps and saw a man covered in a loose black robe. Zhao Manyan, Lingling, and Zhang Xiaohou were too familiar with Mo Fan. They immediately recognized him without seeing his face, even though his aura was a little cold.

“Are these the only people we have?” Mo Fan asked when he arrived.

“Some are not here, but the people here are more or less all we have,” the mysterious man said.

“Why do I feel like we are more like the bad guys hiding in the dark?” Mo Fan asked sarcastically.

“…”

Lingling ran up to Mo Fan, who picked her up and patted on her head while comforting her. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“Liar!” Lingling saw through Mo Fan’s lie right away. She pulled Mo Fan’s mask away, revealing his scarred face.

Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan gasped as soon as Mo Fan’s face was revealed. Did he seriously call that fine!?

“Let’s go, right now, we are leaving now, my heavens!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Zhang Xiaohou was feeling uneasy, especially after hearing what the mysterious man said previously about Zhan Kong. Mo Fan’s attempt must be as dangerous as the situation their Chief Military Instructor was in, yet they were completely unaware of what he was going through.

“It’s not as bad as you all think. There are pretty ladies in the Black Vatican, she’s been taking care of me the whole time!” Mo Fan smiled to ease the atmosphere.

It was General Bin Wei and General Ye Hong’s first time meeting Mo Fan. They could not help but think how optimistic he was after hearing his words.

“Taking care my ass; if we don’t go now, we are all going to die here! Do you know what pyramid they are bringing here? You can ask Lingling yourself!” Zhao Manyan raised his voice.

Mo Fan looked at Lingling. The little girl told him about the speculation.

Mo Fan was stunned for some time. The answer was both within and beyond his expectations!

When the Black Vatican continued to open the Underworld Gates, Mo Fan already knew they were planning to bring a huge pyramid here, but he did not expect it to be the scariest one of them all: the Great Pyramid of Giza!

“Let’s go, since you’ve left the Black Vatican, we’ll decide where to go after we escape to the East,” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan was able to calm down pretty quickly, since he was sort of prepared for it. He looked at the mysterious man and said, “I thought the authorities had already given up on us.”

“Well, you aren’t completely wrong about that; they did decide to give up on this land, whether the Great Pyramid of Giza is going to show up or not,” the mysterious man replied.

Mo Fan did not lose his cool, nor was he furious. He was only overwhelmed by sorrow. He said after a prolonged silence, “They can give up on us if they want. What plan do you have? I can’t believe you’re only here as a messenger and telling us we are completely on our own here…”

1379 The Reason For Not Leaving

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

If the mysterious man was here, it did not make sense for him to just do nothing. Mo Fan believed he had some plan in mind!

“What plan? We should just get the f**k out of here. Do you really think the few of us can stop the Great Pyramid of Giza? Are you dreaming now? I would like to be a hero too, but it’s like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!” Zhao Manyan protested.

Mo Fan did not lose his patience despite Zhao Manyan’s grumbling. He looked at Zhao Manyan and said, “Old Zhao, calm down.”

“Calm my ass, you said it yourself! We are trying our best, just so we won’t regret it even if the worst happens. Are you telling me that we haven’t tried our best? Do we really have a chance of stopping what’s going to happen? The military in the north doesn’t even care, why do we have to do their job instead… didn’t you hear the Prophet? The authorities have already given up on us. Aren’t we nothing but idiots if we stay?” Zhao Manyan groaned.

“Old Zhao, let’s hear what the Prophet has to say. You can leave if you really think he’s out of his mind,” Mo Fan replied.

“Fine, I can’t wait to see what plan you are going to come up with. Nothing matters when you’re up against absolute power! Either way, I’m leaving after hearing what he has to say. If you don’t, I’ll beat you into a cripple and drag you with me!” Zhao Manyan snapped.

“Can you even beat me?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“Who f**king cares!?”

—

The mysterious man saw everyone looking at him. He understood what they were feeling. The fact that they had not lost their minds or broken down mentally showed how tenacious their mindsets were.

“First, it’s true that the Great Pyramid of Giza is going to appear. We won’t be able to stop it now. You have heard it from Mo Fan, the Underworld Monarch Frogs aren’t showing up all in the same place. The Great Pyramid of Giza will clearly be moved here unless we know the whereabouts of every Black Vatican deacon, and eliminate them all to stop the Underworld Monarch Frogs from appearing,” the mysterious man informed them.

“Second, the Black Vatican’s overall strength is clearly higher than the strength of the people we currently have,” the mysterious man continued.

Zhao Manyan was about to speak, but he withheld the urge to curse when he saw Mo Fan staring at him.

“Everything I said is the truth. The Cold Prince has prepared a long time for this. He doesn’t even care if we know what he’s up to now. He’s that confident, certain that none of us can stop him. We have to admit that he’s a devil, just like Salan, and unfortunately, our country has ended up as his sacrifice, just so he can prove he’s as competent as Salan…” the mysterious man trailed off.

The Cold Prince had spent a long time on the plan. It was already in motion when he acquired the core component from the Sacred Hall of Liberty.

He was able to set down the coordinates in any country, and bring great destruction to it, but he insisted on making China his target…

It was all thanks to Salan!

“Can we cut straight to the main point? What’s the point of knowing all this?” Zhao Manyan said impatiently.

“The Cold Prince is just like any other Red Cardinal. He has his own ideas, which revolve around the idea of the strength of evil faith. If he hates someone, he won’t try to kill them. He will kill everyone that the person cares about instead, trying to obtain their hatred, rage, and obsession to get revenge. He believes he will be empowered by their evil faith. As a result, if the Cold Prince has more chess pieces than Salan, if his subordinates scattered across the world like Salan’s, he will definitely cause a greater panic. The guy is a psychopath, and unfortunately, the Heavens still gave him such outstanding talents,” the mysterious man went on, ignoring Zhao Manyan’s complaint.

“Did Mo Fan manage to gather any useful information? If we can’t stop the disaster, I’ll risk everything I have to take down the Red Cardinal with me. I’ll teach him that he has to pay if he wants to stir up trouble in our land!” Ye Hong snapped furiously.

“There has been some progress, but I haven’t learned anything critical,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Mo Fan, are you reluctant to leave because you want to take out the Cold Prince?” Lingling asked when she realized Mo Fan’s intention.

Mo Fan opened his mouth, shocked. He did not expect Lingling to see through his intentions so easily.

“Brother Fan, is that true?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

Mo Fan nodded after a slight hesitation, “Mmm, the Chief Extraditor isn’t here. There’s no way we can track down all the members of the Black Vatican. The Cold Prince has split his men up into many groups, to prevent us from interfering with his plan. Taking one or two groups won’t make any difference, so I’m thinking of waiting until their grand ceremony… to track down the Cold Prince!”

“Damn it, I knew you would lose yourself every time you do something! When we joined the national team, we already said that we were only going to enjoy ourselves while traveling across the world, yet we gave everything we had just to earn glory for our country. This time, you were only meant to gather some evidence that the Black Vatican was involved, and even though you’ve already done it, it somehow turns into an attempt to assassinate a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican! F**k me, that’s a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican we’re talking about! The Magic Associations of the Five Continents couldn’t do anything about him, and you’re thinking of assassinating him!?” Zhao Manyan was about to lose his temper again.

“If the Red Cardinals aren’t doing anything, there’s nothing we can do about them. Since the Cold Prince is planning such a huge conspiracy, it also means he’s going to expose himself. If we don’t grab hold of the opportunity to eliminate him, he will withdraw behind the curtains after he has earned his reputation. We’ll never be able to find him again, which is why…” Mo Fan said.

“Which is why you’re doing it, even if all odds are against you? Who do you think you are? The Invincible?” Zhao Manyan snapped.

“Our people have been trampled and massacred by two Red Cardinals in a short period of time. They are still at loose after destroying cities and bringing massive destruction upon our country. They are just like gods; more people are going to worship and learn from them. Are we just going to let them destroy our dignity?” Ye Hong spoke up.

“Is dignity more important than staying alive? If the people hiding in the inner city shared the same thought as you during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, they would have rushed out of the city and fought the undead to death for the sake of their dignity. There would be no survivors!”

Lingling pulled Mo Fan’s sleeves and said softly, “Mo Fan, we’ve already done our best. Let’s just leave. Why do we have to kill the Cold Prince? If you go, you won’t survive either…”

Mo Fan shook his head and said helplessly, “I don’t want to act like I’m a hero, but there are times where we don’t have any choice. I’m the closest person to the Cold Prince at the moment. If I give up now, wouldn’t it make me the accomplice of a second Salan? Did you forget about the maggot and the pseudo-dragon it turned into? We were chasing it all the way into the ocean just to eliminate it… the reason we did it was because we knew about the terrible consequences if we let it live. Every life that it took would end up as a hint of guilt in our hearts.

“I’m already trying my best to be a heartless person. That way, I might be able to live a more comfortable life, and I wouldn’t be bothered by the sense of guilt accumulating in my heart… but I realized I couldn’t do it. If the Cold Prince is still alive after the ceremony, think about the crimes the people that are following him will commit. If the victims are just strangers, I can still suppress the guilt at the bottom of my heart, but what if they hurt someone that I care about, like you? What will I feel? Will I hug your lifeless body and burst into tears knowing I’ll never be able to see your smile again and slowly forget about it, or will I roam across the world in rage until I find the Cold Prince and tear him to pieces?”

Lingling looked into Mo Fan’s dark eyes. She could not find any words to answer him.

“The Black Vatican has always been around us. One day, they are going to hurt the people around us. I might be able to protect every one of you, but I can’t stay by your side all the time, nor am I lucky enough to know what the Black Vatican is up to every time. The Calamity of Bo City, the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, and the current situation here in the North Valley: both the people around me and I are so close to death. Even if I was to tie you all by my side, when a calamity like this happens, I am still tiny and helpless…” Mo Fan said.

Everyone could feel their hearts beating rapidly after listening to Mo Fan!

“It’s why I can’t convince myself to just turn around and leave.” Mo Fan fondled Lingling’s head with a faint smile.

Lingling lifted her head and saw the smile on Mo Fan’s scarred face. Her eyes filled with tears!

“Asshole, every one of you is an asshole, you keep talking about your ideas that I can’t refute! Father said that, my sister said that, and now you too!” Despite Lingling’s outstanding intelligence, she was still no match for Mo Fan’s words. She hugged Mo Fan tightly and completely lost the calm she was wearing as a disguise. She was still just a little girl…

Mo Fan smiled. Perhaps it was why he always had some peace of mind; there were still people like them around. Perhaps he was only doing the same thing because of those people too…

“Brother Fan, the Chief Military Instructor would be very proud of you if he heard what you just said.” Zhang Xiaohou was extremely touched.

“Then we should blame him for not teaching us how to be cowards,” Mo Fan said.

“Mo Fan, if you insist on killing the Cold Prince, we’ll have to split up,” the mysterious man said.

“We were meant to listen to your plan, but somehow, I ended up being the topic of the discussion?” Mo Fan replied.

He was starting to get more emotional as he aged. If it was his old self, he would not bother talking so much. He would simplify it to just one sentence: If that son of a b**ch Cold Prince dares to pick on us, we’ll screw him up!

“General Bin Wei, you’re the successor of the Northguard Fortress, right?” the mysterious man inquired.

“Yes,” General Bin Wei nodded.

“The North Valley has an ancient defensive mechanism. It covers a very large area. It might be able to buy the people that are evacuating some time,” the mysterious man said.

Chapter 1380 The Contract of the Black Vatican

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The mysterious man looked at General Bin Wei, who noticed everyone was looking at her. She replied after a moment, “Are you referring to the Great Wall?”

“Yes, the powerful Beijiang Desolate Beasts were the greatest threat in North Valley in the past. The people here were constantly at war with them. The ancient defensive mechanism was built during that period. It had been a long time since then, long enough for the people to forget about it,” the mysterious man said.

“The defense of the ancient Wall is outstanding indeed, but I’m afraid it’s still not enough to stop the undead of the Great Pyramid of Giza, right?” Commander Ye Hong said.

General Bin Wei emphasized when she realized something too, “It’s true that the ancient wall of the Northguard Fortress isn’t enough to stop the Great Pyramid of Giza, but if we work with the other fortresses in North Valley and set up a barrier at the right place, even the undead of the Great Pyramid of Giza will not be able to set a single foot in our land!”

“That’s right!” the mysterious man said. “It’s the strongest defense that our ancestors built. Our first priority is to evacuate everyone in North Valley. We should be able to reduce the casualties to the minimum once we activate the defense!”

The eyes of the people in the memorial hall glittered with hope after hearing the mysterious man’s words!

If they could activate the defense of the ancient wall, they might be able to stop the Great Pyramid of Giza’s forces!

“That’s right, fighting them head-on is out of the question. Even the whole army of North Valley wouldn’t be able to take them on, but if we can stop them from advancing and buy the people enough time to evacuate, we wouldn’t mind giving them the land!” General Ye Hong knocked his head as he came to that conclusion.

“How can we activate the defense? I don’t think we have many successors of the Great Wall, like General Bin Wei, left?”

“Don’t worry; if I’ve come up with the plan, I have a way to activate the defense. However, the process isn’t simple, and I’ll need the help of everyone here…” the mysterious man proposed.

Commander Ye Hong patted his chest and said, “Prophet, just tell me if you need any help. I’m willing to risk my life to ensure North Valley’s safety!”

General Bin Wei showed firm determination, too. She had more reason to do it, as a successor of the ancient wall.

“There really is a way, as long as there is a will. See, Old Zhao, it’s not as terrible as you thought!” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan twisted his lips and said, “Do you really think it’s not terrible enough? We aren’t even sure if we can activate the defense. Even if we did, we still don’t know if it can hold off the undead, let alone guarantee that the people will have enough time to evacuate. The plan might work theoretically, but it’s extremely difficult to execute it! We don’t even know what kind of accidents might happen…”

“But we still have to give it a try!” Zhang Xiaohou countered.

“We need the exact location where the Great Pyramid of Giza will show up, which means Mo Fan will continue to infiltrate the Black Vatican to obtain more information, and the others will come with me to activate the defense to hold off the army of undead!” the mysterious man declared.

The hope served as a glimpse of light, motivating people stuck in a pitch-black abyss to move forward. Instead of waiting to rot in the darkness, they would rather use all their energy to climb toward the light, regardless of how filthy, difficult, and lengthy the journey was. It was better than waiting in silence and despair. If they made it out, they would surely be reborn to a greater height!

—

—

It was just as the mysterious man said. Mo Fan had to split up from the others.

Mo Fe had now infiltrated the Black Vatican. He believed he would find out the exact location where the Great Pyramid of Giza would be once the Black Vatican proceeded with its ceremony. He would also witness the Cold Prince carrying out his crazy plan!

Killing him was all Mo Fan wanted to do. He had sworn to become stronger in Bo City, to prevent the disaster from happening again. However, it had all happened so quickly, and there was really nothing Mo Fan could have done.

But this time, Mo Fan would not back away again!

He would surely send all scum of the Black Vatican to Hell, including the Cold Prince that dared to stir up troubles in their country!

Mo Fan said goodbye to the others and proceeded along the path alone, the same path that Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong had chosen!

—

“Where’s Old Zhao?” Mo Fan asked Zhang Xiaohou and Lingling before leaving the village.

Zhao Manyan had left the memorial hall in advance. He seemed to be reluctant to commit to the necessary sacrifices, nor was he willing to let Mo Fan bear the risk alone. He was right that the plan was only theories; there were too many unknown factors about it. If anything went wrong, they would die because of it. Besides, there was no plan to retreat if things went out of control. They were basically placing their lives in the hands of fate!

“Maybe he went out to get some air, Brother Fan, we won’t be able to support you from here on, do be careful,” Zhang Xiaohou told him.

“I’ll be fine,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan went around, but still could not find Zhao Manyan. He felt a little sorry for Zhao Manyan, since he did promise he would retreat after collecting the evidence, but they had somehow ended up in a situation where they had to face a true Pyramid. Anyone would have lost their mind by now!

He wanted to say goodbye to Zhao Manyan, but the man was most likely holding a grudge against him. He might even be hiding somewhere, waiting for a chance to knock him out and drag him away… Mo Fan had overstayed slightly. He could not afford to wait any longer.

—

—

Mo Fan returned to the Black Vatican’s base, located on a mountain fifty kilometers away from the village.

The mountain only had a few dried plants scattered over it. It was almost barren, with only some dried trunks, branches, and exposed roots.

The old roots intertwined with one another on the dried land. They had scattered across half of the mountain. Blue Bat soon showed up when Mo Fan returned to the camp.

“Where have you been?” Blue Bat asked.

Blue Deacon was wearing a crystal blue outfit, and looked gorgeous in it. If she had not been in the Black Vatican’s base, no one would even think of her as a vicious member of the Black Vatican. Blue Bat had spent a lot of time with Mo Fan recently. Perhaps Blue Bat felt that Mo Fan was different from the rest of the fanatical members of the Black Vatican. She enjoyed talking to him.

“I went to get some supper. I prepared some for you too,” Mo Fan grinned and tossed a plastic bag to Blue Bat.

Blue Bat opened the plastic bag in confusion. Her face paled when she saw human organs inside it. Blood poured out from it and fell to the ground. She quickly fled the scene.

Mo Fan bust out laughing, when he saw Blue Bat running into the distance.

Some disciples of the Black Vatican saw everything that happened too. They all looked at Mo Fan like he was a psychopath, and tried their best to avoid him.

Violet Ghost wearing a dark blue outfit showed up while Mo Fan was laughing. He looked at Blue Bat who was running away in fright and said with a mocking grin, “You seem to enjoy giving her surprises.”

“I’m just too bored. I’ve been around for some time, but no one enjoys the things that I do,” Mo Fan did not bother picking up the organs that were covered in dust on the ground.

There was no way he would be eating them, of course. Most of the members of the Black Vatican were driven by their desires. They might have committed a lot of crimes, but not many of them were mentally ill. Mo Fan was acting like a psychopath as part of his disguise. That way, even if he did something unreasonable, the others would not be suspicious of him.

Luckily, Northdeer had joined the Black Vatican not long before, yet had already made a reputation for himself. Even if Mo Fan accidentally revealed a cloven foot, the others would not be suspicious.

Besides, since the Chief Extraditor was not here, no one could really prove that Mo Fan was a fake, as his face had been destroyed. On top of that, the Chief Extraditor did send Northdeer to receive the Shepherd and Cheng Ying, so it all came together perfectly!

“Tall Sparrow is a fan of them, just like you. Do forgive me for not having a great appetite like you,” Violet Ghost said.

“Tall Sparrow… maybe I can be his friend if I have the chance. Were you looking for me?” Mo Fan asked.

“We are done with our mission here. Unas has asked us to regroup for the ceremony, but since all your men are dead, you won’t be able to take part in the ceremony alone,” Violet Ghost said.

“Humph, even though I’ve failed, I still gave the church everything I had,” Mo Fan harrumphed with a cold grin.

“I’ve told Unas about it. You also helped us to avoid the Enforcement Union, allowing us to summon the Underworld Monarch Frog quicker than the other groups. It’s why we are being allowed to participate in the ceremony and worship the Cold Prince!” Violet Ghost explained.

“So what now? Are you going to abandon me, or let me join you?” Mo Fan said.

“You can join us, but you will be under me, just like Blue Bat,” Violet Ghost said.

“Under you? Are you kidding me now? I’m a Blue Deacon just like you, why do I have to be under you?” Mo Fan said in a displeased tone.

“Then I’m afraid I can’t bring you to the ceremony,” Violet Ghost said.

“You’re threatening me now. Is this how you treat someone that helped you?” Mo Fan snapped angrily.

“The Cold Prince set the rules. After all, we can’t guarantee if anyone among us is having second thoughts. We must ensure that those taking part in the ceremony are absolutely loyal to Master Cold Prince,” Violet Ghost said.

“I can swear my loyalty to the Cold Prince, but you.. I’m sorry, I’m more ambitious than that,” Mo Fan said.

Violet Ghost was not angry. He added when he saw Mo Fan taking his leave, “Feel free to see me if you change your mind.”

“Farewell,” Mo Fan said.

—

Mo Fan packed his stuff. It was obvious that he was planning to leave.

The truth was, Mo Fan was not planning to leave at all. He could not afford to accept Violet Ghost’s offer so easily. Violet Ghost was suspicious of everyone around him. He had a chance to come into contact with Unas, someone who was directly under the Cold Prince. To ensure that there would be no problem when Violet Ghost led someone to meet them, the person had to sign a Cursed Contract!

“Are you leaving?” Blue Bat asked, frowning when she saw Mo Fan packing up.

Chapter 1381 The Hot-Tempered Zhao Manyan

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Yeah, Violet Ghost is demanding something excessive from me. I didn’t agree, so I’m no longer relevant. I want to leave right away, but I realize I haven’t said goodbye to you, so here I am,” Mo Fan replied.

“What did he demand from you?” Blue Bat asked.

“To be his underling; I bet it would involve signing a contract that binds me to him,” Mo Fan answered.

“Wouldn’t all your efforts over the years be a waste if you leave now? It’s your only chance to show yourself to Master Cold Prince. It’s a great pity if you miss it,” Blue Bat told him.

“What choice do I have? There’s no way I’m going to accept Violet Ghost’s suggestion. He doesn’t deserve my loyalty. If I end up signing the contract, I couldn’t guarantee that I could withhold the thought of killing him several times over!” Mo Fan said blatantly.

“It’s not that bad. Since your rank is equivalent to his, he will only ask you to sign a contract to prevent you from betraying him. It’s a Soul Contract. He’s going to place you under restrictions at the cost of his soul. Nothing will happen if you accept it, but if you choose to disobey his orders, it will damage your soul,” Blue Bat said.

“What if he asks me to kill myself?” Mo Fan asked.

“His soul will suffer serious damage from it. It also depends on your cultivation and the strength of your soul. If he’s stronger than you, the damage you suffer will be more serious. If you are stronger than him, the damage inflicted on your soul will be roughly the same as the damage he would receive. It’s the same contract I’ve signed with him. Even though he’s my superior, I’m a Blue Deacon, too. He can’t make me his slave with a contract. He hasn’t forced me to do anything with the contract so far, since using it will damage his soul,” Blue Bat said.

“I don’t want to be under him,” Mo Fan said.

“But it’s a great opportunity for you. The restrictions you are under after signing the contract won’t be that strong. Besides, you are a Dark Mage too! That will significantly lower the punishment you receive from disobeying the contract. Why don’t you accept it first, and ask him to terminate it later? After all, you are directly taking orders from the Chief Extraditor. You can explain the situation to him, and he will serve you justice and tell Violet Ghost to terminate the contract after everything is done. The ceremony is very important. Those that aren’t bound by a contract can’t participate in it,” Blue Bat encouraged him.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was already mentally prepared for it. The authorities of the Black Vatican were obviously going to be cautious, and the best way to control people was through Dark Contracts, Cursed Contracts, and Soul Contracts, guaranteeing that their subordinates would not betray them.

Mo Fan had no intention of leaving. He had already chosen to take this path. He would keep going until he took down the Cold Prince!

However, he had to familiarize himself with the contract first, to ensure he would not be enslaved by the person he was bound to. He had to ensure he could still defend himself, instead of being fully controlled by someone else!

“You can also forcibly terminate the contract, but the price is inflicting serious damage on half of your soul,” Blue Bat added.

“I just don’t want to take orders from him. I can easily surpass him in just a few years!” Mo Fan snarled.

“I understand that you want to climb higher, but if you don’t participate in the ceremony and become inner personnel, it will be difficult for you to earn the Cold Prince’s trust. Just do as I say; sign the contract with Violet Ghost, and let the Chief Extraditor terminate it after everything is done. If Master Cold Prince or Master Unas is impressed by your talents, why would you care about the mere restrictions that you are under?” Blue Bat said.

“But…” Mo Fan seemed reluctant still.

“Don’t worry; just look at me, have you seen Violet Ghost force me to do anything? I don’t like his way of doing thing, either. I often go against his wishes, but he can’t really do much about it!” Blue Bat said with a smile as she continued to convince Mo Fan.

“Give me some time to think about it,” Mo Fan huffed.

“Sure; I hope you will make a wise decision,” Blue Bat agreed.

——

Mo Fan pretended to leave angrily, sticking to his character. If someone like Northdeer accepted Violet Ghost’s suggestion too easily, Violet Ghost would surely be suspicious. It was wiser to leave for now.

Mo Fan returned to Guli Village, to a secluded, special meeting point that the mysterious man had established. It was protected by a magic formation, preventing the Black Vatican from noticing it.

Mo Fan found Lingling, who had not left yet. Lingling was very curious about why Mo Fan had returned so soon.

Lingling was observing Orion’s orbit to roughly estimate the location of the pyramid, so they could set up a better defense against it.

Mo Fan knew there was no turning back once he signed the contract. He had to discuss it with Lingling and the others first.

Lingling soon found the information about the contract that Blue Bat had mentioned.

“It’s indeed possible to break the contract, but your soul will be injured. Once that happens, you will be a lot weaker, and you might not be able to use the Demon Element,” Lingling said.

How could Mo Fan not use the Demon Element if he wanted to kill the Cold Prince?

However, he first had to find the Cold Prince and verify his identity, but the contract would obviously hinder the usage of his Demon Element…

“Is there any other way?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan was worried about the same thing. The Demon Element’s power came from his soul. Mo Fan’s soul was a lot stronger than others, since he possessed more Elements. After listening to Lingling’s explanation, Mo Fan knew the contract was not deadly to him.

His soul was a lot stronger than Violet Ghost’s. Even if he forcibly broke the contract, his soul would only be damaged slightly. It was not as serious as Blue Bat thought.

However, Mo Fan was only able to use the Demon Element because of the number of Elements he had, and the fact that his soul was stronger than ordinary people’s. Even if he could use the Demon Element after his soul was damaged, the injury to his soul would greatly weaken the Demon Element’s power. The Cold Prince would clearly have some Super Mages protecting him. Mo Fan did not have the confidence to kill the Cold Prince without using the full potential of his Demon Element. He might even struggle to defend himself!

“The contract will terminate once its host is dead. The person bound by it will not be injured. In other words, if Violet Ghost is dead, the contract will terminate itself. Your soul will be unharmed, too,” Lingling said.

“Mm, I understand, but I don’t think I can kill him, right? If I’m bound by the contract, there’s no chance I will be able to kill the host. There might be even worse penalties!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was a little familiar with the Dark Contract. It meant Mo Fan had to take Violet Ghost out first before using the Demon Element, but he could not do it himself.

“That’s true, we need someone else to take out Violet Ghost,” Lingling fell into deep thought.

Someone barged into the memorial hall while they were thinking. Mo Fan and Lingling were given a great scare when they saw the person glaring at them.

Mo Fan and Lingling thought it was someone from the Black Vatican. They realized it was the missing Zhao Manyan after taking a closer look.

“Mo Fan, just go ahead with your plan. Leave Violet Ghost to me, I can’t just let you be the hero while we all watch as bystanders! I don’t think I can provide them any help setting up the defense either, but I will surely take down Violet Ghost for you!” Zhao Manyan declared, his voice harsh, as if it was coming out of a communication device. He was prepared to risk everything.

Mo Fan was touched after seeing Zhao Manyan’s determination. He knew the guy would not just bail on them! The Zhao Manyan he knew was scared of dying, but he was also a real man!

“Alright! Sure! I’m worried about entrusting the job to someone else, but I won’t have to worry if it’s you!” Mo Fan walked up to Zhao Manyan and slugged his shoulder hard.

No one was willing to be a lone hero. Mo Fan felt a lot more confident knowing Zhao Manyan was backing him up. Mo Fan was glad to have a friend like him!

“Enough talk; let’s show these Black Vatican assholes what we have!” Zhao Manyan said grimly.

The truth was, Zhao Manyan had been touched by Mo Fan’s words before, but he was having a hard time accepting the fact that they were going up against the Great Pyramid of Giza, AND a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican. He was not good at adapting to situations. He needed some time to adjust himself.

However, when he fully comprehended the situation, he felt a strong passion rising in his blood. Mo Fan happened to be discussing the problem he was facing. When he said he needed someone he could trust to take down Violet Ghost, Zhao Manyan could no longer withhold the urge to lend a hand. He completely lost his reserve!

Screw it, what could possibly stop them? The Black Vatican? The Great Pyramid of Giza? Would the barefooted be afraid of those that were wearing shoes? If the worst came to worst, they could still leave the enemy half-crippled. Zhao Manyan did not believe that the thousand-year-old turtle would watch him die. So what if he let Baxia save his life again? It would just mean the creature would keep looking down at his master. He could not care less about how the others saw him now, let alone how a turtle saw him!

That being said, Baxia would not fight for Zhao Manyan like a Contracted Beast or a Summoned Beast. He would only show up reluctantly when he sensed Zhao Manyan was about to die. The main reason was that Baxia could not find a better Totem Guardian for the time being.

Zhao Manyan did not know where Baxia was now. The North Valley was a great distance away from the ocean. Zhao Manyan could not even tell if Baxia could reach him in time if anything happened.

But since he had already made up his mind, he could not care less about the giant turtle anymore!

The old turtle could just look for another Totem Guardian after he died. Besides, he had never been reliable, and the old turtle was not particularly fond of him.

“I’ll leave it to you, Old Zhao,” Mo Fan did not say too much.

Zhao Manyan nodded and said, “Try not to expose yourself before I take down Violet Ghost. Don’t move even if something serious happens!”

“I understand,” Mo Fan said.

“Understand my ass! I’m telling you, I was actually thinking of giving Baxia a long-distance call and asking him to drag you away, just so you wouldn’t get yourself killed. I didn’t do so because I respect your decision, but you better f**king respect mine too, so listen carefully! You better not show yourself before I kill Violet Ghost. If I fail, don’t you dare do anything! Just continue to wear your disguise and wait for another opportunity. If you don’t agree, I’ll summon Baxia here right now!” Zhao Manyan declared.

The only way that Zhao Manyan could Summon Baxia was by killing himself.

But Zhao Manyan would still do it, just to drag Mo Fan away. Mo Fan might hate him for it, but he did not really care. Staying alive was more important than everything!

Mo Fan looked at Zhao Manyan’s serious face. It was rare to see him behaving like this…

“Alright, I promise you. I won’t do anything until you kill Violet Ghost. I won’t expose myself if you fail, either,” Mo Fan promised seriously.

Chapter 1382 Orion and the Great Pyramid of Giza!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan left, leaving Zhao Manyan and Lingling in the memorial hall. Lingling believed it was necessary to tell the Prophet the latest update.

They headed to the Northguard Fortress. The ancient wall of the Northguard Fortress was well-preserved. Its defense and sturdiness exceeded the parts of the Great Wall that had collapsed and become archaeological sites. The Prophet was planning to use the Northguard Fortress as the center point and connect it with what was left of the Great Wall to form a line of defense, shielding their land before the army of undead of the Great Pyramid of Giza showed up.

From the west of the Northguard Fortress and to Yulin City in the east, the Great Wall’s length was around a hundred kilometers.

—

General Bin Wei told everyone that the ancient wall did not have the ability to extend. In other words, the total volume of the ancient wall would remain the same, whether it was stacked higher or extended as a straight line like a long dam.

“It’s just like playdough, you can pull it to make it longer, or press it to make it round. You can also compress it to make it more solid, but its volume doesn’t increase or decrease. If I control the wall to rise into the sky, it will have the same appearance as the dam you have seen before, but it also means its thickness and length will decrease,” General Bin Wei explained.

“I see. So if we connect more parts of the Great Wall, our defense will be longer, thicker, and wider?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“That’s right. I don’t have much of the Ancient Earth Fountain Spring Water left. Even if we evenly distribute it across the wall, its power won’t last very long. General Bin Wei is a successor; she will be controlling the hundred-kilometers-long wall once it is connected, but we’ll need an Advanced Mage on every part of the wall to keep inserting the Earth Fountain Spring Water into the wall with their will.” He sighed. “Many parts of the Great Wall have been abandoned. They have lost too much of their energy. There aren’t many parts that are as well-preserved as the one at Northguard Fortress, and only a few people have the power to control them. We only have eight usable segments left!” the Prophet said.

“So that means we’ll have to split up into eight teams and insert the energy into the segment we are in charge of?” Commander Ye Hong asked.

“Mmm, many of the segments are severely damaged. All that is left is a pile of uplifted yellow soil. Some are even buried in the ground. We’ll need the Ancient Earth Fountain Spring Water for them to work. I’ve already obtained some here,” the Prophet told him.

The Ancient Earth Fountain Spring Water was extremely scarce. The Prophet had used everything he had to collect it. The truth was, it was all the Ancient Earth Fountain Spring water he could possibly collect!

“Then let’s assign the people to the different segments!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Have we chosen the people?” Lingling asked.

“I have a few reliable men that are suitable for the mission,” General Bin Wei answered.

“I will lead a few of my men to hold the Double Mountain Pass!” Commander Ye Hong said.

General Bin Wei was clearly going to guard Northguard Fortress. She was the commander of the Northguard Fortress, so it reasonable to place her in charge of the mission.

“I will guard Jian’an Pass!” Captain Feng Yufei stepped forward.

“Then I and another two Enforcers will take care of the easternmost pass,” Captain He Feikun said.

“We will take responsibility for the pass in the middle!” Qi Yang of the Preventive Committee declared.

“I will guard Shenmu Pass!” Zhang Xiaohou stated.

—

Each pass would need a group of people responsible for it. They were already short in numbers, yet they had to split up into eight teams. Everyone would have to give their best!

“One more thing! Each pass will have a Magic Fire Beacon. While the pass is standing, the Magic Fire Beacon will light up with a fire pillar that is visible over a kilometer away. If the fire pillar is extinguished, it means the pass isn’t active. The line of defense we are going to establish is around a kilometer long. When the army of undead comes, we won’t be able to use our communication device. The pillar of the Magic Fire Beacon is our only way we will know one another’s situation,” the Prophet said.

His words sounded relatively heavy. They all knew how dangerous the mission was. They could be overrun by the army of undead very easily, so the Magic Fire Beacon did not just indicate the pass was still standing, it also indicated that the flames of their lives were still burning!

“We will defend North Valley to our deaths!”

“To our deaths!”

“To our deaths!”

Everyone was united as the great calamity approached. The Prophet could see the courage in everyone’s eyes, the strong determination to hold their ground, even if they died for it.

The Great Wall had existed for thousands of years. Even though it had started to collapse and was abandoned and forgotten by the people, its spirit remained the same after all these years. It remained standing firmly, after enduring the strongest wind and the fiercest beasts!

“It’s time to show these creatures from Egypt the strongest defense of our country; we’ll teach them what an unbreakable defense is!” the Prophet proclaimed.

—

—

A few stars were twinkling in the cold night sky above North Valley. Among them, a relatively bright star suddenly emitted an eerie light. The other stars suddenly dimmed when the light appeared, as if it had asserted dominance over the sky!

The eerie light had originated from a great land in the west. It was fired into the night sky from somewhere in the southern lands of the Mediterranean Sea. The light connected with the stars of Orion in the east before descending perpendicularly to North Valley, in the territory of China!

Two eerie lights running across the horizon soon appeared, covering a greater area than the first light. It was impossible to see their ends with just a single glance.

As the lights from the stars and across the horizon intertwined, the center of the land called the Squaretrek Plain seemed to be transferred to another plane. The whole valley was encapsulated by an eerie glow, and an aura that did not belong to the mundane world!

Loud metallic clanks were audible. The thick chains initially lying still on the ground suddenly rattled and tightened, like they were being pulled with great force. They started moving in twelve different angles to the south!

The ends of the chains connected under the light Orion was emitting, at the center point where the rays met. A rift covering all the angles had appeared. The chains now extended into the rift. Despite the enormous force the chains were exerting, the object being dragged out of the rift was still extremely heavy. It slowly revealed its golden tip!

It was a kind of golden rock, revealing a mysterious luster when the eerie, ghostly light shone upon it. The rocks were massive, each of them weighing several tons. The revealed tip already consisted of around a hundred rocks. The ground sank as soon as the rocks made contact with it!

The yellow valley and the solid ground sank a few meters deep before they could withhold the enormous object’s weight. As a matter of fact, the deeper layers and the crust further away had begun to crack!

As the Underworld Monarch Frogs slowly pulled the golden structure out from the rift, the ground within a few dozen kilometers across the valley fissured. If anyone looked down from high above, they would see the whole land was now filled with cracks. The longest one was around eight kilometers long, with a depth of over four hundred meters!

The valley was instantly shattered beyond recognition, yet the Great Pyramid of Giza had yet to reveal half of its size. The valley continued to collapse and split apart!

The twelve Underworld Monarch Frogs cried out furiously, ordering the Yoked to keep marching recklessly.

Almost thirty thousand of the Yoked were advancing barefoot further into the distance. They were using all their might to pull the Underworld Monarch Frogs, who were hauling the magnificent pyramid behind them. They did not dare to slow down, even though they were worn out. The Underworld Monarch Frogs were devouring the Yoked at a significantly higher rate. They were even devouring the Yoked that were moving slightly slower than the rest, let alone those that had fallen to the ground because they could not move anymore!

The Underworld Monarch Frogs had a greater master behind them, so they had to show their competence!

Painful cries filled the sky above North Valley. They were the voices of the Yoked. They would let out a cry every time they took a step forward together. They had to synchronize their timing to drag the heavy Great Pyramid of Giza out from the rift!

The people far away could hear their cries, and their hearts were suddenly brimming with fear. They could already sense the brutality and pressure lingering in the air, strong enough to make living humans suffocate and tremble in fear, and leave the dead in agony and hatred. Whatever emotion it brought to the people, they did not have the slightest ability to resist it…

Everything would submit to the pyramid!

—

“HAHAHA! Wonderful, this is wonderful!”

A burst of crazy laughter rose from the top of a rocky mountain. It was from a teenage boy with purple eyes, clad in a huge red robe embroidered with human faces writhing in pain. The boy was like a passionate believer of the pyramid. He was completely letting his emotions run wild as he received the magnificent structure’s arrival. The air was filled with the smell of death from the Underworld, but it was as soothing as sunlight for him. He was about to ascend to paradise amid it!

Down the slope behind the teenage boy were a large group of people in blue outfits, kneeling and digging their faces into the dust on the ground. They were repeating the same chants proclaiming their faith, yet they were not allowed to lift their gazes, not even to see the ankles of their Red Cardinal!

These people were passionate too, and kept on worshiping non-stop, as if they could ascend together with their master in the red outfit.

But then again, what else could be impossible?

If the Great Pyramid of Giza in front of them was already real, why couldn’t the Kingdom of Death and eternal life with superior status over others be real, too?

Chapter 1383 Hell Is Where They Deserve to Stay

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The endless cries of pain echoing across the sky will serve as the rites and music!

“The fresh blood pouring out from their bodies will serve as the fragrant wine!

“The limbs, organs, and skulls scattered on the ground will serve as the noblest carpet!”

An aged voice was coming from the pyramid. It was speaking in ancient Egyptian, yet everyone could understand what it was saying when they heard it. The voice struck the souls of people and echoed in their minds. Even after a long time, the fear it inflicted on them remained!

Who was talking!?

Was it using the living as the foundation for the opulent ceremony of its arrival!?

The voice echoed across the vast land. It finally faded away after a prolonged time, but the Squaretrek Plain surrounding the Great Pyramid of Giza suddenly became restless!

How terror-striking would the sight of a plain covering an area of over a hundred kilometers square trembling hard be? Figures engulfed in deathly auras were crawling out from the cracks and the thick layer of sand. They were bathed in the ghostly light of the pyramid, giving them an absolutely eerie and spooky appearance!

The number of undead continued to increase. The black rings surrounding the enormous pyramid kept expanding. They were like boiling black tides gathering toward the pyramid, competing for a glorious spot close to the pyramid so they could pay their respects and obeisance to it. Their fanaticism was beyond insane!

“I love the desert. Go, crush the bones of every living creature on this land into sand, and build me a desert!”

The same voice appeared. The aged, imperious, and disdainful voice immediately drove every undead that had woken up crazy!

-That’s right, our king loves the desert. This place is nowhere enough. We need more bones and more blood, and after years of work, it will finally settle into a brilliant gold.-

The ground and the sky shook vigorously. The creatures of the Underworld devoured the valley and started advancing south!

Most terrifyingly, the cracks, ravines, and fissures across the valley formed by the weight of the pyramid had flattened again. The undead were using their bodies to fill them up! Their filthy, twisted, and disgusting bodies were woven together, while the others simply walked over them, crushing their heads and flattening their arms…

It looked like a vast, squirming black land!

It was not difficult to imagine what would happen if a living creature happened to fall into it…

—

Up on the mountain, the Cold Prince was still laughing out loud. His purple eyes were glittering madly, just like the creatures of the Underworld, driven by a strong bloodlust!

“This day has finally arrived!” Unas stood slightly behind the Cold Prince. She was staring at the Great Pyramid of Giza with mad devotion.

The huge bloke, Tall Sparrow, stood at the side. Even as a Super Mage, he was afraid after seeing the creatures of the Underworld surging in their direction.

“Are we going to be fine here?” Tall Sparrow asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ve made a deal with him!” the Cold Prince smiled.

“Yeah, but we didn’t let him down like Izisha did,” Unas said.

“Raise your heads and look at this, too!” the Cold Prince said mercifully to the disciples kneeling on the ground behind him.

Unas and Tall Sparrow were just a step behind the Cold Prince. They were clearly his trustworthy subordinates.

A few steps behind them were the Seven Ghosts, in order from orange to violet.

The Chief Extraditor, Crimson Ghost, was not around. There was no way he would miss out on the ceremony normally. The status of the Chief Extraditor was not much lower than a Red Cardinal in the Black Vatican.

Behind the Seven Ghosts were the Blue Deacons!

Every Blue Deacon, including Mo Fan, was kneeling two hundred meters away from the Cold Prince. There were more than a hundred of them.

Not every Blue Deacon was taking part in the ceremony. There were clearly more present than the normal number of Blue Deacons under a Red Cardinal.

The rest of the members had evacuated to somewhere safe. If their numbers were too high, they could not guarantee that the creatures of the Underworld could still withhold the urge to target them and tear them to pieces. As a result, there were only the hundred-plus Blue Deacons, the Seven Ghosts, the two Exarchs, and the Red Cardinal, the Cold Prince!

These people were the core members of the Cold Prince’s faction!

—

Mo Fan slowly lifted his gaze. He looked past the Blue Deacons, the Seven Ghosts, the two Exarchs, and stared at the Cold Prince’s back!

To Mo Fan’s surprise, the Prince was a skinny and petite figure. There was no way he would think that person was a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican if he was to walk past him on normal days.

Mo Fan did not see the Cold Prince’s face, but he was surprised to hear how young the Red Cardinal sounded.

Was it possible that the Red Cardinal was actually still that young?

The overwhelming presence of the undead swept over them. They immediately felt suffocated. Mo Fan had witnessed the same scene of the sky darkening before, yet he still felt like his head was about to explode when he experienced it again!

In the middle of the tide of undead that was surging forward, the sacred pyramid stood firmly in the limelight with its awe-inspiring appearance!

The inevitable had occurred, yet it was hundred, even a thousand times scarier than he had imagined. How gruesome would it be when these creatures from the Underworld invaded human cities?

Meanwhile, the people that had Summoned these creatures were celebrating their perfect ceremony passionately, extremely proud of their work. They might be humans, but they had completely lost their identities as people. They were filthier, uglier, and worse than those creatures of the Underworld, once they took their skins off!

The sight of the undead surging forward like a tide was a tremendous blow to Mo Fan’s heart. He was previously overwhelmed by grief, knowing what was going to happen, yet as his belief in human nature was trampled once again, all the emotions he felt turned into an inextinguishable fury burning and spreading inside his chest…

He had the urge to deliver them all to Hell, since it was the only place they deserved to stay!

Chapter 1384 Dark Pharaoh of Serpents

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Every place within the valley for a hundred kilometers was beyond recognition after being trampled by the undead army, and no human city was more solid than an entire valley. These creatures of the Underworld acted like they could pick up the scent of the living, and the fear they were under as they fled for their lives!

Playing tag was one of the greatest joys for these creatures of the Underworld. It was almost like the prey they tortured and chased down would taste better than those directly fed to them. All the living would die eventually and end up in the Underworld. Their meaningless struggle was only going to entertain the undead. So run as much as you could, run until you were worn out, run until you were overwhelmed by despair, and your flesh would be very fragrant!

Not long ago, the valley only held the Yoked and the Underworld Monarch Frogs, but the army of undead had swiftly replaced them all. Skeleton Executioners riding skeletal horned horses led the way. These white skeletons were holding a pair of bone weapons. Their rotten bodies were almost connected to the incomplete skeleton horses. The horses galloped freely across the territory of the living as their bone weapons rattled in the wind. They were a bunch of mad executioners!

Their role in the Underworld was to cut newcomers into pieces. The pieces would scatter across the place and mix up with the remains of others. They were the masters of incoming souls. To become a qualified undead, the first thing newcomers had to learn was not how to kill, but how to reassemble their bodies! If they could not find their own body parts, they would have to choose parts that were compatible with their bodies.

The Underworld Executioners led the army of undead. If anyone had been glancing down at the army from high up in the night sky, the Underworld Executioners were like a white veil drifting in the wind across the vast land. The density of the undead at the front was slightly higher, and gradually decreased toward the back of the army. The Underworld Executioners who had woken up late would eventually overtake the creatures who were afoot, and gathered at the front of the tide. It was like the white arc at the front of a tsunami, a spectacular blade of death!

The thousands of Underworld Executioners were only a small portion of the army. Other creatures slightly inferior to the Underworld Executioners in terms of speed were the Twin-Bodied Demon Cows, a strange kind of creature with the muscular body of a demon cow as its core, but the parts above its neck were made of the upper bodies of the Yoked!

Rumors said that Yoked who had atoned for their sins had a chance to be freed from the Underworld Monarch Frogs’ control. However, their cursed flesh had gone through endless tortures, and would be so weak that they could not even slaughter a chicken after leaving the Underworld Monarch Frogs. They had to connect their body to a demon cow without its head to truly live their redeemed life.

Two Yoked and an Underworld Demon Cow would turn into a Twin-Bodied Demon Cow. They had outstanding physical strength, and the smallest among them was at least five meters tall. They could even reach sixty meters, as tall as a skyscraper!

These Twin-Bodied Demon Cows were the main “trampling squad”. Countless undead were crushed into mincemeat by their hoofs. They enjoyed the sound and the touch of trampling on the remains and flesh of creatures. It was a great way for them to vent their frustrations. The rulers of the Underworld enjoyed watching flesh and bones scattering in the air while blood sprayed all over the ground. That spectacular red carpet was the only thing that matched their noble status. Therefore, these Twin-Bodied Demon Cows responsible for producing such ‘red carpets’ were the pharaohs’ favorite, and so the power granted to them was greater than others!

Half of the quakes and destruction the land was undergoing were the inspired work of the Twin-Bodied Demon Cows. They were following the Underworld Executioners, since the Executioners were good at picking up the scent of the living. The Twin-Bodied Demon Cows would be able to produce new carpets just by following the Underworld Executioners!

Behind the two vanguard troops were the rest of the Underworld creatures. They were so mixed up that it was impossible to identify what they were.

Unlike a usual horde of undead, these creatures were not classified as skeletons, zombies, demons, or spirits. They were classified into several different groups instead, including the Enslaved, underworld warriors, mummies, the Grafted, Underworld Titans, and the rulers…

Mo Fan was currently standing on a rocky slope. The Underworld Executioners and the Twin-Bodied Demon Cows were the first to flow past them, like a dark tide. The noises they made were deafening; they destroyed everything in the way. Even the hills along the way were razed to the ground. On the other hand, when the creatures were passing by the mountain where the Black Vatican was watching, Mo Fan noticed a crimson barrier encapsulating the mountain they were on.

The creatures of the Underworld avoided the mountain when they were passing by, like it was a forbidden land. They would cautiously avoid it, despite the massive congestion it caused!

Despite how unstoppable the army of undead was, the creatures did not trample the people of the Black Vatican to mush like Mo Fan had hoped.

After the vanguard went by, Mo Fan saw an ocean of undead surging past. He saw many mummies: Death Saber Mummies, Giant Axe Mummies, Red-Eyed Mummies, Dark Serpent Mummies…

There were many Undead Mages in Egypt, but from what he had heard, the majority of them could only Summon mummies. Of the creatures of the Underworld, only mummies could form a unique contract with the living, but even so, there were still a lot of mummies that were reluctant to sign a contract with living humans!

Mummies were from inside the pyramids, unlike the undead on the outside of the pyramids. Therefore, the overall strength of mummies was significantly higher than the outer undead. Even the weakest mummy had the strength of a Great Warrior-level creature!

Mo Fan had fought against mummies before, he knew how strong they were. His scalp had already turned numb after seeing the overwhelming number of mummies in front of him. To think that a single pyramid would contain over ten thousand mummies! Normally, the people who were buried as mummies were the authorities of Egypt during ancient times. Mo Fan remembered there were less than a hundred mummies during the battle against the mirage that General Fenna had commanded. It showed how shocking the number of mummies the Great Pyramid of Giza contained was!

He could not help but wonder how many soldiers in the whole country would stand a chance against just the army of mummies alone!

—

A Dark Serpent Mummy passed by the mountain while Mo Fan was lost in his thoughts.

The Dark Serpent Mummy had the body structure of a human, but it was extremely tall, like a pine tree with no branches. Its body was covered in a shroud of demon scales, its eerie dark golden glow emanating a dangerous and terrifying aura.

The Dark Serpent Mummy’s head was as high as the mountain. It stared coldly at the people of the Black Vatican inside the crimson barrier when it passed by.

The other creatures had simply ignored their existence, or perhaps they could not even see the living humans inside the crimson barrier, but the Dark Serpent Mummy acted as if it could see them. It was looking right at them, leaving the Blue Deacons in a great panic!

“It…it can see us?” Violet Ghost gasped. His legs were already trembling.

The other Blue Deacons completely lost their calm. If the Demon Serpent Mummy destroyed the barrier, they would all be exposed in front of the unstoppable army of undead. Even a Forbidden Mage would struggle to leave this place in one piece!

“Hello!” The Cold Prince lifted his head and smiled widely.

The Demon Serpent Mummy looked at him. Its eyes flickered with disdain and ridicule.

It kept moving, and proceeded on its way. The Demon Serpent Mummy was surrounded by a huge group of Brutal Sword Death Servants. Unlike the rest of the undead moving so chaotically, the Brutal Sword Death Servants were moving in orderly rows!

The Demon Serpent Mummy saw the humans inside the barrier, but it did not attack them. The way it was looking at them was obviously full of disdain, like a noble person who could not be bothered wasting his time with trashy beggars!

The Cold Prince seemed to have realized the meaning behind the Demon Serpent Mummy’s grin. The childish smile on his face gradually lost its fervor.

The Cold Prince clearly did not plan to be looked down upon by a mummy ruler. In his opinion, he should be treated like a ruler of the Great Pyramid of Giza, and be respected by the creatures of the Underworld, instead of being treated so disdainfully!

——

Mo Fan’s heart was beating rapidly as he stared at the Demon Serpent Mummy’s back.

What level was that creature? How did it apply so much pressure to them with just a single glance? It was most likely comparable to the eight undead rulers of the Ancient Capital!

In addition to that, Mo Fan was extremely familiar with the Brutal Sword Death Servants. He had a hard time fighting a dozen of them in the past. He remembered the Dark Swordmaster he had fought against before only had around a hundred of them as its underlings.

But the Demon Serpent Mummy had three companies of the Brutal Sword Death Servants, each troop having a thousand of them!

Having three troops of Brutal Sword Death Servants escorting him… could it be that the Demon Serpent Mummy was actually a pharaoh!?

Currently, only the rulers of Underworld with their own pyramid would be called a pharaoh in Egypt. The Great Pyramid of Giza clearly belonged to the pharaoh Khufu, but for some reason, Mo Fan felt that the Demon Serpent Mummy’s level was at the level of a pharaoh. Otherwise, why would he be escorted by so many Brutal Sword Death Servants!?

The Demon Serpent Mummy and his subordinates alone could easily trample a city into ashes!

The guy clearly saw us, yet he didn’t even bother attacking. Did the Cold Prince reach a special deal with the Underworld?, Mo Fan wondered.

That means the creatures of the Underworld have been planning to invade all along. They didn’t come because the Cold Prince Summoned them. The Cold Prince only unlocked the door for them. Perhaps that’s why the Demon Pharaoh of Serpents didn’t really treat him seriously?

The truth was, the Black Vatican was not necessarily unbeatable. They were more like a bunch of traitors that had opened the gate for the enemy when two countries were at war. If Mo Fan demonized now, he would have no trouble taking down all the members of the Black Vatican around him!

Chapter 1385 Heavenly Defense Stance

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

Meanwhile, in some ancient ruins in Shenmu…

The ground kept trembling in the distance.

Zhang Xiaohou, Qu Kang, and a few others stood on the seemingly abandoned land in disappointment.

“Are you serious? Is this little sand dune really part of the ancient Wall?” Qu Kang said.

Qu Kang initially thought the ancient keep in Shenmu was something like the Northguard Fortress. He expected to see a few ancient sturdy walls, yet all they found were piles of sand. It was significantly different from the Great Wall he had in mind!

How could a pile of sand possibly stop the huge army of undead? It couldn’t even stop a normal Servant-class creature!

“Many of the ancient passes were abandoned and are now desolate. Only a few relatively famous places have managed to preserve the Walls. However, the Prophet already mentioned it’s possible to reform the ancient Wall with the Earth Fountain Spring!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

He believed in the Prophet’s words. Their first priority was to find the Magic Fire Beacon. They had to insert the Earth Fountain Spring into it to activate the ancient ruins!

It was difficult to locate the Magic Fire Beacon. The sand dunes actually covered quite a large area, around eight kilometers square. The nearby locals had all been evacuated, so they did not have anyone to guide them to the right location of the Magic Fire Beacon.

“Luo Tong is back! Did you find anything?” Qu Kang asked as soon as he saw Luo Tong, who had gone to scout the area ahead.

Luo Tong was a captain of the Northguard Fortress from the First Troop. He was assigned to Zhang Xiaohou’s troop to guard the ancient Shenmu Pass.

The captain had just returned from the front line and was wearing a grim face. His men seemed to be lost in thought too. It was obvious that they had witnessed something absolutely terrifying!

“I don’t know how to describe it. They are less than thirty kilometers away from us. Their numbers are too high. It feels like they are going to devour the whole world! I’ve been at the Northguard Fortress for a long time, I’ve fought in at least ten battles of different scales, but all of them combined together are still less than a tenth of the army of undead I saw. Can we really stop them?” Luo Tong had already started to doubt himself.

He had sworn to protect the land to his death at the start, but no one could possibly retain their determination after seeing the enemy they were up against. His resolve was shattered into pieces tinier than dust…

His men had pale faces, too. How could they possibly believe an abandoned Wall could protect them from those savage creatures of the Underworld?

“Commander Zhang, we’ve found the Magic Fire Beacon. It’s around four kilometers from here!” a soldier came up to them and reported.

“Four kilometers?” Zhang Xiaohou was startled.

It was still a distance away. He could easily make his way to the Magic Fire Beacon at his full speed, but he was not the person entrusted with the Earth Fountain Spring; it was an Earth Mage, Yu Feifeng. He initially volunteered to take charge of an ancient pass, but the Prophet believed he was more suitable to inject the Earth Fountain Spring into the Magic Fire Beacon as a Geomancer. He was assigned to Zhang Xiaohou’s troop, and was entrusted with the task of injecting the Earth Fountain Spring under Zhang Xiaohou and his troop’s protection.

“The enemy will be here soon. We have to pick up our pace!” Qu Kang said.

They immediately sprinted to their destination. Four kilometers was not too huge of a distance for them, but the problem was, the army of undead was not slow, either. It would not take them too long to travel thirty kilometers!

—

—

Northguard Fortress…

As the center of the line of defense, the Northguard Fortress was stationed with the highest number of soldiers. Most of the Battlemages had stayed behind. Their job was to hold their ground, together with their two commanders.

The loud rumble in the distance had long reached the fortress. Their breathing had intensified long before they actually saw the army of undead.

“They are here!” a captain yelled on the watchtower. He fired a Brilliant Light into the sky, signaling the others that the enemy had appeared.

Following that, another beam of light representing the enemy’s numbers rose into the sky. If it remained a single beam when it reached the highest point, it meant the enemy’s numbers were below a thousand…

The light beam soared into the night sky and branched off rapidly. The Light Spell was blooming like brilliant fireworks; it left the soldiers of the Northguard Fortress astonished!

“That…that many?”

“How many are there!?”

It was impossible to count the branches of the Light Spell even when each of them represented a thousand enemies. The enemy was still more than ten kilometers away, yet their numbers had already covered the entire horizon!

“General Bin Wei, it’s up to you now,” the Prophet said with a heavy voice.

General Bin Wei nodded. She glanced into the distance. She could already see the Underworld Executioners leading the enemy troops. Her heart was beating rapidly, even though she had prepared herself beforehand!

She had never felt so uneasy and terrified since she had reached the Super Level, but the emotions she was currently feeling were stronger than the those she had when she was facing powerful creatures as a little Basic and Intermediate Mage.

The enemy’s numbers were just too many, so many that it was impossible to count them all. One would simply lose their will to fight. It felt like everything would simply be destroyed. Even the Northguard Fortress that the soldiers were extremely proud of was nothing in front of the massive army of undead!

“Heavenly Defense Stance!” General Bin Wei took a deep breath to calm herself.

She had to pay full attention when controlling the ancient Wall. She could not afford to tremble in fear now. She had to retain her will of steel for the ancient Wall to stand firmly!

The ancient Wall emerged from the ground once again. The meandering Walls suddenly straightened and rose from seven meters to fifty meters high, and were still rising!

A heavenly dam gray stone soon appeared in front of the Northguard Fortress. The Walls were so tall that the fortress suddenly became tiny. Most shockingly, the Walls continued to extend sideways in both directions, even after they had reached three kilometers. It was impossible to see the entire Wall in their range of vision!

The soldiers were able to see the whole of the vast land when standing atop the Northguard Fortress a moment ago, but a range of mountains over ten kilometers long had now appeared out of nowhere. The spectacular sight was like the work of the Heavens. The people of the Northguard Fortress had finally witnessed the full and magnificent Great Wall of China!

The heavenly dam was enormous and stunning. It served as a dose of confidence for the soldiers who were about to face the massive army of undead!

Chapter 1386 The Army of the Underworld Crashing into the Great Wall

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Look, a fire pillar!”

“What is that… Why do I feel like something enormous is approaching?”

A fire pillar rose into the sky to the east of the Northguard Fortress. Its blinding light stood out in the night sky that was being gradually overwhelmed by the presence of death. Everyone in the Northguard Fortress could see it.

Meanwhile, around ten kilometers away from the Northguard Fortress, where one end of the Great Wall stopped, an ancient keep emerged from the ground and connected with the Wall. It extended the line of defense across the horizon!

Commander Ye Hong was in charge of the second segment. It extended the Great Wall to a length of seventeen kilometers, forming an enormous dam under the night sky!

“There’s another one!”

“It’s a part of the Great Wall too!”

Another fire pillar rose into the sky in the west, raising a glimmer of hope for the people amid the great despair. The flames burned vigorously in their hearts!

The third section connected with the Northguard Fortress, standing firm despite the trials and hardships it went through. It was as magnificent as a massif. It once again left the people in the Northguard Fortress in astonishment. They initially thought their ancestors had only left them some segments of broken walls and abandoned fortresses, but it turned out to be an inviolable Wall with the might of Heavens. It was truly shocking when it regained its true appearance!

The fourth segment soon emerged from the ground, extending the line of defense to twenty-nine kilometers!

The heavenly dam’s height stayed between fifty to eighty meters, but it was over twenty meters thick, and its length had reached almost thirty kilometers!

Most importantly, there were a few sections that had not recovered yet. The majestic Great Wall that had only recovered half its true length was already setting up an indestructible line of defense in the hearts of the people, who had been on the verge of being overwhelmed by despair when facing the huge army of undead!

They had to retain their will to fight to stand a chance against the enemy. If they already lost their will, they were nothing but a sheet of loose sand, regardless of their numbers. Their hearts were burning as fiercely as the Magic Fire Beacons upon witnessing the Heavenly Defense Stance of the Great Wall. They would fight until the end, without turning back!

Two deafening sounds were clashing in the vast North Valley. One was the heavy stompings of the army of undead, crushing everything in their way and razing everything to the ground. The other was the loud rumble as the ancient Wall was rising and establishing the impenetrable dam along the horizon. If anyone glanced down from high above, they would see a black tide brimming with despair charging at a mountain dragon that was spreading its wings! The sky and ground might even collapse amid the destruction that was about to take place!

The Battlemages made their way up to the heavenly dam. The spacious Wall could easily hold countless numbers of Mages. Unfortunately, they did not have enough soldiers to fill the dam!

They could only see an ocean of filthy undead wiggling and squirming. The eerie sight completely filled up their eyes and almost made their heads explode. They suddenly felt like their bodies were jerking, as if they were being bitten all over the place!

“Can…can we…can we really stop them…”

“We won’t live for more than a second without the Wall!”

“I’m trembling so much that I can’t even control a single Star!”

The Northguard Fortress had become the first target of the army of undead. The magnificent Wall received the first attack from the enemy’s vanguard troops, and shook hard from the impact. Several cracks appeared on the surface of the Wall and continued to spread like spiderwebs!

The Wall was not invincible. It had a resistance threshold, too! A strong enough force would still cause it to break and collapse. The soldiers were struggling to stand still on the Wall after the impact. The courage that they strenuously gathered after seeing the magnificent Wall dissipated once again when facing the ocean of twisted flesh under the Wall.

The Underworld Executioners had reached the wall. Their skeletal horses were smashed into mincemeat after ramming into the Wall. Their remains splattered across the Wall and the ground like mud.

The thousand Underworld Executioners and their Corpse-Horned Horses did not have a chance to slow down at all. A massive army of undead was advancing behind them. They could not afford to stop halfway, being the vanguard troops. As a result, lots of blood and flesh continued to splatter across the wall, while their bones and limbs scattered after crashing into the Wall at an insane speed!

More cracks surfaced on the majestic dam. The front layer had started to peel off and collapse. On the other hand, many of the undead army’s vanguard troops had been crushed into pieces. They initially did not treat the Wall seriously; they assumed they could easily ram any Wall into pieces, considering how sturdy their bones were. They could even smash a rocky mountain to pieces, let alone a measly wall.

To their surprise, the awakened Great Wall was sturdier than they thought. They had only managed to break the outer layer of the Wall after thousands of Underworld Executioners rammed into it!

Bodily fluids poured across the place, and formed a morass along the perimeter of the Wall. It was shocking, extending beyond their range of vision…

The Wall was beyond magnificent. It was so long that not every spot could be stationed by soldiers. There were only eight troops of soldiers on the wall, spread across the eight Magic Fire Beacons on the ancient passes. The creatures of the Underworld almost filled the entire valley across the line of defense. Countless undead continued to smash into the wall, crushing their bodies to pieces and their blood splattering everywhere. The swamp of blood and flesh was flowing like a giant river!

Half of the Underworld Executioners were dead. Their numbers were so shocking that they were like a school of fish ramming into shoals. Their only fate was to become a part of the never-ending pool of blood.

The majestic dam was gradually covered in cracks after the continuous slamming impacts. Luckily, each Magic Fire Beacon was still receiving the Earth Fountain Spring Water. They could still modify the length and height of the ancient Wall to replenish the parts that had collapsed!

The Wall was already shaking from the first wave of undead. The small cracks eventually turned into huge cracks and holes across the barrier. The speed of the Earth Fountain Spring Water was struggling to keep up with the rate of destruction to the Wall!

“Another vanguard troop left, we must stop their riders at all costs. Otherwise, we will be done for!” the Prophet yelled.

The Underworld Executioners were not the biggest of the vanguard troops of the undead army, they were only the quickest. The species posing the greatest threat to the Wall was the Twin-Bodied Demon Cows. Not only were they massive, their strength greatly surpassed that of the Underworld Executioners too! Everything they stepped on would simply turn into dust.

“They are coming! Geomancers, you must hold your ground!. When you think you are at your limit, when you are on the verge of giving up, think about our people that are still evacuating. Their bodies don’t even have a thousandth of this wall’s sturdiness. We must clench our teeth and stand our ground, since we are the only ones they can rely on!” the Prophet’s voice spread through the Magic Fire Beacons.

They had eight Geomancers in total. Each of them received a tremendous impact to their soul when the Underworld Executioners rammed into the walls. The segments of the Wall they were stationed at were like parts of their soul right now. The damage the Wall received was proportional to the impact on their soul!

Their will played an important role. The stronger their will, the sturdier the Wall would be. As long as they remained standing, the Wall would not fall!

—

The Twin-Bodied Demon Cows finally arrived. Their massive bodies turned the tide of undead into a terrifying tsunami. The front of the wave consisted of thousands of pairs of menacing heads atop the bodies of demon cows in various sizes.

The Twin-Bodied Demon Cows were not only destroying the ground with their stomps, but even crushed the Underworld Executioners who had fallen unconscious after crashing into the Wall into juices, laying a shockingly viscous and bright-colored carpet through the valley.

Loud collisions were heard in the distance first. The sound of the massive creatures slamming into the Wall echoed like the deafening explosions of fireworks on New Year’s Eve.

A series of rapid explosions followed, which further increasing the fear lingering in the hearts of the soldiers!

The Great Wall was shaking like never before. The soldiers could not even stand properly, and began to fall as the walls collapsed!

“General Bin Wei!” the Prophet stared at the successor of the ancient Wall in astonishment.

The walls had begun to collapse. If the center of their defense was the first to fall, the other segments would have no chance at all.

General Bin Wei had a defeated face.

Taking down the Northguard Fortress was the priority of the army from the Underworld. It was the only obstacle stopping their army from entering the vast North Valley. As a result, the number of Twin-Bodied Demon Cows gathering in front of it was the highest, including those over forty meters tall. They had almost reached half the height of the walls. The impacts of these enormous creatures slamming into the Wall was utterly terrifying!

Chapter 1387 Magic Formation, Realm of the Heavens

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

General Bin Wei breathed heavily. The teeth marks left on her lips were obvious. Fresh blood was flowing out of them!

“You will not cross this place, never will!” Bin Wei built a spiritual wall in her heart. She would endure every impact without frowning even the slightest, regardless of how strong they were!

The Wall was collapsing rapidly just a moment ago. It almost allowed some of the Underworld creatures to cross the line of defense, but that suddenly came to a stop when General Bin Wei’s eyes glittered with determination. The Wall recovered swiftly under her fearless gaze.

The shield did not fall. The Twin-Bodied Demon Cows and the Underworld Executioners were crushed to pieces!

“Well…well done!” The Prophet’s eyes regained their focus. He had thought they were doomed for an instant!

They had survived the most difficult time. It was time for them to conquer these Underworld creatures with the power of the Wall!

“Prophet, one of the fire pillars is gone…” General Bin Wei’s aide-de-camp blurted out in astonishment.

“It’s Jian’an Pass,” the prophet lifted his gaze and looked in the direction where a fire pillar was gradually dying.

Even though the Northguard Fortress survived, Jian’an Pass had still fallen. It was something they did not expect. They had still underestimated the Underworld creatures!

“Ask the remaining six Geomancers to fill up the gaps immediately. We can’t allow the wall to have any openings!” the Prophet ordered.

The only way to relay information was through the Magic Fire Beacons. The fall of Jian’an Pass had placed the other Magic Fire Beacons under greater pressure.

General Bin Wei had clarified that the total mass of the Great Wall would not change. Therefore, they would have to make up for the fallen Jian’an Pass with the other seven segments. They could not afford to modify the Wall’s thickness, and they could barely modify the length depending on the enemy’s movement, which meant they could only reduce its height!

The wall was around seventy meters tall on average, but in front of the Northguard Fortress it was around eighty meters. That was high enough to stop all Underworld creatures except those of the Ruler-level. Not many of the creatures had such ridiculous sizes.

However, the height of the wall immediately dropped to around sixty meters to fill the gaps of the fallen section. That immediately allowed some of the Underworld creatures to climb over their comrades’ bodies and reach the top of the wall!

The Twin-Bodied Demon Cows did not smash through the wall. The rest of the undead army had arrived now. The creatures above three meters tall began to stack up in layers in the pool of blood, while the others started climbing the heaping mounds of flesh that their comrades had piled up into. After reaching a height of thirty meters, they also turned into stepping stones for the undead behind them…

Most Underworld creatures were not particularly huge. The process of them stacking up their bodies to form ladders for the rest to climb up the walls was not as quick as the humans had imagined. They were making their way to the top of the Great Wall, but their numbers were simply too overwhelming. It was only a matter of time until they stacked up into mountains of flesh over sixty meters high!

“My Heavens!” the aide-de-camp stood at the edge and glanced down the wall. His vision was filled up with squirming heads and incomplete bodies. The sight was so close that he almost fainted from trypophobic revulsion.

As a matter of fact, the terrifying scene was not just happening in front of the aide-de-camp. Almost every spot along the wall had a mound of flesh being stacked up. They were all mashed up together, the creatures were only revealing a hand or a head. Some were even crushed by their comrades. Their blood poured out from the hill of flesh. Their hands, arms, and legs were falling off the mounds like sand particles!

“They are climbing up the Wall. How are we supposed to stop them!?” The aide-de-camp began to panic.

The soldiers subconsciously backed away from the edge. The rotten smell of the detestable undead was within inches. Their movement and ghastly roars were a couple dozen meters away. They were already overwhelmed by the fear of being eaten alive, even though they had yet to come into contact with the Underworld creatures!

“Hold your ground, the ancient shield of our country has a magic formation built in it. It will not let the creatures reach the top of the Wall!” the Prophet said.

The line of defense would lose its purpose if the undead could just climb over it. Many Warrior-level creatures could easily jump to a height of fifty meters!

“Realm of the Heavens!”

General Bin Wei was obviously the one to activate the magic formation. When she directed her will into the Magic Fire Beacon, ancient Runes began to surface on the Great Wall. The Runes emitted a brown light as they fell off the walls like leaves.

The Leaf Runes slowly floated down. When they came into contact with the undead, they immediately pressed down upon the creatures. The undead began to fall as if a great weight was crashing upon them, and smashed heavily onto the ground. Their flesh and blood scattered across the place!

More Leaf Runes appeared and fell upon the undead ceaselessly. Even those that landed on the ground would mark the place with the same light that the walls were emitting, increasing the gravity on the spot!

The force applied to any creature trying to cross the wall. Their bodies were now several times heavier, as if they were tied with heavy chains…

The gravitational force grew stronger closer to the top of the walls. If they were on the ground, the gravity applied to the creatures was only normal. It would multiply ten times as soon as the undead climbed ten meters up the wall, and fifty times when they climbed twenty meters up…

When the ramps of flesh were over thirty meters high, the undead at the top of the mounds were under a hundred times the pressure, instantly crushing those beneath them to pulp!

Blood poured down from the hills of flesh once again. Thousands of the undead were blended into a disgusting pot of porridge, resulting in a sickening sight.

The hills of flesh that the undead tried so hard to stack up soon collapsed after the magic formation was activated. Even Warrior-level, Commander-level, or Ruler-level creatures could not escape from it!

The overwhelming weight suppressed the Underworld creatures and helped to stabilize the situation. It also gave the people on the Wall a chance to catch their breaths!

Chapter 1388 Seizing Control of the Magic Fire Beacons

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Underworld creatures were struggling to mount the Wall when the Realm of the Heavens was established. The ocean of undead was thoroughly blocked by the defensive dam. The unstoppable army was unable to knock the Great Wall down!

The Wall had temporarily stopped the undead army’s march. Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh when he saw the Great Wall still standing.

The spectacular line of defense was fully established. Mo Fan was able to get some peace of mind. He could now put his all into the fight, knowing the Wall was there to support him!

However, he could not make his move yet. He had no idea where Zhao Manyan was now. He had to wait until Zhao Manyan took out Violet Ghost before he could deliver these scum of the Black Vatican to Hell.

“Can anyone tell me what the hell that is!?” the Cold Prince suddenly screamed furiously.

The Blue Deacons trembled upon hearing the cry. The Cold Prince was nothing but a lunatic when he began to lose control. During the incident of the Red Mediterranean Sea, whenever he lost control of his elegant demeanor, someone would be tortured horribly. No one in the Black Vatican was crueler and crazier than the Cold Prince when he was enraged!

“I don’t know.” Tall Sparrow lowered his head. He dared not contradict the Cold Prince.

The only person that dared to speak in a time like this was Unas. She was also astounded when she saw the magnificent Wall. She had not expected the Central Plains would still have an ancient defense that was strong enough to stop the undead army.

It was the undead army of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Even an entire country was expected to struggle against it!

“What a surprise, they are using such old Earth Magic. As expected of a country that has existed for five thousand years. They are more troublesome to deal with than we imagined,” Unas said.

“Is this really the time to compliment our enemy?” the Cold Prince asked coldly.

Unas replied, “We can’t afford to underestimate our enemy, after all. We are facing a country with an ancient civilization comparable to that of Egypt. Master Cold Prince, you must remain calm. Otherwise, everything we have worked so hard for is going to be ruined because of this Wall that has appeared out of nowhere.”

“You sound like you have a plan to make this goddamn Wall collapse?” the Cold Prince asked after calming himself.

“Yes. If I’m not mistaken, the magic formation that is suppressing the undead creatures doesn’t work on humans. Otherwise, those idiots on the wall would be smashed into mincemeat by now. Do you see the seven fire pillars in the night sky? I know a little about this ancient defensive mechanism that has been around since ancient times. The fire pillars are Magic Fire Beacons. They have to send a Geomancer to each of the Magic Fire Beacons to inject the Earth Fountain Spring Water to maintain the Wall. It’s unlikely that we can destroy the ancient Wall. Even the Ruler-level undead might not be strong enough to do so, but it’s very easy to kill those Geomancers… we might not have seen this coming, but isn’t it more interesting this way? A prey that doesn’t resist or struggle isn’t as tasty,” Unas smiled.

“That does sound reasonable. Ghosts, listen up!” the Cold Prince shouted.

“At your service!” the six Ghosts replied with murderous voices.

“Lead the Deacons and the Clergy to seize control of the Magic Fire Beacons. Kill anyone that dares to stand in your way!” the Cold Prince said.

“Affirmative!”

The six Ghosts and more than a hundred Blue Deacons split into six groups and headed toward the six Magic Fire Beacons.

—

The members of the Black Vatican received their orders and went on their way. Mo Fan soon discovered that the Cold Prince did indeed make some kind of deal with the Underworld creatures. The savage undead were still ignoring the people of the Black Vatican, allowing them to move freely through the undead army!

“If the magic formation is only effective against species other than humans, this is going to be a huge problem!” Mo Fan murmured.

The Underworld creatures were unable to cross the Great Wall. The vanguard troops of the undead army had failed to break through the line of defense. It seemed like the humans had the situation under control, but unfortunately, the greatest threat to a city with a solid defense was the traitors in it. They were like poisonous parasites devouring the host from the inside…

The six Ghosts split up and headed for the different Magic Fire Beacons. Mo Fan was extremely worried. He even had the urge to crush the six Ghosts right on the spot. If they took out the Geomancers maintaining the Magic Fire Beacons, the army of undead would soon pour into the Central Plain like a strong tide that had broken through a dam!

“Tall Sparrow, I’ll let you handle the Northguard Fortress. Don’t let me down,” the Cold Prince said to his Exarch.

“Don’t worry, I’ll tear the commander of the Northguard Fortress into pieces and cook a meat stew with her flesh to celebrate the ceremony!” Tall Sparrow grinned, revealing two sharp fangs.

Mo Fan glanced at Tall Sparrow. He could sense a powerful aura from him. The man was most likely a Super Mage, and judging from what Violet Ghost told him, he must be a lunatic who enjoyed eating human flesh.

Unas looked at Violet Ghost and said, “Violet Ghost, lend me a few of your reliable men.”

“Glad to be at your service,” Violet Ghost bowed and glanced at Mo Fan, Blue Bat, and another Blue Deacon and said, “You three will follow Master Unas and obey her orders.”

“Understood!” the Blue Deacon codenamed Crow replied.

Mo Fan and Blue Bat exchanged glances with one another before responding.

Mo Fan had a bad feeling, despite agreeing to it on the surface.

Only he knew who Violet Ghost was. He and Zhao Manyan had planned to take Violet Ghost out when the members of the Black Vatican were dispatched to take down the Great Wall. Once Violet Ghost was taken out, Mo Fan would be able to unleash the demon inside him. To his surprise, Unas asked Violet Ghost for some of his men, and he happened to be one of them!

Mo Fan did not dare say no, since it would simply expose him. However, he was extremely worried. If he was sent somewhere else, Zhao Manyan would not be able to tell who Violet Ghost was. How was he supposed to assassinate Violet Ghost if he did not even know who he was!?

“Shenmu Keep must be in that direction. The rest of you, follow me. We’ll get it done as soon as possible!” Violet Ghost glanced in the direction of Shenmu Keep and gathered his men with a wave.

Mo Fan was even more anxious when he saw Violet Ghost leaving.

“Hang on,” Mo Fan said.

“What is it?” Violet Ghost turned around and asked in a displeased voice.

Mo Fan walked up to Violet Ghost and said with a serious face, “You will terminate the contract once this is over. I hope you haven’t forgotten about it?”

Violet Ghost burst out laughing. He did not answer Mo Fan’s question. He said, “Just follow Master Unas’ orders, and don’t do anything reckless.”

Mo Fan did not dare to say anything further. He was afraid to blow his cover.

Violet Ghost left with thirteen Blue Deacons. However, it was likely that the Black Vatican had more men standing by somewhere close by. Since they had decided to seize control of the Magic Fire Beacons, they were going to summon the rest of their members to the respective Magic Fire Beacons. Mo Fan could only pray that the people guarding the Magic Fire Beacons were able to hold the Black Vatican off!

The Wall had stopped the undead army’s march. They would not let these rotten people destroy the Wall! Never!

—

—

Zhao Manyan and Lingling were feeling a little nervous on a hill behind the Wall.

They still had not received the signal from Mo Fan. They were worried if something had happened to him.

If Zhao Manyan did not receive Mo Fan’s signal, he would not be able to make his move. The Black Vatican had so many people. How could he possibly tell which one was Violet Ghost? The fact that his name was Violet Ghost did not necessarily mean he was wearing a purple outfit, right!?

“Someone’s coming!” Zhao Manyan said alertly.

Zhao Manyan had used his Earth Element to surround them with rock. It looked just like a huge boulder from the outside. It was unlikely that anyone could see through his concealment.

“It’s the signal to gather, the Blue Deacons are summoning us!”

“Where did that Wall even appear from!?”

“Enough talking, we just need to follow the Blue Deacons!”

Some hurried footsteps and several voices went past Zhao Manyan’s location. It was obvious that they were the Black Vatican’s members judging from their words. They were not allowed to participate in the Cold Prince’s ceremony, so they were all standing by behind the Wall.

If Zhao Manyan did not have a more important task on hand, he would have run out of his cover and killed them all. He was more than happy to take down every scum of the Black Vatican he stumbled into!

“They seem to be gathering toward the Magic Fire Beacons,” Lingling said.

“We have successfully stopped the undead army from advancing. The people of the Black Vatican are starting to run out of patience. They are coming out of hiding to attack the Magic Fire Beacons. Damn it, if only we had more people defending them. We would be able to take the Black Vatican out!” Zhao Manyan said.

“It’s difficult to say if they can hold the Black Vatican off,” Lingling said with a worried voice.

The Black Vatican was on the move. Its people were clearly troublesome to deal with, too. They were clearly going to tear at the Magic Fire Beacons like mad hounds to take down the Great Wall. The Magic Fire Beacons were defended by soldiers, but since their superiors had already given up on North Valley, they did not have many soldiers around to defend the Magic Fire Beacons. They were mostly just soldiers who were stationed at the Northguard Fortress!

North Valley’s survival was dependant on whether the soldiers could fend off the Black Vatican!

In addition to that, someone was playing another important role. It was none other than Mo Fan!

Mo Fan was currently the closest to the Cold Prince. Once he was rid of the contract binding him, he would be able to take out the Cold Prince. The rest of his men would only be a sheet of loose sand.

“What the hell is Mo Fan doing? They will seize control of the Magic Fire Beacons if we wait any longer! It won’t even matter if we manage to kill the Cold Prince!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

“I got something!” Lingling blurted out in joy.

“Is it the signal?” Zhao Manyan focused sharply.

“No, but we discussed a backup plan, too. Look, it’s the Dark Matter. Something must have happened to Mo Fan, but he tagged Violet Ghost with the Dark Matter. We just need to follow the Dark Matter to find Violet Ghost!” Lingling was holding a tiny notebook computer. The screen was picking up the presence of the Fiendish Night’s Dark Matter!

Zhao Manyan’s eyes glittered.

He finally knew why Mo Fan always brought this little girl around. She was just too good at things like this!

Chapter 1389 Scorpion Lord Medusa

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan, Blue Deacon, Crow, and a dozen other Blue Deacons were standing behind Unas on the mountain. Unas had alluring curves. Her body was brimming with mature charm, attractive yet deadly.

“Master Unas, what do you want us to do?” Crow asked.

“It’s important to have a backup plan ready,” Unas told the Blue Deacons behind her.

She cast a strange Dark Spell while she was speaking. A dark aura began to surround her. as if it was alive.

The dark aura soon turned into an ugly bat with a pair of fleshy wings. It was the size of a semi truck, but unlike most of the demon creatures, it was extremely skinny. Each of its joints had a bone poking out, with a sharp edge to them. Mo Fan was instantly disgusted by its rotting smell.

“Come up, we have something important to attend to,” Unas said.

The Blue Deacons dared not disobey Unas’ order. They jumped onto the eerie foul-smelling creature. Mo Fan learned the creature was a kind of Cursed Beast from the whispering among the Blue Deacons. It was an extremely powerful Commander-level creature. Unas normally used it as her mount.

Unas was a gorgeous woman, yet her mount was extremely ugly. The sight of them together was eerily incompatible.

It was obvious that beneath Unas’s gorgeous appearance lay a rotten heart. It was impossible to tell how many lives and souls she had taken to create this ghastly creature.

The Jagged Bones Cursed Beast beat its wings and flew above the ocean of undead. There were not many undead with the ability to fly. Even those that were able to fly were dragged to the ground by the Realm of the Heavens.

“What creature is that? Why do I feel like it can see us?” Blue Bat looked down and saw an undead lifting its gaze and staring at them coldly.

The demon creature had the lower body of a scorpion, and was as huge as an office building. The rest of the undead were passing by under its body and between its many legs. Its upper body was covered in scales resembled the body of a beastly woman. It had great curves, but most importantly, its hair consisted of wriggling poisonous snakes. Several hundred snake-hairs over ten meters long were squirming wildly as they watched!

“It’s the Scorpion Lord Medusa!” Blue Bat exclaimed.

Medusa was a creature from ancient Western legends. As a matter of fact, her species was already considered extinct. Their existence was as symbolic as the Totem Beasts of China.

To everyone’s surprise, Medusa had already become an undead of the Great Pyramid of Giza. She stood out like an island among the ocean that was the undead army, like an imperious empress!

Mo Fan estimated the Scorpion Lord Medusa’s strength. He believed even the Realm of the Heavens could not stop her once she reached the walls!

“They think the Wall is enough to stop the undead army. How amusing! The Great Pyramid of Giza still has many other creatures that are as powerful as the Scorpion Lord Medusa. The other undead might struggle against the Wall, but the Scorpion Lord Medusa can surely knock it down!” Unas proclaimed.

Mo Fan had been wondering if the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents could knock the wall down when it reached it.

It was obvious that there was a difference in strength between Ruler-level creatures, too. A strong Ruler-level creature could surely inflict serious damage on the Wall!

“However, we still need some time for the Rulers of the pyramid to gather. We don’t have that much time to waste on the petty Wall. Consider it an utter glory that you’ve been assigned to me, as you will all witness the strongest undead that has been guarding Khufu for thousands of years!” Unas said.

“The strongest undead? What is it?” a Blue Deacon asked.

“You will know what it is very soon. There’s currently a chain holding it down. Our job is to free it!” Unas declared.

Mo Fan’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing the words.

It turned out that he had still underestimated the people of the Black Vatican. He did not expect Unas to have some other plan still, nor did he know what the strongest creature of the Underworld was. However, it was obviously something that could pose a great threat to the Wall!

Mo Fan glanced at the Great Wall in the distance that was stopping the huge army of undead from advancing in the distance. He could not help but worry.

“Old Zhao, it’s all up to you now!” Mo Fan murmured.

—

—

Around three kilometers behind the Wall, a pair of golden wings left a misty path behind them, concealing the wearer and his passenger just above the range of mountains under the night sky…

“We’re here. They are after the Magic Fire Beacon on Shenmu Mountain! It looks like Zhang Xiaohou is here, too!” Zhao Manyan looked down from the sky. He saw the fire pillar soaring into the sky and the messy battle between the members of the Black Vatican and the soldiers!

The Black Vatican had the advantage of numbers. After all, their members had been standing by for some time. They immediately made their move as soon as they received the order.

There were around two hundred people guarding the Magic Fire Beacon. Most of them were Battlemages, and the rest were from the Enforcement Union and the Preventive Committee. Their superiors had already given them the order to retreat. The main forces of the Hunter Union, the Magic Association, and the renowned clans had already retreated to Feihuang City with the main army. Only General Bin Wei, the Prophet, and their men had decided to stay behind.

General Bin Wei and Commander Ye Hong had special feelings for North Valley. Their men were extremely loyal, too. Around a thousand elite soldiers decided to stay behind and risk their lives, forming the troops protecting the Magic Fire Beacons. Otherwise, the few men that the Prophet had gathered clearly did not stand a chance against the members of the Black Vatican when they all came out of hiding!

Even if Mo Fan had not infiltrated the Black Vatican, he could at most defend one of the ancient keeps with his Demon Element. It still would not make any difference to the fate awaiting them!

“Is Violet Ghost down there?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“He’s somewhere, but it’s too messy. I’m having trouble finding him!” Lingling said.

“Violet Ghost is their leader. He is most likely the strongest among them,” Zhao Manyan said.

“But the problem is, someone like him is more likely to let his men attack first. He would not show himself unless it’s necessary,” Lingling said.

“Then we can’t afford to rush it. Let’s keep observing!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Mmm, we have to rely on Zhang Xiaohou now, and see if he can force Violet Ghost out of hiding. The average Blue Deacons are no match for him!” Lingling agreed.

Chapter 1390 The Protector of Shenmu Keep, Zhang Xiaohou!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Commander Zhang, please stay close to Feng Yufei and protect him. Leave this guy to me!” Enforcer Jiang Lin stared at the Blue Deacon in front of him.

The Blue Deacon was extremely vicious. His Cursed Beast had already dug out the organs of two Battlemages. They had died horrible deaths! Zhang Xiaohou had an urge to kill the Cursed Beast and the Blue Deacon with a wilted face to avenge the Battlemages!

Jiang Lin could not let Zhang Xiaohou engage the enemy. He was most likely the strongest of the people protecting Shenmu Keep. It was obvious that the Black Vatican had yet to use all their might. If they really had some other plan, it would put them in a terrible spot!

A fight broke out between Enforcer Jiang Lin and the wilted-face Blue Deacon. The Blue Deacon was also an Advanced Mage. He was slightly weaker than Jiang Lin, but Jiang Lin was at a slight disadvantage when the man teamed up with his Violence-Craving Cursed Beast!

“You shall not pass!” Jiang Lin clenched his teeth. He was staring into the sky.

A raging tide poured down from the sky, landing right on the Violence-Craving Cursed Beast fiercely. The creature had nowhere to run to. Jiang Lin’s Sky Waterfall had broken the creature’s bones, leaving it extremely weak.

Jiang Lin’s attack had severely injured the Violence-Craving Cursed Beast, but the cunning Blue Deacon seemed to have planned to sacrifice the creature all along. He immediately ambushed Jiang Lin while he was casting the spell. A sharp icicle burst out of the wall behind Jiang Lin and went right for his heart!

Zhang Xiaohou had tiny dust particles circling him. He finally made his move when he saw Jiang Lin in the terrible situation!

He showed up beside the Blue Deacon in a flicker of movement.

He had cast a Wind Spell and Earth Spell simultaneously. His speed at a close distance was almost teleporting; he was very adept at using those spells. The Blue Deacon was immersed in the joy of adding one more count to his kills. He only noticed the person standing beside him after it was too late!

“Wind Whaletail!” Zhang Xiaohou stomped the ground. The gale circling around him rapidly turned into a swirl of wind resembling the tail of a whale, knocking the Blue Deacon into the air!

The Blue Deacon did not expect the attack at all. He was blown into the air like straw. He struggled to cast a defensive spell while he was spinning at high speed in the air.

“Wind Wings Slash!”

Zhang Xiaohou manipulated the strong winds once again. The Wind Wings on his back were not just for defensive and traveling purposes, as they had always been. They suddenly split into numerous white slashes forming a circle around the Blue Deacon before crossing paths with one another…

The Blue Deacon’s face was filled with disbelief. He did not feel any pain when his body started falling from the air. The speed of the wind slashes was just too quick. He only felt an overwhelming pain after his body split into several pieces!

Blood poured down together with the pieces. Jiang Lin, who was soaked in a cold sweat, was greatly astounded as he stared at the Blue Deacon’s remains. He knew Zhang Xiaohou was the strongest among them, but he still did not expect the young captain could take out a Blue Deacon who was an Advanced Mage, just like him, so easily!

“Are you alright?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

Jiang Lin twisted his lips. He had not expected a senior enforcer like him to be inferior to a young captain. He was about to say something when he noticed something moving beside Zhang Xiaohou. It was just some insignificant bubbles, but they were gathering toward one spot rapidly…

“Look out!” Jiang Lin did not know what it was, but as a Water Mage, he knew it was extremely dangerous.

Zhang Xiaohou did not sense anything at first. He only realized his life was in danger when an icy spike came out of the transparent bubbles!

“Your strength is quite impressive at such a young age, but I’m afraid your end has come,” Violet Ghost’s voice echoed in Zhang Xiaohou’s ears. A long, icy sword was stabbing at Zhang Xiaohou’s back. The close distance did not give Zhang Xiaohou a chance to react at all!

Usually, it would take a Mage some time to channel a spell, as it involved drawing Star Orbits and joining them to form a Star Pattern and so on. Even though it was possible to cast a Basic Spell with a single thought, the Mage would have to be prepared beforehand to react quicker than an attack.

It was difficult to tell how Violet Ghost had approached Zhang Xiaohou without him noticing. He was already delivering the deadly blow as he was speaking. Even the quickest spell would not be able to defend against the attack, nor would defensive equipment be able to set up a defense in such a short time.

—

“Crap! Zhang Xiaohou is in trouble!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed from far above. He did not expect Violet Ghost to be able to go invisible with some trick.

Zhang Xiaohou did not expect it, either. Normally, a Mage who could appear out of nowhere was most likely a Shadow Mage. They could hide inside shadows without alerting their enemy, yet there were no shadows close to Zhang Xiaohou. He would also have noticed the presence of Dark magic within a certain range. He did not understand how Violet Ghost was able to get so close to him!

The dust particles circling around Zhang Xiaohou suddenly gathered in the direction the icy sword was stabbing to and formed a study shield just as the icy sword was about to stab him in the heart, like a bunch of fairies protecting their master!

The icy sword could not move any further; Violet Ghost was astounded.

The guy’s Earth Elemental Seed had a self-defense aspect!

Violet Ghost was confident that Zhang Xiaohou was unaware of his presence. He had killed many strong enemies with this ability, in order to secure his current position. The move was particularly effective against young Mages, since they were less cautious and experienced than older Mages.

The ground under Violet Ghost’s feet suddenly became muddy. The mud clutched onto Violet Ghost’s feet and dragged him to the ground.

Violet Ghost belatedly realized how outstanding Zhang Xiaohou’s awareness was. He had already set up his Domain, covering everything within a hundred meters, giving Violet Ghost no chance of escaping.

“Damn it!” Purple Ghost was extremely furious. He had no chance but to give up on the ambush and withdrew from Zhang Xiaohou’s swamp.

“Where do you think you are running!?” Zhang Xiaohou believed the man was leading the members of the Black Vatican attacking the ancient keep. He decisively cast a Wind Track and chased him.

Violet Ghost grinned coldly when he saw Zhang Xiaohou following him.

His body gradually became transparent, like a mere illusion. By the time Zhang Xiaohou caught up to Violet Ghost, he had completely disappeared without a trace!

Zhang Xiaohou quickly glanced around himself. He was full of shock and disbelief.

Only a person using the Shadow Element could disappear without a trace, but there was clearly no shadow around that a Shadow Mage could utilize, nor was there any presence of Dark magic around him. Zhang Xiaohou did not understand how Violet Ghost was able to vanish into thin air!

The Shadow Element’s way of disappearing was slowly blending into the shadows, but the guy was slowly fading away before turning completely transparent!

“Commander Zhang, are you alright?” Jiang Lin asked.

“I’m fine,” Zhang Xiaohou replied.

Many people did not notice the dust particles constantly floating around Zhang Xiaohou. These dust particles were a tenth of the size of sand particles. They looked just like normal dust. It was difficult to notice them when they did not gather at the same spot…

It was Zhang Xiaohou’s Domain, the Dust Domain!

Those tiny dust particles were Zhang Xiaohou’s Domain magic. They had a certain level of self-awareness. When the Domain’s owner was under threat, these dust particles would instantly form a sturdy shield to defend him!

Violet Ghost clearly did not expect Zhang Xiaohou to have such an outstanding ability. He assumed his ambush was going to be a success, yet he ended up running away in humiliation.

Violet Ghost was an assassin-type Mage. He had to run away after failing his attempt. He had witnessed how Zhang Xiaohou had killed the Blue Deacon instantly with his Wind Element. Violet Ghost could not guarantee that he could withstand the wind slashes!

“Kill them all! I want to see how long they are going to last!” Violet Ghost escaped to a safe spot. He no longer wanted to expose himself. He was dispatching his men instead.

The Black Vatican had a lot of people. Violet Ghost could easily abuse their numbers and wear the people guarding Shenmu Keep out. He could look for more opportunities to strike again during the battle!

—

Different spells kept crashing into one another on the wall. The overall strength of the Black Vatican was not overwhelming, but they had the Dark Beast Monsters. The Dark Beast Monsters had reached the top of the wall. They were not suppressed by the Realm of the Heavens, and the defenders of the wall were struggling against them.

“AH!” With a cry of agony, an enforcer under Jiang Lin’s command was brutally murdered less than fifty meters away from Zhang Xiaohou and Jiang Lin.

Violet Ghost kicked the Enforcer’s body to the Cursed Beasts nearby and stared at Zhang Xiaohou and Jiang Lin with an eerie grin.

He might not be able to take out Zhang Xiaohou with that protective Domain, but he could still murder the soldiers and Enforcers that were stronger than the rest. There was no way Zhang Xiaohou could defend the keep against so many members of the Black Vatican without their help!

“Damn it!” Jiang Lin was infuriated. He had an urge to fight Violet Ghost to his death.

The Enforcer that died was an extremely talented new recruit that Jiang Lin had high hopes in. The young recruit was as passionate as him, with greater talents. Jiang Lin had been looking forward to seeing him grow. Jiang Lin felt like his chest was about to explode when he saw the young man being eaten by the Cursed Beasts!

Chapter 1391 He Will Kill the Man Before the Victim“s Blood Dries!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Hidden in black mist, Zhao Manyan circled in the air. He dared not make his move yet.

His initial plan was to find out which one of the men below was Violet Ghost and join hands with Zhang Xiaohou to eliminate him, lifting the restrictions Mo Fan was under. To his surprise, Violet Ghost had the ability to turn invisible, forcing Zhang Xiaohou to hold his position.

If he failed to take down Violet Ghost in one blow and allowed the guy to escape, it would be a lot more difficult to eliminate him. Zhao Manyan could only remain a bystander until he figured out how Violet Ghost was turning invisible.

“Zhang Xiaohou, do you know how he did it?” Jiang Ye asked worriedly.

“I’m not sure either, I only know it’s not the Shadow Element,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Damn it, at this rate…” Jiang Ye was in the middle of his sentence when a fire pillar to their south went out.

They had already lost a Magic Fire Beacon, and now they had lost another one. Only six of the ancient keeps remained standing. In other words, it had greatly weakened the defense of the Great Wall!

They could not afford to modify the length of the wall, or the army of undead could leave the North Valley by walking around the wall. The fifty-kilometer-long wall had entirely sealed off the entrance to Squaretrek Plain. Beyond fifty kilometers were mountains and rough terrain. If the army of undead planned to leave the North Valley through them, they would surely encounter the Beijiang Desolate Beasts. It was what the defenders were hoping would happen!

However, the army of undead did not consist of a bunch of brainless creatures, with nobody commanding them. They knew it would be a waste of time and effort traversing the territories of other demon creatures. They just needed to break through the Great Wall as quickly as possible so they could trample the countless cities behind it mercilessly!

They could not afford to reduce the length and height of the wall, which meant they could only reduce the thickness!

Now that they had lost another Magic Fire Beacon, the defense of the Great Wall was going to drop significantly!

“If the wall isn’t thick enough, the Ruler-level undead might be able to smash through it!” Lingling said, looking in the direction of the lost Magic Fire Beacon.

“Damn it, they broke through the defense of the Magic Fire Beacon so quickly. We are outnumbered, allowing these scum of the Black Vatican to do as they please!” Zhao Manyan cursed furiously.

——

The situation on the Wall worsened. The Black Vatican were abusing their overwhelming numbers of the Cursed Beasts and Dark Beast Monsters to wear out the defenders of the Magic Fire Beacons. Their defense also weakened every time Violet Ghost took out a few of their Advanced Mages.

“Are we going to lose this Magic Fire Beacon, too?” Feng Yufei murmured in despair, glancing around.

It took a great effort to set up the Wall against the army of undead, but the Black Vatican had arrived to mess up their plan. It was clearly the worst thing that could happen!

Zhang Xiaohou was busy handling the Cursed Beasts and the Dark Beast Monsters. He had defeated at least five Blue Deacons and thirty Black Clergy. More importantly, he had to watch out for Violet Ghost’s ambush at all times, so he could not afford to fight with all his strength!

“Commander Zhang, will killing the guy called Violet Ghost really be able to turn this situation around?” Jiang Lin asked feebly. He was a little worn out from the fighting.

“I believe in him,” Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

“I think he’s a trustworthy person, too.” Jiang Lin recalled his encounter with Mo Fan. Jiang Lin had been utterly impressed by Mo Fan’s determination, unyielding spirit, and fearlessness, even when he was up against the Black Vatican.

Jiang Lin slowly took a few steps forward and moved out of the safe distance.

Zhang Xiaohou frowned. He did not understand what Jiang Lin was up to. However, he was soon flanked by a bunch of Cursed Beasts. He was distracted by the creatures, preventing him from keeping an eye on Jiang Lin.

“Petrify!” Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes changed colors. The oddly-structured Cursed Beasts moving around him froze when a brown light shone upon them. Thick stony powder fell on them, turning them into statues!

“Wind Disc: Bone Husk!”

Several fierce gusts of wind swept in all directions. The strong force immediately crushed the Cursed Beasts to pieces.

Over twenty Cursed Beasts died instantly, allowing Zhang Xiaohou to break free from their encirclement. The members of the Black Vatican did not dare challenge Zhang Xiaohou’s deadly wind and destructive sand.

The dust around him was blown away by the wind. Zhang Xiaohou belatedly recalled what Jiang Lin said. He quickly turned around and saw an infuriating sight!

Violet Ghost had appeared in front of Jiang Lin. An icicle had gone right through Jiang Lin’s chest…

Not a single drop of blood flowed out because of the ice, but Jiang Lin was dying quickly!

“Jiang Lin!” Zhang Xiaohou yelled furiously. He dashed forward recklessly to rescue Jiang Lin from the God of Death.

“Stop him!” Violet Ghost waved his hand disdainfully, summoning over a hundred Black Clergy and three Blue Deacons to form a wall in front of him, not giving Zhang Xiaohou any chance to save his target.

Fierce winds danced wildly around Zhang Xiaohou. The wind was quickly dyed red, turning into bloody scythes of fury. Not a single Black Clergy and Cursed Beast within fifty meters survived. Their heads and limbs scattered across the place like fallen leaves!

However, the line of people was just too thick. There was no way Zhang Xiaohou could save Jiang Lin in time, regardless of how quickly he was killing the enemy.

Meanwhile, Jiang Lin’s eyes were not filled with despair, even when his chest was punctured. They did not turn hollow, either. They were staring right at Violet Ghost, as if they were trying to peek through him in the remaining few seconds!

Jiang Lin suddenly spat out a mouthful of warm blood.

The blood splattered on Violet Ghost. Normally, being covered in blood would not bother a murderer, but Violet Ghost was taken by surprise, and seemed to panic.

“As I thought…” Jiang Lin smiled when he saw Violet Ghost’s reaction.

“You!” Violet Ghost was enraged after Jiang Lin spat the blood on him. He drew out the icicle and stabbed Jiang Lin continuously in rage!

Each stab left a hole in Jiang Lin’s body, but the cold stopped the wounds from bleeding. Meanwhile, Jiang Lin seemed to have totally forgotten about his pain. He kept spitting his remaining blood onto Violet Ghost…

He was very feeble during his last attempt. He only managed to spit a small amount of blood onto Violet Ghost. His body was covered in holes like a beehive. It was a horrible sight.

Violet Ghost proceeded to cut Jiang Lin into pieces, yet the same smile that had completely infuriated him was on Jiang Lin’s face. He could not help but think that the guy was a lunatic!

The Black Vatican was not the only place with lunatics. When someone was desperately trying to protect something precious, they might do crazier things than the people of the Black Vatican!

Violet Ghost was covered in Jiang Lin’s blood. This time, he did not turn invisible and run away. He was trying to clean the blood off instead.

To Violet Ghost’s surprise, Jiang Lin’s blood was poisonous. He had drunk a Potion of corrosive poison before exposing himself. His blood had mixed with the poison. It was strong enough to eat away his mouth in a short period of time, yet the guy was able to pretend that everything was normal, and successfully spat the poisonous blood on Violet Ghost as planned!

Violet Ghost was unable to clean off the poisonous blood, which meant he was unable to turn invisible again!

The ability to turn invisible was not from the Shadow Element. It was from an extremely rare Water Elemental Seed! It was able to surround Violet Ghost in a layer of water vapor which could reflect its surroundings, like a mirror covering all angles…

Therefore, it looked like Violet Ghost had become invisible whenever he used the Water Seed’s ability.

He only turned transparent instead of vanishing into thin air. He did not just move somewhere else all of a sudden. Jiang Lin was a Water Mage, so he was able to figure out the trick. However, Violet Ghost was extremely cautious. He even used an Ice Element weapon to kill to prevent his victims’ blood from splashing on him!

Jiang Lin knew his only chance to expose Violet Ghost was by dying. No matter how cautious a person was, he would still lower his guard when his target was only a few seconds away from dying. Jiang Lin moved outside of where the others could cover him and waited for Violet Ghost to make his move.

He believed Violet Ghost would definitely target him. If he was taken out, Zhang Xiaohou would have no chance of handling so many Blue Deacons and Black Clergy on his own…

He smiled because he had bet right!

Violet Ghost completely lost his mind!

—

Zhao Manyan immediately felt the air he was breathing in sour when he saw what happened while waiting for his chance high up in the sky.

He took a deep breath to clear the overwhelming emotions surging into his mind. He contracted his golden wings and dove toward the wall like a golden meteorite.

The mouthful of blood that Jiang Lin had spit out was so precious. Zhao Manyan never had such a strong urge to kill someone before!

“I will kill Violet Ghost before your blood dries up!” Zhao Manyan yelled furiously as he was diving from the sky. He knew Jiang Lin could no longer hear him. He only hoped that the man’s soul would know that the trust he had placed in them would not be let down!

Zhao Manyan had never carried a heavier burden than the one now on his shoulders. He did not hesitate any longer. As a defensive Mage, his way of killing someone was very simple. He would set up an unbreakable dueling ground with his defense!

The dueling ground would trap both him and Violet Ghost without leaving any gaps.

There were only two ways to leave the dueling ground. Either the dueling ground collapsed on its own after Violet Ghost killed him, or he withdrew his magic after killing Violet Ghost!

Zhao Manyan had never gone all out trying to achieve something, but today, he had decided to give everything he had for one reason: he was a hot-blooded man too!

1392 Rock Smash Hammer!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A dueling ground of jagged rocks descended from the sky and collapsed onto Violet Ghost like a tiny mountain!

Violet Ghost lifted his eyes. He did not expect that someone was waiting for him in the sky all along. He tried to run out of the cage, but he realized the rocks were less than ten meters above him. If he tried, the rocks were going to fall right on him!

He had no choice but to back away. The heavy rocks crashed down and completely surrounded him. The dueling ground was like a huge coffin, apart from a few cracks that only tiny birds and rays of light could enter!

Zhao Manyan was inside it now. His glimmering eyes in the dim environment were staring right at Violet Ghost.

Violet Ghost was still covered in the poisonous blood, so he could not turn invisible again. The poisonous blood would easily expose his position!

“I thought it was someone more impressive,” Violet Ghost laughed when he saw Zhao Manyan.

Violet Ghost almost thought a Super Mage had shown up. It was easier than flipping a hand for a Super Mage to kill him!

“You don’t have to belittle me like that. The more you belittle me, the more humiliated you will feel when I kill you in the end!” Zhao Manyan retorted coldly.

He did not waste any more time. His eyes emitted a brown light, as he was an expert of the Earth Element, just like Zhang Xiaohou. Rocky scales swiftly covered his body and formed a dark brown armor!

“Are you afraid I’m going to stab your heart too? Look at how careful you are,” Violet Ghost chuckled.

There was no reason for him to be afraid after realizing his enemy was not a Super Mage. Not many Advanced Mages could pose a threat to him.

An icy aura slowly circled around Violet Ghost. He was trying to distract Zhao Manyan with words while summoning several icicles behind Zhao Manyan.

The icicles did not make any sound as they were being formed. Most Mages would not even notice them until they were lunging at their back!.

The icicles produced loud clanks when they landed on Zhao Manyan’s back. He finally realized something was attacking him from behind. He glanced back and saw broken ice scattered on the ground.

Violet Ghost’s eyes widened. His Icy Sword Formation had failed to break through his opponent’s defense! The truth was, as an assassin-type Mage, he hated going up against Mages with an outstanding defense the most!

However, any Mage would have their weaknesses, regardless of their types. It just meant he would have to work harder to kill his opponent!

“Heavy Rock Break!”

Zhao Manyan’s control of the Earth Element had improved significantly. On top of that, his Earth Element was strengthened when he was inside the dueling ground!

The Earth Magic rapidly gathered in the spot Zhao Manyan was placing his attention on. The violent energy accumulated and crashed violently, producing a great force that could crush a living thing to pieces!

Violet Ghost sensed the vigorous energy. He quickly moved away with his Wind Element. To his surprise, the violent energy clung to his trail. He saw explosions taking place along his trail. It eventually forced him into a corner!

“Water Curtain!” Violet Ghost knew there was no escape. He set up a defensive barrier before the Earth Magic caught up to him.

The Earth Magic stopped pursuing since it could not penetrate the Water Curtain.

“Plummeting Rays!” Zhao Manyan immediately used his Light Element.

The light arrows shot from the direction that Violet Ghost’s defense was not covering and poured down like rain.

Violet Ghost had no choice but to activate his defensive Equipment. The light arrows were not deadly, but their penetrative ability was still outstanding when focusing on a specific point.

Violet Ghost was clearly the kind of person unwilling to spend money on defensive Equipment. His Armor was easily destroyed by Zhao Manyan’s Light Spell!

Zhao Manyan extended the golden wings on his back when he saw Violet Ghost being suppressed in a corner. The wings lifted him and his heavy rock armor into the air.

Zhao Manyan did not have many offensive abilities. However, since his armor was so sturdy and heavy, he was thinking of picking up his momentum with the wings to ram into Violet Ghost!

The weight of his heavy armor was not to be underestimated, not to mention the Earth Magic that was flowing inside the dueling ground granting Zhao Manyan remarkable power. He ended up knocking Violet Ghost and the armor dangling on his body into the air!

“Light Saber: Slash!”

Zhao Manyan had quite a few pieces of Magic Equipment. He summoned a Deathstrike Magic Equipment after ramming into his opponent.

The Saber appeared in Zhao Manyan’s hands. The scorching golden light saber was around ten meters long. It looked even more threatening after it absorbed the light of the Plummeting Rays!

Zhao Manyan could feel a strong rage burning in his chest. He simply waved the giant light saber at Violet Ghost without caring about technique!

After all, Violet Ghost’s attacks were unable to break through Zhao Manyan’s defense. Regardless of how agile Violet Ghost was, the light saber could still hit him in the confined space.

Violet Ghost had rarely fought against a brute Mage like this. He was frustrated; his outstanding abilities as an assassin were completely useless against Zhao Manyan’s sturdy defense!

“Do you really think there’s nothing I can do because of your defense!?” Violet Ghost said coldly.

With a flicker, Violet Ghost drifted away like a black gust of wind and landed behind Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan simply ignored the attack coming from behind. His Deathstrike Magic Equipment was about to run out of time, but it did not matter, he had more than one offensive item!

“Rock Smash Hammer!”

Zhao Manyan could not care less about Violet Ghost’s attacks. Not just assassin-type Mages would struggle against his armor; even a destructive Mage like Mo Fan would be panting heavily trying to break through his armor.

“Telekinesis: Heart Crush!” Violet Ghost chuckled. A cold ray penetrated Zhao Manyan’s defense and went right for his heart!

Zhao Manyan was shocked when he sensed the presence of Dimensional Magic.

This Violet Ghost had done a great job hiding his true strength. He did not expect him to have the Space Element too!

Normally, a person would only Awaken the Space Element at the Advanced Level. Violet Ghost’s Space Element was clearly his tertiary Element, thus it was not that strong. He was still a little unfamiliar with Blink.

Luckily, Zhao Manyan’s dueling ground had certain restrictions on the Space Element. Otherwise, Violet Ghost could easily escape from it with Blink, meaning that all their efforts and sacrifices would have been in vain!

Violet Ghost’s Space Element was clearly not as outstanding as Mo Fan’s, but he was able to utilize the Space Element as part of his fighting ../style.

The Telekinesis: Heart Crush was basically his attempt to bypass Zhao Manyan’s defense with the Space Element and deal a deadly blow to his heart. Any defense was just mere decorations in front of the attack!

Zhao Manyan did not expect Violet Ghost to have such a move. It was clearly his trump card against defensive Mages. It would be deadly if he was up against some inexperienced defensive Mage!

“Ring of Venice!” Zhao Manyan activated the ring to defend himself without any hesitation.

The Ring of Venice was extremely useful, because it was not only effective against external attacks, but it could also protect his inner organs too! Why would Zhao Manyan engage the enemy so recklessly if he did not have something like the Ring of Venice?

“The Advanced Mage that can force your Grandpa Zhao to shed a strand of hair isn’t even born yet. Die, you son of a b**ch!” Zhao Manyan grinned. The Rock Smash Hammer was finally completed!

“Ten Thousand Tons, Smash!”

Zhao Manyan lifted the Rock Smash Hammer up high and slammed it down on Violet Ghost!

Violet Ghost was utterly terrified. He used everything he had to run away. Zhao Manyan continued to slam the hammer down. A strong shockwave swept across the place when the hammer smashed onto the ground!

He did not even have to aim the hammer at the target. The attack already covered a huge radius. Even though he could only use it once, it was the best move he had against Violet Ghost!

The brown lights continued to pursue Violet Ghost. The most he could do was cast a Water Barrier to defend himself, but it went without saying that a Basic Spell like Water Barrier had no chance of withstanding the force of the giant rock hammer!

Violet Ghost’s bones cracked after receiving the impact. Blood began to pour out from his nose, mouth, and ears…

“Did you spend most of your time setting up your victims? I can tell that you are nothing but a useless dog if you faced the real experts, after seeing what you are capable of!” Zhao Manyan dashed forward, leaving deep footprints on the ground from the weight of his armor.

“HAHAHAHA, the Grand Ceremony is already taking place. You all are going to suffer a humiliating defeat! Killing me wouldn’t make any difference. The undead army will raze your cities to the ground and kill every single one of you!” Violet Ghost gave up on running away after realizing he had no chance of defeating Zhao Manyan. He ignored the blood that was pouring out of his mouth, nose, and ears.

“Killing you means not a single member of the Black Vatican will live!” Zhao Manyan went up to Violet Ghost and stomped on his legs.

Violet Ghost acted as if he could not care less about his death, but when Zhao Manyan crushed the bones in his legs with a single stomp, his cries of agony were not those of a death-sworn cultist.

“So that’s the reason why you are targeting me… it turns out there’s a spy among us… HAHAHA, but did you seriously think killing me is going to make any difference?” Violet Ghost was in great pain, yet he was trying his best to remain calm.

Zhao Manyan frowned after hearing the words.

“I am not the host of the contracts. You lose, you lose!” Violet Ghost snapped with a contorted face.

“Either way, you’re still going to die!” Zhao Manyan showed no mercy. He threw his fist, covered in armor that weighed around five hundred kilograms, at Violet Ghost’s head.

Violet Ghost tried his best to dodge the attack, knowing he was about to die soon.

Zhao Manyan burst out laughing when he saw Violet Ghost’s reaction. He bet a second or two did not really matter much to Mo Fan. He could just throw another punch at him. This time, he would make sure that the scum’s brains would splatter on the ground and dye it red!

Every scum of the Black Vatican would not have a good ending!

1393 Slashing a Blue Deacon with Wind Wings

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The dueling ground collapsed. Zhao Manyan dragged Violet Ghost’s dead body across the ground and tossed it into the air above the members of the Black Vatican.

Most of them were under Violet Ghost’s leadership. Even though the death of their leader would not necessarily scare them away, it would still destroy their morale!

“Old Zhao, well done!” Zhang Xiaohou finally smiled in relief when he saw Zhao Manyan had taken Violet Ghost out, even though his face was covered in filth.

“Our backup is here. Our backup is here!” someone started screaming among the soldiers, and the rest of them immediately followed. They acted as if a huge troop of reinforcements had arrived. Their morale was completely different than before!

Zhao Manyan suddenly realized why it had always been so important to take out the enemy’s commander first. He realized how morale could significantly influence the strength of an army.

It proved that Mo Fan’s decision to kill the Cold Prince was on point. Only killing a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican would decrease the number of people who crazily worshipped these evil maniacs!

“Send all these scum to Hell!” Zhao Manyan felt the strong morale of the defenders. As the person that had taken down Violet Ghost, he believed his words would stimulate those that had fought so hard to protect the ancient keep!

The thick armor on him fell off as he was yelling. They turned into countless pieces of armor attaching to the defenders, adding a layer of protection to them!

Feng Yufei’s eyes flickered with hope when he saw Zhao Manyan’s impressive spell.

As expected of the Mage that had resisted the attack of a Ruler-level creature, he was able to strengthen the defense of over a hundred people simultaneously. It was sturdy enough to protect them from some of the relatively powerful Intermediate Spells!

Most Mages could only rely on Equipment for defense. Unfortunately, that Equipment would only last for a certain period of time, so most of them would either die or suffer serious injuries if they were attacked…

As a result, even though the defense was not as effective as when Zhao Manyan was casting it on himself, it was still an extra life for many of the Mages. It meant they could go all out at the enemy!

“The Cursed Beasts can’t hurt us anymore. Kill, ignore those Cursed Beasts, kill the Black Clergy and Blue Deacons, and the Cursed Beasts will die too!” Qu Kang yelled.

The Cursed Beasts could not break through the armor that Zhao Manyan had granted the defenders. They immediately launched their counterattacks at the Black Clergy, Blue Deacons, and their ghastly-looking creatures!

“Commander Zhang, there’s a Blue Deacon hiding behind those Cursed Beasts. He is the one that killed Captain Fan!” a Battlemage pointed in a direction and shouted.

Zhang Xiaohou immediately looked in that direction and saw a guy hiding in the shadows. He seemed to be commanding the Black Clergy after Violet Ghost died. He kept giving orders to the members of the Black Vatican.

“I’ll deal with him!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

He had already sprung ahead two hundred meters while his voice was still lingering in the air. A bunch of Dark Beasts pounced at him, but Zhang Xiaohou had already moved past them while they were lifting their claws. The Dark Beasts completely missed their attacks!

Zhang Xiaohou’s speed was shocking. The Cursed Beasts did not have a chance of stopping him, despite their numbers.

The Blue Deacon quickly ran away with Fleeing Shadow when he saw Zhang Xiaohou approaching.

Zhang Xiaohou had killed at least five Blue Deacons and countless Black Clergy so far. They would have seized control of Shenmu Keep if it wasn’t for him!

The Blue Deacon did not dare to stay any further, knowing the person that had killed many of his comrades was now targeting him!

“Do you think you can run away?” Zhang Xiaohou was amused.

He did not lose to anyone in terms of speed, even Shadow Mages. Zhang Xiaohou had learned to be a scout while he was stationed at the Qinling Mountains. The cunning demon creatures were hidden inside the mountains, but Zhang Xiaohou still managed to find them!

The Great Wall was quite long. The Blue Deacon ran along it and reached the other side of the fighting. He decisively jumped down from the Wall.

Zhang Xiaohou was riding a gust of wind while sprinting. He immediately noticed a black shadow moving down the Wall.

“Earth Prison!” Zhang Xiaohou slammed his hand onto the wall. A brown ring of light rapidly flew toward the shadow.

When the ring made contact with the shadow, thick rocks emerged from the wall and formed a cage around it, entrapping the Blue Deacon with the Shadow Element.

The Blue Deacon was forced to reveal himself. He was about to escape through an opening when Zhang Xiaohou arrived. He immediately lost his balance when the strong wind blew at him. He fell half the Wall’s height down from where he was.

Luckily, he was on the back side of the wall. If he was at the front, the starving creatures of the Underworld would have immediately torn him to pieces!

“Please, spare me, I was forced to join them!” The Blue Deacon knelt on the ground and begged for mercy. He realized it was impossible to run away from Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou was stunned for a moment. The guy had lost his will to fight before he attacked. Was every member of the Black Vatican a coward?

As Zhang Xiaohou was thinking, something the same color as the wall was wriggling behind him, silently approaching the flying Zhang Xiaohou from behind like a spider approaching its prey.

The Blue Deacon was distracting Zhang Xiaohou with his words while controlling a Dark Beast to sneak up to him…

He had to wait until the Dark Beast was close enough to deliver the killing blow. He had to make sure the guy did not have a chance to dodge the attack, nor a chance to cast a defensive spell or activate his defensive Equipment!

The Blue Deacon believed the creature was close enough. The begging look in his eyes turned vicious!

“Die, you fool!” the Blue Deacon screamed.

Zhang Xiaohou had a curious look when he saw the shift in the Blue Deacon’s expression.

A deadly claw swiped at his neck from behind at a tricky angle. However, Zhang Xiaohou nimbly moved to the side without turning his head…

He even moved at the perfect time and was well aware of the reach of the Dark Beast’s attack. He did not move a centimeter further than what was necessary.

The Blue Deacon gaped. He did not expect the guy could dodge the attack so easily.

“I really despise your kind, especially when I see these ugly creatures killing people under your command. Why do you never understand how important the people that you have killed cold-bloodedly are to others!?” Zhang Xiaohou swore icily, floating in the air with the help of the wind.

The Wind Wings had left his back while he was speaking. The Wind Wings turned into wind blades circling around the Blue Deacon and the Dark Beast.

The Blue Deacon was extremely scared of dying, and immediately fled for his life. The ambush had failed. He would only die if he tried to fight this man!

The wind blades slashed at their targets from different directions and angles. There was no escape from them, nor was there any way to defend against them. The Blue Deacon that naively thought he could run away and his Dark Beast were sliced into pieces. Their blood spattered across the place.

The Blue Deacon and his Dark Beast died to Zhang Xiaohou’s wind blades in less than two seconds!

The Wind Magic, slightly stained with blood, returned swiftly to Zhang Xiaohou’s back and reformed into wings. Zhang Xiaohou took a deep breath. He beat his wings and returned to the top of the Wall and the Magic Fire Beacon, where fighting was still taking place.

Chapter 1394 The Sphinx

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The ghostlight shone down upon the land as the army of undead advanced. Anyone watching them would be overwhelmed by a fear of falling into a deep abyss where they would never see peace again.

“The almighty Osiris, I am Unas…” Unas stood in front of the magnificent pyramid under the mysterious light it was emitting. She had an eerie, inhuman presence.

Mo Fan was standing not far away from her. He closely observed her confusing actions.

Was Unas the main reason why the Cold Prince was able to collude with the Underworld?

Besides, wasn’t Unas the name of a Pyramid, too? Judging from what she was doing, there was a great chance that she was a Medium!

Egypt had many talented Undead Mages. It was very likely that some of them were born with the innate talent to communicate with the Underworld.

“Your prey is still resisting their death. The army of undead is struggling to advance further because of the Great Wall that is blocking the way. It is China’s ancient shield; it has been around for a long time, but the truth is, it’s nothing but a little hill in front of you. We need your power to destroy it!” Unas called out to the Pyramid in a loud voice.

Unas was tiny compared to the magnificent Pyramid. Ten Dark Swordmasters in full armor were standing around the Pyramid. They were guarding the entrance of the Pyramid like its most loyal servants. Any creature that did not submit to the Pyramid was not allowed to enter its vicinity!

Ten Dark Swordmasters at the Ruler-level were only guards of the Pyramid. How terrifying would the Lord of the Underworld inside the Pyramid be?

“Leave a petty matter like that to the Sphinx,” a misty yet thick voice came out from the Pyramid.

The others quickly covered their ears. It felt like their heads were about to explode!

Mo Fan was struggling to believe it. A single sentence was already troubling their mind to such an extent! Were there really gods in this world? Was it true that normal people could not listen to them directly?

“Splendid! I hope you are satisfied with the gift I’ve prepared for you, even if a little accident is in the way,” Unas answered.

The Lord of the Underworld inside the Pyramid did not respond.

Unas did not dare say a further word. She tactfully left the place.

The Jagged Bones Cursed Beast beat its wings and swept past the ocean of undead. It was heading toward a specific spot on Squaretrek Plain.

“Master Unas, didn’t Osiris send a powerful undead to help us? Why haven’t I seen him yet?” Crow asked.

“The Sphinx was already here when the Underworld Monarch Frogs showed up, but he only takes orders from one person. If he wanted to destroy the wall, it would have long fallen,” Unas replied.

After flying for some time, they could still see the army of undead densely filling up Squaretrek Plain underneath them. They were currently around twenty kilometers to the north of Northguard Fortress.

It went without saying that the number of undead was the highest in this area. After all, Northguard Fortress was the key point of their enemy’s line of defense. Once they destroyed Northguard Fortress, the Great Wall would collapse too!

“A huge area has cleared up,” Blue Bat exclaimed, suddenly pointing into the valley.

Mo Fan looked in that direction and was surprised that there was not a single undead in the area. It was like a rapid-flowing river encountering a sandbank. The water was avoiding the area and flowing past it on both sides.

Mo Fan was utterly confused. It was clearly not a deep canyon. The undead could just travel across it, yet they had purposely taken a long way around instead, as if it was a forbidden area!

Unas smiled. She ordered the Jagged Bones Cursed Beast to land on the spacious area.

Mo Fan suddenly realized an enormous creature was lying in the valley. Its color was very similar to the terrain nearby. It was unlikely that anyone would notice it when it concealed its presence. However, he was already brimming with fear when he was still a hundred meters away from the creature!

He could hear the creature snoring. Its breathing was very long and slow. Every inhalation and exhalation took around three minutes. An overwhelming force would surge inward and outward during the process. No ordinary undead could withstand it.

It was lying on the ground sleeping. It had arrived earlier than the massive army of undead. Even the Scorpion Lord Medusa had taken the long way around when the undead army was passing by. It showed how terrifying the creature was!

“You, go down there,” Unas pointed at Crow and ordered.

“Me?” Crow stammered, pointing at himself.

The creature lying below was absolutely terrifying. Crow was no idiot. Every undead, including those at the Ruler-level, were avoiding it. He knew what was going to happen if a mere Advanced Mage like him went down there!

“Go wake him up,” Unas said.

“Don’t you have the ability to communicate with the creatures of the Underworld?” Crow knew his life was in danger if he went and woke the creature up.

“The Sphinx has a strange temper. Apart from Osiris, he will eat anyone that dares disturb his sleep straight away,” Unas blatantly told Crow what was going to happen.

“Then why…” Crow had a twisted face.

“I’m ordering you to go down there. You just need to obey what I say obediently!” Unas’ eyes turned cold.

“I don’t want to die, you can ask someone else,” Crow looked at Blue Bat, Mo Fan, and the others. He was not the only person around. Why did she have to pick him?

“Go down!” Unas’ eyes were abnormal. Somehow, the look in her eyes became irresistible.

It was an order originating from her mind. Her order went right into Crow’s soul like a sword.

“A Soul Contract…” Mo Fan was shocked when he sensed the energy.

There was obviously a Soul Contract between Crow and Unas, forcing Crow to obey Unas’ commands!

“If you go down now, you are still going to earn merits. If I break your limbs and toss you down, you will just be a nobody,” Unas said in a serious voice.

Crow knew he had no other choice. He jumped down to the ground unwillingly.

He landed right in front of the enormous creature. His tiny figure was as insignificant as a little insect. It felt like the creature could easily devour him with a little sip.

“Sphinx…” Crow called oiut in a soft, trembling voice.

Crow was hoping that the creature did not hear him, yet unfortunately, he actually woke it up. It opened his eyes and stared at Crow murderously.

Crow’s will shattered in an instant. He froze like a statue under the creature’s gaze.

The Sphinx did not give the petty human any chance to speak at all. He took a deep breath and sucked Crow straight into his mouth…

He did not even bother to open his mouth. Crow ended up smashing into the Sphinx’s teeth and turned into pulp.

The Sphinx licked his teeth to taste the human indifferently.

He slowly lifted his head and noticed several other humans above him.

“Sphinx, the Lord of the Underworld has asked you to work together with us to destroy Northguard Fortress. Let’s hope we have a great time working together!” Unas was able to communicate with the creatures of the Underworld, and smiled and quickly mentioned Osiris’ plan to the Sphinx.

Unas was acting very casually, as if nothing was worth her attention at all.

Osiris had indeed given the order to the Sphinx. The massive creature slowly rose to his feet. The moment he stood up, the army of undead started moving underneath his body. He was like an island that had been lifted up into the sky!

Mo Fan was stunned, not because he realized Northguard Fortress was soon going to be trampled by the Sphinx, but by the fact Violet Ghost was not the host of his Soul Contract. It was in Unas’ hands instead!

Crow was similar to Mo Fan. He had joined the ceremony after signing a Soul Contract with Violet Ghost. Unas had clearly used the power of the contract to give Crow an order.

“Violet Ghost is dead… but my contract isn’t terminated yet…”

Mo Fan could vaguely sense that Violet Ghost was dead through the Dark Material. He initially thought there would be a delay before the Soul Contract was terminated, as the chains binding his soul would take some time to disappear. To his surprise, the host of the contract was never Violet Ghost, but Unas, and Crow had clearly proven it just a moment ago!

Damn it, he was set up by Violet Ghost! The person they were supposed to kill was Unas!

—

—

Northguard Fortress…

Zhao Manyan and Lingling did not stay at Shenmu Keep after killing Violet Ghost. Shenmu Keep had survived the attack from the Black Vatican. They just needed to clean up the rest of Violet Ghost’s men.

Shenmu Keep might be safe, but it did not necessarily mean the other ancient keeps were fine!

Northguard Fortress was clearly bearing greater pressure compared to the rest of the ancient keeps.

“We are almost at Northguard Fortress. Let’s hope they are still fine!” Zhao Manyan flew along the Wall while setting his eyes on the magnificent tower of Northguard Fortress in the distance!

“Mmm, we must hold Northguard Fortress at all costs,” Lingling nodded. She was about to talk about Mo Fan’s situation when Zhao Manyan suddenly came to a stop.

Zhao Manyan was initially flying along the Wall, but he suddenly lowered himself to the path on the Wall and hid in one of the towers.

“What’s wrong?” Lingling asked after seeing Zhao Manyan’s unusual behavior.

Zhao Manyan had a strange look on his face. He was trembling, too!

“The…the human face!” Even Zhao Manyan’s voice changed too. He cautiously looked out of the tower.

Lingling followed his gaze and saw a human face among the huge army of undead. It was grinning faintly!

Zhao Manyan was sure that it was the same human face he had seen behind the Underworld Monarch Frogs before. He initially thought it belonged to a titan, as its body was concealed by the dust. However, it had now revealed its true appearance as it came closer. It was a terrifying monster with a human face and the body of a lion!

“It’s the Sphinx of Giza!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed. “Egypt’s mystical beast!”

Chapter 1395 Full Attack on Northguard Fortress

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

If the God of Death representing Greece was Hayla, the God of Death representing Egypt was the Sphinx!

Osiris might have been just a legend, since no one had ever seen his true appearance, but the Sphinx did exist. He had been lying not far away from the Great Pyramid of Giza in deep slumber for years, just like a giant lifeless statue…

However, many people witnessed how vicious the beast was whenever he was awakened. For many years, countless cities had lived in fear of the Sphinx. They had no chance of defending themselves. The Sphinx was indeed a God of Death; no one could survive his stare!

Zhao Manyan finally understood why he was shivering in fear when he first saw the face; he now realized behind the face was the body of a lion as massive as a mountain!

The Sphinx of Giza was an ancient being that had existed for thousands of years. The Egyptians had worshiped him as a deity for a long time!

Such an existence known for his dominance throughout the history of Egypt had shown up here. Could the Great Wall really hold it back?

The sand drifted wildly in the howling wind. The Sphinx spat out an amount of sand equal to a sandhill at the Great Wall from a few kilometers away.

The sand surged fiercely and smashed onto the Great Wall. The wall was clearly at its limit. Both Zhao Manyan and Lingling, hidden in a tower, could feel the insane force of the impact!

The raging sand kept smashing into the Great Wall. Pieces of the wall began to fall as its thickness rapidly decreased.

The Earth Fountain Spring Water was already depleting at an insane rate as the army of undead was attacking the Great Wall. The wall immediately suffered serious damage after it was attacked by the Sphinx.

Once the wall was damaged, the Realm of the Heavens became less effective, too. A huge bunch of Underworld creatures started climbing up the wall, stacking on top of one another in the sandstorm!

Meanwhile, the Black Vatican was aggressively attacking the Magic Fire Beacons on the wall…

Northguard Fortress had the highest number of defenders, but the Black Vatican’s troops, led by Tall Sparrow, were remarkably strong too. The wall was scattered with the corpses and remains of soldiers, Dark Beast Monsters, and members of the Black Vatican. The intense battle had been going on for quite some time. How could the defenders not be overwhelmed by fatigue?

“The Magic Fire Beacon… we’ve lost the Magic Fire Beacon of Double Mountain Keep!” Lingling said, pointing into the distance.

Only five Magic Fire Beacons were clearly visible amid the sandstorm. Their brilliance represented the determination of the defenders as they continued to fight the Black Vatican and the Underworld creatures to the very end. Some time later, another fire pillar vanished. The Great Wall, already on the verge of collapsing, shrank rapidly once again!

“We can’t hold for much longer,” Zhao Manyan murmured.

The appearance of the Sphinx was like adding hail to snow. They were already struggling to hold back the Black Vatican with the mere numbers they had, and now a deadly existence that could easily pose a threat to the Great Wall had shown up, too! The North Valley was going to experience a bloodbath soon!

“I thought we could at least hold them off for a day or two. I didn’t expect them to break through our defense so quickly,” Lingling smiled wryly.

The Great Wall had to stand for two days. Most of the people in the cities in the North Valley would be evacuated to Feihuang City within two days. Since Feihuang City was located on higher ground, it was easier to defend the place than invade it. There were other hordes of demon creatures in the other places, too. If the army of undead insisted on marching onward, the demon creatures would put up some resistance, too!

Many Mages were gathered in Feihuang City, so they just needed to buy enough time for the people to evacuate to Feihuang City, even if it meant giving a huge amount of land away. Staying alive was more important than anything else!

However, judging from the current situation, the Great Wall would only last for a few hours. It had only been a day since the battle started, but they had already lost three Magic Fire Beacons. It was likely that they would lose the remaining Magic Fire Beacons even faster!

Most importantly, the situation did not look too good for Northguard Fortress. Once the fortress fell, the line of defense was going to collapse instantly. The army of undead would chase down the people that were slowly being evacuated recklessly. Their blood would spray across the land, and their bones would pile up into mountains!

“Mo Fan’s contract wasn’t terminated,” Lingling said.

“Mm, someone else must be holding the contract,” Zhao Manyan said.

They had worked so hard to kill Violet Ghost, yet it did not even matter. It was a tremendous blow to Zhao Manyan. Normally, he would have just left after losing all hope.

However, he had decided to give his all this time. He had a hard time abandoning others just because of a single failure.

He just wanted to protect the fortress. It was currently the most important thing for him!

—

Zhao Manyan and Lingling waited for the sandstorm to calm down a bit before heading toward Northguard Fortress.

Northguard Fortress’s Magic Fire Beacon was a huge castle. The two cautiously avoided the people of the Black Vatican and regrouped with the Prophet, General Bin Wei, and the others first.

“It’s you guys!” Commander Ye Hong’s voice came from behind the wall.

Zhao Manyan let out a relieved sigh when he saw teh Commander. He thought it was someone from the Black Vatican!

“Aren’t you defending the other ancient keep?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“The people of the Black Vatican suddenly gathered toward Northguard Fortress. It looks like they are summoning the others here to focus on taking down Northguard Fortress first. I was worried that the fortress was in danger, so I immediately came to help,” Commander Ye Hong explained.

Commander Ye Hong’s strength was outstanding; he was only slightly weaker than a Super Mage. The members of the Black Vatican attacking the ancient keep he was defending were not a threat after he eliminated Indigo Ghost. He had made sure that the ancient keep was no longer in danger before coming to Northguard Fortress.

Unfortunately, not every ancient keep had an expert like Commander Ye Hong defending it. Otherwise, they would not have lost so many Magic Fire Beacons…

If all eight segments of the Great Wall were still active, it would take the Sphinx quite some time to break through it!

The thinner the wall, the more vulnerable it was to the destructive attacks of Ruler-level creatures!

“It seems the Black Vatican is gathering its members to focus their attacks on Northguard Fortress. I believe the person holding Mo Fan’s contract is going to show up here!” Lingling said.

“I think so, too!” Zhao Manyan blurted out in agreement.

“What are you talking about?” Commander Ye Hong asked.

Zhao Manyan quickly explained Mo Fan’s situation.

Ye Hong’s eyes glittered upon hearing it. He did not expect to learn that Mo Fan really was capable of killing the Cold Prince. He assumed Mo Fan was just trying to do the impossible, and would most likely die trying…

“So you’re saying that if we kill that person, Mo Fan will be able to kill the Red Cardinal?” Ye Hong asked.

Killing a leader like one of the Seven Ghosts was enough to destroy the morale of a group of the Black Vatican. If Mo Fan really managed to kill the Red Cardinal, it was likely that they would be able to hold every ancient keep!

“We don’t have much time. The Sphinx is too strong. The wall won’t hold for much longer. We have to kill the person holding the contract before the Sphinx destroys the Great Wall protecting Northguard Fortress!” Zhao Manyan said.

Chapter 1396 Mysterious Blue Ba

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Cold Prince stood on an Underworld Monarch Frog in his long robe. He was staring at Northguard Fortress in the distance.

“Master, don’t worry, the Sphinx is going to destroy the wall very soon.” Unas stood beside him with an alluring smile.

The Cold Prince remained still. Orange Ghost was standing behind him as his bodyguard, together with several respectful Blue Deacons.

“I need more hate to obtain enough power!” Cold Prince stated.

The entire North Valley would be brimming with hatred by now if it wasn’t for the Great Wall. The strength of evil faith was going to pour into his body like a heavenly spring.

“There was a little accident, but the outcome is still going to be the same,” Unas said.

The Cold Prince turned around and stared at Unas.

Unas knew the Cold Prince was in a bad mood. She immediately fell quiet and lowered her head.

“Why are you showing your face still? Who gives you the right to be staring at me?” the Cold Prince looked past Unas. He was talking to Mo Fan, who was standing behind Unas.

Mo Fan immediately lowered his head. However, a hint of rage was surging in his heart.

Mo Fan finally understood the Cold Prince’s goal. The guy believed in the strength of evil faith. He believed that when people across the world focused hatred on a specific person, it would grant the person greater power.

The Cold Prince had earned his reputation during the Incident of the Red Mediterranean Sea, but the trampling by the pyramid’s army would make him a god!

It was difficult to imagine how someone could even come up with such terrifying beliefs, insisting on spreading pain like a plague!

The Cold Prince did not haggle over Mo Fan’s disrespectful act. He went forward to the top of the Underworld Monarch Frog’s head.

Unas followed slowly.

—

“Are you angry?” Blue Bat asked with a soft voice that only Mo Fan could hear her.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan pretended to be unaware of what she was referring to.

“That Unas has the contract,” Blue Bat said.

Mo Fan did not respond. It was true that he did not expect Unas to have his contract. Otherwise, the moment Violet Ghost died, he would have killed the Cold Prince, Unas, Orange Ghost, and the rest of ‘his superiors’ in an instant.

They still had a chance once the superiors of the Black Vatican were dead!

“I didn’t expect Violet Ghost to be that cunning. He was only a decoy. Unas is the one holding the contract…” Blue Bat added.

“What are you trying to say?” Mo Fan did not understand what Blue Bat was going on about.

“I think I know who you are; you aren’t Northdeer,” Blue Bat said to him.

Mo Fan frowned. A strong murderous intent burst out of his eyes.

Mo Fan would not have trouble killing Blue Bat in an instant with his current cultivation. The creatures of the Underworld were everywhere around them. Even if the Cold Prince and Unas discovered Blue Bat had died suddenly, they would only assume she had been killed by the undead.

Mo Fan would not hesitate to kill her, even though she had been great company so far. Blue Bat seemed a little different than the other members of the Vatican, but even if she had not seen through his disguise, he would have to kill her eventually, too!

“Relax. If I die, you will seriously have a hard time getting rid of the contract… I know you can forcibly terminate the contract, but the price your soul has to pay is just too huge. You wouldn’t want to go that far unless you are left with no choice, right?” Blue Bat demurred.

“I don’t really care if you blow my cover now,” Mo Fan replied calmly.

“Aren’t you curious why I didn’t blow your cover?” Blue Bat raised her head. Her innocent yet mature face did not show any hint of fear toward him, but seemed interested in him, instead…

“Who are you? You don’t look like someone who is willing to devote yourself to that maniac,” Mo Fan asked.

There was indeed something strange about Blue Bat. Mo Fan initially thought Violet Ghost had purposely arranged her to keep an eye on him, hence why she was always by his side. However, it seemed like he had thought wrong…

“Are you confused about why I was able to see through your cover, even though you’ve done such a perfect job?” Blue Bat inquired.

“Please enlighten me,” Mo Fan replied. He was not worried that Blue Bat had seen through his disguise.

Mo Fan knew Unas was unlikely to die. The woman was good at hiding herself. She did not even participate in the attack on Northguard Fortress, and was observing from atop an Underworld Monarch Frog instead. It was impossible for Zhao Manyan to kill her!

As such, Mo Fan had no reason to wait any longer.

The Cold Prince only had Orange Ghost, Unas, and a few Blue Deacons with him. He was more vulnerable than when the ceremony had started. Mo Fan was planning to forcibly terminate the contract to awaken the power of the demon inside him…

The power of the Demon Element might weaken significantly when his soul was damaged, but he should have no problem taking out the Cold Prince and the others!

Since Mo Fan had already made up his mind, he could not care less if Blue Bat had seen through him!

That being said, Mo Fan was still curious. Why hadn’t Blue Bat exposed him?

Mo Fan did not believe Blue Bat had some affection for him just because they had spent some time together, considering his current appearance. It might be possible if his face was not ruined…

“I have met you before. Even though I didn’t participate in the two ceremonies that my master held, I have met you before coincidentally,” Blue Bat explained blatantly.

“Master?” Mo Fan was even more confused.

“Violet Ghost had my contract, so I’m grateful that you’ve killed him… there’s no need to deny it, I know you asked someone to get rid of him,” Blue Bat said.

“So be it,” Mo Fan replied indifferently.

“Now that I’m free, I’m able to carry out my mission in advance… didn’t you want to know who my master is? Just stay here and watch,” Blue Bat smiled. She looked quite mysterious.

Mo Fan remained in place. He watched Blue Bat head to the top of the Underworld Monarch Frog.

Mo Fan had no idea if Blue Bat was trying to expose him. Either way, the minute or two was not going to make any difference…

—

“Cold Prince,” Blue Bat walked up to the Cold Prince and Unas, and called the Red Cardinal’s name directly.

The Cold Prince turned around and hissedfuriously, “Even a petty b**ch like you dares to disrespect me, too? Are you mocking me because everything isn’t going according to our plan? Do you want me to skin you alive!?”

“Ah…” Blue Bat let out a sigh with a naive look. “You have read my mind.”

The Cold Prince felt like exploding upon hearing that. A mere Blue Deacon dared to look down at him! He glared at Unas, instead of doing anything to Blue Bat.

Unas’ face twisted. She took a step toward Blue Bat. It was quite obvious that she had a strong murderous intent.

“I’m returning the favor on behalf of my master, to thank you for the show at the Parthenon Temple that you and the Supreme Pontiff had planned…” Blue Bat continued calmly.

Chapter 1397 One Less Red Cardinal

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The anger on the Cold Prince’s twisted face was instantly replaced by disbelief.

He realized who Blue Bat’s master was right away. Even he felt a great chill running down his spine when that person’s face and icy aura surfaced in his mind!

He did not display his emotions, trying his best to remain calm on the surface.

Meanwhile, Unas, who was burning with rage, suddenly spasmed, spitting out a mouthful of black blood with an unusual odor. It splattered on the luxurious robe of the Cold Prince that represented his identity as a Red Cardinal. It took the Cold Prince, who was about to utter some disdainful remarks, completely by surprise!

Unas’ mouth was leaking blood. Her face began to wilt rapidly. A woman who was blossoming with beauty just a second ago aged more than ten years in an instant. Her alluring body gradually shriveled up as she continued to vomit blood.

Unas was extremely shocked, staring at Blue Bat. She had no idea when she had been exposed to the terrifying poison!

Unas did not expect a Blue Deacon who had been with them for so long to actually be a traitor. Unas trusted Blue Bat more than she trusted Violet Ghost, since Blue Bat was more obedient than the latter!

“You… what… what did you do to me!?” Unas kept spitting out mouthfuls of blood. Her life was draining rapidly. She looked completely different than she had just a minute ago!

“It’s a return gift from my master. If Master Cold Prince continues to be naive, my master won’t mind paying you a visit personally, but when that time comes, it’s going to be for more than the death of your beloved woman!”

Blue Bat jumped lightly down from the Underworld Monarch Frog’s head after finishing. Her figure faded in the air, becoming blurry, like a ghost without a physical body, before completely vanishing amid the haunting mist of the army of undead.

The Cold Prince and Orange Ghost remained motionless. They had an urge to chase after Blue Bat, but they were worried that they had also been exposed to the terrifying poison.

They both looked at Unas. The woman had shriveled right up. Her eyes were almost poking out of theur sockets. She labored to reach her hand out and gurgled to the Cold Prince with a mouth spilling blood, “Help…help me…”

The Cold Prince looked at her with a complicated expression. He was furious and agitated. He was grieving over Unas. He was terrified, too!

“Salan!” the Cold Prince suddenly screamed out with bloodshot eyes.

Unas was already dead, laying cold and still on the Underworld Monarch Frog’s head. Her beauty and charm were gone. She looked just like an old woman who had died a horrid death. It was a great blow and humiliation to the Cold Prince!

“The Chief Extraditor warned you not to provoke Salan…” Orange Ghost whispered.

“Silence!” The Cold Prince was on the verge of losing his temper.

Salan’s gift was a critical blow to him. Not only was Unas a wise advisor, she was also his most trusted subordinate. How could he possibly retain his calm after seeing his beloved Unas die such a horrible death? He was on the verge of turning into an enraged, depressed monster!

The Cold Prince raged like a madman. The other Blue Deacons did not dare to move even half a step closer to him. They had no idea what the Cold Prince might do in his current state!

—

Mo Fan remained still. His face was covered with disbelief, too.

What Blue Bat had done had taken him completely by surprise. After all, the way Violet Ghost and the others treated Blue Bat indicated they had all trusted her to be absolutely loyal to the Cold Prince. She even made great contributions during the Incident of the Red Mediterranean Sea. If it wasn’t because Blue Bat was not too fussy about being promoted to higher ranks or earning fame and glory, she would have been one of the Cold Prince’s most reliable subordinates by now…

But even a person like that turned out to be Salan’s pawn!

It did not matter if she was loyal to Salan all along or had switched sides halfway, it was still extremely terrifying to think about!

“Master is actually quite fond of you. The world is going to mistreat you one day. Why don’t you consider joining master if you find yourself with nowhere to go?” a voice came into Mo Fan’s ears like a ghost. Mo Fan knew it was none other than Blue Bat.

It turned out that Blue Bat was stronger than Mo Fan had expected. Perhaps she had concealed her strength because she was bound by Violet Ghost’s contract, or to protect her cover…

Mo Fan had been with Blue Bat almost all the time after he had infiltrated the Black Vatican, yet he had never suspected her of being Salan’s disciple!

“There are things you can never forgive. I know you haven’t done much evil, so if you choose to leave the Black Vatican and Salan now, I will spare your life,” Mo Fan replied.

“Hehe…” Blue Bat giggled. Her voice was pleasant and charming. “Actually, I didn’t see through your cover until you spread the Dark Matter into Violet Ghost’s body. I’ve done you a favor in return, by killing Unas. If we fight one another, will you show me mercy and spare my life if I lose?”

“What do you think?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“I guess you’re going to kill me still.” Blue Bat had remained a discrete distance away from Mo Fan, making sure Mo Fan could not find out where she really was.

Blue Bat seemed to know something. She dared not stay too close to Mo Fan!

It was true that she could not afford to stay too close to Mo Fan now. Even Salan would be intimidated by Mo Fan when his blood began to boil!

“Try not to do too many bad things; perhaps I might hesitate to kill you when the time comes,” Mo Fan offered.

“If that’s the case, does that mean I’m more successful than Fang Shaoli?”

Mo Fan’s heart turned cold at the mention of Fang Shaoli.

Mo Fan was extremely familiar with the poison that Blue Bat had used on Unas. It was the same poison that Fang Shaoli was using at the ranch, but it was even deadlier than before!

Salan was good at alchemy. She had mixed some deadly chemicals she had invented with the rain that had triggered the Calamity of Bo City and the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. She had also used poison to intimidate the authorities at the Parthenon Temple, and it seemed like her disciples had inherited her talents.

Mo Fan had already met two of Salan’s students, and each of them had successfully left a strong impression on him. He wondered how many disciples Salan had…

But now was not the time to worry about that!

His demon blood was gradually heating up, becoming restless the moment the chains were lifted…

The world was going to have one less Red Cardinal after today!

1398 Demon Flames Filling Up the Sky

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Does she really think she’s a god, just because she orchestrated the Calamity of the Ancient Capital? She didn’t even destroy the Ancient Capital!” the Cold Prince cursed furiously. “I’m the strongest Red Cardinal! The whole world will soon understand I’m the one in charge of their lives!”

The Cold Prince was going crazy. He stared at the Great Wall that was stopping the plague of undeath from spreading. If the Wall wasn’t there, the North Valley would be littered with corpses and crawling with vengeful spirits by now. It would prove his dominance, as he believed he would do a better job than Salan. Not a single person would be left alive in the North Valley!

If Salan could massacre millions of people, he would massacre ten million of them!

“You are all going to die with her!” The Cold Prince’s robe was covered in human faces, which began to react abnormally.

The faces were clearly just decorations, yet they had suddenly come alive, bearing expressions of pain, hatred, anger, sorrow, and despair…

Each face was the reaction of someone that had undergone great torture.

When a person lost their calm, they could turn into an irrational beast at any second.

These faces on the Cold Prince’s robe were the same. They were displaying utter disgust toward the world, and a great passion to destroy everything!

“Die!” The Cold Prince’s robe began to drift in the wind.

The twisted faces on it turned into phantoms and surged in the direction of Northguard Fortress, like a wall of smog.

Piercing screeches and ghastly cries echoed in the dark sky. These phantoms of pain were not under the restrictions of the Realm of the Heavens, as they were weightless.

They flew to Northguard Fortress, and every time they entered the body of a Battlemage, their targets would immediately contort in pain, as if their wills and determination were being crushed by someone else’s hatred, leading to the utter destruction of their Spiritual World!

Even though the painful memories did not belong to them, they felt extremely real, as if they had gone through them personally. Cries of agony rose across Northguard Fortress. Countless Battlemages were corrupted by the pain. Some that lost their will even jumped down from the Great Wall.

The undead that were stacking up under the wall immediately lunged at those that had jumped down. Not a single piece of their remains was left!

“No, don’t kill my tribesmen, spare their lives, please let them go, my daughter Qiqige…” a Battlemage screamed, as if he was troubled by a nightmare.

He kept moving backward until he reached the edge of the wall. Zhao Manyan quickly ran over to drag him back when he was about to fall into the abyss of undead.

“Let me die, let me die, please don’t hurt them, don’t hurt them!” The Battlemage had completely lost his mind. He kept murmuring words similar to the old herdsman.

Zhao Manyan and Lingling stared at the Battlemage in disbelief. It took them a moment to recover from the shock.

They had seen the old herdsman’s wild behavior. They would even assume the Battlemage was actually the old herdsman if he did not have a young face.

“What’s going on here? Is he possessed by the old herdsman’s spirit? But the old herdsman isn’t even dead!” Zhao Manyan said.

The pain was spreading among the defenders of Northguard Fortress like a wild plague. They seemed to have inherited painful memories that someone would never forget for the rest of their lives. They were experiencing the despair that the person had suffered from the memories.

“Does this mean the evil faith is real?” Lingling wondered.

“What evil faith?” Zhao Manyan asked with a confused look.

“There were rumors that some ancient deities would obtain their power through the respect and worship of certain tribes. The higher the number of worshipers and the more sincere they were, the greater the power the deities would obtain. As a matter of fact, the ancient Totem Beasts were the same in some ways. On the other hand, when hatred, anger, and fear reach a certain level, it will produce an evil power that strengthens the evil gods. The stronger the emotions, the greater the power that the evil gods receive!” Lingling explained.

“Does it have anything to do with a curse?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Sort of, positive faith is similar to blessings, while evil faith is like curses. It’s just hard to imagine that someone could really accumulate this vague evil faith and turn it into power!” Lingling said.

“There’s no way to kill or resist these tormenting spirits. What are we even supposed to do?” Ye Hong was utterly confused too.

Those with stronger cultivation among them could still resist the tormenting spirits, but the other Mages were clearly in danger. A huge group of their allies had lost their minds in a short amount of time. They were already jumping off the wall to kill themselves, instead of being killed by the people of the Black Vatican.

“We have to find the host of the evil faith… I believe that person is most likely the Cold Prince,” Lingling deduced.

“How can we find him? The Red Cardinal will never show himself. Does that mean we are done for?” Commander Ye Hong said.

General Bin Wei was also at the Magic Fire Beacon. Her face was extremely pale. She was completely worn out from trying to hold the wall together.

The Great Wall did not stand a chance against the Sphinx’s attacks. The defenders were struggling to hold back the Black Vatican, too. It was only a matter of time until the line of defense collapsed. It just came down to how much time they had managed to buy for the people being evacuated from the cities.

An extra minute might end up saving the people of a whole village. It was the only reason why General Bin Wei did not want to admit defeat!

“We don’t know where the Cold Prince is. He’s scarier than we all expected. Evil faith…” the Prophet did not know what to do.

“We’ve tried our best. Without us, not many people would make it to Feihuang City. At least half of the people should have reached Feihuang City by now,” General Bin Wei’s aide-de-camp sighed.

“Damn it, if only we could only find the person with the contract. We’d be able to hold on for a lot longer!” Zhao Manyan snarled in frustration.

They knew the army of undead was unstoppable. Even the best plan would collapse at the first blow when it was up against absolute power. All they could do was to buy some time so the people in the North Valley could retreat to Feihuang City.

The Great Wall was going to fall either way, but a lot quicker than they had expected…

As everyone was being overwhelmed by despair, the tormented spirits in the vicinity of the Magic Fire Beacon suddenly shrieked. They left the people they were possessing and retreated to the ocean of undead, as if they were being Summoned away.

The Battlemages quickly recovered. Apart from the blank looks in their eyes, they were mostly unharmed.

“What’s going on?” Commander Ye Hong exclaimed.

“The tormenting spirits have flown away! They seem to be heading to an Underworld Monarch Frog around ten kilometers away!” a Mage on the watchtower called out.

“Does that mean the Cold Prince is there?” Zhao Manyan yelled in surprise. However, the joy on his face disappeared quickly. Would knowing the Cold Prince’s location make any difference? Did he even have a way to traverse ten kilometers that were covered by undead?

“Look, a blood-red light!” Lingling pointed into the distance.

“Blood red?”

“Isn’t that a magic light? Which Element does that color belong to?” Commander Ye Hong asked, obviously confused.

“It’s so clear from ten kilometers, how bright would it have to be!?”

It was clearly a light produced by magic, yet they could not recognize what Element it was. The eerie light was so brilliant and overbearing, even when it was shining across millions of undead over a distance of ten kilometers!

—

The Prophet’s eyes widened as he stared into the distance.

He had witnessed the same thing before. When the Mountain Zombie jumped onto the barrier of the Ancient Capital, a figure in a blood-red aura managed to knock the Mountain Zombie away to buy some time for the Ancient Capital!

“It’s Mo Fan, it’s Mo Fan!” the Prophet blurted out in excitement.

It had a strong presence of dark magic, yet it was oddly soothing. There was no good and evil for this power, what mattered was the user’s intent. Was the person’s heart corrupted or twisted, or was it burning passionately, like Mo Fan’s!?

——

Fierce flames surged wildly ten kilometers away from the fortress. The dim sky was soon filled up with scorching flames. The color of the flames was a mix of sunset and reddish-brown that Zhao Manyan and Lingling were extremely familiar with. Despite the distance, they could still tell that the flames were a lot stronger than usual!

The heat wave hit the humans in the face. The undead army could not withstand the scorching heat. Even the fire pillars of the Magic Fire Beacons were burning brighter and stronger!

The Sphinx turned from its attack on the Great Wall and roared, as if he had sensed a dangerous presence behind him.

Scorpion Lord Medusa, her hair of serpents writhing, was around seven kilometers to the northwest of the Fortress. She stopped advancing, too. She slowly turned in the direction of the demon flames. The wary serpents on her head hissed as they faced the demon flames.

The rest of the undead rulers within thirty kilometers stopped advancing, too. They ceased attacking the Great Wall after discovering the surprising existence, a threat they could not afford to ignore right among their army…

1399 Space Crushing, the Stare of Will

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ten kilometers to the north of Northguard Fortress, thousands of the Yoked were already fleeing for their lives in terror. These slaves did not possess any outstanding will. They would scatter as soon as they sensed an overwhelming enemy presence.

The Underworld Monarch Frog’s eyes bulged from their sockets. The demon flames burning its back were causing it great pain. Even with the Underworld Runes that it had summoned to protect its sturdy flesh, the flames still burned a huge hole in its back. It began to jump away, trying to escape from the flames, despite its difficulty moving.

Unfortunately, the flames had erupted right on the Underworld Monarch Frog’s back. There was no chance it could get rid of them. It could only roll across the ground in pain, crushing countless creatures of the Underworld to death!

“HAHAHA! What a surprise; there are two traitors during my ceremony, and they are together now!” The Cold Prince stared at Mo Fan and burst out laughing like a madman, not sure if he was laughing after learning that his ceremony had failed, or laughing at Mo Fan for courting his death!

The Cold Prince could not find a way to vent his anger after witnessing Unas’ death. He could only direct his hatred at the defenders. He wanted to see the people of the North Valley trampled to death by the army of undead!

“Master, you won’t have to worry about a mere pest. Leave him to me!” Orange Ghost knew it was his chance to ingratiate himself. He signaled the Blue Deacons standing behind Mo Fan.

The Blue Deacons were only a few steps away from Mo Fan.

As a matter of fact, they were scared that the Cold Prince would just kill all of them to vent his anger. It was definitely something that the Cold Prince would do, yet to their surprise, there was another traitor among them! The Cold Prince now had a target to vent his anger on, and it also gave them a chance to show their value!

The Cold Prince stared at Mo Fan. He could not care less about Orange Ghost and the Blue Deacons’ intentions.

Orange Ghost jumped down from the Underworld Monarch Frog. The creature’s wild movements did not influence his.

Orange Ghost was obviously a Poison Mage, the kind that used his own body to cultivate the Poison Element. As he approached Mo Fan, his body began to transform into a disgusting form. Poisonous tumors grew like muscles out of his skin, making him look like a mutated beast!

Orange Ghost landed on the ground on all fours. He seemed to have learned the moves of some poisonous beasts, too, and was as quick as lightning. He arrived in front of Mo Fan in the blink of an eye.

“You thought you were so brave infiltrating us. You thought you could stop us, and even if you failed, you could just die knowing you have tried your best… but little did you know, death is the most merciful punishment you could get!” Orange Ghost was one of the leaders under the Cold Prince. His voice was hoarse and unpleasant.

Mo Fan did not move. He was not paying much attention to Orange Ghost. He had seen the tormented spirits withdrawing from the wall, showing that the Cold Prince was aware of the precarious situation he was in…

He could tell that the tormented spirits were the Cold Prince’s trump card, the source of his strength!

Lingling had obviously made a mistake while she was analyzing the Cold Prince’s ../style. The guy was clearly not someone who had outstanding intelligence but limited strength. He was definitely not weak, especially after Mo Fan had sensed a formidable power, similar to the evil energy that the Essence Orb had accumulated before… a power that could give birth to a Red Demon!

“How bold of you! Master Orange Ghost is reciting a eulogy for you!” a Blue Deacon called Grief yelled furiously. The Blue Deacons slowly surrounded Mo Fan at Orange Ghost’s command.

The demon flames surging from Mo Fan’s body had surged two kilometers away, but Orange Ghost, Grief, and the other Blue Deacons were completely unaware of it.

When the difference in strength reached a certain level, the weaker side would struggle to sense their opponent’s power, until it was too late!

“I’ll pluck your tongue out first!” Orange Ghost was humiliated when Mo Fan ignored him. He attacked with his poisonous tumors, roaring furiously.

Jagged spikes erupted from the poisonous tumors. It looked like hundreds of monsters with poisonous fangs were tearing at Mo Fan at the same time. The Blue Deacons backed away slightly, afraid of being hit by the poisonous attack.

Orange Ghost was obviously nursing a great grievance. He was trying to vent all his frustrations on this disrespectful enemy!

The poisonous fangs surrounded Mo Fan and trapped him, as if he were in a cage surrounded by starving beasts. The fangs had completely sealed off his escape.

“Die!” Orange Ghost’s face suddenly appeared among the poisonous fangs, grinning hideously.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze with a cold smile, like he was watching a clown putting on an amusing performance. His face was still full of scars. As the demon blood inside him awakened, several stunning Demon Runes appeared on his face , spreading from his eyes to the back of his ears, and from his forehead to his chin. His blood-red eyes, surrounded by the Demon Runes, glittered with a dangerous aura!

Telekinesis!

With a thought, the space surrounding Mo Fan began to tremble!

The space broke into pieces, like a mirror shattered by a powerful blow. The poisonous fangs shattered and turned into blue powder.

The poisonous fangs were surging at their target just a second ago, but everything suddenly returned to calm in the following second. Not a single sign of the fangs was left, apart from Orange Ghost’s tumor-covered face, now filled with disbelief and fear!

Orange Ghost’s muscle-tumor-covered body broke into pieces, too. His head floated in the air before Mo Fan for a second, then fell to the ground like a rotten coconut.

Every member of the Black Vatican would have the same thought when their death approached: did the Kingdom of Death that their Red Cardinals told them about really exist?

If the Kingdom of Death was real, they would be reborn there as a noble to enjoy eternal life, while others would become their slaves.

If it did not exist, they would simply vanish from the world, just like everyone else, or they would just turn into a vengeful spirit. Either way would be a painful and discontented ending!

However, the question did not cross Orange Ghost’s mind when his head fell to the ground. He was only confused about why he had died so easily; he was confused about how such an insignificant kid could kill him so easily, and it was done with just a single stare in a second. How weak was he, that his opponent did not even bother to use a proper move on him!?

“Aren’t you proud of your work? Why don’t you experience it first hand!?” Mo Fan glanced at the Blue Deacons, who were struggling to stand properly in the face of the terror billowing in their hearts.

Mo Fan went up to the Blue Deacons and lifted them up like they were little chicks.

It was a very simple move, yet the Blue Deacons could not resist. They could only watch Mo Fan toss them into the ocean of undead.

To make sure these Blue Deacons would be torn into pieces and fully experience the savagery of the army from the Underworld, Mo Fan purposely tossed them in different directions, where there were enough undead to give them the best experience possible!

Their cries of agony soon arose. Mo Fan was pleased by their painful screams. No wonder some maniacs enjoyed hearing their victims cry. The louder they cried, the more excited they would feel… Mo Fan was not a psychopath; he was only cruel to the vicious ones, but he enjoyed hearing the agonzied cries coming from their mouths!

The remains of the Blue Deacons scattered about messily. Mo Fan even tossed the Blue Deacon called Grief to Scorpion Lord Medusa!

Scorpion Lord Medusa was initially wary of Mo Fan’s presence, yet to her surprise, the guy was friendly enough to toss her an Advanced Mage!

The other creatures did not dare to compete with Scorpion Lord Medusa for the human. The serpents on her head tied around their prey. Scorpion Lord Medusa was not interested, but the snakes on her head were willing to accept the human as a gift.

They lunged forward, trying to be the first to taste the fresh human meat. Unfortunately, the human was just too small for all of them to enjoy. Scorpion Lord Medusa’s serpents were hoping Mo Fan would toss more fresh humans to them!

Mo Fan had tossed all the Blue Deacons at the Underworld creatures. They clearly did not have any individual resistance to the undead, and were rapidly devoured. The undead could not care less if they were the people who had opened the gate and brought them into the mundane world.

These Blue Deacons were initially waiting to witness the undead army massacring the people of the North Valley. They did not expect to end up as victims, too! Not many of the Blue Deacons really looked forward to enjoying their prestige in the Kingdom of Death while they were overwhelmed by fear of death!

—

The Cold Prince did not seem bothered by Mo Fan’s actions.

All his other subordinates were less valuable than a single Unas, and her death had already given him the urge to kill every single being he stumbled into, apart from himself! Mo Fan actually did him a favor by killing the Blue Deacons, so he was not angry. He was laughing instead, wild and twisted.

“Is it going to make any difference?” the Cold Prince grinned coldly.

The Great Pyramid of Giza had appeared. The army of the Underworld had begun marching. The Great Wall could only buy the people some time. Mo Fan could only vent his frustrations by killing them. It would not alter the North Valley’s fate!

Was escaping to Feihuang City really enough to stop the army of undead?

“I’m going to send every one of you to Hell!” Mo Fan recited the same sentence that he had murmured over and over again in his heart!

“You will lose horribly, even if you kill me. Such a pitiful Eastern race, to die like some petty livestock… the funny thing is, you can’t even kill me!” the Cold Prince raised his pitch like the screech of a haunted infant. “You can’t kill me, you’ll never kill me!”

1400 The Evil God Arrives

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The faces that returned to the Cold Prince’s robe let out the same cry as the Cold Prince. Each face had the same terrifying expression as the Cold Prince!

“You don’t even know that you’re living in a ridiculous world under other people’s control. Consider yourself lucky an imbecile like you has the chance to witness the descent of a real god!” The Cold Prince opened his mouth as if he was drawing in something.

The faces on his robe performed the same action. They were taking crazily deep breaths, as if they were drawing in the hatred of the entire world!

An eerie red light encapsulated the Cold Prince. His body resembled that of a teenage boy, but it now began to grow rapidly. His bones began to crack. Instead of saying he was growing, it was more like something was bursting out of his tiny body!

Mo Fan saw dark red flesh poking out of the human skin. The Cold Prince’s skin had burst open. It was difficult to imagine that the monster hiding inside it was around ten meters tall. It was easily seven times the Cold Prince’s initial size!

“So you’re a monster,” Mo Fan chuckled upon seeing the thing that had burst out of the Cold Prince’s body.

“I do feel jealous of people like you. You are always so naive… well, they do say that ignorance is bliss. Do you even know the origin of the Cold Prince?” The Cold Prince’s voice did not change much even though he was currently ten meters tall. Two horns had grown out of his forehead, with an eye hanging between them. It emitted a different light than the other two eyes.

“Why would I be interested in the story of a monster that’s about to die?” Mo Fan Summoned his two flames. The silhouette of the Flame Belle Empress appeared behind him. The sacred light of his flames forced the Underworld creatures to hastily withdraw some distance away!

“Osiris wanted to kill Khonsu, but the cunning woman used the Triangle Dimensional Mirror to escape her fate, making countless people suffer in her place. Aren’t the current rulers of the world just the same as the b**ch Khonsu? Do you think what they did was any better than what Khonsu did?

“The first Cold Prince was the servant that smashed the Triangle Dimensional Mirror into pieces, yet he was despised by the world in the end. The rulers might be despicable, but the people did not deserve any mercy, either. They assumed ignorance to be justice, and they blindly followed the so-called peace and harmony that their rulers were bringing them. Don’t you know? It’s like a shepherd comforting his livestock before slaughtering them. Most amusingly, there’s still someone like you, desperately still trying to protect this deformed world! I have to say, I’m really impressed!” the Cold Prince sneered.

“Well, that’s just a part of the reason. I only want to kill you because I feel disgusted by you!” Mo Fan could not have cared less about the world-toppling ideas that the Cold Prince was talking about.

If a Red Cardinal did not have some sort of beliefs, how could they possibly gather so many followers? Every Red Cardinal was clearly a genius among the bad guys, and they could easily justify the bad things they did as a holy cause worth the lives of others. If anyone tried to comprehend it with logic, it might sound reasonable and convincing, but the truth was, they were only preying on human’s selfishness and greed!

“You don’t believe me?” The Red Cardinal looked down at Mo Fan. His weird face was wearing an extremely fake smile.

“What’s the meaning of saying all that?” Mo Fan remained unmoving. His demon blood was still being awakened, so he was still taking his time. Besides, the Cold Prince did not seem to have any intentions of running away. The battle had to end in the Red Cardinal’s death, unless the Cold Prince really did have the power to take him on!

“I can show it to you,” the Cold Prince said.

“You call yourself the God of Death, but I actually just beat the crap out of a so-called God of Death in Greece quite recently. I wonder if the god you mention would stand a chance against my fists?” Mo Fan slowly lifted his fist. The demon flames for a kilometer around began to gather toward it, forming a brilliant radiance around Mo Fan’s wrist!

“The strength of faith that the first Cold Prince bore from all the hatred directed at him is the strongest power I have ever seen. I’m the real God of Death!” Cold Prince screamed.

The real God of Death?

People often called something that brought death and fear that they could not defeat a God of Death. There were many Gods of Death in this world, but there were mostly just a bunch of lunatics who thought they could destroy everything after gaining access to some evil power!

It was obvious that the Cold Prince was proud of the strength of the evil faith he had gathered. The strange-looking monster with three eyes that burst out of him was the depiction of the god that he passionately believed in!

The situation was a lot simpler, then!

Mo Fan just had to use his force to crush the god that the Cold Prince believed in!

The Cold Prince claimed the hatred of the world as the source of his strength, but the truth was, he was only using it as a disguise for a special power of the Curse Element that people did not recognize. He was using some complicated belief to cover the ridiculous truth of his power.

It was just the power of the Curse Element. The reason why gods were gods was because they were unbeatable, but today, Mo Fan would smash this so-called god to pieces with his fist. He was not only trying to destroy the Cold Prince, but the bad guys in the past and present that worshiped the evil gods!

He would show them how frail the gods they worshiped were!

They would be punished according to the sins they had committed!

If there was indeed an after-death world, it was going to be Hell, where their souls would suffer endless torture!

—

The demon flames reached their limit. The formidable energy desperately needed a way to be released. Mo Fan’s patience for and hatred of the Cold Prince had reached his limit, too. He was disgusted by the thought of letting the scourge live for even a second further!

“Demon Radiant Fist!”

A ray pierced through the dim sky, followed by a brilliance comparable to that of the sun. Scorching heat rolled in all directions like an unstoppable tide, resulting in a fire calamity devouring the army of undead, and everything else!

The shadow of Flame Belle Empress had granted Mo Fan absolute control of the Fire Element. All of the Fire Magic within a hundred kilometers was completely under his control. The ground ruptured as soon as he threw his punch out. Thousands of fiery pillars soared into the dark sky, prying open the gloomy clouds looming over Squaretrek Plain!

Lava and volcanic ashes scattered in the air, turning into burning webs looming over the place. No matter how quick the Cold Prince moved along Squaretrek Plain, there was no way he could escape the flames of condemnation!

The fiery pillars and the flames shrouding the sky were like Hell on Earth. The Underworld creatures within a kilometer burned away swiftly amid the insanely high temperature. Even the Commander-level creatures did not survive the heat and impact of the scorching lava and fiery pillars. They turned into scattering ashes, just like mere insects!

The Underworld creatures within a kilometer fled for their lives when they realized a powerful demon was among them. Unfortunately, Mo Fan had run out of patience with the Cold Prince, sealing the fate of the army of undead nearby.

Mo Fan was not fussy about controlling his flames. His first priority was to kill the Cold Prince, but he would not show any mercy to the greedy creatures of the Underworld, either.

Besides, he needed their Soul Remnants and Soul Essences to pay off the debt from using the Demon Element!…

——

“My Heavens…”

“Are…are they all dead?”

“Is the person that was knocked flying… really Master Cold Prince?”

The members of the Black Vatican and the soldiers on the Great Wall witnessed the destruction that the flames and the single punch had brought. Every creature of the Underworld within a kilometer of it had died. How powerful was the existence responsible for it?

The heat drove away the aura of death and froze the army of undead in their tracks. The fiercer the flames that were burning the undead mercilessly were, the greater the hope that was ignited in the hearts of the defenders.

They had sworn to protect the wall to their death. If they failed to hold their ground until their families and the people were evacuated to safety, wouldn’t all their sacrifices until now be in vain? How sorrowful and despairing would it be, knowing that they could not change the outcome, even if they were willing to die for it?

The Magic Fire Beacons were still burning, symbolizing the unyielding spirit of the defenders. When the demon flames burned the Underworld creatures into ashes like rice straws, it served as a great spark to the fire burning in the hearts of the soldiers!

Since they had come prepared to sacrifice their lives, they did not want to die for nothing. They would become brilliant and scorching meteorites that the whole world could see!

It was unnecessary to doubt their decision or cower. Even if they could live for another ten or twenty years, they would only live in remorse for the rest of their lives, regretting their decision of not turning their lives into the inextinguishable flames of the Magic Fire Beacons, just so the wall could stand for a second longer!

“Mo Fan, leave the fortress to us, make sure you send that son of a b**ch Cold Prince to Hell!” Zhao Manyan saw Mo Fan’s flames burning brightly amid the army of undead. He had never felt so fearless of death in his entire life!

He was going to be proud of this experience for the rest of his life. There were many people who were weaker than him on the wall, yet they all believed in one thing.

The Black Vatican had be eliminated!

The Wall must remain standing!

The flames of the Magic Fire Beacons must not be extinguished!

—

A strong murderous aura and scorching flames lingered in the air. Every punch that demon Mo Fan threw resulted in a destructive blow from the Fire Element. The god that believed in the strength of evil faith and his huge monstrous body were drowned in Mo Fan’s continuous attacks. It seemed to have proved Mo Fan’s statement: he had beaten the crap out of someone regarded as the God of Death in Greece recently; how many punches could this other God of Death endure?

God of Death?

If such frail beliefs were enough to make a person a god, the power of the Demon Element that Mo Fan possessed would make him the ultimate dominator that even gods had to bow before!

1401 Demon Mo Fan Versus Fake God of Death

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Raging flames surged through the clouds and soared into the sky. The Cold Prince, still in the form of a ghastly monster with horns, cried out in agony from amid the flames. His face twitched continuously in pain as his third eye fired a destructive ray at Mo Fan.

The Beam of Destruction was extremely dense, and could easily slice through the solid ground. It rapidly approached Mo Fan as he was unleashing his flames.

Mo Fan seemed to waver, leaving an afterimage on the spot. He appeared in front of the Cold Prince the following second. His long hair drifted in the wind like a cape dancing behind him. His face, covered in demonic runes, had an evil grin!

His demon blood became even more restless as the fight went on. Fighting at close quarters was the most enjoyable thing for the demon!

The Cold Prince was not as weak as Mo Fan had imagined, giving Mo Fan more opportunities to shatter the Cold Prince’s petty beliefs!

Strange slits were seen across the Cold Prince’s body. These arrises snapped open, revealing twisted faces in pain. These faces flew into the air and surrounded Mo Fan. They were going to devour him alive!

“Ten Thousand Feathers!”

Mo Fan hovered in the air. A pair of magnificent flaming wings erupted on his back.

The wings were each over fifty meters long, as long as the Great Wall was high. The wings turned into thousands of feathers flying at the twisted, ghastly faces. The explosions blasted the faces to pieces, preventing them from coming any closer to Mo Fan.

Demon Mo Fan dove right at the Demon-Horned Cold Prince at full speed, reaching the Demon-Horned Cold Prince’s chest in the blink of an eye.

“Fiendish Night: Shadow Strike!”

Mo Fan surprisingly vanished into thin air. The area was shrouded by thick darkness in the following second, shrouding the Demon-Horned Cold Prince within it.

The Demon-Horned Cold Prince was acutely aware of the approaching danger. He quickly fled, moving six hundred meters away.

However, Mo Fan’s Fiendish Night specialized in tracking down its target. Its capabilities had improved significantly under the effects of his Demon blood!

Thick chains of darkness appeared and constructed an ancient Dark Execution Ground. The chains and cangues trapped the Demon-Horned Cold Prince and prevented him from moving any further!

Twenty-four enormous demon shadows stood within the Darkness Domain surrounding the Demon-Horned Cold Prince. Each of them was thrice the size of the Demon-Horned Cold Prince, like shadow titans. They were all holding shadow axes. Their outlines somewhat resembled the Cold Prince’s current appearance. They looked like demon shadows that had come out of the Demon-Horned Cold Prince’s body, and were about to deliver punishment to their original entity!

Two dozen black axes swung down simultaneously. The formidable energy surged through the darkness like a raging storm. The Cold Prince cried out in agony as twenty-four cuts were left on him by the overlapping shadow axes!

The wounds inflicted by the shadow axes were incurable. The Cold Prince struggled wildly, but he could not break free from Mo Fan’s powerful shadow binding. There was nothing the Cold Prince could do, apart from suffering continuous slashes from the shadow axes!

The fight between Mo Fan and the Cold Prince was visible from a great distance away. After all, all the creatures of the Underworld in their vicinity had burned into ashes already. Tall Sparrow, who was leading the members of the Black Vatican, was in disbelief when he saw the Cold Prince being tortured by his opponent!

Tall Sparrow had experienced how unstoppable the Cold Prince’s power was. All the great powers of the Black Vatican might struggle against the Cold Prince when he was in his current form, so why did it feel like the Cold Prince did not even have a chance to fight back? Shouldn’t his opponent be the one that was crying out in agony instead?

“I will shred your flesh and tear your soul into pieces!” the Cold Prince screamed furiously.

The pain eventually eased when the Cold Prince’s heart exploded with anger. He lunged toward Mo Fan and swung his eerie-shaped claws fiercely. Three sharp blood-red slashes swept across the air. They were so quick that most people would not even see them!

Mo Fan leapt backward. Three shocking gouges appeared where he was standing previously.

The slashes kept coming rapidly. It was difficult to see them. The onlookers only saw wild blood-red flickers of light all over the place. The only clue to how deadly the claws were was the gashes being left all over the place!

Mo Fan dodged continuously. Meanwhile, the Cold Prince seemed to have gotten lost in swinging his claws around wildly. He kept laughing while making his move, a monster that had lost its human nature.

Mo Fan suddenly came to a stop after a time. His blood-red demon eyes had recognized a certain pattern to the wild attacks. He stomped the ground, turning himself into a black bolt of lightning, weaving through the slashes at unbelievable speed and angles!

The Cold Prince’s third eye widened. He did not expect his opponent to be able to weave through the slashes. On top of that, he was shocked by the formidable power that bolt of lightning contained!

The lightning surged like a dragon and landed on the wounds left by the shadow axes. As it did, lightning chains descended rapidly from the thick clouds in the sky!

Lightning poured down like rain, and kept on blasting the same area. Not only was the Cold Prince’s chest penetrated by Mo Fan’s lightning, he had to suffer the judgment from the God of Lightning that Mo Fan had long prepared for him!

Lightning bolts struck wildly. Their numbers were insane, and they came in different forms. There were chains, webs, claws, and beams. Countless undead were caught by the lightning and turned into scattered ashes and dispersing smoke.

How many creatures could possibly endure the power of such overwhelming lightning?

The God of Death in Greece, Hayla, might still have stood a chance against Mo Fan, and the Sphinx who was watching the fight from the distance might be able to take Mo Fan on. But the Cold Prince, even Possessed by his evil faith, was clearly not at their level yet!

The transformation did indeed grant him remarkable strength, but lies were still lies, after all. There was no such thing as evil faith. It was just the hatred and fear collected with the Curse Element. It was nowhere enough to make a person a god, if Demon Mo Fan could wreck him so easily!

The Cold Prince’s skin was shredded by Mo Fan’s lightning. His flesh was badly mangled.

One was suffering from serious injuries, while the other was perfectly unharmed. It was easy to see who had the upper hand in the fight. The people of the Black Vatican began to feel doubtful after witnessing the fight!

The army of the Underworld was struggling to break through the Great Wall. The Cold Prince that they worshiped was being badly beaten up by an unknown existence that had appeared out of nowhere. The thing that had actually been driving them since the very beginning was their greed and selfishness. Why would they bother worshiping a fake God of Death?

===========

Editor’s Note: Yes, arrisses and cangues were completely new words to me, too.

1402 Let“s Treat It as Bo City Again

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Cold Prince had turned into a ghastly monster after losing his skin. His ugly, twisted face was distorted by pain. Anyone looking at it would assume it to be a filthy, petty, and evil existence produced after gathering hatred from people across the world!

Green blood was pouring out from the holes that the lightning had left on the Cold Prince’s chest. The monster could barely stand. The Underworld creatures in the surroundings had all perished, yet the Cold Prince was still standing. He was obviously enraged after suffering such great humiliation!

Any liar would be infuriated after their lies had been exposed. The Cold Prince was the same. The Red Cardinal was only applying Curse Magic to himself, and was not as powerful as people had imagined. The Black Vatican was like a fox exploiting a tiger’s might. They were traitors to mankind, and all they could do was something as despicable as opening up the gates to let the enemy in. They were not necessarily talented at doing other things.

The Demon-Horned Cold Prince was completely enraged. He had no intention of letting Mo Fan go, even though he had lost his outer skin!

He opened his mouth and spat out black smog at Mo Fan. The smog rolled forward like a cloud bank, instantly establishing the Demon-Horned God’s Domain!

The black smog was terrifyingly penetrating. It would drill into every opening it found to penetrate a living thing’s body and swiftly drain their life. Their fresh blood would turn into black filth, their organs would wilt into detritus, their bones would decay like wood…

“HAHAHA, didn’t you say you wanted to stop me? How are you going to stop me now!?” The Demon-Horned Cold Prince burst out laughing. Not only was his black smog covering Mo Fan, it was swiftly approaching the Great Wall!

The Cold Prince had realized he was no match for Demon Mo Fan. He had decided to massacre everyone instead, including his friendlies!

The outcome of the fight between Mo Fan and him did not even matter. The Cold Prince’s goal was to turn the North Valley into a land of the dead. He just needed to kill everyone on the Wall to allow the army of the Underworld to raze everything to the ground!

“Weren’t you acting tough just now? You are nothing but a foolish pest in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza!” the Cold Prince yelled wildly.

The Cold Prince continued to spit out black smog clouds in the direction of the Great Wall, as if the amount he had exhaled previously was nowhere enough.

—

The black mists rolled toward the Wall like stormy clouds. The defenders on the wall were gripped by great fear. Even the undead died rapidly when they were caught by the black smog, let alone humans like them!

“Master Cold Prince, our men are still on the wall!” Tall Sparrow yelled.

The troop of the Black Vatican led by Tall Sparrow and Green Ghost numbered about two thousand people. Most of them were elites too, and together with the Dark Beast Monsters, it was extremely powerful. Its objective was to destroy the Magic Fire Beacon on Northguard Fortress!

The battle had been going on for quite some time. Even though they had yet to make any progress, they were still the Black Vatican’s main troop. The black smog that the Cold Prince was releasing did not distinguish between friendlies and enemies!

The Demon Horn Black Smog soon reached the Great Wall. The Wall obviously could not stop it from entering the fortress. The members of the Black Vatican further away from the Magic Fire Beacon were swiftly turned into a pile of shattered, rotting tinder.

The speed they died at was extremely shocking. Just a little touch of the smog cost them their lives, bringing them to a horrible end!

Cries of agony kept coming from the members of the Black Vatican. The defenders had gathered at the Magic Fire Beacon where the Water Mages had set up Water Curtains along the perimeter to buy some time.

The members of the Black Vatican realized they had to work together to defend themselves from the black smog. They immediately gathered in one spot!

“Why? Why is Master Cold Prince doing this to us!?”

“He’s giving us a chance to be reborn!”

“Do you seriously believe that?”

The death count continued to rise. Not every defense was able to stop the deadly smog. The Cold Prince was no match for Demon Mo Fan, but the poisonous smog was just too deadly to the Mages under the Advanced and Super Levels. A single breath could easily kill them all!

—

Demon Mo Fan did not have any defensive abilities or protection, so he did not have any way to stop the smog.

He had to admit that the Cold Prince’s move was quite vicious. He did not have a chance against a stronger opponent, so he switched his attention to the weak ones instead…

“Blink!” Mo Fan could not afford to abandon the defenders.

The Demon Horned Cold Prince was not just spitting out smog from his mouth, he was releasing it from his body too! Even if Mo Fan managed to kill the Cold Prince, the deadly smog would still reach Northguard Fortress. The Cold Prince was ready to die, but before that, he would kill everyone other than Mo Fan!

He might not be able to kill Mo Fan, but he could kill everyone else!

Mo Fan traveled ten kilometers after a few Blinks. He rapidly approached the Magic Fire Beacon on Northguard Fortress.

“Mo Fan!” Lingling was overjoyed to see Mo Fan. However, she was stunned when she took a closer look at the Demon Runes all over his face and body.

It was Zhao Manyan’s first time seeing Mo Fan close up when he was in Demon form, too. He immediately had complicated feelings rising when he recalled the decision that Mo Fan had made back in Jinlin City.

Zhang Xiaohou had just arrived, and was relieved to see that everyone was fine.

“You guys should leave now, I’ll hold them off!” Mo Fan said.

“But…”

“Blink!” Mo Fan did not give them any chance to speak.

A dazzling silver light burst out of Mo Fan’s blood-red pupils. Countless Star Orbits, Star Patterns, and Star Constellations combined into a spectacular silver Star Palace!

When the light reached its limit, thousands of stars flickered and shattered into tiny pieces, like diamonds turning into dust.

The dust drifted in the wind and sprinkled across the place. The people gathered at Northguard Fortress’s Magic Fire Beacon had all disappeared.

—

The few hundred defenders were fighting amid the bloodbath just a moment ago, but they were moved to the other end of the fortress in the next moment. The area was completely empty. The Great Wall remained standing in the distance like a range of mountains, blocking the army of undead on the other side.

“Did…did we just…” Commander Ye Hong was left speechless. The Blink had teleported the hundreds of them in an instant, something that only the best Space Mages in the world could do!

The silver dust was still sprinkling down. The Prophet stared at Mo Fan’s back. He hesitated for a moment before he said, “That’s enough.”

Mo Fan turned around and saw the complicated look on the Prophet’s face.

Mo Fan knew what the Prophet was saying. He was planning to give up on the resistance…

The Sphinx had not stopped attacking the Great Wall. Northguard Fortress would collapse very soon.

General Bin Wei knew that better than anyone else. Besides, they had already run out of the Earth Fountain Spring Water.

They did not have an unlimited supply of the Earth Fountain Spring Water. Every time they manipulated the wall segments, every attempt to repair the Great Wall would cost a huge amount of the Water. Even if Mo Fan had not helped everyone escape from the deadly smog with Blink, the Great Wall would only have stood for a few more minutes.

——

As expected, the Great Wall began to shake as soon as the defenders left. The first huge crack appeared on the abandoned Wall. It was not just on the side of the wall that the Sphinx was attacking, but on the back of the Wall, too. More cracks began to surface, extending for a few hundred meters, to thousands of meters, and to a few kilometers!

“Damn it, if we could hold on for half a day more, they would have enough time to evacuate everyone!” Zhang Xiaohou grumbled.

Zhang Xiaohou had just come back from Shenmu Keep. The Earth Fountain Spring Water would be depleted very soon. He had thought to get some more from Northguard Fortress, but to his surprise, the rate of consumption was even higher at Northguard Fortress…

The Great Wall had only stood for a day and a half. It was unlikely that everyone in the North Valley had enough time to be evacuated to Feihuang City. Judging from the pace of the army of the Underworld, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people, were still going to die!

Furthermore, Feihuang City was not necessarily unbreakable. If the Great Pyramid of Giza was able to last for a long time, there was a chance that Feihuang City would fall, too!

“We’ve saved a lot of lives by holding on for a day and a half. Enough talk, the line of defense at Feihuang City needs our help, too. Let’s go!” the Prophet said firmly.

They might have decided to sacrifice their lives, but it was a relief they were still alive for now. If the Sphinx had not shown up, the Great Wall could easily have held the undead army back for two days. However, the Earth Fountain Spring Water was already depleted. Their sacrifices would only be meaningless if they stayed any further.

The battle was clearly not going to end any time soon. Feihuang City was going to be in danger, too. They were more familiar with the Great Pyramid of Giza than the others standing by in Feihuang City, so it was better for them to stay alive!

“How many people are going to die in half a day?” Mo Fan asked the Prophet.

“I’m not sure,” the Prophet replied.

According to the latest report, at least four or five cities further away from Feihuang City were still being evacuated. They had no idea how many people there were, since they had been busy fighting in the front line all along…

“The people of Lucheng, which is the furthest away, haven’t arrived in Feihuang City yet. There are also a few other remote towns and villages,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Lucheng was a small city constructed along the Luhe river. Behind the city were loess mountains scattered across the Shenmu region where Zhang Xiaohou had been defending previously. The area was the furthest away from Feihuang City, so they would need quite some time to evacuate the people there.

Mo Fan had visited the small city when he was disguised as Northdeer. The place felt somewhat familiar to him.

“Go ahead, I’ll hold them off,” Mo Fan repeated the same words he said at the Magic Fire Beacon.

“How are you going to hold them off? The wall is already collapsing!” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

“I can’t leave yet,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan could not afford to leave. He needed to pay the debt of using the Demon Element. He had not filled up the Essence Orb before using the Demon Element. As such, he would pay a huge price for using it. If he did not kill enough undead, his soul would be in great torment for several months. Mo Fan had already experienced it at Dongting Lake. Zhang Xiaohou had personally witnessed what he had been through, too.

He had to keep fighting!

Besides, Mo Fan had always had a knot in his heart. It was Bo City.

Mo Fan was unfamiliar with Lucheng. He only passed by its empty streets once in a hurry.

Some people might think that the destruction of a small city was acceptable, considering the scale of the calamity that was taking place. However, Mo Fan who was a survivor of the Calamity of Bo City; to someone like him, the significance of a small city greatly surpassed the most luxurious city in the world.

The streets that had been crawling with One-eyed Magic Wolves. The people desperately searching for a place to hide, despite being soaked in blood…

Even the weak possessed the will to live.

The strong also had the right to stick to the decisions they had made!

They could no longer return to the past, nor could they go back in time and handle the situation again with their current strength. They could only vent out the grudges and the will to fight that they had buried deep within their frail bodies back then right now!

They did not want to tremble in fear or hide in a corner again!

Demon Mo Fan never existed. He was Mo Fan all along, the same Mo Fan that wanted to fight until the end of the world, until the boiling blood in his body ran dry!

Lucheng was no Bo City, but he would not mind treating it as Bo City for now. He would not mind standing in front of the vulnerable city…

He did not want to have any remorse or guilt. It was time for him to finally fight for the survival of the city like a man!

——

The ten-kilometer Wall in front of Northguard Fortress finally collapsed. The huge crack that had opened previously was the main culprit, bringing down the main section of the huge line of defense!

The ground shook as the wall collapsed like a mountain, resulting in a huge avalanche. The dust scattered in the air, forming a dust curtain billowing along the horizon. It was the last thing concealing the sight of Hell from the people of the North Valley!

The dust dissipated very soon. The sea of undead surged fiercer and quicker than anyone had imagined. It was unstoppable and utterly terrifying!

The Squaretrek Plain trembled as the army of undead resumed marching. The spacious North Valley was soon devoured.

“It’s… gone…”

“It collapsed, it really did…”

The ancient shield of China was trampled into pieces by the surge of undead. Everyone’s will was crushed at the same moment.

They felt extremely tiny without the Great Wall. Their oath to fight to their death and their unyielding spirit were trampled under the merciless hooves of the Underworld creatures. The only thought in their mind was to run!

Everyone was backing away. The terrifying sight of the undead charging at them made them feel suffocated. Their bodies were running involuntarily!

——

Demon Mo Fan remained where he was. He was the only person that took a step forward.

The step showed that his heart was still burning passionately. His will did not sway when facing the massive army of undead!

The shadow of Flame Belle Empress attached to Mo Fan’s back, granting him a bright, scorching radiance. He stomped the trembling ground, releasing waves of fire ripples in all directions…

Lightning was soaring in the sky like dragons, the flashes of their barely-seen tails like the tip of an ominous iceberg staying right above Mo Fan!

Between the fire ripples and the wild lightning was an enormous outline drawn by the vague Fiendish Night. It resembled the shadow of Flame Belle Empress behind Mo Fan, but at the same time, it was completely concealed.

Faint silver dust was still lingering in the air. The particles were barely visible due to how tiny they were, but the silver light they were emitting revolved around Mo Fan. His blood-red pupils had a mysterious flicker within them!

“Brother Fan…” Zhang Xiaohou clenched his fists after seeing how Mo Fan insisted on staying behind to fight.

Zhang Xiaohou was well aware of what Mo Fan was thinking. They had both gone through the same experience in the past. Whenever something like this happened, a pale yet beautiful face would surface in Zhang Xiaohou’s mind. He wanted to fight just like Mo Fan. He promised her that he would become stronger, just so he could protect stupid women like her!

“Blink,” Mo Fan did not turn around. He pointed his finger at the people behind him.

The silver particles fell from the air and swiftly drew a brilliant Star Constellation encapsulating Zhang Xiaohou, Lingling, the Prophet, General Bin Wei, Commander Ye Hong, Zhang Xiaohou, and the defenders who were still alive.

They could not even survive for more than a few seconds against the army of undead. Mo Fan had no intention of letting them stay around, regardless of what they were thinking.

“Assh***, don’t send me away, I’ll Summon that son of a b**ch here even if I have to risk my life!” The silver Star Orbits appeared so rapidly; Zhao Manyan was planning to jump out of the magic formation, yet it was drawn faster than he had expected.

Zhao Manyan was holding the wooden clapper as he was running away from the Star Constellation. However, everyone standing inside it vanished once again when its brilliance reached its limit. All that was left was silver dust sprinkling in the air.

The place fell silent, apart from the deafening noise from the marching undead army was making…

—

The defenders traveled through a rift. This time, Mo Fan had teleported them a few kilometers away, giving them plenty of time to run away from the army of undead.

“Son of a b**ch, I’m your f**king master, you better come to me, right now!” Zhao Manyan yelled furiously. It was difficult to tell who he was angry at.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaohou was staring into the distance.

Was the Demon Element really strong enough to take on the Great Pyramid of Giza?

Obviously not; the Great Pyramid of Giza was the ruling kingdom of the Underworld. There was no way Demon Mo Fan could kill every single one of the Underworld creatures, not to mention that the Sphinx was not any weaker than Demon Mo Fan at all!

“Stop yelling, Old Zhao! Please do me a favor!” Zhang Xiaohou turned to another direction, as if he had made up his mind.

“What favor? I’m calling Baxia over. He should be able to buy us some time,” Zhao Manyan said.

Baxia was not planning to show up. It was obvious that he had yet to acknowledge Zhao Manyan as his master and guardian, as he was still too weak. Even if Baxia did show up, he still could not stop the Great Pyramid of Giza. Baxia would not bother sacrificing his life for nothing!

“Nothing will stand a chance against the army of undead. We can’t even stop the Sphinx, and Osiris hasn’t even shown himself… if Osiris shows up, even Feihuang City won’t be able to stop them!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Osiris really existed. Otherwise, who had the voice that echoed across the sky of the North Valley belonged to?

“I know, but we can’t just let Mo Fan face them alone!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Stop talking, just give me a ride with your Wing Magical Equipment. Fly at your full speed, and I’ll travel the rest of the way myself…” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Zhao Manyan finally agreed when he saw how determined Zhang Xiaohou was.

Zhao Manyan soared into the sky with his Magic Wings and headed west. Zhang Xiaohou had asked him to travel at full speed, so he did as he was told and poured his remaining energy into his Magic Wings.

The Magic Wings he owned were clearly not the best; their speed was actually not as fast as they seemed. Zhao Manyan had no idea what Zhang Xiaohou was up to. They reached an unfamiliar place before Zhao Manyan’s energy was finally depleted.

“Don’t tell me you’re finding an excuse to run away? What the hell is place?” Zhao Manyan asked, panting heavily.

There were many powerful Underworld creatures under the Great Pyramid of Giza. How long could the North Valley last if they all appeared?

The strongest force that Zhao Manyan knew of was Baxia. He believed the only thing he could do was Summon Baxia over. If Zhang Xiaohou had not insisted on it, Zhao Manyan would not believe there was something that could actually fend off the Great Pyramid of Giza!

“I’m heading to the Dark Abyss,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“The Dark Abyss? You mean the Qin Emperor’s Mausoleum?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise.

“Yeah,” Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

Zhang Xiaohou knew the location of the Dark Abyss. It was the only thing he could think of.

“My Heavens, don’t tell me you are thinking of convincing that Ancient King to fend off the Great Pyramid of Giza?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Yes!” Zhang Xiaohou said firmly.

“How are you supposed to convince him? You will be torn into pieces before you can even reach him? Will he even listen to you? You are no different than an ant to him!” Zhao Manyan protested.

“I don’t know either… but it’s better than doing nothing,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

The Ancient King was the only hope Zhang Xiaohou had. The emperor that had ruled over the undead in China for thousands of years could easily destroy the Ancient Capital, or give the millions of people in the inner city of the Ancient Capital a glimpse of hope with a single thought.

If there was anything in this country that could stand a chance against the Great Pyramid of Giza, it was none other than the emperor of the undead in the Ancient Capital and his strongest kingdom!

Zhang Xiaohou did not know if the person was still their Chief Military Instructor, but if Mo Fan could enter the Dark Abyss again and leave in one piece, it meant the person would still have some memories of their Chief Military Instructor, or he even might still be their Chief Military Instructor…

Otherwise, why would the Ancient King turn around when he was clearly able to reclaim the Ancient Capital? Why would he command the army of undead to retreat, and forbid them from trespassing into human territories?

1403 Fighting Scorpion Lord Medusa

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

A furious roar immediately overwhelmed the noise that the rest of the undead were making. The Sphinx moved his enormous body across the collapsed Wall. He stared over the land that had lost its protection, like a savage lion finally able to roam freely after returning to its vast territory.

The Underworld Executioners, the Twin-Bodied Demon Cows, and the huge troops of mummies flowed by the Sphinx, like surging currents around his feet. They could finally indulge their evil tendencies and trample across the land recklessly after waiting for so long!

The Underworld Executioners were still the quickest of the undead. Their horses’ eyes emitted an eerie light as they swung their bloody scythes through the air…

The breeze from the south carried the scent of living humans and their fear as they ran for their lives. They were incredibly slow. It felt like they had not moved at all, even after the Great Wall had bought them so much time!

They needed the ashes of the living to construct a proper desert. They would start with these humans that were fleeing for their lives, and lay a layer of white sand across the ground first!

“HAHAHAHA, why would they even bother with meaningless struggle? They are all still going to die!” the Cold Prince burst out laughing.

The undead surged through the collapsed Great Wall like a dam burst. The Cold Prince stood on the swaying Magic Fire Beacon, surrounded by the corpses of the Black Vatican’s people. The Underworld creatures were not interested in those that had died to the poisonous smog. Dead bodies were scattered across the place like trash, and were buried under rocks, soil, and debris as the wall collapsed.

The Cold Prince had no reason to keep those that doubted him around!

Everyone in the world would know who the Cold Prince was after this Ceremony! New disciples would rush in like ducks. Why would he care about losing a few now?

“Sky-Flame Funeral: Flame Sword!” a determined voice roared.

A blinding, flaming brilliance shone across the vast land all of a sudden. A man engulfed in raging flames stood close to Northguard Fortress, facing the army of the Underworld!

More spectacular flames appeared in the dark sky. They kept falling to the ground, leaving long burning trails in the sky!

An enormous fiery sword landed in the middle of the sea of undead. A blazing red inferno spread wildly out from it. The Ardent Sunset flames ignited every undead they came into contact with, devouring them hungrily.

There was more than one fiery sword falling from the sky. Swords were pouring down like the Sky-Flame Funeral. Normally, the flames pouring down from the sky would only be the size of fireballs, which would set the land on fire after hitting the ground. This time, huge swords engulfed in scorching flames were falling from the sky instead, landing heavily among the undead. The blasts were extremely deadly, especially when the swords were pouring down like rain. The radiance of the swords surged across the undead, burning both weak undead and strong to ashes!

The deadly flame swords lasted for quite some time. The greedy creatures that had just crossed the debris of the Great Wall never expected to be received by such destructive flames. Countless undead died to the Flame Swords Funeral; not a single one had survived!

The Cold Prince was enraged when he saw Mo Fan stopping the army of undead with such powerful magic!

“Kill him, kill him now! Are you just going to watch him massacre your people!?” the Cold Prince yelled at the Sphinx, the Scorpion Lord Medusa, and the Underworld Monarch Frogs.

The army of undead was massive, so massive that the creatures that Mo Fan had eliminated with the Flame Swords Funeral was like a drop of water in the ocean. Despite that, the scorching flames had stopped the army of undead from advancing!

The Sphinx had long been aware of Mo Fan’s existence. He was like a huge island surrounded by tides of undead. His long face was filled with pride, and a hint of cunning.

The Sphinx let out a roar, giving orders to the Scorpion Lord Medusa and the Underworld Monarch Frogs.

As one of the commanders of the Underworld creatures, it was unnecessary for the Sphinx to do everything himself. He had already taken down the Great Wall. If he had to deal with every enemy that showed up, what did he even need the army and the Underworld Rulers for?

Anyone that blocked their path would die!

The Sphinx commanded Scorpion Lord Medusa to lead her troops and eliminate Mo Fan!

The Flame Swords Funeral was remarkably deadly. Servant-class undead would swiftly burn into ashes if they were touched by the tiniest sparkles, let alone being caught by the radiance of the swords. The Sphinx knew Demon Mo Fan’s strength was not to be underestimated, so it was unnecessary to send the Servant-class creatures to their deaths.

Scorpion Lord Medusa picked up her pace. She was slightly smaller than the Sphinx, but she was still the size of a fortress. She could easily trample human structures, like they were mere toys!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa was followed by a bunch of brown, black, and red scorpion men as she led her army of undead!

These scorpion men were between five and twenty meters long. In other words, even the smallest scorpion man was around the size of a car. Their bodies were covered in scorpion scales. When they marched forward in a line, their scorpion scales gleamed like metal, a dazzling and astonishing sight!

The brown scorpion men were Warrior-level creatures, the black scorpion men were Commander-level creatures, and the red ones were Ruler-level gorgons!

There was only one Scorpion Lord Medusa. She had hundreds of serpents instead of hair. The Red Scorpion Gorgons were Ruler-level creatures too, but instead of serpents, their hair looked like wriggling worms, a clear indication that the three Red Scorpion Gorgons were not as powerful as Scorpion Lord Medusa!

The Sphinx was treating Mo Fan quite seriously, sending three Rulers and one Great Ruler to eliminate him. The Sphinx did not attack. He had dispatched Scorpion Lord Medusa and her strongest troop instead!

Scorpion Lord Medusa could easily dominate anywhere she went, yet she was willing to be the vanguard troop here!

Scorpion Lord Medusa had a woman’s face. Her exposed breasts were covered in scorpion scales. She had the demeanor of an empress, demanding any weaker existence submit to her!

Behind Mo Fan was the shadow of the Flame Belle Empress. Her aura was completely different from the evil presence Scorpion Lord Medusa was emanating. Flame Belle represented the purest life form of the Fire Element in the world. Her aura even had a hint of holy purity.

Unfortunately, both the souls of Flame Belle and Flying Creek Snow Wolf had merged with Mo Fan’s soul when he was in demon form, so Flame Belle Empress could not fight on her own. Otherwise, he would have let Flame Belle Empress fight with the Scorpion Lord Medusa to decide who the real empress was!

The three Red Scorpion Gorgons behind the Scorpion Lord Medusa seemed restless. One of them, around thirty meters long, decided to engage Mo Fan first!

When the Red Scorpion Gorgon moved, the scorpion men that had piled up like mountains launched their attacks too!

These scorpion men had impressive jumping ability, and rarely attacked from the ground. They preferred pouncing on their targets from every direction. They immediately formed a giant black shell encapsulating an area of three hundred meters, up to a thousand meters from where Mo Fan was standing, completely blocking his vision.

Mo Fan did not feel like he was standing on the ground. It was more like he had fallen into an abyss crawling with scorpion men. There was no way he could dodge their attacks!

A cunning red figure among the scorpion men stabbed with its long poisonous tail at Mo Fan while his vision was limited. A red flicker lunged right at Mo Fan!

The scorpion tail was huge. It did not matter if it was attacking Mo Fan’s vital parts or other spots!

Despite the suffocating pressure from the precarious situation, Mo Fan continued to fix his eyes on the Red Scorpion Gorgon. He ignored the other scorpion men who were approaching him.

“Shadow Wolves Strikes!”

The shadow of the Flame Belle Empress suddenly disappeared. It was replaced by the shadow of a Dark Wolf Emperor. The Wolf Emperor Shadow split into thousands of wolf shadows flashing in all directions!

The wolf shadows raked their claws and tore with their fangs at will, disassembling the Brown Scorpion Men attacking Mo Fan. The seemingly sturdy scorpion scales were non-existent against the wild attacks of the wolf shadows!

The remains of scorpion men fell and scattered across the place, piling up around Mo Fan’s feet. Since they did not bleed much, they looked like piles of scrap in a junkyard, just not as orderly!

Over a thousand scorpion men had died almost instantly, leaving just the Red Scorpion Gorgon that naively thought it could outsmart Mo Fan. After losing the cover of its troops, its enormous figure completely stood out among the rest of the scorpion men. Nothing was easier than dodging its poisonous tail, Mo Fan just needed to take a little hop backward.

The scorpion tail stuck so deep into the ground that the creature struggled to pull it out. The wolf shadows returned to Mo Fan’s back, and granted his hands overwhelming brute strength!

Mo Fan clenched his hands into claws. The claws were every bit as huge as the Wolf Emperor Shadow.

He grabbed the Red Scorpion Gorgon’s poisonous tail. The Demon Runes over his body lit up suddenly. He started spinning the thirty-meter Red Scorpion Gorgon like he was doing a hammer throw…

BANG!

The Red Scorpion crashed heavily into another Red Scorpion Gorgon. Both Red Scorpion Gorgons went rolling a great distance away. The last Red Scorpion Gorgon froze in its tracks. It hesitated whether it should attack or not.

Was he even human? It had never seen such a violent human since it had died a thousand years ago!

1404 Strongest Psychic Breakdown!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was obvious that the Red Scorpion Gorgons were not much stronger than the Underworld Monarch Frogs. The three Red Scorpion Gorgons were not strong enough to take on Mo Fan.

Scorpion Lord Medusa was infuriated . Her three most reliable subordinates did not even have a chance to fight back. The experts of the Great Pyramid of Giza were here in the valley. How could the Gorgon Tribe bring shame to Osiris’ name?

Scorpion Lord Medusa moved forward. Her legs were as sharp as knives. Her scorpion body was not like a normal scorpion; her front limbs were strong and muscular, lifting her humanoid upper half up high, showing off her imperiousness as a Ruler-level creature!

The snakes on her head hissed as they danced about. They would lunge forward when they saw their prey. They wanted to devour every living thing they saw!

Scorpion Lord Medusa walked up to Demon Mo Fan. The huge group of scorpion men behind her swiftly surrounded them both. Scorpion Lord Medusa did not allow her men to take turns attacking Mo Fan. She only asked them to surround the place in a dueling ground a kilometer across!

Scorpion Lord Medusa had her pride. Since she was entrusted to be the vanguard of the army, she would have to defeat the enemy stopping their advancement on her own!

The Sphinx let out a discontented cry, warning Scorpion Lord Medusa not to waste too much of their time!

They had only just crossed the collapsed Wall; they still had to leave the Northguard Fortress. The whole army of undead was waiting to enter the North Valley. Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stubbornness would only buy the humans more time to run away!

Scorpion Lord Medusa completely ignored the Sphinx’s warning. She had obeyed the order to fight as the vanguard, so she would be deciding how to fight!

The Sphinx was annoyed. He had no intention of watching Scorpion Lord Medusa challenging the human blocking the path of their army to a duel. He ordered the Dark Serpent Mummies to move out, too.

The Dark Pharaoh of Serpents was not too fussy about rules or principles. He simply walked out past the scorpion men, followed by his Brutal Sword Death Servant escorts.

Scorpion Lord Medusa ignored the Dark Pharaoh of Serpent’s existence. She proceeded to attack; her sharp legs stabbed fiercely, leaving holes across the area, chasing after Mo Fan. She had only lifted her front limbs, yet it felt like thousands of steel spikes were diving him. There was nowhere to hide at all. He had no choice but to jump into the air!

Scorpion Lord Medusa was extremely quick at locking down her target. She lifted her eyes while the snakes on her head extended forward and bit at Mo Fan, sealing off his escape!

“Blin…” Mo Fan realized he had nowhere to run to. He was just about to cast the Space Spell when a pair of enormous eyes appeared below him.

Mo Fan was currently at a height of around five hundred meters in the air. Scorpion Lord Medusa’s eyes had a diameter of one meter. However, when Mo Fan looked down, he saw a pair of eyes covering a distance of over a thousand meters.

Thousand-meter wide eyes?

Wouldn’t that mean Scorpion Lord Medusa had suddenly grown to a length of over a hundred kilometers?

Impossible!

The eyes were right below him. He could not escape their stare no matter where he moved to. He was tinier than a flying insect, and he had no chance of running away from the stare!

The snakes lunged at Mo Fan and bit him. The fangs injected a deadly poison into Mo Fan, trying to paralyze him. Even his blood stopped flowing!

The snakes quickly rolled around Mo Fan and dragged him down from the sky. They were planning to bring him back to Scorpion Lord Medusa to slowly enjoy his flesh. Scorpion Lord Medusa’s cultivation would improve further after devouring such a powerful human Mage!

The Dark Pharaoh of Serpents seemed discontented after seeing Scorpion Lord Medusa taking out the enemy with a single move.

However, he was not surprised by it. Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stare had always been one of the deadliest attacks in the world. Even the Sphinx would not dare to face it directly, let alone a human…

—

Mo Fan’s mind was overwhelmed by fear. The enormous eyes were imprinted in his thoughts. He could still see them even when he closed his eyes.

The massive eyes were like a deep chasm that he kept falling into. It felt like he was falling endlessly into eyes filled with darkness. Even someone as fearless as Mo Fan was struggling to resist them!

He could no longer feel his body. Thousands of snakes were curling around him above the bottomless chasm, dragging him into a Hell of no return.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and saw the last glimpse of light through the little gaps between the snakes fading away into the distance. It was as far away as a star in the sky…

Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stare…

He knew the fear was being inflicted by the eyes, yet he was still struggling to overcome it. The eyes felt so real that he began to doubt himself. Why did he even bother fighting the Underworld army? He could not even defeat Scorpion Lord Medusa, who was only one of the Underworld rulers, let alone the entire army!

Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stare was a truly mighty psychic attack. Mo Fan’s weakness had always been his mental strength, whether he was in the demon form or not. Scorpion Lord Medusa was not as strong as the Greek God of Death, Hayla, but if he could not overcome her stare, it did not matter if he was stronger than Scorpion Lord Medusa!

Two aqua light rays appeared simultaneously. One was light blue, like the water of a mountain spring, and the other was darker, like the obscure color of the ocean…

The two light rays were extremely faint. The former was from the Focus Necklace that had saved Mo Fan’s life many times, helping his mind to remain calm at all times. It was a gift from Dean Xiao. Mo Fan wore it all the time, since he knew Psychic Magic was his greatest weakness.

The other light ray was from the Ring of Venice. The ring would activate on its own, forming a water barrier when the person equipping it was in danger!

If Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stare was like an ocean beneath a black storm, the two light rays were like a little raft floating upon it. The protection they were providing was almost negligible compared to her power. The two pieces of Magic Equipment were clearly not on the same level as Scorpion Lord Medusa.

The ocean blue light ray shattered into pieces after reaching its limit. Mo Fan clearly remembered the look on Mu Ningxue’s face when she put it on his finger. Her eyes clearly hinted that she had lots of things to say, things that he had been anticipating, and things that he never had a chance to touch upon…

—

Scorpion Lord Medusa’s reptilian locks intertwined. They could not wait to crunch and gnaw at Mo Fan and turn him into a pile of bones. However, a small sparkle appeared among the snakes. It grew rapidly before erupting into the sky!

The snakes let out piercing cries as they were set aflame. They immediately withdrew for their lives, but it was already too late. They had already caught on fire, and soon burned them to ashes.

They were growing out of her head; Scorpion Lord Medusa’s beautiful ‘hair’ was destroyed by the flames! At the center of the flames, Demon Mo Fan merged with the Shadow of the Flame Belle Empress into one. The flames were actually part of his body.

It did not matter if his blood had stopped flowing, he just had to burn it to get it flowing again. Mo Fan fell to the ground. Flames even stronger than the ones from before spread among the scorpion men. The creatures closest to Mo Fan erupted into flames instantly, while the ones further away managed to run away in time, their scales blazing red.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and stared at Scorpion Lord Medusa.

Scorpion Lord Medusa was not bothered after her hair was burned into ashes, since it would regrow on its own eventually. She lowered her eyes and looked at the human staring right into her eyes.

Every life form had its weaknesses, but a human’s weaknesses were obvious. The things that they tried to hide and were scared of exposing were usually their weaknesses and greatest fears!

Scorpion Lord Medusa had seen Mo Fan’s fearlessness, which actually represented the same level of fear deep within his heart. Once she took away his courage, all that was left was boundless fear… it was the secret behind Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stare. The stronger her opponent, the more vulnerable they were!

However, Mo Fan was no longer fearless and reckless in Scorpion Lord Medusa’s eyes. He no longer displayed a strong determination to fight… Scorpion Lord Medusa could only see a completely exposed fear now!

Scorpion Lord Medusa might well have been the strongest Psychic in the world. It was unlikely that she would misread a person’s mind.

Mo Fan was possessed by the shadow of the Flame Belle Empress. He had the Space Element as his core, the Shadow Element as his mantle, and the Lightning Element circling him. Even the strongest person would still have fear, and Mo Fan’s fear was not being able to return safely, to hear the words that he had long waited to hear from the person he loved…

When the disguise that a person was wearing to cover their fear was taken off, they would fall into Scorpion Lord Medusa’s abyss. However, even Scorpion Lord Medusa could not do anything to a person’s strong determination to stay alive and return in one piece.

The only will remaining in Mo Fan was the desire to live. If Scorpion Lord Medusa could not get rid of it, Mo Fan would still have a reason to continue fighting!

The Ring of Venice that Mu Ningxue gave Mo Fan was so fragile before Scorpion Lord Medusa’s power. Mu Ningxue never expected Mo Fan would fight such a formidable enemy. Even so, the ring had played an important role in maintaining Mo Fan’s unyielding spirit!

He would clench his teeth and continue fighting, just because there was someone waiting for him!

—

Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stare had no effect on Mo Fan after he was able to see his own fear. Mo Fan stared right back at Scorpion Lord Medusa now. He was going to overcome the stare she was extremely proud of by exposing himself!

Once he overcame the stare, Scorpion Lord Medusa would no longer pose any threat to him.

Mo Fan clearly understood that his strongest enemy was not her, but the Sphinx of Giza!

1405 Skyhowl Flame Wolf

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stare no longer had any effect on Mo Fan. Her proud face finally showed a hint of frustration. The hair that Mo Fan had burned into ashes had already grown out again. The snakes opened their mouths, revealing poisonous fangs that could paralyze a living thing in just a second.

The Scorpion Lord Medusa crossed her arms as if she were casting an eerie magic. Wisps of weirdly gentle light wove about in front of her like pieces of cloth, and swiftly formed a harp before her chest. Its strings had an eerie red glow that fairly announced danger!

Scorpion Lord Medusa moved her hands across the harp swiftly. A destructive sonic wave surged forward. Mo Fan immediately backed away as soon as he sensed something was not right!

The force unleashed by the strings struck the ground, leaving a huge gash extending an impressive four kilometers and more!

The shadow on Mo Fan’s back transformed. The Wolf Soul Shadow would give him a faster speed and reaction time. The Scorpion Lord Medusa proceeded to play a deadly melody after her first strum!

Mo Fan dodged the attacks rapidly. The strums finally slowed down after a while, but Mo Fan soon heard a sharp tone!

The troop of scorpion men had lined up and formed a sturdy wall without him noticing. As the Scorpion Lord Medusa plucked the strings, a massive army of scorpion men several times the size of the initial one gathered from all directions. These scorpion men that the harp had Summoned seemed a lot stronger. The sky and the ground began to tremble when they started moving. There was no escape for Mo Fan!

Mo Fan was having trouble identifying if the army of scorpion men was real, or a mere illusion that Scorpion Lord Medusa’s harp had produced. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

The noisier it was, the more confusing the situation was. He needed to maintain a clear mind. If he lost his calm, he would be exposing his weaknesses instead!

“Space Rhythm: Time Stasis!”

Mo Fan utilized the Space Magic as four lines of scorpion men charged at him, roaring deafeningly. A rhomboid loomed over the area. Everything that was moving at high speed was slowed down significantly, while some weaker existences came to a complete standstill within it!

In the silvered Domain of Time Stasis, Mo Fan promptly noticed some of the scorpion men had suddenly halted in their tracks, as still as paintings, but some scorpion men continued to charge at him, unaffected by the Domain!

Mo Fan immediately realized that the Scorpion Lord Medusa had commanded the scorpion men to engage him. At the same time, she used the Sound Magic to confuse him into thinking that the troop of scorpion men was a lot bigger than it was!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa was manipulating the truth with illusions. She was indeed an expert at playing with her enemies’ minds. After all, even a powerful Mage would struggle against such a massive army of scorpion men!

The fake scorpion men quickly reached Mo Fan, lifting the axes in their six hands. It was impossible to tell which one of the attacks was the deadliest when they were all swinging axes at the same time!

Mo Fan simply ignored them, as he knew they were only illusions produced by the Sound Magic. His real targets were the scorpion men whose speed had been reduced significantly in the Time Domain!

The closest target to Mo Fan was a Black Scorpion Man normally around fifteen meters tall, but due to the distortion of the Sound Magic, the Black Scorpion Man seemed to be thirty meters tall in Mo Fan’s eyes. It was doubled in size, and the aura it was emanating was extremely close to the Ruler-level!

“Telekinesis!”

Mo Fan locked his will on the Black Scorpion Man, and lifted it into the sky. The Black Scorpion Man was blasted into pieces by a lightning bolt descending from the sky before the other Scorpion Men could reach him.

The pieces of the Black Scorpion Man did not scatter and fall, floating in the sky instead. Mo Fan turned the pieces of scorpion scales into deadly weapons with his Telekinesis. He fired them in all directions, puncturing the other scorpion men charging at him!

Many of the scorpion men leading the charge fell to the ground. The scales of the black scorpion man’s sturdy armor went through their carapaces and sliced through their bodies. Mo Fan was pouring his outstanding will into each of the pieces to further speed them up, making them fast enough to puncture the bodies of the Brown Scorpion Men!

When the silver energy clashed with the first wave of scorpion men, a crystalline candlelight ignited in Mo Fan’s right hand. It was barely noticeable among the shroud of flames protecting Mo Fan like armor.

The harp was still producing its piercing notes. Mo Fan saw a massive army of scorpion men collapsing on him like huge mountains. The Space Magic could no longer keep up with the rate of the scorpion men lunging at him!

In just a few seconds, the army of scorpion men completely filled the space that Mo Fan had just strenuously cleared. The scorpion men were wrapping around him in many layers using their bodies, poisonous fangs, carapaces, and tails.

The scorpion men in the front had buried Mo Fan like a brown cocoon. The scorpion men behind kept pouncing on him and adding to the pile. In just a short time, a hill made of scorpion men appeared, and it continued to expand.

Thousands of scorpion men, both real and fake, swarmed across the land. Even Mo Fan’s demon flames were suppressed. The lightning flashing in the sky dissipated, too. Was there anything that such a massive army could not devour?

Scorpion Lord Medusa stood among the army of scorpion men, staring at the mound of bodies that looked like a squirming grave!

The scorpion men that did not hold onto their comrades fell and rolled down from the hill. Meanwhile, more scorpion men were climbing up the hill. They were clearly scared of Demon Mo Fan, so the higher the hill was, the safer they would feel!

A red light slowly permeated through the black bodies of the scorpions…

The thundering blast of a strong explosion erupted inside the hill. The mound of scorpion men exploded like a volcano that could no longer endure the surging lava within it. The scorpion men were devoured by the terrifying flames in mid-air!

The remains of the scorpion men poured down like burning rain. The flames that he had suppressed for some time finally unleashed their overwhelming force, killing thousands of scorpion men!

The magnificent mound of scorpion men was blasted into pieces in an eyeblink. Not a single surviving scorpion man dared to pile up on top of the demonic figure again. It stood there while its eyes leveled an intimidating glare at the massive army of scorpion men!

The strings of the harp had snapped in half. Scorpion Lord Medusa had not expected two of her stronger moves to fail against her enemy. She was astonished as she watched the flames devouring her men!

Is that all you got!? Mo Fan was staring at Scorpion Lord Medusa. He did not say a word, but Scorpion Lord Medusa could feel his challenge by looking into his eyes.

Demon Mo Fan clenched his fists and crossed his arms.

The flames under his feet roared forth. The fires gathered rapidly around him!

A burning rift was torn apart in front of Mo Fan. It was a portal to another dimension!

An enormous head engulfed in flames poked out of the gap. Its fiery eyes could burn Commander-level scorpion men into scattered ashes with a single stare. It observed its surroundings, which were already in a great mess.

A body covered in fierce flames stepped out from the gap. It was stunning, imperious, and savage!

“Tear her to pieces!” Mo Fan stood on the enormous fiery wolf and pointed his finger at Scorpion Lord Medusa.

The Skyhowl Flame Wolf lunged forward, crushing countless scorpion men underfoot. The scorching flames it was unleashing instantly burned the scorpion men nearby into vapor as it charged.

The Skyhowl Flame Wolf pounced at Scorpion Lord Medusa, who did not have any way to protect herself. Her proud eyes flickered with a hint of fear. She turned around, trying to run away, but the Skyhowl Flame Wolf bit her on the neck and brought her to the ground!

Both the Skyhowl Flame Wolf and the Scorpion Lord Medusa were like moving hills. The former was constructed with flames, while the latter had sturdy flesh and armor. The Skyhowl Flame Wolf was not a real creature, it was just an elemental being that would last for a limited time under Mo Fan’s control. He had granted the Skyhowl Flame Wolf the traits of a wolf, meaning he did not have to command it constantly; the Skyhowl Flame Wolf already possessed a strong drive to kill and destroy!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa clearly did not have enough time to react to the powerful attack after using two of her strongest moves. Her scales were heavily damaged by the flames, and her neck was almost torn apart by the fiery fangs!

Her scorpion tail was stabbing the Skyhowl Flame Wolf repeatedly. Any living creature would have been paralyzed by her poison and died in a few seconds, but the Skyhowl Flame Wolf was not a real creature. The only way to kill it was by shattering it with enormous force!

Blood poured out from the bites the Skyhowl Flame Wolf left on Scorpion Lord Medusa. Her face was burned beyond recognition. The Skyhowl Flame Wolf proceeded to chase a few kilometers after her even as she tried to flee!

BANG!

Mo Fan did not have time to kill her himself. An enormous figure had already shown up in front of him!

It was a mummy with an overwhelming presence, covered in a shroud of demonic scales, and escorted by Brutal Sword Death Servants!

1406 The Ambush from The Sphinx

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Brutal Sword Death Servants were more disciplined than the scorpion men. They swiftly arranged themselves into a triangular formation while surrounding Mo Fan. The Dark Pharaoh of Serpents glanced at the seriously injured Scorpion Lord Medusa with a hint of mockery, gloating.

Scorpion Lord Medusa’s troop had engaged the enemy recklessly, but was defeated very quickly, too. Her remaining troops had fled for their lives, having lost their will to fight!

The Brutal Sword Death Servants were like a bunch of emotionless death-sworn warriors. They did not feel fear; the only thing in their heart was the lust for battle. They had witnessed the defeat of the scorpion men, but they would still charge at Mo Fan recklessly after receiving an order from the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents!

It was not Mo Fan’s first time fighting against the Brutal Sword Death Servants. He had desperately run for his life back when he was up against a few dozen Brutal Sword Death Servants in Egypt. He had been dumbfounded by the strength of these creatures ever since his first encounter with them. Most Advanced Mages would stand no chance against them.

Mo Fan was now facing three thousand Brutal Sword Death Servants at once. They were standing in ten-by-ten squares. Every hundred Brutal Sword Death Servants formed a strange formation that seemed to help with their coordination!

Black long swords slashed at Mo Fan from all directions. Mo Fan utilized the Wolf Soul Shadow and wove through the Brutal Sword Death Servants, but the undead were able to pinpoint his location right away. Their deadly attacks kept pursuing him relentlessly.

Mo Fan was not able to handle these attacks in his normal form. Furthermore, as the number of attacks increased, each slash left a strange black mark on him. When another slash struck the black mark, the damage it inflicted would be multiplied several times. When more marks were left on Mo Fan, the damage he was receiving from every slash was comparable to an attack from the Dark Swordmaster executed with its full strength!

A Dark Swordmaster was slightly inferior to the Ruler-level. It was nowhere close to Demon Mo Fan’s level, but there were three thousand Brutal Sword Death Servants! If the black marks continued to increase their damage, he might still be fine if it was the same as receiving ten blows from the Dark Swordmaster, but what if it eventually summed up to twenty, a hundred, or even a thousand blows?

Mo Fan did not think he was able to take on a few hundred Dark Swordmasters at once…

Mo Fan kept dodging the cuts. He could not afford to let the attacks land on him, as they would increase the number of black marks on him. To his surprise, no matter how fast he was moving, even when he tried to Blink away, he was still stuck among the formations of the Brutal Sword Death Servants. Even the number of Brutal Sword Death Servants around him remained the same!

Mo Fan was killing the Brutal Sword Death Servants at a very slow rate. A single cast of Shadow Wolf Strikes killed less than a hundred Brutal Sword Death Servants. It was too slow, knowing there were three thousand Brutal Sword Death Servants. The sword marks posed a great threat to him!

The Dark Pharaoh of Serpents standing outside the formation let out a weird chuckle.

The Brutal Sword Death Servants’ formation being enough to trap the enemy was a great humiliation to Scorpion Lord Medusa.

The Dark Pharaoh of Serpents was not just a bystander. He was also looking for an opportunity to strike. He would make his move when he found an opening when Mo Fan was dodging the slashes. He was only throwing punches, but these punches would suddenly enlarge by a few times as they were approaching their target. They were no longer just the size of the Dark Pharaoh’s’ fists, but as big as an enormous meteorite instead!

Mo Fan was getting worn out by the continuous attacks from the Brutal Sword Death Servants, not to mention he had to keep an eye on the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents, too. He was clueless about what to do.

Mo Fan was not able to Blink away in time when a meteorite punch came down from the sky. He slammed heavily into the ground after being struck by the punch.

Mo Fan found himself in a hole over ten meters deep. Before he could climb out of it, rapid slashes poured into the hole. Regardless of how outstanding Mo Fan’s defense was, he still could not endure the amplified damage of the sword marks. He was soon covered in wounds. His scorching blood splattered on the rocks nearby!

Mo Fan was in great pain. Seeing another wave of slashes about to pour down into the hole, he quickly left a shadow decoy in the hole before sticking close to the wall and cautiously made his way out of the hole.

Some of the slashes would land on the wall, but it was better than taking all the hits!

The shadow decoy took all the hits directly. Even a Ruler-level creature would be severely injured by the continuous attacks. Meanwhile, Mo Fan managed to sneak out of the area…

The Brutal Sword Death Servants did not notice that Mo Fan had escaped. Their formations had lost their effect on Mo Fan, who did not expose himself. He continued to sneak up to the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents instead.

He had no idea how to overcome the Brutal Sword Death Servant’s formation, so he decided to take out the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents before dealing with the annoying Brutal Sword Death Servants!

Mo Fan did a great job concealing himself. Even the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents did not notice him. He was still attacking the decoy that Mo Fan had left in the hole excitedly.

Mo Fan was about to make his move when he suddenly felt his head buzzing, as if it was about to explode.

An enormous shadow loomed over Mo Fan out of nowhere. He lifted his gaze and saw the enormous body of a lion landing right on top of him. He had nowhere to run to!

Mo Fan was completely dumbfounded. The Sphinx stomped on him before he could even react. He was knocked into the ground once again, after climbing out of one just a moment ago!

The ground rocked, and collapsed. Many of the undead fell into a new ravine that extended out to a distance of three kilometers. The surface of the area that the Sphinx had landed on was crushed into dust. The fortress not far away collapsed to the ground.

Mo Fan felt like all his bones had broken. He almost lost consciousness.

He was surrounded by pitch-black darkness. He knew the Sphinx had knocked him further down into the ground. Even a Super Spell might not be strong enough to break through the solid layer of rocks!

He tried moving his fingers, and tremendous pain surged through his body. Mo Fan initially thought the Sphinx would take him on after he was done with the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents. To his surprise, these creatures of the Underworld were not as noble as he had expected. The Sphinx had been waiting for the chance to deal a serious blow to him all along!

The Sphinx was no weaker than Hayla. Mo Fan would clearly struggle to fight him alone, not to mention that he was now a lot weaker now after fighting the army of undead, the troop of scorpion men, the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents, and his Brutal Sword Death Servants! Now being ambushed by the Sphinx…

1407 Golden Collision

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Sphinx stood proudly amid the scattering dust. He lifted his head and looked around at the North Valley, as if the human under his feet was no longer a threat!

He let out a roar, commanding the army of undead to resume their march. They had wasted too much time here. He could already sense his master’s disappointment at their incompetence from the pyramid.

It was unnecessary to waste their time on the annoying human. The army of undead was meant to be charging forward at full speed, beheading every human they stumbled into on the way. They would hang the severed heads on their bodies like valuable ornaments!

The undead army began to advance after receiving the Sphinx’s command. The deserted Northguard Fortress was the first to fall. The defensive fortress built with sturdy stone was devoured by the tide of undead in no time. The buildings, walls, streets, and watchtowers were gone in an instant.

The closest city to Northguard Fortress was Yulin City. The undead army headed straight for it. They could still smell living humans there. Even if the city was already evacuated, the things that were left in the city were enough for the Underworld creatures to hold a party!

The Underworld had no presence of life, but the mundane world was brimming with it. The soil, grass, forests, mountains, and cities gave the Underworld creatures fresh experiences!

The undead army’s speed was shocking when there was no resistance. However, since the part of the Great Wall that collapsed was in front of the Northguard Fortress, most of the undead gathered between Northguard Fortress and Yulin City after entering Squaretrek Plain. The path there consisted of a long mountain path. The undead army followed the path that would lead them straight to the cities. These sinister dark creatures that had been dead for a long time desperately missed the land of the living. They could not wait to claim the world as their own!

The Sphinx walked proudly among the undead, the mountain path trembling as he traveled along it. The Sphinx did not seem to be bothered by it. It was normal for the ground to shake as the undead army was advancing.

However, the Sphinx belatedly realized something was wrong when the mountain path began to collapse, and the undead fell into the new chasm! He glared into the ravine while exhaling blue smoke from his nose.

“Is he still not dead?” the monstrous Cold Prince swore, standing on an Underworld Monarch Frog once again.

The Cold Prince had returned to his original form, but his face was still ghastly. His skin was now rotten black, most likely the price he had paid to transform into the Demon-Horned God. He looked like a completely different person now, apart from his unique purple eyes. He actually mixed in well with the creatures of the Underworld.

Little did the Cold Prince know, but his body was already infused with Dark Material. Mo Fan could easily track him down, no matter where he ran to!

The Cold Prince’s rage burst from his heart and surged right onto his face when he noticed the demon flames burning under the ground. Was the guy invincible or something? He had suffered so many hits from Scorpion Lord Medusa, the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents, and the Sphinx, yet he was still trying to stop the undead army, instead of rotting under the ground!

A huge blast shattered the mountain path between Northguard Fortress and Yulin City, and it began to collapse. The path was like a bridge nearly three kilometers wide, but as its center began to crack open, the undead ended up falling into the yawning chasm. It would take the undead some time to climb back up!

Ardent Flames had also set the chasm on fire, turning it into a sea of flames. In other words, the undead army would have to cross a few kilometers of fire to leave the basin!

The Sphinx was extremely angry! The human kept messing with them! At this rate, they would suffer the wrath of the Lord of the Underworld. It was the scariest thing in the world!

The Sphinx soon located Mo Fan. He charged across the mountain path and tried to ram right into Mo Fan with his enormous body!

The collision was so powerful that it felt like Heaven was falling and the Earth was rending. Mo Fan was entirely covered in a blood-red light, going up against the Sphinx head-on with brute force. With the Wolf Soul Shadow at his back, he actually did not look that small as he faced the Sphinx!

The Sphinx was unleashing a golden light. The collision was enough to crush everything into pieces, be it stony mounds, rocks, paths, or hills. None of them were able to withstand the overwhelming force! Mo Fan and his Wolf Soul Shadow were sent skidding right across the ground. Even the sturdy wall of rocks could not stop him. He was knocked right into the ground…

Behind the mountain path was a rising hill that gradually inclined down to Yulin City. However, the collision had turned the entire area into a huge canyon extending from the mountain path to the outskirts of Yulin City. The hills and mountains along the way were razed to the ground. The army of undead swiftly moved through the ravine and headed straight for the city!

Mo Fan finally came to a stop after he reached the outskirts of Yulin City, just outside a train station. He was just a few steps away from destroying the railway!

“Be gone!” Mo Fan’s bones cracked loudly. His right hand was flickering with both lightning and fire. The wild nature and the outstanding willpower of the Demon Element were fully unleashed!

The shadow possessing him made his fist as huge as a mountain. His flames and lightning scattered across the place!

The Sphinx came to a stop when the punch landed on its face. He did not expect the human to be able to counterattack so quickly. The shocking force knocked him flying back through the canyon that he had just opened!

The undead army was making its way to the city through the ravine. They did not expect the Sphinx to suddenly fly at them, smashing countless undead into splinters. Meanwhile, the Underworld creatures approaching the city via other paths were either disintegrated by lightning or burned into scattering ashes by flames…

1408 Waiting For Your Return

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Sphinx stopped after smashing into several Underworld Monarch Frogs. The punch had left a few cracks on his face. There was no sign of blood, but the Sphinx was obviously injured.

The Sphinx roared at Mo Fan furiously from around eight kilometers away.

As Egypt’s God of Death, the Sphinx’s status was almost unmatched. It had been ages since anyone dared to challenge his authority, but this human had managed to injure him! The dignity of a Supreme Ruler was inviolable. The only way he could take revenge was by killing the human!

The Sphinx stabilized himself. He did not place any hopes on the useless army of undead. They were extremely excited when given the opportunity to slaughter the humans, and had countless ways of torturing their prey, but they were completely useless when they were up against a truly threatening existence. Their numbers were insignificant. In the end, the Sphinx still had to do the dirty job!

That being said, it was necessary to show Osiris his strength. Otherwise, Osiris might think he had started to age…

“What the hell are you roaring for? Just kill him, kill him now! Are you telling me that all of you can’t even handle a petty human!?” the Cold Prince grumbled from atop an Underworld Monarch Frog.

The Cold Prince did not expect a little Advanced Mage to possess such extraordinary power. Even his ‘god form’ was no match for the young man. He could even take on the entire army of undead!

The Cold Prince knew Mo Fan was only trying to buy some time. Lots of powerful Underworld creatures were still coming out from the Great Pyramid of Giza. However, if the people of the North Valley were evacuated to somewhere safe, it would be difficult for him to accumulate the hatred he needed to obtain more power!

The Great Wall had already bought a great deal of time for the people of the North Valley to evacuate. The Cold Prince could not allow just one Mage to stop his plan of letting the Underworld creatures take over the mundane world. If the entire army of undead was here, even multiple Demon Mo Fans would struggle to stop them!

The Sphinx turned around when he heard the annoying little fly buzzing around his ears. He stared at the Cold Prince coldly!

BANG!

The Sphinx raised his paw and slapped the Underworld Monarch Frog’s head without any mercy!

The Underworld Monarch Frog’s head exploded right away. The slap also broke most of the Cold Prince’s bones and knocked him to the ground.

The Cold Prince was already suffering from serious injuries, and releasing the deadly black smog had drained a lot of his vitality. The Sphinx’s slap left him half-dead in the ground.

“Damn it!… I am the one that brought you here from Egypt, I am the one that Summoned you to the mundane world. You should be grateful, you should be worshiping me!” the Cold Prince yelled furiously.

The Dark Pharaoh of Serpents, Scorpion Lord Medusa, and the Sphinx had not shown any hint of respect to him ever since they showed up. Only the Underworld Monarch Frogs, hauling the Great Pyramid of Giza like slaves, were willing to obey the Cold Prince’s orders. However, the Underworld Monarch Frogs could not withstand even a single blow from Mo Fan. Besides, the Underworld Monarch Frogs were extremely slow and nearly brainless. Even all the Underworld Monarch Frogs combined would still struggle to take on Demon Mo Fan!

The Sphinx successfully got rid of the noise that was bothering him after slamming the Cold Prince into the ground. He stared at Mo Fan viciously in the distance.

The more injuries that Mo Fan had, the wilder his demon blood became. He did not waste his time exchanging glances with the Sphinx. He dashed through the ravine at remarkable speed, and took the initiative to engage the Sphinx!

The Sphinx did not really hurt him much. It was Demon Mo Fan’s turn to treat the Sphinx!

Mo Fan was engulfed by several layers of flames, as if he had turned into a brilliant sun rolling through the ravine. The ferocious flames surged at the Sphinx, blasting the enormous creature back to Northguard Fortress!

The fortress had long been overrun by the army of undead, and was covered by a sea of undead now. Countless undead perished when the fight between the Sphinx and Mo Fan was relocated to the fortress. They could not live for more than a second under the overwhelming power of Ruler-level creatures…

The Underworld creatures leading the way subconsciously slowed down when they saw their leader being knocked back to the fortress. They were wondering if they should lend their leader a hand, or continue forward. Yulin City had already been evacuated. They had not found a single human there!

The Sphinx rose to his feet with an enraged expression. He let out a furious roar when he saw the army stopping.

The Underworld Executioners and the Twin-Bodied Demon Cows immediately headed for the next city!

More Underworld creatures had passed Mo Fan’s line of defense. They were completely unstoppable. The black tide of undead had devoured Yulin City in less than an hour!

The numbers of undead were just too shocking. Mo Fan was still able to stop the undead coming from the broken wall in front of Northguard Fortress, but as more segments of the wall collapsed, the undead were pouring into the North Valley like rivers from every direction. How could Mo Fan possibly stop them all on his own?

Besides, the space would clear up significantly once the undead went past Mo Fan and entered the spacious North Valley. The army of undead was unstoppable due to their numbers. Even ten Demon Mo Fans, even a hundred Demon Mo Fan would struggle to stop them all!

When the tide of undead came, even the sturdiest walls could not stop it!

—

Mo Fan’s burning eyes flickered with a sense of helplessness when he saw the army of undead flowing past him.

Mo Fan recalled Headmaster Zhu’s speech the day he became a Mage…

The numbers of demon creatures were hundreds, or even thousands of times the numbers of humans, and Mages only made up a small portion of humanity. The only way they could win with such difference in numbers was by becoming stronger. Each of them had to be strong enough to take on dozens, hundreds, or thousands of demon creatures…

How strong would he have to be to stop the army of the Great Pyramid of Giza?

How strong would he have to be so he did not have to see corpses littering the streets and tears pouring down like rain?

Did he manage to buy half a day for the people?

It felt like less than that, but hopefully, it was not too far off…

The truth was, Mo Fan had completely lost track of time. He was too busy fighting the Sphinx, the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents, and Scorpion Lord Medusa. He did not even know if half a day had passed since then…

He was feeling an overwhelming fatigue, yet his rapidly beating heart was not satisfied yet. It was still burning for more!

—

—

The white mausoleum inside the Dark Abyss…

The sky was crawling with zombies, the ground was covered in blood. Everything was ghastly and disgusting, with a rotting odor, but the white mausoleum stood as firmly as usual. There was not even the slightest trace of dust and filth on it. The millennia-old tomb might be brimming with sacred hauteur if it wasn’t for its iciness!

It was Zhang Xiaohou’s second time coming to the blood-red altar. He still remembered everything, as if it had happened only the day before. A million people were on a rocking ship being pushed around by the merciless waves. It was going to sink at any second, together with the million people aboard it…

Zhang Xiaohou trudged up the stairs. He could see his reflection on their glossy black surface. He was covered in dust, his clothes were ragged. He was clearly worn out from the journey here right after an intense battle. His swaying body might fall to the ground at any time.

He came up to the blood-red throne and looked at the empty black armor sitting on it.

The armor was hollow. Zhang Xiaohou could not feel any presence. He did not even know if the man was sitting on the throne. He might have come all the way here for nothing.

“Chief Military Instructor!” Zhang Xiaohou yelled with all his might.

The black armor did not respond. Perhaps Zhang Xiaohou had called the wrong name. Perhaps the man was no longer his Chief Military Instructor, but a king…

“Chief Military Instructor!”

Zhang Xiaohou did not care who the person was now. He didn’t know any kings. He only knew the righteous Chief Military Instructor that had taught them how to fight. Many had died when Bo City fell, but many had survived because of the man wearing an old military jacket back then.

“Chief Military Instructor, I know you are here, you are always here…” Zhang Xiaohou continued to speak. He did not care if the armor could understand him.

Zhang Xiaohou heard his voice echoing in the hall. He took a deep breath. He knew what he was doing was stupid, but he would rather believe that his Chief Military Instructor was still alive. The person inside the icy black armor was still his Chief Military Instructor!

“When I was eighteen years old, I joined the military and went from a recruit to a captain under your watch. You always called me stupid, you said that I’m not sensible enough, that I don’t know how to adapt to circumstances. You say that I’m not talented enough… I did everything you told me, I even learned most of my habits from you. When I made it to the safe zone in Bo City, I burst into tears because of how helpless I felt. I thought it was the end of the world. I completely lost my way, until I saw you and your men going after the Darkwing Wolf recklessly. You helped me to find myself, I swore that I’d become a soldier like you… I didn’t know how, so I was just imitating you…” Zhang Xiaohou wiped off the tears on his face as he was speaking.

“But, no matter how hard I was trying to imitate you, no matter how much time I was with you, I realized that I could never become someone like you. Some people are meant to take on the fight alone. It is their destiny… which is why you invited Brother Fan to join the army instead of me.

“I have to say, your judgment was spot on. Brother Fan is very impressive indeed. He’s just as courageous as you. I was trying so hard to imitate you, but I never learned the most important thing. Meanwhile, he always acted like he disdained you, he did not even consider accepting your invitation, but in the end, he’s doing the same things that you did… you always introduced me to your old friends as the best student you had, but I know that Brother Fan was the most brilliant student in your heart. He told me that the one thing he regretted the most is not telling you in person that you are the man he respected the most.”

Zhang Xiaohou stopped caring about the tears that were running down his cheeks. He approached the empty black armor, as if it did not hear a single word that Zhang Xiaohou had said.

However, Zhang Xiaohou could feel that the man was there. He could feel the man watching him!

“We’ve tried so hard to become stronger. We’ve done everything to prevent the Calamity of Bo City from happening, but when the undead army and the Great Pyramid of Giza came, we felt so helpless and tiny… Brother Fan is still fighting with everything he has, just like you, regardless of how many enemies there are, but I couldn’t do anything other than running to you…”

Zhang Xiaohou was as clueless as he was when he escaped to the safe zone in Bo City. He could only place his hope in the man before him. The man that had shown him the way back in the days.

“I know he won’t run away even if he is overrun by the creatures of the Underworld. He will fight until his last breath…”

“I beg you to save his life!”

Zhang Xiaohou knelt heavily in front of the empty armor. He slammed his head heavily onto the sturdy ground.

Zhang Xiaohou dug his head deep into the ground. He had always wanted to express his gratitude, but his Chief Military Instructor never gave him the chance to do it and say goodbye.

The black armor remained still. It did not show the slightest presence of life when Zhang Xiaohou was talking or kneeling on the ground. It felt like the man could not hear him, or he was never there, or maybe he did hear and see Zhang Xiaohou, but unfortunately, he was not Zhan Kong. The King of the Undead could not care less about the life and death of others.

The black armor remained still for a long time.

Zhang Xiaohou was already feeling a little numb from kneeling for too long. He slowly lifted his head and stared at the black armor that had sat on the throne silently for ages.

Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes flickered with a hint of despair, but he did not give up. “Chief Military Instructor, there’s an old friend of yours…

“Everyone told her that you’re already dead, but she never believed it… she said that she saw you, the day when she was freed from the ice.

“She strongly believes that you are still alive, just like us,” Zhang Xiaohou said after taking a deep breath.

“She said that she’ll be waiting for your return. Brother Fan and I are waiting for your return too… but I’m afraid it will only be me and her after today.”

Zhang Xiaohou let out a wry smile. He saluted after finishing his sentence, and dragged his weary body toward the exit…

Chapter 1409 I Never Taught You To Cry in a Figh

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Dense and dark lightning claws were imprinted in the dim sky, huge and brimming with destructive force. They easily blasted the creatures of the Underworld into pieces. Lots of undead perished amid the rapid lightning strikes descending from the sky.

However, even if each of the Sky Lightning Claws scattered across the sky could eliminate ten thousand Underworld creatures, the sum was still negligible compared to the size of the undead army. It was similar to tossing the strongest Forbidden Spell into the vast ocean. Despite the splash and tide it would stir up, the ocean would soon regain its initial appearance…

The sense of helplessness and fatigue gradually grew stronger, but Mo Fan’s demon blood was still burning passionately. Flames circled in the sky while lightning spread across the ground. They leapt from the debris of the Great Wall to the fortress, then spread in the direction of Yulin City. The deserted city eventually turned into dust, scattering in the air as the powerful spells clashed with the creatures of the Underworld…

The Sphinx was hugely infuriated. His pride as Egypt’s God of Death was being shattered by the human before him. The longer the fight went on, the stronger the other Underworld creatures would doubt his power!

Mo Fan stood in the debris of the city and yelled furiously, “Lightning Explosion!”

All of the Lightning Magic within a few hundred kilometers gathered in the area within a meter of him. Lightning Magic was wild in nature. When such a remarkable amount of energy filled up the space, when external force was no longer able to compress the energy any longer, the reaction produced would bring utter destruction!

Lightning arcs soared into the sky and exploded. Lightning forks surged wildly forth. The Sphinx had just set his foot on the ground when he was knocked flying by the explosions, just like the rest of the Underworld creatures!

The whole place was now covered in dust. The lightning explosions had turned the Underworld creatures, the thick mountains, the rocks, and everything else into dust. Not many creatures of the undead army had managed to survive the blasts. They had all died silently!

Mo Fan’s lightning destruction was so wild that it felt like he had detonated his own body...

Arcs of lightning were still crackling here and there across the land. Every time Mo Fan panted heavily, the remaining lightning would flicker, preventing the Underworld creatures from coming closer…

The Sphinx was covered in injuries now. He climbed to his feet among the Underworld creatures that had frozen in place from fear. No matter how angry he was, the human remained standing before them, stopping their invasion!

A deafening voice suddenly echoed above the Squaretrek Plain, “I am Osiris, the Lord of the Underworld, and you are my people! What are you afraid of?”

The light that the Great Pyramid of Giza was emitting sharpened slightly. The light rays turned into spears of the Underworld, flying at Mo Fan from dozens of kilometers away.

The Sphinx lifted his gaze, a terrified look passing his face as soon as he saw the Deathlight Spears. He quickly dug his head into the ground and lowered his body, like a servant dog receiving a scolding from his master!

Mo Fan looked into the distance from where he was standing in the debris.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was such a great distance away, yet the Deathlight Spears had appeared within the blink of an eye. Such unbelievable power!

The Deathlight Spears poured down, each with enough overwhelming force to destroy the whole city.

The Deathlight Spears landed on Mo Fan accurately. He tried to resist them with everything he had, yet the Deathlight Spears did not seem to be losing momentum even after traveling a few dozen kilometers. Each of the spears was as powerful as the Sphinx’s full strength attack!

The ground was unharmed, the city was not damaged, but every Deathlight Spear the Great Pyramid of Giza had fired dealt a critical blow to Mo Fan. He could no longer control his body. His vitality was being drained rapidly. His soul was heavily damaged…

Mo Fan was struggling to stand on his feet. Not only did the Deathlight Spears inflict serious damage on him, their enormous pressure was also forcing him to surrender to the pyramid.

It felt like his legs were tied to a golden mountain. Its weight was dragging his knees toward the ground.

Mo Fan’s left knee slammed heavily into the ground after he was overwhelmed by fatigue. He almost fell into a chasm when the ground cracked open.

Mo Fan clenched his teeth. He would not let his other knee fall to the ground, regardless of how overwhelming the power of the Deathlight Spears was. Sweat was pouring down like rain. His skin was cracking rapidly. The more he resisted, the stronger the pressure the Deathlight Spears were applying to him.

Osiris…

So this is how strong Osiris is?

Mo Fan had heard the same voice at the Great Pyramid of Giza, and now, the voice was unleashing its wrath on him!

Mo Fan was struggling to comprehend what kind of existence the Lord of the Underworld residing in the luxurious golden pyramid really was. Was his power truly comparable to a real god? Even the power of his Demon Element had to submit to him? The more he resisted, the greater the pressure grew!

The undead army resumed their marching after receiving the order from the voice from the pyramid. Not only were the undead coming through the broken wall in front of Northguard Fortress, the entire line of defense, around fifty kilometers long, was collapsing now. The Underworld creatures had been totally unleashed. They were pouring into the North Valley from different mountains and valleys, going straight after the smell of the living!

The Northguard Fortress that Mo Fan had tried to defend with his life was just a little stream in the entire lake. His efforts were meaningless when the entire lake was rolling in his direction.

The enormous pressure had almost broken his knees. It felt like he was carrying a heavy pyramid on his back. The Deathlight Spears only had vague outlines, yet their power was overwhelming. Mo Fan could not move at all. His body was getting worn out. He was almost at his limit!

He could not stand up, no matter how hard he struggled. He was surrounded by the cries of the undead. He knew it was the end.

He had already told himself to weigh his capabilities and act accordingly. He would not feel dissatisfied or be troubled with guilt, since he had already done his best, but why was he feeling so discontent in his heart when the time came?

“Damn it! Damn it!” Mo Fan was not willing to surrender, yet he did not even have the strength to rise to his feet. He had yet to buy half a day’s time for the people. His strength was nowhere near enough. Even double his strength was not enough to stop the enemy.

“Damn it!”

Mo Fan was already trembling, but he continued to endure the pressure. If he could not change the outcome, the least he could do was not to submit to the tyrant ruler who was hiding inside his pyramid!

The discontent in his heart eventually turned into tears bursting out of his eyes. The tears scattered in the air as the strong wind blew…

The Demon Runes on him slowly disappeared, returning Mo Fan his original appearance. His eyes were full of tears, hollow and soulless.

What was the purpose of him cultivating so hard if there was nothing he could change? What was the meaning of being respected and admired as a Mage by the world?

His vision was filled with darkness like the vast galaxy. The loud rumble around him was replaced with dead silence. Mo Fan was slowly sinking into the dark abyss he had constructed for himself, like a lifeless statue. He had lost his direction and will.

It felt like the Spiritual World had taught him that the world was engulfed in endless darkness since the very first day he Awakened his magic. The faint lights that the Stars were emitting represented petty humans living in their cities. Even if they turned into a Nebula, a Galaxy, or a Universe, the majority of the Spiritual World was still covered in darkness, the same darkness that engulfed and ruled over magic.

A person would always be a little star. It might sweep across the sky like a meteorite. It might stay dark forever. The night sky would remain dark and cold, regardless of what it did…

—

An unusual voice appeared in Mo Fan’s spiritual cage. He had already filtered out the cries and stomps of the undead army, yet he could hear clear footsteps approaching him.

The footsteps came to a stop behind Mo Fan. It had the iciest presence he ever felt, and brought Mo Fan, who had lost himself in the spiritual cage, back to his senses slightly.

Who is it?

How did that person show up behind him? Wasn’t the whole place overrun by the undead army? How was a person able to walk up to him so calmly? Was he imagining it?

A heavy hand pressed down on Mo Fan’s shoulder in the middle of his troubled thoughts.

The hand was just as cold as the person’s presence, holding Mo Fan’s shoulder firmly. The force it contained should have pressed Mo Fan to the ground, but for some reason, the pressure that the pyramid was applying to him had vanished. The spiritual cage that was entrapping him collapsed too!

Mo Fan’s vision recovered. It was filled up by the army of undead, so massive that he could no longer see the horizon.

The deafening cries of the undead returned. His ears were hurting slightly from the loud noise.

The corners of his eyes and his face were hurting a little when his dried tears cracked. There were still some tears in his eyes.

Mo Fan felt like a long time had passed while he was stuck in the spiritual cage, but it had only been a brief moment, so brief that even the tears in his eyes had yet to burst out from them…

“I don’t think I ever taught you to cry in a fight.”

The voice behind him was familiar yet strange, utterly cold and imperious!

Mo Fan’s heart shuddered. He remembered the final words he had spoken to a person.

They were in front of a blood-red altar. He had sincerely uttered to a black armor sitting on a throne, “Thank you for teaching me many things.”

However, Mo Fan did not receive a response, even after he left.

He saw a cold face covered in clear lines.

He saw a firm figure wearing a black mantle and armor, standing like an enormous mountain.

I don’t think I ever taught you to cry in a fight…

Mo Fan completely lost it all when he heard the words. He tried to wipe away the tears bursting endlessly out of his eyes.

“Chief…Chief Military Instructor!” Mo Fan screamed, sobbing.

Chapter 1410 Kill Without Mercy

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan rose to his feet.

When he finally stood up, with someone holding his shoulder, he realized that the pressure from the Pyramid was not as heavy as he thought. It was just that he had lost his will and strength.

He looked around. He was still in the debris of the fortress. The undead army did not disappear like scattering ashes, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare.

The Pyramid was still emitting its deathlight in the distance. Its army was trampling everywhere the deathlight could reach.

Behind him was a range of mountains. Feihuang City was within reach once the army crossed the mountains.

“Undead from Egypt?” the King of the Undead asked.

“That’s the Great Pyramid of Giza, Khufu’s mausoleum. Khufu is still alive; he’s the Lord of the Underworld now,” Mo Fan confirmed.

The King of Undead turned around and looked at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had no idea what he had said wrong, to make the man glare at him so…

“He dares to call himself the Lord of Underworld with such nonsense…” the King of Undead snapped disdainfully.

Mo Fan’s face went blank. He had no clue how the rulers of the undead divided up their territories…

BANG!

The King of Undead stomped the ground heavily. A black wave surged forward in a cone, heading straight for the magnificent Pyramid.

The Pyramid’s deathlight suddenly became unstable. There were now holes the deathlight was no longer shining upon.

The undead from Egypt could only move within the deathlight. When the holes appeared, the undead within them evaporated in just a breath or two…

The Undead Ripple the Ancient King had produced was a direct provocation to the Pyramid. It had severely restrained the pyramid’s Deathlight!

“Who dares disrupt my sacred light!?” the thunderous voice in the Pyramid demanded.

Mo Fan shivered every time he heard the voice. He was sure that the person that was talking had greatly surpassed the strongest level he was aware of. He felt a distinct urge to drop to his knees and end his own life under its enormous pressure!

“You have half a day to move your grave and your undead out of my land,” the King of Undead responded in a similarly powerful voice. It echoed across the land.

The voices were talking in two different languages, but the language used did not really matter in their conversation; it was the idea that mattered!

“Sphinx, tell him whose territory this land is going to be!” Osiris’ voice came from the Pyramid once again.

The Sphinx was lying on the ground, and finally rose to his feet. His enormous body moved forward like a formidable mountain. His eyes, now engulfed by ghastly flames, were staring at Mo Fan and the King of Undead.

The Sphinx started running. He was even quicker than before. His strength had improved significantly after he was supported by Osiris. He was emitting a golden light as he charged ferociously at his enemy!

The King of Undead did not even bother looking at the Sphinx. He was staring at the Pyramid, as if he could see the person inside it.

Khufu, an ancient existence, who was also the earliest ancestor of the undead!

The Sphinx dashed forward; even the sky and the ground were trembling before his formidable power!

A strange but powerful roar came from under the ground. A mountain suddenly emerged and soared into the sky. It reached out its huge arm and slammed it into the Sphinx that was charging so ferociously!

A strong presence of death lingered in the air. How could Mo Fan not recognize the mountain that had appeared out of nowhere? It was none other than the creature that had covered the entire Ancient Capital in fear: the Mountain Zombie!

The Mountain Zombie rose from the ground, even more impressive in size than the Sphinx. The Mountain Zombie took a few steps back when the Sphinx rammed into his hand, before lifting the Sphinx up into the air.

The Sphinx did not expect such a terrifying creature to rise from the ground out of nowhere. With shocking might, the Mountain Zombie hurled the Sphinx into the distance before he could react…

The Sphinx slammed heavily to the ground and slid a long distance, crushing countless creatures of the Underworld beneath him, leaving a carpet of pulp and bones behind.

The Mountain Zombie clearly held a strong grudge against the Sphinx that had dared to disrespect the Ancient King. He dashed forward, trampling the tiny Underworld creatures under his feet, and threw a huge punch at the Sphinx’s face.

The Sphinx’s face cracked slightly as he was knocked flying once again. The two hits in a row had left him light-headed.

Several Underworld Monarch Frogs nearby curled up into meatballs in terror when they saw their commander being beaten up.

The Mountain Zombie happened to be searching for any usable weapons. He kicked one of the Underworld Monarch Frogs and fired it at the Sphinx like a cannonball.

The Sphinx might have obdurate skin and flesh, but that clearly did not apply to the Underworld Monarch Frog. Even though they were both Ruler-level creatures, the Underworld Monarch Frog did not have the slightest chance to endure the overwhelming strength of the blow. Its body bent out of shape from the kick. The Yoked that were bound to it died a gruesome death with it, splattering onto the Underworld Monarch Frog like mosquitoes that had been slapped to death.

“Who are you!?” The voice in the Great Pyramid of Giza sounded surprised.

“Kill anyone that dares to disrupt the peace of my land without mercy!” the King of Undead ordered.

The King of Undead stomped the ground once again. A greater black ripple surged across the mountains, valleys, and loesses. The sky covered in the deathlight was shrouded by darkness as a great storm arose!

“Kill without mercy!”

“Kill without mercy!”

“Kill without mercy!”

Chants like chimes from Hell echoed across the North Valley.

Deathly figures rose from the ground between Yulin City and Feihuang City!

—

Mo Fan was unable to see what the black and red figures were from the distance. He only saw the figures spreading rapidly across the mountains, the stone mounds and sands, the rocky hills to the north, and the valleys!

The army of the Egyptian Underworld was mainly black, glowing an eerie cold blue under the deathlight.

The army that appeared after the King of Undead stomped the ground was mostly gray and red. Their auras of death lingered in the air. The glowing eyes of the army of the Ancient Capital’s undead were as dense as the stars in the night sky. Even the sun and the moon had lost their brilliance!

Chapter 1411 The Eight Undead Rulers, Part One

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A deafening roar echoed through the air, followed by a huge body made of gray bones, with a pair of skeletal wings, shrouding the dark clouds. Their edges were clearly visible when they were fully extended!

The Nether Bone Dragon!

Mo Fan recognized the creature. It was the creature responsible for destroying the outer wall of the Ancient Capital. Mo Fan clearly remembered the great shock the creature gave him when it flew across the sky above the Ancient Capital!

The captain of the Imperial Mages was supposed to have taken the Nether Bone Ruler with him into the Dark Abyss. To Mo Fan’s surprise, the creature had come back to life again!

It turned out that the undead would not perish so easily, especially the higher-level ones!

The Nether Bone Dragon beat its wings and soared into the sky. Its shadow loomed over an army of skeletons waving their bloody weapons around. The skeletons were like a flowing white river streaming down from the mountains. Their numbers were so insane that it was impossible to distinguish between the sky and the ground.

The ground continued to crack apart. The Nether Bone Dragon was the commander of the army of skeletons, while the Mountain Zombie was the commander of the army of zombies. Corpses emerged from the ground; this army was mostly made up of rotting zombies that were the lowest-level species among the army. They immediately filled the areas that the undead from Egypt had left vacant. The army of true zombies was still massive, even if one was to exclude the countless rotten zombies. Their size made them stand out among the rotten zombies.

There were Corpse Generals and Corpse Officials, too. The Corpse Officials were even more eye-catching, their massive figures standing out. Almost every zombie troop had a Corpse Official leading them. The majority of the Corpse Officials were the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials. They remained close to the Mountain Zombie!

The Flesh Mound Corpse Officials opened their mouths and devoured the zombies nearby, like they were drinking water. The vacant space inside their bodies was far bigger than their actual size. Their stomachs did not bloat even after swallowing thousands of zombies!

The Mountain Zombie’s strength was remarkable, and he needed something he could hurl at the enemy. He had acted like a catapult during the battle at the Ancient Capital. He was capable of rapidly destroying the interior of a city!

The Mountain Zombie waited until the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials were done ‘reloading’. He grabbed the Corpse Officials and pitched them in the direction of the Great Pyramid of Giza, one by one!

The enormous Corpse Officials flew under the clouds like missiles, smashing a huge bunch of Underworld creatures into pieces wherever they landed. The Enslaved, the Yoked, and the mummies were under heavy fire. The vicinity of the Great Pyramid of Giza was soon covered in blood and bones…

One of the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials that the Mountain Zombie pitched out with greater force slammed heavily into the glowing Great Pyramid of Giza!

The Pyramid remained firm, but the deathlight it was emitting flickered and weakened slightly.

The Flesh Mound Corpse Official was embedded on the stairs of the Pyramid. The rotten zombies poured out of its mouth like a rapid stream.

The Flesh Mound Corpse Official was carrying over two thousand undead, including some Warrior-level undead. Their sudden appearance on the Great Pyramid of Giza was a great humiliation to Osiris!

The undead were soon crawling on the Great Pyramid of Giza and worrying at it. Ten aloof Dark Swordmasters were guarding the entrance of the Pyramid. Their eyes burst into green flames, and these guardians that were standing like statues reacted quickly. They jumped onto the magnificent Pyramid and flung their swords of darkness at the undead crawling all over the Pyramid!

The Dark Swordmasters were insanely strong. The Flesh Mound Corpse Official and the thousands of undead were no match for them. The undead on the Great Pyramid of Giza were all slain in no time…

The undead had died very quickly, but the loss was negligible to the Ancient Capital’s kingdom of undead. A few more Flesh Mound Corpse Officials were soon pitched onto the Great Pyramid of Giza again. Once again, it did not take the Dark Swordmasters much time to kill the undead, but the Pyramid was now stained with gore and filth. The deathlight it was emitting dimmed significantly, too!

In addition to the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials that landed on the Great Pyramid of Giza, the number of Flesh Mound Corpse Officials that landed in the vicinity of the Pyramid was quite shocking, too. The Mountain Zombie had tossed more than thirty Flesh Mound Corpse Officials at the Pyramid!

Thirty Flesh Mound Corpse Officials, each carrying nearly three thousand undead with them; in other words, more than fifty thousand undead had landed in the vicinity of the Great Pyramid of Giza!

The Dark Swordmasters might be strong, since they were Ruler-level creatures, but they would still struggle to kill fifty thousand undead in a short period of time!

The entire army of the Underworld had moved out, leaving only the Dark Swordmasters and a few powerful mummies to defend the Pyramid. Osiris immediately panicked when the undead of the Ancient Capital suddenly showed up around the Pyramid. He immediately ordered his army to retreat and defend the Pyramid!

The army of the Underworld that had just arrived at the Squaretrek Plain had no choice but to return to the Great Pyramid of Giza to eliminate the undead that the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials had delivered. The vanguard troops of the Underworld army had no choice but to hold their positions, knowing the Pyramid’s defense had been compromised.

Piercing shrieks were heard as one hate-filled face with deadly claws after another appeared from the mist of the dead. It was the phantoms from the kingdom of undead!

The army of phantoms did not engage the humans during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. Otherwise, if the phantoms had joined hands with the zombies, the inner city of the Ancient Capital would have been in great danger.

Most of the phantoms could fly, and did not have a fixed form. They were able to weave through the battlefield freely while the Underworld army was clashing with the undead of the Ancient Capital. They swept past like black gusts of wind and targeted the key entities among the enemy!

A Phantom Commander that Mo Fan had never seen before was guiding the army of phantoms. Even now, he still could not see its true appearance. The Phantom Commander’s rank was only second to the Mountain Zombie in the undead army. The Phantom Tyrant Emperor that a few Super Mages tried so hard to kill during the battle at the Ancient Capital was just the Phantom Commander’s subordinate…

Mo Fan lifted his gaze. He could barely see a pair of icy green eyes in the clouds!

The phantoms were targeting the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents and his Brutal Sword Death Servants.

The Brutal Sword Death Servants were standing in formations, bracing themselves for the army of phantoms. Not many creatures of the Underworld were able to fly, hence the phantoms were free to target any creature of the Underworld based on the Phantom Commander’s decision.

The Phantom Commander was obviously setting its eyes on the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents. Mo Fan had already killed some of his Brutal Sword Death Servants, but most of them were still alive since Mo Fan had struggled against their formations.

However, these formless phantoms were similar to vengeful spirits, and immune to physical attacks. Even the strongest sword technique could not inflict any damage on them. The phantoms penetrated the Brutal Sword Death Servants and Possessed them. They forcibly tore the souls of the Brutal Sword Death Servants to pieces!

Black swords and armor fell, scattering across the ground. All that was left of the Brutal Sword Death Servants were empty shells and piles of junk when their souls perished.

The Dark Pharaoh of Serpents had granted them armor and taught them how to use a sword, yet they could not withstand even a single blow from the army of phantoms!

The Dark Pharaoh of Serpents was infuriated. He roared furiously into the sky, demanding a showdown with the Phantom General hovering in the sky.

The Phantom Commander only revealed a pair of green eyes flickering with disdain at the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents from up in the gray clouds.

The Phantom Commander shrieked, and did not bother revealing itself. It ordered the army of phantoms to pounce at the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents!

The Dark Pharaoh of Serpents fiercely engaged the formless phantoms surrounding it. The phantoms could not do anything to the formidable mummy. They turned into scattering ashes whenever they were struck by the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents’ powerful moves.

The Phantom Commander did not bother showing itself, regardless of the number of phantoms that died to the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents. It was cunning, vicious, and unusually calm. It could not care less about the death of its servants. It could easily gather as many phantoms as it wished.

The one thing that no one could escape from was death! The dead would not necessarily turn into skeletons or zombies, but their souls would certainly contain a hint of discontent, grudges, and hatred. They would eventually show up before it and become its people!

How many phantoms could the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents kill?

If the Phantom Commander was to ask the phantoms to stand in a line without leaving any gaps between them and let the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents kill them without resisting for a whole day, the casualties would be less than a tenth of their numbers!

The army of phantoms might be less terrifying on the surface when compared to the sea of zombies and skeletons, but that was not because their numbers were lower; it was because the phantoms were formless, and could even stack on top of one another!

—

The Dark Pharaoh of Serpents was enraged. He grabbed the piles of junk on the ground and tossed them into the air.

The Dark Pharaoh of Serpents could sense the presence of the Phantom Commander, but no matter how he was provoking the Phantom Commander or how brutally he was killing the phantoms, the Phantom Commander was unwilling to show itself. It merely hovered in the mist of the dead while observing the battle. It was laughing at how idiotic the Underworld creatures were. It was everywhere; it was untrackable!

—

The Underworld creatures began to retreat. The Great Pyramid of Giza was under heavy attack from the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials and the undead. The white skeletons pursued the enemy along the mountains, leaving countless remains of the Underworld creatures across the land…

The Underworld army was at a loss. The King of Undead remained where he had appeared. He did not even have to do anything, apart from the stomp right at the beginning. The powerful kingdom of the undead was laid out stunningly in front of Mo Fan, like a huge painting!

1412 The Eight Undead Rulers, Part Two

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In addition to the Phantom Commander, three other Undead Rulers had shown up. The Mountain Zombie was obviously the strongest among them. He was currently heading toward the Great Pyramid of Giza with great strides.

The Mountain Zombie was obviously clearing a path for the King of Undead. He would toss a Flesh Mound Corpse Official at the Great Pyramid of Giza every few steps to keep applying pressure to it.

The Phantom Commander was a formidable enemy for the creatures of the Underworld. Even the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents was forced to retreat with his remaining troops. Meanwhile, the army of skeletons led by the Nether Bone Dragon was the vanguard of the Kingdom of Undead.

There was no enemy that the army of skeletons could not devour. The white wriggling ocean could even convert the Underworld creatures into a part of them!

The Kingdom of Undead soon revealed its full power. The other five Undead Rulers had appeared too! None were too far from the King of Undead. The whole army had formed an undead whirlpool, with the King of Undead in the center.

The undead whirlpool would advance every time the King of Undead took a step forward. It immediately devoured any Underworld creatures that dared to block the King of Undead’s path.

Within the Underworld army, a demon ruler resembling a goat plied its golden staff at the skeletons. Their bones scattered in the air like the splashes of a wave. The ferocious creature was clearly a reliable warrior that the Sphinx had Summoned. Every time it waved its golden staff around, it would knock a bunch of skeletons into pieces and smash their bones into white sand.

The King of Undead glanced at the Goat-Headed Ruler. He did not even have to give an order. The Carnelian Zombie Ruler, one of the eight Undead Rulers, immediately stepped forward. The army of skeletons and zombies quickly cleared a path for it.

The Carnelian Zombie Ruler was similar to the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials in size; one could even say that the Carnelian Zombie Ruler was the strongest existence among the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials. Its body was hung about with heads, each with a pair of eyes and a mouth. It was a ghastly creature that one could only imagine would appear in nightmares. Anyone would feel their scalp turning numb just by looking at it!

The Carnelian Corpse Ruler rushed up to the Goat-Headed Ruler, and the two enormous undead began brawling with one another. The Carnelian Corpse Ruler stomped the Goat-Headed Ruler’s staff to pieces. The Goat-Headed Ruler blew half of the Carnelian Corpse Ruler’s head off!

The Goat-Headed Ruler was obviously the commander of the Twin-Bodied Demon Cows, as it was surrounded by them. Some of the Twin-Bodied Demon Cows were over thirty meters tall. They continued to stand out amid the chaotic battle.

The Twin-Bodied Demon Cows charged at the enemy at the Goat-Headed Ruler’s command, crushing the skeletons that were leading the way to pieces. The Carnelian Corpse Ruler was utterly infuriated. It summoned the troop of Hatchet Corpse Generals to brutally dissect the Twin-Bodied Demon Cows!

The Hatchet Corpse Generals were incredibly strong, too; Mo Fan had witnessed their strength personally. They were a bunch of Great Warrior-level creatures. The muscular Twin-Bodied Demon Cows struggled to fend the Hatchet Corpse Generals off as they were charging forward like a group of meat-mincing chariots…

The Hatchet Corpse Generals were completely unstoppable as they cleared a path through the Underworld army. Only the Brutal Sword Death Servants were able to take the Hatchet Corpse Generals on. Unfortunately, the Phantom Commander had already taken most of them out, allowing the Hatchet Corpse Generals to forcibly tear through the Underworld army and split the Underworld forces in half!

The Goat-Headed Ruler was not as strong as the Carnelian Corpse Ruler. The Carnelian Corpse Ruler was one of the eight Endead Rulers. It was at the same level as the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents and the Scorpion Lord Medusa. When the Goat-Headed Ruler was defeated, its Twin-Bodied Demon Cows were crushed by the sea of skeletons.

The number of the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials was the highest among the Ruler-level undead. Not only were they good at attacking enemy territories, they were also producing more skeletons!

—

Following the defeat of the Twin-Bodied Demon Cows, the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials devoured their remains under the lead of the Carnelian Corpse Ruler. They swiftly digested the Twin-Bodied Demon Cows’ flesh and used their bones to form new Commander-level skeletons. They either used the bones to strengthen the existing Commander-level skeletons or produced new skeletons who would take orders from the Nether Bone Dragon!

As such, even though the army of skeletons was suffering great casualties as the vanguard of the Kingdom of Undead, they could easily replenish their numbers by winning the battle. The pharaohs never expected their people to be slowly converted into the servants of the Ancient Capital’s Kingdom of Undead!

The remaining three Undead Rulers did not engage the enemy. They were following behind the King of Undead, waiting for the Great Pyramid of Giza to send out worthy opponents. The eight Undead Rulers did not think the Underworld Monarch Frogs commanding the Yoked were worthy of their attention. Their subordinates would gladly take care of the Underworld Monarch Frogs instead!

Mo Fan turned around to examine at the other three Undead Rulers. They were the Red Skeleton Ruler, the Phantom Tyrant Emperor, and the Queen of Netherworld…

The Red Skeleton Ruler’s appearance was no different than human bones. It did not have a single thing symbolizing its strength of a Ruler-level creature; it was merely a dark red skeleton standing around five steps behind the King of Undead like a loyal servant. If it was not standing side by side with the other Undead Rulers, Mo Fan would even think it was just an ordinary Warrior-level skeleton. He would not expect it to be one of the eight Undead Rulers.

It did not show up during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. He could not tell if it was slumbering still, or maybe everyone had simply overlooked it.

The Phantom Tyrant Emperor was extremely huge. It was like a mountain shrouded by a black mist, standing firmly behind the King of Undead. It looked like a black mantle hanging between Heaven and Earth.

The Phantom Tyrant Emperor’s presence was stronger than the one killed at the outer wall of the Ancient Capital. Mo Fan had not expected there to be two Phantom Tyrant Emperors. The one that was killed during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital wasn’t even one of the eight Undead Rulers, but the one standing behind the King of Undead was the strongest Phantom Tyrant Emperor!

The Queen of Netherworld was also a powerful Great Ruler-level creature that Mo Fan had not seen before. She was the commander of the specters.

The specters had the lowest numbers within the Kingdom of Undead, but they were the trickiest to deal with. Apart from the Light Element and Elements like Psychic and Curse, all Elemental Magic was useless against them!

The Queen of Netherworld resembled a human, too. As a matter of fact, she looked like a gorgeous woman. She was surprisingly emanating a unique scent, instead of the rotting odor like the zombies. Her eyes glittered when she saw Mo Fan looking at her. Mo Fan immediately felt his hair standing on end when he saw the Queen of Netherworld inspecting him carefully.

Her eyes were able to see through a person’s mind and soul, just like the Scorpion Lord Medusa’s eyes. Mo Fan had only exchanged a quick glance with her, but he already saw images of an ancient palace covered in blood and infants dying in horrible ways. He also saw a glamorous woman who ended her own life by slicing her own throat, and eyes that were filled with discontent…

The eyes were exactly the same as the Queen of Netherworld’s eyes. They were pitch-black and seductive, like the eyes of a cat.

The King of Undead turned around and looked at the Queen of Netherworld while Mo Fan’s mind was filled with the images that she had projected.

The Queen of Netherworld immediately realized how bold she was to use her magic on her king’s student, especially when he was in such a weak state…

“Such a pity, I could have treated your wounds if I’m still alive. No one could possibly match my healing abilities,” the Queen of Netherworld smiled after her attitude toward him shifted.

Mo Fan slowly regained consciousness. He almost broke out in a cold sweat.

His mind had always been his weakness, so the Queen of Netherworld could easily become a huge threat to him. Her power could easily match that of the Scorpion Lord Medusa!

Speaking of which, she could still speak like a human. It was quite rare among the undead…

—

The remains of the Underworld creatures piled up across the land. The sea of skeletons eventually pushed the Underworld army beyond the collapsed Great Wall.

The Squaretrek Plain lay to the north of the Wall, and was where the main force of the Underworld army had gathered. They no longer had the inclination to chase after the scent of living humans after they were brutally massacred by the Kingdom of Undead. They began to regroup and form up, with the Great Pyramid of Giza as their base of operations and the Squaretrek Plain as the battlefield!

The King of Undead halted briefly at the debris of the Great Wall.

He looked to the west and saw the end of the wall, before looking at the Shenmu Keep in the east, which served as the other end of the wall. The ancient line of defense had been trampled to the ground by the enemy.

“What a waste of my masterpiece!” the King of Undead grumbled.

The Ancient King seemed to be complaining about how they had failed to utilize the ancient Wall properly. He did not stay at the debris for too long. He continued to move toward the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Mo Fan was a little confused. He did not understand what the Ancient King was implying. Could it be that the Great Wall had other uses?

On the other hand, he had just claimed the Great Wall as his masterpiece. He could not help but wonder if the man inside the armor was the Ancient King or his Chief Military Instructor. He was struggling to find an answer to the question.

Or maybe he was both the Ancient King and the Chief Military Instructor. Maybe Zhan Kong did not die after putting on the Ancient King’s robe, or maybe his soul had merged with the Ancient King’s soul, sharing their memories and beliefs?

A black fly, part of the Fiendish Night, flew toward Mo Fan while he was trying to figure out the answer.

Mo Fan was startled. His eyes soon erupted into passionate flames!

The Cold Prince!

The culprit was not far away from their position!

Even though Mo Fan was covered in wounds and bruises, even though he was already overwhelmed by fatigue, he could not afford to let the Red Cardinal escape!

1413 Perfectly Unharmed

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Ganyu Mountain was located in the Huangshi Mountain Range.

The sentry tower for Feihuang City was on top of Ganyu Mountain. It had been around for a long time, keeping an eye on the Beijiang Desolate Beasts.

Bin Wei, the Prophet, Zhao Manyan, Zhang Xiaohou, Lingling, Ye Hong, and the defenders of the Great Wall had all gathered here. The three commanders in charge of Feihuang City were watching from the tower, too.

The three commanders panicked when they saw the army of the Underworld rolling toward them like a dark cloud from the mountains in the distance. There was no way a city could possibly withstand an army of the scale of the Underworld’s.

However, an unbelievable scene soon took place. They saw an army of skeletons and zombies appear out of nowhere and charge at the Underworld creatures ferociously. They gaped as they watched the undead of the Ancient Capital driving the Underworld army back!

“Can anyone tell me what’s going on here?” General Zhou Li of Feihuang City asked in disbelief.

The undead of the Ancient Capital had appeared like heavenly soldiers and driven the Underworld army back. They were utterly confused about why the undead of the Ancient Capital had suddenly sided with the living. Didn’t they almost destroy the Ancient Capital not long ago!?

Zhang Xiaohou was trembling in excitement. He did not expect the Chief Military Instructor to listen to him!

Mo Fan was going to live! Feihuang City and the North Valley were going to survive!

“Is this the only power that can match the Great Pyramid of Giza that you mentioned before?” Zhao Manyan stared at Zhang Xiaohou with a blank face.

Zhao Manyan would never have believed it if he did not witness it in person. The reinforcements that Zhang Xiaohou requested were the Ancient King and his massive Kingdom of Undead, who had almost overrun the Ancient Capital!

The Kingdom of Undead was the death-sworn army of ancient China. The invasion of Egypt’s undead had clearly infuriated them. The battle between the two armies of undead was nothing like the living could imagine. Somehow, all the epic battles that had once taken place in North Valley were like children playing compared to the clash between the two undead kingdoms!

A real battle against a kingdom of demon creatures would not have the scale of the battle they were currently witnessing, covering several hundred kilometers, a mountain range, extending beyond four valleys and three cities… words could no longer describe how epic it was. Even when they were observing the battle from a great height, the intense battle covering the whole valley before them was in fact just the tip of an iceberg!

“Does this mean that Zhan Kong is still alive?” the Prophet blurted out after a long time.

It was difficult to tell the truth.

Perhaps the King of Undead was infuriated when the Great Pyramid of Giza invaded his territory. The Great Pyramid of Giza had made a serious mistake, choosing China as its first target!

“Either way, we are done with the evacuation,” General Bin Wei was not observing the battle. She was looking at the last group of civilians being escorted into the city.

These people were from Lucheng, the furthest city from Feihuang City. When the people saw the gates of Feihuang City were still open for them even after such a long time, they burst into tears of joy and relief.

They were aware of the trouble they had given the army for taking so long to be evacuated to Feihuang City. They almost gave up halfway, but they still made it to Feihuang City. They immediately thanked the soldiers guarding the city.

The soldiers immediately felt awkward. They had yet to do anything. They were just holding their positions. They knew that the evacuees should be thanking the people who had fought to their deaths at Northguard Fortress and the Great Wall to hold the Underworld army back. They were the real heroes in the battle, but not all of them had returned in one piece!

“Is everyone evacuated to the city?” General Zhou Li asked.

“Mm, we’ve asked the Hunter Union to take care of the people of the remote villages. They have also forcibly evacuated the old folks who are unwilling to leave their villages. We have yet to hear of any civilians being attacked by the Underworld creatures,” General Bin Wei said confidently.

“I don’t believe it…” General Zhou Li murmured.

“Yeah, I’m still having a hard time believing that the Great Pyramid of Giza has shown up in our land with such a massive army of undead,” Ye Hong said.

“No no, I was referring to you people.” General Zhou Li stared at the terrifying Underworld creatures in the distance and added, “It was supposed to turn into an unforgettable tragedy after seeing how massive the army of undead is. Countless people were going to die, leaving the whole country in sorrow and grief, but a small army in Northguard Fortress, a few groups of people from the Preventive Committee and the Enforcement Union managed to buy us two whole days to evacuate seven cities, more than forty towns, and a few hundred villages in the North Valley without suffering any casualties. I was amazed by your achievements, it’s just unbelievable! I thank you on behalf of the people of the North Valley!”

General Zhou Li knew how much of a disaster it was when a horde of demon creatures invaded the North Valley, let alone a massive undead army brought by the Great Pyramid of Giza. On top of that, the scum of the Black Vatican were pulling the strings behind! It felt impossible to put a stop to the tragedy, and yet they had done it!

The hearts of the defenders were pounding heavily after hearing his words. Even they were struggling to believe that they had actually stopped the invading Great Pyramid of Giza’s army!

“The person we should be thanking is Mo Fan. He had the strongest resolve among us, right from the beginning when he found out the Black Vatican was up to something. He even infiltrated the Black Vatican alone after alerting us about their conspiracy. He helped us retreat from Northguard Fortress and stayed back to hold the army of undead back alone until the undead of the Ancient Capital showed up…” the Prophet replied, staring at the battle in the distance.

For some reason, the Prophet could sense that Mo Fan was still fighting. The inextinguishable flame was still burning in a corner of the battlefield. It was his flames that kept them going, not giving up on defending their land.

He was only a petty young man desperately trying to survive during the Calamity of Bo City. He had no choice but to step forward during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, but now, he was standing firmly in the front line; he had inherited the true spirit of the Great Wall. He would not yield, fall, or be extinguished. The Prophet had watched Mo Fan grow. He had witnessed the birth of a reliable soon-to-be Supreme Mage. Most importantly, he was still so young. He had unlimited potential!

—

—

The debris of the Great Wall at Squaretrek Plain…

“I’ll take care of the dead, but you’ll have to deal with the living yourself,” the King of Undead said before Mo Fan could speak, as if he could read Mo Fan’s mind.

“Sure!” Mo Fan nodded.

The effects of the Demon Element were slowly wearing off, but luckily, Mo Fan was still able to control it. Even though the power of the Demon Element had weakened significantly, Mo Fan was still a capable fighter, and his energy was preserved. The Cold Prince could no longer transform into the Demon-Horned God, and the Cold Prince might even be in a worse condition than him!

Mo Fan moved along the fallen wall. He did not have a problem tracking down the Cold Prince among the army of undead using the Fiendish Night!

Mo Fan soon found the blood-covered culprit on an Underworld Monarch Frog; the Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, the Cold Prince!

Mo Fan had changed his mind. He had decided to capture the Cold Prince alive!

It would be a waste to kill the Cold Prince; dead men told no tales!

Capturing the Cold Prince alive would be a serious blow to the Black Vatican. The world would be able to see the true nature of the Red Cardinal, and how filthy his heart was. They would witness the Red Cardinal being sentenced to death and executed amid loud cheers!

1414 Capturing the Cold Prince Alive!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

“Why, why is this happening… impossible, this is impossible, how did it end up like this!?

“What the hell are these things? Assh***, what the hell are they!? Die, die you piece of sh**!

“Useless pricks, trash, Egypt’s kingdom of undead? How could you lose to the undead of such a lowly country? Osiris is nothing but a piece of trash!”

The Cold Prince yelled like a madman from atop the Underworld Monarch Frog.

Perhaps the Red Cardinal was the one who had suffered the greatest blow out of everyone.

He had put in so much effort to acquire the Triangle Dimensional Mirror. He had spent ten years finding a way to communicate with the Underworld. He had finally made the preparations to hold an Apotheosis Ceremony for himself, so he could surpass Salan and become the Red Cardinal with the greatest influence in the world.

He had even sacrificed all his men to achieve his goal, since he believed a lot more people were going to fall to their knees and worship him in no time.

However, the outcome was not what he had expected. The Underworld’s army was driven back to the Squaretrek Plain. The massacre he had planned for the living humans of the cities in the North Valley had turned into a battle between two armies of undead!

What benefit would a battle between two armies of undead bring him?

Idiots, they were all idiots!

No one was bleeding, no foul odor of rotting corpses lingering in the air, no one was worshiping him; he was nothing but a laughing stock!

He had given his everything to plan the conspiracy, including his own beliefs, but he ended up all alone, in such a miserable state!

He hated the sturdy rocks of Northguard Fortress. He hated why those petty humans bothered standing up against the Underworld army, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. He hated the ancient Wall that had appeared out of nowhere, delaying the advance of the Underworld army. He hated the young man who was so full of himself. He would have become a god by now if the young man had not interfered with his plan!

“AHHHHH!” the Cold Prince yelled furiously. Blood poured from his wounds as he gathered all his might.

The Cold Prince was beyond frustrated after realizing that his plan had failed. He was starting to feel dizzy. The intelligent Underworld Monarch Frog beneath him was aware that the Cold Prince was being disrespectful to Osiris. It shuddered and shook the Cold Prince off its back.

The Cold Prince was on the verge of losing consciousness. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he slammed heavily to the ground.

He was no different than the remains of the undead scattered around him. He glared at the Underworld Monarch Frog that was fleeing for its life and screamed furiously, “Even you dare to look down on me!?”

The Underworld Monarch Frog simply ignored the Cold Prince. The sea of skeletons was going to devour it if it stayed any longer. The Nether Bone Dragon sweeping across the sky had been watching it for a long time. It might end up being scooped up and torn to pieces in the sky!

“You’re so petty that even the undead are treating you with disdain, and yet you were hoping to be worshiped by the world? What a joke!” A shadow suddenly appeared beside the Cold Prince.

The Cold Prince turned around and saw the man he hated the most!

Mo Fan!

It was all this Mo Fan’s fault! He would have become a god by now if it wasn’t for this Mo Fan. No one could possibly surpass his achievements!

The Cold Prince hated Mo Fan’s guts!

“I’m going to kill you!” the Cold Prince uttered, clenching his teeth like a vicious monster.

Mo Fan was covered in wounds and bruises, too, and soaked in blood. It seemed like he was too weak to even stand up to the wind, yet his eyes were glittering with excitement!

The Cold Prince was a Mage, too. He was casting Curse Magic. The more he lost control of himself, the greater the power of the Curse Element!

“Demon Torture!”

The Cold Prince cast the spell at an insane speed. He swiftly set up the spiritual torture rack and Summoned a devil with horns to devour Mo Fan’s soul.

Mo Fan remained still. He did not show any intention of dodging the attack.

His eyes turned pitch-black. Meanwhile, a ghastly shadow manipulated by the Fiendish Night appeared behind the Cold Prince.

The Cold Prince was completely unaware that his own shadow had betrayed him while he was busy casting Demon Torture. The shadow was holding a strange dagger, and stabbed it into Cold Prince’s leg with great strength!

“AHHHH!” The Cold Prince was taken by surprise. The blow had landed on his knee, but it also inflicted an overwhelming pain on his heart. The Demon Torture that he had to fully focus to maintain dissipated like scattering ashes!

“Break Limb!” Mo Fan took a step forward while controlling the Cold Prince’s shadow.

The shadow moved to the other leg and stabbed its dagger in.

The wilting power spread rapidly. The Cold Prince quickly lost control of his legs, which turned as stiff as a zombie’s.

The Cold Prince cried out in agony, but Mo Fan remained as cold as an executioner. It would be a crime to be merciful to a man like the Cold Prince!

The Cold Prince’s shadow started moving again, stabbing at the Cold Prince’s arms this time.

He rapidly lost control of his arms. They simply dangled beside him. The Cold Prince’s eyes were filled with pain and discontent. His mouth was filled with his own blood…

Wasn’t this ability to manipulate shadow the same as Bei Jiang’s? Even he was intimidated by Bei Jiang’s power when he hired the man to assassinate Leng Qing!

The Cold Prince had not expected Mo Fan to obtain Bei Jiang’s eerily powerful ability!

The Cold Prince was already at his limit. Mo Fan did not persist in killing the Cold Prince when he was in demon form, but that did not necessarily mean he had spared the Cold Prince’s life. He had long ago injected the Dark Material into the Cold Prince to keep an eye on his condition and location!

The Cold Prince realized there was no chance he could run away. He was not willing to be humiliated any further. He immediately bit his tongue, trying to end his life.

Since he was a Red Cardinal, he was not carrying a deadly poison with him at all times, like the other members of the Black Vatican. Such a method was not meant for the leaders of the Black Vatican, so he could only end his life using the very old method…

Unfortunately, it was not Mo Fan’s first time dealing with the Black Vatican. He had already gotten used to the members of the Black Vatican ending their lives when they were left with no choice. Mo Fan tossed a Giant Shadow Spike at the Cold Prince before he opened his mouth. It paralyzed the Cold Prince’s throat, preventing him from killing himself!

Death was clearly not the end for the Cold Prince. He believed he would turn into a vengeful spirit, and he could easily rise again and even challenge Osiris to replace him. However, Mo Fan did not even give him the chance to kill himself. The Cold Prince eventually fainted from overwhelming anger!

“Humph, scum!” Mo Fan gave the Cold Prince a great slap to the face and spat on the unconscious man!

A Red Cardinal, captured alive?

He bet the Cold Prince was the first Red Cardinal to be captured alive!

It also meant that Mo Fan was the only Mage that had managed to capture a Red Cardinal alive!

1415 The Battle Between Emperors

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Huh? You’re risking your life just to catch this guy?” an alluring voice inquired from behind Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was shocked. He turned around and saw a beautiful but pale face just three centimeters away. Her face was shrouded by a dark illusionary green mist. It felt like she was not really there, even when her face was within Mo Fan’s reach!

“The king has asked me to keep an eye on you, to make sure there are no accidents,” the Queen of Netherworld smiled. Her outline was very faint, and the parts below her waist were shrouded by the same green mist. Most intriguingly, Mo Fan could pick up a pleasant scent every time she spoke.

“You have my thanks,” Mo Fan dragged the Cold Prince away with him. He did not expect one of the eight Undead Rulers to be escorting him personally.

Mo Fan was currently close to the edge of the Underworld army, figuring out a way to leave the place. His stamina and energy were almost depleted. To his surprise, the Queen of Netherworld had been watching him all along.

“Come with me; it’s time to enjoy watching a real battle,” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan was a little confused.

“There aren’t many people in this world who are worthy to be the king’s opponent, but the guy in the Pyramid is one of them. Don’t you want to witness a battle between emperors?” the Queen of Netherworld asked.

“A battle between emperors?” Mo Fan was shocked.

Emperors!

Was the Lord of the Underworld inside the Great Pyramid of Giza really an Emperor-level existence? Was that why he could not withstand the pressure, even in his Demon Form?

Mo Fan followed the Queen of Netherworld to the battlefield, and she brought him up to the Mountain Zombie’s shoulder. It felt like they were standing on top of a mountain. They were able to see the entire chaotic battlefield!

The wind blew past him strongly. The mist of the dead hovering above the battlefield was within hand’s reach. Mo Fan could easily see the sacred golden Pyramid from his current height. It was still emitting the deathlight, but was no longer as bright. The Flesh Mound Corpse Officials must have inflicted some damage on the Great Pyramid of Giza!

The King of Undead was standing on the Mountain Zombie’s shoulder, too. He was alone on the Mountain Zombie’s right shoulder, while the Queen of Netherworld, the Red Skeleton Ruler, and Mo Fan were on the Mountain Zombie’s left shoulder. The King of Undead was staring right at the Pyramid. His overwhelming aura extended across the Squaretrek Plain and was directed straight at the Lord of the Underworld inside the Pyramid!

Ten Dark Swordmasters were lined up inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. They were now mere servants hauling a levitating golden chariot. The Dark Swordmasters were moving in the air, walking above the Underworld army.

A man wearing a shining white pharaoh robe stood on the golden chariot. He was holding a pharaoh’s staff, and glowing with a dark blue deathlight. From the distance, he looked like a saint that had transcended the mundane world!

“That’s Khufu!” Mo Fan was astounded.

The being whose voice had echoed across the North Valley, whose light was able to drive him to the ground and command the Underworld army, whom even a creature like the Sphinx would submit to, was none other than Pharaoh Khufu!

The King of Undead kept applying pressure to the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was quite obvious that Khufu could not afford to stay put anymore.

One was the greatest emperor of China, who had invented the Undead Element and attained eternal life. The other was the pharaoh of ancient Egypt, building massive mausoleums to make him the Lord of the Underworld!

It was black against white; they were both Rulers of the Undead. It felt like this battle had been destined to happen for thousands of years.

The Ancient King and Pharaoh Khufu seemed to reach an agreement. Their duel did not occur on the battlefield. Their overwhelming power would easily bring massive destruction to their people.

The black and white emperors disappeared at the same time.

They soared into the clouds in an instant. Mo Fan could not tell if the fight had already begun. He could only see huge whirlpools appearing in the thick clouds. Inside the whirlpools was a world of chaos and void, where two figures, the Ancient King and the Pharaoh, stood on opposite sides. Two beams of light crashed into one another before spreading wildly like sparkles…

Mo Fan raised his eyes. What he was seeing was power that he had never encountered before, nor understood.

The two emperors seemed to have opened up a confined space for their battle, forming the huge whirlpool in the sky. The people on the ground could see it despite the great distance between them. However, it prevented the destructive energy from leaking out!

“Can you see it clearly?” the Queen of Netherworld asked with a smile, and a hint of mockery, when she saw how focused Mo Fan was while watching the battle.

“Not really, but I can feel it,” Mo Fan answered.

The emperors were extremely quick. They had gone back and forth multiple times or even more than Mo Fan had thought within the blink of an eye. He was struggling to make the call.

He could not tell how many Elements were being used, nor could he tell how powerful the energy surging within the whirlpool was, as it was beyond his understanding. He was utterly dazzled by the sight of it, but he knew one thing for sure: even if he was in his Demon Form, he would be crushed to ashes within minutes if he was caught in the battle!

The level of the battle was beyond the Ruler-level. It was also Mo Fan’s first time witnessing a battle beyond the Ruler-level. He never imagined what it would look like. The two emperors were so strong that they could freely weave between planes while utilizing the true ultimate of Dimensional Magic!

Shocking cracks suddenly appeared in the sky after a great blast.

The cracks were so obvious that those watching could not help but wonder if their world was actually a mirror. Otherwise, why would there be cracks scattered over five thousand kilometers?

The dimensional whirlpool highest in the sky was shrinking. It seemed like the fight had been relocated back to their plane from the world of void and chaos. That plane was on the verge of collapsing due to the overwhelming energy from the battle.

“Watch out for those cracks, they are deadly!” the Netherworld Queen reminded them.

A crack suddenly split open, coming down from the sky and catching a troop of skeletons and Underworld Executioners who were fighting one another. Both the skeletons and the Underworld Executioners disappeared in an instant, as if they never existed!

The deadly cracks were everywhere in the sky. If the battle had taken place on the ground, who knew how many creatures would perish because of it. Even the cracks randomly falling from the sky were causing the two armies of undead great fear!

1416 There Can Be Only One King in the Underworld

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The whirlpool kept expanding continuously, resulting in unrecoverable damage to the other world. The two emperors in the whirlpool disappeared for a moment as they relocated the fight to somewhere else.

Meanwhile, the Red Skeleton Ruler was commanding the undead army on behalf of the King of Undead.

The Carnelian Corpse Ruler, the Nether Bone Dragon, and the Misty Phantom Commander, under the lead of the Mountain Zombie, began to push forward, too, driving the Underworld army back to the heavily damaged Squaretrek Plain. A strong presence of death lingered in the area from the thick mist of the dead looming over the land. The undead army’s strength mounted up as the battle progressed. The leaders of the Underworld army, including the Sphinx, the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents, and Scorpion Lord Medusa, were at a clear disadvantage.

The Sphinx had fought Mo Fan for a long time. The Scorpion Lord Medusa was severely injured by Mo Fan. As a result, the undead army had an absolute advantage when the Mountain Zombie, Nether Bone Dragon, and the Misty Phantom Commander took over, not to mention that the sea of zombies, skeletons, and phantoms were stronger than the creatures of the Underworld on average…

The deathlight of the Great Pyramid of Giza was shrinking gradually, now restricted to an area of thirty kilometers across on the Squaretrek Plain. The ravines, chasms, gaps, and valleys were piled up with remains, most of them belonging to the Underworld creatures.

The Mountain Zombie finally utilized his full strength. He lifted the Sphinx high up in the air and slammed it down at the Pyramid with all his might.

The Sphinx could not control himself. He was hurled a great distance and was only able to come to a stop after slamming heavily into the base of the pyramid. His fighting capacity had been reduced greatly by his injuries, so he was struggling to take on the Mountain Zombie.

The Sphinx rose to his feet and roared at Mo Fan furiously. There was no way he would be losing so easily if he had not wasted so much energy on Mo Fan!…

The Rulers of the Underworld army had almost reached their limits. The only one that was still fighting on the side of the Underworld army was their leader, Osiris.

They would not retreat if Osiris was still around. The Sphinx might be the commander of the army, but Osiris was their conviction!

They were supposed to construct a beautiful desert from the remains and ashes of their enemy, but the outcome was completely the opposite of their desires. Even the Sphinx and the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents had not expected they would be tasting defeat instead of conquering this land in the east, after they finally found a way to invade it!

Black dragonlike gusts burst out of the giant growing whirlpool. The energy of unknown Elements had taken the form of hundreds of dragons coiling in the sky. They were circling the King of Undead like servants. They would suddenly transform into savage beasts, pouncing fiercely at the white Pharaoh!

The black dragon winds were extremely powerful. One of them accidentally ended up in the Squaretrek Plain, and immediately eliminated a huge troop of Underworld creatures. The unstoppable dragon wind lingered in the area for quite some time after eliminating the Underworld creatures. The rest of the Underworld army froze like statues. They had completely lost the will to fight any further.

More than a hundred black dragon gusts had accumulated in the whirlpool above. They were chasing after the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh used his staff of office to nullify the terrifying gusts while dodging them continuously!

The black dragon winds had obviously expended a huge amount of the King of Undead’s energy. After releasing the dragon gusts, the King of Undead remained still to recover his energy. The Pharaoh finally nullified the dragon winds, giving him an opportunity to counterattack the King of Undead.

However, the Pharaoh did not retaliate. He instead glanced at the Underworld army that had been forced to withdraw to an area within twenty kilometers of the Pyramid…

His Underworld army was already losing. His Staff had begun to crack while he was nullifying the dragon winds. Most importantly, he was not sure whether his opponent was putting up an act as bait, or his opponent was actually recovering his energy and giving him a chance to counterattack!

Khufu could see the confidence in the King of Undead’s eyes, being someone who had lived for thousands of years. He had also seen the King of Undead’s outstanding magic. He did not believe that the King of Undead was standing still because he was trying to catch his breath…

However, his army was obviously at a disadvantage. If he did not defeat the ancient ruler of China, his army was only going to be crushed even more!

Damn it, how dare that stupid human tell him that China was weak and vulnerable? How dare he say that the Underworld army could easily invade their land? To think that he was actually going up against an ancient civilization bold enough to challenge his kingdom, and it resulted in such a great loss to his forces. Even Osiris began to feel distressed about the loss of strength.

Another twenty kilometers, and his mausoleum would be under attack!

An undead was able to live for so long mainly because of their mausoleum. The Pharaoh believed the King of Undead had a magnificent palace for himself, too. If he could claim the King of Undead’s palace, he might become the true God of the Underworld and have total control over the world of the dead… he might even be able to challenge the God of Darkness!

“There can be only one King in the Underworld!” Khufu said to the King of Undead in a cold voice.

The Ancient King knew Khufu was not referring to his kingdom of undead when he mentioned the Underworld.

The entire world of the undead could be referred to as the Underworld. The Pharaoh was in charge of Egypt’s Underworld, while the Ancient King ruled China’s Underworld. Other countries had their Underworlds too, but they were not really worth mentioning. Either one of them could easily dominate those other Underworlds with ease!

The Ancient King had long lost interest in invading and dominating other Underworlds. It had been thousands of years since he had entered his mausoleum. His ambition to rule the world had died with his flesh.

The living world no longer belonged to him. Therefore, even when he had the chance to reclaim his capital city, he chose to turn around and stay under the ground alone.

However, even if creatures that were born to fight had lost their flesh, when the cries of battle and the war drums rolled, they would still pick up their weapons and fight as long as they still had their souls!

They might have lost the ambition to compete with the living, but the Underworld did need a true ruler to keep an eye on the dead who were roaming in the living world, unwilling to die!

“There are still a lot of people like us, so I’ll need them all to submit to me!” the Pharaoh declared.

It was necessary to unite the Underworld. Otherwise, they would never stand a chance against existences like the God of Darkness, nor could they compete with the Lord of the Ocean.

The King of Undead did not respond.

Khufu needed more people to worship him. He was in need of greater power, but the Ancient King had already acheived that long ago. He was an emperor of the entire nation when he was still alive, an incomparable king. His Magic was so strong that no one could possibly match his strength. He was the inventor of the Undead Element and the strongest user of the Earth Element. Even the strongest Totem Beasts were in deep slumber in his territory… what else could he conquer?

Nothing, there was nothing in the world that was worth his attention!

However, Khufu was right about one thing. The Underworld needed a ruler, and the Underworld could only have one King!

He had no intention of competing with the living, but it was indeed necessary to dominate the world of the dead…

“So, are you going to fight, or run away?” the King of Undead asked.

Khufu’s face twisted. Egypt’s corpse-preserving technique was clearly the top of the world. He looked no different than when he was alive.

The King of Undead was quite interested in it. He did not like his current face, which was covered in the wrinkles of the dead. He wanted to look just like when he was still alive, so the King of Undead was very interested in Khufu’s technique.

Khufu had the urge to fight back. Once he succeeded and defeated the Ancient King, the Underworld army would be able to defeat the undead army, too! The tables would be turned, but it did not really matter anymore, since it was not the goal he had in mind.

“I’m relieved to learn that another old monster like me is still alive. This mysterious land in the east, I’m glad that I didn’t waste my time coming here,” Khufu proclaimed.

“So you’ve chosen to run away?” the King of Undead retorted coldly. He was so straightforward that Khufu almost had the urge to pick up his broken staff and hurl it at him!

“War always takes time. This fertile land, this land full of heroic spirits, will eventually belong to me, Khufu!” Khufu proclaimed.

The King of Undead was unmoved, grinning disdainfully.

He initially thought this Khufu was a brave leader who had decided to have a final showdown with him after sharing his ideas and beliefs, but it turned out that he was planning to retreat instead!

Khufu summoned his golden chariot and returned to the Pyramid.

He purposely turned around and watched the King of Undead.

He wanted to see if he was making the right choice. He wanted to see if the King of Undead was actually in a pinch. He wanted to know if he would actually win the battle if he chose to fight back.

However, he noticed the King of Undead stopped recovering his energy as soon as he left. Khufu immediately felt a great chill running down his spine.

The cunning jerk was indeed baiting him. He was lucky that he did not take the bait!

Retreating was indeed the wiser decision!

The golden chariot went to the top of the Pyramid. The deathlight dimmed a lot after the Pharaoh decided to retreat. Khufu would never admit to his people that he had taken the initiative to retreat. He was convincing his people that they would return one day!

The Underworld army began to withdraw. They had surged out from the Pyramid like a tide, and went back into it the same way. The outline of the magnificent Pyramid gradually faded away, before disappearing completely.

1417 Return the Favor!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was like waking up from a dream; a nightmarish scene that was sending chills down one’s spine was immediately replaced by familiar surroundings. Everything in the mind had suddenly vanished.

The Great Pyramid of Giza had disappeared. The Squaretrek Plain had returned to normal… well, not exactly normal, since it was ravaged beyond recognition.

The undead of the Ancient Capital were slowly retreating. They had obtained an outstanding victory. They did not have to celebrate it here in the living world. They could celebrate as long as they wished after returning to their territory!

The King of Undead returned to the Mountain Zombie’s shoulder. The Mountain Zombie seemed unsatisfied. He kept roaring in the direction the Pyramid had disappeared in, like he was calling the Sphinx a cowardly dog.

The Sphinx was most likely about to explode in rage. If he had not wasted too much time and energy fighting Demon Mo Fan, how could he possibly lose to the clumsy Mountain Zombie!?

“My king, everyone has been waiting for too long. If they could satisfy their lust through battle, I believe many of the violent ones will be willing to stay put for some time,” the Netherworld Queen said to the King of Undead in human language.

“Violent ones?” Mo Fan asked, confused.

The Netherworld Queen rolled her eyes. She was as seductive as a living human, or even more alluring. She said, “The world of the dead is bigger than you could ever imagine. Not every ruler of the undead is willing to swear loyalty to our king. Some of the undead Rulers who enjoy slaughtering the humans are already complaining. The truth is, it is unacceptable that the undead are forbidden from entering the living world. The dead cannot satisfy their desires for food and other things like humans. If they can’t even satisfy their lust to kill, it will be no different than erasing their nature.”

The King of Undead turned around and stared at the Netherworld Queen.

The Netherworld Queen realized she had said something wrong. She quickly dropped to her knees and lowered her head.

“Keep going, I’m listening,” the King of Undead.

“I don’t dare to.”

“Say it!” the King of Undead snapped coldly.

The Netherworld Queen hesitated for a moment. She waited for her King to calm down a little before saying, “The different tribes of undead have been fighting one another, since they are forbidden to invade the living world. However, if all they are killing are just other undead, they will eventually doubt the purpose of being forbidden to invade the human world. Killing is the undead’s only purpose to exist. If my king has granted the land to the living humans and decided not to interfere with their lives, we have to find a way to satisfy our people’s desire to kill, like this battle… I believe you have felt it too, the respect and glory that your people have given you after claiming the victory.”

The King of Undead did not respond, but one could easily tell the answer from his emotion.

“They are like your children; they respect you and treat you as their father, but it’s hard not to hold a grudge if you are forcing them to act against their nature. It will allow the enemy to provoke them to rebel against you. They might move to another Underworld where they can satisfy their lust to kill. Therefore, isn’t it better for us to find a way to satisfy their lust instead? If my king doesn’t want to slaughter the living, we can declare war against the entire Underworld. The Underworld only needs one king, and I believe you are the only one worthy of the role!” the Netherworld Queen finished.

Khufu was already on the move. His army was massacring humans mainly to strengthen his kingdom. Killing had always been the most effective way for the undead to obtain more power!

The two strongest kingdoms of undead in the world were in China and Egypt. Regardless of how the wheel of fortune was spinning, the two kingdoms would eventually have to fight one another, and the Battle of Squaretrek Plain had served as the fuse!

The Red Skeleton Ruler stood to the side. He also desired to go to war, just like the Queen of the Netherworld. He wanted to kill! Even though he did not participate in the battle this time, the smell of blood lingering in the air was like fresh air energizing him!

“Do you think I’m the kind of person that is satisfied just by giving invaders a single slap to the face and calling it a day?” the King of Undead said.

The Netherworld Queen gasped in disbelief.

Only the Ancient King would describe killing hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the enemy’s army as a slap to the face!

“It seems that my king has already planned to return the favor. Pardon me for talking too much!” the Netherworld Queen smiled.

“Kill them all, kill them all!” the Mountain Zombie roared with excitement and utter stubbornness.

Mo Fan was left speechless for some time.

Return the favor?

It was something that Mo Fan never thought of. It was already a miracle that they were able to drive the enemy away from the Squaretrek Plain!

“We need rifts that will bring us to their Underworld.” The King of Undead turned and looked at Mo Fan.

“You’re asking me to open the rifts?” Mo Fan pointed at himself.

“You can choose not to,” the King of Undead said calmly.

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh.

To think that he would be triggering a war between two Underworlds; Mo Fan strongly believed he was not fit for the job. It would mean he had to infiltrate a few of the famous Pyramids in Egypt. The problem was, even some of the Forbidden Mages would not dare to do such a thing, let alone an Advanced Mage like him. Wouldn’t he be courting his death!?

To his relief, the King of Undead was understanding; he did not force him to do it.

However, Mo Fan heard the second half of the reply before he could relax.

“I will withdraw the rule stopping the undead from invading human territories. I have to take care of my people either way.”

Mo Fan was left speechless.

Such bait!

The Chief Military Instructor had already become like this, yet his personality of entrapping people was still the same. Mo Fan almost believed that the Chief Military Instructor had shown up with his army to save his life, but it turned out that he was still too young and naive!

“It’s not like I can demonize anytime I want. I’m just a petty Advanced Mage without the Demon Element’s power. I will die if I try to enter a Pyramid,” Mo Fan said.

“I thought you weren’t afraid of dying. Don’t worry, I’ll lend you a hand. Besides, we never said that we were going to do it right now. We’ll have to make some preparations and choose the lucky day,” the Netherworld Queen said.

“The lucky day…” Mo Fan was lost for words.

Mo Fan suddenly felt like there was no way he could run away. Not long ago, he was despising the Black Vatican for betraying their own kind by opening the gates for the Underworld creatures.

Little did he know, he would soon be a gate opener, too! Luckily, he was opening the gates to Egypt’s Underworld instead. It was China’s undead declaring war against Egypt’s undead, getting their revenge from the invader!

It was a tough job, yet Mo Fan had no choice but to accept it!

The Ancient Capital had yet to recover from the great calamity. The land desperately needed the peace provided by the rule forbidding the undead from entering it. Judging from the Netherworld Queen’s words, the Ancient King’s decision had infuriated lots of the Undead Rulers. If they were not allowed to vent their frustrations on the living, the only way left was by declaring war against another Underworld!

Egypt was constantly being invaded by undead too, mainly because the Underworld had gradually become stronger, and they needed a way to satisfy their lust for battle.

It seemed like Mo Fan would have to speak with Egypt’s authorities. The two undead emperors had decided to have a showdown with one another, and he would be the one pulling the strings!

Chapter 1418 Sit On My Lap And Move Yourself

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The long-awaited sunlight penetrated through the dull clouds that were slowly dissipating, and shone upon the land.

The remains of the undead immediately turned to ashes as soon as they made contact with the sunlight. When the sunlight completely shone down, ashes glowing slightly with heat drifted in the air. It looked like some kind of spectacular ritual was being held in the North Valley.

The ashes eventually fell back to the ground, to serve as nutrients to the soil. The land would be brimming with life once again in no time. The Squaretrek Plain could easily reclaim its original appearance with the help of Plant and Earth Mages.

The world had always been a cycle; destruction and regeneration, death and reproduction, fallen leaves returning to the roots. Humans had long adapted to it. Otherwise, why had they not gone extinct yet?

The authorities had decided to settle the victims of the destroyed cities in Feihuang City. They were planning to develop Feihuang City into a metropolis, a foundation for the people in the north, similar to the Ancient Capital’s role in China’s Central Plain.

Whenever a disaster occurred, the cities, towns, and villages scattered across the North Valley would have to seek shelter from bigger cities. The same thing had repeated numerous times throughout history, so the new changes were necessary to ensure their survival.

However, it also meant the safe zone would be shrinking. The space available would be reduced, limiting the resources available to them. As a result, the Mages would have to carry a heavier burden on their shoulders!

As a matter of fact, apart from the North Valley, the cities along the coastline for over twenty thousand kilometers were undergoing the same plan of merging with other cities to form metropolises. The safe zone had already shrunk significantly while Mo Fan and the others were busy in the North Valley. Even Mo Fan was quite surprised when he heard the news.

—

—

“Everything was turned on its head in just less than a month, literally!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

They had no idea what was happening in the east while they were in the North Valley. They only received the news a few days after the battle with the Underworld creatures, while Feihuang City was being transformed into one of the main headquarter cities of their country.

“I bet Mo Fan still has no clue what’s happening?”

“There are side effects to using the Demon Element. We sent him to the Parthenon Temple right away. We have no choice but to rely on the Parthenon Temple, since we can’t really treat his injuries,” Lingling told him.

The Parthenon Temple purposely sent someone over to pick up Mo Fan. Lingling knew the person was Xinxia’s trusted subordinate, so she gladly handed Mo Fan over.

The rest of the group were close to full recovery after resting for more than ten days, but Mo Fan would most likely have to stay at the Parthenon Temple for a few months. First, he had to cultivate in seclusion, since his cultivation had declined after using the Demon Element. Second, the wounds on his face and the unbelievable injuries he got from the battle would take a long time to heal, even with the Parthenon Temple’s help!

“It’s a relief that Xinxia is there. Otherwise, Mo Fan would really be going to join the undead,” Zhao Manyan observed.

Zhao Manyan went to Greece when he left Baxia to claim his Blessing of the God’s Seal. Zhao Manyan knew it would improve his strength significantly, so he could not afford to miss out on the great opportunity. Normally, the Parthenon Temple would not give anyone the Blessing of the God’s Seal after they had missed it, but Zhao Manyan was able to claim it with Xinxia’s help.

Mo Fan did not find out Zhao Manyan was coming back with his sixth sense. He actually heard it from Xinxia, so he knew where to wait until Zhao Manyan showed up.

“Even my troops have been relocated to the east. I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly,” Zhang Xiaohou spoke up.

“Yeah, something so serious is happening in the East while we were busy with the battle here. To be honest, I still feel like I’m going to suffocate whenever I think about it. I wonder what Mo Fan will think when he sees everything has changed after he comes back,” Zhao Manyan agreed.

“Luckily, Chairman Shao Zheng insisted on carrying out the Threat-Elimination Strategy despite the disapproval from the other authorities. Otherwise, it’s impossible to imagine what’s going to happen…” Lingling said.

“Yeah, it explains why Chairman Shao Zheng is searching for the Totem Beasts. I’m afraid our country isn’t strong enough to face a calamity on such a scale,” Zhao Manyan nodded.

“Either way, let’s do our best,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Speaking of which, Feiniao City has also become a new headquarters, with Fanxue Mountain as a part of it,” Lingling observed, a bit surprised, after taking a look at the distribution of the headquarter cities.

“Let me have a look.” Zhao Manyan moved to see. Feiniao City had indeed become an important headquarters facing the South China Sea.

Fanxue Mountain was to the north of Feiniao City, with mountains in the west and the ocean in the east. Hangzhou Headquarters City was located to the north of Fanxue Mountain.

“It seems like Fanxue Mountain is going to change dramatically soon, too,” Zhao Manyan mused.

“Mm, I wonder if Sister Ningxue can deal with the pressure. Those in power will try everything to seize control of Fanxue Mountain, including the renowned clans. They will do anything to claim Fanxue Mountain as theirs,” Lingling said.

—

—

Greece, the Parthenon Temple…

Mount Shimmer was to the south of the Mountain of the Goddess, the best place to enjoy the spectacular view of the ocean. It was normally used as a recovery place for important personnel of the Parthenon Temple. Many young and beautiful women were proud of serving on Mount Shimmer.

The Mountain of the Goddess mostly consisted of women; it was many men’s dream to stay on Mount Shimmer!

In a delicate mansion surrounded by a few Flying Flower Trees, beautiful sparrows were enjoying the desserts left on the coffee table in a glass corridor. The soothing sunlight warmly lit up the surroundings. The rocks were shimmering like the waves on the sea. A few young women were giggling while chatting softly. It was like paradise!

Imagine waking up in a place like this, where happiness and soothing sea breeze would hit one in the face. The curtains drifted elegantly as one was enjoying the spectacular view of the sky and the ocean merging with one another in the horizon, and the pleasant scent emanating from the Flying Flower Trees.

“Is that so? The mister living here is the one that captured a Red Cardinal alive? But he looks so young?” one of the women whispered.

“Why would I lie to you? It’s real. He’s so impressive; no one has ever captured a Red Cardinal alive before!”

“That’s strange, he kept saying lewd things to us. He doesn’t look like someone impressive,” one of the women blushed.

“Ah, it’s the Saintess…”

“She’s here again.”

“Quick, we have to greet her.”

Mo Fan suddenly heard the women uttering respectfully in Greek. He did not understand them. However, they were chit-chatting in English just a moment ago.

—

Mo Fan slouched on the bench as he waited.

“You don’t have to follow me,” a soothing voice said, followed by a series of footsteps. They sounded like heels tapping rhythmically on the floor. Mo Fan could imagine the elegant legs wearing them.

“Massage my shoulders,” Mo Fan said, without turning around.

A pair of soft hands landed on Mo Fan’s shoulder. He squinted while enjoying it.

Why did he even bother trying to be a hero? Wasn’t it better to just enjoy his life here? Besides, Xinxia could easily support him. It was not bad to live off a woman…

“My legs are a little sore too, give them a little hammering,” Mo Fan ordered.

Mo Fan soon felt a warm hand touching his thigh on a sensitive spot. A surge of electricity went up his thigh. Mo Fan almost lost control of himself, and pounced on the little sheep he had long been interested in like a starving wolf!

“Are you tired of having this thing?” an alluring voice suddenly asked coolly.

Mo Fan immediately realized he had pounced on the wrong person. He quickly rose to his feet and looked at the woman with an awkward face.

“I’m sorry, it was a misunderstanding, I thought you were Xinxia,” Mo Fan lowered his head and looked at “Little Mo Fan”. He could feel a chill surging through it, as if a warm hand would pinch his manly part into pieces in any second. He believed Asha’ruiya was the kind of person that would do something like that!

“Does your Xinxia even wear heels? Do you really think I’m unaware of what your perverted brain is thinking? I’ll feed it to the dogs if you do that again next time!” Asha’ruiya blatantly flicked “Little Mo Fan” with her finger.

Mo Fan cried out in pain, but for some reason, the little guy was even stiffer when the woman’s finger made contact with it!

“Aren’t you going to tell the truth yet?” Asha’ruiya sat down and blinked her eyes in a seductive manner.

“Didn’t I already tell you? I sneaked into the Black Vatican and saw the Cold Prince alone, so I knocked him out and abducted him. It was as simple as that!” Mo Fan said.

“Are you treating me as a three-year-old, or are you treating the Cold Prince as a three-year-old?” Asha’ruiya clearly did not believe Mo Fan’s bullshit.

However, she was extremely curious about how Mo Fan had managed to capture the Red Cardinal alive.

The whole world was shocked when China’s Enforcement Union announced that they had captured a Red Cardinal alive. It could easily be called a historical moment!

It was definitely a serious blow to the Black Vatican. It also served as a great inspiration for those that were standing up against the Black Vatican. After all, no one had ever captured a Red Cardinal before, allowing the Black Vatican to grow and act recklessly!

“I’ve already told you everything. There’s nothing I can do if you don’t believe me. By the way, this is such a good place to cultivate. My cultivation has already recovered, and I can even feel a breakthrough coming. I’ve decided to cultivate in seclusion here for some time to improve my strength,” Mo Fan said.

“Humph, do you think you can just stay here as you please? Ye Xinxia has given up some of her benefits to earn you the spot. I bet you still have no idea what’s happening in the outside world, don’t you?” Asha’ruiya said.

“Well…” Mo Fan indeed had no idea.

He did not have a phone with him, and the place did not WiFi either, since it was used for cultivating in seclusion and recovering from injuries. It was secluded from the rest of the world, so Mo Fan had no idea what was happening in the outside world.

“Let’s trade; tell me what I want, and I’ll tell you what’s happening out there,” Asha’ruiya said.

“That won’t be necessary. I will know what’s happening once I’m done here.”

“What do you want then?”

“Sit on my lap and move yourself. I am honest when I’m gratified,” Mo Fan said shamelessly, while looking up and down at Asha’ruiya’s alluring body.

Chapter 1419 Convalesce and Cultivate

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Asha’ruiya’s eyes widened. Her pale face blushed alluringly.

Mo Fan was a little surprised by her reaction. Was she really considering his request?

Should he tell her the truth if she really sat on his lap and twerked?

“Brother Mo Fan, should I come back later?” a voice said behind Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s expression shifted right away. He turned around in disbelief. Xinxia had arrived without him knowing. The woman called Fiona was pushing her wheelchair, glaring at him with utter contempt. On the other hand, Xinxia’s face was gradually becoming prettier while remaining expressionless.

“Hehe…Sister Xinxia, I told you letting him stay is showing the wolf into the house. Look at how outrageous and bold he is! He’s been acting so shamelessly to me, let alone the maids that wouldn’t dare resist him. They too have good looks and outstanding physiques,” Asha’ruiya giggled like a little fox when she saw Mo Fan’s face freezing.

Asha’ruiya rose to her feet and left after finishing the sentence. Her seductive giggle was still echoing in the room.

Mo Fan immediately felt his balls hurting. He did not expect Xinxia to show up while he was fooling around with Asha’ruiya. What was he supposed to do now!?

“Hehe, Xinxia, I was telling her to treat herself at home,” Mo Fan explained with an awkward smile.

Xinxia was no three-year-old. She was well aware of what Mo Fan meant, especially after she had known him for so long.

“Humph, such a shameless man you are!” Fiona pushed Xinxia to Mo Fan’s side with a curse before taking her leave.

Mo Fan did not know how to explain himself. He looked at Xinxia’s face. Even though the girl usually wore a gentle and quiet look, Mo Fan knew her cheeks would swell slightly whenever she was mad. It was so adorable when she was still young, Mo Fan would sneakily kiss her on the cheeks.

However, Mo Fan believed he would most likely be rejected if he was to kiss her now. He might have to wait for quite some time before he could touch her again!

“Xinxia, your earrings are so pretty. Look at their shine, it’s perfectly setting off the redness on your cheeks and the perfect shape of your face…” Mo Fan believed he had to say something. He quickly came up with the compliments.

“Don’t you dare switch the topic!” Xinxia snapped.

“Alright, I’m sorry; I promise you I won’t flirt randomly with other girls again,” Mo Fan said in a serious manner.

“So you will still flirt with girls that you think are suitable and impressive as long as you are serious and have made up your mind?” Xinxia persisted.

“Mm? Since when are you so clever and eloquent? How did you know what I’m thinking? Tsk tsk, you’ve indeed learned a lot since you became a Saintess. You are smart enough to know if people are trying to take advantage of you!” Mo Fan complimented her shamelessly.

“I’m still angry!” Xinxia fumed.

“What is there to be angry about? I’m just fooling around, since I’m too bored. You do know there’s no Wi-Fi here. I don’t even have friends to bullshit with here. It’s normal for men to have lewd thoughts when they are bored. I didn’t even know what I was talking about, but I can promise you that I wasn’t thinking of doing anything!” Mo Fan swore.

“Does she come here often?” Xinxia asked.

“Who? Asha’ruiya? Yeah, she comes here quite often. Why do I feel like she has too much free time?” Mo Fan said.

“The Parthenon Temple is split into three factions now. One, consisting of mostly aged authorities, is following Izisha. Another faction has sworn loyalty to Asha’ruiya, and the last one is supporting me. The three candidates are on equal footing now. I believe it will stay the same until the next election,” Xinxia said.

“She’s not an enemy, but she isn’t a friend either; you do have to watch out for her still,” Mo Fan warned.

“Mmm!” Xinxia nodded.

Asha’ruiya was far more capable than Xinxia had expected, having managed to gather a lot of support after what happened to Izisha. Xinxia was still considered a newcomer, so Asha’ruiya ended up gaining a lot of support.

Xinxia initially thought Izisha was her only competitor, yet it suddenly turned into a three-way competition.

That being said, it was not necessarily unfavorable to her. She knew it was impossible for her to challenge Izisha with her current influence and wisdom. Asha’ruiya’s intervention had given her some time to catch her breath and prepare herself. She had taken some of the burdens on Xinxia’s shoulders away, giving her time to equip herself with knowledge and gather resources and connections.

“How is Senior Sister Leng Qing?” Mo Fan asked.

Lingling was very worried about her sister Leng Qing. The Cold Prince had been arrested. He would be executed after he was pronounced guilty, according to the official procedures.

Leng Qing was the one who had sacrificed the most in the series of incidents. Mo Fan really hoped she was fine.

“Her condition is now stable. She should be able to recover in half a year, but it will take a long time for her cultivation to fully recover,” Xinxia said.

“That’s good to know,” Mo Fan sighed in relief.

Xinxia pouted when she saw Mo Fan’s reaction. It turned out that staying at the Parthenon Temple was the right choice for her. Otherwise, there was nothing she could do apart from wait on her wheelchair if she was to return to the Magic City. She did not mind waiting, but she would prefer to be able to help instead!

“Didn’t you always mention Wang Xiaojun from Hangzhou to me? His situation is similar to Senior Sister Leng Qing’s situation. You can bring him to me after I’m done with Senior Sister Leng Qing. I should be able to wake him up,” Xinxia said.

“Really? That’s great!” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

The vicious Councilman Luo Mian had devoured young Wang Xiaojun’s soul, turning him into an empty soulless shell. His body was currently preserved by the Research Union of Hangzhou’s Magic Association. Mo Fan had always kept him in his thoughts. He would visit him every time he went to Hangzhou.

It would be the best if Xinxia could wake him up. That way, his Heavenly Eagle’s sacrifice would not be in vain!

Mo Fan saw Xinxia sitting quietly beside him after he recovered from his joy. She seemed perfectly normal, but Mo Fan could still see a hint of fatigue from her eyes. He immediately felt sorry for her. He said, “Isn’t it too harsh for you?”

Xinxia shook her head and said, “It’s actually very fulfilling to be able to do your best. It might be tiring to prepare for the election, but it can be very meaningful, too.”

“I’ll come visit you more often,” Mo Fan promised.

“Mmm, I’ll be very happy, as long as you aren’t dying every time you visit me,” Xinxia replied.

“Ugh…” Mo Fan awkwardly scratched his head.

—

—

The side effects of using the Demon Element were quite serious. Even though Mo Fan had collected enough Soul Essences to pay off the debt, his body and soul still suffered serious injuries from using the Demon Element too frequently.

Luckily, the Parthenon Temple was like his private garden. He could enjoy the best medicine, blessing, and Healing Magic as he wished. Otherwise, his cultivation would have declined more than just a level!

The strain to his body and soul for using the Demon Element was just unbearable. He had to refrain from using the Demon Element for a year or two, even if he managed to fill the Essence Orb!

Mo Fan would have to be more cautious if the Demon Element was not available. The Heresy Judgment Court was still waiting to put him on trial. If they ended up declaring his existence a heresy, he would have no chance of defending himself!

Mo Fan had recovered swiftly with the help of Xinxia’s Blessing Element. Since his cultivation was still too weak, he decided to cultivate in seclusion after he had recovered from his injuries.

Mount Shimmer of the Parthenon Temple was a remarkable place to cultivate at. It felt like the place had gathered the essence of the sun, the moon, and the stars. Any Mage would benefit a lot from cultivating here, regardless of their cultivation level.

Mo Fan was already in a rush to hunt down the Black Vatican after Little Loach had just evolved recently. He did not have the time to cultivate with a peaceful mind. Therefore, he had decided to utilize the perfect environment of the Parthenon Temple to improve his Elements. Even with Little Loach’s help, he still needed quite some time, due to the number of Elements he had!

Little Loach’s recent upgrade multiplied Mo Fan’s rate of cultivation fivefold. Mo Fan realized his rate of cultivation had slowed down after he achieved the Advanced Level. It was reasonable, since he would need a lot more resources as his cultivation progressed further. The Underground Holy Spring was no longer able to satisfy the needs of his Galaxies. If Little Loach had not absorbed the Totem Power of the Moon Moth Phoenix, Mo Fan had no idea how long it would have taken for his cultivation to improve again!

Mo Fan was planning to stay at the Parthenon Temple for some time. It would be the best if he could improve all five of his Elements to the third-tier of the Advanced Level!

In the past, it would take Mo Fan a long time to improve all five of his Elements to the third-tier of the Advanced Level, but was now possible now; his rate of cultivation was eight times faster with the sacred light of the Parthenon Temple and Little Loach’s help!

He would have needed at least a few years for all five of his Elements to reach the third-tier, but he might be able to do it in less than half a year now!

Once his Fire Element reached the third-tier, he would be able to merge with Little Flame Belle again.

Little Flame Belle was now at the peak of the Commander-level. Her strength would further increase after merging with him, especially if he could find a perfect Soul-grade Seed! He could not wait to see how strong his third Soul-grade Seed would be!

The Lightning Element was still Mo Fan’s strongest Element. The Blessing of the God’s Seal had doubled its base damage. Used together with the Lightning Tyrant, lightning spells that were amplified twelvefold could kill a Commander-level in an instant. He might even be able to invent a move comparable to a Super Level Spell after conducting the lightning through his own body!

Chapter 1420 Viscera Hunters

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s Shadow Element had improved significantly after he acquired the Fiendish Night. Mo Fan believed he could easily defeat most Advanced Mages when he recalled Bei Jiang’s Dark Swamp Domain and his ability to summon numerous shadows to flank his foes.

His Summoning Element had huge room for improvement, but it was not something he could achieve just by cultivating diligently. Lingling mentioned that a Summoner was able to sign a second Contract. They could also summon a real horde of beasts with the Summoning Gate. He could take on a hundred enemies on his own if he could afford to spend lots of time and resources on improving his Summoning Element!

The Space Element had unlimited potential, too. Mo Fan was unsure if he could achieve the third-tier of the Advanced Level of his Space Element within the time he had. The Space Element relied heavily on his mental strength, so he still had a long way to go!

The path of cultivation had always been an extremely boring process, a self-torture that required great discipline. During the first few days, every Mage had a strong urge to give up, but after they were immersed in the process, they would fully blend into their Spiritual World. Time would flow a lot quicker, and they would slowly experience the joy of exploring their Spiritual World.

Luckily, Mo Fan had long gotten used to the process. He was able to enter the right mental state quicker than most people. He was extremely patient, and knew how to think outside of the box, too.

He slowly peeled away the layers of the barrier. It felt like he was able to see further across the universe with every layer he stripped away. He was able to obtain more energy and different powers from the stars, too!

Mo Fan had learned something after reaching the Advanced Level; the Orbits, Patterns, Constellations, and Palaces used to align the stars were only the basics to casting spells. When a Mage’s control over the Element was strong enough to create a Domain and accumulate the energy particles of the respective Element, the Mage would be able to alter the form of the magic to achieve entirely different results.

It was referred to as the derivation of spells!

Normally, deriving a new spell relied heavily on the combination of Soul-grade Seeds and Domains, and how familiar the Mage was with their Stars.

When a Mage could easily construct a Fire Constellation mentally, they could easily manipulate the Fire Spell, too. A Mage that did not know how to invent their own magic was not worthy to be called a strong Advanced Mage. The more adept they were at aligning the Stars and drawing the Star Orbits, Star Patterns, and Star Constellations, the greater their control over the Element, allowing them to manipulate the Element and invent their own magic. It all came down to how good they were at controlling their Stars…

A Star Constellation consisted of three hundred and forty-three Stars, which intertwined to form forty-nine Star Orbits, and further combined into seven brilliant Star Patterns. However, a Mage had to figure out the quickest way to construct it themselves. Where should they start; where should they end; should they construct the Star Patterns simultaneously, or should they construct them consecutively? Different Mages had their own ways of doing it, their own habits, and their own preferences…

Mo Fan was able to cast Basic Spells instantaneously after he was able to construct Star Orbits with a single thought. He now had a new challenge; constructing a Star Pattern with a single thought!

Once he was able to construct a Star Pattern with a single thought, he would be able to cast an Intermediate Spell in an instant!

Mo Fan had upgraded many of his Intermediate Spells to the fifth-tier. Once he was able to cast Fiery Fist: Nine Serpents and Thunderbolt: Lightning Chains with a single thought, his strength would surely improve significantly!

—

—

To the east of Feiniao City, the Pacific Ocean…

The reefs that were visible every time the tide fell were no longer around. Sailors would use the reefs as reference points for their navigation. They would refer to the reefs if their navigation devices were not working properly.

“The sea level is still slowly rising,” an old Mage said helplessly.

Shao Yu was on the ship’s deck. She was wearing a tight outfit which perfectly displayed her alluring curves. The straight hair reaching her shoulders was perfectly set off by her icy yet beautiful face!

“It must be around here. We can only follow our instincts now,” a Water Mage replied.

“Look, there are things floating over there!”

“Steer the ship to it!”

The ship quickly headed for the area with the floating objects. Several heavily-festered corpses were swaying in the waves. It seemed like something had dug out all the organs inside the bodies, causing them to float on the surface instead of sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

“It must be the Viscera Hunters. Damn it, they’ve killed all the scouts we’ve sent out,” the old Mage grumbled furiously.

“Yeah, we obviously lacked intel on the sea monsters. We don’t know how big their army is, what species they have, nor do we know when they are going to attack.”

“We should leave at once. If the Viscera Hunters are roaming in this area, we might end up as their prey, too.”

The ship began to make its way back. There were strange movements on the surface of the ocean. Shao Yu frowned when she heard something. She told the captain, “Pick up the pace, something is coming.”

The captain immediately ordered the crew to sail at full speed without any hesitation.

—

The heavy pressure slowly dissipated as the ship bore away at full speed. The ship eventually returned to Feiniao City.

Feiniao City was still being transformed into a headquarters city. Construction was happening everywhere. Both the structures on the ocean and the appearance of the city indicated that the city was only making slow progress.

A commander quickly came up to the ship and asked, “How is the situation out there?”

“The Viscera Hunters found us. I feel like they already know we are planning to turn the city into a headquarters city. They are slowly gathering toward the city,” the old Mage reported.

“Don’t tell me they are planning to invade the entire coastline?”

“It’s too sudden. We would struggle to ensure the safety of the city with our current numbers, not to mention that the sea monsters are obviously under the lead of a Ruler. They are going to focus on the areas where we are building the defenses. We have already lost a few thousand kilometers of the coastline over the past few months. At this rate, every city in the East is going to end up part of the ocean!” Commander Huang Kun cursed.

“The rising sea level has allowed the sea monsters to move freely. Who would have expected the sea monsters to invade so suddenly? Chairman Shao Zheng made the right call when he insisted on carrying out the Threat-Elimination Strategy, yet the threat doesn’t cover just five thousand kilometers of the coastline, but the entire coastline in the east, from Liaodong to Hainan…”

“We must eliminate the Viscera Hunters. Otherwise, they are going to lead a huge army of sea monsters to us while we are building the headquarters city,” Shao Yu deduced.

“The ocean is their territory. Most of the people that are allocated here, including Commander Huang Kun, are land troopers. They are not good at fighting in the ocean. It won’t be easy to eliminate the Viscera Hunters,” the old Mage sighed.

“I think we should let Fanxue Mountain handle it. Wasn’t Fanxue Mountain reluctant to be incorporated into the military? If you insist on having your own say in Feiniao Headquarters City, you’ll have to do something impressive to convince us!” Li Ting of the Dali Clan broke in with a cold harrumph.

Chapter 1421 Pudong Sea

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport…

Mo Fan was wearing a pair of sunglasses. The young man who considered himself a handsome role model for the country was putting up a facade. He was worried that some teenage girls who were his fans would recognize him, bringing him some unwanted attention…

“Sir, we’ve verified your identity. You are not the wanted criminal we are looking for. You may leave now,” the guard saluted him and gave Mo Fan his passport back.

Mo Fan’s expression was extremely dark. He began to wonder if he was living in ancient times. Why did no one recognize him, after he had done so many shocking things?

It had been the worst day for Mo Fan. He initially planned to enjoy some time with Xinxia in the morning, but that old woman Tata had to come and disturb their private time. Furthermore, not only was he late for the flight, he was brought straight into a room to be interrogated after being mistaken for a criminal!

Seriously, have they ever seen such a handsome criminal!?

Mo Fan was too lazy to waste his time with the guards.

“Speaking of which, doesn’t the flight always go to Pudong? Why is it landing in Hongqiao now? The airport is so crowded,” Mo Fan grumbled as he headed for the exit.

“Are you referring to Pudong International Airport?” the guard asked.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan said.

“How long have you been away?” The guard looked at Mo Fan like he was an alien.

“Less than half a year, why? Did they relocate Pudong International Airport?” Mo Fan asked.

“That area has already turned into Pudong Sea. Even the biggest plane in the world wouldn’t dare to land in the area where Pudong International Airport was,” the guard informed him.

“What do you mean by that?” Mo Fan asked, confused.

“It looks like you really have no idea. The coastline is soon going to fall to the sea monsters. The cities will be devoured by the ocean, too,” the guard went on.

“Is it really that serious? I’m telling you, I’m not a fool, don’t you try to trick me!” Mo Fan blurted out.

The guard was amused when he saw how reluctant Mo Fan was to believe him. He did not argue any further, merely saying, “Feel free to go take a look yourself.”

—

Mo Fan was utterly confused as he made his way to the basement parking lot. Zhao Manyan had been waiting there for some time. He had a cigarette between his lips, had dyed his hair golden just like old times and wore ear piercings. He was well-dressed, and attracted a lot of attention when he stood beside his luxurious car.

“Look at you… aren’t you worried that someone from your clan is going to recognize you?” Mo Fan jibed.

“Which is why I have to go even more overboard. Get in, check my new ride out. Enjoy its beastly roar as it traverses the city,” Zhao Manyan replied, revving up the engine.

“I could enjoy a ride, let’s go to Pudong,” Mo Fan suggested.

“Pudong?” Zhao Manyan was stunned.

“What is it? Is the area off-limits?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’ll need a speedboat if you want to visit Pudong,” Zhao Manyan answered.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you mean, what do I mean? Have you been secluded from the world for half a year? I don’t believe you are the kind of person that doesn’t surf the Internet, read the news, or listen to rumors,” Zhao Manyan shook his head.

“That actually sums up how I’ve spent my time for half a year. I’ve only been cultivating. The Parthenon Temple doesn’t even have Wi-Fi, and mobile signals are blocked, too. I was living the life of a caveman,” Mo Fan replied.

“I won’t be able to explain it in a few words. I’ll bring you there if you really want to go. Let’s hope you’re ready for it,” Zhao Manyan rolled down the windows and slammed on the gas. He drove out of the carpark recklessly, triggering a series of angry horns.

——

Zhao Manyan got on the highway and drove at an insane speed.

Mo Fan felt refreshed when he saw the Magic City and its modernity after so long, especially after he had spent such a long time living on a mountain. Humans could not afford to live in nature for too long. The greenness, fresh air, and pleasant scent of nature were not as relaxing as the haze of the Magic City!

“Is this the way to Pudong?” Mo Fan asked when he felt something was wrong.

“We’re going to Baoshan, it’s safer there,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Safer?” Mo Fan’s thoughts were full of question marks.

—

When they arrived at Baoshan District, Mo Fan could already see the ocean in the distance from the highway. Something felt extremely odd to him.

“Something keeps bothering me,” Mo Fan said.

“It must be the ocean,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Exactly, I don’t recall seeing the ocean from here before. Why does it feel like the sea is suddenly so close to the city?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

“It’s because the sea level has risen,” Zhao Manyan said. He quickly shifted gears and overtook a car that was speeding, too. He raised his middle finger in the air, and since the roof was open, the other car could clearly see his action.

“The sea level has risen? Why would that even matter?” Mo Fan asked.

“Are you seriously that uneducated? The rise in sea level is a serious problem. A single meter is enough to submerge many islands across the world. If it rises by ten meters, do you know how much our territory is going to shrink? Do you know how easily the sea monsters could invade us now that they can move freely?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Oh, that sounds reasonable. So how many meters did the sea level rise?” Mo Fan asked. He sounded like he still had no idea how serious the situation was.

“Do you know why I’m not driving all the way to Pudong?” Zhao Manyan replied.

“How would I know? Maybe there’s a huge storm there. We do need a boat if there’s a storm… holy crap, are you telling me that Pudong is drowned too!?” Mo Fan suddenly realized what was going on after recalling what the guard told him.

“We have arrived. Take a look yourself,” Zhao Manyan drove into Baoshan Fortress.

Baoshan had already turned into a fortress dam over twenty meters tall. Mo Fan initially thought the walls were tall buildings that had joined together. He abruptly realized that they were the walls of a dam instead. The dam was separating the city and the ocean, with many alert Battlemages patrolling on the walls, as if they were expecting an attack.

The dam went along the coastline of Baoshan District and extended on to Yangpu District. It even connected with Hongkou District and Jing’an District!. The Huangpu River, which ran through the Magic City, had now turned into Huangpu Sea, connected with the East China Sea!

Chapter 1422 A New Layou

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Magic City was split into Puxi and Pudong, with the Huangpu River as the boundary. Puxi was the historic center of the Magic City, but Pudong had been developing rapidly over the years, and had become an important part of the modern city. It was like a new generator helping the city to develop at an insane rate.

Baoshan District was located at the estuary of the Huangpu River to the north of the Magic City, Shanghai. When Mo Fan looked down from the wall, he discovered that the other half of the land split by the Huangpu River, the land of Pudong, had completely disappeared. It was replaced by the gray-blue water of the ocean!

An entire landscape of remarkable size had disappeared just like that. Mo Fan would never have believed it if he did not see it with his own eyes!

“Now do you realize how terrifying the rising sea level is?” Zhao Manyan inquired bluntly.

Mo Fan nodded with a blank face.

Mo Fan initially thought the sea level had only risen by a little, so it was nothing worth mentioning. However, the truth was that every meter that the sea level rose was already quite terrifying. Most lands consisted of gradual slopes that slowly slid down into the ocean. If the sea level rose by a meter, a few hundred meters, or even thousands of meters of land, could be submerged. Countless islands would vanish, while peninsulas would end up becoming new seas and coasts…

“What happened? How did it end up like this all of a sudden?” Mo Fan blurted out.

It felt like he was in the middle of a dream. Half of the Magic City had been submerged just like that. What exactly had happened in the past half a year!?

“It was already happening when we were in the North Valley. It’s the reason why a part of the army was allocated elsewhere. The sea level has risen significantly, submerging the former coastline along the east. Almost every city was drowned, expanding the area that the sea monsters can be active in. If the land is submerged, we just needed to evacuate the people further inland. It’s inevitable, but the sea monsters are our biggest threat now. The coastline is no longer safe; we’ve allocated almost every land force to the coastline and are barely holding our ground,” Zhao Manyan said.

“But… the sea level wouldn’t just rise for no reason, right?” Mo Fan was still struggling to accept the truth.

“Some experts say that something serious and unknown has happened in the Antarctic and the Arctic, causing the sea level to rise crazily. However, the Antarctic is a forbidden area to us humans. Even Super Mages will most likely die there. We have yet to find out what exactly happened there… but we just heard that a Forbidden Mage from England has died,” Zhao Manyan said.

“But how?” Mo Fan was astounded.

Someone at the level of a Forbidden Mage had died…

“He died in Antarctica when he was searching for the truth… as a matter of fact, the Antarctic, Sahara Desert, and Bermuda Triangle are three forbidden areas we humans could go. Even the strongest Mage will have trouble coming back from them alive. It’s likely that the Forbidden Mage from England knew he had almost reached the end of his life, so he decided to go and seek the truth… but he still died in the end,” Zhao Manyan told him.

Mo Fan fell silent. He had heard about Antarctica from Pang Lai before. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s impressive lineage was said to have originated from Antarctica, but Mo Fan did not expect such a distant land to be the cause of the great disaster.

It was too sudden and too unacceptable!

“I had the same reaction as you when I first saw it, but I can’t help it. Despite how much I was struggling to believe it, despite how ridiculous it sounded, our territory has indeed been drowned by the seawater. The cities have become a part of the ocean. It’s not just happening in our country; other countries along the coastline suffered the same fate! Our country is already quite fortunate; Chairman Shao Zheng spent a long time preparing for the disaster to minimize the loss, but the Threat-Elimination Strategy that he came up with only covered five thousand kilometers of the coastline. Even he did not expect we’d be losing almost twenty thousand kilometers of the coastline…” Zhao Manyan murmured.

Mo Fan sat down on a rock. He needed some time to digest the information. It was already happening in the East when they were fighting the Black Vatican and the Pyramid in the North Valley. It was serious enough to leave anyone helpless!

“I guess I’ll try to accept it…” Mo Fan leaned against the rock and glanced at the vast ocean.

“By the way, how is your cultivation going? How many of your Elements have reached the saturation stage of the Advanced Level?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“My cultivation is as insignificant as a fart compared to the matter on hand!” Mo Fan grumbled.

“Don’t be so dispirited. Every Forbidden Mage at the top of the world has gone through our current stage, too,” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan always dreamt of saving the world when he was young. He was still proud of stopping the invasion of the Great Pyramid of Giza and capturing a Red Cardinal alive. He believed his contributions were enough for his name to be recorded in history.

To his surprise, Mother Nature immediately gave Mo Fan a slap to the face!

The layout of the entire world had changed when they were fighting the Pyramid and while he was convalescing at the Parthenon Temple. He felt he was about to suffocate when he realized how unfamiliar the world was to him.

“Even those that were enjoying their power peacefully in the cities are no longer able to rest easy. We don’t even know how many years this war between humans and sea monsters is going to last,” Zhao Manyan said.

“To be honest, I’m missing Mars. Earth is too dangerous,” Mo Fan replied with a wry smile.

Mo Fan lit a cigarette. It was strange how he was able to relax after taking a deep breath of the tobacco after learning the unbearable truth.

Zhao Manyan was planning to talk to Mo Fan about Feiniao City. He believed Mo Fan was still unaware of the plans to turn it into a Headquarters City. He believed it was necessary to explain things to the brainless Mo Fan, since it was going to multiply Fanxue Mountain’s value at least a hundredfold.

He was about to speak when he saw several men and women in streetwear approaching them. The man leading them was wearing a headscarf. His arms were exposed, revealing the tattoos on them.

The man walked up to Zhao Manyan and yelled fiercely, “Kid, aren’t you the one that gave me the middle finger!?”

The others behind him immediately gloated. Everyone in Baoshan knew their Brother Qiu’s temper. He would even berate someone from the military if they dared to step on his tail!

Mo Fan was smoking his cigarette on the side. He realized something when he saw the people hooting at them.

It did not matter how the world’s layout had changed, these brainless rascals would always be around, and were as reckless as usual!

However, he was quite relieved when he realized that the world still felt familiar to him.

Chapter 1423 I“ve Never Seen Anyone So Good At Bluffing

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The best remedy to the tightness in one’s chest is beating the crap out of someone,” Mo Fan murmured to himself, rising to his feet.

Zhao Manyan smiled. He casually lit a new cigarette while looking at the rather good-looking girl toward the back of the group with a perverted look. He was curious why a girl with an unworldly temperament like her would be hanging out with these lowly rascals.

Mo Fan did not use his magic. It was just a little brawl. He gave the man with the headscarf a punch to the face, stepped on the foot of the young man with a perm, and slapped a guy wearing spectacles in the face…

Mo Fan took them all out in just a few rounds. He felt a lot better.

He had to admit, if they had not shown up, he might have felt troubled and depressed for quite some time. Their appearance helped Mo Fan totally forget about the rising sea level temporarily. He was utterly grateful to them. They had reminded him that no matter how the world had changed, there were still a lot of idiots waiting to be trampled. There was still a lot of trash that he had to take care of, and a lot of girls waiting to be conquered… life was never better.

“You dare hurt me? Do you know who I am? Do you know I can ask someone to come and shove your car into the sea right now!?” Headscarf Man yelled. He was clearly not done yet. He even threatened to call for backup to deal with Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan went close to the ledge and threw a punch at the seawater.

A Fiery Fist gradually enlarged and roared with fury along in its path. It left an enormous hole on the surface of the ocean, evaporating the water instantly. The flames spread a few hundred meters further out, dying the sea blazing red!

The street racers were dumbfounded. Mo Fan’s punch could easily destroy a tank, let alone them, who were not even Mages!

“Err, brother, it’s been a misunderstanding. I was in the wrong first, everyone in Baoshan calls me Brother Haixian (Seafood). I am the founder of Seafood Street, please allow me to treat you the most expensive seafood here as a way to apologize…” The man’s attitude shifted immediately.

“Sounds good, I haven’t eaten anything since I landed,” Mo Fan nodded. He did not reject the offer.

“It’s my honor to treat a powerful Mage like you to a meal. It’s my honor…” Headscarf Man said with a forced smile.

—

Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan were pretty laid back. They did not bother rejecting Brother Haixian’s offer. It was in fact the best way for the street racers to resolve the conflict, as they were wondering where they should go to enjoy some delicacies. The man’s suggestion had solved their problem.

As a matter of fact, they did not have to worry too much about the situation, since the only thing they could do was to accept it. As for the fate of mankind… it was something the Forbidden Mages and the leaders of the country had to worry about.

After drinking some alcohol, Brother Haixin, who was named Lu Kai, had befriended Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan. Lu Kai was the typical kind of guy that bullied the weak and feared the strong. Mo Fan was not too fussy about what Lu Kai had done. He was quite satisfied with the meal that Lu Kai had treated them to.

——-

After Mo Fan ate his fill, he received a message on his phone. It was from Chairman Shao Zheng’s secretary. Chairman Shao Zheng had probably learned that he was back in the country.

He promised Chairman Shao Zheng to look for Totem Beasts to resolve the danger along the coastline. To his surprise, the danger had arrived so quickly, before he found the Totem Beasts. Even Chairman Shao Zheng was taken by surprise.

It was a relief that the country had such a reliable leader. Otherwise, it was difficult to imagine how much worse the situation would be!

“I’m done here. Chairman Shao Zheng is asking me to meet him. I’ll be going,” Mo Fan rose to his feet and rejected Lu Kai’s offer for more drinks.

Zhao Manyan, as expected, was conversing with the good-looking girl. He had no choice but to leave with Mo Fan too.

“Are you seriously going to drink and drive? Just come with me,” Mo Fan chided him.

“Where is the Chairman?”

“The Pearl Institute.”

The two rode the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and left in no time. The speed racers did not see Mo Fan Summon the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. They were just surprised to see that Zhao Manyan had left his luxurious car behind.

The good-looking girl was in shock, too. She was holding a car key in her hand. Zhao Manyan had asked her to drive the car back for him before he left. He did not even wait for a response from her. She had no idea what to do. Her heart was pounding heavily, looking at the luxurious car.

“Brother Kai, I’ve indeed learned a lot today,” the man with spectacles said.

“Likewise, I’ve never seen anyone so good at bluffing! Fighting an enormous tree demon, catching a Red Cardinal alive… did they even say Chairman Shao Zheng was asking for them? We might not be Mages, but that doesn’t mean we are idiots!”

—

—

Mo Fan arrived at the Pearl Institute. He was rather surprised when he found out that Chairman Shao Zheng had actually chosen to meet him at his place!

Mo Fan opened the door and took off his shoes. He immediately saw Mui Nujiao sitting on the couch, in a perfectly upright posture. She would normally have an elegant and noble temperament, yet she was clearly very nervous now!

She had surprisingly ordered food delivery, as she was too tired to cook herself. When she opened the door, she was shocked to see Chairman Shao Zheng with the takeaway food she had ordered. The chairman told her he stumbled into the delivery boy when he arrived, so he conveniently brought the food with him…

Mui Nujiao’s mind went blank for some time. She was utterly lost. She quickly invited the chairman inside and brewed a pot of tea for the leader of their country.

Mo Fan went in and realized Chairman Shao Zheng did not bring his secretary along. He had come alone.

“I actually graduated from here, too,” Chairman Shao Zheng smiled, as if he knew what Mo Fan was thinking.

“So you are our senior, then?” Mo Fan sat opposite Chairman Shao Zheng. He gulped down the pot of expensive tea that Mui Nujiao had just brewed, as he was feeling a little thirsty.

Mui Nujiao glared at Mo Fan helplessly.

“You’ve seen it?” Shao Zheng asked.

“Mm, I just did! I’m very shocked,” Mo Fan admitted.

“I miscalculated still…” Shao Zheng let out a sigh.

“You’ve already done a great job minimizing the losses. I doubt anyone from the Asia Magic Association will doubt you again. I bet your political enemy Su Lu is in a lot of trouble now!” Mo Fan pointed out..

Perhaps without Shao Zheng’s preventive measures, he might not have stumbled into the street racers today, nor would he have been able to enjoy takeaway food peacefully in his comfortable home. When everyone’s life was in danger, they would no longer differentiate between one another, since everyone shared the same goal of trying to survive!

“We could have prevented a lot of things if Su Lu hadn’t intervened… that prick…” Chairman Shao Zheng was angered as soon as Su Lu’s name was mentioned. He had the urge to tear the assh*** to pieces!

“It happened so quick, I wasn’t able to find the Totem Beasts in time,” Mo Fan sighed.

“You’ve already done a lot. The Prophet has told me about the Great Pyramid of Giza. I really don’t know how I can pay you back!” Chairman Shao Zheng replied.

Chapter 1424 Have Some Fun Being A Councilman

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mui Nujiao was listening to the conversation, but soon realized she had no idea what they were talking about.

The Great Pyramid of Giza?

Weren’t the Pyramids in Egypt? Why did they sound like the Great Pyramid of Giza had appeared in their country instead?

The incident related to the Great Pyramid of Giza had not been disclosed to the public. The evacuation of the people of the North Valley was described as an operation to relocate the people to the Headquarters City instead.

The people were already quite anxious after everything that happened. If they knew the northwest of their country was not safe either, the whole country would start to panic. They had already driven the Great Pyramid of Giza back, so the North Valley was now safe. However, they were worried that someone with malicious intent might be spreading rumors to disrupt the order of society. The authorities would struggle even further with preventive measures if the people were unwilling to cooperate.

Therefore, Chairman Shao Zheng had come to express his gratitude to Mo Fan in person.

He was already struggling to handle the danger along the eastern coastline. If a great disaster erupted inland too, where could the people be evacuated to?

“Even though the situation is currently under control after we sealed off the news, I’m afraid that people would lose all their hope if the invasion of the Underworld army was disclosed to the public. Can you please forgive me for not telling the public about it for now?” Chairman Shao Zheng sounded like he was pleading.

“It’s your call, it doesn’t bother me at all,” Mo Fan replied loftily.

Han Ji had revealed the truth about the Calamity of the Ancient Capital Institute during the World College Tournament, yet the people of their country still could not recognize Mo Fan. He was already utterly disappointed in them!

The King of Undead was controlling the undead of the Ancient Capital. The Underworld army was unlikely to return. Mo Fan was worried that the people that had gone through the Calamity of the Ancient Capital would lose their minds if the battle in the North Valley was disclosed. They were most likely going to suffer a mental breakdown if they knew two armies of undead were fighting one another in the North Valley, regardless of where they were from!

“We’ll disclose the truth about the Great Pyramid of Giza together with Egypt after we’re done setting up the Headquarters Cities,” Chairman Shao Zheng said.

“Sure,” Mo Fan nodded.

“By the way, you are the one that captured the Cold Prince alive. Do you want to interrogate him? We’ll be handing him to the International Court of Justice tomorrow. The Holy Judgment Court will be putting him on trial,” Chairman Shao Zheng said.

“Why would I bother interrogating scum like him? Just let the Holy Judgment Court hold on to him for some time and list all his crimes. Let’s use him to send the Black Vatican a message, and execute him on a fine day,” Mo Fan said.

It was necessary to punish an individual as an example to others. The members of the Black Vatican had been following the Red Cardinals blindly. They had even worshiped them, since their attempts to topple the world always went unpunished. Therefore, it was time to show the scum of the Black Vatican the fate of their beloved Red Cardinals when justice was being served!

“So you agree to hand him over to the Holy Judgment Court?” Chairman Shao Zheng asked.

“I guess so. They are the professionals, after all?” Mo Fan replied.

“I thought you would hold a grudge against them. I’ll let them know that you’ve personally agreed to hand the Cold Prince over, so they will owe you a favor. That way, they won’t trouble you again,” Chairman Shao Zheng said.

The Holy Judgment Court and the Heresy Judgment Court were constantly keeping an eye on Mo Fan, since they were weary of the Demon Element’s power. The Heresy Judgment Court wanted to put Mo Fan on trial. They might end up forbidding the Demon Element. After all, someone had to be accountable for the tragedy at the Parthenon Temple!

Mo Fan and the Black Totem Snake had killed a lot of people, too. Even though it had come to an end after they concluded it was a conspiracy by Mellaura and the Clergyman she had colluded with, Mo Fan was still guilty of his crimes.

After Mo Fan captured the Cold Prince alive, Chairman Shao Zheng believed it was necessary to hand the Cold Prince over to the Holy Judgment Court, since he knew Mo Fan was still awaiting trial. The Holy Judgment Court could use him to keep the Black Vatican at bay, and it could also get rid of the world’s doubts on the Holy Judgment Court’s capabilities. Most importantly, the Holy Judgment Court would turn a blind eye to what Mo Fan had done at the Parthenon Temple too. The Magic Associations of the Five Continents would no longer hold the Black Totem Snake responsible for the tragedy of the Parthenon Temple, either.

Mo Fan was not afraid of the Holy Judgment Court, but the Black Totem Snake’s existence had just been accepted by the world. Things would be troublesome if the Parthenon Temple or the Magic Associations of the Five Continents took him away. The Magic Associations of the Five Continents even had Forbidden Mages!

“There’s one more thing,” Chairman Shao Zheng said.

“Chairman, why don’t you just appoint me a Councilman? I’m just a representative of the national team…” Mo Fan grumbled.

“HAHAHA, it’s actually not a bad idea if you really want to be a Councilman. You have earned the support of a lot of people. Besides, I don’t think you will have any trouble becoming a Super Mage, either. If you could rule over a city, you would be ticking all the boxes. Should I just nominate you…” Chairman Shao Zheng burst out laughing.

“Please don’t, I’ve already gotten used to being a free man. Besides, didn’t you already assign me the important mission of searching for the ancient Totem Beasts?” Mo Fan waved his hand hastily.

Mo Fan had never wanted to be a Councilman. He just wanted to be a Mage that could come and go as he pleased. He would not mind lending a hand within his capabilities when the country needed him.

“I do think you’re close to meeting all the requirements. Do you have any idea how valuable your Fanxue Mountain is right now?” Chairman Shao Zheng smiled like a cunning fox.

It was not a bad idea to appoint Mo Fan as a Councilman. A lot of the Councilmen were less impressive than Mo Fan. He might be clueless about politics and how to manage and rule an area, but he could easily delegate these responsibilities to some other officials. The Councilman was just a symbol of office. Each Councilman could be responsible for different things.

“What about Fanxue Mountain?” Mo Fan asked with a confused face.

Mu Ningxue had always been in charge of Fanxue Mountain, so Mo Fan was utterly clueless about its current situation.

“I believe you’ve heard a thing or two about the Headquarters Cities?” Chairman Shao Zheng.

“Sort of; isn’t it just merging the tier two and tier three cities, and every town and village nearby, and placing them under some of the main cities?” Mo Fan said.

“That’s more or less the gist of it. The area that the sea monsters can move in has significantly expanded. The safe zone along the coastline has shrunk rapidly. A Headquarters City is a new layout that we are implementing for the cities along the coastline. The politics, economy, transportation, and military of these cities will be heavily impacted, but it will also multiply the worth of real estate within these Headquarters Cities a hundred, or even a thousand times!

“Your Fanxue Mountain is a part of Feiniao Headquarters City. The land there is spacious, with favorable terrain for defensive purposes. I believe a lot of people from the tier two and three cities, and the towns and villages nearby, will be moving to the Land of New Moon of your Fanxue Mountain,” Chairman Shao Zheng told him.

“So you’re saying that I’m going to make a fortune?” Mo Fan said.

“If you can manage your Fanxue Mountain well, considering your reputation at the Ancient Capital and your contributions after winning the World College Tournament and the damage you’ve dealt to the Black Vatican, you definitely have a great chance at becoming a Councilman,” Chairman Shao Zheng smiled.

Chapter 1425 Bosom Friend

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m really not interested in it,” Mo Fan shook his head.

If he became a Councilman, he would have to worry about the wellbeing of the country and the people. Most importantly, if he made the slightest mistake, it would be magnified and spread wildly. He would have to look after his image at all times and be a role model to others. Frankly speaking, Mo Fan was not that kind of a person. He was the kind that enjoyed teasing young women in broad daylight!

“I won’t force you if it’s against your wishes. I just don’t know how I can possibly repay what you’ve done for the country,” Chairman Shao Zheng did not press the issue. He felt apologetic if he could not offer Mo Fan something in return after everything that he had done.

“I didn’t do them because I wanted to get something in return,” Mo Fan stated.

Stopping the invasion of the Great Pyramid of Giza was proof that it was indeed possible for him to prevent a bitter and hateful tragedy from happening!

“I knew you would say that. A person that hopes to get something in return would never have determination like yours. Either way, I still owe you one. Feel free to contact me if you need anything…” Chairman Shao Zheng said.

“Sure, I shall gladly accept the Chairman’s offer,” Mo Fan nodded.

Despite that, he was most likely not going to ask for anything.

His hometown, the cities he lived in, and his Fanxue Mountain were all along the coastline. Chairman Shao Zheng had done everything he could to guarantee their safety. His stopping the Great Pyramid of Giza suddenly felt insignificant compared to what the Chairman had done. How could he possibly ask the Chairman for anything further?

He was truly a Chairman that deserved admiration!

“If there’s nothing else, I shall not disturb the reunion between you and your little girlfriend,” Chairman Shao Zheng rose to his feet. He gave Mui Nujiao, who was brewing more tea, a polite smile and headed for the door.

“We aren’t…” Mui Nujiao smiled and tried to explain their relationship.

“Oh, oh, I understand, bosom friends, the younger generations are quite open-minded nowadays, unlike us in the old times. We have been thinking too much. The truth is, it’s all about mutual benefits. I won’t be disturbing you guys anymore,” Chairman Shao Zheng said with a serious voice.

“…” Mui Nujiao was lost for words.

Even Mo Fan was completely dumbfounded. As expected of the Chairman, he was well aware of how the society was now. He even used the term bosom friends to describe it; how impressive!

“Ah, right, about the Totem Beasts… I’m asking you for a favor, before I could even repay your kindness, I’m so sorry about that,” the Chairman remembered as he reached the door.

“I’ll continue searching for the Totem Beasts. They are my hope for achieving the Super Level as soon as possible, too. It’s part of my own interests, anyway.” Mo Fan walked the Chairman to the door.

“Sure, I have high hopes in you, as always. Go inside, and safety first!” The Chairman closed the door himself. He did not give Mo Fan a chance to walk him out of Pearl Institute. He was planning to take a stroll around the school and enjoy its night view.

Mui Nujiao completely blushed. What the heck? Why couldn’t he act like a decent and proper Chairman?

——

The door closed, leaving Mo Fan and Mui Nujiao in the room. Ai Tutu had gone out for the night with her classmates. Mui Nujiao recalled the term bosom friend that the Chairman mentioned. She felt extremely uneasy after looking Mo Fan in the eyes.

“I have something to tell you. Ai Tutu and I will be moving away. Are you going to stay here?” Mui Nujiao asked while cleaning up the cups.

“You’ve decided?” Mo Fan asked seriously.

“I think it’s inappropriate for us to stay together. Besides, we’ve already graduated,” Mui Nujiao explained.

“It’s the typical scene where people break up after they graduate!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“What break up? It’s not like there’s anything between us, it’s just…”

“Living apart?”

“…” Mui Nujiao was left speechless again. Why did she feel like Mo Fan was able to take advantage of her the more she spoke?

As a matter of fact, Mui Nujiao did feel at home when she was here. She came from a huge clan; it had bigger houses and lands and more family members, but the bigger a clan was, the more disappointing it was to witness the infighting for power within it. Mui Nujiao felt at ease staying here. She never felt lonely with Ai Tutu by her side. Mo Fan would come back at times, too. He had always been a great motivator to her, and most importantly, she was happy whenever he was here.

Ai Tutu liked fooling around. Even though Mui Nujiao had to clean up her messes at times, she was still able to relax here.

Mo Fan was an interesting and reliable person, too. They were not really that close, yet they did not feel distant either, and Mui Nujiao wanted to keep it that way.

However, time was passing gradually, and everyone was heading in different directions. Some paths were eventually going to crumble, and once they did, it would mark the end of their days of living together as students.

“You don’t have to move,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm?” Mui Nujiao did not expect Mo Fan would want her to stay.

“Just treat it as an extra place to stay. You can come whenever you feel like having some fun or relaxation time, or when you miss us. You know that I’m not around all the time, so someone still has to live here,” Mo Fan told her.

Mo Fan did not tell Mui Nujiao that he had bought the unit. If she knew, she would insist on leaving to avoid rumors going around. How could Mo Fan not feel it to be a pity for his plan of keeping two mistresses in the splendid abode to be ruined? He would not mind just watching them, even if he was not allowed to touch them. Perhaps he might decide to be a scumbag one day, and he would need some targets to prey on too. Besides, the unit had great soundproofing, thus it did not matter how loud the girls screamed…(cough cough…)

“I still think it’s better to move out of here,” Mui Nujiao said.

“Don’t, I’m going to miss you two,” Mo Fan blurted out.

He would not let his two gorgeous flatmates run away!

“Move out? Who’s moving? Demon king, are you finally moving? Awesome, you are finally going to move out of here. I have been waiting for this day all along. I won’t have to worry about you peeking on us anymore, you didn’t even give us money after taking advantage of us. It’s such a great loss for Sister Mui and I!” Ai Tutu came in through the door. Her voice immediately filled the whole unit.

“Tutu, what the heck are you even talking about!? What do you mean he’s not giving us money!?” Mui Nujiao blurted out in embarrassment.

Ai Tutu was the only one who would wear revealing sleepwear in the living room. Mui Nujiao would rarely wear anything like that. She might wear some thin sleepwear, since it was comfortable to sleep in it, but she would only do so when Mo Fan was not around. Mo Fan might have seen her in them a couple of times when he came back suddenly, but she would go change right away. It was clearly not her problem!

“Demon king, you’ve occupied us for so long. We would have kicked you out of here if you weren’t paying the rent. Do you know how many men would want to stay with us?” Ai Tutu went on.

“Miss Ai Tutu, can you please talk after you’ve understood the situation? It’s your Sister Mui that wants to move away, not me!” Mo Fan said.

“Ah? Jiaojiao, why are you moving away? Did this pervert bully you? Did he go into your room and set up hidden cameras? Or did he cross the line even further and did something to you when I’m not around… ah, you son of a b**ch, Mo Fan, how could you do this? Why did you target her first instead of me? Don’t I have the hotter body!?” Ai Tutu started screaming.

Mui Nujiao almost dropped the cup in her hand when she heard those words. Mo Fan had his jaw drop, too. It took him some time to collect his thoughts.

“Tutu, what the heck are you talking about!? It’s not what you’re thinking. Besides, why are you even competing for something like that!?” Mui Nujiao was completely lost for words.

“I just thought it wasn’t fair; I’m a girl too, yet why do the perverts always target you even when my size is bigger than yours?” Ai Tutu protested.

Mui Nujiao felt like she was about to faint. Did Ai Tutu not realize Mo Fan was still around? It was fine if they were discussing this in private, but how shameless was she to say it right in front of someone else?!

Mui Nujiao was afraid that Ai Tutu would say something that embarrassed her even more. She quickly dragged the buffoon into her room. At this rate, she would have no chance of redeeming herself!

“Sister Mui, there’s no need to try avoiding rumors anyway. Everyone is already talking about how we are the demon king’s concubines. If you move away, they might think the demon king has driven us away because we are no longer as attractive. No man is going to be interested in us anymore!” Ai Tutu’s voice echoed in the room.

Mo Fan was utterly impressed by Ai Tutu. She had spoken everything he had in mind!

Tsk tsk, setting up hidden cameras in Mui Nujiao’s room… That did sound like a great idea!

——

Some time later, Mui Nujiao came back down to the living room.

She saw Mo Fan sitting on the couch, enjoying some tea. She hesitated for a moment before brewing a new pot of tea and bringing some snacks to the couch.

Mo Fan was immersed in his thoughts. His heart was filled with warmth when he noticed Mui Nujiao’s actions. He could not help but think how lucky the man that married such a gorgeous, elegant, and understanding woman would be… Ahhhh, should he just be a scumbag now? Why would he give such a nice woman away!?

“I think she’s drunk. She’s asleep now,” Mui Nujiao sighed.

If she really did move away, she would have to go separate ways from Ai Tutu. After all, she was going back to her clan. It was unlikely that Ai Tutu would be able to stay with her.

Mui Nujiao was like Ai Tutu’s sister and mother most of the time!

“Didn’t she choose to stay at school?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, I was offered a job by the school, too. Dean Xiao is hoping that you, me, and Zhao Manyan will take a position in the school. We can come and give the new students some lectures whenever we are back. The schools and institutes are playing an important role in raising reliable Mages under these circumstances… It’s time for me to think about the path I want to take, too. I’m hoping to visit more institutes and schools, and use my clan’s connection to build more magic schools in the Headquarters Cities,” Mui Nujiao said.

“You are thinking of taking the education path?” Mo Fan asked, curious.

“Mm, I can use the reputation I’ve earned from the World College Tournament. My clan is helping me to take hold of the opportunity I have, too… I’m not that good at doing business, either. I’m a Mage, not a businessman. I’ve thought it through recently, and it also happens that my clan has some connections in the education field…” Mui Nujiao poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip.

It was the path she had chosen, and she wanted to hear Mo Fan’s thoughts about it.

Chapter 1426 So What If I“m Being Shameless!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I think it’s a great idea too,” Mo Fan was actually quite surprised. He initially thought Mui Nujiao would choose the same path as Mu Ningxue, taking on the role of managing her clan and helping it grow, yet she decided to focus on education instead…

Magic schools…

Didn’t he graduate from a magic school!?

There were many schools in the country. If the education system continued to improve, if there were more resources available, and if they could focus more on discovering new talents, it would help the ones with great talents stand out more. Having an additional Forbidden Mage was game-changing for an entire country. Mui Nujiao would have the chance to keep improving her cultivation while helping other Mages with great potential to grow, too. They were most likely people with greater talents and more hardworking than them waiting to be discovered. Even one or two of them might be crucial in this era of turmoil.

The risen sea level had made the sea monsters the greatest threat to the survival of mankind. They would have to compromise their lands and territories for a long time, but if more powerful Mages kept joining them, they might be able to hold on until the storm finally calmed down. As for the natural disasters that the next generation would be facing, there would be new heroes rising when the time came. All they had to do was to protect the next generation. No matter how fierce the storm was, no matter how deadly the invasion of demon creatures were, they had to provide a safe environment for the young ones to grow at all costs, until the feathers of their wings were fully grown…

There were a lot of calamities in history that were referred to as apocalypses, yet the human race had still managed to survive until now!

As long as they did not go extinct, the day that the Headquarters Cities would be relieved of their roles would eventually come. They would be able to live in any land as they pleased. The entire world would be included in the safe zone!

“What’s wrong?” Mui Nujiao looked at Mo Fan. She was unsure what Mo Fan was thinking about.

Mo Fan had only given a brief response, but did not share any of his opinions. Mui Nujiao was feeling a little uneasy. She was eager to hear what Mo Fan had to say, and would seriously consider his opinions.

“Nothing, it just reminded me of something. The truth is, I actually graduated from a magic school. I’m really grateful for the people who invested in Tian Lan Magic High. Learning magic is no longer just a privilege for disciples of the renowned clans. Even a povvo like me had a chance to become a Mage!. Even though I have no idea who the people that invested in Tian Lan Magic High were, I do believe many people will be grateful for you just as I am. They might not know who you are, but you will always be considered their benefactor,” Mo Fan said sincerely.

Tian Lan Magic High had been a public school. There were quite a number of public schools across the country, but many of them were abandoned during the act of establishing the Headquarters Cities. They could live with less infrastructure, but they could not afford to have fewer schools. Mui Nujiao’s decision made Mo Fan realize that the people that could change the world were not Mages like him, who only focused on improving their own cultivation. No matter how outstanding their cultivation was, they would still find themselves helpless against natural disasters, even if they had become a Forbidden Mage! But the path that Mui Nujiao chose was different… Perhaps no one would know who she was, yet the things she did would change a lot of things!

“Is that so? I’m very happy if you really mean that. The things that I’ve done at school over the years have only earned some reputation for my clan, but I didn’t really think they were meaningful. It was only after became a mentor of the graduates with you that I realized a door was opening for me, and the world behind it is quite appealing to me, too!” Mui Nujiao seemed overjoyed. She was smiling broadly too, revealing her perfect white teeth. It was rare to see Mui Nujiao smiling like that. Normally, she would have high hopes in herself, knowing what her clan was asking from her.

“So it turns out that I’m actually the one that pointed you in the right direction. Dean Mui, do remember to mention my name when you’re being interviewed in the future, so I may bask in the light too!” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

“Seriously? Your reputation has already exceeded some of the Councilmen. I think I might even need to borrow your identity as the strongest participant in the World College Tournament instead. You will be a great role model for the students,” Mui Nujiao said.

“My pleasure!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan stared at Mui Nujiao. He realized how charming her smile was when she was talking about her plans. She was displaying a unique charm he had never seen before. Even the pleasant scent she had was a lot more alluring.

A person would become a lot more attractive when their eyes were brimming with a glow that belonged only to them. In the past, Mui Nujiao had been strictly following rules and the perfect model that she had imagined herself to be, based on the clan’s hopes for her. However, she had found her destiny, her own role. She had figured out her own strengths and flaws. She was still obeying her clan, while fulfilling the call of her destiny…

“Thank you,” Mui Nujiao said after a slight hesitation.

“What for? I didn’t do anything,” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“Your approval is the best support I could ask for,” Mui Nujiao said firmly.

“It seems like there are people that aren’t fond of your decision?” Mo Fan asked slowly.

“There always will be, but now that I’ve made up my mind, I’ll try my best to convince them,” Mui Nujiao replied.

“So you’re still going to move away? If this is the path you’ve chosen, you will be coming to Pearl Institute quite often. It’s the best place to start. Otherwise, the reputation you’ve built in Pearl Institute is going to be wasted,” Mo Fan told her.

“Actually, I’m already inspecting some other units,” Mui Nujiao said softly.

“Then just stay here instead, why make it a hassle for yourself? Who cares what the others say? You just need to focus on your work. You might actually make a difference to the current situation we are in… the others can just gossip as they please!”

Mo Fan roughly understood why Mui Nujiao was thinking of moving away. Screw it, they were only in their twenties! Most people were already having abortions and messed-up affairs at their age. He had been contributing so much to the country, so what if he was being selfish and shameless for once!? It was not like he was going around stealing their rice or flirting with their wives!

“Mm…” Mui Nujiao answered. She lifted her gaze and looked at Mo Fan’s cup. She asked, “You want some more?”

“Sure, it definitely feels more comfortable to be lying at home!” Mo Fan slouched in the couch and let out a relieved sigh.

Mui Nujiao still had no idea what Mo Fan had been through recently, but the fact that the Chairman had come to visit him in person and their conversation clearly indicated that Mo Fan had done something very impressive.

Mui Nujiao did not ask; Mo Fan would tell her if he felt like it. Why would she bother making him recall the tough times while he was enjoying himself some peaceful moments?

However, Mui Nujiao noticed that Mo Fan’s temperament had changed significantly, something that she had only felt from people like Chairman Shao Zheng…

Chapter 1427 Tyrant Flame Cave

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was just about to discuss Mui Nujiao’s plan when he heard an adorable sound coming from her stomach.

It was extremely soft, yet Mo Fan’s hearing was impressive enough to pick it up.

Mo Fan looked at the takeaway food that had already gone cold before glancing at Mui Nujiao, who was blushing a little. He burst out laughing and said, “Come, let’s grab some supper. You should look after yourself too; it’s not good eating takeaway food all the time. You can leave it for Ai Tutu, I bet she’s going to be starving when she’s sober and wakes up in the middle of the night. Let’s go grab something nice.”

“Sure,” Mui Nujiao was in a good mood, giving her a great appetite.

She rarely ate supper, but after Chairman Shao Zheng came over to talk with Mo Fan and she spent some time taking care of Ai Tutu, the clock had already struck ten. However, since she was in a great mood, she would not mind grabbing some delicacies from the night market…

——

The two did not hail a ride. There were a lot of great food places around Pearl Institute. They could easily head toward the city center on foot. There were quite a few places serving delicacies along the streets. Even though Mo Fan did not consider himself a foodie, no one would ever say no to nice food!

Little Flame Belle was already asleep, but she suddenly came out on her own when she heard the plan to grab some nice supper. She happily hung around Mo Fan’s neck and signaled Mo Fan that his little princess was thinking of having some delicious spicy crawfish.

Everything was the same when they arrived at the night market. It was as lively and bustling as usual, with the pleasant aromas from many foods lingering in the air.

They went to a diner that had been around for quite some time. Mo Fan ordered a few dishes and a few skewers of chicken wings. He started wolfing down the food while enjoying the unique aroma of grilled cumin from the diner.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan often came here when they were still in school. The chicken wings here were some of the best!

It was Mui Nujiao’s first time eating at the diner. It was easy to put on weight eating oily and spicy food. She hesitated for a moment, wondering if she should order something lighter.

“Try it, you are going to fall in love with the chicken wings here,” Mo Fan informed her.

“Sure,” Mui Nujiao waited for the food to cool down a little before eating at a slow pace. Unlike Mo Fan, who was wolfing down the food, Mui Nujiao slowly separated the meat from the bone before eating it. It was difficult for her to forgo her demeanor of a virtuous lady.

“Such a pity, Pudong is drowned now. There was a place with very nice crawfish there. Lingling introduced it to me; we would always have a feast there whenever we were done with a job,” Mo Fan sighed.

“So that’s what you’re pitying about,” Mui Nujiao giggled. She initially thought Mo Fan was going to express his compassion for Pudong, yet he was only bemoaning the fact that he could no longer eat the crawfish there.

“Humans don’t really take pity on a place, but the pleasant memories that they had in the place… Little Flame Belle, I’m going to smack your little ass if you dare eat my chicken wings while I’m talking again!” Mo Fan warned her.

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle cried unpleasantly. She grabbed the meatiest chicken wing and sat in a corner angrily with her back facing Mo Fan.

Mui Nujiao could not stop laughing. She immediately gave the meat that she had finished scraping off the bones to Little Flame Belle in pampering love. Little Flame Belle immediately betrayed her master and sat closer to Mui Nujiao.

“Little Flame Belle, why are you stacking up the bones?” Mui Nujiao asked with a confused face.

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle waved her hands around and even grinned fiercely to reveal her teeth on purpose.

Mui Nujiao was an expert in the “Beast Language”. She actually understood Little Flame Belle’s way of communicating.

Little Flame Belle was a very sensible little cutie. She had eaten the delicious meat off the chicken wings and left the bones for Uncle Wolf. She knew her Uncle Wolf liked to gnaw at bones.

Mo Fan’s expression darkened.

His pet wolf was a Flying Creek Snow Wolf that possessed a noble lineage from Antarctica. He was not a dog!

Besides, these bones were not even enough for the old wolf to fill the gaps between his fangs. He could easily eat a whole cow instead!

Mui Nujiao could not stop giggling again. The men nearby subconsciously peeked at her secretly.

Mo Fan was left speechless by Little Flame Belle too. He could not imagine how the wolf would react when Little Flame Belle happily gave him a pile of bones. If he dared to reject Little Flame Belle’s offer, she might even get angry…

“Stop drinking if you are already at your limit. It’s time to go back; you’re just embarrassing yourself here!” a well-dressed man scolded another drunk young man.

The man helped the drunk young man up and dragged him out of the diner. He handed the young man to a few others who were with him. They happened to walk past Mo Fan and Mui Nujiao’s table. The man came to a stop and frowned when he saw Mui Nujiao.

“Xiao Jiao, why are you here eating this junk!” the man exclaimed sternly. “And who is this guy? How many times did I tell you to come back to the clan and not waste your time with shady people like him?”

“Brother, he’s my schoolmate. Please take back your words!” Mui Nujiao retorted angrily.

“So what if he’s your schoolmate? Do you think I don’t know what people like him are thinking? Do they seriously think they can really establish connections with our clan through you!? Forget it, why do I even bother wasting my time here, I still have to bring this ashsh*** back.” The man seemed to be in quite a bad mood. He grabbed the drunk young man and left.

Mui Nujiao had an apologetic look. She did not expect to see her eldest brother here. “I’m sorry, my brother has always been an arrogant person,” Mui Nujiao apologized.

“It’s fine. He’s not wrong either; I’m indeed quite shady, HAHAHA,” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

“As if!”

—

—

Mo Fan went back to enjoy a comfortable sleep after he had his fill.

He still had to pay a visit to Fanxue Mountain. He was initially planning to go there right away after coming back to the country, but Liu Ru told him that Mui Ningxue was away, so he was not in a rush to go back.

Mo Fan had never treated Fanxue Mountain as his home. He was already used to living in the Magic City, and always felt something was missing in Fanxue Mountain. Besides, he had more resources and connections in the Magic City. Mui Ningxue was also busy managing her clan at Fanxue Mountain, so it was unnecessary for him to interfere with her business.

Mo Fan had yet to find himself a new Soul-grade Fire Seed. He believed he had a higher chance of finding it in the Magic City. He planned to visit Fanxue Mountain some time later.

Zhao Manyan could not afford to show himself at an auction, so Mo Fan had no choice but to go alone. It would have been easy for him to bid for a high-quality Soul-grade Fire Seed with Zhao Manyan’s help.

——

“None of them really got my attention, yet their prices are marked up to around eight hundred million yuan. They aren’t even comparable to the Lightning Tyrant,” Mo Fan sighed when he left the auction.

There were indeed Soul-grade Fire Seeds being auctioned off in the Magic City’s marketplace, but they either did not have a Domain (because they were refined with Fundamental Crystals), or their Domains were nothing impressive. They would not give Mo Fan any help, since he could easily utilize Little Flame Belle’s Domain.

Mo Fan was looking for a special Soul-grade Fire Seed that would work perfectly with his Fire Element, but it was extremely difficult to find a suitable Soul-grade Fire Seed!

“With twenty thousand kilometers of coastline being invaded, the price of every Spirit-grade Seed and Soul-grade Seed has risen significantly. Every city, faction, and renowned clan is crazily recruiting capable Mages to fend off the sea monsters. The market is short on resources,” Zhao Manyan explained.

“The one called Dunhuang Jade Fire wasn’t too bad. Its flames are pure and powerful. It’s five times stronger than a normal fire, and it also has a Domain that can set the area nearby on fire when the flames form a certain pattern in the air, inflicting extra damage on the enemy,” Lingling noticed.

“It’s quite special, but it feels redundant in my case. I already have the Calamity Fire and the Ardent Sunset. Both of these flames are brute-force types that maximize the damage of my Fire Element, including the Rose Flame I have been using for so long. It also amplifies my Fire Element by 2.5 times. It’s pretty straightforward…” Mo Fan said.

“Well, that’s just how your fighting ../style is,” Zhao Manyan observed.

“Not really, I just think the Dunhuang Jade Fire isn’t as impressive, yet it’s worth eleven billion…” Mo Fan said.

“You can just be honest and say that you don’t have the money for it,” Zhao Manyan said.

“…”

The prices of Soul-grade Seeds were too insane. Mo Fan was a little regretful that he did not look for a Soul-grade Fire Seed back when it was still affordable.

It was also harder to earn money now. Most of the jobs with high rewards were given out by the government and military, while private jobs would only pay around ten million each. How hard would he have to work to earn a billion if each job would only pay him ten million?

Mo Fan was seriously short on funds. As a man with six Elements, he would never have enough money to satisfy his needs!

“Speaking of Fire Seeds, it does remind me of something,” Zhao Manyan said. “I believe you have heard of the Dongfang Clan, right?”

“Yeah, a clan known for their expertise in the Fire Element,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Their clan has a Land of Heritage called the Tyrant Flame Cave. Every disciple of the clan will be put to trial in the Tyrant Flame Cave when they reach a certain level of cultivation. Many of the disciples have obtained extremely rare Fire Seeds from it. Mo Fan, your Fire Element is pretty strong, and since you can’t afford the Soul-grade Seeds on the market, I think you should try your luck in the Tyrant Flame Cave. Perhaps you can find yourself a suitable Soul-grade Fire Seed!” Zhao Manyan proposed.

“Does a place like that really exist?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Many old renowned clans have their own Lands of Heritage, especially those that are known for their expertise in certain Elements. Why do you think their disciples are always better at using certain Elements than the others? Do you seriously think it’s pure genetics?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Let’s talk to Dongfang Lie then; I’m his schoolmate after all,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s fine, but normally, it’s unlikely for these renowned clans to allow outsiders to enter their Land of Heritage. You can try paying the Dongfang Clan a visit and subdue any girl with a huge bust, round bottom, and slim waist that pleases your eyes straight away. I believe the Dongfang Clan will happily let you enter their Land of Heritage!”

“Am I that kind of a person!?” Mo Fan responded in an unpleasant tone. “She has to have a pretty face, soothing voice, slender figure, and good… ugh, Lingling, this conversation isn’t really appropriate for kids. You should enjoy your milk tea somewhere else for now.”

Chapter 1428 Pleasantly Getting Shot While Lying Down

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Dongfang Lie happened to be in the Magic City. To Mo Fan’s surprise, he was currently visiting the Mui Clan, and even mentioned that he was proposing a marriage.

Mo Fan was completely dumbfounded. Did Dongfang Lie just say he was proposing a marriage to a member of the Mui Clan?

Mui Nujiao never mentioned anything like that to him!

Mo Fan was not shameless enough to ask Dongfang Lie to pay him a visit after hearing that he was proposing a marriage to the Mui Clan. He decided to visit the Mui Clan. Dongfang Lie asked him to come over, too.

Mo Fan only realized Mui Nujiao had a pretty younger cousin when he arrived at the Mu Clan. It sounded like Dongfang Lie and her cousin were already in love with one another. Dongfang Lie was offering to marry her. It actually gave Mo Fan quite a huge scare!

Surely Mui Nujiao would have told him about it, even if Dongfang Lie wanted to marry her. She would not agree to stay in his unit anymore. Dongfang Lie clearly knew Mui Nujiao was his flatmate.

“You are seriously good for nothing; look at how messed up you are now for the sake of a woman,” a familiar voice came from the garden.

Mo Fan halted in his tracks and looked into the garden. He saw the same stern-looking man he had stumbled into last night scolding the younger man. The young man was lowering his head like he was nursing a great grievance.

“Brother Mui Hua, I came to the Mui Clan because of Mui Nuxin. Didn’t you and the clan master also give me your promise so I was willing to work like a slave here? But in the end, you’ve betrothed her to Dongfang Lie, just because he’s a substitute for the national team? How could you treat me like this?” the young man said anxiously.

Mo Fan took a closer look and recognized him as the young man who was absolutely drunk last night. Mui Nujiao had told him that the man’s name was Qi Shan, a great talent from the Imperial College. He used to be comparable to Mui Ningxue, and was nominated to join the national team too, but he was not selected in the end. His strength was most likely quite impressive. Mo Fan could sense an unusual aura from him. If Mui Hua’s presence was not so overwhelming, the young man would clearly stand out.

Mui Nujiao had roughly talked about his background yesterday. Mui Nujiao found him quite impressive. He had graduated from a normal magic high school just like Mo Fan, and had worked his way to the capital. His capabilities and wisdom completely stood out, even after he came to the Mui Clan.

He had greatly admired Mui Nuxin, who was just as pretty as Mui Nujiao. The two of them were referred to as the Two Gorgeous Daughters of the Mui Clan. Mu Nuxin was not a Mage, yet she was brilliant at managing the clan. She had recruited a lot of talents to aid the Mu Clan’s growth.

“If Dongfang Lie has come to propose to Mui Nuxin in such an official manner, it clearly indicates that the elders of both sides have agreed to it. Mui Nuxin doesn’t seem to oppose it, either…” Zhao Manyan said softly, half-disguised in a pair of sunglasses.

Zhao Manyan had to keep a low profile around renowned clans to avoid being recognized by the disciples. It was still not the right time to have an acrimonious falling-out with Zhao Youqian.

“Yes, we did promise you, but you failed to win Nuxin’s heart over. What can we do?” Mui Hua answered.

“What!?” Qi Shan looked shaken. “Bullshit, you and the clan master must be forcing Nuxin to marry him so the clan can establish a close relationship with the Dongfang Clan. Nuxin always puts the clan first; of course she would agree to it even if it’s against her wishes.”

Mui Hua chuckled after hearing the words. He said, “Mui Nujiao might be putting the interests of the clan first if she was in Mui Nuxin’s shoes, but you are well aware of Mui Nuxin’s temper and capabilities. No one except the clan master could possibly change her mind. So many people in the clan are under her command. She can easily decide her own marriage!”

“Impossible, that’s impossible… you have no clue about how it is between Mui Nuxin and me… that’s impossible; I’ll ask her, I’ll ask her in person!” Qi Shan seemed a little lost, but the look in his eyes implied that he did not believe a single word from Mui Hua.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan exchanged glances with one another in disbelief. They were completely lost for words.

——

Qi Shan walked past a few courtyards and arrived at Mui Nuxin’s place. The structures in the Mui Clan were quite retro. Mui Nuxin’s room had a pond planted with water lilies in front of it. Qi Shan looked at the pond with a wry face before picking up his pace as he entered the room.

The elders of both the Dongfang Clan and Mu Clan were having a meeting in the main hall. Dongfang Lie was waiting patiently in the hall. Meanwhile, the other main protagonist, Mui Nuxin, had to shun the meeting, according to ancient tradition.

Qi Shan went upstairs and saw Mui Nuxin in an old-../style long dress embroidered with flowery patterns. It did not have any extra decorations, being simple yet otherworldly elegant!

Qi Shan stared at Mui Nuxin. The anger and doubts in his mind completely vanished, as all his emotions would just scatter like dispersing smoke whenever he was in front of Mui Nuxin, including his doubts toward her.

—

“Tell me, what can I do to change the clan master’s mind? I won’t let them betroth you to the Dongfang Lie. I can’t let you marry Dongfang Lie…” Qi Shan sounded helpless.

“You should think about it yourself,” Mui Nuxin answered calmly.

“But I really don’t know what to do. Everything I did since I came to the Mui Clan was to achieve my goal of marrying you, but it somehow ended up like this,” Qi Shan said.

“Then I guess you’ll have to learn to accept it,” Mui Nuxin replied.

The two heard footsteps downstairs in the middle of the conversation. Mui Nuxin looked at Qi Shan and said, “You should leave now, just drink until you are drunk like you’ve been doing for the past few days. Just forget about it, and forget about me. The truth is, you can fly even higher if you can forget me.”

Qi Shan stood there frozen. Mui Nuxin’s attitude was completely outside his expectations. He expected her to be going through the same pain he was, yet he did not see the slightest hint of doubt in her eyes or her expression. She was acting so indifferently, as if she had been long aware of the marriage proposal!

“Nuxin, didn’t you always ask me to introduce you to my friends from school? He happened to drop by today…” Mui Nujiao spoke up.

Mui Nujiao led Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan upstairs. They happened to see Qi Shan standing there with a blank expression. Mui Nujiao froze in the middle of her words.

“Err, we’ll come back later,” Mui Nujiao said apologetically. She could roughly tell what was going on here.

“Sister, it’s fine. You must be the eldest son of the Bai Clan, Bai Hongfei, I’ve long waited for a chance to meet you in person…” Mui Nuxin said.

Mui Nuxin looked at Mo Fan with a gentle smile. Mo Fan was utterly dazzled by the alluring yet conservative look in her eyes. He could not agree more with the nickname the Two Gorgeous Daughters of the Mu Clan. Mui Nuxin was a great beauty too, and her charm was completely different from Mui Nujiao’s!

“Oh, he’s not Bai…” Mui Nujiao was just about to explain.

Qi Shan suddenly took a step closer to Mu Nuxin and glanced at Mo Fan coldly. He said, “You don’t even bother talking to me, just because he’s the son of the Bai Clan? Or perhaps everyone in this clan is treating me like a dog that you can order around as you please and dismiss by tossing a bone to it!? Bai Hongfei, Dongfang Lie? Humph, to me, these guys that only manage to come so far with the resources provided by their clans aren’t even worth mentioning. They are no match for me, even if they were to fight me with all their strength!”

Mui Nujiao and Mui Nuxin were shocked. They did not expect Qi Shan to say such words. He was usually quite well-behaved.

Mo Fan stood on the side quietly.

Qi Shan’s situation was similar to his, but he had chosen his own path, while this man had chosen to join a renowned clan to marry the beautiful and rich daughter of the clan. He had actually done quite a good job. He had managed to stand out among the disciples of the clan…

“You’ve overthought it. I can decide my own marriage,” Mui Nuxin’s tone turned a little cold.

“So your decision is to choose someone with a better background? Or maybe you never considered someone like me at all. The affection you’ve shown, the things you did to look after me, the long and sincere conversations we had turned out to be my own wishful thinking!” Qi Shan replied furiously.

“If talking bad about me and describing me as a b**ch will make you feel better, you can keep going. I’m listening, and I won’t deny it. I have my own standard when choosing my spouse. For me, a person’s charm only plays a minor role. I find a man’s achievements and possessions more admiring. I actually quite admire you; you were more attractive to me than the others, but that alone isn’t enough…” Mui Nuxin replied blatantly, even when there were outsiders around.

“So you’re saying that even if it wasn’t Dongfang Lie, who’s a substitute for the national team, proposing to you today, but someone with a higher reputation, you would agree too?” Qi Shan asked in disbelief.

“Exactly! If you could be like Mo Fan, who was the strongest participant in the World College Tournament, and said you wanted to marry me, I’d go to the hall right now and tell the elders that I have a better option than Dongfang Lie!” Mui Nuxin replied.

Mui Nujiao gasped when she heard that. She subconsciously glanced at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was a little shocked, too. Holy crap, how was he getting shot while he was already lying dead on the ground? Then again, why did it feel so pleasant to be shot!?

Zhao Manyan tried his best not to laugh under the circumstances, but he just could not control himself. He immediately let out a few coughs.

“Err, Nuxin, please don’t say that…” Mui Nujiao blurted out. She was already feeling a little embarrassed.

“I’m serious. I just want to help Mr. Qi Shan here, who’s obstinate and self-centered, understand that if he has the right to fall in love with a girl like me, who was raised like a princess, I also have the right to choose a better and more impressive man! If that sounds disgusting to you, I would rather be a disgusting woman!” Mui Nuxin continued.

Chapter 1429 Kunlun Fire Mountain Range

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The words were clearly a deadly blow to Qi Shan. He believed he no longer had a chance of redeeming himself, regardless of how reluctant he was to believe it.

He went downstairs in low spirits.

Mo Fan observed Qi Shan’s back. He could not help but think how similarly he would react if he was still a young man.

As a matter of fact, Mu Ningxue was just like Mui Nuxin. A person’s charm was not necessarily the most attractive thing to them, considering the environment they had grown up in. They had to think about the person’s background, achievements, and the opportunities the man could bring to them. If being with the man was no different than being alone, what was the meaning of doing so? They had to think about their clan. How could they possibly forsake their close ones for a useless man?

That being said, the thing about Mui Ningxue that Mo Fan liked was how she did not give anyone false hope with her iciness. Mui Nuxin was the complete opposite. She was used to showing signals to those she admired. Her way of showing her admiration with her eyes when she misunderstood Mo Fan to be Bai Hongfei was completely different from Mui Nujiao’s sincere and polite demeanor at all times.

Women were indeed a very complicated species…

“I’m sorry this is happening,” Mui Nuxin said to Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan in an apologetic tone.

“Don’t worry about it, we are just dropping by anyway. By the way, I am…” Mo Fan said with a smile.

Mo Fan was just about to reintroduce himself when Mui Nujiao suddenly pinched him in the waist. The pain forced him to swallow his words.

Mo Fan was utterly dumbfounded. He turned around and saw Mui Nujiao glaring at him. She muttered with a voice that only Mo Fan could hear, “You are Bai Hongfei now!”

“…” Mo Fan smiled wryly. Why did he have to be that idiot now?

“I’m Zhao Xiaotian, I’m Bai Hongfei’s friend, Dongfang Lie’s schoolmate. We came to look for him, but he invited us over to witness this wonderful marriage,” Zhao Manyan was well aware of the situation, and introduced himself calmly.

Mui Nujiao giggled when she saw how Zhao Manyan was able to take on his role so quickly, as expected of Mo Fan’s friend with bad influence.

“You’re absolutely welcome here. The elders are in the main hall. Feel free to chat with sister and me here. We’ll head over after they are done… would you like some coffee or tea?” Mu Nuxin asked.

“Coffee.”

“Tea.”

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan exchanged glances with one another, with no intention of compromising.

Mui Nuxin laughed lightly in a soothing voice. She rose to her feet and said, “I’ll fix both of them.”

“Thanks.”

Mui Nuxin went to the other room, leaving Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mui Nujiao behind. A moment later, Zhao Manyan suddenly burst out laughing while slamming his hand on the coffee table. It felt like he was going to roll under the table laughing at any second.

“I’ve found myself a wife by just coming here. Jiaojiao, I should have paid a visit to your clan earlier!” Mo Fan raised his brows with a smirk.

“She’s just using it as an example; stop taking it so seriously!” Mui Nujiao rolled her eyes.

“It doesn’t seem that way! Mo Fan, why don’t you spill the bean when she comes back later. I can’t wait to see how mad Dongfang Lie is going to be!” Zhao Manyan was laughing so hard that he was panting heavily, trying to catch his breath.

“Don’t you dare!” Mui Nujiao warned fiercely.

“I’m not really interested in Mui Nuxin, but I wonder what the other gorgeous daughter of the Mui Clan thinks. If it’s the same for her, I don’t mind telling the truth,” Mo Fan said with a smile.

“Someone is going to drive you out of the house!” Mui Nujiao warned him.

“Seriously, why am I forced to witness the public displays of affection between you two?” Zhao Manyan slapped his forehead with a displeased look.

Mui Nujiao did not dare to continue the topic. She felt a little unnatural. Luckily, Mui Nuxin had returned. She had gladly brewed both coffee and tea for Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

“How has your sister been?” Mui Nuxin asked.

“Oh, she’s doing great,” Mo Fan said indifferently.

Zhao Manyan had already warned Mo Fan that Bai Hongfei’s sister was Bai Tingting. She had gone overseas for a long time. It had been years since Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan last saw her.

Mo Fan had just learned that Bai Hongfei was Bai Tingting’s brother…

“By the way, Mo… Bai Hongfei has been trying to look for a suitable Soul-grade Fire Seed. Nuxin, I heard that Li Xi and the others have found a fire mountain range in Kunlun Mountain’s Sun Ridge recently. Are there any Soul-grade Fire Seeds that the clan is thinking of selling?” Mui Nujiao asked as she recalled something.

Mui Nuxin was in charge of the clan’s business. Things like this would normally require her approval.

“Kunlun Mountain… your clan’s business extends pretty far!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“The Mu Clan (Mu Ningxue’s old clan) and the Zhao Family have monopolized almost every valuable and rare resource in the East, thus other renowned clans like us have no choice but to find another way to secure more resources from dangerous places. The fire vein in Kunlun Mountain’s Sun Ridge is not necessarily a secret anymore. It does belong to our Mu Clan, but we haven’t really started mining it,” Mui Nuxin told them.

“We haven’t started? Isn’t now the time that Spirit-grade Seeds and Soul-grade Seeds are needed the most? We are supposed to be mining the fire vein in Sun Ridge already, why haven’t we made any progress after so long?” Mui Nujiao asked, confused.

The Kunlun Mountain’s Sun Ridge was the best chance for their Mui Clan to improve its financial status. Mui Nujiao might not interfere with the clan’s business, but she would still hear a thing or two about the clan’s situation. They had lost a lot of businesses in Hai’an County because of the rising sea. Many renowned clans in the country were currently in a pinch. There were quite a few that had gone bankrupt, too.

The Mui Clan had been trying its best to find a new source of income. The fire vein in Kunlun Mountain’s Sun Ridge was obviously the best chance for them. The Mui Clan was working together with the military; if their clan could provide the military with abundant resources of the Fire Element, it would allow the Mui Clan to resolve the financial crisis earlier than the other renowned clans, potentially allowing them to become the most dominant clan in the country!

As such, Mui Nujiao found it difficult to believe that they had yet to make any progress. “Have you encountered some problems?” she asked.

The only explanation she could think of was the Sun Ridge of Kunlun Mountain was harder to excavate than the clan had first imagined.

“Yes…” Mui Nuxin nodded.

Mui Nujiao fell into deep thought. She looked in the direction of the main hall and suddenly realized something. She said softly, “So that’s the reason you’ve chosen the Dongfang Clan?”

“Sister!” Mui Nuxin blurted out.

Mui Nujiao realized there were outsiders among them. It was inappropriate to discuss it now, especially when Mo Fan was pretending to be Bai Hongfei. The Bai Clan was one of their biggest competitors in the Magic City.

“I don’t really mess with my clan’s business, so don’t worry about me. I’m currently focusing on improving my cultivation.” Mo Fan was pretty smart too, taking the initiative to explain himself.

Mo Fan had met Bai Hongfei before. He was only interested in becoming stronger. He did not really care about the matters of his clan.

“I’m feeling fine with Dongfang Lie; he’s putting a lot of attention on improving his cultivation too, while I prefer to manage the clan’s business. I believe we’ll do just fine,” Mui Nuxin said.

“I just think his mind doesn’t spin that quickly,” Mo Fan spoke up.

Mui Nuxin giggled and replied, “Isn’t that even better? I’m a stubborn person. If he’s not a quick thinker, I can make most of the decisions myself.”

Mo Fan gasped in disbelief. He did not expect Mui Nuxin to reveal her intentions so blatantly. She was basically saying that she was planning to use Dongfang Lie to control the Dongfang Clan!

“Can you tell us the problem that’s bothering you?” Mo Fan asked.

A fire vein had been discovered in Kunlun Mountain’s Sun Ridge. The fire vein could help a magic clan prosper greatly. The fire vein might be a sacred land of fire. He was in need of a Soul-grade Fire Seed, so there was a great chance that he could find a Soul-grade Fire Seed he needed in the natural fire vein that had yet to be excavated.

Mo Fan had read a lot when he was at the Parthenon Temple. He learned that some of the Soul-grade Fire Seeds that were serving as the natural sources of fire of a place were like infants. It was possible to carve them to give them certain Domains, effects, and powers. It was possible to modify the Soul-grade Seed’s attributes before they came into contact with the outside environment!

These Soul-grade Seeds that had yet to take shape were called the Primitive Soul-grade Seeds!

Mo Fan had been using the Rose Flame for a long time; it was not because he could not afford a new one or he did not bother spending the time to look for a new Soul-grade Fire Seed, but because the Soul-grade Seed he needed had to be compatible with Little Flame Belle…

First, Little Flame Belle had to be able to accept the Soul-grade Seed. Mo Fan only had to consider the Calamity Fire’s nature, but he had to consider the Ardent Sunset’s attributes, too. If the new Soul-grade Seed turned out to be a b**ch, and the other two Soul-grade Flames were not too fond of it, how was Mo Fan going to utilize its full potential?

Second, the Soul-grade Fire Seed had to be quite impressive. Both the Calamity Fire and Ardent Sunset were above average. If he bought a Soul-grade Fire Seed that was weaker than them, what was the point of getting a new Soul-grade Seed? Both the Calamity Fire and Ardent Sunset were flames that greatly improved his control over the Fire Element, allowing his Fire Spells to take different forms…

It was already difficult to find an impressive Soul-grade Fire Seed, not to mention how expensive it was. It was even more difficult to find one if he had to take its compatibility into account!

Therefore, Mo Fan had actually thought of looking for a Primitive Soul-grade Seed, but it was only possible to find one in a fire vein. A fire vein was even rarer than a burning mountain in a desert! It was unlikely that he could find one without a lot of connections…

To Mo Fan’s surprise, he had stumbled into the fellowship between the Mui Clan and the Dongfang Clan when he came looking for Dongfang Lie, and the two clans were planning to mine a huge fire vein!

A fire vein of such scale would most likely have a Primitive Soul-grade Seed. He just needed to merge the Primitive Soul-grade Seed with his soul, and let the Calamity Fire and the Ardent Sunset refine it slowly. He believed it would grant the Primitive Soul-grade Seed the most perfect Domain and effects he could hope for!

It was the exact Soul-grade Seed that Mo Fan had been looking for!

1430 The Talks Between the Clans

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Nuxin was just about to explain the details when someone came to invite them to the main hall. Mu Nuxin smiled and said, “I believe they are just about to discuss this matter. Mr. Bai, please come with us if you are interested. I believe you will understand.”

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan followed Mu Nuxin and Mu Nujiao to the main hall. Zhao Manyan dragged Mo Fan a little further to the back and whispered to him, “This Mu Nuxin is really something. Most people would be reluctant to share such important information with others. They would never bring someone else to such an important meeting, but she is treating you so sincerely to gain your trust. If you have dealings with her in the future, you will subconsciously choose to trust her…”

“Is that so?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“Brother, the renowned clans are also being restructured in the current circumstances. Any information is confidential. Mu Nujiao knows that we won’t bother to peep at their secrets, but Mu Nuxin has assumed we are disciples of renowned clans, and yet she still told us everything. She clearly isn’t stupid, she just knows how to manipulate us, and how to have dealings with you, the eldest son of the Bai Clan!” Zhao Manyan said.

“…I don’t really understand all these twist and turns,” Mo Fan sighed…

—

When both Mu Nujiao and Mu Nuxin arrived at the main hall, their beauty suddenly lit up the place significantly. The eyes of men who were on the verge of falling asleep glittered. They immediately shored up their spirits, and even their voices were richer.

—

“Why are you two… oh, it doesn’t matter, please have a seat,” Dongfang Lie said in a surprised tone when he saw Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan.

The two renowned clans were discussing important matters in the main hall, so the rest of the guests were expected to be enjoying some tea and desserts somewhere else. Dongfang Lie totally did not expect them to join the meeting.

However, Dongfang Lie knew that both Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan were not really considered disciples of renowned clans, so it did not matter if they heard their discussions.

“Congratulations, since we used to be schoolmates, I’ll recommend you something; it’s called Happiness 101. I believe you two are going to be very busy with matters of your respective clans, so I bet you don’t have any plans to have children yet. What I’m introducing to you is perfect; it only has a thickness of 0.1 millimeters. It’s so thin that it feels invisible, and you will actually realize how wearing it feels better than wearing nothing…” Zhao Manyan whispered after moving closer to Dongfang Lie sneakily.

Dongfang Lie was a little slow in his reactions. His eyes widened after some time as he said in a serious tone, “Are you serious?”

“Old Zhao, I bet that’s what your ancestors must be selling. No wonder your family has such a huge business, you also recommended the same thing to me…” Mo Fan added in.

“Hehe!”

—

While the three were discussing something totally unrelated, the elders with white mustaches seemed to be discussing other things with anxious looks.

Dongfang Mo was the representative of the Dongfang Clan. He looked at Mu Nuxin and said, “We are more than willing to go ahead with the marriage. My nephew is very fond of Nuxin, and I believe he will fulfill his role as a husband to her. We aren’t trying to shirk our commitment, but we did send someone to investigate the fire vein you mentioned. If I go myself, as a Super Mage, my presence will surely provoke the powerful beast at the Sun Ridge, but anyone below the Super Level won’t have a chance of enduring its overwhelming heat. It’s suicide!”

“If it was last year, when the East hadn’t drowned yet, we might still have a chance to hire some experts to drive away the powerful beast dominating the Sun Ridge. It’s unlikely we will be able to hire some experts now…” sighed the clan master of the Mu Clan, Mu Shan.

“Why don’t I go? I’m thinking of giving Mu Nuxin a gift too, so we’ll think of it as…”

“Nonsense!” an elder of the Dongfang Clan snapped.

How could they possibly let the successor of the clan visit such a dangerous place!

“The temperature at the entrance of the fire vein is comparable to the strength of a Super Level Spell. Even if someone manages to reach the bottom of its outer area, a Mage with a high-quality Soul-grade Fire Seed will still struggle to endure the heat in the outer area. Based on your suggestions, you’re asking a few Mages with Summoned Beasts of the Fire Element to do the job, but unfortunately, a few Summoned Beasts aren’t going to be able to complete the work that has to be done down there…

“Besides, we’ve also discovered Fire Elemental Spirits at the bottom of the fire vein. A few Summoned Beasts can’t really take them on. We have to send in a team of Advanced Mages, at least!” Dongfang Mo said.

“Then we’ll send a Summoner and his Fire Element Contracted Beast down with Space Element Scrolls to set up a Portal. The rest of the team will teleport into the place through the Portal and eliminate the Fire Elemental Spirits. Finally, we’ll break through the Fire Shell Rocks that are stopping us from digging further down…” Mu Hua proposed.

“The chance of that working isn’t high, either. The Summoner’s Contracted Beast is most likely going to die. In addition, Space Element Scrolls have always been scarce. The people that are teleported into the fire vein are going to find themselves in a furnace. The chance of them coming back alive is also very slim. If they fail to break through the Fire Shell Rocks, the whole team is going to die!” Mu Nuxin stated.

“Humans will die for riches, just as birds will for food. We can hire some Hunters and Mages to do the job. Someone must be willing to do it!” Mu Hua said.

“I say we should scout the place more. After all, we’ve only derived our plan theoretically. It’s hard to say what’s really going to happen down there. We can pay the money, but I’m just worried that the situation down there is a lot more dangerous than we expected. The people we hired are all going to die,” Mu Nuxin said.

“It’s still better than doing nothing. How much time have we wasted already? The Zhou Clan is getting restless, and the Mu Clan is wantonly annexing the smaller clans. Even the Dali Clan is soon going to rise above us. At this rate, our clans are going to end up in some remote places, awaiting our destruction when we’ve run out of resources,” Mu Hua said.

Both sides suddenly fell silent. The two clans were facing a financial crisis, and the Sun Ridge of Kunlun Mountain was their best chance at resolving it. Fire Element resources were always hot-sellers in the market. They were not as scarce as the resources for the Lightning Element, nor were they as abundant as the resources of the Earth Element and the Wind Element. The Fire Element was always in demand. Therefore, the fire vein at Sun Ridge wouldn’t just help them resolve the crisis, but it will also help them gain a firm foothold in the current situation!

The chance of survival for the people they hired to go into the fire vein was the least of their concerns when the survival of their clans was at stake. They would pay the money and warn them how dangerous the job could be. Whoever was willing to take the risk would accept the job. If no one was willing to go, they would increase the reward.

“We’ve already offered a very high reward, but the Hunters and Mages are not idiots. They aren’t willing to take the job no matter how much we are offering,” a man in his thirties informed them.

“How is that possible? Did someone leak the information!?” Mu Hua asked anxiously. He had purposely hidden some of the details when submitting the job. Many people should have been interested in it!

1431 Getting A Share of the Action

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Brother, I asked people to put down the details, too. It’s inappropriate to leave out the details for the job. Our clan would be put to shame if the families of the victims came and demanded justice,” Mui Nuxin said.

“Why must you always act on your own!? Why must you decide everything!? Do you really want to see the downfall of our clan!?” Mui Hua yelled at Mui Nuxin angrily.

The room fell silent. The people of the Dongfang Clan did not say a word.

They were all feeling helpless and ashamed. The fire vein was deadlier than they had imagined. Even their clan, known for their expertise in the Fire Element was struggling to come up with a plan. They could do a good job of excavating the fire vein and refining the ore, but everything was in vain if they could not find a way to clear the tunnel.

“If there’s no other choice, we can only choose from among the disciples of our clans. Let’s consider it carefully and come up with a list of names. Apart from the successors of the clans, every disciple can volunteer for it. To those who are willing to take part in the operation, we’ll take care of their family and pay them a handsome sum, regardless of the outcome. If the operation is a success, the disciples will be promoted to a member of the clan, and be treated as an elder,” Mui Shan proposed.

They had no choice but to give it a try. They could not just wait forever. If they could not hire outsiders to do the job, the only option was to do it themselves!

“Mmm,” Mui Nuxin agreed with the plan, too.

“I guess that’s the only choice we have…” Dongfang Mo sighed.

Both clans agreed to sacrifice their own clan members, in the end.

It was not necessarily sacrificing the clan members; it was voluntary. Their clan members would know how dangerous the situation was. If they were willing to risk their lives to help their clans overcome the troublesome situation, the clans would not mistreat them, either. The clans would not force them either, if they were not willing to take the risk.

“I’ll go!” a voice arose.

The crowd turned to the voice. They were eager to see who the courageous disciple was. The people who were invited to the meeting were mostly disciples that were closely related to the clan, including the successors.

“Qi Shan?” Mui Hua looked at the young man in astonishment.

The people of the Mui Clan immediately recognized Qi Shan. He was indeed one of the most reliable candidates for the job. The problem was, most Mages that had achieved his cultivation level were unlikely to volunteer themselves, considering the great risk involved.

“Qi Shan, are you sure about it?” the old clan master asked seriously.

“If it’s a success, I’ll be promoted to an official member of the clan, am I right?” Qi Shan asked.

“Yes!” Mui Shan nodded.

“Everyone in the clan has high anticipation for me, but that’s not what I’m looking for. What I want is the right to speak!” Qi Shan glanced at Mui Nuxin. He was like a completely different person compared to his miserable behavior just a moment ago.

Mui Nuxin remained silent. She knew her speech had provoked Qi Shan, but she was utterly shocked after hearing Qi Shan’s decision. Perhaps Qi Shan could soar even higher into the sky if she was not holding him down.

“I believe many from the clan will be willing to participate in the operation with you in charge,” Mui Shan said in relief.

Qi Shan looked at Dongfang Lie, who seemed to know Qi Shan was his rival in love. Dongfang Lie did not look too happy when Qi Shan was appointed as the person in charge of the operation!

“Err, can I go too?” Mo Fan asked.

“Humph, we aren’t that desperate to let a nobody join; you can wait until you graduate from Pearl Institute!” Mui Hua grunted. He had recognized Mo Fan as the shady schoolmate who was hanging out with Mui Nujiao the other day.

“Brother, maybe you should learn how to treat a guest properly first!” Mui Nujiao grumbled.

“Since when do you have the right to teach me how to behave myself? You’re a representative of the national team, yet you aren’t willing to do a single thing for the clan!” Mui Hua exclaimed harshly.

“Brother Mui Hua… he’s not a nobody. He’s Mo Fan, the strongest participant in the World College Tournament!” Dongfang Lie informed him.

Those words immediately attracted the crowd’s attention. Qi Shan stared at Mo Fan in disbelief, along with everybody else.

Meanwhile, Mui Nuxin gasped. She exchanged glances with Mui Nujiao, who quickly explained by whispering in her ear. She immediately blushed, and no longer dared look Mo Fan in the eyes.

“Seriously, what a coincidence it was…” Mui Nuxin was utterly ashamed. She was quite hot-headed before, so she simply used Mo Fan as an example. She never expected him to be present. Mui Nujiao did not make it clear, either. She totally thought their guest was Bai Hongfei!

“You’re Mo Fan?” Mui Shan and Dongfang Mo asked simultaneously.

“Yeah, I only came here to congratulate Dongfang Lie. I didn’t expect to stumble into your meeting. My primary Element is the Fire Element, and I happen to be looking for a Primitive Soul-grade Seed. I believe the fire vein you mentioned is likely to have a Primitive Soul-grade Seed, so I’m willing to try my luck,” Mo Fan said.

“Mui Hua, apologize to Mo Fan at once. Be mindful of your words next time,” Mui Shan immediately said sternly.

Mui Hua was so angry that blue veins were twitching on his face, yet he did not dare disobey Mui Shan’s order. He apologized stiffly before glaring at Mui Nujiao, as if he was putting the blame on her.

“Either way, Mo Fan is just an outsider. It’s our clan’s business. We won’t allow his Fanxue Mountain to intervene!” Mui Hua said after he was done apologizing.

“I think you all know what I’m capable of, and I have a Flame Belle as my Contracted Beast. If you’re willing to let me take part in it, we can discuss the details further. If you don’t want me to interfere with your business, I promise I won’t mention it to anyone else,” Mo Fan answered easily.

“What do you mean by that? You’re asking to get a share of the action?” Mui Hua grunted.

“Mui Hua, calm yourself!” Mui Shan warned him again.

Mui Nuxin hesitated for a moment before looking at Dongfang Lie, as if she was asking for his opinion.

Dongfang Lie was overjoyed. He did not expect his soon-to-be-wife would be willing to listen to his words so quickly.

Dongfang Lie was the one who had invited Mo Fan over, and was utterly convinced of Mo Fan’s capabilities. He said to Dongfang Mo, “Uncle, Mo Fan was my classmate, and we were also teammates during the World College Tournament. I’m very familiar with his strength. I don’t think anyone is a more suitable candidate than him… Besides, Fanxue Mountain is about to become a main district of the Feiniao Headquarters City. I believe we can consider working with them; that way, we won’t have to rely on the military so much!”

Even Mo Fan was dumbfounded by Dongfang Lie’s words.

Mo Fan was only planning to take part in the operation himself. He did not want to involve Fanxue Mountain, but Dongfang Lie seemed quite willing to cooperate with Fanxue Mountain. It was quite a surprise for him.

“I believe it’s necessary to sit down and discuss it,” Mui Nuxin said.

“I didn’t mean something so complicated…” Mo Fan was about to explain himself when Zhao Manyan stopped him by looking him in the eye. Mo Fan realized what Zhao Manyan was trying to tell him, and immediately shut up.

“How about this? Let’s focus on the marriage for today, and you can come to Fanxue Mountain as our guests some other day to have a tour around and check the place out. We don’t have to come to an agreement right away, but we can still keep in contact with one another. Fanxue Mountain was established quite recently. We might need the help of renowned clans like yours in many areas… Of course, if you aren’t willing to share the fire vein, we won’t pry into it either, but I believe Fanxue Mountain is capable enough to take on the job,” Zhao Manyan said on behalf of Mo Fan.

“Mm, that’s reasonable,” Mui Nuxin nodded.

Dongfang Lie nodded in agreement, too.

The elders clearly had to discuss the matter further. They exchanged glances with one another and smiled, agreeing to pay a visit to Fanxue Mountain sometime.

“It’s supposed to be a day of celebration. Let’s not waste our time on some serious matters. We shall let the young ones go have some fun, and the rest of us will enjoy some tea and have a casual chat here,” Mui Shan’s wife said.

“That will do!”

“Yeah, it’s a good day today.”

Mui Nujiao and Mui Nuxin led Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Qi Shan, and the others to another hall.

—

Back in the main hall, Mui Shan sat down closer to Dongfang Mo. The two obviously had no intention to leave the topic for another day. They immediately started discussing it again.

Mui Shan was the first to ask, “Brother Dongfang, what do you think?”

“Mo Fan has the extremely rare Flame Belle as his Contracted Beast. I believe the odds of the operation succeeding are extremely low without the Flame Belle’s help. Most importantly, Mo Fan is very strong, and the Fire Element is his primary Element! He’s even stronger than my nephew Dongfang Lie. Also, you know how reputable he is now. He’s even comparable to a Councilman. It’s a wise choice to cooperate with him,” Dongfang Mo replied thoughtfully.

“I think so too, and Fanxue Mountain is a fleshy piece of meat, too…” Mui Shan exclaimed.

“I’m not too familiar with Fanxue Mountain; you will have to explain it to me,” Dongfang Mo said.

“Fanxue Mountain has great potential, and it’s a fresh piece of land. It has unlimited opportunities, but they weren’t able to find any reliable business partners because of the Mu Clan’s intervention. The Mu Clan has been annexing a lot of the smaller clans to drive renowned clans that aren’t willing to submit to them, like us, away. We won’t have to be worried about what the Mu Clan thinks anymore. Why don’t we just cooperate with Fanxue Mountain instead?” Mui Shan said.

“But the Mu Clan…”

“Brother, do you really think the Mu Clan will give up on the thought of annexing us if we compromise?” Mui Shan said.

“They are a bunch of greedy assholes. They are clearly trying to eradicate every potential threat.”

“Exactly, if we don’t find another way under the current circumstances, we are seriously going to find ourselves heading for a downfall. Besides, the Mu Clan wouldn’t dare do anything reckless, considering how reputable Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue are. They would at most trouble Mu Ningxue a little, but they wouldn’t dare touch Mo Fan at all. We are working directly with Mo Fan. I won’t believe Mu Gong would bother troubling him if it’s going to ruin his reputation. Even the Mu Clan’s pet dog, the Dali Clan, is about to exceed us; it’s time to make a decision!” Mui Shan said.

Dongfang Mo hesitated for quite some time. He finally nodded and said, “I won’t let our Dongfang Clan become the Mu Clan’s dog!”

“Isn’t it the same for our Mui Clan, too?”

1432 Shameless Like A Dog

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The rear hall was hosting a modern party with a buffet. The alcohol was placed on an iced table. To the side of the hall were a grassy area and an indoor pool, a pleasing combination that perfectly suited the young people. The retro decorations in the previous hall were more suitable for the older folks.

“Mo Fan, even though you’re an arm-flinging shopkeeper who doesn’t really involve yourself with Fanxue Mountain’s management, you should always keep its well-being in mind, instead of just worrying about feeding yourself! Think about it; their biggest problem is excavating the fire vein, but they can’t afford to send a Super Mage into it because it’s going to provoke the formidable beast residing nearby. However, those below the Super Level are probably going to die if they dare enter the fire vein.

“You are interested in going because of the Primitive Soul-grade Seed, but your identity isn’t the same anymore. It’s going to be a great loss for you if a Primitive Soul-grade Fire Seed is all you get from helping them!” Zhao Manyan told him sternly.

“Hehe, I’m not really an expert when it comes to this. Luckily, the Young Master of the Zhao Family is around to give me some advice,” Mo Fan realized unabashedly.

Mo Fan was used to being unconstrained, so he believed it was reasonable to help the Mui Clan excavate the fire vein as long as he got what he wanted. After all, the fire vein belonged to the Mui Clan…

However, on second thought, he was indeed asking too little for the favor, knowing that a fire vein could help an entire renowned clan prosper!

“It’s mainly because you haven’t realized you are now the leader of Fanxue Mountain. Fanxue Mountain isn’t the same as before. Many factions are actually thinking of holding out an olive branch to us. Unfortunately, they are still hesitating, because the Mu Clan is constantly watching them. They don’t dare make it too obvious.

“On the other hand, the Dongfang Clan and the Mui Clan aren’t on friendly terms with the Mu Clan! It is important for the renowned clans to choose sides and join hands under the current circumstances. Fanxue Mountain is going to become the North Mountain District of Feiniao Headquarters City. It’s also the closest place to the maritime battlefield in the south. Every inch of its land is going to be as valuable as gold!

“I can swear on my manhood that those two elders are going to ask Mui Nuxin or Dongfang Lie to contact you in less than three days. It doesn’t even matter if they are going to pay Fanxue Mountain a visit. The truth is, they desperately need to cooperate with us… when the time comes, you can easily discuss the split of profit, and don’t bother agreeing if they aren’t giving this much,” Zhao Manyan raised three of his fingers.

“Are you serious? Thirty percent? Isn’t that asking too much?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

The fire vein was a huge gold mine. Mo Fan would not believe the Dongfan Clan and the Mui Clan would be willing to share thirty percent of its profit for no reason!

“Forget it, we’ll do Mui Nujiao a favor. You can ask Mu Ningxue to ask for twenty-five percent of the profit instead. We’ll take less, so they will owe us one. I believe thirty percent is within their acceptable range. They will agree to it without a doubt, but Fanxue Mountain is still lacking in many aspects. I believe we’ll need their help again soon. It’s better to go easy on them for now,” Zhao Manyan said.

—

—

Mo Fan relayed Zhao Manyan’s message to Mu Zhuoyun. Mu Zhuoyun initially answered the call with a displeased voice when he realized it was from Mo Fan. It was difficult for a man to have a good impression of a man who was going to take his daughter away, not to mention the conflicts they had shared in the past.

However, when Mu Zhuoyun heard Mo Fan mention the Mui Clan and the Dongfang Clan were interested in cooperating with them, his attitude changed entirely. He even had the urge to pay them a visit to discuss the matter right away!

The Dongfang Clan and the Mui Clan were reputable clans with formidable backgrounds. Mu Zhuoyun had long wanted to cooperate with them, but they never bothered to listen to him in the past. To his surprise, Mo Fan was able to make it possible just by being a busybody!

If they managed to come to an agreement, they were all going to be in the same boat!

“Xuexue is coming back late tomorrow. I’ll talk to her when she’s back!” Mu Zhuoyun was clearly overjoyed if he even told Mo Fan when Mu Ningxue was going to be back.

Mo Fan was thinking of visiting Fanxue Mountain, too. He decided to head over when Mu Ningxue came back.

—

Mo Fan departed for Fanxue Mountain the next day, but before he left, Mui Nuxin had already asked him to arrange a meeting. Mo Fan could not help but raise his thumb at Zhao Manyan. “Old Zhao, it’s such a pity that you didn’t choose to become an unscrupulous businessman instead.”

“What do you mean by unscrupulous businessman? It’s called being influenced by the environment. You would know if you grew up in a family like mine. The fact they contacted you on the second day implies that the two clans are in a worse pinch than I imagined. Mo Fan, are you confident in your visit to the crematorium?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Dude, it’s a fire vein!” Mo Fan grunted.

“Well, it’s no different than a crematorium for most people,” Zhao Manyan replied.

“I’ve looked over the information. It does sound quite terrifying, but I still don’t want to miss out on the opportunity, or else I will never find a suitable Soul-grade Fire Seed for the rest of my life,” Mo Fan sighed.

It was important to get a Soul-grade Fire Seed. Without it, Mo Fan’s hardware was nowhere near enough to support Little Flame Belle’s powerful system!

Having three Soul-grade Flames was going to improve Mo Fan’s strength significantly, too. There was no better chance than searching for a suitable Soul-grade Fire Seed in a fire vein.

“Then you should be careful…” Zhao Manyan said.

“What do you mean?”

“Of course I’m not going; what do you mean by what do I mean!?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“I see you as my brother, and yet you’re telling me you aren’t coming with me when I’m jumping into a burning pit? Should I let Guan Xixi know that a rather good-looking girl drove your Lamborghini to your place around eleven last night?” Mo Fan inquired.

Zhao Manyan’s lips twisted. He tried to argue, “What are you even talking about? She’s the girl that we met when we were drinking with the street racers in Baoshan the other day. I wasn’t able to drive after drinking, so I asked her to drive the car back for me.”

“I know, but I’ll let you explain to her instead. I trust that you didn’t ask her to go up to your place to have a drink, I trust that you didn’t open a pack of Happiness 101; I am well aware what kind of a person you are,” Mo Fan said airily.

“Mo Fan, you really look like a dog when you’re being shameless…” Zhao Manyan could only sigh.

——

In the end, Zhao Manyan was convinced by Mo Fan’s shameless badgering, admonitions, and outright blackmail to tag along on the adventure of Kunlun Mountain.

Mo Fan also told Lingling what he was up to. As he expected, Lingling immediately packed her belongings and came along like a little cotton candy. How could he not bring her along for something so dangerous and thrilling?

Mo Fan felt a lot more confident when Lingling was around. He did not really trust the plan that the two renowned clans had come up with. His life would be at risk if something went wrong.

—

Mo Fan realized how different Fanxue Mountain was when he arrived.

In the past, Fanxue Mountain consisted of uncultivated lands and barren mountains. No one would disturb him if he was doing something shameless in a random spot, but now there were roads and incomplete structures everywhere. The place was filled with concrete, steel, machinery, builders, urban planners, and lots of soldiers, traders, and Mages looking for opportunities…

The place was no longer lifeless; it was like a heart beating vigorously after fresh blood was injected into it from every direction!

Chapter 1433 Signal on the Ocean

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue had clearly made a brilliant choice when she decided to purchase the land. It went without saying that she was working very hard every day with the daily transformation of the city.

Fanxue Mountain was still considered private land. Mu Ningxue did not compromise, even when she was put under great pressure. In the end, the other parties, including the government, had to choose a gentler approach, and decided to cooperate with Fanxue Mountain instead.

Mu Ningxue had put in painstaking efforts to make Fanxue Mountain possible. When the place was still barren land, the government and the other factions had not provided them with any support or help. The members of Fanxue Mountain slowly cultivated the land and gave it a perfect skeleton frame. They would not allow the others to take it away just because it was now part of Feiniao Headquarters City!

The land belonged to Fanxue Mountain, but they did not mind cooperating with the government. Everyone was responsible for ensuring the safety of the coastline, but they would not allow the government to repossess the land!

——

Mu Zhuoyun had left to meet with the Mui Clan and the Dongfang Clan. Mo Fan had only come to pay Mu Ningxue a visit. He did not have to worry about anything else; it was not like he could be of any help.

Mu Zhuoyun had already come back by the time Mo Fan found Mu Ningxue, as if he was afraid Mo Fan would do something to his precious daughter when he was not around… even though it was true that Mo Fan had safety precautions readily available in his pocket…

“Basically, the Mui Clan has always been working with the military, but the Mu Clan is applying a lot of pressure to them, especially since the Mu Clan is in charge of the dam along the coastline. The Mu Clan has been buying the resources that the Mui Clan has been providing the military at an extremely low price. The Mui Clan is planning to rescind the agreement with the military, yet they are struggling to find another party with a large enough demand to meet their supply…

Mu Zhuoyun explained the results of the meeting to Mo Fan. “If we successfully reach an agreement and find a way to excavate the fire vein at Kunlun Mountain, they will focus on excavating the fire vein and sell the resources through Fanxue Mountain. The population of Fanxue Mountain is only going to increase by the day, and the South China Sea’s maritime battlefield is very close to us. There’s going to be a lot of demand for Fire Element resources. They are asking us to lower the tax, and they have offered to split the profit evenly. They will handle the excavation, logistics, manufacturing, and sales together with the Dongfang Clan.”

“What do you think?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“You guys can make the call. My only job is to clear the blockage in the fire vein. You are better at doing business anyway,” Mo Fan answered.

“Then we’ll proceed with it; we’ll still need to discuss the details with Mu Linsheng,” Mu Zhuoyun said.

“I will go around and have a look.” Mo Fan knew Mu Ningxue had lots of things to attend to. He would have to wait until she was free to enjoy some time with her.

Mu Ningxue looked after him and called out, “I’ll give you a call when I’m done.”

Mo Fan waved his hand and left Fanxue Villa.

——

Fanxue Villa was significantly higher than the rest of the immediate area. It used to be just a barren hill, but it was now full of green and trees. It also had a spectacular night view.

A few dizzy and beautiful little moths flew among the trees. Even though they were moths, their colors were brighter than butterflies. Mo Fan knew these little moths were Fanxue Villa’s sentries. They were not just at the villa; the little moths were scattered across the entire Fanxue Mountain as long as they were plants around. Fanxue Mountain had implemented strict rules, forbidding anyone from killing the moths. It was a private land, so those that entered had to obey the rules, allowing the little moths to coexist peacefully with the people that had moved to Fanxue Mountain to look for opportunities.

Mo Fan went down the hill. He could see a wide river coming from the direction of Yueyang Mountain. The meandering river flowed through the new city of Fanxue Mountain, with a few artificial bifurcations circling around Fanxue Villa. For some reason, the layout of the bifurcations looked familiar to Mo Fan…

The river originated from Yueyang Mountain and eventually reached the ocean. Mo Fan remembered the estuary was buttressed by two magnificent mountains. The river valley’s great depth and width was the perfect place to build a harbor connected to the new city of Fanxue Mountain. The riverways, railways, and highways could meet at the mountain to the east. It was rare to see terrain with such a layout. Most of the time, it was difficult to establish railways, highways, and riverways close to a mountain. Luckily, the valley between the Shuangdong Mountains was flat and spacious with access to the ocean. It was also possible to build a dam between the mountains to guarantee the safety of the river valley.

Mu Ningxue had chosen the land after putting the safety of their people first. It was located between cities to the north and the south, while its west and east were warded by mountains. Therefore, even though the land was barren and uncultivated, she still insisted on making it their territory. Now the land had become an important part of the coastline. Fanxue Mountain had already started constructing the sturdiest dam possible along the east coastline. It would soon be transformed into a maritime fortress. One could only say that her kindness and determination were finally getting paid back, after the Heavens had mistreated her for so long!

The current Fanxue Mountain was vigorous and brimming with life. Mo Fan could already see the outline of a new city. The city had covered the area from Yueyang Mountain in the west to the dam between the Shuangdong Mountains. New canals and roads were being added daily, like fresh blood that was continuously being injected into the city. Workers, businessmen, traders, Mages, and Hunters ha gathered in the city… the city might not have anything yet, but it would soon have everything. The people that moved in earlier might end up as the founders of the new city!

Bo City had become a military base. Apart from a few old residents, it had gradually lost its appeal as a residential city. Mo Fan rarely went back there, but his heart always felt empty when he did, as if he did not really have a place that he could call home.

However, Mo Fan felt great anticipation when he witnessed the changes at Fanxue Mountain. He believed that he would stand on a skyscraper one day, looking down at the blossoming city with a satisfied smile while admiring a place that belonged to him, a city that would feel like home to him!

Mo Fan recalled Zhao Manyan’s words. After seeing how busy Mu Ningxue had been, he realized he could not just live like a vagabond who only worried about feeding himself anymore. He should think about Fanxue Mountain’s well-being, even when he was not around!

—

Mo Fan approached the dam that was still under construction. He saw rapid movement along it, indicating that something must have happened.

“Viscera Hunters!”

“A ship of ours is surrounded by Viscera Hunters on the ocean. We have to provide them with backup immediately!”

A patrol leader went up to the dam and looked in the direction a Brilliant Light was fired into, but he could not see the ship that was mentioned.

“They are too far away from us. Damn it, how dare they ambush the ship in revenge while it’s on its way back! Such cunning creatures!” the patrol leader said.

Mo Fan went up to the dam when he heard the noise going around. However, he was told that only authorized personnel were allowed on it.

“Mm? Mentor, why are you here!?” a woman blurted out.

Mo Fan turned around and saw Cao Qinqin. Only Cao Qinqin and Bai Hongfei would address him like that.

“What’s going on?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s the Viscera Hunters, an extremely vicious and cunning species of sea monster! They are scouts for the sea monsters’ army, but they are also detestable killers at the same time. Lately, we’ve discovered that the Viscera Hunters are preying on our city. Sister Shao Yu put up a job request to hire a few squads of Hunters to annihilate the Viscera Hunters. They just signaled us that they are on their way back, but the Viscera Hunters have surrounded them just as they entered the safe zone. The Viscera Hunters that fled must have gathered some reinforcements and intercepted the ship on their way back,” Cao Qinqin said.

“How many are there?” Mo Fan asked.

“More than a thousand, according to the signal we’ve received. It’s hard to tell if we can gather enough people in such a short period of time,” Cao Qinqin was clearly a lot more familiar with Fanxue Mountain’s new city than Mo Fan. She basically treated it as her new home.

“I can’t fly, nor can I swim, but it sounds like they are in great trouble!” Mo Fan said anxiously.

Battling on the sea had always been a huge problem for Mo Fan. The ship was around five kilometers away from the land. How could he possibly make it?

“Mentor, I can bring you there, I’m a Water Mage!” Cao Qinqin said.

“Sure!”

There were not many Advanced Water Mages around. Cao Qinqin immediately jumped into the water with Mo Fan. The patrol leader also came with a bunch of Mages. He glared at Cao Qinqin and grunted, “Nonsense, do you think you can rescue them on your own? Don’t you know how deadly these Viscera Hunters are!?”

Cao Qinqin stuck her tongue out. She did not explain herself.

Cao Qinqin was indeed a brilliant student of Pearl Institute. Her control of the Water Element was very impressive. She was controlling a huge wave to carry them forward like a giant fish, heading for the dark ocean in the distance.

“Follow them quick, we can’t let anything happen to them!” the patrol leader, Tang Peng, shouted.

“Captain Tang, how did you manage to gather a team so quickly? You’ve already gathered six teams in no time!” Cao Qinqin turned around and saw five other teams following behind them.

Tang Peng was Cao Qinqin’s friend, and had great affection for the girl. He was appointed the captain of the patrolling squads of Fanxue Mountain when he first came to the barren land. However, as Fanxue Mountain continued to grow rapidly, his position also rose significantly.

Tang Peng was quite a powerful Mage. He was once a soldier, and had outstanding management skills. Mu Linsheng gladly left the responsibility of ensuring the safety of the Fanxue Mountain coastline to him.

“We are on alert at all times!” Tang Peng had a proud face when he saw the rescue team in great order. In the past, Fanxue Mountain’s patrol was like a sheet of loose sand, a bunch of vagrants, but they were now efficient and quick, like a troop of soldiers!

“Mentor, it looks like you won’t have to get your hands dirty this time,” Cao Qinqin smiled at Mo Fan.

“I’ll still come along;, I have nothing to do anyway,” Mo Fan replied.

Chapter 1434 The Advantage of Terrain at Sea
translated by xephiz

edited by aelryinth

the clouds were dark and thick. the rest of the ocean was in complete darkness, apart from the sos light that was flickering in the distance.

there were six teams and five ships. apart from cao qinqin, who was able to control a rapid wave and carry someone on it, the other water mages could only control the tide to increase their ships’ speed.

the rescue team had traveled a few kilometers. the light of the beacon at the dam faded into the distance.

the view of the ocean at night was not as stunning as some had imagined. the rescue team found themselves in pitch-black darkness, surrounded by strong winds and chilly water. it was like they were wandering aimlessly into an utterly terrifying abyss!

“why is the ship moving away from us?” the patrol captain, tang peng said.

the ship requesting backup was roughly five kilometers away. they had already covered a distance of around four kilometers, but they were surprised to see the sos light was still quite a distance away.

“perhaps the viscera hunters are dragging the ship away!” jiang shen, the leader of one of the teams said.

“then we should pick up our pace. it’s going to be very dangerous if they enter the deep ocean area,” tang peng said.

“deep ocean area?” mo fan asked. he was obviously an amateur.

“the sea monsters heavily rely on the seawater to move around. the deeper the water is, the greater the space for them to move around, thus allowing them to conceal themselves. their attacks might even be stronger there. we usually call the area with a depth of two hundred meters the shallow area; the area with a depth of two hundred to a thousand meters is called the intermediate area, and the area with a depth of one thousand to three thousand meters is called the deep sea area!

“the shallow area with a depth of two hundred meters is more advantageous for us. our spells are much more effective at this depth. in the intermediate areas, some of the bigger sea monsters will be able to move quite freely, posing a huge threat to us. as for the deep sea area, not only will the sea monsters be able to conceal their presence perfectly, thus making it difficult for us to estimate their numbers, they will immediately dive deep into the water whenever we are casting powerful spells. they will use the water as part of their defense; there is nothing we can do,” tang peng explained. he could tell that mo fan was not experienced with battles in the ocean.

mo fan recalled the east maritime fortress in tokyo when he heard tang peng’s words. it turned out that the depth of the water was an important aspect of battling in the ocean. he immediately took note of tang peng’s explanation.

“so if the shallow area is the most advantageous for us, the maritime battlefield is most likely going to be set in this area, too?” mo fan asked.

“of course! not every sea monster has the ability to walk on land, especially those that are enormous. even though the creatures that are a few dozen meters long could still swim around within a depth of two hundred meters, it’s like a huge whale swimming inside a narrow river. they have suddenly become obvious targets. it’s a lot easier for us to deal with them once their movement is restrained,” tang peng said.

it explained why the sea monsters had suddenly become humans’ natural foes when the sea level rose. mo fan was able to learn something that he had never understood after listening to tang peng’s explanation.

—

“i can see it, it’s just ahead of us. the ship hasn’t sunk yet!” one of the leaders yelled.

they kept going forward. they could finally see the ship that was giving out the sos signal after traveling for around three kilometers.

“secure the ship first,” captain tang peng ordered the squads.

the five squads swiftly split up and surrounded the ship. they were planning to set up a defensive perimeter around it.

mo fan and cao qinqin jumped onto the ship right away. they could not be bothered with the procedures. they wanted to see if anyone on the ship was injured.

the ship was very clean. there was no sign of damage. even though the ship was made of high-quality material to prevent the sea monsters from being able to smash it into pieces, it was still unreasonable that the ship was not damaged if it was attacked in the middle of the ocean.

“that’s strange, why isn’t there anyone on it?” cao qinqin said with a confused look.

mo fan quickly searched the ship, but he did not see anyone on the deck, the cabins, not even the bridge…

“are they all dead?” jiang shen who boarded the ship with his squad said.

“there are no corpses, no smell of blood; are we currently in the deep sea area?” mo fan turned around and asked cao qinqin.

“i believe so, the water is more than fifteen hundred meters deep,” tang peng said.

“did we come too late?”

“damn it, these filthy viscera hunters!”

—

mo fan went to the deck and observed his surroundings. he could smell something fishy on the sea breeze.

mo fan’s vision was limited, even though he normally had outstanding vision at night because of his shadow element. for some reason, he had an uneasy feeling.

“fire burst: rupture!”

mo fan tossed a ball of fire into the air.

the fireball reached a hundred meters in the air. the flames of the ardent sunset exploded at mo fan’s order. the fiery tongues surged wildly and scattered onto the surface of the pitch-black ocean like sparkling fireworks…

the blazing red light revealed countless eerie heads scattered across the surface of the ocean!

these heads had eyes, without the slightest shine to them. they were like eyes of the dead, belonging to a bunch of cunning carnivores that had been waiting for their prey for a long time!

mo fan was shocked!

a trap?

it’s a trap!

these sea monsters were using the sos signal to set up a trap by luring the humans away from the dam before surrounding them!

there were more than a thousand heads revealed by the light produced by the explosion, and there were a lot more of them outside of their range of vision. the light of the explosion had only revealed the tip of the iceberg!

unlike demon creatures, humans were intelligent. their wits had helped the human race not lose the prolonged battle against the demon creatures, despite being inferior physically. however, to mo fan’s surprise, the sea monsters were smart enough to set up a trap to lure them to the deep sea…

they were currently in the deep sea area that put the sea monsters at an advantage!

“we have to go, now!” captain tang peng yelled with an ugly expression.

“we have been surrounded…”

“my heavens, why are there so many of them!?”

“come up to the ship!” mo fan yelled at the rest of the rescue team when he sensed that something was not right.

these viscera hunters were tough creatures. mo fan had no problem fighting them on land, but he was currently in the middle of the ocean. even mo fan would struggle against them, unless they jumped up to him one by one!

Chapter 1435 Taking Advantage of a Weak Poin

translated by xephiz

edited by aelryinth

“ahhhhh!”

hearing a cry of agony, mo fan vaguely saw something grabbing the ankle of a man in short-sleeves in the light of the flames…

the man was a wind mage. his wind element was quite powerful, and the viscera hunters were struggling to drag him into the water. if a viscera hunter managed to grab onto him, a bunch of them would immediately pounce at him.

the man would have no chance of breaking free from the sea monsters when that happened, regardless of how impressive his wind magic was!

“da tong!” tang peng yelled.

the other team leaders immediately stopped tang peng, who was trying to lend a hand. jiang shen said decisively, “you can’t help him. they are going to drag you into the water too!”

“damn it, how did we end up in these filthy creatures’ trap!?” tang peng grunted.

just as everyone was watching the man in short-sleeves being dragged into the water, mo fan’s eyes suddenly flickered with a silver light. telekinesis encapsulated the man and dragged him out of the water like a strong, silver hand.

the man hovered above the surface of the sea, no longer sinking into the water. mo fan grunted and forcibly dragged the man into the air.

the pull of the monsters was so strong that they tore the man’s lower leg apart. fresh blood scattered in the air…

the viscera hunters only ended up with the man’s lower leg. they were enraged, as they were ready to tear the man into pieces!

the man endured the pain. the people nearby quickly gave him blood serums to replenish the blood he had lost, and the others used medicines to stop the bleeding, barely keeping him alive.

“thank…thank you!” the man retained consciousness, even though his face was extremely pale.

if help had come just a second later, his guts would have been torn apart by now. these savage viscera hunters enjoyed feasting on inner organs and intestines. losing a leg was nothing compared to the gruesome death that had been within inches!

“space mage, thanks for your help!” tang peng had a whole new level of respect for mo fan after seeing how he had saved the man’s life.

“protect the ship at all costs, don’t let it sink,” mo fan replied.

“what should we do now… we are the ones that have to request backup from the city now!” jiang shen began to panic.

the viscera hunters had definitely prepared the trap to ambush them. the light of the flames eventually dissipated, and their surroundings fell into complete darkness once again. it was difficult to tell how many sea monsters were surrounding them. they were eight kilometers away from safety, and currently in the deep sea, too!

“it’s my fault; i’m sorry, everyone,” tang peng apologized.

“enough talk, i’ll bring you all out of here,” mo fan said.

“how are we going to break through their surround? didn’t you see how many sea monsters there are around us…”

mo fan did not say a further word, just glancing at the sky. dark lightning began to flicker among the thick clouds. in just a few seconds, lightning began to rumble restlessly!

“protect the ship!” mo fan told the others again.

mo fan pointed his finger at the clouds. endless lightning bolts surged wildly in the air, thick and powerful. the lightning bolts tore through the darkness of the ocean sky under mo fan’s command and struck the water fiercely!

each lightning bolt triggered a huge explosion. a dozen lightning bolts blasted the surface of the ocean simultaneously. the overwhelming energy spread rapidly across the water. the viscera hunters were immediately caught by mo fan’s lightning with its twelvefold damage…

cries of agony rose from all directions. the viscera hunters around the ship did not stand a chance against mo fan’s destructive lightning tyrant. the lightning instantly disintegrated them, and their blood and flesh blended with the seawater.

the dazzling lightning and the burning smell of flesh left the rescue team in utter disbelief.

countless viscera hunters had died to the lightning. it felt like the danger had been resolved!

“what are you waiting for? let’s get out of here!” mo fan yelled at the crew.

the others finally reacted, quickly driving the ship to flee from the area. the water mages manipulated the waves to speed the ship further.

the lightning bolts did not stop; a whole bunch more of them kept descending from the sky. the spells that some of the intermediate mages had cast were nothing compared to the lightning. they all looked at mo fan as if he was a monster…

didn’t this guy only draw a lightning star pattern just now?

why was his intermediate lightning spell even crazier than an advanced spell? how was he killing those terrifying viscera hunters like if they were just a bunch of chickens?

“mentor, it looks like they aren’t viscera hunters,” cao qinqin observed.

“i agree, the viscera hunters aren’t that weak,” mo fan agreed, looking at the remains of the sea monsters floating on the ocean.

even though mo fan had never seen a real viscera hunter, he assumed the viscera hunters were as strong as the brutal sword death servants, a rather strong creature of the warrior-level. they sounded deadly too, so if such a great number of viscera hunters had shown up, even mo fan would have struggled to take them all out.

the sea monsters surrounding them had claws, smooth skin, and similar appearances to the viscera hunters, but they were clearly weaker. they could not even endure his lightning…

every creature below the warrior-level was blown into bloodspray as soon as they were caught by the slightest arc of mo fan’s lightning!

“we were panicking for nothing. we thought they were the viscera hunters. we were screwed if there were actually so many of them…” tang peng said.

it was too dark; the team had trouble getting a clear look at the sea monsters. they had panicked as soon as they had seen the overwhelming numbers of the sea monsters!

“even though these sea hook black beasts aren’t the viscera hunters, it doesn’t change the fact that they were trying to lure us into a trap!” jiang shen spoke up.

the sea hook black beasts were like the sea monkeys, being another species with overwhelming numbers. it was possible to find sea hook black beasts everywhere, whether it was in the cold seas or a warm ocean. their appearance was similar to the viscera hunters. it was very common to mistake the sea hook black beasts for the viscera hunters. many people had died after they had mistaken the viscera hunters for the sea hook black beasts!

“damn it, how dare they spook us! i’ll kill them all!” a leader of the rescue team yelled furiously.

“stop wasting your time on them. we must return at once…”

as the rest of the team was tossing their spells at the sea hook black beasts to vent their anger and frustration, a signal was suddenly fired into the sky above the new city. they could even hear the alarm from a great distance away!

“the city is under attack!” tang peng exclaimed, his face pale.

“damn it, did the viscera hunters really invade the city while we were away?”

Chapter 1436 The Concealed Viscera Hunters

translated by xephiz

edited by aelryinth

—

—

a huge bunch of blue moths was circling the southernmost area of the shuangdong mountains. not long after, a beautiful woman with moth wings appeared in the sky. she was staring down at the rising seawater…

“trying to pull a sneak attack on us?” yu shishi grinned.

several figures were moving restlessly in the water. their savage eyes were hidden in the water, but yu shishi had seen through their trick right away.

“go, alert the patrol squad!” yu shishi pinched her finger and summoned a speedy moth out of nowhere like a magic trick. the moth had a special glow that was visible from a certain distance away.

a patrol squad showed up soon. the figures in the seawater revealed themselves by coming ashore at almost the same time. the patrol squad had arrived without alerting the intruders.

“it’s the viscera hunters. these creatures are able to move freely on land without affecting their fighting capacity!” the captain of the patrol squad told everyone.

“wait a little longer, let them walk into my shadow trap.”

“my sinister spider trap is ready, too.”

the members of the patrol squad were whispering. it was a lot easier to take out the sea monsters after knowing where they were going to strike.

the moths were spread throughout the vicinity of the shuangdong mountains. the glowing moths were a sign that they had spotted intruders. yu shishi would relay the information to the patrolling squads so they could take out the intruders.

“there are so many of them!” yu shishi looked at the tiny glows in the darkness.

the construction of fanxue new city had been going very smoothly. the shuangdong mountains had stopped the icy tide from reaching the vicinity of the new city when the sea level rose. however, the sea monsters seemed to have great scouting ability. they could even analyze the behavior of humans!

feiniao headquarters city was an important human base in the maritime battlefield of the south china sea. a huge portion of the coastline, consisting of countless cities and villages, was drowned. the people desperately needed a new place to settle, so these detestable sea monsters would try everything to stop the construction of the headquarters city. they had finally carried out their first wave of attacks!

the attacks were quite cunning, since five patrol squads had left for the sea to rescue a ship. if the moths were not on alert at all times, the raid would clearly inflict great losses on fanxue new city…

the residents desperately needed a sense of security. if the viscera hunters managed to break through the line of defense and carry out a massacre in the new city, it would immediately fall to the bottom of the chasm, as no one would be willing to settle in a dangerous place where the sea monsters could invade so easily!

the viscera hunters were extremely cunning, too. it was like they knew killing the mages would not really make any difference. their goal was to disrupt the order along the east coastline and make the situation even more chaotic, since it would give them more opportunities to strike their enemy!

—

“what’s the situation?” mu ningxue beat her wind wings and landed nimbly on the dam.

“it’s the viscera hunters. the cunning creatures lured five of our squads out to the deep sea. we aren’t really sure about their situation for now. meanwhile, the sea monsters suddenly invaded us when we were short-handed…” lu jiang, who was in charge of the dam’s defense, informed her.

mu ningxue was shocked after hearing lu jiang’s report.

how were these sea monsters so cunning? it was like they were as intelligent as humans, judging from their approach!

was there an intelligent existence leading the army of sea monsters? it would explain why the sea monsters, who used to be a sheet of loose sand, had become so cunning, and how they knew how to invade strategically.

mu ningxue had dealt with sea monsters on numerous occasions, and could not help but feel that something did not seem right after seeing how the viscera hunters were carrying out their attack.

“no wonder so many cities had fallen. these sea monsters aren’t the same as the ones we’ve dealt with before. something doesn’t seem right at all.”

“it’s such a relief to have the moths keeping an eye out for us. otherwise, a few of the viscera hunters would surely sneak past our defenses while we were short on hands. if there were any casualties, our enemies would spread the news blatantly. it would ruin our new city that we’ve put so much effort into!” lu jiang swore.

“mm, let’s be careful,” mu ningxue let out a relieved sigh when she saw that the patrol squads had kept the situation under control.

she had spent a huge fortune setting up patrol squads recently to guarantee the safety of fanxue new city. it was all thanks to shao yu, who did not stop scouting the ocean, and had recently discovered the viscera hunters were planning to make a move. it was unlikely they could have recruited so many mages if they stuck to their initial plan.

“i wonder how the people that went out to the ocean are doing,” lu jiang said worriedly.

“i’ll check it out,” mu ningxue stomped her foot on the dam, summoning a white gust of wind that circled around her like ribbons. they slowly formed six pairs of elegant wings behind her as she glided down the wall…

mu ningxue soared into the air rapidly after her foot briefly touched the surface of the ocean. she maintained her altitude while flying swiftly into the distance.

—

—

the deep sea area…

a lightning bolt descended amid the darkness, blasting a huge spray of blood into the air.

the deck of the ship had already split open. the sea hook black beasts kept boarding the ship from both sides. their wriggling bodies were utterly disgusting to look at.

“look out, that one over there is a viscera hunter!” cao qinqin screamed.

captain tang peng turned around and noticed the creature’s back was a lot different than the rest of the sea hook black beasts. it did not have the same dull expression, but a fierce look in the eyes. even its claws were significantly sharper than the sea hook black beasts’!

tang peng was unable to dodge in time, and its claws left a huge cut on his stomach. the little hooks on the claws even pulled tang peng’s intestines out as blood splattered across the floor!

luckily, tang peng was an experienced fighter. he ignored the tremendous pain from his belly and swiftly ran toward the water curtain that cao qinqin had set up.

tang peng ran into the water curtain, which did not resist him. he was able to jump into it straight away, but the water stopped the viscera hunter that was aiming to take his life. the creature was extremely frustrated as it could not get any closer…

tang peng managed to save himself. his heart was pounding heavily.

they all thought the sea monsters surrounding the ship were only the weak sea hook black beasts. to their surprise, there were quite a few viscera hunters hiding among them. these creatures were trying to keep them here forever, by dragging them to the bottom of the ocean!

“hang in there, we are almost at the intermediate area!”

mo fan glanced at the injured. he was struggling to come up with a better plan.

the seawater was too restricting to him. he was unable to utilize his shadow element, fire element, or even his summoning element. otherwise, there was no way these viscera hunters could have ambushed them. mo fan could only eliminate the sea monsters that were blocking the ship’s way as quickly as possible, and leave the sea monsters that were attacking from the sides and stern to the rest of the team!

Chapter 1437 Danger Resolved

translated by xephiz

edited by aelryinth

an icy wind brushed their faces. a chilling mist descended from the darkness and froze the seawater when it touched the surface of the ocean.

it was not just a thin layer of ice. it was as sturdy as rock, and too thick for the sea hook black beasts to break through!

the ice covered a great distance, trapping a lot of the sea hook black beasts under the thick ice. however, the direction the ship was sailing in was left alone, allowing the ship to keep going!

“xuexue?” mo fan immediately knew who it was when he saw the ice.

mu ningxue’s nirvana ice domain was extremely effective against large groups of demon creatures. the frozen sea greatly hindered the sea hook black beasts’ movements, lifting a great burden from everyone’s shoulders.

“follow me!” mu ningxue stayed in the air while guiding the ship forward.

below the ice, a few viscera hunters seemed to have realized how much of a danger mu ningxue was to their plan. they quickly moved into mu ningxue’s flight path and suddenly sprang up into the air, breaking through the ice.

only the viscera hunters were capable of breaking through mu ningxue’s ice. they sprang into the air and surrounded mu ningxue, trying to take her out at once.

mu ningxue did not even glance at the viscera hunters. she continued to unleash the power of her domain to freeze the surface of the ocean. when the four viscera hunters were around ten meters away from her, their bodies starting freezing with every meter they traveled.

the viscera hunters finally reached a distance of five meters away from her, but they had all frozen completely. they fell straight down upon the layer of ice above the sea.

smash!

the four viscera hunters broke into bloody-hued pieces of ice. the rest of the viscera hunters shadowing mu ningxue immediately gave up on the thought, which would surely get them killed!

“i’ll keep an eye at the back!” mo fan yelled.

every viscera hunter that showed up at the front would die for sure with mu ningxue clearing the path ahead. the weak sea hook black beasts were trapped under the ice. they had no chance of breaking through the ice, regardless of their numbers!

the layer of ice had given mo fan a wide area to fight the sea monsters on. he swiftly went to the back of the ship and jumped onto the ice.

“take care of yourselves,” mo fan told cao qinqin and tang peng.

tang peng, jiang shen, and the others had witnessed mo fan’s strength. they did not to worry about his safety.

the viscera hunters were the only ones that could break through mu ningxue’s ice. mo fan soon noticed that many of the viscera hunters were striking the ice, trying to help the sea hook black beasts break through it.

mo fan immediately set his eyes on the viscera hunters. his eyes flickered as he grabbed a viscera hunter with telekinesis and tossed him into the air.

a lightning bolt struck the viscera hunter when it lost its balance and disintegrated it instantly into bloodspray.

a viscera hunter that was hiding under the ship suddenly appeared, swiping its claws fiercely at mo fan’s stomach.

“rebelling shadow!”

mo fan decisively consumed a commander-level soul remnant. the dark material materialized in the viscera hunter’s vicinity, a shadow that looked exactly the same as the viscera hunter, attached to the creature’s back!

the rebelling shadow had sharp claws, just like the viscera hunter. it tore the viscera hunter’s throat apart before it even knew what happened!

the viscera hunter’s blood scattered across the air as soon as it jumped up. jiang shen’s eyes widened upon witnessing it.

jiang shen was a shadow mage too, but it was his first time seeing anything like mo fan’s move.

“watch out!” cao qinqin yelled.

mo fan was behind the ship, where most viscera hunters were. these creatures preferred to use sneak attacks on their targets. they were now aware of mo fan’s outstanding strength, so ten of them decided to pounce at him at the same time!

these creatures had been hiding under the ice all along. each of them was in close proximity from mo fan when they showed up. even an advanced mage would die instantly under the circumstances!

“idiots!” mo fan grunted.

the dark material spread wildly. mo fan instantly consumed ten commander-level soul remnants.

the viscera hunters did not realize that the surrounding ice and water had been replaced by a black swamp the moment they broke through the ice. the swamp extended a few hundred meters…

ten shadows resembling the viscera hunters sprang out from the swamp. their actions were perfectly in synch, attacking under mo fan’s control. the viscera hunters in the air suddenly stiffened, before blood started jetting out from their necks!

the viscera hunters posed a great threat to mo fan only a second ago, but they all died horrible deaths in the blink of an eye. it only took the rebelling shadows a brief moment to eliminate their targets; not one of the viscera hunters managed to survive!

“such…such a remarkable power of the shadow element!” jiang shen was lost in thought.

he never expected the shadow element to be so deadly and imperious. the viscera hunters might not even realize how they had died!

—

mu ningxue was clearing the path ahead while mo fan was protecting the rear. the others suddenly felt like there was nothing they needed to do. it was not exaggerating to describe the two as monsters after seeing their strength. the deadly trap had suddenly turned into a complete massacre!

“as expected of the two strongest members on the national team,” tang peng sat inside a cabin, holding in his guts with one hand.

he was suffering from serious injuries, and the others were in bad shape, too. they initially thought they were going to be wiped out on the ocean, but the battle had suddenly become one-sided after mu ningxue showed up.

—

a huge pool of blood was left on the ocean, even visible at night. the ship soon reached the shallow waters. another ship quickly came over to lend them a hand, escorting them back to the harbor at the dam.

“it’s a relief that no one died,” tang peng felt the pain easing a little when he saw that everyone had returned safely.

“we are so lucky that i asked mentor to come along. otherwise, there’s no way we would have made it back here,” cao qinqin said.

“fighting on the ocean greatly limits my capabilities. otherwise, you guys wouldn’t have ended up in such bad shape, either,” mo fan said.

if mu ningxue had not made it in time to freeze the surface of the ocean, mo fan doubted if he could have brought everyone back alive. the sea monsters were a lot more cunning than he had imagined. he realized why chairman shao zheng looked so haggard now. it must have been quite a while since the man was able to get a good night’s rest!

“speaking of which, didn’t the viscera hunters try to invade the city while we were away? is everything alright?” jiang shen blurted out.

“the city is fine; yu shishi’s moths managed to see through their tricks,” mu ningxue said.

“these little moths are really impressive!” jiang shen exclaimed.

“that’s good to hear… mayor, it’s our fault for being so reckless. we didn’t expect those assh**** to set us up,” tang peng apologized with a guilty look.

“he’s the mayor,” mu ningxue pointed at mo fan.

tang peng was startled. he turned to mo fan.

the other members of the patrolling squad were astounded, too.

even mo fan was taken by surprise. since when did he become a mayor? he might be the owner of fanxue mountain, but mu ningxue had been managing everything since day one!

“oh, we’ve been together for so long. it’s unnecessary to distinguish between us anymore,” mo fan said shamelessly after realizing something.

“hehe… he’s right!” the others let out hollow laughs. they were quite unprepared to witness a public display of affection between the two…

—

—

the danger had been resolved, returning calm to the new city. the injured members did not take a rest to recover from the injuries as they should have. they were drinking in some of the bars that had just opened recently, while boasting about the battle to the others.

the battle was clearly an unforgettable experience for many of them. apart from the little moths that had contributed greatly by detecting the viscera hunters, most of the discussions revolved around mu ningxue and mo fan, and their unbelievable strength!

“you have no idea! we were surrounded in the deep sea by at least three thousand sea hook black beasts. there were at least one to two hundred viscera hunters as well, but right at the start of the battle, mo fan… oh, boss mo fan, was fending them off by himself. guess how many a single lightning bolt could kill?” a mage whose face still had a visible wound said while raising five fingers.

“fifty?” a few young mages that did not take part in the battle asked curiously.

“what fifty? it’s five hundred! you have no idea how terrifying the situation was. the whole surface of the ocean was filled with the heads of the sea monsters bursting like popcorn… i’m not bluffing, it’s real, i saw it in person, and all he drew was a star pattern! i couldn’t even tell which tier his lightning spell was in. it’s a lot stronger than most of the advanced spells i’ve seen…”

“that’s not all of it! his shadow element is the real deal. i initially thought his lightning element was the strongest, but it’s like boss mo fan suddenly turned on his hacks when our mayor froze the surface of the ocean. the viscera hunters all died within seconds, and they were all killed instantly by their own shadows!”

“instantly? that’s insane! the viscera hunters are considered the strongest among the warrior-level creatures. how could they possibly die instantly?”

“why don’t you believe me? do you really think i’m bluffing right now?”

——

the new city was not very big. the incident that took place soon spread among the people rapidly. almost everyone knew what happened before morning.

many people knew mo fan was the strongest participant during the world college tournament, but the national team only consisted of students, and they were up against students from other countries, too. it did not necessarily reflect how the participants would do in the future. however, mo fan’s reputation skyrocketed after the attack of the viscera hunters. the patrol squads in particular were utterly impressed by mo fan’s capabilities!

1438 Pin Her Down Now

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Early that morning, Mu Linsheng could not stop discussing the incident while Mo Fan was still having his breakfast. Many versions of the same story had appeared overnight.

“It’s really nothing. I just killed some sea monsters, do they really have to make it sound so crazy?” Mo Fan believed the people of the new city were exaggerating it.

“Brother, you are already used to fighting demon creatures. I bet you’ve seen more demon creatures than humans by now. Killing them is like slaughtering chickens for you, but not every Mage hangs out with the demon creatures as often as you! They are already considered veterans if they can slay a few demon creatures with their own hands. Being involved in a great battle against the demon creatures is enough for them to boast about for a few years!

“What happened last night might be insignificant to you, but it’s an unforgettable experience for many of the Mages who have never left the safe zones!” Mu Linsheng explained the viewpoint of the Mages who spent most of their time in the cities.

Mu Linsheng was a Mage too, but his cultivation was not that impressive. He knew there were not many Mages like Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue, who had fought numerous battles against demon creatures. Most Mages only pursued a stable life and income under the protection of the cities. They were not willing to risk their lives fighting against demon creatures…

Their country had lost a huge portion of its territory to the rising sea. The people were afraid as the sea monsters became restless. Under these circumstances, being able to punish the sea monsters and bring back their heads was already something to be proud of!

“Most of the people you normally hang out with are monsters like yourself, but the patrol squads only consist of normal Mages. Apart from the patrol squads, the new city has a lot of young Mages too! This incident has taken place so close to them, so it’s reasonable for them to behave like that… It’s also a great chance for our new city to make a name for ourselves! HAHAHA, we killed two hundred Viscera Hunters and more than two thousand Sea Hook Black Beasts, and the city is perfectly unharmed!” Mu Linsheng exclaimed.

—

Mu Linsheng left in a great mood. It was obvious that he was busy thinking about how he could use the opportunity. Meanwhile, Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue continued to enjoy their breakfast. It was just a normal night for them. The battle was nothing worth mentioning, compared to what they had been through in the past.

“We still need some powerful Mages. It’s good enough if we can hire a few more Advanced Mages, let alone a Super Mage,” Mu Ningxue told Mo Fan.

“We’re just getting started. Let’s take one step at a time. I believe a lot of the Advanced Mages will be willing to join our stronghold if we successfully partner with the Mui Clan and the Dongfang Clan…” Mo Fan agreed.

Even though the average strength of the Mages in the patrol squads was only at the Intermediate Level, they still had to pay those Mages every day. There were only a few Advanced Mages among them. If Mo Fan had not happened to go with them, it was difficult to say how many among them would have made it back alive…

Mo Fan was unlikely to be around all the time. He knew what Mu Ningxue was trying to say. Fanxue Mountain needed more Mages they could rely on!

“It’s a villa, not a stronghold!” Mu Ningxue felt the need to correct him.

It was meant to be Fanxue Villa and Fanxue New City, yet it suddenly became some bandits’ stronghold in Mo Fan’s eyes.

“Villa, yes, our villa…” Mo Fan corrected himself.

“I have registered the new city under your name. Your reputation clearly exceeds mine. If the city was under my name, it would bring some hindrances to it,” Mu Ningxue told him.

Mu Ningxue clearly felt she was being picked on after she started managing Fanxue Mountain. It was obvious that people could not easily forget what Mu He had done in the past. On top of that, the Mu Clan had been quite a nuisance, too! If Fanxue Mountain was planning to grow further, it would be difficult to do so under Mu Ningxue’s name.

As such, Mu Ningxue used Mo Fan’s name to register the new city. Fanxue Mountain was established under both their names, too. The new city was a new hope for the people. She believed everything would be much smoother if it was under Mo Fan’s name.

“I just think that you’ve put everything you have into it. I didn’t really do anything, so it’s not fair…” Mo Fan began.

Mo Fan was used to being free and unconstrained. Otherwise, he would have long joined one of the factions that were interested in recruiting him. He was quite surprised that he had become the mayor of a city all of a sudden.

“I was just worried that you wouldn’t like it, since you’ve gotten used to walking your own path…” Mu Ningxue was well aware of Mo Fan’s character. He did not like being tied down by something, and preferred to live a free life.

“It’s true that I might struggle to adapt to it, but it’s fine; we have a long way to go still. We have to manage it together eventually, both Fanxue Mountain, and our adorable and cute little babies in the future,” Mo Fan said.

“…” Mu Ningxue was a little touched when she heard the first half of the sentence, but she was left speechless when she heard the second half. How did his thoughts even jump so far away!?

“Anyway, don’t worry about me, I’ll give you all my support as long as it’s something you want,” Mo Fan reached out and placed Mu Ningxue’s little hand in his palm. He rubbed her hand like it was a piece of jade. It felt cold, but surprisingly comfortable.

Mu Ningxue did not seem to be resisting the intimacy between them, giving him great joy!

Some women were the kind that men would have the urge to strip their clothes off and have an enjoyable time with right away, but they would be forgotten soon, too. There were also women that men preferred to approach slowly, even though they were hoping for the same final outcome. They would enjoy the process of slowly melting their hearts and merging with them into one… even if Mo Fan had to wait until he was thirty to achieve his goal, he would not think of it as a long journey!

Fanxue Mountain was a great responsibility, and a huge burden to take good care of. Mo Fan would prefer not to be bound by such burdens, but he clearly felt that Fanxue Mountain had shortened the distance between him and Mu Ningxue. She had begun to open up her heart without realizing it when he helped her achieve her dream with everything he had.

If Fanxue Mountain could really become the bridge between them, Mo Fan would not mind abandoning his free and unconstrained old self and becoming a responsible person…

Many women dreamed of having a family, a home that could shelter them from their worries and problems. They would slowly taste the warmth of love, and in Mu Ningxue’s case, she would only feel secure and have a sense of belonging when she finally had her own city…

Since Mo Fan had decided to stay with her, he must take on the responsibilities too!

Either way, he had chosen her to be his wife first…

—

“I’m heading out for a while,” Mu Ningxue rose to her feet. Someone was looking for her.

Mo Fan nodded. He squinted and admired Mu Ningxue’s alluring curves… ah, the tight-fitting pants with faint gray and silver lines, the slightly waving butt. It must be very bouncy to touch, and if he was doing it from behind…

Did he just think that it was fine to wait to sleep with her until he was thirty years old?

He had an urge to pin her down right now!

1439 Awakening Stones

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The journey was long, crossing mountains and ridges. The newly discovered fire vein was located some distance from the city.

The west of China was less populated, with tall mountains, vast lands, thick woods, and serene valleys. It was extremely difficult to find one of the rare fire veins in a place like this. Luckily, after the two renowned clans spent a long time surveying the land, they had found a safe path leading to the fire vein. They even established a relay station at Kunlun Mountain’s Sun Ridge specifically for the fire vein.

The relay station was called Wangyang Station. It used to be an under-developed village, but as the two renowned clans started investing in it, it had slowly grown to a small town.

The Mui Clan and Dongfang Clan were cooperating with the local government. The local government was hoping that their remote village could be developed further, and the roads, railways, and safe zone would be extended further. The inland areas and places in the West were getting more attention since the eastern coastline was now threatened by sea monsters.

The Mui Clan had long claimed ownership of Sun Ridge. The local government, Magic Association, and military would not be getting any share of the place. They were mainly focusing on developing Wangyang Station, since its growth would allow the local government to develop Tianyu Town further. As such, the military and the government were willing to lend the Mui Clan and Dongfang Clan a hand.

The relay station was still in rather rough. Wooden planks, stones, and cement were stacked all around the place. Since the place was quite remote, railroads were not yet established, and the roads were mostly muddy paths. Dust and mud scattered all over the relay station as one truck after another drove to the relay station…

“We are considering building roads here, but that’s only possible after the fire vein is accessible,” Dongfang Mo explained. He had arrived in person.

Building roads was going to cost a fortune. Only huge clans were able to afford the expense. It would bring great benefits to Wangyang Village, since it would give them easier access to the outside world. It was extremely inconvenient to be stuck in the mountains, especially crossing the mountains and ridges just to get some supplies from other places.

“What are the trucks carrying?” Mo Fan noticed that the trucks were carrying colorful stones with jagged edges out of the station, apart from bringing in resources.

“Those are four Colored Ores of poor quality. Kunlun Mountain is rich in Wind Color Ores, Earth Color Ores, Fire Color Ores, and Lightning Color Ores. Those four different Colored Ores have been feeding countless cities. In the past, the Mui Clan even established a small gathering center here to collect the different Colored Ores and sell them in the Magic City. That business has been earning a few hundred million every year.

“A long time ago, Mui Guangqing was placed in charge of the business and came to inspect it. He stumbled into an old Hunter who had discovered traces of a fire vein. They ended up forming a team to look for the fire vein. It turned out that the fire vein did exist, and it’s a B-grade pure fire vein. Mui Guangqing was immediately promoted to an elder of the clan, and was placed in charge of the fire vein.” Dongfang Mo glanced at a man in his thirties nearby with a smile. He seemed to be quite familiar with the situation here.

Mui Guangqing was a very humble man who did not speak much along the journey. Mo Fan initially thought he was just a normal member of the Mui Clan tagging along. To his surprise, the man was in charge of the fire vein, and was the one who had discovered it!

“I’m just lucky, it’s not worth mentioning at all,” Mui Guangqing explained calmly.

“It’s not just about luck. Most people would be reluctant to give up on a comfortable life in the city and come to such an inhospitable place, let alone visiting this place in person to inspect the clan’s business…” Dongfang Mo seemed to admire Mui Guangqing.

“Uncle Mo, stop flattering me; I’m just more serious about my tasks. Anyone else could have discovered the fire vein, too. Our biggest problem now is to excavate it. As a matter of fact, there are lots of treasure vaults like Sun Ridge here in the west, but it’s too difficult to excavate them. The military, government, and renowned clans are not willing to take huge risks. If our clan didn’t join hands with your clan, which is known for its expertise in the Fire Element, we really would have no idea how to deal with the fire vein, and some other renowned clans might end up snatching it from us. We wouldn’t care so much if the military wanted to take it away, we could just think of it as contributing to the country, but we are worried that some renowned clans are planning to claim it by annexing us and putting pressure on us,” Mui Guangqing said.

“Unfortunately, our Dongfang Clan is bringing disgrace to our own name this time. I’m afraid we aren’t capable enough to take on the job this time. We are only in charge of mining and refining the ore…” Dongfang Mo turned to Mo Fan.

“Uncle Mo, I think you’ve overestimated this guy’s capabilities. Our Dongfang Clan might not be better than them in other areas, but there’s no way we are going to lose to anyone when it comes to the Fire Element. Why are we bothering to let an outsider interfere with our business?” Dongfang Ming grumbled.

Dongfang Ming was an old acquaintance of Mo Fan. He had nothing better to do now after failing to join the Enforcement Union. As such, he had returned to the clan to see if there was anything he could help with.

Dongfang Lie was a more straightforward person. Even though there was a period where he found Mo Fan to be an eyesore, he was utterly impressed by Mo Fan’s talents when they were fighting for the spot on the national team, and was willing to reconcile with him. Meanwhile, Dongfang Ming was more narrow-minded. He was still holding a grudge against Mo Fan because of what had happened in Hangzhou!

“You’re just here to lend a hand. Stop interrupting, can’t you see that us adults are discussing business here?” Mo Fan said imperiously, not showing any mercy to Dongfang Ming.

Dongfang Ming was on the verge of losing his temper.

Who did this Mo Fan think he was? He used to have a chance to beat the crap out of this jerk. How could Mo Fan possibly beat him, if it wasn’t for the resources he received from joining the national team?

“Xiao Ming, don’t be reckless, it’s time to forget about the past.” Dongfang Mo was Dongfang Ming’s father, and did not hesitate to teach his son some manners. He was quite friendly to Mo Fan, too. He switched his tone and said, “Mo Fan, since Xiao Ming is around your age, please don’t hesitate to give him some advice.”

“Xiao Ming?… HAHAHA, not a problem, I won’t mind keeping an eye on him.” Mo Fan burst out laughing when he heard Dongfang Ming’s nickname. The others laughed, too!

Dongfang Ming was supposed to be an unusual name, but when Dongfang Mo called him by his nickname, it suddenly reminded everyone of the textbooks in primary school!

Dongfang Ming’s face twisted like a grilled eggplant. He was too embarassed to say anything else.

——

The vehicles reached Wanyang Station at the base of Sun Ridge. The place had more than a hundred hills and mountains of varied sizes. Its altitude was significantly higher than the mountains and the mountain ranges nearby. During summer, when the sun was shining upon Sun Ridge, its terrain would end up trapping the heat, resulting in unusually high temperature on the main ridges, and making it extremely difficult for ordinary people to stay on them.

Rumors said that around three hundred years ago a meteorite had landed on Sun Ridge, producing an enormous burning pit hidden between the mountains. This fire vein did not just appear out of nowhere in the past year or two; it was formed by nature with the right conditions.

The resources of a fire vein were extremely rare and valuable. Mui Guangqing was quite knowledgeable. He was able to refer to local rumors and ancient records to locate the fire vein, despite the complicated geography of Sun Ridge. He even figured out roughly how long the fire vein had existed.

The fire vein had been around for about three hundred years. Perhaps it was not as impressive in the past. It had only grown to its current scale after being exposed to the sun in such a unique environment for many years…

A fire vein not only supplied Spirit-grade Seeds and Soul-grade Seeds, but even the insignificant stones in a fire vein were refined to be used as Guiding Stones, an energy source used to train a bunch of Fire Mages.

Mages had become rare and valuable since the sea had risen. Not everyone was a Mage, so an elemental vein like this played an important role in Awakening new Mages.

Mo Fan knew that the reason why magic schools would only recruit a limited number of students was mainly because they had a limited supply of Awakening Stones.

In addition to that, only the Magic Association knew the exact way to produce Awakening Stones. In other words, the Magic Association had to give their permission before a new Mage was Awakened. The Magic Association distributed Awakening Stones to every faction in the world!

The Magic Association would collect the raw materials for producing the Awakening Stones from society, and were the ones deciding the price.

An elemental vein like this fire vein would contain the Awakening energy of the respective Element, refined by nature. The Magic Association would further modify the energy to awaken the Star Dust in a person’s body.

Elemental magic was considered a part of nature. The Awakening Stones that the Magic Association normally distributed to the schools were mostly from the elemental veins, which was the reason why most Mages would awaken Elemental magic as their first Element.

Since the fire and lightning veins were the rarest among the Elemental veins, there were fewer Mages that could awaken the Fire Element and the Lightning Element.

Mo Fan had learned all this when he was resting at the Parthenon Temple. The main reason why the Parthenon Temple was superior to most of the factions was because they were not under the Magic Association. The founders had established the Parthenon Temple as an independent organization via their unique combination of Blessing and Healing Elements, which exceeded the level of the Magic Association. As a matter of fact, the Magic Associations had to nod and bow their heads to the Parthenon Temple as a result…

Even though Mo Fan did not believe it at first, the truth was, it was possible to Awaken any Element as long as someone had enough money and resources. As for the young Mages at school, the Elements they could Awaken mostly depended on their luck and body constitution.

If one was lucky enough, and the Awakening Stone they used turned out to be from a fire vein, it meant that person would have a higher chance to Awaken the Fire Element.

If the Awakening Stone assigned to a student was a low-quality Awakening Stone mixed with the Earth Element and the Wind Element, and the process of refining it involved the Water Element and Light Element, and the student’s body composition was all mixed up, it was difficult to tell the exact Element that the student would Awaken.

It all came down to the odds of Awakening the Elements. A high-quality Awakening Stone and the Guiding Stone of a specific Element would greatly increase the odds of Awakening that Element. It did not necessarily mean a low-quality Awakening Stone could never Awaken the Lightning Element, but the odds were only ten thousand to one, or even a hundred thousand to one!

The only relief was that no Element was superior to another. The Mages only needed to focus on improving their cultivation. It all came down to which Mage was stronger in the end!

1440 Filthy Men

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The most valuable loot in a fire vein was the raw material for Awakening Stones.

They had a say in how to sell these raw materials, but they would most likely end up in the hands of the Magic Association, since only the Magic Association could turn these raw materials into Awakening Stones that young people around the age of ten could use.

The other thing that was just as valuable as the Awakening Stones was the fire magic ore.

Magic ores were the source of magic technology. Magic ores were the most important resources supporting the development of human cities. A B-grade fire vein would mostly produce B-grade magic ore; the energy they could provide was unimaginable. Many of the huge magic ore veins in the country were owned by the government and the military. The Magic Association would not interfere with them.

Awakening Stones and magic ores were resources that would always have a higher demand than supply, guaranteeing a continuous profit, and were the true value of an elemental vein. In addition to the raw materials needed to produce Awakening Stones and magic ores, there were also Elemental Seeds, Elemental Pieces, and Elemental Crystals, things that precipitated over a long period of time.

Mo Fan had learned the value of a fire vein from Mui Guangqing along the journey.

Mui Guangqing was a real scholar. His eyes had glittered at the mention of the topic, and were no longer as dull and lifeless as usual. The others might have found his prolonged speech annoying, but Mo Fan was very intrigued. He was nodding like he was mincing garlic while Mui Guangqing was explaining things to him.

“Doesn’t that mean things like Spirit-grade Seeds, Soul-grade Seeds, and Fundamental Crystals are more valuable? A Spirit-grade Seed is worth a full truck load of the raw materials to produce the Awakening Stones, not to mention the Soul-grade Seeds and Fundamental Crystals that are even rarer?” Mo Fan was playing the studious man. Mu Ningxue always asked him to study more, so as a good man who listened to his wife, he must become more knowledgeable!

“HAHA, only an amateur would think that! The disciples of renowned clans like us know the truth. The things you mentioned might be valuable, but they are more like a one-time profit. For example, things like Spirit-grade Seeds, Soul-grade Seeds, and the Fundamental Crystals of this fire vein are gone once they are taken. Let’s say they are worth ten billion in total.

“But the raw materials of Awakening Stones and magic ores are constantly being excavated from the fire vein. It can easily provide us with over a thousand tons of them every year. We might only make two to three billion a year, but in three years, the profit will be the same as the total worth of the things you mentioned. What if the mine lasts for ten, or even twenty years? There is no faction that isn’t interested in continuous sources of income. Besides, the market is constantly changing. In the current era, things that are closely related to magic are very valuable, but does that mean things related to our lives aren’t valuable? No, they are actually worth more!” Mui Guangqing told him.

Mo Fan immediately understood when he learned the raw materials and magic ores were constantly being mined from an ore vein. It explained why a fire vein was enough to keep three clans going. It was basically a gold mine!

No wonder these factions put so much focus on securing ore veins for themselves!

“Now you know how important the fire vein is. If it wasn’t because our clan is having trouble excavating it, there’s no way we would be willing to share it with you guys, HAHAHA!” Mui Guangqing said honestly.

“That’s reasonable. If I could do it on my own, I wouldn’t share it with someone else, either,” Mo Fan agreed.

The fire vein turned out to be a money-making mine. He had to clear the blockage at all costs, as he would be able to make money just by sleeping comfortably. He would no longer have to worry about how many Elements he had. He could even take care of a few more Elements!

That being said, it was impossible to eat such a huge cake alone. Sharing it with others was the right move. A real businessman understood that money was meant to be earned together. Earning money with partners was like multiplication, but trying to earn money alone was only like addition. It was difficult to achieve greatness by oneself!

The Mui Clan had discovered the fire vein, and were currently managing it. The Dongfang Clan was in charge of transportation and production. After all, the resources were related to the Fire Element. The Dongfang Clan was definitely the best candidate to process the raw materials and maximize the profits.

Fanxue Mountain was in charge of selling the products. It was part of a Headquarters City very close to the South Maritime Battlefield. The shelves would be emptied as soon as they were filled… the three could work together to earn big bucks while helping society, what more could they ask for?

Fanxue Mountain was running short on funds. A few days ago, Mo Fan had heard from Mu Linsheng about the money they were spending on hiring the patrol squads to ensure the safety of the new city.

They were able to make a name for themselves, but construction was struggling to keep up, as they were running short on funds. If they could not find a way to solve the financial crisis, the new city of Fanxue Mountain was going to end up as a bandit fortress instead, as no one would be willing to settle in an underdeveloped place…

As such, this operation was extremely important to Mo Fan. Not only would it determine if he could find the Soul-grade Seed he desperately needed, it would also decide Fanxue Mountain’s fate! Luckily, he had brought Zhao Manyan and Lingling along. Otherwise, he would not feel confident enough to take on the job!

“Speaking of which, we also need an impressive Ice Mage. Our Dongfang Clan doesn’t really have any Ice Mages, and the Mui Clan is unable to find a suitable candidate, either. Is there any chance that Fanxue Mountain has… it would be perfect if Mu Ningxue was able to make it. She will definitely be of great help to us!” Dongfang Mo said.

“Oh, we’ve already made the arrangements, he should be here soon…” Mo Fan was just about to say more when he saw a well-dressed young man with glossy hair and a temperament that clearly did not suit the village. He was standing in a corner with a proud look on his face. Mo Fan immediately yelled, “Green Tea Man, here! Over here!”

The young man’s face immediately sank when he heard Mo Fan’s shout.

He started heading toward Mo Fan, who was still calling him Green Tea Man. He finally ran out of patience and grunted, “One more time and I’ll be going. You guys can have all the fun yourself!”

“Oh, Brother Mu Bai, why so serious? You must be tired after coming all the way here. Should I find you a young innocent girl from Kunlun to rub your shoulders, hammer your legs, and provide you with the full-package service?” Mo Fan blathered.

“That won’t be necessary!” Mu Bai’s forehead was covered in black lines.

“Oh, you’ve already treated yourself to it. That’s right, it’s very important to be looking after your kidneys,” Mo Fan smiled.

“Piss off!”

Mu Bai rarely cursed after he graduated from Tian Lan Magic High, but he just could not control himself when Mo Fan was around. The guy was still the same assh*** he was in high school. He could not understand why so many people in the Ancient Capital wanted to betroth daughters that were still in kindergarten to a jerk like him!

“Alright, let’s get back to the point, I only learned you were coming on my way here. It’s a very dangerous operation, and you might lose your life because of it…” Mo Fan said.

“I knew everything already, you don’t have to say it again!” Mu Bai interrupted him.

He already knew Mu Ningxue and Mu Zhuoyun were planning a comeback. Many old residents of Bo City that had moved to the Ancient Capital had already left for Fanxue Mountain. The Ancient Capital was not their own place, after all. They still felt like they were lodging under someone else’s roof. As such, when Fanxue Mountain took the initiative to invite these old residents of Bo City to move to the new city and offered them lots of benefits, they did not hesitate to move there!

Mu Bai was feeling a little guilty, as he had not returned to his clan. He had heard about the fire vein when he gave Mu Zhuoyun a call. He believed he had to contribute something if he was planning to return to the clan, or he would not feel at ease. Thus he had shown up at Kunlun Mountain to fill the vacancy of an Ice Mage.

It had been a long time since Mo Fan last saw Mu Bai. He occasionally heard Zhang Xiaohou mention that Mu Bai’s strength had improved significantly. He was quite reputable in the Ancient Capital now.

Mu Bai had gone through a lot of things, just like Mo Fan and the others, and been sharpened into an impressive sword. When he mentioned that he was interested in joining Fanxue Mountain, Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Mu Zhuoyun all welcomed him with open arms. It was extremely tough for a person to be wandering around alone. However, they were unable to tell if he had finally walked out from under the terrible pain Mu He had brought him.

“Seriously, why are they allowing anyone to join the team? Don’t forget that we are only willing to cooperate with you because you promised to open up the fire vein. I hope you won’t end up dying in there. You’re treating it as if it’s normal training during high school,” Dongfang Ming said, twisting his lips. He seemed to have a grudge against Mu Bai.

“Xiao Ming, why are you coming with us if you are so worried? Stop sneering at us. If you don’t have the guts to come with us, just behave yourself like a little baby waiting to take over the clan and hold on tight to your baby nipple!” Mo Fan promptly retorted.

“Why would I bother getting myself killed? Only people like you have to worry about things like that, I can just sit back and enjoy life instead!” Dongfang Ming proclaimed proudly.

The two renowned clans were unwilling to risk the lives of their successors. Even though Mo Fan was the leader of Fanxue Mountain, he still had to attend to a lot of matters himself, since Fanxue Mountain was still at its starting point.

Mo Fan turned to Dongfang Mo and asked, “Old Mo, are you going to intervene if I have an urge to beat the crap out of your son?”

“It’s fine as long as it’s nothing serious. It’s time for him to learn some manners. Didn’t I already say I might need your help to teach him some manners?… He’s too arrogant. He actually improved a lot after you taught him a lesson in the past,” Dongfang Mo replied with a smile.

Dongfang Ming almost lost his mind when he heard those words. Was this man really his father!?

The others burst out laughing, too. Dongfang Ming was greatly shamed, since even his own father was not willing to stand on his side. He left angrily and did not forget to curse at the filthy relay station.

“What the heck is this shitty place? It’s worse than the most underdeveloped village in Hangzhou!”

—

“Since everyone is here, we’ll depart tomorrow morning. We can’t afford to wait any longer.” Dongfang Mo was very concerned about the operation, and was going to take part in it, too.

Dongfang Mo did not just come to supervise the operation; he was playing an important role, too. His job was to keep an eye on the ruling creature at Sun Ridge. He would have to lure the powerful creature away if necessary.

“Alright, let’s rest up for the night…” Mo Fan agreed.

——

The team split up. After dinner, Zhao Manyan raised his brows and said to Mo Fan softly, “There should be little bars around. Why don’t we find some local passionate ladies and talk about life?”

“Great idea, I doubt there are other kinds of entertainment around here. Besides, no one would recognize us,” Mo Fan said.

“You two can go ahead,” Mu Bai said.

“Stop acting like you’re innocent. Let’s go, we are just talking about life, it’s not as dirty as you think,” Mo Fan dragged Mu Bai with them. He told Lingling, “Lingling, go back and do your homework. We’re going to have some drinks!”

Lingling watched them go with utter disdain. “Filthy men,” she murmured, before taking her leave.

1441 Two Sons of B**ches

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The bar at the relay station was surprisingly crowded. Many men that had come so far away from their homes to work here could not resist the urge to share their hard-earned money with the unfamiliar yet friendly ladies in the bar.

Mu Bai felt extremely uncomfortable in his seat. He had an urge to leave, but the lady sitting beside him kept taking the initiative to talk to him. She had a depressed look when she saw the cold look on his face. “Do you despise girls like me?”

“No, not at all; I’m just not used to coming to a place like this,” Mu Bai explained quickly.

“Then why aren’t you drinking? I’ve already given you three toasts. Look at how much fun they are having,” the lady with light eyeliner said.

The lady was very young, in her twenties. Her makeup was a little clumsy, slightly spoiling her rather good-looking face. Mu Bai had spent most of his time on his cultivation, and rarely had the time to go on dates. He did not know what to do when a woman suddenly approached him.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were like regular customers of the bar. They continued to drink while playing with dice and yelling out numbers. Mu Bai had no idea how the game worked. He only knew the loser had to empty a glass of beer, so they were drinking at quite an insane pace.

They had important work to do tomorrow. Were they not worried they would mess it up if they drank too much? The two ladies that were drinking along with them seemed a little shy at first, but after around ten minutes, they were laughing out loud while hanging their arms around one another. It looked like four men were drinking instead.

Mu Bai was having a hard time enjoying himself, maintaining a certain distance from the lady beside him. He was mindful of his words, too. To his relief, the lady could tell that Mu Bai was from a well-educated family of the city, since his temperament was different from those who had grown up in the mountains like them. She could not help but feel inferior around him. It was not like she had never met customers like him, but most of them only treated her as a tool to vent their desires. They would just pay her after the job without treating her seriously.

Mo Fan suddenly turned around and asked seriously, “Mu Bai, don’t tell me you’re still a virgin?”

The other two ladies giggled as Mu Bai blushed. He felt so awkward that he was lost for words.

Even he did not expect that he would remain single for so many years. It was mainly because he had lost his passion and anticipation for sex after everything he he had gone through. He had placed all his focus on becoming stronger, as if he was trying to run away from something.

He used to look down at Mo Fan because of how vulgar and lowly the man was. However, when he saw them having so much fun with the women, he was slightly jealous of how free and unconstrained they were.

“Should we go for a walk instead? I know a nice spot. There’s nothing much in the mountains, but at least the air is very refreshing,” the hostess with light eyeliner said.

“Mm, sure,” Mu Bai immediately agreed to the suggestion, since he was feeling uncomfortable in the bar. He had never been to a place like this before.

Bo City had been built on a mountain too, but its terrain was gentler, unlike the steep and jagged mountains and hills of Kunlun Mountain…

Mu Bai followed the woman to get her purse before leaving the bar. He caught a glimpse of a familiar face in a little booth with curtains. He did not recognize who the person was, as the lighting was too dark. The person was most likely in the booth because he did not want anyone to recognize him.

—

The woman brought Mu Bai to the outskirts of the relay station. She had obviously grown up here since she had led Mu Bai along a mountain path that most people did not know existed. They went along the narrow mountain path that was covered in moss and found themselves at the spacious top of a mountain with a clear view. It was an uncultivated land with no factories and constructions. Mu Bai took a deep breath and immediately felt the phlegm stuck in his throat dissolving. The air was cool and refreshing. He could even feel it purifying his lungs.

“I like to come here whenever I’m feeling down when I was a kid. The view of the valley, the glowing stars in the sky, the pleasant scent of the flowers, and the chirps of the insects make me forget all my troubles,” the woman said.

“Mm, it’s very comfortable here,” the night breeze blew the fringe in front of Mu Bai’s forehead up, revealing his face. He preferred to keep his fringe long to cover his eyebrows and forehead. It made him feel more secure.

The woman stared at Mu Bai’s fac, dazzled. She spoke after a while, “You’re very good-looking.”

“Good-looking? Isn’t that normally used to describe women?” Mu Bai was startled.

“Mmm… but men can be good-looking too, like you, clean and handsome,” the woman said.

Mu Bai smiled. He was quite pleased by the compliment. It had been a long time since anyone described him like that. Most people only described him as gloomy and quiet over the years.

“Are you feeling troubled? Why is your brow furrowed all the time?” the woman said. She took a step forward and fondled Mu Bai’s brow. “Look, there are already lines here.”

Mu Bai took a step back. He was not used to such intimate interaction. He was used to being on the alert.

However, he quickly noticed the disappointment on the woman’s face. He said apologetically, “Sorry, it’s just my normal reaction…”

“Is it really difficult for you to trust someone? Or you just don’t like women like me touching you?” the woman asked.

“Something happened before, so I can’t get myself to trust anyone, including those who are the closest to me,” Mu Bai said.

“Oh? May I ask what happened?” the woman asked.

“I prefer you not to,” Mu Bai shook his head.

“Did your close ones leave you? I noticed that you are wearing a bracelet on your hand. It’s very old-fashioned, but you seemed afraid to let it get dirty in the bar,” the woman asked.

“My mother used to wear it. She passed away two years ago,” Mu Bai said.

He rarely mentioned that to anyone, but for some reason, he was willing to share it with the woman. Perhaps it was because he was at a remote place, and everyone was a complete stranger to him. Even if he told someone, it would not reveal the grief in his heart.

After the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, Mu He was sentenced to death, and his mother had passed away in sorrow. He was suddenly left alone in the world. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see a head covered in blood rolling down a flight of stairs. The head would face him and glare at him before grunting, “I treated you like my own son; why did you betray me still!?”

Even his mother was not willing to accept the truth, right up to the moment she closed her eyes forever. He was alone now; he had nowhere to go, and cultivating had become the only source of oxygen for him.

Mu Bai was confident that Mu He was Great Deacon Hujin, but he also knew that the man had never tried to set him up. Otherwise, Mu He would not have brought Yu Ang to Mu Zhuoyun, but him instead!

“Have you seen the stars before?” the woman asked.

“I have,” Mu Bai said.

“I’m referring to the sight of stars filling up the sky like grapes hanging all around us. I’ve been to some of the cities before, but I noticed there aren’t as many stars there. It’s very beautiful; it feels like you’re lying in the middle of them,” the woman said, lifting her gaze.

Mu Bai lifted his gaze too, but unfortunately, he could not see any stars since it was a cloudy night. Mu Bai was struggling to imagine the sight that the woman was mentioning.

“I heard from your friends that you guys are going somewhere very dangerous. You might end up losing your lives,” the woman said.

“Mm, it’s quite dangerous,” Mu Bai nodded.

“Then you must come back safely. There’s a chance that the wind will start blowing the night after tomorrow. It will drive the clouds and the dust away, so the sky will be the clearest by then. If you come here again, you’ll see the stars as I’ve mentioned,” the woman said with great anticipation.

“You seem to be very familiar with this place,” Mu Bai said.

“Yeah, I’ve grown up here,” the woman said.

“Then why did you choose this as your work? Did someone force you to do it? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything,” Mu Bai said.

“Not at all. I just want to eat nice food, live a better life, and wear nice clothes. Besides, instead of watching out for people harboring malicious thoughts, isn’t it better to make them pay instead…” the woman said.

Mu Bai was suddenly lost for words. He thought most women that decided to become escorts had no choice but to do it for a living, but he seemed to have overcomplicated it. He could not find any words to refute the woman’s answer either.

“I have to go, I’m going into the mountains tomorrow,” Mu Bai said.

“Mm, I’ll send you back. I have no idea how late they are going to drink. To be honest, I prefer attending to customers like you and your friends. You just want to have some drinks and chat with us. We can just talk about local affairs and boast around to kill some time. It doesn’t matter if we get down to the real ‘business’, it just depends if you guys are still sober or not. We are enjoying ourselves too. It’s been a while since I last saw Sister Li and Sister Sang laughing like that,” the woman said.

“Mm, I can tell you are good at conversations,” Mu Bai nodded.

“It’s the basics of what we do… well it also depends on who our customers are.”

—

When Mu Bai returned to where they were staying for the night, he immediately saw Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan sleeping soundly in the stinking corridor. If Mu Bai hd not known who they were, he would not have believed they were on the national team. Such a disgrace to the country!

“Hey, Mr. Mu is back, how did it go with Xiao Zhou?” the woman called Sister Sang smiled when she saw Mu Bai returning alone. She was not surprised.

On the other side, Sister Li glanced at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, who were asleep like dead pigs, and said with a giggle, “They were boasting how their faces wouldn’t even turn red after drinking a whole carton of beer, but they ended up like this before finishing half a carton. Now that you’re back, can you please drag them into their rooms? We are too tired to do it.”

“Oh, Xiao Zhou is fine, I’ll do it. You two should go home and rest,” Mu Bai said.

“Xiao Zhou isn’t really the talkative kind, so I hope you didn’t mind… anyway, come visit us again!” Sister Sang seemed quite concerned about Xiao Zhou’s image.

“Mm, I understand, you two can go now,” Mu Bai did not want anyone to see them like this. He quickly dragged Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan to their rooms.

“Mr. Mu, your friends haven’t paid yet,” Sister Li called out.

Mu Bai’s face darkened immediately.

F**k, not only did they drag him along to find escorts, they didn’t even pay them! These two sons of b**ches!

1442 Volcanic Pond

translated by xephizedited by aelryinth

being a mage did not necessarily mean they were good at drinking. mo fan’s mind was still spinning when he heard lingling urging him to get ready.

mo fan took a shower to freshen up himself. he no longer looked as miserable as he was last night after being outdrank by two hookers.

zhao manyan soon came out too. he muttered under his breath, “damn it, how dare that sister li look down on me? not only did she say that i’m worse at drinking than her, she even said that i’m worse than her in bed too! damn it, if only i didn’t drink that much last night, or i would have taught her why nuwa patched up the sky!”

“enough boasting; you might not even be alive to walk out of your room,” mo fan shot back.

——

everyone else had already gathered at the relay station. the team 9included more than twenty people, but only nine were going into the fire vein, including mo fan, zhao manyan, mu bai, qi shan, mui zhuocheng, dongfang xifeng, dongfang linlin, and the others.

the rest of the team would be on standby close to the fire vein. they included dongfang mo, mui guangqing, dongfang ming, lingling, and some other people.

their destination was quite a journey away. mui guangqing summoned his mount, a mountain beast, to carry the team across the mountains of sun ridge. the team gradually approached the location of the fire vein.

“see that scorching rock peak? that’s the highest peak of this mountain. it’s where the ruler of sun ridge resides. after observing it for a long time, we’ve discovered that the scorching rock peak is shrouded by an orange mist of volcanic ashes almost all the time, and it has never completely gone away. the mist is our perfect cover. the beast won’t be able to see us, no matter what we’re going to do,” mui guangqing informed everyone, pointing at one of the peaks.

the peak soared up beyond a huge mist and cluster of gray clouds. the clouds were orange, with tongues of fire sprouting out at times. it was most likely a spiraling airflow that continuously absorbed the volcanic ashes and particles from the volcano, forming a spectacular volcanic mist after a certain period of time!

the clouds did not look misty, but felt heavy instead. together with the mountains nearby, it felt like the spacious land had been compressed into a ravine. it was somewhat gloomy and restrained!

“isn’t the ruler interested in the fire vein?” mo fan had to ask.

“from what i can tell, it’s more interested in the volcanic mist instead, but i heard from the locals around here that it isn’t the friendliest beast. brother mo, please be careful,” mui guangqing warned him.

no one could guarantee that the ruler was actually asleep in its own territory. if it happened to be taking a stroll, the whole team was going to be done for!

mo fan’s demon element was still in hibernation. if a great ruler suddenly showed up, mo fan was going to die for sure too!

“it’s one of the greatest threats to us; brother mo and his men are going to keep an eye on the creature. they will alert us if anything happens… the rest of you will be coming with me,” mui guangqing said.

the terrain began to rise after the team crossed a few valleys. the slopes were heading toward the sky, extending beyond the volcanic mist. it felt like they were about to enter a different world above the clouds.

mo fan could not help but marvel at the sight of it. they were only on one of the ridges of kunlun mountain that was not particularly well-known, yet the sight on it was already this spectacular. how astonishing would it be if he was standing at the top of kunlun mountain?

kunlun was occupied by a kingdom of demon creatures. the demon creatures residing in the qinling mountains used to be from kunlun; they were just a side branch of kunlun’s kingdom!

if a little side branch was enough to dominate the qinling mountains, how powerful were the demon creatures that were dominating kunlun mountain!?

—

the terrain kept going higher. just as the team thought they were about to reach the clouds, their vision ahead suddenly cleared up as they crossed a section of the ridge. it was outside mo fan’s expectations…

“this mountain was once the tallest peak, but it ended up like this after it was hit by the meteorite,” mui guangqing explained. he already knew the team was going to be shocked by the sight.

he also had not expected he would reach the highest point of the ridge while he was still climbing a steep slope the first time he came here. the truth was, it was not the highest point of the mountain. the mountain used to be around a thousand meters tall three centuries ago, but a meteorite had smashed its peak to pieces, giving the mountain its current appearance. the top of the mountain had been turned into a plateau big enough to build a large city on!

“we call it the roulette wheel summit; its widest point is seven kilometers, the smallest is five. the fire vein is right at its center, a volcanic pool around four kilometers wide that was created by the meteorite. just take a few more steps forward, and you’ll be able to see the hole!” mui guangqing said.

—

the team continued ahead. they had indeed noticed a steep crack on the flat terrain ahead. they could already see the edge of the hole, but to their surprise, they still could not see what was inside. they had to move closer…

they were finally able to look into the hole after they went further ahead. its depth and size alone were already raising some hackles. the people were already struggling to find the courage to keep going!

“such an eye-opener!” zhao manyan could not help but exclaim.

it was truly a fire vein; its appearance alone was enough to intimidate them, but they had yet to see any fire from it yet…

—

the team continued forward. they suddenly saw a blinding red that directly struck their souls!

it felt as if just the sight of the redness was enough to set them on fire. it continued to make them feel tinier as they moved forward!

the imperious flames had completely filled up their vision. a few of them had already halted in their tracks. they had totally lost their minds after witnessing the spectacular sight.

“this…this is unbelievable!” it was dongfang mo’s first time coming here, too.

mui guangqing smiled proudly. it was he that had discovered the place, and today would be the day they began excavating this elemental vein that had existed for three hundred years! it was going to change the fate of the two renowned clans!

“mo fan, you can just give guan xixi a call and tell her about the girl who helped return my car!” zhao manyan almost wet his pants after looking into the hole.

my heavens, how were they supposed to make it out alive after jumping into the fire inside that!?

“can you get a hold of yourself? you already came all the way here,” mo fan retorted.

the other volunteers were thinking of giving up, too. they had no idea how dangerous the fire vein was before coming here. they had already lost the courage to get closer, let alone jump into the hole. they had only seen a small part of the volcano’s caldera. they had not even reached the edge of it!

the air only felt a little heavy when they were climbing up the mountain, and the temperature was still normal. when they reached the roulette wheel summit and drew closer to the volcanic pool, it felt like they had entered a world of flames!

1443 Bogged Down in Crisis!

translated by xephizedited by aelryinth

the lava was burning energetically. they could see plumes of fire rising more than twenty meters high, spiraling in the air. when they looked down into the chasm from the edge, the volcanic caldera resembled a spectacular sea of lava. its restlessness was inspiring fear in them.

the expressions of the disciples of the renowned clans that had volunteered to participate in the operation had shifted tremendously. they obviously regretted their hot-headed decision.

mo fan looked down into the chasm and noticed the lava was split into several layers, as if each layer was holding a burning liquid with different effects. when the different lavas gathered in a specific spot, he immediately sensed a formidable energy being formed.

“look out!” he yelled.

as soon as mo fan warned the others, a huge explosion took place inside the chasm. the scorching lava splashed upward like a huge geyser, rising above the team before scattering across the land. the people immediately backed away in fear.

luckily, zhao manyan reacted very quickly, summoning a water curtain to shield the team from the lava!

“i’ve been smashed by the waves at the beach, but it’s my first time being smashed by lava,” dongfang xifeng observed calmly.

“how terrifying is that? if we didn’t defend ourselves, the lava would have easily burned through us, leaving just our bones behind!” mui zhuocheng exclaimed.

“it almost broke through my water curtain,” zhao manyan looked up and pointed at the blue barrier.

the advanced spell was left with holes after the lava splashed on it. it clearly showed how insanely high the temperature was!

“it’s only the lava on the surface. the temperature is going to be higher the deeper we go. i’ve briefly classified the different layers of lava into red lava, brown lava, black lava, and white lava. the red lava’s temperature is at least the temperature of a fire spell of an advanced mage. a water curtain without any special effects will only last for five seconds. the next is the brown lava. it’s mixed with the red lava, and is similar to the surging undercurrents in the ocean. the brown lava’s temperature is twice the temperature of the red lava. a normal water curtain will only last for one second.

“after that is the black lava. the black lava is absolutely terrifying. the explosion just then was caused by the black lava. it usually has a spherical shape, and looks like iron spheres floating in the lava. they are constantly floating around, but when two black lavas come within fifty meters, it results in the scene we just witnessed, an explosion that will blow the lava into the air,” mui guangqing explained to the team.

mui guangqing led the team back closer to the edge after the lava in the air had fallen to the ground.

“take a look,” mui guangqing walked very close to the edge and asked the others to gather around him. he pointed at the spot where mo fan had seen the lava of different colors gather previously, “when two black lava spheres collide, it will trigger a violent reaction. the explosion is as strong as a super level fire spell. after the explosion, the spot where the explosion took place will become like that.”

the others looked in where mui guangqing was pointing and immediately discovered a deep hollow.

“the lava doesn’t flow very quickly. when the lava is blown away, it will take between five to ten minutes to fill up the gap again,” mui guangqing told them.

the others stared at the hollow. as mui guangqing had mentioned, there was no sign of any lava flowing into the hollow. the lava further away was creeping toward it at a very slow pace.

“the red lava’s temperature is already equivalent to an advanced fire spell, not to mention that we are constantly burning when we are inside the lava. apart from a super mage, no one could possibly last for more than two minutes in that, let alone in the brown lava that is even deadlier. does that mean we can only last for half a minute in the brown lava?” dongfang linlin asked seriously.

“exactly, if you’re forcing your way through, even a super mage will be turned into ashes by the brown lava, let alone you guys,” mui guangqing confirmed.

“hey hey hey, stop saying that like it’s nothing important! if the lava can easily burn a super mage to death, what the hell are we even doing here? let’s just go on with our lives!” zhao manyan protested.

“nature will always give us a chance. didn’t i already mention it? the black lava that is scarier than the brown lava is our ally,” mui guangqing said.

“you’re saying that the hollow that is produced when the black lava spheres triggers an explosion is our best chance to reach the bottom of the volcanic pond?” mo fan said.

“exactly, the lava flows very slowly. even if the place goes very deep, you should have time to make your way down to the bottom. you won’t be buried in the red or brown lava when the hollow is there!” mui guangqing stated.

mo fan’s face darkened after hearing the explanation.

was this really the best plan that the dongfang clan and the mui clan could come up with? were they really asking them to wait for an opening produced by the explosion and jump straight into the chasm? going down might be easy, but how were they supposed to come back up?

were they going to wait for the black lava to trigger an explosion again? the problem was… they had no way of telling when the explosion was going to happen!

they were just too many uncertainties. first, their lives were solely dependent on the black lava spheres, which were not even in their control. second, it was difficult to tell if they were going to find something worse as they made their way to the bottom. third, they could not tell how long the hollow would be around for, not to mention that they had no idea where it would show up at!

mo fan finally understood why even the dongfang clan was struggling so much to excavate the fire vein, even when the fire element was their field of expertise. it was like placing a bet with their lives at stake. they were betting on the fact that nothing would go wrong, that their plan would work perfectly, and all their speculations were right. if anything went wrong, the whole team was going to be wiped out!

fan dong finally gathered his courage and said, “uncle guangqing, i didn’t know it was this dangerous. even though i do think i have no other concerns in this world, i’m still reluctant to just get myself killed like that!”

“i…i think i’ll pass too. i initially thought of using this chance to earn a better status in the clan, but nothing else matters if i end up dying here. please apologize to uncle mo on my behalf,” another disciple of the dongfang clan agreed.

everyone on the team was an advanced mage, so no one was stupid enough to risk their lives after learning the danger involved. mui guangqing’s explanation sounded simple, but they only realized how dangerous the whole thing was after seeing the lava and the explosion with their own eyes. the sight was significantly more terrifying than they had imagined! they were already struggling to resist their fear. how were they supposed to jump into the chasm and complete such an insanely difficult mission?

“i won’t force any of you to go down there. i believe you know the way back,” mui guangqing sighed.

fan dong and the other person did not hesitate any further, quickly leaving the place. even staying a second further would cast an inerasable shadow on them.

the others also became hesitant after seeing the two leave.

“mo fan, please spare me, the pyramid was already thrilling enough for me. i still haven’t fully recovered from it after half a year…” zhao manyan said with a twisted face.

zhao manyan did not hesitate at all. he wanted to depart with the two that had wisely taken their leave. unfortunately, mo fan had used shadow imprisonment to keep him there!

“we’ve already lost two of our members before we even started,” qi shan said mockingly, his face cold.

“it’s still doable without them. i knew that some of us would turn tail eventually. it’s a lot better than i thought, losing only two members,” mui guangqing admitted.

“i thought the plan was going to be more reliable. i didn’t expect us to have to rely on luck so heavily. we have to hope that the volcanic pond behaves itself!” mo fan muttered.

“it’s the only plan we can think of. we’ll need you to break the sarkinite rocks at the bottom. sarkinite has the ability to nullify dimensional magic. you can only use the scrolls of space after destroying the sarkinite rocks. it’s going to determine your ability to make it out in one piece!” mui guangqing told him.

“even dimensional magic isn’t going to work in there?” mo fan’s expression darkened even further.

he was willing to have a try at it despite the risks involved, because he had the space element. he was not too worried initially, but when he learned that the space element was no longer usable in the chasm, he really had to think twice about doing the job!

his demon element was still hibernating, so he would have to solely rely on his own capabilities if anything went wrong. he would have difficulty surviving in the extreme heat at the bottom of the chasm. he had really found himself in a pinch this time!

“every elemental vein has sarkinite rocks, hence why it is so difficult to excavate an elemental vein. scrolls of space are incredibly rare, too. our clans only have a few left, but we have no choice but to use them under the circumstances. the only problem is, the space element won’t be able to move through the layers of rocks, since almost every corner in the fire vein has the sarkinite. we’ve managed to find a perfect spot after surveying the place for six months. if you can destroy the sarkinite in that specific spot, you’ll be able to use the scrolls of space!” mui guangqing said.

“i bet it’s not going to be easy to find the spot?” mo fan asked.

“it’s indeed going to be tricky to find it. we don’t really know what the situation is down there. we’ve only determined the spot through simulations. i’ll show you the directions later, and you must determine the exact path to the spot,” mui guangqing said.

“i have a poor sense of direction! i can even lose my directions on the roads, let alone down there!” mo fan protested loudly.

“i have memorized the path,” dongfang linlin said.

“mm, we asked her to do most of the simulations. dongfang linlin will guide you to the sarkinite, but the rest of you must remember the directions just in case something happens,” mui guangqing said.

“by the way, didn’t you mention the white lava, apart from the red lava, brown lava, and black lava? what exactly is the white lava?” lingling interrupted.

“that’s the most important thing i’m going to explain right now!” mui guangqing said with a slightly louder voice.

“f**k me, are you telling me that everything you just mentioned is only the appetizer!?” zhao manyan bleated.

Chapter 1444 West Kunlun Wind

translated by xephiz

edited by aelryinth

mui guangqing looked rather awkward, but soon regained his serious expression and replied, “we believe the white lava is the core of the fire vein at the bottom of the caldera, where the meteorite smashed into the mountain. if we aren’t mistaken, its temperature should be high enough to burn a ruler-level to ashes within a minute.”

“are you being f**king serious now!?” zhao manyan screamed at the top of his lungs.

“the white lava should only appear in fixed locations, which is why we need a fire spirit summoned beast to cross the white lava and set the space coordinates. none of us have gone inside, so you’ll have to act according to the situation. if you can’t find a way to cross the white lava, you’ll have to leave with the scrolls of space,” mui guangqing said.

the fire spirit summoned beast obviously referred to little flame belle.

in other words, the white lava was located at the bottom of the volcanic pond. it had the highest temperature, and could set anything on fire with the slightest touch. even a ruler-level creature had no chance of enduring its heat. advanced mages like them would be burned to ashes if even a single drop of the white lava touched them!

the only way across the white lava was using the scrolls of space.

however, they were a lot of uncertainties when using the scrolls of space, especially when they had no clue how many walls, rocks, or obstacles there were in the surroundings. using the scrolls of space recklessly was only going to get themselves killed. because of that, someone had to cross the white lava first and set the coordinates where the scrolls of space would teleport them to!

only then would they be able to teleport to the right spot!

“your job is done once you’ve set the space coordinates. leave the excavating to professionals like us,” mui guangqing said blithely.

——

they went through the plan once again. it turned out that they only had a single scroll of space. it was currently in the hands of mui zhuocheng, who was also a space mage himself. it was the mui clan that had provided them with the extremely rare magic scroll. mo fan would have been more than happy to keep it as a safety measure, but it was unlikely that mui zhuocheng would give it to him.

all magic scrolls were uncommon. only a very few factions had the skill to produce magic scrolls, not to mention something as extravagant as the scroll of space. mo fan had seen asha’ruiya using one before when they were at the top of mount tyrant. mo fan could still feel chills running down his spine whenever he recalled the shadows of the enormous creatures above the clouds, and the giant hand looming over them.

the mui clan had seriously gone all out this time, offering the use of the scroll of space that they treated as the clan’s heirloom and heritage. nothing was better than the scroll of space when running away; the distance it could cover was a lot greater than using blink!

mo fan’s blink could teleport him less than three hundred meters. the walls in the volcanic pond were clearly more than a thousand meters thick, so it was impossible for him to teleport out of the volcanic pond with blink. the thought of teleporting into the lava accidentally was already creating great pressure on his thoughts…

——-

after the team was done with the preparations, all they needed was a suitable time to jump into the hole.

mui guangqing kept his eyes on the volcanic pond all the time. he was waiting for a longer opening before giving the signal.

every time a hollow appeared as a result of an explosion, the lava would scatter across the place. it was suicide to fly above the lava, so the team could only wait at the edge patiently until a hollow was formed closer to the edge they were standing at.

it was a long wait. hollows would not appear all the time, and due to the size of the volcanic pond, most of the hollows either appeared closer to the center or on the side opposite where the team was at…

“it’s here, the next one is very close to us!” dongfang linlin said.

“it won’t do, it won’t last for long. the hollow is going to fill up before you can make it to the bottom,” mui guangqing shook his head.

“but we’ve waited for so long.”

“we can’t afford to rush it.”

“it seems like the wind is blowing in our direction. the lava is going to splash on us. should we choose a different spot?” mo fan said.

“we’ll wait here, have some patience.”

——

mu bai was playing an important role on the team, since he was an ice mage. not every mage had outstanding fire resistance. those that were appointed to enter the volcanic pond had already put on magic equipment of the ice element and the water element, but they were still struggling to endure the heat. the longer they waited, the more unbearable the heat was.

“hang in there. i know it’s very tough, but our chance might arrive in the very next second. well, there’s also a chance that we will have to wait here for a whole day…” mui guangqing reassured the team.

“at this rate, i’m going to be worn out before going inside,” zhao manyan said.

mu bai had expended a significant amount of energy. to make things worse, the lava kept falling in their direction because of the strong winds.

“damn it, where did the wind even come from? there was barely any wind before!” zhao manyan cursed.

mu bai lifted his gaze and looked into the sky. he suddenly noticed the thick cloud of volcanic ashes drifting away, as if someone was dragging the orange and brown mist to the west…

the wind was strong enough to blow the volcanic ashes away?

for some reason, mu bai suddenly recalled what the hooker xiao zhou told him the other night…

“then you must come back safely. the west kunlun wind is going to start blowing the night after tomorrow. it will drive the clouds and the dust away, so the sky will be the clearest by then. if you come here again, you’ll see the stars as i’ve mentioned.”

the west kunlun wind?

wouldn’t that mean the wind was going to blow the volcanic ashes away, too?

mu bai immediately looked at the scorching rock peak that he had not bothered to watch before.

he was utterly dumbfounded by what he saw; the scorching rock peak, which was initially shrouded by the volcanic ashes, was now visible. it was as sharp as a sword, pointing imperiously at the sky. he could see a giant pair of red wings extending slowly out from atop it. they were absolutely shocking, despite the distance between them!

the west kunlun wind had blown the volcanic ash cloud away!

mu bai also recalled mui guangqing mentioning that the dominator of sun ridge was not well-behaved at certain times. was he referring to when the west kunlun wind was blowing!?

“damn it, why did the wind have to come at this time!?” mui guangqing yelled when he finally realized what was happening.

xiao zhou had grown up around here. she might not be a mage, but she was familiar with the shifting of the seasons at kunlun mountain. she knew the exact day when a strong wind would occur… mu bai learned about it the night before, but it did not occur to him that the two events were related!

he did not think the volcanic ashes that they were relying on to conceal them from the creature’s vision and senses would be blown away by the west kunlun wind!

the fat was seriously in the fire now. the group of people above the volcanic pond was completely exposed under the proud gaze of the great ruler. its eyes were obviously sharp as a ruler-level creature. it could easily lock its eyes onto them at their current distance!

Chapter 1445 Using Violence to Curb Violence

translated by xephiz

edited by aelryinth

—

—

“mo fan, any other advanced mages would be scared if they stumbled into a commander-level creature in the wild; why must we step on the toes of a ruler-level creature every few days? are we f**king forbidden mages now!?” zhao manyan cursed while running as fast as he could.

the west kunlun wind alone was very strong, let alone the powerful gusts that were surging in their direction after the sun ridge’s fiery-winged ruler started flying at them. the winds immediately blew the stones and the dust on the roulette wheel summit into the air, together with the volcanic ash, lava droplets, and gravel. the group was left with no choice but to run for their lives!

the sun ridge ruler’s speed was absolutely shocking. it was several mountains and valleys away when the group noticed it, yet the creature was less than three kilometers away after they had only run a few steps. a ruler-level creature was able to kill an advanced mage instantly from a distance of a kilometer. they would have to split up and run in different directions once the creature was close enough to attack them!

mo fan had to admit that zhao manyan was right; he had been stirring up troubles with a lot of insanely strong creatures lately…

as a matter of fact, commander-level creatures and ruler-level creatures were extremely rare. one might accidentally enter the demon creatures’ territory, wander aimlessly for ten days, and still not stumble into a single commander-level creature. having that in mind, the only explanation as to why he had been stumbling into ruler-level creatures so often lately was because he had been looking for too much trouble. he kept putting himself in extremely dangerous situations!

“enough talk, that son of a b**ch is going to attack us from range when it’s around a kilometer away. you better ready your defense so we have a chance of getting out here alive!” mo fan shouted back.

speaking of a bad start! their lives were in danger before they had a chance to put the long-awaited plan into motion. not only did they go through so much trouble, but they also had to be chased around by a ruler-level creature, too!

“a ruler-level creature with wings is normally six times faster than the strongest advanced wind mage. our speed isn’t even half as fast as an advanced wind mage. it’s useless trying to run away!” lingling said, as if the danger was none of her concern.

“so are you telling us we shouldn’t be running!?” zhao manyan yelped.

it was indeed useless to try to run away in their situation. the fiery-winged ruler’s speed was like an enormous eagle. unfortunately, they were not rabbits, as rabbits still had a chance of running away from an eagle. they were like a bunch of clumsy piglets instead, visible and slow-moving targets running in a single direction!

most terrifyingly, there was no cover on the roulette wheel summit. it felt like the fiery-winged tyrant was making its way to a dining table to enjoy the delicacies that had presented themselves!

“old zhao, it’s only two kilometers away!” mo fan said after glancing back to roughly estimate the distance.

the fiery-winged tyrant was not as huge as mo fan had imagined when it was two kilometers away, but the size of its wings was unbelievable. it was obviously the kind of ruler-level creature with an incredible speed!

this kind of ruler-level creature was usually deadlier, since its prey did not even have a chance to run away!

“stop yelling, i’m preparing… f**k me!” zhao manyan immediately saw the creature beating its fiery wings to fire burning projectiles at them as soon as he turned around!

the projectiles were like meteorites, sealing the group’s escape path. several meteorites the size of a house slammed heavily onto the path ahead. everyone immediately ran in separate directions!

“don’t split up!” mui guangqing yelled when he saw two members running in the opposite direction to them.

“it’s a fast ruler-level creature. it’s going to take us out one by one if we split up. we might have a chance to hold on longer if we stick together,” lingling said.

the two members were not thinking clearly, but they still turned around and fled with the team.

“damn it, its attack range is more than a kilometer!” mo fan cursed.

“where’s old mo? where’s dongfang mo? wasn’t he supposed to keep an eye on the creature? what the hell is he up to!?” zhao manyan yelled.

“they must be making preparations on the other side. they didn’t expect the creature to come right at us. don’t give up yet, we must hold on until dongfang mo is here. it’s our only chance. look out, fire is coming out from the ground!” mui guangqing said, pointing ahead.

flames were emerging from the ground. even though the creature was still more than a kilometer away, it was already able to attack the group. flames sprouted along the ground like fire lilies. the group wove through the flames like wriggling snakes. luckily, everyone in the group was an elite advanced mage. the entire team would have been wiped out by now if it consisted of some ordinary mages!

“old zhao, it’s coming again!” mo fan yelled.

“i know, stop yelling!” zhao manyan said.

“we are going to die for sure; damn it, i should have left with fan dong!”

“don’t panic, we can still make it!”

“how? it’s a ruler-level creature!” dongfang linlin said.

the ruler was inflicting overwhelming fear on the team. everything they had learned until now was like a child’s play compared to the terrifying baptism of fire pouring down at them.

“it’s coming,” mui zhuocheng said hopelessly. he could already see the shadow of the ruler-level creature looming over them. he also felt a scorching heat that he had never experienced before coming at them. their defense was almost non-existent!

—

a long cry was heard. it sounded extremely close. the fiery-winged tyrant had turned into a soul-crushing burning drill diving at them at an angle. it was lunging right at the roulette wheel summit, and the group of mages that were desperately running for their lives.

zhao manyan turned around at the perfect time and spread his arms apart! “titan body!”

a brown light burst out from his body and formed silhouettes of a sturdy figure. each image was bigger than the one before!

the last silhouette was almost the size of a tyrant titan. its outline solidified as its brightness reached its limit. it looked like a titan spreading its arms apart, standing its ground firmly!

the fiery-winged tyrant slammed into the enormous silhouette. the titan dissipated like bubbles. meanwhile, zhao manyan was knocked flying by the enormous impact. he fell down in front of the group.

“well done!” mo fan exclaimed happily.

the titan body was shattered into pieces, but the fiery-winged tyrant’s head was spinning from the enormous impact. it was standing there stunned. the defense had managed to buy the team some time!

the team would have been forced to split up if they did not stop the fiery-winged tyrant’s attack. the fiery-winged tyrant would have plenty of time to feast on them!

“impressive, how impressive!” mui guangqing’s impression of zhao manyan shifted tremendously when he saw how zhao manyan had defended them from the ruler-level creature’s attack. if everything had gone according to plan, their chance of success would have been higher with a defensive mage like him on their side!

mui zhuocheng, dongfang linlin, qi shan, and the others were stunned, too. they stared at zhao manyan, who was fallen miserably on the ground, in disbelief. the guy was far more impressive than they had thought. unfortunately, it did not really make any difference, as the ruler-level creature would be coming after them again in no time!

as they had thought, the fiery-winged tyrant did not give them any chance of escaping after recovering from its dizziness. it used the fiery lilies to seal off their path of escape once again.

“this way, follow me!” mui guangqing took the lead. the buff from his wind element gave the team a glimpse of hope.

the wind trail boosting the team’s speed had changed direction. the path down the mountain was completely blocked off. they could only run toward the volcanic pond. it would mostly buy them some time. dongfang mo must be close by, but his speed was obviously no match for the ruler-level creature. it would take him some time to come from the other mountain!

their initial plan was to let dongfang mo be on standby close to the scorching rock peak. if they ended up making too much noise, dongfang mo would take the initiative to lure the ruler-level creature away. however, they had not expected the wind to blow the volcanic ashes away. the fiery-winged tyrant had ignored dongfang mo and gone right after them instead! dongfang mo did have magic wings. he was chasing the ruler-level creature, but his speed was completely outmatched by it!

“mo fan, i’m done for,” zhao manyan said, his face extremely pale.

“hang in there, old mo is going to be here soon,” mo fan comforted the injured zhao manyan.

“can we not be brothers in our next life?” zhao manyan said softly. he was scarred after being set up by mo fan numerous times.

“sure, i’ll be your father instead.”

“screw you!”

“do you really have the mood to joke about that under the current circumstances?” dongfang linlin grunted.

“it’s coming again!” mu bai warned.

“dongfang linlin, you must be a space mage too, right? stay here and be prepared to lend me a hand. i’ll go and stop that assh***. don’t you abandon me!” mo fan said to dongfang linlin.

“here?” dongfang linlin did not understand what mo fan was referring to, but before she could discuss the plan further, mo fan had stopped running. he turned around and faced the fiery-winged tyrant just like zhao manyan had!

the fiery-winged tyrant was gliding just above the ground of the roulette wheel summit. it was moving like a red flicker; it was so quick that there was barely any time for anyone to react.

“little flame belle!”

little flame belle tore the rift above mo fan apart after receiving the signal. she descended upon mo fan in the form of the flame belle empress. it looked like mo fan was being possessed by a fire spirit…

the flames of ardent sunset engulfed mo fan like fiery armor. they first erupted from his feet before covering his entire body. it looked like mo fan had just put on a suit of imperious armor!

mo fan did not have any defensive spells. he had decided to curb violence with violence instead!

he clenched his fists. the ardent sunset burned vigorously on his left fist, while the calamity fire spread rapidly from his right. he slammed his fists into one another in front of his chest. the two fire domains exploded as the fire magic accumulated rapidly, like water being drawn into the eye of a vortex!

Chapter 1446 Relay Blink Escape Technique

translated by xephiz

edited by aelryinth

“fiery swamp!”

mo fan slammed his fist onto the ground, setting it on fire and forming a swamp of raging flames ahead of him!

he then fixed his eyes on the fiery-winged tyrant!

the creature’s speed was insanely high. mo fan knew he would most likely end up in the creature’s beak if he waited until the creature was within range before setting up his fire domain!

“rise!” mo fan roared. he swung his other fist at the sky in an uppercut!

an enormous fiery dragon rose from the swamp of flames. it went right at the fiery-winged ruler flying close to the ground.

the massive dragon of fire contained remarkable power. its scattering flames were strong enough to burn everything within five hundred meters to ashes. even though mo fan had thrown the fiery dragon punch slightly early, it still collided with the fiery-winged tyrant!

the fiery dragon rose in an unstoppable manner, the howls of its flames sounding like the roars of a dragon. it was the strongest attack that mo fan had learned with little flame belle’s strength while he spending almost half a year recovering at the parthenon temple. it required some time to channel and its range was very limited, but it could easily kill a commander-level creature once it landed on the target!

the fiery-winged tyrant had obviously underestimated its opponents. it never thought a mere human whose aura was a whole level weaker than it could throw such a terrifying fiery punch. the rising dragon forcibly knocked it into the air. it started spinning after losing its balance, while the raging flames devoured it.

the eyes of mui guangqing and the others almost popped out of their sockets when they saw the rising dragon punch!

zhao manyan’s attempt to defend the team from the ruler-level creature’s attack was already shocking, but mo fan was even crazier. he managed to knock the fiery-winged tyrant into the sky! they were struggling to imagine how the imperious fiery dragon rising from the swamp was unleashed by a weak, feeble mage. how reckless and wild was this guy!?

the fiery-winged tyrant was infuriated. its dignity as a ruler-level creature was greatly shaken after failing its attacks twice in a row.

the fiery dragon had inflicted minor injuries on the creature, but they were nowhere enough to weaken it. it forcibly twisted its body in the sky and used its wings to stabilize itself. its imperious aura extinguished the flames of the ardent sunset and the calamity fire. it raised its head and exhaled an overwhelming breath at mo fan!

the exhalation was mixed with scorching flames that could easily burn anyone into ashes. mo fan clearly had no chance of enduring it…

mo fan was utterly shocked too. he initially thought his attack would knock the creature further away to buy him some time. he did not expect the creature to recover so quickly!

it was a ruler-level creature, after all. even his strongest attack would only result in a negligible outcome!

“blink!” mo fan was no idiot. he had used all his might to slightly shove this guy away, but the guy’s single slap in reaction to his shove was enough to break all his bones to pieces. he was clearly not on the same level as this creature. he should be running for his life after he managed to take advantage of the creature by luck!

mo fan could teleport at most two hundred and seventy meters away with blink. it was the furthest distance he could cover by drawing a silver star constellation, and only when he was using the spell on himself!

mo fan escaped from the range of the fiery-winged tyrant’s breath with a single cast of blink. unfortunately, the tyrant’s breath was not so easy to dodge. the creature merely moved its head to redirect the strong blast at mo fan. as it shifted its head, the terrifying force of the breath tore a huge path across the ground. the gouge spread rapidly in mo fan’s direction!

“dongfang linlin, help!” mo fan yelled at dongfang linlin.

the strong wind was approaching too quickly. mo fan needed time to construct the star constellation to cast blink. he was still within the range of the creature’s breath, as he had moved less than three hundred meters away.

mo fan was well aware of the strength of a ruler-level creature. they could easily bring utter destruction upon an area for five hundred meters around them, and up to a kilometer with some of their moves.

mo fan was already fleeing at his quickest pace. he finally caught up to dongfang linlin.

luckily, dongfang linlin was a very smart and collected woman under the pressure. as a space mage, she already knew what mo fan was up to when she saw mo fan running at her. he was planning to use her blink to run away from the creature, like a relay race!

dongfang linlin had constructed the silver star constellation in advance. she timed the spell perfectly. the moment mo fan caught up to her, the star constellation flickered. they both vanished into thin air, leaving a trail of crystalline dust in the air.

the deadly breath poured down from the sky before the crystalline dust dissipated, leaving a terrifyingly long and deep ravine across the sturdy ground!

“not bad, two hundred meters!” mo fan complimented when he realized he had reappeared two hundred meters away.

the first-tier blink was only usable on a single person. the more adept the space mage and the higher their mental strength, the greater the maximum distance they could cover with a single cast. mo fan was only able to blink a hundred meters away when he first learned the spell.

after reaching the second-tier, he could blink through obstacles, as long as the space was not completely sealed up. he could also teleport others within the star constellation with him, but the higher the number of people and the greater the area the objects he was trying to teleport occupied, the shorter the distance he would be able to cover.

in mo fan’s case, when he was casting blink on himself, the maximum distance he could travel was between two hundred and fifty to three hundred meters. if there were two people, the distance would shrink to between a hundred fifty to two hundred meters. dongfang linlin had managed to teleport them two hundred meters away, her space element was obviously on par with his. the volunteers of the two renowned clans were indeed very impressive!

the two hundred meters was extremely important. otherwise, he would have had no chance of escaping the range of the ruler-level creature’s attack.

even so, they immediately ran as fast as they could after they teleported away from the attack. mui guangqing was smart enough to leave a wind track behind to boost their speed while their blink was on cooldown!

it was such a close call!

the two space mages had barely escaped the ruler-level creature’s breath attack. if mo fan had not knocked the creature far enough away, he would have had no chance of escaping from the attack. he was still too weak to take on a ruler-level creature. he might be able to stay alive for now, but the countdown of death was already ticking!

—

“why isn’t old mo here yet? is he trying to set us up!?” mo fan yelled.

“he’s there!” mui guangqing finally saw dongfang mo, but the man was still around two kilometers away. the fiery-winged tyrant was too angry to even care about dongfang mo.

“we are running out of room ahead. we are doomed!” zhao manyan shouted.

“it’s coming. we are done for, this is the end…”

“can anyone hold it back briefly? do it now.”

“we’ve already tried our best. there’s nothing we can do!”

“blink, hurry up and use blink…”

“blink my ass, it would only teleport us into the lava!”

Chapter 1447 Mo Fan, The True Rascal

translated by xephiz

edited by aelryinth

“just think of something, quick!”

“oh dongfang mo, we are all going to die,” mui guangqing was already saying his last words when he saw the fiery-winged tyrant approaching.

dongfang mo was clearly not going to make it in time. besides, a super mage had no chance of taking on a ruler-level creature alone. human mages were significantly weaker than demon creatures of the same level. it was also a lot trickier to rescue and protect someone else in the middle of a fight…

“quick, jump into the hole!” lingling suddenly blurted out. her innocent voice did not sound convincing at all. the others had no clue what she was trying to say.

however, mo fan always treated lingling’s words seriously. he turned around and saw two lumps of black lava exploding around seven hundred meters away from where they were. the scorching lava splashed into the sky, and poured down like a great storm. even the mages that were responsible for defending the team were too preoccupied to set up their defense. they were going to die either way. perhaps being burned to death was the better way to die!

“jump, jump into the hollow now!” lingling was panicking. she kicked at zhao manyan beside her.

zhao manyan immediately reacted. his eyes flickered with a glimpse of hope.

“there’s an opening, quick, jump into it now!” zhao manyan was the first to jump. he dove right into the pool of lava.

“don’t, the opening isn’t huge enough, we aren’t going to make it to the bottom!” mui guangqing yelled, staring at the shrinking zhao manyan as he fell deeper into the hole.

the noise that the lava was producing was utterly deafening, but the others could still hear zhao manyan’s loud scream coming from the hole, “oh shit, oh shit, f**k!”

mo fan looked at zhao manyan, who had taken the lead. he then looked at the fiery-winged tyrant and roughly estimated the distance between them.

“screw it, jump!” mo fan picked the petite lingling up and dove into the hole, going right after zhao manyan’s cursing form.

the others were stunned. mu bai and qi shan were the next to jump into the blazing red pond. the others followed in turn, as they were left with no choice.

“the plan wasn’t supposed to be like this!” mui guangqing jumped into the hole too. tears almost burst out of his eyes as he was falling into the hole.

they had been waiting for the perfect opening for so long. any of the openings previously were a lot bigger and deeper than the current one. if they knew it would come down to such a terrible situation, they would have jumped into a hole a lot earlier. which god did they offend that resulted in the team detonating before the plan even started!?

—

“old zhao, can you go a little slower? what if you’re burned to death because you’re going so fast on your own!?” mo fan yelled.

“shut the hell up, it’s not like i can slow myself dooooowwwnnn!” mo fan found it hard to hear zhao manyan clearly.

“pull everyone closer to us,” lingling’s head poked out from mo fan’s arms as she spoke.

“alright, hang on me tight,” mo fan loosened his grip, allowing lingling to hang on him like a little sloth.

mo fan immediately used his telekinesis while falling to forcibly drag the others that had jumped at different times closer to him.

“holy crap, why is someone still up there!?” mo fan looked up and saw a person standing at the edge like a statue.

it was entirely possible that someone’s mind would completely go blank when they were stuck between the fiery-winged tyrant approaching from behind and the giant volcanic lake in front.

mo fan clearly did not have the time to counsel someone under the circumstances. all he could do was use his telekinesis to drag the person into the hole without getting their consent…

luckily, the distance was not too far apart. mo fan’s telekinesis was still strong enough to drag them into the hole. it grabbed at them and shoved them toward the hole. the maga called mui qing promptly screamed at the top of her lungs as she fell miserably into the sea of flames!

“mu bai, keep the lava away!” mo fan said calmly after he gathered everyone toward him.

huge pillars of flames sprang up like dragons as the team gradually approached the lava. the hollow was less than a hundred meters below them. if the hollow was not deep enough, it meant there was still lava blocking the path. if their defenses were not good enough, they would be burned to ashes within seconds!

“icebound coffin!”

mu bai was able to remain calm under the circumstances, too. he immediately constructed an ice constellation after the signal from mo fan.

the icy-white star constellation was glowing brightly, indicating that mu bai had a very solid foundation. the faint blue ice also indicated he had a high-level ice seed!

ice rapidly froze around the team as they fell into the hollow. the ice slowly formed an icebound coffin, encapsulating every member on the team!

the icebound coffin fell straight into the brown lava at the bottom of the opening.

the lava was around four hundred meters deep, but the explosion had only given them an opening around three hundred meters deep. in other words, they would have to traverse a hundred meters of lava, and fifty meters of that consisted of the extremely high-temperature brown lava!

the icebound coffin had fallen right into a boiling furnace. it was already melting from the extreme heat from their surroundings, before even touching the flames!

a white mist began to rise around the icebound coffin. half of it melted as soon as it made contact with the red lava.

the icebound coffin slammed into the pool of lava. the red lava splashed into the air and immediately burned hotly, turning the hollow into a pill-refining cauldron…

the members could already feel the terrifying heat penetrating their bodies and bones, despite the layer of ice protecting them. mo fan was still possessed by little flame belle, so his fire resistance was on par with hers. the red lava did not pose too much of a threat to him, but the others were in a much worse situation compared to him. mo fan already saw the girl called mui qing who was the furthest away from them burning…

“her organs must be burning!” mo fan started to panic a little.

their bodies were covered in ice, but the strong heat was being transmitted right into their organs. the organs would burst into flames if they could not find a way to lower the temperature. it was absolute torture.

mo fan could not bear to watch the girl die just like that. either way, he was the one that dragged her into the hole without her consent, even though she would be dead by now if it was not for him.

mo fan broke free from the ice that mu bai had applied to him. he forcibly dragged mui qing closer to him…

“little flame belle, can you draw the fire out of her body?” mo fan said to little flame belle.

little flame belle told mo fan that it was impossible to draw the flame out directly. besides, the fire was burning inside her body. the only way was to draw it out through her respiratory tract.

mo fan could not care less anymore knowing the girl’s life was at stake. he broke the ice surrounding mui qing and placed his lips on her mouth. he forced his way through her teeth and took a deep breath…

the flames burning inside mui qing’s lungs were already growing. luckily, mo fan had reacted in time to forcibly draw the deadly flames out of her respiratory tract and lungs!

the ice was transparent. zhao manyan’s eyes widened when he saw what mo fan was doing through the ice.

holy crap, mo fan was seriously unmatched when it came to being a rascal. did he seriously just kiss an unconscious beauty forcibly under the current circumstances!?

the ice finally melted. mu bai had done his best. mui zhuocheng immediately activated the magic ring on his finger, constructing a water constellation. a dark blue barrier encapsulated everyone on the team!

the water barrier managed to insulate them from the majority of the heat, giving the team a chance to catch their breath.

“did it feel good?” zhao manyan asked.

“good my ass, i was trying to save her life! her lungs were burning out!” mo fan grunted.

“more like it’s burning under your stomach,” zhao manyan replied, grinning.

mo fan did not want to waste his time on the scumbag zhao manyan. he glanced at mui zhuocheng, who was maintaining the water barrier with everything he had and asked, “how long can your barrier last…”

mo fan noticed the barrier breaking apart before he could even finish his question. the brown lava started pouring in through a crack in the barrier. the air inside the barrier instantly erupted into flames. the flames were as strong as a sky-flame funeral cast with a soul-grade seed!

it was terrifying; it felt like the team was being blasted by mo fan’s violent flames!

not many people at the advanced level could withstand mo fan’s flames, including mo fan himself. mui zhuocheng had already used everything he had, yet the defense had only lasted for such a brief moment.

dongfang xifeng was the next to act. according to the plan, he would use his blue soul-grade flame to drive the brown lava away, like combating poison with poison. the others no longer felt safe when they saw the lava surging at them!

“water curtain, baxia seal!”

zhao manyan quickly used his water element to fill the gap. it barely suppressed the violent flames of the brown lava.

“icebound coffin!” mu bai and mui zhuocheng cast the spell simultaneously. two icebound coffins separated the team from the lava.

“little flame belle, can you manipulate the lava?” mo fan asked.

“ning!~”

little flame belle was a fire elemental creature. mo fan immediately felt a terrifying heat burning every inch of his body when little flame belle flew out from his body. he was already suffering such great pain as a fire mage, let alone the others!

mo fan looked at lingling, who was lying on his back. he noticed that lingling had already fallen unconscious. she was encapsulated by a strange glow. it seemed to be protecting her, stopping the flames from touching her.

Chapter 1448 Nothing Left to Live For

translated by xephiz

edited by aelryinth

mo fan let out a relieved sigh when he saw the barrier around lingling. it seemed like old bao had given lingling some precious magic equipment, too. otherwise, she would have burned into ashes after jumping into the hole, since she was not a mage. the special glow did not provide mo fan with any protection; it was most likely bound to lingling’s soul. it could only protect her.

the fifty-meter-deep brown lava was an extremely long journey for the team. it felt like they had just gone through the torturous process of reincarnation!

the team eventually fell into a thick and cloudy mist. the mist was extremely strange; its resistance was surprisingly greater than the lava. luckily, it did not bring any harm to the team. as soon as they moved into the mist, it immediately cut off the effect of the brown lava!

the brown lava’s heat did not permeate into the mist; it seemed that the mist and the lava were incompatible. it was like they had fallen into a transparent cottony swamp. they had to put in quite an effort to continue descending…

“thank the heavens!” mui guangqing was in a miserable state, but he was so touched that he had an urge to fall to his knees and pray in sincere gratitude.

they had forced their way through the brown lava. they had used everything they had to stay alive!

“mui zhuocheng, take out the scroll of space, let’s leave this place at once. i don’t want to stay here any longer!” dongfang xifeng blurted out.

“can anyone treat my injuries? my hand is fully burned.”

“mui qing is still unconscious. who is going to treat your injuries? uncle guangqing, i believe it’s unnecessary to keep going. we are all worn out. it’s a miracle that we are still alive…”

mui guangqing shook his head with a sigh.

“how can we possibly accomplish our mission with our current condition?” dongfang xifeng grunted.

“didn’t i already tell you? the dimensional magic isn’t going to work here. we aren’t able to use the scroll of space unless we destroy the wall of sarkinite rock!” mui guangqing stated.

the team only remembered that after he repeated it. everyone immediately lost their spirits.

-that’s right, the dimensional magic is restricted here. we finally found a safe environment where we can take our time and establish the magic formation to escape from here, yet it turns out to be a cage imprisoning us instead!-

“let’s head down. the environment at the bottom is much stabler. we’ll discuss our next step there,” mui guangqing said.

“it’s not like there’s a better option…”

“damn it, how did it even come to this!?”

the team made their way through the thick mist. at the bottom was a cave made of jagged rocks with extremely high melting points, as mui guangqing had mentioned before. the rocks had obviously been refined by the flames over a very long time, almost turning into crystals. it made the cave look like an underground world made of irregular glossy black-brown rock faces and protrusions…

the mist was still around. it did not interfere with their breathing, but it felt like they were in an underground cave drowned in seawater. they felt like they were swimming around!

“the mist is stopping the lava from pouring into the cave,” mui guangqing noticed.

“but it also makes it difficult to move around. i believe the mist severely impacts our magic too, right?” mo fan was swimming at the front. he would slowly drift to the top of the cave if he remained still. the rock crystals spread across the ceiling were quite sharp. the mist was buoyant enough for the rock crystals to stab right through them if they did not resist it!

“mmm, our magic’s efficiency is significantly reduced, but it’s going to be a lot better once we make it through here. the place we are heading to is perfectly normal,” mui guangqing said.

“i’m never going to forget this…” dongfang linlin said.

“shouldn’t you be saying that when you’re lying comfortably in a bathtub at home filled with hot water? we don’t even know if we’re going to make it out alive!” zhao manyan corrected her.

“it’s going to be fine, let’s be more optimistic. even though the situation is a little more complicated, we still made it down here, didn’t we?” mui guangqing tried comforting the others.

“you call this a little more complicated? my soul almost lefy my body a few times!” dongfang xifeng grumbled.

“leader, i think dongfang linlin is suffering from some burns,” mui zhuocheng told mo fan.

mo fan went up to dongfang linlin and saw the armor on her back was severely scorched. the tender skin on her back was crossed with blistered red wounds. a few dark red lines were spreading across her back like spiderwebs…

“she’s suffering from the fiery poison, it’s deadly!” mui guangqing recognized the fiery poison right away. his optimism had only lasted for a few seconds.

“is it curable?” mo fan blurted out.

if the fiery poison was not dealt with right away, it was similar to opening up a hole in her health bar. her health would be drained constantly.

dongfang linlin’s injuries were very serious. she had no chance of recovering on her own, nor would the medicine they brought be of any help.

“is mui qing still unconscious?” qi shan asked.

“yeah, she won’t be waking up anytime soon,” mo fan shook his head.

mui qing was the team’s healer. a healer was usually more vulnerable. even though mo fan had done all he could to protect her, her breathing was too weak after the damage the flames had dealt to her lungs. on top of that, the oxygen level in the underground cave was very low, too. it was difficult to tell when she was going to wake up.

mui qing would be able to cure dongfang linlin’s injuries, but she was currently in a pinch herself!

“may i ask, is dongfang linlin the only one that knows the directions?” zhao manyan asked. he was staring right at mui guangqing.

mui guangqing immediately felt awkward. he said, “well, i wasn’t planning to come down here at the beginning, so i didn’t bother to memorize the map, but don’t you worry, i still have a faint memory of it. i should be able to recall the details when i see the similarities later.”

“brother mui zhuocheng, are you sure you still have the scroll of space too? did it fall out of your pocket when you were jumping into the cave?” zhao manyan asked deliberately. he seemed to have lost all faith in mui guangqing.

“do you think i’m an idiot!?” mui zhuocheng spat.

“oh, that’s good to know. i was asking just in case,” zhao manyan said.

“i…i can hold on for a little longer. let’s stop wasting our time. we should hurry up and find the sarkinite while i’m still awake,” dongfang linlin insisted.

“don’t worry, everything is going to be fine. don’t lose hope yet, we’ll make it out alive!” mui guangqing continued to comfort the others as the eldest among them.

unfortunately, the others were not influenced by his fake optimism. they followed behind dongfang linlin like they had nothing left to live for.

their chance of survival solely depended on how long she could live!

Chapter 1449 White Lava Curtain Waterfall

translated by xephiz

edited by aelryinth

the mist slowly faded away. the underground cave of brown crystals with complicated maze-like tunnels was bigger than the team had imagined. they would arrive at another indistinguishable junction after traveling every fifty to sixty meters. there were both narrow and spacious interconnected paths. trying to find the wall of sarkinite was like trying to scoop up a needle from an ocean!

the fiery poison continued to drain away dongfang linlin’s vitality. her face was like a golden sheet of paper, but her lips were pale as snow. she was even struggling to walk properly, let alone using her magic. it looked like she would collapse in any second.

qi shan offered to carry her on his back, but dongfang linlin shook her head, saying that it was the only way she could keep herself awake.

dongfang linlin clenched her teeth and endured the pain. about ten minutes later, she fell to the ground feebly, like a shirt from its hanger. her breath was hot enough to burn a person.

“the fiery poison has spread across her entire back. if the fiery poison reaches her heart and spreads through her body via her blood, she will die.” mui guangqing helped dongfang linlin to her feet, but she had already lost consciousness. it was unlikely that she would wake up again.

the spiritual pillar supporting the rest of the team collapsed as she fell to the ground.

it was impossible to turn around and go back the same way. the mist was formed by the heavier substances in the volcanic pool that had accumulated over a long period. the explosions of the black lava had propelled these substances deeper into the volcanic pool though the pits they had created.

it basically meant it was easy for them to jump into the hole, but if they tried to fly up and out, the overwhelming force of the explosions would be pressing down on them!

mui guangqing already made it clear; breaking the sarkinite was the only way out!

“there’s nothing we can do but sit here and wait for our deaths,” dongfang xifeng sat on the ground. he could no longer be bothered.

“even though i might have trouble finding the exact location of the sarkinite, i know the rough direction that will lead us to the white lava. the oxygen level should be higher there. i’ve been observing mui qing’s condition. she seems to be unconscious because of the lack of oxygen, since her respiratory tract was severely injured. if we can make it to the white lava, she might have a chance to wake up once she has enough oxygen. if she wakes up, she might be able to save dongfang linlin’s life too!” mui guangqing said seriously.

“what if she doesn’t wake up? what if dongfang linlin is already dead before we reach the white lava? what if we can’t even find a way to cross the white lava? didn’t you say the white lava is the hardest to cross…” dongfang xifeng said.

“anything is better than waiting to die here! let’s go!” mu bai grunted. he was displeased with dongfang xifeng’s pessimistic attitude.

“yeah, stop grumbling like a pathetic woman, we are mages!”

the team’s will to survive was still very strong. they began searching for paths that would bring them deeper into the cave after hearing mui guangqing’s suggestion.

the white lava was located deeper into the cave, so it was not difficult to find. the problem was the white lava’s terrifying temperature; even a ruler-level creature could not endure its heat.

however, they did not have a better idea. they had no choice but to go forward while dragging their injured teammates with them.

—

“brother guangqing, don’t tell me you are having trouble finding the white lava now?” zhao manyan could not help but ask.

it was not like zhao manyan did not have confidence in mui guangqing, but somehow, he felt like they had walked the same meandering path multiple times. the guy might be knowledgeable, but he seemed to have no sense of direction, just like mo fan!

“well… don’t you worry, i’m going to find it,” mui guangqing replied awkwardly.

“the cave, paths, and tunnels are refined by the high-temperature lava. when the meteorite slammed into the mountain, its flames spread wildly inside it…” lingling said.

“little girl, what are you trying to say? we aren’t on an excursion for a geography class,” mui zhuocheng said.

“kunlun mountain mainly consists of four different substances. the one with the lowest melting point is the orange soil, followed by the brown rock, the black iron rock, and the blue rock. the area we were at previously was made of dark brown crystals that were formed after the brown rock was refined at a high temperature. some of the crystals are mixed with blue rock, indicating that the flames that burned the area had a relatively low temperature, hence the rocks still retained their brown color…” lingling said.

lingling’s speech was full of theories. the others had no idea what she was talking about, but mui guangqing was a researcher, and immediately realized her point.

“exactly, she’s right!” mui guangqing blurted out excitedly.

“right about what? just say it!” mui zhuocheng snapped.

“where are your manners?” mui guangqing glared at mui zhuocheng before explaining with an excited look, “the little girl is a genius. basically, the white lava’s temperature is extremely high, thus only the blue rock with the highest melting point can endure its heat. look at the crystals around us. instead of a pure color, they are mixed with hints of black and blue! we just need to follow the crystals with hints of blue to find the white lava!”

the orange soil, brown rock, and black iron rock along the path would be melted by the white lava as it flowed past, leaving only stone with a higher composition of blue rock behind. they just needed to follow that path to find the white lava!

“it’s indeed helpful to read a lot of books!” zhao manyan raised his thumb at lingling.

there were only three things that lingling normally spent her time on: reading books, completing jobs, and drinking milk tea. she was extremely smart; not just because her iq was high, but because she had read a lot of things!

——

the path was clearly leading them deeper into the cave after the team followed lingling’s instructions, proving the validity of her speculation.

the brown crystals were no longer visible as they proceeded further. even the black iron rocks were nowhere to be seen. all that was left were blue rocks that resembled the palace of an emperor, illuminated by the light of the flames.

“found it! it’s here, look!” mui guangqing blurted out excitedly.

he pointed at the end of the path, where a white curtain of flames was falling. it looked just like a pure piece of silk cloth from afar.

they walked closer to it and discovered that the narrow tunnel was actually leading them to a bigger pool!

the pool was huge, with a diameter of over three hundred meters, with countless tunnels along the walls. it was plain that the scorching lava scattered across the cave would all end up here in the pool eventually, like streams flowing to a larger lake!

the curtain of white lava not only sealed up the tunnel; it was like a huge dome encapsulating a hundred meter circle at the center of the pool!

the dome of white lava seemed to be protecting something inside it.

“the white lava won’t hurt us as long as we don’t touch it,” mui guangqing informed them.

the others were dumbfounded by the spectacular sight in the underground cave.

—

the white lava resembled a curtain at first, but as they looked up, it was more like a waterfall covering a full circle inside the pond. the dome extended from the blue crystalline ground they were standing on to the top of the cave. the spectacular white lava kept flowing up against gravity, but not a single spark or tongue of fire was extending from it.

most kinds of flames were wild and restless, so it was common to have spark, bursts, and flames leaping off from areas where the density of flames was higher. even the slightest splash of burning lava could set the air on fire, but the white lava was surprisingly calm and self-restrained. it was quietly protecting whatever was inside it, arousing everyone’s curiosity towards the mysterious treasure within it!

it was mo fan’s first time seeing anything like that too. little flame belle had already snuck out of the contracted space. she curiously drew closer to the fiery curtain while blinking her eyes.

mo fan did not let little flame belle touch the white lava waterfall. it was obviously going to react to any intruder aggressively.

“this thing can burn even a ruler-level creature to death. what can we do, apart from praying to it?” dongfang xifeng said.

“isn’t now the perfect time for someone to show us what he has? he has to contribute if he’s thinking of getting a share of the action!” mui zhuocheng stared at mo fan.

mui guangqing glanced at mo fan before looking at the little fire spirit floating beside him. mui guangqing asked, “what do you think? can your flame belle enter the white lava waterfall?”

“i’m not sure,” mo fan replied.

“what do you mean you’re not sure? dongfang linlin is about to die!” dongfang xifeng exclaimed.

mo fan glanced at dongfang linlin. her other body parts were blistering now. she was beyond recognition, especially compared to her glamorous appearance from before. even the parthenon temple would have no chance of saving her once the fiery poison reached her heart!

“ling~”

little flame belle floated in front of the curtain of white lava. she reached her finger out to touch the white lava. however, a strong force immediately burst out of the white lava and landed on little flame belle.

little flame belle went flying and slammed heavily into the wall of blue rock nearby, leaving an outline of her petite figure on it.

“ling!”

little flame belle climbed out from the wall and returned to the white lava furiously. she squeaked and grumbled at the white lava.

“flame belle is a blessed creature born in flames. the white lava isn’t too hostile to her. it only knocked her flying, but it’s going to burn us into ashes if we try that,” mui guangqing commented.

“what should we do then!?” dongfang xifeng said.

“mo fan, look over there,” lingling pointed at a tunnel in the opening.

the tunnel had lava pouring out of it like the throat of a fire dragon. the lava was flowing out of it at a constant rate, as if it was being expelled by an enormous dragon!

“what’s that?” mo fan asked.

“a primitive soul-grade fire! i’m afraid you and little flame belle will have to subdue a powerful flame nurtured in this place if you are thinking of entering the dome of white lava. that way, the white lava will not reject you and little flame belle’s presence!” lingling stated.

Chapter 1450 The Soul-grade Flame in the Well

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The flames spitting from the tunnel were controlled. When Mo Fan stepped closer, he could sense that the temperature of the flames was comparable to the Brown Lava. He immediately felt his head hurting.

“Are you sure you want to go in there?” Mui Guangqing was a little worried when he saw Mo Fan’s reaction.

“Dongfang Linlin is running out of time. If she dies, the rest of us will never leave this place. I can still endure the heat of the Brown Lava, but not for too long,” Mo Fan replied.

“I wish you good luck.”

The Primitive Soul-grade Fire Seed in the tunnel was exactly what Mo Fan was looking for.

On top of that, if the Soul-grade Fire was born in this underworld cave, it had to be compatible with the White Lava. If Mo Fan could subdue it, he might have a chance to enter the dome of White Lava!

“Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan Summoned her.

Little Flame Belle immediately merged into Mo Fan’s body, setting him on fire. He went into the flame-spitting tunnel without wasting any further time.

—

Mo Fan was almost blasted right back out of the tunnel when he stepped into it. It felt like a fire dragon was breathing right at him. He could feel his skin cracking apart from the heat, despite his outstanding fire resistance!

He proceeded forward through the tunnel, estimating the interval between the surges of flame the tunnel was spitting out. He immediately hid in the little gaps along the tunnel when he sensed the strong flames surging in his direction. It somewhat reduced the amount of heat he had to endure!

After moving another three hundred meters ahead, Mo Fan was surprised to discover that the place was actually a smaller reserve of fire, similar to the one inside the dome. It was remarkably deep. When Mo Fan lifted his eyes, he happened to see a huge lump of Brown Lava falling down. It immediately turned into a fierce flamethrower when it touched the Blue Rocks, and surged along the path Mo Fan had come from.

Mo Fan felt like he was about to be set on fire when the Brown Lava barely missed him. He quickly used the Ardent Sunset and the Calamity Fire to separate him from the Brown Lava. If he was careless, he might end up just like Mui Qing, and his inner organs would start to burn…

Luckily, the lava did not flow constantly, and the surge stopped after a short time. The scorching lava below flowed away quickly.

Mo Fan looked up the tunnel, and realized that the place actually continued upwards to another pool of lava.

When he looked up, the Brown Lava was flowing like water above him. He wondered why the lava would occasionally fall from the pool, causing the tunnel to spit out flames…

Is it because of the Primitive Soul-grade Fire? Mo Fan soon spotted a crystalline red object that resembled a leaf, floating at the center of the lava pool.

AsMo Fan tried to take a closer look, he immediately noticed the scorching Brown Lava falling down again. The Brown Lava poured straight down where Mo Fan was standing, after passing through the crystalline object.

“F**k this shit!” Mo Fan clenched his teeth. He quickly hid in a gap inside the tunnel to avoid being struck by the Brown Lava.

His skin had started to crack. He knew Little Flame Belle was suffering like he was. Mo Fan comforted when he heard her moan in pain, “Hang in there, we’ll be out of here very soon!”

After waiting for the lava to flow away, Mo Fan immediately went into the opening and looked up. He noticed that the crystalline object seemed to be glowing a little, and its luster was a little different from before.

Is the Brown Lava like water to it?, Mo Fan wondered.

It explained why Primitive Soul-grade Seeds were so rare and special. This cave had existed for many years. It was indeed possible to refine an incredible treasure of the Fire Element in such an environment!

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle cried out in joy. It was obvious that she was delighted by the thing up there.

Meanwhile, the Little Loach Pendant in front of Mo Fan’s chest started buzzing too, reminding them of its existence.

“What are you thinking? That thing is mine, don’t you dare eat it!” Mo Fan quickly ordered with the Little Loach Pendant.

Still, Mo Fan was excited when he sensed the Little Loach Pendant’s response. It was rare to see the Little Loach Pendant expressing its interest in something. It clearly showed that this Soul-grade Flame that had been irrigated by Brown Lava for more than three hundred years was something impressive!

“Little Loach, give us a hand. The two of us won’t be able to handle it,” Mo Fan negotiated with the Little Loach Pendant.

The Little Loach Pendant contained some energy. However, Mo Fan was unsure if it could transform the energy into something useful to him. Mo Fan could endure the surge of Brown Lava one more time, but he needed some time to refine the Fiery Leaf. He would have to endure the heat of the Brown Lava at least a couple more times!

Little Loach soon fell silent. It completely ignored Mo Fan’s ask for help.

Mo Fan was utterly speechless. What was he even thinking? How could he possibly hope the all-take-and-no-give pendant would lend him a hand?

He still had to rely on himself. If Little Loach was interested in it, it must be something valuable. He had to claim it at all costs!

——

The group was waiting anxiously at the bigger pond. They soon noticed Mo Fan coming out from the tunnel.

“How did it go?” Everyone asked.

“It’s a bit of a hassle. I’ll need some help from you all,” Mo Fan said.

“How can we help? Unlike you, we can’t even endure the heat of the Brown Lava!” Mui Zhuocheng grunted.

Mo Fan briefly explained the situation to the team. He immediately looked at Zhao Manyan.

“Screw it, I knew it would come to this, alright, I’ll help you block the Brown Lava once, but that’s most likely my limit. The heat of the Brown Lava is too high for me,” Zhao Manyan said.

“I’ll come too; I should be able to block it for you once too,” Mu Bai said.

“The two of you will do. I can’t bring too many people with me. The gaps along the tunnel aren’t big enough for too many people… the rest of you will wait for us here,” Mo Fan nodded.

The gaps inside the tunnel could help them avoid being struck by Brown Lava flames directly. They would have no problem making it to the pond with Mo Fan’s help. There also happened to be a gap with a Blue Rock close to the final pool, which was also able to protect them from the Brown Lava. It was the key to Mo Fan’s plan working!

“We’ll rush into the tunnel after the next wave of lava. Zhao Manyan, lift us up; I’ll block the first wave. I’ll immediately start refining the Primitive Soul-grade Fire Seed afterwards,” Mo Fan said.

“Alright, we’ll try our best!” Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan agreed.

Chapter 1451 The Three-Leafed Scarlet Soul-grade Flame

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Ouch, my ass is almost blistering!” Zhao Manyan cried out, tugging himself away from the spot he was hiding in.

“Can you stop crying, for Heavens’ sake!?” Mu Bai asked impatiently.

“F**k me, am I not allowed to complain while doing something so dangerous? Isn’t it the same as a woman being pinched down to the ground, but she would be called a slut if she started moaning?” Zhao Manyan immediately rebuked him.

“Seriously, how low can you go!?” Mo Fan grumbled.

The three men had cautiously moved forward and finally reached the safe spot. Zhao Manyan tried poking his head out, but the lava happened to be surging at him. He quickly tugged his head back inside the gap, and smelled his gold-dyed hair burning.

“I spent three thousand on my hair!” Zhao Manyan kept grumbling.

Mu Bai could not stand people that kept grumbling non-stop. He had been extremely annoyed by Dongfang Xifeng previously, and now Zhao Manyan was doing the same thing!

“We don’t have much time left. If we waste any more time, we’ll have to bury two pretty girls here, and we’ll soon accompany them! After the next wave, we’ll make our way to the top!” Mo Fan declared.

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai nodded. Mu Bai did not forget to remind Zhao Manyan coldly, “Now, isn’t it time for you to shut up?”

“I’m telling you, ever since we came to Sun Ridge, every word I have said I have considered to be my last words. I will keep saying them as long as I still have the chance!” Zhao Manyan answered heartily.

“Get ready!” Mo Fan ignored their bickering; his attention was on the lava surge.

As soon as the surge of flames weakened, Mo Fan was the first to dash out of the gap. Little Flame Belle helped him drive the remaining flames away, preventing them from being burned.

The trio reached the lava well. Zhao Manyan immediately summoned his golden wings and flew to the center of the pool.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai nimbly jumped back and forth between the walls to make their way up the well, managing to keep up with Zhao Manyan.

When they reached the Primitive Soul-grade Flame, Mo Fan realized it was a fiery crystalline red three-leaf clover. Its leaves were extremely thin, with a mysterious and special scarlet hue!

“The lava is coming!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Mo Fan quickly shifted his attention away from the dazzling Primitive Soul-grade Fire. He jumped higher into the air and placed himself in front of Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai.

“Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan Summoned her.

Little Flame Belle dived into Mo Fan’s chest and set his heart ablaze. Scorching hot and powerful blood circulated within him, transforming him into a fiery demon!

Mo Fan spread his arms, gathering the flames of the Ardent Sunset and Calamity Fire above him like an umbrella.

The fiery umbrella deformed as soon as the Brown Lava made contact with it. The Brown Lava was almost unstoppable; its flames were on par with the two kinds of Soul-grade Fire Little Flame Belle possessed.!

“Hang in there, it’s already a disgrace to be hiding under your crotch!” Zhao Manyan yelled up at him.

The force of impact from the Brown Lava was very strong. Mo Fan had no chance of resisting it head-on. He could only force it to both sides as it continued to flow down the tunnel…

Half a minute later, the lava surged finally stopped. Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh. He lowered his arms and noticed that they had already blistered.

“The Brown Lava is very tough to deal with. Don’t lower your guard!” Mo Fan reminded them.

“Just hurry up!” Mu Bai snapped.

Mo Fan nodded. He let the two take over, as he had to focus on refining the scarlet Soul-grade Fire.

The Three-Leafed Scarlet Soul-grade Fire looked extremely pure. It had not been exposed to the slightest impurity in its environment. The purer an Elemental Seed was, and the longer it was refined by strong flames, the stronger it was, and the easier it would be to modify it!

Mo Fan desperately needed a suitable Soul-grade Fire!

Mo Fan reached out his hand, and started directing the Soul-grade Flame toward his body and soul. Little Flame Belle could not provide him with any help during the process. If she tried to interfere, the Soul-grade Flame would end up rejecting him. It was similar to a house; despite how luxurious the house was, a woman would be reluctant to move into it if she knew there were already two women living inside!

Mo Fan only had the Rose Flame inside his body, which did not really pose any threat to the Soul-grade Fire. Little Flame Belle withdrew from his body, allowing Mo Fan to trick the pure, innocent Soul-grade Fire…

Not only was a Soul-grade Fire intelligent, but it also had its own consciousness!

Some Soul-grade Fires were like wild horses, untameable and alert. An overwhelming bearing was required to subdue such Soul-grade Fires with brute force.

Other Soul-grade Fires were like quiet hares, burning gently in a corner. They did not attract too much attention, and would rarely attack the living creatures nearby. However, if anyone tried to forcibly absorb them, they would fight back fiercely. One needed to have more patience and sincerity when subduing that kind of Soul-grade Fire…

The Three-Leafed Scarlet Soul-grade Fire that Mo Fan had discovered was like a blank sheet of paper, like a teenage girl that had merged perfectly with nature after being trapped under a mountain. She seemed curious and excited when she met Mo Fan. After all, it was her first time meeting another existence!

Other Soul-grade Fires would know that having a host was a chance for them to showcase their talents and powers, but the pure and innocent Soul-grade Fire was actually a little afraid of the outside world when she learned Mo Fan’s intention. She was a little reluctant, since she knew she would have to leave this place if she chose to go with Mo Fan.

It gave Mo Fan a slight headache. The Soul-grade Fire was obviously interested in him, yet how could he possibly convince her to go with him when she knew nothing at all!?

—

The second wave of lava came pouring down. Zhao Manyan’s face immediately turned pale as he looked up.

“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and block it; didn’t you insist on going first!?” Mu Bai yelled at.

“I know, but it’s not as easy as I imagined!”

Zhao Manyan had been injured by the Fiery-Winged Dominator earlier, and had yet to recover from his injuries. It was unlikely he could cast Titan Body again!

One layer, two layers, three layers; the Light Element, the Earth Element, the Water Element, the Ring of Venice, the Bracelet of Light, the Earth Armor… Mu Bai was dumbfounded when he saw Zhao Manyan using every defensive spell and equipment he had. How scared of death was this guy?! Not only did he cast so many defensive spells on himself, he had even equipped so many dazzling defensive magic items!

1452 Why Don“t You Force It?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Can you see if he’s done refining the Soul-grade Fire?” Zhao Manyan asked Mu Bai.

“I don’t understand how you can still talk at a time like this! If you aren’t feeling much pressure after resisting the Brown Lava, I’ll let you handle the next wave too!” Mu Bai snarled.

Despite that, Mu Bai still glanced at Mo Fan to see how he was doing.

Mo Fan’s hand was still connected to the Three-Leafed Scarlet Soul-grade Fire. It was still hovering in the air; Mo Fan had not yet refined it. Judging from its glow, it was likely that Mo Fan had not found a way to absorb it yet.

A Primitive Soul-grade Fire was unlike a forged Soul-grade Fire, which could be refined as soon as the Mage’s cultivation was high enough. Therefore, it was quite a worrisome process for them.

“I can’t hold it any longer. It’s all you now,” Zhao Manyan, his face covered in soot, beat his wings. Even his golden wings were scorched black!

Zhao Manyan did a great job blocking the Brown Lava, not letting it touch the three of them in the slightest. His defense was as impressive as usual!

“Should I be going first? It’s not like there’s anything I can do if I stay here,” Zhao Manyan said softly, after looking at Mo Fan and not noticing any movement from him.

“Whatever!” Mu Bai was tired of listening to him.

Zhao Manyan hesitated for a moment. He believed it was better to stay behind if he did not want Mo Fan to slaughter him later.

The next lava surge came very quickly, a huge lump of Brown Lava pouring down in no time. Mu Bai was long prepared for it; he activated his magic equipment, producing a block of ice in the shape of a droplet floating above them.

The ice lowered the temperature of the well. As the Brown Lava poured down, there was a strong reaction when the ice made contact with the fire.

The lava solidified as its temperature dropped rapidly. Black pieces like mud fell to both sides of them. They were as hard as rocks when they reached the bottom, and were smashed into pieces.

The lava surge lasted longer than the one before. To Zhao Manyan’s surprise, Mu Bai had completely blocked it off! He could not even feel the slightest presence of the lava…

“Well done, you’re pretty good; you could even replace some of the people on the national team!” Zhao Manyan complimented him.

“The national team is nothing,” Mu Bai replied disdainfully.

“…” The representatives of the national team were only the top students across the country. There were a lot of Mages around who were stronger than the members of the national team. Mu Bai had been battling demon creatures for quite a long time. A Mage like him would clearly acquire some incredible loot, regardless of his luck. It was difficult to tell who would win if he dueled some of the members of the national team!

“Is he not done yet?” Mu Bai looked at Mo Fan worriedly.

Mo Fan was taking a longer time than they had expected. The next wave of lava was going to come soon… they would have little chance of stopping it!

“Mo Fan, just forget it if you can’t refine it, it’s time to go!” Zhao Manyan shouted out.

Zhao Manyan looked up and saw the lava accumulating once again. It would be too late to leave if they waited any longer!

Mu Bai frowned. He was not confident enough to resist the next lava surge, yet Mo Fan still did not show any reaction.

—

Mo Fan had used everything he could think of. The Primitive Soul-grade Fire was a lot trickier to deal with than he had imagined. He also knew that time was running out!

“Screw it, if I can’t convince her or trick her, I’ll have to force her to come with me. Little Flame Belle, pin her down!” Mo Fan decided to go all out.

Mo Fan was reluctant to let Little Flame Belle interfere to avoid a strong reaction from the Soul-grade Fire. However, he had no choice but to force it now!

Little Flame Belle had been waiting for this. She had never seen such a fussy Soul-grade Fire before. The Calamity Fire and the Ardent Sunset were more mature than the Soul-grade Fire, and held the scarlet fire’s slim arms like two bulky arms. They proceeded to take off her defensive shirt with their auras. It was up to her daddy Mo Fan now…

Mo Fan forcibly merged with the Soul-grade Fire by directing it into his body, dragging the fire into his body without caring about its resistance.

A normal Fire Mage would not dare to do what Mo Fan was doing. A Mage looking for a Soul-grade Fire would most likely only have a Spirit-grade Fire only. If they tried to absorb a Soul-grade Fire forcibly, the Fire Mage’s body and soul would have no chance of enduring the heat of the Soul-grade Fire, endangering their lives!

However, Mo Fan was different from them. His flesh had remarkable resistance due to his Demon Element. It was unlikely that the fire could burn him to death, not to mention he had Little Flame Belle, who possessed two different Soul-grade Fires, as his accomplice. Even if he failed to claim the Soul-grade Fire, he would still be unharmed!

Mo Fan was surprised when he noticed the Scarlet Red Soul-grade Fire compromising a little when he tried using brute force on her. She was slowly merging with his soul.

Mo Fan was overjoyed. Sometimes, using force might be more effective than all the twists and turns…

“The lava surge is coming. Mo Fan, we have to go!” Zhao Manyan yelled worriedly.

The lava was already gathering above them. It was about to collapse down on them!

It felt as if the lava had its own temper. When it realized the little princess that it had been taking care for so long was being kidnapped, it was immediately enraged!

“It’s too late now.” Mu Bai had a helpless look when he saw the lava pouring down.

—

The lava was within inches of them. It would easily burn their bones into ashes. Zhao Manyan was already regretting why he did not just abandon the assh*** Mo Fan and leave, even though the team had no hope of leaving this place without Mo Fan’s help…

“Stay below me!” Mo Fan’s eyes suddenly sprang open. His dark brown pupils suddenly had a scarlet glow to them!

The two immediately dove under Mo Fan without any hesitation.

Mo Fan faced the terrifying lava pouring down on him fearlessly.

Three flames of different colors burst out from his body. The brightest among them was the scarlet glow. It formed a fiery mantle under Mo Fan’s control, blocking the lava pouring down on him!

The lava was surprisingly respectful of the scarlet flame, and swiftly dissipated. Not only did it not flow to the bottom, it completely vanished, as if it had been absorbed by the fiery mantle.

The fiery mantle grew stronger and brighter. They could even see the Brown Lava flowing atop the mantle like runes. Mo Fan waved his hand and covered himself with the mantle, giving off an imperious demeanor, like an emperor of fire!

“It worked!?” Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai were overjoyed.

“I did it!” Mo Fan smiled. He could feel the cultivation of his Fire Element skyrocketing. His decision to not replace his Spirit-grade Rose Flame for so long had finally paid off!

1453 On the Mountain

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Oh Heavens, that’s insane!” Zhao Manyan raised his thumb at Mo Fan, who had stopped the lava surge all by himself.

Only those who had resisted the lava surge knew how terrifying it was. Its strength was very close to that of a Ruler-level creature. He and Mu Bai had used all their might to stop it, but Mo Fan seemed to have held it back it with ease!

“My Meteor Scarlet was born here, so I doubt the Brown Lava could do any harm to me now,” Mo Fan smiled.

“Meteor Scarlet… can’t you come up with a better name?” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

“Why? I think it sounds pretty cool!”

Mui Guangqing had mentioned that the fire vein was formed when a meteorite landed on Sun Ridge around three hundred years ago. The scarlet Soul-grade Fire was obviously stained by the meteorite’s flame. It felt sacred and unusual. Since the Primitive Soul-grade Fire did not have a name, Mo Fan gladly gave her an appropriate and imperious name. He believed his opponents would be trembling in fear when they heard the name of his Soul-grade Fire as he was channeling his spells!

Meteor Scarlet, such a cool name!

“Two lives are still waiting for us; let’s stop wasting our time here!” Mu Bai interrupted them.

“You’re right, we have to hurry.”

—

Mo Fan was no longer afraid of the lava surge, so they no longer had to travel cautiously in the tunnel. They walked out of the chamber easily, but they still underestimated the force of the following lava surge. Mo Fan initially planned to strut his way out of the tunnel like a king to surprise Mui Guangqing, Qi Shan, Dongfang Xifeng, and the others, but they all ended up being blown out of the tunnel ignomiously instead…

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai rose to their feet, cursing, their faces covered in soot.

Mo Fan immediately felt awkward. He had taken it too far.

“Did it work?” Mui Guangqing asked, his eyes glittering.

“Yes. Even though the Primitive Soul-grade Fire is still being forged slowly, it has granted me a certain compatibility with the lava here. I’ll carry Mui Qing into the dome and perform CPR on her…” Mo Fan said.

“Dongfang Linlin is almost at her limit, hurry up!” Dongfang Xifeng said impatiently.

Mo Fan took Mui Qing up in his arms. Mui Guangqing mentioned that the White Lava was richer in oxygen. Once the flames in Mui Guangqing’s lungs cleared, she should wake up pretty quickly.

“Meteor Scarlet!”

After claiming the Soul-grade Fire, Mo Fan’s control of the Fire Element had improved significantly, even if he was not Possessed by Little Flame Belle. A ring of fire shrouded Mo Fan. It did not disappear when it made contact with the White Lava.

“It works!” Mo Fan was overjoyed. He took another step forward.

The Meteor Scarlet flame had her own consciousness and spirit, while the White Lava was like the guardian of flames. When it noticed the Meteor Scarlet trying to enter the dome, it voluntarily split apart to grant Mo Fan access.

“I didn’t think you were like a little princess here!” Mo Fan was quite surprised. The status of Meteor Scarlet was higher than he had imagined. He could sense the respect from the White Lava.

Everything was going to be a lot easier in that case! Mo Fan walked into the sacred space protected by the White Lava. To his surprise, the place was a lot bigger than he assumed!

“A compressed space?” Mo Fan looked forward and noticed the other end of the dome at the end of his range of vision.

On the outside, the dome only covered a round area around a hundred meters in diameter, but inside it was a different world!

Mo Fan took a deep breath. As Mui Guangqing had mentioned, the oxygen was thicker here. It felt more comfortable than breathing in the mountains.

Mo Fan slowly placed Mui Qing down. He knew there was another person waiting for him outside the dome. It was better to wake Mui Qing up as soon as possible!

Mo Fan took off the things that were restraining Mui Qing’s breathing, adeptly removing her bra with a single hand.

The two enormous bunnies bounced around inside her clothes after their restraint was removed. Mo Fan immediately experienced the meaning behind the expression “ready to come out at one’s call”!

“So huge, they are on the same level as Ai Tutu’s! It would be a pity if she was to die here,” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mo Fan pried open Mui Qing’s mouth. He could not count on an unconscious person to take deep breaths. He definitely had to lend her a hand. Not only did he have to help her breathe, he also had to apply a certain pressure on her chest so she could spit out the flames in her lungs.

Mo Fan was feeling a little hot after repeating the same actions more than ten times. Why wasn’t she waking up yet? He was going to turn into a monster if she remained unconscious. The touching was just too good!

Mui Qing suddenly sat upright and let out a few hacking coughs.

Mo Fan could see black smog coming out of her mouth as she finally cleared the things in her lungs. Mo Fan wiped his sweat away and rose to his feet.

Mui Qing slowly regained her awareness. She looked at Mo Fan and the surroundings. She was obviously clueless about what had happened, nor did she know why she was alone with a man in a confined space like this…

“Don’t ask any questions yet. There’s someone waiting to be saved by you. If you don’t save her, none of us are going to leave this place alive,” Mo Fan told Mui Qing.

Mui Qing’s mind was still in a blur. She did not resist when Mo Fan picked her up in his arms.

“Ugh, can you cover yourself up again?” Mo Fan lowered his head and saw a pair of huge objects close to his mouth. He immediately had the urge to dive right into them!

AHHHHHHHH! Why aren’t I a complete asshole!?

Mui Qing was still in a daze. She fixed up her clothes and allowed Mo Fan to carry her out of the dome.

—

It seemed like Mo Fan could move freely between the White Lava after he had claimed the Meteor Scarlet. Mui Guangqing was quite jealous of his ability.

Mui Qing started casting her magic to heal Dongfang Linlin’s poison. As her blistered back and aura slowly recovered, everyone subconsciously let out a relieved sigh.

Finally… they might finally make it out of the place in one piece!

—

“Mo Fan, since you can move freely in this place, you should rest up and replenish your energy for now. You will be in charge of setting up the space coordinates!” Mui Zhuocheng gave Mo Fan the Scroll of Space.

“Sure, our job here is done once we break the Sarkinite Rock and set up the space coordinates… what a relief! The journey was a little troublesome, but at least everything has worked out well. Everyone is perfectly unharmed too!” Mo Fan said.

“I doubt so, the Healer isn’t unharmed at all,” Zhao Manyan said.

Mui Qing had obviously realized a certain someone had touched most of her body after she had fully regained awareness. She did not even dare look Mo Fan in the eyes. Every time Mo Fan said something, she would blush subconsciously.

The team had no intention of staying in this place any longer after getting some rest. Dongfang Linlin took the initiative to lead the team to the Sarkinite deposit.

“Time to go. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, Mui Qing, the four of you will stay here and rest. The others will follow me to deal with the Sarkinite…Qi Shan? Where’s Qi Shan?” Mui Zhuocheng said.

“I’m here; are we going now?” Qi Shan asked.

“Yeah, the earlier the better. Who knows what’s going to happen in there later; it’s all you now. I believe there are some creatures close to the Sarkinite deposit,” Mui Zhuocheng said.

“Don’t worry, I can handle it,” Qi Shan said.

“After we are done here, our status in the clan will rise tremendously. You will be able to choose any woman you like when the time comes,” Mui Zhuocheng smiled.

Qi Shan’s lips twisted. The words had obviously touched upon his pain.

“Come, it’s time to go!” Mui Guangqing said.

—

Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan were extremely worn out. Defending against the Fiery-Winged Tyrant and jumping into the pool of Brown Lava were strenuous tasks!

Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan were still suffering from injuries. After Mui Qing recovered, she helped to treat their injuries. Mu Bai was in a better spot, with only some minor burns. He could easily treat himself with medicine.

After meditating for a while, they managed to replenish some of their energy. Mo Fan opened his eyes. He could not tell how much time had passed. Feeling bored, he glanced at Mu Bai, who was sitting still beside him, and asked, “Mu Bai, where have you been over the years?”

“Everywhere. I would visit the Ancient Capital at times,” Mu Bai replied.

“How about Wang Sanpang? Is that guy still alive?” Mo Fan said.

“He’s fine. He has a wife now, and is already a father. He normally helps me sell the loot I bring back from the wild. He has opened a magic shop now. He’s doing pretty well,” Mu Bai answered.

“How about Zhou Ming? I thought there were some fireworks between you two?” Mo Fan asked.

“You’re the one she likes. There’s nothing between us, really. We would hang out at times. She must have stayed at school. It’s been a while since I last saw her,” Mu Bai said.

“Oh, tell her to stop being infatuated with me. My heart already belongs to someone now… it’s impossible between the two of us,” Mo Fan said quickly.

“How shameless can you be?” Mu Bai said coldly.

Zhao Manyan opened his eyes and joined the conversation. “Speaking of which, I initially thought Qi Shan was the smitten kind, but I saw him at the bar we went to!”

“For real?” Mo Fan seemed surprised.

“Really, I saw him when Sister Li was carrying us. He was sitting very close to a good-looking girl with short hair while talking to her!” Zhao Manyan claimed.

“Don’t you feel ashamed mentioning that a woman carried you home?” Mu Bai harrumphed.

“Huh? Why would I feel ashamed? You were the one that did it on the mountain!” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

“On…on the mountain?” Mui Qing could no longer focus on recovering her energy. How perverted were these three men? She initially assumed they were gentlemen!

“Nonsense, I was only talking to her!” the thin-skinned Mu Bai blurted out.

“Even dogs wouldn’t believe that,” Zhao Manyan seemed displeased by Mu Bai’s hypocritical behavior. He quickly turned to the other side and asked, “Don’t you think so too? Mo Fan?”

“I think I’m your grandfather!” Mo Fan scolded back. There was no way he would take the bait.

Mui Qing could no longer stand their conversation, and immediately moved into a corner. However, she could not help but take a few glances at Mo Fan when she recalled him saying that his heart already belonged to someone else…

Chapter 1454 Obstruction

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Speaking of which, I also saw someone familiar at the bar, but I can’t recall who the person was…” Mu Bai stopped the meaningless argument as he recalled the person he saw when he was leaving the bar the other day.

“I bet it was Qi Shan; you weren’t familiar with him yet,” Mo Fan guessed.

Mu Bai shook his head and said, “I did see Qi Shan, and it’s true that I didn’t recognize him, but I think I saw the girl with short curly hair sitting beside him before.”

“See, what did I say about you being fake? How dare you hook up with someone else secretly without us knowing!?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Can you please shut up for once!?” Mu Bai’s thoughts were disturbed by the idiot’s interruption once again. He could not help but think the guy was a mute in his previous life, seeing how he just kept talking. Mu Bai had never seen anyone more shameless than him from the national team!

“Old Zhao, let him speak,” Mo Fan said when he saw the serious look on Mu Bai.

Mu Bai collected his thoughts and said, “I wasn’t too sure, since I hadn’t seen Qi Shan yet, but after you told me he was there too, I believe I did indeed see him there, but the person I felt familiar was the girl with short curly hair. I’ve met her before, and I believe it was at the capital…”

“She’s from the capital?” Mo Fan was confused.

“I rarely saw any women over the years, so she must have talked to me before… I remember now!” Mu Bai suddenly realized something.

Mui Qing opened her eyes too. She had a feeling that they were talking about something important. Meanwhile, she vaguely felt something wriggling under her feet. Something cold was slowly moving up her legs…

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were waiting for Mu Bai to continue the story when they heard clear footsteps coming from a tunnel. It sounded like heels walking at a steady pace.

“Brother Mu Bai, how forgetful are you? You’ve already forgotten your sister, even though it wasn’t that long ago. I thought I was already irreplaceable in your heart…” A soft, alluring voice came from the tunnel, followed by a pair of fifteen-centimeter-high, shiny silver heels, connected to a pair of slender legs.

The legs were long and pretty, with tight-skinned black pants reaching the top of her thighs, completely framing her perfect legs.

She was approaching them like she was on a catwalk with a lady cigarette between her fingers. She casually spat out a puff of smoke. Her seductive looks, set off by the smoke, were more than enough to stir the primitive desires of a man!

“Mu Xumian!” Mu Bai blurted out in shock.

“Phew, our backup finally arrives. That’s strange, how did you guys come in here before we were done with setting up the magic formation? Well, we’ll leave the rest to you guys. Time to call it a day!” Zhao Manyan smiled when he saw the group of people led by the gorgeous woman.

“Idiot, she’s from the capital’s Mu Clan, not the Mui Clan!” Mu Bai scolded him.

Zhao Manyan had almost had the urge to give the woman a hug. His expression became complicated after hearing Mu Bai’s curse.

What was going on here!?

The capital’s Mu Clan?

Why would the people of the Mu Clan show up here?

“Such an adorable young man, I wouldn’t mind letting you warm my bed tonight if you are willing to cooperate with us,” Mu Xumian giggled. She was intrigued by Zhao Manyan’s handsome looks.

“Let’s talk. Let Mui Qing go first,” Mo Fan looked at Mui Qing when he sensed something did not feel right.

Mui Qing was currently standing on a lump of shadow, impaled by lots of Giant Shadow Spikes that had sealed off her movement and mind. Mo Fan could sense the presence of an assassin with the Shadow Element close to her. He could end Mui Qing’s life with a single thought!

“What’s going on here?” Zhao Manyan was utterly dumbfounded.

Where did these people come from? What did they want?

“Qi Shan, I quite admired you at first. Even though what happened was unfair to you, you still chose to come here to prove yourself. I didn’t expect you to be such a vile and disgusting person!” Mo Fan already knew what happened. He stared at the man that was hiding in the shadows behind Mu Xumian.

Qi Shan was surprised that his cover was blown so quickly. He came out of the shadows and replied disdainfully, “Do you really think I will still work for Mui Clan after what happened? Those scum were just treating me like a dog they could just throw away after reaping all the benefits. They are going to pay for what they did to me!”

“So you decided to take your revenge on the Mui Clan before you set foot in the hall during the meeting?” Mo Fan guessed.

“Yes! That b**ch thought she could abuse her beauty and manipulate me, so I would haplessly give my life for her. She would then toss me aside once I lost my value. Didn’t she want to lead her clan to a new level? I’m going to lead her clan to destruction instead!” Qi Shan laughed hysterically.

He finally had the chance to vent all his grudges against the Mui Clan. He could not wait to see the enraged, regretful reaction from Mui Nuxin!

“What did I say? What good is a woman like Mui Nuxin? She only knows how to disguise herself as a sacred lotus, but the truth is, she is more manipulative than anyone else. There is no such thing as feelings in her eyes. She can only see profits and know how to set people up. Everyone is nothing but a chess piece to her; pieces that are useful, and pieces that aren’t. As for me, even though my reputation isn’t as impressive, I’ve always treated people sincerely. I’m willing to give money and fame to those that are willing to do things for me. I can also offer my body too!” Mu Xumian burst out laughing, too. Her laughter was as seductive as her voice.

“What do you want?” Mu Bai asked.

“We’ll be taking over everything here. As for you guys… I’m still thinking about what I should do with you. Should I let you go like some defeated dogs, or should I execute you right on the spot? Either way, the outside world will have no idea what happened here. Oh, I forgot to mention, I’ve confiscated Mui Zhuocheng’s Scroll of Space too, so there’s no chance for you to escape this place, and don’t even bother resisting. I hate wasting my time with people that resist. I like to tear off a limb or two when I’m mad, and I might accidentally kill someone too,” Mui Zhuocheng said softly. The others might think she was flirting with someone if they could not hear her words clearly, but they were the kind that would send chills down a person’s spine!

Chapter 1455 Fight to the End in Blood?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Where are Mui Guangqing and the others?” Mo Fan asked.

“We’re dragging them here.” Mu Xumian pointed behind her.

Another bunch of people had arrived behind Mu Xumian. They were not easy opponents, judging from their presence.

Mui Guangqing, Mui Zhuocheng, Dongfang Xifeng, and the others were tied up by icy chains, like criminals in the past. Their minds were completely sealed off. They were walking mindlessly, like a bunch of walking dead.

“It’s the Mu Clan’s Heart-Trapping Lock. It can freeze a person’s mind and soul, and stiffen their body,” Mu Bai whispered to Mo Fan.

“Damn it, Mo Fan, just tear them into pieces!” Zhao Manyan was utterly furious. He did not expect another group of people to show up and claim the fruits of their victory after all the efforts they had put in.

“Don’t be ruthless, that woman is a Super Mage.” Mo Fan held Zhao Manyan back firmly.

“Super Level?” Zhao Manyan was stunned. His temper died quickly as he astutely retreated behind Mo Fan.

It was pretty obvious that Qi Shan had long been colluding with the people of the Mu Clan. He had only volunteered for the operation to be a spy. He would secretly set up a teleportation formation when the others were worn out, allowing the people of the Mu Clan to enter the underground cave once the Sarkinite deposit was destroyed.

The Mui Clan and Dongfang Clan had the ability to set up teleportation formations, too! To make it easier for them to excavate the fire vein, they were planning to set the formations up inside the White Lava, since it was where the valuable resources were.

Setting up a magic formation required a lot of energy, so Mui Zhuocheng had asked Mo Fan to rest up until they were done breaking the Sarkinite plug. Mo Fan would then enter the White Lava to set up the magic formation, allowing the people of the Dongfang Clan and Mui Clan to teleport into the cave. To their surprise, Qi Shan also had a Scroll of Space, which he had used to teleport the people of the Mu Clan into the fire vein!

The Mu Clan had truly invested a lot in their plan. They had purposely placed Mu Xumian in charge of it so the Dongfang Clan and Mui Clan would not stand a chance at all. They were willing to expend a Scroll of Space too, not to mention coming all the way here to obstruct the two clans’ operation!

Mo Fan could not help but admit how cunning the Mu Clan was. Most infuriatingly, Qi Shan turned out to be a narrow-minded traitor, instead of trying to prove himself despite the circumstances. Mo Fan was utterly disappointed and disgusted by the man!

“You can take the things and the place, there’s no need to kill everyone here,” Mo Fan said.

The enemy was obviously well-prepared and tough, especially their leader Mu Xumian, who was a Super Mage!

Without her, Mo Fan might still be able to take on the people of the Mu Clan, giving them the chance to taste death. However, the situation was extremely unfavorable for them. They might even lose their lives if they tried acting ruthlessly!

“Oh my, aren’t you the famous strongest participant in the World College Tournament? Do you have any idea how much our Mu Clan hates you? If I can take care of you, who is such a thorn in our side today, and these two clans that have been an eyesore for so long, I bet the clan will be more than happy to give me a nice seat in the clan meeting…” Mu Xumian said.

“A lot of people have tried to kill me, but do you know why they all died in the end?” Mo Fan decided to do it the hard way, since being soft was not going to work. “My body is a little weak now, so I don’t want to use power beyond what my body can handle. It’s only going to get us both killed. I’m impressed by your plan, and the patience and boldness it required. The things here are yours now, we gladly admit our defeat.”

“Big Sis, the kid is trying to scare us,” spoke up Tong Li, a Mage behind Mu Xumian.

“I don’t need you to tell me that!” Mu Xumian turned around and kicked between Tong Li’s legs. She grunted, “And I told you not to call me Big Sis!”

Tong Li quickly retreated with an apologetic smile.

Mu Xumian turned around as if she was thinking about it, and told Mo Fan, “I don’t believe you, and I have decided to be a little greedy.”

“Well I guess it’s either the fish dies, or the net splits then. Mu Bai, Zhao Manyan, let’s not waste our time any further. Since they aren’t willing to back down, we’ll fight them to the end in blood! Mu Bai, use your Ice Plague Soul-grade Weapon, it’s more than enough to keep the trash she brought busy. Old Zhao, use your Totem Turtle Shell, too! It’s time for us to show them our Demonic Dragon Formation. I would like to see what this Super Mage has against us!” Mo Fan stepped forward with a menacing look.

Zhao Manyan immediately knew what Mo Fan was up to. He immediately unleashed Baxia’s Totem Seal.

As a Super Mage, it went without saying that Mu Xumian would recognize the Seal. She was a little surprised that these unimportant people were actually thinking of challenging a Super Mage!

Mu Bai backed away a little, but he was clearly not trying to run away. He was accumulating his energy instead. The temperature of the scorching cave dropped slightly.

Mo Fan proceeded to Summon Little Flame Belle and let her Possess him. Little Flame Belle was easily at the peak Commander-level, and was even stronger after merging with Mo Fan, especially with her Domain of two kinds of Soul-grade Fire. It was clearly enough to threaten a Super Mage!

“Be careful, those two managed to block a Ruler-level creature’s attack,” Qi Shan whispered to Mu Xumian.

“Ruler-level?” Mu Xumian was startled.

“Didn’t I already tell you when you arrived? There was a little accident; the Fiery-Winged Tyrant saw us…” Qi Shan briefly explained what had happened.

Advanced Mages were usually defenseless against a Ruler-level creature, so Qi Shan had been utterly dumbfounded when he saw Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan’s capabilities. He could not help but feel jealous of them!

“So you’re telling me I shouldn’t fight them?” Mu Xumian asked.

“That’s not what I meant; I’m just warning you so you won’t underestimate them. Those two have some strange abilities, but a Super Mage like you won’t have any trouble taking them down, as long as you are cautious enough,” Qi Shan replied.

“I don’t want them to leave this place alive, either!” Mu Xumian smiled.

Even though Mu Xumian remained smiling, her Domain was already spreading inside the cave. Her pupils emitted an icily murderous flicker as she took a few steps forward!

“Humph, I’m having trouble controlling my power, you are dead for sure. It doesn’t matter if it’s going to kill me too. You have definitely crossed the line. We’ll both go down together!” Mo Fan yelled. His flames were spreading into the surroundings recklessly!

Zhao Manyan did not back down, either. He started yelling while unleashing a few different magic glows, as if he was serious about going all out!

Mu Xumian halted in her tracks. She decided to be a little more cautious after hearing what Qi Shan had said. She first cast a defensive spell…

Mo Fan was capable of knocking a Ruler-level creature flying, so Mu Xumian could not afford to not be on guard. The guy’s strength was almost comparable to the Super Level!

The light of the flames was dazzling. Mo Fan’s roar turned into raging flames, surging at Mu Xumian and the others.

Zhao Manyan set up a thick defense to defend them from Mu Xumian and the other Mages’ attacks. It was unlikely that the Mages would just let Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan cast their spells at will!

The spells from two sides clashed. The impact knocked the people of both sides back slightly.

Mu Xumian let out a few coughs. The smoke from the flames was irritating her nose!

However, she soon discovered that her defense did not break as she thought it might. The energy of the attack was not as powerful as she had assumed it would be!

“Clear up!” Mu Xumian waved her hand, Summoning a wind to blow the smoke away.

For some reason, a strange feeling rose inside her. She was stunned when she saw the two guys that swore to take her down with them running away. She immediately went berserk!

“Assh****!” Mu Xumian cursed. She realized she had only constructed a Star Palace when she was intimidated by them!

A Star Palace was equivalent to casting a Super Spell. Mu Xumian decided to take a cautious, defensive approach, but when she realized the two guys were just putting up an act, she almost failed to construct the Star Palace properly!

“This…this…” Tong Li, Qi Shan, and the rest of the people from the Mu Clan were dumbfounded, too. Didn’t those two say they were going to take them down at the cost of their lives? Why were they running away all of a sudden!?

If they were thinking of running away, why were they yelling so loudly before? They even thought the two were going to cast some destructive spells at the risk of their lives!

—

“Mu Bai, over here!” Mo Fan yelled.

Mu Bai dragged Mui Qing along as he sprinted after Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

As soon as they regrouped, Mo Fan immediately unleashed the flames of Meteor Scarlet to encapsulate them as they dashed through the curtain of White Lava!

They immediately heard the blast of a Super Spell as they passed through the curtain. The White Lava shuddered at the incredible force.

However, it was only a slight ripple. The incredible impact was not strong enough to break through the White Lava’s defense!

“Luckily you guys knew what my plan was,” Mo Fan panted heavily. He raised his thumb at both Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai.

“I knew you were trying to run away as soon as you blurted out those strange names!” Zhao Manyan half-laughed.

Mui Qing glanced at the three men in a daze. She was still struggling to collect her thoughts. She could not tell when they had reached an agreement to put up an act in order to run away. “I thought you were really going to fight that b**ch to the end!” Mui Qing said.

“Fight to the end my ass; a Super Mage isn’t just mere decoration. How could we possibly stand a chance against her? Besides, the people behind her were quite strong too!” Mo Fan said.

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan both nodded agreement.

They clearly did not stand a chance against this enemy. Luckily, Mo Fan was able to move freely through the White Lava. Otherwise, Mu Xumian and her men would have no trouble catching up to them!

Chapter 1456 Let Them In

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Damn it, they managed to get away!” Mu Xumian stomped the ground angrily and vented her frustrations on the Shadow Mage. She waved her hand, summoning a gust of wind from nowhere to toss the Shadow Mage into the air.

The Shadow Mage slammed heavily onto the ground and broke his front teeth. When he fell right beside Mu Xumian’s heels, she even stomped on the back of his hand.

“How stupid are you? How did you even let the girl run away!?” Mu Xumian swore.

The Shadow Mage did not dare retort. He kept mumbling under his breath, begging for mercy.

“It’s not going to make any difference hiding in there. We have the place under control. Do they think they can just fly away?” Tong Li smiled.

“The curtain of White Lava is a little strange. It’s not going to be easy getting into it,” Qi Shan said uneasily.

Qi Shan sincerely hoped that everyone in the underworld cave would end up dead. He could not afford to let the outside world know what had happened here. He wanted to get his revenge on the Mui Clan and Mui Nuxin, but he did not want the world to know he was an unforgivable jerk and traitor!

“You, go test it out!” Mu Xumian ordered, pointing at the Shadow Mage on the ground. She was as cold-blooded as a demoness when she fell out with someone.

“Right away!” The Shadow Mage clearly had no clue about how dangerous the White Lava was. He naively thought it was a great chance to redeem himself. He immediately rose to his feet and headed toward the White Lava.

He hesitated for a moment to observe the White Lava. However, after hearing Mu Xumian’s cold harrumph, he immediately prepared his defenses to resist the White Lava.

The White Lava lunged at him in an instant. The Shadow Mage had yet to even touch it; he was only probing it with his magic, but that alone had been enough to provoke the White Lava!

The lava was strong enough to burn a Ruler-level creature into ashes; there was no way a normal Shadow Mage could withstand its heat. The White Lava spread across his body angrily and burned whatever it touched to ashes. The Shadow Mage stared at his arm in disbelief, watching the White Lava spreading towards his head and body.

“AHHHH! Help me!” The Shadow Mage’s last words echoed in the cave, chilling the others!

It was not like the others refused to lend him a hand, but they did not even have a chance to react. The White Lava was just too quick at burning the guy to ashes!

“This…this…” Tong Li stammered. His ugly face was terrified.

“I already told you, this White Lava is very terrifying!” Qi Shan exclaimed anxiously. He did not understand why Mu Xumian did not want to listen to him.

“Seeing is believing. Now we know that we can’t afford to touch it, so how did that kid go inside?” Mu Xumian replied, unmoved.

“You weren’t listening to me at all, weren’t you? I already told you that we must subdue Mo Fan! He’s the key to the operation. He’s the only one that can go inside the White Lava!” Qi Shan yelled.

“Oh, so that’s what you meant,” Mu Xumian finally realized. “Things are a lot more complicated if that;s the case. But it’s fine; it’s not like they can just hide inside without eating or drinking. We’ll just guard the exit. They are going to surrender eventually, no matter what they have up their sleeves. Besides, I don’t believe that’s the only way to enter the White Lava,” she continued.

“We can force them to come out here. We’ll tell them that we’ll kill a person every minute starting now,” Tong Li suggested, glancing at Mui Guangqing, Dongfang Xifeng, Mui Zhuocheng, and the others tied up by the ice chain.

“They wouldn’t have run away in the first place if holding these people as hostages was going to work. That Mo Fan is very cunning; he’s obviously not the kind that will come out here to get himself killed,” Mu Xumian judged shrewdly.

“We’ll wait here and think of a plan then,” Qi Shan said.

—

—

Mu Xumian was absolutely right. Even if she threatened Mo Fan with the lives of Mui Guangqing and the others, he would not come out.

Ever since Qi Shan had betrayed them, their lives were already in Mu Xumian’s hands. Saving their lives was an act of grace; not saving their lives was perfectly reasonable. There was no way Mo Fan would just go out there and die like an idiot.

“What happened? Why are you all here?” Lingling was utterly confused when she saw the four panting heavily.

Lingling was intrigued by the world inside the lava curtain. When Mui Guangqing and the others went to destroy the Sarkinite node, Mo Fan had brought her in here. The little girl was fearless; she definitely enjoyed her time inspecting the things inside the curtain of White Lava. Mo Fan had to meditate to recover his energy, and since the other Elements were lacking in here, he had not stayed inside with Lingling.

Lingling did not go too far, remaining in the area that Mo Fan had confirmed to be safe for her. She was so focused that she had no idea what was going on outside.

“That son of a b**ch Qi Shan has become the Mu Clan’s pet dog. We are done for. F**k, we finally found a way to leave this place, but it still came down to this,” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

“What should we do now? We don’t have a Scroll of Space with us. If they keep waiting outside, we can’t just stay here without food and water,” Mu Bai said.

“Seriously? I had no idea he was such a disgusting person,” Lingling said.

“Lingling, did you find anything in here? You’re our only hope of getting out of here.” Zhao Manyan was well aware of Lingling’s otherworldly intelligence. He subconsciously placed all his hope on her.

“I did learn something useful; we won’t die of starvation here, but we can only last for three days at most,” Lingling said.

“Why is that?” Mo Fan asked with a confused look.

“We will die of thirst,” Lingling said.

“…” the other four were left speechless.

They would not starve to death, but die of thirst… it meant that even if there was something to fill their stomachs with here, they still had no supply of water!

The only Element here was Fire. If a place had no particles of a certain Element, it was impossible to cast a spell related to it. In other words, Zhao Manyan’s Water Element was basically disabled. He could not produce water to satisfy their thirst!

“Lingling, any constructive suggestions instead?” Mo Fan asked helplessly.

“Aren’t you stupid? Did you forget how you beat Shi Qianshou?” Lingling said.

“That’s different; the demon locusts were there, Shi Qianshou could only use his Poison Element, but I was able to use my Ardent Sunset… oh, I got it!” Mo Fan immediately realized something. He went forward and picked up Lingling in his arms to give her a huge kiss on the face.

“Enough with the public display of affection, tell us what it is now!” Zhao Manyan was clearly panicking. He was struggling to think of a way to deal with the Super Maga outside.

“We’re going to let them in!” Mo Fan smiled.

“Are you daydreaming now!?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Chapter 1457 The Distant Yet Coexisting Place

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“There is no other Element here, which means only Fire Magic is available here. However, from what I know, Mu Xumian is a Super Fire Mage too. Second, her Poison Element is quite strong! If you are confident in taking on her Super Fire Element and Super Poison Element, you can try letting her in,” Mu Bai interjected.

Mu Bai had met Mu Xumian before. The woman had tried recruiting him when he went to the capital. Mu Bai had rejected the offer, as he was not interested in joining the Mu Clan.

“If that’s the case, it’s too risky to let the woman in.” Mo Fan stroked his chin.

“Let’s go deeper into the place, then. Perhaps we’ll find something else,” Mu Bai suggested.

“We’ll try going deeper first. If there’s no other way, we’ll lure the woman in and take her out. I now have three kinds of Soul-grade Fire, I should be able to take her on. I’m just worried about her Poison Element,” Mo Fan agreed.

——

The group of five ventured deeper. The place was more spacious than they had thought. It felt like they were walking over a vast land of gray rocks, if it wasn’t for the orange burning mist hanging not far above them.

“Speaking of which, I think someone has been here before,” Lingling said.

“Someone has been here?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Didn’t they say no one has excavated the vein before?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Maybe it’s just a rumor, it might be an exaggeration, or it might only reflect part of the truth. I’ve discovered a rock engraved with a Li Fan flower on it. It’s obviously artificial,” Lingling handed her discovery to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan received the pebble. It was a natural pebble as smooth as a piece of jade. He could even see his own reflection on its surface. Both of its sides bore an elegant seal of a flower engraved with a red material.

The flower seal was a kind of symbol that represented some tribes, clans, and fortresses after the era of the Totem Beasts. Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat after he took a closer look at the symbol.

“Old Zhao, come take a look; does this look familiar to you?” Mo Fan showed the pebble to Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan moved closer and blurted out casually, “What is it? Did we find a Totem Seal here, too?”

“No no no, it’s definitely not a Totem Seal,” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan took a closer look. He thought for a moment and said, “Say, now that you mention it, I do feel like I’ve seen it before, but where from?”

“That’s impossible, the things here are more than three hundred years old! How is it possible that you’ve seen it before?” Mui Qing asked.

“I think we’ll find the answer if we keep going,” Lingling answered him.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan pondered as they followed the path now leading them down a slope.

After they reached the top of another slope, they suddenly discovered the path ahead was undulating.

The up and downslopes were not steep, appearing elegant and gentle. The sight was quite a shock to them.

As they went further in, they suddenly discovered broken white cliffs, and collapsed walls in ruins.

It was already unbelievable to see broken cliffs in a secluded place like this, let alone collapsed walls covered in weeds and vines!

Broken walls? Weeds?

The walls were obviously from some ancient society, but they were having a hard time believing that there were plants in a scorching place like this!

“Did you remember what the symbol was now?” Mo Fan was more convinced of his speculation when he saw the fallen walls.

Zhao Manyan stood still. His mind went blank for quite some time.

No f**king way!

He did see a similar sight, but it was in the distant continent of South America, in a secluded world hidden in a storm inside the Peru Desert Valley!

“I don’t believe it, no f**king way!” Zhao Manyan suddenly burst into motion, and headed for the walls.

The others quickly followed him, worried that he might get into trouble. Zhao Manyan’s reaction did not make any sense to them. It felt like the man was starting to believe that he was actually in the middle of an illusion!

Mo Fan was extremely shocked, too. He did not notice anything strange when he brought Mui Qing inside here originally. However, he also felt like he was in the middle of a dream, just like Zhao Manyan, when he saw the stone symbol that Lingling had found, and first beheld the fallen cliffs and broken walls!

Even Mo Fan did not want to believe that he had been to this place before.

They were supposed to be at Kunlun Mountain, in their own country. How was it connected to such a distant land…

—

“What’s going on here?” Mu Bai asked uneasily when he saw the abnormal reactions from Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

“Perhaps something bizarre happened to them before…” Lingling could only vaguely guess what was going on.

The others caught up to Zhao Manyan and saw him crouching in front of a fallen wall. He looked like he had lost his soul.

“What is it with you!?” Mu Bai asked impatiently.

In answer, Lingling pointed at the bottom of the wall. Mu Bai followed her finger and discovered a line of words!

Mu Bai initially thought it was a prank from Zhao Manyan, but after second thought, Zhao Manyan was right in front of him all the time, yet he had not seen the man carving words on the wall!

“Zhao Manyan… was here!?” Mui Qing went closer and read out the words on the wall. Her mouth was wide open after finishing the sentence. She stared at Zhao Manyan in disbelief.

Zhao Manyan was motionless, his face blank. His mind was obviously in a complete mess after seeing the words!

“Old Zhao, how bad of a person can you be? I didn’t know you would carve words on a wall considered to be an ancient cultural heritage,” Mo Fan said sarcastically.

“Do you really still have the mood to joke about it? I’m already losing my mind!” Zhao Manyan shot back.

Lingling, Mui Qing, and Mu Bai were utterly confused, too. When did Zhao Manyan carve the words here? Did Zhao Manyan travel back in time and come here three hundred years ago? They had never heard of any time traveling magic!

They were confident that Zhao Manyan did not leave the words on the wall recently. The words had been around for a year or two, judging from the moss covering them and how much they had worn away over time. In other words, Zhao Manyan was here around a year or two ago and shamelessly carved the words on the wall, as if he was declaring war against the world on behalf of his country.

“Mo Fan, what’s going on?” Mu Bai chose to ask Mo Fan, since he knew Zhao Manyan was on the verge of going crazy.

Mo Fan was only calm on the surface, but his heart was exploding into pieces, too!

“When we were on the national team, we went to Peru in South America during training. We were forced to hide in a storm when we were chased by a bunch of Nazca Monster Birds. We found a secluded world at the eye of the storm that looks similar to this place, or should I say, is exactly the same as this place. We saw the ruins of an ancient city, where Old Zhao carved these words shamelessly… I initially thought there are two similar cities, but judging from the look of it, and these words left by Zhao Manyan, I’m quite convinced that they are the same place!” Mo Fan explained with a wry smile. He was obviously struggling to believe what he was saying, too.

“But how is that possible? That was in Peru in South America, and we are currently at Kunlun Mountain in China! They are half the world apart…” Mui Qing protested.

“We also think it’s impossible, but the proof is right in front of us. Maybe you can ask Zhao Manyan to carve the same words again and see if it’s his handwriting?” Mo Fan said.

“Carve my ass! If I can’t even recognize my own handwriting, doesn’t that make me a retard? It’s obviously the same place, and the flower seal on that pebble is clearly the Li Fan Flower, the clan symbol of one of the ancient Indian tribes!” Zhao Manyan rose to his feet.

“Mo Fan, is this where you found the Time Liquid?” Lingling asked, remembering this story.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan nodded.

“But…”

“Ridiculous, this is ridiculous…”

Mo Fan forcibly withheld the astonishment in his heart. He carefully recalled the situation when they entered the ancient ruins in the eye of the storm.

“I remember we went into the storm through what was said to be a magic lock. We followed Nanyu and came here. This time, we went inside the White Lava… now that I think of it, the storm barrier and the curtain of White Lava are a little similar to one another. They are both separating the place from the outside world, but one is wind, and the other is fire,” Mo Fan remembered.

“That does sound a little reasonable, but this place has only been around for three hundred years. Didn’t the ancient Indian tribes exist even earlier than that?”

“Perhaps the White Lava has been around longer. The meteorite that smashed the mountain three hundred years ago had only turned it into a caldera, making it into an extremely dangerous place that no one dares to risk their lives to explore,” Lingling theorized.

“AHHH, I still don’t understand, we were clearly in Peru when we came here after entering the storm! How did we end up here when we are currently at Kunlun Mountain!?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“A Spatial Relay Point?” Lingling mentioned something that none of them had heard before.

“What’s a Spatial Relay Point?” Mu Bai asked quickly.

“There are different theories related to the Space Element. One that is generally accepted states that there are two sides to a space. Think of it as a painting, the plane we live in is the front of the painting. If we tear a gap in the painting, it will reveal the material of the board behind it. It’s a rough plane called the Inverse Space.

“The order in the Inverse Space is messed up. The space can extend and contract without limits. The Blink Spell of the Space Element works by extending the space between where the Mage is at and the destination. Once the Mage tears a gap and enters the Inverse Space, the two spots are basically stacked on top of one another, allowing the Mage to move to the second spot instantly. The Mage will jump into and out from the Inverse Space and reappear at the destined spot, making it look like the Mage has teleported from one place to the other,” Lingling lectured them calmly.

1458 Static Time

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Another theory for the Space Element is the so-called Spatial Relay Point. Think of the world as a sphere; we are living on its surface, which is the Earth’s surface. The sphere consists of countless axes through the center of the sphere. Using Blink as an example again, when a Mage casts the spell, it will rotate the angle of the axis that represents the Mage’s location by a certain angle. The angle might only be tiny, but a small change in the angle is equivalent to a few hundred kilometers on the surface,” Lingling went on.

“Why did I never hear anything like that, even though I’m a Space Mage?” Mo Fan grumbled.

Lingling rolled her eyes and ignored the uneducated Mo Fan. She added, “The center of the sphere is the intersection point of all the axes. It remains the same at all times. The point is referred to as the Spatial Relay Point, because regardless of where you are, if you can find a way to enter the sphere and reach the intersection point, you will find yourself at the Spatial Relay Point!”

“So this means that Sun Ridge and Peru Desert Valley are symmetrical?” Mui Qing asked after she realized something.

“No, the sphere of the Space Element and Earth are different. If the second theory is correct, it means this current spot in Kunlun Mountain’s Sun Ridge and the eye of the storm in Peru Desert Valley are spatially symmetrical. The storm barrier and the White Lava curtain are the gates leading to the Spatial Relay Point. Of course, you can think of it as us going into the ground, and appearing on the other side of the earth where the corresponding coordinates are. The Spatial Relay Point is like Earth’s core, where Arctic and Antarctica are in symmetry,” Lingling answered.

Zhao Manyan turned to Mo Fan with a confused face. Mo Fan said awkwardly, “Don’t look at me, I don’t have the slightest clue what she is saying at all.”

“You’re very knowledgeable!” Mui Qing was quite impressed.

“May I ask, is there any way for us to travel to the other side of the axis, for example, to Peru? Doesn’t that mean we are safe!?” Zhao Manyan pressed.

“Theoretically, it’s possible, but we’ll have to find the other gate. Otherwise, we can only leave through the gate we entered,” Lingling said.

They walked into the ruins of the ancient city while they were talking. Mo Fan followed the street, which was just as clean as it was when he first visited the place. He was thinking of checking out the statue.

“This place is surprisingly well-preserved!” Mui Qing exclaimed.

The outer part of the ancient city was in ruins, but as they ventured deeper, it felt like the ancient city had frozen at some point in time, like an elegant teenage girl falling into a deep slumber in a different dimension. Her face remained the same despite the flow of time…

“It looks exactly the same as the last time we came. Nothing changed,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Rumors say that time in a Spatial Relay Point is static,” Lingling added.

“Time is static?”

The others’ eyes widened, but both Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan soon nodded in agreement. Zhao Manyan was the first to speak, “Now that you mention it, I also feel that way. The place is exactly the same as it was when we came two years ago.”

“This place is the intersection point of all time axes. The flow of time reflects the change in space, but this place won’t change at all,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were even more convinced after hearing Lingling’s explanation.

But the question was, was it really possible for time to be unmoving in this world?

Would time actually stop on a certain day, just like this ancient city that had fallen into an eternal slumber on a certain afternoon, and had not changed even by the slightest after a few hundred years?

—

As they went further ahead, Mo Fan started to feel a little more familiar with the surroundings. He remembered seeing the fountain and the beautiful sacred statue of an alluring figure at the end of the street.

However, Mo Fan felt as if he had just been electrocuted when he arrived at the fountain.

“The statue…” Mo Fan pointed at the statue. He was lost in thoughts for quite some time.

“What’s wrong with the statue? It’s pretty nice-looking,” Zhao Manyan squinted while admiring the statue. The statue was not wearing any clothes. The naked body was covered by a thin veil, but the sacred body of the young woman was still visible. He was having trouble shifting his gaze away from the statue.

“Are you sure that time is static in here?” Mo Fan asked.

“Why do you ask?” Lingling asked.

“This is where I found the Time Liquid, but the statue turned into sand and drifted away in the air. Why is it perfectly fine now!?” Mo Fan stared at the vivid and lifelike statue of a young woman. He was utterly confused, wondering exactly what was going on here!

The words that Zhao Manyan had carved on the wall were still there, so how did the statue restore on its own? Mo Fan clearly remembered the statue had already turned into dust that was blown away by the wind…

“Time was turned back?” Lingling murmured, after taking a closer look at the statue.

“No way, how is it possible to turn back time?” Mui Qing protested.

“Who knows? You all assume this place is secluded from the outside world, but maybe something has been here all along, something that restored the statue,” Mu Bai ventured.

He found it hard to believe time could be static, or the possibility of turning back time. Time was not something that could be manipulated by magic; many of their ancestors had proven that to be true!

Mo Fan went closer. He reached out his hand to touch the statue to see if it was rebuilt recently. However, he immediately felt scorching heat coming from his back. It was approaching them rapidly.

“Look out!” Mo Fan immediately turned around. The flames of Ardent Sunset erupted on his right fist as he threw it at the fireball that was coming at them!

The Fiery Fist collided with the fireball that was trying to ambush them on the street and exploded like fireworks. The flames were blown into the air before pouring down on the structures, setting the place ablaze.

The rest were shocked as they quickly turned around.

They were surprised to see a woman in silver heels standing on one of the wooden huts. She was engulfed in a blue flame, staring at them indifferently.

“Such impressive reflexes!” the woman sniffed disdainfully.

“Mu Xumian!” Mu Bai’s gaze sharpened.

Mo Fan was also shocked when he saw the woman.

How did the woman get in here? Was the White Lava only for decoration?

“You aren’t the only ones that came here prepared. I already mentioned before, I hate it when people waste my time. I was initially considering sparing your lives, but since you don’t appreciate my kindness, I will have no choice but to bury you all here!”

1459 Super Level Fire, Gates of Hell

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Damn it, we underestimated that woman’s capabilities! What should we do now?” Zhao Manyan hissed.

Mo Fan looked behind Mu Xumian and did not see anyone else apart from her. He let out a relieved sigh.

The people that Mu Xumian brought were quite strong, too. They would be in trouble if all of them were attacking him at the same time. However, if Mu Xumian was alone, Mo Fan and the others might be able to take her on!

“Don’t worry, she should only be able to use the Fire Element and the Poison Element…” Mo Fan told them.

“Hang on! I don’t recall these restrictions when we went into the storm?” Zhao Manyan replied.

If the place was the same as the one they went to before, the Fire Element would not be the only Element available!

“I remember the presence of other Elements was incredibly weak back then. Only the Wind Element is stronger. Besides, we were all worn out back then, and we didn’t use any magic after coming into this place,” Mo Fan said.

“My Ice Element isn’t working,” Mu Bai frowned.

“Damn it, my Water Element, Earth Element, and Light Element are not available, either!” Zhao Manyan swore.

Mo Fan tried gathering Lightning Magic, but noticed that he was unable to construct any Star Patterns or Star Orbits, as if he had entered an area where the use of magic was restricted. However, the Fiery Fist and the Fire Spell that Mu Xumian had cast were unaffected!

Mo Fan was astounded. What exactly was going on here?

The restrictions of the White Lava remained. The Fire Element was the only magic in the secluded place, but when they came here through the storm in Peru, the Wind Element was the only magic there…

Why would the Element be different if it was the same place?

“Die!” Mu Xumian did not have any patience. She had already constructed four Fire Constellations around her. The fifth was about to be completed.

Zhao Manyan, Mui Qing, and Mu Bai subconsciously took a few steps back when they saw the brilliance of the Stars constructing a magnificent Star Palace. Their hearts trembled in fear as they sensed the formidable aura of a Super Spell!

“Gates of Hell: Searing Vein!”

Mu Xumian’s temperament changed while she was casting the Super Spell. Her eyes were filled with pride, like a fiery judge who could sentence anyone to death with a single word. The enormous Star Palace behind her set off her sacred aura!

If Mo Fan excluded the battle against Shi Qianshou in the special environment, this was his first time facing a real Super Mage. The powerful demeanor of a Super Mage alone was enough to make a person forget how to use their magic. Even Star Orbits had a chance to break apart under the pressure and fear.

“Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan knew there was no way he could take on Mu Xumian by himself. To his relief, Mu Xumian did not possess a higher-level Elemental Seed. Her Domain of blue flames was not strong enough to overwhelm his own flames. Otherwise, Mo Fan might have struggled to cast even his Advanced Spells!

“Mo Fan, we can’t help you, be careful!” Zhao Manyan called out.

“Just back away, now!” Mo Fan warned them, knowing how terrifying the coming Super Fire Spell was.

They were at a crossroads, the fountain and the statue at the center of it. When Mu Xumian finished constructing her Star Palace, Mo Fan noticed an enormous gate constructed with blue flames appeared on both ends of the horizontal paths, like the road to Hell!

The gate on one end of the street was as huge as a building. Another identical gate stood on the other end now. The two gates were facing one another across the open area, and the tiny Mo Fan was right in the middle!

The gate in front of Mo Fan suddenly spat out a mighty torrent of blue flame. The spacious street was immediately filled with blue flames, as if a rapid burning river from Hell had broken through a dam. The deadly flames and scorching lava poured out from the gate, leaving no space to hide from them!

Mo Fan gasped as the blue flames came right at him. He was soon devoured by the raging flames…

The blue flames surged across the street, but did not spread throughout the ancient city wildly. Instead, they went into the second gate at the other end of the street and disappeared!

Mo Fan was swaying. He was in great pain after being struck by the blue flames, yet before he could recover from it, the same gates appeared in the streets in the other two directions!

This time, two gates were flung open simultaneously. Scorching waves of fire surged in crossing directions with a deafening howl, and collided fiercely with one another at Mo Fan’s location!

The gushing flames flowing in opposite directions were driven by an overwhelming force. Mo Fan was being tortured as if he was in Hell. His body was almost crushed and melted by the force of impact and high temperature!

—

Mu Bai, Zhao Manyan, and Mui Qing were running away quickly. They almost dropped their jaws when they saw the terrifying Super Fire Spell.

Was it even possible for anyone to survive such a strong spell?

Zhao Manyan wanted to block it for Mo Fan, but no other Elemental Magic than Fire was available, and Zhao Manyan did not have any Black, White, or Dimensional Magic.

Mu Bai was still in the same spot. Two of his Elements were Elemental Magic, but his third Element was improving only slowly. It was nowhere enough to provide any help in a battle at this level!

“Is…is he going to die, just like that?” Mui Qing asked softly when she saw the scorching river of fire surging past.

The crossroads was burned to ashes. The fountain and the statue at the center were gone now, the ground was scorched black and empty. Mo Fan was swaying on the spot, faintly limned by blue flames.

The Domain of Ardent Sunset and the Calamity Fire drove the blue fire away in an instant. Mo Fan straightened up as his eyes flickered energetically once again.

Mui Qing was utterly shocked. She was struggling to believe that Mo Fan had not died to her Super Spell.

Was he made of steel? How did he survive a Super Fire Spell?!

“Mo Fan now has three kinds of Soul-grade Fire, not to mention Little Flame Belle’s strength… it’s not easy for a Super Mage’s flames to kill him now,” Zhao Manyan judged.

Mo Fan was not dead, and injuries were not as serious as they had imagined. Mu Xumian’s eyes widened. The previous disdain and pride in them were gone now.

“How could a mere Advanced Mage like you resist my Super Level fire!?” Mu Xumian hissed at him.

Chapter 1460 Three Soul-grade Fires!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The difference between the Super Level and Advanced Level was unbelievably huge. No Advanced Mage had ever stood a chance against a Super Mage. Mu Xumian fixed her eyes on Mo Fan. She did not understand why the blue flames had not burned him to ashes!

“Ardent Sunset, Calamity Fire, Meteor Scarlet!” Mo Fan ruthlessly unleashed his three Soul-grade Fires. The Domains of Ardent Sunset and Calamity Fire stood out sharply; anyone could see two different colors filling the area within five hundred meters of Mo Fan. Fire Magic, floating like feathers, was totally visible in the area. The energy particles were on standby, waiting to take orders from Mo Fan!

The Meteor Scarlet’s Domain was not formed yet. It was not because it did not have a Domain, but because it needed some time to be shaped and refined. The faint ring of scarlet fire under Mo Fan’s feet still showed that its level was not inferior to the other two Soul-grade Flames!

Mo Fan’s aura skyrocketed when the three Soul-grade Fires appeared. The ferocious flames from Flame Belle Empress bestowed upon him an imperious demeanor!

“Sky-Flame Funeral: Thousand Burning Petals!”

Mo Fan cast the third-tier Advanced Fire Spell. Flames poured down from the sky in the form of flowers, setting the sky ablaze like a burning sea of petals. The blossoms fell like scented, burning rain!

The Meteor Scarlet had a special ability; the friction produced when the flames were streaking through the air would further strengthen the flames and their impact, so even a tiny burning petal could result in massive destruction!

Thousands of fiery petals were pouring down like a meteor shower, bombarding the area Mu Xumian was in.

Mu Xumian did not place too much attention on the Advanced Spell, but immediately regretted it when she realized the damage was several times higher than a normal Advanced Spell under the three Soul-grade Flames!

Each petal blossomed into a destructive fire lily when it landed on the ground, stacking on top of one another. Their terrifying explosions turned the streets into a scorched land pitted by holes and ravines…

Mu Xumian was shielded by her blue flames, yet her clothes were now ragged. She was panting heavily.

She clenched her teeth. Normally, she could defend herself with the Water Element, but in a place like this, she could only use her Blue Demon Flame for defense, putting her in an unfavorable position.

The Fire Element was not known for its defense. A Mage’s Fire Resistance was solely dependent on their Fire Seed. Even though her cultivation was higher than Mo Fan’s, he obviously had better Soul-grade Fire than she did!

Her Blue Demon Flame was at most comparable to Ardent Sunset!

“Fire Slash!”

Mo Fan had merged with the Flame Belle Empress, so he no longer had to rely on Stars to cast his spells. He launched himself at Mu Xumian like a missile, giving her no chance to catch her breath. His hand turned into a fiery sword, which he flung at Mu Xumian. A wave of scorching flames pounced forward and filled the gash in the street she was standing in.

Mu Xumian quickly backed away, dodging the powerful slash from Mo Fan. She pinched her finger like she was threading a needle. A dark brown light flickered swiftly amid the flames…

Mo Fan was about to chase after Mu Xumian when he noticed the flicker of light. He quickly dodged aside!

“Running away already?” Mu Xumian giggled. She flung her hands out, pulling on a string of silk, tightening every other thread tied to it!

Mo Fan’s response was extremely quick, but he still failed to escape from the brown poisonous silk woven like a spiderweb, covering a huge area. Mo Fan had just dodged to the side when another spiderweb of poisonous silk sealed off his escape route. At the same time, poisonous silk came down from above, trapping Mo Fan within the web!

“Black Snake Armor!” Mo Fan knew he did not have a chance to break free from the Super Level Poison Trap, and immediately activated his Magic Armor!

The poisonous silk landed on him despite the layers of flames around him, the paralyzing stuff penetrating into his body. The Black Snake Armor barely stopped the poison from spreading any further in time.

Since the Black Totem Snake was the ancestor of poison, his scales were very effective at isolating poison. Mo Fan had gone through numerous battles, and did not have trouble handling her poison attack.

The poisonous silk was designed to apply contact poison to a target, not to bind them. As Mo Fan stopped the poison with his armor, the flames of Ardent Sunset surged angrily, burning the poisonous silk to ashes.

The poisonous silk covered a huge area, but the flames of Ardent Sunset were very effective against insects. Mu Xumian’s poisonous silk covered nearly a square kilometer, with more than a thousand strings scattered across the air and ground. As the ring of Ardent Sunset flames expanded, the poisonous silk was set on fire and burned to ashes.

Mu Xumian clenched her teeth when she saw the poisonous silk she had set up being taken care of in an instant!

“Gates of Hell!”

Mu Xumian changed her approach again. She immediately engulfed herself in blue flames and Summoned the Gates of Hell again.

Two Gates of Hell eight hundred meters apart emerged again, with Mo Fan placed between them once more. A flood of blue flame went right at Mo Fan with a deafening roar!

“Blink!”

Mo Fan had long prepared for the attack. His figure vanished into thin air, reappearing a hundred meters straight up.

He looked down and saw the liquid flames flowing between the gates like an unstoppable fiery dragon, imperious and terrifying!

“How naive!” Mu Xumian grinned coldly as she locked eyes on Mo Fan, who was now floating in the air.

Two more Gates of Hell appeared, one above Mo Fan’s head and the other below his feet! The two Gates of Hell were facing one another, swirls of fire surging on their surfaces, waiting to unleash their wrath!

“Die!” Mu Xumian grunted. A surge of lava poured down from above, knocking Mo Fan fiercely to the ground!

The ravening blast lasted for quite some time. Mo Fan had no idea the Gates of Hell could appear anywhere. His skin had blistered after being struck by the Blue Demon Flames, and the pain of being inundated by them was torturous!

Luckily, his Fire Resistance was outstanding when he was Possessed by Little Flame Belle. Otherwise, he would have burnt to ashes within a second!

“Damn it, if only Meteor Scarlet has taken shape, I would have a chance against this b**ch with three Soul-grade Flames!” Mo Fan cursed as he rose to his feet, his face black with soot.

Meteor Scarlet was not fully shaped and refined yet, so he could not utilize its true potential. After all, he had just acquired the Soul-grade Fire in its embryo form, so it could only provide him limited control and power. He was facing Mu Xumian with the Flame Belle Empress’ power!

Mo Fan was unmatched in the Advanced Level. He could eliminate opponents of the same level with a spell or two, but when going up against a Super Mage, it was quite impressive that his bones were still intact after the first round!

If Zhao Manyan could use his Elements, he could resist a few of the attacks in Mo Fan’s place. They would have a slight chance of defeating her. Unfortunately, Elemental Magic other than the Fire Element was not available here…

The Super Level was indeed very strong!

“How tenacious are you? I didn’t expect a Fire Spirit could grant a Fire Mage such outstanding power! It’s a great waste for a mere Advanced Mage like you to keep her!” Mu Xumian sneered disdainfully as she approached Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was like a monster, enduring her Super Spells several times. She now understood why Qi Shan had asked her to be careful!

“Is it too late to beg for mercy now?” Mo Fan asked.

“Hehe, where’s your integrity now?” Mu Xumian came closer on her silver heels. Despite her giggling, she had still locked her magic on Mo Fan. It was the same Super Level spell, the Gates of Hell; one was on Mo Fan’s left, and one on his right, once again around eight hundred meters apart.

Blue flames were flowing restlessly within the gates. Mo Fan was no longer able to dodge the spell in his current state. Mu Xumian’s actions had already answered his question.

An Advanced Fire Mage with three kinds of Soul-grade Fire and a Fire Spirit blessed by nature; Flame Belle was already a threat to her, even though she was a Super Mage. How could Mu Xumian possibly not eliminate such a threat when she had the chance?

Luckily, they had discovered Mo Fan’s capabilities in time. If they had allowed him to grow further, Heaven knew how strong of an enemy of the Mu Clan Mo Fan would become!

“I can consider leaving your corpse intact if you beg for mercy now!” Mu Xumian said coldly.

Her words were like a death sentence. The burning river surged out of the Gates of Hell, trampling the peaceful ancient city like an evil blue dragon!

Mo Fan’s tiny figure was devoured by the flames. This time, Mu Xumian did not believe he would be able to survive the flames. She stared at the blue flames, grinning widely!

She loved her blue flames; the Blue Demon Flame was very pleasing to her eyes, especially when it was devouring lives!

“It’s your fault for being such a showoff, you never learned how to keep a low profile!” Mu Xumian yelled at the flames mercilessly.

Mu Xumian slowly turned around after remaining there for a while. She looked after the others, who were now hiding. The city was not big, and half of it was already destroyed by her flames. Where else could they run to?

“Stop wasting my time, or I’ll be even madder,” Mu Xumian shouted in the direction Zhao Manyan and the others were hiding.

As she finished her sentence, a wisp of candlelight slowly floated down about ten meters away from her.

Mu Xumian did not place too much attention on it. She thought it was just something that Mo Fan had left behind, but her expression shifted when she sensed a terrifying energy rumbling inside it!

Chapter 1461 The Eye in the Town

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Fire Crystal Candle, Explode!”

The shout took Mu Xumian by complete surprise.

The little candlelight was obviously compressed; the energy inside it was thousands of times stronger than it looked! In addition to that, the ancient town was filled with Fire Magic, allowing the Fire Magic to detonate like a deadly bomb when the force compressing it was withdrawn!

A mushroom cloud exploded into existence. The waves of energy spreading across the city razed the ancient structures to the ground. The flames filled the entire place, without leaving the slightest gap. It was difficult to tell how much energy the little candlelight contained. The explosion was comparable to a Super Spell!

The three Soul-grade Fires were like a massive bomb when they were compressed simultaneously. The explosion went off only ten meters away from Mu Xumian. She was devoured by the mushroom cloud before she could react to it!

Mo Fan’s figure slowly appeared in the distance. A black mantle was draped over his shoulders, some blue flames still burning on it.

“The Shadow Decoy is so useful at certain times!” Mo Fan grinned, even more widely than Mu Xumian had.

The Dark Noble Mantle granted Mo Fan a powerful ability, the Shadow Decoy!

Mo Fan had the Fiendish Night and was able to Summon a bunch of demon shadows; the Dark Contract had further strengthened the Dark Noble Mantle’s ability, making it harder to distinguish between the shadow clone and the real Mo Fan. He pretended to be talking to Mu Xumian, leaving a shadow clone behind before sneaking away.

The Dark Noble Mantle was so powerful that even Super Mages would struggle to see through Mo Fan’s trick, unless they were very close to him. Mu Xumian did not dare get close to Mo Fan, aware that he was known for his close combat skills. She simply assumed that Mo Fan had no chance of surviving when the blue flames devoured his shadow clone.

Mo Fan could never defeat Mu Xumian head-on, but it did not mean he could not play dirty!

Mo Fan had practiced the combination of the Rebelling Shadow and the Dark Noble Mantle countless times while he was convalescing at the Parthenon Temple. He had been able to trick most of the Golden Sun Knights!

“Rebelling Shadow, Throatlock!”

Mo Fan did not give Mu Xumian any chance to recover. He immediately cast a Shadow Spell while she was still unconscious.

While Elemental Magic was not available, Black Magic was not restricted at all. Luckily, it seemed Mu Xumian’s Poison Element had yet to reach the Super Level, as the pressure he felt from it was significantly weaker!

If Mu Xumian’s Poison Element was at the Super Level, her status in the Mu Clan would have been a lot higher. She would not have had to bother doing chores like this!

The Rebelling Shadow emerged from Mu Xumian and wrapped its hands around her throat.

The lower the oxygen intake, the blurrier her consciousness was. Mo Fan also fired a few Giant Shadow Spikes to seal off her mind as a safety precaution…

Mo Fan knew the woman could easily break free from the Giant Shadow Spikes, as her cultivation was a lot higher than his. He proceeded to consume a few Commander-level Soul Essences, Summoning three more Rebelling Shadows to keep an eye on her.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to kill her?” Lingling asked calmly.

“We can exchange her for Mui Guangqing and the others,” Mo Fan said.

Mui Qing was in utter disbelief, and only managed to speak after some time, “She…she’s a Super Mage, how did you even beat her? Are…are you really human?”

Mui Qing felt like her understanding had been turned on its head. It was her first time learning that an Advanced Mage could defeat a Super Mage!

“What did you just say? Hurry up and treat my wounds, did you think it was easy?” Mo Fan withdrew the Black Snake Armor, revealing his blistered skin.

“Oh, oh!…” Mui Qing immediately cast her Healing Magic on Mo Fan.

The prolonged burning from the Super Fire Spell was quite powerful. Mui Qing had to wait until the effect was gone for her Healing Magic to work.

“You’re as impressive as usual; I almost thought we were all going to die here,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Luckily I have the three Soul-grade Fires and Little Flame Belle’s outstanding strength. I managed to take care of her with a little trick. That being said, Mu Xumian is clearly at the bottom among the Super Mages. We would have been done for if we were up against a slightly stronger Super Mage!” Mo Fan did not feel like it was an easy task at all.

“That’s true, but is there anyone else who has three different Soul-grade Seeds for the same Element!?” Mui Qing grumbled.

It was truly infuriating for a person to compare themselves to others. Mo Fan’s Fire Element had three kinds of Soul-grade Fire, three Domains, and three special effects. What would a Fire Mage that did not have a single Soul-grade Flame even think?

In Mu Xumian’s case, even though she was already a Super Mage, she only had a Soul-grade Fire, the Blue Demon Flame. In terms of the level of their flames, she was significantly weaker than Mo Fan’s three Soul-grade Fires!

“His lightning is quite insane, too. It’s strong enough to threaten a Super Mage,” Zhao Manyan blithely gave Mui Qing another stab in the heart.

Mui Qing completely lost the mood to treat Mo Fan’s injuries. Healing him would only make her lose her motivation to improve her cultivation!

“Now that we have taken care of Mu Xumian, the others are no longer a threat to us,” Mu Bai said.

“I’ll need some rest. These are not just some minor injuries,” Mo Fan fell to the ground feebly.

He was totally worn out. He had constantly used up his energy ever since the group was chased by the Fiery-Winged Tyrant. He was too weak to even deal with the remaining people of the Mu Clan outside.

Lingling looked around and said sadly, “The town was destroyed, just like that.”

Mo Fan could only smile wryly.

The town was too vulnerable. It could not withstand the damage from such a high-level battle. A random spell could destroy the entire city. If they were able to accumulate their energy slightly, a spell could destroy half the ancient structures in the town. The next time someone came to this secluded Spatial Relay Point, all that was left would be scorched debris and land.

Mo Fan felt a little sorry for it. Not many places in the world were as sacred as this town. It would not age with time, it was not disturbed by wars. He wondered which people had lived here, and why they had left.

“Lingling, did you figure out what this place is for?” Mo Fan asked while resting up.

“I bet it’s a refuge shelter that a great master of the Space Element built, but it was eventually forgotten,” Lingling said.

“If time is really static, wouldn’t that mean everything in here is indestructible?” Mui Qing asked.

“Who knows, I just want to have a good sleep now and beat the crap out of that Qi Shan, that son of a b**ch!” Zhao Manyan laid on the ground, using his hands as a pillow.

Zhao Manyan was about to close his eyes, but when he casually looked at the sky, his soul shivered!

He burst out screaming and sat upright while pointing at the sky!

There was an eye in the sky above the town. It was enormous, an eye of the heavens, staring at the tiny people inside the town!

1462 The Town Where Time Flows Backwards

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan, Mu Bai, Lingling, and Mui Qing raised their eyes. They were stunned, frozen like statues when they saw the enormous eye!

A huge vortex formed around the eye. It widened slowly, firing thousands of rays down at the town. The rays encapsulated the ancient ruined town in a cone of energy and light.

They saw the ashes scattered across the place rising into the air. The debris of the structures that Mo Fan and Mu Xumian had destroyed were lifted off the ground. Everything stood out under the light emitted by the eye!

“This…this…” Zhao Manyan was stammering in shock.

He thought the eye in the sky was about to crush them to pieces for intruding on the town. He was already prepared to face death, but to his surprise, not only did the light not bring them any harm, the light felt extremely comfortable and warm, as if he was taking a sunbath!

The broken structures, destroyed streets, and ashes lingered in the air… then suddenly came to a stop after reaching a certain height. They were all mixed up, like a massive black ball floating in the sky.

As they stared in astonishment, the black lump of debris fell down rapidly!

It was like a huge landfill was pouring down its trash from the sky, but the debris was clearly falling in an orderly manner. The parts that fell first were the pieces of the streets that Mu Xumian had destroyed with her Super Fire Spell.

The bricks that made up the streets had been burned to black powder. However, as the black powder fell to the ground, it regained their initial color, and even the form of bricks…

More black powder fell from the sky, repairing the destroyed streets!

Not only were the streets being repaired, but the structures that had collapsed to the ground soon regained their initial appearance, reforming from the dust and debris that fell from the sky…

The structures, buildings, streets, plants, and wooden banners… it felt like the five of them were in the middle of a film that was rewinding. Everything that was destroyed was being restored to its original appearance!

A smooth, white rock fell on the statue of a young woman. The thin veil covering her body was as elegantly made as it was originally, and her skin was just as alluring.

The dried-up fountain was filled with water once again. The pebbles stacked up to build the fountain were glittering now!

The streets had no sign of dust. Orderly structures were on both sides of them. A minute ago, the scorched land was covered in debris, but now, an elegant, secluded town had descended from the sky and presented itself to Mo Fan and the others in an unbelievable manner.

Mo Fan, Mui Qing, Mu Bai, Lingling, and Zhao Manyan stood there in the town that was now fully restored. When they looked up at the sky again, the eye had disappeared. Mo Fan went to the fountain and touched the statue, just to see if it was just an illusion. However, he immediately felt it was smooth and icy to the touch!

“Are we in a dream now?” Zhao Manyan asked, his face blank.

“I…I have no idea either.” Mui Qing had gone blank too.

How could they even explain this? Everything had returned to how it was before!

Mo Fan and Mu Xumian had clearly razed the town to the ground, their flames had burned everything to ashes. Was there really some magic that could restore something that was already destroyed, let alone a whole town!?

“Turning back time…” Lingling murmured after some time.

“How is that even possible!?”

“If time was really turned back, we’d find ourselves in our previous spots, and Mu Xumian wouldn’t be injured, either…” Mo Fan shook his head.

Time had not been reverted. If time was really turned back, it had only occurred to the strange town, since it had been restored to its original form!

“What is going on here? I feel like I’m about to lose my mind,” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan ran out of the town, and found Zhao Manyan’s carvings on the fallen wall.

It meant that the town was the only place that had been restored. The fact that the statue of a young woman that had previously turned into dust had recovered meant it was not the first time this had happened. It was like even the slightest changes to the town would be restored after a while, returning its initial appearance!

“I think we should hurry up and leave this place…” Mui Qing was a little scared.

Humans were afraid of the unknown, and the eye that was staring at them from the sky and how the town had reclaimed its initial appearance certainly qualified. It was not a place that anyone would want to stay in for too long.

“I agree, let’s go!” Zhao Manyan spoke up.

There was no explanation for it. Even Lingling, who seemed to know everything, was struggling to find an explanation for it. Perhaps they could discover the truth if they learned who the eye in the sky belonged to, but with their current strength and status, they did not dare stir up any trouble. The fact that it could restore the town so easily indicated that its power was beyond the understanding of Mages. It might even possess some other destructive power!

—

The group did not dare stay in the town any longer. They quickly headed back along the path they had come from.

After leaving the town’s vicinity, the scorching heat slowly returned. The familiar curtain of White Lava appeared in their eyes soon enough.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was not too fond of this place. Mui Guangqing’s speculation had obviously been wrong. There was no precious treasure inside the White Lava, nor was it where the flames of the meteorite had landed. It had been around for a long time, a path leading to a Spatial Relay Point unknown to modern people.

—

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were able to use their magic after leaving the White Lava. Tong Li, Qi Shan, and the others might be a little strong, but they clearly did not stand a chance against the trio. They quickly took care of their enemies with the energy they had recovered.

Unfortunately, Qi Shan managed to escape!

The tunnels were accessible from all directions, and some of the junctions felt like a maze. It was unlikely they would be able to find him. Since the only way to leave the place was the Scroll of Space, the guy would have nowhere to run to when they Summoned the people of the Mui Clan and the Dongfang Clan in!

“We’ll talk later, let’s set up the teleportation formation first. I don’t want any accidents to happen again,” Mo Fan told Mui Zhuocheng.

Mui Zhuocheng could not believe it. Didn’t Mu Xumian go inside the White Lava to catch them? How did she end up being subdued instead? Was she just a fake Super Mage?

1463 Too Ashamed To Live Any Longer

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The mountain to the south of Sun Ridge…

Dongfang Mo was pacing back and forth. He had yet to treat his injuries. Some of them had already blistered.

“Elder Mo, it won’t help if you just keep walking up and down here,” Mui Yezhuo said.

“Father, let’s head back to the village. There’s no way they could have survived,” Dongfang Ming said.

“Silence!” Dongfang Mo snapped anxiously, “If anything happens to them, I shall go down with them too! It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault! I wasn’t able to stop the Ruler-level creature in time, and they were forced to jump into the volcanic pool. How am I going to explain it to the Mui Clan, Fanxue Mountain, and the people of our clan!?”

“Why do you even need to explain yourself? The plan was dangerous from the beginning. It was just unlucky that the Kunlun Wind was blowing when they were here! Father, you shouldn’t blame yourself for it. Let’s just do what we’re supposed to. If anything, we can just gather another bunch of people to go down and see if they can retrieve their corpses…” Dongfang Ming said.

Dongfang Mo kicked Dongfang Ming angrily. Why did he have such an unreliable and narrow-minded son? The fate of their clans was at stake, and yet he was still acting like it was nothing important! If he put the Dongfang Clan in his son’s hands, it was only a matter of time before the clan fell!

“Old Mo, Old Mo!” a middle-aged man suddenly yelled.

Dongfang Mo turned around and noticed silver pillars rising, forming a star-shaped magic formation that lit up the entire mountain.

“Is…is that…” Dongfang Mo was shocked when he saw the light.

Could it be that they had destroyed the Sarkinite node?

“Quick, connect with them!” Dongfang Mo blurted out.

The middle-aged man immediately called a few Space mages over. They stood in six symmetrical spots, guiding the energy of the Scroll of Space to them.

“Come, let’s go and receive them! Who would have thought…who would have thought!” Dongfang Mo was overjoyed. He was the first to jump into the magic formation.

He initially thought the whole group was going to be wiped out in the volcanic pool. To his surprise, they had actually accomplished the difficult mission! It was unbelievable that they managed to destroy the Sarkinite even after they were ambushed by the Fiery-Winged Tyrant!

Mui Yezhuo and Dongfang Mo immediately led the way and went inside the Portal.

A bunch of people swiftly disappeared from the mountain, leaving just a few young Mages behind to keep watch. They would have to activate the Portal again to leave the fire vein.

—

“HAHAHA, it’s so great to know that all of you are fine… huh, why are there so many people in here?” Dongfang Mo approached Mui Guangqing and the others in great humor.

Dongfang Mo and Mui Yezhuo were dumbfounded when they saw a group of people tied up in a corner after they arrived in the cave.

What happened here? Didn’t they send only one group of people down? Why was there another group of people here?

“Isn’t that Mu Xumian?” Mui Yezhuo immediately recognized her. Her pale face still had some burn marks on it.

Mu Xumian had regained consciousness, yet she was completely restricted by the Rebelling Shadows, keeping her in an extremely vulnerable state.

“Qi Shan brought them in here. That piece of shit… our clan has been treating him like an honorable guest! Even if Mui Nuxin decided to seek happiness elsewhere, he still couldn’t repay our clan’s kindness to him, not to mention that Mui Nuxin was never in an official relationship with him. Not only did he betray us, he even tried to get us killed… that son of a b**ch!” Mui Zhuocheng cursed, extremely angry at Qi Shan.

Everyone had risked their lives to come here. They finally had a glimpse of hope of leaving the place, yet it was almost ruined by the people of the Mu Clan. How could they not hold a grudge against Qi Shan?

They all thought Qi Shan was a real man when he was brave enough to prove himself again despite the circumstances, yet he turned out to be such a vile person. What he did was utterly disgusting and infuriating!

Dongfang Mo and Mui Yezhuo exchanged glances with one another. They did not expect so many things to have happened in the underground cave, nor could they imagine Mu Xumian, a Super Mage, being defeated and bound up in a corner like a prisoner. She had completely lost her demeanor as a Super Mage!

Mu Xumian might not be as strong as they were, but she was still quite reputable in the Mu Clan!

However, Dongfang Mo and Mui Yezhuo trembled in anger when they realized what the Mu Clan had tried to do!

“Why don’t we just kill them? They were being so cruel and vicious to us, why should we show any mercy to them?” the angry Mui Zhuocheng grunted.

“Don’t. The public won’t see the Mu Clan’s true nature if we kill them. We need them alive, and to make sure the people of the Mu Clan claim these scum themselves. The more attention it gathers the better it is for us. We’ll tell the world how the Mu Clan is treating other renowned clans like us. Now that we’ve caught them red-handed, we’ll make them pay and destroy their reputation, too! Mo Fan, what do you say?” Mui Guangqing refuted calmly.

“I agree. Killing them won’t bring us any benefits. We would only be disgusted by it,” Mo Fan nodded.

The people of the Mu Clan were so despicable; they were busy setting people up when the country was in such a precarious situation. Once the news was spread to the public, the Mu Clan was going to suffer a lot more, and they might even have to compensate the three clans for the loss!

“Mo Fan, it’s all thanks to you. You are the savior of our clans. From now on, the Fanxue Mountain’s problems are our Dongfang Clan’s problems too,” Dongfang Mo patted Mo Fan on the shoulder gratefully.

“Yeah, luckily, the old clan master was smart enough to cooperate with Fanxue Mountain. Even if we managed to find another way to enter this place, we’d still have ended up being set up by the Mu Clan. Now that the Mu Clan has tripped so badly, we’ll be able to use it to our advantage!” Mui Yezhuo was greatly impressed by Mo Fan.

They were able to turn peril into safety despite the unexpected twists. Not only did the two clans have the chance to excavate the fire vein, they even had a chance to make the Mu Clan suffer for their actions!

Mu Xumian was a well-known representative of the Mu Clan, so the Mu Clan was surely related to her actions. It was likely that the Mu Clan’s public relations people would come begging for mercy in no time. They would have to shed their skin if they tried to repatriate Mu Xumian!

Mu Xumian felt like dying when she realized she had suddenly become a token for the two clans to get their revenge on the Mu Clan.

It was supposed to be a smart ambush, setting the two clans back even further and seizing control of their property. How had it ended up like this?…

Most importantly, everyone would learn that she had been defeated by an Advanced Mage. Even if the clan redeemed her, she would just find a tree and hang herself!

——

The group was worn out when they returned to Wangyang Station safely. They immediately fell into deep sleep on their beds. Even those whose injuries were being treated fell asleep like stones.

The rest of the work was no longer Mo Fan’s concern. However, he was still bothered by the Spatial Relay Point. He reminded the people of the Mui Clan and the Dongfang Clan not to set foot in the place unless it was necessary.

There were no useful resources inside the White Lava. Mo Fan asked Dongfang Mo and Mui Yezhuo to search the area where he had discovered the Meteor Scarlet instead. He believed it was where the resources of the fire vein could be found.

They were able to find some useful ores after a quick search. The place was so rich in resources that both Dongfang Mo and Mui Yezhuo were almost drooling.

The fire vein was way more valuable than they had expected. Apart from the extremely rare Primitive Soul-grade Flame that Mo Fan had taken, they also found three other Soul-grade Fire Seeds that were already shaped, more than thirty Spirit-grade Fire Seeds, and lots of Soul Seed Pieces and Fundamental Crystals. They did not even want to leave the place!

They still had to find and excavate the remaining resources in the fire vein. Mo Fan had already made a huge profit by claiming the Primitive Soul-grade Flame. Fanxue Mountain would also get a portion of the profits after the resources were refined and sold. Mo Fan did not feel he had lost out by not claiming the resources first.

It was better to share the profits. Besides, Fanxue Mountain had basically befriended two reliable allies with this operation. With their help, the Mu Clan would not be as threatening as before. They would no longer be able to pick on Mu Ningxue as they had in the past!

——

“Say, what’s with the ancient town? What do you think the eye was?” Zhao Manyan could not help but ask curiously.

“Do you believe in turning back time?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not really. If time can be turned back, we’d be stuck in the loop forever,” Zhao Manyan said.

“The fact that your carvings are still around means only the town was restored. I think the eye is some kind of Dimensional Magic with restorative power. Perhaps it has something to do with the Chaos Element… or some other Elements,” Mo Fan conjectured.

“The eye was frightening to look at in the first place, but now that I think about it, it didn’t look alive,” Zhao Manyan recalled.

“It’s most likely some ancient magic, or maybe an ancient Forbidden Magic… either way, it’s beyond our reach for now,” Mo Fan summed up.

“You’re right, there are a lot of things that we still don’t know in this world,” Zhao Manyan said. He let out a sigh, planning to toss everything he saw to the back of mind.

He decided not to think about the things he could not understand. He was not the kind of person that would bring trouble to himself.

Mo Fan was the kind that would worry about things only when they came, so he could not care less about things that he did not understand.

“Say, why don’t we go have some fun tonight?” Zhao Manyan suggested.

Mu Bai was meditating on the couch, and suddenly opened his eyes. Zhao Manyan happened to notice his reaction too. He said with a wide grin, “See, what did I say? You always pretend to be a gentleman, yet you woke up as soon as I mentioned it. Let’s go, the victory is ours tonight!”

1464 Grandson-In-Law

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The night was quiet and clean. The haze produced by the local industries had dissipated among the mountains after the Kunlun Wind swept past. The Wangyang Station was like an oxygen bar located in the middle of the mountains. There was no sign of noise. The stars hanging in the night sky felt like they were about to fall to the ground, stirring up one dazzling ripple after another.

Mu Bai sat at the top of the mountain alone, staring into the sky.

The scene was a even more spectacular than the woman had described. He had visited a lot of places, yet he had never had the chance to relax while enjoying the dazzling sight of the night sky, or perhaps his eyes had been shrouded by something over the years.

Mu Bai sat on the mountain until the latter half of the night. He slowly rose to his feet while shaking his head.

He returned down the mountain to Wangyang Station. The place was quiet, apart from the bustling bar.

Mu Bai did not look into the bar when he walked past it. However, a drunk middle-aged man happened to be coming out of it while hugging a young slender woman with his right hand. To be precise, his hand was wantonly grabbing the woman’s bottom.

Despite being drunk, he was impatiently moving in the direction of an inn with the woman. The woman was whispering softly with a smile.

They bumped into Mu Bai as they happened to pass by. The young woman was stunned. She looked into the direction Mu Bai came from.

Mu Bai halted in his tracks. He briefly glanced at the woman before withdrawing his gaze. He did not stop for more than a second. He kept walking as the moonlight shone upon his back.

“Do you know him? Or is he your old sweetheart? Let me tell you, good-looking men like him are useless, it’s better to enlighten me instead…” the middle-aged man grunted.

“He’s just an old customer,” the woman replied.

—

Since when was he feeling so lonely? He actually treated a hooker’s words so seriously, like the words of a family member. He was eager to keep his promise after he survived the dangerous operation…

Is this the feeling of living a carefree life?

—

—

After recovering some energy, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, Lingling, Mui Zhuocheng, Dongfang Xifeng, and the others had no intention of staying any further. They all boarded a flight to the Magic City.

Zhao Manyan flirted with the stewardess on the plane, as usual. He was truly a flexible person; he did not mind visiting the pettiest brothel when he had the mood, but when it came to a situation where he had to lift his standards to talk to someone, his topics immediately revolved around fashion, films, and places across the world. Even the stewardess, who was used to working on international flights, was impressed by him. She could not wait to do some shameless things with him across the world!

“I’ve been working on domestic flights now after the decrease in international flights. However, domestic flights aren’t as interesting as international ones. It’s rare to meet an interesting passenger like you.” The stewardess’ smile was no longer just professional as she continued to chat with them. Since she was the head stewardess, no one would complain about her.

“What happened to international flights?” Mo Fan asked.

“Many of the destinations for the routes are along the coastlines. The flights were impacted now that a huge portion of the coastlines were drowned by the ocean and invaded by sea monsters,” the stewardess told him.

“Oh, that’s true,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Why are you suddenly curious about international flights?” Zhao Manyan asked with a confused face.

“The Holy Judgment Court has summoned me. I’ll have to pay them a visit soon,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

The Holy Judgment Court was finally going to come up with a ruling regarding Mo Fan’s actions at the Parthenon Temple. Even though his contribution of capturing the Cold Prince was greater than his offenses, they still had to adhere to official procedures. Mo Fan still had to respect the Holy Judgment Court, since they were the highest court for Mages!

“Which country is the Holy Judgment Court located in?” Mu Bai asked.

“I think it’s Switzerland,” Mo Fan said.

“Switzerland huh…” Mu Bai fell into deep thought.

“You have any close ones there?” Mo Fan asked.

“I have a sister who my mother adopted, I think she’s in Switzerland,” Mu Bai clarified, as if he was afraid that Mo Fan would relate his sister to Mu He. Mu Bai continued, “It happened before I moved to the Mu Clan in Bo City. A couple from Switzerland was fond of my sister when she was very young. They didn’t have any kids, so they wanted to bring her to Switzerland with them. My mother wasn’t capable of taking care of us both, so she agreed. We’ve stayed in contact through e-mails and calls, but I haven’t heard from her for a few years. If you’re going to Switzerland, bring me along. I would like to pay her a visit.”

Mu Bai had already experienced how terrifying it was to live a carefree life. Even though he had not heard from his sister for some years, he still wanted to meet her and know she was doing well. He could also let her know about their mother’s passing. He would soon move to Fanxue Mountain…

After all, Mu Zhuoyun was his uncle. The people from Bo City that used to live in the Ancient Capital had moved to the new Fanxue City, too. It was better for him to live with them.

“Sure, it’s too boring to go alone. Old Zhao, fancy a trip?” Mo Fan said.

“Based on the experiences I had lately, I strongly believe keeping my distance from you is the safest choice…” Zhao Manyan replied carefully.

“Great, that means you’re going too. HAHA, another country waiting to be conquered by us!” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

“Hey, do you even understand the human tongue!?”

——

Mu Ningxue had been extremely busy lately. There was no point in going to Fanxue Mountain. Mo Fan paid a visit to the Mui Clan to tell them about Qi Shan’s betrayal, and spent the rest of his time in the Magic City.

It was the city he was most familiar with; he could just hang around at the Pearl Institute, or visit the Clearsky Hunter Agency when he was bored. The biggest Magic Association in the country was in the Magic City, too! It had the latest information and the best resources. Nothing would go wrong staying in the Magic City!

It had been a while since Mo Fan last paid Dean Xiao a visit and drank some tea with him. He had spent a long time cultivating in seclusion, and almost died of boredom at the Parthenon Temple, so he wanted to go to different places and catch up with the people he knew.

He also wanted to see if Dean Xiao had something impressive. He might take a dozen of them to protect himself. His equipment was too simple; even his precious Black Snake Armor was struggling to keep up with his level. He mostly used it merely to defend himself from poison.

—

A few older professors were inside Dean Xiao’s office when he arrived. They almost blurted out in surprise and scolded the young impolite student for barging in, teacups in their hands. However, when they realized it was Mo Fan, they quickly put on friendly smiles and kept mentioning they had beautiful granddaughters who were single still…

“Mo Fan, my granddaughter is a very nice girl, she’s definitely bigger than Old Zheng’s granddaughter. Don’t young men like you prefer big nowadays? You can come and visit my granddaughter,” the professor with the surname Li said.

Cough cough! “How shameless are you guys? I’m already taken, but if you don’t mind giving me your granddaughters to warm my bed, you can just send them to my place,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s a little too much; second wife, a second wife will do…”

A female director could not bear it any longer. “…Professor Li, can’t you be more mindful of your words!?”

Dean Xiao quickly interrupted the inappropriate topic between the old professors. He said, “Mo Fan, I heard that the Holy Judgment Court has sent you a letter?”

“Yeah, hence I’ve come to ask if you have any nice magic equipment here. They said they aren’t going to be fussy about what I did at the Parthenon Temple since I caught the Cold Prince, but I’ve offended so many Clergymen and Holy Court Mages at the Parthenon Temple. Wouldn’t I be in trouble if they are planning to set me up behind the scenes?” Mo Fan answered.

“I’m afraid I don’t really have anything impressive here. Besides, shouldn’t you leave some of them to your juniors instead? This magic equipment that is useless to you is very precious to them,” Dean Xiao said.

“You’re right. Why don’t you assign an expert to escort me instead? I don’t really trust the people of the Holy Judgment Court,” Mo Fan countered.

“Professor Li, didn’t you want Mo Fan to be your grandson-in-law? Why don’t you go to the Holy Judgment Court with him… bring your granddaughter along, too. They are still young, they might have principles, but who knows what’s going to happen when they are in foreign countries?” Dean Xiao said.

“Dean Xiao!” The female director was on the verge of losing her mind. She left, as she could not bear to listen to these people any longer.

Everyone simply ignored her. Professor Li waved his hand and said, “I’m not going to the Holy Court Mages. Those people in the Holy Court are nothing but monsters. If I was thirty years younger, I might be interested in going there and crushing some of their egos, but now… huh, Old Zheng, I remember that you always visited one of the institutes there in the past. Wouldn’t that mean you’re familiar with the place? Why don’t you organize a trip and bring some students along, too?”

“Old Li, how shameless can you be? Aren’t you in charge of the exchange students every year? You should be familiar with some of the institutes, too!” Old Zheng grunted.

“No way, it’s been so many years since I last visited them,” Professor Li refuted.

“That’s enough, you two; it’s not like you have anything better to do lately. Just go with Mo Fan, will you? Think of it as a vacation. You can visit their institutes and have a friendly exchange or something. If anything happens, you must stand your ground. Show them the spirit of our Pearl Institute!” Dean Xiao said.

“See? Why do we always end up with either the fish dying or the net splitting? Old Zheng, why do you always have to be like this?” Professor Li complained.

“Hehe!” Professor Zheng responded with a cold grin.

“Old Zheng, so are you bringing your granddaughter along, too?” Professor Li inquired.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I? It’s a great chance for her to learn, and I believe the institute will be paying the fees, right?” Professor Zheng said.

“Well… I’ll have to ask. I believe we haven’t been using the budget we’ve allocated for exchange programs with institutes of foreign countries…” Dean Xiao mused.

“Very well. Mo Fan, you should know that we’re not entirely free in the institute. If we really want to go with you, we will have to bring some of our students along to visit those reputable institutes.”

“Not a problem, you’ll still be escorting me. Besides, I’m an honorable mentor too!” Mo Fan agreed promptly.

1465 We“re Coming to Treat You with Love and Tenderness

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Holy Judgment Court was located between the Alps and Lake Geneva. The temperature averaged less than ten degrees Celsius over the year. The surface of the lake was usually frozen during the current season. It felt like they were walking on a mirror of ice in Heaven.

Mo Fan went to Geneva first, touring around Lake Geneva, and then climbing the Alps. Professor Zheng was an absolute fool for the place. He told the students that since they had come to expand their horizons, it was better for them to travel on foot instead of taking a train, just so they could slowly enjoy the spectacular views of the Alps and the mountains and had a different experience with nature.

As they were climbing the Alps, there were indeed stunning views of the mountains and the lakes, with the obscure dark brown of the barren ground and rocks contrasting the elegance of the dark blue water and the pure white snow!

Mo Fan was meant to be summoned to the Holy Judgment Court like a criminal, but the Pearl Institute was unwilling to follow their procedures. They were enjoying themselves along the journey, like reputable guests of the Holy Judgment Court instead!

The Holy Judgment Court was basically connected with the Alps Institute, similar to the connection between the Parthenon Temple College and the Parthenon Temple.

The Holy Judgment Court belonged to the Magic Association of the Five Continents, and was the highest court for Mages. The sentencing of criminals by the court had no appeal. A criminal would be punished severely by the Magic Association of the Five Continents, and the countries and places under its jurisdiction!

Mo Fan had offended the Holy Judgment Court at the Parthenon Temple. On the other hand, Izisha, who still held an important position in the Holy Judgment Court, had not wasted her time over the past year. She was restricted by the contract set up by the Clergymen, preventing her from committing any vengeful acts against Mo Fan and Xinxia. However, she could still bring Mo Fan trouble using the laws governing mages!

Mo Fan had done the Holy Judgment Court a great favor by arresting the Cold Prince. He had clearly earned a chance to be exempted from punishment unconditionally, but the woman was still pulling the strings behind the scenes. She had summoned Mo Fan over and insisted on placing a few charges on him…

The accusations were pretty huge. Mo Fan was accused of murdering the Golden Sun Knights of the Parthenon Temple. She even listed the names of the Golden Sun Knights, provoking their families to file a lawsuit against Mo Fan!

The Holy Court could not afford to just ignore the accusations. If Mo Fan did not show up, he would most likely be judged guilty!

Every Golden Sun Knight was a Super Mage. A Super Mage normally had outstanding status in Europe, and had no trouble supporting a clan. The clan that demanded Mo Fan be sentenced to prison was an ancient renowned clan in Switzerland, the Rhines. They were the most eager to see Mo Fan being escorted into the Holy Judgment Court like a criminal, yet Mo Fan was totally enjoying himself, and in a great mood along the journey!

——

“Mo Fan, are you sure it’s the Rhines that are filing a lawsuit against you?” Mu Bai asked with a strange expression, while glancing at the letter from the Holy Judgment Court.

“It’s definitely them, why?” Mo Fan asked with a confused look.

“What a coincidence, the couple that agreed to take care of my sister is from the same renowned clan!” Mu Bai said.

“Perhaps your sister is the one that wrote the request to file a lawsuit in Chinese? HAHAHA!” Zhao Manyan burst out laughing.

“That’s a little awkward…” Mo Fan rubbed his head.

Mo Fan was interested in seeing who the Rhines were, too. The Holy Judgment Court had lost a few Holy Court Mages in the incident, but they were willing to turn a blind eye to it. Meanwhile, the Rhines suddenly appeared out of nowhere and filed a lawsuit against him. If anything, the Parthenon Temple should be the one filing the lawsuit! After all, the Golden Sun Knight was from the Parthenon Temple…

“Did you really kill those Golden-Sun Knights?” Mu Bai asked in disbelief.

Every Golden Sun Knight was a Super Mage, one of the strongest forces in the Parthenon Temple. How had Mo Fan done it?

“The Parthenon Temple was being manipulated by Great Muse Mellaura and Clergyman Dulanc. They were setting up the candidates, including Xinxia. The Black Totem Snake did help me to kill some of the Golden Sun Knights, but they were most likely Mellaura and Dulanc’s underlings…” Mo Fan recalled.

It was indeed quite a slaughter back then. Mo Fan had killed a lot of people too, but Izisha, Mellaura, and Dulanc were responsible for it in the first place. The following investigation had confirmed that Mellaura and Lanjin were the ones giving the orders.

Mo Fan was unsure if he had killed any innocent people. He only knew a lot of people that had dared to block his path were dead!

Mo Fan did not regret it; the people that died were a bunch of hypocrites pushing an innocent girl into a bottomless chasm in pursuit of power. They totally deserved it!

“Which means, if there’s any proof that the victim, Golden Sun Knight Fer, did collude with Dulanc or Mellaura, you’re free to go, but you will be found guilty if he had nothing to do with the conspiracy?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“More or less,” Mo Fan replied.

“Doesn’t that mean you’re in a bad spot? Aren’t you going to prison if there isn’t any proof that he was with Mellaura?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“Not really, they have to prove that I’m the demon, too,” Mo Fan said indifferently.

Mo Fan had spent some time at the Parthenon Temple. He was confident that the Golden Sun Knight Fer was taking orders from Mellaura, and Izisha was provoking the Rhines to bring him trouble…

Fer was secretly colluding with Mellaura, thus it would be difficult to find any proof!

Similarly, Mo Fan did not have to admit that he was the demon. The Heresy Judgment Court was the judge for the case. They were more interested in the Cold Prince for the time being. It was fine if they insisted that he was the demon who had brought the massacre upon the Parthenon Temple, but it also meant Shao Zheng would then hand the Cold Prince to some other faction.

Therefore, Mo Fan was not worried at all; there might be a few voices raising their objections among the people of the Holy Judgment Court, but what Mo Fan had done was forgivable after he managed to catch the Cold Prince alive.

They could not do anything to the Black Vatican, but Mo Fan could! Perhaps the Holy Judgment Court and the Heresy Judgment Court would have to plead with Mo Fan to deal with the Black Vatican in the future. If Mo Fan was unhappy with the result, he could just leave, regardless of the lawsuit that the Rhines were filling against him. If worse came to worst, he only had to stay in China. If the Holy Judgment Court and the Heresy Judgment Court dared to come to China to trouble him, the people of his country were more than willing to kick them out!

A bunch of useless authorities that couldn’t do anything to the Black Vatican dared to come and arrest the hero who had driven the Black Vatican away? HAH!

“Basically, you’re just here for the sake of official procedures?” Mu Bai asked in a surprised voice.

“Something like that,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“You’re really something; not everyone can just come to the Holy Judgment Court for the sake of going through the motions,” Zhao Manyan said.

“There are a few days until we are needed at the court. Let’s visit the institute. There should be quite a lot of pretty chicks there!” Mo Fan suggested.

Zhao Manyan’s eyes glittered. “That’s our primary mission; we are here for the exchange… oh, sacred yet sexy Swiss ladies, I, Zhao Manyan, am here to treat you with love and tenderness!”

1466 Girl“s School Deep in the Mountain

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Alps Institute had always been ranked at the top of the world’s magic organizations. Since it was attached to the Holy Judgment Court and the Heresy Judgment Court, it did not represent any country, even though it was located in Switzerland. Every institute in the World College Tournament had to represent a country, and since they did not, the Alps Institute never took part in it.

The institute could not achieve greatness in the World College Tournament, but it did not impact the reputation of the mysterious institute located in the isolated environment of the Alps much.

Most importantly, the Alps Institute was a women’s school. The dean, headmaster, professors, mentors, and even the cleaners, temporary workers, and postal workers were all women!

The Parthenon Temple prioritized women because they were usually more talented with the Blessing Element than men. Their leader had the title Goddess, but in truth, they did not necessarily reject male Healers or Mages with the Blessing Element. The Parthenon Temple was willing to recruit anyone with talent, but statistically, women were just a lot better with the Healing and Blessing Elements.

The Alps Institute was different. They were a bunch of women’s rights activists. Almost every student from the institute despised men as a result of the brainwashing there. However, they did have an excuse to despise men, since most of the other institutes that requested a visit to the Alps Institute for an exchange program ended up losing duels to the Alps Institute.

The Alps Institute welcomed every institute and faction that wanted to visit them. Since they were women’s rights activists, they could not afford to just live in the mountains and seclude themselves from the world. They often approved the requests of the other institutes to visit them, in order to show these institutes their true strength!

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had no idea the Alps Institute was a girl’s school. They simply assumed every institute had a lot of energetic young women with young bodies and ideas, especially in foreign countries! The sunlight at dawn sprinkled on the bed sheets covered in marks from the intense ‘battle’ the night before, yet they would not bother asking for one another’s name… such was life!

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go! As a senior at the Pearl Institute, I’m quite eager to show such a proud institute what our country and our institute has!” Zhao Manyan said impatiently.

His mind was full of fair and slender legs, huge busts, and alluring curves, the fragrance of women’s long hair lingering in the school grounds, and the seductive giggles of the women…

He was about to explode. Zhao Manyan felt like his body was at its limit. As he thought, his life was constantly in danger whenever he was with Mo Fan. He was most likely going to lose control of himself. Wouldn’t the teachers and the students in such a half-closed institute be starving like wolves and tigers?

“(Cough cough), it won’t be a problem to visit them, but we’ll have to follow their rules,” Professor Li said.

“What rules?” Mo Fan asked.

“Well, every man has to wear a magic bracelet. The bracelet will track our location in the school at all times, to prevent us from entering the areas we aren’t supposed to,” Professor Li said.

Professor Li had been here many times. Ever since Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mui Nujiao had earned a great reputation during the World College Tournament, the Pearl Institute’s ranking in the world had been rising. Many students from other countries wanted to come to the Pearl Institute as exchange students and study at the Institute for a short period of time.

The Alps Institute had sent a group of students to the Pearl Institute recently. It was their turn to pay the Alps Institute a visit in return.

The truth was, the Alps Institute was better than the Pearl Institute in almost every area. The Alps Institute would not bother wasting their time with a school like the Pearl Institute, if it was not for their achievements during the World College Tournament!

It was the main reason why the leaders of the Pearl Institute were treating Mo Fan like their grandson-in-law. The victory during the World College Tournament was extremely important for the school!

“What kind of a rule is that? Isn’t that restricting our personal freedom?” Mo Fan complained, displeased.

“Yeah, we are here for a friendly exchange, why are they treating us like thieves instead?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

“You have to follow the local customs when you enter a village. Even us professors have to wear them!” Professor Zheng replied.

——

The group went past the Geneva River and slowly approached the Alps. The end of the lake was a clear meandering river, flowing across a few mountains and valleys. It was like a long silver trail left by a fairy that had descended upon the mundane world, giving the Alps a beautiful and elegant appearance.

A pavilion made of glazed stone stood at the base of the mountain. The colorful glaze gave the delicate structure an artistic appearance, while the glass of the pavilion was polished enough to reflect the ice and snow of the ridges in the distance.

Inside the pavilion were some felt hats and magic coats. The shelves and walls were filled with symbolic magic equipment. There were some impressive collectibles, yet they were placed in the pavilion at the base of the mountain unguarded, as if there were no thieves in the country…

“If it was in our country, this place would be packed with people in a few days, and they would most likely tear the place down, too,” a male mentor in the group, Shi Junsheng, observed.

Shi Junsheng was Professor Zheng’s student. He had graduated with excellence from the Pearl Institute some time ago. Professor Zheng was letting him stay at the Institute to train him further. He had brought him along so he could learn from the experience.

Most of the people in the group were not just normal students. In academic terms, they were mostly postgraduate and Ph.D. students. They were a lot stronger than students who had not yet graduated from the Institute. They were even qualified to serve as mentors to the normal students.

“The comparison doesn’t make sense at all. The population of this country is lower than a single province in our country. The population in Shanghai alone is higher than the total population of Switzerland. Only wild animals will pass by a place like this, it’s unlikely for normal people to come here…” Professor Li’s granddaughter, Li Ximei, spoke up.

“If their population is so low, they might even stumble into their own relatives if they are hooking up with someone for a one night stand,” Zhao Manyan murmured.

Mo Fan burst out laughing. He was utterly impressed by Zhao Manyan’s one-track train of thought, yet it was actually quite reasonable!

Mu Bai immediately looked disdainful. It was such a shame to be teamed up with a person like him!

“There are bracelets here, let’s put them on. They will send someone to pick us up soon,” Professor Li said.

They went inside the pavilion and saw a bunch of magic bracelets on display. They looked like the bands of a watch, with very simple Zulu straps. It was difficult to tell how the bracelet could track their location. Perhaps there was a chip inside each of them?

1467 Safer to Wear Them

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Why can’t I take it off?’ Zhao Manyan tried taking the bracelet off as soon as he put it on. To his surprise, the bracelet was hanging to his wrist tightly with some strange magic, preventing him from taking it off!

“Stop wasting your time; even we can’t take them off!” Professor Zheng replied.

“Does that mean you’ve tried to take it off before, Professor Zheng?” Mo Fan asked immediately.

Professor Zheng blushed and explained, “I was just trying to figure out how it works. I wasn’t thinking of anything else.”

The others chuckled when they saw Professor Zheng’s reaction. Even Professor Li had a thoughtful smile.

“Girls don’t have to wear one,” Professor Li said when he saw Li Ximei and two other women about to put the bracelets on.

“Girls don’t have to wear it? Aren’t they discriminating against men, then? They claim that men and women are equal, so why do I feel like they are strongly biased against men instead?” Mo Fan grumbled.

“So what if we’re biased against you? This is the Alps Institute, no one is forcing you if you don’t want to enter!” A woman dressed in a milky white robe with white-golden embroidery had shown up outside the pavilion!

Her outfit was a little retro. It resembled the outfit of a monastery, but it looked more delicate and luxurious than the simple outfits of a nun, and even had a silver hood. The woman pulled the hood down as if she was not willing to reveal her face. Even when she raised her chin, the people could only see her proud gaze and her good-looking, pointy chin…

“Your Chinese is pretty good?” Mo Fan looked at the woman, eying her up and down.

“I’m Chinese, but I didn’t grow up in China, nor do I have a good impression of it. My mentor has asked me to usher you. If you aren’t happy, I can help you take off the bracelet, and you may leave,” the woman replied in an unfriendly tone.

“I’m in, of course I’m going in, I’m pleased to go inside you,” Mo Fan answered with a perverted grin.

The woman did not react. She turned around and led the way, her slender waist wriggling.

After walking a dozen meters, the woman suddenly turned around. She glared at Mo Fan and asked, “What did you mean by that!?”

“What else could I mean? I was referring to exchanging our understanding of magic at close distance, and as a safety measure, you are asking us men to wear something. Why wouldn’t I understand?” Mo Fan answered seriously.

“You…you prick!” the woman pointed at Mo Fan, trembling in anger.

“Oh, our Chinese language is so profound. You might have misunderstood me since you didn’t study it much. Don’t get me wrong, I might seem a little laid-back, but it doesn’t mean I refuse anybody,” Mo Fan said.

The woman was so angry that her magic was already rippling around her. Normally, the people that came to the Alps Institute were careful and extremely mindful of their actions. She had never seen anyone so frivolous and shameless!

He even said that he was not the kind to refuse anybody. Wouldn’t that mean he was unwilling even if she was willing!?

If a person with such filthy thoughts was allowed to enter the Alps Institute, he was surely going to profane every sacred stalk of grass and tree of the place!

“Senior, we should hurry up and bring them to the mountain, mentor told us…” a woman in a similar outfit, without the white-golden embroidery spoke up.

This woman was almost a head shorter than the first one, but her physique was more attractive, especially curves that were more obvious than the taller, more slender woman.

“We’ll take care of that disrespectful guy when we are at the school,” the petite woman said in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

The tall woman grinned upon hearing the words.

She was right; if she drove the shameless guy away now, she would still be angry at him, since he could just leave like nothing had ever happened.

The Alps Institute did not care about having conflicts, but they would not allow anyone to disrespect them. They had to teach the guy who dared to insult the women of the Alps Institute a lesson!

The tall woman felt a lot better after making her decision. She led the way while trying to figure out a way to teach the people behind her a lesson!

—

“Sheryl, Edith, I don’t think this is the way to the institute?” Professor Li asked after a few minutes.

“Professor, that is because we would normally invite our important guests to be baptized by the waters of the Alps. Do you see the waterfall ahead?” Edith said with a smile. She looked as harmless as the girl next door, yet her eyes were flickering cunningly. She was clearly a little vixen that could not be tricked so easily.

“Are you referring to Faerun Waterfall?” Professor Li inquired.

“Exactly, seniors can come with us to the back of the waterfall, but young Mages must receive the baptism, especially those with a corrupted heart and soul. They must be cleansed before entering the Alps Institute,” Sheryl said calmly. She purposely glanced at Mo Fan after finishing her sentence.

“But I was told that only the teaching staff with outstanding cultivation could make it through the Faerun Waterall?” Professor Li said.

“Just think of it as a trial. Didn’t the students of Pearl Institute come in first in the World College Tournament? I believe our little trial here won’t be too difficult for your Mages,” Edith said.

The two women continued leading the way. The others could hear a loud waterfall in the distance.

The sound was extremely clear, and they thought Faerun Waterfall was right behind the mountain ahead of them, yet they still did not see it after crossing several valleys and a few mountains. The sound grew even more deafening. It felt like everything in their surroundings was trembling!

“It seems like we’ve really offended these two young women,” Professor Li let out a sigh and turned to Mo Fan.

“They are deliberately making things difficult for us?” Mo Fan asked.

“Faerun Waterfall’s force is quite terrifying. An Advanced Mage won’t last even a second in it. If anyone tries to reach the cave behind the waterfall, they will need outstanding tenacity and determination. It’s a very difficult type of training in the Alps Institute,” Professor Li said.

“You’ve brought it upon yourself, you will have to clean up the mess on your own!” Shi Junsheng said to Mo Fan in a displeased tone.

1468 The Trial of Faerun Waterfall

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Faerun Waterfall entered the group’s vision after they crossed a wooden bridge. The water pouring down just from the spray was like a storm. Mo Fan and the others who did not prepare themselves in time were promptly and completely soaked.

They proceeded forward and turned at the end of a wall. Mo Fan realized the waterfall he had seen was just the tip of an iceberg. Not only was Faerun Waterfall magnificent, its width was utterly shocking. The powerful white curtain of water fell into a deep chasm, stirring one could of mist after another into the air. It looked like a few hundred cloud dragons were rolling in it. It could easily crush a person to pieces!

The waterfall was massive! Mo Fan was not worried about the trial at the beginning. The defensive skills of a Mage were thick and strong. It was unlikely that a waterfall could break them, regardless of how tall and strong a waterfall was. However, he no longer had the same thought after seeing it. He bet even a Commander-level would be crushed flat if it fell to the bottom!

“The terrain of Faerun Waterfall is unique, and can produce a special sonic wave which severely disturbs a Mage’s control over their magic. Therefore, it’s not just a test of endurance, but a Mage’s will as well! A Mage without a strong will won’t be able to cast a single spell inside it,” Professor Li explained. He seemed to be familiar with the place.

“It can interrupt magic, too? Doesn’t that mean anyone that goes inside it is going to die?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in shock.

As the Turtle Shell Mage, Zhao Manyan initially thought the trial was nothing to be concerned about. However, when he heard that the loud noise of the waterfall would disrupt the channeling of magic, he immediately gave up on trying to show what he was capable of in front of the two women.

“Since you are the strongest participant in the World College Tournament, I believe you won’t turn down the challenge, right?” Edith smiled at Mo Fan.

“The strongest participant of the World College Tournament?” Sheryl turned around and looked at Mo Fan in astonishment.

“Didn’t you recognize him? I thought you already knew; this guy is Mo Fan, the strongest participant in the World College Tournament. I even watched him defeat Zorro. Even though he only did it with some tricks, it is still a fact that Zorro had lost to him!” Edith told her.

“This guy?” Sheryl’s gaze at Mo Fan was beyond strange.

In Sheryl’s opinion, the people worthy to earn such glory would have imposing appearances and impressive demeanors. How was it possible that such a misbehaving young man, whose mouth was full of filth, was the strongest participant of the World College Tournament? Was it because a person’s strength and manners were inversely proportional in China?

“I’m sorry, I am the one. I came first in the World College Tournament with skill, how could you say that I won because of some tricks? Feel free to try and win there with tricks, if you can!” Mo Fan replied boldly. He did not have a good impression of Edith.

“We don’t represent a country, so we aren’t allowed to take part in the World College Tournament. Besides, if our institute took part in it, we could easily send eight teams and win the top eight places. I bet no one would want to see that happen!” Sheryl replied confidently.

“It’s true that no one can stop you from closing your door and bluffing all you want inside your own place,” Mo Fan retorted.

“You!” Sheryl was infuriated by his words. Edith looked angry too.

Sheryl took a deep breath to calm herself down. She said, “Do you know the level the strongest student of our institute can take on?”

“I have no clue, I can only say that you made the right choice not to take part in the last World College Tournament. Otherwise, if I stumbled into your team, I’d definitely teach you some manners!” Mo Fan answered blithely.

“You…you…” Sheryl was so angry that she could find any word. She finally managed after some time, “You’re so full of yourself!”

“I’m going to tell the Queen of Dimensions about him. She will definitely teach this guy a lesson!” Edith spat.

“That’s exactly what I’m here for. Otherwise, some people would think that I came in first because of luck,” Mo Fan sniffed.

Professor Li and Professor Zheng did not know what to say after seeing Mo Fan crossing the line even further.

They were well aware of Mo Fan’s deeds at Pearl Institute. He was nothing but a madman. He challenged all the students during the opening ceremony and earned the title Demon King. He then challenged over two hundred students of the Fire School…

The guy always acted like he was the best whenever it had anything to do with his school! Speaking of which, he was indeed the strongest participant in the World College Tournament. Instead of keeping a low-profile, like most of the people who came first, he continued to strut as he pleased!

“Since you call yourself the best in the world, it just so happens that only one student in the Alps Institute has managed to pass through this waterfall in recent years. We call her the Queen of Dimensions. If you can pass through Faerun Waterfall, we’ll apologize for being impolite to you!” Sheryl said angrily, pointing at the enormous waterfall.

“It’s just a waterfall, it’s nothing for me.” Mo Fan could not afford to back off now that he had gone so far, naturally!

“Mo Fan, don’t be stupid, this Faerun Waterfall isn’t something to joke about. If you fail to channel your magic, your life might even be in danger! It has been years since the Alps Institute has had a student that can pass through it,” Professor Li advised him quickly.

“Professor, that was two years ago. We now have a student that completed the trial successfully,” Edith said.

“This…” Professor Li was lost for words. However, he continued to advise, “Mo Fan, this Faerun Waterfall isn’t a joke at all. Trust me, it’s too dangerous to go inside. You are not a kid anymore. You shouldn’t act so stubbornly.”

“It’s fine, I’ll treat it as training. I’ll need something to help me probe the Super Level. Besides, I only have to apologize to them if I fail the trial,” Mo Fan said with a smile.

“The Super Level? A person like you will never achieve the Super Level!” Sheryl smirked.

—

Mo Fan followed Sheryl across the iron chains on the surface of the river under the waterfall.

The others followed behind. The current was even more shocking as they went closer to the waterfall. The force was no longer something that a Mage could endure, not to mention the disruptive sonic wave the waterfall was producing!

The force from the waterfall was continuous. It was not impossible to resist the force with defensive spells, but anyone’s defense would break within seconds under the continuous force of the waters…

1469 Washing Away the Will

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What is it? Too scared to step inside it?” Sheryl taunted when she saw Mo Fan standing there, less than fifty meters away from the fierce waterfall.

Mo Fan ignored her; he stepped on the gently swaying chain bridge and headed toward the spot where the water was falling the fiercest.

Even though Mo Fan was still fifty meters away, the water spraying into the air was pouring down on him. His clothes were soaked wet.

When he reached twenty meters from the waterfall, he immediately felt an enormous pressure from it. Even breathing became a lot more difficult.

The effects of the loud rumble made him dizzy. The dizziness kept growing as he approached the waterfall.

Mo Fan gradually felt the force crushing down on him from the water. He was struggling to take every step!

—

“He’s pretty bold. He went inside without even blinking!” Professor Li exclaimed.

The others were staying around a hundred meters away from the waterfall. They were quite shaken when they were looking up at the magnificent appearance of the waterfall on the bridge, but Mo Fan had gone right on into it. His figure was concealed by the water pouring down fiercely…

The look in Sheryl’s eyes finally shifted when she saw Mo Fan stepping into Faerun Waterfall. She thought the guy was only good at playing with words before he actually went into the waterfall. She was surprised to see his straight back had turned blurry in the mist after boldly entering the Faerun Waterfall. Those waters could shatter anyone’s courage. He had completely cast his unbearably disgusting first impression aside!

The strongest participant of the Wold College Tournament seemed to really know his stuff!

However, they would soon see him being washed back to their feet miserably…

Faerun Waterfall’s force could easily knock a Mage out. Having the courage to face it did not necessarily reflect one’s ability to complete the difficult trial!

“Keep an eye on the water,” Edith reminded her.

“Is he going to be fine?” Professor Li’s granddaughter Li Ximei asked worriedly.

“Faerun Waterfall will always teach you that you aren’t strong enough. It’s a famous quote along the walls of the corridors in our institute. It might actually be a good thing for him, seeing how full of himself he was!” Sheryl responded.

“Speaking of being full of oneself, aren’t you two the same?” Mu Bai blurted out.

“They are just puffed-up with pride,” Zhao Manyan added. He was obviously displeased by the Alps Institute’s attitude.

If the people that were assigned to receive them were already behaving like this, how about the people with higher status and important positions in the Alps Institute? It seemed like being puffed-up with pride was the symbolic trait of the people of Alps Institute!

Mo Fan had always been hot-tempered. He would not go easy on anyone that was trying to act tough in front of him, not caring if the person was a pretty lady or a detestable prick.

“We’ll see who’s puffed up with pride soon!” Sheryl retorted.

The two young women fixed their eyes on the water. Some of the students of the Alps Institute would have been washed out of the waterfall by now. The fact that the guy had yet to show up meant he was slightly stronger than the normal students of their institute.

“Professor Zheng, hasn’t Mo Fan been in there for some time already?” Li Ximei asked.

“It’s indeed been quite a while,” Professor Zheng nodded, looking pleased.

Mo Fan was the strongest student of their Pearl Institute. If he ended up failing the Alps Institute’s trial, it would bring Pearl Institute shame, too. The longer Mo Fan lasted in the waterfall, the friendlier Alps Institute would be!

Professor Zheng had heard a lot of rumors about the Alps Institute. Apparently, many international schools had paid the Alps Institute a visit, but most of the visits ended within a day because the Alps Institute ended up dismissing them early…

Pearl Institute had been here a few times, but they had only sent the teaching staff and professors, they had never brought students with them. This time, they had come as the winners of the World College Tournament. They had to live up to the reputation of their country’s national team. They could not allow anyone to look down on them!

Professor Zheng and Professor Li were elderly, so they were not willing to argue with the two impolite young women. Luckily, Mo Fan was not one to be messed with. If he could give the two women a great slap to the face with the trial of Faerun Waterfall, the two professors would be extremely happy!

How spoiled are these students? We came in first in the World College Tournament, yet we still have to act according to the mood of some nuns on a sacred mountain?

“Old Li, I believe Mo Fan has lasted more than ninety percent of their students, right?” Professor Zheng mentioned rather loudly, fondling his beard.

“Of course! From what I know, not many students of Alps Institute can last more than fifteen seconds,” Professor Li replied.

Time passed fairly quickly. Edith and Sheryl were feeling a little uneasy!

Did Faerun Waterfall knock the guy to the bottom of the lake already? How has he not washed back to the bridge yet?

“No matter how long he can last, there’s no way he can beat the Queen of Dimensions’ record!” Edith stated.

“At least he has already broken the records for the two of you, right?” Professor Li replied easily.

“Well…” Sheryl and Edith were lost for words.

Mo Fan had indeed broken their longest times. He had reached the twenty seconds mark as they were talking. Not many people from their school managed to last so long!

“I think he already went into the cave inside the waterfall,” Zhao Manyan guessed.

“That’s possible!”

“HAHA, it seems that this Faerun Waterfall isn’t as impressive as I first thought. Mo Fan has passed the trial so easily!” Li Ximei exclaimed with great admiration.

Sheryl and Edith’s expressions sank further. The guy might actually make it to the cave behind the waterfall, considering the amount of time that had passed…

—

—

The noise did not reduce after Mo Fan went into the waterfall. He was surrounded by a silver light that kept the water away. Every step forward was immensely difficult. It felt like his weight had multiplied a hundred or even a thousand times!

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan would already be at his limit if it wasn’t for his demon physique. The Faerun Waterfall was a lot tougher than he had imagined. He almost failed to construct the wall of Will a few times…

Mo Fan was using the wall of Will to protect himself. This was intense training for his Will! Mo Fan could feel his mental state improving significantly under the great pressure in just half a minute!

Chapter 1470 Beauty In The Cave

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Psychic Element and mental strength had always been one of Mo Fan’s weaknesses. If the Psychic Element, Sound Element, and Curse Element had not existed in this world, and everyone was just blasting one another with Elemental Magic, it was unlikely that anyone would stand a chance against a violent Mage like Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had found himself at a disadvantage because of an enemy’s mental strength before. Faerun Waterfall was not only a test of a Mage’s control over their Stars, but a test of their mental Will!

Even if it was something very common, if the environment was so noisy that it kept annoying a person, there was still a chance for a person to make a mistake. That was why the loud rumbling of the Faerun Waterfall was a training of Will!

“Wouldn’t my Space Element be a lot more powerful once it reaches the sixth stage?” Mo Fan took a heavy step forward.

The rumbling water was closer to Mo Fan after the step. The mental wall of his fifth stage Will was no longer strong enough to hold back the flow of the water!

Mo Fan clenched his teeth and moved forward. The water finally hit him like a savage beast trying to stomp on him. He solely relied on his Demon Element to keep moving!

The raw force of the water was enough to knock a Super Level Mage to the bottom of the lake!

Mo Fan uttered a huge roar, gathering his might and dashing forward. When he felt like he was about to be smashed to the bottom of the waterfall, the enormous force on him suddenly disappeared.

The curtain of water split apart, revealing a cave inside it. It was surprisingly dry. The smooth, pale blue rocks were a strange sight, as if he had arrived at some hidden utopia.

“Did I pass through it?” Mo Fan murmured in surprise.

If it was half a year ago, before a few of Mo Fan’s Elements had reached third-tier, he would have had no chance of passing through the Faerun Waterfall.

It turned out that the training he underwent to improve his Elements had also made his Will more outstanding than most Mages of the same level.

The cave was surprisingly spacious, and the temperature inside was higher too. Mo Fan followed the path and discovered the cave wound about a bit. It was difficult to tell where the cave was leading him.

After turning a corner, Mo Fan was surprised to see some obvious decorations inside the cave; a huge silver rug on the floor and two crystal lamps on the walls. Mo Fan stepped on the rug and was intrigued. “Is someone living in here?”

Speaking of which, the cave was indeed a great place for training. The loud noise was still around, but the water was no longer hitting him. He believed his mental strength would reach the next level if he practiced controlling his Will in this place!

Mo Fan was looking for an opportunity to improve his mental strength. He was considering asking Alps Institute to allow him to train here for some time. In return, he would promise that he would not trespass into the girls’ dormitory!

“Strange, why does it feel like someone is living here?” Mo Fan went forward and discovered a place that was decorated like a room.

As soon as the thought crossed Mo Fan’s mind, he noticed the statue of a woman with a perfect physique sitting at the center of the rug. Her long and curly ash-brown hair scattered over the top of the rug. Even though it was thick and beautiful, like silk, it still could not cover the round bottom that stood out because of her posture.

Mo Fan immediately felt his body heating up. Why did he keep stumbling into naked statues of women? He finally understood why some people had a fetish for statues. Only statues would have such sacred and perfect bodies…

Mo Fan walked closer to see if there was any reason why the statue was displayed in a place like this. However, he suddenly heard a soft voice, followed by a faint breathing.

Mo Fan was stunned. He fixed his eyes on the statue whose back was facing him.

The statue slowly turned around, exposing her naked body to Mo Fan. His blood began to boil.

So pretty, so big, so slim… hairless?

The gem-like blue woman’s eyes widened. Her attractive face filled with astonishment!

The astonishment gradually turned into anger. She swiped her hand, caught the corner of the silver rug and quickly wrapped it around herself.

She rose to her feet. Her eyes went from ashamed and angry to cold and fierce!

“Give me a reason not to kill you!” the woman grunted murderously. The air in the surroundings began to freeze. Mo Fan was utterly dumbfounded after sensing the overwhelming aura.

The woman was clearly around his age; how was her cultivation so outstanding?

“I didn’t know someone was in here, not to mention that the person would be naked!” Mo Fan donned a suitably awkward expression. He could not help but think in his heart, Is this the reward that Alps Institute prepared for me if I passed the trial? I’ve really misunderstood the school. Look at how friendly they are!

“You may die now!” The woman’s eyes suddenly emitted a sapphire blue glow. A strong crushing Will sprang at Mo Fan at lightning speed.

Mo Fan was still immersed in his lewd thoughts. He did not think the woman would execute a killing blow at him. The Will was extremely powerful. It would instantly crush him into bloodspray if he did not defend himself!

“Just calm down, will you?” Mo Fan reacted swiftly, jumping aside to dodge the woman’s attack.

“It’s either you die, or I die!” the woman said coldly.

The woman took a step forward after the sentence. She suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving blue crystalline dust sprinkling onto the silver rug.

Mo Fan immediately realized the woman had used Blink. Since she was nowhere to be seen within his range of vision, she was most likely behind him!

Mo Fan turned around and saw the woman’s cold blue eyes staring right at him. Several huge and sharp stalactites were already hovering above her head.

With a flicker, the stalactites darted at Mo Fan. They were obviously sped up by a special forcefield, granting them great speed. Mo Fan could not dodge them in time. He was forced to establish a wall of Will to defend himself!

The stalactites slammed into the wall of Will and turned into powder. However, Mo Fan was still knocked a few steps back by the impact!

“How unreasonable are you? It’s my fault that you are not wearing any clothes in public? You should be relieved that I didn’t call the police because you have such a good physique that didn’t damage my eyes, yet you still attacked me first! What the hell do you want?” Mo Fan cursed after securing a foothold.

“Who gave you permission to come in here!? You shameless prick!” the woman swore.

The woman had no intention to stop her attacks, even while she was talking.

She was clearly an expert of the Space Element. Her Will split rapidly into countless wisps, controlling every object she could see!

Chapter 1471 Dimension Queen Heidi

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was a Space Mage, too. He could sense the accelerating force between him and the woman. It had greatly sped up the rocks and stalactites being fired at him.

Even a rock the size of a fist was as destructive as a rocket at its current speed! Mo Fan knew his wall of Will had no chance of stopping the spray of crude missiles. He decisively cast Blink to escape from the area!

Mo Fan vanished into thin air as a trail of silver crystals fell to the ground, reappearing behind the woman.

The woman was very sensitive to the energy of the Space Element, and immediately turned around. Her ash-brown hair drifted about as her alluring figure floated in the air. Her sapphire blue eyes flickered once again. The cave began to shake as multiple stalactites began to fall from above. Cracks started crisscrossing the unique cave.

Mo Fan was utterly shocked. How could the woman’s Will be so strong? He was afraid that he would be buried alive in the cave if he did not find his way out soon!

—

—

The water of the heavenly river poured deep into the lake below, reflecting a huge rainbow at the center of the waterfall under the sunlight.

Professor Li, Zhao Manyan, and the others on the bridge seemed extremely worried. Enough time had passed for Mo Fan to enter the cave and come out here, yet they had yet to see any movement. Did something go wrong for him?

“I think you might have to look around at the bottom of the lake. Maybe you can still save the guy in time!” Edith had a pleased face.

There was only one possibility if the guy did not show up after so long; the current must have pushed him down to the bottom of the lake! If the guy failed to break free from the current, he would most likely drown after he was worn out. There were times where they had to fish dead bodies out from the bottom of the lake!

A huge explosion suddenly blew the curtain of water apart. The water scattered over a hundred meters away.

Professor Li, Sheryl, and the others were around eighty meters away from the waterfall, so the explosion was very close to them. Over a hundred tons of water was pouring down at them, like a huge beast of the deep ocean tearing at them.

“Water Curtain!” Zhao Manyan reacted swiftly. He completed the Advanced Water Spell within a few seconds, forming an arc-shaped barrier above the group.

The water poured down with a deafening roar, churning up the lake. The bridge was swaying hard, and almost knocked them into the water.

“What’s going on?” Zhao Manyan looked up at the white curtain of the waterfall and noticed a huge hole in it. The water was avoiding the spot as it flowed by.

A long-haired woman wrapped by a silver rug floated out of the hole. White ripples were scattering within ten meters of her, splitting the waterfall in half to clear a path for the woman, an otherworldly sight. Her strong aura continued to stir up water pillars from the waterfall and the lake!

“This place is going to be your burial ground!” The woman’s voice was sharp, each of her words contained deadly force. When she uttered the last word, the magnificent waterfall exploded, while the water pouring down was intercepted and placed under the control of her Will…

The water was no longer falling down, but surging horizontally at a tiny figure on the surface of the lake!

The person was none other than Mo Fan. He had escaped from the cave, but to his surprise, the madwoman continued to chase after him. He immediately turned into a nimble shadow bird and fled from the place, sticking closely to the surface of the lake when he noticed the waterfall changing directions!

The water was blocking the sunlight. It split into different streams around thirty meters from the surface of the lake. The streams were lunging at the shadow bird that Mo Fan had transformed into, like several enormous white dragons!

Mo Fan quickly flew past the bridge, yelling at Zhao Manyan, “Old Zhao, lend me a hand!”

Zhao Manyan glanced at the dragons that the waterfall had turned into, before looking at the icy woman standing amid the raging tide. After hesitating slightly, he said, “I think it’s better for me to stay out of it!…”

“You son of a b**ch!” Mo Fan’s voice faded into the distance.

The waterfall dragons caught up to Mo Fan as the duration of the shadow bird came to an end. Four of the dragons slammed heavily into him. Shocking waves exploded across the lake, causing a huge downpour across a distance of a few kilometers…

The group gasped in disbelief after witnessing the outstanding sight. Zhao Manyan looked at the woman in fear. He was relieved that he had made the right choice of not lending Mo Fan a hand!

“It’s Heidi!”

“Queen of Dimensions!”

Sheryl and Edith blurted out in shock.

“She’s the strongest student of the Alps Institute?” Professor Li asked with a hint of surprise.

“Yes, the shameless prick must have somehow offended Heidi. He’s definitely going to learn some manners!” Sheryl was overjoyed.

“It doesn’t feel like she’s trying to teach him a lesson. She’s serious about killing him,” Professor Zheng said seriously.

“He deserves it!” Sheryl was holding a strong grudge against Mo Fan.

“That woman is very strong…” Mu Bai observed.

“Strong? Are you blind? She was able to control such a huge waterfall with just her Will of the Space Element. She’s an absolute monster; Mo Fan is clearly done for!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Such an insane cultivation!” Li Ximei and Shi Junsheng exclaimed.

The group was already suffocating from the pressure when they were standing close to the waterfall. The strength of the waterfall was clearly enough to blast a tiny mountain apart when it was being used as a weapon. They could not help but wonder how Mo Fan was feeling after taking the hit!

—

Blazing red flames rose from the water. They swiftly burned the surrounding water vapor into a white mist that rose continuously into the sky.

A figure slowly rose under the water. The blazing red flames spread over ten meters from Mo Fan, turning the water that was splashing at him into steam!

“B**ch, don’t you dare mess with me! Do you believe that I’m going to tear that rug off you and throw you onto the plaza in the middle of the city!?” Mo Fan cursed angrily, pointing at Heidi.

Mo Fan had already had enough. It was the woman’s fault for being naked inside the cave, yet she still tried to kill him for stumbling into her. Mo Fan was going easy on her because she was a woman. He would not show any mercy if she dared to cross the line further!

“I was thinking of leaving your corpse intact… but that won’t be necessary now!” Heidi spat back coldly.

“Do you believe that I’m going to kill you and rape you, then kill you and rape you again!?” Mo Fan yelled back. He was utterly enraged.

Professor Li and Professor Zheng coughed awkwardly upon hearing their words. Couldn’t Mo Fan behave himself? Did he forget that he was currently at Alps Institute? How could he say something like that…

Sheryl and Edith immediately blushed. How was someone so perverted be the strongest participant in the World College Tournament? Heidi had appeared right on time. The guy was being too disrespectful to their school! He should be thrown into a pot of oil ten thousand times!

Heidi was trembling in anger after hearing his words. Her chest heaved when the thought of him seeing her naked body crossed her mind.

“Soul-Twisting Melody!”

Heidi lifted her gaze, revealing her pale, long neck. She opened her lips and started to sing, facing the blue sky.

The strange notes rose into the air and formed the dark strings of a harp above Mo Fan, looming over a huge area.

Mo Fan knew what kind of power this was. He immediately backed away from the strings, but the strange melody was being played. Deadly rays poured down at him, inflicting serious damage on his Spiritual World…

Mo Fan’s mental strength had already reached the fifth stage, yet his mental defense crumbled within seconds against the woman’s Soul-Twisting Melody. If his mental strength had not improved from the pressure of the waterfall previously, his defense might have collapsed even quicker!

The Pendant around Mo Fan’s neck unleashed a blue ripple to protect his mind. He felt his thoughts clearing up a little, but the duration of the Soul-Twisting Melody was quite long. It would first penetrate the defense of a person’s mind, place the person under prolonged torture, and finally, end their life and devour their soul!

“Lightning Explosion!”

Mo Fan quickly used his Lightning Magic while his mind was under the protection of the Focus Necklace. Lightning swarmed to Mo Fan’s arms as he flung them into the air!

The Silent Deadly Bolt crossed paths and exploded where the strings were. The lightning arcs produced an enormous shockwave that shattered the notes of the Soul-Twisting Melody!

“Tone: Kill!”

Heidi continued attacking. She moved her fingers around rapidly, as if she was playing a harp.

Several invisible sonic waves over fifty meters long swept forward and whipped at the space around Mo Fan, churning the surface of the water…

Mo Fan nimbly dodged the attacks. He managed to dodge over ten of them, but to his surprise, the woman’s Sound Element was incredibly powerful, and she was able to combine the sonic waves into a huge net. It was lunging at him with a terrifying wave of deadly notes, giving Mo Fan no chance of dodging it!

1472 Minding Three Things At Once

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Hand of Silent Thunder!” Mo Fan knew he had no chance of evading the attack. He remained still as the powerful force of the Sound Element came at him.

A purple hand appeared in front of Mo Fan and absorbed the energy of the Sound Element. It transformed the energy into Lightning Magic of equivalent force as it struck him!

“Is that all you got? Are you giving me a scratch now?” Mo Fan mocked looking at Heidi.

Heidi did not know anything about the Hand of Silent Thunder. She only had the urge to not let the shameless prick live for another second! More notes were played at a higher frequency, forming an even stronger sonic wave in the air. The whole river under the waterfall was trembling!

Even though it was only the Intermediate Spell of the Sound Element, the combined force of the notes when they were stacked together was scarier than the Advanced Spell, Soul-Twisting Melody!

Mo Fan remained unmoving. If it was purely the Sound Element, Mo Fan would not be able to defend himself, due to the lack of defensive spells. However, since the Hand of Silent Thunder was transforming the attack into Lightning Magic, the Lightning Tyrant Domain granted Mo Fan the sturdiest flesh refined by lightning!

Apart from increasing Mo Fan’s resistance, the Domain would also absorb the Lightning Magic. Mo Fan kept provoking her to obtain more power!

The fiercer Heidi’s attacks were, the stronger Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic became. The berserk Heidi finally stopped attacking and recovered her wits when she sensed a strong energy accumulating on Mo Fan’s body.

“You are threatening to kill me, if that’s all you got!? Have a taste of my lightning!” Mo Fan was covered in thick arcs of lightning, extending wildly over a hundred meters beyond him. “Sky Lightning Giant Claw!”

An eerie dark claw descended from the clear sky out of nowhere, tearing at the area that Queen of Dimensions Heidi was in. Terrifying cracks filled up the space. Heidi was initially planning to escape with Blink, but abruptly realized the lightning kept shattering her Star Constellation, not giving her any chance to cast the spell!

Upon realizing it was impossible to evade the lightning claw, Heidi immediately formed six walls surrounding her with her Will. However, the boosted lightning claw had a strong penetrating ability. Most defensive spells and magic equipment would have a hard time resisting it!

“Chaotic Vortex!” Heidi immediately changed her approach. She cast a dimensional vortex above her.

The dimensional vortex was able to absorb every kind of energy. When the fierce lightning claw came down from the sky, it immediately disappeared into the vortex without a trace!

“Chaos Element?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

The woman had the Space Element, Sound Element, and the Chaos Element. Every Element she had was Dimensional Magic, and each of her spells was powerful because of her outstanding cultivation. No wonder she was such a tough opponent!

“Back at you!” Heidi reversed the direction of the vortex. It was initially rotating clockwise, but its motion was now anti-clockwise. The formidable energy of the Sky Lightning Claw sprang right back at Mo Fan!

Surprisingly, Mo Fan grinned upon seeing it!

Mo Fan used to be utterly clueless about how to handle the Chaos Element, since the person could just absorb his spells and reflect them with greater strength. Zorro managed to defeat a group of people on his own by abusing the power of the Chaos Element.

However, the English genius had still lost to him in the end, and the reason was that he kept reflecting Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic, thus allowing Mo Fan to keep strengthening it!

Mo Fan would even cast lightning on himself at times to strengthen his Lightning Magic. He was overjoyed when he saw Heidi reflecting his Sky Lightning Claw back at him!

Mo Fan opened his arms. He was prepared to receive the baptism of lightning, but an inharmonious voice came from the distance.

“Heidi, he’s able to absorb lightning, don’t reflect it back at him!” Sheryl yelled.

Heidi realized what was happening upon hearing the words. She quickly waved her hand, altering the angle of the Chaotic Vortex to unleash the lightning at a hillock nearby.

The hill popped like a bubble when the lightning landed on it. Pieces of rocks scattered and rolled down the mountain, leaving a scorched pit at the top.

Mo Fan clenched his teeth when he saw the abundant energy being wasted on an innocent mountain. He pointed at Sheryl and cursed, “B**ch, shut the f**k up!”

“Humph, serves you right!” Sheryl shouted back.

Mo Fan almost burst out swearing. Too many people had seen the move he used to defeat Zorro. Anyone that recognized him would most likely know about his ability to absorb lightning to strengthen his attacks.

He was going to take out the woman with a single blow. He had no idea how to deal with her now!

After diverting the lightning to a different spot, Heidi abused her powerful Telekinesis once again. This time, she was controlling the newly shattered pieces of rock. They floated in the air before being fired at Mo Fan like arrows.

“Bli…”

“Sound Disturbance!”

Mo Fan was about to Blink away, but Heidi reacted faster than him, decisively interrupting Mo Fan’s channeling.

Mo Fan was startled. The woman was supposed to be controlling the rocks with her Will. How was she using Sound Magic to disrupt his spell?

The use of magic was continuous; even Telekinesis of the Space Element required full concentration during the process. The spell would lose its effects if the Mage cast another spell in the process!

To Mo Fan’s disbelief, the madwoman was able to use the Sound Magic while she was controlling the rocks with her Will. Her Will showed no sign of being interrupted; the rocks continued to fly at him from different angles!

—

The observant Professor Li and Professor Zheng noticed the effect right away!

“Is she able to mind two things at once?” Professor Li asked curiously.

“That’s the Queen of Dimensions’ Innate Talent. Not only can she mind two things at once, she can even mind three things at once!” Edith said proudly.

“She can mind three things at once? How insane is her Innate Talent? Wouldn’t that make her unbeatable as long as her casting speed is fast enough!?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Even some of the mentors are no match for Heidi. Do you think you’re good just because you have come first in the World College Tournament? Even Zorro, whom Mo Fan beat by luck, has lost to Heidi!” Sheryl said.

“Mo Fan, that woman’s Innate Talent is the ability to mind three things at once. Be careful, that’s all the help I can provide you with!” Zhao Manyan generously reminded Mo Fan with a yell.

“I thank you so much!” If Mo Fan had the time, he would gladly have given Zhao Manyan a firm middle finger.

How unlucky was he? He ended up stumbling into a monstrous nun deep in the Alps when he was just being a little pretentious!

1473 No Backing Out, Fight Like Your Life Is At Stake!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

To think that someone had the Innate Ability to mind three things at once in the world; it was basically cheating. It explained why the woman’s Will was so powerful, as if she could easily control anything within sight. Her mental strength clearly outmatched most Mages!

Mo Fan had been constantly practicing his Will, too. He was able to do all sorts of things with it, but when compared to this woman’s, it was like the difference between a little stream and a huge river…

Mo Fan had no intention of displaying his slight skill before an expert. He was forced to use his full strength against the insanely strong woman.

“Little Flame Belle! Fiery Ring of Burning Embers!”

Mo Fan summoned Little Flame Belle. The Domains of the Calamity Fire and the Ardent Sunset immediately amplified Mo Fan’s control of the Fire Element, placing all the Fire Magic in the surroundings under his control!

The two flames formed several rings of flames around him. The fiery rings spread out rapidly, burning the rocks that were flying at Mo Fan to ashes…

The rings spread further. The rocks were having difficulty closing in on Mo Fan despite their numbers.

“An attachable Fire Spirit?” Heidi stared at the man now engulfed in flames in disbelief.

If an Elemental Mage could form a pact with certain unique Elemental Creatures, it could significantly improve their control and strength of that Element! If they were lucky enough to find an attachable Elemental Spirit, they could even grant the Elemental Mage extra abilities that were not part of ordinary spells, allowing them to fight demon creatures in close combat!

Heidi finally realized who the Asian man was when she saw him being Possessed by the Flame Belle.

The strongest participant in the World College Tournament, with unstoppable Fire and Lightning Elements, the Chinese Mage with Double Innate Elements!

That being said, Heidi had no intention to let Mo Fan go, regardless of who he was!

“Fire Crystal Candle!” Mo Fan swiftly gathered the flames and compressed them into a little candlelight.

Mo Fan could not afford to preserve his strength after learning how strong his opponent was. If he allowed his opponent to secure the upper hand, he was going to have a hard time casting a spell that could threaten her!

The Fire Crystal Candle formed from three Soul-grade Flames had three different colors: brown, rose, and scarlet. It did not stand out much, yet the energy it contained could easily destroy mountains and rivers!

Heidi did not care much about it. However, her expression shifted when she noticed the space around it being compressed countless times.

“Blink!” Heidi immediately vanished into thin air, leaving a trail of crystalline blue dust behind.

Heidi appeared four hundred meters away the following second. Her alluring figure remained at the waterfall curtain…

Mo Fan was quite surprised that the woman was able to Blink so far away.

However, it did not necessarily mean she was out of range!

“Detonate!”

The three Soul-grade Flames exploded above the wide river. A shocking mushroom cloud roared into the sky. The waves of flames completely devoured the area within a few hundred meters!

The flames rapidly approached Heidi. Her sapphire blue eyes glowed brilliantly. Her figure was encapsulated by the same light.

It was possible to do a lot of things with Will. The waterfall less than fifty meters behind her behaved unusually once again. The white curtain turned into a pair of hands and wrapped around her, blocking the fierce waves of flames lunging at her. A white mist rose into the air as the flames crashed into the waterfall!

The flames surged at the bridge under the waterfall. Both Sheryl and Edith gasped. They knew Mo Fan was strong since he had come in first in the World College Tournament, but they did not expect him to be able to last for so long in the battle against Heidi, the Queen of Dimensions! The students of Alps Institute had been bothered by a thought for a long time; could the students of the same grade possibly defeat Heidi, even if they teamed up?

“I’ve really underestimated you!” Heidi slowly appeared from the disarrayed water. Her skin was still as pale as snow. Mo Fan’s three Soul-grade Flames did not harm her at all.

“Likewise!” Mo Fan took a deep breath. It was surprising to find such a brilliant Maga hidden deep in the mountains. For over half a year, Mo Fan had thought he would not find any Advanced Mage that could fight him for more than five minutes, other than a Turtle Shell Mage like Zhao Manyan!

“I was only minding two Elements at once. You are still no match for me. If you drop to your knees and apologize, I will consider sparing your life,” Heidi said coldly.

“My mind was full of your naked body just then, so I wasn’t able to pay attention, either. If you willingly climb up to my bed tonight and serve me well, I will consider not destroying such a beautiful flower like you,” Mo Fan replied disdainfully.

“You asked for it!” Heidi utterly regretted her decision to converse with a man whose mind was full of such dirty thoughts. She was thinking of giving him a chance, since she was quite impressed by his strength, yet the guy did not show any hint of remorse!

“Don’t just use your mouth; if you don’t show me some true moves or alluring postures, I won’t feel anything!” Mo Fan shot back.

Heidi blushed in anger; every man she had ever met had either been very polite to her, or disregarded her aloofly. She had never seen anyone so shameless and perverted… normally, she would destroy someone like him with a single glance! She would treat him just like a wild, barking dog… but the problem was, she was having trouble taking him out! She could only listen to the filthy words that were polluting her ears.

“I’ll tear your mouth apart first!” Heidi hissed.

Her blue eyes flickered; this time, she did not grab the things around her with her Will. She was fixing her eyes on Mo Fan, attacking him directly with her Will!

The ability to mind three things meant that not only she was able to split her Will into three to cast three different spells simultaneously, but it also meant her mental strength was several times stronger when she was fully focused!

The Will was invisible. It was a strong mental force as quick as a glimpse and as powerful as a godly weapon!

Mo Fan was a Space Mage, too. There was no way he would miss such a deadly force coming at him. To his surprise, not only was the woman’s Will slashing at him like an axe, it was binding him to the spot! His body was trembling under the enormous pressure, and he could not even budge!

It was meaningless for a person to run away on foot when a huge mountain was collapsing onto them. It was the scariest thing about being bound to the ground under pressure. Mo Fan had experienced it when he was facing the Dreadful Curse Cerberus and the Scorpion Lord Medusa!

“So it’s possible to seal off a target’s movement when one’s Will is strong enough,” Mo Fan murmured.

Either way, the woman’s mental strength and cultivation of Dimensional Magic were significantly stronger than his own. He was able to learn a few things from her Mind Lock and Will Slash attack…

That being said, Mo Fan was not completely helpless against it. He had prepared something in advance and injected it into her alluring body when he realized how outstanding the woman’s mental strength was. It was none other than the evil Dark Material!

“Rebelling Shadow!” Mo Fan didn’t move, not even trying to dodge the Axe of Will.

He would like to see if his Rebelling Shadow was quicker at slicing her throat than her Will was in hitting him. He did not even bother to defend himself, since he did not have any defensive spells that would come in handy!

The Dark Material silently flew out of Heidi’s back. It was as faint as a mist, but as more of the Seeds of Darkness sprouted, the Dark Material grew thick enough to form a demon shadow resembling her!

The black shadow attached to Heidi’s back. Its slim hand curled around Heidi’s long, pale neck, while it placed a dagger on her skin.

Despite having Heidi’s noble and elegant silhouette, the demon shadow suddenly sprouted an eerie grin!

If the demon shadow successfully slit its target’s throat, it would return the Commander-level Soul Remnant to Mo Fan. Mo Fan stood there waiting, the same eerie grin on his face.

Heidi never thought her own shadow would threaten her life. She shivered in fear when she felt the cold touch on her neck.

-That’s right, the guy has Double Innate Elements. The Fire, Lightning, and Space Elements aren’t the only Elements he has…-

If Heidi withdrew her attack right away, she could easily defend herself, and get rid of the Rebelling Shadow with the speed and strength of her Will. It was why Mo Fan was being so fearless; he firmly believed Heidi would withdraw her attack to defend herself!

“Let’s see who’s quicker, then!” Heidi’s eyes glittered as she uttered the words firmly.

Heidi did not withdraw her Will. The Rebelling Shadow needed some time to slit her throat open, and also needed time for her throat to bleed. Meanwhile, her Will would reach Mo Fan, who was controlling the Rebelling Shadow, in the next second, and tear him into pieces!

Heidi could take a defensive approach and let the battle continue, but she chose not to!

She decided to push both Mo Fan and herself to the edge of the cliff, forcing Mo Fan to withdraw the Rebelling Shadow and defend himself instead. Either way, she would not forgive the jerk for staining her innocence!

“F**k! Are you out of your mind!?” Mo Fan was shocked when he noticed Heidi was not withdrawing her attack.

-Crazy, the woman is absolutely nuts!- She was going to die if he did not withdraw his attack. The Rebelling Shadow would not just cause her to bleed when it slit her throat, it would also inject the Dark Material into the wound! If the Dark Material entered her body through the arteries of her neck, no Healing Magic could match the rate her life would drain away!

1474 I“m A Well-Behaved Studen

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

-It was not even anything serious. Dies she really have to go this far!?-

Mo Fan would not slit a person’s throat for no reason. Even if the woman was being unreasonable, it was unnecessary to fight her to death.

However, if he withdrew the Rebelling Shadow, the woman’s Will was most likely going to leave him full of holes. He was getting a huge headache!

“Consider yourself lucky!” Mo Fan clenched his teeth and withdrew the Rebelling Shadow. He knew he had to behave since he was still at a foreign school.

On the other hand, Heidi smiled in victory. Her blue eyes shifted slightly, and her Will swept past Mo Fan at an insane speed…

Mo Fan did not defend himself. He could not do anything but watch the Will Daggers flying past him. Heidi was not serious about tearing him to pieces, and they only left a few cuts on him. It was nothing serious.

Mo Fan felt the wounds burning. He grinned as he watched his blood pouring out from the cuts and dripping into the river.

“Are you pleased now?” Mo Fan lifted his gaze and harrumphed coldly.

“I’m the one that spared your life!” Heidi said sternly. She was displeased by Mo Fan’s tone.

“I wouldn’t have gone easy on you if you were my enemy!” Mo Fan sniffed back at her.

“Aren’t you going to apologize at all!?” Heidi grunted.

“I’ll say sorry twice, and you will let me see your body again to make it even!” Mo Fan replied.

“You’re unbelievable!” Heidi was about to explode. Her Will hummed in the air, as if she was going to raze the whole place to the ground!

Mo Fan did not back down, either. The flames engulfing him soared into the clouds and set the sky ablaze.

“Alright, that’s enough! Stop it, will you…” a middle-aged woman in a peach gold magic robe standing on the waterfall shouted out.

Mo Fan looked at the waterfall and saw a gorgeous woman descending from the top of the waterfall, white wings on her back. The water splashing into the air from the fierce waterfall was kept half a meter away from her…

She glided down onto the river, landing softly on a boulder sticking out from the water right between Mo Fan and Heidi. She first looked at Mo Fan with a gentle smile. Her crow’s feet were quite obvious.

“I believe this is a misunderstanding,” the woman in the peach gold robe began.

“You were up there for so long. I thought you were going to say something more practical,” Mo Fan said in displeasure.

He had sensed her presence long ago. She was obviously a mentor of the Alps Institute. Even the unreasonable Heidi brought her hands together and bowed slightly to the woman.

“The duels between young students are the most spectacular shows for us. Why would I interfere with it?” the mentor answered him.

“Miss Ceylan, why would a person like him show up our in Alps Institute?” Heidi demanded to know.

“We invited him here; Pearl Institute demonstrated extraordinary talents during the World College Tournament. We are hoping to learn a thing or two from the ancient civilization from the east. In return, we invited their mentors and students here for an exchange. They are our guests. Heidi, let’s not make things difficult for them,” Ceylan replied.

“I won’t trouble the others. As for him…” Heidi insisted on fighting Mo Fan to the death!

“There’s something wrong with you. The waterfall is obviously a trial that anyone can challenge. You assumed that the cave was safer than your room, so when I went into the cave, I saw you…”

“One more word and I’ll swear you’re going to disappear from this world right away!” Heidi snarled coldly.

How could she possibly let the others know the scum had seen her naked body? She would not allow him to tell anyone about it!

“You’ve said the same thing half a dozen times, but I’m still very much alive,” Mo Fan scoffed back.

“Miss Ceylan, why don’t we let them have a showdown here? I bet it’s going to take them some time to decide the winner. Let’s head to the bridge and enjoy some tea there.” Professor Li came walking over. His shoes were touching the water, yet he was not sinking at all.

“I agree,” Ceylan smiled.

“I’ve had enough; Li Ximei, hurry up and treat my injuries!” Mo Fan jumped to the bridge.

Edith and Sheryl felt like they had finally gotten their revenge after seeing Mo Fan’s bleeding wounds.

Mo Fan could not care less about what the women were thinking. He could not even tell if they had purposely set him up. He had paid such a huge price just to take a few glances at a woman’s naked body!

“I’m not a Healer,” Li Ximei replied with raised eyebrows.

“Really? Why did we even bring you here?” Mo Fan said.

“…No one knew you were going to start a fight right away!” Li Ximei protested.

“I’ll treat your injuries. It’s just a few minor wounds. My disciple didn’t really mean it,” Ceylan came up to Mo Fan. A white Healing Spirit appeared on her palm.

The Healing Spirit flew toward Mo Fan and circled about him. His wounds started healing rapidly. The injuries were not serious, but his clothes were ragged and covered in blood now. He felt extremely uncomfortable!

“If every student in your school is a gangster like her, I think it’s better for me to go back to the city,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s almost dark; you will have to consume a lot of energy to reach the city in time. Come, I can tell how meddlesome you are. I believe Alps Institute is perfect for you,” Ceylan smiled.

“Miss, it’s very weird for you to say so. I’ve always been a well-behaved student. I was almost qualified for the school’s scholarship. If you don’t trust me, feel free to ask Professor Li and Professor Zheng, they know about my achievements at Pearl Institute…” Mo Fan said piously.

“Mo Fan, I’m afraid it’s difficult to testify to that,” Professor Li responded.

Mo Fan was well-behaved?

He was the Pearl Institute’s Demon King, who would beat the crap of anyone that he felt to be an eyesore! He had taught almost every student at the top of the rankings a lesson! He even challenged every new student during the opening ceremony, and challenged an entire faculty branch! Did he really have the guts to describe himself as well-behaved? The younger a person was, the more shameless he would be!

“Forget it, I won’t be fussed about a crazy woman. Let’s go inside, I’m starving,” Mo Fan sighed.

“I’ve already prepared some delicacies. I believe it will change your impression of the Alps Institute,” Ceylan said with an inviting gesture.

Heidi did not dare misbehave in front of Ceylan. She could only glare at the back of Mo Fan’s neck!

1475 The Vegetarian School

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan seriously thought he had been set up by Miss Ceylan!

She clearly mentioned that his impression of their school was going to change after dinner. She was absolutely right; Mo Fan’s impression of Alps Institute could not be any worse after dinner!

“These vegetables, bread, and vegetable soups… f**k me, give me some meat!” Mo Fan was about to lose his mind.

Since he was injured, he was looking forward to eating some meat to replenish his blood and aid his recovery. To his surprise, Alps Institute turned out to be a vegetarian school. Apart from the female students with their pale, tender, and juicy skin, there was no sign of meat at all!

The Alps had a lot of readily-available ingredients to prepare some exotic delicacies, but there was a huge sign on the canteen’s door stating that every little creature on the mountain was the most adorable little elf. They would be blessed with good luck if they stumbled into the creatures, but if they brought any harm to the creatures, they would find themselves in misfortune!

“I’m utterly impressed by you guys. You don’t eat any meat, so why are your students as tough as nails?” Mo Fan said to Ceylan.

Ceylan was a typical cunning old fox. She would reply gently regardless of the sarcastic comments Mo Fan was throwing at her. It felt like his words did not mean anything, like he was punching some cotton.

“We just put all our attention on cultivating. Seeing how hot-tempered you are, you should actually consider staying here and cultivate for a few months. I believe your demeanor would change significantly after a few months. Why do you think people always think of our students as sacred as a snow lotus herb on Tianshan Mountain? It’s because of our unique management and our determination to eat vegetarian as a way to respect nature. We are friendly, but we aren’t timid,” Ceylan said seriously. The wrinkles on her face stood out when she smiled, but she did not seem to be bothered by them at all.

“Ceylan is right. Our Pearl Institute is located in a busy city. The KTVs, food stalls, and bars are within reach, and are distractions to the students. Those that do not have a firm heart are going to lose their way. We should really be learning from you guys by establishing a new school on Beiyu Mountain. We’ll let the new students spend some time among the verdant hills and limpid water to train their hearts before they set foot in society,” Professor Zheng nodded. He actually admired Alps Institute’s approach!

“Wow, Professor Zheng, do you seriously mean that? I don’t think it’s a bad thing for the school to be located amid feasting and pleasure-seeking places. Didn’t they use to call me the Little Prince of Nightlife, who was extravagant and dissipated? Well, I still made it to the national team after I decided to take my cultivation seriously. Meanwhile, this school’s approach is forcing its students to undergo ascetic practice like a monk. It’s going to cause a backlash soon,” Zhao Manyan said disapprovingly.

“There are different ways of doing it, but being vegetarian is a little overdoing it…” Professor Li loved eating meat and drinking alcohol, too. The reason why he was reluctant to come here was because he knew the school was vegetarian.

It was truly a struggle!

“Not only are they vegetarian, they didn’t even use any oil in their cooking. Ceylan, I’ve indeed learned a lot today. Can you please send two students that are slightly normal to escort us down the mountain tomorrow morning?” Mo Fan had enough of this.

Who said the place was a paradise for men? Paradise my ass!

It was true that most of the students were fair-skinned and beautiful, and possessed of a sacred temperament, yet they were all proud as peacocks. They assumed all men in the world were vile and filthy. He wondered which brainless leader of the school had brainwashed them that way. What year was it? Even the monasteries had Wi-Fi nowadays, yet this place did not even have mobile signal coverage. He could not help but wonder if he had gone back to the Middle Ages!

“Mo Fan, stop complaining so much, we still have to stay here for the exchange program that lasts for a month. We can’t just leave tomorrow,” Professor Zheng sighed.

“A month?” Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan blurted out.

Didn’t they say they were going to pay a quick visit as a part of the official procedures? How did it suddenly become a month now? What kind of joke was this? Not eating meat for a month was worse than being banned from having sex for a month!

“Mo Fan, one of the Magistrates is from Alps Institute. She was the one that planned the exchange program, so we can’t leave yet. If you do well in the program, you might leave the Magistrate with a good impression. It’s going to help you with the trial, too!” Professor Zheng encouraged him.

“A straight foot is not afraid of a crooked shoe,” Mo Fan replied.

“Very well, if you are leaving tomorrow, we’ll be going back to our country, too. Whatever happens here is none of our concern,” Professor Zheng said.

“…Professor Zheng, I thought you were different from Professor Li, the kind that cares a lot about their face,” Mo Fan said.

“What did you say!?” Professor Li immediately cried out. He pointed at Professor Zheng and said, “How dare you compare him with me?”

“Old Li, what do you mean by that? Wasn’t I just following the instructions from the school!?” Professor Zheng grunted.

“Alright, calm down, let’s not argue any further. We’ve already agreed that the exchange is going to last for a month, so no one is going to leave any time soon. Mo Fan, don’t be so stubborn. I know about the situation between you and the Holy Judgment Court. We are willing to lend you a hand. We don’t believe you would murder an innocent Golden Sun Knight,” Ceylan said.

“I believe that too; there’s no way he is strong enough to murder a Golden Sun Knight of the Parthenon Temple,” Heidi said. She had an unusual demeanor. She did not necessarily place herself above the common populace, nor was she incompatible with the rest of the students.

“How did you manage to peel the potatoes until they are so smooth and tender? The chefs here must be very skilled.” Mo Fan picked up a cooked, unseasoned potato slyly.

Heidi did not understand what Mo Fan was alluding to at first, but she eventually remembered Mo Fan had seen her naked after a second thought. She immediately blushed in anger. The silver plates on the table started trembling and rattling…

“Heidi, mind your temper. The loud rumble of the waterfall couldn’t disturb your mind, yet you have failed to stay calm after a few words from Mo Fan. I have now decided that you will accompany our guests at all times during the exchange, and you are not allowed to use any offensive spells without my permission,” Ceylan said to Heidi sternly, frowning.

Ceylan had a rule; no presence of magic was allowed when they were eating. They must be respectful to the food, it was an inviolable gift from nature. Heidi had lost her calm after being provoked by Mo Fan, making her lose control of her Will for a moment.

“Yes, Miss Ceylan…” Heidi immediately lowered her head, knowing that she had broken Ceylan’s taboo.

“Very well, it’s a kind of training for you, too. You are now strong enough, those below the Super Level don’t stand a chance against you, but don’t forget, not all enemies are going to fight you head-on. Some of them might say things or use dirty tricks that are ten times or a hundred times worse than Mo Fan’s words. If you can’t stay calm, your Dimensional Magic will be broken through easily,” Ceylan chided her.

Ceylan was quite friendly, gentle, and controlled to others, but she was a strict mentor when it came to Heidi!

“I will keep it in mind, teacher,” Heidi nodded. Her anger slowly dissipated. She did not say a further word. She enjoyed the vegetable soup, regaining her elegant demeanor.

Mo Fan remained smiling, but Heidi insisted on not looking at his annoying face. Otherwise, she might lose her calm again!

“Miss Ceylan, you are strict on your student’s deportment, too! It is true that a student’s behavior could reflect the inner qualities and teachings of a school. Regarding this, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan have indeed smudged Pearl Institute’s reputation. We should be ashamed,” Professor Li said.

Li Ximei and Mu Bai chuckled after hearing those words. Professor Zheng was pretty amusing!

“In my opinion, Pearl Institute emphasizes more freedom, and allows the students to cultivate in a relaxing environment. That way, the students are able to display their talents as they please. It is expected to have a few students that are like untameable wild horses, but they also provide the school with a lot of energy,” Ceylan replied courteously.

“Are you done fawning upon one another?” Mo Fan grunted.

“We are actually speaking the truth,” Ceylan replied easily.

“Indeed,” Professor Zheng nodded.

“…Professor Zheng, I seriously think that even though you are not frivolous when talking and joking, you are really the same kind of person as Professor Li. I now understand why you two are the most famous ‘couple’ at our school!” Mo Fan huffed.

“Mo Fan, do you really think I don’t dare to beat you up?” Professor Li glared at Mo Fan.

“Forget what I said. Here, let’s enjoy some vegetables…” Mo Fan shoved a small broccoli into his mouth.

As he thought, the broccoli was only cooked in water! They did not even put any salt on it. The taste was so strange that it felt like he was eating grass. Mo Fan was on the verge of losing his mind, especially when he realized that he would be staying here for a month… why did he bother to believe in Zhao Manyan’s nonsense that they had come here to treat the students with love and tenderness!?

——

The female students went to bed very early at night. Even though the buildings, built in the ../style of structures from the Middle Ages, were brightly lit, there was no sign of any students in their sexy uniforms in the corridors, the halls, and the leaf-covered paths outside the buildings.

Alps Institute did not accept only Swiss students. As a matter of fact, there were not many Swiss in the school. It recruited its students from all over the world, regardless of their nationality and race. They were a family as soon as they joined Alps Institute. The school was like their country, and the Alps was their religion…

Chapter 1476 Eating Wild Game

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

A long howl echoed on the snowy mountain under the starry sky. The icy blue-furred Flying Creek Snow Wolf sprinted along the edges of the mountain. He howled like an emperor declaring his dominance over the night and the snow after he reached the top!

Mo Fan hopped down from the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. He took out a small knife to clean the hare he just hunted while setting up a fire with his other hand.

The snow melted quickly under the heat of the fire. However, Mo Fan could not care less about it. He took out some seasonings and quickly sprinkled them on the hare. Its flesh soon emitted a pleasant aroma. The golden-yellow oil dripped into the fire from the half-cooked meat, whetting Mo Fan’s appetite.

“Old wolf, go catch a few more,” Mo Fan told the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf enjoyed staying on the mountain. Three thousand meters of altitude served as a boundary line. Most areas above that height were completely covered in snow, and a huge portion of the Alps was above it. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf immediately turned into a joyful husky as he sprinted freely along the beautiful white valleys, snowy hills, and spectacular peaks.

“Mu Bai, I have to say that I’m impressed; you actually brought your own seasonings!” Zhao Manyan took out a huge bottle of Sprite that he had bought before coming to the mountain. He also took out a few cups that he swiped from the school and filled them with the soft drink.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in the wild. I normally bring them along in my bag. I didn’t think they would come in handy this time…” Mu Bai explained calmly.

Mu Bai had been in the wild frequently over the years. He could not afford to eat dried jerky all the time. He would occasionally hunt some wild game and put some seasonings on them to make them more edible.

“The Alps Institute is seriously the most f**king impressive school I’ve ever been to. No mobile coverage, no Wi-Fi, no little grocery stores, there is nothing but mountain springs and vegetable soup. I’m about to starve to death!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

“I seriously don’t know why they are so proud of themselves, like they are living in a sacred land. It’s no different than staying in prison,” Mo Fan grumbled in agreement.

“I’m seriously going to lose my mind if I stay here for a month. By the way, we must teach those two b**ches a lesson. They seriously think they can just bully us as they please!” Zhao Manyan said.

“I find them to be an eyesore, too. By the way, why did you end up in a fight with Heidi after going into the cave?” Mu Bai snapped the hare’s leg off and munched it.

“She wasn’t wearing any clothes. I saw it all. Speaking of which, her body is really hot. I thought she was a statue at first…” Mo Fan said.

“Holy crap, why do you always get to enjoy the good things? If I knew there would be such an open-minded woman in there, I would have gone too! I don’t think the waterfall is going to stop me,” Zhao Manyan was anxious. He regretted not taking the challenge.

Heidi was very attractive; she had a tall nose, sapphire-blue eyes, small and fleshy lips, and with her curly ash-brown hair, it was not exaggerating to call her an angel. Zhao Manyan was already drooling when he heard Mo Fan had seen the girl naked…

“Let’s discuss the other two first,” Mu Bai said.

“Right, Sheryl and Edith, those cunning b**ches… I swear I’m going to make them kneel down and sing ‘Conquer’! Did you see the food they gave us? It’s no different than pig feed! Only Shi Junsheng kept saying it was delicious. I don’t understand, is that guy a dog? Why is he still fawning upon them after how they treated us? He would surely be a traitor if he was born in the ancient times!” Zhao Manyan swore.

Sheryl and Edith clearly knew Heidi always trained in the cave, yet they did not say a single word about it. Mo Fan was injured because of it, and his wounds were still hurting.

Mo Fan was a vengeful person. He would not forgive them, even if they were women!

Trying to set him up? Hmph, the last person that tried to do so was a Red Cardinal called the Cold Prince, but he was now counting down the days he could live in the VIP room of the Holy Judgment Court prepared for the criminals that were sentenced to death. How dare those two girls whose hair was not fully grown yet get them into trouble!?

“Mu Bai, I know you’ve brought a lot of things; did you bring any knockout drops?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Mu Bai’s eyes widened. He said angrily, “Who do you think I am? Why would I have something like that!?”

“I saw a pharmacy when I was taking a stroll back then. I don’t know how to mix the drug. Do any of you know how to do that?” Mo Fan asked.

“I know how to do it… but isn’t that a little excessive?” Mu Bai whispered.

“What excessive? They were treating us like dogs from the countryside the moment we set foot into their school! The look in their eyes and their tones, as if they are the only clean and sacred people in the world, and everyone else is nothing but trash… I will not tolerate it, even if you can,” Zhao Manyan said angrily.

Zhao Manyan loved women, especially the pretty ones with alluring figures, but it did not necessarily mean he liked these self-important b**ches who kept looking down at them!

They were going to be here for a month. If they did not teach those two girls a lesson, the girls might bully them again!

“Knockout drops are crossing the line. Let’s wait for another chance, we must teach them a lesson,” Mo Fan shook his head. He agreed that it was a little immoral.

“I didn’t say we were going to do anything to them. We just need to put some fake blood on their bedsheets to scare the shit out of them,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Forget it, we shouldn’t be that fussed with those two women,” Mu Bai said.

Zhao Manyan did not know how to mix drugs. Meanwhile, there was not even a grocery store within a few dozen kilometers, let alone a drug store. He had no choice but to give up on the thought and focus on enjoying the delicious meat of a wild hare.

A long and piercing siren suddenly went off on the snowy mountain. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were munching the delicious meat to cleanse away the disgusting food they had for dinner when they noticed a dozen pairs of milky-white wings surrounding them.

A bunch of Magas in white uniforms landed before them. One of them with thick brows came forward and frowned when she saw the grilled wild hare.

“We received a report that someone is endangering little creatures on the mountain. I believe you were told not to harm any living creatures on the Alps when you set foot in here. You three will come with me; the disciplinary teachers will punish you accordingly,” the Maga ordered, very displeased.

Zhao Manyan exploded in rage. He pointed at the Maga and grunted, “F**k me, we’re just hunting some wild game for food; are you being serious now? Do you really think the whole mountain is yours!? It’s not like we are eating in the school!”

“Take your hand back. Otherwise, I’m going to assume you’re resisting arrest. We won’t be going easy on you!” the Maga said coldly.

“Just bring it on! If any of you can touch a single strand of my hair, I’m willing to be called your grandson!” Zhao Manyan yelled. He had had enough of this.

“Old Zhao, Old Zhao, let’s calm down…” Mo Fan quickly advised. He smiled at the Maga and said, “We’ll go back ourselves. There’s no need to complicate things further.”

“We won’t make things difficult for you if you’re willing to cooperate,” the Maga said.

Chapter 1477 Revenge Plan

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

The Disciplinary Office was located in a faint blue castle-like structure at the mountain’s waist. It was where the patrolling Magas had come from. They were responsible for the safety of Alps Institute, including punishing the students that broke the rules.

It was already late at night. Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan stood outside the wall of the building, which was built pebbles. The Maga with thick brows had wrapped the half-eaten roasted wild hare with a piece of cloth. The culprits had been caught red-handed!

They had met the teacher in charge of the Disciplinary Office during dinner, a gorgeous beauty whose age was around Heidi’s. She was quite charming, but she had an icy and strict demeanor, like the Killer Nun.

She was wearing a short hemp robe, her limbs covered tightly with different kinds of fabric. Her neck was covered by the collar of the hemp robe. She was wearing gloves and long boots, and her face was covered by a faint veil. Her attractive eyes projected an icy stare.

It was impossible to see any of her skin, apart from her forehead. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had already discussed this woman called Brianca. She must have been hurt deeply before to wrap her body so tightly. None of them thought they would fall into her hands so soon. They were the ones that were going to be hurt instead!

“We rarely have guests that don’t respect our rules at all.” Brianca’s voice clearly displayed her grudge against the three.

“We were outside the school’s territory,” Zhao Manyan said.

“The rule says you are not allowed to hurt any little creatures in the Alps!” Brianca said in an aggravated tone.

“The Alps extend throughout several countries. Don’t you tell me they have to follow your rules, too?”

“I thought you would be repenting by now. I didn’t expect you to be finding an excuse for your offense instead!” Brianca stepped forward, her heels tapping rhythmically on the slabs.

The other patrolling Magas quickly backed away. Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan were utterly speechless; why did she condemn them like they had murdered someone, when they were just eating a roasted wild hare? Was this place really the Alps Institute, instead of a mental hospital with a bunch of madwomen?

“Miss Brianca, I’m really sorry for troubling you again.” Professor Li and Professor Zheng had quickly come over.

Li Ximei and Shi Junsheng were with them, too. Li Ximei looked at the three being surrounded, while Shi Junsheng was gloating over their situation.

A while later, Heidi, Edith, and Sheryl, who had been asked to stay with Mo Fan and the others, arrived too. Mo Fan noticed Edith and Sheryl exchange glances with one another, with a hint of gloating. It was very likely that they were the ones that had reported the three. Mo Fan was seriously disgusted by their behavior!

They did not explain the rules clearly to Mo Fan and the others, most likely because they were looking forward to seeing them get in some sort of trouble.

Mo Fan had already tried to withhold his anger toward the two women after the encounter with Heidi. To his surprise, the two were not yet done. If he did not teach them a lesson, his surname would no longer be Fan!

“Miss Brianca, I believe they aren’t familiar with the rules yet. They thought the rules only applied to the school’s territory instead of the entire Alps, so I believe we won’t have to punish them this time,” Ceylan came over and advised them.

“Rules are meant to be obeyed. It doesn’t matter if they are students of this school or other schools…” Brianca said.

“What would the punishment be?” Mo Fan asked.

“Forced into confinement for half a month!” Brianca replied.

“It doesn’t matter if we are under confinement, your school is like a prison on a mountain with a graceful environment anyway. By the way, will you serve us meat during confinement?” Mo Fan asked.

“Are you provoking me now?” Brianca retorted, her gaze sharp.

“Mo Fan, forget it, and just apologize to them. They won’t be fussy about it,” Professor Zheng said.

“Yeah, they have their rules here, we just need to obey them while we are here…”

—

—

The hassle continued until the latter half of the night. Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan were finally released back to their rooms, but their sleepiness was long gone.

They sat in the library coffee bar. Zhao Manyan angrily paced up and down by the window and cursed, “I’ve never felt so humiliated in my life before. They f**king asked me to apologize to a hare. Apologize my ass!”

“It can’t just end like this. We must teach those two b**ches a lesson!” Mo Fan was infuriated whenever he thought of Sheryl and Edith’s cunning smirks.

“I told you to drug them, but you two kept saying it’s inappropriate!” Zhao Manyan was extremely mad.

“That’s going too far. Besides, if they reported us to that Killer Nun again, they could easily find us guilty. It won’t be as easy as apologizing to them if we are caught again. They are surely going to punish us severely. After all, they are a bunch of women’s-rights activists. Mu Bai, do you know how to make an aphrodisiac instead?” Mo Fan whispered.

Mu Bai was startled. He blurted out, “What are you thinking?”

“Don’t get me wrong, just a minor amount will do. We’ll put it into their vegetable soup at lunch. Aren’t they supposed to accompany us during the afternoon? We’ll let them follow us around while their bodies are heating up. Wouldn’t it be a pleasant sight to see them rubbing their legs while they are walking?” Mo Fan said.

“HAHAHA, that’s brilliant!” Zhao Manyan immediately burst out laughing. “Mo Fan, you’re truly the shameless one. That way, they won’t catch us red-handed, and they will have to bear the torture themselves.”

“It’s hard to say if they can bear it or not,” Mo Fan said.

“HAHAHAHA…”

Their evil laughter echoed throughout the coffee bar. Although Mu Bai did not burst out laughing, he had agreed to mix the aphrodisiac. He could control the amount of the drug to prevent anything from going wrong. They were just teaching those two women a lesson, just so they would leave them alone!

—

In the morning, they attended a lecture given by a reputable teacher in the school. The spacious hall was seated with energetic young women, and due to their good living and dietary habits, their skin was as fair as snow and lustrous as jade. As a result, almost every student at Alps Institute was a gorgeous beauty.

They had to keep a strict bearing at all times. They all had an elegant and noble temperament. Apart from the unreasonable rules of the school, the place was indeed like a paradise to watch, particularly for men…

The same people were there around lunchtime. Mu Bai started to feel a little nervous while he was in his seat.

As a matter of fact, it was his first time committing such a despicable act, so he was feeling a little guilty still.

As the saying went, those that laid down with dogs would rise up with fleas. If he kept hanging around with people like Mo Fan, he would eventually turn into a rascal too!

“We are serving tomato soup today, enjoy!” A student wearing a white apron carried a tray over and gave everyone a bowl of tomato soup in order.

Alps Institute had to do everything in order, including the distribution of food. Therefore, it was very easy to put the drug into certain people’s servings. Sheryl and Edith sat in the eighth and the ninth seats. It was impossible for Mo Fan to poison the food on the table, as a few Super Mages were seated at the table. They could easily see through his tricks, so he decided to carry out his plan before the soup was served.

“Mo Fan, there’s a vacant seat in the middle, you sure you got it right?” Zhao Manyan whispered.

“Don’t worry, I’ve counted it,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s good to know.”

—

The soup was served one by one. Mu Bai was getting even more nervous. He felt more nervous than when he killed a Commander-level creature for the first time. Meanwhile, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were calmly enjoying their soup. They seemed very experienced with things like this.

“Miss Brianca, you’re here, I thought you were busy dealing with some matters,” the female kitchen helper said to Brianca with a charming smile.

“Mm, I was able to settle them quicker than I thought,” Brianca sat down on the vacant seat.

“We have your favorite tomato soup for today,” the kitchen helper placed the eighth bowl of tomato soup in front of Brianca.

Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened simultaneously. They all stared at the bowl of soup.

My Heavens, that soup was loaded with something extra!

“Give me two portions,” Brianca told the kitchen helper.

“Sure, right away, we’ve prepared extra servings today. Take this bowl too, I’ll go get some more later. Senior sisters, please bear with me for a second,” the kitchen helper said.

“It’s fine, Miss Bianca stayed up late last night because of some people who aren’t willing to obey the rules. She definitely needs the extra bowl of soup,” Sheryl said.

The two bowls of soup were placed in front of Brianca. She did not seem to notice anything unusual. She took off her gloves, revealing her fair, lustrous skin and slowly enjoyed the soup…

Oh mama!

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai felt like they were about to explode.

They were told that Brianca was the most talented Mage in Alps Institute had seen for the past thirty years. Her cultivation might even surpass some of the old professors. She was truly an expert living in seclusion in a sacred land. The only person that was comparable to her was Heidi, but Heidi was still a student, so her cultivation was clearly weaker!

“Mo Fan, what is it? Why is your face so pale? Ceylan asked in concern. She was seated opposite Mo Fan.

“Ah, nothing, the soup tastes as bad as I thought,” Mo Fan blurted out.

Brianca slowly lifted her gaze and looked at Mo Fan with a frown.

The soup was her favorite dish, but Mo Fan just described it as horrible. Was he intentionally stirring up trouble with her?

—

After lunch, the first thought that crossed Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai’s mind was to pack their stuff and run as far away as possible.

Once the drug’s effects were done, Brianca was surely going to skin them alive. Even Professor Li and Professor Zheng would have trouble stopping her!

Chapter 1478 Remains on the Icy Mountain

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

“Mu Bai, will the effects double if she eats both bowls of soup?” Zhao Manyan asked softly.

“What did you say?!” Mu Bai was having a headache too.

The drug would go into effect in about an hour. Hopefully, Brianca was alone in her room when the time came. That way, she could just take a rest, assuming she was feeling a little sick, but if she was outside… it was difficult to imagine what was going to happen!

“Mu Bai, hurry up and get some antidote, we’ll find a way to have Brianca drink it. The woman is clearly the unreasonable kind. She wasted half our night over a roasted hare. If she knew we were trying to drug her, wouldn’t she skin us alive!?” Mo Fan said.

Ceylan was Heidi’s mentor, so obviously she was very strong. Brianca’s position was on par with Ceylan’s, indicating that she also possessed great strength. The three of them had no chance of surviving against her!

“Since when is there an antidote for an aphrodisiac? It’s just a kind of catalytic hormone, it’s not poison…” Mu Bai said.

“We are screwed! Goodness gracious me!” Zhao Manyan felt his scalp turning numb when he thought of Brianca.

“Pack your stuff, it’s time to leave!” Mo Fan said.

They did not dare to stay any further. They quickly went back to their room to pack their belongings.

“Let’s split up so we won’t arouse any suspicion,” Zhao Manyan suggested.

It would be very obvious if they left together. If they were on their own, they could still claim they were just taking a stroll.

Mo Fan went for the gate in the north. It was the same path they had taken to hunt some wild game on the mountain. Once he crossed the mountain and a huge icebound valley, he could quickly make his way back to Lake Geneva. He would apologize to Professor Li and Professor Zheng once it was over and tell them he could not stand the rules of the school, and had decided to go back to the city. He believed Brianca would not bother to chase him down, since it was not something she would want to mention, either!

Mo Fan was just about to step beyond the North Mountain Gate when he heard a commanding voice from behind.

“Hold it right there!” Brianca stood on a bridge above an icy lake and stared coldly down at Mo Fan, who was trying to run away.

Mo Fan almost broke out in cold sweat. He turned around and looked at the woman’s veiled face.

Mo Fan had finally seen her face at lunchtime. She was just as pretty as Heidi, her face as perfect as a statue, but in Mo Fan’s eyes, she was currently scarier than the Scorpion Lord Medusa!

Crap, he was caught in the act!

No way, he would never admit it, even if he was beaten to death!

It must have been some nutrients that had caused her hormones to go out of balance. They were not going to cause any harm to her. It had to be some other ingredients that had caused the reaction instead. It had nothing to do with him!

“Ah, Miss Brianca, what a coincidence to see you here… After hearing your words of wisdom last night, I do realize that I’ve overdone it. I shouldn’t harm the little creatures that are the incarnations of the deities on the mountain. I’m going to the mountain to repent,” Mo Fan came up with a perfect excuse.

Brianca started walking toward Mo Fan. Every step she took caused Mo Fan’s heart to beat even harder. His heart had never pounded so heavily, even when he was facing his beloved Mu Ningxue.

“I was looking for you; your bracelet told me where to find you,” Brianca said. She was holding a little box.

“Ah, you’re looking for me? Is there anything I can help you with? We’ve really reflected on the matter last night, and I was really thinking of repenting,” Mo Fan nodded continuously.

“It’s good to see that you’re repenting. I thought you were too stubborn to admit your wrongdoing. Here are the remains of the hare last night. I’ve burned its remains into ashes. I was planning to bury it on the mountain to cast aside its hatred. You should come with me.” Brianca was holding the wooden box carefully.

Mo Fan’s expression turned extremely complicated.

The bracelet!

Damn it, they were still wearing the bracelets! These people would know their whereabouts all the time, which meant it was impossible for them to run away!

“Al…alright,” Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh. It seemed like Mu Bai’s unprofessional drug was not effective at all. Brianca looked perfectly fine on the surface, and a long time had passed since she drank the soup.

It was a huge relief that she was fine. The drug might have failed because of Brianca’s outstanding cultivation, or maybe her body composition was special.

Either way, he had clearly dodged a bullet there. He just needed to put on an act and repent on the mountain to get it over with!

It seemed like luck was not on his side lately. He should avoid stirring up trouble and cultivate at the waterfall diligently to improve his mental strength instead…

—

Mo Fan followed behind Brianca as they traveled on the thick white snow. He was greatly relieved when Brianca seemed perfectly fine to him.

“Our Alps Institute was once an orphanage. An old Forbidden Mage went into seclusion here. She was hoping that the children of the orphanage could protect ourselves, so she taught the kids magic, but she passed away not long afterward. The orphans had yet to learn how to protect themselves and how to survive in society. To make things worse, a deadly snowfall happened that year. The young children were buried under the snow on the mountain, waiting to die of starvation or frost. When they fell into deep slumber under the snow, the hares, snow foxes, and many other little creatures dug into the snow…” Brianca was not as haughty and unapproachable as Mo Fan first thought. She told Mo Fan the origin of Alps Institute and why they cared so much about the little creatures on the mountain.

“I must admit that the founders did the same cruel things as you did. They ate the little creatures and used their fur to keep them warm in order to survive. They barely made it to Spring, and realized the mountain goddess of the Alps had shown them mercy. She was not willing to watch the kids die such a miserable death, so she turned into little creatures to save them. The Goddess of the Alps was that kind, she rather sacrificed herself… since then, we don’t want to hurt them, and chose to eat the same diet as them,” Brianca said.

Mo Fan was a little touched by the story.

It seemed like he had indeed broken their taboo. Alps Institute would not be around today if it weren’t for these little creatures!

“I can promise you that I will eat vegetarian for a month,” Mo Fan said.

“We’ve already asked the students to buy some meat when they go to the town to restock our supply. I’m afraid we don’t know how to cook meat, so you will have to cook it yourself. It’s true that it’s our choice to be vegetarian, so we won’t force you to eat the same diet as us. You have your own way of living too,” Brianca said.

“You have my thanks. I apologize for being ruthless and impolite before,” Mo Fan said.

It seemed like Alps Institute was not as terrible as he thought. Not everyone here was unreasonable!

“It’s fine, I do wonder if our semi-closed approach and rules that forcibly suppress a person’s nature is the right…” Brianca turned the corner at a wall while she was talking. She suddenly came to a stop and swallowed her words after witnessing something ahead.

Mo Fan was a little confused. When he caught up to Brianca, he saw she was trembling.

Mo Fan took a step forward, and was shocked to see the gentle snowy slope ahead covered in dead bodies.

The snow was white, but the color of blood was garish against it. There were countless carcasses of little creatures, stacked up into an utterly shocking sight under the bright afternoon sunlight!

Chapter 1479 A Prank? Revenge or Hatred?

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

A dark blue wind howled across the valley, as sharp as an enormous saber between the Heavens and Earth slashing at the snowy mountain. The wind slashed the top of a few peaks nearby in half. Huge chunks of ice began to collapse.

The same wind left bizarre marks across the white slope. Mo Fan stood within the Wind Domain with wide eyes. He could feel Brianca’s rage!

The spacious mountain, including the highest peak, the steep icy cliffs, the gentle snowy slope, and the clear blue sky were filled with the terrifying dark blue wind. It was blowing so fiercely merely because of Brianca’s huge surge of emotion!

Mo Fan was terrified. The woman did not even use any magic. Her Domain and aura alone had resulted in such incredible damage when she slightly lost control of her emotions. How incredible was this Brianca’s cultivation?

“The blood hasn’t permeated into the snow yet. The culprit must be nearby still,” Mo Fan said to distract Brianca a little.

He realized how important these little creatures on the mountain were to the Alps Institute after hearing the story. She clearly did not expect to witness such an astonishing sight when they had come to bury the ashes of the wild hare!

More than a thousand little creatures had been killed, their carcasses left on the mountain to the north of Alps Institute. It was obviously a provocation to the Alps Institute, an insane action of revenge!

Brianca took a deep breath to calm herself down.

She almost assumed Mo Fan and his friends had done it to get their revenge at the school when she saw the carcasses. However, she realized that they had been attending lectures at the school for the whole day. They would not have had the time to hunt so many little creatures…

Who could possibly do such a thing? It was clearly a blasphemous act to the Alps Institute, a blatant provocation!

“The culprit has already left,” Brianca said.

“Did you guys offend some maniac lately?” Mo Fan asked.

It was obviously an act of vengeance. If it was just a prank, the person would most likely only kill a few dozen of the creatures and left their carcasses outside the school’s gate. The culprit must have had some strong hatred toward the Alps Institute to kill so many little creatures and stack their dead bodies in the same place!

“We mostly interact with other schools, we rarely communicate with other factions. Besides, our school is right below the Holy Judgment Court. Even if someone was annoyed by our proud demeanor, they wouldn’t dare to do something like this!” Brianca approached the slope.

Mo Fan went up to the dead bodies and said, “I’ll cremate these bodies. It’s unlikely that we’ll find any clues from them. I should just burn them. Otherwise, some students might be terrified when they see it…oh, I’ll take a few photos first.”

“Alright.”

Mo Fan took out his phone and took a few up close photos. He went to a higher spot and took a photo of the entire place.

After he was done, he summoned the Meteor Scarlet.

Mo Fan’s control of the Fire Element was quite normal before unleashing his Domain. As he completed the Advanced Spell, a meteorite came down from the sky!

As the Meteor Scarlet flew across the sky under Mo Fan’s control, its flames continued to grow from the friction in the air, increasing the spell’s area!

Mo Fan’s Sky-Flame Funeral would only cover an area of around two hundred square meters in the past. If he cast it with the Meteor Scarlet, the area would expand to around three hundred meters square!

If there was more time available, Mo Fan could cast the Sky-Flame Funeral much higher in the sky. That way, the area of the flames might rise to more than five hundred square meters when the meteorite landed. An enemy would have no chance of moving out of its area of effect!

Mo Fan cast the Sky-Flame Funeral. He summoned the meteorite high up in the sky, so the flames would cover a bigger area.

The Meteor Scarlet landed, melting the snow across the valley immediately. The snow turned into streams flowing to a lower altitude.

There was a ravine at the bottom of the slope. After Mo Fan cast the Sky-Flame Funeral a few times, the water from the melted snow poured into the ravine and turned into a river in the creek. It would eventually reach Lake Geneva.

The sturdy layer of rocks under the snow was revealed as the flames continued to burn. Mo Fan realized how thick the snow was. The ground was around six meters under the snow!

“Did you notice something yesterday?” Brianca asked.

Last night, Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan were secretly hunting wild game on the mountain. The patrolling Magas had found them around midnight. It would take the culprit some time to kill so many little creatures and leave their dead bodies at the same place. It was very likely that the culprit was already doing it last night!

“I didn’t see anyone… but I remember the hare’s back leg was already injured when my Flying Creek Snow Wolf was chasing after it. There was an obvious frozen wound on it,” Mo Fan said.

“There is no way the Snowy Mountain Woolen Hare would freeze its own leg. It must have escaped from the culprit, who must be an Ice Mage,” Brianca said.

“I think we should let the others know,” Mo Fan said.

——

Mo Fan and Brianca went back to the school, heading to a castle on the waist of a smaller mountain.

Below the mountain was Faerun River, and another three kilometers further was Faerun Waterfall. Faerun Castle was mainly used for administration and meeting purposes. Since the Alps were in good order most of the time, Faerun Castle was usually vacant. Headmistress Perry, who was around Ceylan’s age, was seated in the sky garden in the castle. She was facing Faerun Waterfall while enjoying her tea.

“Why would something like this happen!?” Headmistress Perry flew out of her seat and stared at the photos on Mo Fan’s phone.

“We’ve taken care of the dead bodies. We didn’t want the students to see them,” Brianca reported.

“That’s good to know, you’ve made the right call,” Headmaster Perry frowned. She was struggling to think of anyone who would do such a thing.

“Headmistress, the culprit clearly has a strong hatred toward us. I believe we should seal off the school first to guarantee the students’ safety, since they are completely unaware of the danger,” Brianca said seriously.

“Seal off the school? That won’t be necessary, it might just be a prank, or a natural phenomenon that we have never seen before. After all, it’s unlikely that anyone would come and stir up troubles with us,” Headmistress Perry said.

“But…”

Headmistress Perry stopped Brianca before she could speak. The headmistress said, “The young Duke of the Casas and the people of the Rhines will be here next week. If we seal the school now, we might lose our best chance to reach a deal with them. You do know that the Casas are our biggest investor in Europe. From what I know, the Casas prefer to invest in the European schools instead… we need sufficient funding to help the new students every year. We have to feed them and provide them with shelter and education. If we do not receive the Casas when they are here, or leave them with a bad impression, we’ll have to postpone our plans for years. The rise of the sea level has led to a war against the sea monsters. Many of the students have lost their homes…”

Brianca was left speechless after hearing Headmistress Perry’s order.

Alps Institute had no trouble supporting itself. Every student was incredibly talented; they did not have to rely on the renowned clans and factions. However, that was not the reason why the school was established. They were hoping to contribute to society, to show the world what women could do, to distribute the message to other women that they could strive unremittingly, too!

At first, Alps Institute was only an orphanage for girls. Before now, they were still helping the female orphans across the world so they could grow healthily. They would also bring the talented ones to Alps Institute and teach them knowledge and magic.

However, they clearly needed huge funds for that. They had to protect the little girls who would otherwise struggle to survive in society. They would be bullied, scolded, picked on, and forced into labor without any way to make their voices heard!

“Headmistress Perry, I believe we should guarantee our students’ safety, even if we are going to take good care of the representatives of the Casas. I have a feeling that the culprit is very powerful. The person must be hiding nearby. If the person can be so cruel to the little creatures, I doubt he or she will go easy on the students…” Brianca said seriously.

“Which is why, I hope that you, as the person-in-charge of the Disciplinary Office, will settle the matter as soon as possible. It would be best if you can find the culprit before the Casas are here. Miss Brianca, the school’s safety is in your hands. You should know that many of our teachers and students have left to visit other schools. The only people I can rely on are you, Ceylan, Miya, and the others. I hope you will deal with the culprit as soon as possible,” Headmistress Perry said.

Brianca wanted to say something, but Headmistress Perry stopped her once again.

Brianca knew Headmistress Perry was determined not to seal off the school. She was the one that came up with the suggestion to request funding from the Casas, so how could she possibly give up now? If she successfully reached a deal with the Casas, her status in Alps Institute was going to rise significantly.

“Mo Fan, Miss Brianca, please keep it a secret. I will allocate more patrols. I hope you will keep the poor kids that need our help in mind,” Perry reminded them.

Brianca nodded stiffly.

Chapter 1480 Searching For the Culpri

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan and Brianca left Faerun Castle. He could see Brianca was not in a great mood, but unfortunately, she was not the headmistress. She did not have the power to seal off the school.

“I have seen a lot of bad people. I can barely consider myself a criminal profiler. It’s obviously not just a prank. No one would go so far and kill so many little creatures so brutally just for a prank. The wounds on the creatures and the way the culprit placed their bodies clearly showed the strong hatred the person has. We shouldn’t rule out the possibility that the person will target the students,” Mo Fan said seriously.

“Do you really think that?” Brianca looked Mo Fan in the eyes.

“Mm, a person with such a strong murderous intent is not the same as us, who were hunting a wild hare to feed ourselves. The person’s goal is very obvious; they are basically saying that he or she is willing to go as far as killing the little creatures that your school worships. The culprit is declaring war against your school in a confident and ruthless manner, since the person isn’t afraid that you will find out what he or she is up to,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan could guess what the bad people were thinking after spending so much time around them.

Revenge!

Mo Fan could smell the rotten scent of the mad culprit. The person was clearly not going to be satisfied with just killing the little creatures. The female students of the Alps Institute would be in danger if they stumbled into that person!

Mo Fan believed sealing the school was the right approach. The Alps Institute was incredibly huge. Even flying from the north gate to the south gate would take a long time. On top of that, the school was split into four main areas. Faerun School was located in the middle, where the terrain was level. Lanxue School was located in the west, separated by a huge mountain. Weitian School was in the east, where the terrain was the highest, consisting of a few mountains joined by bridges. Holy Judgement School was in the north. They were the closest to Faerun School, but also the closest to the scene where the little creatures were massacred.

The culprit possessed remarkably high cultivation. Otherwise, it would be impossible to kill so many little creatures and gather them in the area before the blood even permeated the snow. Brianca tried using her Wind Domain to scan the mountain, but she found no trace of the culprit. It was clear that the culprit was no ordinary Mage!

Sealing off the school was the best approach. They also had to gather all the students in the same school. They could not afford to let them split up, nor could they let them train alone and be on their own!

“You seem to be quite experienced in dealing with these kind of people?” Brianca asked when she realized how plausible Mo Fan’s analysis was.

“More or less. The scum that I’ve sent to Hell could form two soccer teams by now,” Mo Fan said with a smile.

“I’m only a teacher that punishes students that break the rules. We do have some bad-behaving students, but they are innocent and kind compared to this kind of maniac that slaughtered so many creatures just to provoke us. I’m afraid I will have trouble finding the culprit within a short period of time on my own. Can you lend me a hand?” Brianca asked.

“I can see that you aren’t really familiar with the outside world… as an apology for killing the hare, I’ll help you find the culprit,” Mo Fan said.

Brianca’s face had been extremely pale when she first beheld the gory sight. She had been holding back the urge to throw up.

It was obvious that she had never seen such a brutal sight. She was the kind of Mage that cleansed her heart and limited her desires to pursue higher cultivation. She might be in danger if she had to deal with the cunning and cruel culprit herself.

Having a high cultivation was not necessarily enough at times. If the culprit kept killing the little creatures or targeted the more vulnerable students, even a Forbidden Mage could not do anything to stop them if they could not find who the culprit was!

——

It grew dark soon; the day was slightly shorter in the Alps. Mo Fan and Brianca made their way to the dining hall.

Brianca did not even have the appetite to eat. She was clearly lost in thought. She could not understand why anyone would kill the little creatures they worshiped in such a brutal manner.

On the other hand, Mo Fan was starving. He had been through a lot of situations where brains, blood, and organs were scattered across the place. The recent discovery was nowhere enough to affect his appetite.

“Miss Brianca, are you feeling not well?” Mo Fan pretended to sound indifferent as he asked the question.

He still remembered the two bowls of soup that were mixed with the aphrodisiac. He was scared that the effects had arrived late.

“I’m fine, I’m just struggling to believe it,” Brianca said. She noticed the strange look in Mo Fan’s eyes. She touched her face and said, “Do I look like I’m sick to you?”

“Oh, nothing, it’s nothing. You should go take a rest. I don’t think the person is going to do anything soon…” Mo Fan replied.

“Alright, thanks for your help.”

“My pleasure.”

—

—

Mo Fan went back to his room and immediately went to look for Mu Bai.

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan were caught while they were trying to run away, too. They were also wearing the magic bracelet, so Ceylan knew exactly where they were. They were not dumb enough to say they were trying to run away. They told Ceylan they were planning to go to the city to enjoy a nice meal, since they could not stand the meals that were served in the school.

“Is Brianca fine?” Mu Bai asked Mo Fan curiously.

“Mmm, she wasn’t behaving strangely,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Wow, Mo Fan, how shameless are you? You knew she was going to be aroused by the aphrodisiac. Did you follow her to wait for the chance to… tsk tsk tsk, that Bianca is indeed a beauty if she isn’t such an unreasonable person. Most importantly, her cultivation is so insane at such a young age. Mo Fan, you won’t have to worry about your future anymore if you can settle her!” Zhao Manyan leered.

“Assh***, I was just worried that she might learn what we had done, so I tried my best to leave a good impression in front of her. Otherwise, she would suspect us right away if she was feeling unwell! We are wearing the magic bracelets, there’s no way we can run away!” Mo Fan snarled.

“I see, you’re trying to earn her trust. How did it go?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Something happened in the school.” Mo Fan told them about their discovery in the afternoon.

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan were dumbfounded.

Mu Bai finally spoke after a while, “That’s impossible, we were there last night. We didn’t see anything at all. How is it possible that the place was full of dead animals the next day?”

“Someone must have done it during the latter half of the night, after we were caught. Everyone was at school in the morning; no one saw it since no one was patrolling,” Mo Fan answered.

“The culprit’s cultivation must be very high. It took us great effort just to catch the hare, and the little creatures are sparsely spread across the mountain. The culprit most likely traveled a few dozen, or even up to a hundred kilometers, just to kill a thousand little creatures,” Zhao Manyan said.

“I believe the person is going to target the students,” Mo Fan said.

It was possible to predict a person’s behavior from what they had done before. The culprit completely disregarded the value of the little creatures’ lives, meaning that the person would not hesitate to murder humans, either!

Chapter 1481 The First Victim

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Even though Mo Fan did not have a good first impression of the Alps Institute, the school was full of girls. He could not just sit and watch after learning that they might end up like the little creatures.

“Mo Fan, do you still remember the Mother Scale Skin Phantom in the Pearl Institute’s stadium? Since then, we’ve sworn to protect every girl in the world. Isn’t this the perfect time for us to step forward, knowing that the students of the Alps Institute are in trouble? Count me in!” Zhao Manyan proclaimed, patted himself on the chest.

“I thought you recently said that you were never going to come back to this school for the rest of your life?” Mu Bai promptly teased him.

“Why are you treating that so seriously!?” Zhao Manyan answered dismissively..

“We’ll search the vicinity of the school at night. Li Ximei, Shi Junsheng, Professor Li, Professor Zheng, and the others will worry about the exchange program,” Mo Fan said.

“Alright… Mo Fan, are you sure that Miss Brianca is fine?” Mu Bai asked.

“Maybe you got the ingredients wrong, or maybe the herbs here aren’t the same. She looks perfectly fine to me,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s good to know.”

—

The evening lasted for quite a long time. Dark clouds soon shrouded the sky. Some were thin enough for moonlight to pass through, while the others were pitch-black.

“Sister Heidi, are you going training again?” a young girl with a basket of flowers in one hand saw the ash-brown haired Heidi heading toward Faerun Waterfall.

“Yeah, Amelia, is that Snow Lavender you’re planting? I kept noticing them around the school,” Heidi surprisingly smiled back. Her smile was extremely warm.

“Yeah, it took me quite a long time to plant them. Only a few more spots left until I’m done. Sister Heidi, you must come and check it out when I’m done,” Amelia said.

“Sure!”

—

Heidi went to the waterfall. The huge waterfall looked like dragons rising from the lake and soaring into the sky. Its majestic appearance would make anyone fear falling into a bottomless chasm. Heidi stood at the top of the waterfall. The edge of the waterfall’s fierce current was less than a meter away from her. She hovered in the air and was able to see the entire irregular crescent-shape of the Faerun Waterfall…

She breathed at a steady pace. She could not afford to let anything disrupt her breathing, especially when she was in dangerous situations. It would cause her Will to shatter and dissipate.

Heidi hovered close to the edge of the waterfall like a statue for an hour. Her eyes suddenly widened as she focused on the space ahead.

A sapphire-blue light slowly surrounded her, like the glow of a bright moon. Her gaze sharpened. The waterfall underwent shocking changes. The water was initially pouring down fiercely, but started to flow in the air under her control.

The edge of the waterfall was a huge cliff, over which the water would pour into a deep lake. However, it felt as if the river had extended indefinitely out into the air. The water just kept flowing ahead…

The water crossed the deep chasm and formed a white bridge in the air. It was now parallel to the river at the bottom of the waterfall, a spectacular and breathtaking sight!

The river kept extending, reaching a distance of over five hundred meters. The water finally fell from the sky and struck the river under it with a loud splash.

Heidi smiled, very satisfied with the outcome of her training. Normally, she would struggle to focus enough to extend the river by five hundred meters. It was a sign that her mental strength had improved again!

She was aiming to reach the advanced stage of mental strength. With her Innate Talent to mind three things at once, her Will would be incredibly powerful once she reached the advanced stage!

The Faerun Waterfall gradually recovered its usual appearance. Heidi lowered her gaze and noticed the water was a little turbid.

The water of Faerun Waterfall had always been clean. The source of the waters were a few icy mountains. The ice of the mountains gradually melted, forming the huge river and waterfall. It was unlikely for the water to be polluted. The Alps barely had any presence of mud, either.

She looked down and fixed her eyes on the water that was flowing past under her feet.

Suddenly, a face whose eyes were almost poked out from their sockets showed up. The face was extremely pale, with two obvious wounds on both sides from which fresh blood was pouring out. Most shockingly, the eyes were staring right at Heidi…

The face quickly vanished from Heidi’s vision in the rapid current of the river. Heidi immediately saw the person’s body that was covered in wounds, her clothes that were soaked in the water, and her small, pale feet…

Heidi was completely stunned. Her eyes were filled with terror!

The sight only lasted briefly. The body went past Heidi’s feet and plunged into the chasm under the waterfall before Heidi could react!

The water was not turbid. It was mixed with the blood of a corpse that was washing to the bottom of Faerun Waterfall by the river. Everything happened so quickly and was so surprising that Heidi completely forgot to use her Will to stop the body from plunging into the bottom of the lake!

“AHHHHH!”

Heidi’s scream immediately tore the quiet night apart!

—

—

The first person that showed up was Brianca. She summoned a few patrolling Magas to retrieve the corpse.

Heidi sat on a stone bench in the garden beside the waterfall. She looked battered out of her senses.

Her cultivation might be impressive, but she was inexperienced with the real world. It was actually her first time being so close to a dead body, especially when she recalled how it went right under her feet while its eyes were staring right at her, giving her a great fright. She was still trembling in fear even now.

When Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai arrived, they heard the patrolling Magas yelling. It sounded like they had found the girl whose body had been washed to the bottom of the lake.

“I…I actually talked to her not long ago. She happily told me that she was almost done with her work,” Heidi said in low spirits.

After Heidi calmed herself down, she realized the girl was none other than Amelia, who greeted her right before she went to the waterfall.

Amelia was the Alps Institute’s stylist. The flowers, wall paintings, decorations on the lamps, and flower rings on each door were all her artworks. She was a Plant Mage. Her cultivation was not that impressive, but she was extremely passionate about art. Every student in the school knew her; they all called her the Faerun’s Little Fairy.

She was an orphan. Something terrible had happened to her in the past, but she was full of hope when she came to the school. She was doing something she was interested in and good at, giving Faerun School the best scenery. Everyone in the school liked her.

She had a long life ahead of her, and she was kind and diligent. She was going to receive a lot of compliments for her work and find her other half. She would then occasionally visit the Alps Institute together with her kids, who would love flowers just like she did…

But her life had come to an end…

—

Heidi and Brianca did not dare to look at the corpse. The girl’s body was twisted beyond recognition when it fell to the bottom of the chasm.

The patrolling Magas shared the same reaction. They too were terrified by the incident. Normally, they would alert the Holy Judgment Court if something like this happened, so they could send someone over to deal with the incident.

However, for some reason, the headmistress did not notify the Holy Judgment Court. She even told everyone at the scene not to tell anyone about the incident.

“I’ll go take a look.” Mo Fan looked at the girls and let out a helpless sigh.

These girls might have impressive cultivation, but they lacked practical experience, as they rarely visited the outside world.

Mo Fan had just lifted the white blanket covering the dead body when Sheryl went up to him and grunted angrily, “What do you think you’re doing? How dare you disrespect her when she’s already dead!?”

“Piss off,” Mo Fan impatiently rose to his feet and unleashed his aura. Sheryl struggled to breathe properly under the pressure.

“Sheryl, back off!” Brianca said.

“Miss, but he’s a shameless…”

“Silence! Where are your manners? Can’t you see he’s inspecting the corpse to search for clues? Do you think it’s unimportant to find out who the culprit is? Do you think you’re being respectful to the dead girl by stirring up a scene here?” Brianca scolded her.

Sheryl was stunned. She did not think her teacher would scold her like that. Tears almost poured out of her eyes.

Brianca was Sheryl’s mentor. She had always been pampered by Brianca, which was why she was so proud and arrogant. Mo Fan gloated in his heart when he saw Brianca scolding Sheryl. He was glad that he had volunteered to lend Brianca a hand in finding the culprit.

“We’ve been patrolling in the area, but unfortunately, the school is too big and there are too many people to look after,” Mo Fan sighed.

Mo Fan was enraged after inspecting the corpse. There were cuts almost everywhere on the girl’s body; her face, back, legs, stomach, shoulders… she was most likely tied up or impaired with magic to prevent her from struggling. She was bleeding slowly and was tossed into the waterfall when she was at the brink of death.

She was most likely still alive when she was thrown into the waterfall. She had only died after floating in it for a few minutes.

“Err, Miss Brianca, can you please check something for me? It’s not appropriate for me to do it,” Mo Fan said.

“Alright,” Brianca went up to the body. She obviously recognized Amelia, and was trying her best not to look at the corpse.

Mo Fan went closer to Brianca and whispered into her ear.

Brianca was a little surprised, but she remained still as Mo Fan moved close to her. She was feeling uneasy when Mo Fan’s hot breath touched her ear.

“I hope you won’t mind, I just want to confirm something,” Mo Fan said.

“I understand,” Brianca nodded. She crouched slowly and proceeded to check the final thing that Mo Fan had requested.

Chapter 1482 Unspeakable Secrets

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Brianca was done fairly quickly. The others had no idea what she was doing. She shook her head at Mo Fan and said, “She was not raped.”

The others immediately realized why Mo Fan was asking for Brianca’s help. To their disbelief, Brianca actually followed his instructions. How unbelievable…

“She was tied up for a long time. In cases like these, it is unlikely for a girl not to be assaulted, especially after seeing how strong the culprit’s hatred was. Assuming the culprit is a man, I find it hard to believe that a guy who is clearly trying to get his revenge wouldn’t take away the second most precious thing from a girl. Oh, some of you might think of it as the most precious thing… anyway, since he didn’t do it, I have a strong feeling that the culprit is a woman,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was from the Clearsky Hunter Agency and had spent too much time around Lingling. He was actually able to deduce simple clues now!

“What are you talking about? How could a girl possibly do something so cruel?” Sheryl said angrily.

“Are you retarded or something? I’ve seen more cruel women than the total number of students in this school!” Mo Fan said disdainfully.

“Mo Fan, even though I agree with your view, I still think it’s possible that the culprit is only trying to get his revenge, without planning to assault the girls sexually?” Mu Bai said.

“Miss Brianca and I went to the mountain at the north gate. We discovered a huge number of dead little creatures. Their blood had yet to permeate the snow, so Miss Brianca immediately used her Wind Domain to scan the area, yet she failed to detect any presence of the culprit. Initially, I assumed the culprit to have an insane cultivation, so he was able to leave the scene quickly. However, now that I think about it, it’s very likely that the culprit went back to the school straight away. There are only a few men in the Alps Institute, and we are all wearing the magic bracelet. There’s no chance we could do something like that without being noticed. If the culprit was a man, he would surely draw someone’s attention when he returned to the school. However, if the culprit was a woman, no one would pay any attention to her,” Mo Fan said.

Brianca recalled the situation at the mountain after hearing Mo Fan’s explanation. It was true that the little creatures had died only moments before they arrived. It was unlikely that her Wind Domain could not detect any trace of the culprit. She even wondered if the culprit was half a Forbidden Mage…

Now that she thought about it, the culprit must have gone back to the school straight away. Mo Fan and Brianca might even have seen the culprit along the way, but since there were quite a lot of students at the north gate, no one had caught their attention…

“Mo Fan, you’re saying that the culprit stayed behind like the brainless bad guys in movies, waiting to be caught by some famous detectives?” Zhao Manyan said.

“You’re the one that’s brainless. The crazy things that the culprit did clearly indicate that she has a strong hatred of the school. She must be hiding in the school still, and this girl clearly isn’t the last victim!” Mo Fan said.

“That’s impossible; we’ve verified the identity of every student in the school. Every outsider that enters the school must wear the magic bracelet, too! The culprit must be an outsider!” the patrolling Maga with thick eyebrows said.

“So sealing off the school wouldn’t make any difference?” Brianca asked.

“Mm, it’s unlikely that the culprit is an outsider. To be honest, not many people can avoid being detected by your Wind Domain too. Besides, judging from the time of the murder, the culprit must have killed the victim in the school too!” Mo Fan said.

Every Super Mage was a reputable person. Most of them would hold important positions, like being a Councilman, a General, a leader of a renowned clan, or a famous teacher in a school.

Even in the Black Vatican, the status of a Super Mage was almost on par with a Red Cardinal!

“Miss Brianca, tell the students not to go anywhere alone,” Mo Fan reminded her.

Brianca was extremely worried too. Her outstanding cultivation was completely useless in a situation like this!

“I think we should keep a close eye on you guys instead. These incidents only happened since you came to our school!” Edith spoke up.

“Idiot!” Mo Fan cursed.

Edith stomped the ground angrily. Sheryl also glared at Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan suspiciously.

Meanwhile, the patrolling Maga with thick brows spoke up, “I believe that’s possible, too. I saw two of them trying to leave the school not long ago.”

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened. How was that even related to this incident!?

“Stop accusing them without any proof. We should be apologizing to them instead. They have traveled so far to our school, but not only did we fail to live up to our reputation, we still troubled them with such a sorrowful incident,” Ceylan refuted them sincerely.

—

—

It was already late at night. When Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai went back to their rooms, Professor Li, Professor Zheng, Li Ximei, and Shi Junsheng ran up to them.

Shi Junsheng said angrily before the two professors could ask about the situation, “Can you guys stop meddling in other people’s business? They are going to treat us like suspects at this rate! I heard that the Alps Institute has never been merciful with their punishments. They even have the right to sentence someone to death right on the spot!”

“Meddling with other people’s business? Do you seriously think your own reputation is more important than finding the culprit who has just killed a student and is going to kill more people soon?” Mo Fan hissed. His impression of Shi Junsheng was completely ruined. He actually found the man slightly annoying!

“Mo Fan, I believe you’re a full-starred Hunter Master, right? We aren’t good with things like this, so can you please lend the Alps Institute a hand on our behalf?” Professor Zheng interjected.

“I’m very disappointed by the school. Shouldn’t they report the incident immediately to the Holy Judgment Court, so they can send an expert over to deal with it? Why do I feel like Headmistress Perry is desperately trying to keep the incident a secret? She even told the students and the other schools that the girl accidentally drowned during the Trial of Faerun Waterfall…” Mu Bai said.

“Mm, she did appoint Brianca to find the culprit within a week, but Brianca is obviously inexperienced in things like this. If the culprit is still in the school, they have no chance of finding her if she’s a little cunning,” Mo Fan said.

“Why didn’t they tell the Holy Judgment Court? A student has died!” Li Ximei said angrily.

Professor Zheng sighed. “Every school has its unspeakable secrets. As a matter of fact, our school also tries to hide the truth at times. It’s necessary to protect the school’s reputation, and let the student study with peace of mind. Even though it might sound like we aren’t treating the students’ safety seriously, we still have to think of the big picture at times. We also try our best to resolve the problems and avoid similar things from happening again.

“The biggest renowned clan in Europe is going to visit this school in a week. It’s obviously very important to the school, even if it’s the Alps Institute… Mo Fan, just do your best to help them find the culprit. I believe it’s a chance for you to earn the Alps Institute’s support. It’s going to be helpful when you are at the Holy Judgment Court later,” Professor Zheng told him.

“Don’t worry, I won’t just sit and wait for things like this,” Mo Fan agreed.

“How unforgivable is the culprit, daring to treat a young woman so brutally! I, Zhao Manyan, swear to hunt her down, even if it means I won’t be eating meat for the rest of my life!” Zhao Manyan promised.

Chapter 1483 Meeting Li Yu“e Coincidentally

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan was getting a headache. The Alps Institute was split into four schools, each with quite a large number of students. Even the teachers would not recognize every student in the school, so it was easy for an outsider to blend into the students.

“If only we knew what the person is after; it’s unlikely that anyone would do such a cruel thing for no reason,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had the Dark Material. If he could discover the culprit’s aims and whereabouts, it would be extremely easy to deal with the situation once he tagged the person with the Dark Material. The problem was, Ceylan, Headmistress Perry, and Brianca did not have the slightest clue who the culprit was!

“They must be hiding something,” Mo Fan muttered to himself.

Mo Fan was walking around Faerun School. He did not keep an extra eye on the surroundings before, but he now noticed the school grounds were planted with a lot of Snow Lavender. These flowers were everywhere, like the sacred snow, something that the girl had been working on diligently for a long time.

She was such a lovely girl. What kind of grudge could the culprit be holding against the school, to murder an innocent girl in such a brutal way?

“Yu’e, you shouldn’t be walking around on your own. I heard from the patrolling Magas that we have to stay in pairs to avoid any trouble during this important time!” a girl’s voice came down from the stairs of a nearby building.

“It’s fine, she always told me that she had to finish it so that the others could see it. Since she can’t complete it anymore, I must lend her a hand. There’s not much work left,” another girl among the bushes of flowers raised her face and replied.

Mo Fan walked closer and soon saw the girl was half-kneeling on the ground, busy clearing some weeds. Her milk-white outfit did not have any embroidery, and was fully stretched by her round bottom, leaving not a single wrinkle on it, while her slim waist swayed slightly. Mo Fan was lost in thought upon witnessing the sight.

It was common to see such a beautiful sight at the Alps Institute. That being said, why did the girl look so familiar to him?

The girl suddenly turned around, as if she noticed that someone was watching her. Her hair was blocking her face and eyes. She naturally moved her hair away, revealing a not overly dazzling, but clean and good-looking face.

The girl was stunned when she saw the watcher was a man. After all, it was extremely rare to see a man at the Alps Institute. However, her eyes flickered with surprise when she took a closer look at Mo Fan’s face.

“Why are you here?’ Mo Fan pointed at the girl and blurted out in disbelief before the girl could speak.

“I was going to ask the same thing!” The girl rose to her feet and smiled. It was the same friendly and gentle smile that she always wore.

“Are you studying at the Alps Institute? You never mentioned it to me before!” Mo Fan was extremely surprised.

“Not long after I met you, I used my savings to travel to different places. I was thinking of visiting the Alps Institute as a tourist when I came to Switzerland, but I didn’t know the place was off-limits to outsiders. I wouldn’t have been allowed to enter if I hadn’t stumbled into a friendly student. When I came, they happened to be looking for a gardener. I decided to stay, since I had pretty much spent all my savings,” the girl explained with a smile.

“You make it sound so simple, but I know everyone that joins the Alps Institute isn’t an ordinary person. You are an open-minded girl, no wonder you can make up your mind that easily. So, are you planning to go back to New York?”

“I do like it here. It feels more like home than a noisy bustling city,” Li Yu’e said.

“Have you Awakened?” Mo Fan inquired.

“Mm, the Psychic Element… but it feels like I’m not really that talented,” Li Yu’e replied.

“That’s already quite impressive,” Mo Fan encouraged her.

The world was wonderful indeed; Mo Fan did not think he would meet the girl caught in the incident on a street in New York here at the Alps Institute. He was able to arrest the Ice Element Executioner named Philip with her help. Even though it was a coincidence he met her in the first place, he still had a strong impression of her.

The girl might look ordinary, yet she had a special demeanor, like a flower slowly emitting its faint fragrance in a secluded place. The way she could treat everything calmly was something that Mo Fan found quite impressive.

“Why are you walking around on your own? Don’t you feel like an alien here?” Li Yu’e asked.

“Mm, something bad happened, so I would like to settle it as quickly as possible. I can only roam around aimlessly, since I don’t really have any clues at the moment,” Mo Fan said.

“But why do I think your eyes aren’t focused on searching for clues?” Li Yu’e said ambiguously, looking at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan immediately realized he was caught red-handed checking out on her physique. He chuckled and said, “The two don’t contradict one another.”

“Is it about Amelia?” Li Yu’e asked.

“You know about it?” Mo Fan was impressed.

Headmistress Perry had already sealed off the news. The other students were told that someone had drowned in an accident, but Li Yu’e sounded like she knew about the reason behind it.

“She was afraid of water, she never went close to the waterfall. She was even cautious when using a watering can to water the flowers,” Li Yu’e said.

“I see…” Mo Fan was briefly lost for words. He believed it was unwise to tell Li Yu’e the truth.

“Someone is trying to get their revenge, right?” Li Yu’e asked.

Mo Fan was utterly shocked. He looked at Li Yu’e, wondering how she knew about it.

“Your expression told me that. Besides, didn’t you say you were looking for clues?” Li Yu’e went on.

“It’s really a struggle to have a conversation with Psychic Mages like you sometimes…” Mo Fan murmured.

“I wasn’t using any magic. It’s just a feeling I had, all things considered,” Li Yu’e answered. It was impolite for a Psychic Mage to read someone’s mind without consent.

“Forget it. By the way, how did you know about the Alps Institute? This school is like an old temple hidden on a mountain. Many Mages don’t even know it exists!” Mo Fan asked.

“The guy that tried to kill you in New York told me about it,” Li Yu’e answered.

“The Executioner, Philip?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

“Mm, he was quite talkative. He liked to share his pain with others. I kept talking to him before you showed up so he wouldn’t lose control of his emotions. He told me how he betrayed the Sacred Hall of Liberty, and how much he missed his brilliant daughter. His daughter used to study at the Alps Institute, but she later thought the Parthenon Temple was more suitable for her…” Li Yu’e explained.

“No wonder! You’re quite impressive to be able to converse with such a wicked man. That’s great, it means you are so kind that you aren’t even willing to hurt a wicked person,” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mo Fan did not know Li Yu’e was trying to keep Executioner Philip busy while she was being used as a bait to lure Mo Fan to him.

She was indeed an extraordinary girl. No wonder she was allowed to stay at the Alps Institute!

“I didn’t know that guy had a daughter, and she was from the Alps Institute…” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

“She’s already dead. Philip watched her die right in front of him,” Li Yu’e said.

“You’ve been here for some time; do you know if anyone has a strong grudge against the school?” Mo Fan asked.

Li Yu’e shook her head.

“What a headache,” Mo Fan sighed helplessly.

“You aren’t familiar with things around here yet, right? I’ll come with you. Amelia has been planting the Snow Lavenders for a long time. There are only a few spots left, the culprit must have attacked her at one of the spots. I can guide you to those places, and you might find something useful,” Li Yu’e said.

“Was she your friend?” Mo Fan asked.

“She was like a little teacher to me. She taught me how to plant flowers while I shared things about the outside world with her. She was quite a fan of my stories,” Li Yu’e answered.

“Oh, I see…” Mo Fan noticed the hint of sorrow in Li Yu’e’s smile. Perhaps she had gotten used to facing everything calmly, so Mo Fan did notice her grief in the first place.

——

Li Yu’e led Mo Fan to the mountains to the west. However, they did not go far when the patrolling Maga with thick brows showed up with a bunch of other Magas!

Mo Fan only learned that the woman with thick brows was the captain of the patrolling squad. Her name was Jessie. Her facial features were a little rough, and she did not have a great temper, either!

“What are you trying to do, bringing so many people here? Do you really think I’m responsible for it?” Mo Fan asked with a confused look when he saw the patrol surrounding him.

“It’s none of your business,” Jessie went up to Mo Fan and suddenly reached out her hand to grab Li Yu’e firmly.

Jessie was engulfed by a dark aura. When her hand touched Li Yu’e, dark chains immediately wrapped around her, leaving her unable to move.

Mo Fan was startled. He looked at Li Yu’e, who looked all confused. She clearly had no idea what was going on.

“Hold it, hold it, why are you doing this to her?” Mo Fan demanded.

“We found traces of Amelia’s blood on her. Headmistress Perry has ordered us to take her away for interrogation. As I said, it’s none of your business,” Jessie said arrogantly.

“Are you kidding me? How is she even related to the incident?” Mo Fan said.

“We’ll decide once we interrogate her! Take her!” Jessie ordered the patrolling Magas.

“You are not taking her away until you give me a clear explanation! Why are you treating her like she is the culprit!?” Mo Fan stood in front of Li Yu’e, stopping the patrolling Magas in their path.

Chapter 1484 The Unreasonable Headmistress

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Come with me the; we’ll talk after meeting with Headmistress Perry,” Jessie said.

“Free her, she’s not going to run away!” Mo Fan said.

“No way!” Jessie insisted.

“Mo Fan, forget it. I believe they must have a valid reason to confine me,” Li Yu’e shook her head, signaling Mo Fan not to have a conflict with the patrolling Magas.

Mo Fan was infuriated seeing Li Yu’e being taken away like a criminal. Were most women at this Alps Institute nothing but idiots? Li Yu’e was just a Psychic Mage. She might not even be stronger than the girl called Amelia, how could she possibly murder her? Not to mention the impossible task of killing more than a thousand little creatures on the mountain!

Mo Fan had to go with them. The girl had suffered serious injuries in New York. She endured so much pain, and was almost murdered by Philip because of him. He had always been guilty about it, so there was no way he could just sit back and watch now that she was being wrongly accused!

——

When they reached Faerun Castle, Mo Fan noticed that Ceylan and Brianca were not around. Headmistress Perry was sitting on a square rattan chair, staring at Li Yu’e, who was being escorted like a prisoner to her.

Li Yu’e stood there quietly. Her temperament did not shift even when she was being treated like a suspect.

“Envy is truly a terrifying thing. It can rot a person’s heart and control their mind and soul,” Headmistress Perry said to Li Yu’e.

Li Yu’e looked at her without refuting it.

“Headmistress Perry, can you please tell me why you suspect her of being the culprit?” Mo Fan seriously had no idea what was going on.

“It’s none of your business. As a student that has come to our school on exchange, your job is to focus on your studies. The Alps Institute will worry about how to deal with the culprit,” Headmistress Perry said imperiously.

“She’s my friend. How is it none of my business!?” Mo Fan was enraged.

Was this Headmistress Perry brainless, too? She had accused Li Yu’e without any evidence. Was she thinking of making an innocent person the scapegoat to settle the incident?

“You may leave now,” Headmistress Perry said coldly.

“No way!” Mo Fan did not leave. He stood in front of Li Yu’e.

“You might have dominated the World College Tournament, but don’t you forget that you’re nothing to me!” Headmistress Perry suddenly rose to her feet. Her aura rose tremendously!

Mo Fan felt like Headmistress Perry’s figure had suddenly enlarged significantly, crashing onto him like an enormous mountain. He could feel himself trembling. He was struggling to stand straight under the great pressure!

Mo Fan did not think Headmistress Perry would pressure him with her aura. The pressure was even more terrifying than the force of Faerun Waterfall. His legs were shaking so much that he was about to drop to his knees on the ground…

Mo Fan clenched his teeth, forcing him to remain standing. He glared at the unreasonable Headmistress Perry.

Mo Fan had already felt like this Headmistress Perry was far from a good person when he and Brianca told her about the dead bodies on the mountain. The woman was a typical authoritarian without a conscience. She did not really care about the people under her. Her mind was fully occupied with the Casas!

“Mo Fan, just go, the Alps Institute is known for being just. They won’t hurt me,” Li Yu’e blurted out. She panicked a little when he saw Mo Fan struggling to breathe properly under the great pressure.

“She only joined the school a year ago. We don’t know her background and what she’s after. Besides, we also found traces of Amelia’s blood on her. That alone is enough evidence to prove she’s guilty. You are just a student, don’t you dare think you can challenge my authority as the headmistress of the Alps Institute, nor can you question my judgment! If you continue to ignore the rules of the Alps Institute and disrespect us, I shall teach you some manners on behalf of the elders of the Pearl Institute!” Headmistress Perry grunted. Her voice was like a strong hammer blow in Mo Fan’s mind, making him feel dizzy.

“Headmistress Perry, he’s just asking for an explanation. There’s no need to go this far…” a teacher spoke up.

Mo Fan kept holding his ground. He did not back off despite the pressure that Headmistress Perry was applying to him. However, he was already struggling to speak properly.

“The evidence is definite, and the motive is clear. I have always been fair and just, I have never falsely accused anyone! Li Yu’e, your sleeve is stained with Amelia’s blood. She must have been begging you to spare her life prior to her death, but you didn’t. You brushed her hand away and killed her in such a brutal way, but the blood that was left on your sleeves has allowed us to see who you truly are!” Headmistress Perry said angrily.

Li Yu’e slowly raised her hand. She stared at a dark blood mark on her sleeve.

She had no idea when her sleeve was stained with the blood…

“You thought your plan was perfect, but you didn’t expect our school has a blood-tracking magic artifact. It can track anything that was stained with fresh blood, even if you’ve already washed it off. No one can get away after committing such an unforgivable crime at the Alps Institute! You will be punished accordingly!” Headmistress Perry declared, pointing at Li Yu’e.

Li Yu’e looked back at Headmistress Perry, not avoiding the woman’s gaze.

She did not explain herself, not even a single word. She knew from Headmistress Perry’s attitude that no matter what she said, the woman would still heap the accusations on her. The cunning woman might even use whatever she said against her!

It was meaningless to explain herself when the interrogation was already biased!

“So this is the Alps Institute! Acting unreasonably, forcing an innocent person to be the scapegoat to settle an incident, while the headmistress abuses her power to force an exchange student to submit to her will!” Mo Fan’s eyes flickered with anger.

He was struggling to breathe and speak from the pressure, yet it did not necessarily mean he was going to give up!

“Silence!” Headmistress Perry was enraged. She did not think the kid would still be able to speak and stand still after she fully unleashed her aura!

“You are the one that should shut your mouth up, you old hag whose mouth is full of shit!” Mo Fan cursed at her.

“Mo Fan…” Li Yu’e saw blue veins surfacing on Mo Fan’s body from the pressure he was under. She could also hear his bones cracking.

“I wasn’t able to protect you in New York, and you were seriously injured because of it. This time, I won’t let them harm you. You have my word!” Mo Fan promised Li Yu’e firmly.

Li Yu’e looked at him, a little dazed.

She had been alone for so many years. It was her first time being protected by someone with no ulterior motives. Her heart was filled with a warm feeling…

Chapter 1485 Indoctrinating Mo Fan

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How bold of you to utter such disrespectful words as a student! It seems like the Pearl Institute only taught you how to use magic, but they didn’t teach you how to respect the elderly!” Headmistress Perry took a step forward.

As she landed her foot, Mo Fan immediately heard the loud chime of a bell in his mind. He was in such pain that he felt like his head was about to explode. His thoughts were in such a mess that it was extremely difficult to even think. He barely remembered why he was standing here enduring the great torture in the first place!

Headmistress Perry’s gaze sharpened. She took another step forward. Mo Fan felt like the images around him had shattered into pieces. He was falling endlessly into a bottomless abyss. The sense of falling inflicted enormous fear on him!

Headmistress Perry’s cultivation was devastating. Her two mere steps had shattered Mo Fan’s Will, forcing him to submit to her. He was on the verge of losing consciousness. If he kept enduring the pressure forcibly, he was going to suffer a mental breakdown!

“There are always people like you, who are so full of themselves just because of some mere achievements! I believe Dean Xiao of the Pearl Institute will be very grateful to me. He will thank me for teaching you how to lower your head in humility no matter how strong you are. I have taught you the true way of survival, to assess your capabilities and act accordingly instead of acting recklessly!” Headmistress Perry halted her steps and rebuked coldly.

“Stop… uttering nonsense. Keep going, I’m going to spit on you when you stand in front of me. That’s the only kind of respect you are worthy of!” Mo Fan lifted his gaze. He still had no intention of backing off!

Having extra Elements had granted him a stronger and firmer Will. As long as he did not give up, his body and mind would have no problem enduring the pressure. The pressure from Headmistress Perry was significantly greater than the pressure he had felt from Faerun Waterfall, but it did not necessarily mean he would compromise. The greater the pressure from a stubborn tyrant was, the more tenacious Mo Fan’s relentless Will of the Demon Element was!

Headmistress Perry was enraged and humiliated. Normally, whenever she was rebuking a student, no one ever dared to talk back to her, let alone scold her!

She could not care less anymore. She kept walking toward Mo Fan. The pressure from her continuous steps was overwhelming. Mo Fan immediately felt like the sky was collapsing and the ground was cracking. He felt like he had turned into a dust particle floating endlessly in the universe.

He could no longer feel his body or consciousness. He was as insignificant as a mayfly. He felt like he had lost the meaning of life!

The mind could bear terrifying power. When Mo Fan was caught by Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stare, he had experienced immense torture and pain inflicted on his mind. These attacks not only originated from the pain inflicted on a person’s soul, but the ability to manipulate a person’s sense of time too!

There were different levels of pain. Even the slightest pain would be unbearable if it lasted for a few months, a year, ten years, or a hundred years!

The pressure Mo Fan felt from Headmistress Perry was twisting his sense of time, putting him into an endless loop. It was a never-ending torture where he could not see the sunlight again, the highest level of mental attack. He had experienced it facing the Scorpion Lord Medusa and after jumping into the Dark Abyss!

If it were Mo Fan’s first time wandering in the dark, cold universe like a mayfly, he would soon lose his mind and faint, losing his determination and unyielding spirit. He would completely forget his guilt and promise to Li Yu’e. All he would think of was freeing himself from the torture.

However, after experiencing the stare of Scorpion Lord Medusa, Mo Fan’s will was a lot stronger than before. Otherwise, he would not have had any chance of crossing Faerun Waterfall so easily!

Headmistress Perry’s mental attack was weaker than the Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stare. The stare was so strong that it could make a person deny their own existence and seek their own destruction. Meanwhile, Headmistress Perry’s mental attack could only make her target suffer endlessly…

It was nowhere near enough to overwhelm Mo Fan’s Will!

Mo Fan’s eyes sprang open, lightning bursting out of them. He was using his gaze to tell Headmistress Perry that her self-assumption of her superiority was a meaningless fantasy, too. It was nowhere enough to force him to compromise and submit to her!

“Headmistress Perry!” a teacher blurted out. She could not afford to watch any longer.

Headmistress Perry had unleashed all her aura. It was so strong that some of the patrolling Magas had almost suffocated. One of them with slightly weaker cultivation had even fainted and fallen to the ground.

“Such a weakling, and you call yourself a student of the Alps Institute!?” Headmistress Perry yelled furiously when she saw her student falling to the ground first.

She was targeting the outsider that dared to challenge her authority with the mental attack. She was focusing the attack on him, yet someone other than him had fainted instead. Did she even train hard enough?

She did not stop. If she stopped now, it would mean she had failed to punish the misbehaving student. How could she possibly fail to administer a proper lesson? She could turn the worst students into courteous, well-mannered students…

Headmistress Perry’s eyes were as sharp as the scorching sun. She had started using a Psychic attack!

Mo Fan was no longer floating in the void. The Psychic attack and the enormous pressure had shoved him into an illusionary world that Headmistress Perry had established.

In the illusion, Mo Fan’s thoughts were as naive as a kid. Whenever he uttered something inappropriate, a huge ruler would fall from the sky and smack him…

“Stop it!” A familiar voice appeared as Mo Fan was going to lose himself in the illusion.

Mo Fan woke up from the illusion. He looked at Headmistress Perry in disbelief. His face was soon filled with contempt and disdain.

“You even used your Psychic Magic and placed me in an endless loop. Headmistress Perry, I now realize how you have forced every student to be so well-behaved…” Mo Fan grinned, staring at Headmistress Perry.

“Mo Fan, are you alright?” Professor Li and Professor Zheng quickly went up to Mo Fan.

Headmistress Perry did not withdraw her aura right away. Professor Li and Professor Zheng had to unleash the aura of their Domains to counteract it!

“Let’s calm down, I always believe it’s important for a student to have the right attitude instead of outstanding performance. Your student here might be very impressive in terms of cultivation, but his attitude desperately needs a reform. He will easily go astray if you don’t discipline him strictly. It’s not that much of a problem for an ordinary person to go astray, but he’s a very talented Mage. He will bring nothing but disaster to the world. Consider this a lesson for you, you won’t be leaving my Alps Institute empty-handed,” Headmistress Perry’s tone shifted to placid calm.

Mo Fan was confused about how she was able to change so quickly, as if she was a completely different person. She was acting like she had done it merely for educational purposes!

“Headmistress Perry, I can understand if you try to apply some pressure on my student with your aura, but how could you use the Psychic Element? Did you really just use the Psychic Element on a student? Don’t you know the damage it can cause to a student’s mind?” Professor Li was infuriated.

Even if Mo Fan was being disrespectful, he would at most utter some unpleasant words, yet this Headmistress Perry had to go as far as using magic on him? A Super Mage like her, using the Psychic Element on a student who was only an Advanced Mage?

“I was just teaching him a lesson. I know what I’m doing. It’s what I normally do to students who are too stubborn to admit their wrongs,” Headmistress Perry said.

“Headmistress Perry, your Alps Institute has seriously broadened our eyes. We will never use magic to discipline our students, especially the Psychic Element!” Professor Zheng was angry too.

“Her way of teaching is forcing others to submit to her will and ideas. She is basically crushing a person’s innate character, turning the students into puppets and machinery… no wonder all of you did not have any common sense at all. No wonder you insist on forcing an innocent new student to be the scapegoat! Impressive, you’re so impressive! You describe yourself to be as sacred as the snowy mountain, but you are worse than the latrine pits and broken wells in the city in my eyes. At least they can still water the vegetables, but the vegetables are going to rot if we watered them with your blood!” Mo Fan grunted.

Headmistress Perry’s nose shuddered after hearing the words.

Unforgivable, unforgivable!

This guy had just compared them to the water in latrine pits. They lived on the sacred Alps and were accompanied by the purest snow all the time. They were well respected by the world, and many people were honored to even visit the Alps Institute, yet the guy described them as the water in latrine pits!

Most infuriatingly, the guy had undergone such a strong mental attack, so how was his tongue even more vicious after suffering the attack!?

“Mo Fan, forget it, we are leaving. We will tell the dean everything that happened here!” Professor Zheng lost his temper, but he knew they were in someone else’s territory. It was meaningless to stir any trouble here!

“Using the Psychic Element on students to indoctrinate them? Only your own students can tolerate such nonsense. I would like to ask the World College Institute if it is violating human rights!” Professor Li condemned.

“Do whatever you want, it’s none of our business! Goodbye!” Headmistress Perry said.

Professor Li and Professor Zheng gave Mo Fan a hand when they saw he was unable to walk properly. He was already in such a state, when his mental strength and flesh were stronger than normal people. If it was anyone else, it would most likely turn them into a human vegetable!

It was impossible to heal the damage inflicted on a person’s mind. They could only bring Mo Fan out of there and tell the dean and the school what happened. Headmistress Perry was too strong and powerful. They would not be able to do anything here.

“We can’t leave yet!” Mo Fan stated.

1486 Busybody

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What’s the point of staying here? Don’t even bother meeting force with force; this is her territory, she can say whatever she wants. Don’t worry, we will make her pay for what she did to you!” Professor Li said.

“I can’t leave her here after seeing what kind of a person the woman is!” Mo Fan looked at Li Yu’e.

For some reason, news about Amelia’s death had spread wildly throughout the school. The students would eventually learn the truth. Headmistress Perry could not afford to let the school fall into a panic before the Casas arrived. She had to settle the matter immediately. She used the blood-tracking magic artifact and discovered traces of Amelia’s blood on Li Yu’e.

With the evidence and her first impression of assuming envy was the motive of the murder, she strongly believed Li Yu’e was the murderer. Once she settled the matter and used the remaining few days to suppress the news from spreading any further, she could easily get the situation under control before the Casas arrived!

Headmistress Perry insisted on doing it her way. Li Yu’e was unable to explain where the traces of blood were from. Even if she did not punish Li Yu’e, if the culprit did not show up again, Li Yu’e’s reputation was going to be ruined forever…

Even though Mo Fan was confident that the culprit was going to strike again, he would not allow Li Yu’e to suffer for no reason!

“Headmistress Perry, it’s possible that Li Yu’e’s shirt is stained with Amelia’s blood when she was taking care of the Snow Lavenders. Li Yu’e often helps Amelia with the Snow Lavenders. She might be the suspect, but we can’t just judge her guilty so easily…” Brianca spoke up. She and Heidi had both arrived.

Headmistress Perry glared at Brianca anxiously. It was so quick that no one noticed it.

More people had arrived. Apart from Professor Li, Professor Zheng, Brianca, and Ceylan, a few other teachers with high positions in the school were here, too. The students had gathered in a few circles. Headmistress Perry could not afford to act ruthlessly in front of them.

“I never said she was the culprit. I was just going to interrogate her intensely. If she’s the murderer, she might panic and admit what she did, but someone kept interfering with it instead!” Headmistress Perry said.

“Did Li Yu’e say anything, then?” Brianca asked.

“She hasn’t said anything yet,” the leader of the patrolling squad, Jessie said.

Mo Fan looked at Li Yu’e. He was relieved that Li Yu’e had not said a word. They might twist her words and use them against her, especially after seeing how Headmistress Perry desperately wanted to get it over with in order to receive the representatives of the Casas!

“Mo Fan was only trying to protect his friend. Why did you attack him?” Brianca asked.

“Attack him? Miss Brianca, I’m afraid that’s a little exaggerating. Feel free to check if he’s injured. If there’s even a little scratch on him, I will apologize to him right away,” Headmistress Perry sniffed.

“I always thought I was considered shameless in this world, but compared to Headmistress Perry, I’m as innocent as a newborn,” Mo Fan mocked her promptly.

Headmistress Perry was like a vicious old hag when there were not many people around. However, her tone and demeanor changed completely when the crowd showed up, as if she was being just and fair.

Brianca had been at the school for many years. How could she not know how Headmistress Perry treated the students that did not obey her? Even though she was not here, she knew Headmistress Perry had used her mental attack on Mo Fan. Judging from Professor Li and Professor Zheng’s attitude, she might have cast an illusion on him, too!

The illusions of the Psychic Element were absolutely terrifying. It was not appropriate to use them on a person with a weak mind. The Magic Association had clearly forbidden Psychic Mages from using it, but not only did Headmistress Perry do so, she was using them on a student!

“If we aren’t sure she’s the murderer, let’s release her first. We’ll ask someone to keep an eye on her if you think she might try and do something. Heidi, Sheryl, you two will be staying with Li Yu’e for the next few days,” Ceylan said. She did not want the situation to worsen any further.

“It’s better to lock her up!” Headmistress Perry insisted.

“That is a little too inhumane. If that’s not enough, we’ll ask her to put on a magic bracelet. We will know where she is at all times, or I can personally keep an eye on her. What does Headmistress Perry think?” Brianca replied evenly.

Headmistress Perry felt like she was about to explode. She had purposely asked the patrolling squad to detain the girl without notifying any teacher so she could get it over with and stop the news from spreading through the school. To her surprise, Mo Fan was able to drag it out until everyone was here!

“Since two of our teachers have insisted, I won’t be unreasonable with it, but I must clarify, if anything happens again, you two will have to bear the responsibility…” Headmistress Perry said.

“If it’s really Li Yu’e, it goes without saying that we will bear the responsibility, but even if she’s not the culprit, as the teachers of the school, we will try our best to find the culprit to guarantee the safety of the students. We have neglected our job by putting the students in danger,” Brianca said.

—

—

Headmistress Perry stormed off in a huff. The patrolling squad was dismissed too, but many students were still talking about Li Yu’e.

Li Yu’e was a new student with an unknown background. They did not know why she had come to the school, not to mention her sensitive relationship with Amelia. After all, the teacher in charge did mention that they only needed one gardener, which meant only one between Amelia and Li Yu’e was going to stay.

Many students assumed Li Yu’e had plotted to take Amelia out. She had purposely killed the little creatures so they might think that someone was getting their revenge at the Alps Institute to make her less suspicious.

It was plausible; if Mo Fan did not know Li Yu’e beforehand, he might even have believed it.

“Thank you,” Li Yu’e went up to Mo Fan. Her eyes were rippling, not as calm as before.

“Any man wouldn’t back off in that situation,” Mo Fan smiled, although it looked terrible.

“How sweet…” Li Yu’e whispered.

“What did you say?” Mo Fan did not hear it clearly.

“The girl that you like must be very happy, if you can already go so far for someone you’ve met by coincidence. I can imagine the things you would do if a person you loved was in the slightest trouble,” Li Yu’e said.

Mo Fan was startled. Xinxia’s face suddenly crossed his mind, and the teary eyes that represented the mixed feelings she had when she was looking at him.

“You are adding some picturesque charm to it, when all I did was being a busybody. You’re indeed a great person to talk to,” Mo Fan replied.

Li Yu’e giggled. Her eyes were clear and pretty, her smile pure and natural.

1487 Unfair Treatmen

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, are you seriously going to let it go like that?” Zhao Manyan said angrily.

“Of course not, she was humiliating me just then. Why don’t you help me and beat that old woman up? Don’t overdo it; loosening her remaining teeth will do,” Mo Fan replied.

“Well… I think we should just forget about it, she’s at the peak of the Super Level,” Zhao Manyan was much too frightened to try anything so rash.

“Then what the hell were you complaining for!?” Mo Fan had enough of Zhao Manyan’s perfect hindsight.

“Why don’t we ask Mu Bai to mix some drugs and put it in her meal…” Zhao Manyan asked softly.

Mo Fan looked at Zhao Manyan blankly and said, “Zhao Manyan, you’re a f**king genius.”

“Hehe, I just can’t stand what she did,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Then can you please go harm the pure innocent girls of this school?” Mo Fan said in a displeased tone.

“Not a problem, I might not be able to help with other things, but that is my area of expertise!” Zhao Manyan combed the fringe in front of his forehead coquettishly.

Mo Fan was not in a good mood. Even though the mental pressure from Headmistress Perry had allowed his mental strength to improve significantly once again and he was very close to achieving the sixth stage, he was annoyed and infuriated by what she had done. There was no way he would let it go so easily!

—

While the two were talking, Mu Bai came into the room. His windbreaker was covered in quite some snow. He spoke without dusting the snow off, “I knew it.”

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan looked at him. They were slightly confused, but had some anticipation at the same time.

Mu Bai was gone for some time. They thought some gorgeous young woman in the Alps Institute had hooked him away, but he was actually busy investigating. Seeing him covered in snow with a stern and helpless expression like he had learned the truth, and the way he blurted out the words as soon as he came in, felt like he was here to save the world!

“You knew who did it?” Mo Fan asked.

“I know why my drug didn’t work,” Mu Bai said seriously.

“Go f**k yourself!”

—

—

It was going to take the Casas another five days to arrive, but to Headmistress Perry’s surprise, they had shifted the trip to an earlier date. Headmistress Perry tried to find an excuse to postpone the visit, but she was told they were already at the bottom of the mountain!

Mo Fan and the others went along to receive the Alps Institute’s new guests. To their discontent, the representatives of the Casas did not have to wear the magic bracelets.

Such obvious discrimination. Mo Fan only found out that Headmistress Perry had not wanted the Pearl Institute to visit them at this time, since they had more important guests to attend to!

“It really feels terrible. Aren’t they only from the biggest renowned clan in Europe? They aren’t necessarily richer than I am!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed, quite displeased.

The Zhao Clan was known at the international level. Every major city had auctions and marketplaces under their name. The Zhao Clan was in charge of many magic resources, but Zhao Manyan had been living like a fuerdai for a long time. Authorities across the world only knew who Zhao Youqian was, they might not even know who Zhao Manyan really was.

Unfortunately, Zhao Manyan was reluctant to mention Zhao Youqian’s name especially after what he had done. He would rather be a mere student and live a free life.

“Yo! Isn’t this… isn’t that Mo Fan? I didn’t think I would be meeting the luckiest person in the world today! This is going to make the visit a lot more interesting!” a tall man with brown-golden hair and an eye-catching hair../style said to Mo Fan in a strange voice.

Mo Fan looked at the guy with a special hair../style. He was slightly amused, apart from feeling a little surprised and disgusted.

“Isn’t this Prince Beny? How unlucky am I to be meeting you here?…” Mo Fan replied.

Prince Beny’s lips twisted. He was clearly not on the same level as Mo Fan when it came to arguing verbally. Mo Fan did not have to protect his image and pretend to be well-educated. He could say anything he wanted, but Prince Beny, as a public figure, would have to mind his words and behavior.

Prince Beny did not say anything in return. He walked away in an aloof manner, but suddenly halted in his tracks when he caught a glimpse of Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan was staring at Prince Beny, too. The two froze on the spot, a strange atmosphere between them.

A few seconds later, they both had utterly disgusted faces.

The others tried their best not to laugh watching them…

Perhaps because they had both read the same fashion magazine, they somehow ended up with the same hair../style. The highlight of the hair../style was clearly the coquettish fringe in front of their foreheads. It was meant to make them look charming, but it felt so awkward seeing both of them with the same hair../style that the snow nearby almost melted.

“Who’s the guy?” a man with an elegant voice asked from the middle of the group. He was wearing a luxurious white coat with golden-blue embroidery and a gentry hat with a decoration that resembled a peacock’s tails fanned in front of his forehead. The man had a handsome face, with distinct facial features.

“Mo Fan, the guy that luckily came in first during the World College Tournament, after beating the petty Egyptians,” Prince Beny answered.

“Oh, that’s interesting,” Herr Casa said.

“Young duke, if I’m not mistaken, you were the strongest participant during the previous tournament,” Headmistress Perry smiled gently.

“That little achievement isn’t worth mentioning, but I do feel like the participants this year weren’t that impressive. I only glimpsed a few matches, but I was quite amused by how the Egyptians were able to dominate the tournament,” Herr Casa said.

“Indeed, allow me to introduce the most brilliant student of our school, Heidi!” Headmistress Perry pointed at Heidi and said, “Heidi, you won’t have to follow the exchange students from now on. Bring the young duke around the school if you have the time.”

Heidi opened her mouth. She was obviously going to say something, but Headmistress Perry immediately gave her a menacing look. She had no choice but to nod.

“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” Herr Casa reached out his hand and looked at Heidi with a smile. He seemed to be more interested in the girl.

Heidi politely responded to the gesture without saying a word.

Ceylan was currently in a very awkward position. Heidi was her student. She initially planned to have Heidi accompany Professor Li and the others. After all, the Pearl Institute had sent Mo Fan, their most talented student, here. It was more appropriate to have Heidi accompany them instead. To her surprise, Headmistress Perry had allocated Heidi to the Casas instead!

“There’s no need to introduce the others. I’m not interested at all. I’m feeling a little tired,” Herr Casa said.

“Oh, alright. Miss Malan, can you bring the young duke and his people to Snow Moon Castle so they can take a rest? I heard the young duke likes smoked venison, we’ve specifically prepared some…” Headmistress Perry said.

Chapter 1488 The Two of You Can Fight Me At Once

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan was so mad that he was about to explode when the guests were brought to Snow Moon Castle.

The Alps Institute was treating the Pearl Institute like they were a bunch of relatives in need. Not only did the people of the Alps Institute dislike them, they had to obey some unreasonable rules, too! Meanwhile, the Alps Institute was treating the Casas like their ancestors. They did not think too much about how the Alps Institute had treated them, but they were very displeased after seeing the different level of treatment!

“The guy is the successor of the most powerful renowned clan in Europe. He’s even accompanied by Prince Beny. Why can’t you recognize the difference between you and him? Why would you even think you are being mistreated?” Shi Junsheng said.

“Man, you must be a slave in your previous life! Our Pearl Institute is the second most reputable school in China, and we even came in first in the World College Tournament. There’s no way our status is lower than a renowned clan! Aren’t you ashamed to speak for the others after what Headmistress Perry did to us? Don’t even say you are from the Pearl Institute, you’re nothing but a disgrace to us!” Zhao Manyan grunted in reply.

“Did I say anything wrong? Stop bringing up how you came in first in the World College Tournament. You might think of it as a glory, but it’s nothing worth mentioning in the eyes of the others. The Casas own the richest ore veins in Europe. They are in control of the magic resources for the entire continent!

“They are also one of the richest renowned clans. They have money, power, and influence. They can bring the Alps Institute huge funding with just a few words. What do you two have? You keep mentioning how you have come first in the World College Tournament, but what will they get in return from serving you nicely?” Shi Junsheng retorted.

“Shi Junsheng, I don’t agree with you. It’s fine if they want to build a relationship with the Casas by fawning upon them, but we are representing the Pearl Institute. They shouldn’t treat us like we are inferior to the others on formal occasions and in public. The magic bracelets, the meat, the arrangement of seats, and allocating Ceylan and Heidi, who are supposed to stay with us for the exchange, to the Casas without even notifying us…” Li Ximei could not stand it any further.

“Ximei is right, we might not be able to bring them any benefits, but since we are from a magic school in China, they have no reason to treat us like we are inferior to a renowned clan!” Professor Zheng said.

“Is it because Mo Fan offended their headmistress!?” Shi Junsheng wondered aloud.

“Professor Li, will beating up a person from the same school receive heavy punishment?” Mo Fan asked thinly.

“Of course, but only if someone sees it…” Professor Li said.

Shi Junsheng’s expression shifted. He was well aware of Mo Fan’s reputation in the school; he did not think twice of scolding a Councilman, beating the crap out of a government official, or students. He even dared to provoke the teachers! Professor Li clearly indicated that he was going to turn a blind eye to this.

Shi Junsheng no longer dared to sneer at them!

“That Herr Casa is pretty arrogant. What did he mean by there’s no need to introduce the others? It’s not like I’m interested in him either.” Mu Bai was quite proud. He could not stand the cynical remark.

“Herr Casa is the youngest Super Mage in Europe. You guys are young and restless. It’s fine to trouble Prince Beny, but I advise you to stay away from Herr Casa. Even the three of you together won’t be able to take him on,” Professor Zheng said seriously.

“Super…Super Level?” Zhao Manyan gasped.

“He doesn’t look that much older than us. How is he a Super Mage already?” Mu Bai was stunned too.

That’s unbelievable! Wasn’t every Super Mage in the world at least forty years old!?

“Mo Fan, what are you thinking? Why didn’t you say anything? It’s rare to see you so quiet, knowing your temper. Don’t tell me you’re scared of that Headmistress Perry,” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Scared my ass, I have seen lots of things that are scarier than her. I was wondering who the culprit was. Why hasn’t she made a move in the past few days?” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan was not hoping to see someone fall victim to the culprit. However, the first act she made clearly indicated that she was not the kind that would vanish immediately once her plan worked out. If he did not find the culprit, Li Yu’e would remain the suspect!

She was quite fond of the place and was thinking of staying here for good. Mo Fan did not want the other students to keep pointing their fingers at her, nor did he want her to be isolated.

Since his thoughts were preoccupied with that matter, he was not that concerned with Herr Casa and Prince Beny.

—

The next day after breakfast, Prince Beny and Herr Casa suggested visiting the dueling ground. The others followed.

“Headmistress Perry, why don’t we set up a bet? You do know I have some resources in my hands. I believe it’s better to allocate it to the school that impresses me the most. I have brought two henchmen with me. If any of your students can defeat them, I will have more confidence in the Alps Institute’s strength,” Herr Casa said.

“I don’t really agree with the method, since it’s meant to be a charitable act. If you are willing to help us, I will gladly accept it on behalf of the students. If you aren’t willing to help, it only means the kids aren’t blessed enough… but, since the young duke is eager to see the Alps Institute’s strength, I have no reason to turn it down!” Headmistress Perry replied.

Herr Casa grinned. She had agreed to it in the end. Why did she even bother to talk so much in the first place?

The two henchmen of the Casas stepped forward. They were both quite young, most likely the elites in the clan. They would be considered great talents in most schools, but in the Casas, in front of the young Duke Herr Casa, they were just some henchmen.

“Don’t let me down, and don’t let Headmistress Perry down, either,’ Herr Casa said.

The two henchmen nodded. They stood still in silence, waiting for the Alps Institute to decide on their candidate.

“Isn’t the Pearl Institute here too? Since it’s a friendly duel, how could we leave the Pearl Institute out? Why don’t we have the Pearl Institute join in the bet, too?” Prince Beny said.

“We won’t be embarrassing ourselves,” Professor Zheng said modestly.

“Indeed, you guys were lucky to win the title. You are only going to come to grief against the powerful Alps Institute and the Casas,” Prince Beny added.

Mo Fan turned and looked at Prince Beny. “Are you trying to make the headlines again?”

Prince Beny was quite afraid of Mo Fan. The young man was nothing but a lunatic; there was nothing he did not dare to do!

“Humph, it’s meaningless to pick on someone who’s not a Mage. Why don’t you join the duel if you think you’re so good? If you win, we shall offer some resources for the new students of your Pearl Institute,” Prince Beny said.

Professor Li came up to Mo Fan while he was hesitating. He said softly, “Mo Fan, just play along and ask their Royal Spanish Naval Academy to organize an exchange with our school. Our Pearl Institute isn’t as impressive as the Royal Spanish Naval Academy when it comes to naval battles. Now that the shoreline is being invaded by the sea monsters, we really need their advanced tactics and their information about the sea monsters.”

“For the sake of our country?” Mo Fan said.

“Yes, beat the crap out of them for the sake of our country!” Professor Li agreed.

“…” Mo Fan was also displeased by Casas attitudes. As a member of the Pearl Institute, he could bully the students of his school recklessly and provoke his teachers, but he would not allow an outsider to do the same thing!

Besides, he was still holding a strong grudge against Headmistress Perry from the unfair treatment. He could settle both debts at the same time!

“Since both of you are having a bet, allow me to contribute to the pool, too. Since the Pearl Institute is currently ranked first in the world, I wouldn’t want to bully you guys. Both the Alps Institute and the Casas can send a strong representative. If the two of you can last for ten minutes by teaming up, consider it a win, and I’ll give you the champion badge of the World College Tournament,” Mo Fan said.

Everyone immediately put their attention on Mo Fan upon hearing his words.

Professor Li was given quite a fright too. His forehead broke out in a sweat. He blurted out softly, “I told you to earn some respect for us, not to stir up trouble!”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Herr Casa applauded as if he was impressed by Mo Fan’s speech. He finally faced Mo Fan directly and said, “Now that’s how the winner of the World College Tournament should be. Since the resources are assigned for charitable acts every year as a way for our family to contribute to society, if you win the duel, I shall donate double the resources to your school.”

It was important for a renowned clan to maintain its public image, so the amount of resources they usually allocated for charity was fairly huge. It greatly exceeded the amount of resources that the renowned clans in China donated to the schools. How brilliant was it to get a foreigner to donate to their schools for the sake of his juniors, not to mention the donation would be done under his name!

“If you win, I shall double my donations too. I’m afraid that someone isn’t willing to give up their champion badge so easily, and the world is going to blame us for taking someone else’s beloved possession,” Prince Beny chimed in.

“You won’t have to double the donations. It’s fine if the Royal Spanish Naval Academy is willing to organize an exchange with our school,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s unfair, you are going to take benefits from both sides with just a single badge?”

“I have one with me, too,” Zhao Manyan promptly spoke up.

“Very well, the two badges are enough to be the stake.”

“What about the Alps?” Mo Fan asked.

“We aren’t a fan of this. You can add the stakes as you wish,” Headmistress Perry said.

“It’s fine if you don’t like betting, but if you lose, may I ask you to act more humbly when the students of the Pearl Institute are here for an exchange? You will not force them to wear the magic bracelets, and will prepare meat for them… don’t lose the duel and still think highly of yourself!” Mo Fan said to Headmistress Perry.

Headmistress Perry hated Mo Fan’s guts. How could she not be enraged by his words!?

“Humph, taking on two opponents at once, you’ve seriously overestimated your own capabilities. I wouldn’t dare to utter such nonsense if I were you,” Headmistress Perry said.

“Headmistress Perry, don’t worry about it. Isn’t it amusing to watch a clown putting up a show for us!?” Prince Beny said.

Herr Casa smiled too, amused at how naive and idiotic Mo Fan was. He would be impressed if Mo Fan could last for ten rounds against his henchman, let alone having to defeat both his opponents in less than ten minutes.

However, since the guy was so eager to earn some attention, he was more than willing to trample the guy fiercely!

Chapter 1489 Fiery Tyrant!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Do you seriously think you can take on us two at the same time? You might not even stand a chance against me alone,” Heidi walked past Mo Fan and looked at him in the eyes.

Mo Fan looked at Heidi and said with a smile, “I’m the kind of person that likes some attention! But don’t you worry, I never bother doing something that I can’t do.”

“Are you kidding me? Why would I be worried about you?” Heidi shot back coldly, and headed to the other side of the dueling ground.

Mo Fan stood in the center. In front of him was the Queen of Dimensions, Heidi. Her Dimensional Magic could clearly pose a great threat to him.

Heidi did not understand where Mo Fan had gotten the confidence to fight them both at the same time from. The Casas’ henchman was not just a mere decoration. Heidi could tell that the man’s strength was more or less on par with hers.

Perhaps some people were truly reckless enough to dare offend anyone and say any words as they pleased. Heidi strongly believed Mo Fan was going to get himself killed!

—

“Make sure you record it, it’s a battle for the dignity of our Pearl Institute,” Professor Zheng said to Shi Junsheng.

Shi Junsheng smacked his lips and murmured, “More like the battle of making a fool of himself. We already saw the fight between him and Heidi the other day, and now he has to worry about an expert from the Casas, too…”

“Just do as I say, what’s with all the nonsense!?” Professor Zheng harrumphed coldly with a displeased look.

Shi Junsheng quickly forced a smile. He glanced at Mo Fan and muttered something under his breath as he began to record…

—

Heidi was standing around a hundred and fifty meters in front of Mo Fan, while the Casas’ henchman was around a hundred and fifty meters behind him. Headmistress Perry was reluctant to waste any more time on the farce. She declared the start of the battle without giving them any time for preparations.

“I shall secure the advantage by striking preemptively!” Heidi did not want to fight the unfair battle, she just wanted to get it done as soon as possible. Her Sound Element broke the silence of the place and targeted Mo Fan’s mind directly. She did not want to give the man any chance to use his magic.

Sound Disturbance!

Even though it was only the Basic Spell of the Sound Element, it was extremely useful regardless of the target’s cultivation level. It disrupted the opponent’s tempo when channeling magic, securing a huge advantage for the caster!

Heidi was the first to strike, using her Sound Magic to disturb Mo Fan, making it difficult for him to use his magic.

Mo Fan stood still while the Sound Disturbance was making noise in his mind. He slowly closed his eyes, as if he was enjoying some music.

The Sound Disturbance was noisy, like the shrieks of demons or loud clanks and crashes. The target might even hear strange bewitching words, making it difficult to focus. It would severely slow down the target’s channeling speed and raise the difficulty of joining the Stars. It was different from the Psychic Element’s Psychic Impact, which aimed to break the connections between the Stars right away…

Mo Fan had to admit that Faerun Waterfall was indeed a very useful trial. It had improved Mo Fan’s resistance toward the Sound Element significantly, and together with the mental attack from Headmistress Perry, Mo Fan’s mental resistance had improved by a huge margin!

“Sound Disturbance of this level is no longer effective against me!” Mo Fan suddenly opened his eyes. They were oddly black; they even reflected a dark glow into Heidi’s eyes.

Heidi saw the calm look in Mo Fan’s eyes. She was quite surprised at how Mo Fan’s mental strength had improved by so much in just a few days.

“Giant’s Stomp!” Heidi made her move again. This time, she decisively used the Space Magic instead.

The Giant’s Stomp was a modification of the Space Element’s Intermediate Spell. An outline resembling the huge foot of a giant appeared above Mo Fan. Snow floating in the air outlined the force there!

The force suddenly descended heavily, like an invisible giant stomping his foot. The thin layer of snow covering the dueling ground collapsed and scattered instantly. Mo Fan seemed to remain at the same spot as the ground collapsed. Some of the people thought he had disappeared with the collapsed ground.

Heidi could not find Mo Fan, yet she heard something vibrating vigorously close to her while the temperature rose rapidly.

“You were controlling water during the last fight at the waterfall, so I wasn’t able to use my Fire Magic. This time, I shall let you witness the true strength of my Fire Element!” Mo Fan showed up twenty meters behind Heidi out of nowhere.

Heidi quickly turned around, her eyes emitting strong rays that stabbed at Mo Fan like thousands of swords.

It was a Will attack. Mo Fan’s Will was not strong enough to achieve such a feat. It was deadlier than many Advanced Spells!

Mo Fan seemed fearless. He roared loudly, “Break!”

Three different Soul-grade Flames appeared simultaneously around Mo Fan while the faint silhouette of Flame Belle Empress extended from his back, cloaking Mo Fan in a burning outfit, like an armored mantle. The Fire Magic in the area surged toward Mo Fan. The thin layer of snow within a kilometer instantly vaporized!

Three Soul-grade Flames meant three different Domains. When a Domain was strong enough, it could greatly suppress the opponent’s mind. A single Domain might not be strong enough to affect Heidi’s Will, but when three imperious Fire Domains were stacked on top of one another, it was strong enough to shatter even her Will!

Heidi immediately felt like she had fallen into a furnace as his burning roar struck. Her skin started to blister from the heat, while her blood dried up immediately.

Heidi was a little intimidated, and her Will weakened greatly. The swords that she had Summoned with her Will dissipated greatly. The remaining Will did land on Mo Fan, but it was nowhere enough to break through Mo Fan’s fierce flames.

“I can definitely use some practice!” Mo Fan shouted wildly.

The Meteor Scarlet had already taken form, meaning that Mo Fan was finally able to utilize the true strength of the three Soul-grade Flames. Mo Fan was not afraid of facing Mu Xumian, who was a Super Mage, back in the little town. Why would he be afraid of two peak Advanced Mages?

Even if they could pose a threat to a Super Mage by joining hands, Mo Fan would have no problem taking them on at once!

“Control!” Mo Fan clenched his fists. The brown Calamity Fire rose like a tiny but fierce volcano. Its flames spread across half the dueling ground.

The Calamity Fire gave Mo Fan an insane amount of control over the Fire Magic!

The Calamity Fire’s strength was five times that of normal fire. It might not be as violent as the Lightning Tyrant that was able to amplify the Lightning Element sixfold, or any other Soul-grade Flame with the same level of amplification as the Lightning Tyrant, but the Calamity Fire’s true strength was in its extraordinary control over Fire Magic. The magic particles were extremely obedient to its orders, making him able to cast Fire Spells in all forms!

Mo Fan’s control over the Fire Element and his ability to transform Fire Spells was comparable to a Super Mage when under the effects of the Calamity Fire while he was possessed by Flame Belle Empress. The Fire Magic would turn into soldiers fighting for their emperor, allowing Mo Fan to utilize the Fire Magic freely during a battle!

It was the greatest strength of the Calamity Fire!

“Feral Ardent!”

The Ardent Sunset was 4.5 times stronger than normal fire. Its damage amplification was normal among the Soul-grade Fire Seeds, but Mo Fan never thought the Ardent Sunset was weak, as its true strength was its ability to burn vigorously!

It was the bane of insect-type creatures. Not only would its flames set the shells and skins of an insect on fire immediately, the flames would continue to grow stronger as they burned!

When the coverage of the flames was twice its initial area, its damage would double, too!

Therefore, both the Sandstorm Demon Locusts and the Blue Moths were fuel to the Ardent Sunset when they clumped together. Their numbers only allowed the flames to spread further and quicker. When the Ardent Sunset was burning ten times, eleven times, twelve times, or stronger than normal fire, how could those disastrous insects that were so deadly in numbers possibly live for more than a second before it?

It was the nature of the Ardent Sunset, the ability to spread from a small portion of the sky toward the horizon. Mo Fan had yet to discover the limit of the Ardent Sunset’s strength!

“Meteor Spread!”

The last Domain was the Meteor Scarlet!

The Meteor Scarlet’s damage was 5.5 times that of ordinary fire. Its temperature was extremely high, and its damage was very close to Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant.

Since Mo Fan had claimed it when it was still a Primitive Soul-grade Flame, the Domain it refined and the effects of its flames were perfectly compatible with the Calamity Fire and the Ardent Sunset!

The longer its flames traveled, the greater their spread was. Both the Sky-Flame Funeral and Fiery Fist were projectiles, so their area would significantly increase during their flight, making it impossible to dodge them!

Obviously, if the three Soul-grade Flames were given to three different people, they were only slightly above average. They were not really that remarkable…

However, when the three Soul-grade Flames were gathered on the same person, it was terrifying for even Mo Fan to estimate the damage of his spell when the effects of the Soul-grade Flames were combined!

Imagine the Sky-Flame Funeral falling from high up in the sky. As the flames burned through the air, the spell’s initial coverage of two hundred meters square would eventually increase to four hundred meters square!

The bigger the coverage, the greater the damage of the spell under the effects of the three Soul-grade Flames, especially the Feral Ardent effect from the Ardent Sunset. A single casting of Sky-Flame Funeral could easily end up as a spectacular burning swamp once it landed on the ground!

Mo Fan had been spending a lot of time experimenting on how the three Soul-grade Flames could work together effectively. He had finally achieved some satisfying results lately. Why wouldn’t he let these people have a taste of the Fiery Tyrant?

Chapter 1490 Fiery Dragon Strike

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I did say ten minutes, but I will be impressed if you can endure this punch of mine!” Mo Fan proclaimed imperiously.

Heidi did not dare get too close to Mo Fan under the pressure of the three Domains. She quickly blinked to the other side of the dueling ground, around two hundred meters away from Mo Fan. The pressure from the flames was significantly less there.

“I realize you don’t really have anything impressive, apart from your way of underestimating others!” Herr Casa was able to hear Mo Fan’s arrogant words clearly since he was seated among the spectators.

On the other hand, the henchman of the Casas was not as disdainful as Herr Casa. It was difficult to imagine anyone with three Soul-grade Flames and three Domains, all perfectly compatible with one another. Normally, an ordinary Mage could only hold a single Soul-grade Elemental Seed… if that!

The powerful aura of the flames was as intimidating as a roaring furnace. The henchman from the Casas had a grim face. He did not dare underestimate his opponent!

“Fiery Swamp!” Mo Fan’s fist was engulfed by terrifying flames. He suddenly fell to one knee and slammed his fist on the ground!

Flames burst into the air and surrounded Mo Fan like a dazzling red burning swamp. Tongues of fire no longer sprouted randomly, as all the Fire Magic had gathered at the swamp. The fiery swamp was burning heartily, turning Mo Fan into a king of flames. Even his eyes were emitting a blazing light!

“Oh, Mo Fan is getting serious!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Zhao Manyan had seen this before. It was the move that Mo Fan had used to knock the Ruler-level creature flying!

“Does this mean he wasn’t using his full strength against Heidi?” Li Ximei’s eyes glittered.

“Not really… but back then, he was worn out mentally from passing through Faerun Waterfall, while Heidi was meditating in the cave. Mo Fan was clearly at a disadvantage when the battle broke out between them. Besides, Heidi was controlling the waterfall, meaning that Mo Fan’s Fire Element was a lot weaker,” Zhao Manyan replied.

Headmistress Perry turned up her nose when she heard the words. What Mo Fan did was only good for appearances; who was going to give him so much time to ready a spell in a true battle of life and death?

Heidi and the henchman of the Casas were holding their positions only because they were eager to see how powerful the arrogant man’s spell was going to be!

—

“You two are being too full of yourselves to not interrupt my spell!” Mo Fan grinned. Even his disdainful grin was spreading raging flames.

“Rise!” He waved the fist that was not touching the ground to the sky. The fiery swamp began to tremble, and scorching lava scattered in the air as a spectacular fiery dragon rose from the middle of it. The dragon soared into the sky, gathering an enormous layer of blazing red fire in the clear sky!

“This…” The henchman from the Casas was stunned upon seeing this.

The wild fiery dragon could easily break through his defense. Why didn’t the guy aim the spell at them instead?

The fiery dragon soared into the sky. Everyone raised their heads and looked at its spectacular body… at which point, the fiery dragon suddenly shattered, and poured down like a meteor shower!

“It’s growing bigger!” Heidi stared up in astonishment. She realized the whole dueling ground was within the area of the meteorites. The flames burned through the air, spreading further out while growing even hotter!

“Crap!” the henchman of the Casas blurted out.

The same thought crossed Heidi’s mind. The blazing flames pouring down from the sky were utterly terrifying. This was already comparable to a Super Spell. She did not expect a mere Advanced Mage to possess such an extraordinary control over the Fire Element!

They had set up their defense with everything they had. The Casa’s henchman and Heidi had no choice but to resist the flames together!

The fiery dragons slammed into the ground. Flames exploded across the dueling ground, devouring everything within five hundred meters of the impact point. The onlookers could still see the enormous body of the fiery dragon rolling amid the flames. The light the flames produced lit up the whole area like day. The whole Alps Institute was dyed red, adding enough heat to the icy air to melt the snow!

—

The flames lasted for quite some time. Headmistress Perry rose to her feet and stared at the sea of flames. Her mouth was gaping open.

Herr Casa was taken by surprise by the scene before him, too. It took him quite some time to recover from his astonishment.

—

The flames were still burning. Mo Fan, still engulfed in three different Soul-grade Flames walked out from the sea of flames and headed to the other side.

The enormous flames split into half and opened up a path for him…

The dazzling flames slowly dissipated under his control. They had wrought utter destruction upon the place. The dueling ground built with the stone of the icy mountains had been burned to ashes.

“I believe we are done here,” Mo Fan looked into the flames and stared at the figure that was on the verge of collapsing.

The henchman from the Casas had already fainted, and was lying on the ground. His defense had been destroyed by the flames. He was severely dehydrated at this point.

Heidi was in better condition. She had yet to fall unconscious, but her eyes no longer had the sharp sapphire-blue glow. She was looking at Mo Fan in confusion and disbelief.

“So this is your true strength?” Heidi watched Mo Fan as he slowly approached her through the flames.

“More or less, but it’s extremely difficult to execute the move. I already said that the stupidest thing you two did was giving me the chance to cast as I pleased.” The flames covering Mo Fan like a mantle slowly dissipated, revealing his initial appearance.

The Soul Shadow of Flame Belle Empress had vanished too. She had reclaimed her youthful appearance, and was lying on Mo Fan’s head, as if she was enjoying this.

Heidi glanced at Little Flame Belle with a wry smile.

Heidi had actually been quite intrigued after meeting Mo Fan at the waterfall, where she learned there was someone who was evenly matched with her. If the guy had not seen something he was not supposed to, she would have been very excited; it had been a long time since she had fought a serious duel!

To her surprise, this guy had not used his full strength during their first fight. When he thoroughly unleashed his flames, it was like a dragon rising into the sky from a deep abyss, revealing an intimidating, enormous power that contained a formidable strength…

1491 A Capable Poser

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s…it’s over?” Li Ximei was so shocked that her mouth was hanging open.

Professor Li and Professor Zheng finally collected their thoughts. In addition to the joy of witnessing Mo Fan winning the duel, they were also greatly astounded by Mo Fan’s strength.

Those flames were clearly on par with the level of a Super Spell! Even they had to admit that the Pearl Institute was fortunate enough to have the monstrous Mo Fan as their student…

“You’re a madman!” Zhao Manyan immediately raised his thumb after Mo Fan returned. He subconsciously glanced at the old hag, Headmistress Perry.

A moment ago, Headmistress Perry was busy proclaiming how brilliant the students of her school were, but in the end, her brightest student was taught a great lesson by Mo Fan’s fiery dragon. She might still be standing, but she was no longer fit for battle. She was going to lose quickly if Mo Fan kept attacking. There was no point in continuing the duel!

“Oh Mo Fan, didn’t I tell you to preserve your strength? You were up against the Alps Institute and the Casas, you should really have given them some face. Our country has always been respectful. Next time, you should really be mindful of our foreign friends’ dignity, do you understand?” Professor Li said with a big wide smile.

They were finally able to get their revenge!

Professor Li was utterly pleased. He had the urge to ask his granddaughter to hook up with Mo Fan, even if she ended up being his concubine. He had never seen any young man so pleasing to him; he was such a capable poser!

Professor Zheng was not as blatant. He said calmly, “On behalf of the Pearl Institute, I thank you for the generous gifts.”

“It’s only some resources. Us Casas have always been generous with our donations,” Herr Casa responded flatly, his face expressionless.

Even though the amount of resources was nothing for the Casas, he was still giving money away to the Pearl Institute for nothing in return. Any person was going to feel it was a pity. He also had to come up with an excuse to explain this to the elders of the clan. He could not possibly tell them he had given the resources to the Pearl Institute because he lost a bet, right?

“Well… regarding what we agreed on, I’ll have to discuss it with the elders first…” Prince Beny was left in an awkward situation… again!

Prince Beny was different from Herr Casa. Even though he was a prince and Herr Casa was only a duke, their status still greatly differed. Prince Beny was only a public figure representing the royal family of Spain. He did not actually have any real authority, nor did he have any power. He was just acting high and mighty to remind the public that the royal family still existed.

Prince Beny did not really have any real power. How could he possibly convince the Royal Naval Academy to agree to the Pearl Institute’s request?

The young duke, Herr Casa, was different. His talents meant he would be an important pillar of the clan in the future. He did indeed have great authority, in addition to the outstanding status of the Casas in Europe. In fact, the renowned clan’s reputation clearly exceeded that of Spain’s royal family. As a result, Prince Beny was more like Herr Casa’s subordinate!

“Little Benny, you shouldn’t boast so much if you can’t fulfill your own promise. You should learn from me. I’m a man of my word, and I usually go above and beyond,” Mo Fan said with a smile.

Prince Beny hated Mo Fan’s guts. He was on the verge of losing his temper when he heard Mo Fan’s words.

Unfortunately, he could not change the fact that he had lost the bet miserably. He looked at Headmistress Perry and grunted in displeasure, “Headmistress Perry, you should have sent your best student instead!”

Miss Ceylan was treating Heidi’s injuries at the side. Heidi’s eyes flickered angrily when she heard his words.

Heidi also had a formidable background. If she was not currently a student of the Alps Institute, she would not have to go easy on Prince Beny or Herr Casa!

“Heidi, mind yourself,” Miss Ceylan glanced at Heidi.

“Yes, teacher.” Heidi immediately withdrew her Will.

“Losing isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially for you,” Ceylan said seriously.

Ceylan was not surprised by the outcome at all. She already knew Mo Fan had not used his full strength during the fight at the waterfall. She was looking forward to seeing the duel between the two young talents, but she did not expect it would end so quickly!

“Teacher, I can beat him!” Heidi declared.

“Yes, you can beat him, but that’s not really you. A Dimensional Mage who can’t even control her heart is no different than a demon creature killing recklessly,” Ceylan replied.

Heidi fell silent.

“You have incredible talents and great potential that easily outmatch anyone, including me. I didn’t ask you to train at the Alps Institute because I wanted you to prove that you are better than anyone. You must first learn to defeat yourself first. Dimensional Magic has no limit to its power, but without a firm heart, you will stay a weakling,” Ceylan stated.

“Miss Ceylan, when will I be able to face everything calmly like you?” Heidi asked ruefully.

Ceylan was always a strict but patient teacher. Heidi had learned a lot from her.

Ceylan was a little lost in her thoughts after hearing the question, as if reminded of something sad. She answered with a wry smile, “I was actually more ruthless than you in the past.”

“Teacher, what happened to the student that secretly asked you for advice?” Heidi asked. She knew her teacher had recalled something after seeing her reaction.

Ceylan shook her head. She did not want to share what was on her mind. She instead told Heidi, “I think it’s time for you to train yourself in the outside world.”

—

The Casas who were planning to show off their strength through the duel felt uneasy the whole day. Herr Casa briefly went on a tour around the Alps Institute before leaving with his men to take a rest.

Headmistress Perry was extremely displeased by events. How could she possibly discuss important business with Herr Casa if he was in such a bad mood?

Headmistress Perry had the urge to drive Mo Fan out of the school. Never had any student given her such a huge headache. She wondered what the Dean was thinking, inviting the Pearl Institute over at this time. The Dean had done nothing but bring her trouble!

Chapter 1492 The Tricky Poison and Curse

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What is Herr Casa even thinking? Why is he still hesitating to cooperate with us? Isn’t he aware of the current situation!?” Headmistress Perry said.

Edith stood to the side after brewing a cup of tea for Headmistress Perry. She did not dare to make a sound.

Headmistress Perry walked back and forth irritably. Some time later, a student came and told Edith that dinner was ready. Edith nodded and washed the cup of tea. She was about to talk to Headmistress Perry when another person showed up in a hurry. It was Sheryl, who had been appointed to accompany the Casas.

Heidi was Ceylan’s student, while Edith was Headmistress Perry’s protege. Sheryl was Brianca’s student. They were the top three students of the school, and they all played an important role there. When the Pearl Institute came to visit the school as the winner of the World College Tournament, the three were in charge of receiving and accompanying their guests.

“What is it now?” Edith asked.

“The… the young duke has fallen sick,” Sheryl said in a panicked tone.

“Sick? He grew up close to the Alps, it’s unlikely that he’s unaccustomed to the weather. Why would he fall sick all of a sudden?” Headmistress Perry began to panic.

Trouble just kept coming. They had yet to reach a deal regarding their cooperation, and now Herr Casa had fallen ill!

—

Headmistress Perry, Edith, Ceylan, Heidi, and the others immediately headed to Herr Casa’s room. When they arrived, the four henchmen of the Casas were guarding the entrance with hostile faces. They did not allow anyone to go inside, including Headmistress Perry!

“I’m a Healer, there’s no reason to stop me from taking a look at him, right?” Ceylan asked.

“Mm, come with me,” a henchman in a red outfit allowed. He was likely the strongest of the four, probably as strong as some of the reputable teachers at the Alps Institute!

The man had been standing with the other servants all along, so Headmistress Perry assumed he was just a normal henchman. She finally realized how strong the man was when he started to display some hostility toward them!

Ceylan went into Herr Casa’s room. The place was in a great mess. The expensive antiques were smashed on the floor. Even the bed that Herr Casa was lying on was messy. A woman in her thirties was slowly cleaning up the mess, not daring to make a sound.

Ceylan glanced at the unconscious Herr Casa. She was left speechless when she noticed the obvious black veins along Herr Casa’s neck.

“I’ve already notified the clan; our elder will be here soon. If the young duke is fine, the Casas will no longer have anything to do with the Alps Institute, but if anything happens to the young duke, the whole Alps Institute will be going down with him!” the henchman said angrily.

“Who did he come into contact with?” Ceylan asked sternly, totally ignoring the henchman’s threatening words.

“No one else, apart from your people,” the henchman said.

“How did you not notice anything if you are with him at all times?” Ceylan asked.

“What did you mean by that? Do you think we would hurt our young master?” the henchman grunted.

“It’s not something we would do, either! Besides, we need the young duke’s support! There’s no reason for us to set him up. It’s a very complicated combination of Poison and Curse magic! If you keep being suspicious of us and don’t tell us everything, it will be very difficult for me to save his life!” Ceylan stated.

“Humph!” the old henchman harrumphed coldly, but his rationality told him that he still needed the Healer’s help to ease Herr Casa’s pain…

—

Ceylan came out of the room with a grim face.

Headmistress Perry immediately asked about it, but Ceylan told her they should discuss it somewhere else. The group moved over to the meeting room.

“What exactly is going on?” Headmistress Perry asked.

“Someone has poisoned Herr Casa… and placed him under a Curse!” Ceylan stated flatly.

“How is that possible!?” Headmistress Perry shrieked in dismay.

“It’s serious; it might endanger his life,” Ceylan went on.

“Miss Ceylan, you can’t deal with the Poison and the Curse?” Heidi asked in disbelief.

Ceylan was a brilliant Healer, and very good at dealing with poisons and Curses, too. She should not have any problem treating Herr Casa!

“It wouldn’t be a trouble if the poison and the Curse were separate. The poison isn’t rare; I have a way to cure it, but the problem is, the poison and the Curse are chained… the Curse Magic controls the poison, while the poison keeps applying the Curse!” Ceylan explained.

“What does that mean?” Headmistress Perry asked, confused. She was totally clueless about such things.

“It means I have to make a choice; whether I should get rid of the Curse or cure him of the poison first!” Ceylan said.

“Does it make a difference?”

“If the order is right, the young duke will be fine. If the order is wrong, it will multiply the effects of the latter a hundred times!” Ceylan replied.

“A hundred times? Wouldn’t that kill him straight away!?”

Ceylan nodded.

The group was astounded. Who could put Herr Casa under such a terrifying Curse?

The group was surprised by some rapid footsteps. They realized someone was knocking on the door after a moment.

Their hearts were racing after hearing about the Curse and the poison. Their nerves had were taut.

“Miss Brianca, you’re finally here… why are you here too? Leave, we are discussing something important!” Sheryl saw Brianca at first, but her face darkened when she saw Mo Fan behind Brianca.

Li Yu’e was with them, too, but it felt like she did not exist when she was not speaking. The others would just ignore her existence.

“What happened? What’s with the look on everyone’s face?” Mo Fan asked indifferently after seeing their reaction.

“It’s none of your business,” Sheryl said angrily.

“Let him stay, I believe this has something to do with the strange incident that happened the other day.” Ceylan went to the entrance, and slowly closed the door, signaling Mo Fan and Li Yu’e to take a seat.

Headmistress Perry was annoyed just looking at Mo Fan, not to mention she was deeply troubled by the disastrous thing that had just happened. She looked completely like a hateful old witch at this point.

Ceylan explained what had happened to Herr Casa to Brianca. Both Brianca and Mo Fan were astounded.

“How dumb is that Herr Casa? Isn’t he a Super Mage? Did he seriously let someone poison him and place him under a Curse?” Mo Fan swore.

The others could not help but agree with Mo Fan. A person with a higher cultivation would be much more sensitive toward potential dangers. How was it possible for someone to poison him and place him under such a deadly Curse so easily?

“The Curse and the poison are extremely tricky. We have to find the person that did it. Otherwise, we won’t know the proper sequence. I’m pretty sure it’s related to the incident that happened before,” Ceylan said.

“Why is that? I can’t see how the two are related?” Edith asked.

“They shared the same goal: the culprit wants the Alps Institute to be destroyed! If Herr Casa dies here, the Casas will raze this place to the ground. Even though the school won’t necessarily be any weaker, it’s still going to end up as an epic battle!” Mo Fan stated.

“Why do you sound like you are gloating over it?” Sheryl said angrily.

“Why would I be gloating over it? I have no grudge against the Alps Institute except for you, you, and you. I will never hate an entire group of people because of a few shitheads among them. Besides, what would I even get if your school goes down? Miss Brianca and I have been searching for clues to find the culprit, but not only aren’t you grateful, you still treat me with such an attitude! If Li Yu’e wasn’t my friend, if it isn’t for Miss Brianca’s beauty and sincerity, why would I bother with your shitty business!?” Mo Fan shot right back.

Headmistress Perry was enraged. She was about to lose her temper when Ceylan stopped her. Ceylan signaled Headmistress Perry with her eyes that it was more important to resolve the problem than throw a tantrum!

“I already said that the culprit has a strong hatred toward the school. You should have dealt with the matter right away, instead of concealing the truth, but none of you listened. You now find yourself at the edge of the cliff after all the trouble… forget it, now is not the time to put the blame on anyone, let’s discuss the matter first,” Mo Fan went on.

“You sounded as if you can settle it, humph!” Headmistress Perry said coldly.

“I’ve made some progress, but I need to confirm something first,” Mo Fan looked at Ceylan.

Ceylan was confused. What did Mo Fan want to confirm, and why was he directing it at her?

“Miss Ceylan, did you have another disciple before you recruited Heidi? Did she want to become the best Healer, and successfully earn the attention of the Parthenon Temple, who tried to recruit her to join the Hall of the Goddess?” Mo Fan asked in a serious voice.

Ceylan was stunned for a moment. She seemed to be acting a little unnatural.

Headmistress Perry frowned, too.

Edith was infuriated by the question, too. She pointed at Mo Fan and snarled, “Why would you bring the matter up now? Where did you hear about it? If I knew you had some ulterior motives for coming here, there’s no way Sheryl and I would have let you enter the school!”

Ceylan took a deep breath and said, “Edith, let him finish!”

“It’s quite a coincidence, too. The student’s father used to be a Mage from the Sacred Hall of Liberty. After the student died, her father betrayed the Sacred Hall of Liberty and joined the Black Vatican. He tried to kill me when I was in New York. I heard about what happened to his daughter… her father’s name was Philip, right?” Mo Fan asked.

Chapter 1493 Waiting For The Blossoming

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As soon as Mo Fan mentioned the name, it clearly showed that he knew about the incident. The Alps Institute had also heard about how Philip had betrayed the Sacred Hall of Liberty and was caught in New York.

“If you still doubt me, you can ask the people of the Sacred Hall of Liberty,” Mo Fan went on.

Mo Fan did not tell them he had learned about Philip’s daughter from Li Yu’e. These people were already biased toward her. If she was involved again, he had no idea how Headmistress Perry, Sheryl, Edith, and the others would treat her in the future.

“We weren’t doubting you, it’s just that…” Ceylan let out a sigh.

“Humph, her father was a traitor, and so was her daughter; they were truly father and daughter, indeed!” Headmistress Perry harrumphed coldly. She clearly hated their guts!

“What did she do?” Mo Fan inquired.

“I’ll say it,” Brianca spoke up when she saw Ceylan and Perry were not willing to say anything about the incident. “Remember I told you when we were at the mountain that the Alps Institute was founded by a Forbidden Mage?”

“Yeah,” Mo Fan nodded.

“The Forbidden Mage was from the Parthenon Temple, an elder who was persecuted by the Parthenon Temple. We can’t tell you her name, but you only need to know that since the Alps Institute was founded, the Parthenon Temple has been our enemy. The Parthenon Temple has picked on us countless times ever since the school was established. Therefore, the Alps Institute has an unshakeable rule: no student of the Alps Institute shall have any contact with the people of the Parthenon Temple, let alone joining them!” Brianca said.

Mo Fan gaped. He did not know what to say.

It suddenly became clear to him what the incident was about!

“Yuria was from the same batch as I was. Her cultivation was slightly weaker than mine, but her primary Element was the Psychic Element, while her secondary Element was the Healing Element. She was Headmistress Perry’s student at first, until she became Miss Ceylan’s student… when she was away from the school for training, she met a Muse from the Parthenon Temple. She learned a lot from the Muse, and the Muse was interested in making her a disciple of the Parthenon Temple.

“Yuria was extremely passionate when it came to magic. She didn’t really care about the opposition, she just wanted to learn more and explore more magic. Regarding that, the Parthenon Temple’s expertise in the Healing Element and the Psychic Element is obviously unmatched, thus the Parthenon Temple became the most ideal place for Yuria.”

“So you sentenced her to death?” Mo Fan asked coolly, looking at the others.

“No way, we aren’t lunatics from a primitive society!” Headmistress Perry yelled at him

“We didn’t do anything like that. We liked her very much. Her passion for magic impressed us so much that we could not help but think that if every student in the Alps Institute was like her, we would overtake the Parthenon Temple in no time,” Ceylan said.

“How did she die?” Mo Fan asked.

“She killed herself,” Edith said.

“Oh? A person that is so passionate about magic is the last person that would end their own life. Did you force her to do it?” Mo Fan directly asked Headmistress Perry.

Headmistress Perry was enraged. She pointed at Mo Fan and said, “Why would I do something like that?”

“I strongly believe it’s possible based on what you did to me,” Mo Fan shot back.

“Mo Fan, Headmistress Perry isn’t as bad as you think. She has been stricter to students since what happened to Yuria, to prevent the students from doing anything extreme,” Ceylan spoke up.

Mo Fan looked at Ceylan, then at Perry. The girl Yuria was their beloved disciple. He could easily guess how great of a talent she was from their reaction.

“We didn’t force her to do anything. It’s just that after she came back from training, I was told that she had the intention to join the Parthenon Temple, so I scolded her and asked her to reflect on it in the cave of Faerun Waterfall,” Headmistress Perry said.

“I don’t think that would provoke anyone to kill themselves?” Mo Fan said.

“Humph, she completely changed after she came back from training. She stopped listening to me and even left the school without permission to meet with the Muse. She even signed a Soul Contract with the Parthenon Temple to swear loyalty to them without our permission! That traitor, she betrayed us all!” Headmistress Perry almost jumped into the air as she blurted that out. She had borne the grudge for a long time, and it was still bothering her today.

“Actually, I spoke with Headmistress Perry back then. If the Parthenon Temple could provide her with a better environment, we would consider letting her go and secretly erase her records at our school so she could join the Parthenon Temple with another identity, at least not as a student of the Alps Institute… However, she escaped from Faerun Waterfall and went to the Parthenon Temple while she still had the seal of the Alps Institute on her. She wantonly declared her intention to join the Parthenon Temple to embarrass us. Even the dean, who rarely interferes with secular matters, was infuriated because of it…” Ceylan said.

“It’s true that what she did wasn’t right,” Mo Fan agreed.

“She was truly evil, the disgrace of my life!” Headmistress Perry shouted.

“We didn’t understand what she was thinking. She would never do anything like that. Even though she was passionate about magic, she was friendly and respectful to everyone,” Ceylan looked at Brianca.

Brianca nodded. For a long period of time, Brianca had admired Yuria’s ability to keep up with her cultivation while maintaining a close relationship with the others.

“She was obviously led astray by those wicked women of the Parthenon Temple; what other reason could it be!?” Headmistress Perry said.

“Wouldn’t she have a bright future, then? Why did she commit suicide in the end?” Mo Fan asked.

“She came back eventually, I bet the Muse tricked her, or used her to make the Alps Institute a laughing stock to the world. After everything she did, she still lied to us that she never joined the Parthenon Temple. She only escaped to tell the Muse that she had decided not to take her offer. She had planned to stay at the Alps Institute… such nonsense!” Headmistress Perry said.

Headmistress Perry was reluctant to say anything at first, but whenever she spoke, she would spill everything. It had obviously bothered her for a long time.

Ceylan noticed that Headmistress Perry was being a little emotional with her explanation. She said, “Yuria told us that she never joined the Parthenon Temple. In order to prove that she never did anything to humiliate the Alps Institute, she slit her wrists so her blood would permeate the soil in Roia Garden…”

“What’s Roia Garden?” Mo Fan asked.

“Roia Garden was where the Forbidden Mage cast a Psychic Spell. If someone swears an oath with their soul and drips their blood into the soil, the Roia Flowers in the garden will blossom if the person is telling the truth, and the seal of her soul belongs to the Alps,” Ceylan explained.

Ceylan paused for a long time. Mo Fan was thinking, and did not interrupt.

Ceylan was calmly explaining the incident at first, but as she proceeded to explain the next part, her eyes were brimming with tears, and her friendly face twisted in pain. She could not find any words after a long time.

Yurai was like a daughter to Headmistress Perry and Ceylan. No matter how angry they were at her betrayal, no matter how the others despised her, they were still struggling to let it go. Even as she recalled the incident, she was overwhelmed by grief and pain instead of anger, and the same went with Headmistress Perry!

“When her blood fell on the soil, the Roia Flowers did not react…” Brianca knew the two women were struggling to continue speaking. She said to Mo Fan, “She was lying. Everyone was watching her, and we all believed she lied.”

“She seemed to be in disbelief, too. Her blood continued to flow in the garden, but the Roia Flowers did not blossom. She just stood there…”

Mo Fan could feel his heart racing when Brianca finished.

He could imagine the girl called Yuria standing on the soil that was the only way to prove her innocence, and the determined look on her face gradually turning paler as she lost her blood!

“The flowers did not blossom in the end?” Mo Fan asked.

“It hasn’t, even now…”

“Is there a chance that the Roia Flowers stopped working as intended?” Mo Fan asked.

“No, it’s a forbidden spell, nothing could ever go wrong… besides, she is dead. It no longer matters what the answer was,” Brianca said.

“That’s true,” Mo Fan nodded.

The room fell silent for some time. Even Mo Fan felt his nose tingling after listening to the story, let alone the people that witnessed it in person. Headmistress Perry and Ceylan were extremely bothered by her death. It did not matter if their student betrayed the school or not, the remorse on their faces clearly indicated if they could go back in time to the day, they would have stopped the girl from waiting for the flowers to bloom, instead of watching her life slowly drain away…

—

The person that would have a strong hatred for the school was none other than Yuria, but the girl was already dead. Even if she turned into a vengeful spirit, she could not possibly be responsible for the things that had happened, including poisoning Herr Casa and placing him under a Curse.

“So what does it have to do with Herr Casa’s situation?” Edith and Sheryl eventually asked.

“Isn’t anyone confused by Amelia’s death? It really feels like Herr Casa’s life is a lot more precious than Amelia’s life in your eyes,” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

“Amelia’s death?” Brianca asked, looking confused.

The others were startled. As they recalled that, they immediately felt a great chill running down their spine, giving them goosebumps!

1494 The Ruthless Casas

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Let’s hope Amelia’s murderer and the person that poisoned Herr Casa are the same people; that way, we might still have a chance to fix this,” Mo Fan said.

“What do you mean by that? Are you telling me that you still don’t know who the culprit is?” Sheryl said angrily.

“If Herr Casa was poisoned in the school, the culprit must be from the school, instead of an outsider. Therefore, she’s most likely the same culprit that is still hiding in the school. I’ll need to borrow something from you. I should be able to find out the reason behind Amelia’s death with it…” Mo Fan said.

Before Mo Fan could finish, a huge blast suddenly took place outside, like a huge building had collapsed all of a sudden. The rows of bookshelves in the meeting room fell to the ground, books scattering all over the place!

The glass in the room shattered into pieces. They looked outside the window and saw a clock tower close to the edge of the school grounds collapsing. Its debris was blown into the air before crashing onto the delicate statues, bushes, and little bridges in the school.

“This is absurd!” Headmistress Perry was enraged. She was the first to run out of the room.

The other teachers followed. Mo Fan went after them to see what was going on.

The clock tower of Faerun School had been destroyed. The structure had been around for a long time, not to mention it was extremely close to Herr Casa’s room. Headmistress Perry initially thought the culprit had struck again. She was planning to catch the culprit red-handed, but to her surprise, the person responsible did not bother leaving. He stood opposite the structure that collapsed and looked down at the students who were fleeing for their lives in panic.

The man’s black and white suit drifted in the wind. He was glaring at Headmistress Perry.

“It’s you!” Headmistress Perry recognized the man right away. Her face was filled with shock.

“It is me. Headmistress Perry, I’m getting more disappointed in you. I don’t believe you would dare to harm the successor of our clan, but how could you allow such a vicious person to sneak into your Alps Institute without you knowing… consider the fate of this building a warning from the Casas. You better hope the young duke is going to be fine in the end. Otherwise, I won’t just destroy the building, I won’t let a single person leave the building alive!” the elder from the Casas threatened them imperiously.

The elder from the Casas was remarkably strong, obviously an authority figure in the Casas. He even considered himself a senior to Headmistress Perry, and completely ignored her anger.

“We sure will explain ourselves to you, but Elder Ling, aren’t you being a little too ruthless? This is a sacred school, not a place to repay kindness with evil!” Headmistress Perry protested.

“So what? It’s your responsibility to take care of the young duke. I’m already being merciful by not starting a bloodbath!” Elder Ling reported.

“We are already trying our best to get rid of the Curse that the young duke is placed under. May I ask you not to pressure us any further!?” Headmistress Perry exclaimed.

“If I don’t, how would I know that you’re indeed doing your very best to save the young duke’s life? I will give you a day’s time. If you don’t hand over the person responsible, I shall find the culprit in my own way! I’m giving you a chance before it’s too late!” Elder Ling declared coldly.

Elder Ling turned and flew away after finishing his words. He was gone in the blink of an eye.

Ceylan and the others hurried over to the young duke’s room, but discovered that the Casas had already taken him with them. They had no idea where they had gone.

“He’s still in a serious condition, if they take him…” Ceylan said worriedly.

“They are heading for the Holy Judgment Court,” Brianca spoke.

“Perhaps they have a way to crack the poison and the Curse, but…”

The teachers felt helpless. The Casas had been the strongest clan in Europe for a long time, and were extremely proud and arrogant. If they did not hand over the culprit in a day’s time, a lot of the students were going to be in danger. The Casas would rather kill a thousand innocent people than let a culprit go. The students were going to suffer for sure!

“What do we do now? I heard that a renowned clan once accidentally killed a disciple from the Casas. In the end, the Casas took away half the people from the clan. They did find the person responsible for their disciple’s death in the end, but none of the ones taken survived!” Sheryl blurted out in fear.

Mo Fan stared after Elder Ling. He was utterly shocked, too. How reckless were the Casas? They dared to treat a world-reputable school like this, and Herr Casa’s life was not really in danger! They had shown no respect to the Alps Institute. Considering the Alps Institute had more influence than the Pearl Institute, if this happened in the Pearl Institute, wouldn’t they have razed the whole school to the ground right away!?

“They took Herr Casa. We were thinking of searching him for clues, but it’s going to be a lot harder now,” Ceylan observed.

“A day, we only have a day… this is insane!” Brianca protested.

Headmistress Perry looked at Mo Fan. After a moment of hesitation, she said with a sincere voice, “Mo Fan, I first apologize to you for my wrongdoings. We have zero clue what is going on in the school, so please help us now that the lives of our innocent students are at stake!”

Mo Fan was surprised that the old hag would beg him for help. She really cared about her students. She did not want the students to fall into the hands of the Casas, after seeing their violent approach.

“I will try my best. Are the Casas really that powerful? Can they just break the rules of the Magic Associations and the international laws?” Mo Fan asked confusedly.

“They can indeed ignore the rules and laws if they have a valid reason. After all, they have a Forbidden Mage,” Headmistress Perry sighed heavily.

Having a Forbidden Mage surpassed everything. It was the main reason why the Casas were able to maintain their status. As long as the Forbidden Mage was still around, no one in the world could possibly pose a threat to them!

“I see…” Mo Fan murmured.

1495 The Seventh Dusk

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What is the thing that you said you wanted to borrow?” Brianca asked, looking confused.

They needed to find the culprit as soon as possible under the current circumstances. Since Herr Casa was taken away, they were unable to find out which people he had come into contact with at the school. Not only did they have no clue about the culprit’s identity, they only had a day to find them! Just as Mo Fan mentioned, they could only hope that the culprits of the two incidents were the same person!

Mo Fan did not answer the question, being all mysterious. “Li Yu’e, I’ll need your help regarding this,” he told Li Yu’e.

Li Yu’e nodded. She said softly, “I’ve been doing this for the past few days. I was hoping that Amelia could see her work finished from Heaven.”

——

Dusk eventually came. A strong uneasiness lingered in the Alps Institute. Many students had gathered together under the tremendous pressure, as if they were determined to fight the Casas to the very end.

They would teach the Casas that the people of the Alps Institute were not helpless targets they could slaughter as they pleased!

Dusk lasted for a long time. While the people were feeling anxious toward the next sunrise, a unique fragrance lingered in the air. It was an elegant and unforgettable scent, one that the people of the Alps Institute were extremely familiar with.

“Isn’t that the fragrance of the Snow Lavenders?” someone asked.

“Yes… that’s right, it’s the seventh dusk of Spring, the first time the Snow Lavender will bloom. Look, the gardens, around the pool, and the waterfall… there are so many of them!”

“It’s so beautiful. I didn’t even notice so many Snow Lavenders were planted around the school. It looks like the whole place is covered in snow!”

“Come up here, quick!”

“Is it prettier up there?”

Girls were often sentimental, and were distracted by the blossoming of the Snow Lavender. The topic spread rapidly among the students. Most importantly, the Snow Lavender were as beautiful as a painting at dusk. Some of the insignificant corners of the Alps Institute, paths that were no longer used, and its ancient structures resembled a magical kingdom after they were surrounded by the pure Snow Lavender flowers.

As the angle of the sunlight shifted due to the setting sun, the flowers reflected different sacred lights, turning the Alps Institute into a world inside a kaleidoscope. Everyone’s faces were filled with disbelief, replacing the uneasiness and fear they had previously!

Dusk came to an end. Faerun School’s appearance shifted magically throughout it. The miraculous sight left the students utterly astonished…

—

Headmistress Perry, Brianca, Ceylan, Jessie, Heidi, Sheryl, Edith, Professor Zheng, Professor Li, Mo Fan, Li Yu’e, and the others were standing high on a tower. Their hearts were beating rapidly.

They were extremely touched when they noticed the Snow Lavender actually formed a huge emblem on the school grounds when they were observing them from a certain height. It was the Alps Institute’s school emblem!

The school emblem covered an area ten kilometers square, including the lengthy paths, insignificant gardens, backyards of some buildings, the church, training grounds, and prayer altars… they walked past these places almost every day, and even though they noticed the vines of the Snow Lavender, no one expected them to combine into such a spectacular sight. They were overwhelmed by the peace and beauty of the Alps Institute, even as the school was facing its greatest danger!

“Amelia, are you planting Snow Lavenders? I keep seeing them everywhere.”

“Yeah, I’ve spent a long time on this. I only have a few places left to work on. Sister Heidi, do come and check it out when it’s done.”

Heidi suddenly recalled the last conversation she had with Amelia. She remembered Amelia’s excited smile, one of great anticipation.

Heidi finally realized the meaning behind her smile. The girl had had a great conspiracy in mind all along. She wanted the whole school to witness her spectacular work over the years on a certain day, the dusk that would bring them such miraculous sight…

Instead, the girl was murdered. Heidi was the one who had found her body. She initially thought the girl had a hollow look in her eyes from fear, but she finally realized the girl was afraid that the others would never be able to see her work completed!

Having the thought while enjoying the stunning view of the school, Heidi uncontrollably burst into tears. She happened to cross paths with Amelia right before her death. Why didn’t she stay behind to talk with her? Perhaps it might have prevented her from being murdered. She was such an innocent but impressive girl!

“This… unbelievable… this is unbelievable…”

A few teachers were experiencing a similar surge of emotions. Such an insignificant girl in the Alps Institute had brought them such an unforgettable sight. She had such a strong love for the Alps Institute, but now she was gone forever.

“Headmistress, didn’t you notice anything strange?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not at all, it’s very beautiful. I am utterly grateful to Amelia. I think I know how I should handle the Casas now.” Headmistress Perry’s heart had finally calmed down.

“No, no, take a closer look,” Mo Fan said.

The observant Ceylan seemed to have noticed something. She pointed down at the mountain and said, “It feels like something is missing there.”

“You’re right, it feels like there’s a part missing there. It’s a very important part of our school emblem. Did Amelia carelessly forget about it, or was she unable to complete it in time?” Sheryl wondered.

Headmistress Perry looked toward the spot. Her expression shifted slightly.

“I believe you all know where that place is, right?” Mo Fan said.

“Roia Garden…” Headmistress Perry slowly uttered.

“The place is off-limits. Amelia wasn’t able to go inside, so she wasn’t able to complete the emblem,” Edith said.

Mo Fan shook his head. He looked at Li Yu’e, since he had gotten the information from her. She knew Amelia better than anyone. If she had not insisted on helping Amelia complete her work, they would never have been able to find out who the culprit was.

“Mo Fan, what are you trying to say? Stop being so mysterious,” Zhao Manyan blurted out impatiently.

“Call me Detective Mo,” Mo Fan blurted out. He added when no one reacted to his lame joke, “Amelia is a stubborn girl. She actually went inside Roia Garden, even though the area is off-limits, as she knew she couldn’t afford to not fill in the most important part of the emblem… but it’s also the reason why she was murdered!”

1496 True Nature

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan did not finish his explanation. He asked everyone to follow him to the Roia Garden.

The group moved to the secluded garden. The place remained sealed off. A few parts of the tall fence were dilapidated, but no one had bothered to fix them. There was a small herb patch beside the Roia Garden, but it was covered in weeds, abandoned after the misfortune.

“Let’s head inside,” Mo Fan said.

“Mo Fan, just tell us the answer here. It’s unnecessary to go inside,” Brianca spoke up, after taking Ceylan and Headmistress Perry’s feelings into consideration.

“Fine, that will do,” Mo Fan went to the fence around Roia Garden and pointed at the soil, “Do you know the reason why the Roia Flowers didn’t blossom when Yuria’s blood permeated the soil?”

“She was lying. She was a traitor. It was that simple,” Edith said.

Mo Fan smiled. He glanced at Mu Bai.

Mu Bai stared at Mo Fan blankly. He did not expect Mo Fan to be acting like a detective. The guy had seriously watched too much TV!

“It was quite a coincidence. Zhao Manyan’s stomach was acting weird the first few days, so Mu Bai who knows a little about herbs, tried mixing medicine for him. However, the medicine didn’t work, even though it was very basic,” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan was utterly confused. Since when was his stomach acting weird?

He was about to explain himself when Mo Fan glared at him and said with a soft voice that only the two of them could hear, “Do you seriously want them to know that we were trying to drug Brianca with an aphrodisiac?”

“Oh, I remember now!” Zhao Manyan quickly agreed with Mo Fan.

“Mu Bai, can you explain why the medicine didn’t work?” Mo Fan said.

Mu Bai finally realized what Mo Fan was up to. He pointed at the abandoned herb patch beside Roia Garden and said, “I came here to pluck a stalk of Eupatorium. I didn’t understand why the medicine failed in the first place, so I came back here and plucked some other herbs to experiment on them. I discovered that the herbs here either have extremely low or zero efficacy.”

“Why does it matter? The place is abandoned in the first place. It’s normal if the herbs aren’t working as intended. Perhaps it’s because of the weeds,” Edith said impatiently.

“If you still don’t understand what I’m trying to say, you either have no brain, or you’re trying to hide something,” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly while staring at Edith.

Edith was startled. She immediately looked confused.

The others remained silent with stern faces, especially Headmistresses Perry and Ceylan.

What Mo Fan was trying to say was very obvious to them!

“The herb patch is the closest place to the Roia Garden, thus they both shared the same soil. It’s true that a Forbidden Magic will never go wrong, but someone who’s familiar with plants had secretly altered the composition of the soil. Therefore, when the blood of the girl who wasn’t lying permeated the soil, it didn’t really connect with the Roia Flowers,” Mo Fan said.

“Aren’t we supposed to be discussing Amelia? Why would you bring what happened in the past up again!?” Sheryl said angrily.

“Are you a pig?” Mo Fan grunted.

Sheryl was enraged. She almost started a fight with Mo Fan, but Brianca rebuked Sheryl right away.

“Things are actually a lot simpler once you link them up. Amelia always wanted to complete her work perfectly. Even though the Roia Garden is off-limits, she would still sneak in here at night. However, she soon figured out that something was wrong with the soil here. How could the person that set Yuria up allow Amelia to tell the others the truth? As a result, Amelia suffered the same fate as Yuria!” Mo Fan went on.

At first, Mo Fan assumed the person that had killed the little creatures on the mountain had a strong hatred of the Alps Institute, but when Li Yu’e became a suspect, someone mentioned that she had purposely killed the little creatures to inflict fear on the others, so she could get rid of her competitor Amelia without attracting too much attention.

The saying was only half correct; the act of killing the little creatures to blaspheme the spirits of the Alps was indeed a cover-up. When Amelia died, no one would suspect it had anything to do with the Roia Garden!

Mo Fan knew he was an unreliable Hunter. His thought processes were not as thorough as Lingling’s, and he was almost led astray by the cunning culprit. However, when Li Yu’e described Amelia’s brilliant work to him, when Mu Bai found out why the aphrodisiac did not work, and when the culprit poisoned Herr Casa and placed him under a Curse, Mo Fan finally had an idea what was going on.

When Ceylan and Headmistress Perry explained the incident that Yuria was involved in, everything became obvious!

“Is that really the case, Miss Brianca?” Headmistress Perry turned around and looked at Brianca.

Brianca had stayed with Mo Fan all along. She had to be aware of Mo Fan’s findings too.

Brianca nodded and said, “We’ll have to wait for Headmistress Perry to retrieve some samples of the soil and ask the teachers with the Plant Element to analyze them in detail to find the answer. Headmistress Perry, Miss Ceylan… Yuria didn’t lie, nor did she betray us. It was a set-up!”

The others could hear Headmistress Perry and Ceylan breathing heavily. They looked at the Roia Garden, through the dilapidated fence and could somehow see the blurred outline of a girl standing on the soil with a determined yet pale face.

Headmistress Perry and Ceylan looked like they had lost their souls after learning the truth. They had always thought Yuria was the most brilliant student they had ever taught; her passion for magic, her serious attitude when arguing about the flaws in their teachings… they could remember it like it was yesterday!

“So… who did it?” Headmistress Perry asked in a dispirited tone, after a prolonged silence.

“Her,” Mo Fan pointed at someone among them.

The group was astounded. They shifted their attention to Sheryl.

Sheryl was utterly shocked. She blurted out angrily, “Enough with your wild accusations, I never did anything to hurt Yuria or Amelia!”

“Did I say it was you? Idiot, move aside, I was pointing at the person behind you!” Mo Fan said.

Sheryl was angry and shocked, turning around automatically. Her face was immediately filled with disbelief when she saw the person standing behind her.

“Edith?” Headmistress Perry was even more shocked than Sheryl. She shook her head, not able to believe Edith was the culprit.

Edith remained expressionless, standing there like a lifeless ice statue.

“I remember how you reported us for eating the roasted hare on the mountain,” Mo Fan told Edith.

“Humph,” Edith snorted.

“We were confused, too. The three of us sneakily left the school and went to the mountain at night. There was no one around, yet how did you and Sheryl know we were hunting wild game? I only figured out the truth a few days ago. You were there on the mountain, preparing your brilliant work. You were brutally snaring the little creatures before killing them at the right time. You reported us to the patrols to drive us away, since you didn’t want us to ruin your plan,” Mo Fan said.

Edith remained silent. The look in her eyes shifted.

“Oh, that’s why. No wonder the hare’s leg was frozen, allowing us to catch it so easily! Someone was using magic on them,” Zhao Manyan spoke up in support.

“Sheryl has been picking on us all along. I assumed the two of you were stirring up trouble on purpose by reporting us… the other day, Miss Brianca and I went to the mountain and discovered your work, while you avoided us and went back to the school, to trick us into thinking that a powerful Mage had come for revenge,” Mo Fan said.

“Whatever you say,” Edith muttered in reply.

“Sheryl, you’re the person that reported us, right? But it was Edith that told you what we were doing on the mountain, isn’t that the case?” Mo Fan asked her.

Sheryl was stunned. She nodded after some time. She said to Edith, “Edith, were you really on the mountain?”

“Edith, why did you do it!? What did Yuria and Amelia do to you that you have to do such horrible things to them!?” Headmistress Perry looked at Edith. Her whole body was trembling.

Edith was her student. Headmistress Perry could not believe her own student was the culprit!

“Teacher, do you really believe what he said? He doesn’t even have any proof!?” Edith exclaimed.

“Proof?” Mo Fan smiled, but his smile did not have any warmth to it. He pointed at the Roia Garden and said, “Do you dare to step inside there and swear on the soil that was covered in Yuria and Amelia’s blood that you have nothing to do with their deaths!?”

“Why not!?” Edith said.

“Edith, that’s enough! Mo Fan borrowed the blood-tracking magic artifact from Headmistress Perry. You took the risk of moving the soil away to prevent others from noticing that something was wrong about it. You moved the soil to your own backyard instead… do you know that your garden and your plants that were stained with Yuria’s blood were as red as the setting sun when the light of the artifact shone on them? Don’t you feel even the tiniest hint of remorse and fear when sleeping in your room!?” Brianca exclaimed.

The words echoed around the abandoned herb patch, and in Edith’s mind too!

“She is in your minds constantly, even now! What kind of sorcery did she cast on you? Why did everyone have to treat her so nicely? I’ve followed your rules and instructions, I never dared to oppose you, but you never set your eyes on me! How were you able to forgive her when she kept challenging you, and even threatened to ruin the Alps Institute’s dignity!?” Edith lifted her gaze and stared at Headmistress Perry!

“She was a betrayer ever since she thought of joining the Parthenon Temple. I can’t imagine how you would give her a new identity, just so she could join the Parthenon Temple without any trouble. You might be able to forgive her, but I can’t! She dishonored the Alps, so she did not have the right to live in this world, nor was she worthy of being pampered by you!”

1497 The Real Alps Institute

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“A hint of remorse? I would rather step over her dead body and her soul every day. I would rather spit on the plants that were nurtured by her blood. A person like her should be spurned forever by the Alps!” Edith declared in a disgusted voice.

She looked completely different from her usual appearance. Her iciness and cruelty made her look like she had been Possessed by a demon. She looked scary and unfamiliar, yet it was in fact the true nature of the girl that had grown up in the Alps and received the best education. Headmistress Perry had personally taught her magic…

The sacred Alps could raise someone like Amelia, who was like a Snow Lavender, full of love for the world, just as it could also raise a murderer like Edith, who was unrepentant even when she was covered in fresh blood. Even when they found out who the culprit was, no one was relieved to learn the truth. Their breaths felt sour from heaviness and sorrow.

“Then why did you place Herr Casa under a Curse? He had nothing to do with you!” Mu Bai spoke up in confusion.

“He deserved it. He told everyone he was feeling unwell, yet he asked me to go to his room to accompany him!” Edith spat coldly.

“We’ll hand her to the Casas; I believe they won’t have any excuse to trouble us again.” Jessie was standing behind Edith, prepared to take her down.

Edith did not resist. She knew it was meaningless to put up a fight. Brianca, Perry, and Ceylan’s cultivation levels were something she would never reach in this life.

Headmistress Perry was speechless. She headed to Faerun Castle alone, her hands behind her. She did not want any help from the students. Her stooped back gradually faded into the distance.

Jessie took Edith away and allocated several Maga to keep an eye on her, preventing her from running away.

——

“Mo Fan, why do you look so down, even though you’ve already found the culprit?” Li Ximei came over. Her beautiful eyes flickered in admiration.

Li Ximei did not think Mo Fan was very observant or smart, after putting aside his extraordinary strength. She was utterly clueless about the whole incident, yet Mo Fan was able to figure out the truth from such tiny details!

“I already checked. Edith poisoned the venison that the kitchen had prepared for Herr Casa,” Mo Fan said.

“So does that mean Herr Casa was poisoned first?” Brianca said.

“Not necessarily, we only knew where the poison came from. Who knew if Herr Casa was Cursed when he was trying to do something to Edith. I wonder where Edith learned these things. They are clearly not her Elements,” Mo Fan replied.

“Indeed, that’s the confusing part, but I guess if a person is harboring malicious thoughts, they will find a way to do evil,” Brianca said.

“There are a few things that I still don’t understand,” Mo Fan said.

“She already admitted it, what else don’t you understand? Do you really want to see the people of the Alps Institute being tortured by the Casas? Either way, after what she did, it’s reasonable for her to pay for her crime, even if she didn’t poison Herr Casa,” Zhao Manyan sighed.

“She did poison Herr Casa…,” Mo Fan sighed. “Forget it, I feel like my brain is about to explode after the past few days.” Mo Fan shook his head and glanced at the stars in the sky.

“Mo Fan, you really impressed us. As expected of someone from the Clearsky Hunter Agency, we admire you from the bottom of our hearts!” Professor Li smiled.

“You have done the Alps Institute a great favor. I believe the dean will give you her full support during the trial. The Alps Institute will forever be in your debt, too. The entrance will always remain open for you!” Professor Zheng declared.

“I almost forgot that I’m going to be put on trial in a few days; if you hadn’t reminded me…” Mo Fan smiled wryly.

—

—

The next morning, a huge blast woke Mo Fan from a deep sleep. The vase in his room fell to the floor and broke into pieces from the shockwave.

Mo Fan rose to his feet, sulking over the noise that had woken him up. Shouldn’t everything have come to an end now? It was meant to be a quiet, peaceful morning, with the pleasant chirping of birds. Where did the noise even come from?

Mo Fan quickly changed and followed the noise. He saw two powerful auras clashing with one another. The loud blasts were produced when the force of their auras collided with the nearby buildings.

“Headmistress Perry, are you sure about this?” Elder Ling asked Headmistress Perry, his face angry.

Headmistress Perry stood there in plain clothes. She seemed more haggard than yesterday, but she had a vivid light in her eyes as she faced off against Elder Ling from the Casas. Their formidable auras prevented anyone from coming within a few hundred meters of them.

“I’ve made up my mind! If Elder Ling really wants to cause a scene in the Alps Institute or hurt any of my innocent students, I will not let you leave in one piece, even if it means sacrificing my life! Elder Ling, Edith is my student. Even though she has committed such an unforgivable crime, she is still a student of the Alps Institute. She will be punished by the Magic Courts accordingly, but I will not hand her to the Casas so you can torture her soul forever!” Headmistress Perry declared firmly.

Headmistress Perry did not compromise in the slightest. She went from being utterly respectful to the Casas to resisting them completely. It felt like the woman had changed into a different person. It gave Mo Fan a new impression of the old hag!

Edith was watching, too. Her face was cold, yet her eyes shuddered with a slight hint of emotion after hearing Headmistress Perry’s words.

“Headmistress Perry, we aren’t afraid of the Casas. If they truly want to take us on, so be it. We must teach them that the Alps Institute is not afraid of anyone!”

“Headmistress, it’s time to teach this arrogant clan what we are capable of!”

The voices supporting Headmistress Perry grew louder. Headmistress Perry could have easily handed Edith over to the Casas. She might still have had a chance to redeem the relationship between the Alps Institute and the Casas, but she had decided otherwise.

The Alps Institute had its own dignity. Even if a student had committed a serious crime, she would receive the fairest judgment as long as she still had the seal of their school. The school would not hand her over to the Casas under pressure!

It was the real Alps Institute, smooth and fair, with flesh of ice and bones of jade, firm as a mountain glacier!

“Perhaps this is the power that Amelia’s gift has given them!” Mo Fan exclaimed when he saw this side of the Alps Institute.

Chapter 1498 So That“s The Truth?

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

—

—

Elder Ling finally left. There was no way he could take on the entire Alps Institute on his own. Headmistress Perry was willing to give her best to protect the Alps Institute’s dignity, and was already a tough opponent for him. There were a few others with outstanding strength in the Alps Institute. If he really infuriated them, he might actually struggle to return to his clan in one piece!

The clash between the Alps Institute and the Casas from now on was no longer Mo Fan’s concern. They believed it was the right decision…

——

For the next few days, Mo Fan was well-received by the ladies in the Alps Institute. He felt like he was surrounded by girls all the time, and could not have asked for a better experience. He even had the urge to find himself a vacant spot and build a house so he could live here forever. He would hear the alluring yet reserved giggles of the women every day after he woke up, and he could see beautiful women who were serious about their cultivation in every corner of the school. At night, some of the sentimental ladies might occasionally visit him to have a pillow talk…

However, it was a pity that he still had to leave. Otherwise, the Holy Judgment Court might send some people over to escort him there in person!

————–

“Sorry for the trouble,” Ceylan said, her face much gentler now.

“It’s nothing worth mentioning. Besides, we have been disturbing your school for so many days. We should really do something in return,” Professor Li replied with a smile.

“Don’t worry, we’ll bring her to the Holy Judgment Court safely,” Professor Zheng said.

The Casas knew who had poisoned Herr Casa. They would try everything to intercept Edith to get their revenge.

Ceylan knew Mo Fan and the others were heading to the Holy Judgment Court next, thus she was hoping they could escort Edith to the Holy Judgment Court. Professor Li gladly accepted the request.

Edith was disguised as a student of the Pearl Institute. The Casas would not expect it. As they furiously stirred up trouble at the Alps Institute, Edith would already have arrived at the Holy Judgment Court. The Holy Judgment Court would not allow the Casas to throw a tantrum there!

“Wait until the snow is a little thinner before you leave,” Ceylan said.

“Where’s Mo Fan? Why isn’t he here?”

“I don’t know, maybe he’s still bidding farewell to the girls,” Zhao Manyan said jealously.

Zhao Manyan had always succeeded in his attempts to pick up chicks, but he had failed to win a single girl’s affection at the Alps Institute, even though every student there was a woman. The students were too cautious around him. Instead, Mo Fan had suddenly become their one and only idol…

—

A while later, Mo Fan, Brianca, and Heidi came in. Brianca and Heidi had changed their clothes, and were now wearing the Pearl Institute’s uniform. There weren’t many people in the group from the Pearl Institute, but the Casas could not have cared less about the Pearl Institute in the first place. They had no idea how many people the Pearl Institute had brought here.

“The two of you are coming with us too?” Zhao Manyan looked at Heidi and Brianca in surprise.

Brianca and Heidi dazzled everyone. They were both gorgeous women with alluring and elegant demeanors. Their skin was fair, their heights were similar; they looked like a pair of angelic twin sisters when they were standing together. If they did not cover their faces, they would surely cause a series of crashes if they went walking down a busy road in the city!

“What do you think? I chose the clothes!” Mo Fan was extremely satisfied with his brilliant work.

“It suits my tastes!” Zhao Manyan proclaimed happily.

Heidi and Brianca had been wearing the uniform of the Alps Institute for a long time. They felt slightly uncomfortable when they put on normal clothing, yet they had to bear with it under the current circumstances.

Heidi was not having too much trouble. She had not spent all her time living and cultivating in the Alps, and would visit the city occasionally, but Brianca rarely visited anywhere. When the skinny jeans tightly stuck to her rear, she felt like her butt was as exposed as if she was not wearing anything. The jeans clung like elastic; she was having a hard time getting used to them.

“Time to hit the road!”

“Let’s go!”

——

Professor Zheng was a Summone, and the journey to the Holy Judgment Court was a rather long distance. It would be extremely tiring to travel there on foot, so he Summoned his Mangshan Mountain Beast. The group sat on the back of the Summoned Beast and enjoyed the spectacular scenery along the way, while the snow fell on their shoulders. They even had the chance to chat with some gorgeous beauties. How could they not enjoy themselves?

The mountain paths were bumpy, but Professor Zheng’s Mangshan Mountain Beast was surprisingly stable. It was likely that Professor Zheng had been using it as his personal SUV. A few little creatures were spotted along the way, but a single breath from the Summoned Beast was enough to scare them away.

——

After traveling for half a day, they finally saw the mountain gate of the Holy Judgment Court. It was difficult to tell exactly where they were in the Alps, but the altitude was higher since the place was covered in thick snow. The white snow split the mountain ridges into different layers. They could barely distinguish the different mountains…

“Follow the stairs up, and you’ll arrive at the Holy Judgment Court,” Brianca pointed ahead of them.

“Mm, let’s keep going.”

—

When the group climbed the long stairs and reached the top, they discovered a basin formed by several aligned mountains. It was like an enormous bowl being held up high by the mountains, capturing the essence of the sun and moon, while breathing out the mystical energy of the Alps…

The snow started to fall rapidly. They could see the blurred outline of some structures in the Middle Ages ../style, all lit up with sacred candles.

The group followed a path that had been recently built into the basin. Not long afterwards, a few Holy Court Mages in uniform showed up. They floated in the air, having no intention of landing on the ground to talk to Mo Fan and the others.

They remained flying after learning the identity of the group, guiding Mo Fan and the others into the Holy Judgment Court.

——

When they arrived at the Hall of Deities in the Holy Judgment Court, a few maids came over to receive them. They brought the members of the group to different wooden huts so they could change into suitable clothes that would prevent them from getting frostbite. The snow and cold of the Alps was not to be underestimated!

—

Brianca and Heidi handed Edith to one of the Holy Court Mages, and personally escorted Edith to the prison of the Holy Judgment Court, too.

When they passed by the Hall of Deities, they saw a woman sitting in the empty hall. She had a cup of tea with hot steam rising into the air beside her, and a knight standing like a statue behind her.

The woman’s face was covered by a veil. She casually glanced at Heidi and Brianca without initiating a conversation.

Brianca and Heidi were not the talkative kind, either. They proceeded to their own rooms under the guidance of the maids. For some reason, the woman gave them a strange feeling. They could not help but have an urge to take a few more glances at her, but every time they stared at her, they somehow felt like it was an offending act, and were a little intimidated.

—

A while after Brianca and Heidi left, Mo Fan put on some fresh clothes and was thinking of looking for them to learn how the handover went. As soon as he entered the Hall of Deities, a set of eyes immediately locked on him. Mo Fan was startled. He looked at the veiled woman curiously.

“The Woman of White Impermanence?” Mo Fan blurted out when he saw her.

“How unfortunate,” the woman replied. She did not seem to be surprised to see Mo Fan here.

Mo Fan had no intention of interacting with the disgusting woman. He was about to turn around and leave when she giggled, “Are you afraid of me?”

“Why would I be afraid of a living corpse?” Mo Fan was displeased by the comment. He promptly sat down opposite her.

“My life is pure as snow. Feel free to come closer and have a sniff, to see if I have the rotting smell of the living dead,” the woman said.

“Your body might not have a foul stench, but your soul definitely does. It’s difficult to smell it with my nose, but I have a pair of discerning eyes that can identify any kind of monster,” Mo Fan replied.

While they were speaking, a few elders came into the Hall of Deities from the other entrance. One of them was the Casa henchman in the red outfit, the one in charge of Herr Casa’s safety. He was following an old man like a subordinate.

The old man quickly went over to the woman. He bowed slightly and said, “Thanks to the Hall of the Goddess for lending us a hand. Otherwise, my nephew’s life might still be in danger!”

“It’s nothing worth mentioning, but do remind the young duke to be more cautious with his private affairs. It’s unwise to let a little b**ch with ulterior motives get close to him so easily,” Izisha answered.

“Of course! I was told that the Hall of the Goddess is here to seek justice on behalf of a Golden Sun Knight from the Rhines. I hate to see people that behave ruthlessly and have no respect for the laws too, so if you need any help, the Casas are more than willing to share the burden with you,” the old man said respectfully.

—

The old man left the Hall of Deities with his people, leaving only Mo Fan, Izisha, and her silent bodyguard in the hall.

Mo Fan fell into deep thought while watching the elder of the Casas taking his leave. After some time, he fixed his eyes on Izisha!

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Izisha smiled, with just a hint of cunning.

“Edith takes orders from you!” Mo Fan blurted out.

Izisha did not say a word, but the cunning look in her eyes told Mo Fan her answer.

“So you didn’t come here to take me to court, you just needed a valid excuse to be here so you could save Herr Casa’s life?” Mo Fan asked.

“I truly hope that you will be punished according to your sins.” Izisha had the same smile.

The smile gave Mo Fan all the answer he needed!

So that was the truth?…

Most terrifyingly, no one other than him knew about it!

The Alps Institute, the Casas, even he himself, were nothing but pawns in Izisha’s hands…

Chapter 1499 Late Effects

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Izisha left the Hall of Deities. Her indifferent smile remained in Mo Fan’s mind, further convincing him that leaving Xinxia at the Parthenon Temple was a mistake. How could Xinxia possibly outsmart a woman like her? When people were worshiping her for the power to resurrect the dead and heal the wounded, when they knelt on the stairs before her icy palace, they never thought this monstrous woman was actually devouring them without leaving even their bones behind. Even those that had turned into spirits of the dead were unaware that she was responsible for their deaths!

The Alps Institute and the Parthenon Temple had been archenemies for a long time. Izisha must have felt the same way. She had used Yuria, who was extremely passionate about magic, then manipulated Edith’s strong jealousy to deliver a huge blow to the Alps Institute. She had even established a friendly relationship with the strongest clan in Europe through it, securing great support from a powerful faction!

He kept hearing about how Izisha was a merciless ruler in the past, but now it was his turn to be played like a pawn by her. The thought of it sent chills down his spine, and grew scarier the more he thought about it!

—

Mo Fan followed a maid to Brianca’s room. He was still wondering if he should tell her the truth.

Mo Fan did not have any proof. As a matter of fact, when the incident involving Yuria took place, Izisha was still lying in her crystal coffin. However, Mo Fan was absolutely sure that she was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes after seeing her here. It was obvious that Izisha knew who Edith was, judging from the reaction when he mentioned her name!

Edith was most likely a pawn that Izisha’s old associates had planted in the Alps Institute. Someone must have spread the news about Yuria’s decision to join the Parthenon Temple on purpose to ruin the school’s reputation.

The only way to prove his speculation was to ask Edith. Izisha would never spill the beans!

“This is Miss Brianca’s hut. Please shake this bell if you want to return to the Hall of Deities. We’ll send a sleigh to pick you up,” the maid said politely.

“Alright,” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan knocked on the door. Brianca gave Mo Fan permission to come inside after asking who it was.

It was extremely cold outside the hut. The howling wind was blowing fiercely, carrying a heavy snow, but it was extremely warm indoors. The fire was burning vigorously in the furnace. The clean and comfortable room was well lit, even when the lights were off.

“What is it? Aren’t you going to take a rest?” Brianca closed the door firmly so it would not squeak in the wind.

“I…I was thinking of visiting Edith,” Mo Fan told her.

His deductions were mainly speculation. He did not know if it was appropriate to tell anyone about them now. It might only heap more anger and worry upon the shoulders of the women of the Alps Institute. The Alps Institute had already fallen out with the Casas. If they took on the Parthenon Temple too, it was likely that the Alps Institute would be forced to keep a low profile across Europe for a decade. It was one of the consequences for opposing formidable factions!

“She is being held in custody. You will have to go through a lot of procedures to get permission to see her in person. After all, only the people of the Holy Judgment Court are allowed to interrogate the prisoners.” Brianca said quickly.

Mo Fan noticed she was behaving a little strangely.

“Is something wrong?” Brianca asked him.

“Nothing, I just don’t understand why she had to place Herr Casa under a Curse. If she really is an extremist who was concerned about the Alps Institute, she should have known the consequences of doing anything to Herr Casa…” Mo Fan tried to hint to Brianca.

“Oh, oh, you must be tired after everything that happened. You don’t have to think about it anymore. It must be very cold outside. I’ve brewed some tea, have some to warm yourself. You should be more worried about yourself. The Rhines won’t forgive you easily!” Brianca went closer to the furnace.

Mo Fan casually looked at the wall. The light of the furnace happened to be reflecting Brianca’s physique. Her slim legs and perfect curves were alluring when the flames swayed constantly.

It was very warm in the room. Brianca had changed into linen pants, perhaps not used to the tightness of jeans yet. The linen pants were clearly her sleepwear when she was outside the school. However, she did not expect anyone to be visiting her at a time like this. She thought Mo Fan had something important to discuss with her, so she forgot to change.

Mo Fan first admired Brianca’s shadow. He then shifted his attention to Brianca’s legs and slowly looked up…

After taking his time admiring the woman’s body, Mo Fan shifted his focus to Brianca’s face. Apart from examining her beauty, he was deeply moved by an old saying from his country: there was always someone better than you out there!

Mo Fan initially thought his cultivation was impressive enough. He had believed not many people could match him, excluding the aged Mages, but if he faced Brianca, he would be wrecked so hard!

Brianca was a Super Mage, and it was likely that all four of her Elements were at the Super Level. Her status in the Alps Institute was just below Ceylan, indicating that she was an expert even among the Super Mages!

Heidi was already a strong opponent for Mo Fan. If he had not had three Soul-grade Flames and the chance to accumulate his energy, he would have struggled to beat her in the duel. Brianca was even crazier; Mo Fan did not even know if he could achieve the Super Level at her age, yet all four of her Elements were already at the Super Level…

When speaking of monsters, Brianca was the real monster among them! Mo Fan was confused why someone so strong would stand so aloof from worldly success?

“I’m sorry, I think I was a little busy with things at school, so I wasn’t able to get a good rest, or maybe the weather was too cold here. I feel a little sick,” Brianca explained when she thought Mo Fan had noticed something, since he kept staring at her.

Mo Fan quickly collected himself. He blurted out in surprise, “You’re sick?”

“Mm, just a little fever. I drank some Eupatorium tea after dinner. I’ll be fine after some rest,” Brianca came over with a cup of tea. She leaned forward and placed it on the table beside Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was immediately greeted by a strong fragrance. He could even see the blush on her face at such a close distance.

“Oh, I guess I won’t disturb you any further then, so you can rest earlier,” Mo Fan was quite surprised that such a strong woman would fall sick. It showed how weak human Mages were!

“It’s fine, I didn’t have the chance to express my gratitude to you. You should drink some tea to warm yourself,” Brianca said at a quicker pace. Her voice sounded a little strange…

Mo Fan looked at the woman and noticed how flushed her face was. Her eyes were like the silver moon, but seemed a little lost. They were not clear like a lake as they normally were. On top of that, she was standing very close to him, and was not breathing steadily.

“Wait, what did you say you drank?” Mo Fan asked, recalling something…

“Eupatorium tea, the same tea I just brewed.” Brianca took a few sips from her cup.

Brianca felt her body getting hotter after taking a few sips of the tea. The hot tea went down her throat and turned into gusts of hot air surging inside her. Not only did she feel light-headed, her heart was pounding heavily whenever she looked at the man in front of her!

Mo Fan was experienced enough to distinguish between a sick woman and a woman under the effects of an aphrodisiac. Brianca did not show any reaction when she first drank the low-quality aphrodisiac at the school. However, the effects of the main ingredients of the drug were still around. Once the Eupatorium herb that lacked efficacy was replenished, it would work as an aphrodisiac, as intended!

-Weren’t these effects a little too delayed!?-

“I…I actually wanted to talk to you about Edith…” Mo Fan quickly changed the topic.

“Let’s not talk about her, things have already happened,” Brianca waved the subject away.

“I’ll go back first if you aren’t feeling well…” Mo Fan had the urge to run away.

The effects had only just started. Brianca might not know what was going on, but she was clearly not stupid. She was going to realize what was going on eventually. She might end up killing him for taking advantage of her, so it was better to run now!

“It’s fine, really, I wanted to talk to you more, too.” Brianca did not let him leave. She clearly was hinting at him to stay.

Mo Fan truly believed he had screwed up this time. Even though he was looking forward to the drug working originally, he knew how serious the consequences could be. He could not afford to go with the flow; his life was at stake!

“We’ll talk tomorrow, when you feel better…” Mo Fan blurted out.

“Do you hate me?” Brianca’s eyes flickered with resentment when she saw Mo Fan was in a hurry to leave. There was no way Brianca would do anything like that normally.

He had overdone it! He was done for!

“No, that’s not it, I just think it’s time for you to get some rest since it’s getting late, so it’s inappropriate for me to disturb you,” Mo Fan said awkwardly. Brianca was standing right in front of him. He could not just knock her aside and leave. He kept saying he had to leave, yet his body was being extremely honest. It was hard to move his feet!

The bodies of men were seriously annoying. Starting at puberty, they were brainwashed with an instinct coming from God, to take every woman down on the ground.

As such, it was extremely difficult for men to resist seduction. It was similar to resisting the urge to drink water. The will needed to resist was beyond anyone’s imagination. Even waking up early in the morning was a great struggle for many people…

Humans had to learn how to control themselves. Otherwise, how different were they from animals? However, it was not just controlling themselves and exerting their will, but rebelling against God, too!

Mo Fan felt like he was about to explode! He would rather kill a few more Red Cardinals than be tortured like this!

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell too?” Brianca asked naively when she saw Mo Fan’s reaction.

Mo Fan felt like his body was crawling with ants. He could easily relieve himself by taking a step forward, yet he had sworn to be a saint. How could… how could he easily submit to his desires… he remembered the door was locked from the inside. Brianca must have shut the door tight to stop the wind from entering the room.

-Huh? Why would I remember such a tiny detail like that?-

1500 You Came to the Wrong Room

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The snow drifted down in the sky like soft down. The fire crackled in the furnace, burning with passion. They could hear one another’s heavy breathing.

No man in the world would need to rely on an aphrodisiac. When a woman was breathing heavily while standing in front of them and staring at them with tender feelings, as if she had been drugged with a ton of sex medicine, the only way to save her was to pounce on her and fight to the end!

“Well… I have a girlfriend already,” Mo Fan suddenly blurted out, as if his mind had gone haywire.

“Huh? I didn’t ask about that,” Brianca said.

“What did you ask?” Mo Fan said.

“I asked if you hated me,” Brianca was clearly not in her right mind either.

-F**k me!-

“Miss Brianca, I think you are actually a little sick. I’ll help you to the bed so you can get some rest.” Mo Fan was aware that Brianca was being extremely weird, yet he did not dare leave.

Brianca was in such a vulnerable state. If she went outside and allowed an assh*** to take advantage of her, he would rather be the assh*** instead!

“Oh, I believe so. I said something strange to you,” Brianca seemed both conscious and absent-minded right now.

Mo Fan helped her into the room and pulled the blanket away. He immediately saw some delicate undergarments. -Oh my, look at their sizes, are they really enough to cover her body parts?-

“Lay down, I’ll get rid of the tea for you. It’s not suitable for a fever…” Mo Fan said.

“Alright,” Brianca laid down under the blanket. She was staring at Mo Fan like a little girl. She seemed embarrassed, a little lost, but with a little anticipation too.

“Get some sleep, and you’ll be fine. Don’t go anywhere, I’m worried about you,” Mo Fan told her.

“Sure,” Brianca nodded. She added after some time, “Can you keep an eye on me, please?”

“My life is going to be in danger,” Mo Fan murmured. He quickly added when he saw the confused look on Brianca’s face, “I’m afraid that’s inappropriate.”

“It’s fine, I’m just a little scared. It’s been so long since I last fell sick,” Brianca said.

Mo Fan was seriously worried that she would go outside. He nodded and said, “I’ll be in the living room. If there’s anything… oh, don’t bother calling me. I’m quite tired too.”

“Mm, as long as you’re with me,” Brianca had totally lost it.

Mo Fan realized he had blamed Mu Bai wrongly when he saw how Brianca had turned into a naive, innocent little girl. Mu Bai was no amateur, he was a true professional!

——

Mo Fan went back to the couch and sat down, facing the burning fire.

A while later, he turned to the side and peeked through the gap of the door he had left open, staring at Brianca, who had curled up like a kitten on the linen bed. He could not imagine a woman with such a mature physique could be so petite in bed, revealing only her shoulders and collarbones. She looked so fragile and weak, giving him the urge to protect her.

“It looks like I can achieve great heights if I were to become an arhat,” Mo Fan mocked himself.

He could even reject such a great foreign beauty. What other things could stop him from improving his cultivation?

“I’ll let it be, since she is under the effects of an aphrodisiac. Humph, if she really fell for me, I wouldn’t hesitate to push her down and fight until dawn!”

The heat from the furnace was oddly soothing. Mo Fan eventually fell asleep too.

Mo Fan was quite impressed with himself too. Did he really fall asleep in a situation like this? Wasn’t he worried that the starving lamb would pounce on the tiger?

Surprisingly, he still managed to fall asleep, mainly because he had not been able to get enough rest for the past few days. On the other hand, his lower body was going to explode if he did not fall asleep quickly. Brianca’s face and body were too astonishing. Her elegance and maturity were very alluring. Something bad would have happened if he did not knock himself unconscious in time!

—

The snow continued to fall. A pile of snow would fall from the roof at times, but the sound it produced was not enough to disturb their dreams.

Brianca had fallen asleep, too. She was aware that something felt strange about herself. She forced herself to go to sleep…

However, she was still bothered by a thought…

Was she really that ordinary in Mo Fan’s eyes? Why did it seem like he was not interested in her at all? He would occasionally peek at her like a rascal normally, but did he only have intentions, but was not bold enough to act on them?

Meanwhile, the thoughts that troubled Mo Fan before he fell asleep were: did I set my ambitions wrongly in the first place? Should I not dream of having two wives? If I only wanted to have a single wife, wouldn’t it be forgivable if I made a mistake or two at times? However, now that I’ve set my ambition to have two wives, wouldn’t it be an indignity if I continued to flirt with other women?

—

Knock knock knock… The knocks on the door woke Mo Fan up. He rose to his feet and went over to open the door in a half-awake state.

When he opened the door, he saw Heidi standing in front of him with a polite smile. However, her expression froze when she saw the person opening the door. It took her a moment to collect her thoughts.

Mo Fan immediately realized something was wrong when he saw her reaction.

However, Mo Fan was no amateur. He quickly asked indifferently, “Is there something wrong? Why are you here so early?”

“This…this is Miss Brianca’s room,” Heidi was a little lost. She sounded a little nervous.

“Oh, she wasn’t feeling well, and the furnace of this room isn’t working, so I changed with her,” Mo Fan said.

“I see, you scared the crap out of me! Where is your room, then? I’m looking for Miss Brianca,” Heidi let out a relieved sigh.

“The South Snow Cliff, the last cabin close to the mountain spring is mine,” Mo Fan said.

“Alright, thanks,” Heidi nodded. She left doubtfully.

Mo Fan slowly closed the door with a “you’re welcome” look.

The moment the door was closed, he went right to Brianca’s bed. The woman was obviously awake, and had heard Heidi’s voice too.

She clearly remembered everything that had happened last night. She did not blame it on Mo Fan right away, but looked at Mo Fan with wide eyes. She was extremely lost. She took her reputation very seriously!

“What are you waiting for? Put this on and go to my room along another path!” Mo Fan could not care less. He flipped the blanket up and shoved a huge coat into Brianca’s hands.

“Oh!” Brianca hurriedly draped the coat over herself. She quickly left to make Mo Fan’s lie plausible, as if she had truly done something shameless.

Mo Fan was stunned as he watched Brianca leave. Hopefully, she wouldn’t think that he was responsible for drugging her. Otherwise, he would die and his corpse would not be left intact!

-Damn it, which idiot was it that came up with the worst possible plan of drugging her with an aphrodisiac!?-

1501 Who Touched Her Grave?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

When Heidi got to Mo Fan’s room, Brianca was indeed inside, dressed in sleepwear with a coat draped over her shoulder. Luckily, Heidi was inexperienced at things like this. She easily believed the lie that Mo Fan and Brianca had worked on together.

“Teacher, Miss Ceylan asked me to visit Yuria’s grave after arriving at the Holy Judgment Court. I don’t know its exact location. Do you know where it is?” Heidi asked.

“I do, but give me some time to change. Wait for me at the Hall of Deities,” Brianca said.

“Can’t I wait here?” Heidi asked curiously.

“Well… Mo Fan said he wanted to visit the grave too. We will meet him there,” Brianca came up with a poor excuse.

“Oh, oh, I didn’t think he was that sensible, but sure,” Heidi nodded. She was deceived quite easily.

—

Brianca closed the door, but realized she had forgotten to bring any clothes over since she was in such a rush. How was she supposed to change now?

Left with no choice, she sneaked back to her room.

“How did it go? Did she believe it?” Mo Fan asked.

“She does, but you’ll have to come with us to visit Yuria’s grave,” Brianca said.

“Oh, sure,” Mo Fan nodded. He decided not to mention anything that had happened yesterday and just played along.

Brianca bit her lips after seeing Mo Fan’s reaction. She hesitated for a long time on whether she should bring up what had happened last night up. She was quite confused about her behavior.

“Mo Fan, about last night…” Brianca could not stand the silence.

“It’s fine, people say some strange things when they are sick. That’s understandable,” Mo Fan interrupted. He would never admit it was his doing; he had made up his mind firmly about that!

“I’m not good at expressing myself. I hope what I did last night didn’t scare you…” Brianca lowered her head. She tried to make it sound natural, yet she was still blushing a little.

“Not good at expressing yourself?” Mo Fan was confused now. Why would she say she was not good at expressing herself? Did that mean she did not know she was behaving strangely because she was drugged?

Brianca did not continue the conversation. Mo Fan waited for her to change before they headed to the Hall of Deities together.

——

The Hall of Deities was a symbol of the Holy Judgment Court. Its exterior did not differ greatly from other luxurious halls, but its ceiling was a world-class work of art. It was made up of the deities of three hundred and thirty-three different religions, without any sense of incompatibility. It basically depicted all the religions that the world acknowledged. There were a great number of them, yet it did not look messy. The stories and legends that the intertwined backgrounds depicted were passed down for generation after generation…

Some artists could sit here and examine the ceiling for years without getting tired of it. Unfortunately, a blizzard had left the mountain off-limits to the feebler artists and bards. It was extremely difficult for them to visit the Alps; most of the people here came for personal reasons.

Mo Fan was totally clueless about art. He did not even bother raising his head to admire it. He strongly believed this place was good for treating the cervical vertebra…

“Let’s go,” Brianca said.

Mo Fan followed the two women. It was true that when someone started uttering a lie, they would need a few more lies to make up for it. He was not actually interested in visiting Yuria’s grave, but now he had no choice but to follow them.

Brianca’s reaction was outside Mo Fan’s expectations. She was calmer than he had imagined, and… how should he put it, as saying stupid was not really appropriate?…

—

Yuria’s grave was located under an icy cliff to the east of the Holy Judgment Court. They would have to leave the cliff’s natural protection. The Holy Judgment Court did indeed know how to choose the best places. The top of the cliff was thick with magic. If ordinary Mages were to cultivate here, the location alone was as beneficial as a basic Cultivation Tool!

Their footprints were covered by snow in seconds. Sunlight was scarce, even though it was still morning. The place was dark and gloomy, ruled by the vast whiteness. It would normally see scattered sunlight around noon.

Not long afterwards, Mo Fan finally saw the icy cliff. They were currently at the bottom of it. Huge icy stalactites hung from the jaw of the cliff, extending almost to the bottom. They were pointed like spears, but as transparent as crystals.

Under these stalactites was a rectangular tombstone. It was half-covered in snow, the words on it were covered in ice. Brianca cautiously cleaned off the tombstone and placed a bouquet of Snow Lavenders in front of it.

The two women stood there and crossed their hands in front of their huge busts. They lowered their heads while uttering some memorial chants for the dead. It sounded like a song, pleasant but with a hint of sorrow…

Mo Fan stood behind them and observed the surroundings since he had nothing to do. A patch of frozen soil nearby soon caught his attention.

“The snow here must be at least five meters thick, right?” Mo Fan asked when the two women were done.

“I believe so,” Brianca said.

“Then what’s with the frozen soil? It looks like it was dug up recently,” Mo Fan pointed at the patch of soil.

Heidi and Brianca saw the patch of frozen soil, but it did not look unusual to them. However, Mo Fan had a feeling something was not right.

Considering their current altitude, and how spring was just around the corner, it was unlikely that they would be able to see any soil before summer. The sturdy layer of ice and snow was over five meters thick. There was no way a beast could dig through it easily. Besides, this place was still within the vicinity of the Holy Judgment Court. No demon creatures would come here and get themselves killed.

The soil would be covered up by snow in a few weeks, making it unnoticeable. However, it was only covered by a thin layer of ice right now. Based on Mo Fan’s rough estimation of the weather, the soil was dug up less than a month or two ago!

“What are you trying to say?” Heidi asked. She believed Mo Fan’s brain worked differently from theirs. Any ordinary person would not think there was anything wrong with the soil.

“The soil was turned, and it occurred beside the grave. I think it’s necessary to verify if Yuria’s body is still under here,” Mo Fan said seriously.

Mo Fan had a lot of experience with the undead, so he was very sensitive to the condition of the soil.

That being said, this did not necessarily have anything to do with the undead, but it was obvious that someone had done something to the grave!

“Are you sure?” Brianca glanced at Mo Fan, a little confused.

“Are there any Undead Mages in the Holy Judgment Court? I’m not too sure either, but an Undead Mage just needs to take a brief walk around to know what happened under here,” Mo Fan told them.

1502 Sister Yan Qiu

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Brianca did indeed know an Undead Mage in the Holy Judgment Court. She reached out and called the Undead Mage, who was in charge of scrolls, over. The old man walked back and forth in front of Yuria’s grave and said, “I heard her voice many times. She’s calm and sincere, unlike most of the souls. She did not display any strong hatreds, nor was she clinging to her past life…”

Heidi and Brianca were startled by the old man’s words. Did that mean Yuria’s soul had always been around this little grave?

“Don’t worry, she didn’t turn into a vengeful spirit,” the old man reassured them.

“So she has rested in peace here?” Heidi asked.

The old man shook his head and said, “I remember she was still here last month, but she’s gone now. If her soul left, judging from her serenity, she might eventually return to the Alps, but it’s strange that her corpse isn’t under here, too.”

Heidi and Brianca shifted their gaze to Mo Fan. It was just as he had mentioned: someone had dug the grave up! Yuria’s corpse was no longer around!

“Did she leave by herself?” Mo Fan asked.

“No, I already told you, she didn’t turn into an undead. Besides, this is the Holy Judgment Court, a place protected by holy spirits. No dead person could possibly become undead here, regardless of how strong they were. Even their souls would rest in peace in no time,” the old man said.

The old man left after answering their questions. He was obviously not interested in the owner of the grave. The peaceful spirit of the woman would occasionally be sitting quietly on the icy cliff when he passed by late at night…

“Someone took her corpse,” Mo Fan said.

“What kind of demented person would do a thing like that!?” Heidi said furiously.

Heidi was even more impressed by her senior sister after learning about the truth of her death. She was thinking of visiting her grave on behalf of Miss Ceylan, but she did not expect it to come down to something like this!

“That’s strange! Only a few people knew Yuria was buried here. Even the name on her tombstone was replaced with the name of her favorite flower, considering how sensitive the incident before was. It’s unlikely anyone knew she was buried here!” Brianca was utterly confused.

“Is it possible to track her body? The person that stole her corpse surely has some ulterior motives!” Heidi said.

“There’s no way we can track the person down now. We don’t even understand what’s going on!” Mo Fan shook his head.

It was impossible for them to retrieve the dead body. There were no other traces, apart from the sign that the soil was dug up recently. Even the old man’s Undead Element would struggle to find any trace of Yuria’s corpse!

—

It was nothing they could do anything about, so the three returned to the Hall of Deities. Heidi and Brianca were so troubled by the discovery that they had lost the mood to enjoy breakfast. They were planning to report this back to Ceylan and Headmistress Perry, but Mo Fan doubted it would make any difference regardless…

Was Yuria’s corpse related to some other secrets?, Mo Fan wondered to himself.

However, the timing did not make any sense. Izisha and Edith would not know where Yuria was buried. Brianca strongly insisted that only three people knew where Yuria’s grave was. in addition, Yuria’s corpse had gone missing one or two months ago, indicating that the two incidents were not related.

If they were related, they might still have a chance to track Yuria’s corpse down through Edith. They could visit Headmistress Perry to see if there were any other secrets related to Yuria. However, if the two incidents were not related at all, they would have no clue on where to start. It was possible that some deviant Undead Mage had taken the corpse away when they passed by the area!

——

The day of Mo Fan’s trial soon arrived. The outcome was no surprise: Mo Fan was found not guilty and was released. Both the Heresy Judgment Court and Holy Judgment Court were unable to prove that Mo Fan was the demon. As a result, they could not prove the Golden Sun Knight had died to Mo Fan, either.

The Parthenon Temple was in such a great mess, it felt like a revolution. Izisha’s old subordinates had killed lots of people behind the scenes to get rid of her enemies. If anyone was the demon, Izisha was truly the one, even though she did not actually do anything as she was lying inside her coffin…

“Things were a lot simpler than I imagined!” Zhao Manyan patted Mo Fan on the shoulder in congratulations.

“It was only simple for my side,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan was not relieved that he had been released so easily after learning Izisha’s true goal. She had only used him for her plan. Not only did she deliver a great blow to the rival Alps Institute, she had also established a friendly relationship with the strongest clan in Europe. It was extremely important for her future chances for the role of the Goddess!

“Shouldn’t you be happy that nothing happened? Do you really want the Holy Judgment Court to continue with the investigation?” Zhao Manyan said.

“By the way, where did Mu Bai go?” Mo Fan asked.

“How would I know!?”

—

To the west of the Holy Judgment Court stood a finely detailed wooden mansion. Beside it was a huge hot spring, a rarity on the snowy mountain. Tall walls of ice had surrounded it, forming a perfect place to relax.

“Our young duke is inside, you shouldn’t be disturbing his rest!” the henchman in the red outfit said.

“Perfect timing. I wanted to know if he was doing well or not, too,” Mu Bai said as he went inside. The henchman tried to stop him, but he was a little hesitant since they were currently on the Holy Judgment Court’s territory instead of on their private lands. Any guest of the Holy Judgment Court was allowed to use its facilities!

“You better stay away from the young duke!” the henchman warned him.

“Mm, I’ll enjoy my bath… by the way, is the woman taking care of your young duke from the Rhines?” Mu Bai asked.

“How did you know?” the henchman blurted out, but he soon realized he had accidentally spilled the beans. He said, “Do you have some ulterior motives? I’m telling you, if you dare to harbor any evil intentions toward our young duke, we’ll kill you right on the spot, even if we are currently in the Holy Judgment Court’s territory!”

Mu Bai ignored the warning. He proceeded to change his clothes and picked a spot where the angry henchman could not see him. He observed Herr Casa from the distance and the woman in her thirties who was serving him.

She had an Asian face, and was mature and pretty, but Mu Bai did not feel comfortable after seeing how respectful she was toward Herr Casa.

“I’ll change the towel for you,” the woman said.

Herr Casa was laying in the hot spring, no longer under the poison and the Curse, and had fully recovered . He glanced at the maid indifferently.

The woman walked towards the cabin, and happened to pass by Mu Bai’s seat. Mu Bai was staring at her from the moment she walked toward him and as she came closer.

“I’m Mu Bai. I’m from Bo City… Xiyi is my mother,” Mu Bai said loudly as she passed.

The woman did not pay any attention at first. However, she immediately came to a stop and looked at Mu Bai in surprise when he mentioned his mother’s name!

However, the woman seemed quite intimidated by Herr Casa and the henchman. She continued on her way, but when she passed by Mu Bai, she said to him with a soft voice that only the two of them could hear, “Come here when the clock strikes at midnight.”

Mu Bai was relieved when the woman responded to him. However, he could tell how strong the grudge Herr Casa had toward him, Mo Fan, and the others was, seeing how cautious she was. Herr Casa might pick on her if he knew the relationship between her and Mu Bai.

Mu Bai was more than smart enough to say nothing further.

—

—

The snow was falling even heavier that night. It sounded like the heavy chimes of the clock tower had almost frozen.

The chimes echoed across the sky. A petite figure hurriedly headed toward the deserted hot spring. She would occasionally look back in an extremely cautious manner.

Mu Bai saw someone pushing the door to the hot spring open. He smiled when he saw it was the woman that had been serving Herr Casa so humbly.

She was most likely the only person he had been missing in the world. Mu Bai had sworn he would pay her a visit when he saw the stars in the sky on Kunlun Mountain.

Mu Bai was still very young, so he only had a blurred impression of his sister. He could not even remember what she looked like; he only knew she was brought to a huge renowned clan in Switzerland. They had kept in contact with letters for a few years at first, but he completely lost contact with her afterward. Mu Bai was worried that something might have happened to her. However, he was relieved when he realized that the woman was indeed his sister, and she was unharmed.

“Sister Yan Qiu,” Mu Bai went up to the woman. He was extremely excited to see her.

“Is it really you, Xiao Bai?” Yan Qiu quickly went up to Mu Bai in disbelief.

“Yes, it’s me!” Mu Bai nodded.

“I thought I was dreaming? Where’s mother? Is she here too?” Yan Qiu was extremely excited. She was grabbing Mu Bai so strongly that he was hurting a little.

“Mother has already passed away,” Mu Bai told her softly.

Yan Qiu was stunned. Her face immediately filled with sorrow.

After a long time, Yan Qiu calmed down. She said guiltily, “I should have gone and visited her. It has been so many years…”

“Why didn’t you write to us for so long?” Mu Bai asked.

“Since I started serving the young duke, they have not allowed me to write letters to anyone, in order to prevent me from leaking information that will put the Casas in an unfavorable situation,” Yan Qiu explained.

“How unreasonable are these people? Sister, I know Herr Casa is far from a good man. You shouldn’t stay by his side any longer. Come with me… we’re going back to our homeland. I’ll take good care of you!” Mu Bai was hoping that she would accept his suggestion. After all, she was his sister. Even though they were not related by blood, he would still protect her with everything he had!

“I’m afraid I can’t make the decision for myself. Mu Bai, I know you care about me. You have grown up and become an impressive Mage. I’m so proud of you, but the Casas have always been like this, especially Herr Casa; he doesn’t like other people disturbing him… Don’t worry about me. In a few years’ time, he will find someone younger than me to serve him. Isn’t it better if I go back home then?” Yan Qiu stroked Mu Bai’s cheek with a smile on her face.

“I’m not scared of them,” Mu Bai said firmly.

“It’s not about being scared or not. It’s just unnecessary to provoke them. Listen to your sister, we’ll keep it this way. Don’t tell anyone about me. If Herr Casa learns, he’s going to pick on me and not let me leave ever. Your two friends are quite reckless, so don’t tell them about me, either. I can leave when the time comes, so there’s no need to stir up any trouble,” Yan Qiu said seriously.

“Oh, alright,” Mu Bai nodded, agreeing with Yan Qiu’s words.

1503 The Arrival of The Queen of Netherworld

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Don’t worry about me, and don’t provoke Herr Casa, we’ll just pretend we don’t know one another,” Yan Qiu said.

“Alright.”

“I’ll be going. Herr Casa will be suspicious if I’m away for too long,” Yan Qiu told him.

Mu Bai watched Yan Qiu leave. Her figure slowly faded into the snow.

Mu Bai was a little disappointed after they had to separate again after their brief reunion. However, he could tell that Yan Qiu had indeed gotten used to her current life. He was pleased after learning that she was fine. It was indeed inappropriate to disrupt her life. After all, it had been so many years since they had last met…

—

Yan Qiu left the hot spring, and slowly headed back to the wooden mansion. She shook the snow on her clothes off before opening the door, taking a few extra glances behind her.

The door opened with a little squeak. When she went into the room, a tall figure was standing in front of her. He looked unusually eerie under the dim light inside the room.

His golden-brown eyes stared at Yan Qiu. Herr Casa grinned mischievously, “Did you go and meet him?”

Yan Qiu did not stop. She went up to Herr Casa and sat on his mink chair. The clear look in her eyes suddenly became a little menacing and complicated.

“Get me some water,” Yan Qiu said coldly.

Herr Casa went to the furnace and came back with a mug of hot water.

“I want it cold,” Yan Qiu noticed the steam rising from the mug and gave Herr Casa an impatient look.

“Who was the guy you went to see? How did he know you?” Herr Casa poured another glass of cold water and placed it in front of her.

“It’s tricky,” Yan Qiu rubbed her brows.

“What is it? It’s rare to see you like this,” Herr Casa said.

Yan Qiu stared at the fire in the furnace, not speaking for a long time. Herr Casa stood beside her quietly, not daring to disturb her thoughts.

—

—

Mo Fan and the others did not stay at the Holy Judgment Court for too long.

The place was too cold; it felt like they were living in a different world. It was even more secluded than the Alps Institute. Since Mo Fan had no other business here, it was meaningless for them to stay any longer.

Mo Fan was initially planning to go back to his country right away. He could not just cast aside his responsibility to look for the Totem Beasts after giving Chairman Shao Zheng his promise. His country needed him, but someone totally unexpected had shown up. Well, she was not really a person…

“You came just in time, can you help me look into something?” Mo Fan withheld the speechlessness in his heart as he spoke to the flirtatious Li Yu’e.

Li Yu’e was like a completely different person. Every action she made was enticing. Mo Fan thought Li Yu’e had been Possessed, and after taking a closer look, he realized that she really was Possessed… by one of the eight Undead Rulers, the Queen of Netherworld!

Mo Fan was quite surprised when the Queen of Netherworld showed up. He never thought a phantom could travel so far from her own territory. Most shockingly, the Queen of Netherworld was able to come and go freely in a place like the Holy Judgment Court!

“I’ve come all the way to see you, yet you’re asking me to do some manual labor instead!” The Queen of Netherworld poked Mo Fan on the chest. He already knew what she would say next, “You assh***, why didn’t you treat me with love and tenderness first?”

“Are you sure you’ve obtained Li Yu’e’s permission? Can she really accept how you just barged into her body and did something like this?” Mo Fan replied.

“I did ask for her permission. You can ask her if you don’t believe me,” the Queen of Netherworld said.

Mo Fan stared at Li Yu’e and saw the girl looking back at him. Her expression and the look in her eyes did not change by much. However, after a few seconds, her eyes gradually cleared up. The enticing look on her face was gone, too.

“Li Yu’e?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, it’s me… oh, she came to look for you,” Li Yu’e seemed unaware of what the Queen of Netherworld had done, yet she did not seem surprised by the missing gaps in her memory when her body was taken over. It really felt like nothing could really shock her.

Mo Fan was utterly impressed by Li Yu’e. If he was in her position, knowing his body was being controlled by a spirit would definitely scare the crap out of him!

“I’m sorry, she’s my friend, she might offend you, so please don’t mind,” Mo Fan said awkwardly.

“It’s fine, she’s very polite. She told me the reason why she’s here, and I gave her permission too,” Li Yu’e said.

“Aren’t you scared?” Mo Fan said.

“A little at the start, but I’m fine now,” Li Yu’e said.

“Well, I’ve agreed to open a gate to the Underworld for them. I can’t make them wait for too long, so I’ll have to pay a visit to Egypt. The Queen of Netherworld will help me with the task on behalf of the Kingdom of Undead of my homeland,” Mo Fan told her.

Mo Fan had no clue if Li Yu’e understood what he was saying. Anyone else might think he was a lunatic if he said the same thing to them.

“Mm,” Li Yu’e listened.

“…then allow me to bid farewell to you first,” Mo Fan said.

“Sure, we’ll meet ag… See, I told you I already have her permission, yet you’re still being so fierce to me. I was so scared!” the Queen of Netherworld protested.

Mo Fan dropped his jaw when he saw Li Yu’e revert to the Queen of Netherworld in just a second. -Sister, couldn’t you wait to take over until she finished her sentence?-

“You’ve been borrowing other people’s bodies to travel all the way here. By the way, you are pretty good with modern slang already. I bet you didn’t trouble the young ladies in the cities?” Mo Fan said.

“Hehe, the cities are fun, but they aren’t suitable for us undead. My magic is only strong enough for me to Possess a person temporarily. It’s quite a huge mental burden,” the Queen of Netherworld answered.

“You shouldn’t be so smug, either. We are currently at the Holy Judgment Court, and there are a lot of powerful Mages here. If someone caught you and treated you as a test subject, like a thousand-year-old magic sample, you would really end up as a disgrace to the undead of our country,” Mo Fan reminded the Queen of Netherworld.

“That’s not possible, one of the strongest organizations in the world? I feel like there aren’t many people here that are strong enough for me to break a sweat,” the Queen of Netherworld sniffed with a disdainful expression.

“You kept interrupting. I almost forgot something. I’ll bring you to a grave. Help me see where its owner went,” Mo Fan said.

“We have real business to attend to.”

“This is real business, too. Do me a favor, you are a professional at this,” Mo Fan said, and brought the Queen of Netherworld to Yuria’s grave.

1504 Drag Him Into the Water

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Queen of Netherworld stood in front of the grave with her eyes closed, searching for the spirit that used to live here.

After some time, her expression shifted slightly. She said to Mo Fan, “You shouldn’t mess with the guy that took her body.”

“What do you mean by that? Do you know who it was?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s very powerful, at the very least stronger than me,” the Queen of the Netherworld said seriously, warning Mo Fan not to continue searching for the corpse. Otherwise, his life might be in danger!

Mo Fan was even more confused. Who could the person that stole Yuria’s dead body be? What were they trying to achieve?

Mo Fan finally gave up on the thought after the Queen of Netherworld warned him a few more times. He had no other business here at the Holy Judgment Court. He went to pack his stuff after deciding it was time to leave.

—

Mo Fan went back to the Alps Institute to bid farewell to Li Yu’e and Brianca. The Queen of the Netherworld left without a trace after leaving Li Yu’e’s body. Anyway, she would be staying close to him since her duty was to help him open the gate to the Underworld, allowing the undead of their country to vent their frustrations at will!

“Miss Ceylan, what I’ll be doing in Egypt is extremely dangerous. Are you sure you want Heidi to come with us?” Mo Fan asked seriously.

“You do know that her cultivation is currently at a bottleneck. She only has a chance of achieving the Super Level through some special encounters and experiences on the brink of death. I believe your journey won’t be boring, so it’s definitely in Heidi’s favor,” Ceylan answered sincerely.

“Mo Fan, Miss Ceylan has seriously considered it. Can’t you do her a favor?” Professor Li added.

Brianca spoke up, too. She hoped Heidi was able to benefit from the adventure. Meanwhile, Mo Fan was hoping Brianca would go with him, too. Whether it was because of her strength or something he did not have the chance to finish, he had more than enough reason to invite Brianca to come along!

“Miss Brianca, why don’t you come with us and have a tour around Egypt, too? If you agree, I won’t mind bringing Heidi along,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was not willing to let Heidi tag along easily. Their destination was Egypt, and they were involved in a very dangerous mission. He did not mind having beautiful women keeping them company, but if anything happened to Heidi during the trip, he could not afford to bear the consequences!

Inviting Brianca to come along was a good excuse that Mo Fan came up with. It was unlikely that Brianca would leave the Alps Institute. That way, Mo Fan could smoothly turn down their request to bring Heidi along.

“This…”

“Miss Brianca, Mo Fan is only worried that he can’t take care of Heidi on his own. You’re around their age; why don’t you go with them?” Professor Li asked.

“Professor Li is right. We will be less worried knowing that a teacher is with them,” Ceylan nodded.

“Brianca, you do need to go out. Staying at the school will only bury your talents,” Headmistress Perry agreed, too.

Mo Fan glanced at the two teachers in astonishment, before looking at Brianca.

Brianca hesitated for a while, but finally nodded, “Alright, but please give me some time. I’ll need to pack my stuff.”

“Miss Brianca, you don’t have to force yourself. I didn’t really want to go with them either…” Heidi said with some reluctance.

She did not understand why her teachers were asking her to go on an adventure with a few perverts. She would rather go alone!

On second thought, if Brianca was tagging along, the trip would not be as terrible as she imagined. If these jerks teamed up to bully her, Brianca could eliminate them all by moving the tip of her finger!

“I…I didn’t mean it like that,” Mo Fan was going to turn it down, but the teachers and professors did not give him any chance to speak any further. His face immediately darkened.

-What the heck is going on here!?-

Mo Fan had not told them the true goal of his visit to Egypt. How could he just tell the others he was planning to open up a gate to the Underworld? He only told Li Yu’e since he knew she had no clue what he was talking about…

“Forget it, I’ll just settle them somewhere in Egypt. The Queen of Netherworld and I will proceed from there,” Mo Fan comforted himself knowing that things had already gone out of his control. However, why was he feeling a little excited inside?

——

The student exchange that Professor Li and Professor Zheng were in charge of successfully came to an end. They brought Li Ximei, Shi Junsheng, and the others back to the Pearl Institute. The Alps Institute and the Pearl Institute had established a closer relationship through the exchange. The two schools would be working closely from now on. Mo Fan sincerely believed the old folks of the Pearl Institute should thank him for his opening up such a bright future for them…

Mo Fan, Mu Bai, Zhao Manyan, Brianca, and Heidi took a flight to Egypt. Zhao Manyan suddenly realized he had never asked Mo Fan why they were going to Egypt after they were on the plane.

“Mo Fan, why are we going to Egypt? Stop keeping me out of the loop,” Zhao Manyan demanded.

“You remember when the Great Pyramid of Giza came to invade our land?” Mo Fan asked him.

“Of course, I’ll never forget that for my entire life!” Zhao Manyan swore.

“We are going to return the favor,” Mo Fan declared solemnly.

“Are you kidding me now?”

“Do I look like I am?”

“Holy crap, just calm down!” Zhao Manyan immediately had a bad feeling about it.

“Calm down, we aren’t attacking them. Didn’t the Cold Prince open up the gates of the Underworld inside our country, allowing the Underworld creatures to invade our land? We are doing the same thing he did. We are opening up a gate close to the Pyramids in Egypt, so the Kingdom of Undead in our country can attack them. You do know that our country is busy handling threats along the shoreline, but the undead have nowhere to vent their lust to kill. The only way to solve the problem is by waging a war against the undead in Egypt!” Mo Fan explained to him.

“I’m leaving,” Zhao Manyan declared firmly before Mo Fan even finished the sentence.

“We are on a plane.”

“Then I’m jumping off the plane! Are you out of your mind? Why would you even volunteer for a job like that!?” Zhao Manyan said.

“What choice did I have? I didn’t want to take it, either, but the Kingdom of Undead needs to eat and drink, too. Why don’t we give Egypt a huge gift, instead of letting the undead harm our people? Egypt’s government will welcome us with their legs raised. They hate the undead like we do; they want the undead of their country to go away forever,” Mo Fan said.

“I promised to help you look for the Totem Beasts! Do you see how bizarre the things you are doing now are?” Zhao Manyan protested.

“I promise it’s the last time. After we are done, we will focus on looking for the Totem Beasts, so your turtle shell can evolve too…” Mo Fan said.

“How about those two chicks?”

“We’ll find an excuse to send them away. We can’t afford to involve them.”

“How about Green Tea Man?”

“He doesn’t really have anything to live for, so of course we are dragging him into this mess,” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan grinned, and immediately felt a lot better.

1505 Chaotic Battle

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A sudden announcement during the flight woke Mo Fan, who was in a deep sleep.

“Our respected passengers, we are sorry to inform you that this flight will be landing in advance in New Suez. All international passengers might have to adjust their schedules.”

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai woke up too. They looked at the other passengers with blank faces.

The Egyptians around them only groaned when they heard the update, not showing any real reaction. Some middle-aged Arabian men continued to flip their newspapers to the next page, their legs crossed absently.

“What’s going on?” Brianca asked.

“Cairo is probably fighting, so it won’t be taking any flights, apart from military ones,” a young man seated behind them said.

“Fighting?” Mu Bai was astounded.

Why did they sound like a battle was as common as a normal restriction placed on flight paths? Shouldn’t they be more worried if a battle broke out?

“I bet it’s the scorpion men and the snake men again. They show up and fight one another this time of the year in order to accumulate sufficient energy to hatch their eggs,” the Arabian man said, flipping through his newspaper.

“Mister, are battles that common here?” Heidi had to ask.

“Of course! If it isn’t for those goddamned undead, Egypt would have long conquered the world! ” the man proclaimed.

Everyone chuckled after hearing those words. Mo Fan noticed that nobody was too bothered by the fighting. Now that he thought about it, the Ancient Capital was constantly fighting the undead at night, but the people still went out to eat, visited the nightclubs, and hooked up with others…

Now that Cairo was fighting, they had to find another way to continue on…

A new announcement followed not long afterwards. “Our respected passengers, we are sorry to inform you that the southern part of New Suez had fallen to the demon creatures. The flight will now return to our departure city. We are sorry for the inconvenience!”

“F**k me, are you kidding me now!?” Mo Fan was the first to rise to his feet.

The passengers were a little restless after hearing the latest update. They immediately looked out the windows.

The plane had already arrived on the outskirts of New Suez. The desert came right up to the city. New Suez was within view, but it was blocked by a cluster of thin clouds.

They could see black streams invading the little square that was the city through the clouds. It was not very spectacular, mainly because their current altitude was around seven thousand meters. Everything was just too small!

“Our respected passengers, we are very sorry. We don’t have enough fuel to make it back to our departure point. The other cities nearby are currently experiencing too much air traffic. We can’t afford to wait until it’s our turn to land. We’ll be landing in New Suez forcibly. Once the plane lands, a troop of soldiers will escort everyone to safety. Please strictly follow their instructions and don’t do anything reckless!” another announcement followed quickly.

The announcement was repeated twice. The passengers on the plane were utterly dumbfounded!

They were not stupid. New Suez was obviously in the middle of a battle, just like Cairo. Countless demon creatures were currently attacking the city from the south, yet they were planning to land at the airport located in the south too?! Wouldn’t they be feeding themselves right into the tiger’s mouth!?

“Words can’t even describe how impressed I am by EgyptAir,” Zhao Manyan commented.

The plane was in a total mess. The Arabian man that was reading the newspaper previously was now arguing with the stewardess. It felt like he was going to hit her soon.

The rest of the Egyptians were complaining and cursing, too. They were demanding the pilot land the plane in the desert instead.

They would rather land in the desert than in the middle of a battle zone. Were they really thinking the army could escort them to safety?

They did not even know if the army could hold the demon creatures back! It was even possible for the entire flight and troop to be wiped out!

“Please follow the instructions; we are merely repeating what we were told,” the stewardess tried to calm the passengers down. They handled the unruly and angry passengers calmly, in a professional manner. Their service attitude was impressive.

“Is it really that chaotic out here?” Brianca asked after some time.

Brianca had stayed at the Alps Institute for too long. She had always thought the world was in a peaceful state, but the first place she visited after leaving the Alps Institute was in such a mess!

“There has been a lot of fighting lately,” Mo Fan informed her.

The wars had never stopped; the demon creatures always had the upper hand. The territories they occupied were a hundred times or even a thousand times larger than the human territories. When a particular horde or kingdom of demon creatures had grown so strong that the other species could not keep it at bay, aggressive demon creatures would shift their attention to the human cities instead!

In the end, humans were individually still too weak, striving to survive in the gaps between the kingdoms of the demon creatures. The rulers of the demon creatures were the ones making the calls to restart the fighting!

Egypt was constantly at war with demon creatures. As a matter of fact, China was in a similar situation, too. It had to fend off different species of demon creatures due to the amount of land it held. Leaving aside the twenty thousand-some kilometers of shoreline that currently posed the greatest threat to their country, the infamous kingdoms of the demon creatures inland of China included the Undead Kingdom, the Kunlun Kingdom, the Great Horde of Dongting Lake, the Great Horde of the Qinling Mountains, the Great Horde of the Nanshan Mountains, and the Beijiang Desolate Beasts…

The demon creatures of Kunlun Mountains had been going easy on China for the past few years; only the Great Horde of the Qinling Mountains had crossed the line. The Undead Kingdom had been well-behaved ever since the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. Otherwise, if the demon creatures inland started to invade the country when it was already under attack along the shore, China’s territory would shrink significantly!

Even so, the plan to form headquarter cities was already in motion. Countless tier-two and tier-three cities, towns, and villages were being abandoned. Their people had moved into the headquarter cities, building up human fortresses with impenetrable defenses. To be frank, they were forced to hole up timidly behind the sturdy walls, and give up the mountains, rivers, oceans, and sky to the demon creatures!

In the past, Mo Fan was weak and without any great ambitions, but he was a different person now. Even though he was still weak, he was so ambitious that he kept getting involved in life-threatening situations. All the incidents he had gone through were like stories that people would not believe. He was truly living the life!

“Holy crap, there are so many scorpions and snakes, and they are naked too!” Zhao Manyan blurted out, sticking his face to the window.

The plane was banking sideways, and the passengers could now take a closer look at the ground. The scorpions and snakes in Egypt were not referring to vicious women, but creatures with a woman’s upper boy, and the lower body of a scorpion or snake!

The medusae were a subordinate species of the scorpion-humanoid gorgons, but they could crossbreed, producing offspring called lamias, with the upper bodies of female giants, the lower bodies of snakes, and six legs like a scorpion.

The lamias were an impure breed, and both the medusae and the gorgons despised them. They were normally treated as cannon fodder in a war, but that did not necessarily mean their strength was inferior to the pure-blooded gorgons and medusas!

The three species had always been a rather terrifying force in Africa!

1506 The Crawlers

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Most gorgons were very close to the Commander-level, while the weakest medusae were at the Warrior-level. In comparison, the lamias had the widest range of levels. The Servant-class lamias were a plague throughout Africa.

In addition to them, another species had a similarly-sized population, a mutation of the lamias called the Crawlers. A lamia could give birth to an entire nest of them in a week. These Crawlers were not an ordinary breed. They had strange and twisted bodies, and their numbers were on the scale of a plague. They had barely had any defenses, and even the weakest Basic Spell could take their lives, but they had the fangs of snakes and tails of scorpions, and were agile, cunning, and unavoidable. Battlemages in Egypt did not die that often to the lamia, but to Crawlers that ambushed them out of nowhere!

The demon creatures attacking from the south of New Suez consisted mainly of Crawlers and lamias. They were gathering at the outskirts of the south of the city, looking like several black streams from high above. The streams accumulated into a huge black horde, writhing with disgusting forms!

“To be frank, the advancement of magic has brought us too much entertainment. Everyone stops staying at home and reproducing at night. Look at these demon creatures, I bet they always hold orgies when they are bored. It’s the only reason they can reproduce so rapidly. Their numbers alone are enough to crush us!” Zhao Manyan observed.

“We humans emphasize optimized breeding, but look at these strange Crawlers. Their main purpose in life is to poison a living being bigger than them to death. They have no other goals in life,” Mo Fan remarked.

Mo Fan had read a lot about the demon creatures in Egypt when he was convalescing at the Parthenon Temple. Greece was actually pretty close to Egypt, so their cultures had a lot of similarities.

“Aren’t you afraid?” Heidi asked, rather confused.

“Not really; they should be afraid of us, instead! It’s unlikely these low-level existences can harm us, but I can’t say for sure about the rest of the passengers,” Mo Fan said.

“Well… Heidi suffers from fear of crawling insects, so please keep an eye on her later,” Brianca told them softly.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai gasped. They all looked at Heidi, and noticed her face turning pale with a nervous expression after taking a glance at the demon creatures.

“What are you laughing at? You must be afraid of something too!” Heidi grunted, vexed when she saw them smirking.

“No wonder Miss Ceylan insisted you come with us. If you can’t overcome your trypophobia, you are as vulnerable as an ordinary little girl when you are up against species of spiders, mice, and insects. Unfortunately for them, I’m the nemesis of these high-density species!” Mo Fan declared.

The flames of the Ardent Sunset were most effective against weak demon creatures in high numbers. The Crawlers might not be a kind of insect, but they definitely suited the Ardent Sunset’s appetite! Therefore, Mo Fan was not worried that the plane was about to land in the middle of a battlefield.

Besides, there was a Super Level with four Super Elements on the flight, too! They might not even have to do a single thing for the demon creatures to be taken care of!

—

The plane began to descend. The passengers started praying instead of cursing meaninglessly.

The miasma produced by the lamias lingered in the air. The plane suddenly found itself in a dim twilight rather than the bright afternoon sun. It was very easy for ordinary people to be poisoned.

The snakes and scorpions fed on the rotten flesh of the undead, but were also the servants and guardians of some powerful undead at the same time. The filthy gas they were emitting constantly was similar to the deathly auras of the undead. Therefore, there was always a pungent smell when they appeared on a huge scale.

“It’s been a while since I last had some exercise,” Mo Fan mused.

Heidi had trypophobia, but Mo Fan was the complete opposite. Little Loach had not collected any Soul Essences for some time. The Soul Essences he had collected last time from massacring the undead were all consumed to pay off the debt of using the Demon Element. He needed some Soul Essences to strengthen his Lightning Magic now!

Mo Fan’s control of the Lightning Element was not as impressive as the Fire Element, so he could not alter the form of Lightning Magic as he pleased. If he could strengthen the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Spells further, he would be able to use his spells differently. It would be extremely beneficial, especially with the twelvefold amplification of his Lightning Magic!

“You shouldn’t waste your energy if the soldiers are going to protect us,” Mu Bai said.

“Yeah, don’t forget why you are here!” Zhao Manyan added.

“I was just saying!” Mo Fan protested.

—

—

A troop of Mages in brown military outfits had cleared a path on the landing field.

“Meos, this is the last flight. We are going to retreat immediately as soon as it lands,” a tanned Captain spoke up.

“Alright, ask your soldiers to be on guard, don’t let the Crawlers break through the perimeter,” Meos said.

“There are too many of them. It’s impossible to keep them all out, but we’ll protect the passengers at all costs. After all, the reputation of the country’s aviation is at stake,” the Captain nodded.

Most of the paths on the airfield were sealed off. The designated path was lit up with indicators to guide the descending plane.

“By the way, did they turn the lights off on the path that was overrun?” Meos asked one of the authorities of the aviation company after a sudden thought crossed her mind.

“I’m not sure! The control room is no longer accessible because of the Crawlers. We weren’t able to operate the lights. Most of the personnel had been evacuated. I’m only here to turn on the lights of this path,” the person said.

Meos lifted her gaze and stared in the direction that the plane was heading to through the cloudy mist.

The plane suddenly swayed from its approach path and glided along another path that was a certain distance away.

“Damn it, didn’t the pilot notice the lights of this path had just been turned on!?”

“The interference to our communication devices is too strong…”

“Quick, we must make our way to path B6 now. We have to get rid of the Crawlers before the plane lands!” Meos blurted out.

The platoon of a hundred soldiers was dumbfounded. According to the plan, the plane would land securely on the path they were guarding. Once it came to a stop, they would escort the passengers away; mission accomplished! They did not expect the pilot would land on a path that was long overrun by the Crawlers!

——

The noise of the plane was deafening. The huge international plane glided down from an altitude of four thousand meters and gradually approached the ground amid a strong turbulence.

The lane was crawling with eerily-shaped scorpions and insects around the size of a fist. As the plane landed at high speed, the wheels crushed the demon creatures and left three shocking trails of black blood along the ground!

The lane was around three thousand meters long. The plane traveled fifteen hundred meters while it slowed down, crushing around five to six hundred scorpion-like and snake-like demon creatures as it did. The corpses were smashed into pieces with blood and bodily fluids smeared across the lane. A foul odor spread rapidly in the air after their deaths.

The foul odor immediately attracted their comrades. As a result, black crawling creatures rapidly approached the plane from both sides and the rear while it was still slowing down. The creatures soon surrounded the plane.

“Didn’t they say soldiers would be here to protect us!?” the Arabian man screamed. He had already wet his pants.

The other passengers were on the verge of losing their minds, too. The plane had landed right in a nest of the Crawlers. Anyone would be overwhelmed by the sight of the creatures advancing toward them in one wave after another!

“EgyptAir is seriously the most unreliable aviation company I’ve ever seen. It looks like we are on our own.” Mo Fan rose to his feet and cracked his knuckles.

The cabin crew did not dare open the door. These Crawlers were not too strong, and although their numbers might be overwhelming, they were unable to tear through the sturdy metal of the plane.

The pilot and the cabin crew were dumbfounded. They had no idea what to do.

Ugly black scorpions were crawling over the windows now. They were tearing at them, wildly driven by base instinct to attack the living humans inside the plane!

“The army will be here soon, everyone, please stay calm!” the head stewardess tried her best to steady the passengers.

“Are they going to climb inside… AHHHH!” a woman suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs.

The people turned around and were shocked to see an eerie scorpion around the size of a fist inside the plane. The creature had managed to sneak into the plane out of nowhere. It was crawling nimbly along the walls.

The scorpion leapt at the woman even as she screamed. It was pouncing right for her neck!

Mu Bai was the closest to the woman, and reacted in the nick of time. He flicked his finger and fired an icicle at the scorpion. It struck the creature in mid-air and nailed it to the wall!

“They must have snuck inside through the wheels. These creatures are small enough to move through the gaps,” Mu Bai observed.

“It’s more dangerous inside here. Head stewardess, open the door!” Mo Fan ordered.

The space inside the plane was too confined. Mo Fan did not dare use his magic here. He was afraid that he might hurt people by accident!

“Are you out of your mind? Aren’t they going to rush inside if the door is open!? I don’t want to die!” the young man with a huge nose seated behind them shouted.

The guy was constantly showing off before, demonstrating how knowledgeable he was during the flight. He was obviously trying to catch the attention of the two gorgeous women, Brianca and Heidi. However, he was being pretty brave if he did not wet his pants under the circumstances. He had no sign of his previous demeanor; he was screaming at the top of his lungs instead!

“We have to leave the plane as soon as possible. The Crawlers aren’t a hassle, but if we stay until the lamias show up, we won’t have any chance to run away,” Mo Fan continued evenly.

If they waited until the army was here, the soldiers would only be retrieving their corpses. In the end, they had to handle the situation themselves. However, there were more than a hundred passengers on the plane. It would be a little tricky to keep them safe from the overwhelming number of Crawlers!

1507 Fancy a Group Scuffle?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The captain of the plane did not want to open the door at first, but when he saw huge black and red creatures showing up in the lane behind the plane, he knew they could not afford to wait for the army!

The army was nowhere to be seen. If they did not start running, they really would be overrun by these monsters!

“Stick close to us, don’t split up!” Brianca kindly reminded the passengers behind her.

The door at the front of the plane opened, while the emergency door remained closed. The passengers could not care less about their belongings. EgyptAir was clearly going to cover their losses. It was more important to stay alive!

The plane was extremely crowded. Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai led the way and brought over thirty passengers out of the plane. When they took the slide down to the ground, the abnormal Scorpion and Snake Insects quickly gathered around them. They were extremely tiny, but their poison was deadly. Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai could not afford to lower their guard…

Zhao Manyan swiftly moved his hands around, controlling the Water Ribbons circulating around the passengers, ensuring that each of them was protected by a layer of Water Barrier.

“Freeze!”

Mu Bai stomped the ground, spreading his ice out in a ring. The temperature within the Ice Ring’s area of effect fell rapidly. The cold-blooded Crawlers were used to living in extreme heat, and were very afraid of ice. The frost swiftly froze their blood, and their bodies stiffened into corpses!

The Ice Ring radiated out for two hundred meters. The creatures that were either crawling hastily on the ground or leaping into the air halted in their tracks when the Ice Ring struck them. In less than three seconds, the Crawlers all shattered into little ice cubes!

“Impressive!” “That’s remarkable!”

The passengers were relieved after witnessing Mu Bai’s Ice Magic.

They stepped on the frozen bodies of the Crawlers and crushed them into slush. The thirty passengers quickened their pace and ran toward the structures nearby.

—

“Heidi, go see where the army is,” Mo Fan directed her, before jumping down from the plane.

They could not look after the passengers all the time. Most of the passengers were too weak to even protect themselves. The Crawlers were so small; if any of them slipped through the net and reached the passengers, they were basically done for. They had to rely on the army to guarantee their safety!

“Got it!” Heidi was afraid of the Crawlers, and might struggle to fend them off. Mo Fan had given her a more suitable job.

“They are coming! They are coming, run!” the head stewardess screamed.

“What’s coming?”

“Huge demons! How are they so quick? They were a kilometer away before!” The person speaking was an aged Light Mage. The only help he could provide was purifying the air, preventing the passengers from being poisoned.

The Light Mage called himself Booker. He was a lot kinder than the others. He did not run away first, but stayed behind to help the women and children, allowing them to reach safety first.

“Can’t you all move a bit quicker? We are all going to die at this rate!” a man in a black long-sleeve shirt yelled when he reached the door.

Some of the passengers poked their heads out to see what was going on outside. When they saw the trails of dust the creatures had swept into the air as they were charging, they almost fainted right there. Only in moments like this would they regret not working hard enough to become a Mage!

“Miss Brianca, take the others and regroup with Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan,” Mo Fan said.

“Got it,” Brianca nodded.

There were around eighty passengers remaining. If these passengers stuck close together, Brianca, as a Super Mage, would not have any problem guaranteeing their safety.

Unfortunately, things never went according to plan. There were terrified kids running aimlessly, women who were too scared to move, and scum that fled for their lives on their own without even bothering to follow orders. It made protecting the people ten times more difficult than it was meant to be.

“Confining Grass!”

Brianca Summoned some magic grass by pinching her fingers. It casually fell to the ground, growing rapidly as soon as it landed. The lane was covered by the blue magic grass in an instant!

The Crawlers wove through the magic grass rapidly. They were unharmed at first, but whenever they tried to attack a passenger, the Confining Grass would suddenly expand and grow into a thick, strong vine, binding the agile creatures quickly before dragging them back to the ground.

Although the Crawlers had overwhelming numbers, the strange magic grass was everywhere too! Not a single demon creature managed to slip past the net. The Confining Grass would tie every creature up as soon as they showed the slightest intent to harm the passengers!

The passengers were perfectly unharmed within the protection of the Confining Grass. They calmed down knowing that a powerful Plant Mage was among them. The people started helping those that were too scared to move so they could catch up to the others ahead.

Brianca quickly escorted the passengers away. She could not help but turn around to look at Mo Fan. She noticed that he was still next to the plane.

“Young man, it’s time to leave. We will be safe with the Plant Mage’s help!” the Light Mage yelled when he noticed Mo Fan staying behind.

“They are moving too slowly. It’s only a matter of time until these creatures catch up to them. I have to get rid of them first!” Mo Fan called back.

“Are you being serious? There are hundreds of Lesser Lamias and Lamias heading our way!” Booker came to a stop. He was actually turning back to lend Mo Fan a hand.

Mo Fan ignored the man’s advice, and started drawing a silver Star Constellation.

A lunar-white glow constructed a dimensional gate connected to a different plane. The enormous gate opened up slowly, and a ferocious icy wolf sprinted out of the gate. Its icy aura froze the weak Crawlers nearby almost instantly.

More enormous white wolves as tall as the plane ran howling out of the Summoning Gate after the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. Their eyes were bloodshot, their drooling fangs revealed by their menacing grins!

“Why would I be afraid of that scum in a group scuffle?” Mo Fan stood among the wolves, who gathered around him like he was their leader. “Charge!”

The starving wolves threw off their reins as soon as Mo Fan pointed ahead. Their enormous claws slammed heavily on the lane as they strove to be the first ones to pounce on the Lamias and their spawn!

The Lesser Lamias were between the Servant-class and the Warrior-level, while the Lamias were between the Warrior-level and the Commander-level. Mo Fan estimated around three hundred Lesser Lamias at a quick glance. They were all instinctively chasing after the scent of humans.

There were around twenty true Lamias. They loomed up among the demon creatures, like an above-average-sized vehicle, but they were still significantly smaller than the white wolves.

The wolves were like armored tanks. The ground trembled as they ran across it. Their muscles were as sturdy as rocks, and their lustrous hides could not conceal their powerful builds…

Mo Fan had Summoned around forty wolves, who had lined up like fleshy white tanks. The flat lane was perfect terrain for them to charge ahead. The surging white tide rammed into the cloudy mist of the Lamias and their spawn. Blood and flesh flew about, scales scattering across the ground while countless Lesser Lamias turned into mincemeat!

The white wolves were a lot stronger than the Lesser Lamias. Even the stronger Lamias would struggle against them. The pack of wolves smashed their way through them all under the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s lead. The two breeds of Lamias that were initially thinking of enjoying some delicious human flesh shrieked in agony and fled for their lives while tugging their tails between their legs!

It had been a while since the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had such an enjoyable time killing an enemy. He continued to push further into the enemy ranks. Mo Fan could no longer see where the white fleshy tanks he had Summoned had gone to.

The old Light Mage was dumbfounded. He uttered after a long pause, “Young…young man, are…are those your Summoned Beasts?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while since they last had some meat,” Mo Fan admitted.

Light Mage Booker had a strange expression. He was so worried about the young man’s safety, yet Mo Fan was feeding all these lamias to his Summoned Beasts instead!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf suddenly howled from inside the mist. Mo Fan was wondering what had happened when he saw the Flying Creek Snow Wolf running back to him.

The other white wolves were also running toward him at their quickest speed, as if they had encountered something absolutely terrifying!

The white wolves could only last in the mortal realm for a certain period. Mo Fan brought up the Summoning Gate and sent the pack of white wolves back to the Summoned Beast Plane.

“Quick, time to run,” Mo Fan said to Booker quickly. He no longer had the mood to feed his Summoned Beasts.

“What’s going on?” Booker was utterly confused. This young man was incredibly strong, why did he look so scared all of a sudden?

“There’s some insanely strong creature coming!” Mo Fan dragged Booker onto the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and headed straight toward Brianca.

Brianca was their real hope, that Mo Fan was certain of!

1508 Scorpion Queen

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan did not stay and fight overzealously. He was currently in the middle of a battle. It was fine if he did not participate in the fighting, but once he crossed the line by killing too many weaklings, some stronger demon creatures would eventually show up to take him out!

Mo Fan quickly caught up to the group that Brianca was leading. The army had finally shown up when they reached the building to the west of the airport.

“What about the powerful creature behind us?” Booker asked worriedly.

A dark mist was building behind them. They could barely see a thing through the darkness. However, Booker could already feel a strong presence sweeping at them like a black storm, sending chills down his spine and making him shiver in fear.

Words were not needed to describe how powerful the demon creature was. Even a great Commander-level beast like the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was fleeing for his life!…

“It shouldn’t be a Ruler-level creature. Otherwise, there’s no way my wolves would have made it out alive. If it isn’t a Ruler-level creature, it won’t dare to do anything reckless,” Mo Fan said.

A Commander-level creature in the Advancing Period was just as terrifying. Little Flame Belle’s strength of the peak Commander-level was on par with an Advancing Commander-level creature. Mo Fan would not bother to challenge it. If he was poisoned and paralyzed accidentally, his death would take the blink of an eye!

Similarly, the creature that had intimidated the pack of wolves did not show itself right away, either, hiding inside the poisonous mist. It was not afraid of an Advanced Mage like Mo Fan, but it could sense the Super Level Brianca.

Brianca had also sensed the powerful demon creature’s existence. Her eyes never left the mist after she led the passengers to safety.

Mo Fan was not able to see the creature, but Brianca could already see its silhouette. She knew the creature was staring at her, too!

The black storm continued to surge at them. More Crawlers charged at them recklessly. The various lamias had suddenly become cannon fodder, surging at them in huge numbers. Those weaklings had no place in Brianca’s eyes after she no longer had to worry about the passengers’ safety. Her straight hair drifted in the wind; every Mage with sharp senses would shiver in fear despite themselves under the enormous pressure, but Brianca’s sharp gaze stopped the Crawlers and the Lamias from coming any closer!

Some time later, the contesting auras suddenly dissipated. Mo Fan noticed the dark mist fading away slightly. He caught a glimpse of the back of a red scorpion woman with six limbs fading into the distance!

A Red Scorpion?

Mo Fan was astounded. He initially thought the creature was an Advancing Commander-level creature, so the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and the other wolves were no match against it. However, it turned out to be a Red Scorpion Queen instead! It was a Ruler-level species!

Mo Fan went up to Brianca and asked worriedly, “A Ruler-level creature?”

Luckily, he was decisive when it came to running away. He would most likely die if the Ruler-level creature ambushed him. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s presence must have attracted the creature’s attention, since the best nutrition for a Ruler-level creature was none other than Commander-level creatures!

“It’s not, but it’s pretty close,” Brianca said.

“It’s a young Red Scorpion Queen, right? I noticed that it was a lot smaller than a mature one,” Mo Fan speculated.

“Mmm, it will become a Ruler-level creature eventually. I was considering taking it out first,” Brianca glanced at the passengers that were being escorted away.

Brianca might have initiated a fight if it weren’t for the civilians nearby. Killing a Red Scorpion Queen would bring a city years of tranquility and peace. Brianca would not have any trouble killing it with her strength!

“Forget it. If a little Scorpion Queen has shown up here, it means a real Scorpion Queen isn’t far away, either. If we did kill it, New Suez would suffer the consequences,” Mo Fan said.

The medusae and gorgons were overpopulated, so their rulers would send them away to invade human territory for resources, while also reducing their numbers to prevent them from killing their own kind. As a result, it was unlikely for the medusae and gorgons to send their entire army to battle. It was a very common situation in a lot of countries across the world…

However, if the kin of the rulers died, some vengeful species might send their entire army to attack a human city. They would only be satisfied after annihilating the whole place. The medusae and gorgons were among the most vengeful species, so as soon as Mo Fan knew it was a young Scorpion Queen, he would have stopped Brianca from killing it.

If they were not prepared to kill the Scorpion Queen, it was better to avoid crossing paths with her kin!

Brianca quickly realized the situation after hearing Mo Fan’s words. She was not as knowledgeable as Mo Fan when it came to dealing with demon creatures.

She nodded and said, “The passengers are safe now, we should leave this place too.”

——

Mo Fan, Mu Bai, Zhao Manyan, Brianca, and Heidi were strong enough to protect themselves and escort the passengers to safety. If some ordinary Advanced Mages were in their shoes, they might still be able to escort the passengers to safety, but there would surely have been casualties!

“Isn’t this Meos? Since when are you working airport security?” Mo Fan recognized a female Mage in scaled armor among the soldiers.

Meos was going to thank the powerful Mages who had helped ensure the safety of the passengers, but her expression darkened immediately when she saw Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

If it wasn’t for them, Egypt would have won the World College Tournament!

“What are you two doing here!?” Meos said with an unwelcoming look.

“We have been invited by General Fenna to help resolve the difficulties that your country is facing. Such a coincidence, we even saved more than a hundred of your citizens as soon as we landed. We are truly your benefactors!” Mo Fan smiled back.

“All the passengers are here. The cabin crew and pilots are here too…” a Battlemage quickly counted the passengers.

“Humph, we would have ended up as a pile of bones by now if we had waited for you guys to show up!”

“I won’t be taking your company’s flight ever again!”

“Let’s hurry up and leave this place…”

Meos was the representative of EgyptAir. She was not feeling pleasant after being condemned by the passengers.

However, they had made a grave mistake with the landing. The pilot had landed the plane at the wrong lane due to a serious miscommunication!…

——

After leaving the battlefield, they were given a ride to New Suez by the military. New Suez was blooming as usual, as if the battle occurring a few dozen kilometers away was none of its concern. The people were acting as if the army of medusae and gorgons would never break through the defense of their army.

“Mo Fan, I almost forgot you are a Summoner, too!” She was seated beside Mo Fan.

“I guess I’m a special kind of Summoner,” Mo Fan smiled. Little Flame Belle had the ability to Possess him. Most of the time, Mo Fan would transform into a fiery demon king with Little Flame Belle’s help and completely forget about his other Summoning Spells.

“I was wondering how I should thank you for your help. I think there’s a magic tool that’s perfect for you,” Brianca went on.

1509 Magic Medium Ring

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group found an inn to stay at for the night. Mo Fan was quite curious about Brianca’s gift. She was being very mysterious by asking him to follow her to the magic marketplace.

New Suez was located on the middle stretches of the Nile. A lot of magic components trades took place here. The marketplace had many suppliers gathered there; it had everything that one could expect to find!

Soldiers were still fighting the overpopulation of the lamias on the outskirts of the city to the south, but the marketplace was operating as usual. It was crowded with people in outfits of all colors.

“I’m looking for a Soul Container, it will ensure that you can collect Soul Essences of the demon creatures you killed,” Brianca said.

“A Soul Container is extremely rare and expensive. Miss Brianca, can you tell me what you need it for?” Mo Fan asked.

A Soul Container? Mo Fan had the best Soul Container that anyone could ever hope for! The Little Loach Pendant around his neck could absorb both Soul Remnants and Soul Essences. If Brianca was thinking of giving him a Soul Container, it was totally unneccessary!

“Didn’t you use a Beast Tide at the airport?” Brianca said.

“Yeah, but my Advanced Summoning Spell is pretty normal. I don’t even consider it a Beast Tide… maybe a beast creek at most!” Mo Fan admitted awkwardly.

Mo Fan did not really pay much attention to his Summoning Element. Most importantly, the Summoning Element was not something he could improve through cultivating. He had to put that attention on his Summoned Beasts!

Little Flame Belle was already very strong, and needed some unusual finds to get stronger. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was currently comparable to a Great Commander-level creature, too. Mo Fan did want to help him to take a further step forward and enter the Advancing Period, but he would need quite a lot of resources to do so!

Mo Fan was a little tight on cash at the moment, and gaining some of the resources was solely based on luck. Even if he had the money, he still had to compete in auctions for the things he was looking for!

“The thing I have in mind is able to improve your ability to cast the Beast Tide. My teacher was an impressive Summoner. She gave me her belongings when she left the Alps. One of them is a Magic Medium Ring, a magical artifact that can open up the Summoned Beast Plane and Summon creatures from it to fight for the bearer. It is perfect when used together with the Advanced Summoning Spell… normally, the size of a Beast Tide is dependent on the Summoner’s cultivation of the Summoning Element, while the species and the levels of the creatures are tightly related to the Summoner’s Summoned Beasts. The Magic Medium Ring can permanently increase the number of creatures that are Summoned with the skill,” Brianca informed him.

Mo Fan’s Beast Tide had only reached the second tier. The truth was, Mo Fan could Summon other species with the spell, but since the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was always with the Enormous White Wolves, their synergy was better under the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s leadership. Every time Mo Fan cast the spell, he would Summon the Enormous White Wolves instead of some other species.

As Brianca mentioned, the Beast Tide was highly dependent on the Summoner’s cultivation of the Summoning Element. Some adept Summoners could summon hundreds of ferocious armored beasts with a single casting of the Beast Tide. Those beasts could raze a city to the ground just by trampling and stomping it!

Mo Fan roughly estimated the maximum capacity of his Beast Tide to be between thirty to forty Enormous White Wolves, assuming the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was leading them. Without the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s help, Mo Fan could only Summon twenty of them at most, and the duration of the spell was significantly shorter, too.

Mo Fan was aware that his Summoning Element was actually quite useless, apart from the incredibly strong Little Flame Belle. It was time to improve his Summoning Element…

That being said, Mo Fan did not expect Brianca to be so considerate, giving something he needed the most at the perfect time!

“A Magic Medium Ring… how much can it improve my Beast Tide?” Mo Fan blurted out.

Brianca shook her head and explained, “It won’t improve your spell by a percentage. It simply increases the number of beasts.”

“The number of beasts?” Mo Fan was a little disappointed.

A Beast Tide normally consisted of a pack of creatures, without a fixed number. Each casting would have a slight difference in numbers, but the amount would be negligible if the Magic Medium Ring only increased the number of creatures by a few.

“It works under a few conditions. By feeding the Magic Medium Ring a Soul Essence, it will provide the Beast Tide a supply of energy in return. If you feed it a Servant-class Soul Essence, the next time you cast the Beast Tide, it will Summon an extra Servant-class Summoned Beast. A Warrior-level Soul Essence will add a Warrior-level Summoned Beast, and if it’s a Commander-level Soul Essence, the extra Summoned Beast will be in Commander-level, too,” Brianca said.

Mo Fan’s eyes lit up like a bulb upon hearing this. He stared Brianca in the eyes and grabbed her hand, “Does a piece of treasure like that really exist!?”

“It’s not really a piece of treasure, it’s more like a medium. After all, you have to consume expensive Soul Essences to use it. Not many people could afford to spend so many resources on it.” Brianca calmly pulled her hand back.

“So that’s why you wanted to give me a good Soul Container, too?” Mo Fan looked at Brianca. He suddenly realized how considerate this woman who was only a few years older than him was. She was so lovable!

Mo Fan was currently in an awkward spot. Most of his Basic and Intermediate Spells had reached tier four or five, and were almost as strong as some Advanced Spells. If he could further improve them to the sixth tier, their damage would be insane!

Upgrading the Fiery Fist from the third tier to the fourth tier cost him forty-nine Servant-class Soul Essences. It was nothing to him.

Upgrading the Fiery Fist from the fourth tier to the fifth tier cost him forty-nine Warrior-level Soul Essences. That was quite a fortune. Using the market price as a reference, it would be around a billion won!

Upgrading the Fiery Fist from tier five to tier six would require forty-nine Commander-level Soul Essences!

Commander-level Soul Essences!!!

A Commander-level Soul Essence was usually sold for around three hundred million to five hundred million. Even with Little Loach’s help, the total value of forty-nine Commander-level Soul Essences was still an unimaginable sum to Mo Fan.

As such, upgrading his spells to the sixth tier was obviously a strenuous project. He might have to wait until he became a Super Mage. Therefore, he had no clue where to spend the remaining Soul Essences. It would be a waste to spend them on improving the Basic Spells, since they would not really make any difference, but they were nowhere enough to strengthen his Intermediate Spells…

As a result, Mo Fan did not really pay much attention to the Little Loach Pendant and the Soul Remnants and Soul Soul Essences it had collected.

However, Mo Fan was immediately overjoyed when Brianca told him about the Magic Medium Ring. If a Soul Essence could add the supply of his Beast Tide by one, wouldn’t he be able to Summon an army consisting of over hundreds or even thousands of beasts if he fed the same amount of Soul Essences into the Magic Medium Ring?

Even though it was a massive cost to reach an army of that size, it was still insane if the magical artifact had no limits to its power!

1510 One Extra Wolf

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Miss Brianca, you won’t have to look for a Soul Container for me. I already have one, it’s something that my family has been passing down from generation to generation. Is the Magic Medium Ring really as impressive as you said?” Mo Fan said.

“You can give it a go if you have a Soul Essence to spare,” Brianca said.

“Sure, let’s head to the outskirts in the south!” Mo Fan could not wait to see it in action.

Brianca was thinking of buying some Soul Essences from the marketplace. She had a lot of money with her. Since she had decided to give the Magic Medium Ring to Mo Fan as a gift, she felt it was inappropriate to give it to him empty. She was thinking of filling it up with some Soul Essences so it could significantly improve Mo Fan’s Summoning Spell.

Mo Fan was pleased by Brianca’s attitude of making sure the wallet was full of money even when she was planning to give it away as a gift. However, the price of Soul Essences at the marketplace was too high.

A single Servant-class Soul Essence cost around four million.

A Warrior-level Soul Essence cost around seventeen million. A Commander-level Soul Essence cost a few hundred million!

These were the common prices in New Suez. Egypt was constantly at war with the undead, thus they were able to ‘mass produce’ Soul Remnants and Soul Essences. They were a lot cheaper than the market price in China, but it was difficult to evaluate their quality…

Brianca was a Super Mage. She could easily afford a few Soul Essences, but in Mo Fan’s eyes, it was a complete waste of money!

He had no problem collecting Soul Essences by himself. The only problem was… would the Magic Medium Ring accept the Soul Essences that Little Loach refined?

If it would, Mo Fan would have the best day of his life!

—

The two went to the outskirts and found a spot far away from the battlefield in a huge forest with wilted trees. It was most likely an oasis along the Nile in the past, but it had ended up in a miserable state due to the poison the demon creatures were unleashing.

The ground of the forest had cracked open a little. The sand of the dunes in the distance was slowly moving toward it. A few Lesser Lamias that had lost their ways were visible to them. They didn’t know which way the city was!

“Try it out!” Brianca gave Mo Fan the Magic Medium Ring.

Mo Fan put the Ring on his finger. The Ring softened and turned into a liquid, dissolving into his body as soon as it touched him.

Only magic Equipment had to be bound to a Mage’s soul. Magical artifacts were similar to accessories. Anyone could wear and remove them at any time!

“Little Loach, a Warrior-level Soul Essence please!” Mo Fan whispered to his little ancestor.

Little Loach was very cooperative, and immediately delivered a Warrior-level Soul Essence that it had refined not long ago into Mo Fan’s body. Normally, these Soul Essences could only enter Mo Fan’s Spiritual World to strengthen his Stars, but this time, Mo Fan was planning to transfer it to his new Ring!

Mo Fan was feeling a little nervous. He was worried that the two items could not work together, and also afraid that the Magic Medium Ring would not accept the Soul Essences refined by Little Loach…

Buzz…

His worries were unnecessary. The Magic Medium Ring promptly absorbed the Warrior-level Soul Essence from Little Loach. When Mo Fan opened his eyes, he saw a yellow half-crescent wrapping around the finger he had put the Ring on…

“Is that it?” Mo Fan asked Brianca.

“Yes, try casting the spell!” Brianca replied.

—

The Beast Tide spell consumed a significant amount of energy, and the longer its duration, the more energy it needed.

Mo Fan took a deep breath. He was still feeling a little nervous.

“Summoning Gate: Beast Tide!”

After the completion of the Star Constellation, the gate that a lunar-white glow constructed slowly opened up. A bunch of ferocious Enormous White Wolves charged out from it and howled their loudest.

Not long afterwards, over forty Enormous White Wolves had come out from the Summoning Gate. They ran a few circles around Mo Fan before realizing something. They went up to Mo Fan with confused faces.

Didn’t he Summon them for a fight? Where was the enemy?

“I need a headcount!” Mo Fan urged them to get into a line.

The Enormous White Wolves were quite confused, but they still stood in a line obediently.

Normally, the creatures of a Beast Tide would not take orders from a Summoner. Their main purpose was to crush and trample everything in front of them. If the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was not watching, these Enormous White Wolves would be throwing a tantrum in the jungle by now!

“Forty-five… Old Wolf, is this guy new?” Mo Fan walked from one end to the other among the wolves. He did not rely on these simple-headed creatures to count themselves.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was like a platoon leader accompanying his superior. He let out a cry and ordered an Enormous White Wolf that was obviously a lot smaller than the rest of the wolves to step forward.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf could recognize every Enormous White Wolf under his lead. Even though not all of them would be Summoned by the spell every time, he could still tell that the wolf did not belong to his platoon!

After a closer look, it turned out that the creature was not even the same species as the others. It was a White-Marked Wolf, with a beastly making on its forehead!

“There’s indeed one extra!” Mo Fan was overjoyed when he saw the extra White-Marked Wolf.

The White-Marked Wolves were a lesser Warrior-level species in the Summoned Beast Plane. They were weaker than the Enormous White Wolves, mainly because the Soul Essence that Mo Fan fed to the Magic Medium Ring was not high-quality…

The rest of the Enormous White Wolves were extremely slow in their reactions. They grinned and revealed their sharp fangs after realizing a creature of different species was among them!

“That’s enough, say hello to your new member,” Mo Fan immediately grunted at the Enormous White Wolves, who were treating the new guy so fiercely.

The Enormous White Wolves immediately withdrew their fierce expressions, not daring to disobey Mo Fan’s instructions!

“If I feed a Commander-level Soul Essence to it, wouldn’t that mean I will Summon an extra Commander-level creature then?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes, but it will speed up the consumption rate of your energy,” Brianca confirmed.

“This magic tool is insane! Thank you, Brianca,” Mo Fan was as happy and excited as if he had just seen a whole army of wolves, even though he had only Summoned an extra White-Marked Wolf.

“You’re welcome. It’s been with me for a long time. I believe it needs a more suitable owner,” Brianca smiled.

“I’m pretty lucky this time. I rarely Summon a tide with more than forty beasts, but there are forty-four of them, and a new White-Marked Wolf this time!” Mo Fan said excitedly.

“I forgot to mention… the Magic Medium Ring has another effect, too. It will maximize the number of creatures you can Summon. In other words, from now on, you will always Summon at least forty-five creatures when casting the spell,” Brianca suddenly remembered.

“Seriously? That is perfect!” Mo Fan was overjoyed once again.

The number of creatures Summoned by a Beast Tide was usually randomized. The stronger a Summoner’s cultivation was, the higher the upper and lower limits of the number of creatures being Summoned. The number of creatures brought in by Mo Fan’s current cultivation ranged from thirty to forty. Even Mo Fan had no idea that the highest number of creatures he could Summon was forty-four, excluding the White-Marked Wolf!

1511 Ambush Squad

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A faint, deep sound came from the woods. The alert Mo Fan quickly turned around and noticed many pairs of crimson-red eyes heading toward him.

Those eyes were as bright as torches. It was difficult to look at them directly as they came closer.

A dozen Lesser Lamias suddenly showed up before him. Their eyes widened when they saw Mo Fan and Brianca. They did not expect to see two humans in the middle of a tryst here!

Mo Fan and Brianca stared at the demon creatures in astonishment. They had no idea why these creatures had shown up here so sneakily.

The battle was supposed to be taking place in another area. Did these Lesser Lamias lose their way?

“There are a lot more behind them,” Brianca said to Mo Fan.

“I don’t believe these Lesser Lamias were stupid enough to lose their way. I bet they are trying to avoid the line of defense and trying to flank the army from this side,” Mo Fan said.

The forest was their perfect cover. Once they moved through the forest, they might be able to ambush their enemies. These demon creatures were extremely cunning. They were not planning to take on the humans head-on!

“Go alert the army, I’ll take care of them,” Brianca took off the headband from her wrist and tied her hair up. Her silver pupils sharpened, giving her a heroic demeanor!

“That won’t be necessary. There aren’t too many of them. I can handle it… Miss Brianca, can you keep an eye on those that are trying to slip past us? I didn’t have enough fun during the day, but since they have kindly presented themselves, I won’t mind letting them have a taste of my fists!” Mo Fan chuckled.

The only way to collect Soul Essences was to kill!

The more demon creatures he slaughtered, the more Soul Remnants and Soul Essences he would collect! He was beyond excited when these cunning Lesser Lamias who were planning to ambush the city’s line of defense showed up!

Little Loach could only collect Soul Essences that were marked by Mo Fan’s magic. Brianca would kill the demon creatures very quickly, so Mo Fan could not afford to let her fight the creatures…

Brianca was about to say something when Mo Fan decisively charged forward like a mad bull!

It was Brianca’s first time seeing a Mage like him. Most people would prefer to maintain a certain distance between them and the demon creatures, and blast them into ashes before they could get closer, but Mo Fan was taking the initiative to move closer instead!

“Is this all you got? It’s not even enough to warm me up!” Mo Fan ran at the demon creatures as dark lightning flickered across his body.

When he reached the Lesser Lamias, they raised the bone sabers and clubs in their hands and swung them at him. They were still swinging their weapons when an enormous web of lightning swallowed them all.

Mo Fan clenched his fist, sending a strong bolt of lightning surging through the net. The arcs of lightning went back and forth between the Lesser Lamias and shattered their shells and flesh to pieces. It was impossible to distinguish between their body parts.

The lightning continued to spread across the ground, as if it had yet to fully enjoy itself. These Lesser Lamias were too weak for it!

More noises came from the woods after Mo Fan had eliminated the first bunch of Lesser Lamias. The demon creatures glared at Mo Fan with great hatred!

Crimson-red eyes as dense as the leaves of the trees showed up, followed by ghastly, huge bodies that ran over the wilted trees and crushed them into mere dust.

Huge chunks of the trees crashed to the ground. It was obvious that the dozen Lesser Lamias that had shown up first were only the recon squad. They were wiped out by Mo Fan with ease. The rest of the Lesser Lamias trying to catch up to the recon squad arrived just in time to witness their comrades’ deaths!

There were clearly a few Lamias with a stronger presence among the demon creatures. Those Lamias were callous and arrogant. They were staring down at Mo Fan, abusing the fact that their bodies were over eight meters tall!

“This is more like it!” Mo Fan’s smile widened when he saw the Lamias.

He was surely going to have some fun this time. He could not help but wonder if these demon creatures could provide him with Commander-level Soul Essences!

“Mo Fan, let me help you!” Brianca called out worriedly when she saw the Lamias.

True Lamias were tougher to deal with than the Lesser Lamias. There were quite a few Lamias scattered among their lesser spawn. She thought it was going to be tough for Mo Fan to take on an entire squad of Lesser Lamias at once!

“I can handle it, Miss Brianca, please don’t interfere no matter what happens. We are here to train ourselves in the first place!” Mo Fan answered calmly.

With Brianca’s cultivation, the demon creatures would be done for after a few Super Spells. Mo Fan needed Soul Remnants and Soul Essences, so he had no intention to give these Lamias up!

“Flying Creek Snow Wolf!”

Mo Fan instantly finished the Dimensional Summoning. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf leapt out of a lunar-white crack and immediately locked his eyes on a brown Lamia. He pounced at the creature impatiently, without waiting for Mo Fan’s instructions. His claws swept across at lightning speed, leaving deep cuts on the Lamia’s chest!

The brown Lamia backed off a little. Its hair fanned out in rage, and it let out a piercing cry.

The Lamia was holding a butcher knife in each of its six arms. It needed less than a second to chop the Flying Creek Snow Wolf into mincemeat.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not stop running. He nimbly dodged the knives and positioned himself in the Lamia’s blind spot. He attacked once again, and this time, it was deadly. He opened his mouth and tore at the Lamia’s neck ferociously!

Black blood jetted out like a fountain. A huge head with disheveled hair was sent rolling across the ground. The brown Lamia’s body tensed up for a moment, then fell stiffly to the ground.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled after taking out a relatively strong Lamia, further provoking the enemy!

“The Swamp of Darkness!”

When the Flying Creek Snow Wolf took out an elite among the enemy, Mo Fan finished setting up his Advanced Shadow Spell. The ground suddenly fell into darkness with Mo Fan at the center. The darkness spread a full kilometer away!

The Lesser Lamias and Lamias were all within Mo Fan’s Swamp of Darkness. The Dark Material crawled into their bodies like some kind of virus, and continued to spread inside them!

1512 Shadow Fiend: Army of Shadows

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A few Lamias noticed that Mo Fan was setting up his Domain, and could sense the Domain would pose a threat to them. A few Lamias immediately led hundreds of Lesser Lamias towards him!

Mo Fan did not stop channeling his magic. The spell obviously needed a long time to channel without being interrupted.

The Lamias were extremely quick. Their lower bodies were like desert boas, and could wrap around thick trunks and crawl from tree to tree rapidly. Mo Fan soon found himself completely surrounded by them.

Brianca stood aside while channeling her magic. She had no reason to just stand there. Mo Fan’s channeling was too slow, yet he still preferred to charge into the demon creatures. This was one of the main reasons why Mages should maintain their distance from demon creatures!

“Don’t worry about me, Brianca,” Mo Fan grinned when he sensed magic rising beside him.

Brianca looked at Mo Fan’s grin and noticed how relaxed he sounded when he did not address her formally. She hesitated for a moment before finally withdrawing her magic.

Talking and grinning self-assuredly did not affect Mo Fan’s channeling. The Lamias and the Lesser Lamias had already executed their attacks, but Mo Fan’s Flying Creek Snow Wolf had already gone somewhere else…

Flames engulfed Mo Fan suddenly; a brown flame on the inside and an ardent flame on the outside. These flames drifted away from Mo Fan’s body on their own and formed a slender, noble figure…

“Ling!~”

Flame Belle Empress’ voice was even more mature and pleasant now. She came out of the flames and stood in front of Mo Fanm her two Fire Domains spreading rapidly. The imperious flames of the the fiery empress’ outstanding power made the Lesser Lamias and Lamias look like a bunch of clowns!

“Ling!~”

With a pleasant cry, the blazing flames surrounding Flame Belle Empress flickered wildly and formed a fiery barrier around Mo Fan.

The fiery barrier was extremely thin, almost impossible to notice it without taking a close look. The Lamias and Lesser Lamias had no trouble passing through the fiery barrier, yet they suddenly cried out in pain and rolled back and forth on the ground after just a few seconds.

A breath later, they started spitting flames from their mouths. A fire had erupted within their bodies and burned their organs into ashes. Its next target was their flesh and shells!

The shells were quite tough to burn, so most of the Lesser Lamias and Lamias ended up as remnants of scorched shells on the ground after they fell miserably in a huge circle around the Flame Belle Empress…

Not one demon creature survived. Every single one of the creatures that tried to attack Mo Fan could not get close enough to even touch him!

Brianca let out a relieved sigh. It was her first time seeing Mo Fan Summon his Contracted Beast. This clearly explained why Mo Fan was able to defeat Heidi, the Queen of Dimensions, with a single move. With a Commander-level Contracted Beast in the Advancing Period, Heidi might struggle to defeat just her, even if Mo Fan was not involved in the fight!

“Shadow Fiend!” Mo Fan suddenly yelled while Brianca was being impressed by his strength!

The Dark Material had fully penetrated the Lesser Lamias while they were busy fighting the Flame Belle Empress and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

Every Shadow Fiend was born when Dark Material fully corrupted a creature, and since the Lesser Lamias were a kind of scorpion demon, the Shadow Fiends had a similar appearance now. If the creature looked more like a snake demon, its respective Shadow Fiend had a long body too!

The Swamp of Darkness was incredibly huge; more Lesser Lamias stepped inside the dark swamp every moment. Normally, the Shadow Fiends could only move with their hosts, but the Swamp of Darkness allowed them to move freely within its area!

One after another, Rebelling Shadows crawled out from the Lesser Lamias and the Lamias. They did not have eyes, and their outlines were slightly blurred, like black phantoms that came out of a nightmare. The Lesser Lamias and the Lamias had never seen anything like them before. They were utterly stunned, their eyes going wide!

The Shadow Fiends did not engage their enemies directly, as they were not good at ambushing an enemy. The real threat was the Rebelling Shadows that would only appear after Mo Fan sacrificed Warrior-level or Commander-level Soul Remnants. Since Mo Fan was planning to collect them, he did not want to waste them.

The Shadow Fiends gathered around Mo Fan in the Swamp of Darkness, soon forming a massive army of shadows. Even though they lacked actual flesh, their bodies were huge and their auras were intimidating!

“Shadow Fiend: Army of Shadows!”

The shadows of the Lesser Lamias twisted eerily under Mo Fan’s command. They let out piercing screeches, signaling the army!

Each Lesser Lamia and Lamia that was tainted gave birth to a Shadow Fiend. It felt like Mo Fan had truly Summoned a great army of shadows and phantoms with deadly fangs and claws…

The army of Shadow Fiends charged forward. They did not make a sound as they stomped the ground, nor did they raze the wilted trees to the ground. They were merely a bunch of shadows, but their screeches were absolutely terrifying, and the destructive auras as they charged forward felt so real. The Lesser Lamias and Lamias subconsciously backed away a little. They were utterly confused about where this new army of demon creatures came from!

The Shadow Fiends were silent yet possessed remarkable strength. Black smoke rose from the Swamp of Darkness, further strengthening them. The Lesser Lamias were fleeing for their lives in fear, while the smarter Lamias roared at their enemies angrily!

The sounds of wind slashing through objects occurred simultaneously. The army of shadows rolled forward fearlessly like a strong tide, tearing the Lesser Lamias to pieces. Even those that were standing defiantly were left with countless cuts and wounds!

The damage inflicted by the Shadow Fiends was not in the form of brute force or collision, but the power to drain away life. They were like a grave illness speeding up the death of a living being. Their blows would stop blood from circulating and stiffen the bones. It would also make a pounding heart wilt away like a dead flower!

When this deadly force surged forward in the form of an army, it left nothing but death behind, similar to an army of ants or a plague of locusts!

The Lesser Lamias and Lamias seemed frozen and covered in ice and snow. Their colors shifted tremendously, from brown to gray, then to black. They looked just like the wilted trees nearby!

The Soul Remnants and Soul Essences of the dead creatures floated toward Mo Fan. In his eyes, it was like the forest was full of fireflies gradually moving toward him under the Little Loach Pendant’s control.

Brianca could not see the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences, but she could see the Lesser Lamias and Lamias falling to the ground. The size of the ambush squad dropped by half in an instant. Even Brianca was shocked by the outcome!

Brianca could not help but wonder if Mo Fan was truly just an Advanced Mage after seeing him killing so many demon creatures with a single attack, not to mention how unpredictable his abilities were!

Was there any other Advanced Mage in the world that could crush an entire squad of demon creatures so easily?

“Your Shadow Element…” Brianca uttered in a shocked manner after some time.

Mo Fan’s Shadow Element was ridiculously strong!

It was actually comparable to the Fire and Lightning Elements that were said to be his primary Elements, yet she had never seen Mo Fan use a single Shadow Spell at the Alps Institute. While Brianca knew Mo Fan had Double Innate Elements, she had assumed Mo Fan’s Shadow Element was ordinary. After all, it was unlikely for anyone to cultivate every Element at the same time, let alone Mo Fan, who had five Elements in total!

“Hehe, it’s been a while since I last killed so many demon creatures…” Mo Fan was utterly pleased when he saw the Soul Remnants floating toward him. It was the same feeling a person who had not exercised for a long time being drenched in sweat would feel.

“Heidi is no match for you…” Brianca eventually concluded.

Brianca strongly believed that Mo Fan could even take on some Super Mages after witnessing his strength. Heidi was almost unbeatable at the Advanced Level, yet she had no chance of beating a Super Mage.

Mo Fan was different; the spells of a few of his Elements were already very close to the strength of Super Spells, and his ability to utilize his Elements simultaneously and his quick fighting reflexes made it difficult for some of the Super Mages to take him out!

“She’s a girl, it’s normal for me to go easy on her. Besides, I accidentally saw her naked. I was afraid she might have some bad thoughts if I beat her in the, duel too,” Mo Fan shrugged.

Mo Fan did not really use all of his magic when he was fighting Heidi. He did not use his Fire Element, Shadow Element, or Summoning Element… that being said, Heidi’s Sound Element was Mo Fan’s greatest weakness, so Mo Fan would struggle to take Heidi out in a duel of life and death too!

“We have truly underestimated you,” Brianca admitted.

“Miss Brianca, I’m actually not happy with what you just said. You all keep comparing me to Heidi, but I actually compare myself to you. Why are you treating me like a three-year-old, when you are only a few years older than me?” Mo Fan said.

Four Elements at the Super Level…

To be honest, Mo Fan was already a little displeased after learning Herr Casa was the youngest Super Mage in Europe. His dignity was completely ruined when he discovered Brianca’s age, too!

How the hell did she even cultivate!?

1513 Double The Quantity

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group waited in New Suez for around five days. Surprisingly, Mo Fan did not follow Zhao Manyan as he looked for hookers in the bars of New Suez. In fact, he went to the battlefield and finished the jobs of the Battlemages like a special reinforcement soldier.

Mo Fan was trying to collect as many Soul Remnants and Soul Essences as he could. He had suddenly become an ambitious young man ever since he gained the Magic Medium Ring. The Battlemages of New Suez found themselves in an awkward situation.

Several times they came up with the right strategy to deliver a great blow to their enemies with a counterattack, yet when they arrived, they would only find remains of demon creatures scattered across the place. They ended up cleaning up the mess that was left behind instead!

Mo Fan was able to weave through the battlefield freely all the time. He single-handedly took out some of the Lamias’ nests that even the army was struggling to take down. The soldiers of New Suez enthusiastically supported him. If this lunatic was not charging around so violently in enemy territory, leaving some gaps in the enemy ranks, a lot more troops would be dying in the fighting!

In those five days, Mo Fan collected thirty-four more Warrior-level Soul Essences, and together with the ten from before, his Summoning Gate could now Summon forty-four extra White-Marked Wolves. The number of wolves he could Summon would soon exceed a hundred!

Unfortunately, the Lesser Lamias began to retreat on the sixth day. Even though he only needed to hunt them for another day or two, he lost his chance…

—

Mo Fan arrived back to the hotel when it was almost dark. He was going back to his room to get some rest when he saw Brianca standing in front of the door, staring at him with eyes that resembled the moon.

Brianca was surprisingly tall, slightly taller than Mo Fan when she was wearing heels, thus at times, she would have an unapproachable demeanor.

“Didn’t you promise me?” Brianca asked coldly.

“I only went to the outskirts to practice my magic. It’s not as serious as you think,” Mo Fan chuckled. He was so good that he could utter lies right off without hesitation.

“You didn’t go to the battlefield?” Brianca asked again.

“Of course not, why would I go there? I’m not crazy,” Mo Fan did not blush, nor did his heart rate increase. Brianca was actually quite naive. If he answered her question in a serious manner, she would not doubt him any further.

“Show me your Ring,” Brianca suddenly said.

Mo Fan gasped. Why did Brianca not act according to plan?

“My God!” Brianca exclaimed loudly. Some tourists nearby turned around and wondered if Mo Fan had done anything inappropriate to the beautiful woman.

“We’ll talk inside…” Mo Fan felt a little awkward. He opened the door and dragged Brianca into the room.

Mo Fan shut the door. He did not even have the chance to turn on the light when he felt Brianca glaring at him like a kindergarten teacher watching a little kid that had done something wrong, or a big sister who was angry at her younger brother!

“It’s already double the quantity! Maybe I should praise how talented you are instead!” Brianca grunted.

“I’m just being very lucky. I managed to find a Commander-level Soul Essence. I was deciding between selling it to cover my living expenses or feed it to the Magic Medium Ring,” Mo Fan said.

“Was I referring to that now!?” Brianca slightly raised her tone, displaying her authority as the Head of Discipline of the Alps Institute.

“Oh, oh… it’s my bad, I shouldn’t be so reckless and have gone to the battlefield,” Mo Fan decisively admitted quickly.

Brianca was lost for words when she saw Mo Fan admitting his mistake so quickly. The speech that she normally used to discipline her students no longer had any use…

“Are you injured?” Brianca’s tone eventually softened. She sounded more like a caring sister.

“Nothing serious, they will heal soon without treating them,” Mo Fan said.

“Show me,” Brianca said.

“Is that necessary?… I’m fine, really,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan noticed that Brianca was now able to tell if he was lying. She no longer believed his words so easily. He sighed. -Why did people always change so quickly?-

It was reasonable that Brianca did not believe Mo Fan was only slightly injured. She had already seen Mo Fan’s fighting ../style. He kept rushing into the middle of the demon creatures. She found it hard to believe that he was unharmed!

The Lesser Lamias and Lamias were not strong enough to threaten Mo Fan’s life, but these demon creatures were not just machines; their attacks, poisons, and abilities were different from one to another. They were too many uncertainties in a fight, and even the strongest Mage would struggle to stay uninjured.

“You call these minor injuries?” Brianca raised her voice again. She immediately took out a few serums as if she was doing a magic trick.

“For me, they are,” Mo Fan said.

“Lie down.”

“I don’t think that’s appropriate, Miss Brianca.”

“Don’t you underestimate the poison! Look at the wounds yourself; they aren’t healing, they are rotting instead. We have to deal with the poison in your blood!”

“Oh, I seriously didn’t realize it. I have the medicines for that too, it’s from the Parth… a friend of mine gave them to me,” Mo Fan took out some antidotes and medicines out from his space bracelet.

Xinxia had filled up his space ring with the best medicines before he left the Parthenon Temple.

Xinxia did not care if Mo Fan was constantly fighting demon creatures. She knew her advice would not change his mind. Mo Fan was like a wild hound that could never be tied down. Therefore, she simply prepared all kinds of medicines for him. Senior Hunters would go mad if these medicines were sold in the marketplace. Mo Fan did consider selling them to earn some money, but decided not to, since they were gifts from Xinxia.

“These are the Parthenon Temple’s medicines. I bet you’re pretty close with them,” Brianca said expressionlessly. She recognized the medicines right away.

The medicines of the Parthenon Temple had different grades. The best kinds were from the Mountain of the Goddess, without a doubt. They were usually auctioned off at marketplaces, but the Parthenon Temple was reluctant to sell them most of the time.

However, Mo Fan simply treated them as normal medicines. Brianca was more than smart enough to realize how valuable they were.

“They aren’t that precious…” Mo Fan immediately found himself in an awkward situation.

He wondered if Brianca and Heidi would fall out with him right away if he told them his wife was the future Goddess of the Parthenon Temple.

Brianca did not dwell on the relationship between Mo Fan and the Parthenon Temple. She treated Mo Fan’s wounds and said, “I’m heading to the Mediterranean Sea for some business. I can’t bring Heidi with me, so please look after her for me when you all depart for Cairo tomorrow.”

“Got it,” Mo Fan nodded.

“I’m heading off soon. I actually came to tell you about it,” Brianca said.

“Is there any problem? Can I help?” Mo Fan asked.

“I can deal with it myself.”

1514 Double The Quantity

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Lesser Lamias and Lamias were not truly fearless. They no longer dared to press forward after seeing Mo Fan massacre their comrades!

Their levels were not that high, and it was quite obvious that their numbers did not really matter to the human blocking their path. A brown-red Lamia began to release a piercing cry, signaling the others to retreat!

Mo Fan was not pleased when the demon creatures decided to retreat. They were supposed to be contributing to his wealth; how could he let them leave like that?

“Thorns of the Shadow Rose!”

Countless Thorns of the Shadow Rose were fired at the Lesser Lamias from the Swamp of Darkness as they were fleeing for their lives.

These thorns had the ability to impair their target’s movement. The Lesser Lamias that were struck by the thorns froze in place. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf and Little Flame Belle quickly caught up to them and reaped their lives.

Mo Fan’s Giant Shadow Spikes were absolutely terrifying under the effects of the Swamp of Darkness. The Thorns of the Shadow Rose basically paralyzed a great bunch of Lesser Lamias and Lamias!

More Soul Remnants and Soul Essences flew toward Mo Fan. These Lesser Lamias and Lamias might not be high level, but since they hung around with the undead a lot, their souls were more valuable than ordinary demon creatures, and so the quality of their Soul Remnants and Soul Essences were significantly better, too!

A lot of Soul Remnants flew into the Little Loach Pendant’s Underworld River. It was now fully lit up by the light emitted by the deceased spirits, a spectacular sight. The souls lingering along the river were continuously refined into one complete Soul Essence after another!

Mo Fan no longer needed Servant-class Soul Essences, so he simply asked Little Loach to further refine them into Warrior-level Soul Essences to provide him with a better supply of Warrior-level Soul Essences.

Mo Fan believed it was better to enhance the level of his Summoning army at the Warrior-level to inflict greater destruction upon the enemy. As for the Servant-class… Mo Fan felt like they could no longer be of any use to him. Even though Servant-class creatures might still wear out a high-level creature by abusing their numbers, if he was planning to raise his own Summoned army, why wouldn’t he strive for a higher-level army instead?

The production from Little Loach’s factory was flowing as smooth as silk. The Lesser Lamias that Mo Fan slew were instantly turned into Soul Essences. He now had thirty-one of them, with three not refined by Little Loach but directly obtained from the Lesser Lamias. Mo Fan could sell these Soul Essences for money, but since he needed them to grow his army, he believed it was better to feed them to the Magic Medium Ring for now.

He was quite lucky that Little Flame Belle had obtained a Warrior-level Soul Essence from killing a Lamia. On top of that, Little Loach also refined the Soul Remnants collected from the Lamias into two more Soul Essences.

Thirty-one Servant-class Soul Essences could be refined into six Warrior-level Soul Essences, and together with the other three, it meant he now had nine Warrior-level Soul Essences!

Unfortunately, almost half of the Lesser Lamias had run away; he wasn’t able to kill them in time. Otherwise, he would have collected even more Soul Essences!

Mo Fan fed all nine Warrior-level Soul Essences to the Magic Medium Ring. Nine glowing half-circles wrapped around Mo Fan’s finger and flickered before vanishing into thin air. The Magic Medium Ring stopped glowing and disappeared too.

“Nine Warrior-level Soul Essences?” Brianca was surprised when she noticed the flicker of light.

Mo Fan realized he was being too obvious about this. He quickly explained, “I already had six before, and I was quite lucky to collect three more from killing the demon creatures… hehe!”

Even though some expensive Soul Container had similar uses to the Little Loach Pendant, their rate of transformation and efficiency were extremely low. They would need around five hundred Soul Remnants to refine a single Soul Essence; not many Mages in the world could really take out five hundred demon creatures within a short period of time.

Mo Fan had no intention to tell anyone about Little Loach’s magical power.

“Oh, oh, I thought you had a really extraordinary Soul Container…” Happily, Brianca did not doubt Mo Fan’s words at all. She had no reason to doubt him, assuming it was unlikely for such a powerful Soul Container to exist in the world.

“It’s a pity that they ran away. Otherwise, I would have collected more of them,” Mo Fan let out a sigh as he watched the Lesser Lamias and Lamias fleeing into the distance.

“Mo Fan, I gave it to you to help you become stronger, but I don’t want you to place yourself in danger by initiating fights against the demon creatures just so you can improve the number of creatures you can Summon,” Brianca was a little worried when she saw Mo Fan lamenting that he did not have enough.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’m not a lunatic. I won’t just go around and fight the demon creatures to death,” Mo Fan said.

Brianca was not too convinced by Mo Fan’s promise. She could easily tell from Mo Fan’s fighting ../style that it was not his first time fighting demon creatures while surrounded by them…

Mo Fan’s Summoning Gate limit had risen to fifty-three after he fed the nine Warrior-level Soul Essences to the Magic Medium Ring: forty-three Enormous White Wolves, and ten White-Marked Wolves!

Mo Fan was planning to further increase the number of White-marked Wolves. If anyone dared trouble him again, he would just unleash the army of wolves at the person, just so they would doubt why they were even born in the first place!

——

Mo Fan and Brianca finally left the jungle. Mo Fan was a little worn out after the battle, having consumed a significant amount of his energy. Cairo was their actual destination. Once the battle at Cairo came to an end, they would have to resume their journey. It was important to be fully rested by then!

Not long after they left, a captain riding a Desert Beetle showed up leading a bunch of Battlemages.

“Didn’t they say a huge group of Lesser Lamias was flanking us from this direction? Why isn’t there any movement at all?” the captain turned around and asked his men.

“I did receive the news…” the scout of the squad found himself in an awkward spot. He had no idea how to explain himself.

A Battlemage came up to the captain and reported, “Captain, there are traces of a fight ahead. The place is littered with the remains of demon creatures.”

The captain immediately rode the Desert Beetle to the spot ahead, the other Mages quickly following. They thought there would only be a few dead bodies scattered through the forest, yet to their surprise, the whole place was littered with them. There were so many that it was impossible to count how many Lesser Lamias and Lamias had died there!

“There must be thousands of them here!?”

“It does seem that way, but how did they all die?”

“Captain, there are traces of burns and Shadow Magic… a Mage must have done it. I guess someone was guarding this place and eliminated the demon creatures before we even realized it!”

“It was most likely a Super Mage. How could anyone else kill so many Lesser Lamias in such a short period of time?”

“I just came from the city. I did see two young adults heading back to the city from here. I wonder if it was them,” another Battlemage said.

“I don’t think it was them. They looked too young.”

“Either way, the hazard has been dealt with. It will greatly lift the pressure the front line is feeling!”

“Yeah, if we could have someone like him guarding the front line, we wouldn’t be in so much trouble!”

—

—

Mo Fan was starving by the time they returned to New Suez. Fighting was very intense work!

Mo Fan brought Brianca to the city to find a place for supper. He was looking forward to trying out some Egyptian food.

Unfortunately, not every country had places that were open for twenty-four hours like China. Mo Fan tried searching for some time, yet he did not find anyplace selling food, apart from a few convenience stores.

It did not make any sense for Mo Fan to visit a bar just to get something to eat. He had no choice but to go back to the hotel with an empty stomach.

“If you’re really that hungry, I can cook for you. The ingredients in the convenience stores aren’t the freshest, but it’s better than nothing,” Brianca said.

“It’s fine, I prefer eating some meat,” Mo Fan said.

Brianca was a vegan. The only thing she could cook was vegetable dishes or vegetable soups. Mo Fan had almost gone mad from eating the food provided by the Alps Institute.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan believed he would choose a bunch of delicacies over a group of beauties right now. Barbeque, hot pot, crawfish, food stalls, street food, spicy stir-fry hot pot, salted-skin shrimp… he could not help but wonder how foreigners survived for so long without those delicious foods…

Mo Fan bought some bread to fill his stomach. The more he ate the disgusting bread, the more he missed Shanghai…

Brianca was intrigued when she heard the list of delicacies that Mo Fan mentioned in a single breath. She asked curiously, “Does your country really have so many ways of making food?”

“You must try them out if you have the chance. You’ll completely forget about being a vegan when you come to China… oh, actually, there are many ways of cooking vegan dishes too. Cooking them with water or making soups are not the only ways!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan remembered how he had impressed Ayleen, the duchess from England, by treating her to a meal of spicy crawfish. Damn it, Pudong had drowned when the sea level rose. The restaurant with the best crawfish was gone too! Mo Fan was so mad that he had a strong urge to annihilate the sea monsters, especially since he had not had the chance to eat supper in a foreign country. Otherwise, he would bring Brianca to the restaurant and let her try out the spicy and delicious food. She would surely enjoy herself and thus have a good impression of him. Why would he bother drugging her? He could easily hit a home run by treating her to a delicious meal!

Brianca had not traveled much. She did visit other countries once every year to train herself when she was younger, but that was no longer the case. In fact, she was not even up-to-date with the latest trends in the cities. It was not exaggerating to describe her as a nun in a nunnery.

Mo Fan was quite confused. She clearly had such outstanding strength, yet why did she have to stay at the secluded Alps Institute? Was there a reason behind it?

Speaking of which, he had known Brianca for some time, yet he still knew nothing about her family. She had never mentioned her past to him…

It was unlikely that working diligently was enough for her to be so strong. Mo Fan was starting to get a little curious about Brianca’s background…

1515 The European University Institute

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

On the way to Cairo, everyone started doubting their intelligence when they heard Zhao Manyan speak up. “Since all the flights are canceled, we won’t be able to fly to Cairo, so why did we waste five days in New Suez?” Zhao Manyan wondered aloud, currently sitting on a Camel Beast on the way to Cairo.

Camel Beasts were very common in Egypt, similar to the Gondolas in Venice; a special local transportation.

Unlike the Gondolas, the Camel Beasts were normally used for long journeys. In Egypt, where battles happened more frequently than rain, planes, trains, and highways would frequently come to a standstill. However, the Camel Beasts were different. They could travel anywhere! They could run across wild, mountainous areas or the spacious lands to the east. Still, people traveling on Camel Beasts had to be accompanied by Mages. Their lives would be at risk if they were intercepted by demon creatures.

Camel Beasts were not slow, their speed comparable to a jeep. As a matter of fact, the speed of ground vehicles was nothing worth mentioning to the Mages, but it was very important for them to preserve their energy if possible. They could not afford to waste their energy for travel. Besides, a well-fed Camel Beasts could travel at the speed of a jeep for a whole day; it was unlikely a Mage could keep the same speed!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was a muscular creature, but Mo Fan rarely rode him due to his stamina. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf would have no trouble running for an hour or two, but it would never be able to run for a day and a night!

Thus, they were currently riding Camel Beasts along the Nile. There were a few groups on the way to Cairo, so around forty Camel Beasts were currently traveling across the spacious land, sweeping dust into the air…

Many places in Egypt were extremely open. The deserts felt extremely close, even when they were not far from the Nile. The deserts here were a lot friendlier, unlike the true Sahara Desert. If they accidentally stumbled into an illusion in the Sahara Desert, they would have no chance of making it out alive.

It was Heidi’s first time riding a beast that was racing along at full speed. She surprisingly had a wide smile as her ash-brown hair drifted in the wind. Her posture was elegant and proper. The people that were journeying together enjoyed following behind her so they could admire her great curves…

Unfortunately, Brianca was not around. Otherwise, her mature appearance would surely have added even more color to the journey!

Mo Fan had started to miss Brianca after she left. His impression of her had greatly improved, as she had been acting like a gentle big sister to him. Unfortunately, she had to leave to attend to some matters. Otherwise, the days that Mo Fan no longer had to rely on aphrodisiacs would be just around the corner…

As for Heidi, she might be very beautiful, with skin as tender as jade, but she was acting too full of herself… perhaps she was only behaving like this because he had seen her naked before. It was not fun flirting with her, since she considered him a pervert even when he was discussing a serious topic with her!

“Heidi, I must make it clear first. We have some proper business to attend to in Cairo. You won’t have to follow us around. Feel free to travel around Cairo alone,” Mo Fan said.

“I don’t need you to look after me,” Heidi grunted, as if Mo Fan had poured a bucket of cold water down on her when she was in the middle of enjoying herself.

“I just wanted to remind you first.”

—

“Are you students? Which school are you from?” an exuberant man with a mustache approached them, continuing, “Allow me to introduce myself! I’m an intern mentor from the Earth School of the European University Institute. Those behind me are my students; we are pleased to meet you!”

“European University Institute?” Heidi looked at the mustached man in surprise.

The man immediately grinned proudly, but he was good at concealing it. It looked more like a modest smile on the surface.

The European University Institute was ranked first in the world. The school had gathered the most brilliant students across all of Europe, thus its students were either grass-root Mages with outstanding talents, or the future pillars of reputable clans. Almost every graduate of the school would end up an authority in Europe somewhere.

The European University Institute’s name was a lot more prestigious compared to the secluded Alps Institute. Even though they were currently in Egypt, its name was still influential. When the mustached man named Vani mentioned his identity, it immediately attracted the attention of the Hunters, Mages, and tourists in the same group.

The European University Institute represented the continent of Europe as a whole, instead of a single country, so it was not invited to participate in the World College Tournament. Similarly, the Alps Institute was an international organization too, so it was also not included in the list of schools participating in the World College Tournament.

Mo Fan had noticed that when he was visiting a school in his country, most people would recognize him with or without him mentioning his name. They immediately recognized the most handsome man in the World College Tournament, but the people from other countries did not really care about him. They even treated him disdainfully when he mentioned he had come in first in the Wold College Tournament. The looks they had clearly stated that Mo Fan would have had no chance of winning the World College Tournament if they took part in it.

Vani did not lack emotional awareness. Even though his target was clearly Heidi, he still greeted Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan in a friendly manner. However, it was obvious that he did not recognize Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, nor did the students behind him.

“You’re pretty bold to be going to Cairo at a time like this. Where is your teacher?” Vani asked.

“She’s busy, she will regroup with us later,” Heidi said.

“Oh, I’m a qualified teacher too. You can come with us instead. It’s a long journey ahead, and the few of you are going to feel lonely on your own. Wouldn’t it be better if we traveled together?” the man said.

“Oh, sure!” Zhao Manyan replied.

Mo Fan turned around and looked at the betrayer.

The intern mentor most likely had his eyes on Heidi. It was very obvious; Heidi was as gorgeous as an angel materialized from a drawing. Her otherworldly demeanor from spending most of her time cultivating in the Alps was very attractive to others, too.

However, Mo Fan preferred to keep the fertile water in his own field. Despite the awkward relationship between him and Heidi, he did not want someone else to show up and insist on traveling together with the beauty in their group.

“We’re just sharing the resources, take a look at his students…” Zhao Manyan raised his brows, signaling Mo Fan to look at the mentor’s students.

Mo Fan’s eyes widened after a quick glance.

-My my, there are indeed a few beauties among them!-

“Sure, the journey will be a lot more interesting indeed if we travel together,” Mo Fan quickly agreed.

Mu Bai was well aware of what the two were thinking. He could not help but scoff in derision. -Did they really betray Heidi, just like that?-

The two female students from the European University Institute were not as gorgeous as Heidi, but they were still beautiful in their own way. Either way, Mu Bai still thought Heidi was prettier. The gains clearly did not make up for the losses.

“Hi there, I’m Zhao Xiaotian, a student from the Pearl Institute. Are you here to be evaluated for your graduation?” Zhao Manyan promptly went over to chat with one of the girls.

Zhao Manyan was the aggressive kind. He would directly approach any woman he was interested in. He would never chat with an entire group to hide his true intentions.

As a result, before the female student with a huge bust could respond, the male student beside her said disdainfully, “Pearl Institute? Never heard of it before.”

Zhao Manyan continued without even turning his head, “I bet it has been a very boring journey for you to be accompanied by such a narrow-minded guy.”

“You assh***, who are you calling narrow-minded!?” the man grunted.

“Pearl Institute, isn’t that the school that came in first during the World College Tournament?” the girl spoke in turn. She sized Zhao Manyan up again, and realized he was actually quite good-looking.

“Yes, that’s us!” Zhao Manyan nodded.

“We are indeed being evaluated for our graduation,” the girl, Sofia, told him.

“It’s graduating with excellence, to be precise!” the man beside her added.

“Oh, I was in the same spot last year, but our evaluation was a lot simpler than yours. This must be quite special if it requires you to come all the way to Egypt,” Zhao Manyan said.

“How can you compare that little school of yours to our European University Institute?” the man rebutted.

Zhao Manyan automatically filtered away and ignored every word the guy spoke. Sofia was already conversing with him, meaning that he had accomplished the first step.

Zhao Manyan purposely glanced at Mo Fan after he successfully initiated the conversation with the girl. He wanted to check out Mo Fan’s progress. Whenever they started flirting with girls, they would automatically start a bet between themselves to see who would hook up with their target first. The loser would give the winner a broken piece of Soul-grade Seed!

However, Zhao Manyan was utterly shocked when he saw Mo Fan already holding the girl’s hand and fondling her palm!

Impossible!

His cultivation might be weaker than Mo Fan, but how could he possibly lose to Mo Fan when it came to flirting with girls!?

Zhao Manyan’s pride suffered a great blow. He must hurry and reach the second base to turn the tables around and secure the victory!

—

“This one here is the Life Line, the Fortune Line, the Love Line, and these little wrinkles have their own meanings, too. It means you will encounter some ripples in these areas. Some wrinkles might be favorable for you, but others might be misfortunes. It’s quite inconvenient here. I’ll explain it to you in detail when we find a quieter spot next time,” Mo Fan said.

“Such a magical nation in the east! I assumed these lines didn’t really mean anything for more than twenty years,” the woman said with a natural smile.

“You are from France, right?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes, how do you know?”

“Your name is Zoey, am I right?” Mo Fan added.

“Wow, my god, how did you know?” Zoey stared at Mo Fan in astonishment.

“You are a Scorpius,” Mo Fan kept going.

“This is unbelievable, you are a genius!” Zoey was struggling to believe it.

Zoey was a very cheerful girl. She did not mind Mo Fan flirting with her. She had agreed to let Mo Fan read her palm with a smile, mainly because she was intrigued. However, she now believed that Mo Fan was really good at fortune-telling!

“How did you do it?” Zoey could not help but ask.

“It’s not difficult… you haven’t taken off the badge on your luggage, it’s written all over it,” Mo Fan informed her loftily.

Zoey was stunned for a moment, before giggling and giving Mo Fan a little punch in the chest.

1516 They Deserved the Beating

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Time passed quickly as Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had a pleasant conversation with the girls along the journey. On top of that, they had successfully attracted enmity from the rest of the male students.

It was obvious that their mentor had gone to talk to Heidi. Even though they were interested in Heidi too, they did not dare offend their mentor, and they could not flirt with Mu Bai, either. The girls on their side were constantly giggling after being teased by Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan; this was a great blow to their dignity!

Men were usually able to get along with one another, but when there were women involved, they would immediately glare at one another, and had the urge to compete to show who was better!

“May I ask why are you going to Cairo? Are you tourists? You should be more careful, Cairo isn’t the safest place now. The undead occasionally dig their way out of the ground. You made the right choice by following us; at least you are safe with us,” a man with a seemingly noble aura behind Zoey exclaimed. He was well-dressed: boots, gentry hat, a huge coat, with a well-mannered bearing. “Oh, I’m Ferrero. I’m from the Golden Rose Clan in Provence,” Ferrero finished up.

“Ferrero, isn’t Provence where the biggest sea of flowers in the world is? Can we all go to your house after we graduate?” Zoey smiled.

Zoey seemed quite popular in the group. She was close to everyone there.

“My pleasure! When you’re there, you will feel that everyone in Provence is as elegant as the flowers. People are raised differently in different places. I once went to the east, and I noticed that the uncivilized, barren land normally raised uncivilized, ill-mannered people too, so I did not have a good impression of the place… Of course, meeting you all changed my mind a little. At least your courage to dare approach anyone you come across is rather impressive,” Ferrero said. His words immediately grabbed the attention of the rest of the travelers.

Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan were no retards; if they could not tell the guy was talking down to them, they could really go die!

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Ferrero knew how to secure the limelight. He noticed that many of the women were looking at him. He immediately took out a few small bottles and said, “I brought these from my home, I was planning to give it to the strangers I met along the journey. It is called Magical Dew. With just a little drop, it will give you the fragrance of golden roses, which lasts for a week. The golden rose is a friendly flower. Even demon creatures don’t want to trample them. Therefore, the Magical Dew might help prevent demon creatures from attacking you…”

Ferrero handed the beautiful bottles out while he was speaking. He purposely gave them to the women among them like a gentleman. These women were immediately over the moon. Their eyes glittered vividly as they looked at Ferrero!

The convoy of camel riders consisted of around eighty people. Ferrero’s action immediately gave every woman in the convoy a good impression of him!

When Ferrero was done with his show, he glanced at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan proudly as if he was trying to say, You two country bumpkins are nothing when it comes to picking up chicks!

“Mo Fan, I have a strong urge to curse someone,” Zhao Manyan was almost at his limit. He grunted, “That son of a b**ch!”

“We all have different skills when it comes to picking up girls. There’s no need to curse him. If he really gets on your nerves, just find a chance to beat the crap out of him. Make sure his face is fully swollen,” Mo Fan replied.

There was no need for an argument if one could settle it with a fight. It was a principle that Mo Fan strongly adhered to!

The joy of a journey didn’t come just from meeting beautiful strangers, but the chance to teach some self-assured idiots a lesson too. It was their motivation to travel extensively!

“Don’t do anything reckless, I can tell that they are no weaklings,” Mu Bai interrupted.

After a brief observation, Mu Bai noticed that these students were most likely the elites of the European University Institute; they are at least on par with the national team!

“Even if you can beat the students, can you beat their mentor?” Mu Bai added, continuing to pour cold water on them.

“Mu Bai, why can’t you ever learn? We are meant to be on the same side. Don’t you know that? Think about it; if we really beat the crap out of them, do you think they are still going to be friendly toward you?” Zhao Manyan said.

“I just don’t want to cause any trouble,” Mu Bai emphasized.

“How can you say that we are trying to cause some trouble? First of all, wasn’t their shameless mentor trying to flirt with Heidi first? Zhao Manyan and I have only gone to flirt with their girls so we won’t suffer any losses, but they start to humiliate us because of how narrow-minded they are. They humiliated our entire ethnicity as Asians; do you really think we should tolerate it? You really lack the sense of belonging to part of an ethnic group if that’s the case. Do you know what Chairman Shao Zheng told me? He said, ‘It’s inevitable to meet people that like to pick on the Asians when we are traveling. We, as the representatives of the younger generation, should get our minds right. We shouldn’t assume that they did not mean it. Perhaps they really deserve a beating in the first place. If we tolerate their actions, they might continue to mock on our people. However, if we punch them in the face and knock a few of their teeth off, they might go easy on us Asians next time’,” Mo Fan said righteously.

Mu Bai clearly admired reputable leaders. He was easily convinced if a statement was made by some authoritative figures.

“Did Chairman Shao Zheng really say that?” Mu Bai asked curiously.

“Of course, you can ask him when you see him next time!” Mo Fan said.

“Mo Fan, why do I remember the chairman only told us to be more careful when we were out of the country?” Zhao Manyan said softly after recalling what the chairman had said when they were on the national team.

“Precisely, he was asking us to be careful of these narcissists!” Mo Fan answered.

“They are always people that are proud of themselves. Just ignore him,” Mu Bai said.

“It’s so boring to hang around with someone like you,” Zhao Manyan sighed.

—

While Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were discussing how they should teach Ferrero a lesson, dark clouds gradually showed up ahead of the convoy. They gathered into a huge mushroom blossoming between the sky and the ground. The cluster of clouds gradually grew bigger as the convoy proceeded with their journey. It felt like the clouds were constantly growing and spreading.

“We will reach Cairo soon. The area below the clouds is the battlefield. It covers a wide area, so it’s very likely we will bump into some demon creatures around the outskirts if we are trying to enter the city,” the aged leader of the convoy, Halla, informed everyone.

Halla was an average Intermediate Mage. He would normally see how many powerful Mages were coming along before deciding on the capacity of his convoy.

He was quite experienced, and knew how to avoid the undead and demon creatures. As a matter of fact, experience was more important than strength most of the time, since they could never kill all the demon creatures…

After the convoy traveled another three kilometers, Halla’s expression suddenly darkened. He asked everyone to stop and said sternly, “I’m sorry, we might have to turn around.”

“Turn around? Are you being serious? We have come all the way here!”

“Yeah, what do you mean by turning around? Can’t we just avoid the battlefield?” a Wind Mage asked.

There was Mo Fan’s group, the students of the European University Institute, and around eight other Mages; the rest of the people were all merchants, or people that had to go to Cairo for urgent matters.

These merchants mainly focused on businesses related to war. They were constantly walking on deadly reefs, risking being swept away by the waves.

Half of the Mages that had tagged along were hired by the merchants. They were mostly Intermediate Mages. The scale of the business that these merchants were doing was quite big if they could afford to hire Intermediate Mages.

A plump merchant stared at the thick clouds on the horizon.

Even though he was scared, it was not enough to drive him away. He said to Halla, “I will pay you double the money, bring us into Cairo through a safer route. I can’t afford to wait any longer. The value of my goods will drop by half if I wait another day. Those unscrupulous businessmen won’t hesitate to take advantage of me!”

“I’m responsible for your safety. Judging from the clouds, every route we can take will be crawling with demon creatures. Turning around is the wisest decision here. Your business might be important, but staying alive is more important, brother,” Halla said.

“I will pay triple!” the merchant clenched his teeth and raised three fingers!

“You didn’t get what I mean, it’s really too dangerous…”

“Four times!”

“Deal,” Halla agreed decisively.

It took Mo Fan some time to collect his thoughts after hearing the conversation between the two.

Holy crap, ploys everywhere!

“Brother, you don’t have to fawn upon him. We are students of the European University Institute. Do you really have to worry about the demon creatures if you follow us into the city?” one of the students named Leon spoke up.

Leon was the guy who spoke up when Zhao Manyan approached Sofia. He was a lot worse than Ferrero, nothing but a hot-headed person with a jealous nature.

“I’m indeed less worried knowing that you are with us, but Halla is still very reliable when it comes to choosing the safest route,” the merchant said.

The European University Institute might be impressive, but they were still going to die if its students led them right into the demon creatures’ nest!

“Students of the European University Institute, everyone that we meet is a friend of ours. If there’s any danger ahead, please try your best to protect the others,” their mentor Vani told them.

“We’ll do our best!” the students responded.

It was a very common way to build up the reputation of a school. Vani was smart enough to advertise for his school, as something like this would spread easily among the common people!

1517 Medusa Mountain

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The black mushroom cloud ahead of them continued to grow. Anyone that raised their eyes could see that half of the sky was now shrouded by it. If they followed the cloud further into the distance, they would find their entire view covered in darkness, making them afraid to advance any further.

“This route should be a lot safer. The Lamias are not a fan of the wet sand outside Cairo. The sand is good at holding rainwater, making it muddy. The Camel Beasts might slow down, but it’s better than being feasted on by the demon creatures,” Halla told them.

A few ladies gasped in fear when Halla mentioned being feasted on. The old man burst out laughing after seeing their reaction.

“Don’t worry, those Lamias are nothing but weak insects to my students. Just brace yourself when the time comes; you will be fine as long as you don’t run too far in fear,” Vani spoke up calmly, displaying his leadership.

“Haha, I won’t dare to go any further even if I’m paid ten times the money!” Halla declared.

The merchant nodded too. He glanced at the students of the European University Institute with a smile.

“Humph, they are just a bunch of students. I bet they will be the first to run away if anything happens,” the leader of the hired mercenaries said.

Mercenaries were responsible for the safety of the convoy, yet the others suddenly disregarded their importance. It might even affect their pay for the job. The merchants might argue that they did not even do anything at all, so they did not deserve to be paid. It would result in a great loss to them!

“Hehe, I believe you’ve met the students of some inferior schools. You can’t possibly compare their students to our students from the European University Institute,” Mentor Vani proclaimed.

The leader of the mercenaries fell silent, obviously still in a bad mood.

——

The convoy had reached the wet sand. It was indeed very inconvenient for the Camel Beasts to walk on. Ferrero suggested that everyone travel on foot, but Halla quickly advised against it. “You definitely can’t travel on foot! The Lamias are similar to spiders, their senses are in their legs! The hairs on their legs can feel vibrations on the sand and the ground. Different living creatures will produce different vibrations when they are walking. The Lamias can clearly distinguish between humans and other living creatures. They aren’t that interested in the Camel Beasts, and won’t bother attacking even if they detect the Camel Beasts’ presence, but humans are a different story! They will immediately gather towards the spot and chase after us by following our footsteps, regardless of where we run to!”

The students of the European University Institute were startled by Halla’s explanation. Even Ferrero blushed, as even a high-achiever like him was more clueless than a traveler in the desert!

“I see!” Mo Fan immediately realized something.

He had come across the Lamias just a few days ago. He had noticed that the Lamias had outstanding tracking ability. They could find him even when he was hiding behind a rock!

He had learned something new today!

“That means we can only ride the Camel Beasts… that’s going to be quite a hassle,” Vani observed.

“Try not to dismount from the Camel Beasts if you can. Trust me, no matter how strong you are, once you set foot on the ground, thousands of demon creatures will be heading your way. When that happens, you will regret underestimating the ancient creatures of Egypt. They are a lot scarier than you can imagine!” Halla said.

The leader of the mercenaries harrumphed coldly. He spat out the stalk of grass he was chewing on to the ground and said, “So you better listen to us when the time comes! Don’t try to be a smartass and cause us trouble!”

The students did not say another word. It was their first time coming to the mysterious land of Egypt. They were indeed unfamiliar with the situation.

That being said, they did not really treat the warnings seriously, either. The gap between the Intermediate Level and the Advanced Level was quite huge. These people had no clue how powerful Advanced Mages were!

—

The wet sand was a little sticky, and the Camel Beasts started to slow down further. They were no faster than ordinary camels now.

Thick black clouds hovered above the convoy in the sky. A rotting, foul scent lingered in the air. Many people were covering their mouths and noses with their scarves.

“Make sure to stick together and follow me! If you stumble into demon creatures, don’t engage until after they attack us!” Halla reminded the others. Everyone could tell that they had entered a high-risk area from his tone.

Cairo’s safe zone was still a distance away. They cautiously followed the wet sand towards Cairo while using the scarce plants as cover.

They were still some distance away from the battlefield, but the demon creatures would not necessarily stay in the vicinity of the warzone. They liked to roam aimlessly, especially those who had lost their way.

“Be careful, a Snake Mountain is three kilometers away from here. We don’t want to attract their attention!” Halla lowered his voice, as if the demon creatures could hear him from three kilometers away.

“What is a Medusa Mountain?” Mo Fan promptly asked.

“The Medusae live in packs, and enjoy intertwining with one another. A female Medusa normally has around eight male Medusae wrapped around it, so when a slightly bigger female Medusa occupies a certain area, it will attract lots of big male Medusae to the area. These big male Medusae are very attractive to the little female Medusae, which means lots of small male Medusae will eventually wrap around those little female Medusae. Therefore, they continue to stack on top of another until it’s difficult to distinguish between them, and they will form a Medusa Mountain!” Halla explained.

“That’s insane!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Take a look there; can you see the outline of the Snake Mountain?” Halla pointed in a certain direction inland. It was a little hazy in the distance.

Mo Fan took a harder look and noticed a strange hill in the mist. Its outline was constantly wriggling. He could even see things falling and rolling down from it. His skin started crawling when he imagined the Medusae coiling around one another as Halla had described!

“The Gorgons have sharper senses, while the Medusae are sensitive to the presence of alien species. I brought you all here mainly because the wind is blowing in the opposite direction of where we are heading. It will prevent our scent from being blown to where the demon creatures are,” Halla said.

“I see,” Mo Fan nodded. He had learned something new once again!

It totally explained why an experienced Hunter was a lot more important than a strong Mage. They would be in a lot of trouble if they somehow attracted the attention of the Medusae!

“That’s weird… did you notice the mountain moving?” Mu Bai suddenly spoke up.

“That’s normal, it’s made up of snakes!” Halla said.

“No, I mean, they seem to be spreading…” Mu Bai went on.

1518 Sacrificing the Contracted Beas

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Halla was stunned. He took a closer look ahead and immediately his face went pale!

“We are screwed, they’ve noticed us! But… how is this possible, the wind is clearly blowing in the opposite direction!” Halla cried out.

Mo Fan followed their gazes, and noticed more Lesser Medusae were falling and rolling down to the ground. The mountain began to collapse as it transformed into countless twisting and wriggling figures. Most terrifyingly, they were rapidly heading towards the convoy…

The scales of Lesser Medusae were reflective, so their scales glimmered like the surface of a lake while they were moving. Unfortunately, it was far from a beautiful sight!

“What’s going on? Didn’t you already choose a safe route? We stayed on the Camel Beasts as you requested!” the leader of the mercenaries grunted when he noticed the ghastly sight.

“I don’t know, they shouldn’t have noticed us here…”

“They are coming right at us!”

“I know, I can see that!” Halla suddenly thought of something. He glared at Ferrero and said, “It’s you, the perfume that you gave them! It’s attracting the female Lesser Medusae, and the male Lesser Medusae are following them too!”

“My Magical Dew is supposed to drive demon creatures away, why would it attract them!?” Ferrero was enraged. He did not understand why he had to take the blame!

“Your Magical Dew is most likely mixed with an ingredient with a scent similar to realgar, used in our Chinese medicine. I believe the Lesser Medusae have captured its scent…” Mu Bai said.

“Mu Bai, could you please tell us vital information like that sooner?” Zhao Manyan said.

“I didn’t know these Lesser Medusae would be so aggressive toward the scent!” Mu Bai protested.

“Are you seriously worried about that now? Didn’t you realize we are as good as dead now?” the leader of the mercenaries, whose name was Chad, snarled coldly.

The merchant had a hopeless look too. He had lived here for many years. How could he not know the consequences of being targeted by a Snake Mountain? Even if Cairo sent an army to protect them, it was still unlikely that the army could escort them into the city safely!

The worst thing was, they could not just run for their lives!

As soon as they touched the ground, the Gorgons nearby would rush toward them like a tide, leaving them with no chance to escape. They also had no hope of outrunning the fast Lesser Medusae with the Camel Beasts’ speed. It was the reason Chad said that they were as good as dead!

“Don’t dismount from the Camel Beasts, no matter what happens!” Halla quickly yelled when he saw a few women about to jump off the Camel Beasts and flee for their lives.

“Are we going to wait here and die then? These Camel Beasts are so slow!” a few men said.

“We are paid to protect you at all costs, but if you don’t follow instructions and end up attracting more demon creatures to a number that we can no longer handle, you have my word that I’ll kill you before the demon creatures do!” Chad promised coldly.

The old mercenary immediately got the situation under control with just a single sentence.

Mo Fan felt like he should learn from the mercenary, too. Protecting others was a very difficult job, especially in a dangerous situation like this. Even if they told people not to separate from the group, people would still run aimlessly when they were overwhelmed by fear, and those people would most likely end up dead. Demon creatures enjoyed chasing after those people first, so not only would Chad’s threats guarantee their safety, it would also maintain the formation of the group, which would greatly increase their chances of surviving!

The people gave up on the thought of dismounting from the Camel Beasts. Chad was a very experienced mercenary. He glanced at Ferrero and said in an unfriendly tone, “Do you still have the perfume?”

“I do,” Ferrero replied.

“Give it to me!” Chad said.

“To you?”

“Cut the crap, just give it to me now!” Chad demanded impatiently.

Ferrero’s eyes flickered angrily. He did not understand why an unimpressive Mage like the mercenary dared to order him around.

“Ferrero, give it to him,” Vani said.

Ferrero did not disobey his mentor’s order. He gave the rest of the Magical Dew to Chad.

Chad drew a lunar-white Star Pattern. After it was completed, a Steel-Armored Beast appeared in front of the group.

The Steel-Armored Beast stood beside Chad. It slowly lowered its head. Chad reached out his hand and gently fondled its horns.

“I’m sorry, old pal,” Chad closed his eyes while bowing his head, too. His face was twitching slightly.

While the others were confused about what Chad was up to, he quickly poured the Magical Dew on different parts of the Steel-Armored Beast. He even let the Steel-Armored Beast drink a few bottles of it…

“Captain, what are you doing!?” a member of the squad blurted out when he saw the unusual behavior from his captain.

Chad ignored his teammate’s question. He fondled the Steel-Armored Beast’s horns again as if he was bidding farewell to it.

“Captain!”

The others finally realized what was going on. They all knew how close their leader was to his Contracted Beast. They did not expect their captain to make such a sacrifice.

The Steel-Armored Beast roared and sprinted in the opposite direction. The special scent of the perfume spread rapidly as it ran into the distance. They could still smell it even when the beast was some distance away.

When it reached a kilometer away, the group noticed that the Lesser Medusae that were initially heading toward them were going after the Steel-Armored Beast instead!

More Lesser Medusae started chasing after the Steel-Armored Beast. They were indeed sensitive to the smell of the Magical Dew. They seemed to be infuriated by the strong perfume that had been poured all over the Steel-Armored Beast…

The Steel-Armored Beast was not as quick as everyone had imagined, and the Lesser Medusae were very good at hunting their prey. They split into different groups; some of them sealed off the directions that their prey could escape into, while the others would slowly surround their prey, leaving it with no escape!

The Camel Beasts slowly moved ahead. The passengers lowered their heads, not daring to watch the miserable death of the loyal Steel-Armored Beast.

It was unlikely the Steel-Armored Beast would survive. Chad had already bid farewell to it after Summoning his Contracted Beast. Mo Fan wondered if he should describe Chad as heartless or wise when he saw the Lesser Medusae distracted by the bait.

“Captain, you are still the reliable one when it matters,” the merchant smiled.

Using the Magical Dew to lure the Lesser Medusae away! The merchant was very impressed by the captain’s ability to adapt to the situation. The Lesser Medusae had such overwhelming numbers. Even if the students of the European University Institute could handle them, they would struggle to protect everyone and their belongings, so avoiding the Lesser Medusae was the better choice.

“I will include its loss in the cost,” Chad said coldly.

“Not a problem! I will compensate you for the sacrifice you have made,” the merchant said.

Chad was not happy at all. He did not even dare to look back.

“I think it’s too early to celebrate now,” Mu Bai spoke up.

The Lesser Medusae were not fond of the Steel-Armored Beast’s meat, so when they realized it was only a Steel-Armored Beast with a strange smell, they would probably turn around and chase after the group instead. After all, the smell of the perfume was mixed with the scent of living humans!

—

Mu Bai was absolutely right. Around five minutes later, they could see the Lesser Medusae chasing after them!

“Quick, hurry up, we should be able to make it to the city in time!” Halla shouted.

“Don’t tell us that, tell these goddamned Camel Beasts to hurry up!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

The Camel Beasts were well aware of the approaching danger. They were moving their splayed hooves as quickly as possible…

“I’ll solidify the sand!” Sofia said.

“That’s right!”

“I’ll speed us up with wind!”

“Use everything you have!” Halla yelled.

The Camel Beasts moved a lot more quickly after the wet sand was dried and the extra speed boost from the Wind Magic came through, buying more time before the Lesser Medusae caught up.

The Lesser Medusae’s numbers were insane. The ghastly sight of them wriggling and moving along the ground grew ever more terrifying as they came closer. Their red tongues that kept flicking out, the triangular yellow eyes, and their massive figures formed black, brown, and red carpets of serpentine beings rolling forward like waves!

“It’s right ahead, we are almost there!” Halla yelled.

The terrain started to slide. They would be entering Cairo’s vicinity after crossing the ravine. The army would be waiting on the other side of the ravine.

The Camel Beasts rushed into the ravine and desperately climbed their way up. The Lesser Medusae had already reached the bottom of the hill. They leapt and tore at the Camel Beasts of the travelers at the back of the convoy.

“Look out!” Zoey yelled.

Heidi turned around. Her eyes emitted a brilliant blue flicker followed by an invisible energy moving across the air. The demon creatures that were pouncing at the Camel Beasts suddenly froze in mid-air as if time had stopped. A few seconds later, they fell back into the ravine lifelessly.

“Space Element!” Vani looked at Heidi in astonishment.

Heidi did not respond. She turned around once again and saw the Lesser Medusae pursuing them relentlessly. Their numbers were absolutely shocking. Meanwhile, the army that was guarding Cairo’s border was being utterly cold-hearted. They were strictly obeying their instructions to protect the people within the safe zone, but they would not bother lending those that were outside of the safe zone a hand, even if they were only fifty meters away!

1519 Duty Fulfilled

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“My goods, my goods!” the merchant screamed.

Half of the Camel Beasts were carrying the merchant’s goods. They were mainly supplies high in demand when a city was at war. He could have sold them for a good price, but the Camel Beasts at the back of the convoy seemed to be paralyzed by the Lesser Medusae’s poison. They gradually slowed down and eventually fell to the ground stiffly, panting heavily.

Even though the Lesser Medusae were not interested in the Camel Beasts, they had no reason to reject meat that was right before them. They wrapped around the Camel Beasts and devoured them quickly!

A Camel Beast was the size of a jeep, yet these Black Medusae could still swallow them whole given how large they were. Many travelers in the convoy fainted at the ghastly sight, their bodies hanging limply on the back of the Camel Beasts!

“Quick, don’t even bother saving the goods!” The leader of the mercenaries decisively led everyone up the ravine after making sure that no one was left behind.

A simple line of defense was stacked up with rocks at the top of the ravine. It was a sign to the Camel Beasts that they had almost reached safety. They immediately tried harder to reach the top!

“Are you all idiots? Cairo is already off-limits, but not only did you come here without permission, you even brought a whole Medusa Mountain here! I swear I’m going to execute you all right now!” a man in a military jacket yelled angrily.

The man was a general with badges on his shoulder. Cairo was already in such a mess, yet these black-hearted merchants were still trying to make a fortune from it. Meanwhile, they had to deal with the Medusae that were attracted here!

“We’ve already entered the city. It’s your duty to protect us!” the merchant shot back in reply.

The Egyptian general was furious, yet he had no choice but to raise his hand to signal his men to cast their Ice Magic!

The soldiers stationed along this part of the line of defense were mostly Ice Mages. When they cast their Ice Magic simultaneously, the whole ravine was covered in frost, the ice soon reaching more than a meter high!

The Black Medusae were afraid of Ice Magic, as they were unable to maintain their body temperature in icy places. They could freeze to death very easily!

Snow fell rapidly as a cold wind blew fiercely. The Lesser Medusae did not dare cross the ravine lightly. They could only hold their bodies up and stare at the humans on the other side viciously!

“Thank God, we are safe now!” Halla let out a relieved sigh and fell to the ground feebly.

“My goods!” the merchant cried. He had lost half of his cargo. They were more valuable than a person’s life. He had put in so much effort to transport them here, yet the rest of the goods remaining would only give him a small profit!

“You’re still thinking about the goods? You should be relieved that you are still alive!” Sofia scoffed at the self-seeking merchant.

Mo Fan turned around and looked at the Black Medusae that had not left yet. He then glanced at Chad, the leader of the mercenaries.

Mo Fan had to admit that the man’s decision had saved many people’s lives. Most of the people in the convoy did not know how to use magic. It would be difficult to guarantee everyone’s safety, unless he was a Super Mage like Brianca. The Medusa Mountain was composed of too many Lesser Medusae, especially the ones colored dark red. Not only was their poison deadly, there were superior Commander-level creatures too! They posed too much of a threat to the convoy!

While everyone was recovering from the shock, a few cries were heard coming from the other side of the ravine.

Chad was about to leave, and suddenly came to a halt. He turned around and saw a horned beast among the Lesser Medusae. Not only was it covered in blood, the Black Medusae were hanging all over it!

The Steel-Horned Beast was very tenacious. Its outer shell had already been torn away by the demon creatures, yet it was still heading toward the ravine with all its might, leaving a long trail of blood behind.

“Pierce!” the old captain cried out in disbelief. His body was trembling.

He had thought his Contracted Beast was long dead. No living creature could possibly survive after being surrounded by the Medusae. When he took a closer look, he noticed that the vicious Black Medusae could have easily ended the Steel-Horned Beast’s life, yet they were slowly tearing its meat off one bite at a time, torturing the pitiful Summoned Beast!

They would let it run before catching up to it and bite it a few times again. They would then let it run for a while again before surrounding it to make fun of it…

Chad could accept it if his Contracted Beast had died right away, but when he saw the Contracted Beast that he used to fight side-by-side with being tortured by the Black Medusae, he completely lost his mind!

“Assh***! I’ll kill all of you!” Chad yelled furiously.

Chad jumped over the wall and ran forward. The densely-clustered Black Medusae were no longer as intimidating as they were before. He could not abandon his Contracted Beast and just watch it being tortured!

“Captain, don’t!”

“Captain, you are going to get yourself killed, we’ve already completed our mission!…”

The others quickly came over to stop their leader when they saw him running at the demon creatures recklessly. However, they were still too slow. Chad had already reached the bottom of the ravine. He continued to charge toward the Lesser Medusae without any hesitation!

“He’s mad, he’s out of his mind. He could have just spent some money and bought another Contracted Beast… whatever, if he’s dead, I won’t have to pay as much now…” The merchant struggled to understand Chad’s behavior.

The others looked at the stubborn man speechlessly.

He was going to get himself killed for sure. Even the army would not dare to charge straight into the Medusae…

“Someone, stop him!” a mercenary under Chad’s lead begged.

“Mo Fan is already doing it,” Zhao Manyan said.

“That’s great, he must stop the captain!”

—

At the bottom of the ravine, Chad was just about to make his way up the slope when a black figure showed up in front of him and blocked his path.

“You are going to get yourself killed,” Mo Fan told Chad.

“I’ve already escorted you all to safety. What I do next is none of your business, move aside!” Chad yelled at Mo Fan with bloodshot eyes.

Mo Fan did not waste any time with Chad. His eyes flickered as a silver energy burst out of them. A strong telekinetic force collided with Chad and sent him flying.

Chad was knocked into the air and landed back in the safe zone.

The mercenaries were well aware of their captain’s temper. They quickly went up to him and pulled him down, not giving him any chance to do anything stupid!

“Student, come up here, it’s too dangerous down there!” Vani kindly reminded Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not go up. He turned around and stared at the Black Medusae that were poking their heads up over the edge of the ravine. The opening was fully blocked off by the terrifying demon creatures, yet he remained in his spot fearlessly.

“You are too weak, so you will only get yourself killed if you go. I’ll save it on your behalf, considering how you’ve done your best to fulfill your duty…” Mo Fan’s dark coat flapped wildly in the wind. The deafening clap of the Lightning Tyrant had yet to come, but a dangerous aura far superior to anything nearby had already surged across the place!

It was common to hire mercenaries to protect people. Mo Fan remembered how they had barely escorted the people on the plane to safety at the airport in New Suez, even when they had Brianca’s help. The situation they went through today was clearly a lot more dangerous than back then. Even they and the students of the European University Institute joining hands together would struggle to guarantee everyone’s safety…

But an Intermediate Mage had done it by sacrificing his Contracted Beast to buy enough time for the weaker people to reach safety!

The man was truly an impressive mercenary. Even though his decision was extremely cruel to his Contracted Beast, he had fulfilled his duty without leaving anyone behind. He made sure that everyone could reach Cairo safely. He deserved their respect!

There were some people that Mo Fan would feel deep veneration for, not because they were from a reputable school or a renowned clan, but how they were willing to stick to their principles and duty despite the great struggles they had in life…

“Lightning Realm!”

Thick black bolts of lightning fell from the sky at Mo Fan’s command, forming lightning arcs that sparked as they cut jagged paths through the air. There were more than a dozen of them, descending from beyond their range of vision.

The lightning did not just come and go. It stayed close to Mo Fan, like dark dragons protecting their emperor.

As Mo Fan started toward the Lesser Medusae, the lightning arcs followed him. They swept across the ground, leaving scorched gouges behind…

The eyes of the Black Medusae widened as they watched the human that was not enough to fill the gaps between their fangs approaching them. A few young Black Medusae immediately stirred up black winds and pounced at Mo Fan fearlessly!

Their black bodies were instantly disintegrated into bloodspray, scattering across the ground as soon as they made contact with the lightning.

The Battlemages in the safe zone gasped when they saw the shocking number of Black Medusae lunging at Mo Fan, but in just a second, they were disintegrated by Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant Domain, their blood splattering on the ground close to Mo Fan. The whole place was painted a bright shocking red!

“My man!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed as he watched Mo Fan, who was as imperious as any demon!

The lightning with twelvefold damage amplification could even kill the Warrior-level Black Medusae instantly. The students of the European University Institute were in utter disbelief after witnessing Mo Fan’s magic, especially Ferrero, who had no idea the country bumpkin possessed such terrifying strength!

1520 Dark Red Male Medusa

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’ll help you!” Heidi flew out of the ravine and swiftly approached Mo Fan’s position.

Heidi was a sentimental person too. She would not want to see the Steel-Armored Beast sacrifice itself after helping the convoy to reach safety.

When Heidi entered the area, space began to twist extensively. The Black Medusae that were initially moving swiftly slowed down significantly, as if they had entered an invisible swamp.

Hundreds of Black Medusae were slowed down by the swamp-like spatial power. As they did, the lightning with twelvefold damage amplification gave them no chance of survival. They were turned into black ash immediately, their Soul Remnants and Soul Essences flying into Mo Fan’s Pendant!

The smaller creatures were massacred brutally. A bigger male Medusa could not stand it any longer.

Its body had a hint of red. A brownish color symbolized the lowest level for both the Medusas and the Gorgons. Black was the next level, and red was the symbol of the Commander-levels. Their color was not fixed, but would shift gradually as their cultivation and strength improved.

The male Medusa was dark red, indicating that it was a Commander-level creature. If it was bright red, it would likely be a dangerous Ruler-level creature. Even the army would not dare challenge a Ruler-level creature recklessly.

The Dark Red Male Medusa was not particularly big. It lifted half of its body into the air, like a sturdy tree with an oval head. Its scales were smooth and densely packed. Its poisonous fangs were concealed inside its mouth, but the hood along its neck was fully extended, making its head look four times bigger than its initial size!

It was a sign that the Medusa was enraged. The extended hood projected a large shadow below it, and Mo Fan and Heidi started feeling a little dizzy…

“Don’t look at the skin under its hood, it can make you hallucinate!” the old mercenary shouted at them.

Heidi and Mo Fan finally noticed the strange patterns on the male Medusa’s hood. The patterns had a hallucinatory effect. Many living creatures had been swallowed alive by the creature and slowly digested by it after falling unconscious from hallucinations!

Mo Fan and Heidi backed away slightly to create some distance between them and the male Medusa. The strange patterns were like a strong mental attack. The redder these creatures were, the closer their capabilities came to the real Medusa. They were experts at confusing their targets, placing them under illusions, and inflicting mental damage on them!

“You take care of the Lesser Medusae,” Mo Fan said.

Heidi frowned. She grunted in a displeased tone, “I’ll take care of it, go save the Steel-Armored Beast!”

“Fine!” Mo Fan was not in the mood to argue with her. He fought his way toward the Steel-Armored Beast under the protection of Heidi’s Space Magic.

The Steel-Armored Beast was still holding onto its last breath. The smaller Black Medusae were not too fond of its hard meat, and the bigger Medusae were not willing to swallow it due to its heavy weight.

The fact had allowed the Steel-Armored Beast to stay alive this long, but it was suffering from serious injuries. It would still die from their poison, even if the Medusae ignored it.

“Blink!”

Mo Fan noticed that he was too slow. He quickly cast the Advanced Space Magic.

Mo Fan vanished amid silver sparkles, and ripples suddenly spread out in the air around three hundred and thirty-meters ahead of his previous location. A figure swiftly took shape there, resolving into none other than Mo Fan in his black coat!

As soon as Mo Fan showed up, another male Medusa with the same red-black color lunged at him from only twenty meters away. Mo Fan did not even have the chance to see the creature’s true appearance. He only saw its poisonous fangs and pitch-black throat coming right at him. He immediately turned into a shadow bird and fled for his life!

“I won’t do that again!” Mo Fan grunted while he escaped to safety.

Blinking forward into a group of demon creatures was not a good idea at all. He might appear right under the fangs of some of them, especially when there was no way to pinpoint where he would land. He might just place himself right into the mouth of the enemy if he made a careless mistake, but he could only Blink to somewhere within his range of vision when he was in the middle of a chaotic battle.

“Heidi, take care of this one too!” Mo Fan yelled while running.

Heidi was around five hundred meters away. She had just knocked the previous male Medusa flying. She was shocked to see another male Medusa that was redder than the previous one closer to Mo Fan!

The male Medusa that Heidi had just dealt with was already a Great Commander-level creature, which meant the one chasing after Mo Fan was clearly even stronger than that. Heidi quickly flew through the air and used her Will to establish a tall Wall of Space between Mo Fan and the Dark Red Male Medusa!

The male Medusa was a little dumb, and did not sense the presence of the Wall of Space. It rammed right into the wall and rebounded back in a complete somersault.

“Imprison!”

Heidi quickly set up five walls around the male Medusa while it was dizzy from the collision sealing it within the Space Box.

“Thousand Piercing Arrows!”

Heidi focused on two things at once. She quickly used her powerful Will to form lances and spears in the air while trapping the Dark Red Male Medusa in the cage. They formed around the cage in a spectacular manner.

She fired off the lances and spears at the Dark Red Male Medusa before it could break free from the cage!

The lances and spears left countless holes in the ground. The male Medusa had extremely thick scales, yet it was still gushing blood after being hit by Heidi’s Arrows of Will.

The Dark Red Male Medusa had now turned into a bright red Medusa. Its blood formed little streams on the ground, but the injuries were nowhere enough to cost the Dark Red Male Medusa its life. Its triangular eyes were glaring at Heidi like spotlights.

The male Medusa swung its body and tail around in a rage, trying to break the cage trapping it after it was injured. It unleashed a tremendous force, while trying to pounce at Heidi. It opened its mouth and spit out a poisonous mist. The corrosive spit splattered all over the area around her!

Heidi was long prepared for the move. She emitted a silver glow before vanishing into thin air just ahead of the poisonous rain.

Heidi was able to travel further away with Blink than Mo Fan. She landed at a spot with fewer Black Medusae around four hundred meters away, and began to Channel a stronger spell, using the Sound Element this time. A dark blue harp materialized in front of her as her fingers plucked its strings, following the tempo of the incantation she was murmuring!

The Sound Element relied heavily on incantations. Every tone she uttered and played required all her attention, as the Channeling would be interrupted if she made the slightest mistake. The way of doing it might be different, but it was similar to constructing the Star Orbits, Star Patterns, and Star Constellations for any other spell!

A series of enchanting notes drifted across the battlefield, swiftly combining into a deadly melody. The whole area began to vibrate vigorously under its effect.

Just as Heidi was about to complete the melody, the sand below her feet caved in. A female Medusa suddenly burst out from the ground and swallowed Heidi whole!

The melody came to a stop as Heidi disappeared. The terrifying Dark Red Female Medusa sprang into the sky like a shark that had risen from the deep ocean, sending chills down the spines of the people watching on the other side of the ravine!

The Dark Red Female Medusa had shown up out of nowhere. No one had expected it to be hiding below the ground. Heidi had been focusing on playing the Soul-Twisting Melody, and had not expected to be ambushed by the cunning female Medusa. Everyone stared blankly at the Dark Red Female Medusa as it reached the highest point of its jump and slowly fell back to the ground!

“Holy crap, shit’s about to go down!” Zhao Manyan yelled. He no longer dared to be a bystander. He quickly ran down the ravine to the other side.

“Can we even make it in time? She has been eaten already!” Mu Bai was a little slower with his reaction, but he still followed behind Zhao Manyan.

“We have to at least retrieve her body. Otherwise, Brianca is going to skin us alive when she comes back,” Zhao Manyan said.

“…”

The Medusae were the most vicious creatures in the deserts, and could not afford to be underestimated. Many strong Mages had ended up as food in their stomachs, and even when they had fully grown and become much stronger, humans were still the most delicious food for them!

“She tried to bite off more than she could chew!” the General harrumphed coldly. He did not have any pity for Heidi’s death.

The mentor of the European University Institute, Vani was stunned for a long time too. He did not know whether he should lend a hand.

There were too many demon creatures. The whole Medusa Mountain was scattered across three kilometers of the ravine. Even he was not confident of surviving, so how could he possibly allow his students to risk their lives?

“Mentor?” Zoey blurted out with a confused look. She could not stand it any longer.

“Don’t bother, the Summoned Beast is going to die for sure… the girl is already dead too,” Vani said sternly.

There were just too many Black Medusae, and the bigger Medusae were extremely terrifying to fight against. They had safely reached their destination, why would they bother to go out there and die for the sake of a Contracted Beast? They should learn how to assess their own strength. It was fine to lose some of their integrity if it meant they could stay alive, right?

“You all kept saying how good you are along the way, yet they are the ones that are willing to help. European University Institute… I finally learned what kind of people you are,” a nearby mercenary smirked.

A few women in the convoy started chatting among themselves too. They were all enumerating the shortcomings of the people from the European University Institute.

Vani blushed upon hearing the criticism, yet remained unmoved. He would not place his students in danger!

1521 Incarnadine Medusa Lord

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Heidi, Heidi! She’s not dead!”

Mu Bai’s voice suddenly came from the other side of the ravine. The others quickly followed the voice and saw Heidi with Mo Fan. Mo Fan had his arm around her slim waist while they were trying to dodge the attacks from the terrifying female Medusa that was pursuing them!

“She’s not dead? It’s time for us to retreat then,” Zhao Manyan said to Mu Bai quickly.

“I think we are surrounded,” Mu Bai looked around him.

“F**k me, did Heidi purposely lure them to us on purpose!?” Zhao Manyan screamed.

“Stop barking like a useless dog and cast some defensive spells on me. I’m going to freeze them all with my Ice Magic!” Mu Bai said angrily.

He was extremely annoyed by Zhao Manyan’s constant grumbling. How did someone like him even make it onto the national team? His voice was countless times stronger than his actual strength, and eleven out of ten sentences from him contained vulgar words!

—

“Let me go, I can walk by myself!” Heidi said angrily. Mo Fan was holding her waist so tightly that she felt like she had been injected with an anesthetic.

“Can you be more careful? How are you so inexperienced when it comes to fighting the demon creatures? It doesn’t matter if you have an impressive cultivation. These demon creatures could kill you in an instant!” Mo Fan immediately rebuked her.

Ceylan and Headmistress Perry had asked him to bring Heidi along so she could learn some practical skills. As he expected, Heidi was extremely careless in a messy battle like this. She thought she was safe after moving a distance away from the demon creatures. She even started Channeling her magic…

It was unwise to Channel magic that required a long time without anyone around to protect her!

“How did you know there was a huge female Medusa under me?” Heidi asked him with a confused look.

A Sound Mage’s senses were a lot sharper than other Mages. Heidi had not even heard any noise from the ground, so how did Mo Fan know there was something under it?

“Experience, the area within two kilometers from us is full of these Medusae, but not a single one was at the spot where you landed. Some of the Medusae even avoided it on purpose, meaning that there was a creature there that those little creatures were afraid of nearby! It remained in the same spot without moving, meaning that it was waiting idly for the opportunity to strike!” Mo Fan replied.

Heidi fell into deep thought for a moment. It was indeed as Mo Fan had said: a Sound Mage might be able to pick up the slightest movement, but there was no way she could notice the creature if it remained still.

But how was it possible to keep an eye on little details like that in the middle of an intense fight? Did that mean Mo Fan was constantly observing his surroundings even when he was surrounded by the Lesser Medusae?

“The higher the level of creatures, the higher their intelligence! Most of them are smarter than you… get the Steel-Armored Beast out of here, I’ll handle these big guys,” Mo Fan put Heidi down beside the Steel-Armored Beast.

The Steel-Armored Beast was barely holding onto its last breath. It looked almost dead. Heidi let out a wry smile, looking at the Steel-Armored Beast that had no hope of making it out alive, since it was already poisoned, “Don’t you feel like whatever we are doing is meaningless and dumb?”

The soldiers, merchant, and the people of the European University Institute indeed thought it was very idiotic to try saving a Contracted Beast that had no hope of survival.

“Why would you even worry if something is meaningless or not? Just stick to what your heart is telling you to do! Even if we can’t save it, we can still bring its remains back, or you just want to earn the gratitude of that old mercenary?” Mo Fan shot back.

“I was just taking pity on the beast…” Heidi said.

“That’s a good enough reason,” Mo Fan said.

“Then why are you doing it?”

“Don’t you think I look very handsome this way? Didn’t you notice the girls whose affection Ferrero has won over are looking at me differently now?” Mo Fan replied.

“…” Heidi was completely speechless.

That being said, she could not deny that Mo Fan’s back looked really cool when he stopped the old mercenary and told him that he would save the Contracted Beast on his behalf!

“There are too many Black Medusae, I’m afraid I can’t break through,” Heidi said.

“Head toward Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai, they will clear a path for you,” Mo Fan said.

Heidi headed in the direction that Mo Fan had pointed at, quickly discovering a huge area covered in frost. The Black Medusae in the area had all turned into motionless ice statues.

Heidi was overjoyed. She initially thought the two guys were too afraid to come down here…

—

Mo Fan kept attracting the female Medusa’s attention.

The Incarnadine Medusa Lord was the leader of the Medusa Mountain. The big male Medusae, little female Medusae, and little male Medusae were all under her command. Mo Fan was well aware of how tough of an opponent it was going to be.

As soon as the Incarnadine Medusa Lord showed up, the rest of the male Medusae immediately pounced at him to show off for her.

There were quite a few big male Medusae. Mo Fan noted there were around seven of them.

The Dark Red Male Medusa had to be the strongest among them. Mo Fan was initially trying to attract the big female Medusa’s attention so it would not swallow Heidi again, but as he kept running, he realized that every big male Medusa was chasing after him!

“I didn’t f**king spray the perfume on me!” Mo Fan cursed them all.

The seven big male Medusae were like war machines. They kept charging forward and smashing anything they came upon in their way, including huge rocks, walls, and sand dunes. Seven huge Medusae were chasing after a tiny figure, their tails slithering across the spacious land. The female Black Medusae started to surround Mo Fan too, limiting the space that was available to him.

The Black Medusae were the little female Medusae. They could easily attract little male Medusae. Their numbers were so overwhelming that they could fill up a pit with a radius of five hundred meters across; it was impossible to kill them all. If only Mo Fan had the Ice Element, he could just freeze them all without having to kill them. It would save him a lot of work!

Mo Fan only had the chance to cast Basic and Intermediate Spells since he was constantly chased around. He hardly had any chance to cast an Advanced Spell.

If he was Possessed by Little Flame Belle, it would be a lot easier to take out these Medusae, but Mo Fan was reluctant to rely on Little Flame Belle all the time. Little Flame Belle had already reached the Advancing Period of the Commander Level, so she would raise Mo Fan’s strength close to the Super Level.

The problem was, it would significantly weaken the spells of his other Elements. Mo Fan would really be unbeatable if he could improve his other Elements too!

He insisted on not merging with Little Flame Belle! It was his training of the day!

“I can’t get away from them…” Mo Fan felt his head hurting.

Mo Fan did not have the chance to construct a Star Constellation because the big male Medusae were still chasing him, but how could he possibly kill these Commander-level creatures without using Advanced Spells?

“Let’s try producing a shadow clone and see if I can trick these creatures…” Mo Fan injected the Dark Material into his body.

Mo Fan could clone his enemy with the Rebelling Shadow, but while doing so he had accidentally discovered that he could clone himself, too…

1522 Stormy Hail

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The shadow clone was different from the ones that Mo Fan’s Dark Noble Mantle could produce. The Rebelling Shadow was obviously a dark shadow stained with Mo Fan’s presence. It was impossible to trick a Mage with it, since they could tell that it was only a shadow.

However, it was different for demon creatures. They would mainly set their eyes on things that moved quickly. The Medusae mostly relied on their ability to track their target’s presence. If Mo Fan suddenly disappeared and unleashed the Rebelling Shadow, he might be able to lure them away…

Mo Fan jumped down a ridge and landed in a deep pit.

The seven male Medusae were not far from him. They quickly followed him and immediately saw a black figure heading in the opposite direction. The seven Medusae were a little surprised. Since when did the human that only knew to run away have the guts to fool with them and run in the opposite direction?

The male Medusae immediately went after the shadow. Three of them even stacked their bodies around the Rebelling Shadow like walls. It was quite a terrifying sight when they fully extended their bodies!

Mo Fan grinned when he saw the male Medusae taking the bait.

As he thought, these Medusae were very sensitive to their target’s auras. He just needed to use the Dark Material to conceal his presence while applying some of it to the Rebelling Shadow, tricking the male Medusae into chasing the shadow instead!

The male Medusae soon surrounded the Rebelling Shadow. The Dark Red male Medusa snapped at Mo Fan’s shadow eagerly, but the shadow surprisingly turned into black smoke and dissipated around its fangs!

The male Medusa bit with such great might that it ended up loosening its fangs. It was infuriated when it realized it had been tricked. It immediately turned around and lunged at the pit under the rampart.

“You still dare to come after me? Take this!”

Mo Fan’s flames had now filled up the pit. He had been waiting for the Dark Red Male Medusa to lunge at him when it was angered. Mo Fan threw a blazing fist at the creature at the perfect time. A destructive fiery dragon rose from the blazing pit and headed right at the male Medusa!

The fiery dragon was unstoppable. The male Medusa tried to pull itself back when it sensed the terrifying force approaching, but the fiery dragon had already knocked it into the air!

The male Medusa spun in circles as it reached the highest point. A sudden explosion took place. The fiery dragon ignited the creature like a burning cloud, lighting up the ground below with crimson red light. The Dark Red Male Medusa was burned into pieces that scattered and fell from the sky…

The scorched remains of the creature poured down like rain. Its body was beyond recognition; it was absolutely dead!

The other male Medusae were intimidated by the fiery dragon. They no longer dared to get any closer to the blazing pit Mo Fan was in after witnessing the horrible death of their comrade!

Mo Fan did not utilize Little Flame Belle’s power with the punch. It was not as easy killing a single male Medusa this way as when all three Soul-grade Flames were used!

The female Medusa in the distance shrieked at the male Medusae.

Its screech was the greatest stimulant to them. Their eyes were infused with rage, as if they had completely forgotten about the Dark Red Male Medusa that had died just a moment ago.

The male Medusae pounced at Mo Fan. The black dust that their bodies swept into the pit rapidly extinguished the flames. Mo Fan decisively fled for his life when he realized that his aura could no longer scare the male Medusae away!

If the male Medusae engaged him one by one, he swore he would pluck all their poisonous fangs off. However, if they all attacked at once, Mo Fan had no choice but to run. He would not have a safe environment to cast his stronger spells!

Luckily, he had the Dark Noble Mantle that could increase the tier of his Fleeing Shadow by two. He could turn into a shadow bird and glide along the ground, sprint on his legs, or Blink away at times. It allowed him to kite those annoying male Medusae around for some time!

“Mo Fan, time to go!” Zhao Manyan’s distorted voice came from the distance.

Mo Fan took a quick glance at them and noticed they had almost reached the ravine.

It was impossible to kill an entire Medusa Mountain. Mo Fan clearly knew that he had almost zero chance of surviving if the female Medusa was chasing after him.

“Give me a hand!” Mo Fan was running out of space. The male Medusae were forcing him to head toward the female Medusa as her prey.

Mo Fan could already see the female Medusa rising into the sky like a skyscraper around five hundred meters away. It was like a noble empress slowly placing a napkin on her lap while sorting out her makeup, waiting for the male Medusae to present a delicious meal to it!

Mo Fan knew it would be suicide to run at her, but the male Medusae, little female Medusae, and little male Medusae had sealed off the area. He could not use Blink all the time. Once he was trapped, he would have no choice but to run in the direction they were forcing him into!

He needed some help. Otherwise, it would only be a matter of time until he ended up as a little grain in the female Medusa’s stomach!

Even though humans did not have much meat, a Mage naturally possessed a huge amount of energy. The reason why demon creatures were so fond of eating humans was because human mages were great nutrients for them!

“Stormy Hail!”

A loud voice appeared around a kilometer away from Mo Fan. Mu Bai was standing on a rather tall sand dune. He had summoned icy hail down upon the area.

The biggest hailstones were around the size of a watermelon, while the smallest was around the size of a thumb. Their sharp vertexes and thin shape made them look like icy daggers. Under Mi Bai’s command, the ice swept down at the Medusae, and the lower-level little male and female Medusae were promptly shredded to pieces!

A strong scent of blood lingered in the air, with remains of the Medusae all over the place. The hail storm was remarkably strong. Most importantly, not a single little male or female Medusa was alive in the five hundred meters between Mo Fan and Mu Bai.

Mo Fan was dumbfounded. He had not expected Mu Bai to possess such terrifying strength. It seemed like he had his own fortunate encounters while he was surviving in the wild!

“Green Tea, clear a path for me!” Mo Fan yelled as loud as he could, worried that Mu Bai could not hear him.

Mu Bai immediately turned away from him.

“Mu Bai, Mu Bai, alright? Hurry up and save me, they have sealed my escape paths. Freeze the guy with the horn, it can see through my shadow,” Mo Fan quickly shouted.

“Still being mouthy on the brink of death!” Mu Bai harrumphed coldly.

Mu Bai looked ahead and studied the remains of the Medusae across the place. They did not look too ghastly, since the place was covered in frost. The blood pouring out was quickly frozen by the ice.

Mu Bai continued forward and soon discovered one of the male Medusae had a horn on its head. Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic was most likely restricted by it, forcing him to flee in a certain direction.

Mu Bai went another two hundred meters forward. A huge bunch of Black Medusae came at him, followed by the smaller male Medusae flowing like a tide behind them.

The little male Medusae were called little, but even the smallest of them was around three meters long and as thick as a human’s arm. These little male Medusae were poisonous, too. The body of a human they bit would stiffen up in ten seconds, and in less than a minute, the poison would spread across their body, paralyzing them!

Mu Bai noticed a pattern: the little male Medusae were only following the little female Medusae around, and would only attack under the little female Medusae’s guidance. Without the little female Medusae, they were nothing but a sheet of loose sand, timid and weak!

Mu Bai targeted the little female Medusae this time. He quickly located the little female Medusae and killed them swiftly!

These smaller female Medusae were not too intelligent, and was quite easy to distinguish them by their larger size. Their bodies were python-like for five to twenty meters, while the part close to their heads resembled the upper body of a woman connected to the fierce head of a snake!

Mu Bai specifically targeted those black Medusae. After they were eliminated, the little male Medusae became extremely timid. They dug into the ground and fled when Mu Bai cast a few Ice Magic spells to scare them away!

“Mo Fan, kill the female Medusae, the male Medusae are taking orders from them!” Mu Bai quickly informed Mo Fan of his discovery.

“Are you kidding me now? The female Medusa in front of me is the ruler of the Medusa Mountain! Just freeze that guy with the horn so I can escape!” Mo Fan screamed back.

Mu Bai glanced at Mo Fan and noticed the female Medusa close to him was indeed the enormous ruler of the Medusa Mountain. It would be extremely difficult to kill the creature, thus his discovery was totally irrelevant to Mo Fan!

Mu Bai reached a spot around five hundred meters away from Mo Fan. He could clearly see the male Medusa with a horn from this distance. The eyes of the Horned Male Medusa were not yellow, but black instead. It did not use its smell to locate its prey, serving as the eyes among the Medusae; its job was to see through illusions and tricks of their enemies…

Mu Bai eliminated the little female Medusae nearby and immediately channeled an Advanced Ice Spell!

Mu Bai could not cast the Stormy Hail for this. The spell was very effective against low-level creatures, but against the male Medusae’s thick and study skin, it would only leave a few scratches. It was impossible to kill them quickly.

Against a single target, the Advanced Spell Icebound Coffin was a lot more effective!

The male Medusa had placed all its attention on Mo Fan. After all, it was utterly annoyed by the human that was so good at running away. It swore it would be the one eating him!

Frost slowly accumulated in the sky. The Horned Male Medusa was completely unaware that a coffin made of sturdy ice was aiming right at it from above!

1523 Eyes of Vengeance

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, prepare to run!” Mu Bai yelled at Mo Fan when he was almost done Channeling his magic.

As soon as he finished the sentence, an icy flicker appeared in the sky. A heavy Icebound Coffin fell from the sky and landed directly upon the Horned Male Medusa!

The Horned Male Medusa was in mid-slither when the Icebound Coffin landed right in the middle of its body and flattened it with great force!

The Horned Male Medusa cried out in agony. It fiercely twisted its upper body, but the frost began to spread over it. Being crushed was one thing, but being frozen was another! Once the Icebound Coffin suppressed its target, the spell’s powerful frost would spread rapidly across the target’s body. For a target with a long body, the Icebound Coffin would simply modify its shape accordingly to seal the target in ice!

The Horned Male Medusa was unable to break free, and the ice spread swiftly across its body. If its head was frozen in the ice, it would die to the frost very quickly!

“Well done!” Mo Fan was impressed by Mu Bai’s Ice Magic. He had managed to freeze the Commander-level Horned Male Medusa into a huge popsicle. He could not wait to see how the rest of the blind male Medusae were going to surround him now!

Mo Fan activated the Dark Noble Mantle and went invisible. Even the shadow he left behind when he cast Fleeing Shadow was extremely faint.

The Dark Noble Mantle had the ability to conceal its wearer’s presence, just like the Dark Material: Fiendish Night, which could even trick the demon creatures and lure them away. The male Medusae thought they were about to present a delicacy to the female Medusa. They were already imagining how they could rub against the female Medusa’s body as they pleased, but the little dessert suddenly disappeared in the blink of an eye. The male Medusae were so mad that they flipped in the air and slammed their bodies into the ground!

The proud female Medusa was enraged too. It opened its mouth and screamed at the male Medusae, as if she was complaining about how useless they were. The male Medusae immediately scattered and ran away. They were well aware that the female Medusa would swallow them alive whenever she was not served with delicious food. A single male Medusa was just enough to fill her stomach!

—

“Quick, we have to go now!” Mo Fan regrouped with Mu Bai and ran straight for the ravine.

Mu Bai had killed all the Lesser Medusae nearby to clear a path. He looked at Mo Fan and saw a few injuries caused by the Medusae’s poisonous fangs. He blurted out, “You’re poisoned. It’s going to paralyze you!”

“It won’t, poison is the last thing I’m afraid of. Let’s talk later, the female Medusa is coming!” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan had guessed right. The female Medusa was infuriated when the male Medusae failed to catch him. It knocked its useless underlings aside and decided it would take matters into its own hands.

The female Medusa had the ability to dive into the ground, like a sea serpent with the sand as its territory. It was able to dive and move freely under the ground!

“Quick, it will catch up to us fast!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had fought some Red Medusae during the battle against the Great Pyramid of Giza. They were extremely quick when moving underground. He had seen them diving into the ground a kilometer away many times, yet they would suddenly spring up from the ground under his feet in just a few seconds!

It was one of the Red Medusae’s abilities. Only Medusae that had turned completely red would have the ability. Therefore, Mo Fan subconsciously felt the ground below his feet was unsafe as soon as he saw the female Medusa diving into the ground!

“Old Zhao, Old Zhao, cast your defensive spells on us, quick!” Mo Fan yelled at Zhao Manyan. He could sense the female Medusa was very close to them!

“Aren’t you guys safe right now!?” Zhao Manyan asked in confusion.

“Enough talking, hurry up and cast your spells!” Mo Fan grunted.

Zhao Manyan was an Earth Mage. He quickly felt an unusual force approaching rapidly through the ground.

“Baxia’s Seal: Plummeting Rays: Light Scale Armor!”

Zhao Manyan was pretty quick at casting his spells. Dots of light poured down like raindrops onto Mo Fan and Mu Bai, forming glittering scaled armor made of light on them!

Even though Plummeting Rays was meant to be an offensive spell, the armor of light that Zhao Manyan modified the spell into had an outstanding defense. It was possible to stack the light, too, so even if the light armor on Mo Fan and Mu Bai looked thin, it was made up of thousands of light rays!

“Are you stupid? It can swallow us whole, this isn’t going to work!” Mo Fan cursed.

“It’s below us!” Mu Bai’s face turned pale. The Medusa was quicker than he had imagined!

“Blink!” Mo Fan did not have the time to scold Zhao Manyan. He quickly constructed a silver Star Constellation.

As soon as his sixth Star Pattern was constructed, the ground began to shake. A pitch-black tunnel opened up like a bottomless chasm, giving Mo Fan no time to finish the last Star Pattern!

“Will Cannon!”

A pleasant voice arose from around three hundred meters away. Heidi’s ash-brown hair drifted in the wind, and her clothes flapped loudly too. A strong energy of the Space Element burst out between her brows.

The Will energy did not have any trajectory, nor did it leave any trace as it crossed three hundred meters, but it struck the back of the female Medusa’s head just as it was about to swallow Mo Fan and Mu Bai whole. The massive force knocked the creature’s head to the ground…

The rest of the female Medusa’s body was still underground as its head and neck were slammed heavily down onto the sand dune after being knocked back by the Will Cannon. Mo Fan and Mu Bai barely escaped death. They stared at the indent on the back of the Red Medusa’s head with blank faces for a long breath!

“That’s insane!” Zhao Manyan turned around and raised his thumb at the lofty Heidi.

On the other hand, Mo Fan and Mu Bai were running as fast as they could as soon as they recovered. They did not dare their heads around!

As they thought, the female Medusa whose head now had a hole in it was not dead yet. It pulled its head out of the sand and slowly moved toward them.

The female Medusa did not chase after them. Its eyes were like spotlights as they glared at Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Heidi, as if it were trying to imprint their looks into its mind!

Eyes of Vengeance!

For some reason, Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Heidi were able to see the female Medusa’s eyes staring at them even though they did not turn around. It felt like the world behind them had suddenly turned into a pitch-black icy abyss of death. Their only chance of survival was the narrow path leading them toward a cliff ahead. As they kept running, the narrow cliff would eventually lead them away from the darkness inside the vengeful female Medusa’s stomach!

Chapter 1524 Terrifying Curse

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

The three ran to the bottom of the ravine and sprinted to safety.

The Medusae seemed to be aware that the human Mages would blast them with spells if they went into the ravine, so did not chase their targets recklessly. However, the mist shrouding Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, and Heidi’s back was still around. It felt as if their vision was blocked when they turned around. They could only see the eyes of the dominant female Medusa in the darkness.

“You are in great trouble!” the leader of the convoy, Halla, informed them urgently.

“Didn’t we already escape from it?” Zhao Manyan gasped in confusion.

“You are Cursed by the Eyes of Vengeance, the scariest ability of the Medusae! Not a single person has survived the Curse of the Eyes of Vengeance. It’s been like this for thousands of years!” Old Halla sternly warned Mo Fan and the others.

“It’s just a big female Medusa. If there weren’t so many male Medusae and Lesser Medusae around her, I would have cooked myself a snake stew by now,” Mo Fan spoke up, unimpressed.

“No no no, you shouldn’t take it so lightly! The Eyes of Vengeance is a terrifying Curse of the Medusae. It will imprint you with the hatred of their entire species. Even creatures as small as snakes and as huge as snake demon lords will go crazy on their marked enemies!” Halla exclaimed.

“I’m grateful toward you all for saving my Steel-Armored Beast, but please don’t underestimate the Eyes of Vengeance. I had a very experienced senior, a powerful Hunter Master. He stole a Medusa’s egg close to Bikheris’ Pyramid and was marked by the Eyes of Vengeance while he was escaping. The day he came back to New Suez, he sold the egg at an insane price and drank until late at night. I was the one that brought him back to his room.

“The next afternoon, I went to wake him up to grab some lunch together, but when I opened the door, I witnessed something that I will never forget for the rest of my life…” Chad told Mo Fan and the others sternly.

“Was he dead?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“The whole room was full of trails left by snakes. The white bed sheets were splattered a terrifying red. When I flipped the blanket over, there was no sign of my senior. All I found were his scalp, his hair, his torn clothes, his eyeballs, and his toes…” Chad recalled the eerie sight. His eyes were filled with terror.

“Wasn’t he in the city? How was he attacked?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“It’s exactly what I was the most confused about. We were in the city center with lots of Hunter Inns nearby. There were many powerful Mages around us, but my senior still died such a horrible death. We did hear from old friends at the bars that we shouldn’t mess around with the big female Medusae.

“The army of Medusae with them isn’t the scariest thing, it’s their eyes! Once the female Medusae set their eyes on you, the only way out is death! I always thought it was just a legend, or perhaps the female Medusae possess some kind of power that we don’t understand. They became scary creatures, as people constantly exaggerate their power through rumors, but after witnessing my senior’s death…” Chad trailed off.

In comparison to how calm and collected he was when figuring out a way to lure the Medusae away and guarantee the convoy’s safety, the man was now like a little kid overwhelmed by fear, as if he was totally clueless about Egypt, the desert, and the Medusae.

“Dying on the bed, that sounds a little…” Zhao Manyan had goosebumps after hearing about the incident.

Mo Fan fell into deep thought, too. How was the man eaten alive if he was in the city? Were the Eyes of Vengeance of the female Medusae really that terrifying?

“I’ve heard of the Eyes of Vengeance, too. It’s the deadliest Curse of the Medusae in Africa. I’m afraid we’ll have to excuse ourselves, as we have some other business to attend to,” Vani said.

“Sir, are we going to leave just like that? Didn’t it all happen because of us?” Zoey said.

Some rumors were terrifying even if people had only heard about them for the first time. It was not scary because of how formidable the enemy was or how cruel and evil the Curse was, but how the victims were no longer safe, even in their own territories!

Imagine dying on the bed in one’s own room in a luxurious city; when Mages were awake, they had different ways to fend off demon creatures in the wild as long as they were strong and experienced enough. However, it was impossible to stay alert all the time. The victims of the Curse could not afford to close their eyes before they figured out how the demon creatures were able to sneak into a busy city and reach their room. They could not even have any contact with their close ones, since it might endanger them…it was the most torturous part while they were constantly bothered by the Curse!

“There’s nothing we can do to help them. We did lure the Medusae to the convoy, but they were the ones that decided to turn around in the end,” Mentor Vani replied firmly.

The people of the European University Institute had obviously heard of the Curse before, and decided to leave without hesitation. Vani also realized he had no hope of winning Heidi’s affection, so he was unwilling to waste any further time. It was more important to help his students graduate.

Zoey had no choice but to follow the others. She even apologized to Mo Fan, but Mo Fan did not really mind. They were only strangers brought together by chance. The most he could do was to beat up the male students of the European University Institute the next time he stumbled into them again. It was not much of a big deal.

“I’ll stay with you guys. The Curse should only last for a certain period of time,” Chad said.

“No, it’s fine, we aren’t as weak as you think. Curse of the Medusae? Bring it on, I’ll let them know that it’s a nightmare to mess around with a Mage whose hands have been itching a lot recently!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had gone to slaughter the Medusae partly because he was impressed by the old mercenary’s sacrifice. In addition to that, he needed to collect more Soul Remnants and Soul Essences…

He was quite pleased with his recent achievements. His Summoning Gate had broken a hundred after the previous battle. He now had forty-three Enormous White Wolves and fifty-eight White-Marked Wolves! Medusa Mountain, was it? Once he collected enough wolves, he would show them how he was going to let the dogs… let the wolves out!

“I won’t disturb you guys, but please let me keep an eye open for you. I will leave once you are safe for a week,” Chad said.

“Fine, I guess I can learn more about Cairo from you too!” Mo Fan accepted the kind gesture since the man insisted.

They would be leaving in a week anyway. It would not make any difference.

Chapter 1525 Gentleman“s Room

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan noticed that Cairo was a typical city of war when he entered it. Despite the killings happening all over the city’s vicinity and the deaths of the people that stepped out of the city, the residents continued on with their everyday lives inside the safe zone. None of them seemed to be worried about the battle that was taking place.

Not just Mo Fan and the convoy, many other people had also come to the city from different places. Cairo’s government strongly advised Mages not to come to the city without permission while the battle was still ongoing. It prohibited people from leaving the city, too, but if anyone managed to make it into the safe zone alive, they would provide them with protection. It was a rather humane city.

Mo Fan would never forget the general that had abandoned them in Peru.

International laws stated that every city guarded by the military must accept those in need into the city. They might not be obliged to leave the city to save them, but once they entered the city, they would be responsible for their safety.

Egypt’s Cairo strictly obeyed that rule. That alone made it a good city!

“Let’s stay at the city’s center, it’s the safest.” Zhao Manyan was worried about the Eyes of Vengeance. He did not want to stay in the areas closer to the battlefield.

The city’s center was at least a few dozen kilometers away from the battlefield. It was unlikely that the Medusae could travel a few dozen kilometers and sneak into their rooms to murder them without alerting anyone, right?

——

When they reached the city center, the tall buildings, streets, shops, pedestrians, and vehicles gave the Mages that had recently traveled through the wild a sense of security.

“We are staying here!” Zhao Manyan said firmly, pointing at a tall building.

“Do you really have to be so scared?” Mo Fan chuckled.

“I’m not scared, I just think that this hotel is very luxurious. It’s been a while since I have had the feeling of looking down at a capital city like an overbearing CEO. I’m completely worn out after living like a savage for the past few days. I just want my normal life back!” Zhao Manyan answered firmly.

“Alright, we’ll be staying here,” Mo Fan agreed.

Chad and his little brother followed them, but they preferred to save some money. They knew it would cost them a few thousand to spend a night in a hotel like this, and decided to share a room.

Zhao Manyan, on the other hand, was rich and imposing. He immediately booked a presidential suite for each of them. He did not even blink when he swiped the card to pay over ten thousand for a single night’s stay.

“Mu Bai, let’s stay in the same room. I would like to discuss Ice Magic with you. I’m thinking of Awakening the Ice Element once I reach the Super Level,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Sure, but ask them for a room with two beds, I’m not used to sharing a bed with someone,” Mu Bai chuckled. He knew what Zhao Manyan was afraid of.

Mu Bai was an Ice Mage, a nemesis of the snakes. It was obvious that Zhao Manyan was really afraid of the Eyes of Vengeance if he chose to stay with Mu Bai instead of Mo Fan…

“Heidi, we’ll stay in the same room just in case,” Mo Fan handed his identification to the clerk. He placed Heidi’s identification together with his.

Heidi glared at Mo Fan and said, “I’m not scared!”

“Miss Heidi, I think you should listen to Brother Mo Fan. The Eyes of Vengeance isn’t a child’s game. You must believe me, it’s a lot safer to stay in pairs!” Chad was very serious. He strongly advised them not to stay alone.

The vengeful Medusae would latch onto every opportunity to get their revenge. If they were paralyzed and hypnotized when they were alone, there was only one possible outcome!

“I will never stay in the same room with this shameless guy!” Heidi said proudly.

“There are different kinds of rooms, such as the kind that is suitable for a gentleman with no ulterior motives. Even though we are in the same suite, the rooms are still separated. Heidi, stop being so stubborn, it’s not like Mo Fan had never seen your…” Zhao Manyan immediately sensed a murderous gaze in the middle of his words, and immediately shut his mouth. He believed he would die at Heidi’s hands before he was killed by the Eyes of Vengeance if he kept going.

Heidi finally agreed to stay in the same suite as Mo Fan after seeing how strongly Chad and the others insisted on it.

To be honest, Mo Fan was hoping that they would be staying in a small room in a small inn. It was very easy to catch fire that way. Everyone had some biological needs. Mo Fan would not believe Heidi was really that pure, with no hidden desires!

Unfortunately, the luxurious hotel in the capital of Egypt was brilliant in every aspect, apart from their spacious rooms. Asking someone to stay in a hotel together was no different than inviting them over to one’s home as guests. They would be sleeping on their own without even the slightest thoughts of unleashing their fervor. Should he consider asking Mu Bai if he still had any of that aphrodisiac left?…

—

There were two bathrooms and two bedrooms with a huge living room in the middle, stocked with complimentary alcohol and snacks. Mo Fan suddenly realized how insensible that idiotic Zhao Manyan was at times. It was fine if he and Mu Bai stayed in a suite like this, but why did he not get the smallest room possible for him instead? He was not able to get a close look in the cave under the waterfall last time. He was supposed to have a chance to see it in high definition and uncensored this time…

Mo Fan looked over the night view of the city. The luxurious sight reminded him of his beloved Magic City. He was confused about why Cairo looked so clean and clear even though it was so close to the desert, while Magic City was constantly hazy.

“Heidi, where are you from?” Mo Fan laid down on the sofa and asked the woman who had withdrawn back to her territory.

“Heidi? Heidi!” Mo Fan rose to his feet. He quickly headed into Heidi’s room.

The Eyes of Vengeance had struck quicker than he had imagined. Old Chad was not lying after all!

Mo Fan was about to pass through the corridor when he suddenly felt an invisible wall in front of him. He almost walked right into it.

Mo Fan was a little shocked. How capable were those Medusae? They could even set up a barrier before killing their target?

“If you dare take another step forward, I’ll blast you into pieces!” Heidi’s voice came from the room, followed by the sound of her showering.

Heidi was terrified too. She was once again convinced that Mo Fan was a perverted assh***. He was trying to rush into her room… Luckily, she was alert enough to set up a barrier first.

“Holy crap, you scared the crap out of me, I thought you were being attacked by the vengeful Medusae! Can’t you just say something if you’re fine? I gave Miss Brianca my promise to look after you. It’s my job to keep you safe when she’s not around!” Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh while peeking through the barrier.

He could barely see the bathroom from his angle. The view was blocked by a thick half-transparent door with patterns on it. Mo Fan was just able to see a blurred outline, slender with elegant curves. Its bust was utterly shocking. He seriously wondered how such a slim body could have such beautiful hemispheres. Look at them shake… even though they were not as round and firm as Brianca’s, they were perfect for Heidi’s physique!

Foreigners were big indeed, with crazy curves. The perfect ratio of their bodies made them as elegant as artwork. On top of it, both Heidi and Brianca had peachy butts. Mo Fan clearly remembered the sight he had seen in the cave under the waterfall when Heidi had her back to him. He could not forget it even now!

“Isn’t it time for you to leave? I’m perfectly fine!” Heidi said angrily when she saw Mo Fan kept swaying in front of the barrier.

“Oh, oh, I was just making sure, I saw a shadow that looks like a snake in the bathroom, I thought it’s a snake… but it’s your body instead,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m going to kill you!”

“I’m going, I’m going, calm down, the world is so wonderful, don’t be so mad,” Mo Fan blurted out.

Mo Fan fell into deep thought when he went back to the living room.

In terms of physique, he believed only Asha’ruiya might stand a chance against Heidi, considering they were both around the same age. In terms of maturity, Brianca clearly had first place. Europeans had a natural advantage over Asians in terms of physique. Their skin was as pale as snow and their body ratio was closer to perfect. Their female features were particularly outstanding, too…

The truth was, Mu Ningxue’s body was stunning too, but Mo Fan was shocked to realize he had never seen her naked after being around her for so long. Her skin might be the most perfect among the women he had met due to her Innate Talent. She perfectly represented the term ‘flesh of ice and bones of jade’. Such a pity; he had met so many women, yet he had never seen his first wife’s body! They might not be as big as these two foreigners, but they were not small, either. He did feel them when he was carrying her in his arms. They were soft and comfortable, and were definitely not small…

“That’s weird, shouldn’t I be worried about the Eyes of Vengeance? Why are my thoughts suddenly filled with these things?” A big question mark suddenly surfaced in Mo Fan’s mind.

—

Mo Fan cleared his mind of the thoughts that continued to plague him. He moved a chair and sat in front of the French window. He closed his eyes and began to meditate.

Meditating was a way to rest, too. Mo Fan usually meditated instead of sleeping. He would only sleep for two hours a day. Most people would sleep for more than five hours, but Mo Fan had a few extra Elements to look after. He had been spending the time when other people were asleep to cultivate since he was in high school. It eventually turned into a habit of only sleeping for two hours. He had gotten used to resting through meditating.

Mo Fan entered the meditation state fairly quickly. He was imagining things that could give him a nosebleed just a moment ago, but he had perfectly calmed his thoughts.

When Mo Fan entered the Spiritual World, he habitually roamed between the Galaxia. However, a pair of enormous black eyes suddenly appeared in the areas he usually roamed in. It gave him such a fright that he immediately opened his eyes and almost fell from the chair…

Sweat poured down like rain. The eyes of a snake showing up out of nowhere had given Mo Fan a tremendous fright. The eyes were as huge as the dark sky in the Spiritual World, while he was only as small as a dust particle. It was absolutely terrifying!

Mo Fan took a few deep breaths to finally calm himself.

He looked stern as he recalled the sight.

It turned out that he had truly underestimated the Eyes of Vengeance!

1526 Cursed

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Heidi cautiously set up a barrier, not giving Mo Fan any chance to approach her.

Mo Fan decided not to tell her his discovery, seeing how cautious she was. He casually picked up a book and started reading it.

As soon as Mo Fan started to meditate, he would experience the fear of seeing the enormous eyes in the Spiritual World. Meditating was obviously out of the question. Mo Fan also noticed that when he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, the eyes would appear in his mind. It was a horrible feeling; Mo Fan could not even sleep because of them!

Mo Fan took a sip from a bottle of champagne while reading his book. Not long after, Heidi suddenly let out a scream!

Mo Fan smiled. He rose to his feet and headed toward Heidi’s room.

Heidi had taken down the barrier, and ran out of her room wearing just thin sleepwear. Her hair was still wet from the shower, leaving her looking rather alluring.

Her face was quite pale. She did not even pay attention to what she was wearing when she saw Mo Fan.

“Did you see it too?” Mo Fan asked with a smile.

“Assh***, why didn’t you tell me!?” Heidi yelled angrily.

“If I had, you were just going to call me a pervert again,” Mo Fan replied with an innocent face.

Heidi angrily stomped the floor, yet she could not find any words to refute him.

Heidi was planning to meditate just like Mo Fan, since it was part of her usual routine. However, she immediately saw the enormous eyes of a snake when she entered the Spiritual World. It was so terrifying that she forgot about everything and subconsciously ran to the man outside her room.

Heidi no longer dared to go back to her room. She found a bathrobe provided by the hotel and wrapped it around her as she sat in the living room.

She saw the champagne and poured herself a huge glass. She gulped it down right away to suppress the fear she had just experienced.

When she was done, Mo Fan conveniently took a sip from the bottle of champagne too. When Heidi saw him drinking directly from the bottle, her eyes widened. She grunted, “I was going to drink more. Can’t you use a glass!?”

“It’s how I was drinking it before. I thought you wouldn’t mind,” Mo Fan answered.

“You…you…you shameless prick!” Heidi was so angry that her body was trembling. She had never seen anyone drinking champagne straight from the bottle. Was he out of his mind!?

“When are you going to stop calling me the same thing? Let’s just think about how we can make it through the night,” Mo Fan said.

They could not cultivate nor sleep. The old mercenary, Chad was not trying to scare them. The Eyes of Vengeance was indeed a lot scarier than they thought.

Heidi was given a great fright. She was not Mo Fan, who had been through all kinds of situations. He soon returned to normal despite encountering such a terrifying situation. On the other hand, Heidi was completely different. She did not expect this at all. She believed there was no safer place than her Spiritual World. To her surprise, a gigantic snake had appeared out of nowhere. For a second, she had thought she was already dead!

“Aren’t you going to remind them?” Heidi said when she realized Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai were in the same situation as them.

“There’s no way Zhao Manyan is going to cultivate after coming to a new city. As for Mu Bai, if he’s staying in the same room as Zhao Manyan, I doubt he will have the peace to cultivate quietly,” Mo Fan said.

“Why is there someone like you who doesn’t even care about their friends’ safety? Didn’t you see how scary it was!?” Heidi said angrily.

She went out of the room. Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai’s room were right opposite theirs. Heidi believed it was necessary to remind them. She couldn’t let them suffer from the same fright as she did.

“I would think twice about that,” Mo Fan said.

Heidi ignored him. She went to the opposite room and knocked on the door.

Heidi stood in front of the door as she waited. She could hear loud music inside the room. She was a little confused.

A while later, the door opened, but the person was neither Mu Bai nor Zhao Manyan. It was a tanned, sexy, blond woman in a bikini. She swung the door open and said to Heidi, “Are you here to have some fun, too? Come on in, but you have to take off your clothes first, that’s the rule!”

Heidi was stunned. She looked into the room and saw a bunch of women not wearing many clothes dancing under the dim lights while flinging their hair around and twisting their waists. Their private parts were covered with clothes smaller than a person’s palm. In Heidi’s eyes, they were pretty much naked, and yet everyone in the room was dressed in the same fashion.

Swinging, twisting, and pole-dancing, it was Heidi’s first time seeing a striptease party. She quickly slammed the door shut. As she closed the door, she caught a glimpse of Zhao Manyan coming toward her with a bottle of wine, asking who was at the door.

Heidi blushed as she ran back to her room.

She saw Mo Fan sitting on the couch with a mischievous grin.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier!?” Heidi’s chest was heaving from her heavy breathing.

“Let me tell you, you keep scolding me as to what kind of a jerk I am every day, but Zhao Manyan is the real assh*** among us. He can’t even sit still once. He likes being surrounded by bunches of gorgeous ladies.” Mo Fan had long gotten used to it.

“What about Mu Bai?” Heidi believed Mu Bai was a gentleman. He would not mess around like Zhao Manyan.

“He was against it before, but he slowly fell in love with it, too. However, he doesn’t really like foreigners, so if you see any Asian beauties in the room, they are mostly his,” Mo Fan said.

“Perverts!” Heidi cursed.

“See, I’m the actual gentleman among us three. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Miss Brianca about it. She trusts me the most,” Mo Fan said.

“You’re no good either!” Heidi refuted without any hesitation.

Heidi did not stay in the room with Mo Fan. She decided to head out to the hall where the crowd was.

One there, Heidi noticed Mu Bai sitting in a corner under a lamp in the hall. She realized that she had been tricked by Mo Fan again. Mu Bai was indeed not messing around, unlike that pervert Zhao Manyan.

—

“Here, she’s over here!” Heidi was just about to greet Mu Bai when a familiar voice yelled out at the entrance.

Heidi was very sensitive to sounds. She could tell it was Ferrero’s voice.

Heidi immediately felt disgusted when she glanced at the entrance. In addition to Ferrero, Vani, Zoey, Sofia, and the rest of the students from the European University Institute were here, too. They quickly walked up and surrounded her.

“Damn it, it’s all your fault! Why did you go and provoke the big female Medusa!?” Ferrero was the first to yell angrily. He had completely lost his demeanor of a gentleman.

“What do you mean?” Heidi asked the group of people that had come up to her so menacingly with great patience.

Mu Bai quickly came over to Heidi after seeing what happened. He snorted at them with a cold face, “You still have the guts to come trouble us?”

“It’s your fault in the first place that we are placed under the Curse! Why did you even bother acting like a saint and save a Steel-Armored Beast that was as good as dead? We are all Cursed by the Eyes of Vengeance now!” Ferrero yelled.

Ferrero was utterly terrified. He did not seem to be in his right mind. He did not even bother maintaining his image in a time like this!

“All of you are Cursed by the Eyes of Vengeance?” Heidi asked curiously.

Vani, Zoey, Sofia, and Galba nodded. The fear of seeing the ghastly sight was still lingering in their eyes.

“Your perfume attracted the Medusa Mountain to us in the first place! Their hatred toward you isn’t any weaker than us! It’s not a surprise you are cursed by the Eyes of Vengeance!. Stop putting the blame on us!” Mu Bai was displeased by their attitude.

“None of this would have happened if you hadn’t provoked the big female Medusa! Where are the others? Ask them to come here right now!” Ferrero was the most terrified among them all, and started yelling in the hall.

“Heidi, go get them,” Mu Bai said.

“Alright.”

—

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan came down not long after.

Zhao Manyan’s face and body were covered by red lip marks. He smelled like booze, too. Ferrero and Galba were infuriated when they saw the guy still had the mood to indulge in sensual pleasures!

“You must be responsible for this!” Galba said.

“What responsible? If Ferrero hadn’t mucked around with his precious perfume, the Medusa Mountain won’t even have come after us in the first place!” Zhao Manyan seemed extremely angry.

He had tried to sleep when he got to his room, as he was feeling very tired. Since Mu Bai was in the room too, there was nothing he had to worry about. Mu Bai would surely cultivate for the night!

However, as soon as he fell asleep, he was scared shitless by the eyes of the snake. Mu Bai also saw the eyes while he was meditating. Zhao Manyan suggested calling a bunch of strippers over to liven up the mood so he could forget about the fear in his mind. Mu Bai was not interested in that, so he went out to the hall instead.

It was not the reason why Zhao Manyan was mad. He had always been a fan of sexy women with long hair and slim waists. It was a pleasant sight when they twisted their hips around, but he was clearly not in the mood today. The women’s hair kept reminding him of golden snakes while their bodies were like the small female Medusae. He was initially planning to fulfill his desires, yet he was feeling even more absent-minded now!

The Medusae could deprive him of his soul, but he would not allow them to deprive him of his passion for women. Zhao Manyan realized he had no other reason to live if he was afraid of women!

“I can’t sleep, can’t make out with chicks, can’t cultivate… at this rate, we are going to be tortured to death before those snakes show up out of nowhere and eat us!” Zhao Manyan swore.

Not long after, Chad and his brother Benz came to the hall too. They were also wearing unpleasant looks. They did not need to ask what was going on when they saw the people that had gathered in the hall.

“We are all cursed by the Eyes of Vengeance,” Chad sighed with a grim look.

1527 Mistaking the Shadow of a Bow in a Cup as a Snake

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group of people sat in the hall of the hotel, grim looks on their faces.

Ferrero still wanted to accuse Mo Fan and the others, but Mentor Vani knew it was meaningless to argue any further. He said, “It’s no use blaming one another here. We should find a way to get rid of the Curse as soon as possible. Chad, you’re more familiar with things around here, you should know more about the Medusae than us. You’re our hope in getting rid of the Curse.”

“I don’t really know much about it,” Chad sighed.

The Medusae were too mysterious. There were even rumors about how the Medusae could speak the human tongue. Their intelligence was on par with humans. The Curse of the eyes of the snakes was a great power that no human had probed into before.

“Tell us what you know. I’m afraid the Curse is only going to worsen from here,” Zoey urged him.

“The Mother of Snakes, Medusa, is the mother of every snake in Egypt. Apparently, she was a Curse Mage, but during her time, the Curse Element was not accepted by the public yet. People claimed that the Curse Mages would bring misfortunes upon them, so they offered Medusa to the God of Snakes, Nehebkau. To their surprise, Nehebkau did not kill Medusa, but mated with her instead, giving birth to the Medusae that are stronger than the snake demons and are capable of using magic. The Medusae treated Medusa as their leader, and the God of Snakes became her subordinate instead. Medusa has a strong hatred of humans, and it combined with her ancient Curse Magic, granting her the scariest eyes in the world… it is known as the strongest Psychic Power, the Medusa’s Stare!

“Every high-level female snake has inherited the Medusa’s eyes. Their vengeful stare possesses Medusa’s great power. Once we are marked by it, even killing the creature that placed us under the Curse won’t get rid of it! It is why I keep telling you, it’s unlikely for anyone to survive the Curse,” Chad finished, telling them everything he knew.

“What did you say? Even killing that creature that placed us under the Curse won’t get rid of it?” Ferrero started yelling again. It grabbed the attention of the people in the hall.

Mo Fan was stunned too.

Normally, killing the creature responsible for the Curse was enough to lift it. He did not expect the Eyes of Vengeance to be a Curse applied by the whole species. Wouldn’t that mean they were forever under the Curse unless they killed the Mother of Snakes, Medusas?

-The Mother of Snakes, Medusa?-

Mo Fan recalled how he had stumbled into a Scorpion Lord Medusa when he was fighting the undead from the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Wasn’t the Scorpion Lord Medusa still a level lower than the Mother of Snakes Medusa?

Medusae were snake women, but the Scorpion Lord Medusa from the Gorgons had the lineage of the Scorpion Queen. It should be a level lower than the real Snake Lord Medusae or the Mother of Snakes Medusa.

Either way, Mo Fan did not see the Mother of Snakes Medusa among the undead from the Great Pyramid of Giza. Perhaps Khufu could not even command the Mother of Snakes Medusa, as she might be on the same level as him!

If the Curse originated from the Mother of Snakes Medusa, wasn’t that the same as injecting them with a poison that had no antidote, and there was nothing they could do but to wait for their death as the poison fully spread inside their bodies?

“I don’t know the way of getting rid of the Curse, but I do know that killing the big female Medusa isn’t going to work,” Chad stated confidently.

“So we are just waiting to die now?” Vani said helplessly.

“There must be a way, just stay at the hotel for now and don’t go anywhere. I heard that someone knows how to deal with the Eyes of Vengeance. I’m not sure if the old man is still alive, but he’s here in Cairo,” Chad said.

“What are we waiting for then? Go find him now!” Ferrero urged.

“Wait here, I’ll go ask,” Chad said.

—

Chad left with his brother Benz. The rest of the group sat on the couch in the hall with grim looks. They all remained silent.

“I didn’t expect to be stuck on the same boat as these guys. I seriously don’t want to see them around,” Zhao Manyan grumbled. It sounded like he was more disgusted by them than the Curse.

“Do you really think we want to see you guys either!?” Galba retorted angrily.

They went from traveling together happily to being disgusted at one another, and now finding themselves like ants stuck on the same robe because of the Eyes of Vengeance…

“I’ll get some water for you all,” the manager of the hotel came over with a smile and placed some cups on the table. He bent forward and poured some water for Vani.

Vani did not care to stop him, and happened to feel a little thirsty, too. He picked up the cup to drink the water, but he was shocked to see something wriggling in the water like a worm!

“Snake, snake, there’s a snake in it!” Vani tossed the cup away as he surged to his feet. He was going to slap the manager in the face.

However, his hand froze in the air. He stared at the water and the broken cup on the ground…

Everyone stared at Vani in shock. Vani shook his head and picked up the broken pieces of the cup.

“There’s nothing at all, what the hell are you screaming for?” Zhao Manyan said angrily.

“I swear I saw it… maybe I imagined it. I’m sorry,” Mentor Vani slumped into the couch and rubbed his face to wake himself.

“It must be the Curse. We’ll imagine stuff and spook ourselves once we lack focus,” Mo Fan noted after seeing Vani’s reaction.

“This goddamned Curse!”

It was obvious that the symptoms were not restricted to when they closed their eyes to sleep or meditate. As time passed, the Curse would spread to the things around them. Even the grass and the trees would look like snakes to them. They had nowhere to run to…

“Heidi, can you tie your hair up?” Zhao Manyan suddenly asked in a soft voice.

Heidi did not get it at first. However, she helplessly tied her hair up with a rubber band when she saw the terrified and pleading look on Zhao Manyan’s face, and held it in place with a hairpin.

“Zhao Manyan, at this rate, you won’t even dare to look down when you pee,” Mo Fan smiled.

“Bullshit, my thing is like a cannon, there’s no way I’ll make a mistake of it!” Zhao Manyan immediately retorted.

Even when everyone was sitting together in a circle without moving, they still did not feel safe. It was the weirdest and most torturous Curse that Mo Fan had ever encountered!

1528 Tear of Medusa

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Chad finally returned as everything inside the hall was about to turn into snakes in the eyes of everyone placed under the curse. However, he had a grim expression.

His first sentence stabbed everyone right in the heart. “He’s dead,” Chad reported.

“Is there any news worse than this?” Zoey sighed in dismay.

“He died to the Curse of the Eyes of Vengeance,” Chad’s brother Benz added.

“I was afraid that’s exactly what you were referring to…” Mo Fan muttered.

The group immediately fell silent. The atmosphere felt extremely weird.

“This won’t do, we can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Mentor Vani was the first to run out of patience.

They were currently in the hall of a hotel in a city, yet it felt like they were in a snake’s nest instead. He would rather take the initiative to get rid of the Curse rather than lose his mind to the constant fear.

“Let me ask General Fenna, I still have her contact number,” Zhao Manyan said.

—

“What? You were cursed by the eyes of a Medusa?” General Fenna was extremely surprised.

They had agreed to deal with Egypt’s undead together, but Mo Fan and his group were already on the verge of getting wiped out just after they had arrived in Cairo. It was the worst start they could hope for!

“Yeah, do you know how to get rid of the Curse? It’s too much of a torture; we’ve already stayed awake for the whole night, we couldn’t even get some rest,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Where are you guys? I’ll send someone over to pick you up,” General Fenna said.

“We are at Cairo Hotel…” Zhao Manyan glanced at the students of the European University Institute and after a slight hesitation, added, “You should send another car over. There are some unfortunate guys from the European University Institute that are in the same boat as us.”

“Got it!”

—

Fenna did not make them wait for too long. She sent four military jeeps to the bustling city centers. The jeeps brought them straight to the military town where high-rank commanders lived.

Cairo was still in the middle of a battle, so there were lots of people and cars along the way. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry.

Fenna had been promoted from a Lieutenant General to a General. She was capable of commanding and leading an army in a battle, and had a reputable status in Cairo now!

“What’s up with you guys? Didn’t I ask you all to stay in New Suez first?” General Fenna asked Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan with a confused look.

Mo Fan had already told General Fenna they were coming before taking the flight to Egypt. General Fenna also knew about the Great Pyramid of Giza showing up in China’s Beijiang. In order to resolve the conflict between the two kingdoms of undead, General Fenna still had to discuss the operation of invading the Pyramid with Mo Fan before making their move. However, before they could get down to business, Mo Fan had already found himself in deep trouble.

“It’s not like we want to be caught in this mess. I didn’t think the Medusae would be so narrow-minded,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“How about them? Are they cursed by the Eyes of Vengeance too?” General Fenna glanced at the people of the European University Institute.

“Yes,” Vani said.

Vani had set aside the pride of a mentor of the European University Institute in front of General Fenna.

The role of a mentor greatly differed from the role of a general, even if their cultivation was on par with one another. The power and strength of a general clearly surpassed that of a teacher. After all, a general had risen from countless battles, while teachers were safe hiding in the cities…

“Can you tell us how we can get rid of the Curse first!?” Zhao Manyan spoke up quickly.

“The Eyes of Vengeance is a very tricky Curse. Normally, if anyone in our army is placed under the Curse, we will send them to the front line to fight for their glory,” General Fenna said.

“To the front line? Isn’t that basically asking them to die?” Mo Fan said.

“More or less. There are different Curses from the Eyes of Vengeance: the Life-Seizing Curse, the Shadow Curse, and the Enraging Curse!

“The Life-Seizing Curse is the quickest. No matter where you are, deadly snakes that latch on to every opportunity will devour their victim while they are asleep.

“The Shadow Curse is more like a spooky, hallucinating Curse. The victims under it will be very afraid of snakes. If the Curse continues for a long period of time, it will slowly drive the victims mad!

“The Enraging Curse is not as serious. The people under it are safe as long as they avoid encountering snakes, since they infuriate every snake they stumble into. All the snakes within ten kilometers will follow their scent and attack the victims relentlessly…” General Fenna was indeed more familiar with the Eyes of Vengeance than Chad.

“So, what is the Curse we are under? The Shadow Curse?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“It’s a little difficult to distinguish between the Shadow Curse and the Enraging Curse, since being placed under the Enraging Curse will inflict fear on the victims, too. Since you’ve survived the night, it shouldn’t be the Life-Seizing Curse. As for whether it’s the Shadow Curse or Enraging Curse, we’ll have to figure it out,” General Fenna said.

“So we won’t know how to get rid of the Curse until we know what it is?” Mo Fan asked.

“More or less. You have to prescribe the right medicine for an illness, the same goes for a Curse. If you mess it up, it might worsen the Curse… however, there’s something that can get rid of the Curse right away,” General Fenna said.

The middle-aged Lieutenant General beside General Fenna chuckled as soon as she mentioned the cure, “General, don’t tell me you’re suggesting these kids find the Tear of Medusa?”

“Tear of Medusa?” Mo Fan repeated.

“Yes, the Tear of Medusa. The Curse originates from Medusa, and it is said that her tears can get rid of the Curse she applies to humans. Leaving aside the fact that most creatures of a pure lineage of the Medusa are at the Ruler-level, it’s entirely impossible to get a demon creature to shed a tear,” General Fenna said.

“Is the Medusa you mentioned referring to the Mother of Snakes Medusa?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Of course not, there’s no way we humans stand a chance against Queen Medusa. I’m referring to those that have inherited Queen Medusa’s lineage. The Red Scorpion Gorgons, the Scorpion Lord Medusae, the Brown Ruler Medusae, and the Empress Medusae… these are all creatures with the pure lineage of Queen Medusa. They are her descendants,” General Fenna said.

The Egyptians referred to the first Medusa as the Mother of Snakes, while the military referred to her as Queen Medusa.

Queen Medusa was clearly beyond their reach. Even if they found Queen Medusa, there was no way she would shed a tear for the humans she hated the most. She might even burst out laughing after seeing humans dying to her Curse!

“So you’re saying that if we can find a medusa of the pure lineage of Queen Medusa and obtain its tear, we can get rid of the Curse?” Mo Fan summed it up.

“Yes, but the difficulty in doing so…” General Fenna nodded.

There were people that were placed under the same Curse among the soldiers, but few survived in the end. The Curse had been around in Egypt for ages. It was even referred to as AIDS from the Medusae, since there was no cure for it!

Many Mages would bring some protective charms along to prevent the Curse from befalling them. However, the Curse was beyond complicated. It was only meant to be unleashed through the power of Queen Medusa’s lineage, yet for some reason, even the big female Medusae were granted the power!

It was an incurable Curse; many authorities in Egypt had died to it. General Fenna did not expect Mo Fan and the others to hit the devil’s jackpot just after they had arrived in Egypt. She did not know if she should be impressed by Mo Fan and his crew’s luck!

“Tear of Medusa… as long as we know there’s a way to get rid of it. Let’s find ourselves a Medusa. If it doesn’t want to shed a tear, we’ll beat it up until it does!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“You make it sound so easy, but every creature with the pure lineage of Queen Medusa is at least at the Ruler-level. I think you should spend your time on the things you’ve always wanted to do before the Curse worsens, so you won’t have any regrets,” the middle-aged Lieutenant General scoffed.

“Would you mind if I beat you up first?” Mo Fan grunted after hearing the scornful remark from the man.

“Kid, what did you say? Do you know who I am!?” Lieutenant General Punk exclaimed angrily.

A Lieutenant General’s rank was just below a General’s. In Punk’s eyes, they were just a bunch of kids, including the people from the European University Institute!

“That’s enough, Punk. Please be more polite to my friends,” General Fenna said.

“Humph, I didn’t want to waste my time on a bunch of kids. As for your proposal to the superiors… Fenna, I think you shouldn’t put too much hope on such a ridiculous plan. Putting aside the Chinese kingdom of undead’s true intention behind the invasion, how many rounds do you think China’s undead can last against the kingdom of undead of our country? The undead in Egypt has been around for so many years. They are strong enough to destroy an entire continent!” Punk brought his fists together. He had no intention to entertain them any further.

The people of the European University Institute were totally clueless about what Punk was referring to.

General Fenna frowned. She did not expect Punk to be so insensitive. How could he mention something so confidential now? Couldn’t he see there were outsiders here!?

“You should really request a different Lieutenant General. This guy is nothing but an idiot, it’s only a matter of time before he ruins your career,” Mo Fan said, watching Punk take his leave.

“It’s not like I can choose my Lieutenant General. I was appointed to take charge of Cairo not long ago. I still have to obey the orders of my superiors,” General Fenna said with a wry smile.

She did not mention the war between the kingdoms of undead. It was obviously a very difficult task that needed prolonged planning and discussions. Their priority now was to get rid of the Curse!

“Are there Medusae on the battlefield?” Mo Fan asked.

“Don’t even think about it. The Medusae are constantly followed around by a huge troop of Gorgons and Lamias. Even people like us will have trouble getting close to them, but you are in luck, I saw a Medusa that hasn’t matured yet around three days ago. A young Medusa isn’t as intelligent, so we might have a chance to acquire a teardrop from it…” General Fenna said.

“That’s great!” Vani let out a relieved sigh.

“Yeah, since we can’t take on a mature Medusa, we can pick on the young Medusae instead!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

1529 Insane Reward Pool

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Fenna was a general, so she could only ask an experienced soldier to help Mo Fan and the others search for the young Medusa. They could not afford to allocate more manpower, since Cairo was still in the middle of a battle. They were already short on men.

Heidi wanted to wait for Brianca to return, as it would be safer for them to enter the Medusae’s territory with her around. Even if they stumbled into a mature Medusa, Brianca should still be able to handle it.

Unfortunately, they had not heard from Brianca since she left. She had only told them she would regroup with them in Cairo in a week, but the Curse would surely worsen by then. By the time Brianca arrived, she would be retrieving their corpses instead!

“It seems like we are on our own,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“It’s not like we can ask anybody for help, either. Who would be willing to risk their lives for us?” Zhao Manyan said.

The people of the European University Institute struggled to make up their minds, but they finally decided to search for the young Medusa, too. It was unlikely they could survive the torture of the Curse long enough to live.

Luckily, Vani was a mentor, indicating that he was at least a Super Mage!

A mentor that was in charge of students who were on an expedition to graduate with excellence was surely a Super Mage. After all, most of the students in the European University Institute had reached the Advanced Level for all their Elements. Their strength was more or less on par with Mo Fan and his crew, thus they might be of some help when the time came.

As a matter of fact, most Mages in the wild formed a balanced team, as different Elements come into handy in different situations. It was not a bad idea to bring these people of the European University Institute along as sacrificial victims!

The Europeans were clearly holding a strong grudge. They were here for their final trial so they could graduate, but their lives were now at stake because of the Curse of the Medusae. The plan to invade the Medusae’s nest to search for the young Medusa was basically a suicide mission!

—

The group restocked the necessary supplies to travel in the wilds of Egypt. Since they were mainly up against Medusae and Gorgons, antidotes were a must.

However, the antidotes were not useful in every situation. They normally served as an ingredient. There were many kinds of poison, thus they would have to mix the right ingredients according to the situation to produce the right antidote.

“Do we only have one herbalist among us!?” Zhao Manyan asked. He was shocked that the European University Institute did not have a single person that knew how to mix medicines!

Not knowing how to mix medicines meant the lives of the members in the group would be in danger if anyone was poisoned, suffered internal injuries, or was caught by corrosive substances!

“We have no healer and no herbalist, and we are about to invade a place with the deadliest poison in the world. I think it’s better for us to die comfortably in Cairo instead,” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

“I’m one,” Mu Bai said.

“Damn, what use does a hobbyist like you have?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Still better than a useless prick like you who does nothing but complain!” Mu Bai grunted in return.

“I’m a Plant Mage, but I don’t know how to mix medicine,” Sofia said.

“So we must collect as many antidote ingredients as possible. Don’t worry, I’m quite familiar with poisons. I should know how to deal with them, as long as they aren’t like the Curse, but I don’t know how to mix the antidotes either…” Chad said.

Mu Bai was no hobbyist. He was actually an Advanced Herbalist, certified by both the Hunter Union and the Magic Association. The mistake he had made with the aphrodisiac was only an accident…

——

As the others went to prepare themselves, Mo Fan noticed that he was not that far away from the local Hunter Union. He decided to take a look around.

The title of Hunter Master was applicable throughout the world, so Mo Fan could enjoy the benefits of being a Hunter Master at Cairo’s Hunter Union, too.

The truth was that news from the official channels was slower than the rate of news exchanged among the Hunters. The only downside of the news being spread among Hunters was their credibility.

“Tear of Medusa, has anyone submitted a quest for it?” Mo Fan asked the Hunter Mistress assigned to serve him.

The Hunter Mistress wore a smile at all times. She placed a cup of water in front of Mo Fan and asked, “Are you going to contribute to the reward pool, too?”

“The reward pool?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

“Didn’t you know? The Tear of Medusa has the biggest reward pool in Egypt’s Hunter Union!” the Hunter Mistress said.

A reward pool was a group reward. It was normal for difficult quests that barely anyone could accomplish, yet had high demand. The rewards for those quests would eventually end up in pools.

Many people were asking for the same thing, so the rewards they offered all contributed to the pool. As the rewards continued to stack up, some experts would eventually take on the quest. Sometimes the government even formed a team of experts to complete those quests to earn the rewards!

Mo Fan and Lingling had earned a fortune from completing the quest of the Drowning Curse. His rank went from a few stars to six stars just by completing that quest!

A six-star Hunter Master was quite well-respected. If Mo Fan was tired of his current life of killing demon creatures, he could go to any city and become an authority with his identity of a six-star Hunter Master!

It had been a while since Mo Fan and Lingling had done any high-reward quests, not since the quest of the Drowning Curse. He was thinking of submitting a quest to see if he could acquire the Tear of Medusa with money, but it turned out that he had underestimated its value. There was already a reward pool for the Tear of Medusa in Egypt!

“How much does the reward pool have now?” Mo Fan asked.

“Around three and a half billion,” the Hunter Mistress said.

“Thr…three and a half billion? Is it the biggest reward pool in Cairo now?” Mo Fan was shocked.

The reward for the Drowning Curse was nothing compared to the reward pool of three and a half billion for the Tear of Medusa!

Mo Fan could not help but swallow in awe!

The size of the reward pool was directly proportional to the difficulty of the quest. Otherwise, why would the reward pool keep growing?

“Mm, I believe it’s equivalent to an S-rank quest. The reward pool has grown significantly over the past few years, mainly because the big female Medusae now have the Eyes of Vengeance, too. Many Mages are being tortured by the Curse. On the other hand, the Tear of Medusa can also make a person immune to Petrify, weaken the effects of freezing, and strengthen Psychic Magic. It’s very appealing to many Mages, thus the high reward for it… I believe some of the Senior Hunters are being tempted to take on the quest!” The Hunter Mistress was quite informed, and explained it all thoroughly to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was utterly shocked. He did not expect the Tear of Medusa to be so precious and useful!

Immune to Petrify!

Wouldn’t that mean the Advanced Spell of the Earth Element, the Eyes of the Rock Demon, was basically useless to those that had the Tear of Medusa? Many Earth Mages treated it as their greatest trump card!

Not only would it make a person immune to Petrify, it could also weaken the effects of freeze, putting Ice Mages at a disadvantage!

It also had the ability to strengthen Psychic Magic, although it was not specified how effective it was. However, the first two effects were already quite insane!

1530 The Intel From the Hunter Union

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Take this sum of money from my account and help me collect as much information on the young Medusa as you can and organize it for me. The rest is your reward,” Mo Fan raised a finger and said to the Hunter Mistress called Anna generously.

Anna smiled with a flirtatious wink.

She went to another room and spoke to the clerk at the desk, “Transfer ten million out of this card and collect the information about the young Medusa. Filter out the most reliable information.”

Anna purposely turned around after finishing the sentence. She gave Mo Fan a thoughtful smile before proceeding to organize the information.

Mo Fan remained smiling, but the smile stiffened as soon as Anna left.

-Holy crap, I didn’t say ten million, it’s already insane to pay a million just to collect information!-

He clearly went too far with the posing.

Even though ten million was not necessarily a huge sum for Mo Fan anymore, only an idiot would spend so much money just to collect some information!

However, Mo Fan was well aware of the price of valuable information. If he went to search for the young Medusa like a headless fly, without spending some money on the information about her, it would be no different than scooping up a needle from the bottom of the ocean. After a brief thought, Mo Fan clenched his teeth and withheld the urge to knock Anna out just to get his money back.

The reward was currently at three and a half billion. He believed his decision of spending a sum that could easily buy a house in Shanghai for the mere information of the young Medusa was going to pay him back handsomely.

Anna was a professional operator in the Hunter Union. Mo Fan noticed a rare badge that indicated her rank as an International Hunter Mistress on her chest. Even though her rank was not high enough to serve Senior Hunters, she would have serviced hundreds, or even a thousand, Hunter Masters by now.

—

Anna soon returned with a single piece of paper. She had compiled the information into a single page in a very short period of time.

Most Hunters had to collect and analyze information themselves prior to becoming a Hunter Master. Many Hunters would spend more time on organizing information than the actual expeditions, and it was very common for their efforts to be in vain if they ended up collecting false and unreliable information.

It was much less worrisome with a Hunter Mistress’ help once they achieved the rank of a Hunter Master.

Mo Fan had Lingling, the all-purpose Little Loli back home. He had never had to rely on a Hunter Mistress, but he definitely needed help when he was in foreign countries. She allowed Mo Fan to learn the information he needed in the shortest time possible!

“You came just in time, a Hunter was temporarily recruited by the military for a mission. He discovered the hair of the young Medusa at the Sunset Valley. What do you think?…” Anna explained to Mo Fan in a serious manner. She was no longer sporting a seductive smile.

“Are you sure it’s the young Medusa’s hair?” Mo Fan asked.

“We normally refer to Medusae’s hair as silken. Many reputable forgemasters like to use it as the padding between pieces of armor around the joints. It gives the armor a high defense while minimizing the restrictions on a Mage’s movement. The Hunter I once served managed to collect some of it, but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to bring it back alive…” Anna said.

“Oh, so he sold the information at the main hall?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, the bid for it went up to seven million, but I bought it with eight million and made it exclusive to you. I also organized bits and pieces of the news that other Hunters have collected. Here is the map for the young Medusa’s activity range that I’ve made…” Anna placed a tablet in front of Mo Fan.

Anna had done everything in a very professional manner. Mo Fan was familiar with the information that the map was providing him. Lingling often did similar analysis to pinpoint where their target might be before confirming it by buying some expensive clues from the Hunter Union. Her accuracy in finding the target was higher than fifty percent, and she could further increase it when provided with more reliable information.

“This is the activity range of a mature Medusa, and this is the activity range of the young Medusa. I’ve tagged them with different colors. According to other news, the mature Medusa seems to be residing at the Sunset Valley, and the young Medusa showed up at the Sunset Shrine a few days ago,” Anna said.

“The Sunset Shrine… how reliable is it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Rumors like these? I would say less than twenty percent, but the information we bought with eight million does fit perfectly with it. I am now seventy percent sure that the young Medusa was at the Sunset Shrine a day ago,” Anna replied while adjusting her spectacles.

“Any other information?” Mo Fan asked.

“Well… not for the time being, I’ve already bought the most valuable information, but there is indeed something I can tell you for free. Before the young Medusae mature, they will molt their hair once every week. There’s a species called the Roving Desert Beetles. They love the hair that Medusae shed, so if you are heading to the Sunset Valley, you can bring some Roving Desert Beetles along. I’ve roughly calculated for you; the information you’ve acquired with eight million indicates that the young Medusa shed its hair around three days ago, which means in the morning on the fourth day from now, if you are within five kilometers of the young Medusa, the Roving Desert Beetles will lead you to the hair that the young Medusa just shed. That way, you should be very close to the young Medusa!” Anna said.

“Roving Desert Beetles? Anna, isn’t a piece of information like that worth a lot?” Mo Fan asked curiously, staring at Anna.

Anna’s expression shifted slightly. She lowered her head and said, “I learned it from my previous employer. It cost five million, but my hirer did not make it back alive. As a Hunter Mistress, I’m not allowed to sell the information I’ve learned…”

“I see… you were in love with your previous boss, right?” Mo Fan speculated, judging from Anna’s reaction.

“No, she was my friend, we’d been working together for five years,” Anna shook her head. It turned out that her previous boss was a female Hunter Master.

“Oh, oh, thank you for the useful information,” Mo Fan said quickly.

“My pleasure. I will keep you updated with the latest news with the Sand Eagles’ help. Unfortunately, too many people are interested in the news about the Medusae, so I’m afraid ten million won’t be enough to acquire the latest news,” Anna said.

“Hold on to my card, use it to buy any information that you think is valuable,” Mo Fan said generously.

“Sure, good hunting,” Anna smiled, placing the unpleasant memory behind her.

“I’ll take this with me,” Mo Fan took the piece of paper that had the information Anna had compiled.

The information was extremely useful. General Fenna had only mentioned that someone had seen the young Medusa, but she had no clue where the spotting had occurred. The outskirts of Cairo covered a huge area and had many, many demon creatures roaming around. It would be almost impossible to wander around and look for the young Medusa.

Now that Mo Fan had confirmed where the young Medusa was, things were a lot simpler!

“Mr. Mo, there’s something I want to ask you,” Anna stopped Mo Fan when he was about to leave.

“Go on,” Mo Fan said.

“Did you really complete the quest of the Drowning Curse? I spent quite some years at the Aegean Sea before. I’ve heard a lot of terrifying rumors about the Drowning Curse. It’s like a Curse of the ocean that everyone is scared of, yet you are so young. Oh, I’m not questioning your capabilities, I’m just confused as to how were you able to solve such a great mystery of the ocean when so many Senior Hunters failed to discover the truth?” Anna said. Her eyes displayed a strong desire to learn the truth.

Mo Fan had requested to he be matched with a Hunter Mistress as soon as he reached Cairo’s Hunter Union. Anna was actually the manager of the Hunter Mistresses in Cairo’s Hunter Union, so she had the clearance to quickly discover that Mo Fan had completed the quest of the Drowning Curse!

Every Hunter that had completed a quest with a reward pool was considered a legend. Anna agreed to be matched with Mo Fan, as she was intrigued by the man.

The reward pool for the Drowning Curse came from donations from all over the world, mostly from the families of the victims who did not want anyone to suffer the same misfortune. It was more of a reward pool gathered from charities, so the sum was not noticeably high. Meanwhile, the Tear of Medusa had a great demand, both because of its own value and the fact that many people were suffering from the Curses of the Medusae. In terms of difficulty, it was actually harder to solve the mystery of the Drowning Curse, since there was no clue or information about it at all!

Anna had not revealed her intentions earlier. When she realized Mo Fan was a very approachable man, she decided to ask about it.

How did such a young Hunter Master manage to solve the mystery of the Drowning Curse!?

“It’s quite complicated, maybe we should find somewhere quieter to talk about it after I’m done with this quest?” Mo Fan proposed, raising his brows.

Anna was amused by Mo Fan’s reaction. She replied, “Sure, I await your good news!”

—

Mo Fan left the Hunter Union, actually leaving his card with Anna.

It was not like Mo Fan did not really care about money, but he was impressed by how professional Anna was. The activity map she made, her speed, and decisiveness at acquiring the information he needed were comparable to Lingling’s.

Lingling was not familiar with the situation in Egypt, but Anna was. His chance of completing this quest was a lot higher with the Hunter Mistress’s help!

Mo Fan was only willing to spend money on accurate information. If he had only spent a million, he seriously doubted he would be able to find a single strand of the young Medusa’s leg hair in the end!

Mo Fan was not worried that Anna would spend his money without his permission. A Hunter Mistress that was qualified to serve a six-star Hunter Master was worthy to be appointed the Minister of Finance of a country. They would clearly list out the things that they had spent money on. They would never spend their client’s money on anything useless.

A Hunter Mistress that did waste their client’s money would not be worthy to become a Hunter Master’s advisor. The Hunter Union had many branches across the world, and its management had always been strict on the Hunter Mistress’ ethics. Even though a lot of Hunters saw the Hunter Mistresses as toys, there were still a lot of impressive and professional Hunter Mistresses!

Anna was clearly the professional kind!

1531 Roving Desert Beetles

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The people of the European University Institute waited in a luxurious club. Mu Bai went to prepare the antidotes, while Heidi was busy collecting the information about the species of demon creatures they might encounter during the adventure. They had no clue what the people of the European University Institute were doing. Perhaps they too were collecting information through their own sources.

“This is a club managed by the Golden Rose Clan. You can find it in the main cities, with a network of reliable and capable Mages. I believe someone will soon deliver the information about the young Medusa to us.” Ferrero was seated on a leather couch, smoking a cigar.

The man preferred to behave calmly and nobly at a time like this.

A manager of the club in a tuxedo came with some information. “Young Master, we’ve obtained some news from the people of the Magic Association. Someone has spotted a mature Medusa with the young Medusa. They were last seen around the Bargo Land.”

“Ferrero is as impressive as usual. Having power can really save us a lot of trouble. Meanwhile, someone is going around like a headless fly without doing anything useful,” Galba chuckled.

Zhao Manyan opened the map and glanced at Bargo Land. He soon burst out laughing.

Chad said with a wry smile, “The Bargo Land covers over eighty kilometers. Where do we even start looking for the young Medusa? You can easily buy information like that at the Hunter Union.”

“Humph, it’s still better than you guys who don’t even know where to look at all!” Ferrero grumbled.

“What should we do now? I don’t even dare to drink water now. We are really going to be tortured to death if we don’t find any reliable news soon,” Zoey sighed.

Everyone had grim faces. They had only arrived in Cairo a short time ago, thus they were not familiar with the environment yet. They only had limited sources of information available to them.

“It’s at the Sunset Shrine,” Mo Fan blurted out as he came into the room. His face was brimming with confidence!

Everyone looked at him. Their first reaction was not bursting into joy about finding the right location, but they were filled with strong doubts instead.

Why was the Sunset Shrine necessarily the place they were looking for? Although the Sunset Shrine was located in Bargo Land, he could not just blindly point at a spot on the map, right?

“Humph, you don’t have to share the information that you’ve obtained from a random hooker in a run-down place with us. It’s going to get us killed instead!” Ferrero said disdainfully.

“I don’t really care if you believe it or not, Heidi, Old Zhao, Green… Mu Bai, we’re heading out now. We don’t have much time, we have to reach the Sunset Shrine in four days. There are a few nests of demon creatures nearby, so it won’t be easy sneaking into it,” Mo Fan ordered.

“Mo Fan, are you sure it’s at the Sunset Shrine?” Zoey looked at Mo Fan and asked seriously. “Where did you get the information from?”

“The Hunter Union, I’m a six-star Hunter Master,” Mo Fan said.

“Ha, boast all you want, how can you possibly be a six-star Hunter Master? My uncle is a Super Mage, yet he’s not even a six-star Hunter Master!” Zoey smiled. She assumed Mo Fan was joking.

Mo Fan had already taken out his badge while Zoey was still talking.

It was impossible to fake the Hunter Badge; the stars on it were the only proof he needed. Mentor Vani purposely went closer to see if Mo Fan truly was a six-star Hunter Master. His expression changed tremendously.

It was not difficult to become a Hunter Master with their current strength, but it was a completely different story to reach five stars and above. The points from completing a few quests were not enough; they had to have some other achievements that no one could lightly accomplish, too!

Mo Fan had gone from four stars to six stars after solving the mystery of the Drowning Curse. Otherwise, even five stars would be extremely difficult for him to reach!

“The information is approved by Cairo’s Hunter Union, it’s very credible!” the old manager in a tuxedo stated after glancing at the paper Mo Fan was holding.

Ferrero rolled his eyes at the old manager in a tuxedo. The man abruptly realized Mo Fan was not his Young Master’s friend, and found himself in an awkward position.

“If he’s a six-star Hunter Master, there shouldn’t be any problem. We’ll head out tomorrow morning, or… we should have everything we need,” Vani said.

“What ‘tomorrow’?! We are going now! The young Medusa isn’t a quest NPC, it won’t wait at the same spot waiting for us to form a party to take it out. The information we have is the latest too! It’s best if we go now and find it before it goes somewhere else!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

He was utterly speechless about these people’s attitudes. If the young Medusa ended up going back to its nest because they waited until tomorrow morning, they would lose their only chance of obtaining a Tear of Medusa!

“Mo Fan is right, we should head out as early as possible. The longer we are under the Curse, the more dangerous it will be,” Zoey agreed with him. That being said, she was still shocked that Mo Fan was a six-star Hunter Master. The rank of a Hunter Master was a clear representation of their capabilities!

“Let’s head out now!” Chad agreed.

Chad had already prepared the Camel Beasts. They were a must when traveling in the desert. Otherwise, the Lamias were going to be on their tail all the time!

General Fenna provided them with some assistance, too. She had found a kind of medicine with cleistogenes as the main ingredient that could temporarily get rid of the effects of the Curse.

However, the medicine was a double-edged sword. It could provide a person temporary relief from the Curse of the Medusa’s Eyes, but once its effects wore off, the effects of the Curse would worsen significantly. It basically meant if they could not find the young Medusa before the end of the medicine’s effects, they might die or lose their minds in but a week!

It was a trip of no return, but luckily they had found the right direction. They now had a good shot at finding the young Medusa!

—

“Old Zhao, go buy some Roving Desert Beetles,” Mo Fan whispered to Zhao Manyan.

“What for?” Zhao Manyan asked with a confused look.

“Just do as I say, but don’t let the others know, especially the people of the European University Institute,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had shared the location of the young Medusa, but there was no way he would tell them this other piece of information. The people of the European University Institute were clearly unreliable. It was better for him to hold back the secret!

It was not the first time Zhao Manyan had colluded with Mo Fan. He immediately knew Mo Fan had a backup plan in mind. He left for the market when the others were not paying attention to him.

Roving Desert Beetles were not that common. They were mostly dried and consumed as medicine. Zhao Manyan spent some money buying a box of them and secretly placed it in his storage ring!

1532 Sunset Shrine

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Bargo Land was the spacious land between Cairo and the Great Pyramid of Giza, spanning over a hundred kilometers. The land had always been the field of battle between humans and the undead, a war that had been going on for thousands of years.

The undead in the Bargo Land never stopped coming, the reason behind it very simple. Since the battle kept going, there would be a lot of deaths, and thus a lot of new undead rising. It was a never-ending loop constantly happening across Egypt!

There was a long gradient starting around seventy kilometers from the Great Pyramid of Giza. The slope was like the hand of a compass, identifying the time when the deathlight would start shining.

Every sunset, if anyone stood at the edge of the Sunset Valley and looked up, they would see the sunlight spreading across the valley perfectly, making it look like a sparkling golden sea.

Unfortunately, the spectacular phenomenon only brought boundless fear and uneasiness to the people of Cairo. When the sunlight disappeared from the valley, the deathlight of the Pyramid would start pouring down on the Bargo Land, like a flag representing the Kingdom of the Dead…

The deathlight followed the routines of day and night, just like the sun and the stars. The duration of the dazzling sunlight down the Sunset Valley constantly changed over months and years, but normally, every five years, there would be a time when the deathlight would last longer than usual, and that was normally when the greatest battles between Cairo and the undead took place!

They were currently in the Black Season, the five-year time when the deathlight would last the longest. The enemy challenging the city of Cairo was the Pyramid of Khafre, the second-largest Pyramid in Egypt.

The real undead had not shown up yet. Currently, only the two main demon species in Egypt, the Gorgons and the Medusae, were active. The real torture for the Egyptians was only beginning as the Black Season arrived!

——

At a unique spot in the Sunset Valley stood an ancient shrine that was part of some ancient cultural heritage.

The Egyptians were similar to the people living along the Yellow River and the Yangtze Plain who had worshiped the totem beasts. They used to rely on the protection of special creatures. The Sunset Shrine was one of the greatest altars for the ancient Egyptians to offer their sacrifices to their god.

Then came the era of the pharaohs, who overthrew the ancient civilization and established a magic civilization in Egypt. However, after they turned into undead as they died, they would not give up their control over the golden land.

The Sunset Shrine had existed for a very long time. It was magnificent, yet extremely run-down. It had been a while since anyone set foot into it, mainly because many Hunters had died strange deaths before they could get close enough to the Sunset Shrine.

“Rumors say that the spirits of the ancient gods have abandoned us humans because the pharaohs abandoned them first. Anyone that comes close to the shrine will be punished,” Chad said as they were walking.

The Sunset Shrine had all kinds of rumors and mysteries that had remained unsolved to this day. There were people that went exploring inside the Sunset Shrine, but they discovered that the Sunset Shrine was an endless maze, similar to the pyramids. If an ordinary person set foot inside it, they would never come out again. Some barely escaped from the place, but they all ended up with empty hands.

“Is this Sunset Shrine related to the Pyramids?” Mo Fan asked.

The group had reached the Sunset Valley, and were only around twenty kilometers away from the Sunset Shrine. It was currently sunset, so they just happened to see a red sun setting up the slope. It looked like they would eventually reach the sun if they kept heading up the slope!

The Sunset Shrine happened to stand in the same direction as the sun. From afar, it looked like the shrine was built for a god of sun. It was quite likely that the ancient god whom the Egyptians once worshiped was somehow related to the sun.

Mo Fan remembered that before Greece was ruled by the Parthenon Temple, the Greeks used to worship ancient gods, too. The Tyrant Titans were said to be the descendants of the ancient gods. He could not help but wonder if the ancient gods in Egypt were related to the ancient gods in Greece.

As a matter of fact, these gods were most likely some powerful creatures in the past, just like the Totem Beasts in China!

When the era of magic came, many countries overthrew these ancient civilizations and chose to believe in their own magical power instead.

“It is said that the deathlight is the power of the ancient gods that the pharaohs stole. I’m not too sure how they were related, but we all knew the pharaohs overthrew the civilization worshiping the ancient gods,” Chad said.

“Is the ancient god still inside the Sunset Shrine, then?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Chad’s brother Benz burst out laughing. He explained, “There’s no god in Egypt anymore, not even the descendants of the gods. Isn’t China the same as us? You no longer have the Totem Beasts… the Sunset Shrine is just a cultural heritage, and has most likely become a Medusa’s nest.”

They suddenly heard the cry of an eagle as they approached the Sunset Shrine. Mo Fan lifted his gaze and saw a white eagle diving at him.

Just as Mo Fan was feeling confused, the white eagle opened its claw and dropped a tube.

Mo Fan belatedly remembered he had a Hunter Mistress providing him with assistance remotely. She would relay her latest findings to him immediately via the Messenger Eagles.

The Bargo Land had no mobile coverage. A mobile phone would only serve as a watch and a torchlight here. The only way to relay messages was using this ancient method!

Demon creatures would not attack the Messenger Eagles, so they were perfect for delivering messages to travelers in the wild.

Mo Fan opened up the tube. There was a document inside.

“What does it say?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“She says that the rumors about the people dying close to the Sunset Shrine is real. The bodies of anyone who gets within three kilometers to the Sunset Shrine will start to rot. They haven’t figured out the reason behind it. She’s asking to us to be more careful!” Mo Fan read out the information from the Hunter Mistress, Anna.

“Maybe they are just exaggerating?” Mentor Vani wondered aloud.

Mo Fan shook his head. He showed a photograph attached to the document to Vani.

Mentor Vani glanced at it, examining the picture of a severely rotted Hunter’s body. It was so badly decayed that only his eyes remained on his face.

“The photograph means that the rumors are real. Three kilometers… are we within three kilometers of the Sunset Shrine now?” Mu Bai said.

“But… what could be the cause of it?”

“Let’s worry about that later. If the ancient civilization vanished a few thousand years ago, it’s unlikely that such a strong Curse is still around. Besides, aren’t the Medusae active around there? I doubt the ancient god is particularly friendly toward them!” Mo Fan chose to keep going. He did not hesitate just because of the new information.

1533 Burning Evil Eye

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Sunset Valley was not part of the battlefield. In fact, it was located behind enemy lines. They purposely took the long route around a huge canyon to reach their destination. General Fenna had provided them with the safest path.

Cairo was currently in a defensive position. It was unlikely they would try to ambush the demon creatures from behind. They were only hoping for the fighting to end, instead of starting new battles.

Unlike the battlefield, demon creatures did not actively roam around behind their own armies, but their density was still quite high. The group would stumble into a powerful creature every one or two kilometers.

Fighting the creatures was only going to attract more attention. Luckily, the group mainly consisted of elites. They knew how to preserve their energy and avoid the demon creatures as they made their way toward their destination.

“Did you notice? They are squads patrolling close to the Sunset Shrine. Each of the Silver Snake Warriors is leading a bunch of snakemen soldiers. I don’t think they are just roaming around. Let’s try to avoid them,” Chad noticed, pointing at some demon creatures ahead.

The Silver Snake Warriors were completely covered by silver scales. They looked like armored warriors riding snake-like beasts from afar. These Silver Snake Warriors rarely invaded human territory, as they were the most loyal guards of the Medusae!

The Silver Snake Warriors were no weaker than Brutal Sword Death Servants. Mo Fan’s group would have no trouble taking them out, but they would be exposed the moment a fight started. They would then have to take on huge groups of Silver Snake Warriors!

“We have come to the right place. They are a lot of Silver Snake Warriors here,” Benz said softly.

“They are patrolling very frequently. How are we supposed to get inside the Sunset Shrine?” Zoey asked.

“That’s easy. These Silver Snake Warriors are particularly fond of the Sunset Demon Mice. I saw a nest of demon mice nearby. We can find a way to lure the Sunset Demon Mice here and make them run around the Sunset Shrine. These Silver Snake Warriors will instinctively chase after them. We should be able to find an opening!” Chad replied swiftly.

—

The Sunset Demon Mice were not very powerful, yet the snake beasts still struggled to catch them, since the demon mice were innately good at running away from them.

However, it was very easy for humans to catch them. They just needed to smoke them out with the Poison Element and trap them with Ice Lock and Plant Magic traps. The pack of Sunset Demon Mice immediately became bait to lure the Silver Snake Warriors away!

The Silver Snake Warriors would hold their positions most of the time, but these Sunset Demon Mice never failed to drive them crazy. They could not stand the sight of these dumb fat demon mice wandering in front of them!

The plan was a success. The group sneaked past the area the Silver Snake Warriors were patrolling. The black silhouette of the Sunset Shrine under the dim moonlight gradually entered their vision.

The ancient ruins of the Sunset Shrine were monolithic. The site contained over thirty structures of different sizes, each with a spacious garden and a watchtower. The structures spread across the place in a fixed pattern, making the Sunset Shrine feel more like a dilapidated ancient city. The collapsed beams, the half-exposed halls, the weeds crawling all over the place, and an altar that was covered by plants… not a single thing was preserved.

“What now?” Vani seriously had no clue what the plan was.

“We wait, until the morning,” Mo Fan said.

“Why?” Ferrero asked.

“Just do as you’re told. Feel free to leave if you don’t want to,” Mo Fan grunted.

Ferrero was displeased by the reply, yet did not say a word.

—

The group hid inside a hall covered in debris and rocks. They had no idea what the hall was built with. The place actually looked quite new, and did not feel like it had been around for a few thousand years. It looked as if it had been exposed to the wind and rain for only a few hundred years.

The ancient ruins of the Sunset Shrine were quite sturdy. Most ancient ruins would only have some foundations or a few rocks left after a few thousand years, but the Sunset Shrine’s framework remained standing even today. It was a lot bigger than they had imagined.

Benz kept scratching his back, as if he was being bitten by some poisonous bugs.

The others did not take note of it at first, but when Benz kept scratching it every few minutes, Chad realized that something did not feel right.

“Benz, your back is about to fester!” Chad exclaimed.

“My back is itching a lot… aren’t you guys feeling it too?” Benz asked.

“Now that you mention it, it does feel…” Sofia said awkwardly.

Zoey immediately went behind Sofia and checked on her back. She noticed some red marks with bumps like chickenpox. Her condition was slightly better than Benz, but she was obviously poisoned too!

“I…I think I can feel it too…” Zhao Manyan said.

The strange condition continued to spread among the group, as if it was contagious. Even Mo Fan had itchy bumps on his arms!

“Are we Cursed by the ancient god?” Vani recalled the Curse that was said to befall anyone within three kilometers from the Sunset Shrine.

As soon as Vani mentioned the Curse, everyone immediately panicked as they recalled the horrible corpse they had seen in the photograph.

“Stay calm. No Curse can last for a few thousand years, let alone one with such a huge area of coverage. There must be something we missed,” Mo Fan said.

“But we haven’t come into contact with anything!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Mo Fan looked up, and stared at the moon with an eerie green glow hanging in the sky.

“Don’t tell me you’re considering the moonlight poisonous?” Heidi asked when she saw Mo Fan staring at the moon.

“The letter Anna sent me mentioned that they suspected the wounds on the rotten body were caused by some kind of Light Magic, but the victim clearly went to the Sunset Shrine at night, and the only light here is from the moon,” Mo Fan replied.

“How could the moonlight cause this? Unless there’s some evil energy hidden in the moonlight that we aren’t aware of…” Heidi said.

“I believe that thing there might be the cause of it,” Mo Fan pointed at a tower further away.

The tower was over forty meters tall. There was a huge hole in it, with something glowing inside. Zhao Manyan had believed it held some kind of treasure, but he did not dare go any closer, as they were too many Silver Snake Warriors nearby.

“Let’s go take a look?” Heidi suggested.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan nodded.

It was difficult for the whole group to move around. Some of them were now suffering greatly from the festering. Mo Fan only brought Heidi and Sofia, who was also a Shadow Mage, along.

—

Heidi was a Sound Mage. She could keep a lookout for the demon creatures nearby with ease.

Mo Fan and Sofia had no trouble sneaking past the Silver Snake Warriors with the Shadow Element, they just needed to conceal their presence. These Silver Snake Warriors that had not reached the Commander-level were unable to detect their shadows.

They flitted past a few gardens overgrown with weed and looked up the pitch-black tower. The glow it was emitting felt quite eerie!

“Don’t…don’t you think it looks like an eye?” Sofia asked in a trembling voice.

“It is an eye!” Mo Fan said confidently.

Heidi’s night vision was not as good as the two Shadow Mages, yet she was covered in goosebumps when she heard Mo Fan and Sofia mentioning that the thing glowing on the tower was actually an eye. How was an eye so big and glowing? What kind of creature was it?

“I’ve seen something similar before,” Mo Fan went on.

Mo Fan remembered there was something like an eye in the Ancient King’s imperial tomb, called the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror.

The Wicked Eye Copper Mirror’s uses were very odd. Han Ji had mentioned that it was made using the Light Element and the Chaos Element.

Mo Fan referred to it as an ancient surveillance camera. It was not difficult to understand how the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror worked if he considered it a combination of the Light Element and the Chaos Element.

The thing on the tower was not a living creature. It was something evil, similar to the Wicked Eye Copper Mirror, and was fixed into the tower. When the light it emitted was mixed with the moonlight, the moon turned an eerie green in the eyes of those looking at it.

“It must be the Burning Evil Eye,” Mo Fan said.

“Burning Evil Eye? What’s that?” Sofia asked curiously.

Heidi was also staring at Mo Fan. She was extremely curious about how Mo Fan knew these things. He definitely did not look like the knowledgeable kind to her!

“I read about it in an ancient manuscript in Greece. In the early days, when humans had just invented magic, their ways of using magic weren’t mature yet, so they used the organs of dead ancient beasts to forge some defensive artifacts to stop demon creatures from invading their cities. This Burning Evil Eye was quite popular back then. It’s similar to a light barrier, but it doesn’t stop the enemy from entering. However, the light will destroy the enemy’s cells inside the barrier. The longer the enemy stays inside it, the greater the damage. It seems like the guy that died to the Curse of the Sunset Shrine was actually killed by this Burning Evil Eye instead!” Mo Fan declared confidently.

“How did you learn all that?” Sofia asked with a confused face.

“It’s normal to prepare myself before coming here. I read about these things in some old books,” Mo Fan replied loftily.

The God of Death in Greece, Egypt’s national beast, and the Totem Beasts in China; it seemed like every ancient civilization was tied to these sacred beasts in some ways. Therefore, when Mo Fan was convalescing at the Parthenon Temple, he had read a lot of books about the European countries and the countries to the south of the Aegean Sea. The books at the Parthenon Temple had historical records that were not disclosed to the public. Mo Fan just wanted to see if the Totem Beasts had any ties to the sacred beasts in foreign countries, while learning about their ancient civilizations at the same time.

Greece and Egypt were tied closely together, and it seemed they had even once clashed with one another because of the Burning Evil Eye!

1534 Found A Treasure!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What should we do then? Should we go up there and cover up the eye?” Sofia asked.

“Yeah, but there should be some powerful creatures around here. You two will lure them away, I’ll head up there and see if I can turn it off,” Mo Fan said.

Heidi and Sofia nodded, heading off separate ways.

Sofia used her Shadow Element to move closer to the pitch-black tower, but before she reached it, she heard a loud snort, followed by a strong black gust surging across the area.

“A Great Commander-level creature is here!” Sofia blurted out.

She was indeed a high-achiever from the European University Institute. She quickly cast the Nyx Regime to extend the reach of her Fleeing Shadow. In the Nyx Regime, the speed of Fleeing Shadow was comparable to Blink. Furthermore, it was difficult to track a Shadow Mage in the Nyx Regime.

Mo Fan was too far away to see the Great Commander-level creature that Sofia had encountered. He only saw the creature extending its oddly-shaped wings and lunging out from an ancient structure that was still intact.

The creature was obviously a Shadow Element creature, too. Sofia had made a careless mistake. The Nyx Regime would strengthen the Shadow Element of both ally and enemy! Heidi quickly entered the Nyx Regime to defend Sofia from the creature with oddly-shaped wings after seeing the pinch she was in.

“It seems to be a Nyx Blood Bat. I was wondering why there weren’t one or two guards looking after a piece of treasure like this!” Mo Fan went a little closer and was finally able to catch a glimpse of the creature.

The creature was extremely ugly. Bat demons were among the ugliest of all species. The bats that people normally saw were extremely small. A Nyx Blood Bat that was over ten meters long was easily every normal person’s nightmare. A single glance was enough to make them faint.

The Nyx Blood Bat’s speed was insanely high in the Nyx Regime. Sofia had forgotten about that possibility in her panic. Luckily, Heidi made it in time. They slowly nullified the danger by working together.

Mo Fan did not put too much attention on them. Heidi needed more experience. If she had been constantly at the brink of death like him, her strength would easily be on par with his. Mo Fan did not want to disturb her training.

Mo Fan sneaked over to the pitch-black tower and easily made his way to the top using the irregular spots along its walls.

“Ouch, that hurts!” Mo Fan was thinking of removing the Burning Evil Eye with his hand, but he noticed his arm rotting ten times quicker than before. The skin was already beyond recognition.

“The closer I am, the deadlier the burning is. That being said, I will gladly claim this abandoned piece of treasure!” Mo Fan could not care less about the danger.

His demon flesh was extremely handy at times. If it was a weaker Mage trying to do this, their whole body would have rotted before they could even reach the top.

Mo Fan clenched his teeth and forcibly snatched up the Burning Evil Eye!

The Burning Evil Eye was just like a defense mechanism. Once it was shut off, it would no longer emit the poisonous light. Mo Fan was familiar with its nature, so he was daring enough to snatch it right away!

The Burning Evil Eye was as big as a basin. Mo Fan’s face was almost rotted before he finally removed the eye from its socket. Luckily, it was only set inside the socket and guarded by a Nyx Blood Bat. Otherwise, they would have had to flee from the place immediately!

“I should bring it back to New Fanxue City and aim it at the shallow waters. It will burn any sea monster that comes close… hehe, perfect!” Mo Fan immediately tossed the Burning Evil Eye into his Space Ring.

The evil light was gone when he made it back to the ground. Sofia and Heidi were still fighting the Nyx Blood Bat.

“It seems like Mu Ningxue was right, it’s important to read books!” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

The two girls had not had a clue what the Burning Evil Eye was. They were frightened by the powerful ancient artifact, but Mo Fan was overjoyed when he realized what it was! He did not expect to find such a valuable piece of treasure at the dilapidated shrine so quickly!

Mo Fan had sneakily had Sofia and Heidi leave by asking them to lure the demon creature guarding the Burning Evil Eye away, just so he could snatch the treasure for himself!

“The evil light has disappeared!”

“Let’s go, this Nyx Blood Bat is too hard to kill. We’ll only attract the attention of other demon creatures at this rate,” Sofia said.

“Mm, time to go!”

“Did you destroy the Burning Evil Eye?” Heidi asked while running.

“Yeah, it was better to destroy it considering how harmful it is. Otherwise, some other Hunters might die to it again,” Mo Fan replied without blinking.

“That’s great!”

—

After they had regrouped with the others, the Nyx Blood Bat was still pursuing them relentlessly. Mo Fan had stolen its treasure. How could it possibly give up the chase so easily?

However, it was obvious that the Nyx Blood Bat was not friendly with the snake demons. The snake demons were not stirred up by the antics of the enraged Nyx Blood Bat. It seemed the snake demons were not the only species residing at the Sunset Shrine…

The Nyx Blood Bat kept chasing after the three, but they had a whole group to back them up, including the Super Mage, Mentor Vani. They did not have any trouble taking out the Nyx Blood Bat.

They did not attract too much attention, either; Heidi suppressed the Nyx Blood Bat with her Space Element, giving the people of the European University Institute the chance to prove themselves. After a series of powerful spells that did not produce too much noise, the Great Commander-level creature was brutally killed.

“Is anyone’s body rotting still?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not anymore! Mo Fan, you’re so impressive! How did you know it was the cause?” Chad had to ask.

“It’s nothing really, many strange incidents have a reason behind them. You will learn the truth once you find the key to it. With that thought, nothing is scary anymore,” Mo Fan replied loftily.

“Look at you, aren’t you just lucky for discovering it?” Ferrero harrumphed coldly.

“Sure, I’ll let you handle it if we find ourselves in any trouble again. Otherwise, can you automatically shut your mouth up for five minutes while I’m talking?” Mo Fan immediately riposted.

Mo Fan had a strange habit: he had zero tolerance for half-wits!

“I can handle it, I’ll show you how capable the students of the European University Institute are!” Ferrero declared.

“Let’s hope you won’t put our lives in danger,” Mo Fan immediately shot him down.

“Are you treating me like a three-year-old!?”

“Alright, that’s enough, we should be working together in a time like this. Now is not the time to argue between ourselves,” Mentor Vani cut in.

Mo Fan was in a good mood after finding a valuable artifact. He did not want to waste further time on the idiot.

1535 Young Medusa

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The rotting was not caused by poison. Everyone was fine after they were no longer being exposed to the light of the evil eye. They treated their injuries with the medicine they brought along while waiting for the sun to rise.

Mo Fan did not tell anyone how to track the young Medusa. When it was almost dawn, Mo Fan secretly asked Zhao Manyan to set the Roving Desert Beetles free, and waited for his news.

Not long after, Zhao Manyan returned with a happy face.

Mu Bai had a hint of disgust when he saw the look on Zhao Manyan’s face. “Do you really have to be so happy after taking a piss?”

“What do you know!?” Zhao Manyan glared at Mu Bai.

When the three came close together, Zhao Manyan took out something that looked like a string of silk. It was stained with a strange substance, but it was still smooth and beautiful.

“What’s this?” Mu Bai had to ask.

“The hair that the young Medusa has just shed. She’s very close to us! Mo Fan, are you sure the total sum in the reward pool for the Tear of Medusa is three point seven billion?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Three..three point seven…” Mu Bai blurted out in surprise.

“Shhh!” Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan both signaled him to keep the voice down.

Mu Bai withheld the shock in his heart. He lowered his head and whispered, “Is it really three point seven billion?”

“It is, for some reason, even the Giant Female Snakes have been granted Medusae’s power too! They can also cast the Eyes of Vengeance on their enemies. We are not the only people put under the Curse. Many people are waiting for the Tear of Medusa!” Mo Fan informed him.

“Aren’t you going to tell the people of the European University Institute?” Mu Bai said.

“What is that nonsense? Why would I bother sharing the money with them? How much is everyone going to get if we split the money among all of us? Besides, they should be grateful to us for helping them to get rid of the Cruse. Do they seriously think they have a share in the reward too?” Mo Fan said.

“That’s right, they are so useless, they can’t do anything apart from boast!” Zhao Manyan said.

“How about Heidi?” Mu Bai said.

“Heidi is a little innocent, so it’s better not to tell her first. Otherwise, she might let the cat out of the bag. We’ll tell her at the end,” Mo Fan said after a moment of thought.

“Mm,” Mu Bai nodded. He also agreed not to share the reward with the people of the European University Institute!

“Tell me where the spot is, I’ll go have a look first. We’ll leave right away if I can catch it. If I can’t, we’ll ask the others for help. That Super Mage Vani might still be useful to us,” Mo Fan said.

The people of the European University Institute were not weak, especially Mentor Vani, who had one of his Elements at the Super Level. He might be able to lend them a hand if anything happened.

However, if Mo Fan could do it himself, he had no reason to ask the others for help. It was better to keep the fortune to himself!

—

The three did not move out together, as it might make the people of the European University Institute suspicious. Mo Fan pretended like he was going to scout the area. He asked the others to stay there and wait for him patiently.

Mo Fan followed Zhao Manyan’s instructions and went past a few broken-down structures. He found more hair of the young Medusa under an altar that was covered in plants.

The hair was quite valuable. Mo Fan gladly put the hair he had found inside the Space Ring, and set another Roving Sand Beetle free to continue searching for the hair of the young Medusa.

Mo Fan had the Dark Noble Mantle. It was extremely easy for him to move around without gathering any attention. Even if an adult Medusa was around, Mo Fan could still perfectly conceal his presence and avoid getting into a fight.

Zhao Manyan told Mo Fan that the young Medusa seemed to be alone. There was no trace of adult Medusae or the Silver Snake Warriors around.

“I’m in luck for once!” Mo Fan blurted out in joy.

He had taken a look around and did not see any snake demons nearby. The nobles among the snake demons had asked their subordinates to guard the perimeter, yet they did not allow those low-level creatures to hang around in the area they resided in.

An intense battle was still going on at the front line. Perhaps the Medusae did not expect humans to come so deep into their territory!

The Roving Sand Beetle stopped in a hall well lit up by the moonlight, its ceiling no longer around. The little creature was munching something like a string of silk excitedly.

Mo Fan picked it up and discovered it was the hair of a Medusa. Most importantly, it was still warm, indicating that the hair had just been shed recently!

Mo Fan was extremely excited. Three point seven billion was almost within his reach! He did not expect to earn such a great fortune on his trip to Egypt. He could finally buy some useful magic equipment with the money!

A petite figure suddenly moved past in the hall. She seemed to have noticed Mo Fan’s presence. She quickly hid in a corner covered in shadow.

The moonlight peeked into the ceiling like a veil, yet it stopped right before the corner. Mo Fan was unable to see the figure in it, yet he noticed a pair of glittering eyes!

“Come out here, I know you’re in there… let’s make a deal, either you make yourself cry and shed me some tears, or I’m going to beat you up!” Mo Fan walked closer and stared at the eyes.

Mo Fan was sure that there were no adult Medusae in the vicinity!

There was no sign of the Silver Snake Warriors too. Zhao Manyan had already made sure of that. This young Medusa was pretty daring to come out here alone. It allowed Mo Fan to take advantage of the chance!

“Big brother, are you a bad guy?” a timid voice came out from the corner.

Mo Fan was startled.

What the heck was going on now!?

The young Medusa could speak human language?

“How did you learn to speak?” Mo Fan was curious. She was speaking in standard English!

Even though the Medusae were a hybrid species of human and snake, and some of them had an appearance and intelligence very similar to that of a human, they usually behaved more like demon creatures over the past thousands of years. They were not humans!

Why did the young Medusa know how to speak? Her voice was so pleasant, like the soothing sound of a chime in some bamboo woods.

“Big brother, I…I’m human,” the little girl said.

“Bullshit, come out from the shadow, let me look at you,” Mo Fan said.

The young girl slowly moved out from the corner. The moonlight shone upon smooth skin that was like a delicate jade.

She slowly lifted her gaze. Her thin hair slid to the side. Her face was so pretty that Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat upon seeing it. Her pair of huge sparkling eyes were looking at Mo Fan pitifully…

“She’s really human?” Mo Fan was stunned. He stared at the young girl.

The young girl did not dare to come out any further. She was only wearing some ragged clothes. Her skin was smooth, but some parts did seem a little dirty.

Her body was shivering, she seemed to be feeling a little cold. The collarbones under her pale neck were alluring. Her delicate appearance was perfect for earning pity from others.

“What the hell happened? Why are you here!?” Mo Fan struggled to believe it.

“Brother, I’m not the Medusa, I was caught here. She likes to eat the heart of young girls. She has eaten all the girls from the same village as me. I think I’m the next one…” the girl said with a trembling voice.

“You were kidnapped?” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, a group of people came to our village. They told us they were Mages, and would teach us magic, so they brought a few of us talented ones from the village, but they were lying. They were keeping a young Medusa. When she transforms every week, one of us had to die,” the little girl said.

“Some people are raising a young Medusa? Who are they?” Mo Fan asked with astonishment.

“I don’t know either, they keep kidnapping people to feed them to the young Medusa… brother, are you a good person?” The little girl seemed a little scared. Her eyes were staring at Mo Fan.

“I won’t call myself a good person, but I won’t hurt you. Do you know where the young Medusa is?” Mo Fan asked.

“She went to drink some water, at the lake not far from here…” the little girl said.

“Alright, I’ll go take a look,” Mo Fan said.

“Brother, can you save me from this place? I don’t want to be eaten,” the little girl begged.

“Ugh… alright,” Mo Fan could not afford to leave the innocent little girl behind.

He reached his hand out to help the little girl up. The little girl was cowering in the corner. Mo Fan could only see her body and her face.

The little girl grabbed Mo Fan’s hand and cautiously rose to her feet. Her eyes were staring at Mo Fan with an alert look at all times…

Mo Fan suddenly pulled with a great force, dragging the little girl out from the shadow so she was exposed under the moonlight.

“HAHAHA, do you seriously think I’m that stupid!?” Mo Fan burst out laughing. He quickly sealed her movement off by injecting the Dark Material into her body!

To think that a little girl would appear out of nowhere in a place like this, and only dared to reveal half her body to him. Wasn’t it obvious that the other half of her body would look like a snake’s?

How could Mo Fan possibly believe in her nonsense? Even if she could speak the human language, Mo Fan was quite confident that she was the young Medusa. The Medusae were good at tricking people. They could even cast illusions on their enemies to make them believe they were women. Mo Fan was not the naive young man that believed in fairy tales anymore. There was no way he would be tricked by such lies!

Mo Fan was laughing at how naive the young Medusa was, trying to trick him with such a petty lie.

However, he heard someone crying.

The little girl had burst into tears.

Mo Fan was still grabbing at her hand. He looked at her lower body…

Skinny buttocks, slender legs, and the mysterious little garden that he could not afford to look at directly…

“This…this…” Mo Fan was stunned once again. More precisely, his mind completely went blank.

It was not a snake!

It was not the body of a snake!

It was indeed the body of a young girl!

The young girl was terrified. She was crying out loud, yet she did not dare to resist since Mo Fan was extremely rough with his pull.

“Are you really a human?” Mo Fan blushed.

He did not think she was actually a little girl instead of the young Medusa. He was sure that he was not being tricked by an illusion. Everything he saw was real!

“I”m sorry, I’m sorry, I thought you were lying, I thought you were the young Medusa…” Mo Fan quickly apologized.

Mo Fan immediately felt his head hurting. In that case, the young Medusa was indeed feasting on humans, and she enjoyed eating little girls like her if it could aid her growth. Most importantly, a group of Mages was kidnapping the little girls for the young Medusa!

====

This will certainly all go smoothly, and the girl is not involved at all.

1536 The Snake Demoness of the Desolate Lake

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The little girl’s cry had completely taken Mo Fan by surprise. Mo Fan was pulling her with enormous force, since he had assumed the young Medusa was trying to set him up. If he was a little crueler, he might even have torn the little girl’s arm off. Luckily, he was not that violent.

However, the little girl was in great pain. On top of that, she was not wearing anything. If anyone witnessed what had happened, they would assume Mo Fan was trying to do something unforgivable to the innocent little girl!

“I’m really sorry, little girl, can you stop crying? Please trust me, I’m indeed not a good person… no, that doesn’t sound right, but I’m not the kind of bad person you think I am. I thought you were the young Medusa. I didn’t expect to stumble into a beautiful girl like you in a place like this. It was much more likely that you were a demon creature,” Mo Fan tried to apologize.

Luckily, the little girl was able to calm down quickly. She held back her tears and stared at Mo Fan with huge teary eyes. Mo Fan immediately blushed, while feeling extremely awkward.

“Good, don’t cry yet. If you didn’t lie to me, I promise I’ll bring you out of here, but you have to tell me where the real young Medusa is. Are the bad guys with her still?” Mo Fan asked.

“I…I don’t know. The young Medusa went to the lake to drink water. The Mages left after bringing me here,” the little girl said.

“What’s your name?” Mo Fan said softly. He was afraid that the girl would burst into tears again.

“Apas,” the little girl said.

“Oh, where are you from?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m from Karagana Island. The people on the island plant herbs as a living. The herbs are sold to Egypt and Greece. The chief of the island doesn’t allow the people to leave. I was very interested in becoming a Mage, so I went against her will and was tricked by these people,” Apas said.

Mo Fan had heard of Karagana Island before. It was an island that did not belong to any country, located in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Egypt. The island was protected by the Shoreline Alliance and was populated by religious people that did not interact much with the outside world.

Mo Fan heard Xinxia mention a few times that the Karagana Island was a gorgeous land of herbs. It did not have a single flower, yet it was even prettier than the sea of flowers in Provence. Unfortunately, Xinxia was busy preparing for the election. She did not have time to spare to travel to Karagana Island as their honeymoon trip.

Mo Fan was more convinced that Apas was not lying when she mentioned Karagana Island.

As a matter of fact, it was unreasonable for such a pretty little girl to show up out of nowhere in a place like this, but both the little girl’s appearance and her explanation of where she was from did not have any problem at all.

The Medusae did look similar to humans, but they were unable to get rid of their snake bodies. Their upper bodies were no different than humans, but their lower bodies had to resemble that of a snake. Therefore, Mo Fan knew he had made a mistake when he saw the little girl’s slim legs.

“Cover yourself with this and follow me; we’ll go look for the young Medusa first!” Mo Fan took off his jacket and gave it to her.

The jacket was huge for the little girl; she could wrap it around like a dress to cover herself. On a side note, Mo Fan had also seen something he was not supposed to, which further convinced him that he had stumbled into an actual human instead of a snake demon!

“Thank you…” Apas slowly lowered her guard after sensing his friendliness and chagrin. Her dirty face had an anticipating smile now that she finally had the chance to leave this place.

“Is this the right way?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, it is!” Apas nodded. She followed behind Mo Fan with quick little steps.

Mo Fan would occasionally turn around to look at the little girl. For some reason, he was still a little bit worried that Apas would extend poisonous fangs from her tender lips and bite him on the neck while he was not paying attention to her…

But the truth was, Apas was not a Medusa. She was just a weak little girl. Her body might be slightly stronger than ordinary girls since she had Awakened her first Element, but she was still completely helpless on her own!

—

Mo Fan followed Apas’ instructions and soon came upon a lake.

The surface of the lake was overgrown with weeds. If its surface had not been shining in the moonlight, one might even assume it to be a grassy area.

A soft noise came from the lake… the hissing sound of a snake.

Mo Fan turned around once again to look at Apas.

Apas’ eyes were wide open. She was biting her pale lips to stop herself from making any sound, and was very cautious with her breathing, too.

“She’s here, I can smell her,” Apas said softly.

Apas seemed to be sensitive to odors. The women on Karagana Island, who were constantly dealing with herbs, might have developed a special ability…

Mo Fan went a little closer and also noticed a rotting odor.

“Stay here, I’ll call my friends over,” Mo Fan said softly.

Mo Fan parted the bush and saw a long silhouette around a hundred meters away. It was lying on its side atop a boulder, moonbathing beside the lake.

The moonlight was shining on it. Mo Fan saw a slim upper body and the reflective scales of its extremely long lower body. It extended from the boulder to the ground and further curled up in a half-circle!

Its upper body did resemble that of a young woman, but the lower body of a snake was utterly terrifying. It seemed to be very fond of its own looks. It kept pouring water on itself from its hair to its stomach, then its firm snake’s body…

A young Medusa!

It was really a young Medusa. Mo Fan no longer had to worry about Apas lying to him.

He must have read too many stories and watched too many movies. Apas did not have anything that resembled a snake. She was clearly not the cunning young Medusa!

“My friend’s blood must have gotten on her. She’s not too fond of being covered in blood…” Apas said with a trembling voice.

Apas had the urge to break into tears again as she recalled her friend that had been eaten!

“Don’t worry, I will avenge your friend. However, this creature is very fast. There are a lot of Silver Snake Warriors only two kilometers away. I’m not confident enough to catch it on my own. Hang on, I’ll call my friends over,” Mo Fan said.

“Do you have a lot of friends?” Apas asked.

“Mm, quite a few of them, and they are all experts,” Mo Fan nodded.

“That’s great!” Apas was even more convinced that she was safe now.

—

Mo Fan had already told Zhao Manyan about his plan. His Dark Material could be used as a signal for help.

Zhao Manyan could follow the Dark Material to find him. Mo Fan was not sure if the Mages that were helping feed the young Medusa were around. He had asked Zhao Manyan to bring along the people of the European University Institute as a safety precaution!

“They will be here soon.” Mo Fan kept staring at the young Medusa while talking softly to Apas, helping her overcome the fear in her heart.

To his relief, not only was Apas a beautiful girl, she was very disciplined, too. She did not bring any trouble to him.

Mo Fan heard movements behind him, and sensed his Dark Material approaching.

“Mo Fan,” Zhao Manyan whispered, suppressing his voice. He sounded like a vengeful spirit.

“Keep it down!” Mo Fan signaled.

“Wow… Who’s this gorgeous little girl?” Zhao Manyan came up to Mo Fan and saw a little beauty kneeling beside Mo Fan. She was wearing some revealing clothes, and a man’s jacket was wrapped around her legs like a dress, revealing her slender legs and alluring body. Zhao Manyan, who had a slight fetish for little lolis, could feel blood running in his nose!

Jerk, Mo Fan was seriously a jerk!

“She was kidnapped to be fed to the young Medusa. I happened to save her from the bad guys. You idiot, can’t you just keep quiet? If you alert our target, I’ll chop you up and feed you to the snakes instead!” Mo Fan grunted.

“Oh, why do you always have the good things to yourself? Little girl, come here, you are safe with me…” Zhao Manyan said with a harmless face.

Apas promptly moved closer to Mo Fan in fear. After what she had been through, she subconsciously relied on the first person that had provided her with a sense of security. In Apas’ eyes, Mo Fan was the only good guy, and everyone else was a bad guy!

“Ask the people of the European University Institute to flank her. We can’t afford to let her escape. The young Medusa might not be stronger than us, but she’s pretty good at running away,” Mo Fan said.

Even as Mo Fan was talking, his Dark Material was slowly weaving through the weeds. The young Medusa enjoying her bath under the moonlight was totally unaware that she was slowly being surrounded by Mo Fan’s Dark Material.

“They already went ahead. They shouldn’t mess it up,” Zhao Manyan said hopefully.

Everyone’s life was currently tied to the same string. None of them wanted anything to go wrong at a time like this!

“The moment we make our move, the young Medusa is going to scream and alert the Silver Snake Warriors. It will take them less than two minutes to reach here, which means we must catch her in a minute and a half and figure out the right way to escape,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was not an idiot like Zhao Manyan; he wanted to make sure everything was sorted out first!

Catching the young Medusa was not difficult, but as soon as they showed themselves, the Silver Snake Warriors in the Sunset Shrine and further away were going to converge on them like a fierce tide. The Silver Snake Warriors could easily devour them down to their last bone before their hands grew warm from touching the young Medusa!

Therefore, the key to the plan was how they were supposed to leave the place after getting their hands on the young Medusa!

“Head southwest, there’s a long tunnel there. It will lead us out of the Sunset Shrine. We’ll then clear a path from there.” Mu Bai had already found the best escape route. He had even marked the path with a fluorescent powder so they would not miss it!

1537 Operation Catch!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You little piece of shit, take this!”

Ferrero’s voice suddenly came from the other side of the lake as Mo Fan and Mu Bai were still discussing their escape route. They immediately saw sturdy rocks rising up from the water and forming a cage to trap the young Medusa!

“F**k me, why did that idiot act now!?” Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai blurted out at the same time.

How stupid was that guy? Not only was he trying to get himself killed, he was dragging everyone else into the mess, too! Mo Fan was seriously regretting his decision of joining hands with these unreliable teammates who were as stupid as pigs!

“I’ve trapped her!” Ferrero smiled, as if he had achieved an impressive act that could possibly save mankind. He was only waiting for flowers to be thrown at him and rounds of applause!

It turned out that a person could really be influenced by the people they hung around with for a long time. Mo Fan was seriously impressed by how smart Ferrero was!

What did he think a Medusa was?

The Eyes of the Rock Demon was actually a spell that mimicked the Medusa’s stare! Did he seriously think the Advanced Earth Spell was going to trap a snake demon with the ability to control the soil and the ground?

The young Medusa’s angry screech echoed throughout the Sunset Shrine. In just a few seconds, similar cries returned from all directions. It was like all the fireworks and firecrackers when the clock hit twelve at the New Year. There were only a few cracks at the start, but they were soon followed by a series of deafening blasts!

“Quick, do it now, we can’t let her run away!” Mo Fan decisively jumped out of the bush. He flew across the lake while the Dark Material in the vicinity swiftly gathered toward the young Medusa. The entire lake had turned into Mo Fan’s Dark Swamp Domain!

“Damn it, why did it turn into mud!?” Ferrero grumbled anxiously.

His Earth Element was naturally ineffective against the Medusa! With a single glance from the young Medusa, his sturdy cage of rocks had turned into a pile of silt. The cage collapsed and scattered on the ground!

Luckily, Mo Fan had established his Dark Swamp Domain. It completely sealed the young Medusa in a maze of darkness before she could flee into the bushes. She had completely lost her sense of direction!

“Don’t use the Light Element. My Nyx Regime can trap her for now! Quick, use any powerful spell that can suppress her. We only have a little over a minute left!” Mo Fan yelled at the others.

The Light Element would drive Mo Fan’s Nyx Regime away. Even the slightest gap would allow the young Medusa to flee!

“I’ll seal her off!” Mentor Vani finally made his move. However, he did not cast a Super Spell.

Vani was a Super Earth Mage, but his Super Earth Spell was not going to do anything to the young Medusa, either. He cast an Ice Spell instead. An icy coffin appeared above the young Medusa, who was running around wildly in the darkness in panic. The strong energy froze the young Medusa and the whole area she was in!

“Ice Lock: Chain Formation!” Mu Bai immediately summoned icy chains after seeing someone had already cast the Icebound Coffin.

The thick chains of ice wrapped around the Icebound Coffin and formed two walls to trap the young Medusa as soon as she forced her way out of the Icebound Coffin.

The frost of the Icebound Coffin spread continuously, leaving the young Medusa no way to escape. Her tail was already covered in layers of ice!

“Will Cannon…” Heidi spread her arms and focused her Will on the young Medusa.

“Don’t kill her, we need her alive!” Mo Fan quickly stopped Heidi when he noticed she was trying to use a powerful attack.

Mo Fan had witnessed the strength of Heidi’s Will Cannon. Even the Giant Snake Demoness had almost died to it in a single blow. The young Medusa was clearly weaker than the Giant Snake Demoness. There was no way she would survive the hit!

Heidi obediently followed his instructions. She quickly withdrew her Will and focused on the noises in the surroundings.

“We are going to be surrounded soon!” Heidi said.

“She’s still resisting, does anyone have other spells to suppress her? Use it now!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Man-Eating Plant!” Zoey finished Channeling her Plant Magic.

A Man-Eating Plant covering an area over a hundred meters square rose up from the dark swamp close to the walls of ice chains. Its rows of sharp teeth resembled the jaws of a great shark, and it swallowed the chains, the Icebound Coffin, and the young Medusa with a single bite!

“Let’s go!” Zoey said decisively.

“You got her?” Mo Fan was startled.

“Yes, my Man-Eating Plant will put her to sleep. Don’t worry, I won’t kill her!” Zoey said.

Mo Fan glanced after the enormous Man-Eating Plant that had swiftly sunk into the ground in shock. It turned out that Zoey was the real ace of the European University Institute. The enormous Man-Eating Plant could even swallow some Great Commander-level creatures!

“Time to go, follow the fluorescent light on the ground. Someone clear a path ahead!” Mo Fan said.

“I’ll do it!” Mentor Vani agreed promptly.

The environment was not suitable for Earth Magic, thus the Super Earth Mage was not any stronger than the students when his Earth Element was not available.

“Apas, climb onto my back,” Mo Fan squatted down. Apas, who was hiding behind a rock, quickly grabbed the jacket that she had wrapped around herself like a dress and jumped onto Mo Fan’s back, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

“Big brother, are we going to die? There are so many snake men out there!” Apas asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’m very strong, we won’t die! Besides, I’m going to find the scumbags that kidnapped you, too! They must be punished!” Mo Fan turned around and smiled.

Apas felt a lot more relieved, staring at Mo Fan’s face from the side. She dug her head into Mo Fan’s back.

“Mo Fan, should I carry her instead?” Zhao Manyan asked while they were running.

“Piss off!” Mo Fan snapped. What was ZHao Manyan even thinking in a situation like this? He was the one that had stumbled onto the little beauty. How could he possibly allow Zhao Manyan to harm her?

“Zoey has the young Medusa…” Mu Bai said thoughtfully.

“I know, we’ll worry about it after we’ve found a safe place. We’ll have to decide if we are going to join hands to fall out with them according to the situation…” Mo Fan said.

“What falling out?” Heidi was slightly behind Mo Fan as she asked quietly.

“Keep an eye on our rear!” Mo Fan told Heidi.

Heidi frowned. She had a feeling that Mo Fan was hiding something from her…

“Our operation will be quite successful if we can make it out of here,” Zhao Manyan suddenly said.

“You better not say something like that in the wild,” Mu Bai said superstitiously.

“I agree!” Mo Fan swore aloud…

1538 Fleeing From the Snakes

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Silver scales glowed brightly under the moonlight, resembling large groups of warriors in silver armor approaching from all directions!

“Follow the fluorescent lights, don’t stray off the path, or else you won’t make it out of the Sunset Shrine!” Mu Bai reminded them once again.

The dilapidated structures were scattered along the slope, their layout very confusing. They would easily lose their way if they took the wrong path!

Three Silver Snake Warriors that had climbed up to the top of a black structure with the help of the vines along the wall jumped down. Each of their six arms was holding a thin spike around three meters long. Three Silver Snake Warriors meant eighteen pikes! They danced in the air while slashing down in a spiraling motion.

The spirals descended rapidly, forcing everyone to dodge to the side. The slashes barely missed some of their toes!

“Defend yourself, don’t just run!” Mo Fan yelled while running in the middle of the group.

If they kept running, the enemy could just attack recklessly. Not many of them could survive the continuous rain of attacks coming at them!

Not every Silver Snake Warrior had pikes for weapons. When the group arrived at one of the exits, a Silver Snake Commander over twenty meters tall was holding two heavy bone hammers with its six arms!

The heads of the hammers were obviously the skull of some enormous beasts. The Silver Snake Commander held each hammer with three hands. It leapt into the air and smashed the ground in the middle of the group. The terrifying hammers easily broke shattered the ground to pieces!

“Blink!” Heidi immediately cast the Space Spell when she saw the group about to lose its formation. “Come here!” she yelled.

The others quickly gathered toward Heidi after seeing the silver light.

When everyone was close enough, Heidi immediately activated the spell. The group swiftly vanished after the silver light reached its peak inside the collapsing building.

The Silver Snake Commander’s hammers had left an enormous hole on the ground, but it was not as clumsy as it seemed. It turned its head and immediately noticed its targets around a hundred meters away! It immediately let out a cry.

A dense show of silver flickers appeared in the air as a huge number of Silver Snake Warriors jumped up. They had surrounded Mo Fan and the others in some tall woods.

The woods did not cover a large area. The remains of old structures could still be seen nearby. Many Silver Snake Warriors were climbing up the trees; whether they were coming from the front, above, the trees, or off the roofs of the structures, their shiny silver scales were everywhere!

Spiraling slashes swept at the group and sliced the tall trees into logs. There was barely any room left to dodge the attacks, but Sofia was able to cast her Water Magic in time. The Water Curtain came down from above and protected the group like a huge umbrella.

Zhao Manyan and Galba cast their Earth Magic simultaneously to build rock barriers against the deadly attacks!

“Follow me!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Zhao Manyan ran at the front of the group while extending his arms to both sides. A brown light shone while he was running.

Two sturdy walls of rocks emerged from the ground on both sides of him to block off the enemy and set up an escape path for the group. As he sprinted forward, the thick walls continued to rise in the direction he was running to.

“Keep up, keep up!” Mentor Vani shouted at the students of the European University Institute.

The Silver Snake Warriors and their attacks were blocked by the walls of stone. The group was basically running inside a canyon leading them straight to the woods outside the Sunset Shrine!

“Look out behind!” Heidi yelled.

Mo Fan turned around and was surprised to see the Silver Snake Commander coming up along the path that Zhao Manyan had built. The creature’s speed was insanely terrifying. The distance between them was reduced to only two hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

Someone fired a spell at the Silver Snake Commander, forcing the creature to slow down. However, as soon as the distance increased by a little, the enraged Silver Snake Commander tossed its hammer at the group!

“My turn!” Mo Fan immediately put Apas down on the ground when he saw the hammer flying at them in a parabola. He took a step forward!

Mo Fan clenched his fist while letting out a wild cry, before throwing a punch at the hammer.

His fist erupted into flames. The Meteor Scarlet grew rapidly as Mo Fan hurled it forth. It turned into a meteorite flying right at the bone hammer!

BANG!

The meteorite fist smashed the bone hammer into white dust scattered across the ground, together with the embers.

“It’s settled, let’s go!” Mo Fan withdrew his fist and smoothly lifted Apas, who was staring at the blast with a blank face and carried her on his back. He immediately caught up with the others ahead without turning his head around.

The Silver Snake Commander was crying angrily behind, but the ground had turned muddy all of a sudden, lowering its speed significantly. A few moments later, Mo Fan and the others managed to run away from the demon creatures!

“Big brother, you are so strong,” Apas’ eyes flickered with admiration after witnessing how Mo Fan was able to nullify the enormous snake’s attack with ease.

“It’s nothing,” Mo Fan said.

“Can you teach me magic if we can make it out alive?” Apas asked with anticipation. She did not seem to be afraid anymore.

“What are you talking about!?” Mo Fan said.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” Apas said timidly.

“Of course we are going to make it out alive. The person that can kill me wasn’t even born yet. You’ll be fine as long as I’m still alive!” Mo Fan declared.

Saving beautiful girls had always been the main reason why he wanted to learn magic and become stronger!

“So can I learn magic from you?” Apas had a happy smile again.

“Of course you ca… f**k, how dare you ambush me, piss off!” Mo Fan noticed seven Silver Snake Warriors showing up out of nowhere in the direction he was heading into in the middle of his sentence.

The snakes were concealing themselves amid the bushes. They did not engage the others that had already gone ahead, purposely waiting for Mo Fan since he was the last in the group. How stupid were they, challenging the strongest person in the group to a fight!?

Lightning descended from the sky and turned into sparks, like the blow of a heavenly hammer. The seven Silver Snake Warriors were struck by deadly bolts of lightning as soon as they tried to pounce on Mo Fan!

The area trembled under the lightning, and the Silver Snake Warriors were knocked flying by the blow. They landed far away, twitching uncontrollably from the electric shock.

“Big brother, behind us… there are a lot of them!” Apas took a quick look backward and immediately ducked her head under Mo Fan’s shoulder.

“Don’t be scared, you will see how they are going to die!” Mo Fan turned around. His brow furrowed as purple lightning flickered in his eyes.

“Sky Lightning Claw!” Mo Fan lifted his hand high and grabbed at the sky.

Dark lightning came down imperiously. The lightning bolts bundled up like dark claws of a demon, tearing at the Silver Snake Warriors!

The demon creatures screamed in agony. The twelvefold damage amplification of the Lightning Tyrant was too much for the Warrior-level creatures to handle. Even the smallest lightning arc of the Sky Lightning Claw was enough to pulverize the Silver Snake Warriors!

Many Silver Snake Warriors died instantly, significantly reducing the pressure coming from behind. Apas’ mouth remained wide open as she turned around this time. In her eyes, a single Silver Snake Warrior was already so scary, yet to her surprise, a strong Mage could easily slaughter these fierce-looking creatures!

“Don’t give up so easily, live and work diligently, and one day, you will be able to eliminate the enemy that brings you pain and suffering with ease,” Mo Fan patted Apas on the head after seeing the astonishment on her face.

“Mm, I know!” Apas nodded, as if she was going to remember the words that Mo Fan had casually come up with.

—

Mo Fan eventually regrouped with the others. To his surprise, the others in the group were quite powerful too. The Silver Snake Warriors had no chance of stopping them with their current numbers.

Mo Fan and Heidi were in charge of the rear. Heidi was mainly responsible for stopping the Silver Snake Warriors from getting closer. Her multitasking ability was perfect for constantly keeping an eye on the enemy and stopping them from threatening the group at close range. Mo Fan, on the other hand, was unable to fight the enemy in close combat, since he was carrying Apas, so he was only casting powerful ranged spells. Heidi forced the Silver Snake Warriors to approach the group from a certain direction, allowing Mo Fan to play the role of a magic cannon and blow the demon creatures up.

Mo Fan continued to massacre the enemy pursuing them while Vani focused on clearing the path ahead. The students of the European University Institute fired their spells at the demon creatures at will. The group soon managed to travel two kilometers away from the Sunset Shrine.

“Don’t let your guard down, the Silver Snake Warriors are still coming from every direction. They are calling more of their species to flank us, too! We aren’t safe yet!” Chad, who was in the middle of the group, reminded everyone loudly.

1539 Little Beauty

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Chad’s attempt to lure the demon creatures away with his Summoned Beast had taught the group a viable approach for the operation. They had purposely caught a lot of Sunset Demon Mice and trapped them all inside a cave before coming to the Sunset Shrine.

The group followed the trail of fluorescent powder and soon reached the cave where the Sunset Demon Mice were trapped.

“Quick, Ferrero, give me your precious heirloom!” Mu Bai said.

Ferrero unwillingly took out the remaining Magical Dew and poured it on the Sunset Demon Mice.

These Sunset Demon Mice, who usually fed on remains of undead, were soon fleeing aimlessly through the Sunset Valley while emitting an alluring scent.

Sunset Valley was crawling with snake demons, not just the Silver Snake Warriors. There were countless snake mountains, too. If every snake species was attracted by the scent, it would turn into the greatest chase scene ever in the Sunset Valley!

The snakes heavily relied on their sense of smell. The group could temporarily conceal their scent, yet it was impossible to remain hidden for too long. Therefore, using the demon mice to distract the demon snakes was the best option they had!

Each demon mouse carrying the smell of the Magical Dew could attract hundreds of demon snakes. The group would have a chance to escape as long as they were not surrounded by demon creatures!

“What now?” Galba seemed quite nervous.

It was Galba’s first time doing something so thrilling. He was so nervous that he was going to wet his pants. It was difficult to imagine how the group of students that initially came here for training was now catching a young Medusa in their own backyard!

“They don’t know we are here. Let’s hold our position and let them chase after the demon mice for now,” Chad said.

Chad was sweating bullets, too. He was only an Intermediate Mage, yet he had risked his life and come here with the others. Even a single Silver Snake Warrior could kill him easily. However, if he made it back alive, he could easily boast about it to his friends for the rest of his life!

The cave was initially the demon mice’s nest. A pungent rotting smell lingered there after Mo Fan and the others had invaded it, perfect for concealing their scent. The Silver Snake Warriors would be attracted by the special scent that the demon mice were trailing after they lost sight of the group, and hopefully be tricked into believing that the demon mice were the humans that kidnapped the young Medusa.

The Silver Snake Warriors had overwhelming numbers, especially in the vicinity of the Sunset Shrine. If Mo Fan’s group did not use a little trick, they would end up being surrounded by the snake demons. Therefore, their best option was to wait at the most dangerous place until the snake demons were gone, increasing their odds of leaving in one piece.

“Should we get the tears from the young Medusa first?” Ferrero asked impatiently.

It was his first time seeing a Ruler-level creature that was still alive. He wondered how much the young Medusa would worth if he auctioned it!

“Let’s wait, the snake demons might be able to pick up the young Medusa’s scent,” Zoey demurred.

The young Medusa was still in the Man-Eating Flower’s stomach, helpless and completely vulnerable. Their first priority was to escape from the snake demons!

The group had no choice but to wait inside the cave until the snake demons lost their calm.

—

“Gur…” a strange sound broke the silence in the underground cave.

“There’s something here, look out!” Ferrero immediately rose to his feet. He looked around him nervously.

“Sor…sorry, it…it’s my stomach growling…” Apas said softly, blushing.

Mo Fan finally realized Apas must have not eaten for a long time. He quickly gave her some food that he kept in his personal Space after warming the food in his palm. An aromatic smell soon replaced the foul odors in the cave.

Apas had not eaten for a few days. She fixed her eyes on the food, drolling as soon as she picked up the scent.

“Here,” Mo Fan gave Apas the food.

Apas was too embarrassed to eat in front of the group. She hid behind Mo Fan and dug her head into the food like a starving little cat.

“Where did you find her?” Vani asked with a confused face.

“In a run-down structure close to the young Medusa. That reminds me, there are a bunch of evil Mages serving the young Medusa. I don’t know what they are up to, but we should be careful,” Mo Fan said when he recalled what Apas told him.

“Why would anyone serve the demon creatures? Aren’t they worried they might be eaten!?” Sofia said.

“There are all kinds of maniacs in this world. I wonder if they know we have caught the young Medusa. We are in danger if they are still around,” Mo Fan murmured.

“The young Medusa feeds on little girls’ hearts to maintain her youth and beautiful appearance. Many cities have the same folk tales about it. I always thought it was something that the older generations had come up with to advise young girls not to go out alone, but it’s actually real… the worst thing is, it’s actually humans like us doing it!” Chad was enraged too.

Apas finished eating while the others were discussing the topic. She wiped her lips with the dirty sleeves on her clothes.

Heidi took pity on her. She took out some clean clothes from her Space Ring and gave them to Apas so she could change into them.

Apas changed into the fresh clothes with Heidi’s help, and also washed her face.

The girl who had looked like a little beggar immediately turned into a foreign little beauty with an outstanding appearance. She seemed to have the lineage of Greeks and the European countries to the north of the Aegean Sea; smooth olive skin, tall nose, and a small but good-looking mouth. Her facial features were very natural. She was surely going to be a great beauty that could easily make a man’s heart race in a few years!

It would be a waste if such a beauty was eaten by the young Medusa!

“By the way, Apas, do you remember what the people that kidnapped you looked like?” Mo Fan asked.

Apas shook her head. She said with a soft voice, “I only remember their outfits.”

“It feels like the Silver Snake Warriors have spread out,” Sofia said.

“Should we wait a little longer?” Galba said.

“We can’t afford to wait any longer. These snake demons are not complete idiots. They are going to realize that we’ve lured them away with the demon mice. We have to go now, and head to the place where we stumbled into the snake mountain. It’s a lot safer to return to Cairo City along that path,” Old Chad said.

“Got it, let’s set out at once.”

The others rose to their feet, no longer cowering in the corner. They fled in the direction of the long defensive ravine in front of Cairo City.

The direction they were planning to take had a lower density of demon creatures. Their chance of making it back to the city alive solely depended on whether the snake demons were going to find them or not!

1540 Escorting Troop

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The plan was a success. After the high-level Silver Snake Warriors were lured away by the demon mice, the rest of the low-level creatures had no chance of stopping the group of Advanced Mages from running away.

They made it out of the Sunset Valley soon afterwards. They were only forty kilometers away from reaching safety in Cairo City!

The outskirts of Cairo were crawling with scorpion demons. Their senses were extremely sharp, and since most of the areas were covered in sand, the high-level creatures were able to detect anyone walking on the sand. They had to travel on the Camel Beasts.

They had kept Camel Beasts on standby before they went to the Sunset Valley. Chad was very experienced. He had gathered the Camel Beasts in a pit under a sand dune and scattered some white salt across the area. The scorpion demons were not interested in the Camel Beasts, so when the group arrived, the Camel Beasts were still in the same spot.

It was tricky to settle a bunch of beasts down in the wild for a few days.

“Quick, we have to hurry; we’ll be safe once we reach the line of defense at the ravine!” Benz blurted out nervously.

Everyone mounted the Camel Beasts. These creatures were not as quick as the people had imagined. However, they could not afford to use their magic to speed up, as it would only bring them more trouble!

——

After traveling ten kilometers, the group noticed irregular sand pits ahead. The ground had little arcs that seemed like waves rolling forward, but the irregular sandpits were like strange holes across the surface.

The sandpits were huge, the size of a lake, some them looking like pitch-black holes. They were mostly the works of the scorpion demons. These demon creatures were fond of destroying the layers of sand and soil. When a heavy creature walked past them, they would fall into the pits and suffer serious damage from them. Inside the pits were countless holes, from which thousands of little scorpions would appear and feast on the creature while it was struggling in pain. A creature that was five times bigger than the scorpion demons would only have a pile of bones left in under half a minute!

The sandpits that had already collapsed were not much of a threat, but the hidden pits concealed by a layer of thin sand were nothing but deadly traps!

“It’s fine for us to walk on the sand, but they are going to collapse if the Camel Beasts walk over the pits. You must all listen to me from here on. Falling into the pits won’t necessarily cost you your life, but it will slow us down! The scorpion demons are going to pursue us relentlessly too!” Chad told everyone. It was his third time explaining the same thing to them.

The hidden pits were quite terrifying, many Hunter squads had died to them. Chad was an old mercenary. He was able to tell where the hidden pits were, so his Camel Beast was leading the way, and the others followed the trail he blazed.

“Chad, we should be close to the ravine after crossing these pits, right?” Vani asked.

“Yes!” Chad nodded.

“Snake! Snake!” Sofia pointed to the side with a frightened look.

The scream gave the others a great fright. They immediately looked into the direction that Sofia was pointing to, but they only saw a long curled branch on the ground. It did resemble a black snake, yet even if she did see it wrong, an Advanced Mage like her had no reason to be scared of it.

“Sofia, what are you doing? It’s just a branch,” Ferrero said.

“I…I don’t know, I was scared all of a sudden!” Sofia let out a relieved sigh.

Mo Fan glanced at Sofia and said, “Maybe the effects of the Potion are running out?”

“The Curse of the Snake Eyes?” Zhao Manyan was startled.

“Wouldn’t the Curse attract every snake in the wild to us!?” Zoey blurted out.

“That doesn’t sound good!”

“Quick, get the young Medusa out, we need her Tear now!” Mo Fan said.

Zoey nodded, and Summoned the Man-Eating Flower.

The Man-Eating Flower burst out of the ground and slowly opened its enormous petals. The young Medusa was sleeping inside it, having only minor injuries.

They moved the young Medusa out from the plant. They all gasped when they saw the connection between her long tail and her feminine upper body. It was most of them’s first time observing a Medusa at such a close distance.

“How are we going to get her tears?” Zoey asked with a confused smile.

“I don’t know, either!” Chad looked at the others with a wry smile.

Everyone was lost all of a sudden. They wondered if they should wake the young Medusa up, but the creature was surely going to be lots of trouble as soon as she woke up. However, how were they supposed to get her tears if they did not wake her up?

No one knew how to get the young Medusa’s tears, nor had they heard about a demon creature that shed tears.

“We are wasting our time here!” Mu Bai snorted.

The effects of the Curse had worsened, and they had not reached safety yet!

The group was trying to figure out how to get their hands on a Tear of Medusa while heading toward the ravine. They did not wake the young Medusa up, since they were unsure if the young Medusa was able to alert the snake demons without them knowing.

—

“I…I think I saw someone ahead,” Vani said. He was leading the way at the front.

“We haven’t reached the safe zone yet. Why would there be anyone out in the wild?” Mo Fan asked with a confused look.

“They are in military outfits,” Vani said.

“They might be part of an escorting troop. The military will send out patrols out of the safe zone to eliminate the threats in the vicinity of the city, especially along the supply routes,” Chad blurted out in joy.

They were still quite a distance away from the safe zone. Cairo was currently taking a defensive stance, thus the army was holding their positions along the line of defense. The escorting troop was the only people that would come out of the city in a time like this.

Chad did not expect them to be so lucky to stumble into a troop that was out of the city to escort some supplies. They could return to the city safely by following the escorting troop.

“That’s great then, let’s go to them now!” Vani let out a relieved sigh.

Anyone would be overjoyed to stumble into humans instead of demon creatures in the wild. The effects of the Curse had not returned yet, nor were the snake demons currently on their trail. They should be able to reach Cairo safely!

—

The escort troop had quite a few people, numbering around two hundred Battlemages. The soldiers that were chosen to come out to the wild were mostly elites. Otherwise, if they only had numbers, it might end up attracting more demon creatures to them instead!

The two hundred Battlemages were heading toward them too. The two groups of people met eventually.

The troop was led by a man in a sandy white military outfit. His face was covered by a mask. Not only was the mask handy for blocking the sand, it could also protect the wearer from poisonous gas when soaked in some kind of chemical beforehand.

The Battlemages in white outfits also saw Vani and the others. They were being extremely cautious, and were immediately on alert.

“We are friendly, we are Hunters!” Vani quickly told the soldiers.

“Where did you come from?” someone among the Battlemages asked in Egyptian.

Old Chad quickly replied, “We are from New Suez, can you let us tag along?”

The soldier whispered to a Battlemage with disheveled hair and a thick beard beside him. After a while, the soldier lifted his gaze and said, “That’s fine, but since we are escorting valuable resources, we aren’t sure if you are bandits trying to rob us. Therefore, if you want to come with us, we’ll have to Seal off your minds as a safety precaution.”

“Well… we aren’t weak either, we might be able to lend a hand if anything happens. I don’t think it’s necessary to seal off our minds?” Vani said uneasily.

“You don’t have to worry if anything happens. My men will destroy anything that tries to stop us. We are soldiers on a mission. We must guarantee the safety of our goods. If you aren’t willing to comply, feel free to go on your own,” the soldier said.

“Let’s listen to them; they are soldiers, they are clearly more experienced than Chad. It’s a lot safer to stick with them,” Sofia spoke up.

“I think it’s better to go on our own,” Mo Fan said with a worried look.

The troop was very strong; Mo Fan could tell just by sensing the auras each of the soldiers was emitting. However, if their minds were sealed off, they were no different than normal people. Mo Fan only had a sense of security when he had access to his magic.

“Do you think you are stronger than the army?” Ferrero said with a disdainful look.

“We are almost there anyways.”

“Let’s follow the army, the effects of the Curse will be back soon. If we don’t make it back to the city and find a way to get the Tear of Medusa in time…” Heidi said.

“Alright,” Mo Fan fell into deep thought. He noticed that he was the only person that was against the idea.

—

The group Sealed off their minds. A soldier inspected them and proceeded to cast Giant Shadow Spike on them to make sure their minds were Sealed completely.

“Captain Saks, we are good to go,” the soldier said with a gesture.

—

“Big brother, what’s going on?” Apas rubbed her eyes and asked.

It had been days since Apas was able to get some sleep. She had quickly fallen asleep on Mo Fan’s back after eating some food. Mo Fan placed her on the Camel Beast. She must have woken up after the group stopped moving.

“We stumbled into a troop of Egyptian soldiers. We can follow them back to the city,” Mo Fan told her.

“Oh… does that mean we are safe now?” Apas smiled. She raised her head to look at the soldiers that had brought her hope, but her smile froze immediately. Her eyes were gradually filled with terror!

Mo Fan saw Apas shivering in fear, and tensed.

“Big brother, the people that kidnapped us… they were wearing the same outfit as them!” Apas whispered in a trembling voice.

1541 The Wild Howls of the Wolves

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan immediately used the Dark Material to get rid of the Giant Shadow Spike on himself as soon as he noticed the fear in Apas’ eyes.

Mo Fan had been through a great deal; he knew a person’s identity, status, and uniform did not indicate if a person was good or evil. As such, he did not feel safe even when they stumbled into the troop of soldiers.

The only thing that could provide him with a sense of security was his own strength. Therefore, he didn’t Seal off his mind. When the soldier applied the Giant Shadow Spike on everyone in the group, Mo Fan secretly unleashed a Rebelling Shadow to take the hit instead.

The careless soldier did not check him thoroughly, hence Mo Fan was able to trick him.

Mo Fan immediately realized it was not a coincidence the troop showed up here after hearing what Apas said.

“These people are not friendlies, run!” Mo Fan believed in his own judgment. He believed in Apas’ fear.

Mo Fan’s voice was echoing still when ice chains sprang into the sky. They were like white snakes pouncing at delicious prey. The scorching sand was soon frozen by the strong presence of Ice Magic…

The eyes of Vani and the students of the European University Institute widened as they stared at the Ice Magic in disbelief. They tried to defend themselves subconsciously, but they had to overcome the Seal on their minds first!

“Blink!” Mo Fan immediately cast an Advanced Space Spell when the situation became unfavorable to them.

He was some distance away from the others, so the area of his spell was unable to reach Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai.

“Blink!” Heidi yelled from further ahead too. She was quicker at casting the spell than Mo Fan. She completed the spell as Mo Fan was done with the Channeling!

Heidi was closer to Mu Bai, who also had not completely Sealed off his mind. He decisively ran toward Heidi when he saw her constructing the silver Star Constellation!

“Old Zhao, hurry up!” Mo Fan yelled.

“Crap, my magic has been Sealed!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

With a bright silver flicker, Mo Fan, Mu Bai, Heidi, and Apas turned into silver dust and vanished into thin air.

Mo Fan had Blinked two hundred meters into the distance. However, he still did not escape the range of the Ice Magic. He wondered how many Ice Mages were among the troop…

Mo Fan carried Apas in his arm and swiftly turned into a shadow. It glided right above the sand and moved further away into the distance.

Heidi and Mu Bai quickly followed Mo Fan. To Mo Fan’s surprise, there was someone else behind them: it was Vani, the mentor from the European University Institute. The soldier’s Giant Shadow Spike was unable to Seal off his mind. He immediately cast Earth Wave and ran away when he felt something was not right!

The ice chains formed a huge net surrounding the rest of the group. The powerful Ice Magic quickly spread through them and froze them completely in just a few seconds.

“That idiot!” Mo Fan looked at Zhao Manyan and cursed.

Did the man seriously let them Seal off his mind just because he was instructed to do so? Great, they could easily escape, but now they had to turn around to save him instead!

“Captain, we are from the European University Institute, aren’t you worried that you will be brought to trial at the International Court of Justice!?” Vani was enraged. He stood on high ground while his aura of the Super Level applied great pressure on the soldiers!

“Take him down alive!” The captain in sandy white uniform did not seem to care who Vani was as he proceeded to give orders to his men.

Over two hundred Battlemages immediately made their move, pushing forward hard. The Earth Mages and Shadow Mages were the quickest. They were flanking Mo Fan, Vani, and the others from both sides in no time, while those with the Wind Wings and Wing Magical Equipment approached them from the sky, forcing them to withdraw towards the dangerous sandpits.

“What’s going on here? Why are the soldiers after us?” Mu Bai asked in confusion.

“No wonder the snake demons aren’t after us anymore. These soldiers were waiting to intercept us as we made our way back to the city,” Mo Fan said coldly.

There were always scum, regardless of where you were. It was not Mo Fan’s first encounter with corrupted soldiers. They were clearly attacking them to get the young Medusa back!

Apas mentioned there were a bunch of Mages feeding the young Medusa. They subconsciously thought some evil crooks were responsible for it, yet it turned out to be someone in the Egyptian army instead!

“What should we do now?” Heidi was a little lost. She had never encountered anything like this.

Heidi was able to track three things at once. Even if a third of her mind was Sealed up, she still had two-thirds left. It was not necessarily her being cautious, it was just how unique her Innate Talent was.

“What else do you think? They are so naive to think that they can take us out with their numbers, humph!” Mo Fan said.

“Bring it on, let’s beat these assh**** up!” Vani was enraged too. He might not have an advantage fighting the snake demons, but he could easily teach these soldiers how terrifying his Super Earth Element was!

He was already accumulating his Earth Magic. Countless Star Patterns were building different Star Constellations, which then connected with one another to build a brilliant, mysterious Star Palace!

Vani had not reached the Super Level very long ago. He still needed some time to Channel his Super Spell. Mu Bai sensibly stayed close to him to protect him.

“I’ll deal with those on the left, you handle the ones on the right,” Heidi said when she noticed the Earth Mages and Shadow Mages approaching rapidly from both sides.

Mo Fan shook his head and said, “Just make sure Apas is safe.”

It did not matter why these Battlemages were colluding with the young Medusa. Most importantly, they had made Mo Fan mad…

Mo Fan was scarier than a troop of soldiers when he was angry!

“Summoning Gate: Beast Tide!”

He initially thought he would be using this spell against the demon creatures, yet this troop of soldiers under an unknown person’s command would be having a taste of it first!

Just in time, his troop of savage beasts had long waited for the chance to kill at will!

A lunar-white dimensional gate emerged in front of Mo Fan, like a giant reflective mirror connected to another violent world!

A formidable aura burst out from the gate, followed by the overwhelming presence of powerful beasts. Forty-three Enormous White Wolves rushed out from the gate, each the size of a house. The ground rocked as they charged forth.

Behind the Enormous White Wolves were seventy more White-Marked Wolves. They were not as scarily huge as the enormous wolves, yet they were a lot quicker. They split into two tides, surrounding the huge wave in the middle while charging at their enemy simultaneously!

1542 Super Wind Elemen

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The enormous wolves charged at the Battlemages that were approaching from the front. They were a squad of Fire Mages. They had just summoned huge flames, intending to suppress their enemies by firing destructive spells from range, but they were forced to change the direction of their spells.

Fiery Fists like meteorites swept past right above the sand, heading right at the Enormous White Wolves. The Summoned Beasts had sturdy and thick skin, and only suffered minor injuries after being hit by one or two Fire Spells. They were nowhere enough to stop the beasts from charging forward!

The biggest Enormous White Wolf among the army of Summoned Beasts was like a tank of flesh and bone. The dozen Fiery Fists that landed on it barely slowed it down a little. The rest of the Enormous White Wolves reached the Fire Mages first. They slammed into the Fire Mages recklessly, and soon disrupted their formation!

The White-Marked Wolves joined the battle from both sides. Their sharp fangs were quick and accurate, hitting the Battlemages in their vulnerable spots before they were able to complete their spells, throwing their formation into chaos!

“Damn it, did that guy bring a whole pack of wolves with him? Why are there so many wolves!?” Captain Saks grunted.

His men were struggling to fend off so many Enormous White Wolves at once. They were forced to set up a barrier to prevent the fierce Summoned Beasts from pressing in any further.

The army was indeed very strong. The Earth Mages set up the perimeter with walls like a fortress after the wolves briefly disrupted their formation. The Water Mages proceeded to set up a defense with the Water Curtains, making it difficult for the speedy White-Marked Wolves to ambush the Mages from behind!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s howl was the loudest. He made his move as soon as he noticed the Water Curtains.

His attacks were a lot stronger than the others; he tore a gap on the barrier, allowing a dozen Enormous White Wolves to penetrate the enemy’s defenses. The beasts proceeded to trample the Battlemages that were hiding inside the barrier!

“I’ll deal with the Great Commander-level creature!” Saks immediately set his eyes on the Flying Creek Snow Wolf when he saw the barrier being torn apart.

Saks was a Wind Mage. Six Wind Wings emerged from his back and soon propelled him into the air in a spiral. He went after the Flying Creek Snow Wolf that was constantly running along the perimeter and striking it.

Saks looked down from above. No Summoned Beast could disrupt his Channeling. A gray-white wind started blowing through the air, and from the trails of the dust, it was quite obvious that all the wind within a kilometer was rapidly gathering toward him like a giant whirlpool in the middle of the ocean!

“Thousand Leaves Saber!” Saks uttered the name of the Wind Spell coldly.

A gray-white wind saber over a hundred meters long dove from the sky and slashed at the spot that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was running towards at shocking speed.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf reacted swiftly, turning and leaping into the air. He barely dodged the wind slash, but some of his long white fur drifted in the air nearby.

Wolf species had a strong sense of danger, and his senses had continued to sharpen as his rank increased. He knew that the wind slash was only the beginning!

The space trembled noisily from the rapid-spinning wind sabers. When they landed on the ground, the ground was sliced open with ease as if it was a piece of tofu!

A few dozen deadly wind sabers chased after the Flying Creek Snow Wolf that was sprinting at his full speed. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was already at his limit. He was so quick that the others could barely see a blurred shadow, but there were not many openings for the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to dodge thru when they were all going after him at the same time.

Most terrifyingly, the wind sabers kept coming, wave after wave. There were almost a thousand of them, and they were all targeting the Flying Creek Snow Wolf!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was soon covered in deep wounds. A huge chunk of meat connecting his body and his back leg on the left was sliced off. Fresh blood scattered in the air in a shocking display!

It was the Super Wind Spell, the Thousand Leaves Saber!

Luckily, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was very sensitive to danger, and had already moved away from Saks while he was Channeling the spell. Otherwise, the Super Spell would have killed the Flying Creek Snow Wolf instantly!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf fled for his life. By the time he reached safety, he was already covered in shocking wounds.

It was very impressive that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf managed to survive the Super Wind Spell. Mo Fan sent him back to the Summoning Plane so he could recover from his injuries.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had attracted the highest level of firepower from the soldiers. On the other side, the Enormous White Wolves and the White-Marked Wolves had completely disrupted the Battlemage’s formation. There was blood everywhere.

The Battlemages’ formations posed the greatest threat to Mo Fan and the others. The formations of the Ice Mages and Fire Mages allowed them to combine their magic into a giant web. Someone like Mo Fan, who had zero ability to defend himself, would have no chance against them!

The messy situation was exactly what Mo Fan was hoping for. However, he was surprised that there was a Super Mage leading the Battlemages!

A Super Mage was clearly no minor character in Cairo; Mo Fan was even more infuriated by the discovery!

“I’ll handle the captain!” Vani said.

Vani’s Super Earth Spell posed a great threat to the Wind Mages, Earth Mages, and the Shadow Mages, forcing them to back away. Vani did not expect the enemy to have a Super Mage. The two Super Mages would have to face one another in a situation like this…

“Mo Fan, these people aren’t weak… I’m afraid we won’t be able to rescue them,” Mu Bai said.

“I know, but we can’t leave Old Zhao behind!” Mo Fan glanced at the frozen area. He was getting a headache because of it.

Mo Fan could not afford to get close to the area, since he might end up being frozen. There were so many Ice Mages casting spells together! Even his Fire Element would not stand a chance…

The wolves had disrupted a few of the enemy’s formations, but the strongest formation of the Ice Mages was still untouched. It was too dangerous for Mo Fan to try and save the hostages.

1543 Enormous Lightning Explosion!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Ahhhh~!”

Cries of agony arose. Mo Fan glanced at the enemy and saw some of the Battlemages had been caught by the White-Marked Wolves. The White-Marked Wolves knew how to work together, and kept attacking the Mages that were isolated. Each tear and bite would dye the sand red.

“Damn it, kill that Summoner!” a Mage with a brown afro resembling a lion shouted angrily.

The Enormous White Wolves’ defense was outstanding, and a few among them were almost as strong as Commander-level creatures. The rest were all in the Advancing Period of the Warrior-level. It was difficult to kill them without a group of Mages constantly attacking them with spells.

The White-Marked Wolves were extremely cunning, too. They never stayed at the front, but would move around the edges and target the Mages that were isolated after they were knocked flying by the Enormous White Wolves. Almost every Mage that was stranded was heavily injured by the White-Marked Wolves!

The wolf pack was inflicting serious damage on the troop. The Mage with an afro had realized who they should be taking out first.

Many talented Mages were able to take on an entire army. The deaths of the Summoned Beasts were not really a loss for the Summoner. As such, the hairy commander immediately ordered the Battlemages to target Mo Fan with their destructive spells.

The Ice Mages were the core of the troop. These Battlemages whose safety was secured soon summoned a great blizzard down on Mo Fan.

Snow on the scale of an avalanche came down from above. It was further mixed with Icebound Coffins and chains of ice!

Mo Fan raised his head. He felt as if the entire space above him was covered, he could not see the sky at all. The shocking amount of ice had left him with no escape!

“Mo Fan!”

Heidi was around five hundred meters behind Mo Fan. She yelled in panic after seeing Mo Fan was not casting Blink to run away.

“Don’t come close!” Mo Fan stood still. The shadow of the blizzard had completely devoured his minuscule figure.

“Hand of Silent Thunder!” Mo Fan crossed his arms above him, emitting a dark purple light. The light attached to Mo Fan and formed a barrier with a radius of three meters around him!

The purple light within the barrier became restless when the Ice Magic collided with it. The energy spun rapidly within it, like a dynamo powered by lightning!

The Ice Magic was being transformed; it felt like the Ice Magic was replenishing the machine’s energy!

Mo Fan fully extended his arms. The zone of the Hand of Silent Thunder enlarged significantly, further increasing the capacity of the energy it could hold.

The Ice Magic was transformed into lightning. It turned into thick bolts of lightning after passing through the zone and striking Mo Fan continuously.

The lightning flickered wildly. Mo Fan’s hair stood up like an enraged demon while his eyes emitted a terrifying glow.

The soldiers stared at Mo Fan in the middle of the chaotic storm in astonishment. Was that guy really a human!? It felt like he had absorbed all the Ice Spells!

Most terrifyingly, the more he was blasted by the spells, the scarier the lightning surrounding him grew!

Arcs of lightning over a few hundred meters long burst out of Mo Fan’s body uncontrollably, leaving scorched marks on the ground.

The lightning arcs were insanely quick. A Shadow Mage was planning to ambush Mo Fan, but he was knocked to the ground by the spraying lightning arcs. He fell to the ground and started convulsing!

More lightning arcs swept forward, like high voltage power lines that had suddenly snapped in half. The lightning arcs knocked quite a number of soldiers to the ground. They were knocked out almost instantly by the slightest contact!

Apart from the terrifying lightning bolts that were being flung at the people nearby randomly, Mo Fan was basically a lightning cloud that had accumulated an enormous amount of energy!

“Enormous Lightning Explosion!”

The lightning of the Hand of Silent Thunder flew towards the area with the highest density of soldiers. The lightning bolts brought with them more forking deadly lightning arcs over a few hundred meters long. They swept fiercely through the ground and air, and explosions ripped out across the areas they covered.

A piercing screech echoed in the air. The area ahead was suddenly devoured by white lightning. It felt as if the entire world had turned white all of a sudden…

The piercing screech soon disappeared. It was oddly quiet!

The blinding light lasted for a few moments, and then forking bolts of lightning over six hundred meters long danced wildly; a few seconds later, a huge explosion with a deafening blast went off!

The enormous lightning explosion produced strong shockwaves surging out almost a kilometer away in all directions, shattering the barrier and the defense protecting the Ice Mages. The Ice Mages hiding behind the barrier were all knocked into the air like stalks of grass drifting in the wind…

Captain Saks was stunned when he saw his men being devoured by the lightning!

The damage was already comparable to a Super Spell! How could an Advanced Spell possibly generate such a shocking damage?

If he knew the Summoner was so strong, why would he even bother wasting his time on Vani!?

Heidi was standing behind Mo Fan, staring at the smoking ravines left behind by the explosion. It took her some time to recover from the shock.

Mo Fan had yet to reach the Super Level, yet he already had the strength of a Super Mage. Heidi thought the Fiery Swamp Serpent was his strongest destructive spell, since it required a long Channeling time. However, it was obvious that he had more than one destructive spell that surpassed the level of an Advanced Spell!

It was difficult to imagine such an elite troop losing miserably to a single person, but the lightning explosion killed countless soldiers in the troop. Most importantly, their formations were entirely disrupted!

“Heidi, take that guy down!” Mo Fan said, while panting heavily.

“Which one?” Heidi asked with a confused look.

“Follow the shadow I sent out,” Mo Fan was a little worn out, but he still managed to summon a shadow with the Fiendish Night.

The shadow left Mo Fan’s body and floated in a certain direction like a phantom. Heidi quickly followed the pitch-black shadow.

“What now… your face is really pale, are you alright?” Mu Bai quickly came over to lend Mo Fan a hand. He would be done for if someone ambushed him now.

“Their numbers are too overwhelming. They will recover very soon. We must seize their commander while they are still panicking to guarantee our escape!” Mo Fan told him.

1544 Capturing the Major General

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Heidi soon located the Mage with an afro after following Mo Fan’s shadow.

The guy had also been caught in the lightning explosion. His hair was scorched black; he totally resembled a miserable beggar covered in soot.

The shadow snuck up to the Battlemage and swiftly constrained the man. The Dark Material entered his body and impaired his ability to move.

“Protect the major general!” a few Advanced Battlemages yelled when they saw someone approaching their commander.

As soon as Heidi landed beside the major general, almost every soldier nearby raced in her direction. Heidi did not expect the guy to be so important to the Battlemages.

The more important the man was, the more valuable he was as a hostage! It was meaningless to keep fighting the Battlemages, and besides, they were currently in the enemy’s territory. They could easily sentence the foreigners as guilty and execute them on the spot by accusing them of attacking the military. It was very common in many countries!

“Battle Symphony!”

Heidi had generated many strange notes that had laid dormant in her surroundings. When Heidi let out a loud cry, the notes turned into deadly tones surging into the ears of the Battlemages!

Loud rumbles erupted within the ears of the Battlemages. Those that were approaching her cried out in agony!

The Sound Element was the most difficult to defend against. It could produce terrifying tones in the eardrums or even the minds of its targets, and drive them mad!

Blood leaked out from the ears and nose of the Battlemages as they fell to the ground. It made little difference even when they tried to cover their ears.

Heidi was already going easy on them, and did not plan to kill the soldiers. It would be very easy for her to eliminate a few Advanced Mages with her strength.

After the Battle Symphony knocked several Advanced Battlemages to the ground, the Intermediate Battlemages no longer dared to come any closer. Heidi noticed the major general was unable to move, so she lifted him with Telekinesis and stepped over the fallen soldiers to quickly regroup with Mo Fan and Mu Bai.

“They caught the general!”

“Captain Saks!”

A few Ice Mages in brown-yellow uniforms completely lost their minds. They had not expected to lose so miserably to a few young Mages, nor expect their commanding officer to be taken hostage by the enemy!

The young major general, Gangma, was a very important person in the military. Even though his cultivation was not impressive, he had made huge contributions in battles. Even Captain Saks in the sky went mad when he saw the general falling into the enemy’s hands. He immediately cursed at his men on the ground!

Saks was the strongest person in the troop, but his cultivation was more or less on par with Vani’s, as they both only had one Element at the Super Level. Even if Saks had a slight upper hand, he was struggling to take down this guy who continued to take out a variety of magical items and equipment.

Vani was not stupid, either; he used everything he had to keep Saks busy when he saw the captain trying to rescue the important person that Mo Fan and Heidi had captured!

—

“Mu Bai, your wolves are going to disappear soon,” Mu Bai said.

Mo Fan’s energy was being consumed at an insane rate. The Beast Tide was a powerful spell, but it had its limits.

The Enormous White Wolves were the first to disappear. Lunar-white cracks appeared close to them, dragging them back to the Summoning Plane.

Without the Enormous White Wolves’ messing around, the Battlemages soon regathered into formations. Huge Ice Spells strengthened by powerful gusts of wind closed in on Mo Fan and the others. The dusty wind and blinding snow constantly drove Mo Fan, Heidi, and Mu Bai back. They no longer had any chance to move closer to Zhao Manyan and the others who were trapped in the ice.

“Let’s retreat for now, I doubt they will do anything to Zhao Manyan and the others as long as we are holding this guy as a hostage,” Mo Fan suggested.

He might have disrupted the enemy’s formation, but the troop was still a great threat to them. It had at least a dozen Advanced Mages, and the rest of the Intermediate Mages could line up in formations; being in a formation would either strengthen their spells or provide them with special effects when it reached a certain number of Mages…

If the others were not trapped in ice after they were taken by surprise, they might have stood a chance against the troop. Zhao Manyan’s defense would allow Mo Fan to keep casting his destructive spells, but he could not help but admit it was not the first time he was touched by Zhao Manyan’s intelligence!

“Vani is still fighting the guy,” Heidi said, pointing into the sky.

“Let’s not worry about him,” Mo Fan said mercilessly.

The three decisively retreated, bringing Apas and the major general along. Waves of spells kept chasing after them. Mu Bai and Heidi stayed close to Mo Fan to defend him.

The two were injured too, mainly due to the overwhelming numbers of enemies they had to face. On top of that, the Shadow Mages, Wind Mages, and Earth Mages were extremely cunning. These Mages kept troubling them while they were casting their spells, so they were unable to use most of their spells.

“Mu Bai, I’m going to use Blink!” Heidi exclaimed when she sensed an enormous energy of the Fire Element surging at them from behind.

“It’s a Fiery Fist enchanted by a magic formation!” Mu Bai was shocked. The Battlemages were stronger than they had expected. They were seriously injured by the Enormous White Wolves and the lightning explosion, yet they could still cast such a powerful spell!

Mu Bai had already slowed down; he was slightly behind Mo Fan and Heidi. He spread his will in the air and summoned ice crystals like diamonds across the area.

The ice diamonds appeared rhythmically. They combined into polygons and swiftly formed a thick ice mirror in the sandpit that Mu Bai was locking his gaze on!

The ice polygons perfectly merged together, turning into a towering, magnificent ice shield with the shape of an octagon.

The Fiery Fist enchanted by the magic formation landed right on the ice, dying the icy shield blazing red.

The icy shield was extremely sturdy. It did not have the slightest crack even after the enormous impact of the scorching flames. It even put out the flames that were spreading across it, giving Heidi enough time to Channel her spell.

“Blink!” Heidi was relieved. She began constructing a bigger Star Constellation.

Silver brilliance encapsulated the other four people. As the light reached its peak, crystalline dust sprinkled in the air and melted before it touched the ground.

The following second, the five reappeared a great distance away. Mo Fan turned around and saw Mu Bai’s ice shield was still in place. It bought Mo Fan enough time to Channel a spell!

“My turn,” Mo Fan said.

The spells cast by Fire Mages, Ice Mages, Wind Mages, and a few Lightning Mages never ceased. Those spells were not very strong on their own. In fact, Mo Fan and his crew could easily dodge them, but when the spells combined into a colorful rain pouring down from the sky, it was definitely not enjoyable to stay under it. More wounds were inflicted on Mu Bai and Heidi, while an icicle stabbed Mo Fan in the back when he was trying to protect Apas. The wound inflicted by the Ice Magic worsened rapidly.

Mo Fan took over and cast Blink. The five people once again moved a great distance away from the Battlemages.

The enemy’s numbers might be overwhelming, putting Mo Fan and his crew under great pressure, but there was a downside, too; the enemy was unable to move conveniently while maintaining their formation!

—

After Blinking away twice, the group of five was finally out of range of the enemy’s spells. They sprinted a few hundred meters away, and completely lost sight of the Egyptian soldiers.

“Just surrender, and we might consider going easy on you. Let me go and hand over the young Medusa, and we’ll treat like nothing has ever happened!… Your repulsive behavior is going against the will of the Egyptian army, and most people that do so ended up dying horrible deaths!” Major General Gangma threatened them.

The guy’s skin was no longer intact after being caught in Mo Fan’s lighting explosion, either scorched or blistered. In terms of strength, he did not even reach a tenth of Captain Saks’ level.

There were indeed high-rank authorities in the military who did not possess remarkable strength. Mo Fan had noticed Saks asking the guy for his opinion with his head lowered previously. Therefore, he had set his eyes on the man after detonating the lightning explosion. It was the only way to guarantee Zhao Manyan’s safety, since the Egyptian army might well kill them all to conceal their crimes!

Mo Fan slapped the general in the face without showing any mercy.

Gangma’s face was already scorched by lightning. Mo Fan’s slap almost ruined his face completely.

Mo Fan had seen all kinds of authorities. He was daring enough to kick anyone that he found to be an eyesore regardless of their status in his country, yet a mere general in Egypt dared to act high and mighty in front of him!?

“You little b**ch, why don’t you go to war and kill the enemies if you have the time to fool around with us? Feeding innocent girls to the Medusae? You dare to call yourself a soldier doing something like that?” Mo Fan was not done yet. He slapped the guy on the other side of his face, so both sides were symmetrical!

Mo Fan did not even have to rely on his magic. The strength provided by his demon flesh was enough to knock two teeth from Gangma’s mouth!

“HAHAHA, I don’t care who you are, but I promise you that you will never leave Egypt alive! You have no idea who you are messing with!” Gangma was not willing to yield either. He continued to threaten Mo Fan after he was beaten up.

“Mo Fan, let me give him a few punches too, once we are in a safer spot,” Mu Bai was enraged by the man’s attitude too!

“Once we rescued Old Zhao, we’ll bury this scum alive somewhere, so he will know what it feels like to be eaten alive by mummies!” Mo Fan agreed.

1545 Raising the Enemy

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group kept running in the same direction in the Bargo Land, leaving the army further behind.

It was difficult to pin down a Space Mage that had mastered Blink, let alone how Mo Fan and Heidi were able to join hands and cast Blink consecutively. A third-tier Blink was already enough to move a great distance away from an enemy, even if many soldiers in the troop could fly.

The greatest threat to Mo Fan and his crew was the Super Mage, Saks. They had no idea where Saks and Vani were fighting at. They only knew that Vani had been a great help by keeping Saks busy.

After half an hour, the soldiers that were chasing after them in the air had lost sight of them.

It did not necessarily mean the soldiers with Wind Wings and Wing Magical Equipment were slow, but when the soldiers split up and chased after Mo Fan and his crew, Mo Fan could easily pulverize them with a single bolt of lightning. After a few examples, the soldiers no longer dared to stay too close to them.

Both Mo Fan and Heidi were able to use Blink. If the soldiers could not constantly keep an eye on them, they would eventually lose sight of them. The Bargo Land was not just all sandy surfaces. They were rises, falls, dunes, and some plants too… it was not difficult to find a hiding spot.

After they were out of the Battlemage’s sight for an hour, Mu Bai noticed a figure approaching them rapidly from a kilometer away. The person’s speed was quite shocking.

“It’s Mentor Vani, he managed to escape too!” Mo Fan recognized the person.

Vani soon caught up to them. He had lost his handsome appearance. His clothes were ragged, and his back, chest, legs, and shoulders had all kinds of injuries that were inflicted by burns, scorching rays, and frost.

“How could you do such a thing to me!?” Vani blurted out angrily.

“We are all going to be taken out if we didn’t run in time. It wouldn’t do us any good. We only have a chance by holding this guy as a hostage,” Mo Fan replied.

“I wasn’t referring to that, you should have told me that you were retreating. I almost died to those enraged soldiers!” Vani said.

“Oh, oh, I thought you saw us leaving. Besides, you are a Super Mage. You shouldn’t have any trouble running away from them despite their numbers,” Mo Fan replied guilelessly.

Vani was infuriated, yet he knew now was not the time to argue. His students were still being held captive by the Egyptian soldiers. He was all alone and helpless in the wild. He was unsure of what to do!

“Heal up first, you might die if the injuries worsen any further,” Heidi reminded him.

Vani sat down while panting heavily. He was about to take some medicine from his backpack, but he noticed that his backpack had been destroyed during the battle.

Not only was his backpack destroyed, but all his belongings were, too! He did not even have a valid proof of identity left! Even the people at the embassy would not bother to help him…

“Here, I can see that you’ve tried your best to help, but try not to use too much of it at once. It’s very expensive!” Mo Fan gave Vani an Elemental Potion.

The Elemental Potions were products of the Parthenon Temple. They were useful for treating the long-lasting effects of Elements like Fire, Light, and Ice. The Parthenon Temple would only sell these Potions when they were running short on funds, quickly replenishing their cash reserves when they did so!

Xinxia had prepared a whole bag of Potions for Mo Fan. Vani had been a great help keeping Saks busy, or they might have struggled to capture the general. It was important for the man to recover his strength quickly!

“Thank, thank you so much.” Mentor Vani’s anger dissipated when he saw Mo Fan offering him such an expensive medicine.

“Why do I feel like you have a lot of medicines from the Parthenon Temple?” Heidi asked with a confused face.

Only people that were close to someone from the Parthenon Temple would have access to these medicines, and the person had to be from the Hall of the Goddess, too!

Heidi did not have a good impression of the Parthenon Temple. She treated the Parthenon Temple that kept picking on the Alps Institute as an enemy just like every other Mage from the Alps Institute!

“His child bride is…” Mu Bai was just about to spill the beans when he saw Mo Fan glaring at him.

“Child bride? What’s a child bride?” Heidi was unfamiliar with the term.

“Let’s focus on the matters on hand first. It seems the Egyptian army is feeding the young Medusa. I wonder if some general is responsible for it, or if his superiors know about it,” Mo Fan interrupted.

He initially thought only the Black Vatican would collude with the demon creatures to persecute humans, yet people like these soldiers kept widening his view of the world!

“Aren’t they still fighting a war against the snake and scorpion demons? The outskirts of Cairo are full of them. Why would they be feeding the rulers of the demon creatures they are fighting against!? Wouldn’t they be raising the enemy instead?” Heidi was struggling to understand the reasoning behind it!

Raising the enemy?

A young Medusa might be a Ruler-level creature in the future. A Ruler-level creature could easily bring a great disaster upon a city, not to mention the enormous horde of demon creatures that a Ruler-level creature had control over!

“Apas, what else do you know? Did they tell you the reason why they were feeding you to the young Medusa?” Mo Fan asked.

Apas shook her head. She did not know much. The soldiers around the young Medusa never said anything.

“Could it be related to some conflict between political factions?” Vani proposed.

“Colluding with demon creatures? If Cairo lost the war, I don’t think any party would benefit from it,” Mo Fan disagreed.

If they had done it for a mere political conflict, they would be no different than the Black Vatican. They were meant to serve the people, not to be detested by them!

“The young Medusa has fallen into the army’s hands, too. We won’t be able to get rid of the Curse,” Mu Bai sighed.

They had worked so hard to capture the young Medusa, but they were set up by the army instead. It turned out that demon creatures were truly not the scariest thing in the world…

“We should find a way to enter the city and contact Fenna,” Mo Fan said.

“Humph, that woman might be siding with those scum too!” Vani scoffed.

“I doubt it, I believe she had no idea about it. We need her help if we want to save Old Zhao and the others,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had fought side by side with Fenna. He trusted her; she would never collude with soldiers that were feeding little girls to the young Medusa!

“Can’t we wait for this guy to wake up and interrogate him instead?” Heidi said, pointing at Gangma that was lying still on the ground.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai were startled.

That’s right! Why would they bother guessing what the reason was? They still had an important hostage in their hands still. They found it hard to believe that the man would insist on keeping his mouth shut…

1545 Raising the Enemy

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group kept running in the same direction in the Bargo Land, leaving the army further behind.

It was difficult to pin down a Space Mage that had mastered Blink, let alone how Mo Fan and Heidi were able to join hands and cast Blink consecutively. A third-tier Blink was already enough to move a great distance away from an enemy, even if many soldiers in the troop could fly.

The greatest threat to Mo Fan and his crew was the Super Mage, Saks. They had no idea where Saks and Vani were fighting at. They only knew that Vani had been a great help by keeping Saks busy.

After half an hour, the soldiers that were chasing after them in the air had lost sight of them.

It did not necessarily mean the soldiers with Wind Wings and Wing Magical Equipment were slow, but when the soldiers split up and chased after Mo Fan and his crew, Mo Fan could easily pulverize them with a single bolt of lightning. After a few examples, the soldiers no longer dared to stay too close to them.

Both Mo Fan and Heidi were able to use Blink. If the soldiers could not constantly keep an eye on them, they would eventually lose sight of them. The Bargo Land was not just all sandy surfaces. They were rises, falls, dunes, and some plants too… it was not difficult to find a hiding spot.

After they were out of the Battlemage’s sight for an hour, Mu Bai noticed a figure approaching them rapidly from a kilometer away. The person’s speed was quite shocking.

“It’s Mentor Vani, he managed to escape too!” Mo Fan recognized the person.

Vani soon caught up to them. He had lost his handsome appearance. His clothes were ragged, and his back, chest, legs, and shoulders had all kinds of injuries that were inflicted by burns, scorching rays, and frost.

“How could you do such a thing to me!?” Vani blurted out angrily.

“We are all going to be taken out if we didn’t run in time. It wouldn’t do us any good. We only have a chance by holding this guy as a hostage,” Mo Fan replied.

“I wasn’t referring to that, you should have told me that you were retreating. I almost died to those enraged soldiers!” Vani said.

“Oh, oh, I thought you saw us leaving. Besides, you are a Super Mage. You shouldn’t have any trouble running away from them despite their numbers,” Mo Fan replied guilelessly.

Vani was infuriated, yet he knew now was not the time to argue. His students were still being held captive by the Egyptian soldiers. He was all alone and helpless in the wild. He was unsure of what to do!

“Heal up first, you might die if the injuries worsen any further,” Heidi reminded him.

Vani sat down while panting heavily. He was about to take some medicine from his backpack, but he noticed that his backpack had been destroyed during the battle.

Not only was his backpack destroyed, but all his belongings were, too! He did not even have a valid proof of identity left! Even the people at the embassy would not bother to help him…

“Here, I can see that you’ve tried your best to help, but try not to use too much of it at once. It’s very expensive!” Mo Fan gave Vani an Elemental Potion.

The Elemental Potions were products of the Parthenon Temple. They were useful for treating the long-lasting effects of Elements like Fire, Light, and Ice. The Parthenon Temple would only sell these Potions when they were running short on funds, quickly replenishing their cash reserves when they did so!

Xinxia had prepared a whole bag of Potions for Mo Fan. Vani had been a great help keeping Saks busy, or they might have struggled to capture the general. It was important for the man to recover his strength quickly!

“Thank, thank you so much.” Mentor Vani’s anger dissipated when he saw Mo Fan offering him such an expensive medicine.

“Why do I feel like you have a lot of medicines from the Parthenon Temple?” Heidi asked with a confused face.

Only people that were close to someone from the Parthenon Temple would have access to these medicines, and the person had to be from the Hall of the Goddess, too!

Heidi did not have a good impression of the Parthenon Temple. She treated the Parthenon Temple that kept picking on the Alps Institute as an enemy just like every other Mage from the Alps Institute!

“His child bride is…” Mu Bai was just about to spill the beans when he saw Mo Fan glaring at him.

“Child bride? What’s a child bride?” Heidi was unfamiliar with the term.

“Let’s focus on the matters on hand first. It seems the Egyptian army is feeding the young Medusa. I wonder if some general is responsible for it, or if his superiors know about it,” Mo Fan interrupted.

He initially thought only the Black Vatican would collude with the demon creatures to persecute humans, yet people like these soldiers kept widening his view of the world!

“Aren’t they still fighting a war against the snake and scorpion demons? The outskirts of Cairo are full of them. Why would they be feeding the rulers of the demon creatures they are fighting against!? Wouldn’t they be raising the enemy instead?” Heidi was struggling to understand the reasoning behind it!

Raising the enemy?

A young Medusa might be a Ruler-level creature in the future. A Ruler-level creature could easily bring a great disaster upon a city, not to mention the enormous horde of demon creatures that a Ruler-level creature had control over!

“Apas, what else do you know? Did they tell you the reason why they were feeding you to the young Medusa?” Mo Fan asked.

Apas shook her head. She did not know much. The soldiers around the young Medusa never said anything.

“Could it be related to some conflict between political factions?” Vani proposed.

“Colluding with demon creatures? If Cairo lost the war, I don’t think any party would benefit from it,” Mo Fan disagreed.

If they had done it for a mere political conflict, they would be no different than the Black Vatican. They were meant to serve the people, not to be detested by them!

“The young Medusa has fallen into the army’s hands, too. We won’t be able to get rid of the Curse,” Mu Bai sighed.

They had worked so hard to capture the young Medusa, but they were set up by the army instead. It turned out that demon creatures were truly not the scariest thing in the world…

“We should find a way to enter the city and contact Fenna,” Mo Fan said.

“Humph, that woman might be siding with those scum too!” Vani scoffed.

“I doubt it, I believe she had no idea about it. We need her help if we want to save Old Zhao and the others,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had fought side by side with Fenna. He trusted her; she would never collude with soldiers that were feeding little girls to the young Medusa!

“Can’t we wait for this guy to wake up and interrogate him instead?” Heidi said, pointing at Gangma that was lying still on the ground.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai were startled.

That’s right! Why would they bother guessing what the reason was? They still had an important hostage in their hands still. They found it hard to believe that the man would insist on keeping his mouth shut…

1546 The Army“s Commanders

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

There was a square tower in Cairo that faced the Great Pyramid of Giza. The square tower was primarily built of a special kind of crystalline glass. Instead of reflecting the bright sunlight in the day, it absorbed it instead!

At night, when the serene deathlight loomed over the land, the square tower would emit the light that it had stored throughout the day. Even though the light was not strong enough to kill the undead, it could temporarily nullify the effects of the deathlight.

The undead in the Ancient Capital relied on the deathly aura to provide them energy. Meanwhile, the undead in Egypt relied on the deathlight. The undead could not reach areas that were not covered by the deathlight.

Cairo had been attacked by enormous numbers of undead recently, including the aggressive invasion from the Pyramid of Khafre. The square tower had played an important role in stopping the undead’s invasion several times.

The undead had been restless over the past few days, but the numbers of the snake and scorpion demons did not decrease because of it. The people of Cairo were constantly discussing the war. They no longer treated it as indifferently as they usually did. An uneasy, doubtful atmosphere lingered in the city.

The square tower was Cairo’s most reliable defense. The prolonged war had only just begun, but Cairo’s government had already been forced to activate the square tower to defend them. The people were not stupid; they could easily tell how their army was doing from the authorities’ decision to activate the square tower’s defense!

—

Atop the square tower was a headquarters in the shape of a tiny pyramid.

Captain Saks stood at the center of the room in the headquarters. A long table in the shape of a crescent was situated in front of the thirty-meter window. The table had five seats, meant for the five leaders of Cairo’s army.

There were only two people in the room. One was Saks, who had his head lowered. He did not dare make a single sound.

The other was a middle-aged man seated in the middle seat of the table. He had a tanned face covered in wrinkles. He looked like a wilting tree without any presence of life, but his pitch-black eyes were staring at Saks, who did not even have the guts to meet the man’s sharp gaze, which currently resembled the stare of a dangerous beast!

“Do you understand why you are only a captain even now!?” the man with cold eyes grunted.

“I was too careless; I didn’t expect them to have a Super Mage among them, nor did I think…” Saks said.

“You didn’t expect, you didn’t think… how many times have I told you that this world is controlled by those with a brain, not by people who have nothing but a rather acceptable cultivation like you!” his commander scolded him.

Saks did not dare to speak. He straightened his figure like a soldier, but the hands at his sides were trembling slightly.

“Luckily, they were just a bunch of kids that accidentally interfered with our plan. Otherwise, your brain would be soaking in my wine cellar by now!” the man said.

“Yes, I understand… but what about Major General Gangma?…” Saks asked softly.

“As long as their friends are still in our hands, they wouldn’t dare to kill him, but the European University Institute… it’s not easy to get by with them, are the people you caught still alive?” the mastermind asked.

“They are, I didn’t dare to kill them after seeing how outstanding their cultivation was. I believed it was better to contact you first,” Saks said.

“Don’t you have a few vessels with unknown identities that you normally vent your desires on?” his commander said.

“No, I don’t…” Saks quickly denied.

“Humph, do you think I’m not aware of your weird fetishes? The young Medusa must be furious now. You know what to do, placate her and deal with the others that escaped!” the mastermind said.

“They ran away too quickly, I’m afraid my men won’t be able to find them,” Saks replied.

“I’ll send someone to deal with them. Write a report about how your troop was attacked by some unknown bandits, just in case Haken discovers that you’ve allocated men to your troop without permission,” the mastermind said.

“Yes, I’ll get on with it,” Saks said.

His commander harrumphed coldly. He was about to say something when the sound of boots tapping on the floor came from outside the room.

Saks immediately turned around and saw the door being pushed open. A short, old man with a coat almost reaching the ground draped over his shoulders came into the room.

Saks immediately saluted when he saw the man, trying to hide his sudden anxiety.

The old man did not look at Saks, and walked to the table instead.

When Saks turned around, he noticed that his commander had already moved from the center seat to the one beside it. The hunched old man with a hunchback did not have an imposing appearance compared to his commander, but he walked straight to the middle seat and sat there.

The old man realized something was not right as soon as he sat down. He looked at the man beside him and asked in a mocking voice, “You really like this spot?”

“You’ve spent all your energy and time ruling over Cairo. It’s about time you move to somewhere peaceful beyond the deathlight’s reach, and buy yourself a pet dog or bird. It’s more suitable for you to interact with little animals now, instead of the savage creatures that keep trying to destroy our city,” the mastermind replied ruthlessly.

“I remembered how sincere and open-hearted you used to be when you were just a major general, but ever since you were assigned a seat here, it feels as if your eyes have been clouded and your heart polluted. I’m quite curious, what was the thing that changed you!?” the old man replied calmly.

“Perhaps it’s because of how incompetent someone is, or perhaps it’s the choice of the people, or maybe growing old does take away a person’s courage and motivation to fight,” the mastermind answered.

“I see. If Cairo is still standing after the battle, I won’t be disgusted by the warm seat you left me with next time, but isn’t the area you are in charge of now in a complete mess? I heard many people discussing how idiotic your strategy is when I went to the streets to get myself some milk tea. I have a disciple who unfortunately was assigned to your frontline troop. He promised me that he would come back in time to celebrate my birthday before the battle, but last night, I didn’t get to receive his present, nor could I hear his pleasant laughter. I can only eat the slice of birthday cake that I purposely left for him myself, even though consuming too much sugar might make me die quicker. Now, can you leave your mask aside and tell me, did you already know that troop wouldn’t be coming back before sending them out?” the old man asked.

“It was just an attempt, but he indeed gave me a surprise by dying to the mummies. Therefore, I had no choice but to let my subordinate replace him. The missions assigned to my men aren’t any easier, but my men always live and accomplish their missions,” the mastermind replied smoothly.

“Yeah, now that you mention it, the demon creatures are always friendlier to your men,” the old man, named Haken, agreed.

“The undead will be attacking with the snake demons next time. You should place me in charge of the army so you can mourn for your disciple,” the other said.

“That’s not something for us to decide. By the way, did you send out a patrolling squad yesterday? My men saw Saks’s troop fighting against people with magic,” the old man countered.

“Commander-in-chief, my troop stumbled into a bunch of bandits that were trying to take advantage of the situation our city is in. They were unable to prove their identity to us when we approached them. They suddenly attacked us when we tried to bring them back, thus we had no choice but to arrest them,” Saks explained quickly.

“Oh, then I guess it’s nothing worth mentioning,” the old man said calmly.

“Yes, it’s nothing indeed,” Saks nodded.

“Did you read General Fenna’s report?” the old man asked.

“I did, it’s complete nonsense. I’ve rejected it, and scolded her for it, too,” the other scoffed.

“It’s indeed quite ridiculous.”

“It’s seriously a very stupid decision to promote the lieutenant general of a frontier fortress to a general in Cairo for the small contributions she has made,” the commander said.

“Well, she just didn’t have any chance to display her talents.”

“She thought it would bring peace to Egypt, how amusing!” the commander sneered.

“Ethan, it’s not wrong to believe in something like that,” Haken chided him.

—

—

In the outskirts to the west of Cairo…

Mo Fan, Heidi, Mu Bai, Vani, and Apas were moving back and forth at the edge of the safe zone. Evening came soon, and the snake demons would be active again. The Curse of the Vengeful Eyes had returned. The low-level snake demons kept showing up out of nowhere around them.

“Damn it, the army has listed us as wanted! Every entrance is stationed with soldiers. If we try to go inside, we’ll find ourselves surrounded in no time,” Mentor Vani exclaimed angrily.

They were prevented from entering the city, and the snake demons were closing on them too. They were currently in a pinch!

“This is absurd, we are clearly the victims, but we have somehow become bandits that attacked the army for no reason!” Heidi was infuriated. She never thought the army of a country could manipulate the truth to such an extent!

“I already knew this was going to happen. We have to figure out a way to sneak through the soldiers and enter the city. We have to tell Fenna what happened,” Mo Fan said.

“There are guards everywhere. There’s a war going on now; I doubt there’s any way we can sneak into the city,” Mu Bai shook his head.

“There’s always an opening. Cairo is so big. There must be some areas with a weaker defense. We might be able to break through with our strength, but the army is indeed a lot stronger than we thought. It looks like that Gangma wasn’t lying to us,” Mo Fan said.

“The city must be guarded by many troops, but they all have listed us as wanted in just a day or two. It looks like the guy whose tail we stepped on isn’t just a general!” Mu Bai observed.

1547 No Room to Advance or to Retrea

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Major General Gangma was leaning against the trunk of an old tree. He chuckled when he saw Mo Fan and the others had nowhere to go.

“Seriously, you could have taken the easy way out in the first place. Do you have any idea who you are going against? Your only chance of survival is to treat me nicely, hand that little girl to me, and send me back to the army!” Major General Gangma said.

Mo Fan could not enter Cairo, but it was difficult to leave now, too. The snake demons were watching them closely. As soon as they left the city’s vicinity, the snake demons would surround them right away. First, kidnapping the young Medusa had infuriated them. Second, the Curse of the Vengeful Eyes would keep attracting them, too!

They were unable to leave and enter the city. If they continued to waste their time, the Curse would only worsen. It would be easier for the snake demons to find them!

“Are your bones itching again?” Mo Fan asked Gangma.

Gangma was quite scared of Mo Fan. The torture he was experiencing when Mo Fan injected the Dark Material into his body was absolutely unbearable. Even though Major General Gangma no longer had any secrets to offer, he did not want to be tortured again!

“Why don’t we just give this guy back? I’m really worried about my students now,” Mentor Vani said after a moment’s hesitation.

He was the mentor in charge of the students, and would be held responsible if anything happened to the students. Vani was already afraid when the army listed them as wanted. He might be a Super Mage, but he was only a teacher without any real authority. He was nothing compared to the generals and commanders!

Vani knew what kind of people he could not afford to mess with, so he believed he was in deep trouble now.

“Send him back? Do you really think the Egyptian army will go easy on us? They can attack us without even asking who we are. It means they don’t even care, taking us out is going to save them a lot of trouble!” Mo Fan said.

Compromise?

If they decided to compromise, they would be placing their lives and dignity in the hands of others! It was something that Mo Fan hated the most.

“But we are going to die too at this rate. It’s fine if those big snakes show up, but if the Red Medusa finds us, we are screwed!” Vani countered.

“It seems like the teacher is the sensible one among you guys. Don’t worry, you are from the European University Institute. Our army has no reason to provoke such a reputable school. Just forget what you saw and hand the girl to us. I can promise you that you will leave Egypt safely. I can even let the army settle the contribution seals for your students to complete the trial, so you can return to your school in glory,” Major General Gangma spoke up again.

“Just keep your mouth shut!” Mo Fan kicked Gangma in the chest. The man almost vomited blood .

“What are you doing? Torturing him won’t do us any good. I think it’s not a bad idea to have a backup plan!” Mentor Vani exclaimed.

Mo Fan ignored Vani, and went to the higher ground. The sun was setting in the west. The snake demons were going to be active soon, which meant the Curse would worsen too. It was going to be another tough fight!

Apas knelt down beside Mo Fan and stared at the setting sun. Her face was tender and beautiful. However, her clear, beautiful eyes did not have any energy in them.

“Big brother, am I causing you a lot of trouble?” Apas asked softly.

Gangma heard Apas’ words. It was true that she was the cause of everything. The Egyptian army could spare Mo Fan and the others, as after all, their strength and background were not that simple. But they could not afford to lose Apas, since they did not want anyone to know they were feeding the young Medusa. If it was disclosed to the public, it would stir up great chaos in Egypt, or even the entire world!

“I’ve met greater troubles than this, this is nothing,” Mo Fan patted Apas’ disheveled hair.

Apas slowly raised her head. She stared at Mo Fan for a long time, so long that Mo Fan was starting to feel a little awkward.

Apas was indeed very good-looking. Mo Fan was astounded by her beauty when he laid his eyes on her the first time. It was the main reason why he assumed she was the young Medusa, her innocent yet alluring looks. She was supposed to be a pure little girl, yet her temperament was so attractive.

Mo Fan moved his gaze away. Otherwise, the girl might notice that she had hooked his soul away.

“Do you like me?” Apas said in a serious voice.

“Ah? Why would you ask that!?” Mo Fan was startled.

“If you don’t like me, why are you protecting me?” Apas asked.

Mo Fan was slightly amused by the question. He explained, “It has nothing to do with liking a person or not. I’m a man with flesh and blood. Just like most people, I hate cruel and filthy things. However, the world is full of these things, and I can’t eliminate them all like a hero of justice. But if I stumble into them, I can’t just treat it like I didn’t see it!”

“Oh, oh, so that means if it was someone else instead of me, you would do the same thing too, right?” Apas asked.

“More or less, but it’s a world that fancies the good-looking. Maybe I’d be more serious if the person is better looking, and I’d be more determined to save the person too,” Mo Fan agreed.

Heidi was not far away. She was quite touched when she heard the first sentence. Her impression of Mo Fan was about to change dramatically, but after hearing the second part of the sentence, she once again believed that Mo Fan was being his usual jerk self!

“This one is the last bottle we have. It will help us survive the night.” Mu Bai came over and gave them a bottle of some thin liquid.

Mu Bai managed to produce a serum that could temporarily restrain the Curse of the Vengeful Eyes. Unfortunately, the serum could only buy them some time. It could not get rid of the Curse.

“Let’s rest up. I bet we’ll be fighting a lot tomorrow, be ready for it,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Bai nodded. They had not gotten any rest for the past few days, and had even been injured by the soldiers. If they kept forcing themselves, their bodies and minds were going to break down soon.

——

The group found a safe spot to rest for the night. The snake demons did not find them when evening came; Mu Bai’s serum had worked as intended.

They were all very tired. They had to stay focused at all times during their attempt to capture the young Medusa, not to mention the endless torture of the Curse of Vengeful Eyes. They barely escaped from the army, yet the snake demons and the soldiers were still grabbing for their throats…

1548 Mo Fan Enraged!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan closed his eyes and set up a circle with the Dark Material as a defensive perimeter. If anything came close to the perimeter, the Dark Material would alert Mo Fan right away.

Mo Fan needed to rest peacefully.

Mu Bai and Heidi leaned against some rocks and soon fell asleep. Vani too was worn out, too. He lay on a pile of sand, snoring heavily.

Apas leaned against Mo Fan and breathed softly, like a little stray cat.

Their hostage Gangma no longer had any energy left, and was unable to pose any threat to the group. They did not have to worry too much about him.

The reign of the deathlight began as the evening came to an end. The serene light emitted by the Great Pyramid of Giza over a hundred kilometers away shone down upon the Bargo Land and the city. Eerie cries came out of the ground, which was surprisingly quieter than the demon creatures during the day. However, it was just the calm before the storm, a sign that the undead and the demon creatures were gathering their forces. A huge battle would erupt in less than three days. When the time came, Cairo and even the entire Bargo Land would be trembling from the marching of the enemy troops!

——

Mo Fan was able to fall into a deep sleep without the Curse of Vengeful Eyes disturbing him.

He sensed an emptiness in his heart while he was asleep. He had an urge to wake himself up a few times.

However, he was just too tired. His instincts failed to wake his worn-out body.

The temperature dropped significantly past midnight. Mo Fan realized that not everyone had sturdy flesh like him. Apas might die to the cold…

He woke up and instinctively tugged the little stray cat closer to him to help her survive the icy night.

He soon realized there was nothing on his arm!

That immediately woke Mo Fan up. He took a closer look beside him and realized that Apas was no longer there!

Apas had been sticking close to him for the past few days. She was constantly hiding in his arms, as if it was the only safe spot for her, even when she was sleeping.

However, she was no longer there. Mo Fan immediately had a bad feeling!

Mo Fan rose to his feet and looked around him.

Strong anger burned in his chest. He had purposely set up a perimeter with the Dark Material to prevent any outsiders from coming closer when they were asleep, yet he had forgotten something very important. Someone on their team had been a coward since day one!

“Vani, if anything happens to Apas, I swear I’ll seize you from the European University Institute and crush your skull by trampling on it!” Mo Fan was furious. The Dark Material gathered around him like cunning soldiers, forming a terrifying shadow around him.

Mu Bai and Heidi were awakened by Mo Fan’s angry words.

“What’s going on? What happened?” Mu Bai was given a great fright by Mo Fan’s icy appearance.

“Apas, Vani, and Gangma are missing!” Heidi exclaimed.

Mu Bai looked around him and finally saw the three were missing.

He was utterly confused; everyone might be asleep, but they never dropped their guard. Who was capable of kidnapping them without alerting anyone?

Hang on, that wasn’t it!

If the guy was that capable, why didn’t he take them out instead? Mu Bai did not believe that the army would be so nice as to spare their lives after they discovered what the soldiers were up to!

“It’s Vani… he took the others?” Mu Bai asked in astonishment.

“Why would he do that… isn’t he a mentor of the European University Institute!?” Heidi struggled to believe it.

“His identity doesn’t stop him from being a jerk!” Mo Fan’s chest heaved with rage.

Mo Fan knew Vani was not trustworthy, yet he did not expect the man to believe Gangma’s words so easily!

If the man did not want to stir up any trouble and provoke the army further, Mo Fan would not be so angry. Everyone had the right to make their own choices. However, Mo Fan could not tolerate his action of taking Apas away too!

How could Vani not know that the army was more concerned about Apas than them?

If Apas survived, their ugly doings would be exposed to the world. They would be condemned by their people and the world. If the truth was disclosed to the public, it did not matter how powerful the person responsible for it was, he would lose all his power and status in an instant, and would have nowhere to hide!

The army could spare Vani and his students’ life, as long as they did not mention a word about what they had done.

The army could also let Mo Fan and his crew go, as long as they promised to forget what they saw.

But there was one person they could not spare, even if it meant eliminating the people of the European University Institute, Mo Fan, and his crew, regardless of their identity. They could not afford to let her live!

Her being alive was the best evidence to prove them guilty. Without her, no matter how the European University Institute, Mo Fan, and the others accused them, no one would believe them… but if Apas told the world what she had gone through…

The army was after Apas; she was even more important than the young Medusa!

Cairo was currently at war with the Pyramid of Khafre. The army was the city and the country’s only hope. If the military found out that one of their leaders was responsible for the despicable act, they would still consider making Apas disappear for their own sake!

Therefore, Mo Fan would never have handed Apas over to the army. Even if Fenna personally asked him, Mo Fan would not agree to it. Even if Fenna was an honest person, it was part of her job to prevent Apas from influencing the morale of the army.

The assh*** Vani had compromised by handing Apas over to the army. She was most likely as good as dead!

It was the reason why Mo Fan was so furious!

“Mu Bai, Heidi, find a spot and hide, wait for Brianca,” Mo Fan said.

“What do you mean?” Heidi asked with a confused look.

“She might already be dead now, but I can’t just let it go,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was not afraid of trouble, but he was not naive enough to go up against an entire army. If Apas was still alive, he might still have a chance to save her, but if Apas was dead, Mo Fan would never forgive the soldiers that were involved!

Soldiers that committed any crime were usually tried in a military court. Other factions or people had no right to accuse them!

Mo Fan would rather kill himself than be told not to kill anyone. There was no such thing as compromise in his beliefs. However, killing people like Gangma and Saks was surely going to infuriate the Egyptian army. The army would never forgive Mo Fan!

Things were about to get serious. Mo Fan did not want to involve Mu Bai and Heidi.

“Mo Fan, you’re not the only person with a pounding heart. I’m not Zhao Manyan, I’m not afraid of death!” Mu Bai said.

“If I do nothing, I’ll be living in guilt for the rest of my life!” Heidi agreed firmly.

1549 Breaking Through With Force!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The security was tight. Even the simple openings guarded by sentries were protected by magic formations. If anyone came close to them, the sentries would be alerted immediately.

It was why they had struggled to find a way into the city, but Mo Fan could not care less anymore. He could only hope that Apas was still alive. He had no choice but to break into the city by force!

It was like a piercing note produced by string instruments. When Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Heidi crossed the formation, it immediately sounded the alarm. White rays of light shone down at Mo Fan and the others from different directions. The light was so bright that it was difficult to see their surroundings clearly.

“Intruders!”

“Prepare to engage the enemy!”

Patrols came very quickly. Several Mages rode huge birds assigned to them as mounts. They flew from the watchtowers with glaring eyes!

“Tell us who you are immediately, or we will cast destructive spells at you!” a captain riding an enormous red bird in the air shouted at them.

“Tell you my ass!” Mo Fan was completely driven by anger. He insisted on breaking through forcibly.

He ignited his hand and tossed the flame into the sky.

Mo Fan was extremely quick at casting Basic Spells. As soon as the first spell rose into the sky, the second, third, and fourth followed immediately! The Fire Bursts formed a long spray of fireballs!

The fireballs exploded in the sky. The explosions knocked the patrols around and completely disrupted their formation. One of them even fell from the sky.

The feathers of the enormous red birds were set aflame. The flames of the explosions scattered in the air, making it difficult for the patrols to cast their magic.

“Chaos Vortex!”

The blinding light severely limited their vision, and their location was completely exposed. Heidi used her Chaos Magic to absorb the white light.

The white light was further enchanted by the Chaos Element. When the vortex spun in the opposite direction, it fired rays of light that were even brighter back at the sentries. They suddenly had no targets to cast their spells on after the light blinded them, or if they had moved. They might even accidentally cast the spells at their allies!

“This way!” Mu Bai led the way. He had Summoned a rapid-flowing tide under his feet. The tide was carrying him right toward the wall ahead.

There were around thirty Battlemages on the wall, but their cultivation was not very impressive. They did not stand a chance against the huge tide that Mu Bai had Summoned. They quickly fled to the sides, and did not even dare to connect their Star Orbits.

When the tide almost reached the wall, Mu Bai dropped down from it with a backflip. The enormous tide rammed into the wall like a fierce beast.

The watchtowers were knocked to the ground by the ferocious tide. It even caught a few soldiers that were too slow.

“Attack!” a commander among the soldiers yelled. Flames of different sizes appeared around Mu Bai before the tide completely dissipated.

The flames mainly consisted of Fire Bursts, supplemented by quite a number of Fiery Fists. The trajectory of the flames was obvious since it was nighttime, and their numbers were overwhelming.

“Frost Mirror!” Mu Bai uttered, slowly lifting his hands. Thick mirrors of ice formed in the air around him spreading across the area. They did not look sturdy, but the mirrors at different distances and heights started spinning in a counter-clockwise motion. They blocked the flames pouring down from different angles. Not even the slightest wisp managed to land on Mu Bai!

“Stay close to me, we shouldn’t waste too much time fighting them!” Mu Bai said.

Mo Fan saw Mu Bai clearing the path after he took out the Mages in the sky. He immediately turned into a shadow bird to catch up to him.

“There’s a squad ahead,” Mo Fan noticed another squad standing behind the fallen wall. It felt like they had been here all along, waiting for intruders.

“Wind Mages,” Heidi could sense a strong air pressure gathering ahead, indicating that they were casting Wind Spells simultaneously!

The Wind Disc spells could stack up without relying on a magic formation. They could easily produce a terrifying storm when enough Wind Mages were casting the spell at the same time!

“We can’t let them finish the spell!” Mu Bai harrumphed coldly, pointing his finger ahead. The mirrors of ice around him suddenly sped up significantly. They started flying at the squad of Wind Mages like enlarged icicles!

A huge bunch of the Wind Mages fell to the ground, blood splattering across the ground. The squad was instantly taken out by the icicles.

Mu Bai’s control of the Ice Magic was very impressive. The ice only severed the limbs of the Wind Mages, without endangering their lives. He could have killed these low-level soldiers with ease!

The sentries were incomparable to the elite soldiers. These soldiers had no chance of stopping Mo Fan and his crew!

A louder alarm was sounded. Mo Fan glanced at the military fortress not far away and noticed a few figures with wings heading toward him.

It seemed the sentries were well aware of their situation. They knew the enemy was too much for them to handle, so they immediately alerted the stronger troops nearby!

“We’ll reach the city after passing through here,” Mo Fan said.

The army’s numbers were overwhelming. There was no way the three could just keep fighting. Their best option was to sneak into the city before the enemy’s reinforcements came, and find a hiding spot there.

The main army was currently focusing on fighting the demon creatures. It was unlikely they would allocate too many soldiers just to deal with three intruders. Therefore, the trio had to find a way to sneak into the city before any stronger troops or Mages arrived.

The wall was around five kilometers from the city. Those five kilometers used to be part of Cairo, but the people were all evacuated when the battle started.

The streets, structures, and warehouses in the area were roughly built. Mo Fan and his crew did not have to worry about civilians when fighting the soldiers.

However, there were still a lot of barracks nearby. They were worried that a strong troop would show up and stop them from advancing any further… Egypt’s capital was certainly not the easiest place to break through!

1550 Khafre“s Invasion

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The trio sprinted across a deserted spacious land. Suddenly, a white bolt of lightning with hints of purple came down from the sky and landed on a truck in front of them.

The truck exploded instantly, bursting into flames. Its broken parts sprayed at Mo Fan, Heidi, and Mu Bai, forcing them to stop.

“Humph, you imbeciles dare to invade when I, Charun, am in charge? I will give you a chance to turn yourself in, considering how young you are. Otherwise, when I start to attack, you shouldn’t blame me for executing you right on the spot! As the chief guard here, I have the right to execute you right away!” A middle-aged man, flickering with a mix of white and purple light, was shouting from atop on a tall warehouse built with metal sheets.

Four squads of Battlemages showed up at the spacious junction while the man was speaking, each numbering around thirty people. Even though they were not necessarily elites, they were a lot stronger than the sentries!

“Chief guard, a lot of our sentries are heavily injured. We shouldn’t waste any time with them. They have broken the law and trespassed into a forbidden area with force. It’s the greatest insult to our army!” a soldier in gray casual clothes on the ground called out.

“Leave the woman to me!” a woman with disheveled hair beside the soldier in gray clothes spoke up, proud and disdainful, “I thought I could go to bed early tonight, yet some disrespectful jerks had to challenge our troop! Is it because we haven’t been on the front line for too long, so people have stopped treating us seriously?”

“The rest of you, just hold your positions and don’t let them run around like mice! Saudi, take out the Ice Mage, leave the guy beside him to me! Saumi… oh, you already found your opponent!” Charun jumped down from the warehouse. He did not let the soldiers interfere, showing how confident he was.

The three of them slowly moved up and stood opposite Mo Fan and his crew.

The Maga with wet hair, Saumi, walked up to them boldly. She stared at Heidi and said mockingly, “Hey, you have my favorite blue eyes. I should consider including your beautiful eyes in my collection after you die…”

“I’m in a hurry here, piss off, will you!?” Mo Fan was enraged after seeing how the woman kept making a display of herself and wasting his time.

Mo Fan summoned a bolt of lightning into his hand. The lightning crackled wildly and turned into a thick lightning spear when he tossed it into the air. The lightning surged fiercely and whipped at the ground and the buildings on both sides. The street lamps shattered in the strong electric field.

The Maga Saumi chortled. She casually slid backward with Earth Magic to dodge the spear. The spear landed on where she had been standing on a second late.

“I’m not interested in you, I said that my opponent is…” Saumi looked at Mo Fan disdainfully.

The lightning spear started releasing dense lightning arcs to form a giant web. It looked like countless enormous black eels weaving through the air rapidly!

The Lightning Disaster reached her feet before she could finish her sentence. The huge explosion the wild lightning triggered under her knocked her flying!

Saumi was sent tumbling from the junction all the way to the storage warehouse at the end of the road. The long hair she had delicately combed was now scorched black. She was stuck to a wall, twitching uncontrollably.

The four squads of soldiers were stunned after watching one of their leaders get sent flying across the sky and falling unconscious!

A single spell! Their leader was knocked out by a single spell!

How did the guy do it!?

“Damn it, such a dirty move!” Captain Saudi was infuriated. He sprang forward like a fierce gust of wind.

His movements were unpredictable. When someone saw him in front, he would instantly move to the side, looking for the perfect blind spot to attack his enemy!

“A piece of trash like you shouldn’t bother embarrassing yourself!” Mo Fan completely lost his temper. He had initially planned to go easy on them, since they were soldiers, but he had totally lost the patience for it.

Mo Fan’s eyes emitted a silver glitter as he suddenly glanced at the area Saudi was in.

An invisible rhomboid encapsulated Saudi like a transparent cage. Saudi had outstanding speed when utilizing his Wind Magic, but when Mo Fan locked his gaze on him, his speed dropped dramatically.

A moment later, the blowing wind that was carrying Saudi turned into a Wind Track, and Saudi had gone from riding the wind to running on his feet. When the light emitted by Mo Fan’s eyes reached its peak, Saudi was shocked when he noticed he was actually walking quite slowly.

“Space Element: Time Stasis!” Chief Guard Charun blurted out in astonishment.

Saudi was so slow in Mo Fan’s Space Rhythm that he was barely moving. In the end, he was knocked into the air by Mo Fan’s Telekinesis.

Saudi spat out a mouthful of blood like a red fountain as he flew into the air. The soldiers suddenly felt their view of the world toppling once again after witnessing Saudi’s miserable defeat!

“You’re the only one left. Are you going to leave yourself, or do you want me to do it for you?” Mo Fan looked up at the Chief Guard.

The pride and imperiousness that Charun had initially displayed had only lasted briefly. He finally realized that these three young mages that had dared to break through their defense by force were no ordinary people!

“Humph, the Space Element isn’t necessarily unbeatable. Have a taste of my Eagle Lightning!” Charun had no excuse to back away as a soldier.

“I’ll give you three attempts to attack me with your lightning. If you can hurt even a single strand of my hair, you can do anything to my friends and I. Otherwise, take your men and leave at once, so you won’t waste any more of my time!” Mo Fan returned.

“You’re too full of yourself!” Charun was enraged.

Charun was an Advanced Mage. When he drew the seven purple Star Patterns, a glowing purple eagle sprang into the sky as the Star Constellation was formed.

The Starry Eagle dissipated in the sky and brought down a fierce bolt of lightning. The lightning eagle dove down at Mo Fan recklessly.

Mo Fan remained motionless. He did not use any magic to defend himself.

The powerful Eagle Lightning landed on him. The people nearby felt their ears buzzing and their eyes dazzled by the terrifying impact.

The ground cracked apart. The steel gates and windows nearby were shattered into pieces, but Mo Fan, who was right in the middle of the impact, was perfectly unharmed. Instead, he seemed to be enjoying it, as if it was some soothing sunlight.

“This…” Charun’s eyes almost fell out.

His lightning was ineffective against the kid?

“He…he really is… unharmed…” The soldiers that were standing further away struggled to believe their eyes.

Their commander was an Advanced Lightning Mage, yet he could not even harm a young man in his twenties!

“Again!” Charun yelled angrily. He cast a Silent Deadly Bolt at Mo Fan. The extremely penetrative lightning bolts struck Mo Fan with their full force!

In response, a dark lightning barrier surrounded Mo Fan and nullified the bolts. He was unharmed once again!

Charun was on the verge of losing his mind.

He did not even bother with his third attempt. His first two attacks were already his strongest lightning spells, so other spells were clearly not going to work. Charun was now convinced that the guy had a Soul-grade Lightning Seed at least a few times stronger than his. However, he was still struggling to accept the fact that his Soul-grade Lightning Seed could not even hurt a single stand of the guy’s hair!

“Chief… are you alright?” A few soldiers went over to support the demoralized Charun.

It took Charun some time to collect his thoughts. He glanced at Mo Fan and the other two, who had already headed into the distance.

It was truly a great humiliation. It felt like his flesh had just been struck by a bolt of lightning. His dignity had dispersed like smoke!

He never knew the difference between Mages of the same level could be so huge!

—

A loud crash came from the wall when Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Heidi were on their way to the city. Mo Fan turned around and saw half of the nearby fortress collapsing to the ground all of a sudden. He noticed an enormous silhouette revealed by the faint glow of magic. It had just slammed its tail into the fortress’ walls!

Not long after, more enormous creatures showed up from the same direction. The Mages with wings that were previously on their trail quickly turned around and headed back toward the fortress.

“What’s going on?” Heidi blurted out.

“It seems like they are being attacked by an enormous snake,” Mo Fan said.

“Just in time, there won’t be any resistance then,” Mu Bai nodded without a shred of sympathy.

The Mages in the fortress were the true elites in the army. The sentries, patrols, and guards did not stand a chance against Mo Fan and his crew.

Mo Fan might have considered lending a hand if the army had not manipulated the truth and inverted right and wrong. He had always been a fan of fighting demon creatures.

However, not only did he pretend he did not see the fortress collapsing, he was even grateful for the demon creatures distracting the powerful Mages!

“The Pyramid of Khafre is finally invading the city tonight!” Mu Bai guessed.

1551 Catching Everything in One Ne

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In addition to the snake and scorpion demons, the undead, mostly mummies, gradually showed up, too. Cairo was already struggling to fend off the snake and scorpion demons, and now the undead army that was so tough to kill with its overwhelming numbers was pressing forward, too. It was difficult to tell how long Cairo could defend itself!

Cairo was in the worst situation possible. Half of the city had been taken by the undead. They had slowly reclaimed their land after holing up and waiting patiently for a long time.

The deathlight of the Pyramid of Khafre reached even further away than it usually did. The deathlight covered the entire city, and awakened the undead scattered across Gisele and the Bargo Land.

The longer the deathlight lasted, the more likely the mummies that were in deeper slumber would awaken. Even though Cairo’s army was very experienced at defending the city, their defense would collapse without a doubt once a few Pharaohs showed up!

Thanks to the undead, the Battlemages no longer had time to waste on Mo Fan and the others!

There were a few patrol Mages still chasing them. A few squads showed up to intercept them, too, but as long as it was not a troop full of Intermediate Mages, they had no chance of stopping the three Advanced Mages.

Breaking into the city with force was a lot easier than they had imagined. That being said, they were not relieved at all, as their destination was obviously a lot more dangerous than just breaking into the city. They were going straight for the central military base!

The base was the army’s headquarters, so the people in it were at least officers. There were captains all over the place, too…

“Mo Fan, are you sure she’s at the headquarters?” Heidi asked him.

“Mm, I left some Dark Material on her, but it’s very faint,” Mo Fan replied.

The trio managed to shake the soldiers chasing them off after crossing a district. They had successfully snuck into the city. Mo Fan did not want to waste even a second further, as he still might be able to save Apas’ life.

Fenna had brought them to the military base before. Mo Fan homed in along the trail left by the Dark Material. The base was exactly where the trail was leading them to, but the Dark Material was too faint. He was unsure if Apas was still alive, but if he was in the evil soldiers’ shoes, Apas would be long gone by now!

“Let’s go and save Zhao Manyan first, we’ll be a lot safer with his help,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had to struggle to cast powerful spells when he was surrounded by too many soldiers. However, if Zhao Manyan was around, he could easily blast the enemy with his spells without worrying about his safety!

“But we don’t know where he is!” Mu Bai protested.

“I do,” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan always carried his national team Emblem. The Emblem was made of some special substance. Most warding spells could only shorten an Emblem’s signal, instead of completely blocking off the communication between them!

Zhao Manyan should not be imprisoned too far away from Apas. Mo Fan believed the Emblem would start glowing once he reached the place. He had to save the idiot first, to increase their odds of saving Apas!

—

—

The fortress in the central base had an underground chamber used to lock up soldiers that had severely violated military law. However, many people were unaware of another level of cells beneath it, where some secret operations were going on.

The issue of the European University Institute’s students was rather sensitive. Captain Saks could not afford to let the others know about their existence, so they were all locked up in the secret prison. Every cell was covered by powerful magic, preventing the prisoners from casting any spells.

“Are my students alright?” Vani asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry, they are fine. We aren’t a bunch of bandits, why would we do anything to them?” Captain Saks laughed.

“Humph, don’t let me see that Mo Fan again, or I swear I’m going to skin him alive!” Gangma grunted.

Gangma had been greatly tortured by Mo Fan. The wounds still hurt even now, but luckily, Vani had been smart enough to escort him here safely.

Vani took a few steps forward, and saw his students sitting in the cells in low spirits. They seemed to be overwhelmed by fatigue, but apart from a little frostbite, they did not have any injuries.

Vani let out a relieved sigh when he saw they were alive.

It was fine as long as everyone was still alive. If any of them died, the European University Institute was definitely going to fire him! On top of that, these students were all from formidable backgrounds and factions. They would clearly hold him responsible, too! Even if he blamed it on the Egyptian army, they would not dare to trouble a country’s army, meaning that he would still have to take the blame!

Vani walked to the cells and called out, “That’s great, you all are still alive!”

“Mr. Vani, you came to save us. What did I tell you? If we placed our hope in Mo Fan, our hair would have turned gray by the time he showed up!” Galba exclaimed.

“He was so full of himself. If he didn’t provoke the giant snake, we wouldn’t even be here in the first place!” Ferrero sneered.

Zhao Manyan looked up and stared at Gangma and Captain Saks behind Vani.

Zhao Manyan might be trapped in ice, but he had clearly seen Mo Fan seizing Gangma as a hostage to guarantee their safety, yet the man had now returned…

He could guess with his toes that Vani must have secretly brought him back here!

They were in deep trouble; Mo Fan no longer had a bargaining chip! If the military was vicious enough, the soldiers might kill them all at any time!

Zhao Manyan did not feel relieved at all. He noticed Gangma and Captain Saks whispering to one another…

—

“What now? Should we release them?” Captain Saks asked softly.

“Are you out of your mind? Of course we can’t let them go! Lock this Vani up, too! We’ll deal with them later. There are three others still on the loose. They are clearly no ordinary people, judging from their strength. We should get our hands on them first, then decide what to do about them!” Gangma said coldly.

If they were planning to silence them all, they had to catch everyone first! If they decided to kill the hostages now, the other three would immediately run away and sue them at the International Court of Justice. The Egyptian army might not be afraid of the International Court of Justice, but it would still be very troublesome for them!

Their best option was to catch the rest, and then decide to either silence them or let them go!

Captain Saks looked at Gangma and saw a vicious look in his eyes. If they did get their hands on the rest that were on the loose, he believed Gangma was more inclined to silence them permanently!

1552 Falling Ou

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Let’s lock this stupid teacher up first,” Saks slowly lifted his hand to signal a few Mages with the Psychic Element and Shadow Element.

They heard some rapid footsteps coming their way. A man in a sandy white uniform came up to Saks and Gangma.

“Major General, three intruders have snuck into the city from the south. They were spotted heading toward here!” the man reported.

“Just in time! I’ll pay him back a hundred times the pain I suffered! Felton, summon my elite troops here!” Gangma ordered.

“Major General Gangma, your elite troops have gone to battle. The majority of the army has gone to the front line, too. They aren’t many people left in the central base,” the man answered. “The Khafre Mummies are here, but the light of the Tower is still on cooldown. We can’t allow the undead to set even half a foot into the safe zone! Even the Commander-in-chief has gone to the front line. He’s the main commander of the battle, and he asked you to settle matters as soon as possible. Otherwise, he won’t go easy on you, either!” the man added.

“Damn it, damn it!” Major General Gangma yelled and waved his fists around like an enraged gorilla.

If his superior was the commander of the battle, he, as the commander’s subordinate, could easily make some contributions at the front line. He would have a great chance of being promoted to full general and beating out his rivals. Unfortunately, he had lost the chance because he was held hostage by Mo Fan. He had waited a long time for this great opportunity!

“I won’t forgive that assh***!” Gangma’s eyes were burning with rage.

“We didn’t have enough men. Those young Mages are pretty strong, especially the Fire Mage,” Saks said. Saks was intimidated by Mo Fan, even though he was a Super Mage!

“Humph, it doesn’t matter if we are short on men, we don’t necessarily have to face them ourselves.” Gangma was a weird man. He suddenly put on a dark expression, even though he was throwing a tantrum just a moment ago.

Saks was confused. If they did not have enough men, they might not stand a chance against their enemies. The soldiers of other factions would not be willing to lend them a hand, either!

Gangma went over to Mentor Vani, and patted him on the shoulder with a calm smile.

“Major General Gangma, isn’t it time to let my students go? I promise we’ll forget everything that happened in Egypt,” Vani swore. He desperately wanted to leave this place!

“Mr. Vani, we would like to let you and your students go, too, but I’m afraid my superior is still a little concerned. As you know, there are three other people that know our little secret, and they don’t seem to be willing to comply with us… the truth is, we didn’t really want to harm you, or your students wouldn’t be unharmed by now. My scouts told me that your three other companions are heading this way, and it seems like they aren’t here for a nice little talk,” Gangma informed him.

“I’ve already escorted you back as you requested, and you also promised me…” Vani said.

“Yes, I did give you my promise, but you must take into consideration our situation, too. If those three end up causing serious trouble, my superior is going to blame it on me! I’m a major general, so you can easily guess what rank my superior is if he can damn me with a single word!” Gangma murmured.

“I’m not with them. Major General Gangma, just let us go, we won’t say a word, and we have nothing to do with them, either. We won’t care what you do to them, so please let my students go,” Mentor Vani repeated.

“I believe so too… how about this. If you really mean it, help me catch the other three. I trust the European University Institute. After all, you brought me back here, but the others, I don’t think they are down for a nice little chat, so I’m afraid we can’t afford to go easy on them,” Gangma said.

“We really have nothing to do with them, but…” Vani replied with a troubled face.

“Then help us take them down. Don’t worry, we’ll deal with them afterward. The European University Institute will have nothing to do with it. As long as you help us catch those three, I can swear an oath with the Curse Element that I’ll guarantee you and your students will all leave Egypt safely!” Vani said.

“Mr. Vani, those guys are the reason we are in this mess. I’ve wanted to teach them a lesson!” Galba was quick to respond.

“Major General Gangma, the whole thing was a misunderstanding. We never wanted to provoke your army. Those guys, and this guy over here, have nothing to do with us!” Ferrero pointed at Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan cursed at Ferrero for betraying him, “Screw you!”

“Oh?” Gangma raised his brows. He stared at Zhao Manyan with a weird grin, “So, he’s with the other three?”

“Ferrero!” Zoey glared at Ferrero.

Ferrero realized what he had done, but when he thought about the trouble that these people had brought them, and how his life was still in danger, he clenched his teeth and continued, “Yes, this guy is with them. They were the ones that suggested we look for the Tear of Medusa.”

“Very well, HAHAHA!” Gangma burst out laughing.

What a surprise, Gangma initially thought they were all from the European University Institute!…

“Lock him up in a different cell, and break all his bones!” Gangma pointed at Zhao Manyan and said, “Do you have any idea how your friends treated me?”

“You are still in pretty good shape,” Zhao Manyan noticed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you look that way, too!” Gangma smiled.

A few soldiers dragged Zhao Manyan away and locked him up in another cell. They soon heard him being tied up with chains of ice.

“Major General Gangma, please don’t…” Zoey said with a troubled look.

“Zoey, keep your mouth shut. Do you not understand the situation we are in now?” Mentor Vani grunted.

Zoey was frightened by Vani’s voice, and did not dare say a word. The prison fell silent for a moment before the sound of something smashing to pieces came from Zhao Manyan’s cell. It was somewhat eerie, but they did not hear Zhao Manyan crying out in pain.

“Have you made up your mind?” Gangma asked.

“We’ll take the offer, but I hope the Major General will keep his promise, too!” Vani nodded.

They would rather face Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Heidi than the entire Egyptian army, especially when their lives were still in the army’s hands!

“Not a problem! Once you are done with them, I’ll use the Tear of Medusa to get rid of the Curse of Vengeful Eyes for you,” Gangma smiled.

“The Curse… deal!” Vani was more convinced of his decision at the mention of the Curse.

The Curse of Vengeful Eyes was the real problem that was stopping them from leaving Cairo and the Bargo Land. They had nothing to worry about now that Gangma had promised to set them free and help them deal with the Curse!

“I’ve long found them to be an eyesore!” Ferrero rose to his feet.

“Especially that Mo Fan, he’s so cocky. We must let him know how good the European University Institute is,” Galba said angrily.

“What about them two?” Saks pointed at the old mercenary Chad and his brother Benz that were lying in the corner unconscious.

“Them… they aren’t our concern either, just treat them anyway you please,” Vani said.

“Hehe, very well!”

—

—

Most of the structures in the military base were sturdy fortresses. The steel buildings standing firmly in the night looked stern and imposing. When looking down at the structures from a great height, they formed a triangle, separated by the roads!

The town was also in the shape of a triangle, surrounded by a river of mud, with three different entrances.

Most of the soldiers were currently fighting at the front line. The front line extended forward in a huge arc, with the military base at the center. The demon creatures had to break through the front line before reaching the base, so not many soldiers had stayed to defend it. It seemed rather empty when looking down from above.

If Mo Fan and his crew had tried to invade the central base before the battle started, they would be blown apart in just minutes, probably stumbling into Battlemages who were much stronger than them. Compared to that, it did not take much effort to sneak into the base now. Not even a single soldier bothered coming out to stop them as they were walking down the main road.

The emptiness conveyed the enormous pressure Cairo was under from the invasion by the Pyramid of Khafre. Almost everyone at the base had to deploy to the front line!

“It really feels like there’s no one around.” Heidi was extremely surprised. Even though it was so empty, Heidi did not feel like they were walking right into a trap.

There was no trap, there was simply no one around. The equipment, soldiers, and commanders had all been transferred to the war zone. The base was nothing but an empty shell. The commanders could only return to the town to rest up and decide what their next step was after the threat to the city was eliminated!

“Khafre is the second-largest Pyramid. The army is clearly under a lot of pressure,” Mo Fan deduced.

“Can you sense where they are?” Heidi asked him.

“Right ahead, in that tall gray fortress… but I’m afraid we’ll have to deal with a few scum first!” Mo Fan stared at a few figures standing on the fortress through the haze.

Heidi finally saw the people Mo Fan was referring to after they moved forward a little.

Heidi initially thought they were Gangma and Saks’ men, but she was stunned when she saw Vani, Ferrero, Galba, Sofia, and Zoey!

“Did Gangma really release them?” Heidi asked in a surprised voice.

“That’s not possible. Can’t you sense the aura they are emitting?” Mo Fan said.

“What aura?” Heidi was confused.

“A hostile one,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was particularly sensitive toward hostility, since killing and fighting were daily routines for him!

1553 Hillock Whale

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Vani, don’t you know what’s going to happen to Apas if she ends up in their hands!?” Heidi demanded angrily.

“Of course I know, but I also know that if we keep going against the military, my students and I will never leave Egypt alive! She’s just a girl whose identity we can’t even confirm, why do I care what’s going to happen to her? As for you… it’s fine if you want to get yourself killed, but you shouldn’t drag us into the mess with you!” Vani grunted, pointing at Mo Fan and Heidi.

“You call yourself a mentor of the European University Institute? Aren’t you ashamed of trading an innocent girl’s for your own freedom!?” Heidi cursed at him.

“Enough talk, we are only in this mess because of you, it’s time to put an end to it!” Mentor Vani had fallen out with them completely. He stood at the junction, glaring at them with dark brown eyes.

Heidi was about to use her magic when Mo Fan took a step forward without turning his head. His eyes were brimming with murderous intent. Heidi was intimidated just looking at his back!

“I said that I’ll snap his neck. I’ll let you handle the rest of them,” Mo Fan told Heidi with an icy voice!

“Be careful, he’s still a Super Mage!” Heidi warned him.

Mo Fan did not speak any further. As soon as he saw Vani, he immediately recalled Apas’ hope-filled eyes, despite the tough situation she had been through. The more he thought about it, the madder he was!

Lightning Tyrant!

Lightning bolts rolled like dragons in the ocean in the dark sky. They rapidly gathered toward Mo Fan, sparking in the air, condensing into the forms the shape of chains, claws, and petals. They were lighting up the sky like it was the middle of the day.

The lightning intertwined all around Mo Fan as an eerie shadow loomed over him. When the lightning came streaking in from different angles, his shadow was projected in different positions, too. Mo Fan stood motionless, yet his shadows had different shapes and forms!

“Who do you think you are? Do you seriously think you can take on a Super Mage? You’re just an Advanced Mage, I shall teach you how petty your strength is when compared to the Super Level!” Vani knew he was going against his conscience, yet he would not admit his shortcomings now that he had made his decision. He had transformed all the negative emotions into anger directed at Mo Fan.

It was Mo Fan who had started it all. The arrogant young man was seriously provoking his dignity as a Super Mage!

“No matter how impressive your cultivation is, it won’t change the fact that you’re worse than a dog!” Mo Fan spat back disdainfully.

Some people might be weak in terms of cultivation, but they truly deserved Mo Fan’s respect. Old Chad was one of them. Meanwhile, some people might be a Super Mage, but they were worse than pigs and dogs in Mo Fan’s eyes!

“You! I swear I’m going to crush you!” Mentor Vani was infuriated when Mo Fan purposely poked him in his sore spot.

His eyes darkened further. The spacious street started twisting eerily under his powerful will and Domain. The surrounding structures were untouched, yet where Mo Fan and Heidi were standing was experiencing strong quakes. They could not even stand properly.

“Hillock Whale!”

At Vani’s yell, something suddenly burst out from the ground. A dark brown silhouette leapt into the air like a fish, stirring up a huge wave of rocks and stone shards!

The enormous figure that had burst out from the ground resembled a gigantic whale. Its body was made up of lustrous sturdy rocks!

The enormous Hillock Whale loomed above the structures on both sides of the road, its shadow covering half the street. After reaching the highest point, it dove right down at Mo Fan with suffocating pressure. A terrifying sandstorm surged at him before the Hillock Whale even reached him!

Mo Fan did not clash with the Earth Magic directly. He turned into a blurred shadow and drifted back along the street.

The Hillock Whale smashed into the ground heavily, stirring up a shocking wave of rocks.

However, the magic was not as clumsy as Mo Fan had imagined. The Hillock Whale’s body did not break into pieces after slamming into the ground; it actually dove under the surface, like a fish returning into the ocean.

Mo Fan felt that the ground was not safe. He immediately jumped onto a warehouse built of steel, a better place for him to observe the ground.

The warehouse under his feet collapsed before he could react!

Heidi glanced in Mo Fan’s direction and was surprised to see the terrifying Hillock Whale emerging from below the warehouse. It forcibly smashed the warehouse into pieces and knocked Mo Fan into the air!

The Hillock Whale was about the size of the warehouse, while Mo Fan was as tiny as a little shrimp. The Hillock Whale sprang into the sky, while Mo Fan had disappeared among the debris scattering in the air.

A Super Earth Mage was ridiculously strong. Heidi was extremely worried for Mo Fan, afraid that Mo Fan could not resist Mentor Vani’s attacks.

However, Heidi could not provide Mo Fan with any assistance either. Ferrero, Galba, Sofia, and Zoey had surrounded her. It seemed like the four of them had made up their minds, too. They were not planning to go easy on her.

Sofia was the first to move; she was a Shadow Mage. Heidi did not place any attention on her in the beginning, nor was she cautious enough, distracted by Galba’s spectacular magic. To her surprise, Sofia suddenly showed up behind her and fired a Spear of Shadow capable of Sealing her mind at her.

Heidi was minding three things at once. She was capable of using a different Element while she was already Channeling a spell.

She disrupted Galba’s Star Constellation with the Sound Element to nullify his attack before forming an invisible shield with her Will to block Sofia’s Spear of Shadow. She then Blinked a certain distance away to avoid being flanked by her attackers…

—

Another huge crash rang out. The Hillock Whale pursued Mo Fan relentlessly. It had no intention to give up until it had smashed him into a pulp!

Mo Fan had accumulated enough Lightning Magic while dodging the Hillock Whale’s deadly attacks. Storm Clouds gathered above Mentor Vani; thick lightning bolts descended rapidly when Mo Fan pointed The lightning bolts struck down on the area Vani was in wildly!

Vani glanced at the lightning bolts disdainfully. “Idiot, the Earth Element is the Lightning Element’s weakness. You can’t hurt me!” Vani sneered with a smile.

Vani did not move. Thick rocks appeared in front and behind of him simultaneously and connected above his head like two heavy doors. The fierce lightning bolts landed right on the rocks as soon as they were shut tight!

Even though the surface of the rocks was cracking, the defense did not collapse because of it. Vani was perfectly unharmed inside it. The rocks remained standing even after Mo Fan unleashing all his lightning.

The Lightning Element had outstanding penetration, but it struggled greatly against the Earth Element. The Earth Element could also stop lightning’s conduction.

Vani was not afraid of Mo Fan’s Lightning Element. No matter how strong his Lightning Element was, the defense of his Super Earth Element was impenetrable!

“Feel free to use everything you have, I shall let you taste some despair!” Vani laughed.

Mo Fan burst out laughing, too. He was not planning to inflict serious damage on Vani with the Lightning Magic. Under his Lightning Tyrant Domain, their surroundings were brimming with the presence of Lightning Magic, thus allowing Mo Fan to cast his Lightning Spells quicker. As long as Vani was unable to control the Hillock Whale, Mo Fan would be able to seize the initiative!

“The Swamp of Darkness!”

His Dark Material had long spread out about them. The Fiendish Night was truly a powerful spell. Its spread, growth, and thickening were unnoticeable. An enemy would never notice it until after they had long been surrounded by it.

The Dark Material could penetrate every object, and grow continuously on living creatures. Vani did not notice the dark energy attaching to his body and spreading through his surroundings, as he was busy with his defense.

A Swamp of Darkness was established around Vani. It covered the ground below his feet swiftly. Mo Fan also had a Swamp of Darkness around himself. The two swamps joined together and swallowed the entire area between them in darkness!

Vani began to panic when he noticed the darkness spreading under his feet.

The Hillock Whale was no longer able to move in and out of the ground due to the layer of darkness. It was suddenly replaced by his opponent’s Domain!

“Why…why do you have so many Elements!?” Vani cried out.

“I’ll let you have a taste of them all!” Mo Fan answered coldly.

Vani did not want to fight in his opponent’s Domain. He started to move away, but soon discovered that the Swamp of Darkness had the effects of a maze. He had to learn its pattern before he could find a way out. However, there was nothing he could use as a reference point. The structures nearby had all disappeared in the darkness…

Vani might have been a Super Mage, but he had no clue how to deal with the eerie Domain!

Vani could not find a way to leave after several attempts. He decided not to waste his time any further, knowing the swamp would not last forever. It would disappear on its own after he took out Mo Fan!

“Do you think I only have the Earth Element?” Vani spat at the darkness surrounding him.

Vani stopped using the Earth Element, and started emitting an icy aura. Tiny frost particles floated in the air without clashing with the Swamp of Darkness.

Chapter 1554 A Tricky Opponen

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan hid in the darkness and observed the ice dust holding position around Vani like obedient soldiers.

It was clearly a Soul-grade Ice. Vani’s Ice Element had reached the peak of the Advanced Level. Mo Fan would indeed have trouble attacking if Vani cautiously wrapped himself up with the ice dust. After all, the Swamp of Darkness only stopped Vani’s Earth Magic from moving in and out of the ground freely. It did not stop Vani from defending himself with Earth Magic.

It was not easy to defeat a Super Mage who was not being restricted, especially when Vani already knew some of Mo Fan’s abilities. Some of his best moves were no longer as effective, as he didn’t have his usual element of surprise.

Vani’s defense was quite outstanding, too. The guy stubbornly took a defensive stance throughout the duration of the Swamp of Darkness, not minding the standstill at all. He was not the one who was trying to save Apas. The longer Mo Fan waited, not only would Apas be dead, even Zhao Manyan might die, since Gangma was clearly a vengeful person!

“Show yourself! You can never defeat me, even if you use everything you have!” Vani yelled out mockingly. “HAHAHA, jumping into the middle of demon creatures for a dying Summoned Beast, and going against the army for a little girl when you don’t even know her background and identity? I really don’t know how to describe you!” Vani added on.

“Where did you even get your confidence from? Do you really think you can take me on with your mere cultivation? I’m a Super Mage, many people have to nod their heads and bow in front of me, so who do you think you are? When this swamp disappears, it will be time for me to trample you under my feet!” Vani yelled out.

Vani kept searching for Mo Fan’s presence while he was talking. He was able to sense someone breathing not far away after he finished the sentence.

“Humph, such a boring trick, time to face your death!” Vani locked on Mo Fan’s position, staring in the direction of the breathing. The ice dust suddenly spun at a terrifying speed!

The ice dust was as deadly as bullets when they reached a certain speed. When the countless ice particles flew in Mo Fan’s direction, it was like a volley from a Gatling gun. Even a mountain would be left riddled with holes!

The ice dust sprang forward like a spray of bullets. Vani quickly noticed a silhouette switching direction in a panic.

Vani laughed. His opponent was still too young. The man had failed to remain calm after being provoked, thus exposing his location. The fight was a lot easier now. The ice bullets covered a huge area; it was too late for the boy to start running now. He would soon be riddled with holes like a beehive!

Vani watched the direction the ice bullets were fired into. He saw a figure being hit and heard the sound of impact.

Vani quickly went after it to see Mo Fan’s bloody corpse. He was being extremely cautious. He had no intention to withdraw his Ice Magic until he was confident that the figure that was hit by the ice bullets was Mo Fan. He would cast a spell as soon as he detected any movement.

Vani did not see any trace of blood when he reached the spot.

The outcome did not surprise him. He quickly glanced around him…

A faint candle-wisp of fire suddenly approached him from behind.

Vani was startled. The fire was as small as a candlelight. Did Mo Fan really pull off a series of tricks just for this? How could it possibly hurt him?

“Something isn’t right!” Vani rapidly realized that the candlelight was not as simple as it seemed. He noticed the tiny ice particles floating in the air were being compressed when the candlelight flew past them!

“Space Element, Fire Element…” Vani immediately linked the pieces together. He quickly finished his waiting spell without any hesitation.

An experienced Mage would finish a part of their Star Orbits and Star Patterns in advance, allowing them to complete the spell when necessary. It was a common move when casting defensive spells, since timing was the most important factor!

A Mage was able to control the Star Orbits, Star Patterns, and Star Constellations freely upon reaching the Super Level. They could even manipulate their drawing speed, connecting, and constructing their magic. Vani had already drawn six Star Patterns when he went forward to take a closer look at the corpse. He purposely slowed down the speed of the last Star Pattern, but when he realized something was not right, he immediately sped the process up to complete the Star Constellation.

In other words, it only took Vani the time to draw a Star Pattern to cast his Advanced Spell. It basically meant his opponent would not have any chance to pull a sneak attack on him!

The Fire Crystal Bomb unleashed terrifying flames when the force holding it in place was withdrawn. Vani had formed a thick shield to defend himself in time, but the energy of the explosion was greater than he had imagined. It overwhelmed his Advanced Spell and even sent him flying into the air!

Vani lost his balance while he was devoured by the flames. He quickly activated his magic Armor.

The silvery Ice Magic Armor protected him before the flames could harm him. The flames lost their effect after making contact with the Ice Armor. Vani was only hurt a little by the shockwave!

Vani fell from the air and slammed into a pile of debris.

He was enraged. To think that a Super Earth Mage would end up in such a miserable state against an Advanced Mage! How did the guy even train himself? The man’s Fire Magic was ridiculously strong, powerful enough to break through his two layers of defense!

Vani rose to his feet. He caught a glimpse of the ground when he was about to counterattack, spotting some steel debris poking out from the Swamp of Darkness.

“So this is where I am now!” Vani realized when he saw the debris.

Wasn’t this the warehouse that the Hillock Whale had smashed to the ground previously? He would be able to find his way out of the Swamp of Darkness using it as a reference point!

Awesome! That assh*** was going to face his death sooner than he thought!

The Fire Crystal Bomb might be terrifying, but it still was not strong enough to endanger the life of a Super Earth Mage. His priority was to find his way out of the Swamp of Darkness first!

Vani immediately followed the debris of the warehouse. The Fiery Fists coming from behind him were blocked by the walls he built with his ice dust.

Vani continued moving forward and finally saw the edge of the Swamp of Darkness. He was overjoyed!

What chance did Mo Fan stand against him without the Swamp of Darkness?

Chapter 1555 Evil Flame Charge

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

Vani let out a relieved sigh when he left the Swamp of Darkness.

He was quite intimidated by Mo Fan. He might actually lose to this Advanced Mage if he was careless!

“Now how are you going to take me on!?” Vani turned around and stared at Mo Fan.

The Swamp of Darkness had slowly dissipated, and could no longer trap anyone. It was meaningless to keep the Nyx Regime around. Mo Fan’s figure gradually showed up on the street that the Swamp of Darkness had initially covered. The flames left by the Fire Crystal Bomb surrounded him in blazing red.

“I must admit that no Advanced Mage in the world is stronger than you, but I’m afraid this farce is coming to an end!” Vani’s aura skyrocketed all of a sudden. The ground on both sides of his feet began to rise.

Two Hillock Whales even bigger than the one before stirred up huge waves of rocks. They leapt and crossed paths in the air before flanking Mo Fan from two directions. They were able to swim through the ground and rocks like they were water.

They flipped in the air and slammed on the ground like huge mountains. Their movements were totally unpredictable when they were charging at a target recklessly. It was already too late to run away by the time the person sensed the ground under their feet reacting abnormally.

“You are a dead man!” Vani declared coldly.

The two Hillock Whales swam amok. Mo Fan had no choice but to run constantly. He could not afford to stop for even a second to catch his breath.

When the Hillock Whales forced Mo Fan into a corner where he had no chance of reaching Vani, a smile surfaced on Vani’s face.

Mo Fan had no chance of winning the fight now that he was being kept a distance away from Vani. The reason why Mo Fan was able to threaten Vani was because Vani had never had the chance to cast a Super Spell. The Hillock Whale was not a Super Spell.

“Sunken Land!”

Vani invoked the name of the spell. Star Patterns combined into brilliant Star Constellations around him, which further assembled into a magnificent brown Star Palace. Vani, standing under the Star Palace, was like the ruler of the area being drowned in the brilliance of the stars. He had both death and life under his control!

“It’s not too late to regret it now!” Vani stared at Mo Fan imperiously.

Mo Fan finally freed himself from the two Hillock Whales, but he did not notice that the land he was standing on was covered in a brown energy with a huge line acting as its boundary. The actual land was separating from the land that Mo Fan was currently standing on!

“Do you have any idea what it meant when you hand Apas over to the army?” Mo Fan asked coldly, standing on the land that was sinking constantly.

“What does it mean? It means the girl is going to die! HAHAHA, even the life of a gardener in the European University Institute is more valuable than that little girl! So many people in Egypt die because of war every day! Who cares about a little girl that only knows how to weep in the corner?” Vani burst out laughing.

“It’s because of how the world has so many pricks like you that I keep thinking how meaningful it is for me to become stronger,” Mo Fan returned.

“Meaningful? I’m afraid you aren’t clear about the situation yet. My Sunken Land…” Vani suddenly shivered in the middle of his speech.

He turned around and saw an image of himself standing right behind him.

Vani’s face turned extremely pale. His eyes filled with disbelief.

The guy was pitch-black with evil-looking eyes. He had an eerie grin, too. Vani felt like he was looking right into an evil mirror. His reflection in the mirror was holding a shadow dagger, and stabbing him right in the back through his heart!

Vani’s soul trembled in fear. He quickly withdrew his control of the Sunken Land and fled from the Rebelling Shadow miserably.

Vani had already used his defensive spells and magic armor. He was completely defenseless at the moment, especially since he was busily Channeling the Super Spell. To his complete surprise, an eerie shadow had appeared out of nowhere even after he had already left Mo Fan’s Swamp of Darkness!

He was so close to being ambushed by the shadow. It turned out to be the real killing blow that Mo Fan was waiting for!

The Sunken Land was not fully Channeled. The area that Mo Fan stood in stopped after sinking a meter into the ground. Mo Fan had seen the Super Earth Spell before. He knew the area within the brown line would be crushed to pieces once it sank five meters into the ground.

It was not the scariest part about the Sunken Land. The deeper it went, the more the force crushing down would multiply. If the Sunken Land reached a depth of ten to twenty meters, even a Ruler-level creature would be flattened by it, leaving nothing but blood and flesh splattered across it!

Mo Fan did not allow Vani to Channel the Sunken Land any further, as he would have no chance of enduring the crushing force. He had implanted the Rebelling Shadow inside Vani some time ago, just to prevent him from using a Super Spell!

Vani wasted too much time and energy Casting the Sunken Land, yet the spell was interrupted by Mo Fan’s eerie shadow…

Vani purposely fled into the distance so he was safe enough to Channel the spell. To him, that meant Mo Fan was too far away to cast his spells on Vani. Vani no longer had enough time to Channel another spell. His cultivation was not high enough to construct a Star Constellation with just a single thought!

“You didn’t want to provoke the army, but let me tell you, you will actually die quicker since you provoked me instead!” Mo Fan exploded in anger. Flames of three different colors intertwined around him imperiously, like dancing dragons and phoenixes!

Meanwhile, a dimensional crack appeared in front of Mo Fan. The Flame Belle Empress had sensed Mo Fan’s wrath and came out from it. Her alluring figure slowly merged with the other Soul-grade Flames!

When Mo Fan released the three flames himself, he was like some scorching lava. However, once Flame Belle Possessed him, the wildness and presence of his flames escalated even further!

The raging flames soared into the sky and dyed the clouds red. The scorching lava surged fiercely and devoured the land. Mo Fan was basically an erupting volcano: wild, violent, and dangerous!

Did it matter if he was up against a Super Mage? The Calamity Fire, Ardent Sunset, and Meteor Scarlet would still burn him into ashes!

Mo Fan stepped forward. The formidable energy that now resembled an erupting volcano followed him.

Mo Fan started sprinting. The spectacular and deadly flames sprang forward, too!

Fiery wings made up of countless burning feathers appeared on Mo Fan’s back. The wings were not for flying, but to propel him. They were basically jet packs that abused the power of explosions to push Mo Fan’s speed beyond his limits!

As Mo Fan’s speed kept increasing, the flames that were erupting around Mo Fan kept growing, too!

After Mo Fan charged from one end of the street to the other, he had turned into an enormous beast covered in flames, bringing utter destruction upon the city!

Everything along the path either collapsed into debris or burned into ashes. Vani totally forgot to run for his life after witnessing the terrifying sight.

Was the guy really human? Did he really engulf himself in flames and charge at me like an enraged beast?…

“Rock…Rock Barrier!” Vani cast the defensive spell in a panic, trying to defend himself from the terrifying force coming at him.

However, a Rock Barrier the size of a small hill was like a mere bubble against Mo Fan’s screaming fire dragon. It did not slow him down in the slightest!

The Meteor Scarlet’s area would increase significantly as it burned through the air. It also worked when Mo Fan was charging along like a burning chariot on the ground! If anything, the area of the flames was even greater, since the Ardent Sunset could strengthen other flames!

Mo Fan had been forced to move quite far away to break free from the Hillock Whales’ pursuit. The distance between him and Vani now served as the perfect runway for Mo Fan to accumulate fiery energy. There was no chance Vani’s petty defense could stop the fire dragon’s raging roar!

“DIE!” Mo Fan yelled furiously.

Mo Fan did not care if there was ice or rock blocking the path. He was going right after Vani, who was hiding behind his defense!

Vani was instantly devoured by the fire dragon. He thought Mo Fan was going to be stopped, but the reckless charge went right through him. It felt like the spot where Vani had met the train of surging lava was only the beginning. The street, structures, warehouses, and half-complete defenses were all razed to the ground by the fiery dragon. The scorched ravine had no visible end. As a matter of fact, the blazing flames continued to extend even further!

The central base was not that big; the ravine that Mo Fan burned through the center of it was utterly shocking!

“Is…is he still human?”

Captain Saks was hiding in the tall fortress. He could see the ravine that now extended from one side of the base to the other… if he had not been manually silencing the alarm, the whole base would be ringing with wailing alarms by now!

The flames of the moving volcano slowly dissipated. Mentor Vani was laying between the burned trail and the debris. He was scorched black like charcoal, beyond recognition.

He seemed to have had a piece of defensive Equipment that he had held onto as his trump card. He did use it in time, but it still could not stop the flames. It did stop him from being burned into a pile of ashes…

He used all his might to point his finger at Mo Fan. His finger could break into pieces at the slightest touch. It was the only action that Vani could make, despite the grudge he was holding.

Mo Fan went up to him. The black hand grabbed the tip of Mo Fan’s pants like a beggar.

1556 Unstoppable!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Please… spare…” Mentor Vani had lost his lips. Only his teeth had survived the heat. His black skeletal mouth looked quite miserable.

“You want me to spare your life?” Mo Fan looked down at Vani, who could not even rise to his feet.

“Ye…ye…yes…” Vani answered with all his might. He did not want to die, he seriously wanted to live! He was a Super Mage, a dragon among men! He still had yet to enjoy the endless luxury and respect from the others!

He knew that even as a Super Mage, he might still have lived a lowly life if he was not supported by a powerful faction, yet he never thought he would lose so miserably to an Advanced Mage. It was clearly not the outcome the Super Mage was hoping for!

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan, I beg you!” Zoey suddenly showed up nearby. She did not dare to come any closer when she noticed how different Mo Fan’s temperament was.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and looked at her with cold eyes.

“We didn’t have a choice, please spare his life,” Zoey pleaded.

Zoey had never wanted to fight Mo Fan. She had a very good impression of him along the journey, but when she witnessed the terrifying strength that was capable of crushing a Super Mage and his enraged appearance, she finally realized that he had only displayed his gentle side to them!

“You didn’t have a choice?” Mo Fan chuckled.

“He was trying to save us! He’s an impressive and righteous man. Please remember that he’s only concerned about our safety…” Zoey said with a trembling voice. Her eyes were starting to tear up.

It was only meant to be an evaluation to determine whether they could graduate, yet it somehow came to this!

“Zoey,” Mo Fan looked at the girl that was begging him and said, “You’ve misunderstood me. I’m not really the kind of person you think I am. I will never show any mercy to anyone that goes against my will and wants me dead, no matter who you are, or what reason you have!”

Zoey was stunned by his words.

Mo Fan raised his leg and stomped on Vani’s scorched body with all his might. The stomp even sent a ring of the Calamity Fire out.

Vani was burned to ashes in an instant under Mo Fan’s foot!

Mo Fan’s eyes did not have the slightest hint of mercy. When he lifted his gaze to look at Zoey again, she fell to the ground and was about to break down mentally.

She burst into tears right away. She never thought her mentor would be trampled into dust by Mo Fan, nor did she expect Mo Fan to spurn her so coldly!

Why did the man that was willing to risk his life to save a Summoned Beast from the snake demons and was bold enough to go against an army for a strange girl not spare Vani’s life despite her pleas?

Zoey was scared; Mo Fan had gone from a respectable and righteous man to a bloody devil in an instant… he was a truly terrifying man!

“You should leave, considering that we got along pretty well and the fact that you never crossed the line…” Mo Fan walked past Zoey. He could not be bothered with her anymore.

Mo Fan had taken Zoey as his enemy the moment she attacked Heidi. Mo Fan was a complete devil whenever he was facing his enemies!

Mo Fan did not look at Zoey. He headed for the fortress by taking the long ravine he had burned open in the ground.

The others no longer dared to fight after Mentor Vani’s death, reacting similarly to Zoey. They did not dare Cast any spells again, unsure if the maniac was going to take their lives too!

“Gangma, get your ass out here right now! I’ve come to take your life!” Mo Fan yelled from in front of the fortress.

Captain Saks was still atop the fortress, where he had watched the whole fight from. He had planned to let Vani wear the enemy out first, while he waited for the perfect opportunity to take them down. To his surprise, the crazy kid ended up killing Vani right away!

Vani was a Super Mage; Saks was not much stronger than he was!

Saks began to regret his decision of not fighting Mo Fan together with Vani. No matter how strong Mo Fan was, there was no way he could take on two Super Mages at once. He now had to face Mo Fan alone. He even wondered if Mo Fan would end up killing him too!

“Damn it, why isn’t there anyone reliable in this place!?” Gangma cursed.

The man in the sandy white uniform only collected his thoughts after a long time. He had never seen such a terrifying Fire Mage. An Advanced Mage killing a Super Mage… that was clearly something impossible to achieve!

“There…there isn’t anyone left, they already sent everyone to the front line. Even those on standby have moved to the bases closer to the battlefield! As for the others that are left here… I’m afraid they are just going to die if they try to stop him!” the uniformed aide said.

The base was not completely deserted, but could the people that stayed behind really stop the man?

The aide was only an Advanced Mage. He assumed that someone like him could not last even a single round against Mo Fan!

Mo Fan was able to kill a perfectly healthy Commander-level creature with his lightning and its twelvefold damage amplification. He did not have to rely on his three Soul-grade Flames. Meanwhile, a squad of Advanced Mages could barely take on a Commander-level creature!

Therefore, a Mage with a single Element at the Advanced Level was nothing to Mo Fan. The aide was well aware of their difference in strength!

Even if they were to summon everyone at the base, they would still have no chance of stopping him. Wouldn’t they just be getting themselves killed, instead?

Besides, the majority of the people that had stayed behind did not take orders from them. Those people were not blind, either. Anyone with the slightest sense would not bother to show up after seeing the shocking crevasse that had almost split the base in half!

“Saks, Saks, keep him busy, I’ll go to the front line to ask for backup!” Gangma began to panic. He never thought his life would be in danger after he returned to Headquarters. This scary man had actually forced his way in!

They were now at the headquarters of the Egyptian army. How ruthless was he!?

“The situation is so urgent at the front line. Why would they bother helping us with our personal affairs?” Saks replied.

“Of course I won’t tell them the truth. I’ll tell them that the Black Vatican has invaded the headquarters, and ask them to send someone powerful to kill him!” Gangma said.

“But they are not from the Black Vatican…”

“They won’t be able to speak when they are dead! Besides, the others in the base also saw him destroying the place and killing people!” Gangma shouted.

“Al…alright!” Saks nodded.

They had no other choice under the circumstances. They would rather be scolded by their commander than have things spin out of control. They seriously did not have anyone capable enough at the base!

1557 The Grave I“ve Built For You

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Eerie cries, like a pig being slaughtered, were coming from the underground prison.

“One more time and I’m going to leave you here. It’s just some fractures, do you really have to cry so loudly!?” Mu Bai shouted.

“Do you have any idea how painful it is when your joints break!?” Zhao Manyan howled back.

“Can’t you see I’m already treating them?” Mu Bai retorted.

“What the heck are you putting on me, holy crap, what are you doing, are you planting a flower in my leg!?” Zhao Manyan screamed.

Zhao Manyan’s joints had all been broken. Luckily, Mu Bai had come in time, or they would have broken more of his bones. The pain… Zhao Manyan did not want to experience it again, especially when the fractured bone went into his veins like glass splinters…

“What flower? It’s the Bone Rebuilding Wood! Its roots will grow into your joints and melt the broken pieces! Its roots will then connect with your bones and slowly replace the broken bones. It’s a trick that only some experienced Plant Mages know!” Mu Bai scoffed.

Mu Bai’s third Element was the Plant Element. Even though he was still a rookie when it came to the Plant Element, he was very interested in it. This trick had saved his life once when he was in the wild, thus he was very familiar with it.

However, it was still very painful!

The roots would grow into a person’s flesh and connect with their bones. The treatment was definitely a lot more painful than being bathed in a Healer’s soothing light, yet even more effective than ordinary Healing Spells!

“Screw you, are you turning me from a cripple to a human vegetable!?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“Stand up!” Mu Bai told him coldly.

“How do you expect me to stand up when my legs are broken…” Zhao Manyan tried to stand and realized that he could already feel his legs again through the pain.

He tried walking and jumping. His legs had been healed after enduring the tremendous pain!

“Oh my, that thing can really heal bones! Mu Bai, I didn’t know you could mix stuff other than the aphrodisiac, well done!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Keep talking and I wouldn’t mind breaking your bones and reconnecting them again!” Mu Bai hissed.

“Don’t, I’m just kidding, you saved my life. We are brothers from now on!” Zhao Manyan declared.

“Enough with that, where’s the girl? Did you see her?” Mu Bai asked.

“I didn’t see her, but I think they took the young Medusa to the front line. That Saks and Gangma are both subordinates of a commander of the Egyptian army. If I’m not mistaken, the person in charge of the battle tonight must be their superior!” Zhao Manyan said.

Saks and Gangma had both assumed Zhao Manyan was a dead man walking, so they had mentioned some crucial information when they were conversing. Zhao Manyan was able to figure out some useful information from their conversation.

He had no idea who the person was, but he was deeply troubled, since a high general of the Egyptian army was involved. They clearly could not afford to mess around with a person like that!

“Let’s get out of here first, Mo Fan and Heidi are still holding on!” Mu Bai told him.

“Mm! Your Bone Rebuilding Wood is pretty impressive, I feel like I’ve fully recovered!” Zhao Manyan agreed quickly.

—

The two came out of the fortress easily, as there were not any guards around. A lot of loud blasts were occurring outside. Zhao Manyan was stunned when he saw Mo Fan chasing after Saks. He asked in disbelief, “You call that holding on?!”

Mu Bai was also speechless after seeing that. How crazy was Mo Fan, to be chasing after a Super Mage? Couldn’t he leave some dignity for the man?

“Let’s regroup with Heidi first,” Mu Bai said softly.

Mo Fan was a distance away from them. The fight was clearly beyond their level. It was not like they could provide him any assistance!

Zhao Manyan immediately noticed Ferrero when they headed toward Heidi. He was enraged when he saw the man!

“Damn it, I’m not a man if I don’t kill him today!” Zhao Manyan yelled. He ran at Ferrero like a mad bull.

“Zhao Manyan, forget it, let them go…” Heidi spoke up, after seeing Zhao Manyan’s reaction.

Their Mentor Vani was already dead. The rest were left on their own, too. Their enemy was never the European University Institute, it was the people from the army.

Forget it?

Zhao Manyan dashed forward fiercely. How could he forget what the assh*** Ferrero had done to him?

If Ferrero kept quiet, he would not have had to suffer at all!

Besides, if Mu Bai had not arrived in time, those people might even have beat him to death in the cell. Gangma was clearly going to kill him after torturing him!

Ferrero knew his words were going to get Zhao Manyan killed, yet he insisted on spilling the beans!

Could he really forget it?

“What do you want? Our mentor is already dead. What else do you want?” Sofia shouted angrily when she saw Zhao Manyan running at them.

“Move aside, Ferrero must die today! You can try and stop me, but I’m afraid you will die a tragic death too!” Zhao Manyan snarled.

Ferrero let out a hollow laugh when he saw Zhao Manyan running at him. “Who do you think you are? Do you really think you can face me!?”

“Dueling Ground of Death!” Zhao Manyan arrived right before Ferrero. He immediately set up the same perimeter he had used when he was fighting the Violet Ghost of the Black Vatican!

If Zhao Manyan, who treated his life so preciously, was willing to go so far, it meant he was really mad!

Sturdy rocks emerged and surrounded the area, forming a dueling ground. Even Sofia, who was trying to stop Zhao Manyan, was forced outside!

“Killing you is as easy as drinking water, you piece of trash!” Zhao Manyan stood inside the dueling ground. He was already wearing a suit of heavy rock armor!

“How I wish you were dead! Since Gangma didn’t kill you, I’ll do it myself!” Ferrero had totally lost his mind. He yelled and charged at Zhao Manyan too!

Zhao Manyan’s cultivation was not weak, but most of his spells were more suitable for defensive purposes. His way of fighting usually involved letting the enemy attack first. When the enemy was worn out and their energy was depleted, he would then use his limited attacks to defeat the enemy.

However, since he had already established the dueling ground, he had no intention of backing away. He was going to break all of Ferrero’s bones and let him die in agony!

“This is the grave I’ve built for you!” Zhao Manyan raised his hand. A Deathstrike Magic Equipment with a blazing white glow appeared in his grasp!

1558 As Good As Dead

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Rays of blazing white light slashed forward continuously, each increasing the damage of the Deathstrike Magic Equipment, like waves pushing the previous one to a greater height. The only requirement was to keep providing the Deathstrike Magic Equipment with energy.

Zhao Manyan truly wanted Ferrero dead. He had poured half of his energy into the Deathstrike Magic Equipment right away. The blazing white light ended up splitting into more than a hundred rays aimed at Ferrero. No matter where Ferrero was moving, the scorching light would slice the area in half. Most terrifyingly, each slash was deadlier than the one before!

Ferrero had no choice but to flee for his life. Normally, he would just flee into the distance when his opponent was attacking recklessly, but he was now stuck in the dueling ground. The limited space was clearly not in his favor!

Zhao Manyan showed no mercy at all, acting like he was trying to kill the man in a single blow. When the scorching rays stacked up to two hundred, each attack was stronger than some third-tier Advanced Spells.

Ferrero finally realized he was going to die at this rate. He immediately attacked Zhao Manyan, trying to prevent him from stacking the Deathstrike Magic Equipment’s power up any further!

“How stupid are you to only realize it now!?” Zhao Manyan was amused.

This Ferrero was only good at bluffing, he was not that skilled. Most experienced Mages would try to stop him from using the Deathstrike Magic Equipment once they realized its traits, but Ferrero only realized it after its damage had already multiplied. It was obviously too late now!

“Take this!” Zhao Manyan saw through Ferrero’s intentions. The Scorching Light Deathstrike Magic Equipment emitted another ray resembling a giant saber. It came down from a great height at a wave of Zhao Manyan’s hand.

Ferrero was terrified. He immediately gave up on his attempt to attack and defended himself with a Rock Barrier. A little hill emerged from the ground in front of him.

The Deathstrike Magic Equipment was almost at the end of its duration, but the final slashes were the deadliest, too. The scorching light sliced through the rocks with ease. The huge impact sent Ferrero flying.

Zhao Manyan raised his other hand when Ferrero was in mid-air to prepare the final ray!

Zhao Manyan aimed it at the trail that Ferrero left in the air. The poised ray turned into a spear of light!

Ferrero slammed into the wall of the dueling ground. His body had just bounced off the wall when the spear punctured him in the shoulder and nailed him to the wall.

Blood poured out from the wound. The burning of the scorching light added more pain to the wound. Ferrero let out a cry of agony while twitching uncontrollably.

“I’m going to kill you!” Ferrero roared like an enraged beast.

It took him great effort to break free from the spear while enduring the immense pain. The muscles on his face twitched constantly. His eyes emitted an eerie, dark-blue glow as his pupils enlarged strangely.

“I thought you were going to pull off some insane trick, but it’s only the Eyes of the Rock Demon, even when you’re mad,” Zhao Manyan said disdainfully.

The Eyes unleashed a petrifying force. A layer of dark blue rocks spread across the area that Ferrero’s vision covered and surged rapidly at Zhao Manyan.

He spotted tiny, dense lumps on the surface of the rocks. Zhao Manyan might not be the knowledgeable kind, but he was not completely ignorant. He quickly set up a defense with the Light Element.

Four Ramparts surrounded him. Meanwhile, the lumps on the rocks became restless and spread apart like the mouths of a terrifying rock monster. Zhao Manyan could even see rows of fangs inside them…

“It’s the Man-Eating Rock! Enjoy the pleasure of being reduced to bones by it!” Ferrero burst out laughing when the rock demon swallowed Zhao Manyan!

The Man-Eating Rock was an extraordinary rock demon. They were actually predators found deep in the woods in the mountains. They would disguise themselves as caves and provide shelter to some living creatures. When the time was right, they would shut the entrance and eat the creatures within them, until they were digested by the things that looked like lumps.

It was the same creature that Ferrero was using!

He pretended to cast Petrify to scatter the deadly rock demon around Zhao Manyan, allowing the rock demon to swallow Zhao Manyan right away.

Loud blasts came from the rock demon’s stomach. Zhao Manyan was trying to break through the rock demon, but the rocks were incredibly sturdy. Many Commander-level creatures actually died of suffocation inside them.

Zhao Manyan took out his Deathstrike Magic Equipment once again, but it was clearly not enough to slice through the rock demon’s stomach. He was surrounded by darkness, and having difficulty breathing. Even though Zhao Manyan knew how deadly the rock demon was, he had failed to escape from its sudden engulfment!

The defense of the Light Element was mere decoration against the rock demon. It did not even bother to destroy the Rampart, as it simply swallowed both Zhao Manyan and his defense. As time gradually passed, the rock demon would slowly digest Zhao Manyan in its stomach!

“It’s not that easy to trap me here!” Zhao Manyan gave up on using the Deathstrike Magic Equipment. Since he could not slice his way out, he would make it burst instead!

“Titan Body!”

Zhao Manyan let out a roar and spread his arms in the darkness. A brown glow formed a silhouette of a statue in front of him.

The brown light expanded into the outline of a titan continuously!

The titan was incredibly huge. No matter how big the rock demon and its stomach was, there was no way it could hold a Titan Body that was over seventy meters tall. Most importantly, Zhao Manyan had strengthened the Titan Body with Baxia’s Seal, so it was only sturdier than the rock demon!

The rock strengthened by Baxia’s Seal collided with the rock demon. In the end, a chunk of the Titan Body fell off while the rock demon’s body burst open after a loud crash!

Rocks scattered across the place and fell onto Ferrero. The man even forgot to dodge them, staring at the Titan Body in disbelief…

The rock demon was Ferrero’s trump card, yet it was destroyed so easily, before he could even celebrate!

“Stop struggling, just stand still and prepare to face death!” Zhao Manyan came out of the stones. The ground was shaking as he charged in his heavy armor!

Zhao Manyan had spent too much time around Mo Fan, and was being influenced by Mo Fan’s violent fighting ../style. He sped himself up with the Earth Wave and rammed into Ferrero like a tank.

Ferrero was knocked flying once again, his bones bent out of shape from the enormous impact. He spat out mouthfuls of blood when he landed on the ground.

“Plummeting Rays!”

Light poured down like swords onto the area Ferrero had landed in. Ferrero tried to escape the dueling ground, but the light swords carrying Zhao Manyan’s anger impaled him and left countless holes in his body.

Ferrero was on the verge of dying. The dueling ground slowly sank bck into the ground.

Ferrero’s back was severely burned. He was lying on the ground like a dying dog, trying to crawl away from Zhao Manyan.

Sofia only saw the outcome when the walls of the dueling ground disappeared. She burst into tears when she saw Ferrero covered in blood on the ground.

“That’s enough, please… we didn’t want it to come down to this, either!” Sofia cried out.

Zhao Manyan stood beside Ferrero and watched him crawling on the ground while leaving a trail of blood behind…

He grabbed Ferrero’s head and turned the man around to face him.

“Take a good look; this is the face of the person that you don’t want to mess with. Killing you is no different than butchering a dog!” Zhao Manyan snarled, glaring at Ferrero.

Ferrero’s mouth was filled with blood. He could not say a single word, only groan in pain.

“Keep crawling, did I give you the permission to stop!?” Zhao Manyan cursed him.

Ferrero still had a few breaths left. He immediately started crawling again after hearing the words.

“See that? Crawl to that woman’s heels, and I’ll spare your life!” Zhao Manyan spat.

Ferrero crawled harder after he heard the order. He was covered in serious injuries. He could not care less that Zhao Manyan was humiliating him. Staying alive was more important than anything else!

Ferrero actually obeyed Zhao Manyan’s instructions. Sofia watched him, and even forgot to take a few steps closer. She remained still and watched Ferrero. This man who looked worse than the undead was no longer the Ferrero she knew. He was helpless, pitiful, and had lost all his dignity.

As a matter of fact, Zhao Manyan actually left as soon as he finished the sentence. He did not really care if Ferrero made it to where Sofia was standing. He believed the man would suffer more if he was left alive after his dignity was crushed to such extent. Ferrero was going to remember the pain for the rest of his life!

Ferrero was totally unaware of Zhao Manyan’s thoughts. He was using all his might to crawl forward. He was scared that he might actually die if he failed to reach Sofia’s feet. Meanwhile, Sofia wondered if she should be taking pity on the man, or be disgusted after seeing his pathetic actions…

—

“What if he comes to seek revenge in the future, if you don’t kill him now?” Mu Bai pointed out. He was surprised that Zhao Manyan had actually spared the man’s life.

“The Golden Rose Clan won’t forgive me, unless we kill the two girls, too. Well, it’s not like I’m scared of that European clan that sells flowers. I just don’t see the need of killing him. Look at him, isn’t he as good as dead?” Zhao Manyan dismissed the threat.

“True, I was just treating how you said that you aren’t a man if you don’t kill him today seriously,” Mu Bai agreed.

1559 Each of Them Was a Monster

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Mo Fan, this guy is dragging out the fight on purpose!” Heidi said.

Heidi had joined hands with Mo Fan against Captain Saks after the people of the European University Institute had lost their will to fight.

Even though Saks was a Super Wind Mage, he still did not have a chance to catch his breath, as Mo Fan was constantly attacking. Most of Mo Fan’s destructive spells struggled to land on Saks due to his unpredictable movements, but Saks was under great pressure as soon as Heidi joined the fight, since her strength was also quite ridiculous for an Advanced Mage!

Captain Saks did not take the initiative to attack. Normally, if a Wind Mage found himself in an unfavorable position, they could retreat at any time. Mo Fan and Heidi had no way of keeping him here, but the guy would stop fleeing after he moved a certain distance away to dodge Mo Fan’s spells.

The man’s intentions were too obvious!

“Mo Fan, we’ll handle this guy while you go after that assh*** Gangma!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Alright, I’ll leave him to you!” Mo Fan knew it was meaningless to waste his time on Saks.

Mo Fan was a little worried about letting Mu Bai and Heidi fight Saks on their own. The Thousand Leaves Saber was a great threat to them, but that was no longer the case if Zhao Manyan was around.

Zhao Manyan’s defense was strong enough to endure the attacks of a Ruler-level creature. He would have no problem tanking a few Super Spells!

——

Mo Fan found an opportunity to withdraw from the fight.

Saks was extremely cunning. He immediately rose to a higher position where Heidi could not reach him when he noticed that Mo Fan had stopped attacking.

A strong wind blew, visible blue gusts dancing wildly in the air, like the branches of willows over a thousand years old. The gusts descended in a spiraling motion after obtaining enough energy, and went right for Mo Fan as he was planning to leave the base.

Mo Fan cast Blink twice, traveling more than seven hundred meters into the distance. However, the Super Spell could reach over a few kilometers. The strong gusts whipped through the grassy area that Mo Fan was in ferociously.

The wild slashes left several terrifying marks around Mo Fan’s feet. His defense was clearly lacking when the gusts left a few cuts on him, too.

“Mo Fan, just go!” Heidi’s voice came from the distance.

Saks was trying to take hold of the opportunity to deal more damage to Mo Fan, but Heidi interrupted his Channeling in time and prevented him from controlling the deadly wind blades after Mo Fan.

Saks’ head was spinning after Heidi blasted him with her Will Cannon. He had no choice but to direct the remaining wind blades at her.

“Heidi, keep going, I’ll protect you!” Zhao Manyan said in a tone similar to Heidi’s.

“Got it!” Heidi nodded.

Her Will accumulated rapidly. She floated in the air and faced her palms at Saks.

A powerful force suddenly surged forward, lifting Heidi’s clothes and hair!

“Will Cannon: Level Three!”

Heidi was able to mind three things at once, meaning that she could Cast three spells simultaneously. It was clearly an insane Innate Talent!

Heidi had used all her focus on strengthening her Will. Her mental strength was already outstanding, meaning that a single blast of her Will Cannon could easily inflict serious damage on a Super Mage, let alone three stacks of it!

Saks beat his wings, moving up and down in the air. The first blast was around a hundred meters above him. He managed to dodge it.

The second blast landed on Saks’ back. He immediately expended the Wind Wings to defend himself.

The third blast struck him accurately, but he had a layer of Light Magic protecting him. The golden light still dissipated after it was struck by the Will Cannon. Saks fell from the sky and slammed heavily into a water tank.

Water splashed out onto the street. Saks was drenched when he climbed out of the tank, more than a little annoyed.

He directed the wind blades still circling in the air at Heidi. There were at least a few hundred of them left yet, and they sliced at Heidi from different angles. Heidi was hovering in the air, and quickly dove to the ground to dodge some of the blades that were approaching her at sharp angles.

“Don’t worry, I’m here!” Zhao Manyan called out from nearby.

A Light Star Constellation lit up at the same time. Glowing scales flew toward Heidi and formed a glowing suit of armor on her. The number of scales was shocking. The rest of the scales circled Heidi like little guardian spirits in golden armor!

“That might not be enough,” Mu Bai commented.

“Don’t worry, there are more coming! Water Curtain: Barrier!” Zhao Manyan immediately cast a Water Spell after the Light Spell, obviously prepared to chain-cast the two spells at any time, and was done Channeling both spells in no time. The Water Curtain was pouring down around Heidi like a huge umbrella before the wind blades could arrive!

Zhao Manyan had strengthened the two defensive spells with Baxia’s Seal. In addition to that, the two Elements were enchanted by Soul-grade Seeds that provided them with extra resistance, absorption, and immunity. The two spells would have no problem resisting a Super Spell!

Zhao Manyan was not afraid even if Saks cast a stronger Super Spell. He still had a trump card available: the defense of his Earth Element!

His Earth Element was strengthened by the Blessing of the God’s Seal. Together with Baxia’s Seal and his Soul-grade Seed, he was quite confident that Saks’ Super Spell would never be able to hurt Heidi!

“Damn it, these guys are monsters too!” Saks grumbled anxiously.

Not only was Mo Fan able to kill a Super Mage, this woman with pure Dimensional Magic was a tough opponent too! Saks had no clue what to do against her outstanding mental strength, and had to keep dodging her attacks. To Saks’ surprise, Zhao Manyan, whom they had locked up before, was a maniac, too! The man could even nullify his Super Wind Spell!

Unfortunately, Saks’ Super Wind Spell was only in the first tier. If he could strengthen the Thousand Leaves Saber into the Slaughtering Wind Slash, these kids would have stood no chance against him!

Saks suddenly felt a great chill coming down from above while he was grumbling to himself.

He looked up and saw an enormous Icebound Coffin diving at him rapidly.

Saks quickly ran away with a Wind Track. The Icebound Coffin’s frost spread at a terrifying pace as soon as it touched the ground.

The water that had poured out from the water tank froze instantly, actually speeding up the spread of the frost. The drenched Saks could already feel his body stiffening…

1560 Fortress Cairo

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had already sent a Rebelling Shadow to the main fortress to follow Gangma when he was busy fighting Vani and Saks. Unfortunately, Gangma was too quick at running away. The shadow failed to find him in time.

Mo Fan could only follow the slight trace of the Dark Material, which never stopped spreading. The objects that the target came into contact with, the ripples of magic, and even some communication devices could be infiltrated by the Dark Material. Gangma was still stained by a thin layer of Dark Material. Mo Fan could barely stay on his trail!

The fortifications were around four kilometers from the front line. Mo Fan sprinted through the dark and cast Fleeing Shadow continually. He was not slow; he could already hear the deafening noises from the fighting at the front line after traveling for more than ten minutes in the form of a shadow bird.

Mo Fan was quite familiar with those noises. It was the same for every battle: the magic blasts, the energy explosions, the roars of demon creatures, and the cries of agony from the wounded…

After crossing a reserve trench, Fortress Cairo, built from soil and sand, showed up in front of Mo Fan. Every continent had quite a number of reputable fortresses. The East Maritime Fortress that Mo Fan had visited in Japan was the most frequently involved in battles there. Meanwhile, the scale of the wars in Africa, including the one that Cairo was involved in, were exceedingly huge. The war between humans and the undead had lasted for thousands of years, and was still going on today. Similar to the black land around the Ancient Capital, the tombs, underground, catacombs, mausoleums, and terrifying creatures that were unwilling to depart from the world even when they were dead could be seen everywhere.

“He already went inside, damn it!” Mo Fan grumbled, staring at the fortress.

There were a lot of Egyptian soldiers inside the fortress. There was no way Mo Fan could fight them all by himself…

However, Mo Fan was not willing to let Gangma escape just like that.

“Huh? He used magic?” Mo Fan saw a black fly approaching him from the distance.

The black fly was the feedback from the Dark Material. Gangma had underestimated Mo Fan’s tracking ability. He did not even bother asking a Light Mage to Purify him and his communication devices!

Not only would the Dark Material not dissipate, it would continue to spread inside his body. The spread might be slow, but once the Dark Material reached a certain level, Mo Fan could trigger the Dark Wither when Gangma was in deep sleep and murder him, just like Bei Jiang had murdered Leng Qing without alerting anyone!

Mo Fan had the same ability too, but the conditions were stricter. One of them was the need for a Commander-level Soul Essence.

A Commander-level Soul Essence was extremely valuable. Mo Fan could Summon an extra Commander-level Summoned Beast if he offered it to the Magic Medium Ring that Brianca had given him!

“Damn it, that son of a b**ch is going to harm more little girls if I let him live. I can always collect more Commander-level Soul Essences, but Gangma has to die!” Mo Fan clenched his teeth, deciding to take out Gangma!

Gangma had already fled into the crowded fortress, but it also meant the man had most likely let his guard down. Bei Jiang was able to kill someone more than a thousand li away, Mo Fan believed it was his turn to give it a try!

“I’ll sneak into the fortress and spread as much Dark Material as I can,” Mo Fan said to himself.

The fortress was currently fending off the undead army. It was unlikely that anyone would put too much attention on Mo Fan.

If he stumbled into some old generals with impressive cultivation, he would still be able to escape with the Dark Noble Mantle, so he was bold enough to give it a go!

—

He entered the fortress from the rear. The fortress was largely built of soil and sand. Only some of the important structures were built with sturdy rock; those structures were usually located on higher ground.

The terrain in the fortress was complicated and odd. There were sand dunes, twisting barriers that consisted of hard piles of soil, and interconnected buildings. The whole fortress resembled an enormous maze made of thick sand. The terrain was favorable to Mages when they were fighting against the undead.

The area of the East Maritime Fortress in Tokyo was less than a fifth that of Egypt’s Fortress Cairo. It was extremely convenient for a Shadow Mage like Mo Fan to move around in. He could easily avoid patrols by hiding in the buildings that were connected to one another.

There were many Mages with the Undead Element in Egypt. The battle at the front line was a great mess, as the undead Summoned by the Mages and the undead from the Pyramid of Khafre clashed with one another. Mo Fan could only see black masses of undead moving around from afar, and enough blood that it had formed a lake!

Khafre’s army was unstoppable. When Mo Fan glided across the tall buildings, he could see more undead further away reinforcing the army of undead at the front line.

The enemy undead kept coming. Even if the Mages stacked their Summoned creatures like walls of flesh, it was only a matter of time before they collapsed to the ground. Loud, colorful spells poured down like raindrops, but the undead still managed to climb to their feet, swaying with broken limbs.

The army of snake and scorpion demons was the real problem for Cairo’s army. They were positioned on both sides of the enormous lake of blood. They kept ambushing and harassing the troops, resulting in great losses to the Egyptian soldiers.

Mo Fan landed on a building, just as an enormous scorpion demon rammed into the first four levels of the building. The floors below collapsed instantly.

There were a few Hunters and members of the Magic Association on the building. A Huntress in her thirties was giving orders to them. Mo Fan did not understand her since she was talking in Egyptian.

“Which troop are you from? Why aren’t you running away still? Do you want to die!?” the Huntress scolded angrily when she saw Mo Fan running around.

Mo Fan landed on the ground and dodged the building that was now collapsing on him. Unfortunately, the black scorpion had its eyes on him. It spread its legs and produced the sound of a crop reaper!

The Huntress noticed that Mo Fan was not an Egyptian, and quickly yelled at him in English, “Find somewhere to hide, you idiot!”

Mo Fan remained motionless. The building broke into pieces less than six meters from him. The huge black scorpion was extremely close to him, too. The Hunters nearby all let out a sigh, as they all assumed he was dead for sure.

A faint silver light flashed. Mo Fan’s eyes sharpened as the debris falling from the building was eerily encapsulated by the silver light. It all came to a stop in the air, not even the dust particles were falling.

“Go!”

The debris that was supposed to fall on him flew at the huge black scorpion at an even greater speed!

The black scorpion had thick skin and sturdy flesh. The Hunters had not inflicted any injuries on it after casting a few Intermediate Spells, but the debris that Mo Fan had sped up smashed the black scorpion flat. Its pulped meat and blood oozed out of its carapace and scattered across the ground.

“A…A Space Mage!” The Huntress and her allies were dumbfounded.

They had failed to kill the black scorpion despite putting in so much effort, yet the young man had killed it in an instant, so easily!

“Can I ask who’s commanding this battle?” Mo Fan put on a friendly smile, looking at the blank-faced Mages.

The Lightning Element was already a very impressive Element among ordinary Mages, so these Mages were utterly shocked when they saw anyone with the Space Element.

Mo Fan, on the other hand, was constantly surrounded by geniuses, elites, talented Mages, and even the people he came across in other countries were all from the upper class. Therefore, Elements like Space, Lightning, and Summoning were not that special to them.

“It’s General Ethan!” the Huntress replied after a brief pause.

“Can you tell me about him while you are treating your injuries?” Mo Fan asked.

“That won’t be a problem, I’m Jenny,” The Huntress was a lot friendlier than before. Her eyes purposely looked him up and down.

Jenny was a Hunter. Her squad consisted of seven people, each with some injuries. The poison was spreading, too. It was going to be a tough fight between them and the black scorpion, but Mo Fan had shown up in time to rescue them from the pinch.

The truth was, in addition to the soldiers fighting at the front line, the members of most factions would form squads when the city was at war. Mo Fan did not have to disguise himself. He would not gather too much attention, despite his nationality, as long as he did not enter the areas forbidden by the military.

There were countless squads similar to the one led by Jenny in Fortress Cairo. Some were recruited by the army, others were voluntary.

“The commander-in-chief of the battle is General Ethan, one of five Generals in Cairo. He’s from the renowned Maekar Clan. He has been serving in the military since he graduated from the military academy. Even though he’s from a renowned clan, he’s been slowly climbing through the ranks, starting from being appointed to the secondary towns at the head of the Nile, to his current position. I remember that he was the General of my city when I was studying in Lita. The demon creatures kept invading the plantations around the safe zone and endangering the city. It was General Ethan who defeated the demon creatures and took back our important land…” Jenny obviously admired General Ethan. He was a military prodigy, and national hero to her!

1561 Apas Is Still Alive?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan remembered Fenna mentioning the five Generals in Cairo to him now that Jenny had brought it up.

Fenna was currently serving under General Haken. She had attracted the attention of the leaders in Cairo after the battle of the mirage in Puccini. Since then, Fenna had made quite a few contributions and earned General Haken’s direct attention. She was then relocated to the army in Cairo.

Haken was the Supreme Commander, but according to Jenny, the man had grown old, unlike General Ethan, who had gotten some inspiring victories lately. General Ethan had been getting a lot of supporters, and even the renowned clans and formidable factions were supporting him behind the scenes. It was very likely that General Ethan would replace General Haken once he retired.

“If he’s so impressive, why isn’t the army doing well in the battle?” Mo Fan asked.

“Maybe the people aren’t united enough. This invasion from the Pyramid of Khafre is a lot stronger than the previous battles. The army of snake and scorpion demons has already expended a lot of our fighting capacity,” Jenny informed him.

“Alright, thank you. Is this the way to the Square Tower?” Mo Fan asked.

“It is, but no one is allowed to get close to it,” Jenny reminded him.

——

Mo Fan headed to the Square Tower after understanding the situation.

The Square Tower was very tall, the most magnificent structure in the fortress. It had two main parts: the lower half was a sturdy fortress made of steel, while the upper half was the defensive tower that soared above the clouds!

Mo Fan followed the directions that Jenny had given him for around ten minutes, and saw the special building.

(No, I have no idea why he couldn’t simply Look Up and see it. – The Editor)

He had heard a thing or two about the Square Tower when he was in the city. The Square Tower was Cairo’s important guardian spirit. The undead in Egypt could only move around in the living world within the deathlight’s reach, and could not go anywhere without the deathlight. The Square Tower could emit a special light that would nullify the deathlight within its reach.

The Square Tower was the main reason why the people of Cairo were so calm, even when their city was at war!

“If Gangma’s superior is General Ethan, wouldn’t that mean he’s responsible for the young Medusa, too?” Mo Fan was a little confused.

If the man was a military prodigy who made a lot of contributions to the country, why would he be raising a young Medusa to aid her growth? Was there some kind of corrupt dealings involved?

Mo Fan arrived in front of the Square Tower. He looked up at the enormous pitch-black structure. He could not tell how thick the steel wall was, nor the number of experts that were inside the tower. Mo Fan could not help but feel a little troubled.

The Dark Material was spreading too slowly, nowhere fast enough to take Gangma’s life. Mo Fan had to seed a little more of the Dark Material in him, but he was wondering how to find a way to sneak inside after seeing how well-defended the place was.

“Huh? That guy looks so familiar!” Mo Fan suddenly noticed a man with golden-brown hair when he was roaming nearby. He almost failed to recognize the man, since he was now wearing a military outfit.

The man was followed by two women soldiers with alluring figures. He must be enjoying himself, having such special treatment even when a battle was going on.

Mo Fan crept closer and saw the man standing by a corner in front of the tower. He seemed to be waiting for someone.

“I’ll use him to sneak inside. It seems his rank isn’t low at all,” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

Mo Fan released the Dark Material along the ground. It was difficult to notice the black substance spreading under one’s feet when it was dark.

Sayed had poor awareness. He was chatting with the two female soldiers excitedly, occasionally grinning proudly.

Sayed had been a member of Egypt’s national team. Mo Fan was well aware of his strength and his Elements. He was confident that the man would never notice his Dark Material, considering how slow his reactions were…

The Dark Material crawled silently onto Sayed. He suddenly shuddered and looked around him.

“What is it?” the female soldier with drawn eyebrows asked.

“Nothing, let’s not wait any further, since the guy isn’t here yet. Let’s head inside, I don’t want my uncle to wait too long,” Sayed told her.

“Mm, the intel you’ve acquired is surely going to be of great help to the battle!” another tanned female soldier with a seductive demeanor agreed.

—

Sayed went inside the fortress with the two women. He did not notice that his shadow was a lot thicker than usual after crossing the heavily-guarded bridge. Little did he know, someone was actually hiding inside his shadow. The guards did not bother checking when they saw it was Sayed, and simply let him through. Mo Fan was hiding under Sayed’s shadow, and let out a relieved sigh.

If any of the guards had the Light Element, they would easily notice his presence with a quick check. The Light Element was a Shadow Mage’s greatest weakness. Luckily, Sayed’s rank was higher than he expected!

Mo Fan was relieved that he had chosen the right person. The other people that Mo Fan had initially thought about choosing had all undergone strict checks.

“This Sayed keeps staring at the women. Is he thinking of making out with her after he is done reporting? No wonder he seemed to be in poor health during the World College Tournament, he must have overworked himself!” Mo Fan murmured after observing Sayed carefully.

“Mm? A shadow fly?” Mo Fan suddenly noticed a tiny fly coming toward him.

The shadow fly was a unique signal that only he would notice. Even if a Light Mage noticed it, they would only assume it to be some insignificant wisp of energy.

Mo Fan thought the shadow fly was from Gangma. It was a sign that the Dark Material had spread further, but he was overjoyed when the shadow fly merged with his shadow!

“Apas… the girl is still alive, that’s great!”

The shadow fly had come from Apas, and the extremely faint Dark Material on her. Mo Fan had lost all hope for her. He had thought Apas was already dead, since he could not locate her. To his surprise, she was still alive, and seemed to be trapped in complete darkness, allowing the tiny hint of Dark Material to provide him with feedback on her whereabouts!

It was so fortunate Bei Jiang from the Hall of Assassins had given him the extremely useful Dark Material, the Fiendish Night. Otherwise, he would be venturing around aimlessly, like a headless fly, instead!

Chapter 1562 General Ethan

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan spread the Dark Material onto Sayed. He made sure that Sayed was carrying enough Dark Material so he could move on to the next step.

When Sayed turned the corner, his shadow crossed the shadow of a huge vase nearby. Sayed and the two female soldiers did not notice his shadow thinning down.

Sayed’s footsteps and the sound of their conversation slowly faded into the distance. Mo Fan was just about to come out of the shadow when he noticed a surveillance camera aimed at him.

Luckily, I didn’t come out right away. Otherwise, I would have been compromised, Mo Fan muttered to himself.

There were people watching the surveillance cameras 24/7 in a military base like this. They might not see Mo Fan, but if they saw shadows moving on their own, the experienced watchers would know that a Shadow Mage had infiltrated their base. They would immediately send Light Mages after him!

Mo Fan waited patiently. He soon heard a bunch of footsteps passing by at a quick pace.

Mo Fan waited for their shadows to get closer. He quickly moved into their shadows and took a convenient ride to the next location.

Saving Apas’ life was more important than taking Gangma’s life. Mo Fan decided to put Gangma aside for now. He followed the guidance of the shadow fly while searching for Apas in the building’s complicated layout.

The structure had many levels and extremely complicated hallways. Every corner was covered by a surveillance camera, so Mo Fan had no choice but to rely on soldiers that were passing by to move around.

—

“Why isn’t anyone coming yet?” Mo Fan began to panic as he waited in a corner under a light stand.

There were fewer soldiers passing by the deeper he ventured into the building, most likely because the soldiers needed higher clearances to move through that area.

Just as Mo Fan was about to lose his patience, he heard the crisp sounds of boots tapping on the floor. He quickly looked toward the sounds and saw an old man in a black military coat heading in his direction.

The military coat was too big for him, almost touching the ground. The old man suddenly halted in his tracks when he came closer to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat!

Don’t tell me the guy is able to detect my presence!? Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

The old man seemed to have stopped because a sudden thought had crossed his mind. He continued forward after pausing for a few seconds. Mo Fan conveniently attached to the old man’s shadow.

However, for some reason, Mo Fan immediately regretted his decision after he hopped a ride.

The old man’s cultivation was outstanding. If he happened to be a Light Mage or a Shadow Mage, he would have noticed Mo Fan by now.

To his relief, the old man did not show any reaction.

The old man’s destination was not where Mo Fan was planning to go. He parted ways with the old man who had helped him travel quite a distance before reaching the entrance of a spacious hall in the underground.

Mo Fan was a little worried even after he separated from the old man’s shadow. He had a feeling that the old man was aware of his presence. If the old man knew he was an intruder, he clearly would not have stood a chance against the old man.

Mo Fan found a ladder not being watched by a surveillance camera that led him a level down. The place was very dark too, a perfect environment for Mo Fan to sneak around in.

—

The door of the hall shut tight. The hunchbacked old man walked to the center of the place. A few soldiers waiting inside the hall immediately panicke, and quickly saluted with utter respect.

The soldier in charge straightened up and asked, “Great Commander, how can we help you?”

“Oh, I must have come to the wrong place. I should be going upstairs. I must be old to make such a careless mistake,” General Haken shook his head and sighed.

“Please, it’s my honor to walk you there!” the soldier quickly volunteered.

“That won’t be necessary, focus on the tasks on hand,” General Haken waved his hand and walked out the door.

He glanced in the direction that Mo Fan had gone in and put on a confused face. “What’s that kid doing in here?” General Haken mumbled to himself.

Fenna had submitted the proposal of opening up the Gate of the Underworld to her superior long ago. As a General of Cairo’s army, Haken was familiar with the details of her proposal, so he had also read some information about Mo Fan.

General Haken recognized Mo Fan hiding in the shadow, yet he did not expose the young man. He wanted to know why Mo Fan had snuck into the base!

—

—

Two levels below the military base…

“The presence of the Shadow Element is very strong here… no wonder the Fiendish Night managed to keep growing,” Mo Fan murmured.

Mo Fan was able to move freely in the darkness. To his surprise, the place was not a military institution, but a prison!

The cells were enchanted with dark magic. When Mo Fan peeked into one of the cells, he realized that the cell was not occupied by a human, but a snake-person cowering in the corner!

The snake-human noticed Mo Fan. Its triangle eyes stared at Mo Fan with a hint of anger.

It pounced at Mo Fan and slammed into the door heavily. It wanted to dig its way out of the cage and swallow him.

Mo Fan automatically backed away.

It was common for magic institutions to capture demon creatures. The Research Union of the Magic Association would often capture demon creatures to observe their behavior and abilities. They also conducted experiments on the demon creatures. As a matter of fact, rumors said that humans had actually learned a lot about magic from the demon creatures!

Mo Fan kept going forward. He was surprised to see the number of cells in the underground. More than a hundred demon creatures were imprisoned here. Among them was a red scorpion imprisoned in a huge cell. Its level was not low at all!

“What is the military up to?” Mo Fan was even more confused.

He was getting closer to Apas’ location. He finally found the right place, locked in a cell protected by magic formations.

The cell was different from the others, filled with a kind of blue rock crystal. The walls were covered in the same rock crystals. It was magnificent, like a blue palace.

Mo Fan heard footsteps approaching from behind him before he could take a closer look at the cell.

He turned around and saw a man with a massive build. He had cold, imperious eyes that glittered in the dark.

Mo Fan was immediately on alert. He stared at the man approaching him.

“Why would you bother coming all the way here? Don’t you know it’s time to give up after learning that the authorities of this country are involved? Or perhaps you never learned when you were in your own country that the more eager you are to seek the truth, the worse situation you’ll find yourself in!?” the man spoke in a calm voice.

“Who are you?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“Gangma’s superior, the Commander-in-chief of this battle, Generl Ethan! Don’t worry, I’m not going to harm you. I just want to talk. I know who you are,” Ethan replied calmly.

The man did not attack Mo Fan. He could kill Mo Fan in an instant if Mo Fan did not use his Demon Element.

The man was not displaying any intention to attack Mo Fan. He walked toward the cell and waved his hand to deactivate the magic Formation.

Mo Fan was utterly confused about what the man was up to. To his surprise, the man invited him into the cell with a gesture.

Mo Fan knew it was meaningless to fight back under the circumstances. He walked inside the cell.

General Ethan walked in front of him, as if he was leading the way.

“Calm down, I just want you to listen to what I have to say,” General Ethan said.

“Does someone like you really have to justify yourself to me?” Mo Fan asked sharply.

General Ethan smiled and said, “An old friend of mine gave me a piece of friendly advice. She told me not to provoke you, or things were going to get extremely complicated.”

“An old friend?” Mo Fan frowned.

“She’s your enemy. I know how extraordinary you are. I don’t want you to bring me any trouble. I hate troubles; the Pyramid of Khafre is already a huge pain in the ass for me!” General Ethan kept going forward.

They walked past a dozen huge pillars and arrived at a place covered in white goose feathers.

The goose feathers were scattered on the ground like a luxurious bed, but a Princess of Egypt was not lying on it. It was a Medusa, her face and upper body covered by her hair, her lower body covered in glittering red scales!

It was the young Medusa that Mo Fan had stumbled into before. He clearly remembered her blue face.

The young Medusa picked up Mo Fan’s scent, and extended out angrily. Her body was very flexible. She slowly moved forward while using her tail to support her long body.

Her sticky hair looked very disgusting. Her blue face and body resembled a woman, yet they were far from beautiful.

The young Medusa moved closer to Mo Fan and stuck her tongue out. It gently touched Mo Fan’s face while he remained motionless.

Mo Fan had even beaten up a Scorpion Lord Medusa, who might even be the young Medusa’s grandmother. Why would he be afraid of the young Medusa? Even if the young Medusa grew up, she might only be a Red Scorpion Gorgon, an average Ruler-level creature!

Chapter 1563 Treating Everything With Contemp

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

The young Medusa suddenly opened her mouth, as if she was going to tear Mo Fan’s head off with a snap of her jaws. Her mouth could spread hugely, wider than half of her face. The poisonous fangs swept past Mo Fan’s face and left a cut on it.

Mo Fan did not react, nor did the young Medusa really bite at him. She suddenly laughed like a giggling woman.

“I don’t know how you found this place, but the girl you are looking for is already dead, or should I say, she has already merged with the young Medusa and became a part of her body or face,” General Ethan said.

Mo Fan looked at the young Medusa without expression.

Mo Fan had already sensed it when he was outside. The shadow fly did not come from Apas, it actually came from the young Medusa!

The young Medusa had eaten Apas. Her face and body resembled the little girl’s. Mo Fan’s heart was filled with rage, yet who was he supposed to vent it on? The cruel demon creature that ate people, or the man who was an authority in the military?

“Must you really rely on such an inhumane way!?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mo Fan, I was like you when I was at your age. I once led my men and fought the scorpion demons for three days and nights straight just to save a merchant’s pregnant wife in the wild. After saving her, I had to bury my own men in the sand… when Kamui City was threatened by a mirage, the military gave up on the small city because they were busy fending off the creatures from the Sahara Desert. My men and I were there and fought our way out when we were surrounded by the undead… I have done things like that many times.” General Ethan lit up a cigarette that he had taken out from his front pocket.

Ethan remembered to offer the young man a cigarette. When Mo Fan did not accept it, he lit the cigarette up himself and inhaled deeply.

“There are many ways to win a war, but most people think it’s most effective to fight the demon creatures and drive them out of our territory… By using that method, Mages would die even if we won the war, but if we lost, the civilians are the ones to suffer. The other way is what Gangma was doing, by offering some insignificant little girls to the snake demons and earning their leaders’ trust. In the end, the Mages won’t have to die, and neither do the civilians,” Ethan said.

“So that’s how you became a General? Feeding your own people to the enemy leaders that are trying to invade your land so you can send them off with a smile in exchange for some peace?” Mo Fan grinned coldly.

“It guaranteed the lives of a few thousand elites, allowing us to fend off the undead of the Pyramid of Khafre tonight!” Ethan replied.

“I was very impressed by your people for being able to survive for thousands of years in one of the most dangerous places in the world. They must have some impressive traits flowing in their blood, but it turns out that you’re only relying on such a filthy method… why did your people even bother overthrowing the Pharaohs? Isn’t it better to be ruled over by the powerful Pharaohs and continue to live as worthless slaves!?” Mo Fan grunted at Ethan.

Mo Fan initially thought the reason was much more complicated, but it turned out to be so simple and straightforward. It was just to make the fighting easier for them! The army would offer little girls like Apas to the snake demons and scorpion demons to enlighten them, so they would withdraw in advance.

To think that the army was using such a method in exchange for some ugly peace! Mo Fan was overwhelmed by sorrow and rage at the same time!

“We can never kill them all, those things just keep coming. It’s been the same for thousands of years. The lives of a few girls or a few thousand Mages… it’s a very easy choice to make. I believe in another ten years, after you’re overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness multiple times and have witnessed the corpses of your men piling up because of your failures, you too will shred your pride and dignity and push a few girls down the cliff into the nest of snake demons.

“I won’t deny that I’m a devil; I deserve to go to Hell, but you can’t deny the peace I’ve brought to the city, either! As a matter of fact, when death is grabbing people by their throats, they will want these girls pushed down the cliff more than anyone else. The people despise cruel, inhumane assh**** like me, yet they still hope someone will do the same as I did, so they can lie on their sofas comfortably and share how detestable people like me are to the others in a park.” Ethan continued while staring at the young Medusa. He was wearing a strange smile as he spoke.

“It’s actually easier to get along with the demon creatures than us humans. They will just leave if we treat them well. Meanwhile, humans might push you off the edge of the cliff, even after you’ve served them well!”

Ethan shared a lot, highlighting the tough times he had been through despite his calm tone.

“It’s time for me to leave. The people are still hoping that I will blow the horn of victory for them, even though many lives are going to be lost. If we win, a lot of my men are still going to die. If we lose, many of the civilians behind the army are also going to die. Feel free to expose my crime. It’s meaningless, even if you have some solid evidence. Cairo needs me, since I can bring them victory and peace. When they cry as their lives are threatened by the demon creatures, they will think lightly of the crimes I’ve committed.

“By the way, I remember that your country normally won’t kill a Ruler-level creature. They will spare the lives of the Ruler-level creatures that they catch, too. Otherwise, not only would it topple the balance between different species, it might infuriate the creature’s parents… Say, is there really any difference between our countries?” Ethan flicked the cigarette to the ground and headed toward the exit. He completely ignored Mo Fan’s existence.

—

General Ethan’s footsteps faded into the distance. Mo Fan stood inside the cell, while the young Medusa moved back and forth, showing off the appearance of the little girl whose death Mo Fan was grieving about. The creature was observing her prey like a starving woman. Mo Fan was utterly disgusted by the sight of her…

However, Mo Fan was actually angrier at General Ethan. Behind his brilliance as Cairo’s military prodigy were piles of dead little girls like Apas!

He might be spilling the beans about how brutal the truth was, yet it did not conceal his pride and arrogance as he treated the little girls’ lives with contempt!

It was more than disheartening!

1564 Tearing The Medusa Apart In Rage!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was power, true power that could take away the value of human lives. Mo Fan’s chest heaved heavily as he stood there in this place built like a palace, specifically for a demon creature!

The deeper he dug to find out the truth, the bloodier it was. People always said that ignorance was bliss; at least they would not feel the sorrow and anger surging into their throats after they learned the truth. It was suffocating, and he was clueless about how to vent it all out!

“Mo Fan…Mo Fan…” a worried voice said from the dark.

Mo Fan did not hear it. General Ethan’s words were still echoing in his mind. He was unable to calm himself down.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan, why are you here?” Fenna came up to Mo Fan. She was even more worried when she saw the blank look on his face.

Ethan’s men had told Fenna that Mo Fan was two levels under the base. Fenna just happened to have withdrawn from the front line to take a rest. She immediately came here without treating her injuries.

“Fenna, let me ask you something…” Mo Fan slowly lifted his gaze and stared at Fenna.

Fenna was startled. She could sense the chill in Mo Fan’s eyes. It was like he was looking at a stranger whom he should be cautious around!

“What is it?” Fenna replied.

“Did you know the military was raising a young Medusa!?” Mo Fan asked in a heavy voice, pointing at the creature lying contentedly on her bed of goose feathers.

The young Medusa did not attack Mo Fan and Fenna. She was inspecting them, as if she knew the humans would not dare to harm her. She even knew the humans would continue to deliver little girls to help nurture her!

“Well…” Fenna glanced at the young Medusa. She had already heard the series of events from General Ethan’s men. She was avoiding Mo Fan’s gaze. She finally said after some time, “I only heard rumors about it, but you have to believe me that General Haken and I aren’t involved in it!”

“But you guys are still turning a blind eye to it!” Mo Fan let out a self-mocking laugh.

“We…” Fenna was left speechless.

“We are weak and have lost our integrity, like a bunch of livestock raised in a herd,” another voice appeared, followed by footsteps approaching them slowly.

Mo Fan followed the voice and saw the old man in a black military coat from before. He had a hunchback, yet his eyes were alert and lively.

“General!” Fenna immediately came to attention and saluted the old man.

General Haken waved his hand and said in a self-mocking tone, “Saluting is a way to pay respect, but you no longer have to salute me after tonight. I’m clearly not worthy of you and your friend’s respect.”

“First General Ethan, who’s currently in the limelight, and now the highest-ranked General. The Egyptian army is really treating me quite seriously,” Mo Fan scoffed.

“I have heard of your achievements at Beijiang in China; a leader of your country told me about you. You do have the right to look down on us useless soldiers, considering what you’ve done…” General Haken replied.

Mo Fan knew what General Haken was referring to: the Great Pyramid of Giza! China’s Beijiang was recklessly invaded by the Great Pyramid of Giza; its line of defense consisted of onlya few hundred elite Mages and the Northguard Fortress, but they still managed to stop an army of undead that was a lot scarier than the one being sent out by the Pyramid of Khafre. Not a single civilian was hurt!

In Haken’s eyes, it was definitely a miracle. After fighting endless battles in Egypt for dozens of years, he was more familiar than anyone else about how great a disaster the deathlight of the Great Pyramid of Giza could bring to a nation!

“The people of your country must be extremely proud of someone like you, bringing peace to the cities without blood, dead bodies, or the cries of agony… As a matter of fact, our country has a reliable expert too, but unfortunately, he isn’t the aged old man that has nothing but an empty shell left standing in front of you. He is younger, bolder, has more power, and knows how to win battles better than me. General Ethan is Egypt’s Mo Fan, loved and respected by the people! Of course, you are only representing yourself. You don’t shout out to the people everything you’ve done, but regardless of what the people think, the gratitude that the people feel from surviving the disasters will forever be imprinted in their hearts,” General Haken said.

“What are you trying to tell me? Are you asking me to mind my own business, too?” Mo Fan asked impatiently.

He was in a terrible mood. His heart felt a stabbing pain whenever he recalled the vulnerable little girl Apas turning into a pile of bones for the sake of this war!

“I just want you to understand that the war never ends. General Ethan will forever stand at the highest point in Cairo, like the ruler of a Pyramid. He will never be punished for his sins. Even the International Military Tribunal would not dare put him on trial. The Holy Judgment Court won’t judge a person with a high rank in the military, either!” General Haken said.

It was sad yet infuriating. Mo Fan was disgusted by both the International Military Tribunal and the Holy Court Mages who had absolute jurisdiction over Magedom. They insisted on judging certain people to death if it would benefit themselves, yet when someone was still useful and valuable, they would pretend like there was nothing they could do, regardless of how serious the crimes the person had committed were!

Power and status… Mo Fan now had a clearer understanding of what Zhao Manyan had told him about before!

Perhaps the Cold Prince and Salan’s beliefs were not completely wrong, after all. These authorities were actually no different from them! They believed the deaths of some insignificant people were necessary to achieve their ambitions!

However, Mo Fan found the idea unbearable, something that he had an urge to tear into pieces with his own hands!

Insignificant?

Is there anyone that is insignificant in this world?

Is there anyone that is really worthless?

Even the most insignificant person is worth everything to their family!

Did they forget that General Ethan was once hiding under the wings of someone else? If it weren’t for the experts that respected every person’s life and swore to fight the demon creatures to the end, he would have died long ago to the merciless demon creatures, before he even learned magic!

Mo Fan had always been grateful. He was so weak in Bo City. He only survived because of people like Headmaster Zhu and Zhan Kong, who insisted on protecting the city. It was the reason he had been willing to do his best to save the Ancient Capital Institute, and for his brilliance during the World College Tournament, and why he was unwilling to retreat even when he was facing the Great Pyramid of Giza!

One was allowed to choose between saving a little girl or a few thousand Mages, if they really had to make a choice for the sake of the big picture.

However, it did not necessarily mean it was acceptable to push a little girl who was supposed to live a normal life into a nest of snakes to ensure a few thousand Mages could survive. It was not a choice that had to be made, but a morbid state of mind that happened when humans compromised from helplessness!

That morbid state of mind was contagious. Mo Fan had no idea how many people were already in the same state, yet he would never let himself fall to that level!

He would not let Apas die just like that. He would never give up!

Mo Fan’s gaze suddenly sharpened. His eyes emitted silver rays, stabbing at the young Medusa like swords.

The young Medusa was tidying her hair casually, hoping that her hair would turn into snakes as soon as possible. She did not panic even when she saw the murderous look in Mo Fan’s eyes.

She was very intelligent. She knew the humans would not dare to harm her!

The silver energy of Telekinesis grabbed the young Medusa by her throat. It dragged the young Medusa who was combing her hair so indifferently toward Mo Fan.

The young Medusa did not resist. She was right in front of Mo Fan, yet she still provoked Mo Fan by hissing at his enraged face.

“You’re quite pleased with yourself, aren’t you?” Mo Fan asked with a cold smirk, staring at the young Medusa’s stolen face.

The young Medusa hissed again, as if she just had an enjoyable meal.

The young Medusa knew it was Mo Fan that had saved Apas the first time. She was trying to tell Mo Fan how delicious the little girl was. Most importantly, she was saying, “I ate the person that you desperately tried to protect, yet what can you possibly do about it!?”

“Perhaps most people in this world wouldn’t dare to touch you… including some Forbidden Mages. However, scum like you isn’t allowed to eat anyone that I’m looking after as you please!” Mo Fan screamed angrily.

Mo Fan poured the energy of Telekinesis into his hands. He grabbed the young Medusa’s body and waist as if he was trying to vent all his anger on her.

This creature was not meant to have Apas’ appearance! Mo Fan used his hands to tear the young Medusa apart with pure brute force!

Fresh blood poured across the blue crystals and white goose feathers.

The young Medusa let out a pained cry. The proud expression she was bearing had vanished. Her face was filled with fear, pain, and disbelief!

Scorching blood scattered onto Mo Fan’s hair. The viscous liquid oozed slowly down his face and landed on his shoulders and body. He turned blazing red in no time, yet his eyes were filled with extremely cold rage!

The young Medusa was covered in blood. She kept writhing back and forth on the ground.

Her upper body was twisting about, and she let out a piercing screech of pain. Her cry echoed through the tower!

1565 The Living Human In The Stomach

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Fenna was dumbfounded. She stared at Mo Fan as white steam rose into the air from the scorching blood of the young Medusa. She felt like she could see his passionate heart pounding heavily right before her!

General Haken was startled, too. He could sense an unyielding spirit from the young man the moment he tore the young Medusa apart. The young man’s fearlessness was something he had never seen before. Even if an entire formidable species and a military prodigy that was currently ruling over a city were against him, he had still decided to tear his enemy apart with his own hands!

The two sections of the young Medusa’s body kept writhing, trying to connect with one another, yet before they could come together, the young Medusa began to stiffen.

A moment later, the two sections started to turn into stone from the inside out. The young Medusa was thoroughly dead.

In the end, the petrified body of the young Medusa crumbled into dust and disappeared on its own.

He discovered something covered by a bright red membrane amid the dust. The membrane was a little transparent, revealing a petite figure curled up inside it…

Mo Fan initially thought it was an enormous egg from the young Medusa, but he was overjoyed when he took a closer look…

It was Apas!

The person inside the membrane was actually Apas! The young Medusa had clearly swallowed Apas alive. She was slowly digesting her in a special way to obtain the little girl’s beauty.

“She’s not dead yet!” Fenna stared at the membrane that had fallen out of the young Medusa’s body in astonishment and horror. It was difficult for her to imagine General Ethan actually feeding a living girl to the young Medusa!

Apas’ breathing was extremely weak, but it was there. It meant that the Fiendish Night did not make a mistake, Apas was not dead. She was only swallowed alive by the young Medusa, and was right inside the young Medusa’s body!

Most snakes would not tear their prey apart. They would paralyze their prey with poison or constriction, and swallow them once they lost consciousness to digest slowly… Even if the prey was still alive during the process, they would have no chance to resist.

It was exactly what Apas was going through. She had been swallowed alive. Her body had shrunk to an unbelievable size and was trapped inside a cocoon in the creature’s stomach.

When Mo Fan saw the young Medusa, he had sensed the faint presence of the Dark Material inside her. Therefore, Mo Fan did not doubt General Ethan when he told him that Apas was already dead. To his surprise, Apas was swallowed alive!

Mo Fan was both infuriated and overjoyed at the same time! She was alive, she was still alive!

Mo Fan quickly tore the membrane to pieces and dragged Apas, whose clothes and skin had already fused to it, out.

Apas was covered in the young Medusa’s gastric fluids. Some of her bones had obviously fractured, considering the shape her body had been forced into. Her delicate face was damaged, too. It was difficult to imagine that she was once a beautiful little girl.

Fenna’s breathing intensified after seeing her injuries. She quickly cast a Water Spell to wash the viscous digestive fluids off the little girl.

“I’ll go get a Healer,” Fenna said.

Mo Fan nodded. He quickly took out some precious life-saving Potions that Xinxia had prepared for him and fed them to Apas.

Apas’ nose and mouth were filled with the acids that could digest her, making it impossible for her to drink the Potions. If he used Telekinesis, he might crush her weak respiratory systems. Mo Fan had no choice but to use the traditional method, using his mouth to suck the disgusting stuff out of her.

The gastric liquids were poisonous, and Mo Fan’s mouth almost went numb from them. However, he could not care less about it when he recalled Apas’ innocent smile after she had told him about her desire to learn magic. He continued to clear her mouth and her breathing passages.

General Haken stood to the side. He watched Mo Fan using every way he could to save the little girl. His cloudy eyes shuddered once.

“Wake up, wake up, Apas, it’s big brother… you promised me that you will try your best to live… if you survive, I’ll teach you magic myself, Lightning, Fire, Space, Shadow, Summoning, I’ll teach you any Element that you like…”

Mo Fan noticed Apas’ breathing was weakening. Her body was in a very sorry state. She was as good as dead under the circumstances, as her body could no longer sustain her life!

Mo Fan spat out the gunk and quickly poured the precious Potions down Apas’ throat. The liquid was full of vitality; it entered her stomach and turned into a rejuvenating energy. It repaired her damaged tissues and awakened her organs, which were on the verge of falling into eternal slumber…

Mo Fan had done everything he could. He could only place his hope on the Potions that Xinxia had brewed!

“Mo Fan, are you really going to report Ethan to the International Military Tribunal?” General Haken asked.

“I will not put my hope in any authoritative organizations!” Mo Fan’s heart was brimming with pain and rage when he saw Apas struggling on the brink of death.

“Is the plan that you told Fenna really going to work? It’s quite insane…” General Haken asked him.

“If you knew that I drove the Great Pyramid of Giza back before, you shouldn’t doubt the proposal!” Mo Fan grunted back.

General Haken was seriously getting too old. Why wouldn’t he dare to give it a try? Why would he insist on living in fear of the undead and the demon creatures!?

“Your decision to kill the young Medusa is going to bring a bloodbath to Cairo. If you want to save the girl, you’ll have to go against the army led by General Ethan…” General Haken went on.

“I’ll take care of the problems I cause. As for Ethan, that scum doesn’t even deserve to live in this world. I’ll send him to Hell myself!” Mo Fan replied coldly.

“Alright, I have accept your proposal of opening the Gate of the Underworld. I’ll try my best to cooperate with you, too. Even though winning the war might not be enough to arrest Ethan for his crimes, it’s an important step to take him down!” General Haken said.

General Haken saw Mo Fan let out a cold harrumph. He knew Mo Fan was displeased and infuriated by his stubbornness. He shook his head with a wry smile and glanced at Apas, “She should be able to make it. Bring her to my men. She will slowly recover there.”

1566 Going Against the World

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

General Ethan was in the glass corridor outside the command hall in the Square Tower. The whole battlefield was filled with destructive spells. A strong wind with a unique smell to it blew across the battlefield.

It was only the first day. The army at the front line would not have any problems holding their ground if the troops stuck to his arrangements. The battle had only just begun, and many generals were currently at the front line. He just needed to choose one that he was not that fond of to be in charge at the front line…

“Gangma, yours is the only face the snake demons recognize. Rest up for now, and as soon as the sun rises tomorrow morning, return the young Medusa to the Sunset Shrine. That will get rid of the threat the snake demons pose to us. It’s time for us to teach these undead some lessons!” Ethan said.

Gangma quickly saluted acknowledgement of the order. He asked in a mocking tone, “What happened to the guy?”

“Killing isn’t the only way to get rid of a person. Some people are like sparrows. When the eagle displays its wings and sharp claws, the sparrow that knows its place will stop hopping between the branches and hanging around in the eagle’s territory. No young man can get himself together after learning about the country and the person I am!” Ethan declared firmly.

“Commander is impressive as usual; you’ve perfectly dealt with the problem without sacrificing a single soldier,” Gangma fawned upon his superior.

“I know his kind too well. I was like him when I was younger. A person like him has a great weakness, in that they always struggle to accept the brutal truth. When I revealed the beliefs of the majority and compare them to his naive thoughts, he’s only going to crush his own beliefs. After all, even people with heroic ambitions are weak in their hearts! They might seem to be strong and determined, but it’s only because they haven’t encountered a natural storm that forced even the eagles to flee for their lives without any hesitation,” Ethan stated confidently.

Ethan did not threaten Mo Fan with his power and strength, nor did he drive the young man away with force. He simply told Mo Fan the truth and showed him the tip of the iceberg, the calm before the storm that was about to descend upon Egypt. It was as simple as that. The self-realization of how insignificant he was was enough to crush him!

The young man had no idea of his own place!

Most ridiculously, the young man actually believed a man like him did not deserve to live in this world. Why didn’t he go and ask the people of Cairo, and see how many of them were praying to their gods that he would live for another thousand years, just so Cairo would remain peaceful as it did while he was around, allowing them and their descendants to enjoy the luxury, calm, and peace in the city!

“Commander, I’m utterly impressed by you. However, I’m feeling a little uncomfortable knowing that he wasn’t actually punished for what he did.” Gangma’s eyes flickered viciously. He said, “I was going to accuse them of being members of the Black Vatican to shut them up.”

“Gangma, I’m confident of your capabilities, yet I don’t like how stubborn you are when it comes to getting revenge. Forget about it, and don’t provoke the kid any further, or it will bring us a lot of trouble,” Ethan warned him.

“Does he have a formidable background?” Gangma asked curiously.

“It’s not necessarily his background, it’s trickier than that. Just forget it, he’s no longer our problem. Let’s not be fussed about him anymore. Cairo needs us, doesn’t it?” Ethan smiled.

“You’re right, Commander. I will escort the young Medusa to the Sunset Shrine,” Gangma nodded.

—

Gangma left the corridor, still holding a strong grudge.

Was he really going to forget about it?

Even though Gangma had no idea why General Ethan did not want to provoke the kid called Mo Fan any further, he was not done with Mo Fan yet. He had to teach the kid a lesson!

Gangma was still thinking of how he should take revenge on Mo Fan. He did not notice Sayed passing by him. When their shadows crossed paths, something black as a phantom crept up behind Gangma…

Gangma was carrying some Dark Material. When more Dark Material was transferred to him, the shadow behind him immediately behaved eerily.

A Rebelling Shadow slowly rose from the ground while Gangma was coming up with a plan. The beautiful girl named Heidi suddenly crossed his mind. He decided to get his revenge through her. No man could stand their partner or friend being abused and stained with some sticky substance…

“I’m not allowed to touch that kid, but it won’t be a problem if I lay my hands on that blue-eyed beauty!” Gangma grinned in dark expectation.

His body twitched all of a sudden. A great chill came from the back of his neck. It spread rapidly through his veins, muscles, and skin!

Gangma’s eyes widened. A dark substance was filling in the lines in his pupils, a ghastly sight!

He turned around stiffly to see who the culprit was, yet there was nothing but darkness. He had lost his vision to the Dark Material. He could barely see a black outline of himself standing in front of him. It felt like he was looking into a mirror, but his reflection was pitch-black. It was placing a black dagger to his throat…

Dark Wither!

His body was wilting as if he had been injected with a deadly poison. His vital organs, including his heart, were failing. His life was being drained away rapidly.

“Gangma… why are you looking at me?

“Gangma? Gangma!

“Someone, help, there’s an assassin!” Sayed’s scream echoed through the building.

Gangma was grabbing Sayed by his shirt. He could feel his life being drained away, and was struggling to believe it. He clutched Sayed with all his might. He assumed Sayed was the person that was trying to kill him!

Sayed began to panic. He saw Gangma walking past him healthily just a few seconds ago, yet the man had ended up like this in such a brief period of time!

Gangma’s appearance was frightening. His hollow pupils had black lines around them, like spiderwebs. His skin had cracked open, while his body was releasing a pungent smell, like something had rotted!

A patrol soon showed up. They tried looking for the assassin like headless flies, but found nothing after conducting a search.

There was no assassin. The real culprit was quite a distance away from the scene. These young soldiers and the clumsy Sayed could not picture the Fiendish Night’s ability to kill someone like a phantom!

Boots tapped heavily on the floor. General Ethan, wearing a huge coat embroidered with white and golden silk, came up after hearing the scream. He was followed by four major generals. They were deciding a strategy for the upcoming battle.

General Ethan stared coldly at Gangma, who was now lying on the ground. His face started twitching slightly.

Gangma was one of Ethan’s favorite subordinates. He had completed all the tasks that Ethan did not want anyone to know about. He had to admit that Gangma was a maniac, yet he needed someone like Gangma serving him in order to win the war!

Gangma seemed to know that Ethan was around. He tried his best to utter, “Help…help me…”

Ethan did not step forward. He simply stared at the man on the ground.

Dark Wither… the magic was scarier than some Curses. The victim had no chance of living unless a Muse or higher rank from the Parthenon Temple was around!

Gangma could only blame it on himself. He knew the guy was a Shadow Mage, yet he did not bother purifying his body, allowing the Dark Material to take his life!

The experienced Ethan immediately realized the force behind Gangma’s death.

The truth was, Ethan was not angry because of Gangma’s death. He had no problem finding another maniac to replace Gangma. However, he could not stand the little sparrow that was actually trying to provoke the eagle!

The kid still did not learn his place. He had completely ignored everything Ethan had said!

Why was there someone so stupid? How did someone like him manage to live in this world for so long, when only the fittest can survive?

“It seems like God is asking me to take care of this strange existence that doesn’t want to obey the rules!” Ethan said coldly.

Mo Fan was quite similar to Ethan in many ways. The authorities had high hopes for him, despite his young age. Ethan did not trouble Mo Fan, because he knew the kid would bring him a lot of trouble if he did. On top of that, seeing Mo Fan reminded him of his younger self.

He believed that if Mo Fan learned the rules, he could easily secure himself a place as an authority in his own homeland. They might even have the chance to work together. The kid would thank him for teaching him an important lesson!

In the end, the kid insisted on walking his own path, the path that was going against the entire world!

Who did he think he was?! A hero? A savior?

He was trying to stir up a war being waged by an entire species, just to save a little girl’s life! The little girl’s relatives might be grateful for what he did, but tens of thousands of people in Cairo were going to curse him!

He knew nothing. Izisha was right, the kid was nothing but a disaster! He should have stopped him from entering Egypt at all costs. He should have turned him into ashes with a single slap when he had the chance!…

“Commander…” a captain ran up to Ethan. He whispered some words into Ethan’s ear when he saw there were quite a few people around.

“That is ridiculous! How could they possibly agree to such an insane plan? Is that old man out of his mind?” Ethan cursed angrily.

Mo Fan’s action had made himself Ethan’s enemy, so Ethan would no longer show any mercy to him. To think that the kid actually chose the path that would lead him to Hell… However, to Ethan’s surprise, even Haken had agreed to Mo Fan’s plan, meaning that the old man was clearly going to protect the kid!

1567 We Are Used to Courting Death

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

When Mo Fan was tearing the young Medusa apart with brute force, the proud creature burst into tears in fear and pain. Mo Fan used her Tears to get rid of the Curse on himself and the others.

Heidi took pity on Zoey, Sofia, and the others. She ended up sharing the Tears with them so they could get rid of the Curse, too.

Mo Fan gave the rest of the tears to Anna, handing them in for the quest’s reward pool.

Mo Fan could not have cared less about the reward pool for now. He waited a few days for the undead of the Pyramid of Khafre to finish their first wave of attacks before departing for Gisele.

—

Gisele had three Pyramids; the most powerful among them was the Great Pyramid of Giza.

As a matter of fact, it was normal for the Great Pyramid of Giza to dispatch their undead when the deathlight was around to attack Cairo together with Khafre’s army. However, the Great Pyramid of Giza had suffered great losses during the battle at Beijiang in China. Khufu had surprisingly behaved himself this time. He did not send even a single undead to attack Cairo.

Cairo should have thanked China for sharing the burden of fending off the terrifying undead army on their behalf. Unfortunately, it was unlikely the people would ever learn about it. Not many people in China knew about the battle, let alone the people in Egypt!

Mo Fan was a lot more at ease after taking care of the Curse. However, when he saw Apas sleeping in the ward, he realized that he was about to be placed under enormous pressure.

Since when was it so difficult to protect an innocent little girl? Sometimes, he wished that humans would just go extinct when he realized how twisted mankind’s beliefs and mindsets could be.

Mo Fan shook his head with a wry smile upon having the thought. Why would he think the same way as the Black Vatican?

Both the Black Vatican and the corrupt authorities deserved to go to Hell. If the whole world was so disgusting, he would walk the right path alone!

He did not need anyone’s worship or respect, nor did he care if most people despised or hated him. He just needed to listen to his own heart as it was cleansed by his own tears!

“Big brother…” a soft voice spoke up.

Her voice immediately dragged Mo Fan out of his thoughts. He put on a smile and patted Apas on the head.

Apas was now bald. Her dark blue hair was eaten away, but it did not necessarily take away her beauty. It actually made her more adorable, together with her delicate and vulnerable look.

“You are going to be fine soon.” Mo Fan was relieved after seeing that the little girl had recovered so swiftly. His beliefs remained firm, too.

Despite being swallowed alive, tortured by the gastric juice, and overwhelmed by fear and helplessness while waiting for her death, Apas’ eyes did not lose their usual glitter when she woke up. Even Mo Fan could not imagine how much of a torture she had gone through, yet she was still living in hope and great anticipation for the world.

Mo Fan felt like everything was worth it when he saw the little girl’s bright eyes.

“Rest here, no one is going to hurt you again,” Mo Fan told her.

“Am I very ugly now?” Apas asked.

Mo Fan chuckled. Were all girls the same? Was that seriously the first thing that crossed their minds after escaping death?

“You’ll be the same again after a week,” Mo Fan promised her.

“Can you visit me before then? I can take care of myself, I’ll eat more food so I can recover as soon as possible…” Apas pleaded like a little kitten.

“I’m leaving the day after tomorrow,” Mo Fan said.

“Where are you going!?” Apas tried to move around in her bed. She was scared that Mo Fan was going to leave her.

“I’m not leaving Egypt; I have something important to do,” Mo Fan told her calmly.

It was going to decide whether a girl like Apas had the right to live in this world. He had to go!

“Mm, I’ll wait for you to come back. You promised me you would teach me magic…” Apas nodded sensibly.

“Sure, from today on, you are my disciple. Not everyone is worthy to be my disciple. First, you must be as good-looking as I am. Second, you must be as tenacious as a cockroach. Last, you must be good at stirring up trouble…” Mo Fan informed her loftily.

Apas giggled after hearing the requirements. Her laughter lasted for a long time…

—

Fenna was standing outside the room when Mo Fan came out of it, as were Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, and Heidi.

Heidi was staring into Mo Fan’s eyes, making him feel uneasy. He had no idea when he had stepped on the woman’s tail again.

“Zhao Manyan accidentally told her about the Gate of the Underworld,” Mu Bai answered Mo Fan’s doubtful face.

“What do you mean I accidentally told her? I was having a serious conversation with you, yet you kept raising your brows at me instead of telling me she was behind us. I thought you were interested in my handsome face!” Zhao Manyan protested.

Mo Fan was left speechless.

He did not mind bringing Heidi along when they went to get the Tears of Medusa. They were all pretty good at running away, so their lives were not necessarily in danger.

As for opening the Gate of the Underworld…

They were planning to invade the Great Pyramid of Giza! They were going into the Pyramid!

They had no clue what it was like inside the Pyramid. It was not exaggerating to say they only had a ten percent chance of survival!

“Heidi, you are still young, you’ve haven’t tasted a man before. It’s really not worth it for you to follow us to a place crawling with the dead,” Mo Fan advised her.

“What are you talking about!? What does it have anything to do with you filthy men!?” Heidi blurted out scornfully.

“What I meant was, life is so precious and valuable, you don’t have to court death with us. We are already used to it, so it’s easier for us to turn misfortunes into blessings. However, it’s more likely for a rookie like you to die. You wouldn’t want to turn into a female mummy either, right? It would be bad if you become a problem for Fenna and her army… after all, a woman with an alluring figure wrapped in bandages is seriously going to be a distraction for the men,” Mo Fan rambled on.

“I don’t care what you say, I’ve made up my mind!” Heidi declared.

“How about this? I’ll give Miss Brianca a call and ask her to take you back to school. Aren’t you strange? You kept saying that you didn’t like following us around in the beginning, but you’re the one that doesn’t want to let go now!” Mo Fan challenged her.

“Don’t you dare! I’ll tell Miss Brianca everything. She will most likely go with you all, since she’s going to be so worried!” Heidi shot back.

“Excuse me… I don’t think there’s a need to argue any further, since we do need someone with the Chaos Element inside the Pyramid,” Fenna interrupted them.

“Ah? Is that so? Mu Bai, isn’t your third Element the Chaos Element?” Mo Fan asked absently.

Mu Bai looked at Mo Fan like he was an idiot.

“Give me a day, I’ll see if I can break through to the Super Level. I have been thinking of Awakening the Chaos Element, too,” Mo Fan went on shamelessly.

“You!” Heidi stomped the ground angrily.

1568 The Note from the Queen of the Netherworld

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Gisele had three of the biggest Pyramids: the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure.

Those Pyramids were not far from Cairo, and even if a mirage did not occur, their deathlight could still reach close to Cairo through refraction at certain times. They were the main reason the Cairo Fortress existed.

The invasion from the Pyramid of Khafre came in four stages. The first stage was the harassment from the snake demons and scorpion demons. Once their numbers were reduced to a certain level, the front line of the undead would show up. The longer the deathlight shone on the undead’s land and tombs, the more undead would be awakened and nurtured. The deathlight was like sunlight for the undead. When their sunlight shone on the land, it would give the soil energy and life… the undead that woke up were savage and aggressive, and would charge at living humans recklessly. This was the second stage of the invasion.

As the duration of the land’s exposure to the deathlight increased, more powerful undead would be awakened by the soothing light. At the same time, the undead would evolve into stronger creatures. These high-level undead and mummies would show up more frequently in the battle.

The higher-level undead were usually followed by large groups of subordinates, especially the mummies.

The mummies were the masters of slaves, and had a certain status in the past. Countless slaves were buried with them. These mummies and the undead slaves were the real threat to the city. They were not like the ghouls and zombies that would wander aimlessly into the range of humans’ spells. The troops led by mummies knew how to inflict the most damage on the human army. They were well-trained and considered elites…

The real battle began once a certain number of mummies woke up. The number of casualties would increase exponentially when that happened. The whole fortress would be under attack by the undead at that time, and even the places on the outskirts of Cairo would be swarmed by them.

The fighting would last for a long time; the land would be dyed red with blood. The situation was worse than anyone could imagine.

However, the third stage was not the scariest. The defending humans would be doomed when the fourth stage brought utter darkness upon them…

The undead mainly obtained their energy from the dead. They could be found easily in places that were brimming with the presence of death.

What kind of places had the highest numbers of the dead, and the strongest presence of death?

Wasn’t it battlefields!?

Therefore, in the fourth stage, the soldiers, Mages, and Hunters that had just fought a tough battle would notice the comrades they used to fight alongside with turning into ravening monsters and lunging at them!

The longer the battlefield was exposed to the deathlight, the more likely it would turn into a pool nurturing the undead. If the dead were not dealt with in time, and were exposed for just one night, they would join the army of undead and attack the city the following day!

If they were not prepared for the fourth stage, an entire city might fall to the undead!

—

Mo Fan knew killing the young Medusa would bring a great disaster upon the fortress.

Once the news of the young Medusa’s death reached the snake and scorpion demons, they would return and attack together with the undead that had been awakened in the second stage.

Mo Fan insisted on bearing the consequences of the things he did. Ethan might be scum, but he could not put the army, the Hunters, and the rest of the Mages in danger because of him. He had to force the snake and scorpion demons to retreat!

Mo Fan decided to use the Demon Element. The only way to drive an entire species back was by beating the crap out of them!

The young Medusa’s death would only lead to something along the line of a Scorpion Lord Medusa attacking them at most. If Mo Fan could eliminate the Scorpion Lord Medusa, the rest of the demon creatures would collapse like a sheet of loose sand!

That being said, Mo Fan did not expect to have to use the Demon Element so quickly. He did not have the chance to fill the Essence Orb yet.

If the Essence Orb was not filled, not only might the Demon Element go out of control, the side effects of using it would be quite serious. He might fail to open the Gate of the Underworld in the end.

However, Mo Fan did not have any other choice. He could only take this one step at a time!

“I think we should let Haken worry about the demon creatures. Seriously, he can’t just do nothing if he’s one of the Commanders, right? We are risking our lives to drive the army of undead back while they are sitting in their comfortable chairs and waiting for our results? It’s not like they are going to suffer any losses if we all die in the Pyramid, but if we do succeed, wouldn’t we be lifting all their burdens?” Zhao Manyan said.

“But I did kill the young Medusa…” Mo Fan said with a troubled look.

Mo Fan did not feel confident that he could open the Gate of the Underworld if he used the Demon Element right at the start.

“F**k, we almost took out the Great Pyramid of Giza. If we hadn’t dealt with the Great Pyramid of Giza in Beijiang, would they still be in such a comfortable situation now? Who cares if you killed the young Medusa, these assh**** couldn’t even look after the things in their country, which came to our country to stir up trouble! We are already being merciful when we don’t hold them responsible for it!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Mm, that’s exactly what I thought, but I feel a lot better when it comes out of your mouth, HAHAHA!” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

He had already killed the young Medusa. The army would worry about the snake and scorpion demons instead. Why did he bother thinking about it, and troubling himself so much?

Mu Bai came over to Mo Fan while the two were talking. He was holding a note with a weird look on his face.

“Mo Fan, a woman asked me to give this to you…” Mu Bai handed the note to him.

“I can’t read Egyptian… holy crap, why is it written in our ancient language?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

The note was written in ancient Chinese. Even though the characters differed a lot, it was still possible to guess what the words meant.

“I’ll help you settle the mess, but you better focus and get your ass into the Pyramid soon. If you don’t open the Gate of the Underworld, don’t blame me for warning you that my people might go and empty your cities!”

Zhao Manyan tried his best to identify the words and interpret them in modern Chinese.

Mo Fan was a little dumbfounded.

“Does she mean she’s going to deal with the snake demons?” Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai asked.

“I believe so,” Mo Fan said.

“Who is she? Is she like a top agent that our country sent here? Isn’t the young Medusa’s mother at least a Great Ruler-level creature? Can she really deal with it?” Zhao Manyan said.

“If it’s her, I believe so,” Mo Fan said.

The only person that would leave him a note in the old Chinese language was the Queen of the Netherworld!

The eight undead rulers of the Ancient Capital’s kingdom of undead were the strongest Ruler-level creatures he had ever seen. He had witnessed their terrifying strength when they fought the Sphinx in front of the Great Pyramid of Giza!

The Queen of the Netherworld had the ability to Possess someone. She was also completely untraceable. Mo Fan thought she was not going to show up, but she had stepped forward in time to clean up his mess. He was quite touched by it.

“Mo Fan, we’re talking about a Ruler-level Medusa, your friend should treat it more seriously,” Fenna said cautiously.

“Don’t worry, if she says she can deal with it, we just need to focus on our plan of sneaking into the Pyramid,” Mo Fan replied confidently.

The Queen of the Netherworld’s strength was only second to the Mountain Zombie, while the Snake Lord Medusa was just a Great Ruler-level creature. If a fight broke out between them, the Snake Lord Medusa was going to be beaten up badly…

It was such a relief knowing that there was someone… some reliable female ghost he could rely on after stirring up such a huge mess. He would have borrowed one of the eight undead rulers from Zhan Kong if he could have. He might not be able to borrow the Mountain Zombie, but it would be a splendid idea if he could borrow the Red Skeleton Ruler to be his fighter!

“Speaking of which, if the Queen of the Netherworld is busy dealing with the snake and scorpion demons, won’t that mean we’ll have to rely on ourselves inside the Pyramid?” Mo Fan soon realized.

It was clearly going to be very dangerous inside the Pyramid. Not many people had managed to come out alive after going inside!

The Underworld Monarch Frogs, Dark Pharaoh of Serpents, Dark Swordmasters, Goat-Horned Generals, Scorpion Lord Medusae, Snake Lord Medusae, Red Scorpion Gorgons, Red Snake Gorgons… a single one of them was more than enough to wipe out Mo Fan and his crew!

Luckily, Mo Fan still had the Demon Element as his trump card. If anything went wrong, he would have no trouble using the Demon Element to flee for his life.

—

“Your group isn’t strong, but it also gives you a great advantage. It’s easier for you to go through the magic formations that are impassable to us. Most of the Formations have greater resistance to Mages with stronger cultivation. There are many Formations inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, so we wouldn’t be able to sneak inside the Pyramid, even when the deathlight is not around,” Fenna told the four of them.

The restrictive Formations in the Pyramid were similar to the ones at the Parthenon Temple. They were mostly Formations of the Chaos Element, and were more effective against stronger Mages. The higher the cultivation of the invaders, the stronger the resistance would be. They basically prevented any Forbidden Mages from sneaking into the Pyramid. Even Super Mages would struggle to utilize their full strength in the magic Formations!

Those Formations once again proved that there were some ties between the ancient civilizations in Egypt and Greek.

It was the same reason Fenna said that they would need a person with the Chaos Element to sneak into the Pyramid!

Without a Chaos Mage, they would easily trigger traps when they tried to go through the Formations.

Most of the tombs of ancient emperors had insane traps and mechanisms to protect them. Mo Fan still remembered everything that happened when he went to the Ancient King’s tomb, especially the Nine Bridges of Death and One Bridge of Life… it seriously did not give him any chance to live. He would long have been a pile of bones if it wasn’t for the Demon Element!

1569 A Power Similar to the Totem Beasts“

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The group headed to the Bargo Land once again. They went around the Sunset Valley, avoiding the snake demons before the Queen of the Netherworld was done with them.

They arrived at the Land of Gold in Gisele after passing by Sunset Valley.

Apparently, the sand in Gisele was made from the ashes that countless dead bodies eventually turned into after they were exposed to deathlight and sunlight for a long time. When Mo Fan saw the spectacular glimmering sand, he could not help but feel a great chill running down his spine.

The Land of Gold was so huge. How many lives did it take to form such sparkling land? The ancient pharaohs were truly extravagant…

“They believe that the only way to display their noble status is to build their tombs on a land like this. It shows that they are the true rulers of all things in the universe,” Meos said somberly.

Zhao Manyan glanced at the tanned Meos with a proud face. He was clearly displeased by her presence. He nudged Mo Fan and asked, “Why is this woman going with us?”

“I didn’t want to, either, but the Formations in the Pyramid are similar to the Formations along the Parthenon Temple’s Starry Mountain Path. Super Mages are greatly restricted by those Formations. Otherwise, why do you think we never figured out the secrets that the Pyramids hold, even with the help of so many experts, including Forbidden Mages? Haken is the main supporter of Egypt’s national team. If they don’t step forward at a time like this, who else is going to volunteer themselves?” Mo Fan said helplessly.

Meos was the Vice-Captain of Egypt’s national team. Mo Fan had stumbled into her at New Suez. To his surprise, Haken summoned her directly from New Suez so she could join the operation.

“Meos is fine, but why is that annoying shorty and that arrogant Sayed here, too? Aren’t they nothing but trouble for us!?” Zhao Manyan glanced at Shreev, whom he referred to as the shorty, and Sayed, who was obviously unwilling to tag along.

Meos, Shreev, and Sayed were all representatives of the national team. Their undead strategy had gained them a lot of attention during the World College Tournament. If they had not happened to face Mo Fan the battle maniac, they might actually have won first place.

General Haken was generous enough to place these young talents of his country under Mo Fan’s command.

Mo Fan was not against the idea of having more people in the group. After all, Meos, Shreev, and Sayed were more familiar with their country. The short Shreev was even an academic that had done a lot of research on the ancient Egyptian language, and was quite knowledgeable when it came to the Pyramids in Egypt.

“So you’re telling me that the shorty actually invented the Pharaoh Spring?” Zhao Manyan asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, I was quite surprised, too!” Mo Fan admitted.

Shreev was not particularly strong on the national team, perhaps because he had put a lot of attention on conducting experiments on the undead. He had invented the Pharaoh Spring with a special energy collected from some other Pyramids. It allowed a Mage with the Undead Element to Summon a huge number of Underworld creatures to fight on their behalf over a long time. It was basically granted every member on the national team the ability to cast the Summoning Tide an unlimited number of times.

They might not be as strong as Mo Fan, but they still had the Pharaoh Spring, meaning that their fighting capacity was beyond their current level of cultivation!

Speaking of which, Mo Fan still had some Pharaoh Spring with him. The Little Loach Pendant had collected the Pharaoh Spring from the undead that Egypt’s national team had Summoned during the World College Tournament, taking it to fill up his experience bar. Unfortunately, there was not that much Pharaoh Spring. If he had just a little more, the Little Loach Pendant might be able to level up, helping Mo Fan improve faster!

“Meos, I will now make it clear that you must follow my orders at all times during the operation. Don’t let your pride and your personal grudge get in our way,” Mo Fan said sternly to Meos and the others.

“Humph, save it for yourself, we know how important the mission is,” Meos said with her usual proud face.

Shreev was the typical shameless kind. When he knew they were currently tied on the same boat, he kept sharing his discoveries and experiments on the Pyramids that he had been performing since he was quite young. The people had no clue what he was talking about, yet he was still having a blast sharing it with them.

Sayed was even worse; the guy had no intention of joining the team, but he was forced by his superiors to come along.

Most frustratingly, Sayed had just finished his mission. He was about to enjoy a good time with the two sexy female soldiers after reporting to his superior, yet he had to witness Major General Gangma’s death…

That being said, Sayed had no idea that it was Mo Fan who had killed Gangma, and had actually used him to bring the Dark Material in. If he knew the truth, he would most likely have fought Mo Fan to the death on the spot!

He was so not willing to come. He did not have the slightest interest in learning what it was like inside the Pyramid, nor was he interested in being the hero that put an end to the war. His thoughts were all on the two women that had plucked the strings in his heart.

The only relief for him was that there was a beauty with blue eyes on the team! Sayed’s face was extremely pale after wasting too much energy on different kinds of women, yet he had never won the affection of a blue-eyed Swedish woman.

There were many lineages with blue eyes in Europe, but most of them only had a slight hint of blue. They were nowhere as attractive as Heidi’s. Sayed found it very enjoyable to look the woman in her eyes.

He could not imagine why a woman that was as beautiful as an angel would want to hang around with a filthy and shameless man like Mo Fan!

“Where was I? Oh, right, the rulers of all creation, the Pharaohs, want to live and rule forever, so the closer it is to the Pyramids, the thicker the golden sand is. You might see that the sky above the three Pyramids in Gisele is always clear and blue, but you have no idea how strong the hatred lingering around them is. The hatred will occasionally turn into a fierce storm that turns every creature nearby into bones and ashes. It’s the first thing we should keep an eye out for; we must stay away from those Storms of Hatred!” Shreev kept mentioning the storms.

Mo Fan remembered Khufu mentioning dying the land red with blood when the army of the Great Pyramid of Giza was advancing. It sounded similar to how Shreev was describing the pharaohs’ intention to rule over all creation.

“Shreev, are you sure you know what’s inside the Pyramid?” Zhao Manyan asked doubtfully.

“I have never been inside the Great Pyramid of Giza, but I have been to some low-level Pyramids. I noticed certain similarities between them, so I believe the Great Pyramid of Giza will share those similarities too…” Shreev clarified quickly.

“Speaking of which, the undead strategy that your team was using, did you really get the Pharaoh Spring from the other Pyramids?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course! The Pyramids have many undiscovered secrets. I only managed to dig up the Pharaoh Spring, yet we almost defeated every country during the World College Tournament. If we could obtain other powerful treasure inside the Pyramids, our country would be ruling over the world in no time. All the so-called superpowers are going to be our appendages instead!” Shreev said.

“You can bluff as much as you want in front of other countries… but you should really control yourself when you’re with Mo Fan and I,” Zhao Manyan smiled at him.

“We just happened to lose to you guys! I’m telling you, the Pharaoh Spring is definitely not the most precious treasure inside the Pyramids. The Great Pyramid of Giza surely has something that can easily shock the entire world. I have long wanted to explore the Pyramid, but I never got permission…” Shreev replied, his eyes glittering.

Shreev definitely did not come to sacrifice his life for the sake of his country. He was just a die-hard fan of the Pyramids. It was not a bad thing; at least they would not be wandering aimlessly like headless flies inside it.

“Treasure… tsk tsk, that’s great, that’s good to hear!” Zhao Manyan became restless as soon as he heard the keyword.

If Zhao Manyan was asked to serve his country for free, he would react the same way as Sayed. However, it was a completely different story if there were some benefits involved…

“Old Zhao, I’ve realized something,” Mo Fan nudged Zhao Manyan and purposely lowered his voice.

“What is it? Tell me!” Zhao Manyan immediately focused. He knew Mo Fan was up to something whenever he started talking in such a way! Zhao Manyan had no idea why he was so excited all of a sudden.

“The ancient civilization in Egypt has a lot of similarities to the Totem Beasts of our country. We might be able to find some Totem Power in the Pyramid!” Mo Fan guessed.

The fact that the Little Loach Pendant could absorb the Pharaoh Spring was the most convincing proof.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had been desperately searching for the Totem Beasts in their country, but the extinction of the Totem Beasts was too serious. However, it turned out that China was not the only country with the Totem Beasts, since Egypt had been using the ancient power of the Totem Beasts in different ways. Both Mo Fan’s Little Loach Pendant and Zhao Manyan’s Baxia Wooden Clapper were able to absorb the ancient energy!

“Are you serious?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in joy.

Zhao Manyan was Baxia’s successor. He was displeased whenever he recalled how the old turtle looked down at him because of his strength. His eyes glittered when he heard the treasure in the Pyramid might be able to awaken the Baxia Wooden Clapper’s power.

“When have I lied to you? Think about it; the Greek God of Death Hayla, the Sphinx here in Egypt, the Black Totem Snake in China, and Baxia have all been around before the magic civilizations first appeared. It clearly indicates that they were all from the same era. It might not be the same year, but the sources of their powers are similar,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, mm, have you tried it?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“I did! The Pharaoh Spring is compatible with the power of the Totem Beasts!” Mo Fan declared confidently.

1570 Seven Dark Swordmasters

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“If it’s compatible with the Black Totem Snake’s power, I believe it won’t be a problem for mine, either. Holy crap, I didn’t think we are going to learn such a huge secret… if we make it out alive, we’ll visit other countries and look for their Totem Beasts. We’ll become Forbidden Mages pretty soon!” Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise.

“…I think becoming a Forbidden Mage is still a little far from reach, but it can at least help us achieve the peak Super Level!” Mo Fan agreed.

The power of the Totem Beasts had given Mo Fan incredible benefits. If the Little Loach Pendant could evolve further, Mo Fan believed he had a good chance to become a Super Mage.

There was a huge gap between the Advanced Level and the Super Level. Many geniuses reached the peak Advanced Level in their thirties, yet they could not break through to the Super Level for the rest of their lives.

Apparently, every Mage had different encounters and ways to achieve the Super Level. Some relied on extremely rare resources or extraordinary encounters. It simply meant that it was unlikely for an Advanced Mage to break through to the Super Level without some incredible resources or insanely good luck.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and even Heidi were currently stuck at the peak of the Advanced Level, but none of them had probed the path to the Super Level.

Even though it was only a matter of time before they would achieve the Super Level with their current foundations, it would greatly affect them if they were stuck at the Advanced Level for ten or twenty years. Those years would be a complete waste.

There were young Super Mages, too. Herr Casa and Mentor Vani were extremely young Super Mages. They had lots of room for improvement after reaching the Super Level. Meanwhile, it was now difficult for Mo Fan and the others to improve without breaking through to the Super Level!

Mo Fan was very strong now. He had no problem defeating a Super Mage that only had a single Element at the Super Level. However, if he faced someone with two Elements in the Super Level, or an experienced Super Mage, he would be crushed without a doubt!

Mo Fan had promised to look for the Totem Beasts after he was done convalescing at the Parthenon Temple, partially in order to search for his path to the Super Level!

“So you should stop complaining about how I keep dragging you into life and death situations, it’s not like I have nothing better to do. What kind of a place do you think the Great Pyramid of Giza is? There is great stuff everywhere inside. Do you think it’s possible for us to become Super Mages if we don’t take some risks?” Mo Fan continued.

“It’s fine as long as we can get the power of the Totem Beasts!” Zhao Manyan was very excited about the power of the Totem Beasts.

The Baxia’s Seal from the half-awakened Wooden Clapper could already strengthen his defensive spells multiple times. How strong would he be when the power of the Wooden Clapper was fully awakened!?

“What are you two whispering about? We are approaching the area with the Ashen Storm of Hatred. Be careful not to be caught by it. Otherwise, you’re going to be devoured right away!” Shreev said.

“Oh, nothing really, we were just comparing whether Heidi or Meos has the bigger bottom,” Zhao Manyan said shamelessly.

Shreev had no idea what to say.

“I think Meos’ is bigger, but in terms of shape, Heidi is the winner,” Mu Bai added.

“…”

It was Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan’s turn to be left speechless.

It was true that a person would slowly be influenced by their environment. Even Mu Bai did not realize that he was starting to show another side to his nature under Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan’s influence!

——

A dark red basin became visible ahead. The three Pyramids of Gisele stood in the distance. The group could feel their magnificence from afar.

The Great Pyramid of Giza was the tallest and so naturally the largest among them. The Pyramid closest in size beside it was the Pyramid of Khafre, with the Sphinx at its side. The creature was clearly in deep slumber, now covered in sand. It looked no different than a huge statue.

“It’s the Sphinx… luckily, it’s still asleep, or we wouldn’t have any chance of getting close to the Great Pyramid of Giza or the Pyramid of Khafre,” Shreev said, staring into the distance.

“I injured him before, so I don’t think he’s going to wake up anytime soon,” Mo Fan said.

“You injured him? My God, I’ve never seen anyone so shameless before!” Sayed screeched.

Meos, Heidi, and Shreev looked at Mo Fan like he was crazy.

“I knew you won’t believe me,” Mo Fan shrugged in an indifferent manner.

“Err… wasn’t the Mountain Zombie the one that beat the crap out of him?” Zhao Manyan whispered.

“It’s more or less the same,” Mo Fan whispered back.

The Sphinx was the final Boss protecting the Pyramids. If he was on alert, only Forbidden Mages could approach the Pyramids!

However, Forbidden Mages would be restricted by the magic Formations of the Pyramids. As a result, the Pyramids had remained a great mystery for many, many years.

“I’m afraid there are two problems we have to face. The first is the Ashen Storm of Hatred, and the second is the Dark Swordmasters. There are ten Dark Swordmasters patrolling outside the Pyramids…” Shreev went on.

“Seven,” Mo Fan corrected him.

“Keep quiet if you don’t know anything. Do you think you are more familiar with the Great Pyramid of Giza than us!?” Meos grumbled.

Apart from the Sphinx beside the Pyramid of Khafre, there were ten Dark Swordmasters protecting the Great Pyramid of Giza too. Many Egyptians would have heard about the legend before. Why would Mo Fan say there were only seven of them?

“Three of them are dead,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan clearly remembered that three of the Dark Swordmasters were killed in the battle at Beijiang. One was killed by the Nether Bone Dragon, while the other two were knocked to the ground by the Flesh Mound Corpse Officials that the Mountain Zombie tossed out, and the zombies and skeletons devoured them.

It was unlikely that creatures of their level could be replaced right away. Even Khufu was unlikely to recruit new Dark Swordmasters within the next century!

“Those Dark Swordmasters are Ruler-level creatures. A single one of them is enough to crush us into pieces. I think we should just go back instead of dying for no reason here!” Sayed said.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find a way to deal with them, now that we are already here. I still have some Pharaoh Spring. I’ll use it when we reach the Pyramid of Menkaure. It will trigger infighting between the mummies in the Pyramid of Menkaure. The Dark Swordmasters are in charge of the order of the three Pyramids. The fight at the Pyramid of Menkaure is going to lure them over. When that happens, you just have to climb to that certain spot on the Pyramids and take the ghost train provided by the Ashen Storm of Hatred to enter the Pyramids,” Shreev said.

“Didn’t you keep mentioning how terrifying the Ashen Storm of Hatred is?” Heidi asked with a confused face.

1571 Ashen Storm of Hatred

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Yeah, you kept reminding us not to be caught by the Ashen Storm of Hatred, and now you’re telling us to ride it into the Pyramids. Are you fooling with us now!?” Zhao Manyan pinched Shreev’s goatee.

Shreev had purposely grown a goatee despite his young age. Together with his height, his appearance was only going to scare the crap out of little girls!

“Let go, let go, it hurts… just listen to me!” Shreev blurted out.

Zhao Manyan loosened his grip. Shreev looked pitifully at a few strands of his facial hair on the ground. He explained, “The Pyramids are the pharaohs’ mausoleums. Therefore, they won’t allow anyone to break into the Pyramids. They hired the best architects to design their tombs not only because they wanted their descendants to worship them and pay them respect, but to prevent them from interfering with their ruling of the dead…”

“Can’t you cut the crap and go straight to the main point!?” Mo Fan said impatiently.

“Anyway, the living can never go inside the Pyramids. The whole structure is sealed tightly and protected by magic Formations, not to mention the ten Dark Swordmasters and the Sphinx standing guard. Their security is more impressive than our military bases nowadays. There’s only one way to enter the Pyramids, and it’s only possible when the Pyramids are taking in the hatred of the dead from the outside world.

“The places that we live in require air ventilation. Even the sturdiest military base needs air. The dead also need to breathe inside their tombs, but instead of oxygen, they breathe in the hatred, anger, pain, and the presence of death. The Ashen Storm of Hatred is the favorite of the pharaohs and the nobles inside the Pyramids. The ventilation areas that I pointed out are where the Ashen Storm of Hatred normally forms once in a while. It’s the only way for us to enter the Pyramids,” Shreev explained in detail to the others.

“That’s f**king ridiculous!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

“Isn’t there some other way? Can’t we just go inside from the main entrance after luring the Dark Swordmasters away?” Mo Fan asked.

“Did you ever see a Pyramid with a door?” Shreev asked in return.

Mo Fan thought for a moment and realized that he had pointed out something important.

“The question is, won’t the ghosts and spirits devour us once we are caught inside the Ashen Storm of Hatred?”Heidi said.

“Which is why we must disguise ourselves as the living dead,” Shreev said.

“Sure, I’ll kill you right now,” Zhao Manyan said.

“No no, I didn’t mean dying for real. Brother Zhao, the few of us are all Mages with the Undead Element. It’s not impossible to disguise ourselves as the dead. I have a Bitter Dust Mummy here. The presence of hatred it emits is similar to the hatred of the spirits inside the Ashen Storm of Hatred. It will guide us into the storm…” Shreev said.

“Did you use it to obtain the Pharaoh Spring from the other Pyramids?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“Yes, it’s a unique undead in Egypt. It’s my precious!” Shreev said proudly.

“I see. It looks like General Haken has made the right choice putting you on the team. You’re more reliable than having a powerful Mage among us,” Mo Fan nodded.

Even the strongest Mage was still going to die to the ten Dark Swordmasters and the Sphinx. Meanwhile, Shreev had already solved their biggest problem by figuring out a way to enter the Pyramids!

—

The Pyramid of Menkaure was in quite a bit of disorder. In addition to the spirits, it was occupied by the snake and scorpion demons, and the desert foxes, too. No one knew who its ruler was, since Pharaoh Menakure had died before his will was inherited as an undead.

It was very common for Pyramids with various levels and species to be in disorder. Most of the creatures were interested in the Pharaoh Spring, since it would allow them to evolve further!

Shreev had to resign himself to expending his treasure so the team could enter the Great Pyramid of Giza. He sprinkled the remaining Pharoah Spring Water outside the Pyramid of Menkaure and waited patiently for the demon creatures and the undead to compete for the precious source of energy.

The first step was a great success, mainly because the ones with the Undead Element on the team could easily Summon an expendable undead to bring the Pharaoh Spring to the Pyramid of Menkaure and open the bottle. The rest of them just had to wait outside the Great Pyramid of Giza.

A gray storm cloud began to form following some ghastly cries, swirling above the Golden Land of Gisele. According to Shreev’s calculations, the Great Pyramid of Giza was about to “ventilate” in about half an hour. They only had a limited amount of the Pharaoh Spring. If they missed out on the opportunity, it would be difficult for them to sneak into the Pyramid without alerting the Dark Swordmasters.

Shreev was laying on top of a sand dune and asked with a confused face, “Strange, why are some of the Dark Swordmasters missing?”

“Seven, there are seven of them,” Heidi confirmed.

She was a Sound Mage, thus she was very sensitive toward the presence of the demon creatures. There were four Dark Swordmasters on the side of the Pyramid they were facing, and one each on the other three sides, a total of seven Dark Swordmasters!

“I already told you that three of them are dead, but you didn’t believe me,” Mo Fan said.

“The other three must be patrolling inside the Pyramid. You just happened to guess the number right!” Meos did not believe Mo Fan.

Mo Fan could not do anything if Meos and the others insisted on not believing him. Either way, there were only seven Dark Swordmasters left!

“A fight has broken out,” Shreev exclaimed after he heard some noise in the distance.

“How many demon creatures can your Pharaoh Spring attract? Are you sure it’s going to lure all seven Dark Swordmasters to it?” Mu Bai asked worriedly.

“The Dark Swordmasters outside the Pyramid are unified. Besides, do you really think those loyal servants aren’t interested in the Pharaoh Spring?” Shreev scoffed.

The Pharaoh Spring was the best thing to make the undead stronger. The Dark Swordmasters were not the strongest of the Ruler-level creatures. They were also hoping for a chance to become stronger!

“They really are going away!” Heidi said.

The Dark Swordmasters around the Great Pyramid of Giza started moving. They seemed to have picked up the scent of the Pharaoh Spring!

“Come, let’s go under the Ashen Storm of Hatred. We have to be quick,” Shreev said.

Shreev led the way as he ran, Casting Undead spells. Words written with blood showed up in a few spots in front of him. The words drifted in the air and formed a page of words written with blood on both sides of him.

1572 Going Into the Pyramid

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The bloody page flipped on its own, and a mummy with an overwhelming presence appeared from it. It emanated a strong hatred, just as Shreev had mentioned. The others were almost knocked unconscious by it!

“Come into my undead’s belly!” Shreev said.

The Bitter Dust Mummy suddenly placed its hands on its midriff and tore it open ruthlessly, revealing the disgusting sight within. Shreev entered the creature’s belly right away, ignoring what the others were feeling. The rest of the team remained still. They did not expect their disguise would turn out like this…

“Quick, what are you waiting for? Come inside!” Shreev poked his bloody head out of the belly when he did not see anyone following him, yelling at the others. The rest of the team was further disgusted by the sight.

A gray storm was forming above them, seemingly made up of thousands of demon birds circling in the sky. Their bodies did not touch one another, and it was even possible to move right through them. They were like phantoms with long bodies. Two-thirds of their figures resembled an enormous demon, yet the rest of it gradually led to nothing but a thin wadding!

Their ghastly cries kept ringing out. The screeches penetrated their minds and deafened them. It was impossible to tell how many tormented souls were inside the storm. The spirits had the urge to tear every creature that was living more comfortably than them into pieces, just so others could feel the torture they were going through, too!

“Come inside, or we’ll become one of them!” Mo Fan dove into the Bitter Dust Mummy’s belly when he sensed something was not right.

The Bitter Dust Mummy was around the size of a wooden hut. Its belly was just big enough to contain all of them. They held their breaths, trying not to inhale the rotten air inside the undead’s belly.

Mo Fan felt like there was still some space inside the undead’s stomach when he first went inside, but when the rest of the team came in, everyone was basically stuck close together. Luckily, the Bitter Dust Mummy’s guts were a little elastic. It bloated up slightly to free up some space for the group.

“Try not to breathe too much, I’m going to seal the wound,” Shreev told the others.

“F**k me, what do you mean by try not to breathe too much!?”

Was it even possible to control their oxygen intake?

Shreev cast a spell to seal the gash in his servant before the others could complain, closing the wound on the Bitter Dust Mummy’s belly.

The tormented souls dove down from the sky. It felt like the gray clouds in the sky had suddenly collapsed to the ground. The ghastly cries and screeches resounded in their ears like sirens. They felt like their heads were about to explode!

The tormented souls had obviously picked up the scent of living humans. It had been many years since a living creature had set foot in the vicinity of the Pyramids of Gisele. The tormented souls had not had a chance to vent their hatred for some time. They all dove at the ground recklessly.

However, the scent of living humans disappeared as soon as the Bitter Dust Mummy’s belly was sealed.

Living humans had a unique scent. In addition to that, the air they exhaled was different from the undead, too. The undead and tormented souls used these differences to locate living creatures, since their vision was not that reliable. Some did not even have eyes…

An enormous tormented soul stuck its face close to the Bitter Dust Mummy, trying to sniff out the scent of the living humans that had briefly appeared. However, it could only pick up the rotten smell from the Bitter Dust Mummy.

The tormented soul was not satisfied. It finally found some pieces of newspaper that it could tear to relieve its boredom, discontent that the huge Bitter Dust Mummy had already eaten the living creatures.

The rest of the tormented souls roamed nearby, too. They all felt it a pity that they had come a little too late. The Bitter Dust Mummy had gotten the head start!

These vengeful spirits were not that intelligent. They soon left after realizing that there was no food left.

——

A golden boulder slowly moved aside from a certain spot along the walls of the Great Pyramid of Giza, revealing a pitch-black hole. The dust nearby was soon being drawn into the hole in a vortex.

It was difficult to notice the hole without first seeing the spiraling dust, which went from covering a tiny area to a kilometer in length. The small hole on the Pyramid was like a little funnel that a huge golden tornado was pouring into, dragging the sand and the tormented souls nearby into the Pyramid!

The tormented souls nearby fled for their lives upon seeing it. In their eyes, being sucked into the Pyramid was like being dragged into a meat grinder. Their souls would scatter and disperse for sure!

They tried their best to swim away, but the force of the funnel kept growing. It was so strong that it even peeled off the thick layer of sand of the desert within its range. The tormented souls and the lone spirits wandering in the distance were all dragged into the hole…

The gray cloud of hatred had accumulated for quite some time, yet it was slowly dragged into the bottomless hole inside the Pyramid. The tormented souls were like schools of fish being carried by the current. They were unable to break free, no matter how hard they struggled!

Cries of agony echoed continuously in the group’s ears. The Bitter Dust Mummy was also dragged into the hole by the enormous force. Its narrow and disgusting stomach kept spinning. They could not help but wonder why Shreev bothered to ask them to breathe less. How was he expecting them to breathe when the ichor and intestines in the mummy’s belly were rolling around!?

Everyone was suffering from nausea after taking this ‘convenient’ ride into the Underworld. The ride lasted for a long time too, through utter darkness and loud noises. They had no clue if their plan had worked or the ride had actually led them straight to hell. Either way, Mo Fan had a feeling that he was about to faint soon.

The oxygen level inside the Bitter Dust Mummy’s was extremely low. The people inside were suffocating amid the torture they were experiencing. Some even had the urge to blast the belly open and escape from it.

Something burst open after a huge explosion. Mo Fan only knew he was sent flying before slamming heavily into a sturdy wall.

His head was spinning, and could not even get his directions. His vision finally recovered after a few minutes, and he began to put the pieces back together.

Mo Fan knew the inside of the Pyramid was full of danger. He quickly checked his surroundings, and found himself in a square hidden chamber!

He was surrounded by sturdy walls with perfect edges. The gaps between the rocks that made up the walls were smaller than the width of a strand of hair.

The square stone chamber was around a thousand meters long, while its height remained unknown.

It was quite spacious for a hidden chamber. It looked even bigger than the Pyramid itself, but Mo Fan knew the space inside the Pyramid was at least a few hundred times bigger than its size on the outside. Some said the space inside was compressed and enlarged, while the others argued that the Pyramid was a portal leading to another Plane: it was an entrance to the Underworld!

“Hello, where is everyone?” Mo Fan yelled.

“I’m under your foot,” Zhao Manyan’s voice came from below him.

Mo Fan quickly stepped aside and saw Zhao Manyan lying on the ground. He was covered in stinking goo. The man looked as if he had lost his will to live.

“Old Zhao, hurry up and cast a Water Spell to give me a wash, it feels horrible,” Mo Fan chided him.

“I feel like I’m suffering from severe bone fractures, and you’re treating me like a shower!?” Zhao Manyan cursed.

Despite the grumbling, Zhao Manyan still cast Water Barrier. The water flowed past them like ribbons and rinsed them clean.

They felt a lot better after the sticky goo was washed from their bodies. Zhao Manyan murmured, “Don’t you feel like we were in a vehicle carrying manure that fell off a cliff?”

“We’ll talk later, let’s find the others. If they are dead, we’ll have to find a way out,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s too dark, light a fire,” Zhao Manyan said.

“You’re a f**king Light Mage!”

“Oh, right!” Zhao Manyan tossed a Brilliant Light into the air. It shone over the area and filled the dark and icy-cold chamber.

The light swept over their surroundings and revealed some eerily-shaped, skinny creatures with hollow eyes, holding bloody hooks and axes. These strange creatures lifted their heads slightly and stared at the light in the air, most likely because they had never seen such before.

The creatures soon turned toward Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, who had Cast the spells. An icy murderous intent and hatred converged on them immediately from all directions, like two plump hares falling right into the middle of a bunch of starving meat-eating demons!

“Crap, we’ve fallen into a pit full of monsters!” Zhao Manyan jumped up in fright.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a ventilation hole? Why were there so many demon creatures here?

“It’s the Tomb Torturers, they are responsible for catching the lone spirits…” Mo Fan murmured.

The Tomb Torturers were not commonly seen in the outside world. They spent most of their time living in huge tombs and working for their masters. An ambitious ruler of the undead not only needed to kill living creatures to increase the size of his army, he also needed to drag weaker undead into his tomb to help refine the strength of his army!

1573 The Island of Oblivion

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan!…”

Shreev’s voice came from behind them. Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan were prepared to start an epic battle when the man stopped them.

“Don’t attack them, these Tomb Torturers are not interested in living humans,” Shreev said.

“Are you sure? Why are they staring at us like that?” Zhao Manyan said.

“They don’t have eyes. They are just facing us because they have never seen anything alive. These Tomb Torturers aren’t that intelligent. They are the lowest-level creatures in the Pyramid, even worse than slaves,” Shreev said.

“Stay away from me when you talk. You really stink,” Mo Fan said.

“Where are the others?”

“Over here!”

The others soon regrouped. They all noticed that the Tomb Torturers did not take the initiative to attack them. They were just a bunch of ghastly-looking monsters trying to scare the humans away from their territory.

The tormented souls that were dragged into the Pyramid were still circling above them. A dozen Tomb Torturers suddenly jumped into the air and dragged a group of the vengeful spirits to the ground with their hooks.

The Tomb Torturers turned into brutal chefs after they landed on the ground. Their axes were very effective against the tormented souls. They severed the limbs of the enormous tormented souls in no time. They eventually turned into wisps of essence, like a drop of green dew, falling into the pool at the center of the chamber.

“They are slaying the tormented souls to retrieve their essence. It will flow through a channel that was specifically designed for them to another pool that is constantly boiled by the flames of the Hellhounds, which will refine it into the Essence of the Dead. It is constantly being fed to the Pharaohs’ coffins where the Pharaohs are in deep slumber. After a few hundred years of exposure, their cultivation will improve,” Shreev explained.

Mo Fan smacked his lips after hearing the explanation. These Pharaohs were extravagant indeed. They even had a bunch of slaves to boil the pot and provide them with warmth after they died!

“Don’t worry about them. There are just low-level minions that keep repeating low-level tasks in the Pyramid. There are at least a few hundred workshops like this in the Great Pyramid of Giza,” Shreev went on.

“Are there different kinds of slaves in the Underworld?” Mo Fan asked quickly.

“Yeah, they all serve the Pharaohs. From the lowest Tomb Torturers to the Tomb Decorators, then the Underworld Warriors and the Yoked… There are tens of thousands of them in the average Pyramids, let alone the tomb of the King of Pharaohs. If we waste our time killing these things, it will take us more than a hundred years,” Shreev answered.

“They are surely living a more comfortable life than the living; talk about the old society being the roots of evil!” Zhao Manyan muttered.

“What do we do now?” Heidi asked.

“We’ll wait for the newest batch of the Essence of the Dead to be refined. A bunch of Underworld Warriors will come and take the residue away. They will lead us out of this chamber. We can then look for the entrance to the Underworld,” Shreev said.

“The residue?” Heidi was confused.

“If the Pharaohs eat the meat, the others under him can still share the leftover soup, right? Otherwise, how do you think a huge tomb like this could have so many powerful undead?” Shreev said.

“Oh, what about the Tomb Torturers?”

“Them? What else can they get? They are doomed to be slaves forever. They can never be promoted, nor freed from their roles. Besides, they find their job enjoyable. Even the strongest vengeful spirit is under their control once they are dragged in here,” Shreev said.

Mo Fan wondered if the Queen of the Netherworld would share the same miserable ending as the tormented souls if she was here. After all, even though these Tomb Torturers were not good at fighting, they had the deadliest weapons against spirits!

Meos brought up an important question. “Speaking of which, do you know where the Gate of the Underworld is?”

“I’ve read many ancient records left behind by the Pharaohs. I’ve also conducted a thorough research on the three Pharaohs in Gisele. Khufu once told them that the end of the world is at the end of the Sea of Bitterness. If you face the opposite direction from the sun there, you will see the Dark Shore, where the undying are from,” Shreev said.

“The Sea of Bitterness? Does it even exist?” Heidi asked.

“The Sea of Bitterness refers to an island on the Red Sea, the Island of Oblivion. The water nearby is formed from the tears of billions of living creatures,” Mo Fan interjected.

Mo Fan had read about the legend while he was at the Parthenon Temple. The Greek God of Death Hayla gave Mo Fan quite a great shock during their first encounter. Mo Fan purposely did some research on the mystical creature at the Parthenon Temple.

“There’s a monster on the Island of Oblivion. Its name is Hayla, the guardian of the World of Darkness. If you tell him that you’re heading to the Underworld, he won’t trouble you,” Shreev agreed.

“Why are we discussing these ancient legends here? Where exactly is the Gate of the Underworld? Brother, we are inside a Pyramid, not on the Red Sea!” Zhao Manyan said impatiently.

“The real entrance of the Underworld is on the Island of Oblivion. It’s the entrance we are planning to open, but no one can see the Island of Oblivion from the Red Sea. The Island of Oblivion will only appear when the deathlight of the Great Pyramid of Giza is shining upon the Red Sea. Once we find the Island of Oblivion with the help of the deathlight, we’ll find the Gate of the Underworld too!” Shreev declared.

Mo Fan only knew pieces of information about the Gate of the Underworld. He finally managed to combine the pieces together after hearing Shreev’s explanation!

“What am I even listening to!?” Zhao Manyan was utterly confused.

“Old Zhao, the Great Pyramid of Giza is the back door, while the Island of Oblivion at the Red Sea is the front door. However, the front door’s key is in Khufu’s hands,” Mo Fan explained it to him.

It was meaningless to open the entrance to the Underworld inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. There was no way the undead from the Ancient Capital could force their way into the Pyramid. The only way for the Ancient Capital’s undead to reach the Underworld was through the gate on the Island of Oblivion!

“That means… the Great Pyramid of Giza is a mechanism that will make the Island of Oblivion appear?”

“The Dawn and Dusk Compass! When the hand points to the sunset, it will turn the light of the stars into the deathlight. We just need to point the hand to the Red Sea to direct the deathlight toward it. The Island of Oblivion will appear on its own!” Shreev said confidently.

“It’s nothing but a mess. Just tell us what we should do,” Sayed sighed impatiently.

“Is the Island of Oblivion the entrance to the Dark Plane?” Heidi said.

Heidi was familiar with the different Planes since she was a Dimensional Mage.

There were different Planes in the world they lived in. The most typical ones were the Dark Plane and the Summoned Beast Plane. Otherwise, where would the Summoned Beasts and the undead normally come from?

The Underworld was considered a separate Plane that branched off from the Dark Plane, but rumors said the Underworld and the Dark Plane were actually connected…

1574 A Good Place to Collect Soul Essences

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Heavy clanks were audible, coming from the sturdy walls. Four arc-shaped doors suddenly opened, and Underworld Warriors in dark armor came out of them. They were covered in full armor without revealing the slightest hint of skin. The sound produced by their heavy boots was in perfect order as they marched forward.

The Underworld Warriors soon noticed the presence of the intruders. They immediately uttered deep groans.

The Underworld Warriors were holding long hatchets and axes, and started swinging their weapons around without caring about the Underworld Executioners. Wind blades danced wildly in the pool. The vulnerable Underworld Executioners were immediately cut in half when they touched the wind blades, their blood spraying across the place!

The skinny Underworld Executioners fled for their lives, as they did not stand a chance against the wind blades. Meanwhile, the Underworld Warriors were flanking Mo Fan and his crew from all directions. The defense that Zhao Manyan and Meos had set up was shaking already, on the verge of collapsing!

“Damn it, why are there so many Underworld Warriors!?” Zhao Manyan was astounded when he saw that his sturdy defense could not even last for a few minutes.

“These Underworld Warriors are surprisingly strong…” Mo Fan was startled too.

He initially thought the Underworld Warriors were as lowly as the Underworld Executioners, yet they turned out to be so ferocious. They had almost died to the first wave of attacks!…

“As expected of the Great Pyramid of Giza, even the lowest-level Underworld Warriors are so strong!” Shreev exclaimed.

The Underworld Warriors of the Pyramids he had been to did not really pose any threat to him, apart from their insane numbers.

“More are coming!” Heidi heard more synchronized footsteps approaching from the walls.

“How many of them?” Mu Bai asked.

“At least three times their current numbers,” Heidi deduced.

“Three times… doesn’t that mean we are dead for sure!?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“Damn it, why do I have to come to this shitty place with you guys?” Sayed cried out in pain after a wind blade cut his arm.

“We have to choose a door and clear a path. We can’t stay here, or they are going to surround us!” Shreev said.

“Which way!?”

“Who cares, they should all lead us to the higher levels!”

They were going to be sliced into pieces by the wind blades if they held their positions. Heidi suddenly appeared close to a troop of Underworld Warriors with Meos’ help. She quickly cast a Chaotic Vortex. It absorbed the evil energy and used it against the wind blades.

“Reverse!”

Heidi spun the vortex in the opposite direction. It began to move counter-clockwise. After some time, the Chaotic Vortex turned the wind blades into even longer wind blades!

The wind blades sliced back at the Underworld Warriors. The Underworld Warriors only had skeletal frames. They collapsed to the ground when the bones supporting them were cloven.

“This way!” Mo Fan quickly Channeled the Star Constellation of the Summoning Element when he saw Heidi had managed to clear a path.

“Summoning Gate: Beast Tide!”

More than a hundred wolves poured out of the Summoning Gate. They sprang forward like a ferocious tide, trampling on the Underworld Warriors.

“Keep going! More are coming from behind!” Mu Bai blurted out.

The Beast Tide continued to clear the path ahead. The wolves were unstoppable, and even the Underworld Warriors had no chance of stopping them, despite their numbers. Bones went flying across the place. Their wind blades could not hit anyone since the Underworld Warriors were unable to focus on their enemy.

“Frosty Howl!”

Ice crystals drifted around Mu Bai and gradually formed a frosty tornado. It spread further away at Mu Bai’s command and swallowed the Underworld Warriors that were approaching them, immediately dealing with the threats nearby.

“Leave this side to me!” Meos exclaimed.

The Undead Magic flickered under her feet. A bulky blood-red mummy rose up on one side of the group.

The blood-red mummy was covered in bloody armor, surprisingly bearing some similarities to the Underworld Warriors who were attacking them, even carrying an enormous battle axe with a strong presence of death. The Blood-Armored Mummy let out a ferocious cry and gathered the evil energy nearby to its axe!

The axe swung past fiercely while emitting a deadly glow. It swept forward in a crescent around the height of the Underworld Warrior’s necks. A few dozen heads flew into the air; some even collided with one another before falling to the ground like coconuts.

Meos was not the only one who could Summon powerful undead. Shreev and Sayed immediately Summoned their undead, too. Shreev Summoned a creature with a pair of antennae. The creature resembled a centipede, and actually fed on the undead. It opened its mouth and swallowed the Underworld Warriors like it was drinking water. It doubled in size after only a few moments!

Sayed summoned his Death Saber Mummy as usual, but his Death Saber Mummy also had a bloody glow. It was most likely on par with the mummy that Meos had Summoned. Its death saber was as deadly as the other’s axe. The Underworld Warriors struggled to come any closer with the two great fighters guarding both sides of the team!

As a matter of fact, their mummies had actually evolved from the Underworld Warriors. Once these Underworld Warriors reached the Commander-level, they would turn into mummies with a greater lifespan and more power. As such, the Evil Axe Mummy and the Death Saber Mummy were quite familiar with how to deal with the Underworld Warriors!

“Keep it up, into the door!” Mo Fan ordered his wolves.

The Underworld Warriors had appeared from a passage around ten meters tall and wide. Shreev believed that the passage would lead them to the higher levels of the Pyramid, so they just needed to head in the direction the Underworld Warriors were coming from.

An Enormous White Wolf was the first to reach the entrance of the passage. It was too big for the passage, so it simply sat there to stop more Underworld Warriors from coming out of it.

The Underworld Warriors had terrifying numbers. Only four troops of them had shown up in the pool chamber at the beginning. They were merely patrols, but the rest of them came pouring into the chamber like a black tide in no time. The time it took for them to show up and their numbers were shocking.

The Enormous White Wolf’s strategy was very effective. It actually stopped more than a hundred Underworld Warriors from coming out of the passage before the group arrived. However, Mo Fan felt uneasy when he realized that they would have to fight their way through the passage.

“Is there another way up? I feel like we are swimming against the current!” Zhao Manyan asked.

“There’s no other way. The lower levels of the Pyramid have countless numbers of these creatures. Otherwise, why would it be called a kingdom? The passage shouldn’t be too long. Fighting our way through is better than being flanked from all directions inside the chamber. The Underworld Warriors could fill up the whole chamber with their numbers!” Shreev said.

“Big wolf, move aside!” Mo Fan told the Enormous White Wolf that was blocking the passage.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was the Commander of the wolves; Mo Fan normally referred to it as Old Wolf. The biggest one among the forty-three Enormous White Wolves was the one closest to the Commander-level. Mo Fan normally called him the Big Wolf; he would then call the second-largest wolf Second Wolf, the third-largest wolf Third Wolf, and so on…

The first three Enormous White Wolves had the potential of reaching the Commander-level, but since they were not Mo Fan’s Contract Beasts or Summoned Beasts, he could not help them evolve like he was helping the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. They could only evolve by fighting continuously in the Summoned Beast Plane!

Big Wolf had a wild temper, yet he was extremely obedient when taking orders from Mo Fan. He quickly rolled aside and revealed the passage when he saw Mo Fan’s right hand engulfed in fire.

The passage was full of Underworld Warriors, and the sheen of their dark armor. They looked like cockroaches bundled up together, dense enough to give someone goosebumps!

“Fiery Fist!”

Three Soul-grade Flames erupted simultaneously as the punch was thrown. Fiery dragons of three different colors sprang forward and combined into a fiercer dragon along the way. It dove right into the pitch-black passage with a deafening roar…

The undead were scared of fire, while the three different Soul-grade Flames strengthened Mo Fan’s Fire Element multiple times. The Underworld Warriors could not endure the destructive heat. Even their thick armor was instantly burned into ashes!

The fiery dragon surged through the tunnel and cleared a long path. Soul Remnants in the form of fireflies flew into Mo Fan’s Pendant like beams of light!

The Underworld Warriors in the Pyramids were a lot stronger than the ones outside. It also meant their Soul Remnants were more valuable! The Warrior-level Soul Remnants entered the Nether River inside the Little Loach Pendant and were rapidly refined into Warrior-level Soul Essences to increase the capacity of Mo Fan’s Beast Tide!

“Three Soul Essences already!” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

The Soul Remnants Mo Fan had gathered from killing the Underworld Warriors were refined into two Soul Essences. He had also acquired a complete Soul Essence, meaning that he had already earned three Soul Essences!

“I’ll clear a path!” Mo Fan immediately found himself motivated.

The Pyramid had been sealed for a long time, so the souls of these undead possessed abundant energy. There was no better place for Mo Fan to collect Soul Essences!

1575 The Long and Tedious Passage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The passage was quite long. The fiery dragon could not push the Underworld Warriors back any further after traveling fifty meters into the passage.

The group was flanked from all sides when they were in a spacious area, making it extremely difficult to fend off their enemies. However, after they entered the passage, the Underworld Warriors struggled to attack the group due to the limited space and Zhao Manyan’s defenses. The situation was much more favorable for Mo Fan and his crew.

The seven of them moved through the passage quickly. There were walls on both sides and a sturdy ceiling above them. They only needed to take care of the limited number of enemies coming from the front and the back. It greatly reduced the burden on their shoulders!

“I’ll take care of the rear!” Mu Bai declared.

Mu Bai did not need to kill anyone. He could just freeze the Underworld Warriors and use them to block off the rest of their kind. He could easily guard their backtrail on his own.

“We’ll take turns clearing the path. The passage won’t be short. Make sure you don’t expend all your energy here,” Shreev reminded him.

Mo Fan led the way, not paying much attention to Shreev. His eyes were fixed on the delicious Soul Essences.

“Little Flame Belle, let’s clear a path together!” Mo Fan Summoned Little Flame Belle.

It took time to Channel spells. Mo Fan had no idea how long it would take him to kill so many Underworld Warriors in the long passage. He decided to let Little Flame Belle engage the enemy on her own while he relied on the Lightning Element, Shadow Element, and Space Element. It was quicker killing the undead with the two of them.

The Underworld Warriors were average Warrior-level creatures. It was more effective for them to split up!

It had been a long time since Little Flame Belle had an enjoyable fight. She recalled the Flame Charge that Mo Fan had used against Mentor Vani. She mimicked Mo Fan and engulfed herself in huge flames.

The energy of her flame filled the entire passage. With an excited cry, Little Flame Belle charged forward and killed every Underworld Warrior over a distance of a few dozen meters, like flames devouring some wild shrubs!

Mo Fan could also collect the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences of the creatures that Little Flame Belle killed. Once again, Soul Remnants in the form of fireflies were drawn into the Little Loach Pendant’s Nether River.

Mo Fan quickly caught up with Little Flame Belle, seeing another bunch of Underworld Warriors approaching them. These creatures did not travel only on the ground, many of them were moving along the walls and the ceiling.

Lightning arcs burst out of Mo Fan’s fingers, surging forward rapidly. The current was not too strong, as Mo Fan was not trying to kill the Warrior-level creatures with a Basic Lightning Strike. However, because of the Lightning Tyrant’s special effects, every Underworld Warrior that was caught by the lightning arcs was marked with the Lightning Tyrant Scar!

The lightning arcs surged back and forth between the Underworld Warriors. The lightning failed to paralyze the undead since they did not have any flesh, but the Lightning Tyrant Scars on them gradually became brighter.

“Tyrant Call!”

Mo Fan activated the spell when he saw it was the right time to do so. Thick lightning arcs erupted in the narrow space and intertwined with one another.

A single Lightning Tyrant Scar could trigger a lightning bolt comparable to a Thunderbolt!

Mo Fan’s Thunderbolt had reached the fifth-tier. Not only was it strong enough to kill a Warrior-level creature instantly, it would also form a huge lightning web on the ground or other surfaces it landed on. When a hundred of them landed on the same surface, the lightning web would keep stacking up, allowing the lightning arcs to keep conducting continuously!

The explosions triggered by the lightning bolts and the electric shock disintegrated the Underworld Warriors in no time. The evil presence ahead of the group vanished. It felt unreal how empty the passage was so suddenly!

“Quick, keep up with us!” Mo Fan told the others.

“He’s seriously a monster!” Meos could not help but curse in amazement.

Meos noticed that Mo Fan’s strength was a lot scarier than before. It had not even been that long since they had last met. These Underworld Warriors were Warrior-level creatures, yet were weaker than Servant-class creatures when facing Little Flame Belle’s flame and Mo Fan’s lightning!

It made sense that the Undead Strategy did not work against him. He could kill as many undead as he pleased if he had the chance to use his magic!

The others quickly caught up with Mo Fan. He had burned a path over a hundred meters long. Normally, a group of Mages would just force a little opening before organizing a strong push to clear the path and advance. However, with Mo Fan leading the way, the group never stopped moving forward. The Warrior-level creatures in the passage were not putting much pressure on him at all…

—

The passage was longer than anyone had expected. They had traveled for a full kilometer, yet the passage was perfectly still straight. The Underworld Warriors from the other end were still charging at them, as if they were coming from a bottomless abyss.

“Mo Fan, take a rest, don’t waste too much of your energy,” Heidi said when she saw Mo Fan still clearing the path ahead.

“Sure, your turn!” Mo Fan decided to rest when he noticed he had consumed almost half of his energy.

Using magic continuously was quite strenuous, and would speed up the rate of consumption of energy. Mo Fan was currently like an overheated engine. It was time for him to cool down.

“Hey, why can he rest? What about me?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

The Underworld Warriors were not standing in lines waiting to be slain. They were constantly attacking the group with their wind blades. Zhao Manyan had endured ninety percent of the attacks. He was a human too, he needed some rest!

“I’ll summon a meat shield undead.” Meos cast an Undead Spell. She agreed that Zhao Manyan had protected the group for too long.

“Humph, you’re just that much stronger than my mummies!” Sayed mocked Zhao Manyan.

Meos and Sayed Summoned the same type of mummies. Their bodies were wrapped in gray cloth. Their size was not too impressive, but their bodies were as hard and sturdy as metal!

“They can just block the path behind us. Is the front going to be fine?” Meos asked.

“She can handle it,” Mo Fan answered on behalf of Heidi, who had already gone ahead. Heidi was unable to kill as quickly as he was, but since she was able to mind three things at once, she could easily handle the situation!

Mo Fan quickly inspected the Little Loach Pendant when he had the chance to catch his breath, like a merchant who had just earned a fortune. His eyes sparkled as he got the chance to count his profits!

1576 The Looping Space

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Little Loach Pendant diligently produced more than twenty Warrior-level Soul Essences for Mo Fan. If he could sell them, he would easily become the richest man in his country!

He instead fed all the Soul Essences to the Magic Medium Ring. He could now Summon one hundred and thirty-three wolves, three times the initial number!

“I can really raise an army of wolves at this rate!” Mo Fan’s heart pounded excitedly.

He would definitely feel a lot better having one or two thousand wolves around him, since he kept finding himself surrounded by huge numbers of demon creatures. Khufu had millions of undead following him, even though he was already dead. Mo Fan was clearly not asking too much to have an army of wolves under his own command!

—

“Space Rhythm: Titan Stomp!”

An invisible titan stomped the ground ahead, crushing a bunch of Underworld Warriors flat instantly. The Underworld Warriors had no flesh, their skeletal frames were their only support. Their bones scattered across the ground and almost filled the path ahead.

Heidi realized she could not kill as quickly as Mo Fan could, regardless of the magic she used, so she decided to use the simple and violent spell to clear the way. The Underworld Warriors had no way to withstand the powerful Stomp!

“Why is there no end to this passage?” Zhao Manyan grumbled impatiently.

They had covered a long distance in the passage, yet they still could not see the end of it. Meanwhile, the numbers of the Underworld Warriors remained the same. They kept running at the group endlessly.

The path from the chamber to their current location was stacked with the broken pieces of the Underworld Warriors!

“This doesn’t make any sense. Even if the space inside this Pyramid is enlarged, there’s no way the passage can be this long!” Even Shreev was confused.

Heidi had expended more than half of her energy. Mo Fan took over her role and started using some Advanced Spells to kill the undead at a quicker pace.

They continued on for more than another kilometer, but still did not reach the end. The distance they had covered was close to five kilometers. The passage was perfectly straight, too. Didn’t that mean the space inside the Great Pyramid of Giza was the size of a valley?

The group’s energy kept decreasing. If they had not made it halfway through the passage by now, the Underworld Warriors were going to wear them out eventually!

“Can someone think of a plan? We can’t just keep going like this!” Mo Fan called out.

Mo Fan had had a pleasant time collecting Soul Essences, and the capacity of his army had reached one hundred and fifty, but they were still going to be wiped out eventually. A Mage whose energy had depleted was no different than an ordinary person. A single Underworld Warrior could easily kill them all!

“Shreev, did you lead us here to die!?” Sayed said anxiously.

“Stop yelling, let me think!” Shreev snapped.

“Heidi, is there a chance we are in an endless loop?” Mo Fan asked.

They were both Space Mages, thus they would notice if something was strange about the structure of the space around them. Mo Fan had a feeling that they would never find an exit no matter how far they went…

“Look out for me,” Heidi said.

“Oh, alright,” Mo Fan nodded. He saw Heidi close her eyes and listen carefully to the footsteps approaching from the distance.

A while later, Heidi’s lips vibrated slightly, producing a faint melody that spread rapidly. When it passed Mo Fan, he heard a sound similar to the cry of a dolphin, drifting into the distance.

Three Underworld Warriors suddenly showed up around ten meters away from Mo Fan. They noticed that Heidi was in a defenseless state. Two of the Underworld Warriors charged at Mo Fan while the third one agilely moved across the ceiling to bypass him.

“Come over here!” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered as he grabbed out.

An invisible hand clenched the smart-arse Underworld Warrior. As Mo Fan strengthened his Will, it crushed the Underworld Warrior to pieces. Its remains fell from the ceiling to the ground.

The other two Underworld Warriors arrived in front of him. Before Mo Fan could make his move, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf suddenly showed up. He tore the head off the first Underworld Warrior while pouncing onto the second. He then threw the Underworld Warrior under his paws with great strength!

The three Underworld Warriors died horribly. The one that was moving across the ceiling surprisingly dropped a Soul Essence, generating a grin on Mo Fan’s face. That Underworld Warrior most likely had a stronger cultivation, so had higher odds of dropping a Soul Essence.

Mo Fan suddenly heard the dolphin cry passing by again. He turned to Heidi with a confused look.

Heidi’s eyes were open. She was staring at Mo Fan with her dazzling blue eyes.

“It’s a Looping Space!” Heidi declared firmly.

“What does that mean?” Mo Fan asked. He was not familiar with the term.

The Space Element had several branches. Some impressive builders could use the Space Element to create an enormous space in a narrow, confined area. The Three Step Tower at the Pearl Institute was one example, but Mo Fan had no clue how it worked!

“We are currently in a Lopping Space. I just made a sound that shouldn’t be reflected, but the sound returned in less than a few seconds. It means the passage is less than two kilometers long, but the loop keeps us inside it,” Heidi said. She used her Will to draw a simple diagram as she was explaining. She drew four thick lines across four different connections.

“But we are moving in a straight line!” Meos said.

“We were busy fighting the undead, so we didn’t notice the four connection points. The passage is split into four segments. Whenever we pass by a connection point, we actually turn ninety degrees, so after passing four connection points, we return to our starting point,” Heidi stated.

“Just tell us how we can leave this place!” Zhao Manyan interrupted.

“Two of the connection points are just simple turns; as for the other two, one will lead us to the chamber where we entered the passage, and the other is the exit we are looking for. Keep moving, I’ll let you know when we reach the connection point,” Heidi said.

“Got it!”

Killing the undead with their heads lowered was not as effective as actively looking for the way out. Luckily, the group did not wait until it was too late before wising up. They would be in deep trouble if they went searching for the connection point after their energy was depleted!

Mo Fan continued forward. The Underworld Warriors blocking his path all turned into Little Loach’s dinner, their souls sent soaking in the Nether River.

After traveling for another six hundred meters, Heidi suddenly told everyone to stop. She used sound to probe the passage, and soon noticed an echo coming from less than a hundred meters ahead.

“An echo came less than a hundred meters ahead. It means there’s a connection point there; it might be our exit,” Heidi blurted out in joy.

“Well done!”

A hundred meters was not far. The group stopped at the spot that Heidi mentioned after taking care of the next wave of Underworld Warriors.

Mo Fan would not have noticed anything strange about the spot if he was in the middle of a fight. However, if he stood still and paid full attention to his surroundings, he could easily sense the space being twisted. It was indeed a ninety-degree turn, as Heidi had mentioned!

“Break!” Mo Fan used his Will to shatter the connection point that was misdirecting the group with brute force, not waiting for Heidi to do it.

The connection point was quite fragile, since an area was only stable if the space was connected properly. Even Super Spells could not influence the stability of space, so it would be extremely fragile after it was manipulated!

The never-ending passage broke into pieces like a mirror, vanishing into thin air.

“There’s really an exit here!” Meos glanced ahead with joy.

In front of them was a huge wall with an arc-shaped entrance, leading them to a spacious hall lit up with flames. They could even see an engraved altar in there.

The group did not want to stay in the never-ending passage any longer. They immediately rushed toward the entrance.

The entrance was incredibly huge, the dark wall resembling a massive creature. It felt like the end of the world was being blocked off by a dark sturdy barrier with an entrance that seemed to be designed for giants. The seven of them felt extremely tiny as they went through!

The group realized that the hall was designed for some kind of a ceremony, with an altar as tall as a mountain at its center. They could barely see a statue on the altar when they raised their heads…

The statue was not alive, Mo Fan was quite sure. He wondered why most of the lifelike statues had to be alive. They gave him the urge to pay extra attention whenever he saw a statue, but this time, he was confident that the thing was just a statue. The only strange thing about it was that the statue was depicting a hound instead of a human!

“It’s the Revered Hound from ancient times. The ancient Egyptians considered it the Pharaohs’ most loyal guardian. This must be a place where they offer delicacies to their god,” Shreev said while observing the surroundings carefully.

“It’s just a dog. Did they really treat it as their god?” Zhao Manyan sniffed disdainfully.

“Some demon hounds are indeed quite strong!” Mo Fan recalled the battle against the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. It had definitely revised Mo Fan’s understanding of dogs!

1577 Sacrificial Hell Hounds

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Really? Are some dogs really that strong?” Zhao Manyan wondered aloud.

“It was a Cerberus with three heads, each with a different Element. Its body was very strong, too. Mu Ningxue and I fought a Dreadful Curse Cerberus on Fanxue Mountain. Its Curse Element was insanely powerful. I almost died to its Dreadful Curse Glare,” Mo Fan said, recalling the battle.

If Mu Ningxue was not around, he would definitely have struggled against the Dreadful Curse Cerberus. It was one of the strongest Commander-level creatures he had encountered so far!

“Mo Fan, do the Cerberi have dark blue flames under their paws?” Mu Bai’s voice came from the other side of the hall.

“How did you know? Have you seen one before? They are actually quite rare!” Mo Fan answered, astonished.

Mu Bai fell silent briefly before the hall was suddenly filled with cold air, followed by huge ice chains coming from Mu Bai’s direction, intertwining in the air.

Mu Bai nimbly leapt between the ice chains. Mo Fan was wondering what Mu Bai was up to so suddenly when he saw three heads rising into the air and smashing through the ice chains. They were clearly trying to swallow Mu Bai!

Dark brown bodies engulfed in flames, a demonic aura, with dark blue Hellflame under their paws. Mo Fan abruptly recognized the Hellish Cerberus!

Mo Fan belatedly understood why Mu Bai knew what a Cerberus looked like. One was right in front of him!

“Cerberus, it’s a Hellish Cerberus!” Mo Fan yelled.

“There’s one over here, too!” Meos yelled from behind Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was initially going to lend Mu Bai a hand, but he realized there was a Cerberus behind him, too! These Hellish Cerberi came out of nowhere when least expected. Their group had no choice but to run for their lives in the spacious hall!

“How many are there?” Mo Fan asked.

“At least a few! Let’s split up for now!”

They were afraid of being surrounded and engaging the enemy in close combat. The first thing that came to their minds when being ambushed was to first run away. They could not afford to stay in the same spot before knowing how many Hellish Cerberuses there were. They would have no chance of escaping if they were trapped!

Luckily, the group was made up of elite Mages. Even if they did not have reliable spells to flee for their lives, they could still rely on their expensive magic Equipment!

Mo Fan looked around him and saw dark blue flames everywhere. He had already seen at least four Hellish Cerberi in passing. The hall was simply too huge in scale. There were lots of stone caskets, statues, and pillars in addition to the huge altar at the center, allowing these Hellish Cerberi to hide from the group’s view!.

“Old Wolf, go and help Mu Bai!” Mo Fan told the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

Mu Bai was being chased by two Hellish Cerberi. Luckily, he had managed to react pretty quickly. A Great Commander-level creature like the Hellish Cerberus could kill a Mage in an instant!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf enjoyed fighting alongside Mu Bai because of his Ice Element. His Ice Domain could awaken the Flying power of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s bloodline. Without it, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was only as strong as a Hellish Cerberus. He might even struggle to take on a Hellish Cerberus alone!

Mu Bai finally had a chance to use his magic when the Flying Creek Snow Wolf came to his aid. He turned around and cast an Advanced Ice Spell. An enormous Icebound Coffin descended from above and landed close to one of the Hellish Cerberi.

The Hellish Cerberus was indeed a Great Commander-level creature. The Icebound Coffin failed to land on it, and even the frost spreading rapidly across the ground only managed to slow it down slightly.

The dark blue Hellflame granted the Hellish Cerberus the ability to stride in the air. It sprinted and left a line of burning footsteps in the air as it nimbly dodged the frost of the Icebound Coffin.

The cunning creature returned after the Icebound Coffin’s effects wore off. It could only air-walk for a short time. It dashed forward like a burning phantom as soon as it landed on the ground. Its three heads breathed out flames at Mu Bai from a close distance!

The hellish breath was like scorching lava. Even the defense of an Advanced Spell would struggle against it when three of the same breaths were unleashed at the same target!

Mu Bai did not expect the Hellish Cerberus to be so strong. He quickly withdrew when he realized his Ice Shield was gone, trying to find another opportunity to cast his spell.

A figure engulfed in dark blue flames suddenly sprang out from the left when Mu Bai was running away. It was a Hellish Cerberus with a bulkier build. The cunning creature had been sitting in the corner for quite some time, waiting for Mu Bai to lower his guard.

“Silent Deadly Bolt!”

Black lightning rays punched right through a stone pillar and went right at the Hellish Cerberus that was trying to ambush Mu Bai.

BANG!

The Hellish Cerberus went flying and slammed heavily onto the ground after the deadly blast.

Mu Bai was very close to the creature, less than five meters away. His ears were hurting from the deafening blast, but anything was better than being pounced on by the Hellish Cerberus. For a second, he thought he was going to die!

Mu Bai glanced in the direction that the deadly rays had come from. He saw Mo Fan standing on some high ground.

To Mu Bai’s surprise, Mo Fan was actually fighting three Hellish Cerberuses on his own, yet still managed to keep an eye on him.

The guy was as insanely strong as usual!

“Mo Fan! Help me! I’m being chased around by so many dogs!” Zhao Manyan yelled. It was difficult to see where he was.

Mo Fan could not have cared less about Zhao Manyan. If the team was wiped out, Zhao Manyan was obviously going to be the last one to die. He had plenty of defensive spells and equipment to protect himself. He would be perfectly fine even if he remained motionless for three minutes!

Mo Fan was more worried about the others.

The Hellish Cerberi were Great Commander-level creatures, a lot stronger than the Underworld Warriors. It was already impressive if an Advanced Mage could take on a single Commander-level creature…

“Mu Bai, can you hold on for now?” Mo Fan called out.

“I’ll try!” Mu Bai said.

He had confirmed there were only three Hellish Cerberi nearby. As long as the other Hellish Cerberuses did not target him, he would still stand a chance against the three Hellish Cerberuses with the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s help!

Mu Bai took a quick glance and noticed Mo Fan’s Silent Deadly Bolt had blasted one of the heads of the biggest Hellish Cerberus apart. Its remaining two heads were both glaring at him!

1578 Slaying the Dogs!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

BANG!

Gouts of dark flaming breath converged from three different directions. Mo Fan quickly transformed into a shadow bird when he found himself in an unfavorable position and fled in the only direction with an opening.

ROAR!

However, there was another Hellish Cerberus waiting for him. These creatures knew how to work together to force Mo Fan into a corner, giving a Hellish Cerberus that was holding its position in the corner a chance to ambush him!

Mo Fan was vulnerable when he was under the Fleeing Shadow’s effects. He quickly came out of the shadow, but immediately found himself in great danger. After all, there was no way he could defend himself when the enemy was coming from all directions!

It was too late to use Blink. Mo Fan did not expect another creature to be hiding in the corner. In the nick of time, Zhao Manyan’s Plummeting Rays spiraled above Mo Fan and assembled a set of sturdy armor around him.

The Hellish Cerberus that was trying to ambush Mo Fan swept its paws at him. Luckily, the armor of light had shown up in time. Otherwise, the impact could easily have broken all his bones.

The armor of light absorbed the majority of the impact. The rest of the force knocked Mo Fan flying into the distance.

Mo Fan stabilized himself to prevent himself from falling. He quickly looked around to see if there were any Hellish Cerberi hiding nearby.

These Hellish Cerberi had all come out of nowhere. Their numbers were shocking! It was likely that even a Super Mage would die horribly in here…

ROAR!

As Mo Fan expected, a Hellish Cerberus jumped down from the pillar nearby just as he was about to Channel his spell. Mo Fan threw a few Fiery Fists at the creature without any mercy!

The Fiery Fists flew at the falling Hellish Cerberus and delivered solid hits, knocking the creature some distance away, blistering its neck and belly.

The other four Cerberi arrived quickly, charging at Mo Fan from different directions while he was casting the Fire Spells to flank him. They did not give him any chance to catch his breath.

Mo Fan was infuriated after being backed into a corner multiple times in a row.

“Still trying to flank me!?” Mo Fan fixed his eyes on one of the Cerberi. He quickly constructed a Lightning Star Constellation.

“Die!”

A lightning ray sprang at the Hellish Cerberus. It tried to dodge the lightning with its quick reflexes, but the lightning ray exploded before reaching it. Thick lightning arcs surged wildly across the place and knocked the Hellish Cerberus into the air.

The Hellish Cerberus lost its balance as the lightning arcs whipped at it ruthlessly. It cried out in agony as its skin and flesh blistered.

The other three Hellish Cerberi did not care about their comrade. Nine heads spat out fiery breaths at Mo Fan simultaneously. The dark blue Hellfire formed a fiery vortex racing towards him!

The Hellish Vortex was rather terrifying. His armor of light slowly faded away amid the flames. Mo Fan did not resist the attack directly. He decisively cast Blink to escape the encirclement!

Mo Fan was still engulfed in the Hellfire when he traveled three hundred meters away. He did not have time to treat the burns. He had to take out one or two of the Cerberi. Otherwise, his life would be in constant danger.

“Swamp of Darkness!”

Mo Fan cast the Nyx Regime. Muddy black shadows flowed away from him quickly.

The Hellish Cerberi could not move freely in the Swamp of Darkness. They were planning to flank Mo Fan again, but they failed to locate him.

“Rebelling Shadow!” Mo Fan consumed four Commander-level Soul Remnants to summon four demon shadows of the Hellish Cerberi.

The four shadows only had a certain level of fighting ability, but importantly, they could reform themselves when inside the Swamp of Darkness. When the Hellish Cerberi shattered them, they would turn into smoke, float to a different spot, and return as shadows again!

Mo Fan’s heart ached a little when he consumed four Commander-level Soul Remnants in a row. Luckily, the four demon shadows managed to lift the burden from his shoulders by distracting the Hellish Cerberi. He finally had the chance to cast some real spells!

“You still dare to come? I shall take care of you first, then!” Mo Fan quickly scanned his surroundings, and directed a black lightning bolt at the Hellish Cerberi.

Lightning bolts and claws suddenly flickered above the Hellish Cerberi. They hammered down past the Hellish Cerberus’ heads and blasted them apart, their brains scattering in the air. Two heads were even smashed into pieces by the Sky Lightning Claw!

The heads of the Hellish Cerberi were the main source of their strength. Their strength would decline significantly whenever they lost one of their heads.

Mo Fan noticed a Hellish Cerberus trying to flee for its life after it was severely injured by the Sky Lightning Claw. He quickly followed up with Telekinesis, taking the creature by surprise. Its last head was blasted apart too, its contents splattered across the ground!

“Still think you can take me on? Mo Fan chuckled.

The headless Hellish Cerberus ran around aimlessly for half a minute, before its body slowly stiffened and fell to the ground. Mo Fan gladly claimed its Soul Remnant.

“As for the rest of you, I will knock your heads off one by one!” Mo Fan had secured the upper hand in the fight, finally displaying his violent fighting ../style.

The demon shadows had earned a great deal of for Mo Fan. By the time they finally disappeared, Mo Fan was done Channeling a powerful spell!

“Hellish Flames!”

The Hellish Cerberi were not the only one that could control the fires of Hell. As a Fire Mage, Mo Fan could summon the same flames with eerie burning effects.

The Hellish Flames descended from the sky, its area increasing continuously as it fell. The three Hellish Cerberi trapped in the Swamp of Darkness sensed their lives were in danger, and immediately fled in a panic. Two of them managed to escape the Swamp of Darkness, but one that was hampered by it was completely caught by the deadly flames!

The enormous meteorite smashed a huge hole in the ground, the Hellish Cerberus that had failed to escape in time right beneath it. Its body was scorched black like charcoal, dead!

“The two of you aren’t running away, either!” Mo Fan had completely lost his temper.

These dogs had abused their numbers and picked on him. It was time to teach them what the consequences of messing with him were!

1579 Seizing by Force

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan quickly caught up to a Hellish Cerberus with Blink. The creature had lost its domineering bearing. Mo Fan threw a lightning spear ahead of them, forming a lightning web in front of the creature. The Hellish Cerberus knew how extraordinary Mo Fan’s lightning was, and immediately turned aside and ran up a pillar.

Its speed was outstanding, it could almost run vertically up the pillar. Mo Fan lifted his gaze and threw Giant Shadow Spikes at the Hellish Cerberus’ limbs.

The Hellish Cerberus did not notice the silent paralyzing spell. Its back legs were nailed to the pillar by the Giant Shadow Spike. Its upper body kept moving while its lower body was stuck to the pillar. It felt like its body was growing longer!

The Hellish Cerberus howled. Its body glowed with hellfire, trying to free itself from the Giant Shadow Spike.

Mo Fan knew the Giant Shadow Spike could only stop a Commander-level creature briefly. He immediately tossed another lightning spear at the creature after it came to a halt!

The lightning spear swept across the sky, crackling loudly. Lightning arcs flickered ruthlessly as the spear drove into the Hellish Cerberus’ body before unleashing a strong electric shock. The Hellish Cerberus’ limbs twitched uncontrollably!

The Hellish Cerberus fell limply from the pillar. Mo Fan clearly did not want to spare its life; his other hand had already Summoned a fiery sword. He slashed at the spot the Hellish Cerberus was falling to!

The fiery sword was over thirty meters long as it slashed ahead and split everything in front of Mo Fan in half, while the raging flames engulfed them. The Hellish Cerberus had already taken several hits from Mo Fan’s spells, and was at its limits, despite its sturdy flesh.

Its skin was severely burned. The scorching heat further penetrated its body through its wounds and devoured its muscles and organs!

The flame turned the Hellish Cerberus into a pile of bones in no time. Its Soul Remnant floated into Mo Fan’s Pendant.

“You’re the lucky last!” Mo Fan stared at the last Hellish Cerberus.

The last Hellish Cerberus was surprisingly bold. It had tried to attack Mo Fan to save its comrades, but Mo Fan’s magic was simply unstoppable. Even a Great Commander-level creature like it could not endure the damage!

Mo Fan had three Soul-grade Flames, while his Lightning Element had a twelvefold damage amplification. Each of his Advanced Spells could inflict serious damage on a Great Commander-level creature. If he had more time to accumulate his energy, he would not have any problem killing a Great Commander-level creature instantly!

The three heads of the Hellish Cerberus took turns attacking Mo Fan. One of the heads was poisonous, and spat out venomous clouds to suppress Mo Fan and stop him from casting Advanced Spells. It forced him to keep moving around to avoid the poisonous gas.

A cloudy gust followed the poisonous breath. That wind was extremely corrosive. Mo Fan tried hiding behind a huge pillar, but the wind ground away the pillar the size of a hut in mere seconds, turning the pillar into bubbles.

Following the corrosive wind was the dark blue Hellfire!

The central head spat out the Hellfire. It surged in Mo Fan’s direction, a fireball with a diameter of ten meters, exploding right on top of him.

With a roar, the creature spat out the Hellfire again. An even bigger fireball with a diameter of fifteen meters flew at Mo Fan. However, he did not dodge it this time. He stared at the enormous fireball while gathering his Will instead!

Mo Fan’s eyes emitted a silver light. A sharp flicker of light struck the dark blue fireball as it was approaching. It began to slow down as it closed on him.

The fireball gradually came to a stop, as if it had entered a muddy swap with a strong resistance, and stopped moving around fifty meters away from him.

Mo Fan yelled as he thoroughly unleashed his Will, knocking the fireball over two hundred meters away. The dark blue flames surged wildly, yet not even the slightest cinder could reach him!

The Hellish Cerberus was stunned. It did not expect its attack to be nullified with a single glance.

“Rise!” Mo Fan extended his Will out onto the sturdy rocks, shards, and pillars scattered across the hall. He snapped them with brute force and used them as his weapons, hurling them all at the Hellish Cerberus!

Each of them was strengthened by Mo Fan’s Will. Even the smallest shard could penetrate a mountain, let alone the heavy rocks and pillars., which could easily break the Hellish Cerberus’ bones if they landed on it!

The Hellish Cerberus was badly bruised by the rain of projectiles. However, the creature was surprisingly relentless. It did not show any intention of running away.

Mo Fan was not going to spare its life just because it had the guts to face him. A hexagon carrying a tremendous crushing force suddenly appeared below the Hellish Cerberus’ feet.

Silver ashes drifted into the air. The Space Rhomboid had completely crushed the Hellish Cerberus!

A bright light rose into the air from the spot that the Hellish Cerberus was slain. It floated in the air like a homeless kid.

“A Soul Essence! I’m rich!” Mo Fan was overjoyed when he saw the crystalline glow.

The drop rate of Soul Essences was shockingly high in the Pyramid, including the Soul Essence of a Commander-level creature. A Commander-level Soul Essence was worth a few hundred million!

“A Soul Essence?” a voice blurted out. Sayed’s eyes burned passionately while staring at the crystalline glow.

Sayed had the Undead Element, so Soul Remnants and Soul Essences were quite precious to him. Those things were like huge moneybags to him!

A Commander-level Soul Essence with such a brilliant glow! If Sayed could claim it, he could Summon another powerful undead, similar to the Death Saber Mummy!

Sayed did not care where the Soul Essence had come from. He decisively took out his Soul Container.

The Soul Container was a piece of special equipment designed for collecting Soul Remnants and Soul Essences. Sayed was excited when the thought of being able to Summon another strong mummy crossed his mind. He had to secure the Soul Essence!

“Screw you, how dare you try to take it from me!?” Mo Fan was enraged.

He had put in so much effort to kill the Hellish Cerberi. One of them amazingly dropped a Commander-level Soul Essence, yet Sayed who did nothing at all, dared to steal it from him? If he was not a friendly, Mo Fan would not have hesitated to blast him to death with a Thunderbolt!

“Little Loach, take it!” Mo Fan yelled.

Little Loach was infuriated too. Nothing had ever dared to steal its food!

Little Loach forcibly dragged the Commander-level Soul Essence toward it like a strong magnet, even though Sayed’s Soul Container had a head start. Sayed did not expect he to fail to claim the Soul Essence even with his valuable Soul Container and his Undead Element.

“I saw it first!” Sayed grunted anxiously.

“I f**king saw your mum first, too! Does that mean your mum is mine? Didn’t you see it was from the Hellish Cerberus that I killed? How dare you piece of shit take it from me!?” Mo Fan cursed him

He had never thought of Sayed as his friend. He had been teaching the man many lessons since the World College Tournament!

“Damn it, what good will the Soul Essence bring you? I’m an Undead Mage. I can utilize its full potential!” Sayed yelled.

“How shameless can you be!?” Mo Fan was mad. The man was speaking righteously even when he was trying to steal someone else’s stuff. Did he not realize who he was stealing from? Only he, Mo Fan, could steal from others! No one was allowed to steal from him! “Little Loach, stop wasting our time on this idiot!”

Little Loach was definitely not the merciful kind, and suddenly increased its force. The Soul Essence began to move toward Mo Fan at a quicker speed.

Little Loach vibrated as it increased its force. The Soul Essence approached Mo Fan’s chest assertively.

Sayed’s expression darkened.

“Now that we are on the same team, it’s better if I can become stronger. You don’t even have the Undead Element. What are you going to do with the Soul Essence? I only need another Soul Essence to help my Death Saber Mummy evolve. You’re a selfish prick!” Sayed exclaimed angrily.

“Are you messing with me now? Eleven out of ten sentences you said were cursing us to die quicker, and you’re telling me you’re doing it for the team? The Soul Essence is mine, yet you tried to claim it without even asking my permission. Let me tell you, I might not be that desperate over a Commander-level Soul Essence, so if you behave yourself and ask nicely if you can borrow the Soul Essence, I wouldn’t mind lending it to you. However, did you ever ask? Do you think I’m a humanitarian now!?” Mo Fan spat disdainfully.

It turned out that he was too gentle during the World College Tournament, too merciful toward this self-important scum. Otherwise, why would Sayed even dare to take his stuff!?

“Damn it, you’re just being unreasonable! That thing is mine, I won’t give it up!” Sayed finally lost his patience.

He placed his left hand on his right wrist. Dark red runes surfaced on his right arm, and began to glow with the same light the Soul Container in his hand was emitting!

The glow changed the color of their surroundings, replacing the light of the flames burning in the hall.

A sinister hand reached out from the Soul Container. It extended continuously, grabbing in Mo Fan’s direction.

The hand was not going after Mo Fan. It was aiming at the Commander-level Soul Essence that was about to reach Mo Fan’s chest. Sayed had brought out his trump card to compete for the Soul Essence!

1580 Your Mothers are Everywhere Across the World

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was shocked despite himself!

Did this Sayed’s brain have a short-circuit or something? Did he not consider the possibility of getting the crap beaten out of him, even if he managed to secure the Soul Essence!?

“Mo Fan, forget it, he has the Undead Element. There’s no way you can compete for the Soul Essence,” Mu Bai said.

Mu Bai was done with his Hellish Cerberus, too. He came to lend Mo Fan a hand when he saw the two fighting over the Commander-level Soul Essence.

Mu Bai could not see the Commander-level Soul Essence. He only knew the two were competing for it from their exchange of words.

“I’m an Undead Mage, do you really think you can claim the Soul Essence from me? My Death Saber Mummy will be one step closer to the Ruler-level with it! You’re too naive if you think no one can beat you. Just a little more time and resource, and I’ll be able to trample you under my feet!” Sayed grinned coldly.

It was difficult for Soul Remnants and Soul Essences to escape the eerie glow that Sayed’s Soul Container was emitting. A Soul Remnant or a Soul Essence only lasted a brief time free. They would disperse like smoke if a Soul Container was not around to retrieve them.

Mo Fan saw the Commander-level Soul Essence moving away from him. It was dragged toward the eerie light, as if it could not wait to jump into Sayed’s grasp.

Mo Fan was quite surprised by it. This Sayed did have something up in his sleeves; at least he was as decisive as a hoodlum when it came to stealing someone else’s Soul Essence!

“Little Loach, don’t worry if you can’t claim it. Give it to him first. I’m going to beat him up into a mummy later!” Mo Fan felt like he was starting to lose his edge. He decided to use the simplest way to get his revenge.

Little Loach was clearly not willing to admit defeat. The Pendant vibrated vigorously on Mo Fan’s chest, like an enraged little tiger. The sound of the vibration was like a tiger’s deep growl.

A light that only Mo Fan could see extended forward and covered the entire area. The eerie light that was suppressing Little Loach’s power disappeared, replaced by an icy blue shimmer!

The Commander-level Soul Essence immediately deviated from its path.

Previously, the competition between the two Soul Containers was like a tug-of-war, but now, the Commander-level Soul Essence dove right into Mo Fan’s chest as if it had finally found its real home, entering the world inside the Little Loach Pendant and falling into the Nether River.

Mo Fan was overjoyed after Little Loach claimed the Soul Essence. Little Loach was unstoppable, even though it had been a while since he last displayed its power. Even the high-quality Soul Container of an Advanced Undead Mage was no match for it!

Mo Fan assumed the competition had come to an end, yet Little Loach’s icy blue glow did not disappear. He noticed the Soul Container in Sayed’s hand dimming suddenly as many dots of light similar to fireflies flew out of it.

“This…this…” Sayed was utterly shocked. He had yet to recover from the shock of losing the tug-of-war, and now the Soul Essences inside his Soul Container were being taken away too!

Mo Fan’s eyes widened too!

Little Loach was robbing Sayed of the precious Soul Essences he had spent such a long time collecting. The light dots floated toward Mo Fan’s chest in an orderly manner. Little Loach was ruthlessly eating them all!

“What are you doing? What are you doing? Stop it, stop it now!” Sayed’s face turned pale, and he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Even Mo Fan was a little dumbfounded. Little Loach was really angry. He had drawn out the Soul Essences that Sayed had been collecting for more than a year. Mo Fan found himself with many high-quality Soul Essences all of a sudden!

Sayed was on the verge of losing his mind. The Soul Essences he had collected to upgrade his Death Saber Mummy were all gone. Those Soul Essences had a chance of helping the Death Saber Mummy evolve into a Ruler-level creature, yet they were all gone within a few seconds!

“I’m going to kill you!” Sayed almost burst into tears of frustration as he yelled out furiously.

“How arrogant can you be!?” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

Sayed had been asking for it. None of this would have happened if he had not tried to take the Soul Essence by force in the first place, but he had sent the helve after the hatchet instead, and still had the guts to vent his frustrations on Mo Fan. Why would he be afraid of this idiot!?

“Sayed, what are you doing? Are you going crazy?” Meos finally showed up and stopped Sayed.

“What were you all doing? There are more than three Hellish Cerberi left, yet you’re still fighting among yourselves?” Shreev said.

“Someone is no different from those dogs! I wouldn’t mind killing one extra.” Mo Fan remained in place. He had no intention of compromising.

“You took my everything, everything!” Sayed screamed at Mo Fan.

“If you keep behaving like this, you should be worried about your life instead of your belongings!” Mo Fan grunted.

“Mo Fan, give them back to him. Now is not the time to fight among ourselves. There are quite a few Hellish Cerberi in this hall left,” Heidi said.

“My Soul Container doesn’t like spitting out the things it ate,” Mo Fan replied.

There was no way Little Loach would spit out the things he had eaten, meaning that Sayed’s belongings were all his now. He had no plans to give them back!

“Mo Fan, I’m telling you, if you don’t give my Soul Essences back, you’re going to pay with your life!” Sayed yelled.

“Do you think your mothers are everywhere across the world? Even if my Soul Container is willing to spit them out, there’s no way I’m giving them back to you, either!” Mo Fan hated the man’s guts!

“You!” Sayed was so angry that he had an urge to vomit blood.

—

Mo Fan did not give the Soul Essences back. He simply ignored Sayed despite his constant harassment. If Sayed had the guts to fight him, he would not mind beating the man up until even his father could not recognize him!

They had yet to take care of all the Hellish Cerberi in the hall. However, they were no longer being chased around miserably after they regrouped.

Sayed’s expression darkened, and he did not cast a single spell. He was glaring at Mo Fan the whole time, fighting the urge to tear Mo Fan into pieces with bare hands.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was waiting for Sayed to attack him first, so he had an excuse to take care of the retard. It was difficult for the group to work together with an idiot on the team.

However, Meos was doing her best to calm Sayed down, knowing the stakes at hand. They were here under General Haken’s orders, so Sayed would not dare to try anything reckless for the time being…

Most importantly, Sayed knew his place. He was well aware that Mo Fan could easily destroy him if he started a fight. Mo Fan was a lot stronger now than he had been during the World College Tournament!

1581 I“ll cut off my Eighteen Centimeters for You

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Have these creatures been here all along? Why do I feel like they suddenly appeared out of nowhere?” Heidi wondered aloud.

They had not detected any presence of these creatures when they first entered the hall, yet it was quite obvious that these Hellish Cerberi had come for them.

The Hellish Cerberi had disappeared after the battle. They had no idea if the creatures had retreated after knowing they did not stand a chance against the team, or if they were preparing for their next attempt!

“Let’s not worry too much about it now; I believe we are going the right way. Those hounds are the most loyal servants to the Pharaohs. If those Hellish Cerberi are guarding this place, it means we are getting closer to the Pharaoh’s coffin,” Shreev said.

The group continued on its way, and the Hellish Cerberi did not show up again. They passed through the spacious hall and entered an enclosed chamber.

The chamber was huge; space was obviously compressed here. Only the people inside the chamber could see how big it was.

The chamber was triangular, but its domed ceiling had four sides joining at the apex, with the lowest points around the edges. The lowest point of the ceiling was roughly five meters from the ground. In simple words, the chamber perfectly resembled the inside of a pyramid, but Mo Fan knew it was only a confined space inside the enormous Pyramid.

The highest point of the chamber was around four hundred meters from the ground. Zhao Manyan raised his head and stared up at it. He exclaimed, “It’s roughly four hundred meters to the top of the Pyramid. Isn’t that around the height of the Canton Tower? I remember its height was around four hundred and fifty-four meters! Wouldn’t that mean the chamber is the size of the area we could see if we looked down at forty-five degrees from the top of the Canton Tower?”

“It’s around fifty degrees for the Pyramid, so the length of the room is over a kilometer. How extravagant are the ancient Egyptians? Think about it, a square meter for a house in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou is easily in the range of a hundred thousand. This chamber is at least a million square meters in size. The money needed to afford it is enough to train an entire army,” Mo Fan said.

“A square meter at the cemetery is a lot more expensive than a normal house. Mo Fan, you aren’t counting it right,” Zhao Manyan corrected him.

“What are you two going on about? Didn’t you see the coffin hanging up there?” Mu Bai inerrupted with a stern look.

The luxurious chamber was empty. There was only a Huntsman Spider with a golden head and a silver body remaining unmoving at the highest point. Anyone would assume it was a decoration if they did not take a closer look at it.

As a matter of fact, it was quite chilling to look at the spider. It was like seeing an enormous spider in the corner of the ceiling when a person had just turned on the light in a room without expecting anything. The spider would remain unmoving, but yet it felt like the eyes on its head were all fixed on you!

The Huntsman Spider was a lot bigger than a palm-sized normal spider. It perfectly suited the ratio of the spacious chamber that served as a mummy’s bedroom.

A normal Huntsman Spider could not produce silk, but that was not the case for this Huntsman Spider with a golden head and a silver body. Thick strands of silk were dangling from its bloated belly. Coincidence or not, their ends just happened to be right at the center of the chamber.

More shockingly, a coffin was dangling at the end of the silk!

The silk spread out into a web around the coffin and held it perfectly in place. The pitch-black coffin was unmoving up there in the air. It had a noble yet eerie presence!

The others were staring at the coffin alertly as Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were talking nonsense.

The coffin clearly indicated the existence of undead in the chamber. Most low-level undead were lone souls without their own tombs or graves, but the owner of this coffin had a luxurious chamber inside the Pyramid. It clearly displayed how high the status of the undead the coffin belonged to was!

“Could it be a Pharaoh?” Mu Bai asked.

“It’s a Mummy, a Pharaoh’s chamber should be in the higher levels. This one is for a Mummy,” Shreev said confidently.

“A room like this for a Mummy?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in disbelief.

Mummies were nobles in the past. Their corpses were preserved through mummification, so they were able to preserve their power, too. Beings of their power might even evolve after they died. Those nobles had to be rich if they could afford to mummify their bodies after death.

“This is the Great Pyramid of Giza, hence the mummies in it must have had some really high status in the past,” Shreev said.

“It seems to be sleeping. Maybe we can just sneak past it without alerting it?” Zhao Manyan said hopefully.

“Speaking of which, did none of you realize there’s no door in here?” Meos suddenly said.

It immediately reminded the others.

There was no door!

There was no exit!

There was no passage other than the one they came from!

“This is awkward… did we go the wrong way?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“We are going the right way, the chambers of mummies are normally before the chamber of pharaohs. We just haven’t found the exit. If it was so easy to find the paths inside a Pyramid, it wouldn’t have remained a mystery for a few thousand years,” Shreev said.

“What should we do now?” Heidi asked.

“Isn’t that obvious? Didn’t you know you have to defeat the Boss before the next section is unlocked in an MMORPG? It’s time to wake the thing above us and beat him up. It will then open up the door and let us continue on to the next area,” Mo Fan stated confidently.

“…”

“…”

Even though the group was left speechless by Mo Fan’s suggestion, it was indeed the only way they had. There was nothing else in the chamber. Every brick was the same. They were unlikely to find any hidden levels, thus the only way to go any further had to have something to do with the spider and the coffin.

“Mo Fan, should we reconsider it? What if it’s a Ruler-level creature?” Mu Bai asked cautiously.

“Do you think we have a choice?” Mo Fan replied.

Mu Bai thought about it for a while and decided not to stop Mo Fan.

“I know most of the Ruler-level creatures under Khufu’s lead, but I’ve never seen this guy before. Even if he is in the Ruler-level, we should still be able to take him on!” Mo Fan said firmly. It was better to roll up their sleeves and prepare themselves for the fight instead of wasting their time!

“To your positions!” Heidi said.

The team split up. Luckily, the chamber was spacious enough to provide them with sufficient space to cast their spells.

“Sayed, go over there. Shreev, come closer in this direction. Mu Bai, you’re an Ice Mage…” Meos started commanding the team.

“Fiery Fist!” Mo Fan blurted out fiercely before Meos could finish. A huge bunch of flames emerged as an enormous Fiery Fist flew at the suspended coffin. It landed right on the coffin, producing a loud metallic clang!

“Crap, we aren’t ready yet!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Meos’ face darkened, too. How impatient was that guy? If a Ruler-level creature came out of the coffin, they were all going to die!

The metallic clanging echoed through the chamber. The flames set the white spiderweb on fire. The Huntsman Spider above the coffin finally moved, yet it did not attack the group. It was staring at them with a gloating expression!

BANG!

The coffin landed heavily on the ground, smashing the tiles into pieces.

The spiderweb had burned into ashes, but the coffin was perfectly fine. Everyone began to feel a little nervous, staring at the coffin that had landed in front of them!

A little crack appeared on the coffin as a hand reached out of it. The hand angrily knocked the lid away.

A head wrapped in a white shroud sat upright. Its hollow eyes glared at Zhao Manyan with a deadly glow.

“Damn it, are you blind? I’m not the one that broke your coffin!” Zhao Manyan cursed when he saw the Mummy staring at him.

The white Mummy rose to its feet. It had the figure of a human instead of a beast. Its size resembled that of a human, wholly different from the evil presence it was emitting.

When it stepped out of the coffin, the air began to freeze. The group immediately felt a strong chill, as if they had suddenly fallen into a world of ice. Their bodies shivered subconsciously.

“If that thing isn’t in the Ruler-level, I’ll cut off my eighteen centimeters off and give it to you!” Zhao Manyan took a few steps back, yelling anxiously at Mo Fan.

“Why do I need your hair for? To feed it to the pigs?” Mo Fan shot back.

Heidi and Meos almost lost their minds after hearing the brief exchange. How could those two still bother to outwit one another in a situation like this?

“Door, a door!” Shreev suddenly yelled, pointing ahead.

The others followed his finger and saw an opening had suddenly appeared… the lever to open the door did indeed seem to be the coffin opening up. Once the coffin opened, the door to the next area opened too!

“Just stay here and be my funerary objects, I prefer them alive!” the white Mummy screeched at them murderously.

The Mummy still knew how to talk, and was calling out in ancient Egyptian. Shreev, Meos, Sayed could all understand it. The three immediately felt their hair standing on its end!

1582 Skeleton Mummy

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Let’s go! Run! Don’t even bother fighting it!” Meos was the first to shout.

Any formations or plans were just nonsense now. The door was open. Just run!

Heidi was the closest to the door, behind the mummy.

“Go to the spot I’ve marked!” Heidi told the others.

The rest of the team quickly shifted there. Silver rays of light intertwined and quickly formed a Star Constellation for a Blink.

“Get on the ride, quick!” Mo Fan yelled at Mu Bai.

Mu Bai sped himself up and barely reached the Star Constellation before the last Star Pattern was constructed. The silver light left crystalline particles behind after it vanished into thin air. The particles slowly fell in the air and dispersed before reaching the ground.

The next second, the area two hundred meters away rippled slightly. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, Meos, Shreev, and Sayed appeared simultaneously. Mo Fan was already Channeling a Blink, completing it at an impressive speed.

The six Blinked away once again, traveling one hundred and sixty meters further away. They quickly shifted past the mummy and moved closer to the door.

“I’ll try and stop…” Zhao Manyan was still willing to step forward in crucial times. He knew the Ruler-level creature was not going to let them leave so easily.

He was just about to cast his defensive spells to brace himself for the Ruler-level creature’s ruthless attacks, but to his surprise, the mummy didn’t chase after them, it had only turned around. Its hollow eyes still had the same terrifying glow.

But… it did not attack. It simply stared at them, leaving the others feeling very uneasy…

“Is it not going to attack?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise.

“Maybe it hasn’t fully woken up yet. Forget about it, just run!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Zhao Manyan thought about it for a second; a normal person’s mind would stay blank for a few minutes after waking up for a nap. The mummy might have been sleeping for a few thousand years. It was understandable if its mind happened to go blank…

As for the words it said, perhaps it was just sleep-talking!

The white-shrouded Mummy did not stop them. It watched Mo Fan and the others flee toward the door with a dark expression.

The group Blinked even further away from the Mummy, going through the opening. Mu Bai quickly glanced behind as a safety precaution, and noticed that the Ruler-level Mummy was still in the same spot. It seemed to be waiting for something. Somehow, he found it hard to believe they had managed to escape from it after seeing the calm look on its face…

The door led them into a dark passage. The passage was not too long. It began to turn after they ran along it for a minute or so.

“Did it chase us?” Meos gasped in disbelief.

“No.”

“That’s strange…”

“What is this?…”

The group was still worrying about the Ruler-level Mummy when they all came to a stop after reaching the end of the passage. They looked around them curiously.

Another chamber!

This chamber had the layout as the one before. Everyone subconsciously glanced at the center of it. They were afraid to see an open coffin with a white Mummy standing beside it.

Luckily, it was not another Looping Space. The chamber was different. There was no sign of the shrouded Mummy, either. They only saw a pile of bones at the center of the chamber!

They realized the pile of bones was actually made up of human skulls as they drew closer to it. The eerie sight of white skulls and their empty sockets immediately gave everyone goosebumps!

The skulls were stacked up into a hill, and on top of it stood another coffin!

The coffin was made of white bones, like a throne that a merciless ruler had built from the bones of people who were unwilling to submit themselves to him!

“Another Mummy?” Meos asked.

“It seems like different Mummies have different hobbies, too,” Mo Fan muttered.

The chamber’s layout was similar to the previous chamber, but the space was slightly smaller. Similar to the previous chamber, it did not have an exit. The coffin was the only thing in it.

“Don’t tell me it’s another Ruler-level creature again!?” Mu Bai protested.

“We’ll see!” Mo Fan decided to stick with his straightforward approach.

Same punch, same blazing Fiery Fist landing on the coffin after leaving a burning trail in the air!

The mountain of skulls collapsed rapidly. The coffin fell onto the skulls that had scattered across the ground.

A loud knock was heard from the coffin. Its lid went flying as a headless Mummy in bone armor jumped out from inside!

“A Headless Mummy?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The headless Mummy casually grabbed a skull nearby and placed it on its neck!

However, the Mummy promptly tore the skull off, as if it was too small. Disgusted by the skull, the Mummy tossed it away, and put on another one more suitable to its size!

Its body was emitting an eerie blue glow. When the skull connected to its body, the eerie glow immediately flowed up into its new head before flickering in its hollow eyes!

“Is this guy a lamp? It’s connecting the skulls to itself like a lightbulb!” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

“Its aura isn’t as strong as the one before,” Mu Bai noticed astutely.

“But I feel it’s interested in adding our skulls to its collection…” Mo Fan added.

“The door is open, look, the door is open again. It’s just ahead of us!” Shreev blurted out.

“The door opens when the coffin opens.”

Mo Fan’s glance had a confused look. Wouldn’t it make more sense for the door to open when the Mummy was slain? Why were these chambers designed in such a strange way?

“Are we going to fight it or not?”

“Fight my ass, why fight when we can just run!?”

The same as before, the group used Blink to distance themselves from the Mummy.

Unlike the previous Ruler-level Mummy, the Skeleton Mummy had a wild temper and great might. It kept chasing after them, not wanting them to leave the chamber.

Luckily, it was not a Ruler-level creature. The group managed to escape the chamber while Zhao Manyan held it back.

When the group went through the door, the Skeleton Mummy stood close to it and glared after them. It had an urge to tear all their heads off, yet it still did not dare leave its chamber!

“Don’t you feel it’s too easy to trick these Mummies?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Heidi agreed.

1583 Tomb of the Demon Child

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Everyone had weird expressions when they found themselves in yet another chamber similar to the previous ones after coming out of the passage.

“Another one?”

“There’s no exit again. Does anyone see a coffin?”

The chamber looked empty at first glance. They did not see a coffin hanging in the air. Mo Fan eventually found it; it was already on the ground. It was an unremarkable mummy’s sarcophagus.

“It’s my turn to open it.” Zhao Manyan was bolder after seeing how simple-minded the Mummies were.

Zhao Manyan noticed how strange the coffin was when he walked closer. It was tied shut with an ancient, indestructible vine.

Zhao Manyan did not think too much about it, slowly gathering Light Magic on his palm. The Light Magic extended to his wrist and formed a golden hilt. It grew further and turned into a crescent blade!

Zhao Manyan slashed at the vine wrapping around the coffin. It left a shallow, tiny cut on the vine.

“Mm? It’s pretty tough!” Zhao Manyan was surprised when he failed to cut the vine in half.

Zhao Manyan swung the saber again. This time, he had expended more energy to increase the damage of the blade.

This slash left a deeper cut on the vine. Zhao Manyan roughly estimated it would take seven or eight more slashes to cut through the vine.

“Can you do it?” Mu Bai asked when he saw Zhao Manyan struggling to cut the vine.

“It’s pretty tough… f**k me, what’s going on here? How did it grow back?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The cuts that Zhao Manyan had left on the vine with great effort had healed on their own. He quickly increased his attacking speed and hacked at the vine continuously, but the vine fully recovered in the end.

“I don’t believe it!” Zhao Manyan was annoyed. Even a vine was trying to mess with him. It was time for him to show what he had!

“Zhao Manyan, stop cutting it!” Shreev blurted out with an anxious face.

“Why? We have to open it to leave this place!” Zhao Manyan asked.

“We can’t afford to mess with this guy!” Shreev was holding a book. He had just realized who the small coffin belonged to!

“Really? The other two Mummies were pretty dumb…” Zhao Manyan said.

“An ancient manuscript stated that Khufu once met a demon child when he was young. The demon child almost took his life. It took him great effort to kill the demon child, but even so, he was still scared of it. He asked someone to retrieve an Immortal Vine from the Cape of Good Hope to seal the demon child’s indestructible corpse inside a small sarcophagus. It was the same demon child Khufu learned some powerful Undead Magic from, thus his reign was never challenged…the vine you’re trying to cut is the Immortal Vine, and the markings on the coffin are the same as the ones that were drawn in the manuscript! Khufu has always been afraid of the demon child, yet he kept trying to turn it into his subordinate. The demon child has been in this Pyramid for a few thousand years. If it really became undead, it will possess great power. It’s going to kill us all!” Shreev exclaimed.

Zhao Manyan was startled after hearing those words. He withdrew his saber and stared at the casket.

Its surface was full of uninterpretable diagrams and words. Zhao Manyan tried to see something in them, and suddenly noticed one of the diagrams twisting and turning into the face of a child. It was smiling with an innocent bright smile, yet it was utterly spooky in Zhao Manyan’s eyes!

Zhao Manyan quickly backed away with a pale face.

“It’s…it’s a phantom!” Zhao Manyan said.

Phantoms were the most difficult kind of undead to deal with. They were untraceable, immune to Elemental Magic, and good at controlling the minds of the enemy, Curses, and poison. The coffin was not open, yet it could still smile at Zhao Manyan and send chills down his spine!

“Let’s not mess around with it,” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah, I agree!” Shreev exclaimed.

“But how are we going to open the next door if we don’t open it?” Meos said.

“I’ve investigated, and found out there were countless mummy chambers under Khufu’s command. They were all his councilors during his reign, and the only way into Khufu’s chamber is through these mummy chambers. The chambers are interconnected; each chamber has four doors, one on each wall. When the coffin in a chamber opens, it will open a single door, but killing the owner of the chamber will open all four doors,” Shreev informed them.

“What are you trying to say?” Mo Fan asked, all confused now.

“We can only find the way to Khufu’s chamber by choosing the right door. If we choose the wrong door, it will lead us to another maze with four doors. There are at least a few hundred mummies under Khufu’s command. If we keep wandering between the chambers, we’ll either be trapped to death or be killed by the mummies,” Shreev replied.

“Why didn’t you tell us that in the first place?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“I only figured out the structure after seeing the demon child’s coffin. Most importantly, the first Mummy we stumbled into, whose coffin was held by the spider with a golden head and a silver body, that’s one of the right chambers. One of the doors in that chamber will lead us in the right direction.”

“…so we are going the right way?” Heidi asked.

“I don’t think so. There were some clues on an ancient painting. It had a spider with a scorpion on it, and a snake on the scorpion, and finally an eagle circling above the snake… if we are going the right way, the next chamber should be related to a scorpion.”

“Are you telling me we have to go back and fight the Ruler-level Mummy? That thing still knows how to talk! It’s clearly a strong monster!” Zhao Manyan protested.

“No wonder it didn’t bother stopping us in the first place. It knew we’d return to its chamber eventually,” Mu Bai mused thoughtfully.

“So should we turn back now?” Meos asked, grimacing.

“Yeah, let’s head back. Either way, we can’t afford to provoke this demon child. We’ll have to identify the owner of the coffin in every chamber first from now on. If we happen to wake a terrifying existence, we are as good as dead. The demon child isn’t part of the way that will lead us to Khufu’s chamber, so we shouldn’t bother challenging it,” Shreev said.

“Shreev, why do you know so much? Are you Khufu’s descendant or something?” Zhao Manyan had to ask.

“Are you kidding me? Almost every Egyptian is related to Khufu!” Shreev grunted.

“Oh, you’re right…”

—

The group did not provoke the demon child any further, especially Zhao Manyan, who was terrified after learning its identity. Mo Fan believed the demon child was around the level of the Queen of the Netherworld. If they did end up waking the demon child, it could easily take them out by raising its little finger!

They took the same passage back. They began to prepare themselves for an upcoming battle when they thought of the Mummy that was connecting random skulls for its head.

“Come, I’ll smash all its skulls into pieces!” Mo Fan strode forward and looked around in the chamber.

Mo Fan was ready to see some skulls, yet the chamber was completely empty.

The mountain of skulls had disappeared, so had the Skeleton Mummy with a wild temper. The chamber seemed smaller than the one before too.

“What now?” Zhao Manyan looked around with wide eyes, yet he failed to spot the skulls.

“Did…did we go the wrong way, even though there was only one exit?”

Shreev said after a brief thought, “As I thought, even if we go back the same way, we won’t return to the previous chambers. It will bring us to a new chamber instead!”

“You kept giving us advice in hindsight. Why can’t you just tell us all this earlier!?” Zhao Manyan yelled in frustration.

“I can only speculate based on what we’ve gone through! Not many people have managed to come out of the Great Pyramid of Giza alive. Even if someone knew the secret of the chambers, it’s most likely lost to history!” Shreev answered.

The new chamber was only the size of a school’s stadium. Instead of a coffin, it had a tombstone at its center.

The ground below the tombstone was bulging, the words on it were written in blood. The group went up to the tombstone to see if they could open the door.

“We have to kill this thing and choose the door to the left of the tombstone to return to the first chamber,” Shreev said.

“Such a hassle…”

“Don’t forget we are in one of the greatest tombs in the world. It’s a miracle that we are still alive!”

Mo Fan did not bother reading the uninterpretable words on the tombstone. He smashed it to pieces with a single punch!

The owners of the other chambers were at least sleeping comfortably in a sarcophagus. The owner of this chamber was clearly a loser compared to the others. It only had a simple, overgrown tombstone!

“Mo Fan, couldn’t you wait until I find out who it belonged to!?” Shreev demanded angrily.

“Wait my ass, who cares about the name of a slave lord who has been dead for a few thousand years? We are not archaeologists!” Mo Fan answered impatiently.

Why would they bother waiting if they had to take out the Mummy to open the right door? Just kill it!

1584 Magic Caster Mummy

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The ancient Egyptians were very concerned about their fame. Except for the demon child that was hated Khufu, one could easily tell the status and strength of the mummies from the sizes and appearance of their chambers.

The Mummy who only had a tombstone written in blood was indeed not as strong as the team expected, clearly a lot weaker than the Skeleton Mummy. The seven of them had no trouble taking it out.

After dealing with the Tombstone Mummy, the group followed Shreev’s instructions to make their way back to the first chamber.

“I’ve been investigating these mazes with four doors for a long time. These chambers are like a Rubik’s cube. The cubes might be disordered at first sight, but once you solve the first face and follow certain procedures, you’ll be able to solve it quite easily,” Shreev said confidently as he walked into the door.

“If we end up in a different chamber next, I swear I’ll beat the crap out of you!” Zhao Manyan replied.

“That’s impossible!”

The group eventually reached a chamber. The spacious chamber had the shape of a Pyramid. An eerie Huntsman Spider was waiting at the top, and a sarcophagus embedded with diamond-shaped agates was on the ground. The lid was open, and beside it stood a Mummy wrapped in a white shroud, looking almost like a human. Its cold eyes had a hint of mockery as it stared at Mo Fan and the others after they returned to its chamber.

“It really is waiting for us!” Meos was a little spooked, especially after seeing the Mummy staring at them. It was like it had been watching them since they left the chamber. What they had done was utterly stupid in its eyes.

“It must be one of the eight advisors during Khufu’s reign. It enjoyed having Huntsman Spiders as pets. He would feed the people that disobeyed him to the spiders, but I didn’t think it would still be keeping a Huntsman Spider after it died!” Shreev muttered.

“Do we really stand a chance against it?” Heidi asked worriedly.

The Mummy had a strong Ruler-level aura. Its presence was intimidating, even before it attacked. The aura was going to affect their Channeling speed!

“Screw it, we’ll know once we fight it. I haven’t really fought a Ruler-level creature yet, I’ll gladly treat this as my first time!” Mo Fan approached the Ruler-level Mummy fearlessly.

Mo Fan had fought Ruler-level creatures before, but he never fought against one with his own strength.

Every Ruler-level creature was incredibly strong. They could potentially kill even a Super Mage in an instant. Mo Fan was extremely bold to be challenging a Ruler-level creature when he was only an Advanced Mage!

“You’re not going to attack first? I won’t be showing any mercy!” Mo Fan began to construct a Star Constellation when he saw the Advisor Mummy was staring at him.

Mo Fan used his Fire Element right away. Three Soul-grade Flames formed a blazing fireball above him, over thirty meters across. Mo Fan hurled it at the Mummy like Hercules tossing a giant boulder at the enemy!

The fireball roared forward. Its brilliant light dyed the chamber red.

The Advisor Mummy didn’t try to dodge. It suddenly reached its right hand out when the fireball was less than ten meters from it.

An ocean blue, arc-shaped barrier suddenly appeared in front of the Mummy. The fireball was put out as soon as it collided with the barrier. In just two seconds, the fireball of three Soul-grade Flames had turned into white steam. The flames were completely extinguished by the curved barrier!

“Isn’t…isn’t that a Water Spell?” Zhao Manyan was startled.

Even though the spell was slightly different from Water Curtain, it was obvious that the Advisor Mummy had cast a spell, an Advanced Water Spell!

Mo Fan was unwilling to admit defeat. He scattered his flames across the air, which turned into fiery feathers. He shoved his hand forward, firing the fiery feathers at the Advisor Mummy.

The Advisor Mummy did not stand still this time. A blue mist thickened around it; despite its blurred appearance, it somehow resembled a Star Constellation.

A few other veils of mist appeared after the first one. They eventually combined into a huge mist covering a greater area!

“Holy crap, watch out!” Zhao Manyan suddenly screamed.

“What the heck is that!?” Mo Fan was stunned.

The enormous watery mist produced a blue light. More misty patches appeared in the air and filled up the space behind the Advisor Mummy. A loud rumble came from nowhere, sounding like a waterfall.

But the question was, why was there a waterfall here?…

The noise gradually became louder. An enormous figure slowly appeared from the mist, like a mountain shrouded by the mist was moving out of it.

A white wave over two hundred meters high rolled forth ferociously as the ‘mountain’ behind the mist finally revealed itself. It turned out to be a tsunami that could easily fill the chamber to half of its height!

“Catastrophe Wave, it’s a Super Water Spell! Stick close together!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

The others were dumbfounded. The Advisor Mummy was a Mage. It was able to control water with ease!

The pressure from the tsunami was suffocating as it continued to roll forward. Zhao Manyan immediately brought out his trump card. He used his Titan Body to resist the deadly Catastrophe Wave!

People always said the power of nature was the most terrifying. A spell that could Summon a wave comparable to the scale of a natural disaster was utterly terrifying, too. Zhao Manyan’s Titan Body stood in front of the group. They soon noticed it was about to break into pieces. The force of the tsunami was too much for it to handle!

“I can’t stand it any longer. Its power is insane!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“You must hold your ground. We are going to die if the wave separates us!” Meos said.

The fierce waves could easily break the bones of a human. They would die very quickly if they were hit by the tsunami.

“Those with defensive equipment, it’s now or never!” Mo Fan yelled.

Zhao Manyan could not use all his defensive equipment at once, and Mo Fan did not even have any defensive equipment. He could only set up a wall with his Telekinesis to stop the terrifying wall of water, yet the barrier would only be like a sheet of metal compared to the strength of the tsunami!

1585 Lightning Punishment Formation

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Heidi and Meos showed how resourceful they were. They took out pieces of Light Equipment and Ice Equipment respectively, one with a golden glow, and the other icy-blue. The golden glow was from a Light barrier, while the icy-blue glow was a shield that resembled the chest of an ice giant. The two layers of defense completely encapsulated the team.

The combination of the two defensive artifacts strengthened by Zhao Manyan’s Baxia Seal barely stopped the Catastrophe Wave.

The chamber was now flooded, and the team was floating on the surface. Even though the fierce tsunami had stopped rolling, the team was still battered after being thrown around by the impact.

Everyone stood on the chest of the ice giant while looking for the Advisor Mummy…

The water suddenly splashed into the air as the Advisor Mummy jumped out. It floated above the group, fierce lightning crackling on its body.

The lightning grew stronger and formed a lightning halberd next to the Advisor Mummy. The lightning halberd dove right at the group.

“It’s the Lightning Punishment, dodge it!” Mo Fan was even more shocked when he saw the huge lightning halberd falling onto them.

It was the Super Lightning Spell, which had strong imprisoning capabilities. Once they were trapped by the nine lightning halberds, they would have to suffer a punishment of thousands of lightning strikes!

“I can’t block a spell of that level!” Zhao Manyan broke out in a cold sweat.

The Lightning Element was too unstoppable. They had no chance of resisting a spell like the Lightning Punishment. Their best bet was to dodge it.

“Run!”

The group immediately fled for their lives, but the lightning halberds were quicker than they had imagined. Each lightning halberd established a huge barrier when it landed on the ground.

The Lightning Punishment covered a huge area. The seven did their best to dodge the first few lightning halberds, but their routes were sealed off by the seventh and eighth lightning halberds; the ninth lightning halberd was the final piece of the Lightning Punishment Formation!

The lightning halberds activated the Lightning Punishment, which soon descended in the form of countless lightning strikes, painting fear on the faces of the seven people trapped within it.

“We are done for, we are screwed!”

They were trapped in the Lightning Punishment Formation. They had no chance of breaking free from it until the end of its duration.

The problem was that the lightning strikes were soon going to blast them into dispersing ashes. The Catastrophe Wave had already worn half of their defenses down!

“The lightning is coming!” Meos screamed, her face pale.

It was utterly terrifying for someone to be facing a power that could easily kill them. Meos saw lightning strikes that were a lot thicker than normal bolts arcing back and forth between the lightning halberds. A single lightning strike was enough to inflict serious damage to her, let alone countless numbers of them striking her at the same time!

“Heidi, use your Chaos Element to direct some of them away. Zhao Manyan, use your Earth Element to resist as much as you can. The rest of you, use everything you got to weaken the lightning, hurry up…” Mo Fan said.

“What difference is it going to make? Even if we weaken its strength by half, half of the lightning is still going to kill us!” Sayed screamed.

“Do as I say if you don’t want to die!” Mo Fan swore.

The others immediately followed the orders, as they did not have any better ideas, choosing to listen to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan frowned, taking out the Hand of Silent Thunder.

The Hand of Silent Thunder could transform other Elements into the Lightning Element, but it could not reduce the amount of energy of a spell. If the spell was already a Lightning Spell, the Hand of Silent Thunder was more or less useless. Mo Fan only took it out to protect the others.

This Super Spell could most likely kill everyone but him in an instant. The lightning strikes were extremely deadly. The Mummy was obviously an experienced Super Mage, a true Super Mage, unlike Vani!

Mo Fan was planning to receive the lightning strikes. His Lightning resistance was significantly stronger than the others. He would rather challenge the limit of his demon flesh than watch the others being blasted into ashes!

That being said, Mo Fan did not think his body could endure the entire Super Lightning Spell, thus he had asked the others to weaken the lightning strikes as much as they could while he took on the rest!

“Chaotic Vortex!” Heidi cast the most powerful Chaotic Vortex she could.

The vortex spun slowly, its speed increasing when the terrifying lightning strikes went into it. Heidi thought her Chaotic Vortex could absorb quite a significant amount of the Lightning Magic, but the Chaotic Vortex reached its limit in just a few seconds!

Zhao Manyan took out all his defensive equipment too, including the Venice Ring.

His Earth Element was enhanced by the Blessing of the God’s Seal. Its defense, when further strengthened by the Baxia Seal, was strong enough to withhold the attack of a Ruler-level creature. However, he was a little worn out after defending the group from the Catastrophe Wave. He was having difficulty resisting the Lightning Punishment.

To his relief, the Earth Element was the Lightning Element’s weakness. Otherwise, the rock demon that Zhao Manyan had Summoned would not be able to hold on for too long.

Meos’ defense was also rather outstanding. The Undead Element was not that effective under the circumstances. Any undead they Summoned would be torn to pieces by the lightning.

“Diamond Realm!” Meos took out an Earth Element defensive equipment.

Diamonds were formed when refined under great heat and pressure. Meos’ cultivation of the Earth Element was quite impressive! A bunch of diamonds burst out of the ground around the group and joined together to form a large crystal encapsulating the group.

“Icebound Coffin!” Mu Bai altered the spell slightly by applying the strong frost on the outside of the crystal, as if he was putting a layer of armor on the sturdy defense!

“We’ve tried our best, but I’m afraid it’s nowhere enough to stop the lightning. It’s a Super Spell after all…” Meos said helplessly.

The defense might look sturdy, but the restless lightning strikes seemed even more terrifying!

“Leave the rest to me!” Mo Fan declared.

The lightning strikes came down at the group. The Chaotic Vortex on the outermost layer collapsed right away, but the lightning strikes were completely unaffected by it.

The lightning strikes soon destroyed the Water Curtain, Rampart, and armor of the Earth Element that were known for their outstanding defensive capabilities, like a stampede of mad rhinoceroses ramming through some simple wooden fences!

1586 Defeating the Mummy

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Only Meos’ defense managed to weaken the lightning, as they clearly saw the dense lightning dissipating significantly when it struck the diamonds. However, the lightning could still kill them easily!

“Mo Fan…” Heidi was worried. The smell of death had filled her nose.

“Come here!” Mo Fan activated the Hand of Silent Thunder. It Summoned an enormous palm that extended to cover the rest of the team. As the lightning was about to hit Meos and Heidi, the Hand of Silent Thunder quickly redirected it to Mo Fan.

The higher the cultivation of a Lightning Mage, the higher the Lightning resistance they would have. In addition to that, some special Soul-grade Seeds could further increase a Mage’s Lightning resistance. The Lightning Tyrant was a great example, providing a huge boost to Lightning resistance. On top of that, Mo Fan’s demon flesh provided Mo Fan with extra resistance.

Mo Fan remembered the first time seeing the Lightning Super Spell, the Lightning Punishment Formation, at West Lake. The Black Totem Snake had been trapped by an enormous Lightning Punishment Formation that several Super Mages had established together. Mo Fan was dumbfounded when he watched the terrifying lightning strikes landing on the Black Totem Snake. Even though the Lightning Punishment Formation he was currently trapped inside was nowhere close to the huge Lightning Punishment Formation at West Lake, it was his turn to endure its torture!

Loud buzzes flashed in Mo Fan’s head. His skin cracked from the lightning while his arteries and veins burst from shock. The lightning he had absorbed was too much of a burden for him. It felt as if they could see all his bones right through his skin and his flesh!

“Mo Fan!” Heidi cried out.

She was scared. Death was so close to them, and even though the lightning was not hitting her, she could feel the pain from Mo Fan’s expression.

“It’s going to finish soon, it’s about to end, hang in there!” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

The Lightning Punishment finally weakened. Although Mo Fan was covered in random arcs of lightning, he was still in one piece. His flesh had a sturdy appearance, like it had just been refined!

The Lightning Punishment was powerful, but it could not last forever. After Mo Fan absorbed the lightning strikes, the lightning halberds eventually dissipated.

The others saw the lightning strikes weakening, then looked at Mo Fan, who had a ghastly expression on his face. They were struggling to imagine how he was still alive after being hit by the lightning!

“What a monster!” Meos blurted out subconsciously when she saw Mo Fan actually managed to keep standing.

Heidi was also staring at Mo Fan with wide eyes. She had already come up with the eulogy to mourn his death.

“You old bastard over a thousand years old, have a piece of my lightning!” Mo Fan yelled, taking control of the lightning he had absorbed.

He grabbed towards the Advisor Mummy, firing an enormous lightning claw from his fingers. The lightning claw went up to the Advisor Mummy and grabbed it tightly!

Mo Fan truly began to unleash his lightning after the lightning claw secured the Advisor Mummy. A terrifying glow burst out of his body as lightning significantly beyond the limit he could endure surged out. The lightning arcs were thicker than the lightning claw, lashing and whipping at the Advisor Mummy fiercely!

The Advisor Mummy did not expect them to still be alive, nor did it think someone could absorb its lightning and give it back. The defense that it had quickly set up had no chance of resisting the penetrating attack!

The Advisor Mummy might have possessed an impressive cultivation, but its resistance was nowhere close to Mo Fan’s. Most importantly, the Mummy was a Mage. Its flesh was significantly weaker than a normal Ruler-level creature. Not only did Mo Fan’s counterattack take it by surprise, it knocked it to the ground!

“What are you waiting for? Are you going to let it cast another Super Spell again? Annihilate it!” Mo Fan yelled.

The others jolted back to attention. Mo Fan’s counterattack had been just too shocking, leaving them stunned. But everyone knew they would be turned into burial objects if they allowed the Mummy to cast another Super Spell!

Spells with a variety of imprisoning capabilities landed on the Advisor Mummy, not giving it any chance to catch its breath.

The Huntsman Spider on the ceiling let out a furious cry. It could no longer stand and watch its master being beaten up. It jumped down from the ceiling to lend its master a hand.

However, it was obvious that the Huntsman Spider was not good at fighting. Even with it joining the fight, the humans still had the upper hand.

The group simply ignored the spider and focused on taking down the Advisor Mummy.

“Chaos Rend!”

Heidi completed her Advanced Chaos Spell. As she lifted her hand, a shocking crack suddenly appeared in the air!

The crack had torn space apart. Everything that the crack caught would instantly disappear from the world.

Heidi’s Chaos Rend extended across the Advisor Mummy’s shoulder and chest. It separated the Mummy’s left shoulder and chest from its body.

“Well done!” Mu Bai exclaimed.

It was Mu Bai’s turn to attack. Deadly icicles danced wildly like an icy storm. They were as deadly as blades when spinning so fast. They swept past the Advisor Mummy and shredded the shroud wrapping its body.

The Advisor Mummy was swaying a little, its eyes filled with rage.

It did not expect to find itself in such a miserable position when fighting against a bunch of human whelps. Even though it had not been long since it achieved the Ruler-level, there was no way it would lose to these humans either!

“Die!” Mo Fan was engulfed in flames. Flame Belle’s fiery aura rippled behind him and gathered into an imperious silhouette.

His fists were burning now. He stomped the surface of the water and set it on fire. The vigorous flames almost reached the ceiling.

“Hidden Dragon Rising from the Abyss!”

When Mo Fan threw his fists around, mighty flames erupted from the burning water as a lengthy form burst out of it!

A fiery serpent soared into the sky. The Huntsman Spider quickly hid in a corner timidly after seeing the fiery dragon. The fiery dragon flew past the spider below its feet. When it reached the Advisor Mummy, it was no longer just a serpent, but an enraged fiery dragon!

The flames slammed into the Advisor Mummy. Its flesh had no chance of withstanding the terrifying energy unleashed by the fiery dragon when it exploded!

The flames set its wounds burning. Its rotten flesh was extremely vulnerable to flames especially when its defense collapsed. The flames devoured its flesh rapidly and left only its sturdy bones behind!

—

The flames lasted for quite some time. The water was evaporated by the heat into steam. The Advisor Mummy was dead at last. Its Soul Remnant was incredibly huge. It slowly floated toward Mo Fan.

Sayed had learned his lesson. He did not dare to compete with Mo Fan for it.

A Ruler-level Soul Remnant was just as valuable as a Commander-level Soul Essence. Little Loach enjoyed himself a great feast of the Ruler-level Soul Remnant. It was his first time eating a Ruler-level Soul Remnant that Mo Fan had offered himself.

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh when he saw the Advisor Mummy falling to its death. He also fell feebly to the wet ground.

“Did…did we really kill a Ruler-level creature?” Meos murmured in utter disbelief.

Ruler-level creatures were formidable existences. Even a Super Mage would die a horrible death when fighting a Ruler-level creature…

“We might be lucky, but we indeed took out a Ruler-level creature,” Mu Bai said.

“Mo Fan’s counterattack played an important role. Otherwise, there is no way we could defeat a Mage that was so experienced at using the Super Spells,” Zhao Manyan said.

“If it had used other Elements instead, we might be dead by now…” Mo Fan forced a smile.

“But still, it’s impressive that we managed to take it out!” Heidi said.

“Let’s not celebrate too early. I have to remind us all that according to the clues, this Mummy is most likely the weakest among the ones that we are going to face if we are following the path to the Pharaoh Chamber. How are we supposed to fight the rest of them if we are already struggling so much in the first stage?” Shreev was not as motivated as the others.

The Advisor Mummy was stronger than they had imagined. It was difficult to imagine how tough the rest of their opponents were going to be.

“We should be proud that we were able to come this far,” Meos said.

“So you’re saying that we should just look for an exit and leave this place?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“I have no idea where the exit is,” Shreev said.

“…”

“Shreev, are you sure this thing is the weakest among them?” Mo Fan asked with a serious look.

“Absolutely, its status is no higher than the next Scorpion Ruler,” Shreev said helplessly.

Shreev initially thought these symbolic creatures were not so strong. After all, they had been around for so many years. Normally, the life of a creature would have depleted by now, and the same went with the undead. It was likely that some new undead had replaced them.

To their surprise, the Advisor Mummy was so strong that they had all lost the courage to continue on their way.

1587 Taking What They Need

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The water started receding even more quickly. It was initially flowing out of the two doors along the walls. They had no idea if it was flowing to the other chambers or somewhere else. However, when the Advisor Mummy died, the water started flowing to the left and right, too. When the water was gone, two other doors were visible along the walls.

Shreev knew which door they had to take, but the team had trouble moving their feet after what they had gone through.

“Let’s take a rest. We should all rest up before entering the next door,” Mo Fan proposed feebly.

He would be lying if he told the others he was fine after enduring the lightning strikes. Mo Fan had a feeling that even a Commander-level creature would have no trouble taking him out now.

The group sat down on the ground and treated their wounds. Their greatest mistake was not bringing a Healer with them. It would only take a Healer several minutes to deal with their fatigue and the wounds left by the lightning. However, it would take them a few days to recover with only the aid of medicines.

——

Mo Fan was able to recover quicker than the others due to the advantage of having demon’s flesh. In addition, he also had the medicines that Xinxia had lovingly made for him. He already felt restless after a day and a half of recovery.

He opened his eyes and noticed the others in a ‘hibernating’ state.

They were, in fact, in deep meditation. A Mage could enter a half-asleep, half-meditating state to quickly recover their energy. It was more efficient with the help of medicines. Normally, a Mage in this state would only leave a slight hint of consciousness behind. They were more or less asleep if they did not sense any enemy with murderous intent. They could not hear what the others were saying.

“You’re seriously not normal,” Mu Bai’s voice came from behind him. Mo Fan had thought he was the only one awake.

“Why didn’t you take a rest?” Mo Fan asked.

“I wasn’t injured,” Mu Bai replied.

“True. It’s so boring to wait for them all to recover,” Mo Fan said.

“Don’t you feel it’s worth our time to take a look at the creature up there?” Mu Bai pointed at the Huntsman Spider above them.

The Huntsman Spider was extremely weak and timid. The others did not bother wasting their time on it. The creature did not dare to avenge its master, either.

It was, in fact, quite rare to see such a timid demon creature, despite its menacing appearance!

“It’s just a useless spider, why should we waste our time on it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Didn’t Shreev mention that the Pyramids have a strong level of hierarchy? The numbers of the low-level servants are in the tens of thousands, and they have to serve the nobles for eternity…” Mu Bai replied with a stern look.

“Ninety-nine percent of the people were servants of the nobles during the era of the Pharaohs. Isn’t it normal for the Pharaohs and nobles to rule the same way after they became undead?” Mo Fan said.

“They can just enjoy their status in peace. Why did they keep attacking living cities? Wouldn’t they be losing their undead soldiers for nothing?” Mu Bai countered.

“The undead are ruthless and savage. Killing is like drinking and eating for them. It’s their basic need,” Mo Fan replied.

“That might be the case for the undead in the Ancient Capital, but I’m afraid it’s different for the undead in Egypt, especially after seeing their strict hierarchy in this Pyramid. It’s true that deaths might inject new blood into the undead army, but it’s only a matter of time before living creatures die. The rulers of the undead could just wait for that to happen. It is totally unnecessary for them to waste their undead attacking the cities,” Mu Bai corrected him.

Mo Fan listened carefully to Mu Bai’s analysis. He initially thought Mu Bai was just sharing his thoughts, but when he thought about it logically, it did seem like the undead in Egypt were trying to achieve different goals with their wars.

“You saw the pool when we first came in. It’s the essence that the Pyramid has refined after gathering lots of vengeful spirits, lone souls, and hatred from the outside world…” Mu Bai went on.

“Mm, this Pyramid is like a factory. There must be quite a number of the hidden chambers we saw. The one we fell into was only one of them. How is it possible that such a huge Ashen Storm of Hatred only consisted of the few vengeful spirits we saw in the hidden chamber?” Mo Fan admitted.

“Lone souls, vengeful spirits, hatred… these are the products of mass killings! The Pyramids will take in a huge amount of them regularly, and so do most of the undead, which means it’s the reason why the Pyramids keep waging war against the humans: to supply them with high-quality air for them to breathe! If the fresh air of death is filtered by the low-level creatures, wouldn’t that mean the servants and the Underworld Warriors are only taking in the residue, thus the essence of it is given to these Mummies in their own chambers?” Mu Bai theorized.

“You’re saying that the Pyramid is treating the deaths caused by the wars as fertilizer, with different irrigation levels?” Mo Fan stared at Mu Bai. He finally realized how smart the guy was.

“Yes, irrigation levels! Those higher in the hierarchy get to enjoy the more refined air. Their corpses did not rot, even after a few thousand years, because they are constantly being nurtured, granting them even greater power…” Mu Bai agreed.

“So that’s why they keep waging war against the living!” Mo Fan realized, but at the same time, a great chill ran down his spine.

Humans relied on reproduction to live on, but the undead relied on killing to live forever!

Such a detestable old society, such detestable Pharaohs!

“Didn’t Shreev mention before that the essence is transported to the chambers? I have already searched the chamber, and I didn’t find any channels…” Mu Bai continued.

“It must be hidden somewhere?” Mo Fan offered unhelpfully.

“This structure is built by the old civilization. It is unlikely it could set up a hidden channel without any traces. Besides, the structure of the Pyramids strictly adheres to standard conventions. I learned some architecture in the past, and I’m sure that there is no special channel in this chamber,” Mu Bai said confidently.

“Aren’t you knowledgeable?” Mo Fan jibed.

“Every time my cultivation got stuck at a certain level, I would spend some time learning something new. New discoveries in other areas helped me clear the doubts about my cultivation,” Mu Bai explained.

“So, when did you learn how to make an aphrodisiac?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Mu Bai’s expression sank, as if he was going to fall out with Mo Fan if he mentioned it again.

“I’m just kidding, tell me what you think,” Mo Fan smiled.

“I believe something is fishy about the Huntsman Spider. It’s not a low-level creature, yet it’s extremely weak. It’s completely useless, apart from its annoying screeches. It’s also very timid. If it’s that useless, why did the Advisor Mummy bother keeping it? Just for decoration? I find it hard to believe it kept the spider for so long, even if it was only treating the spider as decoration,” Mu Bai conjectured.

“Are you saying that…” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

“Exactly,” Mu Bai nodded.

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide. He finally said after some time, “That’s…that’s incredible!”

“It’s brilliant, isn’t it? Now that we’ve discovered the secret, perhaps we can take advantage of it,” Mu Bai smiled.

“Take advantage?” Mo Fan was confused. He had a strange look after seeing the smile on Mu Bai’s face. He said, “This world is seriously messed up. I personally think since the Medusae are quite similar to humans in some way, it’s still acceptable if we ignore their snake bodies, but a spider that is incompatible with a human in every way… holy crap, how did they do it? Through its abdomen?”

Mu Bai did not understand what Mo Fan was talking about at first. However, he eventually realized what he was up to. His lips started twitching subconsciously…

“Mo Fan, I’m really impressed by how dirty your mind can be. Who told you that the Mummy was keeping the spider to deal with its loneliness? I’ve figured out the meaning behind the wars waged by the Pyramids and discovered how the Mummies in these chambers were nurtured, and that’s the conclusion you come up with? Is there something wrong with your mind!?” Mu Bai grunted.

“…I was just joking, of course I know what you meant!” Mo Fan let out a hollow laugh.

“So tell me, what’s the spider for?” Mu Bai challenged him.

“Well… I think my mind is a little messed up still from the electric shock. Master Mu Bai, could you please explain it to me?” Mo Fan replied shamelessly.

“The spider is the channel that transports the essence!” Mu Bai said.

“Oh, I thought the spider was the receiver, little did I know it’s the… put that ice sword down, what are you thinking? You clearly lack a sense of humor. I understand now; the spider is a jar full of essence. The Mummy was able to live for so long and grow stronger because the spider was transferring the essence into its coffin through its silk!” Mo Fan put on a serious face for this revelation.

“The essence is some good stuff,” Mu Bai said thoughtfully. “I believe only the Ruler-level creatures get to enjoy it.”

“But Shreev said something about an ancient drawing, and the first creature on it is a spider. Doesn’t that explain why there’s a spider in this chamber? It might not be the channel that you think,” Mo Fan rebutted.

“It’s only Shreev’s speculation, based on his ancient drawing. We’ll know the truth once we take the creature down and do some experiments on it. Only two of us are awake now… let’s keep it quiet,” Mu Bai proposed quietly.

“Mu Bai, why do I feel like you’re getting better at things like this?” Mo Fan patted Mu Bai on the shoulder, like a father who was glad that his child had grown up.

“Don’t you have a Soul Container? You can take the essence while I take its heart and organs. I’ll use them to forge a high-quality Magic Tool,” Mu Bai said.

“Sure!” Mo Fan nodded.

They were each taking what they needed. Since there was not much to share, the two decided to split the loot before the others woke up!

1588 The Wolf Chieftain

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan already had an impressive Magic Tool to support his cultivation, so he was not interested in getting another one. However, a high-quality Magic Tool was crucial for an Advanced Mage trying to break through to the Super Level. The Magic Tool would greatly increase the chances of someone as diligent as Mu Bai expanding his Star Galaxies into Star Universes!

A Star Universe Magic Tool was the highest level of Magic Tool, and allowed a Super Mage to rapidly improve and stabilize their cultivation. It was why Mu Bai had spent so much effort analyzing the structure of the Pyramid.

The Huntsman Spider was not strong, just as they had expected. It was nothing but a petty spider waiting to be slaughtered once it was paralyzed by Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic. Mo Fan soon discovered that beneath it… the end of its abdomen was deep inside the ceiling. When he pulled it out, he saw a long strand of spider silk connected to it!

“Mu Bai, there’s indeed a channel behind it!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Many things are based on logic,” Mu Bai answered smugly. There was no place for illogical things to exist inside the strictly-organized Pyramid!

“Little Loach, I’m going to release the essence that the spider has stored inside its stomach, be ready for a great feast!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan cut the spider’s belly open ruthlessly. The creature clearly did not deserve his pity, since it had absorbed the life essence of countless humans. The human lives needed to refine the essence it channeled could easily fill up the spacious chamber!

The Huntsman Spider had no chance of defending itself. It was a parasitic species; it provided the undead with the essence, and in return, the undead kept it safe. When its master died, it had lost its purpose!

It had stored a huge amount of the essence. The evil energy that the Underworld Executioners collected from the vengeful spirits and the hatred of the dead was refined into pure energy equivalent to Soul Essences before being stored in the belly of the Huntsman Spider. However, the amount it was storing was many times greater than the energy of a Soul Essence!

Soul Essences were the purest energy in the world, yet the Mummies were constantly being fed an energy equivalent to it. It was not a surprise they would become as strong as monsters!

Mo Fan and Mu Bai were clearly in luck. The Huntsman Spider had stored a huge amount of energy for the Advisor Mummy before it was slain. No wonder the creature did not dare to jump down from the ceiling and fight them. It was concealing the treasure in its belly!

Little Loach absorbed the energy crazily, enjoying this more than the contents of Sayed’s Soul Container. Mo Fan kept noticing new Soul Essences popping up in the Nether River like dazzling little gems, each with a unique glow that showed their value!

Mo Fan had already earned a fortune from claiming Sayed’s possessions, but Little Loach was still not satisfied, like a starving baby craving more milk!

“Seven Commander-level Soul Essences, Seventy-nine Warrior-level Soul Essences… eight Commander-level Soul Essences, tsk tsk…I’m really going to have my own army of wolves!” Mo Fan blurted out in joy.

Eight Commander-level Soul Essences, how insane was that? It meant Mo Fan could Summon eight extra Commander-level Summoned Beasts!

How significant was having eight extra Commander-level Summoned Beasts under his command? A Super Mage could easily die when being attacked by eight Commander-level creatures at the same time if it was careless!

On top of that, even if eight Commander-level creatures were unable to defeat a Ruler-level creature, they could still keep it busy for quite some time!

Most importantly, apart from having eight extra Commander-level creatures, Mo Fan now had a total of one hundred and ninety wolves in his army!

Imagine one hundred and ninety Warrior-level Enormous White Wolves and White-Marked Wolves rushing out of the Summoning Gate… they could easily fill up the streets of an entire city! If he had possessed an army of this scale when he stumbled into Captain Saks and Major General Gangma, they would have fallen right on their knees and begged for mercy!

Mo Fan contacted the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. “Old Wolf, get your brothers from their caves, I’m going to announce some great news!”

It was not difficult for him to communicate with his Summoned Beast in the Summoned Beast Plane. If Mo Fan actually bothered, his consciousness could even enter the Summoned Beast Plane and observe the situation there.

The Old Wolf was living in a cave in the Summoned Beast Plane. He had been a vagrant back when he was still a Spirit Wolf. He would accidentally enter other beasts’ territory and be chased around and driven away by them. He was often covered in wounds when Mo Fan first brought him from the Summoned Beast Plane back then.

It was the downside of having a Summoned Beast. The Summoned Beasts lived in the Summoned Beast Plane. They might even die if they met with misfortune in their own Plane, meaning that everything the Summoners had invested in them was in vain. In contrast, most Contracted Beasts were from the same Plane as the Summoners, with their own Contracted Space provided by the Summoners. It was unlikely they would die unless their Summoners failed to take care of them.

Similarly, the beasts that the Summoning Gate Summoned were from the Summoned Beast Plane too. They did not just appear out of nowhere; they normally lived in the Summoned Beast Plane.

A Summoning Gate would usually Summon random beasts from the Summoned Beast Plane. It could be a bunch of Iron-Hoofed Rhinoceroses or a pack of Blood-Tide Beasts. If the Summoner did not specifically look for the relevant Seal of a certain species, a Summoning Gate would Summon different species every time it was cast!

The reason why Mo Fan only Summoned wolves was because the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was currently living in a cave with the Enormous White Wolves. Those wolves treated the Flying Creek Snow Wolf as their Alpha. Therefore, Mo Fan just had to leave a Seal on those Enormous White Wolves, allowing him to Summon them every time he cast the Summoning Gate!

The Enormous White Wolves were very obedient under the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s leadership. Mo Fan was quite fond of them, but he felt like their numbers were a little short. Since he did not focus much on his Summoning Element, it had limited the capacity of his Summoning Gate.

However, Mo Fan now had the Magic Medium Ring, and could Summon an extra Summoned Beast from the Summoned Beast Plane for every Soul Essence he had contributed to it!

If Mo Fan did not like the creature, he would just toss it back into the Summoned Beast Plane and let it be. If he was pleased with the creature’s performance, he could just tag the creature to Summon it again next time!

Mo Fan had selected the White Wolf Species. The Enormous White Wolves and the White-Marked Wolves were very common in the Summoned Beast Plane. Therefore, whenever he increased the capacity of the Summoning Gate with the Magic Medium Ring, he would tag a wild wolf and recruit it to join the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s army!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had once been a lone fighter wandering aimlessly. He finally got to enjoy a stable life after Mo Fan took him in. He was able to grow a lot stronger, too, so most of the wolves who were wanderers like him were willing to join his pack. This established a sense of trust between the Summoned Beasts and the Summoner.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had just woken up. He was worn out and injured after fighting two Hellish Cerberi not long ago. He had yet to get enough rest when his boss called him, so he was in a bad mood…

“Show me some spirit! You’re the wolf chieftain of more than a hundred wolves now. A bunch of rookies are going to show up soon. Don’t embarrass me, do you understand!?” Mo Fan scolded him

“Awoo?”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not understand Mo Fan’s words. He lifted his gaze and looked at Mo Fan’s blurred face high up in the dim sky in the Summoned Beast Plane. The scene was similar to an office worker watching his boss blabbering in a video conference. The worker was worn out from all his strenuous work, yet his boss kept on talking nonsense!

“Why don’t you just transform into a pig instead? What did you not understand? Listen!” Mo Fan said.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf looked around him and noticed some movements. He stared at a hill in front of him alertly.

A White-Marked Wolf was standing on the hill. It seemed a little cautious, and only dared to move closer after observing its surroundings for some time.

“Awoo!” the Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled, asking the White-Marked Wolf what it wanted.

The White-Marked Wolf’s level was lower than the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, so it was a little intimidated. It showed the Seal on its back that indicated it was a new recruit.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf finally came to his senses. New recruits kept joining his pack recently, so he was not too bothered by it. He quickly checked the wolf’s Contract and walked around it in a circle. As usual, he told the new recruit to do his best if it wanted to live an enjoyable life with the others!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf immediately went back to the cave to get some sleep. He thought something serious was going to happen, yet it was just a new recruit joining his troop. Couldn’t Mo Fan just ask an Enormous White Wolf to welcome the new recruit? Why would Mo Fan bother asking him to do it?

To the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s surprise, another figure showed up outside the cave in just a few minutes.

A bunch of White-Marked Wolves had shown up on the same hill. They looked rather imperious as their hair drifted in the wind. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf quickly rose to his feet and gathered his brothers to prepare themselves for an attack.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf thought a battle over the ownership of the cave was about to happen, but he was surprised when he discovered that the White-Marked Wolves were all new recruits that had signed a temporary Contract!

The cave initially had around a hundred wolves, but there were suddenly another fifty new recruits joining them. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not expect his pack to grow so much so suddenly!

“HAHAHA, surprised? There are a few stubborn ones among the new recruits. You better teach them to behave themselves. Also, there are more coming…” Mo Fan was enlightened when he saw the Old Wolf’s reaction.

The Old Wolf was utterly confused, but he was quite excited, too. He suddenly had so many new recruits. His little cave was nowhere enough to hold them all!

“I have another eight Commander-level Soul Essences. I’m choosing some impressive Commander-level wolves. They will report to you once I’m done,” Mo Fan said.

He had to choose the Commander-level wolves wisely. It was going to take him some time.

1589 Scorpion Lord Medusa, Part One

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Awoo~Awoo~” the Flying Creek Snow Wolf let out excited cries when he heard Mo Fan had Commander-level Soul Essences.

“Why are you even so excited? They are not for you, you are already at the Great Commander-level, it’s a waste to give them to you,” Mo Fan scolded.

“Awoo~” the Flying Creek Snow Wolf uttered a series of cries with a wronged look. Unfortunately, Mo Fan did not understand a single word.

“Little Flame Belle, can you please interpret what your Uncle Wolf is trying to say to me?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yiyiyaya, doudou, dududu, wu~” Little Flame Belle was Grade Ten in interpreting the dog… the wolf language. She immediately understood what the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was trying to say and relayed the message to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was able to understand Little Flame Belle with the help of the Soul Contract. He had no idea what she was saying, but he could roughly interpret it through his soul.

“So the Old Wolf is saying I shouldn’t use the Commander-level Soul Essences to recruit more wolves, but use them on the Enormous White Wolves to help them evolve instead?”

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle nodded.

“Awoo!~” the Flying Creek Snow Wolf almost burst into tears. The little creature clearly knew him better!

“He’s right! If I recruit more of them, the strength of the army might not be balanced, and if the new recruits are from a different species, it’s going to be troublesome if they aren’t willing to take orders from the Old Wolf,” Mo Fan nodded agreement.

The Enormous White Wolves had been obedient, and they had worked for him for a long time. The Enormous White Wolves were all Warrior-level creatures in the Advancing Period, one step away from reaching the Commander-level. In fact, a few of them were already as strong as a Commander-level creature. It was indeed a better choice to help them evolve than recruiting new Commander-level creatures. These Enormous White Wolves would have no trouble evolving, judging by their strength.

“Alright, Old Wolf, you go ahead and choose eight of them who are ready to evolve; I shall turn them into Commander-level creatures!” Mo Fan made up his mind.

The Enormous White Wolves had been serving him well. He enjoyed having the simple-minded and violent Enormous White Wolves around, so it made sense to be giving the good stuff to them.

If he used the Soul Essences to help the Enormous White Wolves evolve, it did mean he was not increasing the capacity of the Summoning Gate. In other words, he had lost a chance at eight more Warrior-level creatures, but that was negligible compared to the current size of his army. It was more important for the wolves to be united. When the veterans like Big Wolf, Second Wolf, and Third Wolf became real Commander-level creatures, they would have more say in the army!

“Speaking of which, Old Wolf, isn’t your base a little too small for your pack?” Mo Fan noticed that the new White-Marked Wolves did not have any space to stay in the cave. They were crowding outside the cave like a white rug!

“Awoo!~” The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not expect to have so many new brothers all of a sudden…

“How about this? I won’t be Summoning you guys for a while, so you can go ahead and find yourself a mountain to expand your territory! Seriously, don’t you feel ashamed to be living in a cave? You should at least have your own mountain! Otherwise, aren’t you just embarrassing me if you tell the other Summoned Beasts that you are taking orders from me?” Mo Fan shared his plan with the Old Wolf.

The Old Wolf was excited once again.

He had long planned to expand his territory, but his pack was not strong enough to do so. The mountains with comfortable environments and plenty of resources were usually occupied by powerful beasts. They were asking to die if they tried to take over another beast’s territory when they were not strong enough, but that was no longer the case…

Not only was his pack close to two hundred strong, he would even have eight extra Commanders under his lead. The untouchable mountains were now within his reach!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was overwhelmed by excitement when he imagined himself standing on top of the mountain and lifting his head under a moon that was within inches of him. His sexy howls would easily attract the attention of the female wolves nearby, while intimidating the restless male wolves, too! Any wolf packs weaker than his pack were going to submit to him!

Wasn’t that exactly what he had been looking for when he was licking his own wounds and hiding in the corner of a cave when he was still a Spirit Wolf?

——

The tomb was deadly quiet. The echoes of a few coughs lasted for some time in the chamber.

Zhao Manyan opened his eyes. He immediately had a miserable face when he glanced around.

Why was he not lying on a comfortable bed with naked women lying on his sides when he woke up? Why did he have to wake up in a goddamned tomb beside the dark-faced, ugly Shreev?

Zhao Manyan stood up and walked around to loosen his bones. He had fully recovered. He looked at Mo Fan and saw the guy staring at the light of his Summoning Element instead of meditating.

“Mo Fan, what are you doing?” Zhao Manyan asked with a confused face.

“I’m helping my Summoned Beasts evolve,” Mo Fan replied.

“Is Little Flame Belle about to reach the Ruler-level?” Zhao Manyan asked curiously.

“It’s not Little Flame Belle,” Mo Fan said.

“Oh, so it’s the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, then? You’re really something! How did you even manage to help him grow from a Spirit Wolf to his current level? Other Summoners wouldn’t bother wasting so many resources on a Summoned Beast!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“It’s not him, either. I’m strengthening the Summoned Beasts of my Beast Tide…” Mo Fan explained.

“What?” Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded.

“Didn’t you already see the Enormous White Wolves I Summoned before? I’m helping them to evolve,” Mo Fan expounded.

“Mo Fan, is your mind flooded by the Catastrophe Wave from before?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“No?”

“Crap, are you out of your mind? How valuable are Commander-level Soul Essences? Are you seriously wasting them on a bunch of Summoned Beasts that are living in the Summoned Beast Plane!?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

The yell was so loud that it woke the others, especially Sayed. He had been listening to their conversation all along.

“A**hole, you son of a b**ch, I’m going to kill you!” Sayed lost his calm right away.

Mo Fan had used the Soul Essences he had collected to strengthen the beasts he Summoned with the Summoning Gate!?!

How lightly was Mo Fan treating the Soul Essences!? He had sweated blood just to collect the Soul Essences!

“Ling!~”

Little Flame Belle was lying on Mo Fan’s head. She immediately landed on the ground and burst into flames when she saw Sayed threatening to harm Mo Fan. The Little Flame Belle immediately transformed into her battle form, the Flame Belle!

The elegant and slender woman engulfed in flames possessed an imperious bearing. Flame Belle stood between Mo Fan and Sayed, her flames lunging in Sayed’s direction. He immediately halted in his tracks and had no choice but to withhold his anger.

As a matter of fact, he could not even defeat Little Flame Belle, let alone Mo Fan!

“Since we might not make it out alive, isn’t it better to use the Soul Essences to improve our strength?” Mo Fan said shamelessly.

“I’m less than a thousandth of you when it comes to being extravagant,” Zhao Manyan admitted helplessly.

“Are we done resting?” Mo Fan asked, ignoring him.

Mo Fan had given the eight Commander-level Soul Essences to the Enormous White Wolves. He believed it was only a matter of time until they evolved into Commander-level creatures. He would give them some time to digest the energy of the Soul Essences before feeding them with his energy. It was unlikely they would fail to evolve.

Mo Fan was planning to let them go on a vacation to find themselves a new base, but since he was clearly going to face some tough battles soon, he had no choice but to ask the new recruits to settle down close to the cave first. He would let them conquer a new mountain once he was done with his mission inside the Pyramid!

“We are done resting, but the question is, are we brave enough to keep going?” Meos asked.

“We can’t go back the way we came, might as well keep going,” Mo Fan said.

“Let’s go; perhaps it’s not as scary as we’ve imagined. I’ve been observing the rules of these chambers, maybe I can solve the mystery in the next chamber!” Shreev said cheerfully.

—

—

There were four doors available. The group followed Shreev’s instructions and entered the next chamber.

The passage was quite long this time. It took them about half an hour to reach the next chamber.

The new chamber was similar to the ones before, but there were lots of ancient drawings and markings of scorpions and snakes on the walls. The drawings were related to the era of the Pharoahs’ reigns. They were not difficult to understand, but the marks of snakes and scorpions were all over the walls. One would even think that the walls were made of snakeskin and scorpion shells if they did not take a closer look at the walls.

“That’s strange, there isn’t any sarcophagus in here… oh my…” Zhao Manyan was going forward when he almost stepped on an empty space and fell into it. Luckily, he managed to react and turn around in time.

Zhao Manyan pulled his leg back and saw a giant hole in the ground.

To make things worse, even the walls in the hole were full of scorpion and snake Runes. They had completely merged with the walls and the ground. It was very difficult to spot the hole from afar, and it was surprisingly deep, too!

Zhao Manyan looked into the hole and saw the bottom was pitch-black. It felt like he was going to be devoured by the darkness in the bottomless chasm.

“Can you see a sarcophagus at the bottom?” Meos asked.

“I don’t see it, but I can see something moving down there,” Heidi said.

“It looks like seagrass, it’s wriggling,” Mu Bai agreed.

“Don’t you feel like they are slowly rising in the hole?” Mo Fan asked softly.

The others quickly observed the things that were wriggling in the dark, and noticed they were indeed moving towards them. They finally realized the seagrass was actually a bunch of blue snakes!

The tails of the snakes seemed to be fixed to a certain spot. Their bodies and heads were constantly writhing around like seaweed. It was utterly terrifying once they were able to see the snakes.

It was spooky to see the snakes bundled up in such great numbers. The group soon realized something scarier as the snakes kept rising from the hole!

Below the snakes was an enormous head!

The wriggling snakes were only hairs on that head, able to move their own. They were lunging fiercely in the direction of the living humans!

The head slowly rose. Its triangular glowing yellow eyes stared at the group above the hole, sending great chills down their spines!

1590 Scorpion Lord Medusa, Part Two

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The snake-haired head slowly rose from the darkness. Its enormous dark-red scorpion body slowly filled up the group’s vision.

“Gods!” Meos was slowly backing away in fear.

The others were terrified, too. Even though they were mentally prepared to face a Ruler-level creature in the chamber, they did not expect it to be a Scorpion Lord Medusa!

A Scorpion Lord Medusa was a Great Ruler-level creature. A Scorpion Lord Medusa was equivalent to seven or eight Dark Swordmasters; the Advisor Mummy was only as strong as one Dark Swordmaster! The only reason the Advisor Mummy had lost was because it used the Lightning Element on Mo Fan. If it had used another Element, it could easily have wiped out the entire group!

There were huge differences between Ruler-level creatures, too. The Scorpion Lord Medusa was obviously above average among the Ruler-level creatures, one that could easily enter the limelight during a battle!

“What do we do now… what do we do now… should we just kill ourselves?” Zhao Manyan blurted out as his mind went blank.

“Shreev, are you trying to set us up? Why is there a Scorpion Lord Medusa in a mummy chamber? Are you trying to get us all killed?” Sayed yelled.

“How do I know? I’m in despair, too!” Shreev answered, his face twisted.

The group immediately retreated to the entrance. They did not want to fight this Ruler-level creature, nor did they want to end their lives. It seemed like going back to the previous chamber was the only choice they had!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa had climbed out from the hole. It was staring at the group.

“Look out for its…” Heidi quickly reminded the others when she sensed an energy sweeping at them. However, her body was painted gray in the middle of her words!

Heidi did not even have the chance to finish her sentence. Her attractive face turned into a statue, together with her slender body. It happened so quickly that Heidi did not even have time to think, let alone trying to defend herself.

Meos was just about to set up her defense after seeing what happened to Heidi. She had brought quite a lot of defensive equipment, as many as Zhao Manyan had, but she had just activated the seal in her soul to Summon her magic Equipment when her body swiftly turned into stone after the Scorpion Lord Medusa set its eyes on her.

Normally, it would take some time to cast Petrify on a target and for the spell to turn it into a statue. However, The Scorpion Lord Medusa had turned Meos into a statue in a second with just a quick glimpse!

Even Super Mages were unable to withstand a single blow from the Scorpion Lord Medusa, let alone a bunch of young Mages that had not reached the Super Level. She had an indifferent look. Her eyes were sharp and cold, as if a bunch of ants that did not know their place had intruded on her palace. She was a little annoyed, yet it was nowhere enough to make her angry!

“I don’t want to turn into a statue! Mo Fan, quick, think of a plan!” Zhao Manyan yelped.

The Scorpion Lord Medusa found Zhao Manyan’s voice too annoying. It quickly shifted its gaze onto him.

When the Petrifying energy swept at Zhao Manyan, the Seal of a tortoise shell suddenly burst out from him. The Seal formed a tiny shell to prevent the spell from sealing his soul.

The Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stony gaze had failed. Zhao Manyan was overjoyed when he realized he was not petrified.

That old tortoise kept saying how he did not care if Zhao Manyan was dead, since he could move on and look for a stronger and more talented successor. However, he still stepped forward and saved Zhao Manyan’s life when it mattered. Zhao Manyan was so touched that he was on the verge of bursting into tears!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa was even more annoyed. Its indifferent gaze turned into a glare. A stronger Petrifying energy swept at Zhao Manyan like an invisible tide.

Zhao Manyan did not realize the Scorpion Lord Medusa was not even using its true power. The Seal inside the Totem Container could only protect Zhao Manyan briefly when his life was in danger. It had managed to nullify a Ruler-level creature’s attack, but Baxia was not omnipotent. It was already quite impressive that he had protected Zhao Manyan once when he was miles away. It was impossible for him to keep protecting Zhao Manyan!

Zhao Manyan’s feet soon stiffened. The energy slowly reached his waist and his chest…

“Not… like… this!” Zhao Manyan uttered his last words.

The expression on Zhao Manyan’s face as he was turning into a statue was displaying his regret of not being able to fulfill his ambition of spreading his seed across the world. A certain level of force could easily smash him into dust!

“Please… spare my life, I didn’t mean to trespass into your palace! Let me go…” Sayed was utterly terrified. He started to beg for his life.

He was already suffocating under the overwhelming presence of the Scorpion Lord Medusa. He did not have the slightest intention to fight it. He was totally unaware of how idiotic his decision was; begging a demon creature for mercy?

The Scorpion Lord Medusa had no mercy for humans. It hated the voices of humans the most. Sayed turned into stone as he was kneeling on the ground. He looked so petty.

One by one, the group was Petrified. Mu Bai and Shreev could not escape the imperious eyes. The chamber fell silent. The only ones alive in it were Mo Fan and the Scorpion Lord Medusa.

“So? Aren’t you going to use the magic on me?” Mo Fan chuckled when he saw he was the last one standing.

The Scorpion Lord Medusa was the size of a hill. It was like a deity staring down at Mo Fan, who was as tiny as a toy, yet it did not use the Medusa’s Stare on Mo Fan!

The Medusa’s Stare had no effect on him.

Those that overcame the Medusa’s Stare were forever immune to it. Mo Fan was not afraid of the Petrify or its Psychic Magic. He had gotten rid of the Curse of the Snake Eyes with the Tear of Medusa too, thus its Curse was useless against him, too!

The Medusa’s Stare held the power of Petrify, the Psychic Element, and the Curse Element. Mo Fan had experienced them all, so he was going to be fine.

The Scorpion Lord Medusa moved closer to Mo Fan. Its scorpion body had a metallic gloss. Its limbs could easily puncture and impales its enemies during a battle!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa stopped moving when it was close enough to see Mo Fan’s face.

It was staring at Mo Fan. Its body tensed as it finally recognized him!

How could the Scorpion Lord Medusa not remember Mo Fan? It was the same Scorpion Lord Medusa that attempted to trample through China’s Beijiang under Khufu’s lead. It was leading the Red Scorpion Gorgons and an army of Gorgons as the main force during the invasion when it stumbled into a devil halfway…

The Scorpion Lord Medusa still had the burning scars left by Mo Fan’s demonic flames, especially on its neck and its chest. The burns had yet to recover after so long. It could still feel the burns whenever it was asleep!

The man that had inflicted so much pain and shame on it was standing right in front of it!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa was sensitive to presence. There was no way it was mistaken. The human’s presence might be a lot weaker now, but it was sure that this was the guy who had injured it!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa did not dare to harm Mo Fan. It proceeded to turn the rest of the humans into stone while observing Mo Fan’s reaction.

“Withdraw your magic and open up the door to the next chamber for us… you’ve witnessed my strength before. You don’t have your army of Gorgons with you now, nor are the Sphinx and the Dark Pharaoh of Serpents around to help you. No one is going to save you if I insist on killing you!” Mo Fan faced the strong Scorpion Lord Medusa fearlessly.

The Scorpion Lord Medusa was furious. To think that a human dared to provoke a Ruler-level creature. It let out a scream while the snakes on its head wriggled wildly!

Six statues were scattered around Mo Fan. They might have turned into stone, but they had retained their consciousness. They could still see, hear, and even smell. Petrify was normally used to torture its target. The enemy would eventually lose their minds after being conscious for a few dozen, or even a hundred years, without being able to move.

The others heard the conversation between Mo Fan and the Scorpion Lord Medusa. If their eyes could move, they would have widened multiple times!

Was Mo Fan out of his mind? Didn’t he see them being turned into statues? Shouldn’t he just keep quiet and turn into a statue too? Perhaps someone would come and save them in ten or twenty years. However, if he continued to provoke the Scorpion Lord Medusa, it might smash everyone to pieces in a rage!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa was trying to earn its dignity back. Its eyes were brimming with hostility. The snakes on its head were screeching to vent its anger!

“I didn’t want to use it here, but I have no choice but to since you’ve asked for it!” Mo Fan’s gaze sharpened. His eyes emitted a blood-red light!

A demonic aura burst out from the boiling blood in his veins. His presence shifted tremendously, as if a devil had descended upon the area and taken over Mo Fan’s flesh. He might still look human, but the demonic aura was clearly inhuman. It was sweeping wildly about the Scorpion Lord Medusa’s chamber!

The power of the Demon Element! Mo Fan knew he would eventually have to use it against these formidable creatures, but it had happened quicker than he had expected!

1591 It“s All About Appearances

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

He could only use the Demon Element once, and he had no idea if it would last until he found the Day and Dusk Compass. What if he spent too much time here in the chambers and ran out of time later?

There were two more chambers after this. If Mo Fan had to use the Demon Element now, he would have to end the fights as soon as possible!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa sensed the presence of the Demon Element growing on Mo Fan. The burns left by the demonic flames began to hurt all of a sudden.

It was him for sure!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa was even more enraged. How dare he come to her nest? He was clearly crossing the line!

“I didn’t have enough time to kill you before, but this time, you’re clearly going to die and rot in your own chamber!” Blood-red runes spread across Mo Fan’s body, followed by a shadow with an overwhelming aura emerging from his back!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa tensed. Its aura began to fluctuate wildly!

Mo Fan’s breathing intensified. He could feel the blood boiling inside him. He knew the other him was going to take over his body once the demon blood spread throughout his body.

However, the feeling was not that strong. Somehow, the demon blood did not boil as quickly as he had imagined. It was flowing a lot slower, too…

It felt strange, but Mo Fan was not bothered by it. He continued to activate the power of the Demon Element…

His heart pounded heavily all of a sudden, followed by a sharp pain. His forehead was covered in sweat now…

The boiling blood in him began to cool down. The shadow on his back shuddered. He froze for half a second, too!

What just happened?

Why is the power of the Demon Element fading away?

Mo Fan was utterly shocked. Normally, the power of the Demon Element would be awakened by now. He was activating it the same way as before. It never faded away halfway like it was doing now!

Does this mean Old Bao was right? My cultivation is nowhere strong enough to support frequent usage of the Demon Element. I can only use it when the Essence Orb is filled! Mo Fan was a little lost now.

The first time he used the Demon Element was in the abandoned Jinlin City. He had a long rest after then, until he had a breakthrough during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, which awakened the Demon Element on its own…

The third time he had used it was at the Parthenon Temple. The Essence Orb was filled, so he did not experience any side effects from using the Demon Element apart from being worn out by it. The fourth time was at the Northguard Fortress. It had been more than half a year since then, but he had used the Demon Element when the Essence Orb was not filled.

In other words, even after half a year, his Demon Element was still on cooldown!

Holy crap, even a Forbidden Spell doesn’t have such a long cooldown!

F**k, I’m done for! Mo Fan was about to lose his mind.

He had only dared to intrude on the Pyramid because he was counting on his Demon Element. He could escape from the place with the Demon Element if the plan went south. He would have no trouble running away if he was not surrounded by a bunch of Ruler-level creatures, or even caught by Khufu.

Little did he know, his body had yet to fully recover. The Demon Element was still not available. Meanwhile, the Essence Orb was only a third full!

What was he thinking all this time?

Mo Fan broke out in a cold sweat when he recalled how idiotic he had been lately. He was leaning so heavily on the Demon Element while it was still on cooldown!

Why did he even bother provoking the Egyptian army? Why did he kill the young Medusa? Why did he even come to the Great Pyramid of Giza? Couldn’t he have just stayed in Shanghai and behaved himself?

The Scorpion Lord Medusa let out a cry once again. The wounds left by the demonic flames were hurting it even more. It recalled how Mo Fan had humiliated it in the past!

Mo Fan glanced at the Scorpion Lord Medusa. To be honest, he already had the thought of committing suicide.

How could he possibly stand a chance against the Scorpion Lord Medusa without the Demon Element? The creature could kill him now more easily than cutting vegetables!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa moved a little closer. It was planning to take the initiative.

The power of the Demon Element was still fading away, yet it was not too obvious.

Mo Fan pointed at the Scorpion Lord Medusa and said coldly, “It looks like the Great Pyramid of Giza will have one less Scorpion Lord Medusa today!”

The Scorpion Lord Medusa immediately froze in its tracks. It would be lying if it argued that it was not afraid of Mo Fan. When their army of undead was advancing like a rolling wave, Mo Fan was able to fend them off for a long time all on his own. He had even injured the Sphinx! Most of the Ruler-level creatures under Khufu’s lead had first-handedly experienced how terrifying Demon Mo Fan was!

The mummy chamber was sealed off, meaning that the other Mummies were not allowed to come to the chamber. The Scorpion Lord Medusa was the sole guardian of the second chamber, isolated and without help. When it imagined facing the terrifying human on its own, when it thought about the possibility of dying here, it tried to put on an intimidated look, yet it dared not show it too obviously. The snakes on its head were still screaming angrily!

It was staring at Mo Fan closely. It suddenly sensed his power weakening slightly.

The Scorpion Lord Medusa’s eyes glittered. It began to think otherwise!

“If you are like the rest of the low-level creatures that blindly believe what they see, I guess your death won’t be far off… I didn’t come here to take your life. I’m just passing by. To be honest with you, I don’t want to waste my energy on you!” Mo Fan forcibly awakened the power of his blood.

His blood began to boil again. The shadow slowly emerged from his back. Mo Fan was doing the best he could!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa tensed up once again.

“I really don’t want to waste my time on you. I’m giving you one last chance. Withdraw your magic, and open the door, you stupid, weak Medusa that can’t withstand even a single blow from me!” Mo Fan yelled furiously!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa backed away a little. Its arrogance and its urge to reclaim its dignity was just a ruse!

If it had not witnessed Mo Fan’s strength, and if its wounds were not still hurting, there was no way it would be intimidated by a human. However, it clearly knew that it was going to die if it dared to fight this human alone!

A Ruler-level creature had made it to the Ruler-level not only because of how strong they were, but because they knew how important it was to stay alive!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa backed away, its upper human body still facing Mo Fan. It was staring at him, but its scorpion body was slowly moving backward. It was retreating back to the hole!

The Scorpion Lord Medusa felt humiliated, but this was necessary for it to stay alive. It knew it was not wise to fight the human to the death!

“Open the door!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly, a menacing look on his face!

1592 The Sequence of the Chambers

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan stared at the Scorpion Lord Medusa, his eyes wide and aura dangerous. Most importantly, he was grinning at all times, displaying his disdain for the creature.

The Scorpion Lord Medusa slowly sank into its hole and returned to the darkness.

If its wounds were not constantly reminding it of how humiliating the fight in the past was, it was unlikely it would have backed away from the fight today.

Luckily, the chambers were secluded. Even if they made it to the Pharaoh Chamber, Khufu would never know it had gone easy on these humans. Would it make a difference if it tried to fight the human? The guy even beat the crap out of the Sphinx! It knew how much weaker it was than the Sphinx!

“Humph!” Mo Fan was still grinning coldly. He did not lower his guard even after the Scorpion Lord Medusa returned to its hole.

A soft sound came from behind him. Mo Fan turned around and saw Heidi slowly recovering from the Petrify Magic.

Her limbs were still a little stiff. She had to wait for a few minutes before beng able to move again. However, her eyes never left Mo Fan as she waited.

Mo Fan had really scared the Great Ruler-level creature away!

“How did you do it?” Heidi’s eyes were full of doubt.

When the others recovered, they had the same look in their eyes. They had all witnessed how Mo Fan had driven the Scorpion Lord Medusa away. To their disbelief, the Scorpion Lord Medusa acted as if Mo Fan did indeed beat it up in the past!

How was that even possible!?

Despite how strong Mo Fan was, he was still as insignificant as a bug to the Scorpion Lord Medusa. Was the Scorpion Lord Medusa the kind that would scream and run around the house like a little girl after seeing a little spider or caterpillar?

The group remained silent for a long time. Shreev led them to the door he believed was correct. The others followed him, their minds still blank.

They eventually reached the passage. It felt a little safer there. They slowly turned around to look at the chamber.

They stood in the passage for some time, still wondering if everything that happened was real. Did they really just walk out of the chamber of the Scorpion Lord Medusa perfectly unharmed?

“Mo Fan, you’re really something. That Scorpion Lord Medusa is really scared of you after you beat it up the first time. It actually let us pass!” Zhao Manyan knew the details of the invasion of the Great Pyramid of Giza, so he was not too surprised by the Scorpion Lord Medusa’s reaction. He walked up to Mo Fan and patted him heavily on his shoulder.

“Ugh…” Mo Fan fell feebly to the ground after Zhao Manyan patted him on the shoulder, covered in cold sweat.

His shirt was soaked through in just a few seconds. His breathing was heavy, and his face was extremely pale!

“What’s wrong?” It gave Zhao Manyan quite a huge fright. He quickly helped Mo Fan up.

“I’m fine…I’m fine, it’s just, I almost wet myself!” Mo Fan took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Heidi, Shreev, and Meos were utterly dumbfounded. Wasn’t Mo Fan acting all mighty and smug just then? They almost believed he was actually a deity in human form, who had decided to show his true power when facing the Scorpion Lord Medusa. Why did he look so miserable all of a sudden?

“We are in grave trouble!” Mo Fan told Zhao Manyan.

“What trouble? Isn’t it working so far? You managed to scare the Scorpion Lord Medusa away. Perhaps the rest of the chambers are guarded by creatures that you’ve beaten up before. Our path is full of green lights. If you can’t scare them, you can just beat them up again! I think we’re pretty close to the Day and Dusk Compass. Khufu is in deep sleep, too. If we can take care of his annoying subordinates, our job here will be done!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Mo Fan dragged Zhao Manyan to the side and whispered in his ear.

Zhao Manyan burst out laughing and slapped Mo Fan on the shoulder. “HAHAHA, are you seriously joking with me at a time like this? Do you think I’m going to believe you? I know that you will only use it as a last resort…”

Mo Fan stared at Zhao Manyan, using the sincere look in his eyes to convince Zhao Manyan that he was not joking, he was being dead serious!

Zhao Manyan’s smile stiffened. He grabbed Mo Fan by the collar and cursed, “F**k your cousin’s sister, why didn’t you tell me earlier? Only a psycho would go inside a Pyramid with you if it wasn’t for your trump card, and now you’re telling me you don’t even have your trump card? I’ll kill you and kill myself!”

“Calm down, calm down! Zhao Manyan, stop behaving like a mad dog all the time!” Mu Bai quickly pulled Zhao Manyan back.

“Seriously, why do I always be friends with the wrong person?!…” Zhao Manyan was about to lose his mind.

Mo Fan was about to go crazy, too. It turned out that his Demon Element had been unavailable all along. Xinxia did remind him that he would not be able to use the Demon Element for a year or two. If he forced himself, it would only result in greater consequences. Mo Fan had not thought much about it. He thought Xinxia was just worried he was overburdening his body.

To his surprise, the demon in his body was indeed hibernating. He could feel his organs trembling when he recalled how reckless he had been throughout the journey!

“Mo Fan, so what was that when you were facing the Scorpion Lord Medusa?” Mu Bai asked. He roughly guessed what was going on.

“I was just acting,” Mo Fan replied a trembling voice.

Life was but a show that relied heavily on a person’s acting skill. Mo Fan knew he was dead for sure when he realized he could not use the Demon Element. However, he happened to notice the fear on the Scorpion Lord Medusa’s face. He decided to go with the flow, using the presence of the Demon Element that might deflate at any second, to pretend that he was going to fight the Scorpion Lord Medusa to the death!

It was indeed thrilling now that he recalled what had happened. If the Scorpion Lord Medusa doubted him just a little, the Scorpion Lord Medusa would be picking its teeth by now, and it was his meat that would be stuck between them…

“So you’re saying we don’t even have a backup plan?” Mu Bai asked.

“Mm, there’s none,” Mo Fan admitted with a wry smile.

They initially had the Queen of the Netherworld as their backup, but she was now busy handling the Snake Scorpion Horde. If the second chamber was guarded by the Scorpion Lord Medusa, the next two chambers… Mo Fan seriously thought they should consider ending their lives peacefully while they still had the chance!

“Old Zhao, can’t you Summon your tortoise over?” Mo Fan asked after giving it some thought. It was most likely the only thing they could rely on.

“Summon my ass, we are in a Pyramid protected by magic Formations. Why don’t you give the Black Totem Snake a satellite call and ask him to come over instead?” Zhao Manyan grunted back.

“It was a mistake, I miscalculated,” Mo Fan admitted.

As a matter of fact, even provoking a Super Mage was a foolish act when Mo Fan’s Demon Element was not available. He could not help but wonder where he had found his courage to challenge a higher-level Mage!

“Mo Fan, if we can survive this, can we just break off with one another?” Zhao Manyan sighed.

“Old Zhao, don’t be like that, we’ve overcome the most difficult situations. Do you think it’s going to be harder the next time?” Mo Fan reassured him.

“I believe there wouldn’t be a last time or this time if I wasn’t with you. Mo Fan, we are just Advanced Mages. The others might even think we are f**king Forbidden Mages if they knew what we’ve been through!” Zhao Manyan snarled.

“You’re right…” Mo Fan humbly accepted the condemnation.

Mo Fan agreed he should be more humble and stay lower-profile when his Demon Element was still hibernating. If there was a way to leave the Great Pyramid of Giza, Mo Fan would surely be the first to leave now. Damn it, he was going to pay for this with his life. He was still so young, he had yet to have a lot of babies with Xinxia and Xuexue, he did not want to die!

“What are you all talking about?” Shreev was confused.

Meos and Sayed had no idea what Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were yelling about, as they were talking in Chinese.

Heidi did not understand them either, but she remembered how they had mentioned the Great Pyramid of Giza had shown up in China’s Beijiang. She could not help but think that Mo Fan had indeed fought against these powerful creatures before…

But the question was, how did he do it? He was only an Advanced Mage!

Were the accusations from the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court real? Did the guy really have some forbidden power in him?

—

“Actually, we don’t have to be so depressed,” Shreev spoke up after he felt a different atmosphere from the group.

“We aren’t depressed, we just lost our will to live!” Zhao Manyan sighed.

“…” Shreev noticed how low-spirited everyone was. He said, “Didn’t I mention before? There are certain patterns to the four doors. It’s like a Rubik’s cube; it might seem complicated, but once we find the right patterns, we will be able to solve the mystery. We’ve taken a few correct doors, so I should be able to deduce the sequence of the chambers.”

“What difference is that going to make?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Of course it makes a difference to us! Once we know the sequence, we can easily avoid the chambers with powerful guardians. For example, we’ve reached the chamber of the Scorpion Lord Medusa from the Advisor Mummy’s chamber, but if we know the sequence, we can take the right door, next the front door, then the back door, and finally the front door to reach the correct chamber by skipping the Scorpion Lord Medusa’s chamber,” Shreev said.

“We can skip them?” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered.

“Yes, if we go inside a chamber and realize the Mummy is too strong for us, we can just skip it, even though it would mean passing through more chambers and encountering more Mummies. Well, it’s still better than fighting a strong creature like the Scorpion Lord Medusa, right?” Shreev asked brightly.

1593 The Empty Chamber

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Are you sure that’s going to work?” Mo Fan asked, feeling very surprised.

“Yes, these doors might be complicated, but they do have certain loopholes. The ancients were impressively intelligent, but that doesn’t necessarily mean us modern people have no brains, right? The most important thing is understanding their sequence and rules,” Shreev answered. He sounded completely like an academic.

“So it’s also reasonable why you are so ugly, Shreev! Most ugly people are pretty smart!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“What do you mean by that? Are you telling me you are a retard?” Shreev grunted back.

“Thanks for describing how handsome I am!” Zhao Manyan agreed shamelessly. His mood had greatly improved after hearing there was another way to enter the right chamber.

“Let’s continue to the next chamber,” Shreev said.

“Is resting a little longer going to kill you?” Mo Fan said.

“Uh, is that strange? Weren’t you the one that was urging us to keep going previously?” Shreev replied, confused.

The group might be unharmed, but the psychological impact that the Scorpion Lord Medusa had delivered was pretty serious. They had to get their hearts back to normal and exercise their limbs, so they could get rid of the residual effects of the Petrify Magic.

——

The group finally gathered the courage to keep going after resting in the passage. The next chamber was most likely related to snakes again…

They had come up with a plan. They would quickly look around the chamber. If they sensed something was not right, they would immediately return to the passage. Even though they would no longer return to the chamber of the Scorpion Lord Medusa by going back along the same passage, they could still follow Shreev’s instructions and avoid the chambers with guardians that were too strong for them to take on, now that he had deduced the sequence of the chambers!

The passage soon came to an end, the chamber eventually showing up. Everyone immediately focused as soon as they stepped into the chamber. Their fear of Scorpion Lord Medusa had yet to fully dissipate. They were only hoping that the creature in the chamber was no scarier than the Scorpion Lord Medusa so their hearts could still endure the shock.

“That’s strange… all the doors in this chamber are open!” Shreev blurted out.

The chamber was huge. Shreev’s voice echoed a few times back and forth. Most importantly, apart from the ancient drawings along the walls, the ground, and the ceiling, there was no sarcophagus, which meant the chamber did not have a guardian!

“There are a lot of traces left by scorpions and snakes…” Heidi pointed out.

“An empty chamber?” Mo Fan was quite surprised.

He scanned the huge chamber intently, but did not find a single creature in it. The whole place was covered in paintings on the walls and on the ground. It had statues of scorpions and pillars of snakes, too. It felt like they had just entered an ancient palace that existed in a myth related to the snakes and scorpions.

The drawings and the statues were lifeless, Mo Fan was sure. There was no sign of life in any corner of the chamber!

“I understand now!” Shreev suddenly yelled.

“I can understand them too.” Mo Fan looked at the drawings around him.

The drawings were not painted onto the walls or the ground, but were engraved, drawn with solid lines, holes, scorpion shells, and snake scales. Mo Fan could not help but wonder how much money and manpower the ancient Pharaohs had spent on this…

“Tell me what you think!” Shreev said promptly.

“The scorpions and the snakes are from the same species, thus the chamber with the scorpion symbol and the chamber with the snake symbol both belong to the Scorpion Lord Medusa. However, this chamber isn’t designed for a mummy, it’s more to record some ancient rituals, myths, and history. I know a legend about the Medusa around here. The first Medusa was actually human. She was most likely the first person to Awaken the Curse Element and the Psychic Element. However, those Elements were once deemed forbidden or evil. In the end, the humans offered her to the primordial ancestor of the scorpions and snakes as a sacrifice, but to their surprise, it did not kill her. Instead, it slowly combined with her and gave birth to the Medusae and the Gorgons. The Medusae have the Curse Magic and Petrify Magic, while the Gorgons have incredible strength and physical attributes…” Mo Fan explained what the drawings along the walls were depicting

Shreev looked at Mo Fan and raised his thumb. He said, “You can actually understand the hieroglyphs of the ancient civilization. It seems like you have spent quite some time on them!”

“We have been investigating the Totem Beasts. These hieroglyphs are similar to the ones left by our ancestors during the era of the Totem Beasts. Your Pharaohs overthrew the ancient beasts and became rulers themselves. When our Totem Beasts went extinct, we also gradually relied more on magic, up until today,” Mo Fan confirmed.

Mo Fan did not mention that he had read records of the Egyptian myths at the Parthenon Temple. The ancient civilizations in Greece and Egypt were closely tied together. Mo Fan just had to join the records he read at the Parthenon Temple and the hieroglyphs on the walls together to decipher their meaning.

“It also says that Khufu invented the Undead Element and built Pyramids that were connected to the Underworld to strengthen his kingdom of the undead in order to prevent himself from being overthrown. He helped the Snake Scorpion Primordial Ancestor and Medusa build a lot of their temples,” Shreev elaborated for all of them.

“The drawings also indicate that the undead have formed an alliance with the scorpions and the snakes, allowing them to move freely in the Pyramids… HAHA, isn’t this the same as telling a story from some pictures!?” Zhao Manyan burst out laughing, pointing at one of the drawings.

Mo Fan took a quick glance at the drawing and interpreted it the same way as Zhao Manyan. It was showing how Khufu had formed an alliance with Medusa, the highest ruler of the snakes and scorpions… ahem!

“Why are we wasting our time here? Shouldn’t we just move on to the next chamber and leave this place if there’s no one guarding this chamber?” Sayed demanded impatiently.

“Wait, there are a lot of mysteries that we haven’t solved on these drawings! For example, the place where the Snake Scorpion Primordial Ancestor and Medusa stayed at. Give me some time, I need to learn more about those temples!” Shreev answered hurriedly.

The drawings indicated that Khufu had not built only the Pyramids, but also the evil temples for the Snake Scorpion Primordial Ancestor and Medusa! They were hidden in the deserts in Egypt…

“Humph, what difference is it going to make? It’s not like the evil temples are going to give us the power to kill the detestable Snake Scorpion Primordial Ancestor and Medusa!” Sayed mocked him.

“Sayed, how stupid can you be? If the Snake Scorpion Horde decides to attack us one day, or when only us humans or the demon creatures can live in Egypt, how can we possibly take them out if we don’t even know where their rulers are!?” Meos scolded him.

“Fine, I’m the stupid one!” Sayed did not talk any further.

“What are the evil temples for?” Mu Bai asked, confused about their importance.

“Egypt is known for two special things: the undead, and the snakes and scorpions! The snakes and scorpions are the demon creatures. They can move freely without the deathlight, which means the threat they pose to the cities is no less than the undead. However, the nests of these demon creatures aren’t deserts or caves, it’s the evil temples!

“We’ve already explained the origin of these temples. Many people know about their existence, but only a handful of them have been found so far. No one has found the evil temple that the Snake Scorpion Primordial Ancestor and Medusa live in. These evil temples were built by the Pharaohs, so only the Pyramids will have records on where the temples are built. On top of that, the evil temple that the Great Pyramid of Giza has records on is most likely the one that Medusa lives in…” Mo Fan explained to him.

“I see. So if we found the evil temples and destroyed them all, the snakes and scorpions would no longer bother us?” Mu Bai said.

“More or less, but I’m afraid it’s unlikely that the army is strong enough to raze the evil temples to the ground. We can find out where the temples are first. It’s not too late to deal with them later, once we have grown strong enough. Shreev is doing his country a huge favor!” Mo Fan said.

While Shreev was recording the drawings, Mo Fan took a closer look around since he was bored. The chamber was surprisingly huge, with lots of drawings all over the place. They contained a huge amount of information. It was rather confusing to look at them without knowing the background to the stories.

Mo Fan ignored the drawings that he had no clue about. He focused on the drawings that he could understand.

“Mo Fan, there’s a drawing here. The snakes are eating humans… I think they are eating little girls…” Heidi said timidly, pulling Mo Fan’s sleeve while pointing at a drawing.

The drawing alone was just an abstraction, but it was totally different when they recalled Apas mentioning how the little girls were eaten alive by the higher-level Gorgons and Medusae.

Mo Fan glanced at the drawing and let out a sigh.

“What does the second half mean?” Heidi asked.

“Perhaps it’s saying how the Medusae can keep their youthful looks by eating the little girls?” Mo Fan guessed.

Mo Fan remembered how the young Medusa began to look like Apas after swallowing her alive. It was likely that the young Medusa would have claimed Apas’ looks after it fully digested her. It was quite terrifying now that he thought about it.

“What about the part after it?” Heidi asked.

“Well… I don’t really understand it, I’m not a professional,” Mo Fan said.

Shreev had finished recording the information he needed while the two were conversing. He came over with the smile of a reputable person whose discovery was going to benefit the whole of mankind. His smile had almost a sacred brilliance to it!

“You can smile after we make it out of this place alive,” Mo Fan poured some cold water on him.

“Oh, you’re right.” Shreev’s brilliance dimmed significantly. It was true that the information he collected was only useful if he could make it out alive…

1594 Infinity Space

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The empty third chamber had been a great surprise to the group. It meant there was only one chamber left: the chamber with the symbol of an eagle!

They took the right door and headed for the last chamber without taking a rest.

“We shouldn’t be far from the Day and Dusk Compass after this one, right?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Yes, our job is done once we turn the pointer on the Compass,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s good to know; we can finally leave this place after we’re done with the last chamber!” Zhao Manyan let out a relieved sigh.

“What did I tell you? When the boat reaches the mountain, it will go straight with the current!” Mo Fan proclaimed.

“Indeed!” Zhao Manyan nodded.

Mu Bai rolled his eyes while listening to their conversation. How was the boat supposed to go straight with the current if there was a mountain in front of it!?

—

—

As the new chamber was about to show up, everyone prayed that the chamber was empty, just like the one before. It would mark a happy end to their adventure!

However, was the Great Pyramid of Giza really that easy to overcome? Either way, it was still the most dangerous golden tomb in the world. The group was shocked by how spacious the last chamber was as soon as they set foot inside it!

It was no chamber; it was the whole sky!

The chamber did not have a ceiling. There was no wall apart from the passage they had come from. If the floor had not been built with bricks like the previous chambers, they might even think they had left the Pyramid and arrived in a valley outside!

“Do any of you see a sarcophagus?” Meos asked.

“I don’t even see a door, let alone a sarcophagus!” Zhao Manyan answered cautiously.

The chamber was oddly huge. It was difficult to tell to what extent the space had been compressed. Only a Space Mage close to reaching the Forbidden Level could construct such a space!

“What do we do now? Do we go inside or turn back?” Shreev struggled to decide.

“This chamber… forget it, if this place is a chamber, we are living in funerary urns instead… I believe the space might be empty too…” Mo Fan ventured.

There was nothing but golden-brown bricks along the floor within their field of view. The spacious area seemed to be empty. There was no sign of the guardian that was supposed to be related to an eagle.

“How about this? The two of you with the Space Element take a look around. The rest of us will wait here. If anything happens, it’s easier for you to escape with your Space Element,” Shreev suggested.

The others immediately looked at Mo Fan and Heidi. The two exchanged glances with one another.

It was the only viable option under the circumstances. The two of them would scout the area first. If the chamber was empty, they could just look for the door and proceed to their destination. If there was any danger, they would make their way back to the passage.

Mo Fan bravely took a few steps forward. He reached his hand out to signal Heidi to grab his hand so they could move together. Heidi ignored his gesture and boldly traveled a few dozen meters ahead. Mo Fan had no choice but to stick his hand into his pocket and follow her.

“Look out, it might be an infinity space!” Heidi soon noticed that something was not right.

“What’s an infinity space?” Mo Fan asked naturally.

“If you place a mirror in front of you and another mirror behind you, you will discover a series of reflections in the mirror that appear to recede to infinity. The chamber isn’t as spacious as we think. It only feels that way because of the endless reflections,” Heidi explained.

“I sort of get it…” Mo Fan nodded. He did not really try to understand it. The principles of the Space Element were the most complicated ones to understand!

“Take a look behind you,” Heidi said.

Mo Fan looked behind him and noticed how far Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, and the others were from him. They were like a few tiny dots in his eyes.

Mo Fan was quite surprised. He and Heidi had only traveled around five hundred meters away, yet the others looked like they were a few kilometers away!

“That’s the effects of an infinity space. If you are in a confined space surrounded by mirrors, you will feel like the space has enlarged significantly. This place is made up of several infinity spaces. We might only be looking at a distance of a hundred meters, but because of the continuous reflections, the distance feels like a thousand meters to us,” Heidi said.

“Oh, oh, I think I understand now,” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan was about to keep going when he noticed Heidi stopping abruptly. She was staring into the sky.

Mo Fan followed the direction she was looking into and saw a golden dot. It was as tiny as a sand particle. He might not have seen it if he was not born with good eyesight.

“I think it’s time for us to leave!” Heidi said with a weird expression.

“We’re leaving? Can you already see what it is? Why are we in a rush to leave?” Mo Fan said.

“Feel free to stay until you can see it clearly,” Heidi did not waste any time further. She turned around and ran back towards Zhao Manyan and the others.

Mo Fan was utterly confused. When he looked up again, he noticed that the tiny dot had grown to the size of a thumb.

Mo Fan subconsciously thought the tiny dot was at least a few dozen kilometers away at first glance. He believed it was not too late to leave until he could get a closer look at it. To his surprise, it was suddenly a lot closer within an instant!

Mo Fan was still wondering what the golden dot was when he noticed the thing enlarging significantly. It was now as big as a bird. He could see it beating its wings, lifting its gold claws, turning its head, and its sharp gaze!

Mo Fan still had some brains, and realized it was better for him to start running. Heidi had no reason to lie to him!

He started running, but he had only taken a few steps when a strong gust swept at him from behind. When he looked back again, he was shocked to see an enormous golden eagle around eight kilometers away stirring up a huge storm as it flew across the sky. It had completely blocked off his entire field of view. The whole place had darkened as if a disastrous storm was about to happen!

“Holy crap, how is it so quick!?” Mo Fan yelled.

“You don’t understand how the infinity mirrors work, do you!?” Heidi scolded him.

“It…it’s actually very close to us, right?”

“Just shut up and run! It’s a very strong creature!” Heidi shouted.

1595 Chamber After Chamber After Chamber

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A loud screech penetrated Mo Fan’s skull, like a few hundred jagged thunderbolts going off in the sky. It felt like his head was going to explode.

Mo Fan’s head was buzzing, and his consciousness faded away slightly. He almost fainted from the piercing cry, recovering slowly only after after the cry faded away!

Mo Fan turned around and glanced at the golden bird, and almost fell to the ground. The golden bird was now an enormous beast the size of a cloud. Its wings were covered in sharp cone-like feathers, currently all raised up in anger. It looked extremely dangerous, its golden feathers easily able to pierce and kill its targets!

“It’s about to attack!” Mo Fan sensed a great pressure looming over him. He was having trouble breathing properly.

The giant Golden Bird beat its wings. The sharp feathers immediately becane a golden storm raining down from the sky.

The feathers were around the size of leaves in Mo Fan’s eyes. However, as the feathers descended on him like a spray of bullets, he finally realized how massive the beast was. A single feather was as long as his leg!

That was no feather, it was clearly a golden spear! Mo Fan and Heidi cast Blink at the same time. They just escaped a volley of the golden feathers, but more feathers soon poured down on them. They had nowhere to escape to!

“It’s massive!” Zhao Manyan looked up. Half the sky was occupied by the golden beast, but the remaining half was still as spacious as ever!

“Massive my ass, aren’t you going to lend us a hand!?” Mo Fan grunted after hearing Zhao Manyan’s comment.

Zhao Manyan, Meos, Mu Bai, and Shreev cast their defensive spells simultaneously. Magic of different colors forming an ice shield, a wind barrier, and a light rampart intertwined in the air above Mo Fan and Heidi…

They initially thought the spells were enough to protect the two, but to their surprise, the spells were penetrated by the feathers as if they were merely bubbles being popped. The spells did not last very long at all!

The group was shocked. How strong was this huge Golden Bird? The combination of their defensive spells was enough to resist a Super Spell for a while, yet it collapsed right away when trying to stop Giant Golden Bird’s feathers, not to mention how wide the area covered by the feathers was…

“Run, quick!” Mu Bai yelled. There was nothing they could do apart from running!

“I f**king know that too, give me a speed boost, will you!?” Mo Fan yelled.

Luckily, Mo Fan and Heidi were not too far away from the passage, and had run as soon as they noticed something was not right. They made it to the passage just before a bunch of golden feathers landed in front of it!

The feathers smashed the bricks into pieces. Some of the feathers even punched through the door. The others quickly ran away in a panic!

“Let’s go, that thing is scarier than the Scorpion Lord Medusa!” Mo Fan ran away as soon as he got back to his feet.

——

The group ran for more than ten minutes, almost reaching the entrance of the other chamber. They leaned against the wall, panting heavily. Their clothes were drenched in sweat.

“That thing… I don’t think I saw it in Beijiang,” Zhao Manyan wheezed while catching his breath.

“Mm, I think it’s the same level as the Sphinx,” Mo Fan agreed.

“That was so scary,” Heidi gasped, her face pale.

She felt like they were just a bunch of earthworms to the Giant Golden Bird. She would never forget the suffocating pressure the creature emanated when it was diving from the sky. Luckily, they had learned their lesson after stumbling into the Scorpion Lord Medusa. They knew how strong the guardians of the right chambers were, so they did not venture too far away from the entrance.

In simpler words, the tiny earthworms had only dug up to the surface at the entrance. They quickly dug their way back into the ground when they saw the giant Golden Bird, yet they still almost died to it!

“Shreev, are you sure there’s a way to skip that creature? It’s most likely Khufu’s right-hand man,” Mo Fan had to ask.

“We’ll have to see which chamber we end up in next,” Shreev said.

“Wait, don’t you know which chamber it’s going to lead us to?” Mo Fan asked.

“I can’t say for sure. When we turned back after entering the Giant Golden Bird’s chamber, it will lead us to a different chamber. The chambers are constantly changing, like a shuffling Rubik’s cube. I have no idea how it’s being shuffled, but after one or two chambers, I should be able to figure out what the sequence is again,” Shreev said.

“Let’s head to the next chamber, then,” Mo Fan said.

“By the way, remember to probe around in the chamber first. We’ll only fight the guardian when we know we can take it on. Otherwise, we will have to return to the passage to find another way,” Shreev said.

——

There were at least a few hundred mummy chambers in the Great Pyramid of Giza. They were the nobles of Khufu’s kingdom of the undead. The weakest of them were at least at the Commander-level, but there were many stronger creatures too!

They were treating the Advisor Mummy as the standard. If they stumbled into a creature that was weaker than the Advisor Mummy, they would defeat it and open up the doors so they could follow the route that Shreev came up with to skip the Giant Golden Bird.

However, if the creature was stronger than the Advisor Mummy, they would immediately retreat to the passage or run straight for the exit. If they took the same path they came from, they were more likely to return to the starting point.

Shreev told them since there were a few hundred chambers, there must be chambers with weaker guardians. He would rather visit more chambers than risk his life fighting incredibly strong creatures!

——

Shreev’s plan did work. It was just as he said, there were chambers with weaker guardians. When they took out the guardians, it would open all four of the chamber’s doors. It was like walking in a gargantuan maze. Even though they knew how to quickly reach the exit of the maze, they had no chance of defeating the Golden Bird, so they had to take a longer route in the maze to avoid it. Similarly, every time they encountered a strong guardian they had no chance of defeating, they would use the same method to skip past it.

It was a very stupid plan, since they would have to enter an extra four to eight chambers every time they wanted to skip a chamber. However, it was still better than getting the whole team wiped out!

——

“How many days have we spent in here?” Mu Bai suddenly asked.

“No idea, it’s hard to tell what the time is in here. But I think it has been at least half a month,” Heidi said.

(Editor’s Note: There’s this recent invention called a Watch that would work here…)

“Shreev, are you sure your plan is going to work? We’re not just running around in circles, are we?” Zhao Manyan began to doubt Shreev’s plan.

The route that skipped the chambers was a lot longer than they had imagined, especially since they had to skip a chamber every time they stumbled into a Mummy that they could not defeat. In the end, the number of chambers they had to enter kept stacking up.

“We are definitely on the right track, you have to believe me!” Shreev said.

“But you told us we just need to go through twenty-four chambers to reach the exit, and now you’re telling us it’s thirty-six… I feel like we are all going to die of fatigue at this rate!” Zhao Manyan said.

“I can’t help it, the Mummies in this Great Pyramid of Giza are too strong on average. Every time we want to skip a chamber, it increases the number of chambers we have to go through!” Shreev said helplessly.

“We are all going to lose our minds at this rate,” Meos said.

“I agree.”

“Let’s keep going, we don’t have a choice.”

—

—

Fatigue!

The group insisted on only challenging the weaker guardians after encountering the Golden Bird. Unfortunately, the Great Pyramid of Giza was not so easy to be overcome. They kept finding themselves in chambers guarded by strong Mummies. The numbers of chambers they had to go through to reach their destination eventually reached fifty-six!

They initially thought the Pyramid had a few hundred chambers at most, and that they would eventually reach the chambers they had visited before. That way, they could just go through them without fighting a guardian. However, they had clearly underestimated Khufu’s influence. A few hundred chambers? Based on the number of chambers they had gone through, there were at least a thousand chambers in the Pyramid!

The plan was much more difficult and time-consuming than they first expected. They were on the verge of suffering a mental breakdown.

“How long do we have to stay in here for?”

Every time a person asked the question, it showed that their determination was shaken again.

“By measuring the length of my mustache, I believe we’ve spent two months in this place,” Zhao Manyan leaned against the wall. He was so dispirited that he looked like a mummy himself.

“Why don’t we try our luck against the Golden Bird?”

“I would rather kill myself here!”

“I’m going crazy, f**k these Mummies!”

“How unlucky are we? We keep stumbling into strong Mummies… I guess it’s because we are too weak. If we were at the Super Level, we wouldn’t have to skip so many chambers, keeping up with this never-ending journey,” Shreev sighed.

“Just treat it as a way of training, get yourself together!” Mo Fan was more optimistic than the rest of the team.

It was torture for the team. Mo Fan was still motivated because he was able to claim the Soul Essences from the Mummies they killed. In addition to that, Mo Fan also noticed that if the chamber had a Huntsman Spider on the ceiling, he would obtain even more benefits from killing the Mummy!

It was the only thing that had kept him going for two months!

1596 Electro Cannon

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Heidi were both Space Mages, so they had an abundant supply of water and food with them. They could easily last a long time in the Pyramid.

However, the longer they spent in the Pyramid, the more mentally worn out they were. Regardless of how spacious the chambers were, they were still constantly stuck in a confined space. It was easy for someone to be driven mad in such an environment, not to mention the fatigue from their never-ending fights.

“Let’s go, only thirteen chambers remaining, we can finally make it out of here if we don’t encounter a strong creature,” Shreev said.

“I remember when you said that there were only nine chambers left around a month ago,” Meos said.

“What can I do? We somehow went into a Pharaoh’s tomb, then a Dark Swordmaster’s chamber after that…” Shreev said.

“We are asking for our deaths if we actually fought the Pharaoh, but I still think we should have tried our luck against the Dark Swordmaster!” Mo Fan said.

A Dark Swordmaster was about as strong as the Advisor Mummy. The group believed there was a certain level of luck involved when they defeated the Advisor Mummy, thus they chose to avoid it instead. It ended up increasing the number of chambers they had to go through…

“It’s useless to dwell on it now,” Meos said.

“What I meant was, we should be a little more confident. We don’t necessarily have to skip the chambers with a Ruler-level Mummy. Perhaps we don’t stand a chance against the Ruler-level ones, but we definitely can try our luck against Ruler-inferior creatures like the Dark Swordmaster…” Mo Fan encouraged them.

——

The group had no choice but to keep going, no matter how worn out they were.

Perhaps the Heavens were finally willing to bless them, and they would not encounter any Ruler-level creature in the remaining seven chambers.

And now, there were only six chambers away from reaching the exit!

“Only six left?” Mu Bai confirmed again.

“Mm, only six left, we can finally leave this place if we don’t stumble into a Ruler-level creature for the next six chambers!” Shreev blurted out excitedly.

“Don’t celebrate too early, didn’t we only have three chambers left two weeks ago? What happened then?” Meos said fatalistically.

They went through the passage and arrived at the next chamber.

The chamber had a simple pattern. The bigger the chamber, the stronger the Mummy residing in it. Therefore, the group would always observe the size of the chamber first!

“A tiny one! We are in luck!” Zhao Manyan smiled.

The chamber was extremely small. Judging from their experience over two months, the owner of the chamber was at most a Great Commander-level creature! Anyone in the group could easily deal with it!

“Only five left, let’s keep it up!”

“Now who’s going to deal with this guy?” Mu Bai asked.

“We don’t have to do it ourselves. Let my Mummy handle it!” Meos said.

After fighting in the Pyramid for two months, Meos, Shreev, and Sayed’s undead had grown a lot stronger. They were no longer afraid to face a Commander-level creature in the Advancing Period.

Similarly, Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan had all reached the peak of the Advanced Level. Heidi had achieved the peak Advanced Level long ago. She just needed an opportunity to break through to the Super Level.

Unfortunately, she had been stuck at the peak Advanced Level for half a year. Her cultivation was still the same despite everything they had gone through. Apart from being more experienced in fighting, her cultivation did not improve by much.

On the other hand, since Mo Fan had quite a few Elements to work on, he had been nowhere close to reaching the peak Advanced Level before. However, all five of his Elements had now reached the peak Advanced Level. He had also improved the Advanced Spells of his Lightning, Fire, and Shadow Elements to the fourth-tier!

The Advanced Level was represented by Galaxies, each made up of three hundred and forty-three Stars. In other words, Mo Fan could only improve an Advanced Spell to the fourth-tier by enhancing all three hundred and forty-three Stars with Servant-class Soul Essences.

Luckily, he had currently an endless supply of undead to provide him with the Soul Essences. As long as he was fighting in here, he would never run short on Soul Essences. Mo Fan had stopped feeding Soul Essences to the Magic Medium Ring to increase the capacity of the Summoning Gate. He had been using them to strengthen his Sky-Flame Funeral, Silent Deadly Bolt, and Nyx Regime instead!

The fourth-tier Sky-Flame Funeral and Silent Deadly Bolt were almost as strong as Super Spells. They actually had an advantage over a Super Spell, since they took a shorter time to Channel and required a lower amount of energy. If Mo Fan could find a way out of the Great Pyramid of Giza, not only could he easily beat the crap out of a bunch of Advanced Mages at the same time, he would even dare to fight one or two Super Mages on his own now!

A series of metallic clanks were audible. Mo Fan was trying to estimate his strength when he noticed a familiar Skeleton Mummy standing in front of him!

“Isn’t this guy the lampstand?” Zhao Manyan blurted out. He also recognized the Skeleton Mummy.

The Skeleton Mummy was emitting an aggressive aura. It grabbed a skull of a deer from the pile of bones. It looked extremely weird when it was connected to the Skeleton Mummy’s body.

“I’ll do it,” Mo Fan said, stepping forward.

“Don’t lower your guard. It’s a Great Commander-level creature,” Heidi reminded him.

Mo Fan nodded. He walked a little closer to the Skeleton Mummy. His lightning was flickering like dense spiderwebs under his feet, rumbling deeply.

“Silent Deadly Bolt!” Mo Fan quickly connected the three hundred and forty-three Stars. He could not be more familiar with the process now.

The Stars had a blinding glow. Since Mo Fan had enhanced the Stars multiple times, the purple Star Constellations of the Stars were a lot brighter than other Mages’ Star Constellations too. The Lightning Magic’s urge to fill the world was a lot stronger than before too!

“Electro Cannon!”

Lightning coils around his arms in an exaggerated way, while his body released a strong magnetic field. The lightning accumulated into the dark deadly bolt!

He snapped his arms forward!

He was like a huge electromagnetic cannon priming a massive load. His arms were the barrels of a cannon. As the lightning sprang forward, a strong counter-force knocked the rest of the group behind him flying. It felt like the force produced from the exhaust of an electromagnetic jet!

The lightning fired by the Electro Cannon was even quicker than the Silent Deadly Bolt. It flew horizontally above the bricks, breaking them into pieces even though the lightning never touched them…

“What on Earth… what the hell is that!?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed after stabilizing himself.

The Electro Cannon was clearly not a normal spell. It was something that Mo Fan had modified with his outstanding control. However, the Electro Cannon’s power was clearly higher than the Silent Deadly Bolt!

1597 Leaving the Chambers

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The energy of the Electro Cannon exploded inside the Skeleton Mummy. The deadly rays sparkled like an eerie glimpse of light during a solar eclipse. The lightning surged across its bones and turned them into ashes!

The Skeleton Mummy was knocked into the air by the great force, struck by countless lightning strikes as it tumbled wildly in the air!

Not every part of its body was as sturdy as it seemed. The vulnerable parts were soon destroyed by the energy of the Electro Cannon. Sections of its body collapsed and scattered across the ground.

Ashfrom its bones drifted into the air. The rest of the group stared at the destruction that the Electro Cannon had brought upon the chamber. It took them some time to recover from the shock!

The Skeleton Mummy might not be a Ruler-level creature, yet it was easily one of the strongest Commander-level creatures in the Pyramid. Even so, Mo Fan had crippled it with a single Lightning Spell!

Normally, only a Super Spell had the chance of killing a Commander-level creature in the Advancing Period with a single blow. Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic was clearly very close to the strength of a Super Spell. They could still sense its destructive energy a kilometer away from the impact!

The Skeleton Mummy was seriously injured. The team did not have any trouble taking it out afterwards, and the chamber was soon cleared. All its doors appeared.

“Mo Fan, did you apply the Blessing of the God’s Seal to your Lightning Element?” Shreev could not help but ask.

“Yeah, I chose the Lightning Element,” Mo Fan nodded.

“No wonder… but even with the Blessing of the God’s Seal, your Lightning Magic is still crazily strong,” Shreev said with an envious look.

“Humph, the Blessing of the God’s Seal was meant to be ours!” Meos grunted.

The Blessing of the God’s Seal could permanently increase the base damage of an Element, and was something that every Mage wanted to get their hands on. It was what made Mo Fan as strong as a monster!

“Still dwelling on the past, huh?” Mo Fan replied carelessly.

“But I didn’t think your Lightning Magic would be this strong, even with the Blessing of the God’s Seal and a top-quality Soul-grade Lightning Seed,” Shreev went on.

“It’s because I’m using the fourth-tier Advanced Lightning Spell. I’ve strengthened the Silent Deadly Bolt further,” Mo Fan explained.

Huh?

Did he just say he had enhanced his Advanced Lightning Spell to the fourth tier?

The others immediately turned around with glittering eyes.

“Mo Fan, you need three hundred and forty-three Servant-class Soul Essences to enhance the Advanced Lightning Spell!” Shreev said with a smile. He assumed Mo Fan was joking.

“I know that, I’ve enhanced them all,” Mo Fan said casually.

“For real?” Meos blurted out.

“Can’t you tell after seeing how strong the Electro Cannon was?” Mo Fan pointed out.

The others soon had strange faces. They seemed calm on the surface, yet they all had the urge to simply pin Mo Fan to the ground and beat the crap out of him!

Three hundred and forty-three Servant-class Soul Essences! If the market price for a Servant-class Soul Essence was around five million, it meant Mo Fan had spent 1.7 billion on enhancing the spell!

1.7 billion was a huge sum, even for a Super Mage, yet Mo Fan had used it all JUST on enhancing his Advanced Spell. There was no one more extravagant than him in the world!

“You son of a b**ch, did you use my Soul Essences on it, too? I’m going to kill you!” Sayed yelled angrily as a sudden thought crossed his mind.

Mo Fan dug in his ear casually. He had heard the same thing countless times in the Pyramid, but Sayed never dared to do anything to him. “Your Soul Essences were nowhere enough for it,” Mo Fan sniffed disdainfully.

Zhao Manyan was clearly the most familiar with Mo Fan in the group. He always knew that Mo Fan was the true definition of a nouveau riche. He had already enhanced his Basic and Intermediate Spells. Some of them had even reached the fifth tier…

However, Zhao Manyan did not expect Mo Fan to enhance his Advanced Spell too!

What a baller!

His Zhao Family was considered the richest family in China, and was nothing compared to Mo Fan!

—

The Heavens finally showed some mercy to the group. They successfully defeated all the guardians in the remaining chambers.

Everyone was trembling in relief when they stepped through the door into the last chamber. They had spent more than two months in the Pyramid. If they had failed to find the way out again, they were really going to lose their minds.

Luckily, the guardian of the last chamber was not a Ruler-level creature, and was actually weaker than the Skeleton Mummy. After realizing how strong the creature was, everyone felt like they were bathed in a sacred light and being lifted into the sky!

Finally… their never-ending adventure in the Mummy Chambers finally came to an end. It only took them a little over two months, yet it already felt like years!

—

When they walked to the end of the passage and saw it no longer led them to a chamber, they all sat on the ground and smiled in relief.

“Shreev, do you know? If it was another chamber, I bet I would have already chopped you into pieces by now!” Zhao Manyan patted Shreev on the shoulder.

“We should have more trust in one another. It’s definitely the right way if I’m willing to take the lead!” Shreev replied with a sniff.

They saw a long flight of stairs ahead after leaving the chamber. They had no idea how many stairs there were. Each step was about a meter high, as if the staircase was designed for a giant.

“Are we climbing up? Are you sure Khufu’s chamber is up there?” Mo Fan asked.

“It must be,” Shreev said confidently.

——

The group climbed up the stairs. The stone flight felt like an enormous mountain. They did not reach the top after climbing it for some time.

“Don’t tell me it’s an endless loop again?” Zhao Manyan asked worriedly. He still could not see the top.

“It shouldn’t be, I’m sure it’s going to lead us to Khufu’s chamber!” Shreev insisted.

After climbing for a few minutes, they suddenly noticed an unusual white object, the color of snow. They could only see a corner of the object from their angle. It emitted a serene blue light.

“The Day and Dusk Compass, it must be!” Shreev exclaimed.

The others were overjoyed too!

They knew the journey was going to be dangerous, but they did not expect it to be such torture. Either way, they had still made it in the end!

1598 Shadow Sword vs. Flame Sword

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group was finally able to vent after being tortured for more than two months. They subconsciously increased their pace when they saw the white compass, like prisoners who had caught a glimpse of the sunlight.

Zhao Manyan was leading the way. When he reached the top and was about to finally see the thing that could finally release them from their burden, a dark flicker in the shape of a crescent slashed across his belly!

Blood immediately scattered in the air and splattered on the others a few steps behind.

Zhao Manyan went flying as blood poured out from the cut. Mo Fan quickly dragged him back with Telekinesis when he saw him about to fall further down the stairs.

“Old Zhao!” Mo Fan yelled. From his angle, it looked like Zhao Manyan was almost sliced in half by the dark flicker. The Ring of Venice did activate, yet its defense broke in an instant!

“That f**king hurts!” Zhao Manyan landed on the ground with a pale face. The cut on his belly was very deep. It had most likely destroyed his organs. He was in tears from the immense pain.

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh when he heard Zhao Manyan talking. It was a relief that he was still alive!

Mo Fan quickly fed Zhao Manyan some of the sacred medicine of the Parthenon Temple he had in reserve.

Zhao Manyan’s belly had been sliced open, and blood was pouring out of the cut at an insane rate. Loss of blood was going to take his life in just a few minutes. Mo Fan was well aware of that, and kept pouring the medicine into Zhao Manyan’s mouth as if it was water!

The recovery Potions would keep Zhao Manyan alive and replenish his lost blood. Unfortunately, they did not have a Healer among them. He would have been fine if a Healer was around to mend his wounds while his life was rejuvenated with the help of the sacred Potions.

“I’ll treat his wounds. Watch out for the thing up there!” Mu Bai said.

Mo Fan nodded. He was definitely not experienced in taking care of the wounded. He put on a hard face as he sensed a dark aura surging at him like a wave. He could already guess what the thing was!

“It’s a Dark Swordmaster, be careful!” Zhao Manyan called out.

Mo Fan went up and focused on the top of the stairs. He stared at the pitch-black creature standing beside the Underworld Compass.

The creature was wearing armor imbued with dark magic. Its glossy surface showed it was made of sturdy metal.

The creature was holding a huge sword of death, and circled by a dark aura that had taken many lives. Every time its sword was swung through the air, it would produce ghastly cries that remained in one’s mind, even if they tried to ignore them!

It was riding a black horned horse that flames burning under its hooves. Its body was covered in ridiculous blood-red sacrificial Runes. The Dark Swordmaster sat on the horse with an imperious and noble aura, emanating a strong and cold murderous intent toward all living creatures nearby!

It was one of the Pharaohs’ strongest servants, the Dark Swordmasters!

It was not Mo Fan’s first time encountering a creature brimming with dark energy like this. As a matter of fact, these Dark Swordmasters did not necessarily serve under the Pharaohs. Their true master was the God of Darkness, but because the Dark Swordmasters were everywhere, it made the God of Darkness even more mysterious and honorable!

“That guy is stronger than the Dark Swordmasters we’ve encountered before,” Mo Fan told the others.

The strength of every Dark Swordmaster varied. It was obvious that the Dark Swordmaster defending the Underworld Compass was not just a Ruler-inferior creature, but a true Ruler itself. The suffocating pressure facing Mo Fan was stronger than the ones he had met before.

“What do we do now?” Shreev asked in a trembling voice.

Did they really stand a chance against a real Ruler-level creature?

As a matter of fact, they had not thought they could escape from a Ruler-level creature prior to entering the Pyramid, let alone defeat one!

“What do we do?” Mo Fan had already prepared his Soul-grade Flames. The flames danced around him like phoenixes, “Either it dies, or we die!”

Fight!

The Underworld Compass was right in front of them. Mo Fan had no intention of turning around and leaving. He could finally vent the urge to fight with all his strength against the Dark Swordmaster!

It was the last guardian standing in their way. Khufu obviously thought no one could possibly defeat the Scorpion Lord Medusa and the Giant Golden Bird, so he only allocated a Dark Swordmaster to defend the Underworld Compass. It was something they should be relieved to see!

They should be relieved that it was only a Dark Swordmaster, instead of some incredibly powerful Ruler-level creature that would send them into despair!

No matter how low their chance of winning was, they were able to rely on their own strength to achieve their goal. It was already enough motivation for Mo Fan to fight until the end!

“Little Flame Belle, Possess!”

Mo Fan was well aware of how strong his enemy was. It was his first time relying on his own strength to fight a true Ruler-level creature.

The Demon Element was not really that reliable, after all. He was more inclined to believe in the power that was under his control all the time.

Just treat the Dark Swordmaster as a stepping stone along his path to becoming an honorable Mage!

The huge sword swung through the air again. The eerie screech sounded inside Mo Fan’s mind.

The screech would make a person feel like they were surrounded by vengeful spirits. The spirits that had been slain and tortured by the Dark Swordmaster were trying to inflict fear on Mo Fan. However, Mo Fan was no longer harassed by these petty spirits once he had made up his mind!

The figure of Flame Belle, as transparent as a veil, appeared behind Mo Fan. His control of the Fire Element maximized when he was Possessed by Little Flame Belle. The other two Soul-grade Flames from Little Flame Belle merged perfectly with his body and soul!

“I’m going to defeat you with my bare hands!” Mo Fan’s shout drove the vengeful spirits around him away. A fierce burning aura surrounded him and set the air on fire. Flames continuously filled the area.

“Sword intent!” The Dark Swordmaster raised its sword with a single hand as its deep voice came out from its helmet.

The huge sword hung in the air. A black lightning bolt struck it and filled it with dark energy!

“Darkness Descends!”

The Dark Swordmaster unleashed a formidable aura of darkness. It surged into the surroundings like a storm, covering everything within a few kilometers.

Mo Fan took a few steps back after the aura struck him directly. The Fire Magic spreading from him was suppressed. He was surrounded by darkness, and could no longer see his surroundings clearly.

“Dawnbreak!”

The Dark Swordmaster uttered the name of its sword art in an imperious manner. The huge sword hanging in the air suddenly came down. It was so quick that no one could see how it had swung its sword, nor could they see the angle of the slash. Mo Fan could only see a glimpse of light sweeping through the darkness like the light of dawn.

The sword light was deadly. The darkness was meant to help the Dark Swordmaster lock its sword onto Mo Fan, so he would have no chance of dodging the Dawnbreak slash following it!

A line of blood jetted into the air. Mo Fan, still surrounded by flames, skidded away a certain distance from his initial spot. A thin cut, from which the blood was coming, extended across his chest.

The shadow puppet around two hundred meters away from Mo Fan was sliced in half. The fake flames engulfing it dissipating. A damaged Mantle fell slowly to the ground.

“It can even see through my Dark Noble Mantle’s tricks!” Mo Fan groaned, holding his chest.

Mo Fan knew the Dark Swordmaster had locked its sword intent onto him. He quickly used the Dark Noble Mantle to dodge the slash by leaving a puppet in his initial spot and disguising it with his flames. To his surprise, the Dark Swordmaster’s slash did not even care if it was the puppet or Mo Fan, it simply attacked them both. Luckily, Mo Fan was a Shadow Mage, so his movement in the darkness was not too restricted. Otherwise, there would have been no chance to avoid the slash!

“You have a sword, I have a sword too!” Mo Fan was not satisfied with the outcome of being injured in the first round.

Mo Fan ignored his injury. Such things did not bother him unless he was bleeding profusely.

Three different flames engulfed him and gathered to his hand. The Meteor Scarlet, the Calamity Fire, and the Ardent Sunset assembled the hilt, the blade, and the flames around themselves.

Mo Fan could maintain the Flame Sword for a longer time with his greater control now. He had no clue how to use a sword, so he had just been whacking his enemies with it all along!

“Take this!”

Mo Fan waited until the Flame Sword was completed. He leapt into the air and swung the sword brimming with the energy of the flames at the Dark Swordmaster. Its enormous blade and formidable flames raised a few Groundbreaks around the Dark Swordmaster, further increasing its momentum!

The Dark Swordmaster’s eyes flickered with a hint of disdain through the gaps of its helmet. It indifferently raised its sword while emitting a dark light. Several shadows of its sword stacked up on top of it to form a defensive formation. Despite the strength and raging flames of Mo Fan’s sword, it was able to block them all!

The Dark Swordmaster stared at Mo Fan coldly, like a master of the sword resisting the strongest blow that a rookie holding a wooden sword could deliver. It was able to nullify his attack with ease. At the same time, it was snorting disdainfully at him!

He was dishonoring the art of the sword!

The Dark Swordmaster harrumphed coldly. A strong force suddenly burst out of its sword and knocked Mo Fan and his flames away!

1599 No Backing Off, Confronting with Fury!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The power of the sword knocked Mo Fan flying. He tumbled back through the air.

The Dark Swordmaster’s attacks were not that simple. It suddenly pointed its sword at Mo Fan. One of the sword shadows sprang at Mo Fan before he could regain his balance!

“This guy is really strong!” Mo Fan murmured.

He tried to figure out a way to dodge the attack of the shadow approaching when he noticed a silver Star Constellation forming behind him. It activated as soon as he fell onto it.

“Oh my!” Mo Fan reappeared three hundred meters away, facing the ground.

Mo Fan fell to the ground on his face. His nose was swollen for sure!

That being said, he would rather fall on his face than be hit by the sword shadows. He did not really have much defense to protect himself…

“Don’t be so reckless, you still have us as your teammates!” Heidi called out.

The silver Star Constellation was obviously from her. She had lent Mo Fan a hand to dodge the Dark Swordmaster’s attack!

Mo Fan rose to his feet and called back with a wry smile, “I’m just taking the lead. Someone has to show some courage against a Ruler-level creature. If there’s not someone like me who dares to initiate the fight first, the others would just stand there and wait for their deaths!”

Mo Fan’s way of motivating the others was quite effective. Meos and Shreev had already Summoned their undead.

They both summoned an enormous Great Commander-level Mummy each. The two huge Mummies immediately engaged the Dark Swordmaster after Mo Fan was knocked into the air.

The Dark Swordmaster backed away slightly and pulled on the reins. The black horse neighed and lifted its front limbs!

“Vertical Slash!”

The Dark Swordmaster lifted its sword up high and waited until the horse was almost perpendicular to the ground. As the horse fell back to the ground, the Dark Swordmaster used the momentum to cut down with its sword!

A black wave struck the sturdy body of Meos’ black Mummy like a curtain of water. To everyone’s surprise, it instantly sliced the black Mummy in half, despite its sturdiness!

A single slash! The Dark Swordmaster had sliced Meos’ Mummy in half with a single slash!

Even Meos was shocked. The black Mummy might only be a Commander-level creature, yet she had refined it with all kinds of resources. Its defense greatly surpassed that of an average Commander-level creature, but it was still sliced in half so easily!

Luckily, it was possible to Summon her undead again. Otherwise, this would be a painful loss to her!

Shreev’s Mummy was the same kind. It was meant to be a tank he mainly used to defend himself and stop powerful demon creatures from advancing on him.

Just like Meos’ Mummy, Shreev’s Mummy also died to a single slash. The two huge Mummies could not withstand even a single blow from the Dark Swordmaster!

Meos and Shreev did not have just the one Mummy. They knew they had reached the final stage, so they decisively brought out everything they had, Summoning a bunch of undead.

These undead might not be as strong as the Mummies, but they had no trouble delaying the Dark Swordmaster. They just needed to buy Mo Fan some time, since he was the only person strong enough to inflict damage on the Dark Swordmaster!

“Fiery Dragon Roar!”

Mo Fan was engulfed in flames once again. He was like a burning train, heading straight at the Dark Swordmaster.

The Dark Swordmaster saw Mo Fan charging at it as soon as it killed off the undead. It quickly thrust its sword at the ground!

The huge sword struck the ground in front of the horse, and formed a black barrier encapsulating the Dark Swordmaster and its horse. Mo Fan slammed heavily into the barrier while screaming the cry of a fiery dragon!

The sword in the ground skidded back from the enormous impact. Both the Dark Swordmaster and its horse were knocked back by the collision!

Sparkles scattered across the place. The power of Mo Fan’s charge lasted for a long time, and managed to leave some cracks on the barrier.

The barrier finally broke as the flaming charge was coming to an end. The remaining flames lunged at the Dark Swordmaster and its horse. Their armor reddened in the scorching heat!

The Dark Swordmaster took the initiative to back away. It did not pick up the sword still stuck in the ground. It rode its horse and escaped from the flames instead!

“It didn’t really do much to it…” Meos stared at the Dark Swordmaster. She did not see any sign of its armor breaking.

“Its defense is pretty crazy, too…”

It was extremely difficult to injure a Ruler-level creature. After all, even a Super Spell could only inflict minor injuries on a Ruler-level creature, and Mo Fan’s spells had yet to reach the Super Level!

“You’re asking for your death!” the Dark Swordmaster uttered coldly, staring at the flaming Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was extremely close to the Dark Swordmaster. When it raised its hand, the huge sword stuck to the ground immediately shuddered.

The sword clanked like a hammer had struck it. It shot out of the ground on its own and flew toward the Dark Swordmaster.

The Dark Swordmaster, Mo Fan, and the sword happened to be on a straight line. The sword was heading right at Mo Fan’s back as it was flying back to the Dark Swordmaster.

Mo Fan turned around and quickly dodged to the side when he saw the huge sword, but the sword surprisingly split into several shadows to seal off his escape!

Two sword shadows swept past Mo Fan’s arms. Blood poured out from cuts that were close to reaching the bone!

“Damn it, I can’t dodge them at all!” Mo Fan knew the direction and angle the sword was coming from, but he had still failed to dodge it.

The attacks were too quick; Mo Fan did not have time to use Blink. On top of that, the attacks were sealing off his escape by approaching from certain angles, so he could not use the Fleeing Shadow, either. He tried his best to land in a safe spot, yet he was still injured!

The cuts did not just bleed. A black substance was rising from them, too.

Mo Fan knew it was the darkness corruption. It would nullify all Healing Magic and worsen the injuries over time.

It was important to treat the wounds right away. If the darkness infiltrated his body, his organs would fail rapidly. Unfortunately, Mo Fan did not have time to deal with the deadly injuries. He turned into a lightning ray and forcibly approached the Dark Swordmaster!

Mo Fan was tiny compared to the Dark Swordmaster. However, he knew backing away was not an option. The massive sword that could move on its own had already sealed off his escape. He would be sliced to pieces if he took even a step back!

Since withdrawing was not an option, he had no choice but to attack. The Dark Swordmaster did not expect such a bold move from a human!.

“Take this!” Mo Fan accumulated the power of the three Soul-grade Flames and threw a fist forward with a raging roar!

Not only did lava erupt from the fist, it even triggered a terrifying explosion when it landed on the horse!

Mo Fan knew his punch might not be strong enough to injure the Dark Swordmaster, but its horse did not necessarily have the defense of a Ruler-level creature. Taking out its mount was equivalent to breaking its leg!

Unfortunately, it was not easy to trick the Dark Swordmaster. It tightened its legs around the horse as a substance like mercury quickly spread across the horse, significantly strengthening its defense!

Clang!

The fist landed right on the horse’s chest, yet it felt like it had hit a thick metal sheet. The horse remained standing even though it skidded quite a distance away from the impact.

Mo Fan’s attack failed to leave a scratch on the horse. Even the flames had no effect on it…

Mo Fan was stunned when he saw his attack fail to injure the horse. He looked at the Dark Swordmaster, whose eyes once again flickered with a hint of disdain. However, there was an extra hint of murderous intent this time.

“Imbecile!” the Dark Swordmaster grunted.

The huge sword had returned to its hand. It was pointing straight at Mo Fan!

Mo Fan was less than twenty meters from the Dark Swordmaster. It was no different than standing right under the Ruler-level creature’s sword.

“Mo Fan, you should back away for now!” Shreev yelled.

Mo Fan obviously wanted to back away. However, as soon as he turned around, the Dark Swordmaster could easily slice his head off, considering how quick its attacks were!

He could not back away now. He was going to die if he did!

Mo Fan quickly gathered the flames nearby into a Flame Sword before they dissipated. He took the initiative to swing the burning sword at the Dark Swordmaster’s head.

The Dark Swordmaster raised its sword, too. The black sword and the blazing red sword collided with one another. A strong black energy swept in Mo Fan’s direction like a fierce tornado. Opposite it, the flames charged forward like raging beasts. They were not willing to surrender to the black aura emitted by the sword!

1600 Father-level Protection: Hug of the Sacred Bear

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Dark Swordmaster was in a rush to set up its defense. It assumed Mo Fan was going to back away, so its ruthless sword shadows were aimed in the direction Mo Fan was supposed to escape to. Mo Fan’s flame sword took it by complete surprise!

The Dark Swordmaster was forced to back away from Mo Fan’s raging flames. Mo Fan made use of the chance to distance himself from the Dark Swordmaster.

The Dark Swordmaster quickly recovered. It was greatly ashamed by Mo Fan managing to land a hit on it. It held the sword in a different stance as both it and its horse turned around while they were skidding away!

“Moonback Slash!”

The Dark Swordmaster was a master of sword arts, and still managed to attack even when Mo Fan forced it to back away. A sharp flicker of light swept at Mo Fan. Luckily, Mo Fan did not impatiently follow up with another attack, mainly because he had fought a Dark Swordmaster before. It gave him more space to dodge the Moonblack Slash.

“Blink!”

A silver Star Constellation encapsulated Mo Fan before the slash arrived. He instantly moved two hundred meters away, escaping from the Moonback Slash’s range.

“Phew…” Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh.

He had to be focused at all times while fighting the Dark Swordmaster. He had a feeling that he would die horribly if he lowered his guard even the slightest.

“Mo Fan, let us help you!” Mu Bai said.

“Damn it, how dare it ambush me? I swear I’m going to make it pay!” Zhao Manyan said.

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan remained well back. They clearly knew that the rest of them would be killed instantly if the Dark Swordmaster attacked them with its full strength. They had no choice but to keep their distance from the Dark Swordmaster and let Mo Fan fight it head-on.

“Old Zhao, can you block its attacks?” Mo Fan glanced at Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan’s belly was still bleeding, and he still looked feeble. Mu Bai’s treatment was obviously not as efficient as the Healing Magic. Zhao Manyan was forcing himself to lend Mo Fan a hand, as he knew Mo Fan was struggling in the fight.

Zhao Manyan had almost died just a moment ago, yet he was already forcing himself to lend Mo Fan a hand. He was a true brother, indeed!

“Don’t forget that my Primary Element is actually the Light Element!” Zhao Manyan yelled back.

Light was strong against darkness. The Dark Swordmaster was obviously vulnerable to the Light Element, but Mo Fan did not have access to any Light Magic. Otherwise, the single-target Light Super Spell, the Demon Judgment Sword, would be enough to inflict serious damage on the Dark Swordmaster!

“Sure!” Mo Fan nodded.

“I’ll get rid of its armor first!” Zhao Manyan’s Channeling speed did not slow down much, despite his injuries.

Zhao Manyan had brought along quite a lot of magic Equipment. He first tossed a Brilliant Light into the air above the Dark Swordmaster. When the sacred light shone down upon the Dark Swordmaster, its body began to burn as if it was suddenly inside a scorching furnace.

The spell was only meant to buy some time. If the Dark Swordmaster kept attacking them, they would have no chance to Channel their spells!

The Brilliant Light was surprisingly effective, managing to confuse the Dark Swordmaster for a moment. When the Dark Swordmaster realized the spell was not really doing much to it, it began to prepare its next wave of attacks.

The Dark Swordmaster glanced at Mo Fan and the others, its eyes emitting an evil red glow. As it raised its huge sword into the air, a cloudy black wind wrapped around it like a python.

The presence of Dark Magic was stronger inside the Pyramid. As a Shadow Mage, Mo Fan could sense the dark substance flowing toward the Dark Swordmaster, as if it was being drawn into a vortex.

“Don’t let it accumulate the dark energy!” Mo Fan shouted to the others when he realized the creature was trying to execute a terrifying sword art.

The others were uneasy too, and immediately unleashed their attacks. Heidi used her specialty, the Will Cannon. Mu Bai tossed his Ice Daggers at the Dark Swordmaster. Meos, Shreev, and Sayed used their other Elements, too. Even though their other Elements were not as impressive as their Undead Element, they still had some reliable spells up in their sleeves!

Magic of different Elements surged in the Dark Swordmaster’s direction. To their surprise, the black tornado circling around the Dark Swordmaster turned out to be some kind of protection while it was busy accumulating its strength. The black tornado greatly weakened the spells aimed at it.

The leftovers of the Ice Dagger, Will Cannon, and lightning bolts barely left any scratches on the Dark Swordmaster’s armor. As the vortex containing the dark energy gradually enlarged, the Dark Swordmaster began to resemble a terrifying volcano that was going to erupt at any second!

“We can’t break through its defense. It feels like it’s going to wipe us out with a single move!” Mu Bai shouted.

They had failed to break through the protection of the black tornado even when they all attacked at the same time. The outstanding strength of the Ruler-level creature once again generated a strong sense of defeat in the group.

“Come to me; I won’t let it kill anyone as long as I’m still standing!” Zhao Manyan declared.

They had no reason to preserve their strength any longer. A brilliant golden light burst out of Zhao Manyan’s body. It felt like the light had turned his body into some sturdy golden metal. His skin had a metallic sheen. In Mo Fan’s eyes, he had transformed into an iron monk!

“Hug of the Sacred Bear!”

The light that Zhao Manyan was emitting grew rapidly, now having the faint outline of an enormous bear. The sacred golden bear seemed like another powerful soul formerly concealed inside Zhao Manyan’s body. As he released it, the silhouette of the sacred bear extended its arms and roared provokingly at the Dark Swordmaster!

The light shone brilliantly in the place, weakening the strong presence of the dark magic. Zhao Manyan stood in front of the group, the golden silhouette of a majestic sacred bear above him, the others hiding behind him. They could clearly feel the pressure from the Dark Swordmaster weakening significantly!

“Dark Ultimate: Sword Vortex!”

The Dark Swordmaster finished accumulating its strength. It waved its sword with extraordinary might.

It was treating the sword as a medium to unleash the dark energy it had accumulated. The huge sword rapidly transformed the huge amount of dark energy into a destructive force: a vortex covering a distance of around two hundred meters!

The vortex was made up of thousands of black swords spinning at insane speed, continuously firing sword shadows in all directions.

The sword shadows were not that much of a threat, but the terrifying sword vortex was moving straight toward the group. Even though it was moving slowly, it was dragging the group toward it with its vacuum!

A Dark Sword Vortex could easily slaughter an entire army if it was used on a battlefield. It would instantly kill any Advanced Mage caught inside it!

“Old Zhao!” Mo Fan was a little worried after seeing how unusual the attack was.

“I can hold my ground, just kill it with everything you have!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Zhao Manyan rarely used the Hug of Sacred Bear. It was a piece of magic Equipment that his father had given him. He normally commemorated his father with it.

However, it was no longer about remembering his late father if he did not use it at a time like this. His father was clearly going to beat him to death in the afterlife if he died before having any children abnd ensured the continuity of his family!

“Old man, it’s all you now.” Zhao Manyan closed his eyes. He had never used this magic Equipment in combat before, so he was unsure of its strength.

What if the magic Equipment was the kind that would grow after fulfilling certain requirements? What if the thing was not impressive out of the box? He was going to die for sure! How could a Ruler-level creature’s attack possibly allow some defensive Equipment that had yet to reach its full potential challenge it?

The swords struck the golden bear heavily, generating a series of piercing clanks. The noise grew even louder when the center of the sword vortex closed in on the group.

The noise alone was deafening. They could easily imagine how horribly they would die if they were caught by the sword vortex!

The Hug of the Sacred Bear was surprisingly sturdy. It did not show any sign of collapsing, even after it was completely inside the sword vortex. Even Zhao Manyan himself was quite surprised!

They all realized how deadly the Dark Sword Vortex was. It felt like they had been dragged into a sea of swords, where countless deadly swords kept slashing at them like a storm. However, the group standing behind the Hug of the Sacred Bear was completely unharmed. It even separated the icy aura of the darkness from them! They were not afraid at all…

“Old Zhao, you f**king awesome!” Even Mu Bai, who normally despised Zhao Manyan, had a totally different view of him now!

The strongest attack of a Ruler-level creature was deadly even to Super Mages. It would kill anyone without the protection of a Super Spell in an instant, let alone a bunch of Advanced Mages like them!

However, Zhao Manyan had perfectly protected them all from the attack. Even the Dark Swordmaster did not expect it!

This…this…” Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded.

He never realized he had such an impressive defensive item. He always thought his father had given it to him so he could mess around. Putting aside his excuse of not using it because it was a gift from his father, he had always assumed the Wooden Clapper was stronger than this item, which required half his energy each time he used it!

To his surprise, the defense of the thing was insanely strong. It was like his father was standing in front of him, protecting him from all harm!

A protection that perfectly nullified the attack of a Ruler-level creature! Zhao Manyan could not imagine it. It was truly a gift from his father. The insignificant-looking gift turned out to be a life-guaranteeing sacred artifact! Why did he only realize it now? Why did he have to keep it back as a token of remembering his father, like an idiot? He could have used it on many occasions!

1601 Thunderous Wild Electro Cannon

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Go ahead and attack it, I think I can hold on for some time!” Zhao Manyan was feeling confident again.

“Our attacks can at most leave a few scratches on the Ruler-level creature. It doesn’t matter how many times we attack it!” Meos said.

“Attack me, then!” Mo Fan said.

The others turned to Mo Fan standing a distance away from them.

“Attack you? Are you insane?” Mu Bai said.

“I can transform all the damage into Lightning Magic. The Lightning Magic is a lot more penetrating than the rest of the Elements. We have to use the Lightning Element to defeat the Dark Swordmaster. Did you forget how I took out the Advisor Mummy?” Mo Fan shot back.

“Do as he says!” Zhao Manyan said.

The rest of the team were doubtful about Mo Fan’s decision, yet they still directed their spells at him.

“Hand of Silent Thunder!”

Mo Fan activated the Equipment that was literally his only useful defensive item. A huge purple hand loomed over him and transformed the energy of the other Elements into the Lightning Element. Mo Fan was like a powerful magnet, rapidly absorbing energy from all directions.

“Heidi, use your Chaotic Vortex!” Mo Fan called out.

Heidi was stunned for a moment, before suddenly recalling someone mentioning to her that Mo Fan had used the same move to defeat Zorro during the World College Tournament!

Heidi nodded her acknowledgment, summoning a Chaotic Vortex between her and Mo Fan.

She knew Mo Fan needed a ridiculous amount of energy, so she even enhanced the Chaotic Vortex with her Equipment to increase its efficiency another fifty percent. She even stacked the Chaotic Vortex up with her Innate Talent!

No one else could cast a second spell while focusing on the first spell. As Heidi stacked up the vortexes, it further increased their capacity!

“Lightning Tyrant!”

Mo Fan released his Domain and unleashed all the lightning energy he had accumulated into Heidi’s Chaotic Vortex.

The lightning flickering wildly around him sprang forward as soon as the gate opened. The lightning dove into Heidi’s Chaotic Vortex, and immediately changed color. The vortex itself suddenly turned into a stormy cloud with lightning coming out of it!

“Release it back at me when you can’t hold it any longer!” Mo Fan said.

The lightning sprang back and forth between Heidi and Mo Fan like a thundering heartbeat. The lightning between them was so dense that it looked like a fierce tide of liquid electricity, glowing dark purple.

Mo Fan’s lightning was ridiculously strong, especially after it was enhanced by the Blessing of the God’s Seal. Heidi’s Chaotic Vortex soon reached its limit.

There was a limit to the amount of energy that a Chaotic Vortex could absorb; given the size of Heidi’s Chaotic Vortex, it should have been able to hold the energy of between ten to twenty Advanced Spells. However, Mo Fan’s lightning had filled it in no time.

“I can’t hold it any longer!” Heidi exclaimed, her face pale. If she waited any further, she would no longer able to reverse the Chaotic Vortex!

Heidi clenched her teeth and spun the Chaotic Vortex in the opposite direction, directing the strengthened Lightning Magic back at Mo Fan. A terrifying surge of lightning headed right at him!

Heidi was actually quite worried about Mo Fan. The energy was insanely strong. She was afraid that the lightning would go right through him!

Mo Fan’s body was glowing with lightning. His sturdy flesh continued to absorb the lightning that had been strengthened by the Chaotic Vortex. For an instant, Mo Fan thought his body was going to explode.

“This time, I swear I’m going to blast you to the ground!” Mo Fan endured the pain from the lightning with a wild grin.

The lightning arcs were as thick as the giant eels deep in the ocean, bursting out of Mo Fan’s body uncontrollably. An uneasy presence lingered in the air, as if the lightning of the judgment day was going to descend from the sky in any second!

“Thunderous Wild Electro Cannon!”

As he drove his arms forward, the restless lightning finally found its exit!

Their surroundings fell into darkness from the brightness of the lightning. The resulting purple lightning bolt was stunning, bringing great pressure down on the others, as if they were lifting their eyes to stare right at the blazing sun!

The wild lightning released by the Electro Cannon had insane speed and power. As the lightning bolt landed on its target, a destructive shockwave exploded, and surged outward in a ring!

The Dark Swordmaster lifted its sword to form a dark barrier to protect itself. However, the Dark Swordmaster’s defense was not impenetrable. It eventually broke into pieces, failing to withstand the strength of the lightning bolt and its destructive shockwave!

The destructive energy swallowed the Dark Swordmaster and its horse. The Dark Swordmaster, who had been calm throughout the fight, finally sensed a power that could threaten its life.

Its horse was devoured by the destructive shockwave, and was disintegrated immediately by hundreds of lightning bolts. Even the quicksilver protection covering it failed to defend it. After all, the Dark-horned Horse was not a Ruler-level creature, only the Dark Swordmaster was. Its mount’s defense was not that impressive!

The surging lightning grandly displayed its outstanding ability to penetrate its target. It drove right through the Dark Swordmaster’s armor and inflicted serious damage on the creature!

“Is…is he really human?” Shreev stared at Mo Fan with a blank face. They were the only words he could find after some time.

It was impossible for an Advanced Mage to deal serious damage to a Ruler-level creature, but Mo Fan had actually done it! The Dark Swordmaster’s broken armor had holes all over it. Even the huge sword in its hand had holes in it now!

Even Zhao Manyan did not expect Mo Fan’s attack to be so terrifying. He was indeed worthy of the nickname ‘The Magic Cannon’!

Lightning continued to flicker and crackle softly around Mo Fan. He was panting heavily, staring at the area destroyed by his Lightning Magic.

“The fourth-tier Silent Deadly Bolt and the lightning overload is a lot stronger than the previous tiers!” Mo Fan mumbled to himself. He was still wearing the same wild grin he had before!

The Electro Cannon was already an insanely destructive spell that could easily eliminate a Great Commander-level creature, or even a Ruler-level creature in the Advancing Period. It was remarkably close to the damage of a Super Spell.

On top of that, Mo Fan had also used the Hand of Silent Thunder to absorb an insane amount of energy from other Elements and direct it at the Chaotic Vortex. The Chaotic Vortex reflected the energy back after strengthening it, allowing his Lightning Magic to multiply several times!

With the Electro Cannon as the base spell and the lightning overload, even a true Ruler-level creature like the Dark Swordmaster struggled against the destructive energy Mo Fan had released in the end!

Awesome!

If he had a Chaos Mage with him and Zhao Manyan standing in front of him like a tortoise shell, he would have no trouble blasting a Ruler-level creature or a Super Mage into pieces, as long as he had time to prepare his attack!

“I’ve destroyed its armor. Don’t just stand there! Keep it up, a Ruler-level creature won’t die so easily!” Mo Fan shouted out when he saw the others still gaping in astonishment after witnessing his spell.

The rest of the team was jolted to their senses. They quickly cast a series of Advanced Spells at the Dark Swordmaster that was now lying on the ground.

Their Advanced Spells were effective now that the Dark Swordmaster’s armor was broken, especially spells of the Light Element, which was naturally deadly against Darkness Creatures. Mo Fan had gotten rid of the Dark Swordmaster’s defense, so as the Plummeting Rays poured down on it, every ray of light inflicted enormous pain on the creature.

The thing inside the Dark Swordmaster’s armor was most likely undead. They could simply treat it as a Mummy wearing armor granted to it by the Dark Contract. Without the protection of the armor, the Mummy was no longer a threat!

Zhao Manyan and Meos were both Light Mages, but Zhao Manyan’s Light Magic was stronger. He also had a powerful Deathstrike item for Light Magic, a Spear resembling a shining wing. He charged boldly at the Dark Swordmaster while the Hug of the Sacred Bear still persisted!

The light spear thrust forward continuously with a blossoming light, leaving a bunch of holes in the Dark Swordmaster’s chest. The wounds were burning from the light, forcing the Dark Swordmaster to retreat for its life.

The others had even more chances to attack as the Ruler-level creature backed away!

Mo Fan was as strong as an ox. He had already recovered despite the pain from the previous attack.

Lightning was not the only Element he could rely on. Since the Dark Swordmaster was vulnerable after it was injured by the Lightning and Light Magic, the gap between him and the Dark Swordmaster was no longer as huge as before, and he could fight it again while being Possessed by Little Flame Belle!

Mo Fan was not afraid of fighting in close combat when he was Possessed by Little Flame Belle!

“Rocket Wings!”

Burning feathers emerged from Mo Fan’s back, the scorching wings turning into powerful propellants. The flames engulfed Mo Fan and turned him into a burning missile, charging imperiously right at the Dark Swordmaster that was now in a hard spot!

1602 Wolf Wave Attack

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Dark Swordmaster was surprisingly tough, and was still standing despite being attacked continuously now. It was enraged when it saw Mo Fan charging at it!

It simply ignored Mu Bai and Meos’ spells. The ice spikes and light daggers stabbed into its body as it forcibly summoned its huge sword back to it while a black aura engulfed it!

“One-Word Slash!”

The Dark Swordmaster pointed its sword, and black sword intent thrust at Mo Fan in a straight line.

Mo Fan was currently in mid-air. He was familiar with the Dark Swordmaster’s move. Asha’ruiya’s Dark Swordmaster had used the same move on him!

Using the swiftness of the sword to maximize its damage. The sword could instantly kill its target if it hit!

The Dark Swordmaster could also blink forward with the move, going from the point it drew its sword to the point the slash ended at. The Dark Swordmaster was planning to kill him first, then take Mu Bai and Meos out too!

The Dark Swordmaster could easily kill the two Advanced Mages!

Mo Fan clenched his teeth. He would not dodge the attack! He would break its sword with his fist!

“Rocket Wings: Meteorite Fist!”

Mo Fan transformed into a meteorite. His fist enlarged after it was engulfed by the three Soul-grade Flames. He went right at the Dark Swordmaster’s attack with the propulsion from the Fiery Wings.

The black sword flickered past in a straight line!

Mo Fan’s Meteorite Fist looked unstoppable, but the terrifying sword also possessed a remarkable power!

Blood suddenly poured out from Mo Fan’s punching arm.

Mo Fan did not feel much pain, yet he saw his right arm separate from his body. The arm spun away, blood scattering in the air. It landed a few dozen meters away and rolled across the ground.

The Meteorite Fist had stopped the Dark Swordmaster from moving past Mo Fan; it was instead knocked flying by Mo Fan’s punch. It had to stick its sword into the ground to stop itself!

The Dark Swordmaster lowered its head and saw the armor on its chest breaking into pieces. Zhao Manyan’s light spear had already left quite a few holes on it, but Mo Fan’s Meteorite Fist had completely destroyed it!

“Little Flame Belle, it’s your turn!” Mo Fan could sense no pain. However, a black mist had surrounded him and stopped him from moving.

He could not move, but Little Flame Belle could. He decisively separated himself from her!

Little Flame Belle was infuriated. How dare this pitch-black creature hurt her father!

The Flame Belle floated in the air while gathering her Fire Magic. The blazing flames combined into a raging phoenix above her.

The phoenix spread its wings before diving at the Dark Swordmaster with all the Flame Belle’s rage!

The flames howled like the wind when the phoenix collided with the Dark Swordmaster and sent it flying again. The flames spread wildly and poured into the Dark Swordmaster’s armor.

The creature inside the armor cried out in pain. It did not expect it to suffer serious injuries when it was going up against a bunch of insignificant human Mages!

“Come out here, wear it out and kill it!” Mo Fan knew it was time to Summon his powerful army of wolves. “Summoning Gate: Beast Tide!”

Mo Fan cast the Summoning Gate while Little Flame Belle kept the Dark Swordmaster busy.

Countless howls were heard from the gate, followed by many magnificent figures erupting forth. A few of the clumsy Enormous White Wolves had changed significantly. Their build had improved, their hair was elegant, and most importantly, they all had a black crescent with a hint of nobility and savagery on their forehead!

“Moon-Devouring White Wolves?” Shreev recognized the wolves immediately. His face was filled with shock.

The Moon-Devouring White Wolves were Commander-level Summoned Beasts! Mo Fan’s Summoning Gate was already strong enough to Summon Commander-level creatures! More importantly, it did not Summon just one or two Moon-Devouring White Wolves!

Nine Moon-Devouring White Wolves charged out of the Summoning Gate, noble yet elegant. The others could only see blurred white figures running past as the wolves were sprinting by.

These Moon-Devouring White Wolves were only the leaders of the pack. Behind them, an army of white wolves rushed out of the gate like a bursting dam!

“Go and kill it!” Mo Fan pointed forward with his remaining arm. He was extremely excited.

The wolf tide soon dominated the scene. The others subconsciously backed away.

The Moon-devouring White Wolves led the way. The nine Commander-level creatures pounced at the Dark Swordmaster, who was now swaying a little.

The Dark Swordmaster had impressive vitality, and was still standing despite the injuries it had suffered. It raised its sword and swung it around wildly. It managed to drive a few of the Moon-Devouring White Wolves back, but the rest of them were able to attack it from different angles. They either bit off a piece of its remaining armor, or left a deep gouge on it.

The Enormous White Wolves joined the fight, too. These wolves had sturdy skin and thick flesh. The Dark Swordmaster struggled to hold its ground when so many of them were ramming it at the same time.

In addition to that, the insane number of White-Marked Wolves was quite a nuisance for the Dark Swordmaster. They kept jumping around, aiming for its wounds. The Dark Swordmaster did manage to kill some of them while waving its sword around, yet it did not really make a difference!

The Flame Belle did not stop attacking with her flames as the wolves were keeping the Dark Swordmaster busy. It had no choice but to back away. It was covered in more and more injuries as time went on!

“Let’s see if you can survive this!” Mo Fan cursed it.

Mo Fan had not Summoned the wolf army right at the beginning. If he had done so while the Dark Swordmaster was still healthy, the wolves would only have ended up as cannon fodder. Even the nine Moon-Devouring White Wolves would have struggled to stay alive!

The Dark Swordmaster was now suffering from serious injuries, yet was not finished; it was not so easy to kill a Ruler-level creature. If Mo Fan had kept attacking recklessly, the creature might use everything it had left to kill him. Therefore, he decided to Summon the wolf army now so they could abuse their numbers. Not only would he minimize the losses, the wolves would eventually wear out the Dark Swordmaster!

1603 Wearing It Out Slowly

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Nine Moon-Devouring White Wolves were remarkably strong. They were led by the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, whose true power had awakened under the presence of Ice Magic. Meanwhile, the Flame Belle kept tossing flames down from the sky. The Dark Swordmaster was struggling to fend off eleven Commander-level creatures attacking it simultaneously!

The Moon-Devouring White Wolves had been fighting alongside one another for a long time, and their synergy was rather impressive. Every time the Dark Swordmaster tried to execute a deadly blow, some Moon-Devouring White Wolves would immediately target the Dark Swordmaster’s wounds. The Dark Swordmaster was constantly being suppressed, and could only vent its anger on the White-Marked Wolves.

The White-Marked Wolves were only Warrior-level creatures, too weak compared to a Ruler-level creature. Even the slightest slash of the sword could kill them instantly. However, the White-Marked Wolves kept pouncing on it regardless. Their boldness completely overwhelmed the Dark Swordmaster!

Even Warrior-level creatures were attacking recklessly. Wasn’t that a clear indication that the Ruler-level creature was already at its limit?

Meos, Mu Bai, and Heidi knew that their victory was within reach now. They immediately put in more effort. Meos Summoned a whole bunch of undead to join the fight.

“Mo Fan, let my undead take the hits instead!” Meos said.

“Sure!”

Most undead could be reborn if they were dead, but Mo Fan’s Summoned Beasts were dead once they were killed. It was not Meos’ first time seeing Mo Fan Summon the white wolves. They were clearly his own Summoned Beasts, instead of some random beasts from the Summoning Plane. Meos could not stand to watch them bleed and die, especially knowing how serious Mo Fan’s injuries were…

“Sayed, what are you waiting for? We can almost make it out of here!” Meos said, glaring at Sayed.

Even though Sayed could not wait to take his revenge on Mo Fan, he knew it was more important for them to take out the Dark Swordmaster together. He stopped dithering and Summoned all his undead.

His undead were not that strong, but he could still use them as cannon fodder, so that the Dark Swordmaster would have no chance of attacking Mo Fan’s Summoned Beasts!

The undead significantly relieved the pressure on Mo Fan’s shoulders. The Dark Swordmaster was aiming for the White-Marked Wolves, since it could kill a bunch of them with every slash. Therefore, it was more suitable for the undead to take the attacks instead!

“Awooo!”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf finally made a solid contribution to the fight, his claws tearing through the Dark Swordmaster’s armored back. The Dark Swordmaster’s aura weakened greatly when the Flying Creek Snow Wolf tore the plate off its back.

The Dark Swordmaster was still holding its ground by force of will. It was not willing to die at the hands of these humans, and remained standing despite the serious injuries it was suffering.

However, its energy was depleting, its cuts getting weaker. Even its reaction speed was dropping.

The Flame Belle let out a cry as she gathered nine enormous fireballs. They began to fall from the sky like tiny meteorites, heading straight for the Dark Swordmaster.

The nine fireballs caused a huge explosion. The Dark Swordmaster finally reached its limit amid the raging flames. Its helmet dropped to the ground first, followed by its sword. Its remaining armor fell to the ground piece by piece…

“It’s dead, it’s finally dead!” Heidi blurted out in excitement.

The Dark Swordmaster’s death marked the end of their adventure in the Pyramid. It was a victory!

Being stuck in the Pyramid for so long was enough to drive anyone mad. For the rest of their lives, they would never forget how they had managed to finally reach the end with Shreev’s torturous strategy and witness the incredible strength Mo Fan had displayed to defeat a real Ruler-level creature.

Heidi had no idea she would be involved in such an unforgettable adventure when she left the Alps Institute!

“HAHAHA, we can finally leave this annoying place. When I go back to the city, I’ll eat all the delicacies and hook up with some beautiful ladies. I’ll battle them for three days and nights straight!” Zhao Manyan burst out laughing.

“Three days and nights? Aren’t you scared that you’ll die on someone’s belly?” Mu Bai replied with a smile.

“I’m more than willing to die like that! Mo Fan, don’t you agree… huh? Where’s Mo Fan?” Zhao Manyan looked around. He was terrified when he could not find Mo Fan.

He took a closer look around and saw Mo Fan lying on the ground. A kind of black substance was coming out from the cut that had severed his arm, as blood kept pouring out of it.

“Holy crap, Mo Fan, don’t you die on me! Khufu won’t treat you as his guest, even if you die here!” Zhao Manyan immediately ran up to Mo Fan.

Mu Bai immediately stopped the bleeding, using his own way of sealing off the wound with bugs.

The Dark Swordmaster’s sword held the strong corrupting power of darkness. Luckily, Mo Fan was a Shadow Mage, and the Fiendish Night was protecting him. Otherwise, the darkness from the cuts all over his body would have eventually taken his life.

The others soon noticed Mo Fan’s aura slowly recovering. He must have fainted due to excessive loss of blood.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf returned with Mo Fan’s severed limb, putting it down beside Mo Fan. When Mo Fan finally regained consciousness, he glanced at the arm that had rotted from corruption and shook his head, “Forget it, I won’t need it anymore. I don’t think it’s possible to connect it back.”

“Leave it for now. Once we get out of this place, you can visit the Parthenon Temple and ask them to heal you with their Healing Magic. Your arm will soon grow out on its own,” Zhao Manyan assured him.

A normal person would be crippled if they were seriously injured by Dark Magic. A Healer could only reconnect severed body parts if they were still in good condition and not damaged by poison, dark magic, or the Curse Element. However, the Dark Swordmaster’s darkness was extremely corrosive. It would be a relief for most Mages to just stay alive; there would be no chance for them to recover their lost limbs!

Luckily, Mo Fan was currently like the Parthenon Temple’s son-in-law. If Xinxia knew Mo Fan had lost his arm, she would summon all Muses that were good at treating injuries dealt by Dark Magic to give Mo Fan presidential-level treatment.

“How is it? Is that the Underworld Compass we are looking for?” Mo Fan asked once he realized his life was not in danger.

“Yes, it’s the Day and Dusk Compass!” Shreev declared.

1604 Khufu, Be Ready For Your Punishment!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, how did you recover so quickly? You looked like you were on the brink of death just a moment ago!” Meos was shocked to see Mo Fan already in good shape.

The others were injured from the fighting, too. They had yet to fully recover, but Mo Fan was already vigorous and lively. They began to wonder if his blood was mixed with the blood of some demon creatures!

“By the way, did you loot the Dark Swordmaster’s remains while I was unconscious?” Mo Fan remembered abruptly.

Mo Fan was obviously not going to believe that a Ruler-level creature did not drop anything useful!

“Still thinking about money at a time like this! We weren’t that lucky. There’s nothing valuable apart from its corpse. Sayed did take its Soul Remnant,” Meos informed him.

“You…you took so many of my Soul Essences, so what if I took the Ruler-level Soul Remnant? Don’t…don’t force me!” Sayed exclaimed, pointing at Mo Fan, immediately on his guard.

“Are you sure it was a Soul Remnant, not a Soul Essence?” Mo Fan asked deliberately.

A Ruler-level Soul Remnant was somewhat valuable, but it was nowhere close to the value of a Soul Essence. If it was a Ruler-level Soul Essence, even a bunch of Super Mages would fight one another for it!

“Anyway… I’m not going to back away this time. I’ve already refined it, so you won’t be able to take it away from me!” Sayed said.

“Look at you. Forget it; if it’s just a Soul Remnant, you can take it to compensation for your loss,” Mo Fan smiled. He could not be bothered arguing with Sayed over a Soul Remnant.

A Ruler-level Soul Remnant was not as valuable as the Soul Essences he had taken from Sayed. Besides, he and Mu Bai had secretly claimed all the energy from the Huntsman Spiders in the Pyramid. It was the most valuable loot they had gotten from the adventure. The was no reason for Mo Fan to waste his time on trivial matters. After all, the Soul Remnant was not that useful to him!

Sayed let out a relieved sigh after hearing Mo Fan’s response. The Ruler-level Soul Remnant might not be important to Mo Fan, but it was very important to him!

His Death Saber Mummy was of the same species as the Dark Swordmaster. A Ruler-level Soul Remnant might not be sold at a high price in the market, but it was out of stock at all times, not to mention that the Soul Remnant was perfectly compatible with his Death Saber Mummy!

In Sayed’s opinion, the Ruler-level Soul Remnant was more useful than the Commander-level Soul Essences he had lost. Therefore, he boldly took the Ruler-level Soul Remnant while Mo Fan was unconscious. He was, however, very worried that the guy would fall out with him again when he woke up. To his relief, the savage was being reasonable for once!

“How about the Sword? Did anyone check it already?” Mo Fan asked, not giving up. How could the Dark Swordmaster not drop any valuable loot? It was a disgrace to the Ruler-level creatures!

“Who cares about the Sword? We are all Mages, do you think we can use a demon creature’s weapon?” Zhao Manyan replied.

Mo Fan went forward and inspected the Dark Swordmaster’s Sword with his Will. An icy power suddenly penetrated his Spiritual World, sending a great chill down his spine!

“Oh my, such a strong presence of darkness!” Mo Fan subconsciously took a few steps back.

He had just recovered from his injuries, and his mind was still in a weak state. He almost failed to defend himself from the dark energy!

“So? What did you find?” Heidi asked.

“The good stuff is in the Sword. None of you are Shadow Mages, so you didn’t realize it!” Mo Fan grinned. He was glad that he had been curious enough to inspect the Sword.

Mo Fan was quite interested in the Sword. The Dark Swordmaster had kept holding it high up in the air, as if it was declaring something every time it used a powerful move.

Dark Magic originated from the God of Darkness. Both a Darkness Creature or a Mage would have to sign a Dark Contract with it to obtain its power. Mo Fan had no clue what kind of contract existed between the Darkness Creatures and the God of Darkness, but as a Mage, he had to contribute his energy to the God of Darkness in exchange for the dark energy.

Therefore, Mo Fan could not help but think that the Darkness Creatures were communicating with the God of Darkness through some medium!

When Mo Fan inspected the Sword, he discovered that its Dark energy had not dissipated completely. It meant the Sword was the source of the Dark Swordmaster’s Dark energy!

“Since none of you can claim it, I will gladly take it!” Mo Fan touched the handle of the Dark Swordmaster’s Sword.

A viscous black substance surfaced on the sword. It flowed from the tip up to the hilt, before making its way to Mo Fan’s palm.

“Mo Fan, what are you doing? Don’t tell me you have decided to practice the art of the sword and become a magic swordsman!?” Zhao Manyan ventured.

“Magic swordsman my ass, do you think we are in a novel now? Do you think I can learn both magic and martial arts? The Sword contains the Darkness essence left by the Dark Swordmaster. You can just think of it as a Dark Substance. Since the Dark Swordmaster is dead, the ownerless Dark Substance will cling to any living creature with the Dark energy. It will either grow or dissipate on its own and become particles of Dark Magic in the air… I’m actually leading the Dark Substance that has nowhere to go in the right direction, don’t you agree?” Mo Fan explained.

“What bullshit are you talking about? You’re just absorbing the Dark energy. Doesn’t that mean your Dark Substance will become stronger from it?” Heidi said.

“HAHA, of course it’s going to help my Fiendish Night improve!” Mo Fan laughed.

“Why do you always end up with the good stuff?” Zhao Manyan sighed in resignation.

“I sacrificed my right arm for it. I’m not you who messes around whenever you visit a new city. Do you have any idea how important my right hand is to me? So you’re telling me I’m not worthy to claim the Dark Substance?” Mo Fan said righteously.

Mo Fan slowly guided the Dark Substance into his body so it could merge with his soul. Since the Fiendish Night had already merged with his soul, how could it possibly give up on the ownerless Dark Substance? It immediately devoured it all!

————-

“I’m done with the calculations. If you rotate the pointer to here, it will point the deathlight at the Island of Oblivion!” Shreev declared.

“I’ll do it,” Mo Fan volunteered. He looked at the white pointer on the compass.

It was around a meter long. Mo Fan tried rotating it to the spot Shreev mentioned.

“Ugh!” Moving the pointer was harder than Mo Fan had expected. He was struggling to rotate it.

“What’s happening? I can’t rotate it,” Mo Fan said.

“Try harder,” Shreev said.

Mo Fan used a greater force this time, but the pointer still did not budge still. The others began to look gloomy.

“Seriously? We’ve tried so hard to get here, yet we can’t even move the pointer? Is there some kind of magic formation on it? It doesn’t look like there’s any magic on it. It doesn’t make any sense!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“It’s not protected by magic. I already checked it. Strange, why can’t you rotate it? Mo Fan, try again with a greater force. Use your Space Magic too,” Shreev suggested.

Mo Fan nodded. He applied the Space Magic to his left hand to increase his might, and tried rotating the pointer again. It did make some noise, but it did not move in the direction he was trying to rotate it into!

Mo Fan’s forehead was covered in sweat.

He might only have a left hand, but it still did not explain why he had failed to move the pointer. There had to be some other secrets about the Underworld Compass…

“What should we do now? If we can’t move the pointer, we won’t be able to manipulate the deathlight, which means our initial plan to leave this place isn’t going to work,” Meos blurted out worriedly.

Meos began to panic, she was losing hope. To think that something like this would happen after they had come so far…

“I thought we were done here, but…” Mo Fan let out a sigh.

Everyone fell silent. No one spoke for a long time, all overwhelmed by despair.

“Say, did you try moving it in the other direction?” Heidi suddenly suggested.

“The other direction? You mean in the counter-clockwise direction?” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah.”

“If I can’t spin it in the clockwise direction, I doubt it’s going to move in the opposite…” Mo Fan rotated the pointer in the counter-clockwise direction while he was talking.

The pointer immediately moved as soon as he touched it, moving across two markings along the edge.

Mo Fan’s expression froze as soon as the pointer moved.

The eyes of the others widened too. They looked at the pointer before staring at Mo Fan.

“Are you seriously telling me you didn’t even try moving it in the opposite direction?” Mu Bai looked at Mo Fan like he was a retard.

“Ugh…” Mo Fan did not know how to explain himself. He quickly moved the pointer around half the circle to the spot Shreev had mentioned.

The Underworld Compass immediately glowed with a serene blue light when the pointer reached that specific spot.

The blue light rose into the darkness and bounced back as if it had hit a mirror. It then refracted to a higher spot before bouncing back again!

It kept going for some time, resulting in a brilliant pattern spread across the place. It looked similar to a magic spell, made up of Star Orbits, Star Patterns, Star Constellations, and Star Palaces!

“Did it work?” Heidi asked in disbelief, staring at the beautiful light.

“It seems like it…” Mo Fan murmured, also staring at the display.

“Mo Fan, your intelligence has successfully lowered the standards of the Great Pyramid of Giza. We might have been able to accomplish the mission way earlier if you weren’t leading the team. Ah, we are finally done here!” Zhao Manyan proclaimed.

Mo Fan ignored Zhao Manyan’s insult. He had something to declare himself!

“Khufu, be ready for your punishment from the heroic spirits of our country; you asked for it!”

1605 The Red Deathlight of Dusk

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The deathlight of the Pyramid of Khafre was ocean blue. It would dye the white moon blue every night to remind humanity that it was going to be a dangerous night for them!

The Pyramid of Khafre was very close to the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was the Pyramid of Khafre that had declared war against Cairo, hence the Pyramid of Khafre was the source of the deathlight.

As the war between the Pyramid of Khafre and Cairo entered its third phase, and the Pyramid of Khafre’s deathlight was shining across the sky, a brighter deathlight suddenly appeared and rose into the clouds. People over a hundred kilometers away could still see it clearly.

The light acted like an ancient decree. It awakened some special stars in deep slumber in the night sky. The stars flared brightly, making them visible to the people in Cairo.

More ancient stars woke up in the night sky. They seemed to be tightly bound together, as if they were part of an unknown constellation. When the stars related to the Great Pyramid of Khufu lit up, the deathlight soaring into the sky suddenly turned the red of a setting sun!

The red light of a setting sun immediately filled up the sky. It would be a breathtaking sight if it happened in the evening, but it was now happening in the middle of the night. It felt like the eerie red was heralding some kind of evil power, signifying that Ragnarok was descending upon their world!

“My god, did you see that?” a Commander at the front line lifted his gaze and stared at the sky in disbelief.

“Of…of course I see it… it looks like a lake of blood! Commander, does this mean we aren’t going to make it back alive?” a soldier asked.

The unusual sight was inflicting the fear of the unknown on the people. They were aware of the existence of the deathlight, which was said to be like oxygen for the Underworld creatures, but what about this setting sun deathlight? Was it a sign that something scarier was about to show up?

The army had suffered great losses from the war. It was only in the third phase, but many people were already losing their will to fight, and the worst had yet to come. The dead were soon going to rise in the fourth phase. If they were already struggling in the third phase, wouldn’t that mean half of Cairo was going to fall in the fourth phase?

Over the past few months, the war had worsened beyond what they had imagined. The undead were reckless with their invasion. The army did not have enough men to fend off the attacks.

In the past, other countries were willing to lend Cairo a hand whenever it was being invaded by the undead. Even though most of the people were Hunters that came to earn some quick money, students who came for training, or an army of volunteers, they still played an important role in fending off the undead.

Unfortunately, since the sea level had started to rise, most of the powerful nations along the coastline were struggling to deal with the invasion of sea monsters, let alone send their people away to lend other countries a hand!

The lack of help from the other countries did matter, in the end!

The higher the casualties in the third phase, the scarier the fourth phase was going to be. The people of Cairo were already overwhelmed by fear. The government and army insisted that they could still fend off the undead, but not many people believed them anymore!

——

“Damn it, when are they going to open the gates!? Do they really want us to die here!? I don’t want to be eaten by the undead. Open the gates now!” a merchant yelled angrily.

The merchant was the same guy that had come to the city with Mo Fan and the others. He had boldly come to the battlefield to earn some money, yet he was the first to complain when his life was in danger.

“You can’t leave now. Cairo is safe, but if we open the gates, it’s going to attract the undead to us. The undead are constantly tracking the scent of the living. We are doing this for your safety. Don’t make it worse than it already is!” a soldier on duty answered him.

The gates were crowded with people planning to leave the city on their own.

It was no use concealing the truth. Commander Ethan had strictly forbidden the soldiers from leaking any information to the people, but the soldiers who were well aware of the situation could not help but warn their families.

Both the government and the army did not expect this, but they could not afford to open the gates. If the people started running away, not only would it put the city in danger, the people that ran away would be feeding themselves to the undead!

The city had to stay on lockdown, or there would only be more deaths. It was the most rational approach under the circumstances, but it was very difficult to pacify the crowd and ask them to remain calm!

“Cairo has been in similar situations before. In fact, it was much worse in the past. Please have faith in the government and the army. We will protect the people. The city is our support. The army can only hold its ground if the city is in order. Please don’t listen to the rumors. Khafre’s undead will never set foot into our city!” Saks told the crowd.

Ethan had assigned Saks to maintain the order in the city. It was not an easy job. Saks knew that Ethan had done so to punish him.

Saks’ speech was not effective at all. The streets were still crowded with the people that insisted on running away from the city.

“I seriously want to get rid of these idiots with the Slaughtering Wind Slash. Our men are risking their lives at the front line to protect them, yet they are still trying to stir up trouble here…” Saks’s expression sank after he was done with the speech.

Sometimes, Saks wondered why they had to protect these selfish weaklings. They kept arguing they had the right to make their own decisions, despite being utterly useless. If they knew better, why didn’t they fight the undead, instead of asking the army and government for protection?

“Captain Saks, look… where Gisele is,” a lieutenant with a shocked face blurted out.

“What is it this time!?” Saks turned around. He could easily see the night sky, as he was standing on the high ground. He was stunned when he saw the red sky.

What was that?

The deathlight?

Since when was the deathlight as red as dusk!?

Was it from the Great Pyramid of Giza… judging from the angle and direction it was coming from, it was most likely from the Great Pyramid of Giza, but why would it suddenly emit such a shocking deathlight!?

“Captain Saks, what the hell is that?” the lieutenant asked in a trembling voice.

“How would I know!?” Saks snapped.

The streets were soon filled with screams. The situation went out of control once again. The noise was driving Saks mad.

“We are screwed, it’s the end, it’s the light of the apocalypse, it’s a sign that our city is about to face destruction!”

“Is it blood? Is it dyeing the sky with blood?”

“Respectable Pharaohs, please show some mercy to your arrogant descendants, please recall your army of undead!”

“Gods help us!”

The city descended into chaos when the rare phenomenon occurred. More people were demanding the gates open up. The army and government had to use magic to stop the crowd’s tantrum.

It was surely going to ruin the government’s reputation. They might be able to calm the crowd for now, but they had no idea what the people were going to do next!

——

The Square Tower…

Fenna and Haken stood in front of the window. They could see the light soaring into the sky before heading towards the Red Sea.

“Did…did they actually do it?” Haken’s face was filled with excitement.

The third phase of the war was tougher than they had imagined. Even Haken could not predict what was going to happen next. The light of the setting sun was like a glimpse of hope for him!

“It’s from the Great Pyramid of Khufu, but why is it red?” Fenna said.

“It’s because that’s the real deathlight! That’s its original color in the Dark Plane. Khufu only stole it to produce the air that the undead could breathe in!” Haken said confidently. He was brimming with excitement as he added, “It’s been so long, I thought they had joined the rest of the burial objects that were offered to Khufu… who would have thought, who would have thought! Fenna, thank you so much, you recommended such a reliable young man to me!”

Fenna was overjoyed too, but she had a lot more on her mind. She said, “Commander, we are now at war with the Pyramid of Khafre. Even if they successfully manipulated the Great Pyramid of Giza’s deathlight, is it enough to stop the war?”

They were not being attacked by the entire army of the undead. This war was only between Cairo and the Pyramid of Khafre.

Since Cairo was Egypt’s capital, if Cairo lost the war, it would affect the whole country. Even if they could find a way to fend off the undead in the end, they would still suffer great losses!

“There’s only one Underworld. Do you think the Pyramid of Khafre won’t be affected once the door to the Underworld opens?” Commander Haken said.

“So that means if we hurry up and guide China’s undead into the Underworld, it will lift the pressure from our shoulders?” Fenna smiled as she understood.

“Exactly! The teeth are going to feel the cold without the lips. If the Great Pyramid of Giza is under attack by China’s undead, there’s no way Khafre is going to ignore it. God bless Cairo!” Haken placed his hand on his chest.

“Commander, God isn’t the one blessing us…” Fenna said.

Haken was stunned for a moment, but he soon came to a realization.

Yeah, did God have anything to do with it?

He initially thought it was a ridiculous idea. He did not have much hope in it, even though he agreed to it, but to his surprise… that young man was seriously Cairo’s savior! Even though he was only doing it to prevent the undead of his country from stirring up trouble, he still managed to bring a long-awaited peace to the Egyptians…

1606 Mission Accomplished

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The rare phenomenon of the crimson sky lasted for the whole night. It finally faded away slowly at dawn.

Mo Fan had no clue whether the Island of Oblivion had appeared at the end of the Red Sea. Shreev did say that the Gate of the Underworld would remain open for three years. During this period, the Underworld would no longer be a separate world, and its true appearance would slowly be revealed to the world.

However, the army invading the Underworld was not from a country, but the Kingdom of Undead from China!

The Ancient King had always been passionate about opening up new territories. The Underworld where the undead were living in peace might be the place that he was looking for all along!

——

In the land of Gisele, both the night sky and the ground were dyed red. Cries of undead filled with rage and humiliation echoed across the place.

Seven figures were weaving through the basin, heading for the Bargo Land. They were none other than Mo Fan and his crew, who had just escaped the Pyramid.

“I can finally enjoy some fresh air!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Yeah, it has only been a little over two months, but it felt so long…” Meos said.

“Well, from what I observed, I believe we spent almost four months in the Pyramid, instead of just two months,” Shreev spoke up.

“Four months?”

“Really? No wonder it’s so torturous. We almost spent half a year in the Pyramid!”

No inventions of magic technology worked in the Pyramid. Even watches powered by coil springs were inaccurate. Therefore, the group was only able to estimate the time that had passed by the time it took their energy to recover. To their surprise, it had been four months instead. They were spooked at the thought of it!

“It took us longer to recover our energy because the presence of magic is not as strong inside the Pyramid,” Shreev concluded.

“Anyway, it’s a relief that we found the way out. Let’s head back to Cairo!” Heidi said.

“I’m going to fill up my room with chicks!” Zhao Manyan blurted out excitedly.

——-

Cairo eventually showed up on the horizon after the group left the Bargo Land. The sky was bright by the time they reached the city, but the deathlight from the Pyramid of Khafre was still shining upon the land. The war had not ended. The outskirts of Cairo were surrounded by thick gray clouds that were applying a suffocating pressure to the city!

“The war hasn’t ended yet? It’s been so long!” Mo Fan said in surprise, looking at the battlefield.

“It won’t end so easily. It’s only in the third phase at most… but, it doesn’t look too good for the city,” Meos said.

The undead had broken through a few safe zones, indicating that a huge part of the Cairo Fortress had been overrun. Cairo City would be in grave danger if Cairo Fortress, which served as Cairo’s defense line, collapsed.

Cairo City was just ahead. Just as the group was about to go inside, Mo Fan sensed an unusual presence nearby.

He turned around immediately. It felt like something was watching him.

He took a few more steps before turning around again. He suddenly saw a woman with a pale face and red lips sticking her face close to his. He almost burst out screaming.

“Hey kid, it’s me!” the woman giggled. She had appeared out of nowhere like a ghost in the daytime.

“My Queen, can you not scare me like that next time?” Mo Fan let out a sigh.

“Well done! The Gate of the Underworld is now open. I’ve notified the king, too. Oh yeah, it feels great knowing we can soon go to war. I hope the Underworld won’t turn out to be a disappointment…” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“It looks like my job is done here. Don’t you disturb the living again. Everyone is just trying to survive here. It’s pretty tough!” Mo Fan said.

“What are you talking about? Since when did we go and disturb the living? It’s because some greedy people were trying to take our tombs and steal our possessions!” the Queen of the Netherworld argued right back.

“How old are you? Do you really have to be so fussy with us young ones? Not every undead has a brain like you. They simply attack anyone they stumble into…” Mo Fan replied.

“Give me a break! Mo Fan, I must tell you that the number of undead are a lot greater than you can imagine, and not every undead takes orders from us. Your people better watch out for the wild undead that wander and roam aimlessly. I don’t want you to come before the King and accuse us next time. Do you seriously think he’s a peace envoy now!?” the Queen of the Netherworld shot back.

“You’ve learned pretty quickly. You even know the term peace envoy now!” Mo Fan was left speechless.

“Undead will always be undead. Their instincts are to kill and hunt for blood, making them a natural foe of the living. We are only invading the Underworld to teach Khufu a lesson. It’s ignorant if you think the undead will just stop attacking the human cities in the future,” the Queen of the Netherworld sniffed.

“I’m no peace envoy either, but our country is in a pinch right now due to the rising sea level. The sea monsters have suddenly become our greatest threat, so it would be best if your kingdom of undead can lay low for a few years… we all want to live a better life. If humans became extinct, the undead are going to struggle too,” Mo Fan said.

“What kind of nonsense is that? Don’t forget that it was my idea to invade the Underworld. You should be thanking me instead!” the Queen of the Netherworld scoffed.

“Right, you’re the most beautiful and most intelligent female ghost that I’ve met. I will surely burn some of the latest trendy makeup and fashionable attire for you during the Qingming Festival, so you can shine brightly among the female ghosts!” Mo Fan said.

“Why don’t you bring them to me in person? I prefer that you stay with me, I’m pretty lonely down there…” the Queen of the Netherworld giggled.

“Please don’t prey on me considering how hard I’ve worked to fulfill my duty. Why don’t you consider my brother Zhao Manyan? He’s the typical kind that many women find attractive…”

“That’s enough bullshitting with you. Let me have a nap in your Contracted Space. I’m so tired from all the business I have had to take care of lately.” The Queen of the Netherworld stretched out, showing off her alluring figure, especially visible since her thin clothes were tightly wrapped around her body.

“Seriously? Can you really go inside my Contracted Space when you’re not my Contracted Beast?” Mo Fan said.

“Just open it. There’s something I need to keep an eye on still, so it’s better for me to stick with you for the time being,” the Queen of the Netherworld confirmed.

“Oh, alright,” Mo Fan was quite curious how the Queen of the Netherworld was going to enter his Contracted Space.

Mo Fan opened the Contracted Space. It had always been Little Flame Belle’s nest. The little creature was quite friendly to the Queen of the Netherworld. She slowly moved aside to clear up some space for her.

1607 The Drifting Dark Abyss

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Qinghai Lake was around four hundred kilometers to the southwest of Beijiang’s Feihuang City. It had a high altitude and clean air, the sky above the highland being perfectly clear. Some colorful birds would occasionally fly past the lake, embellishing the spectacular scenery of Qinghai Lake.

To the north of Qinghai Lake was some rocky terrain with irregular patches of grass.

“Look, what did I say? This is such a fine place! Qinghai Lake might not be included into the safe zone, but the elderly did say that this place is a sacred land. The demon creatures rarely show up around here, so just hit the gas!” an excited voice on a jeep exclaimed.

Four off-road SUVs were moving across the rocky terrain. They were driving along the shore of the Qinghai Lake, enjoying the soothing breeze fondling their face. It felt like their lungs were clearing up after they were no longer breathing in the polluted air in the city!

“You’re right, the coastline is struggling to hold on. It feels suffocating staying in the city. This is a fine place indeed! Not only are we closer to the nature’s embrace, it feels safer too!” someone yelled.

They were a bunch of young adults on a road trip. The country’s situation was not favorable lately. Traffic was greatly restricted as a result, but despite the worrying situation, the people still needed to find a way to release their stress. Since civilians were no longer allowed to visit the eastern part of the country, they could still head west!

The four vehicles sped up like beasts that had just broken free from a cage. The irregular roads could not stop them from pursuing an adrenaline rush, and the cars were moving at high speed.

A thick stormy cloud suddenly showed up in front of the cars, immediately looming over the land. It felt like they were about to enter some terrifying darkness, and would soon be devoured by it!

“What…what’s that? A hurricane?” The people in the cars were startled, and quickly stepped on the brakes.

“The ground ahead is collapsing. Go back, quick!” someone yelled.

The others glanced ahead and noticed the ground was indeed sinking, as if it was being eaten up. They quickly turned their cars around and drove away as fast as they could.

Unfortunately, the collapsing ground eventually caught up to the cars. The young adults that were enjoying themselves just a moment ago were screaming loudly. The scene was too terrifying, and felt like the apocalypse.

Ghastly cries were coming from the sunken ground, a great mental torture for the normal people.

A man in a floral shirt in the backseat turned around.

He immediately fainted upon taking a glance. He saw heads and bodies stacked up on top of one another inside the pit. The bodies were piled up into mountains. They were crawling around and tearing at one another to assemble themselves. It was like a pot of rotten meat!

If Hell did exist in the world, it was most likely what the man had just witnessed!

—

“Are we still alive?”

The four SUVs came to a stop. The dozen young men and women on them were still in great shock. Some had already wet their pants.

“What was that just then? An undead burrow?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll never come here again!”

It felt great to be alive. None of them were willing to recall the terrifying scene again!

“It… disappeared.”

“Let’s head back east!”

—

—

The Langtang Himal Range in Nepal served as the northern boundary of the country.

Mucheng Town was located less than thirty kilometers away from the mountain range. It was a cozy town that depended on the products of the mountains. Normally the farmers would be working on the fields in the afternoon. However, a while ago, the town of seventy thousand people was suddenly in stasis. They were staring in the direction of the stormy cloud before it disappeared. Their thoughts were dominated by the sight of the terrifying abyss underneath it!

The people were all praying. It had been a long time since the town had come together and prayed, but everyone in the town was praying now…

They were thanking the heavens for sparing their lives!

If the abyss had moved another five kilometers toward the town, the little town in Nepal would have ceased to exist from today on!

—

Rajasthan, India…

The dark abyss showed up once again without warning. It was as if the God of Destruction was passing by, inflicting great fear upon the petty and astonished humans of the nearby cities.

It showed up out of nowhere and disappeared right after. Everything soon returned to normal, but many people had the chance to witness a terrifying existence that was unknown to them before today, something that could easily devour them all in an instant!

—

—

Cairo, Egypt…

Mo Fan was playing on his phone while he was having a bath.

He was feeling a little thirsty. He reached his other hand out to grab the glass of juice along the edge of the bathtub, but he awkwardly discovered that there was nothing but air under his arm.

Mo Fan was vexed with how he was now a cripple when his phone rang.

Mo Fan quickly accepted the call. He heard the Little Loli, Lingling’s voice from the other end. “Mo Fan, did you read the news?” Lingling’s voice was as soothing as usual. If only she could sound slightly gentler…

“What news? Did something happen again? I just came out from the golden tomb. I only want to live comfortably as a human for now!” Mo Fan said.

“It’s the Dark Abyss,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan immediately sat upright. He asked with a frown, “What about the Dark Abyss?”

“We’ve learned that the Dark Abyss couldn’t just teleport anywhere during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. It has now drifted into the Arab states after passing by Nepal, India, and Pakistan… it’s all over the news in those countries. They are asking the international organizations to explain the phenomenon,” Lingling informed him.

“Err…” Mo Fan was lost for words.

How reckless was the Ancient King? Was he planning to move the Dark Abyss to the Red Sea by blatantly moving across other countries’ territory? It was going to drive the leaders of those countries crazy!

“The Ancient King is clearly heading for the Island of Oblivion in the Red Sea. He’s officially declaring war against the Underworld,” Lingling said.

“How quick is he? I’m basically done with my job here. I still wonder if it was just a dream, thinking that I’ve actually started a war between the two kingdoms of undead,” Mo Fan had to say.

“I heard that Cairo isn’t doing well, either. Are you alright? You should come back if there’s no reason for you to stay there. Don’t even think of going to the Island of Oblivion. It’s not only the Gate of the Underworld, but the entrance to the Dark Plane too!” Lingling said.

“I know, I know, I’ve already finished my job,” Mo Fan said.

“Regarding the second Contracted Beast I mentioned before, have you met the requirements?” Lingling said.

“I think it works now, even though I have no idea what I did,” Mo Fan confirmed.

Mo Fan had unlocked the second Contract Summoning.

The other day, the Queen of the Netherworld had asked to take a nap in his Contracted Space. However, she did not want to sleep in the same room as Little Flame Belle because of the heat his Belle was constantly releasing. She decided to sleep in the next room instead.

Mo Fan was curious about why the Queen of the Netherworld was able to set up a different room in his Contracted Space.

After taking a closer look, Mo Fan realized it was his other Contracted Space!

It was a surprise to him. Lingling told him that a Summoner would open up a second Contracted Space when their cultivation of the Summoning Element reached a certain level, allowing them to have a second Contracted Beast. Mo Fan was too busy dealing with the annoying Mummies in the Pyramid, so he never noticed he had a second Contracted Space.

“When are you coming back?” Lingling asked.

“Soon, I think. Why? Are you missing me because it’s been so long? My Lingling, I’ve missed you too!” Mo Fan chuckled.

“Humph, I’m wasting my time talking to you!” Lingling shot back.

“What is it? Just tell me,” Mo Fan said.

“I’ll tell you again when you’re back. I’m going to class,” Lingling hung up the call.

——

Mo Fan felt like he was alive again after cleaning off the rotten smell of the Mummies, sleeping for two days and nights straight, and enjoying a luxurious buffet.

They had spent four months inside the Pyramid. Four months, what a torture!

He should really think about turning down such difficult missions in the future. He preferred to hang around in the cities and improve the relationship between himself and the chicks around him. He could also trample the idiots who he found to be an eyesore if he was feeling bored. Such was the life he was after!

“Mo Fan, why hasn’t your hand grown out yet?” Zhao Manyan laughed when he saw Mo Fan’s arm.

“It’s not easy to get rid of the darkness corruption.” Mo Fan was helpless about the matter.

“You should really visit the Parthenon Temple. It’s really stupid seeing you walking around with just one arm, especially since you don’t have a huge condor following you,” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan was too lazy to talk to the gloating man. He could easily tell what Zhao Manyan had been up to just by seeing his pale face.

“The little beauty you found has been waiting for you downstairs. She seems to be in a good mood when she says you are bringing her shopping. Since you are missing an arm and not good with using your left hand, shouldn’t you consider training her…” Zhao Manyan said.

“Can you stop being so dirty-minded? I never have thoughts like that. I have a kind and loving heart,” Mo Fan replied righteously.

“I just bought three boxes of them. You want one?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Mo Fan calmly took a box and put it in his pocket…

1608 Big Brother, I Like You

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

For some reason, Khafre’s army of undead had not been as aggressive for the past few days. The panic in Cairo City soon dissipated too, restoring order to the city.

The city was safe. The shops remained open. The people that were fearless enough to come out of their houses continued to enjoy their peaceful and luxurious life.

Mo Fan could feel the difference after spending so long in the Pyramid, mostly because he was constantly under pressure from the endless fights in the Mummy Chambers. He was tense and on alert, even after he came back to the city.

He could not help it. It would take some time for a person to leave the past behind after staying in an environment like that for so long. In order to recover as quickly as possible, Mo Fan tried his best to live a normal life by going to bed, shopping, and talking to others. He insisted on not cultivating or using his magic for the time being.

He had to return his life back to normal. Otherwise, he might go crazy. The others were facing the same problem, too.

“Big brother!”

Mo Fan saw Apas waiting for him downstairs. She was wearing a black dress with a ribbon around her waist. Her face lit up when she saw Mo Fan, as if the sunlight was shining upon her heart after the clouds drifted away.

Apas looked gorgeous in the black dress, as it set off her pale skin. In addition to that, she seemed more alluring than usual, perhaps because she was wearing black. Mo Fan was almost drooling at the sight!

As a matter of fact, a few men around Apas were on the verge of making their moves. Apas’ sacred yet alluring temperament was just too attractive!

Mo Fan could not stand it. He was considering transforming into a beast!

—

As Mo Fan sniffed the pleasant aroma of delicacies and listened to the conversation of the people as he walked past the tall buildings down the street, he strongly believed he should really stop courting death in the future after realizing how wonderful his life could be.

He had spent the whole afternoon hanging around in the city with Apas. At night, Apas expressed her interest in learning magic. Mo Fan brought her to a training ground, seeing how passionate she was.

The training ground was as big as a soccer field, and rented by the minute. It was rather expensive, but considering how thrilling it would be to spend some time alone with the girl, it was definitely worth the money!

“Have you done your Awakening?” Mo Fan asked.

“Huh? What’s the Awakening?” Apas asked.

Mo Fan rubbed his head. It seemed like Apas did not learn anything about magic, just like him when he first came to this world. “Come here, I’ll see what Elements you can Awaken first.”

As a matter of fact, if they had enough Awakening Stones, everyone had the chance to become a Mage. Unfortunately, the supply of Awakening Stones was very limited.

It was not difficult for Apas to become a Mage. She just needed to secure herself a spot at the Magic Association by paying some money and buying an Awakening Stone.

However, Mo Fan could inspect Apas’ body to see what Elements suited her best. Every human had different body compositions, either because of genetics or the environment they lived in. There were other factors that would decide the Elements that a person could Awaken, too.

The initial Awakening was very important, since it was closely related to a person’s Innate Talent.

Mo Fan was checking Apas not only to find out the Elements that were suitable for her, but to find out if she had the chance of obtaining an Innate Talent, too!

Mo Fan placed his hand on Apas’ forehead and slowly directed his Will into her. He was searching for any sign of energy. A Mage with great potential would have some level of energy in their body…

“Basically, a small portion of people have some special potential that can be discovered with this method. It means the person will also Awaken their Innate Talent during the first Awakening,” Mo Fan explained while inspecting her.

Apas seemed a little nervous, but she was listening carefully to Mo Fan’s explanation. She was staring at Mo Fan.

“Huh? There’s something special about you,” Mo Fan suddenly put on a stern face.

The odds that Mo Fan was referring to were extremely small. Not every person in the world was a genius with an impressive Innate Talent like him. He was simply giving it a try, but to his surprise, he did detect a faint energy inside Apas’ body!

A human body was extremely weak prior to their Awakening, thus the energy in their body was almost negligible. However, even though the energy might be weak in Mo Fan’s eyes, it was the sign of an incredible potential for a girl whose magic was not Awakened!

“How is it?” Apas had an anticipatory look as she kept staring at Mo Fan.

“You do have some hidden potential. It means you might acquire an Innate Talent after the Awakening, but it doesn’t seem too stable,” Mo Fan said.

“Really?” Apas blushed with joy. She went closer to Mo Fan and kissed him on the cheek.

Apas did not think too much about it, but Mo Fan flushed immediately. Was it really fine for him to recruit the girl as his disciple?

“A Mage’s power comes from their soul. The Awakening is basically triggering the power of a person’s soul. How about this: I’ll place a soul imprint on you to stabilize the special potential in your body. That way, you will surely acquire an Innate Talent after the Awakening,” Mo Fan said.

“Will that work?” Apas blurted out happily.

“Yes, it is, but you have to accept it willingly, so it will slowly merge with your soul,” Mo Fan informed her.

“Mm, alright!” Apas smiled. She was very passionate about learning magic.

“Here we go,” Mo Fan placed his hand on Apas’ forehead again. A lunar-white light slowly emerged from him.

Mo Fan gathered the energy into his left hand, slowly forming a Star Pattern on his palm. The Star Pattern left an imprint on Apas’ forehead when it was completed.

A lunar-white glow covered the two people at the center of the spacious training ground. It highlighted both Mo Fan’s firm figure and Apas’ alluring body.

—

“Big brother, I like you,” Apas declared. It was loud and clear in the quiet training ground.

“Mm, I know,” Mo Fan responded indifferently.

“So I’m not angry when you’re lying to me…” Apas slowly lifted her gaze. There was a harmless smile on her beautiful face, “But why would you want to enslave my soul?”

The smile on Apas’ face gradually lost its warmth as she finished the sentence!

1609 Gold Dust Eyes

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

For a moment, it felt like the air had frozen. The expression on Mo Fan’s face stiffened as he felt the air that Apas was calmly breathing out.

If it was really possible to determine if a person could Awaken some Innate Talents beforehand, Mo Fan would have long been chosen to become a Mage. Why would he bother putting in so much effort just to secure the chance of being enrolled in a magic school?

It was impossible to detect a person’s Innate Talent. The magic imprint that Mo Fan was using was not to stabilize Apas’ Innate Talent.

The lunar-white glow represented the magic of the Summoning Element. Mo Fan was casting an Intermediate Spell. The imprint was the Contract Seal meant to be applied to the soul of a creature of a different species. If the imprint was placed successfully, it would make the creature the Summoner’s Contracted Beast.

Mo Fan was now able to have a second Contracted Beast. He had lied to Apas, since the imprint was meant for his second Contracted Beast!

Why did he do it? Because he was still suspicious of her!

“If you didn’t believe me from the beginning, why did you do so much for me, big brother?” Apas stared at Mo Fan with oddly glittering eyes and a curious face.

Mo Fan slowly withdrew his hand. The imprint was still on Apas’ forehead, but Mo Fan knew it was not going to work. He had already learned what he wanted to.

However, he was still dumbfounded by the outcome. He looked at Apas’ beautiful face and felt like it was all just a nightmare. He had an urge to just wake up and realize none of this was happening.

Unfortunately, it was happening in real life. The moment the Contract Seal entered Apas’ body and touched her soul, the Summoning Magic immediately told him that the innocent girl was not as ordinary as she seemed!

“To be honest, just a second ago, I still believed there was nothing wrong with you, but I didn’t think…” Mo Fan said.

Even though Mo Fan was suspicious of Apas, he was only doubting her a little. He was ninety-nine point ninety-nine percent sure that Apas was just an ordinary girl. He only did it to clear away the last wisp of doubts that had suddenly crossed his mind.

However, he was utterly shocked by the outcome; it was possible to sign a contract with Apas’ soul!

The Contract Summoning could not be used on humans, yet it was possible to use it on Apas’ soul. It clearly indicated that Apas was…

Even Mo Fan could not believe his sudden thought had led him to such a horrifying discovery!

Able to sign a contract and willing to sign a contract were two different things, hence why Apas was asking Mo Fan why he was trying to enslave her soul. In Apas’ eyes, signing the contract with Mo Fan would turn her into Mo Fan’s slave and pet!

“But you still did it. I also thought big brother wouldn’t be suspicious of me. I was thinking about how we could just stay close to one another, and you might never figure out the truth even after many years. Big brother, why did you do it? It’s not like I’m going to harm you,” Apas said seriously.

Mo Fan slowly backed away while Apas moved with him. She did not look angry, nor did her face suddenly became twisted and ugly like Mo Fan had imagined. She was still the beautiful little angel, yet she was now a terrifying little demoness in Mo Fan’s eyes!

“It’s just who I am. I have a strong urge to find out the truth, no matter how bloody and cruel it is. It’s better than losing myself in my own dreams.” Mo Fan continued to back up.

“I’m really curious. Why did you think I’m not normal?” Apas asked.

“There were drawings of the legendary Medusa in the Pyramid. I noticed something strange about them. When Medusa was still a human, she was eaten alive by the Snake Primordial Ancestor before she was reborn with snake hair…” Mo Fan replied while the Dark Substance was silently dissolving into the ground under his feet.

Apas did not seem to notice the Dark Substance. She nodded and smiled, “So you suspected that the Young Medusa wasn’t trying to digest me by swallowing me alive, it was me evolving instead?”

“Not really, it just seemed a little odd to me. I never thought about it when I saw the painting…” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was despairing. He had never thought there was anything wrong with Apas. He was just trying to use the spell on Apas to clear his mind of the weird thought he had. To his surprise, not only did he fail to satisfy his suspicions, he even dug out such a ridiculous truth!

He was already regretting it!

Wasn’t it better if they could have just enjoyed their time together? Why did he have to do it out of curiosity?

“Was that the only reason?” Apas asked.

“Not quite. I was also curious about why General Ethan bothered to fawn upon a normal Ruler-level Scorpion Lord Medusa with his strength and status…” Mo Fan said. He was wondering if he could drag the conversation out further and buy himself some time.

“So you were suspecting General Ethan was fawning upon someone else?” Apas smiled.

“It was just a wild guess.” Mo Fan forced a smile.

“Yeah, if you hadn’t used the spell on me, everything you mentioned wasn’t really a problem…” Apas sighed. She wished that they could just go back in time to just a minute ago. She would still be Apas if Mo Fan had not discovered her true identity. She would continue to act coquettishly in front of the big brother and learn new things. She might even become a Mage. She did fulfill the requirements to be one!

“Say, why don’t we just forget about everything that happened? You can go wherever you want. Just treat it like we’ve never met before…” Mo Fan asked.

“Do you think that’s possible?” Apas grinned coldly.

“I’m fine with it. I don’t mind it at all, we can just part without hard feelings,” Mo Fan replied shamelessly.

“The young Medusa you tore to pieces was my servant,” Apas said.

“Oh, it was just a misunderstanding,” Mo Fan replied without any guilt.

Mo Fan initially thought Ethan insisted on kidnapping Apas because he wanted to fawn on the young Medusa and cover up the ugly conspiracy of the military.

However, it turned out that Ethan was only trying to protect Apas! He was fawning on Apas instead!

“It’s fine, I have a lot of servants like her… Big brother, I’m afraid there’s no reason for you to be spreading the Dark Substance. It won’t be able to stop me. I was very weak at the Sunset Shrine. Any of you could have killed me easily, but it’s no longer the case now. You are no match for me,” Apas said gently.

“You wouldn’t want to mess with me, either. How about this? You can go back to your temple. I do have a lot of other things to attend to,” Mo Fan continued to negotiate.

He was feeling very uneasy, especially since he was not sensing any aura from Apas!

He did not know why Apas was different from the other Medusae, and why she had the body of a human. However, he was convinced that she was a Medusa with an extremely pure lineage, purer than the lineage of the Scorpion Lord Medusa inside the Pyramid!

“It’s boring in the temple. It’s like Hell to me there. Your world is far more entertaining…” Apas replied.

“Apas, I wasn’t lying to you. I’m really not as simple as you think. Don’t force me,” Mo Fan said.

“Sure, show me what you got then! I’m looking forward to it… if I’m impressed, I might consider making you my pet. It won’t be as boring in the temple with you around!” Apas smiled. Her eyeteeth were so adorable, but the smile on her face suddenly turned menacing, like a ruthless empress. She said expressionlessly, “Of course, if you bore me, I don’t believe there’s a reason for you to be alive anymore!”

Mo Fan’s throat bulged. The Dark Substance around him suddenly turned into black chains wrapping around Apas.

He had more control over the Shadow Element after Fiendish Night was enhanced. His Intermediate Spell, the Giant Shadow Spike, was no longer confined to the shape of spikes. He could use it to trap his enemy with a single thought; its power easily surpassed the Intermediate Shadow Spell!

Apas stood there as the black chains wrapped around her body. She had yet to unleash any aura. It felt like a little breeze could knock her to the ground.

However, the chains were like mere decorations to her. She could still step closer to Mo Fan.

“Big brother, I really wanted to be your disciple and learn magic. I wish you would not have found out who I really am. I would still have been your little Apas when you grow old and pass away… I’m sad, I really am,” Apas raised her hand. Her innocent eyes emitted a sharp light!

Apas’ eyes were changing. A noble dust gold slowly rose in them. A single glance was enough for a person to be lost in their thoughts!

The snake eyes were like gold dust. Mo Fan had never seen anything like it!

Mo Fan was supposed to be immune to a Medusa’s Gaze, but he immediately lost his mind when his eyes met the real eyes of a Medusa!

1610 Tearing At One Another“s Soul

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

How is this happening? Shouldn’t I be immune to them?

Mo Fan was utterly shocked when his thoughts started to drift away. It was the same Medusa’s Gaze, so how did Apas’ dust gold eyes instantly penetrate his defense without any resistance? What exactly was she?

“Big brother, I won’t let you feel any pain. I will make a nice dream for you, so you can die slowly to my laughter. Not everyone gets a special treatment like this!” Apas’ pleasant voice echoed in Mo Fan’s mind.

Mo Fan felt his body turning weightless. He could not tell if he was falling or drifting. He had already lost his senses. His remaining consciousness was wandering around in an ocean. He would occasionally hear a burst of melodious laughter and see Apas’ face above him…

——

The training ground was oddly quiet. Apas had her hands behind her. Her shoulders were round and smooth, her collar bones setting off her delicate upper body. Her slim waist and legs perfectly outlined the curves of an elegant snake.

She was standing on her toes so she could stare Mo Fan in the eyes.

Mo Fan remained unmoving. Apas looked like she was secretly giving the older brother next door a kiss, but her dusty gold eyes were actually devouring Mo Fan’s soul. A thin mist covered Mo Fan’s face as wisps of his soul slowly drifted into Apas’ nose. She slowly breathed in, taking away Mo Fan’s soul!

The soul mist grew thicker. Apas did not take it in greedily. She was breathing it in elegantly, like she was enjoying the scent of a flower.

However, Apas was so indulged in the process that she did not notice a bright red phantom mixed with the soul mist. It sneakily headed for the lunar-white imprint on her forehead.

Apas did not care much about the lunar-white imprint. It was quite amusing to her, like a petty creature spitting its silk at her, thinking it was enough to constrain her. Apas did not bother to get rid of it. It had no chance of harming her, nor could it enslave her soul!

“Mm?”

Apas suddenly noticed a different power from the imprint. She also noticed something else, something dangerous!

Apas did not dare feed on Mo Fan’s soul any further. She realized that something had intruded into her body. It was threatening her soul…

“What are you!?” Apas finally realized that something was not right, and let out a piercing screech. Its destructive force shattered the walls of the training ground to pieces.

“Little girl, your big brother already said he was willing to part ways without any hard feelings, yet you had to force it on him,” a seductive voice uttered from inside Apas’ body.

“You… get out of my body!” Apas grunted. She suddenly unleashed a terrifying aura, like an icy storm, and it swept out over the training ground.

“You have a nice body there, why don’t you give it to me? I’m looking for a suitable body too,” the voice said.

“In your dreams!” Apas’ eyes turned dusty gold once again. She began to use her power of the Curse Element and Psychic Element to drive the ghost inside her away.

Apas was no innocent little girl. She knew how dangerous it was to be Possessed by a phantom. She had been too focused on devouring Mo Fan’s soul, and did not expect to find such a powerful phantom inside his body. The phantom was very cunning, waiting patiently until she was busy devouring Mo Fan’s soul before sneaking into her body through the imprint on her forehead. The imprint was connected to her soul, meaning that the phantom had entered her soul!

A body could only hold a single soul. If the phantom managed to destroy her soul, it would then take over her body!

However, Apas was clearly not going down without a fight. She had strong Psychic Magic. The phantom might have taken her by surprise, but it did not necessarily mean it could destroy her soul so easily!

—

—

The ocean full of laughter disappeared like bubbles. Mo Fan slowly regained consciousness.

He saw Apas standing unmoving in front of him, a furious look on her face.

Something seemed to be keeping Apas busy. Her Will was currently inside herself, as if she was having an intense fight with a devil in her heart.

He took a closer look at Apas’ face and saw a faint mist around it. The mist would occasionally form the face of a mature woman before dissipating as Apas recovered her youthful looks.

“The Queen of the Netherworld…” Mo Fan finally realized what was going on.

The Queen of the Netherworld had been enjoying the show, and finally made her move. She actually kept her composure and waited for the perfect moment to enter the snake demon’s body. If she was just a little late, he would be a corpse by now!

“Mo Fan, don’t just stand there and watch, this little b**ch is pretty strong. Give me a hand, will you?” the Queen of the Netherworld yelled.

“Sure!” Mo Fan immediately covered himself in lightning without thinking about it.

“It’s no use attacking her body. Don’t you have any spells that can target her spirit or mind? Do it quickly: if she drives me out of her body, I won’t be able to save you!” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“I’m afraid none of my spells are useful, then,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

Apas was fighting the Queen of the Netherworld fiercely. Her face was switching back and forth at a shocking rate. It would suddenly switch to the Queen of the Netherworld’s angry, misty face, before returning to Apas’ cold, menacing features. There was no energy ripple, but it was obvious that the two spirits were having a shocking fight inside her body!

“Provoke her, drive her mad, anything that can disturb her soul! Quick! We are both on the edge of the cliff now! One more step from either of us, and we’ll fall into the bottomless chasm!” The Queen of the Netherworld was struggling. Apas was stronger than she had imagined. It was extremely difficult to overwhelm the spirit of a powerful creature!

Mo Fan realized how serious the situation was. He knew that despite the advantage that the Queen of the Netherworld had secured, it was still not that easy to subdue Apas. If the Queen of the Netherworld failed to overwhelm Apas’ soul in her spirit form, she was most likely going to suffer a humiliating defeat!

If the Queen of the Netherworld lost, he was not going to survive, either!

The problem was, he did not have anything that could target a creature’s mind or spirit. Even the Dark Substance had to penetrate the target’s body first, but Apas’ body was currently covered in some golden dust. He had no chance of breaking through her defense!

“Quick! If you don’t think of something, we are both screwed!” the Queen of the Netherworld yelled.

“I have nothing useful!” Mo Fan was about to lose his mind.

“Use the Contract Seal, use the imprint to provoke her soul and enslave her. It will allow me to gain the upper hand if you can distract her!” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

1611 Medusa“s Descendan

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Would that really work?

Mo Fan was astounded. He never heard of anyone using the Contract Summoning as a form of mental attack!

However, he knew if he wasted any more time, things would get seriously out of control!

The lunar-white light reappeared as Mo Fan drew a Star Pattern on his palm. He looked at Apas, who was now covered in a layer of golden dust, and slammed the imprint hard on her forehead!

Apas’ face came alive the moment he placed his palm on her forehead. She glared at Mo Fan as if she was going to eat him alive.

“You’re only making me madder!” Apas declared coldly.

Mo Fan did not respond. He was focusing on inserting the imprint into Apas’ soul.

Mo Fan found Apas horrifying, but he had no other choice. He had to help the Queen of the Netherworld secure victory!

When Mo Fan entered Apas’ Spiritual World, he was surprised to see that Apas’ soul was nowhere near as scary as he thought.

When Mo Fan first tried to apply the imprint on Apas’ soul, it was like a petty human trying to tie a rope around the body of a huge dragon. He had zero chance of subduing the beast!

However, Apas’ soul had weakened significantly after the intense fight with the Queen of the Netherworld. She was alert and anxious, like a little snake. Mo Fan no longer felt such a suffocating pressure from her.

“I won’t go easy on you then!” Mo Fan immediately tied the rope around her!

Most demon creatures were reluctant to submit to a human, but if the Summoner was strong enough to overwhelm the creature and make it afraid, it was possible to establish the Contract forcibly. The creature’s soul would be permanently tied up by the Contract, forcing it to submit to the Summoner’s will.

Mo Fan did not like the idea of forcing someone else to submit to him. He believed a Contract should be signed on the basis of a mutual agreement, like what he did with Little Flame Belle. He had raised her since she was young. It was lovely…

Unfortunately, the situation did not give Mo Fan any chance to slowly reform this Medusa of unknown lineage with love. Mo Fan turned into a criminal as he forcibly tied Apas up!

There was no way Apas would allow Mo Fan to wrap the rope of slavery around her noble soul, and she resisted angrily. Even though she was still fending off the Queen of the Netherworld, her soul was still strong. She broke free from Mo Fan’s rope in an instant!

“Stop wasting your time!” Apas snapped.

How could the little imprint possibly overwhelm her soul? It was like she had just been felt up by a pervert who blatantly showed his private parts to her!

“It’s fine, I still have plenty of energy ,” Mo Fan smiled.

“Take down this little b**ch!” the Queen of the Netherworld burst out laughing.

“I’m going to tear you apart first so you can never be reincarnated!” Apas was enraged. Her calm Spiritual World was suddenly filled with wild and violent storms!

The Queen of the Netherworld’s power was still impressive, even though she was currently in Apas’ Spiritual World. Mo Fan saw a serene blue tsunami rising from the edge of the darkness.

Mo Fan knew the two women were about to fiercely clash with one another again. He quickly left the Spiritual World and waited until the psychic attacks faded away before making another move!

After half a minute, he could sense the attacks dispersing. He immediately drew another Star Pattern of the Contract Seal and slammed it on Apas’ forehead while she was trying to recover her energy.

The seal went right into Apas’ soul. She was obviously in a vulnerable state, but she still had to waste her energy on dealing with the enslaving spell!

The Contract Seal was quite an annoying spell. If the target did not resist it in time, it would keep going until the Contract was established!

“It’s not going to happen!” Apas’ soul trembled in anger. She immediately shattered Mo Fan’s dream of enslaving her.

“Everyone has their first time. You will find it difficult to get used to it at first, but you’ll soon adapt to it once I enter your body a few times!” Mo Fan did not forget to provoke Apas verbally. He was acting boldly, knowing that the Queen of the Netherworld was looking after him.

“Your big sister is going to attack again. Can you hold your ground still, little girl?” The Queen of the Netherworld adroitly went along with Mo Fan’s remark. She even laughed sleazily, which greatly annoyed Apas.

The Queen of the Netherworld had managed to secure the upper hand in the fight. A greater storm surged into Apas’ Spiritual World while she was distracted, and rammed into Apas. Her soul swayed as she struggled to hold her ground from the impact!

“Damn it!” Apas had not expected such a powerful phantom to be hiding inside Mo Fan, and to make things worse, she had allowed the phantom to sneak into her own body. Her soul was seriously injured by the attacks, putting her in a very unfavorable position!

“Little b**ch, didn’t you say you were going to crush me? Let’s see who’s getting crushed in the end!” the Queen of the Netherworld harrumphed coldly. Apas’ soul trembled once more.

Mo Fan realized his Contract Seal had managed to distract Apas. Thank the Heavens the Queen of the Netherworld was able to suppress the beautiful snake lady in the end. He could feel his limbs turning cold when he recalled how he had lost himself in the stare of her dusty gold eyes.

“You cannot kill me. There’s no way you can kill me!” Apas screeched. Her face became slightly transparent. The blue veins under it were now visible.

“Is that so? You’ve truly underestimated me, considering that I’ve been around for over a thousand years!” The Queen of the Netherworld proceeded with her final attack. Her tone had changed completely now. It was no longer alluring, but held great power.

Perhaps this was the real Queen of the Netherworld. Even though she was only a phantom, she would not allow anyone to challenge her authority!

Her overwhelming power surged into Apas’ Spiritual World. Nine silver waterfalls poured down fiercely and drowned the area, the fierce waves striking Apas’ soul. If the Spiritual World was a direct reflection of her soul, it was clearly collapsing, like a world facing its own destruction!

“No… no… you can’t kill me… no… you will never kill me…I’m Medusa’s descendant, a petty phantom like you can never…never…” Apas sounded like a ghastly demon!

“You asked for it yourself!” The Queen of the Netherworld’s voice weakened slightly. She was severely drained after using that last attack. However, she had still won the fight with it. The soul claiming to be Medusa’s descendant was the one losing!

Apas had managed to disguise herself as an innocent little girl, but she never expected to be defeated at the hands of Mo Fan and the Queen of the Netherworld!

—

Apas’ Spiritual World was severely damaged, her soul was in bad shape. The Queen of the Netherworld did not show any mercy. She knew Apas could easily turn the tables around if she lowered her guard. She would then devour both her and Mo Fan; it was either her or them!

Mo Fan noticed the golden dust around Apas fading away. She suddenly looked like a seriously ill young girl with a pitiful face.

It was the law of the wild. The most beautiful creatures in the world were usually the deadliest. Apas was a typical snake woman. She looked no different than a normal human, but anyone that dared to touch her would find themselves eternally damned!

Mo Fan felt his heart wrenching, staring at Apas.

It was obvious that the military had fed little girls to the Medusae for temporary peace in return. Perhaps there had indeed been a little girl called Apas on an island in the Aegean Sea. She was just as gorgeous, but he had failed to save her in time. She had died long before he arrived at the Sunset Shrine. The young Medusa had eaten her to claim her youthful looks…

The faces that Apas had displayed must have belonged to the young girl, too. However, it was the vicious and cunning Medusa living inside her image, something that Mo Fan would not show any pity to!

Mo Fan closed his eyes. He did not want to see Apas dispersing like scattering ashes. He really hoped it was just a dream. He hoped that the little girl he rescued at the Sunset Shrine was just an innocent little girl that would keep calling him big brother. He missed the pure innocent smile that the little girl had, despite the tough situations she had been through. He had been willing to teach her magic, even if she was not that good at it.

Mo Fan suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart!

He took a deep breath as he immediately broke out in a cold sweat. His face was extremely pale.

What had just happened? It felt like his soul had just been attacked. Was it a deathbed struggle from Apas? Did the Queen of the Netherworld fail to suppress her?

Mo Fan almost fell to the ground when he felt the pain again.

He grabbed his chest and quickly inspected his Spiritual World. He was dumbfounded when he saw his soul being torn by a force!

“Wait! Queen of the Netherworld, stop it!” Mo Fan yelled.

“Mo Fan, are you out of your mind? If I don’t kill her now, we are both going to die! She won’t spare our lives!” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“If you crush her soul, I’ll die too!” Mo Fan said.

“What are you talking about?” the Queen of the Netherworld said impatiently.

Mo Fan was too weak to speak. He used all his remaining might and yelled, “Damn it, she…she accepted the Contract! It has bound our souls together!”

1612 New Contracted Beas

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The people of Cairo finally had a chance to catch their breath after the army of undead retreated. It was rare to enjoy a quiet night in the luxurious city. Many people were out enjoying their lives, since it might be their last chance to do so.

Zhao Manyan sat at the bar of his hotel. He decisively rejected a gorgeous lady that approached him and fondled his waist.

He had been too crazy for the past few days. He felt extremely empty down below. He could not keep it up any longer, or it might really cost him his life!

“I wonder how Mo Fan is doing… tsk tsk tsk, little Apas is very attractive ! Her youthful beauty is clearly a bonus. I wonder if that jerk Mo Fan is going to go easy on her. Speaking of the guy!…”

The bar was close to a row of French windows facing the street. Zhao Manyan happened to see Mo Fan walking in as he was thinking about him.

Mo Fan was shuffling his feet. His eyes were hollow, and his face was pale, like he had emptied his strength.

“Holy crap, was it really that crazy? Why do you look weaker than I am!?” Zhao Manyan was shocked.

Zhao Manyan left the bar, and approached Mo Fan after he did not see Apas around.

Mo Fan glanced at the squinting Zhao Manyan, who had a perverted grin on. He did not even have the strength to greet him.

“How was it? Did you overwork yourself? I thought you were the one going to trample a little flower, but somehow you look like your essence has been sucked dry instead. Nicely done, little Apas is pretty impressive… how was the box I gave you? Did you use it? Did the spiraling beads on them feel great…” Zhao Manyan asked, raising his eyebrows.

Mo Fan kept shuffling his feet like a zombie.

Zhao Manyan touched Mo Fan’s pocket and felt the small box in it. He took it out and noticed that the box still had its seal. His eyes widened. “Mo Fan, seriously? You should be responsible for your actions. How could you not use any safety precautions? What if she ends up pregnant? How are you going to explain yourself to your wives? You should stick to your principles, even if you’re cheating!”

Mo Fan walked into an elevator. Zhao Manyan followed him.

He took a closer look at Mo Fan. Something did not feel right about him. He did not look like someone who had just gone through some wild romantic activity. He asked with a serious face, “What happened? Where’s Apas? Why do you look like you are mentally injured? Did someone attack you?”

Mo Fan lifted his eyes. He glanced at the jabbering Zhao Manyan with low spirits and eventually replied, “If I tell you I just took a Medusa as my Contracted Beast, would you believe me?”

“Huh? How is that possible? Almost every Summoner in the world wants to catch a Medusa as their Contracted Beast, but even catching a Lesser Medusa and signing a contract with it is extremely difficult, let alone having a real Medusa as a Contracted Beast! The Medusae would rather die than accept the Contract. In their eyes, humans are actually an inferior species! Are you willing to become a dog’s pet? You wouldn’t agree to it even if your life was in danger, right?

“The same logic applies to a Medusa. There’s no way I would believe it. As a matter of fact, if you didn’t raise Little Flame Belle, I doubt an Elemental creature with a pure lineage like her would be willing to become anyone’s Contracted Beast. You should be satisfied that you already have Little Flame Belle, who is surely going to reach the Ruler-level once she matures, but you’re still thinking of having a Medusa as your Contracted Beast too…” Zhao Manyan blabbered on.

“Mm, I don’t believe it myself, either,” Mo Fan replied weakly.

“Just go to bed.” Zhao Manyan patted Mo Fan on the shoulder.

Mo Fan was desperate to get some rest. He was so tired that he could not even reflect on the series of events that had occurred not long ago.

In the end, the Queen of the Netherworld had not destroyed Apas’ soul. It was not her being merciful, but because Mo Fan had signed a Contract with Apas. If a Contracted Beast’s soul was destroyed from the inside, it would inflict serious damage on its owner’s soul too, since both souls were bound by the Contract.

The Queen of the Netherworld was releasing a great power in the end, since it had to be strong enough to destroy a soul with the pure lineage of Medusa.

Normally, when a Contracted Beast died, the damage dealt to the Summoner’s soul was not enough to kill them. However, the Queen of the Netherworld’s power needed the strength of a Great Ruler-level creature to kill Apas. Since Mo Fan had successfully signed the Contract with Apas, if the force killed Apas, the damage Mo Fan received from the broken Contract would be too much for him to handle!

—

Mo Fan went to his room and slammed the door shut.

He laid down on his bed and recalled the series of events that now felt like a dream to him.

A faint silhouette emerged from his body. It was the Queen of the Netherworld. She looked worn out, just like Mo Fan. She did not look as attractive as she normally was.

“That little b**ch!” the Queen of the Netherworld grunted.

“What do we do now?” Mo Fan said with a wry smile.

“What else can we do? She’s your Contracted Beast now,” the Queen of the Netherworld answered.

Mo Fan looked into his second Contract Space and saw Apas lying there. She was also overwhelmed by fatigue, and currently in a half-conscious state.

Little Flame Belle was pretty curious. Since when did someone move into the room next door, and why was Apas her new neighbor?

“I’m just worried that something might go wrong. Isn’t she around the same level as you?” Mo Fan asked.

“Don’t worry, a Contract is stronger than you think. Once it’s established, it will enforce a master-and-slave relationship between you. The slave will be restricted by the Contract, regardless of their strength. She will not be able to resist it, unless she reaches the Emperor level,” the Queen of the Netherworld informed him.

“Doesn’t that mean she’s still a threat to us!?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“Do you think it’s so easy to achieve the Emperor-level? Even Medusa isn’t a real Emperor-level creature, do you think her descendant can mutate and surpass her!? There are a lot more creatures more qualified than her to achieve the Emperor-level. As for her, she will have to train for another few hundred years!” the Queen of the Netherworld sniffed.

“Oh, I wasn’t familiar with the levels of demon creatures. I didn’t know it was that difficult to achieve the Emperor-level…” Mo Fan said.

“She cannot rebel against you before reaching the Emperor-level. Now that she’s your Contracted Beast, you can really teach her how to behave herself,” the Queen of the Netherworld instructed him.

“Thank you. I’ll repay your kindness during the Qingming Festival…” Mo Fan said.

“You dare mention the Qingming Festival now!?” the Queen of the Netherworld said angrily. She paused briefly as she realized how inappropriate her tone was. She added, “I wasted a few years worth of cultivation because of you. Both of us suffered a great loss from the fight, but you ended up securing all the benefits!” the Queen of the Netherworld sniffed.

“Calm down, my beloved aunt; you’re not beautiful when you’re angry. I’ll make up for it. I promise,” Mo Fan sighed.

“I’m not your aunt. Ask your Little Flame Belle to lend me her Contract Space. I don’t want to sleep in the same room with that little b**ch!” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“Not a problem,” Mo Fan Summoned Little Flame Belle out. She did not like staying in the Contract Space, anyway, and preferred to lie on Mo Fan’s shoulder and head.

Little Flame Belle sat on the table and blinked rapidly, munching on a Soul-grade Soul Seed piece like a squirrel. She was enjoying her snacks after watching everything that had occurred today.

1613 Who“s Eating the Girls? Part One

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

——

The Cairo Battlefield was one of the largest battlefields in Africa.

Huge gray clouds were looming over the Cairo Fortress, hanging close to the ground. The dim land looked gloomy and suffocating!

Half of the fortress had been destroyed. The line of defense constantly moved back as the tide of undead kept up the pressure.

The fourth phase of the war had finally arrived. The Mages in the fortress were extremely worn out. The walls and structures were run-down, yet they had no choice but to prepare themselves for the deadly fourth phase.

An uneasy atmosphere lingered under the dim sky above the deafening explosions. The occasional brilliant light of spells pouring down like rain was the only thing cleansing the presence of evil. It was the only thing keeping the people’s hopes up!

The first wave of the fourth phase was weaker than anyone had expected. Many analysts and advisors thought the defense would crumble during the first attack. To their surprise, the undead’s invasion was like loud thunder, with only tiny drops of rain. It immediately relieved the pressure the front line was feeling!

The army managed to fend off the first wave after fighting for two days and nights straight. Not only did the army hold their ground, they managed to take back some of the crucial forts required to reestablish more defensive magic formations.

“It seems China’s undead managed to apply some pressure to the Underworld!” General Haken exclaimed, smiling broadly.

“Humph, do you think I’m going to believe such a ridiculous thing?” General Ethan smirked.

“It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not, I’m the Supreme Commander now!” General Haken replied.

General Ethan clenched his teeth when he saw the cunning grin on General Haken’s face!

The authorities were growing doubtful of General Ethan’s capabilities toward the end of the third phase. The situation had turned grim for the army while he was in charge.

As a result, the authorities were unwilling to trust Ethan with so much power. They had asked Haken to remain in charge instead.

General Ethan did not disagree with the proposal, as he knew how serious the situation was. If General Haken took over, he would most likely be blamed if they lost the war. The army had no chance of holding its ground. They would have to retreat to Cairo City.

To Ethan’s surprise, the undead had not pushed as hard in the fourth wave. Even though General Haken did come up with a plan to bombard the army of undead with a few waves of spells, it would clearly not make any difference. However, they had somehow fended off the invasion!

General Ethan almost vomited blood after seeing it happen. In other words, he could have won the war if he had kept his position for another week. He would then be entirely worthy to be called Cairo’s military prodigy!

Instead, the people of Cairo were now cheering for General Haken. They had completely cast Ethan aside!

General Ethan left, no longer wanting to stay in the meeting room.

“General, where are we going?” Lieutenant Kevin asked him.

“To the city.” Ethan had no mood to participate in the war after losing his position as the Supreme Commander. He left after handing his responsibilities over to his second-in-command.

——

A black military jeep entered the city. A bunch of people were gathering at the army’s base with banners while yelling loudly.

“What are they saying?” Ethan asked.

“Well…” Kevin was not sure how to answer the question.

Ethan rolled down the window so he could hear the shouts.

“You should have let General Haken take over earlier. We almost lost Cairo when General Ethan was leading the army!”

“All hail General Haken, all hail General Haken!”

“We would have won the war by now if it wasn’t for General Ethan…”

The noisy crowd kept yelling outside the window. Ethan was enraged after seeing how the people had gathered to support Haken!

What did they mean by they would have won the war long ago without him?

Cairo would already be in ruins by now if it wasn’t for him! They would all be dead, yet they had gathered such a huge crowd here while yelling such nonsense. What a bunch of idiots!

“General, please don’t be bothered by it, there are always ignorant people like them,” Kevin reassured him.

“What exactly is going on? Did they really open the entrance of the Underworld so China’s undead could invade it? Why does Haken even deserve the praise?… damn it, I’ve been commanding the army throughout the war for half a year. How could they treat me like that!?” Ethan protested angrily.

The people had immediately forgotten all his achievements in the past, just because he had failed once. They regarded him as a prodigy just half a year ago, but now they were scolding the crap out of him!

“Cairo was in a pretty bad spot not long time ago. Many people were thinking of running away from the city, but the person in charge of maintaining the city’s order failed to protect your image. He used violence on the people who were resisting, damaging your reputation… General Ethan, you shouldn’t let it bother you too much. It’s normal to have ups and downs in the military. Besides, Haken is getting old. His conservative approach will never bring peace to Cairo. You will soon show the world who the true prodigy of Cairo is!” Kevin declared firmly.

“Who’s in charge of the city?” Ethan demanded.

“It’s Saks, sir. Didn’t you reassign him to the city after demoting him?” Kevin replied.

“Humph, he still can’t do his job right! Ask him to come see me on the Cairo Hotel’s rooftop!” Ethan ordered.

——

The Cairo Hotel’s rooftop had an indoor swimming pool built with reinforced glass. Ethan had asked his men to seal off the perimeter before going inside the building.

A gorgeous young woman in a white bikini was swimming in the clear water. She had a slim waist and long, slender legs. She looked like an alluring snake woman as she wriggled her hips after diving into the water.

Ethan stood at the side of the pool. He immediately grabbed a towel and waited respectfully when he saw her coming out of the water.

The little beauty ignored him. A white bathrobe some distance away flew at her after she waved her hand, wrapping around her gently.

“There was a slight accident.” General Ethan did not feel awkward at all. He placed the towel down and poured the little beauty a glass of juice. He placed it on the table beside her deck chair.

“I know,” the little beauty said.

“Is the entrance to the Underworld really open?” General Ethan asked.

“What do you think that red deathlight was!?” the little beauty replied impatiently.

“I was just making sure… the situation is no longer in our favor. I might have a problem becoming the Commander-in-chief. Khafre’s invasion wasn’t as fierce as I imagined, and Haken has now earned a lot of support. We can’t let Haken stay as the Commander any further. Why don’t you Summon your people and defeat Haken’s army so he will struggle in the fourth phase? Once Haken fails to fend off the scorpions and snakes, I can reclaim the position from him. We’ll put on an act again and pretend that my army has won the war!” Ethan suggested.

The little beauty looked at him in disgust.

“Put on an act? In what way? My army will tear your men to pieces, and your soldiers will blast my people to death, too. You’ve thrown away your only chance of securing full control over Cairo. I won’t do anything stupid again with you,” the little beauty said.

“I can only help you with your goal once I have full control over Cairo. We should figure out a way to turn the tables around since we are working together now. Another thing… that Mo Fan is nothing but trouble for us. He will soon report my deeds to the International Military Tribunal. If the people found out how I’ve been winning the battles against the army of scorpions and snakes, my reputation will be damaged once again, even if they don’t have any solid evidence to prove I’m guilty. We will be even further away from our goals!” Ethan said.

“That means our cooperation has come to an end,” the little beauty said coldly.

“What do you mean!?” Ethan asked in a heavy voice.

The little beauty was about to say something when she felt a strong pulse in her mind. Her expression shifted as she rose to her feet anxiously.

“That annoying prick! Wait here, I’ll be back soon,” the little beauty said.

Ethan was confused, but he did not ask about it as he watched her leave.

—

The little beauty in the bathrobe took the lift to one of the presidential suites on the top floors.

“Come in,” Mo Fan said.

“Here’s your drink!” Apas indifferently placed her glass of juice in front of Mo Fan.

“I’m bored with cultivating. Sing me a song,” Mo Fan opened his eyes and looked at Apas, who had turned into a different person.

“I don’t know how!” Apas answered, clenching his teeth.

“Then you must know how to dance. Why don’t you dance slowly, strip off your bathrobe… fine, no dancing, stop acting like you’re trying to take me down with you. Why is your hair wet? Oh, did you go swimming? I’m thinking of going for a swim, too. Did you go to the pool on the roof?” Mo Fan stood up and stretched.

He had finally recovered after resting for a few days. He had been completely worn out after signing the Contract with Apas.

“I’m leaving if there’s nothing else!” Apas said.

“By the way, you haven’t told me what level are you among the Medusae? Why do you look exactly like a human? Why do you have such good-looking legs, instead of the lower body of a snake?” Mo Fan squinted as he stared at Apas’ slender legs.

Apas did not answer the question. She stood there silently, raising her chin proudly.

Chapter 1614 Who“s Eating the Girls? Part Two

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The first Medusa was a Maga with the Curse Element. You must be closely related to her since you look like a human, right?” Mo Fan prodded.

Apas remained silent.

“Does the army of snakes and scorpions take orders from you? You can Summon them to lend me a hand if I’m in any kind of trouble, right?” Mo Fan asked further.

“In your dreams!” Apas’ chest heaved angrily.

“Who were you talking to just now?” Mo Fan inquired.

“Just an attendant in the hotel,” Apas said.

“Tsk tsk, you still dare to lie to me? Don’t forget that our souls are bound by the Contract. I know everything you are up to,” Mo Fan said.

“It was Ethan,” Apas admitted sharply.

“What’s the secret between you and him?” Mo Fan pressed her.

“I always come to the city for fun. He makes the necessary arrangements,” Apas said.

“He even kidnapped innocent girls to fawn upon you. How disgusting are you? Not only did you eat them alive, you even stole their appearance! I’m a little obsessed with the cleanliness of the soul. I can’t believe I accepted you as my Contracted Beast!” Mo Fan said.

“Assh***, do you think I wanted to sign the Contract with you!?” Apas was poked right on her most tender spot. She almost jumped up and fought Mo Fan to death, but her rationality told her that she would just be hurting herself if she tried to harm him. She had no choice but to withhold the urge and continue, her eyes burning with rage, “A real Medusa doesn’t have to eat young girls to keep their youth and beauty. Only the Medusae with the lineage of the Red Scorpion Gorgon feast on young girls. Don’t you dare compare me with those lowly Medusae!”

“I’ve asked someone to verify it. Major General Gangma did kidnap many young girls, so stop pretending like you’re innocent here. Tell me the truth right now!” Mo Fan ordered.

“They were doing it to fawn on my servants. What do I have to do with it?” Apas scoffed.

“Humph, you are their master, so you are just as vicious as your servants!” Mo Fan rebutted.

“How amusing! My servants only need to feed on young girls once every season. If Gangma did bring them girls based on their needs, there’s no way you would have noticed them missing!” Apas said.

“The numbers of missing girls I know of are clearly greater than you have claimed!” Mo Fan snarled.

“Then why don’t you find out who’s really eating them?” Apas mocked him back.

Mo Fan was startled. He could easily tell Apas was telling him the truth with the Contract.

If the young Medusa he tore apart was Apas’ servant, and even if she had quite a number of them, why would the numbers of missing girls reach a hundred every season?

Did Gangma eat them all instead? Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat.

The Medusae did eat the girls, but the girls they fed upon were a lot less than the girls Gangma had eaten!

“You accuse us of being vicious, but you humans are the most vicious instead!” Apas said.

“This…” Mo Fan was lost for words.

“Ethan is on the rooftop. If you really care about what happened to the girls he kidnapped, feel free to ask him in person,” Apas smiled at him.

—

Mo Fan went to the rooftop and saw Ethan standing by the pool. He had put on a little disguise so people would not recognize him.

“It’s you!” Ethan was enraged when he saw Mo Fan.

“You claimed that you were sacrificing those innocent girls to save more lives, but can you tell me why so many of them went missing when the Medusae only needed to feed on a few of them every season!?” Mo Fan asked coldly.

“You’re ridiculous, what do I have anything to do with the missing girls? I’ve never done anything like it. It was all Gangma!” Ethan said.

“Your heartless men were murdering innocent people while abusing your reputation, yet you did nothing to stop them!” Mo Fan cursed him right back.

“He’s responsible for what he did himself. I knew he had a fetish for toying with little girls. I also knew that he was using the little girls to pander to the authorities in the military and the government. He deserved to go to Hell, but it wasn’t my job to condemn him. I’m a general, my job is to keep the city safe!” Ethan replied disdainfully.

Mo Fan’s heart turned cold after hearing those words.

It turned out that the most vicious snakes and scorpions were nowhere as terrifying as humans driven by their own desires.

Mo Fan realized he had gone too easy on Gangma. He should have drawn his soul out and tortured him first!

“Stop being so naive and thinking you can be the good guy. If you go and look for the missing girls, you have no idea how many authorities you’re going to offend as a result. Gangma made friends with people that shared the same fetish as him, and most of them have formidable statuses and backgrounds if he catered to them. Do you think you can punish them all?” Ethan went on.

“I’m going to punish you first! You knew what kind of assh*** your subordinate was, yet you kept letting him be!” Mo Fan grunted.

“HAHA, do you really think you’re a savior because you’ve opened the entrance of the Underworld, and let the two kingdoms of undead fight one another? The crisis that humans are facing is greater than you could ever imagine! They are ten, even a hundred times scarier than what we are facing now!

“People are going to die and be born continuously. Cities will fall and rise. You might have prevented a disaster from happening, but the casualties during the next calamity will easily outnumber the number of lives you’ve saved. It’s going to have the same outcome. Humans are still going to live like cowards in the safe zones while the wilds are full of demon creatures…

“There’s one thing that won’t change: the status of the upper class! They are the only ones worthy to be called humans. If we lose the war, who do you think is going to make it out alive? The authorities have already planned their escape. Only idiots believe in the government’s lies, and if they don’t, there is nothing they can do but go onto the streets in some meaningless protests and vent their frustrations!”

Ethan never hesitated to share his beliefs. Mo Fan’s expression sank after hearing his words. His temperature had dropped significantly!

“Besides, do you really think people are all kind and innocent? The people in the upper class are from the middle and lower classes, too! The truth is, those so-called kind people might even do something crueler and worse than Gangma did if they were given the power! Human society is built on the basis of killing one another. How many humans do you think the demon creatures can eat?

“You do have the option to punish every authority figure involved, but I can assure you, those people are holding important positions. Killing one of them might even put a town or a city in danger, and the number of casualties when something like that happens in times of war will easily surpass a hundred young girls!”

Chapter 1615

Punishing Ethan!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Ethan, you’re seriously the most disgusting guy I’ve ever met. Even hearing your disgusting words for a second more is torture to me!” Mo Fan declared.

“Why so? You’re going to be disgusted by yourself, just like how you’re disgusted by me, in a few years. I know how detestable I am, yet it’s not going to change the truth,” Ethan replied indifferently.

“I seriously don’t understand why you keep saying I’m just like you. We are different. A jerk like you deserves to go to Hell!” Mo Fan rebutted instantly.

“Such a pity, the people that are capable of going to Hell are exactly the people I’ve mentioned before. Why do you think they would bother to take me down? As for you, I’m afraid you aren’t qualified to punish me, nor do you have the influence to convince the International Military Tribunal to pronounce me guilty!” Ethan burst out laughing.

Mo Fan knew that the International Military Tribunal was unlikely to judge a true general guilty. They were too deeply involved in the games of power.

On the other hand, Mo Fan was aware of Ethan’s strength. The guy was a powerful Super Mage. There was no way he could kill the bastard without relying on the power of the Demon Element.

However, Mo Fan had his own way of delivering punishment.

“Apas, give him Hell. Let him repent for a hundred years or two in it,” Mo Fan let out a hollow laugh, staring at the arrogant Ethan.

Apas was standing behind Mo Fan, Ethan finally noticed.

Ethan did not kill Mo Fan in the first place because Apas was having fun toying with him. He knew Mo Fan was Apas’ plaything. Once Apas had enough, Mo Fan would be doomed without Ethan’s intervention!

“Bring me Hell? HAHAHA, it sounds like you still don’t understand the situation!” Ethan burst out laughing once again.

“It’s you who doesn’t understand the situation. Apas, what are you waiting for!?” Mo Fan turned around and glared at Apas.

Apas did not like being ordered around by Mo Fan, but she was left with no choice.

She stepped forward and approached Ethan. Her aura shifted slightly. Her attractive face was now displaying a hint of noble imperiousness!

Her gaze sharpened as she fixed her eyes on Ethan.

“What are you doing?” Ethan was surprised.

“I must obey his words,” Apas said.

“Are you kidding me? Do you really treat your plaything as your important friend now? You are the noble Golden Eyes Medusa! Who in the world dares to order you around?” Ethan was amused.

A pair of gold-dusted eyes suddenly appeared while Ethan was in the middle of his sentence. The eyes overwhelmed his vision and replaced the night view of Cairo City. Both Mo Fan and Apas vanished into thin air. The dusty golden eyes were the only existence in Ethan’s world. They were staring at him without any emotion, as if he was just as petty as a mere ant!

“How could you…” Ethan was astounded.

He did not understand why Apas would use the terrifying Curse on him. When did he provoke her!?

The Curse of the Snake Eyes originated from the Medusa’s Curse, and as a Medusa with a pure lineage, the Curse from her golden eyes was several times scarier than the Curse Mo Fan had been placed under in the past. The Medusae in Cairo were able to apply the Curse on their enemies only because Apas was in the area!

The attack took Ethan by surprise. Even though he was a Super Mage, his mental state was not particularly outstanding, so he did not have much resistance against the Curse Element. The Curse left a deep imprint on his soul.

Ethan backed away in cold sweat. He slipped and fell into the pool, and was drenched in the cold water.

For some reason, the cold water scared him greatly, as if he was being wrapped in cold snake scales. In addition to that, the heads of the snakes were replaced with ghastly, familiar faces demanding his life!

Ethan was not afraid of ghosts, but that changed when he saw someone who terrified him the most. It was his foster mother, back in his hometown. An undead centipede had managed to sneak into the city after his men left their posts without permission. Many people had died in the incident, but Ethan decided to cover up the truth so it would not damage his reputation, as he was climbing the ranks back then.

Ethan would not panic if he was haunted by strangers, but he could not stand it when he was accused by his foster mother, who had died a miserable death back then!

Ethan climbed out of the pool, crazily wiping himself dry.

Apas pointed at Apas and swore, “What did you do to me? What have you done!?”

“It’s a Curse that will haunt you for a very long time. The thing that you are afraid of the most will haunt you whenever you feel you are safe,” Apas said.

“Did…did you really listen to the kid’s order?” Ethan gaped at her.

“Allow me to introduce her, she’s now my Contracted Beast,” Mo Fan went forward and smilingly fondled Apas’ head, like she was his beloved younger sister.

Apas angrily shoved Mo Fan’s hand away. She obviously hated being called a Contracted Beast!

“How is that possible? How could you possibly subdue the soul of a descendant of Medusa?” Ethan could not believe it.

Ethan had tried so hard to fawn over the young Medusa, yet he only managed to convince her to cooperate with him. How was it possible for Mo Fan to subdue a future Medusa Queen and make her become his Contracted Beast?

“Ethan, I know a man like you doesn’t have a clean conscience, and you aren’t disturbed by the sins you have committed. However, I believe you are well aware of the things you have done. Not only will you be spending the rest of your life in fear and remorse, but from now on, every sin you commit is going worsen the Curse. It’s the Hell I have built specifically for you. Enjoy! Once your twisted heart and rotten soul is cleansed by the torture, I suggest you surrender yourself to the International Military Tribunal! Once you confess every offense you and your men have committed, you will discover that living with a clear conscience is the best way to live. The Curse will disappear on its own, too!” Mo Fan informed him cheerfully.

Ethan was already shivering in fear after being drenched in the cold water. He could imagine how great a torture the Curse was going to be if he was constantly troubled by it for the rest of his life. He would never be able to sleep peacefully, nor would he find anything enjoyable from today on! The mental torture was far worse than physical torture!

“I…I’m going to kill you!” Ethan yelled angrily. The magic of four Elements immediately burst out of his body. The air froze beneath his overwhelming aura.

As Ethan was about to make his move, Apas stepped in front of Mo Fan while her gold dust eyes emitted a sharp light. Ethan suddenly felt like he had shrunk rapidly before her. His aura was suppressed like he was a mere firefly, while Apas’ dusty golden eyes were as bright as the moon!

Ethan fell feebly to the ground, a hollow look in his eyes, his face going pale.

It was the real Curse of the Snake Eyes, and Ethan ended up becoming the first victim of it. Ethan knew he did not stand a chance against a descendant of Medusa.

Because of her, there was nothing he could do to Mo Fan, either!

Despite realizing the situation, he still did not understand why Apas was willing to be Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast. Was it really possible for a human to subdue a true Medusa?

“I hope you learn your place soon, it will lessen your pain,” Mo Fan said indifferently.

Ethan had no one but himself to blame. He thought he could do whatever he pleased by abusing his power. He was disdaining human life and the law, but ironically, it was Apas who had punished him in the end!

That being said, if it weren’t for the sins he had committed, it was unlikely Apas’ Curse could suppress a Super Mage like him so easily!

One should never scorn the laws of nature. Otherwise, even God was not going to forgive you!

—

—

Mo Fan was satisfied with the punishment delivered to Ethan.

Ethan might have done a lot of bad things, yet his military achievements could not be overlooked, either. If he died right away, it would deal a serious blow to Cairo. After all, he was still in charge of the military forces here.

The Curse would make him suffer and struggle to sleep peacefully because of his own sins. Every time he did something wrong, he would be adding fuel to the burning pot of Hell he was trapped inside. He would soon repent after he was overwhelmed by remorse.

After seeing the pleasant smile on Mo Fan’s face, Apas asked coldly, “Are you happy now?”

“I am! Thanks to you, I finally punished that son of a b**ch!” Mo Fan was so pleased that he was humming along the way.

“Time to rescind the contract. We will part ways here,” Apas said.

Mo Fan halted in his tracks. He turned around and looked at the stubborn Apas with a serious expression. He placed his hands on Apas’ shoulders and stuck his face close to Apas’ adorable nose. He said, “I will never do that. To be honest, you don’t have to think so much about it. If you behave yourself, I can still treat you like the little fairy I stumbled into. You can call me big brother like before too… ah, I’m in quite a good mood today. Didn’t you want to learn magic? Come, I’ll teach you properly this time. It’s pretty strange that you can learn magic. Luckily, I was smart enough to see through your trick. If it was anyone else, it would have tricked them so badly.”

Apas clenched her teeth. She was even more agitated when she saw the pleased grin on Mo Fan’s face.

This guy was a hundred times more detestable than Ethan. He was the one that deserved to be punished!

1616 One of the Seven Great Beasts

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Speaking of which, if the scorpions and snakes take orders from you, can’t you also Summon them whenever I Summon you? You do know how many enemies I have, not to mention how much stronger they are. Things will be much simpler if your army of snakes and scorpions could lend me a hand!” Mo Fan said.

“Enough daydreaming,” Apas grunted. “You have no idea how complicated the Medusa Tribe is!”

“I’m pretty interested in it. Tell me about it, I have plenty of time to spare now,” Mo Fan said.

“She’s just a descendant that doesn’t attend to her proper duties!” a voice interrupted them.

Mo Fan heard the Queen of the Netherworld, but he did not see her anywhere. He looked around and saw her floating out from a painting nearby. She even had the appearance of the woman in the painting, clearly displaying the traits of a phantom. She successfully gave Mo Fan goosebumps.

It was quite terrifying knowing that a strong phantom could just Possess anything without alerting anyone!

Mo Fan looked at Apas and asked in confusion, “She doesn’t attend to her duties? What does that mean?”

“Didn’t you ask me to take care of the army of snakes and scorpions recently? I visited their evil temples, so I managed to figure out what’s going on in the Medusa Tribe,” the Queen of the Netherworld stated.

Apas remained silent, glaring at the Queen of the Netherworld. The detestable old lady was the exact reason she was here now!

“Tell me about it,” Mo Fan was intrigued, and sat down on the couch. He did not notice the little squirrel who was enjoying her meal on it.

Little Flame Belle quickly moved away to avoid being flattened by Mo Fan. She cried out resentfully in displeasure!

Mo Fan put on an awkward smile. He hugged Little Flame Belle and treated her like a warm pillow. He was ready to listen to an exciting story!

Little Flame Belle prepared her snacks, too, waiting for the Queen of the Netherworld to explain the situation about the Medusa Tribe with wide eyes, even though she could not understand a single word.

“The Medusa Queen is dying,” the Queen of the Netherworld stated.

“…” Mo Fan almost fell from the couch.

The Queen of the Netherworld had told him such a shocking piece of news right off the bat!

The Medusa Queen was the real boss in charge of the horde of scorpions and snakes. She was the greatest ruler of the Medusae, yet to think that a powerful creature like her was dying… It was unbelievable!

Every country had some powerful creatures residing in it. They were considered the natural enemies of the countries, and were great restrictions to the country’s development. Some would occasionally invade the human cities ruthlessly, such as the horde from China’s Dongting Lake. If the greatest ruler of the horde died somehow, the whole country would celebrate!

Not only was the Medusa Queen a powerful beast in Egypt, she was also one of the greatest threats to the Arab states, Greece, Italy, and a few other European and Mediterranean countries. The horde of scorpions and snakes had been troubling these countries for many centuries, and it was led by none other than the Medusa Queen!

“The Medusa Queen, one of the Seven Great Beasts in Africa, is dying?” Mo Fan stared at the Queen of the Netherworld. He was struggling to believe it.

The Queen of the Netherworld glanced at Apas and said with a smile, “Isn’t the youngest daughter of the Queen Medusa right beside you? Why don’t you ask her about it?”

Mo Fan stared at Apas with wide eyes.

Are you serious!? Apas is the Medusa Queen’s daughter…

Mo Fan knew Apas’ rank in the tribe was high since she had the purest, noble lineage of the Medusa Tribe. However, he did not expect it to be that pure; the youngest daughter of the Queen Medusa! Wouldn’t that make him the Queen Medusa’s son-in-law? Wait, what son-in-law, she was his Contract Summons!

“Do you realize how lucky you are now?” The Queen of the Netherworld rolled her eyes at him.

Mo Fan nodded heavily.

Damn, he had clearly made a fortune! It explained why even a general like Ethan was trying so hard to fawn on Apas. It turned out that she did have control over Africa’s destiny… but she was now his Contracted Beast instead! HAHAHA, not to mention how good-looking she was, too! Being kind-hearted did end up giving him good rewards. He should be doing more good things from now on! He would hunt down the evildoers so the Heavens would keep rewarding him by giving him beautiful assistants!

“If the Medusa Queen is dying, who’s going to be her successor?” Mo Fan suddenly realized something. He looked at Apas with great passion.

Apas could definitely compete for the throne. Wouldn’t that mean his cute Contracted Beast would eventually become one of the Seven Great Beasts of Africa?

“She has two sisters, Permoje and Diino. You wouldn’t want to mess with them. They almost noticed me when I was sneaking into the evil temple…” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“Oh, their family is pretty lively then,” Mo Fan commented.

“Do you know why I say she doesn’t attend to her duties?” the Queen of the Netherworld smiled.

“Why is that?”

“Permoje and Diino are busy winning over the rest of the Medusae. They have expanded their influence further, to the snakes and the scorpions. They now have control over the hordes of snakes and scorpions from the Cape of Good Hope to the Mediterranean Sea. They have even formed an alliance with the other species in the deserts. Meanwhile, their youngest sister… look at what she was doing. Big brother, I want to learn magic… big brother, I want to eat this, I want to play that,” the Queen of the Netherworld mimicked Apas’ face and accent.

Mo Fan was amused by it, while Apas’ face darkened in rage. Her little fangs were starting to poke out from her lips.

“Why didn’t you compete with your sisters? You should be ambitious too, even if you are just a Medusa. Otherwise, how different are you from a salted fish!?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Why do you care!?” Apas was greatly humiliated. She had the urge to pounce on Mo Fan and tear him to pieces!

“HAHA, it’s not like she doesn’t want to compete for the throne. She was born too late. Her power is still too weak, so she could not win over the support of the hordes. If Queen Medusa hadn’t been protecting her, her two sisters would have cooked her into soup… speaking of which, she’s actually the prettiest among the sisters,” the Queen of the Netherworld mentioned.

“Wow, aren’t they sisters? Do they really have to be so cruel to one another? Why can’t they just be loving and kind to one another?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“When the throne is at stake, they will try everything they can to butcher the rest of their siblings to secure the throne. There’s no such thing as a family in the game of thrones, let alone them?” The Queen of the Netherworld sounded like she could relate to them.

“Oh, that’s true. Does that mean she no longer has a chance to compete for the throne?” Mo Fan said.

“Unless her two sisters suddenly die for no reason! HAHAHA!… Even so, I doubt she can suppress the rest of the Medusae with her naive outlook. I bet even an aged Scorpion Lord Medusa would dare to challenge her,” the Queen of the Netherworld judged gloatingly.

Apas’ expression darkened. If it wasn’t for the goddamned Contract, she would eat them both alive right now!

“Does that mean she has no hope of commanding the army of snakes and scorpions?” Mo Fan asked.

“She won’t have any problem intimidating some of the weaker tribes with her lineage, which is more than enough to scare the Medusae with impure bloodlines, but most of the tribes are still going to side with her sisters. As soon as she shows up, her two sisters are going to find out where she is. They will soon give the order to kill her… of course, they wouldn’t dare to do anything reckless for now, since the Medusa Queen is still around. However, when she dies, the sisters are surely going to hunt her down with everything they have…” the Queen of the Netherworld trailed off.

Mo Fan reached his hand out and fondled Apas’ head until her hair was disheveled. He said with a pitiful look, “How sad! You should be grateful that I’ve accepted you.”

“I’m going to sleep!” Apas did not want to listen to their conversation any further. She preferred to return to her Contracted Space. It was quieter there.

“You haven’t answered me yet. What did Ethan offer you?” Mo Fan asked.

“What else do you think it could be? Ethan is a general, humans are just a beast faction in our eyes! Since her two sisters have already spread their influence among the demon creatures, she could only earn some support from the humans. Ethan was getting intel on the army of scorpions and snakes, and the privilege of asking the demon creatures to retreat. Once Ethan became the Commander-in-chief, he would help her get rid of her sisters…” the Queen of the Netherworld informed him.

“I see! Apas, you’ve clearly chosen to work with the wrong person. How can you possibly join hands with scum like Ethan? Besides, he isn’t even that capable. You should have chosen someone like me instead, someone who is blessed by nature, whose strong build can force the oceans and the mountains to bow before me. Leaving these traits aside, my charm alone is far superior to him. Look at my face, isn’t it so handsome that it is out of this world? Don’t you worry, now that you’re with me, I won’t shun you. Just serve me right, and I’ll hang your sisters up so you can either peel off their skin or tendons as you wish,” Mo Fan rubbed Apas on the head again, getting even more full of himself.

Apas was almost driven mad by this. She had never seen anyone more shameless!

Did he just say he would take care of her sisters for her? He could not even defeat a low-level Medusa with his current strength! If it wasn’t because of the old hag beside him, he would never have posed a threat to her…

“I’m tired!” Apas grunted. She would rather hypnotize herself and put herself to sleep for a hundred years than listen to their nonsense. She would comfortably wake up when Mo Fan was at the end of his lifespan!

Mo Fan did not trouble Apas any further, and let her enter the Contracted Space.

Apas soon fell asleep. Mo Fan peeked into her room and saw her sleeping, and did not disturb her any more.

1617 The Cruel Ocean Serpen

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You asked her to place Ethan under a Curse?” the Queen of the Netherworld asked Mo Fan.

“Yeah, I didn’t feel right without teaching him a lesson,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Her soul is seriously damaged. She is a lot weaker now, yet she was forced to use such a powerful Curse on a Super Mage. She must be worn out,” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“Oh, is she going to be fine then?” Mo Fan asked worriedly.

“If she was either of her sisters, I would advise you to release her from the Contract right away, even if it meant injuring yourself. They are just too vicious, and could do anything to achieve their goals. They might not be able to harm you, but they would target the people around you to drive you crazy. As for Apas, from what I know, she has spent most of her time around humans. The Medusa Queen has been in bad shape for a long time, and her sisters are eying the throne covetously. It was difficult for Apas to survive in the evil temple, which is why she has been wandering in the human world…” the Queen of the Netherworld explained seriously.

“So she was disguising herself as a human to run away from her sisters, while searching for someone that could contend against them?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, there’s something I should tell you too. She’s now extremely weak because of her soul’s injuries, and there’s some kind of spiritual bond between her and her sisters. Therefore, her sisters should be aware of her condition. It’s unlikely they will leave the evil temple, but the other Medusae might hunt her down to appease the sisters,” the Queen of the Netherworld warned him.

“That makes a lot of sense,” Mo Fan nodded.

The law of the jungle was applicable in every species. Apas’ soul was severely injured. Normally, she would only have to worry about her own safety if her sisters were coming after her, but now that she was in a bad shape and her strength was limited by the Contract because of her master’s cultivation, many Ruler-level creatures would dare to fight her now!

“Therefore, since you’ve used all her strength to punish Ethan, you will have to deal with the upcoming trouble yourself,” the Queen of the Netherworld informed him.

“That’s fine, punishing Ethan was more important. I’ll take care of the rest… such a pity, I thought I would have control over the army of scorpions and snakes after making her my Contracted Beast, but I ended up attracting more enemies to me instead,” Mo Fan lamented.

“There’s no free lunch in this world. Stop complaining; if you help her recover from her injuries as you become stronger, she will easily conquer a vast land for you in the future,” the Queen of the Netherworld declared.

“Mm, I’m satisfied with the outcome,” Mo Fan nodded. He could not afford to be too selfish. He had to pay a price after obtaining something. He looked at the Queen of the Netherworld and asked, “By the way, how are your injuries?”

“Of course I’m in bad shape now. I’m a phantom, my soul is my main source of energy. I would like to find a peaceful place and rest for a few dozen years to recover my strength…” the Queen of the Netherworld grunted.

“How can I help you?” Mo Fan was a little sorry for her.

“Sure, you must have heard how a ghost can nourish their Yin by taking the Yang of men. I’ve never tried it before. Why don’t you volunteer yourself? I’ll suck your Yang dry. I should be able to recover in no time!” Her eyes glittered hungrily.

“About that… I have a friend, his surname is Zhao, I believe he’s a fan of the method you just mentioned. Why don’t you ask him for help instead?” Mo Fan said.

“Humph, you were the one that offered to help!”

—

—

Mo Fan did not stay too long in Cairo, knowing that Apas might lure some powerful Medusae to him. He quickly packed his stuff and left after claiming his rewards.

The war would continue for some time, but they had no trouble leaving the city. Haken personally cleared a path and escorted Mo Fan out of the city.

Mo Fan was thinking of visiting Greece after he reached the Mediterranean Sea. He noticed Xinxia was a lot skinnier when he saw her on the news the other day. Her chubby face was much leaner and sharper. Mo Fan was quite worried about her.

“Mo Fan, when did you regrow your hand?” Mu Bai was surprised that Mo Fan’s hand had already grown out, even though it had only been a few days since he last saw him.

“Meos invited an old Healer from her clan to help me out,” Mo Fan explained.

“Why did you bother, since you are going to Parthenon Temple anyway? Aren’t the Healers at the Parthenon Temple better? They can even heal away the blisters you’ve had for more than twenty years,” Zhao Manyan said.

“I bet he doesn’t want someone to be worried,” Mu Bai said.

“I’m not going!” Heidi said seriously.

“I didn’t ask you to visit the temple. You’re not breaking the rule if you just hang around in the city. Seriously, what year is it already? Why are you still being so stubborn!?” Mo Fan said.

“I have the right to be stubborn,” Heidi said.

“…”

The sea breeze was sweeping at them as they stood on the white deck of the boat. Mo Fan was utterly relaxed as he enjoyed the soothing breeze he would never feel from the desert. Screw the Pyramids, Mo Fan was never going back there again!

“Isn’t the Mediterranean Sea a lot safer than the rest of the oceans now?” Heidi’s long hair drifted in the wind. Her blue eyes were as charming as the blue ocean.

“I think so, but the oceans occupy a bigger portion of the world. Humans have only explored a small percentage of them. We always thought the kingdoms of demon creatures on land were our greatest enemies. Little did we know, the oceans are actually the land’s biggest enemies. Even the demon creatures on land are terrified of the sea monsters,” Mu Bai explained.

They had always assumed their cities were perfectly safe for ages, but it turned out that the dangers to humanity were never resolved. Disasters where blood was shed and lives were lost were happening constantly across the world. Peace was only temporary, making it more precious than ever.

“Here, try out the cocktail I’ve made,” Zhao Manyan had suddenly become a bartender, and was carrying a tray of cocktails to the deck. He was the one that had hired the yacht. He knew how to enjoy himself at all times!

“Do you serve peanuts?” Mo Fan asked.

“…it’s a cocktail. What do you need peanuts for? Hey, Heidi, go and change into your bikini and dance for us,” Zhao Manyan said.

Heidi glared at Zhao Manyan. Her expressionless face was clearly telling him to piss off!

A lunar-white gap in space suddenly appeared behind Mo Fan. Apas, wearing an amber summer dress, walked out from it. Her long hair dangled elegantly to the side.

“Ah, Apas, it’s fine if you are the one dancing… huh, Apas, since when are you on the boat? Were you with us just now?” Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded.

He clearly remembered only the four of them were taking the yacht from Egypt to Greece. Where did Apas come from?

“There’s something in the water behind us… it’s the Cruel Ocean Serpent!” Apas frowned. Her pale face had an inviolable expression!

1618 Fighting the Demon Snake on the Ocean

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan jumped to the top of the currently unneeded sail on the boat and looked behind them.

The yacht was moving quickly, driven by a looping Water Spell that Zhao Manyan had cast. Waves were extending to the side like white curtains on the surface of the sea; behind them was a long shadow. It was still a certain distance from the surface, but it was obvious because of how clear the water was. It was extremely sinister to see!

When did the creature start following the yacht?

Mo Fan had assumed they would not stumble into demon snakes again after leaving the deserts in Egypt. To his surprise, there was such a deadly creature in the Mediterranean Sea!

“Its level isn’t low, be careful!” Mo Fan warned the others.

Luckily, his missing arm had grown fully back. Otherwise, he would have struggled to wield his full strength. Mo Fan glanced at Apas, who looked back at him helplessly.

If Apas had not used the Curse on Ethan, she would have no problem dealing with the Cruel Ocean Serpent. However, her mental energy had dried out. She could not lend a hand, since she mainly relied on her Spiritual Magic!

“Holy crap, which god did we end up provoking this time? Why do we always find ourselves in dangerous situations like this? Why did we have to stumble into a thing like this while we are enjoying ourselves!?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

It was fine if some random serpent or monster showed up while they were traveling across the Mediterranean Sea. They could easily just take them out, so why would such a deadly Ruler-level creature show up out of nowhere? Were Ruler-level creatures so common nowadays? How were average Mages going to survive?

“It’s coming,” Mo Fan frowned. He was trying to figure out a way to deal with the Cruel Ocean Serpent.

Any creature that had come for Apas’ head was at least a Ruler-level creature. The Cruel Ocean Serpent was only a little weaker than the Dark Swordmaster!

If they were on land, with Mo Fan’s current strength and the help of his teammates, he might have had a chance against the Ruler-inferior creature, but if he was fighting on the sea…

First, the sea greatly limited Mo Fan’s Fire Magic. His powerful Fire Magic and the fighting capacity he had when Possessed by Little Flame Belle was his best trump card when fighting a Ruler-level creature. Without it, a Ruler-inferior creature could easily kill him.

Second, the Beast Tide spell was completely useless, too. The Moon-Devouring White Wolves, Enormous White Wolves, and White-Marked Wolves were all landlubbers. If they were Summoned onto the sea, they would end up like dumplings in boiling water. Last but not least, his enemy could move freely in the water, while his movement was greatly restricted!

It would be better if there were tall buildings that served as stepping stones around him, like Japan’s maritime battlefield, but they were currently in the middle of the sea. He could see nothing but water. The environment was unfavorable to him!

“Are we fighting?” Mu Bai asked.

“Mu Bai, how long will it take you to freeze the surface of the sea?” Mo Fan said.

“An area this size? It least ten minutes,” Mu Bai replied.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless.

Ten minutes was enough for the creature to digest them into poop. If only Mu Ningxue was here, it would only take her a few minutes to freeze the surface. That would significantly lift the restrictions that Mo Fan was under!

Mo Fan was giving Mu Bai a how-useless-are-you look when Heidi, who was eavesdropping on their conversation, blurted out as a thought crossed her mind, “There’s an island behind the mist ahead. Let’s fight it there!”

“Great idea!”

“I’m only worried if this shitty yacht will make it that far.”

“What did you say? I spent so much money on the yacht. I gave it the name Le Grand Amour! Damn it, if that thing dares to destroy my yacht, I’m going to skin it and use it to cover my deck!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“Enough talk, hurry up and set up a defense around the ship. Otherwise, it can smash your yacht into pieces with a single wave of its tail!” Mo Fan told him.

The Cruel Ocean Serpent did not attack right away. It was obviously probing the strength of the extra people on the yacht. Its long body undulated slowly as it drew closer to the yacht!

It quickly finished probing their strength. It was on the move!

The Cruel Ocean Serpent was massive. Its head reached the right side of the yacht and drew a huge arc under the water. Its long body was curling around the area that the boat was in!

It felt like the yacht had reached a dead end, surrounded by black reefs. The white yacht was like a leaf that was going to sink at any second. Its size was a great contrast to the Cruel Ocean Serpent’s massive body.

Normally, the fear they felt would be coming from above, when the shadow of some massive creatures loomed over them with an overwhelming presence strong enough to make their hearts pound while they struggled to breathe!

This time, the fear was coming from the water under the yacht. Where they were standing no longer felt safe, as if they would be dragged to the bottom of the sea and drowned in the icy cold water with no chance of resisting!

The water level dropped rapidly. The group suddenly felt weightless!

The yacht was initially moving on the surface of the sea, but they suddenly noticed a chasm opening up. They saw the water rising above them like a massive wall!

“It’s drawing the water away from this area. It’s dragging us to the bottom of the sea!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

The Cruel Ocean Serpent did not bother directly attacking the yacht. It was removing the water from beneath the boat. Once the yacht reached a certain depth, it would withdraw its control, and the weight of water pouring down on them would crush them to pieces!

It was unwise to underestimate the force of the sea. Heidi immediately used her Telekinesis as the yacht was sinking.

It formed a silver wedge, holding the yacht in mid-air. The water below continued to fall, but the white yacht floated in the sky.

“Cunning bastard, it’s trying to drown us!” Mo Fan cursed. Luckily, Heidi had reacted in time to hold the yacht in the air.

“Heidi, can you hold it?” Mu Bai asked.

Heidi did not bother to answer him. She slowly lifted the yacht and brought it back to the surface of the sea.

“Let’s leave this place first,” Heidi said.

“Do you need help?” Mo Fan asked.

The yacht was not light. It was a great burden to Heidi’s mind and energy to use her Telekinesis to keep the boat floating.

Lifting objects with the Telekinesis was mainly used for attacking. They only needed to speed up the objects after lifting them into the air to either knock their targets away, or throw the objects at their enemy. It was just like a person picking up a stone and tossing it into the distance. The process only lasted for a few seconds at most.

However, levitating an object was different. It required the Space Mage to constantly focus on the object as long as the object was still aloft. The burden to the Space Mage would multiply, depending on the size and the mass of the object. It was just like a person carrying a heavy object with both hands. It was not a trivial task!

Luckily, Heidi’s Will was very strong. If Mo Fan was lifting the yacht, it would turn into a drop tower from an amusement park if he was distracted somehow.

Heidi’s Telekinesis was rather impressive. She forcibly dragged the yacht out from the chasm and tossed it back onto the sea’s surface.

The yacht flew three hundred meters in the air. It finally dropped back to the sea as Heidi struggled to hold on just long enough.

The yacht landed heavily on the surface of the sea and kicked up a huge wave up. Zhao Manyan was bounced from the deck to the back of the yacht. He would have fallen into the water if he had not grabbed the rail in time.

The yacht was obviously damaged from the fall. Zhao Manyan rose to his feet and cried out pitifully, “It’s no different than being attacked by the creature. A few more times, and my yacht is going to fall apart!”

Mo Fan turned around and saw water pouring back into the chasm to fill up the empty space. Currents were flowing from beneath the ship, too. They eventually formed a giant whirlpool with a deafening rumble.

“Is it back?” Mu Bai asked.

“Most likely,” Mo Fan cautiously looked around him, but the water nearby was calm. He eventually grumbled, “Damn it, I can’t see anything on the surface. We won’t be able to tell where it is if it’s moving around deep in the sea!”

Mo Fan did not like the sea; he kept feeling like the enemy would suddenly attack from below him, forcing him to be passive. He began to wonder why he even agreed to Zhao Manyan’s stupid suggestion of taking a yacht to Greece. Wouldn’t it be better if they had traveled on land?

“It’s nearby, don’t lower your guard!” Heidi warned them. Her face was covered in sweat; she was clearly worn out from using her Telekinesis like that. “I can hear it moving!”

A Sound Mage was particularly useful in a situation like this. Heidi could easily figure out where the Cruel Ocean Serpent was while the others were struggling.

Mo Fan was getting agitated. He could not use his strength at all. He had an urge to punch the Cruel Ocean Serpent right in the face. He wanted to throw a few punches at the water nearby to vent his frustrations!

1619 Evil Serpent Disturbing the Seas

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How far are we from the island?” Mo Fan asked.

“Around three kilometers, you should be able to see it after we leave the mist… there it is!” Mu Bai said, pointing ahead.

The yacht had already passed through the fog. An island covered in oak trees was right ahead. It was a lot closer than the others had thought, mainly because the mist limited their vision.

“Good, lure that thing to the island. I’m going to blast it into pieces!” Mo Fan clenched his fists with glittering eyes.

The sea became restless again. The Cruel Ocean Serpent was on the move. The clear water suddenly became cloudy, and started to shake around them!

Countless red snakes sprang out from the water. They rose into the air and came down like elastic spears.

The snakes were pouring down like rain, crazily dangerous. They could not tell if the Cruel Ocean Serpent had Summoned the snakes, or if they were some kind of magic. The strange red snakes went right through Zhao Manyan’s Water Curtain without any resistance, completely ignoring the magical barrier!

Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded. The Water Curtain was clearly standing there intact, but the red snakes had passed through it instantly. He had never encountered anything like it.

“Plummeting Rays: Sacred Wall!”

Zhao Manyan tossed a ray of light ahead. It exploded after reaching a certain spot, leaving countless octagons scattered in the air. The octagons joined together and formed a wall of shields.

There were crazy numbers of the red snakes, and they were coming from all directions. Zhao Manyan’s golden shield could only form an arc of protection in a specific direction. It could not protect the entire yacht!

Zhao Manyan was using everything he had to protect his yacht. He immediately cast a few more spells, tossing a few more rays of light into the air, forming the same shield around the yacht.

The Light Magic was much more effective. The red snakes melted into a puddle of filth after smashing into the light shields, their remains slowly sliding down the octagons. They seemed to be extremely vulnerable to the Light Magic.

The light shields stopped most of the red snakes from landing on the ship. The yacht continued forward unhindered.

“Nicely done, we are almost at the island. My fists can’t wait any longer!” Mo Fan grinned.

He was going to make it pay for chasing them all the way here!

Mu Bai was steering the boat. He was surprisingly skilled at many things. It was bumpier on the ocean than on land, but Mu Bai was able to steer the ship around and use the waves to speed them up. The ship darted toward the island.

“We’re almost at the bay, be ready…” Mu Bai called out, searching for a suitable spot to dock the yacht.

They were in luck. The side of the island they were approaching was a bay instead of a tall cliff. There was no sign of dangerous reefs nearby, either. The yacht raced toward the bay, borrowing the force of the waves…

However, Mu Bai suddenly noticed a row of bright-colored umbrellas along the beach.

Umbrellas?

Mu Bai was startled. He glanced at the beach and saw a lot of people there, just tiny black dots at this distance. It was difficult to see them.

“Shit, we can’t go to the island!” Mu Bai quickly veered the booat around on the restless water.

“Holy crap, are you seriously drifting with my yacht!?” Zhao Manyan shrieked.

“Mu Bai, what are you doing?” Mo Fan was confused.

How were they supposed to fight the Cruel Ocean Serpent without going onto the island? At this rate, they were all going to be buried at the bottom of the ocean!

“There are people on the island, it’s a vacation island! If we lure the creature there, many people are going to die!” Mu Bai blurted out.

Mo Fan was so focused on the Cruel Ocean Serpent that he had not taken a close look at the island. He took a quick glance at it and noticed the crowd on the beach.

—

The bay of Fakaerun Island…

A European woman heard some noises from the sea. She took off her sunglasses and stared at the dark sea, and the sky that had suddenly fallen to darkness. A giant serpent rose from the water, its head almost touched the black clouds. Its body was like a massive tower.

The sight gave the lady a great shock. She completely forgot that she was not wearing her bikini top, since she was enjoying a sunbath!

However, the people on the beach had no time to enjoy her stunning body. They were all staring at the ocean with wide eyes.

It was sunny just a moment ago, but the sky had darkened in an instant as the evil serpent rose from the sea. Most ridiculously, a white yacht covered in a golden light was heading right toward the restless water!

—

“Damn it, how brainless are these people? Why don’t they run!? They always accuse us Chinese of being busybodies, yet these Europeans are the same way! Shouldn’t they be running by now?” Zhao Manyan cursed.

They could not go to the island if the crowd stayed on the beach!

If it was only a Commander-level creature, they were confident of keeping the creature around the bay, but if it was a Ruler-inferior creature, it might sink the whole island if it had the time. They did not dare place these innocent people in danger by luring the creature there!

“What should we do now? We are screwed if we tried to avoid them!” Mo Fan was having a headache.

Why did the island they stumbled into turn out to be a vacation island? Didn’t they know how dangerous the oceans were? Couldn’t they just stay away from the water!?

Mo Fan had difficulty using his magic when he was not on land. Zhao Manyan, Heidi, and Mu Bai could not handle the Ruler-inferior creature on their own!

“Apas, don’t just stand there, think of a plan!” Mo Fan said.

“If you can’t even handle a situation like this, you are not worthy to be my master, humph!” Apas replied coldly.

“…” Mo Fan did not expect to be scorned under such circumstances!

1620 Holy Essence: Heaven Protection Sword

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Cruel Ocean Serpent attacked as the yacht turned around. This time, it took the straightforward approach. It simply slammed its massive body into the yacht!

Zhao Manyan quickly set up a defense. The serpent’s tail slammed through the water and knocked the yacht into the air, like a bat hitting a home run. The people on the yacht immediately felt the world spinning!

Luckily, the attack did not break through Zhao Manyan’s defense. He managed to protect the yacht too, but it clearly did not work faultlessly. A few more hits, and both the yacht and the people on it would be crushed to pieces.

“Don’t just rely on me, I can’t hold on any longer!” Zhao Manyan blurted out with a twisted expression.

Once again, Zhao Manyan was facing a Ruler-level creature. He really missed the pleasant days when he could just stand there and let the Commander-level creatures attack him at will. Unlike then, he now had to use his strongest defensive spells against a random attack from a Ruler-level creature. If he took another hit, all his defensive equipment was going to be useless!

“We are at its mercy since we can’t go to the island!” Mo Fan grumbled.

“It’s coming again!” Mu Bai yelled.

Mo Fan cast a Lightning Spell, but the Cruel Ocean Serpent was extremely cunning. It quickly hid in the water as soon as it noticed the destructive presence of the Lightning Magic. Even though the water would conduct lightning, it would weaken its damage at the same time. It would be difficult to stop the creature when it returned after dodging Mo Fan’s spell.

As a matter of fact, there was nothing they could do when the Ruler-level creature was abusing its surroundings like that. It could easily drag the four of them to the bottom of the ocean without losing a single scale!

The Cruel Ocean Serpent sprang out of the water, its body extending horizontally over the surface. The dense scales covering it suddenly rose up like spikes!

“F**k me, was this thing crossbred with a hedgehog!?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The Cruel Ocean Serpent was now fully covered in spikes. As the creature started to spin at a shocking rate, the spikes became the blades of a shredder!

The Cruel Ocean Serpent was huge. It felt like a meat mincer was rolling at them. The yacht had no chance of outrunning it. Water was spraying all over the place from the spinning blades!

“We are done for!” Zhao Manyan’s face was full of despair.

Mo Fan had a stern face, too. The Cruel Ocean Serpent was attacking them at close range after wearing out their defense. They would need a Super Spell to defend themselves from the creature’s move!

“Should we just jump into the water?” Mu Bai asked quickly.

“It’s going to swallow us if we go into the water,” Heidi countered.

“Should we all just fly our separate ways then?” Zhao Manyan suggested prior to dying.

“Are you f**king serious? How did you mess up the proverb?”

“Are you f**king serious? Why do you even care if I’m using the right proverb at a time like this?”

Heidi was utterly speechless about how reckless these men were. The horrifying meat mincer was right before them, yet they were still yelling at one another. She knew she could not rely on Mo Fan’s defense. She saw Mu Bai trying his best to prepare himself. She also unleashed her Will.

Heidi had gathered all three facets of her Will. She was planning to set up a wall in front of her, using the waves to reduce the Cruel Ocean Serpent’s speed.

Unfortunately, the silver glow did not last very long, nor did the Cruel Ocean Serpent slow down by much. It was still closing on them. Its massive body and terrifying spikes were crushing them mentally, as if there was nothing they could do apart from waiting for their deaths!

“Holy Essence: Heaven Protection Sword!”

A sacred voice suddenly descended from the sky, like protection from the God of Light. A holy blue light pierced through the gloomy clouds, followed by an enormous sword engulfed in a sacred blue radiance. It was spectacular, as if God’s punishment had descended upon the mundane world.

The huge sword slammed into the ocean in front of the yacht. Mo Fan and the others lifted their eyes and saw the light of the sword keeping the Cruel Ocean Serpent away from the yacht.

The Cruel Ocean Serpent rammed into the light barrier, and amazingly some of its sturdy spikes were broken at the impact! Fresh blood was pouring out from the wounds!

The Heaven Protection Sword was unstoppable; its incredible light knocked the Cruel Ocean Serpent back. The creature thrashed about on the surface of the sea while its blood poured out like a storm. Mo Fan and the others behind the Heaven Protection Sword were lost in wonder. How much force did it take to knock the enormous creature flying?

A moment later, the Cruel Ocean Serpent returned to the surface. It had been seriously injured and frightened by the spell. Its head rose from the water, and it stared at the human shrouded by the sacred light.

The Cruel Ocean Serpent did not dare to provoke them further after sensing their formidable aura. It dove into the water and fled for its life!

The sea had provided the creature with a perfect environment to run away in. It was difficult to hunt the Cruel Ocean Serpent down unless there was a strong Water Mage around.

The figure encapsulated by the holy blue light slowly came down from the sky. Zhao Manyan knew she was beautiful just by looking at her silhouette. He blurted out, “The goddess of light has come to save us!”

The light eventually faded away. The woman soon revealed herself. She smiled at Mo Fan and Heidi before saying gently, “What did you all do to provoke a strong creature like that?”

“Miss…Miss Brianca!?” Zhao Manyan yelled with mixed feelings.

Zhao Manyan was extremely excited after being saved. He was utterly taken in by the woman’s Light Magic and her beauty. Wasn’t she the goddess he had been looking for all along?

He did not expect the woman to be Brianca. It was actually his first time seeing her using Light Magic. Since when was her Light Magic so powerful?

“Miss Brianca, if you were even a little late, we would all be dead by now,” Heidi said.

“But, how come you’re here?” Mo Fan was overjoyed, yet confused.

When Brianca parted ways with them, she said she would be back in half a month, but they had not heard from her since then. They eventually went to the Pyramid and spent four months in it, meaning that it had been half a year since Brianca left. They thought Brianca had already gone back to the Alps Institute!

“I tried looking for you, but Fenna didn’t want to tell me where you went, so I’ve been staying in Venice. I heard from Heidi that you were going to Greece. I was a little worried about you guys, so I’ve been waiting for you at the island!” Brianca let out a relieved sigh after learning that everyone was fine.

She had to leave before because of something important. Otherwise, she would not have been away for so long.

“It looks like a group of Mages is heading our way,” Mu Bai called out to the others.

Brianca looked back at the island and said, “I bet they are from the Shoreline Alliance. They must have come to ask what happened.”

“They didn’t bother showing up when the Cruel Ocean Serpent was so close to the island. They only show up at the end, just like usual. I don’t want to waste my time on them. Let’s continue on our way to Greece,” Mo Fan scoffed.

“Fine,” Brianca nodded.

Mo Fan was worried that the people of the Shoreline Alliance would ask them about the Cruel Ocean Serpent. The creature was after Apas, and her sensitive identity might bring them some unwanted trouble. It would only complicate things if they ended up being accused of disturbing the peace of the resort island. Besides, he had no idea which country the island belonged to, or what kind of rules their Magic Association had.

“Lucky, the yacht can still move. Zhao Manyan, use your magic to speed it up. The Shoreline Alliance is catching up to us,” Mu Bai said.

“Miss Brianca, you are a Light Mage, too? Can you give me some advice if you are free? What tier is your Holy Essence? It’s so cool. I didn’t know the strongest single-target Super Spell could be used defensively, too! That’s so crazy!” Zhao Manyan was very taken with Brianca after seeing her Light Magic. He was like a primary school student, about to take out his notebook to record everything he was told.

“Humph, now you know how strong Miss Brianca is!” Heidi stated.

“Hehe, does Miss Brianca accept male disciples?” Zhao Manyan asked, grinning foolishly.

“You should take care of the yacht first,” Brianca smiled. She did not take Zhao Manyan’s words seriously. She was looking Mo Fan up and down instead.

Mo Fan rubbed his chin and asked directly, “Why are you looking at me? Do I look more handsome now?”

“You’ve done something incredible again. I heard an island has appeared at the end of the Red Sea…” Brianca said.

“Miss Brianca, I’ll tell you everything. We are still pretty far from Greece.” Heidi had suddenly turned into a talkative little girl. She wrapped her arms around Miss Brianca like her teacher was her older sister.

“Sure, I can’t wait to hear it!”

1621 An Honorable Summoner

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When they arrived in Athens, Mo Fan initially thought Brianca was going to interrogate him about what he had done. He might have compromised if she was waving a whip around while doing so, but to his surprise, Brianca did not ask him a single question after hearing about what they had been through from Heidi. Mo Fan was relieved.

It would be quite difficult to explain all the details to Brianca and Heidi. He could not tell them that the ruler of the Kingdom of Undead in his country was actually his Chief Military Instructor, who had demanded he open up the entrance of the Underworld just so he could get revenge, right?

“Mo Fan, you’ve been to Athens before. Are there any attractions we should visit?” Heidi asked.

“There’s a street with jacaranda trees. Not only can you enjoy pleasant scenery that easily outmatches the cherry blossoms in Japan, there are a lot of shops with reputable international brands there. It’s a shopping paradise. After you cross the street with cherry blossoms, you will find a lot of restaurants…” Mo Fan happily informed them.

“Really? Let’s go there after we got off the boat!” Heidi exclaimed excitedly.

Brianca’s eyes were brimming with anticipation. Like many women, they were passionate about shopping. They might live a plain life at the Alps Institute, but they would still go crazy when visiting a famous city!

Heidi had almost gone crazy in the Pyramid. Cairo was at war too. Even when she finally had a chance to rest, she could not relax at all. She was definitely going to enjoy herself in a peaceful city like Athens.

It was Brianca’s first time in Athens, too. She was interested in the street with jacaranda trees that Mo Fan had described.

The two women had already decided their agenda before getting off the yacht. They left on their own and completely forgot about the three men after the boat arrived at the dock.

Heidi suddenly came to a stop.

“Oh, where is Apas? Is she sleeping? Why doesn’t she come with us?” Heidi asked after finally recalling that Apas was on the boat too.

“Oh, I’ll go wake her up,” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan went into the cabin and summoned Apas from the Contract Space. Apas seemed a little sleepy, as if she would never get enough sleep.

She needed more rest after her soul was damaged. She had spent most of her time sleeping. The others assumed she was seasick, so they did not disturb her.

“Heidi and Brianca are asking you to go with them. Go on, but don’t cause any trouble,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m not going,” Apas grunted.

Mo Fan was about to say something when Heidi suddenly came into the room. She saw Apas standing at the door. She went up to her and grabbed her hand, “We have reached Athens. Come with us, you will feel a lot better on land. I saw some duke skirts when I was surfing on the Internet in Cairo. They seemed pretty and comfortable. I happened to find three different colors of them, we can buy one each!”

“Duke skirts?” It was Apas’s first time hearing about them. She was not that knowledgeable about fashion. She knew what skirts were, but she had no idea what a duke skirt looked like. She was intrigued when she saw the excitement on Heidi’s face.

“Come with us, you shouldn’t be sleeping all the time. It’s not ideal for your growth. Let’s go shopping, you will feel much better from the seasickness,” Heidi exclaimed.

Heidi was aware of Apas’ ‘pitiful’ background, so she had been treating her like a sister, and been quite friendly toward her.

Apas seemed to be convinced. She looked at Mo Fan.

“Go on, I’ll pay for you,” Mo Fan waved his hand.

“I…I’ll change my clothes then,” Apas said.

“Alright, I’ll wait for you outside,” Heidi stared at Mo Fan before leaving the cabin.

Apas changed into simpler clothing. She looked at Mo Fan after she came out of the cabin, as if he was a strange yet dangerous person.

“You didn’t tell them what I am?” Apas asked.

“Zhao Manyan might have noticed it, but the others are still clueless. I was thinking about it too, but I believe there’s no need to tell the others. It’s fine the way it is now, so you will still have to call me big brother whenever someone is around,” Mo Fan smiled.

“I won’t appreciate it!” Apas blurted out, and ran after Heidi.

“Don’t just buy anything you want. Your master I am not that rich. Heidi and Brianca are though, so don’t just follow them blindly. By the way, Brianca is a very strong Super Mage. You better not show your snake tail to her,” Mo Fan reminded her.

“I have my own money!” Apas blurted out and left as if she did not want to see Mo Fan again.

Mo Fan was not worried about Apas running away, since she was now bound to the Contract. He only needed to cast a single spell to Summon her back to the Contract Space, regardless of where she was.

However, Mo Fan did wonder what he should do with Apas. It was best not to reveal her identity, as it might bring him some unwanted trouble!

“Healing the soul… I wonder if Xinxia can heal Apas. If she can, I’m going to have another strong helper…” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

Apas was quite powerful, but because his cultivation was lacking, her power was limited by the Contract. Even if she recovered from her injuries, she would not necessarily be as strong as a Scorpion Lord Medusa. If so, she could easily have broken free from the Contract!

It seemed the Contract Summoning was well-designed. Contracted Beasts would not be able to fight back, even if they were stronger than their master, once they formed the Contract. Unfortunately, it also meant the Contract would suppress the Contracted Beast’s strength by forcing it down to the same level as its master.

Mo Fan was quite pleased regardless. He did not have to worry that Apas was going to turn on him after she recovered from her injuries. It also meant Apas would become stronger once his cultivation improved, so he did not have to help her improve at all. Once he achieved the Super Level, Apas would definitely be stronger than a Scorpion Lord Medusa!

“How should I explain this to Xinxia, then? Apas is so good-looking, but she’s my Contracted Beast, just like Little Flame Belle too. How can I convince her that I’m an honorable Summoner?” Mo Fan could not help but wonder.

Apas looked just like an ordinary girl. Mo Fan had yet to see any features of a snake on her, apart from her eyes.

As a matter of fact, the first Medusa was born human. If Apas had inherited her lineage, it was reasonable that she looked like a human. It was possible that not many knew that the purer the lineage of a Medusa, the more human they seemed!

1622 Fruit of the Ice Realm

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan seriously wondered how Zhao Manyan was able to so easily find a place with pretty ladies in every city he visited. The men were not interested in shopping. They preferred to enjoy some high-quality services!

“Mu Bai, you’re not coming?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Mm, I’m not feeling well.” Mu Bai shook his head.

“That’s perfect, the place we’re going to will make you feel great. Let’s go, how could you miss out on it? I’ll stake you!” Zhao Manyan said.

“I’ll pass,” Mu Bai directly rejected him. He headed for the hotel with a troubled face.

“Are you going to the auction later, then?” Zhao Manyan asked him.

“I’ll be there.”

—

The two did not force Mu Bai any further, and went to a reflexology center. The two were not hoodlums. They did not bother visiting some questionable places; this was a clean, reputable place. They had a nice bath and went to the rooftop garden to enjoy a sunbath, with drinks and beautiful ladies…

“Are you sure this place doesn’t provide us with those kinds of services?” Mo Fan asked once again, just to make sure.

“Don’t worry, it’s a proper recreational center. The most you can do is have some drinks and eat some grilled cuttlefish, unless you’re good enough to hook up with them on your own. Otherwise, these ladies will never be intimate with you!” Zhao Manyan confirmed.

“How did you learn about a place like this?” Mo Fan was confused.

“It’s a famous club in my circle. Think about it; the wealthy have no trouble letting women fall for them, but if it’s a place with strict obligations like this, rich people find it more challenging. They believe they can hook up with the women here, but little do they know, the women here have already seen too many rich people. Even a charming person with great inner qualities like me has yet to hook up with any of them!” Zhao Manyan admitted.

“So you’re only here to satisfy the needs of your lower body,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“You can’t blame me if I manage to hook up with them with my own skills! I’m trying not to visit the hookers, but if I can’t even have one-night-stands or hook up with girls, what else can I do in my life?” Zhao Manyan said righteously.

Mo Fan was left speechless, but he did know that this guy had been indulging in his desires since they were in college.

He had to admit that Zhao Manyan had brought him to a good place. It was very soothing lying here in a hot spring filled with unique herbal fragrances.

He sank into the hot towel behind his head. He could feel the effects of the herbs slowly penetrating his skin and muscles, releasing the tension in his nerves. He closed his eyes as his therapist softly massaged his head. The fragrance from the hot spring assailed his nostrils, as if he was lying on the chest of an elegant woman.

Mo Fan soon fell asleep.

—

It was a comfortable nap, and he completely lost track of the time. When he woke up, he realized that he had only been asleep for half an hour, yet he felt energetic, as if he had slept for a few days!

“Come on, let’s grab some drinks!” Zhao Manyan smiled when he saw Mo Fan was awake.

“Not bad, this is a nice place!” Mo Fan complimented. Zhao Manyan did bring him to a great place this time.

“The herbs are refined by some reputable herbalists. The hot spring also has some healing effects that can treat our inner injuries. We were stuck in the Pyramid for so long, there might be little injuries that we are not aware of. A short bath here can quickly take care of them,” Zhao Manyan told him.

“I see,” Mo Fan nodded.

“You should feel very relaxed, too. It’s the combination of the Blessing Element and the Psychic Element. The Parthenon Temple is an expert at both. I was told that the owner of this reflexology center is actually someone from the Parthenon Temple. They have branches in every major city,” Zhao Manyan went on.

“Oh, as expected of the Parthenon Temple, earning money is always so easy for them. A place like this would obviously be popular among the Hunters. They are constantly tortured mentally in the wild, so it usually takes them a long time for them to recover,” Mo Fan predicted.

“Mo Fan, you shouldn’t just focus on your cultivation. You really should enjoy life sometime. If you somehow die all of a sudden, you might regret not enjoying life yet,” Zhao Manyan chided him.

“You’re right about that.”

They had some cocktails under the warm sunlight coming through the sunroof. It was indeed a relaxing afternoon.

—

Time passed pretty quickly. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai had agreed to meet at the auction in the evening.

They had just come out from the Pyramid, so of course they had some valuable loot with them. It would have been tricky to sell them in Egypt, so they decided to sell them in Athens instead.

They went back to the hotel and knocked on Mu Bai’s door.

Mu Bai finally opened the door after a while. He was still wearing the same stern face he’d had before they parted ways in the afternoon.

Mo Fan sensed that something was not right. He asked in a serious tone, “Mu Bai, is something troubling you!? Just tell us, don’t you trust us yet!?”

Zhao Manyan noticed something was strange about Mu Bai, too. He blurted out, “Are you under a Curse or something? Like you’re being haunted by a female Mummy from the Pyramid?”

Mo Fan immediately glared at Zhao Manyan, forcing him to shut his mouth.

“Something is happening,” Mu Bai confessed when the two asked about it. He continued, “It’s something about my cultivation. I’ve been stuck at the peak Advanced Level for quite some time.”

“The same goes with us,” Mo Fan sighed. “I thought it was something serious. Just think about it, we are all stuck in the same situation. Unfortunately, the Super Level isn’t that easy to achieve, even though some people have achieved it after observing flowers floating on the lake or listening to the falling leaves. It’s more about building it up. If you want to turn a river into a sea, you have to gather a hundred rivers… take your time,” Mo Fan advised. He knew why Mu Bai was feeling troubled.

Mo Fan knew how diligent Mu Bai was. He even thought Mu Bai was working harder than him at times. The man had only come so far because of his hard work and effort in searching for opportunities.

However, the Super Level was not achievable with mere diligence. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were searching for their path to the Super Level, too. Unfortunately, the Pyramid did not have the things they were looking for. They had no choice but to place it in the hands of fate.

Heidi was in a similar situation. Her foundation was firmer, yet she also could not touch the Super Level.

“Mo Fan is right, you shouldn’t worry about it. It’s not easy to break through to the Super Level. Not everyone can become a Super Mage. Just enjoy the present, don’t think too much about it,” Zhao Manyan consoled him.

Mu Bai shook his head after hearing their comforting words.

He said after a slight hesitation, “Well… I think I found the next step.”

“Oh, isn’t that great… what the heck!?”

“Holy crap, what did you f**king say?”

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan’s eyes went wide as they stared at Mu Bai.

“I say, I might have probed the Super Level. My Galaxies are shifting, my Stars are trying to expand too. I’ve read about this in some books. They say it’s a sign that I’m close to breaking through to the Super Level. I think I should find a safe place with a high level of energy to see if I can achieve the Super Level,” Mu Bai said seriously.

“How did this happen?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“It was by chance. I found a Fruit of the Ice Realm in the Qinling Mountains. Two Great Ruler-level creatures were fighting over it. I accidentally fell into the valley they were fighting in, breaking more than twenty of my bones. I hid close to a mountain stream for half a month. In the end, the Ruler of the valley defeated the beast from the Qinling Mountains. I noticed the creature was eating fruit from a tree with frozen leaves close to the mountain stream, so I used Plant Magic to turn some herbs with hypnotizing effects nearby into juice and had the roots of the tree with frozen leaves absorb it. I was actually hiding right under the tree’s roots. It took half a month, but the fruits that the tree bore gained a certain hypnotizing effect. The Ruler eventually fell into a deep slumber. I took the Fruit of the Ice Realm from it and ran away,” Mu Bai told them.

“Was the thing really that good?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan could easily guess how dangerous the situation was, even though Mu Bai was plainly describing it. He would have died if anything went wrong!

“Mm, but there’s a problem. The Fruit of the Ice Realm will only mature with a unique poison, tjat was said to be extinct. I wasn’t sure if the poison of the Huntsman Spider in the Pyramid would work, but it actually did when I tried it out…” Mu Bai said.

“That’s…that’s unbelievable! So you’re saying that you’ve probed the Super Level with the Fruit of the Ice Realm?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“I guess so. I think it’s because my Primary Element is Ice, and my Secondary Element is Plant. The fruit matches perfectly with them. It was matured with poison too, and my Tertiary Element was Poison… even though it’s pretty weak at the moment,” Mu Bai said.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan exchanged glances.

Was this for real? They had only gone away to enjoy themselves a comfortable bath, and yet Mu Bai had already taken the lead and probed the Super Level before them!

Was there anything worse than this!?

1623 The Horn of the Deer God

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“I’m thinking of dying now, what about you?”

“I don’t feel any better than you.”

“We were worried he was in some kind of trouble, but it turns out that he’s quitting our team of Advanced Mages!”

“Should we take him out before he attempts the breakthrough? If he did break through to the Super Level, we will lose our only chance…”

“Mo Fan, you’re a madman!”

The street lamps extended the shadows of the two depressed figures. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were walking along the streets. Mu Bai had totally ruined their pleasant mood from the afternoon.

Hah? Weren’t they supposed to be happy for their friend?

Happy my ass, they had put in so much effort looking for the Totem Beasts while saving countless lives, yet the Heavens had let Mu Bai achieve the Super Level first…

Mo Fan’s cultivation was at least an entire street ahead of Mu Bai’s back in high school, yet the goddamned bottleneck of the Advanced Level had allowed Mu Bai to take the lead. He could not deny Mu Bai’s fortuitous discovery and diligence, but seriously, all five of his Elements had already reached their peak!

Either way, Mo Fan was seriously not happy.. .even if Mu Bai could not defeat him after achieving the Super Level, he would still be displeased.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan continued on their way to the auction, but they were clearly not in the mood anymore.

—

During the auction, Mo Fan was constantly thinking about Mu Bai, ignoring how precious the items that were being auctioned off were. He had initially planned to get himself some reliable defensive Equipment.

“The next item is an artifact from the East. I wonder if anyone here knows its origin… the artifact is called the Horn of the Deer God. An appraiser believes it’s related to an ancient protector creature. It’s definitely valuable in the eyes of a collector. The starting price is thirteen million!” the auctioneer briefly explained for the crowd.

If an appraiser they found could determine the value of the ancient artifact, the auctioneer would only sell it at a satisfying price, or to some collector to earn a fortune. Since it was difficult to appraise the value of an ancient artifact, most people only collected them as a hobby. Some might have some special uses, raising the price of the artifact tenfold. Therefore, the prices between ancient artifacts with known powers and the artifacts with unknown abilities varied greatly!

The auctioneer obviously had not discovered the abilities of the Horn of the Deer God, as they only had a brief description of it. The starting price was only set at thirteen million because it was an antique that might appeal to rich collectors.

“Are they seriously selling that for almost a billion!?” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

Thirteen million euros was around a billion Chinese yuan, an amount that many Advanced Mages could only earn by risking their lives.

“Fifteen million!” Mo Fan suddenly yelled.

Zhao Manyan was startled. He said, “Are you out of your mind? Why would you buy that thing?”

“Sixteen million!” a man countered.

“Seventeen million!” Mo Fan raised his bid without any hesitation.

The other man did not raise his bid further.

“Seventeen million it is, it seems like this young man here is an impressive collector! I hope the Horn of Deer God will grant you immense luck!” the emcee said.

“Oh my, I know you aren’t in a great mood, but you shouldn’t vent your frustrations by wasting your money. We are bidding in euros, that thing just cost you one point five billion!” Zhao Manyan swore at him.

Mo Fan quickly paid the money to claim the item. The auctioneer would pay the tax on his behalf.

—

“Sir, do you want to take the item now? We can deliver it to your place…”

“I’ll take it now.”

“Sure.”

Mo Fan felt much more at ease after claiming the Horn of the Deer God.

Zhao Manyan came up to him while drinking a bottle of juice, his face depressed. “I know you earned a fortune from the bounty for the Tears of Medusa, but you shouldn’t waste it like that. Why don’t you tell me what the heck this shitty horn is good for?”

“Old Zhao, can’t you tell?” Mo Fan asked seriously.

“Yes I can, you’re an idiot!”

“Are you a pig? I see money as more important than my life, so why would I waste my money on something useless?! This thing, it’s a Totem Artifact!” Mo Fan declared.

Zhao Manyan’s expression immediately livened up. He took the Horn of the Deer God, currently sealed in a glass container, and studied it carefully. “Why do you say it’s a Totem Artifact?”

“Look, there’s a Totem Seal,’ Mo Fan pointed at the lines on the horn.

The lines were not obvious because of the horn’s condition. Some were thick, some were thin. Only people that were familiar with Totem Seals would notice them.

“I…I don’t see it…” Zhao Manyan admitted.

The truth was, Mo Fan had not seen the Totem Seal, either. He only knew it was related to a Totem Beast when Little Loach alerted him!

Little Loach rarely showed any interest in other things, except stuff at the level of the Pharaoh’s Spring and the Totem Artifacts.

Mo Fan bid decisively for the Horn of God Deer when he noticed Little Loach was interested in it.

Mo Fan had immediately taken a closer look at the horn, and discovered that the lines on it did resemble a Totem Seal when looked at from certain angles. He was convinced that it once belonged to a Totem Beast!

The Totem Artifacts were all long lost. Shao Zheng had tried looking for them, yet he only managed to find some hints of them. Mo Fan did not expect to find one of them here in Athens!

It might mean that many Totem Artifacts had actually ended up in foreign countries. Some were being displayed in houses as rare collector’s items, others were circulating in the auctions!

“It really belonged to a Totem Beast? What could it be?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed, choosing to believe in Mo Fan.

If they could track down another Totem Beast, they might have a chance to break the chains of the Advanced Level, too!

Mu Bai had already found his path to the Super Level. The two of them would have to work harder. It did not feel good knowing that Mu Bai had now caught up to them!

“It must be. We’ll look for information about a Totem Beast that resembles a deer… with the Totem Seal, we should be able to find more information about it. Perhaps we can find a Totem Beast like the Moon Moth Phoenix, or something stronger!” Mo Fan conjectured happily.

“HAHAHA, we stumbled across it by luck, despite having no luck when we were actually looking for it!”

1624 Her Intelligence Is Several Times Yours

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan initially planned to visit Xinxia, but was disappointed to learn that she was not at the Parthenon Temple. She was currently in England.

Mo Fan was utterly speechless. He did not even bother to check Xinxia’s schedule before coming all the way here. She was still a candidate, after all, so she had to be extremely busy with a lot of things. After asking around, Mo Fan learned that Xinxia had paid a visit to Ayleen’s clan.

“Does Ayleen have some influence in England?” Mo Fan asked, looking confused as he stood at the foot of the mountain.

The Parthenon Temple was as crowded as usual. The mountain paths were full of believers slowly making their way to the Hall of Faith, even on a rainy day.

The truth was, many believers did not come for their own sake. They were here on behalf of their family members. If they could receive the blessings of the Mountain of the Goddess, their families would be freed from sickness and disease.

It was normal for people to get sick, be it serious or trivial. Those sicknesses would not necessarily cost them their lives, but would still torture them from the moment they woke up to when they could finally sleep. The pain would accompany them always, be it on sunny or rainy days.

The blessings and the power of faith of the Parthenon Temple were not purely psychological. Its ability to drive away plague and pain was matchless. Only the people that had been through torture and pain from disease knew how precious being healthy was. Therefore, the Parthenon Temple was never short on disciples!

“Ayleen might only be around our age, but her status in England is quite extraordinary. She’s from the reputable Victoria clan, who once had an impressive queen. Their queen earned a lot of respect from many important parties during the political crisis. You know how strong an influence the Casas have in Europe, right? As a matter of fact, the Casas were once vassals to the Victoria clan. The nobility might not have as much power as the royalty, but they still have a huge say at the international level! Xinxia is smart to cooperate with the Victoria clan. They are rather conservative, and they believe in resolving conflicts peacefully and putting people first,” Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Manyan knew Mo Fan was clueless about things like this.

“Does Ayleen have a say, too?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course she does, she’s the primary successor! It’s why she is called the Great Duchess of England! Xinxia is around the same age as Ayleen. I bet they will become friends very easily. From what I know, the Victoria clan is not fond of the way Izisha was ruling the Parthenon Temple. It’s unlikely they will support her now that she has resurrected,” Zhao Manyan stated firmly.

“So Xinxia is attending to some serious business in England. I was hoping she would be back soon. Forget it, I won’t disturb her at a time like this.” Mo Fan shook his head, and gave up on the thought of giving Xinxia a call.

Xinxia would be worried if she knew he was in Athens. He had been missing for quite some time, after all!

“Xinxia is pretty good at grasping the big picture. If she manages to get the Victoria clan’s support, the situation might not be as one-sided as after Izisha secured the Casas’ support,” Zhao Manyan judged.

“Is she really that brilliant? Why didn’t I notice it before?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“The two of you grew up together. In your eyes, Xinxia will always be the little sister under your protection. You assumed she was weak and unable to protect herself because she couldn’t walk, but you’ve really underestimated her. Her intelligence is several times yours. How did she survive the deceptions at the Parthenon Temple, where everyone is trying to outwit one another? Look at how she’s competing with Izisha. Don’t you know who Izisha is? If she wants to kill someone, the person might even kneel and thank her for her kindness!

“What about the incident at the Alps? She was killing three birds with a single arrow… Xinxia is going up against someone like her; the very fact that she hasn’t lost yet indicates how wise and insightful she is. I initially thought she was going to lose for sure once the Casas were involved, and she would soon be sent back to our homeland, but she immediately set her eyes on England to obtain support from the conservative Victorian clan. She managed to recover some lost ground!” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

“Is she really that smart?” Mo Fan exclaimed in shock.

“Brother, the Victoria Clan is just like the Mu Clan in our country. They might hold a grudge against Izisha, but that doesn’t mean they will support another Candidate. The Candidate must have the bearing of a leader and know how to assess and control the situation in order to win their support. It is important to understand the complicated relationships between factions of different countries, too. Sharing the same beliefs isn’t a good enough reason for them to work together. Most importantly, it is how she negotiated and convinced the Victoria clan to reach a mutual agreement and support her. She couldn’t just win over their support by remaining silent…

“You must understand, if the Victoria clan does not intervene in the election for the Goddess, it’s unlikely that Izisha would do anything to them if Xinxia lost. However, if they choose to support Xinxia, what do you think Izisha is going to do to them if Xinxia loses? The Victoria clan are not idiots. Them being conservative means they won’t easily take a side, but Xinxia managed to convince them to side with her…

“Man, am I playing the lute to a cow now? Can you please spend more time learning about the current news? Yes, you might not be interested, but you should know the basics so you understand the situation your woman is in,” Zhao Manyan told him sharply.

Mo Fan immediately felt awkward. He was more ashamed than ever.

“I finally realized something. You two might have grown up together, but Xinxia has all the brains, while you took all the muscles,” Zhao Manyan said disdainfully.

“You sound like I’m so useless, yet why do you only know how to waste money when your family is so good at earning it!?” Mo Fan rebuked.

“What do you know? I’m just not interested in money!” Zhao Manyan refuted promptly.

“Exactly! I’m not interested in authority, either!” Mo Fan declared.

“Fine, we are both cultivators!”

“Speaking of which, how does the election of the Parthenon Temple work?” Mo Fan asked.

“Through votes, of course, votes from the Magic Associations across the world! The Parthenon Temple has temples all over the world, which means their believers are everywhere, too! I’m not too sure about the ratios, but I think the votes from Mages weigh more. Governments aren’t allowed to vote, so the Parthenon Temple has fostered close ties with the renowned clans. Apart from them, votes from schools and institutions are very important, too. The higher their rankings, the more weighty their votes are,” Zhao Manyan explained for him.

“What about the Alps Institute? Does their vote count?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course, and their vote matters a lot, too! The Alps Institute visit different countries and take in orphans. They have built many orphanages in many countries. They have a good reputation, and since these orphans strive unremittingly to become better, the Alps Institute always has great talents among their students. You know how hostile the Alps Institute is toward the Parthenon Temple. Even though their vote means a lot, they have never voted in the election for the Goddess. They might be a great opportunity for Xinxia. If she can obtain their support, Izisha would surely panic!” Zhao Manyan said.

The Alps Institute had orphanages across the world; those orphanages were teaching orphans magic like normal schools. They would bring the talented ones to the Alps Institute.

Every graduate of the Alps Institute was extremely grateful to the school once they moved on with their life. Therefore, the orphanages were kind of like a religion, too, and a strong one at that!

“The approaches that the Alps Institute and the Parthenon Temple take are very similar, but they are involved in different fields. The Parthenon Temple focuses on healing the sick, while the Alps are helping the homeless kids and fostering them into people that make great contributions to society. If the Alps Institute and the Parthenon Temple could work together, it would help the Parthenon Temple recruit more believers in a different field… in return, the locals might pay more respect to the leaders of the temples, too!” Zhao Manyan declared.

“Would that really work?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

“Your eyes are only fixed on the beauties of the Alps Institute, you only care about their bodies and their good looks. You have no idea that they are as influential as living Buddhas in society…” Zhao Manyan sniffed.

“F**k me, who was the one that was acting like an aroused dog at the Alps Institute? Who kept telling me that his flag was raised twenty-four hours a day!?” Mo Fan immediately swore.

“Are you seriously thinking of helping Xinxia build a connection with the Alps Institute?” Zhao Manyan realized what Mo Fan was thinking.

“Hehe, Xinxia has been working so hard. Shouldn’t I, as her man, give her some support? Heidi and Brianca are going to be in charge of the Alps Institute in the future. I can work on them first, then slowly convince Headmistress Perry and Miss Ceylan. It’s been generations, why do they have to hold onto the grudge still…” Mo Fan said with a smile.

“That’s not a bad idea. The Alps Institute has already provoked the Casas, meaning that they have lost one of their backers. If the Parthenon Temple can let go of the past with Xinxia’s help and help the Alps Institute overcome their financial difficulties, it’s not impossible for them to be working together,” Zhao Manyan admitted.

1625 The Insider with Information on the Deer God

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Headmistress Perry had clearly offended the Casas by protecting the traitor.

She had still had a chance to alleviate the conflict between them and the Casas if she had handed the culprit over. However, Mo Fan could not help but think that Headmistress Perry totally deserved his respect whenever he recalled her words.

Even if the girl had betrayed the Alps Institute and brought so much trouble to the school, as long as she was still a student of the Alps Institute, Headmistress Perry would still make sure that she was judged fairly, instead of letting the Casas torture her.

It was rare to witness such integrity in the current day. Only the Alps Institute,which had remained true to their principles and values by secluding itself from the world, could do so!

Mo Fan believed the Alps Institute should not be blamed for what had happened. They were using their resources to help orphanages across the world. He believed Headmistress Perry and the others were working hard to secure the funds needed.

The Parthenon Temple was resourceful, and their businesses were all over the place. The reflexology center that Zhao Manyan brought him to was a huge money-making machine, not to mention the lands, ore veins, and herb gardens they owned, and the donations from their believers…

Xinxia might not be the Treasurer, but she was a Candidate. She had to have a certain say in the finances. If Xinxia could help the Parthenon Temple and the Alps Institute bury the hatchet and break the barrier between the two factions, Headmistress Perry would no longer have to worry about funds. She might even get more money for the orphanages. After all, the Parthenon Temple obviously had a greater influence. In addition to that, many factions that were worried about provoking the Parthenon Temple could finally work closely with the Alps Institute!

“Mo Fan, it’s not that easy to bury the hatchet. I think you should let Xinxia talk to the Alps Institute in person… Brianca and Heidi are definitely the Alps Institute’s successors. You can settle them first. Invite them out for dinner, and have a pleasant conversation with the women. As long as you don’t leave a bad impression and try to play some mind games, it’s easy to become good friends with them. Don’t mention a word about your plan to work together with them. Just be friends first. When they notice how pure and kind Xinxia is, you can then spill the beans. It’s a lot easier that way!” Zhao Manyan said.

“You’re right, one step at a time,” Mo Fan nodded.

Brianca and Heidi were biased against the Parthenon Temple. They did not even want to come to Athens in the first place. If he told them a Candidate was interested in working with them, they might assume the Candidate had an ulterior motive!

“Then I guess we’ll stay in Athens for a while. I like this city, HAHA!” Zhao Manyan laughed.

“Mm, it’s not a bad place.”

“Mo Fan, I’ve provided you with so many insights. Can’t you sneak me into the Hall of the Goddess? I heard it’s the paradise every man is looking for. The whole place is full of beauties; the Servants, the Muses, the Saintess, and female knights… man, I’m already getting excited from the thought of it,” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“The knights are all men.”

“Damn, I want to be a knight, then! Are they recruiting?…”

——

Mo Fan still paid a visit to the Mountain of the Goddess. Zhao Manyan did not sneak in with Mo Fan as he had hoped. The Mountain of the Goddess was heavily guarded, and no one could set foot on it without permission. Zhao Manyan had no choice but to wander around in other areas.

Mo Fan went straight to the mountain allocated to people who were convalescing in the Parthenon Temple.

The Mountain of the Goddess was pretty huge, with a complicated layout. One would see a new utopia after crossing every rise. They might be residences of the Servants, the Muses, or even just gardens where some special plants were nurtured.

A Probationary Servant was guiding Mo Fan. She was very chatty, and kept asking Mo Fan about his relationship with Xinxia. Mo Fan had no idea what to say to her.

They finally arrived at a little residence covered in greenery. When Mo Fan went inside, he saw a skinny woman standing below a tree, holding a little bird that had been knocked to the ground by the strong wind. She seemed to be searching for the little guy’s nest, to put it back.

“Senior Sister Leng Qing, I’ll do it!” Mo Fan went up and took the little bird before leaping up into the tree.

Mo Fan placed the bird back into its nest in just a few seconds, then nimbly jumped back down from the tree like a monkey.

“Mo Fan, when did you arrive?” Leng Qing smiled. Mo Fan was the only person that could visit her while she was recovering here.

“I just got here. How are you?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not bad, just a little weak… I feel like the wind could easily knock me down,” Leng Qing sighed.

Leng Qing had slimmed down a lot. Even though Xinxia managed to drag her back from the depths of Hell, she would need a long time to recover from her injuries, especially her cultivation.

He could no longer feel the powerful aura of a Super Mage from Leng Qing. In fact, she looked weaker than a normal person. He wondered how long it would take for her to reclaim the imposing bearing of an Elder of the Magic Court!

“Take your time,” Mo Fan said softly.

“Mm, it doesn’t feel too bad to be like this.” Leng Qing went indoors.

“Lingling contacted me not long ago. She sounded like there was something urgent, but she didn’t want to tell me on the phone. Do you know what it was?” Mo Fan asked.

Leng Qing lifted her gaze. “She also sounded like she wanted to tell me something the last time we were on the phone,” Leng Qing admitted.

“Oh, she might have found something,” Mo Fan mused.

“Why are you in Athens? I thought Xinxia wasn’t here,” Leng Qing asked curiously, changing the topic.

“I just came to take a look at the auctions. Nothing much.” Mo Fan did not tell her about the Pyramid. It would be too complicated to explain it all again.

“Did you find anything interesting? The auctions in Athens are pretty famous,” Leng Qing asked, interested.

“I only bought an artifact. It might be related to a Totem Beast. It’s called the Horn of the Deer God or something…” Mo Fan said.

“The Horn of the Deer God?” Leng Qing was astounded.

“Did you know about it?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Do you remember the Enforcement Union’s Oath Tree? An ancient Deer God once lived under it. I heard Tang Zhong and a senior talking about it. You should ask Tang Zhong for some of the details…” Leng Qing said.

Mo Fan was overjoyed. It turned out that someone from his homeland knew the information he was looking for, and it was someone he was familiar with, too!

That old man Tang Zhong, why didn’t he tell me he had information on another Totem Beast?

Chapter 1626 The Huge Shadow in the Sea At Nigh

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

He brought Leng Qing down the mountain to have dinner with the others.

Mo Fan was thinking of having pizza as dinner, but Zhao Manyan immediately rejected his proposal.

Mo Fan’s thoughts were full of pizzas whenever he was around the Mediterranean Sea. He would rather go to Pizza Hut if he had a choice.

Zhao Manyan’s choice was completely different; it was on a mountainside facing the calm sea. The food was delicious, and opposite him were some gorgeous ladies. It was perfect for the atmosphere… huh, why was Mu Bai here, too? Who invited this assh***? Why didn’t he go die instead!?

“And this is?” Brianca asked politely.

“Leng Qing, my senior sister. She’s also the Vice Head of the Lingyin Enforcement Union. She has been convalescing here lately,” Mo Fan introduced her.

“Nice to meet you! Mo Fan told me that you two are from the Alps Institute. I’ve always wanted to visit it,” Leng Qing smiled. She surprisingly had a gentle, elegant demeanor, perhaps because she had spent quite some time resting in the Parthenon Temple. She was not like that in the past. She was simply so busy with the Enforcement Union that she had simply put everything else aside.

It was true that a person’s frame of mind would change after experiencing death. That being said, why did his habit of courting death never change, even though he was constantly roaming in front of the gates of Hell?…

“China’s Enforcement Union, a reputable organization! I didn’t expect their elders to be so young,” Brianca complimented her.

“Stop fawning on one another, will you? It will only make us feel worse,” Zhao Manyan groaned.

Leng Qing was around the same age as Brianca, but both of them were already Super Mages. Zhao Manyan’s mood worsened as soon as he thought about it.

“Speaking of which, Miss Brianca, where did you go after you left us?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“I went to investigate something, mm…” Brianca glanced at Leng Qing. She paused briefly before spilling the beans, “A Candidate of the Parthenon Temple might be responsible for the conspiracy at the Alps Institute.”

“Oh, I see!” Mo Fan nodded. He did not go any further.

Mo Fan already knew Edith was taking orders from Izisha. Izisha was the one who had put Herr Casa under the poisonous Curse, but as long as Edith did not admit it, Mo Fan could not afford to shed light on it. He had not told Brianca and Heidi about it.

To his surprise, Headmistress Perry, Miss Ceylan, and Miss Brianca were not easy to fool, either. If they had already figured it out, the situation was clearly heading the way Mo Fan favored. Otherwise, that detestable Izisha would still act like she had nothing to do with it, even though she was the one pulling the strings!

“Which candidate are you referring to?” Leng Qing asked.

“It must be Izisha,” Mo Fan said.

Brianca glanced at Mo Fan before nodding, “The whole thing isn’t as simple as it seems. Edith also admitted something shocking at the Holy Judgment Court.”

“It looks like Headmistress Perry’s decision was right?” Mo Fan wondered.

Headmistress Perry was willing to protect Edith, even if it meant provoking the Casas. Edith did not completely lose her rationality. She had admitted Izisha was behind it in the end, but did not confess much. Therefore, Brianca had to investigate further.

As for the details of the conspiracy, or if Izisha was up to something worse behind the scenes, the Alps Institute would have to seek out the truth themselves. After all, he did not know much about it, either!

“Humph, the people of the Parthenon Temple are no good!” Heidi said.

“Not everyone there is hateful,” Mo Fan countered awkwardly.

Mo Fan suddenly realized something troublesome. Heidi and Brianca had never bothered differentiating between Izisha and Xinxia, since they were both from the Parthenon Temple. It was all the Parthenon Temple’s fault. The Parthenon Temple were the bad guys!

At this rate, considering how stubborn the people of the Alps Institute were, they would never accept any funding from the Parthenon Temple, even if it meant closing orphanages!

Mo Fan was thinking of building a bridge between them, but was already getting a huge headache from it.

“Let’s just eat. Why do we have to talk about something so complicated while we are having dinner?” Zhao Manyan interrupted with a sigh.

Mo Fan rubbed his temples. It seemed it was unwise for him to introduce Xinxia to them soon… He sighed. Why did women have to be so complicated? Couldn’t they just sit down and gossip or discuss cosmetics peacefully? Why did they have to fight for power until their heads bled!?

“Does anyone feel the tables shaking?” Mu Bai, who had been quiet suddenly said.

“Zhao Manyan must be shaking his leg,” Mo Fan immediately commented.

“Bullshit!”

The plates on the table suddenly bounced into the air as they were talking. Their food scattered across the table.

Their glasses were softly knocking into one another, clinking. The tables and chairs were shaking.

“An earthquake?” Mo Fan asked.

“Look out the window!” Leng Qing pointed outside.

The spacious windows made it easy for the people inside to enjoy a beautiful view of the sea at night. It felt like they were hanging right above the water. To their astonishment, a huge shadow had appeared from the darkness!

The waves from the sea could only reach its knees. Every step it took triggered a huge quake, and its head almost touched the clouds. When it headed toward one of the cliffs, it turned out that the cliff only reached its waist. The huge figure easily strode right over it!

“Our honorable guests, please remain calm. It’s only a Tyrant Titan. We are very close to the Parthenon Temple’s Mountain of the God’s Seal, and to the south and west are areas the Tyrant Titans are active in. Our restaurant is located inside the safe zone. The Tyrant Titan is actually quite far away from us. If it comes any closer, the powerful Mages of the Parthenon Temple will drive it away. Please enjoy your meals,” a voice announced through the sound system. It sounded like a cabin crewmember on a plane, reminding the passengers to sit tight and put their seatbelts on when turbulence occurred.

Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan almost dropped their jaws.

Holy crap, to think that they would see a Tyrant Titan while they were having dinner, not to mention how the restaurant was brushing it off so calmly! To their surprise, the people in the restaurant did not panic at all. Some of the kids even ran to the windows to take pictures, like they were looking at an elephant in a zoo!

Weren’t Russians normally known for being fearless? Since when were the Greeks so fearless, too?

“It’s pretty common for Tyrant Titans to show up in Athens. I bet the people here have already gotten used to it. These Tyrant Titans aren’t that hostile to normal civilians. They are mainly after the Mages and the Parthenon Temple, so the Athenians aren’t that afraid of them,” Leng Qing explained.

Mo Fan had been told that the Parthenon Temple was constantly fighting the Tyrant Titans. He was quite shocked to witness it in person for the first time.

“It’s at least a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan,” he noticed.

“Mm, I noticed it roaming close to the safe zone lately. It would hide in the water when the Mages showed up. The government also claims that this Tyrant Titan isn’t aggressive, so the people aren’t worried,” Leng Qing said.

The Tyrant Titan’s cry sounded like the cry of a whale. The deep cry broadcasting its strength echoed through the night sky. Mo Fan turned around to take a closer look. He saw the Tyrant Titan slowly disappearing into the mists on the sea, but its cry was still echoing in his mind.

“It sounds desperate,” Apas said softly.

“How can you tell? Why do I feel like it’s showing off its strength, like it is trying to attract a female Tyrant Titan to it?” Zhao Manyan said.

“The despair will soon turn into violence. You should warn the people in Athens about it. It’s going to bring a bloodbath,” Apas said.

The others looked at Apas. They did not expect a young woman like her to say something like that in such a firm voice.

“Are you sure?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, its cry is full of sorrow. I think someone has taken something precious from it, and it doesn’t know where to look for it. If it was roaming close to the city lately, it means it hasn’t given up yet, but its cry just then… it means it has lost all hope,” Apas said.

The others were confused after hearing Apas’ explanation.

“Mo Fan, come to think of it, do you remember the heart of a young Tyrant Titan that was auctioned off a few days ago? It’s definitely something that a Basic or Intermediate Earth Mage could only dream of. A renowned clan ended up buying it for a huge sum. They gave it to the young disciple of another renowned clan they were trying to establish a connection with on the spot,” Zhao Manyan spoke up after remembering something.

“Oh, I remember that, too,” Mo Fan nodded.

The heart of a young Tyrant Titan! Mo Fan remembered it was the item right after the Horn of the Deer God. He had even exclaimed how lucky it was to be a disciple of a renowned clan. They could afford to spend so much money on these rare resources for young Mages below the age of twenty. These young Mages were clearly going to be unbeatable among the people of their age!

1627 Splitting Up

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“If she’s right, the Parthenon Temple should be on alert,” Leng Qing frowned.

If the city was in danger, they could not afford to take it lightly. If the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan suddenly attacked the city while the Mages were not ready, the casualties would be horrendous in mere seconds. It would turn into a disaster!

“It’s very smart. It has been wandering around looking for the city’s weak spot,” Apas pointed out.

“Oh, oh, I have to call someone!” Mo Fan realized that the situation was a lot more serious than he had imagined.

The Parthenon Temple was responsible for Athens’ safety, especially when a Tyrant Titan was involved. If the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was really planning its attack, things would go south real fast if the people naively thought the creature was not aggressive.

Mo Fan went to a corner and dialed Xinxia’s number.

As he thought, the person that picked up his call was the old woman, Tata. Tata told Mo Fan that Xinxia had gone to bed. She would not allow them to have a long phone call late at night.

“I have something important to tell her, I promise,” Mo Fan said.

“You can tell me, then,” Tata grunted back.

Mo Fan always called Xinxia late at night; his calls usually lasted for at least an hour or two. Xinxia was already worn out from her duties that morning as a Candidate for the role of the Goddess. It would be terrible if she did not get enough rest at night. She was no longer a university student!

“Ask the Hall of Knights to keep a close eye on the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan that has been showing up close to Athens lately. It’s on the verge of losing its mind. It’s a ticking time bomb that might endanger the city!” Mo Fan said.

“We have experts observing the Tyrant Titan. Don’t you worry about it. If there’s nothing else, I will be hanging up…” Tata said.

“Why do you always have to be so stubborn, you old hag!?” Mo Fan snarled.

This old woman kept on intervening whenever he gave Xinxia a call. He would have to prepare a private phone for Xinxia that could only call him or accept his call. Did he really have to book a time in advance just to call his wife!?

“Kid, when are you going to learn to be respectful toward your elders?” Tata grunted back.

Mo Fan was enraged when the other end hung up. He had an urge to go to England right away and teach that old woman a lesson!

“How was it?” Leng Qing asked.

“Tata didn’t take my warning seriously. She believes in the Hall of Knights’ decision,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“Can we trust the little girl’s words?” Leng Qing said.

“Yes, she can understand demon creatures, and she’s very talented with the Psychic Element, too…” Mo Fan said.

Was this a joke question? Apas was the successor of the Medusa Queen, a creature that had been around for as long as the Tyrant Titans. They most likely shared the same language! Besides, Apas’ ability to see through someone’s thoughts was insane. She could easily read the Tyrant Titan’s mind from experience and instinct alone. The Tyrant Titan was clearly not as gentle and peaceful as the Hall of Knights claimed. It was only the calm before the storm!

“What should we do now?” Mu Bai believed Apas, and began to worry.

“Aren’t you a Super Mage? We’ll leave it in the hands of the Super Mages, then. Us Advanced Mages will just sit here and eat our food while enjoying the show you’re going to put up,” Zhao Manyan said. He sounded envious.

Mu Bai was speechless. Was it my fault for advancing first? Why is this idiot acting like he is going to break all ties?

“The people of the Parthenon Temple are so unreliable. Why do they even have so many believers!?” Heidi harrumphed coldly, showing her bias against the Parthenon Temple again.

“We should follow it, I have a bad feeling about it,” Brianca said.

“Miss Brianca, we should let the Parthenon Temple handle it instead. They would be held responsible if anything happens,” Heidi countered.

“But so many innocent lives are in danger. We shouldn’t be gloating in a situation like this. Let’s hope we were wrong about it. It’s better than witnessing a tragedy,” Brianca said.

“…” Zhao Manyan was utterly speechless. He had a sudden feeling that he would be involved in all kinds of messes whenever he was with these living Buddhas.

They had just escaped from the Cruel Ocean Serpent not long ago, but they were now going after a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan! The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was obviously stronger than the Cruel Ocean Serpent. Why couldn’t they just enjoy their dinner in peace and pretend they did not see it? Why couldn’t they just enjoy their vacation!?

It really complied with the saying, ‘The world really isn’t that eventful, but a person that loves meddling in other people’s business will find themselves in all kinds of trouble!’

“The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan won’t necessarily attack now, right? We aren’t sure when it’s going to make its move. We can’t just keep following it,” Zhao Manyan interrupted hastily.

“How about this? We’ll split into two groups. Some of us will keep an eye on the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan, and hold it back until the people of the Parthenon Temple arrive if it happens to go berserk. The other group will look into the heart of the young Tyrant Titan that the renowned clan bought during the auction. If the heart really belongs to the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s kin, we must tell the Hall of Knights. Without that connection, the Hall of Knights is going to lean toward their academics. Once we manage to convince the Hall of Knights, it should be able to keep the situation under control,” Leng Qing advised them.

As expected of an Elder of the Enforcement Union, Leng Qing immediately proposed the necessary arrangements. They could not afford to keep waiting and following the Tyrant Titan around. At least it was still behaving calmly for now, which was why the people did not assume it was aggressive. However, once they found out the truth about the heart of the young Tyrant Titan, the Hall of Knights would treat it more seriously!

“Alright! Heidi, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, and I will keep an eye on the Tyrant Titan. Mo Fan, Apas, and Leng Qing, you will investigate the two renowned clans,” Brianca agreed with the arrangements, and quickly allocated the teams.

“Why do I have to keep an eye on the Tyrant Titan? Why can’t I investigate the renowned clans? Shouldn’t Mo Fan be in the other group!?” Zhao Manyan quickly protested.

“You are a defensive Mage. If the Tyrant Titan goes berserk, you are our best bet to protect the people!” Brianca said.

Their main focus was to protect the people, not to fight the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan!

“Got it. Leng Qing, do you know anyone from the two renowned clans?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, I do know a few; one of them is the supplier of the high-quality Hundred Blood Leaves for the Parthenon Temple. They are related to a reputable old man in charge of the Hall of Faith.” Leng Qing was fairly familiar with the network in the Parthenon Temple. After all, she had quite a lot of free time while she was convalescing.

1628 Stumbling into Old Enemies in a Foreign Country

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Berlens were a relatively new renowned clan in Greece. They had risen abruptly in recent years, managed by a woman from a small family that people had almost forgotten. To Mo Fan’s surprise, the reflexology center that Zhao Manyan and him visited was owned by the Berlens.

Every renowned clan that rose quickly would normally have a legendary member who had attracted many Mages to join them. It would also gather others with the same surname into their clan, but the Berlens were slightly different, as they did not care much about their surname. Therefore, the clan’s members had different surnames!

“I met her twice. She’s indeed an impressive person. By the way, she’s a beauty too,” Leng Qing informed them.

“Good to know, it’s easier for a man like me to come to terms with a beautiful lady,” Mo Fan said shamelessly. He then pointed at Apas and added, “See, even such a good-looking angel was conquered by my charm. Right, Apas?”

“Hehe…” Apas laughed half-heartedly, a strong disdain in her eyes.

Leng Qing was amused by the brief exchange between them as they waited before the door to the manor. It opened soon.

“Please inform your head that Leng Qing from China’s Magic City is here,” Leng Qing said.

“Yes, Madam. Please wait here for the time being,” the tuxedoed butler nodded.

—

They did not wait for too long. The butler ushered them to a garden full of fragrant blue flowers. The garden was delicately decorated, with a man-made pond at the center. It was perfectly clear, like a huge blue gem embedded in the garden.

There was a building beside the lake, and a glass corridor extended out across the lake from it. On the lake were a few white pavilions with dining tables and chairs. The woman who was the head of the clan was seated in the main pavilion, waiting for her sudden guests.

“What’s going on here? Aren’t we just paying her a visit? Why did it feel like…we are attending a secret date?” Mo Fan was utterly confused.

Leng Qing was very surprised. The dining tables and drinks were clearly prepared in advance, yet they had only waited briefly at the entrance.

“Please follow me,” the butler politely ushered them on.

The three followed the butler to meet the head of the clan. She was indeed a beauty, especially her eyes, which were as blue as the lake, and as gorgeous as the stars. They could sense a unique noble bearing from her even before she spoke.

“Mm?” the head murmured when Leng Qing and the others came closer.

“Rosie!” Leng Qing called out when she noticed the head of the clan seemed a little surprised.

Meanwhile, another butler had brought three Asians to the pavilion. They happened to be coming from the opposite direction.

Rosie was startled, and looked at the other group.

The butler that led Mo Fan and his group realized he might have brought in the wrong guests. He immediately put on an apologetic face and turned to Leng Qing, Mo Fan, and Apas, “I’m sorry, my mistress is going to be busy receiving three important…”

“Leng Qing, you came just in time. I’m about to receive three guests that are also from China’s Magic City. I was thinking that since you are all from the same place, it would be easier for us to get along. Do you mind?” Rosie did not let the butler finish the sentence. She rose to her feet and walked up to Leng Qing to receive her in person.

Leng Qing already felt a little awkward. It was obvious that the butler had mistaken them for the other group.

Rosie happened to have prepared the place to receive three other guests from China. The butler must have struggled to distinguish between Asian faces. He had assumed Mo Fan and his group were the guests, and therefore immediately ushered them in. However, the other butler happened to be ushering the actual guests that Rosie had invited in right after them.

However, Leng Qing immediately shook off the awkward feeling after hearing Rosie’s words.

Rosie invited them to take a seat before heading to the glass corridor to receive the other three important guests.

“I happened to have some guests from the same city as yours today. I’ve boldly invited them to have dinner with us. I hope you won’t mind,” Rosie said with a gentle smile, while nodding at Mo Fan and the others who had taken their seats.

“Why would we? We know you have a lot of connections. We are pleased to meet other young talented Mages too,” the young lady walking ahead of the group said.

The woman had a gentle and soothing voice.

“I don’t mind, as long as they aren’t irritating,” a handsome man said. He happened to glance at Apas as he finished the sentence. His eyes glittered after seeing Apas’s unusual temperament.

Innocent and alluring were opposite traits for a girl, yet he was seeing both traits from Apas. His first impression toward Apas was innocent and pure, yet her skin, body, and eyebrows were surprisingly alluring!

Rosie noticed that the handsome man was not acting friendly, but she had to play the proper hostess under the circumstances.

Luckily, the table was big enough to hold both groups. There were some vacant chairs on the side too. They just needed to move the chairs and set up the table with cutlery. It did not look like the table was set at the very last moment.

“It’s you!” The Asian lady was surprised as soon as she saw Mo Fan.

“Oh!” Mo Fan let out a weird sound.

“It’s the young master of the Bai Clan. How surprising to see you enjoying the foreign culture in Greece? Or perhaps you are interested in Rosie, the beauty of the Berlens?” Mui Nuxin sat opposite Mo Fan with a smile. She sounded collected, but with an obvious hint of surprise.

“Ugh…” Mo Fan immediately felt awkward. The woman still remembered what had happened in the past.

What a coincidence, there was a misunderstanding when he had visited the Mui Clan too. Mui Nuxin mistook him as Bai Hongfei from the Bai Clan, which had ended up as a joke. He did not expect to stumble into Mui Nuxin again in Greece, especially after how the butler had mistaken them as Rosie’s guests.

“Bai Clan? You’re Bai Hongfei? Humph!” the handsome man glared at Mo Fan and grunted.

Mo Fan was utterly speechless. What did Bai Hongfei do this time? Why did the guy act like he was about to challenge him to a duel as soon as the name was mentioned?

“Oh wow, it sounds like Leng Qing is going to introduce an impressive handsome man to me. It’s great that you two know one another already,” Rosie said smoothly.

Rosie was not too surprised that the two groups actually knew one another. China might have a huge population, but the upper class and the renowned clans in China were fairly small, not to mention that they were both from the same city. It was reasonable for them to know one another.

“Of course he is, I’ve always wanted to invite this mysterious young man to be my guest, but he never showed up. It seems like I’m not as charming as Sister Rosie. I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet him if it wasn’t for you!” Mui Nuxin stared at Mo Fan.

“Mui Nuxin, don’t flatter me. Why are you in Athens?” Mo Fan inquired.

“I have some business here lately, and Sister Rosie and I happen to have some common goals…” Mui Nuxin said.

Mo Fan remembered that Mui Nuxin was a businesswoman engrossed in earning money. She might not understand anything about magic, but she was in charge of the Mui Clan’s financial affairs despite her age!

“It sounds like you often visit other countries to earn money from foreigners,” Mo Fan said.

“HAHA, you can say that!” Mui Nuxin laughed. She was in a good mood after Mo Fan’s sudden appearance.

“Stop having a conversation on your own. Shouldn’t you introduce them to us properly? Nuxin?” the older of the two men prodded her.

He had thick eyebrows, and seemed to be in his thirties, yet he had the serious bearing of a man around fifty. He was most likely the main guest, considering how Rosie had served him fruits first!

“Sure, well, this is… Bai…” Mui Nuxin was a little hesitant.

“I am Mo Fan!” Mo Fan looked up and introduced himself calmly.

Mo Fan was somewhat observant. He initially thought Mui Nuxin was calling him Bai Hongfei just to fool with him. However, he soon realized that she was trying to hide his identity on purpose.

The only reason Mui Nuxin would do so was because the two men with her might have some grudge against him, the kind of grudge that everyone was well aware of.

Mo Fan had offended a lot of people in his country, especially people from other renowned clans.

However, he was not afraid of stirring up trouble. He did not need Mui Nuxin to cover up for him. He preferred to get right to the point!

As he thought, the expressions of the two men sank as soon as they heard his name.

The handsome young man was only acting a little disdainful at the mention of Bai Hongfei’s name. However, when he realized the guy was actually Mo Fan, he immediately rose to his feet and glared at Mo Fan like he was going to throw a punch at him at any second.

The other guy’s straight face twisted slightly. He was obviously withholding his anger as he spoke, “Mo Fan, humph, very well…”

“It’s your turn to introduce yourself,” Mo Fan reminded them fearlessly.

Rosie was utterly speechless about how the situation had developed. If she had known something like this would happen, she would rather have split them up. Her efforts to be smooth and slick while adjudicating between the two groups were completely in vain!

Mui Nuxin seemed to have a headache, too. She patted Rosie on the shoulder to comfort her. Wearing a fake smile was never going to work on someone as hot-tempered as Mo Fan…

1629 Enemies On A Narrow Path

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Zu Xiangtian,” the man with thick brows said. He sounded like the others would immediately know who he was as soon as he mentioned his name.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan had never really cared about the renowned clans and their prominent figures. He was about to ask the man who he was when Leng Qing tugged his sleeve, hinting to him that there was no need to complicate the matter any further.

“How ignorant can you be? You should know who Zu Jiming is, right?” the proud handsome man spoke up.

“Zu Jiming… it sounds a little familiar,” Mo Fan recalled. The name sounded familiar, but he was struggling to remember who the person was.

“He was a member of the national team!” the handsome man snapped.

“Oh, that guy. Are you two from the same clan as him?” Mo Fan finally realized.

So it was that idiot Zu Jiming, the guy that did nothing apart from sneering and trying to set them up? Even Guan Yu was less of an eyesore than Zu Jiming. That Zu Jiming was nothing but a retard!

Zu Jiming was replaced in the last match during the World College Tournament, Mui Nujiao taking his spot. Zu Jiming had visited many countries during the training that had lasted for more than a year, yet his contributions were inferior to Mui Nujiao, who only took part in the last match during the World College Tournament.

That being said, Zu Jiming was only a side character. The one who was influential back then was the chairman’s secretary, Zu Huiyin. She was a powerful government official, yet she had lost her job under pressure from the people of the Ancient Capital because of her inappropriate remarks!

The chairman’s secretary was comparable to the role of a Councilman, and their status was slightly higher than one. However, not only had the Zu Clan failed to earn any recognition during the World College Tournament and lost an important government position, they were greatly condemned by the people, too!

It was obvious why the people of the Zu Clan hated Mo Fan so much.

The Zu Clan was famous in China. The Mu Clan was known for their Mages, the Zhao Clan was known for their wealth, while the Zu Clan was said to be the country’s pride…

The Zu Clan was extremely resourceful, with a massive network of connections. Many of their people were appointed officials, and Zu Huiyin was one of the future leaders that the clan had high hopes for.

The clan needed to hold a certain power in the country to be able to be well-received internationally. It was the key to extending their influence, so Zu Huiyin had been playing an important role in the clan. She had always behaved herself and worked diligently. Even though Councilman Shao Zheng was not too fond of her, he never had a reasonable excuse to stop her from climbing higher.

To her surprise, she fell so miserably due to some insignificant remarks, paying a great price for her words. Fortunately, the Zu Clan’s main assets and influence leaned toward the international level, or the clan would have been severely impacted after their reputation was ruined in China.

Zu Xiangtian was Zu Jiming’s elder brother. He had been a member of the national team during the previous World College Tournament. He was quite famous at the international level, on par with someone like Herr Casa!

As a matter of fact, those that had managed to earn a reputation during the World College Tournament in the past had often secured great fame and status from their achievements. The greatest factor in their success was their ability to achieve the Super Level at a young age!

The reputation they earned during the World College Tournament…

Strength in the Super Level at a young age…

Their formidable backgrounds…

Any of the three criteria above was enough for a person to shine brightly, let alone someone that had met all three criteria at a young age!

It explained why Rosie had delicately prepared the dinner to receive them. She was receiving Zu Xiangtian, who was on the same level as Herr Casa…

That being said, Rosie did not expect Mo Fan to ruin it all!

“By the way, I almost forgot to ask, Leng Qing, it was a surprise that you came to visit me all of a sudden. Was there something urgent?” Rosie attempted to switch the topic after noticing how tense the atmosphere was.

Mo Fan had no idea who Zu Xiangtian was, but Leng Qing was well aware of the man’s identity, hence she had signaled Mo Fan not to make the situation worse. Leng Qing could not have cared less if he was just an ordinary disciple of a renowned clan, but Zu Xiangtian was no ordinary person!

“Oh, we only came to ask something. Did you buy the heart of a young Tyrant Titan from an auction recently? We noticed a potential threat that might endanger the lives of the folk in Athens, so we came to ask where the heart of the young Tyrant Titan was from and who the seller was?” Leng Qing said.

“Well…” Rosie did not know how to answer that.

“Humph, our subsidiary clan in Greece got it. What about it? Do you want it?” the handsome man grinned coldly.

“Basically, we were looking for a Tyrant Titan’s heart, and the Luba Clan happened to find one. They were planning to sell it at a later date, but since we needed it urgently, we asked the Luba Clan to auction it off, and we’d bid for it at the highest price. The Luba Clan has done us a favor, therefore, I’ve invited their person-in-charge here to express my gratitude. I also hope that we can have more cooperation in the future,” Rosie explained.

Rosie was feeling troubled now. She was trying to switch the topic, yet it somehow pointed back at the same issue.

In other words, the Zu Clan was the one that had provided her with the Tyrant Titan’s heart. The Luba Clan in Greece was a subsidiary to the Zu Clan!

“You guys took the heart from a young Tyrant Titan recently, right?” Mo Fan asked blatantly.

“How is that your concern?” Zu Kuangli said.

“Are you seriously telling me that you didn’t know a mature Silver Moon Tyrant Titan is roaming on the outskirts of the city!?” Mo Fan retorted.

“Is that true?” Zu Xiangtian looked at Rosie.

Rosie nodded silently.

“Even so, it’s the Parthenon Temple’s concern. You’re not from the Parthenon Temple. What right do you have to criticize us?” Zu Kuangli said.

“Yes, I believe the Hall of Knights will handle it appropriately. Let’s not worry about it,” Rosie said.

“We noticed that the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan might turn hostile from despair, but the Hall of Knights claims it’s not going to do anything crazy. We are afraid that it’s going to be a threat, so we came to find out the truth. We hope you will tell us if you obtained the Tyrant Titan’s heart from the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s kin. If so, we have to let the Hall of Knights know, and they will treat the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan more seriously,” Leng Qing explained calmly.

Chapter 1630 The Person Enchanted by Apas

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

“Are you sure that’s the case?” Mui Nuxin looked surprised.

Rosie fell into deep thought for a moment before she asked, “Do you have any evidence to support your claim?”

“Our evidence…” Leng Qing looked at Apas, who was sitting there quietly. She was suddenly lost for words.

Their evidence was based on trust, yet if she told them it was from a young girl’s instinct, not only would the Parthenon Temple not believe them, any person with common sense would struggle to believe them!

It was their biggest problem. They did not have clear evidence to prove that the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was going to attack Athens.

“You didn’t have any evidence, but you’re fearing the sky is falling! You’re really a busybody!” Zu Kuangli scoffed.

“You can go ahead and ask where they got the Tyrant Titan’s heart from, provided that they are willing to say the truth…” Mo Fan said.

“Even if that’s the case, we aren’t responsible for it, either. Seriously, meeting you here has completely ruined my evening,” Zu Kuangli exclaimed.

“It’s true that even if the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan does turn hostile and kill many innocent people in the city, none of you have to bear any responsibility for their deaths. It’s the Hall of Knights that will have neglected their duties, but I only hope that you can bear some conscience for the things you did,” Leng Qing said, speaking as an Elder of the Enforcement Union. “It’s the reason why we are here today. Leave personal grudges aside, this is a potential threat to the city. Since we don’t have the same concerns, we shall excuse ourselves.”

Leng Qing rose to her feet. She had no intention to stay any longer.

Mo Fan stood up and patted Apas beside him.

Apas was constantly observing everyone throughout the confrontation. She seemed rather interested in everyone’s reactions.

“Hope you won’t mind if I don’t send you off,” Rosie said. She remained seated.

Mui Nuxin surprisingly rose to her feet and said, “I’ll come with you.”

—

Zu Kuangli was staring at Apas as she left. He said after some time, “Are we really going to let them leave just like that?”

“We aren’t savages,” Zu Xiangtian watched Mo Fan and the others leave. He said with a grin, “We have many civilized ways to deal with a person.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know there was a conflict between you. If I had…” Rosie said apologetically.

“It’s fine, I’ve long wanted to see what kind of a person that Mo Fan was. I kept wondering if he had three heads and six arms, but he seemed pretty ordinary to me!” Zu Xiangtian declared.

“A guy like that only knows how to please the crowd. He’s nothing apart from having some luck!”

—

Mui Nuxin followed the three of them out. She said after noticing the weird atmosphere, “I couldn’t even stop you if I tried, so why do you always behave like an ox?”

“There’s no point in hiding,” Mo Fan replied.

“You’ve stated your stance clearly since you’ve come with us. I’m afraid those two aren’t going to treat you nicely.” Leng Qing was quite observant. She was actually quite surprised that Mui Nuxin, who was initially tagging along with Zu Xiangtian and Zu Kuangli, was now sending them out instead.

“It’s only business. If we can reach a deal, we can be business partners, but if we can’t, it’s not like we are going to fall out with one another right away. Well, I’m more worried that someone might end the cooperation with our Mu Clan in the Kunlun Mountain Range if I don’t come and send him off… in my opinion, he’s the last person whose tail I want to step on,” Mui Nuxin said, looking at Mo Fan with a smile.

“Am I that narrow-minded? If I do so, your sister is going to stab me to death in the middle of the night!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“You don’t have to send us off. You should go back to them,” Leng Qing said.

Mui Nuxin shook her head and said, “Forget it, I don’t think I will be reaching a deal with them after what happened. There’s no point in me going back. Besides, I haven’t had any time to enjoy myself, even after being here for a few days. I wouldn’t mind following you guys around.”

“Miss Mui Nuxin, we didn’t come here for a vacation. We are worried about the people’s safety,” Mo Fan stated.

“Then allow me to witness your heroic bearing. As the Tyrant Titan’s heart, I might be able to ask someone for help. Give me some time,” Mui Nuxin said.

“That would be doing us a huge favor!”

Mui Nuxin dialed a number and talked on the phone briefly.

She looked at Apas after she was done and asked with glittering eyes,” Mo Fan, you haven’t introduced the little girl to me yet. I was wondering, where did you even find such a gorgeous young lady? Even I feel ashamed of myself.”

“Oh, her? I found her on my way to Cairo. She told me that she was deeply attracted to my mysterious charm of an Asian man after taking a quick glance at my elegance, so she’s been following me around and insisting that I treat her like my sister. You do know that a gentleman like me can never turn a beautiful lady’s request down…” Mo Fan rambled on.

Apas rolled her eyes. Her disdainful expression clearly told Mui Nuxin that it was nothing like he had said…

Mui Nuxin giggled. She conveniently gave Mo Fan a push when she saw his mouth was going to keep wandering, “So that’s how my sister fell for you?”

“Isn’t that obvious? After we fought one another during the orientation, she quickly found out where I was staying and insisted on being my flatmate!” Mo Fan sighed.

“Mo Fan, I will tell Xinxia everything you just said!” Leng Qing could not stand it any further. If she did not remind him now, he might even forget that they had some important matters to attend to!

“(Cough cough) I was just kidding! Aren’t we waiting for her news anyway? Why can’t I fool around to kill some time?” Mo Fan protested.

“Big brother, something caught my attention,” Apas said smoothly.

Apas’ voice was so soothing that it surged through Mo Fan’s body like an electric shock. He simply had an urge to hug her tightly and let her whisper into his ears with that voice.

However, every time Apas talked to him like that, it meant that she was up to something!

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked quickly.

“One of the guys was having very strong thoughts about me… if I’m not mistaken, he might have started asking about me and is trying to find out how I am related to you as soon as we left. He will look for a chance to get close to me at all costs,” Apas said.

“How could I not notice it as a man? That Zu Kuangli’s eyes were about to pounce at you!” Mo Fan said.

“I wasn’t referring to him!” Apas smiled, which soon turned into a cunning and seductive grin.

Chapter 1631 The Titan Loses Its Calm

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was stunned after hearing Apas’ words.

Who else could it be, if Apas was not referring to that long-faced Zu Kuangli?

Zu Kuangli was obviously lusting after Apas the moment he saw her. If Mo Fan had not been there, he might have tried his best to approach Apas.

Mo Fan was fully aware of it at the dining table, but he did not really think too much about it. Apas’ beauty was disastrous. Mo Fan was already aware of how easily he could attract hatred by bringing Apas along somewhere.

“If you weren’t referring to Zu Kuangli, doesn’t that mean…” Mo Fan’s face was filled with disbelief.

Mui Nuxin and Leng Qing were ahead of them, discussing something else. Mo Fan had purposely slowed down behind them.

After a while, he still thought something was strange about what Apas just said.

“Apas, I thought I was overdoing it just then, but I didn’t expect you to be more confident than I am… I do admit that you’re pretty good-looking, just as pretty as my first wife. It’s normal for a man to have some thoughts about a beautiful girl, but why do you sound like that Zu Xiangtian was going to eat you alive? Shouldn’t it be that Zu Kuangli instead?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Apas shook her head. She said in a very serious voice,” The reason I can tell the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan is about to go berserk is by observing minor things like its voice, expression, movements, state of mind, and psychological struggles. It’s like how some spiders in a desert can avoid danger by predicting it through the movement of the wind and the temperature of their foe’s blood.”

“Predict danger?” Mo Fan repeated. He had heard that some special creatures were capable of doing so instinctively.

“Mm, something like that,” Apas nodded. “A person’s expression, eyes, limbs, and state of mind are a direct reflection of their thoughts no matter how hard they are trying to hide them. That Zu Kuangli seemed pretty interested in me, but that’s a normal reaction for a man. It’s just that he wasn’t good at concealing it, or perhaps he didn’t bother concealing it. You were just like him when you saw me…” Apas said.

Mo Fan blushed. Fine, he did admit that he had been struck by Apas’ beauty. “What about that Zu Xiangtian?” Mo Fan said hastily.

Apas was now his Contracted Beast. She had no reason to trick him!

“You might think that Zu Xiangtian wasn’t paying any attention to me. He had a stern face, and his eyes were perfectly calm, but I could sense his true emotions under his calm appearance. He was already treating me like prey as we left!” Apas claimed.

“His prey?” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly, “So you’re telling me that he’s worse than that Zu Kuangli? He’s extremely good at concealing his emotions?”

“I think it has something to do with his sexual orientation. I noticed that he wasn’t interested in Rosie and Leng Qing, who were mature, nor was he interested in Mui Nuxin, yet he had strong thoughts about me,” Apas went on.

“Oh?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

Apas was still a teenage girl. She might be good-looking, but most people would prefer Rosie or Mui Nuxin, who had a more mature womanly temperament, yet Zu Xiangtian was particularly interested in Apas…

“I’ve heard that some men prefer younger women the older they get. I didn’t expect that Zu Xiangtian to have such a fetish. He’s hiding it pretty well!” Mo Fan said.

“You’re being too easy on him… his obsession… it might be worse than that,” Apas clarified.

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped.

Was she claiming that Zu Xiangtian had seriously treated her as his delicate prey, and would try to pull something soon?

Mo Fan was still baffled by Apas’ words when Leng Qing suddenly came to a stop. She turned around and waited for Mo Fan with a stern face.

“I’ve received news from the west of the city. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan has climbed over the wall and tossed a huge boulder at the city. It razed four streets to the ground…” Leng Qing said.

“Did the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan really go berserk?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

Mui Nuxin was startled, too. She was still waiting for her people to get back to her, yet something tragic had taken place before she could find out the truth. She quickly took out her phone and looked for the clips that people had uploaded.

The trail left by the huge boulder as it rolled through the streets was utterly shocking. The debris of the houses it had knocked to the ground were scattered across the place. One of the clips was a gourmet streaming live outdoors. The live stream happened to capture the enormous Tyrant Titan. Many viewers even saw the deadly boulder rolling at the gourmet as he had nowhere to run!

Mui Nuxin stared at her phone. The clips she saw were sending chills down her spine. She was overwhelmed by fear of the Tyrant Titan!

“I told you it might go berserk at any second, including tonight!” Apas reminded them.

Mo Fan looked at Apas, no longer doubting her words. She was indeed sensitive to things like this!

“Quick, let’s head to the city’s west. The others won’t be able to fend off the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan!” Leng Qing said.

Unfortunately, Leng Qing was just like an ordinary woman now, as her cultivation had not recovered. She had trouble keeping pace.

“The Hall of Knights should be heading there now. Let’s hope that can make it in time!” Mo Fan knew it was too late even if they headed toward the place now. They were currently on the other side of the city!

Mo Fan was utterly helpless against a powerful creature like the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan. He could only place his hopes on Brianca, Heidi, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan being able to stop the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan from taking more innocent lives before the Hall of Knights arrived.

Mo Fan shifted his gaze back to Apas. He frowned after recalling what Apas just told him.

Zu Xiangtian was clearly one of the people that wanted him dead. The Zu Clan was not going to forgive him, and now Apas was caught in the middle. He would really have to keep an eye on that Zu Xiangtian!

Chapter 1632 Golden Sun Combat Officer

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The gourmet’s live stream happened to capture the whole incident. Someone on the Internet turned the final minute of the gourmet’s life into a clip, which spread rapidly among the people. In less than an hour, the whole of Europe knew Athens was being attacked by a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan!

There were many kinds of demon creatures in the wild, some with massive builds and bodies, while some were so ghastly that they could easily leave someone with recurring nightmares. Because of that, many countries forbade their people from spreading clips or images of demon creatures on the Internet. Many bold people who were not Mages could only satisfy their imaginations with information about Summoned Beasts that was made available to them.

Unfortunately, the dead gourmet had quite a following, and thousands of people had seen the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s true appearance during the live stream. Even though Tyrant Titans would occasionally roam along the outskirts of Athens, they never came within three kilometers of the safe zone. Most people only saw their distant silhouettes, and have never seen anything like the massive creature in the live stream.

The streets involved were at the foot of the mountains. The gentle slopes around Athens were like natural barriers, but a head with bloodshot eyes and a menacing look in them had suddenly risen from them. The visual impact was shocking even to a Mage, let alone the common folk.

The news spread wildly on the Internet. Many people were wondering how many casualties were caused by the attack. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan could easily raze a whole district to the ground within a few minutes, seeing how huge it was!

—

—

“Damn it, those assh**** of the Hall of Knights. If they had come any later, I might be dead already! That Silver Moon Tyrant Titan is crazy strong. It broke through all my defenses with a single punch! I flew across a few streets and slammed hard into an office building. Luckily, it was after office hours, or I could have killed a few pretty white-collar ladies.

“It’s too scary. Why didn’t you tell me how strong the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was beforehand? I’m only a petty Advanced Mage. Can’t you stop torturing me for once!?” Zhao Manyan almost broke into tears.

“It’s fine, don’t worry, you are now in Athens, your broken left hand, right shoulder, ribs, back, dislocated jaw, crushed palm, and fractured knees aren’t really a great deal for the Healers in the Parthenon Temple!” Mo Fan comforted Zhao Manyan, who was currently lying on a white stretcher.

If Zhao Manyan had not been injured, he would immediately have bounced to his feet and fought Mo Fan with his life.

“It was lucky Zhao Manyan was around when it happened. He managed to protect the people on the streets from the boulder in time!” Brianca said.

“I’m retiring, I don’t want to fool around anymore. The other Advanced Mages are scared when they stumble into a Commander-level creature once a year, but the number of Ruler-level creatures I’ve encountered this year is higher than the number of girls I’ve hooked up with. I can’t take it anymore!” Zhao Manyan shouted.

“Look at you, you are perfectly fine… Apas, let him have a nice dream. It’s nothing serious really, just some minor injuries,” Mo Fan said.

“Err… we did a thorough checkup on him. His inner organs are bleeding, with different degrees of damage. We can only treat his bones, we don’t dare treat his organs,” the Healer from the hospital said.

Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened. He was about to lose his mind.

“Apas, what are you waiting for? Hurry up!” Mo Fan blurted out.

Apas was standing between Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan. Her eyes suddenly turned golden, as dazzling as the sunrise. Zhao Manyan’s wild expression quickly calmed down. A few seconds later, he was sound asleep on the stretcher.

“Nurse, can you arrange someone to bring him to the Parthenon Temple?” Mo Fan said.

“The Parthenon Temple isn’t a place you can just visit as you wish!” the Healer Mo Fan had called a nurse grunted.

“I’ll ask Knight Dravo to pick him up,” Leng Qing said.

“How did he end up like this?” Mo Fan could not help but ask.

Mu Bai, who was not really injured, chuckled and said, “He’s a pretty noble guy, despite his annoying mouth. We had already prepared our retreat. The boulder didn’t really hit anyone, including the gourmet that was in the middle of his broadcast, who Heidi saved. The live broadcast was only interrupted after his equipment was messed up by the Space Magic. He wasn’t killed by the boulder like the people on the Internet claimed! When we were about to leave, Heidi heard a little kid was playing hide-and-seek nearby. His friends had all run for their lives, yet he was hiding without making any noise. We thought the kid wouldn’t make it, but Zhao Manyan stepped forward bravely, and so he ended up like this.”

“Mm, even Miss Brianca was knocked flying by the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan. If a Silver Moon Knight hadn’t arrived in time, Zhao Manyan would most likely be dead now… it was such a close call, the kid was basically right under the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s foot,” Heidi agreed. She also had a different impression of Zhao Manyan after what happened.

“Impressive, well done,” Mo Fan nodded. He turned to Apas and asked, “Err, Apas, is it too late to alter the dream? We should have given him a nice dream.”

Heidi, Mu Bai, Brianca, and Leng Qing were left speechless.

——

Despite the rumors that had spread rapidly on the Internet, the government soon clarified the situation, putting an end to the farce. However, unlike the Tyrant Titans the city had fended off in the past, this Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was quite determined to bring the city down with it. It showed no sign of retreating even after the people from the Hall of Knights showed up.

When Mo Fan headed to the west of the city, he saw the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan throwing a tantrum in the deserted streets. A few Silver Moon Knights were flying in the sky, and a few squads of Blue Star Knights were on standby on the ground. A Golden Sun Knight was standing on a tall telecommunication tower while the junior knights were establishing magic formations. A Lightning Punishment Formation had trapped the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan like a purple cage. The light of different Elements flickered across the dark streets, forming an Elemental storm whipping the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan fiercely.

The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan cried out loudly. The entire city could hear it, yet the creature did not back away, despite facing the concentrated attacks.

It recklessly smashed through the Lightning Punishment Formation and charged at the Golden Sun Knight who was giving orders.

It took the Golden Sun Knight by surprise, and he quickly cast a Super Wind Spell in a panic.

The Thousand Leaves Saber spell swept across the sky like blue scythes. The wind razors landed on the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan, giving rise to many metallic clanking sounds!

The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s skin was sturdier than steel. The Wind Spell did not inflict any damage on it. It suddenly threw a punch forward with all its might!

The punch produced a strong wind, sweeping at the Golden Sun Knight with ominous power and shattering the Thousand Leaves Saber. The Wind Spell did not stand a chance at all!

The blast sent the Golden Sun Knight flying. The loud rumble echoed throughout the city.

The people in Athens stared at the trembling night sky…

Athens had always been safe. The people would normally enjoy their peaceful lives even when a battle broke out in the city’s west, but the strong wind produced by that punch had interrupted their routines. However, the disturbance did not last for long. The people simply asked what was going on before continuing on with their lives, knowing that the Hall of Knights was already on the move. It was like a stone thrown into a lake. The ripples it stirred up soon dissipated.

“It could have killed the Golden Sun Knight with the punch, but it was off target slightly,” Mo Fan said after witnessing everything.

“It wasn’t off target, it was aiming it at the city!” Apas corrected him.

“Was it trying to…” Mo Fan looked behind him.

The Parthenon Temple was located in Athens. Even if anything happened, only the districts along the outskirts would be in danger. It was unlikely any danger would befall the city’s heart. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was trying to make its way toward the city’s center, even though it knew it had no chance of breaking through the line of defense set up by the knights.

Even without Apas’ analysis, Mo Fan could easily sense the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s anger and despair. It was like a middle-aged man who had lost his only kin, spurred into doing something crazy after behaving calmly for a few days.

The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan could have run away, but it chose not to. Its blood was pouring out like a stream, but it was still heading for the center of the city. Spells were blasting it like cannons, yet they did not stop it from moving its feet…

Strong winds produced by the impacts swept in all directions continuously. Mo Fan and Apas were standing on the top of a building. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was very close to him, but it did not pay attention to the people that were not blocking its path. Mo Fan watched the creature stride past him…

The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan suddenly turned around and stared at the two tiny figures on the top of the building; they were not sure which of them caught its attention.

“All unauthorized personnel are to leave at once!” a Silver Moon Knight yelled at them

Mo Fan and Apas did not move, not planning to leave.

The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan stared at Apas and Mo Fan. Its eyes were too big, and filled with blood-red lines; it was difficult to tell who they were focusing on!

Chapter 1633 Eye Contac

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Axis of Death!”

A loud voice sounded as Mo Fan was being baffled by the Tyrant Titan’s reaction. Another Golden Sun Knight had appeared out of nowhere, his golden robe drifting in the wind. His figure did not seem small in front of the Tyrant Titan. The silver brilliance encapsulating him set off his noble bearing!

He was continuously Blinking through the air, leaving a special spatial point at his previous positions. The spatial points eventually combined into a silver compass, which fired a deadly ray at the forehead of the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan!

The Golden Sun Knight stopped moving after the deadly ray lanced through the air, pausing at the same height as the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s head. Meanwhile, the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s lifeless body slowly fell backwards!

The Golden Sun Knight had his back to the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan, but did not bother turning around to look at the creature. Its giant head barely missed him as it fell to the ground, yet it felt like everything was under his control. He knew the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan would not touch him.

The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan landed heavily on the ground. It could only see the bottom of the Golden Sun Knight’s feet. It never had the chance to take a close look at his face.

Mo Fan was amazed by the overwhelming power of the Space Magic. It had claimed its target’s life in an instant! Even the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan, known for its tenacity, stood no chance against it!

The Space Magic dissipated as swiftly as how it had appeared, but it left an inerasable scene in Mo Fan’s mind.

Dead!

The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan had died, just like that!

Unlike the first Golden Sun Knight, he could sense a suffocating pressure from the Golden Sun Knight with the Space Element after witnessing his strength!

“Take care of its remains, recover the order of the city as soon as possible,” the Golden Sun Knight coldly ordered the rest of the knights that had regrouped around him.

“Affirmative!”

“It’s a relief that Master Norman showed up in time to take care of the berserk Silver Moon Tyrant Titan… for some reason, the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan wasn’t afraid of dying. It kept charging at the city recklessly. Only low-level creatures would behave like that, why would a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan behave like that too?” the Wind Super Mage who was commanding the knights wondered aloud.

“You can report to the Silver Moon Hall of Knights for now. You aren’t ready to wear the Golden Sun badge,” the Golden Sun Knight the knights called Norman spoke up coldly.

“Master Norman…I…”

Norman did not give him any chance to speak. He looked briefly at Mo Fan and Apas, also a little confused as to why the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was staring at them.

However, he was not the kind of person to get to the heart of every matter. Silver dust surrounded him even though he was not constructing a Star Constellation. He suddenly vanished into thin air, despite the pleading of the Golden Sun Knight in charge of the battle.

Mo Fan quickly looked around to see how far a Mage like him could travel with Blink.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, there was no sign of the man, as if he had disappeared completely. The silver dust in the air slowly dissipated.

A Blue Star Knight jumped onto the building and said with a cold face, “You two, the show is over!. Please leave at once. You shouldn’t have disturbed us by entering the area without permission!”

“Who was that Golden Sun Knight? I don’t think I met him in the Parthenon Temple,” Mo Fan asked blithely.

“Are you referring to Master Norman?” The Blue Star Knight was around the age of twenty. It was obvious that he had never participated in a battle at this level. His stern face was a disguise. His hands were still trembling!

“Yeah, your commander is a Golden Sun Knight too, so why did that man have the right to demote your commander?” Mo Fan asked.

“Master Norman was our Golden Sun Knights’ Combat Officer for many years. He might have retired, but his reputation is still around,” the young Blue Star Knight said.

“Oh, isn’t a Combat Officer the trainer of the knights?” Mo Fan went on.

“Exactly, Master Norman specifically trains the Golden Sun Knights. The Blue Star Knights and the Silver Moon Knights are not qualified to be trained by him,” the Blue Star Knight said. He suddenly wondered why he was even talking to the two strangers. He immediately straightened his face and said, “You haven’t told me who you are!”

“So he’s the Golden Sun Knights’ Combat Officer. He’s the main instructor, then. No wonder the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan didn’t stand a chance against him. I bet someone like him wouldn’t show himself easily,” Mo Fan continued on blithely.

“Of course, it’s our honor to see Master Norman in action today… damn it, why do you keep interrupting me? Please leave at once, we still have to clean up the mess. No unauthorized personnel are allowed to stay here!” the Blue Star Knight said anxiously.

Mo Fan did not recall seeing Norman back when he caused a huge scene in the Parthenon Temple. It was very likely that Norman had happened to be away. Otherwise, he would have been a huge problem for Mo Fan, even in his demon form.

The Parthenon Temple was indeed stacked. Mo Fan was relieved that he had not stumbled into a monster like Norman.

“Well, we were the ones that first noticed the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was about to go berserk. My friends were evacuating the streets and protecting the people before the Hall of Knights came,” Mo Fan explained.

“So it was you and your friends… thank you so much! If it weren’t for you and your friends, it would have been a lot worse!” the Blue Star Knight smiled sincerely. He seemed a little muddleheaded.

“It’s nothing, My friends and I lack many things – money, girlfriends, resources – but we never lack a sense of justice!” Mo Fan proclaimed heartily.

“Right, you have the spirit of a knight! I thank you on behalf of the Hall of Knights!” the Blue Star Knight said.

—

Apas remained silent. She was still in deep thought when the Blue Star Knight left.

Mo Fan placed his palm on her head and asked, “Was it talking to us?”

“Mm, it knew we were looking for the young Tyrant Titan’s heart.”

“How did it know?” Mo Fan asked, confused.

“I told it. It knew I am a Medusa, too,” Apas replied.

“…were you two communicating through eye contact?” Mo Fan asked speechlessly.

“Things are a lot more complicated than we imagined,” Apas told him instead.

1634 Love At First Sigh

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The incident calmed down quickly since there were no casualties. Xinxia called Mo Fan early in the morning the next day to ask about it. Mo Fan conveniently accused Tata of not treating his warning seriously.

“Brother Mo Fan, it’s a relief that you and your friends were there…” Xinxia was utterly clueless about Mo Fan’s attempt to warn her. She was currently in England, and due to the time difference, she was asleep by the time Mo Fan called her. Tata did not tell her about the call, either, so she only knew what had happened when she saw the news the following day. She was relieved that there were no injuries.

“You should get another phone, with only my number in it.” Mo Fan was extremely annoyed by Tata’s intervention.

“Sure, Brother Mo Fan, stay a few more days in Athens. I’ll be going back once I’m done with my stuff here. I’ll invite your friends to the Mountain of the Goddess to express my gratitude,” Xinxia agreed cheerfully.

“Oh, that won’t be necessary. Speaking of which, will someone dying in the incident affect you? I mean the election,” Mo Fan asked.

“Athens’ safety is indeed part of my responsibilities, but the problem is that the Hall of Knights doesn’t take orders from me directly, especially when it comes to protecting the city. Tata didn’t ignore your call on purpose, it’s just that she knew telling me wouldn’t make any difference. The Hall of Knights will only treat a matter seriously if there’s enough evidence to prove it is a threat… therefore, in a situation like this, I can only ask the people that are supporting me behind the scenes for help. As for the Hall of Knights…” Xinxia trailed off.

Mo Fan could easily sense how helpless Xinxia felt.

Xinxia was an outsider in the Parthenon Temple. She did not have many connections, nor a strong background. The authorities of the Parthenon Temple were currently doing things their own ways, and were hesitant to clarify which Candidate they were supporting.

As a result, the Candidates could only rely on their external influence to convince the internal authorities of the Parthenon Temple, hence why Xinxia and Izisha had been focusing on obtaining support from other countries recently.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Mo Fan sighed.

Mo Fan was constantly worrying about Xinxia after he agreed to let her stay at the Parthenon Temple. It was extremely difficult for someone like Xinxia, who had grown up in China, to obtain support from the old cunning foxes in the Parthenon Temple. If the people had not been suspicious of Izisha’s resurrection and the chaos she had brought upon the Parthenon Temple recently, there was no chance Xinxia, who had appeared out of nowhere, would have stood a chance in the election. Izisha could have easily crushed her with her connections alone!

Mo Fan only knew that apart from Haylon, the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights, who had clearly indicated that he was supporting Xinxia, the others holding key positions in the Parthenon Temple were similar to a military clique, and could not afford to offend any of the Candidates.

The problem was that, even though Haylon was the Hall Master, the Hall of Knights had a very complicated structure, too. Different knights were appointed to different Muses and Servants. Meanwhile, the Blue Star Knights, Silver Moon Knights, and Golden Sun Knights had their own leaders. Haylon was in a situation similar to Xinxia. Not everyone in the Hall of Knights necessarily took orders from him, despite his position.

Haylon was now Xinxia’s trump card. She did not want Haylon to publicly declare his stance until the situation became clearer, thus allowing Haylon to observe and pull strings behind the scenes in Xinxia’s favor. Otherwise, knowing Izisha, once Haylon declared his stance, she would do everything she could to impeach him. There were many people in the Parthenon Temple waiting to replace him!

Mo Fan was not very familiar with the complicated situation of the Parthenon Temple, but he was sure about one thing: Xinxia would be held responsible if the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan had killed a lot of people in West Athens!

If a Candidate could not even guarantee the city’s safety, she would immediately lose a lot of support and become the object of derision from the other Candidates.

—

After chatting with Xinxia, Mo Fan began to wonder if the Tyrant Titan’s heart was another one of Izisha’s conspiracies.

However, after asking Tata about it, the old woman stated that even though Izisha was the kind of ruler that would use all kinds of tricks to guarantee her status, she was a true protector of Athens. She would not treat the blood of her people as a red carpet leading to her throne.

“Brother Mo Fan, let’s not assume Izisha is behind it. I don’t think she would do something like that. It would not help her. Asha’ruiya is also a Candidate, apart from us. She would be dooming herself if she did something like that!” Xinxia said.

“Fine, I guess I’m worrying too much about it,” Mo Fan said.

—

Mo Fan paid Zhao Manyan a visit that afternoon. Zhao Manyan’s injuries were a lot more serious than he had thought. A Servant of the Parthenon Temple had come to treat him, yet he still had not recovered.

Mo Fan received a call from Mui Nuxin when the sky was about to darken. He had nothing better to do, so he gladly accepted her invitation.

—

“Mu Bai, are you sure you don’t want to go? Mui Nuxin is a great beauty, I can introduce her to you…” Mo Fan urged him.

“That only works on Zhao Manyan. If you tell him that, he would go with you even if he was limping. I’m planning to go to the auctions or look around at the marketplace to see if I can find anything useful for my breakthrough,” Mu Bai answered.

“You shouldn’t rush it. We’ll figure out a way together. I’ll try and ask around to see if there are any suitable resources for you,” Mo Fan said.

“I doubt it’s going to be easy looking for them?” Mu Bai said.

“It’s not going to be easy if you look for them yourself. Don’t forget that you still have Fanxue Mountain behind you,” Mo Fan reminded him.

“Well… it’s my own cultivation, I shouldn’t rely on Fanxue Mountain’s resources, it’s still growing…” Mu Bai said.

“You are now a member of Fanxue Mountain. Once you achieve the Super Level, you are going to play an important role. Don’t be shy; that Mui Nuxin is the Mui Clan’s treasurer! She’s also an important business partner of our Fanxue Mountain. It won’t be a waste of your time. Perhaps we might even ask her for help to look for the resources you need,” Mo Fan suggested.

“Alright,” Mu Bai finally nodded.

Mu Bai also knew how difficult it would be for him to attempt the breakthrough on his own. He had already had a few goes at it, but it felt like he was only getting himself badly bruised. He had to rest up for a long time before the next attempt.

He had nothing useful to use for now. Any artifacts or springs that could help him recover a bit quicker would definitely speed the process up!

He was fortunate to have even probed the Super Level. If he did not take hold of the opportunity, he would lose it soon! The chance only occurred once in a blue moon. He had to seize the opportunity while he could!

—

Mo Fan invited Heidi along, too. Brianca was still recovering from her injuries, and did not come along.

They arrived at the highest floor of the building, which had a spectacular view from the window. They could easily enjoy the night view of Athens. Mo Fan had noticed that wealthy people like Mui Nuxin and Zhao Manyan were quite fussy about the environment of restaurants. Mo Fan always felt like his eyes widened on their own when seeing the places they invited him to. If he had to make the decision, he would most likely have ended up in a pizza shop at the corner of a street!

The waiter ushered the group of four to a table with an excellent view. Mo Fan glanced at the table and saw a glamorous woman seated beside Mui Nuxin.

The woman was listening attentively to Mui Nuxin. Her eyebrows were long and elegant. Mo Fan could see her tender, pale skin through the curtain of water. She was wearing a black dress, her collar bones slightly revealed from her posture. Her smooth shoulders were exceedingly alluring…

Mo Fan kept staring at the woman as he approached the table. It was his first time being so attracted to a woman’s shoulders. Normally, he would be staring at their bust, but not this time. Most people would have some moles or blackheads on their skin, but the woman’s skin was in perfect condition!

“What did I tell you? You can’t regret coming with me. The girl sitting beside Mui Nuxin is pretty hot!” Mo Fan said.

“She looks a little familiar,” Mu Bai said.

“Yeah, I find every good-looking girl familiar too,” Mo Fan laughed. He was obviously in a good mood.

The group went over to the table that Mui Nuxin had reserved. Mui Nuxin received them with a smile and invited them to take their seats with a polite gesture.

“Aren’t you going to introduce this gorgeous lady to us first…” Mo Fan said mischievously looked at the woman he found interesting.

Mui Nuxin was stunned.

The woman in a black dress slowly turned around, revealing her face. Her eyes were like a pair of black gems, looking at Mo Fan.

Her long hair was tied up with a red headscarf. Mo Fan only then noticed that her hair was as silver-white as snow!

When Mo Fan saw her face, he opened his mouth so wide that it could hold an entire plate in it.

Mui Nuxin giggled when she saw Mo Fan’s reaction. She inquired after a moment, “Do I still need to introduce her to you?”

“Well…(cough cough!), I was wondering why I felt like I was shot by Cupid when I saw you. Xuexue, when did you come to Athens? Mui Nuxin, why didn’t you tell me she was here? Ah, allow me to introduce you, this is Mu Bai,” it was impossible to describe Mo Fan’s expression in a word or two.

“I know him,” Mu Ningxue said expressionlessly.

“Ah, this, this is…” Mo Fan pointed at Apas, who was very close to him.

Apas and Mo Fan were standing closer than normal acquaintances. Mo Fan could already sense Mu Ningxue’s icy gaze. He was suddenly lost for words when he tried to explain who Apas was.

Would Mu Ningxue believe him if he told her Apas was his Contracted Beast?

1635 Bad Things Smashed Together

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had barely come up with an explanation for Xinxia. He had not come up with an explanation for Mu Ningxue yet. The speech he had prepared for Xinxia was useless on Mu Ningxue!

He was not mentally prepared at all. He did not even realize that the girl who made his heart race as he slowly approached the table was Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue was dressed differently than normal, wearing a black evening gown. She was incredibly sexy, especially how her shoulders were exposed. Mo Fan believed he could kiss her shoulders for a year without getting enough of them. She looked so different that he did not even recognize her from the side, especially with how her hair was tied up with a headscarf.

Mo Fan had never seen Mu Ningxue dressed up like that. She was young but mature, sexy but composed. She no longer had her normal unapproachable demeanor. Mo Fan was already used to her icy bearing, and was completely enticed by her charm. He simply had the urge to carry her into a room, onto a huge bed…

“My Great Castellan, aren’t you amusing? Weren’t you supposed to know if Ningxue is here? Why should I tell you?” Mui Nuxin giggled, especially amused after seeing Mo Fan’s reaction.

“It’s hard to explain it in a few words. Xuexue, why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Seriously, you’re so gorgeous today, I couldn’t even recognize you. It’s such a relief that it was you. I initially thought I was such a scum that I would be so easily allured by any woman, but it turned out to be you, hahaha, HAHAHA! That’s great!” Mo Fan sat down beside Mu Ningxue and quickly blurted out some comforting words.

Apas and Heidi took their seats, too. They were rather surprised.

Mo Fan had always been fearless. He even dared to intimidate the Scorpion Lord Medusa, yet was there really someone he was afraid of?

“Mu Bai, who is she?” Heidi whispered curiously.

The new woman was extremely good-looking. Heidi was always confident in her appearance, but somehow, she was a little ashamed when facing this woman with an unusual bearing.

“Someone that Mo Fan likes,” Mu Bai said. He was not too sure how to explain their relationship.

Mu Ningxue had never clarified that she was going to marry Mo Fan. It had been a long time since Mu Bai had last contacted anyone from Mu Ningxue’s family. He had no idea if Mo Fan had succeeded in winning her affection. He only knew the relationship between them was a little ambiguous, especially since they had established Fanxue Mountain together…

“He likes every good-looking woman. Isn’t that what he said?” Apas piped up with a gloating grin.

“You’re right. In that case, you can think of her as Mo Fan’s goddess,” Mu Bai said.

“Oh, I think I understand now,” Heidi nodded. She could not wait to enjoy the show…

—

If Mo Fan had known Mu Ningxue was here, he would never have brought Apas along. He would have tossed her into the Contract Space instead, but it was too late now.

“Let’s eat first,” Mui Ningxue told Mui Nuxin. She was not in the mood to listen to Mo Fan’s explanation.

“Mm,” Mui Nuxin nodded.

“Ah, I have something to tell you, it’s about Mu Bai. He’s close to reaching the Super Level. I was thinking that since he’s one of us, we should help him collect the resources he might need,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m not in a rush,” Mu Bai said.

“Of course you are, having a Super Mage means having another reliable helper…” Mo Fan said.

“I’ll stick to Mu Ningxue’s decision. She’s in charge of Fanxue Mountain, you only have a title with no obligations,” Mu Bai said.

—

The invitation was both shocking and exciting for Mo Fan.

He was planning to go back to Fanxue Mountain after paying Xinxia a visit. It had been so long since he last saw Mu Ningxue, considering he had spent almost half a year at the Alps and in Egypt.

Imagine if a couple had not met for half a year, yet the wife saw her husband walking closely with a gorgeous young girl as soon as they met. Mo Fan was seriously worried that Mu Ningxue would end his life once and for all with her Ice Crystal Bow.

“Mu Ningxue, did you come to Athens for something urgent?” Mu Bai believed he had gloated enough. He sensibly changed the topic.

“Mm, we found an island with quartz reefs in the East China Sea. We are planning to export the ores to Europe, most likely to Athens. Mui Nuxin happened to have enough resources here. We also plan to buy a batch of defensive Equipment. Our Mages stationed on the Quartz Reef Island had a lot of casualties recently,” Mu Ningxue said.

“What creatures are there on the island?” Mo Fan asked.

“A bunch of Tyrannical Demon Shellfish. They are fond of the ores, too. Before we found the island, the Tyrannical Demon Shellfish that reached the Warrior-level would cultivate on the island to evolve into Golden Demon Shellfish. These Golden Demon Shellfish have been quite a nuisance for us,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Speaking of which, Mo Fan, this was the reason why I went with Zu Xiangtian to meet Rosie. She’s our first option for reaching a deal with,” Mui Nuxin chimed in.

Mui Nuxin explained everything that had happened to Mu Ningxue.

“If that’s her attitude toward the incident, it shows us that she doesn’t have any principles. She’s not a reliable business partner,” Mu Ningxue stated.

Mu Ningxue was extremely strict about the personalities of her business partners. Mo Fan was quite surprised. He was actually worried that Mu Ningxue would blame him for ruining her plan.

Mo Fan did not have a positive first impression of Rosie, either. She was reluctant to tell them the truth about the young Tyrant Titan’s heart, even though Leng Qing had already explained how much of a threat the Tyrant Titan would be to the people.

“Perhaps I have already gotten used to it after staying in this circle for a long time… but it’s good that you only choose to work with people who can stick to their principles. At least it won’t give Fanxue Mountain a bad name,” Mui Nuxin admitted.

When it came to Fanxue Mountain’s growth, its safety was Mu Ningxue’s priority, followed by its reputation.

If she did not care about principles, like how Rosie had disregarded the safety of the people in Athens, how could a little clan in Athens possibly outgrow Fanxue Mountain?

“We have another problem. If we want to sell the high-quality ore in Europe, we’ll need approval from Europe’s Magic Ores Association, and their appraisal. Unfortunately, the person in charge is from the Zu Clan,” Mui Nuxin said.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless.

Why did the bad things always come bundled up together?

1636 He Didn“t Have a Hear

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Late at night, the lights under the Parthenon Temple faded away. At this particular time of the season, a bright cold moon hung in the sky above the Mountain of the Goddess. Its light covered the mountain like a silver veil, adding a mystical feeling to the elegant mountain.

At the foot of the mountain, behind a small hill, stood a simple wooden hut close to a stream. A man in a white robe sat on the roof staring at the blurred outline of the Mountain of the Goddess under the moonlight in melancholy.

Soft footsteps sounded from the path in the woods. The man looked into the woods. His gray-blue eyes glittered in the night.

“What do you want?” the man asked.

“Can’t I pay you a visit? Either way, you’re still my brother…” the woman replied, still approaching the man.

“Just spill it,” the man sniffed.

“Have you seen her, Norman?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“Who?” Norman said.

“You know who, her identity was already revealed. I bet you’re back because you want to see the sister you’ve never met before, right?” Asha’ruiya said.

“I’ll see her when the time comes. I don’t need you to remind me,” Norman said patiently.

“Why do I feel like you are very disappointed in me? We haven’t seen each other for so many years. Father took us both in, so we should be like a family…” Asha’ruiya said.

“You know the things that you’ve done,” Norman harrumphed coldly.

“I need to find a way to survive in a place where everyone is trying to outwit one another. When I needed you to step forward to protect me, you were feeling depressed in some forgotten corner across the world instead. What did you want me to do? Stick to the principles father and you taught me? If I had done that, not even my bones would be left now!” Asha’ruiya raised her voice slightly, her face cold.

Norman was briefly startled. He looked at Asha’ruiya, who had stopped in her tracks.

“Even so, you should never set your foot into… forget it, there’s no chance you will leave even if I said anything,” Norman shook his head. He did not want to speak about it.

“So, did you come back to make clear whose side you’re on?” Asha’ruiya asked him.

“I don’t know,” Norman replied.

“You do know that the whole Hall of Knights will only listen to you. Izisha tried everything she could to look for you. She wanted to convince you that she would bring back the glory that the Parthenon Temple once had…” Asha’ruiya said.

“She did find me, but… something feels strange about her,” Norman said.

“Hehe, we can’t even tell if she’s a human or a demon creature now. She clearly didn’t master the Spell of Resurrection, yet she managed to come back to life…” Asha’ruiya said.

“The Parthenon Temple is no longer the place I was familiar with. I think I no longer belong here, either,” Norman looked at the Mountain of the Goddess. His mind was constantly recalling the past, the grief and the sorrow he had experienced here, and the countless bodies buried under its brilliance. It was a place with unsurpassed authority, a world-class reputation, endless fortune, and the Spell of Resurrection that was considered a blessing from the Gods!

“I hope you will side with me,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Do you think that’s possible? Ask yourself honestly, would father still acknowledge you as his daughter if he knew what you had done!?” Norman answered quickly.

“You won’t side with Izisha, and you’re not willing to side with me either, that leaves only one choice…” Asha’ruiya said.

“I won’t decide until I see her. If there’s nothing else, you should get some rest. You may only call me your brother once you’ve given up on your other side,” Norman said.

“I won’t give it up; it can protect me better than you,” Asha’ruiya said.

“I can’t talk to you if you keep persisting in going the wrong way.” Norman rose to his feet. He jumped down from the roof and headed for the door.

Asha’ruiya bit her lips while staring at Norman’s back.

She said after a moment, “I went to look for Austin, but he doesn’t recognize me.”

“You found Austin?” Norman halted in his tracks. He glanced at Asha’ruiya curiously.

“I’m the only person that knew his existence and location before, but someone else has found him. They are preparing a delicate Dragon Hunting Ritual for him, too,” Asha’ruiya said.

Norman frowned. He stared at Asha’ruiya, trying to confirm she was not lying to him.

“Who is it?” he finally asked.

“Someone with a formidable background, someone that has control over many powerful officials, someone that even Izisha wouldn’t dare provoke,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Austin is so powerful, even Izisha couldn’t do anything to him,” Norman said.

“They found a way to weaken him. A dragon has its weaknesses, too,” Asha’ruiya said.

Norman fell into deep thought.

“They are carrying out their plan in a few days… if you want to do something about it, you should start preparing now. See, despite being a brother, you’ve never cared for me. Your honorable father was all that mattered. I have had to stand on my own feet since my first year of college, yet I still couldn’t help but remind you about something that doesn’t concern me,” Asha’ruiya said mockingly.

Norman wanted to say something, but Asha’ruiya had already left…

—

—

Mo Fan sat on his couch, meditating with his eyes closed.

His eyes sprang open as soon as he heard the chair being moved in the next room.

He might be meditating, but he was not focused at all. His cultivation was currently stuck at a bottleneck. Cultivating or not would not make any difference. There was hardly any motivation for him to cultivate diligently.

Mo Fan hurried over to the balcony. He turned into a shadow and moved to the next balcony.

The door was open, and the curtains were drifting in the wind. Mo Fan happened to see Mu Ningxue stretching beside her table. He almost drooled at the sight of her alluring figure. He did not have enough at dinner. There were too many people around, so he was ashamed to keep staring at her. However, the two of them were now alone in the middle of the night. He could just be reckless.

“Are you done with your business?” Mo Fan asked.

“Only the first phase,” Mu Ningxue said. She noticed the passionate look in Mo Fan’s eyes and easily read his mind. She spoke first to prevent Mo Fan from taking the initiative, “Let’s take a walk.”

“When it’s already so late?” Mo Fan raised his eyebrows.

Why would they go out for a walk in the middle of the night? Since they were still so young and energetic, shouldn’t they not waste their time and have a few rounds before daylight…

—

In the end, Mo Fan went for a walk with Mu Ningxue.

The place they were staying at had a nice environment. The clean streets and trees were oddly calm and soothing at night.

Mo Fan took the initiative to hold Mu Ningxue’s hand. She did not reject it. Mo Fan slowed down and kept to her pace. Mu Ningxue signaled for them to enjoy the breeze while they were crossing a bridge.

“Can’t you leave the business side in Mu Linsheng’s hands? Why did you have to come to Athens in person?” Mu Linsheng asked.

Mu Ningxue might be in charge of Fanxue Mountain, but she mostly spent her time cultivating. She was obsessed with pursuing a higher level of cultivation, just like Mo Fan. As the ruler of Fanxue Mountain, how could she survive amid the wolves and tigers if she was not strong enough?

The reasons that Mu Ningxue explained during dinner were not strong enough to convince him that she had to come to Athens in person. Mo Fan did not want to ask her in front of the others.

“Is there something else bothering you?” Mo Fan asked.

Mu Ningxue lifted her gaze and looked at Mo Fan. She was a little surprised that Mo Fan could tell she had something else in mind.

“Mm, there’s indeed one thing that is bothering me… I had no choice but to come here to find out the truth,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Is it that serious?” Mo Fan asked.

“Do you remember the incident when we first visited Feiniao City?” Mu Ningxue asked in a serious voice.

“Yeah, a bunch of sea monsters showed up. Didn’t we already take care of them?” Mo Fan recalled.

“Jiang Yu went to investigate some of the local officials, and discovered that someone was purposely hiding the truth about the missing children, which resulted in the tragedy,” Mu Ningxue informed him.

Mo Fan immediately recalled the infuriating scene of them finding a child’s corpse inside the belly of one of the sea monsters.

“Mm, but we weren’t able to find out who was behind it,” Mo Fan nodded.

Jiang Yu mentioned that when he tried investigating further, he realized the person was not just trying to hide the facts about the missing children; it was much more complicated than that. But the trail had ended after the local official was busted. They were not able to track down the culprit behind the scenes.

“When Shao Yu was patrolling the coast, someone reported a similar incident to her. While she was investigating it, she found a warehouse where the missing children were kept. The missing children were no longer there, but there were a lot of baby goods there. I immediately contacted Jiang Yu and asked him to look into it,” Mu Ningxue said.

Fanxue Mountain was very close to Feiniao City. There had been no follow-up regarding the case of the missing children since then. To Mo Fan’s surprise, Mu Ningxue had actually found some new clues.

No one could possibly turn a blind eye to such an unforgivable act. Mo Fan clenched his fists and said, “I see! Don’t worry, once we found who the culprit is, I’m going to snap his neck in half!”

“I seriously don’t understand how they could do such a cruel thing to the children!?” Mu Ningxue began to tremble.

“What is it?” Mo Fan looked at Mu Ningxue. He noticed her panicking a little.

“Mo Fan, the kid we found inside the sea monster’s belly. Did you know? He…he didn’t have a heart,” Mu Ningxue was pinching the back of Mo Fan’s hand while uttering her words.

1637 A Greater Secre

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan felt the pinch. Mu Ningxue would not behave like this if she was not overwhelmed by anger and sorrow. His heart skipped a beat!

He didn’t have a heart?

Mo Fan clearly remembered Ai Jiangtu taking the kid out of the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s belly. He had even lent a hand to bury the body, but he had never checked to see if the kid still had a heart!

“Why is that?” Mo Fan was both shocked and confused.

“The reason that the missing kid ended up in the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s belly… was that he wasn’t eaten by the Scarlet Soaring Demon, but someone was using the Scarlet Soaring Demons’ trait of eating little kids to conceal their crime of kidnapping them for their hearts!” Mu Ningxue told him.

“Wh…what!?” Mo Fan almost yelled at the top of his lungs. He was utterly dumbfounded by Mu Ningxue’s words.

The kids had already lost their hearts before they were eaten by the Scarlet Soaring Demons!?

Mo Fan’s heart shuddered. Why did something that was already so cruel have to be tied up with an even scarier truth?

“I came to Athens on my own because I didn’t want the culprit to know we are making a move,” Mu Ningxue said.

“The culprit is here in Athens?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“Mm, we’ve tracked the children’s hearts to here!” Mu Ningxue said.

Mo Fan now realized why Mu Ningxue was having dinner in a luxurious restaurant in an evening gown. The culprit must have a strong background, so Fanxue Mountain would easily arouse suspicion with their investigation. Therefore, Mu Ningxue had pretended to come for a business trip!

“What else do you know?” Mo Fan growled.

“Jiang Yu has dug very deep into the matter, but he also warned me that the person involved is extremely dangerous. He asked me to be very careful. We aren’t sure who the culprit is, but the hearts are indeed here in Athens. Jiang Yu will be here in two days, he will explain the details to us…” Mu Ningxue said.

“Stealing children’s hearts. What are they up to?” Mo Fan could not understand the reason behind it.

“Not stealing… they are collecting!” Mu Ningxue corrected him.

From what Mu Ningxue knew, the true number of missing children was far higher than what they knew of. It was not just in Feiniao City; the same incidents were happening in other cities, even other countries…

“Collecting hearts?” Mo Fan was lost in thought after learning the terrifying, disappointing truth.

He had only found out about the despicable act of General Ethan and his subordinate Gangma in Egypt. Those pricks, driven by their greed, considered themselves honorable despite their evil acts. Their twisted personalities and hearts were even more disgusting than the demon snakes and scorpions! Apas’ accusations of humans also left Mo Fan in deep thought.

He did not expect the people of Fanxue Mountain to find out the truth about the missing children in Feiniao City after he had just left Egypt. He was once again disheartened by the truth. He could not help but despise his own kind.

How many could the demon creatures possibly eat?

Humans were ‘eating’ more than the demon creatures!

What was wrong with humans? Why did they have to devastate one another?

Gangma had kidnapped the young girls to satiate his own desires, and to expand his connections. They were feeding the young girls to the Medusae in return for temporary peace. But what kind of reason would someone have for collecting children’s hearts?

Mo Fan had assumed the Black Vatican was the definition of evil. No one could possibly be worse than the Black Vatican! The members of the Black Vatican were not even worthy to be called humans, but after the things he had been through, he suddenly felt that evil was nothing but a bottomless abyss. Whenever he thought he had seen the darkest side of humans, something worse was still happening just beyond his sight!

“I’m sorry, it was meant to be a relaxing walk, but I end up saying these things to you,” Mu Ningxue sighed when she noticed the icy aura Mo Fan was emitting.

“I’m the least of your worries. I will never forgive the people behind it!” Mo Fan swore.

He had plenty of time to flirt with Mu Ningxue, but if he did not take out the culprit, it would feel like an annoying fishbone was stuck in his throat!

—

—

Jiang Yu arrived in Athens in the afternoon the next day.

It had been a long time since Mo Fan had last seen him, and they had barely contacted one another after the national team was disbanded. It went without saying that everyone on the national team was going to have great achievements in their respective fields.

Zhao Manyan had almost recovered by now. He happily invited Jiang Yu to the reflexology center when he heard Jiang Yu had come to Athens.

Jiang Yu might have seemed like an honest man, but he was surprisingly ‘playful’ too. However, he was not in the mood, since he was here for some serious business.

“Damn it, how is that even possible!?” Zhao Manyan also had a strong reaction after hearing Jiang Yu’s message.

Zhao Manyan was around when they were looking for the missing children. Even a heartless man like him was disheartened by the truth… he had tried so hard to find the kid that had been kidnapped!

Little did Zhao Manyan know, there was a greater secret behind it!

“It’s not like I didn’t want to find out the truth, but the person behind it is too powerful. I was warned as soon as I tried to look into it,” Jiang Yu said helplessly.

“Who warned you?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not sure, but one of the elders warned me. He must have been pressured by someone else,” Jiang Yu said.

“Who exactly is it, acting so arrogantly after doing such a heartless thing!?” Zhao Manyan cursed.

There was a sudden knock on the door while they were in the middle of the discussion.

“Who is it?” Mo Fan asked patiently.

They had all gathered in Mo Fan’s room. Everyone that was supposed to be here was inside the room, including Brianca and Heidi. They were also enraged after hearing the truth, and swore to hunt the culprit down.

“Room service, sir, didn’t you ask me to come service you?” an alluring voice said outside the door. It completely ruined the tense atmosphere inside the room.

Everyone looked at Mo Fan with weird faces!

Mo Fan’s eyes widened, too. Since when did he ask for some special room service? Why would he even think about it at a time like this? He would only do so after he was done with the matter… ahem, speaking of which, the seductive voice sounded a little familiar…

Mo Fan walked to the door under everyone’s suspicious eyes, and opened the door.

As he thought… Asha’ruiya was standing at the door with a naughty grin!

“It’s really you, you little cunning vixen!” Mo Fan blurted out. The woman always seemed to know where to find him!

1638 The Guild of the Wicked

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“There are so many people here,” Asha’ruiya poked her head into the room and walked inside before Mo Fan gave his permission. She did not treat herself as an outsider.

“What do you want? We are discussing something important, if you have any other thoughts, we’ll meet somewhere else… no, I wanted to say, you should stop bothering me. I’m taken already, Asha’ruiya, you are a nice woman,” Mo Fan blabbered.

“Isn’t she A…” Zhao Manyan’s eyes straightened when he saw Asha’ruiya!

“She’s Ye Meng’e, wait…your surname is Ye too…” Mo Fan quickly interrupted Zhao Manyan.

Heidi and Brianca were present. If they knew the woman was Asha’ruiya, one of the Candidates for the role of the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple, the situation would seriously get out of control.

Even though Asha’ruiya was a public figure in Europe, she wore a veil most of the time, thus not many people had seen her face. Asha’ruiya was still wearing a veil to cover her face slightly, even here.

Knowing the problems between the Alps Institute and the Parthenon Temple, Mo Fan did not want Zhao Manyan to say Asha’ruiya’s name. He called her by the Chinese name she gave him when they first met instead.

However, Mo Fan suddenly realized that her Chinese name had the surname Ye too, just like Ye Xinxia. Surely it was not a mere coincidence!

Zhao Manyan quickly realized why Mo Fan had interrupted him.

“I suddenly noticed that we have gathered some of the most beautiful women in the world in the same room,” Zhao Manyan exclaimed as a way to change the topic.

Mo Fan briefly scanned the women in the room. Zhao Manyan was absolutely right about that!

Brianca, Heidi, Asha’ruiya, and Mu Ningxue were all beauties among beauties, as was Apas, currently sitting on the couch playing with Little Flame Belle. The five of them could easily outshine every woman on the street!

“I know what you are looking for,” Asha’ruiya cut straight to the topic.

“You know? How do you know? Right, it’s not difficult to find out that we are looking for the source of the young Tyrant Titan’s heart, especially for an information vendor like you,” Mo Fan said.

Asha’ruiya shook her head. She looked at Mu Ningxue and asked, “Are you investigating the incidents of missing children?”

Mu Ningxue’s gaze sharpened. She immediately put on a hostile face.

She had only mentioned it to Mo Fan. Only those in the room knew the truth, so how did this uninvited guest know too? Unless… Asha’ruiya was the culprit she was looking for, or at least she was somehow related to the culprit!

“I do want to have a showdown with you, but not now… I know you’re looking for the person behind it because this guy here was getting some information from my people. I happened to be investigating the same matter lately, so I didn’t have trouble tracking him to Fanxue Mountain.” Asha’ruiya pointed at Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu dropped his jaw. He finally realized something after staring at Asha’ruiya for some time, “Your people? I got the information from a master. Wait, you are from the network, too?”

“What network? What the hell are you talking about?” Mo Fan was utterly confused.

“The Hunter Network, a network of information across countries. The Secret Tipping Scrolls purchased from our country’s Hunter Union is one of the projects handled by the Hunter Network. They specialize in gathering information: information on demon creatures, organizations, Mages, equipment… their organization branched off from the Hunter Union. It even has information about the Black Vatican, Hall of Assassins, and other independent factions, resistances, and cults. When you asked me to look into the incidents of the missing children in Feiniao City, I couldn’t find any information about it through official channels in our country, so I had to collect the information through the Hunter Network. It was a Master of the Hunter Network who tipped me that the culprit we are looking for is one of the clans in Athens!” Jiang Yu said.

Mo Fan had heard about the Secret Tipping Scrolls before. Many Hunters sold valuable information they had found through them; other Hunters could then buy the Secret Tipping Scrolls that contained information about the things they were looking for. Mo Fan spent a fortune on the Secret Tipping Scrolls when he was looking for the young Medusa, which had allowed him to narrow down the search area to the temple!

To Mo Fan’s surprise, these informers had formed a network, and were referred to as the Hunter Network!

“But I told the master not to reveal who I am!” Jiang Yu protested.

“There’s no such thing as absolute secrecy in this world. You were exposed the moment you bought the information from the Hunter Network, so it was not difficult to find out what Fanxue Mountain is up to,” Asha’ruiya said.

“So are you saying… the Hunter Network is like Baidu for Mages?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“…”

“…”

The Hunter Network was obviously not the same as Baidu, because it was selling some of the most confidential intel in the world!

“If you can find out our intentions so easily, wouldn’t that mean the culprit is also aware of why we are in Athens?” Mu Ningxue asked.

Asha’ruiya shook her head and said, “They might suspect something, but their information is nowhere as accurate as mine. Well, I’m not that proficient either, but the person he contacted happened to be one of my men… I’ve always been keeping an eye on your Fanxue Mountain.”

“She definitely has a high clearance in the Hunter Network,” Jiang Yu muttered.

“Alright, we’ll learn more about the Hunter Network next time. Asha’ruiya, if you know what we are up to, why did you purposely visit us? I can’t imagine you telling us some important information out of kindness,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s part of a chain, the people involved have done a lot of outrageous acts. They are called the Wicked, and their influence has extended to many places across the world. They eventually turned into a guild,” Asha’ruiya told them.

“The Wicked?” Brianca said.

“Miss Brianca, do you know of the guild?” Mo Fan said.

“Our Alps Institute mainly focuses on helping and raising orphans. I have never met anyone from the guild before, but I heard Miss Ceylan and a few other teachers mention that a student of our school was killed by some sort of a guild while she was trying to save a child. I believe it’s the same guild you are referring to,” Brianca answered.

“Why does it feel like an international criminal organization to me?” Mo Fan murmured.

“Yes, they have recruited criminals who are wanted by the Magic Association and the governments of different countries to commit crimes. Mo Fan, do you remember the Red Ornaments Guild that we took out in the Caribbean Sea?” Jiang Yu said.

“How could I forget them? Do they have something to do with the missing children, too?” Mo Fan said.

“Not really, but the Red Ornaments Guild is a side branch of the Guild of the Wicked. You could say that the Guild of the Wicked was supporting them behind the scenes. Why do you think the government was struggling to take them out?” Jiang Yu said.

Zhao Manyan immediately recalled the Red Ornaments Guild.

The people of the Red Ornaments Guild were indeed despicable. Not only were they bullying ordinary people that did not know magic, they even proceeded to torture them to get their revenge…

He had thought the Red Ornaments Guild was just a bunch of hoodlums, but they were actually tied to a worse organization instead!

“The pirates of the Red Ornaments Guild were just using the name of the Guild of the Wicked to intimidate their prey. The Guild of the Wicked are the real scum that can do anything for their own gain and greed,” Asha’ruiya stated.

“Which means, we just have to take out this Guild of the Wicked?” Mo Fan spoke up.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s find those scum and kill them all. They might even have a bounty on them. We can earn ourselves a fortune while serving justice!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed, swinging his fists around.

“I doubt it’s that easy,” Heidi cooled him off.

“Even if he knows what I just explained, I wouldn’t be here if it was that simple.” Asha’ruiya pointed at Jiang Yu as if he was just a rookie.

Jiang Yu wanted to say something, but soon swallowed the words back.

It was true that Jiang Yu had only just figured out the Guild of the Wicked was responsible for the disappearance of the young children. It had an entire operation dedicated to kidnapping the children and transporting their hearts to Athens!

However, he had no clue about the identities of its members or how many people it had in Athens, so the Guild of the Wicked was still in the dark.

“I can honestly tell you that if you stick to your current plan, there are only two possible outcomes. First, the culprit will arrange a few scapegoats for you to kill and vent your frustrations. You will soon forget about it while feeling proud that you’ve taken out a poisonous tumor endangering society. Second, someone here is going to die, and the culprit will threaten you with the life of the others to stop you from investigating any further. They will make you suffocate in darkness!” Asha’ruiya declared.

Asha’ruiya sounded extremely serious, and was looking at Brianca. It was obvious that Asha’ruiya knew Brianca was a Super Mage, yet even so, she would not be able to stop the second outcome!

“Mo Fan and I have caught a Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, why would we be afraid of the Guild of the Wicked?” Zhao Manyan harrumphed coldly.

“The Black Vatican and the Guild of the Wicked are different. The world has zero tolerance for the Black Vatican. If they know someone is a member of the Black Vatican, many different organizations, governments, and the Magic Associations will join hands to annihilate them!

“But the Guild of the Wicked is simply the other side of society. They are rotten meat, but they aren’t poisonous tumors that you can simply remove as you please. They commit crimes for personal gains. Some of the organizations among us are tied up with them. If we start trying to get rid of it, many organizations are going to suffer because of it,” Asha’ruiya informed him.

1639 Silver Ornament Master Bartholomew

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

If Mo Fan had not gone through the things in Egypt, he would have scoffed at Asha’ruiya’s remark.

Evil was evil; a person that did evil had to be annihilated. They had no reason to live in this world!

However, was that the case?

Gangma had kidnapped many teenaged girls for the government and military officials. From that perspective, those officials were unforgivable too!

However, from another perspective, these officials might have no idea that Gangma had kidnapped those girls. They were simply trying to fulfill their own desires. Some of the officials even took care of the girls and provided for their needs. If Mo Fan proceeded to track down the officials, what should he do about them? Kill them all?

Therefore, Mo Fan had not pursued the matter any further. He had already killed Gangma with his own hands, and General Ethan was being constantly tortured by Medusa’s Curse. It might not fully serve justice for the others, but it was the most that he could do!

The Guild of the Wicked was a similar situation!

They were different from the Black Vatican. The Black Vatican was trying to destroy the whole of mankind. They were no longer people, but a bunch of cultists that treated bringing harm to other people as their religion.

The members of the Guild of the Wicked were after personal gains, and would do anything to achieve their goals.

“They are no different from the Black Vatican if they were responsible for the outrageous acts in Feiniao City,” Mu Ningxue declared coldly.

“Indeed, these people are unforgivable. I know you will want to get to the heart of the matter, but I must warn you so you won’t fall into a deep abyss. The stakes are higher than you can imagine!” Asha’ruiya said.

“Just spill the beans, Asha’ruiya,” Mo Fan said solemnly.

It seemed like they were up to something serious once again. Somehow, they constantly found themselves in great trouble whenever they tried to do a good deed…

“The Guild of the Wicked is collecting the hearts of young children on behalf of someone,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Who is it?” Mo Fan asked.

“You don’t have to know who the person is for now. Let me ask another question: you happened to stumble into the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan when it attacked the city. Were you investigating the young Tyrant Titan’s heart?” Asha’ruiya said.

“Yes,” Mo Fan nodded.

“You will never find the truth. The young Tyrant Titan’s heart that Rosie was looking for was just an accident…” Asha’ruiya said confidently.

“What do you mean by that?” Brianca asked.

“Rosie needs a young Tyrant Titan’s heart, and she knew the Luba Clan had it. Since the young Tyrant Titan’s heart did not meet the Luba Clan’s requirements, they decided to auction it off so Rosie could buy it,” Asha’ruiya said.

Apas, who had remained silent until now, leaned closer and said softly, “The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan only went berserk because so many young Tyrant Titans were killed.”

“Many young Tyrant Titans were killed?” Mo Fan repeated in surprise.

“Ah? So the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan wasn’t just trying to avenge his kin?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Getting revenge is one thing, being overwhelmed by despair is another. The Tyrant Titan was a Ruler-level creature. It knew it was going to die if it attacked the city, yet it still charged in. It only behaved so recklessly due to the hatred and despair that had long accumulated in its heart…” Apas said.

Mo Fan recalled the Tyrant Titan’s behavior during the attack. It did seem to have gone mad. It did not look like an intelligent Ruler-level creature. It was simply venting its hatred on the city!

“The hearts of young Tyrant Titans, the hearts of young children…” Mu Ningxue murmured the keywords.

“Yes, that’s right, their hearts are missing. Are they somehow related?” Zhao Manyan finally realized the connection between the two incidents.

“The hearts of the young children you are looking for are substitutes for the hearts of the young Tyrant Titans,” Asha’ruiya said.

Everyone in the room gasped at the same time!

Substitutes for the hearts of the young Tyrant Titans?

The kids whose hearts were stolen and bodies tossed into the ocean, before the Sea Monkey Monsters offered them to other sea monsters…

“Tyrant Titans are born with innate strength; even a young Tyrant Titan is a hundred times stronger than a normal human child in every aspect. Therefore, they need at least hundred children’s hearts to make up for a young Tyrant Titan’s heart,” Asha’ruiya stated firmly.

“Why…why would they do that?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

The young Tyrant Titan’s hearts and the hearts of the missing children were two different things. How were they even related?

“To conduct a ritual! The hearts of young Tyrant Titans are the key to it. However, there aren’t many Tyrant Titans left in Europe. Since they couldn’t find enough young Tyrant Titan’s hearts, they could only use the hearts of children…” Asha’ruiya went on.

The shocking news sent chills down everyone’s spines. To think that someone would really use the hearts of children as a substitute ingredient!

“Who is he!?” Mo Fan’s voice turned icy.

“It’s a little complicated…” Asha’ruiya said.

“Just tell me who he is!!” Mo Fan snarled.

“The people collecting the young Tyrant Titan’s hearts are from the Luba Clan. I bet you already know who’s really in charge of the Luba Clan,” Asha’ruiya said.

“The Zu Clan!” Mo Fan said.

“As for the person collecting the young children’s hearts, it’s a Silver Ornament Master of the Guild of the Wicked called Bartholomew. I haven’t found his exact location, but I know the person he’s dealing with. I’ve already asked my people to keep a close eye on him. If you really want to kill him, I’ll notify you as soon as I know where they are!” Asha’ruiya said.

Asha’ruiya’s information was a lot more accurate than Jiang Yu’s. Jiang Yu had only found out about the Guild of the Wicked instead of the mastermind, but Asha’ruiya had given them the name of the mastermind right away, saving them a lot of work!

That being said, they would need someone reliable to verify the information. They could not blindly trust Asha’ruiya’s words…

—

Asha’ruiya left the room after giving them the information, not giving them a chance to question her.

“We now have a target, but there’s one thing I don’t understand. Why is she helping us? The information she gave us would easily cost a fortune,” Jiang Yu commented.

The information provided by the Hunter Network was very costly. It was unlikely that anyone in the circle would be willing to share their information for free. After all, information was basically money to them!

1640 Flipping Over Right Away

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“If she’s willing to help us, I don’t think we should worry about her intentions. It’s not like someone’s unexplainable relationship with her during the World College Tournament isn’t in play here,” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan glared at Zhao Manyan, indicating he should shut his mouth.

“Let’s get some rest for now. We’ll make our move once we receive the update from her,” Mu Ningxue said.

—

The meeting was dismissed. Brianca and Heidi were the last to leave Mo Fan’s room. Mo Fan walked them to the door and waved his hand to say goodbye, but Brianca suddenly turned around and looked at Mo Fan.

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked.

“The woman just then was Asha’ruiya, one of the Candidates of the Parthenon Temple, right? You two seem pretty close to one another,” Brianca asked him.

“How did you know?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

“You said her name when you were demanding the name of the culprit from her. I didn’t want to interrupt since you looked very serious just then,” Heidi replied stiffly.

“Huh? Did I say her name? Am I that stupid?” Mo Fan was stunned. He recalled the meeting and realized he did call her actual name. He was burning with rage, and completely forgot about the opposition between them.

“Humph, I kept wondering why have so many medicines of the Parthenon Temple. You’ve been keeping it a secret for so long. Are you seriously treating us like three-year-olds!?” Heidi said.

“I knew her even before the World College Tournament. We did one another some favors, but we weren’t that close, either. Please don’t misunderstand, I was only keeping it a secret because I know how opposed you two are to the Parthenon Temple. To be honest, not everyone in the Parthenon Temple is a snob,” Mo Fan explained in an awkward tone.

“We aren’t unreasonable, either. If you had told us right away, why would we be biased against you? After all, you’re not from the Parthenon Temple. You shouldn’t have hidden it from us, it will only make us more suspicious,” Brianca scolded him.

“I got it…” Mo Fan nodded. He immediately thought about Xinxia, and was wondering if he should tell them now.

They were already overreacting because of Asha’ruiya. If he told them about Xinxia now, they were most likely going to explode. He seriously did not understand; the people of the Alps Institute were very womanlike in terms of their attitude toward the Parthenon Temple. “You are not allowed to have a pleasant conversation with the people I hate, it’s a form of betrayal!”

It seemed like it was going to be difficult to convince the Alps Institute to cooperate with Xinxia…

—

—

Asha’ruiya was very efficient. She found out Silver Ornament Master Bartholomew’s whereabouts by the next day. The group disguised themselves as tourists as they headed to Lanmu Mountain to the north of Athens.

Lanmu Mountain was a scenic area with only a few structures. The mountain was like a huge national park, covered in rare and beautiful plants. The colorful shrubs were well taken care of, unlike a primitive forest.

The mountain had a retro-../style railway for tourists to enjoy its scenic views. Since Spring was approaching its end, most of the tourists had already left, so the number of them on Lanmu Mountain was greatly reduced. The railcar that Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were in only had four people.

A couple sat in front of them. They had to be from a European country, and were talking in their own language. They were still in the phase of falling head over heels in love, completely immersed in their own world. They could not have cared less about the scenery.

It was the essence of traveling; it did not necessarily have to be the right season or weather. The trip was still going to be pleasant with the right person!

Mo Fan was in the same mood. They were waiting idly for their target to show up, but even so, it did not stop him and Mu Ningxue from enjoying their ride on the retro railcar, a rare moment of peace and comfort.

“I feel like we rarely go out on a date like this,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm,” Mu Ningxue vaguely replied.

“Why don’t we travel around Europe after we are done here? There’s no rush going back to Fanxue Mountain,” Mo Fan suggested.

“I don’t think I can. The threat of the sea monsters is still around, especially at the Quartz Reef Island. I should hurry back and deliver the defensive Equipment to them,” Mu Ningxue responded. Mu Ningxue would not have left Fanxue Mountain if it wasn’t for the disheartening incident. There were a lot of things she had to handle there. She was already falling behind with her cultivation!

“Alright, I’ll go back with you. Feiniao City’s view isn’t too bad, either. Besides, our Fanxue Mountain should be a lot better now!” Mo Fan did not force her.

As they were talking softly, the couple in front of them suddenly raised their voices. The brunette shoved the man’s hand away. The man raised his voice after his ego was hurt. The brunette looked at him and said something along the line of “Did you just yell at me!?”, even though Mo Fan could not understand a word they said.

“The railcar of love flips over pretty quickly, don’t you think?” Mo Fan said.

“Wasn’t I like that, too?” Mu Ningxue said.

Mu Ningxue recalled how she used to have a bad temper in the past. She would keep a straight face and leave if anything did not go according to her will.

Luckily, Mo Fan was able to cheer her up with some antics all the time. Mu Ningxue realized how relaxing it was back then, being able to both throw a tantrum and laugh happily at any time. However, too many things had happened. She did not even realize her emotions had slowly faded away. She was no longer touched by the little things, nor would she run away from things she could not handle. She continued along on her path expressionlessly. Everything other than magic had lost its brilliance in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was still the same. Mu Ningxue liked to hang around Mo Fan when she was young because Mo Fan was always brimming with life and energy. His heart was warm, just like his blood. He was full of vigor every day… he was still the same now, his heart and blood were still hot, and even the greatest sorrow and despair could not overwhelm his passion and desire. She could not help but look forward to tomorrow and the future when she was staying with him.

1641 My Name is Bartholomew

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

It was noon. A man wearing a silver leather jacket was walking slowly along Mount Lanmu. He passed by a flower garden with a lot of butterflies, crowded with tourists. They were listening to the ranger’s explanation of some of the unique flowers.

The man suddenly came to a stop. He was staring at a gray flower surrounded by fences. His deep eyes glittered all of a sudden.

“Sir, you can’t go inside there. That stalk of Verdon Dusk is a protected magical flower. It has the ability to regulate the rains on the mountain. If it rains a lot, it will store the rainwater in the soil. During the dry season, it will use the water it stored to moisten the soil. The butterflies around you are the Verdon Dusk’s protectors. If you go any closer, they will become hostile to you,” a young ranger said politely to the man.

“I didn’t expect to find one here, not to mention its impressive quality!” the man said, staring at the Dusk Flower.

“You seem familiar with the Verdon Dusk. A Mage called Sival brought it here from the Verdon Gorge, but he eventually died due to the deadly poison of the Verdon Gorge… Without this Verdon Dusk, Mount Lanmu won’t have its beautiful scenery. One can say that Mount Lanmu has blossomed under Master Sival’s nurturing,” the young ranger said. He deeply admired the Mage called Sival.

“Indeed, it’s kind of a waste for such a rare flower to be planted here just for display and to maintain the mountain,” the man said.

“It’s not a waste. Master Sival wanted people to appreciate the beauty of nature. It can cleanse the hatred and grudge in our hearts. Humans will be friendlier towards one another, just like these butterflies, hence people like us have inherited Master Sival’s will to look after Mount Lanmu. Many visitors from different countries visit us every year. I believe the Verdon Dusk has lived up to its value, and Master Sival can also receive our praises in Heaven,” the young ranger replied.

“That’s interesting, you’re saying that this flower can help bring peace to the world?” the man inquired.

“That’s what we are hoping,” the young ranger said.

“You mentioned that it can cleanse the hatred and grudge in a person’s heart, but I don’t really feel anything. You should stop daydreaming,” the man scoffed at the young ranger. He went over the fence with a cold harrumph.

“Sir, please stop!” the young ranger exclaimed.

The man ignored the rules. He set his foot on the soil, trampling the flowers nearby to death. He moved closer to the Verdon Dusk, which was similar in size to a morning glory, and reached out to pluck it!

The butterflies that were flying around the tourists immediately reacted. They beat their wings wildly and flew at the man angrily. Their numbers were shocking. They soon formed a small tornado of butterflies around the man while sprinkling pollen with a hypnotizing effect.

“How petty!” the man said disdainfully.

A cold gust descended as he waved his hand. The strong frost turned the cloud of butterflies into frozen specimens. They fell to the ground and broke into pieces.

The butterflies were wiped out in an instant. The young ranger could not believe it.

These butterflies were members of rare species that they delicately took care of. Some of them could only be found here on Mount Lanmu in all of Europe, yet the man had killed them all just like that!

“Damn it, everything on Mount Lanmu is under the protection of the Greek Magic Association’s laws. Stop it at once, or I have the right to execute you according to the laws!” the ranger that was explaining to the tourists quickly came over and shouted.

“Execute me? HAHAHA, I remembered a Holy Court Mage of the Holy Judgment Court said the same thing to me three years ago. His pitiful family is still grieving for him today. Young Mage, are you sure you want to execute me? Do you know who I am!?” the man burst out laughing.

“Holy…Holy Court Mage?” The ranger was stunned.

How respectable and powerful were the Holy Court Mages? The difference between him and a Holy Court Mage was like comparing a dragon to a tiny lizard, and the man claimed he had killed a Holy Court Mage before!?

“I’m only interested in the flower, thank you for taking care of it for so many years. I’ll be taking it today… please thank Sival on my behalf, too,” the man smiled. He casually plucked the Verdon Dusk.

The man was in a great mood after he put the Verdon Dusk away. He continued on his way up the mountain.

“Stop right there, I don’t care who you are, you…you are a scoundrel! I won’t let you take it!” the young ranger suddenly ran at the man, calling out angrily.

“Didn’t you notice? That Intermediate Mage already lost the courage to face me. Do you, a little rookie who has just Awakened, seriously think you can stop me? Ah, little kid, who was Sival to you? You seem to admire him,” the man said.

“He was my father! Put the Verdon Dusk down!” the young ranger said.

“Ah, your father must have missed you. I’ll send you to him instead. That way, he won’t have to lie on the floor in Heavens listening to the praises from the mundane world. You can tell him in person…” the man grinned. He raised his hand once again, and the deadly frost fell from the sky.

“Barbaro, don’t do anything stupid, run away!” the ranger yelled.

“I won’t let him take the Verdon Dusk!” the young man Barbaro yelled angrily.

The Verdon Dusk was his father’s soul. He would not let anyone take it away!

The man let out a scornful laugh. He glanced at the relentless young man with chilling eyes. “I forgot to tell you, my name is Bartholomew. I’ve sent a lot of people to Heaven personally, so don’t forget to greet them on my behalf!”

1642 Snow Swan Silver Feathers

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The difference in strength was too great. The frost immediately froze the young man’s solid. The process only took a few seconds.

The ranger was dumbfounded. He stood there, too scared to intervene.

The tourists were terrified too. They did not expect the alive and well young man to turn into ice and die so quickly!

Bartholomew smiled after glancing at his artwork. He turned around and went up the mountain.

—

No one dared to stop him. The ranger even forgot to alert the Magic Association. Bartholomew soon disappeared from their sight.

Bartholomew went into the woods. He halted in his track, as if he was waiting for someone.

Some time later, a man wearing a hat concealing half his face came by. He had a chilly aura.

“Did you bring it?” the man with a hat said.

“Of course!” Bartholomew tossed the briefcase he was carrying to the man.

The man treated the briefcase very seriously. He quickly caught it and carefully opened it to check its contents.

“Don’t worry, we have a brilliant pharmacist, too. It should be on par with a Tyrant Titan’s heart,” Bartholomew said.

“It’s very important to us, we can’t afford anything to go wrong,” the man said.

“That won’t happen on my side,” Bartholomew smiled.

The man was about to say something when he heard some movement from the trees nearby.

“Someone is following you!” the man grunted.

“It’s not that big of a deal, I took something just now. I bet the Magic Association has sent someone over because of it. I can handle them myself,” Bartholomew smiled.

“Humph, you know the consequences if anything goes wrong!” the man snorted, before hiding behind a tree. His figure faded away under the shadow. It was difficult to notice his existence without taking a close look.

“Come on! I, Bartholomew, have been in the Guild of the Wicked for so many years. Do I really need to be scared of a little Magic Association? Just go, leave it to me,” Bartholomew said indifferently.

The man backed away to a certain distance, but he did not leave the area. He was even more cautious now. He wanted to see who the people were. He had been told that someone was on their trail recently. He did not want any trouble, as it would only displease someone!

Some time later, a young man and woman showed up in the woods. They went straight for Bartholomew with menacing faces.

“What now? Did they only send you two here? Is that really how Athen’s Magic Association treats the Verdon Dusk?” Bartholomew was a madman. He chose not to leave even after he knew the people of the Magic Association were going to show up soon.

“What Verdon Dusk?” Mo Fan replied, confused.

“Oh? That’s not why you are here?” Bartholomew raised his brows. He subconsciously glanced at Mu Ningxue. Her icy sacred bearing had attracted his attention.

Bartholomew had never lacked for women. Not just every woman was able to catch his attention either, yet he could not shift his gaze away as soon as he saw Mu Ningxue. How was it possible for a woman to be so gorgeous? It was his first time thinking that an Asian woman was actually truly attractive to him!

“I don’t know you two, but it’s normal for me to forget a thing or two, considering the number of things I’ve done. Why don’t you remind me who you are?” Bartholomew asked. He was not worried at all.

“Xuexue, I think we might have found the wrong guy. This guy is a retard,” Mo Fan said after seeing Bartholomew’s strange reaction.

“He should be the guy,” Mu Ningxue said.

“It’s me, of course it’s me, I’m honored to be in the thoughts of a beauty like you,” Bartholomew blurted out.

“Are you Bartholomew?” Mo Fan stepped forward and asked.

“Yes, I am Bartholomew.”

“The Silver Ornament Master of the Guild of the Wicked, Bartholomew?” Mo Fan asked.

“That’s me, thank you for introducing me to the beauty beside you,” Bartholomew replied smoothly.

“So you’re the one collecting young children’s hearts and feeding them to the sea monsters?” Mo Fan went on.

Bartholomew was startled.

So that was the reason why the two of them were here? Bartholomew was a little surprised. After all, he had done his best to hide his activities, making it unlikely for anyone to notice!

However, Bartholomew was still not worried. There was no point worrying, since they had already found him.

“That’s me! Are you the parents of one of the children? Tsk tsk tsk, so the beauty is already a mother. Such a pity, I prefer girls that are still pure and clean…” Bartholomew shook his head as he spoke, continuing to mock them.

“Oh, so you’re the one we are looking for…” Mo Fan nodded. His eyes suddenly flickered with strong murderous intent. A wild aura surged at Bartholomew as Mo Fan snapped, “Go to Hell, then!”

Three Soul-grade Flames engulfed Mo Fan. He had suddenly erupted like a living volcano without any sign beforehand.

Mo Fan charged at Bartholomew like a burning shadow. A ferocious fiery dragon followed Mo Fan’s punch and lunged forward. The sprouting flames set off its imperious bearing!

Mo Fan was extremely quick with his move. His punch was filled with overwhelming rage!

He had encountered many bad guys, including members of the Black Vatican who proudly shared their beliefs to justify their evil deeds, but he found Bartholomew the most annoying. Even saying a word further to him was a disgrace to his soul. He only had the urge to blast him to pieces now!

Bartholomew was taken by surprise too. How did such a young man attack with such great might all so suddenly? Luckily, his cultivation was impressive enough for him to form a thick layer of ice in front of himself quickly!

The ice served like several layers of armor. The fiery dragon had difficulties breaking through them. Bartholomew stared at Mo Fan coldly, waiting until the flames were gone before walking out from the ice.

“What a surprise! Tour cultivation is pretty impressive considering your age. If you were going up against someone else, they might struggle against you, but unfortunately, your opponent is I, Bartholomew! You are simply courting your…” Bartholomew grunted.

“Shut the f**k up and die!” Mo Fan was enraged. Wild lightning bolts fell from the sky as soon as the flames dissipated. The lightning poured down like a great storm, blasting the area that Bartholomew was in!

Bartholomew tried to use the trees as his cover, yet he realized the trees were being blasted to pieces instantly. He suddenly found himself in a large exposed area, targeted by hundreds of lightning strikes!

Bartholomew no longer dared to lower his guard. He immediately put on his defensive Equipment while shaping rocks to defend himself.

“Do you know the consequences of making me mad!?” Bartholomew’s expression darkened.

Frost scattered in the air as the temperature fell rapidly. It looked like icy dust was falling from the sky continuously, gradually forming a Domain around Bartholomew. Mo Fan’s flames and lightning were immediately suppressed by it. The flames faded away, while the lightning dissipated.

“Piss off!” Bartholomew raised his hands. The icy particles flew at Mo Fan, each as fast as a bullet, freezing the rocks, trees, and flowers that they landed on.

The icy bullets were too dense, and even Mo Fan’s Soul-grade Flames could not stop them. He was forced to back away.

His opponent was obviously a Super Mage. His Ice Magic and Domain could easily outmatch Mo Fan’s Fire Element!

“Humph, so you’re only an Advanced Mage…” Bartholomew had a disdainful grin after figuring out Mo Fan’s cultivation level.

Mo Fan’s spells were quite unstoppable at first, extremely close to the Super Level, hence Bartholomew had panicked a little. However, after a few rounds, Bartholomew discovered that despite the outstanding strength of his opponent’s Fire and Lightning Elements, they still had not reached the Super Level. His Domain was still able to suppress his opponent’s magic!

It was surprising for an Advanced Mage to possess such strength, but an Advanced Mage did not stand a chance against a Super Mage!

“Nirvana Ice Domain!” Mu Ningxue unleashed her Domain too. Silver-white frost scattered in the air. Snowflakes resembling goose feathers fell from the sky rapidly, forming a silver feather close to her.

Mu Ningxue stepped on the silver feather like an elegant snow fairy!

“Ice Element…hahaha, you dare use your Ice Domain against me? Aren’t you making a fool of yourself?” Bartholomew burst out laughing.

Mu Ningxue was not willing to say even a word to this scum. More silver-white feathers appeared in her Nirvana Ice Domain. Some scattered across the ground, some circled her, while the rest drifted in the air, awaiting their queen’s orders!

Deadly ice motes remained on one side and the snow swan silver feathers on the other; the two Domains clashed with one another in the woods like two armies of Ice Magic!

1643 Demon Fang Impale

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The deadly frost and the silver feathers clashed with one another. Mu Ningxue’s silver feathers were growing like a rising storm, weaving an elegant silver veil across the place with an irresistible icy aura.

Bartholomew’s deadly frost was spreading across the area too. It covered a massive area, but as Mu Ningxue’s silver feathers danced wildly in the air, Bartholomew’s frost eventually dissipated!

Mu Ningxue’s storm of silver feathers grew continuously. Bartholomew’s Deadly Frost Domain was being suppressed, leaving Bartholomew in disbelief!

He was a Super Ice Mage. How could his Ice Domain lose to a woman who seemed to only be in her twenties? A strong sense of humiliation rose inside him, soon replaced by anger!

Countless silver feathers drifted around Bartholomew like aggressive snow fairies. Their chill constantly penetrated Bartholomew’s flesh as they drifted in the wind. Bartholomew was an Ice Mage, but it was too risky for him to be covered by the venomous frost. Despite his rage, he had no choice but to back away to escape Mu Ningxue’s Silver Feather Storm!

As soon as Bartholomew found himself at a disadvantage, Mo Fan’s flames lunged at him fiercely. Mo Fan had transformed into a fiery demon while Mu Ningxue was keeping Bartholomew busy, and sprinted across the woods. The flames rammed at Bartholomew in the form of a fierce dragon!

A few icy mirror-barriers still stood in front of Bartholomew. They were quite sturdy, and Bartholomew assumed they were enough to stop the angry kid engulfed in flames, but the fiery dragon simply smashed the mirrors into pieces with its shocking strength!

Mo Fan charged up to Bartholomew, still covered in flames. Bartholomew immediately Summoned a piece of Water Defensive Equipment in a panic. It forcibly knocked Mo Fan, now resembling an enraged fiery beast, away.

“That Advanced Mage is a monster!” Bartholomew skidded quite a distance across the ground after the impact. He cursed when he noticed his arms were slightly burned. The Water Defensive Equipment was his gauntlets, which were now aflame!

Normally, Bartholomew could easily slap the Advanced Mages he stumbled into down with a single spell. However, these two Advanced Mages were surprisingly strong! They could easily match the strength of a normal Super Mage. Luckily, he had developed the habit of not underestimating his opponents from his experience. He would easily lose ground if he was not prepared to defend himself against their attacks!

“You’ve seriously made me angry. I won’t forgive you easily!” Bartholomew grunted with a twisted expression.

It did not matter if his Ice Magic was being suppressed, as he did not rely solely on his Ice Element. He withdrew his Deadly Frost Domain, suddenly emitting a dark green light while murmuring a chant. Several strange wooden spikes burst out of the ground!

“Demon Fang!” Bartholomew ordered. The sharp wood lunged at his opponents. Mo Fan was recovering his energy and quickly ran away with the Fleeing Shadow, but he was still a little too slow. The Demon Fangs swept past his face and left a shallow cut on it!

Mo Fan swiftly backed away to some thick shrubs. To his surprise, the Demon Fangs followed right after him, the brush could not stop them at all. Mo Fan had no choice but to jump behind a huge rock, but the Demon Fangs easily drilled through the rock, too!

Mo Fan barely dodged the deadly wooden spikes. He turned around and saw more Demon Fangs approaching him dangerously fast. He was struggling to track where they were all

Mo Fan did not dare to lower his guard, and immediately cast Blink.

The Demon Fangs immediately turned the area he was in a second ago into a beehive!

“What the hell are those things!?” Mo Fan had never seen anything like them. They had to be a unique species of Bartholomew’s Plant Element. They were extremely dangerous!

A Demon Fang suddenly burst out of the ground at Mo Fan’s feet as he was cursing, aiming right at his head. Mo Fan was given a great scare as it came out of nowhere, and subconsciously rolled to the side. The thing almost went through his body and staked him in place!

“Where are you going to hide now!?” Bartholomew laughed cruelly, a vicious look in his eyes!

Mo Fan felt a powerful movement below the ground. It was obviously from the terrifying Demon Fangs!

The Demon Fangs were oddly quick, yet Mo Fan also noticed their tips were hooked. If he was caught by any of them, they would drag him around and restrict his ability to move. More Demon Fangs would then puncture his body and his organs. Mo Fan finally realized how scary it was to face a Super Plant Mage!

The Demon Fangs were right under Mo Fan’s feet, and he had already used Blink, He was struggling to come up with a better way to dodge them.

“Mo Fan!”

Mo Fan heard Mu Ningxue’s voice above him. He looked up and saw her hovering above him, beating her wings.

Mo Fan jumped up and grabbed her wrist. She immediately flapped her wings and rose into the sky!

Countless Demon Fangs burst out of the ground from the woods below them. Mo Fan took a quick glance down. It looked like a ghastly demon was opening its mouth wide. If Mu Ningxue had not lifted him into the sky in time, he would have had no chance of dodging the attack, even if he could cast Blink a few times consecutively!

“This guy is pretty tough!” Mo Fan hovered in the sky with Mu Ningxue’s help.

“Mm,” Mu Ningxue nodded. Many silver feathers were following her around. The silver feathers poured down at Bartholomew at her command.

Bartholomew’s Demon Fangs were effective for both offense and defense. They lined up in a row and blocked Mu Ningxue’s silver feathers. Even their frost was having trouble reaching Bartholomew. Bartholomew looked up and laughed hysterically!

“You attack him, I’ll harass him with my Shadow Element!” Mo Fan said.

“Be careful,” Mu Ningxue said.

Their opponent was an experienced Super Mage. Their lives would be at risk if they were careless. Mu Ningxue was obviously worried about his safety. After all, his defense could not endure even a single attack from the Super Mage.

“Don’t worry, I still have the Dark Noble Mantle!” Mo Fan said confidently.

1644 Tough Opponen

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

“You dare to come back down!” Bartholomew sent the deadly Demon Fangs after Mo Fan when he saw him falling back to the ground.

Mo Fan straightened himself up, before suddenly splitting into four shadows moving in four different directions. The Demon Fangs went after the shadow that went down the slope first. When they impaled the shadow, it vanished into thin air.

Bartholomew was not bothered by it. He sent the Demon Fangs after the other three shadows and got rid of them.

“Your little tricks won’t work against me!” Bartholomew snarled.

He seemed to have located Mo Fan’s position. The Demon Fangs lined up and lunged at a dark figure hiding in a corner. Mo Fan’s appearance was revealed when the dark figure was being threatened.

“Die!” Bartholomew yelled.

The Demon Fangs nailed Mo Fan on the spot!

Mu Ningxue’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the Demon Fangs landing on Mo Fan. She was about to withdraw her Ice Magic to save him when she noticed he was not bleeding.

She looked behind Bartholomew and noticed a shadowy figure sneaking up on Bartholomew, who was currently quite pleased with himself.

Shadow Clone!

The figure that Bartholomew attacked was a decoy, too! It was the special ability of the Dark Noble Mantle, the ability to summon a shadow clone that looked the same as Mo Fan to confuse an enemy!

The real Mo Fan was approaching Bartholomew from behind. The lightning he had been holding back suddenly burst out of his body!

The lightning crackled wildly as Mo Fan shoved out the energy he had stored in his arms, firing a strong burst of lightning like a pair of electro cannons. They were deadly at such a close distance!

Bartholomew was quick to react. He immediately set up a defense when he sensed the restless energy of the lightning!

A Super Level Mages defense was outstanding. The Electro Cannon was one of Mo Fan’s strongest attacks, yet it failed to break through the shield of Demon Fangs.

Mo Fan really did not expect Bartholomew to nullify his Electro Cannon so easily…

“Nirvana Ice: Feathery Sparrows!” Mu Ningxue’s imperious voice came from the sky.

The Snow Swan Silver Feathers scattered across the sky, the ground, and the woods rose into the sky and formed nine heavenly sparrows with icy feathers!

The ice sparrows had huge wings with long feathers. They dove at Bartholomew from the sky like a plunging blizzard!

The first Ice Feather Sparrow charged at Bartholomew. He took a step back and stomped the ground. A tree with steel leaves rose from the ground like an umbrella. Its sturdy trunk and leaves perfectly protected Bartholomew beneath them.

The Ice Feather Sparrow landed on the Steel Tree, leaving a cloud of frost which eventually gathered into a sphere.

Bartholomew might have blocked the first Ice Feather Sparrow’s dive, but there were still eight Ice Feather Sparrows in the sky. They dove at Bartholomew ferociously after receiving the order from Mu Ningxue.

Bartholomew was having trouble fending off the Ice Feather Sparrows. Their deadly frost had penetrated his skin, and their deadly feathers left several cuts on him. The wounds froze in an instant!

Bartholomew was surrounded by the icy feathers, but Mu Ningxue’s attack did not stop there. She pointed at the remains of the Ice Feather Sparrows. Their feathers shattered into pieces, which cascaded in all directions!

The number of feathers was overwhelming, not to mention the shards they produced after exploding. Every little corner was swept by the splinters more than a dozen times!

Bartholomew was forced to Summon his magic Armor. It was a very high-quality piece of Equipment. The ice splinters only left him with some minor injuries.

Mu Ningxue frowned.

Bartholomew was stronger than she had imagined. She and Mo Fan had basically used their strongest spells, yet they only managed to inflict some minor injuries on him. Bartholomew was now about to launch his counterattack. His aura grew unusually strong. Their lives might be in danger if the fight continued!

“Mo Fan, we are no match for him!” Mu Ningxue called out.

They were pushing themselves too much trying to take on a Super Mage while they were only Advanced Mages. Mu Ningxue was not that naive to believe they could defeat the Super Mage now.

Mo Fan also realized how strong Bartholomew was. He immediately cast Blink to distance himself from the Super Mage.

A terrifying energy of the Light Element had gathered around Bartholomew. The scorching light even melted the icy feathers nearby. The Star Patterns combined into Star Palaces, which further merged into a spectacular Star Palace!

“It’s the Super Light Spell, Holy Extermination!” Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

Holy Extermination was easily the strongest single-target spell among the Super Spells. Even Zhao Manyan might die instantly to the spell, let alone Mo Fan, who did not have much defense. He began to panic when he saw the Star Palace taking shape!

“Try running away from this!” Bartholomew fixed his eyes on Mo Fan.

Mo Fan felt a terrifying glow flickering above him the moment the stare locked onto him. It was most likely the tip of the Demon Judgment Sword. Mo Fan quickly cast Blink a few times, yet somehow the light kept following him around. He could not shake it off!

“There’s no use struggling, you’re already a dead soul to the Demon Judgment Sword!” Bartholomew proclaimed.

The enormous sword of light fell on top of Mo Fan with overwhelming murderous intent. Rays of light spread across the sky like the brilliance of the sun. Mo Fan could not help but feel minuscule facing it!

“Crap!” Mo Fan did not expect his opponent to finish Channeling a Super Spell so quickly. Bartholomew already had three Elements at the Super Level! His Light Magic had taken Mo Fan by surprise. Mo Fan completely lost his will to resist the Demon Judgment Sword.

Mu Ningxue immediately expended her energy to direct her Snow Swan Ice Feathers toward Mo Fan when she saw the Demon Judgment Sword locking onto him.

The ice feathers were not only effective as attacks. They continuously attached to Mo Fan and formed thick layers over him like sturdy armor!

Mo Fan would never resign himself to his fate. He activated the Hand of Silent Thunder to transform the energy of the Demon Judgment Sword into the Lightning Element.

The Hand of Silent Thunder had an upper limit in terms of the amount of energy it could transform. When the level of energy surpassed its limit, it would fail to transform the energy into the Lightning Element.

The Demon Judgment Sword was unstoppable. Its power did not decline much even when the Hand of Silent Thunder reached its limit.

The sword of light descended upon Mo Fan. His head was in great pain from the loud buzzing, and the ice feathers on him were melting too. He was struggling to hold his ground even after the Hand of Silent Thunder transformed a portion of the Light Spell’s energy into the Lightning Element.

Mo Fan’s skin was blistering under the scorching light when another sacred blue light encapsulated him. It was a defensive Water Spell!

Mo Fan was relieved when the spell appeared. It was the defense from his Venice Ring, the special version that Mu Ningxue had given him. It was preventing the Demon Judgment Sword from slashing Mo Fan in half.

“Icebound Coffin!”

Mu Ningxue cast an Ice Spell when she saw Mo Fan having trouble fending off the attack.

The Icebound Coffin was actually targeting Mo Fan, not the Demon Judgment Sword. The thick layers of ice surrounded him as a way of defending him, preventing the scorching light of the Demon Judgment Sword from reaching Mo Fan!

The Demon Judgment Sword finally weakened as it expended itself against the protection of the Venice Ring and the Icebound Coffin.

Mo Fan found himself in a deep ravine, his body severely burned. He could not believe that he had survived the Super Light Spell!

His legs were going soft from the trauma. He had been bold to challenge an experienced Super Mage. This Bartholomew was countless times stronger than Vani!

“Apas!” Mo Fan did not dare to hold back any further. He immediately Summoned his second Contract Beast.

His second Contracted Beast was none other than Apas. She walked out from a lunar-white crack wearing the retro duchess dress she had bought in Athens. Her costume was somehow very incompatible with the surroundings.

Bartholomew almost burst out laughing when he saw the young woman. “It’s too late to beg for mercy now. I’ll snap your head off even if you offer me these beauties!” Bartholomew scoffed.

Bartholomew subconsciously looked at the young girl, and noticed she had a gorgeous face. Bartholomew began to envy Mo Fan a little, having two such gorgeous beauties by his side. However, they would belong to him from today on!

Apas remained calm when facing Bartholomew’s ardent stare. She was also staring at him, but her stare was gradually emitting a dangerous aura!

1645 Self-Harming Within an Illusion

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Golden motes slowly appeared, and Bartholomew’s eyes widened. He could not shift his gaze away from Apas’ eyes, as if he was lost in her beauty.

Bartholomew stared at her for a long time. He felt a chill running down his spine, yet he completely ignored it. His mind was occupied with the thoughts of violating the glamorous young woman. Still, he forced himself to turn his head around.

Bartholomew noticed a deadly ice rose blossoming as soon as he looked away. Its sharp petals were only a few meters away. If he had not reacted sooner, the ice rose would have left him with plenty of holes!

Bartholomew quickly cast Rampart. The sturdy barrier stopped the deadly rose from coming any closer.

Bartholomew applied another layer of defense on himself as a safety precaution, in case his mind wandered off again.

Bartholomew regained his awareness after the close call. He glanced at Apas cautiously.

“Damn it, what just happened?” Bartholomew did not understand what kind of spell he was put under. Did he almost lose his life because he was too occupied with the young woman’s charm?

The girl might be gorgeous, yet Bartholomew treated his life as more important than anything else. The woman with the Ice Element was just as gorgeous, so why was he able to remain calm? It did not make any sense!

Was it the Psychic Element?

But he did not detect the slightest trace of that magic!

—

Apas frowned as Bartholomew broke out in a cold sweat.

The guy actually broke free from her stare!

“You’re restricting too much of my power. I can’t assert control over him,” Apas blamed Mo Fan with a disgusted look.

The restrictions of the Contract between her and Mo Fan was indeed limiting her power. Otherwise, against someone like Bartholomew who was defenseless mentally, Apas could easily place him under a looping illusion with a single stare!

“Can you disturb him? At least stop him from using powerful spells like the Demon Judgment Sword,” Mo Fan said.

“I don’t have an ability like that!” Apas sniffed.

Only Psychic Mages were capable of disrupting the Channeling of spells. Apas’ power greatly differed from that, even though they both targeted the mind of their enemy.

“Hurry up and transform then?” Mo Fan said.

“What transform?” Apas asked with a confused look.

“Transform into your Medusa form. If you can’t control his mind, bite him with your venomous fangs!” Mo Fan said.

“Do you think I’m a dog!?” Apas almost fell out with Mo Fan right away.

The Medusae with noble lineages looked just like her. They had no ability to transform into monsters with snakes for hair, let alone biting people…

“We are going to die if you don’t use your true power!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“I got it.” Apas took a step forward. Her hair suddenly drifted in the air.

Her hair surprisingly left her head and turned into black poisonous snakes, lunging at Bartholomew!

The writhing snakes were unbelievably quick, and Bartholomew’s defenses could not hold them off in time. They went through his Light Barrier and Ice Element defense before wrapping around him.

“Get off me!” Bartholomew yelled angrily. He seemed to be afraid of the snakes, and nervously attacked the black snakes with the Demon Fangs.

The Demon Fangs stabbed wildly, killing many of the twisting snakes. However, Bartholomew was covered in bleeding wounds too. He cried out in pain as he sped the Demon Fangs up!

—

Not far away, Mo Fan stared at Bartholomew, who had gone mad all of a sudden, with a confused face.

What was Bartholomew doing? Why was he attacking himself with the Demon Fangs?

“It’s an illusion. I made him imagine he was being attacked by poisonous snakes. The illusion will slowly fade away the more pain he is in. The pain will help him to come to his senses!” Apas told him urgently.

“Oh, I see…” Mo Fan nodded.

“What are you waiting for then? Attack him!” Apas said anxiously.

Mu Ningxue was already Channeling an icy storm, using both her Ice Magic and Wind Magic. She first Summoned a huge storm to sweep up the silver feathers nearby, gathering a huge storm of ice feathers!

The storm of silver feathers poured down from the sky, covering half of the woods. Bartholomew realized he was under an illusion after hurting himself a couple of times, and quickly set up his defenses, which were rather impressive. However, he did not have enough time to cast a Super Spell to defend himself since he was still coming out of the illusion. Even Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue’s strongest attack had no chance of overwhelming a Super Spell.

Apas had been a great help. Mo Fan did not cast his magic immediately when he saw Mu Ningxue’s icy storm forming, worried that his Fire Magic would counteract her Ice Magic.

Only after Mu Ningxue’s icy storm encapsulated Bartholomew did Mo Fan’s three Soul-grade Flames rise like three fiery dragons, their flames spreading wildly!

“Serpents of the Burning Lake!”

As Mo Fan threw a fist into the sky, the fiery dragons soared into the sky and set everything aflame.

Mo Fan knew normal attacks were not going to inflict any injuries on Bartholomew. He purposely let the fiery dragons fly in the sky for some time. The fiery dragons would become stronger and accumulate strength under the special effects of the Meteor Scarlet and the Ardent Sunset. Their damage would multiply!

Mu Ningxue’s icy storm had bought Mo Fan enough time. The fiery dragons swept across the clouds before diving back down fiercely.

The Meteor Scarlet’s effects also came into play when the flames were plunging from the sky. The fiery dragons had grown three times bigger when they finally approached the storm. Even the people under Mount Lanmu could see the spectacular flames.

The fiery dragons dove at Bartholomew, who had basically used up everything to defend himself from the shredding storm, including some defensive Equipment that was supposed to be his trump card. He was completely unaware of the fiery dragons diving down at him, as he was trapped in the icy storm. Its cold had even concealed the approaching heat!

1646 The Unreasonable Pries

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The wind howled as the blazing red flames penetrated the silver feathers as the scorching heat finally arrived. Bartholomew already knew the strength of his opponents. It might have taken him by surprise, but he managed to react pretty quickly.

Demon Fangs sprang up and intertwined above Bartholomew, forming a wall to protect him.

The raging flames struck the Demon Fangs. The three Soul-grade Flames were significantly stronger after covering a certain distance. On top of it, the Fire Element naturally oppressed the Plant Element. Mo Fan’s fiery dragons were comparable to a Super Spell; the flames soon tore through the Demon Fangs!

The scorching heat swept over Bartholomew, causing him great pain. He could not believe a mere Advanced Mage had the strength of a Super Mage. The flames were actually strong enough to inflict serious injury on him!

Bartholomew’s skin blistered. He applied a layer of frost on himself as he forcibly broke free from the storm and the flames. He charged away like a wild beast, but his actions were far from enough to extinguish the flames.

“I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill you!” Bartholomew yelled furiously. His eyes were bloodshot, his face greatly contorted.

“How simple-minded!” a black figure hiding on the edge of the woods muttered.

Bartholomew was in a pinch. Burns and chills were torturing him at the same time. He had no way of Channeling his Super Spells now, especially with Apas keeping an eye on him.

Apas’ strength might be restricted, but as the noblest Medusa, many of her abilities were still deadly against a Super Mage, even when her power was limited. The previous illusion was a perfect example.

As a person became mentally unstable, they became easier to influence with magic. Bartholomew was on the verge of losing his mind from anger, which allowed Apas to take further advantage of him. She had still not used the Curse Element!

The man in the woods noticed Bartholomew in deep trouble. He suddenly showed up in front of Bartholomew.

“Time to go!” the man said.

Bartholomew was not pleased with the outcome. He was about to say something when the man summoned a black wind to surround them.

The wind provided cover for them. When Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue came over to finish Bartholomew off, there was no sign of Bartholomew and the mysterious man.

“They ran away?” Mo Fan scanned his surroundings, confused.

He could sense traces of the Shadow Element, but their opponents were extremely cunning. The traces flew in several different directions, making it difficult for Mo Fan to guess where they actually went.

“They left,” Apas said.

“We’ll leave it in the others’ hands,” Mu Ningxue said, looking at the winds that were fading away.

“Mm.”

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were not planning to take Bartholomew out here. Bartholomew had come for a meeting, which meant another party was involved.

Bartholomew deserved to die, but they did not plan on letting the buyer of the children’s hearts go, either!

—

—

The two waited patiently. Brianca was following Bartholomew and the mysterious man. She had purposely let Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan deal with Bartholomew to lure out the bigger fish behind the scenes.

“Young Tyrant Titans’ hearts… why are they collecting them?” Mo Fan wanted to know.

“The man that saved Bartholomew might be very strong, but he doesn’t want any more trouble,” Mu Ningxue said.

“I think I’m very close to the Super Level, but if you and Apas weren’t here, I wouldn’t stand a chance against that guy,” Mo Fan sighed.

Bartholomew was a tough opponent, having three Elements in the Super Level. Mo Fan was already struggling when he had only used the Ice Element. If Mu Ningxue had not been suppressing his Ice Magic with her Innate Talent, Mo Fan would not have been able to hurt Bartholomew, even after expending all his energy.

On top of that, Bartholomew’s Plant Element and Light Element were extremely powerful. Mo Fan was still traumatized by the Demon Judgment Sword; he could still feel the burns all over himself. He had some serious injuries!

Luckily, the little beauty that he had captured recently was as strong as a tiger! The illusion that she had placed Bartholomew under at the perfect time had given Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue the upper hand. Otherwise, Brianca would have had to intervene to save their lives, making it more difficult to track down their target.

“Mm, I have been too busy with other things at Fanxue Mountain. It’s time for me to attempt my breakthrough, too,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

She would hardly have any influence before reaching the Super Level. In the past, when they were weaker, they had no choice but to report incidents that involved Super Mages to the Magic Association, and wait for the Magic Association or the Enforcement Union to make their move. However, their enemies would be long gone by the time the Magic Association and the Enforcement Union finally received the instructions from their superiors.

They had to be strong enough to take matters into their own hands, especially when an international crime organization like the Guild of the Wicked was involved. They could not afford to lower their guard!

“If you don’t treat your injuries any sooner, your muscles and blood will be destroyed by the Light. It doesn’t matter if you die, but make sure you forfeit the Contract first,” Apas said with a displeased expression when she saw Mo Fan still chatting with Mu Ningxue.

“Oh, it’s troublesome not having a Healer around. I guess I’ll have to visit the Parthenon Temple,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had only been fighting either Super Mages or Ruler-level creatures recently. He had been injured a lot of times, mainly because he had yet to achieve the Super Level. If he could break through to the Super Level, he could easily beat the crap out of other Super Mages.

More importantly, after reaching the Super Level, he would Awaken his seventh and eighth Elements!

Having eight Elements basically turned him into a one-man-army. The thought alone was making his heart pound heavily… if all eight of his Elements reached the Super Level, he would be unbeatable!

“Can you stop daydreaming and go treat your wounds?” Apas demanded coldly.

Mo Fan was startled, and looked at Apas’ beautiful face. “Stop reading my mind, that’s very impolite!” Mo Fan said.

“No one can really read another person’s mind, even the greatest Psychic Mage, unless the person is showing it through their emotions and reactions…”

Mo Fan had no idea how to respond to that.

“I’ll give you a ride. Brianca will contact us again if she finds something,” Mu Ningxue grinned when she saw the two arguing.

Mu Ningxue summoned her Wind Wings. She lifted Mo Fan into the sky, riding a white wind…

Mo Fan took hold of the opportunity to tug Mu Ningxue closer and sink his nose into her neck, indulging in her body fragrance while his hands were sneaking up to her inviolable parts.

“Behave yourself!” Mu Ningxue glared at Mo Fan.

She was blushing from Mo Fan’s touch. How was he still having lewd thoughts while he was covered in bruises and bleeding wounds? Was touching her going to make him feel less pain?

“Xuexue, where was the black dress you were wearing the other day? You should wear it again. I rarely see you like that, you’re like a perfect elegant black swan!” Mo Fan replied. He seemed to have forgotten about the intense battle and his injuries, and the fear the Demon Judgment Sword had brought him.

Mu Ningxue was utterly impressed by how thick-skinned Mo Fan was. She replied, “Someone worse must be pulling the strings. Why don’t you think about how we are going to get through this?”

Bartholomew was already a tough opponent, yet he seemed to be taking orders from someone else. Mu Ningxue would not dare take the risk if she did not have the Ice Crystal Bow, but she still did not have full control over its power.

“We’ll take it one step at a time. It’s no use thinking too much about it.” Mo Fan was not too bothered by it. If he had to worry about everything, he would never be able to enjoy life!

—

—

They arrived at the Parthenon Temple soon. The Parthenon Temple did not allow Mages to fly around within its territory; its powerful magic formation would burn any intruder to ashes.

They landed at the foot of the mountain. A group of Mages happened to arrive at the same time. The five people were staring at Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue with strong hostility.

“Humph, you’re pretty bold to come and turn yourself in,” the person leading the group said.

“What do you mean by turning myself in?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Did you use magic on Mount Lanmu?” the Mage asked.

“We did, but even if the place forbids the use of magic, it’s the Magic Association’s concern. Since when are the Mages of Faith of the Parthenon Temple in charge now? Who are you?” Mo Fan said.

“I am the priest of the Hall of Faith’s Thousand Prayers Altar. You’ve admitted using magic on Mount Lanmu, which also means you’ve admitted to the murder of the young man Barbaro and stealing the Verdon Dusk!” the priest Bude declared.

“Are you retarded or what? How did you even come up with the conclusion? We were fighting a bad guy, so it’s very likely that he’s responsible for the things you mentioned! Why are you accusing us instead? Step aside, I still need to go to the Mountain of the Goddess to treat my wounds!” Mo Fan swore at him.

“How dare you insult me, a priest of the Thousand Prayers Altar! Did you just say you’re going to the Mountain of the Goddess? The Mountain of the Goddess is a sacred place of the Parthenon Temple. It’s not a place where someone who disregards human life like you can visit! Take him down!” Bude ordered.

Mo Fan was enraged. Where did this unreasonable prick come from? How did he become a priest of the Thousand Prayers Altar!?

1647 Xinxia Is Back

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The other four Mages of Faith immediately pressed forward, but they were a little hesitant to get any closer. There were many guards at the foot of the mountain. A bunch of them quickly gathered when they saw a priest confronting a man and a woman.

The Parthenon Temple was heavily guarded. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were completely surrounded by the people of the Parthenon Temple in a few seconds!

Mo Fan had the urge to chop the priest up right on the spot. How could the guy not be able to distinguish between right and wrong? Normally, Mo Fan would go straight up to the Mountain of the Goddess; the knights guarding the path would recognize him. The Mages of Faith and the guards at the foot of the mountain clearly had no idea who he was, thus they believed the priest instead!

“Surrender now, or we have the right to execute you right on the spot!” Bude said coldly.

“Surrender my ass, I dare you to touch me!” Mo Fan grunted back.

“Mo Fan, stay calm.” Mu Ningxue held Mo Fan back.

If they ended up provoking a priest of the Parthenon Temple, it would attract more guards of the Parthenon Temple, who were obviously inclined to side with the priest.

“Brianca is still chasing after the enemy. She might need our backup soon. We can’t afford to waste our time here,” Mo Fan said.

He was planning to treat his injuries and regroup with Brianca and the rest, yet he was caught in something so absurd!

“Can’t you tell? He’s doing it intentionally,” Mu Ningxue whispered.

“Intentionally?” Mo Fan was stunned.

She was right, if the guy had been chasing him all the way from Mount Lanmu, he could easily find out who was responsible for the crimes by asking the people that had witnessed them. Why would he insist Mo Fan was the culprit, and even accuse him of trying to trespass into the Mountain of the Goddess? He was obviously asking for trouble!

“It seems like the people we are investigating have a powerful background,” Mu Ningxue said softly.

Mo Fan frowned too. The priest had shown up out of nowhere to accuse him. His name would eventually be cleared, but it was going to waste a lot of time. It was very likely that the man who had saved Bartholomew had arranged for the priest to keep them busy, and stop them from investigating any further!

Luckily, they had asked Brianca to keep an eye in the dark. Otherwise, the trail would have ended after Bartholomew escaped!

“You’re still injured, there’s no need to confront them. Let’s compromise for now, they won’t do anything to us,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Alright,” Mo Fan nodded reluctantly

The two gave up on resisting, displaying their identities as participants of the World College Tournament. There was a huge crowd around, and some among the crowd did recognize them. A few of the guards also verified Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue’s identities.

Priest Bude did not expect them to have such a high reputation, but insisted stubbornly, “We have witnesses saying that they were using destructive magic on Mount Lanmu, and they are suspected of killing young Barbaro and stealing the Verdon Dusk. We have to interrogate them!”

“We may assist you with the investigation, but we can swear with our souls that we are not responsible for the crimes on Mount Lanmu. I hope you will find out the truth soon and not waste time on us and let the real culprit escape,” Mu Ningxue replied sternly.

“They are honorable Mages from reputable schools. They would never commit such crimes. Priest, you need to have evidence before accusing them… it’s going to be troublesome if you end up catching the wrong person,” a young guard spoke up on behalf of Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. He greatly admired them.

“I…I do have the evidence, arrest them!” Bude clenched his teeth. He could not care less what the others said.

“Fine, remember your words! I don’t know what benefits the guy promised you, but I’ll make you pay ten times the benefits you’re getting!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was now convinced that this Bude was only messing with them. The person behind him must have a formidable background. Otherwise, Bude would not have dared to set them up!

——

The two did not put up any meaningless resistance. They followed the priest and the Mages of Faith to the Hall of Faith. The Hall of Faith had its own interrogation room. Bude clearly did not want them to have a pleasant time.

“Get a Healer here to treat his wounds,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Every Healer of the Parthenon Temple is very busy. They won’t have time for you, we are not a hospital!” a Maga of Faith exclaimed.

“Mashatha, don’t bother wasting your time on them. Just let them be,” Bude said.

He was only told to restrict their freedom, and did not plan on doing anything further. He knew the two were not responsible for the crimes on Mount Lanmu, but he had listened to the man’s order even if it meant he was not fulfilling his obligations. The little favor might give him a chance to be promoted to a Great Priest!

A Great Priest… Bude had been waiting for the chance for ten years!

“He’s badly injured. His life might be in danger if he isn’t treated in time. Even a prisoner has the right to be healed, not to mention that we are only assisting with the investigation…” Mu Ningxue emphasized with a frown.

“Fine, I’ll look for a Healer,” the Maga of Faith said. She turned around and left.

Priest Bude let out a hollow laugh and left too.

Rights? You have the right to be healed, but there was no guarantee when the Healer will arrive!

—

Mu Ningxue already noticed what they were thinking from their reaction. She glanced at Mo Fan, whose face had turned pale.

The injuries inflicted by the Demon Judgment Sword were deadly, and the burns were getting worse. If Mo Fan was treated quickly, he could recover in no time. However, his situation would only worsen if they kept dragging it out.

“I’m fine, help me treat my wounds with these medicines,” Mo Fan still had some medicine in his Space Bracelet. It should be able to stop his injuries from worsening.

“They aren’t good enough to treat your wounds. After all, they are the work of a Super Mage,” Mu Ningxue told him.

“I didn’t think they would be able to manipulate a priest like that. I wonder who’s behind all this,” Mo Fan muttered.

As Mu Ningxue was treating Mo Fan’s wounds, they heard footsteps approaching. It sounded like someone in boots.

The person was only passing by the room, but he blurted out in surprise when he saw Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were locked inside it, “Why are you here!?” A young knight in blue armor stared at Mo Fan with a shocked expression.

Mo Fan was overjoyed. It was the simple-minded Blue Star Knight he had met on the west side of the city.

A Blue Star Knight was allowed to travel in and out of the Mountain of the Goddess freely. Mo Fan was wondering how he could contact someone from the Mountain of the Goddess. He did not expect to meet the young knight here.

“Brother, give me a hand; help me relay a message to the Hall of the Goddess,” Mo Fan said.

“The Saintess has just returned from England. I’m only a Blue Star Knight, I’m afraid it will be a little rude to pay a visit right away…” the knight said.

“Xinxia is back?” Mo Fan was pleased. He said, “Help me give someone a call. I’ll give you the number.”

“Sure, I’ll have to do it outside. There’s no signal in here,” the knight said. He had never thought of Mo Fan as a bad guy.

1648 The Rainbow Sacred Bird

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The knight went to a higher spot after leaving the interrogation room. The reception was a lot better there.

The truth was, communication devices were not permitted in many places of the Parthenon Temple.

Kris was having bad luck today. The Golden Sun Knight in charge of the City’s West was demoted the other day, so he was somehow affected too. He was allocated to the Hall of Faith to investigate some matter, but he knew he was being cast aside. He would be stuck here handling trivial matters for a year or two, and then be forgotten. He no longer had any chance to become a higher rank knight, let alone be appointed as the knight of a newly promoted Muse.

“It looks like I won’t have any chance of serving the Candidates for the rest of my life. I was hoping to be able to serve a Saintess as a Guardian Knight at least once,” Kris sighed. He did not think his luck would be so bad. The Golden Sun Knight he was assigned to recently was demoted so quickly!

Kris took out his phone as he was lost in his thoughts…

Knights were allowed to retrieve their personal belongings after beng dismissed from the Mountain of the Goddess. Kris knew he would never visit the Mountain of the Goddess again once they gave him his phone back.

Kris’ mind was still stuck with that terrible thought as he dialed the number.

“Brother Mo Fan, how did you know I’m back?” a joyful voice soon blurted out on the other side. Her voice was soothing, with a hint of unique affection for her caller. It felt like a warm breeze blowing into the knight’s ear.

“Ah, I don’t know what you are saying. A friend asked me to call this number,” Kris was a little shy when he realized it was a woman with a pleasant voice, and stammered a little.

Kris did not understand the language the woman was speaking. He subconsciously responded in Greek, with the unique slang of the people at the Parthenon Temple.

“You are?” the woman asked, speaking in Greek this time.

“I’m Kris, a Blue Star Knight. I was passing by the Hall of Faith’s interrogation room when I happened to stumble into your friend there. He asked me to call this number,” Kris said. He proceeded to describe Mo Fan’s appearance.

“Where are you now? I’ll be right over!” The woman’s voice sank.

“Ah, I’m at the Parthenon Temple. You can’t just come in here. You can wait for me at the foot of the mountain. I’ll come and pick you up.” Kris was a kind-hearted man. He was willing to lend others a hand even when he was facing a lot of problems.

“It’s fine, just tell me where you are,” the woman said.

“Oh, sure.”

—

Kris waited there. He had been surprised when he heard the woman talking fluently in Greek. Somehow, her voice sounded familiar to him.

A moment later, Kris saw a sacred bird with a colorful tail flying down from the Mountain of the Goddess. Its elegant feathers left a sprinkling trail along the sky, which slowly dissipated in the air.

Kris was startled. Wasn’t that the mount that only the Saintesses were allowed to use? And only one of the Saintesses was using it.

“Didn’t she just return to the Mountain of the Goddess? Is she going out already?” Kris wondered in confusion. However, he soon let out a sigh. Why did it matter to him? He was already cast out of the Mountain of the Goddess. He had no chance of coming into close contact with the Saintess.

Kris suddenly noticed the sacred bird was not flying into the distance. It was diving right at him after crossing the gates of the Mountain of the Goddess instead.

Kris gasped, and stared at the handsome Rainbow Sacred Bird in disbelief.

Crystalline feathers drifted in the strong wind as the sacred bird landed in front of Kris, its head lifted up proudly. It was not willing to take a single glance at Kris, as if humans were an insignificant species in its eyes. Its natural nobility exuded a huge pressure.

Kris was lost in his thoughts for a moment, and was thunderstruck when he saw a woman on the Rainbow Sacred Bird. He quickly fell to one knee and lowered his head, almost knocking his head on his knee guard.

“Are you Kris, the Blue Star Knight?” the woman standing on the Rainbow Sacred Bird asked.

“Yes… I am… I had no idea the Saintess was coming. Please forgive my disrespectful behavior!” Kris’ mind was in a complete mess. He was only uttering the words subconsciously. The knights practiced the same phrases many times before joining the Hall of Knights.

“Is the person you mentioned in the interrogation room?” Xinxia asked.

“Ah? Yes, yes, are you the woman in the call…” Kris finally realized. No wonder her voice sounded so familiar, she was the Saintess!

Gods, did I just talk to the Saintess on the phone!?

“Please lead the way,” Xinxia instructed him.

“Oh, sure!” Kris was panicking like a little boy. He tried his best to control himself, yet he was far from the model of a calm and steady knight.

While Kris was leading the way, Tata had set up her wheelchair and helped Xinxia down from the sacred bird.

Tata pushed the wheelchair and followed after Kris. A Golden Sun Knight was walking beside Tata, too. He never spoke more than half a sentence, remaining a certain distance from Xinxia while eyes like an eagle were constantly scanning their surroundings. He did not lower his guard even when they were at the Parthenon Temple!

Kris took a sneaky glance at the Golden Sun Knight while turning the corner. He almost froze in his spot.

Wasn’t that the reputable Knight Apollo!?

Within the Hall of Knights, twelve knights were named after the Twelve Olympians. Among them, the Golden Sun Knights named after Apollo, Zeus, Hera, and Athena were comparable to the Golden Sun Combat Officer, Norman!

Attaining the titles of the Olympians was an utmost glory for the knights!

Apollo was currently the Saintess’ Guardian Knight. He was responsible for her safety at all times!

—

The people of the Hall of Faith were badly startled by the sacred bird’s arrival.

“Your Honors, this is the Hall of Faith’s interrogation room. Please allow me to notify Priest Bude, he will be here shortly…” Mashatha was standing in front of the interrogation room’s entrance, and was stunned when she saw higher authorities arrive.

“Stand aside, it’s none of your business. You irresponsible girl!” Tata glared at Mashatha, who no longer dared to stop them.

“This is it,” Kris said.

A few people were around. They did not dare to make a single sound with Golden Sun Knight Apollo and Tata around, let alone looking at the Saintess and her veiled face!

—

“Did you dial the number? His wounds are worsening, please hurry…” Mu Ningxue blurted out when she saw the Blue Star Knight. She paused when she saw an old woman pushing Xinxia in on her wheelchair.

Mu Ningxue immediately recognized her, even though her face was covered. Her face lightened up.

“Xinxia!” Mu Ningxue let out a relieved sigh when she saw Xinxia. She said, “Mo Fan was injured by a Demon Judgment Sword. His body temperature is rising a lot. He’s starting to lose consciousness.”

Mu Ningxue did not expect Mo Fan’s injuries to worsen so quickly. She had underestimated the Demon Judgment Sword. Mo Fan had been restless like a tiger just a moment ago, and was now a patient with a high fever. Mu Ningxue was already planning to force her way out if no one showed up soon!

Xinxia’s expression shifted when she saw Mo Fan’s injuries.

“I’ll take care of him. The Demon Judgment Sword has a blood scorching effect. I have to use Water Magic to get rid of its residue before treating his injuries.” Tata entered the room before Xinxia.

Someone sensibly removed the magic formation protecting the room. Tata walked up to Mo Fan and placed her hand on his chest. She said while Channeling her magic, “I seriously don’t understand; why must you, an Advanced Mage go provoke a Super Light Mage and not treat your injuries seriously? If we were a few hours late, the Demon Judgment Sword could easily claim your life. Do you understand!?”

“Xuexue, why…why does your voice sound so horrible all of a sudden? You sound like…a fierce old woman…” Mo Fan said half-consciously.

Xinxia almost burst into tears of laughter after hearing the words. Was he seriously still in the mood of joking around?

“Brother Mo Fan, it’s me, Xinxia,” Xinxia was beside Mo Fan, and reached out to touch his hand. It was scorching hot, like heated metal!

“Xinxia, you’re here… I’m so tired, help me massage my back, it’s a little sore,” Mo Fan did not have a clear head. He thought Xinxia was the only person in the room.

Tata almost changed her mind. Did the little jerk’s brain overheat or something? Couldn’t he see the situation they were in? Was he really asking the Saintess of the Parthenon Temple to massage his back in front of the others?

“Don’t worry, the kid might suffer if he was somewhere else, but he’s here at the Parthenon Temple, and with me healing him, these injuries aren’t too much of a problem. You can all wait outside,” Tata said confidently.

Xinxia looked at Mu Ningxue and asked nervously, “What happened?”

“Let’s talk on the side,” Mu Ningxue rose to her feet. She naturally took charge of the wheelchair and pushed it out of the room. The room was oddly cold.

The Golden Sun Knight observed Xinxia’s reaction, and withdrew his menacing gaze after noticing she did not reject the move.

1649 Xinxia“s Wrath

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue roughly described the situation and emphasized how Priest Bude was purposely picking on them and not treating Mo Fan’s injuries.

As soon as she finished explaining, a lot of footsteps arrived outside the room. The three Great Priests of the Hall of Faith had arrived. Priest Bude, his forehead covered in sweat, was following them. He looked at Knight Apollo, Saintess Xinxia, and Tata with a confused face!

“I wasn’t aware of Your Honor’s arrival. Please forgive me for not welcoming you warmly. Is there anything I can do for you?” Priest Bude spoke up hastily.

“Why did you lock them up?” Xinxia asked.

“They…they were accused of killing young Barbara and stealing the Verdon Dusk, I was only doing my job!” Bude’s heart pounded heavily as he was answering the question.

How did it catch the Saintess’ attention? How did such a trivial matter get the Saintess’ attention!?

“Where is the evidence?” Xinxia demanded.

“We…we are still investigating…” Priest Bude began to stammer.

“You are still investigating?” Xinxia’s voice turned colder.

“Ye…yes, they were using magic on the sacred ground of Mount Lanmu, and we didn’t see anyone else apart from them,” Bude answered, trying to keep a clear mind.

“Why didn’t you treat his injuries!?” Xinxia demanded.

She rose from her wheelchair with a menacing bearing, unlike her usual feeble appearance!

“I…I was busy investigating the incident, I didn’t have time…” Bude tried to explain himself.

“Nonsense!” Xinxia’s eyes suddenly sharpened. There was no wind inside the room, but her hair and her clothes were drifting wildly, as if her anger had burst out from her heart. A strong spiritual tide slammed into Bude’s mind fiercely!

Bude subconsciously resisted it, but he had no chance of defending himself. Not only was he knocked flying, his soul took a serious blow!

The people in the interrogation room fell to their knees after feeling the wrath of the Saintess. The three Great Priests were about to ask something, but the Saintess best known for her gentle nature had suddenly unleashed her wrath without any mercy. They also dropped to their knees, and did not dare say a single word!

Apollo, Mu Ningxue, and Tata were standing there shocked behind Xinxia. It was Tata’s first time seeing Xinxia behave like this!

Bude’s mind was severely impacted. His hat fell to the ground, and his hair was disheveled. He propped himself up against the wall miserably.

He did not dare to put up a fight, finally realizing that the young man he captured had an unusual background. He did not dare to pretend to be in pain, and quickly crawled over to Xinxia and stuck his head to the ground.

“I’ve failed to fulfill my duties. Saintess, please forgive me!” Bude was utterly terrified.

“Saintess, I suppose there is a misunderstanding. Bude might have had no idea the young man is close to you, so he wrongly accused…” a Great Priest with a white mustache began.

“Silence!” Xinxia snapped.

The Great Priest was stunned. He was one of the three Great Priests in charge of the Hall of Faith. Normally, he would not treat the words of the Candidates seriously. He had the urge to intervene when he saw the Candidate mistreating his subordinate, but the Candidate did not give him any face!

It took the Great Priest by surprise. The other two Great Priests quickly pulled him back and told him not to provoke the Candidate for now.

Knight Apollo grinned as he looked at the mustached Great Priest, his expression finally shifting for once.

That Great Priest had never treated the Saintess seriously. He still dared to act so self-conceited when Bude had picked on someone close to the Saintess. The old man was asking for it!

“Saintess, I will look into it myself. I will do justice to your brother. As for Bude, who abused his authority and neglected human lives, I will punish him accordingly, too!” one of the other Great Priests blurted out. He knew it was unwise to be opposing the Saintess under the circumstances.

Tata emphasized her sigh as she stepped forward. “Your Honor, he’s going to be fine with me treating his injuries. The Hall of Faith has been flouting the law and disregarding the rules lately. We’ll let the Great Priests handle it. You three, you are the souls of the Hall of Faith with the highest authority. You will investigate this incident. As for Bude, who couldn’t distinguish between right and wrong, we don’t need him here anymore.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right, Bude shall be punished,” the Great Priest that intervened as the mediator agreed hastily.

—

—

Mo Fan recovered pretty quickly. His body was as strong as an ox, after all.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself lying in a building specially allocated for convalescing patients. It was the familiar bed and the familiar fragrance of the little maid serving him.

Mo Fan was not thinking clearly in the interrogation room, but he had still heard Xinxia’s angry words.

Even Mo Fan had never seen Xinxia behaving like that, let alone Tata and Apollo!

For some reason, Mo Fan was actually very proud of her!

“Brother Mo Fan, do you have a list of daily quests in your mind? Do you only feel comfortable after finishing all your quests?” Xinxia moved her wheelchair herself. She had a plate of fruits on her knees to provide Mo Fan with some refreshment.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan asked, looking confused.

“Is it really that difficult for you to stay away from dangerous situations?” Xinxia grumbled.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless.

Xinxia was complaining about how he had been courting death every day!

Tata had already told her that a strong Super Light Mage was responsible for his injuries. Why would Mo Fan fight a Super Mage when he was only an Advanced Mage!?

“I didn’t have a choice,” Mo Fan said.

“Isn’t that always the case?” Xinxia asked in return.

“The world is full of evil, so a man with an ambition to become a hero like me is going to be pretty busy… by the way, how long did I sleep? I still have important business to attend to. Speaking of which, that Priest Bude, can you find out who was asking him to make things difficult for me?” Mo Fan said.

1650 A Continent-Level Authority

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Xinxia did not expect the incident of the young Tyrant Titan’s heart and the incident on Mount Lanmu were related. However, she could not get any useful information from Bude. The guy might be terrified, but he still managed to keep a clear mind. He knew he no longer had a future at the Parthenon Temple, so his connection with the other side was his only hope!

However, it did not necessarily mean they had no way of getting the information, even if someone was unwilling to spill it the beans…

—

Mo Fan had almost recovered by the time he went to the prison cell. He had a proud grin on as he stared at the captive Bude.

Bude’s robe of rank had been torn off him. His hair was as messy as a stray dog. He had never imagined he would lose his title, especially when he had been dreaming of becoming a Great Priest soon!

The Parthenon Temple was very strict with their punishments. If someone failed to fulfill their duties or abused their power, the Parthenon Temple might even remove their power as a Mage!

“I told you I was going to make you pay ten times for what you did. Why don’t you look at yourself in the mirror? They were using you like a simple-minded ox!” Mo Fan tapped on the rail. Bude had an urge to beat the crap out of him on seeing his grin.

“Humph, I will soon be free, even if I am no longer a Mage. As for you, you ignorant prick, you have no idea who you are up against! If that person wants you to disappear from this world, you won’t even have a tombstone for your grave!” Bude snarled back.

Be free? Mo Fan smirked.

That was not going to happen. People that made a mistake at the Parthenon Temple would never be able to live as normal people. They would be given strenuous work constantly to atone for their crimes. Bude had provoked a Candidate. Even if Xinxia was not going to pick on him, how about the people that were trying to pander to her?

Xinxia might not have that much power in the Parthenon Temple, but it did not necessarily mean no one was trying to get in her good graces!

“Oh? Why don’t you tell me who I’m up against? I, Mo Fan, have always been fearless before gods and demons. You should threaten me to let you go by telling me his name. How does that sound?” Mo Fan proposed.

“I won’t tell you!” Bude spat.

“I know you won’t! Apas, it’s all you now,” Mo Fan said cheerfully.

Apas went up to Bude. Her beautiful amber eyes locked his gaze.

Bude looked at the young woman whose beauty was beyond human. He was a little confused when the young woman suddenly turned into a man in a brown coat.

Bude was overjoyed. He had made the right choice! That person did come to save him!…

—

—

Mo Fan frowned. He left the prison with a stern face.

“Do you know the guy?” the Blue Star Knight Kris asked when he saw Mo Fan’s reaction.

“No, I don’t know him,” Mo Fan shook his head.

“Then why the reaction? I thought it was someone with a formidable background. By the way, this young woman is so impressive. She managed to place Bude under an illusion. It didn’t take long to make him say the name!” Kris complimented her.

“The guy Ferran who Bude mentioned is actually someone with great power. He’s currently an elder of Dubai’s Magic Association, and also the Vice President of Athens’ Magic Association. Not only is he powerful, he has wide connections across many countries. It explains why Bude was trying so hard to stop us,” Mu Ningxue informed him.

“A Continent-level Elder?” Kris exclaimed.

Mo Fan’s eyes widened. He had assumed Ferran was no ordinary person, but he did not expect him to be an authority at the Continental level!

It was likely that he was even more powerful than a Councilman!

Mo Fan was not very familiar with the Magic Associations, but he knew their directors mostly consisted of a bunch of old monsters. The elders of the Asian Continental Magic Association were most likely around the same level as Pang Lai!

If this Ferran was responsible for everything, would they even have a chance to stop him with their current strength?

“I bet even Xinxia would have trouble stopping him if she intervened,” Mu Ningxue said.

“I agree. An elder of the Asia Continent Magic Association wouldn’t necessarily treat a Candidate of the Parthenon Temple seriously. He might even turn against her if he’s on Izisha’s side,” Mo Fan said.

They could not afford to rely on the Parthenon Temple to apply pressure on a Continent-level authority. The Parthenon Temple was part of Europe. Even though the Five Continents were supposed to be the highest authority in the world, the Parthenon Temple’s influence had surpassed theirs lately. In some ways, the Five Continents were not too fond of the Parthenon Temple.

A Magic Association was involved, and it was at the Continent-level… There was hardly anything they could do!

“If it’s really that tricky, let’s not worry about it anymore,” Mu Ningxue said.

It was important to act within their capabilities. If their enemy was someone like a Councilman, they might still have a chance, but their target was an elder of a Continental Magic Association. The position alone was untouchable, since only the Holy Judgment Court could judge him. Even if the Holy Judgment Court deemed the person guilty, they had to consider the fact if they were strong enough to arrest the guy!

The Holy Judgment Court had lost some of their experts when they were arresting Essendale, who was deemed the strongest Shadow Mage. They had to Summon the Greek God of Death, Hayla, to defeat him!

“Let’s regroup with the others and see if they have discovered anything new. This Ferran might not be responsible for collecting the Tyrant Titan’s hearts and the children’s hearts. He might only be lending Bartholomew a hand,” Mo Fan said.

“Let’s hope that’s the case,” Mu Ningxue said.

If an authority like him turned out to be the culprit, it was only going to bring more misfortune to the world!

——

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue regrouped with Brianca, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, and Heidi after Mo Fan fully recovered from his injuries. The Blue Star Knight Kris, who had nothing better to do, followed them. He was a representative of the Parthenon Temple. If anything happened, an enemy would avoid crossing the line, knowing the Parthenon Temple was involved.

Mo Fan did not want Xinxia to be involved, as they had yet to find out the truth. It was more appropriate to ask Xinxia for help later. After all, they needed to find evidence first. If they did not catch Bartholomew and retrieve the children’s hearts, they had no chance of stopping a great authority of the Magic Association!

Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Kris followed the trail left by Brianca and the others. They crossed Mount Lanmu and headed west along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

—

“Kris, this Steel Griffin isn’t too bad! Where did you find him?” Mo Fan asked.

The griffin had a metallic sheen as it soared across the sky. Its reflection was visible on the surface of the sea not far below. The people on the ground lifted their heads with envious faces.

The Steel Griffin was Kris’ Contracted Beast. Not only was it a ferocious beast, it was a reliable mount, too. It could effortlessly carry Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, Apas, and Kris on its back!

“My family spent all their savings on it. It’s also the reason I was promoted to a Blue Star Knight from a probationary knight so quickly, but I’ve let my family down,” Kris answered.

“You didn’t let your family down. I know you’re a good person. Keep it up, I might recommend you to Xinxia, so you can serve under that expressionless Apollo,” Mo Fan encouraged him.

“Are…are you serious? I’ve always admired Knight Apollo. I’ve been working hard to become one of the Twelve Olympians, too!” Kris blurted out excitedly.

“It takes a lot of training to become stronger,” Mo Fan chuckled.

Xinxia had a regiment of knights, led by Apollo. It was made up of Blue Star Knights and Golden Sun Knights. The knights would always be on her side, whether or not she won the election and became the Goddess. The knights would be loyal to her even if she quit the election!

“Thank you so much!” Kris said with a sincere smile. He did not expect his kindness to give him a chance to return to the Hall of Knights!

Mo Fan wrapped his hands around the back of his head and exclaimed, “Ah, I’ve always wanted a flying Contracted Beast. Such a pity, I accidentally wasted my second Contract on someone!”

Apas was right beside Mo Fan. It was obvious who he was referring to. The successor of Queen Medusa almost jumped up and bit the shameless prick to death!

Apas withheld her anger and answered coldly, -Get rid of the Contract, and I’ll give you a Golden Serpent with nine wings, a Ruler-level creature!-

-Forget it, I think you have a greater potential than the Golden Serpent. It’s fine if you can’t fly, but I can still ride you if it’s necessary. I wonder if there’s any spell that can let me fly once I reach the Super Level!- Mo Fan replied shamelessly.

Mo Fan was communicating with Apas mentally. If Mu Ningxue knew what he had said, she would have kicked him off the griffin from a height of a thousand meters! On the surface, Apas seemed to have no idea what Mo Fan was hinting at, and did not treat his words seriously.

She had been enduring every day!

The most important thing she learned from wandering in human territories to escape from her sisters over the years was nothing other than endurance!

One day, she would figure out a way to bite Mo Fan on the neck without harming herself. She would poison the shameless prick to death with her deadly venom!

1651 The Magic Associations

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

“Strange, why do I find this place a little familiar?” Mo Fan looked down from the sky and felt that he had seen this terrain before.

“We’ll reach the Tyrant Titans’ territory soon. We won’t be able to fly any further,” Kris told them.

“The Tyrant Titans’ territory?” Mo Fan fell into deep thought.

They flew for a few more kilometers. More folded mountains with different shapes showed up, forming the canyons, cliffs, creeks, and basins… the terrain was rather complicated!

The Steel Griffin descended to the ground. It was obvious that they might provoke the creatures ahead if they flew across their territory. Who knew if a Tyrant Titan would suddenly show up from behind a mountain and attack the Steel Griffin? It might even grab the Steel Griffin and the others on it down from the sky, like it was going for a rebounding basketball!

“Why are they so far away from the safe zone?” Mu Ningxue was confused.

“Perhaps they are here for some kind of Ritual. Isn’t that what Asha’ruiya told us?” Mo Fan said.

“They must have been preparing the Ritual for a long time,” Mu Ningxue said.

Bartholomew’s men had been collecting children’s hearts since the World College Tournament. They still had no idea how many Tyrant Titan’s hearts they had collected!

They traveled across the mountains, their altitude rising. The sky was no longer clear, like it was previously along the coastline. Thick clouds were constantly looming over them, and there was not much sunlight around. Due to the open view, they would occasionally catch a glimpse of an entire lightning strike piercing through the sky.

——

Mo Fan’s feeling that the place looked familiar to him grew stronger the further he went. He finally recalled where it was when he saw some enormous mountains soaring into the clouds.

A strong wind started blowing, and they were having trouble keeping their eyes open. Mo Fan was about to tell Mu Ningxue where they were when he noticed an uninvited guest nearby. The person had remarkable cultivation. They did not see where he had appeared from!

“Come with me if you’re interested in the Ritual. Don’t do anything drastic, it’s not like you can cause any trouble in front of me. If you don’t want to watch the Ritual, you may leave now… oh, your friends are waiting for you,” a middle-aged man floating ten meters above the ground informed them.

The man was wearing a hat pulled down low, but Mo Fan immediately recognized him. He was the guy that had saved Bartholomew in the woods!

The guy was strong just as he thought!

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue’s hearts sank. It seemed like they had noticed Brianca and the others tailing them.

They could not just abandon the others. They did not have a choice.

“Let’s check out the situation first,” Mu Ningxue whispered.

“Mm, is your Ice Crystal Bow strong enough to take him out?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes,” Mu Ningxue said.

The man did not seal off their minds. He simply escrted them along.

They approached the huge mountains. The man summoned a wind and lifted them into the sky, as if he felt like they were moving too slowly…

They rode the wind further up the mountain. The folded mountains were soon below their feet, shrinking gradually until they became a tiny wrinkles on the ground.

“Isn’t it dangerous to be flying in this area?” Kris asked.

“Don’t worry, the most dangerous existence here is powerless to even defend itself now,” the man smiled. “You guys are pretty stubborn to chase us all the way here. There are things that you can’t settle by being hot-headed. I already asked the Priest to stop you, but you didn’t accept my act of kindness,” the man said.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue did not speak. Brianca was a Super Mage, yet she had fallen into their hands. It clearly showed how formidable these people were!

——

They soon reached the highest mountain. Its peak was rugged with jagged rocks, resembling the spine of a dragon. On the other side of the mountain was a slope leading to a cliff above the clouds, like a lofty path leading to Heaven.

Mo Fan glanced at the slope and the cliff. Wasn’t that the cliff where he saw the ancient dragon? He clearly remembered the fear and the sense of being so small the enormous creature had left him with!

Mo Fan had sworn he would never come back here again, yet now he was standing on top of the mountain. He was less than two kilometers from the cliff!

“Come, time to meet your friends,” the man said.

They drew closer to the cliff. For some reason, Mo Fan’s legs were already trembling. Perhaps he had yet to get over the fear that the Black Dragon Emperor had left him with.

There were many people gathered at the cliff. Mo Fan only realized that they were wearing the robes of the Magic Associations as he went closer. He could also tell from the runes embroidered on them that these people were relatively high-ranked in the Magic Associations!

“The Magic Associations!” Mu Ningxue was stunned.

“Who did you assume we were?” the man smiled.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were thunderstruck when they noticed the people did not even bother to hide their identities. They even saw some people they normally only saw on the news!

Mo Fan had always thought the Guild of the Wicked was responsible for the Ritual, and these people must be its members, too. He was not too worried before, since Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow could deliver a deadly blow to them.

However, they were all mistaken!

The Ritual was not being conducted by the Guild of the Wicked, nor was it a collusion between some authority figure and the Guild of the Wicked. It was a gathering of the Magic Associations!

They saw Brianca, Zhao Manyan, Heidi, and Mu Bai were there ahead of them, perfectly safe. They were not even restrained. The foursome quickly came up to them.

“We looked just like you when we arrived,” Brianca admitted, scanning their faces.

“What…what exactly is going on here!?” Mo Fan surveyed his surroundings in disbelief.

1652 Destroying the Bridge After Crossing the River

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“In the past, Europeans refer to dragons as calamities, mainly because the dragons were just too powerful, so powerful that every effort a tribe or a country put in was destroyed within a night. Since then, humans were hoping to have power, a power that would allow them to take on the dragons…”

“We now have access to magic, but after obtaining our own power, we realized just how strong the dragons are. Our magic is nothing but breezes and tiny waves to them. Even the Super Level Magic that many people admire is not enough to penetrate a dragon’s scales. Hence, no matter how developed the magic civilizations in the past were, or even today, the ancient dragons remain inviolable. Luckily, nature is never biased toward a certain species. The ancient dragons have almost zero reproductive ability. The dragons that most people encounter nowadays are merely pseudo-dragons or crossbreeds… yet those people dare call themselves dragon slayers!

“The dragon under my feet is a real dragon. It has its name, its history, and the supreme power of a dragon. Not only will I, Su Lu, fulfill the ambition of humans from antiquity, I’ll show the world that the dragons are inferior to us! Ancient gods, devils, or demons… they do not rule this world. We rule the world!”

Su Lu was standing on the cliff of Mount Tyrant. His speech was delivered with power, as if it would spread across the entire Continent.

Mo Fan could not sense his aura, yet it did not mean he was not strong. The area had become part of his aura; even the weather was under his control!

Mo Fan had wondered if any human could possibly challenge the Black Dragon Emperor after he escaped from the cliff with Asha’ruiya. He highly doubted it, but today, Su Lu was standing there to do the impossible!

“No matter how ambitious you are, it disgusts me that you’re using children’s hearts for it!” Mu Ningxue blurted out, interrupting Su Lu’s ambitious speech. It dragged the man whom everyone regarded as a legend back to cruel reality!

They were using children’s hearts to carry out the Ritual that would subdue the dragon, just to prove that humans were the ruler of the world, yet were they still worthy to be admired after what they did!?

“Children’s hearts? I only needed the Tyrant Titan’s hearts!” Su Lu exclaimed, staring at Mu Ningxue.

Ferran’s expression shifted as soon as he heard the words. He blurted out, “Master Su Lu, we’ve prepared the ingredients you need. Let’s hurry up and subdue the dragon. At last, our efforts over the years have not been in vain!”

“Ferran, what’s going on here?” Su Lu demanded.

“Humph, what else could it be? A part of the Tyrant Titan’s hearts that you are using for the ritual are refined with children’s hearts! How ambitious of you to prove that humans are the true rulers of the world, yet you’ve killed hundreds of children brutally and fed their bodies to the sea monsters! We tracked them all the way here. We thought the Guild of the Wicked was responsible for it, or perhaps the Black Vatican was planning something again, yet it turns out to be you guys!” Mo Fan said.

The Magic Associations? They always promoted how sacred the role of Mages was, yet they turned out to be so corrupt! What rights did they have to put themselves above the Black Vatican and the Guild of the Wicked?

“I see, I was wondering how you all find this place when I didn’t invite you here,” Su Lu realized.

“Don’t you dare achieve some great milestone of mankind while doing such evil acts. If you didn’t give your men permission to murder the children, I might actually be impressed by your deeds. However, you are more of a hypocrite than the Red Cardinals of the Black Vatican, who blatantly express their ambition to destroy everything!” Mo Fan harangued him.

“How could I do such outrageous acts as the President of the Asia Continent Magic Association? You’ve come to demand justice, I’ll serve you justice as you wish. Ferran, you have one minute to explain everything to me, and you better not lie to me!” Su Lu stared at Ferran.

“Well… President, basically, I asked my reliable subordinate to try his best to look for the Tyrant Titan’s hearts, yet that useless guy failed to collect enough hearts. He ended up colluding with the Silver Ornament Master of the Guild of the Wicked, Bartholomew, to replace the hearts we were lacking with some inhumane methods. I don’t really…” Ferran sounded unsure of himself.

“Do you know about it?” Su Lu asked.

“I…I only learned about it when…” Ferran replied haltingly

“You turned a blind eye to it, am I right?” Su Lu demanded.

“No, I didn’t…” Ferran was nervous.

“If you didn’t, why did you ask Priest Bude to intervene with our investigation? If I didn’t arrange for them to follow you secretly, we would never have known that the people of the Magic Associations were animals disguised with human skin!” Mo Fan grunted.

“Mo Fan, I believe you’ve misunderstood Master Su Lu. We didn’t know the Tyrant Titan’s hearts were tied up with something so brutal. You can explain the details to us after today. We promise you that we’ll find out the truth to serve the kids justice,” the Head of the Donghai Magic Association intervened.

The Head of the Donghai Magic Association clearly recognized Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. Fanxue Mountain’s influence was constantly growing in the Donghai region!

“The Asia Continent Magic Association… the call is yours. It doesn’t matter if you admit it now, since minor characters like us don’t stand a chance against you. You can easily silence us here, so there’s nothing to be afraid of. After all, I’ve met people that are just as bad!” Mo Fan persisted.

“Mo Fan, don’t be so reckless! Many of us here are playing important roles in our respective organizations. There are always vermin and heartless people in the system. Even I would try my best to find out the culprit, let alone someone as fair and righteous as Master Su Lu,” the Head of the Donghai Magic Association said.

“Throw Bartholomew off the cliff!” Su Lu ordered suddenly.

Bartholomew was indeed among the crowd, standing close to the man with a hat. He shuddered when he heard the words.

He had put in so much effort to gather the children’s hearts for these authorities, yet they were demanding he be tossed off the cliff?

They were destroying the bridge after crossing the river!

1653 Did the People That Are Supposed to Be Dead Die Yet?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Elder Ferran…” Bartholomew noticed that something was not right. Two powerful Mages had restricted his movements!

Ferran could not care less about Bartholomew now. He was just an evil minor character. It was time to get rid of him after he had done his job. Even if Su Lu had not intervened, Ferran would have eventually found someone to take Bartholomew out secretly to preserve his reputation!

“President Su Lu, I really had no idea about it in the first place. It’s my fault for not controlling my men. I didn’t think they would go to such extremes just to fulfill their duties. I will take care of Eisenberg, who colluded with Bartholomew, too. They shall pay for their crimes!” Ferran declared.

The man in the hat began to panic too!

The man was still acting arrogantly when he was guiding Mo Fan and the others here, as if there was nothing Mo Fan and his crew could do to him, even if they knew what he had done.

To his surprise, his superior Ferran betrayed him right away when Master Su Lu was involved. His face turned extremely pale.

Ferran had no idea what was going on?

How could he not know what happened? If he hadn’t made the arrangements, how were they able to trick the government and the Magic Associations to hide their crimes?

“Elder Ferran, you can’t do this! There’s only a limited number of Tyrant Titans left in the world! There’s no way we could collect the number of Tyrant Titans’ hearts you asked for. I never stopped searching for an alternative solution. I was merely taking orders from you! In the beginning, I only asked Bartholomew to look for the kids that had passed away in the hospitals, but he went on to kidnap children to speed up the progress. Wasn’t everything just to make sure we have enough Tyrant Titans’ hearts?” Eisenburg protested.

“How amusing! It’s true that you didn’t specially ask me to do it, but you’re telling me you have no clue where the hearts were from when I delivered them to you?” Bartholomew laughed hollowly.

Bartholomew had done many evil deeds on behalf of the corrupted governments of some countries. He also worked with a lot of proper organizations, too! Otherwise, how had he managed to stay alive until now?

However, Bartholomew did not expect Su Lu to treat Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue so seriously. The man did not hesitate to take him out!

The reason why their Guild of the Wicked existed and was able to grow so quickly was that the governments of many countries needed people like them to do their inconvenient deeds, such as collecting the hearts of children!

The world only had a limited number of Tyrant Titans. They could only collect two-thirds of their requirements even if they killed every Tyrant Titan in the world! The children’s hearts were the only way to replace the missing hearts!

The upright organizations or government would never do such things on their own, yet they desperately needed them. Therefore, at a tea party, these people would hint that they would not collect the children’s hearts, they would never do such a deranged act. Only people like Bartholomew would do so!

It was their usual ../style. The people who failed to read between the lines would assume the authorities were holding fast to their principles. Some others might get the message, but they did not have the guts or cruelty needed for the job. As for Bartholomew, not only did he get the message, he was cruel enough to carry out the deeds! It had helped him become a Super Mage and turned him into an evil mercenary working for governments. It was how he had remained at large despite the crimes he had committed!

In terms of doing outrageous acts, Bartholomew could swear with his soul that the things he did were nothing compared to what Ferran had done. Otherwise, how had the man become an elder of the Magic Association?

As for Su Lu, who was even higher than Ferran…

Bartholomew had never had a chance to come into contact with someone on the same level as Su Lu. When he knew he was doing Su Lu a favor, he was even more reckless, hoping that he could get into the good graces of Su Lu. Not only would he remain unfettered, he might have a chance to be appointed as an authority of some proper organization!

He was only doing such outrageous acts for the benefits and gains. No one else who wasn’t mentally deranged would be willing to get their hands dirty. Bartholomew was hoping to whitewash himself and gain a similar role to Ferran, getting all the respect while others were handling the dirty acts behind the scenes. He would no longer have to be worried or scared!

Bartholomew had believed only someone like Su Lu could whitewash him!

It was not like Bartholomew had never thought of the current outcome as a possibility. It was just how things might go when he was helping someone like Ferran. It was a gamble, he was betting on the possibility that Su Lu was just like Ferran, who needed someone like Bartholomew to handle the evil deeds on his behalf!

As a matter of fact, Bartholomew strongly believed Su Lu was just like Ferran, with even greater power. Whenever anyone dared to pose a threat to him, if they were a crook like Bartholomew, he would get rid of them righteously to serve justice. If it was a righteous person, he would take care of them behind the scenes to guarantee himself a clear path!

Bartholomew stared at Mo Fan and said furiously, “Kid, don’t you feel too good about yourself. Even if you took me out, you still offended someone terrifying. You are going to die a worse death than me one day!”

If it wasn’t for Mo Fan and his crew showing up out of nowhere, he would have easily become Su Lu’s subordinate and used the position to do many things else. Therefore, he insisted on blaming Mo Fan! This busybody who naively thought he could be the light of the world was the reason for his fall!

Mo Fan ignored Bartholomew’s ‘kind’ reminder. He felt like he would humiliate himself if he bothered talking to the prick.

“I’ll punish them myself!” Ferran proclaimed, suddenly making his move.

He used Poison Magic, placing his left and right hands on Bartholomew and Eisenburg respectively. The poison lunged forward like a snake and plunged into their bodies.

The poison spread crazily fast. Their veins turned an odd purple, followed by their skin, looking like it was soaked in some dye.

Even their pupils had turned purple. Their veins were filled with poison, and on the verge of exploding!

Eisenburg could not accept his fate. He tried to break free, but his body was restrained by two other Mages. He did not stand a chance against a powerful Poison Mage like Ferran!

Their bodies began to corrode, leaving only their skin and hair behind. Both men soon turned into bubbling puddles, only their hair and scalps left behind on the surface. It looked utterly disgusting!

“Some people keep abusing the name of the Magic Associations to commit their outrageous crimes. They naively thought people weren’t going to find out the truth, but I must say, there’s no running away from justice. Those people will pay for their crimes eventually. Bartholomew and Eisenburg are the perfect examples… Ah yes, I should thank these young Mages for exposing them. I thank you on behalf of the Asia Continent Magic Association!” Ferran put on a righteous act after taking out his own men.

Mo Fan found his words more disgusting than the puddle on the ground!

“Of course, I must bear the blame too. I will visit the families of the victims in person to comfort them. I will let them know that I’ve punished the people responsible for their children’s deaths… President Su, are you satisfied with the outcome? If there’s anything else you want me to do, I’m willing to bear the responsibility!,” Ferran inquired somberly.

Ferran had taken the initiative to deal with his men. It was his typical way of abandoning his pawns to protect himself. Everyone was watching him coldly, yet they did not bother exposing him.

“Are you satisfied with the outcome?” Su Lu looked at Mo Fan and the others and asked.

Mo Fan could not believe how ridiculous that sounded.

Are you satisfied with the outcome?

Was it any different from a rapist asking the victim if the position he was using was comfortable for her?

“Give us the children’s hearts!” Mu Ningxue knew it was meaningless to discuss the topic any further.

Was getting rid of Bartholomew and Eisenburg going to make any difference?

There were demands for animal hides, so the hunters went hunting the animals. The hunters were caught in the end, but what about the people asking for the hides?

Why did the truth always have to be like this? It felt like punishing Bartholomew for his crimes of murdering the children brutally was not really that important after learning the truth!

“The hearts are already a part of the Ritual. The dragons and the Titans are the nemeses of one another. We can activate the poison in the Titan’s hearts with the primitive power of the ancient Totem Beasts. When the dragon breathes in the poison, its lungs will be contaminated, preventing it from spitting out its breath. Their breath is a dragon’s deadliest weapon,” Ferran explained on behalf of Su Lu.

So that was the reason behind everything?

They were trying to nullify the dragon’s breath so it was possible for them to defeat the dragon!

Mu Ningxue’s heart was as cold as ice when she heard the words. She recalled the families grieving for their lost children, and the child they had buried with their own hands. The grudge and anger inside her were replaced with fatigue and a heavy weariness for the world. Even the air she was breathing in felt disgusting to her.

“It seems like you are not satisfied yet,” Su Lu noticed.

“Master Su Lu, we’ve been preparing for many years. Let’s worry about them after we are done with the dragon, if they aren’t satisfied then…” an old Mage of the Europe Continent Magic Association proposed.

“Yeah, we should focus on the dragon for now. It’s about to show up.”

Su Lu looked at Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan and waited for their response.

“You can go ahead with your Ritual. Sorry for the inconvenience we have caused,” Mu Ningxue said, turning around. She had enough of this.

Mu Ningxue naturally had an icy bearing, yet her aura was even icier and lifeless as she turned around.

Mo Fan felt the same way after seeing Mu Ningxue’s reaction.

Their hatred was surging like waves, yet it was stuck in their throats like a fishbone!

Their wrath was enough to set the sky aflame, but they were disheartened after seeing these people’s attitudes!

Why was this happening? Perhaps those that were supposed to die were still laughing at them!…

1654 Cry of the Black Dragon

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The people of the Magic Associations did not stop them from leaving. Su Lu watched them go as well. He did not have any expression, yet his eyes were intrigued.

Mo Fan swore to eat his own heart if Su Lu was a good guy!

The look in his eyes clearly indicated his attitude.

If he was in the mood to be a righteous authority of the Asia Continent, he would do it! It only took him a single sentence to get rid of an evil crook like Bartholomew!

If he wanted to be a political assh*** today, he could simply have asked Mo Fan and his crew to piss off. They could not do anything to him. He would still be fine, even if Bartholomew pointed at Su Lu and accused him as the person that gave him the orders to collect the children’s hearts. He could also watch Mo Fan and his crew leave empty-handed!

The people that were supposed to die were still alive. Only the insignificant had died. Bartholomew was one example. Similarly, he was not treating Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, Brianca, and the others seriously, so he did not bother to do anything.

“If I was a Forbidden Mage, I’d destroy these sons of b**ches with a single spell!” Zhao Manyan snarled as they were heading down the mountain.

The demon in Mo Fan’s body was close to Awakening, but rationally speaking, he knew he would not stand a chance against these people, even with the Demon Element. They were the authorities of the Asian Continental Magic Association. Some among them were most likely half a step away from becoming a Forbidden Mage, especially Su Lu. If he dared to challenge the Black Dragon Emperor, it meant he was extremely confident in his strength.

The Forbidden Curse Level…

Mo Fan had not thought too much about it before. He only knew it was extremely powerful and would allow him to defeat every powerful demon creature.

But now, he was desiring it a little more!

He could only face these people once he became a Forbidden Mage!

Those that were supposed to die would never laugh at him again!

He would not leave with the sense of suffocation he had today after being asked if they were satisfied with the outcome, as if they had been shown a lot of tolerance and mercy!

‘Were you satisfied?’

Of course not!

He would prefer to watch them all die. That way, Mo Fan would be laughing until justice was restored!

—

A deep cry suddenly came from the mountains.

It did not sound like anything special, but when the cry reached them, it felt like a terrifying explosion was occurring nearby. Mo Fan and his crew struggled to stand properly. They almost fell to the ground!

It was an absolutely terrifying roar. They almost lost consciousness before it.

It was torturing both their hearing and their minds. It was Mo Fan’s first time hearing a real dragon’s cry, very different from the pseudo-dragon he had stumbled into. The roar alone was able to destroy everything. The same thought crossed everyone’s minds when they finally came to their senses: It was time to get the Hell out of this place!

They were no longer above the clouds. They looked up the mountain and witnessed something shocking. Half of the giant tail from a black dragon was exposed below the clouds. Mo Fan could not help but gasp after seeing its size!

The last time, Mo Fan had only seen its claw, which was big enough to smash a mountain to pieces by itself!

This time, he saw the Black Dragon Emperor’s tail. He felt like the shocking creature actually belonged to a different world. He could not help but imagine the Black Dragon Emperor’s true appearance; Mount Tyrant was certainly not big enough to contain it. Even the spacious sky was too small for it!

“That…that’s the dragon?” Zhao Manyan was already stammering.

He only saw the creature’s tail through the clouds, yet the shock was greater than his first encounter with Baxia!

A creature that was more terrifying than Baxia!

For some reason, Zhao Manyan was a little relieved.

The Black Dragon Emperor was so powerful. The world would surely be a better place if it managed to kill everyone on the mountain!

“That’s the dragon?…” Blue Star Knight Kris mumbled to himself.

The mountain began to tremble. Pieces of rocks were rolling down from above the cloud level. They were only pebbles in the eyes of the Black Dragon Emperor, but Mo Fan and the others realized that the rocks were bigger than some houses as they came closer. Some of them were basically hills falling down from a greater height, stirring up huge clouds of dust into the air!

“Quick, we have to go now!” Brianca said.

If she was not mistaken, a Forbidden Mage would soon show up at the cliff. Brianca was well aware of the destruction that a Forbidden Spell could bring. They had to leave as soon as possible!

“Everyone, come onto my Steel Griffin!” Kris Summoned his mount.

They all jumped onto the Steel Griffin. It extended its wings and flew directly away from Mount Tyrant.

Normally, flying was forbidden in a place like this, but due to the dragon’s cry and the mountain shaking so hard, every creature was fleeing for their life. No one cared if they were humans or demon creatures!

More rocks fell from the sky, like the ashes of an erupting volcano, but the damage was a lot worse than a volcanic eruption. Many creatures in caves could not escape in time. A whole bunch of demon creatures were wiped out instantly when the rocks fell on their lairs!

Many demon creatures were beating their wings in the air. Two young vultures even appeared less than a hundred meters away!

They mistook the Steel Griffin as a related creature in a panic. They followed the Steel Griffin to seek cover under its wings, yet they seemed timid and wary too.

“Come here, don’t be afraid,” Apas said to the two young vultures gently.

The two griffins could not withstand the charm of the beautiful snake woman. They soon lowered their guard and flew closer.

They stayed under the Steel Griffin’s wings to hide from the rocks. The Steel Griffin was kind, and did not mind protecting the young vultures.

“Dinner is settled,” Mo Fan muttered aloud.

Mu Ningxue rolled her eyes at him.

Mo Fan laughed awkwardly and said, “I mean, I was thinking we could have some roast turkey as dinner tonight. I’ve seen these Wind Flame Lightning Vultures before. They are pretty tough. Maybe we should ask Apas to tame them and make them Fanxue Mountain’s guardian beasts?”

1655 Dragon Breath: Dragon Flame

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The two young Wind Flame Lightning Vultures escaped to safety under the protection of the Steel Griffin’s wings. Their intelligence had not fully developed yet. They were not hostile toward humans, and with a little hint from Apas, they soon had an enjoyable time with the others. Everyone took out the snacks they had brought along to feed the young cultures. The two little creatures had never eaten anything so delicious. They completely forgot they were two savage flying beasts, and kept running around everyone in circles.

The sudden appearance of the two young vultures diluted the anger everyone felt after learning the truth somewhat. It was pointless to dwell on certain things, they still had to walk the path ahead. They were just disgusted after accidentally going to a landfill. The air was still fresh and refreshing after they left the filth behind!

“Everyone must be tired. We’ll rest at the peninsula ahead and return to Athens tomorrow,” Blue Star Knight Kris suggested.

The sky had darkened, and his Steel Griffin was a little tired from flying for the whole day. It needed a rest.

“Sure, let’s get some rest,” Mo Fan agreed.

They landed on the peninsula along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea after noticing many wooden huts scattered across some dense copses. The wooden huts were not jumbled up. There were small paths between the wooden huts for vehicles.

The center of the village was a small marketplace surrounded by a dozen huts. They noticed quite a few tourists frequenting the stalls full of colorful clothes. Men and women were visiting them in pleasant moods.

Kris had withdrawn the Steel Griffin back to his Contracted Space to avoid scaring the civilians. They slowly descended from the sky by riding Mu Ningxue’s winds.

“This is a pretty fine place,” Zhao Manyan looked around and saw many women with alluring physiques walking by. Their waists were long and slim, their body ratios slenderer than Asian women. Their curves were dazzling!

“We’ll stay here for the night. Let’s walk around and eat some food,” Mo Fan suggested.

It was important to ease their minds. Otherwise, they might die from an excess of anger toward those bunch of assh*** authorities!

The others agreed. They found a resort with a spacious beach front and booked all the rooms. They did not want to be disturbed by some strangers.

The resort had a huge beach in front of it with an aged tree at its center. The two young vultures soon perched in it and fell asleep.

“They won’t hurt anybody, right?” the owner of the resort said worriedly.

“They won’t,” Apas said confidently.

—

—

Mount Tyrant, the cliff at the top of the mountain…

The cliff was heavily damaged now, the shocking mark of a claw left on it. A huge part of the cliff had been destroyed!

The sea of clouds initially shrouding the mountain below the cliff had countless holes along it, looking tattered and ragged.

Over a thousand black destructive rays were falling from higher up in the sky, a huge attack with wide coverage. The huge mountain had several peaks on it, but every black ray that fell from the sky would shatter a peak and flatten the jagged edges of Mount Tyrant!

The black destructive rays came from a great height. The air was unusually cold. Even a powerful Mage would be frozen in no time at that altitude.

The sunlight faded away as night arrived. An enormous black dragon extended its shocking wings, the wings loomed over the Mages on the mountain like they were a part of night’s curtains. Its dominating bearing as a ruler of the Heavens and Earth was more than enough to make the tiny humans tremble!

Its wings shrouded the stars and the moon, its body occupied the sky. Even the divine beasts depicted in the legends were incomparable to the massive creature. It felt like the creature had come from a different universe. How could anyone possibly stand a chance against a creature like that?

A loud cry was heard, like the howl of a meteorite as it fell through the atmosphere, shaking the ground as the wind began to blow fiercely!

“Dragon breath, it’s about to unleash its dragon breath!” an old Mage on the collapsed cliff yelled out in a panic.

The dragon breath was a true dragon’s deadliest weapon. It left nothing alive as it surged across the land. Even a Forbidden Mage might die before it, and thus was why a true dragon was deemed an inviolable existence!

The wind stirred up a lot of dust. The Black Dragon Emperor hovered in the sky. It raised its head as its belly and the cavity in its mouth bloated.

The air began to reverse, as if a huge whirlpool had appeared in the air, sucking everything nearby into it!

The remains of the mountain were initially falling naturally, but they were now rising into the sky instead! It felt like the gravitational force of the whole mountain had upended. The pieces or rocks, broken cliffs, and trees were rising into the sky!

“Ahhhh!”

An old Mage with Wind Wings did not realize that the dragon breath possessed such a strong absorbing force before it was unleashed. The old Mage was too close to the dragon, and was dragged into the wild turbulence.

“Help me, help me!” the Wind Mage yelled.

Not many Mages on the cliff were able to guarantee their own safety. They were up against an ancient dragon, the most savage black dragon of all species!

No one dared to lend the Wind Mage a hand. It was the typical fate of someone who was trying to be a show-off!

Humans were too weak before the wind. The others soon lost sight of the Wind Mage, who vanished together with the debris being lifted into the air. It was impossible to tell how spacious the dragon’s cavity was. It had devoured over ten mountaintops, yet it still seemed to have a lot of space left!

“This is our chance!” Su Lu smiled.

He was the only person that was smiling. The others were already regretting their decision to challenge the black dragon!

A dark green gas rose from under the cliff, like a swarm of insects. It was not affected by the strong wind.

The Black Dragon Emperor soon absorbed the wriggling streams of gas into its stomach. Its chest suddenly glowed an eerie green.

The dragon was going to unleash its breath after the deep inhalation. As a matter of fact, no one there had ever seen the dragon breathe before, since no one had managed to survive to tell the tale. Even a group of elite Mages would be wiped out by a single breath!

From inhaling to exhaling, the Black Dragon Emperor was like a black sun. It was approaching the land to vent its flames of annihilation!

“It’s the dragon flame!”

A dragon had control over different magic, especially a Black Dragon. There were different kinds of dragon breaths, each bringing a different form of destruction!

Among them, dragon flame was like a falling sun. It would turn the surface into pits of flames and lava that would take centuries to recover!

Su Lu pointed at the Black Dragon Emperor and grunted, “From today forward, I shall take away the dragon breath that symbolizes the dignity of a dragon!”

As the dragon was exhaling, the dark green gas in its chest liquefied and condensed, like countless tiny eggs of flies…

The dragon breath surged from its insides. Its energy was accumulating in the cavity, but was the perfect nutrient for the eggs. They trembled in excitement along the walls of its lungs. One and another insect after another broke out of the eggs and attached themselves to the dragon’s throat…

Hordes of demon flies hatched from the eggs, growing as the dragon accumulated its energy. The demon flies were filling up the dragon’s throat while taking in its energy!

Flames sprouted out from the gaps between the Black Dragon Emperor’s fangs, but it had failed to let out its breath as intended. The destructive flames were somehow stuck in its throat. It let out a painful cry!

“HAHAHAHA! Without the dragon breath, you only have thicker scales than a Ruler-level creature, and I have plenty of time to peel off your scales one by one!” Su Lu burst out laughing.

It was important to inflict serious damage on a true dragon to subdue it!

Su Lu did not come to slay the dragon; he was planning to enslave it!

One of his Contracts had been available for a long time. He was reserving it for the Black Dragon Emperor!

Even though the Black Dragon Emperor would not be able to use its dragon breath again, it was still a supreme beast. It was strong enough to help him conquer the world, even without its dragon breath!

“The pain is going to last for a while, ready the Forbidden Ritual!” Su Lu told Ferran.

“Got it!” Ferran had an excited face.

Everything was going according to plan. They had restrained the dragon’s breath, greatly lowering the threat that the Black Dragon Emperor posed!

They just needed enough time to complete the Forbidden Spell. It should be enough to defeat the matchless beast!

—

—

A man in a dark coat stood on another peak on Mount Tyrant. He was staring at the flickers in the night sky with a determined face!

“Now is not the time,” he mumbled to himself.

He could only strike at the right time. There were too many experts of the Magic Associations on the mountain, and he was all by himself. If he did not strike at the right time, he was basically hitting a stone with an egg, not to mention that Asia Continental Senator Su Lu’s formidable strength… he was able to cast a Forbidden Spell!

Norman clenched his fists after hearing the dragon’s painful cry.

“Father, everyone has forgotten you and snorted disdainfully at your beliefs. They think they are better off chasing the demons, but they have already lost themselves…”

“I shall remember and protect your beliefs!”

“I will not let them get their way… Austin, I will keep fighting just like you!”

1656 There“s Someone In the Sky

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Life on the peninsula was relaxing and simple, the biggest reason it attracted many tourists. The Mediterranean Sea was currently the safest sea, and the best option for people that wanted to enjoy their vacation by the seashore.

“There’s a place called the Blue Woods around here. Is anyone interested?” Kris asked.

“Blue trees? Are they worth taking a look at?” Zhao Manyan replied absently. His thoughts were filled with the slender waists of the women along the beach. He was not interested in trees at all.

“Is there anything special about them?” Mo Fan asked.

“You’ll know when we get there!” Kris led the way.

They went past some crowded areas before approaching a primitive forest that covered half the peninsula. There seemed to be some demon plants inside the forest, as the people of the village had forbidden the villagers and tourists from going inside.

Kris and the others were Mages, so they were not too worried about their safety. They went straight through the forest.

“Kris, you seem quite familiar with this place?” Heidi asked him.

“Of course, I grew up here,” Kris smiled. He seemed a little shy.

“I see, so the blue trees you mentioned… wow, those trees… how…how…how are they growing on the sea?” Mo Fan brushed away the shrubs blocking his path and saw a bunch of blue plants along the coast.

The blue plants were not growing on some sand or soil. They were growing out of the sea!

The water near the peninsula was calm. The bright moon really set off the elegant view of the coast at night. The trees growing on the surface of the sea were reflecting a mystical light under the dim dances of the fireflies. Most importantly, they could see the water flowing through the trunks and the branches…

“It’s so pretty!” Heidi was dazzled by the spectacular view. She did not expect to find such a unique plant on the peninsula.

“In the past, no one dared to come here. They kept saying the demon trees would drag us away and eat us, but I always came here alone secretly. For some reason, it’s easier for me to calm my thoughts when I cultivate here. I feel calm and peaceful. I bet everyone is in a bad mood after what happened today, so I decided to bring you all here to help forget the unpleasant experience,” Kris told them.

The place was like his secret little garden. The people on the peninsula never came here. The blue trees growing on the sea were as mystical as usual. He was filled with hope whenever he looked at them.

“Kris, what kind of trees are they? Is it only possible to grow them here?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Oh, I call them the Blue Ocean Trees. I don’t really know how they are growing on the water. I found some fruits when I was just a kid. I threw the seeds into the sea after eating them. To my surprise, the seeds sprouted as soon as they touched the water, and they grew into these trees in just a few years. I was amazed by how good they looked, so I collected more seeds and threw them into the sea,” Kris said.

“Are there a lot of the fruits you mentioned?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Quite a lot of them. They normally grow on land, but no one bothers eating their fruits since they aren’t very tasty. I think no one knows their seeds will grow into trees on the sea. Do you like them? I can help you collect them if you want. If you have a private beach, you can make it prettier by planting these trees!” Kris said.

“I’m not just treating them as decoration. Our Fanxue Mountain is facing the sea and close to a maritime battlefield. If these Blue Ocean Trees can grow on the water, it means we can make the battlefield into more favorable terrain. It will help a lot when we fend off the sea monsters. It might lower the casualties,” Mu Ningxue said.

“That’s right, these Blue Ocean Trees could be planted at the maritime battlefields! Why didn’t I think about that before!?” Kris smacked himself on the head.

He had only noticed how beautiful they were, yet Mu Ningxue immediately thought about how she could plant them along the Fanxue Mountain’s coast to give humans an advantage when fighting on the sea!

If it did not take much effort to plant these trees, they could plant a whole bunch of them to form a natural barrier along the coast at Donghai. It would protect the coast from huge tides and slow down the invasion of sea monsters!

“Let me handle it, these trees are very interesting indeed. If we can plant them at a large scale…” Mu Bai said.

Kris was glad to be of any help. He led Mu Bai deeper into the forest to show him the fruits.

“Xuexue, you are starting to look like a mayor,” Mo Fan complimented.

“I need you to stay at Fanxue Mountain for some time when we go back. There are a lot of things we need to do,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Sure, I promise to stay by your side at Fanxue Mountain. I’ll do everything you say!” Mo Fan agreed promptly.

Zhao Manyan immediately rolled his eyes. He should not have come in the first place. His eyes were hurting from the public display of affection between the two. It was just some trees floating on the water. How was it even impressive? He preferred to lie on the tender bellies of the ladies…

“The stars here are pretty too… huh, is that a meteor!?” Heidi was lying on the beach. She suddenly pointed at the sky.

“Heidi, why are you acting like a little girl? Why don’t you make a wish? It’s a meteor after all… holy crap, why is the meteor so huge?” Zhao Manyan lifted his gaze and was shocked to see a meteorite sweeping across the sky. It seemed to be heading toward them!

“That thing is flying so fast, it’s setting the sky on fire!”

The object falling from the sky left a burning trail behind. The thing was engulfed in flames too. It did not take long for it to fall from the sky. It did resemble a meteorite that had fallen into Earth from space!

“It looks like a person,” Mo Fan said with a frown when he saw the thing approaching.

“Wouldn’t a human burn to death traveling at such a crazy speed? Is his flesh indestructible or what!?”

“I think I’ve seen it before!” Kris’ voice came from the woods behind.

1657 Exploding At The Slightest Touch

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The meteorite slammed into the seawater around two kilometers away from the peninsula. The wave it stirred up soon arrived with a strong heat surge. The strong wave was high enough to roll over the trees on the surface of the sea, but to Mu Ningxue’s surprise, the beautiful trees were surprisingly firm. They did not bend after being struck by the strong wave.

“That thing looks like our Golden Sun Combat Officer, Norman’s skill. I saw him using it when I was young… I have admired Combat Officer Norman since then,” Kris exclaimed.

“Norman, why is he here? Is he pulling off a stunt? What is he doing, diving into the ocean like that? Is he going to soar into the sky next? That’s pretty cool!” Mo Fan said.

“I…I don’t know,” Kris admitted.

Mo Fan’s words convinced the rest of the group that Norman might be practicing some extreme ability. Not many people had the ability to sweep across the sky like a meteorite. His speed was just too crazy. It easily outmatched the distance covered by a Blink spell. After all, Blink needed a certain time to Channel!

“By the way, why hasn’t he come out of the water yet? It’s been quite a while,” Mo Fan noted.

“Did something go wrong?” Heidi wondered.

“I knew something did not seem right.”

“Let’s go check him out!”

—

They went further out to sea and discovered the place where the meteorite had landed. There were some reefs nearby broken into pieces, indicating that the man had dove deeper into the sea.

“Old Zhao, go take a look,” Mo Fan prodded his friend.

Zhao Manyan was not too willing, but he had no choice but to dive into the water. The others waited for him on the boat.

A while later, Zhao Manyan’s head poked out from the surface of the sea. He said indifferently, “I see nothing. He might have left. Why are we wasting our time here?”

“Search carefully, in case something bad happened,” Mo Fan said.

“Why don’t you do it?” Zhao Manyan snapped.

“I’m not a good swimmer,” Mo Fan answered serenely.

Zhao Manyan rolled his eyes and dove into the water again.

“Strange, why do I feel like I had the same conversation before? I’m not a good swimmer…I’m not a good swimmer…” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

Zhao Manyan was gone for a longer time. They finally noticed some movements under the water ten minutes later. A head with disheveled hair soon poked out from the water. Mo Fan thought it was Zhao Manyan and leaned forward to ask if he had found anything, but was greeted by a strange pale face with cracks on it. He almost threw a Fiery Fist at it on impulse!

“It’s so tiring!” Zhao Manyan dragged the man onto the boat and panted heavily to take in the fresh air.

“Old Zhao, why did you bring a water ghost back? Are you having another new fetish?” Mo Fan inquired blankly.

“Water ghost my ass, this a human! A strange fish with jagged teeth was eating him when I was down there. If I hadn’t saved him, he was most likely going to end up as the creature’s supper. I’m seriously speechless; it’s my first time seeing someone almost killing themselves after pulling an acrobatic stunt in the sky,” Zhao Manyan said.

Kris went closer and moved the person’s hair aside. He took a closer look at the man’s face and blurted out, “It’s Master Norman. Goodness gracious me, it really is Master Norman!”

“How did you even recognize him?” Mo Fan looked at the face that was damaged beyond recognition. He was actually impressed by Kris’ ability to recognize the guy.

“He’s suffering from serious injuries. Most of them are inflicted by Elemental Spells. He must have fought an intense battle!” Mu Ningxue said.

“An intense fight? This guy killed a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan in an instant! How many people in the world can even defeat him, let alone hurt him like this!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mo Fan had witnessed Norman’s strength in person. This man could take him on even if he was using the Demon Element! He was easily one of the strongest Super Mages, with the ability to roam across demon hordes freely, so how did someone like him end up in such a state? Did the guy enjoy courting death, just like him?

“He’s still breathing,” Heidi said.

“How did this happen? Master Norman is easily ranked in the top five in the Parthenon Temple! This isn’t possible, it’s unbelievable!” Kris was lost in his thoughts. He acted like he had suffered a humiliating defeat himself.

“Speaking of which, didn’t he come from the direction of Mount Tyrant? Was he fighting the Black Dragon?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Most of his injuries are from Elemental Spells. If he escaped from the mountain, he was most likely fighting the people there instead of the Black Dragon… Could it be?…” Mu Ningxue’s eyes glittered.

“Does that mean he really injured himself when he was pulling off a stunt?” Kris was still considering Mo Fan’s speculation.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Heidi, and Mu Ningxue fixed their eyes on Kris. Kris immediately realized how stupid he sounded, and quickly shut his mouth.

“I bet Su Lu and his men did this. Now that I think of it, they are the only ones that could injure him so badly,” Mo Fan had a stern face.

He did not expect Norman to be related to the Black Dragon. However, he was struggling to understand why Norman was trying to stop Su Lu and his men.

Su Lu’s plan to capture the Black Dragon should be none of the Parthenon Temple’s concern!

“Either way, let’s bring him back to the Parthenon Temple to treat his wounds. His injuries are too serious, he might not live until morning if he doesn’t get treated soon,” Mu Ningxue said.

“The creature tore off quite a lot of his flesh. If Mo Fan hadn’t convinced us that he was pulling off a stunt, he would be a lot better than he is now if we had found him earlier,” Zhao Manyan muttered, but nobody paid attention to him.

——

They rowed the boat back to the beach. Mu Bai happened to be walking out of the woods. He promptly teased Zhao Manyan when he saw him carrying a body with cracks and covered in seaweed, “Old Zhao, why did you catch a sea ghost? Is it male or female?”

“Sea ghost my ass, hurry up and treat his wounds. This guy is a Super Mage. His life is precious!” Zhao Manyan grunted in dissatisfaction.

Mu Bai was just about to discuss the fruits with Mu Ningxue, but he quickly took out some medicine he had brought along for emergency purposes after seeing how badly injured the man was.

“His injuries are all from Super Spells!” Mu Bai deduced with a frown.

There were two burn marks on Norman’s back that were obviously inflicted by the Light spell Holy Extermination. The Holy Extermination was the deadliest single-target spell at the Super Level. Mu Bai could not imagine anyone was still alive after being hit by the Holy Extermination twice!

Most importantly, apart from the wounds on the back, there were wounds inflicted by Super Spells all over his body. Mu Bai roughly estimated the person had been hit by more than twenty Super Spells, judging from his wounds!

Twenty Super Spells were enough to raze an average city to the ground. This person was most likely the Diamond Sacred Warrior of the Parthenon Temple if he was still alive now!

“I can only stop his wounds from worsening. He needs to go to the Parthenon Temple if he wants to live, and you’ll need at least a Muse to heal him,” Mu Bai said.

“Leave it to me, I’ve always admired Master Norman! I’ll bring him to the Parthenon Temple as soon as possible!” Kris swore.

While he was talking, a strong gust of wind swept across the night sky. The Blue Ocean Trees swayed wildly while huge waves rolled across the sea.

—

—

A bird with blue scales was beating its wings and hovering under the clouds in the night sky. Its sharp eyes were scanning the pitch-black sea below as if searching for something.

“He should be around here, how fast was he? He might have escaped if we hadn’t happened to be on standby nearby and saw the trail he left behind,” Zu Kuangli said.

“By the way, are we even strong enough to handle that guy? He seems pretty strong,” Zhao Liwan said worriedly.

“What are you being afraid of? He’s seriously injured. He might be weaker than an Advanced Mage now…”

“Damn it, there’s nothing but sea here. There’s no point of reference either. We have no clue where he is,” Zu Kuangli said.

Zu Kuangli glanced below him. He could see nothing but water. Even if he knew the target was in this area, it was still difficult to search the sea!

“Look, it looks like a peninsula over there, let’s take a look,” Zhao Liwan said.

The group of three rode the Blue-Scaled Hawk over to the peninsula. They went past the Blue Ocean Trees and noticed several figures on the beach.

Zu Kuangli glanced down at the people aloofly and called out, “Hey, you guys, did any of you see a man engulfed in flames around here?”

Zu Kuangli was an expert, and did not treat the villagers and tourists of a remote place like this seriously.

“Strange, why did that gigolo-like voice sound so familiar?” someone spoke up.

“Are you asking for your death!?” Zu Kuangli was enraged. He ordered the Blue-Scaled Hawk to dive at the beach. The strong wind stirred up the sand as the creature landed, broadcasting an overwhelming presence!

“I’m currently in a bad mood. Bring it on if you’re looking for a fight. I’ve come here to enjoy a peaceful evening with my wife, so why did I have to stumble into an eyesore like you!?” The person on the beach was hot-tempered, looking ready to fight Zu Kuangli right away.

Zu Kuangli was startled too. Where did such a hot-tempered guy come from? He was both surprised and disgusted when he took a closer look at the man.

“It’s you!” Zu Kuangli finally recognized Mo Fan, and found himself brimming with anger.

Chapter 1658 Don’t Just Argue If Using Violence is an Option

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The fourth-tier Silent Deadly Bolt possessed remarkable strength on its own, not to mention Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic was further enhanced by the Lightning Tyrant and the Blessing of the God’s Seal. Its damage was not much weaker than a Super Spell. Zhao Liwan was still smirking when the wild lightning broke through his defense with surprising ease!

Zhao Liwan immediately Summoned his magic Armor in a panic. However, he seemed to have forgotten that the Lightning Magic could penetrate magic Armor quite easily. His Armor was of superb quality, yet it still broke into pieces when the Electro Cannon hit him. The lightning landed right on his flesh!

It did not feel good at all. Zhao Liwan cried out in pain as he was sent flying, surrounded by arcs of lightning, and fell into the sea.

Zu Kuangli was stunned. Zhao Liwan was supposed to be a Super Mage. How could he fail to withstand even a single blow from Mo Fan?

Zu Kuangli was Channeling a Light Spell, a majestic Star Palace consisting of Star Constellations.

“Demon Judgment Sword: Holy Extermination!”

To Mo Fan’s surprise, Zu Kuangli was also a Light Super Mage, but it was obvious that he had only achieved the Super Level quite recently. It took him a long time just to Channel the Super Spell. On top of that, the Demon Judgment Sword’s presence was significantly weaker than the one Bartholomew had cast!

“Skyfrost!”

Mu Ningxue unleashed her aura, establishing her Ice Domain across the sky. Frost began to form in the air like clouds of ice.

The Demon Judgment Sword fell from the sky, but the icy clouds were impeding it. Its speed and damage dropped dramatically.

By the time the Demon Judgment Sword reached Mo Fan, it was already a tiny lightsaber. Even though Mo Fan could not dodge it, the Light Spell was nowhere enough to hurt him!

“Demon Judgment Sword! Humph, it’s the spell I hate the most!” Mo Fan looked up and stared at Zu Kuangli.

Zu Kuangli was stunned. Not only was Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic as strong as a Super Mage’s, how did Mu Ningxue’s Ice Magic weaken his spell to such a great extent?

These two were just Advanced Mages, so why was a Super Mage like him feeling uneasy after witnessing their strength?

“Ice Painting!”

Mu Ningxue’s Ice Domain formed a little slower, but once the frost was scattered across the area, it was definitely scarier than Mo Fan’s spells!

Her frost had the power to put everything, including time, into stasis. It did not just freeze the sky. The sand was freezing rapidly, the sea had come to a still. The Blue Ocean Trees swaying on the sea had turned into a white painting!

Zhao Liwan was about to make a comeback by rising from the water, yet was greeted by the deadly cold. The bone-chilling frost penetrated his soul before he had recovered from the shocks from the lightning. It was like nothing he had felt before!

“You still dare to show yourself still!? Tyrant Call!”

Mo Fan saw Zhao Liwan poking his head out of the frozen sea, trying to break free from the frost. He activated the Lightning Tyrant Scars right away!

The Electro Cannon had left many Lightning Tyrant Scars on Zhao Liwan. Mo Fan decided to give Zhao Liwan another huge blow before the scars disappeared!

The attack was not too overbearing. After all, Mo Fan’s target was a newly leveled-up Super Mage. The lightning strikes only left him in great pain, but Mo Fan could not have cared less whether the lightning was going to injure him badly.

Zhao Liwan was indeed suffering great pain from the lightning and the frost. He was being too careless. He thought he could easily crush an Advanced Mage by abusing his cultivation, without needing to waste too much of his energy. To his surprise, these two Advanced Mages were monstrously strong!

He could not afford to underestimate anyone that stood out during the World College Tournament, but he had forgotten that…

“You two imbeciles, no one can protect you if you dare mess up our plan!” Zhao Liwan finally broke free from the lightning and the cold. His face was twitching madly.

Mo Fan looked at Zhao Liwan with wide eyes. He was surprised that the guy still dared to say something so arrogant after the lightning left him in such a miserable state!

Since Mo Fan was daring enough to stir up troubles in foreign countries, he had nothing to be afraid of when he was fighting people from his homeland!

Zhao Liwan was obviously going to cast a Super Spell, he had finally learned his lesson. He hid between the frozen Blue Ocean Trees and asked his other ally on the Blue-Scaled Hawk to cast a defensive Spell on him, starting to construct the Star Palace after his safety was guaranteed.

Mo Fan glanced at the third person hiding on the Blue-Scaled Hawk. He realized that the person was a defensive Mage. No wonder he was staying a certain distance away, just like Zhao Manyan!

“Apas, take him out,” Mo Fan said to Apas, who had been watching the fight for some time.

Apas was extremely unwilling.

She would barely agree if she was asked to deal with some strong Super Mages; why did she have to deal with a bunch of scrubs, too?

She was also feeling a little sleepy. They had gone through quite a lot today.

She yawned and walked toward the man who was maintaining his distance from the shore.

She seemed to be taking a stroll. Her steps were smaller than a normal teenage girl’s stride, but her tiny steps were actually covering a great distance. She quickly arrived close to the Blue-Scaled Hawk.

The Blue-Scaled Hawk began to panic when it saw Apas approaching. It beat its wings wildly, trying to escape into the sky.

“What are you doing!?” Li Jingyu snapped when he saw his Summoned Beast misbehaving.

The Blue-Scaled Hawk just panicked even more. It almost shook Li Jingyu off its back. Li Jingyu had no choice but to jump down from the Blue-Scaled Hawk’s back. He was confused and angry when he saw the creature soaring into the sky, fleeing for its life!

In a normal food chain, hawks and eagles were usually the predators of snakes. However, Apas was no ordinary snake. She was the noble descendant of Queen Medusa! Even the Golden-Feathered Eagle Emperor in the Pyramid was afraid of her!

The Blue-Scaled Hawk had a keen sense for danger. It was utterly terrified when it saw Apas approaching.

However, humans lacked the ability to sense danger like that, they could not detect the presence of death as it approached. On many occasions, humans were still too arrogant to back away, even when they sensed the extraordinary presence of their enemy.

Li Jingyu was totally unaware of Apas’s overwhelming presence, and was utterly confused when he saw Apas strolling toward him. What did this young girl with the face of an angel and the body of a temptress want? What should he do with the little girl? Would it be illegal to use magic on an underage girl?

“Li Jingyu, what are you doing!?” Zhao Liwan suddenly yelled.

Li Jingyu immediately came to his senses. He looked at Zhao Liwan and saw him being blasted constantly by a man engulfed in flames. Zhao Liwan had been forced to use his defensive spells. He had even Summoned most of his defensive equipment, yet he was still at a disadvantage!

Li Jingyu knew Zhao Liwan was only average when it came to defense. His destructive spells were very impressive, but his opponent had attacked preemptively to secure the upper hand!

“I…I can’t use violence on a little girl!” Li Jingyu was hesitant.

“Are you out of your mind? Who asked you to waste your time on that little b**ch? Use your defensive spells on me, you idiot!” Zhao Liwan yelled.

Li Jingyu was startled.

Yeah, why did he even care about the little girl? He was a defensive Mage. He should focus on protecting his teammates! What was wrong with him today? He was clearly not himself. Perhaps his mind was a little foggy after being ordered around by Zhao Liwan and Zu Kuangli like a dog for the past few days.

Yeah, that must be the reason. I’m too tired…

“Strange, shouldn’t I be casting defensive spells on Zhao Liwan to protect him? Why are my thoughts drifting away again?” Li Jingyu was shocked by his wandering thoughts.

Li Jingyu shook his head to clear his mind. He quickly cast a Water Curtain between Mo Fan and Zhao Liwan.

The Water Curtain had two layers, the effect of Li Jingyu’s Innate Talent. Every Water Spell he cast had two layers, making him stand out among Water Mages!

“Li Jingyu, are you insane!?” Zhao Liwan suddenly yelled angrily.

Li Jingyu’s head was buzzing. He was puzzled. Didn’t he already cast a defensive Spell? Why was Zhao Liwan still scolding him? Did he get into the habit of scolding him?

—

Zhao Liwan was about to lose his mind.

Not only did that idiot Li Jingyu fail to protect him, the guy even set up a Water Curtain between him and Mo Fan to block his flames when he finally had a chance to counterattack Mo Fan with a Super Fire Spell!

His teammate had perfectly ruined his only chance to turn the tables!

Mo Fan was unharmed under the protection of the Water Curtain. He glanced at Apas and saw she had an extremely bored look in her eyes. It felt like she could not wait to get herself a nice nap.

Li Jingyu had only behaved so weirdly under Apas’ influence. His mental strength was just average.

Zhao Liwan had lost his only chance to counterattack. Mo Fan would not give him another chance to use his Super Spell.

On the other side, Zu Kuangli’s Super Light Spell did not have any advantages over Mu Ningxue’s Ice Domain. Zu Kuangli even noticed his body was going numb after a few rounds…

Chapter – 1659 Are You Out of Your Mind!?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Who is he?” Zhao Liwan asked, confused.

“He’s Mo Fan, the jerk with ill-luck!” Zu Kuangli snapped.

“He’s Mo Fan?” Zhao Liwan was surprised too.

The three of them had not gone to the peak of Mount Tyrant, they were stationed further away to stand guard. After all, only the people of the Magic Associations with a certain status were allowed on the peak. They were not worthy enough to show their faces in front of Su Lu!

“I wanted to teach him a lesson last time, but I never had the chance!” Zu Kuangli rubbed his hands in expectation.

“Not now, we have something important to do first,” Zhao Liwan advised against it.

Zhao Liwan did not let Zu Kuangli fight Mo Fan. He put on a smile and said politely, “Sorry for disturbing you. I am Zhao Liwan. We were chasing after a criminal, but lost sight of him here. Please let us know if you happened to see him around here. We are grateful for your help.”

“I have only seen your ugly faces around here. Piss off if you don’t want to fight, so you don’t corrupt the scenery and the fresh air here,” Mo Fan retorted promptly.

“Who are you asking to piss off? Who do you think you are? How dare a little imp like you yell at us!?” Mo Fan’s arrogant behavior was driving Zu Kuangli mad.

“Don’t, not now, Zu Kuangli! We can’t afford to waste our time arguing with him,” Zhao Liwan blurted out.

The man that had escaped was very important to Su Lu. They could hear Su Lu’s furious roar from the peak even when they were so far away from the mountain. The man must have taken something important from Su Lu.

Apart from Su Lu, the rest of the elders were frustrated, too. They had no idea what exactly had happened, but if they could bring the heavily-injured man back to Su Lu, they might be rewarded handsomely for it!

It was a rare opportunity for them to earn Su Lu’s favor, thus their priority was to find the man who had provoked their superiors. As for this idiot named Mo Fan, they had plenty of time to deal with him later. After all, they were all from the same country, weren’t they?

Zu Kuangli kept taking deep breaths. He was aware of how important the task at hand was. Normally, he would simply charge forward and trample on the prick’s face. Not many people dared to talk to him like that in his homeland!

“Did you really not see anything? It looked like a ball of flames. Oh, it was similar to a meteorite. It landed not far from here. If you were here just now, you must have seen where it landed. Brother Mo Fan, if there was some misunderstanding between you and Zu Kuangli, I apologize to you on his behalf. I shall treat you to a feast at my place some other day. Feel free to let me know if you need any help, but please do me a favor today. We are friends anyway,” Zhao Liwan delivered a marvelous speech.

“Who’s your friend here? Do you think you’re worthy to be my friend? Don’t make me repeat myself for the third time. Piss off, stop disturbing me from flirting with my wife!” Mo Fan did not show them any respect.

Zhao Liwan’s smiling face darkened immediately.

There was a saying, “An angry fist does not hit a smiling face”. Zhao Liwan was no ordinary person in his homeland. Apart from the elders of international organizations, most of the so-called geniuses, talented students of institutes, and talented disciples of renowned clans fawned on him. He was humbling himself to talk to Mo Fan in a friendly manner, yet it was like the person was feeding him poop in response!

‘Do you think you were worthy to be my friend?’

He had never seen anyone more arrogant! He could not stand it any longer!

“Zu Kuangli, you really shouldn’t waste your time with an idiot like him. If you don’t teach him a lesson, he’s going to think he’s the Heavenly Sovereign. He seriously thinks no one in China can touch him!” Zu Kuangli was on the verge of exploding.

“Calm down, calm down, we are currently working for Su Lu. We must remain calm. They must have seen something… we have to stay calm…” Zhao Liwan was better than Zu Kuangli at controlling his anger.

Zhao Liwan retained his friendly smile after convincing Zu Kuangli.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan struck again with his scornful words before Zhao Liwan could speak.

“Are you a dog? Why are you licking the face of the person that is scolding you? Can’t you hear me? I won’t just say it with my mouth if I have to repeat it for the third time!” Mo Fan pointed at Zhao Liwan and grunted.

Zhao Liwan was about to lose his temper!

He finally understood why Zu Kuangli was enraged as soon as he recognized Mo Fan. It was impossible to talk with him properly!

He could not stand it any longer! If he continued to withhold his anger, he was going to vomit blood!

“You asked for it. It looks like I’ll have to teach you some manners…” Zhao Liwan’s eyes flickered viciously as his face darkened.

However, he saw Mo Fan’s right hand unleashing wild lightning before he could finish his sentence.

“Screw you, my fist has been tolerating you for too long!” Mo Fan took the initiative to strike first!

Zhao Liwan was about to go mad!

Did he just say he had been tolerating me for too long!?

I was the one that felt like exploding for tolerating you, yet you dared to attack first!?

Mo Fan tossed the lightning out. The lightning sphere exploded close to the Blue-Scaled Hawk. More lightning arcs lashed out fiercely, resulting in a series of sparkles!

Zu Kuangli jumped down from the Blue-Scaled Hawk. He was an Earth Mage, and controlled the sand to wrap around himself swiftly. The wild lightning soon dissipated after hitting the sturdy sand wall.

Zu Kuangli withdrew the sand and said arrogantly, “Strongest of the World College Tournament my ass. Is that all you have? Who are you trying to hurt with your stupid lightning?”

“Electro Cannon!” Mo Fan was too lazy to talk with the guy. He immediately used his strongest Lightning Spell once he gathered enough Lightning Magic to his surroundings!

The Electro Cannon was the upgraded version of the Silent Deadly Bolt. It began to accumulate several layers of Lightning Magic as Mo Fan drew the Lightning Star Constellation with the Lightning Tyrant Domain…

“You shouldn’t embarrass yourself with just an Advanced Spell!” Zhao Liwan was angry too. He realized how stupid he was trying to convince Mo Fan after realizing that he was only an Advanced Mage.

It would not take them too long to get rid of the idiot first. If he was to endure the grudge, he might feel uncomfortable for several years!

Chapter – 1660 Not a Worthy Opponent

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Damn it, Zu Kuangli, let’s go! There’s no point wasting our time on these lunatics!” The number of burns on Zhao Liwan was increasing!

They were both Fire Mages, yet Zhao Liwan was having difficulty facing off against Mo Fan, even though Mo Fan was not a Super Fire Mage. Zhao Liwan had never felt so humiliated. To make things worse, he had a useless teammate!

“I agree, we have better things to do!” Zu Kuangli agreed quickly.

Zu Kuangli had already realized that if the battle continued on, Mu Ningxue’s Nirvana Ice Domain was going to double in strength. When that happened, she could easily cover him in thick frost by just pointing her finger at him. The spreading frost was too growing too quickly for him, even if he tried to get rid of the frost with his magic.

Zu Kuangli did not dare stay any longer, nor was he willing to admit he was being beaten by an Advanced Ice Mage.

Therefore, running away was clearly the best option!

Zhao Liwan and Zu Kuangli were shameless, and decisively fled for their lives when they realized they had no chance of winning the fight.

This time, Li Jingyu was not absent-minded. The Blue-Scaled Hawk finally came down from above and picked them up.

The Blue-Scaled Hawk quickly retreated into the sky. Zu Kuangli and Zhao Liwan purposely turned around to look at Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. They were relieved when they did not see the two chasing after them!

They were extremely shocked even now. Those two were absolute monsters!

—

The trio quickly left the peninsula. Zhao Liwan clenched his teeth, feeling a strong grievance. He snapped suddenly, ‘What was wrong with you!?”

“I…I don’t know!” Li Jingyu began to panic too. He did not understand why he was behaving so strangely today.

Zhao Liwan thought of something when he saw Li Jingyu’s weird reaction. He harrumphed coldly and said, “Li Jingyu, I’m telling you, enough with your petty little tricks. I admit that I slept with your woman last month, but she flirted with me first. Just spill it if you’re not pleased with me. I won’t stop you from leaving, but you should know that we are currently working for Su Lu. You can have any kind of woman you want. Why would you bother falling out with me over a withered willow?”

Li Jingyu was reflecting on his behavior, and was prepared to be scolded by Zhao Liwan. He was thunderstruck when he heard Zhao Liwan’s words.

Even Zu Kuangli was stunned. He finally blurted out, “Zhao Liwan, you…you slept with his woman?”

“Yes!” Zhao Liwan said firmly.

In Zhao Liwan’s eyes, the woman was nothing but a whore. There was nothing special about her, apart from her looks. Only someone like Li Jingyu would fall for her.

Li Jingyu stared at Zhao Liwan. His eyes gradually became bloodshot.

“I’m going to kill you!” Li Jingyu suddenly lunged at Zhao Liwan like a beast.

“Are you f**king out of your mind!?” Zhao Liwan yelled angrily. He was already injured. His wounds were still bleeding when Li Jingyu attacked him so recklessly.

The two began tearing at one another in the sky. Li Jingyu, who had been gifted a green hat, could not have cared less. Zhao Liwan was constantly picking on him. Despite calling him a brother on the surface, Zhao Liwan had always treated him like his pet dog. Li Jingyu had no choice but to withhold his grudges every time he was bullied. After all, Li Jingyu was not hopeless. He still had a beautiful wife waiting for him back at home…

Little did he know, Zhao Liwan had taken his woman, too! That had basically crushed Li Jingyu’s remaining dignity as a man. How could Li Jingyu not fight Zhao Liwan with his life!?

Zu Kuangli did not dare to intervene after seeing the two trying to brawl one another to death.

Zhao Liwan had clearly crossed the line. Zu Kuangli admitted he was a pervert, but he had to understand that it was unacceptable to be hooking up with a friend’s wife. To his surprise, Zhao Liwan, who had always taught him to behave himself, had done something so absurd instead…

“What are you doing? Are you crazy!?” A man with Wind Wings suddenly descended from the black clouds. His imperious voice froze Zhao Liwan and Li Jingyu in place.

Zu Xiangtian looked up, and saw his brother, Zu Xiangtian.

As expected of their leader, they did not dare to misbehave in front of him, knowing his arrogance and outstanding strength!

“Xiangtian, you came just in time. This Li Jingyu has done something unforgivable,” Zhao Liwan pointed at Li Jingyu and grunted.

“Assh***, you dare say that!?” Li Jingyu was enraged. He had the urge to fight Zhao Liwan again right in front of Zu Xiangtian!

“Shut up, both of you! Zu Kuangli, what’s going on here? Weren’t you looking for Norman?” Zu Xiangtian demanded.

“Brother, this is what happened…” Zu Kuangli immediately reported the series of incidents that had befallen them.

Zu Xiangtian frowned after hearing their explanation.

“You idiots, you’re tearing at one another like wild dogs over a woman, yet you dare say you want to serve Su Lu? Even the reckless Bartholomew was a lot more useful than you two!” Zu Xiangtian scolded them.

“Brother, something felt strange to me,” Zu Kuangli admitted after calming down.

“Why were Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue there?” Zu Xiangtian asked.

“It must be a coincidence, but I think they must have seen Norman escape. They intentionally argued with us to cover his escape, in order to delay our search!” Zu Kuangli guessed.

“Is that so? Are you saying that they know where Norman went?” Zu Xiangtian said.

“Mm, we’ve been following his trail. Norman should have landed close to the peninsula,” Zu Kuangli said.

“How dare they oppose us? I would like to see how long these clowns can amuse us for!” Zu Xiangtian’s eyes flickered with disdain.

“Should we tell Master Ferran?” Zu Kuangli asked.

“That won’t be necessary, it’s harder to control the Black Dragon after Norman’s intervention. They need a certain number of people to keep an eye on it. If we can’t deal with a trivial matter like this ourselves, how would Mr. Su Lu see us? Mr. Su Lu only acknowledges people reporting back to him after completing their jobs, instead of idiots that beg for his forgiveness after failing their tasks,” Zu Xiangtian stated.

“Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue are a lot stronger than we imagined…” Zu Kuangli said worriedly.

“They were the best duo of the World College Tournament for a reason. Their Innate Talent, Soul-grade Seeds, control, and strength clearly exceed ordinary Mages. How could you two that achieved the Super Level because of resources provided by the clans possibly stand a chance against them?” Zu Xiangtian scoffed.

“Brother, we have been working hard too! It’s just that we don’t have an insane Innate Talent like you. However, those two are no longer a problem now that you are here!” Zu Kuangli said respectfully.

Zu Xiangtian grinned. He never thought of treating them as his worthy opponents!

Chapter – 1661 You Are No Match For Him

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zu Xiangtian headed to the village alone. His Wind Wings only had two wings, but they were spinning rapidly, like the propellers of a helicopter. They produced strong winds as he swept towards the village.

The village mostly consisted of wooden huts with straw roofs. Even the stalls with delicate gifts in the middle of the village were buffeted by the strong winds!

“Damn it, why is there a typhoon in this season!?” a vendor selling sandals cursed.

“That’s no typhoon. Didn’t you see a Mage flying in the sky? Assh***, stop putting up a show. We are doing business here. Go away!” a tanned woman selling beach dresses pointed at Zu Xiangtian and scolded him.

The tourists cursed out after they realized a Mage was responsible for the strong gusts. Many of them were throwing stuff into the air.

“Imbeciles,” Zu Xiangtian harrumphed coldly. He simply ignored the crowd.

He looked around, searching for Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were not hiding. They were at the beach in front of the resort.

The strong winds completely ruined the atmosphere, stirring up the sand into the air.

Mu Bai was treating Norman’s wounds in their room. He initially planned to bring Norman to the Parthenon Temple overnight, but he was afraid that the man might die from the slightest bump along the journey.

Kris had already notified the Parthenon Temple. A Muse would be here before daylight to treat his injuries. Mo Fan and the others had no choice but to look after him for the time being.

They were now convinced that Norman must have caused Su Lu some trouble and ruined his plan to capture the dragon. It was definitely good news for Mo Fan and the others.

The Heavens would eventually serve justice upon those contemptible people. Norman did what Mo Fan had wanted to do. Unfortunately, they would not stand a chance against Su Lu and the powerful Mages on the mountain. However, they would not have any trouble preventing Norman from falling into the hands of Su Lu’s men!

“Humph, you’re too naive if you think I don’t know what you’re up to… where are you hiding Norman? You won’t know how you died in the end if you dare oppose us!” Zu Xiangtian had found Mo Fan at the beach, and looked down at him arrogantly!

“I’ve just beaten a bunch of lackeys, did their master finally show up?” Mo Fan faced Zu Xiangtian fearlessly.

Mo Fan would let Chairman Shao Zheng deal with someone like Su Lu. He might not be bold enough to provoke Su Lu, knowing he was simply asking for death, but who did this Zu Xiangtian think he was?

Besides, the Zu Clan was in charge of the Luba Clan. Mo Fan did not believe the Zu Clan had nothing to do with the kidnapping of the children. Jiang Yu had run into some trouble tracking down the culprit while he was investigating the incident in their country. He believed the Zu Clan must have been making the arrangements for the Guild of the Wicked, and was why the officials in Feiniao City had never revealed the truth to the public!

“Mo Fan, do you know what the renowned clans see you as? You are like a wild dog with rabies, biting every person you stumble into! You are unruly, but we tolerated you many times. After all, you have made quite a name for yourself, but it doesn’t mean we can’t get rid of you! You have offended many renowned families and clans in our country, and even the Mu Clan sees you as a thorn in their side!

“The Lu Clan is going to make you pay for the two lives they lost. Do you really think the Lu Clan doesn’t dare to fight back as you trample them? As for our Zu Clan, we simply treat it as if we were bitten by a wild dog. If any of us were serious about taking you out, do you think you would still be alive now?” Zu Xiangtian was quite familiar with Mo Fan’s situation.

“I thought your speech would be special enough to send chills down my spine, but it’s the same meaningless words over and over again,” Mo Fan answered blandly, while digging in his ear with his little finger.

He was really curious; were these disciples of renowned clans all cast from the same mold? Why did they have to act so self-righteous and despise him whenever they stumbled into him? Their speeches normally focused on the fact that he was just common-born, and how dare he oppose the nobles. Why were they not embarrassed by the fact he had beaten almost every person they had sent after him instead?

If everyone in the renowned clans was the same, well, he would seriously find fighting the Black Vatican to be more interesting. The Black Vatican’s beliefs still sounded a little reasonable and logical at times, but the beliefs of these renowned clans were all about lowering the average intelligence level of ordinary people!

“I’m just telling the truth, yet someone is still being so full of himself. I was a batch earlier than you, so I didn’t really want to fight you, or people would say that I’m bullying you. But since you still don’t know your place, I think it’s necessary to show you what a real expert is… Don’t worry, I won’t kill you, I just want to show you that your title as the strongest participant in the World College Tournament, the strongest young Mage in our country, and your Double Innate Elements are nothing, but a joke to me!” Zu Xiangtian exclaimed.

A person’s strength would decide everything. Zu Xiangtian knew Mo Fan was a wild dog who had no desire for power and influence. Playing up his influence at the international level to Mo Fan was like discussing magic to those imbeciles in the village: utterly pointless!

Therefore, Zu Xiangtian was planning to communicate with Mo Fan in the language he understood.

Didn’t Mo Fan think he was the strongest Mage in the younger generations?

He was only the strongest in his own environment. It was like a high schooler claiming to be the strongest because he could not find any worthy opponent in his school. However, his title as the strongest high schooler was shattered as soon as he enrolled in a higher magic institution.

Zu Xiangtian did not trouble Mo Fan in the past because he only saw Mo Fan as a student. Meanwhile, he was already on the international stage, a bigger environment. If he challenged a student, it was not worth mentioning, even if he won the duel. However, since they were on the same level now, he was no longer considered to be bullying Mo Fan!

“Very well, the best kind of problem is the one that can be settled with fists,” Mo Fan nodded. He finally noticed Zu Xiangtian was different from the idiots he had stumbled into before.

“Ask Mu Ningxue to come out, too. Aren’t you both considered the strongest duo in our country? I don’t think it’s necessary to waste my time on two different fights,” Zu Xiangtian looked around, searching for Mu Ningxue.

Many people wanted to challenge Mu Ningxue, especially after she had established Fanxue Mountain.

A lot of people who struggled to find Mo Fan had decided to challenge Mu Ningxue instead. Mu Ningxue normally spent her time at Fanxue Mountain. Unlike Mo Fan, she rarely left the country, so the challenges from proud young Mages easily stacked up into a pile. Mu Ningxue would accept a few challenges from the strongest people among the challengers once in a while. It was a type of training for her, too!

Mu Ningxue’s winning streak had lasted for close to a year. A media company had even volunteered to handle the challenges on behalf of Fanxue Mountain. Mo Fan had been missing a lot over the years, allowing Mu Ningxue to secure the limelight. Every young Mage in their country had heard of her!

Zu Xiangtian was aware of Mu Ningxue’s achievements. Therefore, things would be a lot simpler with Mu Ningxue here.

He could take on both of them alone. No one would say that he was bullying them!

“I can handle you myself!” Mo Fan did not want Mu Ningxue to be involved.

“You are overestimating yourself! You are just an Advanced Mage now. Ask Mu Ningxue to show herself. We’ll fight somewhere more spacious. It’s going to be troublesome if I end up killing some of the imbeciles in the village if we fight here!” Zu Xiangtian scoffed.

“I told you, I can handle you by myself!” Mo Fan refuted instantly.

“Big brother, what are you doing?” Apas suddenly showed up.

Mo Fan always thought Apas used her innocent face as a disguise. However, he had eventually realized that she was not pretending to be harmless on purpose. It was just how she looked naturally!

“What are you doing here?” Mo Fan frowned. He did not understand why Apas would show up now.

Zu Xiangtian’s eyes glittered, and he quickly glanced at Apas, who was wearing thin nightwear. She must have come out of the hut after hearing the noise. Her appearance strongly tempted him.

His grudge against Mo Fan did not only consist of the conflict between them, but the fact that Mo Fan had a little lamb he was particularly attracted to by his side!

-You are no match for him, don’t bother fighting him,- Apas communicated with Mo Fan mentally.

-Are you sure?- Mo Fan said.

-Mm, the gap between the Super Level and the Advanced Level is too huge. You won’t have trouble against a Ruler-inferior creature or a Super Mage with only a single Element in the Super Level, but this guy is stronger than Bartholomew. Even Mu Ningxue and you together won’t be able to defeat him, and my mind control isn’t going to be effective against him, either,- Apas declared confidently.

Apas had a sharp sense of danger. This Zu Xiangtian was a great threat to them!

Even though Apas hated Mo Fan’s guts, they were currently on the same boat. If Mo Fan capsized, it would severely damage her soul. Zu Xiangtian might actually have a chance to turn her into his plaything then!

-What should we do, then?- Mo Fan asked quickly.

Mo Fan initially thought this Zu Xiangtian was only slightly stronger than Zu Kuangli and Zhao Liwan. He should be able to face the man himself, yet he began to doubt it when Apas told him the man was stronger than Bartholomew.

He was not dumb, nor was he naive enough to think that he could defeat every Super Mage. He still had the scars left by Bartholomew’s Demon Judgment Sword!

Chapter 1662 Challenge to a Duel

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Big brother, stop fighting them, didn’t they want to know where the meteorite went? Can’t you just tell it was on the mountain in the west? I don’t want to see you injured again…” Apas said, pretending to be worried about Mo Fan while communicating with him telepathically.

Zu Xiangtian was already having a reaction after seeing Apas’ tear-stained face. Why? Why must such a gorgeous little girl stay with that wild dog?

“Apas, why did you say that? These people are the bad guys!” Mo Fan answered righteously.

“I don’t think so, he seems more like a nice guy than the others from before. He didn’t attack you right away, even though he seems very strong,” Apas blinked, glancing casually at Zu Xiangtian.

The gloomy look on Zu Xiangtian’s face dissipated instantly.

A little beauty with good taste!

Splendid, he might be able to have a lot of fun if he could get his hands on her. Perhaps she might be willing to stay with him, even!

“Little girl, are you sure you saw a meteorite landing on the mountain in the west? Is it that way?” Zu Xiangtian asked seriously, pointing at the mountains to the west.

He did not forget the reason he was here. He had plenty of time to trample Mo Fan, but he had to track down Norman before reporting back to Su Lu.

So it turned out that Mo Fan had no idea the meteorite was actually Norman. Why did he even waste his time on the idiot!?

“Mm, we were playing on the beach when we saw a meteorite falling in that direction. There were three guys that came to us and ask about it too, but brother started fighting them because he was too angry,” Apas nodded. The innocent look in her eyes convinced the man that she was not lying to him!

Zu Xiangtian looked at Mo Fan and harrumphed coldly. It turned out that Mo Fan was just messing around with them. He almost messed up by wasting his time here!

However, Zu Xiangtian was not feeling comfortable if he did not trample Mo Fan into the sand. He bet it would not take long for him to defeat Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. Norman was seriously injured. He would not get too far!

“Have you made your decision? I don’t mind if you insist on fighting here,” Zu Xiangtian said.

“There are too many people nearby, and the place isn’t spacious enough. Most importantly, there aren’t any spectators. No one would know if I beat the crap out of you. How about this? We’ll organize an official duel back in our country. You will represent your clan, while I represent Fanxue Mountain. I’ll step on your face in front of everyone. It’s better than fighting here. You would only eat some dirt at most, even if you lost, and the next day, you’d just pretend like it never happened!” Mo Fan said.

Zu Xiangtian smiled. He thought Mo Fan wasn’t afraid of anything, but it turned out that he was too scared to fight!

However, he did find the suggestion appealing.

Zu Xiangtian was not trying to kill Mo Fan. He wanted to crush his dignity several times over and turn the little girl by his side into his plaything. He would feel better by torturing Mo Fan. Besides, the Zu Clan might get in trouble if he killed Mo Fan!

Beating Mo Fan into a half-dead dog in front of the reputable Mages and the authorities in his homeland, proving that the Zu Clan’s status was untouchable, was obviously more appealing than teaching him a lesson in this crappy place!

He could crush the dreams of the imbeciles who claimed Mo Fan was the strongest young Mage in their country at the same time, too!

Zu Xiangtian had long gotten past the age of defeating other talented young Mages. It was meaningless to him, but it was definitely worth his time to trample Mo Fan underfoot. Mo Fan had been making quite a name for himself. It was time to put a stop to it!

“I don’t mind if you’re trying to buy yourself some time. I do like the idea… I’ll give you half a year’s time. Half a year from now, I, Zu Xiangtian, will trample Fanxue Mountain under my feet. If you two fail to reach the Super Level by then, there’s no point in facing you in the duel. You can send out your strongest representative. I will admit my defeat if I lose to any of you!” Zu Xiangtian promised.

It was meaningless to only challenge Mo Fan. He was going to trample all of Fanxue Mountain!

Zu Xiangtian took a final glance at Apas. He was planning to get his hands on this little beauty soon, but it seemed like he would have to wait for some time. There was no need to rush it. He finally had a chance to work for Su Lu. It was necessary to consolidate his position. He would need around half a year for that.

Everything would be his after he was done with Mo Fan! Patience was important to achieve great things!

Even if he gave Mo Fan ten years, Mo Fan would never catch up to him, let alone in half a year!

—

Zu Xiangtian soared into the sky. The Blue-Scaled Hawk was roaming nearby. Zu Kuangli spoke out when he saw Zu Xiangtian returning so quickly, “As expected of brother, you’ve dealt with them so quickly!”

“I haven’t done anything. You idiots, couldn’t you tell that Mo Fan was just messing with you!?” Zu Xiangtian cursed.

Zu Kuangli was startled. He recalled their encounter carefully and realized it was indeed the case. That Mo Fan suddenly started a fight out of nowhere by provoking him and Zhao Liwan…

They might not necessarily have seen the meteorite from the peninsula. After all, the sky was so huge, so it was possible that clouds had blocked the flames. Mo Fan acted like he was never going to tell them what he saw, yet there was a chance that he never saw anything.

He was just messing around with them!

“So… where did Norman go?” Zu Kuangli said.

“Did you check the mountains to the west? You only saw the trail he left behind. Perhaps he fell into the mountains instead of the sea,” Zu Xiangtian said.

“The west… we didn’t check there! Damn it, that Mo Fan is seriously bad luck! We almost messed up because of him!” Zu Kuangli patted himself on the head.

It was possible that Norman had fallen into the mountains, judging from the angle of the trail he had left behind!

“You were wasting your time arguing with that idiot instead of searching the mountains. How stupid can you be!?” Zu Xiangtian sneered.

“Yes, yes, it’s just that Mo Fan has such a foul mouth. We have to teach him a lesson… brother, did you teach him a lesson?” Zu Kuangli asked eagerly.

“There’s no point doing so here. It wouldn’t make any difference,” Zu Xiangtian told them the duel he had organized with Fanxue Mountain.

“Brother has all things considered. It won’t just be a little brawl. The whole country will be watching the duel! Nicely done!” Zu Kuangli said.

“How many times have I told you to use your brain more and not just act on impulse…”

“Brother is right! I can’t want to see Mo Fan doubting his life after he loses. He has no clue how strong brother is… (cough cough!) Let’s find Norman first. That Mo Fan is going to pay when the time comes!”

Chapter 1663 Your Breast Is Growing?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Did that Zu Xiangtian seriously leave, just like that?” Mo Fan stared into the distance with a surprised look. “He didn’t seem that stupid to me.”

“I can’t fully control his mind, but I can guide his thoughts!” Apas sniffed.

“Guide his thoughts?” Mo Fan was confused.

Apas rolled her eyes at Mo Fan. She was not in the mood to explain the complicated topic of influencing a person’s thoughts and emotions.

Mo Fan was not bothered. Either way, they had managed to send Zu Xiangtian away. Norman was safe for now!

——

Someone finally arrived to heal Norman after midnight. He woke up in the middle of the process, surprised when he saw a bunch of strangers surrounding him.

Blue Star Knight Kris immediately explained the situation to Norman. Norman had been watching from the other mountain, so he had seen Mo Fan and the others show up at the peak where the people of the Magic Associations had gathered. However, he did not expect them to save his life after such a coincidence.

“Did you ruin their plan?” Mo Fan was more concerned about the ritual.

Su Lu… Mo Fan was disgusted by the man from the bottom of his heart! He hoped the man failed in everything he was trying to achieve!

Norman shook his head. He said feebly, “Su Lu is stronger than I thought. It’s only a matter of time until they can control Austin!”

“Does that mean the Black Dragon Emperor will fall into Su Lu’s hands?” Mo Fan asked.

Su Lu was incredibly strong if he could initiate the Ritual of a Forbidden Spell. He would then control an ancient Black Dragon. Wouldn’t that mean he would soon conquer the world?

Su Lu was obviously not a good man. Many countries were going to suffer once he was given more power than he already had!

In addition, Su Lu had always treated Shao Zheng as an eyesore. He had been intervening with Shao Zheng’s proposal to focus on fending off the sea monsters along the shoreline. If Su Lu had control over the Black Dragon and became the highest authority in the Asian Continental Magic Association, it might affect Shao Zheng’s status.

A loud roar came from the distance while they were in the middle of the discussion.

The roar sounded dull at first, but when it reached their ears, the voice exploded like a thunderclap. They subconsciously shivered in fear!

It was the unique roar of the Black Dragon!

“He’s being controlled,” Apas said softly.

Apas could understand a demon creature’s emotions from their cries. Mo Fan’s heart sank when he heard her words.

Su Lu’s plan had still worked in the end!

Why did that assh*** not die to a lightning strike? What were the Heavens doing!?

—

—

The cliff at the top of Mount Tyrant…

Su Lu stood on the shattered cliff. His laughter echoed in the surroundings, but his face was sinisterly dark!

The Black Dragon beat its enormous wings and hovered above the clouds. Its fierce, bloodshot eyes were fixed on Su Lu. It slowly raised its claw.

“You dare touch me!” Su Lu glared at the Black Dragon and yelled.

The Black Dragon Emperor cried out in agony, as if it was suffering from some mental blow.

It did not swing its claw at Su Lu, but it needed a way to vent its rage. It went past Su Lu and swung its claws at the other members of the Magic Associations instead!

The members of the Magic Associations wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves as they were attacked. Two Super Mages died instantly to the dragon’s claws!

“Why aren’t you following my orders? Why aren’t you listening to me!?” Su Lu yelled angrily.

The Black Dragon Emperor seemed to have lost his mind. He was attacking every human he came upon!

The Black Dragon Emperor was currently targeting Ferran. The man was using every spell he had to stay alive, but the Black Dragon was too quick for him. The dragon could easily travel across the entire sky just by beating its wings a few times!

“Mr. Su Lu, help!” Ferran scowled miserably.

The Black Dragon Emperor opened his mouth and bit at Ferran. He was planning to tear the peak in half too, leaving the tiny Ferran with no escape.

“Back off!” Su Lu snapped.

A Formation of black light appeared above the Black Dragon Emperor. Countless Stars connected rapidly.

When the Formation took shape, a half-transparent blood-red light curtain fell from the sky and encapsulated the Black Dragon Emperor.

It was the callback of the Contract, similar to the spell that Summoners normally used to withdraw their Summoned Beasts back into their Contract Space. However, the Black Dragon Emperor was extremely savage. He resisted the spell fiercely, unleashing his dragon might in his scales. The destructive force almost shattered Su Lu’s spell!

“Son of a b**ch!” Su Lu was enraged. He flew above the Formation and Summoned bolts of lightning with the Contract to punish the Black Dragon who was ignoring his orders.

The Black Dragon cried out in agony as the lightning struck his soul. His unstoppable dragon might weakened after the torture. The light curtain fully encapsulated his body and forcibly dragged him into the Contract Space!

The Formation was on the verge of collapsing, but it still managed to subdue the Black Dragon in the end.

The mountain had lost many of its peaks. The rest of the Mages were hiding far away from the cliff, having yet to recover from the shock.

Su Lu’s face was extremely pale, too. Not only was he severely injured during his attempt to subdue the Black Dragon, he was extremely frustrated!

The Black Dragon was unwilling to listen to him!

The Black Dragon was not obeying any of his orders!

He had spent so many years finding the way to subdue the Black Dragon, putting in so much effort to make the necessary preparations. He had also found the perfect solution to neutralize the dragon’s breath. He had even placed a Seal on the Black Dragon’s soul to enslave it and turn it into his Contracted Beast…

However, when Su Lu Summoned the Black Dragon with a burst of laughter to show off his great achievement, the Black Dragon dared to attack its own master, as if it had gone mad!

What was the point of capturing the Black Dragon if it was not going to follow his orders?

“Norman, I swear I’m going to hack you into pieces!”

Su L’s face was frigid. Everything was supposed to be under his control, except Norman had suddenly intervened!

Norman had damaged part of the Ritual, so it had failed to completely subdue the dragon as intended!

Even though Su Lu could still Summon and withdraw the Black Dragon as he wished, the creature was savage and uncontrollable. It seemed to have lost its intelligence as a high-rank creature, too! It was nothing but a killing machine!

Would he even dare to Summon the mad Black Dragon for his purposes?

Years of effort had ended up with such an undesirable outcome. Su Lu had an urge to slaughter the Black Dragon and take its scales, core, and blood instead. However, he felt it was such a waste, killing the chicken just to get the eggs!

He could only lock the Black Dragon in the Contract Space and figure out another way to tame it. However, even he doubted there was actually a way to tame the dragon!

—

—

Mo Fan and the others returned to Athens the next day.

The people of the Parthenon Temple took Norman back. Whatever happened next was no longer Mo Fan’s concern.

Mo Fan said goodbye to Xinxia before returning to his homeland. He had been away for half a year. He had only been planning to visit the Alps Institute for the exchange while dropping by the Holy Judgment Court for the required procedures, but he somehow went through so many troubles. He was reluctant to even recall some of them!

Mo Fan landed in Shanghai; he and Mu Ningxue stayed there for a few days. She had to make the necessary arrangements to get the defensive Equipment for her patrols crafted.

“Is there an armorer you recommend in the Magic City?” Mu Ningxue asked him.

“You can visit Huo Tuo. The old man was the one who crafted my Black Snake Armor. I have no doubt in his skills, but he’s kind of a weird guy,” Mo Fan told her.

“Alright, are you coming with me?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“I have to go to the Clearsky Hunter Agency to visit Lingling. If I don’t see her soon, she might throw away my Hunter Badge!” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, I’ll come find you after I reach a deal with Huo Tuo,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

—

Mo Fan headed to the old street where the Clearsky Hunter Agency was located after parting ways with Mu Ningxue. He was still thinking about his conversation with her.

For some reason, he was in a great mood. He did not flirt much with Mu Ningxue, so why was he humming so happily? Perhaps it was because her attitude toward him had changed a lot?

“So this is the country where you were born? It doesn’t look that special, apart from having a lot of people,” Apas commented.

“You will see its differences soon,” Mo Fan said blithely.

Mo Fan arrived at the Clearsky Hunter Agency. He had to admit, the Clearsky Hunter Agency looked a little run-down, as if it was about to be closed down soon. Mo Fan seriously did not understand why Old Bao was not willing to spend some money to renovate it. How were they supposed to do business like this?

“Lingling, I’m back! Lingling, my little Lingling, do you miss me… Lingling?” Mo Fan yelled as soon as he went inside, treating it like home.

Apas followed him inside. She looked around and saw a white cat under an old stool. As a lover of little animals, she picked up the cat and asked, “Are you looking for her?”

Lingling happened to be coming down the stairs. She looked at Mo Fan, then at Apas.

“Don’t touch my cat,” Lingling said coldly.

Lingling had not tied up her hair up in twin ponytails today, so it was disheveled. She had most likely been taking a nap. Her face was more mature now, instead of her usual adorable cuteness.

Mo Fan exclaimed in his heart, Oh my, even Lingling has grown a lot. She’s no longer the adorable little girl I know. I’m so not used to it!

Mo Fan stepped forward and spread his arms wide, “Lingling, did you miss me? Give me a hug… huh, did your breast grow, too?”

Chapter 1664 Tit for Tat

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lingling’s face darkened!

Mo Fan quickly explained himself when he saw Lingling was about to explode in anger, “I was just kidding. Let me introduce, her name is Apas…”

“Is she deaf?” Lingling asked.

“She’s not, why do you ask?” Mo Fan looked at Apas.

“Put my cat down!” Lingling repeated.

Apas blinked and stared at the arrogant little girl.

“She likes me, didn’t you notice she isn’t willing to leave my arms?” Apas did not put the cat down, fondling its head.

“She’s trembling in terror!” Lingling corrected her.

Apas opened her mouth in surprise. She observed the little girl who seemed to be a few years younger than her carefully.

Lingling was right that the kitten was not fond of her. It could pick up her scent of a Medusa. It was like a little lamb that did not dare to move in front of a starving wolf, too scared to even run away!

How did the little girl notice something so subtle?

Lingling took the little kitten from Apas and placed her in the backyard.

The little kitten was indeed terrified. It could not even walk properly!

“Ugh…(cough cough!),  this is Lingling,  my Hunter partner. Speaking of which, the two of you should be around the same age. Be nice to each other,” Mo Fan said awkwardly.

Apas was at most around sixteen years old, but her European genes made her look a lot more mature than Asian girls. Even those at the age of twenty did not have curves like hers.

Mo Fan was thinking about how Lingling did not have any friends around her age while he was on the plane,  and decided to introduce Apas to her. He had bet they would soon become good friends, but it seemed like Apas did not leave Lingling with a good first impression!

“I don’t mind as long as she doesn’t get in my way,” Lingling said.

Apas was displeased with Lingling’s attitude, too!

Apas had a naturally attractive demeanor. Even the little kids liked to hang around her. No one had treated her so bluntly after they first met her!

“In the past,  I wouldn’t hesitate to give an impolite girl like her to my servants as snacks, ” Apas rolled her eyes. It was difficult to tell if she was talking to Mo Fan, or if she was warning Lingling instead.

Lingling stared at Apas and seemed to notice something unusual about her. She turned to Mo Fan and asked, “What kind of creature is she?”

Lingling’s question took Mo Fan by surprise.

As expected of the daughter of a respectable Hunter, she was unusually sensitive to demon creatures!

Apas’ status was even less obvious than Liu Ru. No one would doubt her identity as a human as long as she did not reveal her unique golden snake eyes, yet Lingling had already deduced she was a demon creature after such a brief encounter!

Mo Fan was utterly impressed by Lingling’s ability to identify demon creatures!

“Ahem!… She’s a Medusa. She’s currently my second Contracted Beast,’ Mo Fan informed her awkwardly.

“Little Flame Belle is cuter,” Lingling calmly judged.

Little Flame Belle,  who was taking a nap, came out of the Contract Space on her own as if she had heard Lingling’s compliment.

Apas was quite close to Little Flame Belle. Since Little Flame Belle’s intelligence was still developing,  Apas had successfully bribed her with delicious snacks. That being said,  Little Flame Belle was starting to lose her bottom line, too. She would befriend anyone that fed her delicious food!

When Little Flame Belle came out of the Contract Space,    Lingling,   who had not seen Little Flame Belle for a long time subconsciously reached her arms out to hug Little Flame Belle. Meanwhile,   Apas,  who had been playing with Little Flame Belle a lot lately since she had nothing else to do, was reaching her arms out too.

Little Flame Belle was struck dumb. Both were her beloved sisters that treated her with love and tenderness. They both had their arms out to hug her. Whose arms should she go to?

Luckily, Little Flame Belle was pretty smart, even though her intelligence was still developing. She jumped into Mo Fan’s arms and acted like he was the dearest to her.

Mo Fan was amused by Little Flame Belle’s smart choice, and the tit for tat between Apas and Lingling.

“Let’s go and eat something!” Mo Fan announced, changing the topic. He had not eaten Shanghai’s seafood for a long time. He had struggled to enjoy the food in foreign countries, apart from the pizzas.

“Sure, you better keep me full at all times. Otherwise, I find annoying little girls to be the most delicious,” Apas grinned. Since Mo Fan had already revealed her identity as a Medusa, she no longer had to put on an act in front of Lingling.

“I’m looking for a pair of snakeskin boots, too!” Lingling returned the favor.

Mo Fan was left speechless. Didn’t they always say all the lolis in the world were as close as family? Why were these two being so aggressive toward one another?

—

Mo Fan decisively chose a new crayfish restaurant after Mu Ningxue regrouped with them.

Eating crayfish was like a special ritual for Mo Fan every time he was in Shanghai. It felt like he was finally able to enjoy a pleasant meal at home after all the suffering he went through outside of his homeland.

“I don’t like these red scorpions.” Apas’ face darkened when she saw the huge plate of crayfish.

“These are crayfish, not scorpions!” Mo Fan shelled a crayfish and shoved it into Apas’ mouth without asking permission.

Apas ate the meat reluctantly. Her expression shifted slightly.

The spicy taste was quite good!

“Do it yourself,” Mo Fan smiled. He knew Apas had never tried this delicacy before. China’s cuisine never failed to impress!

“Mo Fan, I’ve asked Huo Tuo to craft you a new magic Armor. Remember to pick it up when it’s done,” Mu Ningxue said.

“For me? What for?” Mo Fan asked.

“Time to change your Black Snake Armor. How can you not have some reliable defensive Equipment?” Mu Ningxue said.

“Oh, I understand!” Mo Fan was overjoyed. His wife was concerned about his safety!

He finally realized why the relationship between him and Mu Ningxue felt a little different lately.

In the past, Mu Ningxue did not really care about him; everything he did was none of her concern. However, not only was she slowly accepting his feelings lately, she even took the initiative to do him some favors…

HAHAHA! The day in which he lay comfortably on the bed waiting for Mu Ningxue to seductively crawl onto him and sit on him like an empress was imminent!

Chapter 1665 Could that be Yan Shi?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan initially thought Lingling had urged him to return to his country because she had something urgent to do, or she had found the secrets of a quest with an impressive reward. However, the little girl was reluctant to spill the beans now that he was back. She even put on an expression that was shunning him because he was still stuck in the Advanced Level!

Mo Fan wanted to advance to the Super Level, but he was struggling to find the right way to trigger the breakthrough. The renowned clans were able to find compatible ways and resources to aid their talented disciples with their breakthroughs. So far, the only resource that might come in handy that Mo Fan knew of was the power of the Totem Beasts. The problem was, the Totem Beasts were either hibernating, living in seclusion, or had gone extinct. It was not easy to track them down!

“Forget it if you haven’t reached the Super Level!” Lingling decided to hold on to her little secret.

Mo Fan had promised Zu Xiangtian he would face him in a duel in half a year from now. He could not afford to lose the duel. He also felt the urgency to reach the Super Level as soon as possible!

“I found something called the Horn of the Deer God in Athens. Your sister told me that it might be related to the Enforcement Union’s Tree of Vows. I’m thinking of visiting the Lingyin Enforcement Union. I’ll also drop by the temple at the lake to see if I can find any Totem Seals that resemble it,” Mo Fan told her.

“We’ll go together,” Mu Ningxue said.

Mu Ningxue did not like to procrastinate. Mo Fan was initially planning to get some rest for the day and go on a date with Mu Ningxue in a romantic park. He might have the chance to make some bold moves today. Mo Fan had been drooling over Mu Ningxue’s body for a decade!

“I’ve asked Nighthawk to give us a ride,” Lingling said.

Lingling texted Nighthawk. A few minutes later, Nighthawk arrived on his ferocious beast.

Nighthawk was wearing a dark blue outfit, and had a dark and cold bearing. His jawbone was extremely sharp, like it had been sharpened with a blade. He did not look like a good person at all.

However, his bearing as an Enforcer collapsed as soon as he was around Lingling. He put on an awkward smile when he saw her.

“Lingling, I’m not a taxi driver. You can’t just ask me to give you a ride whenever you want. It’s my bad for not telling you I was taking over your sister’s role, but the Enforcement Union is responsible for maintaining order. We can’t leave our positions for too long!” Nighthawk chided her.

Nighthawk only noticed Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were there after finishing the sentence. He seemed a little surprised.

“Nighthawk, it’s been a while!” Mo Fan greeted him.

Nighthawk had been an Enforcer of the Magic City for some time. He was the chief commander of the operation that had wiped out the Blue Deacons Xu Zhaoting had exposed at the cost of his life.

Nighthawk was reassigned to Beiyu Mountain. He was going to be promoted to the Head of the Enforcement Union there, but Lu Zhantian had seized it with his connections instead. Nighthawk lost the chance to be promoted, but to his relief, the Lu Clan was stupid enough to touch Mo Fan’s inverse scale. Mo Fan ended up forcing his way up Beiyu Mountain and killing Lu Zhantian!

Mo Fan fell out with the Lu Clan over the incident. If Shao Zheng had not been looking after him, the Lu Clan would have sent a Super Mage after Mo Fan!

Nighthawk did not stay at Beiyu Mountain. The head of the Enforcement Union had asked him to replace Leng Qing instead, so now was currently the Vice Head of the Lingyin Enforcement Union and taking orders from Tang Zhong.

The Beiyu Enforcement Union and the Lingyin Enforcement Union were in charge of the Magic City and Hangzhou, respectively. The Lingyin Enforcement Union was considered one of its main headquarters in the country, so Nighthawk had clearly managed to make a name for himself by getting appointed as the Vice Head of the Lingyin Enforcement Union.

“Yeah, it’s been a while! Did you reach the Super Level?” Nighthawk suddenly asked.

“Not yet! Strange, why is everyone more concerned about my cultivation than I am?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“That’s a relief!… Hehe, I was already an expert at the Advanced Level when you were still an Intermediate Mage at the Pearl Institute. If you were at the Super Level like I am now, wouldn’t that mean I’m a good for nothing?” Nighthawk replied proudly.

Nighthawk was a lot stronger than Mo Fan when he was taking out the Black Vatican in the Magic City. He would feel ashamed if Mo Fan had already caught up to his cultivation!

“Sir, we are heading to Lingyin Mountain. Please drive safely, we have ladies on board!” Mo Fan said firmly.

Seriously, he had never seen a taxi driver so dramatic; it was time to leave a bad review!

Nighthawk was struck speechless.

—

It was a lot quicker to fly to Lingyin Mountain. It only took them around twenty minutes to reach Hangzhou’s West Lake from Shanghai’s Jing’an District!

Huge bubbles surfaced on the lake as they flew past the West Lake. Apas subconsciously trembled in fear, feeling an overwhelming sense of danger arising from the lake below.

“It’s salty, I’ve brought you five kilos of them!” Mo Fan yelled at the lake. He tossed a whole bucket of salted prawns down at the lake from his Space Bracelet.

The prawns poured down into the lake like rain.

To prevent the food from dirtying the lake, a huge head rose from the water and opened its mouth to receive the prawns.

The prawns were like little shrimps compared to the mouth. The five kilos was only enough to be treated as a snack by the enormous creature.

Mo Fan was not planning to seriously feed the big guy. Knowing his appetite, he could easily spend all his money on food in just minutes!

“I’ll come visit you later. I have to go to the Lingyin Temple first!” Mo Fan yelled at the lake.

There was no response from the lake. The creature was most likely enjoying the taste of the prawns.

“Do you really have to force your tastes on everyone around you? Who would even feed him that stuff?” Lingling grunted.

Mo Fan was a foodie, and a stubborn one too. He would stick to the food he liked, and even forced the people around him to eat the same things…

Lingling was utterly speechless, too. How did he even convert the Black Totem Snake, who was used to eating the tasteless fish and prawns in the West Lake, into a fan of different flavors, like the thirteen aromas, spicy, or salt and pepper!

“What…what the hell was that thing!?” Apas asked coldly. She was still trembling.

“Oh, he’s a snake too, but I think he’s a different kind from you… His tastes are the same as you though, he likes salty food,” Mo Fan replied casually.

—

The bamboo stand on Lingyin Mountain were its most beautiful features. The wind would play a naturally pleasant melody when it blew through the trees. In the summer, people would find a relaxing spot and place a mat down, bringing along a nice pot of tea. The environment was more relaxing than any coffee shops or bars. It felt like their hearts were being purified by nature.

The soothing night breeze kept coming. Apas was from the dry desert in the west, so she had never experienced the natural scenery in the east. The fear she had felt previously had long dissipated. Her eyes were sparkling as she surveyed her surroundings.

Leaving aside her terrifying identity, Apas was no different than an ordinary girl. She was curious about everything around her.

“There’s nothing to get so excited about,” Lingling murmured under her breath.

“Malnourished girl, what are the holes on these stones for?” Apas asked haughtily.

Malnourished?

Lingling subconsciously looked down at herself when she heard the term. Her face darkened immediately!

Since Apas’ appearance resembled Europeans, her body had matured earlier, just like most European girls. Some European girls around the age of fourteen already had the physique of an Asian woman at the age of twenty. Apas was slightly older than Lingling… her age and her genes had given her a huge advantage in terms of height and feminine features!

—

“Mo Fan, you finally came to visit me!” Tang Zhong was surprised to see Mo Fan at Lingyin Mountain, and received him with a warm smile.

“I didn’t come to visit you. I heard from Leng Qing that there’s a Deer God under the Tree of Vows. I happened to find the Horn of the Deer God when I was overseas. It might be related to a Totem Beast, so I came to ask you about it,” Mo Fan explained.

“I’ve only heard the legend from a senior. She has been in seclusion for a long time. I only have her address. You can try and ask her. She knows the tale better than I do,” Tang Zhong said.

Tang Zhong took out a pen and wrote down an address.

Mo Fan grabbed the paper and looked at the address briefly. He instinctively shifted his gaze to Nighthawk.

“Hey, stop treating me like a taxi driver. I’m a Vice Head of the Enforcement Union now, it’s not like I have nothing better to do!” Nighthawk grumbled.

“Mo Fan, don’t you think the address seems a little familiar?” Mu Ningxue said.

“Yantai?” Mo Fan took a closer look at the address.

“Yeah, Yantai, the old senior retired a long time ago. It’s such a pity, too. If she hadn’t chosen to retire, she would most likely be a Forbidden Mage by now.” Tang Zong sighed heavily. “The impermanence of life, that tragedy was too much to bear for her. She lost her will, why would she care about becoming a Forbidden Mage or not?”.

“Are you… talking about Yan Shi?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yan Shi? I have no idea who you’re referring to. Her name is Lu Yi. She was once the Head of the Enforcement Union! She was also the old Councilman Jiang Xia’s wife, but her influence greatly surpassed Jiang Xia’s back in the days. Senior Lu Yi is the main reason why our country’s Enforcement Union has its current status, including the reason why it is well-known in other countries!” Tang Zhong told him.

Lu Yi was long a reputable Mage when Tang Zhong was still a newbie. Tang Zhong was temporarily assigned to her on a mission. He still remembered it clearly even today. It was his first time talking to his goddess. He was so nervous that he had stammered while talking to her.

Lu Yi was considered the symbol of an era, but no one had expected the choice she made in the end…

Chapter 1666 Old Councilman, Jiang Xia

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

“Jiang Xia? Isn’t he Jiang Feng’s father?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

Wasn’t Jiang Feng Little Flame Belle’s mother? Yan Shi was Jiang Feng’s mother, Chen Yi’s grandmother!

When Chen Yi’s grandmother was fighting the demon tree on Mount Kunyu, her strength was extremely close to that of a Forbidden Mage, and had almost toppled Mo Fan’s understanding of how strong a Mage could be. He still remembered the shock he felt when he saw her destructive spells falling down from the sky like meteors!

However, the thing that touched Mo Fan the most was not her magic that was close to the level of a Forbidden Mage, but the remorse she had shown at the very end, the final words she had uttered with all her might while grabbing his hand.

Tang Zhong had no idea that Mo Fan had already met Lu Yi, who had changed her name to Yan Shi to conceal her identity.

Mo Fan described his encounter at Mount Kunyu to Tang Zhong. Tang Zhong was quite convinced that the Yan Shi whom Mo Fan mentioned was actually Lu Yi, the woman that had brought the Enforcement Union to its utmost brilliance.

“She betrayed the hopes of the people around her when choosing to pursue the path of a Forbidden Mage. It’s true that becoming a Forbidden Mage was meaningless for her in that case. For a long time, I couldn’t understand why she chose to give up in the end, but I finally know the reason now,” Tang Zhong sighed.

Don’t let the people around you down!

Those were the final words of a half-Forbidden Mage to Mo Fan!

Sometimes, people only had themselves to blame for being left all alone in the world…

‘What about the Tree of Vows?” Mo Fan asked.

“It was Senior Lu Yi that brought the Tree of Vows back. It was to ensure that the members of the Enforcement Union would devote themselves to their duties. If Senior Lu Yi is no longer around… maybe you can talk to old Councilman Jiang Xia. They worked on many operations together, and the Tree of Vows was one of them,” Tang Zhong said.

“Where is this Jiang Xia?” Mo Fan asked.

“Here in Hangzhou! He rarely involves himself in worldly affairs. He’s preparing for his retirement, but I wouldn’t recommend you talk to him,” Tang Zhong said.

“Why is that?”

“Jiang Xia’s second wife is from the Lu Clan. He was the one pulling the strings behind the Beiyu Enforcement Union. I doubt he will go easy on you, considering what you did at Beiyu Mountain,” Tang Zhong said.

“I will never apologize for what happened at Beiyu Mountain,” Mo Fan said seriously.

“It’s true that they did cross the line back then, but it’s going to be difficult to resolve the conflict. Jiang Xia might be Chen Yi’s grandfather, but from what I know, Jiang Xia had long parted ways with Lu Yi. The two never contacted one another after then. You’ll have to work on it with a different approach. Jiang Xia definitely knows the origin of the Tree of Vows. If you can find its birthplace, you should be very close to finding the Deer God,” Tang Zhong said.

“It sounds like trouble,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s your call, there’s nothing I can do to help you,” Tang Zhong shook his sleeves clean. He had no intention to put aside his pride and ask the old Councilman for help on behalf of Mo Fan!

—

Mo Fan asked Chen Yi about her grandfather. She told him that she had only met Jiang Xia once in her life, during a clan meeting held by the Zhao Clan. Jiang Xia was only there to go through the motions.

Mo Fan actually knew more about Chen Yi’s grandfather than she did!

Mo Fan’s head was hurting even more. According to Tang Zhong’s description, Jiang Xia was a stubborn old man with a foul temper. If he knew Mo Fan was thinking of visiting him, he was already giving the national team and Shao Zheng face if he did not welcome him with Mages lined up in formation. There was no way he would let Mo Fan in!

Ever since Mo Fan had left the Pyramid, he felt like he was ready to break through the barrier of the Advanced Level.

He just needed a strong supply of energy to help him break through the sturdy walls of the Star Galaxy. If he could find a Totem Beast and let Little Loach acquire its power, Little Loach could provide him with the energy for the breakthrough!

Mo Fan relied heavily on Little Loach to improve his cultivation. However, as his rank increased, only the power of the Totem Beasts could satisfy its appetite now!

There were ancient sources of energy in the Pyramid, but that energy was not suitable for him, doing Mu Bai a huge favor instead. Mo Fan had no choice but to keep searching for the Totem Beasts!

His Demon Element was still in deep slumber. Mo Fan did not feel confident with his cultivation stagnant at the Advanced Level. He now realized how important it was to reach the Super Level. Otherwise, he would have to admit that he was inferior to a scum like Zu Xiangtian!

Yan Shi was right, he should not let anyone down… including idiots that deserved a beating!

——

The Dongfang Clan was the closest to Mo Fan in Hangzhou. Mo Fan went to visit Dongfang Lie. He happened to be in Hangzhou at the time.

“Dongfang Lie, how close is your clan to Jiang Xia?” Mo Fan asked him.

“Jiang Xia? The old Councilman who retired?” Dongfang Lie repeated.

“Yeah, him,” Mo Fan nodded.

“That old prick, he’s been pissing us off lately. He’s still governing from behind the curtain after he’s retired. He will only be willing to let go of his power when he’s finally lying inside a coffin!” Dongfang Lie was enraged.

“Uhh… what happened?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“It actually has something to do with your Fanxue Mountain, too. That Jiang Xia has been ignoring us ever since we began working closely with your Fanxue Mountain. Our clan is well-known for our blacksmiths and armorers. As long as magic Equipment has our logo on it, most of them will be sold out within a day!

“Recently, one of our masters invented a magic shield made of Steel Rock. It will earn us a great fortune as long as we have the material. We had already reached a deal with Fanxue Mountain. You will be selling the Equipment, while we will focus on making it,” Dongfang Lie informed him.

Mu Ningxue nodded. She did know about this cooperation with the Dongfang Clan. Since Fanxue Mountain and the Dongfang Clan were tied to the same boat, she had agreed to proceed with the cooperation without having to take a close look at the details. However, she was preoccupied with the incident of the children’s hearts before she had time to ask what the deal was about.

As for why she decided to look for armorers overseas to craft the magic Equipment for her men on the Quartz Reef Island, it was because the Dongfang Clan was running short on workers to process the raw materials, hence Mu Ningxue had no choice but to look for other options. The funny thing was, the people she planned to cooperate with in Athens turned out to be unreliable, and she only learned about Huo Tuo after returning to the country. She had basically wasted a lot of effort. In simpler words, they were still lacking in connections!

“What is the problem?” Mo Fan asked.

“The materials! There’s only one Steel Rock mine. It’s owned by the government, and Jiang Xia is in charge of it. Jiang Xia told us that we will have to pay a special tax for the Steel Rock. Seriously, I have never heard of a tax like that! Anyway, it greatly increases the cost to craft the magic Equipment. The Steel Rock Shield is appealing because of its price. It’s only worth a shot if we target Basic and Intermediate Mages, but now, it’s no longer profitable because of Jiang Xia!” Dongfang Lie spat.

1667 The Disaster of Salamander Demons

Translated by XephiZEdited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was hoping to use his connections with the Dongfang Clan to solve his problem, but it turned out that the Dongfang Clan was holding a grudge against Jiang Xia too!

“I have a close friend in the government, I will ask him about the tax first. We should be able to get rid of it if it’s not reasonable,” Mo Fan said.

“Please do! I’ll think of a way to solve your problem. Our clan still has some old people that Jiang Xia has to give some face to,” Dongfang Lie said.

Mo Fan’s close friend in Hangzhou was obviously Councilman Zhu Meng. Even though Zhu Meng was from the Ancient Capital, he had established some connections in Hangzhou since the plague incident. He would know something about the tax implemented on the Steel Rock.

Zhu Meng happened to be in Hangzhou, too. Mo Fan went straight to see him. There was no need to be courteous with him!

—

Zhu Meng opened the door. He was still in his sleepwear. He was surprised there were women visiting him. He awkwardly led them to the living room before leaving to change his clothes.

“Why did you shave your beard? I feel like you look more imposing with your beard. You’ve shaved both your head and your beard. You look like an inmate that was just released from prison…” Mo Fan teased Zhu Meng when he noticed the changes in the councilman’s appearance.

“Piss off, everyone keeps saying how much younger I look now! You’re the only one with a foul tongue. Spill it out, what kind of trouble did you cause this time?” Zhu Meng harrumphed.

“Are you close with an old man called Jiang Xia?” Mo Fan cut straight to the topic.

“Jiang Xia? Sort of, we are both Councilmen. I often see him at the meetings. He might have retired, but many people are still asking him for help. Did you step on Jiang Xia’s tail this time? Why did you keep finding trouble with troublesome people like him? I’m telling you, Jiang Xia has been around for a long time. If he wants to deal with you, I won’t be able to protect you,” Zhu Meng said.

“I just want to ask him something,” Mo Fan said, and explained the reason he was searching for the origin of the Tree of Vows.

“I see… it won’t be difficult to meet him. I heard long ago that it was Senior Lu Yi and Jiang Xia that brought the Tree of Vows back when I was in the Enforcement Union. However, I’m familiar with Jiang Xia’s character. He’s like a businessman. He won’t bother with things that don’t bring him benefits. He will use everything he has to make a profit,” Zhu Meng advised him.

“Huh? Doesn’t that mean I won’t have a chance to talk to him? If there’s no other choice, I can ask the Black Totem Snake to kidnap Jiang Xia and force him to tell me the truth. I really need to find a Totem Beast. If I’m stuck in the Advanced Level for too long, my enemies will soon come to kill me!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

The Essence Orb was not filled yet, so the Demon Element was not available. Mo Fan was feeling uneasy. He had been courting death too much lately. He was seriously worried that he would die suddenly in the middle of the street!

“Hang on, hang on; if you do that, he will clearly turn your Fanxue Mountain upside down to get his revenge. There’s nothing bad about his character. He’s a businessman, and with the right benefits, he might even be willing to put aside his personal conflicts. He doesn’t really have a conflict with you, he’s just been influenced by the Lu Clan to hold a grudge against you. If you can offer him something valuable, he will tell you everything about the Tree of Vows and the tax on the Steel Rock,” Zhu Meng said.

“To suit his fancy, right?” Dongfang Lie asked.

“More or less. He’s willing to take any benefits,” Zhu Meng confirmed.

“Is he fond of beautiful ladies? I have a little European beauty here…” Mo Fan ventured.

“Ugh… how old is she now? Stop messing around,” Zhu Meng glanced at Apas. Even he felt awkward after hearing Mo Fan’s suggestion. This nut really could come up with all kinds of nonsense!

“Money, but I don’t have any,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was lacking money, as usual. He could easily spend all his money on his cultivation, no matter how rich he was!

“You’ve come at the right time. I happen to know what’s troubling Jiang Xia lately. Dongfang Lie, didn’t you say you were asked to pay a high tax to buy the Steel Rock?” Zhu Meng said.

“Exactly!” Dongfang Lie snapped.

“I do know a thing or two about the Steel Rock. The Steel Rock is a special kind of rock surrounding the lake islands of the Thousand Island Lake. They are from the residue of the lake that accumulates between the boundary of the lake and the islands. You can find them attached to the edges of the hundred-some largest islands on the Thousand Island Lake. They can be collected and refined into raw materials to craft defensive Equipment…” Zhu Meng took a sip of his tea while explaining the source of the Steel Rock.

“Let’s skip the science behind it. It’s not really my concern,” Mo Fan interrupted him.

“Fine. The Thousand Islands Lake is currently a half-safe zone under Councilman Jiang Xia’s jurisdiction. Every year, it will provide the government with Steel Rock and another rare material we call Ward Rock. It is useful for building dams for rivers, lakes, and even the sea,” Zhu Meng said.

“Ward Rock?” Mu Ningxue had obviously heard about the material before.

“HAHA, I bet Fanxue Mountain is in need of the Ward Rock too! It’s something that can’t be bought for a thousand gold. The Steel Rock is more or less the impure version of the Ward Rock. It doesn’t matter if Jiang Xia sells them or not,” Zhu Meng said.

“So why is Ward Rock so important?” Mo Fan asked.

“Ward Rock is just like an Earth Pistil, and contains an abundant supply of energy. You saw how Pudong is now drowned in seawater? The government has built a long dam on the Huangpu River to stop the seawater from rising and spreading any further. It doesn’t just take builders to construct a long dam, since normal stone is as fragile as bubbles to Warrior-level and Commander-level creatures. Ward Rock is used to inject the dams with Earth Magic to strengthen their walls. It also makes the dams flexible. We can fix the dams quickly if they are destroyed, they are not just lifeless walls,” Lingling explained.

Most demon creatures had outstanding physical abilities. A Warrior-level creature could jump a dozen meters into the air. Walls over ten or twenty meters tall were barely like little fences to the demon creatures.

Ward Rock was magical; not only were they able to alter the shape of walls to stop demon creatures from crossing them; it was a lot sturdier than normal stone!

“Do you remember the tall dam in Tokyo’s East Maritime Fortress? There was a short dam and a tall dam. The demon creatures struggle to cross the tall dam despite their overwhelming numbers. The main reason is because the tall dam is made of Ward Rock. It’s like a powerful magic formation, and the main reason why Tokyo is unharmed while the battles along the coast never end. A complete piece of Ward Rock is as sturdy as a city!” Mu Ningxue said.

In simpler words, Ward Rock was a kind of Earth Pistil. An Earth Pistil was used to protect a piece of land with a barrier, also marking the demon creatures within its range. If a city inland had an Earth Pistil, its safety was more or less guaranteed.

Ward Rock was slightly weaker. It could only be used to build walls and stop enemies from crossing it, but that was extremely useful for many cities along the coastline!

“For some reason, a species we have never seen before appeared at the Thousand Islands Lake, called the Salamander Demons. Steel Rock and Ward Rock are the products of a complicated natural reaction. The soft ripples of the lake slowly accumulate substances around the edges of the islands. It takes time for the substances to accumulate, meaning their supply is limited.

“We need Earth Mages to collect the substances before dawn every day, but the Salamander Demons are proving fond of these substances, too. They take away the accumulated substances from the islands. These Salamander Demons were not hard to kill in the past, but for some reason, their skin has suddenly turned sturdy as steel lately, making it difficult to kill them!” Zhu Meng said.

“These Salamander Demons are using the substances and the energy they contained to strengthen their shells?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, that’s most likely the reason! Jiang Xia didn’t think the Salamander Demons were a serious threat before, but it’s extremely difficult to deal with them now! You know that if a species doesn’t have any natural foe in an ecosystem, it will destroy the resources and environment once they mass reproduce, like a plague of locusts. Jiang Xia has already smashed a lot of things because of this. If you can help him deal with the problem, he will bring you to the Tree of Vows and even find the Deer God for you!” Zhu Meng said.

“No wonder he added that insane ecology disaster tax to the Steel Rocks!” Dongfang Lie said.

“Mm, he can’t produce the Ward Rock if he doesn’t secure the islands. He probably has enough Steel Rock in storage to build a whole town. He’s clearly going to increase the price. Otherwise, where would he get the money to deal with the demon creatures from?” Zhu Meng pointed out.

“Fine! I thought Jiang Xia was purposely messing with our clan,” Dongfang Lie admitted.

“I already said that he’s the kind that puts his benefits first. The Salamander Demons aren’t high-level creatures, yet even a Super Mage would struggle to take them out. Jiang Xia once used his Super Spell on them out of anger, but he went crazy when he realized that even if the Salamander Demons stacked up into a mountain in front of him, he would kill less than a tenth of them, even if he used up all his energy!” Zhu Meng said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lingling was extremely efficient. She had already gathered the information about the Salamander Demons while Zhu Meng was still explaining.

“The Hunter Union has put up a quest with no limits. They are paying two hundred thousand for a Salamander Demon’s heart,” Lingling said.

“No limits?” Mo Fan said.

“Mmm, it means they are willing to take as many Salamander Demon’s hearts as anyone has,” Lingling said.

“Wouldn’t that make them a huge loss?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course not; it’s a request Jiang Xia made through the Hunter Union! A Salamander Demon’s heart contains rich levels of the particles of the Steel Rock and Ward Rock. The other Mages are clearly going to sell them to the government, since they don’t have the technique to refine them. The government is clearly profiting from it. Many Hunters and Mages have gone to the Thousand Islands Lake recently. The numbers of the Salamander Demons are just too overwhelming. The Thousand Islands Lake is like a land of gold for them, but according to my men, it’s not that easy to get a Salamander Demon’s heart,” Zhu Meng said.

“Mo Fan, they are similar to the Sandstorm Demon Locusts,” Lingling spoke up while browsing the information. “The Sandstorm Demon Locusts didn’t have natural foes either, allowing them to mass reproduce endlessly, and grow into a disaster. Both humans and demon creatures had no choice but to avoid them. These Salamander Demons are actually a mutation of a species called the Spiral Shelled Monsters from the Pacific Ocean. They somehow found their way to the Thousand Islands Lake through an underground waterway. They crossbred with the lizard demons of the Thousand Islands Lake and gave birth to the Salamander Demons.”

The rest of the group quickly shifted their attention to Lingling after hearing the important discoveries she had made.

Lingling continued to explain, “The Spiral Shelled Monsters have a very slow growth rate. They have to live in the shallow waters around the islands for five years before reaching the adult phase. Therefore, despite their outstanding reproductive abilities, they aren’t necessarily a threat, and would only occupy a few islands at most. Interestingly, the Lizard Demons have bad reproductive abilities and a low survival rate, but have an insane growth rate. They are found in Dongting Lake and the Thousand Islands Lake. These two species surprisingly gave birth to a mutated species with outstanding reproductive abilities and an insane growth rate. A newly born Salamander Demon will mature in just a single season, with a long lifespan!”

“Just a season?” Mo Fan gasped.

“Yeah, a species like the Blue Moths might have outstanding growth pace and reproductive abilities, but in return, they have an extremely short lifespan and are very vulnerable. But the Salamander Demons… not only are they able to reproduce and mature quickly, they can live almost as long as a tortoise. I believe if we don’t get rid of them or find a way to limit their growth, the Thousand Lakes Island will be crawling with these creatures in just five years. They will wipe out every plant and creature that can provide them with energy!” Lingling stated firmly.

Mo Fan and Lingling had witnessed how deadly the Sandstorm Demon Locusts were. The others would not treat the Salamander Demons seriously if they had not heard Lingling’s analysis.

“Is it really that serious?” Zhu Meng frowned.

Zhu Meng only knew about the existence of the new species, but was unsure of its origins. He believed he should treat it more seriously after hearing Lingling’s analysis. There had been many unpredictable threats lately!

“It’s very serious, they are as dangerous as the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. If they haven’t gone extinct, it means they don’t have a deadly weakness, nor are they going to disappear on their own. They might continue to reproduce too, so it’s important to have the Research Union keep an eye on a new species like the Salamander Demons, in case it turns out to be a new disaster species!” Lingling said.

Zhu Meng frowned.

If the Salamander Demons were indeed a disaster species, things were going to be a lot more complicated!

What was Jiang Xia even doing? He definitely knew more about the species, so why did he only put up a request and ask the Hunters and ordinary Mages for help? Why did he not report it to the Magic Association and let them assess the danger of the species?

“The information you found is very important, and your analysis is on point, too. I will head to the Research Union and ask them to assess the danger level of the Salamander Demons,” Zhu Meng promised.

“Jiang Xia might be thinking of settling the problem himself. That way, the Ward Rock will still be his. If he reports this to his superiors, the government might end up splitting the profits or classify it as a territory of the demon creatures and not allow people to enter it freely,” Mu Ningxue conjectured.

“Mm, that’s possible too. I will have to ask Jiang Xia in person!” Zhu Meng was decisive as always.

—

Zhu Meng brought Mo Fan and the others with him. Jiang Xia was already asleep when they arrived, and was woken up by Zhu Meng’s sudden visit.

Zhu Meng was not afraid of offending the old Councilman after learning how serious the threat might be. He insisted on waking Jiang Xia up.

Jiang Xia yawned as he brought the guests to his living room with a sullen face. He poured himself some tea and glanced at his unexpected guests coldly.

“Zhu Meng, you have come to my house at this time. I won’t forgive you if it’s not something important!” Jiang Xia was an arrogant man. He treated Councilman Zhu Meng like he was his junior, and did not even bother greeting him conventionally.

“Councilman Jiang, have you assessed the danger level of the Salamander Demons?” Zhu Meng promptly inquired.

Jiang Xia frowned instantly, and fixed his eyes on him. Zhu Meng had asked a critical question!

“It’s the Research Union’s job,” Jiang Xia replied flatly.

“I believe the Salamander Demons might be a new disaster species. You better let the others know and tell them to send an army to deal with it,” Zhu Meng said.

“It’s not like the army has nothing better to do. You are well aware of how grim the situation is along the coastline! There’s no need to raise a fuss if the local government can deal with the problem!

“Or do you think I’m too old to handle a trivial matter like that myself? Besides, did the Research Union assess the danger? If not, what excuse do you have to send in the army? Who cares what you believe in? Even though you are in charge of the Threat-Elimination Strategy, you have no right to intervene with my business before the Research Union has finished assessing it!” Jiang Xia shouted.

“But it will take the Research Union a long time to assess it. I’m worried that it will be too late to get rid of the Salamander Demons by then,” Zhu Meng countered.

“See them out!” Jiang Xia rose to his feet and ordered his men to send his guests out.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Thousand Islands Lake was more than a hundred kilometers from Hangzhou, some distance away. The strange thing was, the sea was at least a hundred kilometers away from the Thousand Islands Lake, too. How did the Spiral Shelled Monsters even find their way there?

Nothing was indeed impossible when mating was involved, no matter what living creatures they were!

Mo Fan asked Lingling to accept the quest that Jiang Xia had put up as representatives of the Clearsky Hunter Agency. They were asking for the details of the Tree of Vows in return.

Jiang Xia was reluctant to accept their help at first. He had believed he could handle it himself, but after Zhu Meng’s sudden visit, he quickly asked some experts on demon creatures for their opinions.

They told him that the Salamander Demons were quite tricky to deal with. It was impossible to tell how long it would take the local government to eliminate them all without the help of elite Hunters.

Jiang Xia found out that Lingling’s group was responsible for taking down the Black Vatican on Chongming Island, solving the mystery of the Drowning Curse, and had even completed the quest of the Tear of Medusa. He eventually agreed to sign the Hunter’s Agreement after acknowledging Mo Fan and Lingling’s capabilities as Hunters.

Mo Fan was no longer worried that Jiang Xia would go back on his word only after signing the Hunter’s Agreement. After all, knowing Jiang Xia was the kind of person to haggle over every detail, he might have been reluctant to fulfill his end of the bargain once he knew they were looking for the Tree of Vows without it!

——

Mo Fan put on a disguise and used the name Fan Mo before heading to the Thousand Islands Lake.

2

There was a half-military outpost to the east of the Thousand Islands Lake, about the size of a small town. It did not have civilians. It mainly consisted of soldiers patrolling in the area to ensure the safety of Hangzhou and the other cities nearby.

There were four squads of soldiers mainly focused on patrolling the area. They were not too impressive in combat.

The rest of the people at the outpost were Hunters. The Thousand Islands Lake was currently a source of treasure. There was a simple Hunter’s Lodge providing the latest updates on the quest to the Hunters. Information was often more important than strength to Hunters!

Minghu Outpost was developing steadily. Everything was in order, and defensive measures were being conducted properly. It had been bustling lately, especially after the government put up the quest asking for the Salamander Demons’ Hearts, which had attracted many Hunters. The outpost was even a little overcrowded already.

Mo Fan noticed many people shouting at the entrance of the Hunter’s Lodge when he walked past.

It was common to see Hunters recruiting members for their parties with the most primitive approach at places like the Hunter’s Lodge. The parties that were recruiting new members would raise banners, leave their contact numbers, or simply yell and shout to attract people’s attention.

“Water Mage, any Intermediate Water Mage looking to join a party? You must be at least an Intermediate Hunter to join our Foehn Hunter Squad! We are led by an experienced Advanced Mage. We guarantee you a high efficiency when it comes to completing quests. Any Water Mage looking for a party here!?” a passionate young man yelled at the entrance of the Hunter’s Lodge.

The young man immediately grabbed Mo Fan when he walked past him. “Friend, are you interested in joining our Foehn Hunter Squad? We will pay you two hundred thousand!”

“I’m not a Water Mage,” Mo Fan said to the passionate young man, who somewhat resembled Zhang Xiaohou.

“It’s fine if you’re not a Water Mage. The Hunter Union has requested that every party have at least seven members. Our party only has six members, so we are short one Intermediate Mage. We have already devised a plan for the quest. It would be best if we can find a Water Mage, but it’s not a must. You can just make up the numbers and cheer for us later!” the young man encouraged him.

“I see. Are you sure you just want me to make up the numbers?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course, we have strong Mages in our party. You are in safe hands by joining us. Most importantly, we will pay you exactly what we promised!” the young man said.

“Are you familiar with this place?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course we are! We aren’t that popular, but we’ve been active in the Thousand Islands Lake for around three years. We know the location of the islands, the depth of the water, even the spots where we can find many demon creatures. HAHAHA, what do you say? Are you interested in joining us?” the young man said.

“But… I’m not an Intermediate Mage,” Mo Fan said.

“Huh? Your extraordinary bearing caught my eyes. You must be a student of a famous institute. How are you not an Intermediate Mage? What is your Primary Element? Oh, I should ask, what is your Element?” the young man asked.

“My Primary Element is Lightning,” Mo Fan informed him.

“Lightning? Wait here, I’ll go and ask my captain!” the young man said, and ran into the hall.

Mo Fan had come to inspect the area and familiarize himself with the place. The government had yet to resolve the problem after such a long time. It was unlikely that he could settle the problem in just a few days.

The others were not going to be here any time soon. Mo Fan was planning to follow a party around and learn more about the Thousand Islands Lake. He wanted to take a look at the Salamander Demons first. It was better than roaming about aimlessly like a headless fly.

The young man was quite impatient, so it did not take him long to return.

“Brother, since our party is in a rush as we don’t want the others to get a head start, we are willing to let you join us, even though you are only a Basic Lightning Mage. However, you must be extremely careful. The Salamander Demons are not as weak as you think. Besides, they normally stay in packs,” the young man said.

“I’m an Advanced Mage, I’m not a Basic Mage,” Mo Fan said. He was too lazy to conceal his strength like he usually did.

“Hah, stop bluffing! If you’re an Advanced Mage at such a young age, I’d be a Super Mage by now. Let’s go, we must hurry! The other Hunter Groups have already moved out. We can’t let them take all the profits!” The young man dragged Mo Fan to group up with the rest of the party.

“I’m really an Advanced Mage,” Mo Fan said with a wry smile.

“Sure, you’re an Advanced Mage. We’ll all cheer for you when you take on the demon creatures on your own!” The young man did not treat Mo Fan’s words seriously, clearly not believing him.

It was not his fault. First, it was rare for someone in their twenties to be an Advanced Mage. Second, those people would usually stay in their own clans and enjoy the resources provided by their clans, or have their own hunting bands. Why would he be looking to join a random party at the Hunter’s Lodge?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan soon became an official member of the Foehn Hunter Squad after paying the deposit.

Not every Hunter had a fixed group. It was impossible for every member in a group to always be on good terms with one another, nor was it possible for a group to not suffer any deaths. Normally, the death of a member would eventually lead to the party’s disbanding.

Therefore, it was common for Hunters to form a party at the last moment for a specific quest. Taking the difficulty of the quest and the safety of the Hunters into consideration, the Hunter Union would set level requirements and the number of members of a party for different quests. The party had to meet the requirements before they were allowed to take on the quests.

In the past, many Hunters had taken on quests beyond their capabilities. Some of the quests were only available to a single party, meaning that other parties could not pursue those quests after they were taken. As a result, not only were many Hunters killed because they were too weak, it also delayed the completion of the quests and wasted their employer’s time and opportunities.

The Foehn Hunter Squad had failed to meet the requirements because it was short of a member.

The deposit that Mo Fan paid was just a simple constraint for members that had joined the party temporarily. It was necessary to prevent a new member from leaving the party for no reason, or running away on their own when the party was in danger. The leader had the right to keep the deposit if either situation happened.

——

The young man was called Zhong Li. He was the Wind Mage in the party.

He was surprised to find the party leader was a woman. Her fair skin was smooth and tender. She was in her late twenties, mature and beautiful.

Mo Fan had seen women leading Hunter Groups, but most of them were the tough and capable kind. It was rare to see a woman that kept flirting and teasing her members.

“Little boy, you better look after yourself. I won’t be able to keep an eye on you all the time. It will be a pity if your handsome face is ruined and covered in blood,” the leader, Gu Ying, told him with a smile.

Mo Fan listened to Gu Ying’s teasing with a serious face. He lowered his head and looked at his crotch, “Leader is talking to you, did you hear her?”

Gu Ying did not react at first. She was wondering why the young man was talking to himself like a retard. She finally realized something when she noticed where Mo Fan was looking and recalled what she had said to him. She rolled her eyes at Mo Fan alluringly and giggled, “You’re an interesting guy.”

—

Mo Fan was glad he could just follow the party, knowing how bad he was with directions. The terrain of the Thousand Islands Lake was rather complicated. Mo Fan was seriously worried that he would not be able to find his way back on his own.

The group of seven left the outpost. They traveled across the swampy areas along the lake for two hours.

“The Valley Lake Island is ahead. The island is almost entirely surrounded by mountains, apart from a narrow crack connected to the Thousand Islands Lake. We all know that the Salamander Demons stay in packs, and they usually travel in groups of dozens. It’s difficult for even a strong party to face a few dozen Salamander Demons at once, so we must abuse the terrain of the Valley Lake Island. Since the island is surrounded by mountains, we’ll send someone to lure the Salamander Demons to the crack and only let two or three of them enter at a time by blocking the crack. That way, we won’t have any trouble killing the Salamander Demons,” Gu Ying pointed at an island in the distance.

“That’s brilliant, how did you find such a place with the perfect terrain?” the Ice Mage in the party, Xie Hao, asked.

“It’s all thanks to me. I was chased by a Brutish Water Mammoth once. I happened to see a part of the lake surrounded by mountains when I had nowhere left to run to. I thought I was dead for sure, but it turned out to be the perfect hiding spot. I only survived because the Brutish Water Mammoth eventually stopped chasing me. I noticed that the island surrounded by hills with only a narrow crack for its entrance was perfect for our plan to control the numbers of demon creatures we fight at a time,” Zhong Li said proudly.

“Isn’t the Brutish Water Mammoth an extremely dangerous species? You’re lucky to be alive!”

“Yeah, I also think it’s my lucky place, so I believe we can earn a fortune using it!” Zhong Li agreed excitedly.

Mo Fan agreed that the Valley Lake Island was perfect for battle.

The mountains were surrounding a submerged valley with a narrow ravine leading to the spacious lake. The crack had tall mountain walls on both sides, so the demon creatures were unlikely to fly over them or flank them from the sides. An Earth Mage could easily block off the entrance too, providing them with a safe and enclosed environment to fight the creatures that were lured into the pass.

It turned out that this Hunter Group did have a plan in mind. They were actually using their brains! Mo Fan had a whole new level of respect for them.

“I’ll lure the Salamander Demons here, get ready for battle!” Zhong Li said.

Zhong Li’s Primary Element was Wind, and his Secondary Element was Water, so he was playing an important role in the party. He was the only member that could run away safely after provoking the Salamander Demons. The rest of the party would easily be overrun by them.

“I’ll block the entrance!” the middle-aged Earth Mage promised.

“Alright, be careful,” Gu Ying said.

Mo Fan was planning to inspect the terrain of the Thousand Islands Lake and evaluate the strength of the Salamander Demons, but he could not evaluate how strong the demon creatures were with his own strength. After all, his spells could easily penetrate their defenses, no matter how sturdy their shells were.

However, it was not practical for him to keep blasting the Thousand Islands Lake with his spells. Even a Super Mage would have a hard time eliminating these creatures, so it was unlikely that an Advanced Mage like him could resolve the problem on his own. He had to figure out the true weaknesses of the Salamander Demons with the help of these Intermediate Mages, and use the right approach to take them out!

Mo Fan was also interested to see how these Hunters were planning to fight the Salamander Demons. He was curious if the Salamander Demons were truly as terrifying as Lingling had mentioned!

“Don’t you think you’re lucky for being able to fight alongside Intermediate Mages like us?” Xie Hao, asked, glancing at Mo Fan.

“I do, I still have much to learn!” Mo Fan nodded.

1

“We used to be Basic Mages too. We know how difficult it is to fight real demon creatures with only a single Element and a single spell. It’s very easy for you to die, even if you have the Lightning Element. A piece of advice; you should stay in the safe zone until you’ve reached the Intermediate Level!” Xie Hao warned him in a friendly manner.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sound of water splashing came from the other side of the mountains, as if the lake was boiling. Everyone could imagine the sight of a bunch of creatures moving rapidly across the lake even without seeing it.

“The Salamander Demons are here!” Gu Ying declared sternly. She displayed a surprisingly heroic bearing.

The team members were experienced, and synchronized well with one another. Zhong Li, whose job was to lure the Salamander Demons, sprinted in through the entrance. He had successfully lured the brainless Salamander Demons into the narrow passage!

“Seal off the entrance, now!” Zhong Li yelled at the Earth Mage while he was running on the water toward the island.

A huge boulder fell from the sky and blocked the passage like the door of a dam, separating the Salamander Demons who were racing ahead from the rest of their kind.

The Salamander Demons were not particularly fast or agile. They resembled mobile steel fortresses. They usually crushed their enemies by trampling and devouring them!

Mo Fan saw four Salamander Demons stranded in the passage when the boulder sealed off the entrance.

“Damn it, I was a little too slow, four of them came inside!” the Earth Mage grumbled anxiously.

“Four… isn’t that too much for us to handle?” a middle-aged Mage with a huge nose swallowed nervously.

“It’s fine, as long as we don’t make any huge mistakes while we are working together. We should be able to deal with them!” Gu Ying said firmly.

Gu Ying was the strongest in the party. Not only did she have two Soul Seeds, she had also reached the third-tier of the Intermediate Level. She could take on a Salamander Demon alone!

“Ice Lock!”

Gu Ying stared at the water that a Salamander Demon was swimming in. An icy chain around the size of a small tree trunk flew at the fleshy Salamander Demon and dragged it out from under the water’s surface!

“Attack it first!” Gu Ying said.

Gu Ying dragged the Salamander Demon closer so the rest of the team could focus their spells on it.

Mo Fan finally had a chance to take a closer look at the creature when the Ice Lock drew closer.

“Are you sure this thing isn’t a giant snail?” Mo Fan asked.

“What snail? It’s a Salamander Demon. Stay back, these creatures can spit out venomous darts!” Xie Hao warned.

To be frank, the creature did resemble a snail at first glance, mainly because it was carrying a shell on its back, a trait of the Spiral Shelled Monsters!

The shell was close to the size of a car’s hood, curving with a sharp tip at the top. Its surface reflected a dull sheen under the sunlight.

The shells of the Spiral Shelled Monsters were extremely annoying. Once, an army had carried out an operation to wipe out the Spiral Shelled Monsters off an island. The army stayed on their ships and blasted the island with spells. The island was on the verge of sinking from the continuous blasts, yet the Spiral Shelled Monsters simply hid within their shells. The island eventually sank, but the horde of Spiral Shelled Monsters was perfectly unharmed. The person in charge of the operation was probably overwhelmed by despair when they learned the creatures had survived their bombardment with ease!

The Salamander Demons had obviously inherited the shells of the Spiral Shelled Monsters. They were as sturdy as rocks!

Salamanders were similar to lizards. Amphibians were common in an environment of mixed water and land. Mo Fan described the creatures as giant snails because the bodies under the shells resembled the salamanders. They had soft flesh, feelers, and their bodies were constantly wriggling.

In other words, the Salamander Demons were lizards with soft flesh and a spiraling shell on their backs!

Lingling had mentioned how outstanding these creatures’ defense was. Their defense was easily the strongest among creatures of the same level. Mo Fan could not agree more as he watched the Hunters fighting the Salamander Demon!

Gu Ying, Xie Hao, and the big-nosed middle-aged Mage had already cast a few spells. However, none of their spells were effective when the Salamander Demon withdrew into its shell!

The Salamander Demon only came out of the shell after the wave of spells was over. It shrieked and proceeded with its counterattack!

“How…how is it not dead yet?” Xie Hao was dumbfounded.

Gu Ying was looking grim, too. She knew how outstanding the Salamander Demons’ defense was, so it was unwise to fight a group of Salamander Demons at once. However, she did not expect a single Salamander Demon to have such a terrifying defense!

“Even our captain’s Soul Seeds only left a single scratch on its shell. How are we supposed to kill it? The other three are already getting closer!” the big-nosed Mage exclaimed.

“How would I know!?”

An Intermediate Mage with a Soul Seed was already impressive in a Hunter Group. They were strong enough to fight Warrior-level creatures! The rest of the team was relying on Gu Ying to break down the Salamander Demons’ defense so the others could kill them. Little did they know that even their captain’s Soul Seeds were not strong enough to destroy the shells! Their defense was simply too insane!

Luckily, the Salamander Demons were slow. Otherwise, they would have no time to flee for their lives!

“Third-tier Intermediate Spells with Soul Seeds… she’s already one of the strongest in the Intermediate Level, yet she still couldn’t inflict any damage on the Salamander Demon. These Warrior-level creatures are unusually strong,” Mo Fan evaluated the Salamander Demon’s defense while watching the fight.

2

If an Intermediate Mage could not break through the creature’s defense, they would have to rely on Advanced Spells.

The problem was, how many Advanced Mages would a city or a faction have? Considering the overwhelming numbers of the Salamander Demons, the Advanced Mages who bothered to fight would struggle to kill the Salamander Demons quick enough to match their reproduction rate, even if they gave their best!

“Again!” Gu Ying did not believe it.

She organized the next wave of spells. This time, she used the Shadow Element to nail the Salamander Demon onto a rock, allowing the others to land their strongest spells right on the target.

The Shadow Element did not stop the Salamander Demon from withdrawing into its shell. Mo Fan witnessed the rock being quickly devoured by the colorful blasts of the spells.

Water splashed wildly. When the spells faded away, tiny cracks had surfaced on the Salamander Demon’s shell. Its soft body came out of the shell once again, as if it was hiding from a downpour. Its life was clearly not in danger despite the bruises and scratches on its shell.

Tiny cracks…

It was the most a team of Intermediate Mages could do after a few waves of spells. It was going to take at least ten similar attacks to break the shell!

The Foehn Hunter Squad had nowhere to go now that they were stuck on the island with the Salamander Demons!

Everyone clenched their teeth and continued to attack the Salamander Demons. To their relief, the Salamander Demons’ offense was not particularly strong, and they were not rookies. They still had the situation under control when the rest of the Salamander Demons joined the battle!

—

The sky was starting to get dark. The team finally eliminated the four Salamander Demons before sunset.

No one was seriously injured from the battle, yet they were completely worn out by fatigue. They sat by the water and began to doubt their life choices.

“Seriously, I’ve never fought a tougher Warrior-level creature than these things. Their defense is already comparable to a Commander-level creature!” Zhong Li grumbled.

The team had been active around the vicinity of the Thousand Islands Lake for some time. They mainly focused on killing the giant lizards and swamp demons. It was their first time taking on the Salamander Demons. They were utterly shocked by their outstanding defense!

“Bloody hell, I thought we could earn some quick money here, but I didn’t expect to be fighting annoying creatures like these. If killing five Salamander Demons only gives us one heart orb, I won’t even bother wasting my time here. I can earn ten times more by sleeping with the young masters of the renowned clans for a few nights!” Gu Ying blurted out angrily.

“Boss, are you serious? I’m willing to pay two hundred thousand to spend time with you for three nights!” Zhong Li suddenly rose to his feet and looked at Gu Ying with great anticipation.

“Piss off! If you were good looking like Fan Mo, I wouldn’t mind getting two hundred thousand for three days and nights. As for you, I might have to reconsider even if you’re offering me two million!” Gu Ying shot back.

Mo Fan was still figuring out a way to deal with the Salamander Demons’ shells when Gu Ying’s sudden mention of him interrupted his thought process!

He wondered why those close to him kept saying that he was not handsome. Listen to what Gu Ying just said, he could even get a discount for hooking up with a prostitute because of his handsome appearance, let alone having one-night-stands with strangers. If he wanted, he could go for three-hundred-and-sixty-five days without a rest!

“Wait, are you telling me that not every Salamander Demon is going to drop a heart orb?” Xie Hao exclaimed suddenly.

“Of course not, only some have it. The odds are one out of five!”

“Holy shit, doesn’t that mean all our efforts are in vain if none of these four creatures have a heart orb!?” Xie Hao shrieked.

“It’s possible, knowing the odds,” Mo Fan said.

“Shh, enough with your inauspicious remarks, go check their remains!” Gu Ying rolled her eyes at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan dutifully began searching the remains of the creatures. He soon returned with an awkward face.

“Don’t you say a word, I’ll check them myself,” Gu Ying quickly rose to her feet and searched the remains carefully.

The others began to pale. They realized their efforts were in vain when they saw Gu Ying running back angrily!

Not a single heart orb from the Salamander Demons!

Their energy was depleted, too. It would take them three to four days to fully recover!

Taking into consideration the journey, preparations, the time they spent in the battle, and the time needed to recover, their team had wasted a whole week for nothing!

Gu Ying’s face was the darkest. She was seriously considering prostituting herself!

She had to eat unpalatable food and sleep on the ground in the wild. She was constantly bothered by the mosquitoes and the pungent odor. It was common to be injured in battles, too. She was finally done with the fight, yet she had earned nothing from it. It was so much worse than going to luxurious hotels, enjoying high-quality red wines, the soothing aroma, and earning money by just lying still on the bed!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Damn it, screw this, I’m a retard if I even bother accepting a quest like this from the government again!” Gu Ying was enraged, and threw a tantrum on the spot. If she was not running low on energy, she might even cast her Ice Spells at her teammates to vent her frustration.

“Boss, life isn’t always a smooth journey. It’s normal to go through a letdown at times. We just need to be patient. Maybe we can find two or three heart orbs from the next batch of Salamander Demons. Doesn’t that mean we are still profiting?” Zhong Li quickly said some comforting words with an awkward face.

“Profit my ass! At this rate, everyone is only getting a hundred thousand at most for a month of work. There’s nothing to eat here! Even the grass pokes ass when I’m taking a piss. I can endure it if we are actually earning a lot more, but why would I even bother suffering for this much money?” Gu Ying spat angrily.

Most Hunters would accept a huge job every half a year, spending a month or two living in the wild under dire circumstances. Some people could not even stand living in a rundown house for a day or two, let alone staying in the desolate wilderness that was swarming with demon creatures.

Therefore, Hunters would only suffer for a month or two in the wild to earn a fortune before resting for a few months. Otherwise, they would most likely suffer a mental breakdown.

In other words, even if they spent a month here in the wild, they were only getting a hundred thousand each. If they stuck to their normal routine, it meant they would only earn a hundred thousand for half a year.

A hundred thousand for half a year?

Couldn’t they just find a normal job instead? Why would they bother risking their lives living in the wild?

“What shitty job is this? I’m done here, let’s head back as soon as possible!” Xie Hao was displeased too.

“Zhong Li, can you please gather enough information about the demon creatures next time? Someone else can kill these Salamander Demons all they want!”

The team lost its will to fight. Mo Fan totally understood. Any Hunter in their right mind would not waste their time on a quest like this.

If an above-average Hunter Group like the Foehn Hunter Squad was unwilling to commit to the quest, the rest of the Hunter Groups were most likely going to give up and leave the Thousand Islands Lake, too.

At this rate, no one would bother wasting their time on the Salamander Demons, allowing them to mass reproduce!

“Let’s think about it again… I don’t want our time and effort to be in vain too. How about this? Why don’t we decide again after we’ve recovered? If it really isn’t going to work, we can head west and kill some lizard demons to compensate for our loss. It’s better than going back empty-handedly, don’t you think?” Zhong Li proposed.

“Yeah, I would rather kill the lizard demons in the swamps than waste my time on these Salamander Demons here!” the big-nosed Mage agreed.

—

The team was too tired to go anywhere. They set up tents on the deserted island, staying there for the night.

Every Hunter knew that it was dangerous to stay close to a water source at night, since demon creatures might come and get a drink. There was the risk of being dragged out of their tents and eaten as snacks while slept!

——

Mo Fan was told to take the night watch, as he was the only person with energy. In the eyes of the others, being on night watch was the only job that suited him!

Mo Fan looked down from the hillside and looked out over the water surrounded by the mountains. It was a peaceful lake. He could see the reflections of the clouds moving slowly past on the surface of the water.

“I can’t think of any weaknesses. I would have to rely on stronger spells to kill them, which means I’ll be consuming my energy faster…”

Mo Fan was troubled. He seriously found the Salamander Demons annoying. Their defense was comparable to some weaker Commander-level creatures, yet their numbers were insane…

Mo Fan suddenly heard a strange noise from the water while he was deep in thought.

It did not sound like the cry of a demon creature, but the sound of a higher density liquid flowing…

Mo Fan looked at the lake and noticed the water turning cloudy. It looked like someone had poured a huge barrel of polluted water into the lake!

“What’s going on?”

Mo Fan was curious. He quickly turned into a Shadow Bird and flew across the trees before landing on the shore by the lake.

“Did I imagine it?”

The water suddenly cleared up after Mo Fan reached the shore. He could even see the bottom of the lake under the moonlight.

The water had cleared up suddenly even though it was turbid just a moment ago. It took him a minute to fly down the slope, yet it was impossible for the water to clear up so quickly.

Mo Fan was constantly keeping an eye on the surface of the water. He was wondering if the surface of the lake was covered up, just like the blue moths had covered the lake in Wuzhen, preventing him from seeing any reflections on its surface.

Mo Fan was mindful of that tactic this time, yet he did not notice anything.

The water simply turned cloudy and cleared up again in no time.

“Was it because of gray clouds? Did I see it wrong?”

Mo Fan did not understand what was going on. He had no choice but to return to the tents.

—

“Where did you go? You were supposed to be on night duty. Why aren’t you doing your job? Are you giving up on your deposit?” Gu Ying demanded with a long face when she saw Mo Fan.

“I went to take a piss. My piss stinks. I was worried that it might bother you all, so I went further away,” Mo Fan explained with a grin.

“That’s disgusting. Why the hell are you explaining it to me in such detail!?” Gu Ying rolled her eyes.

“Why aren’t you asleep yet? Did you check up on me on purpose?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m not in a good mood after realizing I’m not earning any money from this. I suffer from insomnia whenever I’m in a bad mood. They are so many of these creatures. We could earn a fortune if we can find a way to break their shells!” Gu Ying snarled.

“So you’re troubled by that, too…are you that desperate for money?” Mo Fan said.

“Who isn’t?” Gu Ying asked in return.

“You’re right.”

“I’m planning to save up for a Galaxy Vein and see if I can break through to the Advanced Level. It looks like it’s not going to work…” Gu Ying let out a sigh.

“A Galaxy Vein is pretty expensive. It will take you twenty years to save up for it at this rate,” Mo Fan murmured.

“Which is why I was thinking, if I couldn’t make any progress this year, I should just marry a rich guy. I can get anything I want with a little coquettish act and moans,” Gu Ying spat.

“You sound pretty serious,” Mo Fan smiled.

“I am serious. I’m thinking of quitting already. It’s too tiring. I’ve been a Hunter for almost ten years, risking my life and not even treating myself as a human being. I realized that I’m actually earning less than those flirtatious b**ches. They can get everything they want by just acting coquettishly and selling their asses,” Gu Ying spat.

“Ugh…” Mo Fan was suddenly lost for words.

Their leader was as tough as nails!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

Zhong Li woke everyone up early in the morning on the next day.

“Boss, I just received a letter from the Hunter Union delivered by a roaming Post Eagle. It’s for a quest with a high reward, and it’s about the lizard demons that we are familiar with!” Zhong Li said excitedly.

“Show me!” Gu Ying ordered him.

The Post Eagles were a common way for the Hunter Union to communicate with Hunters in the wild. Normal communication equipment had no signal in demon creatures’ territories. The Post Eagles were specifically used by the Hunter Masters to relay important information and messages.

Xie Hao went closer and blurted out in surprise, “Looking for an infant of the Lizard Demons. A million for whoever gets it… That’s insane!”

“Is an infant of Lizard Demons worth that much? They are indeed hard to catch, but they are known for their tendency to stir up troubles. Could it be fake?” the big-nosed Mage wondered.

“The information is real. It’s a Hunter Master’s Post Eagle. It even has the seal of a Hunter Master. The seal hasn’t disappeared yet, so the quest is still valid!” Gu Ying said.

“We are in luck then! It won’t be difficult for us to catch an infant of the Lizard Demons!” Xie Hao said.

“The letter also mentions that the Hunter Master is looking for an elite squad of Intermediate Mages that is familiar with the Thousand Islands Lake and is experienced in capturing demon creatures. She’s willing to pay twenty-four million to hire the squad for a month or two, but the squad must catch an infant of the Lizard Demons within a week,” Gu Ying went on.

“Twenty-four million!” the members of the Foehn Hunter Squad gasped. Their eyes glittered!

“Twenty-four million. That means each of us will get four million if we split it evenly. That’s crazy! I don’t think we have ever accepted a quest with over ten million as the reward!” Zhong Li exclaimed.

Quests were classified into different levels. Hunters could only accept the higher-level quests after they had reached a certain rank. A quest with over ten million as the reward was already considered a huge job for them. Most Intermediate Mages could treat themselves to a long rest after completing a job like that, let alone a quest that was going to pay them twenty-four million! They could buy new magic equipment with the money. If they already had some savings, they could even afford to buy a cheap Soul Seed!

Soul-grade Seeds averaged around fourteen to eighteen million in price. If they could earn four million from just one quest, they would be very close to buying a Soul-grade Seed if they could find a few more quests with the same pay!

“ (Cough cough) , we have seven in our team now,” Gu Ying corrected him.

“Is he going to get the money, too? He did nothing, he’s only here to make up the numbers, yet we have to give him three million? That doesn’t make any sense!” the big-nosed Mage whined in displeasure.

If the quest’s reward was only a few million, they would not mind sharing it among the seven of them. It might feel like a waste, but it was better than wasting their time doing nothing because they did not have enough members for the quest. However, if the reward was twenty-four million, there was no way they would be willing to give away three million for someone that was only making up the numbers!

“That’s right, he’s only with us for the quest related to the Salamander Demons. He’s not part of this new quest,” the Earth Mage said.

“I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. He’s still one of us now,” Zhong Li said with an awkward face.

“That’s enough, what are you even arguing for? You sound like the twenty-four million is already ours when we haven’t even done a single thing! Fan Mo is now one of us, of course he’s with us for the next quest! Stop arguing!

1

“We should come up with a plan soon. If the Post Eagles are delivering the letters, it means other squads will receive the message too. We won’t get a single cent if another team ends up catching an infant of the Lizard Demons before us!” Gu Ying scolded the members mercilessly.

The big-nosed Mage and the Earth Mage were displeased, yet they dared not to talk back to their leader.

Mo Fan was quite surprised, too. It was true that they should not kick him out of the party since it was against the ethics of the Hunters Union, yet how many Hunters would even care about ethics when it came to money? Even if the incident was brought up to the Hunter Union, they were indeed technically signing up for a new quest, so they were not breaking the rule if they did not share a single cent with Mo Fan!

The fact that Gu Ying did not kick Mo Fan out of the party even though he was not contributing much changed his view of her. It was rare to see Hunters sticking up for their ethics, especially after learning how desperate for money she was.

“Actually, you don’t have to argue because of me. I was only interested in the quest for the Salamander Demon’s hearts. I won’t be tagging along if you guys are thinking of doing a different quest…” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had a good impression of Gu Ying, so he did not want her to fall out with the big-nosed Mage and the Earth Mage because of him. It was already difficult for her to build a reputation as a team leader as a woman. If she insisted on not placing her members first, the team might even disband as a result!

“Fan Mo, don’t abase yourself. We were rookies like you, too. We all came from the Basic Level. We weren’t able to complete the quest of collecting the Salamander Demon’s hearts because we weren’t prepared enough. You have wasted your time by coming with us, too. However, we are confident in completing this new quest. You are welcome to come with us and earn some money. You can use it to buy some resources that might help you reach the Intermediate Level.

“You are not young anymore. It’s indeed a little embarrassing to still be stuck at the Basic Level. Being good-looking alone isn’t enough in this world. You must have a certain strength and be financially capable. Otherwise, you won’t dare to go after the beautiful goddess you are fond of,” Gu Ying said.

Mo Fan was left speechless by Gu Ying’s speech.

Which eye of yours is telling you that I’m abasing myself?

A few million was basically nothing to him. It was not even enough to buy snacks for Little Flame Belle when she had a good appetite!

Forget it, if he told them that, they might assume he was bluffing again…

“Well, I’m currently investigating the Salamander Demons, so I’m only interested in quests that are related to them. I don’t have time for other quests,” Mo Fan said.

“Boss, he already said it himself. What’s the point of urging him to stay? We should hurry. If we waste our time further, we are really going to miss out on the chance,” the big-nosed Mage said. He glanced at Mo Fan, as if complimenting him for knowing his place.

“Yeah, we haven’t secured the reward yet,” the Earth Mage agreed quickly.

Gu Ying had a troubled face, but since Mo Fan had already said so, there was no reason for her to force him along.

“I’ll give you back your deposit,” Gu Ying said.

“Sure.”

Gu Ying returned the deposit to Mo Fan. To his surprise, she actually gave him twice the deposit. Gu Ying explained that they were responsible for failing the quest. They promised to bring him along to earn some money, yet they had given up on the quest halfway. Therefore, she had given Mo Fan twice the deposit as compensation.

Mo Fan did not want it, but he had no choice but to take it after Gu Ying insisted.

—

Mo Fan roamed around the Thousand Islands Lake after parting ways with the Foehn Hunter Squad.

He tried attacking the Salamander Demons to see how quickly he could eliminate them. As he expected, regardless of the Element he was using, the Salamander Demons were a lot harder to kill than normal Warrior-level creatures. Mo Fan only managed to clear the Salamander Demons out of a small area after spending the whole day fighting.

The Thousand Islands Lake was quite broad, and there were countless Salamander Demons occupying the lake. If even a magic cannon Mage like Mo Fan was struggling to reduce the numbers of the Salamander Demons, it was obvious that culling the Salamander Demons with brute force was out of the question!

“Forget it, time to go back and see if Lingling has come up with a better plan.” Mo Fan felt extremely helpless. He had no choice but to go back, as it was starting to get dark again.

Mo Fan had wasted a few days at the Thousand Islands Lake, yet he had not found any effective way to exterminate the Salamander Demons.

——

Mo Fan found Lingling after he returned to Minghu Outpost.

Lingling was busy working on something, and was extremely focused. She was displaying the inviolable bearing of a genius.

Apas sat by the window, eating a red apple. Her sexy legs were swinging under her pleated skirt. She seemed carefree and relaxed, but she was just bored.

“If she’s not doing anything, can you keep her in your Contract Space?” Lingling said. She was obviously referring to Apas.

“I wasn’t disturbing you!” Apas was not pleased.

“The air you are exhaling is disturbing me from doing my work,” Lingling refuted promptly.

“Humph, annoying little brat!” Apas jumped down from the side of the window. She went up to Mo Fan and wrapped her arms around her hand. She stuck her body close to him and rubbed it against his hand while asking in a seductive tone, “Big brother, did you learn anything useful?”

“Not really, the Salamander Demons are very tricky to kill. If we are relying on brute force, we might have to hire a bunch of Super Mages, but that would also destroy the Thousand Islands Lake,” Mo Fan said. He did not mind Apas acting coquettishly. He was enjoying the sensation.

Lingling glanced at Apas. Her face had no expression, but her eyes were full of disdain and disgust.

“Take a rest for now. I’ll need you to visit the Hunter Union later,” Lingling said.

“Did you make any progress?” Mo Fan asked.

“A little.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Mo Fan had relied heavily on Lingling’s knowledge and her crazy insight to complete some of the high-level quests when he was still a low-rank Hunter. Of their partnership, Lingling was the brains, so Mo Fan only needed to be a simple-minded retard with well-developed limbs!

Mo Fan heard something tapping on the window. He was confused.

Apas looked excited. However, before Apas could reach the window, Lingling said sternly, “Don’t you dare touch it!”

—

—

The Hunter Lodge…

The strong smell of the swamp lingered in the hall. The Hunters quickly pinched their noses and stepped aside.

A squad of Hunters in rugged clothes covered in stinky mud came into the hall. They hurriedly went into a room, ignoring their smell and appearance.

It was the Foehn Hunter Squad. They had been very productive, completing the quest for an infant of the Lizard Demons in just four days. They came in right away to hand in the quest.

However, to their surprise, another Hunter Group was waiting in the room. They had obviously completed the quest and were waiting for their employer!

“Why are you here!?” Gu Ying pulled a long face when she saw the other group.

“Isn’t this Gu Ying? Why do you look like you have just been begging on the street…tsk tsk, what’s that smell? Did you fall into a latrine pit or something? You really should have washed yourself before coming here. This is the private zone for Hunter Masters. I wouldn’t want the Hunter Master to faint because of your smell,” an enchanting voice spoke up.

The person speaking was a woman in her thirties. Her face was covered by a thick layer of foundation. She looked beautiful at the first glance, but if anyone was to take a closer look at her, they might be disgusted by her thick makeup.

“What are you doing here?” Gu Ying said coldly.

“To hand in the quest, of course! My team caught an infant of the Lizard Demons, so I’m here to hand it over… Oh, don’t tell me you accepted the same quest. Such a pity, we were here first, and we’ve already informed the employer,” Li Yumei answered sweetly.

“That’s impossible. The infants of the Lizard Demons are only active in the Great Gorge during this current season. Our team never saw you in that area. There must be something fishy about the creature you’ve caught. Someone must be raising it to be used as a Contracted Beast after it grew up!” Gu Ying said.

It was no longer the mating season for the Lizard Demons. It was unlikely that anyone would find a youngling of the Lizard Demons, even if they searched the entire Thousand Islands Lake and other areas. However, the Foehn Hunter Squad knew a place with a unique environment that might have one or two infants of the Lizard Demons, which was why they were so confident in completing the quest. To their surprise, Li Yumei was here to hand in the quest too! There was no way she could have found an infant of the Lizard Demons somewhere else!

“You’re not the only person familiar with the Thousand Islands Lake. Are you accusing me of cheating just because I’m faster than you? The Hunter Master isn’t blind, he will make the call himself. If you ask me, you should just go home and take a shower. You really stink, we are still looking forward to a feast tonight!” Li Yumei said disgustedly.

“Damn it, damn it!” Gu Ying immediately lost her temper. She ran forward as if she was going to fight Li Yumei to death.

“You madwoman!”

A Hunter Mistress walked in as they were about to started a brawl. She frowned and rebuked them when she saw people fighting, “What are you doing? Don’t you know violence isn’t allowed here?”

“We are here to turn in the quest! They came after us. You should drive them out!” Li Yumei sniffed.

“Whoever that argues further will be tossed out! Since both teams have completed the quest, you are allowed to stay! The Hunter Master is willing to pay a hundred million for the squads that completed the quest. It’s fine to have a few squads competing for the quest. The Hunter Master will personally evaluate the teams…” the Hunter Mistress went.

“Of course, I understand!” Li Yumei immediately responded with a smile.

Gu Ying had a twisted expression. Her face was dirty, and her disheveled hair was covered in filth. She looked completely different compared to her appearance when Mo Fan first met her. She was no different than a beggar on the street.

The quest paying a million for the infant of Lizard Demons was not that important. The following request to hire a squad with twenty-four million was the real deal. The team had gone all out to finish the quest first. They had waited in the swamp for three days and nights!

They had finally caught an infant of the Lizard Demons and rushed back, and did not have a chance to get some rest. Gu Ying would really be disheartened if her team missed out on the opportunity!

Most infuriatingly, this shameless woman was competing for the quest too!

Gu Ying and Li Yumei used to be members of the same group. Their leader was a very talented Mage. However, Li Yumei ended up shamelessly using her body to convince the leader to kick Gu Ying out of the group. She eventually became the leader’s wife.

The woman had never done anything useful, yet her title and reputation had exceeded Gu Ying’s. She had even reached the Advanced Level not long ago!

Gu Ying hated Li Yumei’s guts. Li Yumei had already ruined her life once. If she messed up her last fight again, she would seriously have the urge to die together with Li Yumei on the spot!

The reward of twenty-four million was too important to her group. Apart from the money, they would be getting a lot of Contribution Points, allowing them to take on higher-level quests! It would be easier for them to take on quests that would pay over ten million, as employers were more willing to employ their group knowing that they had completed a quest that paid twenty-four million in the past.

They had been doing quests worth only a few million as the reward lately. How long was it going to take them to save up for a Galaxy Vein if they were splitting such rewards among the six of them!?

A fragmented Galaxy Vein already cost around fifty to sixty million!

Gu Ying had treated this quest worth twenty-four million very seriously. It was a precious opportunity for her, and would guarantee her the right to accept quests with over ten million. She might have a chance to save up for a Galaxy Vein if she worked hard for another five to six years!

“I’ve transferred a million to both your accounts. You will hand over the younglings now,” the Hunter Mistress said.

“When will we know if the Hunter Master is going to hire us for the next quest? We are more interested in that. Is it possible for us to meet the Hunter Master? Our Foehn Hunter Squad is full of elites, and we are disciplined, just like the army. We promise that we can be of great help to the Hunter Master!” Zhong Li asked quickly

“The Hunter Master will make the decision after looking at the younglings. You can wait here or go back first. We’ll contact you again,” the Hunter Mistress replied evenly.

“Can you please let the Seven Star Hunter Master know that our Panshan Hunter Squad is a subsidiary squad of Hunter Master Lu Zhuo’s Hunter Group? We are more professional and reliable than some inferior, lowly Hunter Groups,” Li Yumei said.

“What did you say!?” Gu Ying snapped.

“Boss, keep your calm,” Zhong Li quickly advised.

“Humph, our strength and reputation say it all. The Seven Star Hunter Master definitely knows better… Mistress, we will excuse ourselves,” Li Yumei sniffed.

Gu Ying was trembling in rage as she watched Li Yumei leave with her party.

However, she did not leave after them. She stayed in the room and looked at the Hunter Mistress. She made up her mind as if she had decided to press her luck, “Mistress, can I meet the Seven Star Hunter Master in person? I can guarantee that there’s something strange about the youngling that Li Yumei brought. Our Foehn Hunter Squad might not be as famous, but our members are outstanding. We are willing to complete the quest at all costs. Please give us a chance!”

Gu Ying did not want to give up, especially after seeing how smug Li Yumei was. She decided to take the initiative to fight for the opportunity!

“I told you, the Hunter Master will decide after inspecting the younglings. What you say won’t make any difference,” the Hunter Mistress responded calmly.

“Please, let me meet the Seven Star Hunter Master!” Gu Ying bowed at the Hunter Mistress.

She could expose Li Yumei’s deception as long as she was given a chance to meet the Hunter Master.

Li Yumei must have bought the youngling. There was no way she had caught it from the wild! Someone like Li Yumei was not worthy to be hired by a Seven Star Hunter Master!

“I’ll relay your message, but the Hunter Master will still make the call.” The Hunter Mistress was touched by Gu Ying’s sincerity. After all, her team had come to turn in the quest even before treating their injuries!

—

The Hunter Mistress left the room and handed the infants of the Lizard Demons to the employer.

The Hunter Mistress returned after two hours. She was surprised to see the Foehn Hunter Squad was still in the room. They had been waiting for her to return!

“Don’t just wait here, go treat your wounds first and get some rest. I’ll contact you if I have any updates. I’ve already relayed your message. The Hunter Master is currently busy. As for whether the younglings were tamed or caught in the wild, the Hunter Master will know for sure. Don’t you worry,” the Hunter Mistress encouraged them.

“Oh, okay,” Gu Ying nodded in disappointment.

“Leader, don’t give up yet. A Seven Star Hunter Master can easily see through Li Yumei’s tricks…” Zhong Li said.

“Speaking of which, I didn’t know the quest was from a Seven Star Hunter Master before coming here! It’s rare to even see a Seven Star Hunter Master. I never thought the quest we were doing is from a Seven Star Hunter Master. No wonder it has such a generous reward!” the big-nosed Mage said.

A Seven Star Hunter Master!

A person like that was a great authority in Gu Ying and her party’s eyes. The man Li Yumei had hooked up with was only a Three Star Hunter Master. He was just like a junior in front of a Seven Star Hunter Master!

Gu Ying did not expect their employer to be a Seven Star Hunter Master; it made her even more desperate to secure the opportunity. It would be a great advantage if they worked successfully for a Seven Star Hunter Master. They would be guaranteed to be able to take on quests worth more than ten million!

“Mistress, may I ask who the Seven Star Hunter Master is? I’ve seen the seal on the letter. I can remember many of the Seven Star Hunter Master’s seals, but I don’t think I’ve seen this one before. Is the Hunter Master someone that has kept a low-profile?” the big-nosed Mage asked cautiously.

The seal of a Hunter was a symbol of their identity. Truly famous Hunters did not even need to mention their names or titles, their seals alone were enough to indicate who they were. The big-nosed Mage had seen the letter, yet he could not link the seal with any of the famous Seven Star Hunter Masters.

“To be honest, I’m not familiar with the two Seven Star Hunter Masters, either. They are from a private Hunter Agency, but it’s a very famous Hunter Agency. I’m sure you have heard of it before,” the Hunter Mistress said.

2

“A private Hunter Agency?” The members of the Foehn Hunter Squad were shocked.

Most Hunters were actively looking for quests, but private Hunter Agencies were usually made up of Hunters that employers would actively visit, trying to convince them to take on their jobs. Therefore, most private Hunter Agencies were established by someone that had at least reached the rank of a Senior Hunter. They mainly focused on quests that were dedicated exclusively to a Senior Hunter!

“So… which private Hunter Agency is it?”

“The Clearsky Hunter Agency of the Magic City’s Jing’an District.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The Clearsky Hunter Agency, the one with a long-established reputation in the Magic City! Don’t people always complain about their attitude? They always despise employers that go to ask them for a favor. I also heard that their agency is unmanned most of the time. They are known for their irresponsible attitude!” The big-nosed Mage was pretty familiar with the Hunter Agencies. He was surprised when he heard the name of the Hunter Agency involved.

The Clearsky Hunter Agency was considered outlandish by other Hunters. Most Hunters in the Hunter Union and the reputable Hunter Agencies were concerned about their image and reputation. After all, it was the key to earning money!

The Clearsky Hunter Agency was special. If the private Hunter Agencies were ranked according to the number of complaints they received, the Clearsky Hunter Agency was high on the ranking because they kept turning down their customers! Asking their Hunters for a favor was more difficult than recruiting Zhuge Liang!

{ TL Note: Zhuge Liang was a famous character in history. In the Romance of Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei only managed to recruit him after paying him three personal visits.}

1

However, the Clearsky Hunter Agency was still well-respected among the Hunters, mainly because the Clearsky Hunter Agency had a one hundred percent completion rate of the quests they accepted, even today!

When it came to difficult and tricky quests, many people would recommend that people try their luck at the Clearsky Hunter Agency. If Clearsky was willing to accept the quest, it was already half-completed!

“I just received some news,” the Hunter Mistress said.

Gu Ying immediately tensed up in worry. After all, her Foehn Hunter Squad did not have an impressive reputation, unlike Li Yumei’s Panshan Hunter Squad, which had connections with many Hunter Masters.

The other members were nervous, too. A quest worth twenty-four million as the reward was at stake. They could enjoy a long vacation after they were done with the quest!

“The infant of the Lizard Demons that your group caught meets the Hunter Master’s requirements. She has agreed to hire you. You can give me the details of your members. I will go ahead with the procedures. Once they are done, you will be officially hired by the Hunter Master. You must fulfill your duty,” the Hunter Mistress informed them.

“Wow, that’s great!” Zhong Li jumped up in joy.

The rest of the team embraced one another in excitement. They were rich, they were being paid twenty-four million! Each person was going to get four million, and it would only take a month!

Gu Ying stood still. Tears almost rolled down her cheeks.

If Li Yumei had not provoked her, she could only throw a tantrum and beat the crap out of her teammates to vent her frustration if she did not get the quest. She could suddenly see the sunlight poking out of the thick stormy clouds!

“Make sure you seize the opportunity. I hope you don’t disappoint the Seven Star Hunter Masters,” the Hunter Mistress encouraged them with a smile.

“Will do, we promise to give it our best!”

If their employer was really a Seven Star Hunter Master, the opportunity was clearly worth more than twenty-four million. Li Yumei’s squad had been pressuring them for a long time. They always ended up with the better employers and easier quests with higher rewards. Meanwhile, the Foehn Squad had worked harder to earn less money. Some employers even picked on them on purpose, just because the Panshan Hunter Squad was tied to a Three Star Hunter Master.

A connection to a Three Star Hunter Master was not to be underestimated. There were many Hunter Squads in China, and many Hunters waiting to earn a fortune. There were a lot of competent Hunter Groups, too. Since everyone was an Intermediate Mage, it was difficult to showcase their strength just by casting a few spells in front of their employers. How were they supposed to stand out among the Hunter Groups?

An employer would thus usually choose a Hunter Squad that was recommended by a Hunter Master!

Even though the strength of a Hunter Squad mattered the most, it was unlikely that the strength of the Hunter Squads differed by much at their current level. Even if the Hunter Squad did not complete the quests as requested, as long as the Panshan Hunter Squad had access to the easier quests with higher pay, the members could afford better magic equipment and resources to improve their cultivation. They would eventually get stronger, widening the gap between them and the Foehn Hunter Squad. Even the smallest advantage would eventually grow into a huge gap!

Therefore, when Gu Ying learned the quest was from a Seven Star Hunter Master, she was even more desperate to claim it. It might be the opportunity she had been looking for to resolve the difficulties that the Foehn Hunter Squad was currently facing!

—

At the inn in Minghu Outpost, Li Yumei was sitting on a wooden chair. She pulled a long face when she considered the quest worth twenty-four million escaping from her grasp.

“What is it, my little baby? Who’s making you mad?” A man with long hair came over and sat down beside Li Yumei. The man slipped his hand into Li Yumei’s clothes, seeing no one was around them.

“Humph, it’s because of the goddamned quest that is hiring a Hunter Squad. That Seven Star Hunter Master didn’t even bother giving you any face. They ended up choosing that b**ch Gu Ying’s group. Idiots!” Li Yumei swore angrily.

“Twenty-four million is a lot indeed, but you’re already an Advanced Mage. You shouldn’t let such a trivial matter bother you,” Lu Zhuo said.

“I just don’t feel good because she got the quest. I will soon leave the Panshan Hunter Squad, so I wanted to secure some benefits for them before I go,” Li Yumei said haughtily.

“Well, they did specify they were looking for an infant of the Lizard Demons captured from the wild. They aren’t that stupid to fall for your little tricks. Oh, I forgot to tell you, my team just accepted a new quest. It’s an A-Rank Quest,” Lu Zhuo said.

“An A-Rank Quest? Can’t you bring me along?” Li Yumei asked immediately.

She was now an Advanced Mage, yet she had yet to attempt an A-Rank Quest!

As a matter of fact, they had only completed a few B-Rank Quests so far. The quest given by the Seven Star Hunter Master with twenty-four million as the reward was considered a B-Rank Quest. The quest before it which had paid a million was only a D-Rank Quest.

Hunters needed reputation. The Hunter Union would reward Hunters with Contribution Points based on the number and the rank of the quests they completed, how satisfied the employers were, and their completion rate. The Hunter Union would then rank the Hunters based on their reputation and the Contribution Points they had collected.

A-Rank Quests were only available to Hunter Masters. If no one in a Hunter Group was a Hunter Master, they did not even have the right to see the details of the quest!

Li Yumei was now an Advanced Mage, yet her Contribution Points were still at the rank of an Advanced Hunter. If she participated in an A-Rank Quest and completed it, she would soon become a Hunter Master from the Contribution Points rewarded to her!

“I’m afraid not. After all, my team is pretty serious about it,” Lu Zhuo said after a slight hesitation.

Li Yumei might be an Advanced Mage, but she still had not learned how to use the Advanced Spells. She was not much stronger than an Intermediate Mage. Besides, Lu Zhuo was well aware of Li Yumei’s strength… she was only skillful in bed!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What do you mean? I’m already an Advanced Mage. Can’t you just let me tag along? Aren’t you the leader of the Pancheng Hunter Group? You can easily decide everything. I’m going to join your Hunter Group in the future, too! How can you not bring me along? If you don’t, I won’t let you touch me again. Humph, take your hand off me. You are not allowed to touch me!” Li Yumei said angrily.

“Alright, but only if you don’t stir up any trouble,” Lu Zhuo sighed.

“That’s more like it. By the way, a Level A Quest should have a huge payout, right? Is it more than fifty million?” Li Yumei asked.

“There’s no money,” Lu Zhuo replied.

“No money? Why did you accept it then!?” Li Yumei blurted out.

“Contribution Points! Our employer is a Seven Star Hunter Master too! She’s looking for a group of Advanced Mages, and offering an insane amount of Contribution Points. It’s enough to promote me to Four Stars if I claim them all!” Lu Zhuo informed her.

“That many? If…if I join the team, wouldn’t it be enough for me to become a Hunter Master too?” Li Yumei’s eyes widened.

“Yeah, it’s enough for you, even if the Contribution Points are distributed equally,” Lu Zhuo nodded.

“That’s great, HAHAHA!” Li Yumei burst out laughing.

“How do you feel now? Much better?” Lu Zhuo smiled. He slid his hand back into Li Yumei’s clothes.

“That b**ch Gu Ying is still proud of herself for securing a quest with twenty-four million as the reward, but I will soon be promoted to a Hunter Master! I can’t wait to see her turning mad after hearing about it!” Li Yumei burst out laughing.

“You shouldn’t worry too much about her. She will soon be less worthy to even pick up your shoes for you…” Lu Zhuo said.

“I enjoy watching her face covered in dirt as I trample her under my feet!” Li Yumei declared.

“So does that mean I can do whatever I want tonight? Wherever I want?” Lu Zhuo asked with a malicious grin.

“Pervert!” Li Yumei rolled her eyes.

—

—

Fresh air blew into the room through the window and lifted the curtains. Mo Fan woke up, feeling refreshed after having a comfortable sleep last night.

The quality of his sleep had indeed improved because of the verdant hills and waters about. He felt energized after opening his eyes and stretching a little!

“Lingling, why are you awake so early?” Mo Fan saw Lingling busy with her experiment on the tall stool.

“She hasn’t slept yet,” Apas said.

“A little girl like you shouldn’t stay up all night, or else you will never grow up. Go get some sleep, now!” Mo Fan lifted Lingling up from the stool. He did not care about the progress she was making. He would not allow her to stay up all night and mess up her body.

Lingling was dedicated to the things she was doing. She often stayed up all night to do her experiments, but now that Mo Fan was around, he would not give her the chance to do so. She did not have to be so serious with many things. It was not the end of the world if she could not find a way to deal with the Salamander Demons!

“Let go, let go of me!” Lingling swung her claws wildly, dealing zero damage to Mo Fan. She ended up hurting her hands instead.

“Be a good girl, and stop being so stubborn. Do you really want to become a ‘Pacific Princess’ when you grow up? You will only grow with plenty of sleep. Those girls with a young face and huge bust like to sleep just like pigs!” Mo Fan placed Lingling on his bed and dragged the blanket over her.

Lingling continued to throw a tantrum, but Mo Fan simply stood beside the bed. He would not leave until she was asleep. She angrily pulled the blanket over her head.

“It’s better to take your time instead of rushing everything like you always do. Get some sleep, or I’ll forfeit the quest and send you back to school!” Mo Fan ordered her.

Lingling was afraid of going back to school. She had already memorized everything the school taught when she was eight, not to mention the dumb childish boys that kept showing off in front of her!

Lingling flipped up the blanket and told Mo Fan seriously, “I’ve learned more about the Salamander Demons!”

“Go to bed, we’ll talk again tomorrow, be good!” Mo Fan declared.

“I’ll sleep after I explain it to you!” Lingling insisted.

“Fine, go ahead,” Mo Fan sighed and nodded.

“I asked people to get me infants of the Salamander Demons and the Lizard Demons, respectively. I discovered that the Salamander Demons are similar to mules. They aren’t really a new species,” Lingling said.

“Mules? What do you mean?” Mo Fan was not familiar with the concept.

“Many species that are similar in builds and lineage can hybridize. For example, the scorpion demons and the snake demons can breed into a new species…” Lingling purposely glanced at Apas before she added, “The Lamias are a new species because they can mate with one another to produce offspring. I can give you a simpler example. The offspring of a donkey and a horse is a mule, but a mule isn’t a new species because it can’t mate with another mule to produce offspring. Even if it can, its offspring won’t live for long.”

“Should I write down some notes, teacher?” Mo Fan asked archly.

Lingling rolled her eyes and said, “The Salamander Demons are the offspring of the Lizard Demons and the Spiral Shelled Monsters. I’ve conducted some tests with their younglings’ blood. I discovered that the lineage of the Salamander Demons is incompatible with the Lizard Demons. If the Salamander Demons were a new species, they would inherit the lineage of the Lizard Demons and be considered part of their kin.”

“Mm, mm…” Mo Fan nodded, pretending to understand it all.

Lingling knew Mo Fan was hopeless when it came to theoretical knowledge. She cut straight to the conclusion, “The Salamander Demons are a crossbreed with a short life span. They can’t produce offspring by mating with one another!”

“That doesn’t sound right. If they can’t reproduce, why is the whole Thousand Islands Lake crawling with them? I’ve already looked around there. The numbers of Salamander Demons in the Thousand Islands Lake are enough to form a horde. I feel like they are mating non-stop, just to produce little Salamander Demons!” Mo Fan said.

“I initially thought they could mate with one another too, and their reproductive ability was insane, but it’s unlikely that I’m wrong after I experimented. These Salamander Demons are like mules, they can’t reproduce by mating with one another. The only reason that their numbers are so insane is that there is one unique mated pair that are producing eggs like a factory somewhere in the Thousand Islands Lake!” Lingling declared.

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered after hearing her words. He said, “You’re telling me, if we can find those two creatures and take care of them, we can stop these Salamander Demons from multiplying?”

The Salamander Demons were a threat because of their reproductive ability. Imagine if it would take them a month just to kill a third of their population, yet they were able to replace more than the number of Salamander Demons that were killed. However, if the Hunters could stop them from reproducing, it was only a matter of time until they eliminated every single one of the Salamander Demons!

“Mm, those creatures are very cunning. They have the adult Salamander Demons move the eggs to somewhere else to make it look like the Salamander Demons are reproducing everywhere rapidly. That way, the Hunters won’t be able to track them down by observing the population density of their younglings,” Lingling said.

“How did you figure it out?” Mo Fan was curious. Lingling had not set a single foot out the door!

“I dissected a Salamander Demon’s youngling that I asked someone to catch for me!” Lingling said.

“Ugh… alright,” Mo Fan decided not to ask any questions again.

He shouldn’t have bothered asking about the process. He was satisfied just knowing the answers!

“Things are a lot simpler now that we know what we are looking for, instead of roaming around aimlessly like a headless fly. Get some sleep, the things you’ve learned are very important. I might even track down the progenitors and kill them by the time you wake up,” Mo Fan said.

“Let me finish my experiments. I might be able to find their weaknesses!” Lingling grumbled.

“Not a chance, time to sleep. Apas, stay here. If she doesn’t go to sleep, hypnotize her!” Mo Fan was worried about Lingling. He could not afford to let such a capable little loli fall sick after pulling an all-nighter. He had to rely on her to make a fortune and to get his revenge on his enemies in the future!

“Got it!” Apas gladly agreed.

“One last thing,” Lingling reached her finger out and pouted when she saw Mo Fan about to scold her. She looked extremely adorable.

“Say it!” Mo Fan sighed his permission.

“It will be tricky to track down the creatures on your own. You aren’t familiar with the Thousand Islands Lake, and you’re a landlubber. I’ve already hired a squad of Hunter Masters and seven squads of Advanced Hunters. They have all been active around the Thousand Islands Lake. You can send them to search for the mated pair. You should be able to find them in no time,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan was stunned for a moment before he finally said, “Lingling, you’re really the perfect wife among the Hunters. You’ve organized everything for me!”

He did not even need to use his brain with Lingling as his partner. He just needed to do the dirty work when it mattered.

Lingling was about to say something when Mo Fan frowned and said, “No more talking. Another word and I’ll be sleeping with you on the same bed. That way, you won’t be able to marry anyone when you grow up.”

“Three years minimum, and death sentence maximum, you better think twice!” Lingling harrumphed coldly. She hid under the blanket and tried to go to sleep.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless. To his relief, Lingling obediently fell asleep.

She stopped making noises after some time. She was obviously asleep, judging from her steady breathing, and had lost her mature look and bearing. She was just like an adorable little kid. Mo Fan patted her on the head and left the room.

Lingling was born to be a Hunter. She was in high spirits whenever she was figuring out a way to solve mysteries and resolve dangers. She was quite happy when Mo Fan was back in the country, as if she finally had someone to play with her properly!

“A problem child,” Apas said.

“You’re more or less the same. Take care of her… I’m heading out!” Mo Fan said.

“I’m not a nanny!” Apas grumbled.

“I’ll reward you, a meal of salted crayfish!”

“Mm, got it!” Apas was overjoyed.

Seeing Apas’ reaction, Mo Fan could not help but wonder if he could easily convince the successor of Queen Medusa to willingly sign a Contract by offering her half a kilogram of crayfish…

Chapter 1676: Beyond Retarded

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan asked the Hunter Mistress to gather the hired squads by Minghu Lake to meet them.

Hunter Masters could issue quests too, and they were usually well-received by other Hunters. Not only did those quests have higher credibility, but they would also award a significant amount of Contribution Points.

Contribution Points were as valuable as money in a Hunter’s eyes. A lot of Hunter Groups were willing to take Contribution Points as the reward to obtain higher ranks!

Mo Fan had no idea how many Contribution Points he had collected so far. Lingling was fully responsible for managing them. He was rather intrigued after learning Lingling had hired so many Hunters without using a lot of money.

“Basically, after you become a Hunter Master, every Contribution Point you earn can be treated as a special currency among Hunters. When you need other Hunters’ help for your quest, you can offer them Contribution Points as a reward. Someone will be willing to take your quest if the Contribution Points you offer are high enough. That being said, the Contribution Points that you give out will be deducted from your balance, and you will be demoted if they are lower than the required amount for your current title,” the Hunter Mistress Yang Ning told him.

“Oh, I see. I’ve never used my Contribution Points before,” Mo Fan said.

The quests that Lingling had accepted were suitable for just the two of them, and did not require a lot of manpower. Lingling would rather use money instead of Contribution Points, so their rank could rise faster.

However, Mo Fan was already a Seven Star Hunter Master, the highest rank below Senior Hunter. It was unlikely that he would become a Senior Hunter anytime soon, so it would not hurt to use his Contribution Points, as long as it would not take away his rank of Seven Star Hunter Master.

Mo Fan’s rank had risen insanely fast, mainly because he had completed a few S-Rank Quests, including the incident on Chongming Island, the Drowning Curse, and the Tear of Medusa. His rank had soared like a plane lifting off. After all, quests with a reward pool were extremely difficult, but the reward usually contained an insane amount of Contribution Points!

Mo Fan’s rank had skyrocketed after he completed the quest of the Tear of Medusa. After all, they only had two Hunter members in their party, unlike other squads who usually had around eight people. Some Hunter Groups even had more than a dozen members. Therefore, even if these Hunter Groups managed to complete a quest with a high reward, the money and Contribution Point each member would receive were not that great.

Their party only had two members, yet they had managed to complete S-Rank quests. As a result, their ranks had risen very quickly!

Mo Fan realized how useful the Contribution Points were after listening to Yang Ning’s explanation. It would be a waste of time if he had to run errands or kill some weak demon creatures himself!

“The truth is, it’s rare to see Hunter Masters completing quests on their own like you and Lingling. Most Hunter Masters will gather lower-ranked Hunter Groups to do their jobs. The Hunter Masters enjoy the meat, while the rest of the Hunter Groups get a share of the soup, just like what you’re doing today…” Yang Ning said.

It was obvious that the Hunter Mistress knew Lingling.

“Our Clearsky Hunter Agency is only interested in dubious and difficult quests… By the way, did you contact the Hunters that we hired?” Mo Fan asked.

“I did; they are on their way here,” the Hunter Mistress answered.

—

Mo Fan chatted with the Hunter Mistress at the teahouse beside the lake for some time. He finally understood the privileges of a Hunter Master. He had also learned a trick; he could let other Hunter Groups do some of the errands for him! The expense was like a drop in the ocean compared to the Contribution Points he had collected.

“I told them to be here at nine. Do you want me to tell you the details of the teams?” Yang Ning said.

“Forget it, I’m too lazy for that now. I’ll go grab another pot of tea. The tea is pretty nice here,” Mo Fan rose to his feet.

“Let me do it.”

“It’s fine, I can do it myself.” Mo Fan went into the teahouse.

Yang Ning watched Mo Fan leave. She had known Lingling for a long time, but it was her first time meeting Mo Fan. It was rare to see such a young Seven Star Hunter Master. She flipped open the files to read his information again.

A moment later, she heard footsteps approaching.

Yang Ning lifted her gaze and saw a few unfamiliar faces. She frowned in puzzlement.

“Miss Yang, it’s us, the Foehn Hunter Squad. I’m the leader, Gu Ying,” Gu Ying smiled.

“Ah? My apologies, I’m sorry for not recognizing you… you looked so different the other day,” Yang Ning politely shook hands with Gu Ying. She was quite surprised. The female leader was actually quite pretty when she made herself presentable. She looked completely different from her beggar-like appearance the other day.

Every woman was fond of beauty, yet she was willing to sacrifice her beauty just to complete the quest. Yang Ning was a little impressed by Gu Ying.

“Is the Hunter Master not here yet? Oh, we’ve come early. Miss Yang, did you introduce us to the Hunter Master?” Xie Hao blurted out.

“He’s too lazy to hear me out. After all, there are a lot of teams on the list,” Yang Ning said.

“A lot of teams?” Xie Hao was confused.

“Well, the Hunter Master did hire a group of Hunter Masters and seven groups of Advanced Hunters,” Yang Ning said.

“As I thought…” Gu Ying let out a wry smile.

They initially thought it was a great opportunity for the Foehn Hunter Squad to earn the Hunter Master’s favor if they performed well. They might be able to work together in the long term. Running errands for a Seven Star Hunter Master was obviously better than doing the quests that were issued by the Hunter Union!

However, they were not the only group that was hired. It would be difficult for them to stand out among the teams that were hired!

“You’ve come pretty early, perhaps you can meet the Hunter Master first… Huh, where did he go?” Yang Ning looked into the teahouse, but she could not find him anywhere.

Yang Ning was left speechless. She asked the Foehn Hunter Squad to wait there.

——

A while later, the rest of the groups arrived too. The seven groups, including the Foehn Hunter Squad, had all gathered at the platform. They had all arrived earlier than the scheduled time. Their energetic faces hinted that they were looking forward to cooperating with the Seven Star Hunter Master.

“It’s Lu Zhuo and his Pancheng Hunter Group!” the leader of a Hunter Group said.

Gu Ying’s expression sank. She turned away, not willing to look at the group of people that just arrived.

“Aren’t you Xiao Ying? What is it? You don’t recognize your old leader?” Lu Zhuo approached Gu Ying when he saw her.

Gu Ying did not want to talk to Lu Zhuo. She was in a bad mood all of a sudden. She told Yang Ning, “Didn’t you say we were hired by a Seven Star Hunter Master? Why is this guy here? If he’s the employer, I won’t take the job, regardless of how much he’s paying.”

“He was hired too,” Yang Ning smiled. She was not angry.

“Those Hunter Masters are all hired too?” Zhong Li exclaimed.

A Seven Star Hunter Master had hired a bunch of Two Star and Three Star Hunter Masters, and seven groups of Advanced Hunters. Did he accept an A-Rank Quest?

“The people nowadays, they always forgot they were once a rookie after forming their own group. They are pulling a long face instead of showing gratitude!” Li Yumei said mockingly.

Gu Ying was driven mad. Why was Li Yumei here? Why did she have to stumble into her every time!?

To think that she was going to work together with this woman for a quest! It was just torture for Gu Ying!

Yang Ning sat there and observed the Hunters. She noticed that most of them knew one another. The Advanced Hunters were greeting each other, but the group of Hunter Masters was aloof and unapproachable, not placing any attention on the Advanced Hunters. A few Advanced Hunters were trying to befriend the Hunter Masters instead.

“That’s a lot of people, did everyone arrive?” Mo Fan placed the tray on the table.

“Mm, everyone is here, let me introduce you,” Yang Ning rose to her feet.

“Fan Mo, Fan Mo, why are you here too?” Xie Hao exclaimed. He was the first to see Mo Fan.

Zhong Li, the big-nosed Mage, and Gu Ying saw Mo Fan, too. They immediately felt uneasy.

After all, they had kicked Mo Fan out of the party because of this quest!

“Humph, how dishonest were you? You said that you didn’t want to share the reward with us, but you’ve joined someone else’s team instead!” the big-nosed Mage said preemptively with a cold harrumph.

“Big nose, you shouldn’t say that. Fan Mo volunteered to leave the party because he didn’t want to trouble us. You can’t stop him from joining other teams!” Gu Ying warned him.

“Yeah, Fan Mo, we might not be on the same team, but we are working together still. Let’s give it our best. Our employer is a seven Star Hunter Master. You should be glad for the great opportunity since you are only a Basic Mage… is the tea for us? I shall treat myself to it then,” Xie Hao laughed. He happily took a cup of tea from the tray.

Mo Fan was completely surprised!

Why are they here!? Wait, so… the quest that was going to pay twenty-four million was issued by Lingling?!

Hang on, she did mention that she had asked someone to catch an infant Salamander Demon…

Luckily, he decided to leave the party instead of going with them. Otherwise, he would be beyond retarded if he didn’t know the quest was issued in his own name!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Errands boy, are you dumb or slow? Didn’t you see the Hunter Masters here? Why do you bother serving tea to those petty nobodies? Bring the tea over!” Li Yumei was seated at the next table. She did not want to miss out on any chance to trouble Gu Ying.

“Mm, the Seven Star Hunter Master won’t be here any time soon. Kid, give us the tea, we are a little thirsty,” Lu Zhuo glanced at Mo Fan and said.

Yang Ning remained seated with a smile. Things were getting a little interesting!

Even Mo Fan was stunned.

Holy crap, are hired Hunters so full of themselves nowadays? Are they seriously asking their employer to serve them tea?

“The tea is mine, go get it yourself if you want some,” Mo Fan placed the tray on his table.

“What do you mean? You sound unwilling. A young and inexperienced Hunter like you can only run errands for us. Do you think you can kill a strong demon creature on your own? Don’t you hide behind your team if you’re in danger when you don’t even know how to respect your seniors!” Li Yumei spoke up.

“What do you mean by seniors?” Mo Fan looked at Lu Zhuo and asked.

“I obviously mean Hunters that are more experienced and have higher ranks,” Li Yumei said.

“So you’re telling me that those with lower ranks should be serving tea instead?” Mo Fan asked.

“You can see it that way,” Li Yumei said proudly.

“Sure, then you should brew every team here a pot of tea and serve everyone. Make sure you pay for it too,” Mo Fan said in displeasure.

“What do you mean? I, Li Yumei, am an Advanced Mage! Don’t you dare provoke me with your childish tantrum. You should be glad that you have the chance to run errands for us. I can easily make you leave because of your attitude!” Li Yumei was getting a little angry.

Xie Hao quickly came over to advise Mo Fan.

“Brother Fan Mo, just bear with it,” Xie Hao said.

“This is interesting, it’s my first time seeing a hired Hunter asking their employer to leave!” Yang Ning was done enjoying the joke, and finally spoke up.

“What employer?” Li Yumei asked with a confused look.

“Him, he’s your employer,” Yang Ning pointed at Mo Fan with a smile.

“Isn’t the employer a Seven Star Hunter Master?” Lu Zhuo frowned.

“He is the Seven Star Hunter Master! Not every Hunter likes to wear their badge all the time,” Yang Ning said.

The seven people in the group of Hunter Masters and over sixty Advanced Hunters stared at Mo Fan with wide eyes.

As a matter of fact, they were also enjoying the scene. It was common to see Hunters bullying rookies and low-rankers, so they did not think too much of Li Yumei’s actions. To their surprise, the young Mage who seemed to be a freeloader was actually their employer?

“Miss Yang Ning, that’s too much of a joke. I might believe it if you say he’s a lackey working for a Seven Star Hunter Master, but you’re telling me he’s a Seven Star Hunter Master? Most Seven Star Hunter Masters are already Super Mages!” Lu Zhuo said.

1

Yang Ning looked at Lu Zhuo. She remained smiling, and did not explain further.

Lu Zhuo felt something was not right. He looked at Mo Fan closely.

“Are you really a Seven Star Hunter Master? You’re from the Clearsky Hunter Agency?” Lu Zhuo asked seriously.

“I have a partner; it was she that hired you to help me take care of the Salamander Demons. Yang Ning, you may send my information to them,” Mo Fan answered.

Yang Ning nodded. She immediately sent the details to every team’s leader with her phone.

The Hunter Union did not allow employers to send their details and contact numbers to Hunters before an official meeting. That was to prevent the employers and Hunters from bypassing the Hunter Union and reaching a deal privately.

Li Yumei and Lu Zhuo were dumbfounded when they received the information.

“This guy… he’s really a Seven Star Hunter Master!” Li Yumei’s mouth was wide enough to hold two eggs. Her face was filled with disbelief.

Similarly, Gu Ying looked down at the information, then looked up at Mo Fan. She repeated the same actions.

“Fan Mo… you…you’re not a Basic Mage?!” Zhong Li was the first to yell.

“I already told you more a dozen times, I am an Advanced Mage!” Mo Fan answered with a roll of his eyes.

“But…but… weren’t you joking with me?” Zhong Li said with wide eyes.

“I was serious every time I said it to you!”

“But why didn’t you just cast an Advanced Spell? Wouldn’t that convince me right away?” Zhong Li said.

Mo Fan was just about to say he did not bother proving it when he saw Gu Ying staring right at him. He could not help but feel a little awkward.

Mo Fan did not plan to hide his strength when he was looking to join a party. When they assumed he was a Basic Mage, Mo Fan simply used it as a disguise. He thought he would never cross paths with the party again, but Lingling ended up hiring them!

“Are you really a Seven Star Hunter Master?” Gu Ying asked, saying one word at a time.

“I am,” Mo Fan nodded. He smiled and explained when he saw the flicker in Gu Ying’s eyes, “My partner and I worked seperately. My job was to survey the Thousand Islands Lake. I wasn’t familiar with the place, so I gladly joined your party when Zhong Li recruited me. I didn’t know my partner was the one that issued the quest…”

Gu Ying was confused, too. Mo Fan had been with them all the time. There was no way he could have used the Post Eagle to deliver the message to them, it could only be done at the Hunter Union. She finally understood what had happened after hearing Mo Fan’s explanation.

Even so, Gu Ying was lost for words when facing the young and handsome Seven Star Hunter Master. She was already panicking inside.

There were shock and joy, but most of it was disbelief…

The young Mage they had randomly recruited to make up the numbers was actually a Seven Star Hunter Master that had only arrived recently to survey the Thousand Islands Lake!

Most importantly, their Foehn Hunter Squad was trying every way possible to establish connections with a Hunter Master, yet they ended up kicking one out of the party!

Many people thought a person with integrity would behave neither servilely nor overbearingly no matter whom they were facing, but was it really possible?

If someone had bet ten years worth of hard work and their dignity as a woman in exchange for a bright future, but it all depended on a single sentence or a nod of approval from a person, was it really possible to remain calm in front of a person that could easily decide your destiny?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Gu Ying could no longer treat Mo Fan the same way. She always thought the fawn in her heart had died around eight years ago after slamming its head into the banister called reality. She did not expect it to come back to life and keep jumping up and down in her heart!

‘I’m sorry, we…we all thought you were just a Basic…” Gu Ying finally blurted out after some time.

“It’s fine, but we are quite fateful. We are on the same team again,” Mo Fan said.

Big Nose and the Earth Mage were already regretting their decision after hearing the words ‘same team’. Why did they kick him out of the party over the negligible cut to their profits? They simply had an urge to die right on the spot!

Luckily, Mo Fan was not bothered by their actions.

—

Lingling had hired a lot of Hunters. There were seventy-two people, according to Yang Ning’s report. The Hunters were still discussing things loudly, since it was extremely rare to see such a young Seven Star Hunter Master. Some were still confirming Mo Fan’s information repeatedly.

“My Heavens, how did he complete S-Rank Quests? They even had an international reward pool…” a few Advanced Hunters were whispering softly, but their soft voices could not hide their astonishment.

“He might be lucky if it was only one, but there are two S-Rank Quests on the list, and another one is confidential!” the leader of Cangjin Hunter Group, Lan Jin, pointed out.

“Oh wow, he’s the one that resolved the Drowning Curse. I am from Dalian. The Drowning Curse was a hot topic at our place. They kept saying the victims were sacrifices offered to the King of Sea. Even Senior Hunters tried looking for the reason behind it, but they couldn’t find anything!”

Not many people in China had heard about the reward pool for the Tear of Medusa, but the Hunters that were active along the coastline had heard about the Drowning Curse. They did not expect the young man to be the one that had completed the international S-Rank Quest!

Yang Ning stood beside Mo Fan and said to the teams, “Let’s sit down. I will explain the quest in detail. It’s a little complicated, so it might take some time.”

The Hunters immediately fell silent. After all, they were still professionals, and their discipline was only second to soldiers. Otherwise, they would not have been hired for the quest.

However, not only were the members of the Foehn Hunter Squad restless, Lu Zhuo and Li Yumei were feeling uneasy too, judging from their expressions.

The news was like a crash of thunder from a clear sky to Li Yumei!

“What are you waiting for? Go apologize now, do you want to get kicked out of the team?” Lu Zhuo nudged Li Yumei.

This Li Yumei was seriously a troublemaker. They would not be in this situation if she had not gone and displayed her superiority as a senior. Lu Zhuo even had the urge to slap himself on the face when he recalled what he had said. He was planning to befriend the Seven Star Hunter Master, yet he already messed up right at the beginning!

“Master, master, I…I was as blind as a bat. I hope you don’t mind what I said,” Li Yumei said with a forced smile.

Mo Fan was amused when he saw her reaction. He quickly put on airs.”Have you forgotten what you said?”

Seriously, people in every field liked to act superior in front of their juniors, as if they had been through a lot of hardships to get to where they were at now, hence their juniors were obliged to run errands for them…

“I didn’t forget, I didn’t forget, I’ll go brew the tea right away,” Li Yumei could not have cared less about embarrassing herself anymore. She quickly went inside the teahouse.

Li Yumei was still hoping to earn enough Contribution Points to be promoted to a Hunter Master!

“If a rookie is willing to run errands, it’s a way for them to pay their respect to their seniors, but it doesn’t mean it is their duty. The seniors shouldn’t treat these rookies as their slaves either… What’s with all these practices?” Mo Fan said when he saw the others gloating.

Mo Fan remembered the time when he first joined a Hunter Group as a rookie. Back then, Xu Dahuang and Fei Shi had never forced him to run errands for them. These so-called unspoken rules were tightly related to a person’s character. Those that lacked morals enjoyed feeling superior to others, so they enjoyed ordering their juniors around!

2

“The Hunter Master is right!”

Many Advanced Hunters had been hired for the quest. They were also rookies once, and were ordered around by old Hunters. Those with a good moral center would show understanding and not treat their juniors the same way. Others would learn from their seniors and waited until they could finally do the same to their juniors.

“Alright, let’s get down to business. Our job is mainly about the Salamander Demons! You should understand the situation by now; the Thousand Islands Lake is crawling with the Salamander Demons. If we don’t get rid of them soon, the Thousand Islands Lake will soon be taken over by a horde. I have an agreement with Councilman Jiang Xia. I will help him resolve the problem, and your job is to find the mated pair that are breeding the Salamander Demons and help me eliminate them!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan briefly explained how the Salamander Demons were reproducing to the teams.

A few Advanced Hunters were intrigued when they heard the information. They had always thought the Salamander Demons were breeding the normal way, considering how their numbers had increased rapidly in just a short period!

“As expected of a Seven Star Hunter Master, our group tried to find the reason behind their rapid reproduction, but we had no luck. However, you’ve found the reason so quickly!” Lu Zhuo quickly used the opportunity to flatter Mo Fan.

“Lu Zhuo, your group has seven members. Each of you will lead a group of Advanced Hunters. We will split into seven teams!” Mo Fan allocated the teams.

“Don’t worry, my team is full of elites. We will find where the Great Salamander Demons are hiding. Don’t you worry… however, the Great Salamander Demons are going to be tricky to deal with. You will have to be there in person,” Lu Zhuo said.

“Just report to me as soon as you locate them!” Mo Fan said.

“Will do, let’s move out.”

—

The teams were soon assigned their jobs. Every member of the Pancheng Hunter Group would lead a group of Advanced Hunters to search the remote areas of the Thousand Islands Lake.

Gu Ying came up to Mo Fan and asked, “Fan Mo, can…can you not let Li Yumei be our leader? She has only reached the Advanced Level recently. She can’t even use an Advanced Spell. We are assigned to search a dangerous area, too. Our safety isn’t guaranteed with her leading us!”

“Oh? I remember I only asked for Hunter Masters with at least two Elements in the Advanced Level!” Mo Fan looked at Yang Ning.

“A team might have abused their connections to bring her in. We don’t really have a good way to prevent it from happening, but you can reduce the reward accordingly when the job is done,” Yang Ning said helplessly.

“The unreliable ones always bring the most trouble. Forget it, I don’t mind as long as we can find the Great Salamander Demons. Let her be, I’m too lazy to deal with her,” Mo Fan said.

If he was to rebuke Lu Zhuo now, it might disrupt their plan. Mo Fan was willing to turn a blind eye to the freeloaders as long as they could finish their job.

“What about us?…” Gu Ying persisted.

“I will assign Li Yumei to another team. Your team must be very familiar with the Thousand Islands Lake if you can find the island surrounded by mountains. I’ll let my Summoned Beast follow you!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

It had been some time since the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had some exercise. Even though he was helping his lackeys expand their territory in the Summoned Beast Plane, he normally let the Moon-Devouring White Wolves handle the fights. He did not have to do the dirty jobs, as he was the leader of the pack.

“Old wolf, you will follow Gu Ying and protect her team. Do you understand?” Mo Fan said.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was unwilling. Why was he not Summoned for an intense fight? Why did he have to look after a bunch of people instead?

“Stop howling. You only know how to hook up with female wolves in your den. Do you seriously think you are a breeder? Aren’t you worried about having weak kidneys? Do your job and stop complaining,” Mo Fan berated him mercilessly.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf lost his noble bearing. He lowered his head and followed after Gu Ying.

—

—

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf left Minghu Outpost with the Foehn Hunter Squad. The members of the Foehn Hunter Squad noticed the Flying Creek Snow Wolf following behind them in low spirits when they reached the wild. He looked more like a sleepy aged dog instead of a guardian beast.

“Can we trust the wolf? I thought he would be following us himself. We can witness his strength as a Seven Star Hunter Master too, but he only sent his Summoned Beast. Is he looking down on us?” Big Nose grumbled.

“Big Nose, you should really keep your mouth shut. If it wasn’t for you, we might be on the same team with a Seven Star Hunter Master now. You are only making it difficult,” Zhong Li rebuked him, displeased.

Zhong Li and Gu Ying were friendly toward Mo Fan, and had parted ways without any hard feelings. The quest was a great opportunity for them. Even if Mo Fan was an aloof person, he would still give them special treatment, considering they were once his teammates…

“Why am I to be blamed for it? Who would even think a young guy like him is a Seven Star Hunter Master? I wonder what his real strength is. There’s no way I would believe he had earned the rank himself. I bet his partner must be very impressive!” Big Nose said.

“I think so too. His partner must be very impressive,” Xie Hao agreed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Foehn Hunter Squad traveled along the shore of the lake to the west. They had been allocated four search points. The first area they were heading to was likely where the Great Salamander Demons were, an island covered by primitive plants. The plants had almost grown down into the lake.

Thousand Islands Lake was extremely large. The Salamander Demons would hide under the plants to conceal their presence. Without them, someone would have noticed abnormalities after so many Hunters came to the Thousand Islands Lake to earn a quick fortune.

The information exchanged between Hunters was extremely quick. If someone had found the Great Salamander Demons, the Hunter Union would already have records. As such, the Foehn Hunter Squad believed the four areas were most likely where the Great Salamander Demons were hiding, based on their experience and analysis of the Salamander Demons’ behavior!

“Speaking of which, did you notice that the number of Lizard Demons has decreased? The Lizard Demons were crawling all over the place like bugs in the swamps before, but we didn’t have any trouble crossing the swamp to catch a youngling of the Lizard Demons last time. It should have taken us more than a few days to complete the quest,” Xie Hao suddenly spoke up.

“Yeah, it feels weird to me, too. The Lizard Demons should be quite active during this season,” Zhong Li nodded in agreement.

“There isn’t any trace of the Salamander Demons on this island!” Big Nose called out.

“Let’s head to the next area, then,” Gu Ying said.

—

At the Cloud-Shaped Island, Lu Zhuo and Li Yumei were leading the team. Two members of the Cangjin Hunter Group were with them. Every member of the Cangjin Hunter Group liked to wear their trademark headscarf.

“Darling, do you think that guy is really a Seven Star Hunter Master?” Li Yumei whispered to Lu Zhuo.

“He definitely is, there’s no way you can fake that!” Lu Zhuo glanced at Li Yumei.

For some reason, Lu Zhuo did not feel comfortable when Li Yumei was around, especially when he saw her shamelessly pour tea for the teams. He felt embarrassed, even though he had been the one to ask her to do it.

“But how is that possible? You are only a Three Star Hunter Master, when you’re already so capable. How is he four stars higher than you? Does he have a formidable background?” Li Yumei said.

Li Yumei’s words made Lu Zhuo feel uneasy.

Lu Zhuo did find it hard to believe. The guy clearly looked a few years younger than him. How did he even complete the S-Ranked Quest of the Drowning Curse?

“Did you forget about his partner? His partner was the one that figured out the reason why the Salamander Demons’ numbers are so overwhelming…” Lu Zhuo said.

“You’re saying that he’s not really that impressive, but he has a capable partner? So he’s just a freeloader like me?” Li Yumei’s eyes glittered.

“He should have some tricks up his sleeves, but he won’t be too much stronger than me. I’m curious about how his partner helped him to become a Seven Star Hunter Master at such a young age. If I had an old senior like that to guide me, there’s no way I’d be just a Three Star Hunter Master now,” Lu Zhuo harrumphed coldly.

“I told you, no one is more impressive than my darling among the Hunters. Humph, that guy was acting so full of himself, yet he was only relying on his partner!” Li Yumei felt a lot better, and soon recovered her usual proud demeanor.

“You should only say those things in front of me. You better watch your mouth when he’s around. Either way, his rank is still higher than ours. We can probably get some benefits from him,” Lu Zhuo said.

“Of course… but that b**ch Gu Ying dared to complain to him about me. Such a pity, I almost became their leader. I would have played them to death!” Li Yumei sniffed.

“You better behave yourself. His partner is already displeased after you tried to fool them with a youngling of the Lizard Demons that you bought, and you offended him again today. Just mind your manners and do what a freeloader should for the Contribution Points. Are you worried that you won’t have a chance to get back at her after you become a Hunter Master?” Lu Zhuo said.

“You’re right.”

“Leader, there’s a cave connected to the lake. It might be where the Great Salamander Demons are,” the leader of the Cangjin Hunter Group, Lan Jin, called out to him.

“Mm, take your men and investigate it,” Lu Zhuo said.

“Ah? Aren’t you coming with us? It might be dangerous if the cave is only a narrow passage. Even if the Great Salamander Demons aren’t here, it might have some other creatures too. The few of us are going to struggle against them. We won’t dare go down without you!” Lan Jin answered.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be keeping an eye outside. I’ll back you up right away if anything happens,” Lu Zhuo smiled.

“Al…alright.”

Lan Jin led the rest of the team into the cave while Lu Zhuo and Li Yumei waited outside.

“Why aren’t you going in with them?” Li Yumei asked with a confused look.

“These caves that are connected to the Thousand Islands Lake are extremely dangerous. Some strong demon creatures in the lake treat these caves as their nests, since they can stay on the island or dive into the lake. It’s better to let them investigate first. If I’m stuck inside and happen to stumble into a Commander-level creature, I won’t come out alive!” Lu Zhuo said.

“A Commander-level creature? Could there really be one in a place like this?” Li Yumei exclaimed.

“Of course there is! The Thousand Islands Lake is so huge, with so many islands across it. Only inexperienced teams investigate these caves in person. Our group would usually send a Summoned Beast into it first,” Lu Zhuo grinned coldly.

“I’ve learned something today,” Li Yumei nodded.

Their group of Hunter Masters was indeed different. Li Yumei suddenly realized her Panshan Hunter Squad was a group of cannon fodder compared to Lu Zhuo’s experience and knowledge!

Lu Zhuo glanced at Li Yumei and noticed that she was wearing a low-cut shirt. Her breasts were bouncing as she nodded. Most importantly, he could see her tits through the thin shirt.

This b**ch, how dare she not wear any undergarments? She knew she was going to meet the Seven Star Hunter Master!

“What does that mean?” Lu Zhuo pulled a long face and pointed at Li Yumei’s chest.

“Ah? What are you referring to?” Li Yumei was startled. She quickly lowered her head and looked at herself.

Li Yumei was not a total idiot. She knew how to discern people’s thoughts from their body language, especially men’s. She immediately reacted, “Isn’t it all your fault? You insisted on doing it in the morning. We were almost late for the meeting, so I didn’t even have time to put one on!”

Lu Zhuo thought about it. They were indeed in a rush in the morning!

After the tension eased up slightly, Lu Zhuo reached his hand out to fondle Li Yumei’s breasts, seeing that no one was around. It felt different touching them with the shirt in the way, especially when she least expected it.

“What are you doing? We are still outside!” Li Yumei quickly put on a shy expression.

“They are inside the cave. It’s going to take them a while. I’ve already looked around. There aren’t any demon creatures around, apart from those inside the cave, so it isn’t dangerous here…” Lu Zhuo was suddenly in the mood for some action!

Chapter 1680: Carnage Poisonous Salamander

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Half-Submerged Island was off to the west of the Thousand Islands Lake. Half of the island was under the surface, while the other half was exposed above the surface. Not many people knew about the island, since they had to travel past some dangerous waters to reach it.

The Foehn Hunter Squad was currently on the island. Zhong Li was good at looking for shortcuts and surveying terrain in the wild, and managed to find a safe path to the island.

They were on a small boat. It was safer to use primitive transportation in the territory of demon creatures. The boat glided along with the current and slowly approached the Half-Submerged Island.

“There are a lot of monsters on the island. Be extra careful when we are on it,” Zhong Li reminded the others.

Zhong Li had discovered the Half-Submerged Island about a year and a half ago. There were some hard-to-see undercurrents close to the island. A few boats had sunk for no reason around the island.

The team soon arrived at the Half-Submerged Island. They went through a dense wood with many red flowers, and noticed a slope going down the island into the lake that was covered in plants. They could see a huge shadow under the lake, most likely the other half of the island.

“Look out!” Big Nose suddenly yelled.

Zhong Li was leading the way. He quickly backed away in fear.

Gu Ying was surprisingly bold. She went forward and cleared the plants blocking the path. She glanced at the thing that made Big Nose panic and drawled, “What’s with the fuss? It’s just a carcass!”

Zhong Li took a closer look and realized it was just the remains of a Lizard Demon. There were flies circling above it. It had obviously been dead for some time.

They crossed the dead body and continued forward. They saw another dead Lizard Demon after taking a few steps. The dead body was severely rotted, and even the bones were exposed.

“What’s going on here? Why are there so many dead Lizard Demons?” Xie Hao asked with a confused face.

The closer they came to the water, the more dead Lizard Demons they saw. They could not even find enough space to stand on. The whole place was littered with dead bodies and bones!

“Holy crap, there are more in the water. They are all white!” Zhong Li leaned forward and almost jumped into the air in shock.

There was a boundary line between the upper half and the lower half of the island. The upper half consisted of rotting carcasses, but the dead Lizard Demons below the line in the water only had white bones left. The Foehn Hunter Squad had often crossed paths with the Lizard Demons, so they could identify them right away.

“I think we should leave at once. Let’s report our discovery to Yang Ning,” Gu Ying frowned.

The fact there were so many bones here indicated the existence of a terrifying creature on the island. The creature had been hunting the Lizard Demons and dragged them here to eat!

“I…I agree,” Xie Hao was a little scared.

They quickly turned around and left. When they reached the wood of red flowers, a strong and cold wind suddenly blew over them from behind.

The wind was carrying the chill from the water of the lake., and they all immediately shivered. Zhong Li looked behind and saw a wriggling body climbing out of the water.

It had a dark blue lizard’s skin, which suddenly turned blood-red after it was exposed to the air. It was like thick blood was constantly pouring down on its body.

“It’s…it’s a Carnage Poisonous Salamander! Holy shit! Run!” Zhong Li’s limbs weakened when he saw the creature.

The Carnage Poisonous Salamanders were the most vicious Commander-level creatures among the Salamander Demons. Zhong Li once had a mentor. His body had festered and his eyes were blind. Every time Zhong Li visited him, the middle-aged Hunter would be lost in thought as he recalled his painful experience, which a Carnage Poisonous Salamander was responsible for!

The creature was terrifying because it had two forms. It was in its first form whenever it was in the water. Its dark blue skin was the perfect disguise. Humans would find it hard to notice even if it was extremely close, as its skin would blend in perfectly with the water.

The creature would enter its second form whenever it was exposed to the air. Its skin would undergo remarkable changes when it made contact with the air, producing a deadly poison. With just the slightest touch, a person would feel extremely itchy. The body of Zhong Li’s mentor did not fester because of the poison, but because the man had torn apart his own skin by constantly scratching it. No one had found the antidote to the poison!

Zhong Li had seen his mentor when the poison first broke out. The man had to fight the urge to tear his skin off. Zhong Li believed that his mentor would eventually end his own life to free himself from the torture.

The Foehn Hunter Squad had no intention of turning and fighting the creature. After all, it was a Commander-level creature!

A moist gust of wind swept in from behind, following a poisonous breath exhaled by the creature. The Carnage Poisonous Salamander started crawling forward after leaving the water. Its speed was crazy. It reached the wood of red flowers in the blink of an eye!

“What now? What should we do now!?” Xie Hao screamed.

“We should have left earlier. Why were we stupid enough to venture so deep into the place? There were so many dead bodies around!” Big Nose cried.

“What’s the point of saying that now?”

There were so many carcasses. Normally, they would have left instantly when they noticed something did not feel right. However, when they thought about the handsome reward and the extra Contribution Points they would receive if they found any clues, they were unusually bold and decided to go a little further. They did not expect to provoke such a terrifying creature!

The Carnage Poisonous Salamander was pursuing them relentlessly. It had no intention of letting the Hunters go. The Foehn Hunter Squad finally reached the entrance of the island, but the Carnage Poisonous Salamander was less than two meters behind them. They could see its cheeks bloating, as if it was about to spit something at them!

“Awoo!”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf suddenly sprang out from the woods as it howled. He spread his sharp claws and dashed past the Carnage Poisonous Salamander. The Hunters did not see the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s actions clearly, but they could see the flickers of white light emitted by his claws!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf executed several attacks in a row, and blood soon poured out from the wounds all over the Carnage Poisonous Salamander. The wounds were deep enough to see its bones!

Chapter 1681: Wolf Grandpa

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Carnage Poisonous Salamander could not defend itself in time. It vomited the poison in its mouth at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf after suffering serious injuries.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was surprisingly agile, and did not pause after he was done with the attacks. He jumped into the air and landed on a branch with an easy hop.

The poison scattered into the air. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf jumped between the branches continuously, waiting until the poison had dissipated to dive straight down at the Carnage Poisonous Salamander. His white body stabbed right at the Carnage Poisonous Salamander like an icy fang!

The Carnage Poisonous Salamander tried to move aside, but struggled to dodge the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s powerful lunge. The icy fang landed on the Carnage Poisonous Salamander fiercely, and frost began to spread rapidly inside the Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s body.

The Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s insides were severely injured. It shook its body vigorously, trying to shake the Flying Creek Snow Wolf off.

The creature darted toward the water after it broke free from the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, leaving the wood of red flowers before the Flying Creek Snow Wolf could catch up to it.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not chase it any further, merely howling after the fleeing Carnage Poisonous Salamander.

The howl triggered the frost inside the Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s body. Sharp icicles suddenly burst out of the Carnage Poisonous Salamander while it was still running!

The Carnage Poisonous Salamander did not run far after the icicles punched holes all through its body. Its blood spread across the ground!

The creature was using all its might to flee towards the water, but it stopped moving when around a hundred meters from the lake. Its insides were punctured by the icicles, while its body was covered in gashes. It was already surprising it had lived that long. If it had been a weaker creature, it would have died instantly when the icicles burst out of it!

The Carnage Poisonous Salamander lay unmoving on the ground. Its blood flowed down the slope into the lake, dyeing the water red.

The Foehn Hunter Squad stood a distance away. They had witnessed the whole fight, but none of them were making a sound.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf made sure that the Carnage Poisonous Salamander was dead. He did not bother wasting his time on the dead body that was full of poison, and backed away languidly.

The Foehn Hunter Squad remained as still as ice statues when the Flying Creek Snow Wolf passed them!

“That…that’s it?” Zhong Li stammered.

It was a Commander-level creature! How did the wolf kill it like a chicken?

They had often fought against the Lizard Demons. There was no chance they would not recognize a Commander-level creature like the Carnage Poisonous Salamander. It was a nightmarish existence to the Foehn Hunter Squad, yet it was killed by the wolf in just a few minutes!

“Fan Mo’s Summoned Beast… is a Great Commander-level creature!” Xie Hao said slowly.

“No, it’s more than that, there’s no way a Great Commander-level creature could kill a normal Commander-level creature so easily!” Gu Ying said.

Dimensional Summoning was only the Basic Spell of the Summoning Element. Most Summoners only treated their Summoned Beasts as cannon fodder. It was impressive if a Summoner just had a Warrior-level Summoned Beast.

Along the journey, Big Nose kept complaining about Fan Mo not sending his Contracted Beast with them, only giving them his Summoned Beast. He was obviously looking down on them.

They did not expect the Summoned Beast to be so strong. As a matter of fact, they were having trouble accepting it!

The Carnage Poisonous Salamander was the kind of creature that they would not want to encounter for the rest of their lives. The poisonous Commander-level creature could wipe out a Hunter Squad like them like it was killing a bunch of sparrows.

But the terrifying creature was killed by another beast in such a short period, and that creature was only someone’s Summoned Beast, the kind usually Summoned just to do some simple errands!

“Wolf…Wolf Grandpa, can…can we loot the creature…creature’s dead body?” Zhong Li finally gathered his courage and asked the Flying Creek Snow Wolf after he regained his thoughts.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was able to understand him. He glanced at the creature’s dead body indifferently. He simply let out a huge yawn, showing that he had no interest in it.

“Thank you, Wolf Grandpa!” Zhong Li blurted out excitedly.

My Heavens, that is the dead body of a Carnage Poisonous Salamander! Even if it does not have any mutated bones, claws, or blood, it would still have plenty of valuable loot, especially ingredients to make an antidote for its poison!

Zhong Li’s mentor had not been cured of the poison, mainly because they did not know anyone that was capable of killing the Carnage Poisonous Salamander. However, one’s dead body was now lying right in front of him. He finally had a chance to save his mentor!

“What are you all waiting for? Come give me a hand, let’s carry the dead body back!” Zhong Li exclaimed.

Xie Hao and Big Nose came back to their senses. They immediately asked the other teammates to help them move the Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s body.

“Strange, there are so many dead bodies from the Lizard Demons here, yet there was only a Carnage Poisonous Salamander. Did it wipe out the entire population on the island?” Gu Ying began to think the situation through after calming herself down.

Gu Ying checked the island thoroughly again. She also checked the part of the island that was submerged.

However, apart from a few Salamander Demons clinging to the edges of the island, she did not find anything out of ordinary. She had no choice but to follow the rest of the team as they took the Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s carcass with them.

—

“I’m starting to believe Fan Mo’s strength!” Xie Hao blurted out.

“Me too, this wolf… he’s too strong! I don’t think it would take him more than a minute to wipe out our whole squad,” Zhong Li cautiously looked at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf lying at the front of the boat.

“A minute is too long,” Gu Ying agreed with a wry smile.

“Boss, Fan Mo seems really strong. I think he was pretty kind to you. Didn’t you always say you were thinking of prostituting yourself? Why don’t you offer him instead? Perhaps our Foehn Hunter Squad can finally free ourselves from our current pitiful situation,” Zhong Li jibed.

“If he really is that capable, I doubt he’s going to accept leader’s offer even if she’s willing! Boss keeps saying it, but she actually sees her integrity as more important than anything else!” Xie Hao burst out laughing.

“Piss off, aren’t you men embarrassed asking me to sacrifice my body so you could enjoy the benefits!?” Gu Ying cursed him back.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The island with a cave on it…

Moans were audible from behind a bush. The island was deadly silent, so the heavy breathing that constantly switched pace stood out in the surroundings.

Clothes were scattered across the ground. White underwear that somehow ended up on a little branch was swaying in the wind.

While the moans were echoing in the surroundings, a loud screech sounded inside the cave. However, it was extremely faint by the time it reached the outside.

The bush where two bodies were stacked on top of one another was a certain distance away from the cave. Regardless of how open-minded they were, they did not want their teammates to see their intimate actions after they came out of the cave. If they were further away, they could simply explain that they were investigating the vicinity of the island.

The screeches in the cave lasted for a few minutes, before they were soon replaced by some faint cries of agony…

A moment later, a ball of light that served as a signal bounced on the ground and landed outside the cave.

However, someone’s head was currently buried between two ‘mountains’. Words alone could not describe the thrill he was having. There was no way he could notice the important signal outside the cave.

The signal eventually disappeared after a while. It was already surprising that the magic signal managed to find its way out of the cave.

Different sounds were occurring in the cave, including some deep groans. However, the cave soon fell silent…

The people in the bush were ‘battling’ to their hearts’ content, too. They finally stopped to take a breather.

“Did you hear any sound from the cave?” Li Yumei asked guiltily.

“I didn’t hear anything, stop being overly suspicious,” Lu Zhuo put on his clothes.

“Why are you still messing around out here!?” Li Yumei said.

“Weren’t you moaning pleasantly too? You were drowning down there too!” Lu Zhuo grinned evilly.

The two quickly tidied themselves up and went back to the cave.

Lu Zhuo was an experienced Advanced Mage. He glanced at the entrance of the cave and immediately noticed the faint burn marks on the rocks.

The light was not used for attacking purposes, but as a signal to request backup!

Li Yumei was just about to speak when Lu Zhuo placed his finger in front of his lips to signal her to be quiet.

He heard footsteps approaching slowly. They were coming out from the pitch-black cave.

Lu Zhuo asked Li Yumei to hide in a safe spot., fixing his eyes on the cave. A minute later, a black figure slowly appeared. He was limping, and seemed to be injured.

Lu Zhuo took a closer look and realized the person was the leader of the Cangjin Hunter Squad, Lan Jin!

“What happened?” Lu Zhuo frowned.

“You dare ask me!?” Lan Jin was enraged. His eyes looked like they were going to spit out flames.

“What did I do?” Lu Zhuo pretended he had no idea what was going on.

“We clearly sent a signal requesting backup! Why didn’t you come and save us? My brothers… they…they…” Lan Jin’s eyes were filled with anger and tears.

Their squad was attacked. They could not see the attackers clearly. The squad did not stand a chance, and were dragged deeper into the cave like food. Lan Jin heard his teammates’ screams. He heard their flesh being torn apart, and their deep groans as their throats were filled with fresh blood!

“The signal never came!” Lu Zhuo immediately said.

Lu Zhuo was rather surprised, too. He did not expect the cave to be occupied by some terrifying monsters. Most importantly, the Cangjin Hunter Squad’s strength was not too bad, yet their leader was the only one that had survived. It clearly showed how dangerous the creatures were!

He was glad that he did not go inside the cave.

Lu Zhuo pointed at the burn marks on the rocks and cursed, “Do you think I’m an idiot? The marks are right here! Lu Zhuo, we respected you because you are a Hunter Master. It’s fine if you were treating us like cannon fodder since you’re the leader, but how dare you not give us a hand when we were in danger!…”

“Why am I to be blamed for that? Your squad didn’t escape in time when you realized you were in danger. I was just looking around nearby. I only noticed the signal just now, but it was already too late when I wanted to go inside and save you all. Aren’t you Advanced Hunters? How could you be so careless!?” Lu Zhuo retorted shamelessly.

Lan Jin was trembling in anger after hearing the words. He caught a glimpse of Li Yumei who was standing to the side.

Lan Jin’s face twitched suddenly when he noticed something.

“Bastard, you bastard! My men and I were risking our lives for you, yet you and this b**ch were… you two were acting like horny dogs! I won’t forgive you, I won’t forgive you! Lu Zhuo, I swear I’m going to sue you to serve justice to my brothers even if it’s going to cost everything I have. You two are nothing but scum!” Lan Jin started yelling as if he had gone mad.

Li Yumei and Lu Zhuo were stunned. How did Lan Jin figure out what they were doing?

Lu Zhuo glanced at Li Yumei and noticed that the stupid b**ch had actually done the buttons between her chest and her stomach wrongly. It was obvious that she had taken her shirt off not long ago!

Lan Jin clearly remembered that his men were discussing Li Yumei’s bust before they went into the cave. Lan Jin had taken a sneaky peek. He remembered that the buttons were done correctly.

But now, the buttons were obviously not in the right places. He could easily tell what the two were doing after inspecting them closely!

No wonder Lu Zhuo did not respond after they sent the signal. He was lying on this woman’s stomach when it happened!

Their squad only dared to enter the cave despite knowing how dangerous it was because they believed a Three Star Hunter Master had their back. They normally would not risk their lives like that, yet it turned out that the Three Star Hunter Master never cared about their well-being!

He was worse than scum, like seriously!

Lan Jin almost lost his calm and fought Lu Zhuo to death, but he knew it was not going to end well. He would not stand a chance against Lu Zhuo. He had to report it to the Seven Star Hunter Master, and let the Hunter Tribunal serve justice!

“Lan Jin, enough with your wild guesses. We were just surveying the island. We heard movements from another direction,” Lu Zhuo’s tone changed when he realized he was exposed. He sounded like he was persuading Lan Jin in a friendly manner.

“Piss off!” Lan Jin dragged his injured body out of the cave. He had made up his mind. He swore he would make Lu Zhuo pay for his men’s sacrifices!

Lan Jin headed away from the island. Li Yumei watched him leave nervously.

“What now? What should we do? We are screwed if the Seven Star Hunter Master or the Hunter Union learns what we did!” Li Yumei was in great panic. She kept walking around Lu Zhuo in circles.

“Humph, he asked for it!” Lu Zhuo let out a hollow laugh with a vicious look in his eyes.

Lu Zhuo suddenly turned into a black mist and snuck up on Lan Jin silently.

The black mist surrounded Lan Jin. Its poison rapidly penetrated Lan Jin’s body through his nose, throat, and ears.

“What…what are you doing!?” Lan Jin exclaimed. He saw Lu Zhuo’s blurred figure amid the mist.

“Your brothers are dead, you might feel a little lonely if you’re the only one left alive. You should keep them company!” Lu Zhuo said coldly.

“Lu Zhuo, you…”

Lan Jin was shocked. He used to respect Lu Zhuo before he met him, since he was a Three Star Hunter Master. He assumed a Three Star Hunter Master would strictly follow the ethics of a Hunter!

However, Lan Jin had witnessed the wicked side of the Three Star Hunter Master. He had decided to expose him for what he did angrily.

Unfortunately, Lan Jin had underestimated Lu Zhuo’s twisted personality. Lu Zhuo would do anything for his own sake, including murdering his teammates!

Murdering teammates was a serious offense for Hunters, totally unforgivable. Lan Jin never expected someone like Lu Zhuo to do such a thing.

The poisonous mist poured into Lan Jin’s throat. He slowly lost his ability to speak. His eyes widened. He still had trouble believing his terrible fate.

Lan Jin fell to the ground slowly, his body emitting black poisonous ooze. He died a horrible death.

Li Yumei’s face turned pale upon witnessing what had happened.

“You…you really killed him?” Li Yumei asked uneasily.

“He was going to ruin everything. We couldn’t let him go. Humph, there are too many idiots nowadays. They really believe laws can protect them when they spend most of their time in the wild! Many high-rank Hunters have done similar things. Otherwise, how did you think they were able to claim most of the rewards themselves?” Lu Zhuo said disdainfully.

A Hunter Group usually had around seven members. The Contribution Points that each member would get were limited if they split the rewards evenly all the time!

When a team was in danger and had lost half its members, the remaining members were most likely suffering from serious injuries. If anyone was cruel enough, they would have a chance to claim all the rewards by themselves. The dead bodies would soon be cleaned up by demon creatures if they were left in the wild. The Hunter Union would struggle to find out the truth without the dead as evidence, hence the last person alive could easily twist the truth they pleased!

Lu Zhuo had done it before. Otherwise, how could he have become a Three Star Hunter Master?

Lan Jin was too naive. Did he seriously think Lu Zhuo would let him leave so easily?

“We’ll tell the Seven Star Hunter Master that Lan Jin’s squad was too eager to make some contributions, so they went into the cave to explore it without my permission. We were already too late when we got here,” Lu Zhuo told Li Yumei.

“Oh, I got it,” Li Yumei nodded. She was still recovering from the shock.

Lu Zhuo was extremely decisive. Li Yumei knew Lu Zhuo was not a righteous man, yet she never thought he was actually so merciless and brutal.

Li Yumei had to admit that she also had the thought to silence Lan Jin once and for all, yet it had only crossed her mind briefly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

A small boat was gliding quickly across the waves on the spacious lake.

The boat soon reached the shore. The Foehn Hunter Squad were relieved after reaching the shore, and stopped to get a breather.

“It’s my first time being so close to a Carnage Poisonous Salamander!” Xie Hao exclaimed.

“Zhong Li, what are you doing?” Gu Ying asked.

“I’m digging out its poison glands. They are extremely valuable. Speaking of which, why is this thing’s skin so thick? I can’t even slice through its belly with my Deathstrike Magic Equipment!” Zhong Li said.

“You should slice through the wounds, dumbass,” Gu Ying advised him.

“You’re right!”

Zhong Li soon noticed a deep gash under the Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s belly. It was a lot simpler to cut its stomach open by slicing through the wound.

The filth inside the Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s bloated belly poured out from the opening. A strong smell immediately spread into the surroundings!

“That’s… so disgusting!” Gu Ying turned her head away.

Only Zhong Li would bother dissecting demon creatures for their loot. However, he did earn a fortune from looting demon creatures. Without doing so, he would never reach the Intermediate Level, given how lazy he was with his cultivation!

“Boss, take a look at this!” Zhong Li exclaimed. He seemed to have discovered something unusual amid the thick ooze.

“Are you asking for death?” Gu Ying cursed him.

“I’m not joking, you really have to take a look at this. We might have made a huge discovery!” Zhong Li was overjoyed.

Zhong Li ignored how filthy the contents were. He proceeded to dig out some eggs from the mess while he was talking!

“Why are there so many infants of Salamander Demons inside its stomach? Do these shells belong to the Salamander Demons, too?” Gu Ying recognized some of the parts. She immediately looked confused.

“Was the Carnage Poisonous Salamander eating the infants of the Salamander Demons?” Xie Hao wondered.

“I doubt it, these eggs are intact!” Zhong Li refuted.

“But why are there so many shells in its stomach?”

Gu Ying observed the contents closely. After giving it some thought, she said slowly, “This is a female Poisonous Salamander that is carrying a huge number of the Salamander Demon’s eggs.”

“This is huge, we should tell Fan Mo at once. We might have cracked the mystery of how the Salamander Demons are reproducing!” Zhong Li exclaimed.

“Mm, I think so too!” Gu Ying smiled.

“Holy shit, what the hell is this!?” Xie Hao suddenly let out a scream.

Xie Hao was inspecting the mess too. He suddenly found a human leg in the pile!

The human leg was covered in ooze. It had yet to rot seriously, meaning that it was eaten not long ago.

“Did…did the Carnage Poisonous Salamander eat humans too?” Zhong Li boldly inspected the leg.

“There should be other parts too. It seems like the leg was only eaten recently. The flesh hasn’t been digested.”

“You guys are disgusting. Can you stop messing around?” Gu Ying said, covering her mouth.

Zhong Li did not mind getting his hands dirty. He tried to piece together the human parts, but the corpse was already beyond recognition…

“Let’s bury it!” Big Nose said.

“Wait, we might know the guy…” Zhong Li suddenly said sternly.

“Seriously? How did you even recognize him?”

“Take a look at this!” Zhong Li had found a dirty badge. He cleaned it off with water.

The badge was made of metal, so it was not easy to digest it. The pattern on it was easily discernible. Even its colors did not fade away.

“It’s the badge of the Cangjin Hunter Squad!” Gu Ying recognized the badge instantly.

The Cangjin Hunter Squad was quite close with the Foehn Hunter Squad. Their leader, Lan Jin, was an old friend of Gu Ying’s. Gu Ying never expected the person eaten by the Carnage Poisonous Salamander to be a member of the Cangjin Hunter Squad!

Strange, weren’t the members of the Cangjin Hunter Squad with Lu Zhuo and Li Yumei? How did this guy end up in the Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s stomach? Were they in some kind of trouble?

“Should we investigate it? He looks so messed up!” Xie Hao exclaimed.

“Are you out of your mind? That thing almost ate us too, and you’re asking us to go somewhere dangerous again? Besides, do you even know where the Cangjin Hunter Squad went? The creature must have eaten him somewhere else!” Big Nose pointed out.

“I think I know where they went,” Zhong Li said.

“How do you know?” Gu Ying asked with a confused look.

“I found these Demon Water Leaves in the Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s stomach. My mentor told me that there’s only one place in the Thousand Islands Lake where I can find these leaves. It’s a cave on an island that is connected to the lake below. It’s the only place where these Demon Water Leaves can grow,” Zhong Li said. He picked some irregular-shaped leaves that were partially digested out from the pile of filth.

It was not difficult to identify the Water Demon Leaves. Xie Hao and Gu Ying had seen them before, too. The Water Demon Leaves were sold at a high price on the market, but not many people knew where to find them, nor did they have the courage to explore the dangerous cave.

“We should look into this. The Cangjin Hunter Squad did share a quest with us when we were struggling financially back in the days. We shouldn’t turn a blind eye, knowing their lives might be in danger,” Gu Ying stated.

“Leader, shouldn’t we worry about ourselves first? That’s a Carnage Poisonous Salamander!” Big Nose disagreed immediately.

“Hey, Big Nose, why are you afraid? Did you forget we have Wolf Grandpa with us? Did you already forget how he took out the Carnage Poisonous Salamander?” Zhong Li said.

“That’s right, we might be able to find more valuable loot, too!” Xie Hao said excitedly.

The Foehn Hunter Squad was feeling much bolder, since the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was around to guarantee their safety.

They were not far from the Cave Island. It would not take them long to reach it with their boat. Zhong Li purposely wrote a letter about their discovery of Salamander Demons eggs in the Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s stomach. He tied the letter on a branch and brushed it with a special scent that would attract the Post Eagles!

It was a rather simple way of communication for the Hunters when their phones had no signal. The Post Eagles would just follow the scent and bring the letter back.

Gu Ying was also worried that the Cangjin Hunter Squad would be wiped out by the time they made it back to Minghu Outpost. It was better to investigate the matter first, while relaying their discovery to Mo Fan with the help of the Post Eagles.

—

Zhong Li was a living map of the Thousand Islands Lake. The Cave Island was very secluded, yet he still managed to find it. The Foehn Hunter Squad tensed up as they drew closer to the Cave Island…

The scent of blood had spread in the air…

————-

{Author’s Note: The sequence involving Lu Zhuo at the Cave Island happened first before the Foehn Hunter Squad encountered the Carnage Poisonous Salamander. I didn’t write the chapters chronologically. Some readers can understand, but others are quite fussed about it, so I’m clarifying it here!}

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Wolf Grandpa, do you want to lead the way?” Zhong Li asked cautiously.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf retained his lofty and inviolable bearing in front of the others. He cast an indifferent glance at Zhong Li before stepping onto the island like he owned the place.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was very sensitive to odors, especially the smell of blood. He followed the scent while the Foehn Hunter Squad stuck close together behind him.

“Oh my, this is f**king disgusting,” Xie Hao suddenly shrieked.

It gave the others quite a fright. They quickly looked at Xie Hao and noticed him stepping on something. He was wiping it off the grass nearby.

“Did you step on dog shit?” Zhong Li burst out laughing.

“I have no idea what it was. It’s pitch-black!” Xie Hao pulled a long face.

“Stop talking!” Gu Ying’s had a sensitive nose, too. She looked around herself carefully.

The team did not dare to chat any further. They continued to follow the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

“Did we come to the wrong place? I don’t see any cave here,” Big Nose said.

The island was not huge. They did not find the entrance of a cave after going around the island. They only saw a bunch of rocks. They wondered where the smell of blood had come from.

“This is strange, I clearly remembered my mentor telling me that there’s a cave here,” Zhong Li scratched his head.

“Awooo!”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was close to a few boulders. He was sniffing at the rocks as if he had discovered something.

Gu Ying watched the Flying Creek Snow Wolf carefully. She noticed him reaching out his sharp claws to dig at the rocks. His claws were slicing them in half, as if they were made of mud!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf eventually dug open a hole. The rocks above collapsed, revealing an opening. A strong smell of blood assailed their nostrils!

“There really is a cave here!” Xie Hao exclaimed.

“But why is the entrance sealed up?”

The Foehn Hunter Squad was being extremely cautious. Their ranks were not high, and they were well aware of how dangerous a cave like this could be. It was common to find high-level demon creatures in a place like this. They would normally retreat if they found a place like this. It was natural for Hunters to be alert, especially those that spent most of their time in the wild!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was different. The danger level was nowhere enough to threaten him. He went inside the cave and suddenly lowered his head, as if he had found something.

The Foehn Hunter Squad waited outside the cave. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf soon returned, carrying a person with his mouth!

The man that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf brought out of the cave was covered in blood. It was difficult to even recognize his face. To everyone’s surprise, he was still alive. He was struggling fiercely even as the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was holding him with his mouth, yelling and screaming frantically.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf placed the guy in front of Gu Ying. He could not have cared less about him.

“Don’t kill me, don’t kill me, I saw nothing, I saw nothing!” The man seemed to be mentally unstable, and kept babbling nonsense.

“Isn’t this Wu Dong? Wu Dong, it’s us, we are from the Foehn Hunter Squad! I’m Gu Ying!” Gu Ying quickly comforted him after recognizing who he was.

“Don’t kill me, I swear I didn’t see anything, don’t kill me…” Wu Dong had not recovered from his fear. He was curling up in the corner and trying to squeeze into any gap nearby to seek protection.

The Foehn Hunter Squad exchanged glances with one another. They had no idea what to do with Wu Dong.

Their hearts clenched upon seeing his reaction.

They had known Wu Dong for a long time. He was a man with a pleasant laugh and had drunk with the members of the Foehn Hunter Squad in the past. Gu Ying ended up dragging him back to Lan Jin after he was too drunk.

Since then, Wu Dong was too ashamed to talk to the members of the Foehn Hunter Squad, but they always mentioned it whenever they saw him.

However, Wu Dong seemed to have lost his mind completely. He was begging and curling up instinctively to stay alive. As a Hunter, he knew none of the two actions would guarantee his safety, but he was already suffering a mental breakdown!

“Let’s wash his wounds. We’ll wait until he’s able to calm down,” Gu Ying said.

“Mm, we seriously have no idea what happened.”

The Foehn Hunter Squad was a little worried after seeing Wu Dong’s condition. Something terrifying must have happened on this island, or the Cangjin Hunter Squad would not have ended up like this. Their Foehn Hunter Squad might share the same fate! The only reason they were willing to stay was because the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was sitting calmly behind them.

“Is there anyone else inside?” Gu Ying asked the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf sniffed and turned around. He patted Wu Dong with his claws.

“He’s the only one left?” Gu Ying guessed what the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was implying.

The truth was, Gu Ying would not dare to enter the cave. First, a member of the Cangjin Hunter Squad was eaten by the Carnage Poisonous Salamander, and now Wu Dong was mentally unstable.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf nodded, indicating that there was no one alive inside the cave!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did pick up the scent of other creatures. Their numbers were not low, and they seemed to be feasting. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf would not recklessly enter a narrow cave like this, especially since some of the areas were underwater. The environment was not favorable for him.

“We’ve done our best, and managed to save someone. Let’s leave if there’s no one else alive in the cave. We should tell Fan Mo and let him deal with the rest,” Xie Hao proposed.

They had done everything they could. They would only get themselves killed if they decided to investigate the cave!

Gu Ying agreed that they should leave as soon as possible, especially when the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was behaving like the cave was extremely dangerous.

“How about him?” Gu Ying asked Xie Hao.

“He’s just overwhelmed by fear. He should be back to normal after treating his wounds and getting some rest,” Xie Hao was familiar with the art of healing, even though he was not a Healer.

“Let’s go then.”

“Mm, this island is giving me the creeps.”

—

—

The team brought the injured Wu Dong back with them. The boat headed back to Minghu Outpost.

Wu Dong was unconscious. He had stopped blabbering, perhaps able to tell that he was no longer in danger.

“He should be fine after he wakes up… it’s getting dark. It’s not safe to be traveling on the lake now. Let’s set up some tents on the Single-Line Island. We’ll head back to Minghu Outpost tomorrow morning!” Zhong Li said.

“Mm, fine, Wu Dong needs some rest too.”

——

The Single-Line Island was a special island that almost every Hunter at the Thousand Islands Lake knew about. The island was located at a relatively safe spot on the lake. There were no demon creatures in the water nearby, and the island was free of them. Most Hunters that were returning from the Thousand Islands Lake would choose to stay on the island for the night before going back to Minghu Outpost. Therefore, the island was already lit up with tents by the evening.

The Single-Line Island had a lot of tents, as usual. They most likely belonged to the Hunter Groups that were reluctant to give up on hunting Salamander Demons. Perhaps they had earned a fortune after they figured out a way to break through the Salamander Demons’ shells!

The Foehn Hunter Squad began setting up their tents after they arrived at the island.

“Yo, brother, your wolf looks pretty sick. It must be at least a Great Warrior-level creature!” a Hunter nearby came and greeted them.

Hunters were used to hanging out together when they were in the wild. It was easier for them to look after one another.

“Great Warrior-level creature? You’re joking. Let me tell you, he can kill Commander-level creatures like they are little chicks!” Xie Hao responded proudly.

“Keep bluffing!” the Hunter laughed.

“I’m being serious,” Xie Hao said seriously

“Ask him to show me some moves then, if he’s really that strong. I will offer you this jar of wine if you’re not lying. If you are, you will have to give me the number of that pretty lady in your team,” the Hunter said

Xie Hao glanced at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, who was already asleep. He was deeply troubled. Would the creature simply slap him to death if he asked him to show off some moves?

“Huh? The badge you are wearing looks familiar. I saw two people wearing the same badge on this island. Are they from the same team as yours?” the Hunter asked.

“Are you referring to this? It’s a temporary badge that a Seven Star Hunter Master gave us…” Xie Hao said.

“You’re such a liar, a Seven Star Hunter Master?” The Hunter clearly did not believe Xie Hao. If there was really a Seven Star Hunter Master here, why would they bother doing quests in the Thousand Islands Lake? Was there anything here that would catch a Seven Star Hunter Master’s attention?

—

Xie Hao chatted with the Hunter for a while. After he was done, he went to look for the other two with the same badge.

Every Hunter that was hired for the quest was given a temporary badge. It was a sign that they were all working on the same quest for the same employer. They were teammates for the time being.

Xie Hao did not expect to see any other teammates on the island. He decided to visit them to see if they had discovered any clues.

Xie Hao went to the back of the island and saw an isolated tent. The tent was delicate, obviously costing a lot of money. The tent was lit up, and he could see the outlines of a man and a woman projected onto the tent by the light.

“Hello, you two, I am Xie Hao from the Foehn Hunter Squad. Why are you two here? Where is the rest of your team?” Xie Hao went up to the tent and asked.

“Xie Hao?” Li Yumei blurted out.

Lu Zhuo flipped the tent up and looked at Xie Hao, who had paid them a surprise visit.

“Holy crap, why is it you two?” Xie Hao was dumbfounded.

Xie Hao was not fond of them, just like the rest of his team. He did not expect to stumble into them here. How unlucky!

Lu Zhuo and Li Yumei were wearing strange looks. After all, they could not help but be on alert when someone found them here, not long after what they did.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Hang on, aren’t you with the Cangjin Hunter Squad? The Cangjin Hunter Squad met with such misfortune, yet you two are perfectly fine here…” Xie Hao blurted out as a sudden thought crossed his mind.

Li Yumei’s expression shifted upon hearing the words.

How did Xie Hao know what had happened to the Cangjin Hunter Squad? Did Xie Hao see them!?

She recalled what Lu Zhuo had told her. She must harden her heart whenever it was necessary. Her eyes were already flickering murderously!

Lu Zhuo held Li Yumei back with his hand. He was signaling her not to do anything reckless with his gaze.

Lu Zhuo reacted quickly, and said with a defeated look, “We were in trouble, and we almost died. We barely escaped and immediately came back to Minghu Outpost to ask for backup… why are you here alone? Is the rest of your team here too? If they are, come with me to the island. I’m afraid the Cangjin Hunter Squad will be killed if we are too late.”

“Killed? They were almost wiped out when we reached the Cave Island. Only Wu Dong is alive, but he’s mentally unstable. What the hell are you two leaders even doing!?” Xie Hao cursed them.

“Did you go to the Cave Island? Was it just you, or…” Lu Zhuo continued to sound Xie Hao out.

“Our team!”

“Where is your team now?”

“At the front of the island.”

“Bring us to them. Even if there are some misunderstandings between us, we should be helping one another out, since lives were at stake,” Lu Zhuo said righteously.

Lu Zhuo acted sincerely, so Xie Hao did not think too much about it. Considering how serious the Cangjin Hunter Squad’s situation was, he immediately brought Lu Zhuo and Li Yumei back to where the team was.

Xie Hao did not stop jabbering as he was leading the way. Lu Zhuo and Li Yumei exchanged glances with one another, feeling extremely uneasy. They were supposed to be the only people that knew what had happened on the Cave Island, so they could explain it however they wanted once they were back at Minghu Outpost. The Seven Star Hunter Master would have no choice but to believe them!

Lu Zhuo would only have to reflect on his negligence of duty. The Seven Star Hunter Master might even give the families of the Hunters compensation for their loss, and soon forget about it. After all, it was common for the Hunters to leave their wills behind beforehand.

To Lu Zhuo’s surprise, the Foehn Hunter Squad had gone to the Cave Island after them. Most importantly, they had managed to find someone alive!

How could anyone survive? Li Yumei was panicking. She was worried that the plan would fall through and expose them!

“I did seal the entrance of the cave. Even if someone was still alive inside, there’s no way they could find their way out,” Lu Zhuo said anxiously.

Li Yumei had gained a whole new understanding of Lu Zhuo after the incident. He was truly vicious. Not only did he kill Lan Jin, he even sealed up the cave!

Lu Zhuo had no idea if the people inside the cave were all dead. He did not dare to go inside the cave, so he ended up sealing the cave instead. Any people alive inside would have no chance to find their way out. It was only a matter of time before they were eaten by the creatures in the cave!

Li Yumei and Lu Zhuo left only after making sure they did not leave any clues behind. Lu Zhuo could not understand why the Foehn Hunter Squad would go to the Cave Island and how they had found someone alive!

Luckily, Xie Hao was not the brightest. Otherwise, Lu Zhuo would have had trouble sounding him out.

“Didn’t you two know Wu Dong is still alive? How could you abandon him?” Xie Hao turned around and asked them.

Lu Zhuo and Li Yumei were talking softly. They pretended to be sorrowful whenever Xie Hao turned around.

“Didn’t you already see how the cave was blocked by some strange rocks? We tried to find our way in, but we couldn’t dig a hole. We immediately came back to ask for backup, but it was already dark before we could make it back to Minghu Outpost. We have no choice but to wait here. How did your team dig a hole through the rocks? They were extremely tough!” Lu Zhuo said quickly.

“We have the Wolf Ancestor with us, the Seven Star Hunter Master’s Summoned Beast. His claws are very sharp…” Xie Hao said.

Lu Zhuo was relieved when Xie Hao did not hesitate to tell them everything. Luckily, it was Xie Hao that had found them. If it was Gu Ying or Zhong Li, they would be suspicious of them from the very beginning. They still had a chance to manipulate the truth with the information provided by Xie Hao.

Li Yumei whispered to Lu Zhuo when Xie Hao went further ahead, “What now? What should we tell them?”

“The situation isn’t that bad. Our biggest problem is Wu Dong. Once Wu Dong is dead, we can easily bluff our way through. After all, they have no idea about exactly what happened,” Lu Zhuo replied.

“But they are looking after Wu Dong now, if he dies for no reason…” Li Yumei said.

“I’m a Poison Mage; how difficult will it be to make him die a reasonable death?” Lu Zhuo sniffed.

“But not everyone in the Foehn Hunter Squad is as dumb as Xie Hao!” Li Yumei said.

Gu Ying had always had a strong grudge against Li Yumei and Lu Zhuo. She would never believe their words so easily!

“It depends on whether or not they know their place…” Lu Zhuo harrumphed.

“What do you mean?” Li Yumei asked curiously.

Lu Zhuo grinned coldly in response to the question.

Li Yumei had already guessed Lu Zhuo’s intention from his expression. She was shocked once again.

How many similar deeds had Lu Zhuo done in the past? Why did he keep rewriting her impression of him!?

“Don’t panic. Gu Ying might notice something is wrong because of you,” Lu Zhuo reminded when he saw Li Yumei’s reaction.

“But… I’m scared!” Li Yumei admitted.

Lu Zhuo shook his head and said helplessly, “There’s nothing to be scared of. Forget it, I’ll go meet the Foehn Hunter Squad and sound them out first.”

“Oh, alright, but how do I excuse myself now?” Li Yumei asked.

—

“We haven’t had anything to drink since we left the Cave Island. Li Yumei, go get some water from the spring,” Lu Zhuo said.

“Oh, alright,” Li Yumei nodded and received the water pouches from him.

Xie Hao did not think too much about it. He could tell that the two had yet to recover from the shock. It must be torturous if they had not drunk for so long.

“We have water too,” Xie Hao offered them.

“It’s fine, the spring is cool and refreshing. We need it to calm our minds,” Lu Zhuo said firmly.

—

Gu Ying immediately noticed the unwanted guest Lu Zhuo after they arrived at the Foehn Hunter Squad’s tent.

The thing that had troubled Gu Ying the most was the whereabouts of Li Yumei and Lu Zhuo.

They were the leaders of the Cangjin Hunter Squad. Did they die in the cave too, or did they manage to escape from the danger?

Gu Ying noticed Lu Zhuo’s miserable look and the light injuries on his body. He did seem like he had been in some kind of trouble.

“It’s good to see you all,” Lu Zhuo continued with his act.

Gu Ying was suspicious, just as Lu Zhuo had expected. She asked, “Why are you well and alive here?”

“Do I look well?” Lu Zhuo said with a wry smile.

Lu Zhuo had inflicted the injuries on himself. He was not an idiot. Hurting himself was the most basic way to trick others!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The others are all dead, but you two are fine!” Gu Ying remained biased against Lu Zhuo.

“Gu Ying, I used to be your old captain. When did you see me not obeying the protocols of the Hunters? It’s not as simple as you think. I barely escaped too! Do you seriously think I should get myself killed against something that we didn’t stand a chance against? Besides, Li Yumei was the closest to me when it happened. It made sense for me to save her first. It was already too late by the time I wanted to go into the cave again,” Lu Zhuo replied seriously.

Gu Ying did not speak any further. As a matter of fact, she was not too sure of Lu Zhuo’s character. Somehow, her instincts were telling him that he was a hypocrite, but that did not necessarily mean he was immoral. She would have to wait until Wu Dong was awake to find out what had happened.

Lu Zhuo indicated that he wanted to check on Wu Dong since Gu Ying was not asking any more questions.

Gu Ying agreed, but she did not allow Lu Zhuo to touch him.

Lu Zhuo was relieved when he saw Wu Dong was still unconscious.

Luckily, the man was mentally unstable. Otherwise, he might be in great trouble if the Foehn Hunter Squad knew what had happened.

However, he would be exposed if the Foehn Hunter Squad brought Wu Dong to the Seven Star Hunter Master. He had to find a way to get rid of Wu Dong!

—

Lu Zhuo relocated his tent to near the Foehn Hunter Squad. Gu Ying was still suspicious of him, so she made sure Wu Dong was well-protected.

Gu Ying knew that Lu Zhuo was a Poison Mage. She knew something was not right when she noticed Li Yumei was extremely quiet, even though the woman would always pick a fight with her normally.

“Keep an eye on Wu Dong, don’t let anything happen to him,” Gu Ying told Big Nose.

“What’s wrong? Are you worried that something might happen to him?

“Mm, I’ve heard some things about Lu Zhuo from other places, but there wasn’t enough evidence to prove them…” Gu Ying said softly.

“Oh, alright, I understand,” Big Nose nodded shortly.

—

In the other tent, Li Yumei was holding it in with a blank face.

“How many times did I tell you not to lose your composure? You will only make Gu Ying more suspicious of us!” Lu Zhuo was utterly displeased and disgusted by Li Yumei’s behavior.

Li Yumei was very stupid at times. Lu Zhuo was actually quite annoyed by how dumb she was. She was eventually going to be a burden for him!

“I…I didn’t know what to do. Should we just turn ourselves in? I don’t think leaving our post is a serious offense, right?” Li Yumei said uneasily.

“Are you kidding me? As a Hunter Master, a single mistake is enough to stop you from being able to recruit people to your team forever! Besides, do you really think the Hunter Union is full of idiots? Do you think they won’t investigate us? It’s better to rule it an accident. If the Hunter Union starts investigating, they are going to dig everything out, including the things I’ve done in the past!” Lu Zhuo said.

“What did you do?” Li Yumei asked with a confused look.

“I did Luo Mian a few favors,” Lu Zhuo said.

“Luo Mian? Do you mean Councilman Luo Mian, the person responsible for the blood serums that caused the plague?” Li Yumei exclaimed.

“How do you think I managed to become a Hunter Master?” Lu Zhuo harrumphed coldly.

“You were involved too?” Li Yumei blurted out in surprise.

“Not much, but I did benefit from it. I went to the West Ridge with a group of Hunters. One of our members was bleeding to death, so an Old Hunter among us decided to replenish his blood with the blood of an Epidemic Rat. He accidentally discovered that the blood of the Epidemic Rats is similar to the Mutated Blood needed to produce blood serums. We were desperate to make some quick money, so the old Hunter found a pharmacist to produce a batch of fake blood serums. We only knew the fake blood serums have weak side effects at first, and that they were not as effective as the real blood serums. The pharmacist was only mixing the fake blood serums with the real ones to save some money.

1

“However, Luo Mian managed to find out the truth. We initially thought Councilman Luo Mian would destroy the fake blood serums right away, but to our surprise, he had an even wilder ambition than us. He began to mass-produce the fake blood serums and mix them with the real blood serums with his connections to cover for the money he had embezzled from the government. It ended up resulting in the plague,” Lu Zhuo admitted.

Li Yumei stared at Lu Zhuo in astonishment.

The plague at Hangzhou had gotten so much attention. Li Yumei never thought Lu Zhuo was one of the first people that had discovered the formula of the fake blood serums!

“Luo Mian gave us some benefits to shut our mouths. I also became a Hunter Master after that year. We weren’t involved in the things he did after that, so we weren’t caught during the investigation,” Luo Mian went on.

Li Yumei recalled that Lu Zhuo did indeed become a Hunter Master not long after the plague. His rank had been improving a lot since then!

“But what about your teammates? Wouldn’t they be investigated too? They might find out that you are related through them!” Li Yumei said.

“They won’t, because they are all dead,” Lu Zhuo grinned coldly.

“Dead?” Li Yumei looked at Lu Zhuo. She realized something by looking at Lu Zhuo’s expression.

“After we gave the fake blood serums away, Luo Mian arranged for us to accept a quest with a huge reward, but that guy is nothing but a cunning fox. He only arranged the quest to silence us…” Luo Mian said.

“Silence you?” Li Yumei’s heart pounded heavily.

“Yeah, he didn’t want anyone to know that he had the formula of the fake blood serums, nor did he want anyone to know what he had done. Therefore, he took out everyone that knew about the fake blood serums with a simple trick. He arranged a private meeting with one of the members and asked him to poison the rest of the team,” Lu Zhuo said.

“You’re lucky that you’re still alive. I didn’t expect that Luo Mian to be so vicious,” Li Yumei said after letting out a relieved sigh.

Lu Zhuo was utterly amused by Li Yumei’s reaction. This Li Yumei was seriously simple-minded!

“The person that Luo Mian met was me! I was the one that agreed to meet him in private,” Luo Mian smiled, the kind of smile that would make a person’s hair stand on end.

Li Yumei was even more shocked, and stared at Lu Zhuo. The man felt even more unfamiliar to her.

Was this guy really the Lu Zhuo she knew?

How many similar deeds had he done in the past!?

“You…you poisoned your teammates?” Li Yumei stammered.

“Mm, Luo Mian showed me that I couldn’t use a deadly poison on them, since many Hunters are very sensitive toward things that are harmful to their bodies. It’s very likely that I’d expose myself if I poisoned their food and water with something deadly. The best way was to use a poison that wasn’t so deadly, for example, something that can help you sleep,” Luo Mian described calmly.

Li Yumei suddenly felt like an evil door had swung open after hearing Lu Zhuo’s words. It turned out that there were a lot of things to learn to become a corrupt person. Lu Zhuo was already quite experienced in those things. Li Yumei had only realized his dark side now. She could not help but tremble in fear.

Anyone would be terrified if they discovered the dark side of their teammate or their lover!

That being said, if Lu Zhuo had hidden it so well before, why did he bother telling her everything? Was it because she was there when he killed Lan Jin, so they were on the same boat now?

But even if the two of them were forced to stick together because they were on the same boat, that was still no reason for Lu Zhuo to tell her everything. He would be consigned to eternal damnation if she turned him in!

Li Yumei asked with a confused look, “Why did you suddenly tell me all this?”

“There’s no particular reason for it. It’s uncomfortable keeping everything inside my mind. I would feel a lot better if I spilled them out to someone,” Lu Zhuo reassured her.

“But aren’t you worried that I might tell someone else? Do you trust me that much?” Li Yumei was a little touched, even though she was afraid.

Lu Zhuo might be a cruel person, but he had been very kind to her. He must have told her everything out of trust!

“I never trusted you,” Lu Zhuo informed her.

Li Yumei was confused. If he did not trust her, why did he bother telling her everything? The things he said were actually worse than what he had done today!

Lu Zhuo leaned closer to Li Yumei and asked gently, “Are you sleepy? You should get some rest. Your worries will no longer be a thing once you fall asleep…”

“My eyes are indeed heavy. Why all of a sudden…” Li Yumei closed her eyes.

“Do you know? I’m actually very fond of your… body. I will never have enough of it, but I’m so disappointed in your intelligence. If you were half as smart as Gu Ying, I wouldn’t have to do this to you, but unfortunately, you are not. Well, if you’re really half as smart as Gu Ying, you wouldn’t be staying close to me, either,” Lu Zhuo went on lightly.

“What do you mean? Why…why do you have to compare me with her? Do you still have thoughts for her?” Li Yumei asked half-consciously.

“There’s no way a man will have no thoughts for a beautiful woman. Get some sleep, I have a lot of things to do still,” Lu Zhuo said.

“Why am I so tired? What…what have you done?” Li Yumei felt her body becoming heavier. She was struggling to even speak properly.

Li Yumei suddenly recalled the words Lu Zhuo had spoken. It was stupid to use a deadly poison on your target. The best poison was the kind that was beneficial, for example, helping a person to go to sleep. It was a lot easier to get rid of the target once they were asleep!

Li Yumei’s soul was immediately surrounded by a strong chill, yet she could no longer move, falling feebly to the ground. She could still hear Lu Zhuo’s deep laughter.

Why?

Li Yumei did not understand. Why did Lu Zhuo poison her!?

Was he afraid that she might turn him in?

But if he did not tell her the truth in the first place, she would never have found out about him. Why did he have to do this?…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Li Yumei lay still in the tent. She was confused and terrified, having no idea what was going to happen after she closed her eyes. She had fallen asleep beside Lu Zhuo many times, but it was different this time. Lu Zhuo had turned into someone she was unfamiliar with. She was more scared the more she thought about it.

Lu Zhuo waited quietly inside the tent. He was fondling Li Yumei, and slowly took off her clothes.

The drug needed a little more time to come into effect. He could slowly enjoy his time in the tent.

Lu Zhuo enjoyed the feeling that he was the only person alive in this world. He could do whatever he pleased. He no longer had to put on a disguise.

—

A while later, Lu Zhuo buckled his belt back on and left the tent.

The island was deadly quiet, and not even the cries of insects were heard, as if they had all been driven away by Lu Zhuo’s ruthless demeanor.

There were many tents nearby, most of them were still lit, but the Hunters were all lying about on the ground. Not a single one was awake.

Lu Zhuo was very familiar with this Single-Line Island. The island had a cold spring. Every Hunter on the island was most likely going to drink from the spring. The Thousand Islands Lake was a huge lake, but there were not many sources of drinkable water. The Thousand Islands Lake was like a huge steamer basket lately because of the weather, so most people would have the urge to drink the cold water from the spring.

Li Yumei was so dumb. Even until now, she had no idea that she was his accomplice. Lu Zhuo had put a dose of the hypnotizing drug in the water pouches he gave to her!

It was the hypnotic drug that Luo Mian had given him. The Hunters currently on the island could not even tell they were drugged. They would not detect it even with the best devices. After all, it was not really a kind of poison!

Lu Zhuo had purposely chatted with Li Yumei until late at night to ensure that everyone had drunk the water. He even spent some time bidding farewell to her body for the last time. He quickly surveyed the island and discovered that everyone was lying on the ground.

The Foehn Hunter Squad was fast asleep, and the Hunter Group beside them was asleep too. The Hunter Group at the back of the island was not making any sound. The people left on night watch were sleeping like dead pigs, too.

Lu Zhuo went to the back of the island to do a thorough check, using a poisonous wind to further enhance the effects of the drug. He was making sure everyone that drank from the spring was unconscious.

“You unlucky people, I’ll let you sleep for a little longer. I’ll deal with you later,” Lu Zhuo chuckled, glancing at the tent of strangers.

Lu Zhuo returned to the front of the island and noticed a figure staggering along the shore. She did not seem to be drugged heavily.

Lu Zhuo went closer and noticed it was Gu Ying. Her slender yet busty body was swaying slightly. Lu Zhuo immediately felt a strong desire rising within him upon seeing the woman’s delicate appearance, even though he had just vented himself not long ago.

Why did he bother wasting his time and energy on Li Yumei, whom he had played with so many times, when he had a better option?

As a matter of fact, Lu Zhuo was not interested in Li Yumei in the first place, but she had taken the initiative to approach him. She had also forced Gu Ying to leave the party with her little tricks. Lu Zhuo ended up losing his chance to enjoy himself a fine meal!

Lu Zhuo slowly approached Gu Ying and looked at her feeble body.

“Xiao Ying, where are you going? Oh, it’s been years since I last called you that. I haven’t heard you calling me Leader Lu with your sweet voice. You admired me so much when you first joined my group. If Li Yumei didn’t stick her leg between us out of nowhere, perhaps we would be a blessed couple that others are jealous of by now!?” Lu Zhuo went up to Gu Ying and asked with squinting eyes.

“What…what did you do to us!?” Gu Ying was enraged.

The rest of the Foehn Hunter Squad was asleep. Gu Ying had failed to wake them up. She had been on alert throughout the night, but she felt extremely drowsy all of a sudden. She thought she was too worn out over the past few days, but she soon discovered that all the Hunter Groups nearby were fast asleep too.

“Did you not drink from the spring?” Lu Zhuo asked with a smile.

“You poisoned the spring?!” Gu Ying snarled instantly.

“Xiao Ying, you’re indeed a lot smarter than Li Yumei. You’re so cautious that you didn’t even drink from the cold spring, but it doesn’t really matter. Your teammates drank from it, so even their breaths while conversing with you would still make you feel sleepy. You will soon end up just like them, even though you didn’t drink the water,” Lu Zhuo promised.

The drug that Luo Mian gave him stood out by its effects. Even if someone was only drinking from their own water, even conversing with someone that had been drugged at a close distance would make them fall victim to it, too…

It was difficult to resist the drowsiness. Gu Ying was experiencing it firsthand. She could not gather any force, and she could not even cast a single spell.

“What are you trying to do!?” Gu Ying clenched her teeth. She was trying her best not to close her eyes.

“You never knew your place. To be honest, if you weren’t such a busybody and saved this Wu Dong, none of this would have happened. Your teammates and these Hunters are all going to die because of you, HAHAHA!” Lu Zhuo burst out laughing.

“That’s the reason you’re going to kill everyone on the island?” Gu Ying was utterly shocked when she heard Gu Ying’s words.

Everyone on the island had fallen victim to this. Was this Lu Zhuo out of his mind?

“I have to make sure that not even a single drop of water can leak out from here. Think about it; if I only kill Wu Dong, your Foehn Hunter Squad is going to be a huge trouble, so I can only take your Foehn Hunter Squad out too, but if I kill the Foehn Hunter Squad, the Hunter Union will eventually learn about it. Besides, there are so many Hunters on this island, and they have all chatted with you, so they already know why you are here. It’s easy for me to be blamed.

“Therefore, the simplest way is to kill everyone on this island! That way, everyone will just focus on the entire island instead of your Foehn Hunter Squad. They won’t worry about Wu Dong, either, nor would they link your deaths to me. The Thousand Islands Lake has always been dangerous. It’s not impossible that a powerful beast showed up and killed everyone on the island!” Lu Zhuo laughed.

If only the people relevant to a matter were murdered, it was very easy to track down the culprit. However, if a bunch of irrelevant people were involved too, things would be more complicated, since there were four Hunter Groups and a few other Hunters on the island. There were no obvious reasons and motives behind their deaths…

He could even hide the deaths of the Cangjin Hunter Squad and blame it on the tragedy that happened on the Single-Line Island!

Gu Ying was walking unsteadily. The anger in her heart was erupting like a volcano. This Lu Zhuo was going to murder everyone on the island just to cover up his crimes. How twisted was he inside!?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What is it? You don’t agree with me?” Lu Zhuo noticed the hatred on Gu Ying’s face. He was quite amused. He murmured, “I was also stuck at the rank of Intermediate Hunter when you first met me. I never had the chance to become an Advanced Hunter, but I learned that sticking to the rules would only make me a slave taking orders from other people for the rest of my life. I was only able to become a Three Star Hunter Master because I was cruel enough!”

Lu Zhuo noticed that Gu Ying was starting to lose her balance. He immediately lent her a hand, but she used all her might to throw his hand away and stumbled in the opposite direction.

Lu Zhuo was not bothered at all. Many people had no clue how his rank had risen so quickly. He could not afford to share it with others, but he was the only person awake now. He could talk about it all he wanted. He could also calm his thoughts and wait a while before enjoying his time with Gu Ying, whom he had set his eyes on for quite some time. The night was still young, and it was too dangerous to be traveling on the Thousand Islands Lake at night. Lu Zhuo was not worried that someone would invade his privacy!

“You are disgusted by me, yet you are trying so hard just to earn that Seven Star Hunter Master’s favor, thinking that he’s going to change your life. Did you ever wonder if he stinks just like me under the skin? I’ve done so many misdeeds, yet I’m only a Three Star Hunter Master. How many lives did you think he has taken to become a Seven Star Hunter Master?” Lu Zhuo said.

The people that Luo Mian killed so he could become a Councilman were enough to stack up into a hill under his feet. Lu Zhuo believed the things he did were nothing compared to Luo Mian!

What about a Seven Star Hunter Master with great power?

The man was able to achieve the rank at such a young age, giving him the power to order Three Stars Hunter Masters like them around. There was no way Lu Zhuo would believe he was a righteous man, since Lu Zhuo knew clearly that no matter how hardworking they were, they would never climb faster than those that claimed the rewards for their own, especially the rewards for an entire group!

There was no return after he had done it once!

Unfortunately, many people were unaware of that, nor did they have the courage to attempt it!

“Do you think everyone is the same as you!?” Gu Ying trembled in anger.

“Who knows, but at least, I can tell that Seven Star Hunter Master is far from innocent! The bearing, temperament, and eyes of those that were stained with blood are different from an innocent person. I’m pretty sure you could sense it too!” Lu Zhuo said.

Gu Ying fell silent.

Hunters were quite sensitive toward danger. She did feel a strong aura of blood under the Seven Stars Hunter Master’s indifferent appearance. He had an unusual bearing back when he was concealing his strength. It was the reason why Gu Ying had taken an interest in him in the first place. However, the feeling was even stronger when he revealed his identity as a Seven Stars Hunter Master.

“This is a great opportunity for me. I didn’t want it to end like this, either, but don’t you worry, so many Hunters die every day! People will soon forget about this incident, just like a casual conversation they had at the bars or the teahouses. As for me, I’ll continue to climb my way up while the rest of you slowly rot under the ground,” Lu Zhuo said as he approached Gu Ying.

He had just satisfied his desires not long ago, yet he was already having a reaction when he saw Gu Ying trying to stand properly. As he thought, he was more interested in Gu Ying. He already had an erection after such a short time. He still had to feed so many people to the monsters in the lake. He had to hurry!

Lu Zhuo reached his hand out and pulled the staggering Gu Ying to his chest. He was almost drooling with lust. He remembered the first time he had done something against his conscience. He was utterly terrified back then, but now, he was feeling excited. It was true that humans could not afford to become depraved. Even the slightest fall was enough for one to revel in it. They would no longer feel the slightest guilt, remorse, and sense of evil. They would become so twisted that even they would have trouble recognizing themselves!

A ferocious wolf with icy-white hair suddenly lunged out from the tent behind, swinging its claws directly at Lu Zhuo.

It took Lu Zhuo by surprise. He instinctively backed away and turned into a mist to dodge the sharp claws!

The mist moved a certain distance back before Lu Zhuo reappeared. His face had a faint bleeding scratch. It made Lu Zhuo’s contorted face look even scarier!

“I was wondering why you kept heading in this direction. It turns out that you’re trying to ask this wolf for help. Humph, did you really think I didn’t take that into consideration too? Your teammates aren’t all as smart as you!” Lu Zhuo chuckled darkly.

Lu Zhuo was well aware of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s existence. The creature had the aura of a Great Commander-level creature. His true strength might even surpass the level of a Great Commander-level creature! Lu Zhuo had purposely tricked Gu Ying’s teammates to feed the Flying Creek Snow Wolf water from the cold spring, too. He only dared to act so recklessly after he saw the Flying Creek Snow Wolf drink the water.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was stronger than Lu Zhuo had expected. He did not fall asleep even after he had drunk the water.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf stood beside Gu Ying, howling while facing Lu Zhuo. His icy aura was weaker than usual, and he was swaying due to his strong drowsiness. He would shake his head fiercely at times to keep himself awake.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf could have killed Lu Zhuo instantly at his full strength. Lu Zhuo had not expected the attack. However, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had lost half of his strength. The swing was not even that hard!

“My title of Three Stars Hunter Master isn’t just mere decoration. Even if the wolf isn’t unconscious, I can still slay it! It’s funny that you think it can save you!” Lu Zhuo took a huge step forward, covered in the strange mist again.

Gu Ying did not have much strength left as she stood behind the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf could still fight. He bared his fangs and glared at the mist that Lu Zhuo had turned into.

“His Primary Element is Poison, Secondary is Water, and Tertiary is Shadow…” Gu Ying immediately told the Flying Creek Snow Wolf Lu Zhuo’s Elements.

Lu Zhuo’s movements were unpredictable, but the Flying Creek Snow Wolf soon noticed the mist spreading across the island. He could see several images of Lu Zhuo inside it.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was weakened by the drowsiness, and the mist was also making it harder for him to track down Lu Zhuo.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf finally noticed a shadow that was likely to be the real Lu Zhuo. He pounced at it fiercely.

However, the shadows in the mist suddenly scattered. It was just a trick that Lu Zhuo had pulled off with his Shadow Element!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was immediately targeted by a Poison Spell after missing his attack, coming in the form of water droplets. They quickly attached to the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s skin and permeated in through his pores.

It was very difficult to guard against the poison. Its paralyzing effects soon weakened the Flying Creek Snow Wolf further. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf felt like he was going to fall to the ground if he lost focus!

Lu Zhuo was extremely cunning, and did not dare to fight the Flying Creek Snow Wolf head-on. He kept kiting and harassing the Flying Creek Snow Wolf with the Shadow Element. He clearly knew that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was under the effects of the drug, and now the paralyzing effects of the poison mist were slowly working, too. The two kinds of poison were constantly spreading through the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s body. He just needed to wear the Flying Creek Snow Wolf out and he would soon turn into an old dog waiting to be slaughtered!

“Awooo!”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s howl was obviously weakening. He tried to locate Lu Zhuo in the mist, but the man was just too cunning.

Knowing the pinch they were in, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf decisively lifted Gu Ying and placed her on his back.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was very experienced with Mo Fan’s tactics after being with him for so long: it was time to run if he could not defeat the enemy!

The river would still be flowing as long as the mountain was around. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was losing his balance like he was drunk. He quickly headed away from the island before he lost the ability to move!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled. A strong icy aura burst out of the lake in a straight line and froze the water in an instant, providing the Flying Creek Snow Wolf a path to run on!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf ran away from the island without turning to look back.

Lu Zhuo was rather surprised. The creature was merely putting up an act, and was planning to run away all along!

“Gu Ying, you better think twice, if you run away, I’m going to kill everyone on the island! You will regret it in front of your teammates’ graves!” Lu Zhuo chased after them while threatening Gu Ying with the lives of the people on the island.

Gu Ying turned around and looked at her unconscious friends.

Gu Ying was both enraged and unwilling to accept that she would be the only member of the Foehn Hunter Squad left.

She could not run away. If she did, the others were all going to die!

Lu Zhuo’s trick was quite effective. Gu Ying wanted to go back to the island. She could not imagine what Lu Zhuo would do to her teammates if she left!

“We can’t leave, he’s going to kill them all,” Gu Ying said, lying on the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s back.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf continued to sprint along the ice. He acted like he did not understand a single word from her.

First, if they did not run away, they were clearly going to die. The time he had spent to improve his cultivation would all be wasted. He did not think Lu Zhuo would be merciful to them. Second, even a wolf like him knew they were only going to get themselves killed if they turned back now. The people on the island were dead for sure. There was no reason for them to sacrifice themselves too!

Gu Ying was concerned about her teammates, but the Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not care much about them.

“You… let me down!” Gu Ying protested feebly.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf pretended he could not hear her. As a Summoned Beast, Mo Fan was not going to blame him if he managed to save the life of a beautiful woman!

—

Lu Zhuo was utterly enraged. He had an urge to skin the wolf alive and drink his blood dry!

There was no way he could let the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and Gu Ying run away. If she was alive, the people would learn the truth about what happened on the island. He would be wanted by the Hunter Union and the Enforcement Union. His life would be ruined!

He turned into a mist and chased after the wolf. He had to make sure that the wolf and the woman were dead, even though it was dangerous to traverse the Thousand Islands Lake at night.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was determined to avoid the fight. He kept running in the same direction.

There was nothing but water nearby. It was quite a nuisance for the Flying Creek Snow Wolf since he had to freeze the water before he was able to run on the ice. Lu Zhuo was right on his trail. He was having difficulties remaining focused enough to freeze the water due to the sleep poison and paralyzing effects. He almost stepped into the water at times.

If the Flying Creek Snow Wolf got any slower, he might even lose his ability to run on the water. He would sink to the bottom of the lake!

“Do you think you can run away? This is going to be your final struggle!” Lu Zhuo pursued them relentlessly.

He was a Water Mage. The Thousand Islands Lake was his best kind of terrain. He was quicker and more agile here.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf forced himself to raise his spirits when he noticed the man still chasing them. He continued to run a distance away before he noticed strange objects floating on the water.

Gu Ying had noticed them, too. Huge shells had appeared above the surface of the lake. They looked like giant snails lying on the surface of the lake under the moonlight; each Salamander Demon had a small whirlpool beside them, as if they were filtering the water!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was overjoyed when he saw the Salamander Demons.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf stopped unleashing his freezing aura. He jumped onto the shells of the Salamander Demons and kicked off them ferociously, driving them down into the water.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf swept across the lake in an elegant arc. He landed right on the shell of another Salamander Demon floating on the water!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf kicked again strongly, creating a huge splash and launching himself into the air!

White hair drifted in the wind. The nimble Flying Creek Snow Wolf treated the countless Salamander Demons as his stepping boards, easily crossing the lake.

The Salamander Demons were extremely slow with their reactions. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was already a kilometer away before they stirred themselves to attack. They could only splash the water fiercely to vent their frustrations!

Lu Zhuo was surprisingly capable. The water mist he had turned into was concealing his presence, so the Salamander Demons would not attack him when he was floating past them. However, his speed was nowhere close to that of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. If they were on land, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf would have long shaken him off!

“These idiots!” Lu Zhuo was enraged.

There were a lot of Salamander Demons in the Thousand Islands Lake at night. He initially thought the Salamander Demons would prevent the Flying Creek Snow Wolf from escaping, yet the Salamander Demons had become stepping stones for the wolf, speeding him up!

—

The two finally managed to distance themselves from Lu Zhuo. Gu Ying was having mixed feelings. She was worried that Lu Zhuo would catch up to them, yet she was scared that he would give up on the chase and go back to the island to kill everyone on it.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf reached an island. He was losing his strength, and panting heavily to catch his breath.

“You should go, I’m the one he’s after,” Gu Ying said.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf looked at Gu Ying as if he was looking at a retard.

Gu Ying was feeling drowsy. After all, she was under the effects of the drug too.

A breeze swept in from the sky. Gu Ying noticed the rocks nearby shaking vigorously. She looked up and saw a figure with Wind Wings hovering in the night sky.

Gu Ying was overjoyed. They were lucky to stumble into an Advanced Wind Mage here!

The Wind Mage had obviously noticed Gu Ying and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. He descended from the sky. Gu Ying was confused when she saw a little fireball following behind him.

“Gu Ying?” the Wind Mage asked. He seemed to have recognized Gu Ying.

“It’s me, it’s me, you are… why is it you!?” Gu Ying’s heart skipped a beat just as she was about to be overwhelmed by joy.

Why is it him? Why did it have to be him!?

“Oh, the Seven Star Hunter Master said that his Summoned Beast was asking for help. He couldn’t fly, so he asked me to take a look. What happened?” the man asked.

Gu Ying was about to speak when a mist arrived at the stranded island. Lu Zhuo’s figure became clearer as he walked out from the mist with an eerie grin.

“Jiang Hua, you’ve come just in time. This vicious woman found traces of the Great Salamander Demons. She decided to set us up and claim everything for herself while we are fighting the Great Salamander Demons. I chased after her when I found out about her conspiracy!” Lu Zhuo stood beside the Advanced Wind Mage and said righteously.

Jiang Hua frowned. He looked at Gu Ying, who was lying feebly on the ground.

Gu Ying lost all her hope when she saw Jiang Hua and Lu Zhuo standing together.

The man that came was Lu Zhuo’s teammate from the group of Hunter Masters. From what Gu Ying knew, Jiang Hua had been close with Lu Zhuo for a long time. The bad rumors about their group actually circled around them. If Lu Zhuo was such a deranged man, Jiang Hua was obviously not going to be a good person, either!

They initially had a chance to survive if the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and she kept dragging the chase out. However, they had lost their only chance to run away now that Lu Zhuo’s teammate, a Wind Mage, had shown up.

“Oh, I see, I have long been suspicious of her. She is quite pretty, but I didn’t expect her to be so vicious…” Jiang Hua smiled. He did not bother asking for the details.

Gu Ying subconsciously backed away. She was grumbling in her heart. If the Seven Stars Hunter Master knew his Summoned Beast was calling for help, why did he not come in person? He should be able to think of another way!

“Let’s execute the woman on the spot. Tsk tsk, we’ll explain everything to the Seven Stars Hunter Master later… Jiang Hua, what’s with the fireball floating behind you?” Lu Zhuo asked. He was curious when he noticed the fire floating behind Jiang Hua.

“Oh, she’s the Seven Stars Hunter Master’s Contracted Beast. She’s called Flame Belle or something. I have no idea what she is. She looks a little dumb, and she only knows to eat. The Seven Stars Hunter Master asked her to follow me… I bet he’s asking her to light up the darkness like a lantern, HAHAHA!” Jiang Hua said indifferently, looking at the fiery little spirit.

1

“She does look like a little lantern. Perhaps she’s a mascot, HAHAHA!” Lu Zhuo burst out laughing too.

1

Things were a lot simpler now that Jiang Hua was here. He might be able to help get rid of the people on the island, too!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Gu Ying closed her eyes when she heard Lu Zhuo and Jiang Hua laughing. She had given up all hope. She was struggling to keep her eyes open under the assault of the drug.

Meanwhile, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was howling weakly. She had no clue what he was doing, but he seemed to be communicating with the little mascot that resembled a lantern. The little creature was chirping and squeaking. She had no idea what they were discussing…

Gu Ying seriously did not understand. Why was the Flying Creek Snow Wolf so strong as a Summoned Beast, yet the little spirit that was supposed to be a Contracted Beast was like a little girl around the age of four. She was even making gestures since she could not speak properly!

As a matter of fact, despite Little Flame Belle’s child-like voice, she was very angry!

She was not angry because of what Lu Zhuo had done, but because they were laughing at her!

Little Flame Belle could understand humans. Did they just call her a little lantern mascot?

Screw your mascot, I can be extremely fierce when I’m angry! ROAR!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf cried out excitedly after seeing Little Flame Belle’s reaction.

Little Flame Belle had been chasing after the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and burning him ever since she was only a little infant. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had never won a fight against her, not to mention how weak these two humans were. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf sensibly carried Gu Ying away so she would not be caught by the flames of wrath from the little creature!

“We are running short on time. Let’s do our things first. I’ll explain to you in detail later,” Lu Zhuo glanced after Gu Ying and grinned in anticipation.

“Sure… I’m feeling a little hot, too. Mm? It’s so hot!” Jiang Hua subconsciously backed away.

The heat was spreading rapidly. Little Flame Belle had turned from a little lantern to a huge furnace. The blazing flames were driving the darkness away!

The heat was still growing. The entire lake had now turned red. The Salamander Demons floating on the surface had fled, scared of the heat!

The island was scorching. The flames around Little Flame Belle had lit up the entire island.

Little Flame Belle’s petite figure had transformed amid the flames. She slowly grew and formed a slender silhouette.

Her eyes glittered among the flames. Her long hair was drifting elegantly. Her slender form displayed a noble and sacred aura as she floated above the flames!

Her body was made of transparent, sacred flames. Little Flame Belle liked to transform whenever she was angry, like a young empress born inside a burning magic swamp. Her imperious flames thoroughly highlighted the elegance of an Elemental Creature!

A Flame Belle in the Adolescent Phase was around the same level as the Fiery Sorceress. Her aura greatly differed from the one she had in her petite form!

Lu Zhuo and Jiang Hua were dumbfounded. The little mascot they were laughing at a moment ago had transformed into a dictator of flames in an instant. The flames were so strong that they could not even look at them directly!

The Flame Belle floated above the island. She slowly raised her hands. Two fiery roses blossomed on her palms.

One of the roses was brown-red, the other had the color of the sunset. The Flame Belle tossed the two fiery roses down from the sky.

The ordinary-looking roses fell lightly from the sky, but when they landed on the island, a huge shockwave of two different colors exploded and devoured the island in the blink of an eye!

The night was hazy and the lake was calm, but a brilliant sparkle suddenly appeared in the dark. One after another, ring of flames struck the darkness and lit up several kilometers across the Thousand Islands Lake as bright as day.

Sparkles scattered across the sky following the explosion. Some were spiraling in the air, while the others poured onto the lake like rain and lit it up. The Salamander Demons in the flames suddenly wished they had legs to sprint across the lake…

——

At the Minghu Outpost, Mo Fan was standing at the top of a sentry tower. He rubbed his jaw when he saw the blazing red sky in the distance.

“Did something happen?” Yang Ning asked worriedly, standing beside Mo Fan.

Yang Ning knew that the flames were quite a distance away from them, yet she could still sense a strong gust of heat sweeping at them. It clearly displayed how powerful the explosion was!

“Someone either stole her food or laughed at her,” Mo Fan said.

Those were the only reasons Little Flame Belle would get so mad!

“What do you think about the incident that befell the Cangjin Hunter Squad?” Yang Ning asked.

Mo Fan had already received the message from the Foehn Hunter Squad, but he had no clue what had actually happened.

However, their leader was Lu Zhuo, a Three Stars Hunter Master. It did not make sense that his teammates would end up in the stomach of the Carnage Poisonous Salamander, unless he was a retard. Something did not feel right about this Lu Zhuo.

“It’s fine, we’ll soon find out what happened. Little Flame Belle is bringing them back,” Mo Fan said.

“She’s bringing them back?” Yang Ning was confused.

“Mm, hopefully, Little Flame Belle wasn’t too serious. Otherwise, we will have to find a Healer to treat their injuries first.” He sighed theatrically. “She is so hot-tempered at such a young age. I wonder who she learned that from?” Mo Fan shook his head helplessly.

—

—

The flames showed no sign of dissipating after a long time, even though there was water everywhere.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf managed to freeze a spot to shield himself and Gu Ying from the explosion. Luckily, Little Flame Belle still kept an eye out for her friendlies when she was mad. She did not let the flames get close to them.

On the other hand, Lu Zhuo and Jiang Hua were not so lucky. They were dumbstruck by the fierce flames. They looked like vagrants that had barely escaped a desert. Their skin was scorched black, their clothes were ragged, and they were even coughing out black smoke. They were floating on the lake, which was still covered in the remaining flames, like dead fish with their stomachs upward.

“Ling!~” The Flame Belle’s eyes glittered. She used her Will to scoop them out of the lake.

Lu Zhuo and Jiang Hua had totally lost any ability to fight. Their eyes were filled with disbelief and their hearts were filled with fear when they looked up at the Flame Belle while lying on the ground!

A mascot? She was no mascot!

She was a nuke with no countdown!

“She…she’s a Contracted Beast…” Gu Ying’s understanding was toppled once again, looking at the extremely powerful Flame Belle.

Lu Zhuo and Jiang Hua were both Advanced Mages, and a Three Star and a Two Star Hunter Master respectively, yet they could not even endure a single move from the Contracted Beast!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sky was slowly lighting up. The Salamander Demons floating on the surface of the lake were diving into the water. Most Salamander Demons preferred to show up at night; the surface of the lake would glitter like it was covered with pieces of copper under the moonlight.

When the dawn broke, most of the Salamander Demons would leave, allowing boats to travel across the lake once again. The Salamander Demons were relatively slow compared to many Warrior-level creatures; it was effortless to shake them off when traveling enough across the lake quickly enough. Their numbers were significantly higher, so it was easy to be surrounded by them.

Mo Fan waited patiently for Little Flame Belle to bring Lu Zhuo and Jiang Hua back to the Minghu Outpost. Gu Ying and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf arrived afterwards. They were in a pretty bad spot. It felt like they were struggling to even keep their eyes open.

Gu Ying briefly explained everything that had happened. Mo Fan subconsciously glanced at Lu Zhuo, who was terribly burned by Little Flame Belle.

“Oh, I see. I was wondering how I should explain to Lu Zhuo that Little Flame Belle actually meant no harm,” Mo Fan murmured after realizing the truth.

Yang Ning was utterly shocked. How bold was this Lu Zhuo to do these things when he was under the lead of a Seven Stars Hunter Master? Was he not afraid of being punished by the Hunter Union?

Yang Ning recorded the information in detail. She immediately contacted the Hunter Union to send someone to investigate the matter.

The investigators came pretty quickly, arriving at the outpost by noon. They took Lu Zhuo into custody and started investigating by interrogating Jiang Hua first.

To speed things up slightly, Mo Fan asked Apas to inject Jiang Hua with terror. The man told the investigators everything Lu Zhuo and he had done without any hesitation.

——

“I’m sorry that something like this has happened under our jurisdiction. We will deal with this Lu Zhuo right away,” an investigator said.

“Did you bring back the people that were drugged on the island?” Mo Fan asked.

“We’ve recovered them back safely. Among them, an Advanced Hunter called Li Yumei says she wants to expose Lu Zhuo’s crimes. She has requested a meeting with you in person,” the investigator told him.

“Alright, bring her to me,” Mo Fan agreed.

When Li Yumei came, she looked terrible, as if her face was painted with a layer of lime. Perhaps she never thought she would have a chance to open her eyes. She had fallen asleep in the grips of great terror.

Mo Fan was having a headache, too. Something like this was just bound to happen when he was hiring people to run errands for him. They were meant to be looking for the Great Salamander Demons, yet their progress was currently hindered by this incident. Luckily, Little Flame Belle had the perfect ‘scum-detection’ ability. She had simplified the situation by taking out Lu Zhuo!

Li Yumei soon confessed how their negligence of duty had cost the lives of the Cangjin Hunter Squad. She also told Mo Fan everything that Lu Zhuo had told her.

Mo Fan was initially not that interested in Lu Zhuo. He had seen far too many scum, and this Lu Zhuo was only a mere feather compared to the others, but his eyes flickered menacingly when he heard that Lu Zhuo was one of the first people to discover the fake blood serums!

“I thought he was just scum, but he’s nothing but trouble instead!” Mo Fan glanced at the bound Lu Zhuo.

He was rather curious why he kept stumbling into scum like Lu Zhuo wherever he went. It was similar to how pure and innocent girls always ended up meeting playboys!

“You can say whatever you want, but you shouldn’t be too pleased with yourself. It’s only a matter of time until your crimes are exposed too! The blood that your hands are stained with, and the corpses your feet are stepping on, I’m afraid more people are going to despise you!” Lu Zhuo snorted stubbornly.

“Are you cursing me?” Mo Fan asked.

“So what if I am?” Lu Zhuo laughed. His laughter was sinister, as if he was trying to preserve his final hint of dignity by exposing the kind of person Mo Fan was under his disguise as a Seven Stars Hunter Master. He wanted everyone to know that Mo Fan was no different from him!

“I’ve built a little hell for lunatics. Mmm, you barely meet the requirements, but if you are thinking of cursing me, you should line up and ask for a number. It should be your turn after ten thousand years,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was amused by Lu Zhuo’s intentions. He seriously had nothing to say to a person like him. He still had to deal with the Great Salamander Demons; he did not want to waste any more time on Lu Zhuo.

“It looks like I’ll have to get my hands dirty still. Hopefully, those Contribution Points I’ve spent aren’t in vain… Zhong Li, are you awake? If you are, bring me to the Cave Island. Your analysis should be on point, the Great Salamander Demons are most likely there!” Mo Fan called Zhong Li over.

“I’m here, I’m awake, Brother Mo Fan…oh, Master Mo Fan, I, Zhong Li, am at your service!” Zhong Li seemed very excited.

Mo Fan arranged for a few people that were familiar with the terrain to be his guides. He decided to let the investigators and Yang Ning deal with Lu Zhuo instead.

—

After Mo Fan left, Yang Ning was extremely displeased by Lu Zhuo’s attitude. She seriously did not understand why a vile person who was guilty of monstrous crimes dared still cause a scene.

“How ignorant,” Yang Ning harrumphed coldly. She was obviously saying it to Lu Zhuo.

“I’m ignorant?” Lu Zhuo laughed.

Yang Ning could not stand him any further. She tossed a file containing a more detailed report of Mo Fan in front of Lu Zhuo. She said coldly, “Take a good look at who he is before you judge him with your corrupted mind!”

Lu Zhuo knew he was going to die for sure. He remained stubborn, like a criminal who was sentenced to death. He picked up the file that contained information about Mo Fan, not related to his achievements as a Hunter.

“How…how could this be… why was Councilman Luo Mian…” Lu Zhuo soon stammered.

The file only contained some brief descriptions without any details. Lu Zhuo was initially scanning it with an indifferent attitude, yet when he saw Mo Fan was responsible for arresting Councilman Luo Mian, the disdain on his face soon vanished!

Yang Ning was seriously displeased by Lu Zhuo’s twisted character. Mo Fan did not bother teaching him a lesson, but Yang Ning believed otherwise. She even recorded the achievements that Mo Fan had regarding his fight against the Black Vatican toward the end of the file.

Lu Zhuo was going to be sentenced to death. It would not matter if he had read the information. Even though Yang Ning was breaking the rules as a Hunter Mistress, she could not stand Lu Zhuo’s ignorantly proud attitude!

As a matter of fact, Lu Zhuo was already losing his mind when he learned Luo Mian had fallen because of Mo Fan. He was dazed when he saw the information about the fall of the Black Vatican’s Red Cardinal, the Cold Prince!

“A…A Red Cardinal…”

“Councilman Luo Mian, who you greatly admired, was like a three-year-old compared to the Cold Prince. What about a black-hearted dog like you, who Luo Mian never cared about?” Yang Ning spat at him.

Lu Zhuo finally understood what Mo Fan meant when he said he should be lining up in Hell for his number first. Mo Fan was already being respectful if he bothered comparing him to the others on the list!

“Impossible, how could he do all this? That’s impossible… it must be his partner, he has a partner!” Lu Zhuo found an excuse to convince himself. He still had a final glimpse of light in his eyes.

“Partner? Are you referring to her?” Yang Ning almost burst out laughing.

An investigator who was familiar with Mo Fan’s achievements shook his head in amusement when he heard Lu Zhuo’s response.

The investigator came over and helped Lu Zhuo, who was stiffening up, to flip to the page with Lingling’s information.

Lu Zhuo was reading Lingling’s information carefully. He assumed Mo Fan’s achievements were only possible with the help of his partner, but when he saw the information…

Lingling’s information destroyed the final glimpse of light in Lu Zhuo’s eyes. He completely lost his will to live, as if he was no different than a dead person.

“Can…can I take a look at it?” Gu Ying, who was watching them on the side, asked softly. She picked up the file that Lu Zhuo had dropped to the ground without waiting for Yang Ning and the investigator’s permission.

The file only had simple information. Yang Ning would not write the details on the report, since most of the information about Mo Fan and Lingling was actually confidential. It did not take Gu Ying too long to finish reading, yet the few lines were already beyond her imagination.

She initially did not understand why Lu Zhuo had suddenly lost his mind, but she did after reading the information!

If an evil person was being full of himself when he was arrested, it was likely that he believed he was a notable character. At least the people were afraid of him and hated his guts… In simpler words, he was a successful crook! The Seven Stars Hunter Master that had brought him to his end was not even as impressive as he was!

However, his twisted sense of achievement collapsed instantly as soon as he read the information.

He had nothing left; he was comforting himself with his last hint of dignity, yet he finally realized it was never there…

It was already humiliating to be taken out by the man’s Contracted Beast with a single move, yet the evil deeds he was proud of were not even worthy enough to include him in the list of scum the man had taken out!

——

The sense of failure had shattered Lu Zhuo’s soul like lightning from the clear sky. He proceeded to confess all the things he had done.

What else could he say, if he had failed so hard trying to be a bad guy?

The investigator had no trouble settling the case after Lu Zhuo had confessed to it all.

To his surprise, apart from Jiang Hua, who knew about Lu Zhuo’s true nature, the others in the Pancheng Hunter Group had no idea about Lu Zhuo’s past. They were utterly shocked and relieved he was caught when they found out what he had done. They were glad that Mo Fan had gotten rid of him. Otherwise, they might have ended up as stepping-corpses for Lu Zhuo on his way up!

The Hunter Masters felt like they had escaped the jaw of death, and worked even harder to search for the Great Salamander Demons as a way to repay their debt to Mo Fan. They took the initiative to search through the caves and confirmed that the Great Salamander Demons were indeed hiding in the Cave Island!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Master, we found traces of Carnage Poisonous Salamanders in the cave. I’m afraid there are at least ten of them. As for the area connecting the cave and the lake, we didn’t dare go too close, but we are sure that the Great Salamander Demons are in the water,” Wang Zhouming of the Pancheng Hunter Group informed Mo Fan.

Wang Zhouming was the vice leader of the Hunter Group. He had not gotten along with Lu Zhuo. He was planning to quit the group and look for another team after the quest, but the incident took him by surprise.

It was actually in Wang Zhouming’s favor that the rest of the members in the group were clean. He could not just disband the team that had been working together for so long because of a single person!

“I’m not good at fighting underwater. Is there any way to lure the Great Salamander Demon to the island?” Mo Fan asked.

“That won’t be necessary! Based on our observation for the past few days, the Great Salamander Demon will come to the island on its own. Otherwise, it will just hide at the bottom of the lake. There’s no need to turn this Cave Island into its den,” Wang Zhouming said.

“It will come out on its own?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

“Yes, we’ve discovered that all the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders in the Thousand Islands Lake are female! These female Carnage Poisonous Salamanders are offering the Lizard Demons to the Great Salamander Demon as sacrifices. When the Great Salamander Demon is satisfied, it will mate with those female Carnage Poisonous Salamanders. The Carnage Poisonous Salamanders will then take a huge number of eggs from the Salamander Demons and scatter them across the lake. A female Carnage Poisonous Salamander can lay around five hundred eggs by mating with the Great Salamander Demon once, hence why the Thousand Islands Lake is crawling with the Salamander Demons,” Wang Zhouming said.

The Foehn Hunter Squad had made a huge discovery. They had learned that these female Carnage Poisonous Salamanders were carrying the eggs of the Salamander Demons!

The Thousand Islands Lake did not have a male and a female Great Salamander Demon, it only had a male! It was like a machine that would place his offspring inside the bodies of the female Carnage Poisonous Salamanders that had submitted to it. The Carnage Poisonous Salamanders would then scatter the eggs of Salamander Demons on different islands so they could absorb the particles of the Ward Rocks as nutrients.

The particles of Ward Rocks were very suitable for the growth of Salamander Demons, hence most of the eggs would hatch!

“I see!” Mo Fan realized.

Lingling’s analysis was a little off-track. There was no female Great Salamander Demon. The female Great Salamander Demon was actually these Carnage Poisonous Salamanders!

A few deep cries sounded from deep inside the cave while Mo Fan and Wang Zhouming were talking softly. The cries sounded like a crow. They were not very clear after bouncing off the walls a few times.

The cries sounded quite special. Mo Fan subconsciously turned his head around and asked Apas, who was standing beside him, “What does that cry mean?”

Apas turned her head away. She was not willing to answer the question.

“I’m asking you a question!” Mo Fan said in displeasure. Was his Contracted Beast a tsundere? He would have to punish her by smacking her butt if she did not listen to him again!

“Master, the Great Salamander Demon is summoning the female Carnage Poisonous Salamanders. In our words, it’s feeling horny!” Wang Zhouming said awkwardly.

Wang Zhouming had done a great job with the investigation. Mo Fan was glad that his money and Contribution Points were well-spent.

“Oh, does that mean they are going to distribute the eggs of Salamander Demons soon?” Mo Fan asked with a straight face.

“Yes, the Great Salamander Demon is like an ancient emperor. It will summon the female Carnage Poisonous Salamanders to its nest at times and choose one that appeals to it to mate with. The creatures are amphibians. They live in the water, but they mate on land. This Cave Island is pretty much the Great Salamander Demon’s mating ground,” Wang Zhouming said.

Wang Zhouming purposely lowered his voice, and would glance at Apas at times. Perhaps he believed it was inappropriate to be explaining it in front of a minor!

“Mm, mm, I didn’t expect you to investigate it so thoroughly. It’s very simple, then. We’ll wait for the Great Salamander Demon to come to the island!” Mo Fan nodded.

“But there’s one tricky problem,” Wang Zhouming went on.

“What is it? Do you think it’s impolite to disturb them while they are mating?” Mo Fan had to smile.

“No, that’s not it. Basically, the rest of the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders will be guarding the island after the Great Salamander Demon picks a Carnage Poisonous Salamander to mate with. Therefore, if we are planning to engage when they are mating, the rest of the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders will flank us…” Wang Zhouming explained.

“Oh my, that son of a b**ch, not only is he able to choose among the female Carnage Poisonous Salamanders to mate with for the day, he even lets the others watch them from the side!” Mo Fan cursed. He had never seen anything so lascivious. He was so jealous that he simply had the urge to kill it!

Cough cough! “Master, don’t be too stirred up now. We will be in trouble if our existence is exposed. The Carnage Poisonous Salamanders are heading our way,” Wang Zhouming said.

“I’m just angry!” Mo Fan said. He turned around and asked Apas insensibly, “Apas, isn’t your tribe pretty extreme with things like this too? Don’t you think the Great Salamander Demon is a little overboard?”

The snakes and scorpions were the lascivious kinds, too. Otherwise, they would not have so many species and such a huge empire!

“My sisters spend most of their time curling up with those disgusting things when they are not expanding their territories. They will normally take on more than a hundred male snakes alone.” Apas did not seem interested in the matter. She replied expressionlessly, with a hint of disdain.

Wang Zhouming almost dropped his jaw. He took a closer look at Apas and imagined her two beautiful sisters and a bunch of muscular men… He was curious why she had described the men as male snakes, but it was still difficult to believe!

As a matter of fact, Apas’ sisters did not resemble humans. Their appearance was closer to that of a snake. Mo Fan was disgusted when he imagined a bunch of snakes curling up together. The scene he imagined greatly differed from Wang Zhouming’s.

“Let’s hold it right there…” Mo Fan was trying to tease Apas to embarrass her. He would be satisfied if he could see her blush. To his surprise, Apas had told him a more breathtaking truth. He felt defeated instead!

Wang Zhouming, who was observing the creatures, suddenly blurted out in a strange voice, “Master, I…I think we’ve miscounted. The number of Carnage Poisonous Salamanders is a little…”

Mo Fan glanced forward and saw many Carnage Poisonous Salamanders climbing out from the water. They all had different looks and physiques!

There were not merely ten of them. The ones in view already added up to twenty!

Mo Fan exclaimed in his heart, Holy crap, isn’t the Great Salamander Demon afraid of his kidneys exploding!?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan heard footsteps approaching from behind while he was counting the number of Carnage Poisonous Salamanders.

“Master, master, we are going to die for sure. A bunch of Carnage Poisonous Salamanders has shown up. My God!” Zhong Li was jumping up and down like a panicking hare.

Zhong Li had rarely seen Commander-level creatures in his life. A Carnage Poisonous Salamander had become a nightmare for him and his master. He never imagined seeing a whole group of Commander-level creatures. It felt like he had nowhere to set his foot on!

“Calm down, calm down now!” Mo Fan said casually.

“How am I supposed to calm down? I don’t have a son yet. I don’t have anyone to carry on my ancestral line!” Zhong Li exclaimed.

“Master, we should retreat for now. We can still make it if we leave now. I believe the Great Salamander Demon isn’t that strong, but these Carnage Poisonous Salamanders are quite deadly. We can think of another way so we won’t need to provoke so many Commander-level creatures at once,” Wang Zhouming advised him.

The truth was, Wang Zhouming was feeling a little scared too. Their Hunter Group was able to fight a few Commander-level creatures at a time, assuming they did not make a lot of mistakes while they were working together. However, there was no chance they were going to survive against more than twenty Carnage Poisonous Salamanders!

“The Great Salamander Demon is always hiding at the bottom of the lake, surrounded by its army of Salamander Demons. There’s no way we can kill it while it’s hiding in the lake. If I get to choose, I’ll get rid of it when it’s on land. Wang Zhouming, you will bring your men and sneak into the cave when I engage those Carnage Poisonous Salamanders. Don’t let the Great Salamander Demon retreat into the water. I’ll handle it once I’m done with these Carnage Poisonous Salamanders!”

Wang Zhouming and Zhong Li’s eyes widened when they heard Mo Fan’s plans.

Why did the master sound like he was only drinking a bowl of soup? These were a bunch of savage Commander-level creatures. Did he really think he could take them all on alone?

“Master, we should be more pragmatic…” Wang Zhouming said softly.

“I didn’t ask you to fight the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders. Stop wasting time and do as I say. If you let the Great Salamander Demon escape, I’ll break your bones and stick you into the Salamander Demons’ shells!” Mo Fan berated them coldly.

Wang Zhouming and Zhong Li had pale faces, but they had no choice but to accept the plan.

Luckily, their job was to sneak into the cave and stop the Great Salamander Demon from running away. They did not have to face the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders head-on!

Wang Zhouming led his team to a relatively safe spot. Zhong Li was crouching on the side. He whispered to Wang Zhouming, “Brother Wang, I’ll plan our escape path. Let’s retreat when the master is dead.”

Wang Zhouming nodded and said, “Brother Zhong Li, even though you are weak, you are good at sizing up the situation. I’m proud of you.”

——

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was still dizzy, sleeping soundly in the Summoned Beast Plane. Mo Fan could not rely on him for the battle. The numbers of the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders had exceeded Mo Fan’s expectations. If a Super Mage without any special abilities was flanked by these starving Carnage Poisonous Salamanders, not even their bones would be left!

“There are fifteen of them climbing out of the water, and another seven in the cave,” Apas reported.

“How many of them can you take on?” Mo Fan asked.

“I don’t know how to fight,” Apas said bluntly.

“Don’t be so modest. How about this, I’ll take on the seven in the cave and leave the rest to you. Show me your courage as a Medusa, don’t let these lowly creatures strut around in front of your sacred bloodline,” Mo Fan said.

“Are you retarded?”

“Mind your words to your master. I’m warning you!” Mo Fan shot back.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle came out of the Contracted Space on her own, as if she had smelled the scent of an approaching battle. She landed on Mo Fan’s shoulder, clenching her fist with a determined gaze, indicating that she was ready for the battle!

“Alright, I’ll let you roast those five creatures over there!” Mo Fan nodded.

Little Flame Belle volunteered to take on five Carnage Poisonous Salamanders. These creatures were not too strong for the Commander-level. Their strength was below average, thus Little Flame Belle would have no trouble fighting five of them at the same time.

Luckily, these Carnage Poisonous Salamanders’ main Element was Poison. If it was Water, Little Flame Belle might have struggled against them!.

“When can you be diligent and obedient like Little Flame Belle?” Mo Fan said to Apas.

“Are you done? I told you I’m not good at fighting,” Apas grumbled impatiently.

“I’ll Summon my wolves later. I’ll let you command them. Make sure there aren’t any casualties!” Mo Fan decided.

“Mmm.” Apas was more satisfied with the new arrangement, yet she was still uncomfortable. Mo Fan had completely treated her as his fighting pet!

She was a noble Medusa, the third-in-line for the Queen Medusa’s throne. Why did she have to follow this perverted man around to do his dirty jobs? She sighed in despair, thinking that she could only blame herself!

——

“Dimensional Summoning: Beast Tide!”

Lunar-white Star Patterns appeared in the surroundings. The Star Orbits rapidly formed seven brilliant Star Patterns, constructing a Star Constellation.

The Star Constellation unleashed its energy, opening a huge gate connected to the Summoned Beast Plane. It stood firmly there in the damp woods on the Cave Island.

The dimensional gate was higher than the canopy. Its light immediately attracted the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders’ attention. The red creatures were incredibly slow in their reactions. They only now realized there were humans hiding on their island!

A fleshy Carnage Poisonous Salamander let out a roar. Its body was incredibly bloated, especially its belly, and its short and muscular limbs were struggling to support its weight. Its belly was moving along the ground like a bulldozer, smashing the rocks and the boulders in its way into pieces!

The Carnage Poisonous Salamanders considered flesh beautiful. The fleshiest Carnage Poisonous Salamanders had a higher status among them. Eight Carnage Poisonous Salamanders soon reached the dimensional gate that Mo Fan had established.

The Carnage Poisonous Salamanders were savage and ruthless. Mo Fan initially had some woods as cover nearby, but when the eight Carnage Poisonous Salamanders showed up, they simply razed the trees to the ground. The dense woods were like a small patch of grass to the Commander-level creatures!

Mo Fan was soon surrounded by the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders. Meanwhile, Wang Zhouming and Zhong Li were in the cave, preparing for their escape. However, they were still waiting out of the virtue of their profession. They wanted to witness Mo Fan’s death… if the employer was dead, the contract would be terminated!

“Come out here and destroy these shameless female salamanders!” Mo Fan yelled, standing in front of the dimensional gate.

Excited cries came from inside the dimensional gate. The Moon-Devouring White Wolves were rather huge, the kind of wolf that could walk on two feet. They had to slightly lower their heads to squeeze their way out of the gate!

When the Enormous White Wolves evolved into the Moon-Devouring White Wolves, their bodies no longer had explosive muscles. The Moon-Devouring White Wolves’ muscles had distinctive lines, as if they were professional bodybuilders. The bones of their limbs, necks, and backs were perfectly symmetrical, granting them a balance between strength and speed…

Their back limbs were more developed and stronger. They had more ways to attack and were more aggressive after they no longer had to rely on their front limbs to move around. Mo Fan was satisfied with what the Enormous White Wolves had become. He knew that giving the Soul Essences to them was the right choice!

The Moon-Devouring White Wolves were extremely impatient. Their eyes glittered as soon as they left the dimensional gate. They could not move their gazes away from the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders!

Big Wolf pounced at the fleshiest Carnage Poisonous Salamander without waiting for Mo Fan and Apas’ order. Big Wolf was the rough yet observant kind. Mo Fan recalled the scene of him blocking the tunnel with his body to protect the team from the Underworld Warriors in the Pyramid.

Big Wolf was only an Enormous White Wolf back then. He seemed to have realized that sticking with Mo Fan was going to guarantee him a bright future after he evolved into a Moon-Devouring White Wolf. Therefore, he was always the most diligent one whenever he had a chance to be on duty!

“Big Wolf, that one belongs to Little Flame Belle. There’s a fleshier one that way. Go get her!” Mo Fan quickly stopped Big Wolf.

Big Wolf put on emergency brakes and skidded a certain distance across the woods from momentum.

His heart skipped a beat when he realized Little Flame Belle was already fighting the creatures!

Little Flame Belle was their little ancestor. They would not dare to provoke her even the slightest. Big Wolf immediately locked his gaze on a fat Carnage Poisonous Salamander after the friendly reminder from Mo Fan!

The Moon-Devouring White Wolves would normally sprint with all four limbs. Their powerful back limbs allowed them to sprint between the trees. Big Wolf leapt over a few skinny Carnage Poisonous Salamanders at the front and pounced at the fleshy Carnage Poisonous Salamander behind them!

The fleshy Carnage Poisonous Salamander was terrified. Where did this reckless Commander-level wolf come from? Why did it have to target her when there were so many other Carnage Poisonous Salamanders around?

The big and fat Carnage Poisonous Salamander turned out to be the big sister among the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders. She quickly summoned two skinny Carnage Poisonous Salamanders to her aid to keep Big Wolf busy!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Big Wolf was discontent. Why couldn’t the creature just take him on? Why did she call her lackeys to fight him instead?

Big Wolf had his brothers, too! He immediately howled to summon the other Moon-Devouring White Wolves when he saw the Carnage Poisonous Salamander calling for help!

The rest of the Moon-Devouring White Wolves were coming out of the dimensional gate while Big Wolf was being a showoff. Two Moon-Devouring White Wolves that had evolved from the Enormous White Wolves immediately came to Big Wolf’s aid. They agilely wove through the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders to regroup with Big Wolf.

A total of eleven Moon-Devouring White Wolves had come out of the dimensional gate. The rest were Enormous White Wolves and the White-Marked Wolves.

Each Enormous White Wolf and White-Marked Wolf was the product of Mo Fan’s efforts in collecting the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences. He preferred to keep casualties to a minimum. However, the rest of the wolves were not as intelligent as the experienced Flying Creek Snow Wolf. They would engage the enemy recklessly, especially the White-Marked Wolves. A single bite from the Commander-level creatures could easily cost them their lives.

That was the main reason why Mo Fan had placed Apas in charge.

Mo Fan was a battle maniac himself. He didn’t have the time to command the wolves when he was engaging the enemy. Luckily Apas, who was extremely afraid of getting her hands dirty, was around!.

Apas seemed to be regarding the wolves with disdain. In her eyes, they were stupid and incapable. They were so much weaker than the Medusae Tribe!

“Big Wolf, Second Wolf, Third Wolf, come back here at once!” Apas ordered mentally.

Apas was seriously speechless after seeing how dumb the three wolves were. A few weak and skinny Carnage Poisonous Salamanders were right in front of them, yet they went straight for the fleshy Carnage Poisonous Salamander instead of eliminating the weaklings first. If they ended up being surrounded by the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders, they would have to rely on the other wolves to risk their lives and provide them with backup. What else could it be if they were not stupid!?

Big Wolf, Second Wolf, and Third Wolf were fighting enthusiastically, but they could not afford to disobey Apas’ order. If Little Flame Belle was their little ancestor, Apas was their new superior!

Luckily, the three wolves were very nimble, and managed to break free from the surround.

“Follow your leaders, don’t just attack mindlessly!” Apas commanded every wolf.

There were more than two hundred Moon-Devouring White Wolves, Enormous White Wolves, and White-Marked Wolves. It was a great mess when they all came out of the dimensional gate. The lowest-leveled White-Marked Wolves were charging at the enemy recklessly. They were no different than cannon fodder in Apas’ eyes.

The wolves were up against Carnage Poisonous Salamanders, a group of Commander-level creatures. The Warrior-level White-Marked Wolves would be poisoned to death in just half a minute if they wandered close enough to the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders; their numbers would not make any difference. Therefore, Apas immediately asked the three wolf leaders to regroup and restrict the movement of the White-Marked Wolves and the Enormous White Wolves!

Apas ordered the Enormous White Wolves and the White-Marked Wolves to stick to the closest Moon-Devouring White Wolf nearby. She proceeded to split the wolves, other than the three wolf leaders, into seven squads!

The seven squads each held a Commander-level Moon-Devouring White Wolf, three Enormous White Wolves, and around twenty White-Marked Wolves!

It was inappropriate for Apas to keep consuming a huge amount of her energy just to give orders to every White-Marked Wolf, considering their numbers. Therefore, the best way was to split the wolves into squads, meaning that she would only need to give orders to the Moon-Devouring White Wolves or the Enormous White Wolves. The White-Marked Wolves would not disobey the command of the higher-level creatures!

Apas just needed to focus on commanding the Moon-Devouring White Wolves and the Enormous White Wolves to control the entire army!

“You, lead your wolves and eliminate the one close to the edge of the island.”

“You, scarface, go take out the one that is spitting out poison.”

“The few of you, lead the White-Marked Wolves and keep those three Carnage Poisonous Salamanders busy. Try to split them up…”

“The rest of you, maintain your formation and kill that stranded Carnage Poisonous Salamander as soon as possible!”

Apas quickly assigned them their tasks. Her main approach was to split the enemy up and focus effort on one Carnage Poisonous Salamander at a time.

Wolves were very impressive when it came to taking down an enemy with numbers. They were good at fighting in a pack. That synergy allowed them to kill a creature who was slightly stronger than them without any casualties.

However, if they were up against the same number of enemies, they would easily lose their formation and end up fighting on their own.

Apas had allocated a portion of the wolves to split up the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders and harass them. Their job was not to inflict serious injuries and kill the enemy, but to minimize their threat and isolate the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders.

Once a Carnage Poisonous Salamander was isolated, Apas would immediately give the order to kill it. The Moon-Devouring White Wolves, Enormous White Wolves, and White-Marked Wolves would use their deadliest moves. It was unlikely that a Carnage Poisonous Salamander could survive them!

Apas split the battle into smaller fights, taking out the enemy one by one. It greatly minimized their casualties, while reducing the enemy’s numbers.

The snakes and scorpions were quite similar to the wolves in terms of their fighting habits. Therefore, the approach that Apas normally used to command the snakes and scorpions was very effective for the wolves, too!

Two isolated Carnage Poisonous Salamanders were soon surrounded by a few squads of the wolves.

Big Wolf, Second Wolf, and Third Wolf sat behind Apas. Second Wolf, who was the most impatient among them all, could not wait any longer, seeing how the others were having an enjoyable time killing the enemy.

Why aren’t we killing the enemy yet!?

“Stay here! If you keep running around like you did before, even if you eliminated the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders, half of the White-Marked Wolves were going to die too!” Apas glared at the three idiots.

Third Wolf howled, as if he was about to talk back. The observant Big Wolf immediately slapped Third Wolf on the head. Third Wolf lowered his head helplessly, since he did not dare to disobey his big brother. His howl weakened slightly, too!

“See that one that is spitting out poison far away?” Apas turned to the three Moon-Devouring White Wolves who were sitting upright on the ground.

Big Wolf, Second Wolf, and Third Wolf nodded. Their tails wagged rapidly.

“Kill it at your fastest speed and come back here,” Apas said.

“Awoo!!”

“Awoo!!”

“Awoo!!”

The three Moon-Devouring White Wolves immediately charged forward like rockets; they finally had a job to do!

You little b**ch that keeps spitting out poison back there, we’ve held back for too long!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Carnage Poisonous Salamander spitting poison outside the woods had been separated from the others. When Big Wolf, Second Wolf, and Third Wolf caught up to it, it vainly attempted to run away, wriggling its short limbs in terror.

Big Wolf decisively lunged forward and stepped on the creature’s tail. His sharp claws left two huge scratches on the creature’s back. The Carnage Poisonous Salamander flung its body around in pain!

Second Wolf landed in front of the Carnage Poisonous Salamander. He did not attack with his fangs, knowing that the creature was poisonous. He suddenly reached forward and stabbed into the back of the Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s neck!

The back of the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders’ neck was their weakness. The skin was not tough enough to defend the vulnerable area. Second Wolf stuck his claws deep into the creature’s neck and punctured its throat!

It was a critical blow, and green blood jetted out of the wound. The three wolves were quite experienced, and knew the right approach to handle a poisonous creature. Even their blood would be carrying the poison, thus they had to back away immediately after they were done attacking.

The wounds inflicted by the Moon-Devouring White Wolves’ claws would not stop bleeding. The Carnage Poisonous Salamander ran amok and rammed everything in its path, leaving a trail of blood behind.

The three wolves waited in the trees while following the trail, jumping down from the trees when the Carnage Poisonous Salamander thought it was safe. They curled their bodies like bows being stretched with a great force.

When the Moon-Devouring White Wolves were right above the Carnage Poisonous Salamander, they used the momentum from their stance and swiped their claws in crescent motions. The claws tore through the Carnage Poisonous Salamander’s back!

More green blood poured out from the wounds. The blood corroded the plants it splattered onto. The Moon-Devouring White Wolves landed elegantly on the ground, and quickly dodged aside before the blood poured down onto them. They nimbly jumped back up to the trees!

“Awooohhh!”

The three wolves lifted their heads and howled, facing the moon in the night sky.

The sacred moonlight sprinkled onto them, highlighting the white hair that was drifting in the wind. The howls echoed in the sky while blood was still pouring out from the Carnage Poisonous Salamander below them. Its life force was drained rapidly under the disdainful gazes of the Moon-Devouring White Wolves while it put up its deathbed struggle!

Diving from the trees, attacking with their claws, escaping to safety, and howling to the moon… the three wolves executed their actions smoothly, like the flow of water. They successfully acted like they were some aloof experts!

—

The three unsatisfied Moon-Devouring White Wolves had an urge to join the battle after dealing with the Carnage Poisonous Salamander. However, a young girl standing on a boulder had extinguished their passions with merely a cold look. They tugged their heads in and obediently climbed back to the boulder. They sat uprightly behind Apas and waited for their next order.

There were ten Moon-Devouring White Wolves in total. The other seven were leading their squads to eliminate the isolated Carnage Poisonous Salamanders, getting more used to the strategy under Apas’ command. Normally, the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders could kill a low-level creature like the White-Marked Wolves instantly, but they ended up like besieged buffaloes after being flanked by them, instead. They were starting to lose their powerful demeanor as Commander-level creatures!

Mo Fan was only planning to let Apas keep an eye on his wolves to minimize the casualties. To his surprise, Apas was able to command them very effectively, like a well-trained army. They were killing the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders like they were merely some wild boars!

3

Mo Fan had to admit that these Carnage Poisonous Salamanders were not as easy to deal with as he had imagined. He had been prepared to fight a tough battle. He was not conserving his strength, but the perfect synergy between Apas and the wolves had eliminated a few Carnage Poisonous Salamanders in no time!

Even though they had only eliminated five Carnage Poisonous Salamanders so far, it was only a matter of time until the rest of the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders were killed. The lower their numbers, the easier it was to isolate them, and the more Moon-Devouring White Wolves who would be free to attack them!

“I didn’t expect them to be so strong when they have a commander overseeing them!” Mo Fan was surprised.

Mo Fan had invested many Soul Essences into the Beast Tide, increasing its capacity with the Magic Medium Ring. He had been fighting a lot of Ruler-level creatures lately. He normally used the Beast Tide to provide him with some relief in a fight, but he was not willing to use it most of the time, since his wolves were going to die horribly against a Ruler-level creature!

To his surprise, they were now able to take on Commander-level creatures!

Twenty Commander-level creatures were a great threat, even if their strength was below average. However, the battle was a lot easier than he thought with the help of the wolves!

—

Little Flame Belle had no trouble facing five Carnage Poisonous Salamanders on her own. Her battle was already approaching its end.

The wolves took out eight Carnage Poisonous Salamanders before Mo Fan’s Summoning Element energy was depleted.

Mo Fan had killed six Carnage Poisonous Salamanders himself. The rest had totally lost their will to fight. They began to flee for their lives into the water.

The battle did not last too long. The Hunters who were hiding close to the cave were absolutely dumbfounded when they saw the remains of the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders scattered across the place. They almost forgot what they were here for…

“Is…is he really human!?” Zhong Li said after some time. The map with the escape path that he was holding previously fell to the ground.

“I’ve never seen a stronger Summoner than him!” Wang Zhouming’s heart was pounding heavily.

Twenty Commander-level creatures!

Even a group full of Two Star Hunter Masters would struggle against one or two Commander-level creatures, but the man had single-handedly eliminated a group of them on his own. It might be possible for a Super Mage, but they did not see him use a single Super Spell!

“Perhaps this is why he’s a Seven Stars Hunter Master, and we are just a bunch of scrubs…”

“I feel like the magic I’ve learned for my whole life is a waste.”

“I have the same feeling, too. His magic is the real deal, ours is like little magic tricks.”

——

The Hunters did not forget their task. They had sealed off the path from the cave to the lake while Mo Fan was busy fighting outside. The Great Salamander Demon, which resembled a heavy tank, had no chance of escaping.

Mo Fan asked Little Flame Belle to take out the rest of the creatures. He went into the cave to deal with the Great Salamander Demon.

The Great Salamander Demon had a weird appearance, and its cries sounded odd, too. The strangest thing was, the creature had no intention of attacking them.

The Great Salamander Demon was not a Ruler-level creature. As Wang Zhouming had mentioned, it was extremely weak. Mo Fan could not help but wonder if the Great Salamander Demon would even stand a chance against a Carnage Poisonous Salamander!

“There’s nothing special about it apart from its hard shell, even though it’s protected by a bunch of Commander-level creatures!” Wang Zhouming remarked in confusion.

“That’s normal, Nature has its balance, too. Its ability to mass reproduce is its strength. It can easily produce a destructive army, but in return, it is extremely vulnerable. It’s doomed if we manage to track it down,” Mo Fan said.

“Master is indeed knowledgeable!”

“As expected of a Seven Stars Hunter Master, even your words are full of philosophies.”

The Hunters were truly impressed by Mo Fan. They could not help but fawn upon him whenever he spoke.

“Since the creature is so weak, master, you may take a rest and let us handle it!” Wang Zhouming said respectfully.

“You won’t be able to break through its defense. I’ll use my Lightning Element instead. The rest of you can clean up the remains of the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders… mm, you may split the valuable loot among yourselves,” Mo Fan said generously.

“We can claim the loot?” Zhong Li blurted out. He thought he had heard it wrong.

Wang Zhouming and the others from the Pancheng Hunter Group were in disbelief!

Those were the remains of twenty Commander-level creatures! Even if they did not drop any mutated blood or bones, they were still quite valuable! The Hunters were indeed fascinated by them, but they knew the Seven Stars Hunter Master had killed them all by himself. It was unlikely that he would share the loot with them.

To their surprise, the Seven Stars Hunter Master had the heart of a Buddha!

“The loot isn’t just for you, but for everyone that has participated in the quest. You can decide how to distribute the loot among yourselves. Even though Lu Zhuo was a bad apple among us, our quest is still a success. Consider the loot your bonus,” Mo Fan said.

“Master, you’re like a second parent to us!”

1

“Master, I can’t express how grateful I am. Please let us know if we can provide you with any help in the future!”

“My daughter is fifteen years old this year. Master, do you mind waiting for a few more years…”

Mo Fan stared at the middle-aged Hunter speechlessly.

1

——

The Great Salamander Demon did not put up a fight. Mo Fan restricted it with a Shadow Spell and used the Lightning Tyrant to break through its shell.

It took him some time, but he managed to kill it without any surprises.

“Is that a Salamander Demon’s Heart Orb?”

A shining orb rolled out of the Great Salamander Demon’s body after it died!

The Great Salamander Demon’s Heart Orb was significantly bigger than the Heart Orbs of the Salamander Demons, and was actually crystalline. Mo Fan could easily tell it was extremely valuable at first glance. He gladly claimed it for himself!

As a matter of fact, he had also gained a Commander-level Soul Essence from the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders that died. Whether he was going to sell the Soul Essence for money or use it to evolve an Enormous White Wolf into a Moon-Devouring White Wolf solely depended on his mood. It was the main reason why Mo Fan was generous enough to give the loot to the Hunters!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group left the Cave Island as it was reaching noon.

The Great Salamander Demon was dead, and the Carnage Poisonous Salamanders had fled for their lives. The numbers of the Salamander Demons would stop increasing. It would be a lot easier for the government to take out the rest of the demon creatures.

The rest was no longer Mo Fan’s concern. Many Hunter Groups were currently stationed at the Thousand Islands Lake to collect the Salamander Demon’s Heart Orbs. Their numbers would soon drop significantly.

The Hunters were not brainless. They eventually figured out an easier way to hunt the Salamander Demons, and it began to spread among the Hunters. It was not as difficult to collect the Salamander Demon’s Heart Orbs as it used to be in the beginning. The Salamander Demons’ attacks were not very dangerous, either, so the Hunters gladly stayed for the chance to earn some quick money.

——

Mo Fan showed the Heart Orb of the Great Salamander Demon to Lingling and asked curiously, “What do you think of this?”

“It contains pure particles of the Ward Rocks,” Lingling soon concluded.

“Does that mean it’s extremely valuable?” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

“Mm, the Great Salamander Demon must have absorbed a huge amount of particles from the Ward Rocks in the Thousand Islands Lake. As a matter of fact, the government doesn’t even have the technology to refine the particles to such a fine level like this. The Ward Rocks are no different from ordinary metal if they are impure,” Lingling told him.

“Wow, does that mean we are rich?” Mo Fan blurted out excitedly.

“Something like that. This thing should be enough to construct a dam over three kilometers wide. Only important military cities will have a dam like that. I suggest you not sell it. It’s difficult to determine its price just by selling on the marketplace. To be honest, these materials usually belong to the government. Only a few countries will sell it them the highest bidder. Most countries will seize them by force and give you a small benefit in return. Since you are the mayor of new Fanxue City, it’s better if you use it to improve the city’s defense,” Lingling told him.

“Is that so? That sounds like a great idea too! If Fanxue Mountain’s defense improves further, more factions will be willing to set up their businesses in my territory. I can still earn a lot of money by renting my land to them,” Mo Fan plotted quickly.

“It’s surprising that you could think of that. I thought your brain was only concerned about cash!” Lingling sniffed.

“Speaking of which, Mu Ningxue’s birthday is around the corner. Lingling, do you think I have a chance to sleep with her if I give this to her as a birthday present?” Mo Fan asked her.

“I’m still a minor!” Lingling said.

“Oh…” Mo Fan turned around. He was going to ask Apas, but he realized she was technically a minor, too.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle was lying on Mo Fan’s head suddenly cried out in joy, as if she was confident that Mo Fan’s plan would work.

Mo Fan flicked the little creature on the forehead and said, “You haven’t even stopped drinking milk. It’s not a suitable topic for you, either!”

“Something still feels strange to me, a creature like the Great Salamander Demon…” Lingling mumbled aloud.

“Why do you care so much? We’ve already killed the thing. You should report back to Jiang Xia that we have completed the quest. I’m still looking for the Deer God. Otherwise, how long will it take for me to reach the Super Level? That idiot Mu Bai is close to drawing a Star Palace…” Mo Fan rambled on…

—

—

The sky above the Pacific Ocean was clear and bright after a period of strong winds. A helicopter was slowly patrolling above the ocean. Its clear reflection could be seen on the calm seawater.

The rotor was spinning rapidly. A Mage wearing the uniform of the Shoreline Alliance was reading a book in the helicopter. He would occasionally glance at the water below.

“We patrolled this area not long ago. We can head back to Hawaii after a quick run,” the pilot said.

“I don’t mind; I do miss the resorts and the beautiful women in Hawaii. There’s nothing to do apart from reading books while I’m on duty,” the Mage agreed.

“Speaking of which, did you offend anyone? Why was a talented Mage like you assigned such a boring job?” the pilot smiled.

“I’m just tired of working so hard. Cultivating is seriously a torture for me. Once my cultivation is strong enough, I’ll find myself a relaxing job and enjoy my life,” the Mage closed his book and leaned on the edge of the door, a leg dangling outside.

“HAHA, I understand!” the pilot nodded.

The Mage was casting a side glance at the ocean ahead. He was wondering which woman he should hook up with once he returned from his duty when he suddenly noticed a silver-white land entering his view!

The land was not particularly outstanding, spreading out along the curves of the ocean. It was not dark like the usual rocky terrain, or green because of the plants covering it. It was a unique mix of silver, white, and gray under the sunlight. It had a special luster when the helicopter slowly approached it. It felt like silver being scattered across the ocean, an elegant and astonishing sight!

“I don’t remember there being an island here?” the Mage murmured.

“It…it looks like… a small island?” the pilot murmured after he saw the astonishing sight.

“There shouldn’t be any island around here, and we are very far from the land, too,” the Mage said confidently, furrowing his brows.

Why was there a glittering silver-white island here?

They were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There was never an island here, let alone such a huge one!

“Perhaps we’ve discovered a new unknown island?” the pilot offered optimistically.

“Let’s get closer, but slowly,” the Mage said.

“Alright!”

The helicopter continued to fly ahead. They were able to see the vast land clearer.

The Mage was surprised when he realized that the island was much bigger than he had imagined. He could not even see the other end of it! It was a few times bigger than Hawaii, but the problem was, no one had ever reported seeing such a huge island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

As a matter of fact, it did resemble a small continent. The Mage suddenly felt like they had reached the coastline of North America. The spacious land soon filled up his view and replaced the seawater.

“There’s no sign of mountains or plants. It’s flat, just like a metal sheet. Such a strange island…” the Mage murmured.

The Mage’s expression began to shift as they went closer to the island.

“Should we keep going?” the pilot asked.

“Go on,” the Mage said with a weird voice, as if he was trying his best to stay calm.

——

When they drew closer, the Mage and the pilot could no longer withhold the shock they felt!

What did they just see!?

They swore they had never seen anything like it even in the most ridiculous nightmare they had, let alone in reality!

It was no island!…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Shells, silver-white shells that looked like metal were covering the vast sea without leaving a single gap between them, an astonishing sight, as if the sea had frozen!

They had formed a vast silver-white landscape with no visible end. It was impossible to count their numbers!

Even though the shells had a beautiful luster and the spectacular shells had almost merged with the white clouds in the distance, stealing the limelight from the ocean, the Mage was not touched by the stunning view at all. Instead, he was overwhelmed by fear!

They were living creatures!

How many sea monsters with shells would it take to form such a shocking sight!?

What kind of disaster would these sea monsters bring when they reached the shores of human territories!?

How did they even reproduce so quickly, and take up such a huge area of the ocean?

What exactly had happened in the ocean!?

“Let…let’s get out of here,” the Mage finally told the pilot after a prolonged silence.

The pilot’s mind had gone blank too. He quickly turned the helicopter around and made their way back.

As a matter of fact, they were already overwhelmed by fear after observing it from a great distance away. Why would they even dare to get any closer?

—

—

Fanxue Mountain…

Mo Fan remembered the place was like a heart beating vigorously before he left. The roads constantly had materials being brought in. Buildings were being constructed non-stop on the vacant land, the workers and builders were working diligently. The sky above the new city had a gray curtain of ash produced by the industrial works looming over it.

However, he was amazed by how clean the streets were now that he was back. Many trees had been planted on both sides of the roads. The commercial district had many tall buildings with dazzling lights. The luxurious homes and residential areas were well-organized. It looked completely different from its disorderly appearance not long ago.

The new city used to contain many construction sites and mud, with materials piled up like hills, but now it was truly a new city. Even the ../style of the buildings was similar to those in Bo City. They were new, with the unique charm of traditional buildings, even though they were purposely built that way to imitate the buildings of Bo City…

The new city that had undergone tremendous changes was being built around the Fanxue Villa. It covered a huge area, so many places were still under construction. However, Mo Fan was already impressed by the city’s transformation.

“Xuexue, you’re so impressive!” Mo Fan complimented her sincerely.

“I didn’t do much; my father and Mu Linsheng have done most of the planning,” Mu Ningxue replied.

Mu Zhuoyun used to be the local tyrant of Bo City in the past, and was experienced in managing a city. He had been visiting many cities in recent years after his downfall, and had learned a lot from his visits. He was finally able to show off his skills while helping to build the new city!

“I didn’t expect that old guy to be an expert in city building. You can never judge a book by its cover!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Our Fanxue Villa is a little different, too. Let me show you around,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Sure, I should really familiarize myself with our love nest,” Mo Fan agreed happily.

The Fanxue Villa was delicately renovated. The foot of the mountain was designed like a park, similar to the Mu Family’s villa in Bo City. However, it was a lot bigger than the Mu Family’s villa had been.

The middle of the mountain held many training grounds. Most clans would have private training grounds where their disciples could train at. One could roughly judge the prosperity of a clan by looking at the scale of their training grounds.

Further up the mountain stood many lovely houses allocated to the main members of Fanxue Mountain. They were the core of Fanxue Mountain. Since the Fanxue Mountain was not established based on a clan’s surname, many loyal and capable people were given the comfortable houses on the mountain. Not only were the houses located in a great environment close to the Fanxue New City, the people could easily enjoy the spectacular view of the prospering city just by looking down the mountain. Many people who were not core members of the Fanxue Mountain had offered a lot of money to buy a home there, but Mu Ningxue was not willing to sell any of them.

Only the core members of the Fanxue Mountain were allowed to live in those houses!

The roads along the way up were specifically designed for street racing. They eventually led to the Fanxue Mansion at the spacious top of the mountain. It had the biggest training ground, a garden with a sea of flowers, a forest of maple trees, a huge swimming pool, a hall with a fountain…

The place looked abandoned the last time Mo Fan had stayed at Fanxue Mountain. It only held a lonely house built from stones, apart from the trees and weeds. Living on the mountain felt no different from staying in the wild, so Mo Fan had preferred to live in his condominium in the Magic City instead.

But now, the Fanxue Mountain was like a dreamland. Even the dining hall was built on an artificial pond, with French windows and white curtains!

They were indeed born of a renowned clan. Mo Fan, who was satisfied as long as he had a stool to sit on while he was eating, had never imagined a dining hall could be so luxurious!

Mu Ningxue was quite serious about the environment she lived in!

“Do you like it?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Words can’t express how much I like it, HAHAHA! But where did you get so much money?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“Many businessmen see the prospects of our Fanxue Mountain and are interested in collaborating with us in the future, so they were very attentive when helping us to renovate the Fanxue Villa. We only need to pay for the materials!” Mu Ningxue informed him.

It was quite simple. Mu Linsheng had simply asked the companies to bid for the opportunity by how well they could renovate the Fanxue Villa. Those that did a great job with it would secure an opportunity to develop Fanxue City. There were many areas available, so many businesses were interested in bidding for them. They had hired the best professionals to renovate the Fanxue Villa, so everything was of the best quality!

Mu Linsheng was pretty smart. He let the different companies renovate the Fanxue Villa based on his ideas, so the overall ../style was still the same even though the companies were doing the work separately, hence why the Fanxue Villa had a modern and luxurious look now!

Mo Fan was utterly speechless.

To think that they did not even spend much on turning the Fanxue Villa into a luxurious home!

He was even more surprised when he heard that the companies that used to suppress them, were striving for the chance to fawn upon them now…

This land was f**king worth it!

“You were like a princess living in a castle in the past. Whenever I was lying along the fences at the foot of the mountain and looking up, I always thought that your family’s villa wasn’t really that impressive. I was going to build a palace for you in the future instead… but I didn’t think you would build it yourself. I feel a little awkward now!” Mo Fan scratched his head.

The little boy once had a dream, to build a palace for the little princess and live happily ever after with her. But in reality, the princess had worked hard to build a new palace for herself instead!

Somehow, Mo Fan felt like he was the one being taken care of…

Mu Ningxue smiled. She did not comment on it.

As a matter of fact, many people had moved to the Fanxue Mountain out of admiration after it was established. However, most of them were Mo Fan’s admirers, after what he had done at the Ancient Capital and Beijiang. Therefore, the people that had moved to the Fanxue Mountain were loyal, and with their help, Fanxue Mountain was able to grow rapidly!

If it wasn’t for Mo Fan’s reputation, the Fanxue Mountain would never have reached its current level. Mu He’s involvement in the Black Vatican was like an inerasable black scar on Mu Ningxue and Mu Zhuoyun’s names!

“Ah, I have something to give you too… why don’t you show us our rooms first? It’s better not to show it here.” Mo Fan immediately thought of something. It provided his dignity with some relief from the thought that he was being taken care of.

Mu Ningxue led Mo Fan past a few houses.

Mo Fan’s house was built according to his identity as the master, thus it was in the limelight out of all places in the Fanxue Villa.

He went through the door and walked past a small garden with pebbles and blue bamboo beside a bedroom before he finally reached his house. The place was thrice the size of his apartment in the Magic City. He was dumbfounded when he saw the luxurious ../style of the building, like it was built for a modern emperor.

“Where’s my bed?” Mo Fan asked.

“The bedroom is upstairs.”

“Isn’t our room a little… did the companies renovate it too?” Mo Fan was struggling to find the right words to describe it.

“I told them the ../style I like. I think you will like it too,” Mu Ningxue said.

Mo Fan thought he was now capable of supporting Mu Ningxue financially, but it turned out that her definition of a luxurious life../style was not on the same level as his.

(Sigh) Forget it. He should just let Mu Ningxue support him financially instead. He did not mind living off a woman. He was willing to put his dignity aside and accept it…

“If this is the master bedroom, who does the room we just passed belong to?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s mine,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Yours?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m staying there,” Mu Ningxue said.

“You’re staying… wait, you’re telling me that I’m living by myself?” Mo Fan suddenly realized.

“Mm,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

“But didn’t you renovate this place according to the ../style you like?” Mo Fan said.

“I do like the ../style, but I never said I was staying here.” Mu Ningxue grinned when he saw Mo Fan’s disappointed face. She never said she was going to live with him. He was the one that took it for granted!

The series of surprises that Mo Fan had received from the tour around the Fanxue Villa was shattered into pieces by a single sentence from Mu Ningxue!

If that was the case, he would rather stay in his little apartment in the Magic City. He might be able to enjoy some pleasant sights from Mui Nujiao and Ai Tutu. He was looking forward to living together with Mu Ningxue… He had to admit that these separate bedrooms were now worse than going on a date in a public coffee shop!

Chapter 1698: Let’s Go to the Bedroom

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was in a terrible mood after learning he was not going to stay in the same room with Mu Ningxue. If he could not sleep on the same bed as Mu Ningxue, even the most luxurious house was no better than sleeping outdoors on a mat!

Mo Fan had worked so hard to achieve his goals, yet he still could not convince Mu Ningxue. However, he was an unyielding man, especially when it came to carrying on his ancestral line!

“It’s a little stuffy today, let’s go for a swim. It’s a pity if the huge swimming pool is only there to collect the reflection of the stars,” Mo Fan said.

“I have some other matters to attend to, why don’t you…” Mu Ningxue shook her head. How could she not know what Mo Fan was thinking of?

“You will never finish handling the matters. Besides, I do have something to give you, but it’s too enclosed here. Let’s go for a swim, I need some practice too!” Mo Fan said.

Practice swimming?

Mu Ningxue was speechless that Mo Fan had come up with such a lousy excuse. She hesitated when she looked into Mo Fan’s eyes.

“Let’s go, right, you need your swimsuit… oh, it doesn’t matter actually,” Mo Fan did not give Mu Ningxue any time to think. He quickly dragged her outside.

—

The pool had a private area, but it was connected to the public pool, too.

However, the core members of the Fanxue Mountain were extremely busy with their jobs. It was rare for them to come back to the Fanxue Villa once every week, so it did not matter if the pool was public or private. It was unlikely that anyone would go for a swim so late at night, anyway.

Mu Ningxue only returned after a while, since she insisted on changing into her swimsuit. Mo Fan waited patiently at the pool. His eyes glittered like they were implanted with titanium alloy when he saw her outline under the dim light!

However, Mo Fan was slightly disappointed when Mu Ningxue came closer. She had a towel around herself.

The towel was covering her bust well, but her collarbones and shoulders were exposed. Mo Fan immediately recalled the night she had worn the black skirt in Greece. He had fallen for her tender neck and shoulders instantly!

How could they be so smooth and fair? The look in his eyes alone was a clear indication of his urge to undress the beauty in front of him and feast on her like a starving wolf!

“What did you want to give me?” Mu Ningxue was a little curious. It was not the first time Mo Fan had mentioned it.

“You should take off…(cough cough), let’s go for a swim first,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Ningxue placed the towel on the chair and stood on her toes, displaying her alluring physique. Mo Fan thought Mu Ningxue would be a little hesitant, yet he was taken by surprise when she took off the towel so quickly. He immediately studied her closely…

Such a pity that she wasn’t wearing a bikini…

However, the dark blue breast wrap and the little swimming trunk were just perfect. They did not have any fancy patterns, yet their simple and elegant ../style was enough to make Mo Fan’s blood boil!

When a man was being tempted, he would have a little angel and imp whispering in his mind. If that saying was applied to Mo Fan’s thoughts, what was happening in his mind would be as follows:

The little imp exclaimed, “Let’s be a monster! We’ll pounce on her tonight!”

The little angel replied angrily, “Are you stupid? Let’s do it now, there’s no one around!”

Mu Ningxue walked to the edge of the pool and dove elegantly into the water. The cool water might provide her with some cover. Otherwise, someone was going to explode on the spot!

“Quick, just go for it, what are you waiting for?” the imp said.

“Why are you running? Use Blink, why did you learn magic for? You idiot!” the angel said.

Mo Fan chased after Mu Ningxue. His dream of having intimacy with his goddess was finally coming true!

He walked closer to Mu Ningxue. The gentle ripples struck Mo Fan on the chest. The water was just below Mu Ningxue’s neck. He could see the droplets sliding down along the tender skin of her shoulders…

Mo Fan strode forward and grabbed Mu Ningxue before she could swim away. He did not give the little fish the chance to run away.

“Can I kiss you?” Mo Fan asked.

The imp and the angel immediately went berserk when he asked the question!

“Why the hell do you even ask that for? Just kiss her!”

“Holy crap, can you please show us your resolution as a man? Just pull her into your arms and kiss her. Aren’t you giving her the chance to reject you if you ask her first? Why are we two stuck with an idiot like you!?”

Mo Fan had no idea what he was doing either. Both his rationality and impulses were urging him to do it. His dream girl was standing right in front of him without resisting or trying to run away. He was about to fulfill the dream that he had held for many years, yet he still thought he should be polite and act like a gentleman.

Mu Ningxue’s glittering eyes flickered with amusement. She rarely saw Mo Fan with such a blank face. He had always been sanguine and unpredictable, but he was being so cautious all of a sudden…

Mu Ningxue did not answer his question. She took a little step closer to Mo Fan and stood on her toes.

She leaned closer. Their lips touched softly. Her lips were cold, just like last time, but they were soft and moist. Their bodies were soaked in cold water. Mo Fan immediately felt a soothing chill wrapping around him as Mu Ningxue took the initiative to give him a surprise kiss. It was so comfortable that he subconsciously closed his eyes.

Mo Fan was definitely not a retard. She was the goddess he had dreamed of getting his hands on for so long. He began to wrap his hands around Mu Ningxue’s waist after paying his respects.

Her waist was not covered by any clothes, and her skin was softened by the water. The sensation was absolutely perfect. She might be skinny, but her skin was soft and bouncy. He wanted to squeeze her waist tightly, yet he was afraid that he might snap it in half.

The kiss went from a little peck to a lustful French kiss. He tugged Mu Ningxue closer, leaving no gap between them. The little angel and imp in Mo Fan’s mind were long gone. He no longer needed their guidance for the next steps. He had practiced it so many times in his imagination, he just needed to follow his instincts.

Mu Ningxue was panicking a little now. She felt a numbing shock from the tip of her tongue. It was spreading quickly to every part of her body. She did feel like she was losing her strength, especially from the sense of suffocation for being too close to the man, and the strong grip behind her waist and her neck, even though it was not as exaggerated as the novels had described.

Frost began to spread across the rippling water close to Mu Ningxue, turning into ice in just seconds.

The ice spread from the center of the pool to one end. The water had frozen completely.

Nirvana Ice was Mu Ningxue’s Innate Talent. It could be described as Ice Elves that were constantly circling her. They would freeze everything nearby whenever Mu Ningxue lost control of herself.

Interestingly enough, the water close to Mo Fan was boiling from the heat his body was releasing. White steam was rising continuously. The overjoyed Mo Fan had turned into a heater. The temperature of the pool kept rising!

As a result, the spot where Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were at was like a boundary, with half of the pool boiling, and the other half freezing, yet the two in the middle were totally unaware of what was happening.

—

“Let’s go to the bedroom.”

“Sure.”

—

Mo Fan was firm with his attitude when they reached the master bedroom. Why did they have to take a shower separately? They were already in the pool together. They should be standing under the shower together too…

After breaking through the first line of defense, Mo Fan felt like he had reached the summit of his life that was more thrilling than the dreams he had. He watched as the clean water sprinkled down on Mu Ningxue’s sacred body. He could feel the flames in his soul starting to revolt.

Mo Fan impatiently carried Mu Ningxue to the bed after a quick shower.

The bed had a pleasant scent, yet it was nowhere as fascinating as Mu Ningxue’s body odor. They already had a little foreplay in the pool, and their flames had yet to cool down. Mo Fan no longer had to worry about where he should start from. An alluring moan sounded by his ears after he gave a few important parts a kiss.

Mo Fan knew he could not rush it. He had to be patient. Besides, he would never have enough of Mu Ningxue’s body. He could spend a long time on her legs, now being held tightly together, by kissing her from her toes to her flat belly. He could not just favor one side and discriminate against the other, either. He asked Mu Ningxue to turn around after caressing her front. He pulled the same trick with her back, but he ended up indulging in her tender cheeks.

He untied her silver hair and let it scatter naughtily to fully enjoy her beauty. He suddenly felt a unique charm that made his heart pound heavily from her dignified eyes. He knew that if it was not for that incident during her youth, her charm and beauty would be a deadly poison to any man. However, she was fine as she was now, since her hidden charm only belonged to him now! He could close the door, turn off the lights, put her on the bed, and enjoy her beauty as long as he pleased.

Mo Fan was as excited as an amateur when they finally merged together. His dream had come true smoothly. In his imagination, Mu Ningxue’s beautiful face would be expressionless or she might furrow her brows, but her reaction was different in reality.

Mo Fan was overjoyed. The outcome of his long journey was far better than he had imagined.

Chapter 1699: Hard Until Daybreak

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There was no need to ask, Are you ready?

The fact that Mu Ningxue did not avoid Mo Fan’s gaze was a clear sign to Mo Fan. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan still felt like everything was just a dream. He assumed he still had a long way to go with Mu Ningxue. Knowing her temper, it was unlikely that she would give her everything to him so easily. He might have earned a little of her affection, but it was nowhere enough for him to ‘gallop’ on her body…

But it was actually happening, she was not as resistant, nor was she as cold as he had expected. She was a living human, she had her feelings, she would feel embarrassed, allured, and he could even feel a slight anticipation from her.

Perhaps Mu Ningxue was just being herself. Once she had made up her mind, there was no need for her to conceal her feelings any further. From the moment she started caring for him, worrying about his well-being, her agreeing to swim with him, and how she had taken the initiative to kiss him, she had prepared to accept everything.

The goddess lived alone in the snowy-white palace on the mountain. Her admirers could only clench their teeth and climb the mountain with low self-esteem. The journey to winning her affection was tough, not to mention the number of competitors…

However, not many had managed to reach the middle of the mountain, and those that did would only realize how far away the top of the mountain was. They eventually gave up helplessly!

The truth was, if anyone insisted on climbing and became the closest person to her on the entire mountain, it would eventually grab her attention. She would focus more on you. It did not matter if the top of the mountain was still far away, she would go down the mountain to approach you.

Mo Fan indeed assumed he still had a long way to go with Mu Ningxue, but he had forgotten an important thing: he kept approaching Mu Ningxue with great perseverance, and she was not a real ice statue. She could still be touched, she would still open her heart and walk closer to him. When the two were walking toward one another, it was easier for their relationship to come to fruition!

Mo Fan hugged Mu Ningxue tightly. Her icy skin was smooth like jade. Mo Fan increased the pace of his kisses, pouring out all his love for her…

“If it’s only a dream, I will find myself still climbing toward your palace once I wake up. It’s…it’s too good to be true,” Mo Fan whispered into Mu Ningxue’s ear.

Mo Fan was just a laity, he had dreamed of this erotic scene countless times. When he woke up the following day, he would find himself alone in the bed. He might wear a wry smile in disappointment, but that also served as motivation!

If the dream was already so wonderful, the reality must be more fascinating!

“Are you looking forward to it?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Of course, can’t you feel it?” Mo Fan said.

“It’s good to be looking forward to something,” Mu Ningxue murmured.

Mo Fan did not get what she meant. He stared at Mu Ningxue, who was leaning her head against his shoulder.

Mu Ningxue bit her lips slightly before saying gently, “Many times I found myself not having any anticipation toward life. Today, tomorrow, my future; I never had any imagination about how it would look like. I’m like a colorless spirit occupying an icy shell. I will close my eyes and fall asleep without feeling any sense of fulfillment. When I wake up, I continue to follow the will of others. I’ve only persevered because I didn’t want to let anyone down…”

Mo Fan listened carefully. It was rare for him to hear the voice deep inside Mu Ningxue’s heart!

Having no hope was worse than being overwhelmed by grief. Grief only occurred when one had lost something, or failed to achieve something they were looking forward to. But without hope, one could not even grieve. The calm of still water, the silence of the dead; even when they were at the brink of losing themselves, they would have no expression on their face, and no luster in their eyes…

“But now, I have Fanxue Mountain. I look forward to the following dawn before I fall asleep. I can’t wait to see how it’s going to look like after a month, a year, or even ten years!” Mu Ningxue went on.

Mo Fan did not interrupt her. He was purely a listener during the pillow talk. That being said, his hands never stopped fondling the woman’s tender skin and long silver hair…

“It’s you who helped me build the Fanxue Mountain. If I am to live the rest of my life with you, I believe I will have all kinds of anticipation for the future,” Mu Ningxue whispered.

Mo Fan seriously had the feeling that Mu Ningxue was the one taking care of him instead. She was the one uttering the romantic words that were making his heart melt. Mo Fan seriously felt like he was becoming jelly hearing her confession. He almost had an urge to jump into Mu Ningxue’s arms and indulge in the bliss!

Mo Fan could not help it. He was a man. He was extremely touched after hearing Mu Ningxue’s confession. He tried his best to come up with suitable words to say at such a romantic moment.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan was not a poet. He was a vulgar man!

“Xuexue, I will stay hard until daybreak, I will not bend until my death!”

—

—

Mo Fan was woken up by a strong fragrance around noon. He opened his eyes and immediately looked to his side, realizing something.

She was still here! Mu Ningxue was still here!

She had put on her clothes, but she was still here!

It was no longer just the residue of a wet dream. He could remember every single detail of the event last night. It did not fade away like a dream!

“Shouldn’t we cuddle a little?” Mo Fan pulled Mu Ningxue into his arms.

“I believe there’s something urgent going on. You better come too!” Mu Ningxue dodged his arms nimbly.

“It’s important?” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, I’m going back to change first. We’ll meet at the Fountain Meeting Hall!” Mu Ningxue quickly left.

—

Mo Fan left the bed and put on his clothes.

He was not too concerned about the urgent matter that Mu Ningxue mentioned. Was there anything more pleasing than waking up from the bed he and Mu Ningxue had so much fun in the night before? He looked into the mirror and was dazzled by his handsomeness!

Mo Fan hummed pleasantly on his way to the meeting hall. He was still recalling their postures last night. He happened to see Mu Zhuoyun coming from the opposite direction when he reached the corridor.

Mu Zhuoyun saw Mo Fan, too. He harrumphed coldly, as if he had no intention to greet Mo Fan.

Mo Fan lifted his head proudly.

HAHAHA, Old Mu, I’ve finally gotten my hands on your daughter!

Say, why do you even bother separating us in the first place!?

Mu Zhuoyun obviously had no idea that Mu Ningxue had spent the night in Mo Fan’s room. He headed straight to the meeting hall. Mo Fan followed him at a steady pace. He was displaying pride and joy as he casually strode along the corridor…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan noticed quite a few people inside the hall when he arrived.

He was planning to find himself a vacant seat like a bystander, but Mu Linsheng quickly came over and led him to the seat for the host.

Mo Fan abruptly realized he was the master here. The entire land was in his name!

“Don’t mind me, keep going!” Mo Fan waved his hand casually, signaling the others not to be so courteous around him.

The truth was, no one was being courteous. Mo Fan was just being dramatic!

“The Shoreline Alliance has sounded an alarm to warn us of a potential calamity. According to their rough estimates, the Asian countries along the coastline will face it first. Japan and our East China Sea are in a great crisis!” Mu Linsheng proclaimed.

A few people in the Shoreline Alliance’s uniform were sitting next to Mi Linsheng. They were obviously sent here to alert the people along the coastline.

The rest of the headquarters cities had a certain level of defense to protect them from a potential calamity, but Feiniao City was a new headquarters city, and the city was not necessarily more developed than Fanxue Mountain. Therefore, the authorities of Feiniao City and the representatives of the Shoreline Alliance and the Magic Association had arranged a meeting at Fanxue Mountain.

“Take a look at this map!” A woman from the Shoreline Alliance projected a map onto the screen.

Mo Fan followed the voice and noticed the woman was quite good-looking…(cough cough), the relationship between him and Mu Ningxue had only come to fruition. He could not afford to check other women out. He had to control himself!

Mo Fan shifted his attention to the screen, showing a photograph taken from high up in the sky. The layer of clouds was faintly discernible, with a dark blue ocean below it. However, one side of the screen was densely covered by glimmering silver-white objects.

“Those things are a kind of Shelled Salamander. According to a patrol squad from Hawaii, the photograph is only showing the tip of an iceberg. The Shelled Salamanders can easily cover a country with their numbers. They are riding the waves and approaching us slowly,” the woman in the Shoreline Alliance’s uniform informed them.

“What was their altitude when the photo was taken?” Shao Yu asked.

“Ten thousand meters.”

A huge portion of the photograph was occupied by the demon creatures, even though it was taken from a height of ten thousand meters. How many of these creatures were there out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?

Mo Fan was not interested in the meeting in the first place. He was constantly staring at Mu Ningxue, but his face filled with astonishment when he heard her description.

“Do these demon creatures actually live in the Pacific Ocean?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not necessarily. According to the information we have gathered, the waters of many countries are being invaded by these Shelled Salamanders. They have strongly toppled the balance of the ecosystems,” the woman from the Shoreline Alliance told him.

“I just got rid of a bunch of Salamander Demons recently. Could you identify them?” Mo Fan told her. He immediately asked Lingling to send the information of the Salamander Demons to his phone.

Lingling responded quickly.

Shao Yu glanced at Mo Fan, who had been carefree most of the time, and asked, “Where did you stumble into these creatures?”

“I accepted a quest from a Councilman. The Thousand Islands Lake was overrun by these Salamander Demons. They were reproducing like a factory, but their numbers were nowhere close to the numbers of the creatures in the Pacific Ocean. I can feel my scalp turning numb just by looking at them!” Mo Fan answered.

“We came to alert you beforehand so you could carry out some preventive measures. We’ll notify you as soon as we have any updates,” the woman from the Shoreline Alliance spoke up. She rose to her feet and nodded politely at the others before leaving the room with her colleagues.

—

The people left in the room were all close acquaintances once the representatives of the Shoreline Alliance left. They were mostly authorities from Feiniao City who were relatively close with Mu Linsheng, Mu Ningxue, and Mu Zhuoyun. Mo Fan only knew the deputy mayor of Feiniao City.

“When will those creatures reach our coastline?” Mu Zhuoyun asked.

“It’s hard to say. Japan is most likely their first target, and we are next. If we want to prepare ourselves, we should send some people to Japan and help them familiarize themselves with those creatures first…” Mu Linsheng suggested.

“Japan? We aren’t close to them! Even if they found a way to handle the creatures, they aren’t generous enough to share their findings with us!” Mu Zhuoyun harrumphed.

“The Shoreline Alliance has already set up a branch of the Research Union in Japan to analyze those creatures. I believe we still have some time to spare before the calamity reaches us, but it’s definitely going to be our biggest threat for the next few years. We should work together with the Shoreline Alliance and gather some funds to send some people to Japan,” Mu Linsheng calmly replied.

“Who should we send?”

“I’ll go!” a young woman seated in the back rows piped up.

Mo Fan was rather surprised when he saw the woman.

Wasn’t that Cao Qinqin? He did not expect Cao Qinqin, who was among the only batch of graduates he had ‘taught’, to climb the ranks of Fanxue Mountain so quickly. She was already qualified to take part in an important meeting like this!

Cao Qinqin was one of the core members of Fanxue Mountain. Mo Fan had helped her secure the opportunity to learn the Water Circulation Magic Formation from Dean Xiao. She had used the knowledge to set up a Water Circulation Magic Formation along the river leading to the ocean. It now played an important part in Fanxue City’s defense!

“Mo Fan, aren’t you close to the Mochizuki Clan in Japan? The Shoreline Alliance is setting up the Research Union in the Mochizuki Clan. You should contact them,” Mu Ningxue urged him.

“Ah, I’m not really that close with them… but sure, I can ask Mochizuki Chihaya and Mochizuki Ken to provide our people with food and accommodations,” Mo Fan agreed.

Mochizuki Chihaya and Mochizuki Ken kept inviting him to Japan, as they were keen to express their gratitude to him for dealing with the Essence Orb on their behalf.

Mo Fan was not planning to visit Japan anytime soon. Since Cao Qinqin happened to be going there, however, he did not mind asking the Mochizukis to take care of Cao Qinqin and her group.

“The Mochizuki Clan is famous when it comes to fending off the sea monsters. The Twin Guardian Towers and the East Maritime Fortress remain standing today because of them. I believe our people are going to learn a lot from them,” Cao Qinqin said.

“Yeah, our Fanxue Mountain is just getting started. The Mochizuki Clan’s private territory faces the sea and is leaning against a mountain, just like us. They have a lot of young and experienced talents, especially when it comes to the defense of their territory. We can surely learn a great deal from the Mochizuki Clan. It’s a relief that the mayor knows an authoritative figure like Mochizuki Ken personally!” Mu Linsheng agreed.

Mo Fan had never realized Mochizuki Ken was such an impressive person in fending off the sea monsters.

“We are no longer familiar with the terrain after the rise of the sea level. Not only does the tide rise and fall without a fixed pattern, it’s difficult to forecast the weather, in addition to the sudden appearance of sea monsters that we have never encountered in the past. Many cities have fallen in just a single night. We must be extremely careful from now on!” the deputy mayor of Feiniao City said.

“The situation is looking grimmer. We seriously can’t tell what’s going to happen in the future,” an elder of the Feiniao City’s Magic Association sighed, staring at the photograph of the ocean showing the approaching calamity!

—

—

When the meeting came to an end, Mo Fan was planning to discuss what had happened the previous night with Mu Ningxue, but he failed to find her anywhere. She obviously had important matters to attend to.

It made perfect sense for Mu Ningxue to be so busy, since he was not in charge of the development of the new city or the crisis threatening its safety.

Mo Fan had goosebumps when he recalled the photograph of overwhelming numbers of demon creatures. He could not help but wonder how disastrous it was going to be when they reached the coastline of human territories. How were the Mages going to fend them off?

“Teacher!” Cao Qinqin called out to Mo Fan from behind. Her dimples set off her charming smile.

“You’ve seriously improved a lot, you are now an advisor of Fanxue Mountain!” Mo Fan smiled when he saw her.

“I have always been impressive. Speaking of which, someone wants to meet you,” Cao Qinqin said.

“Who is it?”

“You will know when you get there.”

Cao Qinqin was being mysterious, and dragged Mo Fan to the receiving hall.

A tanned and handsome man was sitting on the couch. A young maid was pouring tea for him while glancing at him flirtatiously, but the man was staring ahead without losing focus!

“Who’s that?” Mo Fan did not recognize the man, examining him with a confused expression.

The man immediately rose to his feet when he saw Mo Fan. He brought his hands together respectfully and bowed to Mo fan, “Teacher, I’m back!”

Mo Fan was startled. Only the graduates he was once in charge of would call him teacher, and the greatest talents among them were none other than Cao Qinqin and Bai Hongfei. Mo Fan observed the tanned man closely and finally recognized him.

“Bai Hongfei? Holy crap, how are you so tanned? Where’s your fair and carefree appearance?” Mo Fan was shocked.

Was this man really Bai Hongfei? He had changed so much!

In Mo Fan’s memory, Bai Hongfei used to have an imposing and handsome appearance. He shone among the disciples of the renowned clans… but now, he was almost like an African with an untamed bearing. He was deliberately withholding his savagery…

Mo Fan recalled Bai Hongfei telling him that he was going on an adventure to train himself before bidding Mo Fan farewell. He did not expect the man to be gone for so long. He had only just returned from his adventure!

His determination and will had led him through some shocking changes!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Teacher, I went to the western part of the country, so…” Bai Hongfei answered, a bit embarrassed. He glanced at his skin and noticed that it was indeed very tanned.

“Did you contact your family?” Mo Fan asked him.

“Oh, I haven’t. I just came back. I heard that you had established Fanxue Mountain, so I came here right away…” Bai Hongfei said.

“Will you die if you give your family a call? I have no clue how your sister found out that you left home and went on an adventure because of my influence. She kept asking me to be responsible for it!” Mo Fan sighed, “You better tell your sister that you’re back in one piece, or else she’s going to block my apartment’s entrance with a knife in her hand!” Mo Fan scolded him.

Mo Fan only learned Bai Tingting was Bai Hongfei’s sister after he went off on his adventure.

He had initially treated Bai Tingting as an acquaintance, but their relationship completely changed after she found out her brother had left because of him.

“I…I’m scared of talking to her. She will definitely ask me to go back home in tears. I’m worried that I might compromise because of it and go back home. I didn’t dare listen to her voice for the sake of my cultivation,” Bai Hongfei explained reluctantly.

“Mm, mm, you’re right. A man must have his ambitions. I’m glad that you said so. I will relay your intentions to Bai Tingting. She won’t have to worry about taking me down with her life, she’s going to be busy teaching her merciless brother a lesson,” Mo Fan said with a nod.

“…” Bai Hongfei was left speechless. It had been so long, yet his teacher was still so good at entrapping others.

“Teacher, Bai Hongfei is interested in joining our Fanxue Mountain,” Cao Qinqin blurted out happily.

“Ah? Aren’t you the successor of the Bai Clan? You shouldn’t joke around like that. Our Fanxue Mountain has no place for someone like you. You should go home,” Mo Fan said.

The Bai Clan had an exceedingly high reputation in the Magic City. Even the Mu Clan was inferior to them, yet the little successor of the Bai Clan was planning to join Fanxue Mountain. Wouldn’t the people of the Bai Clan come and raze the Fanxue Mountain to the ground?!

“Teacher, please hear me out! Even if I accept my role as a successor, I have no choice but to follow the path my clan has arranged for me, not to mention that I’m far from qualified to be the successor. It won’t do me any good. After all, the elders will still decide everything for the clan! I’ll let them do as they please for now… I have been staying in Fanxue Mountain for a few days. I noticed how ideal of a place it is for me. Everything is new and full of challenges. I’m able to learn more and grow stronger here. I can assume personal responsibility for the things I do!” Bai Hongfei said confidently.

“Bai Hongfei, that’s such an inspiring speech. I’m impressed,” Mo Fan said flatly.

Bai Hongfei scratched his head. He did not know what else to say. Mo Fan was being utterly straightforward. He had given up the ridiculous inheritance of his clan in the Magic City just to join Fanxue Mountain…

“Teacher, aren’t you going to let Bai Hongfei stay? Fanxue Mountain is short of hands!” Cao Qinqin begged him.

“I don’t mind if you want to join us, but you better think of a way to convince your sister. Otherwise, she’s going to think that I’ve led you astray again…” Mo Fan warned him.

“As long as teacher agrees, I will talk to my sister myself! I believe she will understand me,” Bai Hongfei smiled like the guy on the Darlie toothpaste tube.

“That’s great, our Fanxue Mountain has recruited another expert! Teacher, Bai Hongfei is very strong now. You can ask him to handle the fights. He won’t let you down!” Cao Qinqin said.

“I won’t be needing his help to beat people up. It’s my favorite pastime!” Mo Fan scoffed.

“Teacher, you are now a reputable figure in our country. There are times when you will feel disgraced to even handle fights yourself; those are the fights I can handle on your behalf. You won’t be disappointed!” Bai Hongfei grinned.

Mo Fan eventually agreed with Bai Hongfei. Besides, someone that enjoyed being pretentious like him would definitely look more impressive if he had a couple of reliable fighters around him!

“Sure, you can follow me around then!” Mo Fan agreed.

——

Mo Fan asked Cao Qinqin to guide Bai Hongfei to the HR department to sort him out. The people of Fanxue Mountain would assign him a suitable role. It was none of Mo Fan’s concern.

As a matter of fact, there was nothing in Fanxue Mountain that really concerned him…

“Damn, I forgot to give Mu Ningxue the Ward Rock again. Forget it, her birthday is around the corner, too. She might be so happy that she’ll climb onto my lap herself… tsk tsk tsk,” Mo Fan said while humming pleasantly.

Everyone was busy with their roles in Fanxue Mountain. Mo Fan was the only one taking a casual stroll. He felt rather relaxed.

He was so free that he went to grab some afternoon tea. He asked the charming Apas to tag along to please his eyes. He also enjoyed the envious look from other men. He took a sip of the smooth iced coffee and pleasantly recalled the blissful time he had last night.

Apas pouted and stared at Mo Fan’s indulged face as if he was a retard.

A while later, Lingling showed up in a little loli dress. She looked energetic with her hair tied up in her trademark double ponytails. Her youthful charm immediately attracted the attention of the people in the tea house, both men and women…

“Is it Children’s Day? You look pretty cute in your outfit,” Apas smiled. She never gave up any opportunity to mock Lingling.

“Idiot!” Lingling replied.

“You two should stop arguing whenever you see one another. Lingling, did you see the photo I sent you?” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, it seems I wasn’t wrong about the threat that the Salamander Demons might pose. I actually underestimated it!” Lingling said.

“How is that?” asked Mo Fan.

“I initially thought the little Salamander Demons were a new species that could mass reproduce quickly, like the demon locusts, and were capable of bringing great destruction… but after seeing the photograph, I think the Great Salamander Demon is the new species instead!” Lingling said.

“I don’t quite get it…” Mo Fan admitted.

“The Great Salamander Demon we took out is only a single creature from the army of Great Salamander Demons in the photograph. I don’t know how it ended up in the Thousand Islands Lake, creating the situation there, but the numbers of these Great Salamander Demons in the middle of the Pacific Ocean are comparable to the Sandstorm Demon Locusts. Imagine how great a disaster millions of Great Salamander Demons can cause!” Lingling stated.

“Millions of Great Salamander Demons… and each of them is able to produce millions of Salamander Demons… it’s how they are covering the middle of the Pacific Ocean like clouds!” Mo Fan gasped.

“The Salamander Demons are bronze, but the demon creatures in the photo are white…” Lingling added for him helpfully.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Does the difference in color indicate they are not the same species?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm! They might be trickier to deal with than the Salamander Demons in the Thousand Islands Lake, so if we want to prepare ourselves in advance, we need to familiarize ourselves with them first and figure out their weaknesses…” Lingling confirmed.

“I don’t understand, why would nature allow such a species that goes against the rules to exist?” Mo Fan shook his head helplessly.

Mo Fan knew how much of a threat a Great Salamander Demon could pose after encountering the Salamander Demons in the Thousand Islands Lake. He initially thought the world was safer after taking out the Great Salamander Demon. To his surprise, the numbers of Great Salamander Demons in the Pacific Ocean were so overwhelming! They were producing the shelled demon creatures like machines! If they did not find a way to take care of them, the land might soon be overrun by the demon creatures. They were a lot deadlier than the Sandstorm Demon Locusts!

“Humans aren’t any better,” Lingling pointed out.

Mo Fan gaped. He was lost for words when Lingling suddenly mentioned that out of the blue.

That being said, Lingling was absolutely right, too! Humans were exactly the same, occupying and bringing destruction wherever they went. If nature could tolerate humans, why couldn’t they allow such disastrous clouds of demon creatures to exist?

“Forget it, it’s something that the Shoreline Alliance should be worried about. If they do show up, I’ll just beat the crap out of them. Let’s talk about Jiang Xia for now,” Mo Fan changed the subject.

“The Tree of Vows is in the Qinling Mountains. Jiang Xia has marked the specific location for us,” Lingling said.

“That’s great, we’ll set out next month!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

It was easier to find the Totem Beasts if they had clues to follow. It meant he was not far away from reaching the Super Level!

“It’s only the start of the month. Why are we waiting until next month?” Lingling asked, confused.

Based on her understanding of Mo Fan’s personality, he would normally set out the following day whenever they found a new clue. He was a Space Mage too. He would normally keep necessities and supply in the storage of his Space Element, thus he could easily set out on a journey the next day.

“A little girl like you shouldn’t ask too many questions. Anyway, you should focus on finding more information about the Tree of Vows…” Mo Fan answered.

“Someone has tasted the forbidden fruit. He’s planning to indulge his desires for a little longer,” Apas interrupted.

“Apas, can’t you behave more like a little girl? How could you eavesdrop and peep at us?” Mo Fan glared at Apas.

“I don’t really give a damn, but it’s hard not to guess what happened when your blissful emotions are being reflected to me!” Apas looked at Mo Fan disdainfully.

She initially thought this man was different from the others after learning how capable he was, yet he too was rampant in his sexual desires. He was clearly overreacting. He had been like this for the entire day, as if he was going to drift into the clouds if he was not held down by a string.

“What do you know? You might be beautiful, but you’re just an immature little kid compared to my Mu Ningxue. It’s the reason why you’ve failed to seduce me even when you kept calling me Brother Mo Fan; my heart is already protected by my goddess!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Do you really need a month for that? Can’t you finish your business in just a night?” Lingling said blatantly.

Mo Fan burst out coughing, left speechless by Lingling’s comment.

Why did he have a feeling that the two little girls were more experienced than him? They did not even blush when discussing the topic. Why were their tones and expressions so pure and natural?

—

Lingling was not pleased. She would be extremely bored if Mo Fan was going to indulge in his fantasies

However, she obviously had no chance of convincing Mo Fan, especially when he had already lost his mind. She had no choice but to spend some boring days in Fanxue Mountain. If she returned to the Magic City, she would be forced to go back to school, even though it was full of retards. She could keep her freedom if she stayed in Fanxue Mountain.

Apas was extremely curious about everything. Since Mo Fan was indulging in his desires, Lingling had no choice but to bethe one to show Apas around Fanxue Mountain.

“Why did I keep seeing blue moths around here?” Apas asked her.

Lingling had silently brought Apas to a remote spot in the woods. They arrived at a forest filled with with beautiful peach blossoms. The bright colors and elegant sight immediately attracted Apas’ attention. She blurted out excitedly, “What are these? Why are they so pretty?”

The peach blossoms continued to the waist of the mountain, where a delicate wooden hut stood. Its roof, garden, and windows were covered by intelligent blue moths.

It was almost evening, and the blue moths had woken from their sleep. Their wings were as dazzling as colorful butterflies, weaving through a garden of flowers. The dusk’s light sprinkled onto the trees, the hut, and the blue moths.

“Can you please control your foul snake’s aura? The little creatures here don’t even dare to move because of your presence!” Lingling turned around and glared at Apas when she noticed the blue moths freezing in place. They were too scared to lift off into the air.

“It’s a natural intimidation between creatures of different levels. It has nothing to do with my aura. These little creatures are pretty sensitive. Most creatures won’t even notice it. I like them!” Apas replied.

The door of the wooden hut swung open while they were talking. A woman in plain clothing walked out elegantly from the hut. Her eyes were glittering like stars. She smiled gently when she saw Lingling in the garden.

“Something… doesn’t feel right about her,” Apas observed the woman who had come out of the hut. The look in her eyes shifted.

The woman noticed Apas’ presence too, and immediately went on alert. If Lingling had not been standing beside Apas, Yu Shishi would not have acted so calmly.

“These blue moths are hers,” Lingling said.

“No wonder, they have inherited the intelligence of their leader!” Apas exclaimed.

“Lingling, who is this?” Yu Shishi asked.

“A snake demon from Africa,” Lingling replied succinctly.

1

—

Lingling had come to Yu Shishi because something about the Qinling Mountains was troubling her.

The region of the Qinling Mountains they were going to was occupied by a bunch of demon butterflies. The demon butterflies might be a huge nuisance to deal with. Lingling thought that since her moths were species similar to the butterflies, she might learn the demon butterflies’ weaknesses from Yu Shishi.

“About that, I’m not really familiar with the demon butterflies. I will only figure it out after seeing them in person. Say, come find me when you’re setting out for the Qinling Mountains. I’m looking for the leaves of Moon Mulberry Trees from the Qinling Mountains, too. We can go together!” Yu Shishi exclaimed happily.

Yu Shishi happened to be troubled by the supply of leaves of Moon Mulberry Trees.

The leaves were for the little Moon Moth Phoenix. The special trees could only be found in the Qinling Mountains. Without them, the Moon Moth Phoenix would never evolve from her current form of a little silkworm!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How is she doing?” Lingling asked.

“Pretty good, she is eating and sleeping well. She just needs the true essence of moonlight. If she solely relies on the essence she collects every night, it might take her years to evolve. The leaves of the Moon Mulberry Trees are the best solution for now!” Yu Shishi led Lingling and Apas into the hut.

Apas noticed a huge bed of plants inside the hut, well-protected like a baby cradle. There were a few tiny Mulberry trees in the plant bed.

On one of the trees lay a lunar-white silkworm. Its round eyes were staring at Apas curiously.

“She’s not afraid of me?” Apas blurted out curiously, staring at the tiny creature.

“Her rank isn’t lower than yours, ok?” Lingling sniffed.

“What is she? She feels like a little elf filled with a special kind of energy. Why is she so tiny? She’s like a little baby…” Apas reached her hand out and caressed the silkworm.

Yu Shishi stood on the side with an alert look. She did not interfere after she realized the little silkworm was not against it.

It was unlikely that a person Lingling brought along would harm the little Moon Moth Phoenix.

The silkworm was the Moon Moth Phoenix after she had reincarnated. She was still in the form of a silkworm, as she had yet to reach her cocoon phase. Yu Shishi had been looking after her carefully, hoping for her to grow and enter her cocoon, so she could evolve into the real Moon Moth Phoenix!

“It’s so fuzzy…” Apas giggled. The little silkworm had climbed onto her palm. She seemed to be enjoying Apas’ presence.

Normally, such an intelligent little creature would be extremely sensitive to danger, and Apas would easily intimidate these little creatures in a new environment. To Apas’ surprise, the little silkworm was bold enough to crawl onto her palm even after sensing the presence of a Medusa. The little creature was not afraid that she might suck her life essence dry!

Apas soon noticed other silkworms in the room. They might not have a noble aura like the silkworm in the plant bed, but they were also no ordinary creatures!

“Mm, I enjoyed raising moths when I was young. I ran to a village far away just to pluck the leaves of mulberry trees. I carefully observed their growth and waited for the day they entered their cocoons…” Yu Shishi smiled.

“Do they grow quickly?” Apas asked.

There were many strange cocoons in the deserts too, but most of their makers were savage and ugly once they broke free, very different from these adorable moths. Apas was still a little girl in nature. She preferred to take care of these clean, elegant little elves!

“They grow very quickly. You can watch them growing from an egg as tiny as a grain of sand to a silkworm in just a few days. You can pluck a huge leaf from a mulberry tree and lay it down as their bed. They will sleep on the leaf and occasionally bite at it whenever they are hungry. You can even hear their soft munching sounds! They might be weak, but they grow up pretty quickly. You just need to provide them with a little box and a few leaves. They will grow into adults even if you don’t look after them!”

“Do you know what the best moment is when raising these little creatures?” Yu Shishi added when she noticed how absorbed Apas was.

Apas shook her head, eager to hear the answer.

“They aren’t so good looking when they are still a silkworm. They only know to eat and sleep every day, but once they turn into cocoons, they will transform completely inside. They will have wings, allowing them to dance elegantly under the moonlight. You can find their elegant figures circling the trees, lake, shrubs, and rocks. They are even more dazzling under the moonlight… you can never imagine how the silkworms transform into the little night elves!” Yu Shishi said.

Apas had an urge to try it herself after listening to the joyful experience Yu Shishi had when raising the silkworms.

“Can I raise a few of them?” Apas asked.

“You can’t take this one, but you can choose some of the others. They would like a master to accompany them as they grow up, too…I’ve been choosing pure-hearted kids to adopt these silkworms since I joined Fanxue Mountain. They are happy to look after them!” Yu Shishi agreed.

Fanxue Mountain was a private land with a strict rule that forbade anyone from hurting the blue moths and the Soul Moths, providing them a safe habitat.

Yu Shishi was not the only one protecting them. The people that had adopted the little Soul Moths were looking after them too. Yu Shishi was more than willing to let people that genuinely cared about the Soul Moths adopt a few of them.

The number of Soul Moths had greatly increased due to the presence of the Moon Moth Phoenix. Yu Shishi was struggling to take care of them all alone.

“Can I choose myself?” Apas asked.

“Of course you can, but it’s difficult to identify their lineage and talents before they evolve. Some Soul Moths are very powerful after they grow into adults!” Yu Shishi informed her.

—

Apas chose a few silkworms that caught her eye. She placed them in small wooden boxes, treating them carefully, like a little girl who had just received her gifts.

“They might be afraid of your presence still, but don’t worry, once you feed them for a few days, they will be very close to you,” Yu Shishi assured her. She caressed the silkworms that Apas had adopted to pacify them.

“A lot of people in Fanxue Mountain are raising the little moths,” Lingling had noticed.

“Yes! As a matter of fact, if the Moon Moth Phoenix can enter her cocoon and evolve, she will give birth to more Soul Moths with outstanding lineages. It will definitely improve the defenses of Fanxue Mountain!” Yu Shishi said happily.

“Mm, I’m looking forward to seeing her breaking out of her cocoon too!” Lingling reached her hand out and fondled the tiny Moon Moth Phoenix.

—

Apas was extremely happy with her new pets. She was looking forward to witnessing their transformation and the day they could beat their wings and fly!

After having this thought, she suddenly realized Lingling was not as much of an eyesore as she thought. After all, the girl had brought her to meet this interesting woman!

Lingling glanced at the smiling Apas and said, “Remember to leave a few holes on the boxes after laying the leaves inside them… I seriously doubt these silkworms will live more than three days under your care!”

“Don’t you worry, I’ll make sure they live longer than you!” Apas retorted promptly.

1

“Humph!”

“Humph!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan casually strolled through the mansion. Mu Ningxue finally came back from Feiniao City late that night.

Mo Fan took pity on Mu Ningxue when he noticed how worn out she looked. The evil thoughts in his mind were cut down by almost half.

“I have something to give you, but I completely forgot about it last night,” Mo Fan admitted.

“Mm?” Mu Ningxue recalled that Mo Fan did say he had something to give her.

Mo Fan took out the Ward Rock and placed it on Mu Ningxue’s palm.

Mu Ningxue lowered her head. She glanced at the object and asked with a confused look, “Are you pulling a prank on me?”

“What prank… huh, why is this thing here? I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I took the wrong thing!” Mo Fan blurted out awkwardly.

The object on Mu Ningxue’s palm was not the Ward Rock. It was a round eyeball, and to make things worse, the eyeball was spinning around oddly in her hand. Luckily, Mu Ningxue was not that easy to frighten. If it were almost any other woman, they would immediately slap Mo Fan in the face after receiving such a terrifying eyeball.

“I can feel the magic inside it. Where did you find this eyeball?” Mu Ningxue asked him.

“I almost forgot about it! This is the Burning Evil Eye. I found it at the Sunset Shrine in Cairo. It’s a treasure, too. It can emit a special glow over an area that applies a burning effect to intruders. I haven’t figured out how to use it, but I believe it might be useful if we place it at a crucial spot of our Fanxue Mountain,” Mo Fan declared.

“How about its power?” Mu Ningxue asked, intrigued.

“It’s very powerful. Even a Commander-level creature or an Advanced Mage will be injured by the burn of the evil light if they stay in it for too long,” Mo Fan stated firmly.

“We have a few islands nearby that are rich in resources and materials. Those islands are one of our primary sources of income, but they aren’t located within the safe zone. Sea monsters will invade them at times, so we have to invest a lot of funds into protecting cargo. If this Burning Evil Eye is really that effective, we might be able to use it to drive away the invaders!” Mu Ningxue conjectured.

There was no end to the numbers of sea monsters. They would show up whenever the tide rose, and due to the rising sea level, many islands were now further away from the safe zone, making them more dangerous and more prone to being raided by the sea monsters. It wasn’t just Fanxue Mountain; the other renowned clans were investing a lot of funds into protecting their islands too!

“Are you referring to the Gold Reefs Island?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, the Gold Reefs are extremely important to us. Half of our fighters are stationed at the island in rotations, but not only are the casualties high, we are expending a lot of resources too,” Mu Ningxue told him.

Guarding a mineral-rich island was a strenuous task, especially when it was located in the demon creatures’ territory. Exterminating the demon creatures nearby did not necessarily guarantee the safety of the island. The sea monsters would eventually return in waves, so the defenders had to stay on alert twenty-four hours. Not only was it important to arrange the rotations appropriately, they had to worry about compensation for the casualties too!

The demon creatures were naturally fond of exotic materials, so Gold Reefs Island was more like a miniature battlefield, where battles between the defenders and the demon creatures were constantly taking place.

“I’ll ask Apas if she has any ideas how to deal with the sea monsters,” Mo Fan said.

“If we can free up the men on the Gold Reefs Island, we might be able to clear the woods close to the West Ridge,” Mu Ningxue said.

“You seem very busy,” Mo Fan scratched his head. He was completely unaware of Fanxue Mountain’s situation.

“Mm, I have had a lot of things to do lately. I’m a little worried that my cultivation will lag behind,” Mu Ningxue said.

“I wanted to give you this…” Mo Fan put the Burning Evil Eye away and took out the real Ward Rock.

Mu Ningxue stared at the orb Mo Fan was holding. She had never seen such a special thing before.

The Burning Evil Eye contained the magic of the Curse Element, so she could sense its power when she was close to it, even though it was inactive. It was already a huge surprise for Mu Ningxue, as it might resolve the tricky problem the Gold Reefs Island was facing…

However, the second object that Mo Fan took out was even more reserved. The orb clearly contained a strong energy tightly related to nature within it. She could easily tell it was something extraordinary!

“Do you remember the Earth Pistil?” Mo Fan smiled. He could see Mu Ningxue had no clue what the thing was.

“Mm!” Mu Ningxue would never forget the Earth Pistil. Without its power, there would be no Fanxue Mountain. This land used to be a gray area, since the Magic Association had deemed it unsafe to be inhabited.

No matter how much potential the land had, no one would bother coming here if their safety was not guaranteed. Mu Ningxue obviously remembered the Earth Pistil, the sacred stone with the power to look after a city!

“It might not be as powerful as the Earth Pistil, but it can establish a defense along the coastline, just like the East Maritime Fortress in Japan. Didn’t you want to turn Fanxue Mountain into the safest small city? I believe this thing is going to be very useful,” Mo Fan told her.

Mu Ningxue was stunned. Where exactly did Mo Fan find so many precious and rare artifacts? The Burning Evil Eye was already a huge surprise to her, let alone a Ward Rock!

Both artifacts were considered priceless!

Mu Ningxue lifted her gaze slightly and stared at Mo Fan. Even though she was not filled with joy like she had been pampered, she was still touched by the gifts. At least she knew that the man was sincerely concerned about her.

Mo Fan was waiting for Mu Ningxue to tip her toes and kiss him, but she was simply standing still without shifting her gaze away. Mo Fan ended up running out of patience first.

Oh my, look at her beautiful face! He could play with it for a few lifetimes. He had an urge to press her to the wall and kiss her!

For some reason, he felt a great sense of achievement when smearing his saliva all over that beautiful face. Mo Fan took the impulse to act first. He had completely tossed his pity for Mu Ningxue beyond the topmost clouds. He insisted on not leaving bed until daybreak!

Mu Ningxue was utterly helpless too. She was doing nothing apart from looking at him. Why did he suddenly turn into a beast? How did he even manage to keep his calm in the past?

Mo Fan initially planned to stay at Fanxue Mountain for a while and keep Mu Ningxue company. He was thinking of setting out for the Qinling Mountains the next month, but after breaking through his goddess’ defense, he now had an urge to place an order for his coffin here. He would never leave Fanxue Mountain until the day he had to lie inside it!

—

—

Another great dawn came as Mo Fan was lying on the bed. He watched Mu Ningxue put on her clothes and leave. His heart was brimming with satisfaction and a sense of achievement. It had been over ten days since his dream came true, yet his passion and excitement showed no sign of fading away.

Unfortunately, his plan of indulging in his desires every night still came to an end when Mu Ningxue needed to go somewhere else. She had to leave to take care of some matters related to Fanxue Mountain while searching for the remaining pieces of the Ice Crystal Bow.

The Ice Crystal Bow was Mu Ningxue’s chance to achieve the Super Level. The Ice Crystal Bow used to be an icy demon, whipping her and forcing her to pursue higher levels of cultivation. When Mu Ningxue obtained the fragments of the Ice Crystal Bow and acquired Ice Fundamental Crystals for the Ice Crystal Bow, she managed to lift off the seal on the Ice Crystal Bow’s power, greatly improving her cultivation.

As Fanxue Mountain continued to grow, granting her access to the higher levels, she realized how important it was to achieve the Super Level. If she was not strong enough as a leader, Fanxue Mountain would only be treated disdainfully and picked on by others. Too many people were jealous of them. They were waiting for the opportunity to raze it to the ground!

——

Mo Fan had been indulging in his desires for half a month. It was time for him to focus on his breakthrough to the next level, so he decided to set out for the Qinling Mountains early.

The Qinling Mountains had rather complicated terrain. The place was infamous throughout the country because of how dangerous it was. Mo Fan was bringing Lingling, Apas, and Yu Shishi along. He did not feel secure at all.

Yu Shishi’s strength was not particularly outstanding. She could only look after herself if there was any danger. Lingling might have some life-preserving gadgets and tricks to avoid danger, but her safety was not guaranteed in the demon creatures’ territory.

Apas might be strong, but Mo Fan was worried that they might encounter demon creatures who would not fall for her tricks…

Speaking of which, am I really that popular among women? Why am I surrounded by women when I’m out on an adventure… mm, mm, if only they were somewhat stronger. Mo Fan looked at Apas, Yu Shishi, and Lingling while fondling his chin.

Since he was looking for a Totem Beast, he had to ask Zhao Manyan to tag along, too. The two of them had chosen a similar path. If he did not want to achieve the Super Level, he could indulge his secular desires in Magic City for as long as he pleased!

—

As Mo Fan thought, Zhao Manyan did not hesitate to come along. He arrived at Fanxue Mountain with a strong grudge.

He grunted in displeasure when he saw Mo Fan’s face brimming with bliss. “What the hell are you so happy for?”

“Am I? I’m perfectly normal,” Mo Fan rubbed his forehead.

“Isn’t it obvious? Look at your face, did you actually do something to the little gorgeous snake? Mo Fan, do you seriously have such a strong fetish… well, was it exciting?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Zhao Manyan was just being himself. He could easily tell that Mo Fan’s sexual needs had been well satisfied lately!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s not her!” Mo Fan said, raising his eyebrows.

Zhao Manyan was startled. If it was not Apas, who could Mo Fan possibly get his hands on? It was unlikely to be Yu Shishi. Apas was similar to Yu Shishi. If Mo Fan did not have the fetish for Apas, he would not lay his hands on Yu Shishi either!

Zhao Manyan turned around and looked at the adorable Lingling with double ponytails, drinking her juice.

“Holy crap, you son of a b**ch, she’s only a kid!” Zhao Manyan immediately cursed.

“F**k me, what the heck are you thinking!?” Mo Fan was utterly speechless.

“Who knows, you keep acting like you won’t damage the flowers of our country, but maybe your desires are already driving you mad deep inside your heart. I’ve seen many old perverts. A beautiful and charming girl like Lingling is obviously going to be their prey. Oh Mo Fan, how could you do this? I…I f**king despise you… well, was it exciting?” Zhao Manyan had to ask, after he was done cursing.

Mo Fan was utterly impressed. He seriously wondered what other nonsense the man had stored in his mind!

“It’s not her, either!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Then who is it? You didn’t go to Magic City. If you went, you might pluck that big rose Mui Nujiao. Apart from them, Fanxue Mountain only has…” Zhao Manyan recalled the women who were close to Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan seriously did not have high expectations for Mo Fan. He was the kind of man who had no guts to carry out the evil intentions in his mind. If he actually could not withhold his desires any further, the women he had mentioned were most likely going to be his target.

“Should I give you a tip?” Mo Fan asked, seeing how interested Zhao Manyan was.

“Could it be Goddess Mu? No, no way, considering how it is between you two, there’s no way you will hit a home run in the next five years, unless you decided to drug her, albeit with the risk of being killed by her with an arrow…” Zhao Manyan mumbled to himself.

“Pricks!” Yu Shishi said disdainfully as she overheard their conversation. “Is everyone here? Let’s head out then!”

“There are a few more still, let’s wait a little longer,” Mo Fan said.

Yu Shishi glared at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan and demanded, “Won’t you consider there are other women around before discussing a topic like that?”

“Oh, really? I thought you would enjoy it too!” Zhao Manyan replied shamelessly.

Yu Shishi almost flipped the table. These two assh****…

She was about to lose her temper when she saw a well-groomed young man heading in their direction. Apart from his tanned skin, he had a comfortable and attractive bearing.

Yu Shishi was stunned when he came closer.

Similarly, the man was staring at Yu Shishi too!

“It’s you?” Bai Hongfei was the first to break the silence. His eyes were fixed on Yu Shishi.

Yu Shishi seemed a little out of sorts. She had thought she would never cross paths with the man she had tricked. She felt a little guilty whenever she recalled her past, but to her surprise, he had suddenly shown up in front of her!

“Bai Hongfei, stop staring. She’s indeed the one who tricked you. I’m keeping an eye on her on behalf of the Lingyin Enforcement Union to prevent her from doing any harm again. She’s currently atoning for her sins at Fanxue Mountain by contributing to society. She’s been behaving well so far,” Mo Fan informed him.

“Oh, I see, nice to see you again!” Bai Hongfei refocused and sincerely extended his hand.

Yu Shishi was surprised that Bai Hongfei did not hold any grudges against her. She was able to let go of the burden in her heart.

“Is there anyone else? Where’s that little b**ch Mu Bai? Did he no longer bother to hang around with us weaklings after he became a Super Mage? Why didn’t he come? I was thinking of scolding him!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Mu Bai is currently cultivating in seclusion. He is determined to learn the Star Palace after reaching the Super Level. I doubt you’re going to see him anytime soon. Besides, I don’t think you’ll have the guts to scold him again when he comes out!” Mo Fan scoffed.

Mu Bai was cultivating in seclusion in Fanxue Mountain. Having a Super Mage was extremely important to Fanxue Mountain for the time being. However, no one had expected Mu Bai to be the first person to achieve the Super Level. If Mo Fan knew he would benefit so much from the adventure in the Pyramid, he would not have brought him along!

“Nonsense, even if he can cast a Super Spell, I can block it with a single hand… So, if there’s another guy waiting for us at the Qinling Mountains, who is it?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“You will find out when we get there.”

—

—

The group immediately set out for the Qinling Mountains after everyone arrived.

They headed for a town in the shadow of the Qinling Mountains. A man was waiting for them at the entrance. He was skinny and not too tall. However, the military jacket showing his rank set off his imposing aura.

The town was half-militarized. The people on the streets were mostly soldiers. The small town was specifically constructed here to resolve the problems of the Qinling Mountains.

Since the crisis of the oceans, the military outposts and towns inland were no longer as lively, as many soldiers were allocated elsewhere. The only problem was, the threats posed by the demon creatures inland were still around, despite the rising sea level! As a result, the situation inland was rather grim, too. The military was carrying heavier burdens on its shoulders.

“Major General!”

“Major General!”

A troop of soldiers marched past the entrance. They saluted when they saw the young major general. The skinny man saluted back to the soldiers, but his eyes were fixed on Mo Fan and the others as they slowly drove into the town.

“Holy crap, Major General? Zhang Xiaohou, you’ve already been promoted to such a high rank! Don’t you tell me you’ve reached the Super Level too!…” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

1

“No, not yet, but I’m almost there. My superiors have been taking good care of me. They have provided me with a lot of help,” Zhang Xiaohou answered, a little embarrassed.

Following that, Zhang Xiaohou quickly went up to Mo Fan and eyed the two young women beside him. The first one, Lingling, had grown a lot since they last met. She was now a teenage girl with a charming, intelligent face.

Zhang Xiaohou had never met the other girl before. Her face was delicate, like an exquisite work of art. Her physique was as alluring as a little demoness, too. She seemed to be around sixteen, yet she was already so attractive! She would definitely turn into a disastrous beauty when she grew up!

As expected of Brother Fan, he could not care less about the girls’ age, as long as they were beautiful enough…

“Brother Fan!” Zhang Xiaohou grinned. His smile never changed. It did not make him look clumsy, yet it did not make him look smart, either.

“You’ve been doing well… have you abused your authority over your female subordinates with the unspoken rule?” Mo Fan asked of him.

“…” Zhang Xiaohou was suddenly lost for words…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou was on his way to becoming an expert of the Qinling Mountains. He had spent half his career fighting demon creatures in Qinling Mountains after he joined the army.

When he heard Mo Fan was coming to Qinling Mountains to look for a Totem Beast, he gladly volunteered to be their guide!

“This town is built to keep an eye on the Qinling Mountains. To be honest, you all have done me a huge favor. I have always wanted to investigate the deeper regions of the Qinling Mountains, but I’m currently short on men. I wouldn’t dare to go too deep into the mountains, knowing that my men aren’t strong enough,” Zhang Xiaohou told them.

“Are you in charge of the town?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, my rank is the highest in this military outpost! I’m responsible for commanding the soldiers and preventing potential disasters. This mountain path is very close to the Qinling Mountains, and due to the complicated terrain, it’s easy for powerful creatures to conceal their presence. If we failed to guard this place, it would severely endanger the Ancient Capital to the north, and several important cities to the west. If the demon creatures headed south, they might join hands with the White Magic Falcons at West Ridge to invade Jiangsu Province!” Zhang Xiaohou said grimly.

Zhang Xiaohou had been fighting the creatures of Qinling Mountains before the incident in Beijiang. The military had placed him fully in charge of this area of the Central Plains, so he was now carrying huge responsibilities!

“The demon creatures of Qinling Mountains are from Kunlun. The powerful creatures in Kunlun mostly stay deep in the mountains and forests. They rarely pose a threat to our cities, but the Qinling Mountains are different. They happen to be located between a few important cities and serve as the boundary between the northern and southern parts of our country. In the past, the north of Qinling Mountains was ruled by the undead, but ever since the undead were brought under control, the demon creatures of Qinling Mountains have been troubling us…” Bai Hongfei said.

Bai Hongfei had spent some time to the west of the Qinling Mountains, so he was familiar with the situation there.

“Let’s head into the mountains then!” Mo Fan answered.

Mo Fan could not wait to achieve the Super Level. He did not want to waste any time!

“We can’t go into the mountains right now,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Why is that?” Mo Fan asked, confused. Did they seriously need to choose a lucky day before entering Qinling Mountains? Were the mountains that dangerous?

“Every now and then, a strange wind will blow through the Qinling Mountains. It’s fine if there are trees providing cover, but if we happen to be somewhere without any cover, or if we’re at the top of the mountains, the wind will start corroding us. The wind will soon leave us as just bones, unless we have a layer of defense protecting us all the time! The locals here refer to it as the Wind of Sorrow!” Zhang Xiaohou told them all.

“Is the wind seriously so deadly? The Qinling Mountains are indeed as scary as the people have always said!” Zhao Manyan muttered.

“The wind is currently at its strongest phase. We should wait for a while before entering the mountains. Otherwise, we won’t be able to go in too far,” Zhang Xiaohou explained.

“Have you figured out its pattern?” Lingling asked him narrowly.

Lingling had done some homework before coming here. She knew that the Wind of Sorrow was a deadly seasonal wind. No one knew the cause for it, but humans would have difficulty staying in the wind very long!

“I do not. I’ve been here for a long time, yet I still can’t figure out when the Wind of Sorrow will occur. It always happens at random times,” Zhang Xiaohou admitted.

Going into the Qinling Mountains was a challenging task. Zhang Xiaohou had been to the mountains many times over the years. Many Battlemages that had joined the army at the same time as him had stayed forever in the Qinling Mountains. He was quite lucky compared to them!

“The Qinling Mountains are indeed worthy to be called the Demon Mountains! It’s difficult to interpret their temper. Many Hunters preferred to settle down near somewhere, because it’s a lot safer for them to do their jobs when they can slowly familiarize themselves with the environments, regular patterns, and seasons of the place. It will give them a lot of advantages! But the Qinling Mountains are different. I’ve never heard of anyone that says they enjoyed searching for treasure in Qinling Mountains. I bet only the military can keep an eye on things here,” Bai Hongfei chimed in.

“Is it really that dangerous?” Zhao Manyan had to ask.

“The Wind of Sorrow has been blowing for the past few days. We will have to hide under the trees if we enter the mountains now. You might as well get some rest in the town and wait until the wind calms down,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“If the Wind of Sorrow doesn’t have any pattern, wouldn’t that mean we might be caught in it in any second once we are in there? We might survive if it only lasts for a brief period, but what if it doesn’t stop? Wouldn’t we end up in a pile of bones? Are we really considering going into the mountains?” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

“There must be some way to deal with it.” Mo Fan looked at Zhang Xiaohou.

“Yes, there is a way, but there’s no reason to trouble ourselves, knowing the danger is right in front of us. Staying here for a few days won’t hurt. Brother Fan, I can bring you around too,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Alright, we’ll wait for a few days.”

——

The town was oddly quiet at night.

Mo Fan was walking along the street alone. He noticed that there was not a single place open for him to get some supper.

The lights in the town were switched off before the clock struck nine. The whole town was dark, apart from the patrols and the sentry towers.

The Qinling Mountains were right in front of Mo Fan. The mountains here looked different from the mountains in the south. The mountains in the south were stacked up like cones, so it was easy to identify the different mountains looking down from a great height.

Qinling Mountains were connected, instead. An obvious line forming the tops of the mountains stretched across his vision and blocked his view. He had to lift his head just to see the night sky.

It felt like the little town was leaning against a heavenly wall…

The wind kept blowing, its howls coming from high up in the sky. Mo Fan could easily tell how unusual the wind was, even though he was not inside it.

Mo Fan remembered the wind at Kunlun was fierce and terrifying, too. He was surprised to heart that the Qinling Mountains also had a special wind. It had greatly increased the difficulty of their expedition!

1

—

—

Three days later, the howling Wind of Sorrow finally calmed down.

The group was packing their stuff before entering the mountains when a bunch of Mages in military outfits suddenly arrived at the town. Their ranks were quite high, judging from the badges on their shoulders.

The soldiers were led by a special commander. The color of his uniform was slightly different from the uniform Zhang Xiaohou and the others were wearing. He was riding a golden brown Earth Element dragon. Its muscular build was a clear indication of its outstanding strength. Its imposing bearing immediately grabbed everyone’s attention when it set foot in the town.

“A Great Lesser Earth Dragon?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise when he recognized the beast.

“Are you sure it’s a Lesser Dragon?” Mo Fan stared at the mount. He had to admit that the creature did have an imposing and imperious aura. Even the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was a few levels weaker than it!

Dragons had long lifespans, but their reproductive ability was extremely weak, especially the true dragons with noble lineages. The number of true dragons in the world had a tendency to remain the same. It neither increased nor decreased.

As a matter of fact, dragons were quite lusty. When they could not find their own kind to fulfill their desires, they would look for species similar to them. The most common species that the dragons ended up mating with were lizards.

As a result, there were many dragons with mixed lineages in this world. If one was strictly referring to their lineages, those with only a slight relation to dragons were normally referred to as crossbreed dragons.

They were many kinds of crossbreed dragons. Their strength ranged from the Warrior-level to the Commander-level, and they usually had very sturdy flesh.

The dragons with purer lineages were called pseudo-dragons. They were a lot stronger. The weakest among them was at least a Commander-level creature, and the strong ones could even reach the Ruler-level. The pseudo-dragons had insane vitality and strength, as their blood had truly inherited the power of the dragons!

The level above the pseudo-dragons was very close to the real dragons. They were called the Lesser Dragons!

The Lesser Dragons were very strong, ranked at the top among demon creatures. The number of Lesser Dragons was slightly higher than the true dragons. Almost every adult Lesser Dragon would be a Ruler-level creature. Not only did they possess a dragon’s scales and draconic might, they could even unleash dragon breath that was very close to the level of a True Dragon!

In Europe, having a Lesser Dragon as a Contracted Beast was considered an utmost glory!

They could not help but wonder who the Mage riding the Great Lesser Earth Dragon was. The Lesser Dragon had not grown into an adult, yet it was already unleashing the imposing aura of a king of beasts!

As a matter of fact, if Mo Fan had the chance, he would rather quickly trade Apas for a Lesser Dragon. He could not stop imagining how cool he would look when he showed up on certain occasions atop a Lesser Dragon!

The master of the Lesser Dragon looked down and asked the soldiers at the entrance, “Who’s the chief commander here?”

The soldiers were left in awe by the beast’s imposing aura, losing their bearing as soldiers. They subconsciously looked to Zhang Xiaohou.

“I am!” Zhang Xiaohou stepped forward. He looked at the man and noticed he was not saluting.

Regardless of a soldier’s rank, saluting was a must in the military. The guy had come to the town under his jurisdiction without notifying him beforehand. He was expected to salute and explain his purpose of coming first!

“We are going to the Qinling Mountains to save an important person. You will take charge and gather your elites to come with us. I’m giving you half an hour to make the preparations!” the man on the Lesser Dragon uttered, as if he was giving an order.

“Do you have the official documents for the order?” Zhang Xiaohou asked him.

“My words are enough!” the master of the Lesser Dragon replied haughtily.

Zhang Xiaohou frowned. He could see the badge on the man’s shoulder; it showed the man’s rank was only the same as his own.

If the man’s rank was higher, it was acceptable for him to give orders. However, if he was only the same rank, what right did he have to act so full of himself?

“If you don’t have official documents, I won’t be taking orders from you,” Zhang Xiaohou replied.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The face of the man on the Lesser Dragon immediately darkened upon hearing those words. He subconsciously unleashed his aura to apply pressure to Zhang Xiaohou.

He was finally willing to inspect Zhang Xiaohou closely. It felt like he was going to interrogate him; he looked far from friendly!

“Huh? I didn’t expect to stumble into a major general here…” the man blurted out in surprise when he finally noticed Zhang Xiaohou’s rank.

“Are you going to talk properly now?” Zhang Xiaohou did not go easy on the man, either!

He had never seen anyone that dared to throw orders around without revealing his identity first, especially after trespassing into someone else’s command without permission!

“I am Li Dexin from the Violet Imperial Battalion. The people behind me are my comrades. We have received an urgent mission from a general at the main headquarters. He has asked us to save a member of his family who is trapped in the Qinling Mountains quickly,” the man riding the Lesser Dragon grudgingly replied.

“The Violet Imperial Battalion!” the officer standing beside Zhang Xiaohou blurted out in shock.

The Violet Imperial Battalion was the most reputable platoon in the Central Plain. Every Battlemage dreamed of being selected by the Violet Imperial Battalion so they could join the special platoon.

The Violet Imperial Battalion was similar to a special ops team. They normally handled operations that ordinary Battlemages would struggle to complete. It was a great surprise that the people of the Violet Imperial Battalion had come to the outpost.

Every soldier had heard of the Violet Imperial Battalion. The soldiers at the entrance immediately saluted to pay their respects.

Zhang Xiaohou did not salute, nor did he need to. He stared at the Violet Imperial Mage called Li Dexin and said, “That’s an order for you. What do I have anything to do with it?”

“What do you mean? The Violet Imperial Battalion is in the middle of an important operation! The other platoons are obliged to provide us with their full support! You are only the chief commander of a little military outpost! There’s nothing wrong with asking you for assistance!” Li Dexin harrumphed coldly. He was quite displeased by Zhang Xiaohou’s attitude.

“Our ranks are the same, so I will decide if I’m helping or not! I have other things to worry about. If you’re going to Qinling Mountains, you will find the path that will lead you to the mountains to the north of the town,” Zhang Xiaohou informed him coolly.

“Major General, they are from the Violet Imperial Battalion. It won’t do us any harm if we can help them with the operation. Should we consider?…” General Gao behind him whispered.

Brigadier General Gao was meant to be in charge of the outpost. Normally, he would have the final say in decisions, but Zhang Xiaohou was the chief commander of every outpost and town in the region close to the Qinling Mountains. He was General Gao’s superior!

Since Zhang Xiaohou was currently in the town, General Gao had no choice but to listen to him!

As a matter of fact, Li Dexin was quite surprised, too. A brigadier general was normally the highest officer stationed at a military outpost, so he would have no problem ordering the soldiers around. He did not expect to stumble into a major general!

However, Li Dexin did not treat Zhang Xiaohou seriously. How was a mere major general in the mountains comparable to a major general of the Violet Imperial Battalion? A town in a mountain and a true city both had their own mayors, but were they even the same!?

Zhang Xiaohou did not hesitate to talk back. He was utterly displeased by the man’s arrogance!

The military was strict about discipline. It was important to identify yourself when entering other people’s territory. Some military bases did not even allow soldiers of other platoons to enter them. This outpost might not be a secret base, but the man was obliged to prove his identity before entering it!

Not only did these Battlemages of the Violet Imperial Battalion fail to do so, they did not even bother asking for his permission before requisitioning his men to assist them in their operation, when he was their chief commander!?

You’re taking my men without telling me first!?

What did they think the Qinling Mountains were!? Going there without choosing the right time and season was suicide! Even if they had informed him first, he still might not agree to help!

The Violet Imperial Battalion might be a special existence, but Zhang Xiaohou had no plans to submit to them!

An advising officer behind the enormous Lesser Dragon stepped forward. He actually saluted Zhang Xiaohou before he spoke, “There’s only one major general at the Qinling Mountains. I believe you must be General Zhang Xiaohou, who was promoted recently?”

Zhang Xiaohou saluted in return without saying a word.

“Sir, we’ve heard of the strange wind in the Qinling Mountains. Those who are unfamiliar with the terrain of the Qinling Mountains might die a horrible death to the wind. Our mission is very urgent, so it’s our fault for not informing you earlier. I do hope that you can provide us with assistance. The Violet Imperial Battalion will be in your debt!” The short advising officer had greatly lowered his stance.

“That’s more like it! Things would be a lot simpler if you behaved like that at first,” Zhao Manyan snapped back.

“What do you mean by that? And who do you think you are!?” Li Dexin glared at Zhao Manyan.

“I’ve already promised my friends that I would bring them to the Qinling Mountains. If you want to go, you can ask General Gao’s men to assist you.” Zhang Xiaohou did not go overboard. He had no intention of complicating matters further.

“Well, if General Zhang is going to the Qinling Mountains, why don’t you come with us? From what I know, if anyone could be said to be familiar with the mountains, it has to be you! Our mission is to save members of the Great Commander’s family. Lives are at stake here, so I do hope General Zhang will assist us!” the advising officer asked sincerely.

Zhang Xiaohou did not agree right away. He looked at Mo Fan.

“Where are you heading to? Which part of the mountains?” Mo Fan asked the advising officer.

“Around here.” The advising officer was well-prepared, and immediately took out a detailed map.

“Houzi, are they going the same way as us?” Mo Fan asked him.

“More or less,” Zhang Xiaohou replied.

“Let’s go together, then. It doesn’t matter if they are coming with us. They might come in handy,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan did not mind the Violet Imperial Battalion tagging along. These Violet Imperial Battlemages were pretty strong, especially the guy on the Lesser Dragon.

It was clearly going to be a dangerous trip. It would be safer to have more people with them!

“Brother Fan, we can just ignore them,” Zhang Xiaohou told him, clearly not enthusiastic about the idea.

“It’s fine, it’s more fun when there are more people around,” Mo Fan assured him.

“Yeah, did you see the female officer standing at the back there? Oh my, she’s hot!” Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Manyan’s eyes were capable of locating the women in a crowd in the shortest time possible. They would swiftly filter out the ordinary-looking ones and lock onto the beauties!

Chapter 1708: Winged Patrol Beasts
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There were nine people from the Violet Imperial Battalion, led by Major General Li Dexin. He was arrogantly leading the way, riding his Great Lesser Earth Dragon.

“You guys… don’t seem to be from the army, right?” the advising officer asked with a smile, glancing at Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Yu Shishi, and the others.

“We are from Fanxue Mountain,” Bai Hongfei stated calmly.

“Fanxue Mountain?” Li Dexin turned around and sniffed disdainfully, “Never heard of it!”

“It’s normal for ignorant people not to hear of many places or things,” Yu Shishi mocked him instantly.

Yu Shishi already treated Fanxue Mountain as her home, and would not allow anyone to look down on it. Besides, Li Dexin was simply too full of himself. Even Yu Shishi had the urge to drag him down from his pet dragon and beat the crap out of him!

“It’s my first time hearing anyone dare to describe the Violet Imperial Battalion as ignorant!” a woman with a long ponytail in the group spoke up.

The woman had thick hair, its volume quite sizable when it was tied up. The straight hair nearly reached her waist, and the black belt there perfectly set off her alluring curves. The woman was clearly responding to Yu Shishi. She was confident and proud of the Violet Imperial Battalion!

“The Qinling Mountains are just ahead. The path is steep, so be more careful,” Zhang Xiaohou reminded everyone, conveniently distracting them from the argument.

Mo Fan was not too familiar with the Central Plains, so he was not familiar with the Violet Imperial Battalion, either. He purposely slowed down and asked Zhang Xiaohou about it.

“Do you know the Imperial Mages of the Ancient Capital?” Zhang Xiaohou asked him back.

“I do. Are they related?” Mo Fan replied quickly.

“A little. The most talented Mages in the Ancient Capital are recruited by the Imperial Mages, an utmost glory for them, similar to being chosen to become Royal Guards. Meanwhile, among the platoons in the Central Plain, there is a special division that usually handles difficult missions and operations. Every year, each division will recommend a few talents to the Violet Imperial Battalion. Think of them as special operators,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“I see! No wonder they are so proud of themselves!” Mo Fan said.

“Damn, that chick, I won’t let any of you steal her from me. She’s mine, tsk tsk tsk, look at her flexible waist and her long legs. Man, imagine her curling those legs around me!” Zhao Manyan blurted out excitedly.

Zhao Manyan’s eyes had never left the woman who was arguing with Yu Shishi. He found the imposing bearing of her military training the most appealing!

“I can tell that you can’t wait to beg her to whip you and step on you with her heels, right?” Mo Fan needled him.

“That doesn’t sound too bad, now that you mentioned it. With her face and posture? I wouldn’t mind having some fun with her!” Zhao Manyan declared.

“Brother Zhao is still a thrill-seeker! The women from the Violet Imperial Battalion are pretty tough to handle,” Zhang Xiaohou laughed.

“Drinking the strongest booze and riding the toughest chick, I have no regrets!” Zhao Manyan proclaimed.

Zhao Manyan was not too excited about the trip, but it all changed after the Violet Imperial Battalion began tagging along. He was psyched as long as there were women around, no matter the circumstances!

——

The paths leading to the Qinling Mountains were rather steep. The only way forward was across narrow bridges dangling in the air, even though they had not ventured too deep into the mountains. On one side were the magnificent walls of the mountains, and on the other were steep cliffs above deep valleys. The wind was constantly howling. A little loli like Lingling could easily be blown off the cliff at any second.

Mo Fan purposely Summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and let Lingling ride him, as he was concerned about Lingling’s stamina.

Li Dexin grinned not long after Mo Fan Summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. He said, “I didn’t know you were a Summoner too!”

“Yeah,” Mo Fan nodded.

“But the Commander-level is likely to be your wolf’s limit, right?” Li Dexin said.

“Mm, it’s very difficult for him to evolve into a Ruler-level creature. I’ll need a lot of resources for that,” Mo Fan admitted.

“Resources? How naive are you? Don’t you know how important the lineage of Summoned Beasts is? You have forcibly evolved the wolf to its current level. If you insist on continuing, it will still be a lot weaker than creatures with outstanding lineages, even if it reaches the Ruler-level! In comparison, even though my Great Lesser Earth Dragon is only a lesser Ruler-level creature now, it can easily take on a Ruler-level creature with its dragon flesh and dragon breath!” Li Dexin declared proudly.

“A Lesser Dragon does have some extraordinary capabilities, but I’m already used to having my wolf around, so I will help him achieve the higher levels if possible,” Mo Fan replied blandly.

“A wolf will always be a wolf. It’s incomparable to a dragon. You will understand once you reach the higher levels. A wolf like that will only end up as a transportation tool,” Li Dexin stated firmly.

Mo Fan merely put on a ‘screw you’ smile. He did not bother arguing with the man any further.

Li Dexin too was lazy to chat with a stubborn fool like Mo Fan. He continued to lead the way in front of the group.

They suddenly heard shrieks coming from the tall cliffs. It was difficult to locate their source, as they were echoing off the mountainsides.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze to locate the creatures uttering the cries, but there were many spots along the walls, trees, and rocks where the creatures might be hiding. It was tricky to tell where the creatures were!

“It’s the Winged Patrol Beasts. You can hear their cries almost everywhere in the Qinling Mountains!” Zhang Xiaohou informed them.

“Did they notice us? I was told that these Winged Patrol Beasts are very annoying to deal with! They will immediately gather a large group of Winged Patrol Beasts to them whenever they notice any intruders. They won’t attack right away, but will roam in the surroundings until they are confident their numbers are enough to crush the intruders and feast on them!” The female officer, Ling Fei, lifted her head, revealing her slender neck.

Chapter 1709: The Wind of Sorrow

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou glanced at the female officer named Ling Fei. He was surprised that the woman was familiar with the demon creatures of the Qinling Mountains.

“Indeed, the powerful creatures can easily hide themselves, while the lesser creatures are tricky to deal with. These Winged Patrol Beasts are extremely cunning. They are not strong on their own, but they won’t attack intruders right away. They will keep sending out signals to the other beasts nearby with their cries, while staying in the area. Not only are they going to summon more Winged Patrol Beasts, they might attract the attention of other powerful creatures too!” Zhang Xiaohou confirmed.

“Other powerful creatures? Why would they do that? It won’t do them any good!” Zhao Manyan protested.

“The Winged Patrol Beasts are lowly creatures. They will wait until the greater creatures are done feasting before eating the remains left behind. Therefore, we have never had to worry about burying corpses in the Qinling Mountains. These Winged Patrol Beasts will always clean them up,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Aren’t they like vultures, then?” Apas asked.

“Except they are more disgusting,” Zhang Xiaohou agreed.

A few piercing shrieks came from above while they were talking. It sounded like the Winged Patrol Beasts were right above them!

“Did they notice our presence? We should leave at once,” Bai Hongfei said worriedly.

“Don’t panic. The cries do not necessarily mean they have found us. These Winged Patrol Beasts like to make noise for no reason, just to intimidate timid intruders. We just need to stay on the path. We will be fine once the cries fade away,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Zhang Xiaohou had entered the Qinling Mountains many times. He could easily identify the meaning behind the cries of the Winged Patrol Beasts and determine if they were bluffing or if they had truly found intruders.

“They are just a bunch of weaklings, we shouldn’t be worried about them. Our time is running short, let’s hurry!” Li Dexin said impatiently.

“General, we are currently in the Qinling Mountains; we should be more respectful,” the advising officer said.

“Respectful? If we bother wasting our time on the lesser creatures patrolling the canopy and the mountains, we are not being respectful, it’s called making a big fuss over minor issues! We are going straight as fast as we can. If they dare to bother us, I’ll handle them!” Li Dexin said.

“We all agreed beforehand that I’m in command!” Zhang Xiaohou was once again displeased by Li Dexin’s arrogant behavior.

“Forget it, let him be. Besides, he did say that he will handle it,” Mo Fan said.

Li Dexin did not want to waste too much time traveling. The mission was too important for him. It was the perfect opportunity for him to cosy up to his commander, so he could not allow any harm to befall his superior’s family!

Several more cries were heard. The group lifted their eyes and saw shadows beating their wings along the top of the mountainsides and the huge trees along the edge.

“They did find us this time,” Zhang Xiaohou judged.

“Humph, they won’t be a threat!” Li Dexin scoffed.

The group continued on their way. More shrieks came from above the walls on both sides. They would occasionally see one or two creatures with gray feathers flying from one side to the other. They took quick glimpses at the unwanted guests while they were flying past above them.

“Their numbers are increasing!” Ling Fei noticed.

“My ears are hurting,” Zhao Manyan added right after Ling Fei’s comment.

Unfortunately, Ling Fei did not even bother to look at Zhao Manyan. He had tried flirting with her cheekily, yet all he received in return was an icy expression that clearly indicated the woman’s disinterest in talking to him.

“They are always like this, disturbing and annoying their prey; they might even make noise for the whole night around the spot where we camp, making it difficult for us to rest and recover our energy. The strange thing is, no matter how calm a person is, their cries will still influence them,” Zhang Xiaohou informed everyone.

“The cries of these Winged Patrol Beasts are enchanted with magic. They aren’t just normal cries,” Apas spoke up.

Apas was most familiar with Psychic Magic. The ability to disturb and unsettle the minds of an enemy with sound might not be effective with just one or two creatures, but when the cries stacked up as their numbers increased, it would severely impact their targets!

“You know quite a lot, little girl,” the advising officer noticed.

“I’ve learned them from big brother. He knows a lot. He always sits on my bed and shares his knowledge with me before I sleep,” Apas smiled like an innocent vixen, purposely leaning closer to Mo Fan.

On the bed…

Before sleep…

The soldiers of the Violent Imperial Battalion immediately fixed their eyes on Mo Fan, including the advising officer.

Mo Fan immediately saw the word ‘jerk’ in the look in their eyes. How could such an adorable little girl fall into the hands of a perverted man like him!?

Mo Fan was utterly speechless at Apas’ behavior. Once again, she had successfully used her charm to seduce the men into directing their anger at him!

For some reason, Apas enjoyed watching Mo Fan being isolated and picked on while she pretended to be a harmless sacred little angel, as if she could finally be free once the great demon was annihilated.

“Should we keep going? The place ahead is a spacious valley. I believe the Winged Patrol Beasts will reach a certain number there. Powerful creatures are going to show up there,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Of course we aren’t stopping! I told you, I’ll handle the demon creatures!” Li Dexin declared.

“I wasn’t asking you!” Zhang Xiaohou snapped. He was seriously unfond of Li Dexin.

“Let’s go. The Winged Patrol Beasts are tailing us, it’s meaningless to hide any further,” Mo Fan said.

Li Dexin immediately glanced at Mo Fan. He noticed that Major General Zhang Xiaohou kept asking Mo Fan for suggestions along the way. It was very likely that Mo Fan was the leader among them!

A man with only a wolf as his Summoned Beast was acting like the boss in the group. How naive!

The cries suddenly became noisier and more piercing. The group felt like their heads were about to explode. The Winged Patrol Beasts were extremely annoying. They had the urge to jump into the sky and eliminate them all, just so their ears could enjoy some peace.

“Humph, a bunch of lowly creatures dare to act so impudently in front of me? Great Lesser Earth Dragon, time to teach them a lesson,” Li Dexin snorted disdainfully.

The Great Lesser Earth Dragon was covered in golden-brown scales. Despite its name, it actually resembled a ferocious machine dragon made of metal!

The Great Lesser Earth Dragon had no wings, but its height was still shocking when it stood up on two legs.

It lifted its head and let out a blasting roar. The dragon’s cry swept across the space above the walls like a cannon shot, creating the equivalent of a huge shockwave after a great explosion. The Winged Patrol Beasts circling in the air scattered like a frightened school of fish. Scattered feathers fell from the sky as they fled into the woods further away.

The hundreds of Winged Patrol Beasts that had gathered fled in an instant after the roar. The stronger creatures hiding among the trees were left in awe. They did not dare to make any move for the time being.

“The aura of a Lesser Dragon is indeed pretty fierce!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The dragon’s roar alone had driven the lesser creatures away. It did smooth out the journey significantly, as they would have otherwise wasted a lot of time on these Winged Patrol Beasts, who would cry continuously if they did not find a way to kill them all.

“I told you, we shouldn’t waste our time on them!” Li Dexin smiled when he heard the others’ compliments.

“It’s not that simple,” Zhang Xiaohou scoffed.

“Those lesser creatures do not stand a chance against our absolute strength. The method you normally use to enter the Qinling Mountains is too gentle!” Li Dexin retorted.

Li Dexin did not think much of Zhang Xiaohou’s experience in the Qinling Mountains. Experience did not matter if a person was strong enough. Would a lion be hesitant to enter a forest just because a bunch of ants was blocking its way?

—

Everyone was in a better mood after their ears were able to enjoy a moment of peace. Having a Lesser Dragon with them did save them a lot of trouble. The low-level creatures sensibly cleared a path for them after sensing the Lesser Dragon’s intimidating aura.

They had been journeying for the whole day without realizing it. The temperature on the Qinling Mountains dropped significantly as the night fell, and the strong wind was chilly.

The howls of the wind sounded like people crying sinisterly. The group initially decided to set up their tents under the cliffs, but the wind kept growing stronger. Its howls were soon covering the mountains.

“The wind sounds so eerie,” Zhao Manyan said.

“How unlucky are we, to encounter the Wind of Sorrow on our first night?” Zhang Xiaohou smiled wryly.

“Didn’t the Wind of Sorrow just occur recently?” Mo Fan asked quickly.

“The Wind of Sorrow isn’t seasonal. It doesn’t occur on a regular pattern. I initially thought it would be gone for quite a while, since its previous occurrence has lasted for more than a week, yet it has returned in such a short time…” Zhang Xiaohou murmured.

Li Dexin walked to the edge and purposely stuck his hand outside the edge to feel the wind.

“It doesn’t seem that scary,” Li Dexin declared.

“This is only the beginning. We can’t set up camp here, we have to find a Curtain Tree. Otherwise, we’ll use up half of our energy before daylight!” Zhang Xiaohou stated.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A strong wind kept sweeping along the pitch-black ridge. The group was moving as fast as they could along a rapid stream. The wind had changed significantly not long ago. Not only was it slowing them down, but their skin was also cracking from the strong corrosion.

Everyone was forced to set up magic barriers to defend themselves, or the wind would eventually turn them into a pile of bones!

“It’s so dark, how are we going to find a Curtain Tree?” the advising officer said worriedly.

They were already struggling to identify the plants during the day, let alone in the dark. If they kept rushing amid the Wind of Sorrow, they were more likely to walk into trouble. They would be in great danger if they were ambushed by a pack of demon creatures under the current circumstances.

“What is a Curtain Tree?” Mo Fan also asked.

“A huge plant that is called the Guardian of the Qinling Mountains. They are scattered all over the mountains. Their branches and leaves are quite special. Their branches dangle like a willow after the tree reaches a certain height. Their leaves intertwine along the dangling branches and form layers of curtains to shield it from the Wind of Sorrow. Therefore, if we can find a Curtain Tree, we can hide under its leaves to shelter us from the Wind of Sorrow,” Lingling reported.

“That’s true, but it’s already difficult to find the Curtain Tree in the day, let alone at night…” the advising officer sighed.

“Damn it, the wind is growing stronger. I’m losing the outer layer of my skin!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

At first, the group only felt their skin turning extremely dry because of the wind, but it began to crack apart not long after. If they could not defend themselves, the wind might even peel off their skin. They did not understand how deadly the Wind of Sorrow was before entering the Qinling Mountains, but they now realized how terrifying it was after experiencing it firsthand.

The Wind of Sorrow had covered the Qinling Mountains. There was no place to hide, as the wind could penetrate even the slightest gap. After being tortured for three hours straight, the Wind of Sorrow had given Mo Fan and the others a new impression of it!

Zhao Manyan had no choice but to set up his defenses, constantly consuming his energy to maintain them. Having no energy in the wild was like a woman running around naked in a village!

“Old Zhao, how long can you last against the wind?” Mo Fan asked.

“Around five hours. My energy will more or less run out in five hours,” Zhao Manyan replied.

“If he’s lucky enough and the wind stops growing stronger… we might be able to last a little longer, but if it keeps growing, I’m afraid that even five hours is asking too much,” the advising officer judged.

The Great Lesser Earth Dragon leading the group tried to drive the Wind of Sorrow away with its breath. However, everyone failed to break the wind up after trying all their Elements. Only defensive spells were effective against it.

The Great Inferior Earth Dragon was covered in golden-brown scales, so its defense was comparable to a Ruler-level creature. To everyone’s surprise, the dragon’s scales were visibly cracking! The skin not protected by scales was filling with cracks, too!

The creature was more exposed to the deadly wind due to its massive size. The Great Lesser Earth Dragon was suffering greatly, as the barrier of the defensive spells was not big enough to cover it.

“Go get some rest.” Li Dexin helplessly withdrew the Great Lesser Earth Dragon into his Contract Space. He cursed, “What the hell is this wind? Even my dragon can’t withstand it!”

“The Wind of Sorrow ignores every kind of defense. Everyone has to follow the Qinling Mountains’ rules, regardless of their level,” Zhang Xiaohou said evenly.

“What kind of a shitty place is this!?”

Mo Fan was surprised that even a Lesser Dragon had struggled to endure the wind. He could not help but wonder where the wind came from, to possess such a strange power.

“How are those lesser creatures surviving in the wind if a Lesser Dragon is struggling against it?” Yu Shishi had to ask.

“The lesser creatures have their little tricks to survive here. Besides, the Wind of Sorrow doesn’t care about the level of creatures. The skin of a Lesser Dragon will start to crack after it is exposed to the wind for three to five hours, and the same goes with the weaker demon creatures,” Zhang Xiaohou explained calmly.

“Percentage health true damage…” Zhao Manyan mentioned a common term from video games.

“No wonder the Qinling Mountains are called the Demon Mountains. It’s difficult for ordinary people to understand their power. It really is a trip of no return!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Major General Zhang, isn’t it more dangerous for us to walk around aimlessly?” Advisor Xu finally spoke up in concern.

“We just need to travel for another kilometer,” Zhang Xiaohou replied, unperturbed.

——

The group followed Zhang Xiaohou for another kilometer. Advisor Xu was just about to speak up again when Zhang Xiaohou suddenly increased his pace. He quickly moved under a huge wall against the wind.

The massive wall looked like a mountain being sliced in half by a sword. It was perfectly straight, with lots of trees growing on it. Their thick trunks had constructed a tiny world in the dark, where many creatures lived.

At the edge between the wall and the ground stood an ancient tree that was completely different from the others. Its trunk extended into the darkness, and was further split into two at the middle…

Both trunks were firm and upright. They were unaffected by the corrosive wind, nor were they swaying in the slightest. Their branches were different from normal trees. Those that grew out of the trunks were dangling naturally from them, forming layers of elegant curtains.

The branches were densely covered in leaves in a slight arc, shielding the area under the tree perfectly. The Wind of Sorrow only managed to shake the leaves slightly instead of scattering them!

“Isn’t that a Curtain Tree!?” Advisor Xu exclaimed in relief.

They had been traveling in the Wind of Sorrow for three hours, but the wind showed no sign of weakening. Advisor Xu was getting more worried about their situation. Their mission was to rescue someone in the mountains. That person might be in danger if they were delayed too long!

To Advisor Xu’s surprise, they had found a Curtain Tree amid the grim situation. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

“Well done, Houzi. You managed to find the place in the dark,” Mo Fan patted Zhang Xiaohou on the shoulder.

Zhang Xiaohou had been leading the way. He insisted they keep going even when the group was feeling uneasy. To their surprise, he had managed to bring them to a Curtain Tree. The group could finally catch their breath!

“I’m dying from fatigue. I’ve used up so much of my energy, even though I wasn’t doing much. What happens when we are really in trouble?” Zhao Manyan moaned.

There were two areas protected by the curtains of the two trunks. They decided to split into two groups based on their genders, since they had to sleep for the night. They simply found a spot in the curtains and laid down on the ground to get some rest.

As a matter of fact, the cultivation level of the group was pretty high. They had never felt so tired after traveling in the wilds for a single day, but the Wind of Sorrow was just too weird. They were even more scared of the Wind of Sorrow now!

“Let’s get some rest. The Wind of Sorrow should be weaker in the day, so we’ll increase our pace tomorrow,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Mo Fan and his group were here for the Tree of Vows. They were not in a rush, but the people of the Violet Imperial Battalion were running short on time. They had no idea if the person they were told to rescue was capable of looking after themselves before help arrived. If the person was a scrub, they might not even survive the night!

The person who had consumed the most energy was Zhao Manyan. A Light Mage from the Violet Imperial Battalion had used up his energy, too. The thick-browed man was meditating diligently, trying his best to recover his energy before daybreak.

“The environments are pretty nice here, it’s like a high-quality tent!” Mo Fan noted as he scanned his surroundings.

The area under the Curtain Tree was surprisingly clean. A patch of soft red moss had grown under the Curtain Tree since it was difficult for the sunlight and wind to enter the curtains. The moss was as comfortable as a carpet. The dirt under the layer of moss would not stain their clothes when they were lying on it. If it was summer, Mo Fan could imagine lying on it for a whole day if he brought along cold drinks, half a watermelon, and a phone with full signal…

—

The Wind of Sorrow blew continuously outside the curtains. The wind had obviously grown stronger during the latter half of the night, but the people were resting comfortably under the tree. The wind did not bother them, no matter how strong it was.

A few noises occurred outside the curtains around three in the morning.

Mo Fan was awake. He immediately opened his eyes and listened to the noises carefully.

He frowned when a few piercing cries followed up.

Didn’t those cries belong to the Winged Patrol Beasts? The wind was blowing so strongly outside, why weren’t the Winged Patrol Beasts hiding from it?

The cries grew more frequent as time went by. It felt like more Winged Patrol Beasts had begun to circle the area. They were summoning more companions to them!

“What’s going on?” Li Dexin asked impatiently after he was woken up.

“It seems like they have no intention of letting us go. They have gathered more numbers this time,” Mo Fan observed.

“Those annoying pests! This time, I won’t be driving them away!” Li Dexin grunted.

Li Dexin was about to Summon his Lesser Dragon to teach the Winged Patrol Beasts a lesson. However, a strong gust of wind knocked people and their things to the ground as soon as he parted the curtain.

“Damn it, why is the Wind of Sorrow even stronger now?… What’s going on with the Winged Patrol Beasts outside?” Li Dexin cursed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Wind of Sorrow was clearly stronger now, yet more Winged Patrol Beasts had gathered outside. Their cries were louder too, and were driving Li Dexin mad.

“The Wind of Sorrow is the Winged Beasts’ protective umbrella. The Winged Beasts have been living in the Qinling Mountains for ages, so their feathers have a special characteristic. When the Wind of Sorrow blows on them, it actually makes their feathers smoother and sharper,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

He already told the group that the Winged Patrol Beasts were not to be underestimated. It was pointless for Li Dexin to drive them away in the first place, as these lesser creatures would gather in numbers once again after the Wind of Sorrow appeared.

Not only were they unharmed in the Wind of Sorrow, they could also use the Wind of Sorrow to gain special abilities. Meanwhile, outsiders had no choice but to hide under the Curtain Trees!

Their level might be the lowest in the Qinling Mountains, but they were afraid of nothing!

A huge gap appeared in the curtains, allowing a strong gust of the Wind of Sorrow to pour through.

A few cuts sliced through the curtains. They were no longer thick enough to shield the area under the Curtain Tree from the Wind of Sorrow. The people behind the curtains immediately woke up from the cold breeze.

“These assh****, they are destroying the curtains so we can no longer hide behind them!” Zhao Manyan snarled.

These Winged Patrol Beasts were one of the most detestable demon creatures Mo Fan had encountered so far. In addition to their annoying cries, they knew outsiders would struggle to survive in the Wind of Sorrow, so they kept tearing the leaf curtains into pieces so they would have nowhere to hide!

The group finally managed to get some rest, yet their scalps were already turning numb because of these annoying pests.

“Is there any way to slaughter them all?” Li Dexin was a hot-tempered man. He could not stand the annoying creatures any longer!

“No chance, they will immediately scatter as soon as we go outside. They will return again after a time. These Winged Patrol Beasts are truly a disgusting species in the Qinling Mountains. Once the scent of their blood spreads after being carried by the Wind of Sorrow up to a dozen kilometers away, the rest of the Winged Patrol Beasts in the local mountains are going to head over right away. These Winged Patrol Beasts are very united in situations like this,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“So killing them isn’t an option, either? Are you telling us we have to bear with their annoying cries?” Zhao Manyan said.

“More or less, which is why I told you not to provoke them. It might take us some time to avoid them, but anything is still better than the situation we are now in,” Zhang Xiaohou said calmly.

“Humph, I don’t believe there’s nothing we can’t do! Rest here, I’ll kill them all!” Li Dexin shouted.

Li Dexin was about to lose his mind to the annoying cries of the Winged Patrol Beasts. He could not care less about the deadly Wind of Sorrow outside. He immediately Summoned his Great Lesser Earth Dragon.

The Wind of Sorrow was inflicting damage over time, so he could withstand the damage if he could finish the battle quickly enough!

Li Dexin was quite powerful, and did not rely on the Great Lesser Earth Dragon. He jumped along the walls and cast a Light Spell to defend himself while channeling his spell. A huge shadow began to descend from the dark sky!

The Winged Patrol Beasts were lesser creatures, after all. They had no chance of escaping an Advanced Spell. The huge area of effect of the Sky Veil soon smashed dozens of the Winged Patrol Beasts to the ground!

The Great Lesser Earth Dragon was even more savage. It could not fly, but its jumping ability was incredible. It reached the highest spot on the cliff and breathed forth a sandstorm in the direction the Winged Patrol Beasts were clustered in!

The Sandstorm Breath and Li Dexin’s Earth Spell worked together, sealing the escape routes of the Winged Patrol Beasts.

Feathers stained with blood sprinkled down from the sky like dust. The ridge that was calm and quiet just a moment ago was soon in a total mess. The remains of the Winged Patrol Beasts were scattered across the trees, the ground, and the rocks. Many fell into the creek and dyed the water red.

Li Dexin had slaughtered the creatures at a shocking speed. The strong scent of blood soon lingered in the air. The remaining Winged Patrol Beasts fled for their lives after losing the will to fight…

“A bunch of flies dares to act impudently in front of me!” Li Dexin harrumphed coldly.

——

The battle soon came to an end. Li Dexin withdrew his dragon into the Contract Space and went behind the curtains.

“Major General Li, your arm…” Ling Fei noticed.

Li Dexin glanced at his arm, and was shocked to see a bloody cut across it.

“He was only out there for such a short time!” Advisor Xu exclaimed.

The Wind of Sorrow was growing stronger, and was more harmful to human flesh now. Li Dexin was not constantly protecting himself with magic while he was fighting, so both his arms and his face had severely dried up.

“Healing Magic isn’t effective against these kinds of injuries,” Zhang Xiaohou informed him.

“It’s just some minor injuries, it’s fine. The Winged Patrol Beasts have destroyed the curtains. We should keep going,” Li Dexin huffed indifferently.

The remains of the Winged Patrol Beasts were scattered all over the place, reeking of blood. More Winged Patrol Beasts were going to gather in the area in no time. They could not afford to stay here any longer.

“I can’t guarantee that I can find the next Curtain Tree within three hours,” Zhang Xiaohou mentioned.

“It doesn’t matter, we have three defensive Mages among us. They should have no problem if they take turns to protect us!” Li Dexin declared.

“It’s our only choice now. Let’s go!” Mo Fan said.

Three of the nine people from the Violet Imperial Battalion were adept at defensive spells. They set up magic barriers to protect the group as they ventured deeper into the Qinling Mountains along the narrow path.

—

“How long is this wind going to last? Why isn’t it stopping?” Zhao Manyan said.

It was almost daylight, but the Wind of Sorrow was still blowing. The energy of the first defensive Mage of the Violet Imperial Battalion had been depleted. Another Maga had taken over his role, but it was difficult to tell how long she could last. Her three Elements were not all defensive.

Li Dexin insisted the group keep going. Zhang Xiaohou was against the idea, but the guy never took Zhang Xiaohou’s advice seriously.

Mo Fan was not fussed about Li Dexin’s behavior. After all, they were not the ones expending their energy, and had managed to preserve their strength so far. In fact, the Violet Imperial Battalion was providing them with free protection! Otherwise, they would have no chance of going anywhere while the Wind of Sorrow was still around!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Wind of Sorrow kept blowing. The deeper they went into the Qinling Mountains, the stronger the wind became.

Not long afterwards, the three defensive Mages of the Violet Imperial Battalion had expended all their energy. The group was now struggling to advance.

Piercing cries constantly sounded from the sky, either from the top of the cliffs or behind the trees. Eyes were watching the group from a safe distance, like the scouts of a hostile army.

The cries grew once again, giving everyone in the group a headache.

Li Dexin looked up and scanned his surroundings. He was on the verge of losing his temper again.

Were these creatures not afraid of dying? He had slaughtered a whole bunch of them not long ago, yet they still dared to follow them!

“I’ll handle them!” Ling Fei said.

Li Dexin nodded.

Ling Fei’s primary Element was Wind, while her secondary Element was Lightning. She cast several lightning strikes, knocking the Winged Patrol Beasts down from the sky.

Ling Fei obviously had a Soul-grade Lightning Seed, and the Winged Patrol Beasts stood no chance against her. It did not take long for her to wipe out the newest group of Winged Patrol Beasts.

However, Ling Fei was ambushed by a Winged Patrol Beast covered in blue-gray feathers as she was regrouping with the others. The cunning creature was hiding among leaves where she happened to pass. The sharp feathers cut her arm before she could react. Fresh blood poured out of it.

It was a common sight when fighting demon creatures in the wild. Even if a Mage’s level was significantly higher than the demon creatures, they might still die if they were ambushed by a weak creature at the perfect time. Luckily, Ling Fei was quite experienced in the wild. She managed to react fast enough to prevent the feathers from slitting her throat!

Ling Fei killed the creature anxiously. She checked her surroundings to make sure there were no other creatures hiding nearby before regrouping with the team.

The Violet Imperial Battalion did not bring a Healer, thus they could only treat Ling Fei injuries with medicines. Zhao Manyan immediately realized his opportunity had finally arrived. He told her about the treatment with an insect which he had learned from Mu Bai.

“Are you sure it’s going to work?” Ling Fei had a feeling that Zhao Manyan had some ulterior motives.

“It’s very effective. It might be a little painful, but it will heal your veins and muscles in a short time,” Zhao Manyan said.

“I don’t mind the pain,” Ling Fei said.

“I admire your determination,” Zhao Manyan said.

Being injured was extremely troublesome, especially since many demon creatures were very sensitive to the scent of blood. A bleeding wound was similar to a constant GPS signal for the demon creatures!

Ling Fei was a soldier, so she could not afford to let herself be a burden to the group because of her injuries. The method that Zhao Manyan suggested might sound disgusting, but it was better than letting her wounds bleed!

“The Curtain Tree is just ahead. We can rest there,” Zhang Xiaohou informed everyone.

“That’s great, as expected of General Zhang! I’m so glad that you’re with us,” Advisor Xu chimed up.

This Curtain Tree was a lot bigger, with around seven areas shielded by the leaf curtains. The group no longer had to crowd into a small area, and everyone had plenty of space to rest up comfortably.

“Let’s take this one,” Zhao Manyan said.

Ling Fei nodded. She did not feel it was inappropriate.

Mu Bai had used the same trick to heal Zhao Manyan when Gangma broke his bones in the military town in Egypt.

Since then, Zhao Manyan had asked Mu Bai to give him a few insects that could rapidly heal physical injuries. He had stored them inside his Storage Ring for emergency purposes.

Ling Fei was sitting upright, but she frowned immediately when Zhao Manyan took out a fat white insect. She seriously wondered if he was just messing with her.

However, she bit her tongue and withheld her disgust. It was not too late for her to kill Zhao Manyan with her lightning if his method did not work!

“What are you looking at!?” Ling Fei glared at Zhao Manyan when she noticed him looking her up and down.

“I’m…I’m just admiring. You better prepare yourself, I’m about to start. You can scream if it’s too painful. It will make you feel better,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Cut the crap, just hurry up with it!” Ling Fei snarled.

She extended her arm out. Ordinary serums were useless against the wound. The special feathers of the Winged Patrol Beast seemed to contain some substances that were preventing the bleeding from stopping.

“My little insect is going in,” Zhao Manyan said.

Ling Fei raised her head and closed her eyes.

A moment later, she felt a tingling sensation crawling over her wound. She opened her eyes and noticed the white insect turning the color of her blood.

“It’s going in, bear with it,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Ah!” Ling Fei already braced herself, but she was still surprised by the sharp pain. She could not help but scream.

The pain was unreal, as if she had been stabbed directly in the heart. Ling Fei thought she would be able to withstand the pain since she was a soldier, yet it was far greater than she had imagined. She almost fainted!

“Hang in there, it will soon be over!”

“Hurry up!”

“Soon, very soon, hey, stop grabbing me… AH! It hurts!”

“Is…is it out?”

“It will stay in your body. Don’t worry, it’s rich in protein. It won’t leave any side effects in your body… can you let go of me now? My skin is red from your nails!”

“Assh***, why didn’t you tell me that disgusting thing would stay inside me!?”

—

Bai Hongfei and Yu Shishi exchanged glances with another in the next partition, shielded by the leaf curtains. For some reason, they both blushed at the same time.

Damn, what was Zhao Manyan even doing? They knew he was treating Ling Fei’s injuries, but those that had no idea might think they were doing something shameless in the wild. Their conversation was too misleading!

The shrieking of the Winged Patrol Beasts returned not long after the group managed to get some rest. Their ears almost exploded from the cries.

The group had been dazzled by the magical appearance of the Curtain Tree last time, but this time, they were extremely worn out. They finally had a chance to rest up peacefully without being bothered by the Wind of Sorrow, yet the creatures had returned before they could even catch their breath!

The relentless efforts of these Winged Patrol Beasts seeking their deaths were exactly the same as the rumors had suggested!

“They are destroying the Curtain Tree again! Damn it, I’m going to kill them all!” Li Dexin was about to lose his mind.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Winged Patrol Beasts seemed to be enraged by the recent bloodbath. They began to attack the Curtain Tree fiercely, not giving the group any chance to take shelter from the Wind of Sorrow.

Li Dexin brought two soldiers with him to engage the Winged Patrol Beasts. He was serious about wiping them out!

The problem was, considering the size of the Qinling Mountains, the numbers of the Winged Patrol Beasts were obviously going to be overwhelming. Even a bunch of Super Mages might struggle to exterminate them!

The curtains were destroyed by the Winged Patrol Beasts, including the ones Zhao Manyan was sheltering behind. He was planning to use this opportunity to make a move on Ling Fei after cleaning her wounds and helping her recover her energy. Ling Fei might have the pride of a soldier, but Zhao Manyan knew most women were only pretending to be aloof. They actually enjoyed being treated tenderly by men.

Unfortunately, even though Li Dexin and the two soldiers were trying their best to eliminate the Winged Patrol Beasts, the creatures were just as angry. They recklessly destroyed the curtains even when their lives were in danger, just to expose the humans to the Wind of Sorrow. The other Winged Patrol Beasts would soon be able to feast on their remains!

“Damn it, how did they find us!?” Li Dexin grunted anxiously.

Killing the Winged Patrol Beasts was easy, but getting rid of them was trickier than anyone had imagined!

They had no choice but to continue their journey in the Wind of Sorrow, but they were in a pinch now that most of their energy had depleted.

“We can’t keep going anymore!” Zhang Xiaohou finally lost his patience.

If they kept following the brainless Li Dexin’s demands, not only would they fail to rescue the person the troopers came for, they would get themselves killed too!

“This goddamned wind will stop eventually!” Li Dexin rebutted promptly

“We are currently on these Winged Patrol Beasts’ radar. Even if we reach the next Curtain Tree, they are still going to attack us! You may leave if you want to bet your lives on the possibility that the wind will stop soon, but I won’t risk the lives of my friends!” Zhang Xiaohou snapped back.

Li Dexin was displeased by Zhang Xiaohou’s attitude. He was about to rebuke him when Advisor Xu stood up.

“We can’t afford to follow the mountain path. The Winged Patrol Beasts aren’t going to give up on pursuing us, either. There’s only one option left: the Luling Rift Valley!” Zhang Xiaohou went on.

Advisor Xu immediately took out a map and inspected it. He said with a troubled face, “The Luling Rift Valley is meandering. It will take us at least three days to reach Mount Baiba. I’m worried about our target’s safety…”

“Let’s split up here, then. You can follow the mountain path while we take the Luling Rift Valley. Do you really think the mountain path is viable under the circumstances? You should be glad we can reach Mount Baiba in four days at this rate!” Zhang Xiaohou said coldly.

“Well…” Advisor Xu was struggling to make up his mind. He looked at Li Dexin.

“Humph, the major general of the Qinling Mountains? Why am I not impressed? It doesn’t even matter if you’re with us or not!” Li Dexin said arrogantly.

“Are you retarded or something? How many times did I tell you not to provoke those creatures? Everyone knows how annoying the lesser creatures of the Qinling Mountains are, yet you still insist on fighting them. It’s your fault that we don’t even have a place to get some rest, and you are blaming me for it!?” Zhang Xiaohou snarled.

Zhang Xiaohou normally had an even temper, but he seriously could not tolerate the unreasonable Violet Imperial Battalion commander!

He seriously wondered how the man had achieved his current rank. His existence alone had lowered the average intelligence of the army in the north!

“General Li, we are indeed in a pinch now. Perhaps we should follow General Zhang’s suggestion and take the rift valley instead. It’s better if we can stay out of the Wind of Sorrow. Otherwise, even if we make it to our destination, we won’t have any strength left to protect our target,” Ling Fei spoke up.

Li Dexin harrumphed coldly, then snorted disdainfully, “Whatever you say!”

Li Dexin sat down in a corner silently. He was radiating a violent aura.

Zhao Manyan raised his thumb at Ling Fei and said, “At least you’re the clever one!”

Ling Fei did not respond to Zhao Manyan’s comment. A tanned soldier that had previously left to kill the Winged Patrol Beasts with Li Dexin came over to them.

The soldier glanced at Ling Fei before smiling at Zhao Manyan.

“Spill it out, what’s with the hesitant look? Aren’t you a man!?” Ling Fei said.

“Well, Brother Zhao, how did you treat Captain Ling’s injury? Those creatures were reckless with their attacks. I was injured when I wasn’t paying any attention. The wound isn’t big. It’s only the length of a finger. May I ask Brother Zhao to treat my injury too?” the soldier asked.

“Oh, but my trick is only useful on women,” Zhao Manyan said.

Ling Fei turned around and glared at Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan smiled, “I’m just kidding, where is the wound? You look perfectly fine to me.”

“Well…well… it’s here.” The soldier seemed a little embarrassed, but he finally turned around and leaned forward. He slowly lifted the hand that was covering the wound on his right buttock.

Zhao Manyan’s face immediately darkened.

Ling Fei quickly took a quick glance at him. She tried her best to maintain a stern expression as a soldier should. However, she burst out laughing when she saw the weird expression on Zhao Manyan’s face…

—

—

“Houzi, is the Mount Baiba they are going to near the location of the Tree of Vows?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, Mount Baiba is quite large. Your destination is on Mount Baiba, too!” Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

“Strange, it’s too much of a coincidence if the person they are trying to save is so close to our destination. Is there something else there, apart from the Tree of Vows?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mount Baiba is the most mysterious place in the Qinling Mountains. Many demon creatures live there. No ordinary person will visit a place like that, but these soldiers of the Violet Imperial Battalion are very clumsy with their decisions. I seriously think they are going to get themselves killed rather than save the person,” Zhang Xiaohou judged.

“They are panicking,” Apas interrupted them as she was trimming her beautiful nails.

“Panicking? Maybe they are just concerned about their target’s safety,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Perhaps,” Apas replied and proceeded to focus on her nails. It was difficult to interpret what she was trying to say from her indifferent tone.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Luling Rift Valley was extremely long. It was cool and moist within. Most Winged Patrol Beasts preferred to roost on certain special trees or in their nests along the cliffs. The Winged Patrol Beasts with a higher status claimed the greater heights, displaying their strength and status.

The group managed to escape the Winged Patrol Beasts’ pursuit temporarily by entering the Luling Rift Valley. The rift valley had a few species that preferred to stay away from sunlight, but who would promptly feast on any Winged Patrol Beasts that dared to enter there.

The Wind of Sorrow was a lot weaker after they entered the rift valley, but the Violet Imperial Battalion did not dare to waste any time, knowing that their time was limited. They quickly followed the path through the valley.

The rift valley was a low point in the mountains, where the water from the mountain streams and the underground springs eventually gathered. The group could see rapid currents flowing through the meandering rift valley like mystical white serpents.

There were plenty of rocks jutting above the currents. Everyone in the group possessed a certain level of cultivation, so they were able to leap between the rocks to advance through the rift valley. Zhang Xiaohou seemed very familiar with the place, and was jumping between the rocks like a nimble monkey. He would occasionally sprint along the walls on either side, too.

Having Zhang Xiaohou around saved a lot of trouble for the group. He had been in the military for many years, and his scouting skills were outstanding. He deftly lured the cunning demon creatures hiding in the surroundings and blocking the group’s path away, ensuring the others a smooth journey.

Zhang Xiaohou was able to deal with the creatures in the rift valley easily. The group was not bothered by a single demon creature, even after traveling for a few kilometers in the rift valley.

“General Zhang is indeed familiar with the Qinling Mountains. If we can maintain this pace, we should be able to reach Mount Baiba in no time!” Advisor Xu complimented him.

Li Dexin immediately glared at Advisor Xu after hearing those words. It was obvious what he was trying to say.

Advisor Xu smiled, not daring to say a further word.

—

The atmosphere was not as tense while Zhang Xiaohou was leading the group.

In comparison, everyone was on edge when Li Dexin was leading the group. They were on the verge of losing their minds after being tortured by the Winged Patrol Beasts. However, they were now traveling through the rift valley leisurely, as if they were on a scenic tour.

The rift valley did have some demon creatures, but Zhang Xiaohou managed to deal with them by himself. The group only needed to eliminate those they could not avoid.

Their main tactic was to eliminate the demon creatures as quickly as possible, without attracting any attention. They would continue on immediately after clearing the way. They did not stay behind without a reason to do so!

Zhang Xiaohou was extremely familiar with the habits of the creatures in the Qinling Mountains. The number of demon creatures was simply too high, so they could not afford to use destructive spells that might cause a huge scene until they had confirmed that there were no other demon creatures nearby. If they were foolish, the demon creatures would pursue them relentlessly, just like the Winged Patrol Beasts had previously!

“I feel like Zhang Xiaohou is a lot more like a soldier, compared to those people from the Violet Imperial Battalion. You can tell how experienced and well-trained he is from his actions,” Bai Hongfei murmured.

Bai Hongfei had been out in the wild for quite some time, so he knew where Zhang Xiaohou had gotten his experience and his skills from.

“He’s a major general after all! Speaking of which, he did a hell of a job when we were taking on the Black Vatican in Beijiang!” Zhao Manyan spoke up.

“Beijiang? The Black Vatican?” Bai Hongfei was startled, and his eyes glittered.

Bai Hongfei had gone to Beijiang about six months ago. He had heard rumors about the incident that took place in Beijiang from some older Mages, but was unaware of the details. The information about the incident was kept confidential, so not many people knew exactly what had happened.

To Bai Hongfei’s surprise, Zhao Manyan and Zhang Xiaohou were involved in it, and it sounded like they had played an important role, too!

The older Mages had profusely complimented the people who had helped defend Beijiang from the invasion of the demon creatures…

Mo Fan glared at Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan opened his mouth, and was about to say something, but he eventually decided against it.

He had the urge to spill everything. It was such an epic scene and battle! They were up against the Great Pyramid of Giza, but they were told to keep it a secret. He could not even brag about it to others!

“Teacher, I’ve already devoted myself to Fanxue Mountain. I heard about the incident in Beijiang, but I’ve only managed to learn bits and pieces…” Bai Hongfei was eager to learn the truth.

“Speaking of which, Zhang Xiaohou was promoted to major general because of his achievements in Beijiang, too… Why is everyone else getting the benefits when it was us that risked our lives by going into the Pyramid? Shouldn’t the government at least reward us with a badge or a title?” Zhao Manyan grumbled with a sigh.

“Pyramid? Is it true that the Pyramid was there!?” Bai Hongfei was excited, staring right into Zhao Manyan’s eyes.

Mo Fan realized that Zhao Manyan was unable to keep his mouth shut. However, he simply let him be, since Bai Hongfei was not an outsider. However, Mo Fan could not help but remind Zhao Manyan, knowing his personality, “You better filter out the details that aren’t suitable for children.”

“Of course, I understand!” Zhao Manyan nodded. He knew he could not afford to tell the others about the Ancient King and Mo Fan’s Demon Element.

The journey was quite safe, so Zhao Manyan had plenty of time to explain how they had gone from chasing a member of the Black Vatican and tracking down a Red Cardinal to fending off the army of Underworld creatures at the ancient pass. He vividly told them how they protected the Magic Fire Beacons from the Black Vatican on the Great Wall.

In addition to Bai Hongfei, Apas and Yu Shishi were listening too, since they had never heard this tale before. Zhao Manyan was an expert storyteller. They were fascinated by the tale!

Zhao Manyan let out a relieved sigh after noticing the look in their eyes, “Oh my… I feel a lot better now!”

“Why do I feel like you’ve heard that story from somewhere else!?” Yu Shishi twisted her lips. She subconsciously looked at Mo Fan. She was struggling to believe that Mo Fan was such a righteous person. Not only did he look licentious on the surface, he was utterly vile and shameless on the inside, too!

“If I was lying, I will not be able to erect for the rest of my life!” Zhao Manyan swore the deadliest oath possible!

“Teacher, you are truly my idol, I admire you so much! I knew it since the very first time we met! I strongly believe that following you around is going to give me a bright future. I wasn’t wrong!” Bai Hongfei exclaimed to Mo Fan.

“Piss off! Did you forget how smug you were when I was helping you with your graduation?” Mo Fan cursed him back soundly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The altitude of the terrain quickly increased after the group left the Luling Rift Valley. The mountains were lofty and imposing, blocking their view of the spacious valley. One could not help but feel minuscule standing before them.

“We’ll reach Mount Baiba after crossing these mountains,” Zhang Xiaohou told everyone.

“We are very close to it then! That’s great!” Advisor Xu exclaimed. The trip was no longer torturous after they lost the harassing Winged Patrol Beasts. Advisor Xu was in a great mood after learning they would soon reach their destination.

It was true that not everyone could trespass into the Qinling Mountains. A team could easily suffer a mental breakdown if they did not have an experienced leader who was familiar with the Qinling Mountains!

The mountains were incredibly high, but the group had no choice but to keep climbing them.

“The Qinling Mountains strictly follow level boundaries. The high-level demon creatures occupy the higher altitudes. We will no longer face the Winged Patrol Beasts at this altitude. Other strong beasts are going to show up soon, however. The Winged Beasts are very united, and they are a vengeful group, too. Therefore, you will only engage them if I give you the permission,” Zhang Xiaohou warned the Violet Imperial Battalion sternly.

He only had to remind the Violet Imperial Battalion, since Mo Fan and his group were strictly following his instructions already. They preferred to save themselves as much trouble as they could, as they had no idea what they would stumble into at the Tree of Vows. After all, it was the habitat of a Totem Beast!

“Don’t worry, we will follow your orders,” Advisor Xu agreed quickly.

“Your words don’t count!” Zhang Xiaohou glanced at Li Dexin sharply.

“Fine, we’ll listen to you! Just hurry up, we are running out of time!” Li Dexin cursed impatiently.

Luckily, Li Dexin had learned his place. He had realized they might actually fail their mission if he kept behaving stubbornly. He had stopped making a scene after the smooth journey through the Luling Rift Valley.

—

The mountains were looming above them. The sky was a little dark, as the gray clouds were right above the group’s heads; it felt a little oppressive.

Their view was mostly blocked off by the tall mountains. They could only see endless steep cliffs leading into canyons. They were unable to see the bottom of the canyons, which were deep, meandering, and dark. If they accidentally fell into the canyons, they would find themselves in a giant maze, and struggle to find the way out!

Their vision was restricted most of the time. However, if they accidentally fell into the canyons, the lofty walls would further limit their sight; they would fear losing their way and feel helpless, surrounded by the mountains!

“There are definitely a lot of demon creatures in these mountains. I seriously wouldn’t dare to roam around blindly without someone guiding me!” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

He had the habit of talking to others when he was struggling to stay calm. However, the only response he received was his own echoes.

“Don’t you feel it’s too quiet here?” Zhao Manyan asked when no one in the group responded.

“Silence is never a good sign,” Lingling said.

“I agree.”

“Let’s hurry up and climb higher. It should feel a lot safer when our view opens up.”

The rises and falls of these mountains were extremely steep, and every time they crossed a ridge, they had to travel across a canyon. Zhao Manyan felt uneasy whenever he was surrounded by the mountain walls.

A piercing cry suddenly sounded above them.

The group cautiously halted in their tracks. They lifted their eyes and looked around sharply.

In front of them stood a peak separated from a huge mountain wall. It was almost tall enough to reach the clouds. The group found it hard to see its top.

A long-tailed bird covered in golden-blue feathers perched on a rock sticking out of the peak. Its feathers were perfectly smooth, without a single ripple despite the strong wind blowing at it, as if the creature was wearing gleaming gold-blue armor. The special lines of the feathers formed an elegant curve from the creature’s neck to its tail.

The golden-blue creature on the rock was staring down at the group with a noble, imperious bearing!

“It…it saw us!” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

“I can see that!” Mo Fan snapped.

“What do we do now?” Bai Hongfei asked.

The creature’s level was obviously quite high, judging from its sacred golden-blue coloration and Aura, which slightly exceeded their group. The group could not tell if they had accidentally trespassed into the creature’s territory. They would be in great trouble if that was the case, since they were unable to use their spells properly in the limited space in the canyon.

“Stay calm, these high-level Winged Beasts usually treat height as the boundary of their territory. It won’t trouble us as long as we stay below a certain altitude,” Zhang Xiaohou said calmly.

“Are you sure? Aren’t all demon creatures hostile toward humans?” Ling Fei asked.

“We can just walk past it slowly. Don’t look at it. In their eyes, outsiders, including humans like us, are just some lowly creatures. We should withdraw our Auras and try not to alarm it,” Zhang Xiaohou replied.

“Humph, lowly creatures? It doesn’t look that strong to me, either! Perhaps it can’t even endure a single breath from my Great Lesser Earth Dragon!” Li Dexin exclaimed.

“Stop bringing us trouble, do you want to rescue your target or not? Why do I feel like you are here just to stir up trouble instead?” Zhao Manyan grumbled loudly.

—

The group made their way past the peak the Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk was standing on without provoking it.

The Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk kept staring at them, but as Zhang Xiaohou had told them, it was simply glancing down at a few weaklings. It had no intention to attack them. It had an indifferent look as it watched the group of lowly creatures walking through the canyon like a bunch of monkeys, observing them until they slowly faded into the distance.

—

Bai Hongfei could not help but ask after they left the Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk’s view, “What level was that creature?”

“Judging from the altitude it was keeping, it was at least a Great Commander-level creature,” Zhang Xiaohou told him.

“Great Commander-level… it’s not really that strong.”

“If the Wind of Sorrow is blowing, Winged Beasts are two or three times stronger than usual. They might only be Great Commander-level creatures when we aren’t in the Qinling Mountains. However, if we are in the Qinling Mountains, they are still a threat to us! Besides, there’s more than one around here!” Zhang Xiaohou pointed out.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The group finally arrived at Mount Baiba after crossing the mountains.

Mount Baiba was made up of countless peaks. The mountains were special because each peak was actually isolated from the next, with their tops soaring into the clouds!

These mountains were covered in ancient vegetation, so when the group reached the vicinity of Mount Baiba, they did not see exposed peaks of various heights, but vines dangling in the sky!

The thick branches of the trees in the dense woods extended from one mountain to the cliffs of another. The plants of these hundreds of mountains intertwined with one another, forming a floating forest!

The spectacular natural scene was hidden deeply in the Qinling Mountains. It was difficult to imagine something like it without seeing it in person. The plants were at the same height as the clouds, while the mountains were like pillars connecting the sky and the ground. The group could see tiny colorful dots circling the tree and flower-covered cliffs when they looked up. They were none other than the demon sparrows, hawks, and monster bees of different levels residing on the mountains…

“Mount Baiba is a paradise for winged beasts. From the bottom of the Qinling Mountains to the Sacred Waterfall at the top, the higher the altitude that the creatures are residing at, the greater their status is in these mountains. Many tribes of demon birds come here at certain seasons to pay homage to the Emperor of Feathers!” Zhang Xiaohou glanced thoughtfully at Mount Baiba, which was only revealing the tip of an iceberg.

Zhang Xiaohou had been to Mount Baiba many times, yet he was still impressed by the breathtaking sight every time he was here.

“The Emperor of Feathers?” Yu Shishi was confused.

“An old man living close to the Qinling Mountains told me this. The winged beasts are very strict with their social classes. The heights they occupy directly reflect their status. They are restricted to that altitude even when flying. Ones that break the rule will be punished by the Emperor of Feathers!

“It is the creature with the highest status among the winged beasts. It isn’t just the ruler of the Paradise of Winged Beasts on Mount Baiba, it also rules over the winged beasts in the mountains both north and south of the Qinling Mountains, one with great authority,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“That’s crazy! I never heard of that before,” Zhao Manyan admitted.

The soldiers of the Violet Imperial Battalion focused to listen to Zhang Xiaohou’s explanation, too.

Mount Baiba was clearly beyond their experience. The cliffs below the clouds, the floating woods covering the sky, and the flying creatures circling them alone were shocking to them. Most importantly, the blue sky felt so close to them. It was not exaggerating to describe the scene as a utopia in the Qinling Mountains!

“The Emperor of Feathers is different from the demon creatures that keep expanding their territories. It strictly orders the winged beasts under its lead to stay within the boundary of their habitat. The flying creatures are actually very powerful, yet they rarely take the initiative to attack other species, including humans. We are used to paying attention to the species that keep invading our lands, so many people assume that the flying creatures of the Qinling Mountains are weak and not much of a threat to us. The military also thinks the Qinling Mountains are insignificant when compared to the West Ridge, the Dongting Lake, and Shengnongjia. However, our view changed completely when we first discovered Mount Baiba!” Zhang Xiaohou said firmly.

He had dealt with the Qinling Mountains for many years, but the more he learned about the Qinling Mountains, the more unfathomable he felt the mountains were.

“So you were promoted to major general just because the safety level of the Qinling Mountains were reevaluated?” Li Dexin harrumphed coldly.

The safety level of the Qinling Mountains had indeed changed a few years ago. There was never a major general stationed at the Qinling Mountains before. The person-in-charge was only a brigadier general in the past, but the army had now appointed a major general to keep an eye on the Qinling Mountains. Many people assumed the role was deliberately set up for someone with a formidable background.

Not many people knew the truth, since they had never been to the Qinling Mountains!

Zhang Xiaohou’s role was extremely important, but others did not think highly of it. However, that did not bother Zhang Xiaohou. He was determined to stick to his responsibilities in the Qinling Mountains, regardless of his rank. The Ancient Capital had suffered great losses during the calamity, so it desperately needed a few years of peace. Zhang Xiaohou would not allow the flying creatures of the Qinling Mountains to cause any trouble while the Ancient Capital was recovering!

Luckily, the leader of the flying creatures was keeping an eye on its subordinates, too. He just needed to keep an eye on a few species with rather hot tempers to keep the peace!

“Mount Baiba is broken into different levels. The lowest level is the Vine Canopy Level that we are seeing right now. The Vine Canopy Realm is slightly higher than the majority of the Qinling Mountains. We can see most of the Qinling Mountains once we are at the Vine Canopy Level,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Those trees are only the lowest level?” Mo Fan blurted out.

“Yes, we aren’t able to see the higher levels from here!” Zhang Xiaohou answered.

“So what is the level above it?” Yu Shishi asked.

“The Ashwood Wind Layer. It is made up of a few dozen mountains covered in Ashwood Forests. The reason it’s called the Ashwood Wind Layer is because the Wind of Sorrow doesn’t stop blowing at that altitude, and it’s a lot stronger than the Wind we encounter in the Qinling Mountains. Lesser creatures aren’t able to endure it. Only the more powerful winged beasts can fly in it,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“So there are only powerful creatures at the Ashwood Wind Layer?” Bai Hongfei asked.

“Mm, only powerful creatures!” Zhang Xiaohou confirmed.

“Is there a level above it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes, but I have only heard about it from rumors. It’s called the Skycloud Realm,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Lingling immediately pulled Mo Fan aside and whispered to him after hearing that name, “Jiang Xia mentioned the Skycloud Realm. He said that the Tree of Vows is the ancient tree connected to the Skycloud Realm!”

“So that means Jiang Xia and Yan Shi reached the highest level of the Winged Beasts’ paradise in the past, and brought a seed of the Tree of Vows back and established the Enforcement Union?” Mo Fan speculated.

“More or less, Jiang Xia didn’t really tell me the details. It looks like we will have to climb the mountains,” Lingling said.

“But, if it’s the paradise of the Winged Beasts, will we actually find the Deer God here?” Mo Fan said.

“It might be the paradise of the Winged Beasts, but there should be other species, too. I believe we are on the right track,” Lingling said confidently.

Lingling had read a lot of ancient records that briefly mentioned the Deer God. Many of them were related to the Qinling Mountains, but Lingling could not tell for sure, since the information was never verified. Only people that had been to the Skycloud Realm like Jiang Xia would know the precise location of the Deer God!

“Mm, a mystical place like this does fit the sacredness of a Totem Beast…” Mo Fan nodded.

They were very close to finding a Totem Beast!

They were very close to reaching the Super Level!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Speaking of which, how are we supposed to climb up the mountains? Won’t the winged beasts attack us if we tried to fly up?” Advisor Xu inquired.

The person they were looking for seemed to be at the Vine Canopy Layer, but from what Zhang Xiaohou knew, that did not necessarily guarantee that the person was still alive. The Vine Canopy Layer might be the lowest level, but it had a lot of powerful creatures, too!

“Come with me, I know a safer route. We will part ways when we reach the Vine Canopy Layer,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Thanks for your help, General Zhang!” Advisor Xu said.

Zhang Xiaohou led the group to another mountain. The native creatures only cared about creatures at the same altitude or higher, and did not bother wasting their time on the creatures below them. The group had no trouble moving around in the woods beneath their territories.

“This mountain is covered in vines, we can climb along them. Remember, you can only fly as a last resort!” Zhang Xiaohou warned them.

The group followed Zhang Xiaohou along an extremely thick vine. The vine was so huge that they could even stand on it. Some of the vines even formed a path through the air when they were tangled up.

The vines did not cover only a single mountain. Some were a few hundred meters long, and extended to a greater height on another mountain, allowing Mo Fan and the others to walk across them to the next mountain while slowly climbing their way up!

“The vines end here.” Bai Hongfei halted in his tracks. He had already reached the edge of a cliff.

They were currently at the top of a mountain, a relatively short one among the peaks nearby. It felt like they were still at the bottom when they looked up, as if they were not making any progress.

Mount Baiba had too many peaks soaring into the clouds. They were still a great distance away from the Vine Canopy Layer!

“Leave it to me,” Ling Fei stepped forward. Her eyes emitted a strange blue flicker of light.

Ling Fei murmured softly, like she was communicating with nature. The vines that had stopped at the top of the mountain began to grow toward a taller peak nearby.

The vines wriggled along the mountain like serpents. They wove together rapidly and formed a long vine bridge connecting two peaks around four hundred meters apart. A deep canyon lay between the mountains, and they felt overwhelmed as they tried to walk on the swaying vine bridge.

The stronger Wind of Sorrow blew through the vine bridge. A Maga of the Violet Imperial Battalion immediately set up a shield of Light to protect the group.

1

A stronger gust of the Wind of Sorrow swept across the vine bridge when the group reached midway. The Light crumbled instantly, exposing the group to the fierce wind!

It was not the end of their misfortune. The Wind of Sorrow was only the entrée for the outsiders. A bunch of flying creatures had noticed the humans sneaking into their paradise!

The sound of the beating wings became clearer. It only came from above at first, but the loud noise soon surrounded them. Most awkwardly, the group was stuck on the vine bridge with limited space to move around.

“Didn’t you say they wouldn’t attack creatures at a lower altitude? We haven’t reached their altitude!” Zhao Manyan shrieked when the fliers showed up.

“These are only the lesser fliers. They are from below the Vine Canopy Layer!” Zhang Xiaohou replied.

“What should we do now?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“What else can we do? Screw them, I’ve tolerated them for too long!” Mo Fan rolled his sleeves up in annoyance.

There was indeed nothing else the group could do except engage the creatures!

“Can’t we fight them after we reach the next mountain?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“Sure, you can try negotiating with the creature with colorful feathers right above you!” Mo Fan replied agreeably.

Was he stupid? These creatures had obviously launched their attack now because they knew humans were unable to fly and were vulnerable to the Wind of Sorrow. How brainless was Zhao Manyan!?

“Telekinesis!”

Mo Fan made his move right away. He gathered his Will on the rocks nearby and forcibly dragged them out.

The mountain was some distance away, but the reach of Mo Fan’s Will was impressive, and he continued to accelerate the rocks he had grabbed. The rocks were like missiles by the time they arrived!

The many different flying creatures about beat their wings rapidly. They were very nimble in the air, and the rocks only managed to hit a few of them. It was quite a surprise to Mo Fan, since his accuracy was on point most of the time.

“Brother Fan, they are more agile than ordinary Warrior-level creatures because of the Wind of Sorrow. You will have to limit their movements to land your attacks on them!” Zhang Xiaohou exclaimed.

Mo Fan’s Telekinesis was more than enough to handle Warrior-level creatures, but he did not expect these flying things to be so quick after using the Wind of Sorrow.

Mo Fan had no choice but to use stronger spells to take them out!

“Space Rhythm: Time Stasis!”

Mo Fan cast a Space Spell again. A huge rhomboid loomed over the area.

The rhomboid greatly slowed down the creatures within it, like they were moving in a pool of mud. Mo Fan was quite adept at utilizing the Time Stasis. The Winged Beasts nearby were moving significantly slower, as if they were suddenly caught in slow motion.

“Try dodging this!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

No one was more violent than Mo Fan in a fight. He pointed his finger at the sky after casting Time Stasis on the fliers, completing a Lightning Spell in an instant. A bunch of lightning strikes descended upon the area without any regular pattern.

The Wind of Sorrow boosted the fliers’ speed, but it did not grant them sturdier flesh. The lightning strikes boosted by Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant instantly turned them into ashes after he restricted their movements!

“Such a remarkably strong Lightning Element!” Ling Fei was a Lightning Mage too, but she was still shocked when she saw how Mo Fan was brutally slaughtering the various Warrior-level flying creatures.

She would need to land her Lightning Spell on the fliers a few times to kill them, but Mo Fan was able to kill the Winged Beasts instantly with only one shot. It immediately changed her impression of him. After all, even the highest-quality Soul-grade Lightning Seed was unlikely to kill the Winged Beasts with a single spell!

“He does have a few tricks up his sleeves,” Li Dexin admitted softly.

Mo Fan was only able to handle the fliers from one direction. He managed to stop the ones coming from above, but the rest of the creatures began to attack the humans from different directions. These Winged Beasts were not small at all; the vine bridge would soon collapse if it took a few more hits from them!.

“Pick up the pace, they are trying to break the vine bridge!” Ling Fei led the way, waving her hands around. She was controlling the vines so they would grow toward the other mountain.

“Another bunch of them are coming from that direction!”

“Same here!”

The group was being flanked from all directions on the vine bridge. It was the worst possible place to be attacked. Mo Fan was already killing the creatures crazily fast, yet he still failed to fend off the others that had shown up in great numbers!

“The other side of the bridge is collapsing!” Bai Hongfei yelled.

A bunch of the more intelligent creatures were using their sharp claws on the thick vines extending out from the previous mountain. They were trying to cut off the vine bridge!

“It’s fine, I can fly!” Zhao Manyan summoned out his golden Wing Magical Equipment. He was planning to fly to the next mountain after the vine bridge collapsed.

“Brother Zhao, don’t! If you show your Wings, the creatures will treat you as a flying creature. You will catch the attention of the more powerful creatures at a higher altitude. If you cross the height they are at, they will chase you relentlessly!” Zhang Xiaohou blurted out.

“What the hell? Are you telling me that I can’t fly around with my Wings?” Zhao Manyan complained.

“Winged beasts are very strict about their territory, like tigers on a mountain! One won’t care about birds flying across its mountain, but it won’t allow jackals and wolves to trespass into its territory! The same principles apply to these winged beasts. You can pass through the mountains and woods in their territory, and they will just turn a blind eye to you, like the Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk we stumbled into. But if you fly in their territory, they will assume that you’re challenging them. The whole tribe will come after you, as you are defying the pride of their tribe!” Zhang Xiaohou stated.

Zhao Manyan immediately had a headache. The vine bridge was going to fall soon. Did he have no choice but to fall into the bottomless canyon if he was not allowed to use his Wings?

Even an Advanced Mage was going to fall to their death at their current height!

“I’ll bring Lingling over first. The rest of you, hang in there,” Mo Fan decisively constructed the Star Pattern of the Space Element when he realized the pinch they were in. He wrapped his arms around Lingling and Apas before casting Blink.

He could reach the opposite mountain by casting Blink twice!

“Damn you, bring me along too!” Zhao Manyan cursed when he saw the sprinkles of dust circling Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not give Zhao Manyan the chance to tag along. Bringing another person along would greatly reduce the distance the spell could cover. He was only able to cast Blink twice in the time available!

Zhao Manyan cursed when Mo Fan left with the two young ladies. He had never seen anyone neglecting their brothers so thoroughly for the sake of women!

“Brother Zhao, you should withdraw your Wings first. Otherwise, we are going to be in serious trouble. You don’t want the whole flocks of fliers chasing after you!” Zhang Xiaohou reminded him.

Zhao Manyan helplessly withdrew his Wing Magical Equipment. He glanced at the vine bridge that was being cut off when he realized he could no longer feel the vine bridge with his feet.

“Crap!… f**k meeeeeeeee!” Zhao Manyan screamed as they began to fall.

“Grab the vines! Hold on tight!” Ling Fei yelled.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Everyone automatically grabbed the vines. Ling Fei forcibly extended one end of the bridge to another mountain and quickly tied it to a sturdy boulder while she was falling!

The vines turned into a huge swinging robe, tossing the group to the mountain that Mo Fan was heading to, right through the fierce Wind of Sorrow!

The members of the team took turns slamming into the wall of the mountain. Luckily, the vegetation along the wall provided them with some cushioning, preventing them from smashing their faces into the wall hard!

The flying creatures had no intention of letting the outsiders go. They headed for the mountain right away!

“Meteorite Fist!”

Mo Fan stood at a higher spot and threw a punch into the sky.

Meteorite Fists fell from the sky as the fliers approached the mountain, pouring down like rain. The Warrior-level creatures were intimidated by the powerful spell, and did not dare come any closer.

“Quick, let’s go!” Zhang Xiaohou climbed up the vines and quickly regrouped with Mo Fan.

The others did not dare stay any longer, the beasts were too terrifying. They could not wait to shake them off!

The group discovered a cave on the mountain, which seemed to be occupied by some demon creatures. However, the group could not care less about the creatures in the cave under the circumstances, and ran right inside. If the Winged Beasts dared to chase after them, they would die horribly when they were no longer being helped by the Wind of Sorrow!

The cave was pitch-black, but it was out of the Wind of Sorrow’s reach. The group felt a lot better after being tortured by the Wind in the open!

“Are they coming after us?” Zhao Manyan turned around and asked Bai Hongfei while running at the front of the group.

“It doesn’t seem like it. I can see them circling outside the cave!” Bai Hongfei answered.

“I’ve never encountered anything more annoying than these Winged Beasts!” Zhao Manyan swore.

The cave was not very deep, and they soon reached its end. Bai Hongfei was extremely cautious. His eyes were glittering in the dark as he scanned the area carefully, in case some demon creatures suddenly showed up in the dark.

“Be careful, a place like this is usually occupied,” Bai Hongfei warned everyone.

Bai Hongfei had just finished his sentence when there was a spark of lightning deeper in the cave. The group was nearly blinded by the arcing flash!

A moment later, Mo Fan walked over, dusting off his hands. He smiled when he noticed everyone staring at him, and explained “There was a huge leopard in the cave. I just got rid of it with my lightning. We can get some rest here and continue our journey once the other creatures are gone.”

“Damn it, it’s already so difficult, and we haven’t even reached the Paradise of the Winged Beasts yet!” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

“The person you’re trying to rescue is pretty impressive, managing to come so far on his own. Who is he?” Mo Fan asked casually.

“I can’t tell you!” Li Dexin replied coldly.

—

The fliers were almost gone by the time the group had recovered their energy.

Zhang Xiaohou told the group that if anyone actually used their flying ability, either the Wing Magical Equipment or the Wind Wings when they were outside, the native fliers would guard the entrance until they saw their dead bodies. They would not leave so easily.

He repeatedly reminded the group that flying was prohibited!

The group continued to climb the mountain after shaking off the annoying creatures. The Vine Canopy Layer was finally within their reach.

The vines were extremely dense, like a green island floating in the sky. When they entered the Vine Canopy Layer, it felt like they had arrived at a huge jungle full of primordial trees, where a person could easily lose their sense of direction!

Mo Fan looked around himself and examined the many vines, one looking just like another. He turned around and asked Li Dexin doubtfully, “Are you sure you can find where the guy is?”

The place was basically a maze built with trees and vines. It was extremely difficult to stay on course. How could they possibly find their target in a place like this?

“We have a way to track him down once we are close enough to him!” Ling Fei answered firmly.

“Alright, we shall part ways here then,” Mo Fan said.

“Won’t be seeing you again,” Li Dexin answered.

“I have to say, I really have the urge to blurt out cursing at people like you. We were kind enough to bring you here, yet you can’t even say a single ‘thank you’?” Zhao Manyan was very displeased by Li Dexin’s attitude.

“He’s a soldier too! Why should I be grateful to him? We are on a mission!” Li Dexin said.

“Brother Zhao, forget it, let’s go,” Zhang Xiaohou said. He could not be bothered wasting his time on someone like Li Dexin.

—

Zhang Xiaohou led the rest of the group up the vines after parting ways with Li Dexin and his men.

It was impossible to tell the right way to go up Mount Baiba. The only method was to find a location where they could see a higher spot nearby and slowly climb toward it. Every time they reached the highest point, they would see a magnificent mountain or woods standing before them!

Luckily, the mountains at the Vine Canopy Layer were interconnected by the towering vine trees. They no longer had to expose themselves to danger while traveling between the mountains. They had finally shaken off the annoying lesser beasts of the Qinling Mountains!

“I swear I’m going to beat the crap out of that Li Dexin once I reach the Super Level. Where were his manners!?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

“We won’t be seeing him again. Just forget about it. I just wonder who they are trying to save. It sounds like he’s quite interested in and familiar with this place,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“The Ashwood Wind Layer is coming up. Leaving aside the powerful creatures residing on the Ashwood Trees, how are we supposed to deal with the Wind of Sorrow?” Lingling brought up.

“I have no idea. I have never been to the Ashwood Wind Layer either!” Zhang Xiaohou admitted, scratched his head.

“Mo Fan, look over there,” Zhao Manyan stood on a high point, pointing at a giant purple tree in the distance!

“It’s higher there, are we going to climb that tree to the Ashwood Wind Layer?” Bai Hongfei asked.

Mo Fan stared at the ancient tree standing out among the forest giants that Zhao Manyan was pointing at. His face gradually filled with astonishment!

Under the sunlight, the giant purple tree was sprinkling mystically under the blue sky. It was supposed to be a dazzling sight, yet Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were lost in thought.

1

“What is it?” Bai Hongfei and Yu Shishi were confused. They had no idea why the two were behaving like this.

“The Great Demon of Mount Kunyu!” Lingling exclaimed when she saw the giant purple tree.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The tree had retained its sacred brilliance. Back when Mo Fan had first witnessed the elegance of the godly tree, he mistook it as a blessing from nature. He assumed the godly tree had existed to protect something, yet everything was merely his imagination. It did not exist to fulfill a sacred duty. It was merely following the core principle of nature, the law of the jungle!

“It’s the Giant Purple Linden… I didn’t expect that demon to have escaped all the way here!” Mo Fan clenched his fists, fixing his gaze on the Giant Purple Linden standing there aloofly.

“Didn’t Yan Shi kill that thing? Are you telling me the paradise of the Winged Beasts has another one…” Zhao Manyan said.

“It had nine trunks. Yan Shi and the Moon Moth Phoenix managed to destroy eight of them. It only has its final trunk left,” Mo Fan said.

“No wonder that thing doesn’t look as astounding as the Giant Purple Linden we stumbled into, only a ninth of it is left,” Zhao Manyan murmured.

Even with only a ninth of itself left, the Giant Purple Linden retained its majestic appearance. It was like a godly tree in the woods of the Ashwood Wind Layer, soaring into the sky together with the mountains nearby.

“Do you know what that is?” Zhang Xiaohou was surprised. It was Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan’s first time in the Qinling Mountains. Why would they know that tree?

The purple tree was clearly one of the main trees of the Ashwood Wind Layer. It served as a pillar, together with thirteen other Ashwood Trees. It must have been here for a long time!

“That thing is a demon!” Mo Fan briefly explained their encounter at Mount Kunyu to Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou was astounded after hearing about the series of events at Mount Kunyu.

“I was here half a year ago. Another troop tried to climb the purple tree to make their way up, but we soon lost contact with them. We had no idea how they died until now!” Zhang Xiaohou exclaimed.

The purple tree had given Zhang Xiaohou a strong impression when he saw it for the first time. He immediately recalled the fate of the troop after learning its true identity.

“It’s very likely that the demon has eaten them. It nurtures itself with fresh blood. I remember it wasn’t looking so good when it ran away from Mount Kunyu. It must have absorbed the nutrients of many things after hiding in the Qinling Mountains,” Mo Fan said.

“We can’t let it live any longer. Once it regrows its trunks, it will move to somewhere close to a human city. Many people will end up as its food if they don’t realize what it is,” Lingling said.

It was hard to recall the terrifying series of events at Mount Kunyu. If it wasn’t for Yan Shi, the half-Forbidden Mage who had sacrificed everything to stop the demon, it would have dragged countless innocent lives from Yantai into the abyss of death!

“Mo Fan, don’t you think something isn’t right? Why would we stumble into it again here?” Zhao Manyan said sternly.

“It’s not a coincidence. I’m afraid this place was once the Great Purple Linden’s old nest. Yan Shi and Jiang Xia must have discovered its existence here in the past when they brought back the Tree of Vows to the Enforcement Union,” Mo Fan said.

“That makes sense!” Zhao Manyan nodded.

Lingling twisted her lips. Wasn’t it obvious? Did they really have to analyze it so seriously just to reach such an obvious conclusion?

“I bet it won’t be easy to fight that thing, right?” Yu Shishi asked.

Even though the Great Purple Linden had lost eight of its trunks, it was still exceedingly strong, even with only one trunk left. They also had to take into consideration the Winged Beasts residing on it, too!

“If the Violet Imperial Battalion was still around, they might be able to distract the Winged Beasts for us. It might be a chance for us to get rid of the Great Purple Linden!” Mo Fan said.

If they were only up against the Great Purple Linden, they might actually stand a chance. The Great Purple Linden was a great threat. They would only feel at ease after killing it.

They would also fulfill Yan Shi’s last wish by killing it!

“Why can’t we forget about it? Can’t we avoid it by climbing another tree?” Zhao Manyan sighed.

They suddenly heard a soft movement while they were deep in thought.

Apas was the most alert in the group. Her glittering eyes immediately stared at a shrub a hundred meters away.

The sound had come from the brush, and it was getting closer!

A tanned face suddenly poked out from the shrub. The man scanned the area alertly. He was overjoyed when he saw Mo Fan and the others.

“You are all here, what a relief!” The tanned soldier jumped out from the shrub and headed toward them.

Mo Fan was confused. Why was a soldier of the Violet Imperial Battalion here? He saw them taking a different path. Didn’t they already part ways?

“Why are you here? And how did you find us?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“I’m good at tracking. Basically, the others are currently in trouble, so I was hoping that you could lend us a hand,” the tanned-face soldier said.

“Are you kidding me now? We already brought you here without asking a single cent in return, your leader acted like it was going to cost his life just to thank us, and now you’re asking for our help now?!” Zhao Manyan nearly exploded.

“What happened?” Mo Fan asked calmly.

“Captain Ling Fei was eager to rescue our target. She ended up provoking a bunch of Skyice Winged Beasts. They are currently stuck in a tree cave. The Skyice Winged Beasts keep using their Ice Magic. They are trying to trap us in the tree… I managed to escape with the Shadow Element,” the tanned-face soldier admitted.

“You guys are not familiar with the Qinling Mountains, yet you are still so clumsy and careless. It was only a matter of time before you found yourself in a situation like this. The Skyice Winged Beasts aren’t easy to deal with. We have other matters to attend to. You should ask Major General Li Dexin to figure out a plan himself,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“General Zhang…” The tanned soldier did not expect Zhang Xiaohou to reject him so decisively.

“Did you find the person you’re looking for?” Mo Fan asked.

“We did, but…” The soldier was lost for words. He was obviously not good at expressing himself. He also privately agreed that Li Dexin had overdone himself along the journey.

“We’ll come with you, but we are risking our lives to do it. Once the others are safe, I will need you all to do us a favor,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan did not expect the Violet Imperial Battalion to show up just when he was thinking about them. Speak of the devil…

The truth was, Mo Fan knew there was no way Zhang Xiaohou would leave them to die, especially since he was a soldier, just like them!

However, if they were going to help, they had to ask for a favor in return! With the help of the Violet Imperial Battalion, they might have a chance to destroy the last trunk of the Giant Purple Linden!

“Not a problem, it’s our duty to be helping one another in the wild!” the soldier agreed right away.

—

The tanned soldier immediately led the way back. He was quite impressive as he wove through the trees and vines. It was easy to lose track of him if they did not pay attention.

“Yu Shishi, isn’t the Giant Purple Linden closely related to the Moon Moth Phoenix?” Mo Fan asked as he recalled something.

“If we can kill the Giant Purple Linden and take its leaves, the Moon Moth Phoenix can skip the cocoon phase and turn into a moth straightaway,” Yu Shishi confirmed quickly.

The Moon Moth Phoenix and the Giant Purple Linden were one another’s nemesis. The last Moon Moth Phoenix had given Yu Shishi a second chance at life. She was more than willing to avenge the last Moon Moth Phoenix by taking out the Giant Purple Linden. On top of that, the Sacred Linden Leaves of the Giant Purple Linden were even more nutritious than the leaves of the Moon Mulberry Trees to the Moon Moth Phoenix!

“Are you saying that the little guy can turn into a mature Totem Beast right away?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

“I believe she is still a phase away from her stronger form. You can think of her as a little Moon Moth Phoenix,” Yu Shishi said.

“That’s not too bad, she would be at least a Ruler-level creature, right?” Mo Fan said.

“Yes,” Yu Shishi nodded.

“That means our Fanxue Mountain will soon have a Ruler-level Totem Beast as a guardian!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Apart from Hangzhou, which was protected by the Black Totem Snake, were there any other cities that were looked after by a Totem Beast?

Yu Shishi had settled down in Fanxue Mountain, so the Moon Moth Phoenix was clearly going to treat Fanxue Mountain as her home too!

“Let’s kill it! We have to kill the Giant Purple Linden. We’ll get rid of it while it’s still weak!”

Yan Shi had left the Giant Purple Linden with serious injuries. The demon was at its weakest point now. However, judging from how its leaves had regrown after moving to the Qinling Mountains, the Giant Purple Linden was slowly recovering from its injuries.

Once it regrew all nine of its trunks, it would be impossible for them to kill it!

Therefore, they had to take out the Giant Purple Linden here. It was going to drop lots of valuable loot!

Perhaps the loot would be enough for them to achieve the Super Level, even if they failed to locate the Tree of Vows.

“They are just ahead,” the tanned soldier called out.

Mo Fan’s thoughts were preoccupied with the Giant Purple Linden. He only realized the vegetation in front of them was covered in thick ice after collecting his thoughts. Even the breeze was chilly!

“Their numbers are going to be trouble,” Apas reminded Mo Fan.

Mo Fan looked at Zhang Xiaohou, wondering if Zhang Xiaohou had a plan in mind.

“The Skyice Winged Beasts normally have a leader. I’ll lure their leader away while you help the people escape. Don’t even bother fighting them,” Zhang Xiaohou told him.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou was the expert when it came to dealing with winged beasts. Mo Fan knew what his longtime friend was capable of, so he was not too worried about letting him lure the Skyice Beasts away by himself.

The group followed Zhang Xiaohou’s instructions. The tanned soldier brought them to the tree hollow. The tree itself had already turned into a small mountain of ice. The people inside were going to die from the cold in less than half a day.

Li Dexin had only asked the tanned soldier to look for Mo Fan and the others because they were left with no choice!

Luckily, Mo Fan and his crew had not gone too far. Otherwise, the whole platoon of the Violet Imperial Battalion would have been wiped out before they could rescue their target!

More cries were heard. At times, they noticed huge birds with icy and transparent bodies flying past the tree through the gaps between the leaves.

Mo Fan’s group was hiding in the shadows of his magic. The Shadow Element was perfect for concealing their presence in a complicated environment. These low-level Skyice Beasts had no chance of detecting their presence.

The Skyice Beasts flew away after they failed to notice anything unusual in the area.

Some time later, loud cries were heard coming from the dark woods. The Skyice Winged Beasts were enraged suddenly. They began to stream away in a certain direction!

Their cries faded into the distance. Mo Fan asked Apas to keep an eye out. He only withdrew his Shadow Magic after he was sure the Skyice Winged Beasts were gone.

“Zhang Xiaohou seems to have lured them away,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Brother Xiaohou is impressive when it comes to keeping demon creatures at bay,” Bai Hongfei praised him.

Having outstanding strength might be impressive in the wild, but the ability to perfectly distract demon creatures was the most important for a team!

“Enough talk, help me with the ice,” Mo Fan said.

The ice was very thick. It felt like they were digging into a mountain even when they were using powerful spells. Mo Fan was using all three Soul-grade Flames, while the others were casting their spells to get rid of the ice as quickly as possible.

—

They finally broke through the layer of ice. Li Dexin and the men who were trapped in the tree cave had not given up, either, and had kept attacking the ice from the inside.

“I thought you were going to leave us to die,” Li Dexin said.

“Can’t your mouth say anything pleasant?” Mo Fan was utterly speechless.

“So what? You want me to thank you?” Li Dexin said.

“Forget it, we weren’t doing it for free, anyway. Let’s leave this place and find a safer spot. The Skyice Beasts should be on their way back,” Mo Fan snorted.

Li Dexin’s face darkened at the mention of the Skyice Beasts. He obviously had enough of them. He quickly went back into the tree cave to escort their VIP with the outstanding military background out respectfully.

Mo Fan was surprised to see Li Dexin acting so humbly. He looked into the tree cave, curious to see the important person who the Violet Imperial Battalion had come all this way to rescue.

A skinny figure walked out from the tree cave, their face covered in dirt and hair disheveled. The person was wearing a military jacket from the Violet Imperial Battalion, but the clothes inside it were torn and rugged. He wondered how long they had been trapped here for.

The person went past Mo Fan and abruptly looked up. Her glittering eyes fixed on him.

Mo Fan was startled too!

The person might look like a savage, yet Mo Fan was able to recognize her instantly!

“Jiang Shaoxu! It’s you!” Mo Fan yelled, pointing at her.

“Mo Fan! Did the Heavens arrange for us to meet here?” Jiang Shaoxu was shocked too. She did not expect to stumble into Mo Fan in a place like this.

“Holy crap, you vixen, why…why are you here? My gosh!” Zhao Manyan shrieked when he saw Jiang Shaoxu.

Was the world that small? Why would they stumble into her in a place like this?

Speaking of which, they had not seen Jiang Shaoxu since they came back from the Taklamakan Desert, nor had they contacted one another.

“You know each other?” Li Dexin was surprised.

“We were on the national team together!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Let’s leave this place first… we’ll talk later…” Mo Fan was struggling to believe this, yet now was not the time to have a little chat. Zhang Xiaohou was still risking his life to buy them time.

—

The person the Violet Imperial Battalion was trying to save was Jiang Shaoxu!

It was definitely a surprise to them. Mo Fan immediately asked about it after they found a secluded spot.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan understood after asking Jiang Shaoxu what she had been up to.

It turned out that Jiang Shaoxu had never stopped looking for her brother Jiang Shaojun after the incident in the Taklamakan Desert. She had learned about the existence of the winged beasts’ paradise from the clues left by her brother, which pointed to the existence of a noble Totem Beast around here.

She had been exploring the Qinling Mountains for a long time, and finally found her way up to the winged beasts’ paradise on Mount Baiba.

Unfortunately, her capabilities were limited. She ended up being trapped by the winged beasts, despite being extremely cautious. She had no choice but to use a heirloom artifact of her clan to ask for help!

“The Violet Imperial Battalion is here just to save you! You must have a formidable background!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mo Fan remembered Zhao Manyan mentioning Jiang Shaoxu’s formidable background when they were still on the national team. However, Mo Fan did not know the details. Jiang Shaoxu never told him about her family, either.

“It’s good to see you two here. If I can’t find my Mr. Right in the future, I shall choose between you two,” Jiang Shaoxu smiled.

She was very happy, not only because she was saved, but she was glad to bump into Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan again. It was always interesting to go on an adventure with them!

“What? What did you just say?” Li Dexin suddenly yelled.

“I promised them on behalf of General Li…” the tanned-face soldier said softly.

“Am I in charge or you? Did I ever say I would help them kill the demon tree?” Li Dexin grunted.

“But they did help us!” The tanned-face soldier felt wronged.

“I can find a way out without their help. Our mission is to escort Miss Jiang back. It’s our duty to stick to our mission!” Li Dexin said.

Jiang Shaoxu glanced at Li Dexin before turning to Mo Fan, “Are you planning to do something?”

For some reason, Jiang Shaoxu’s eyes were glittering. She seemed quite excited for someone who had been trapped by demon creatures for days.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Jiang Shaoxu was not an outsider. Mo Fan promptly her about their plan to exterminate the Giant Purple Linden.

“I never thought that thing was such an evil demon!” Jiang Shaoxu was shocked. She had tried to climb the Giant Purple Linden, too. She had assumed the sacred-looking tree was a safer option, yet it was just a disguise the demon was wearing!

“Naturally, the beautiful things are usually more dangerous,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s true, it’s the same with our society. The prettier women are deadlier, like me! Many men are terrified of me!” Jiang Shaoxu burst out laughing.

“…Miss, do you know that you are no different from a little ape that has fallen into a latrine pit?” Mo Fan was left speechless by Jiang Shaoxu’s narcissism.

“I will be back to my gorgeous self after taking a shower… Huh, who’s the little beauty behind you?” Jiang Shaoxu suddenly noticed Apas.

For some reason, Jiang Shaoxu felt uneasy describing herself as gorgeous around the little beauty.

“Miss Jiang, you should leave with us. The great commander is still awaiting your return,” Li Dexin said respectfully.

“Li Dexin, what do you mean by that!?” Zhao Manyan snapped.

“What do I mean? I never gave you my promise. I do not want to stay here a second more!” Li Dexin answered coldly.

“General Li, isn’t that inappropriate? They risked their lives to save us!” The tanned soldier almost burst into tears. He had already given Mo Fan his promise, yet his superior did not agree. He was extremely troubled!

“You can go back if you want. I’m going to the Ashwood Wind Layer with Mo Fan,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Please don’t make things difficult for us!” Li Dexin said hurriedly.

“I’m not making things difficult for you. You did come and save my life. Mission accomplished. It’s my choice to bring doom upon myself. It has nothing to do with the Violet Imperial Battalion. You should go, stop being a nuisance around here!” Jiang Shaoxu was as unrestrained as usual.

She had spent so much time exploring the winged beasts’ paradise because she was trying to climb higher and find traces of the Totem Beast. Even though the Violet Imperial Battalion had come, she had never planned to go back with them!

“It’s true that we have done our job, but if the great commander learns we didn’t bring you back in one piece, he’s going to skin us alive. Miss Jiang, please come back with us. This place is too dangerous!” Li Dexin said urgently.

Li Dexin had been acting disdainfully since he first set foot into the Qinling Mountains, like a noble dragon entering a desolate valley. However, he had completely lost his proud demeanor. The many winged beasts were driving him crazy!

“It’s fine. I’ll explain it to him in person, if I’m able to make it back alive,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Li Dexin’s expression darkened.

He glared at Mo Fan. He was highly suspicious of Mo Fan, thinking he had put Jiang Shaoxu under a spell that had convinced her to follow them to the Ashwood Wind Layer recklessly.

How ridiculous! The Vine Canopy Layer of Mount Baiba was already so terrifying, despite being the lowest level. If they reached the next layer, not only did they have to face more powerful winged beasts, they would be constantly tortured by the Wind of Sorrow, too!

Li Dexin wanted to advise against it, but Jiang Shaoxu raised her hand and said impatiently, “That’s enough, I’ve never seen such a garrulous soldier before. Off you go, I’ll be fine staying with Mo Fan.”

Mo Fan nodded with a smile, “Yeah, we’ll protect her. You guys didn’t really do much apart from bringing us trouble along the journey. Just go back the way you came. The Qinling Mountains aren’t suitable for young soldiers like you.”

“Humph, what are you trying to say?! Are you humiliating the Violet Imperial Battalion!?” Li Dexin was enraged.

“I’m just speaking the truth. Just leave, we have a real business to attend to, later… oh, be careful not to stumble into any trouble again on your way back. We won’t be able to lend you a hand again after we reach the next layer,” Mo Fan added.

“Enough with your nonsense! Miss Jiang, we were told to keep you safe. We didn’t just come to accomplish our mission half-heartedly. We won’t leave before escorting you safely back to the Violet Imperial Battalion’s camp!” Li Dexin said sternly.

“Then stop talking and follow me,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“We are just worried about…”

“Worried about what? It’s just the Ashwood Wind Layer, so what if we are trespassing? Not only am I going to climb to the Ashwood Wind Layer, I’ll make it to the highest point and witness the legendary Sacred Waterfall with my own eyes!” Jiang Shaoxu said proudly.

“…” Li Dexin did not dare to say a word further.

—

Things were a lot simpler after Jiang Shaoxu convinced the stubborn Li Dexin with just a few sentences.

“By the way, why isn’t Zhang Xiaohou back yet?” Zhao Manyan blurted out after a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

“That’s right, I almost forgot about him. Is he alright?” Mo Fan only realized Zhang Xiaohou was not back yet.

“And you call yourself his bro?” Lingling rolled her eyes at Mo Fan. He had completely forgotten about Zhang Xiaohou, who was risking his life for them after seeing Jiang Shaoxu.

—

—

A mountain covered in dense vines and ancient trees poked through the clouds. The Wind of Sorrow swept fiercely, but the mountain remained firm!

A man in a gray-blue military outfit sprinted across the leaves, spreading them like a ripple on the surface of the ocean and leaving a strong gust of wind behind.

A huge beast with an icy transparent appearance circled in the air, scanning the leaves below with a sharp gaze.

The leader of the Skyice Beasts was trying to track down Zhang Xiaohou by observing the movement of the leaves. However, Zhang Xiaohou had used his Wind Element to stir up the leaves and scatter them across the place, blocking the Skyice Beasts’ view.

The leaves fell to the ground after some time. A strong flow of air was heading toward the woods of the Moon Mulberry Trees in the distance.

The leader of the Skyice Beasts eventually noticed the trail left by the human. It immediately led the flock of Skyice Beasts and followed the trail.

Their icy-white wings beat rapidly, leaving a trail of frost behind them. The Skyice Beasts, bringing a disastrous storm with them, soon headed to the woods of the Moon Mulberry Trees.

Somewhere below the area where the leaves were scattering, a head silently poked out from under a pile of leaves. It was none other than Zhang Xiaohou, who was on the run.

Zhang Xiaohou glanced in the direction the Skyice Winged Beasts were flying towards, and let out a relieved sigh.

“These creatures are indeed picking up the trail of their prey by following the flow of air. No wonder they were able to track me down when I was so far away,” Zhang Xiaohou mumbled to himself.

It was easy to shake off the Skyice Beasts after figuring out how they were tracking him down. Li Dexin and his men ended up being surrounded because they had no idea how the Skyice Beasts stayed constantly on their trail. The harder they ran, the more obvious the trail was, hence the Skyice Winged Beasts could pursue them effortlessly.

“Frosty birds, see you later. Time for me to go back,” Zhang Xiaohou climbed to his feet and waved at the Skyice Winged Beasts to bid them farewell.

Zhang Xiaohou was rather mischievous. He had plucked all the feathers off the leader of the Skyice Winged Beasts’ crown while it was resting alone.

The crown feathers were useless to many winged beasts, but they were the pride of the male birds, since the colorful feathers symbolized their manliness to the crowd, and attracted the female birds!

If Zhang Xiaohou had not taken such a step, he could not guarantee the Skyice Winged Beasts would chase him!

“Mm, these feathers are quite pretty. I should use them as decorations,” Zhang Xiaohou casually attached the feathers to his peaked cap. He looked slightly taller with the feathers on. “I think this is the way back…”

——

It was a lot easier to find the way back after shaking off the Skyice Winged Beasts. He had been leaving marks along the trail. Many Wind Mages would make the careless mistake of not blazing their trail to help them identify the way back. They would end up being separated from the team and lose their way in the wild.

Zhang Xiaohou had lost his way once, and almost died in the wild. He did not repeat the mistake.

He heard a noise not long after he began to make his way back.

Zhang Xiaohou had developed the habit of concealing his presence right away. He immediately jumped into a shrub nearby to avoid exposing himself to some powerful creatures. To his surprise, the bottom of the shrub was actually hollow. Zhang Xiaohou almost fell into a hole!

If it was somewhere else, Zhang Xiaohou could easily recover from the fall by using his Wind Wings, but it would be suicide to use the Wind Wings in the winged beasts’ paradise. He quickly grabbed onto a thick vine nearby, hoping that it was firm enough to hold his weight.

Zhang Xiaohou started falling as he grabbed onto the vine tightly. It was wrapped around a tree, and barely held his weight.

“Lucky…” Zhang Xiaohou hung onto the dangling vine and let out a relieved sigh.

Every moment was a great thrill in a place like this!

More noises began to approach. Zhang Xiaohou quickly scanned his surroundings in a panic.

Feathers!

Feathers as dense as the stars in the night sky! Zhang Xiaohou noticed the sky was full of colorful feathers when he looked around him. More precisely, he was looking at the wings of different winged beasts soaring into the sky!

They had filled up the sky before he realized it, stretching from the Qinling Mountains to the Vine Canopy Layer Zhang Xiaohou was currently at. He was dumbfounded by the breathtaking sight. He remained hanging onto the vine as he totally forgot to climb back up!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This is…this is crazy!” Zhang Xiaohou finally regained his wits after a long time.

It was his first time seeing so many winged beasts of different species soaring into the sky at the same time. It felt like the blue sky was covered in feathers!

Zhang Xiaohou climbed back to the Vine Canopy Layer and quickly followed the path he had blazed to regroup with the others.

Something serious must be happening if so many winged beasts, including several high-level species, had shown up at the same time!

—

“Something big is happening!” Zhang Xiaohou blurted out as soon as he saw Mo Fan, even before he could catch his breath.

“What’s going on?” Mo Fan asked archly.

“The winged beasts, the whole sky is full of them! It feels like they are performing some kind of ritual!” Zhang Xiaohou exclaimed.

Mo Fan and the others were at a spot surrounded by plants, an overgrown area that barely had any sunlight, so they could not see what was going on outside.

Mo Fan quickly found himself a spot where he could see out. He was dumbfounded after just a glance.

The sky was full of winged beasts, as Zhang Xiaohou had mentioned. They were beating their wings, but seemed to be hovering in the sky instead of flying about randomly.

The feathers were as dense as stars when there were so many winged beasts flying in the air. Their colorful feathers were dazzling under the sunlight, a miraculous sight!

“What’s going on? Why are they hovering there?” Mo Fan was confused.

“As I thought, as I thought… Haha, it’s finally happening!” Jiang Shaoxu suddenly yelled in excitement.

The others stared at her in confusion. Jiang Shaoxu proceeded to explain, “I read about it in my brother’s journal. The winged beasts of Mount Baiba will hold a grand ceremony toward the end of a year, when the Wind of Sorrow is at its strongest. Every winged beast will participate in it!”

“The winged beasts have their ceremonies, too? Could it be that their ceremony involves them hovering in the sky and showing their feathers under the sun, to see who has the prettiest feathers?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

“Of course not, it’s not a beauty contest!” Jiang Shaoxu snapped. One-track mind male…

“What are they doing, then?”

“They are waiting for the Wind of Sorrow! The Wind of Sorrow actually has its patterns. Apparently, the Wind of Sorrow will blow up at certain times. With its help, the winged beasts might have a chance to reach the legendary Sacred Waterfall!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“What are you talking about?” Zhao Manyan’s thoughts were all muddled up.

“An old man living in the Qinling Mountains told me that the winged beasts are not keen about their strength, but their ability to fly. The higher they can fly, the more respect they will receive from their peers. The Emperor of Feathers is the best among them!” Zhang Xiaohou added.

“That’s right, that’s how the status of the winged beasts is determined! The Emperor of Feathers is the one that reaches the greatest height during the ceremony. Once in a while, the winged beasts will hold the ceremony when the Wind of Sorrow is blowing to decide their status and territory on Mount Baiba by the altitude they can reach. They are preparing for it now!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“So the one that reaches the highest during the ceremony will become the Emperor of Feathers for the next few years?” Mo Fan asked.

“Exactly! The winged beasts treat the ceremony very seriously. They will use everything they have to fly to a higher altitude, to earn the respect of the other winged beasts!” Jiang Shaoxu nodded.

“But, isn’t the number of participants too insane?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

“This is why it’s regarded as a grand ceremony of the winged beasts!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“But… is it even our concern?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Of course it is! Aren’t you trying to reach the higher layers? If we go up the normal way, we are going to be trapped by the powerful winged beasts before we can reach the altitude where the Tree of Vows is located. The Wind of Sorrow is constantly blowing at the Ashwood Wind Layer. It’s extremely difficult to fight the winged beasts amid the Wind of Sorrow. However, if we can sneak into the winged beasts and fly to the Ashwood Wind Layer together with them, we won’t catch their attention!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“That’s pretty bold, you’re asking us to compete with the winged beasts. Aren’t we done for as soon as we show our wings?” Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Manyan still remembered Zhang Xiaohou’s warning. He was not allowed to fly, since it would provoke the winged beasts and turn him into an obvious target!

“Normally, if you aren’t a winged beast, you will be targeted by every winged beast when flying at an altitude that doesn’t belong to you. However, the restrictions regarding altitude are lifted during the ceremony. It doesn’t matter what level or status you are, even the Winged Patrol Beasts will be promoted to a higher status if the altitude they can reach is higher than other winged beasts. It’s a great chance for the winged beasts to shuffle their status, a chance to alter their destiny! With a higher status, they will be able to occupy a higher altitude, thus allowing the winged beasts to evolve even quicker…” Jiang Shaoxu went on.

“It does sound intriguing!” Mo Fan rubbed his chin.

“Brother Fan, it’s a rare opportunity, since every creature with wings has a chance to take part in it, including humans!” Zhang Xiaohou sounded excited.

“Besides, it’s the most reliable way to reach the Tree of Vows’ altitude. I’ve been observing for a long time. There are many Ruler-level winged beasts around here. It’s going to be difficult to break through using force,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“But even a Wind Mage can hardly compete with these winged beasts in terms of flying ability. They will easily outmatch us,” Bai Hongfei said.

“Not necessarily. If we can help the Moon Moth Silkworm evolve, the little Moon Moth Phoenix will be able to bring us to the altitude we are after,” Yu Shishi suddenly piped up.

The silkworm was currently riding on Yu Shishi’s shoulder. The transparent little creature was staring at the winged beasts with wide eyes, as if it had an urge to grow a pair of wings right away.

The Moon Moth Phoenix used to be one of the winged beasts here, too. Even though it had been reincarnated, it could still feel that this place was its home.

“Indeed, the little Moon Moth Phoenix can give us a ride!”

“Let’s hurry up and take down the Giant Purple Linden to help the Moon Moth Silkworm transform into a little Moon Moth Phoenix… humph, it’s time to get our revenge!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The winged beasts were preparing for the ceremony, including the powerful creatures of the Ashwood Wind Layer. For them, it meant the winged beasts residing on the Giant Purple Linden had all left to join the flying marathon. It greatly reduced the difficulty of Mo Fan and his crew’s objective of taking down the demon tree!

“Let’s pretend to climb the Giant Purple Linden. The demon is a cunning hunter. It won’t bother wasting its time on just one or two prey, nor would it reveal itself,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan began climbing the Giant Purple Linden. Zhao Manyan stopped him when he was on the trunk after recalling something.

“By the way, won’t it recognize you?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Recognize my ass, it’s just a f**king tree, I don’t believe it has the ability to recognize someone,” Mo Fan said.

“Ugh… you’re right, we Asians think Africans all look alike, too,” Zhao Manyan admitted after giving it some thought.

2

Mo Fan boldly climbed the tree, recalling seeing a huge cave just below the treetop in the past. He would have a hard time believing the sacred Giant Purple Linden was the evil demon tree if he had not seen it transform in person.

The Giant Purple Linden only had its main trunk left. He remembered how lofty it used to be, back in the valley of Mount Kunyu, but it was forced to hide in Mount Baiba among the rest of the towering trees. It must be holding a strong grudge since then, having to pretend it was just a little kid among the younger trees.

“Old demon tree, aren’t you good at disguises? You must have drunk a lot of fresh blood and eaten a lot of fresh meat recently, but this is your end!” Mo Fan looked up and noticed he was very close to the tree cave.

The cave was closed right now. It looked just like an ordinary crack on the tree. It must have devoured many creatures while they were enjoying some moon baths on the branches and turned them into its nutrition.

The most disgusting about the Giant Purple Linden was its disguise!

The Giant Purple Linden would only reveal its true nature as a last resort. It would stick to its disguise as a sacred tree offering little creatures protection, so they would form a small ecosphere around it.

Once the population of the creatures reached a certain level, it would provoke them to kill one another. When the last creature standing thought it could finally claim the throne, the Giant Purple Linden would eat it and slowly digest it. Only then would the creature realize it had been prey all along.

The Giant Purple Linden’s patience was unbelievable. It was willing to spend ten, twenty, or even thirty years slowly laying down its plan. If Yan Shi had not exposed it, it might lay its hands on a human city next. After all, humans were easily deceived by appearance!

Mo Fan could already feel the stronger Wind of Sorrow blowing through the gaps between the branches at his current height, and could still see the colorful feathers of the winged beasts filling up the sky. They were well-behaved, as if they were awaiting further instructions from their god. They might not even care if their nests were invaded. After all, every ambitious winged beast had been waiting for the ceremony to secure a better house or mansion!

“Are you sure you can find the Sacred Linden Leaves?” Mo Fan asked Yu Shishi, who was climbing the tree with him.

“I can locate them when the demon tree starts to attack with the Devil Tree Spikes after you tear off its mask. The Sacred Linden Leaves are the source of its energy,” Yu Shishi said confidently.

“Very well…” Mo Fan nodded.

“But you have to be extremely careful. It is still a terrifying demon, despite its current state!” Yu Shishi reminded him.

Even a Totem Beast like the Moon Moth Phoenix had almost died to the demon tree, let alone a group whose combined strength was not even comparable to a tenth of a half-Forbidden Mage like Yan Shi. It would not be easy to kill the demon tree!

“Don’t worry, those people of the Violent Imperial Battalion are with us. Li Dexin might be an annoying jerk, but he is still quite strong,” Mo Fan said.

“Alright, you can start once I’m in position. If I can pluck the Sacred Linden Leaves, it will greatly weaken the demon!” Yu Shishi said.

—

They waited until Yu Shishi had climbed higher up the tree. Mo Fan asked Bai Hongfei to go with her to look after her. The winged beasts might be busy with the ceremony, but there was no guarantee the fliers would not intervene with their business. They had to be careful at all times!

“We’re in position!” Bai Hongfei signaled them.

Mo Fan ignited a small fireball, signaling the rest of the group to proceed with the plan.

“Keep up the disguise, have a taste of my Mount Lu Rise Dragon!” Mo Fan stomped his foot and engulfed himself in the flames of the Meteor Scarlet.

{TL Note: Mount Lu Rise Dragon is Shiryu’s skill, a character from Saint Seiya.}

1

At the same time, Little Flame Belle, who was lying on Mo Fan’s shoulder transformed into Flame Belle and Possessed Mo Fan. The flames of the Calamity Fire and the Ardent Sunset engulfed him!

“Fiery Swamp!”

The surfaces below Mo Fan’s feet were covered by blazing flames, reaching over a hundred meters away. The flames devoured all the leaves around him.

The Giant Purple Linden did not show any reaction. Its body was very resistant to fire. Mo Fan might be casting a powerful spell atop it, but it was unsure if the spell was targeting it.

Who would bother attacking a tree? The winged beasts and other creatures would only bother killing one another!

Mo Fan shoved his fist into the air, as if he was trying to mess up the winged beasts’ ceremony!

“Rise and shine!”

Fiery dragons sprang higher into the sky from the flames, dying his surroundings red. The winged beasts roaming nearby were terrified by the strong magic, and immediately fled for their lives!

The fiery dragons made up of the Meteor Scarlet and the Ardent Sunset flew across the sky. They gradually enlarged as their flames grew stronger!

“Come back here!”

Just as the Giant Purple Linden assumed Mo Fan was attacking the winged beasts, the fiery dragons returned and slammed down heavily on the tree cave!

The destructive flames spread wildly. The Giant Purple Linden was enjoying the competition between the winged beasts, while waiting to reap some long-awaited harvests. It did not expect there to be a maniac that would bother attacking a tree!

The branches of the Giant Purple Linden shook vigorously. It was able to use it Demon Tree Spikes to set up a perfect defense, but the problem was, it did not expect the humans to be after it in the first place!

It was only a tree, after all, and so was not as intelligent as most creatures. More precisely, it did not have a real brain. It happened to taste the fresh blood of demon creatures once after a huge battle happened between two tribes, so it kept using the same trick to nurture itself into a demon!

With a huge blast, the fiery dragons penetrated the weak defense the demon tree had set up in a panic, and slammed into the tree cave on the Giant Purple Linden.

The Giant Purple Linden shuddered suddenly, but it was useless, since it did not have any chance to dodge the attacks.

The tree’s bark was extremely thick, yet the flames still managed to scorch it and leave a huge hole in the Giant Purple Linden’s forehead!

The Giant Purple Linden realized its identity was exposed. It stopped disguising itself and turned its branches into deadly weapons, pouring them down at Mo Fan!

Even though it only had a main trunk left, the Devil Tree Spikes covered a huge area, with almost no gaps between them. Mo Fan thought he was prepared, yet he still had no chance to escape to safety with Blink!

“Old Zhao!” Mo Fan yelled.

“Titan Hug!” Zhao Manyan responded instantly.

An enormous silhouette backlit by a brown light expanded rapidly. It had grown to the size of a small mountain by the time it reached Mo Fan’s position. Its actions were synchronized with Zhao Manyan. It leaned forward and spread its arms to protect Mo Fan with its back.

The Devil Tree Spikes left countless tiny holes in the sturdy back of the titan. Some of the thicker branches even punctured it and attacked Mo Fan!

It gave Mo Fan a huge fright. He quickly dodged the branches, but they kept pouring down, and destroyed Zhao Manyan’s spell!

“Damn it, is that thing made of diamond!?” Zhao Manyan was startled at the outcome.

The Titan Hug was one of his strongest defensive spells, but the Giant Purple Linden had punctured it like it was something made of Play-do. The giant figure was beyond recognition in just a brief moment!

Mo Fan turned into a shadow bird and fled to the edge of the cliff. He heard Bai Hongfei yelling before he could set down, “Teacher, look out!”

A massive elastic branch swept at Mo Fan like a powerful tentacle, fierce and brutal!

The rocks were smashed into pieces, shattered like mere bubbles. Mo Fan’s figure faded away amid the dust that had been swept into the air. He reappeared on top of an ancient tree three hundred meters away.

The tree was like a little sapling compared to the Giant Purple Linden. The demon tree was able to track Mo Fan’s location with ease. The truth was, a distance of three hundred meters was like a little hop compared to its enormous size, which had shrouded the whole sky!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Do it quick!” Mo Fan yelled as he began to feel uneasy.

His voice echoed for a moment before he heard the answering cry of the Lesser Dragon from below!

Li Dexin had Summoned his Great Lesser Earth Dragon. The muscular dragon rammed into the trunk of the Giant Purple Linden with its horn!

The dragon possessed incredible strength, and the entire Giant Purple Linden shook from the hit. The Devil Tree Spikes that were aiming at Mo Fan missed too.

Mo Fan immediately fled to a safe spot using Fleeing Shadow. As a matter of fact, there was not really a safe spot in the vicinity of the Purple Giant Linden. Its Devil Tree Spikes could reach some distance away, so Mo Fan would always be within its reach if he was still planning to attack it.

The Violet Imperial Battalion launched their attacks. The soldiers were indeed strong. They managed to inflict injuries on the Giant Purple Linden’s body, scraping off several layers of its thick bark. Many of its branches and leaves were blasted off, too!

Their attacks managed to distract the demon tree, allowing Mo Fan to summon his Soul-grade Flames again after catching his breath!

“Sky-Flame Funeral: Flame Belle Sword Feathers!”

It was the fourth-tier Sky-Flame Funeral combined with the three Soul-grade Flames. The Star Constellation Mo Fan was constructing was a lot bigger than usual. When the Stars finally connected, he lifted the huge fireballs and tossed them into the sky!

The two fireballs split continuously, turning into fiery swords floating above Mo Fan. They eventually formed a blazing red formation of swords!

The swords filled up the area like feathers. As Mo Fan flung his arm out, the fiery swords poured down and stabbed the Giant Purple Linden in the same spot on its ‘forehead’.

The fiery swords were spectacular, each stabbing deeply into the trunk of the Giant Purple Linden. The demon tree was unable to dodge, and could only defend itself with the Devil Tree Spikes, but if it fended off Mo Fan’s flames, it would expose the bottom part of its trunk to the Violet Imperial Battalion. Even if it did, it could only block so many fiery swords at once!

—

“How did he become so strong already!?” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed, staring at Mo Fan’s magic in astonishment.

He was only an Advanced Mage, yet his spells were already at the Super Level. If he was not going up against the demon tree, his spells were enough to kill some of the more powerful winged beasts in an instant!

Following that thought, Jiang Shaoxu glanced at the gorgeous young woman beside her with a confused face.

Lingling was an intelligent Hunter, but what about this girl called Apas? Was she only here for decoration? But she did not look scared, judging from her calm expression…

“Aren’t you going to do something?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“My expertise is Psychic Magic, it’s no use against the tree,” Apas replied. She insisted on being a bystander.

“Oh, me too, what a coincidence. It looks like there’s nothing we can do but cheer for them,” Jiang Shaoxu agreed.

“They will soon alert the winged beasts that are preparing for the ceremony by creating such a scene. The ceremony might be important, but some of them will still return to protect their habitat. You two will have to drive the winged beasts away,” Lingling said.

“We are all bystanders here. Who gave you the right to order us around?” Apas snorted disdainfully.

Apas was a very lazy snake beauty. She would rather find a place to take a nap, if not for the noise. She had not had a chance to take a pleasant nap ever since she came to the wild.

—

As Lingling thought, the loud noises from the battle attracted a number of winged beasts, including those that had been living on the Giant Purple Tree.

They were a bunch of flying serpents, their wings covered in scales. They were waiting for the Wind of Sorrow with the rest of the winged beasts when their home suddenly came under attack by a group of humans out of nowhere. The angry Scale-Winged Serpents immediately returned to protect their home.

“Are these creatures considered winged beasts too?” Mo Fan turned around and saw five Scale-Winged Serpents glaring at him.

“Every creature with wings is qualified. Brother Fan, I’ll lure them away so you can focus on the tree,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Those unambitious creatures have returned to protect their home. They might be winged beasts, but perhaps they can be considered a snake species too…” Mo Fan hesitated for a moment. He stopped attacking the Giant Purple Linden and used Blink to move to another spot.

The Scale-Winged Serpents immediately dove at him. They were obviously obeying the Giant Purple Linden’s will to keep Mo Fan busy!

“Apas, will these snakes take orders from you? Get rid of them for me!” Mo Fan yelled.

“Humph!” Apas was extremely unwilling. She just wanted to be a bystander. Little did she know, the ‘residents’ on the Giant Purple Linden ended up being some snake species with wings!

Apas lifted her gaze and glanced at the five Scale-Winged Serpents coldly. A strong pressure penetrated their minds. They began to shiver as they were diving from the sky.

They quickly spread their wings, like they were slamming hard on the brakes. The five Scale-Winged Serpents suddenly turned into statues in the air, not knowing what they were supposed to do.

Apas’ eyes glittered once again, emitting a sharp golden flicker. The Scale-Winged Serpents immediately fled for their lives, as if the snake empress was telling them to piss off with the look in her eye.

“Wait, tell those Scale-Winged Serpents to attack the Giant Purple Linden instead. Let them deal with the Devil Tree Spikes!” Mo Fan said as a sudden thought crossed his mind.

If Apas could ask the creatures to leave so easily, why couldn’t she order them to attack the Giant Purple Linden too? Why was he so stupid?

Apas’ eyes were filled with impatience. Why did he not say that in the first place? She had to waste her energy again!

The Medusa’s mental strength was overwhelming. She was able to call the Scale-Winged Serpents back even without looking into their eyes.

The Scale-Winged Serpents were relieved after heading back into the sky. They were preparing to rejoin the competition when they saw a pair of terrifying eyes among the clouds above them. The eyes delivered an order into their minds which they could not disobey!

If the Scale-Winged Serpents could shed a tear, they would be soaked in tears by now…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was fine that the Snake Empress was stopping them from protecting their nest. After all, if they managed to achieve a good result during the ceremony, they would be able to find themselves a better tree to live on. To their surprise, the snake empress was forcing them to attack the Giant Purple Linden, too!

Not only did they fail to stop the people burning their household, they were forced to help them carry the bricks away, too! How unacceptable!

The Scale-Winged Serpent leading the others was totally regretting it. Why did it bother to come back to protect the tree? It should have waited for the ceremony to start instead!

—

The Scale-Winged Serpents soon returned, and started tearing at the thick branches of the Giant Purple Linden right away. Their fangs were sharp and had a strong acidic effect. Their poison might not be effective against the tree, but the corrosive power was still deadly to it.

The Devil Tree Spikes were the Giant Purple Linden’s branches. The Scale-Winged Serpents’ numbers were surprisingly high,and the Giant Purple Linden was struggling to fend them off when they all lunged at the tree and tore at its branches!

As a matter of fact, the Giant Purple Linden was furious. These goddamned snakes had been eating and drinking on it for at least half a year, but not only were they ungrateful, they were helping the outsiders to attack it too! What the heck was going on today!?

Meanwhile, the Scale-Winged Serpents were not brainless, either. They were quite confused when they saw the true appearance of the Giant Purple Linden. The Scale-Winged Serpents were enraged once Apas told their leader about the Giant Purple Linden’s disguise. The tree they had been living on was actually a bloody trap!

The number of Devil Tree Spikes was greatly reduced following the attacks from the Scale-Winged Serpents. The Violet Imperial Battalion continued to damage the tree’s stem and roots, while the trunk was burned by Mo Fan’s magic. The treetop was under heavy attack from the Scale-Winged Serpents who had turned against it. The Giant Purple Linden began to let out cries of agony, finally exposing its true self!

The winged beasts hovering in the air were astounded and terrified after seeing the Giant Purple Linden’s true appearance. They did not expect a demon to be hiding among the trees they were living on. The winged beasts no longer bothered to interfere with the matter. They might not like the outsiders, but they were more afraid of the monster that had disguised itself in their territory!

—

“At last, they have shown up!” Yu Shishi blurted out in joy.

The Sacred Linden Leaves finally appeared after the demon tree revealed its true appearance. The Giant Purple Linden had no clue that Yu Shishi, Bai Hongfei, and Zhang Xiaohou were still hiding higher up in it. Its Devil Tree Spikes were busy attacking its foes further down. It completely ignored the three at the top!

“The Sacred Linden Leaves are located at the center of the Devil Tree Spikes. We shouldn’t approach them recklessly, or the Devil Tree Spikes will turn us into beehives,” Bai Hongfei noticed.

“Let’s wait a little longer. Let them deal with the Devil Tree Spikes first,” Zhang Xiaohou agreed.

“Mm, alright,” Yu Shishi seemed a little nervous. After all, the Sacred Linden Leaves would decide the fate of her moths. If she managed to help the Moon Moth Silkworm evolve into a little Moon Moth Phoenix, it would guarantee the safety of the moths, too!

“How strange, where did so many white wolves come from?” Bai Hongfei suddenly asked.

Zhang Xiaohou looked down and noticed many white wolves weaving through the branches and attacking the trunk. With the combined efforts of a few hundred demon wolves and the Scale-Winged Serpents attacking the tree, the Giant Purple Linden began to lose its branches rapidly!

“It’s Brother Fan’s Advanced Summoning Spell!” Zhang Xiaohou was overjoyed.

“How many wolves did he Summon with the spell? It looks like some of them are even Commander-level creatures!” Bai Hongfei blurted out in disbelief.

The wolves could easily pluck away every Sacred Linden Leaf with a bite each. The three at the top slowly moved closer when they noticed that there was not much defense left around the Sacred Linden Leaves.

Zhang Xiaohou was leading the way. He noticed the purple leaves wriggling when he was approaching them on the wilted branches!

“Don’t tell me these leaves can attack too?” Zhang Xiaohou exclaimed.

The purple leaves began to move as he went a little closer. They surprisingly extended their edges and revealed spikes like porcupines.

“They are parasitic worms, they are not leaves!” Yu Shishi told Zhang Xiaohou after taking a closer look.

The number of the purple parasitic worms was shocking. The ‘leaves’ around them began to swarm toward Zhang Xiaohou along the branches.

Their jumping ability was quite insane. They sprang at Zhang Xiaohou from all directions like the head of a morning star with poisonous spikes once they were close enough.

“Wind, rise!”

Zhang Xiaohou spun around in a circle. A gust of wind rose from his feet and formed a barrier around him. The strong wind bounced off the parasitic worms!

“More of them are coming from below!” Yu Shishi noticed the leaves below them wriggling, too.

Bai Hongfei looked down and saw parasitic worms climbing up the branches. It felt like they were going to devour them at any second!

“I’ll handle them!” Bai Hongfei quickly cast an Advanced Fire Spell.

Six Hellish Flames lunged at the Parasitic Leaf Porcupines that were surging up the branches like a tide. The powerful flames set the parasitic worms ablaze and turned them into scorched balls. However, they continued to climb toward the invaders recklessly.

Bai Hongfei’s Hellish Flames kept pouring down. The flames had almost turned the layer they were at into a blazing sea of fire, but the numbers of the Parasitic Leaf Porcupines showed no sign of falling. They continued to pounce at the invaders like sharp and poisonous fangs, spinning at an insane speed. Bai Hongfei began to panic a little. He had no choice but to back away with Yu Shishi.

“We can’t get any closer!” Bai Hongfei said.

The Parasitic Leaf Porcupines were like a bunch of death knights raised by the Giant Purple Linden. They would launch suicide attacks at any invaders trying to steal the Sacred Linden Leaves. They did not have an outstanding defense, but they were abusing their speed and poisonous spikes to drive away the enemy, or end their lives in mutual destruction!

“Your flames are effective against them, but they aren’t concentrated enough!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“I’m aware of that,” Bai Hongfei said.

“Keep using the same spell!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Bai Hongfei did not ask Zhang Xiaohou what his plan was. The truth was, he did not dare to stop Casting. The parasitic worms only knew to attack invaders mindlessly. These creatures were even trickier to deal with than the undead in some ways!

The Hellish Flames began pouring down again. This time, Bai Hongfei used his magic equipment to increase the temperature of the flames. The Parasitic Leaf Porcupines would burn to ashes if they were exposed to the flames for more than three seconds!

Unfortunately, the Hellish Flames could not last for long!

“Wind, absorb!”

Zhang Xiaohou was still surrounded by the Parasitic Leaf Porcupines. However, these parasitic worms had no chance of hurting him with his outstanding control of the wind.

Zhang Xiaohou had slightly modified the traits of his Wind Magic, scattering a dozen Wind Seals in the flames. The seals would be triggered once the Hellish Flames were at their strongest, turning them into gusts of wind!

A dozen gusts of wind formed, wielding a special absorbing force that swiftly drew in the flames nearby. They soon turned into burning gusts of wind!

“Wind, merge!”

Zhang Xiaohou forcibly merged the gusts of wind into one.

The winds were now blowing in the same direction. Zhang Xiaohou had obviously done something like this before. The gusts of wind had turned into a shocking firestorm!

The winds had absorbed the flames, and the firestorm was full of the Hellish Flames, making them even deadlier!

“Die!”

Zhang Xiaohou shoved his hands forward. The Hellflame Firestorm swept forward, igniting both the Devil Tree Spikes and the Parasitic Leaf Porcupines along the way before burning them into ashes.

The hurricane left nothing but destruction along its path. Zhang Xiaohou turned to Bai Hongfei and Yu Shishi, “Quick, this is our chance. The firestorm will last for some time!”

Bai Hongfei and Yu Shishi, who had been stunned by the spectacular sight, immediately caught up to Zhang Xiaohou. The path was clear thanks to the Hellish Firestorm. The Parasitic Leaf Porcupines kept showing up in numbers even after they saw how destructive the Hellflame Firestorm was. They were mindlessly pouncing at the firestorm instead of waiting for it to pass!

The temperature of the Hellish Flames had significantly increased under the concentrating effect of the wind. The Parasitic Leaf Porcupines immediately turned into ashes as soon as they were close to the flames. They had no chance of escaping the power of the firestorm that was drawing them in!

The Hellflame Firestorm was like a moving cremation machine, sucking everything nearby into it. Countless Parasitic Leaf Porcupines died to it. Zhang Xiaohou, Bai Hongfei, and Yu Shishi cleared a path to the Sacred Linden Leaves.

The firestorm lasted for quite a while. The Hellish Flames had already dissipated, but the hurricane winds continued to travel into the distance.

“Do we just pluck the leaves?” Zhang Xiaohou asked. The Sacred Linden Leaves were less than ten meters away from him now!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m not sure, either,” Yu Shishi had never done anything like this.

“Will there be some kind of trap?” Zhang Xiaohou was being extra careful.

After all, they were going up against an insanely high-level demon tree. It should not be that easy to pluck the Sacred Linden Leaves. What if something like the Parasitic Leaf Porcupines showed up again?…

“What the heck are you waiting for? Hurry up and grab the Sacred Linden Leaves. We can’t hold on for much longer!” Mo Fan’s angry roar came from below.

Mo Fan was lost for words. The three were already standing in front of the Sacred Linden Leaves. Shouldn’t they pluck the leaves first before worrying about what was going to happen next? The Devil Tree Spikes were still stabbing at the others, while they only had to worry about some disgusting worms!

“Oh, right,” Zhang Xiaohou looked down and noticed Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Li Dexin, and the rest of the group were still suffering the wrath of the Giant Purple Linden.

Zhang Xiaohou jumped forward and hesitated for a moment. He put on a pair of armored gloves made of some unique material before plucking the Sacred Linden Leaves.

The lines on the Sacred Linden Leaves were golden, different from the ordinary leaves on the tree. Zhang Xiaohou noticed a tiny glow flowing along the lines, as if the Sacred Linden Leaves were transferring something to the branches of the Giant Purple Linden!

However, the Sacred Linden Leaves did not even budge even after Zhang Xiaohou started pulling them with all his strength. The special branches connected to them were glowing, transferring energy to the rest of the branches. The branches that had received the energy became strong and flexible. They were the Devil Tree Spikes that were attacking Mo Fan and the others!

“I can’t pull them off!” Zhang Xiaohou yelled.

“Let me try!” Bai Hongfei rolled up his sleeves.

He pulled a Sacred Linden Leaf with great strength, but it remained in the same spot.

“What should we do now? It seems like the leaves are enchanted!”

Bai Hongfei and Zhang Xiaohou had experienced it first-hand. It was impossible to pluck the Sacred Linden Leaves!

Bai Hongfei even tried using a Fire Spell to burn the branch connected to the Sacred Linden Leaves, but the glowing branches were impenetrable, just like the Sacred Linden Leaves.

“Step aside,” Yu Shishi said.

“You won’t be able to pluck it either,” Bai Hongfei said.

“Go, eat it!” Yu Shishi boldly placed the Moon Moth Silkworm on a Sacred Linden Leaf.

The silkworm happily wriggled onto the Sacred Linden Leaf and took a bite without any hesitation.

Zhang Xiaohou expected to see the silkworm break her teeth, but he was surprised to see a tiny hole appear on the Sacred Linden Leaf.

The silkworm ate the Sacred Linden Leaf like a little harvester, even quicker than she was eating a normal leaf. In less than half a minute, she had already moved to the next Sacred Linden Leaf after she was done with the first one.

Zhang Xiaohou and Bai Hongfei exchanged glances with one another.

That’s right, they were going to feed the Sacred Linden Leaves to the Moon Moth Silkworm anyway! They could just let her feed on the Sacred Linden Leaves instead of plucking them off!

The Giant Purple Linden uttered a painful and enraged cry. It seemed to have noticed the leaves at its core were being eaten by a tiny creature!

The cry was extremely unpleasant. It began to shake its enormous body, as if it was trying to shake off the Moon Moth Silkworm.

The problem was, despite the lofty appearance of the Giant Purple Linden, there was nothing it could do against a tiny creature like the Moon Moth Silkworm without its Devil Tree Spikes. The Moon Moth Silkworm could care less if the tree was shaking its head vigorously, and showed no mercy when eating the Sacred Linden Leaves. She was totally indulging in them, like a little harvester going out of control!

The Moon Moth Silkworm ate the leaves at a remarkable pace, even though it did not make any sense that her tiny body could contain the huge Sacred Linden Leaves. She began to emit a sacred glow as she continued to feast on the Sacred Linden Leaves. The light was strong enough to encapsulate her entire body.

Yu Shishi was familiar with that glow, staring at the Moon Moth Silkworm passionately. When the little silkworm devoured the last Sacred Linden Leaf, she turned into a sacred orb of light, its brilliance shining down from the top of the Giant Purple Linden!

The Giant Purple Linden seemed to have finally realized the creature eating its leaves was the Moon Moth Phoenix in her silkworm phase. It let out a ghastly cry, as if it was trying to use everything it had to kill the Moon Moth Silkworm.

The Moon Moth Silkworm was no longer the same. The orb of light was a cocoon full of energy, inside of which the silkworm was evolving rapidly!

A pair of wings slowly spread out from inside the light cocoon. The silkworm was tiny at first, but the shining wings were huge. The wings soon loomed over Zhang Xiaohou, Bai Hongfei, and Yu Shishi, and they were only the first pair!

When the second pair of wings took shape, it immediately attracted the attention of the winged beasts. After all, the Moon Moth Phoenix was a Totem Beast, the strongest ancient species in history. She used to have a hallowed status among the winged beasts of the Qinling Mountains, and now, the creature that had been gone for many years had returned to Mount Baiba. How could the winged beasts that had been around for hundreds, or even thousands of years not be shocked?

The brilliant light shrank and turned into tiny points of light on the Moon Moth Phoenix’s tail before dissipating.

Zhang Xiaohou and Bai Hongfei froze in place. They had witnessed the little silkworm’s transformation into her noble and sacred adult form. The process was indeed fascinating. It was difficult to imagine such a unique creature existed in nature. Their lifespan might be short, but their transformation was as dazzling as the cycle of birth!

The Little Moon Moth Phoenix hovered above the branches, emitting a gentle light. Her demeanor was completely different from the unveiled Giant Purple Linden, bearing a warm, gentle aura. Perhaps she was the real protector of nature, as her brilliance alone was enough to purify all murderous intent exposed to it.

The Giant Purple Linden was still uttering unpleasant cries. It was struggling to accept the fact that the Moon Moth Phoenix it had almost killed had entered the next cycle of life and evolved successfully with the energy of its own leaves!

The Sacred Linden Leaves contained the energy that the Giant Purple Linden had accumulated over thousands of years. Their energy allowed it to keep bearing fruits of fresh blood so it could become the ruler of all.

But now, the Moon Moth Phoenix had taken everything from it!

The Little Moon Moth Phoenix flew to the middle section of the Giant Purple Linden, flying around the trunk as fragments of her previous life’s memory surged into her mind.

Even though she was unable to recall the details and appearance of her previous guardian, the emotions she inherited were deeply imprinted on her soul, inerasable even when she had entered the next cycle of life!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Little Moon Moth Phoenix stopped in front of the tree cave and stared at the demon that had brought her nothing but misfortune.

The remorse that Yan Shi had displayed prior to her death…

The loneliness of the Moon Moth Phoenix in her previous life, hiding in the deep mountains…

The misunderstanding that was only resolved at the end of their lives…

However, time would only flow in one direction. There was no going back in time!

The only thing she could do was annihilate the demon tree. Otherwise, the souls of the last Moon Moth Phoenix and Yan Shi would never find peace!

The Giant Purple Linden opened the tree cave to vent its frustrations!

The Little Moon Moth Phoenix suddenly beat her wings. She dove into the tree cave on the Giant Purple Linden, leaving a glowing trail behind.

The Giant Purple Linden was suddenly terrified. It began twisting its trunk vigorously, trying to spit the Little Moon Moth Phoenix out, yet it did not stand a chance against the special creature.

The Giant Purple Linden’s trunk had begun to wilt after losing the energy of the Sacred Linden Leaves, not to mention the damage being inflicted on it by Mo Fan and the others. It was already at its limit!

Rays of sacred moonlight burst out of the Giant Purple Linden after the Little Moon Moth Phoenix dived inside it. Its insides were organic and bloody, mainly consisting of blood-sucking tubes that maintained its elegant and vivid appearance on the outside. However, the Moon Moth Phoenix’s brilliance was effective at purifying any evil presence!

When the insides of the Giant Purple Linden were purified, it could no longer maintain its elegant and sturdy appearance. Cracks began to widen as more light burst out of the tree!

Segments of the Giant Purple Linden began to collapse amid the purifying light, starting from the trunk, extending to the branches, and finally its leaves!

The demon tree that had relied on its beautiful and elegant appearance to trick its prey slowly turned into purple ashes. The Wind of Sorrow carried them away, and slowly blew them into the distance.

—

Mo Fan looked at the remains of the demon tree and let out a relieved sigh.

He had finally managed to eliminate the demon tree. Yan Shi and the last Moon Moth Phoenix had sacrificed their lives to stop the demon tree, but the new Moon Moth Phoenix was able to evolve through its final death. It had finally ended in a pleasant way!

“Mo Fan, leaves, the leaves!” Zhao Manyan reminded him urgently.

“What leaves… holy crap, we’re rich!”

Mo Fan was focusing his attention on the Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s brilliance so much that he did not even notice the purple-golden leaves scattering across the place after the Giant Purple Linden died. These leaves might not be as valuable as the Sacred Linden Leaves, but some enterprise at Mount Kunyu was buying them at a high price, offering at least a hundred thousand for every leaf. The leaves falling from the sky were basically stacks of cash!

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were money-grubbers. They quickly collected the leaves while everyone else was still lost in thought. They were moving even faster than they had during the battle!

1

Mo Fan managed to collect a full sack of the leaves in no time. Zhao Manyan had also collected a lot of them. The two roughly estimated their profit: they had collected enough leaves to become suppliers! They could easily earn millions with them!

“Let’s see if there’s any other loot!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Zhao Manyan was searching, too. Even a ninth of the demon tree’s body would still be full of treasure…

—

After the light reached its peak, the Little Moon Moth Phoenix beat her wings and flew toward Mo Fan. She was carrying a purple fruit with a red sheen on its surface.

Any way you looked at it, it was Mo Fan that had insisted on eliminating the demon tree. Little Moon Moth Phoenix obviously knew she should be grateful. She voluntarily offered Mo Fan the fruit.

Mo Fan looked at the fruit. To be honest, the thing looked more like a pumping heart than a fruit. Was there any fruit that would pound like a heart?

“What is this?” Mo Fan asked.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix uttered a soft cry. Mo Fan could only feel a soft breeze blowing at his ear.

Mo Fan could not understand her. He immediately called Apas over.

Apas rolled her eyes and said, “I don’t understand her language!”

“Little Flame Belle, you do it.”

Little Flame Belle stood on his shoulder and stared at Little Moon Moth Phoenix with wide eyes. The Little Moon Moth Phoenix stared back at her with wide eyes, too.

1

The two little creatures remained silent for a few minutes, as if they were comparing who was more adorable between them!

“It’s the Purple Linden Fruit. It contains the hatred of every living creature that the Giant Purple Linden has slaughtered. Little Moon Moth Phoenix believes you can deal with it!” Yu Shishi stepped forward to be the interpreter.

“What do you mean? She’s giving me something that contains hatred? I’m not a vengeful spirit collector!” Mo Fan grumbled.

“Mo Fan, the orb!” Lingling tugged Mo Fan’s sleeve and reminded him.

“What orb? What does Little Moon Moth Phoenix mean? Why is she giving me such an evil fruit… hah?” Mo Fan suddenly remembered something in the middle of his diatribe.

He lowered his eyes and saw the Essence Orb he had been carrying emitting a bright light, as if it could not wait to devour the Purple Linden Fruit with a single bite.

That’s right, he could fill the Essence Orb with the energy inside the fruit!

If the Essence Orb had a temper, it might have jumped up and smacked Mo Fan in the head. It was specifically designed to absorb all evil presences. Wasn’t it obvious that the fruit full of hatred was the perfect food for it?

“Here you go, take it, it’s yours!” Mo Fan was overjoyed. He quickly shoved the Purple Linden Fruit toward the Essence Orb.

The glow of the Purple Linden Fruit began to weaken as soon as it was drawn close to the Essence Orb. Streams of energy were flowing from the Purple Linden Fruit to the Essence Orb, the fruit gradually shrinking during the process.

——

The Essence Orb soon absorbed the energy of the fruit. It fell silent after enjoying the pleasant meal, needing some time to digest the energy.

The Essence Orb was satisfied, but it was the Little Loach Pendant’s turn to throw a tantrum. It was vibrating in protest!

Little Loach had no interest in the fruit. If it was fond of the fruit, it would have absorbed its energy before Mo Fan could even ask his retarded questions. The Essence Orb would have no chance of competing with it. It was protesting because Mo Fan had yet to find any food to feed it!

“Don’t worry, be patient, we’ll soon find the Tree of Vows. Little Moon Moth Phoenix is still too young to provide you with the energy of Totem Beasts, but the Deer God at the Tree of Vows should have plenty of energy for you. You will be enjoying a great feast in no time!” Mo Fan comforted the Pendant.

Little Loach was easily deceived. It soon fell silent, as it believed Mo Fan was going to find the Tree of Vows and the Deer God for it.

“Speaking of which, did any of you notice that the winged beasts are watching us?” Ling Fei suddenly spoke up.

The Giant Purple Linden had occupied a huge space on Mount Baiba. It was like a mountain covered in plants, and the winged beasts could only see magic flickering through the gaps, instead of the humans.

However, after the Giant Purple Linden wilted away, the group was basically standing on a barren mountainside, completely exposed to the winged beasts in the sky. Their sharp gazes were like stars, thousands of cold arrows aiming at them. The group could even feel cold sweat sliding down their necks.

“Are they going to attack us? We just did them a huge favor by taking out a great threat. How could they turn against us?” Zhao Manyan protested in a trembling voice.

Loud cries sounded continuously. Zhang Xiaohou followed the cries and saw a large group of Winged Patrol Beasts flying to their altitude, circling a powerful winged beast with steel gray feathers, as if the lesser winged beasts were reporting to their superior.

“This is bad!” Zhang Xiaohou’s heart skipped a beat.

“It’s those things again!” Li Dexin was enraged as soon as he saw the Winged Patrol Beasts.

“That’s the Mountain Crusher Ruler, the leader of the Winged Patrol Beasts. Those Winged Patrol Beasts have recognized us… We did kill a lot of their friends along the way,” Zhang Xiaohou sighed.

“How vengeful are these creatures? How did they know it was us? Do they have a facial recognition system?” Zhao Manyan said.

“We are stained with the smell of the Winged Patrol Beasts’ blood! Damn it, the Winged Patrol Beasts weren’t supposed to reach our current altitude, but the restrictions are lifted because of the ceremony. The Winged Patrol Beasts that attacked us are here too!” Zhang Xiaohou pointed out.

1

The powerful winged beast beat its steel gray wings. The large group of Winged Patrol Beasts led by the Mountain Crusher Ruler were approaching them like a cloud of bats!

The Mountain Crusher Ruler had a formidable aura, like a small gray mountain floating in the sky. It soon loomed over them and stared down at them imperiously.

“Is it looking for a fight? We can take it out together if it’s holding a grudge against us,” Mo Fan was ready to fight the creature.

“Brother Fan, don’t do it! That creature is the Qinling Mountains’ peace officer. If it thinks we are a threat to the Qinling Mountains, it will alert the Emperor of Feathers, and every winged beast in the sky is going to attack us…” Zhang Xiaohou interrupted him.

“What should we do then!?” Mo Fan began to panic.

If the winged beasts decided to attack them… if he remembered correctly, he still had yet to fill up the Essence Orb…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou was asking Mo Fan to stand his ground, but the winged beasts were the ones making the decision, not them. If the winged beasts refrained from attacking, nothing was going to happen.

The Mountain Crusher Ruler let out a loud cry, but this time, it was looking into the sky instead of directing it at Mo Fan and his crew.

The cry traveled a long distance. A while later, a deep thunderous rumble responded from above the clouds. The Mountain Crusher Ruler’s gaze sharpened afterwards.

Meanwhile, the eyes of the winged beasts nearby began to emit a cold light. Mo Fan and the others immediately felt a great pressure from the winged beasts. Their gazes alone could easily shatter one’s mind!

“Zhang Xiaohou, what are they doing now?” Zhao Manyan asked in a cold sweat.

“Isn’t it obvious? They are going to tear us outsiders into pieces!” Mo Fan grunted.

The winged beasts were displaying great hostility. The humans’ outstanding cultivation was unimportant when faced with the overwhelming numbers of the winged beasts. However, Little Moon Moth Phoenix beat her wings and flew toward the Mountain Crusher Ruler while everyone else was clueless about what to do!

The Mountain Crusher Ruler stared at Little Moon Moth Phoenix coldly. The rest of the Winged Patrol Beasts scattered after sensing Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s formidable aura, not daring to get any closer.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix was confronting the Mountain Crusher Ruler. They seemed to be communicating with one another. The Mountain Crusher Ruler would occasionally lift its head and cry at the clouds.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix was not to be outdone, either. Her voice might be soft, but it still managed to reach the top of the clouds!

The deep thunderous rumbling descended from the clouds once again, delivering instructions to the winged beasts.

The unfriendly winged beasts suddenly stopped approaching the humans. The murderous looks in their eyes vanished, too.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix soon returned to the group. Mo Fan could only look confused. He had no idea what the Little Moon Moth Phoenix had done to nullify the winged beasts’ hostility.

“Little Moon Moth Phoenix said we are here to participate in the ceremony with her. The fight with the Winged Patrol Beasts is only a personal conflict with the Mountain Crusher Ruler. It has nothing to do with the rest of the winged beasts,” Yu Shishi explained.

“Oh, right, we are here for the ceremony. I have wings, too!” Zhao Manyan immediately Summoned out his fancy wings.

The truth was, his Magical Wings were considered high-quality when he first bought them, but the golden wings were nothing worth mentioning now, since any of the Commander-level winged beasts could easily outmatch him.

“They were negotiating with a higher-level winged beast above the clouds. The winged beast stated that since the ceremony is about to take place, whoever secures a higher status between the Little Moon Moth Phoenix and the Mountain Crusher Ruler will decide the fate of us outsiders,” Yu Shishi said.

“What now!? We didn’t agree to bet our lives on it!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

‘We did kill many of the Winged Patrol Beasts. The Mountain Crusher Ruler won’t let us go easily, so unless we can help Little Moon Moth Phoenix secure a higher status among the winged beasts…” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Are you out of your mind? Why did you kill the Winged Patrol Beasts? Don’t you know you should stay as far away from them as possible!?” Jiang Shaoxu swore at Mo Fan.

“The person who was so keen to save you is the one who was out of his mind.” Mo Fan glanced at Li Dexin.

Li Dexin did not dare to speak, standing at the side with a grim face. He did not expect the Winged Patrol Beasts to be led by such a powerful Ruler-level creature!

“Damn it, we are supposed to be looking for the Tree of Vows! Why are we wasting our time fooling around with these winged beasts in a competition? There are at least ten thousand of them. Are you telling me we are all going to die if Little Moon Moth Phoenix loses?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Little Moon Moth Phoenix doesn’t have to win the competition. She only needs to beat the Mountain Crusher Ruler to guarantee our safety. Besides, the Tree of Vows must be higher than we imagined. Isn’t it in our favor if Little Moon Moth Phoenix can bring us up there!?” Yu Shishi said.

“Mm, the Little Moon Moth Phoenix isn’t weak! I doubt she will lose to the Mountain Crusher Ruler!” Bai Hongfei said.

“It’s hard to say for now. At least from what I can tell, that creature is still stronger than little Moon Moth Phoenix. Didn’t you see its steel feathers? It’s a sign that they have been refined by the Wind of Sorrow for many years. It clearly has adapted better to the environment than Little Moon Moth Phoenix. If it’s a showdown between them, I don’t think the Little Moon Moth Phoenix is going to stand a chance against the Mountain Crusher Ruler.” Apas poured a bucket of cold water on everyone’s head.

Apas was merely stating the facts. The Little Moon Moth Phoenix was still too young compared to the old Mountain Crusher Ruler.

Gusts of strong wind suddenly blew from all directions while the group was feeling troubled. The wind gathered at Mount Baiba and began to form a rising airflow, soaring into the clouds!

“It’s the Wind of Sorrow, the ceremony is about to begin!” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed in joy.

Different cries echoed across the sky. The winged beasts spread their wings as their feathers rose, like they had just received an order. Even the feathers on their crowns were following the direction of the airflow.

The winged beasts in the sky beat their wings and rode the rising wind to fly into the sky. Their colorful feathers formed a spectacular sight as the gales they produced from beating their wings clashed!

The Mountain Crusher Ruler had missed its chance to ride the initial rising wind due to the interlude involving the humans. It had no intention of wasting its time on humans when it saw the rest of the winged beasts soaring into the sky. It quickly beat its wings and gathered the Wind of Sorrow to launch itself around five hundred meters into the sky.

The Winged Patrol Beasts did not leave, either. They rode the wind that the Mountain Crusher Ruler had produced and followed behind their leader like a black cloud.

“It doesn’t seem to care about us. Should we run away now?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise.

“That’s not a smart choice. The Qinling Mountains are huge. We can’t make it out in a day or two. Once the ceremony ends, the Mountain Crusher Ruler can still hunt us down, especially since the Winged Patrol Beasts are everywhere in these mountains. We are really going to become the winged beasts’ public enemy if we run away now,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Look, the Winged Patrol Beasts are preventing the other winged beasts from flying higher,” Lingling pointed into the sky and said.

Mo Fan followed her gaze and noticed the misdeeds that the Winged Patrol Beasts were committing while they were riding the wind to soar higher into the sky. They were attacking the other winged beasts close to the Mountain Crusher Ruler fiercely to stop them from riding the Wind of Sorrow. The victims ended up spinning in circles in the Wind of Sorrow and were almost torn into pieces by it!

“What’s going on? Isn’t it supposed to be a fair competition?” Zhao Manyan asked with a confused face.

“Fair competition my ass! How many among the low-level creatures like the Winged Patrol Beasts do you think are going to make it to an impressive altitude? Their wings are not strong, and their attacks are weak. The Wind of Sorrow might even tear them into pieces if they accidentally flew against it. Therefore, they would rather submit to the Mountain Crusher Ruler and help it defeat its opponents, allowing the Mountain Crusher Ruler to secure a higher status. That way, the lives of these lesser winged beasts will prosper, too!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Damn it, that works too? I was wondering why so many lesser winged beasts are participating in the ceremony. How could they possibly compete with the powerful winged beasts when their feathers are not even fully grown? It turns out they are divided into factions to protect the powerful creatures they have submitted themselves to!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Doesn’t that mean we can assist Little Moon Moth Phoenix during the competition?” Mo Fan asked.

“That’s right, if those goddamned winged beasts have lackeys, we can be Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s running dogs, too! We’ll get rid of anything that is in her way!” Zhao Manyan declared.

“Can’t you think of a better term?”

“Little Moon Moth Phoenix won’t necessarily lose to the Mountain Crusher Ruler with our help!” Jiang Shaoxu promised.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix shared the same thought! Since she had just evolved, it was unlikely she would stand a chance against the Mountain Ruler Crusher. However, the outcome was yet to be decided with the humans on her side!

Little Moon Moth Phoenix lowered her body, signaling the group to climb onto her back.

“Come up here, she will give us a ride first. She will use her wings to protect us from the Wind of Sorrow, but once we reach the higher altitudes, we’ll have to lend her a hand!” Yu Shishi said.

The Little Moon Moth Phoenix was not small at all. There was still plenty of space after the entire group of over ten people was on her back.

Their weight was negligible to Little Moon Moth Phoenix, so carrying them on her back did not really affect her speed.

The Wind of Sorrow was rising continuously. Little Moon Moth Phoenix made a late start, while many winged beasts had already reached the clouds. Their huge bodies were like tiny dots in the distance.

But Little Moon Moth Phoenix was extremely fast. She was not beating her wings quickly, but she was an expert at balancing herself while riding the wind. The strong winds had overcome many winged beasts, and some even tumbled from the sky after losing their balance, but Little Moon Moth Phoenix was soaring into the sky stably. The group could feel her wings beating while her body remained perfectly still.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix soon overtook the winged beasts that had a head start. The huge winged beasts with seemingly strong wings fell behind Little Moon Moth Phoenix and slowly faded into the distance!

“Quick, we must hurry, don’t let the Mountain Crusher Ruler run away. Our lives are at stake!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Under the spacious blue sky were magnificent mountains and countless colorful feathers densely packed together. The massive winged beasts included winged tigers and snakes, while the Colorful Demon Sparrows and Skyice Birds had graceful appearances. The Iron-Feathered Eagles and Blood-Steel Vultures had a menacing bearing, while the Hundred Feelers Butterfly and the Dark Serene Birds had a mystical aura.

It was indeed a grand ceremony of the winged beasts. A few rare species had shown up, and even Lingling, an expert about demon creatures, was having trouble identifying them.

The group on the back of the Moon Moth Phoenix could feel their blood boil as they competed with the variety of winged beasts in the sky!

Jiang Shaoxu had waited a long time for this, and was willing to risk her life for this chance. Mo Fan was also feeling excited, since he was a non-flyer and non-swimmer. He could see the tiny canyons between the mountains and the powerful winged beasts being overtaken by Little Moon Moth Phoenix. The distant clouds were now within his reach. He took a deep breath of the cold air. It was an unforgettable experience he had never had before. Perhaps this was the charm of going on adventures; he could always feel his adrenaline rushing and his heart pounding heavily!

To infinity, and beyond!

2

To the Ashwood Wind Layer…

The Skycloud Realm! And the legendary Sacred Waterfall!

—

Mo Fan noticed a noble creature with golden-blue wings above them as the Moon Moth Phoenix continued to gain altitude. Its white feathers formed an elegant curve from its crown to its long and beautiful tail. It was using its tail to balance itself in the strong wind while utilizing its wings to propel itself into the clouds!

“Isn’t that the creature we saw before?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed when he recognized it.

“You’re right, that creature is pretty fast. The Moon Moth Phoenix is struggling to catch up to it!” Yu Shishi said.

The Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk looked down and saw Little Moon Moth Phoenix and the humans that passed by its territory. Its eyes flickered with pride and disdain.

It beat its wings fiercely while waving its tail, directing the Wind of Sorrow toward the spot the Little Moon Moth Phoenix was heading to. Little Moon Moth Phoenix was caught in a strong turbulence. She began to lose her balance!

The others did not feel great when Little Moon Moth was off-balance, and the Wind of Sorrow was as deadly as a strong spell too! Their skin would crack rapidly when exposed to it, since they did not have feathers protecting them like the winged beasts!

“Damn it, that thing is trying to mess with us!” Mo Fan’s head was spinning in the wind. He cursed after regaining his balance.

The turbulence had forced Moon Moth Phoenix to spin around at the same height for some time. By the time she recovered, the Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk had already gotten a huge lead. It seemed impossible to catch up to it!

“I’ll lend you a hand!” Zhang Xiaohou called out, constructing a Wind Star Constellation.

White airflow appeared around Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s wings, gathering into an extra pair of wings to protect her while increasing her momentum as she beat them.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix quickly adapted to the protection of Zhang Xiaohou’s Wind Wings. She spread her wings and broke free from the annoying turbulence to chase after the Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk.

“Go after it, we’ll give it a piece of our minds too!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

As a fan of luxurious cars and street racing, Zhao Manyan enjoyed shaking off his opponents and watching them disappear in his rear-view mirror. He had to admit that the chase in the sky was a lot more thrilling than street racing!

Little Moon Moth Phoenix was unwilling to admit defeat, too. She began to beat her lower wings rapidly while maintaining the spread of her upper wings. The boost from Zhang Xiaohou’s Wind Wings sped her up significantly. She was quickly drawing closer to the Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk!

The Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk soon noticed Little Moon Moth Phoenix catching up to it. The creature seemed a little annoyed as it snapped its tail to trouble Little Moon Moth Phoenix again.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix would not fall for the same trick twice. She increased the beat of her upper wings to assert control over the Wind of Sorrow, and was able to take advantage of the gust of wind that the Blue-Golden Sparrowhawk had directed at her to rise a few dozen meters. She soon reached the same altitude as the Blue-Golden Sparrowhawk.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix glanced at the Blue-Golden Sparrowhawk before overtaking it. She did not bother wasting her time on it!

1

The Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk felt humiliated. It began to beat its wings at a faster pace to maintain the distance between it and the Moon Moth Phoenix, but after reaching a certain height, beating its wings was no longer the deciding factor. The Wind of Sorrow would send it tumbling if it failed to find a balance between its rhythm and the speed of the wind!

The Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk was obviously losing its patience. The harder it tried, the more it was panicking. It began to spin around in the air after losing its balance after being struck by a gust from the Wind of Sorrow.

The Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk completely lost the chance to compete with Little Moon Moth Phoenix. Even though it managed to recover its balance, it could only see Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s tiny figure in the sky when it lifted its head again. It had no chance of catching up to her.

Speaking of overestimating one’s own capabilities!

If the Golden-Blue Sparrowhawk had simply minded its own business, it might have been able to achieve a great result in the ceremony. However, many winged beasts that were weaker than it had now reached a higher altitude. It was unlikely it could catch up to them now!

—

“Look, it’s the Mountain Crusher Ruler!How is it so fast!?” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed.

The Mountain Crusher Ruler was surprisingly fast. They could barely see its tail. They would not even have recognized it if it weren’t for the gray cloud of Winged Patrol Beasts following behind it!

“It feels it might be a little difficult to catch up to it!”

“It’s fine, the sky is high!” Jiang Shaoxu proclaimed excitedly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A loud howling shook the sky. Jiang Shaoxu glanced in the direction of the noise and noticed many winged beasts suddenly tumbling from the sky. Some were crying out in agony as they began to fall after losing their balance!

“It’s coming from the west. Little Moon Moth Phoenix, brace yourself!” Jiang Shaoxu warned her.

The wind was invisible, but they were able to identify where it was coming from by judging the winged beasts’ reactions, and the wind was carrying a lot of feathers along. The colorful feathers quickly outlined the terrifying incoming wind!

Little Moon Moth Phoenix immediately altered her approach. Most of her feathers were upright to ride the rising wind, allowing her to save a lot of time. However, when this Wind of Sorrow came, Little Moon Moth Phoenix immediately changed her flying path. She followed the wind’s direction and continued to rise at a slant.

The strong wind struck Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s wings and pushed her east!

“Little Moon Moth Phoenix is so smart. Not only will she be able to maintain her balance, she is using it to fly higher too!” Lingling complimented her.

Many winged beasts assumed they could resist the strong Wind of Sorrow sweeping in their direction with their feathers, but they ended up getting tossed around. Meanwhile, Little Moon Moth Phoenix continued to ride the wind and use it to her advantage, allowing her to fly quicker and more effortlessly than the brainless winged beasts!

Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s trick helped her to gain a huge lead over many of the winged beasts. They were getting closer to the Mountain Crusher Ruler.

The Mountain Crusher Ruler was seriously affected by the Wind of Sorrow too, forcing it to slow down. Little Moon Moth Phoenix was slowly catching up!

The Mountain Crusher Ruler shrieked as if it was holding a strong grudge against Little Moon Moth Phoenix.

The cry formed a destructive sonic wave. The group felt their heads spinning, like they were going to explode.

The feeling slightly dissipated after some time. Little Moon Moth Phoenix purposely deviated from her path to avoid the sonic wave, increasing the distance between her and the Mountain Crusher Ruler again!

“That son of a b**ch, I swear I’m going to tear its throat into pieces!” Li Dexin was extremely annoyed by the cry. He angrily clenched his fists and swore at the Mountain Crusher Ruler.

“Too bad your Great Lesser Earth Dragon can’t fly. Otherwise, we could fly up there and tackle it!” Mo Fan said.

“Humph, it doesn’t matter. Once this Moon Moth Phoenix overtakes it, I’ll ask my Great Lesser Earth Dragon to sit right on that assh*** and smash it to death!” Li Dexin cursed.

They could only see the Mountain Crusher Ruler’s displeasing tail after its lead increased. The Winged Patrol Beasts were circling it like flies around a latrine pit to reach the greater heights!

Little Moon Moth Phoenix continued to rise into the sky. The Vine Canopy Layer was now some tiny greenery in their vision. There were not many mountains and towering trees left at their current altitude.

“Have we reached the Ashwood Wind Layer?” Mo Fan asked.

“We’ve long passed it. We are now getting closer to the Skycloud Realm,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Didn’t you say the Wind of Sorrow is ridiculously strong at the Ashwood Wind Layer?” Mo Fan said.

“Brother Fan, you can reach your hand out past Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s tail and feel it,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Mo Fan moved to Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s tail with a confused face. He noticed a faint barrier protecting Little Moon Moth Phoenix. Zhang Xiaohou was asking Mo Fan to stick his hand outside of the barrier.

Mo Fan actually stuck his hand out and immediately felt like it was being shredded. He quickly snatched it back.

He glanced at the back of his hand and saw several bloody cuts there. It was close to being cut to pieces!

“Holy crap, is there like a formation of wind sabers out there? Wouldn’t my hand only have bones left if I leave it out there for a few more seconds?” Mo Fan blurted out in shock.

“If we weren’t protected by Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s wind barrier, we wouldn’t survive for long at this height. I believe Advanced Spells would only last briefly,” Zhang Xiaohou told him.

“Is it too late to get off the ride now?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

“Not at all, you can just jump!” Jiang Shaoxu answered.

—

They were around the middle of the Ashwood Wind Layer. The Wind of Sorrow was strong enough here to tear a winged beast with sturdy flesh into pieces in a few minutes. The creatures that managed to make it so far either had strong control over the wind, or their feathers were very tough.

“Look at that black winged beast, its feathers are covered in blood,” Lingling suddenly pointed at a black winged beast to their right.

The feathers of the black winged beast looked ordinary. At first glance, it looked just like an ordinary demon bird that was commonly seen in many places. One could easily tell some winged beasts were not high-level creatures with a single glance, by observing their crowns, the quality of their feathers, their strength, and overall appearance. The black winged beast seemed rather normal based on these criteria, so it was already a miracle that it had managed to come so far!

“That thing seems to be just a Warrior-level creature!” Apas blurted out in surprise.

Most creatures in the Ashwood Wind Layer were already in the Commander-level, let alone those at their current height!

“Warrior-level? Little Moon Moth Phoenix is a Ruler-level creature. How did that creature possibly reach the same height as her?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Its feathers are no longer able to withstand the strong wind. It will be torn into pieces if it keeps going higher,” Apas said.

The black winged beast was covered in blood, yet it was still beating its wings relentlessly to keep up with Little Moon Moth Phoenix, the Mountain Crusher Ruler, and the Dawn Swordbird! How was this even possible?

“Houzi, isn’t it unlikely for a Warrior-level to rise so far? How did it keep flying so high?” Mo Fan asked with a puzzled face.

“It looks like a Flamebird…” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Nonsense, a Flamebird’s feathers are crimson gold, but that thing is pitch-black, like a piece of charcoal. How could it be a Flamebird?” Jiang Shaoxu immediately broke in.

“It’s indeed a Flamebird, but it’s different from the others,” Lingling said.

“Could it be one with a mutated lineage?” Zhao Manyan said.

“No, it’s a Flamebird with the purest lineage. I once heard a special trait about the Flamebird. Apparently, every time their feathers evolve, the color of their feathers will darken slightly…”

Zhang Xiaohou nodded. He said with a deep voice, “I think I know why it managed to reach this height. It must have exposed itself to the Wind of Sorrow continuously so the wind would tear its feathers off. The Flamebird is able to grow new feathers the fastest among the winged beasts, so it waited for new feathers to grow out after losing the old ones and repeated the same action to train itself. Every time it molted its feathers, their color would darken a little. Its feathers are pitch-black now, indicating that it must have replaced its feathers a hundred, or even a thousand times! The new feathers are more resistant to the Wind of Sorrow!”

Mo Fan was amazed after hearing the explanation!

Peel off the feathers, regrow, and peel them off again…

Even though he was not a winged beast, he could imagine that peeling off the feathers would feel like slicing off his flesh, yet the Flamebird had gone through the torture a hundred or even a thousand times, just to help its feathers adapt to the Wind of Sorrow, allowing it to reach its current height!

The Flamebird’s determination truly deserved his respect.

“What a pity. If it was a Commander-level creature, it wouldn’t suffer such serious injuries. Its Warrior-level flesh can’t withstand the damage. If it doesn’t back away, it will be torn to pieces,” Zhang Xiaohou sighed.

Despite its outstanding feathers, its strength, the sturdiness of its body, and its control over the wind were no match for the Ruler-level winged beasts. If it kept going higher, it was doomed to die a horrible death!

“Why is it trying to fly higher? Its current height is enough to guarantee a Warrior-level creature a status that greatly surpasses other Great Commander-level winged beasts. Its already a significant achievement. Why did it bother…” Yu Shishi felt sorry for the creature too.

Mo Fan looked at the pitch-black Flamebird. He was touched when he saw the determination in its eyes to go higher, despite its miserable appearance.

Some lives deserved to be respected, even if they were demon creatures.

“Apas, make it leave,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm,” Apas nodded. She began to use her Psychic Magic.

Apas fixed her eyes on the Flamebird, transmitting a hypnotizing order into the Flamebird’s mind.

Apas could easily control the mind of a Warrior-level creature with her Psychic Magic. It was difficult to resist her order.

However, the light in Apas’ eyes faded away. The pitch-black Flamebird glanced at them and continued to fly higher.

“What happened? You failed to hypnotize her?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan was feeling it was a pity if the Flamebird died here. He wanted the creature to live, yet to his surprise, Apas’ Psychic Magic did not work.

“No,” Apas shook her head. She said, “I can control its mind, but it seems to be different from the other demon creatures.”

“How different? Don’t tell me that creature has another soul in it?” Mo Fan asked.

“There’s an imprint in its soul, the same imprint as mine,” Apas said.

COMMENT

“The same imprint as yours?” Mo Fan failed to understand what Apas meant at first. However, he immediately understood when he saw the gloomy look in her eyes!

The imprint!

It was the imprint of the Summoning Element!

The Flamebird was not a wild demon creature, it was a Contracted Beast!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A Contracted Beast?

It meant the Flamebird belonged to a Summoner; why did it show up at the ceremony of the winged beasts?

“A Contracted Beast… but it must have repeated the same action for many years, judging from its feathers!” Zhang Xiaohou was confused when he heard Mo Fan’s exclamation.

It was difficult to imagine that the creature was actually a Contracted Beast. Where was its master, then?

A loud cry suddenly came from not far away as the others were puzzled about this.

The group followed the sound and saw a silver-white light piercing through the blue sky and sweeping past the pitch-black Flamebird at crazy speed.

The silver-white light was extremely sharp. It seemed to be streaking past the Flamebird unintentionally, but it ended up slicing the Flamebird’s back open. Fresh blood jetted out from the cut and scattered in the strong wind, shocking them!

“Damn it!” Zhang Xiaohou yelled, glaring at the silver light.

The silver light eventually stopped not far away from Little Moon Moth Phoenix. Mo Fan glanced at it and recognized it as a Great Ruler-level creature he had seen before!

Its body was covered in silver feathers like jagged metal. They could be as sturdy as needles or as flexible as silk. Its massive body was an embodiment of outstanding strength. The feathers on its tail spread like fangs, and wisps of lightning were flowing throughout its body occasionally.

It was the Silver Skyruler!

The tyrant of the West Ridge, the highest leader of the horde of White Magic Falcons!

The Silver Skyruler had arrived a little later than the rest of the winged beasts. It was constantly overtaking the winged beasts like Little Moon Moth Phoenix, but every time it overtook a target, it would brutally slice their back open with its sharp feathers.

The Flamebird was no exception. Its back was sliced open, fresh blood pouring out into the air, yet it was still beating its wings relentlessly with no intention of giving up!

Even though they had no idea why the creature was being so stubborn, they could not help but feel a strong grievance surging in their throats after seeing how much it was struggling!

The Silver Skyruler had obviously done it on purpose. Its eyes were glancing down at the Warrior-level Flamebird on purpose after reaching a greater height, as if it was mocking the Flamebird for not knowing its place!

So what if the Flamebird had managed to reach its current height? A Great Ruler-level creature could still kill it with ease!

Little Moon Moth Phoenix was intelligent. She immediately unleashed a purifying light when she saw the Flamebird was seriously injured.

The light descended upon the Flamebird, now staggering in the Wind of Sorrow, protecting it.

The Light of Moth Feathers supported the damaged and worn-out body of the Flamebird as it began to fall towards the deep canyons below. It vanished from their sight in the blink of an eye.

It was the best the Little Moon Moth Phoenix could do. Mo Fan and the others were powerless to help, as the Wind of Sorrow was too strong, and they were quite a distance away from the Flamebird. They had no chance of providing it with any assistance.

The Flamebird had been wounded already. It was unlikely that the creature would survive after receiving the deadly blow from the Silver Skyruler!

“What a disgusting prick!” Jiang Shaoxu grunted, staring at the Silver Skyruler.

“I didn’t expect the tyrant of the West Ridge to be here, too. It’s the creature that forced the betrayal of the Heavenly Eagles in Hangzhou, giving the White Magic Falcons the opening to invade us, which almost ended up as a huge tragedy!” Mo Fan pointed at the Silver Skyruler.

1

If the Black Totem Snake had not fended off the demon creatures by himself, the White Magic Falcons’ plan might have succeeded. Mo Fan had been extremely pleased while watching the Black Totem Snake beating the crap out of the Silver Skyruler.

Since then, the tyrant of the West Ridge had no longer dared to invade Hangzhou again.

“The horde of White Magic Falcons has always been a huge threat to us. They are merely one species of the winged beasts in the Qinling Mountains, but the White Magic Falcons have always been ambitious. They keep invading other creatures’ territory every now and then, and are responsible for many killings,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“I can feel how unstoppable it is!” Bai Hongfei spoke up.

“That creature is stronger than the Mountain Crusher Ruler. It might be aiming to claim the throne of the Emperor of Feathers,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Does that mean the winged beasts of the Qinling Mountains would have to follow its orders once it became the Emperor of Feathers?” Li Dexin said.

“The Qinling Mountains have been peaceful for a long time, mainly because the Emperor of Feathers has always been a gentle species like the Moon Moth Phoenix. If the Silver Skyruler ended up taking control over the winged beasts, it would start a never-ending war. The Silver Skyruler would use the winged beasts as its tools to expand its territory!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Zhang Xiaohou had been watching over the Qinling Mountains for a long time. He was well aware of the stakes involved. The White Magic Falcons were invasive, and extremely hostile toward humans. If the Silver Skyruler claimed the throne of the Emperor of Feathers, it would pose a huge threat to many of the cities of their country!

The situation along the coastline was already very grim. Many cities had very weak air defenses, especially when the military generally used the Heavenly Eagles as their mounts.

The Heavenly Eagles would betray the military due to the rank of the Silver Skyruler, hence the White Magic Falcons were considered the greatest threat to the country’s skies!

If the Silver Skyruler claimed the throne of the Emperor of Feathers, it was difficult to imagine the consequences!

“Oh my, that thing is so quick, it’s like a jet among the winged beasts. It will soon overtake the Mountain Crusher Ruler!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed, lifting his head.

The Mountain Crusher Ruler was already one of the best among the winged beasts. Not many creatures were ahead of it, but the Silver Skyruler continued to overtake the winged beasts after it showed up!

The Silver Skyruler was an extremely cunning creature. If the winged beast it overtook was not a Ruler-level creature, it would launch a sneak attack on them, but if the creatures were Ruler-level creatures like it, it would not attack them. It was a typical example of bullying the weak and fearing the strong!

The Silver Skyruler did not want to provoke the other Ruler-level creatures, since they might join hands against it. However, the Silver Skyruler had no intention of sparing the Commander-level creatures!

“I was wondering why it didn’t attack us. It must have noticed that Little Moon Moth Phoenix is a Ruler-level creature, right?” Bai Hongfei said.

“The Silver Skyruler has always been a b**ch,” Mo Fan cursed it.

The Silver Skyruler only dared to invade Hangzhou when the Black Totem Snake was at its weakest during the ecdysis. However, when the Black Totem Snake stepped forward and slapped the Silver Skyruler a few times in the face after it was done with the ecdysis, the Silver Skyruler immediately fled for its life after realizing it was no match for the Black Totem Snake…wasn’t it a b**ch?

COMMENT

“There are fewer winged beasts at this height, apart from those that are brought along as cheerleaders,” Zhao Manyan said after looking around.

“It might come down to whoever has the best support squad,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

The sky was high and the Wind of Sorrow was strong. Those that had reached the current height were most likely Ruler-level creatures whose strength did not differ by much. Therefore, by taking out a rival, they would be able to claim a higher spot in the competition!

Judging from their current circumstances, the Emperor of Feathers was not necessarily the one that had reached the highest altitude, but the one that had remained aloft in the end!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s the Mountain Crusher Ruler. It seems to be struggling in the Wind of Sorrow!” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed, pointing above them.

“How did that thing fly so fast while bringing so many Winged Patrol Beasts along? Aren’t they a burden to it?” Bai Hongfei said with a confused look.

“Not only aren’t the Winged Patrol Beasts a burden, they are actually easing its path!” Lingling pointed at the Winged Patrol Beasts sticking close to the Mountain Crusher Ruler. She added, “Look, they aren’t just circling the Mountain Crusher Ruler randomly. They are doing it in a specific pattern, including the timing and frequency of beating their wings, and the way they are altering their positions in the formation.”

“But the Wind of Sorrow is so strong! Shouldn’t those low-level Winged Patrol Beasts be struggling against it?” Bai Hongfei asked.

“Are you familiar with migratory birds, like geese flying in a V-shaped formation? When they are flying in position, it will produce a special flow of air that reduces air resistance. Any goose will struggle to fly a great distance on their own, but if a bunch of geese are flying together, they will easily cover the distance when migrating. The same concept applies to the Winged Patrol Beasts circling the Mountain Crusher Ruler. They are producing a special flow of air to weaken the Wind of Sorrow and conserve their energy,” Lingling said.

2

“I see! No wonder it feels like we are having difficulty catching up!”

“The Wind of Sorrow must be stronger up there, so it has broken the formation that the Winged Patrol Beasts are flying in. The Mountain Crusher Ruler is now being affected by it!” Lingling said.

“We should use this opportunity to catch up to them!”

Little Moon Moth Phoenix took hold of the opportunity to reduce the distance between her and the winged beasts ahead. She used her wings perfectly, using the strong Wind of Sorrow as a force propelling her upwards.

The Mountain Crusher Ruler was spinning in circles at the same height, while Little Moon Moth Phoenix continued to soar into the sky. The Mountain Crusher Ruler was only inches away in no time. The proud and aloof creature let out an angry cry when it saw Little Moon Moth Phoenix about to overtake it.

An annoying shriek echoed in the clouds. The Winged Patrol Beasts that had been knocked out of their formation suddenly gave up on flying any higher. They began to dive at Little Moon Moth Phoenix like a bunch of vampiric bats!

The number of the Winged Patrol Beasts was more overwhelming than the humans had first imagined. They were like a huge gray cloud throwing out sonic waves. Their heads were on the verge of exploding from the noises.

“Help me with the defense, I’ll kill them all!” Li Dexin grunted.

The Winged Patrol Beasts had driven Li Dexin mad. He Summoned his Wing Magical Equipment and took off before the others could say a word.

A defensive Maga immediately backed Li Dexin up. She cast a Water Spell to encapsulate both herself and Li Dexin, but the Wind of Sorrow was stronger than she had expected. The thin protection of the Water Spell collapsed in no time!

The female Maga was given a great fright. She told Li Dexin, “General Li, hurry up, I can’t hold on for any longer!”

Li Dexin ignored her warning. He cast an Earth Spell and tossed a bunch of huge rocks at the annoying Winged Patrol Beasts.

The Winged Patrol Beasts following the Mountain Crusher Ruler in the competition were not necessarily low-level creatures, either. Some of them were in the Commander-level, and their bodies were covered in some glittering gray substance. These Commander-level creatures immediately spread their wings to defend their leader when Li Dexin started attacking!

Li Dexin’s spell was not effective. He proceeded to cast a Super Spell angrily.

One Water Star Constellation after another appeared. Li Dexin was not very quick at channeling the Star Palace. He finally completed it with the protection from the Maga.

“Catastrophe Wave!”

As Li Dexin shouted, the mist among the clouds turned into a curtain of water, which poured down like waves that eventually grew into a tsunami!

The Commander-level Winged Patrol Beasts had no chance of protecting the rest of their comrades this time, no matter how wide they were spreading their wings. The Catastrophe Wave delivered a deadly blow to them. Their wings were soaked as they were drowned by the water. They fell from the sky together with the tsunami!

The Catastrophe Wave was up in the sky, so it was unable to cover a great distance. However, Li Dexin was extremely pleased after eliminating a huge bunch of Winged Patrol Beasts with his spell.

The rest of the Commander-level creatures beat their wings and stared at the Catastrophe Wave as it fell with lingering fears. Meanwhile, the Mountain Crusher Ruler was glaring at Li Dexin from above the Catastrophe Wave.

The Mountain Crusher Ruler did not make its move. It still had many lackeys with it. Even if it was struggling to go any higher, it would not let Little Moon Moth Phoenix overtake it, either!

The Mountain Crusher Ruler extended its wings. A huge cloud of Winged Patrol Beasts spread throughout the sky. Their numbers were absolutely shocking as they soon filled the sky.

“How was it hiding so many of them under its wings? Holy crap, it’s only half its initial size!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The Mountain Crusher Ruler was extremely large, with lots of feathers. It had seemed like its wings had several layers of feathers, but to their surprise, they were not really the Mountain Crusher Ruler’s feathers, but the winged beasts that had attached themselves to it!

The Patrol Winged Beasts had formed a thick, huge coat around the Mountain Crusher Ruler. However, since they were no longer able to help it reach a greater height, it decided to take them off and attack the Little Moon Moth Phoenix that was about to overtake it instead!

The Winged Patrol Beasts were everywhere. They used their wings to produce a strong airflow, resisting the Wind of Sorrow.

Those without wings were unable to manipulate the flow of air. Therefore, the humans on Little Moon Moth Phoenix would have to stay on Little Moon Moth Phoenix or expose themselves to the Wind of Sorrow to attack them!

The turbulence was stopping Little Moon Moth Phoenix from going any higher. Most importantly, the Mountain Crusher Ruler was expending the Winged Patrol Beasts like cannon fodder; they were diving at the Little Moon Moth Phoenix recklessly. They would be satisfied even if they only managed to break the Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s balance, even if it meant falling from the sky!

It was manageable if only a few dozen Winged Patrol Beasts were taking the kamikaze approach, but hundreds of the Winged Patrol Beasts were doing the same thing. No matter how strong Little Moon Moth Phoenix was, she would still be affected by the suicide attacks!

“How detestable! The Mountain Crusher Ruler decided to abuse the numbers of its lackeys to intercept its opponents!” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed.

“These little pricks, I can’t stand them any longer! Mo Fan, what are you waiting for? Beat the crap out of them!” Zhao Manyan yelled at Mo Fan. He had enough of the annoying Winged Patrol Beasts.

Mo Fan cracked his neck and his fingers.

It was finally his turn!

Winged Patrol Beasts? Overwhelming numbers? My Ardent Sunset has been thirsty for a long time!

“You, stop using your Water Magic, I’m about to use Fire!” Mo Fan warned Li Dexin.

The proud Li Dexin did not take Mo Fan’s words seriously. He responded, “Do you think your Fire is stronger than my Super Water Spell? Stand aside, leave these annoying pricks to me. I’ll take care of them!”

Mo Fan shook his head helplessly. He could not be bothered to convince someone like Li Dexin. He turned to another direction and cast his Fire Spells at the Winged Patrol Beasts!

“Little Flame Belle, you take care of the left, I’ll handle the right!” Mo Fan ordered.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle cried excitedly. Grilling birds is my favorite!

Flames engulfed Little Flame Belle as the flames of the Ardent Sunset spread wildly and filled the area. The Winged Patrol Beasts being treated as cannon fodder truly lived up to their roles amid the flames, as the Ardent Sunset simply burned them into nothing!

The Ardent Sunset was not necessarily effective against the winged beasts, but it was perfect when attacking large numbers of enemies. When a target was set on fire, the flames would easily spread to another target at the same strength; the tighter the creatures were packed together, the greater the damage dealt to them, since the Ardent Sunset was able to spread faster and more fiercely!

Mo Fan did not use a Fire Spell. His control of Fire Magic was a lot weaker when Little Flame Belle was not Possessing him. The Ardent Sunset was Little Flame Belle’s Soul-grade Flame, and did not belong to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s Soul-grade Flame was the Meteor Scarlet, but it was not suitable under the circumstances.

However, he did have other Elements available. He began to compress space, and forced the Winged Patrol Beasts into tight clusters so the Ardent Sunset could spread even quicker!

Little Flame Belle was responsible for output, while Mo Fan was adding to the fuel. The Ardent Sunset soon covered a huge area, preventing the Winged Patrol Beasts from coming any closer.

“Such an impressive flame!” Bai Hongfei was a Fire Mage, too. His eyes glittered when he saw the Ardent Sunset.

“Humph, his flame just happened to be these winged beasts’ weakness!” Li Dexin harrumphed coldly when he noticed Mo Fan had finished taking care of the winged beasts faster than he could.

The clouds in the surroundings were dyed red by the flames. The Ardent Sunset had spread a few kilometers away with the help of the Wind of Sorrow. The flames were almost in reach of the Mountain Crusher Ruler!

The Mountain Crusher Ruler did not expect the humans with the Little Moon Moth Phoenix to be so tricky to deal with. Its followers were like petty mosquitoes in their eyes.

The Mountain Crusher Ruler let out a cry. It was about to make a move again!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Mountain Crusher Ruler began to beat its wings rapidly. The creature had enormous wings, and they produced a strong turbulence when it beat them with all its might.

The strong wind rapidly spread for kilometers, and even swept apart the clouds. The Mountain Crusher Ruler spread its sharp feathers, splitting the strong gusts of wind into countless piercing projectiles of air!

It roamed in the sky while the air projectiles poured down fiercely. The Little Moon Moth Phoenix decisively backed away.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix did not have sturdy flesh, so the piercing air projectiles could leave her full of holes. She deftly banked sideways to escape the air projectiles’ area of effect.

Dodging the air projectiles greatly affected Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s ascending speed, which was the Mountain Crusher Ruler’s goal. But the Little Moon Moth Phoenix was not something to be messed with, either. After all, she had the temper of a Totem Beast!

Little Moon Moth Phoenix emitted several layers of blue rays, which suddenly turned into glowing, slashing crescent upon reaching the peak of their brilliance. The crescents spun out at the Mountain Crusher Ruler after Little Moon Moth Phoenix swung her wings!

The Moonlight Slashes were extremely quick, while the Mountain Crusher Ruler was still spinning in the Wind of Sorrow. Its size had also made it an easy target. The Moonlight Slashes left several deep cuts on it.

There was an advantage to being huge, in that certain deadly blows would only manage to inflict minor injuries on something!

The cuts were nowhere enough to inflict serious damage on the Mountain Crusher Ruler. It gave up the thought of flying higher when it saw Little Moon Moth Phoenix appearing to its left. It blatantly charged at Little Moon Moth Phoenix instead!

The massive creature immediately blocked off the sunlight and the group’s view. The group suddenly found themselves under suffocating pressure.

“That thing is going all out, knock it away!” Mo Fan shouted.

“How?”

Mo Fan, Bai Hongfei, Ling Fei, Zhang Xiaohou, and the others immediately cast their spells, but their Advanced Spells were too weak to pose a threat to the Ruler-level winged beast. Only Mo Fan’s Electro Cannon managed to inflict a gaping wound on the Mountain Crusher Ruler, but it was only a little bruise to the huge thing.

“It dares to come to us? Perfect timing!” Li Dexin yelled out arrogantly.

Li Dexin was most likely the strongest person in the group. He opened up his Contract Space when the Mountain Crusher Ruler was just about to slam onto them!

The gate to Li Dexin’s Contract Space was extremely huge. The creature coming out of it was none other than the Great Lesser Earth Dragon!

The Great Lesser Earth Dragon was massive, too. It pounced instantly after stepping out of the rift, and slammed into the Mountain Crusher Ruler!

The Great Lesser Earth Dragon did not let the group down. Its flesh was as sturdy as stone, and its scales were like a metallic shell. A flying creature like the Mountain Crusher Ruler stood no chance against the Great Lesser Earth Dragon in terms of strength and weight. The Mountain Crusher Ruler that was planning to squash the humans ended up breaking its bones after the Great Lesser Earth Dragon slammed onto it, and was knocked a great distance away.

To everyone’s surprise, the Great Lesser Earth Dragon clutched tightly onto the Mountain Crusher Ruler’s wings, since it was unable to fly. It resembled the perfect bear-hug pose of a sumo wrestler!

“Keep screaming, why aren’t you screaming now!?” Li Dexin howled out in relief when the Great Lesser Earth Dragon successfully executed its attack.

Ever since he had come to the Qinling Mountains, his lungs had been on the verge of exploding due to the cries of the Winged Patrol Beasts. He finally got his hands on their leader; he was obviously going to teach it a lesson!

The dragon species were as tough as nails. The Lesser Dragon had secured the upper hand in the battle, even though it was up against a creature like the Mountain Crusher Ruler!

The Mountain Crusher Ruler spun rapidly in the air. Its feathers were upright, trying to punch the Great Lesser Earth Dragon full of holes, but the dragon’s defense was just too outstanding. The sharp feathers ended up breaking into pieces after colliding with its scales. The Mountain Crusher Ruler was crying out in pain instead!

“Strong, so strong! Li Dexin, your Great Lesser Earth Dragon might be a little stupid, but it’s unstoppable if it’s a brawl at close distance!” Mo Fan admitted after some time. He was completely astounded by this outcome.

“Humph, my Great Lesser Earth Dragon can’t do anything to it if it keeps roaming in the sky, but it’s simply asking for its death if it dares to approach us!” Li Dexin proclaimed.

“However, the Great Lesser Earth Dragon can’t fly. Wouldn’t even a Ruler-level creature suffer serious injuries if they fell from such a great height?” Ling Fei asked worriedly.

The Great Lesser Earth Dragon had broken a few of the Mountain Crusher Ruler’s bones after the brawl in the sky. The Great Lesser Earth Dragon was even biting the Mountain Crusher Ruler’s chest and wings, causing blood to splatter across the sky.

The Mountain Crusher Ruler was not one to be messed with, either. It finally used the flexibility of its feathers to shake the Great Lesser Earth Dragon off its back.

The Great Lesser Earth Dragon was not as brainless as Mo Fan thought. It knew it would struggle to hang onto the Mountain Crusher Ruler for too long, so it kicked the Mountain Crusher Ruler’s back with great force and launched itself into the sky!

The Great Lesser Earth Dragon’s jump was ridiculously powerful. It managed to fall slowly while gliding towards a rising mountain nearby.

The Great Lesser Earth Dragon was some distance away from the group. They saw the Great Lesser Earth Dragon crashing through the canopy of the trees on the mountain, but could not tell if it had landed safely.

Meanwhile, the Mountain Crusher Ruler had also lost control and was falling from the sky after the strong kick. A few of the bones on its back had been broken by the impact. It had fallen significantly behind the Little Moon Moth Phoenix before it realized what had happened.

The Mountain Crusher Ruler was too far behind to catch up to Little Moon Moth Phoenix. Even if it tried to catch up, it could no longer reach a higher altitude after the Great Lesser Earth Dragon had broken its bones!

“Stay there for now, we’ll come and pick you up!” Li Dexin yelled after seeing his Great Lesser Earth Dragon landing safely.

The Great Lesser Earth Dragon was surprisingly obedient. It stood up on the mountain and responded to its master with a loud roar.

A Summoner was unable to withdraw their Contracted Beast if they were too far apart. Li Dexin had done a great job helping the Little Moon Moth Phoenix eliminate an opponent. At the very least, the group’s lives were no longer at risk!

Li Dexin did not forget to mock Mo Fan. “Humph, your flames weren’t even that impressive!”

“Well done, General Li,” Mo Fan was not fussed about it. He raised his thumb to Li Dexin.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Little Moon Moth Phoenix was now able to fly higher without having to worry about the Mountain Crusher Ruler.

Only three mountains were left at their current height. Mo Fan glanced at them and noticed a strange ancient tree.

Astonishingly enough, the tree was growing right on top of the clouds. Its roots were intertwined throughout the clouds, its twisting trunk having branches extending out from the mountain or meandering upwards.

“That’s the Tree of Vows!” Lingling declared confidently.

“Are we almost at the Skycloud Realm already?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, the Skycloud Realm is just ahead, but apparently, we must rely on the special tall trees to move around. Otherwise, the Wind of Sorrow will freeze everything in the Skycloud Realm,” Lingling said.

The greater the altitude, the lower the temperature, especially when the strange Wind of Sorrow was around. The temperature was enough to stop a living creature’s blood from flowing, hence even the Ruler-level creatures struggled to fly at this height.

Mo Fan soon noticed a few Ruler-level winged beasts heading toward the towering trees. They circled the splayed branches, using them as a cover from the fierce Wind of Sorrow.

“Let’s head over, too. I think we should also be able to find what we have come for,” Zhao Manyan said.

The Tree of Vows was their goal. They could not care less about anything else.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix approached the Tree of Vows and landed on a huge colorful leaf. The leaf directly prevented the icy Wind of Sorrow from striking Little Moon Moth Phoenix and the others.

“Is there really a Deer God here?” Mo Fan looked around, but did not find any trace of the Deer God.

“Speaking of which, don’t you think the tree looks a little familiar?” Lingling wondered aloud.

Mo Fan looked up and studied the tree. He did recognize the tree from somewhere after taking a closer look. He soon realized something after thinking about it.

“This thing… it looks just like the demon tree, apart from the difference in color!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

The Giant Purple Linden!

The Tree of Vows’ appearance was extremely similar to the Giant Purple Linden. If Lingling hadn’t pointed it out, he would not have noticed it at all!

“What’s going on here?” Zhao Manyan was terrified too.

“Stay calm,” Yu Shishi broke in. “Little Moon Moth Phoenix has explained to me from what she can recall. The Tree of Vows and the Giant Purple Linden used to be a single tree with two trunks that existed between the Ashwood Wind Layer and the Skycloud Realm. However, the Giant Purple Linden was cursed by some powerful magic, forcing it to feed on blood and flesh just to survive, thus turning it into the demon tree you stumbled into…”

“The Tree of Vows and the demon tree were twins?” Zhao Manyan was shocked.

“Mm, that might be true! The Tree of Vows is empowered by the Psychic and Blessing Elements. Anyone who swears a vow under the Tree of Vows will imprint it in their soul,” Lingling informed them.

“Will it attack us, then?”

“No, don’t worry. The Tree of Vows doesn’t have any power to attack,” Yu Shishi told them.

“Why does Little Moon Moth Phoenix know all this?” Mo Fan asked, confused again.

“She used to live on the Tree of Vows a long time ago!” Yu Shishi said.

“I see.”

“Can you ask Little Moon Moth Phoenix about the Deer God? Take a look at this,” Mo Fan took out the Horn of the Deer God and showed it to Little Moon Moth Phoenix.

The Little Moon Moth Phoenix beat her wings and glided down to the roots of the Tree of Vows. Its roots were dangling from the cliffs of the mountain, as if they were growing inside the clouds to acquire nutrients from them.

The Little Moon Moth Phoenix flew into the clouds, and soon returned with something like a piece of coral.

“What is that? It’s the God Deer we are looking for. Don’t tell me it has already gone and died?” Mo Fan protested.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix went up to the disappointed Mo Fan and placed the object she had found in front of him.

Mo Fan took a closer look at the strange object. He had no clue how it was related to the Deer God.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix began to emit a purifying light. It shone upon the object and the outer surface began to peel off!

The surface fell off and revealed a yellow horn. When the stuff that had attached to it had fallen off, Mo Fan was surprised to see that it was indeed a beautiful horn of a deer!

The horn had a unique luster, the same as the colorful leaves of the Tree of Vows. The horn was also a lot bigger than the part Mo Fan was holding!

“Mo Fan, your horn is actually a broken piece from the horn here!” Zhao Manyan blurted out after noticing something.

The purifying light Little Moon Moth Phoenix was emitting washed across the horn Mo Fan was holding, revealing its true colors. Mo Fan followed Zhao Manyan’s instructions and attached the Horn of the Deer God he had bought in Greece to the larger horn. He was shocked to see that the Horn of the Deer God he had accidentally stumbled into at an auction was actually only a part of the real horn, and only around a fifth of it, at that!

After the missing piece was added to the horn, it instantly unleashed a strong aura. Mo Fan felt like a Totem Beast with five different Elements was standing before him!

“Little Moon Moth Phoenix says the God Deer has long since passed away, but the real Horn of the Deer God might provide you with some help,” Yu Shishi informed him.

Mo Fan observed Little Loach’s reaction. The little pendant was blatantly broadcasting its urge to devour the whole thing!

It was more than just some help for him; it was exactly the Totem Power Little Loach was desperately looking for. Mo Fan could even feel an overwhelming mysterious force rising from the Horn when the missing piece was reattached to it!

“Wait, my wooden clapper isn’t reacting. Goddamnit!” Zhao Manyan suddenly yelled.

He had followed Mo Fan through depths of sorrows to look for the Totem Beasts, but it turned out that his wooden clapper was not even interested in the Totem Power of the Deer God. He was about to suffer a mental breakdown.

He had a feeling that he had been tricked by Mo Fan!

“Old Zhao, don’t be like that. Once I reach the Super Level, I can figure out a way to help you overcome your difficulties too,” Mo Fan comforted Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan was overjoyed. This should be enough for him to achieve the Super Level!

He would worry about Old Zhao’s advancement later. If worse came to worst, he could just accompany Zhao Manyan until he found the way to achieve the Super Level!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan was in a bad mood. Mo Fan and Mu Bai already made contact with the Super Level, yet he was still stuck at the Advanced Level. How was he going to boast about his talents if they went to find hookers together?

That being said, the wooden clapper did not show any interest in the Horn of the Deer God. Perhaps its energy was incompatible since Baxia was a Totem Beast in the ocean, while the Deer God was related to the sky!

What kind of Totem Power would be compatible, then?

Mo Fan gladly claimed the Horn of the Deer God while Zhao Manyan was lost in his thoughts. Little Loach could slowly absorb the Totem Power of the Horn of the Deer God after it was placed inside the Space Ring.

Little Loach was extremely satisfied. The Totem Power of the Horn of the Deer God suited its appetite perfectly. It was even stronger than the Totem Power it had taken from the Moon Moth Phoenix before!

They had come a long way for the Tree of Vows, and almost died as a result. Mo Fan was overjoyed after his efforts finally paid off.

Little Loach’s speed of absorption did not disappoint Mo Fan. He soon felt the energy essential for him to achieve the Super Level inside what Little Loach was feeding him!

“You should keep the energy first. I don’t have time to cultivate right now!” Mo Fan quickly told Little Loach that there was no need to rush it, seeing how loyal it was.

Mo Fan would have no problem reaching the Super Level with the help of the Deer God’s Totem Power. He just needed to cultivate in seclusion for some time!

The cold Wind of Sorrow swept and shook the colorful leaves vigorously. Jiang Shaoxu lifted her eyes and pointed above the Tree of Vows, “They are still going higher. Should we catch up to them?”

“Little Moon Moth Phoenix won’t be able to endure the Wind of Sorrow any further,” Yu Shishi told them.

Yu Shishi had hoped that Little Moon Moth Phoenix would be able to reach a greater height, but her physical strength was no match for the Silver Skyruler and the other Ruler creatures. Their current height was likely Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s limit. She might freeze to death if she tried to go any higher.

Not only was Little Moon Moth Phoenix struggling against the Wind of Sorrow, the rest of the group had no chance to resist the extreme wind, either!

“Hopefully, the other winged beasts are stronger than the Silver Skyruler,” Zhang Xiaohou mentioned.

“The Silver Skyruler is very strong among the Ruler-level creatures. There’s nothing we can do in this competition for the throne of the Emperor of Feathers. Let’s hope our country is blessed by the Heavens. Otherwise, another great disaster is going to come from the Qinling Mountains,” Jiang Shaoxu murmured.

“With your father around, no city in the Central Plains will be in danger, even if the Silver Skyruler managed to take over the Qinling Mountains!” Li Dexin swore.

“Knowing how grim the situation of our country is, it’s better if we can lessen the threats,” Jiang Shaoxu replied.

Zhang Xiaohou was still looking up. His eyes were fixed on the winged beasts flying to greater heights after passing the Tree of Vows, including a formidable silver figure.

Even though the Black Totem Snake was able to beat the crap out of the Silver Skyruler, these Ruler-level creatures were still too strong for them. They would most likely be wiped out if they dared to provoke the Silver Skyruler!

Zhang Xiaohou clenched his teeth. If only his cultivation was a bit stronger, he would definitely chase after the Silver Skyruler, even if he could only stop the Silver Skyruler from claiming the throne of the Emperor of Feathers. He knew what the terrifying consequences would be once the Silver Skyruler claimed the throne better than anyone else!

Mo Fan knew what Zhang Xiaohou was thinking. He patted his friend on the shoulder and said, “Forget it, you can take on the responsibility in the future. With your cultivation and the help from the military, the day when you are strong enough to face the Silver Skyruler won’t be far away, even if it does become the Emperor of Feathers of the Qinling Mountains.”

Zhang Xiaohou nodded. He understood where Mo Fan was coming from. Going after the Silver Skyruler now was suicide. He would not give up if it was within his capabilities, but if something was beyond his capabilities, he had no choice but to set it aside for now. He had to hold his ground no matter what happened. He needed to be confident about his future!

“The Tree of Vows has some rare fruits. I’ll ask Little Moon Moth Phoenix to pluck them for you, but I’m afraid we won’t have a chance to see the Sacred Waterfall. We’ll bring the fruits back to prove that we reached this height!” Yu Shishi declared.

The Tree of Vows was like an old home to the Little Moon Moth Phoenix. She was very familiar with its surroundings.

The Tree of Vows was the home of some special creatures. They were hiding behind the colorful leaves and observing the outsiders alertly. However, they did not attack them since the Moon Moth Phoenix was around.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix plucked some fruits and split them among the group.

“What can I use this for?” Ling Fei asked.

“The fruit’s effects differ between people. You can just bring it back and eat it. Consider it a blessing for being able to find the Tree of Vows, but a creature can only eat a single fruit from the Tree of Vows. After the first fruit, eating more of the fruit won’t bring you any benefits, and it might harm you instead,” Yu Shishi said.

“The fruits of the Tree of Vows are similar to the Blessing of the God’s Seal from the Parthenon Temple. You should treat it preciously. We only have the chance to claim them after reaching our current altitude during the Ceremony of the Winged Beasts…” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Are you serious? It’s comparable to the Blessing of the God’s Seal?” Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened simultaneously.

“Mm, it’s a permanent blessing, but I have no clue if it’s as effective as the Blessing of the God’s Seal. It might only be a minor improvement to our strength,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Are the fruits really that impressive? Little Moon Moth Phoenix, I have a basket here! Can you please fill it up with the fruits for me?” Mo Fan asked the Little Moon Moth Phoenix shamelessly.

“Are you going to eat the fruits like they are rice!?” Yu Shishi snapped.

“I can give them to the others, or even auction them in the marketplace. I bet they are as expensive as a huge building in a city!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Mo Fan, she already said that the Tree of Vows will only grant its fruits to the creatures that have reached it. It won’t give the fruits to those that have never been here,” Lingling said.

“Oh, that’s true…” Mo Fan felt it was a pity. However, he was curious when he recalled Jiang Shaoxu’s words. He asked, “Jiang Shaoxu, it’s your first time here. How do you know all this?”

“I read it in my brother’s journal. It’s the reason I’m here,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Jiang Shaojun has been here, too?”

“Mm, I’m following the trail he left. I might be able to bid him farewell for real once I reach the end of it!” Jiang Shaoxu smiled.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The final showdown for the throne of the Emperor of Feathers was no longer the group’s concern. Only the strongest winged beasts could reach the Skycloud Realm and the legendary Sacred Waterfall. The members of their group were barely qualified to face Ruler-level creatures. However, the Ruler Level and the Super Level were extremely broad and limitless, just like the Skycloud Realm!

Achieving a higher level was like entering a bigger domain. They were merely rookies in the domain. The Silver Skyruler might be weaker than the Black Totem Snake, but the Black Totem Snake was more or less at the top among Ruler-level creatures. Mo Fan had to put a lot more effort in if he was planning to reach the same height as the Black Totem Snake. Luckily, he found the path of cultivation rather enjoyable, especially when so many people were making their way toward the stronger domain together with him!

—

The group descended the mountain upon which the Tree of Vows was located. Li Dexin managed to withdraw the Great Lesser Earth Dragon, who was clinging to a cliff, back into his Contract Space on the way down.

“We should be careful on our way back. Many winged beasts will still be roaming in the mountains,” Bai Hongfei reminded them.

“Bai Hongfei, didn’t you notice the winged beasts are not showing any intentions of attacking us? They are even clearing a path for us!” Yu Shishi pointed out.

Bai Hongfei immediately looked around, and finally noticed the winged beasts were deliberately avoiding them. Bai Hongfei initially thought the winged beasts were wary of their strength, but after a closer look, he realized they were behaving respectfully, instead of displaying hostility in their eyes!

“We’ve taken part in the Ceremony of the Winged Beasts and managed to reach the Tree of Vows. We might be outsiders, but the winged beasts will still respect us for that!” Jiang Shaoxu judged.

“Does that mean we can go anywhere we want when we come to the Qinling Mountains again?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Not necessarily. The winged beasts that obey the ancient rules and respect the Tree of Vows will be friendly and respectful to us, but those that are savage and violent will still attack us, such as the White Magic Falcons, who don’t really obey the ancient rules of the winged beasts. The same goes for the Nanjiang Birds. They are very belligerent!” Zhang Xiaohou stated firmly.

“The main reason is because we are not winged beasts. Things would be a lot simpler if we were,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Little Moon Moth Phoenix must have a certain status though, right?”

“Of course!”

The Moon Moth Phoenixes had rarely stayed in the Qinling Mountains. She was most likely going to stay at Fanxue Mountain, since there were countless blue moths within its territory!

—

Mo Fan looked up after reaching the ground. The sky which he had thought he could see the limit of with a single glance was a lot higher than he had imagined. He could not help but wonder what level the winged beasts residing at the Sacred Waterfall were. They were truly the rulers of the skies if they could easily command the flying creatures throughout the whole country!

“Mo Fan, the Deer God Totem Beast is the other half,” Lingling suddenly spoke up.

“What do you mean the other half?” Mo Fan asked.

Lingling showed Mo Fan the complete seal symbolizing the Deer God.

“Take a look at this! Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s Totem Seal can merge with the Totem Seal of the mysterious feather!” Lingling took out a scroll of the Totem Seals she had drawn.

The scroll contained the Totem Seals that Lingling had discovered so far. They had learned from Jiang Shaojun’s notes that the Totem Beasts were closely related to one another. They could use simple arithmetic to figure out the identities of which Totem Beasts were related.

For example, the Totem Seals of the Black Totem Snake and Baxia represented the Black Tortoise once they were combined!

“I know about that,” Mo Fan said.

“Look at the Seal of the Deer God. It can’t combine with the Seal of the Moon Moth Phoenix. The Seal of the mysterious feather couldn’t combine with the Seal of the Deer God, either!” Lingling pointed out.

Mo Fan immediately felt his head spinning.

The Totem Seals were very complicated. They were not just a combination of several simple shapes; they were just as complicated as a person’s fingerprint, so it took a lot of time to analyze and compare them. They had to familiarize themselves with the traits of the Totem Seals to do so. However, Lingling had already discovered that the Totem Seal of the Deer God was incompatible with the Totem Seals of the Moon Moth Phoenix and the mysterious feather, and they were not even that far from the mountain. How ridiculously efficient was she!?

“What did you infer then?” Mo Fan asked.

Jiang Shaoxu suddenly squeezed her face between them and asked them both, “Do you know the true origin of the Nine Provinces?”

Mo Fan and Lingling were startled. Where did the woman come from? Had she been eavesdropping on their discussion about the Totem Seals?

“Didn’t the Nine Provinces rely on the Totem Beasts to grow stronger?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Jiang Shaoxu put on a cunning grin, as if she was keeping them in suspense, yet she ended up running out of patience first. She said, “That is only the surface of it! Do you know why the Nine Provinces were so strong in the past, when other countries and continents were still in their primordial state?”

“Is this a history test now?” Mo Fan scoffed at her.

Historical records only started from the beginning of the Magic Civilization. Every record about the era of the Totem Beasts was deemed forbidden, thanks to the Magic Association. As the highest authorities of society, the Magic Association clearly did not want people to know too much about the past. In other words, learning that humans were merely slaves or vassals during the era of the gods!

Countries like Greece, Egypt, and India had their own ancient gods.

The ancient gods in China were the Totem Beasts, but even so, the records never mentioned anything about them. Mo Fan had no idea how the ancient gods of the other countries treated humans in the past, but after interacting with the Black Totem Snake, Moon Moth Phoenix, and Baxia, he was quite convinced that the Totem Beasts were extremely friendly and sincere to humans. They were unable to reproduce, so they had treated the Chinese as their own people.

As for Greece, their ancient gods were more violent. The Tyrant Titans enjoyed feasting on humans as they pleased, hence the rise of the Parthenon Temple was like a blessing to the people. The Parthenon Temple and the Tyrant Titans were still warring with one another, even today!

The extinction of the Totem Beasts in China was perhaps the most difficult mystery to solve, or maybe it was not the same in the past. The Totem Beasts might have waged a war against their ancestors, too!

“The Nine Provinces had several ancient gods. These extraordinary creatures were the leaders of the Totem Beasts. In the earliest days, the Kunlun Mountains were under the control of one of the leaders. The first Moon Moth Phoenix was the Emperor of Feathers in the Qinling Mountains, but the truth is, the first Moon Moth Phoenix was only a subordinate of the leader of the Totem Beasts in charge of the Kunlun Mountains!” Jiang Shaoxu declared.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan gasped. He wondered where Jiang Shaoxu had learned all that from!

“Therefore, it’s very obvious that the Deer God you found is the vassal of another leader of the Totem Beasts. It’s not from the same heirarchy as the Moon Moth Phoenix,” Jiang Shaoxu went on.

Lingling glanced at Jiang Shaoxu. Everything she had said was exactly what Lingling had concluded about the Totem Beasts already.

Lingling had been studying the Totem Beasts while Mo Fan was busy in foreign countries. She had discovered there were many different types of Totem Beasts in the ancient past of their homeland. Some were specifically referred to as the Sacred Totem Beasts, who were basically the leaders Jiang Shaoxu had mentioned.

An example of the Sacred Totem Beasts was the Black Tortoise, whose symbol was a combination of those of the Black Totem Snake, Baxia, and some other Totem Beasts.

Now they had also discovered the existence of another Sacred Totem Beast! Both the Moon Moth Phoenix and the owner of the mysterious feather were its vassals. Lingling initially thought the Deer God was one of its vassals, and that the Seals of the Totem Beast, the mysterious feather, and the Deer God would point to the Sacred Totem Beast. However, it turned out that the Totem Seal of the Deer God was incompatible with the Seals of the Moon Moth Phoenix and the mysterious feather!

In other words, the Moon Moth Phoenix and the mysterious feather were related to one Sacred Totem Beast, while the Deer God was the vassal of another one!

Unfortunately, they only knew about a few Totem Beasts. They lacked the pieces to speculate on the appearances of the Sacred Totem Beasts!

“We’ve helped you with your goal this time, just tell us what you know,” Mo Fan stated. The explanation about the Totem Beasts had gotten his attention.

Zhao Manyan was a Totem Guardian, too. He quickly stepped closer and listened carefully.

Jiang Shaoxu noticed the Violet Imperial Battalion had gone ahead, leaving only Mo Fan’s close associates behind. She lowered her voice and said quietly, “Long ago, the Nine Provinces actually had many ancient beasts. They were hostile to one another and fought each other. It was extremely chaotic. Humans were frail, too, so they had no choice but to submit to the powerful ancient beasts. The ancient beasts who were willing to provide humans with protection were called the Totem Beasts, but the Totem Beasts opposed one another, too, so the human tribes ended up constantly waging war against one another.

“The Sacred Totem Beasts were special, as they realized they were simply killing one another for no reason. They did not want humans to suffer continuous casualties just because the Totem Beasts were fighting one another. To preserve the humans and the Totem Beasts, a few Totem Beasts, the strongest among them, stepped forward to implement the rule of not permitting Totem Beasts and humans to fight one another. Humans, Totem Beasts, and ancient beasts that broke the rules would be punished severely.

“With those rules, humans, Totem Beasts, and ancient beasts were able to enjoy some peaceful eras. Didn’t we just participate in the Ceremony of the Winged Beasts? It’s actually one of the rules that a Sacred Totem Beast came up with to stop the winged beasts from massacring one another, using the height they can reach as a way to decide their status and earn respect from their tribes. That being said, many winged beasts are reluctant to obey the rules. After all, the Sacred Totem Beasts are no longer around, and the Totem Beasts have almost gone extinct. The winged beasts are relatively conservative, hence the Qinling Mountains are well-preserved, and the creatures here are still sticking to the old tradition to compete fairly with one another.”

Mo Fan, Lingling, Zhao Manyan, and the others stared at Jiang Shaoxu in astonishment. She knew far more than they had imagined.

There had to be a reason why the Ceremony of the Winged Beasts was held. The ruler of the winged beasts must have started it, and the latter generations agreed with it too, so they continued to pass the ceremony down to their descendants.

“The peace lasted for some time, allowing humans to grow stronger, even while the ancient beasts expanded their territories. Humans discovered magic and began to control their own destiny, while the ancient beasts left the Totem Beasts and turned into the demon creatures that are crawling all over the mountains and wilds as we speak. However, the Totem Beasts that initially took care of humans and ancient beasts all disappeared for an unknown reason. Perhaps the humans whose wings had fully grown overthrew them!” Jiang Shaoxu finished.

“Ah? Why couldn’t it be the powerful demon creatures that overthrew the demon beasts? The demon creatures are crueler and fiercer than us. They have a lot of strong species too!” Zhao Manyan protested.

“Well, you’re saying that because you’re thinking from a human’s point of view. I only said humans, Totem Beasts, and ancient beasts, because we always differentiate ourselves from the demon creatures, but try thinking from the Totem Beasts’ point of view! Humans are actually no different from other ancient beasts to them!

“It wasn’t like the Totem Beasts were particularly kind to humans. They were just too powerful, hence they were unwilling to harm creatures who were weaker. Humans were simply too weak in the past, so the demon creatures always picked on them, which is why they relied more on the protection of the Totem Beasts. Besides, humans were grateful to and respectful of the Totem Beasts, so they ended up getting closer to them! The truth is, the Totem Beasts were never biased toward any species. They were just maintaining order during ancient times with their power and status,” Jiang Shaoxu rebutted him.

The Totem Beasts were protecting every weak living creature, and humans were one of them!

When the Magic Civilization was born, humans finally grew stronger and became a powerful species.

If the Totem Beasts were overthrown by a certain species that had risen abruptly, the humans who had learned magic were clearly one of the suspects. Humanity only became powerful after the Magic Civilization was born. Before that, they were not so different from the ancient beasts and demon creatures!

“It’s what we thought, too,” Mo Fan smiled wryly.

Humans were most likely the ones who had annihilated the Totem Beasts. They might not be able to find any proof in the ancient records of their country, but they had arrived at the same conclusion by looking at the history of countries like Egypt and Greece.

“Therefore, it’s actually quite stupid that we are searching for the Totem Beasts now. HAHAHA, it was our ancestors who annihilated them!… Luckily, the Totem Beasts that are still around are not the same as the Totem Beasts in the past. Since they have been tangled up with humans for so long, they are no longer used to living with creatures besides humans. They have become extremely rare, and are actually considered a weak species. They might even end up becoming vassals to humans!” Jiang Shaoxu went on.

As a single entity, the Totem Beasts were still insanely strong, yet when compared to an entire species, they were indeed at a disadvantage in terms of numbers.

The Black Totem Snake who had long resided in the West Lake had only shown himself once, but he had almost died to Zhu Meng!

The Moon Moth Phoenix had lived in the deep forest with only her final breath left. She would have died if she did not have a Totem Guardian!

Jiang Shaoxu was absolutely right. The Totem Beasts were very likely to become vassals of humanity!

“You must have learned all this from Jiang Shaojun. Does that mean the strongest Totem Beasts he was looking for were the leaders of the Totem Beasts, the ones who implemented the rules?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Mm, my brother was looking for the Sacred Totem Beasts! Those Sacred Totem Beasts were insanely powerful. Even if there was only one of them alive in this world, it could still solve the problem we are facing with ease,” Jiang Shaoxu admitted.

Mo Fan gasped, suddenly lost for words.

It seemed Shao Zheng was aware of the truth too, which was why he had assigned Mo Fan to look for the Totem Beasts!

Chapter 1738: The Opinionated Idiot

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Even though it’s impressive that you’ve learned all this before us, I seriously don’t understand why you are smiling like a smartass.” Mo Fan looked at Jiang Shaoxu and saw her grinning proudly.

“You’re the one trying to be a smartass. Do you really think I don’t know you are using Totem Power to strengthen yourself? Why don’t you call me your grandmother, and I might consider telling you another secret?” Jiang Shaoxu rolled her eyes at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan twisted his lips and said disdainfully, “I have Lingling by my side. It’s only a matter of time until we track down the next Totem Beast, now that we have the complete Seal of the Deer God. There’s no reason for me to submit to you.”

“I don’t have any clues left!” Lingling answered at the worst time.

Mo Fan turned back to Jiang Shaoxu promptly. “Grandma, do you really know where to find the next Totem Beast?”

“…” Zhang Xiaohou, Bai Hongfei, and Zhao Manyan were lost for words to describe Mo Fan’s attitude. Perhaps calling him a b**ch might be the most appropriate!

Jiang Shaoxu was only messing around. She had followed Jiang Shaojun’s path looking for the Totem Beasts, so she naturally hoped someone could go with her. She had almost lost her mind while she was wandering in the Qinling Mountains alone!

“Around ten years ago, my brother told me many stories. I used to think he had read the stories from some books, but I eventually realized that they were all his personal experiences, things he had encountered while he was searching for the Totem Beasts. My brother was like a journalist. He actually found the traces of many Totem Beasts and proved their existence, but he never disturbed them. However, he only recorded some of his discoveries, and kept everything else in his mind,” Jiang Shaoxu told them.

“Ten years ago… weren’t you already fourteen or fifteen? Damn, were you still listening to bedtime stories at that age?” Mo Fan blurted out.

Jiang Shaoxu was startled, as if something embarrassing had been exposed. She blushed and snarled, “What the heck is wrong with you!? Can you not focus on the unimportant bits!? Why couldn’t I be afraid of thunder when I was younger!?”

“My bad, keep going!” Mo Fan apologized without hesitation.

“I’m telling you, if you are serious about looking for the Totem Beasts, you should be treating me well. Otherwise, the Deer God is the last Totem Beast you will ever find in this world, humph!” Jiang Shaoxu vowed to him.

“Mo Fan, you should watch your mouth,” Zhao Manyan nudged him.

He and Zhang Xiaohou needed the Totem Power, too. They had not found a way to achieve the Super Level, so the Totem Beasts that Jiang Shaoxu had mentioned were very important to them!

“By the way, my brother also went to other countries. The enormous beast in the ocean we stumbled into, and the wooden clapper with a magic Seal, were both related to a Totem Beast. If I’m not mistaken, it must be the Totem Beast Baxia!” Jiang Shaoxu fixed her eyes on Zhao Manyan as she recalled something.

“We know, we know.” Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan didn’t keep Baxia a secret from Jiang Shaoxu, since they were now all in the same boat.

Jiang Shaoxu was surprised. She did not think Zhao Manyan would catch Baxia’s attention out of nowhere, and become his Totem Guardian!

“Keep going,” Mo Fan urged her.

“The Totem Beast I’m about to reveal is related to Baxia, too. If I’m not mistaken, it’s also a descendant of a Sacred Totem Beast!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Don’t tell me you’re referring to the enormous snake in Hangzhou?” Zhao Manyan immediately lost interest.

“Of course not! Who doesn’t know about the giant snake in Hangzhou!?” Jiang Shaoxu grunted.

Zhao Manyan’s eyes glittered.

“Strange, if the Black Tortoise was a Sacred Totem Beast, wasn’t he the sire of the Black Totem Snake and Baxia? How is there another Totem Beast related to the Black Tortoise?” Lingling asked.

“No, that’s not it, the Black Tortoise didn’t sire just two Totem Beasts. There must be others about. I’m not sure about the exact number, but I’m confident it’s more than two!” Jiang Shaoxu declared.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan exchanged glances with one another. It was definitely shocking news to them!

“No wonder the Totem Power of the Deer God wasn’t useful for me. It didn’t even let me take a sip of the milk. It turns out that I was looking for the wrong brand!” Zhao Manyan realized.

It explained why Baxia had asked Zhao Manyan to go on adventures and look for the power that was hidden away. It turned out that there were other Totem Beasts related to the Black Tortoise, beyond the Black Totem Snake and Baxia himself. Baxia had asked Zhao Manyan to look for Totem Beasts of the same bloodline as him!

“Mo Fan, did you receive a lot of energy from the Deer God?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Yeah, and it’s very pure, too. It was several times stronger than the Totem Power I received from the Moon Moth Phoenix. I seriously doubted the Totem Power would be enough for me to achieve the Super Level, but from the looks of it now, not only is it enough for me to reach the Super Level, it might give me a huge push in the early stage of the Super Level, too!” Mo Fan admitted.

Little Loach had yet to fully absorb the energy of the Deer God. It showed how pure and abundant the energy of the Deer God was. Even the Underground Holy Spring was not as fascinating to Little Loach!

If Jiang Shaoxu was right about the existence of the Sacred Totem Beasts in the past, and the Deer God was only a vassal of one of them, it meant Little Loach preferred the Totem Power of the Totem Beasts from the same bloodline. If he could find other Totem Beasts of the same bloodline, it would grant him huge benefits!

Once he reached the Super Level, he would have eight Elements in total. Without proper sources of nutrition, Mo Fan seriously wondered if he could feed all his Elements enough!

“Do you know where the next Totem Beast is?” Zhao Manyan was running out of patience.

He was keen to achieve the Super Level so he could become stronger. Even though he had left everything about his family behind and preferred the freedom he currently had, the Zhao Family was still his roots. He would have to go back one day!

“It’s in the… oh, I don’t feel like saying it all of a sudden. The two of you might be trustworthy at times, but you can be cruel and unscrupulous, too. How would I know if the two of you are going to leave me behind, and go look for the Totem Beast yourself?” Jiang Shaoxu smiled.

“How is that possible? Why would we do such a thing, unless the place is extremely dangerous?” Mo Fan demanded.

“That arrogance of yours is very annoying. Not every woman likes to hide in safety and wait anxiously for your return, do you understand? We enjoy the thrills and adrenaline rushes too, especially when we find the answers to the questions that have bothered us for a long time. Don’t you think so too, Lingling?” Jiang Shaoxu inquired.

Jiang Shaoxu’s words fit Lingling’s mood perfectly. She was still holding a grudge against Mo Fan for not bringing her to the Pyramid!

The Great Pyramid of Giza! Lingling had dreamed of seeing what was inside of it. She had read many books about it since she was young, but she could only determine if the books were telling the truth by going into the Pyramid.

But Mo Fan did not bring her along. The reason was that he was afraid to put her in danger.

However, if she was told to stay at home and boring school every day, she would feel no different than a soulless shell!

“Mm, he’s an opinionated idiot,” Lingling agreed.

Chapter 1739: Yes, I’m Lying
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was left speechless.

“Therefore, don’t even think I’m going to spill it all out now. Just make the necessary preparations. I’ll let you know when it’s time to go!” Jiang Shaoxu smiled.

Lingling’s eyes flickered with a cunning look, too.

Jiang Shaoxu’s idea was brilliant. From now on, she did not have to tell Mo Fan everything whenever she discovered something. Otherwise, Mo Fan would simply toss her aside if he thought it was too dangerous!

He would have no choice but to bring her along if she did not spill the beans. That way, she no longer had to stay at that boring school or at home!

Mm, perfect!

Not every woman was stupid. Jiang Shaoxu was very clever!

Zhao Manyan’s face darkened. He finally had a chance to achieve the Super Level, yet Jiang Shaoxu was not willing to spill it!

“Fine, let’s head back for now. We’ll go once we are ready. We’ll bring you two along, too,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

Speaking of which, Zhao Manyan had been following him around to many places, yet he had never received any benefits. They were supposed to split the benefits of coming to the Qinling Mountains evenly, yet the Totem Beast here did not fit Baxia’s preferences. If he did not find a way to help Zhao Manyan achieve the Super Level, his friend might end up falling out with him!

Besides, the Totem Beasts were somewhat related to one another. In Lingling’s view, the Totem Seals were like playing a crossword puzzle. Once you found enough words to fill the blanks, it was possible to guess who the unknown Totem Beasts were!

Lingling was already drawing on her scroll to look for the Totem Beasts that suited Little Loach’s taste. She needed more clues provided by other Totem Beasts first, however…

—

“Wait,” Apas suddenly spoke up, stopping the group from leaving the mountain.

Mo Fan turned to Apas, a little confused. She did not explain herself. She suddenly headed into a tall bush and disappeared.

“Hey, what are you doing? It’s too dangerous to wander alone!” Li Dexin yelled. He quickly ran to the bush, yet Apas was already gone.

In Li Dexin’s eyes, Apas was just like Lingling. These delicate young girls were nowhere enough to fill a demon creature’s mouth!

“Go after her, what are you waiting for? There are many Witch Hawks around here!” Jiang Shaoxu urged, worried about Apas’ safety too.

“Her? I’m more worried about the demon creatures she stumbles into!” Mo Fan answered.

Should he even worry about the safety of a successor to Medusa?

If he disregarded her age and ranked the demon creatures in terms of seniority, Apas would be the ancestor of these demon creatures!

Mo Fan was not worried at all. Apas kept saying she was not good at fighting and that she only had Psychic Magic at her disposal, yet did she really think Mo Fan would believe that?

She might seem harmless and was willing to follow Mo Fan around like a little servant girl for now, but he could guarantee that she was trying to come up with a plan to murder him without having to damage her noble soul every night!

Therefore, Mo Fan actually held a little grudge against his second Contracted Beast. How did he end up with such a disobedient and cunning snake beauty? He would rather have a diligent, obedient beast like the Great Lesser Earth Dragon!

——

Apas wove through the thick bushes. The trees ahead were razed to the ground.

A bunch of Witch Hawks was circling above the shrubs. Their faces were twisted and ugly, like old hags. Their chests were busty, but they were covered in disgusting feathers. The lower halves of their bodies resembled a hawk.

The Witch Hawks were commonly found in Europe, called Harpies there. Nobody knew when they had come to secure themselves a spot in the Qinling Mountains. They were vicious and cruel, and enjoyed circling a dying creature. They would utter unpleasant shrieks while watching their prey die.

Death was already a torture, not to mention being constantly bothered by the unpleasant cries of the Witch Hawks prior to it. They would stick their ugly faces close to their prey as if they were trying to say, “Hey, you’re dying, but we are still alive. You’re going to die, and we will live for a long time!”

The Witch Hawks were holding a party around the body of a demon creature. They were singing in piercing screeches!

A pitch-black bird was lying in a pit there. Its eyes were filled with discontent, but it was directed at the sky instead of the lowly Witch Hawks who were ridiculing it.

Soft footsteps were heard. A pretty and clean-skinned face soon showed up in front of the demon creature who was on its last breath.

The Witch Hawks began to panic. They let out intimidating cries at the young woman.

Apas coldly scanned the surroundings and told the Witch Hawks, “You will die if you are still in my sight after three seconds!”

The Witch Hawks were from Europe, and the Medusae were the noblest and most cold-blooded of the demon creatures of Europe. The Witch Hawks actually forgot how to fly after feeling the enormous pressure. They quickly crawled away and fled wildly into the bushes!

Apas crouched down slowly. She placed her hand on the pitch-black Flamebird’s forehead.

She was not wearing any expression, yet her eyes were constantly flickering with emotions, as if she was experiencing what the Flamebird had been through.

A tear left Apas’ eye and ran down her face as she lifted her hand from the Flamebird’s head. The tear turned into a stone before it touched the ground.

“We’ve been to the Tree of Vows. The person you are waiting for wasn’t up there,” Apas told the dying Flamebird.

The Flamebird tried its best to look at Apas.

“Do you want to hear the truth?” Apas asked.

The Flamebird’s eyes remained fixed on Apas.

—

When Mo Fan found Apas, she was coming back with a strange gloomy aura.

Mo Fan saw the remains of a cremated Flamebird, and black feathers scattered around it.

“It was the Flamebird?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm,” Apas nodded.

“Who was its owner?” Mo Fan asked.

“I don’t know,” Apas answered.

“You’re lying,” Mo Fan replied.

“Yes, I’m lying,” Apas admitted blatantly.

Mo Fan did not expect such a direct response from her.

Well, she already said she was lying. What else did he want from her?

Chapter 1740: The Super Level! Part One

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group left the Qinling Mountains, and no longer had to suffer in the Wind of Sorrow. A sense of freedom surged in their bodies. If they had stayed a few more days in the Qinling Mountains, they might have to regrow their skin!

They stayed in the town below the Qinling Mountains for the night. Mo Fan could not wait to begin his meditation after claiming the Totem Power of the Deer God.

Little Loach had given Mo Fan a huge push in the back. He felt like he would break through the walls of the Super Level in a few days without trying too hard. Every time Little Loach had a breakthrough, it would grant Mo Fan huge benefits, too! Mo Fan did not want to waste the opportunity to strike while the iron was hot!

——

The Stars flowed inside Mo Fan’s Spiritual World. Each color represented a different Element.

The Stars of the Lightning Element and the Fire Element were the most restless. Little Loach had only provided Mo Fan with a single push, so if he did not control it well, it might end up being distributed to every Element. It was unreasonable to split the momentum up, unless the force was actually strong enough to break through the walls of all five of his Elements at once!

“Should I choose the Lightning Element or the Fire Element?” Mo Fan’s head began to hurt as he inspected his two primary Elements.

The energy from Little Loach was only enough to push a single Element to the Super Level. Mo Fan was struggling a little to pick between the Fire Element and Lightning Element, since both of them were ready to advance to the Super Level!

“Lightning Element it is! It’s the big brother, after all,” Mo Fan said to himself.

Mo Fan’s Fire Element was an ace because of Little Flame Belle. Even if his Fire Element reached the Super Level, his Fire Element would not improve by much if Little Flame Belle did not also have a breakthrough. After all, without Little Flame Belle’s help, Mo Fan was only a Fire Mage with the Meteor Scarlet. His control of the Fire Element was too weak!

The Lightning Element was different. The Lightning Tyrant matched Mo Fan’s demon flesh perfectly, and it was significantly stronger than the Meteor Scarlet, too! Besides, Mo Fan had also used the Blessing of the God’s Seal on the Lightning Element to improve its base damage, so the Super Spells of his Lightning Element were going to be insane!

Most importantly, Mo Fan had long desired the Super Lightning Spell, the Seal of Nine Laws. Apart from the imprisonment effect when using the nine lightning halberds, the target trapped inside the spell was constantly blasted by lightning strikes! It might not be ideal against demon creatures with huge numbers, but it was perfect against strong Ruler-level creatures of massive size!

Lightning!

It was decided: he would improve the Lightning Element to the Super Level first!

After making his decision, Mo Fan focused his attention on the Lightning Element’s Galaxy.

Little Loach had been with Mo Fan for many years, and was well aware of its master’s thoughts. It immediately opened the valve, allowing the abundant energy to pour into Mo Fan’s Spiritual World.

“There’s so much!”

Mo Fan was startled. How much did Little Loach even eat it, to provide him with so much energy for the breakthrough?

The tremendous tide surged into Mo Fan’s Spiritual World. The little purple galaxy did not have the space to contain it all. The barrier bounding the galaxy shook hard after the energy slammed into it.

As a matter of fact, the barrier had already been worn down by Mo Fan’s previous breakthrough attempts, but it was simply too solid. It would hardly move unless it was filled up with energy beyond its capacity. It was like a metal cage, while the energy of the galaxy was just an embryo. Even if he smashed himself into pieces, the walls of the cage would hardly budge!

It was possible for an Intermediate Mage to break through to the Advanced Level with talent, determination, and the energy they had accumulated on their own, but the energy accumulated by oneself was nowhere enough for to break through to the Super Level. Every Super Mage had relied on some rare natural resources, absorbing that energy into their Spiritual World and using it to break the cage!

These sources of tremendous energy were not necessarily compatible with a Mage’s constitution, so every Super Mage had their own way of achieving the Super Level, which would affect the spells they would be able to use in the future. The process no longer followed the standard outline of the early levels.

People with greater control over their Elements found it easier to find their unique path. Mo Fan’s Fire Element was a great example. His Fire Element was no longer restricted to the respective form of the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Spells. His Fire Burst, Fiery Fist, and Sky-Flame Funeral could take different forms, based on the capabilities of his Fire Element.

The minor variations available to an Advanced Mage were only the beginning. Only those in the Super Level were able to modify their spells as they pleased!

——

It was a quiet night with sparse stars.

There were no colorful clouds, nor an overwhelming ripple of energy bursting out of the room in the little town to alert every great talent nearby. There was not even the special effect when a player’s HP and MP fully recovered after leveling up…

The broken pieces of the barrier were scattered through the vast Galaxy. Apart from the deep look in Mo Fan’s eyes and the sense of relief in his heart, breaking through did not startle even a single blade of grass or tree. Bold mosquitoes were still circling Mo Fan’s head while struggling to decide if they were going to drink his blood from his forehead or his neck. They were totally unaware of how terrifying the man they were up against was.

Whapwhapwhap!

Finally, Mo Fan grinned while swatting the mosquitoes away at a ridiculous speed.

“Phew~!” Mo Fan opened his palms and blew the dead mosquitoes away. He had a calm face, while his eyes flickered with the arrogance of someone superior.

Such a petty life was gone so easily…

Normally, he would gladly toy around with the dead bodies of the mosquitoes he had killed with his own hands for some time and utter a few curses before getting rid of them, but he was now a Super Mage. His frame of mind had escalated. It was no longer necessary to be fussy about these lowly creatures!

——

——

“I’n not drunk, I’n not drunk, I don need your help!”

Zhao Manyan waved his hand in front of the bar. He insisted on not letting Zhang Xiaohou support him.

“Brother Zhao, I know you are not drunk, but I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself, either. You can either walk properly, or stop telling people that you’re my brother. I’m still the person-in-charge here,” Zhang Xiaohou replied.

“It’sh not even dat mush offa deal!” Zhao Manyan answered, climbing to his feet. He dusted off his shirt and said, “Of…of coursh you’re my brother. I’m going to tell everyone here about it… and becaush of that, I promish you that I will not crawl my way back. I will lift my chin and marsh like a sholdier… How doesh that shound!?”

Chapter 1741: The Super Level! Part Two

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Splendid, how impressive of you! You over there, bring… mm, carry him back in your arms,” Zhang Xiaohou ordered a bulky soldier on duty.

“Yes, sir!” the soldier responded obediently. He was around two meters tall. He walked up to Zhao Manyan and hefted up the drunken man in his arms.

Zhang Xiaohou let out a relieved sigh after Zhao Manyan was carried away.

He had never seen anyone with such a low tolerance for alcohol who loved drinking so much. It was fine if he simply lost consciousness after reaching his limit, but unfortunately he was the kind of man who would commit embarrassing acts after he was drunk!

Zhao Manyan was the last person to leave. The people of the Violet Imperial Battalion were rather strict with themselves, and did not drink even a single drop of alcohol. They insisted on escorting Jiang Shaoxu back to their superior first. They did not want to waste any more time on unrelated matters!

A soldier hurried over to Zhang Xiaohou. “Reporting! The fourth floor of a building on the third street is on fire. It’s likely someone has committed arson!”

“Is the situation under control? Are there any casualties?” Zhang Xiaohou asked instantly.

“The fire is under control. There are no casualties,” the soldier replied.

“Why did you say someone has committed arson?” Zhang Xiaohou asked with a confused face. The fourth floor on the third street, wasn’t that where he had arranged Mo Fan and the others to stay for the night? Was someone trying to attack them?

“I’ve asked around for the cause of the fire, but the guy said a bunch of nonsense. He claimed he was trying to drive mosquitos away, but he ended up setting the room on fire because he failed to control his magic. I noticed the person’s cultivation was rather high, but he couldn’t explain himself properly, so I am extremely suspicious of him. General, should we arrest him?” the soldier asked.

“Is the guy called Mo Fan?” Zhang Xiaohou asked tiredly.

“Yes, General! So you already knew!”

Zhang Xiaohou shook his head with a wry smile. He told the soldier, “Calculate the loss and pay the owner accordingly.”

“General, he’s a very dangerous man. He’s surrounded by unstable lightning!”

“Got it, I’ll take a look.”

—

Zhang Xiaohou saw Mo Fan crouching in front of the building he had burned down after he reached the place.

“Houzi, you came just in time. Are the mosquitoes here the Winged Patrol Beasts’ lackeys or something? F**k me, I only killed a couple of them, but a whole bunch of them came to avenge them!” Mo Fan cursed.

He hated mosquitoes the most. They were seriously brainless. They did not even care if their target was a Mage or what their cultivation level was, they would simply attack when their target was not paying attention!

“Brother Fan, with your cultivation and control, there’s no way you would burn a whole building down just to kill some mosquitoes, right?” Zhang Xiaohou asked helplessly.

“Hehe, I just had a breakthrough, so I wasn’t able to control my magic,” Mo Fan admitted.

“Oh, I see… Huh, what did you just say?” Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes widened all of a sudden.

“I just had a breakthrough!” Mo Fan repeated.

“Super Level?”

“Mm, Super Level!” Mo Fan smiled.

“Holy crap, Brother Fan, that’s insane! You’re most likely the youngest Super Mage I’ve ever met!” Zhang Xiaohou exclaimed.

“Probably the most handsome, too!”

“Of course, Brother Fan! I’ll pay for the building you burned down as a way to congratulate you on reaching the Super Level!”

Mo Fan really had lost control of his magic. His Lightning Galaxy had become a vast Star Ocean containing multitudes of glowing Stars, an awesome and dazzling sight. It had a total of twenty-four hundred and one Stars now!

The feeling Mo Fan had after advancing to the Super Level was nothing like he had felt before. It was similar to expanding a small galaxy into a vast universe. He no longer felt minuscule and helpless… and the difference in control over his magic was the most obvious proof!

Mo Fan’s control of his Elements from the Advanced Level was a fraction of his control now. He ended up burning the building to the ground because he was not yet used to the changes!

He was initially riding a bicycle, and no matter how hard he pedaled, the distance he could cover and the maximum speed he could reach were both limited. But now that he had upgraded his bicycle into a car, and he had crossed the speed limit after he slammed hard on the gas before he realized it.

It was extremely rare for anyone in the world to have a Lightning Element with twelvefold damage amplification, not to mention the insane number of his Stars that had been strengthened. With the additional control of the Super Level, Mo Fan believed he was significantly stronger, even though he had yet to learn the Super Spell!

“Brother Fan, have you decided?” Zhang Xiaohou suddenly asked.

“Decided on what?” Mo Fan asked, confused.

“The Awakening! Did you forget you can Awaken new Elements when you reach the Super Level? According to your Double Innate Elements Trait, you should be able to Awaken two new Elements at the Super Level, too! Have you decided on what Elements to Awaken next?” Zhang Xiaohou blurted out excitedly.

Normally, a Forbidden Mage only had five Elements, but Mo Fan already had eight Elements after reaching the Super Level. How insane was his strength going to be if he had access to so many Elements and spells!?

“Right, the Awakening!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Most Mages would only Awaken new Elements once or twice in their lives. It took so long for him to reach the Super Level, and he was so overjoyed about the upgrade to his Lightning Element that he completely forgot about the two new Elements he could Awaken at the Super Level!

Mo Fan was even happier now that Zhang Xiaohou reminded him about the new Elements. If he was given more time to grow and perfect all his Elements, who could possibly dare to face him!?

“Elemental Magic? Or White Magic?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Among the White Magicks, I think only the Plant Element is suitable for me. It will feel strange if I Awaken the Psychic Element or the Healing Element!” Mo Fan fell into deep thoughts.

Mo Fan was not interested in becoming a utility Mage; he preferred to keep his aggressive fighting ../style. Besides, the Psychic Element and the Healing Element would take him a long time to master. He would have to spend a lot more time on them, so the Psychic Element, Blessing Element, and Healing Element were basically useless for him.

“I guess White Magic is out of the picture, then. What about the Dark Magic? Undead, Curse, or Poison?” Zhang Xiaohou prodded him.

“Curse isn’t too bad, so is Poison…” Mo Fan sighed.

“How about Elemental Magic? Wind, Water, Ice, and Light are very strong in the Super Level. I suggest you give the Light Element a try. It can help with your defense too, and the Super Spell of the Light Element is perfect for you, too!” Zhang Xiaohou was getting even more excited the more he spoke, as if he was the one about to Awaken new Elements.

“Light Element… it doesn’t sound too bad either!” Mo Fan nodded.

The Basic Spell of the Light Element was a utility spell that could purify and nullify negative effects that were placed on him. The Intermediate Light Spell was a useful defensive spell, while the Advanced Light Spell was good at both offensive and defensive purposes. As for the Super Light Spell, it was a powerful spell that could kill its target at an instant!

It was good for defense, with outstanding power in the later stages!

Chapter 1742: What Elements Should I Awaken?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You still have another Element to Awaken! Brother Fan, I’m starting to feel a little jealous of you. We need to cultivate so hard and advance to the next level to Awaken a new Element, but you can still choose a second Element to Awaken after deciding on the first one every level!” Zhang Xiaohou exclaimed.

Mo Fan was extremely pleased, but Zhang Xiaohou added on before he could speak, “But Awakening two Elements at every level is rather troublesome, too. Most people will have to spend a huge sum on their new Elements, whether it’s buying expensive Awakening Stones or hiring talented Awakening Mages. They will have to spend almost all their savings on a new Element, but it’s double the cost for you when you Awaken two new Elements. I heard that the Awakening Stones are the most expensive resources in the world!”

Many Mages spent all their savings just to Awaken the Elements they desired, and they had to spend a lot more on the resources for the Element just to become better than others. It was like raising a kid. If they had the money, they would not just provide them with ordinary education. They would do everything to secure them a head start!

It was the same for a new Element, too. Even though it was a new Element Awakened at a later time, they would have to start cultivating it from the bottom, as these new Elements could be extremely useful if they planned their growth properly from the start!

“How expensive are the Awakening Stones?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“Very! if Brother Fan doesn’t want to spend the money, you can feel your heart race and just wing it. Just go with whatever you end up Awakening. That’s how it was for us, anyway,” Zhang Xiaohou admitted.

The Stone to Awaken new Elements at the Super Level was different. Most Super Mages literally spent all their possessions just to acquire an Awakening Stone. It was almost impossible without the financial support of a formidable faction!

It was also time to change their equipment and artifacts after reaching the Super Level, and all of that cost money, too!

“Forget about Awakening a random new Element. I’m seriously worried about the odds of Awakening the Psychic Element or Healing Element in the end,” Mo Fan admitted.

“Brother Fan, other people desperately want to Awaken the Psychic Element or the Healing Element. The latter, in particular, is like a tree that sheds money… It’s not as bad as you imagine. You have so many Elements, so it’s not a problem for you to become an all-around Mage, either,” Zhang Xiaohou pointed out.

The Psychic Element and the Healing Element were the most popular Elements of White Magic. The renowned clans were constantly competing with one another to get their hands on Mages with those Elements, yet Mo Fan was worried that he might Awaken them! Zhang Xiaohou seriously had no idea what to say.

Being an all-around Mage…

Mo Fan did consider it, but he was well aware of how Mages practiced White Magic. Xinxia was a perfect example. Mo Fan seriously believed his personality was not suitable for that, so the Elements would not be of any use to him, even if he did Awaken them. He would rather increase his firepower to a terrifying level than have some useless Elements!

“Brother Fan, have you made up your mind?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Not yet, I’ll have to think about it first. There’s no need to rush it now,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan had a few options in mind, yet was struggling to make a decision for when he finally had the chance to do so…

——

Mo Fan moved to another place. An alluring figure suddenly showed up while he was still having troubling thoughts about his new Elements.

Mo Fan was confused, but he still went after her. He saw the alluring figure standing on the roof, staring in the direction of the Qinling Mountains.

“Apas, what are you doing? Do you miss Africa?” Mo Fan asked her.

Apas ignored Mo Fan. Her delicate face had a menacing look, while her eyes had a strong hostile expression!

Mo Fan realized something was not right. He jumped up to the roof and followed Apas’ gaze. However, he was unable to see anything other then the magnificent silhouettes of the Qinling Mountains.

“Don’t just keep quiet, what’s wrong?” Mo Fan asked her firmly.

“Something has caught its spirit! It was supposed to be slowly carried away by the Wind of Sorrow in the Qinling Mountains!” Apas stated.

“Spirit? Whose spirit?” Mo Fan was confused.

“The Flamebird’s!” Apas answered.

Mo Fan opened his mouth, but was lost for words.

The Flamebird’s spirit?

Mo Fan had witnessed the Flamebird’s death. It had become a wandering spirit in the Qinling Mountains that would slowly dissipate in time. Why did Apas say its spirit was caught?

Did the Ox-Head and Horse-Face that were responsible for capturing the wandering souls and bringing them to the underworld really exist?

The Ox-Head and Horse-Face clearly did not exist, but there were some unique phantoms that might specifically hunt for the wandering souls of the deceased to improve their cultivation. However, Mo Fan had no clue what Apas was referring to, or why it had targeted the Flamebird’s spirit specifically.

“Do you know what it is?” Mo Fan asked.

“I don’t, but I will be able to tell when I see it!” Apas responded.

“Oh…”

The spot where the Flamebird had died was extremely far away from them. Mo Fan had no idea how Apas was able to sense something so far away. Perhaps she had left a spiritual mark on the Flamebird’s soul before they left. Either way, it was beyond his capabilities!

Apas seemed to know there was nothing she could do, either. It was unlikely the dead would have any dealings with living creatures. She could only stare in that direction angrily.

“You looked rather imposing just then. I bet your strength has recovered after I reached the Super Level,” Mo Fan patted Apas’ head.

“Humph!” Apas responded with her nose. She went into her room in a bad mood, heading back to bed.

Mo Fan watched her leave before looking at the Qinling Mountains.

For some reason, Mo Fan had a strange feeling about the whole thing. It felt like he was experiencing déjà vu at that particular instant. However, he was unable to recall the details of why it all felt familiar to him.

“Forget it, maybe I had a similar dream before,” Mo Fan shook his head. He did not overthink it. He would eventually recall it if it was really that important. It was meaningless to try recalling something he had forgotten.

He followed Apas into the room. He suddenly thought of something. He casually patted on Apas’ back and said, “By the way, didn’t you ask me to teach you magic? I’m about to Awaken new Elements! I’ll be training from the beginning, too…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was not in a rush to return to Fanxue Mountain. He decided to go to the Magic City first.

Zhang Xiaohou was still keeping watch at the Qinling Mountains. If the Silver Skyruler ended up becoming the new Emperor of Feathers, he would be very busy for some time.

If the Silver Skyruler was not the new Emperor of Feathers, it would be a lot easier to manage the Qinling Mountains. After all, Xiaohou had been blessed and acknowledged by the Tree of Vows, so most winged beasts that had been around for a long time were respectful of someone like him. He could resolve the potential threats from the Qinling Mountains much more easily.

Zhao Manyan, on the other hand, kept complaining about wanting to go back to the Magic City. He owned a number of luxury suites there. Every property he had represented a ‘canary’ he was hiding, so every time he returned to the Magic City, he would live the life of an ancient emperor, where he had the freedom to flip the token to decide on the woman he was interested in spending the night with.

It had been a while since Mo Fan last visited his two gorgeous housemates, too. He walked past the entrance of the Pearl Institute and saw many young faces around. He subconsciously straightened his chest and lifted his chin.

He remembered how he was only a little Intermediate Mage when he first came here.

He had now reached the Super Level. He was stronger than most of the teachers at the Pearl Institute. He could not help but feel pleased with himself!

“Ah, isn’t that Mo Fan!?”

“Which Mo Fan?”

“The one that won the World College Tournament!” a girl with round glasses glanced at Mo Fan with glittering eyes.

Mo Fan followed the voice and made eye contact with the girl!

Damn, someone finally recognized him in real life! He seriously wondered what was wrong with the people of his homeland. It was like they could not even recognize a celebrity if they were not handsome enough or followed around by a few cameras. Mo Fan had long waited to be recognized in public. Couldn’t they just satisfy his vanity for once!?

1

Finally, someone had recognized him, not to mention that it was an adorable-looking girl. Even though her round eyes made her look a little nerdy, the little ribbon on the side of the frame of her glasses still made her look rather fashionable.

Mo Fan smiled like a celebrity normally did. He calmly waited for the girl to approach him. From a first glance, he roughly estimated her bust size to be C. To think that her cup size was C despite having such a petite figure. Her body ratio could easily make a certain body part bloat!

“It’s really Mo Fan, oh my, I did hear someone mentioning that he had returned to school last month. I didn’t expect to stumble into him here!” a boy who was obviously a new student of the school exclaimed.

“I only enrolled in the Pearl Institute because of Mo Fan. I even gave up on the recommendation of the Imperial College,” another new student said.

Mo Fan stood there and listened to the praise. He was wearing a calm smile, as if he was already used to the praise, yet his heart had already flown to the top of the Oriental Pearl Tower.

Lately, he had been either cultivating, traveling in foreign countries, or contributing to the peace of the world. He rarely strolled in public places like today, hence he was a little surprised to find so many admirers of his at the entrance of the Pearl Institute.

“Juniors, there’s no need to be so excited. I will often come back to school from now on, so please calm down,” a voice at the entrance of the school said.

Mo Fan had already reached the entrance. He was currently standing under a tree.

He was confused about why someone had stolen his lines. He was still smiling proudly in front of his admirers.

Mo Fan followed the voice and discovered that the new students were not even surrounding him. They were running toward another handsome man wearing a shirt with wisteria on it.

“Hey, I’m right here,” Mo Fan said when he saw the girl with round glasses running past him.

The girl turned around and glanced at Mo Fan briefly. He could read the question from the doubtful look in her eyes, Is there something wrong with this guy?

Mo Fan was dumbfounded, too. Most students were running to the entrance excitedly, while those that were calmer stood still and glanced at the man wearing a wisteria shirt from a distance.

“The demon king has now become a symbol of the Pearl Institute. What kind of luck did that Mo Fan have?” an old student blurted out jealously.

Those that called Mo Fan the demon king were most likely from the same batch as him. Mo Fan and his friends had graduated from the school in advance, but the rest were still working hard to graduate from the school.

Mo Fan did not recognize the student. He asked with a confused look, “Brother, do you know who I am?”

“Who are you? why would I know you… huh, you do look a little familiar…” the student observed Mo Fan carefully, but he soon scoffed, “Is there something wrong with you? Mo Fan might be impressive, but there’s no need for you to mimic him by having the same haircut, dressing up the same way, and even having the same skin tone as him. Why don’t you go get plastic surgery instead?”

“Friend, I’m the original. I’m not mimicking anyone, nor did I get plastic surgery. I’m Mo Fan, take a closer look!” Mo Fan pointed at his own face.

The student took a closer look again. His expression finally shifted after some time. “Are you really Mo Fan?”

“Mm, I’m the real one,” Mo Fan nodded.

The student had obviously seen Mo Fan during the welcoming ceremony or somewhere else before. He looked a little surprised. He kept glancing back and forth between Mo Fan and the guy at the entrance.

“To be honest, even though you are the low-spec version, you look more like the real one,” the student admitted.

Mo Fan’s face darkened. Low-spec version?

Damn it, that idiot who was gorgeously dressed and decorating himself like a male prostitute was obviously a fake! Did he really refer to him as the high-spec version? It was more like the coquettish version!

Mo Fan admitted that he was not too fussy about how he dressed, nor was he fond of making himself presentable, but that did not necessarily mean the guy that was wearing colorful clothes and appealing to the eyes was real!

Was someone seriously impersonating him!?

In addition to it, the impersonator had come to the Pearl Institute to trick the beautiful young ladies. How vicious!?

Mo Fan’s phone rang when he had the urge to beat someone up.

Mo Fan glanced at the screen and saw the call was from Mui Nujiao. He immediately picked up.

“Someone told me you were recognized at the entrance, and a bunch of juniors have you surrounded?” Mui Nujiao teased.

Mo Fan had not told Mui Nujiao he was back in the Magic City. He was planning a spot-check, Perhaps he might stumble into the two canaries in their underwear. However, Mui Nujiao was obviously referring to the guy at the entrance.

“Even I couldn’t believe that someone is f**king impersonating me!” Mo Fan grunted, glaring at the handsome man at the entrance of the school.

“Ah? I know many people are mimicking you, but impersonating… that’s quite absurd, especially when it’s happening right at the school’s entrance,” Mui Nujiao agreed.

“That idiot does look like me, but are these juniors blind or what? I’m obviously a lot more handsome than him! How did they even recognize the wrong guy!?” Mo Fan was initially in a great mood, but he was now filled with rage because of the impersonator.

“I’m still a distance away from the school. I’ll be there soon.”

“Mm.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Where did this idiot even get his courage from, daring to impersonate him!?

He was a righteous man who strictly adhered to his responsibilities of protecting every beautiful woman in the world. He was not even willing to lay his hands on so many gorgeous ladies. However, if anyone dared to use his name and preyed on the ladies, he swore he would break all three legs of the impersonator as punishment!

Mo Fan walked up to the crowd and worked his way through the stupid juniors angrily. He pointed at the impersonator standing beside a black vehicle and said, “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Mo Fan’s words immediately attracted the attention of the students.

Did someone really just curse in front of Mo Fan? Did he not know that Mo Fan’s strength was the most ridiculous in this school?

“Friend, did I offend you in some way?” the young man smiled.

“Oh my, as expected of Senior Mo Fan, he’s so well-behaved. Where did this countryman come from? Do you know who you are talking to?” a female student shouted.

“That’s right, he must be another jealous dog who can’t afford to see someone more impressive, famous, and handsome than him!”

The impersonator retained his smile. The rest of the crowd were already condemning Mo Fan before he could say anything.

“You dare deceive the new students at the Pearl Institute’s entrance! You’re seriously asking for trouble,” Mo Fan said.

“I really don’t understand what you’re saying. Did we have some kind of conflict before? I’m sorry, I’ve provoked quite a number of people in the past, so I really can’t remember who you are. Why don’t you tell me your name?” The impersonator seemed extremely calm.

“That’s right, who the hell are you? Just piss off, stop blocking our idol’s path!”

“Yeah, go away!”

Mo Fan had always been a hot-tempered man. It would be strange if he was arguing reasonably with a bunch of idiots.

He would never waste his time arguing if using violence was an option. Mo Fan noticed quite a number of students surrounding him, as if they were going to teach him a lesson for messing with the rising star of the Pearl Institute.

“I’ve never seen anyone so narrow-minded. We won’t show any mercy if you don’t leave soon!” a student of the Fire School declared.

“Show me mercy?” Mo Fan was amused.

Ever since Mo Fan enrolled in the Pearl Institute, he had beaten the crap out of many of his seniors, let alone the students of the same year as him. Otherwise, where had he earned the title demon king from?

It turned out that his juniors would like to have a piece of the Pearl Institute’s special opening ceremony routine, to be beaten up on the first day!

“A bunch of retards!” Mo Fan snapped.

Mo Fan’s eyes emitted a sharp silver glow. When it reached the peak of its brilliance, a strong force rippled under his feet!

The force knocked the people surrounding Mo Fan away. Those with a higher cultivation were knocked a few steps back, while the rest were sent flying before falling to the ground under the trees on both sides!

No one had expected the arrogant man to strike first. The students began cursing at Mo Fan after rising to their feet. It seemed like they were going to cast some spells too!

Mo Fan twisted his lips disdainfully when he saw a few Star Patterns rising.

“Go take a breather over there!” Mo Fan casually waved his hand and knocked a student who was drawing an Ice Star Pattern flying.

The wave was enchanted with the Space Element. The student from the Ice School spun through the air and fell into a pond nearby.

“Too slow, how did you even make it to the main campus?” Mo Fan turned around with glittering eyes.

The energy that his gaze contained was simply too overwhelming for the next student. He was sent flying when he had only drawn half of his Star Pattern. He flew into the same pond as the student from the Ice School!

After taking out two students who were planning to attack him so easily, Mo Fan noticed a student from the Fire School holding a fireball in his right hand.

“What is it? You don’t have the guts to fight me?” Mo Fan smiled, staring at the student.

“Why wouldn’t I dare to fight you? I will at most be disciplined for it, but it’s necessary to teach scum like you who don’t know how to respect their seniors a lesson! The rest of you, step aside!” The student of the Fire School obviously had a stronger cultivation. The Fiery Fist he gathered immediately set the path leading to the entrance of the school on fire.

There were many new students that had only enrolled in the school recently, so most of them were at the Basic Level. They quickly dodged to the sides when they saw the Fiery Fist being thrown forward. Some of the girls were screaming.

Mo Fan stood silently. He was showing no intention of dodging the spell.

The Fiery Fist, which was about two meters across, spread like a fan and covered Mo Fan.

Mo Fan raised his hand at a very slow pace.

It was the standard stopping gesture of a policeman. Space shuddered all of a sudden. The others noticed the hurtling Fiery Fist coming to a stop. The spreading flames were being suppressed, too!

The Fiery Fist stopped less than two meters away from Mo Fan’s hand. The flames were flickering wildly, yet they could not advance any further!

The students were absolutely dumbfounded.

How insane was it to stop such a strong Fire Spell traveling at a high speed? He was using the second-tier Fiery Fist, yet this man had stopped it by raising his hand!

“If you have time to waste on admiring a retard like him, you should really spend more time practicing your spells. You couldn’t even hit a normal Warrior-level creature in the wild with that spell!” Mo Fan chuckled. He clenched his hand tightly!

The man-sized Fiery Fist was snuffed instantly. Mo Fan had done it like he was pinching a candle. Everything that was lit up by the flames immediately returned to normal.

The students were no longer able to remain calm after witnessing this. The student of the Fire School was particularly shocked. He had assumed Mo Fan was at most a year or two older than him. The guy most likely had some tricks up in his sleeves if he dared to behave so arrogantly. The student thought he could last a dozen rounds against him, yet his fighting spirit was snuffed like his Fiery Fist, before the fight even started!

“Impersonator, I know you have come to the school to trick the new students just because you have a slight resemblance to me. I have a hundred ways to expose you, but I believe proving it with a fight is the simplest way!” Mo Fan approached the young man that was impersonating him.

The young man began to panic a little.

“Of course, it’s unlikely that you are going to win me. There are seriously not many people around my age that stand a chance against me, so I won’t make it too difficult for you. My Lightning Element, Fire Element, Shadow Element, Summoning Element, or Space Element; you can choose any of them! If you can win against one of my Elements, you can keep the name Mo Fan. I’ll change my name!” Mo Fan proclaimed with his trademark arrogance!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The impersonator was stunned. He did not know what to say.

He never expected to stumble into Mo Fan himself when he decided to impersonate him in front of the Pearl Institute!

Didn’t they say Mo Fan was constantly traveling between foreign countries? Why is he here at the Pearl Institute!?

“I…I was just joking!” the impersonator squeaked out with an awkward smile. His forehead was already covered in cold sweat from the enormous pressure emanating from Mo Fan.

“You’re joking?” Mo Fan smiled too. He initially thought the impersonator had some tricks up in his sleeves, but he was merely a coward!

“He’s really an impersonator?”

“Ah? Seriously? He’s so handsome, how is he an impersonator?”

“Are you blind? Why would he be so scared if he was the real Mo Fan? The man is supposed to be the demon king of the Pearl Institute! I think the other guy teaching the juniors a lesson is the real Mo Fan!” an older student called out.

The students who were from the same class as Mo Fan knew the demon king would challenge the schools of other Elements over even minor disagreements, but they dared not accept his challenges!

Mo Fan was about to teach the impersonator a lesson when a stylish red sedan stopped in front of the school. Mui Nujiao, dressed in formal attire, came out of it.

Mui Nujiao was very active at the school, and neither the old or new students would ever mistake her for someone else.

Besides, Mui Nujiao was also a great beauty! Her goddess aura instantly conquered the juniors that had only enrolled in the school recently, while the men were staring with wide eyes.

“It’s Senior Sister Mui!”

“Senior Sister Mui, you came just in time. Not only is this guy impersonating Senior Mo Fan, he dares to use violence on us, too! You must teach him a lesson!” the student whom Mo Fan tossed into the pond came over to protest.

Mui Nujiao observed the soaked student carefully. There was definitely something wrong with this guy’s intelligence. Anyone could tell that the guy whose legs were trembling was the real impersonator!

Mui Nujiao approached Mo Fan and said gently, “This is strange. Let me handle this impersonator.”

“What is it? Why do you sound like he wasn’t the first guy to impersonate me?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, it’s pretty strange; there have been many people impersonating you lately. I suggest you give some speeches at the high schools when you’re free, just so the people can recognize you,” Mui Nujiao told him.

“Another time. I’ve been quite busy lately. I need to look for a bunch of Awakening Stones,” Mo Fan rejected immediately.

“Awakening Stones? What do you need them for…” Mui Nujiao had a confused face.

“What do you think?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“Oh my!?” Mui Nujiao screamed, but she immediately realized she was overreacting. She quickly covered her mouth like a panicking little girl. “You’re a Super Mage now?”

Mo Fan nodded with a smile.

1

Mui Nujiao’s eyes widened. She was happy for Mo Fan, but she was still struggling to believe it.

This guy actually reached the Super Level!

“By the way, are there many people impersonating me?” Mo Fan asked again.

“Mm, I first thought they were just a bunch of crazy admirers, but I noticed that the numbers are increasing… How should I describe it… I feel like these impersonators have agreed to do it together,” Mui Nujiao told Mo Fan softly.

“That’s a thing?” Mo Fan exclaimed. He subconsciously glanced at the impersonator, who was now feeling very uneasy.

He thought he had coincidentally stumbled into a guy who was borrowing his reputation to satisfy his vanity. He never thought impersonating him had already become a trend!

“I’m not too sure about the details, but it’s true that it’s been quite a while since you last showed yourself in front of the public in China, and many people are constantly keeping an eye on you, so many impersonators see it as a great opportunity. I really hope that you can show yourself more publicly, so they won’t be able to impersonate you so easily!” Mui Nujiao chided him.

These impersonators were truly disgusting. If they ended up tricking a few young girls into having sex with them, it would be a great loss to his reputation!

No way, he would not forgive these assh**** easily!

“Leave this guy to me. There’s no way I’m letting him go since I’ve caught him red-handed!” Mo Fan was a little angry. He stared at the impersonator coldly.

The impersonator began to tremble in fear. Everyone kept saying how Mo Fan was the last person they wanted to mess with, especially since he was bold enough to murder even the disciples of renowned clans as he pleased!

—

—

Mo Fan no longer had the mood to fool around with his juniors after getting rid of the impersonator. He went back to his place as soon as he could.

1

Mui Nujiao had been maintaining a close relationship with many magic high schools, so she knew where to get the Awakening and Guiding Stones.

“Guo Liyu is a collector of Guiding Stones. He has some rare Guiding Stones in his possession. I’m very close to his disciple, Xiao Mian. Should I introduce him to you?” Mui Nujiao asked.

“Are you referring to Guo Liyu from the Oriental Pearl Tower? I remember him. He was the one who helped me to Awaken the Shadow Element and Summoning Element when I first came to Shanghai. His disciple… mm, I remember her too,” Mo Fan recalled.

“I guess you two are destined for one another, then. Did you decide on which Elements to Awaken? The Guiding Stones can only increase the odds of Awakening a certain Element. The higher their quality, the higher the odds,” Mui Nujiao said.

“To be honest, I haven’t made up my mind yet, but I have to do it eventually. If the Guiding Stones don’t guarantee that I can Awaken a certain Element, I won’t be too upset over what Element I Awaken, either,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan had been thinking about it for days. He would still spend some money on Guiding Stones to lower the odds of him Awakening an Element of White Magic. As for what exactly it would be, he would leave it for the heavens to decide!

“That’s a great mindset to have. Many people insist on Awakening a certain Element after a breakthrough, but not only do they end up spending all their money, they are extremely disappointed in their new Element too!” Mui Nujiao agreed with him.

“Exactly, giving birth to a son is the same as giving birth to a daughter. A daughter will have offspring too!” Mo Fan nodded.

Mui Nujiao was suddenly lost for words. How did Mo Fan even relate the two topics, even though she had to admit that it did make some sense?

Many people were fond of the Fire and Lightning Elements, yet how many people managed to maximize the potential of those two Elements? In addition, the resources for those two Elements were very costly. As a result, those who Awakened the Light Element and Water Elements stood out more after they reached the higher levels. They would not necessarily be weaker than those with the Lightning and Fire Elements! In addition, the resources they needed were usually half the price of those for Lightning and Fire Mages. They could use their remaining money to improve their other Elements, too!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan visited the Awakening Room again under Mui Nujiao’s lead.

The Awakening Room was located in the Oriental Pearl Tower, and made up of reputable Awakening Mages. Not only did they have access to many Awakening Stones, they were able to use their unique methods to increase the odds of Awakening specific Elements.

However, these Awakening Mages were also called Forecasters, since the Awakening was similar to a weather forecast: they necessarily happen every time.

Guo Liyu’s female disciple Xiao Mian, wearing her thick glasses, was the one who received them afte they arrived at the Awakening Room.

“Sister Mui, why are you here!?” Xiao Mian immediately pounced at Mui Nujiao happily, like a little sparrow.

“I brought my friend here to Awaken new Elements,” Mui Nujiao smiled.

“Oh, him?” Xiao Mian studied Mo Fan.

“I’ve been here before,” Mo Fan smiled at her.

“We should have your information in that case. What’s your name? I’ll go take a look,” Xiao Mian dug her head into a cabinet.

She went to another room. Mui Nujiao was initially planning to wait for her, but Xiao Mian soon returned with an apologetic smile. “I forgot the keys.”

Mui Nujiao did not say a word. Xiao Mian ran back to the room, but she soon returned with a blush. She picked up the glasses still on the table.

“Why are you still so clumsy? I’ll go with you. Otherwise, it’s going to take you half a day to sort it out,” Mui Nujiao said.

“Alright!”

—

Xiao Mian led Mui Nujiao into the archive. It was quite dark inside the room. She switched on the table lamp.

“Sister Mui, it’s rare to see you here with a man. Is he your boyfriend?” Xiao Mian asked curiously.

“Nope,” Mui Nujiao said.

“Oh, is he chasing you, then?” Xiao Mian asked.

“We are just friends. Go look for your stuff and stop asking so many questions!” Mui Nujiao sniffed.

“Oh, oh, his name is Mo Fan, right? I found it,” Xiao Mian flipped through Mo Fan’s information and realized it was quite simple. It only had the time when Mo Fan last visited the Awakening Room, the time and cost for the Awakening, and the Element he Awakened in the end.

Xiao Mian quickly scanned the information with an intrigued face and said, “He’s pretty impressive. He managed to reach the Advanced Level in just a few years after he reached the Intermediate Level. However, Sister Mui is even more impressive in comparison. You are close to reaching the peak of the Advanced Level, right?”

“I still have a long way to go compared to him. Besides, who even said he’s only in the Advanced Level?” Mui Nujiao said.

“If he did not just reach the Advanced Level, are you telling me that he’s in the Super Level?” Xiao Mian rolled her eyes. She assumed Mui Nujiao was joking with her.

Mui Nujiao did not answer. She only stared at Xiao Mian with a smile.

Xiao Mian realized something after some time. She adjusted her glasses and asked cautiously, “Sister Mui, don’t tell me he’s really a Super Mage?”

“Mm, he’s indeed a Super Mage now,” Mui Nujiao confirmed.

Xiao Mian opened her mouth wide. She had only seen a few Super Mages since she started working here, let alone one that was around her age!

“Sister Mu, are you trying to trick me? Is…is he a monster? How did he go from an Intermediate Mage to a Super Mage in such a short time?” Xiao Mian gasped.

Xiao Mian thought it was already impressive that he was able to go from the Intermediate Level to the Advanced Level in a few years. It would be crazy if he actually reached the Super Level!

Mui Nujiao was amused by Xiao Mian’s reaction, but did not explain further. She took the file and went outside. Mo Fan was still waiting for them.

—

“Are you smiling at me?” Mo Fan asked curiously when he saw Mui Nujiao’s reaction.

“I was discussing something interesting with Xiao Mian. Why would I be smiling at you?” Mui Nujiao replied.

Mui Nujiao pouted after finishing her sentence. Speaking of which, why was she feeling happy after seeing Xiao Mian’s reaction after learning that Mo Fan had reached the Super Level? Shouldn’t she be reflecting on herself? They had enrolled in the Pearl Institute at the same time; how did her cultivation fall behind?

“Master Guo, Master Guo!”

They suddenly heard Xiao Mian’s exaggerated cries.

“What’s with the noise? Didn’t anyone tell you that people in our field must remain calm at all times!?” Guo Liyu came out of a room, immediately scolding Xiao Mian.

“Master Guo, Master Guo, that…that guy is a Super Mage. He’s here for the Super Awakening!” Xiao Mian acted like she had just seen a ghost.

The truth was, it was harder to meet a Super Mage like Mo Fan than seeing a ghost!

“What? Super Level! Him?” Guo Liyu looked at Mo Fan. He did find him a little familiar.

“Yes, him!” Xiao Mian repeated.

Guo Liyu walked up to Mo Fan and lifted his hands in a strange posture. He closed his eyes and probed Mo Fan’s Divine Sense with his will.

Mo Fan did not interfere with him, allowing Guo Liyu’s Will to study his Lightning Element.

“Star Ocean… it’s really the Star Ocean!” Guo Liyu’s eyes sprang open. His face was filled with astonishment as he exclaimed, “My Heavens, how did you do it? I only reached the Super Level in my forties, but you have reached it more than ten years earlier than me!”

“Master, didn’t you say we should remain calm at all times?” Xiao Mian reminded him.

“Calm my ass, this is absolutely unfair! Right, who’s your master? You must be the son of a Forbidden Mage, only that can explain it,” Guo Liyu said.

“Uncle Guo, he’s Mo Fan, a student of the Pearl Institute,” Mui Nujiao said.

“Mo Fan? Oh, you’re that Mo Fan… the guy that won the World College Tournament… Hang on, even if you’re that Mo Fan, it doesn’t make sense for you to achieve the Super Level so soon, too! You must have had some special encounters!” Guo Liyu exclaimed.

It was normal for Mo Fan, who spent most of his time in the wild, to have some special encounters!

“I’m come to Awaken new Elements. I came here when I was still an Intermediate Mage and managed to Awaken the Shadow Element, so I believe you can bring me good luck,” Mo Fan told him.

“What good luck? It’s my skill!” Guo Liyu snarled. However, he soon thought of something. He blurted out, “Didn’t you have the Double Innate Elements? Speaking of which, you didn’t just Awaken the Shadow Element the last time you were here! What was the other Element, again!?”

“The Summoning Element!” Mo Fan did not keep it a secret. After all, everyone already knew the truth about his Double Innate Elements.

“Right… give it to me!” Guo Liyu said.

“Give what?” Mo Fan was confused, staring at Guo Liyu, who had reached his hand out.

“Money, you’ve Awakened two Elements, but you still paid the same price for Awakening a single Element. Hurry up and pay what you owe!” Guo Liyu said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan always thought he was quite shameless, but now he was surprised to stumble into someone more shameless than him!

“Master, I don’t think we have ever charged any customers like that,” Xiao Mian said.

Guo Liyu fondled the beard he was quite proud of and admitted, “Mm, you’re right…”

“Uncle Guo, stop joking around with my friend. He’s still waiting for you to Awaken a powerful Element for him. Time to prepare for it,” Mui Nujiao intervened.

Guo Liyu patted his chest and declared proudly, “Prepare? What do I need to prepare? Let’s do it right away! I promise to Awaken any Element you want!”

——

This new Awakening Room was very different from the one Mo Fan was brought to after he had reached the Intermediate Level, obviously a lot classier. Even the stands the Awakening Stones were displayed on looked extremely costly.

“You know the drill, don’t you? Tell me what Element you want first. Otherwise, you might think I’m just a genius after the fact,” Guo Liyu said.

“Nothing in particular, anything will do,” Mo Fan replied.

“Well, you must have a preference?” Guo Liyu asked after a moment of hesitation.

“Mm, the Light Element, then…” Mo Fan answered after a brief pause.

“Are you sure you don’t want to buy a Guiding Stone? I’ll give you a thirty percent discount. I can guarantee you that it will greatly increase the odds of Awakening the Element you are after!” Guo Liyu promised.

“There’s no need for that. Let’s begin. There’s no such thing as a weak Element in this world. It’s only the Mage that is weak,” Mo Fan responded firmly.

“You’re right! Seeing how determined you are, I shall give you another five percent discount. I can’t go any lower!” Guo Liyu said.

“…”

Mo Fan decided not to use a Guiding Stone, mainly because the Guiding Stones for the Super Level were simply too expensive. Mo Fan was fine with any Element, as long as it was not Healing or Psychic!

Mo Fan stood in the center of the room, while Guo Liyu stood opposite him. He placed his hands on the Awakening Stone and said, “I’ll use my Will to help you stabilize the Awakening Stone. It will get rid of the Elemental impurities for you.”

Mo Fan nodded. He closed his eyes after taking a deep breath.

It was his fourth Awakening!

Each Awakening was like a great transformation for Mo Fan. He could not wait to see how strong he would become after gaining eight Elements!

That being said, reaching the Super Level was like reaching the top of a mountain, allowing him to see a clearer sky. In addition to the two new Elements he would be getting, the time he spent on upgrading the rest of his Elements would be worth it, too!

“I gained this Awakening Stone from Mount Dayflame of the Tianshan Mountains. It contains the purest energy of the Light Element, and it also has some unique traits related to the Light Element, too. I’m not being stingy. This thing can easily be sold at an insane price at an auction. Since you are my niece’s friend, I don’t mind giving it to you. You should take good care of it, and don’t you ruin my reputation!” Guo Liyu told him.

Mo Fan did not respond. He was focused on sensing the energy inside the Awakening Stone.

Guo Liyu did not lie to him. Mo Fan immediately felt like he was standing in a spacious valley surrounded by rocks under a bright sun; the strong presence of the Light Element felt like it was purifying him!

His Spiritual World was like a vast black galaxy. The places with Stardust were the furthest points his Will could reach, where the vast darkness was yet to be explored. The Star Ocean’s appearance had shed some light on areas previously covered in darkness.

The Awakening had lit up a new area in his Spiritual World, which was now newly unlocked!

Mo Fan found a faint halo of light in the new area. He was rather confused when he noticed an unfamiliar color.

“Gold?”

If it was golden, it must be the Light Element. Mo Fan was impressed. This Guo Liyu was really something. He did help Awaken the Element he had asked for!

“Strange, it doesn’t look golden, it seems a little darker…” Mo Fan quickly realized something unusual after taking a closer look.

The colors of a Stardust, Nebula, Galaxy, and Star Ocean were not fixed. For example, they might change color when they merged with a new Soul Seed.

However, the initial color of the Elements was usually fixed. The Light Element was golden, but the new Element that Mo Fan had Awakened was not the usual pure gold. It was golden-brown, to be precise!

“What’s going on here?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

What Element has the color golden-brown? Is it the Light Element or not!?

The Stardust slowly took shape. The Stars were slowly appearing, too.

One, two, three…when all seven Stars took shape, it meant the Awakening was completed.

Mo Fan still could not identify the Element by its color. He slowly approached the Stardust after all the Stars had appeared.

Mo Fan was shocked when he interacted with the adorable Stars!

It is not Light!

It is not the Light Element!

—

Guo Liyu remained beside Mo Fan. His eyes never left the Awakening Stone.

His brows were tightly furrowed. He stared at the golden-brown light flickering from the Awakening Stone.

“The Earth Element? Strange, why would the Earth Element have a hint of gold? Could it be that these Awakening Stones didn’t absorb the natural light energy, but have mutated from the energy of the light?” Guo Liyu murmured.

Mo Fan slowly opened his eyes. His pupils emitted a brown glint of light, with a golden ring on the outside!

“The Earth Element!” Mo Fan looked at Guo Liyu and blurted out first.

Guo Liyu sighed. “There’s no guarantee you will Awaken the Element you want. It’s a matter of probability, but I must say that this Awakening Stone had quite a high chance to Awaken the Light Element. Maybe you were just unlucky,” Guo Liyu quickly explained.

“I wouldn’t say I’m unlucky. I’m quite fond of the Earth Element, too! I happen to lack defensive spells!” Mo Fan smiled. He was not disappointed at all that he had Awakened the Earth Element.

There was no reason for him to be disappointed. The Earth Element and Light Element were not too different from one another. The Basic Spell of the Earth Element was very flexible, with many uses. It could boost a target’s speed or restrict its movement, and be used as a trap.

The Intermediate Spell of the Earth Element was more commonly used for defensive purposes, just like the Light Element. The Advanced Spell was the Eyes of the Rock Demon, a powerful control spell!

Mo Fan was not too familiar with the Super Spell of the Earth Element, but he recalled Yan Shi Summoning the enormous back of a dragon to defend him from the Giant Purple Linden’s Demon Tree Spikes. That defense was none other than the Super Earth Spell Yan Shi had perfected. It felt like the entire land had become her weapon for both offensive and defensive purposes!

Besides, those spells did not have to be framed so they could only be used for just a defensive or offensive purpose!

With the fine control from being in the Super Level, those with the Earth Element could also choose the path of violence and make the ground tremble!

“Strange, why does your Earth Element have a hint of gold in it?” Guo Liyu asked.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I have no idea why it’s golden-brown, either!” Mo Fan scratched his head. Perhaps it was the blessing of the main protagonist. Even the Earth Element he had Awakened was special!

1

“Try casting a spell and see,” Guo Liyu advised him.

Mo Fan blurted out with wide eyes, “Mister, I have just Awakened the new Element. Wouldn’t I need some practice?”

“It’s obvious that you’re just a rookie. You have already reached the Super Level! Do you seriously think you will need a year and a half to learn how to control a few Stars of the Earth Element? Close your eyes and focus on connecting the Stars,” Guo Liyu chided him.

Mo Fan was a little doubtful, but he still closed his eyes and began to focus his Will on the golden-brown Stardust.

The golden-brown Stardust only occupied a tiny space; it was almost negligible compared to the other brilliant Star Galaxies and blazing Star Ocean, only emitting a faint glow in the corner.

The seven Stars were all golden-brown in color. As expected of the Earth Element, they were a lot stabler than the Stars of the Fire and Lightning Elements. They calmly obeyed Mo Fan’s Will when he started to connect them.

The first and second Stars were connected successfully. Mo Fan was able to use the powerful control of being Super Level to align the first two Stars along the Orbit without any practice.

However, the Star Orbit broke when he tried to connect the third Star, mainly because Mo Fan was still unfamiliar with the traits of the Earth Element.

“It didn’t work!” Mo Fan said after opening his eyes.

“Just try a few more times if it doesn’t work. You should control your bearing when you’re connecting the Stars. They are just a bunch of newborns in your Spiritual World, after all. You might be the ruler, but you should treat them gently, too. You must show them your authority without scaring them. If it’s the Earth Element, you should be gentler, calmer, and more patient. Don’t rush it, just make sure it doesn’t break,” Guo Liyu advised Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nodded. He followed Guo Liyu’s instructions and began controlling the Stars of the Earth Element once again.

Patient, calm, he must let the Stars know that he was in charge of the Spiritual World, yet he could not let them be afraid of him!

Mo Fan had always treated his Stars as little creatures of his Spiritual World. They had their own character and emotions, but many Mages forced the Stars to become their slaves, just so they could control their magic better.

It was unwise to treat your Stars cruelly. Furthermore, Stars of different Elements had different characters. Mo Fan altered the way he was treating the Stars of the Earth Element a little bit, and soon noticed they were a lot more obedient.

One… two… three… four… seven… all connected in a Star Orbit!

The Star Orbit of the Earth Element was quite simple. When the Stars were Aligned, a golden-brown line went through the Stars and turned into a bright glow at the final Star’s position.

The light continued to grow stronger as Mo Fan’s eyes sprang open. His eyes suddenly turned golden-brown, too!

“Rock Fangs!” Mo Fan blurted out words that suddenly crossed his mind.

Mo Fan locked his gaze onto the stands displaying the Awakening Stones. He swung his hand up with great force!

A golden-brown light flickered close to Mo Fan’s palm. A strange movement began to appear close to the stands. A moment later, rocks like the huge fangs of a wild beast sprang up and went through the stand!

The Rock Fang almost reached the ceiling, which was more than five meters tall. Guo Liyu jumped into the air upon seeing it. He had an urge to choke Mo Fan to death! “My stands!” he yelled.

1

Mo Fan saw the Rock Fang reaching up still, but decided to put a stop to it considering he was about to break the ceiling of the biggest Magic Association in the country!

“You asked me to test it!” Mo Fan exclaimed, displaying no guilt.

“Is there something wrong with you? Most people only cast an Earth Wave as the Basic Spell! Can’t you just stand still and cast a few Earth Waves while moving back and forth? Why did you Summon that thing!? Are you purposely destroying my furniture!?” Guo Liyu said angrily.

“I don’t like the usual way people use the Earth Element. I noticed the Stars were coordinating with me when I tried to alter its form, so I decided to turn it into an offensive spell. I didn’t expect it to work on the first attempt! Look at my Rock Fang! Isn’t it impressive? I bet it can kill a Servant-class creature instantly if they don’t dodge it in time!” Mo Fan said proudly, ignoring Guo Liyu’s protests.

Earth Wave?

Mo Fan felt the usual Earth Wave was not very useful to him. Since his control over the Earth Element was so much stronger than a low-level Mage, he could alter the form of the spells by mastering certain tricks behind them!

It was impossible for a low-level Mage to do that, mainly because their control over their magic was not strong enough, and they were still unfamiliar with the traits of their Elements. It was already impressive for a low-level Mage to cast a normal Earth Wave perfectly. There was no way a low-level Mage could cast the Basic Spell on their second attempt after Awakening a new Element, let alone alter the form of their spells!

“Something isn’t right! My stands are built with Iron Brass Wood. Even if you’ve modified the spell, your Rock Fang should be the one breaking into pieces, since you’ve just Awakened the Earth Element. Your golden-brown rock is pretty tough!” Guo Liyu quickly went closer to the pieces of his display stand after a sudden thought crossed his mind.

Mo Fan shared the same doubts. His golden-brown rock was like a steel drill compared to the spells of other Basic and Intermediate Earth Mages. It had destroyed the display stand, which was as sturdy as metal, with ease!

“Could it be an Innate Soul Seed? No, no, you already have an Innate Talent…” Guo Liyu fell into deeper thought.

Innate Soul Seeds were a very impressive Innate Talent; Mu Ningxue was a perfect example. With the right practice, they would be much stronger than Mages with the same Element of the same level!

Normally, if the new Element Awakened did not have its usual color, it was most likely a sign that the person had an Innate Soul Seed. But Mo Fan already had an Innate Talent, so that was no longer a possibility.

“I feel like it’s more of an additional effect,” Mo Fan spoke up.

“Additional effect? You mean like the additional effects some high-level Soul-grade Seeds have?” Guo Liyu asked sharply.

Mo Fan nodded.

It was not a Soul-grade Earth Seed, Mo Fan was confident of that. It felt more like the special ability, the Lightning Tyrant Scars, that the Soul Seed Lightning Tyrant had granted him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What did I say? I told you I’m the best when it comes to Awakening new Elements. Even though you didn’t Awaken the Light Element you wanted, your Earth Element turns out to have an additional effect at the Super Level. Normally, you would have to spend more than ten times the price I offered if you did this somewhere else!” Guo Liyu proclaimed smugly.

The additional effect granted to a new Element had a very low chance of happening while a Mage was Awakening new Elements after reaching the Super Level. It normally depended on the Mage’s cultivation. The more impressive their cultivation, the higher the odds of having additional effects. Similar to using Guiding Stones, it was possible to increase the odds by using certain special substances during the Awakening process. Mo Fan had read some information on it all before.

However, the odds of having additional effects were higher when the Mage was not Awakening the new Element with the help of Guiding Stones. Besides, the more Stars the Mage enhanced, the higher the chance that the new Element would have additional effects!

Mo Fan had read many different opinions on how to acquire additional effects, but he had not expected his Earth Element to be so lucky!

An Enhanced Earth Element was definitely a lot better than the Light Element he had hoped for. Almost ninety-five percent of the Mages in society used their abilities the same way, following the same standard methods of casting their spells, more or less products of the same template. Only those with outstanding control and creativity could manipulate their spells as they pleased. Therefore, things like Innate Talents and Soul Seeds became very important for making a person stand out from others!

This additional effect was like having an extra Innate Talent. It would obviously grant him a great advantage in fights!

A strange glow suddenly lit up in his mind while he was filled with such great joy.

How could he not know what it was after being through the same process for the fourth time?

It was the Awakening of his second new Element!

His second new Element would appear shortly after the first new Element was Awakened. Mo Fan was looking forward to seeing what his eighth Element was after Awakening the Earth Element!

“Strange, where did it go?”

Mo Fan searched in his Spiritual World, but failed to locate his eighth Element.

He had definitely seen the light which indicated the birth of his eighth Element, but now he was having trouble finding the new Stardust. Did the Awakening fail?

He had never heard of anyone above the Basic Level failing an Awakening!

Mo Fan was puzzled. He was about to leave the Spiritual World when he suddenly noticed something glittering in a dark corner.

If the Spiritual World was like a dimly-lit swamp, Mo Fan was now staring at a little whirlpool in the swamp. It was spinning very slowly, and was easy to miss it without looking at it closely!

“So this is where the new Element is? Why do I feel like it has merged into the background? What Element is this? Why is it so vague and mysterious?” Mo Fan was both confused and excited.

Was it the Curse Element, or a Dark Element?

Mo Fan had a feeling that the Element was of the Dark Magic, but it did not seem like the Poison Element, since it resembled the Curse Element more.

He directed his will closer to his eighth Element to communicate with it.

“It’s not the Curse Element!” Mo Fan concluded the moment he made contact with the Stars!

The Stars were colorless, or to be more precise, they were changing colors according to their surroundings. When they were surrounded by void, they were empty, too. However, if he moved them closer to the other Elements, they soon acquired the same color!

“Chaos, it’s the Chaos Element!”

3

Mo Fan was absolutely dumbfounded!

He actually had one Element that he hoped to Awaken the most. It was the most mysterious Element among the Dimensional Magicks, the Chaos Element!

He had first seen how ridiculous the Chaos Element was during the World College Tournament. Zorro’s unmatched Chaos Element allowed him to take on an entire team by himself. If he had not outsmarted Zorro back then, it was hard to tell who would have been the winner in the end!

He then used Heidi’s Chaos Element to stack up his Lightning and amplify its damage in the Pyramid, all in order to defeat a Ruler-level creature that was a lot stronger than them. Ever since then, he had been thinking about how having the Chaos Element would greatly increase his strength. He might be able to defeat certain creatures that were stronger than him!

To his amazement, he had managed to Awaken the Chaos Element as his eighth Element. It would further help him pursue the path of being a violent Mage!

—

Guo Liyu smacked himself on the head when he saw Mo Fan closing his eyes again. “I almost forgot that this kid can Awaken two Elements at every level. Seriously, how is such an insane Innate Talent even a thing!?”

Mo Fan opened his eyes. His pupils reflected the lights nearby before slowly reclaiming their usual color.

“How was it? What Element did you Awaken?” Guo Liyu quickly asked. It was naturally his first time dealing with a customer who was able to Awaken two Elements at once. He seemed even more excited than Mo Fan!

“The Chaos Element,” Mo Fan smiled.

“Oh, that’s a very difficult Element to master!” Guo Liyu exclaimed.

“It’s fine, I already have two Dimensional Magicks. I will practice the Chaos Element until it’s strong enough to handle fights alone, no matter how difficult it is!” Mo Fan swore.

“The Chaos Element is indeed a very powerful Element, but it’s more useful when it’s combined with other Elements. For example, you can play your enemy like a fiddle if you use it with the Shadow Element,” Guo Liyu advised him.

“Shadow Element? I have that, too!” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“Damn it, I totally forgot you are full of Elements! That’s great, the combination of Shadow Element and Chaos Element is pretty insane!” Guo Liyu told him.

Mo Fan’s lips curled upward. He believed the combination of his Chaos Element and Lightning Element was even more unstoppable…

Speaking of which, he remembered stumbling into someone who had both the Shadow Element and the Chaos Element… Bei Jiang!

Didn’t the assassin from the Assassin Palace have both Shadow and Chaos Elements? Mo Fan had even claimed the Darkness Contract from him!

If he had the Chaos Element, wouldn’t his shadow clones be even more unpredictable, allowing him to assassinate his enemy in numerous ways!?

“That’s great, the Chaos Element is the most ideal Element for a Mage with so many Elements like you. Not only is it useful on its own, you can combine it with other Elements in many ways!” Guo Liyu nattered on.

“You are really my lucky star. I always have surprises when I Awaken new Elements here,” Mo Fan said.

The Earth Element with an additional effect! The Chaos Element that could be used simultaneously with other spells!

Mo Fan was very satisfied with his two new Elements!

Lightning, Fire, Shadow, Summoning, Space, Demon, Earth, and Chaos… once he perfected all these Elements, he would truly be unbeatable!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan left the Awakening Room. However, he did not bother paying double the fee, as Guo Liyu had babbled about.

Mui Nujiao was waiting patiently outside. She rose to her feet as soon as she saw Mo Fan. She asked with great anticipation, “How was it? What Elements did you Awaken?”

“Earth and Chaos, not bad!” Mo Fan answered happily.

Mui Nujiao was quite happy for Mo Fan, yet when she heard the Elements he had Awakened, she twisted her lips with a gloomy expression, “Those Elements are just not bad for you? I would be dancing around in joy if I were you!”

“Why don’t you perform an erotic dance for me to celebrate it?” Mo Fan replied immediately.

“I don’t know how!”

“You can learn, the kind that involves slowly taking off your clothes as you dance… ugh, I’m just kidding,” Mo Fan stopped talking when he noticed the look in her eyes.

Mo Fan paid the fee. He was about to leave when he suddenly recalled something.

“By the way, I have a little servant girl. Can you help with her Awakening, too?” Mo Fan asked.

“What level is she?” Guo Liyu asked.

“She has never done the Awakening,” Mo Fan admitted.

“Oh, I’ll do it for free, then. Bring her here. Xiao Mian, I’ll leave it to you,” Guo Liyu casually assigned his disciple to do the job.

Mo Fan found a remote corner and Summoned Apas.

Apas had sleepy eyes when she showed up in front of Mo Fan. She said unwillingly, “What now? I was sleeping!”

“Didn’t you want to learn magic? I’ve arranged someone to help you with your Awakening,” Mo Fan told her firmly.

“For real?” Apas’ eyes widened immediately, glittering with anticipation.

“Why would I lie to you? Let’s go!”

Apas was extremely happy. Right now, she would not even care if Mo Fan had Summoned her in the men’s washroom. She quickly followed behind Mo Fan, as if she was worried that he would regret his decision.

—

Mo Fan brought Apas into the Awakening Room. Mui Nujiao was rather confused. How did Mo Fan bring her here so quickly? Not to mention she was a little beauty…

“Go with her. Xiao Mian, she doesn’t know much, so please explain the process thoroughly to her,” Mo Fan said loftily.

“Sure thing. Come with me.”

Xiao Mian brought Apas into the Awakening Room, while Mo Fan and Mui Nujiao waited outside. Mui Nujiao was looking at Mo Fan with a weird expression. She was obviously wondering about the relationship between Mo Fan and Apas.

“I was wondering why you were away for so long. It seems like you were having fun with such a little beauty in other countries,” Mui Nujiao grumbled.

“Why does everyone say the same thing? Do I really look like that kind of a guy?” Mo Fan protested.

“Perhaps!” Mui Nujiao giggled.

Xiao Mian brought Apas out from the room while they were talking. Her Awakening did not take long.

“How was it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not bad, she has Awakened the Plant Element, but her Plant Element is a little… Anyway, it’s the Plant Element!” Xiao Mian informed them.

Apas’ face was full of joy. She had not really thought she could learn magic, and she was quite fond of the Plant Element, too!

“Oh, Jiaojiao, aren’t you an expert of the Plant Element? Why don’t you teach her the basics?” Mo Fan asked on a whim.

“Sure, I’m more or less a teacher too,” Mui Nujiao agreed.

—

By the time they got back to the apartment, Apas managed to melt Mui Nujiao’s heart by constantly calling her sister. She ended up teaching Apas the basics of the Plant Element overnight.

Apas was truly interested in magic. Mui Nujiao decided to bring her to the Pearl Institute’s training grounds to teach her some practical skills.

Mo Fan found himself a training ground to practice his magic, too.

The Chaos Element was indeed a lot harder to control than other Elements. Mo Fan had managed to complete the Star Orbit of the Basic Earth Spell after just two attempts, but he did not make any progress in trying to control the Stars of the Chaos Element for an entire day.

That being said, Mo Fan was not in a rush. He already knew it would take him some time to familiarize himself with the Stars of the Chaos Element. He still needed to practice his Earth Element, and his boosted Lightning Element, too!

His Lightning Element now had twenty-four hundred and one Stars, which had to combine into a magnificent Star Palace. It was a huge project! Luckily, Little Loach had advanced to the next level too, so Mo Fan’s cultivation speed and rate of gaining control over the Stars had multiplied once again. Without Little Loach, he seriously wondered how long it would take for him to control all twenty-four hundred and one Stars.

“Hey, you there, are you interested in a friendly duel?” a voice interrupted Mo Fan’s thoughts.

Mo Fan was currently in a public training area. The place was quite spacious. A few students of the Pearl Institute were practicing their Elemental Magic not far away.

Mo Fan initially thought the person was talking to someone else, so he simply ignored them. However, he realized the person was actually talking to him when he saw a young man with greasy hair approaching him.

“You’re challenging me to a duel?” Mo Fan pointed at himself.

“Is there anybody else here? Yes or no, just say it, stop being a little b**ch!” the student said impatiently.

“What are the rules?” Mo Fan asked.

“Just a normal duel with our spells. Don’t tell me you have no idea what the rules are, you don’t look like a new student to me!” the student harrumphed.

“I know the rules. Bring it on, then! I would like to try my new Element out too,” Mo Fan nodded.

It was boring and ineffective for him to practice his spells on some dummies. He was glad that someone had volunteered to be his moving punching bag!

“New Element? So you’re an Intermediate Mage… I don’t want to be a bully, either. I’m Zeng Tong from the Fire School. What’s your name? Which school are you in?” Zeng Tong said.

“I…I’m Fan Mo from the Earth School, nice to meet you!” Mo Fan smiled. The sand under his feet began to shake.

The student noticed Mo Fan preparing for the duel. He glanced at the slow-moving sand and said with a disdainful grin, “It seems like you have been slacking a lot. Your Earth Element isn’t that impressive.”

“I only learned it recently,” Mo Fan agreed shamelessly.

“Very well, I shall show you the true strength of the Earth Element, then!” Zeng Tong felt extremely confident, and stomped the ground with his right foot. The sand immediately became restless, and overwhelmed the Earth Wave that Mo Fan was controlling!

Zeng Tong’s primary Element was Fire, his secondary Element was Earth. Mo Fan’s Earth Element was simply too slow and gentle compared to Zeng Tong’s Earth Element. Mo Fan was indeed just a beginner!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zeng Tong took his time. He first used a Basic Spell to probe Mo Fan. The truth was, he was not trying to test Mo Fan, he was just mocking him.

The ground was covered in sand, making it perfect for using the Earth Element. Zeng Tong easily completed the Basic Spell of the Earth Element. He was planning to use Earth Wave to teach Mo Fan a lesson when he noticed Mo Fan was still slowly drawing the Earth Element’s Star Orbit. He could not help but chuckle.

The man was too slow. Normally, people would have finished channeling their Intermediate Spells by now! It seemed like he had chosen a weakling as his opponent. He did not mind. He decided to have some fun fooling around with the man. He knew how difficult it would be for him to graduate from the school. He always felt better after he came here to bully some rookies!

Zeng Tong was very patient, waiting for Mo Fan to finish the Basic Earth Spell. They were sharing the same ground. Wasn’t it obvious who would have control over it?

“Rock Fangs!”

Mo Fan finally made his move. His hands emitted a golden-brown glow as he focused his attention on the ground below Zeng Tong’s feet.

Something began to grow rapidly underground. A rock resembling a beast’s fang sprang up at Zeng Tong.

Zeng Tong was expecting a slight movement from the Earth Wave, which would be merely a little breeze for him, so he was astonished when the terrifying rock erupted out of the ground and almost went through his pants.

Zeng Tong reacted fairly quickly. He rolled away on the ground and barely dodged the deadly Rock Fang!

“What…what magic is that!?” Zeng Tong crawled to his feet and blurted out in a strange voice.

“It’s the Earth Element, Rock Fang: Crocodile Snap!” Mo Fan moved both his hands simultaneously.

Zeng Tong was still recovering from the shock when he noticed several Rock Fangs approaching from ten meters away on his left. Even though they were made of stone, they still looked extremely sharp!

Several other Rock Fangs were also coming from the right. Zeng Tong felt like he was stuck in a swamp, with a huge rock crocodile showing its teeth above the mud!

“Rock…Rock Barrier!” Zeng Tong quickly cast the Intermediate Earth Spell to defend himself.

Boulders emerged at his sides to protect him, but the strength of the Fangs was too overwhelming. The Fangs punched through the boulders made of normal rocks and continued to press forward. They almost pierced through Zeng Tong’s body!

The Fangs were getting closer, forcing Zeng Tong to remain motionless. His legs began to tremble. He stared at the sharp Fangs now merely inches from him in fear and disbelief.

“Withdraw!”

At Mo Fan’s command, the sharp golden-brown fangs immediately turned into dust and fell apart, scattering across the ground.

Zeng Tong remained in the same posture for quite some time, even though the Fangs were gone. He stared as Mo Fan walked closer, looking at him as if he was a monster.

“Relax, relax!” Mo Fan patted Zeng Tong on the shoulder.

“How…how…how did you do it? That’s impossible, you were only using the Basic Spell of the Earth Element. How did it change so much?” Zeng Tong stammered.

“Control! A Basic Spell can have various forms too, if your control is good enough! Like this! Flying Sand Rocks!” Mo Fan raised his hand. The ground ahead began to tremble, and the sand and rocks on it sprang into the air!

The sand and rocks turned golden-brown as they flew through the air. They were targeting the wooden dummy at the center of the training ground, and shredded it into pieces in less than two seconds.

Zeng Tong wasn’t the only one staring with wide eyes, as the spell also attracted the attention of the rest of the students at the training ground. They were curious to know what spell Mo Fan was using!

The Earth Element would normally transform so remarkably only after the Eyes of the Rock Demon were unlocked at the Advanced Level. Only those with outstanding comprehension and the help of Soul Seeds could cast spells other than the standard Earth Wave and Rock Barrier!

“Control…” Zeng Tong was lost in thought.

Didn’t control over an Element only come into play after reaching the Advanced Level? Could this guy be an Advanced Mage?

Zeng Tong was about to ask Mo Fan that, but saw he was already leaving the training ground.

“Doesn’t he look familiar?” a student practicing his Ice Element asked aloud.

“Ah? You think so, too? He’s indeed very familiar. He looks like the genius of our school, Mo Fan!”

“Yes, that’s him!”

“Are you kidding now? How could Mo Fan be an Earth Mage?”

Zeng Tong froze in place. Something felt even more off after he heard the discussion between the other students.

Finally, Zeng Tong realized something. He tried to look for Mo Fan, but Mo Fan had already disappeared into the crowd at the exit.

“Did…did he reach the Super Level?”

Super Level!

It was unreachable, like reaching the gates of the Heavens, to students like Zeng Tong, who were merely passing their time in school. If that man was really Mo Fan, it meant he had become a Super Mage!

Most importantly, he had just challenged a Super Mage to a duel!…

—

—

Mo Fan was even more satisfied with his Earth Element after he left the training ground.

He had made so much progress with such little time. The Super Level had indeed opened up a whole new level of magic for him!

“Speaking of which, that guy’s Intermediate Rock Barrier didn’t even stop my Rock Fangs!” Mo Fan fondled his chin and felt extremely pleased with himself.

The additional control from the Super Level could not give a Basic Spell extra damage. It could maximize the potential of the Basic Spell by altering its form, but a Basic Spell would never be comparable to an Intermediate Spell.

However, Mo Fan’s Rock Fangs managed to pierce through the defense of an Intermediate Spell. It showed how incredible the additional effect of his Earth Element was. It had made his rocks as sturdy as metal!

“Should I get myself an Earth Soul Seed, too? I believe the additional effect is stackable with a Soul Seed. Doesn’t that mean it’s even scarier than having dual Soul Seeds?” he mumbled to himself. “Well, I should test the additional effect of my Earth Element for a few more days and figure out exactly what it does. It will help me find a more suitable Soul Seed.”

If the Basic Spell of his Earth Element was already so impressive, how strong would his Earth Element be if he had a Spirit-grade or Soul-grade Seed, too?

It was like the difference between the puppy of a hunting dog and the cub of a tiger. The hunting dog might become as fierce as a wolf after some training, but even if a tiger liked to sleep most of the time, it could still tear a well-trained hunting dog to pieces, let alone a tiger that had gone through intense training!

Mo Fan’s Earth Element with the additional effect was just like the cub of a tiger. He would not mind spending all his savings on it, knowing how much room for improvement it had!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan returned to his apartment at a casual pace. Apas was still playing around with her Plant Element, meaning that Mui Nujiao was still occupied, too.

Mo Fan pushed the door open and instantly saw a young woman wearing standing in front of the bar in Snoopy underpants and a loose T-shirt. She was not surprised when she heard the door open. She grabbed a bottle of fruit wine and tugged the pants thoroughly displaying her curves up. Her bottom even wriggled happily after it felt more comfortable.

“Jiaojiao, do you want to drink with me? My mentor is so annoying. He didn’t want to let me graduate with excellence. Unforgivable!” Ai Tutu called out.

“You either go shopping and eat or drink and sleep at home. There must be something wrong with the Pearl Institute’s system if you can graduate with excellence,” Mo Fan replied, admiring the pleasant view.

“Bullshit, I’m very hardworking… AH! Demon King, why is it you!?” Ai Tutu turned around in shock and saw Mo Fan was already sitting on the couch.

“This is my place. It’s been a while since I came back, so I came to check if my two canaries had brought other men back home,” Mo Fan shot back.

“Wait, aren’t you at Qinghai?” Ai Tutu looked at Mo Fan curiously.

“Qinghai? Why would I be in Qinghai?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Check this out! Did you already sneak back to the Magic City after committing such a detestable crime? That’s pretty quick of you,” Ai Tutu said.

“What do you mean by detestable crime? I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Mo Fan was struggling to keep up with Ai Tutu’s thoughts. He had no idea what she was rambling about.

Ai Tutu was rather confused, too. She quickly recalled something and ran to the dining table. She grabbed the newspaper and placed it in front of Mo Fan. “Take a look at it yourself, the whole city is signing a petition to take you down!”

“Take me down?” Mo Fan was extremely confused. He took the newspaper and began reading it.

He just finished the story when there was movement at the door. Apas and Mui Nujiao came in and changed into house slippers.

Mui Nujiao glanced at Mo Fan before looking at Ai Tutu. She rolled her eyes and said, “Tutu, what the hell are you doing?”

“What am I doing? Nothing, I just showed Mo Fan what he did!” Ai Tutu protested.

“Go back to your room and change!” Mui Nujiao sighed.

“AH!” Ai Tutu only then realized what she was wearing. She glared at Mo Fan and shouted, “Assh***, jerk!”

“Hey, how is it my fault? It was you who stayed around for so long in that outfit. I was being kind enough by not pointing out how fleshy you are. Look at Jiaojiao, look at Apas, and look at you…” Mo Fan criticized without mercy.

“AHHHHH, I’m going to kill you!” Ai Tutu pounced at Mo Fan like an enraged kitten.

Mui Nujiao immediately stopped her and herded her back to her room.

“Right, Jiaojiao, take a look at this, what the hell is going on?” Mo Fan handed the newspaper to Mui Nujiao.

Mui Nujiao did not even look at the newspaper. She said, “I only learned about this not long ago too, so I came back with Apas straightaway. You were clearly busy Awakening your new Elements when the incident at Qinghai took place. How could you possibly be responsible for it?”

“I was wondering if I had somehow learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu,” Mo Fan smiled.

“Let me handle it. I’ll ask Uncle Guo Liyu to testify that you were with him when the incident happened,” Mui Nujiao said.

“That won’t be necessary, I don’t want too many people to know that I’ve reached the Super Level,” Mo Fan stopped her.

Mo Fan needed more time to cultivate after reaching the Super Level. If more people learned that he had reached the Super Level, it would surely bring him a lot of trouble!

“True, you have a lot of enemies. They will realize how much of a threat you have become if they learn you are now a Super Mage…” Mui Nujiao nodded.

Many of the renowned clans would not treat Mo Fan seriously before he became a Super Mage, nor would they bother sending their elders to deal with him. However, that was no longer the same after Mo Fan reached the Super Level. The renowned clans would now no longer hesitate to pick on Mo Fan just because he was affiliated with the national team, nor would they care about their seniority…

Mo Fan did not want to disclose the news about him reaching the Super Level so soon. He wanted to wait until his cultivation of the Super Level was stabler.

“Speaking of which, there was a similar incident two months ago, too. The government official in charge of the area happens to be a distant relative of our clan. He knew we were working closely with Fanxue Mountain, so he helped to suppress the news,” Mui Nujiao told Mo Fan after she recalled something.

“What happened?” Mo Fan asked suspiciously.

“It was a small ore vein. Apparently, you brought a few of your friends to exterminate the demon creatures in it, but you ended up attracting another species of demon creatures there. The ore vein that was supposed to multiply the economy of the town turned into a den for demon creatures. The military had to send more men to defend the town. It was to the north of the Dongting Lake,” Mui Nujiao said.

“I’ve never been to the north of the Dongting Lake,” Mo Fan stated firmly.

“You haven’t?” Mui Nujiao was surprised.

“No, I went to the Thousand Islands Lake after coming back from Greece, then I went to Fanxue Mountain, then the Qinling Mountains after that. I came straight to the Magic City after coming back from the Qinling Mountains,” Mo Fan related.

“That’s strange. I thought you, Zhao Manyan, and the others messed up, so we stopped the news from spreading by compensating them for the loss,” Mui Nujiao said.

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?” Mo Fan wondered.

“Your whereabouts have always been unpredictable. It’s very difficult to find you,” Mui Nujiao answered promptly.

“True… but I’ve never done anything like that, including polluting the East Side Lake in Qinghai,” Mo Fan informed her.

Mui Nujiao thought for a while. She glanced at the news and asked, “What if someone is impersonating you?”

“Obviously. At the very least, someone is using my name while doing these things!” Mo Fan agreed.

“It only happened during the last few months, never in the past. Why were they impersonating you? The incident in Donghai got a lot of attention. Even the media was spreading the news. If you don’t explain yourself to the public, many people are going to find trouble for you,” Mui Nujiao warned him.

“I know, I’ll clear my name!” Mo Fan sighed.

“Perhaps someone is purposely defaming you?” Mui Nujiao suddenly guessed.

Mo Fan was startled. He did not think it was possible at first, but now that he thought about it, especially after recalling the guy who was impersonating him in front of the Pearl Institute, that was very likely to be the case!

“Help me search the news in other places and see if there are any similar incidents,” Mo Fan asked her.

“Sure!” Mui Nujiao agreed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Don’t even bother, your reputation is already done for!” Ai Tutu’s voice came from up the stairs

Ai Tutu had quickly put on some clothes. She came down the stairs angrily, waving a bunch of articles that she had cropped from the newspapers, and scattered them in front of Mo Fan.

Mo Fan took a quick glance at the articles. They were mostly related to him. They mentioned his name and even had his photograph, yet he had never been to any of the places where the incidents occurred, nor did he commit the shameless offenses!

Mo Fan quickly scanned through the articles again and asked Ai Tutu with a confused face, “Why are you collecting these?”

“I’m doing it for Jiaojiao. I want her to learn your true nature! Look at what you’ve done! Not only did you bring trouble to the small towns, you also laid your hands on the innocent women there! I seriously think Jiaojiao and I should consider moving out from here. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time until you lay your hands on us!” Ai Tutu piped up.

“Isn’t that what you’ve been looking forward to?” Mo Fan grinned.

“Bullsh**! People like you are the most detestable. You think you can just do whatever you want because of some achievements. I hate people like you the most!” Ai Tutu spat back.

“Tutu, that’s enough,” Mui Nujiao stopped Ai Tutu from grumbling endlessly.

“You’re still defending this assh*** even now? Look at what he has been doing lately! I heard a bunch of people are gathering to take him down. I bet the whole street is going to chase after him soon!” Ai Tutu said.

“Tutu, you should be more rational. The media was only making things up and emphasizing the negative side of things to get more attention,” Mui Nujiao said.

“Making things up? Look at this, and this; there was evidence too!” Ai Tutu complained.

“The culprits in these photographs are not Mo Fan. Someone must be impersonating him,” Mui Nujiao sighed.

“Jiaojiao, what’s wrong with you? Are you so head over heels in love with him? He’s clearly a bad guy, yet you still insist on defending him!” Ai Tutu snarled.

“What the heck are you saying!?” Mui Nujiao rolled her eyes. She seriously wondered what Ai Tutu had going on in her head.

Mo Fan looked at the articles Ai Tutu had collected about the crimes he had committed. He noticed that the incidents had only begun around three months ago. It was around the time he returned from Greece…

“What do you think?” Mo Fan asked Mui Nujiao.

“I feel like someone is behind all this,” she stated.

The incidents were only short periods of time apart, yet the media had reported every single one of them, including some incidents that had occurred in extremely remote places. It felt like someone was putting up an act while being filmed, just so the media could report it.

“I think so, too,” Mo Fan nodded.

“They are purposely doing things that are going to ruin your reputation,” Mui Nujiao continued.

“These guys are truly disgusting. They better hope I don’t get my hands on them!” Mo Fan grunted.

The incidents were mostly related to some detestable acts that would arouse public anger. Many people had begun to doubt his character as the winner of the World College Tournament.

Mo Fan was quite popular in his homeland, so it was difficult to defame him. However, many incidents had been officially reported by the media, with photographs as evidence. The people quickly chose to believe that there were serious problems with Mo Fan’s character.

Mo Fan had a lot of enemies in China, especially the renowned clans. They were stirring up havoc behind the scenes to make matters worse, beginning to fan the flames of doubt among the people. As a result, more people had sided against him, while the others that were clueless about the truth had tagged along as busybodies…

After all, even Ai Tutu, who was quite familiar with Mo Fan, had assumed he was responsible for the incidents, let alone the people that did not really know Mo Fan personally!

“The pollution in Qinghai is going to be a huge problem. It might become the fuse,” Mui Nujiao said.

“I know that. It’s my fault for being too low-key, allowing those idiots to take advantage of it and impersonate me easily. The people won’t believe me even if I tried to explain myself. I can only get some peace if I find the culprit behind everything,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Yes, and I doubt this is going to be the end of it. You rarely show yourself in public, so even though many people know who you are, they don’t really know what kind of a person you are, which allows people with malicious intent to take advantage of you…” Mui Nujiao went on.

Keeping a low-profile turned out to be a mistake. Mo Fan shook his head helplessly. He was amused by how the whole thing had ended up. He was supposed to be the victim, yet he had to take the blame instead!

“I must learn the Super Lightning Spell as soon as possible. I seriously don’t know how to handle this. Jiaojiao, do you have any good suggestions?” Mo Fan asked her.

“It’s not that easy to clear your name. After all, people in many places have indeed suffered great losses from the incidents. They need someone to blame for their losses, and since they don’t know that the culprits were impersonators, they ended up venting all their anger on you. Even if you try to clear your name, they will still think you are involved somehow. After all, the incidents only happened because people were impersonating you to ruin your reputation!” Mui Nujiao pointed out.

“That’s true,” Mo Fan agreed with her.

“How about this? I’ll collect information on the recent incidents and see if we can compensate them for the losses…” Mui Nujiao said.

“Why do we have to compensate them for their losses!? I had nothing to do with them!” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

“I know you didn’t do anything, but the people won’t believe you. People are the most irrational when they are driven by anger after suffering incredible losses. They do not even care who’s actually responsible, they just need a way to vent their frustration and someone to blame!

“I’ve scanned through the articles. Apart from the pollution in Qinghai, the rest aren’t as serious as the news mentioned. We can easily pacify the people with some compensation. We’ll then prove that you are innocent to them, and tell them they were tricked by impersonators. They will slowly accept the truth instead of assuming you’re trying to shift the blame because they can’t think straight. When the truth eventually comes to light, they will realize that you had nothing to do with the incidents, and they will be extremely grateful for what you did,” Mui Nujiao said.

Mo Fan stared at Mui Nujiao with his mouth open. “Jiaojiao, you will be a very good public relations officer if you were working in a company!” Mo Fan complimented her.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan did not expect Mui Nujiao to use such an approach to deal with the matter. However, when he calmed down and analyzed the situation, it was true that people were only looking for a way to vent their anger and frustration while they were not thinking straight.

“I’ll handle it for you. You should disappear and focus on your cultivation for some time. Once the wind starts to blow in the opposite direction, you will show yourself and clear your name. You won’t have to waste your time running around in vain for now,” Mui Nujiao said.

“Alright,” Mo Fan nodded.

Ai Tutu was still holding a grudge against Mo Fan. She blurted out, “Jiaojiao, you have almost become this demon king’s personal assistant. Why are you being so nice to him? Let him settle his own mess!”

“I’m hoping that he can be the ambassador of my high school for mages. I don’t want his reputation to be ruined,” Mui Nujiao smiled and responded naturally.

Mo Fan was very inept about matters like this. He was glad that Mui Nujiao was willing to help.

Mo Fan cast his thoughts aside and prepared to focus on his cultivation. The Pearl Institute was a suitable place for him to cultivate in seclusion. The facilities and the atmosphere would urge him to work diligently.

Mo Fan knew he was currently in the teeth of the storm. He decided to put on a pair of frameless black glasses and perm his hair. He also let his fringe cover his forehead.

He suddenly went from a clean, manly, passionate young man to a quiet gentleman. He was able to blend into the students of the Pearl Institute easily.

Mo Fan was well-behaved, and spent a peaceful week at the Pearl Institute. He kept seeing the same young girls taking a few sneak peeks at him while they were pretending to take some rest from their studies at the spots where Mo Fan usually went for his meditation. As he thought, his charm was still undeniable even when he was not interacting with anyone, feeding his narcissism!

——

One day, Mo Fan sat on the grass under a huge tree at dawn just like usual. He enjoyed meditating here because of the fresh air.

“Morning!” Mo Fan noticed an ordinary-dressed woman placing a huge newspaper down beside a flowerbush less than five meters away before sitting on the ground.

Mo Fan greeted the woman casually. He kept stumbling into her over the week, even though they would mind their own business most of the time. They just greeted one another casually.

“Morning,” the woman replied with a smile. She was the shy but polite kind.

Mo Fan did not flirt with the woman any further. He was about to close his eyes to focus on practicing the complicated Lightning Star Palace when he noticed the woman still staring at him from the corner of his eye, like she had something to say to him.

Mo Fan turned to the woman and asked, “What is it?”

“Are you an Earth Mage?” the woman asked softly.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan confirmed with a nod.

Mo Fan was able to hide his Lightning Element well, but was still struggling to hide his Earth Element. The presence of the Earth Magic would sometimes linger close to him.

“Oh… Well, I’ve joined the Earth Element Club. The club is holding an unusual gathering that is open for students of our school. Are you interested in it?” the woman asked.

A gathering for students with the Earth Element?

Mo Fan had never participated in gatherings like this, but it was actually quite important for Elemental Magic. Since Mo Fan was a total newbie with his Earth Element, he might be able to prevent his Earth Element from going astray by listening to other Earth Mages’ experiences.

“Sure, I was planning to practice my Earth Element. The gathering is perfect!” Mo Fan said.

“Deal, we’ll meet at the south entrance tomorrow morning!” the woman smiled.

Mo Fan nodded. He did not speak any further and focused on practicing his Earth Element now.

—

—

The next day, Mo Fan went to the south entrance of the school like he had promised. He noticed thirty to forty people gathering at the entrance, each carrying some luggage. Mo Fan was the only one that showed up empty-handed.

“Over here!” Tao Jing waved her hand.

Mo Fan went over to Tao Jing after he saw her. He noticed two other male students standing beside her. They were inspecting him with hostile looks. They were obviously wondering why Tao Jing had invited another man to tag along for the gathering.

“What is the coach for?” Mo Fan asked curiously, glancing at the coach in front of the entrance.

“Huh? Did I forget to mention…” Tao Jing patted herself on the head and said apologetically, “We are going to Dingcheng. A senior suggested we take a coach so we can enjoy the pleasant scenery along the highway. It also gives us enough time to share our experiences with one another.”

“You didn’t tell me we were leaving Shanghai!” Mo Fan protested.

“You didn’t even prepare before coming here! You’re such a weirdo,” the man with a slicked-back hair../style beside Tao Jing said in displeasure.

He did not expect to have an uninvited guest. Even though they were planning a gathering, it was going to be a little trip with some adventure. A trip like this was perfect for people to develop some intimate relationships!

“My bad, I forgot to mention it… I’m sorry, I guess I won’t be going then,” Tao Jing said.

“Of course not!” the man with slicked-back hair immediately denied. “It’s such a rare opportunity!”

“Dingcheng, right? Let’s go. I can just buy the stuff I need when we arrive,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan did not want to be a let-down, since he was already here. Besides, he had to disappear for some time, too. There were too many disturbances around him, especially with the people that kept pouring filthy water on him.

It was not a bad idea to enjoy some peace somewhere else by tagging along with a group of strangers. He could cultivate during the trip, and slowly familiarize himself with the Earth Element!

Even though both Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan had Awakened the Earth Element too, people’s Earth Elements did not necessarily have the same path. Mo Fan needed more information and knowledge to figure out his own path for the Earth Element!

“Get in,” Mo Fan waved at Tao Jing, signaling her that he was ready to go.

Tao Jing was obviously feeling sorry for Mo Fan. She sat down beside him after getting on the coach. It immediately set off the man with slicked-back hair. He was the kind that did not know how to conceal his feelings. He stood beside Mo Fan.

“I’m switching seats with you; you will take the one behind,” the man with slicked-back hair stated in a commanding voice.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and looked at the man.

“Zhou Donghao, what are you doing!?” Tao Jing could not stand it any further, and glared at the man.

“I just think that we will have more stuff to talk about, since we have known one another for so long,” Zhou Donghao said defensively.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhou Donghao did not dare behave recklessly in front of Tao Jing, but he kept glaring at Mo Fan, hinting that Mo Fan should give up on the seat.

Mo Fan completely ignored him. The guy responded with a menacing look, clearly waiting to get some revenge. He sat on the back seat in a bad mood.

The bus began to move. Mo Fan focused on practicing his control of the Earth Element’s Star Orbits. He was finally able to complete the Star Orbit with ease after practicing it for more than a week. His casting speed had improved greatly, too.

However, Mo Fan was not satisfied with just the Basic Spell of the Earth Element. He used the abundant energy hoarded by Little Loach from its recent upgrade in an attempt to break through to the Intermediate Level of the Earth Element.

His Earth Element would be a lot stronger after reaching the Intermediate Level!

It was different from cultivating the Element slowly, like he had in the past. He was confident that his Earth Element could reach the Intermediate Level if he was diligent enough. He worked on it during the time the journey to Dingcheng was going to take.

The people on the coach began chatting not long after Mo Fan closed his eyes. Mo Fan could hear them, but it did not distract him.

“I heard Dingcheng always has rich resources of the Earth Element. If I’m lucky enough to find an Earth Soul Seed there, I will be able to make a name for myself at school!”

“Yeah, the place is rich in resources, but they are all hiding in the Forest of Rocks, which has terrain as complicated as a maze. There’s no way we can find a Soul Seed, unless we have an experienced mentor with the Earth Element guiding us. Finding a Soul Seed isn’t as easy as plucking wild mushrooms by the side of the road,” a relatively older student replied.

He was the organizer of the trip to Dingcheng, having gathered a bunch of students with the Earth Element for the trip. He had introduced himself prior to the departure; his name was Lin Qihui, and he was Tao Jing’s senior.

“So none of you has a Soul Seed, haha!” Zhou Donghao laughed proudly.

“Brother, what Soul Seed do you have?”

“Silt Rock!” Zhou Donghao subconsciously raised his voice as he answered proudly. “It will turn the ground under my target’s feet into a swamp that is difficult to break free from whenever I cast my spells!”

“Impressive, doesn’t that mean your opponent will struggle to move around!?”

“Of course! I would have a higher rank if my other Element wasn’t so useless,” Zhou Donghao declared.

“Speaking of which, Lin Qihui, aren’t there rumors about some terrifying creatures showing up in Dingcheng? Are you sure it’s safe for us to go there?” someone asked.

“Don’t worry, a few mentors with the Earth Element from the Magic Association will be around. It will only take them seconds to take care of the creatures. There’s nothing to worry about. We will benefit a great deal just from observing and learning from them!” Lin Qihui answered firmly.

——

The students chatted continuously on the coach. Mo Fan filtered out the useless information and took in the bits related to the Earth Element that he found useful from their discussion while he was meditating.

Everyone’s path of cultivation was different, but it was not so obvious when they had only learned the Earth Element at the Basic Level. However, the way people used their Earth Element greatly differed once they reached the Advanced Level.

Mo Fan remembered one of the gatekeepers from the Sacred Hall of Liberty in the United States of America was an Earth Mage. He had imbued his muscles with the magic of the Earth Element to turn himself into a brown Hulk. He was unmatched in close combat. Mo Fan could not remember his name, but his way of using the Earth Element was quite unique, suprising his opponents in fights!

Mo Fan was not planning to use his Earth Element solely for defensive purposes. No matter how hard he worked, the defense of his Earth Element would never compare to a turtle-shell Mage like Zhao Manyan. The defensive ability of Manyan’s Earth Element was ridiculous!

1

However, the Earth Element could be used to attack, and it could be very strong, too!

Mo Fan was planning to look for a suitable Earth Soul Seed during the trip to the famous Dingcheng, to start on his own path of the Earth Element!

“Speaking of which, how did Vani of the European University Institute even do that?” Mo Fan fell into deep thought.

Mo Fan remembered when he snuck into the military town in Cairo and fought Vani, who was a very strong Earth Mage. The Hillock Whale he had cast had taken Mo Fan by surprise.

The enormous rock whale that sprang out from the ground like the soil was water was big enough to devour an entire building. Its massive and sturdy body possessed great destructive strength. Not only could it smash anything into pieces, it could even slam down on its target like a moving mountain!

Mo Fan had a strong first impression of Vani’s spell. He was wondering how to Summon a super rock whale from the ground and make his enemy tremble before its formidable presence!

“I will need at least the energy of the Star Constellation at the Advanced Level to Summon such an enormous whale…” Mo Fan was still thinking as he got down from the bus.

They had yet to arrive at their destination. They were only getting a breather at a rest stop along the journey.

Mo Fan was not going to take a piss. He went to a spot with solid ground, covered in grains of sand, and began to draw a Star Orbit!

The seven Stars of the Earth Element were connected with a single thought. It was a big improvement from his slow casting speed before. If he took too long to cast his spells, an enemy could easily dodge them, or even interrupt them!

“Hillock…”

Mo Fan pointed his finger at the ground his Earth Magic had covered.

The ground cracked open quickly. A rock creature resembling a fish leapt out from the gap!

Mo Fan was going to yell Hillock Whale imperiously, but he was lost for words when he saw the rock-fish leap into the air… and break into dust after falling to the ground.

That was no Hillock Whale, it was only a golden-brown carp! He wondered if he should take a picture of it and post it on his news feed to wish people good luck!

“Ugh, is the difference really that huge?” Mo Fan rubbed the back of his head.

Mo Fan was struggling to accept how big the difference was. Not only was the rock carp too small to fit on a plate, it had only reached a height of two meters with its leap. Its appearance was not that intimidating, either, and it had even failed to dive back into the ground. It had smashed itself into pieces instead!

He needed more practice!

Seriously, he needed a LOT more practice!

He had to reach the Intermediate Level! The Rock Carp he could Summon then would be a lot bigger and stronger. Otherwise, people who knew him might call him an Earth Mage, but people who were clueless might think he was an entertainer!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When Mo Fan returned to the coach, Tao Jing stared at him with a confused face. She finally asked, “What were you doing?”

“Practicing my spell, but it’s nothing like I imagined,” Mo Fan sighed.

“You seem pretty diligent, yet why is your cultivation not that impressive?” Tao Jing had to ask.

“Maybe I just look diligent. Many times, I only went somewhere with fresh air and beautiful ladies to take a nap,” Mo Fan laughed.

“…” Tao Jing was left speechless. He had somehow even complimented her when he was describing himself as lazy.

“See, Tao Jing, I already told you that you should be careful of people who show up out of nowhere and try to get closer to you. They might have some ulterior motives. You shouldn’t invite people like him again!” Zhou Donghao spoke up quickly.

Tao Jing could not care less about him. Mo Fan glanced at Zhou Donghao and shook his head speechlessly.

A person with such a low EQ like him should not even bother trying to flirt with women. She only saw him as an acquaintance, yet he was already trying to control her with his male chauvinism. It would be ridiculous if Tao Jing was fond of someone like him!

Inner qualities mattered. A man should be gentle and considerate, like him! Otherwise, why would Tao Jing take the initiative to invite him, instead of someone else?

—

Dingcheng had been famous for a long time. It was the most influential Earth Element city after Lhasa. Many Earth Mages had gathered here.

Mo Fan was only a primary school student when it came to the Earth Element. He obediently followed the arrangement of the seniors of the Earth Element Club. He politely and humbly entered the city that had been completely built up using a kind of gray-white rock.

It was not a residential city, but a military fortress. It did not have many forms of public transports like a normal city, and even the buildings were constructed with wood and stone. There was no sign of the reinforced glass, windows, elevators, and air-conditioners that were common in a city.

Only Mages were allowed to enter a military fortress. Normal people, including merchants, were not allowed to enter. It was not discrimination against them, but because there was a chance for a military fortress to be invaded by demon creatures at any second. Normal people would not be able to protect themselves!

After the coach made its slow way into the city, Mo Fan realized the city was a lot bigger than he had imagined. It had even broken the mold when choosing a suitable place to build a city. It was built on a mountain, instead of a flatland!

The mountain formed the foundation of the entire city. The gray-white buildings were like stairs up the mountainsides. The buildings were stacked on top of one another along the steep slope. Even the streets, watchtowers, and roads were elevated around the mountain!

Mo Fan could see the entire side of the city from his angle, but from afar, it looked like the buildings were irregularly placed around a huge rocky mountain. It was both messy and in order. It was a strange sight, indeed!

“It’s just like people have described it!” Mo Fan exclaimed when he saw it better.

The city played an important role in the country, since it provided supplies of stone and Earth Element resources to a lot of cities. As the sea level rose, many headquarter cities had to set up their defenses and build long dams, greatly increasing the demand for stone supplies. Dingcheng had become a super factory, supplying the cities along the coastline with stone. Huge trucks were constantly heading north and south to deliver the supplies. Some described Dingcheng as the Stone Heart of China. Mo Fan could not help but agree with them after seeing it in person.

The city was indeed like a huge pounding heart, pumping blood to the rest of the country!

“Strange, why are there so many soldiers in the city?” Lin Qihui asked, looking confused

“People are crowding at the entrance. Is there a queue to enter the city?”

Mo Fan went down the bus and saw the city gates were no longer allowing vehicles to drive inside. As a matter of fact, the vehicles were struggling to go anywhere, since the entrance was crowded with people!

“Why aren’t we allowed to enter the city? We’ve been living here for a long time! Is this how the military is going to treat us Hunters!?” a Mage dressed like a Hunter shouted angrily.

“Yeah, so what if we aren’t Earth Mages? We’ve never heard of any cities that ban other Elements!”

The noise kept growing. It was obvious that these people were trying to enter the city, yet the military had a strange order that denied their entry.

“A passage for Earth Mages? Over here, we can take this!”

“There’s no queue here!”

Zhou Donghao found another entrance into the city. He quickly called the others over.

Everyone on the coach was an Earth Mage, hence they successfully entered the city after some checking. The Hunters were even more displeased after seeing how the Earth Mages were treated.

However, the military was very strict with the order. The Hunters did not dare cross the line. They could not do anything but complain at the entrance.

Mo Fan was confused as he watched the people who had been stopped at the gates.

Why was the city stopping Mages with other Elements from coming inside? Wasn’t the Magic Association going to say something about it? The Magic Association was just as powerful as the military!

“There’s another checkpoint?” Tao Jing blurted out.

There were Battlemages standing in a straight line along the passage they had entered. They had an imposing bearing, like they were going to execute them on the spot if they dared to do anything reckless!

“You will have to comply with the rules once you enter the city,” a Battlemaga with a high rank stated.

“What are the rules?” Lin Qihui asked, at a loss now. He did not remember it being so complicated to enter the city. It used to be a free city with not many rules, mainly consisting of Hunters and people that had come for training. It was rare to see the military here, but somehow, it felt like the military had taken over now!

The Battlemaga did not answer Lin Qihui’s question. She pointed at the Element Banning Order on the board beside her, telling the group to read it themselves.

Announcement!

T he city has been promoted to a first-tier Rock City. Starting from midnight on the first day of the month, the city will activate the first-tier city barrier. During the process, Elements other than the Earth Element will disrupt the stability of the barrier, hence the city has implemented an Elements Banning Order to ensure that the barrier is formed successfully.

All Mages without the Earth Element are not allowed to enter the city!

All Mages will have to seal away Elements other than the Earth Element!

“What kind of rules are these? Why have I not heard of them before!?” Lin Qihui yelled.

“You have never heard of them because you are ignorant. It’s standard procedure when a city is forming its barrier, preventing other Elements from disrupting the process. Otherwise, all the efforts put in to set up the barrier will be in vain!” the Battlemaga said impatiently.

“Senior, I think we learned that from the textbooks in primary schools,” Tao Jing spoke up softly.

“Seriously?” Lin Qihui blinked.

“It’s true, it’s necessary to ban other Elements when a city barrier is activated for the first time. Most cities set up their barriers in the past, so it’s rare to encounter a situation like this nowadays,” Tao Jing nodded.

“How unfortunate, the city just had to be promoted to an Elemental Capital during our trip!” Lin Qihui grumbled.

“The situation along the coastline is grim. The demand for stone is significantly higher than supply, so cities like this are playing an important role. It’s only a matter of time before the military takes over. Luckily, the military didn’t ban everyone from entering the city. Otherwise, we would have to go back!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I have a question. How are you going to restrict the use of other Elements? Do we have to refrain from using them ourselves?” Tao Jing asked.

“The Barrier Core uses the Earth Element. If you want to enter the city, we’ll apply a Seal to your Spiritual World that is tightly bound to the Barrier Core. The Seal will separate the other Elements in your body, preventing you from using them. As a matter of fact, when the Barrier Core is activated, the presence of the Earth Element within fifty kilometers from it will be overwhelming, thus reducing the level of other Elements. Mages close enough might fail to cast spells of the other Elements!” the Battlemaga said.

“What happens if we are in danger?” Lin Qihui had to ask.

“You can choose not to enter the city! We were supposed to not let ANY visitors in during this time!” the Battlemaga snapped sharply.

Lin Qihui was troubled. He turned around to discuss it with the others. Even though he was the organizer of the trip, he had to let the others decide if they were willing to Seal their Elements off.

“If the presence of the Earth Element is strong here, wouldn’t we benefit from it if we cultivated here?” Tao Jing said.

“Yeah, this might actually be an opportunity for us. Apparently, some Earth Mages have managed to break through to the higher levels at times like this!”

Lin Qihui asked everyone in the group and it was soon plain that no one was planning to leave. They all wanted to observe the Barrier Core in action!

“How about you?” Tao Jing asked Mo Fan, who was not a regular member.

“I’ve already come here. There’s no point to turning back now,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan did not mind Sealing his other Elements off temporarily. He had already decided to disguise himself as a student with the Earth Element while his reputation was still in ruins. It did not matter if he could not use his other Elements, as long as his life was not in danger.

The Seal only prohibited his Spiritual World from connecting with the outside world. It was not going to suppress one’s Spiritual World entirely, so Mo Fan was still able to Meditate while his other Elements were Sealed. It would not stop him from practicing his Star Palace!

His Star Palace was an ambitious project. The Magic Accelerators Zhao Manyan had bought for him were not effective at all, but Little Loach provided Mo Fan with great help after its recent upgrade. He believed he could learn the Super Lightning Spell before the arranged duel with the man from the Zu Clan. Otherwise, he might not stand a chance against him!

The Battlemaga began to Seal off their Elements after the students gave their consent.

A man in a light brown outfit came up and greeted the Battlemaga with a gentle smile. “Wen Xia, why are you on duty here today?”

“I don’t feel like seeing those idiots, and don’t you call my name!” The Battlemaga drove the guy away impatiently.

“Fine, I’ll be patrolling around the Dongtian Cave to prevent those annoying little demons from messing with our barrier,” the man informed her.

Wen Xia simply ignored the man. She uttered coldly to Mo Fan, who was standing behind Tao Jing, “Next!”

She had been very efficient in Sealing the students’ Elements. She was expressionless throughout the process, like an inspector stamping pork meat. However, her eyes sharpened when it was Mo Fan’s turn, as if she had noticed something.

“You are a student, too?” Wen Xia asked him seriously.

“Yeah, I’m from the Pearl Institute!” Mo Fan took out his student ID.

Dean Xiao had purposely given Mo Fan a new identity to help him with the disguise. Mo Fan had come prepared.

“Humph!” Wen Xia checked Mo Fan’s ID and did not ask any more questions, but her eyes were filled with disbelief.

She could easily determine a person’s cultivation from the difficulty of Sealing off their Elements. She was having difficulties sealing Mo Fan’s Elements. If it wasn’t for the Barrier Core, she would have failed to Seal Mo Fan!

Mo Fan’s identity was valid, hence Wen Xia felt there was no need to expose him. Many people had learned about the city’s upgrade through different sources, so a lot of Earth Mages had come to take advantage of it.

—

The Seal was placed beside a person’s soul. Mo Fan tried using other Elements after going into the city, but quickly confirmed his Elements were ‘muted’.

It felt like he had the log and the tinder, but it was still impossible to start a fire without oxygen. The presence of other Elements was too lacking here!

The unique walkways and stairs made of stone in the city were a dazzling sight. However, the soldiers patrolling the streets gave them a feeling that a war was going to break out at any second.

The inn they were staying at was located at the middle of the mountain, and was also built with wood and stone. Mo Fan was able to see the other side of the large city behind the tall mountain. He roughly estimated the city to be around three times the size of Bo City, not to mention having so many buildings that were densely packed together. It would be very easy for people to lose their way among the buildings!

“Come, I’ll bring you all to the famous Dongtian Cave!” Lin Qihui seemed very excited. He was gathering the group up before they could get some rest.

The group followed Lin Qihui to the west side of the city. Mo Fan soon noticed that the mountain was not just an isolated peak. It was connected to a mountain range extending into the distance to the west. The city was only the tip of the iceberg that was the mountain range!

The Dongtian Cave was shocking to see. The truth was, it was not just a cave; it was more like an underworld that had yet to be fully explored even today!

The terrain of the Dongtian Cave was heading deeper while the mountain was growing higher, forming in a huge ravine between the ground and the mountain. They were so far apart that it felt like the mountain was actually floating above the ground. The end of the ravine was a steep slope, diving down into a world of stone and darkness.

Mo Fan stood on the edge and stared into the cave. Even though he was unable to see what was inside the cave, he was quite impressed by the spectacular view. No wonder the city was so famous, having such a unique cave right beside it. It was definitely worth coming for!

“Apparently, it’s so big inside that it feels like there’s no end to it. The city has explored less than a tenth of it so far,” someone in the group mentioned.

“It might be less than a tenth. I didn’t have the guts to go inside the last time I came. I won’t miss out on it this time!” Lin Qihui said passionately.

“Heaven knows what kind of monsters are down there; I’m not going inside. We’ll just stay outside and look around.”

“Don’t worry, someone will be guiding us.”

“The city is being upgraded to a first-tier Elemental Capital. Could it be that someone has discovered some rare resources inside the cave? Otherwise, where did the Barrier Core come from?”

“It’s possible! I bet there’s more than one in the cave, so the military has decided to take over. Oh my, the place must be full of treasures. The Soul Seeds will be everywhere, just like weeds!”

Everyone in the team felt excited all of a sudden. Even Mo Fan was intrigued, staring into the dark cave.

He might actually find something valuable inside it!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan quickly shook his head. “Why would I even bother? I’m only a Basic Mage now!”

The Barrier Core had turned the whole place within fifty kilometers into a Magic Sealed Area where only the Earth Element was available. With Mo Fan’s current capabilities, he would have to flee for his life like a dog, even if he only found a slightly valuable Earth Crystal in the cave!

He had to remain calm and refrain from stirring up any trouble. He had to stick to his disguise of a student with the Earth Element, for the sake of his country!

He took a few deep breaths of the fresh air in the mountain and reclaimed his temperament as someone who stood aloof from worldly affairs. Didn’t the experts living in seclusion always behave like this? Even though his heart was going to stay reckless until he had reached the age of a hundred, he did not mind enjoying some peace once in a while.

Thud!

Mo Fan noticed a sudden movement in the darkness he was staring at. A huge figure slowly came out of the dark ravine.

“A demon creature has shown up!” a Battlemage suddenly yelled while firing a Light Spell into the sky as a signal for others to prepare for battle.

2

“It seems something is crawling out from the cave. It’s a very common sight in this city.”

“It looks pretty tough. It’s too dark to see it clearly.”

“It’s coming out, it’s out, how reckless is that thing? Isn’t it worried that the Mages here are going to blast it into pieces!”

Mo Fan and the group were standing on safe walls. The ravine was very intimidating to look at, but the huge creature coming out from it did not seem to be too strong.

A troop of Battlemages soon showed up. They spread out between the ravine and the walls of the city, working to prevent the demon creature from entering the city.

The monster opened its mouth and roared at the troop of Battlemages blocking its way.

The monster was rather fearless. It charged at the Battlemages with huge strides!

It was around four meters long. Its body ratio resembled a weightlifter with a massive build, something that had undergone long periods of training. It was not that huge compared to other demon creatures, but it was still impressive when the demon creature was charging towards them at full speed!

The monster’s hide was light brown. The group only discovered it was covered in rocks after it left the shadows in the ravine. More precisely, it was a Rock Monster!

The Rock Monster charged ferociously, and smashed right through the rock barrier in front of it, a temporary defense the Battlemages had set up. They initially thought it was enough to stop the Rock Monster, yet it had collapsed like mere sand.

Luckily, the Battlemages were well-trained. They quickly moved into formations and stood at different angles facing the Rock Monster.

When the Rock Monster tried to attack one of the Battlemages, the Battlemage quickly backed away while the rest of the Mages attacked it at will.

The Barrier Core was still being set up, hence the Battlemages could only rely on their Earth Spells to attack the Rock Monster. They eventually broke through the outer layers of the stones covering the Rock Monster!

The Rock Monster was kited like a beast trapped in a cage, and the battle ended in a few minutes. The Rock Monster fell to the ground, and broke into a pile of rocks.

“The Rock Monster doesn’t seem too strong. I bet we could take it out easily too,” Zhou Donghao chuckled after seeing the Rock Monster falling to the ground.

“Yeah, it seems pretty dumb.”

“You are overestimating yourself. Without good teamwork, the members of the team would easily panic if the Rock Monster caught one of them. It’s very likely that the Rock Monster would wipe out the whole team, since only our Earth Element is available,” Lin Qihui refuted after analyzing the fight.

Mo Fan had been paying sharp attention. He had a feeling the Rock Monster was actually tricky to deal with. The Battlemages had a great advantage in numbers while flanking the Rock Monster, which was why the creature looked slow and clumsy. However, it would be different if someone was fighting the creature alone. Mo Fan clearly remembered how the Rock Monster had smashed through the Rock Barrier that several Battlemages had constructed together!

“It’s no use if we keep talking here. There are obviously a lot of creatures like the Rock Monster in the cave. Didn’t we come to train ourselves? Let’s try killing one if we happen to stumble into it!”

“You kept saying how good and skilled you are on our way here. Don’t be the first to wet your pants when it’s really time for you to fight the Rock Monsters!” Liang Junheng, another member of the group, countered.

Zhou Donghao pointed at Liang Junheng and grunted, “What do you mean by that? Are you looking down at me?”

“I’m not looking down at anyone. I just feel like a dog that bites doesn’t like to bark, but those that are weak and timid are usually the ones that bark the loudest. To be honest with you, I’m getting bored of hearing you boast. You were disturbing my sleep on the way here,” Liang Junheng sniffed.

“It seems like I’ll have to show you what I’m capable of. Otherwise, someone is really going to think he’s all high and mighty!” Zhou Donghao snarled in return.

“What are you two arguing for? We are on the same team. We shouldn’t fight among ourselves…” Lin Qihui quickly mediated between the two.

“That’s right, there’s no point arguing with mere words. You won’t be able to find out who’s better,” Mo Fan added when he saw it was the right time.

“Who’s better? Humph, we’ll see when we are inside the cave the day after tomorrow. You’re going to regret it!” Zhou Donghao told Liang Junheng.

“I can’t wait to see what you’ve got,” Liang Junheng replied disdainfully.

Zhou Donghao expression was dark. He had obviously fallen out with Liang Junheng.

Tao Jing rolled her eyes at Mo Fan and asked, “You look like a gentleman, so why were you fanning the flames under these circumstances!?”

“Fanning the flames? Did I?” Mo Fan fondled his chin and answered with a stern face.

“You don’t want to admit it? It was only a quarrel in the first place, but now it has turned into a duel because of you!” Tao Jing said.

Mo Fan shrugged. He was not willing to admit it.

He was not allowed to stir up trouble, but it did not mean he was not allowed to provoke others to stir up trouble. Otherwise, it was going to be a boring trip!

——

Mo Fan went back to the inn after he achieved his goal. He felt like his Earth Element was about to have a breakthrough, as if his Stars had learned a great deal after witnessing the spectacular sight of the ravine!

Little Loach was very impressive after its recent upgrade. His Earth Element was able to reach the Intermediate Level in such a brief period. It was crazy good!

He should be able to protect himself now that his Earth Element was in the Intermediate Level. It should only take him a few days to learn the Star Pattern. It was very easy to learn how to control the low-level Stars when his rank was so much higher!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

At night, Mo Fan resisted all kinds of temptations and instead sat on the balcony of his room. He enjoyed the night breeze from the bald mountain while attempting to break through the barrier of his Earth Element.

As a matter of fact, the experience of cultivating on the balcony reminded him of the days when he was still studying at Tian Lan Magic High back in Bo City. He had spent every night on his balcony, as he desperately wanted to stand out among his peers. He would not leave until sunrise. He would spend months doing the same thing, but making negligible progress.

However, it was completely different now. It had only been a few days since the Awakening of his Earth Element, yet he was already about to expand his Earth Element into a Nebula.

The barrier he was trying to break through was not very sturdy, mainly because Mo Fan’s mental strength was simply too outstanding. The bottleneck he used to struggle against back when he was still in high school no longer existed.

“Great, the process is very smooth!”

Mo Fan rose to his feet and felt the fresh energy of the Earth Element pouring into his new Nebula.

He was more sensitive to the presence of the Earth Element in his surroundings after his cultivation improved. Earth Magic was indeed several times stronger when the Barrier Core was active, and was repelling the other Elements.

“I might be able to reach the Advanced Level of the Earth Element in no time by cultivating in an environment like this!” Mo Fan’s eyes sprang open. He was glad that he had decided to tag along with the group!

——

Mo Fan practiced constructing the Lightning Star Palace for the rest of the night. The Star Palace was made up of twenty-four hundred and one Stars. Mo Fan had only reached the second Star Constellation, while the first one was the foundation of the Advanced Level he was already familiar with.

At dawn, Mo Fan stretched out and decided to take a walk on the street, as he was feeling a little hungry. He finally found a stall selling buns outside the fortress.

It was rare to see a breakfast place like this when only Mages were allowed to enter the city. It lightened up Mo Fan’s mood, as he was a little worn out after cultivating for the whole night.

“Hey, are you serious about what you just said?” a Hunter whispered beside the stall.

“I saw it with my own eyes. A Rock Monster like nothing I’ve seen before came out of the ravine yesterday. The military took care of it…” a man wearing a straw hat said.

“I heard that too, but why was it a big deal?”

“It was not, until you saw what was inside the Rock Monster’s body,” the man with a straw head continued theatrically.

“What could it be? Probably some expensive rock crystals, if we are lucky enough!”

“It was a human! There was a man inside the Rock Monster after it turned into a pile of dust. It was most likely one of the miners who went missing a week ago!” the man with a straw hat exclaimed.

Mo Fan was munching his buns without paying much attention to the conversation. However, he immediately raised his ears after hearing what the man had just said.

He was at the scene yesterday when the Rock Monster showed up. However, they had left early after the Rock Monster was taken out due to the argument. They did not see what the military did to the remains of the Rock Monster. To his surprise, there was a follow-up after the incident!

The Rock Monster was obviously an Elemental creature. Why would there be a living human inside it? Was the man eaten by the Rock Monster?

A piercing siren suddenly went off, startling the people in the city’s west.

The siren was an indication that the city was under attack, so everyone was immediately on alert.

“Something has invaded the city, let’s go take a look!”

1

“It’s coming from the ravine!”

—

Mo Fan followed the Mages to the outskirts of the city.

He stumbled into Tao Jing and Lin Qihui along the way. The two had come over from the inn as soon as they heard the siren. Tao Jing was surprised to see Mo Fan. “You woke pretty early!” she greeted him.

“I was feeling a little hungry, so I went to grab breakfast. It looks like something has happened,” Mo Fan answered calmly.

“Let’s go take a look!” Lin Qihui said enthusiastically.

The three ran to the outskirts and stood on the wall. They were able to see the whole ravine with a single glance. They felt suffocated just looking at it.

There was a low-lying field between the ravine and the fortress, where many Battlemages were standing by.

A bunch of Rock Monsters, similar to the one they saw yesterday, had shown up a kilometer away in the ravine. Their stone bodies looked quite solid under the sunlight. They were like tanks rolling out as they charged at the fortress in a straight line!

“Why are there so many of them all of a sudden?” Tao Jing blurted out in surprise.

“It’s pretty normal. There are millions of demon creatures in the cave. This is nothing in comparison. The military should be able to take care of them with ease,” Lin Qihui answered easily.

Mo Fan looked at the number of troops. The military had allocated plenty of soldiers to the city to ensure it was upgraded successfully. The Rock Monsters might be a pain to deal with for a group of Hunters, but their attempt to break through the city’s defense was like hitting a rock with eggs!

“Help, someone!”

They suddenly heard a man crying from below the wall.

“There’s something over there!” Tao Jing pointed at the street and buildings after she quickly noticed something.

“It’s a Rock Monster… how did it end up in the city?” Lin Qihui blurted out in shock.

“We have to save him!” Tao Jing immediately jumped down from the wall. She nimbly made her way down the wall by using the buildings of different heights as her stepping stones.

She soon reached the building the Rock Monster was near after a few jumps.

The Rock Monster looked no different from a human from afar. However, they realized it was as big as a house after they were close enough. It had already caught the man who was screaming for help when Tao Jing arrived.

“Let go of him!” Tao Jing snapped.

She drew a Star Pattern and summoned a heavy object that looked like a stone cauldron. It slid across the ground and rammed into the Rock Monster’s legs.

The Rock Monster staggered from the impact, tossing the man into the air. Lin Qihui had just arrived and managed to catch him.

The man was not injured, he was only feeling a little light-headed. Lin Qihui handed the man to Mo Fan and said, “Bring him somewhere safe. I’ll help Tao Jing. She can’t handle the Rock Monster alone.”

“I’ll help her, a little demon creature like that…” Mo Fan said.

The Rock Monster was tough, but it could not even withstand a single spell from a violent Mage like Mo Fan. Therefore, the Rock Monster was like a little weakling in his eyes, since it was as easy as pie for him to eliminate it.

However, Mo Fan remembered that his other Elements were not available before he finished the sentence. He could not help but shake his head helplessly and sigh.

Who cared if he couldn’t use other Elements? He could treat it as a practice putting his Earth Element to practical use in a real fight!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Tao Jing had successfully made the Rock Monster angry. It jumped onto a building and tore its roof off with brute force, lifting it above its head!

BANG!

The Rock Monster tossed the roof at her. Tao Jing backed away in a panic and hid behind a warehouse. To her surprise, the Rock Monster’s strength was absolutely terrifying. Not only did the hurled roof smash the warehouse into pieces, it even knocked her into the air!

Tao Jing was covered in ash and cuts inflicted by the flying debris. She gasped in pain as blood poured out from her wounds.

“Tao Jing, don’t force yourself, let me handle it!” Lin Qihui quickly ran forward when he saw Tao Jing was injured.

The Rock Monster had already jumped down from the building. Its huge body landed right in front of Lin Qihui. He had initially steeled himself to face the creature, yet he could not help but panic when the Rock Monster landed in front of him with a huge crash.

“Rock…Rock Barrier!” Lin Qihui quickly set up a Rock Barrier to separate the creature from him and Tao Jing, trying to buy some time.

The Rock Monster simply ignored the Rock Barrier, smashing through it with its shoulder like a rugby player. The Rock Barrier shattered like a bubble. It was obvious that an Intermediate Spell Rock Barrier that was not enhanced by a Soul Seed was nowhere enough to withstand the blow!

“Quick, run!” Lin Qihui grabbed Tao Jing’s hand and cast Earth Wave when he realized how unfavorable the situation was.

Lin Qihui was very good at using Earth Wave. They managed to flee fifty meters away from the Rock Monster while it broke through the Rock Barrier, and found a spot to hide behind some containers.

“Luckily, that creature isn’t fast. We should be able to shake it off if it tried to chase us,” Lin Qihui let out a relieved sigh.

The Earth Element was very effective at increasing one’s speed when it was not being used for defense. Earth Mages had the lowest death rates in the wild. Lin Qihui was relieved they had gotten to cover in time!

The Rock Monster stared in the direction the two had fled in. It suddenly let out a huge roar and smashed its right fist on the ground!

The roads and streets in the city were made of concrete. The concrete suddenly began to ripple in a strange way after the Rock Monster touched it. It surprisingly softened and started wriggling toward the Rock Monster!

“What’s going on? Why is the ground moving!?”

“Damn it, help, it’s dragging us toward it!”

The concrete for over a hundred meters around the Rock Monster had turned into a wriggling rug. All the buildings and warehouses were slowly moving toward the Rock Monster!

Both Tao Jing and Lin Qihui had fallen victim to it. They were trying to speed themselves up with the Earth Element, but the ground kept moving toward the Rock Monster. Lin Qihui almost had the urge to use both his hands to speed themselves up.

“That thing is using Earth Magic too. It’s an Earth Elemental creature!” Tao Jing shouted.

“I know that, but what else can we do!?” Lin Qihui yelled back in fear.

Elemental creatures were a special kind of demon creature. They were usually born in places with extreme levels of certain Elements. Their appearance was related to their Elements most of the time. For example, Little Flame Belle looked like she was made of fire.

The Rock Monster was obviously a similar existence. They usually had control over their respective Element, and that control was usually greater than human Mages. Therefore, using the Earth Element in front of the Rock Monster was like trying to display their skill before an expert!

The Rock Monster’s level was incomparable to a blessed creature like Little Flame Belle, but its magic was still very annoying to human Mages. In addition, the Earth Magic also gave the creature outstanding strength. Even a Warrior-level Elemental creature was several times tougher than a normal demon creature!

Lin Qihui and Tao Jing were using the Earth Wave to run away, but the Rock Monster was using it to drag them back. It was unlikely they could escape unless their cultivation was a lot stronger than the creature!

“We were too confident in ourselves!” Lin Qihui greatly regretted his decision.

He assumed he could easily handle the Rock Monster when he saw how easy the soldiers had defeated one yesterday. However, when it was his turn to face a Rock Monster, he felt like the creature was stronger than him in every way. His defense was too weak against it, and he was having difficulty running away!

The Rock Monster charged at Tao Jing and Lin Qihui when it saw the two were getting closer to it, swinging its fists in the air. Rock particles rapidly attached to its fists during the process.

In less than two seconds, the Rock Monster’s fists were wrapped like huge hammers, while its arms were the handles!

The hammers were insanely huge and heavy!

The Rock Monster swung its new rock hammers, fully capable of smashing humans into mincemeat, at Tao Jing and Lin Qihui. The two kept backing away. Their faces had turned extremely pale!

“Rock Fang: Queen of the Night’s Bind!” a loud voice rose from not far away.

The Rock Monster was sprinting across the concrete, but three boulders resembling the fangs of a beast suddenly emerged from the ground and blocked the Rock Monster. It tried to smash right through the boulders, but the golden-brown Rock Fangs were too strong for it!

The Rock Monster was struggling to move forward as three more Rock Fangs emerged behind it just when it was about to back away, sealing its escape and trapping it completely!

More Rock Fangs quickly appeared on both sides of the Rock Monster. The huge creature could no longer move sideways!

The Rock Fangs surrounded the Earth Monster like an enormous Queen of the Night blossom. Each Fang resembled a thin and long, yet sturdy, petal of the flower. The Rock Monster was stuck in the middle of the Rock Fangs!

The Rock Fangs curved slightly. Their tips were bending inward slightly, holding the Rock Monster’s shoulders and back in place, preventing it from jumping.

The Rock Fangs were perfectly symmetrical, like a cage specifically built for the creature. The Rock Monster was planning to murder its targets with its rock hammers, yet it could only let out a fierce cry now, as it could not even take another step!

“Back off, my magic won’t last for long!” Mo Fan shouted at Tao Jing and Lin Qihui.

The two noticed that the Earth Wave dragging them toward the creature had disappeared, and quickly fled into the distance. They turned around and looked at Mo Fan’s Rock Fang: Queen of the Night’s Bind after reaching a safe distance, and were absolutely dumbfounded. What kind of spell was that? Since when was the Earth Element able to bind a target?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Strange, why is my Rock Barrier as fragile as bubbles against the Rock Monster, yet it couldn’t break free from Fan Mo’s spell?” Lin Qihui murmured in confusion.

A Rock Barrier was similar to a huge mound of stone. It was bigger and thicker than the thin and razor-sharp Rock Fangs, so how did the Rock Fangs manage to hold the Rock Monster in place when it could easily break through his Rock Barrier?

“The Rock Fangs must be targeting the Rock Monster’s joints, making it difficult for the creature to gather its strength!” Tao Jing guessed.

Tao Jing was right. Even though Mo Fan’s Rock Fangs were sturdier than ordinary rocks, they were not strong enough to match the strength of an Intermediate Spell. Mo Fan was merely restricting the movement of the Rock Monster via its joints to root it in place!

However, if the Rock Monster gathered its strength to forcibly break one of the Rock Fangs, it would break free from the Queen of the Night’s Binding right away. The Rock Fangs would no longer be able to stop it.

The Rock Monster was not brainless as they had thought. It used its elbow to hit the shaft of a Rock Fang multiple times. The Rock Fang soon cracked, and eventually broke into pieces.

The Rock Monster swung its arm to break the rest of the Rock Fangs after it was able to move its arm freely, and rapidly broke free from the Queen of the Night’s Binding.

After regaining its freedom, the Rock Monster fixed its eyes on Mo Fan, as if it knew who the culprit was. Its eyes looked emotionless, yet one could easily feel the wrath and murderous intent within them!

The Elemental creature was quite hot-tempered. It roared like a gorilla before charging at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was standing behind two buildings to protect himself, but the creature simply pounded them to the ground, forcing Mo Fan to retreat to a street further up the mountain.

“Damn it, I could have killed you with a single Lightning Strike!” Mo Fan cursed when he saw the Rock Monster pursuing him relentlessly.

Luckily, Mo Fan’s physical attributes as a Super Mage were outstanding. He managed to dodge a few punches from the Rock Monster agilely.

“Fan Mo, hang in there, we’ll go find backup!” Lin Qihui yelled at Mo Fan from not far away.

Mo Fan almost had the urge to fire the Earth Spell he had just completed at Lin Qihui. That f**king potato, the Rock Monster would kill him multiple times before he returned with the others who were still at the inn!

1

The Rock Monster was a lot trickier to deal with than he had thought, especially when they did not have the advantage in numbers to suppress it. The Rock Monsters kept chasing him between the buildings on the street, so he did not have the chance to cast any spells, making him quite frustrated!

“That guy is so impressive. He’s still alive after a Rock Monster has been chasing him for so long,” a Mage hiding in a corner murmured.

“Yeah, keep it up!”

Mo Fan did not see anyone trying to lend him a hand while he was being chased. Everyone was hiding as far as they could instead.

Wasn’t this city supposed to be full of Mages? Why did Mo Fan feel like he was in a street full of normal people? Not a single Mage bothered to help him. Since when did people become so cold-hearted toward one another?

As a matter of fact, it was not like the Mages were unwilling to help, but they were too scared to step forward after witnessing the Rock Monster’s strength!

Basic Mages were simply courting death trying to fight a Rock Monster. Intermediate Mages did not really stand a chance either, especially since everyone could only use their Earth Element in the city. An Intermediate Mage’s control of the Earth Element was inferior to the Rock Monster, so their lives were also in danger too if they tried to fight it. Since the young man was able to kite the Rock Monster with just his agility, no one wanted to risk their lives.

“I’ll help you, run to me…” Tao Jing called out when she saw Mo Fan was in a pinch.

“Don’t worry, that thing can’t harm me, just take care of yourself,” Mo Fan shouted back.

The Rock Monster would never touch him even if the chase went on for another hundred years.

Tao Jing thought Mo Fan was forcing himself. She began casting her Intermediate Spell while enduring the pain from her wounds!

Tao Jing’s Intermediate Spell could be used as an attack. It was a heavy rock cauldron that was able to slide across the ground. The longer it slid, the greater its force. Unfortunately, the Rock Monster was not stupid. It would not just stand still and let Tao Jing attack it.

“Increase your power to the maximum; I’ll make sure it collides with your rock cauldron!” Mo Fan yelled at Tao Jing when he realized her spell could actually threaten the Rock Monster.

Tao Jing nodded. She purposely Summoned a bigger rock cauldron.

The rock cauldron slid along the spacious street. Its speed increased gradually from the push of an Earth Wave. Meanwhile, Mo Fan purposely slowed down to trick the Rock Monster into thinking that it was catching up to him. He then used a huge warehouse to block the Rock Monster’s view.

The Rock Monster lunged at Mo Fan. He stood there the junction without trying to dodge the attack.

Smash! The rock cauldron rammed into the Rock Monster’s lower half just as its hand had almost reached Mo Fan.

The huge creature was knocked flying. Its body cracked in many places.

“Rock Fangs!”

Mo Fan reacted quickly. He swung his hand at the spot where the Rock Monster was going to land.

A thicker and sharper golden-brown Rock Fang popped out from the ground and stabbed the Rock Monster in the crack on its waist the rock cauldron had inflicted, impaling the Rock Monster!

The Rock Monster was severely injured. Pieces of its body scattered across the ground. It staggered to its feet, strong anger rising inside it!

“Eyes of the Rock Demon: Mountain Drill Spinning Top!”

Tiny sand particles drifted in the wind and spun rapidly under the drive of a special energy. They gradually formed a spinning top.

The Mountain Drill Spinning Top struck the Rock Monster in the chest. Its body started turning into fine dust, similar to the sand. The tip of the spinning top was sharp, while its back was thick and broad. The spinning drill continued to dig a bigger hole in the Rock Monster’s huge body, which soon began to collapse!

“It’s an Advanced Spell!”

“Thank the Heavens, an Advanced Mage has finally shown up. Fan Mo, we are safe now!” Lin Qihui blurted out excitedly.

Mo Fan was smiling too, yet he was cursing under his breath, “Safe my ass, help always arrives when the fight is close to an end!”

Mo Fan glanced to the other side of the street and noticed an imperious Battlemaga standing there. Her brown eyes were full of magic, and rather attractive. She was the one who had cast the powerful Advanced Spell, Mountain Drill Spinning Top!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had met the woman earlier. She was Wen Xia, the soldier who had applied the Seals on their Elements at the city entrance.

Wen Xia drew closer to them, glancing at Mo Fan without saying a word. She then headed toward the Rock Monster.

“Ain’t she proud?” Mo Fan scoffed, staring at Wen Xia’s straight back.

The Rock Monster had caused a scene at the city west for some time before the military finally showed up. If he had not happened to be around to buy some time, there would surely have been some casualties. The Basic and Intermediate Mages who were watching him from the side did not stand a chance against the Rock Monster at all!

Mo Fan also walked toward the remains of the Rock Monster. There was a pile of stones lying still at the intersection. It was obvious that the Rock Monster was dead.

There was a sudden movement from the pile of rocks. Mo Fan had a bad feeling when he noticed the tiny movement.

“Watch out!” Mo Fan dashed forward and pushed Wen Xia away.

There was a certain species in Egypt that could reassemble their bodies to attack travelers after they were shattered into pieces. Many inexperienced Mages had died to those sand creatures as they were unable to tell if they were alive or dead.

Therefore, Mo Fan subconsciously thought the Rock Monster was about to rise again when he noticed the movement from the rocks, even though he could not detect any sign of life from it.

Mo Fan was quite strong. The push almost knocked Wen Xia to the ground.

Luckily, Wen Xia was quick, too. She managed to regain her balance with a backflip.

“What the hell are you doing!?” Wen Xia lifted her eyes. Her attractive face was filled with anger.

“You should be thanking me for saving…” Mo Fan pointed at the pile of rocks. He was going to say he had just saved her life when he saw a human rising feebly from the rocks.

It was a skinny middle-aged woman, her clothes covered in a thick layer of ash, like a cocoon. Chunks of ash rolled off her as she rose to her feet.

Mo Fan stared at the woman with a blank expression.

Did a human just appear from the pile of rocks?

What’s going on here? Did the woman turn into the Rock Monster?

He had never heard of any magic that could transform a human into a Rock Monster!

The woman was petite and skinny, a great contrast to the huge and tanky Rock Monster just a moment ago!

Wen Xia rolled her eyes at Mo Fan before ordering two soldiers who had arrived late, “You two, take her away and confirm her identity!”

Mo Fan had yet to recover from the shock. He immediately stopped Wen Xia when he saw she was leaving, too. “What just happened? Why is there a living human inside the Rock Monster?” he asked.

The woman inside the Rock Monster was still alive, Mo Fan had confirmed it; she was very feeble, like she had expended all her energy.

“It’s none of your business!” Wen Xia snapped.

“You came so late. I had to risk my life to keep the Rock Monster busy to avoid casualties. I have the right to know the reason why that woman was inside that creature!” Mo Fan stood in front of the Battlemaga. He had no intention to back away.

“Risk your life?” Wen Xia was amused by Mo Fan’s choice of words. She grinned like a man and said, “A creature of its level is as harmless as an infant to you!”

“That’s not the point here!” Mo Fan complained.

“I would like to know the reason, too. Can you please inform the military if you manage to find it out? We will reward you handsomely,” Wen Xia shot right back.

Wen Xia brought the middle-aged woman away, leaving without wasting any more time with Mo Fan. The street was still a complete mess.

Mo Fan frowned. He had a bad feeling about this.

The Rock Monster was an Elemental creature, so it was supposed to turn into a pile of rocks after it died. It did not make sense for an older woman to appear from the pile of rocks, unless the Rock Monster had eaten her!

“That doesn’t make any sense, either! If the Rock Monster had swallowed the woman, the Mountain Drill Spinning Top would have murdered her, too!”

Mo Fan could not make any sense of it. He returned to the wall to check on the state of the battle there.

The battle at the ravine seemed to have come to an end. Mo Fan only saw a few probationary Mages cleaning up the field. He did not learn anything valuable.

“How strange!” Mo Fan blurted out before returning the same way.

The whole incident felt so weird. Mo Fan knew he was not going to find out anything useful for the time being. He would have to wait until the Rock Monsters showed up again to learn the truth.

——

Mo Fan regrouped with Tao Jing and Lin Qihui. Lin Qihui was treating Tao Jing’s wounds. Mo Fan noticed a few of her wounds were still bleeding.

“Use this,” Mo Fan took out a potion and gave it to Tao Jing, “Just drink it, it’s vanilla-flavored.”

“Are you really offering her a drink?” Lin Qihui said.

“Yeah, it will help calm her down. I didn’t expect you to be such a brave soul, even though you are normally quiet and gentle,” Mo Fan complimented Tao Jing.

“Being brave isn’t enough, I ended up giving you a lot of trouble,” Tao Jing received the drink from Mo Fan. She drank it right away, since she was indeed feeling a little thirsty.

“It’s worth it, since we did save the man’s life,” Lin Qihui smiled.

“It’s two of them,” Tao Jing said.

“Two? Oh, you meant the person that appeared from the remains of the Rock Monster… that scared the crap out of me!” Lin Qihui admitted.

“It felt like the woman was trapped inside the Rock Monster’s body. I heard that many Mages have gone missing in the city recently. I should be able to find the woman’s name on the list of missing people,” Tao Jing said thoughtfully.

Trapped inside the Rock Monster’s body?

Mo Fan found Tao Jing’s speculation to be convincing. Speaking of which, didn’t he also hear a Hunter mentioning that the military had found a living human inside the Rock Monster they took care of yesterday, too?

“The Barrier Core might be attracting some strange creatures while it’s accumulating the energy of the Earth Element, due to its extraordinary nature. Otherwise, why would the military send so many soldiers here? It’s obviously to make sure the Barrier Core is well protected!” Lin Qihui pointed out.

“From what I remember, the Barrier Core has similar side effects to Elemental Detectors, with a greater area of coverage. Therefore, demon creatures are expected to show up,” Tao Jing agreed.

“It’s going to be busy in this city…” Mo Fan murmured to nobody in particular.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Drawing the Earth Star Pattern was not too difficult for Mo Fan. He expected to succeed at it after cultivating diligently for a few days, so he decided to clear his mind of the unimportant matters and dove into his golden-brown world!

Time passed swiftly. Mo Fan totally forgot about sleeping and eating when the thought of learning a new powerful spell crossed his mind.

Knock knock knock!

Mo Fan suddenly heard a few heavy knocks on the door. He found them very annoying, as he was only a few Stars away from completing the Star Pattern. He would be able to cast the spell with ease if he could spend half a day more on it!

“What is it?” Mo Fan decided to respond after he recalled he was still a member of the group. After all, he had disappeared for two days!

“Fan Mo, are you in the room? Is everything fine?” Lin Qihui’s worried voice came from outside.

Mo Fan rose to his feet and walked to the door.

He opened the door and saw Lin Qihui standing there nervously. He had an uneasy look in his eyes. He let out a relieved sigh as soon as he saw Mo Fan.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan asked.

“Some people from our group are missing,” Lin Qihui told him earnestly.

“Missing? What do you mean?” Mo Fan asked, surprised.

“We went for an adventure on the mountain this morning. After all, it is important for us to gain some practical experience. Everyone except you went along.

“We encountered some demon creatures who forced us to split up. We agreed to part ways temporarily to ensure our safety, and regroup at the foot of the mountain later. However, we waited until evening for the other group, but they did not show up,” Lin Qihui told him with a grimace.

“Aren’t they carrying communication devices?” Mo Fan asked.

“They are useless, the disturbance is too strong in the mountain,” Lin Qihui shook his head.

“So who’s missing? Where’s Tao Jing?” Mo Fan asked. Lin Qihui was silent. “Tao Jing was with the other group?” Mo Fan frowned.

“Mm, it’s my fault for failing to take care of the group. I’ve already asked the Magic Association for help, but the Magic Association says it’s too early to organize help for them. I’m worried they might be in danger,” Lin Qihui sighed.

Zhou Donghao came up while the two were talking. He glanced at Lin Qihui and Mo Fan before saying impatiently, “Senior, there’s no point wasting time on him. He doesn’t even have the guts to go to the wild. We should hurry up and search for them inside the mountain again.”

“Fan Mo is pretty strong, it will be safer if he comes with us,” Lin Qihui said quickly.

Lin Qihui believed having an extra person was safer for the team. He had no idea how strong Mo Fan was. He had only seen Mo Fan being chased around by the Rock Monster to keep it busy.

“I’ll go with you,” Mo Fan stated.

He had no other choice. Saving women had always been his sacred duty. He would find himself grieving if anything happened to a pretty gentlewoman like Tao Jing!

1

“We should be glad as long as he isn’t a burden to us!” Zhou Donghao snorted.

Mo Fan completely ignored the man, and followed Lin Qihui outside.

The remaining people of the group had already gathered downstairs. They were surprisingly righteous, having volunteered to help after learning the missing members might be in danger.

—

The group did not go inside the cave. Even the military would have trouble rescuing people inside the cave, which was as complicated as a maze. The desolate mountain was rugged and craggy, so there should be no problem finding the missing group if they did a thorough sweep.

“What’s going on? Is something serious happening?” Mo Fan saw a huge army had gathered at the entrance of the city.

“The military is planning to eliminate the threats to the Barrier Core by taking the initiative to wipe out the demon creatures within five kilometers of the city. Otherwise, they will struggle to handle them if too many demon creatures show up at once in the next few days,” Lin Qihui told him.

“How many days left until the Barrier Core is set up?” Mo Fan asked.

“Three or four days? I’m not too sure, either,” Lin Qihui admitted.

“Let’s not waste our time talking and go to the mountain. The search is going to be a lot harder when it’s dark.”

Taking advantage of the delayed sunset, the group formed a search team and quickly went over to the mountain.

The mountain was like a staircase. They soon reached a tall cliff, and after they climbed to the top of it, they were immediately greeted by another. The cliffs were stacked irregularly on top of one another. They were able to jump between them at times, but for those that were too far apart, they had no choice but to climb with their hands.

—

“I’ll take a look up there, the view is clearer. Are you sure this is where you split up with them?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s so high, how are you going to get up there?” the female student with glasses, Cao Juan, wondered.

“Yeah, it’s not like you can fly!” Lin Qihui looked up and realized how steep the cliff was. It was unlikely a normal person could climb up there.

Mo Fan did not respond. He jumped directly onto the straight cliff.

He jumped surprisingly high into the air. When he reached the highest point, a golden-brown Star Orbit surrounded him. A rocky spar emerged from the wall like a bamboo shoot, right under Mo Fan’s feet.

Mo Fan kicked the rock and launched himself higher into the air once again.

Another stone beam popped out from the wall, and Mo Fan launched himself higher once again. He was slowly disappearing from the others’ view.

More rocks popped out of the wall as Mo Fan made his way up, and he soon reached the top of the cliff. The rest of the group was dumbfounded after witnessing him.

It was extremely rare to see anyone using the Earth Element in such a manner. More importantly, his strength and agility were comparable to a powerful demon creature!

“Humph, he’s only good at useless tricks like that!” Zhou Donghao said disdainfully, trying to break the mood.

Mo Fan was able to see the mountains nearby from the top of the cliff. He looked down trying to search for Tao Jing and the missing members, and suddenly noticed something wriggling rapidly in a crack between the slopes not far away.

Mo Fan tried to get a closer look at it. He was having trouble identifying it. It simply looked like mud.

The problem was, the mud was moving down the mountains. It seemed to be heading for the students!

“Something is heading your way. Look out!” Mo Fan immediately yelled at the group when he sensed something was not right.

“What did you say? Are they close to us?”

“I said, something dangerous is heading your way! Hide, now!” Mo Fan raised his voice.

“Oh, that way? Sure, we’ll try searching in that direction!” Lin Qihui responded.

Mo Fan could hear Lin Qihui’s response, but the man’s hearing was obviously not as good as his own. He looked down again and noticed the wriggling mud was getting even closer to the students!

“Damn it, I asked you to run, run!” Mo Fan jumped down from the cliff, yelling at the people below who were unaware of the situation they were in.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lin Qihui was confused when he saw Mo Fan jumping down from above them.

“Oh my, what is that?” Liang Junheng exclaimed, pointing at the cracks on the ground.

“Is there anything? Why can’t I see it?” Cao Juan looked behind him and failed to notice anything.

“Look out, it’s under your feet!” Liang Junheng yelled.

Cao Juan lowered her eyes and saw a pile of mud wriggling under her feet now. Cao Juan did not take it too seriously at first, but her face turned extremely pale when the strange mud revealed a pair of eyes.

The mud was obviously going after her! She was not able to escape in time. The strange mud suddenly leapt into the air and turned into a flexible and sticky mud man!

The mud man pounced at Cao Juan and covered her. She did not even have time to use her magic.

“Save her!” Lin Qihui said.

“How are we supposed to do that? Are we going to attack her?” Liang Junheng cried out.

The mud man was completely attached to Cao Juan. If they tried to attack it with their magic, they might kill Cao Juan too!

“Help…help…me!” Cao Juan struggled vigorously, but the mud soon entered her throat.

The mud had taken over in no time. Cao Juan was nowhere to be seen. She had been replaced by a mud monster!

The mud monster’s size expanded quickly after covering Cao Juan. It was impossible to tell where the mud had come from. The group did not dare use their magic as they were scared of harming Cao Juan. They had no choice but to watch the mud man grow stronger!

“AHHHHH!”

Another cry of agony came from behind while the group was starting to panic.

Lin Qihui turned around and noticed another student being attacked by the same mud monster now!

His situation was exactly the same as Cao Juan’s. The mud soon covered him entirely. His struggles were in vain, as he was eventually covered by the mud.

A furious roar was heard coming from the opposite direction. When Lin Qihui looked at where Cao Juan had been standing, he realized that the mud man who had devoured Cao Juan had transformed into a familiar creature!

“A Rock Monster!” Lin Qihui exclaimed.

“What…what exactly is going on?”

The Rock Monster’s eyes were filled with anger. It charged straight at the group while swinging its arms fiercely, knocking a few of the students into the air.

“Run to higher ground, quick!” Lin Qihui yelled.

The students were not very strong, and did not stand a chance against the surprise attack. They quickly fled to a higher spot.

Another Rock Monster began charging at them just as they created some distance between them and the first one. It had come from the direction of the male student who had been taken by the mud.

The two Rock Monsters chased the students relentlessly. A few of them were injured and covered in blood.

“Help me, anyone, my leg is broken!”

A young man had fallen into a crack and twisted his knee. His face was covered in sweat from the pain.

Luckily, the Rock Monsters were chasing after the rest of the group instead of targeting him. Otherwise, it was unlikely he would survive under the circumstances!

“Watch where you are going, keep an eye out for the mud monsters,” Lin Qihui quickly warned the others when he realized something.

“Don’t just keep running. Use your magic too! Do you really think you can outrun those Rock Monsters?” Liang Junheng said anxiously.

Liang Junheng was leading the others to fight the Rock Monsters. The group finally had some space to cast their spells under the protection of his Earth Magic. They cast their Intermediate Earth Spells simultaneously, stacking up a huge wall in front of the Rock Monsters.

“What should we do with Su Jindu?” Someone finally realized they had left one of their members behind.

The two Rock Monsters decided to go for the man named Su Jindu after they had trouble going after the group of students.

Su Jindu was terrified. He tried hobbling along on his other leg, and managed to hide behind a slope. To his surprise, the two Rock Monsters landed right in front of him after jumping around a few times, just like huge apes.

“Help me!” Su Jindu screamed for help from Mo Fan, who had finally come down from the mountain.

Mo Fan frowned, and immediately used his magic. Rock Fangs emerged from the ground and stabbed the Rock Monsters in the feet.

Luckily, Mo Fan’s Bright Rock was a lot harder than ordinary Earth Magic, or it would not have posed a threat to the Rock Monsters. The Rock Fangs emerging from the ground would have broken into pieces right away trying to stab the Rock monsters!

Mo Fan managed to stop one of the Rock Monsters with the Rock Fangs, but he could not do anything to the other Rock Monster. The four-meter-tall creature lifted Su Jindu up like he was a little chick.

Su Jindu was still struggling fiercely, but the Rock Monster simply smacked him into its chest.

The Rock Monster’s strength was outstanding. Mo Fan had experienced it first hand. Even if the force did not turn Su Jindu into mincemeat, it was still enough to kill an Intermediate Mage brutally. It was impossible for Su Jindu to survive it.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, Su Jindu was not smashed into pulp like he expected. The Rock Monster’s chest turned as soft as mud when it pressed Su Jindu into its chest. It looked like Su Jindu was being eaten by the mud. The Rock Monster slowly forced the man into its chest.

Mo Fan watched it all with a blank face.

What the heck was that thing? Did it just force a man into its body?

Is that how the Rock Monsters feed on humans?

He never heard of any Elemental creatures feeding on human flesh!

The Rock Monster that ate Su Jindu suddenly let out a roar. Its body was transforming at a speed visible to the naked eye. It was growing in size now.

The Rock Monster had grown from four meters to six meters in just a few seconds. Its rocky muscles were full of power. Mo Fan’s eyes widened once again.

The mud monster at the beginning had transformed into a Rock Monster after devouring the girl named Cao Juan, and now, the Rock Monster had grown further after absorbing another person!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The huge Rock General had doubled its previous strength and speed. The creature fixed its eyes on Mo Fan. It smashed every rock in its path into pieces as it charged at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan noticed how unfavorable the situation was for him. He quickly cast Earth Wave and slid down the slope. He was a lot clumsier without the help of the Shadow Element and Space Element, so the Earth Wave was too slow. The six-meter Rock General was rapidly gaining on him. It slammed its fists onto the ground, flinging several waves of dirt and stones into the air!

Mo Fan was sent flying by the incredible force of the waves. As that happened, another Rock Monster jumped out from the side and grabbed Mo Fan as he lost his balance in the air.

Mo Fan felt his body tightening up. The Rock Monster was holding him in its hand.

The Rock Monster did not crush Mo Fan with brute force. It was slamming him against its chest instead.

Mo Fan realized what the Rock Monster was trying to do, and drew a golden-brown Star Orbit in the nick of time. A Rock Fang immediately stuck out from the rock beside the Rock Monster and stabbed it right in the arm to hinder it.

The Rock Monster could not feel any pain. It was furious at not being able to absorb Mo Fan into its body!

Mo Fan broke free from the Rock Monster’s grasp while it was struggling to move its arm. He nimbly jumped onto a rock and glanced at the Huge Rock General charging at him again.

“Damn it, I have had enough of this!” Mo Fan cursed.

He stomped the rock and dodged the massive Rock General’s hand like a fish weaving through a net, before landing on the Rock General’s head.

He raised his hand before slamming it down on the Rock General’s head together with a golden-brown Star Orbit. A sharp Rock Fang followed!

To Mo Fan’s surprise, not only did the Rock Fang fail to penetrate the Huge Rock General’s defense, it even broke into pieces at the impact. Mo Fan immediately felt awkward. He quickly backed away from the Huge Rock General’s head before the creature smashed him to death.

“That thing’s defense has risen significantly! Even my Rock Fang can’t penetrate it!” Mo Fan jumped to a safe distance and stared at the annoying Huge Rock General.

Mo Fan’s Rock Fangs could still penetrate a Rock Monster’s body, yet they were useless against the stronger, larger Rock General. Mo Fan clenched his teeth when he saw the Rock General charging at him like a tank again. He decided to have a showdown with the Elemental creature!

Star Orbits appeared around Mo Fan consecutively. The man who loved to overcome his limits in dangerous situations was focusing his attention now.

Either the creature was going to knock him flying, or he was going to give the creature a taste of his Intermediate Spell!

Six Star Orbits had appeared. Only one remained!

The Huge Rock General jumped into the air when it was around twenty meters away. It was using its momentum and gravity to maximize the damage of its explosive move…

The students who were hiding in the distance, too afraid to involve themselves in the battle, started screaming. They managed to set up a Rock Barrier between Mo Fan and the Rock General. Mo Fan had no idea whose spell it was, yet the defensive spell was like a mere bubble to the Rock General. It simply smashed the Rock Barrier to pebbles with its shoulder while charging at Mo Fan!

The final Stars of the Earth Element did not let Mo Fan down. He finally completed the Star Pattern. His aura was several times stronger as he stood amid the glowing Star Pattern.

“Ambush of the Rock Shark!”

The ground below him began to loosen up. A ferocious shark made of rock leapt out of the ground just as the Huge Rock General was about to reach him. The Rock Shark had remarkable power, as if it had long accumulated its strength under the ground!

BANG!

The Rock Shark slammed into the Rock General’s body. The sturdiness and penetrative nature of Mo Fan’s Bright Rock were once again on display. The Rock Shark managed to leave a huge hole the size of its head on the Rock General’s stomach. Half the Rock Shark was now currently inside the Rock General’s body.

The massive Rock General fell to the ground and was smashed into pieces. Mo Fan’s Rock Shark dissipated and merged with the ground, too.

“Take that you son of a b**ch!” Mo Fan finally got to vent his frustrations, stepping on and crushing the pieces of rock scattered across the ground.

His spell was a lot different after reaching the Intermediate Level. It was no longer just a little carp, but a ferocious shark! Even though it was still a long way from the Hillock Whale he had encountered, it was enough to take care of this oversized Rock General!

Pieces of rock started rolling down from the pile. Two bodies covered in ashes rolled out of the remains of the Huge Rock General while Mo Fan was still admiring his new Earth Spell.

The two people were still alive, but they were extremely weak. One of them seemed to be conscious, as he was trying to climb out of the pile of rubble.

“It’s Su Jindu and Cao Juan. Great, they are still alive!” Lin Qihui quickly came over.

Mo Fan had the urge to roast Lin Qihui when he saw him.

The man did not bother showing up to lend him a hand when he was fighting the Rock General. However, he had shown up as soon as the battle ended. He had never seen such an unreliable senior. How could Tao Jing not be in trouble when following a leader like him!?

“Where’s the other one?” Mo Fan turned around and asked.

The Rock Monster whose arm had been pierced by Mo Fan’s Rock Fang was still alive. The members of the group were not too weak, but their practical skills seriously hurt his eyes. They only knew to run away with their tails between their legs when they were only up against a Warrior-level Rock Monster!

“It seems to have run away,” Liang Junheng pointed at a mountain.

“Go after it, it should lead us to Tao Jing and the others!” Mo Fan ordered.

“Oh, right!” Liang Junheng and Zhou Donghao quickly chased after the Rock Monster after they realized that.

Tao Jing and the others had disappeared around here, hence it was very likely that they were attacked by the strange mud monsters too.

“Taking over a human body and turning into powerful Rock Monsters. It’s my first time seeing a creature like this,” Mo Fan fell into deep thoughts while staring at Cao Juan and Su Jindu who were rescued.

He had to admit that this kind of creature was rather terrifying, especially its ability to become stronger after ‘eating’ a person!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Impressive, Fan Mo! It feels like the whole bunch of us are weaker than you,” Liang Junheng came up and patted Mo Fan on the shoulder.

“He would be dead by now if it wasn’t for my Rock Barrier,” Zhou Donghao instantly said defensively.

“Zhou Donghao, how shameless can you be? I wondered who ran away the quickest just now? If Fan Mo hadn’t stepped forward, we wouldn’t have been able to save Cao Juan and Su Jindu. We aren’t blind or that stupid to not see how much Fan Mo has done to help us, yet you still have the mood to utter cynical remarks here?” Liang Junheng grunted.

“He’s right, we would all be in danger if Fan Mo wasn’t here. Brother Fan Mo, what was that spell just then? It was so cool!”

Everyone surrounded Mo Fan energetically. As expected of a bunch of inexperienced students, they still had the mood to chat in the dangerous situation.

Lin Qihui took a few men to chase after the Rock Monster, but they soon returned.

Mo Fan asked, “Why did you come back? Did you lose it?”

“No, the Rock Monster went inside a burrow. We didn’t dare pursue it any further,” Lin Qihui answered.

“Bring me to it!” Mo Fan ordered.

Mo Fan followed Lin Qihui to the burrow that the Rock Monster had disappeared into. It was very deep, with uneven edges. They could not see the bottom at all.

Lin Qihui and his men did not dare to go down because it was too dark, and its depth was uncertain. They could not help but wonder what kind of demon creatures they would encounter down there.

“It’s getting dark. Why don’t we head back first? We’ll come again with the rescue squad. We might be in danger too if we try to do it ourselves,” someone in the group spoke up uneasily.

After all, the Rock Monsters were Warrior-level creatures that could endanger their lives. They still had plenty of room to run away from the Rock Monsters on the spacious mountain, but going into the burrow was like a lamb entering a tiger’s den!

“I’ll go down there to take a look. If I don’t find anything, we’ll head back.” Mo Fan was worried about Tao Jing’s safety. She was such a youthful, adorable young woman. He did not want her to die just like that!

“Isn’t that too dangerous?” Lin Qihui asked.

“It’s fine, if I don’t come out in ten minutes, you will head back to the city and send the rescue squad here,” Mo Fan said.

“Al…alright!” Lin Qihui gulped.

The rest of the group did not have the guts to go inside the burrow like Mo Fan. They decided to wait on the surface. They were planning to use a rope or a vine to drop Mo Fan down into the burrow slowly, yet he simply jumped into the burrow before anyone could react!

Everyone was dumbfounded by his actions. They could not help but respect him. It was rare to see someone so brave in the world!

“What is there to be impressed with?” Zhou Donghao grumbled when he saw everyone admiring Mo Fan so much.

“Try jumping in there if you think you are so capable! Anybody can act tough with their mouth.”

—

Mo Fan kept falling into the darkness. He finally landed at the bottom after falling between two and three hundred meters. Luckily, the height was still bearable for his physical attributes. The body of a Super Mage was much stronger than an Advanced Mage, not to mention Mo Fan’s Demon Element.

It was dark and wet around him. The bottom of the cave was very spacious, and Mo Fan’s vision in the dark was not too bad. He was able to see the rough appearance of the cave.

Cries of agony came from above him, followed by the sound of something slamming heavily to the ground.

“That hurts… my ass!” A dark figure rose to his feet. His eyes were glittering faintly in the dark.

“Zhou Donghao?” Mo Fan recognized the idiot’s voice.

“It’s me! So you think you can come down here, but I can’t? You think only you care about Tao Jing? I care about her more than you!” Zhou Donghao said righteously.

“Are you retarded? Can you please lower your voice in a place like this? Or do you want to be smashed into pulp by the Rock Monsters?” Mo Fan snarled.

“I…” Zhou Donghao was lost for words.

Mo Fan was speechless. Why did he have to carry this burden around?

Mo Fan sighted. Forget it, having another man might come in handy. My other Elements are not available for now. I might be able to sacrifice this retard if necessary.

“Why is it so spacious down here?” Zhou Donghao asked.

“You can see?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course I can, my secondary Element is the Shadow Element. My vision is sharper than demon creatures in a place like this,” Zhou Donghao answered.

“It must be some kind of a secret cavern,” Mo Fan muttered.

“Seriously? Aren’t we on a hill?” Zhou Donghao exclaimed.

“The hill we were on was between two to three hundred meters tall, and we have fallen two to three hundred meters into this cave. We’ve basically landed in a cavern. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so spacious in here,” Mo Fan went on.

The surroundings were a little wet, most likely because it had been raining recently. Mo Fan managed to spot the fresh footsteps of a Rock Monster that had been left on the ground not long ago.

Mo Fan and Zhou Donghao followed the footsteps into an area with countless stalactites. They were as thick around as the pillars of a palace. Some were only half-grown and did not connect with the ceiling, but most of them had turned into pillars with a layer of fluorescent substance on the outside, giving the pitch-black cave some light.

“Don’t move!” Mo Fan suddenly stopped Zhou Donghao, who was behind him.

He seriously wondered how Zhou Donghao had practiced his Shadow Element. Why was he making so much noise when moving around? Even Servant-class creatures with slightly better hearing could hear him easily, let alone Warrior-level creatures!

“What did you see?” Zhou Donghao asked softly.

“The mud monsters!” Mo Fan pointed ahead.

“Why do I have a feeling this place is more like an underground river?” Zhou Donghao poked his head forward and glanced in the direction Mo Fan was pointing in. He immediately shivered upon getting a clearer look.

He could see the mud monsters that had attacked them, just as Mo Fan had mentioned. He had only described the place as an underground river because he saw the mud monsters wriggling across the ground. Their numbers were so high that they had formed a flowing river!

“Isn’t that going in the direction of the city?” Zhou Donghao whispered.

“Mm, it seems like the Barrier Core has indeed attracted a bunch of troublesome monsters to the city.”

“They can pounce on humans and turn them into those Rock Monsters… my Heavens, weren’t the soldiers gathering to clear the cave of demon creatures before we left the city? If the soldiers end up stumbling into these mud monsters-!” Zhou Donghao was not completely brainless, and immediately thought of a terrifying possibility.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was worried about the same thing, but judging from the looks of it, the army should have encountered the Mud Morphing Monsters by now. Hopefully, they were able to perceive the threat these strange elemental creatures posed and eliminate them in time.

“There are bloodstains here. It should be theirs,” Mo Fan was able to pick up a faint scent of blood.

Mo Fan and Zhou Donghao waited for the Mud Morphing Monsters to leave before following the trail of blood.

The Rock Monsters were elemental creatures, so they would never bleed. Therefore, Tao Jing and the others must have left the bloodstains. It seemed like they were only injured by the Rock Monsters, instead of having their bodies being taken over by the creatures.

After passing through the area with stalactites, the path began to narrow; not in terms of its width, but its height. Mo Fan and Zhou Donghao had to bend forward to keep going. They could not help but feel pressured as they ventured deeper.

“Who’s there!?” an alert voice suddenly came from ahead.

“It’s me, Fan Mo! Tao Jing, is that you?” Mo Fan had already noticed the fragrance of the shampoo which Tao Jing always used. She seemed to be fond of it. Mo Fan’s nose was quite sensitive after hanging around the old wolf for so long.

“I’m here too, Tao Jing! I’m Zhou Donghao, I’ve risked my life to save you!” Zhou Donghao blurted out excitedly.

“Shhh!” Tao Jing immediately stopped him from talking.

Zhou Donghao’s voice immediately attracted some attention. A black shadow flickered past in the darkness and smashed the rocks recklessly, as if it was trying to break the short ceiling and make its way over to them.

Mo Fan glanced at the Rock Monster and studied the area. He was impressed by how smart Tao Jing was, hiding in a spot where the Rock Monsters could not reach to guarantee her safety.

“Where are the others?” Mo Fan asked.

“The seniors said they would look for an exit, but they haven’t returned,” Tao Jing said gloomily.

Tao Jing was touched that Mo Fan had come to save her, her nose tingling as she spoke. She had only met Mo Fan not long ago, yet the guy was willing to risk his life and jump into the cave because of her!

“Was something chasing you?” Mo Fan asked.

“A Rock Monster, the same creature that we encountered on the street previously. We had no choice but to jump into the cave to avoid it. We’ve been hiding here all along, as the Rock Monster stayed at the entrance. We came up with a plan together. I’d keep the Rock Monster distracted while the others would look for an exit in the other direction. I have no idea if they have reached safety,” Tao Jing said.

“I doubt it. Didn’t you notice how many Rock Monsters are in this area?” Mo Fan pointed at a few figures roaming nearby.

“Yeah, there are four of them nearby. If it wasn’t for my Shadow Element, we wouldn’t even have made it here,” Zhou Donghao said. He suddenly realized something and looked at Mo Fan doubtfully. “Strange, I’m able to conceal my presence with my Shadow Element, but why didn’t they notice you?”

Mo Fan was seriously speechless, staring at the brainless man.

Did he really think his Shadow Element was enough to conceal his presence from the Warrior-level creatures? If Mo Fan hadn’t lent him a hand with his Shadow Element, the four Rock Monsters would have beaten him up by now!

“What were you trying to say? How are the Rock Monsters related to my seniors?” Tao Jing asked when she noticed something.

“Did you encounter something like a mud monster?” Mo Fan asked.

“I did! That thing tried to pounce on me, but I blocked it with my magic,” Tao Jing said.

“The Rock Monsters we saw were part of their transformation. They have the ability to take over living humans’ bodies. They strike every human they stumble into, regardless of their gender. If they successfully land their attack, they transform the person into a Rock Monster with outstanding strength and a sturdy defense,” Mo Fan informed her.

“Huh?” Tao Jing had never heard of such a strange creature. She subconsciously looked at the violent creatures roaming nearby and said, “So you’re saying those Rock Monsters are actually my seniors? Are they going to be alright?”

“Based on the woman whom we saved in the city, these Mud Morphing Monsters are merely Possessing their victims. They will recover after we defeat the Rock Monsters. Their lives aren’t in danger, as far as I know,” Mo Fan said.

Cao Juan and Su Jindu were still alive, but they were in a feeble state. In other words, they could rescue the people who had fallen victim to the Mud Morphing Monsters by defeating the Rock Monsters they became!

However, it did not necessarily mean these creatures would never kill a human!

“We’ll bring you out of this place first,” Zhou Donghao said.

“What about them?” Tao Jing was too kind to leave on her own.

“We have no time for them. We can’t afford to fight the Rock Monsters here since we have no idea how many Rock Monsters and Mud Morphing Monsters we would attract. We’ll bring you out of here first and tell the military and the Magic Association what we have discovered. They will handle the rest,” Mo Fan said.

“Al…alright.”

——

The Rock Monsters were not very intelligent. Mo Fan was able to lure them away with a little trick. He then brought Tao Jing away from the area.

When they returned to the area with stalactites, Mo Fan noticed the Mud Morphing Monsters had already left. There was no sign of any Rock Monsters nearby, either. He used the outstanding concealing ability of the Shadow Element and successfully brought Tao Jing to the entrance.

“Damn it, those unreliable pricks, they actually left us behind after ten minutes. How are we going to get up there now?” Zhou Donghao cursed when he saw no one had stayed to receive them.

“I’ll alter the shape of the walls. We’ll climb up slowly,” Mo Fan said.

“Sure!”

Mo Fan used Earth Wave to create folds along the walls, allowing them to climb up the rocks. Even though the height of two hundred meters was a little tricky, they could still make it by climbing up slowly.

They heard a furious cry from below when they reached a height of fifty meters. They saw a Rock Monster jumping around like an ape while climbing up the walls. It jumped to the opposite wall with a strong kick, approaching them rapidly!

“A…a Rock Monster!” Zhou Donghao screamed. He quickly moved his limbs and sped himself up.

“So eager for his death? Humph!” Mo Fan scoffed when he saw the Rock Monster coming after them.

Mo Fan might have struggled against these Rock Monsters a few days ago, but he had already learned his Star Pattern now. The creature was simply courting death by approaching him directly!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Ambush of the Rock Shark!”

Mo Fan was able to complete the Star Pattern more quickly every time he cast the spell. He no longer had to wait until the Rock Monster was close enough before Summoning his powerful Bright Rock. A golden-brown rock sprang out of the wall fiercely and intercepted the Rock Monster in mid-jump.

The golden-brown Bright Rock’s penetrating power had obviously improved. A Rock General was already struggling against it, let alone a Rock Monster. The Rock Monster’s body immediately broke into pieces in midair after it was struck by the spell.

An instant kill!

Normally, when two heavy objects collided with one another, the sturdier one would remain while the other would break. Mo Fan might struggle against the Rock Monsters without the Bright Rock, but the Rock Monsters were no longer a threat with the combined power of the Bright Rock and his Intermediate Earth Spell!

A feeble man appeared amid the falling rocks. Mo Fan had been expecting it. He quickly jumped down after defeating the Rock Monster to catch the young man who was covered in ash.

“It’s Senior Kang!” Tao Jing exclaimed in joy.

“Time to go, the rest of them will soon catch up to us,” Mo Fan held the guy with the surname Kang with one arm while cursing in his heart.

Damn it, why the hell is this guy so heavy? He’s almost a hundred kilograms. What if I happen to loosen my grip?

He shouldn’t bother going on a dangerous adventure if he’s so fat. He couldn’t even outrun the demon creatures if anything happens!

—

Mo Fan was panting heavily after carrying the man to the surface. Lin Qihui and the others had obviously left. It was indeed quite infuriating, indeed; why couldn’t there be a little more trust between people? He had only asked them to leave after ten minutes as a rough estimation. Couldn’t they stay for another five minutes? Who was going to carry the fatty who weighed almost a hundred kilograms back?

1

Mo Fan dragged the fatty along the ground. The guy happened to be covered in ash, which acted as a layer of protection around him.

Dusk had come, and the lights of the city were visible in the distance. Mo Fan, Tao Jing, and Zhou Donghao descended the mountain tiredly, dragging the fatty with them.

“How long is it going to take them to set up the goddamned Barrier Core!?” Mo Fan grumbled.

Mo Fan was so annoyed by the fact that he could not use his other Elements. Even dragging a man down the mountain was so tiring for him!

“They should be done pretty soon… did you hear the noise?” Tao Jing listened carefully.

“No, what noise?”

“It seems to be coming from the city!”

—

The land between the ravine and the city wall was covered in clouds of dust. Thunderous roars were echoing in the sky.

Countless huge rocks were being tossed at the rampart like there were a few hundred catapults at work. The rampart was an important part of the city’s defense, yet it was already in ruins from the damage dealt by the rocks!

“Where did so many Rock Monsters come from? Didn’t we already send people to investigate the ravine? Where’s our troop? Why haven’t they returned yet?” Lu Bin of the Magic Association asked, perplexed.

They had expected the Barrier Core to attract demon creatures to it. After all, the Barrier Core contained a ridiculous amount of the energy the demon creatures were fond of. On the other hand, they also would not want humans to set up a defensive perimeter in their territory.

The Magic Association and the military had already taken all this into account. They had checked thoroughly and remained on alert throughout the process, yet the city was still invaded by a strange type of creature. They were caught unprepared by this catapult strategy!

“It’s the Rock Monsters that have been showing up recently,” Wen Xia said.

“I know that, these cunning creatures are staying out of our soldiers’ range. They just kept tossing boulders at us to destroy our defenses! They must be after the Barrier Core, we can’t let them come any closer!” Lu Bin shouted.

Behind Lu Bin stood a group of Mages in light brown outfits who seemed well-trained. They emitted a strong presence of the Earth Element even when they were not casting any spells.

They were the Brown Rock Mages of the city’s Magic Association, whose primary Element was the Earth Element. They were the people whom Mo Fan and the students were planning to learn from, yet a tricky species had shown up before the students even had a chance to learn from them!

The roars were suddenly coming in sync, like rolling drums. The Rock Monsters finally lost their patience, giving up on the catapult strategy. They began to charge at the city like tanks!

There were around three hundred of the creatures. The defenders were put under great pressure when they saw the bulky creatures sprinting across the land. The Battlemages and the Brown Rock Mages holding their positions on the rampart subconsciously took a step back.

“Don’t be intimidated by their aura. The city is about to become the greatest inland capital of the Earth Element. It’s going to provide your family and future generations the safest home ever! When the city achieves greatness in the future, the people will be praising your names. Everyone is going to remember your names!” Lu Bin stood on the command post on the rampart and motivated the Battlemages with a loud voice.

The battle was too important. An Elemental Capital was at stake, and its destiny was tied to even more few headquarters cities along the coast. It was supplying the coastline with stones, so if the city were successfully constructed, it would guarantee the coastline a stronger defense.

“Prepare to engage the enemy, no retreat!” Wen Xia was the person in charge of the military. The Battlemages straightened up after receiving his order. They showed no signs of fear when facing the Rock Monsters that were charging at them.

“Prepare the Rock Barriers!” Wen Xia lifted her arm and swung it when the Rock Monsters reached a certain distance.

The Battlemages on different levels of the ramparts cast Intermediate Earth Spells simultaneously. Brown lights began to spread across the rampart like fireworks.

The Star Patterns gathered their energy at the sunken land in front of the rampart. The ground underwent tremendous changes under the influence of over a hundred Earth Mages. Huge ravines appeared together with tall emerging walls. Powerful spikes also stuck out from the ground and stabbed at the Earth Monsters!

The ground shook vigorously. Mo Fan, who just descended from the mountain happened to witness the spectacular sight. He could feel the strong impact as the magic and the Elemental creatures crashed into one another, even though the land was covered in darkness.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Holy crap, it was only dusk when we left. How come everything went out of control as soon as night fell?” Zhou Donghao was absolutely terrified after looking down the mountain.

The student had never seen anything like it. His legs were already trembling!

“Did you see something flowing down the mountain in that direction?” Tao Jing said, pointing in another direction.

Mo Fan saw it too. It was flowing slower than water, as if it was more viscous. He immediately associated it with something else.

“It’s not looking good. The Rock Monsters are attacking the front to distract the soldiers while the Mud Morphing Monsters are sneaking into the city!” Mo Fan said.

“This is bad! Those Mud Morphing Monsters will turn the people into more Rock Monsters. There are so many Basic Mages in the city…” Tao Jing said worriedly.

“We are too far away, and the communication device isn’t working. I think we should leave the city as soon as possible. Something bad is going to happen!” Zhou Donghao suggested.

1

They were far away from the city and the battlefield. It was unlikely they could make it in time.

“No way! We have to warn the military and tell everyone to look out for the Mud Morphing Monsters,” Tao Jing immediately refuted.

Mo Fan did not expect Tao Jing to have such a strong sense of justice. It was also impossible for him to leave. He had to reach the ramparts as soon as possible!

“Let’s part ways. I’ll head to the military while you two go to the areas where the Mud Morphing Monsters are sneaking in to evacuate the people and prevent them from getting devoured,” Mo Fan said.

If it was only the Rock Monsters, Mo Fan would not be so worried, but after witnessing how the Rock Monster had absorbed Su Jindu into its chest and evolved into the Rock General, he realized how dangerous the Mud Morphing Monsters were. Not everyone stood a chance against a Rock General. Its sturdy skin could protect itself from Basic and Intermediate Spells, not to mention that the city was still in the Magic Sealing Period!

“Got it!” Tao Jing nodded. She immediately headed off in the direction of the areas the Mud Morphing Monsters were stealthily sneaking to.

Zhou Donghao could only clench his teeth and go all out just to win his goddess’ affection. He followed Tao Jing closely to protect her.

“Fan Mo, you should look out since I’m no longer by your side. It’ll be troublesome if we have to hold a memorial service for you if you didn’t make it back to school,” Zhou Donghao told Mo Fan before they split ways.

“He’s a lot stronger than you. You should worry about yourself instead!” Tao Jing rolled her eyes.

Mo Fan was seriously speechless at how brainless this Zhou Donghao was.

——

Mo Fan continued to drag the fatty with the surname Kang toward the rampart. The ash-covered man woke up when they were almost in the city. He was able to regain consciousness fairly quickly.

“Can you walk yet?” Mo Fan asked.

“I think so…” the fatty groaned.

“You will have to get up and find a safe place to hide. The Mud Morphing Monsters have invaded the city. You should alert the others if you still have some energy left,” Mo Fan told the man.

“Alright, I got it,” the man said gratefully.

“It’s nothing, don’t mind it…” Mo Fan waved his hand. However, he suddenly stopped the man when he recalled something, “Oh, please go on a diet, I’m worn out just from dragging you… oh, carrying you down the mountain.”

The fatty scratched his head in embarrassment. He had a sincere expression, even though his face was covered in ash.

Mo Fan ran to the rampart. The fatty yelled at his back when he suddenly remembered something, “You are Mo Fan, not Fan Mo, right? You’re the guy who won the World College Tournament for our school… I’m your idol, ah wait, you are my idol! I already knew on the first day, after we arrived in the city!”

Mo Fan did not respond after hearing the man’s shout, but it seemed like his efforts to save the fatty were not in vain!

—

Mo Fan could not move around with Blink and Fleeing Shadow, and so felt far too slow since he could only run with his feet. The rampart was already a great mess by the time he arrived. The Rock Monsters had bunched up like apes, and were smashing through the buildings and chasing the Mages.

The situation was not looking good at all. The Magic Sealing Order had significantly weakened the strength of the army. The Earth Mages who were allocated to the city could only hold the line. How could they possibly use spells of a single Element to fend off these strong and sturdy Warrior-level elemental creatures?

“It’s her. She seems to be commanding the army!” Mo Fan saw a Battlemaga fending off seven Rock Monsters alone on a building. Mo Fan only noticed her because of the Mountain Drill Spinning Top that was her specialty.

1

Mo Fan happened to see a Rock Monster that was interested in joining the show between the seven Rock Monsters and the beautiful female soldier. He decisively hopped onto the Rock Monster’s back.

The Rock Monster was indeed clumsy, with low intelligence. It only noticed Mo Fan’s existence after reaching the top of the building. It immediately reached its hands out to grab Mo Fan.

“Down you go!”

Mo Fan jumped onto the building while breaking the platform extending out of it with a stomp.

The Rock Monster had nothing left to hold onto. It fell from the top of the building and slammed into a huge pit.

“It’s you!” Wen Xia was surprised to see Mo Fan.

“The Rock Monsters have broken through so easily. It seems like you’re not that good of a commander,” Mo Fan scoffed haughtily.

“Enough with your cynical remarks. Just piss off if you are just being an eyesore, instead of trying to help!” Wen Xia shot right back.

“I’m here to help, of course! You are being tricked by these Rock Monsters. This is only a bunch of cannon fodder meant to distract you. The real force has already snuck into the city!” Mo Fan said righteously.

“Are you referring to those mud monsters that pounce on their targets?” Wen Xia asked while fending off the Rock Monsters.

“Yeah, I saw a whole bunch of them heading to the center of the city,” Mo Fan said.

“Are you sure!?” Wen Xia was almost hit by a Rock Monster in the face from being distracted.

“I’m sure!” Mo Fan swore.

“Damn it, these cunning pricks!” Wen Xia cursed.

“Is the Barrier Core at the center of the city?” Mo Fan asked.

“Obviously, they are clearly heading for the Barrier Core,” Wen Xia forcibly broke free from the encircling Rock Monsters and jumped to a shorter building.

Mo Fan watched Wen Xia leave. He turned around and immediately felt like cursing when he saw the Rock Monsters coming at him.

“Don’t go, get rid of my Seal first!” Mo Fan chased after Wen Xia.

Mo Fan seriously had enough of the Magic Seal. Only Wen Xia was able to get rid of it for him!

Chapter 1770: Black-Silver Rock Demon
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Wen Xia was surprisingly quick, and adept at using the Earth Wave. She could manipulate flat and angled terrain to increase her speed, like she had put on a pair of boots that had zero friction with the ground. It felt like she was riding the wind as she surfed across the waves.

Mo Fan’s control was outstanding, and he was learning from the more experienced Earth Maga on the spot to catch up to her. He was also skidding across the surfaces, but unlike Wen Xia, who was nimbly dodging the attacks of the Rock Monsters and jumping around, Mo Fan was more like a rookie who had put on ice skates for the first time. Not only was he waving his hands wildly, trying to balance himself, he kept crashing into trash cans, electric poles, advertising boards, and stalls along the way!

Mo Fan pursued the woman relentlessly, immediately putting the skills he had learned into practice. He was badly battered before he even reached the center of the city.

A Rock Monster that had just formed suddenly rushed out of an alley.

It was a Mud Morphing Monster that had just ambushed its prey successfully. He could see mud still flowing on the Rock Monster’s body and solidifying in reaction to the air. However, the impatient creature was already attacking pedestrians on the street.

“I have no time to waste on you!” Mo Fan ducked and slid past between the Rock Monster’s legs in ../style.

The Rock Monster was a little slow with its reaction. Mo Fan was already nowhere to be seen by the time it bent forward. He was already a hundred meters away by the time it turned and saw him.

“Turn, turn, turn, f**king turn!”

The street had a ninety-degree turn in front of a mountain wall. Mo Fan tried to manipulate the ground with his control of the Earth Magic so he could drift perfectly at the corner like Wen Xia did. Unfortunately, there were things that were impossible to learn just by observing someone doing it, nor was yelling going to make any difference. The dramatic move required great experience in using the Earth Wave.

Bang!

Mo Fan failed to step on the brakes in time, and slammed right into the wall. Golden stars were spinning above his head.

The Rock Monsters were still chasing after him. Mo Fan quickly wiped the blood gushing from his nose and quickly used another Earth Wave to leave the area.

Mm, mm, Mo Fan had learned how to travel in a straight line with the Earth Wave, but he was still struggling to turn the corners, let alone running along the walls and drifting around a ninety-degree turn like Wen Xia!

—

Wen Xia frowned after she arrived at the center of the city. There were a lot of buildings at the city’s center, most of them were built with stone. To the south was a busy marketplace, and to the north were some ordinary commercial streets.

A modern city would normally consist of steel, concrete, and reinforced glass, but the city center of Dingcheng only had concrete. There was not even any greenery nearby.

The buildings had blocked off most of the view as she looked ahead, but she could still see strange mud creatures wriggling in different locations. Several Rock Monsters were destroying everything about them recklessly. It felt like a bunch of bandits had found their way into a rich mansion. They were overturning trunks and boxes, searching for the Barrier Core.

It was dangerous for demon creatures to invade a city. Luckily, the city was more like a battle fortress that only allowed Mages to enter it. Otherwise, there would be a lot more innocent lives lost.

Mo Fan was panting heavily. A lot of strange things were hanging off of him. He already lost count of the things he bumped into along the way!

“Get rid of the Seal, and I’ll eliminate these creatures for you,” Mo Fan gasped.

“Getting rid of the Seal is no different from giving the Barrier Core to these creatures. No non-Earth Element energy is allowed, especially so close to the Barrier Core!” Wen Xia replied instantly.

“Then what are you going to do? Do you think you can take them all out with your Earth Element? There are large numbers of Mud Morphing Monsters hunting their prey in the city now! The number of the Rock Monsters are only going to increase, and these creatures don’t just stop there, they can also…” Mo Fan suddenly paused in the middle of his sentence.

Wen Xia was confused. She asked, “What were you trying to say?”

Mo Fan did not answer her. He pointed ahead with a stern face.

Since it was dark, Wen Xia and Mo Fan subconsciously assumed the two black shadows before them were some tall commercial buildings when they looked down from a great height. To their surprise, the buildings suddenly started moving by raising their thick and strong legs. Their steps left huge cracks on the ground, and even knocked the houses nearby to the ground!

Wen Xia was dazed for a moment.

A Rock Monster over fifty meters tall?

The tallest Rock Monster they had encountered so far was only four meters, which was about the height of a single-story building. How did such enormous creatures show up in the well-protected city center? How did they make their way past the rampart? How could the soldiers and Brown Earth Mages possibly let them pass?

“You saw it, they can evolve continuously. Not only can the Mud Morphing Monsters transform into Rock Monsters after pouncing on humans, these Rock Monsters are attacking Mages to devour them, too. Every Mage they devour will increase their size and strength… damn it, how many Mages did those two Black-Silver Rock Demons even devour to reach their current size? The people inside them are probably enough to stack up into a human pyramid!” Mo Fan said.

These dangerous and destructive creatures were born in such a short time. Heaven knew what they would do if they were left alone!

“They are turning the energy of the Mages into their own. The Research Union has done some research on them, but we didn’t discover the Mud Morphing Monsters until it was too late,” Wen Xia admitted.

“I thought so too. The people we rescued were very weak, as if all their energy was drawn away,” Mo Fan said.

“Come with me, we can’t let those two monsters reach the Barrier Core,” Wen Xia seemed to know of a hidden passage, and Mo Fan off to a remote area.

“Hey, don’t you dare drag me into a mess! I’m just being kind-hearted trying to remind you of the threat so the military won’t be taken by surprise, so hurry up and get rid of the Seal. I promise you that I won’t use my other Elements before the Barrier Core is done setting up. Besides, if those things do find the Barrier Core, who knows if they can evolve any further with the energy of the Barrier Core. It won’t be just the Rock Monsters we have to worry about, but a Rock Demon Emperor. I still need my other Elements to flee for my life… ah, to protect the vulnerable residents of the city!” Mo Fan corrected himself.

Chapter 1771: Saving the World Wherever He Goes

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“No way, I will not remove the Seal before the barrier is fully established!” Wen Xia said firmly.

“Don’t be so stubborn. If you don’t get rid of the seal, how are you going to take care of these Rock Monsters? What if everyone in the city is devoured by those monsters?” Mo Fan said.

“Look up,” Wen Xia pointed at the night sky and said, “The moon will reach its peak at midnight, and the same time the barrier is finished. After that, the Barrier will no longer prohibit the Mages in the city from using other Elements. It’s only a few hours from now!”

Mo Fan glanced at the moon hanging in the sky and scratched his head.

A few hours! It might sound easy, but the military and the Magic Association had not expected the Mud Morphing Monsters to sneak into the city. They had placed all their attention on the rampart, which was currently under attack by the Rock Monsters. The city was in a complete mess now. It was impossible for the city to hold on for another few hours!

On top of that, the people in the city were both more concentrated and unorganized. They were easy targets for the Mud Morphing Monsters to increase their experience bars. More Rock Monsters and Rock Generals were going to appear, in addition to the two Black-Silver Rock Demons, not to mention the civilians were already struggling against the Rock Monsters, even though they were the weakest kind!

“If we fail to protect the Barrier Core, there’s no way we can rebuild the city for ten years. The defense of the headquarters cities along the coastline will fall a level without enough stone. If a purple-level disaster occurred, the headquarters cities which we spent so many resources on will cease to exist. The eastern part of our country will be as good as gone,” Wen Xia said.

Mo Fan was startled by her words.

What the heck? Why did she sound like the fate of an elemental capital deep in the mountains was tied to the survival of mankind? Was she exaggerating something?

Wen Xia retained her righteous bearing as a soldier when she saw Mo Fan’s doubtful face. “Perhaps you might think that the odds of a purple-level disaster are extremely low, but that’s no excuse to not care about it. If it does happen, the consequences are unimaginable.”

Mo Fan was left speechless.

It was a moment before Mo Fan finally remembered what he was trying to say. He sounded even less confident, “So there’s no way you will get rid of the Seal before midnight?”

“Exactly!” Wen Xia said firmly.

—

Mo Fan knew he had no chance of convincing Wen Xia after seeing her attitude toward the fate of the world. He had no choice but to wait until midnight, which meant he had to make sure the Barrier Core stayed intact until then.

However, the Mud Morphing Monsters seemed to have picked up the scent of the Barrier Core. They began making their way toward an old structure with a clock tower at the center of the city.

“Please don’t tell me that’s where the Barrier Core is,” Mo Fan sighed.

Wen Xia did not respond to his question, but her reaction had already told Mo Fan the answer.

“Damn it, wait for me!” Mo Fan cursed.

Mo Fan slid down the stairs and followed Wen Xia towards the clock tower. Brown lights were flickering along the streets at times. The city was different since only the Earth Magic was allowed in it. There was no sign of the brilliance of other Elements.

The only problem was, not every Earth Mage’s spells could be used to attack. However, it was too passive for them to keep defending against the Rock Monsters’ outstanding strength. If the tall buildings and the complicated streets had not been providing them some cover, the Rock Monsters would have long broken down the clock tower!

—

Wen Xia quickly jumped up the clock tower. A Battlemaga in a noble’s Magic Coat stood at the top. It was easy to tell she was a Super Mage by her Aura alone.

A bunch of Rock Generals were naively approaching the clock tower, but the Super Mage was constantly manipulating the layout of the city to keep them away.

“Wen Xia, my Gravitational Ring can last until midnight. They won’t be able to climb up the Barrier as long as it’s still working. They can only roam around the building, but the two Black-Silver Rock Demons can use powerful Earth Magic, too. They are weakening my Gravitational Ring, so you will have to take care of them!” the woman stated grimly.

“Teacher, can you hold your ground until midnight?” Wen Xia asked, concerned.

“It’s not like I have a choice. Don’t worry about me, just do as I say!” the woman answered.

“Alright, I’ll be going.”

“Your men will have to stay here. You have to do it on your own,” the woman said.

“Leave it to me!”

A special troop of Battlemages was also stationed up on the clock tower, Advanced Mages on average. Their numbers were not high, but they were quite strong. The place was still intact because of them.

A lot of Rock Monsters had shown up in the city center. The people had finally seen the unusual behavior of the Mud Morphing Monsters. The woman in a magic robe had quickly gathered the majority of the Mages at the clock tower before Wen Xia and Mo Fan had shown up. It was better for the Mages to stick together, and most importantly, to protect the Barrier Core!

The civilian Mages knew there were Advanced Battlemages at the clock tower, and were quick to hang around the clock tower knowing the experts of the Magic Association were there. They managed to form a strong defensive perimeter.

“You, come with me!” Wen Xia did not bring anyone else, but ordered Mo Fan to accompany her instead.

“Are you kidding me now? I’m no different from an Intermediate Mage if you don’t take the Seal off, yet you’re asking me to take care of the Black-Silver Rock Demons with you?” Mo Fan protested.

“You just need to provide me with some support, I’ll take care of the fight. You wouldn’t want the Barrier Core to fall into these monsters’ hands either, right? You still won’t be able to use your other Elements, and the city is going to fall. Once that happens…”

“If the city falls, the eastern part of our country is done for, and the rest of our country will follow too. The entire earth will be in danger… fine, I got it. I simply have the destiny to save the world wherever I go,” Mo Fan scoffed by mimicking Wen Xia’s righteous words.

The truth was, even if the city did fall, the country would still stand and endure through the difficult times. The earth would still spin as usual. They could easily say every incident was tied to the fate of the country!

Wen Xia was angry. She glared at Mo Fan and snapped, “Are you going or not?”

“Of course I’m going. These little creatures have no place in my eyes even when I can’t use my main Elements!” Mo Fan continued in the same righteous vein.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan followed Wen Xia and slowly wove through a chaotic street with fallen buildings and houses. They noticed a few young Mages fleeing for their lives, and experienced Hunters taking on the Rock Generals. They would hear cries of agony at times, before a new Rock Monster was born in an alley somewhere…

“These Mud Morphing Monsters have the ability to conceal themselves. They will change their color to match their surroundings when they are crawling on the streets or the walls, making it difficult to sense them.” Mo Fan had noticed the Mud Morphing Monsters’ strange ability along the way.

“We weren’t prepared for these creatures because we knew too little about them. Those idiots of the Research Union! I seriously wonder why the Magic Association even bothers paying them when they never do anything useful!” Wen Xia grumbled.

They had already encountered the Rock Monsters prior to the invasion. They had even saved a few Mages that went missing. The Research Union should have been able to figure out the traits of these creatures with the information they had, yet they did not learn anything useful. Otherwise, with such tight security, the city would not be so passive now!

As she thought, the local Research Union was not reliable at all. They were completely useless for practical matters!

“How are the two of us going to deal with those Black-Silver Rock Demons?” Mo Fan was not planning to use his brain, since he was only tagging along. Besides, he was just a weak Intermediate Mage if the woman did not get rid of the Seal!

“Look ahead,” Wen Xia pointed.

Mo Fan looked at the Black-Silver Rock Demon and noticed it had caught another young Mage. The young man looked a little familiar to Mo Fan. He recognized the young man was Liang Junheng from the group after taking a closer look, the person who kept arguing with Zhou Donghao.

“You know him?” Wen Xia asked with a frown.

“Oh, I’m not close with him,” Mo Fan said dismissively.

Wen Xia gave Mo Fan a disdainful look. She pointed out, “These Rock Monsters will turn into mud briefly to devour people.”

“I know that!” Mo Fan observed the Black-Silver Rock Demon quietly. He did not have any intention to save the young man. Going out there was no different from killing himself.

“My magic will have trouble breaking through its defense, but if its body turns into mud, I should be able to deliver a deadly blow to it!” Wen Xia declared confidently.

“Oh, that’s really a good idea. We’ll wait until the Black-Silver Rock Demon strikes again. I’ll keep it distracted while you ambush it. I seriously didn’t expect you to be so smart despite your solemn and inflexible attitude,” Mo Fan complimented her backhandedly, earning him another scowl.

Wen Xia’s plan was quite effective. These Rock Monsters’ strength was their defense, especially since Earth Magic was not destructive enough. The Rock Monsters might even remain unharmed when being struck by an Earth attack. However, the Rock Monsters would be vulnerable when they were ‘eating’ in their mud form!

“We can’t wait for someone else. If I attack it when it’s devouring somebody, won’t I kill the person too?” Wen Xia grit her teeth.

“Oh, that’s true. There’s a high chance you will hurt the person too, but I think it’s reasonable since the fate of the country and the Earth is at stake here,” Mo Fan bobbed his head.

Wen Xia rolled her eyes at Mo Fan’s mockery. “I’ll never do anything like that!”

“What should we do, then? The Black-Silver Rock Demon will only enter its mud form when it is eating someone. The person is going to be caught by your attack regardless,” Mo Fan said.

“Which is why I brought you here,” Wen Xia said.

“What do you mean? You want me to save the person right before you attack? That’s very difficult with the spells I currently have…” Mo Fan noticed Wen Xia staring him in the eyes while he was talking. His voice softened before he snarled all of a sudden, “F**k me, are you asking me to be the bait?”

Wen Xia nodded sternly.

“Girl, it’s your duty as a soldier to protect the country. It has nothing to do with an insignificant citizen like me! We’ll meet again if it’s our destiny. Mm, don’t worry about the Seal. I’ll just leave the city and leave the Barrier Core’s coverage,” Mo Fan turned and left after finishing the sentence.

What kind of f**king joke is this? The woman’s asking him to present himself to the Black-Silver Rock Demon and let it devour him. Was she out of her goddamned mind? There was no need for Mo Fan to risk his life like that when he was merely a visitor to the city!

“Are you a man or not!?” Wen Xia snapped.

1

“Of course I’m a f**king man! If it weren’t for the grim situation now, I dare you to ask the same question in the middle of the night. I’ll teach you the true meaning of firm and indestructible!… Get rid of my Seal, and I’ll eliminate that Black-Silver Rock Demon right away. There’s no way I’m doing it if you don’t take out the Seal!” Mo Fan said.

“You should have more confidence in me. I won’t let it devour you!” Wen Xia swore.

“I’m more confident in myself! I’m telling you, the Barrier Core is going to fall into the hands of the demon creatures. You should just undo the Seal now. I can at least get rid of all the Rock Monsters in the city center and protect the city! If you don’t undo the Seal, not only are you going to lose the Barrier Core, we are all going to die too!” Mo Fan promised.

“Let’s switch roles, then! I’ll be the bait, and you will defeat it,” Wen Xia compromised.

“Girl, are you out of your mind? How is my magic going to inflict any serious damage on those Black-Silver Rock Demons!” Mo Fan said.

“What do you want, then?” Wen Xia’s face reddened with rage. It was the only method she could think of. They would not be able to defeat the Black-Silver Rock Demons with just the Earth Element if they were to fight them head-on. They might end up being eaten if they lost, allowing the Black-Silver Rock Demons to grow even stronger.

“Let’s be reasonable. I’m only here to lend a hand, not to get myself killed!” Mo Fan said.

“Then do as I say!” Wen Xia said.

“Screw you, other people’s lives are important, but mine isn’t?”

“You won’t die, since you are strong enough!”

“You are really thinking highly of me…”

Mo Fan did not argue with Wen Xia any further. He had no intention of following her plan.

He waved his hand to say goodbye and began packing his stuff.

Wen Xia did not urge him to stay, either. Mo Fan did turn around a few times, but he retained his cold attitude.

He had gone less than two streets away when he heard a woman’s scream.

Mo Fan turned around and saw the Black-Silver Rock Demon grabbing a Battlemaga. It was obviously going to devour her to get stronger.

“Tao Jing?”

Mo Fan frowned when he happened to see her face.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

How inhumane was that Wen Xia? How could she ask a female student to do something so dangerous?

Mo Fan let out a sigh. If Tao Jing was going to risk her life, chances were she was going to die because of it. After all, she was only an Intermediate Mage. Her physical traits and ability to react according to circumstances were inferior to his.

“I’m f**king doing everything for my country!” Mo Fan cursed. He decided to turn back in the end.

—

Wen Xia was overjoyed when she saw Mo Fan. “You changed your mind!”

“You’re seriously crossing the line. How could you ask that girl to sacrifice herself?” Mo Fan said angrily.

“I don’t know her. She was bringing a group of people to the clock tower to seek shelter, but the Black-Silver Rock Demon found her. Everyone began to flee for their lives, but she was caught by the Black-Silver Rock Demon after being cornered,” Wen Xia immediately refuted him.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon was extremely greedy. It was planning to capture a few more Mages before feasting on them, giving Tao Jing some extra time.

“Save the woman, I’ll be the bait,” Mo Fan said.

“Not a problem, you’re acting more like a man now!” Wen Xia agreed happily.

Wen Xia did not waste any more time, and quickly jumped onto a building, a brown Star Constellation rapidly forming around her. From the strange glow of her magic and the unique aura of rocks circling her, Mo Fan could tell that she had a Soul-grade Earth Seed, one with a powerful Domain.

Her eyes glowed brilliantly, increasing the number of rocks circling her. These jagged rocks sprang at the Black-Silver Rock Demon after Wen Xia waved her hand!

Wen Xia was targeting the arm that was holding Tao Jing. A huge area on the arm began to crack apart. Tao Jing was also sent flying like a leaf drifting in the wind.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon completely ignored the little prey it had lost. Its glittering eyes stared at Wen Xia.

The strength of the Mud Morphing Monsters not only increased with the number of humans they absorbed, but the energy level of the Mages, too! Their strength would improve greatly after absorbing high-level Mages. The Research Union did conclude that these Mud Morphing Monsters were draining the energy inside the Mages’ bodies.

The energy of an Advanced Mage was obviously greater than that of an Intermediate Mage. This Black-Silver Rock Demon was born after a Mud Morphing Monster absorbed an Advanced Mage. Therefore, it could only grow stronger and bigger by devouring Mages at the Advanced Level or higher.

A Mage like Wen Xia was the real main dish for the Black-Silver Rock Demon. An Intermediate Mage like Tao Jing was less filling than an entree!

The Black-Silver Rock Demon was capable of using Earth Magic. It lifted its other arm and swung it at Wen Xia fiercely, despite the distance between them.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon’s arm grew longer and thicker in the process. Its body had a black luster, and was sturdier than metal. Its extending arm was strong enough to smash a building into dust!

Wen Xia did not stay to fight the creature. She withdrew from the scene and hid among the buildings. To her surprise, the creature kept smashing through the buildings with its arm. Several buildings nearby had already collapsed, like some toy building blocks.

—

On the other hand, Mo Fan carefully caught the half-conscious Tao Jing as she was falling from the sky.

Mo Fan woke her and roughly checked her injuries. Her condition was not too serious, with only some bruises and cuts from splinters.

“Fan Mo?” Tao Jing exclaimed in disbelief when she saw Mo Fan.

“Yeah, it’s me, I’ve saved your life once again. If I didn’t already have two wives, I’m afraid you would have to marry me to repay me,” Mo Fan answered promptly.

Tao Jing was a little confused. What did he mean by he has two wives?

“Find somewhere safe, I’m about to be bait,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Al…alright, I can still walk.” Tao Jing was a tough girl.

2

Mo Fan turned to look at the Black-Silver Rock Demon. The creature was as tall as a building, and its width was quite shocking. Even if he had his Elements, it would not be as easy for him to defeat an Elemental creature with such an outstanding defense as he had boasted.

The Lightning Element was weak against the Earth Element. Mo Fan was not really fond of these creatures, since his strongest Element was not as effective against them.

Since he had agreed to be the bait, however, he would do his best. Mo Fan chased after the Black-Silver Rock Demon that was trampling the buildings. He jumped between the remains of the buildings that were still standing to reach the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s height…

“Falling Rock!”

Mo Fan completed a Star Pattern and Summoned a huge rock the size of a room above the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s head. The rock fell and hit the Black-Silver Rock Demon right on the head!

As Mo Fan thought, the Falling Rock was completely useless against the massive creature. It was like a kid throwing a pebble at the back of a heavyweight boxer’s head.

—

The Black-Silver Rock Demon turned its head around and fixed its eyes on Mo Fan, who was standing there on a broken-down building.

The tiny Mo Fan gave the huge creature a middle finger.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon might not know what the gesture meant, but it could sense a strong provocation from the human.

Super Level!

Even though Mo Fan’s other Elements were Sealed away, it did not change the fact that he was a Super Mage. Besides, Mo Fan had eight Elements in total, which meant his body had a lot more energy stored up than normal Mages!

Mo Fan was like a fine delicacy in the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s eyes!

The Black-Silver Rock Demon was very straightforward. It immediately gave up on pursuing Wen Xia, who had provoked it first. Its eyes were staring at Mo Fan like a pair of spotlights.

It might evolve into a Rock Tyrant after absorbing the human!

—

Mo Fan was not in a rush to run away when he saw the Black-Silver Rock Demon charging at him.

He was planning to be caught by the creature, after all. He could resist a little to put up a better act, or he could just stand still and let the creature catch him.

Forget it, why did he even bother to make it look real? The Black-Silver Rock Demon did not look smart at all.

He glanced at Wen Xia and saw her signaling him that she was ready. He immediately stopped moving and let the Black-Silver Rock Demon grab him. It even saved him the part of having to get injured.

These Rock Monsters were after the energy of the Mages. Only Mages who were alive could provide them with energy, hence these creatures would not kill the Mages before absorbing them. They would only break their legs or arms at most…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As long as Mo Fan did not struggle, he would not have to suffer a broken leg or arm.

When the Black-Silver Rock Demon grabbed Mo Fan’s legs and lifted him off the ground upside down, he was beginning to regret his decision. What if Wen Xia was not reliable? What if she missed the attack?

The Black-Silver Rock Demon lifted Mo Fan to its chest, where its absorption system was.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon’s chest began to move and soften. It gradually turned slimy as it transformed into mud. It was not like the usual black mud in a swamp, but a cluster of monsters that lacked the support of bones. They were bunched up together, their arms and tongues trying to drag Mo Fan into them.

Mo Fan had been through a lot, so he was still able to retain his calm.

In the mud, Mo Fan saw a weird face with a cunning and evil grin. It was like a starving demon trapped in a cage. It had a strong urge to drain away a living human’s energy as soon as it saw one.

“An evil Elemental spirit?” Mo Fan recalled reading about the rare species in some books. “But, if it’s an evil Elemental spirit, how did it become stronger by draining the energy of Mages?”

Mo Fan was confused, but he no longer had time for it when he was being forced into the mud by the Black-Silver Rock Demon. His mind was full of foul words instead.

What the heck was that woman waiting for? Half of his body had already been dragged into the mud. When was she even going to attack!?

“Nine-Layered Scorpion Sting!”

With a loud chant, a tall slender figure emitting a brilliant brown light appeared on top of a tower. The Star Orbits, Star Patterns, and Star Constellations were combining into a spectacular Star Palace, setting off Wen Xia’s alluring body and imperious stance!

Mo Fan was hanging upside down. He realized how special the world was when he was viewing it from such a special position.

1

The buildings in the city were severely damaged, but had remained standing at different heights. The ground began to rise from the intertwining streets under the tower Wen Xia was standing on. It rose over ten meters into the air, as if something was breaking out of it.

An enormous scorpion tail emerged from the sand in the air like a dragon. The cracks on the streets resembled the shape of a scorpion too!

Only the spectacular scorpion tail, made of some kind of special stone, was emerging from the ground. The tail reached higher than the building as it coiled, and struck. The sting at its end was just as long and sharp as the top of the tower. The sting went right through the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s hand, only five centimeters away from Mo Fan’s groin…

1

The Black-Silver Rock Demon was pushing Mo Fan into its chest, so the scorpion sting nailed its hand on its chest. It even went through the evil face in the mud and pierced right through the creature’s back!

“F**k…f**k…f**k me!” Mo Fan felt his groin twitching.

Five centimeters!

Only five centimeters!

Mo Fan could normally reach fifteen centimeters during a normal erection. That madwoman, was she trying to stop him from being a man anymore or what? The creature’s hand was so huge, yet she had to aim so close to his important body part!

2

Mo Fan’s balls, so closely missed by the sting, were still recovering from the fright. Mo Fan immediately yelled at Wen Xia with a pale face, “You should have just killed me too!”

Wen Xia did not respond to Mo Fan. She had a stern face as she uttered slowly, “The second layer!”

“What second layer… holy shit, stop, stop it at once!” Mo Fan yelled at the top of his lungs.

The ground began to shake again. A bigger scorpion tail rose from the ground and stabbed the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s hand and chest.

“Can you please aim a little lower…no, a bit higher, f**k me!” Mo Fan’s voice echoed in the air.

It was no longer just a matter of five centimeters. That woman obviously had no idea where Mo Fan was, nor did she understand that there was something more important than being alive for a man!

Mo Fan almost broke his joints when he tried to reposition himself. Meanwhile, a scorpion sting went between his legs and struck the Black-Silver Rock Demon in the chest once again. It had left an even more obvious hole on the creature’s chest this time.

“Damn it, I swear I’m going to remind her how it feels to be a woman once I get down there…” Mo Fan exploded after the scorpion sting barely missed him again.

“The third layer!” Wen Xia had no clue what Mo Fan was saying. She remained focused in a battle stance.

“Nine layers… don’t tell me there are seven more of them!… Brother, put me down, I’ll kill her for you!” Mo Fan was on the verge of losing his mind.

1

He would rather be absorbed by the Black-Silver Rock Demon, at least it would only drain his energy instead of threatening his life! Meanwhile, Wen Xia was not only trying to take his life, she was taking the lives of his children and grandchildren!

The nine layers indeed represented the total number of scorpion stingers. The huge outline of a scorpion remained throughout the duration of the spell. Nine scorpion tails struck the Black-Silver Rock Demon and left its chest filled with holes. They also completely destroyed Mo Fan’s dignity.

Mo Fan totally forgot to balance himself as he fell from the air.

He landed on the ground and quickly checked his groin. His legs felt numb, on top of the mental paralysis he was under.

As he thought, the little thing was given a huge fright. It had shrunk like a little loach.

Mo Fan was extremely down, like a petite wife who had been messed up roughly by her muscular husband. His legs were even clutched inward when he rose to his feet.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon collapsed to the ground like a skyscraper after a deafening blast. Its body began to break into pieces. Several Mages wrapped in cocoons of ashes fell out of its remains.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon had indeed absorbed a lot of people. It felt like its massive body was stacked up with a high number of Mages.

“Are you alright?” Wen Xia came down from the tower and patted Mo Fan on the shoulder when she saw the empty look in his eyes.

“You must be held responsible if it’s somehow traumatized. You must resurrect it and reinstate its vigor. Do you understand!?” Mo Fan said.

Wen Xia lowered her head and said with a serious face, “I will take responsibility for it, after the Barrier Core and the city are safe.”

3

“…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

After the Black-Silver Rock Demon was defeated, the Gravitational Ring surrounding the clock tower regained its brilliance. The Rock Monsters and Rock Generals were struggling even more to break through the defensive perimeter. However, some Granite Beasts were still giving the defenders a huge headache. These beasts, which were resistant to the Gravitational Ring, were still approaching the Barrier Core.

The second Black-Silver Rock Demon took over as the leader of the Rock Monsters after the first Black-Silver Rock Demon had fallen. It kept giving orders to the Rock Monsters.

The Granite Beasts began to damage the defensive barrier recklessly, while the rest of the Rock Monsters and Rock Generals went searching for Mages in the city. They immediately absorbed every Mage they found. Since they were unable to break through the barrier, they would focus on attacking Mages and evolve into Granite Beasts to overcome the suppression from the Gravitational Ring.

Their ultimate goal was to reach the Barrier Core. They had to take advantage of their numbers and the fact that the human army was busy fending off their comrades. They had to break into the clock tower with a rush and claim the Barrier Core!

“These Rock Monsters aren’t completely brainless. The city has an abundant supply of humans for them to help them evolve. If no strong Mages step forward to eliminate the Rock Generals soon, the number of the Granite Beasts will double in less than an hour, and quadruple in two hours. The barrier won’t hold until then,” Mo Fan pointed out.

“The defense must stand at all costs. We have at least bought an extra hour. It’s almost midnight!” Wen Xia was more optimistic.

“You have every right to think that, but I must remind you that the other Black-Silver Rock Demon’s size and strength have surpassed the one we just took out. If you are planning to get rid of it, too, I must ask you to find someone else to lend you a hand. I won’t be risking my children and grandchildren for it again!” Mo Fan swore.

Wen Xia was aware of the problem.

There were two Black-Silver Rock Demons. The one they took out was the smaller of the two. The difference between them was like a youth and an adult. On top of that, the adult Black-Silver Rock Demon seemed more intelligent, considering how it was sending its Rock Monsters and Rock Demons after more Mages instead of trying to break through the barrier.

It would be several times more difficult to eliminate the second Black-Silver Rock Demon!

Wen Xia had been trying to figure out a solution, but the Black-Silver Rock Demon was too cunning. It only focused on ordering the Granite Beasts around instead of involving itself in the battle. It even asked its lackeys to feed the higher-level Mages to it so it could grow stronger!

The Granite Beasts would stay and guard their leader whenever it was feasting. The same plan was obviously not going to work, even if Mo Fan was willing to be the bait!

“A rock that can fight is less scary than a rock that can think. You will have to make a decision. Either you remove the Seal so everyone can join hands to defeat it and save the people that are absorbed by it and protect the city, or summon the army at the rampart back to the city center and try your best to defend the Barrier Core. But there’s a problem if you choose the second approach, as more Mud Morphing Monsters and Rock Monsters are going to invade the city. Even if the Barrier Core is successfully established, the people in the city will be replaced with rocks, so it’s meaningless to even set up an Elemental Capital!” Mo Fan pointed out.

“We won’t abandon the people unless it’s the last resort!” Wen Xia said firmly.

It was obviously going to be a tough battle, especially since they were not familiar with what they were going up against in the first place. However, almost every Elemental Capital was bathed in blood when it was first established. How could they possibly enjoy a peace that might last for a few dozen years if they did not secure the victory here? The soldiers that were stationed in the city were already prepared for the worst outcome!

“This city might only be a random city you’re visiting as a traveler, so its fate has nothing to do with you once you turn around and leave. Even if it turns into an Elemental Capital or is overrun by demon creatures, you will only lament it briefly when you see the news. But to us, it’s more important than our lives! All the troops inland were allocated to the coastline, so we only have half our men here defending the city. Even so, we still want to do this. If the coastline falls one day and the Headquarters Cities are drowned, this city on the mountain can still provide shelter to the people. The Barrier Core will ensure they can sleep peacefully, and the soldiers who only want their families to have a safe place to stay will fight bravely for their sake…” Wen Xia knew what Mo Fan was thinking.

It was necessary to put up with grim situations; she still had a great cause to fight for!

She would not bother thinking about the last resort until the final moment. They needed the Elemental Capital desperately. They already knew the prices they might have to pay just to ensure it was built.

“Fine, I’d make the same call too, if I were you…” Mo Fan understood where Wen Xia was coming from after seeing her firm attitude, “We’ll wait for an hour and make the call if we can make it through. Just say it if you need any help.”

“Mm!” Wen Xia nodded.

She could recover some of her energy in the meantime. She had consumed a huge amount of her energy, since she could only use the Earth Element. The Mages defending the Barrier Core were facing the same problem, and there were still three hours until midnight!

They had just eliminated a Black-Silver Rock Demon, so the Barrier Core would still be safe for another hour.

However, as the number of Granite Beasts continued to increase, since the Mud Morphing Monsters were still attacking the Mages, the situation would get more dangerous the closer it was to midnight. Mo Fan could not say for sure how dangerous it was going to be. It was his first time facing such a unique species that could increase in numbers and evolve by absorbing their enemies!

“You’re a Super Mage too, aren’t you?” Wen Xia asked him, sitting on a pile of debris.

“I only became one recently.” Mo Fan found a can of Sprite among the debris. He opened it and saw it was still fizzy. He took a mouthful… in spite of it all, it was still cool and refreshing!

“Then I guess you aren’t just a nobody. What’s your real name? Your identity in the system is obviously just a disguise. It’s pretty common for the high rankers among us to have a second identity,” Wen Xia said.

“Mo Fan,” Mo Fan said.

“The Mo Fan who won the World College Tournament!?” Wen Xia exclaimed. She immediately looked Mo Fan up and down again.

“That’s me!” Mo Fan took off the glasses that gave him a nerdy look and smiled.

“No wonder it took me such a great effort to Seal your magic. You have so many Elements…” Wen Xia murmured.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

Time gradually passed. Cries of agony kept rising from all directions. Not many of the Mages could fight the demon creatures in the city’s center on their own now. Meanwhile, the Rock Monsters and Rock Generals continued to increase in number. They were targeting the lone Mages to evolve into Granite Beasts. Their height was between fifteen and thirty meters, equivalent to a range from a three-story building to nearly a ten-story building.

The Granite Beasts were surprisingly tough. Their gray-white skin had the glitter of some kind of ore, while their arms, legs, and back had jagged rocks which made them look even more dangerous.

The Granite Beasts’ numbers had grown rapidly within the hour. They were starting to put the clock tower under great pressure.

“There’s no other way, we’ll have to withdraw our men from the rampart in half an hour. We must hold the line during the remaining time!” Xie Qinghua said.

Wen Xia and Mo Fan were standing beside the commander in chief of the city. Xie Qinghua was not just a commander of the military, but also an elder of the Magic Association, thus both the soldiers and the Brown Earth Mages were following her orders.

The order basically meant they were giving up on the rest of the city, and focusing on the city center. The Rock Monsters and Mud Morphing Monsters had never stopped coming from the ravine. If the line of defense at the rampart was withdrawn, it meant the Rock Monsters and the Mud Morphing Monsters could hunt freely throughout the city.

The city had Mages from many other organizations, but they were not as disciplined or as strong as the military or the Magic Association. Most of them were Mages like Tao Jing, Zhou Donghao, and Lin Qihui, who all lacked practical experience. There were even a lot of Basic Mages who were even weaker. If they gave up defending the perimeter around the city, those defenseless people were surely going to end up as food to the Rock Monsters!

It would no longer be a human city, but a city of Rock Monsters…

“You’re bringing fire to the woods to save the village. The village might be safe for now, but it will soon be surrounded by flames once the whole woods are on fire!” Mo Fan was strongly against the plan.

The city might be a battle fortress, so they did not have to protect the civilians. The buildings in the city could be rebuilt in a short amount of time too, but what about the Mages who were absorbed by the creatures?

If the tribe of Rock Monsters was strong enough to overpower the barrier, everyone was going to turn into one of them. Who was going to save the Mages who were absorbed!?

“Who are you? A high-schooler like you who knows nothing has no right to speak here!” Xie Qinghua frowned when someone dared to oppose her orders directly, when she was the commander here!

“It doesn’t matter who I am; your decision is driving everyone to the ocean of flames, and they are all going to die if you fail to put out the flames,” Mo Fan warned her.

“Teacher, I also think we can’t afford to let the monsters outside the city in. The Mud Morphing Monsters will keep growing by taking more people. There are so many…” Wen Xia tried to support him.

“Silence! Do you think you have time to come up with a better plan now? Do I need you to tell me the plan is inappropriate and unwise? If you have a better plan, feel free to spill it out now, and I’ll immediately change my mind… but keep your mouth shut if you don’t! The Research Union has already confirmed that the people who were absorbed are not in danger of losing their lives. We are only focusing our firepower on defending the Barrier Core. Once the barrier is fully constructed, we’ll rescue them immediately!” Xie Qinghua grunted.

Wen Xia did not dare speak again. She looked at Mo Fan, who opened his mouth, but did not say anything, either.

It was true that they did not have a better plan, but they both knew there was no turning back once the plan was put into motion!

“Wen Xia, you should avoid hanging around an alarmist like him, they are only going to trip themselves with their lack of concern. You should be more confident in the Barrier Core. Once the barrier is established, these Rock Monsters will no longer be a problem for us!” the captain of the Brown Rock Mages, Lu Bin, spoke up.

Mo Fan had the urge to give Lu Bin the middle finger. Was the man seriously showing off his superiority at a time like this?

Mo Fan knew he had no right to make the call for them. His speculation about the species being some kind of an evil Elemental Spirit was not proven either. He could only wait and observe the situation.

Wen Xia was dismissed. She apologized when she noticed Mo Fan’s dark expression, “They just want to make sure the city is built properly, like I do.”

Wen Xia believed they had to try their best to defend the Barrier Core, even if they were lacking in numbers in the center of the city, but Xie Qinghua and Lu Bin’s approach was even more extreme. They were allocating the Battlemages and the Brown Earth Mages to the city center, even though the rest of the city was going to suffer from losing the support of the Battlemages and the Magic Association.

Even though everyone in the city was prepared for the battle, they mostly consisted of Hunters, students, rogue Mages, and members of renowned clans and organizations. Without the support of the military and the Magic Association, they would only end up as food to the Rock Monsters!

“Let’s hope my instincts are wrong, that those Rock Monsters aren’t as much of a threat as I think, and the barrier is strong enough to protect us…” Mo Fan sighed.

Mo Fan never wanted to be involved in the first place. Why did he have to be so concerned about the outcome? It was these authorities’ job to make the call. He just needed to act within his area of expertise!

“They are all hoping to hold on until midnight. Once the barrier is activated at midnight, they will go from defending to attacking and save the victims. Don’t you worry, the Seal will be lifted at that time, too…” Wen Xia said.

“Mm, I understand. Let’s wait for midnight, then,” Mo Fan could only nod agreement.

—

Mo Fan did not leave. He sat at a spot where he was able to see a good deal into the distance.

He could see massive figures running around in the dark. The loud noises coming from all directions never ceased.

Mo Fan had been through many battles, including those that were grimmer and those that were less intense. Therefore, he was roughly able to tell how the situation of a battle was going to be. Would there be troubles ahead? Would they find themselves at a critical juncture? Or would the light of dawn finally rise upon them?

Mo Fan was not trying to curse the special Elemental Capital, nor was he so stubborn that he only believed in his own ideas. It was just what his instincts had been hinting to him after he fought the evil Elemental Spirits in person, and assessed the situation after comparing the strength of the two sides.

A little spark was enough to set an entire valley on fire, let alone a fierce, blazing flame!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The moon was cold, like frost hanging above the mountain and the city.

As midnight approached, Mo Fan looked around the city. It was initially surrounded by buildings of different heights, and it looked more or less the same now, but the tall figures standing in the city were no longer buildings, but huge rock demons whose eyes were scanning the destroyed city like spotlights, searching for the food that would make them stronger.

The Mages were shivering in fear in hiding places between the buildings. They did not dare even breathe heavily. The only advantage they had was that the huge rock demons were struggling to spot them when they were in cover.

“Luckily, they didn’t have any magical ways to pick up our presence. If it was any other Warrior-level beast or demon, they could easily pick up our scent!” Lin Qihui was hidden behind a half-collapsed market. The beams of the building had happened to form a cave.

Lin Qihui and the other members of the group were hiding there, waiting for the Rock Generals nearby to leave.

Huge blasts were approaching. Dust and tiny pieces of rocks began to fall inside the cave.

“Don’t make a sound!” Lin Qihui signaled the others.

Only a massive creature could possibly make such a huge noise when moving!

Lin Qihui peeked at the opening through the crack. A thirty-meter-tall creature veined with lines of ore stood there and scanned its surroundings. It was obviously searching for weaker Mages!

Lin Qihui’s face went pale. The Rock Generals were already troublesome to deal with for them, let alone the Granite Beasts.

It was so close to him that his heart almost stopped beating.

It can’t see us, it can’t see us, it can’t see us!, Lin Qihui chanted in his heart. These elemental creatures did not have sharp senses, hence they would be safe as long as they avoided stepping into view. Their spot was secured. They had managed to hide from a few groups of Rock Monsters!

“Se…senior!” Cao Juan suddenly cried out softly.

“Be quiet!” Lin Qihui hissed.

“Look below you,” Cao Juan whispered.

Lin Qihui finally lowered his head and saw ripples surfacing on the ground covered in ash under his feet.

The ripples were like wind blowing at the dust. It was difficult to notice them without taking a closer look. However, it was obviously magic, since it was impossible for the dust to be rippling when there was no wind!

The Granite Beast initially had its back to the market, but it suddenly turned around and glanced down at the half-collapsed building.

BANG!

The Granite Beast swung its arm and knocked the debris away. The people underneath were staring at the Granite Beast in fear, like a bunch of dwarves when the roof of their house was flung open!

“How…how could this be…” Lin Qihui gasped in a trembling voice.

The Granite Beast grinned as if it was mocking them.

It did not grab the humans. It simply turned around and left. It was obvious that these weak Mages had no place in its eyes.

However, a few Rock Generals immediately surrounded them as soon as the Granite Beast left. The Rock Generals were clearly going to split the food among themselves!

Lin Qihui and the others were no longer able to fight. The Rock Generals grabbed them like majestic demon eagles hunting chicks, and absorbed the humans one-by-one into their bodies.

—

—

“The Granite Beast is able to use Earth Magic. They can use tiny ripples across surfaces to sense the Mages hiding across the city. The number of Rock Generals has increased significantly, and the number of Granite Beasts has tripled, too,” Wen Xia came and whispered to Mo Fan.

“Do you think the soldiers and the Magic Association can eliminate them all once their Seals are lifted?” Mo Fan asked.

There were only twenty minutes left until the Barrier Core was activated, yet no one was feeling optimistic about it.

The fire was already too strong to be put out!

“I’m afraid not,” Wen Xia said.

“Get rid of my Seal first,” Mo Fan said.

“Well…” Wen Xia hesitated for a moment. She glanced at Xie Qinghua and Lu Bin on the other side and whispered, “Come with me.”

Wen Xia brought Mo Fan to the side after agreeing to lift the Seal for him.

“I can get rid of the Seal for you, but you must promise me that you won’t use other Elements until the barrier is activated,” Wen Xia said seriously.

“Don’t worry, you guys have sacrificed so much. I won’t ruin it unless the worst happens,” Mo Fan promised.

The Seal was like a lock on Mo Fan’s soul. Mo Fan would have no problem breaking it forcibly with his current cultivation and mental strength; it would only injure his soul slightly. But there was no reason for him to take the blame for obstructing the plan to establish the Elemental Capital for nothing.

A deafening roar came from the ravine. A shocking figure, which made the signal towers look like little kids, began heading toward the city center. They could already feel its terrifying presence from a fair distance away!

“Another Black-Silver Rock Demon has shown up, and it’s such a huge one!” Mo Fan muttered.

Wen Xia’s face turned pale.

The Black-Silver Rock Demons were their biggest threat. The barrier might be able to stop the Rock Monsters, Rock Generals, and the Granite Beasts, but it was nowhere strong enough to stop the Black-Silver Rock Demons!

“There are four Black-Silver Rock Demons now. They are going to break the barrier down…” Wen Xia said in low spirits.

“You guys have underestimated these evil Elemental Spirits,” Mo Fan agreed.

Wen Xia clenched her fists, staring at the Black-Silver Rock Demons.

“Either way, we are fighting until the very end!” Wen Xia said. She looked at Mo Fan and begged sincerely, “You are strong, I know that, so I ask you to lend me a hand and help me kill another Black-Silver Rock Demon, please!”

Mo Fan shook his head.

Wen Xia was still staring at Mo Fan. She was not willing to move her gaze away. Her face was trembling slightly.

Just one! Wen Xia had an urge to do everything she could to kill a Black-Silver Rock Demon. It was all she could do for the city!

—

Mo Fan rose to his feet and dusted off his shoulders.

“You’ll be helping me this time… I’m going to eliminate the four Black-Silver Rock Demons!” Mo Fan said.

Killing the four Black-Silver Rock Demons would not necessarily turn the tide around, but… it would not stop Mo Fan from killing them all!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sky was dark, without any stars. The only source of light was the moon. Its frosty brilliance was pouring down on the city, outlining many huge shadows that were roaming, trampling, and roaring throughout the city…

A bright light suddenly rose from the clock tower like a towering pillar connecting the night sky and the city. It split into several light arcs, encapsulating the city like the light of the Heavens!

It was the Barrier!

It was the lifeline that humans had relied on the most since the era of magic began. It had guaranteed the safety of cities, which allowed the humans to endure. With it, they no longer had to compete with demon creatures for land and resources.

The faint brown-yellow Barrier looked like the light of paradise when it was finally activated. It stood firmly above the city. The Mud Morphing Monsters and Rock Monsters that were flowing into the city were immediately blocked from it by a strong repulsive force.

The scariest things about the demon creatures were their numbers and how they were able to keep showing up. It was not like the Mages were not able to kill the demon creatures, but they were eventually going to lose the will to fight against their endless numbers.

“If only the Barrier had gone up an hour earlier. It would have reduced these creatures’ numbers by half, even if it was only an hour difference. The whole city is full of Rock Monsters. Us soldiers might join them at any second. How long do we have to fight to eliminate them all?” a captain sighed.

The commanding officers and the authorities of the Magic Association had all gathered in the clock tower. They had witnessed the establishment of the Barrier’s sacred light and its strength, but the difference in numbers between them and the Rock Monsters was just too huge!

The Barrier was indeed able to hold off the demon creatures, but the Mages still needed to drive out the demon creatures that had already invaded the city. The problem was exactly what Mo Fan had predicted in the first place. The huge flames had already reached the walls. It was too late to put them out!

“I won’t let these disgusting monsters get their way. All Brown Earth Mages, come with me and eliminate these demon creatures to return peace to the city!” Lu Bin yelled.

The average strength of the Brown Earth Mages was the Advanced Level. Since the Barrier had been established, the Seal on other Elements had been lifted, too. Now that these Mages had reclaimed the energy of the other two Elements, how could they possibly admit defeat so easily?

Lu Bin led the Brown Earth Mages and jumped out of the clock tower to go after the Granite Beasts surrounding the building. The Rock Generals and the Granite Beasts were currently the biggest threats to the city, since they could easily crush a whole group of Mages on their own and give the Mages in the city a huge blow to morale.

Lu Bin had to eliminate the demon creatures to help everyone regain their morale. He had to fight and convince everyone to fight the Rock Monsters with everything they had. It was the only way to save the city!

“Working as one!”

“Working as one!”

The Brown Earth Mages devoted themselves to be the vanguards, since they were the most respected Mages in the city.

“That’s right, we will work as one. We have held on for so long. It might be a long night, but dawn is just ahead. We will surely overcome this difficult situation by working together. The whole country will be proud of warriors like us!” the commander-in-chief Xie Qinghua declared.

Xie Qinghua had a dozen generals and captains with her. They began to shout their determination while leading their men to carry out counterattacks.

The defensive war had ended. It was time for them to eliminate the Mud Morphing Monsters and Rock Monsters in the city, returning peace to it and transforming it into a real Elemental Capital. Otherwise, the city would only end up as a city of monsters. The hope and efforts of so many people would have been in vain.

They were resisting the invasion of darkness for the first half of the night. It was time for them to fight for the daybreak in the second half!

As matters stood, Mo Fan could no longer judge if the authorities had made the right decision. He was quite touched by their determination. The situation in the Ancient Capital was a hundred times worse when the Dark Abyss was approaching the inner city, yet the people’s determination allowed them to fight for the dawn.

The city had not lost hope yet. As long as someone was still fighting back, they had not lost the fight to build the Elemental Capital!

“The people will easily lose determination from their fear of the enormous Black-Silver Rock Demons. I shall help them preserve their determination a little longer. Let’s hope there’s a miracle. Come, we’ll start with the Black-Silver Rock Demon that just evolved!” Mo Fan told Wen Xia.

“Wait, if you’re seriously doing this, I will bring my men along too! They are all Advanced Mages,” Wen Xia said.

“Sure, having a few more men as bait might save us time,” Mo Fan agreed.

“They are fighting too!” Wen Xia protested.

—

Wen Xia had her own squad. The rest of the army was taking orders from Xie Qinghua.

The squad had five members in total who had reached the peak Advanced Level. Deputy Lieutenant Hou immediately asked when they followed Wen Xia to a street in complete disorder, “Captain, are we a special squad entrusted with the mission to eliminate the Black-Silver Rock Demons? Is this a special order from the commander-in-chief?”

“More like the suicide squad,” Vice Captain Jin said.

“So what if we are the suicide squad? If we succeed, the city will record our names in its history. I’ve had enough looking after the miners and driving away weak demon creatures every day. I finally have a chance to make a huge contribution, HAHAHA…”

Among the five members, four of them were men with rough features. Only one was a quiet Battlemaga. She was petite and skinny with an ordinary face. If she was not wearing a military coat, it would be hard to imagine she was a lieutenant. It seemed her rank was the highest among Wen Xia’s subordinates.

“It’s my own decision. The five of you and I will be giving him full support to kill the Black-Silver Rock Demons!” Wen Xia pointed at Mo Fan who was leading the way.

“What? We are assisting that kid?”

“Madam, I would have thought he was just a scout if you didn’t say so, the kind that would flee for his life instantly as soon as a battle broke out!” Deputy Lieutenant Hou burst out laughing.

The others were amused too. The guy was obviously a student who came to the city for training. He was obviously a burden to the team. Why would they be assisting him instead? Were they really going to let such a weak student Mage take on the brutal Black-Silver Rock Demons?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Reporting, a few Granite Beasts are blocking the path ahead! They are staying close to the Black-Silver Rock Demon. We can only engage the Black-Silver Rock Demon after taking them out,” Vice Captain Jin said.

Wen Xia glanced at Mo Fan. He asked, “How long will it take for you and your men to deal with them?”

“Ten minutes at most!” Wen Xia was very confident in her men.

“Alright, you will engage the Granite Beasts to distract the Black-Silver Rock Demon while I find a way to its back to deliver a serious blow to it. This Black-Silver Rock Demon is the weakest among them, so we shouldn’t waste too much time on it,” Mo Fan said.

The most annoying thing about these monsters was their ability to absorb humans, so if they were unable to eliminate the monsters quicker than they were absorbing humans, the city was done for. Therefore, they had to pick up their pace of eliminating the creatures. They could not allow these creatures to keep evolving by absorbing the Mages in the city!

“Alright, we’ll engage it from the front ten minutes from now. Please inflict some serious damage on it,” Wen Xia nodded.

Wen Xia had yet to witness Mo Fan’s true strength, but she still had lingering fear of almost being injured by Mo Fan’s magic when she was Sealing his Elements. This Mo Fan might be stronger than the rumors had mentioned!

Mo Fan took a different route and left. Deputy Lieutenant Hou harrumphed and said, “He indeed ran away when the situation didn’t favor us. We can never rely on these young Mages.”

“It’s not like we are relying on him in the first place. Come, let’s not waste our time here.”

—

Mo Fan followed the stairs down and crossed a street that was at a lower level to find his way to the back of the Black-Silver Rock Demon.

A figure suddenly appeared as soon as he entered the debris-covered street while trying to find a way to avoid the Rock Generals and Granite Beasts. The figure immediately dragged him into an alley.

“Fan Mo, I finally found you. Did you manage to save Tao Jing? How are the others?” Lin Qihui was so nervous that he was speaking incoherently.

“Senior…Senior Lin?” It took Mo Fan a while to recognize Lin Qihui’s face.

“Shhh!” Lin Qihui immediately told him to keep his voice down with a gesture. He quickly scanned the surroundings and said, “I…I barely escaped from a Granite Beast. Don’t you set me up!”

“Oh, where are the others?” Mo Fan asked.

Lin Qihui briefly explained what happened to the group after they returned to the city. They were able to help at first by taking out one or two Rock Monsters, but the numbers of the creatures kept increasing rapidly. The students had no choice but to hide and run for their lives.

However, Lin Qihui did not expect the Granite Beasts to have the ability to pick up slight movements from vibrations on the ground, enabling them to hunt down the Mages that were hiding.

“You’re saying that the Granite Beasts are able to locate where the Mages are hiding by sensing the vibrations from the ground?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Yeah, it’s so terrifying! These creatures are deadlier than we thought. I was lucky enough to sneak into an underground passage, or else I would have been eaten by now too. The others…I’m such a coward, I abandoned them and ran away on my own!” Lin Qihui started to get emotional as he spoke. Tears were running down his cheeks.

“Senior, you shouldn’t blame yourself too hard. You should be relieved that you were able to save yourself in that situation,” Mo Fan consoled him.

If the Granite Beasts had the ability to pick up movements from the ground, the Black-Silver Rock Demon most likely had the same ability. Therefore, his plan to ambush the Black-Silver Rock Demon from behind was definitely not going to work! Luckily, he had stumbled into Lin Qihui. Otherwise, he would waste his time, and might even give the Black-Silver Rock Demon an opening to attack him.

Heavy footsteps were audible as Lin Qihui burst into tears. He quickly covered his mouth, not daring to make a sound, but his eyes were filled with fear!

“It’s coming for me, it’s looking for the fish that has escaped the net!” Lin Qihui blurted out.

“Don’t be scared,” Mo Fan said.

Lin Qihui gathered his courage and said, “Fan Mo, Fan Mo, I’ve already let the others down. You should run, now, it will soon feel your footsteps, but I can still buy some time for you. Just go, and help me take care of the rest of the group…” He realized he had no chance of successfully running away because of the Granite Beasts’ ability.

Mo Fan patted Lin Qihui on the shoulder, seeing his unusual behavior.

Lin Qihui was going to ask Mo Fan to leave again when a figure taller than a ten-story building showed up at the entrance of the alley. Lin Qihui could not even see the whole creature at the first glance. He had to lift his head to do so!

“Be…behind… you…” Lin Qihui pointed at the creature with a trembling hand. He was struggling to speak properly.

The Granite Beast grinned. It was scornful of how weak and tiny the humans were.

The Granite Beast reached its hand into the alley. It was going to lift Mo Fan and Lin Qihui up like they were just some tiny mice…

“Behind you, run!” Lin Qihui finally blurted out in fear, but his legs were shaking so much that he could not move at all.

Mo Fan finally withdrew his hand and said, “I know, it should be the one running.”

The creature’s hand was within inches.

Mo Fan suddenly turned around. His right hand, which had been patting Lin Qihui on the shoulder, suddenly burst into flames, unleashing a strong wave of heat for a few hundred meters as he threw a punch.

He merely turned around and threw a punch, and a ferocious dragon appeared in the dark alley. Its bones were made of high-temperature lava, with tongues of fire erupting from its skin. The huge creature seemed tiny compared to the fiery dragon!

1

The Granite Beast’s arm was burned into ashes, and its huge and sturdy body was knocked to the ground by the wave of flames. Its body cracked rapidly, and eventually broke into pieces.

Lin Qihui stood still. He was already on the edge, worried a Granite Beast would show up at any second, but the creature traumatizing him was already gone, leaving just his junior, whose fist had left scorched trails in the shape of a fan across the street!

It…it was a Granite Beast, ten times stronger than a Rock General!

Yet… it had died to a single Fiery Fist?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The fiery sparkles danced like butterflies. Mo Fan left the alley and looked down the street that had been razed to the ground. He noticed the Granite Beast was completely destroyed. Its body had shattered into pieces. There were a dozen people covered in ash there, scattered from its chest to its stomach.

They were the Mages that had been absorbed by the Granite Beast. A few of them were Advanced Mages.

The ash served as a layer of protection for the Mages. Otherwise, their lives might have been in danger when they rolled into the flames.

Mo Fan also noticed something else. These Rock Monsters were only interested in Mages with full energy. They were unable to see those whose energy had been drained away and were no longer fit for battle.

Mo Fan even suspected these creatures were only after energy they could use, and normal people and Mages whose energy had dried out were like stones by the side of the road to them.

“You…you…” Lin Qihui could not find any word after some time.

This Fan Mo was no human. He was a monster!”

“My Earth Element isn’t impressive, but my Fire Element is pretty strong. Senior, you should hurry up and hide in the clock tower. I’ll try my best to find the others,” Mo Fan said.

“No way, I might be too weak to fight these creatures, but I can still carry the unconscious,” Lin Qihui suddenly said righteously, as if he was being influenced by something.

He kept seeing victims falling out of the remains of the Rock Monsters. These people were obviously going to struggle to reach safety on their own. Someone had stepped forward to save them! Lin Qihui felt like he had to do something.

“Alright, get these people to safety then,” Mo Fan nodded.

—

—

A few buildings with only two floors were lined up along the street to a junction. It was the city’s marketplace. Some magic tools the merchants had failed to bring away in time scattered across the ground. Magic ores of the Earth Element were scattered like pebbles everywhere, too.

The Granite Beasts were quite intelligent. They discovered the Earth Magic Ores had energy similar to the energy of Mages, so they were collecting the Magic Ores and digesting them.

The city was rich in Earth Magic Ores, so the Granite Beasts had reaped a lot of benefits from the marketplace. The ones here did not bother searching for the human Mages that were avoiding them like loaches.

The street was quite wide, four times as broad as the main road in a city. The tents that had been set up still remained. The place would very be bustling if it was not deserted and messy.

Wen Xia and her subordinates had already split up at the marketplace’s junction, using the stalls as their cover. They secretly snuck up on a Granite Beast that was collecting the Earth Magic Ores.

The Granite Beast did not seem to notice them. Vice Captain Jin was the first to make his move, trying to deal a deadly blow to the monster.

However, the Granite Beast’s hands suddenly enlarged, as if it was long prepared. It smashed its hands fiercely, like a pair of gongs. Vice Captain Jin did not expect the monster to be expecting his attack. The Rock Gongs almost smashed him into pulp!

“Vice Captain Jin!” Wen Xia immediately jumped forward when she saw Vice Captain Jin, whose bones had almost flattened, falling through the air. The Granite Beast caught him and absorbed him directly.

The Granite Beast was extremely quick. The others did not even have time to save the man. They could only watch Vice Captain Jin being absorbed into the Granite Beast’s body.

The metallic gloss on the Granite Beast soon brightened slightly. Bones began to stick out where its joints were like swords, ghastly and terrifying!

“That assh*** absorbed Old Jin, I’m going to smash it into pieces!” Deputy Lieutenant Hou yelled angrily.

“Damn it, we were so careful when sneaking up here! How did it notice us?”

Wen Xia had the same question too. They had snuck up on the Granite Beast without making any mistake along the way. Even Commander-level creatures with sensitive smell and hearing would not notice them, let alone the Granite Beast!

Wen Xia’s other four aides-de-camp were already making their moves. They initially thought the five of them could easily take out the Granite Beast, but the creature had grown significantly stronger after absorbing Vice Captain Jin’s energy. It took the four of them almost five minutes just to defeat it.

It seemed like they were going to struggle to keep their word by taking out the Granite Beasts in ten minutes.

“Keep going!” Wen Xia decided to engage the enemy too, as she could not wait any longer.

Wen Xia took out a Granite Beast at lightning speed, while her four aides-de-camp were handling another Granite Beast at the junction.

Wen Xia was a Super Mage. Her cultivation had been suppressed slightly to comply with the Magic Sealing Order necessary to set up the Barrier Core, thus it felt like she was only an Advanced Mage. She had disregarded the suppression on her cultivation to draw the Star Palace when she and Mo Fan were killing the first Black-Silver Rock Demon. Otherwise, she would not have had to rest up for so long after casting a single Super Spell.

The Barrier was now activated, meaning that the Magic Sealing Order was lifted. It had freed up her mental strength with it. She was finally able to fight with her full strength after reclaiming her three other Elements and full Will.

Wen Xia cleanly took out a strong Granite Beast, but her outstanding strength immediately attracted the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s attention.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon’s level was extremely high. It had a greedy look when it noticed Wen Xia’s cultivation.

It would be one step closer to evolving to the next level once it absorbed a Super Mage. The Black-Silver Rock Demon was enlightened by Wen Xia’s appearance. After all, most Super Mages were surrounded by a huge group of subordinates, but the Battlemaga was almost fighting alone!

Wen Xia was not afraid of the monster. She had already killed one of them recently. She was confident that she could eliminate this leader of the Rock Monsters, too.

“I’ll fight it while Mo Fan is searching for an opportunity for his sneak attack. We should be able to eliminate it quickly,” Wen Xia mumbled to herself.

There was more than one Black-Silver Rock Demon, thus they had to eliminate the leader of the Rock Monsters before them as quickly as possible.

Wen Xia was just about to move when she suddenly saw a black lightning bolt sweep across the night sky. A figure stood on the end of the lightning bolt, engulfed in wild lightning arcs.

“Mo Fan?” Wen Xia was puzzled when she saw him.

Wasn’t he supposed to ambush the target? Why did he show himself first?

“These creatures are able to detect our presence through the ground’s vibrations. There’s no use trying to trick them. Let’s fight them head-on!” Mo Fan told Wen Xia.

Mo Fan landed less than fifty meters away from the Black-Silver Rock Demon. He did not show any sign of fear, despite facing the monster that was as tall as a skyscraper!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Black-Silver Rock Demon’s roar swept the dust into the air like a strong wind, capable of destroying the sturdy buildings on the street.

Mo Fan was knocked a few hundred meters back. A huge blast came from the wind before it calmed down!

The Black-Silver Rock Demon appeared right in front of Mo Fan after knocking a hole in the screen of dust. The Black-Silver Rock Demon was covered in a layer of dark golden sand, like it was wearing a suit of armor.

The force felt like a mountain was about to crash into him. Every possible escape was already sealed up by the creature’s massive body.

“Blink!”

With a flicker of silver light, Mo Fan was already gone from the spot even as the Black-Silver Rock Demon suddenly stomped down. He reappeared in his previous location, now behind it, instantly.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon seemed to know where Mo Fan was going to show up. It immediately charged at Mo Fan again after missing its first attempt!

“Since you like to charge around, let’s see who’s stronger between us!” Mo Fan yelled. He began to run at the Black-Silver Rock Demon, too.

The faster his speed, the fiercer the flames engulfing him grew. Flame Belle’s shadow emerged from his back, allowing his flames to reach their maximum strength. The three Soul-grade Flames combined into one…

Mo Fan’s flames enlarged continuously, to the extent that the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s huge body was no longer as imposing as it used to be!

“Rocket Wings, propulsion!”

A fiery dragon charged forward as the fiery feathers drifting in the wind quickly formed a pair of spectacular burning wings…

Mo Fan never used the fiery wings to fly. He only detonated his fiery feathers and use the force of the explosions to propel himself!

The fiery feathers were combusted like fuel in an instant. Mo Fan’s momentum was simply unstoppable. The Black-Silver Rock Demon had tried to use its sturdy body to crush its tiny enemy with brute force, but to its surprise, the human was charging at it with even greater force instead!

The Black-Silver Rock Demon had a dark sandstorm behind it, but Mo Fan’s back had raging flames. The two crashed into one another on the street of the marketplace. The clash between the Fire Element and the Earth Element exploded into a tornado of fire and sand over five hundred meters wide…

Inside the tornado, Mo Fan was still having a showdown with the Black-Silver Rock Demon. The creature’s armor began to crack!

The tornado eventually reached its limit. With a huge explosion, the sand scattered across the place, while flames poured down like rain. The marketplace was beyond recognition. A huge hole was left at the spot where Mo Fan had collided with the Black-Silver Rock Demon!

Mo Fan was still standing in the hole, but the Black-Silver Rock Demon had slid over a few hundred meters down the destroyed street!

The huge monster was still standing, but its body was covered with cracks. The proud leader of the evil elemental spirits was enraged.

A rock giant like it had lost to a weak human in a head-on showdown. It was struggling to believe that a human was able to face it so fearlessly!

The Black-Silver Rock Demon was very angry. It spread its arms and roared into the sky!

The ground began to shake. The Black-Silver Rock Demon seemed to wield a strong magic, capable of controlling the sand and the ground.

A huge crack appeared across the street and headed straight in Mo Fan’s direction!

Mo Fan began to lose his balance when the ground started rocking so violently. He quickly jumped to a nearby building when he saw the crack.

The building split in half as soon as he landed on top of it. Luckily, Mo Fan’s reflexes were quick; he turned into a shadow and dodged the attack. Otherwise, he might have been sliced in half by the invisible force, too!

“Ground Slash?”

It was like an invisible sword. The powerful blow had sliced the ground in half, despite the lack of physical contact. The Ground Slash was a strong tearing force surging forward as the ground was cracking apart. Therefore, preventing oneself from falling into the crack was not enough to dodge the Ground Slash, Mo Fan also had to evade the force as quickly as possible. Otherwise, he would end up just like the building that had been cut in half!

That was the ability that the Black-Silver Rock Demon was using. Mo Fan took note of how the creature was using the Earth Element. He quickly backed away to a certain distance to guarantee his own safety.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon chased after him relentlessly. It waved its hand again, executing another Ground Slash. It remained on Mo Fan’s trail even when he jumped to higher ground!

The Ground Slash missed Mo Fan by only half a meter. The street was brutally chopped in half!

Mo Fan immediately jumped to a higher spot after dodging the attack.

He was at the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s eye-level at his current height. The Black-Silver Rock Demon took a huge step forward. It needed a bit of time before it could execute the Ground Slash again. Mo Fan took hold of the opportunity to draw a Fire Star Constellation!

“Sky-Flame Funeral!” Mo Fan’s eyes burned like torches during the loud chant.

The flames rose into the sky and set the clouds looming over the city’s center ablaze. Long fiery swords began to descend from the burning clouds. They immediately spread wildly after stabbing into the Black-Silver Rock Demon. Small tongues of flames merged immediately after coming into contact with one another. After the first few dozen fiery swords fell from the sky, the Black-Silver Rock Demon was completely on fire. Even its sturdy body was unable to withstand the heat of the three Soul-grade Flames…

—

The whole place was blazing red, the area was lit up dazzlingly. Wen Xia was standing not too far away, staring at the Black-Silver Rock Demon being devoured by the huge flames with a blank face.

She was planning to lend Mo Fan a hand with her Nine-Layered Scorpion Tail, but was dumbfounded when she saw Mo Fan had inflicted serious injuries on the Black-Silver Rock Demon without using a single Super Spell…

What the heck was with his Sky-Flame Funeral, which was comparable to the strength of a Super Spell!?

“Ma…madam… who exactly is he?” Deputy Lieutenant Hou asked, equally stunned.

“He can do everything!”

Wen Xia’s subordinates had finally taken care of the Granite Beasts after more than ten minutes. They were planning to help Wen Xia eliminate the Black-Silver Rock Demon, even if it meant risking their lives, but the Black-Silver Rock Demon was already cracking apart. Their superior did not even have any chance to attack the creature!

The kid had defeated the Black-Silver Rock Demon alone. How insane was his strength?

Even soldiers had to rely on their numbers to fend off demon creatures. Not many were able to take on high-level demon creatures on their own!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“That man… is crazily strong!” Wen Xia’s subordinates were dumbfounded.

It turned out that they were indeed here just to provide the man with some support. They did not have to cast a spell to defeat the Black-Silver Rock Demon. The young man had defeated it on his own!

The Black-Silver Rock Demon was struggling to remain intact amid the fierce flames. Wen Xia simply followed up with a strong Mountain Drill Spinning Top to disintegrate it.

The creature’s remains fell into a pile. One Mage after another covered in ash was rolling down the little hill. Wen Xia’s men were unsure what to do, seeing the huge number of feeble victims.

“Fang Di, I’ll leave them to you. We’ll head over to the next location,” Wen Xia ordered, leaving one of her men behind.

“Affirmative!”

Time was running short. There were still three Black-Silver Rock Demons throwing a tantrum in the city. They had realized the Barrier was stopping their lackeys from advancing, so they were ramming into the Barrier with their powerful bodies.

“There, those creatures are serious about wiping us out,” Wen Xia said angrily when she saw the Black-Silver Rock Demon on the other side of the Barrier.

“It’s…it’s so big!” Deputy Lieutenant Hou blurted out in shock.

2

The Black-Silver Rock Demon that was attacking the Barrier was around ten meters taller than the Black-Silver Rock Demon they had just defeated. It no longer felt like a rock creature, given the hue and luster it had. It was more like a black metal demon with a strong mechanical vibe to it!

“What is it doing?” Wen Xia asked.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon suddenly walked toward a park around five hectares in size. It was built on a higher ground than the city streets. It even had a rockery with trees and flowers and a small waterfall. It was a fine little park.

To everyone’s surprise, the Black-Silver Rock Demon suddenly pulled the cement park right out of the ground with its insane strength!

A huge hole was left behind. The terrifying Black-Silver Rock Demon lifted the whole park and used it to beat on the Barrier.

The park had somehow become the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s weapon. The park would shatter a little every time it slammed into the Barrier.

The scene had left the whole city center in awe. How could they possibly stand a chance against a creature with such godly strength?

“That’s…that’s insane!”

“Can we really beat that thing?”

The aides-de-camp immediately lost their courage when they realized how weak they were compared to the Black-Silver Rock Demon.

Wen Xia clenched her teeth. This Black-Silver Rock Demon was a lot stronger than the others they had encountered. It would be impressive if they could survive it, let alone defeat it!

“Mo Fan, should we try and take out the other two first?” Wen Xia was a little intimidated.

“It will do. Once we defeat it, the other two will no longer be a problem for us!” Mo Fan rubbed his palms together. He went ahead and engaged the creature without bothering to discuss things.

Wen Xia was thinking of coming up with a plan with Mo Fan, yet the man was bolder than everyone imagined. He immediately engaged the Black-Silver Rock Demon while everyone else was intimidated by its overwhelming strength!

—

“I would like to see how long you’re going to be able to lift that!” Mo Fan Blinked onto the park that was being raised into the air.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon was swinging the park at the Barrier when a silver light encapsulated the entire thing and applied enormous pressure to it. The Black-Silver Rock Demon even sank half a meter into the ground. The mountain trail was not too sturdy in the first place, and almost collapsed under the weight.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon finally realized someone was standing on the park. It was confused as to why the park was twice as heavy when the human was only around the size of a small bush!

The park gradually became even heavier. The Black-Silver Rock Demon had no choice but to drop it to the ground with a boom. It quickly scanned its surroundings, searching for the tiny human that had shown up to mess with its plan as it angrily pulled a long rocky spear out from thin air!

The creature tossed the long spear at Mo Fan once it spotted him. He immediately turned into a shadow bird and disappeared into the darkness. The long spear flew over a kilometer, sweeping dust into the air along its trail. It eventually landed in the street of a business district, quivering there like a new flag pole.

Mo Fan’s eyes emitted a silver glow after he landed on a transmission tower. “Rise!”

An invisible aura began to spread into his surroundings as his Will split into different streams, scattered across the remains of the fallen buildings. The debris slowly rose into the air under Mo Fan’s control.

“Go!” Mo Fan swung his hand. The debris, pillars, and beams accelerated as they were fired at the Black-Silver Rock Demon.

The projectiles were quite heavy. The Black-Silver Rock Demon had to struggle to withstand the impacts.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon slammed its fist into the ground. A sand dune suddenly emerged there, forming a shield standing firmly in front of the Black-Silver Rock Demon. Most of the projectiles Mo Fan was controlling ended up smashing into dust!

The Black-Silver Rock Demon lifted its leg and stomped the ground.

A fan-shaped quake blew forward rapidly, almost like a herd of sprinting wild beasts, destroying and knocking aside everything along its path, including Mo Fan!

The fan-shaped wave covered a wide area, and Mo Fan had nowhere to hide from it. He had no choice but to use Blink to distance himself from the Black-Silver Rock Demon.

Mo Fan initially planned to damage the outer shell of the Black-Silver Rock Demon and focus his spells on the same wound to inflict serious damage on it. However, the creature’s Earth Magic was so strong that he had no choice but to back away instead.

His spells were obviously out of range with the current distance between him and the Black-Silver Rock Demon. However, the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s attacks could still reach Mo Fan still, placing him in a very passive situation.

“The presence of the Earth Element is very strong here, so its attacks are a lot stronger too,” Wen Xia called out to him.

“I know that. I wouldn’t be at such a disadvantage if my Earth Element was stronger!” Mo Fan said angrily.

He was considered an Earth Mage too, but his Basic and Intermediate Earth Spells were useless in the fight against the high-level creature.

“I’ll help you!” Wen Xia said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s Earth Magic is so annoying, especially that Mountain Shield. I won’t be able to hurt it if it keeps using that Shield against my destructive spells,” Mo Fan fumed.

Mo Fan had always hated fighting tough creatures with sturdy defenses. Even if the Black-Silver Rock Demon stood there without defending itself, it would take Mo Fan some time to take it down, but if it was using the Earth Magic, he highly doubted he could kill it before the sun rose at dawn!

“I can help you create an Earth Element Vacuum Zone to weaken the presence of the Earth Element. That way, it will have difficulties using its Earth Magic,” Wen Xia said.

“Is it like a magic Formation?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes!” Wen Xia nodded.

“Great, without the Earth Magic, the fight should be a lot easier!” Mo Fan said enthusiastically

—

It was a Time-Lapse Formation, meaning it would take some time for the Formation to be established. Wen Xia was actually good at setting up magic Formations. Otherwise, she would not have been picked to implement the Magic Sealing Order.

However, the Earth Element Vacuum Zone was slightly different from the Magic Sealing Zone. She would be working with a few Earth Mages to set up a magical pentagram with her energy and some magic Tools to swiftly draw away the energy of a certain Element from the area!

The magic Formation was similar to an exhaust fan. It would draw the energy out of the air and turn it into a Vacuum Zone!

That being said, it was difficult to set up a perfect Vacuum Zone, but it was still possible for a few powerful Earth Mages to draw away the energy of a specific Element from an area.

Wen Xia happened to have four aides-de-camp still available. The Mage Fang Di had regrouped with them after he brought in the rescue team from the Magic Association to treat the victims whom they had rescued. The five of them stood at five different points of a pentagram.

Mo Fan was luring the Black-Silver Rock Demon into the Vacuum Zone inside the pentagram. It was a trap designed specifically for the creature!

The Black-Silver Rock Demon completely disregarded the humans nearby. It set its foot into the Vacuum Zone while trying to grab Mo Fan.

“Earth Element Vacuum Zone!”

Wen Xia led her aides-de-camp in empowering the magic Formation. A dark line extended from Wen Xia’s arms and connected with Deputy Lieutenant Hou and Fang Di.

The two spread their arms just like Wen Xia, forming vertices of the pentagon. When the ray reached them, it extended from their arms across to the other two soldiers.

When the last two soldier’s arms were connected by the light, like Star Orbits being combined into a Star Pattern, the pentagram began to emit a strange glow, isolating the area.

There was no wind, but it felt like they were stepping into the middle of a tornado. Mo Fan was an Earth Mage too, so he could feel the Earth Magic in the Zone thinning out!

The Black-Silver Rock Demon noticed something fishy, too. The Earth Magic was like a Domain under its control at all times, but it could feel its power plummeting!

“Mo Fan, the Vacuum Zone won’t last long. You must defeat it as quickly as possible… remember, don’t let it escape from the pentagram!” Wen Xia told Mo Fan.

“Don’t worry, I won’t give the vandal any chance!” Mo Fan assured her.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon was not a stupid creature. It immediately turned around when it realized it had walked into a trap.

The Vacuum Zone in the pentagram did not restrict its movement; it was hard enough just weakening the presence of an Element in the area. The rest was up to Mo Fan now.

“You think you can run away?”

Mo Fan was long prepared for this. He had been releasing his Dark Material into the ground and the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s body throughout the battle.

“It has been a while since I last used my Dark Magic. It’s time to see how strong the Fiendish Night has grown!” Mo Fan murmured.

It was already late at night. The darkness helped the Fiendish Night spread even faster. As Mo Fan went around in a circle, the street that was already under his control was further encapsulated by a layer of dark energy.

The darkness continued to spread like a shadowy mist.

The ground turned into a huge black swamp. The pentagram had already drawn away the Earth Magic, and the ground the Black-Silver Rock Demon was standing on was replaced by a bottomless swamp. It had completely cut the Black-Silver Rock Demon off from the actual ground!

“Stop!” Mo Fan swung his arm.

A pair of shadowy enormous hands rose from the shadowy morass and grabbed onto the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s legs tightly.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon struggled fiercely, but it felt like its legs were nailed to the spot. When it turned around, it was shocked to see its legs being held by its own shadow.

The whole place was in complete darkness. Why were there still shadows!? Why did its shadow have the power to bind it down!?

Mere brute force was not enough to break free from the Fiendish Night. Mo Fan did recall some people mentioning that the Earth Element’s defense was vulnerable to the Shadow Element. Mo Fan had all the time he needed to cast a real Shadow Spell once the Black-Silver Rock Demon was unable to rely on its Earth Magic!

“Treason of the Rebelling Shadow!”

It would have been difficult for Mo Fan to Summon a shadow the same size as the massive creature with his Fiendish Night before. However, the improved version of the Fiendish Night did not let him down. A huge shadow demon resembling the Black-Silver Rock Demon rose from the Swamp of Darkness just a few seconds after the Black-Silver Rock Demon was unable to move!

The Black-Silver Rock Demon stiffened. Its eyes filled with fear when it saw the shadow demon with its own appearance rising before it…

The Rebelling Shadow was just as big as the Black-Silver Rock Demon; the only difference was, its body was made of the Dark Material. The shadow demon had a menacing aura. It took a step forward and stabbed the Black-Silver Rock Demon with a long shadow spear before Mo Fan even gave the order!

The Black-Silver Rock Demon started to panic instantly. It finally broke free from the binding on its feet. The shadow demon that looked exactly the same as it did had stabbed it in the chest. The Black-Silver Rock Demon did not suffer any physical injuries, but was staggering from the pain inflicted on its mind and soul!

Chapter 1784: I Have The Numbers

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What’s that?” Commander-in-chief Xie Qinghua stared at the distant area covered in darkness from the top of the clock tower. She could barely see two huge shadows moving; it seemed like one Black-Silver Rock Demon was killing the other. Cries of agony were constantly echoing over the city.

A scout came over and blurted out, “Reporting, two Black-Silver Rock Demons have been eliminated!”

“The hundred people who were sent here just now were rescued after one of the Black-Silver Rock Demons was taken out,” an advisor spoke up.

“There are only a few people in our city who are strong enough to kill a Black-Silver Rock Demon, but Lu Bin is leading the Brown Rock Mages, who are surrounded by a large group of Granite Beasts. I wonder who stepped forward to lend us a hand this time!” Xie Qinghua wondered.

“Sir, it’s the student who was with Lieutenant Wen Xia, Fan Mo!” the scout informed her.

“That young man?” Xie Qinghua faintly recalled the young man. She remembered he was the one who was strongly against her decision. “That’s impossible! How is he so strong?”

Xie Qinghua had barely finished her sentence when the screen of darkness dissipated, and the black swamp faded away like a falling tide.

Xie Qinghua picked up her magic glasses and glanced at the edge of the magic Formation.

She happened to see the Black-Silver Rock Demon collapsing to the ground. An unusual dark aura was flowing out of its body. It was obviously killed by some Dark Magic. Meanwhile, a young man with the same dark energy was standing beside the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s remains. It was the young man the scout had mentioned!

“It’s really him… but…” Xie Qinghua was stunned.

Most people who had developed such impressive strength were at least in their thirties. She had never seen anyone able to kill a Black-Silver Rock Demon in their twenties!

“Commander, there are only two Black-Silver Rock Demons left. There’s still hope!” the advisor blurted out excitedly.

“Yes…yes, there’s still hope,” Xie Qinghua agreed quietly.

The only Super Mages in the city were her, Wen Xia, and Lu Bin, but there was now another Mage with outstanding strength who had killed two Black-Silver Rock Demons in a row!

It was important if they had an extra Super Mage defending the city. Xie Qinghua’s heart was racing now. Yes, there was still hope indeed…

“Commander, Wen Xia and the young man seem to be heading to the next Black-Silver Rock Demon!” the advisor said.

“Is that young man possessed by a deity or something? The troop of Advanced Mages we sent out couldn’t even kill a Black-Silver Rock Demon, yet it feels like he can eliminate all of them on his own!”

—

Mo Fan was like an angel from Heaven for the military and the city. He was so used to situations like this after going through his previous battles. He was a true warrior as he defeated the Black-Silver Rock Demons looming over the city like huge black mountains. The army’s morale rose rapidly as a result.

These high-level creatures had been giving the Battlemages huge pressure during the fighting. Despite the overwhelming numbers of the Rock Monsters, it felt like dawn was right before them when the Black-Silver Rock Demons all fell to the ground!

“Sir, our soldiers have cleaned up the Rock Monsters at the marketplace!” Deputy Lieutenant Hou reported.

“Very good! It seems like the soldiers are much braver after the Black-Silver Rock Demons have fallen.”

“Isn’t that obvious? If I saw such a huge monster in a battle, I might fail to assemble my Star Patterns and Star Constellations properly because of the pressure it gave me. It’s all thanks to Brother Mo Fan! Sir, where did you find such a reliable expert?” Fang Di asked.

Wen Xia’s men were hugely relieved after two of the Black-Silver Rock Demons were taken out, and feeling a lot more confident.

“He claimed to have come here for training with a bunch of students. He only Awakened the Earth Element recently.” Wen Xia grinned when she saw Mo Fan sprinting around.

Wen Xia had discovered Mo Fan was strong when he first came to the city, yet his performance was still beyond what she had expected. She was amused when she recalled how he had agreed to help her, being used as bait to kill the first Black-Silver Rock Demon, with such a close call.

“It’s just ahead, I’ll deal with it alone. The rest of you should head to the next location and clean up the Granite Beasts. I’ll be there soon,” Mo Fan told the people behind him.

Mo Fan quickly scanned his surroundings and noticed a huge bunch of Granite Beasts accompanying the last Black-Silver Rock Demon in the residential area. Mo Fan did not want to waste his time on the Granite Beasts, so he asked Wen Xia and her men to deal with them first.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon in front of them was a loner. It had occupied the central plaza and was fighting against a few of the Brown Rock Mages.

The Brown Rock Mages were too weak to take on the Black-Silver Rock Demon. Their spells only managed to scratch the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s itch. A few rounds later, two Brown Rock Mages ended up falling into the creature’s mouth and were used to increase its strength.

“Are you going to be fine on your own?” Wen Xia said.

“On my own? No no, I have the numbers,” Mo Fan replied.

Wen Xia was puzzled by his words.

—

Wen Xia brought her men to the residential area. The buildings in the area were not as tall as the busier districts, so it was more difficult for the Mages to conceal their presence.

In addition to that, the number of the Granite Beasts was so high that almost every junction had a Granite Beast on duty. It seemed like the last Black-Silver Rock Demon was their boss.

Wen Xia could not help but turn around while making her way to the residential area.

Didn’t he say he wasn’t alone?

What did he mean by that!?

“Awoo!” Howls suddenly echoed above the central plaza where Mo Fan was. Wen Xia looked towards the noises, and was shocked to see dazzlingly white wolves running around in amazing numbers under the moonlight!

“Where did so many demon wolves come from? Their ranks aren’t low, either!” Deputy Lieutenant Hou blurted out in astonishment.

“Commander-level, they are all at the Commander-level!”

“Where did they…”

“I just saw the light of a Dimensional Summoning Gate!”

“The Summoning Element!” Wen Xia suddenly recalled.

Wen Xia had watched the World College Tournament. She suddenly recalled Mo Fan had another outstanding Element too: the Summoning Element! He had Summoned a pack of demon wolves there, too!

Wen Xia looked back after reaching higher ground. She was shocked to see several hundred white wolves filling up the central plaza. The higher-ranked Moon-Devouring White Wolves were surrounding the Black-Silver Rock Demon while flanking it from all directions!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan stood amid the pack of wolves on the central plaza, smiling at the Black-Silver Rock Demon.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon was enraged. It thought it was in a one-on-one duel, yet the man had Summoned more than ten trucks full of wolves out of nowhere! Shouldn’t he be more sincere as a human when challenging a demon creature to a duel?

1

“Apas, come out.”

Mo Fan used his Contract Summoning to summon Apas, who had been sleeping in her Contract Space for a long time.

Apas walked out of the lunar-white Summoning Gate. She subconsciously stretched to loosen herself after inhaling the fresh air filled with the smell of mud and rocks after waking up from her deep slumber.

Apas looked like a young teenager, yet her body was more alluring than most women. If it wasn’t for the circumstances they were in, Mo Fan would have seriously pounced on the little snake beauty who was purposely displaying her charm coquettishly in front of him and teach her a lesson!

“PA!” Mo Fan smacked the stretching little snake beauty on her butt. He was quite surprised by the bounce.

“You assh***, I’m going to skin you and use it to make me a pair of boots!” Apas blushed. She had never seen such a perverted master, and why the hell was he using such great force? The right half of her buttock must have reddened!

“Enough playing around, do you see that huge rock monster? I’ll leave it to you. I have something urgent to handle. If you do a nice job, I’ll buy you the goose-feathered down jacket you’ve always wanted!” Mo Fan promised.

“Are you serious?” Apas’ round eyes glittered immediately.

“Mm, if you let me smack you on the left side too…” Mo Fan went on.

“Why don’t you just die, you filth!”

“I’ll be going! Don’t let me down, or you aren’t getting anything,” Mo Fan replied, completely unmoved.

—

Mo Fan left after placing Apas in charge.

He now had eleven Moon-Devouring White Wolves, all at the Commander level. In addition to them, the number of the White-Marked Wolves and Enormous White Wolves had reached two hundred and seventy. If he let them fight on their own, over half of them would die before dawn arrived.

However, with Apas here, she would preserve the numbers of his Summoned Creatures with a master’s touch, allowing him to deal with the last Black-Silver Rock Demon with peace of mind.

Apas was quite bored after staying inside the Contract Space, but she was not allowed to come out while the Magic Sealing Order had been in place. The city was now in chaos after it was overrun by the Rock Monsters, and she had a bunch of wolves under her command now. She could easily slaughter the Rock Monsters to relieve her boredom!

Apas was a natural leader. Her eyes were already emitting the strong brilliance of one of Medusa’s descendants before she glanced at the Black-Silver Rock Demon looming like a mountain before her.

“A creature that absorbs humans to strengthen itself? That means it must have the Soul-Merging Pieces in its body,” Apas mumbled to herself. Two attractive dimples slowly surfaced on her face, “I can’t let that greedy Mo Fan know about them!”

The Black-Silver Rock Demon might be strong, but it could not handle eleven Commander-level Moon-Devouring White Wolves at once. Besides, these Moon-Devouring White Wolves also had an outstanding power from their lineage, the Moon-Gathering Power!

It was similar to the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s lineage of the Flying Creek. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s strength would increase significantly when his surroundings were covered in ice. It would also grant the Flying Creek Snow Wolf access to more Ice Spells and abilities.

The Moon-Devouring White Wolves were the same. The cold moon hanging in the night sky was able to make them stronger.

The stars were dim, but moonlight was shining down upon the city coldly. It had granted the Moon-Devouring White Wolves great strength, especially their Moon-Devouring Claws. Once they accumulated enough moonlight energy, they could even tear through the thick armor of the Black-Silver Rock Demon with a swipe!

The battle was straightforward and simple once they were able to break through the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s defense. The simple-minded Black-Silver Rock Demon was like a juicy meat rock waiting to be slaughtered!

—

Wen Xia and her men were intercepted outside the residential area. They were struggling to get any closer to the Black-Silver Rock Demon.

“How’s the situation?” A dark figure suddenly showed up behind Wen Xia, giving the woman who was fully focused on the situation ahead a huge fright.

“Why…why did you come here?” Wen Xia asked.

“The creature at the central plaza is dead for sure. I’m here to deal with the fourth one. Didn’t I promise you that I’d eliminate them all?” Mo Fan smiled.

“Are those white wolves your Summoned Beasts?” Deputy Lieutenant Hou had to ask.

“Brother Mo Fan, did you move an entire wolf valley here? Why do I feel like your Summoning Tide is comparable to half an army?” Fang Di spoke up.

It was not exaggerating to describe the pack of wolves as being as strong as half an army, since an army did not fully consist of Intermediate Mages. The numbers of Advanced Mages were limited, too. The Commander-level Moon-Devouring White Wolves were already equivalent to a few dozen Advanced Mages, not to mention the White-Marked Wolves in the hundreds!… The Intermediate Mages and the Warrior-level creatures were not equally matched, and it was the same for the Advanced Mages and the Commander-level creatures. Comparing them to the quality of the city’s army, the ratio between them was around one to five!

Almost five Intermediate Mages were needed to fight a Rock Monster, but Mo Fan’s White-Marked Wolves were able to take on the Rock Monsters on their own. Therefore, Mo Fan’s Summoning Tide was indeed just as strong as half an army!

However, everyone knew the Summoning Tide would consume a Mage’s energy rapidly, thus its duration was not too long. The dawn would really arrive if these Summoned Creatures could keep fighting!

“I’m merely doing my best,” Mo Fan replied.

“Brother Mo Fan, I’m very impressed by you,” Deputy Lieutenant Hou admitted, feeling somewhat ashamed. He had even mocked Mo Fan to be just a young kid, yet it turned out that he himself was just an insignificant lackey compared to Mo Fan. He was weaker than the man’s Summoned Creature!

“We’ll talk later; how is everything going? I bet this thing is the trickiest among them, right?” Mo Fan stared at the Black-Silver Rock Demon in the residential area.

The Black-Silver Rock Demon was not particularly huge, but its lustrous black shell was truly indestructible. It was a pity that Mo Fan did not take the skill path of Corrupting Darkness, or his Shadow Magic might have been able to break down the Black-Silver Rock Demon’s defense.

“Can’t you use the same Shadow Magic to kill it?” Wen Xia asked.

Mo Fan shook his head and answered, “It’s going to be difficult. My Dark Material needs some time to penetrate its target, similar to Plant Magic, which requires the Mage to plant the seeds and let them take root before they can spread in an area. My Shadow Magic works the same way. Do you think those creatures will give me the chance to do so, under these circumstances?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There was no better option than fighting the creature head-on. It was not like they had enough time to think of anything else.

They wove through the residential buildings. Mo Fan snuck closer to the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon with his Shadow Element. He was going to probe the creature first.

Cries were rising everywhere. Mo Fan was intercepted by a bunch of Granite Beasts before he had moved five hundred meters closer to the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon.

The Granite Beasts stood in a line, like a wall of stone, not giving Mo Fan any chance to approach their leader.

The truth was that they were having trouble pinpointing Mo Fan’s location precisely with their hearing, but when they simply stood in a line to seal up the area, even Mo Fan did not have a chance to get past them.

“There’s no way through!” Wen Xia said anxiously.

“We have to figure out a way.” Mo Fan did not overthink it. He used Blink right after he came out of the shadow.

Silver rays intertwined before Mo Fan and constructed a dazzling Star Constellation. Mo Fan glanced at the others behind him and said, “What are you waiting for? Get in!”

Wen Xia and her men had not reacted quickly enough. Embarrassed, they quickly stepped into the Star Constellation Mo Fan constructed right before it disappeared.

“Exchanging Heaven and Earth!” Mo Fan yelled casually before executing the jump.

{ TL Note : A reference to a famous ability in one of Jin Yong’s novels.}

The six people vanished into thin air with a flash of silver light. The Granite Beasts initially tried to stop them, but they could not help but scratch their heads when the humans suddenly disappeared. What the heck were those humans doing?

Around a hundred meters away from the Granite Beasts, Mo Fan, Wen Xia, and her men came out of the dimensional space following another silver flash.

“Did…did…did we teleport right into the nest of those Rock Monsters!?” Fang Di cried out in a panic.

The Granite Beasts were not just an immobile wall. Even if they managed to teleport past them, they still had to fight the creatures eventually. However, they were no longer able to retreat with the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon in front and the Granite Beasts behind them. Their ride was going straight to the gates of hell, it was a magical Hearse!

“Are we going to make it out alive?” Deputy Lieutenant Hou blurted out in a trembling voice.

“Didn’t you already make up your mind to cut off your means of retreat in the first place?” Mo Fan asked when he saw their reaction, raising his brows.

“Isn’t it normal for people to act tough once in a while? How are we going to fight them if we are completely surrounded?”

“Yeah, no one could possibly fight with their full strength when being surrounded by demon creatures!”

“It’s fine, just focus on those behind us. I’ll take care of the creature in front. If you are struggling, he will lend you all a hand,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan cast his Dimensional Summoning and Summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to his side.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s role among the wolves had been replaced by Queen Apas. Therefore, he had kept the simple-minded creature with him to handle some manual labor instead.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled scornfully, declaring battle against the creatures without even looking at his surroundings. The cry was a declaration of ownership over the territory of demon creatures, thus the Flying Creek Snow Wolf enjoyed howling for no reason other than to tell others that this land belonged to him!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was merely trying to display his imposing bearing and warn the weak creatures nearby to back away.

However, the violent Granite Beasts all roared back at the same time, even before the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was done.

The deafening roars immediately overwhelmed the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s howl. HIs howl was supposed to have a long note at the end, yet it somehow turned into a soft bark in the end. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had no choice but to swallow his own voice.

“Why do I feel like you always embarrass me? Why did you even howl without looking at the situation first?” Mo Fan swore, rolling his eyes in disgust.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not dare howl anymore. It would only provoke the creatures even further!

“Who among you is an Ice Mage?” Mo Fan asked.

“My tertiary Element is Ice!” Wen Xia piped up.

“Has it reached the Super Level?” Mo Fan said.

“Not yet, but I have a Soul-grade Seed for it,” Wen Xia replied.

Mo Fan nodded. He smacked the Flying Creek Snow Wolf on the head and said, “Did you hear that? Stick with her, or else those Rock Monsters are going to mess you up!”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf nodded. He felt more confident having an Ice Mage around. The stronger the Ice Element, the more his strength would increase. He might be able to take on these Granite Beasts if his strength of a Commander-level creature in the Advancing Period rose higher!

—

Mo Fan approached the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon after leaving the Granite Beasts in the hands of Wen Xia and the others.

Mo Fan used one of his strongest Lightning Spells, even though he was only probing the creature. A Dark Sky Lightning Claw appeared above the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon out of nowhere and tore at it, leaving a lot of sparkles behind.

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon didn’t bother to move. It was examining the tiny human before it.

The Sky Lightning Claw had left only a tiny scratch on its gleaming black-silver armor. It was as insignificant as the scratch left by someone’s nail on a tree.

“Damn it, the Lightning Element is really useless against them!” Mo Fan exclaimed in annoyance.

His Lightning Element was very ineffective against these stinking rock-hard creatures. The outstanding penetration power of the Lightning Element did not have any effect on the Earth Element. Therefore, even Mo Fan’s enhanced Lightning Element was useless against the creature!

“The paralyzing effect and the spreading effect aren’t working either… Do I really have to use fire?” Mo Fan mumbled helplessly.

The Fire Element was not particularly effective against the creature, either. It seemed like the Shadow Element was his only chance!

“I’ll keep it busy and slowly spread the Fiendish Night in the surroundings. Let’s hope this huge rock is just as dumb as its brothers,” Mo Fan murmured.

The spreading of the Dark Material was going to take some time. The longer it took for him to spread the Dark Material, the stronger the attack was going to be, especially if the Dark Material could take root and spread inside the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon’s body!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon suddenly stomped the ground. An orange-yellow wave surged rapidly across the ground, like a strong wall of wind!

The buildings in its way were crushed into pieces. If anyone had been looking down from above, they would have noticed a new ring with a diameter of over seven hundred meters in the residential area of densely packed houses. There was nothing but dust and sand left inside the ring!

Mo Fan was puzzled as he stared at the cloud of dust along the edge of the ring.

What was the creature thinking? Did it just stomp the ground for no reason? He was clearly out of the range of the attack, and even if he was in range, he could easily dodge the spreading ring of the stomp.

Mo Fan soon realized where the problem was. “Damn it, it drove the Dark Material away!”

Just a moment ago, Mo Fan’s Dark Material had spread across the residential area. He would have been able to establish the Swamp of Darkness once the Dark Material grew a little bit more. He would then have been able to use the Nyx Regime to suppress the creature’s Earth Magic. To his surprise, the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon was so alert that it had completely driven Mo Fan’s Fiendish Night away after all the efforts he had put in!

“This is getting a little tricky!” Mo Fan was getting a headache now.

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon walked toward Mo Fan. Its glowing red eyes were staring down at Mo Fan, as if it was expressing its disdain for Mo Fan’s petty tricks.

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon slowly lifted its hands above its head. As its body shuddered, the dust that had yet to settle down started gathering toward its hands rapidly, like a huge number of insects returning to their nest.

The dust particles formed a long handle in the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon’s hands. The creature grabbed onto the handle tightly, as a polished battle axe appeared on the other end of the handle.

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon lifted the axe. It felt like the huge axe was going to slice the city in half under the cold brilliance of the moon. The Battlemages and the Mages of the Magic Association were stunned by the sight!

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon was obviously not targeting the Battlemages or the Brown Rock Mages. An annoying pest was standing right in front of it. It would get rid of him before deciding on its next move!

The creature’s strength was absolutely shocking. It swung the axe with immeasurable power. The force poured down like a tsunami from the sky together with the axe.

Mo Fan tried to dodge it, but had no clue where to go. This was different from being suppressed mentally, making him feel like he was being attacked from all directions. His mind had simply gone blank under the enormous pressure that had exceeded his threshold. He felt like there was nothing he could do, apart from standing there to receive it!

The swing was utterly shocking. Mo Fan was already prepared for it, yet the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon was a lot stronger than he thought. It was a true Ruler-level creature!

The axe landed on the ground like a godly weapon. The whole city could only withstand a few hits like that, at most. The enormous axe had sliced the residential area in the same area as Mo Fan in half, forming an astoundingly deep ravine.

The ravine kept expanding, extending from the residential area to the business district. The skyscrapers there began to fall in succession. The terrifying ravine almost devoured everything on the surface in its path. Even the stars in the sky had to clear a path for the ferocious slash!

Mo Fan had nowhere to escape to, caught by the formidable force of the axe. The defensive equipment he activated had all dissipated after the strike.

The axe might be swung in a straight line, but its force had further split into thousands of ferocious gusts of wind. Mo Fan used everything he had to barely dodge the slash itself, but the winds were free to attack him. His clothes were shredded and his skin was torn, with shallow and deep cuts all over his body. His bones were now exposed from some of the deep cuts, his blood pouring out endlessly from the rest of the cuts.

The attack did not knock Mo Fan too far away, but he was covered in blood before he fell to the ground. He caught a glimpse of the spectacular ravine left by the axe out of the corner of his eye. It was similar to the ravine outside the city, but this one had happened right in the city’s center!

Mo Fan slammed onto the ground. His eyes widened as he sensed the burning pain all over his body.

This creature was absolutely terrifying!

Unlike the Black-Silver Rock Demon, the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon did not evolve from a Mud Morphing Monster. It had been a Ruler-level creature all along. It was the real commander of the Rock Monsters!

It was intelligent, and possessed a terrifying strength unmatched among the Black-Silver Rock Demons. Mo Fan slightly regretted his decision to engage the creature so recklessly.

It was too difficult to take on a Ruler-level creature without Zhao Manyan’s outstanding defense. No matter how well-prepared he was, he still ended up in his current circumstances against the absolute strength of a Ruler-level creature.

He had only managed to defeat a Ruler-level in the past by working with the others. Mo Fan was mainly in charge attacking since his destructive spells were capable of hurting a Ruler-level creature. Meanwhile, Zhao Manyan would handle the defense, as he had no problem defending against the strongest attacks of a Ruler-level creature if he had fully set up his defenses. The others would focus on suppressing the Ruler-level creature, preventing it from using any destructive moves…

In addition to all that, the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon was very cunning. It made itself look exactly the same as the other Black-Silver Rock Demons, so when it suddenly revealed its terrifying strength it took Mo Fan and the others by surprise when it felt threatened.

“That son of a b**ch…”

Mo Fan slowly crawled his way out of the gouge in the earth. He opened his Space Pocket and gulped down the whole sack of sacred Potions Xinxia had given him. He did not care if the Potions were used to stop bleeding, for rejuvenation, rapid healing, or slow recovery. He simply tossed them all into his mouth. He only remembered everything in the sack was edible.

In the past, Mo Fan’s injuries would heal at a rate visible to the eye after drinking such Potions. Their effects were only slightly weaker than the spells of a Healer. However, he was up against a Ruler-level creature now. Such spells were usually enhanced with extra Elemental damage that was incurable with normal methods. Only a professional Healer was capable of truly healing these wounds.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Luckily, the axe didn’t hit me right in the face. Otherwise, the injuries alone would’ve tortured me to death even if I managed to survive them!” Mo Fan muttered in relief.

The Potions were healing him slowly, but the burning pain was getting worse. Mo Fan was already feeling light-headed from excessive loss of blood. It was going to affect his concentration.

Mo Fan used the Fleeing Shadow to escape to a safe distance. The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon seemed to know where Mo Fan was. It calmly looked in his direction, but did not chase after him.

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon was obviously after the Barrier Core. If Mo Fan kept running away with the Shadow Element and Space Element, it would only be wasting his time. Now that it had inflicted serious injuries on him, it no longer had to worry about him.

“Mo Fan… are you alright!?” Wen Xia asked when she found Mo Fan covered in wounds.

“Still alive. It seems your intention to build a city here has provoked that king of the mountain. You will need at least three times the size of the army here to defend the city,” Mo Fan replied, panting heavily.

Mo Fan had been to the west. He knew the efforts that Li Man’s sister, the stubborn general, had put in to build a safe city. Even though this city was a fortress with a certain level of defense and its own troop, the demon creatures in the mountains were obviously not going to stand still and watch this fortress being upgraded into an Elemental Capital with such a powerful Barrier.

The demon creatures had obviously planned this invasion. It was impossible to defend the city without seven to eight Super Mages and over five thousand elite soldiers.

“We would like to have triple the number of troops too, but…” Wen Xia could not help but grimace when she heard Mo Fan’s words.

They had already allocated as many men they could. Every fortress along the coastline was short on men, and the headquarters cities desperately needed patrols, since battles were taking place everywhere. They could only assign so many men to defend the city. They knew how dangerous the situation was going to be when the Barrier Core was being established, yet they had no choice but to take a huge leap of faith…

“Don’t cry, I’m not dead yet,” Mo Fan blurted out when he saw Wen Xia tearing up with a wronged and discontented face.

“I’m not crying because of you. I was just thinking how useless I am when I think how the city is going to be overrun by the monsters, and the higher-ups will have to send more backup to rescue us!” Wen Xia said.

“…there’s always a chance to lose a fight. If we win every battle, we would have conquered the world by now. Why would we be striving to survive in a little crack between the kingdoms of demon creatures? This loss is just one of many. Don’t let it bother you too much,” Mo Fan said.

“I would rather die than lose the battle!” Wen Xia shouted.

“Hey, don’t be so hot-tempered!” Mo Fan was surprised. He quickly said, “Look at you, you are still so young, a pretty lady with huge… there are a lot of wonderful things about life you haven’t enjoyed yet. Why must you be so stubborn and sacrifice yourself for a difficult battle? As long as the green mountains remain, we won’t have to worry about not having woods to burn. Besides, you are responsible for the trauma you caused to my groin, too. You can’t just go and sacrifice yourself!”

Wen Xia was amused by Mo Fan’s silly talk, even though she was not in a good mood. Why did the man still have the mood to utter such nonsense when he was covered in injuries?

“You shouldn’t be in a rush to get yourself killed. Let me see if I can convince someone to help us. We might have a chance if she’s willing to lend a hand.” Mo Fan let out a sigh. He knew Wen Xia was going to defend the city with her life by the look in her eyes. The only way he could think of to defeat the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon was to ask the little thicc beauty… uh, little Apas to help them.

Mo Fan was not feeling too confident either, knowing how superior the snake beauty felt. She only ended up with Mo Fan because she had fallen into a cunning trap. She was still patiently waiting for her chance to get her revenge.

——

Wen Xia followed Mo Fan’s instructions and went to the central plaza to look for a pretty girl. She did find a girl by the fountain wearing a short tee.

The T-shirt was too short, revealing her slim and pale waist, complementing her low-cut jeans. Wen Xia was dazzled by her curves.

The area around the fountain was in a mess. The remains of a Black-Silver Rock Demon were scattered across the ground nearby, together with a few hundred Mages covered in ash cocoons. The young woman did not bother checking on them. She had casually placed her shoes aside and was soaking her legs in the cool water while humming a happy tune.

The young woman had an otherworldly presence, like the daughter of a deity out of a painting. It did not even feel like she was in the middle of a battlefield covered in debris.

—

Wen Xia brought Apas to Mo Fan’s side. She immediately put on a concerned look when she saw Mo Fan covered in blood and wounds. She said softly, “Big brother, how did you get so badly wounded? Are you alright? You’re not going to die, aren’t you?”

“We are bound by the Contract, and you’re telling me you had no idea I was injured? You’re such a hypocrite. Were you only willing to show up after that thing chopped me in half?” Mo Fan snarled.

“I wasn’t aware at all. I was taking care of the ugly creature like you told me to. I’ve taken good care of your wolves, too. What else do you want from me?” Apas immediately put on a wronged expression.

Wen Xia might actually have believed that if she had not seen the young woman casually taking a foot bath at the fountain in a battlezone.

“Enough with your acting, I can’t stand it anymore. Go take care of that Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon, and I’ll buy you as many kilos of crayfish as you want,” Mo Fan said.

“First of all, I’m not a three-year-old! You can’t use a few kilos of crayfish to trick me into doing something so dangerous. Second, I can’t do anything about that thing. Do you really think of me as such a crappy Contracted Beast? I will definitely do my best if I have the ability to lift the burden from your shoulder, but there are things I can’t do no matter how hard I try. If you think I’m useless, feel free to terminate the contract with me peacefully,” Apas rebutted.

Mo Fan’s head hurt after hearing Apas’ argument.

Apas’ true strength was comparable to the Queen of the Netherworld, who was one of the Eight Undead Rulers under the King of Undead’s command, a battle machine among the Ruler-level creatures. It could not be easier for Apas to take out the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon. The only time Mo Fan would believe Apas’ words was when the sun was rising in all four directions at the same time!

The contract did limit Apas’ strength when Mo Fan was still in the Advanced Level, but he had already reached the Super Level. It might still limit Apas’ strength a little, since she was a true Medusa with a pure lineage.

But still, to think that a powerful and noble Medusa was unable to take care of a stinky rock monster?

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS

XephiZ XephiZ

“You will!”

“I won’t!”

“You can!”

“I can’t!”

“Your mother!”

Yep, I can see how it’s going…

COMMENT 1 comment

VOTE 3 left

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m just speaking the truth! My strongest power is Petrify, but look at that thing! It’s already a rock, how am I going to turn it into a rock again? My Psychic Magic is useless against elemental spirits too!” Apas explained helplessly. She knew Mo Fan did not believe her at all.

The two reasons Apas gave were not completely unreasonable. Even if Mo Fan used the Contract to force her to fight when she was unwilling to do so, she would only do so half-heartedly. Not only would it fail to make any difference, it might damage the Contract, too!

Apas might even be hoping Mo Fan would use the Contract to force her to obey his words. It would damage the Contract, which meant her soul would not suffer serious injury even if she forcibly broke the Contract in the future.

“Mo Fan, my master can’t hold on for any longer,” Wen Xia reminded Mo Fan urgently.

“Give me some time,” Mo Fan scratched his head. How could he possibly fail to let the little demon follow his instructions? It seemed like he had been too kind to her in the past, and she now lacked some manners. “Let’s not waste our time here. Say, how can I convince you to lend us a hand?”

“Terminate the Contract!” Apas answered instantly.

“Wen Xia, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. Let’s hope we’ll meet again. I’m going to say the same thing again, as long as the mountains are still around…” Mo Fan let out a sigh.

“It’s fine, you’ve already done a lot for us.” Wen Xia did not force it either. Even though she had no clue how powerful the young woman was, the city could only accept its fate since Mo Fan had failed to convince her to help.

Wen Xia did not stay around any longer. The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon had already left for the clock tower. Her master Xie Qinghua was guarding the clock tower, and was obviously struggling to fend off the fierce tide of demon creatures.

Apas saw Wen Xia leaving in disappointment before glancing at Mo Fan, who was now lying on the ground and resting. She twisted her lips and said, “Where is your sense of justice? Isn’t it worth it to trade the Contract for an Elemental Capital?”

“Didn’t you say you had no idea how to deal with the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon too?” Mo Fan asked in return.

Apas snarled, “I might not be able to deal with it myself, but I do have a plan!”

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked.

“The city is the least of my concerns. I won’t feel sad even if it’s destroyed!” Apas replied.

“Well, since there’s nothing we can do, we should leave this place first.” Mo Fan rose to his feet. He found that he was still trembling.

He had indeed done his best. He was suffering from serious injuries. If he was hit by the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon again, he was going to die for sure. Even if he wanted to risk his life, Apas would surely be against the idea. If her master died, her soul would be severely damaged, no different from dying herself.

Therefore, Apas was in a difficult spot. She wanted Mo Fan to suffer serious injuries, since it served him right for treating her like a slave, yet she did not want him to die!

“Aren’t you going to negotiate with me a little more, or observe the situation a little longer?” Apas began to panic when she saw Mo Fan was serious about leaving.

“There’s nothing to see here,” Mo Fan signaled Apas to lend him a hand.

“Oh.” Apas automatically helped Mo Fan to stand up properly.

At that instant, Mo Fan quickly reached his hand toward Apas.

Apas cried out in shock. She thought Mo Fan was going to harass her again, but instead noticed Mo Fan was holding a glowing brown object when she glared at him.

“You!” Apas pointed at Mo Fan angrily, her finger twitching.

“In our country, parents will keep their children’s red packets. I’m going to take these crystals you have collected. I bet I can sell them for a very high price if the noble successor of the Medusa is treating them so preciously,” Mo Fan squinted and placed the pieces of crystals into his Space Pocket.

“Ahhh, you assh***, I’m going to poison you to death!” Apas pounced forward and bit Mo Fan on the arm.

Mo Fan was not bothered at all, as if he was being bitten by a puppy.

“Speaking of which, what exactly are those things? You were asking my wolves to collect them. Do they have anything to do with the Mud Morphing Monsters’ ability to evolve so quickly after absorbing Mages?” Mo Fan asked Apas idly, while she was still hanging onto his arm.

Apas seriously had an urge to bite Mo Fan’s arm off, yet the Contract was already giving her a warning. She had no choice but to swallow her grudge.

Her eyes began to emit a golden, icy light. It was part of Apas’ nature as a Medusa… however, her snake’s eyes soon disappeared, since her power was completely useless against this man!

Apas seriously regretted things now. Why did she have to hang around Mo Fan in the first place? He might be an interesting man, but he was more poisonous than the Medusae!

“Give them back!” Apas demanded after she finally collected her thoughts.

“You were being naughty in the first place. I’m taking them as a punishment,” Mo Fan replied casually.

“They are very important to me!” Apas stated.

“Great! Go take care of that Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon, and I’ll consider giving them back,” Mo Fan said.

Apas almost broke her teeth from biting down too hard. She had finally gained the upper hand for once! Mo Fan had no way of forcing her to fight on his behalf, yet she was caught with her tail between her legs so soon!

“I told you I can’t do it. You can use the Contract to check if I’m lying,” Apas declared.

“You can control its lackeys,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s difficult to control Elemental Spirits!” Apas refuted.

“I don’t believe you don’t have other tricks up in your sleeves,” Mo Fan sniffed.

“I can’t use them yet, unless your Cultivation improves further. You’re only at the early stage of the Super Level. You’re weaker than an infant among the Ruler-level creatures. The Contract is still restricting my power. What do you want me to do?” Apas harrumphed coldly.

“You said you had a plan,” Mo Fan reminded her.

“I did!” Apas was extremely unwilling to admit it, yet she still spoke up when she recalled the crystals Mo Fan had taken away, “The elemental creatures have souls too, especially those at the higher levels. My Psychic Magic isn’t necessarily ineffective against them, but I need a medium for my Psychic Magic to reach its magic crystal…”

“How are you going to do that?” Mo Fan inquired lightly.

“It’s very simple. These creatures will absorb every strong Mage they come upon. We just need it to absorb the medium!” Apas said.

“I see. That’s great, you should let it absorb you now. Once you go inside its body, you’ll be able to use the Psychic Magic on it,” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Apas looked at Mo Fan coldly, like she was looking at a retard.

“I can’t let it absorb me. The energy in my body is too overwhelming. Once it absorbs me, it will turn into a terrifying monster that could easily raze half a province to the ground. Besides, I would only be half-conscious if I was stuck in its mud, so I might not be able to use my magic freely,” Apas snarled, shutting down that thought.

“What should we do, then? What you said is good for nothing!” Mo Fan humphed.

Apas kept staring at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was confused, but suddenly realized something after a while. He pointed at himself with wide eyes, “Are you asking me to be the bait?”

“You’re not baiting it, you will actually let it absorb you! Our minds are connected, so once you are absorbed, I’ll be inserted into the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon’s body like a computer chip, too! It’s fine if you fall unconscious, I’ll take control and crush its mind!” Apas promised.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Battlemages in their brown and blue outfits were gradually retreating towards the clock tower, while the Rock Monsters, Rock Generals, and Granite Beasts pushed ahead.

It turned out that Xie Qinghua’s Gravitational Ring had lost its effect. An overwhelming number of Rock Monsters were going after the Barrier Core now, creating a devastating scene when looking down from a certain height. It felt like the number of the rock creatures had not gone down at all, despite the prolonged battle.

The Rock Monsters had the ability to absorb the Mages they captured, meaning that those who made a mistake or were injured would eventually be captured by the Rock Monsters and strengthen them. Therefore, it was difficult to tell if their determination had helped to thin out the enemy’s numbers, or give the enemy a pat on the back!

“It seems like there’s no hope left,” Xie Qinghua sighed.

“That Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon is just too strong. None of us can stop it,” her advisor agreed.

“I initially thought…” Deputy Lieutenant Hou wanted to say something, but also ended up letting out a sigh. He glanced at the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon and suddenly saw a figure approaching it rapidly.

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon was currently standing in front of the clock tower. The Granite Beasts that were previously escorting it were launching a full assault on their defense. They were obviously trying to break through the defense together. The illusionary dark figure managed to sneak up to the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon without alerting them.

“Is that…Mo Fan?” Wen Xia exclaimed when she looked down from the tower.

“What is he doing? He’s in such a bad shape!” Fang Di said.

“The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon noticed him!”

—

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon turned around. Its eyes emitted an evil glow, looking down at Mo Fan in an aloof manner.

This human seriously did not know his place!

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon’s senses were insanely good. It could easily detect the presence of Shadow Mages, so Mo Fan’s attempt to sneak up on it was meaningless!

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon’s gaze sharpened. It immediately locked onto the actual spot where Mo Fan was standing at. It swung its hand at it like it was smashing a little cockroach.

Over a hundred meters of the ground cracked apart. Mo Fan could feel his head spinning when the hand loomed over him.

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon did not smash Mo Fan into pieces. It grabbed Mo Fan after knocking him unconscious and lifted him into the sky.

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon was well aware of Mo Fan’s strength. The man was able to kill three of its powerful subordinates in a short period of time. If it absorbed the man’s energy, it would be able to push through the defense easily!

“Crap, Mo Fan is caught!” Wen Xia yelled with a pale face.

“Shit, we are done for!” Fang Di screamed.

“Why are you two panicking for!?” the chief of the Brown Rock Mages, Lu Bin, demanded impatiently.

“Lu Bin, you have no idea of Mo Fan’s strength. If he wasn’t injured because of underestimating the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon, I believe he would be able to take on the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon. However, the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon has now caught Mo Fan. Once it absorbs Mo Fan’s energy, who knows how strong the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon is going to be!” Deputy Lieutenant Hou said.

“Humph, he seriously knows how to add to the trouble, but there’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s not like the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon can flip the sky upside down after absorbing him. We just need to stand our ground. Even if we can’t defeat those Rock Monsters, there’s no way they can break through the castle’s defense!” Lu Bin stated arrogantly.

A deafening roar came from below the tower while Lu Bin was talking. The terrifying noise knocked a bunch of Battlemages to the ground, especially those in the Basic and Intermediate Levels!

“It’s evolving!” Xie Qinghua could no longer stay calm.

So many Basic and Intermediate Mages had lost their ability to fight because of the roar. How were they supposed to defend the castle?

They initially thought the young man was a helper from Heaven, yet he had now become a part of the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon in the blink of an eye, and made that creature even stronger. It was better if he had not intervened in the first place!

“Look at what he has done!” Lu Bin gulped anxiously.

—

On the fifth defensive platform of the castle, Tao Jing, Zhou Donghao, Lin Qihui, and the rest of their group were staring at the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon too. They were able to see the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon’s head, and happened to witness it swallow Mo Fan.

“Isn’t that guy… Fan Mo?” Tao Jing said uncertainly.

“It’s him,” Lin Qihui sounded quite confident.

“That idiot, I told him to be careful, he’s so unreliable… Strange, why is that creature evolving? Can it still evolve after absorbing such a weak Mage, who only has impressive looks, but is actually useless?” Zhou Donghao wondered.

Tao Jing and Lin Qihui did not speak. They had noticed a golden light start to form on the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon’s armor!

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon roared into the sky. Its cries echoed continuously in the night sky. Everyone within dozens of kilometers was able to hear it clearly.

Its armor and body were transforming. The armor covering its shoulders, chest, legs, and arms had turned golden. Even though its height and size did not change by much, its imposing aura was strong enough to overwhelm the minds of Advanced Mages!

“How…how is this possible!?” Lu Bin flew into the sky. He was intending to fend off the creature with his Super Spell, but he was now struggling to breathe under the enormous pressure from the Ruler-level creature as he drew closer to it. He even failed to channel his spells properly!

A huge hand swung at Lu Bin as soon as he moved a little closer.

The hand enlarged significantly while it was swinging through the air. Lu Bin quickly Summoned a Rock Barrier to defend himself.

Lu Bin wrapped himself up like a ball of rocks, but completely failed to resist the force of the attack. The ball of rocks went through the side of the mountain nearby and slammed into a residential area several kilometers away!

The people froze when they saw Lu Bin being knocked flying. If a Super Mage was already so weak against it, what was the point of them staying to defend the place?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon was already unstoppable, but Mo Fan had basically added oil to the fire. It felt like the whole city was going to collapse under the enormous pressure from the massive creature now clad in dazzling gold. Its overwhelming Ruler-level presence surged like a wild storm, turning the clock tower into a stranded island that might be devoured by fierce waves at any second. The people defending it no longer had a say in their lives.

“Let’s take the Barrier Core and run away!” Xie Qinghua ordered with a pale face.

It was all meaningless. The little spark had set the whole valley on fire. There was now no chance of putting it out. Xie Qinghua no longer had any hope of defending the Elemental Capital. She only hoped the Barrier Core did not fall into the terrifying creature’s hands. If the creature absorbed the Barrier Core, they would have basically created a terrifying rock demon that would bring even greater calamities to the country!

“Master…” Wen Xia was dismayed.

“Wen Xia, deactivate the barrier. You must bring the Barrier Core to safety, do you understand!?” Xie Qinghua said sternly.

“Master, Wen Xia isn’t afraid of dying,” Wen Xia said.

“It has nothing to do with your resolve. Do you really want to see a terrifying rock demon be born? We have already lost the fight. Are you going to let the monster absorb the Barrier Core and flatten our province? We will never forgive ourselves if we let that happen!” Xie Qinghua said.

Wen Xia bit her lips so hard that they almost bled. She did not expect it to come down to this.

Perhaps if they chose to give up on establishing the barrier and focused on fending off the demon creatures, the city and their men might still be standing now, even if they had failed to set up the elemental capital. But now, those Mages had all become part of the Rock Monsters. Their city was destroyed, and they were still struggling to figure out a way to save the Mages trapped inside the bodies of the Rock Monsters.

The unstoppable fire had spread across the valley… the city was about to become history.

—

Apas, wearing a short T-shirt with her midriff bared, stood on top of a building that was relatively intact. The cold moon was right above her, its icy brilliance setting off her noble, alluring figure. Her golden dust eyes made her look even more mysterious!

“These monsters don’t have a fixed leader. Even if I force that thing to detonate itself, the Rock Monsters will still attack the clock tower,” Apas said, as if she was mumbling to herself.

“You can’t let it detonate itself, Apas!” Mo Fan’s voice came out of the Contract.

“What are you doing?” Apas said.

“Cut the crap, use everything you have to help me. Otherwise, you’re screwed if I die.”

“You lunatic!” Apas snapped.

Apas gathered her focus. Her golden-dust eyes reflected the cold brilliance of the moon, like it was the only source of light in a city devoured by darkness, looming over the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon!

The Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon grabbed its head and let out a painful screech, as if its soul had just received a serious blow.

Its bloodshot eyes suddenly shifted. As Apas’ stare gradually became more menacing, the Ruler-level creature’s ferocious aura dissipated suddenly.

Its body turned cold and lifeless. It suddenly stiffened as its arms fell to the side.

The people on the clock tower were confused when they saw the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon suddenly fall still, like a soulless creature.

What had just happened?

Why did the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon, whose aura alone was enough to destroy the city, fall dead all of a sudden?

The Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon’s eyes suddenly sprang open. A terrifying dark red light burst out of them.

Its eyes did not have the same savage look as before. They surprisingly displayed some kind of emotion, like the pride and ruthlessness of a powerful human.

It slowly raised its hand. As someone with the power of the Demon Element, Mo Fan was familiar with the feeling of being imbued with overwhelming strength, but it was his first time taking control of a hundred-meters tall body. His eyes were on the same level as the top of the skyscrapers. The buildings and streets were like toys to him. The humans were as tiny as ants!

“What exactly is this evil power in your blood and your soul!?” Apas’ voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts. She sounded a little uneasy.

Apas was shivering in fear on top of the building she was standing on. She had encountered something inside Mo Fan’s body that sent chills down her spine, as if she had accidentally entered an underworld where a demon was about to break free of its chains!

Mo Fan knew what Apas was referring to. However, if he knew the demon in his body would not have allowed anyone to take over his body in the first place, he would not have had to inject himself into the creature’s body like a microchip!

The Demon Element!

Mo Fan initially thought Apas was going to take over his consciousness, or the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon would absorb him, but when he went into the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon’s body, not only did he retain his consciousness, but the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon’s attempt to absorb him backfired too!

Apas’ Medusa’s Gaze and the wrath of the Demon Element simply tore the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon’s soul into pieces, leaving behind only an unusually strong body that was now under Mo Fan’s control!

Mo Fan felt like he had just entered a huge mecha warrior. The Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon was him, and he was the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon!

Mo Fan grinned. The stiff face of the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon grinned too. The people on the clock tower were bewildered. They wondered if they were imagining things.

The rock demon turned around and faced the huge army of Rock Monsters. Its gaze greedily scanned the Rock Monsters.

The Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon wrapped one hand over the other fist and cracked its knuckles.

It extended its neck to the sides and rotated it in a circle, producing huge cracking sounds too. Its body parts felt a little stiff still after the recent evolution.

The soldiers and Mages on the clock tower were absolutely dumbfounded when they saw the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon’s hijinks.

Was the terrifying Ruler-level creature seriously warming up with its back to them before it started to destroy the city?

The Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon let out a deafening roar. It took a step forward and extended its arms before swinging its huge fist at the Rock Generals.

A huge gust of wind swept forward with the blow!

Everything in front of the fist was smashed into pieces, leaving a ravine over half the city’s length along the trail. Countless Rock Generals were killed and turned into dust instantly!

Chapter 1792: The Trampling by the Ruler-level Rock Creature

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The wind began to blow on the mountain, sweeping the dust from the ravine into the air. Cocoons of ash were scattered on both sides of the ravine. The onlookers had yet to recover from the astonishment of witnessing the destructive punch, just like the Rock Monsters.

“This…this…” Zhou Donghao almost dropped his jaw on the ground. He finally blurted out after some time, “Is that thing retarded? It was punching the wrong way!”

The defenders of the clock tower were dumbfounded too, not just because they had witnessed the power which the punch possessed, but the target it was after.

“Is it messing with us?” Wen Xia blurted out, staring at the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon.

The Brown Rock Mages were arranged in lines, their bodies encapsulated in brown light. However, the barrier they set up stood alone in front of the tower. The defensive spell was meant to defend them from the enemy’s attack, and they had braced themselves for the attack in advance to stop the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon’s push with everything they had. They were even prepared to be injured from the impact, but the outcome was completely outside their expectations!

The attack never came… the defensive spell was basically a waste!

In terms of shock, the Rock Monsters and the Granite Beasts were definitely more dumbfounded than the humans.

The Granite Beasts were standing on both sides of the ravine. They were raising their arms like apes and cheering for their king while it was about to destroy the tiny but tenacious humans. However, they froze like statues and even forgot to put their arms down. They were staring at the end of the ravine in disbelief. Words could not even describe how traumatized they were!

Even the Servant-class creatures would not make such a stupid mistake. How could their Ruler-level leader possibly do such!?

The Mages defending the clock tower were dazed with disbelief, while the Rock Monsters were terrified!

The Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon took a few steps forward. It lifted its leg and kicked forward.

The Rock Monsters began to wonder if they were dreaming after seeing their leader’s strange behavior. The kick sent a fierce wave of sand across the ground. The Rock Generals and Granite Beasts planning to attack the clock tower immediately fled for their lives.

The wave of sand was not insanely fast, since it was covered an area over a kilometer wide. Even the clock tower was not a kilometer across. The Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon was obviously not giving the Rock Monsters any chance to survive!

The wave of sand was traveling slowly, but it was only slow relative to the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon’s size. It was similar to a huge storm. One might see it appearing in the distance and slowly head toward their city, but regardless of where they went, the storm would still be looming over their head and their surroundings.

The wave of sand was the same. It was huge but slow, and it was not only devouring a single building or a street, but an entire city and mountain!

Rocks of various sizes were bouncing around wildly. The Rock Monsters were not only in the middle of raining bullets, but deadly blasts, too. The Rock Monsters with weaker defenses did not stand a chance at all. Meanwhile, the higher-level Rock Generals were only able to survive with pure luck, since even the Granite Beasts would be left with holes if they were not making the right moves…

The wave of sand swept forward like a terrifying storm. The lives of the Rock Monsters were solely dependent on their luck. The noisy battlefield soon fell quiet, leaving only the scattered remains of the Rock Monsters behind!

“I kept praying to Heavens to bring us a miracle, but a miracle like this…” commander-in-chief Xie Qinghua admitted after a long silence.

The miracle she imagined was a glimpse of light in a hopeless situation, but she had received three scorching suns in return, instead!

Did the Creator happen to be passing by the city, and casually modify the logic of the world, turning the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon against its people after seeing how pitiful the humans in the city were?

—

The wisest of the Granite Beasts finally realized what was going on after their army suffered heavy losses twice.

They began crying to alert the Rock Monsters that the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon was no longer their leader. The human it had absorbed had taken over its body. It was now their enemy!

The trembling Rock Monsters finally understood. They were not a sheet of loose sand after all. They started to regroup and form a strong resistance army under the leadership of the Granite Beasts to take on the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon.

“They are finally showing their temper now? It’s time for me to teach them how to behave themselves!”

Mo Fan was amused when he saw the Granite Beasts revolting against him.

The Granite Beasts and a huge number of Rock Generals were standing a kilometer away from Mo Fan. They were undisciplined and disordered a moment ago, but they had no choice but to come together against a greater foe.

The Granite Beasts used their Earth Magic, Summoning huge boulders out of nowhere and tossing them at Mo Fan. Countless rocks began to pour down at Mo Fan’s location. Some were the size of small hills, others merely the size of small cars!

“It’s just a drizzle!”

Mo Fan took a huge step forward. How could his shiny armor be afraid of these little bricks? He might have had to run away with his tail between his legs from the rain of rocks before, or rely on Zhao Manyan’s defense, but he could not feel any better when he was now able to ignore the attacks and charge forward recklessly!

Mo Fan was only five hundred meters away from the Granite Beasts after taking a single step.

They were just a bunch of Granite Beasts, after all. Their strength was nowhere close to the Black-Silver Rock Demons, yet Mo Fan had already taken out three of the Black-Silver Rock Demons, and taken over the last and strongest one!

“You finally realize you should be running? Weren’t you having fun tossing the boulders at me? Try running away from this… Rising Ground Cage!”

Mo Fan stomped the ground heavily with his right foot.

A surge of energy swept forward rapidly and reached the spot where the Granite Beasts had gathered.

The ground suddenly rose fifty meters. The walls were forming a huge circle, corralling the rebelling Granite Beasts in the middle like a huge pen!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Even though many Commander-level creatures could easily jump to a height of over fifty meters, meaning that a wall of fifty meters was nowhere near high enough to trap the Commander-level rock demons inside, the spell obviously had other suppressive effects. Within the Rising Ground Cage tiny motes of dust, like some sticky sand particles, were present. When the creatures trapped inside the cage tried to jump out, the sand swiftly clung to the creatures like gum.

The Granite Beasts were able to use Earth Magic too, so they could also set up a similar cage, but their cages did not have the sticky sand. They had no chance of leaving the pen without getting rid of the sand!

“Didn’t you like throwing rocks around? I’ll give you a big one!”

Mo Fan bent forward and stuck his hands into the ground. The surface was made up of sand, dirt, and tiny stones. It did not have a huge boulder that Mo Fan was looking for, but it did not bother him. The Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon could easily harden the rock with its Earth Magic!

When Mo Fan straightened back up, he had lifted a huge boulder from the ground!

The Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon lifted the boulder over its head. The Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon was already enormous, but the boulder was several times bigger than the creature. It was literally carrying a small mountain!

Mo Fan let out a roar and tossed the mountain at the cage!

The huge boulder swept past the sky above the central plaza. The Granite Beasts in the cage noticed the shadow looming over them growing bigger, before it completely shrouded the sky above them.

The whole city shook hard when it land. The Granite Beasts were only born in this world not long ago, yet they were already shedding tears of utter despair!

The force of the boulder swept the dust into the air. To guarantee the safety of the Mages that were trapped inside the Granite Beasts, Mo Fan purposely softened the soil in the cage so the ash cocoons would sink into the soil when the Granite Beasts were smashed into pieces. That way, the boulder would not smash the Mages into pieces, too.

1

Mo Fan was attentive to the details; he had everything under control!

A huge number of Granite Beasts were killed. These Commanders of the rock demons were as vulnerable as women and children now, unable to put up any resistance on the battlefield, let alone the Rock Monsters and Rock Generals that were only at the Warrior-level. They were like a sheet of loose sand before the Ruler-level creature. Most importantly, despite the overwhelming number of the Rock Monsters and Rock Generals which were impossible to exterminate within a short period of time, the pressure that the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon was putting them under had stopped them from advancing.

The rock demons couldn’t move. They had lost the courage to fight the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon. They had no choice but to submit to it, whether it was going to attack the humans or turn against its own people.

Even the Black-Silver Rock Demons were significantly weaker than the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon, let alone the Granite Beasts. How could the rest of the rock demons possibly find any courage to face it?

“What now? What are you all doing!?

“Who asked you to stand still? I haven’t had enough yet! F**k me, come, let’s hurt one another!”

Mo Fan had yet to fully enjoy himself when he saw the Rock Monsters and Rock Generals were standing there like lifeless rocks after losing their will to fight.

Why were they afraid when they had such a huge advantage in numbers? Where was their integrity? Was that seriously all they had as rocks? He had only killed a bunch of their superiors. How were they intimidated so easily? Shouldn’t they be revolting against the tyrant that was killing their own people?

“They aren’t that intelligent to begin with, so they will naturally submit to whoever is the strongest among them,” Apas sniffed.

In Apas’ eyes, the Rock Monsters were just a bunch of simple-minded soldiers. They never had a strong grudge against human, they were merely following their instincts to acquire more energy. If the city had not been emitting a strong energy when it was being upgraded to an Elemental Capital, these elemental creatures hiding deep in the caves would not have bothered invading the city.

Mo Fan looked at the Rock Monsters and Rock Generals, and shook his head helplessly. It was meaningless to attack the creatures any further, since he would merely be attacking a bunch of rocks!

“Didn’t you notice something?” Apas pointed out.

“Notice what?” Mo Fan was confused.

“They need energy to maintain their forms. Look at the Rock Generals that stopped attacking,” Apas said.

Mo Fan looked down and fixed his eyes on the Rock Generals Apas was referring to.

The Rock Generals were scattered across the land. They were standing there like soldiers, especially when Mo Fan’s gaze was directed at them.

A moment later, the Rock Generals began to feel uneasy. They were even sweating!

The ‘sweat’ eventually melted the outer layer of the Rock Generals’ body, like someone had just poured a bucket of water over a clay figurine!

The mud increased in volume and flowed off the Rock Generals. In less than a minute, the Rock Generals shrank to half their size and reverted to Rock Monsters around four meters tall, the first form the Mud Morphing Monsters evolved into!

“Atrophying?” Mo Fan guessed curiously.

“Yeah, they will degenerate if they don’t absorb more energy within a certain period, and will no longer be able to maintain their form. In simpler words, if we can stop them from acquiring energy by capturing Mages, they will turn back into the Mud Morphing Monsters after expending all the energy they gained,” Apas said.

“I see, that means…” Mo Fan was just about to say something when he noticed his golden armor turning muddy, too.

“Holy crap!” Mo Fan cursed when he saw the golden armor degenerating and reverting to its previous color.

He was degrading into a Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon!

“They are pretty dumb, so you should order them to transform into the Mud Morphing Monsters and return to their caves while you still have the authority. Otherwise, you will have to absorb other Mages to retain your form!” Apas said.

“So that means they aren’t as terrifying as we thought. We just weren’t familiar with their ability,” Mo Fan muttered.

“If these creatures didn’t have a weakness, they would have conquered the world by now. Why do you think they were hiding in the deepest, darkest caves?” Apas scoffed at him.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan followed Apas’ suggestion and tried to order the Rock Monsters to stop invading the city and retreat to their caves.

Mo Fan let out a few roars, reaching every Rock Monster in the city.

The Rock Monsters stood there to listen. The slow-witted creatures exchanged glances with one another: What was their king up to?

Apas rolled her eyes when she heard Mo Fan’s roars. How did she end up with such a retarded master? He had no clue how to speak the rock demons’ language. He was simply roaring like an ape. Who would know what he was trying to convey?

“I’ll communicate with them instead!” Apas seriously could not stand seeing Mo Fan embarrassing himself like a total fool. She took over the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon’s voice and gave the proper orders to the Rock Monsters.

The Rock Monsters finally understood their king’s commands, and began to withdraw from the city.

“Remember to ask them to leave the Mages they absorbed behind, instead of bringing them to the caves. Otherwise, we will need to send someone to retrieve them!” Mo Fan said.

The Rock Monsters retreated from the city. Their bodies degenerated as they reached the ramparts.

The numbers of the rock demons were absolutely shocking. They were lined up in rows when they shed their thick rock armor to reveal their true appearance.

The creatures were just some Mud Morphing Monsters. As the Rock Monsters, Rock Generals, and Granite Beasts fully degraded, it felt like the rampart was being splashed with waves of mud. The mudslide fell like a tide, leaving unconscious Mages glittering like shells along the rampart.

The dawn the city was looking for finally arrived. The Battlemages and the rest of the people in the city remained still. They did not understand what had just happened.

Did the battle end already?

Did it just end like that?

They were already expecting the worst outcome, but everything was reversed in the blink of an eye. The Barrier, the Elemental Capital, the Mages that were absorbed, excluding the complete mess in the city…

“Everything changed after Mo Fan was absorbed by the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon,” Deputy Lieutenant Hou said.

“That’s right, it’s Mo Fan!” Fang Di said.

“He must have done something. Otherwise, it didn’t make sense for him to engage the creature after he was already severely injured. He must have let the Black-Silver Armored Rock Demon absorb him on purpose. Awesome!”

Wen Xia thought the same. Xie Qinghua went up to her and said, “Let’s get closer.”

Xie Qinghua brought a group of people over to the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon. It was moving away from the city, but it did not leave the city center. The people saw its body degrading rapidly. Mud kept falling to the ground, turning into Mud Morphing Monsters along its trail.

The Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon had completely melted away by the time it reached the edge of the Barrier. Mo Fan was left behind, covered in ashes and standing there feebly. He was surrounded by a lot of mud, which was oozing through the cracks and darkness nearby like parasites without a host.

“It really is Mo Fan!” Wen Xia exclaimed. Everyone immediately surrounded him in joy.

Mo Fan felt like he was full of power just a moment ago, like he could smash a mountain in half and split the sea with a stomp. However, he was now just like the Mages that had been rescued from the Rock Monsters, the strength of his body completely depleted.

Mo Fan saw the others coming up to him while he was still barely conscious. He soon fell to the ground and fainted.

After all, it was a huge mental burden to control such a huge body.

Luckily, the burden was not as insane as when he was using the power of the Demon Element. He would recover after resting for a few days.

—

—

“Why isn’t he awake yet? How about this? You’ll accept it on his behalf,” Wen Xia said.

“I can’t make the decision. You should wait until he’s awake,” Apas said.

Mo Fan gradually regained consciousness while the two were talking.

“What are you two gossiping about? Did the rock demons all leave?” Mo Fan opened his eyes. He seemed to be in good spirits.

“Mo Fan’ you’re finally awake!” Wen Xia exclaimed joyfully.

“I only took a little nap. Why are you behaving like I wasn’t going to wake up again?” Mo Fan shook his head. It felt like he had a serious hangover. His head was heavy and spinning, but he should be fine after inhaling some fresh air and eating breakfast.

“Do your naps usually last for ten days? Many people are looking for you. I told them you were dead!” Apas sniffed coldly.

“Ten…ten days?” Mo Fan was startled. He thought he had only slept for half an hour. He could still remember the thrill he felt when he was destroying the enemy after taking over the Golden-Armored Wolframite Demon’s body. How could he possibly be asleep for more than a week? That was insane!

“It has indeed been ten days. The others have already woken up. You are the only one still unconscious. We were going to move you to the capital to be treated, but your sister says you’re going to be fine. She told us to just let you sleep,” Wen Xia said.

Even Mo Fan was dumbfounded. How did time pass by like it had been fast-forwarded? Why was he unaware of it?

It turned out that he could not just take over a Ruler-level creature’s body as he pleased. He might not be able to wake up again if he did it a few more times.

“Fine, whatever you say. Anyway, how’s the situation?” Mo Fan asked.

“The demon creatures have retreated. The city is now an Elemental Capital. It’s supposed to be rebuilt first. With the Barrier in place, even if it’s so close to the bottomless ravine, it will still develop quickly.

“Anyway, we are really grateful for what you did! My master Lu Bin and I were discussing you the other day. My master even requested that her superior make you the Honorable Guardian of the city, the most valuable guest of the city,” Wen Xia said cheerfully.

“Forget about the title, and don’t look for me again if the city needs any help. I’m a busy man,” Mo Fan quickly rejected the offer.

“As I thought, you were not after any benefits. I thought you were only helping us because you wanted to buy the resources provided by the city at the original prices since you are the owner of the Fanxue Mountain, and it’s very close to the East Maritime Battlefield. It seems like Lu Bin overthought it,” Wen Xia went on cunningly.

“Original prices?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Yes! Even though the military is mining the resources, we are still selling them to the city along the coastline for a margin of profit. We need some funds for the city and transportation,” Wen Xia said.

“Since you insist on making me the Honorable Guardian, I shall accept it reluctantly,” Mo Fan sighed shamelessly.

Wen Xia was startled for a moment.

She was not insisting on it. He clearly had the option to decline the offer. He could choose not to accept it, and they would still be fine with his decision!…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Wen Xia, can you please elaborate on the benefits of being an Honorable Guardian?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s mainly an honorable title to represent the contributions you’ve done for the city. My master and I are in charge of the army here. We are soldiers, not merchants, so we can’t promise you any benefits. However, if your Fanxue Mountain needs anything, we’ll do our best to help,” Wen Xia promised him.

“We recently found a Ward Rock, so we are thinking of building a defensive dam along the coast. Can you provide us with the necessary resources?” Mo Fan asked.

“A Ward Rock? Why do you have something so valuable?” Wen Xia was surprised.

A Ward Rock was similar to an Earth Pistil, but an Earth Pistil was normally used to establish a Barrier around a city to prevent demon creatures from coming closer. A Ward Rock’s power was significantly weaker, yet even the defense of some tier-two cities was weaker than one.

Fanxue Mountain was only a subsidiary of Feiniao City, and was privately-owned too! To think a private land had the defense of a tier-two city! How luxurious was that!?

“That won’t be a problem; we would have lost this city without your help. I can even provide you with the materials you need instead of just the ores we mine! This city is actually in a similar spot to your Fanxue Mountain. It needs to be rebuilt, so we will need many years to turn it into a true Elemental Capital. You do know the prospects and the significant role of an Elemental Capital. Officials who will come to reap the harvest when they did not have any part in the sowing process will soon intervene, so you should register yourself as a Councilman of this city while it’s still untainted. You already have your own land, so you are qualified to become a Councilman. Once you become a Councilman of the city, you will have a certain say in the development and the future of the city,” Wen Xia suggested.

Mo Fan looked out the window. The city Wen Xia mentioned was nothing but a pile of debris for now in Mo Fan’s eyes. It was no different from a city filled with junk, but the Barrier was standing firmly, and knowing the unlimited Earth Element resources in the caves, it was difficult to predict how the city would turn out in the future. There were only a few Elemental Capitals in the whole country!

“Councilman… everyone keeps asking me to become one, but I’m the kind of person who doesn’t like to be bound in one place. Once I became a Councilman, I would be held responsible for the city’s welfare, but I’m quite a stubborn man. I like disappearing all of a sudden. Fanxue Mountain might be my possession, but I have never really managed it. I have zero experience in this field!” Mo Fan scratched his head.

It was not easy to become the junkyard city’s Councilman!

“When the news begins to spread, Councilmen across the country will do everything to get a piece of the city, but you’re resenting how troublesome it’s going to be for you. Are you really that pessimistic about our city? Or perhaps our city isn’t as worthy in your eyes, considering the fame you received from the Ancient Capital?” Wen Xia said coldly.

“That’s not the case!” Mo Fan shook his head. Speaking of which, the Ancient Capital never actually gave him any bonus! He should ask President Han about that when he had the chance...

“How about this: you’ll hold on to a title so everyone knows you’re the savior of the city. After all, we won’t be able to explain it to the others if you just left without saying a word. We’ll make you an Honorable Councilman with two votes in every decision the city makes. If you’re willing to take part in the decision-making, you may use the votes as you please. If you don’t, we’ll just treat it as you’ve given up on the votes,” Wen Xia proposed.

“I won’t have to do anything else?” Mo Fan asked.

“You won’t have to do anything else,” Wen Xia said.

“I won’t have to fulfill duties or attend meetings?” Mo Fan pressed.

“You may choose not to participate in the meetings as an Honorable Councilman. We’ll just not take your votes into account. As for your duty, it’s fine as long as you don’t bring any shame to the city,” Wen Xia confirmed.

“I’m a little worried about the last bit,” Apas suddenly interrupted. In her opinion, it was difficult for a retard like Mo Fan not to bring any shame to the organizations he belonged to.

“Apas, how could you say that!?” Mo Fan glared at her.

Wen Xia was giggling as she listened. She had only met Mo Fan not long ago, yet she already knew Mo Fan was not the kind of person to stick to the rules.

“Well, I do admit that I’m a little hot-tempered. I won’t hesitate to kick officials in the butt if I see them doing something stupid. I’m worried that my actions will be restricted once I become an official myself,” Mo Fan admitted.

“The Elemental Capitals are independently regulated. They are not bound to the governments of other cities. Otherwise, why do you think they are called Elemental Capitals? If you happen to see anyone you can’t tolerate, it’s quite simple. After all, you’re a Councilman,” Wen Xia said.

“You’re right, I shall consider it.”

“Alright, I’ll help you with the application. The protocols are still quite simple for now. There aren’t many procedures involved,” Wen Xia said, looking pleased.

Considering the current state of the city, they could easily place people in the vacant vital positions of the city, but it might not be the case in the near future!

——

Wen Xia did not wait for Mo Fan’s response. She asked Mo Fan to get some rest and left.

Only Mo Fan and Apas were left in the room. Apas was leaning against the window with a bored face.

“Give it to me,” Mo Fan reached out his hand.

“What are you referring to?” Apas was puzzled.

“The crystal!” Mo Fan said.

“Didn’t you promise to give it to me?” Apas immediately lost her temper.

“I didn’t promise to give it all to you. We are splitting it in half,” Mo Fan said.

“You shameless prick!” Apas immediately pounced at Mo Fan like she was going to bite him.

Mo Fan easily overwhelmed her in a few moves. He had to admit how soft Apas’ body was as a Medusa. He bet she could easily handle a lot of unusual positions…

Mo Fan only gave Apas half the crystal. She seemed to be treating it as something very precious. It must be something that could strengthen her. Despite being her master, Mo Fan was struggling to keep her at bay. It would be a disaster if she suddenly grew a lot stronger. She might actually eat him up if he somehow lowered his guard.

Therefore, Mo Fan insisted on taking half the crystal, despite how furious Apas was!

Apas had no chance of stopping the bandit. She could only glare at Mo Fan murderously.

“I bet you won’t tell me what its uses are. I will figure it out myself. Tsk tsk, such a special energy. Perhaps it can bring some changes to my Bright Rock,” Mo Fan smiled.

“Go die, you assh***!” Apas cursed him.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The Sacred Snow Mountain in the Alps…

The mountain resembled a lake of snow, with several buildings emanating warm golden glows amid the blizzard, distributed orderly across the place in a dignified manner.

The blizzard lasted throughout the night. A few servants were walking through the thick snow, holding ancient lamps. They had finished their work for the day after cleaning the halls. It was time for them to return to their warm little huts and light up the furnaces there for a comfortable night’s sleep.

The Holy Judgment Court went to sleep as soon as those old servants went to bed. Not a single patrol was visible, since not many people in the world would dare to stir any trouble here. The Holy Judgment Court was the supreme existence, above the Magic Associations of the Five Continents!

The sound of steady footsteps shuffling was audible after the midnight bell struck. Many Holy Court Mages heard the footsteps, but they were not too concerned about it. Those aged servants always left their belongings behind. It was unnecessary for them to sacrifice their sleep for trivial matters.

The dungeon of the Holy Judgment Court was facing the direction the sun normally set. It was also where the footsteps had stopped.

Deep inside the dungeon was a cell Sealed by seven layers of magic formations. There was no electricity there, and only a few oil lamps were lit. The dim light only reached a short distance away. The cell was shrouded in darkness.

The long corridor was empty, holding only a few rocks at most.

At the end of the corridor was the cell with seven layers of magic Formations around it. The cell wall was made of wooden logs an arm wide. The logs were less than seven centimeters apart, with a simple wooden door, yet despite how simple the cell was, no one had ever escaped from it.

“Who’s there!?” a young voice came from the cell.

Ta! Ta! Ta! A pair of heels tapped rhythmically on the floor. A slim figure was approaching the cell through the long corridor.

The oil lamps only outlined her. The young man in the cell was starting to feel uneasy. He seemed to have recognized the person approaching the cell, but how could she possibly be here? He was in the dungeon of the Holy Judgment Court, the exact place everyone in the world wanted to lock that person in.

1

But she had come to the place on her own instead, strolling in so casually. Even the Cold Prince felt like yelling at the top of his lungs, ready to tell the Holy Court Mages that the scariest Red Cardinal was right in their territory. Hurry up and catch her!

“You don’t seem to be happy to see me?” The woman in heels grabbed a wooden stool nearby that the Holy Court Mages usually sat on while interrogating the prisoner in the cell. She crossed her legs and leaned backward, the picture of relaxation.

“I don’t think you’re here to save me. Your subordinate killed my most beloved woman!” the Cold Prince snarled.

“Blue Bat is one of the disciples I’m very proud of,” Salan agreed.

“How did you get in here? This is the Holy Judgment Court!” the Cold Prince could not help but ask.

The Cold Prince did have a little glimpse of hope in his heart. If the Red Cardinal could sneak into the dungeon of the Holy Judgment Court like a phantom, didn’t that also mean she could help him escape!?

“The maid serving Herr Casa happens to be one of mine, too. The Holy Judgment Court coincidentally left her here,” Salan informed him.

“Humph, is there any limit to your boldness?” the Cold Prince snorted.

“Who’s the Supreme Pontiff?” Salan asked.

“Do you think I’m going to tell you?” the Cold Prince chuckled.

“In return, I’ll rescue you from this place,” Salan seemed to have come prepared.

The Cold Prince’s eyes glittered. As he thought, Salan was capable of getting him out of this place!

The Cold Prince felt like he was going mad after being interrogated every day by the Holy Court Mages, who had almost lost all their teeth from age. He would rather die or leave this place!

“Can you really get me out of here?” the Cold Prince blurted out excitedly.

“I need the Supreme Pontiff’s name,” Salan repeated.

“I don’t know his name, but I have a way to find it out. I’ll give you the name if you can get me out of here. Salan, if you really want to know who the Supreme Pontiff is, you must save me from this place. I’m the only one that can help you find who the Supreme Pontiff is!” the Cold Prince said.

Salan smiled. “I know that. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. Wait a few more days; you’ll see the sunlight again soon.”

—

—

Mo Fan held onto the mysterious crystal and returned to the Pearl Institute with the rest of the students.

Mo Fan was just about to leave to bring the crystal to Lingling and have her inspect it when someone started banging on his door.

Mo Fan opened the door and saw Zhao Manyan standing outside.

“Where the hell have you been!?” Zhao Manyan snapped.

“It’s hard to explain. What is it?” Mo Fan asked blandly.

“Something serious! Haven’t you heard about the serious incident that happened!?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“Oh, I was deep in the mountains. So, what exactly happened? Was there a new Forbidden Mage, or did a Forbidden Mage pass away? Let’s hope the Heavens are a better place than our world,” Mo Fan raised his brows cluelessly.

“Oh my, you really are clueless! It was a Red Cardinal, a Red Cardinal was caught!” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

“Salan?” Mo Fan was startled.

“It’s not Salan. It was a Red Cardinal in South America. The Red Cardinal was caught by the Holy Court Mages in Brazil and escorted to the Holy Judgment Court. Mo Fan, you’ve seriously done the whole world a favor!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Me? What does it have anything to do with me? I only caught the Cold Prince. How am I related to the Red Cardinal in Brazil?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Are you stupid? The Holy Judgment Court never caught a Red Cardinal after so many years, but they caught another one not long after you caught the Cold Prince. They must have gotten some useful information from the Cold Prince to track down the Red Cardinal in Brazil. You might not know this, but the Red Cardinal in Brazil is a maniac, too. The infamous Cursed Rainforest in Brazil was his doing!” Zhao Manyan told him.

“The Cursed Rainforest? I think we heard something like that when we were in Brazil. Wasn’t it a maze forest?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“Exactly! Around thirteen years ago, there was a primitive tribe in the Amazon Jungle called the Mikaels. When the safe zone shrank due to the invasion of the demon creatures, the government requested the Mikaels move down the Amazon River. It was quite a huge relocation in Brazil during that time, but when they passed by some rainforest, they ended up inside a Cursed Formation. Everyone that was part of the relocation died in the rainforest!

“Since then, the infamous name of the Red Cardinal responsible for it, Asura, had spread across South America. Even now, tormented spirits are still roaming the rainforest. They won’t leave for at least another thirty years!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was not familiar with the incident, but after seeing how thrilled Zhao Manyan was while explaining the incident to him, he believed it must have shocked the world.

Every Red Cardinal was guilty of monstrous crimes. If not, they would not be wanted by every organization in the world!

“That’s good news then! Isn’t it awesome that they caught the Red Cardinal of Brazil!?” Mo Fan asked.

“That’s right! Brazil is celebrating like they are having a festival. I bet the hatred in the Cursed Rainforest might finally dissipate by half,” Zhao Manyan agreed.

“It’s a pity that it wasn’t Salan. Otherwise, it would be like New Years in China!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Either way, it’s still a huge breakthrough! Two Red Cardinals have fallen into our hands. I bet even Salan has her tail between her legs now. She wouldn’t dare to do anything reckless,” Zhao Manyan proclaimed.

1

Mo Fan nodded. It was indeed great news for them. He wondered who the person that had caught the Red Cardinal of Brazil was!

“By the way, Jiang Shaoxu says she’s almost ready. She will be looking for the Totem Beasts together with us!” Zhao Manyan said.

“That fast?” Mo Fan murmured in amazement.

“Quick my ass, both you and Mu Bai have already achieved the Super Level! You will soon learn how to cast a Super Spell, but I’m still stuck with these useless spells like a bumpkin! How am I supposed to live like this!?” Zhao Manyan complained.

Zhao Manyan was obviously very eager, especially since Mu Bai had achieved the Super Level faster than him. He still could not let it go.

“Fine, we’ll set out after they are ready…” Mo Fan had just finished when someone else knocked on the door.

He bet Apas had leaked the news that he had returned to the Magic City. He would not even have a chance to catch his breath if people kept visiting him!

The door opened. A little beauty with ponytails stood there. Her head only reached Mo Fan’s jaw. Her petite figure gave him the urge to pick her up and pinch her face.

“Little Lingling!” Mo Fan opened his arms to give her a passionate hug.

Lingling already knew Mo Fan was going to take advantage of her. She nimbly crouched and deftly swept past under Mo Fan arms to go inside the room. Her adorable face had an indifferent look, as if she had been through all the vicissitudes of life.

“Hehe, you knew I had come back already?” Mo Fan smiled.

“Something serious happened, but the two of you don’t seem to have any clues yet?” Lingling looked at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

“Oh, we do, Zhao Manyan just told me about it. Are you referring to the Red Cardinal of Brazil, Asura, being arrested? It’s definitely something worth celebrating. Should we pay our respect to the Holy Judgment Court by exterminating five kilograms of lobsters tonight?” Mo Fan was a little starved.

“That was three days ago,” Lingling said.

“So what happened today?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“I just heard it from my grandfather, the old Clergyman. Around five in the morning today, the Cold Prince escaped from the Holy Judgment Court’s dungeon!” Lingling said.

“The Cold Prince?” Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were startled.

“He escaped!” Lingling repeated.

“F**k me, you’re telling me that little androgynous demon has escaped? Are the brains of the people from the Holy Judgment Court filled with pig dung? Didn’t they say they had the sturdiest prison in the world? That’s a Red Cardinal, the Cold Prince we worked so damn hard to catch, and now they let him escape? Screw the Holy Judgment Court!” Zhao Manyan cursed continuously. He almost smashed everything in front of him to the ground.

Zhao Manyan had been through the whole incident at Beijiang. Not only did the people who stayed at the Northguard Fortress fight against a Red Cardinal, they had fended off an entire kingdom of undead without any backup. They risked their lives to defend Beijiang and capture the Cold Prince alive. The Holy Judgment Court was shameless enough to demand China hand the Cold Prince over so they could claim the merits, but now the criminal had escaped!

“Lingling, can you explain what actually happened? I bet the Holy Judgment Court hasn’t disclosed the Cold Prince’s escape to the public yet, right?” Mo Fan frowned harshly.

“Correct, the Holy Court Mages haven’t disclosed it. I only heard something about it from my grandfather. I believe he wanted me to inform you. Around three days ago, the Red Cardinal of Brazil, Asura, was caught. On the same day, the Holy Court Mages sent more than half of their Holy Court Mages to escort Asura to the Holy Judgment Court in case something happened along the way. After all, the Black Vatican has infiltrated almost every organization. The journey was quite smooth, so they were able to escort the Red Cardinal into the Holy Judgment Court’s dungeon with ease,” Lingling said.

1

“What does that have anything to do with the Cold Prince’s escape?” Mo Fan was confused.

“That’s where the problem started. The trick that the Black Vatican used to help the Cold Prince escape was simply to… I don’t even know how to describe it. The truth is, the dungeon in which the Cold Prince was locked has seven layers of magic Formations. It’s easily the sturdiest cell in the dungeon. There’s no way to open it while it’s holding a criminal like the Cold Prince in custody. Only the Holy Judgment Court can open it,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan frowned. He instantly noticed where something could go wrong. He blurted out before Lingling could finish, “There’s another time when the cell will open: when they catch another Red Cardinal!”

“Exactly!” Lingling nodded. “The people of the Holy Judgment Court were only able to find Asura because the Cold Prince exposed his identity and whereabouts. The Seven-Layered Cell was the only safe place to lock up a Red Cardinal!”

“So Asura is still inside?” Mo Fan asked.

“He is, but the Cold Prince has escaped!”

“Trading one Red Cardinal for the other… is the Black Vatican out of their mind?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

Mo Fan shook his head and swore, “Unless the Cold Prince is a lot more important than the Red Cardinal of Brazil.”

“That’s true!” Zhao Manyan admitted.

“Why would they do that?” Mo Fan looked at Lingling. The girl must have noticed something.

“The Black Vatican was worried that the Cold Prince might leak some important information to the Holy Judgment Court when he was being interrogated. If they are willing to trade a Red Cardinal for the Cold Prince, it means the Cold Prince is extremely important to them… or perhaps, the Cold Prince might know who the mysterious Supreme Pontiff is!” Lingling said.

“The Black Vatican’s Supreme Pontiff!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed. The title itself was enough to send chills down a person’s spine.

The mastermind of the Black Vatican, above and behind the seven Red Cardinals: the Supreme Pontiff!

Even now, the Holy Judgment Court was still unsure the Supreme Pontiff actually existed!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

A troop of Holy Court Mages in blue uniforms were flying above the Alps. The blizzard had stopped. The sunlight was projecting their shadows across the snowy mountain.

“Is that a person down there?” a Holy Court Mage with sharp eyes spoke up.

The troop lowered their altitude and discovered there was indeed a person lying on the ground. His body was face-down, so the troop of Holy Court Mages could not see his face yet.

“It might be the Cold Prince!”

Their leader went closer and cautiously turned the body over.

It was the face of a young man. His face was extremely pale, with no sign of blood. His body was extremely stiff from the cold, and his eyes were still open, staring blankly into the sky.

“It’s the Cold Prince!” the person who had spotted the body exclaimed.

“He’s… dead?” their leader inquired dumbly.

The Holy Court Mages stood in a circle. They checked their surroundings and inspected the body thoroughly.

The person was indeed the Cold Prince. It was not just a decoy, since it was impossible to remove the Seal the Holy Judgment Court had applied to their prisoners.

However, he was now just a corpse!

If the Holy Court Mage had not spotted the dead body, the Cold Prince would be as insignificant as a small animal who had frozen to death on the Alps. His body would soon be covered in snow when night fell, and begin to rot under the snow by the second day.

“The Black Vatican went through so much trouble to save him, so why?…”

“Let’s bring him back first.”

—

—

Lake Geneva…

A bridge used for fishing happened to be parallel to the light of the rising sun. A man was sitting on the bridge, as motionless as a living statue.

A woman in a woolen white robe went up to the bridge. She looked around before fixing her eyes on the fisherman.

“You did well,” the man said.

“It’s all thanks to Asura,” Salan replied evenly.

“Asura has been too full of himself, and was no longer following orders. He was going to bring us a lot of trouble. It’s perfect that you used him to get rid of the Cold Prince,” the fisherman said.

“I don’t understand. Why did the Cold Prince have to die if I was asked to bring him out?” Salan asked.

“A person who has spent almost a year in the Holy Judgment Court is no longer useful to us. The Cold Prince and Asura… we’ll have to choose others to replace them. Do you have any recommendations, Salan?” the fisherman said.

“I’ll leave it to you,” Salan said.

“Here is the information about the Magistrate who summoned Hayla, and the names of the people close to him,” the fisherman said.

“Got it.” Salan took the envelope and left.

The fisherman stayed put. He did not even glance at Salan. The surface was rippling, indicating that a fish had taken the bait, but he did not bother pulling the rod up.

—

The sunlight scattered through the shades of the trees on both sides of the street, setting off the colorful tiles on the ground. Salan was walking down the street in her white woolen robe. She blended in perfectly with the attractive and fashionable women of the city.

“Teacher.” A woman in long blue knitwear came over and grasped Salan’s arm.

Salan did not say a word in reply.

The two were walking together like a pair of close friends. They would occasionally attract the attention of some men, but who would ever think that a vicious Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican would be walking down the busy street of a bustling city? They were not hiding underground, in a sinister castle deep in a forest, or within a temple of cultists covered in strange paintings.

“There’s no need to keep an eye on the fisherman. He is just a messenger. He isn’t the Supreme Pontiff,” Salan said. She seemed to know what Blue Bat was concerned about.

“The Supreme Pontiff asked you to kill the Cold Prince, and you’ve done just that. Only you were able to rescue him from the Holy Judgment Court’s dungeon and then kill him. The Supreme Pontiff was worried that the Cold Prince might leak important information to the Holy Judgment Court, so you should have gained the Supreme Pontiff’s trust by taking out the Cold Prince. Why was he still using a messenger?” Blue Bat asked.

“No one knows his real identity after the Cold Prince is dead. We might have earned his trust, but there’s no reason for him to add more trouble to himself,” Salan answered.

“Is it true that no one knows who the Supreme Pontiff is?” Blue Bat had to ask.

Salan smiled coldly.

No one knew who the Supreme Pontiff was?

Did the Supreme Pontiff seriously think he was free of trouble, merely because the Cold Prince was dead?

The guy who thought he could control the whole world while hiding above the clouds was going to die just like the rest of the assh**** in the world one day!

“Did the Chief Extraditor leave?” Salan asked.

“Yes, everything was done according to the plan without any slip-up. The people of the Holy Judgment Court didn’t suspect the Casas. After all, including the Casas, the Alps Institute and Izisha’s men were at the Holy Judgment Court too, although there was a potential threat,” Blue Bat replied quickly.

“Say it,” Salan ordered.

“Mu Bai. The Chief Extraditor saw Mu Bai, and Mu Bai recognized her. She wasn’t necessarily exposed, but if they somehow link the Chief Extraditor with Mu He, they might realize something. After all, the Chief Extraditor is technically still Mu Bai’s sister,” Blue Bat said.

“Solution!” Salan prodded.

“Our first option is to give the Chief Extraditor a new identity, but the people of the Holy Judgment Court will be keeping a close eye on everyone that went there recently. Any disappearance, death, or significant changes to their life might attract suspicion,” Blue Bat answered.

“We can’t change her identity for the time being,” Salan stated.

Someone in the Casas was still alive, thus the Chief Extraditor had to stay with Herr Casa for now.

“Then Mu Bai has to die. He’s currently at Fanxue Mountain, and has achieved the Super Level. All of our men are having trouble infiltrating China now, let alone our Executioners. I have a suggestion. We can ask the Chief Extraditor to deal with the threat herself. Mu Bai isn’t suspicious of Yan Qiu’s identity yet. We’ll let the Chief Extraditor lure Mu Bai out and get rid of him…” Blue Bat said.

“If Mu Bai dies at the hands of the Chief Extraditor, it’s basically telling everyone around him who the Chief Extraditor is. Don’t forget how Hu Jin died,” Salan harrumphed.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t take that into consideration,” Blue Bat said.

“Send Spectre after him,” Salan said.

“Spe…Spectre!” Blue Bat shivered when she heard the name.

“Use killing Mo Fan as an excuse…” Salan continued thoughtfully.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

At the Canton Tower in Guangzhou…

A stall selling grilled chicken wings was in the plaza in front of the building. Mo Fan was taking the lift to the higher floors, where the Magic Association was headquartered.

“HAHA, Brother Mo Fan, you finally came to visit me! Here, I’ll show you my new discoveries recently!” Feng Zhoulong immediately went up to Mo Fan, who was holding some aromatic chicken wings. Feng Zhoulong conveniently took a chicken wing from the box and ate it.

“Did you make any progress on your research on how to merge different Elements?” Mo Fan asked, raising his brows.

“Oh, I was not referring to that. If I could really solve such a difficult problem, the world would see me as a great person. By the way, did you find the Darkness Corruption useful?” Feng Zhoulong inquired.

“It’s great, able to kill the target sneakily or track down the target from a long distance away! My Darkness Corruption was strengthened recently, too. I came today to see if you have any way to help my Dark Material evolve. I’ve also found something for you to take a look at. I have no idea what its uses are,” Mo Fan told Feng Zhoulong.

“I just happened to be looking for you, too. Our lab… oh, our Research Union happened to find some cursed material. Although I haven’t really figured out an actual way to merge Elements, you can combine the cursed energy with your Dark Material. The price isn’t too high, just pay us a billion, and I’ll immediately ask someone to help your Dark Material evolve,” Feng Zhoulong reached his hand out, trying to grab another chicken wing from Mo Fan’s box.

Mo Fan moved the box away to dodge the man’s hand. He said, “Is this a bandit’s nest or something? A billion? Don’t you feel ashamed?”

“Our Research Union needs some funds, too! Hehe, we might be close, but we can’t just give it away for free. How about if I give you a discount? Eight hundred million, the thing is called the Flogging Curse! It has the ability to corrupt, permeate, and tag its target, similar to your Fiendish Night. It also has an imperious Domain, the Evil Caning Spirit! It’s a kind of undying cursed spirit that exists in the Domain. If anyone is hostile toward you or tries to harm you in the Domain, the Evil Caning Spirit will have a certain chance to Possess the target and punish it,” Feng Zhoulong seemed to greatly admire the Dark Material. His eyes were glittering like a salesman, as if he was hoping Mo Fan would buy it right away.

“I don’t have the Curse Element. Are you sure that thing is compatible with my Fiendish Night?” Mo Fan asked, confused.

“Yes! If you are interested in it, I can slightly modify its compatibility. I can guarantee that your Darkness Corruption is going to be insanely strong!” Feng Zhoulong declared.

“Eight hundred million is still too expensive,” Mo Fan was a little intrigued after hearing Feng Zhoulong’s description.

The Fiendish Night might be outstanding, but it still lacked a little offensive and destructive power. Feng Zhoulong was a reliable man. He was the one that had passed on Bei Jiang’s Dark Material to him. If he highly recommended something, it would most likely make his Dark Material extremely powerful, but the price…

Was he really going to spend all the money he had earned from completing the quest for the Tear of Medusa? He was thinking of buying himself some Super Level equipment, since he had now achieved the Super Level, but he was struggling to make up his mind after meeting Feng Zhoulong.

“Give me a little more discount. You know how poor I am,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s already the best price I can offer. We only developed it not long ago. It’s possible that some Councilmen, generals, or elders might take it away if they see it. I can easily sell it for a billion or two since it’s my project, but if you didn’t bring Bei Jiang to me, which helped me with a breakthrough, the project wouldn’t have been a success. Therefore, you’re the first person I thought of,” Feng Zhoulong exclaimed.

“If you say so… fine, I’m taking it!” Mo Fan finally made up his mind.

“Then you’ll have to stay in Guangzhou for a few days. I’ll make the preparations. It’s the same thing again, I’ll guide it into your Dark Material to let your Darkness Corruption evolve completely!” Feng Zhoulong said.

“Not a problem, give me a call when you’re ready… I’ll be going if there isn’t anything else,” Mo Fan seemed like he was in a rush.

Feng Zhoulong nodded. He was looking at Mo Fan like he was studying his favorite guinea pig.

“Damn it, I almost forget why I was here in the first place. How did I end up letting you trick me into paying you eight hundred million?” Mo Fan returned a moment later.

“Are you regretting it already? I guarantee you that the thing is more valuable than what you are paying,” Feng Zhoulong exclaimed quickly.

“No, no, I came here to show you something. I got it off a rare species of demon creatures at Dingcheng,” Mo Fan took out a bag and untied the rope on it. He showed the broken crystals to Feng Zhoulong.

“These crystals don’t look that valuable,” Feng Zhoulong reached his hand into the bag to touch the crystals, but his expression immediately shifted. His eyes widened, “Mo Fan, where did you find these crystals?”

“Dingcheng, I already told you! So, are they anything useful?” Mo Fan pressed.

“Of course! They are very useful!” Feng Zhoulong was able to identify the crystals right away, even when Lingling was totally clueless about what the crystals were, as expected of a reputable nation-renowned researcher!

“How do I use them?” Mo Fan asked immediately.

“Have you heard of Growable Magic Tools?” Feng Zhoulong said.

“Er… yeah, equipment or Magic Tools that can become stronger by absorbing certain magical items,” Mo Fan remembered.

How could Mo Fan not know what a Growable Magic Tool was? The Little Loach Pendant on his neck was a perfect example. He would not be where he was right now without its help!

“These crystals are the most important material when crafting a Growable Magic Tool. We call them Receiver Crystals, which is closely related to its purpose. Think about this; equipment and Magic Tools are usually objects. They don’t have a mouth and the ability to digest like most living creatures. The Receiver Crystal basically gives the Magic Tool and equipment a mouth so they can ‘eat’,” Feng Zhoulong told him.

Mo Fan suddenly recalled the Mud Morphing Monsters after Feng Zhoulong was done with his explanation.

The Mud Morphing Monsters were supposed to be a low-level species, yet they had the ability to absorb humans to improve their strength. Was it because of these Receiver Crystals in their bodies?

“Brother Mo Fan, do you have more of these crystals?” Feng Zhoulong asked excitedly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This Receiver Crystals are of the Earth Element. Such a pity, you’re lacking a very important condition. Otherwise, I could make something good for you!” Feng Zhoulong said.

“What is it?” Mo Fan promptly asked.

“A Devouring Seed! Ordinary Spirit-grade Seeds and Soul-grade Seeds are masses of energy gathered over a long time, nurtured by nature. If Magic Tools and equipment could grow by absorbing energy, why can’t Soul Seeds that contain the presence of life?” Feng Zhoulong conjectured.

“An upgradeable Soul Seed?” Mo Fan stared at Feng Zhoulong. He was quite impressed by the man. This old Mage of the Research Union was like the creator of a magic world! No wonder Dean Xiao thought so highly of him, and kept asking him to develop a close relationship with the old man.

“Mm, but no one is willing to offer me these valuable Receiver Crystals for the experiment, but I believe I have the skills to do it,” Feng Zhoulong said.

“Ugh… you’re telling me it’s only theory now?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“Yes, but it’s plausible. I once met someone with an Innate Talent like that. It could absorb other Soul Seeds to strengthen his Soul Seed,” Feng Zhoulong went on.

“Is there really such an insane Innate Talent?” Mo Fan gasped.

“It’s such a pity,” Feng Zhoulong sighed.

“What do you mean? You’ve already said that twice!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“You’re not an Earth Mage. If you had the Earth Element, I could make an Earth Element Devouring Seed for you. The crystals you have are not enough to craft a Growable Magic Equipment, but it’s enough for a Devouring Seed. You are a bold man, so I wouldn’t hesitate to experiment with it on you,” Feng Zhoulong went on.

Mo Fan hesitated for a moment. He wondered if he should tell Feng Zhoulong that he was now an Earth Elementalist.

“Is the Devouring Seed that impressive? Is it stronger than the Spirit-grade Seeds and Soul-grade Seeds after it’s upgraded?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes, of course, and not just by a small margin! You should know that once a Soul-grade Seed replaces a Spirit-grade Seed, you’ll lose the attributes and additional effect of the Spirit-grade Seed. Since the additional effects of Soul Seeds are very useful, it’s quite a great loss to lose them when upgrading between Soul Seeds.

“The power of the Devouring Seed is its ability to preserve the additional effects when it’s upgraded. Not only that, the additional effects will grow stronger, too! The person who I mentioned with the Innate Talent, do you know how many additional effects his spells have? Three! Even a Basic Spell has three additional effects! That’s insane!” Feng Zhoulong exclaimed.

A spell with three additional effects!

It was Mo Fan’s first time hearing about anything like it!

Normally, only high-quality Soul-grade Seeds would have an additional effect. For example, Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant’s additional effect was the Lightning Tyrant Scars. His other Soul-grade Seeds did not have any additional effect.

The Meteor Scarlet and Ardent Sunset’s ability to spread and grow stronger the further they traveled was part of their traits, instead of an additional effect. The additional effect of a Soul-grade Seed would inflict a special burn or tag the target with a unique seal after attacking the target.

“If I say I’ve Awakened the Earth Element with an innate additional effect, does that mean it will add a special effect after the Devouring Seed reaches the Spirit-grade, and another special effect when the Devouring Seed is upgraded to the Soul-grade, so three special effects in total?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, but what a pity…” Feng Zhoulong sighed again.

“Enough, come, I’ll be your guinea pig!” Mo Fan clenched his teeth. He had completely sold himself to Feng Zhoulong!

“No, no, you have to be an Earth Mage first. These crystals are of the Earth Element. It won’t work with other Elements,” Feng Zhoulong told him sadly.

“Look at this.” Mo Fan waved his hand indifferently, Summoning a curtain of sand.

Feng Zhoulong’s eyes widened when he saw Mo Fan’s spell.

“You…you have reached the Super Level!” Feng Zhoulong exclaimed. “And you’ve Awakened the Earth Element!”

“That’s right!” Mo Fan nodded.

“Wait, the color of your magic… an innate additional effect?” Feng Zhoulong exclaimed once again, finally realizing what Mo Fan was referring to. “Three additional effects, three additional effects, HAHAHA, that means we can easily have three additional effects when the Devouring Seed reaches the Soul-grade!”

“Old Feng, I’ll leave myself in your hands for these few days. I have a duel to fight soon, and my dignity as a man is at stake. You are going to determine if I can win the duel on the day,” Mo Fan proclaimed loudly.

“People like us who are dedicated to the research of magic mostly lack resources and absolute trust. Businessmen keep promising to sponsor us, yet they won’t provide us with the best resources since they were scared of losing everything if our experiments fail. If you dare to give these Receiver Crystals to me, I can guarantee you that you will be able to make a name for yourself with an Earth Element that has three additional effects!” Feng Zhoulong burst out laughing. Mo Fan was indeed his favorite guinea pig: he dared to take the risks that others were not able to bear!

“That’s true, I knew you were reliable when you got me the Dark Material… Oh, may I ask, what the price of these crystals in the market is?” Mo Fan asked.

“These crystals? I bet you could sell them for fifty million each. Considering the number of crystals you have, you would have no problem buying a tier-three or tier-four city! Most importantly, the buyer has to know its value, and be able to turn them into useful products. Speaking of which, without these rare materials, there won’t be any products, either. There are only a limited number of Growable Magic Tools and equipment in the whole country,” Feng Zhoulong told him.

“Ugh… Old Feng, maybe I should consider it again, I was too excited just now.” Mo Fan’s body twitched after hearing the price of the crystals!

The crystals were enough to buy a small city!

No wonder Apas was treating them so preciously, they were insanely valuable!

“Oh Mo Fan, how can you go back on your own promise? Weren’t you saying how much you trusted me just now!?” Feng Zhoulong exclaimed.

“I can already buy a Heaven-grade Seed with the money, why would I bother with having three additional effects!? Don’t you know how short on funds I am after reaching the Super Level,” Mo Fan promptly rejoined.

“Brother Mo Fan, can’t you be more ambitious? A Heaven-grade Seed might be impressive, but think about it, if you can upgrade the Devouring Seed to the Heaven-grade one day, how insane would your Earth Element be? Four additional effects!” was the immediate reply.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

Mo Fan could feel his heart pounding heavily after leaving Canton Tower.

Should he figure out a way to secure the rest of the Receiver Crystals from Apas? He might be able to make a fortune from them!

“I would have taken all of them if I knew they were so valuable. Why do I bother to be a democratic master? A master should act like an exploitative tyrant!” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

Little Flame Belle was lying on Mo Fan’s shoulder. She nodded in agreement, like she greatly supported Mo Fan behaving like an exploitative master.

“If only Apas was as obedient as you. Seriously, she has been causing me so much trouble!” Mo Fan fondled Little Flame Belle’s head. Little Flame Belle complained how the strange man had taken her portion of the grilled chicken wings. She wanted another helping!

Mo Fan had no choice but to buy Little Flame Belle another portion of grilled chicken wings. He said, “Let’s go to the training ground. I would like to practice my Chaos Magic.”

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle was overjoyed. She enjoyed training with Mo Fan. For some reason, she would always celebrate whenever Mo Fan brought her along.

—

Mo Fan was still preoccupied by Feng Zhoulong’s words when he reached the training ground.

“Little Flame Belle, should we trust Feng Zhoulong for once and go all in and secure many additional effects for my Earth Element, so we’ll be able to show it off in the future?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle nodded. She liked the idea of having more additional effects.

“But, if we sell the Receiver Crystals, we might be able to get ourselves a Heaven-grade Seed of the Earth Element, or maybe we can buy a Heaven-grade Seed of the Lightning or Fire Element, or we can also buy a Summoning Element material that can help with your growth. We could still overpower our enemy!” Mo Fan went on.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle nodded. She liked the sound of that idea, too!

Mo Fan flicked Little Flame Belle on the forehead and grunted, “It’s useless asking for your opinion if you simply agree with everything! Go, stand over there and toss a fireball or something at me.”

Little Flame Belle obediently followed her master’s instructions, flying to a spot around a hundred meters away from Mo Fan.

Little Flame Belle could easily make something as basic as a fireball quite huge, and toss it with a single finger-flick. As Mo Fan thought, Little Flame Belle had serious trouble understanding his intentions. Mo Fan had only asked her to toss a single fireball at him, but she simply whipped up a whole row of them and fired them at Mo Fan like multiple cannons going off!

“Order Manipulation!”

Mo Fan suddenly spread his fingers. A faint glow flickered at the tip of his fingers.

The fireballs flew parallel to the ground, heading straight at Mo Fan. Little Flame Belle knew her spell was not going to hurt Mo Fan due to his Fire Resistance, so she did not go easy on him. Each of the thirteen fireballs was as big as a rice jar. They were a spectacular sight!

The fireballs began to fall as they approached Mo Fan. They landed on a spot around ten meters to his right.

The sandy floor of the training ground was blasted into the air. A portion of it splattered at Mo Fan, who casually raised a hand to stop the dirt from reaching him.

“Ling?” Little Flame Belle was puzzled when she saw her fireballs missing.

“Look at you, you’ve been eating so much that you can’t even land a basic attack. I’ll give you one more chance. If you fail to hit me again, I’ll be taking away your chicken wings!” Mo Fan mocked Little Flame Belle.

“Ling!” Little Flame Belle was nervous when she heard she was going to lose her chicken wings. The flames engulfing her grew rapidly as the Calamity Fire and the Ardent Sunset merged into one.

1

The flames gradually grew stronger, as Little Flame Belle’s appearance shifted from a porcelain doll to the alluring figure of a Flame Belle. Her skin was made of lava, while the tongues of the flames served as her clothing.

“You’re being serious?” Mo Fan asked alertly.

Little Flame Belle nodded. Her chicken wings were at stake! How could she not give her best?

2

The Flame Belle let out a pleasant-sounding yet imperious cry. She lifted her hands and Summoned a huge Hellish Flame meteorite above Mo Fan!

The meteorite was scorching. If Mo Fan had not warned Little Flame Belle not to overdo it in the first place, the entire training ground would have been lit up by the meteorite.

Mo Fan looked up, but did not move his feet. He spread his fingers once again, and they emitted the same glow.

BANG!

The meteorite landed on the training ground with a huge blast. Terrifying fiery waves surged in all directions.

Mo Fan was unmoved. He had used the Space Element to shield himself from the flames. The fiery waves split in half when they reached twenty centimeters away from him. It looked like a force field protecting him!

“Tsk tsk tsk, Little Flame Belle, hand over the chicken wings at once. You should start practicing diligently. How did you even miss when I was standing still!?” Mo Fan had not suffered a direct hit from the meteorite.

The flames that had reached him were produced from the impact. The landing spot of the meteorite was where most of the damage was inflicted. Unfortunately, Little Flame Belle had missed again!

“Ling!~”

The Flame Belle stomped the ground angrily, but she was willing to admit defeat. She obediently gave the chicken wings back to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan took the chicken wings and started munching on one in front of Little Flame Belle…

“Are you going to train diligently from now on?” Mo Fan asked when he saw Little Flame Belle drooling.

Little Flame Belle nodded, implying that she would focus on her training after eating the chicken wings.

“Fine, go enjoy them at the side. I’ll practice a little more,” Mo Fan told her generously.

Little Flame Belle happily flew around Mo Fan in circles after reclaiming her chicken wings, rubbing her little cheeks against Mo Fan’s chest.

—

Mo Fan glanced at the spot where the meteorite had landed after Little Flame Belle left to enjoy her chicken wings.

“It changed the flight path by about twenty degrees. The Chaos Element is indeed insane,” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

Only an innocent child like Little Flame Belle would believe Mo Fan’s nonsense. Little Flame Belle was very close to achieving the Ruler-level. How could she possibly miss a target who was standing still? Little Flame Belle did not make any mistakes. The angles and paths of her fireballs were supposed to hit Mo Fan, but Little Flame Belle was unaware that Mo Fan had learned a strange spell: Order Manipulation!

It was the Basic Spell of the Chaos Element!

Order Manipulation was capable of manipulating the proper functions of magic, such as the path of a spell!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Order Manipulation was applicable to energy and magic, especially projectiles that were fired in a certain direction.

However, Order Manipulation had some technical difficulty. Users had to predict the enemy’s spell beforehand.

Order Manipulation might only be a Basic Spell, but many spells had extremely quick projectiles, such as the common Fire Burst. An adept Mage could fire one off at a hundred meters per second, and Order Manipulation had to manipulate its path during its flight. If the Chaos Mage was not able to react in time, the spell would hit the Chaos Mage in the face before they could cast Order Manipulation!

Therefore, the spell seriously tested Mo Fan’s reaction speed and decision-making skills. He had to prepare to cast Order Manipulation while the enemy was Channeling their spells. He would then have to manipulate the path of the enemy’s spell as soon as they cast it to nullify their attacks.

Mo Fan believed the Chaos Element was an outstanding defensive element if he could use it properly. It was more special than the ordinary defensive spells of the Light, Earth, and Water Elements.

Many people assumed that defensive methods only consisted of blocking, absorbing, and shielding, but certain Advanced Spells and Super Spells were simply too destructive; it was almost impossible to set up a defense that could endure those spells. However, if Mo Fan could use the Chaos Element to alter the trajectories of those spells, he would be able to nullify the attacks regardless. The Chaos Element was more like a magician capable of manipulating strength. Its Basic Spell, Order Manipulation, and the Intermediate Spell, Chaotic Vortex, were unique in their own ways. They did not produce any energy, but were carrying energy instead!

When it came to utilizing the Chaos Element efficiently, Mo Fan could not help but recall Zorro, a strong opponent during the World College Tournament. His Chaos Magic had completely overturned Mo Fan’s view of the Chaos Element. Mo Fan believed he had only managed to defeat Zorro out of luck. The man was ridiculously strong, able to take on a group of enemies on his own. However, Mo Fan only realized the truth after he had Awakened the Chaos Element.

Zorro might be strong, but it did not necessarily mean he could fend off ten opponents at once. He was able to dominate the scene because he was turning his opponents’ spells against them. The Chaos Element had turned his enemy’s power into his own, thus when more people were attacking him, his counterattacks would be even fiercer. It was the reason why he seemed unbeatable.

That being said, Mo Fan was nowhere close to Zorro’s level of skill when turning the enemy’s attacks against themselves. He could only manipulate the path of some spells for now. It would be a long time before he was able to reach Zorro’s level!

“My Lightning Element should become stronger after I’ve learned the Intermediate Chaos Spell, Chaotic Vortex!” Mo Fan wriggled his fingers. Mo Fan felt like he was finally going to become a cunning magician after mastering the Chaos Element. He would be able to manipulate a lot of things just by moving his fingers!

“Let’s try a few other approaches, and see if I can make them work.” Mo Fan was full of strange ideas. Most Elements strictly followed a table of contents which humans had come up with thousands of years ago. The Mages could only alter the form of their magic when they had a certain level of control over their Elements. However, Mo Fan had noticed that he could use the Chaos Element to further manipulate his other Elements, too!

For example, he could think of another way of using Order Manipulation: Path Slicing!

“Fire Burst!”

Mo Fan flipped his hand. The Meteor Scarlet burst into flames on his palm.

“Go!” Mo Fan tossed the Fire Burst in his hand forward at a target casually.

The dummy was around a hundred meters away in front of him, but Mo Fan had purposely altered the angle by aiming at eleven o’clock. The deviation was not too obvious at first, but it slowly became clearer as the Fire Burst traveled further.

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle cried gloatingly when she saw Mo Fan’s poor aim. She was basically saying, “Dad, you are slacking off in your practice too!”

Mo Fan grinned when he heard Little Flame Belle’s cry.

“Order Manipulation: Path Slice!”

Mo Fan moved his finger slightly, like an experienced artisan controlling a puppet. The Fire Burst started to deviate from its original path, as if a string was pulling it!

The Fire Burst formed an arcing trail after its angle was modified. It unexpectedly landed on the dummy despite the poor aim when it was launched!

Little Flame Belle dropped her chicken wing onto the floor. However, she quickly picked it up and put it back into her mouth without breaking the Five Seconds Rule. She could not help but rub her eyes. She was wondering how Mo Fan had done it!

Mo Fan turned around and burst out laughing when he saw Little Flame Belle’s blank face.

“What do you think?” asked Mo Fan.

Little Flame Belle finally realized why her attacks had missed previously. She was pouting her lips while biting the chicken wing to express her discontent to Mo Fan.

—

Mo Fan felt like it was meaningless to practice with a dummy. He Summoned a Moon-Devouring White Wolf.

It was Third Wolf that showed up. Third Wolf was one of the more aggressive Moon-Devouring White Wolves. It was the first time that Mo Fan had Summoned just him from the Summoned Beast Plane. He seemed extremely cautious.

The Moon-Devouring White Wolves withheld his urge to move around restlessly and sat down like an obedient dog in front of Mo Fan. He seemed a little nervous, as he was unsure what his master would be asking him, or perhaps he had done something wrong, so his master was going to lecture him about it.

Third Wolf quickly turned around, trying to get some hint from Little Flame Belle, but she completely ignored him.

“You will run around freely. I’ll be attacking you with my spells, and you just need to dodge them as best as you can,” Mo Fan told the Moon-Devouring White Wolf.

Third Wolf shrieked and placed his head on the ground, begging for mercy.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s just training. Your leader is too quick, so my Basic and Intermediate Spells are too slow to hit him, which is why I’ve Summoned you to train with me instead,” Mo Fan explained casually.

Third Wolf let out a relieved sigh.

Old Wolf was usually Mo Fan’s training buddy. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had experienced almost every destructive spell that Mo Fan had learned. If Old Wolf learned Third Wolf was experiencing the same thing as he did in the past, he would be gloating right now!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

BANG!

A Fiery Fist landed on the ground with an explosion, setting some of Third Wolf’s fur on fire.

Third Wolf jumped around in pain from the burn. He quickly rolled on the ground to put out the flames. He saw a lightning bolt coming at him as soon as he lifted his head.

Third Wolf quickly jumped to the side to dodge the Thunderbolt. To his surprise, the Thunderbolt suddenly changed its angle as it was coming in. It went right where Third Wolf was dodging to. It looked like Third Wolf was jumping right at the Thunderbolt. He might have been fine if he remained in his previous spot!

Third Wolf almost burst into tears. He was a Commander-level creature known for his agility and speed, yet why was he struggling to dodge these simple spells?

Did these spells have their own eyes? How were they following where he was going?

“That’s enough, you may return now.” Mo Fan had enough practice. He contentedly sent the Moon-Devouring White Wolves back to the Summoned Beast Plane.

Third Wolf was utterly relieved, and quickly went back to his den.

It was simply too terrifying. His master was just too powerful. Why did he choose him, when there were ten other Moon-Devouring White Wolves!?

“If even the Moon-Devouring White Wolves can’t dodge the spells, many Wind Mages will struggle to dodge them too!” Mo Fan mumbled to himself.

Mo Fan was very pleased with the outcome of the training. Not only did he discover how magical the Chaos Element was, he had even learned a little trick when practicing it on the White Wolf.

The Chaos Element was similar to the Shadow Element. He was able to tag his target with a Seal of Order!

A Shadow Element Seal was normally used to track down a target, while the Seal of Order was like adding a magnet to the enemy. Mo Fan was casting his Elemental Spells and enchanting them with magnetism; his spells would lock onto the target, even if the target had changed its position or tried to dodge the spells. The Seal of Order would still attract the spells to the target!

This ability was very important. If Mo Fan was purposely modifying a spell’s path, he would have to focus and figure out where the target might be dodging to before controlling the spell to chase down the target. However, with this ability, Mo Fan only needed two simple Seals to get his spells to chase the target on their own…

It was similar to the difference between automatic and manual transmission. The situation of a battle would change rapidly. A single mistake might end up costing him the fight. Therefore, Mo Fan did not necessarily have the time and energy to improve the accuracy of his spells. After all, he was unable to mind three things at once, unlike Heidi.

However, with the Seal of Order, Mo Fan believed he could instantly raise the accuracy of his spells to the maximum level. He no longer had to be wary of an enemy with outstanding agility.

“If it can manipulate the path of the spells, I wonder if it can manipulate them, too?” Mo Fan suddenly had a brilliant idea.

Mo Fan closed his eyes. His body began to emit the same strange glow.

Little Flame Belle was done eating her chicken wings, and feeling a little sleepy. She flew toward Mo Fan and was planning to take a nap on his shoulders. She had completely forgotten about how Mo Fan had asked her to practice diligently.

Little Flame Belle had the Space Element too, and her control of it was quite outstanding. She was very good at flying around.

When she flew over to Mo Fan, she happened to pass the zone of darkness around him, which resembled an eclipse. Little Flame Belle suddenly floated higher as she was flying toward him. She reached a height more than ten meters above Mo Fan before she realized it.

Little Flame Belle was puzzled. She only realized something was not right after reaching her current height. She tried to look for Mo Fan, and saw Mo Fan was right below her.

Little Flame Belle tried her best to descend, but ended up flying higher instead. Little Flame Belle was absolutely mad. The flames engulfing her were on the verge of exploding!

“You can come down now; I was doing an experiment!” Mo Fan was amused by Little Flame Belle’s reaction again.

Mo Fan reverted his manipulation on the order of space around Little Flame Belle. She quickly landed on Mo Fan’s shoulder after gravity was reapplied to her. Meanwhile, the dark ring of sand floating in the air around Mo Fan fell to the ground.

Little Flame Belle seemed extremely puzzled, and waited for Mo Fan’s explanation.

“I just reversed the order of gravity,” Mo Fan explained.

Little Flame Belle nodded like she only understood half of that.

Mo Fan did not think Little Flame Belle could understand it. It was no different from mumbling to himself.

Mo Fan had indeed reversed the force of gravity. There were many ways to manipulate the natural order, and Mo Fan would need time to slowly figure it out. As for practicality, when compared to the Projectile Slice and Projectile Seal, Gravity Reverse was quite powerful, too!

He now had two Elements to alter gravity. One was the Earth Element, which was able to accumulate the Earth Magic in its surroundings to modify the soil and strengthen gravity. The other was the Space Element: accumulating the force of gravity on a certain point through compression. It could strengthen gravity, too.

The Chaos Magic did not produce any energy. It could only manipulate the natural order of things.

For example, gravity was meant to be downward, but it could be reversed under the influence of the Chaos Magic and became upward instead. Everything under the influence of Order Manipulation: Gravity Reverse would be floating instead!

“Old wolf, come out here!”

Mo Fan finally Summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf thought he had dodged a bullet, but Mo Fan still ended up Summoning him to be his sandbag. Luckily, he had asked Third Wolf beforehand and learned the experiment was mostly about some Basic and Intermediate Spells that would not inflict too much damage on him.

“Ask some White-Marked Wolves to come out here too,” Mo Fan told the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. He proceeded to open the Summoning Gate.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf did as he was told. He Summoned around ten White-Marked Wolves to him. These White-Marked Wolves were very obedient. They would strictly do as they were told when their leader was around.

“Ask them to stand still in a circle around me,” Mo Fan commanded.

“Awoo!!”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled and ordered the thirteen White-Marked Wolves to stand in their positions like a military instructor.

Mo Fan grinned when he saw them in position.

“Blink!”

Mo Fan cast the Advanced Space Spell, and was covered in a silver light.

As the silver Star Constellation drifted away like dust, Mo Fan vanished into thin air, too!

The White-Marked Wolves suddenly noticed Mo Fan’s outline appearing in a different spot between them before they could react. However, the area that Mo Fan had arrived in underwent some unexpected changes!

“Levitate!”

The White-Marked Wolves were lifted off the ground after losing their footing.

When someone lost their stability, they were supposed to fall to the ground, yet they were rising into the air instead. Mo Fan had brought a new order upon the area!

It felt like they were being pulled into the air by an enormous force. The White-Marked Wolves cried in alarm as they rose into the sky!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The White-Marked Wolves opened their mouths and stuck their tongues out. They were spreading their limbs, struggling to recover their balance like dogs that could not swim after falling into a deep lake.

Mo Fan looked up with a grin and studied the White-Marked Wolves floating in the air.

“Come down,” Mo Fan swiped his finger, reverting the order of the area.

The White-Marked Wolves were still getting used to the change in gravity. Their fur immediately stood on end as they fell rapidly when everything returned to normal.

The White-Marked Wolves poured down like a rain, slamming heavily into the ground with their legs facing upward. They were all groaning in pain.

Old Wolf’s eyes widened as he looked on from a distance away. What the heck are they up to? The Mega Drop!?

“Alright, you can send them back and reward them accordingly,” Mo Fan told the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

The energy of the Summoning Element could be used to feed the Summoned Beasts, which Mo Fan was referring to as the reward. The White-Marked Wolves could use the energy to strengthen their claws and become stronger. The White-Marked Wolves were delighted, despite the suffering they had gone through. They stuck their tongues out as if they were telling their master to Summon them whenever he needed a sandbag for practice. They had no dignity whatsoever!

Mo Fan was very pleased with the outcome of the experiment. He was able to understand the practicality of the Chaos Element better. Unfortunately, his Chaos Element was making slow progress. It would be perfect if he could learn the Chaotic Vortex!

——

Mo Fan left the training ground. He was planning to go back to his place to take a nap, yet something had gotten his attention instead. He looked up at the Canton Tower and its glorious lights.

“Damn it, I’ve seriously fallen for his tricks. I swear I’m going to drag him out of that place and butcher him in front of the people of Canton!” Mo Fan cursed. He immediately turned around and went back to the Canton Tower.

Little Flame Belle was confused. She thought Mo Fan was going to buy more chicken wings. She happily flew over to Mo Fan’s head and hummed pleasantly.

Some people were destined to be poor forever, since they were always investing their money in themselves. Mo Fan was a great example: as long as he had yet to fulfill his ambition, all the money he had was only going to end up as a cobblestone along the journey of his cultivation, no matter how much money he had!

He initially thought he could get rid of Feng Zhoulong’s blatant marketing after leaving the Canton Tower. He would eventually calm down and think Feng Zhoulong was merely uttering nonsense, yet after he calmed down, he could not stop thinking about an Earth Element with four additional effects!

—

—

Feiniao City…

A selection contest for young adults was occurring in the city center. The participants came from different cities and provinces and gathered in the headquarters cities. Almost every year, the contest would attract a lot of great talents. Barring the World College Tournament, it usually got the most attention in the country.

The contest was more like an influential selection to give capable Mages a stage to make a name for themselves. The contest became even more important after the crisis along the coastline arose. The Mages that came out on top in the contest would most likely be appointed to an important position in Feiniao City.

Feiniao City was considered a new and developing city compared to other headquarters cities. The city had gone from a tier-three city to an important keep, port, and fortress on the southeast ocean. It obviously needed a lot of fresh bodies.

Mu Ningxue was invited to be the judge for the finals of the contest, since Fanxue City was included in the northern district of Feiniao City. She could not find any excuse to turn it down since it was the finals, and Feiniao City had sincerely invited her to be the judge.

The term ‘young adult’ was quite ambiguous.

The World College Tournament was very straightforward. The participants had to be students, and those who purposely did not want to graduate were not allowed to take part, either.

Meanwhile, the Young Adults Contest was open to anyone below the age of forty!

“Didn’t Fanxue Mountain send any representatives to take part in the contest? Many reputable people and organizations will be taking root in Feiniao City soon. If your Fanxue Mountain doesn’t get an impressive result in such an influential contest, it might be difficult for you to have any say in some important meetings in the future,” Li Kuang of the Dali Clan, who had also been invited as a judge, spoke mockingly to Mu Ningxue.

The Dali Clan and Fanxue Mountain were known rivals in Feiniao City.

Feiniao City was developing quickly, and the two factions had suddenly gotten a lot of attention in the country. Fanxue Mountain had secured the best location in the northern district as the port and the traffic hub, not to mention the ore veins nearby. Many renowned clans, even the government and Magic Association, were envious of it. It was not Mu Ningxue’s first time being picked on by multiple organizations while she was constructing Fanxue City. However, she managed to help Fanxue Mountain secure a foothold even as everyone was trying to trip her up. She had joined hands with the Dongfang Clan in Hangzhou and the Mui Clan in the Magic City to finally stand out and rise as a faction.

On the other hand, the Dali Clan was a subsidiary clan under the Mu Clan. The Mu Clan had dominated the country and secured the leading position among the renowned clans. They obviously would not give up on a prosperous area like Feiniao City. Their main influence was in the capital, thus Feiniao City was beyond their reach. Therefore, they were giving great support to the Dali Clan that was based in Feiniao City.

They wanted the Dali Clan to get rid of Fanxue Mountain and take over Fanxue City. Unfortunately, Fanxue Mountain was no longer the little faction it used to be. Fanxue Mountain’s vote was as powerful as a Councilman’s during the meetings held by Feiniao City!

The people of the Dali Clan had secured three spots among the top ten participants in the contest, but not a single person from Fanxue Mountain had made it to the top ten. The people in Feiniao City were already discussing it.

“The rounds before the top ten haven’t ended yet,” Mu Ningxue said calmly.

“I believe it’s only possible if you, the master of Fanxue Mountain, were participating in the contest. Otherwise, it’s unlikely that anyone from Fanxue Mountain is going to secure a spot in the top ten. You have to do everything on your own, despite being the leader. You’re no different from those ignorant leaders of small factions. A person’s capabilities are limited. You won’t be able to do everything on your own.” Li Kuang smiled like he was having a casual chat with Mu Ningxue, but they were already giving one another tit for tat!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Bai Hongfei has won on the seventh stage. He’s now in the top ten!”

Li Kuang heard the rather annoying announcement while he was mocking Mu Ningxue. His expression sank.

Who was this Bai Hongfei? Since when did Fanxue Mountain have someone with that name? How did he defeat someone whose every Element was at the peak Advanced Level!?

“Well, it looks like we do have one member in the top ten,” Mu Ningxue observed calmly. She did not seem surprised at all.

“I didn’t expect Fanxue Mountain to have such a great talent, but the name Bai Hongfei does sound a little familiar to me. Don’t tell me he’s from the Bai Clan in the Magic City? When did he become a member of Fanxue Mountain?” Li Kuang belatedly identified Bai Hongfei.

“Shao Yu has won on the fifteenth stage. She’s in the top ten too!”

The same voice declared once again. Li Kuang’s brow immediately furrowed anxiously. He quickly turned around and inquired for more from the young man, Li Jianmo, behind him.

Li Jianmo said softly, “This Shao Yu used to be a Hunter. She’s quite famous in the Hunter Alliance in Shandong Province. She has defeated many disciples of the renowned clans. Rumors mention that she was comparable to Mu Ningxue when the World College Tournament was going on, but she wasn’t a student…”

“Shao Yu… I think I heard her name before. Both the Mu Clan and the Zhao Clan tried to recruit her, but she turned down their offers even though they were willing to pay her a huge sum. How did she end up joining Fanxue Mountain?” Li Kuang was puzzled.

“Apparently, Shao Yu challenged Mu Ningxue to a duel and lost. She has been staying at Fanxue Mountain since then,” Li Jianmo informed him.

Li Jianmo was quite young, so he had paid a lot of attention to the people of his generation. It was now the Information Age. People across the country would list out those that were impressive, and even compare them or rank them.

Shao Yu was quite outstanding in the Hunter Union. She was even referred to as a heroine, given her fiery temper, alluring physique, and attractive face. Young men like Li Jianmo were bound to keep an eye on her. The truth was, Li Jianmo had long admired this heroine, but he could not make it too obvious, since he was from the Dali Clan!

A person like Shao Yu who made a name for herself with her strength might not be so impressive in other areas, but she was a strong duelist without a doubt. It was unlikely that anyone of the same cultivation level would stand a chance against her without some extraordinary capabilities!

“Uncle, wasn’t Fanxue Mountain constantly challenged by competitive people? Mo Fan won the World College Tournament, making him the strongest Mage in the younger generation, and Mu Ningxue was tied with him. People that are planning to challenge Fanxue Mountain even have to queue up for it. Mu Ningxue will only agree to a duel at certain times, so Shao Yu handled most of the duels. However, I have never heard of her losing a duel, even after so long…” Li Jianmo was very interested in these things. He quickly explained all this to Li Kuang, as he knew the man might not be familiar with news related to the younger generation.

“Is she really that impressive?” Li Kuang blurted out in surprise.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m not surprised that she has made it to the top ten!” Li Jianmo replied.

“That sounds like trouble for us, now that Fanxue Mountain has secured two spots in the top ten too!” Li Kuang clenched his teeth.

The outcome of this contest was closely tied to the ownership of a commercial street, which happened to be located in Fanxue Mountain’s territory. According to the agreed terms, since half of the street was within Fanxue Mountain’s territory, the street was meant to be Fanxue Mountain’s, but the chief of Feiniao City’s North District and the Dali Clan were unwilling to give it to them.

The Young Adult Contest happened to be taking place, and those who were in the top ten would be given an honorable title and appointed as a member of the South Wing Platoon that had been recently established.

The headquarters of the South Wing Platoon was located at the end of the commercial street, thus whoever had the highest authority in the South Wing Platoon would decide if Fanxue Mountain or the North District was in charge of the street!

“A one-sided victory again! He Yao on the first stage has defeated another participant who is also in the top ten with ease. Anyone can easily tell that he has the highest hope of winning the contest!” the emcee announced with a loud voice to liven up the crowd.

A huge uproar grew among the crowd, mainly because the Mage with the name He Yao had defeated every opponent with a single move since the beginning of the contest. Even after reaching the finals with only ten participants remaining, he still crushed his opponent in a one-sided victory. The crowd could not help but marvel at his strength!

“He Yao, is there anything you want to say after winning the match?” the emcee quickly went over to He Yao after the cloud of dust dissipated, handing the microphone to He Yao.

The emcee thought He Yao would leave the stage indifferently as usual, but the man glanced at the judges and took the microphone from the emcee, “May I ask the judges something?”

“Of course, every participant is allowed to ask the judges questions. Even those who lost can ask the judges to comment on their performance,” the emcee told him.

“May I ask Judge Mu Ningxue, did you see the challenge I sent to Fanxue Mountain before this contest?” He Yao said.

Mu Ningxue did not respond. She did not remember anything about it, especially when there were so many challenges addressed to her…

“You wouldn’t expect me to be standing here and confronting you when you tossed my invitation to a duel into a bin. What a joke, it’s the Young Adult Contest, yet you are sitting with the judges instead of taking part in it! What right do you have to judge us? Is it because you are over the age of forty, or you have convincing strength to be a judge? Please stop using the World College Tournament, which is only a petty tournament among students, to back yourself. You should win this contest first, and prove you have the right to be sitting with the judges. I don’t need anyone to comment on my performance, I’m only here to compete!” He Yao yelled into the microphone.

The crowd was surprised by his aggression. The Young Adult Contest was a competition between Mages. The World College Tournament, despite being at the international level, was not really that convincing to grown-ups. Many of them were not treating Mu Ningxue’s achievements in the World College Tournament too seriously!

This He Yao was indeed very strong, having defeated peak Advanced Mages with ease. He did not take part in the contest to win it. He just wanted to duel Mu Ningxue, to defeat the so-called strongest Mage of the younger generation. To his surprise, Mu Ningxue was not even a participant, and was invited to be a judge instead. He Yao was venting his discontent on Mu Ningxue, and against the decision of Feiniao City’s government!

Only the strong had the right to speak!

He Yao did not forfeit the contest. He came all the way to deliver his speech in front of the crowd!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The crowd burst into an uproar. A participant was confronting a judge, using strong provocation!

Mu Ningxue was a young adult, below the age of thirty. Many people were indeed doubtful of the decision to invite her as a judge.

It was like a student in the same grade as others. Even though everyone knew she was a bright student with impressive grades, no one would be convinced that she was worthy to be their teacher!

He Yao’s claims were not unreasonable. Since he was not purposely stirring up trouble, the people were looking forward to what the intense situation was going to develop into!

Someone had finally challenged Mu Ningxue!

As a matter of fact, everyone wanted to know how strong Mu Ningxue was. Was she really stronger than He Yao?

The World College Tournament had been over for quite some time. Mu Ningxue had only reached the Advanced Level back then, but most participants in the top ten of this contest were peak Advanced Mages. They had mastered the Advanced Level of all three of their Elements, and were very close to achieving the Super Level. Mu Ningxue might be the strongest student during the World College Tournament, but that did not necessarily make her the strongest young adult. They were on two different levels!

The brightest student at college and the most talented young man in open society were completely different!

“You could disregard my challenge before I made my way here. It’s true that my reputation is incomparable to people like you, but if I win this contest and challenge you to a duel again, I’ll assume you are too scared to accept the challenge if you ignore it again. You should stop referring to yourself as the strongest. I had enough of the idiots around me. I will teach them that no one can ever claim themselves as the strongest. I might not be the strongest, but I believe you are overrated. That is all!” He Yao declared pompously.

The emcee was dumbfounded, unable to find any words after some time. This He Yao had never spoken a single word after winning the previous matches. Everyone assumed he was a quiet guy, but he had completely spilled the beans once Mu Ningxue was around. Not many people had the courage that he had displayed.

“Well… Judge Mu, do you have anything to say to the participant?” the emcee said awkwardly after he saw He Yao was done with his speech.

“Fanxue Mountain has never issued any challenges, and I’ve never claimed myself to be the strongest, either, yet the requests for duels still piled up like a mountain. I don’t mind having a friendly duel with a worthy opponent, but may I ask everyone who wants to challenge Fanxue Mountain to first make a name for themselves, like He Yao is doing here, before sending in their requests? Otherwise, there’s a great chance that I’ll just toss the letter into the bin,” Mu Ningxue answered.

The emcee could not help but gasp.

Many people were waiting to see how Mu Ningxue was going to handle the situation. After all, many were not convinced she had the strength to be a judge, yet her response to the confrontation could not be more overbearing!

He Yao was challenging Mu Ningxue in front of the crowd, but Mu Ningxue was challenging everyone that was stronger than He Yao in the entire country!

Only through battles would a person improve. Mu Ningxue might have spent most of her time on Fanxue Mountain, but it did not necessarily mean she had given up pursuing the higher levels of her cultivation. Mo Fan was constantly fighting demon creatures, while Mu Ningxue was dueling strong Mages!

“Can I take that as a yes to my request for a duel?” He Yao asked.

“Fanxue Mountain accepts your challenge,” Mu Ningxue agreed.

“Very well!” He Yao exclaimed eagerly.

Wasn’t Mu Ningxue the strongest person in Fanxue Mountain? Was there any difference whether it was Fanxue Mountain or Mu Ningxue accepting his challenge?

1

“I was going to challenge Mo Fan to a duel, but I heard the man had been slacking and going on vacation around the world after winning the World College Tournament. A man like him doesn’t deserve my challenge, I can still achieve my goal by defeating you!” He Yao said.

Mu Ningxue giggled after hearing those words.

Was Mo Fan’s reputation that badly ruined already?

People across the world wanted to challenge Mo Fan, let alone those in China, but no one could find him. Almost half the challenges Fanxue Mountain received were addressed to Mo Fan, but when they realized Mo Fan never showed up to the challenges, the people had decided to challenge Mu Ningxue instead!

It was true that Mo Fan had never been around for the past few years. The things he did were mostly listed as confidential, thus somehow the rumors began saying that he had been traveling to different places while doing nothing instead!

Mu Ningxue was too lazy to clarify the truth to those people who believed in rumors so easily. Besides, Mo Fan was never interested in their challenges, either. He could not care less about how they were describing him.

Li Kuang was certainly right that Fanxue Mountain lacked credit with the people.

She could definitely use this challenge to warn those who were not treating Fanxue Mountain seriously. She had agreed to He Yao’s invitation to a duel!

—

—

Three days later…

The outcome of the Young Adults Contest did not exceed anyone’s expectation. He Yao was the winner, as everyone expected.

Bai Hongfei lost to He Yao in the semi-finals. The fight lasted for quite some time, but Bai Hongfei was still inexperienced due to his younger age, and eventually lost to He Yao.

He Yao then defeated Li Ting of the Dali Clan with ease in the grand final to win the contest.

He Yao was indeed very strong. The crowd had witnessed his strength, so they were not too surprised by the final outcome. Even those who watched the grand final felt like they already knew the result. They were actually looking forward to the duel between He Yao and Mu Ningxue more!

The winner of the Young Adults Contest in Feiniao City, against Mu Ningxue, who was publicly known as the strongest young adult. How could anyone not feel excited about it?

In the past few years, many Mages had taken of hiding in the cities and finding themselves a comfortable job like doing some insignificant research or abusing their authority. They would still earn respect from the people, but since the crisis along the coastline had closed in on the cities, the Battlemages were now the guarantors of people’s lives and wealth, so they were respected more than others!

Mu Ningxue was known for her strength, and the Young Adults Contest mainly focused on the participants’ strength, too. Even the Magic Associations would turn a blind eye to private duels as long as no lives were lost or no public property was vandalized. The people were hoping to see a straightforward magic duel, and gain a sense of security from witnessing the impressive strength of the Mages that were protecting them.

When the people heard He Yao was going to Fanxue Mountain, countless people visited Fanxue City to watch the ultimate battle of the young adults!

—

He Yao did not expend too much of his energy in the match against Li Ting. He went to Fanxue Mountain after resting for only one night. He was determined to have a showdown with Mu Ningxue!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Fanxue Mountain was not open to the public, thus the huge crowd had to gather below the mountain like a riot.

Being unable to watch the duel was torture for those people, who were keen to learn its outcome. Fortunately, people were not to be underestimated when they were united. They finally found a few people who had permission to enter Fanxue Mountain and were willing to broadcast the duel live!

Mu Ningxue was not purposely trying to hide anything. She was simply not fond of having too many unauthorized personnel in her territory. Therefore, she did not mind those who had permission to enter Fanxue Mountain broadcasting the duel.

A video recorder was unable to capture magic spells; the spells would only end up as white flashes on the screen. However, most people were satisfied with the blurry broadcast. It was not like they understood the complicated spells. They just wanted to know the rough situation, who had the upper hand, who was injured, and who had lost the duel!

Humans could behave very strangely at times. If they were unable to watch a duel, they would be extremely anxious and impatient, and would easily spread rumors and exaggerate the situation. As a result, both Fanxue Mountain and Fanxue City were crowded now. They were all waiting for the result.

—

“A duel of this level is already getting so much attention? The duel between Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian is going to be even crazier!” Mu Ningxue pulled the curtain to the side. She was able to see the tiny figures gathered on the mountain path from her room. The crowd of people was densely scattered outside Fanxue Mountain.

“Ningxue, are you ready?” Shao Yu asked, standing beside Mu Ningxue. “That He Yao is pretty strong. Both Bai Hongfei and I couldn’t beat him.”

“I’ll need to change first. I didn’t expect him to come today,” Mu Ningxue replied.

“Mm, should we let him wait for an hour or two first? I can’t stand his arrogance,” Shao Yu said.

“Just give me ten minutes,” Mu Ningxue said before going into her changing room. She had initially planned to meditate in her room today, so she was wearing simple clothes that were not suitable for a duel.

Mu Ningxue believed it was unnecessary to give the man the cold shoulder. There was no point wasting one another’s time after she had accepted the challenge. It was rare to find an opponent like him, too. It was definitely a worthy duel!

—

Fanxue Mountain had a huge dueling area. It was initially designed for the master of demolition, Mo Fan. Only the high-level duels between Advanced Mages would be held here. After all, activating the defensive barrier cost a fortune.

There were only two ways to the dueling ground. One was from the area designated for Fanxue Mountain’s core members, and the other was from Mo Fan’s house. Mu Ningxue was currently living in Mo Fan’s house. Meanwhile, He Yao was brought to the dueling ground from the other path. Bai Hongfei led him to the venue.

“Why are there only a few people? Are you guys planning to make it private to preserve your reputation?” He Yao looked around and did not see any spectators around, not even the people of Fanxue Mountain.

“It was the same for every other challenger who came to us,” Bai Hongfei answered calmly.

Bai Hongfei still held a grudge against He Yao after losing to him during the Young Adults Contest. He was annoyed by the smug look on He Yao’s face. He brought his hands together after bringing He Yao to the venue. “Make yourself at home!”

Bai Hongfei could not be bothered serving the guy. He simply turned around and left.

He Yao was not too bothered by it all. It was normal for him to wait, since he was currently in someone else’s territory. He did not even mind waiting until sunset, as long as Mu Ningxue did not call off the duel.

Everyone would soon know that Mu Ningxue of Fanxue Mountain was not as impressive as the rumors described!

—

He Yao waited patiently at the dueling ground, not bothering to wander around.

He was hoping that there would be some spectators doing a live broadcast, but Fanxue Mountain completely forbade anyone from entering their private land.

Every person enjoyed getting some attention, but he did not mind if the duel took place behind closed doors. It was not like Fanxue Mountain was going to deny their defeat after losing the duel. If they seriously tried to do that, they would no longer have a place in Feiniao City!

A duel behind closed doors. It basically meant they were afraid to let people watch if they somehow lost the duel.

“Huh? Why is someone here?” a voice suddenly came from the entrance.

He Yao collected his thoughts and glanced in the direction of the voice. He saw a well-groomed man with an icy air about him.

“Hurry up and bring Mu Ningxue here,” He Yao said.

“You’re looking for Mu Ningxue? Who are you? What do you want from her?” The man was just about to leave, but he turned around when he heard He Yao’s words.

“Humph, is this how Fanxue Mountain is going to treat me? Or perhaps you guys realize you are going to lose the duel after witnessing my strength, so you’re making fun of me, instead? I thought Fanxue Mountain was better than doing something so absurd!” He Yao was enraged.

Didn’t one of you bring me here and ask me to wait for Mu Ningxue here?! But now, someone has come and asked me why I was here instead! No wonder they do not want any spectators to witness the duel!

“You’re not a core member of Fanxue Mountain. I didn’t ask you why you’re here in this private dueling ground in the first place. Are you trying to stir up trouble here?” the young man shot back after seeing how arrogant He Yao was.

“I’m here to challenge Mu Ningxue! I’m having a duel with her! You piece of trash, hurry up and get Mu Ningxue down here! I’m starting to lose my patience on this trashy mountain of yours!” He Yao was even madder when he realized the man was wasting his time on purpose!

Mu Ningxue had put up a great act by boldly accepting his challenge to a duel in front of the public, yet she had arranged for the duel to be held behind closed doors and did not show herself. She even sent a retard to utter nonsense to him and waste his time. She was not even treating him seriously!

The young man’s face darkened at He Yao’s yell.

The young man was standing at the entrance in the first place. However, he slowly entered the dueling ground and unzipped his jacket, revealing the training shirt under it.

He had just left the Room of Seclusion. He was planning to practice his spells, but to his surprise, he had stumbled into such an unreasonable man!

“First of all, Mu Ningxue is the leader of Fanxue Mountain, so not every nobody has the right to challenge her to a duel. I don’t know how you got here in the first place, but I’ll ask someone to carry you down the mountain very soon!”

“Second, the pain you are going to suffer will seriously remind you that someone like you will never have the right to dishonor Fanxue Mountain’s name!”

“Last, I’m not a piece of trash, my name is Mu Bai!”

Mu Bai was already standing opposite He Yao after he was done with his speech. His eyes were filled with an angry and disgusted light!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mu Ningxue was done changing. She preferred to wear darker outfits when she was fighting. Shao Yu followed her down to the dueling ground. Despite her attractive face, she could not help but think of her beauty was just average whenever she was with Mu Ningxue, especially when Mu Ningxue was dressed up. Mu Ningxue was able to perfect every ../style with her goddess-like temperament, be it a luxuriously dressed little princess, or a charming woman in a sporty outfit. Even women would be dazzled by her beauty, but most women would be envious of her too…

“Why am I sensing magic?” Mu Ningxue suddenly noticed energy ripples coming from the dueling ground.

“Maybe the guy is practicing,” Shao Yu said.

“It doesn’t look like it. The energy level is unusually high,” Mu Ningxue observed.

The two continued on their way to the dueling ground. They happened to bump into Bai Hongfei at the entrance.

The huge blasts had gotten Bai Hongfei’s attention too. Mu Ningxue did not ask him what was going on when she noticed he was also wearing a puzzled look.

A few young servants of Fanxue Mountain were already at the dueling ground before they went inside. The servants were lifting a heavily injured man from the ground, covered in a cloud of dust that had yet to dissipate.

“That arrogant He Yao dares to hurt a member of Fanxue Mountain? I only asked him to wait here for a moment. How bold of him!” Bai Hongfei cursed.

Frost particles were lingering in the air before falling to the ground. Everyone eventually noticed another figure standing in the cloud of dust. He was wearing a white-blue sporty outfit, and his temperament resembled a firm glacier.

“Carry this piece of trash down the mountain and tell those who want to challenge us that this is the lightest punishment for those who dare to trespass into Fanxue Mountain without permission!” Mu Bai harrumphed coldly. He withdrew his Ice Magic without bothering to take another glance at He Yao.

Many of He Yao’s joints were damaged. His eyes were wide and bloodshot. His face was filled with disbelief on top of anger!

He had lost. He had lost the fight!

He Yao had never treated Fanxue Mountain seriously. He had believed only Mu Ningxue would stand a chance against him, and did not expect a random person who was sent to waste his time to possess such terrifying strength!

He Yao felt like he was under great pressure throughout the fight. He was severely injured after just a few exchanges. There were only a few young adults across the country who he considered worthy opponents, but the young man seemed to be a few years younger than him…

“Mu…Mu Bai!” He Yao could not help recalling the name when he was being carried out of the dueling ground. Why had he never heard the name before?

Shao Yu, Bai Hongfei, Mu Ningxue, and both Mu Linsheng and Mu Zhuoyun, who had just arrived, were standing there on the dueling ground with blank faces.

Mu Bai turned around and realized a lot of people were behind him. He told Mu Linsheng, “Uncle Linsheng, it seems like our security has been a little loose. Even though that guy might be a little impressive, he shouldn’t be able to trespass into our territory so easily.”

“A…a little impressive,” Mu Linsheng smacked his lips. He began to wonder if the man being carried away was actually He Yao.

“Mu Bai, are you done with your seclusion?” Mu Ningxue asked calmly.

“Yes. I was thinking of practicing a little here, but I somehow stumbled into that idiot here,” Mu Bai spat.

“Mu Bai, do you know who the person you just beat the crap out of is?” Bai Hongfei said.

“Is he someone special?” Mu Bai glimpsed at the man who was being carried away on a stretcher.

“A little, I guess, since he just won the Young Adults Contest of Feiniao City yesterday,” Bai Hongfei informed him.

“Oh, no wonder he was a little capable,” Mu Bai replied coolly.

“…”

The others were immediately speechless. However, they were very shocked, too.

Everyone was pleased to welcome Mu Bai to Fanxue Mountain at first, since he was a member of their family.

However, they did not expect Mu Bai to possess such terrifying strength. Mu Ningxue took a little more than ten minutes to change, but Mu Bai had already arranged for the servants to carry He Yao away on a stretcher.

“Mu Bai, that was very unwise of you. The man was supposed to have a duel with Mu Ningxue. He even challenged Mu Ningxue in front of the crowd during the grand final of the contest…” Bai Hongfei said.

“So he wasn’t lying? Did you bring him here?” Mu Bai was surprised.

“I did,” Bai Hongfei said.

“Oh, I only took care of him because he was talking crap about Fanxue Mountain,” Mu Bai sniffed.

“Forget it, let it be. I did say that Fanxue Mountain would accept the challenge, instead of myself. It won’t be a problem if Mu Bai was the one that beat him,” Mu Ningxue intervened.

There was nothing else Mu Ningxue could do under the circumstances.

She was familiar with Mu Bai’s strength. The two had even had a friendly duel before Mu Bai went into seclusion. She could also roughly estimate He Yao’s strength.

“Then… what should we tell the people that are waiting for the result?” Mu Linsheng asked anxiously.

“Just tell them the truth,” Mu Ningxue said.

—

—

More people had gathered under Fanxue Mountain. Some had even brought drinks and alcohol and set up picnics, seeing the perfect weather and the elegant scenery.

“The duel should be starting soon. Were there any updates from the people on the mountain?” Zhong Li said.

There was a sigh. “If I knew Mo Fan was the owner of Fanxue Mountain, I would have asked him to let us join him. I heard a lot of rumors about how strict Fanxue Mountain was when recruiting new members when it was still a shithole back then. No one even bothered to apply, but Fanxue Mountain has grown to its current level in just a few years. It’s currently one of the most prosperous places in the country. It’s almost impossible to even squeeze our heads into it. Say, Gu Ying, you should have been more decisive by presenting yourself to the man’s bed. That way, our Foehn Hunter Squad might be able to earn a more significant role instead of sleeping outdoors now,” Xie Hao grumbled.

“Do you really think I’m as cheap as a cabbage? Why don’t you go sell yourself instead? Even if I wanted to sell myself, it only works if he’s interested in me. Didn’t you watch the Young Adults Contest? That Mu Ningxue was as pretty as an angel! I’m like a pile of mud compared to her!” Gu Ying snarled at him.

“That’s enough, let’s just keep being busybodies. Speaking of which, who do you think is stronger? He Yao or Mu Ningxue? Either way, I still think that He Yao is a whole level weaker than Mo Fan,” Xie Hao said.

“It’s starting, look, someone from Fanxue Mountain is bringing us an update,” Zhong Li weaved through the crowd and saw some people coming down the mountain.

“Strange, why are they carrying a stretcher?”

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Isn’t…isn’t that man He Yao?” Zhong Li was quite short, but he kept jumping up in the crowd.

Many people had gone up to the stretcher. Fanxue Mountain’s security had to step in to maintain order.

He Yao had bruises all over him inflicted by Ice Magic. He seemed quite miserable, mainly because Mu Bai had broken the joints of his limbs, preventing him from walking on his own.

The injuries were quite painful, but it would not take long for him to recover. He would be able to move freely again in a week after being treated by a Healer who was a specialist in orthopedics.

“What happened? Didn’t you only go up there a moment ago? How did you end up like this? Did the people of Fanxue Mountain all attack you at once?” Li Ting stepped forward and asked.

“No… it wasn’t Mu Ningxue that I fought,” He Yao answered in an ugly voice.

“Humph, as I thought!” Li Ting harrumphed coldly. He pointed at Fanxue Mountain’s servants and snarled, “I knew you guys would cheat! You have set up the duel behind closed doors because you didn’t want everyone to witness your shameless acts. He Yao properly challenged Mu Ningxue to a duel, yet you’ve beaten him up like this before the duel even started. So this is how Fanxue Mountain handles it? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself!?”

“How shameless, she’s acting so full of herself when she isn’t even that strong, that Mu Ningxue shouldn’t be trusted!”

“This is insane, to think that Fanxue Mountain will do this just to preserve their reputation…”

The crowd’s emotions were easily manipulated by Li Ting. The people were so angry that they were on the verge of rioting!

“What’s with the fuss here!?” Shao Yu showed up.

Shao Yu was a reputable member of Fanxue Mountain. The people immediately gathered around her, demanding an explanation.

“Let’s go and take a look too,” Zhong Li told the rest of the Foehn Hunter Squad.

“So she’s Shao Ru, she’s a celebrity among Hunters!” Gu Ying quickly went closer when she saw Shao Ru, but there were just too many busybodies around her. She ended up being squeezed to the back.

Li Ting scoffed at Shao Yu, “What now? Fanxue Mountain has done such a shameless act, yet it won’t let people scold it?”

“He Yao was being disrespectful to Fanxue Mountain, so Mu Bai accepted his challenge on behalf of Mu Ningxue. His current condition is the outcome of the duel you’ve been waiting for. If you don’t believe it, you can ask the man himself,” Shao Yu replied serenely.

“Who the hell is Mu Bai?” Li Ting snapped.

Shao Yu did not answer. Li Ting turned to He Yao on the stretcher instead, “He Yao, did they send someone to take care of you before you even saw Mu Ningxue, so you wouldn’t be able to fight anymore?”

He Yao nodded strenuously.

Li Ting grinned. He continued to ask, “Is the guy called Mu Bai responsible for it?”

“Ye…yes,” He Yao replied.

“How many people did they send?” Li Ting asked.

“Just…just him,” He Yao replied.

A huge crowd had gathered around them, thus the people could clearly hear Li Ting’s questions. They completely lost their mind after the news spread among them!

Zhong Li, Gu Ying, Xie Hao, and the others were in the middle of the crowd. They received the news fairly quickly too.

“Who’s Mu Bai?” Zhong Li asked.

“I never heard the name before, but how is that possible? He Yao is the winner of the contest, yet how long has it been since he went up the mountain and lost to the man named Mu Bai?” Gu Ying was in disbelief.

“Speaking of which, Mu Ningxue didn’t really say she’s going to be fighting the duel herself when she accepted the challenge,” Xie Hao mentioned.

—

He Yao was just laying there on the stretcher. He did not expect everything to end up like this.

That Mu Bai was younger than he was, around Mu Ningxue’s age. If Mu Ningxue was indeed the strongest young adult of Fanxue Mountain, wouldn’t that imply he had no right to challenge her?

He Yao broke down mentally after losing to Mu Bai. He was ashamed to see so many people had gathered around him.

“He Yao, don’t be scared, Fanxue Mountain must have set you up. There’s no such person with the name Mu Bai. Mu Ningxue must have used a dirty trick to injure you so she could preserve her reputation. You can just tell us the truth, we’ll serve justice for you,” Li Ting said.

“I…I indeed lost to the man named Mu Bai. Let’s call it a day… it was I who was too full of myself. Mr. Li, I promised to join the Dali Clan after I was done with the duel, but I feel like I must train harder to become stronger. I’m nowhere close to their level,” He Yao said dispiritedly.

He was so confident when he went up the mountain. He would be acknowledged as the strongest young adult Mage in their country after defeating Mu Ningxue! However, his heart had almost burned to ashes after being carried down the mountain in such a humiliating manner…

A man who did not have any reputation, calling himself a mere member of Fanxue Mountain, and was only in his twenties, had defeated him so easily. What right did he have to call himself the strongest young adult of Fanxue Mountain!?

“Brother He Yao, don’t be like that, you must have fallen for their trick! Fanxue Mountain purposely set up the duel behind closed doors because they didn’t want us to watch the duel. They have lured you to a place with no eyewitnesses. They must have done something inhumane to you,” Li Ting tried to prod him.

“That’s not true, I’m willing to admit my defeat. That Mu Bai defeated me fair and square…” He Yao turned his head to Shao Yu, “I believe Fanxue Mountain is only setting up the duels behind closed doors because they didn’t want to let others see how bad the challengers lost against them, right?”

“Mm,” Shao Yu nodded.

That had always been Mu Ningxue’s intention. After all, those who dared to challenge Fanxue Mountain usually had a certain reputation. Since it was just a friendly duel, there was no reason to treat the outcome of the duels so seriously.

He Yao endured the pain he was under and asked, “May…may I ask, who’s stronger between that Mu Bai and Mu Ningxue?”

“Mu Bai dueled Mu Ningxue before he went into seclusion. He did mention that just now. It sounds like he lost that duel,” Shao Yu said.

He Yao gasped. He almost choked himself when taking a deep breath.

The crowd burst into an uproar!

He Yao had lost to Mu Bai, who was no match for Mu Ningxue. Wouldn’t that mean Mu Ningxue was at least two levels stronger than he was!?

He Yao had already won the Young Adults Contest in a one-sided manner, apart from the prolonged match between him and Bai Hongfei…

It turned out that the organizer had made the right call by not letting Mu Ningxue take part in the contest. Was there any point to hold the contest if Mu Ningxue was a participant?

Chapter 1810: South Wing Chief

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“What? He Yao was defeated by someone with the name Mu Bai before he even saw Mu Ningxue?” Li Kuang bounced up from his seat when he heard the news.

Li Kuang was not at the scene, but he was very concerned about the outcome of the duel. He was fervently hoping that Mu Ningxue would lose the duel. Not only did she win the World College Tournament, she had been considered the strongest young adult lately too, not to mention the immense potential of Fanxue Mountain. Many young talents were keen on joining Fanxue Mountain because of her reputation.

Young talents were extremely important for a faction, especially since it was difficult for anyone to improve their cultivation further after reaching the age of forty. A person’s mind and stamina would start to deteriorate in their forties. Cultivation was mostly about exceeding a person’s limits. If a person’s attributes were already deteriorating as they were aging, how could they possibly surpass their limits again?

Therefore, most factions were eager to recruit young and talented Mages. In addition, most powerful Mages that had reached older ages would either belong to a faction, or ask for an insane price!

Many young talents would be gathering to Fanxue Mountain due to Mu Ningxue’s reputation. Wasn’t the Huntress named Shao Yu a perfect example?

Even someone like He Yao, if he had not offended Fanxue Mountain in the first place for being too arrogant; wouldn’t he want to join Fanxue Mountain after losing his duel?

The Dali Clan desperately wanted someone to ruin Mu Ningxue’s reputation in order to suppress Fanxue Mountain’s growth a little. However, not only did He Yao fail to accomplish his mission, he even brought a lot of free publicity to some man named Mu Bai!

“I know that Mu Bai… but I didn’t expect his strength to improve so much in such a short period. Even He Yao was no match for him,” a woman in a red silk qipao behind Li Kuang spoke up.

“Mu Xumian, why didn’t you take part in the contest? Things would definitely have been a lot simpler if you did. That He Yao says he’s going to cultivate in seclusion now,” Li Kuang sighed.

“I can’t show myself in front of the public. My superiors paid a huge price to redeem me from the Dongfang Clan. I can only pull the strings behind the scenes for at least for a year or two. That Mu Bai has ruined my plans once again. If I knew he was so capable, I should have drugged him when he was still naive and taken him down in bed!” Mu Xumian sounded like an aroused vixen.

Li Kuang was already an old man, but his crotch still began to rise when he heard Mu Xumian’s voice.

Unfortunately, even though Li Kuang might be the second-in-command of the Dali Clan, he would not dare to touch this Mu Xumian. The woman was a core member of the Mu Clan. She was like a secretary the central government had sent to inspect a rural area!

“We’ll just treat it like we are giving half of South Wing Street to Fanxue Mountain. It’s not really a big deal. Besides, we will have a lot of chances to get back at them as long as the street is still around. But if He Yao decides to cultivate in seclusion, we have no idea who’s going to be appointed as the chief of the South Wing Platoon,” Mu Xumian mentioned.

Every district would establish a local company like the South Wing Platoon, which was judicially independent, even though it was still considered a subsidiary of the Magic Association. They were the local heroes tapped whenever a city was facing great danger. For example, the Imperial Mages in the Ancient Capital, the Royal Guards in the capital, and the Brown Rock Mages in Dingcheng were such forces. They could be considered the most honorable positions for a local Mage, having a direct influence on the military, Magic Association, government, renowned clans, and other organizations.

Feiniao Headquarters City had been established close to the southeastern oceanfront. It was necessary to establish a reliable company of Mages. The city was planning to recruit fresh blood for the South Wing Platoon through the Young Adults Contest. It might be a newly established force, but it was tightly bound to the city’s fate. The South Wing Platoon clearly held great responsibility and potential!

The Dali Clan wanted to establish their influence over the South Wing Platoon as quickly as possible in order to have more say in the city. It would help them to gradually secure the leading position among the renowned clans of Feiniao City.

“The city council has given out some news.” Li Kuang suddenly frowned.

“What do you mean?” Mu Xumian asked quickly.

“That goddamned He Yao! Not only did he decide to go into seclusion, he even recommended that Mu Bai who defeated him to be the chief of the South Wing Platoon!” Li Kuang swore loudly.

The South Wing Platoon was purely focused on its members’ strength. It was unlikely that anyone could fake their way in.

He Yao was supposed to be appointed as the South Wing Chief after winning the contest, but the man decided to give up on the offer and focus on his cultivation!

He Yao was obviously interested in earning a name for himself. Otherwise, he would not have challenged Mu Ningxue to a duel in front of the public. He knew everyone in the Southeast Region would soon know he had lost to a man named Mu Bai. He was only going to bring shame on himself if he became the Chief of the South Wing Platoon, so he had humbly turned the offer down.

Since He Yao had decided to turn down the offer, Feiniao City had respected his decision and asked him to recommend someone else.

He Yao was not snobbish. He believed whoever was stronger was more worthy to be appointed for the role. Therefore, he recommended Mu Bai, who had defeated him. He believed Mu Bai was a true expert of the younger generation. If Mu Bai was only slightly stronger than him, he would have hesitated to recommend him, but Mu Bai was significantly stronger than him. If he was not appointed the South Wing Chief, who else was worthy to take the role?

“It’s fine, it’s only a recommendation. The city council won’t appoint someone as the Chief so easily,” Mu Xumian reassured him.

“They already did!” Li Kuang responded, his face dark.

“What?” Mu Xumian went closer to read the information. The city council had officially announced the appointment. She could not help but curse, “Is there something wrong with the people in the city council? How could they give out such an important role to a mere kid!?”

—

—

Fanxue Mountain…

A celebration was taking place in Fanxue Villa’s main hall that night.

The core members of Fanxue Mountain were seated around a round table. They were raising glasses of red wine while cheering.

Mu Bai retained an awkward smile from his seat. He was returning the favors of those who were congratulating him.

“Congratulations, Mu Bai, you are now the South Wing Chief of Feiniao City! You’re basically the captain of the South Wing Platoon now! You finally have a say in Feiniao City, too!” Mu Linsheng emptied his glass after finishing his sentence.

“Err… I still don’t know what’s going on…” Mu Bai was completely dumbfounded.

He had just come out of seclusion. He was totally unaware of what was going on in the outside world, nor had he known about the Young Adults Contest or the South Wing Platoon. He only knew he had taught an arrogant man named He Yao a lesson, but somehow, it got so much attention in the city that he had ended up receiving an appointment letter afterwards!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Did you go to the South Wing Platoon? We were quite shocked, too. Why did they suddenly appoint you as the chief?” Yu Shishi had to ask.

“They didn’t treat me seriously at first. They simply asked me to fill out a form, but their expressions shifted after I wrote down Super Level as my cultivation level. They accused me of lying, so I showed them my Super Ice Spell and came back here,” Mu Bai told them.

“HAHAHA, I bet those people of the South Wing Platoon are dumbfounded. They didn’t expect us to have such a young Super Mage. Well done, as expected of someone from our Mu Clan!” Mu Zhuoyun sat beside Mu Bai and patted him heavily on the shoulder.

The Mu Clan of Bo City finally had a reliable man. They could finally show the Mu Clan of the capital a piece of their mind! The Mu Clan of Bo City whom they had mistreated now had a Super Mage! Fanxue Mountain was going to make them regret abandoning them and driving them away in the past!

1

“Uncle, please don’t mention it. I’m still a little lacking compared to Mu Ningxue,” Mu Bai said humbly.

He might have reached the Super Level, but he was still no match for Mu Ningxue. Her Ice Domain completely suppressed his Ice Magic!

“You’re already very impressive. How many people in our country are able to achieve the Super Level at your age? You are the strongest young adult in Feiniao City from now on! You’re the South Wing Chief, you deserve all the attention you’re getting!” Mu Zhuoyun declared with a loud voice.

The people in the hall cheered. Most of them were young Mages in the Advanced or Intermediate Levels. Some were part of management, while others were pure fighters. When they had first joined Fanxue Mountain, they had been betting on Fanxue Mountain’s future. After all, Fanxue Mountain lacked Super Mages who could keep everything under control in the past.

The difference between a renowned clan and a small family was whether they had a Super Mage among them!

Since Fanxue Mountain now had a Super Mage, no one would dare to underestimate them again. They now had more credibility to the government, Magic Association, and the military, on top of the rest of the factions out there!

“Uncle, I still have no idea what the South Wing Platoon’s duties are. I prefer to stay in Fanxue Mountain. I’m not used to being ordered around,” Mu Bai admitted.

Mu Bai initially thought he was merely going through the motions when he went to the South Wing Platoon. He was feeling a little guilty after beating the crap out of the South Wing Platoon’s prospective chief. He did not expect to receive a letter of appointment in return!

Mu Bai had not opened the letter yet. He would only become the South Wing Chief officially after reporting in tomorrow morning.

“Mu Bai, don’t you worry about that. The South Wing Platoon is different from other groups. First, the South Wing Platoon isn’t under the jurisdiction of the Magic Association, despite being a subsidiary. Every South Wing Mage retains their freedom. You are still considered a member of Fanxue Mountain. Only when the city is in great danger or facing a huge threat will the South Wing Mages have to obey the South Wing Chief’s orders.

“Fanxue Mountain coexists with Feiniao City, thus Fanxue Mountain has the obligation to guarantee Feiniao City’s safety. Therefore, it’s not really a huge difference if you become the South Wing Chief. You won’t even have to report every day if the city isn’t under any threats,” Mu Linsheng explained to Mu Bai.

“Besides, our Fanxue Mountain occupies a huge portion of Feiniao City’s land. Many factions are jealous of us, and the government might pick on us, too. If you are the South Wing Chief, we’ll have more say in the government. Our rivals will consider your role if they are planning to trouble us. Ningxue is Fanxue Mountain’s flagship, it’s unlikely she will be able to join other organizations, since she’s our leader. Therefore, you are the perfect candidate for the role of the South Wing Chief!” Mu Zhuoyun explained to him.

“I see. It’s not too bad, then. Otherwise, I will feel like I’m not doing much in Fanxue Mountain,” Mu Bai nodded understanding. He believed it was the right thing to do if it could benefit Fanxue Mountain.

“Being able to carry huge responsibilities on your shoulders… Mu Bai, you’ve truly grown into a reliable man. I’m pleased on behalf of your mother,” Mi Zhuoyun sighed. It’s mainly because I was too useless. I wasn’t able to take good care of the family. I had to rely on you kids. You’ve all suffered a lot over these years…” Mu Zhuoyun had drunk quite a lot. He was starting to get a little emotional.

“Brother Zhuoyun, you’ve been drinking a little too much. Here, help Zhuoyun to his room,” Mu Linsheng spoke up quickly.

“Yeah, I’ve drunk too much. Let’s talk about something else instead. Either way, I’m really proud of you all after seeing how much you have grown. I’m also grateful for everyone here who put their trust in Fanxue Mountain. Don’t worry, we will not fall. We will only become stronger!” Mu Zhuoyun gave everyone a toast before staggering out the door.

“We will not fall. We will only become stronger! Cheers!” the crowd exclaimed.

Fanxue Mountain had gone from a barren mountain to its current prosperity. Everyone was betting their youth and future on it. Fanxue Mountain was now on the right track. It was not far away from shining gloriously!

Mu Ningxue glanced after her drunken father. She could tell that the man was genuinely happy.

Mu Bai was a real member of their family. Mu Zhuoyun had to be pleased after seeing how much Mu Bai had grown.

—

—

The Magic City…

At the Pearl Institute, a golden-haired man driving a luxurious car did a huge drift and parked the car in front of an apartment. He ran up the escalator angrily.

He kicked the door that was unlocked open and slammed down into the couch. He glanced at Ai Tutu, who was eating popcorn while enjoying her drama there, and demanded, “Why hasn’t that assh*** returned from Guangzhou?”

“He’s upstairs,” Ai Tutu told him without looking over.

“F**k me, he didn’t bother telling me that he’s back. Assh***, come out here!” Zhao Manyan yelled without going upstairs.

Mo Fan was still half-asleep. He came out of his room in sleepwear and yawned when he saw Zhao Manyan. “Do you all have dog noses or something? How do you all know I’m back so quickly every time? I just wanted a nice sleep. I was treated like a lab rat for so long…”

“Take a look at this yourself!” Zhao Manyan tossed a newspaper at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan picked up the newspaper and skimmed through it. His eyes glittered when he spoke, “Mu Bai has made a name for himself after a single duel? Oh my, not bad, Green Tea Man! He was even appointed as the South Wing Chief! That’s good news, why are you so angry about it?”

“Good news my ass! I was able to bully him with a single hand before we visited the Pyramid, but I’m still stuck at the Advanced Level while he’s already becoming a f**king legend!… We are leaving tomorrow. If you don’t, I’ll be holding a knife against your throat and force you to go with me!” Zhao Manyan snarled.

There was nothing more infuriating than being left behind by his friends!

Chapter 1812: Shameless In Your Own Way

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Fine, we’ll set out tomorrow morning to look for the Totem Beasts… I’ll ask if Mu Bai is free tomorrow. Maybe we can ask him to tag along,” Mo Fan said.

“I don’t want to be mocked by his expressionless face!” Zhao Manyan shouted.

“You didn’t get any benefits from the trip to the Pyramid. Isn’t it great that you now have two Super Mages to escort you and guarantee your safety?” Mo Fan pressed further.

“That does make a little sense. Assh*** Mu Bai, just you wait, I will reach the Super Level soon!”

“That’s settled, then. I thought it was something serious. It was only a matter of time until Mu Bai got the attention he deserves, since he’s already a Super Mage now. If you aren’t pleased with it, just find a luxurious nightclub and vent your frustrations instead of disturbing my sleep… Oh, you can try asking Ai Tutu and see if she’s feeling horny. The two of you might be able to do one another a favor!” Mo Fan closed the door and went back to sleep.

He was seriously worn out. Being a lab rat was more demanding than he had thought. He felt like his energy was completely depleted. He could not bother thinking about any Dark Material, four additional effects, Order Manipulation… he just wanted to enjoy a nice rest!

A pillow flew from the couch and landed heavily on Mo Fan’s door as soon as it was closed. Ai Tutu’s furious roar followed, “Demon king, do you want to die? Do you really take me as that kind of a woman!?”

“Ai Tutu, why are you eating still those? Aren’t you worried that you’re going to be as fat as a pig? I won’t even have an erection if you lie naked in front of me,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Ahhhhhh, the two of you should go to Hell. Die, you assh****!” Ai Tutu screamed. Her voice echoed down the corridor.

Zhao Manyan immediately escaped after he was done mocking the girl. He did not even consider Mo Fan’s suggestion. If he kept wasting his time on his pleasures, Mu Bai was seriously going to have a huge lead over him. He should focus on his cultivation for the time being. Otherwise, he would really feel like killing himself if he failed the breakthrough when he had the chance.

—

Mo Fan had no idea how many days he had slept. He only knew he had woken up in the middle of the night. He seemed a lot more energetic.

He left his room to grab some water and happened to see an alluring figure in a tight outfit and a thin nightgown sitting on the balcony. He could feel his blood rushing at the sight alone!

“Mo Fan?” the figure on the balcony asked after becoming aware of his wolvish passionate gaze.

“Ugh, it’s me. Why weren’t you focused on your cultivation? I only managed to grab a few glances,” Mo Fan grumbled.

“…” Mui Nujiao was left speechless. She quickly changed the topic, “I’ve sorted out the incident.”

“What incident?” Mo Fan was confused.

“About the people who tried to defame you, did you already forget?” Mui Nujiao grumbled. She had put in so much effort to help him clear up the misunderstandings, but he seemed to have forgotten about it.

“Oh, my bad, my mind is a little messed up lately. Someone has been conducting terrible experiments on me. So, did you find out who’s trying to set me up?” Mo Fan sallied forth.

“It’s the Zu Clan. They are spreading rumors about your malignant behavior and taking advantage of the fact that you weren’t in the country to do some wicked things in your name,” Mui Nujiao informed him.

“The Zu Clan… Huh, things are getting interesting,” Mo Fan grinned.

Zu Xiangtian must be behind it! That idiot must be thinking of crushing me, not only in terms of strength, but reputation too!

“Did you have a conflict with them?” Mui Nujiao asked.

“That Zu Xiangtian wants to teach me a lesson, and instead of doing it when nobody’s around, he wants to trample me in front of the public. He is planning to rob me of my fame and my woman too,” Mo Fan explained.

“…Why do you sound like someone from an old serial?” Mui Nujiao asked him.

“Anyway, he wants to trample me under his feet.” Mo Fan recalled how aloof Zu Xiangtian was during their encounter.

Zu Xiangtian was extremely confident in himself. If he was someone who just wanted to make Mo Fan suffer, he would have made his move at the village on the Mediterranean Sea. However, he had decided to wait for half a year. It clearly showed that Zu Xiangtian strongly believed Mo Fan had no chance of surpassing him within that period!

“Zu Xiangtian was a few years earlier than us. Isn’t he currently one of the strongest young Mages in the world? He’s not supposed to challenge you before the next World College Tournament,” Mui Nujiao said.

The whole world followed the World College Tournament closely. There was no official tournament for Mages after the World College Tournament. However, people liked to compare the strong Mages, especially those under the age of thirty. Those people had the highest chance of achieving the heights which older Mages could no longer reach.

Zu Xiangtian’s reputation had mainly been established in foreign countries, mostly because the Zu Clan had done a great job setting up their connections there.

A duel between a powerful Mage who was ranked internationally and the strongest student of the World College Tournament was obviously going to get a lot of attention!

“The Zu Clan has long been fed up with me. He wants to humiliate me by challenging me to a duel. I’m more than willing to accept it, since it’s hard to find someone who’s strong and deserves a beating like Zu Xiangtian does,” Mo Fan declared.

“You’re just as belligerent as when you first came to the Pearl Institute!” Mui Nujiao smiled.

Mo Fan had challenged every new student and the entire Fire School after he enrolled in the Pearl Institute. Mui Nujiao was amused whenever she recalled it. Even Ai Tutu still called him Demon King. The students of the same class as him would subconsciously back away whenever they heard his name. He was the typical violent problem student!

“I didn’t start it this time. I can’t just stick my face to Zu Xiangtian’s foot when he wants to step on my face, right? I thought he would come to Fanxue Mountain when it was time to beat me, but I didn’t expect him to use these dirty tricks, like finding people to impersonate me and harass my fans. I will not tolerate it!” Mo Fan snarled.

“I’ve tried to clear your name, but some people preferred to oppose you instead. There’s nothing I can do about that, since you are always getting all the attention. There are always people that are jealous of you,” Mui Nujiao said.

“I don’t mind that, it’s not like everyone knows how to admire my handsomeness,” Mo Fan said proudly.

“Mm, you are shameless in your own way too!” Mui Nujiao giggled.

“…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

South of the Magic City, around three hundred kilometers from Hangzhou’s territory along the highway, the group happened to pass by a place called Wanggui Town. They planned to stay for the night there.

The town was prosperous, established at a relatively higher altitude. The rise of the sea level had not bothered the town. It had even given the town a great view of the sea.

The desolate new seafront was around twenty kilometers to the east of the town. The place did not rely much on the sea. It had a freshwater lake behind it as its main source of water.

“The scenery is pretty nice here. I didn’t know there was a town in this area. It should be quite interesting to stay here for the night,” Zhao Manyan said.

Some towns would appear along the highway when one least expected it. They could see roofs with special colors, bays with crystal clear water serving as hidden lands of peace and prosperity outside the reach of modern cities and industrial zones. This Wanggui Town was such an example. It was more enjoyable to visit it than just take a quick glimpse at it, as it surprised the group with its elegance and peacefulness.

There was a checkpoint at the town’s entrance. They saw a few members of the Magic Association in their uniforms working together with the traffic police.

“I’m sorry, Wanggui Town isn’t receiving tourists for now. Please go somewhere else if you are not a Mage.” A traffic policeman signaled the group to keep moving along the highway.

“We are Mages. Did something happen at Wanggui Town?” Mo Fan piped up.

“Why do you bother asking? We are just passing by anyway. Let’s forget it if we can’t spend the night here,” Jiang Shaoxu sighed and shook her head.

“The Enforcement Union is conducting an investigation in the town. You may enter the town, but you’ll need to put your information down,” a member of the Magic Association said.

“Enforcement Union?” Mo Fan was surprised.

If the Enforcement Union was in charge of the investigation, it must be something serious, potentially a huge threat.

“Time to go, we are leaving. Mo Fan, don’t tell me you’re thinking of being a busybody again. The Enforcement Union will take care of the situation here!” Zhao Manyan said quickly.

“That’s right, is there any place that’s not feeling pressured from the coastline coming inland at a time like this?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Lingling took out a map and said, “This Wanggui Town is quite close to our destination, Dawn Island. If we don’t rest here, our next option is Changlu Town, which is around a hundred kilometers away.”

“That far away?” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed.

“Mm, the places around here are empty. Wanggui Town is the only town in this area,” Lingling said.

“We’ll rest up here then. We are Mages anyway, are we afraid of some petty demon creatures?” Mo Fan said.

“Fine, we’ll spend the night here.”

——

The group put down their information and went into the town to stay for the night. They were planning to regroup with Mu Bai, who was coming from Fanxue Mountain to meet them.

The town seemed perfectly fine when they arrived. Many common folk were still on the streets. The restaurants and shops were operating, too.

The truth was, Mo Fan was just too hungry to travel for another hundred kilometers. An elegant town like this might lack everything else, but it would not lack delicacies. Mo Fan purposely found a delicately decorated restaurant and ordered a whole table of dishes to feast on!

“Speaking of which, which branch of the Enforcement Union is in charge here?” Zhao Manyan could not help but ask.

“It seems like Nanxi Mountain’s Enforcement Union, judging from their badges,” Lingling answered.

Lingling was familiar with the Enforcement Union, so she was able to recognize the logos of the different branches of the Enforcement Union with ease.

The Enforcement Union of Nanxi Mountain and Beiyu Mountain were to the north and south of the Lingyin Enforcement Union, respectively. The Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union was mainly responsible for incidents that occurred to the south of Hangzhou, while Beiyu Mountain was responsible for those to the north of Hangzhou.

“Nanxi Mountain… I recalled someone telling me that she was appointed as an elder of Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union…” Mo Fan rubbed his chin as he tried to remember who the person was.

He heard an imperious voice rising outside while he was immersed in his thoughts.

The voice belonged to a woman. She had the pleasant voice of a mature woman, but she did not sound too friendly.

“Vice President, please don’t criticize him anymore. He’s just a rookie. He’s obviously going to have a mistake or two. Let’s just go inside and have dinner first. Everyone’s starving after working for the whole day. We should still eat something, right? This restaurant is quite popular in Wanggui Town. Let’s eat something and calm down,” a man in his thirties was mediating between the two.

“I’m already full up with anger!” the mature woman stepped into the restaurant angrily and sat on a wooden stool. Her posture set off her curvy waist.

Zhao Manyan was an expert when checking out women. He soon squinted and smacked his lips.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan, it’s a rare find! Even a vixen like Jiang Shaoxu lacks a little charm in comparison to her,” Zhao Manyan immediately spoke up.

“Do you want to die!?” Jiang Shaoxu kicked Zhao Manyan in the shin.

Mo Fan’s eyes were fixed on the woman ever since she had come into the restaurant.

“Why do I have to bring a student like you around? Can you please train somewhere else for a few years before joining the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union? Have your feet firmly planted on the ground instead of relying on your connections!” The woman was still angry.

“Vice President Tang, isn’t he trying to learn from you humbly? He will be able to grow faster if he could learn from you right after he graduates. Don’t you agree, Zhui Min?” the man in his thirties replied quickly.

The young man named Zhu Min was seated to the side. He had his head lowered like he did not dare to talk back, yet his eyes were actually looking somewhere else. He was not being sincere at all. He only voiced out half-heartedly when his colleague mentioned his name, “That’s right, I still have a lot of things to learn from Vice Elder Tang.”

“I would have fired you if it weren’t for your father!” Vice Elder Tang spat coldly.

The look in Zhu Min’s eyes shifted slightly, yet he did not dare to make it too obvious. He vented his frustrations on the waiter when he saw someone coming up to their table, “What kind of a shitty restaurant is this? It took you so long to serve us; shouldn’t you be serving us tea and some entree first?”

The waiter was startled. He pointed at the counter and snapped back, “You can order the dishes there, but you can vent your anger outside!”

“What did you say!?” Zhu Min rose to his feet and immediately directed his Aura at the waiter.

He could endure being scolded by his Vice President, but even a waiter in a shitty restaurant dared to talk to him like that? He was still an Advanced Mage! Even the town’s mayor had to be respectful to him!

“Trying to show off your cultivation in front of me? Sit the f**k down!” the waiter’s voice intensified.

To everyone’s surprise, the waiter suddenly unleashed an even stronger Aura, and forcibly suppressed Zhu Min. He actually stumbled back down at the waiter’s order, and almost fell to the ground!

“Mo Fan!” the mature Vice Elder blurted out in joy after she finally looked at the waiter.

“Miss Tangyue, it’s been a long time. I’ve been missing you,” Mo Fan said with a harmless smile.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan immediately hugged Tangyue following his words. Tangyue was startled, yet she did not reject Mo Fan’s friendly hug.

Meanwhile, Zhao Manyan was not feeling comfortable when he saw the mature beauty allowing Mo Fan to take advantage of her so easily, especially when she was sticking her huge bust so close to Mo Fan’s chest!

Since when was that idiot better at picking up chicks than him!?

“Why are you here?” Tangyue was surprised.

She had not seen Mo Fan after being reassigned to Nanxi Mountain. The two might promise to meet one another whenever they called one another, but they both seemed to be too busy in their own ways.

Tangyue had been extremely busy over the years. Nanxi Mountain was a lot more complicated than Beiyu Mountain. Tang Zhong was having trouble controlling Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union as the Chief of the Lingyin Enforcement Union. However, since Nanxi Mountain Enforcement was actually subordinate to the Lingyin Enforcement Union, he had no intention to let it run itself. He had assigned Tangyue here to make sure everything was in order.

Zhu Min was the son of Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union’s Cheif. Tangyue was extremely fed up with him. He had only achieved his current level of cultivation after being fed a lot of resources, most of them from the Enforcement Union.

The resources of the Enforcement Union were meant to be distributed to the Enforcers and probationary Enforcers with outstanding talents. A man like Zhu Min did not deserve anything!

“I just happened to pass by the town. We came to eat since we were feeling quite hungry. I didn’t expect Miss Tangyue to be on duty here,” Mo Fan said.

He did not mention the Totem Beasts in front of outsiders.

Mo Fan was still struggling to believe he had just stumbled into Tangyue here. It felt like meeting your first love in an unfamiliar town, like he would be throwing the Heavens’ kind gesture away if he did not spend the night with the woman after such a fateful encounter.

“Mm, there’s been some problem, are those your friends… oh, little Lingling is here too!” Tangyue turned around and saw Lingling immediately.

“Sister Tangyue,” Lingling answered. The little loli’s expressionless face had a surprising smile on it.

Leng Qing and Tangyue had always been close. Lingling had often visited the Lingyin Enforcement Union, too.

“You’ve grown into such a beauty too,” Tangyue walked up to Lingling and kissed her on the forehead.

“Sister Tangyue, please stop, I’m not a kid anymore,” Lingling blushed embarrassedly.

Zhao Manyan could not help but take a sip from his glass when he saw Tangyue’s red lips kissing Lingling on the forehead. He slowly lowered his gaze and stared at Tangyue’s chest.

How big, how round, how firm, how spectacular!

Mo Fan introduced Tangyue to Jiang Shaoxu and the pervert Zhao. Tangyue smiled, indicating that she knew who they were. After all, they were both on the national team that had won the World College Tournament for the country. That being said, she had a little trouble recognizing Zhao Manyan, since he had done some cosmetic surgery on his face so that the Zhao Family would not learn he was still alive!

“This is my assistant, Li Dong. This is an intern, Zhu Min,” Tangyue said.

“Nice to meet you all, I’m Li Dong from the Dali Clan. I’m currently assisting the Vice Chief of Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union. I heard my men at the checkpoint say that a few Mages had come into town. They must have been referring to you,” Li Dong greeted them in a friendly manner.

“Yeah, Mo Fan is a busybody. He likes going to every place that has trouble.” Jiang Shaoxu gave Mo Fan a disdainful glare.

Mo Fan rubbed his nose and said, “Do I?”

Lingling and Zhao Manyan nodded simultaneously.

“It’s called a Hunter’s nose. I can’t help with it. A Hunter is most worried when nothing happens, since it means there’s no job for us. Don’t you agree, Lingling?” Mo Fan shrugged helplessly.

Lingling nodded. Mo Fan was not wrong about that. Many Hunters would follow the Enforcement Union around, since it often meant they would be able to receive quests with high rewards as soon as they were available.

“What happened here?” Mo Fan asked Tangyue.

“A strange poisonous species have been showing up lately. More than a hundred people have fallen sick. We still can’t figure out a cure or an antidote for the poison. The town mayor contacted the Magic Association, which decided to let the Enforcement Union take over after assessing the situation,” Tangyue explained.

“A contagious poison is the most troublesome. It can easily turn into a plague if it’s not handled properly,” Lingling murmured.

“Yes, the Magic Association is worried that it might turn into a plague, too. Everyone has been sensitive about things like this after the plague in Hangzhou,” Tangyue agreed.

“Did you find the creature responsible for the poison? You’ve solved half the case if you can find the source of the poison,” Mo Fan said.

“Hah, we had a chance to catch it this evening, but some dumbass let it escape because of a silly mistake,” Tangyue said.

Mo Fan glanced at the man named Zhu Min. He could tell the young man was the arrogant kind.

Tangyue usually had a good temper, and was very patient with students, too. She was obviously fed up with Zhu Min if she held such a strong grudge against him.

“Did you need any help?” Mo Fan asked.

Zhao Manyan immediately rolled his eyes after hearing Mo Fan’s words.

Didn’t Mo Fan promise to help him look for Totem Beasts? Why was he offering his beautiful former teacher help instead?

“Since when does the Enforcement Union need help from outsiders like you?” Zhu Min interrupted coldly when he finally found a chance to speak.

The Enforcement Union mainly dealt with confidential matters. Zhu Min believed it was inappropriate for Tangyue to be telling others so much information.

“Just ignore him,” Tangyue shot down Zhu Min’s remark right away. Zhu Min was so angry that his face turned the same color as the vegetables on the table.

“Lingling, help me look for the poisonous creature. It shouldn’t take you too long,” Tangyue said.

“Of course!”

——

Tangyue brought them to a teahouse close to the lake after dinner. She did not bring her two subordinates along, so she could explain everything in detail to Lingling.

Both Lingling and Mo Fan were Seven Star Hunter Masters. The Enforcement Union was an organization under the government. They would often struggle to handle certain dubious situations, which experienced Hunters were often better at.

“Sister Tangyue, did you say the poisonous creature might be hiding in a cave on Dawn Island?” Lingling asked.

“Mm, a rich foreigner bought the island around twenty years ago. It was turned into a domestication form for the Featherless Birds, training them into becoming mounts for mercenaries, but his plan failed, and he went bankrupt around ten years ago. The government didn’t take over the island, so the ranch turned into a wasteland. The Featherless Birds eventually turned into wild demon creatures when no one was controlling them, so the island is basically a big nest of demon creatures now. We tried to hunt down the poisonous creature on Dawn Island, but the Featherless Birds have a strong sense of territory…”

2

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lingling opened her electronic map and noticed Dawn Island was still marked as a domestication ranch.

that meant the information about the location had not been updated for more than ten years. The Featherless Birds that no one was looking after had taken over Dawn Island and turned it into their breeding ground.

“Trying to establish a private huge-scale domestication ranch is extremely dangerous,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Jiang Shaoxu’s family had a military background, so she was very familiar with the difficulty of domesticating demon creatures.

If there were any huge-scale domestication ranches in their country, it was most likely the Heavenly Eagles Domestication Program. Other domestication ranches were set up outside the safe zones in case something disastrous happened.

Domesticating demon creatures was an extremely profitable business. After all, there were only a limited number of Summoners in the world, and their Summoned Beasts were their private possessions. Some demon creatures were very suitable as mounts for Battlemages, and for assisting them in battles. However, even the gentlest demon creature would bring a bloodbath to human territories if they were untamed.

The military’s system of domesticating Heavenly Eagles was very developed, yet they still turned against their riders during the invasion of the White Magic Falcons. The soldiers had been forced to kill them all right away. Otherwise, they would have been fighting demon creatures instead!

1

“Twenty years ago, some leaders of Wanggui Town invested in Dawn Island. They were planning to rely on Dawn Island to develop the town into a reputable city along the east coastline. When the foreign merchant left after the bankruptcy, the government which had greatly supported him faced a financial crisis. They hid the truth to prevent the Councilmen above them from discovering it, and abandoned Dawn Island!” Tangyue informed them.

“These authorities, seriously…” Zhao Manyan felt an urge to curse, yet he withheld after seeing there were so many girls around him.

“Were those officials punished?” Mo Fan asked.

“How do you even punish them? Those officials were not dumb. It has been ten years. They have long been reassigned to somewhere else and continue to ride roughshod over people. Why would they even care about this town’s wellbeing? The new mayor has only been around for two years. He initially thought Dawn Island was just an abandoned island, but when he sent a team to survey it, the whole team was killed. The mayor was utterly dumbfounded!” Tangyue sighed.

“This mayor is very unlucky,” Mo Fan had to say.

The officials of Wanggui Town ten years ago had left such a huge mess. They concealed the truth so it would not affect their careers, and arranged for themselves to be reassigned somewhere else during that period. When new officials came to replace them, they realized the mess had now turned into an island of demon creatures!

The Featherless Birds could easily reproduce many times within ten years. The abandoned ranch was obviously a suitable environment for the creatures. Dawn Island was basically a hotbed for Featherless Birds now. They might just be a bunch of younglings ten years ago, but they were a tribe or a horde now!

“The breed of Featherless Birds that the merchant chose had the highest reproduction and growth rate. Dawn Island was enclosed and rich in resources, allowing the Featherless Birds to form a tribe on their own,” Tangyue went on.

“The real threat that Wanggui Town is facing isn’t the poisonous creature, but these Featherless Birds instead?” Lingling asked.

Tangyue nodded. There were other people in the restaurant, so she had not had the chance to tell them the truth.

“Actually, we discovered the problem around a month ago. Unfortunately, it’s troublesome for the Enforcement Union to handle it on our own. We have no choice but to observe the island for now. The poisonous creature is only a small problem that arose from the mass reproduction of the Featherless Birds. We really should deal with it as soon as possible,” Tangyue said.

“No wonder an elder like you is going after a little poisonous creature. It turns out that Dawn Island is posing such a huge threat to this town,” Mo Fan observed.

“Mm, I have to keep an eye on Dawn Island at all times, but my men can’t even deal with the minor problems. It’s giving me a huge headache!” Tangyue rubbed her temples.

“HAHA, I was wondering why you were so mad!” Mo Fan laughed.

“I already did some investigation. The number of Featherless Birds wasn’t so crazy before the rise of the sea level, but ever since the sea level rose, they have grown at an insane rate, like they were given some kind of growth hormone,” Tangyue said.

“Perhaps the seawater has washed up a certain resource that they were lacking to them,” Lingling said.

“I think so, too. If I can’t resolve it, I’ll have to report it to Zhu Meng,” Tangyue sighed.

Zhu Meng was the Councilman in charge of the Threat-Elimination Strategy. He was the most suitable person to deal with the situation. However, the Enforcement Union was not performing its duty by having the busy Councilman take over something they had failed to handle properly. Tangyue could not figure out any way to resolve the problem. If she still could not think of a better plan in the next couple of weeks, she would have no choice but to report it. She could not drag it out any longer.

That being said, once she reported it, she would be demoted as a result!

Tangyue was not like the officials that purposely hid the truth. She was fine with a demotion. She did not want the Featherless Birds on Dawn Island to keep growing.

“You just became a Vice Chief not long ago. It will be a pity if you are demoted,” Lingling said.

“It’s better than letting the situation go out of control,” Tangyue pointed out.

“We were planning to visit Dawn Island to look for a Seal of the Totem Beasts. It sounds like our plan is stuck because of the issue too.” Lingling glanced at Jiang Shaoxu, who looked quite helpless too.

They had initially tried to stay out of trouble, yet little did they know that Dawn Island was no longer the same place as before. It was already occupied by the Featherless Birds that had failed to be domesticated!

“Miss Tangyue, your problem is my problem. Leave it to us,” Mo Fan said as he patted himself on the chest.

“Thank you, but I don’t think it’s going to be an easy task. I only shared it with you all because I’ve been under great pressure recently. I just want to vent it out. I feel a lot better now,” Tangyue said.

—

Tangyue soon left, as she had other matters to attend to.

Mo Fan could tell that Tangyue had been bothered by this matter for a long time. Her temper and mental state were obviously affected. Mo Fan was very concerned for her.

After watching Tangyue leave, Jiang Shaoxu nudged Mo Fan and snarled, “Your thoughts are filled with her bust. You gave your promise to look for the Totem Beasts before we set out for the trip, but you’ve completely lost focus after stumbling into her. Is there something between you two?”

“She was my magic instructor back in high school. You had no idea how much I admired her when I first learned magic. I can also guarantee you that every male student of our batch had a wet dream about her. She’s not just a magic instructor to us… As her student, I should help her with her problem!” Mo Fan said righteously.

“Mm, Mo Fan’s is right about that,” Zhao Manyan nodded in agreement.

Zhao Manyan also wanted to have a teacher like her. He would not have to rely on magazines, images, or the computer to satisfy his sexual desires!

Chapter 1816: A Mentally Ill Person and His Wild Train of Thoughts

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Dawn Island was around fifty kilometers away from Wanggui Town. The town was a few dozen kilometers away from the sea, and the island was a distance away from the shore, too.

Dawn Island was a part of Wanggui Town, but was quite distant from it. Therefore, it was no different from a desolate island, since no one was looking after it.

After leaving the teahouse, Mo Fan, Lingling, Zhao Manyan, and Jiang Shaoxu headed to the coast. Wanggui Town did not have a port, it only had a river flowing out of the town to the sea. They followed the river to the sea and noticed there was no shoreline, but a tall cliff instead.

The cliff served as a natural dam blocking the seawater. As a result, Wanggui Town was not greatly affected by the rise of sea level compared to other places. The sea monsters did not bother invading the town, since the seawater could not reach it.

“There’s a tower over there!” Lingling pointed at the cliff.

“Let’s take a look.”

The foursome went to the tower and stumbled into two members of the Enforcement Union patrolling the area. They were smoking while carrying out their duty. They seemed rather relaxed. They asked the group a few questions before heading in the opposite direction. Mo Fan also heard them cursing someone at the tower under their breath.

They went inside the tower, assuming it was abandoned. However, they were surprised to see how clean the place was at the entrance.

The tower was built with stone. The colors of the wall on the outside had already faded away from prolonged exposure to sunlight. The contrast was obvious even at night. The tower had obviously been around for some time.

“Someone seems to live here. There are clothes being dried over there,” Zhao Manyan pointed at two sticks nearby.

“There definitely is,” Mo Fan agreed.

A tall figure slowly came out of the shadows inside the tower.

Their face slowly became visible. It was a face worn down by the vicissitudes of life. Dark freckles scattered along the man’s slightly tanned skin. His eyes inspected the group of uninvited guests. The alert in his eyes indicated that he was not just a normal guardian.

The man was slightly hunched over, yet he was still more than half a head taller than Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan. It clearly showed how huge the watcher was when he was younger!

“Kids shouldn’t be playing around here. Demon creatures might kidnap you and slice your belly open if you wander around late at night!” the watcher spoke up when he realized the visitors were a few young adults.

“Are you the watcher here?” Mo Fan asked.

“Why do you even ask? Go back to town, the sea has been a little rough lately,” the watcher answered gruffly.

The watcher was likely an old soldier. He was still wearing an old military uniform.

“We just want to ask you about Dawn Island. You must have been here for many years. Do you know roughly how many Featherless Birds are there on Dawn Island?” Mo Fan asked.

“Just leave, it’s no place for busybodies like you,” the watcher said impatiently.

“Have you heard of the Totem Beasts?” Mo Fan pressed.

—

The watcher had no intention of interacting with them. He dismissed Mo Fan and the others right away.

The group wandered aimlessly along the cliff after failing to learn anything useful. Jiang Shaoxu recalled Mo Fan’s last question. She could not help but ask, “Mo Fan, do you think Totem Beasts are as common as cabbages? Did you really just ask a random person if they knew about the Totem Beasts?”

Mo Fan scratched his head and explained awkwardly, “Isn’t that the common setting for a strange-tempered old man living in an abandoned place in a drama, video game, or a novel? They are usually protecting something. I thought the old soldier might be a guardian since there are traces of Totem Beasts around here, so I asked right away.”

“…” Lingling, Zhao Manyan, and Jiang Shaoxu were left speechless. Speaking of a mentally ill person and his wild train of thoughts…

“It’s better if we investigate the place ourselves. There’s no point wasting our time here,” Zhao Manyan stated.

Zhao Manyan had come for the Totem Beasts that he desperately needed, so he was surprisingly energetic. He brought out his spectacular pair of golden wings and confirmed the rough direction of Dawn Island.

“I’ll go scout first. Wait for my news here,” Zhao Manyan said.

Twenty kilometers was not too far for someone with the ability to fly. Zhao Manyan beat his golden wings and soared into the sky. The others could faintly see him flying across the calm sea and disappearing into the distance.

Watching Zhao Manyan heading toward Dawn Island, Mo Fan exclaimed, “This is my first time seeing Zhao Manyan taking the initiative to do something!”

“He must be irritated,” Lingling said.

—

The dark sky only had a faint silver glow originating from Zhao Manyan’s back. It felt like the sea and the sky had merged into one when the moon and stars were absent. It was impossible to differentiate between the sea and the sky.

The most troublesome thing about it was not to differentiate between the sky and the sea, but to tell the right direction.

The moon and clouds were not suitable to be treated as references, since they were constantly moving. It was impossible to keep moving in a straight line in such an environment, similar to walking in a straight line with one’s eyes closed. The person would most likely stray away from the line.

The island was quite a distance away, especially since Wanggui Town was already a remote location along the coast. The island was basically cut off from the rest of the world. Due to the terrain, there were hardly any boats that would pass by the island, either.

Zhao Manyan was not flying quickly. He was slower than a helicopter. His Wing Magical Equipment was generally slower than a Wind Mage’s Wind Wings, since a Wind Mage could use the airflow and their control of the wind to surpass the speed of most flying equipment.

The Wing Magical Equipment consumed energy, too. Zhao Manyan noticed an irregularly-shaped island just as he was wondering if he was flying in the right direction.

The island had a diameter of over ten kilometers. The thick plants on it were stacked into layers. The tallest spot on the island was similar to the mountains inland, while the lowest spot was a jagged beach.

Zhao Manyan could only see one side of the island. The island was big and he was not flying at a great altitude, so there was only so much he could see.

Dawn Island was very quiet. It looked like a desolate island covered in vegetation instead of being overrun with untamed demon creatures. Zhao Manyan continued forward without a care, when he suddenly heard the water splashing fiercely underneath him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m after the birds on Dawn Island. What the hell do these fish in the water want from me!?” Zhao Manyan cursed.

Zhao Manyan was annoyed when he saw that the fish in the area of Dawn Island had been alarmed.

Several blue-brown figures sprang into the sky amid fountains of water. The creatures were jumping right at Zhao Manyan, who was flying in the sky.

The creatures were surprisingly quick. Zhao Manyan did not expect them to be able to reach a height of two hundred meters in no time. His left arm was cut when he could not dodge in time, leaving a deep bloody wound on it. He immediately felt a burning pain from it!

“Assholes!”

Zhao Manyan looked into the sky where the blue-brown figures had gone. He was shocked to see them diving back to the water after reaching over three hundred meters!

“What the hell is going on? Are there SAM turrets on Dawn Island or what?” Zhao Manyan watched the things diving back into the water in astonishment.

2

There was more than one blue-brown creature. A few more of them flew at Zhao Manyan not long afterward. This time, he managed to dodge in time. They dove back into the water just like before.

Suddenly, a huge bunch of blue-brown creatures shot up from the water, flying at Zhao Manyan like a series of bullets. It felt like countless huge boomerangs had just been fired at him from under the surface of the sea, leaving Zhao Manyan with nowhere to run!

“F**k me!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

He quickly flipped his body and placed his hands together to Summon a Water Curtain on both sides. He then connected the two Water Curtains by bringing them closer to one another!

The number of boomerang creatures was quite shocking. If something was flying into the sky, the creatures could easily cut it into a pile of bones in a matter of seconds. Zhao Manyan’s Water Curtains were under great pressure. The barriers were thinning continuously, yet the attacks showed no sign of stopping!

It totally made sense since the things would return to the water after each attempt, like a boomerang that flew back to its thrower. It would be thrown at the target again after some time. Once the boomerangs reached a certain number and timing, the attacks would become endless, so even the sturdiest defense would be worn out gradually!

“What exactly are those things!?” Zhao Manyan’s hands were already a little numb from the vibration of the Water Curtains every time they received a hit.

Zhao Manyan still could not see the creature’s true appearance even after he was bullied for a while. They were constantly spinning at an insane speed, so Zhao Manyan could not even tell if they were living creatures or just some sharp objects…

A huge blast suddenly took place in the sea. A wave exploded over fifty meters high, as if the blast had blown a huge hole in the waters.

Zhao Manyan glanced down and almost felt his heart jump out from his throat. An enormous boomerang was smashing its way through the tiny boomerangs, heading right at him.

It felt like he was watching a whole mountain crashing towards him after lifting his gaze amid a little hail!

BANG!

The big boomerang was also spinning at high speed, preventing Zhao Manyan from seeing what it was clearly. However, his new shield consisted of two overlapping Light Spells

Zhao Manyan felt like he had just been run over by the wheels of an enormous tank. He was knocked flying by an enormous force. His chest was experiencing burning pain, while his organs felt like they were going to shatter into pieces at any second!

Zhao Manyan did not dare to stay any longer after he was injured. He immediately poured his energy into his wings and left the area.

He turned around to take a quick look and happened to see the enormous boomerang creature falling back to the water, leaving the same huge hole in it.

However, he still could not see its true appearance. He headed back to the land with great shock and many injuries.

——

Zhao Manyan glided down when the land was within view. He failed to stabilize himself and fell to the ground in front of Mo Fan and the others, ending up covered in dirt and grass.

“Weren’t you going to scout the place? Why do you look like you have just been through a fight of life and death?” Mo Fan stared at Zhao Manyan’s miserable appearance in shock.

“How the f**k would I know? Thousands of weird things suddenly flew out from the ocean when I was getting closer to Dawn Island. They took me by surprise, too,” Zhao Manyan swore.

His injuries were not too serious. They did not endanger his life, but he was extremely displeased by the outcome.

Most importantly, he did not manage to see what the creatures were, because they kept spinning!

“Lingling, do you know what they are?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Lingling rolled her eyes and answered, “Who could possibly tell what the creatures are from your description?”

“It sounds like Dawn Island isn’t something to be messed with, either. Zhao Manyan ended up like this before reaching the island,” Jiang Shaoxu murmured.

“We’ll wait until Mu Bai gets here tomorrow and decide how we’re going to deal with those creatures,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was at his worst when it came to fighting in the water. He would not stand a chance against the strange creatures that Zhao Manyan had described unless he could reach the land. Even a defensive Mage like Zhao Manyan had been injured.

Mu Bai’s Primary Element was Ice. The Ice and Water Elements were quite similar, so he might have a plan to deal with the creatures.

—

The group went back to town to get some rest. Zhao Manyan suddenly stopped everyone as they were going back to their rooms.

Mo Fan turned around and saw Zhao Manyan holding onto the wall feebly. Even the color of his skin had changed slightly.

“Old Zhao?” Mo Fan quickly inspected Zhao Manyan’s wound. He noticed the cut on Zhao Manyan’s arm had turned blueish. It did not fester, but it seemed like it was frozen.

“I…I think I’m poisoned,” Zhao Manyan gasped.

“Those creatures are poisonous?” Jiang Shaoxu swore.

They had inspected Zhao Manyan’s wound previously. The wound showed no sign of festering, so they had only treated it with simple medicine. To their surprise, the wound left a frozen mark behind after it healed. Zhao Manyan was already panting heavily from just walking!

“It’s an uncommon kind of poison. Let’s hope it doesn’t get any worse,” Lingling said.

Uncommon poisons were tricky to deal with, since normal antidotes were useless against them. Even a Healer would be clueless about how to deal with them.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Bai arrived early in the morning on the second day. He was casually taking the high-speed rail. When he heard Zhao Manyan was poisoned, he immediately shook off his worn-out look and became intent.

“I happened to have come up with a new way to get rid of poison!” Mu Bai’s eyes were smiling like a cunning fox who had finally found its prey.

“Piss off, don’t you dare try and put something strange into my body again!” Zhao Manyan cursed after he recalled how Mu Bai had mended his broken bones in the past. However, he sounded a little feeble due to the poison in his body.

Mo Fan’s eyes widened when he heard the exchange between the two. “I have been wondering why the two of you either have no girlfriend or keep changing your girlfriend. I suppose you two already have intimate contacts with one another?”

“Here is a silkworm I discovered behind Fanxue Mountain. The species specifically nurtures itself with poison. If you want to recover as soon as possible, you should swallow the silkworm. It will absorb the poisonous substances in your body,” Mu Bai said sternly.

It was a great discovery that Mu Bai had made while he was cultivating in seclusion recently. He had asked Yu Shishi to raise a few of the species he had found. Antidotes were always in short supply, and even the best Healer would struggle to heal a few kinds of poison. By bringing a few of the Antidote Silkworms with him, he would be able to guarantee his own safety!

Mu Bai would definitely open a store if he could figure out a way to mass breed the Antidote Silkworms. He would be able to earn some funds to buy himself some Magic Equipment!

Zhao Manyan was struggling to make up his mind. He eventually ate the silkworm when he remembered his goal was to look for the Totem Beasts and achieve the Super Level.

The Antidote Silkworm was very effective. Zhao Manyan regained his vigor as the rest of the group had their meal. He was back to normal only an hour later!

“Time to go, those sons of b**ches, we’ll force our way onto Dawn Island and get our revenge!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“By the way, Old Zhao, have you taken a dump?” Mu Bai asked him.

“What dump?” Zhao Manyan was puzzled.

“You have to get rid of the silkworm first, or do you want it to climb out of your throat after crawling through your intestines? I don’t really mind either way,” Mu Bai informed him.

“Ugh, screw you!” Zhao Manyan cursed in dismay.

——

Zhao Manyan had learned two important things when he tried to scout the island. First, there were a huge number of highly aggressive creatures hiding around Dawn Island. These creatures would attack anything that tried to reach Dawn Island from the air. Defensive spells were not enough to hold the creatures off for a long time. Second, the creatures were poisonous, and the poison would drain away its victim’s focus and energy. The victims would lose their ability to fight and escape after an hour or two. Therefore, they had to be extremely careful not to get injured.

“Our problem is that we can’t reach the island,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan’s fighting ability would be reduced greatly if he was not on land. He needed somewhere to stand, be it flying or traveling on a boat.

“What if we ask Mu Bai to freeze the water, the same thing we did when we were on the national team?” Jiang Shaoxu suggested.

Zhao Manyan immediately shook his head, “Those boomerangs were destroyers. They would instantly smash the ice to pieces!”

“My Ice Magic’s freezing is pretty normal too. Mu Ningxue can easily freeze a huge area with her Innate Ice Domain, but it’s a strenuous task for me, and would cost me a huge amount of energy, too,” Mu Bai agreed, shaking his head.

Mu Ningxue was able to freeze the surface of an ocean, but that did not mean he could do it too. It was not about his cultivation, but his capabilities!

“I hated fighting on water the most,” Mo Fan shrugged, considering the ocean his greatest nemesis.

“Why don’t you ask your teacher if she has any ideas?” Jiang Shaoxu proposed.

“Yeah, she has been here for quite some time. She should know what the creatures in the water are and how to deal with them,” Zhao Manyan said.

“What teacher?” Mu Bai had to ask.

—

The group found Tangyue and the others, who were watching the sea from the cliff.

This time, it was not just Li Dong and Zhu Min with her; another nine members of the Enforcement Union were standing behind her too. They seemed to be taking orders from Tangyue. The two Enforcers who were patrolling the cliff while smoking last night were among them. They seemed to be worn out, whether it was because they had been working overnight, or they had gone to enjoy themselves somewhere in town.

“These Enforcers seriously lack some discipline,” Lingling murmured after observing Tangyue’s men from a distance.

“Mm, I bet they are a bunch of seniors who aren’t really controlled by their superiors,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had often crossed paths with the Enforcement Union. Most Enforcers had a stern aura, but judging from the attitudes of the two who were patrolling the cliff last night and the behaviors of the others today, it was very likely that Tangyue was leading a bunch of useless Enforcers.

The Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union had been around for a long time, and had been reluctant to obey the Lingyin Enforcement Union’s orders for many years. Tangyue was like an ambitious general assigned to a camp of unambitious soldiers. It explained why the case was not yet resolved. How was it possible to resolve such a tricky situation without an elite squad?

“Vice Chief, please don’t treat our lives as a joke. How can we even make it to Dawn Island with our numbers? Even if we did, how are we going to make it back alive? The lives of a hundred townsfolk that were poisoned are precious, but ours aren’t?” a middle-aged man who had been patrolling the cliff last night said. He was even holding a cigarette between his fingers, as if he was going to light it at any second.

“Vice Chief, we want to save their lives too, but if you are only planning to bring the few of us along, there’s no way we can make it alive according to the information we’ve gathered. If we all die, Wanggui Town is seriously in deep trouble,” another Enforcer added.

Tangyue’s chest was rising with her angry breathing. These Enforcers of Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union were beyond unreliable!

It had already been a month, but they had failed to find any useful clues, nor had they come up with a plan to resolve the situation. They did not even investigate the island. She could not help but wonder why the Magic Association and the country even bothered feeding these people!

Every job given to the Enforcement Union was supposed to be dangerous for normal Mages. Otherwise, why would they call themselves Enforcers?

“You’re dismissed!” Tangyue knew there was no point venting her anger on these people. They had no intention of risking their lives.

The people were relieved as soon as they heard the word. They all quickly went on their way, leaving Tangyue behind alone.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Li Dong and Zhu Min headed toward Mo Fan’s group. Zhu Min was wearing a disrespectful grin. He intentionally turned around and glanced at Tangyue as he said with a hint of disdain, “Not only is that woman ordering us around, she is naive enough to think that we would go with her to the island. Does she really think we are going to listen to her?”

“Zhu Min, you’re still too young. There’s no reason to oppose the Vice Chief all the time. You can just obey her will, but you won’t have to put in too much effort when you’re doing the jobs. When she figures out we aren’t reliable, she will request that she be assigned somewhere else instead,” Li Dong sighed.

“I’m just not pleased with the way she looks at us, like we are just a bunch of useless pricks,” Zhu Min said.

“HAHAHA, why do you even bother? There’s no way our Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union can handle this case, it’s the mess left by the officials from ten years ago. Why do we have to risk our lives to wipe their ass clean?” Li Dong snorted.

“Say, if that Tangyue really resolves the case, will she be promoted even further?” Zhu Min asked.

“Promotions don’t happen so easily. The merit from resolving the case is only enough for a little advancement. As long as your father is still around, no one can possibly replace him. She will soon be reassigned to Hangzhou or the Magic City; whether it is a promotion or a demotion will depend on her performance in the case,” Li Dong judged.

“Oh, so we will be given huge merits if we did resolve the case, right?” Zhu Min asked.

“You’re still too naive. Our contributions are mainly about bringing benefits to the region or country. Resolving a mess that was left behind by the authorities in the past isn’t really contributing. There are just too many things to worry about along the coastline. Do you think you will receive a lot of merit from cleaning up the mess that was left from ten years ago?” Li Dong asked.

The two noticed Mo Fan, Mu Bai, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Shaoxu, and Lingling walking toward them while they were talking. It was likely that the group had overheard them. as they were talking loudly. However, Li Dong and Zhu Min were not ashamed of themselves. They were merely stating the truth.

“Hello there, I heard from my colleagues that you were here last night doing some scouting. Did you learn anything yet?” Li Dong asked them shamelessly.

“Nothing much,” Mo Fan replied.

“Oh, you should be careful in this area. To be honest with you, we have already submitted a report to the superiors telling them how dangerous Dawn Island is. I hope you can give the Vice Chief a little advice too,” Li Dong said.

“We will.”

Mo Fan and his group went straight to Tangyue after passing by Li Dong and Zhu Min.

Tangyue stood on the edge of the cliff. The sea breeze was blowing at her. Her clothes and hair were drifting in the wind, setting off her alluring figure, but the loneliness they could see from looking at her back hindered the men’s wild imagination.

“Miss…Miss Tangyue?” Mu Bai was having a hard time believing it was really her when he stepped closer.

Tangyue turned around. She was also surprised to see Mu Bai after so many years.

Tangyue was the open-minded kind. It had been so long since they last met. She gave Mu Bai a simple hug as she had Mo Fan.

Mu Bai was obviously not as shameless as Mo Fan, nor was he trying to take any advantage of Tangyue. He blushed like a shy kid after greeting the woman in such a Western manner.

“Mo Fan, I now believe that every male student in your batch has done something because of her,” Zhao Manyan whispered into Mo Fan’s ear when he saw Mu Bai’s reaction.

“Why would I lie to you? Mu Bai is also the kind that would get the attention of the teachers and administrators of the school. If he hadn’t Awakened the Ice Element, he might be following Tangyue every day pretending to be a good student, but his true intention would most likely be…” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“Heh, no wonder you always call him Green Tea Man.”

—

“Miss Tangyue, you don’t seem to have any reliable men?” Mo Fan inquired drily.

“Mm, I already found that out the first week after I came here, but I’m worried that the townsfolk who were poisoned might be in danger if we don’t do anything soon,” Tangyue said.

It would take some time for a report to be submitted and assessed, not to mention they needed to gather enough information to convince their superiors of how big of a threat Dawn Island was. However, the authorities were extremely busy right now. They would normally let their subordinates handle a case first, and if it was still unresolved, they would leave it until they finally had someone reliable to handle it.

“Miss Tangyue, why don’t you come with us?” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah, gorgeous miss, we are trying to get to the island too. It’s better to come with us than relying on those parasites from the Enforcement Union,” Zhao Manyan nodded.

“It’s supposed to be a part of Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union’s duty. How can I let you risk your lives?” Tangyue said.

Tangyue had been to Dawn Island herself. It was clearly not the friendliest place.

“We like going on adventures,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s right!”

“We even went to a Pyramid,” Zhao Manyan said.

“A Pyramid?” Tangyue blurted out with surprise. She looked at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan sneakily gave Zhao Manyan a kick. He immediately explained, “We were going around a Pyramid in circles when we traveled to Egypt.”

“Miss Tangyue, Mo Fan went inside the Great Pyramid of Giza,” Lingling promptly added on.

Tangyue’s eyes immediately widened. She swiftly grabbed Mo Fan’s ear and pinched it while blurting out angrily, “Are you out of your mind? Who gave you permission to go to a place like that? I was wondering why you weren’t telling me your whereabouts lately and kept going missing. It turns out that you’ve been to some dangerous places!”

Mo Fan gasped. His ear was hurting from the pinch.

Jiang Shaoxu was astounded when she saw how Tangyue had pinched Mo Fan’s ear so adeptly. There really was someone that could subdue Mo Fan, as expected of Mo Fan’s teacher!

“Miss…Miss Tangyue, let’s discuss how we can reach the island for now. Mu Bai will slowly explain to you what happened in the Pyramid. He’s better at remembering things, so he will know the details better than I do,” Mo Fan quickly said.

Mu Bai took a step back. He was worried that his ear would fall into Tangyue’s hand, too!

“Miss Tangyue, I do agree that we should focus on resolving the case first. The poisoned townsfolk are in danger of losing their lives, and we have no idea if the authorities are going to send someone here quickly after receiving the report. We have to find the source of the poison to derive the cure,” Mu Bai pointed out.

Tangyue finally let go of Mo Fan’s ear.

“Basically, Zhao Manyan stumbled into a bunch of aggressive creatures in the water when he was flying to the island. According to his description, even someone with a Super Level defense will be defeated in no time. How can we make our way through those creatures? Things will be much simpler if we can reach the island,” Mo Fan said.

“Those creatures are the Featherless Birds!” Tangyue informed him.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“No way, I clearly saw them flying out of the sea while spinning like boomerangs, before diving back into the water!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

What Featherless Birds? Zhao Manyan was more inclined to believe the creatures were a strange kind of fish demon instead. How could a bird stay in the water?

“The Featherless Birds have no feathers, so they are not afraid of being drenched. Their skin is as smooth as leather. Not only can it fly by perfectly utilizing the airflow, it can move freely in the water, too. It’s a unique species that can move in the sky or the water,” Tangyue informed him.

“A species that can move in the sky and the water? It’s my first time encountering anything like this,” Mo Fan murmured.

Most amphibious creatures were suited for both land and water, like some lizards, and crocodiles who had some special lungs. However, it was rare to see a creature that could fly in the sky and stay in the water!

“They can freely move in the sky and the water without compromising their strength. It is the main reason that many countries have tried to domesticate them, but the Featherless Birds are naturally aggressive, with a strong sense of territory. It will take dozens of years to domesticate them, requiring taming them over at least ten generations,” Tangyue said.

“If it’s actually possible to tame these creatures, that would be extremely useful, considering our current situation,” Lingling said.

The Featherless Birds’ attributes were perfect for cities along the coast. They could scout the sea while flying in the sky and fight the sea monsters in the water. The Heavenly Eagles were only useful for scouting purposes. There was nothing they could do once they were caught in the water!

“Yeah, the ideas are always brilliant, but it didn’t work out, and even left such a huge threat behind.” Tangyue let out a sigh.

“So you’re saying that not only can’t we reach the island by boat, we won’t be able to fly to it either?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Mm, it’s actually harder to fly to the island,” Tangyue replied.

Mo Fan finally realized why Tangyue was so troubled by the case. The Featherless Birds could move freely in the sky and the water, and the inaccessible island beyond; he bet even the military bases were not as heavily guarded as that island!

“I think we should ask the old soldier whom we stumbled into the other night for help. He might not know the Totem Beasts, but he should be familiar with the Featherless Birds. We should learn more about the species so we can figure out a way to deal with them,” Lingling said.

“That’s right, I’ll go ask,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Forget it, considering your wild train of thoughts when you were talking to him the other day… Lingling, the two of us will go,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Fine, go ahead.”

—

—

Jiang Shaoxu and Lingling went to the tower at the cliff. They saw the old soldier doing some morning exercises. It was just some ordinary physical exercises instead of magic practice.

“Why did you come again? Didn’t I tell you this place isn’t a playground for kids?” the old soldier did not sound friendly. He scolded them before Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu could even speak.

“We are trying to go to the island. You have lived here for so many years. You must know a lot about the Featherless Birds,” Lingling asked.

The old soldier could not get himself to scold the adorable Little Loli. He glanced at Tangyue, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai further away and asked, “Who are you guys?”

“The Enforcement Union and Hunters,” Lingling replied.

“Humph, how many years has it been? I was constantly reporting about the potential threat the island might pose, but it still ended up like this. The government caused it single-handedly!” The old soldier obviously held a strong grudge against the people responsible.

“We are here to solve the problem. I bet you don’t want the Featherless Birds to grow any stronger. Wanggui Town would be in serious trouble then,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Why do you insist on going to the island?” the old soldier asked with a puzzled look.

“Basically, the strongest person in our group is a non-swimmer. He is significantly weaker if he isn’t fighting on land. We would have more space to move around and fight the Featherless Birds if we can reach the island,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Is he strong enough to take on the whole jungle of Featherless Birds? You’ve underestimated those creatures. Why do you think the domestication ranch failed? It’s mainly because those Featherless Birds are stronger than humans, and most Mages,” the old soldier said.

“We only came to the town not long ago. We just want to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Please tell us if you have any plan in mind; we have three Super Mages in our group,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Three?” the old soldier was astounded. He could not help but glance at the others again.

A Super Mage would already be treated like a tyrant in a small town like this. The old soldier seriously could not tell these young Mages were Super Mages. He had to admit that it sounded a little ridiculous.

However, they had no reason to lie to him, so the old soldier chose to believe them.

“If it were three years ago, a Super Mage could easily lead a troop and wipe out the Featherless Birds at the domestication ranch, but that’s no longer the case now. The Featherless Birds now have a leader. It was once someone’s Contracted Beast twenty years ago, but after its master died, it was taken here for breeding and experiment purposes. The Featherless Birds are all its descendants. Its lineage was outstanding, and the intelligent creature seemed to have learned a way to strengthen its descendants from the experiments that were conducted on it. The Featherless Birds that inherited the lineage of their leader are extremely tough, unless an entire army is dispatched to take them out…” the old soldier said.

It was part of the law of nature that the stronger species usually had a weaker ability to reproduce.

Normally, the Featherless Bird Emperor could only reproduce three younglings with the same potential as it in its life, but the domestication ranch had provided it with the most suitable environment and guaranteed its safety from its natural foes, allowing the Featherless Bird Emperor to reproduce and grow stronger.

Every Featherless Bird with the Featherless Bird Emperor’s lineage was a high-ranking existence in the horde!

“Do you have any other suggestions?” Lingling asked.

“There’s only one way to reach the island without a powerful army… you will have to wait until the coldest day in winter. I’m familiar with their habits. They actually hibernate in winter, but after moving to the south where the temperature is higher, they are active almost throughout the year. However, they will still fall asleep on colder days,” the old soldier said thoughtfully.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan and the others were surprised when Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu brought the old soldier over to them.

“If you really want to go to the island, bring me along,” the old soldier told Tangyue.

“Are you familiar with the situation on the island?” Tangyue asked.

“Twenty years ago, I was the captain of the defense troop. My name is Chen Shuo!” the old soldier declared.

Tangyue did recall seeing the name Chen Shuo on the list of Mages who were in charge of the island’s safety. She thought the overseers of the domestication ranch had long run away, but little did she know, one of them had been keeping watch at the tower for almost ten years!

“It’s great if we have someone experienced leading us. Otherwise, we will be wandering around like headless flies, even if we made it to the island!” Mo Fan exclaimed cheerfully.

“Chen Shuo told us that the Featherless Birds are actually hibernators, but the temperature around here is too warm for that,” Lingling said.

“It’s still a long way from winter,” Zhao Manyan said.

“I should be able to lower the temperature,” Mu Bai said firmly.

“How low do we need it to be?” Tangyue asked.

“Zero degrees; every Featherless Bird below the Commander-level will fall into deep hibernation when the temperature is zero or below. They will go deep into the sea, too. A huge number of Featherless Birds are guarding the perimeter within five kilometers from the island. They will attack any living creatures or humans that are approaching Dawn Island. Even with an army, there would be a lot of casualties just to break through their defense. However, if the temperature is low enough, these Featherless Birds will hibernate instead,” the old soldier stated firmly.

“Are the Featherless Birds in the water tricky to deal with?” Mo Fan asked.

“The Featherless Birds have great numbers. Their intelligent emperor has trained them into an army of reckless soldiers. They are fearless and poisonous, making them extremely troublesome to deal with,” the old soldier answered.

“Mo Fan, trust me, you better let them fall into a deep sleep at the bottom of the sea,” Zhao Manyan said.

Mo Fan was convinced how annoying the creatures were if even Zhao Manyan, the Turtle-Shell Mage, was afraid of them!

“So the plan is, Mu Bai will lower the temperature to zero degrees, and the rest of us will take a boat to the island,” Mo Fan said.

“You will have to kill the Greater Featherless Birds. Otherwise, a new bunch of Featherless Birds will spread to the nearby islands in just a few years. Once the Greater Featherless Birds are dead, the rest of the Featherless Birds would be nothing but a sheet of loose sand,” the old soldier said.

“Greater Featherless Birds… are they the species that was raised on the island?” Tangyue asked.

“Yeah, only I know how terrifying they truly are,” Chen Shuo confirmed.

—

The plan was simple and straightforward. The group waited until it was around two in the morning, when the temperature was the lowest. Mu Bai was responsible for lowering the temperature of the area. In just an hour, the Featherless Birds that were on duty in the sea fell into a deep slumber.

The rank of the Featherless Birds on the island was higher, so it was unlikely they would be deeply asleep. The group had to advance cautiously to locate the Greater Featherless Birds and the Featherless Bird Emperor, in order to take them all out at once!

“This isn’t an easy dungeon,” Zhao Manyan sighed. He added, “We are going to end up as the creatures’ takeaway meal if Mu Bai fails to control the temperature.”

“You must leave by five,” Mu Bai said, ignoring him.

The group was heading toward Dawn Island on a boat. The boat was not very big, and was covered in metal sheets. If there was anything in the water, it could smash the boat in half easily.

Mo Fan was feeling extremely insecure on the little boat.

“Why do we have to leave at five? Is that when the creatures usually rise from bed?” Zhao Manyan asked with a confused look.

“The sun rises relatively early around here. Sunlight will start appearing after five. I can only maintain the temperature of such a huge area at zero degrees at most, but once the sunlight starts shining on the water, the temperature will surely rise and wake up the Featherless Birds at the bottom of the sea,” Mu Bai told them.

“That’s true, don’t underestimate the power of sunlight,” Chen Shuo nodded.

“How useless are you, you can’t even keep the temperature at zero degrees!” Zhao Manyan teased him.

“Why don’t you take a look at how big the area is!?”

Dawn Island’s diameter was already around ten kilometers, not including the water around it. Mu Bai would have no chance of lowering the temperature of such a huge area if he had not reached the Super Level!

—

Mu Bai started channeling his magic as they approached the island.

The temperature around the boat dropped rapidly. A mist started appearing above the sea.

Snow began to fall from the sky. It spread across the surface of the sea like a breeze at Mu Bai’s command.

As a matter of fact, it was more difficult to lower the temperature on the sea than on land, since the seawater would constantly transfer the heat around.

If it was on land, Mu Bai would only have to lower the temperature of the air, but if it was the sea, he had to lower the temperature of the water, too. The sea was so huge and was flowing constantly. It was almost impossible to maintain the temperature of the whole Dawn Island and its vicinity at zero degrees.

The sea would not freeze at zero degrees. It would only form a layer of fog on its surface. Mo Fan preferred to travel on the sea when Mu Ningxue was around. Her Domain could easily turn the water under her feet into ice without expending any energy, turning a part of the sea into land. Mo Fan would then no longer be afraid of the underwater creatures.

“It’s getting colder.”

“They are going to sleep soon. Let’s wait for another ten minutes,” Chen Shuo said.

They kept track of the time and set out for Dawn Island after receiving the confirmation from Chen Shuo.

“I was attacked about here last time,” Zhao Manyan roughly estimated the distance from the island.

“Go straight through it!” Chen Shuo said confidently.

Zhao Manyan was controlling the waves to speed the boat up. Mu Bai did not stop channeling his Ice Magic. In order to spread his magic further, he was traveling together with the group to guarantee their safety, keeping the temperature around them at zero degrees.

Mo Fan poked his head out to check the water. He could not see a thing in the darkness. He spread his Dark Material deep into the water to probe around.

“They are all down there, sleeping on the seabed,” Mo Fan told everyone softly.

The creatures’ numbers were quite insane. When Mo Fan’s Dark Material swept across the seabed, it felt like the Featherless Birds were some kind of plants covering the entire seabed. Mo Fan shivered when he recalled how Zhao Manyan had described he was attacked by countless boomerangs in the sky!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How deep is the water?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“Around two hundred meters, it’s not too deep,” Mo Fan replied quickly.

“You can even use your Dark Material like a measuring device?” Zhao Manyan had to ask.

“Hehe, I improved it slightly at Guangzhou. I finally get to try it out!” Mo Fan smiled.

The water gradually turned colder. The chill began to penetrate their skin and bodies. The boat slowly reached the vicinity of Dawn Island with the waves pushing it. The irregular outline of the island began to fill their view.

The beach of the island had tall coconut trees lining it. The short ones were around twenty meters tall, and the tall ones could even reach a height of eighty meters. The treetops were spacious enough to contain a huge nest. Mo Fan was able to see further in the dark, and soon noticed there was a huge nest on every three trees he saw. The nest was delicately made, as if it was artificially woven for people to lie on while the leaves served as a natural sun umbrella. It felt like some kind of a resort.

“Why are their nests so delicate? If you put a man and a woman in them for a little honeymoon, they will soon give birth to a child, let alone the birds!” Zhao Manyan had also noticed the beautiful nests when he was close enough.

“The Featherless Bird Emperor always lived with its master. It learned a great deal from humans. It must have taught this to all its people,” Chen Shuo said awkwardly.

There were still two kilometers away from the island, the closest that Tangyue had gotten to when she came to inspect the island. However, she had been driven away by the Featherless Birds in the water back then.

The dense coconut trees gave the Featherless Birds the perfect environment to build their nests. One could easily lose their way among the trees.

A strange cry echoed above the island. The group on the boat went on alert immediately. They fixed their eyes on the tall cliffs nearby.

The island had some high terrain. The place they were planning to land at was around twenty meters above sea level, meaning that the island had been even taller before the seal level had risen. It served as a natural line of defense for the island, since the heights were an advantage for those defending the island and for keeping an eye out for any approaching enemy on it.

The coconut trees were swaying slightly in the wind. Many blue glowing objects like sapphires poked out from the gaps between the trees. They went from a few to a whole bunch!

The Sapphire Eyes were staring down at the little boat swaying on the waves. The cold looks in their eyes would send a chill down anyone’s spine!

“Damn, didn’t you say they are going to be asleep? Why are they staring at us with wide eyes instead!?” Zhao Manyan swore.

“The Featherless Birds on the island have a higher rank. They won’t be completely asleep,” Chen Shuo said indifferently.

“What should we do now? We are still two kilometers away from the island,” Zhao Manyan said.

“What else can we do? We are breaking through with force!” Tangyue said.

Tangyue was the first to react. She turned into a shadow sparrow, flying across the night sky elegantly.

Zhao Manyan raised his thumb when he saw Tangyue was already two hundred meters away. “Your teacher is pretty brave!”

Mo Fan was not able to fly. He could only glide like a bird, even though the place was in complete darkness. He would eventually land after traveling for a few hundred meters. On the other hand, Tangyue had completely turned into a night sparrow, similar to how the vampire Bola usually turned into a bat. She was able to fly freely in the dark.

“Time to go! It’s worse if we are stuck on the water,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan carried Lingling on his back and decided to abandon the boat. He followed Tangyue and made his way to the island rapidly in the form of a shadow.

Mo Fan had nowhere to land within two kilometers from him. He could only rely on the darkness to use his little tricks, but Mo Fan was unable to use his other Elements when he was in his shadow form. He was extremely vulnerable, too. Therefore, he needed Zhao Manyan, Jiang Shaoxu, and Mu Bai to protect him.

Mu Bai was focusing on maintaining the temperature. He also needed protection from the others. Chen Shuo was only an average Advanced Mage. He could barely keep an eye on Mu Bai.

“Wait, do all of you need my protection!?” Zhao Manyan grumbled as soon as he realized something was not right.

“Cut the crap, Miss Tangyue is already clearing the path ahead. Let’s go!” Mo Fan said.

“Don’t leave the boat then, come back to me!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Zhao Manyan did not leave the boat. He summoned a huge wave over eight meters tall with the boat at the top of it. The boat started riding the wave straight toward the island like a surfer.

Zhao Manyan’s wave soon overtook Mo Fan. Mo Fan hesitated briefly before deciding to return to the boat. At least he would have somewhere to stand.

“You are seriously a retard,” Lingling rolled her eyes at Mo Fan’s decision to return to the boat.

1

Mo Fan had nothing to say.

The cries grew louder. The half-asleep Featherless Birds finally realized they were being invaded. More cries exploded across the island.

The Featherless Birds on the island were quite surprised. They did not expect the guards in the sea to be sleeping like rocks, and not react at all when the enemy had broken so far through their defenses.

Sapphire eyes flew into the sky, creating a spectacular sight among the coconut trees. It felt like a whole bunch of sapphire fireflies were taking off into the night sky after being startled by some unwanted guests!

Mo Fan knew that behind the glowing eyes were strong bodies with no feathers. Their skin had a dark color which had merged with the darkness, thus the only thing visible was their eyes!

“Why are there so many of them on the island!?” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed.

“They reproduced so much. Unbelievable!” Even Chen Shuo was dumbfounded.

According to his plan, there would only be some high-rank Sapphire Featherless Birds and Greater Featherless Birds left on the island after putting the Featherless Birds in the sea into hibernation. There should not be too many Sapphire Featherless Birds, since they were direct relatives of the Featherless Bird Emperor, and their reproduction ability was limited as well. Chen Shuo had estimated there were only around two hundred Sapphire Featherless Birds.

However, the sight before him obviously numbered more than two hundred Sapphire Featherless Birds. There were almost a thousand of them, several times greater than he had estimated!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mister, enough with your disbelief. Are those Sapphire Featherless Birds strong? What level are they?” Mo Fan demanded.

“The species we raised and trained was mainly those Sapphire Featherless Birds. You can sell each of them for around thirty million. As for their strength, they can easily kill a Warrior-level creature,” Chen Shuo answered, his face blank.

Ten years ago, the birth of every Sapphire Featherless Bird would bring great joy to the breeders, similar to reaching a successful deal. The reason was that mercenaries in Europe had high demands for the Sapphire Featherless Birds, so every time they successfully bred a Sapphire Featherless Bird, they could easily find a buyer for it.

To his surprise, these creatures were able to reproduce up to a thousand on their own, when they had only managed to breed a few dozen of them artificially!

The island had limited space, meaning that the resources available for the Sapphire Featherless Birds were limited, too. It was similar to pastureland. Only a certain amount of pasture would be available each year to feed a limited amount of livestock. What exactly did these Sapphire Featherless Birds feed on if there were now over a thousand of them?

“These Sapphire Featherless Birds are extremely violent. They are very hostile and have a strong desire to feed on humans, too. We must evacuate the town at once. Otherwise, the whole town will be left with nothing but bones!” Chen Shuo’s face turned pale.

The Sapphire Featherless Birds were untamed, meaning that they were no different from demon creatures. They would eventually invade other places, since the resources on the island were limited, and Wanggui Town would obviously be their first target!

“Does it look like we can leave the island now? It’s around twenty kilometers to the shore, but less than two kilometers to the island. Keep going!” Mo Fan ordered.

Land, land, give me some f**king land, and I’ll kill them all! Mo Fan was that confident in his strength.

“Go, to the island, charge!” Jiang Shaoxu knew it was impossible for them to turn back now.

“Do I need to keep the temperature at zero degrees still?” Mu Bai asked when he saw the group had a change of mind.

“You are even asking!?” Mo Fan, Lingling, and Jiang Shaoxu blurted out together.

It was obviously necessary to keep the temperature at zero degrees! If the high-level Sapphire Featherless Birds on the island had such insane numbers, how ridiculous would the numbers of the Featherless Birds in the water be? The Featherless Birds were able to fly. Once they filled the airspace around the island, their team would really become dumpling fillings!

Tangyue was flying in the air, and was the first to engage the Sapphire Featherless Birds.

She finally saw their true appearance when she drew closer. In addition to their sapphire eyes, the shape of their bodies was quite unique.

They resembled a rhombus when they extended their wings, like kites with flesh and skin. They would only ripple their wings slightly while they were flying.

Most importantly, their tails, which looked like long strings, were also the main reason why they looked like kites!

“Are they really birds?” Mo Fan could see the Featherless Birds clearly now. He was astounded by their appearance.

A bird normally had a body, a head, a neck, chest, abdomen, claws, and a pair of wings. Most demon birds had the same appearance too, but no matter how Mo Fan looked at the Featherless Birds, he was struggling to identify its body. Their wings were like bats, and their bodies were like manta rays. They did not have claws. Their sharp wings were their greatest weapons!

Zhao Manyan finally realized why he had mistaken them as boomerangs coming out of the water. They indeed resembled a deadly whirling blade when they were spinning rapidly!

“What kind of monster did you guys make? Don’t tell me it’s a crossbreed between bats and manta rays!?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Well… the Featherless Bird Emperor does possess the lineage of the Manta Ray Emperor, so we referred to them as the Manta Ray Evil Birds when we were breeding them. It was the locals that called them the Featherless Birds,” Chen Shuo admitted.

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were multiple times stronger than the Heavenly Eagles in nature. They had come up with the training proposal because a Summoner happened to have such a unique Contracted Beast, which could potentially revolutionize the military’s strength. They were selling the Manta Ray Evil Birds to mercenaries in Europe. Once the Manta Ray Evil Birds started to get some attention, they would immediately reach a deal with the Chinese military, or even the militaries of other countries. Their project would certainly become the greatest work of mankind!

Chen Shuo had stayed at the island for almost ten years for the ambitious project, but they had taken a lot of things for granted. Without a reliable breeding system and sufficient funds, it was impossible to keep the project running.

“You should have sold their younglings to the Summoners instead. How brainless were you guys? Anyone can tell they are several times deadlier than the Heavenly Eagles from their appearance alone!” Jiang Shaoxu snarled.

The Heavenly Eagles species was gentle and friendly to humans. On the other hand, the Manta Ray Demon Birds clearly had a savage temperament. These creatures were most likely even more violent than ordinary demon creatures!

“Indeed, you should have sold them as Contracted Beasts instead,” Mo Fan agreed.

As they were recovering from their astonishment after seeing the Manta Ray Evil Birds’ appearance, Tangyue had already clashed with the group of Manta Ray Evil Birds. Since Tangyue was able to stay in the air, her fighting capacity was not necessarily hindered by the water. Her Fire Magic immediately spread wildly in the air, preventing the Manta Ray Evil Birds from coming any closer.

1

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were surprisingly smart. They dove into the water when they saw the flames spreading like clouds.

The water was ice-cold. When they returned and sprang into the sky, their smooth skin was covered in layers of the Water Barrier, which would significantly reduce the burning damage!

The Manta Ray Evil Birds had crazy numbers. They charged into the clouds of flames and used the seawater and their wings to scatter the flames.

“This isn’t looking good!” Zhao Manyan said when he saw how the strong flames were being put out so easily.

“She’s keeping the Manta Ray Evil Birds busy. We should go onto the island as soon as possible,” Mo Fan said.

Tangyue was gradually surrounded by the Manta Ray Evil Birds. She Summoned her Contracted Beast when she realized things were not looking good for her.

Tangyue’s Contracted Beast was a beast with four wings and arms. The beast was quite ferocious. It forcibly cleared a path and carried Tangyue out of the surrounding Manta Ray Evil Birds to the other side of the island.

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan was very adept at powering the boat along with his Water Magic. The waves were fierce, but the boat was moving steadily ahead. Therefore, Jiang Shaoxu and Mo Fan could still cast some of their spells.

The sapphire-eyed Manta Ray Evil Birds were not just some low-intelligence creatures. They did not all follow Tangyue blindly. Around three hundred of them stayed behind and circled above the boat and the water ahead of it. Their cries resembled the sound of a door knock, and were coming at a high frequency. The group was extremely annoyed by them.

Zhao Manyan pointed at the Manta Ray Evil Birds in the sky and shouted, “They are spinning!”

The Manta Ray Evil Birds started to spin in the sky. Their wings were just like blades when they were extended. The creatures seemed to be experts at controlling the wind. They would produce a strong wind when they were spinning at a high speed, which further increased the area covered by their attacks!

Some time later, the terrifying sound of a helicopter’s propellers was audible. The whole group of Manta Ray Evil Birds was making the same noise. The strength of the winds was like a hurricane on the sea, reversing the direction of the waves that were initially heading toward the island.

The Manta Ray Evil Birds maintained their distance from one another, as if they had undergone training. They positioned themselves in a V-shaped formation.

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were not small. They were able to form a whirling blade wind with a diameter of around ten meters when they were spinning. When a few dozen Manta Ray Evil Birds formed a V-shaped formation like a fleet of jets, the people on the swaying little boat had a feeling that they were done for!

“Old Zhao, Old Zhao, dodge it, quick!” Jiang Shaoxu screamed.

It felt like axes were hanging right above their necks on a scaffold. The Manta Ray Evil Birds’ cooperation was utterly shocking. They seemed to possess some of the traits of migratory birds. They were superb at positioning themselves in a formation and flying in groups.

Mo Fan finally understood why Zhao Manyan was in such a miserable state when he was attacked by the Manta Ray Evil Birds. A few Manta Ray Evil Birds would not pose any threat to them, but when there were a few dozen or a hundred of them attacking at the same time, they could even slice through a mountain and leave it with a flat top!

“How am I supposed to dodge it!?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Could they stop relying on him for everything? There were three f**king Super Mages among them!

1

The super V-shaped formation was huge enough to cover the whole surface of the ocean ahead. It was not something he could dodge as he pleased!

“Plummeting Rays!” Zhao Manyan kept charging forward, now pointing his finger at the sky!

A brilliant light fell from the night sky and scattered like pieces in front of the boat. The pieces stacked together and eventually formed a web encapsulating the boat.

The Plummeting Rays kept falling. Every time a piece was added, the barrier would get stronger. Zhao Manyan’s protection thoroughly covered the boat as the Manta Ray Evil Birds were approaching!

The Manta Ray Evil Birds landed their blows on Zhao Manyan’s Plummeting Rays, producing screeching noises, like the sound of something cutting through metal. Golden sprinkles were sparking from the barrier!

The Manta Ray Evil Birds dove into the water in a V-shaped formation after their first round of attacks. An enormous hole was driven into the surface of the sea!

They dove deep into the water at an instant. When the water filled up the hole, the Manta Ray Evil Birds were nowhere to be seen.

However, the people on the boat were not relieved. Jiang Shaoxu suddenly yelled, “Under the boat, you have to protect its bottom too!”

“It’s too late!” Mo Fan immediately drew silver Star Patterns when he realized something did not feel right. The gorgeous Star Patterns circled him and eventually combined into a brilliant Star Constellation.

Following a shudder, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Lingling, Jiang Shaoxu, Mu Bai, and Chen Shuo vanished following a silver flicker, leaving the boat swaying on the violent waves.

A second later, the sound of propellers came from under the water.

BANG!

The waves were still rolling without any splashes. The blast of wind produced by the fleet of Manta Ray Evil Birds shredded the boat into pieces. Not only was the boat destroyed, its remains were shredded into tiny dust!

The Manta Ray Evil Birds sprang into the sky. It felt like they were going to tear the night sky in half. When they reached their highest point, they immediately locked onto Mo Fan and the others, who were floating above the water.

Mo Fan had brought the group a few hundred meters away with Blink. However, he still needed some time for the energy around him to calm down before he could cast Blink again. He was unable to stabilize the energy of the space he arrived in right away.

“They are coming again!” Lingling automatically climbed onto Mo Fan’s back while pointing at the spinning axes diving from the sky.

“Lightning chains!” Mo Fan emitted lightning arcs, gathering the Lightning Magic in the sky, forming chains that intertwined with one another as they spread across the sky. The chains were randomly attacking the Manta Ray Evil Birds along their path!

When the Manta Ray Evil Birds were going through Mo Fan’s lightning, they suddenly dispersed in order to avoid the area where the lightning was densest.

The V-shaped formation had broken, but that did not stop the Manta Ray Evil Birds from attacking. They began to attack the invaders irregularly. Those who failed their attempts would dive into the water and use it as cover while preparing for their next attempt.

The attacks coming from different angles and directions were exactly what Zhao Manyan had described before. The endless boomerangs felt like a rain of arrows!

“How far are we from the island?” Mo Fan asked. He was unable to use his full strength.

“Just a kilometer, but even if we can fly, we will still be shredded into mincemeat. These creatures are just too violent,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“AHHHH, don’t let me get my hands on them, or I’m going to turn them all into a stew!” Zhao Manyan snarled. He had enough of these Manta Ray Evil Birds!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Swamp of Darkness: Lost!”

Mo Fan’s other Elements were not too effective, but his Shadow Element was not restricted by the environment.

When the Manta Ray Evil Birds dove into the sea, Mo Fan immediately cast an Advanced Shadow Spell to spread the Swamp of Darkness, turning the water within the reach of it black!

The Swamp of Darkness also covered the area below the surface of the sea. The Manta Ray Evil Birds were struggling to find their way in the maze of darkness. They were more or less trapped in the water!

The Dark Material required some time for it to spread, but Mo Fan only had limited time. The Swamp of Darkness was not going to last for long. It would only provide the group with some temporary relief as they made their way toward the island!

“The cliff is just ahead, go!” Mo Fan yelled.

“Charge!” Zhao Manyan had suddenly become the captain, as the boat never needed anyone to take charge of the helm, since he was pushing the boat with a wave. However, if they abandoned the boat, not only did he have to keep everyone above the water, he had to send them to the island too!

“Giant Shadow Spikes!”

Mo Fan gave up on the urge to rely on his other Elements. He used the Intermediate Shadow Spell to impair the movements of the Manta Ray Evil Birds that were still in the sky.

“Why are you using the Giant Shadow Spikes? There’s no way you can hit them if they keep flying around at such a fast speed,” Zhao Manyan said when he saw Mo Fan tossing Giant Shadow Spikes into the sky.

The Giant Shadow Spikes were not fast, but they had strong restraining capabilities. However, sensitive creatures could easily dodge them. The Manta Ray Evil Birds were easily the most sensitive bird species out there. The Giant Shadow Spikes were not going to land on anything.

“Who told you that?” Mo Fan harrumphed.

The Giant Shadow Spikes flew into the sky. As Zhao Manyan thought, the Manta Ray Evil Birds easily dodged them. The Giant Shadow Spikes merely slowed down the Manta Ray Evil Birds by a little as they were diving from the sky. It did not stop them from attacking.

“You are not the only one with boomerangs!” Mo Fan grinned with glittering eyes when he saw the Manta Ray Evil Birds had lowered their guard.

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were about to dive when the Giant Shadow Spikes’ variation, the Thorns of the Shadow Rose, stabbed them in the back. The Manta Ray Evil Birds stiffened. They were paralyzed in the sky, regardless of how rapidly they beat their wings!

The rest of the Thorns of the Shadow Rose soon returned and struck the Manta Ray Evil Birds who were so proud of their flying ability. The creatures froze in the sky like impaled moths. It was quite an amusing sight!

“Holy crap, did you install an infrared homing system on your Giant Shadow Spikes? How did every single one land on target?” Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened.

A Shadow Mage could use Shadow Magic to conceal their spell, surprising their enemies by attacking with unexpected timing and angles, but it required outstanding control over the Shadow Magic and some unusual manipulative tricks.

Mo Fan had clearly fired off a high number of Thorns of the Shadow Rose. It was impossible for him to control every single one of them. It was unbelievable how he had landed them on the Manta Ray Evil Birds so precisely!

“I actually have a nickname, the Pleasure Seeker. My ‘bullets’ never miss!” Mo Fan laughed proudly, as if he had completely forgotten about the rest of the Manta Ray Evil Birds.

1

“You have only stopped about thirty of them. Stop being infatuated by yourself!” Jiang Shaoxu said angrily. She could not help but wonder if these two were actually so fearless, or they were just plain idiots. Why would they waste their time uttering nonsense at a time like this!?

Mo Fan lowered his eyes and saw the Swamp of Darkness gradually withdrawing. The smile on his face soon faded away.

He glanced at the cliff and roughly estimated the distance.

“Blink!” He had finally bought enough time that his Blink was available once again.

Zhao Manyan let out a relieved sigh when he saw Mo Fan using the Space Magic. They would be one step closer to the island after another Blink, and could finally shake off the annoying Manta Ray Evil Birds. He would no longer have to carry such a huge burden on his shoulders!

The space around them shuddered. Both Zhao Manyan and Jiang Shaoxu were already used to being offered a convenient ride. To their surprise, the silver light did not encapsulate them. When they opened their eyes again, they were shocked to see that Mo Fan had disappeared!

“F**k me, he f**king left on his own. That assh***!” Zhao Manyan lifted his gaze and saw Mo Fan moving over four hundred meters away. Not only did he not bring him and Jiang Shaoxu along, he even left Lingling whom he was supposed to look after behind.

“Mo Fan, do you want to die!?” Jiang Shaoxu yelled.

Mo Fan finally exposed the ugliest side of him after so many years. He had simply abandoned his teammates!

—

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was drowned in the strong wind and loud cries. He could not hear Jiang Shaoxu and Zhao Manyan’s curses.

Mo Fan was able to move four hundred meters away with Blink if he was not bringing anyone along. The cliff was within his reach.

Mo Fan immediately turned into a shadow sparrow before his feet touched the water. He sprang up the cliff and landed on the top of the coconut trees.

He turned around and saw Zhao Manyan and the others whom he had abandoned being flanked by a few hundred Manta Ray Evil Birds. The attacks did not only come from the sky, but from under the water too. The Manta Ray Evil Birds were enraged after the Swamp of Darkness had dispersed. They were going to eliminate the humans on the water once and for all!

“Electro Cannon!”

Mo Fan began to emit a completely different aura as he finally set foot on solid ground. He was able to cast his Lightning Spell freely since the Manta Ray Evil Birds were putting all their attention on Zhao Manyan!

The lightning coiled around Mo Fan’s arms as it was compressed. When Mo Fan shoved his hands forward, a lightning beam flew under the night sky toward the sea!

A blinding light shone over the sea, revealing countless shadows of Manta Ray Evil Birds scattered across the sea. It was horrifying just to see their numbers!

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were rising to the surface to ambush Zhao Manyan and the others. They were only a few dozen meters away from their target, but the lightning beam entered the water and triggered a terrifying explosion. The lightning arcs illuminated the silhouettes of the Manta Ray Evil Birds before the overwhelming force crushed them into dust!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The spell managed to resolve the danger the group was in. Zhao Manyan Summoned another wave and sent them closer to the island.

Jiang Shaoxu used her Psychic Element to stop the harassment from another group of Manta Ray Evil Birds in the sky. They finally made it ashore!

Mo Fan explained why he had left on his own. “It’s unwise to be blindly righteous sometimes. If I don’t save myself first, we were all done for!”

“It’s fine, I’m going to say the same thing to you when you need my protection,” Zhao Manyan said in return.

“Ugh, if revenge breeds revenge, will there ever be an end to it?” Mo Fan could not find a better response.

“Enough chatting, do you think we are safe after making it to the island? Take a look around you! Do those creatures look like they are going to spare our lives?” Jiang Shaoxu pointed at the sea.

Mo Fan’s Electro Cannon had been extremely effective. Not only did it kill a lot of Manta Ray Evil Birds, it had also resolved the dangerous situation. However, it had infuriated the remaining Manta Ray Evil Birds. Those who were not caught by the Electro Cannon soared into the sky from the water and came right at them.

The creatures pursuing them relentlessly were not the scariest. When Mo Fan and the others looked deeper into the island, they noticed countless pairs of sapphire eyes appearing from the woods.

“Those we saw weren’t all of them?” Zhao Manyan was about to go crazy.

Did these creatures have nothing better to do other than mate? How did they possibly give birth to so many offspring in just a few years? Was the Featherless Bird Emperor’s name Xu Fu instead?

{ TL Note : A reference to a Chinese alchemist and explorer. He was sent by Qin Shi Huang to look for the elixir of life, but he ended up running away with 500 men and women and was said to have settled down in Japan.}

“These must be the Greater Featherless Birds. Their bodies are dark red!” Chen Shuo noticed.

Their sapphire eyes were brighter than the eyes of the Manta Ray Evil Birds, and their wings were around eight meters long when fully extended. Their smooth, dark red skin had the sheen of an icy metallic surface, not to mention their pointy heads and jagged wings. They looked far nobler and stronger than the Manta Ray Evil Birds!

“We are truly being surrounded now,” Jiang Shaoxu pointed out.

“Plans are always f**king lies!” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

Their plan was to put the Manta Ray Evil Birds into hibernation so they could strut through the island, take care of the Greater Featherless Birds, and accomplish their mission. The reality was, the mission’s difficulty was more than a level harder than they had expected. It was like they had accidentally chosen Hell Mode when they picked the dungeon. The numbers of the Manta Ray Evil Birds were unreasonably high.

It was not like they had never fought so many demon creatures at once, but these Manta Ray Evil Birds were surprisingly strong. Even Mo Fan’s Electro Cannon could only kill a limited number of them!

“Luckily, your Miss Tangyue lured a portion of them away. I wonder if she’s in any kind of danger,” Zhao Manyan suddenly remembered.

“Don’t you worry about that,” Mo Fan answered, pointing at the trees ahead. An alluring figure was slowly appearing from the darkness, heading in their direction.

Zhao Manyan glanced in that direction. His face darkened when he saw Tangyue.

He looked to the other side. As he expected, the Manta Ray Evil Birds which Tangyue was supposed to lure away seemed to have found a new target, and were flying toward them relentlessly. The whole sky had darkened from their numbers, as if they were holding some kind of ceremony.

There was only so much Tangyue could do to keep the creatures busy. She too could not stay in the water or sky for too long, since she was more used to fighting on land. She immediately regrouped with Mo Fan and the others after they successfully came ashore.

“Their numbers are too much for us. If they were just a sheet of loose sand, we might be able to drive them away with a Super Spell, but these creatures are surprisingly brave,” Tangyue told them.

She had realized that Dawn Island was much scarier than she thought after coming here. She could not help but wonder what resources the creatures relied on to reproduce so quickly. The ocean world was indeed unpredictable!

“Head to the emergency outpost, it’s built with a kind of metal that the Manta Ray Evil Birds are scared of. We can seek shelter there and figure out a plan,” Chen Shuo told them.

“Lead the way then!” Zhao Manyan said.

They might be able to handle the Manta Ray Evil Birds that were chasing after them, but they no longer stood a chance if the Manta Ray Evil Birds which Tangyue lured away returned too, not to mention the fact that the Manta Ray Crimson Birds were on the move as well. Even Mo Fan would struggle to take them all out, even if he could fire his spells at will until his energy was depleted.

Chen Shuo had the Wind and Plant Elements. His speed was quite impressive. It felt like he had returned to his true home after entering the woods. He wove through the strange trees blocking their path nimbly and even used the dense trees to shake off the Manta Ray Evil Birds behind them.

“It’s just ahead!” Chen Shuo said.

The whole island basically consisted of tall trees with plenty of leaves. It felt like they had entered a maze of trees with no way of telling their direction. However, Chen Shuo seemed extremely familiar with their surroundings. They went past a slope and arrived at a little basin. They saw a structure with a gray-white roof covered in vines and weeds. The structure was in the shape of a rhombus!

“I thought it was an enormous Manta Ray Evil Bird, it scared the crap out of me!” Zhao Manyan nearly shrieked after glancing into the basin.

The emergency outpost obviously resembled a Manta Ray Evil Bird. The group quickly made their way down and noticed some dilapidated fences and wire netting.

“They are coming!”

Tangyue looked up and saw the sky was filled with the Manta Ray Evil Birds. It felt like the whole sky was shrouded by the creatures, especially when their sapphire eyes were looking down at them…

“Go inside, quick, they won’t dive at us!” Chen Shuo told the group confidently.

Chen Shuo led the group to the entrance. They immediately ran inside the rhombus-shaped building. The place was abandoned, but it was not completely run-down. It was a safe enclosed space. The Manta Ray Evil Birds would have to break through the walls and the roof to reach them.

The loud noises were making the group uncomfortable. The Manta Ray Evil Birds circled the sky above the building, but not a single one of them dove down at it after five minutes had passed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Are we safe now?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

She was truly afraid. She had once thought it was just going to be a normal island with a little trouble, but it had turned out to be a tiger’s den full of danger. The Manta Ray Evil Birds were still circling in the sky above the emergency outpost. They did not seem to be leaving soon, but they were not diving down either, as they were wary of the building.

“What should we do now? Daybreak is going to come soon. We can’t afford to waste any time,” Zhao Manyan said.

They had to leave before the sun rose. The Featherless Birds protecting the vicinity of the island were all going to awaken soon. Their numbers were more than ten times those of the Featherless Birds on the island. Their group would have no chance of leaving the island in one piece once they were awake.

“There’s a tunnel under the outpost that will bring us to the main ranch and breeding facility. Most Greater Featherless Birds were bred in the trees there,” Chen Shuo told them.

“Are you suggesting we take on the root of the problem directly?” Zhao Manyan had to ask.

“Exactly! We must get rid of the Greater Featherless Birds and the Featherless Bird Emperor. If a certain device there is still usable, we should be able to keep the Manta Ray Evil Birds at bay while trapping the Greater Featherless Birds and the Featherless Bird Emperor in the woods temporarily,” Chen Shuo said.

“Excuse me, mister, you shouldn’t just think about how to rid the public of an evil. You should think about how we are supposed to handle the Manta Ray Evil Birds, and the Featherless Birds that are about to wake up in the sea, even if we do slay the Greater Featherless Birds and the Featherless Bird Emperor. You should figure out our retreat first. Otherwise, our best bet is to turn around immediately!” Zhao Manyan countered.

“Old Zhao is right. It’s important to get rid of the Greater Featherless Birds and the Featherless Bird Emperor, but we have to figure out a way to deal with their children and grandchildren, too. We should prioritize our safety first,” Mo Fan agreed.

Chen Shuo immediately fell silent. He had been fully preoccupied with the thought of eliminating the Featherless Birds to prevent a potential disaster.

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were constantly making a lot of noise in the sky. Loud whooshes were heard as the creatures swept past the building above them. A few fearless Manta Ray Evil Birds even ignored the metal that the building was built from to search for the entrance.

Ten years ago, this emergency outpost was completely sealed up to prevent the tamed creatures from revolting, but the building was already long abandoned. It was difficult to guarantee there was no opening for the creatures to come inside. They were eventually going to find a way in as more Manta Ray Evil Birds began to circle the building.

“I do have a plan if you trust me,” Chen Shuo said.

“Just spill the beans!” Zhao Manyan said.

“As a matter of fact, our project wasn’t necessarily a total failure. The Bird Emperor spent a long time living with humans. It had already developed a certain benevolence. Things only went south because we were short on funds, and we made a mistake when taming the Bird Emperor,” Chen Shuo began to explain to them.

“Mister, we don’t really have much time, so please refrain from dwelling on the past for now. Just tell us what we should do. If it’s plausible, we’ll go ahead and do it. Otherwise, we should leave the island at once. We won’t have that option once the morning comes. This old outpost doesn’t feel safe at all,” Mu Bai reminded him quickly.

“Basically, every Manta Ray Evil Bird takes orders from the Bird Emperor, which means, if we are able to complete the plan ten years ago and tame the Bird Emperor successfully, not only can we resolve the threat posed by the overpopulation of the Manta Ray Evil Birds, the Bird Emperor will give us a ride and even bring us to safety!” Chen Shuo said.

“What kind of a plan is that? You already failed to tame it ten years ago. You had so many experts, Mages, and devices back then, but you still failed to tame the Bird Emperor. Why would you think we can do it now after ten years?” Tangyue demanded.

“That’s why I said you have to trust me completely. I wasn’t fully in charge back then, but I’m extremely familiar with the Bird Emperor. If you try to tame it according to my method, I believe it might remind the Bird Emperor of its past as a Contracted Beast, thus convincing it to obey us,” Chen Shuo said seriously. He even sounded a little excited.

“Chen Shuo, are you sure it’s still possible to tame a creature who has now become the Bird Emperor of the Manta Ray Evil Birds?” Mo Fan asked in a serious voice.

“I’m sure of it; the Bird Emperor’s master was my master! As his disciple, I was following him around. He brought me here to take care of his Contracted Beast, Evil Star, before he passed away. I came because I was eager to make some contributions, and I also saw how much potential the plan to tame the Manta Ray Evil Birds had. I thought my master’s Contracted Beast might lead us to a great evolution, and my master would be very pleased with the result.

“Unfortunately, when they started to have some positive outcome, they focused on breeding Manta Ray Evil Birds with a purer lineage instead of putting their attention on taming the creatures first, which eventually led to the overpopulation of the Manta Ray Evil Birds. However, I understand Evil Star. It still has the spirit of a Contracted Beast. It’s willing to be tamed, but we need someone worthy enough to convince it by following my instructions,” Chen Shuo said.

“What do you mean someone worthy enough to convince it? Can’t you do it?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“I can’t. The Manta Ray Evil Birds are extremely competitive. It will never submit to anyone weaker than it. My master only managed to sign a Contract with it because he managed to defeat it by himself. There’s only one way to convince it; to take on the creature alone and defeat it without relying on any tricks!” Chen Shuo said.

“I have defeated many demon creatures, yet not a lot of them were willing to surrender just because you can defeat them. Most of them preferred to die rather than submitting themselves to a human,” Mo Fan pointed out.

“Yes, that has always been the case, but the difference is that this Bird Emperor was once a Contracted Beast, so it won’t reject humans!” the old soldier countered.

“Mo Fan, you should be pretty strong now. If the Bird Emperor is really that intelligent, you might earn its trust by defeating it. Why don’t you have a go at it?” Tangyue said.

“But my Contracted Space is full!” Mo Fan said.

“Taming it and making it a Contracted Beast are different things!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was willing to go along with Chen Shuo’s plan if there was no other way.

The truth was, Mo Fan had never tamed a demon creature before. He simply treated it as a learning opportunity. If he really could tame these Manta Ray Evil Birds, it might significantly increase his homeland’s firepower along the coastline!

Taming was not really related to the Summoning Element. It was actually an ability of the Psychic Element, as it relied on Psychic Magic to communicate with a demon creature and slowly rid it of its savage nature and convert it into something positive. The creature would gradually submit to humans, and become a pet or a comrade in battle.

Most tamed creatures could only obey simple instructions. For example, the Heavenly Eagles were mainly responsible for carrying their masters around, protecting them, and assisting them in battles. Their minds were not linked like the connections between a Summoned Beast or a Contracted Beast and their Summoners were. Their relationship was not as close, nor would they have such outstanding synergy.

Most tamed creatures were only treated as mounts. It was quite difficult to convince tamed creatures to fight other demon creatures!

——

“My father wanted me to become a Tamer and serve in the military when I was younger, but I kind of strayed away from the path somehow. To be honest, I’m under huge pressure knowing the burden is currently on my shoulders, considering they failed the attempt ten years ago,” Jiang Shaoxu admitted.

The group was now heading toward the Sky Coconut Grove through a secret passage from the emergency outpost. It was where the Great Featherless Birds and the Featherless Bird Emperor lived. The old devices for taming purposes were stored there, too.

“Such pressure you are under, but why the hell do I have to take on the Manta Ray Evil Birds’ Emperor alone!?” Mo Fan grumbled immediately.

Mo Fan thought Chen Shuo meant he just had to fight the Bird Emperor with all his strength to defeat it, but he just realized he was going to take on the Bird Emperor alone, since it was the only way to earn the creature’s approval.

Mo Fan could not care less about getting the creature’s approval. Why couldn’t they just take on the Bird Emperor together and beat the crap out of it? If it was not convinced of their strength, they could just beat it up a few more times! However, they had to turn it into a fair duel where others were not allowed to intervene. Were they crazy? Did they seriously want him to fight the creature fair and square? Mo Fan never bothered fighting anyone fair and square!

“Mo Fan, think about it; if you manage to tame the Bird Emperor, you can make it your mount. If I were you, I would feel very ashamed in front of other Super Mages and Summoners considering how bad you are with water. After all, you can only ride your second Contracted Beast at night.. uh, what I’m trying to say is, this is a great opportunity for you. It’s the prologue to you dominating the Pacific Ocean!” Zhao Manyan cheered him on.

2

Mo Fan gave it serious thought and realized Zhao Manyan was not being totally unreasonable.

Mo Fan had initially planned to get himself a flying beast as his second Contracted Beast, but he ended up with a little snake demoness instead. Any Wing Magical Equipment was extremely expensive, too. There was no way he could get one that was fit for his level with the money he had.

Therefore, finding a mount was indeed the perfect solution!

Magical Wings were extremely costly. Those that cost only one or two hundred million were too slow for his current level, so he did not bother wasting his money on them.

“Jiang Shaoxu, your main focus on the Psychic Element is the Illusionary Branch, right?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, so I don’t feel too confident. I only know a little about how to tame a creature,” Jiang Shaoxu confirmed.

“I’ll ask someone to give you a hand later, but make sure you keep the Greater Featherless Birds and the Manta Ray Evil Birds at bay while I’m fighting the Bird Emperor. I seriously don’t want to die here!” Mo Fan told her.

“Don’t you worry, we’ll be keeping an eye for you!” Chen Shuo let out a relieved sigh when Mo Fan finally agreed to the plan.

“How long until we reach the Sky Coconut Grove? It’ll be daybreak soon.”

“We are almost there.”

—

—

Wanggui Town…

Zhu Min and Li Dong staggered out of a bar, each with a hand around the waist of a woman with heavy makeup. Tangyue had finally considered giving up on the operation today. They no longer had to put on an act before her, and could finally relax.

A few bulky figures slowly approached them as they reached the junction. A man in a huge coat was leading them. He had a stern face as he cast an aloof gaze at Zhu Min and Li Dong.

“Is this what you should be doing when you’re on duty?” the man harrumphed coldly.

“Fa…father!” Zhu Min’s legs trembled as soon as he saw the man.

“Chief!” Li Dong collected his thoughts quickly. He rapidly pushed the woman in his arm away.

The woman immediately cursed in the local dialect when Li Dong’s attitude changed so suddenly.

The chief of the Enforcement Union squinted, as if he was observing some filthy wild hens, a disdainful and heartless look in his eyes. The faces of the two women turned pale, as if their thick makeup was about to fall off their faces. They immediately ran away, not daring to say a word further.

“Where’s the Vice Chief?” Chief Zhu Qi said.

“I…I think she went home,” Li Dong said.

“Humph, why did a Senior Enforcer tell me she had gone to Dawn Island with a few people, then?” Zhu Qi asked.

“No way, we clearly saw her…” Zhu Min began.

“I told you two to keep an eye on her, yet you couldn’t even do such a simple task. I know better than anyone else how dangerous Dawn Island is. I asked you to keep an eye on her not only to be wary of her, but to stop her from doing anything reckless, too. After all, she was assigned here by the Lingyin Enforcement Union. If she dies on the island, it will bring us a lot of trouble,” Zhu Qi said.

“That woman must be out of her mind!” Li Dong swore.

“Go take a look around, and make sure she’s still alive,” Zhu Qi ordered them.

—

—

Dawn Island, the Sky Coconut Grove…

The Sky Coconut Grove was made up of coconut trees that had been growing on a tall hill for more than a hundred years. Their dense leaves were bundled up together. The top of the trees bent slightly too, making them look like an enormous umbrella. It was quite a spectacular sight.

The main training and breeding ranch was located in the Sky Coconut Grove. There were iron nets all over the trees, looming over them like a sky. Together, they resembled a huge dome protecting the island!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The base of the main ranch was half set into a mountain, built using the same special metal as the outpost to prevent the Manta Ray Evil Birds from getting closer. It had done a great job preserving the building.

When they arrived inside the building, Mo Fan noticed many devices covered with huge pieces of leather. They looked like machines that had not been used for many years, rather than being completely abandoned and run-down. The sight explained why Chen Shuo wanted to give his plan a try. The devices were still in good condition. They could be used right away, once they were connected to a power source.

“Can you see the netting above the trees? Those are actually made of metallic gravel. They aren’t used to trap the Manta Ray Bird Emperor, Evil Star, but were actually used to magnify the efficacy of the Psychic Element, like a kind of metallurgy. When the Taming Force of the Psychic Element is inserted into these devices, the nettings produce a psychological pulse to tame Evil Star. We would do it once every month before, but from what I learned, they started whipping Evil Star with electric shocks, forcing it to submit to their authority with pain.

“However, the method we used to tame Heavenly Eagles isn’t effective on Evil Star. It would never be afraid of humans and submit itself to us, despite being whipped countless times. Therefore, the best way is to Pacify it instead, and calm its thoughts. We’ll then help it remember its past, and the friendly time it spent with humans. Mo Fan will then challenge it to a duel so it will obey the orders of a human who’s stronger than it…” Chen Shuo had been quiet along the journey, yet he was very excited whenever he mentioned Evil Star. He had a passionate look in his eyes now.

“So you’re saying that I’ll need to activate the magic nets with Spirit Ripple to help it recover its benevolence first, before Mo Fan overpowers it?” Jiang Shaoxu summarized the drawn-out instructions.

“Exactly. If the plan doesn’t work, the Manta Ray Evil Birds will never be on friendly terms with humans!” Chen Shuo stated solemnly.

——

Mo Fan was not feeling very confident in Jiang Shaoxu’s Psychic Element. The woman’s main focus was on illusions. If Xinxia was here, he would only have needed to go through the motions since the creature would be Pacified pretty easily.

“Apas, come out here.” Mo Fan went to a corner and summoned his second Contracted Beast while the others were busy preparing the magic netting.

2

Apas had been hiding in her Contracted Space after she found the Receiver Crystals. It was the perfect time to be asking her for help. There was no way Mo Fan would let his second Contracted Beast’s talents go to waste!

“Help me subdue that Manta Ray Bird Emperor,” Mo Fan told her.

“What benefits do I get?” Apas seemed to have gotten used to the business model between them. She would be willing to help as long as she would be getting something that fancied her in return.

“I’ll sort out your identity with my connections. You will be able to study in the Plant School of Pearl Institute as you wish,” Mo Fan offered her.

Apas’ eyes glittered as soon as she heard the offer. Her attractive eyes curled charmingly in joy and excitement.

“Really? You’re not trying to trick me, aren’t you?” Apas said warily.

“Since when did I trick you?” Mo Fan said sternly, but for some reason, he almost bit his own tongue when he was talking.

Apas wanted to study at the Pearl Institute. Frankly speaking, she just wanted to live like a normal girl, being able to learn magic, go to school, go to the library, and enjoy a peaceful yet fulfilling life.

She might be a Medusa Princess, but she was not too passionate about her heritage. She was instead curious and obsessed with the magic of humans.

She had been practicing every day since Mo Fan had helped her Awaken the Plant Element. However, she was not particularly talented at it. Mo Fan was actually surprised by how clumsy she was.

“Is it possible to tame a creature like that?” Mo Fan knew how impressive Apas’ Psychic Magic was. He decided to ask for her opinion, in case all their efforts were for nothing in the end.

“If you’re relying on her and the old devices here, I seriously doubt this is going to work,” Apas judged firmly.

Taming a creature like the Manta Ray Bird Emperor would require overpowering it with Psychic Magic that was multiple times stronger than its level. The creature was most likely a Ruler-inferior creature!

“Oh, so I won’t have to arrange for you to study in Pearl Institute, then?” Mo Fan countered.

Apas stomped the ground angrily and blurted out, “There’s no way it’s going to submit itself to you! Even if you manage to defeat it, it will only treat you as an alien species that is slightly stronger than it. It’s the same as if you lost to a wild beast. What would you do if the beast demanded you be its slave?”

“Tell me your plan,” Mo Fan said calmly.

“I’m Medusa’s daughter, hence my lineage is far more superior to its, not to mention the power of my eyes. I believe it will only surrender itself to me,” Apas declared.

“So, we should force it to submit itself to you?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, you aren’t worthy enough!” Apas stated directly.

“…” Mo Fan did not expect to be looked down on by his own Contracted Beast. “Fine, but you must stay in a corner where no one is going to notice you and lend me a hand. Once it’s done, I’ll let you study in Pearl Institute for some time.”

1

“Deal!” Apas nodded.

——

Mo Fan waited until Apas went to a secluded spot. He could not help but think how he had been forced to rely on Apas’ help twice in a row recently. He had already used his trump card of giving her the chance to study at Pearl Institute. He no longer had any bargaining chips left!

Forget it, I will just rely on myself more. I can’t ask that little snake for help every time. I must become stronger myself, strong enough to conquer her so she’s willing to service a charming and impressive man like me on her knees!, Mo Fan thought with a sigh.

Meanwhile, Jiang Shaoxu was done with her preparations.

Tangyue and Zhao Manyan were in position to fend off the Greater Featherless Birds that might show up.

Mu Bai looked into the sky and said, “It’s almost daybreak. There’s no point in me maintaining the temperature. You will be struggling against the overwhelming numbers of Greater Featherless Birds and Manta Ray Evil Birds. I’ll lend you a hand.”

“There’s no turning back from here,” Zhao Manyan said.

“There never was since we came to the island. We should just focus on the current situation. We’ll figure out another plan if we fail,” Mu Bai said.

“Indeed, we will have difficulty stopping the Manta Ray Evil Birds without Mu Bai’s help. Let’s do it!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

They went to the Sky Coconut Grove and saw the night sky was shrouded by the huge leaves. There was not even a glimpse of light.

Mo Fan climbed up the trunks to the canopy. The leaves were big enough to support his weight, and swayed like see-saws when he stood on them.

Mo Fan was satisfied as long as there were places he could put his feet. That being said, he had to be wary of the spots where the leaves were less stacked, as he might fall right through them if he applied too much force on them.

Chen Shuo told Mo Fan that Evil Star preferred staying in the canopy, but Mo Fan did not see the Manta Ray Bird Emperor after scanning his surroundings.

The leaves were stacked in layers at certain spots. Mo Fan looked up, and soon noticed two jagged black wings extending slightly at an angle of forty-five degrees.

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor had the body of a ray, so when it slowly extended its wings, the moonlight eventually shone upon its body. It felt like the night sky was the designated stage for it. Its body reflected a cold silver sheen!

Mo Fan was a little dazzled by the creature’s appearance. Even though the Manta Ray Evil Birds had a menacing appearance, animals like manta rays and bats were two of the more ugly and scary types, so the Manta Ray Evil Birds that possessed the lineage of the two species would naturally fall into the same category. However, that was not the case for the creature that was currently extending its sharp wings above the trees. In Mo Fan’s eyes, the creature had perfect curves and edges, with extremely smooth skin. It looked like a typical spaceship in science-fiction instead!

“So that’s Evil Star…” Mo Fan murmured.

It looked so cool!

Mo Fan was not a well-educated man. It was the only term he could come up with under the circumstances. The creature looked so f**king cool!

When Mo Fan first saw the Manta Ray Evil Birds, he had been surprised by the unique appearance of the species. Little did he know that their ruler’s appearance was even more perfect. Imagine the creature soaring past or hovering above a bustling city. It would easily attract a bunch of screams of disbelief!

Why did they even bother taming the Manta Ray Evil Birds which looked like bats and manta rays? Only the Manta Ray Bird Emperor was worthy of his time!

“Apas, I’m pretty fond of that bird. You must take it down for me, do you understand?” Mo Fan blurted out in excitement. His gaze never left Evil Star.

Cool, how cool, only a creature like it was worthy for a handsome genius like him! The Flying Creek Snow Wolf with his snow-white skin, the lineage of the ice valley, and a perfect combination of the strength and elegance of his muscles suddenly felt like a weasel rolling around in the snow when compared to the Manta Ray Bird Emperor that resembled a metallic battle jet!

Mo Fan was initially unwilling to sacrifice himself to take on a Ruler-inferior creature, but he was now greatly anticipating making the creature his new mount. He immediately found the motivation to fight the creature!

It was like the goddess whom he had been dreaming of had finally appeared before him. He immediately had an urge to conquer her! His blood was already boiling!

A Ruler-inferior creature!

Mo Fan had rarely fought a Ruler-level creature alone. He was now curious about whether he was strong enough to face a Ruler-inferior creature alone!

“Keep staring at it, I will provoke it through your eyes,” Apas spoke in Mo Fan’s mind.

Mo Fan prepared himself and followed Apas’ instructions.

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor was clearly aware of Mo Fan’s existence. It was stretching to loosen its bones by extending its wings.

Following Apas’ provocation, Evil Star spread its wings and soared into the sky. Unlike how birds usually lifted off into the sky, the Manta Ray Bird Emperor simply turned into a strange ray of light and sprang into the night sky. Its wings remained still at its sides. From Mo Fan’s angle, it looked like a sword with a triangle tip encapsulated by a blue-silver glow had flown into the pitch-black sky in an unstoppable manner. Mo Fan was dazzled by its imposing appearance once again!

“Mo Fan, we’re ready!” Jiang Shaoxu yelled from the base below.

“You may begin. This Evil Star is mine nevertheless!” Mo Fan had a firm and passionate look in his eyes.

The situation clearly contained all the joy and significance of going on an adventure. It had allowed Mo Fan to witness the wonders of nature and the charm of different species. The way the Manta Ray Bird Emperor took off into the sky stabbed Mo Fan right in the heart, which was pounding heavily, similar to the feeling of falling in love at first sight!

The sound of machines operating came from below, followed by the crackling of electricity. The energy of the Psychic Element surged through the nettings and gathered at a certain point like a lightning rod.

A lightning bolt without a single fork sprang toward the Manta Ray Bird Emperor.

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor was flying in the sky. However, Mo Fan only noticed the chain between the Manta Ray Bird Emperor and the rod at the center of the nets after the brilliance of the lightning lit up the area. The chain was long enough to reach the clouds in the night sky while connected to the netting. It was binding the Manta Ray Bird Emperor as it soared into the sky!

“What’s with that!?” Mo Fan immediately asked Chen Shuo.

There was no response from below. The Psychic Magic kept gathering at the rod through the nettings before being transmitted via the chain!

The chain swayed in the strong wind, producing some unpleasant clanking. The Manta Ray Bird Emperor obviously could not reach the height it was aiming for. It dragged the chain, now over a few hundred meters long, into the sky. The creature was more like a kite flying in the sky, but the string controlling it was a chain instead!

“Mo Fan, don’t worry about it, the old man said the chain is keeping it here so it won’t vent its frustrations on the people nearby… Just hurry up and beat it, it’s almost morning,” Jiang Shaoxu replied.

Mo Fan frowned.

Chen Shuo mentioned that the metallic gravel was something the Manta Ray Evil Birds were afraid of, but the Manta Ray Bird emperor was tied by a chain made of the same metal. He was lying when he mentioned the creature preferred to stay in the area, since the creature never had a chance to leave the area. The chain was only a few hundred meters long!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A cold star dove through the mist, descending aggressively. It clearly indicated the Manta Ray Bird Emperor’s hostility to Mo Fan!

The chain rattled under the moonlight. The Manta Ray Bird Emperor did not let out a cry when it suddenly dove from the sky. Its wings sliced through the air and ignored its resistance!

Its dark-silver shiny scales tore through the veil of the night and sliced the moonlight in half like a vengeful sword. Mo Fan was still two hundred meters away from the creature, yet his body was overwhelmed by fear, as if he had just been sliced in half!

Mo Fan stared at the creature coming at him, descending like a falling star. He did not budge, yet his body began to split from one to two, then four, then sixteen!

Mo Fan’s shadows stood in a row, each perfectly resembling him. He was now covered by a layer of shadow which concealed his original colors.

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor was diving right at Mo Fan. Its move immediately took out twelve of the shadows that Mo Fan had split into. However, when it realized none of them was the real one, it suddenly turned in the air at an unbelievable angle and attacked the remaining four shadows instead!

Most flying creatures would move in an arc while they were turning in the air. Even the strongest winged beasts would still need to bank somewhat to greatly alter the angle they were flying at. However, the Manta Ray Bird Emperor had changed its angle right away. Its path was almost an L-shape. It went from a vertical slash to a horizontal slash without any time in between them!

Mo Fan was indeed among the four remaining shadows. He was given a great scare when he saw how Evil Star had turned so quickly in the air. He no longer dared to fool around with his shadows when he saw the air slashes approaching rapidly. He immediately engulfed himself in flames and launched himself to a taller tree.

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor was below Mo Fan when it glided past him. It had sliced through the trees along its flying path in a perfectly straight line.

Mo Fan began to fall as he had lost his balance. Meanwhile, the Manta Ray Bird Emperor had already made its turn, hovering again in the air. The Manta Ray Bird Emperor did seem more like a manta ray in the deep sea. It was cool-looking, yet intimidating!

The Manta Ray Evil Bird would not let the human who provoked it go so easily. It suddenly beat its wings in Mo Fan’s direction.

Mo Fan saw sharp flickers on the edges of the Manta Ray Bird Emperor’s wings, and two enormous crescent-shaped shockwaves sprang toward him from his left and right. They produced a piercing screech as they traveled through the air. It sounded like a gigantic bee beating its wings at an insane speed. Mo Fan knew the shockwaves could easily slice through a mountain, let alone his vulnerable human body!

Mo Fan was prepared for it. A Star Constellation close to completion was already under his feet. When the terrifying wing slashes arrived, he had vanished before the wing slashes crossed paths at his former location.

Mo Fan reappeared a hundred meters away, feeling a burning sensation from his shoulders. He looked at them and saw both his shoulders bleeding. The wing blades were simply too quick for him. They had still managed to hurt him even when he had entered the other dimension while casting Blink. If he had not been prepared, he might have come out of the dimension in two halves instead!

“How ferocious, I like it!” Mo Fan ignored the minor cuts on his shoulders, as they would stop bleeding on their own. Mo Fan’s body had a certain self-healing ability, perhaps because he had eaten a lot of that sacred medicine that Xinxia had given him. (cough, Demon Element, cough)

1

One must view the most spacious ocean and ride the most savage bird on the island when viewing the world. Mo Fan was determined to subdue the Manta Ray Bird Emperor and make it his mount today. It seemed like he would have to show some of his true capabilities!

“Little Flame Belle, show it what we have!” Mo Fan clenched his fists as if he was going to unleash all the power in his body.

The Meteor Scarlet, Calamity Fire, and Ardent Sunset of different colors circled around Mo Fan like dragons. When they intertwined above him, the flames poured down like lava and turned him into a warrior in burning armor. The flames spread fiercely above the island, dying the clouds red!

“Flame Ripple!”

Mo Fan could now wield Flame Belle’s outstanding control over the Fire Element. He rapidly unleashed the flames around him in a ripple. The flames spread across the sky above the trees and sprang at the Manta Ray Bird Emperor on the other side!

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor was obviously not a fan of heat. With a flicker from its back, a blue pillar of water surged forward and crashed into Mo Fan’s flames. The water and fire instantly produced a huge cloud of steam above Dawn Island.

However, the Manta Ray Bird Emperor’s water was obviously inferior to Mo Fan’s three Soul-grade Flames, and the flames started pushing toward the Manta Ray Bird Emperor. However, the Manta Ray Bird Emperor simply rose twenty meters higher into the air to dodge the flames with ease.

“Again!” Mo Fan was extremely quick at gathering the flames to him. His Fire Magic had gotten stronger.

He unleashed the Flame Ripple once again, but this time, he had applied the Seal of Order on it, enabling it to track down the Manta Ray Bird Emperor while it was flying.

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor dodged to the left to move away from the Flame Ripple’s path, but the flames oddly altered direction along the way just enough to strike the Manta Ray Bird Emperor.

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor suddenly moved downward when the Flame Ripple approached it, dodging the flames once again.

Even though Mo Fan’s Seal of Order had given the Flame Ripple the ability to chase after its target, the Manta Ray Bird Emperor was only dodging the flames at close distance. It was impossible for the Seal of Order to manipulate the angle of the spell in time.

“Such quick reflexes!” Mo Fan was startled.

Mo Fan did not use the Seal of Order at first, hoping that the Manta Ray Bird Emperor might lower its guard. He had only used it on the second Flame Ripple to alter its angle out of nowhere, yet the Manta Ray Bird Emperor still managed to react in time to dodge it…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Evil Star started moving around unusually at a crazed pace, leaving afterimages behind as it did so.

The afterimages of the Bird Emperor began to stack on top of one another gradually. From Mo Fan’s view, it felt like a dozen of the creatures had stacked up around him when there was only one creature. The afterimages were merely a result of its unbelievable speed.

Evil Star began to move horizontally after it was done moving vertically, producing the same afterimages. It left over a few hundred afterimages in the night sky in a brief moment. It felt like there was an army of Bird Emperors, all staring at the flame-shrouded Mo Fan with a cold look in their eyes.

Mo Fan was slightly dazzled. He suddenly heard a cry, which meant there was only one Evil Star, while the rest were mere illusions.

The illusionary Bird Emperors began diving at Mo Fan in an orderly manner. It felt like a fleet of fighting jets was going to bombard the spot he was standing on!

Mo Fan thought the afterimages would not pose any threat to him. The Manta Ray Bird Emperor was simply trying to trick him. However, he realized how deadly each illusion actually was when he saw the illusions slicing through the trees they came into contact with!

It was meaningless to dodge the attack considering its insane area, nor was Mo Fan able to cast Blink in time. He had no choice but to clench his teeth and confront the illusions of the Bird Emperor with force.

“Fiery Feather Swords!”

Rings of flames erupted around Mo Fan. The flames were spreading like feathers and proceeded to transform into burning swords. They formed a small circle around Mo Fan at first, but each time the flames surged, more burning swords were added to the ranks!

Mo Fan pointed into the sky, aiming the burning swords in the direction from which the illusions of the Bird Emperor were approaching. The number of the burning swords clearly outmatched the number of the illusions, but each illusion contained a greater force than the swords. The burning swords collided with the illusions, like a bunch of burning meteorites crashing into an icy meteor shower. The impact of the spectacular collision shook the entire island.

The light produced by the destruction lit up the dark island, illuminating the coconut trees scattered all over it, the valleys covered entirely in moss, and the Manta Ray Evil Birds that were flying back to regroup with the main army!

The battle had obviously startled the Manta Ray Evil Birds out searching for invaders. They immediately flew toward the island at their highest speed. It was terrifying watching their dense figures and icy sapphire eyes approaching in such overwhelming numbers.

—

“Mo Fan, I would pick up the pace a little if I were you! Otherwise, what I’m going to say will be my last words!” Zhao Manyan shouted at him.

“Why do I feel like you said the same thing in Egypt. Your last words are as stinky and long as your usual nonsense!” Mu Bai mocked him.

“I’m the kind of person with a strong awareness of potential threats to my life, so I’ve been living my days as if the apocalypse was going to happen at any second. Do you have a problem with that?” Zhao Manyan snarled.

“You’re just scared of dying,” Mu Bai scoffed.

“That’s how preciously I’m f**king treating my life. I still have so much time left and so many beauties to taste!” Zhao Manyan said righteously.

—

Mo Fan glanced down the mountain and saw the Manta Ray Evil Birds everywhere. Their speed was unbelievable. They were able to cover a few kilometers in the blink of an eye. It felt like they had the whole place surrounded.

The numbers of the Manta Ray Evil Birds were even greater than they had thought. It felt like the island was running out of space for them after every Manta Ray Evil Bird on the island had woken up. Some among them had menacing auras and dark red skin like evil crimson-red moons. They indeed looked like a demon species that had descended upon the mundane world from an evil moon!

Those creatures were obviously the Greater Featherless Birds that Chen Shuo had mentioned. They had inherited the appearance of the Bird Emperor and its natural aggressive temperament. Their superior wings and tails would put anyone looking at them under great pressure, far exceeding the pressure from the Manta Ray Evil Birds.

“I’ll leave them in your hands. Just buy me a little more time,” Mo Fan told the others.

Mo Fan ignored the Manta Ray Evil Birds that were approaching from every direction. He was fully focused on the Bird Emperor.

Evil Star was staring at Mo Fan. It too was grim and focused, as if it had rarely bumped into such a powerful human.

A shadow suddenly descended from the sky like an icy hammer, heading straight at Evil Star’s back without any sign. It sliced straight down, like it was going to cut the creature in half.

It was a shadow Mo Fan had Summoned with the Fiendish Night. He had used it to Summon a rebelling shadow of the Bird Emperor to attack it.

The Bird Emperor did not expect such a unique ability, since Mo Fan had not produced any unusual energy beforehand. The Fiendish Shadow landed its blow on the Manta Ray Bird Emperor accurately, leaving a long cut on its back. The cut had torn through its flesh and left some black goo on it.

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor was injured, yet it did not show any sign of panic. It continued calmly observing its surroundings. A strange shadow was now slowly rising below its body. It did not have the shape of the Bird Emperor anymore. It turned into a pair of blades and stabbed at the creature’s belly instead!

The Bird Emperor finally noticed the shadow this time. It immediately spun in the air, exposing its belly under the moonlight while emitting a silver glow to drive the shadow away and resolve the danger.

Mo Fan was not too bothered when the creature saw through his trick. The Dark Material was only good at ambushing its targets when they least expected it. He was satisfied after inflicting the wound on the creature’s back!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Bird Emperor lifted off higher into the sky. It quickly arrived directly above Mo Fan.

Mo Fan looked up. He first thought the Bird Emperor looked like a cloud blocking his view of the sky, yet for some reason, the creature’s figure kept growing in his vision, like it was about to cover the entire world!

It felt like the creature was a god of the night who had just opened up his mantle. The darkness was slowly absorbing the night sky and soon spread over the entire area above Mo Fan. The Bird Emperor was somehow as enormous as the night sky, while Mo Fan was as tiny as a dust particle under the mantle of darkness. He was suddenly overwhelmed by fear.

The starry night sky was looming right over Mo Fan as the creature began to fall. It was as terrifying as the sky collapsing onto him.

Mo Fan had experienced all kinds of illusions. When he saw the Bird Emperor enlarging, he thought it was just a trick to put him under pressure, a visual illusion to trick the enemy’s mind and render them defenseless.

However, when the Bird Emperor dove at him, he suddenly lost his sight. A pain like he was being crushed flowed through his body, as if he had just been slammed into the ground. The feeling of suffocation and his bones being crushed felt so real!

“What kind of ability is this?”

Mo Fan was completely lost in darkness. He had lost his vision and his hearing. He was drowned in silence, while his body was being squeezed as if he was being forced to lie in a sturdy, cold, and narrow casket!

Mo Fan began to panic a little. He was struggling to identify if he was experiencing an illusion or if he had actually fallen into the Bird Emperor’s strange Domain. He tried to unleash his magic and scream, but his efforts were in vain. He was like the lingering consciousness of a spirit who had died physically!

Time gradually passed, but Mo Fan still could not find a way out. No matter how tough Mo Fan was mentally, no matter how much he believed everything was just a mere illusion, the torture, confined space, pressure, and the sense of emptiness were starting to get on his nerves. He felt like he was going to be driven mad soon!

“This cannot continue, there must be a way out. It must be some kind of a mental cage. I can’t allow my consciousness to be locked inside this dark casket!” Mo Fan did not give up. He knew his will was the key to overcoming any magic that was targeting his mind. It was similar to the Scorpion Lord Medusa’s stony gaze that he had faced in the past. It had Sealed his mind and corrupted his heart, putting him into a self-destruction mode!

Mo Fan would not allow his mind to be trapped in a dead end. He was trying his best to recall everything that happened before he ended up here.

He remembered the Bird Emperor was extending its wings like the mantle of the God of the Night. The wings were so huge that even the mountains felt tiny. They loomed over the sea like a huge cloud, and when he looked up, his gaze was fixed on the irresistible figure. His vision soon failed as he fell into the darkness…

“There’s no way it could grow so big, but why did the brilliance of the stars and the moon disappear when I looked up?” Mo Fan did not stop thinking.

Why did the light disappear in advance when the Bird Emperor’s body was not big enough to cover the entire sky?…

Didn’t that indicate the light was unable to pass through when it was using the ability?

“Shadow Magic! It has the Shadow Element!”

Mo Fan finally realized the truth. The huge mantle of darkness was exactly the same as the Nyx Regime, trapping its target in complete darkness. The Bird Emperor was not necessarily targeting his mind. It was simply erasing the light that was shining on him by Sealing him off within a wall of darkness!

—

The dark sky had a slight hint of blue when it was viewed from its reflection on the surface of the sea. A black curtain was now surrounding Mo Fan like a triangular prism as the Manta Ray Bird Emperor hovered above him. The strange glow of the curtain was coming out of its body. It was bound to Mo Fan’s soul.

However, when Mo Fan realized it was made up of Shadow Magic, he found the weak spot on the wall. He was able to break down the wall of darkness trapping him by focusing on the weak spot!

Mo Fan stepped through the crack. He was still covered in a layer of dark energy, which slowly dissipated. The faint glow of the stars and the icy moon shone upon him once again. The fires of his soul that were put out a moment ago erupted instantly as he regained his will to fight!

“I didn’t expect it to be a Shadow Mage, too!” Mo Fan glanced into the sky. He grinned as he saw the dark energy encapsulating the Bird Emperor.

The creature was even more fitting to be his mount!

The Bird Emperor uttered a cry like a dolphin. It was not the screech of a bird, but a cry that touched the soul. It was like a hint of grief from the voice of a singer!

The Bird Emperor was successfully provoked. It felt like its pride was on the line!

“Show me your true strength. Otherwise, you won’t be able to prove your worthiness to be my mount!” Mo Fan was even prouder. He pointed at the Bird Emperor so it could feel how confident he was in his own strength.

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor swung its tail to wave the chain binding it around.

The Bird Emperor was facing the sky while its tail was pointed at the island. It let out another cry, like it was Summoning the darkness from above. The cry which could touch anyone’s soul echoed across the whole sky and the sea!

The Manta Ray Evil Birds nearby were further enraged upon hearing that cry. They began to charge at the mountain recklessly, even if it meant crashing into the net of icy thorns which Mu Bai had set up. They wanted to assist their Emperor, even if they were covered in wounds!

“What now? You’re sending your men after me instead? What a letdown!” Mo Fan said when he saw the Bird Emperor’s reaction.

Creatures of its level were able to understand human speech slightly, regardless of whether they had lived with humans before!

The Bird Emperor’s cry was still echoing in the sky. While Mo Fan thought it was Summoning its people, something like a white piece of cloth started falling from the sky.

Mo Fan took a closer look at it and realized it was a fierce wave falling from the clouds above. It was spectacular and stunning!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan initially thought there was only a single wave pouring down at him. However, he soon witnessed an astonishing sight.

The white wave was like a heavenly river falling rapidly from a cliff, yet it just kept coming until it had filled up half the sky. It felt like it was going to cover half the island!

Mo Fan was smaller than even the tiniest tree on Dawn Island, not to mention the waves were pouring right down onto his location. He even gave up on the urge to run away. He could only watch the waves fall onto him with wide eyes!

The force of the waves was comparable to a heavenly soldier slamming his fist on the ground. Mo Fan naively thought he could find a safe corner somewhere, but the whole forest was instantly devoured by the waves!

Mo Fan’s flames were put out once again. He barely moved away from the area where the waves were the strongest, but he was still dragged to the bottom of the mountain by the unstoppable waves.

The waterfall lasted for quite some time. The water even filled the valleys nearby. The domestication ranch was now thoroughly soaked in water.

“How insane is that creature? Is it trying to drown the whole island?” Zhao Manyan had run a fair distance away. He watched the waves surge past him like an angry sea.

Zhao Manyan also knew how to cast the spell Sky Waterfall, but his version of the spell was like a little sink-tap compared to the Manta Ray Bird Emperor’s dam. He somehow believed Mo Fan’s provocation had a greater chance to become his last words, compared to the chance of the words he previously uttered becoming his last words.

“Did anyone see Mo Fan?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“I think he was knocked to the bottom of the valley,” Lingling said indifferently.

“Tell Miss Tangyue to retrieve his corpse from the valley. Let’s leave this place while there’s still time before it’s morning,” Zhao Manyan said. His life was already in great danger, before he even found a single trace of a Totem Beast. Zhao Manyan realized he should not be so stubborn sometimes. It was just a chance to achieve the Super Level. He still had plenty of ways and opportunities if he failed here. There was no need to go all out with these unfriendly birds!

“You were the one who insisted on coming here, and you’re the one asking to leave first? Where the hell is your integrity?” Jiang Shaoxu sneered disdainfully.

“Mo Fan is as tough as a cockroach. He’s going to be fine, but I’m not sure if he can still fight the Bird Emperor after being swept away by the waves,” Lingling said.

“I think we should give Evil Star another shock with the magic netting to weaken it. Otherwise, that young man won’t have a chance to defeat it,” Chen Shuo spoke up.

“But the domestication ranch… oh, it’s slowly surfacing from the water. Were the buildings ten years ago so sturdy then? It did not collapse after being hit by such powerful Water Magic!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The domestication ranch was built on a slope. The buildings slowly resurfaced after the waves flowed into the valleys and lower ground. The devices in the buildings were well-protected. Chen Shuo knew they were going to be fine.

“We should give the Manta Ray Bird Emperor another shock while Mu Bai and Miss Tangyue are still able to hold their ground!” Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Manyan, Lingling, Jiang Shaoxu, and Chen Shuo returned to the domestication ranch. The waves were Summoned with magic, so they had dissipated fairly quickly.

They suddenly heard footsteps from the corridor when they were about to operate the devices. The footsteps were oddly clear, as if they were stepping on water.

Jiang Shaoxu glanced toward the corridor in alarm. Zhao Manyan was shocked too!

Was it a ghost? Why would there be footsteps when the domestication ranch was abandoned ten years ago? Tangyue and Mu Bai were busy fending off the Manta Ray Evil Birds. He could still see the light of their spells flickering out there. There was no way they had come back to the building!

“Who’s there!?” Jiang Shaoxu asked coldly, her face alert.

The footsteps approached. Several figures soon came into the room from the corridor. They were wearing different outfits, but they all had the same logo on them.

The group was led by a bulky man. His eyes scanned the place, his face cold and stern, before saying, “I’m the chief of Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union, Zhu Qi!”

As a matter of fact, Jiang Shaoxu already knew who the people were before the man spoke, as she had recognized two of the people behind the man who claimed to be the chief. They were none other than Zhu Min and Li Dong, while the others all had the logo of Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union on their outfits.

“It’s the Enforcement Union! Great, we just happen to need your help!” Chen Shuo was overjoyed.

Chen Shuo thought he could no longer rely on Mo Fan to defeat the Bird Emperor, and the chief of the Enforcement Union was the perfect candidate to take over Mo Fan’s role. As the highest authority in Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union, his strength was definitely on par with some of the Councilmen!

“How bold of you! Dawn Island is clearly off-limits! Will you be able to bear the consequences if you end up provoking those creatures to attack the nearby towns!?” Zhu Qi harrumphed coldly. He was extremely displeased by them.

“Well, we were trying to eliminate the threat!” Chen Shuo was lost for words.

“Where’s the vice chief?” Zhu Qi asked.

“She’s on the mountain in the south.”

“Is there anyone else apart from the people here?” Zhu Qi asked.

“Chief, I think there’s another Mage on the mountain in the north, too,” Li Dong said.

“It must be the guy named Mo Fan,” Zhu Min said.

Zhu Qi glanced at the mountain in the south, as if he was looking for Tangyue.

He blurted out a moment later, “Is it morning?”

“Yes, the sun had risen,” a senior enforcer said.

“Mm, we’ll go and get Tangyue, while the rest of you regroup with the guy in the north. As for you people, you will behave yourself and stay here. I hate people who bring me trouble the most! You’ve already done it once, but if there’s a second time, I won’t go easy on you…” Zhu Qi said expressionlessly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The chain of metallic gravel slowly descended. The Manta Ray Bird Emperor hovered above the valley. Water was still flowing down the mountain and surging into the lower areas fiercely, as if it was going to form a huge reservoir.

A man in a light gray outfit was floating in the water. He looked no different from the broken wood that was drifting on the surface. He was facing down, while his bloated limbs were swaying along with the current.

The Bird Emperor circled above the corpse a few times. It remained on alert for some time, and did not approach the water recklessly.

The Bird Emperor opened its mouth, and fired a water projectile at the back of the corpse.

The corpse suddenly turned into a black mantle, which disappeared as the projectile struck it. The Bird Emperor immediately realized it was a decoy, and quickly left the area.

“It’s too late!” Mo Fan’s voice suddenly appeared. A man covered in dark lightning arcs launched himself from the wall nearby. He slammed into the Bird Emperor’s back like a hammer imbued with wild lightning.

A few dozen lightning bolts were bundled together before Mo Fan unleashed them with his stomp. It actually looked like a lightning hammer descending from the sky, smashing right into the Manta Ray Bird Emperor’s back. The resulting wound was even bigger than the previous cut left by the Rebelling Shadow!

The Bird Emperor cried out in pain. It struggled to resist the Lightning Magic whose damage had been amplified twelvefold. The lightning surged right into its body, making it feel as if its organs were going to explode at any second.

The Bird Emperor struggled fiercely. It immediately dashed forward in a blur of light to stop the lightning hammer from hurting it, but Mo Fan was long prepared for that. He had finally tricked the Manta Ray Bird Emperor to a perfect altitude and distance for his counterattack. There was no way he would give the creature a chance to return to the sky!

“Space Rhythm: Gravity!” The lightning covering Mo Fan did not dissipate. A silver hexagon established itself and encapsulated the Manta Ray Bird Emperor and Mo Fan, who was holding onto the creature’s back!

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor tried to fly away, but it felt like its body was held in place by some powerful magnet, like it was carrying over a hundred tons of extra weight. It started falling down instead!

However, the Bird Emperor’s wings were surprisingly strong. It managed to recover and remain in the air even under the pressure from Mo Fan’s Space Rhythm. It was slowly moving out of the Space Rhythm’s area!

“Transforming Rock: Binding Gravity!” Mo Fan quickly cast another spell when he saw the Bird Emperor about to break free from the Space Rhythm.

Space Magic involved compressing an area to multiply the force of gravity. On the other hand, the Earth Magic modified the structure of the ground to manipulate gravity. Mo Fan used both spells on the same area. It basically added another huge mountain to the Bird Emperor’s back. If the creature tried to hold back, the overwhelming force might even crush its bones!

The two spells were extremely effective against an agile creature like the Manta Ray Bird Emperor. It was having trouble just beating its wings to remain flying, and was slowly being dragged to the ground.

The Bird Emperor did not give up. It was moving toward the center of the valley where the water was accumulating at. Mo Fan was a little puzzled. The water in the valley was going to disappear eventually. It was unlikely that the Bird Emperor could turn the situation to its favor, even if it had the ability to control the water!

The Bird Emperor suddenly withdrew its wings while Mo Fan was thinking. It had turned into a triangular sword diving straight to the bottom of the valley at a terrifying speed under the strong force of the two spells. Mo Fan’s heart almost jumped out of his throat from shock. He was falling straight to the bottom of the valley with the Bird Emperor!

“What is it trying to do? Is it trying to take me down with itself?” Mo Fan was astounded when he saw he was getting closer to the bottom of the valley.

Was it forcing him to cancel his spells?

“Must it really be so resolute!? Damn it, is it trying to see who’s tougher? Go ahead and crash, then! We’ll see who’s still standing in the end!” Mo Fan cursed. He decided to go all out with the arrogant Manta Ray Bird Emperor.

Mo Fan would not miss out on the opportunity to subdue the Manta Ray Bird Emperor. Manipulating the gravity with two spells was the only way he could think of to defeat the Manta Ray Bird Emperor, so he had no intention of giving up on it!

The Manta Ray Bird Emperor was diving like a meteorite. It was suicidal, especially when Mo Fan’s spells had multiplied the force of gravity on it.

The Bird Emperor dove into the water like a swordfish. The water was not too deep. The resistance of the water was nowhere enough to provide them with some buffering. The Bird Emperor continued to drag Mo Fan who was holding on stubbornly and plunged right at the bottom of the valley!

“I’m never… going to let go…(gulp gulp)” Mo Fan’s throat was filled with water after his shout.

Mo Fan retained consciousness. He realized the Bird Emperor was serious with its decision, too. It did not bother slowing down even though it was about to crash into the bottom of the valley.

Mo Fan did not withdraw his spells despite the Manta Ray Bird Emperor’s reckless decision. However, just as Mo Fan thought the Bird Emperor was going to kill the both of them, it somehow dove into a cave at the bottom of the valley!

Mo Fan was in complete darkness. He was very close to the walls, but the creature was still diving deeper into the cave, now filled with cold water.

Mo Fan thought the Manta Ray Bird Emperor was going to crush both him and itself. He did not expect there to be a bottomless cave in the valley. The Manta Ray Bird Emperor was not trying to break free from the spells when it was moving around. It was aiming for the cave before diving straight into it!

The cave was shockingly deep. Mo Fan initially thought the Bird Emperor’s spell had merely filled the cave with water, but after the water became colder and cloudier, and he accidentally tasted a hint of saltiness from it, he realized the cave was filled with water from the sea instead of the Waterfall!

The valley was located at the center of the island, around seven kilometers from the sea. However, Mo Fan noticed the space clearing up after they dived another hundred meters deeper. The vast place was filled with seawater instead!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The chain that had been swinging around loosely at the domestication ranch suddenly tightened. It had only covered a hundred meters when it was curled up, but it was over four hundred meters long when it was straightened. It tore the trees and rocks along its path into pieces. Wood and rock splinters were fired to the sides. The chain was even producing a loud screech, like a metallic dragon who had suddenly lost its calm!

“What’s going on?” Li Dong and Zhu Min witnessed the chain’s unusual movement when they were going to the other side of the mountain to look for the person who was fending off the Manta Ray Evil Birds.

Luckily, they had not stood too close to the chain. Otherwise, its force would have broken their legs easily.

“Not sure, it seems to be tied to something in the valley.” Zhu Min followed the chain and noticed one end of the chain was extending deep in the valley.

“Let’s not worry about it for now. We should stick to the chief’s orders,” Li Dong said.

Zhu Min nodded.

The two were just about to jump over the misbehaving chain when it suddenly cracked loudly. The chain had snapped in half somewhere between the mountain and the valley. Countless shards went flying and left holes peppering the mountain walls.

Zhu Min was very unlucky, as the front of the chain suddenly swung in his direction after it snapped in half. The chain struck him like the tail of a snake, moving at the speed of lightning.

Zhu Min’s eyes widened. The chain dealt a ferocious blow to his chest and his stomach before he could react. He spun crazily in the air as he was sent flying!

Zhu Min slammed into a stone wall with a loud bang. His body almost sank into the stone. Li Dong’s mind went blank as he remained frozen to the spot. He ran to Zhu Min with a shocked expression when he finally collected his thoughts after some time.

Blood splattered across the ground. Zhu Min, whose body was now stuck in the rock, had completely lost consciousness. His entire chest had collapsed, as if it was no longer supported by his ribs. His body was badly bent out of shape. Fresh blood was pouring out of his eyes, nose, and ears. Li Dong could not believe how terrible Zhu Min looked!

“Zhu Min, Zhu Min, wake up!”

Li Dong was terrified. Did Zhu Min really die from the whiplashing chain? How was he supposed to explain his death to Chief Zhu Qi?

Your son was killed by a chain… I saw it with my own eyes.

Li Dong believed he would also die if he told the chief about it.

Li Dong felt his scalp going numb. A hint of anger rose within him when he looked at Zhu Min’s miserable appearance again. Such a pampered son! Wasn’t he an Advanced Mage? How could he possibly fail to dodge the chain? He would not have died so easily if he at least Cast a Basic Spell or used some Equipment to defend himself. Only Mages who lacked practical experience would fail to react in time and die such a miserable death!

—

The chain had broken. Its other end was dragged deep into the cave at the bottom of the valley by the Manta Ray Bird Emperor. It proceeded to sink to the bottom of the ocean.

The three Soul-grade Flames were significantly weaker now that Mo Fan was surrounded by water. He was even having trouble maintaining his own body temperature. When the Bird Emperor was diving to the bottom of the ocean, Mo Fan was relieved when he recalled the Bird Emperor was bound by a chain. It would eventually reach its limit, but when he realized the chain had snapped in half, he could not help but feel like he was being dragged into Hell instead!

“Brother, you won, you’re the winner, let me go now!”

Mo Fan was now extremely helpless. He initially wanted to subdue the Bird Emperor with his plan, but not only did he help the Bird Emperor break free from the chain that had tied it down for twenty years, it had even brought him to the bottom of the ocean.

It was obvious that Dawn Island was different from the other islands with a solid bottom. Most islands were similar to a mountain, with half of their bodies immersed in water. The part above the water was referred to an island, but Dawn Island was different. There was only an irregular pillar under the water below it, like a house being supported by a single pillar at the edge of a cliff.

The Bird Emperor was amphibious. The cave connected to the sea below the island was located close to the Sky Coconut Grove. However, the Manta Ray Bird Emperor’s movement was restricted by the chain, so it could only reach a certain depth in the cave. However, it was now like a fish that had broken free from the hook of a fishing rod and jumped back into the water to enjoy its freedom!

Mo Fan was a non-swimmer. He was not going to suffocate in the water, but his strength would greatly weaken if he was underwater for too long. Meanwhile, the Bird Emperor was as good at fighting in the water as it was in the sky. How was Mo Fan supposed to beat the Bird Emperor?

Therefore, begging for mercy was the best option he had. It was merely a misunderstanding… it was a misunderstanding… just a misunderstanding!

“Mm? Why am I smelling blood? Am I injured?” Mo Fan suddenly noticed a strong smell of blood from the seawater while he was at a loss. He quickly checked his body, but did not notice any wounds apart from the one on his shoulder, and the internal injuries he had suffered from the impact of the ferocious wave.

Mo Fan used the Shadow Element to look around carefully and realized the blood was from the Bird Emperor’s belly. It was leaking like a huge bucket of red paint was being spilled into the water.

“It’s injured?” Mo Fan murmured.

Mo Fan did not dare let go of the Manta Ray Bird Emperor. If he did not stay on its back in its blind spot, the Manta Ray Bird Emperor could easily kill him in the water. He might still have a chance to return to safety by hanging onto its back.

However, the Bird Emperor did not seem to have any strong intention to shake him off. Its speed began to slow down. It was slowly falling to the bottom of the sea now, like a leaf drifting in the wind.

Its wild temperament, fierce aura, and vitality had dropped significantly. Mo Fan immediately used the Shadow Element to observe the other side of the creature as he realized something.

Mo Fan gasped after the glance. He almost swallowed a mouthful of seawater because of it.

He saw a terrifying wound under the creature. The Bird Emperor might look like a ray, but most of its organs were still located at the center of its body still. However, the skin and flesh under its belly were completely torn apart. The wound already reached its organs, from whence its blood kept pouring out.

“The chain was hooked onto your organs?!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

The creature was abusing Mo Fan’s spells to increase its diving speed just to break free from the chain, but the chain was actually hooked to its body, its bones, and its organs. It was clearly suicidal!

It explained why the Bird Emperor had lost its aggression ever since it had dove into the sea. It had basically risked its own life just to break free from the chain!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Thick blood was continuously pouring out of the creature’s body. A great chill was slowly infiltrating its body as it gradually sank to the seabed. Mo Fan felt terrible, like his heart was being filled with the disgusting seawater.

In the end, he did win the battle. The Battle Emperor knew its action was going to tear apart its organs and bones, yet it did not hesitate in the slightest. It did not necessarily hold a strong grudge against the human who came to provoke it, but it did against the chain which had tied it down and prevented it from soaring freely in the vast sky and the sea. The chain was like the string of a kite or a fishing rod. It was a cage limiting it to a world of only four hundred meters radius!

Mo Fan began to regret his decision to manipulate gravity with his spells. It gave the Bird Emperor the chance to break free from the chain, at the cost of its own life. This fall to the seabed was most likely the final moment of its life.

Mo Fan felt extremely terrible after seeing the blood squirting all over the place. He was not a Healer. There was nothing he could do to stop the Bird Emperor’s life from draining away. He could only fall to the seabed together with the Bird Emperor. He could already see the seabed, despite the darkness around him.

The seabed was supposed to be covered in sand or irregular rocks, yet what Mo Fan saw was more like… the remains of a kingdom of oceanic creatures!

Mo Fan’s vision was limited due to the darkness. If he had not noticed something that resembled the skeleton of a creature below him, he would simply have assumed the bottom consisted of weird-looking rocks. However, when he got closer to the seabed, he realized the remains were actually the insides of an enormous creature lying at the bottom of the sea. Its bones were enough to form a seabed, while its spine was the sea stack that was supporting the whole island!

The spine below the island was covered in moss, so Mo Fan had first assumed it was a sea stack instead. However, his thoughts were all over the place after he realized the truth.

What exactly was the creature? How the hell was it so big? It felt like it had come a time when the world was still beyond anyone’s understanding.

The Bird Emperor’s dolphin-esque cry was a lot gentler and weaker now. Mo Fan only recovered from his astonishment after hearing the Bird Emperor’s cry.

“Use these, I’m not sure if it will keep you alive, but it’s better than nothing,” Mo Fan quickly took out the sacred medicine which Xinxia had prepared for him. He poured them all into the Bird Emperor’s mouth regardless of their effects, including those that were meant for external uses.

The Bird Emperor’s cold eyes were fixed on Mo Fan. They no longer had its hostility, nor did it have any intention to fight him. Instead, there was a hint of gratitude in its eyes.

The battle had allowed it to break free from the chain. It had finally reached somewhere beyond the reach of the chain for once after twenty years. It could lie still among the bones of the Ocean Father. It had never felt so at peace.

“You were never a Contracted Beast, right?

“You have always been trapped on the island to be used as a test subject for their experiments. This is where you were born… so you want to sleep here forever?”

Mo Fan could not understand demon creatures, but those in the Ruler-level were intelligent to a certain degree. They could easily relay their thoughts through the looks in their eyes or their emotions.

Chen Shuo had indeed been lying to them. That son of a b**ch was most likely one of the people who were in charge of the inhumane experiment. He had still not given up on his wild ambitions after so long!

“Stop talking and hold your breath. I’ll bring you up top and ask Mu Bai to freeze you. I’ll find a way to heal you, too,” Mo Fan told the Bird Emperor. “Oh, my bad, you weren’t even talking… Anyway, don’t give up on yourself so easily. The world is so big, there are still a lot of places you should check out on.

“Oh, don’t you worry, I’m not Yang Yongxin. I’m not trying to brainwash you with the Psychic Element or anything, nor am I going to ask you to be my Contracted Beast. I’m a huge fan of democracy and freedom. Once I treat you, you can go wherever you want as long as you don’t gather your army of Manta Ray Evil Birds and attack us humans. If you don’t believe me, you can ask my Little Flame Belle and Apas. I’ve never forced them to do anything. They are willing to follow me around…” Mo Fan panicked even more as he thought the Bird Emperor was going to die soon. He quickly decided to motivate it.

However, a protesting voice sounded from the second Contracted Beast. Apas strongly disagreed with Mo Fan’s statement by uttering, “Bullshit!”

However, Apas was quite a distance away, so the protesting voice was pretty poor. Mo Fan could not hear her at all. He continued to comfort the Bird Emperor by guaranteeing that it would soon return to the blue sky and sea healthily…

Mo Fan kept feeding the Bird Emperor medicine. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan wished he had the ability to summon someone globally. He would just summon Xinxia to him to save the Bird Emperor, but he did not have such an ability. He could only rely on the medicine.

The medicines were strong, but their effects were too slow. The hourglass representing the creature’s life only had a thin layer of sand left…

Mo Fan heard noises in the surroundings. He looked around and saw sapphire light dots showing up in the darkness. They were approaching in huge numbers. Huge outlines of jagged wings soon appeared from the shadows.

“Look, your people have already woken up. They care so much about you, so you must keep on living for their sake…” Mo Fan began, but shuddered when he sensed strong murderous intent surging in his direction.

The Bird Emperor’s feeble eyes glittered as it forced itself to gather its strength and stared at the Manta Ray Evil Birds cautiously.

Mo Fan was stunned.

He thought the army of Manta Ray Evil Birds had come to grieve at their emperor’s death, yet there was not the slightest hint of sorrow among them. The creatures were staring at them greedily, as if they had been waiting so long for this day.

Their greed was not directed at the human Mo Fan, but the Bird Emperor instead!

“Scum, you bunch of scum!” Mo Fan was enraged.

The Bird Emperor was already dying, yet these creatures were already planning to feast on it. The Bird Emperor would rather die than surrender to an enemy, but its offspring were hitting it when it was down. Even the worst species would rarely turn against their own kind!

Taming, mass reproduction… this place…

The Bird Emperor was such a lofty and unyielding creature, yet its offspring that were produced from the experiments were so ungrateful. The experiment was twisted from the first day. Even the noble lineage and spirit which the Bird Emperor had shown were twisted after being passed down!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Manta Ray Evil Birds swam in a huge circle around Mo Fan and the Bird Emperor. They might be greedy, but they were extremely cautious, too.

They made sure the Bird Emperor was indeed on its last breath. Their eyes suddenly emitted a corrupt light. Even their numb faces looked twisted and uglier!

A Manta Ray Evil Bird began to make its move. The rest of the Manta Ray Evil Birds were obviously not going to miss out on the opportunity, either. In addition to them, Mo Fan noticed a huge number of Featherless Birds that were asleep previously gathering toward them, too. They were excited after picking up the smell of the Bird Emperor’s blood.

A Manta Ray Evil Bird that was leading the way let out an unpleasant cry. Its head resembled a swordfish, and was like a sharp weapon that could penetrate everything. It was gradually speeding itself up by releasing a stream from its back!

The Manta Ray Evil Birds had perfectly straight bodies which minimized both air and water resistance when they were moving. They could also boost their speed significantly by propelling themselves underwater like a jet!

A clearly visible long trail was left behind in the dark sea. Mo Fan happened to be waiting for a chance to vent his anger when the Manta Ray Evil Bird ambushed them. He threw a punch right at the Manta Ray Evil Bird’s head!

The flames were greatly weakened due to the environment, but still sprang at the Manta Ray Evil Bird. It knocked the Manta Ray Evil Bird away, while the flames burned the outer layer of its skin.

The creature spun wildly and eventually stopped around fifty meters away. It lifted its head and glared at Mo Fan!

“Damn it, how is it still alive?” Mo Fan cursed.

It did not necessarily mean the Manta Ray Evil Bird was stronger than he thought. Under normal circumstances, even a Commander-level creature would struggle against Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist of three Soul-grade Flames. It was more than enough to kill a Manta Ray Evil Bird instantly, but Mo Fan was currently deep in the sea. The water resistance, pressure, and the lack of Fire Magic around him had greatly impacted the damage of his spells.

Mo Fan preferred the Fire Element as his main weapon. Little Flame Belle could easily give him the control of a Super Mage over the Fire Magic. He could only rely on the Fire Element if he had to fight so many Manta Ray Evil Birds at a time.

“This isn’t going to work. I must go back to land first. I’m going to die if I fight these things in the water!” Mo Fan murmured.

Mo Fan glanced at the Bird Emperor, which was now lying on the bones. He encapsulated the creature with his Will. It slowly floated up under Mo Fan’s control, covered in a silver light.

Xinxia’s medicine was working. The blood loss and damaged organs were barely under control, but the creature was no longer fit for battle. Mo Fan was already struggling to defend himself while fighting underwater, but he also had to escort a creature over nine meters long with wings extended to safety, from a depth of over a thousand meters! It was clearly a tough job.

However, Mo Fan did not want to abandon the Bird Emperor. He was extremely fond of the creature, similar to a kid who was infatuated with Gundam. He was extremely fortunate to have stumbled into a creature he was fond of. He would not allow it to die in such a humiliating way!

“You scum, come at me! You idiots are going to rot first at the bottom of the sea!” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered. He rarely had such a determined and stern look on his face.

The Manta Ray Evil Birds had no feelings for their Emperor. They merely respected its strength and did not dare to provoke it.

However, they would no longer have to stay on the island that was like a cage to them after killing the Bird Emperor. They could obtain greater strength by feasting on the Bird Emperor, and then they would be able to fly to other islands and conquer them. They would butcher everything in their way, reproduce, and proceed with their endless invasions…

They had picked up the scent of humans to the west of the island many times!

More Manta Ray Evil Birds arrived. The visibility underwater was very poor. To make things worse, the creatures could easily achieve the speed of a bullet without needing to build up speed. Mo Fan barely dodged them while using both Fleeing Shadow and Blink.

The creatures were attacking at an unpleasantly high frequency. Dodging the attack of a Manta Ray Evil Bird did not necessarily mean he was safe, as the creatures would turn around immediately, despite being sent away by their momentum, and fire themselves at Mo Fan like bullets again. Mo Fan was starting to lose his mind after more than a hundred Manta Ray Evil Birds were surrounding him.

Mo Fan was unfamiliar with fighting underwater. He was unable to boost his speed in the water like a Wind Mage or a Water Mage. He would be left with countless holes by now if it weren’t for his Shadow Element!

“The Nyx Regime won’t last for long too. What should I do now!?” Mo Fan’s heart sank. The Nyx Regime was not unbeatable, either. It would stop a nearby enemy at most. Mo Fan did not have a better plan in mind!

The area covered by the Nyx Regime slowly dissipated. A carnelian Manta Ray Evil Bird, obviously one of the Greater Featherless Birds, was cunningly waiting less than fifty meters behind Mo Fan. A spiraling stream of water jetted out of its back. It suddenly dove toward Mo Fan after folding its wings.

“Rock Barrier: Rock Shield!”

Mo Fan instinctively turned around and lifted his right arm like a shield before he even saw the danger. A faint golden-brown light flickered on his arm before dust particles gathered in front of it and formed a double-layered shield!

BANG!

The shield shattered into pieces right away like bubbles. Either way, Mo Fan’s Earth Element was still too weak for a battle of this level, not to mention how lacking his defenses had always been.

The Rock Shield merely weakened an enemy’s attacks to a non-critical level, like a piece of red cloth used to distract a bull, giving Mo Fan a chance to dodge the attack.

Fresh blood squirted out around Mo Fan. It spread rapidly like puddles, but soon thickened upon contacting the cold sea water.

Mo Fan lowered his head and saw an amount of flesh around the size of a hand had been sliced off his thigh. The pain was shocking when the wound was soaked in the icy sea water!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was covered in blood as thick as paint. He quickly treated his injuries and glanced in the direction the carnelian Manta Ray Evil Bird had gone. He formed a lightning orb in his left hand and tossed it at the creature.

The lightning arcs emitted by the lightning orb spread over ten meters into its surroundings. The Lesser Featherless Birds died instantly when the lightning whips caught them. The carnelian Manta Ray Evil Bird which had injured Mo Fan noticed something terrifying catching up to it. It quickly sped up and swam about nimbly, trying to dodge the lightning.

Mo Fan obviously would not let the creature escape so easily. The lightning orb was already enhanced with the Seal of Order. Mo Fan had left the same seal on the creature’s back when it sliced off the flesh on his thigh. The lightning spell was sure to land on it, unless the creature was quick enough to alter its path in the shortest time possible, similar to the Manta Ray Bird Emperor!

As Mo Fan thought, the lightning orb finally struck the carnelian Manta Ray Evil Bird on the head around six hundred meters away. Even scarier lightning bolts flashed in the area. The lightning whips looked like an enraged monster from afar, its tentacles unleashing its wrath. It was swinging its electrifying tentacles around wildly. The lightning arcs produced by the explosion caught every single Manta Ray Evil Bird within two hundred meters of it!

The lightning discharges lasted for quite a while. Blurred figures sank to the seabed like dark rain. It was a huge number of Lesser Featherless Birds and the Manta Ray Evil Birds, including the strong carnelian Manta Ray Evil Bird. Not a single one of them survived.

The Lightning Element was even stronger underwater. Although there was a greater difficulty in controlling the spells underwater, Lightning Magic was just as deadly. It allowed Mo Fan to recover some of his lost ground!

Mo Fan immediately swam a few hundred meters closer to the surface while the rest of the creatures were still dazzled by the deadly lightning. Previously, he had been surrounded by boundless darkness, but after swimming up for some time, he could faintly feel the warm sunlight from above.

“Hang in there, we are almost at the surface!” Mo Fan blurted out when he saw the Bird Emperor was about to close its eyes.

The Manta Ray Evil Birds obviously knew Mo Fan was not good at fighting underwater. They waited for the lightning to dissipate before gathering above Mo Fan like crows. They extended their wings and manipulated the flow of the water together.

The area above was pitch-black, but the Manta Ray Evil Birds had distanced themselves from one another evenly, and were now stirring up the waves like a tornado. The waves soon formed a huge maelstrom!

The creatures were now aware of how deadly Mo Fan’s Lightning was, so they did not engage Mo Fan directly. They were planning to trap Mo Fan and the Bird Emperor underwater forever by keeping them away from the surface.

Mo Fan found himself in a pinch once again when facing the black maelstrom. He was being dragged back to the bottomless abyss after he finally had a chance to swim closer to the surface.

Shadows dashed around and left a few cuts on his body without him noticing. The Bird Emperor too was also being cut by the creatures. They would eventually shred Mo Fan and the Bird Emperor into pieces by slowly closing in. The Lesser Featherless Birds were moving around rapidly in the maelstrom. It was like an enormous flesh-grinding jar!

“Damn it, if I could reach the surface, you would all die!” Mo Fan was furious.

Normally, Mo Fan was able to secure a foothold with his flames when he was fighting against huge numbers. He would then intimidate and destroy his enemy with the Lightning Element. Mo Fan was fearless every time he was up against countless demon creatures since the combination of his Fire and Lightning Elements was just too destructive. However, he was struggling to fend off the Manta Ray Evil Birds with just the Lightning Element.

“Wisps of Will!”

Mo Fan cast a Space Spell. His Will quickly traced the Lesser Featherless Birds and forced them to collide with one another. The maelstrom was soon filled with the carcasses of Featherless Birds. Even the remains of the Manta Ray Evil Birds which Mo Fan had killed previously with his Lightning Magic were dragged into the maelstrom too, generating a terrible smell.

“Shadow Fiend: Plaza of Death!”

Mo Fan finally found the right time to use his Shadow Magic after the Dark Material had thoroughly spread across the area!

The Shadow Element was very effective deep in the water. Mo Fan had been spreading the Fiendish Night throughout the battle, waiting for the Dark Material to germinate!

The Sapphire Manta Ray Evil Birds and the Lesser Featherless Birds were still manipulating the current. They were like water ghosts howling and dragging their prey to the bottom of the sea. However, a strong wave of darkness soon engulfed Mo Fan, his eyes gleaming coldly!

As he gave the order, countless shadow fiends slowly rose from the Featherless Birds, like demons that had finally woken up after hiding in the creatures’ bodies for a long time.

The shadows lifted their weapons murderously. It was like every Featherless Bird was possessed by an evil spirit, which had come to sentence them to death. The evil spirits attached themselves to the creatures and lifted their axes high, waiting to behead their targets!

The slashes took place at the exact same time. None of the shadow fiends missed their attempts. They were attached to the back of more than three hundred Featherless Birds, who had all turned headless within one second!

The undercurrents were still in disorder. Countless heads from the Featherless Birds were spinning around Mo Fan. Their blood was thick enough to form a blood-red sea dragon. The rest of the Lesser Featherless Birds immediately fled for their lives when they saw the heads and the dead bodies. They dared not stay any longer in the cursed water!

The evil spirits disappeared after fulfilling their duties. Mo Fan felt a lot better when the maelstrom finally dissipated.

“These Fiendish Evil Spirits are unusually strong. Feng Zhoulong didn’t lie to me,” Mo Fan murmured to himself.

It was Mo Fan’s first time using his new ability, Fiendish Evil Spirit. It was a Shadow Spell imbued with the Curse Element!

Mo Fan tried out the spell for the first time after the Dark Material had spread across the place. To his surprise, the Fiendish Evil Spirits simply attached themselves to the Manta Ray Evil Birds and sliced their heads off in an instant. He was delighted when their heads all fell off at the same time!

The money he had spent was definitely worth it!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan continued swimming toward the surface. He could finally see the sunlight again after the Featherless Birds forced him back down to the bottom of the sea.

It was bright above the surface. It was obvious that dawn had arrived. Mo Fan finally reached the surface by keeping the Featherless Birds at bay with the murderous aura of his Fiendish Night. He was relieved to see light again.

“~~~~~!” The Bird Emperor had let out a faint cry.

Mo Fan glanced at it and told it, “I’ll get you ashore.”

Mo Fan helped the Bird Emperor out of the water and placed it on a soaked area covered in seaweed. The place was most likely a shoal, but the tide fell back in the morning and exposed the ground.

They seemed to be at the seaward side of Dawn Island. The place had a lot of reefs and undercurrents nearby, so his team had never considered landing here.

The waves were extremely fierce. Mo Fan could feel the ground shaking as the waves splashed on the reefs, even though it was still early in the morning. The sunlight brought new colors to the reefs and the shoal. The Bird Emperor was enjoying the heat from the sun too, as if it was taking an enjoyable nap and ignoring the shocking wound on its belly. It did not seem surprised after its descendants turned against it.

The Lesser Featherless Birds and the Sapphire Manta Ray Evil Birds had no intention to spare Mo Fan’s life so easily. It was like the creatures were suffering from amnesia. They were traumatized by Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic just a moment ago, yet they began charging at him recklessly again, and surrounded the reefs and shoal in no time.

The waves rolled fiercely as more Featherless Birds and Manta Ray Evil Birds burst out of the water. Some landed on the reefs like bats, quickly looking like bunches of black grapes. Their numbers were just so terrifying. Others were circling in the air like a pack of vultures who had found a battlefield with scattered dead bodies. They would either fly at a lower height or soar into the sky cautiously. They did not want to give anyone on the ground a single moment of peace. Some of them were leaping across the surface of water like schools of fish. They were able to hide and ambush their prey from the water, too!

“You sons of b***hes, you no longer have a chance now that I’ve come ashore. I’ll kill every single one of you!” Mo Fan shook the water off himself as flames spread rapidly under his feet. The familiar energy engulfed him. His confidence and unruliness grew together with the flames, even as the Lesser Featherless Birds and the Manta Ray Evil Birds were approaching him!

The three Soul-grade Flames erupted ferociously from Mo Fan’s body. The Fire Magic formed a Domain under Mo Fan’s control, burning the Featherless Birds and Manta Ray Evil Birds within a hundred and fifty meters from him with scorching heat.

However, Mo Fan suddenly felt light-headed as he was about to unleash his power. His vision darkened as he almost fell to the ground.

Mo Fan staggered a few steps and quickly held onto a rock nearby. The flames he had accumulated had dissipated by half too.

“What just happened?” Mo Fan was astounded. The situation had never occurred to him before.

Mo Fan immediately looked at his thigh and noticed a strange blue color surfacing on his flesh. It had permeated into his arteries and veins.

“Damn it, I forgot these things are poisonous!” Mo Fan realized.

Zhao Manyan had also been in a feeble state not long after he was injured. He soon fell unconscious after that.

Meanwhile, on top of the huge wound on Mo Fan’s thigh, there were lots of other cuts and bruises on him too. He might have the Demon Flesh, but the poison would still affect him after reaching a certain level.

The Bird Emperor noticed Mo Fan was poisoned. It let out a faint cry, telling Mo Fan not to waste his time on it. It was satisfied as long as it did not die while being chained.

“I won’t let a poison like this stop me. You better lie still. I’m going to save you, I already gave you my word!” Mo Fan swore.

The poison slowly spread in Mo Fan’s body. He was unsure how much of the paralyzing poison had permeated into his body. The flames that faded away returned once again. Mo Fan was already preparing the Sky-Flame Funeral for the Manta Ray Evil Birds that were circling in the sky like vultures!

Flames poured down from the sky like a rain and spread across the shoal, turning the place into a sea of flames. The waves struggled to put out the flames.

The flames were meant to last for a little longer and spread over three hundred meters away, but Mo Fan suddenly felt light-headed once again. He fell to his knees after losing control of his legs. He almost went face-down into the water.

The flames were in complete disorder. Mo Fan was extremely annoyed by the dull shrieks of the Manta Ray Evil Birds.

He had finally made it out of the water, yet he was going to lose to their disgusting poison. It explained why the Manta Ray Evil Birds were unwilling to come too close to him for some time. They were not intimidated, they were simply waiting for the poison to spread, so he would soon be like an animal injected with anesthesia, waiting to be slaughtered.

The carnelian Manta Ray Evil Birds immediately knew what was going on when they saw Mo Fan losing his strength all of a sudden. The creatures were cunning hunters. They immediately gave the order after the flames on the shoal dissipated. The rest of the Featherless Birds that were waiting on the reefs, circling in the sky, and leaping on the surface of the sea began to charge at him.

The army of Manta Ray Evil Birds soon formed a brown cloud rolling forward. Their ugly and greedy appearance had rid them of their former imperious bearing. They were more like a bunch of lowly bats now. They were all trying to be the first, yet they were purposely slowing down so they would not die in the front like cannon fodder.

The Bird Emperor knew the creatures were after it. It slowly moved its body and struggled while moving toward the shoal.

Mo Fan was having trouble moving his body due to the paralyzing effect of the poison. He had the option to flee into the woods with his Fleeing Shadow, but how could he possibly leave like that? He did not take half a step back during the intense battle. How could he possibly admit his defeat when he was up against these twisted creatures?

“Cry of the Woman of Snow, Icecloud Crystal Realm!” came a loud voice from the top of the hill behind Mo Fan. He immediately sensed a powerful magic aura, strong enough to change the weather and make the sun dim!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan turned around to take a closer look at the man on the hill. A crystalline, silver-white color had begun to spread from the irregular terrain of the hill to the shoal through the woods. It was like the clouds in the sky had suddenly come down to the ground and the forest, rapidly covering it all in ice and forming a realm of crystals due to the extremely low temperature on the ground!

The ice was spreading very quickly, similar to how sunlight could drive away the darkness. The Icecloud Crystal Realm was not changing the terrains; it was dominating it by establishing a kingdom of ice that did not exist initially, as if the God of Snow or the Goddess of Ice had arrived!

The army of Manta Ray Evil Birds was a tsunami of black clouds from the deep ocean, bringing darkness upon the area. In contrast, the Icecloud Crystal Realm was pure and sacred. The two forces collided with one another where Mo Fan and the Bird Emperor were, resulting in a massive conflict of the black and white!

Mo Fan did not overthink the situation. He quickly used the Shadow Element to escort the heavily injured Bird Emperor out of the area. The person who had cast the powerful spell had obviously left Mo Fan an escape route. Mo Fan quickly fled toward the woods.

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were making the same dull screeches. Those at the front turned into ice statues as soon as they touched the boundary of the Icecloud Crystal Realm. They kept moving forward from their momentum before falling onto the ground and shattering into pieces!

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were wild and noisy, but it felt like they had stumbled into a quiet yet deadly drawing of snow when they entered the Icecloud Crystal Realm. The world in the drawing did not permit the existence of any noise, nor did it allow any creatures to fly freely within its boundaries. The Icecloud Crystal Realm continued to spread toward the army of Manta Ray Evil Birds. It continuously took their lives as they froze in the air before smashing into pieces scattered across the ground.

“A Super Level Ice Spell!” Mo Fan turned around when he reached the woods. He was dumbfounded when he saw the Ice Magic continuing to spread toward the sea, freezing and crushing the rows of Lesser Featherless Birds.

As expected of a Super Spell, it was much stronger than his fake Super Spells, especially in an environment like this. The destruction a Super Spell could bring was immeasurable. The army of Manta Ray Evil Birds thought they had forced Mo Fan and the Bird Emperor into a corner, so they were charging at them recklessly. As a result, the Super Ice Spell had wiped them all out instead!

Even low-level creatures were sensitive toward any potential danger most of the time. The energy produced when constructing a Star Palace to cast a Super Spell would cause space itself to vibrate. Therefore, most demon creatures would subconsciously back away and scatter across the area. A Super Spell would end up less effective than the predicted outcome.

However, this outcome was totally different. The Manta Ray Evil Birds were too eager to taste the meat first, since there were so many of them. The Bird Emperor was nowhere big enough for them to take a bite each. Only those at the front would have a chance to eat its flesh and drink its blood, which was why Mo Fan felt like he was watching a tide of black clouds rolling in his direction. They had lost the chance to turn around when the Icecloud Crystal Realm came, especially when the Manta Ray Evil Birds at the back were constantly pushing ahead those in front!

Some of the Manta Ray Evil Birds between the shoal and the sea tried to flee for their lives. They immediately turned around with their outstanding agility, but they ended up crashing into the Manta Ray Evil Birds behind them, who were still unaware of the situation. It resulted in a chain collision among the members of the flock. Many of the creatures actually died to their comrades’ sharp foreheads and wings. Their bodies froze before they even reached the ground, and eventually smashed into pieces like brittle crystals!

The Icecloud Crystal Realm had placed half the seaward shore into winter. A huge part of the sea had fallen victim to it, too. Mo Fan was astounded as everything came to a still.

The man surrounded by the icy mist was still standing on the hill. The illusionary silhouette of the Snow Mistress had dissipated. Mo Fan followed the trail through the iced-over woods and carried the Bird Emperor to the top of the mountain.

“If you were a little late, you would have had to search for my remains among those birds’ dung,” Mo Fan panted heavily.

“Something went wrong?” Mu Bai had a puzzled look when he saw the heavily injured Bird Emperor.

“I think I found the Totem Beast that Old Zhao is after, but those Manta Ray Evil Birds are now revolting and acting outrageously. I’ve been poisoned too, so I was in a pinch there. Your Super Spell is quite impressive. It saved my life,” Mo Fan complimented him.

“The same poison that Zhao Manyan suffered from?”

Mu Bai was well aware of Mo Fan’s power. Even if he was struggling against the overwhelming numbers of the Manta Ray Evil Birds, he would not end up in such a miserable condition, unless his strength was weakened because of the poison.

“Yeah, do you still have the Antidote Silkworm?” Mo Fan could feel his head spinning.

“Drink this. Your poison is worse than the one Zhao Manyan suffered from. The fact that you’re still conscious now just shows how tough your body is,” Mu Bai said after inspecting Mo Fan’s injuries.

“Why didn’t you use the antidote before?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

Mo Fan had already prepared himself to let the Antidote Silkworm dig into his wounds and suck the poison away. He would then head to the toilet to get rid of the silkworm. Little did he know, Mu Bai actually had a much simpler and more civilized way of curing the poison!

“It wasn’t an emergency back then, so it was better to save the antidotes,” Mu Bai said calmly, as if he did not feel guilty at all when Zhao Manyan was howling and shrieking in the toilet.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless.

—

The Manta Ray Evil Birds stopped pursuing them. Mu Bai’s Super Spell had dealt a great blow to their ranks, and the creatures would have to regroup first. Mo Fan and Mu Bai used the delay in their attacks to hide the Bird Emperor in the mountain.

Mu Bai managed to find a secluded spot. He was going to treat Mo Fan’s injuries, but Mo Fan asked him to freeze the Bird Emperor’s belly first.

Mu Bai inspected the Bird Emperor and noticed the creature’s life was indeed in danger. He quickly froze the ghastly wound.

The Bird Emperor seemed to still be conscious. It glanced at Mo Fan through the transparent layer of ice around it.

“Hide in there for now, leave the rest to us,” Mo Fan told the Bird Emperor.

“Luckily, it’s a Ruler-level creature. Any other creature’s vitality wouldn’t be so outstanding,” Mu Bai noted.

The creature’s organs had been destroyed when its abdomen was torn open. It was a miracle that the creature had survived!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Where are the others?” Mo Fan asked.

“Something went wrong,” Mu Bai went back to the topic he had mentioned before.

“Was that old soldier Chen Shuo responsible for it?” Mo Fan asked grimly.

“No, not him; it was Chief Zhu Qi, of the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union. He brought his men here and placed Old Zhao and the others under their control. Miss Tangyue is in their hands too,” Mu Bai said.

“Under their control? In their hands? Are you sure they are from the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union, instead of an organization like the Black Vatican?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Not only did they come to the island with ease, they also knew about the secret passage from the emergency outpost to the domestication ranch that only Chen Shuo knew about. Who do you think was conducting the experiments here ten years ago?” Mu Bai said.

“The chief of Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union is one of them?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

“More or less, or he wouldn’t come here purposely and keep us on the island. I initially thought he was going to bring us back so we don’t get ourselves in trouble, but Lingling saw through his intentions. I ran away as soon as I realized something wasn’t right. I thought I could regroup with you first, so that we could save them together, but I don’t think that’s possible after seeing your condition,” Mu Bai said.

“How bold is Zhu Qi? Is he really going to silence us by killing us on the island? Miss Tangyue is the vice chief, I don’t think he dares to harm her!” Mo Fan swore.

No matter how much of a local tyrant Zhu Qi was as the Chief of the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union, he would not dare to do something so outrageous!

“I think he was going to place us into custody and release us after following procedures, but his son Zhu Min has died in an accident. He’s currently out of his mind. I’m worried he might bring us down with him!” Mu Bai admitted.

The Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union would no longer be responsible after the incident was passed up to the higher level. It would also bury the past. Headquarters would send someone over to deal with the situation without putting the blame on him. Zhu Qi was planning to drag things on until his higher-ups decided to send Super Mages over to wipe out the island. The truth behind the incident would then sink with the island.

To his surprise, Mo Fan and his crew had gone to Dawn Island with Tangyue. The facilities on the island were well preserved. They could easily find out who the people who were managing the domestication ranch in the past were. Zhu Qi was obviously not going to let Tangyue, Mo Fan, and the others bring that information back!

“How did that Zhu Min die?” Mo Fan asked.

“He was whipped to death by a breaking chain. Even though I’m sorry for his death, I really don’t understand how an Advanced Mage could die like that,” Mu Bai said.

“Ugh…” Mo Fan was left speechless. It seemed like he was somehow responsible for Zhu Min’s death, too…

However, it was definitely not his fault. These people had obviously come to trouble them. Mo Fan was not the kind to feel guilty over the death of someone insignificant.

That being said, Zhu Qi was obviously going to hold him responsible for his son’s death!

“It will take some time to cure your poison. They have moved everyone to the emergency outpost. We have to figure out a way to save them,” Mu Bai said.

“How strong is that Zhu Qi?” Mo Fan asked.

“Very strong. Miss Tangyue didn’t stand a chance against him,” Mu Bai sighed.

Normally, a vice chief was either someone with outstanding capabilities as a leader or a Super Mage, but an Enforcer Chief was definitely a Super Mage. If Tangyue had lost so easily, it was unlikely Mo Fan and Mu Bai could defeat Zhu Qi with just the two of them.

“It’s already morning. The Featherless Birds have claimed the sea around the island. They will have to wait until it’s dark before they can leave the island the same way we came,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm, Zhu Qi is a Super Ice Mage too,” Mu Bai agreed.

“We still have some time, then,” Mo Fan said.

“The poison will be neutralized in about two hours, but your injuries… Are you sure you’re going to be fine by nightfall?” Mu Bai asked worriedly.

Mo Fan had a lot of injuries on him. The loss of blood alone was enough to weaken him significantly!

“I can recover pretty quickly. Let’s hope that Zhu Qi hasn’t gone mad,” Mo Fan stated. He did need some time to rest and prepare himself to face Zhu Qi, however.

“He won’t do anything reckless before getting his hands on us,” Mu Bai agreed.

Zhu Qi would not dare to harm Tangyue. Similarly, he would not have the guts to harm the others, considering their backgrounds, unless he could make sure that no one knew what he had done on the island.

Therefore, Zhu Qi could either find Mo Fan and Mu Bai first, and then silence them all, or he could keep Tangyue and the others under custody and drag the situation on until it was over. By then, even if Tangyue, Mo Fan, and the others knew he was responsible for the mess at the island, there was nothing they could do to him. He could explain he was only placing Tangyue into custody to prevent her from complicating matters.

“We need to lure Zhu Qi away and destroy the emergency outpost, exposing the people of the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union to the Manta Ray Evil Birds. We’ll then be able to save the others amid the chaos,” Mo Fan said.

“Mo Fan, there are only two of us. How can we possibly handle so many things at once? Who’s going to lure Zhu Qi away? Who’s going to destroy the emergency outpost? Who then is going to escort the others to safety and protect them since their magic will be Sealed away? Destroying the emergency outpost might expose the people of the Enforcement Union to the Manta Ray Evil Birds, but it will also place the others’ lives in danger when they can’t use their magic!” Mu Bai said. He thought Mo Fan was going to come up with a flawless plan, yet it turned out to be so unreliable.

“Who told you there are only the two of us?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

Following his words, an alluring figure came into the cave.

“Apas?” Mu Bai blurted out in surprise.

“How did it end up in such a mess!?” Apas grumbled.

“Says you? Why didn’t you protect them when they were taken away?” Mo Fan snarled.

“I’m not good at fighting. Besides, I would just have ended up like them if I showed myself,” Apas claimed.

“Fine, you always have a lot of excuses. Mu Bai will be luring Zhu Qi away, I’ll destroy the emergency outpost while you protect the others and get rid of the Seal on their minds,” Mo Fan allocated the jobs.

Both Mu Bai and Apas shook their heads.

“I’ll destroy the emergency outpost and lure the enraged Manta Ray Evil Birds to it,” Apas corrected him.

“I can protect them during the chaos,” Mu Bai agreed.

“…”

Mo Fan suddenly realized he had to do all the dirty and strenuous work for every team he was in! Did they forget he was already poisoned and injured?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were circling the building with the rhombus-shaped roof, like a plague of locusts. Most of them had come out from the water around the island. They had regrouped on the island after someone had invaded their territory. Not a single drop of water would trickle past them.

Zhu Qi was obviously very familiar with the island. He knew which building to hide in at the emergency outpost that morning to keep the Manta Ray Evil Birds away. He had gathered everyone together in the building.

“Chief, there’s actually a simpler way. We’ll just use these girls as bait. We’re not going to endanger their lives. We’ll just make them suffer a little, like losing a limb or a leg. I bet the other two will show themselves,” Li Dong suggested softly.

“Go ahead and kill us if you’re so capable, or else it’s going to mess up your career,” Tangyue harrumphed coldly. She was clearly not afraid of Chief Zhu Qi.

“Kill you? I’m not a vicious criminal. I just want to do us good. Don’t you forget, I have suffered the greatest loss here. Who’s going to pay for my son’s death? Tangyue, I’m not going to waste my time with you. Call your two friends back, and I will swear on my soul that I’ll bring you all back to safety. However, if you insist on telling everyone about it, I won’t be showing any mercy. We’ll both go down together!” Chief Zhu Qi promised.

“Miss Tangyue, I think the chief is being reasonable here. If we can just stay on good terms and avoid any unnecessary casualties, there’s no need to be fussy about it. Let’s each take a step back and settle the conflict between us. As for something like losing a limb, why should we act like savages when we are all civilized people? Let’s sit down and discuss this peacefully,” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

Losing a limb? Zhao Manyan assumed Zhu Qi and his men would not dare to harm Tangyue since she was one of the Enforcement Union too. As for Jiang Shaoxu and Lingling, it was unlikely Zhu Qi’s men would lay their hands on them for ethical reasons. Therefore, they were definitely going to punish him as a warning to Mo Fan and Mu Bai!

Besides, Zhao Manyan knew even if they broke his legs or cut off his arms, Mo Fan and Mu Bai would not bother showing up. How could he not know what kind of people they were!?

“Chief, things aren’t that complicated, either. It was Zhu Min’s fault that the accident happened to him. We shouldn’t worsen the situation because of it. Mr. Nan already told us to settle the dispute peacefully if possible,” a man with a hint of whiteness in his hair spoke up.

The man was only in his thirties. He had been against Zhu Qi’s plan from the very beginning.

They could not afford to harm Tangyue. If the Lingyin Enforcement Union learned Tangyue was in trouble at the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union, those old guys, including Tang Zhong, were going to turn the Nanxi Mountain upside down, regardless of who was responsible for the incident. Besides, there were too many enforcers and senior enforcers here. It was impossible to make sure they would keep their lips sealed. Even the most loyal subordinate might look forward to overthrowing their superior, so they could take over their position.

“We’ll wait here then!” Zhu Qi’s emotions were clearly unstable, mainly because of how horribly his son had died. He was struggling to handle the situation rationally.

His son might have been a little dumb, but to die like that all of a sudden? How could he not lose his mind?

“Right, let’s wait here. Once things are done on Mr. Nan’s side, we’ll be able to sort everything out. It’s only a matter of a few days!” Wu Jiao said.

“My son has died because of this! I hope Mr. Nan’s arrangements can make up for it! Humph!” Zhu Qi spat coldly.

“Don’t worry, you’ve served Mr. Nan for so many years. He definitely has a nice vacant position for you. That’s a juicy piece of meat. As for Zhu Min, you can treat it as a belated punishment, considering what you all did back then…” Wu Jiao replied.

A senior enforcer quickly came up to Zhu Qi before Wu Jiao could finish his sentence. The senior enforcer said, “Chief, someone who claims to be Mo Fan is outside. He says he will truly make you the last of your family line if you don’t let his friends go.”

The anger that Zhu Qi had managed to suppress just a moment ago exploded instantly. He totally tossed the need to remain rational and withhold his anger until Mr. Nan was done with the election to the back of his mind. His thoughts were full of the images of his son’s horrible death!

His son would not have ended up in such a tragedy if these people had not come to stir up trouble in the first place!

Wu Jiao wanted to warn Zhu Qi against this, but he knew nothing was going to change Zhu Qi’s mind when he saw the twisted expression on the man’s face.

Zhao Manyan’s expression was just as grim as Wu Jiao’s expression.

Wasn’t Mo Fan f**king pouring oil on the fire now? They could have settled the conflict peacefully. Zhu Qi was only trying to cover up some of the deeds he had done in the past. They could just pretend they did not see anything and follow Zhu Qi’s instructions. The chief of the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union had no reason to bring them all down with him!

But now, Mo Fan had to bring up the topic, and even promised the man he’d be the last of his family line. It was going to make him the last of the Zhao Family instead!

“Keep an eye on them!” The chief did not lose his mind. He knew there were two people missing. It was obvious the guy outside was trying to lure him away.

“Chief, calm down, our goal is to help Mr. Nan win the election. We’ve been preparing for it for so long. We shouldn’t complicate matters further because of this incident. We just need to make sure these people don’t leave the island for five days,” Wu Jiao blurted out.

“It was not your son who died! Step aside, I’m going to beat the kid half to death and let him beg for mercy at my feet!” Chief Zhu Qi snarled and strode away.

“Guys, please advise your friend to mind his temper. It’s not like we are going to harm you. We will only keep you here for a few days. It’s normal for someone in office to make a few mistakes. I can promise you on behalf of Councilman Nan that he will immediately deal with the island once he’s successful in the election!” Wu Jiao felt like bursting into tears. How did they stumble into people with such hot tempers? What had happened to the young men nowadays? Couldn’t they be a little slicker and more sly?

“Humph! Councilman Nan, it’s really him! He abandoned this island to protect his own reputation and career twenty years ago. Who’s going to guarantee he won’t do anything worse after he’s elected a Great Councilman?” Tangyue harrumphed coldly. She obviously had no intention of backing down.

Chapter 1844: Last of the Family Line

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Miss Tangyue is right. A man like him is unfit to be a Councilman, and he’s pursuing a higher position? If we just treat it like nothing happened, wouldn’t we put a lot more places like Wanggui Town in danger?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Luo Mian made mistakes over and over again in the past, throwing so many people in Hangzhou under the bus. There’s no way we will turn a blind eye to this. Just go ahead and let Zhu Qi murder us. This island is pretty isolated. You can ask Zhu Qi to take down Mu Bai and Mo Fan and execute us all. Wouldn’t it be simpler that way? No one is going to find out about the scandal ever, and it won’t obstruct Councilman Nan’s plan to win the election!” Tangyue proposed.

“Oh my, Miss Tangyue, can’t you calm down a little? There’s still a chance to settle the conflict, but everything is done for if we’re dead. Look at Lingling, she’s so cute and young. We shouldn’t bring her into this mess. We should be more lenient for her sake!” Zhao Manyan quickly countered.

“He’s right, he’s absolutely right, things aren’t that bad… Let’s just treat this as a vacation and relax a little,” Wu Jiao agreed swiftly.

“Speaking of which, does anyone hear a strange noise?” Chen Shuo suddenly looked around cautiously.

“All I can hear is the annoying cries of the birds,” Wu Jiao replied.

“Shouldn’t the cries be on the outside? Why did it feel like there are echoes of them inside the building?” another senior enforcer asked.

Everyone immediately fell silent and looked around them.

The building was similar to a stadium. The corners where the light could not reach were in complete darkness. There were eight paths to the hall they were in: some were walkways to other buildings, while others were corridors to the fields. Some of them crossed long distances, and even went up and down a hill along the way, but they were fully surrounded by a net of metallic gravel that prevented the Manta Ray Evil Birds from coming any closer.

Rapid dull knocks could be heard coming from the third and seventh corridors. Chen Shuo was familiar with the building. He quickly went over to turn on the switch for the lights. They had started the generator prior to coming into the building.

Rows of incandescent lamps hanging on the ceiling lit up. Large groups of creatures had already filled up the corridors. They were pouring into the main hall like a tide of black muddy water. Countless bat-like creatures were running amok in the hall. Their eyes instantly fixed on the group of humans.

“How did they get in here!?” Chen Shuo was astounded.

Chen Shuo had quickly switched sides after Zhu Qi and his men showed up. He had even gone to check on the emergency outpost’s perimeter, making sure the Manta Ray Evil Birds had no chance of breaking through the net. He had even started the generator to provide the building with electricity, so that the group could stay comfortably in it for the necessary five days, despite the lack of Wi-Fi. However, the Manta Ray Evil Birds had broken into the building before the first day was even over!

“Chen Shuo, you’re just as useless as you were back then! Go and check on the rest of the corridors and make sure the place is secured before more of those creatures come in here!” Wu Jiao snarled.

“I can’t do it on my own!” Chen Shuo said.

“You three, go with him!” Wu Jiao assigned three senior enforcers to follow Chen Shuo.

The rest of the enforcers were using their magic to eliminate the Manta Ray Evil Birds that had broken into the hall. They had plenty of space to fight the creatures. However, Wu Jiao had specifically warned everyone not to use spells that were overly destructive, as they might destroy the whole building.

The emergency outpost was sturdy and the buildings were mixed with the metallic gravel, but they were not necessarily indestructible!

“Brother Wu Jiao, you and your men might have trouble fending off so many of these creatures off. Quick, get rid of the Seal for us and we’ll lend you a hand. It’s a good start for us to be on friendly terms, don’t you think?” Zhao Manyan spoke up.

Wu Jiao glanced at Zhao Manyan with a do-you-take-me-for-an-idiot look.

“Keep an eye on them, make sure nothing happens to them,” Wu Jiao told Li Dong.

“Of course I’m going to keep a good eye on them, but it’s not my fault if the creatures overrun us and take someone away.” Li Dong glanced at Lingling. It was obvious what he was implying.

“Li Dong, if you dare let that happen, even if you hide in your Dali Clan, Mo Fan will still drag you out and burn you alive in front of your whole clan!” Tangyue declared coldly.

Li Dong harrumphed coldly, yet he did not respond to her words.

He had heard of Mo Fan’s name too. He was acting disdainfully on the surface, but he was actually quite scared on the inside. That Mo Fan was indeed capable of doing such a reckless thing. Even the Mu Clan would not be able to protect him!

“Mo Fan doesn’t even have to do it. Her grandfather is the Old Clergyman of the Holy Judgment Court. If he learns what happened to his granddaughter, he’s going to feed the whole Dali Clan to the creatures in the ocean,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Li Dong’s back soon broke out in cold sweat upon hearing those words.

No one except Zhao Xiaotian from the Dali Clan could not afford to offend anyone in their group, considering their backgrounds. Therefore, they could not cross the line until they were able to silence them once and for all. It was the main reason why Wu Jiao kept advising Zhu Qi to remain calm, even after he lost his son.

“Sir, I think I saw someone coming into the building. It was the Ice Mage who was on the north of the mountain previously,” a senior enforcer reported to Li Dong.

“Humph, it must be Mu Bai. He’s been getting a lot of attention recently!” Li Dong snorted.

Once Zhu Qi took care of Mo Fan and they got rid of Mu Bai, everything would be under their control!

“What do you say?” Li Dong glanced at Wu Jiao.

“Take him down at all costs. It’s easier to control things when we are making the calls!” Wu Jiao was a smart man. He knew the importance of taking down the rest of the group who were still on the loose. They would then be able to decide if they were going to settle it the gentle way or the rough way!

Li Dong nodded. He did not like to be in a passive position, either. These people were untouchable because of their backgrounds, but if they did not behave themselves and pushed too much, they would have to use some extreme measures. Even a dog would jump over a wall when panicking… hang on, these people were supposed to be the dogs instead!

Chapter 1845: Evil Caning Imp

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The trees and shrubs scattered all over the place after the Cloud Bursting Waterfall poured down the mountain cascaded down the sides of it. Mo Fan sat with his legs crossed on top of a boulder and waited for Zhu Qi, like the Monkey King when he went to provoke a temple on a mountain.

Chief Zhu Qi raised his head. Anger burst out of his chest when he saw Mo Fan’s attitude. His breathing intensified quickly.

“Do you know how my son died!?” Zhu Qi snarled right away.

Despite Wu Jiao’s advice, Chief Zhu Qi was unable to let go of his son’s death. He had put in so much effort to raise his son Zhu Min, but the young man had died just like that. He had nowhere to vent the feeling of unjust and frustrations in his heart!

Mo Fan did not respond. Chief Zhu Qi added in a cold voice, “Nothing would happen if you and your friends hadn’t come here and caused so much trouble. If you are indeed filled with remorse, you will seal your spiritual strength away and give my son a few kowtows. After that, you just need to behave yourself and wait for another five days. I won’t make things difficult for you and your friends.”

Mo Fan’s mouth hung open for some time after listening to Zhu Qi’s words.

He was already an unreasonable man, yet Zhu Qi was even worse than him. Did he seriously ask him to give Zhu Min kowtows? Kowtow my ass!

“Blaming gravity when you’re struggling to take a poop, the saying is perfect for you. Please, if you knew your son was completely useless, like a little flower in a greenhouse, you shouldn’t have brought him to such a dangerous place to do your shameful deeds. You’re now blaming others after something happened to him, when you yourself failed to teach him proper skills. You’re really something!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

The force of the chain when it snapped in half might be strong, but was unlikely to kill an Advanced Mage right on the spot. Even an Intermediate Mage with slightly better reflexes could prevent the chain from hitting their vulnerable parts. A person who died in such a petty manner was not worth calling himself an enforcer!

Every enforcer was supposed to be prepared to face dangers that might threaten their lives. Did that Zhu Min seriously pass the tests?

It was obvious that Zhu Qi had abused his power to allow his son into the Enforcement Union. The young man was nothing but a bum!

There were only so many branches of the Enforcement Union in their country, so the number of enforcers was limited. The Enforcement Union was supposed to pick the best Mages from among the more talented graduates and Hunters. The greater their roles, the more capable they would have to be. These honorable Mages were able to handle all kinds of danger, yet Zhu Min had died to a chain when it snapped in half. If Mo Fan was his father, he would be too ashamed to tell others. How humiliating would that be?

And yet, this Zhu Qi still dared to put the blame on him? He even demanded Mo Fan give Zhu Min kowtows?

Even a righteous man had no obligation to bear the responsibilities for the young man’s death, let alone an unreasonable, hot-tempered Mage like Mo Fan!

“You knew why you came to the island in the first place. Dawn Island is a mess you left behind. If you are filled with remorse, let my friends go and turn yourself in to the highest Enforcement Union and give Wanggui Town its peace back. That way, I might consider attending Zhu Min’s funeral and perhaps burn him an incense stick or something…

“Screw it, why the hells am I bothering to waste my time with you? You’ve committed so many dirty crimes. You deserve not to have anyone to pay you their last respects when you die!” Mo Fan finally cursed.

Mo Fan began to wonder if his temper had improved the older he was. If it was him a few years ago, he would have simply beat the crap out of anyone who dared to imprison his beloved Miss Tangyue and Lingling. If he did not cripple this person, he would feel ashamed to tell others that people used to call him the Demon King!

“Humph, I have long heard that you are the kind to run amok by abusing the little reputation you’ve earned. It seems like there’s no way you will take the initiative to drop to your knees and repent. I shall break your legs and make you stay beside my son’s grave to keep watch over it!” Zhu Qi’s eyes flickere, his face vicious. Someone had to be responsible for Zhu Min’s death. It was obviously Mo Fan, not the chain!

“If you keep being such a scum, I shall reserve the spirits of your whole family. I’ll definitely bring my favorite disc and play it on loop!” Mo Fan cursed him right back. There was no need to be reasonable with a man like Zhu Qi. It felt much better just to quarrel with him!

Zhu Qi felt like his lungs were about to explode with rage. Breaking Mo Fan’s legs alone was no longer enough to calm his anger!

“You better remember your words when you are begging for mercy on your knees later!” Zhu Qi began to emit a murderous aura. He was an Ice Mage, so a deadly Aura of Ice Magic started forming under his feet.

The Star Patterns instantly combined into an icy-white Star Constellation. Every time it flickered, another Star Constellation would appear as the deadly Ice Magic spread even further.

Zhu Qi was using a Super Spell right at the start of the fight. Mo Fan immediately recalled Mu Bai had just shown him the power of a Super Ice Spell when he used it on the Manta Ray Evil Birds. Even though Mo Fan enjoyed quarreling with the man, he still cast Earth Wave on the ground below his feet to prepare an escape route in advance!

A strange burst of laughter, like the voice of a mischievous kid, suddenly came out of somewhere. Mo Fan thought Zhu Qi had Summoned some kind of demon to ambush him without him knowing. He almost subconsciously cast Blink and ran away from the scene before he noticed an illusionary black mist floating out of his body and approaching Zhu Qi like a dark phantom.

Zhu Qi was unaware of the mist. His Super Spell was completing itself at a quicker rate than Mu Bai’s spell, but the black mist was quicker. The mischievous laughter was still echoing.

A demon spirit with a horn on its forehead suddenly appeared from the mist. It was little like a kid around the age of eight. However, it was holding a huge whip covered in cursed runes in its hand!

The little demon spirit laughed sinisterly as it flung the whip at Zhu Qi’s back as he was about to complete his Star Palace. The huge whip was supposed to be used on monsters and demons. It easily covered a person’s entire back!

Zhu Qi did not react in time at all. The elegant Star Palace collapsed when the Cursed Whip struck him. The force sent him diving to the ground. He ended up eating a mouthful of mud and grass!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s eyes widened upon witnessing this scene.

The Evil Caning Spirit?

Mo Fan initially thought Feng Zhoulong was bluffing him when he mentioned the special ability derived from the combination of the Curse and Shadow Elements. The man had claimed he could randomly Summon a powerful imp, which would constantly follow the enemy like a phantom and whip them at the worst times!

The Evil Caning Spirit had not appeared when Mo Fan was battling against the Manta Ray Evil Birds. Thousands of creatures had been hostile toward him, yet the Evil Caning Spirit did not show up even once. What were the odds?

Mo Fan had used the Shadow Fiend: Plaza of Death underwater. The Shadow Fiends that beheaded the Manta Ray Evil Birds were the upgraded version of the Rebelling Shadows. Mo Fan had to spread his Dark Material and expend Soul Remnants to Summon them! They were not the real Evil Caning Spirit, since Feng Zhoulong had mentioned how powerful the Evil Canning Spirit was!

Mo Fan had spent a long time spreading the Dark Material, but the Evil Caning Spirit never showed up. However, it had appeared when there was not even the slightest presence of the Shadow Element nearby. It actually showed up randomly, just as Feng Zhoulong had claimed. Perhaps it was solely dependent on the Evil Caning Spirit’s mood.

Mo Fan had to admit that he could feel the pain when the whip landed on Zhu Qi. Imagine being struck by a whip that was supposed to be used on monsters and demons. How insane!

Zhu Qi climbed back to his feet. Two long stalks were stuck in his nostrils. He suddenly looked rather comical, instead of his previous grim appearance.

He touched his back and noticed a huge swathe of his skin had been torn apart. Not only did the skin dry out, his flesh had even started to rot! It looked like he had been hit by a whip on the same spot hundreds of times…

Zhu Qi groaned angrily. He looked around him, searching for the Evil Caning Spirit that had ambushed him.

However, the Evil Canning Spirit was a kind of phantom, and its primary Element was the Curse Element. It immediately vanished into thin air with its distinctive laughter after successfully pulling the prank on the man. Zhu Qi could not track it down.

“You… what kind of magic was that!?” Zhu Qi snarled.

It was impossible to defend against Curse Magic with other spells or equipment. Its power was similar to the process of digging a trap. If the user wanted the Curse to come into effect right away, the trap would only inflict injure minor injuries on the target. However, if the user dug further and deeper before luring the target into the trap, the target of the Curse would suffer worse injuries, or even die to it.

The Caning Evil Spirit was obviously the kind of Curse that would come into effect instantly. It was unlikely that the Curse could endanger the life of a Super Mage, unless it was constantly used on the same spot. Zhu Qi did not expect the Curse magic, which had allowed the whip to land right on his back. However, it was far from taking his life.

Zhu Qi did not expect Mo Fan to answer him. The truth was, Mo Fan was even more dumbfounded than Zhu Qi. It was his first time seeing the Evil Caning Imp, too!

It might be a little imp, but it was also the most adorable little angel in Mo Fan’s eyes at that particular instant. The whip had come at such a perfect time, right when Zhu Qi was just about to complete his Super Spell. It had immediately relieved Mo Fan from enormous pressure.

Mo Fan immediately pointed at the sky. Lightning soon descended fiercely from it, like demon claws.

Zhu Qi fled ignominiously. He only Summoned his Magic Armor at first, assuming it was enough to defend him from spells under the Super Level. To his surprise, Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant was surprisingly imperious. The Sky Lightning Claw easily tore through his defense, forcing him to retreat to the woods further away. He quickly used his Light Element to protect himself from the Sky Lightning Claw.

Mo Fan was extremely quick at casting his spells, since he did not have to construct a complicated Star Palace. His Fiery Sword, made from three Soul-grade Flames, followed as soon as the Sky Lightning Claw ended. The woods around Zhu Qi turned into a sea of flames. He could see the outline of an imperious sword stuck firmly into the ground from afar.

“Damn it, I’ve given that kid the upper hand!” Zhu Qi ran out of the sea of flames miserably. The armor of an unknown Element he was wearing a moment ago had been completely destroyed.

Zhu Qi had obviously heard of Mo Fan, but he assumed the young man was still incomparable to him, considering his own age. However, he was already in such a disadvantageous position after the first few rounds. Zhu Qi felt greatly humiliated.

“Is that all you got!?” Zhu Qi cast a Light Spell and formed a golden barrier in front of himself as Mo Fan Summoned the fiery dragons from the sea of flames to chase after him.

The fiery dragons were carrying enough force to raze a mountain to the ground. However, when they slammed into the golden barrier, they somehow turned into little sparkles instead…

Mo Fan frowned when he saw one of his strongest Fire Spells fail to inflict any damage on Zhu Qi.

Zhu Qi still had some tricks up in his sleeves as a Super Mage!

“Icestorm Meteor Hammer!”

The chief of the Enforcement Union reached his hands into the sky as thick chains of ice appeared in them. He held the chains firmly as he waved them around, an enormous meteor hammer beginning to form on the other end of the chains!

The ice chains and the meteor hammers stirred up a terrifying storm as they were being swung around. Zhu Qi had a bulky body, so it seemed like he had transformed into an ice demon preparing to hunt its prey down in a most brutal way!

The meteor hammers enlarged continuously. They went from a diameter of fifty meters to over two hundred meters long!

Zhu Qi moved closer to Mo Fan while waving the meteor hammers around. The storm that was invoked by the icy meteor hammers had almost reached Mo Fan.

Mo Fan thought it was a clumsy spell, but the area covered by the Icestorm Meteor Hammer had extended to about four hundred meters in radius. The meteor hammers were like a huge icebergs being swung around. It was unlikely he would be able to get back on his feet if the hammers hit him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan continued to back away, but he noticed the Icestorm Meteor Hammers kept extending further, like the spell was going to devour the entire mountain and island. Mo Fan had never seen such an unreasonable Ice Spell before. The Icestorm Meteor Hammers were only inches away when he realized it was meaningless for him to keep backing away!

He slid backward with the Earth Wave and moved a significant distance away with Blink. However, when he thought he was at a safe distance, he saw Zhu Qi stop spinning the meteor hammers and hurl them in his direction instead!

The Icestorm Meteor Hammers flew across the sky in a parabola. The Icestorm Meteor Hammers were already as massive as iceergs, let alone the storm around them. Mo Fan simply had nowhere to hide.

Mo Fan had just used Blink. It was too late to escape with the Shadow Element. The Earth Wave was too slow. Mo Fan could only watch the Icestorm Meteor Hammers coming right at him!

With a huge blast, the spiked meteor hammers smashed the spot where Mo Fan was standing, leaving a huge hole behind. The storm swept destructively across the area within three kilometers of the impact.

Mo Fan was knocked flying by the meteor hammers, while being swept away by the howling storm. He quickly had several new injuries across his body.

Mo Fan climbed to his feet from a pile of ice, displeased with the outcome, yet he had to admit Zhu Qi was stronger than he had imagined. He would find himself in a disadvantageous position if he took the Chief, an Elder of the Magic Court, head-on.

It was not easy to fight an experienced Super Mage. Every spell from a Super Mage might inflict deadly injuries on Mo Fan, who did not really have much defense.

“It’s not too late to beg for mercy still!” Zhu Qi called out after he saw Mo Fan staggering, but he had no intention to cancel the spell he was channeling.

The Icestorm Meteor Hammers were not even his strongest spell. He was going to let Mo Fan taste the true fear of death soon!

“Demon Judgment Sword!”

Zhu Qi was extremely quick at constructing this Star Palace. He was able to cast the Super Light Spell adeptly despite its complicated procedures.

Zhu Qi was covered in a sacred golden light. Mo Fan knew what the spell was as soon as he saw the light.

It was the strongest single-target spell in the Super Level. Zhu Qi obviously did not want to give him any chance to beg for mercy!

The strange laughter of a mischievous kid came out of nowhere once again. Mo Fan was overjoyed. He quickly glanced ahead and indeed saw an Evil Caning Spirit floating behind Zhu Qi, raising a long cursed whip in the air!

Zhu Qi’s back was already too tragic to look at. When the whip landed on it again, the brilliant glow around Zhu Qi disappeared instantly. He fell forward to the ground as fresh dark blood squirted from his back.

The Evil Canning Spirit cheered joyfully after landing the blow. It vanished into thin air before Zhu Qi rose to his feet again.

Zhu Qi was trembling. He hurled a few ice spears in the Evil Canning Spirit’s direction to kill the thing that had ambushed him twice.

“Damn it, damn it, what the hells is that thing!?”

Zhu Qi’s face twisted in rage. Pain might have been a factor too…

In addition to the immense pain, the blow had interrupted his Super Spell once again. Zhu Qi wondered if something was hiding in the shadows nearby to ambush him. It might be Mo Fan’s Summoned Beast.

However, he did not see a single thing when he looked around cautiously!

“Nice job!” Mo Fan would not let go of the opportunity. The whip from the Evil Caning Spirit had granted him the upper hand again.

“You’re not the only one with Super Spells!” Mo Fan snarled. “Lightning Punishment Formation!”

Mo Fan constructed one Lightning Star Constellation after another. The Lightning Magic constantly moved between the Star Constellations and connected the Star Constellations into a magnificent Star Palace. It basically turned Mo Fan into a lightning deity whose terrifying power did not belong to this world!

The Star Palace flickered before vanishing into thin air. Mo Fan jumped into the air. He was now fully imbued with the wild aura of the Lightning Magic. He reached a height of more than a hundred meters above Zhu Qi.

Mo Fan was hovering in the air as the lightning arcs surged wildly around him. At the same time, nine black lightning bolts descended around Mo Fan, together with a unique purple curtain between them. The nine lightning bolts turned into nine lightning halberds hanging between the sky and the ground!

“The Seal of Nine Laws!”

At Mo Fan’s roar, the enormous lightning halberds slammed into the ground and trapped Zhu Qi in the center of them from nine directions.

The nine lightning halberds unleashed formidable forking lightning arcs with an outstanding sealing power after connecting with the ground. They spread rapidly across the ground before filling up the sky with dense chains of lightning. They were also whipping at Zhu Qi, who was trapped inside the formation.

The chief’s eyes were filled with shock and fear. He did not expect Mo Fan to be a Super Mage! The Super Lightning Spell was designed to be effective at trapping its target. Zhu Qi was still recovering from a painful blow when he was trapped in the Formation. He was no longer thinking about how to defeat Mo Fan, but how he was going to survive the Lightning Punishment Formation. The Super Lightning Spell was capable of taking his life!

The same golden Barrier appeared around him, but it was not so effective this time. The lightning bursting out of the lightning halberds broke through the Barrier in mere seconds. The chief of the Enforcement Union had no choice but to use his final Magic Equipment, which was supposed to be his last resort. He quickly balled up to reduce his surface area so the lightning would have a harder time landing on him.

Zhu Qi was stuck in the Formation. The Lightning Punishment Formation was a destructive, trapping spell. Anyone who was trapped in it would get to enjoy its full package of deadly lightning strikes. The Lightning Magic could penetrate any defensive equipment easily. In other words, Zhu Qi still had to suffer deadly blows from the lightning strikes, even if he had his defensive equipment on!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan remembered the first time he had marveled at a Super Spell. It was back at the West Lake in Hangzhou. Zhu Meng had greatly enlarged his Super Lightning Spell with the help of the Royal Guards. The Seal of Nine Laws he had established on the lake had been enough to shake an entire city. The light of the nine lightning halberds shone down upon the surface of the West Lake and the towering Black Totem Snake that had been trapped in the formation.

Now, he was using that very same spell. He was extremely pleased when he saw Zhu Qi struggling in pain within the Seal of the Nine Laws.

This was the strength of a Super Spell. Even the Chief of an Enforcement Union branch had to kneel before him! It felt like his magic was no longer the same from today forward. It was truly able to destroy everything. It was no longer tiny; its power could easily make a person feel minuscule!

The enormous lightning Formation lasted for a long time. Zhu Qi was in a very weak state after being tortured by lightning strikes, scorched completely black. He was currently on his knees, supporting himself with his trembling hands, trying to stop himself from falling to the ground.

“You…you piece of…” Zhu Qi was both furious and humiliated. He totally believed his cultivation was stronger than the younger Mage. He could easily crush the younger man with a single Super Spell!

However, he had lost to some weird spell. Every time he was about to cast a Super Spell, he would be whipped on the back, leaving him in immense pain. Otherwise, he would have long defeated the arrogant younger man!

Zhu Qi was not willing to admit his defeat. He could tell that Mo Fan had only learned the Super Spell recently. He was not even that adept with the spell, but it was a typical battle between Super Mages. Had Zhu Qi cast the Demon Judgment Sword successfully, the outcome would have been the opposite!

“Didn’t you want to know what power I used to interrupt your Super Spells?” Mo Fan approached Zhu Qi and glanced down at the man, who looked like a dying old dog.

Zhu Qi lifted his head. His eyes were brimming with anger.

Before Mo Fan could answer, the cursed whip struck Zhu Qi in the same spot once again. Zhu Qi acted like he was never going to surrender, but his face contorted in pain as soon as the whip landed on his back. At the same time, the shocks from the Lightning Magic were still torturing him on the inside. He was rolling on the ground as the two kinds of pain stacked up.

“Don’t worry, it seems like my Evil Caning Spirit is pretty fond of you. I believe it will slowly entertain you with all kinds of tricks,” Mo Fan observed.

—

The rest of the enforcers were no threat after Zhu Qi was taken care of. The enforcers did not want to fall out with Tangyue, either. They completely lost their will to fight when they saw Mo Fan return with their helpless chief.

“Mo Fan, did you do something crazy again?” Zhao Manyan gasped.

“Shut up if you can’t speak properly,” Mo Fan snapped.

Tangyue was overjoyed when she saw Mo Fan.

Both Mu Bai and Mo Fan were her former students. They were absolute beginners back in Bo City, but they had become Super Mages now. Mo Fan’s strength was even crazier. Even Zhu Qi had lost to him!

The Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union might be slacking a lot, yet there was no doubt about its Chief’s strength. It was quite ridiculous that Mo Fan had managed to defeat Zhu Qi on his own!

“I thought you were only going to lure him away?” Mu Bai glanced at the Chief, who was in a pitiful state.

“I was going to do that, but he’s an unlucky man,” Mo Fan smiled.

As a matter of fact, if it weren’t for those crucial whips from the Evil Caning Spirit, Mo Fan would not have stood a chance against Zhu Qi.

Zhu Qi was using his Super Spells right from the beginning of the fight. Meanwhile, Mo Fan had just set foot into the Super Level. He was already performing outside his own expectations when he managed to construct a Star Palace successfully. If he was asked to cast the Super Spell again, the Star Palace might collapse right away!

Whether it was luck or overperformance, Mo Fan was finally able to take on a Super Mage!

That being said, it would be even more perfect if he could actually control the Evil Caning Spirit. Even a Super Mage had failed to defend himself from the powerful Curse Magic!

“By the way, Old Zhao, the thing you are looking for is underwater,” Mo Fan informed him.

“Are you sure?” Zhao Manyan’s eyes glittered.

“But it’s a bit old… I’m not sure if it’s going to be of any help to you,” Mo Fan added.

The huge corpse at the bottom of the sea had already turned into the seabed that was supporting the whole island. Mo Fan was still amazed as he recalled the sight. He believed only the ancient mystical Totem Beasts could grow to a size like that.

Mo Fan did not discover a Totem Seal among the remains. It would take him a lot of time to look for one underwater. Besides, Mo Fan could not keep spoon-feeding Zhao Manyan, either. He had not even done anything useful. He should be looking for the Totem Seal himself!

“We’ll wait until it’s dark and let Mu Bai lower the temperature of the water. We can then leave this island,” Tangyue said.

“I afraid I can’t wait that long,” Mo Fan blurted out.

He still had no idea how long Evil Star could hang on for, even though Mu Bai had frozen its injuries. Mo Fan was worried that it could not make it.

“Either way, we still have to wait until it’s dark. How are we supposed to fend off so many Featherless Birds while guarding the water?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“I have no other choice,” Mo Fan said.

“Mo Fan, are you seriously considering breaking through with force? I’m telling you, the number of Featherless Birds underwater is many times the number of Featherless Birds on this island. Besides, you have nowhere to stand in the ocean. It will hinder your strength. You are going to get yourself killed too!” Zhao Manyan said.

“There’s no time to wait. I’m saving this bird,” Mo Fan stated firmly.

Mo Fan was well aware of the Bird Emperor’s condition. Every minute they wasted was bringing the Bird Emperor a step closer to death.

“Damn it, can you at least figure out a plan instead of blindly rushing ahead? How about this: Mu Bai will make a floating ice platform while I handle the defense underwater. Miss Tangyue will handle the creatures coming from the sky while Mu Bai looks out for our rear. You will focus on clearing a path for us with brute force,” Zhao Manyan said.

“I can do it myself. It’s safer if the rest of you wait until it’s dark,” Mo Fan said.

“Nonsense, just do as I say!”

“You’re leaving the Totem Beast behind?”

“We’ll save your bird first. Didn’t you say it’s already a corpse? Are you telling me it’s going to run away!?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were not as aggressive when the group started working their way back. The group also had the enforcers with them, who worked hard to fend off the Manta Ray Evil Birds since they did not want to die to the birds either.

As long as a destructive Mage like Mo Fan had a safe environment to use his magic, the Manta Ray Evil Birds, be they in the sky and in the ocean, were going to taste what real destruction was. A large number of Manta Ray Evil Birds ended up turning into Soul Remnants and Soul Essences before flying into Mo Fan’s Pendant.

The Manta Ray Evil Birds stopped chasing them as the group was approaching the shore.

Mo Fan felt a lot more comfortable after setting his feet on land. He still did not have enough when he saw the Manta Ray Evil Birds retreating. He ended up firing a Fiery Dragon at the Manta Ray Evil Birds, burning them into ashes under the clouds and providing the fish in the water with more nutrients.

“I think I know why the number of the Manta Ray Evil Birds has risen so much all of a sudden,” Lingling said, looking at the burning red sky.

“An enclosed island with a superb environment without any natural foes. I can easily give birth to a whole nest of kids if you let me stay on the island with a group of women,” Zhao Manyan said shamelessly.

“Let’s save the bird first. We’ll discuss it later,” Mo Fan said.

“You didn’t sign a contract with the Bird Emperor, meaning it’s still untamed. Are you sure there’s someone willing to treat its injuries?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

The Bird Emperor was a demon creature. No one would allow Mo Fan to bring it into their city!

“Take it to Fanxue Mountain. Yu Shishi’s there, her moth might be able to do something. I think I saw her helping a member of Fanxue Mountain treat a Summoned Beast,” Mu Bai put forth.

“Her moths can heal an injured creature? How come no one mentioned that before?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

“I think he’s referring to the Moon Moth Phoenix,” Lingling said.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Mo Fan slapped himself on the head.

The mountain to the west of Fanxue Mountain was off-limits, having become the territory of Yu Shishi’s moths. The place was a certain distance away from Fanxue City, and it was rare for anyone to visit it. It felt like the mountain had become quite magical ever since the little Moon Moth Phoenix had started staying there. The mountain had a mystical vibe when the people from Fanxue City observed it at night.

In the past, Mo Fan had treated the mountain as an experimental ground for his Fire Magic. He had even fought Houndman and his Dreadful Curse Cerberus on it. It used to be barren and infertile, but it was now covered in trees and flowers, like a utopia!

“Well, Vice Chief Tang, why don’t I give Brother Mo Fan a ride with my Summoned Beast since we are running short on time?” Li Dong said fawningly.

“You’re a f**king opportunist!” Mo Fan snapped.

“Hehe, it’s called adapting to circumstances. I didn’t know Chief Zhu Qi was that kind of a person before,” Li Dong said. His nose and face were swollen right now. Mu Bai had even knocked a few of his teeth out. He was as ugly as a monster when he smiled.

“Fine, that will do,” Tangyue agreed coolly.

—

—

Tangyue, Lingling, Jiang Shaoxu, and Mu Bai did not leave Wanggui Town right away.

Mu Bai knew Zhao Manyan was preoccupied with the Totem Beast under the island. He volunteered, “Why don’t we go to the island at night?”

“Is it enough with just the two of us?” Zhao Manyan had to ask.

“We’re not picking a fight with them. I’ll put them to sleep while you look for the Totem Seal,” Mu Bai said.

“That’s reasonable… Mu Bai, I didn’t know you are such a reliable friend. I swear I will never call you Green Tea Man again. I won’t even drink green tea for the rest of my life!” Zhao Manyan promised.

Mu Bai twisted his lips. He did not really care if they were calling him by his nickname. Besides, he could easily get his revenge if he wanted. Both Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan would be injured or be poisoned eventually…

“Are you two fine on your own? Should we wait for Mo Fan to come back instead?” Tangyue was still a little worried.

The two immediately shook their heads. “It’s more convenient with just the two of us if we are only looking for something in the sea. It’s actually a burden to bring a non-swimmer like Mo Fan with us!”

“You’re right.”

When night came, Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan began to make their moves. Zhao Manyan did not feel tired at all. He was a lot bolder now, perhaps because finding the Totem Beast would decide if he could become a Super Mage or not!

—

That night, Tangyue told the Lingyin Enforcement Union about the mess that Zhu Qi and Councilman Nan had left on the island. She was having trouble falling asleep, unsurprisingly. It was actually quite common for some people to have difficulty falling asleep when they were worn out by fatigue, or perhaps when their minds were still preoccupied with something.

Tangyue heard Jiang Shaoxu and Lingling’s voices coming from the balcony. She went up to them.

“Why are you two still awake?” Tangyue asked them.

“Sister Tangyue, you came just in time. I’ve done my experiment on the poisonous creature you mentioned. I also came up with a better way to get rid of the Manta Ray Evil Birds,” Lingling said.

“Poisonous creature?” Tangyue was puzzled.

“The poisonous creature you were trying to catch in the first place. Didn’t you say a lot of townsfolk were poisoned? I asked Sister Jiang to help me find it on the island,” Lingling said.

Tangyue slapped herself on the head. How did she forget such an important matter?!

“Luckily, you still remembered it. Otherwise, we’d have to go to Dawn Island again,” Tangyue said.

Things had gotten a little out of control after they went to the island. Zhu Qi had also shown up and interfered with their work. Tangyue had completely forgotten she was supposed to look for the poisonous creature on Dawn Island.

“Sister Tangyue, the poisonous creatures are called the Stinky Mayflies. They normally feed on the feces of other creatures in the sea, which precipitate on the seabed. They also happened to be the best source of nutrients for the Manta Ray Evil Birds. They are like a kind of natural food for the Manta Ray Evil Birds,” Lingling said.

“Such disgusting creatures,” Jiang Shaoxu said, her lips twisting.

“But, why were there so many Stinky Mayflies around Dawn Island all of a sudden? Where did those things come from?” Tangyue asked.

“They usually feed on the feces of sea creatures, especially the waste of creatures like shellfish and Salamander Demons,” Lingling said.

Tangyue was stunned after hearing the words. She stared at Lingling in the eyes for some time before saying, “You’re saying that…”

“Yes, the Stinky Mayflies are a result of the Calamity of the Cloud of White Demons!” Lingling said.

The White Demons Cloud referred to the floating white mass that was visible even at a great distance. The nation-sized school of countless Salamander Demons was slowly moving toward the shorelines of many countries!

“So the feces of the White Demons Cloud has caused the Stinky Mayflies to multiply, and the Manta Ray Evil Birds were feeding on them!?” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed in disbelief.

“The feces of sea monsters are the primary food source for plankton, and those organisms are the food supply of many sea monsters. The threat of the Manta Ray Evil Birds might only be the tip of the iceberg for the entire Pacific Ocean!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

People had only heard rumors about how disastrous the Calamity of the White Demons Cloud was going to be after it was first spotted. However, most people only panicked and felt uneasy at the beginning. As long as the disaster had yet to befall them, they would eventually forget it after a few days or months.

However, the Calamity of the White Demons Cloud was not just mere rumors. It was only a matter of time until it came to them. It was going to fall upon every city, and every person in them, like the apocalypse!

When Lingling discovered the truth behind the overpopulation of the Manta Ray Evil Birds, that it was just an unexpected occurrence due to the waste produced by the sea monsters, they could not help but feel uneasy about the situation.

Tangyue could not help but wonder if the Headquarter Cities could actually hold their ground when the White Demons Cloud passed the center of the Pacific Ocean and arrived along China’s shoreline. What would eastern China be like by then?

“Lingling, what’s the solution you mentioned?” Jiang Shaoxu asked after she recalled something.

“If the Manta Ray Evil Birds feed on the Stinky Mayflies, things are a lot simpler. The Stinky Mayflies have a paralyzing poison in them, which is why the Manta Ray Evil Birds’ attacks were poisonous. We can spray some kind of anesthetic across the sea so it will enter the Stinky Mayflies’ poison glands. It will slowly paralyze the Manta Ray Evil Birds when they feed on the Stinky Mayflies… it will be very easy for us to eliminate them,” Lingling said.

“It’s not wise to poison the seawater. It might affect other areas along the coast,” Tangyue said.

“Don’t worry, Sister Tangyue. There’s a kind of Anesthetic Seaweed which the Stinky Mayflies love most. It will prevent the drug from spreading across the sea and the coasts,” Lingling said.

“That’s brilliant!” Tangyue’s eyes glittered.

If they were feeding the Stinky Mayflies with the seaweed, it was not going to pollute the ocean. It might be the perfect solution if they could actually drug the Manta Ray Evil Birds as Lingling had suggested.

“Lingling, are you sure the Manta Ray Evil Birds will be paralyzed after eating the seaweed? I heard that some mature demon creatures have a certain resistance toward poison and paralyzing effects,” Jiang Shaoxu spoke up.

“Creatures with an outstanding pace of growth and reproduction are different, because they are able to intake nutrients quicker than other species. However, it also means they aren’t good at filtering out harmful substances. They can’t even filter out the substances that we humans normally filter out, let alone harmful ones. They just absorb everything into their bodies and use them as nutrients to strengthen their muscles and bones. Therefore, these creatures usually had a significantly shorter life span than other species,” Lingling explained.

All creatures had to obey the laws of nature. The Manta Ray Evil Birds were not a natural breed. There were genetically flawed creatures, so they had certain shortcomings. They might be able to deal a lot of damage in a short period of time, but they could go extinct in a short period too!

1

Lingling had conducted experiments on the Salamander Demons. She had noticed the Salamander Demons had the same problem!

Her plan to drug the Manta Ray Evil Birds by using the Stinky Mayflies as bait would most likely not work on other higher-level species. Even though their stomachs would not filter out the poison completely, their outstanding digestive systems would still screen out most of the poison, so the effects would be less than ideal.

This was also the reason why Poison Mages were not so well-received in the market, and why not many people were willing to Awaken the Poison Element on purpose. However, the plan was perfect against the Manta Ray Evil Birds. It would most likely wipe out the Manta Ray Evil Birds because of their inherent flaws!

“If that’s the case, I’ll ask people to collect the Anesthetic Seaweed you mentioned,” Tangyue agreed.

“Sister Tangyue, I’ve already asked Mu Bai to take care of it. He’s a Plant and Poison Mage. I asked him to scatter the spores, they will fully cover the seabed in less than four days. We just need to wait patiently for the result,” Lingling smiled, revealing her dimples.

“Lingling, thank you so much!” Tangyue gathered the girl in her arms and kissed her on the face.

“I was wondering why Mo Fan liked to bring you around always. I thought he had some kind of weird fetish, but it proves that bringing you along can really solve a lot of problems!” Jiang Shaoxu complimented her.

1

Even though the outcome was still unknown, Jiang Shaoxu believed Lingling’s plan was on point. Creatures that were genetically modified had to have some kind of flaws. The Manta Ray Evil Birds were the product of an experiment. They must have abused some tricks to reproduce so quickly, which indicated they had some kind of critical flaw. They would not have a problem taking out the creatures once they figured out those flaws!

“Lingling, are the demon creatures that make up the White Demons Cloud the same? Does that mean we can defeat them if we can figure out their weaknesses?” Tangyue asked as she thought of something. She subconsciously glanced in the direction of the ocean.

“I can’t say for sure. The sea occupies about seventy percent of the world. The land is more like a level plane, since most humans and demon creatures resided at the same level, regardless of altitude. But the sea has different layers between the surface and the seabed, which leads to different species. The sea is rich in resources too, so it’s possible that the White Demons Cloud is just a normal phenomenon. Let’s hope the creatures actually have some kind of deformity, and their unstoppable advance is just a facade. Otherwise, they will seriously devour everything once they cross the Pacific Ocean and reach our coasts,” Lingling said.

Tangyue and Jiang Shaoxu were stunned after hearing Lingling’s explanation.

They had never considered the question seriously. Did the sea only occupy seventy percent of the world?

The sea was further split into layers. The surface layer had its own species, a depth of a hundred meters had other species, not to mention those below the depth of a hundred meters who lived at the bottom of the sea, the deep sea, or in the ravines. An area of a meter square was one thing, but an area of a cubic meter was different since depth was taken into consideration too!

The monsters of the sea had always been the greatest threat to mankind. However, humans had simply ignored them because they were so busy fighting the demon creatures on land!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai finally returned near dawn.

Their clothes were ragged, like they were victims of a ship that had sunk and were begging for shelter in the city. Their hair had dried after being soaked in seawater. Not only did they look miserable, they smelled like three-day-old fish, too.

Despite an appearance which would easily convince people to stay a few hundred meters away from them, Zhao Manyan was smiling like a retard who had found some treasure in the sea.

“Did it work?” Jiang Shaoxu asked, while pinching her nose.

“It did! It was one hell of a ride, but I do believe you now,” Zhao Manyan exclaimed excitedly.

Zhao Manyan had been hesitant to believe Jiang Shaoxu when she explained the relationship of the Black Tortoise and the Totem Beasts. After all, Baxia had never mentioned he had any siblings. However, Zhao Manyan believed Jiang Shaoxu was telling the truth when he saw the carcass under Dawn Island.

Baxia’s Totem Seal was surprisingly compatible with the corpse’s Totem Seal, helping deduce the Seal of another Totem Beast. Jiang Shaoxu was on point; apart from Baxia, the Black Totem Snake, and the body in the sea, there were other Totem Beasts that were subordinates of the Black Tortoise. If they found all the Seals, they could combine them into the Seal of the Sacred Totem Beast!

The Black Tortoise used to be one of the strongest Totem Beasts. Zhao Manyan had initially been following Mo Fan around looking for Totem Beasts because he had nothing else to do. However, he was now caught in the middle of it all.

The way Baxia had shown up in Venice had already given Zhao Manyan a strong first impression. How shocking would a real Sacred Totem Beast be? He was slowly approaching it and learning its true identity, whether it was still alive or if it had fallen to eternal slumber, similar to the dead Beast in the sea. If it was still alive, as a Totem Guardian, could he get the Sacred Totem Beast to fight by his side? If it was dead, its remains might still grant him incredible benefits!

“What’s the thing in the sea called?” Mu Bai asked. Mu Bai was still in awe still when he recalled the breathtaking sight in the sea.

“It’s Aofu, the ancestor of every ocean beast. Those creatures with massive bodies and shells are most likely related to it in some way,” Jiang Shaoxu stated.

“You know that too?” Zhao Manyan was surprised.

“I told you, my brother left a lot of clues behind. I’m slowly recalling them as I trace his steps. He mentioned there was a Totem Beast’s burial site related to Baxia somewhere around Dawn Island. He also mentioned a flying Totem Beast was constructing its nest above the clouds of some ocean. I can only piece the puzzles together by visiting the places myself or relying on the information you gave me. However, it’s very likely the creature under Dawn Island was Aofu. So… did it help?” Jiang Shaoxu asked with some anticipation.

“Of course it did, as soon as my Wooden Clapper touched its corpse… Forget it, I’m too tired. I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Mu Bai, how about the spores?” Lingling asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ve done everything you told me to,” Mu Bai confirmed.

“Great, we’ll wait patiently for the outcome!” Lingling said.

“By the way, what are we going to do about Zhu Qi and the Councilman behind him?” Mu Bai asked as he thought of something.

It was obvious that the Councilman behind Zhu Qi was the main culprit. He would have no trouble bailing out the chief of an Enforcement Union with his power. They had obviously angered the Councilman, too. The Councilman was not going to forgive them easily, if only for the sake of his election.

An enforcer under Tangyue suddenly came up to them while they were in the middle of their discussion.

“Vice Chief, the military has sealed the highways and the entrances leading into Wanggui Town. The town is being isolated!” the enforcer said, his forehead covered in sweat.

“The military? Which division are they from? The town is supposed to be managed by the Enforcement Union. Why would the military come and seal up the area!?” Tangyue lost her temper.

“Sister Tangyue, it must be Councilman Nan’s doing. The election is just around the corner. He must have sent the army to seal up the town when he did not receive a report from Zhu Qi,” Lingling deduced.

“Didn’t we already report the incident to the Lingyin Enforcement Union? Why aren’t they taking over instead?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“They must have passed it on to the higher levels, giving Councilman Nan an excuse to send the army here,” Lingling conjectured.

“Damn it, how shameless is that guy? So many cities along the coastline are fighting the sea monsters. The military is already short on hands, yet the assh*** still assigned an army unit here to clean his ass? Does he not know the army can easily save a whole town’s lives instead!?” Jiang Shaoxu snarled.

Jiang Shaoxu’s father was in the army. His father had assigned all his men from inland stations to the coastline. She had been having trouble meeting her father for years. It was obvious how grim the situation was, yet someone had sent a whole battalion to the town, when the danger would be resolved on its own in four to five days. Councilman Nan had placed the town in lockdown just to make sure his secret was not exposed!

“If a man like him is elected a Great Councilman, many more are going to suffer!” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

Zhao Manyan finally understood why Tangyue was so determined to find out the truth. There were Councilmen who would never repent after ten or twenty years. They could not care less about the wellbeing of others when their benefits and power were at stake!

The Battlemages rode into town on their beasts, stirring up a long trail of dust behind them.

A loud voice kept repeating in the town through bullhorns, “Wanggui Town’s Dawn Island has been classified a Level A threat, with the possibility of turning into a poisonous plague! The army of Jiande Mountain Division has been placed in charge to put the town in total lockdown. No one is allowed to enter or leave the town for the next five days. Please try your best to stay indoors during the lockdown. You shall not leave without permission. No communication devices are allowed during the lockdown!”

“No communication devices are allowed during the lockdown!”

The words echoed throughout the town. Jiang Shaoxu immediately took out her phone. As she thought, there was no signal!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Are you Tangyue, the Vice Chief of the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union?” a middle-aged man in a bright armor came over. He was followed by a troop of impressive Mages.

“There are so many people in this town, yet you were able to find me right away. How impressive,” Tangyue harrumphed coldly.

“We are just taking orders. Please hand over all the information you have so it’s easier for us to eliminate the threat on Dawn Island. We are running short on time. Please don’t make trouble for us. If you interfere with our work or don’t want to cooperate with us, we will have to rely on disciplinary actions,” the Battlemage threatened with a stern look.

“Damn it, we worked so hard on Dawn Island, but these guys have come to reap what we have sown instead!” Jiang Shaojun snarled. She went up to the middle-aged man and pointed at his nose, “Leave with your men at once! Don’t be a scumbag Councilman’s lackey, or you’re going to regret it.”

“Miss Jiang, right? We respect your father, but it doesn’t mean you can disrespect us. We don’t take orders from any Councilman. We are just following the orders from our superior. If you really think a Councilman’s personal gains are involved in this operation, please submit the evidence to the Martial Court or the highest Enforcement Union to prove he’s guilty… but even if he’s guilty, as long as we don’t receive any new orders, we are obliged to follow the previous order still!” the Battlemage said righteously. His voice was as firm as steel. Jiang Shaoxu did not dare to cross the line any further.

“Jiang Shaoxu, forget it, don’t pick a fight with the military,” Zhao Manyan pulled Jiang Shaoxu to the side.

It was meaningless to argue with a bunch of soldiers who were merely following orders. What mattered more was the person giving them the orders. Who was abusing their power to try covering up the truth!?

“All the evidence will be destroyed if the town goes into lockdown for five days. How could we possibly prove the man guilty after that? Why are the people from the highest Enforcement Union so slow? They have let the military take over instead,” Tangyue spat.

“I think the people from the highest levels of the Enforcement Union are being late on purpose,” Lingling said.

Tangyue had already submitted the evidence that Zhu Qi was involved in the incident in the morning. The highest authorities of the Enforcement Union should have come on the same day, since an Enforcement Union’s chief and a Councilman were involved to validate the accusation. They would then bring Chief Zhu Qi to court and investigate Councilman Nan.

However, the investigators from the Enforcement Union had not arrived even by the second day. The military had shown up instead. It basically meant the evidence had actually ended up in Councilman Nan’s hands. He just had to keep those who knew the truth busy and arrange for the military to take charge of the matter…

There had to be people supporting Councilman Nan among the army’s division. Their benefits would also be affected if something happened to Councilman Nan.

It was not easy to overthrow a Councilman. It was not difficult to replace him with someone else, but the problem was the factions who were tied to him were in the same boat. It might be an entire province, or even the entire southeast part of the country!

“Let’s give them what they want,” Lingling said.

“But…” Tangyue was unwilling to give up.

Even though the threat on Dawn Island would still be resolved after the military took over, Tangyue felt terrible sparing the corrupted Councilman so easily. It was probably the reason she was struggling to sleep last night. The chief of the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union, Zhu Qi, was just a lackey. The Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union was just a small branch of the Enforcement Union, but as long as it had Councilman Nan’s support, it was allowed to exist. Zhu Qi was going to be fine soon. He might even be assigned somewhere with greater benefits and power!

“Just give it to them, Dawn Island will cease to exist in five days. The evidence won’t be of any use to us, since there won’t be any way to validate it,” Lingling said.

It was unwise to oppose the military. There was nothing they could do, so they had to accept it.

“Luckily, Mo Fan was not around. Otherwise, he would seriously pick a fight with these soldiers, considering his hot temper. He wouldn’t even care if they were just taking orders. He would make them pay if he’s not happy about it,” Zhao Manyan spoke up.

Mu Bai nodded in agreement. Starting a fight with the army would definitely complicate matters!

“Thanks for your cooperation,” the Battlemage nodded when he saw Tangyue handing over the information. He waved his hand and left with his men, not troubling Tangyue and the others any further.

“Should we tell them about the Anesthetic Seaweed?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“Yeah, we should. These soldiers are going to suffer great losses if they try to reach the island with brute force. They might be taking orders from Councilman Nan, but they are still soldiers of our country. There’s no need for unnecessary casualties,” Tangyue could only sigh.

She could not punish Zhu Qi and Councilman Nan accordingly, but it was inappropriate to vent her frustrations on the Battlemages.

“Mm, I’ll tell them,” Mu Bai agreed.

—

Mu Bai caught up to the middle-aged commander and told him about the Anesthetic Seaweed he had scattered on the seabed.

To his relief, the officer was not the stubborn kind. He decided to accept their suggestion after hearing they had figured out a perfect plan to wipe the Manta Ray Evil Birds off of Dawn Island.

“It’s not too bad since we still managed to eliminate the threat,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“We did get what we came for. As for that Councilman Nan, someone will take care of him eventually,” Zhao Manyan said.

Tangyue’s initial goal was to eliminate the threat of Dawn Island and guarantee Wanggui Town’s safety. The Manta Ray Evil Birds would be wiped out soon, meaning that she had accomplished her mission.

Zhao Manyan had also found the Totem Beast he came for. He had acquired the clue that would lead them to the next Totem Beast from the Totem Seal. He was looking forward to achieving the Super Level much more than taking down a black-hearted Councilman. As long as he was strong enough, even a Councilman was only worthy to wipe his shoes clean!

“Speaking of which, where is the election that Councilman Nan is participating in? I don’t recall any elections for important roles along the coastline. Could it be Feiniao City?” Jiang Shaoxu asked after she had a sudden thought.

“Feiniao City has already elected a Great Councilman. It’s not him,” Mu Bai said confidently. He had already seen the list of Councilmen when he was appointed the chief of the South Wing Platoon. He did not see Councilman Nan’s name on it.

“It’s a new capital inland. It will have a lot of influence and power in the future,” Tangyue said.

2

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The mountain to the south of Fanxue Mountain…

Mo Fan was pacing back and forth in a delicate hut, like he had nothing better to do.

When he saw Yu Shishi coming out of the little barn nearby, he immediately asked after thinking of something, “Yu Shishi, why isn’t there a single electric socket here? You’re living like a primitive human. Go ask someone in Fanxue City to pull the electric cables out here and get you some street lamps, television, computer, and broadband. That’s more like a human’s life.”

“My moths aren’t fond of those things. Besides, I don’t plan to accommodate people like you. Why would I prepare those meaningless things? Oh, a few moths just came from Fanxue Villa. It seems like someone wants to hand you a letter in person. It sounds quite urgent,” Yu Shishi said.

“Ask your moths to bring the letter to me. I’m too tired, I don’t feel like moving around,” Mo Fan said vaguely.

He had fought the Manta Ray Evil Birds, the Bird Emperor, and then the chief of the Enforcement Union. He had also helped the group to clear a path out of the island. Mo Fan was seriously worn out. He did not want to go anywhere. He just wanted to lie down and do nothing.

“What were you up to this time?” Yu Shishi asked.

“(Sigh), it’s a pretty long story, come give me a massage if you’re keen to hear it…” Mo Fan cajoled her.

“Who cares if you say it or not!?” Yu Shishi snapped back.

“We went to Dawn Island and found another Totem Beast,” Mo Fan admitted.

He briefly explained what had happened on Dawn Island to Yu Shishi. He mainly focused on the enormous corpse at the bottom of the sea. He wondered if the creature was somehow related to little Moon Moth Phoenix.

Yu Shishi was very interested in Totem Beasts. However, she had no clue what the corpse in the sea was.

“What about the others? Why didn’t they come back with you?” Yu Shishi asked.

“Lingling told me she had a way to get rid of the Manta Ray Evil Birds. She asked me to take care of the Bird Emperor instead. I trust her to take care of things well,” Mo Fan replied.

As they were talking, a bunch of tiny moths came in from the east. They were diligently carrying an envelope embroidered with gold, like tiny flying postal carriers. They delicately placed the letter in front of Mo Fan.

After they were done, they happily took off and landed on Mo Fan’s shoulder and head, like they were interested in reading the letter too.

“Take a look at it, it must be something urgent,” Yu Shishi urged him.

Mo Fan opened the letter and noticed it was from Wen Xia. Inside was an invitation made of unique material, written with some important dates and times.

Yu Shishi was reading the letter too. She blurted out in surprise after she was done, “They need your permission for that, too?”

“That’s another long story. Come massage my legs and show me an erotic dance, and I might consider telling you,” Mo Fan said shamelessly.

“Why don’t you just die instead?” Yu Shishi snarled.

“The military of a new city wants me to be their Councilman, but I’m not really interested, so they just reserved the role under my name. I have two votes in every meeting held by the city: one is as an honorable Councilman, and one as the city’s honorable guardian. Normally, if I don’t take part in the meetings, my votes would be disregarded, but it seems like it has something to do with a huge election at the new Elemental Capital, so I have to cast my votes in person…

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to ignore it this time. I was hoping they would help me build a nice dam for our Fanxue City. Ugh, I have to pay them a visit. I’ll let Evil Star rest here. As for Wanggui Town, can you wake Liu Ru up and ask her to go there?” Mo Fan said.

“I’m not your servant, don’t you order me around!” Yu Shishi complained.

“If you keep acting like that, I’m going to charge you tax for the mountain. Many people are interested in making this a tourist spot. The tourists will be more than happy to view these beautiful moths and a flying moth woman with a huge bust,” Mo Fan threatened her.

“Don’t you dare!” Yu Shishi put up a fierce expression.

Mo Fan rose to his feet unwillingly. He had to set off for a long journey again, before he even had a chance to catch his breath. How annoying!

“Right, ask that Li Dong to come here too, his Summoned Beast is pretty convenient. He can give me another ride to Dingcheng… make sure you wake Liu Ru up. If she keeps sleeping, she will soon be a little girl to everyone here,” Mo Fan said.

—

—

Dingcheng…

In the past, whenever an army established an important city, it would soon be guarded heavily, since resources would be transported to the city continuously. Dingcheng was a perfect example. After the barrier was successfully established, the new Elemental Capital had gotten a lot of attention due to its geographic location. It was no longer dilapidated and bleak. Buildings stood firmly along the mountain path, while the roads intertwined at different levels. The city now had a majestic appearance from afar!

The castle with the huge clock tower was fully rebuilt. It now had the shape of a sword, and was called the Rock Sword Pagoda.

The Rock Sword Pagoda had merged both the defensive fortress and the clock tower into one. It had quickly become a symbolic structure in the city. It now had three towers soaring towards the clouds.

The election was being held in the building in the center. On a balcony overlooking the mountain below, a man in light gray linen clothes stood on it with his hands spread across the rail while his body leaned against it.

“See that? That’s the Cave of Darkness, it has the richest resources of the Earth Element in this entire continent. Once we secure it, we will basically control the line of defense along the coastline!” Councilman Nan had brown curly hair. His face looked very young, but the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes exposed his age.

“Indeed, the competition here is weaker than other cities, but it controls the future,” Dan Yong, the new female vice mayor of the city, agreed.

“Vice Mayor Dan, we’ll be working closely together from now on,” Councilman Nan said.

“You owe me a great deal. Not everyone can be so sincere and send the military to help their business partner as I did,” Dan Yong smiled.

“That Zhu Qi seriously isn’t the reliable kind. The election is around the corner. I can’t let anything interfere with it…” Councilman Nan said.

“I heard they have resolved the threat posed by the Manta Ray Evil Birds,” Dan Yong informed him.

“Already? That quick!?” Councilman Nan blurted out in surprise. It sounded like a huge problem according to Zhu Qi’s report.

“Someone seems to have figured out a brilliant plan to drug the Manta Ray Evil Birds,” Dan Yong said.

“Oh, hmm, drugging them…” Councilman Nan’s eyes glittered.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The election in Dingcheng was officially held. The tricks that politicians used were quite similar to celebrities. They did not really have a lot of admirers, so they had to hire a group of people to pretend to be their supporters with huge banners and signs, resulting in massive traffic congestion for the pedestrians and vehicles on the roads. It felt like they were being supported by the whole world.

Councilman Nan was a prime example. It did not matter if the people were not supporting him. It did not cost him much to hire a group of people to pretend to be his supporters. When he walked up the stairs to the Rock Sword Pagoda, he did not forget to smile humbly at the crowd like a celebrity walking on a red carpet, telling the crowd not to cheer so much for him.

“Who’s that guy?”

“Councilman Nan, he has the biggest chance to be elected as the Great Councilman of the city. He used to manage a few other cities, too. The officials were very efficient under his care, and he had contributed a lot for the cities too. I think the cities under his care never had any huge problems,” someone spoke up.

“Oh, that’s impressive. The city might blossom if he’s managing it!”

“Of course, let’s earn a fortune together with him!”

“He’s the reason I moved to this city!” a vendor called out.

“Let’s give Councilman Nan our support. We just have to follow his guidance!”

Councilman Nan was walking up the stairs slowly, tidying his collar. He could hear the crowd discussing him with his outstanding hearing.

Being a Councilman was not tough. He just needed to make some public appearances and organize some events, and had to be willing to spend money on talks and donations. Many people might not know him, but a good word would easily get the attention of busybodies. He just needed to give these people some benefits at the right time, and they would turn into his loyal supporters. A person’s intelligence would not necessarily grow with their age. The most important thing about their country’s law was that every citizen over the age of eighteen was given the right to vote, and yet, the politicians were tricking their votes out of them, just like they were tricking kids into taking their candies.

1

Councilman Nan was amused when he recalled what happened in Wanggui Town.

The people in Wanggui Town were the ones who had appointed him as the person-in-charge. They happily took the candies he gave them without caring about what would happen in the future. He was not to be blamed for the incident. It was the people’s fault for not treating their votes seriously. They only cared about the temporary sweetness of the candies before them like kids. They had only themselves to blame when something went wrong later on!

1

Today was the final day of the lockdown in Wanggui Town. The military forces that Dan Yong dispatched should have settled everything on his behalf. He no longer had to worry that the past would bother him again.

He looked up at the towering structure again, before glancing back at the Elemental Capital that was soon going to blossom rapidly despite its current simple appearance. He could not help but grin. It had been over ten years since he was in such a great mood. Even though it was supposed to be an election, it was more of a prize ceremony for him. The outcome was already decided.

“The weather is nice today, it’s a perfect day for me to take office,” Councilman Nan said in a mocking tone, glancing at Councilman Ming Jian, who was walking up the stairs beside him.

Councilman Ming Jian was only in his thirties. He was a very talented Councilman who had earned a lot of support from civilians recently. Ming Jian was obviously the best candidate in the election. Even Councilman Nan believed Ming Jian would be able to use his talents to turn the Elemental Capital into a true capital city in the center of their country. It would become the sturdiest shield in the east with the brilliance of a sword!

Unfortunately, Councilman Ming Jian was just too young. How could he possibly win the election when Councilman Nan was abusing the connections he had accumulated for more than ten years?

“It’s a tragedy for the city that an old rat like you has set eyes on it,” Ming Jian harrumphed coldly. He went up the stairs with an obvious grudge.

“You still have much to learn! For example, not to show your true emotions on your face. I’ve lost so many elections, but did you ever see me pulling a long face? I was able to give the winners great applause most of the time!” Councilman Nan was even more delighted when he saw Councilman Ming Jian’s reaction.

He had lost many elections, but everything was worth it if he could win this one!

—

They went into the building and took the lift to the floor of the meeting room.

The meeting room was extremely spacious, and the windows were made of reinforced glass. They were able to see the whole city from the room with its three hundred and sixty degrees view.

“Commander Xie, you look the same still… oh, you must be Captain Lu. We had a pleasant chat before. I’m really impressed by your Brown Rock Mages,” Councilman Nan greeted everyone as soon as he took his seat. However, Commander Xie simply ignored Councilman Nan, as if he was not too fond of the man.

Ming Jian took his seat with a long face. He was not in the mood to greet the others. He was seriously disgusted by Councilman Nan’s attitude. It was like the man was already prepared to deliver his winning speech.

“Oh, young man, there’s no need to give me the fruits. You can give them to Commander Xie instead. He’s the reason why the city is able to come so far,” Councilman Nan said with a smile when he saw a young waiter in plain clothes.

As a Councilman, he could not afford to yell orders at people, even if the person was only a waiter. That way, the people would be overwhelmed by his humility. They might even be grateful toward him. Winning over people could not be any easier.

“Idiot, those are mine! Who said I’m giving them away?” The young man took a seat that was a level higher than Councilman Nan. He placed the plate of fruits on the table and feasted on them without caring about his image.

Councilman Nan was dumbfounded.

Where did this young man come from? Was he trying to ruin his career?

“Brother, that seat belongs to a Councilman. I know you might be in a bad mood, but you shouldn’t be so reckless.” Councilman Nan was long used to pretending to be on good terms with everyone, and spoke gently to the younger man.

“I’m not supposed to sit here?” The young man gave Xie Qinghua a puzzled look.

“Mo Fan, that seat isn’t yours,” Xie Qinghua chided him with a smile. “Come over here, the main seat is yours.”

“Oh, I was wondering why I was sitting with this boring man.” Mo Fan stood up and brought the plate of fruit to the seat designated for even higher authorities. He plopped down into the chair and casually tossed an apple into Xie Qinghua’s hands.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Councilman Nan’s expression froze. The smile he had practiced for more than ten years twisted in a strange way from the speechlessness and astonishment in his heart.

“Commander Xie, may I ask who the man beside you is? Why have I not seen him before in previous meetings?” Vice Mayor Dan Yong asked.

Councilman Nan’s expression calmed down slightly. Dan Yong was definitely reliable when it mattered. It was not appropriate for him to ask the question, but Dan Yong definitely had the right to do so. Seriously, where did such a wild monkey come from? The man was disrespectful and full of himself. He even spat the grape seeds onto the table. How bold of him!

“Oh, he’s the Honorable Guardian and Honorable Councilman of our city. He helped us to protect the Earth Pistil. He’s Mo Fan,” Xie Qinghua introduced him.

“So you’re the Honorable Councilman who has been absent for all the meetings. You’re the only one who doesn’t seem to care about the city’s rebuilding!” Councilman Nan exclaimed.

“He was indeed absent for the meetings, but he wasn’t absent during the battle for the city’s survival. However, many here were very attentive to the meetings… after the battle. Not a single one of you was absent even once!” Wen Xia came into the room in a cool military jacket. Her eyes scanned the politicians seated at the table in an unfriendly manner.

1

The politicians were left speechless by Wen Xia’s statement.

“Councilman Nan, we might have a problem,” Dan Yong said softly. She was seated on Councilman Nan’s right.

“What is it?” Councilman Nan asked calmly.

“That guy has never attended any of the meetings. We assumed he was going to give up his votes in this election too… he has two votes in his hands! If he votes for Ming Jian, it will be a close call between you and him,” Dan Yong said.

“Why does he have two votes?” Councilman Nan was startled.

1

To think that a young man like him had two votes in the election! He had even sold his daughter, just to secure an extra vote in this meeting!

“He did a great job defending the city. Many Mages are still talking about his heroic achievements, even today. He was elected as an Honorable Councilman, thus he is half a level higher than us, granting him two votes in the election. However, we still have the situation under control. Ming Jian is at least five votes away from you. The two votes from him won’t make any difference, but I’m afraid he will cause us trouble when we are making decisions in the future,” Dan Yong said.

“We’ll focus on the election first. We’ll worry about everything else later,” Councilman Nan replied.

Councilman Nan glanced behind him and saw a familiar figure at the doorway. The man was stopped by the guards.

“Councilman Nan, Councilman Nan!” Li Dong called.

Councilman Nan was a little puzzled, yet he still waved his hand, signaling the guards to let the man in.

“Aren’t you with Zhu Qi? What is he up to? Didn’t I already tell him I’ll make sure he’s safe after the election?” Councilman Nan told Li Dong impatiently.

Li Dong pointed at Mo Fan and snarled, “Councilman Nan, it was he who went to Dawn Island with his friends. He was the one who started it all. I compromised by bringing him to your territory so you can teach him a lesson!”

“Him? Are you sure it’s him?” Councilman Nan was startled again.

“It’s him, he was with Tangyue! It was him who beat the crap out of Zhu Qi! He was responsible for Zhu Min’s death too! You must teach him a lesson on our behalf,” Li Dong almost burst into tears.

Councilman Nan’s face instantly darkened!

“We won’t waste our time on irrelevant matters. Today is the election of our city’s Great Councilman. The last two candidates for the election are Nan Kuan and Min Jian. This meeting will elect one of them as the Great Councilman. You will place your votes into their respective boxes. The votes will be signed instead of anonymous,” Xie Qinghua said.

Most Councilmen in the meeting had already made up their mind. They had even reached a deal with Councilman Nan. The election was more like an award ceremony.

“The Honorable Guardian will be the first to vote,” Xie Qinghua stated.

“I wasn’t familiar with either of the Councilmen, nor do I know whether you’ve done anything wicked in the past. Normally, I would just forfeit both of my votes, but unfortunately, my friends and I went to a place called Wanggui Town a few days ago…” Mo Fan narrated slowly.

“(Cough cough), Honorable Councilman, please cast your votes right away. There’s no need to discuss irrelevant matters in such an important meeting,” Dan Yong interrupted Mo Fan’s speech in time.

“Shut the hell up!” Mo Fan suddenly raised his voice. He glared at Vice Mayor Dan Yong, “Who do you think you are? Do you have the right to point your finger around while I’m talking!? I’m Mo Fan, did you seriously have no idea who I am? Don’t you dare bluster in front of me. If you dare interrupt me again, I’ll toss you out right away!”

“You…you…” Dan Yong trembled in anger. Her face blushed as if she was about to suffocate.

She was the city’s vice mayor, yet someone was scolding and threatening her at the highest level meeting of the city!

“Vice mayor, vice mayor, please calm down, let the Honorable Councilman finish his speech,” the others quickly advised her.

Everyone in the meeting was concerned about their reputation. Mo Fan was the only one who did not really care about his role.

He was quite shameless, too. No one dared to provoke Mo Fan and fall out with him. They would only embarrass themselves before the public. No one would bother provoking a maniac like Mo Fan heads-on. They would choose to avoid him instead!

“How annoying! Damn it, where was I again?” Mo Fan slightly controlled his temper.

“Wanggui Town, you discovered a domestication ranch on an abandoned island,” Xie Qinghua reminded Mo Fan softly.

“Oh, right,” Mo Fan proceeded to narrate the series of incidents at Wanggui Town and Dawn Island.

Wen Xia and Lu Bin were surprised after hearing Mo Fan’s narration. They stared in disbelief at Councilman Nan, who remained calm and collected.

“Councilman Nan, is he telling the truth?” Xie Qinghua asked.

“The incident is real, but I’m not responsible for the domestication ranch. It was Chief Zhu Qi’s plan all along. I believe there are some misunderstandings,” Councilman Nan decisively sacrificed the rook to save the king, as expected of an experienced politician.

“I just got the news that Wanggui Town was placed in lockdown by a division of the military. They are obviously destroying the evidence, but I swear by my name that he’s responsible for it. I will not vote for scum like him. Councilman Ming Jian, I’m not expecting you to be a reliable Councilman, I’m just hoping you are not as much of a scum as he is!” Mo Fan rose to his feet and placed his votes in Councilman Ming Jian’s box.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ming Jian was dumbfounded as he watched the two votes he could not possibly buy with a thousand gold bars being placed in his box. Mo Fan’s words were not pleasing to his ears, and normally he would instantly lose his temper, but when he recalled how Mo Fan had rebuked Dan Yong and Councilman Nan, he believed he could endure it for now!

“I thought the Honorable Councilman was just an honorable title, but I didn’t think you would make such a sound decision!” Councilman Ming Jian exclaimed while clapping.

The atmosphere of the meeting shifted all of a sudden. It was supposed to be an award ceremony where the people were only going to exchange pleasantries politely, but those who had already made up their minds initially began to have second thoughts.

Councilman Nan did not speak. His eyes were scanning those whom he had already reached deals with.

There were people who had already boarded Councilman Nan’s ship. Mo Fan’s righteous speech was irrelevant compared to their personal gains. Many of them rose to their feet and voted for Councilman Nan.

“I believe in the Honorable Councilman. His guarantee is I, Wen Xia’s guarantee too!” Wen Xia voted for Councilman Ming Jian without any hesitation.

Wen Xia fixed her eyes on Lu Bin as soon as she cast her vote.

Lu Bin was feeling troubled. He had already given Councilman Nan his promise before the meeting, but now…

“Lu Bin, you clearly know who you should be voting for. For the sake of the efforts that everyone has put in, you should overlook the petty gains you were promised and follow your conscience instead,” Wen Xia said.

1

The people in the meeting were not idiots. Wen Xia, Xie Qinghua, and Lu Bin were aware of Councilman Nan’s background. They knew the man was not reliable, but there were situations which they could not do anything about even if they wanted to. They already expected the city to eventually end up in the hands of manipulative politicians.

“I…I just…” Lu Bin glanced at Mo Fan. Even though he was displeased by Mo Fan’s arrogance and was envious of his achievements, he could see Mo Fan’s wounds, which had yet to heal fully, as he was standing very close to the younger man.

Mo Fan was not lying. His wounds showed that he had just returned from the gates of Hell on Dawn Island. This man whom Lu Bin found annoying had been fighting constantly. He was true to his character, especially compared to the rest of the politicians in suits and their perfumes in the meeting!

“I vote for Ming Jian,” Lu Bin clenched his teeth and cast his vote.

Ming Jian was overwhelmed with surprise. The votes he thought he would never be able to secure were now in his hands, especially Lu Bin’s vote.

Ming Jian had always assumed Lu Bin was on Councilman Nan’s side, but the man had voted for him instead. Not only did Councilman Nan lose a guaranteed vote, his own votes had increased by one!. He actually had a chance to win the election!

“I believe in the Honorable Councilman, too. Councilman Nan, this city might not be suitable for you. I hope you can achieve better results in other cities,” Xie Qinghua cast his two votes for Ming Jian.

Ming Jian felt like he was dreaming!

The three authority figures of the city had voted for him, not to mention the Honorable Councilman who had appeared out of nowhere. The rest of the people were seriously having second thoughts.

At this rate, even if Councilman Nan did win the election, the leaders of the city would still be against Councilman Nan. They would have trouble passing the motions for their proposals, unless Councilman Nan was somehow able to convince even more people to join his side!

The rest of the votes were cast as the people finally made up their minds. Councilman Nan was supposed to win the election by five votes, but after the two votes from Mo Fan, the betraying vote from Lu Bin, and those from a few others who changed their minds…

The final outcome was… Councilman Nan had fourteen votes, while Councilman Ming Jian had sixteen.

Councilman Ming Jian had won by two votes!

“I”m sorry, when I recall how the Honorable Councilman stepped forward when the city was in grave danger, I could not help but put my trust in him,” an aged Hunter bowed to Councilman Nan as he spoke.

Li Dong was initially standing behind Councilman Nan. He was hoping Councilman Nan would teach Mo Fan a lesson on his behalf, but for some reason, he was slowly moving toward Mo Fan instead.

“I still have some evidence with me. It might not be conclusive, but you might find it useful… Brother Mo Fan, I’ll give you the evidence if you need it. I can give you a ride back too if you need,” Li Dong spoke to Mo Fan softly.

Mo Fan glanced at the fawning smile on Li Dong’s face. He was seriously impressed by how shameless the man could be as an opportunist!

“Councilman Nan, there’s no need to hold back. Emotions are meant to be displayed on your face. Otherwise, what’s the difference between your face and your butt? You don’t have to pretend you’re enjoying it when you’re slapped in the face…” Ming Jian rose to his feet and patted Councilman Nan on the shoulder.

Regular expressions were no longer suitable to describe Councilman Nan’s face. The man’s face was on the verge of crying, raging, and exploding. It was twisting out of shape. Everyone could tell he was about to lose his mind, like he was being driven crazy!

——

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh after leaving the building.

“Honorable Councilman, thanks for upholding justice. Please let me know if I can be of any help,” Ming Jian said while they were going down the stairs.

“Just don’t mess the city up,” Mo Fan replied.

“Don’t you worry about it, if you aren’t pleased when you come back for an inspection, you can impeach me at any time. I will not complain,” Ming Jian declared.

Mo Fan nodded. Meanwhile, Wen Xia quickly caught up to Mo Fan and said, “Someone is looking for you. It sounds urgent!”

Mo Fan took over the phone with a confused face. He immediately heard Lingling’s voice on the other end.

“Mo Fan, the military took all the Manta Ray Evil Birds away!” Lingling said.

“Took them? Weren’t they supposed to eliminate them!?” Mo Fan blurted out.

“I have no clue, the soldiers said it’s an order from their superiors to capture the Manta Ray Evil Birds instead… Those guys haven’t given up on taming those corrupted creatures. Damn it, I wouldn’t have used the Anesthetic Seaweed if I knew beforehand!” Lingling swore.

“Those Manta Ray Evil Birds even turned against the Bird Emperor. There’s no way they can be tamed… damn it, I’ll drag Councilman Nan over and ask him in person!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was seriously mad. The threat of the Manta Ray Evil Birds was supposed to be taken care of. To his surprise, those people still thought they could use the corrupted species. The Manta Ray Evil Birds were obviously untamable and invasive!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

At Honglai Silver Mine…

One military truck after another was leaving the outpost with iron nets which had a strong fishy smell.

“Are you all fishermen now? Hurry up and throw those nets away, this whole place stinks because of them,” the captain guard grunted.

“We captured a bunch of nice creatures…” The soldier was in the middle of his sentence when he suddenly heard the sound of a helicopter above. He lifted his gaze and said, “It’s Councilman Nan. He’s back.”

A group of female staffers in black stockings had lined up at the helipad. They were carrying champagne, waiting to celebrate Councilman Nan’s victory.

Someone started shouting in the crowd. They opened the champagne and started pouring them everywhere as Councilman Nan left the helicopter. The female staff members that were gathered here on purpose cheered too.

“Our Great Councilman is back!”

“Our Great Councilman is back!”

Councilman Nan looked at the idiots before him. He finally tore the mask he had been wearing all along off, revealing a terrifying and ugly face.

“Did you do it on purpose?” Councilman Nan glanced coldly at Major General Cai Dong, who he had left in charge of the mine.

The meaningless celebration forcibly reminded Councilman Nan of the frustrating moment during the election. He no longer had to wear a disguise now that he was back in his territory. He snarled, “Piss off, all of you, a bunch of useless pricks!”

The women were terrified. They quickly left with their heads lowered. The atmosphere suddenly became strange.

“Did you transport the things I wanted back here!?” Councilman Nan demanded.

“Do you mean those demon birds? I did transport them here, but the division isn’t too happy about it,” Major General Cai Dong confirmed.

“Humph, not too happy about it? Once my plan succeeds, all of them will be begging me instead!” Councilman Nan said angrily.

“Those creatures seem pretty dangerous. Councilman Nan, should we tighten the security or ask the division to send us more men for a few days?” Cai Dong had to ask.

“That won’t be necessary!. Bring those Carnelian Demon Birds to the base. If we can take control of those greater creatures, the rest of them will be taking orders from us!” Councilman Nan said.

“How brilliant, Councilman, you put in so much effort to establish the domestication ranch back then. It would be a pity if it was really destroyed!” Cai Dong said fawningly.

“I will let those scum in the city regret it! The era of the Heavenly Eagles is over, starting today! I’ll be in charge of the military soon!” Councilman Nan snarled.

1

—

—

That  night, on the ridge to the west of Honglai Silver Mine…

Seven Moon-Devouring White Wolves, a sacred silver sheen to their fur gleaming under the moonlight, sprinted rapidly along the irregular terrain. Their fur drifted elegantly in the strong wind.

The mountain had rough terrain covered in rocks, and did not have much vegetation, either. However, it was perfect ground for the Moon-Devouring White Wolves. They did not slow down just because the path ahead was rough, jumping and running along the walls nimbly. They easily overcame every obstacle along the way. The people who were on the Moon-Devouring White Wolves’ backs did not feel it was a rough ride, either.

“It’s just ahead! The Manta Ray Evil Birds have been transported to that silver mine!” Tangyue pointed at the spacious valley in front of the group.

The ridge was tall, and leading them into a huge basin. There was a small, well-lit mining town in the middle of the valley. It consisted mostly of short houses built with stones and temporary warehouses built with metal sheets. The streets interwove with one another irregularly, making the whole place seem a little messy. A veil of dust was cloaking the town under the moonlight, as if it could not dissipate.

Most mining towns suffered from serious pollution and terrible traffic. They were only concerned about transporting valuable materials away, and could not care less about the fate of the land after they were done mining.

“So this is Councilman Nan’s treasure land?” Wen Xia was astounded when she saw the mining town.

The little town looked messy and dirty in the darkness, not to mention the cracks on the streets and the buildings that were exposed during the day. Wen Xia could not help but imagine the Elemental Capital also turning into a junkyard after falling into the hands of Councilman Nan.

Luckily, they had not placed that man in charge of their city!

Their city was actually similar to Honglai Silver Mine, mainly established for transporting resources and goods. Councilman Nan had put up a perfect disguise by proclaiming how good Honglai Mining Town was under his leadership. Everyone believed the Elemental Capital would be as good as he had claimed if he was elected the Great Councilman. However, Wen Xia began to tremble in anger when she saw the truth about the Honglai Silver Mine.

Did he bribe the inspectors or something? The Honglai Silver Mine was absolutely terrible! How could they describe the place as an elegant town to others?

“Isn’t this normal among the politicians? It’s no different from the ladies who keep posting their pictures on social media. All that mattered is their editing skills!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“How much blood did that Councilman Nan actually suck from the Honglai Silver Mine? He did not spend even a single cent on the buildings! The people in the town must have exchanged their lifespan for money. Imagine living here… even a ghost wouldn’t want to stay here!” Mo Fan spoke up.

Lingling took out her mini laptop. Somehow, she was still able to connect to the Internet. The electronic map of Honglai Mining Town soon appeared on the screen. It had many red flashing dots placed densely together.

“He didn’t spend a single cent on the buildings, but he’s willing to spend a fortune on the security. There are so many Battlemages in the town. There’s the equivalent of a battalion of soldiers there!” Lingling informed them.

“What should we do then? We can’t just break through with force, right? Otherwise, he’s going to accuse us first!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Are the soldiers that put Wanggui Town into lockdown here too?” Mu Bai asked.

Lingling shook her head and said, “They were from Hongling Division, twenty kilometers away. They are like Councilman Nan’s neighbor. Someone specifically assigned them to Wanggui Town before…”

“It’s a relief they aren’t together. The soldiers of the Hongling Division were very strong and well-trained. We wouldn’t stand a chance if we had to fight them,” Mu Bai stated.

“Councilman Nan’s Honglai Mages aren’t to be underestimated, either. After all, there’s such a huge mine here,” Zhao Manyan noted.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sound of knocking on wooden planks came from the Honglai Silver Mine. A figure with jagged wings suddenly rose into the sky among the buildings. It soared into the clear night sky from the concealing dust. The creature was like an exquisite weapon from the ancient times. The icy flicker of its hide was rather intimidating.

“A Carnelian Demon Bird?” Tangyue recognized the creature in the night sky at first glance.

“It looks like someone is riding it,” Mo Fan noticed.

—

A huge burst of laughter echoed in the sky. The whole Honglai Silver Mine could hear it.

A few researchers stood on the plaza where Councilman Nan’s statue was located. They were staring at the Carnelian Manta Ray Evil Bird in the sky excitedly.

“Twenty years, it’s been twenty years… we finally did it. It will finally obey our orders!” a man in a white coat who looked very similar to Chen Shuo exclaimed.

The man was Chen Shuo’s elder brother, Chen Wen. He was the only person who did not give up on the project to tame the Manta Ray Evil Birds. He even had his brother watch over the island and bring back a Sapphire Manta Ray Evil Bird so he could continue with the experiment.

Every experiment he had conducted on that Sapphire Manta Ray Evil Bird ended up in failure, but when the military brought back the Carnelian Manta Ray Evil Birds, he attempted to tame them while they were still drugged. To his disbelief, it worked!

The Carnelian Manta Ray Evil Bird flying in the night sky had just been tamed, and the man riding it laughing as happily as a kid was Councilman Nan!

The Heavenly Eagles were rubbish compared to the Manta Ray Evil Birds. Their base now had so many Manta Ray Evil Birds, and they already knew how to breed the creatures rapidly. The Manta Ray Evil Birds would replace the Heavenly Eagles in no time!

The Heavenly Eagles were the core of the military’s air power. If the Manta Ray Evil Birds replaced them, Councilman Nan would basically have control over half the military! Therefore, if his plan succeeded, the loss of an election would no longer matter to him. The whole country would fall to their knees before him!

“HAHAHAHA, HAHAHA, just you all wait, HAHAHA!” Councilman Nan’s voice continued to echo in the sky.

His life had been rising and falling hugely. Councilman Nan had completely gotten rid of his sullen mood during the enjoyable flight.

“Chen Wen, you did great! How about the rest of the Carnelian Demon Birds?” Councilman Nan asked.

“We have nine Carnelian Demon Birds. I’ve successfully tamed them all. However, the anesthesia the Lesser Featherless Birds and the Sapphire Manta Ray Evil Birds are under will be over soon. We tried to drug them again, but we discovered their bodies have developed a certain immunity to it. The effects won’t last long. They will be awake soon,” Chen Wen informed him.

“Why would it matter? The Lesser Featherless Birds and Sapphire Manta Ray Evil Birds take orders from the Carnelian Manta Ray Evil Birds! They won’t dare cause a scene once we tame all nine Carnelian Manta Ray Evil Bird!” Councilman Nan declared.

“That’s true! When we were breeding them in the past, we strictly made sure they had the nature to obey the higher-level birds. It’s only a matter of time until we tame them all now…” Chen Wen agreed.

“I can finally have a nice sleep tonight. Cai Dong, call the general of the Hongling Division over tomorrow morning. Tell him I’ll be taking charge of his division. If he knows his place, he will cooperate with me, and I’ll give him a bunch of Manta Ray Evil Birds in return. If he dares to act arrogantly in front of me still, humph!…” Councilman Nan ordered.

“Councilman Nan, he’s a general, after all… Oh, but you have the Manta Ray Evil Birds now. A general like him is nothing. I’ll visit him tomorrow!” General Cai Dong agreed.

Councilman Nan burst out laughing again. He fondled the Carnelian Demon Bird who was acting as obedient as a little parrot!

Loud knocks came from the base. Everyone followed the direction of the noises and saw several figures like bats flying out. They circled in the sky, uttering unpleasant cries.

More creatures came out of the base and soon formed a moving black storm covering the mountain. Some of the ones with sapphire eyes were flying toward the town.

“What’s going on!?” Cai Dong blurted out.

“They are all awake…” Chen Wen’s expression shifted a little.

“It’s fine, go, get them to behave themselves!” Councilman Nan patted the Carnelian Demon Bird beside him and ordered calmly.

The Carnelian Demon Bird spread its wings and flew into the sky.

It headed toward the storm of Manta Ray Evil Birds. Councilman Nan and the others followed it too, but they were moving on the ground.

The Carnelian Demon Bird cried out like it was ordering the demon birds around, but as it got closer, a huge group of Sapphire Manta Ray Evil Birds suddenly surrounded it and attacked it fiercely!

The Carnelian Demon Bird tried to fight back, but the number of Sapphire Manta Ray Evil Birds circling around in the sky was too overwhelming. They were like spinning blades in the sky, and shredded the Carnelian Demon Bird into pieces in just a few seconds. Fresh blood splattered across the bodies of the Manta Ray Evil Birds, making them look deadlier!

The pieces of the creature and its blood fell from the sky. Councilman Nan, Chen Wen, Cai Dong, and the others were stunned, stopping their cars at the edge of the town. They no longer dared to go any further.

“How…how…how is this possible!?” Chen Wen and Councilman Nan’s eyes were filled with disbelief and fear.

“These Manta Ray Evil Birds, why would they attack a higher-level bird? Weren’t they the most loyal species!?”

“They are not under control, they can’t be controlled at all!”

“My Heavens, they are flying toward me. Councilman Nan, Councilman Nan!” Major General Cai Dong yelled.

“Why are you panicking? You’re the major general, assemble the Honglai Mages immediately!” Councilman Nan grunted.

“Right, I’ll have them defend the town,” Major General Cai Dong agreed quickly.

“Who asked you to defend the town? Do you think we can hold so many Manta Ray Evil Birds back? Do you really think they are just a bunch of bats? Just move the Carnelian Demon Birds in the warehouse to safety!” Councilman Nan scolded.

Councilman Nan had bred these Manta Ray Evil Birds. He knew better than anyone how strong these creatures were!

“Huh? But there are so many miners, drivers, and workers in the town…”

“We have no time to waste on them. If we lose the Carnelian Demon Birds, we are going to lose everything!” Councilman Nan yelled.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Manta Ray Evil Birds had formed a thick black cloud on the other side of the mountain. Over seven kilometers away from the basin, Mo Fan’s group could already feel suffocating pressure from it. Mo Fan, Tangyue, Wen Xia, Mu Bai, Zhao Manyan, Lingling, and Jiang Shaoxu were absolutely dumbfounded by the sight!

“Are they pig heads!?” Lingling exclaimed in outrage.

They did so much work to drug the Manta Ray Evil Birds to take care of them all at once, but the military had somehow transported them away. Not only that, they simply left the creatures aside instead of trapping them and keeping them under control, allowing them to break free so easily!

They were gathering their brothers and sisters, who had also just woken up. Most of the flying in the air, but Lingling knew they would fully recover and reclaimed their savagery in no time. The Trash Town would soon suffer a serious blow!

In addition to that, the Manta Ray Evil Birds were extremely aggressive. They would not just stick to their own territory after coming inland, they would randomly attack every city they came upon. Most cities had already assigned their soldiers to the coastline, so they clearly lacked a defense against these flying creatures. The Manta Ray Evil Birds would be running amok in the skies above the cities!

“Oh my, those Battlemages are escorting goods instead of defending the town. Are they going to abandon the rest of the people there!?” Zhao Manyan pointed at the mine that was currently in a chaotic state.

“That son of a b**ch, he only cares about himself, even at a time like this!” Wen Xia trembled in anger. To think a person of that kind was competing in the election for the role of Great Councilman. If Mo Fan had not revealed his true nature, the city would surely have ended up terribly in the future!

“Wen Xia, notify the people of the Hongling Division at once and ask for their help,” Mo Fan told Wen Xia.

“Al…alright!” Wen Xia nodded.

The Honglai Silver Mine was just a trashy town, yet it still had thousands of workers, miners, and civilians. These people were like tiny gears operating Councilman Nan’s gold vault, but when there was danger, Councilman Nan could not have cared less about their lives. However, Mo Fan and the others could not just watch them die!

“Miss Tangyue, you and Mu Bai will evacuate the people to the emergency shelters to ensure they are safe,” Mo Fan said.

“Got it!” Tangyue and Mu Bai nodded.

They would have to save as many people as they could before the effects of the drug ran out. Mo Fan seriously had the urge to rush down there and beat the crap out of Councilman Nan!

“Old Zhao, come with me. We have to stop the creatures from reaching the town. Every second matters!” Mo Fan said.

“F**k me, why can’t you ask Mu Bai to go with you instead? I’m just an Advanced Mage. Let me evacuate the people instead!” Zhao Manyan shrieked.

“You can provide me with protection. Cut the bullshit, it’s time for you to accumulate some merits for your next life!” Mo Fan tightened his legs. The Moon-Devouring White Wolf immediately understood Mo Fan’s intention to charge ahead. It howled and jumped down the edge before charging into the basin.

“I’ve already accumulated enough merits in my previous life. Otherwise, how do you think I was born to the wealthiest family in the country… Holy crap, stop it, stop right now! Third Wolf? Fourth Wolf? Master Wolf, stop it right now, I don’t want to feed myself to the birds!” Zhao Manyan kept ordering the Moon-Devouring White Wolf he was on to stop, but it simply ignored his orders and followed Mo Fan…

—

Tangyue and Mu Bai rode their Moon-Devouring White Wolves into Honglai Town. The town was not particularly big. Most people were living on streets within two kilometers of the center. The rest of the structures were factories and warehouses. Apart from a few personnel on duty, most of the workers were already done for the day and headed home.

The streets were in a complete mess. Alarms were howling continuously. The demon birds’ cries sounded like a horde of beasts was about to charge into the town. They could even witness a terrifying sight when they looked at the mountains in the distance. A large group of creatures was circling in the night sky like enormous bats, slowly moving toward the town in a massive flock.

“Why are they running to the other side? Shouldn’t they be going to the underground shelters?” Tangyue was confused.

“I have no idea, perhaps they are in a panic,” Mu Bai said.

Mu Bai quickly stopped a Honglai Mage who was fleeing for his life. The man was wearing the uniform of a Battlemage, yet he was running away just like the others. The problem was, it was almost impossible to outrun the Manta Ray Evil Birds!

“Hey, where’s the entrance to the emergency shelters? Hurry up and bring these workers and their families to the shelters. There’s no way you can run away from those flying creatures. You have to hide!” Mu Bai told the Honglai Mage.

“There’s no emergency shelters here. The division in the Hongling Mountains is the safest place for us. We’ll be safe if we can reach it,” the Honglai Mage said while trembling.

“My Heavens, even a small mining outpost would have an underground shelter. Why would a mining town not have emergency shelters!?” Tangyue exclaimed.

“Who knows, the government here is like vampires. Don’t you see how dilapidated the buildings are in this town!?” the Honglai Mage said.

Tangyue and Mu Bai fell silent. Their chests were soon filled with irresistible anger!

There was no emergency shelter!?

How terrible was this mining town?! Did the government not treat these workers seriously?!

“That Councilman Nan deserves to go to Hell!” Mu Bai was enraged.

“I’ll go kill him right now!” Tangyue snarled.

1

The man was already rotten from the inside. There was no point in hoping he would change and repent. He had abandoned the domestication ranch over ten years ago to cover up the mess, which had eventually turned into a huge threat on Dawn Island. After so many years, he had become even more rotten. He did not bother constructing an emergency shelter, the most important thing an outpost, a mining town, or a mining city strictly required according to the country’s laws, let alone a propoer safety barrier!

Mu Bai watched the demon birds approaching in the form of a huge black cloud. He glanced at the crowd that was moving slowly behind him. He could not help but grieve for them.

Whether they survived or ended up as food to the demon birds was all up to the Heavens to decide…

However, it was a human who had caused this tragedy to happen, the Councilman these people had voted for themselves!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Moon-Devouring White Wolves ran to the edge of the town, following the strong wind blowing down from the top of the mountain. The place was literally a junkyard full of rusted trucks and piles of plastic, rocks, and tins. The fierce wind blowing from the town soon swept the junk into the air.

“Damn it!” Zhao Manyan pulled a white plastic lunchbox off his face and grunted, “That assh*** didn’t even build emergency shelters for the town. There’s no way the people can run away!”

“We can only kill as many of the creatures as we can.” Mo Fan stood still and looked up at the Manta Ray Evil Birds that were looming over the town. He was prepared to fight an intense battle.

He had been greatly restricted when they were fighting on the ocean, feeling extremely uncomfortable in the previous battle. However, he was no longer afraid of them now that he was on land!

“Fiery Swamp!”

Mo Fan slammed his fist on the ground. The flames instantly spread into a burning swamp filled with lava.

“Rising Dragons!”

He threw a fist into the air. A long fiery dragon danced in the air before heading toward the black cloud.

The fiery dragon kept sparking against the air during the flight, producing a stronger flame to enlarge and strengthen its body!

The flames flickered brightly, but the storm of demon birds easily blocked them off. When the fiery dragon reached the storm, its blazing red light slowly dissipated as if it had entered a bottomless abyss. The storm showed no sign of weakening, even when the flames were gone. The fiery dragon was devoured by the demon birds just like that!

Zhao Manyan gasped at the sight.

Mo Fan’s destructive spell was only like a pebble being thrown into a lake. It did not even produce the slightest ripple. It was ridiculous to think the two of them could stop the army of demon birds!

The cacophony that could drive anyone mad was getting closer. The Manta Ray Evil Birds were vengeful creatures. They immediately turned into a hurricane, pouncing at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan after Mo Fan attacked them. The sky above them and their surroundings were filled with jagged wings and triangular heads. After taking a closer look, Mo Fan realized these Manta Ray Evil Birds had not inherited the Bird Emperor’s cool appearance. They were as twisted and ugly as bats. Their eye sockets were extremely deep, and the glitter in their eyes was a symbol of cunning, viciousness, and greed!

“Don’t use Light Magic,” Mo Fan reminded Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan lowered his gaze and noticed faint hints of dark energy spreading across the ground.

“Alright, I’ll use the Earth Element,” Zhao Manyan nodded.

“Gather the Earth Magic toward us,” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan stayed around five meters behind Mo Fan. His control of the Earth Element was quite outstanding. The sturdy ground suddenly softened. As Zhao Manyan shoved his hand forward, huge pulses surfaced on the ground, forming several dunes in the area.

“Rock Fang!”

Mo Fan cast an Earth Spell while Zhao Manyan was modifying the terrain. The condition of the soil and the terrain were helping Mo Fan bury countless traps underground. He just needed to unleash his Earth Magic to activate the spikes!

Sharp rock spears poked slowly out of the ground. The bigger Rock Fangs were the size of stalactites, while the smaller ones were comparable to wooden spikes. They were shooting out of the irregular terrain from different angles and piercing the Manta Ray Evil Birds that had flown too close to the ground. Their blood splattered on the rocks. Some of the shooting Fangs even went through more than one Lesser Featherless Bird!

“Rock Shark on the Hunt!”

The Rock Fangs soon turned into sprinkles falling to the ground, but Mo Fan was extremely quick at using his magic. He established a Domain with the Earth Energy that Zhao Manyan had accumulated, and several figures started moving rapidly underground. They were like sharks waiting to strike their prey at the right time under the waves. The Rock Sharks burst out of the ground and snapped at the Manta Ray Evil Birds as they were flying toward Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan!

The remains of the Manta Ray Evil Birds scattered in the air. The fierce Rock Sharks fell back into the ground, searching for their next prey. Mo Fan had Summoned at least seven of the Rock Sharks around him. They were patrolling underground while watching the Manta Ray Evil Birds who were trying to ambush Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

“That’s impressive, where did you learn it?” Zhao Manyan was impressed by how creative Mo Fan was at using the Earth Spell.

“I saw it used by Vani, that intern mentor from the European University Institute. He was even more impressive, he could Summon a whale. My little sharks can only keep an eye on the creatures for us… keep the Domain going so my sharks can last a little longer. It should ease your burden,” Mo Fan told Zhao Manyan.

“Not a problem!” Zhao Manyan said. “Is your lightning ready? I’m struggling to hold on since I can’t use my Light Element!”

1

“I’m ready!” Mo Fan nodded. His right hand was still controlling lightning. “These scum are about to enjoy the dance of my claws!”

The dark aura was still spreading as the restless Lightning Magic in the form of tiny sparkles slowly accumulated, and abruptly turned into terrifying claws tearing across the junkyard at the edge of the town!

The dance was obviously made up of more than one lightning claw. More dark lightning claws appeared and swept across the place with a wild and overwhelming force, turning every Manta Ray Evil Bird they came upon to ashes. They fell to the ground and scattered all over the junkyard.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In the past, Mo Fan’s Lightning Strikes could only fire a hundred lightning bolts at a certain area randomly, but his control of the Lightning Element had now reached the Super Level. Not only did his Lightning Element have a much higher energy output, Mo Fan could also continuously cast Sky Lightning Claw in the area above him every half second. Several Sky Lightning Claws might even show up at the same time. It was like the apocalypse when the sky was filled with terrifying talons of lightning!

A burnt smell lingered in the air, together with the blood, ashes, and remains of the Featherless Birds. The lightning claws were like a demon with control over lightning holding a gleeful massacre, slaughtering its opponents in the most brutal way. The sturdy flesh of the demon birds did not even stand a chance against the Lightning Magic with twelvefold damage amplification!

“Nice kill!” Zhao Manyan felt a lot better when he saw the sky above him clearing up, like the sunlight had finally penetrated dark clouds that had been around forever.

Mo Fan looked around him and noticed that even though many Manta Ray Evil Birds nearby were slain, more of them were gathering in the distance. They once again filled up the area, before Mo Fan even had a chance to catch his breath!

“Lightning Tyrant Scars!” Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic did not stop there. He activated the additional effects of his Lightning Magic as a new batch of Manta Ray Evil Birds arrived!

Mo Fan was very experienced at fighting large groups of demon creatures. He knew he needed time to cast a powerful destructive spell, and his low-level spells could not kill the creatures faster than the rate they could show up. Therefore, he had to make use of every spell to maximize his damage output.

Mo Fan had purposely left the Manta Ray Evil Birds that were tagged with the Seals of the Lightning Tyrant Scars alive. Lightning was able to spread rapidly by itself, especially after the dance of the lightning claws just a moment ago. Even the weakest lightning chain that only caused the Manta Ray Evil Birds a slight numbness was extremely useful, since it would continue to spread to another seven or ten nearby Manta Ray Evil Birds after hitting its first target. Those arcs would rapidly dissipate, yet they would leave a Lightning Tyrant Scar on the creatures as long as they were within the Lightning Tyrant Domain!

Even the weakest lightning arc could trigger a punishment as powerful as Thunderbolt: Exploding Apex! Mo Fan hid inside Zhao Manyan’s Water Curtain and waited until the lightning arcs had fully spread among the creatures.

“Tyrant Call!” Mo Fan roared out when the time was right to activate the Lightning Tyrant Scars. Thick lightning bolts began to pour down rapidly from a huge storm cloud where he had long accumulated his Lightning Magic!

The lightning strikes fell like a blinding downpour, surging down like a great calamity. The people of the town gaped as they witnessed the spectacular sight!

Lightning densely spread across the sky, as if there were as many lightning bolts as there were Manta Ray Evil Birds!

The Tyrant Call was not very effective to most people who gained it, since it could only trigger a lightning strike equivalent to the strength of the Intermediate Spell, Thunderbolt: Exploding Apex. The spell would only inflict average injuries on a Warrior-level creature, while it would merely scratch the itch of a Commander-level creature.

However, it was a deadly weapon in Mo Fan’s hands, due to the twelvefold damage amplification of his Lightning Element. The Sapphire Manta Ray Evil Birds could barely endure the damage, but the Lesser Featherless Birds did not stand a chance. They absolutely died if they were caught by any of the lightning bolts, not to mention the extra damage when the lightning was chaining continuously as more lightning strikes fell from the heavens!

Ashes scattered like dispersing smoke. The black cluster of the Manta Ray Evil Birds’ wings and heads had disappeared completely after the strobing assault. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan could no longer see any of the Manta Ray Evil Birds within a kilometer of them!

“You’re f**king Thor!” Zhao Manyan was shocked by the damage of Mo Fan’s Tyrant Call.

1

“They are too dumb. They had no idea that my lightning could spread among them!” Mo Fan grinned.

Mo Fan was very pleased when he saw all the Soul Remnants being absorbed into Little Loach Pendant’s world like fireflies.

It seemed like he would have to enlarge his wolf valley again!

Not all of the Manta Ray Evil Birds had died. As a matter of fact, there were still a lot of them approaching from the distance. After all, Mo Fan had only killed the first ones to recover from being drugged. There were a whole bunch more of them on the other side of the mountain. They were currently circling the area, while maintaining their distance from Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

They were a high-level species, after all. They did not dare to charge at the two recklessly after being taught a lesson. The Lesser Featherless Birds only engaged them after making sure the lightning had dissipated.

“They seem a little afraid of us… damn it, they are heading for the city!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

Mo Fan looked into the distance and noticed a huge group of Manta Ray Evil Birds was avoiding him and flying directly to the city.

There was nothing Mo Fan could do. He and Zhao Manyan could only stop so many of them. The Manta Ray Evil Birds might be savage, but they knew it was unnecessary to waste their time on a strong human Mage like Mo Fan. They just needed to dispatch a group of Lesser Featherless Birds to keep the two busy!

“I don’t think Mu Bai and Miss Tangyue can look after so many people at once, either. There are no emergency shelters and the people are too scattered. There’s no way we can stop the creatures,” Zhao Manyan sighed.

“Let’s hope the people of the Hongling Division will be here soon. That way, they might be able to save more lives. What a shitshow!” Mo Fan cursed.

They had already done their best. The rest was in the hands of the Heavens!

“Mo Fan, look over there! That light seems a bit familiar!” Zhao Manyan suddenly noticed a special light, glowing like a sacred moon, coming from the direction they had arrived from. It was flying toward Honglai Town at outstanding speed.

Mo Fan’s gaze went past the demon birds and noticed the object with a sacred aura, too. He also noticed another figure with jagged edges inside the holy light with his outstanding night vision.

“It seems to be little Moon Moth Phoenix!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed jubilantly.

“It’s her…” Mo Fan also recognized the little Moon Moth Phoenix.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix’s light was too distinctive, especially at night. It was both elegant and imperious, like a deity that had descended upon the mundane world.

A loud and powerful cry suddenly drowned out the racket the Manta Ray Evil Birds were making!

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The thick dark cloud split in half as a sonic wave came from the distance, like a tsunami pouring into the basin and the mining town.

The people who were fleeing for their lives immediately covered their ears. The warehouses built with metal sheets collapsed under the powerful vibrations of the sonic wave, even though it was mainly directed at the Manta Ray Evil Birds in the sky and not the town.

The special frequency of the cry struck the heads of the Manta Ray Evil Birds as if a strong pulse of energy had just exploded close to them. The Manta Ray Evil Birds who had invaded the town started falling from the sky, like planes that had completely lost power!

Their wings were fully extended, yet they were no longer flying. The Manta Ray Evil Birds smashed into the buildings, leaving the town in a complete mess. Blood and gore scattered all over the place!

The powerful cry echoed in the sky once again. When the people lifted their eyes, they were able to see a figure with jagged wings in the sky above the town. The sacred moonlight shining on it reflected back an eerie red. It was like an evil meteor when it soared across the sky, with an otherworldly, icy aura!

Cool!

The same word appeared in Mo Fan’s mind when he saw Evil Star again!

“Isn’t that those creatures’ boss!?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed when he saw Evil Star flying past.

It was obvious that little Moon Moth Phoenix had healed Evil Star of its injuries. The Bird Emperor must have noticed its ungrateful descendants were stirring up trouble in the mining town. It came straight away with little Moon Moth Phoenix acting as guide.

Evil Star had already reached the edge of the town. Meanwhile, more Manta Ray Evil Birds had recovered from the anesthesia. They were flying toward the town in flocks, but now they had stumbled into their emperor along the way. Evil Star’s aura was even stronger after it had broken free from the chain. Its cold eyes glared at the Manta Ray Evil Birds. The demon birds did not dare to cause a scene…

“Why are they afraid of it now?” Zhao Manyan asked with a confused look.

“Evil Star was on the brink of death before, so they took the chance to rebel against it. However, these creatures became afraid as soon as their emperor has recovered. Didn’t you see? Evil Star’s cry can force them to crash! I believe Evil Star couldn’t use the ability when it was severely injured,” Mo Fan deduced.

“The people of the town are extremely lucky then! If Evil Star hadn’t shown up, there’s no way of telling how many people were going to die…” Zhao Manyan murmured.

—

Mu Bai and Tangyue were relieved when they saw Evil Star had blocked the Manta Ray Evil Birds outside Honglai Town. However, after a loud cry, the Manta Ray Evil Birds that were circling in the sky uttered unpleasant cries and flew toward the town again!

“What’s going on? Why are they attacking the city now!?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Mo Fan looked up and saw the Manta Ray Evil Birds were no longer flying in a disorderly fashion. They had lined up and formed a veil in the sky, heading toward the back end of the town under the Bird Emperor’s lead.

The back of the town was mostly a storage area for the valuable silver ores. The trucks, carrying loads of silver ore, were currently on the move. Some of the people tried to jump onto the trucks to leave the town with them, but they were forced away instead.

“Quick, we are leaving as soon as we fill the trucks!” Councilman Nan yelled.

“Councilman Nan, they…they seem to be heading toward us…” Major General Cai Dong spoke up hesitantly.

“Damn it, why are they targeting us when there are so many people in town…” Councilman Nan cursed loudly… and that’s when he suddenly noticed a dark red creature leading the army of the Manta Ray Evil Birds.

“It’s…it’s the Bird Emperor, Evil Star!” Chen Wen recognized the creature at first glance. His face was filled with terror.

Councilman Nan’s eyes widened too. It was their first time seeing the Bird Emperor not tied down by chains. Councilman Nan could feel its wrath about to pour down from the sky as he recalled how they had tortured the Bird Emperor over the years!

It had come to seek revenge!

Councilman Nan’s expression shifted as he started yelling in panic, “Protect me, protect me!”

There were a few hundred Honglai Mages around the trucks. They were shivering as they witnessed the overwhelming number of demon birds in the sky.

Tangyue came out of nowhere and yelled at the Honglai Mages, “They are after Councilman Nan! The rest of you should stay away if you don’t want to die!”

The Mages were not blind. The creatures had obviously ignored the rest of the people in the town and were headed straight for Councilman Nan. They clearly held a grudge against him, especially the leader in front of them. Its gaze could almost penetrate right through Councilman Nan!

“I’m paying you to protect me! Assh****, you assh****!” Councilman Nan cursed when he saw the Honglai Mages not bothering to lend a hand.

It was not like they could not tell whether money or life was more important. The swarm of Manta Ray Evil Birds was just too terrifying. Ordinary people could not possibly find the courage to resist them, especially when the bird demons were pouring down like a wild storm. Most of the Honglai Mages chose to flee for their lives instead!

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were heading for Councilman Nan, just as Tangyue had mentioned. They were not interested in the others at all.

The demon birds trapped Councilman Nan, Cai Dong, and Chen Wen on the street. Their only company was the trucks loaded with silver ore, now missing their drivers.

Their range of vision was less than fifty meters when the cloud of birds surrounded them, mainly because the Manta Ray Evil Birds had left them with some space instead of attacking them right away. The three trembled in fear. Chen Wen even fell to the ground with bloodshot eyes that were wide with fear!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

An imperious figure slowly appeared from among the beating wings. The Bird Emperor slowly descended from among the flock of birds and landed in front of Councilman Nan.

Its cold eyes were fixed on Councilman Nan. The man stood there and looked back at the creature. It was not the first time they had exchanged gazes with one another. When the domestication ranch was first established, Councilman Nan was fully responsible for the project after receiving funding from a foreign businessman. He had glared at the stubborn Bird Emperor more than one time, whipping it with a metal chain forged from the metallic gravel. The more he wanted the outcome, the harder he had whipped the creature!

The torture had happened ten years ago. Even though Councilman Nan’s face had changed significantly, the Bird Emperor still remembered him clearly!

“It was I who created you, it was I who made you! Without me, you wouldn’t be able to order these birds around today. You should be grateful to me! It was I who granted you such power. Otherwise, you would be no different from a wild gull hiding from the rain and storm. You would have ended up as the food of powerful sea creatures at any time! You should be thanking me!” Councilman Nan yelled fanatically, pointing at the Bird Emperor.

The Manta Ray Evil Birds were not truly obedient. When they discovered the trucks were filled with silver ore, they began robbing the trucks, especially the Sapphire Manta Ray Evil Birds. The silver ore became their delicious food. They shoved the ore into their mouths and broke them into pieces before swallowing them!

“Let go of my silver ore, you bast****! I created you all! You should be obeying my orders! You’re lucky that I didn’t kill you all when you are drugged! Let go of my silver ores!” Councilman Nan yelled when he saw the Manta Ray Evil Birds eating his precious ore.

A rock of silver ore was worth a few tens of RMB notes. It was the source of the money that Councilman Nan had relied on to clear the path for his political career.

The Bird Emperor was reluctant to waste even a second further on the disgusting man. It ordered the Manta Ray Evil Birds, “It’s dinner time!”

As soon as the order was given, the Manta Ray Evil Birds immediately gave up on the silver ores and lunged at Councilman Nan, Chen Wen, and Cai Dong. An area fifty meters wide was instantly filled with a brown tide. The three might have their magic, but they had no chance of defending themselves from so many creatures at once!

Councilman Nan was yelling frantically just a second ago, yet when the demon birds began tearing his skin off, he was overwhelmed by terror amid the pain he was feeling. He could not help but imagine the torture he had to endure as the demon birds slowly tore his flesh apart. He would rather be shot in the head instead…

The demon birds had formed an enormous cloud similar to a giant tornado at the back of the town. It was high enough to reach the clouds and wide enough to cover the whole street. Councilman Nan had done a lot of wicked things, but he was unintentionally kind when he forbid the people who were seeking shelter from getting closer to his silver mine. He was worried that the people would steal the silver ore amid the chaos, so there were not many people at the back of the town. The three men were clearly not enough to feed every Manta Ray Evil Bird. They proceeded to feed on the remaining silver ore on the trucks and in the warehouses instead. Their stomachs were strong enough to digest metal and absorb it to strengthen their bodies. It was why their skin had a metallic sheen!

These creatures were indeed terrifying. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, and Tangyue were struggling to calm their thoughts as they witnessed the astonishing sight.

“Mo Fan, are you sure they will leave?” Zhao Manyan asked in a worried voice.

The Bird Emperor had no reason to be friendly toward humans. Mo Fan might have saved its life, but it was still a savage demon creature. These Manta Ray Evil Birds had already bypassed the line of defense along the coastline and reached the vulnerable inland. If they were planning to stir up any trouble, many cities would fall victim to them!

“I’m not sure either, but from the looks of it, the Bird Emperor has everything under control,” Mo Fan replied slowly.

A tiny creature with a sacred silver glow came down while they were talking. It landed right on Mo Fan’s shoulder, as if it was very familiar with him.

“Little Moon Moth Phoenix can actually turn small? HAHA, she looks so adorable!” Tangyue blurted out in surprise.

The little Moon Moth Phoenix had landed on Mo Fan’s shoulder. Even though Yu Shishi kept brainwashing her that Mo Fan was an unforgivable assh*** who had killed many of her moths, little Moon Moth Phoenix was still very fond of him, since he was directly related to her rebirth and ensuing growth.

“You’re saying that Evil Star still has a certain sense of reason. It will bring the Manta Ray Evil Birds away?” Mo Fan exclaimed after hearing a tiny voice whispering into his head.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix was obviously an expert at Psychic Magic. She was talking to Mo Fan with a unique method.

“I don’t think it’s that easy. They can’t possibly fly back to Dawn Island from here. It will place too many cities on alert,” Tangyue shook her head.

“Councilman Nan was truly an assh*** to transport them here,” Zhao Manyan swore with feeling.

A sudden idea crossed Mo Fan’s mind. “We are pretty close to the Qinling Mountains. I wonder if the Qinling Horde is going to ignore them?”

“Are these creatures that normally lived in the sea going to be fine at the Qinling Mountains?” Tangyue wondered.

“They are amphibious. I don’t think living in the Qinling Mountains would be any problem for them… Not long ago, Zhang Xiaohou told me that even though the Silver Skyruler did not claim the throne of the Emperor of Feathers, it has started to gather the aggressive species of the Winged Beasts. We can arrange for these Manta Ray Evil Birds to move to the Qinling Mountains and keep the Silver Skyruler at bay,” Mo Fan proposed.

“That might work, as these demon birds are strong and savage. They won’t let other species rule over them once they move to the Qinling Mountains. It might alleviate a potential crisis from the Qinling Mountains for some time,” Tangyue agreed.

“It’s decided. I’ll contact Zhang Xiaohou and let him know. Little Moon Moth Phoenix, can you guide Evil Star to the Qinling Mountains?…” Mo Fan asked little Moon Moth Phoenix.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix shook her body happily. She seemed very pleased with Mo Fan’s arrangement.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix had already communicated with Evil Star briefly when they were still at Yu Shishi’s. Evil Star knew Dawn Island was no longer suitable for them due to the small area. The Qinling Mountains were massive, and were more than enough for the demon birds to do whatever they wanted.

Chapter 1864: Won’t See Them Again

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The black cloud slowly drifted into the distance, leaving Honglai Town in a complete mess.

Councilman Nan, Cai Dong, and Chen Wen had been reduced to scattered piles of bones. Tangyue had initially planned to arrest Councilman Nan and bring him to court in the highest Enforcement Union, but the Manta Ray Evil Birds had no such mercy for him.

Perhaps it was a better outcome, since the highest Enforcement Union Court might not give Councilman Nan a heavy sentence due to his connections, and the fact that he was not directly responsible for heavy casualties. He might be able to work his way out of prison in just a few years with the help of his political allies. He could easily make a comeback with a different identity.

It was better to end their lives here. Even though there were still a lot more detestable politicians like Councilman Nan in the world, his death would at least guarantee a period of peace for the town!

The Honglai Mages were hiding further away. They only returned with some lingering fear after the Manta Ray Evil Birds had departed. They had obviously made the right choice to protect themselves, or there would have been more than three corpses lying on the ground. The whole street might be littered with them!

——

Wen Xia soon returned with the people of the Hongling Division. The Hongling general did not feel sorry for Councilman Nan and his men when he saw their remains, being well aware of what kind of a person Councilman Nan was. He had no choice but to obey Councilman Nan’s orders previously because Councilman Nan had bribed his superior, who had directly relayed his orders to the Hongling Division.

The general immediately took over the mine and secured the perimeter to prevent the Manta Ray Evil Birds from returning. He also arranged for his men to begin building emergency shelters at once.

Emergency shelters played an important role, especially in a mining town with a lot of workers and resources. Most mines were located outside of the safe zone. It was common to be invaded by demon creatures, especially in the west of the country. When Mo Fan headed west, many people in the town invaded by the demon locusts had survived only because of the emergency shelters.

The people of Honglai Town were very fortunate that Evil Star had arrived in time and taken the savage Manta Ray Evil Birds away. Otherwise, they could not possibly have imagined the consequences…

—

Mo Fan sighed after watching the Bird Emperor leading the terrifying storm into the distance.

He had basically given up on the idea of his beloved mount by sending them to the Qinling Mountains. That being said, Mo Fan knew he would struggle to subdue such a ferocious beast of the sea and the sky, as he no longer had any Contracts available.

“Either way, we still managed to sort out everything,” Mu Bai said as he looked around the messy town.

“Yeah, let’s hope we won’t see those terrifying creatures again,” Zhao Manyan agreed.

“Old Zhao, what about your Totem Beast?” Mo Fan asked.

“It had been dead for many years, but it still preserved the majority of its power. I shouldn’t have any problem achieving the Super Level with it. The problem is, which Element should I upgrade to the Super Level first? Light, Water, or Earth?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

All three of Zhao Manyan’s Elements had already reached the bottleneck. He did not really get any insane benefits from following Mo Fan on his adventures, but he had to admit that the foundation of his cultivation was a lot more solid.

It was not like he had a choice. If the foundation was not solid enough, he would have lost his life. The path of a Mage was a never-ending process of surpassing their own limits. The more battles he fought and the more times he was on the brink of death, the easier it was to improve his cultivation.

The truth was, Zhao Manyan would only cultivate in his comfortable president suite in the past. He would cultivate for a few days and have fun for a few days. He never thought he would be following Mo Fan around and not treating his life seriously. He had already memorized how many nails there were on the frame of the Gates of Hell. Most importantly, he had slowly gotten used to it. He would feel uncomfortable if he did not go on an adventure regularly!

—

—

Zhao Manyan went into seclusion to attempt his breakthrough to the Super Level after the incident of the Manta Ray Evil Birds.

Tangyue had a huge mess to clean up because of Councilman Nan, including the chief of the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union, Zhu Qi. The Enforcement Union there had become a complete mess in Zhu Qi’s hands. The Lingyin Enforcement Union had initially planned to isolate them, but the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union actually needed a new person in charge now.

Tangyue felt a little attached to the Nanxi Mountain now. She was most likely going to take over the role of the Chief at the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union.

The Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union was quite close to Fanxue City. It would be favorable to Fanxue Mountain if Tangyue took over Nanxi Mountain, since they would then have someone looking after them in the north!

Mo Fan asked little Moon Moth Phoenix to help Evil Star settle down. With nothing much to do, he did not go back to Fanxue Mountain, and went back to the Pearl Institute instead. It was a more suitable place for him to cultivate in peace. He always managed to settle his heart there, and was also planning to try out his new power.

Mu Bai and Jiang Shaoxu went to Fanxue City. Mu Bai might be quite carefree despite being the Chief of the South Wing Platoon, but he still needed to visit it at times. Meanwhile, Jiang Shaoxu was interested in visiting Fanxue Mountain and Fanxue City…

Jiang Shaoxu was shocked when she saw how quickly Fanxue City had developed.

She remembered the city was still in the planning phase not long ago, yet it had already gone from a deserted land to the size of a town. The contrast between it and the Honglai Town managed by Councilman Nan was huge, as if she was comparing a city to a junkyard.

“They finished most of the construction recently, so the city is quite gorgeous after they got done with the cleaning. Everything looks new,” Mu Bai exclaimed. He had been around from the very beginning. Not long ago, there were only construction grounds and muddy fields in the area, but it was now a comfortable district. There were a lot of well-maintained greeneries too, setting off the city’s beauty.

“I thought it would still be a mess here. I didn’t expect it to develop so quickly. It seems like I should consider buying a house here… do you have any discounts for me?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“That won’t be necessary, you’re wasting your money. The South Wing Platoon has provided me with a nice house on South Wing Street. I can give it to you if you like. I normally stay at Fanxue Mountain, so it’s a waste for me to keep the house,” Mu Bai said.

“Is that the street you are referring to?” Jiang Shaoxu pointed at a street with blue bricks.

“Mm, do you want to check it out?” Mu Bai asked her.

“Sure, it’s not a bad idea if it has the view of the bay and the mountains,” Jiang Shaoxu agreed.

Chapter 1865: Strange Curse Magic

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Jiang Shaoxu suddenly realized something as she set foot into the elevator. She lifted her gaze to Mu Bai, who was a step in front of her. She stared at the side and the back of his head.

Why did I agree to come? What if he misunderstood me? , the thought suddenly crossed her mind.

It was almost evening. Even though it was common to go inside a property to view it, there might be other reasons, too. She remembered Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan mention that Mu Bai was a hypocrite. Jiang Shaoxu assumed he was a rather righteous man, but what if he was up to something by inviting her to his place? There had been a lot of code words for sexual intentions lately. Did she unintentionally agree to something?

However, Jiang Shaoxu did not consider it appropriate for her to leave now that she had already come. She was not a shy woman, either. If the man did have the intention to hook up with her, it simply meant he found her attractive. She would just turn it down in a friendly way.

Mu Bai went to the door and took out the key to unlock it. He suddenly realized he was not even that close with Jiang Shaoxu to be inviting her into his house, let alone giving her the house…

However, both Mu Bai and Jiang Shaoxu were stunned when the door opened. A sweet scent greeted them, followed by a woman in silk sleepwear and long curly hair standing in the doorway.

The woman most likely did not expect Mu Bai to be bringing a woman home. She was obviously surprised, but she quickly smiled and said, “Mu Bai, you’re finally back. Where have you been all these days? You left me alone here. I thought you were running away after having an enjoyable night with me.”

Jiang Shaoxu gasped.

It turned out that Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were telling the truth. Mu Bai was indeed a hypocrite! He had hooked up with someone a few days ago, yet he did not even let the other woman leave before trying to hook up with her. Where were his manners!?

“Err, I guess I’ll just look around for other places on my own,” Jiang Shaoxu said awkwardly. She turned around and left.

Mu Bai tried to explain, but he seriously had no idea what to say.

After Jiang Shaoxu left, Mu Bai turned to the woman whose clothes had slightly crossed the line.

“Mu Xumian, what do you mean by this? If I’m not mistaken, this is the house that the South Wing Platoon has given me. Aren’t you going too far by entering my house without my permission?” Mu Bai sounded a little angry.

Mu Xumian was a vicious and merciless woman. She had almost killed them all under the lava pond in Kunlun Mountain’s Sun Ridge. The Mu Clan had ended up paying a huge price and promising to give up on certain crucial areas which were threatening the Mui Clan and the Dongfang Clan to ransom Mu Xumian. To Mu Bai’s surprise, Mu Xumian had returned so quickly to trouble them. The people of Fanxue Mountain knew she was currently managing the Dali Clan!

“I’m your neighbor. Our balcony is even connected. I had no idea that the district chief of the City North would arrange for me to stay beside you. I haven’t had the time to buy appliances, so I came to live in your house for a few days… I didn’t expect to bump into you and your girlfriend. Did I mess it up? It’s fine, I’ll make up for it. My body is hotter than hers. I’m confident in my skills, too. I promise that I can satisfy you, alright?” Mu Xumian played with her hair and exposed her shoulder, like she was ready to accept her fate.

Mu Bai rolled his eyes. He said, “If you like the place, I’ll let you have it. I can ask the South Wing Platoon to move me somewhere else.”

Mu Bai did not even have a chance to live in the house, and Mu Xumian had already left a mess after living in it for a few days. He seriously wondered what the people of the South Wing Platoon were doing to allocating units in the same building to them.

“Hehe, I like when you are being cold to me, it’s making me excited. That being said, we are colleagues from now on. You shouldn’t be so cold to me,” Mu Xumian said.

“What colleagues?” Mu Bai was confused.

“I’m a South Wing Mage too! To be more accurate, we are of the same rank! You are a combatant, while I’m in charge of assigning the members. Why do you think they put our places together?” Mu Xumian explained, teasing him.

“It’s truly my pleasure,” Mu Bai scoffed sourly.

“Don’t just stand at the door. Come in and take a seat. Your house is perfectly clean under my care. It even smells like home now. To be frank, I actually quite like it here. Why don’t we live in the same house? I wouldn’t mind at all.” Mu Xumian invited Mu Bai in with a gesture.

“I’m only going to grab my stuff. The place is yours,” Mu Bai went into the house and retrieved the personal belongings he had left in his room before.

Mu Xumian’s grin widened when Mu Bai was talking rough to her, as if the colder Mu Bai was toward her, the happier she would feel.

“The way you say it really sounds like we aren’t going to see each other again after our pleasant journey comes to an end…ugh!” Mu Xumian suddenly vomited in the middle of the sentence.

Mu Bai did not bother looking at her. He thought she was going to tease him again, but he soon noticed a strong smell of blood.

He turned around and saw Mu Xumian vomiting blood, dying the light blue carpet red. She was still doing it, too!

Mu Xumian’s body was obviously twitching. It felt like she was going to vomit her organs out. Her face suddenly turned extremely pale while her lips darkened.

“What’s wrong with you?” Mu Bai was given a huge fright.

There was no way she would vomit so much blood if she was just putting up an act, especially after he saw the painful expression on her face. It felt like something was stirring up her insides.

“I…I don’t know…” Mu Xumian too had no idea what was happening to her. She could not even support herself.

“I’ll bring you to the headquarters!” Mu Bai realized how serious the situation was. He threw Mu Xumian over his shoulder and brought her to the headquarters of the South Wing Platoon without any hesitation.

—

Mu Xumian was still vomiting blood. It soon dyed his back red. It was like he had just come out of a pool of red dye while he was running on the street.

“Help…help…me…” Mu Xumian pleaded feebly in pain.

“I’m helping you!” Mu Bai answered seriously.

Even though Mu Bai disliked the woman, he could not just ignore her seeing how bad her condition was.

The rate she was vomiting blood at was unbelievable. There was only so much blood a human body contained, yet Mu Xumian had vomited half of it out. An ordinary person would be dead by now!

Mu Bai had no clue why it was happening. His priority was to bring her to the Healers of the South Wing Platoon.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Bai noticed not many people were on duty when they arrived at the South Wing Platoon. After all, it was only established recently, and most people were not full-time staff, so there were not many people around.

“Chief Mu, what’s going on?” a Maga who worked as a signaller at the headquarters blurted out.

“She seems to be under some kind of curse. We need to transfuse fresh blood into her,” Mu Bai told the Maga.

“Oh… alright, got it!”

The headquarters of the South Wing Platoon did have some medical supplies for emergency purposes. Mu Bai had no choice but to take matters into his own hands since there were no reliable Healers around.

“Mu Xumian, listen to me, tell me what ate in the past three days,” Mu Bai placed the woman on a sickbed and asked sternly.

“I…I don’t remember, the pain, it hurts so much!” Mu Xumian held her stomach. Fresh blood kept pouring out of her mouth even when she tried to cover it. She was struggling to speak properly. She could only stare at Mu Bai with eyes filled with pain, like a dying person begging for help!

Mu Bai looked at Mu Xumian. Her face was so pale that he could see the nerves and veins on it. How did she suddenly become like this when she was perfectly fine just a moment ago?

“What happened? What’s going on?” Li Kai rushed into the room and immediately saw Mu Xumian struggling on the sickbed. He immediately charged at Mu Bai like a wild beast when he saw Mu Xumian’s miserable condition.

“What did you do to her!?” Li Kai snarled.

“How we treat her in the next fifteen minutes is going to decide whether she’s going to live or not. If you really care about her, you should let go of your hand and call the City North’s Healer here,” Mu Bai said coldly.

Li Kai realized how serious the situation was. He ran out of the building after glaring at Mu Bai for a moment.

Two minutes later, the signaller arrived with a young woman in a white outfit. She was surprised when she saw the insane amount of blood on the sickbed.

“Did she cut her artery?” the young woman asked.

Mu Bai glanced at the woman and realized she had just graduated recently. She was still wearing the badge of a student of an institution from Hangzhou.

“You’re a Healer?” Mu Bai asked.

“I am, she has lost a lot of blood. We should replenish her blood first,” the young woman said.

“The chief has already done it, but it will take the newly transfused blood some time to circulate in the body. It won’t be quick enough compared to the rate she’s vomiting blood,” the signaller said.

“I’ll cast the Healing Spirit on her for now…” the graduate went up to Mu Xumian and placed her hand on Mu Xumian’s forehead. Light in the shape of leaves began to light up around the graduate.

Pa! Mu Bai slapped the graduate’s hand away. The graduate stared at her reddened hand with a blank face before she snapped, “What are you doing!?”

“Didn’t your teacher ever warn you that you shouldn’t use your Healing Magic before you are sure of the patient’s injuries?” Mu Bai scolded her.

“Am I the Healer or  are  you?” the graduate snapped angrily. She felt like she was being humiliated.

Mu Bai ignored her. He took out a tiny silkworm from a small box.

The silkworm dug into Mu Xumian’s skin. They could see it moving inside Mu Xumian’s arm to her stomach.

Half a minute later, Mu Xumian started vomiting again. The silkworm was in the pool of blood this time. It landed on the ground and tried to climb its way back into Mu Bai’s box, but it died instead.

“Poison?” the graduate asked curiously while inspecting the silkworm that had been used to probe the injuries.

“It’s not,” Mu Bai shook his head.

“Curse?” the graduate asked again.

“The symptoms are similar, but Curse Magic wouldn’t affect my Blood Silkworm,” Mu Bai shook his head again.

The graduate glanced at the dead silkworm on the floor again. She now understood why Mu Bai did not let her use the Healing Magic right away.

The Healing Magic actually worked by helping the tissues fix the damage ten or a hundred times quicker than its usual speed. It was like a catalyst that would boost a body’s self-recovery ability.

However, it was inappropriate to use Healing Magic when someone was poisoned or Cursed. For example, if a poisonous parasite had merged with its host, the Healing Magic would only serve as a catalyst that would make the parasite grow several times faster, which would speed up the patient’s death instead.

The Blood Silkworm was a special creature that Poison Mages raised. When a Healer could not inspect the conditions inside of a patient’s body with their hands, the little creature was the best way to do so. It could determine if there were any blood clots in the patient’s body, whether the patient was poisoned, or if there were fractures, dead cells, or organs…

If the Blood Silkworm did not make it out alive, the patient was most likely poisoned.

If the Blood Silkworm was perfectly fine, it meant the person was under a Curse, since the Curse would only target its victim.

It was extremely difficult to determine the exact cause this time, since the Blood Silkworm had died after coming out of the patient’s body, but either way, it was still inappropriate to use Healing Magic!

Mu Bai knelt down and picked up the dead Blood Silkworm. He was eager to know how the creature died. What harmful substance did it encounter? Did a parasite in the woman’s body kill it? However, after inspecting the Blood Silkworm, Mu Bai only discovered a strange mark on the creature. The blood was clean, too.

The graduate and the signaller remained silent, not daring to make a single sound. Mu Xumian was also not willing to die just like that. She was hanging on with all her might by withholding the urge to vomit her blood. She had no clue if it was going to help, but it was better than puking her life out!

“Is there anyone with the Light Element in the South Wing Platoon? I want someone with a strong purifying ability!” Mu Bai asked the signaller after inspecting the Blood Silkworm.

“We do, Captain Pan is a Light Mage.”

“Call him over, and have him use the Sacred Chant: Purify on her!” Mu Bai ordered.

“Isn’t the Sacred Chant only effective against the undead?” The graduate was dumbfounded.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Captain Pan soon arrived.

“Is that… Madam Mu Xumian?” it took Captain Pan some time to recognize the person in a terrible condition to be Mu Xumian. She looked like she was being nibbled away by some parasite instead of her usual seductive appearance.

“Enough talking, we’re running out of time to save her!” Mu Bai snapped.

“Oh, but is the Sacred Chant really going to work?” Captain Pan asked. He still walked up to Mu Xumian despite being doubtful. He placed his hand on Mu Xumian’s face and murmured the Sacred Chant to cast the spell Purify.

Sacred Chant: Purify was an advanced version of the Basic Light Spell. The spell Brilliant Light had a lot of variations, and one of them was especially effective against undead and corrupted existences. The Sacred Chant further improved its purifying ability. Captain Pan was using the Sacred Chant, which Zhao Manyan had yet to master.

The chant was incomprehensible, similar to the chants which monks uttered during religious ceremonies in the east, or the prayer uttered before graves in the west. Every civilization had its way of putting the dead to rest. Unfortunately, the creatures in this world would not necessarily stay in their graves and behave themselves, and the religious chants and prayers had evolved into the Sacred Chant of the Light Element, designed to put the corrupted spirits that were harboring malicious intentions to the world back to their rest!

The graduate was utterly confused. She did not understand why Mu Xumian would use the Sacred Chant on someone who was still alive. Did he assume Mu Xumian was going to die, and the pain and torture she was going through would make her rise from the dead to get her revenge?

The Sacred Chant was still taking effect. Golden sparkles were visible rising from Mu Xumian’s body. They were coming out of her skin, and turned into some kind of glowing words and notes after being exposed to the air. They continued to float into the air and dissipate slowly.

However, the graduate soon noticed wisps of ghastly aura rising from the glowing notes. She could even see a pair of ghostly eyes when she was staring at them.

“AH!!”

Mu Xumian suddenly sat upright and opened her mouth, as if she was trying to use all her might to spit something out. A darker substance poured out of her mouth like a cloud of thick black smoke and lingered in the room, followed by a burst of strange and piercing laughter.

“This…” Captain Pan was astounded. He finally realized what was going on. He focused on uttering the Sacred Chant, just in case the strange black smoke ended up Possessing him!

Mu Xumian fell onto the bed feebly after spitting out the black smoke. Her eyelids remained open with rolling eyes.

Mu Bai let out a relieved sigh, and told the graduate, “You may use the Healing Magic now.”

“Oh, got it!” The graduate felt like she had just been knocked unconscious by something unknown. She suddenly had no clue what Healing Spell she should use. Mu Bai actually had to remind her that a basic spell that would help Mu Xumian regenerate blood was sufficient.

—

Mu Xumian was still in bad condition. Some time later, Li Kai led an Advanced Healer into the room. The older Healer was roughly in his sixties.

The graduate sensibly stepped aside when she saw the old man. She roughly explained the situation to him.

The old man inspected Mu Xumian and cast a Healing Spell to help her regenerate blood. Mu Xumian finally showed some signs of recovery.

“She’s no longer in danger,” the old man declared.

Li Kai went up to Mu Bai and snarled, “Tell me what happened to her!”

“She was Possessed by some corrupted existence. Why don’t you recall what wicked things your Dali Clan has been up to recently, where someone would Summon such a terrifying Spirit to Possess her?!” Mu Bai spat back.

Mu Bai had to admit that Mu Xumian was extremely lucky. Not even one out of a hundred Light Mages would know how to use the Sacred Chant: Purify. Mu Bai happened to have read the dossiers on the members of the South Wing Platoon, and remembered someone was capable of using the spell. Otherwise, even if they had figured out the reason, there would have been nothing they could do, apart from watching Mu Xumian get tortured to death!

“Humph, I’ll make you pay once she’s awake!” Li Kai declared.

“She’s fine now, I’ll leave the rest to you.” Mu Bai had never expected the people of the Dali Clan to be grateful to him.

Mu Xumian had always been Fanxue Mountain’s enemy, not to mention what the woman had done to them personally. Mu Bai would not feel guilty at all if he simply left her for dead. He even wondered why he bothered saving her. Perhaps he might have had trouble proving that he was innocent if the woman died in his house, which might have ended up bringing a lot of trouble to Fanxue Mountain.

“Li Kai, don’t say that, you clearly saw how terrible Madam Mu’s condition was. If the chief hadn’t figured out the reason, she might already be dead by now!” Captain Pan admonished him.

If Captain Pan had been handling the situation, he would most likely have assumed Mu Xumian was poisoned or placed under a Curse. There was no way he would have used the Sacred Chant on a living human. Little did they know, she was Possessed by a terrifying existence. They only had half an hour to save her life. It was already a miracle that they managed to bring Mu Xumian back from the Gates of Hell!

—

Mu Bai walked down the street thoughtfully after he left the headquarters of the South Wing Platoon. He knew the incident was not as simple as it seemed.

Mu Xumian was a Super Mage. It was very unlikely that someone could harm her with poison, Curse, or some strange magic so easily. Wouldn’t the whole world be in disorder if an Intermediate or Advanced Mage with the Poison or Curse Elements could simply murder a Super Mage?

“It almost killed her in just half an hour! Just how is that possible?” Mu Bai murmured.

During the long time he had spent in the Ancient Capital, he had stumbled into corrupted existences that were able to Possess their victims, but there were usually bad omens beforehand. The torture would usually last for a few hours before killing even a Mage without impressive cultivation. It was terrifying to think that the thing was able to kill a Super Mage like Mu Xumian in just half an hour!

In other words, if he had not figured out it was Undead Magic, or if no one in the South Wing Platoon had been able to use the Sacred Chant, Mu Xumian would surely have died!

“These things usually take time to settle down. It must be somewhere Mu Xumian always went to…(sigh) Forget it, why should I worry so much about her?” Mu Bai shook his head, feeling that he had been caring too much.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Jiang Shaoxu, where are you?” Mu Bai called Jiang Shaoxu’s number.

“Turn around,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Mu Bai turned around and saw Jiang Shaoxu carrying a few shopping bags. She was walking toward Mu Bai with a self-assured seductive smile.

Jiang Shaoxu looked up and down at Mu Bai and teased, “You’re quicker than I thought. I only visited two stores so far. Why didn’t you spend more time with her?”

Mu Bai did not get what she meant at first. His face blushed after he thought about it for a while. He quickly explained, “It’s not what you think. Something terrifying actually happened just then. I’m actually a little worried about you. Should we just call it a day and head back to Fanxue Mountain?”

“Oh? I think the weather is pretty nice today. It’s good for shopping. I’ll just shop on my own if you are busy. By the way, what do you think about my clothes?” Jiang Shaoxu had already changed into a new outfit. She even turned around in a circle to show it to Mu Bai.

Mu Bai scratched his head. He was wondering how he was going to explain the situation to Jiang Shaoxu.

He just had a strange feeling about it, mainly because a Super Mage like Mu Xumian had almost died in his house. Mu Bai was worried that Jiang Shaoxu would fall victim to the strange magic, too.

“I guess that’s fine…” Mu Bai responded. He was thinking of how to express the uncomfortable feeling in his mind when Jiang Shaoxu patted him on the shoulder.

“Let’s go back, I can see you’re very worried.” Jiang Shaoxu was quite understanding. She decided to go back to Fanxue Mountain with Mu Bai first.

Mu Bai nodded. He hailed a cab and brought Jiang Shaoxu to Fanxue Mountain.

Mu Bai was still preoccupied with the incident when Jiang Shaoxu let out a sigh like she knew exactly what was going on in his mind. “Actually, you shouldn’t feel so down because of it. I heard that many men had the same problem too. You just need to relax and remain calm, and everything will be fine.”

Mu Bai was confused at first, but he immediately realized something when Jiang Shaoxu naughtily winked at him, as if she was telling him she was not going to look down at him because of it!

“No, that’s not it, the woman you saw in my house was Mu Xumian, she was a colleague of mine in the South Wing Platoon…” Mu Bai seriously had an urge to kill himself by knocking his head into the window.

How the heck did Jiang Shaoxu even arrive at that conclusion? It was worse than being busted for hooking up with strangers!

—

Mu Bai finally explained to Jiang Shaoxu that Mu Xumian was Fanxue Mountain’s enemy and how she was Possessed by some corrupted existence.

Jiang Shaoxu’s mouth hung open for some time.

Anyone who visited someone’s house and saw a woman in her sleepwear would naturally assume the woman was extremely close to the owner, but not only did Mu Bai claim the woman was his enemy, he even told her that she was Possessed by some unknown existence. Most importantly, he actually saved his enemy’s life… Jiang Shaoxu was more willing to believe that Mu Bai was suffering from premature ejaculation.

Mu Bai let out a sigh when Jiang Shaoxu still looked at him suspiciously, even after he assigned her a room. He was completely worn out.

He went back to his place and was about to take a shower to get rid of the stench of blood on him when he saw a man in a dark red coat standing in the garden. The man had white hair and a pale face. His collars were slightly covering his face, and made his chin look pointier.

“Are you looking for me?” Mu Bai glanced at the European man with a puzzled face.

“There was an unclean presence in your house. I came to check it out,” the man replied.

“Unclean presence?” Mu Bai repeated.

“I can’t tell exactly what it is. Anyway, just be careful.” Bola did not stay for long. He brushed past Mu Bai.

Mu Bai frowned while staring at Bola’s back.

Mu Bai knew who Bola was. The vampire was like a secret guardian of Fanxue Mountain. He could usually see through any evil magic that was cast on Mu Ningxue or Fanxue Mountain.

Bola rarely showed himself, spending most of the time in deep slumber inside a hidden chamber to extend his lifespan. The fact that he had shown up in person meant something was serious enough to get his attention.

“Bola, was it some kind of Undead Magic?” Mu Bai stopped Bola and asked in a stern voice.

Bola halted in his tracks. He turned and glanced at Mu Bai’s house, “It’s like a phantom. It tried to enter Fanxue Mountain, but it fled in fear when it noticed the presence of Liu Ru and myself. Your house is fine. There’s nothing to worry about, but I have a feeling that thing is after you.”

“Bola, I did encounter something not long ago,” Mu Bai began.

“Tell Liu Ru about it, I’ve been out for too long. This place is perfect in every way, except for the fact that it’s too exposed to the sun. I can still smell sunlight at night…” Bola sighed.

Mo Fan had sent Bola to escort Lingling and the others back from Wanggui Town. Bola had trouble staying out for too long, especially during the season when the days were longer. He was only doing a routine checkup on Fanxue Mountain. The rest was no longer his concern. He was already being kind by warning Mu Bai about the potential danger.

“Alright, thank you,” Mu Bai conceded.

Bola waved his hand and straightened his collar before leaving in a hurry, as if he did not want anyone to see his face.

—

Mu Bai quickly sought out Liu Ru. She also had a sharp sense of smell. She walked around Mu Bai in a circle, as if she was sensing that Mu Bai had encountered something unclean.

Mu Bai explained the incident that befell Mu Xumian to Liu Ru. She replied after giving it some thought, “I think the thing is most likely after you, but Mu Xumian happened to be staying at your place, so she became the target instead. If you were the one who was Possessed, I don’t think it would have ended well.”

Mu Bai nodded. If he was the victim, it meant no one could possibly have figured out it was Undead Magic, nor would anyone have cast the Sacred Chant on him in time. He would have died in front of the panicking young graduate. Even the old Healer would not have been able to save his life.

Mu Bai was extremely worried on his way back, because he was suspicious that Mu Xumian had fallen victim to the Curse because she was staying at his place. If it wasn’t Mu Xumian’s enemy, it meant the corrupted existence was supposed to come after him!

“Did you tell Mo Fan about it?” Liu Ru asked.

Mu Bai shook his head. He was unsure what was going on. He knew both Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were focusing on their cultivation, so he did not want to disturb them.

Besides, he could not think of anyone who would want him dead. When did he ever offend such a powerful Undead Mage?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Liu Ru suggested Mu Bai inform Mo Fan about the incident. Mu Bai decided to give Mo Fan a call.

“Did something happen over there too?” Mo Fan asked as soon as the call connected.

Mu Bai was startled. He looked at Liu Ru, who was also wearing a puzzled expression now.

“Something happened?” Mu Bai asked.

“Someone has been impersonating me at the school recently, but that person is now dead. Dean Xiao told me something tried to invade the Pearl Institute and my apartment, but a professor with the Light Element noticed it,” Mo Fan informed him.

“It’s similar to what happened on my end. Mu Xumian almost died because of it,” Mu Bai confirmed.

As soon as Mu Bai finished the sentence, Zhao Manyan’s loud voice came from the other end, “Damn, you actually slept with her and let her take a bullet for you! Mu Bai, you’ve indeed learned all my skills. I’m proud of you!”

“Proud my ass, there’s nothing between us! She just took over my house!” Mu Bai was enraged by Zhao Manyan’s words.

“So you took over her body?”

“It’s really impossible to communicate with you in a human way. Can you please keep your mouth shut and focus on the matter on hand? Mu Xumian is in a pretty bad spot. She almost died. If I was the victim, you wouldn’t have seen me again!” Mu Bai snarled.

Zhao Manyan deserved a scolding more than Mo Fan!

“They might be coming after me, but they have turned to those around me because they couldn’t harm me… Old Zhao, you should be extra careful too. I’ll tell the others to stay on alert,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s fine, I’m about to cultivate in seclusion anyway,” Zhao Manyan said.

“We’ll have to find the culprit behind it. We have no clue what triggers the spell and how the victims were Possessed by the evil spirit. We can’t be on alert all the time. If any of us falls victim to it, we won’t have a chance to live. Mo Fan, the spell is the hardest to defend against of the Curses I’ve encountered so far. The person after you is obviously not just a nobody. You have to be careful,” Mu Bai warned him sternly.

“I understand, I won’t forgive anyone who tries to harm the people around me either!” Mo Fan promised him.

—

After what happened, Mo Fan could no longer cultivate in peace at the Magic City. He left Zhao Manyan behind and headed for Fanxue Mountain with Lingling.

The airport at Feiniao City was now finished. It would only take fourteen minutes by plane to reach from Magic City to Fanxue Mountain. To Mo Fan’s surprise, a huge storm occurred on his way to the airport!

The storm came very suddenly. Mo Fan still remembered the day was sunny and bright when he left for the airport, yet the sky was covered by stormy clouds with a huge downpour less than ten minutes after he hailed a ride. The vehicles on the highway had turned on their headlamps. The visibility on the road had dropped significantly.

“(Sigh), why is it raining again? I always feel uncomfortable in rain,” the driver grumbled.

“Why would you feel uncomfortable? Won’t you have more customers when it’s raining? I’m more worried that my flight will be canceled. I’ll have to ride my mount in the rain. The Magic Association has restricted us from riding our Summoned Beasts on the highway. It’s not like I didn’t pay the f**king toll fee,” Mo Fan grumbled along.

“I’m from Shanghai, how could I not be worried now that Pudong is drowned? The water will continue to rise if it keeps raining… Those sea monsters might even invade the city and feast on us! Speaking of which, what the heck are you Mages doing? Why didn’t you do something to the glaciers melting in Antarctica? I just bought a house in Pudong, but the country didn’t even compensate me for my loss!” the driver exclaimed.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless by the driver.

The driver dared to say anything he pleased. Shouldn’t Buddha or God be responsible for the rise of sea level from the melting glaciers in Antarctica? What were Mages supposed to do to stop it? The driver sounded like the glaciers were not going to melt if the Mages worked harder. Were the Arctic and the Antarctic even some places where Mages could visit as they pleased? Even a Forbidden Mage might die there!

“It’s now summer, the monsoon season for the tropics. Shanghai will have a lot more storms because of tropical cyclones. If the storms last for a long time, the sea level in Pudong might rise even further,” Lingling piped up.

“Exactly, that’s what I’m worried about! If the situation along the coastline keeps worsening, I think it’s better for me to move back to my hometown in Sichuan,” the driver said.

“Brother, didn’t you just say you are from Shanghai?” Mo Fan said.

“I meant my wife’s parents!”

“Ugh, does that even matter…”

“It’s my wife’s family! Do you still want to go to the airport or not?”

“Yes, of course, please focus on the road. The rain is huge. You may throw a tantrum, but please don’t turn your head around. I will be fine if we end up in a crash. I’m just worried about your safety,” Mo Fan said.

“Look at you speak!”

“…”

The storm was so huge that most flights had been canceled. Mo Fan waited at the airport for three hours before he heard the announcement calling the passengers to board the plane.

Mo Fan was bewildered. If he knew it was going to waste so much of his time, he would have called Li Dong, the opportunist who also worked as an air taxi driver, to give him a ride. It would have saved him a lot of time.

The plane took off amid the downpour. Mo Fan could feel how fierce the storm was as the plane soared through the thick stormy clouds. It was shaking as vigorously as a roller coaster. Even he was feeling anxious, let alone the ordinary passengers who were screaming.

As the plane reached a higher altitude, the stormy clouds were slowly left behind. Mo Fan looked down and noticed the black clouds were like mountains on the ground. It was hard to imagine the place below was the mundane world. It felt more like the underworld instead.

“Such a terrifying storm!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

The plane had already reached a high altitude. Mo Fan was supposed to be able to see over a hundred kilometers around, yet it was completely covered by the storm from the Pacific Ocean. Even the mountains, rivers, basins, and valleys were trembling in the storm, not to mention how minuscule humans were in a natural disaster!

“The monsoon season of the tropics is also the season of sea monsters…” Lingling said softly.

“Is it going to be serious?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s hard to say. Japan is a country that is constantly ravaged by tsunamis and tropical storms, which is why they are the best in naval fighting. Our eastern coastline has been peaceful for a long time, so our defense is lacking there. We even had to assign soldiers from inland to the coastline, which means they seriously lack experience fighting naval battles… Councilman Shao Zheng has made a lot of preventive measures, but the monsoon season is when the real invasion of sea monsters begins. We’ll have to see how long the storm lasts for. If it’s more than three days, it will definitely trigger a huge battle!” Lingling stared at the gray clouds with a worried face.

It was only a matter of time for the inevitable to happen. The coastline had long been preparing to face the real storm that was approaching!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Everything was still normal after they arrived at Fanxue Mountain. The guy with the strange Undead Magic did not show up again, but everyone was tense and under a lot of pressure since they had to stay  alert at all times.

Mo Fan sat in the garden. The roof extended out just enough to block the fierce rain. Cold breezes swept past continuously. As Mo Fan lifted his gaze, all he could see was the curtain of rain blocking the mountains in the west and the sea in the east. Everything was dark and gloomy.

Huge raindrops were falling like bullets, splashing as they reached the ground. Mo Fan had initially planned to go for a stroll, but was instead trapped at home for two days because of the rain. Mu Ningxue happened to be away too, so Mo Fan ended up extremely bored since he could only cultivate quietly in the garden.

“The storm is a little too big,” Lingling grabbed herself a chair and sat down beside Mo Fan. She was hugging the warm Little Flame Belle and fondling her like she was a kitten.

“Yeah, it’s been a while since I last saw a storm this big,” Mo Fan agreed with a nod.

“Something bad is going to happen,” Lingling said.

“You mean Feiniao City?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m not sure, but it’s already the third day. Not only is the storm still going, it hasn’t shown any signs of weakening,” Lingling told him.

“Are you telling me you have a bad feeling about this?” Mo Fan queried promptly.

Lingling did not respond. She was staring at the entrance like a cat with sharp eyes. Someone in a white outfit and a huge black umbrella was approaching them.

“Mo Fan!” The man took the umbrella down, and was promptly drenched in the rain. He spoke immediately, “I’m afraid I’ll need to head south.”

“Oh? Is it urgent? We still haven’t found the guy with the Undead Magic. I don’t think it’s wise to leave Fanxue Mountain now,” Mo Fan answered.

“I don’t have a choice, something serious has happened. I am currently the chief of the South Wing Platoon, and I have to go,” Mu Bai stated.

“Tell us what’s going on first,” Mo Fan cajoled him.

“Is it Xiamen?” Lingling lifted her gaze and spoke as if she could predict the future.

Mu Bai gasped, seeming a little surprised. He did not understand how Lingling knew it was Xiamen, since the information was kept confidential.

“Yeah, it’s been raining for almost three days. The seawater has already drowned the bridges to Xiamen. The whole city is submerged in water now. The water is over a meter deep in most areas. The rain doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop, either. The whole island might be drowned eventually from the rain and the seawater…” Mu Bai confirmed.

The South Wing Platoon had only received a warning, but judging from the current state of things, Xiamen might become an important breakthrough point for the sea monsters. Many divisions were assigned to stand by at Xiamen. The South Wing Platoon was there to provide them with support!

“The city of Xiamen is located on a huge island, so it is also called Xiamen Island. It’s connected to the mainland by only a few bridges. The rising sea level has already had quite a huge impact on Xiamen. Luckily, the island’s terrain has a slightly higher altitude. It did not end up like the new district in Pudong, but if the storm keeps going…” Lingling explained.

“I just feel like now isn’t the best time for us to go anywhere,” Mo Fan sighed.

“We can’t just hide forever if the guy doesn’t show himself, right? If he’s really after us, the trip to Xiamen might be a good opportunity to lure him out and get rid of him, so we won’t have to stay on our toes,” Mu Bai proposed.

“Mm, I do think we shouldn’t be so passive. I’ll go with you, too. Xiamen… I actually fought there once. Isn’t the Donghai Magic Association’s headquarters located on Xiamen’s Gulangyu?” Mo Fan recalled.

“The Donghai Magic Association is the one asking for help…” Mu Bai trailed off.

They heard footsteps approaching the entrance while they were talking. They sounded like some kind of heavy boots tapping loudly on the pavement.

The three looked toward the entrance and saw a man in a military outfit. He had a tanned face and bright eyes. He initially had a stern look on his face, but his expression shifted as soon as he saw the trio in the garden. It was replaced with an excited grin.

“Brother Fan!” Zhang Xiaohou’s voice pierced through the curtain of rain.

“Houzi, why are you here? Isn’t the situation at the Qinling Mountains getting serious?” Mo Fan was surprised when he saw Zhang Xiaohou hurrying toward him.

“It’s serious, but our troop just received a higher priority order, assigning us south to Xiamen! Our aircraft was surprised by the storm an hour ago. We were struggling to fly south any further, so we were forced to land in Feiniao City. I came to visit you since the plane won’t be taking off for another hour or so.

“By the way, Brother Fan, what were the demon birds you brought to the Qinling Mountains? They are strong and fierce, and are seriously picking a fight with the White Magic Falcons, which helped to lift the burden from our shoulders. The White Magic Falcons won’t be stirring up trouble anytime soon. I thought we finally had a chance to rest, but something has happened here in the south instead,” Zhang Xiaohou half-sighed in exasperation.

“They even called the division posted at the Qinling Mountains over?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

“Perhaps they are really lacking manpower. Many cities along the coastline that are currently experiencing the storm have sounded a Blue Alert. I believe the whole military is busy dispatching troops to the right places. Our troop at the Qinling Mountains happened to be free for the time being,” Zhang Xiaohou answered.

“It seems like the situation in Xiamen is pretty serious. It’s most likely the sea monsters of the entire Donghai (East Sea) and Nanhai (South Sea) are planning to invade our country through Xiamen,” Lingling informed him.

Mo Fan thought Lingling was only speculating about the potential danger that the storm might bring when they were on the plane. To his surprise, a great disaster really was about to occur on the third day of the storm!

Rain, seawater, fierce winds, and stormy clouds… weren’t these the sea monsters’ favorite? With them, the sea monsters could finally extend their kingdom onto the land. They could finally conquer the human cities they had longed for!

“We are going to Xiamen too. Can you give us a ride? I think all the commercial flights have been canceled,” Mo Fan said.

“I can certainly give you a ride if you’re going too, but I’m seriously worried about it. It’s rare to receive such an urgent order from the authorities.” Zhang Xiaohou could feel how serious the situation was.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The rain did not weaken in the slightest, but the aircraft carrying the soldiers from the Qinling Mountains had no choice but to take off for Xiamen amid the fierce wind and heavy rain. The aircraft almost lost its balance while it was lifting off into the sky and heading for the stratosphere.

The military aircraft was capable of flying at a higher altitude, around fifteen thousand meters. However, one of the reasons why these tropical storms were so terrifying was because they could reach an altitude of almost ten thousand meters, which was pretty rare for a storm.

The black stormy clouds were currently around three thousand meters below the aircraft. It was absolutely terrifying to look down from the plane. Fear immediately arose from one’s deepest heart, sending chills down their spines and then their whole body.

The clouds resembled a bottomless black ocean, a great hole that was spinning slowly. Even though the aircraft and the storm were almost five thousand meters apart, the people still had a feeling that the tiny aircraft was being dragged into the storm. The slashing wind, roaring thunder, and ferocious rain had combined into the darkest and scariest nest of devils, and this thing was currently looming over a city along the shore!

Zhang Xiaohou went up to Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan and said with a stern face, “The plane won’t be able to land, we’ll have to jump!”

1

“You’re kidding me, we are fifteen thousand meters up!…” The expression on Bai Hongfei’s face, who happened to be tagging along, stiffened.

“The city is right below us, dropping from the sky is our only way to enter Xiamen,” Zhang Xiaohou went on.

The aircraft had no chance of descending through the storm; it would obviously be destroyed. It could only fly over Xiamen and drop them from a height the storm could not reach.

Everyone on the aircraft was prepared for a tough drop. There was no other choice!

“Someone might die if we are dropping from here,” Mo Fan glanced at the rest of the Battlemages in their military outfits.

Their cultivations were not particularly outstanding. If they happened to be caught by a fierce wind during the fall, they might not even land in one piece, let alone being able to land safely on the ground!

“There’s no other choice. It’s an order from the high command. I’ll jump first, the rest of you will follow me!” Zhang Xiaohou said. He was referring to the elite Mages he had brought with him.

“Affirmative!”

There were two troops on the plane. One was from the Qinling Division led by Zhang Xiaohou, and the other was from the Hongling Division, which was much larger in terms of men and material. They were also summoned to Xiamen, but their captain was someone different this time.

“Jump!”

“Jump!”

Zhang Xiaohou stood at the exit. He put on a pair of goggles and dove towards the sea of black clouds.

Mo Fan, Mu Bai, Bai Hongfei, Jiang Shaoxu, and Lingling jumped at the same time as Zhang Xiaohou, followed by the hundred elite Mages from the Qinling Division.

2

The soldiers of the Hongling Division dropped rapidly out the other side too. Over two hundred tiny dots were now scattered across the sky, diving rapidly into the sea of black clouds below.

Lingling was with Mo Fan, hugging Mo Fan tightly like a little octopus. It was obvious that she had never fallen from an altitude of ten thousand meters before. Many Mages would not be able to endure the pressure!

Fortunately, Mo Fan had the Earth Element. He cast a spell and summoned a layer of rock attached to himself and Lingling, reducing the pain caused by air resistance.

The raindrops were dense. Mo Fan and his crew were falling through a curtain of rain while surrounded by darkness. Their vision was extremely limited. For some reason, they had a feeling they were going to smash into the ground soon, as they were unable to maintain their balance while falling rapidly from the sky. They were worried that they might fall to their deaths in the next second!

To their relief, the clouds were not thick enough to cover all the way to the land below. Mo Fan noticed a tall building soaked in water when he was around a thousand meters from the ground. He had to look very closely to see the ground under the water from his current height!

“Has the whole city been flooded? Unbelievable!” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

He had been to Xiamen before. He remembered what the city looked like in the past, yet the storm seemed to have merged the city and the ocean. The streets were covered in water, either from the rain or the seawater that was now pouring into the city. The pavements, plazas, parks, and bridges were all submerged… even Venice was not this shocking!

“Pull the chute!” Lingling yelled above the strong wind.

Mo Fan finally realized he was supposed to pull the parachute, but he was a little too slow.

The speed he was falling at was already faster than the wind. He was only a thousand meters above the ground when he saw the city. He could easily cover the distance in the blink of an eye. He was only around four hundred meters above the ground when he collected his thoughts!

The chute opened. Mo Fan immediately felt a strong force almost snap his body in half.

The chute was falling quickly too. It obviously could not overcome the speed that Mo Fan was falling at…

Mo Fan had a bad feeling about it. He decisively used the Shadow Element to adjust his fall.

He went into the shadows, but was forced to reappear. He tried again, but the same thing happened because he was falling too quickly. Mo Fan hugged Lingling and dived into the water when he noticed he was almost at the ground.

—

—

Mo Fan climbed out of the water and carried Lingling onto the roof of a house, sneezing loudly.

The water just reached the window on the second floor, and looked like it was still going to rise further.

“Idiot!” Lingling glanced at her wet shirt and hair and snapped.

1

“It was a mistake, we were falling too quickly.” Mo Fan dried his shirt off with his flames before taking out a huge raincoat and wrapping it around Lingling’s petite figure.

“Where are the others?” Lingling hid inside the raincoat and put on a huge helmet. It felt like the huge raindrops beating down were going to crush her.

“They should have landed too, but they might land quite far from us, considering the height we jumped from,” Mo Fan said.

Lingling looked around them and noticed they were in a residential area. It was more like a village inside a city. The houses were only ten meters high on average, but water was flowing rapidly everywhere. The second floors were half submerged, only the balconies were still above the water. Many houses that had been built in a simpler manner had turned into debris floating on the water. Lingling also saw dead bodies and people calling for help. The dead bodies floating on the water had become their last straws to clutch at.

“It all happened too quickly,” Lingling murmured after observing everything around her.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had a military communication device with him. He was planning to use it to search for Zhang Xiaohou and the others.

He roughly glanced at the locations of the green dots on the device and noticed everyone had landed in different places in Xiamen.

“Mo Fan, let’s go to the bus rapid transit,” Lingling pointed at a tall bridge that looked like a highway ahead.

“I’ll gather the people nearby first,” Mo Fan noticed a few people floating in the water. He grabbed them with his Telekinesis and gathered them on the roof of the building he was standing on.

The people turned out to be from the same family. The water must have broken into their home. They had no choice but to grab a few wooden boards and place their fate in the Heavens’ hands. The Heavens had been kind to them by sending Mo Fan from the sky.

“Blink!” Mo Fan teleported everyone to the highway Lingling had pointed to previously.

Mo Fan had to cast Blink twice due to the number of people with him to move everyone onto the bridge.

“This is a very long highway.” Mo Fan looked into the distance and noticed he could not see the end of the highway. He had no clue where it was going.

“It’s not suitable to build a subway due to Xiamen’s geography. The rapid transit for the busses is the equivalent of the subway in the Magic City here. It goes from the south to the north through the city with a few routes. Most of the roads are submerged now, so the rapid transit, which is twenty meters above the ground, is the only clear path left.” Lingling had obviously done some homework before coming here. She was very familiar with the situation, even though it was her first time in Xiamen.

Mo Fan did not spend a long time in Xiamen the last time he came to the city. He assumed the spacious bridge was some kind of a highway. Now that he took a closer look at it, he realized the bridge was indeed sturdier and wider than usual highways. Even the pillars were a lot thicker. Its height was double of a normal highway, actually around the height of the fourth floor of the buildings nearby!

Currently, the combination of seawater and rainwater had reached the first floor of most buildings. Only the roofs of two-story houses were still above the water. The rapid transit highway  was obviously the safest place people could move freely, since the water was around ten meters below it.

The huge rainstorm had come so quickly. The people in the city were still living a normal life two days ago. They were quite used to tropical storms , but the rain soon drowned the streets and the roads became a swamp before they realized what was happening. They had no choice but to stay on the roofs and watched the ground floor get flooded.

Floods were quite common in the southern cities. Every ten years or so there would be a flood where the ground floors of the houses would turn into pools. They thought the water would fall on the second day after they moved up to the first floor, but the storm never stopped. The ground floor was completely drowned and began to rise to the first floor. Some houses were even swept away by the current!

As Lingling had mentioned, it had all happened so quickly. Even if the government had long given out warnings, many people had assumed it to be the typical flood they had encountered in the past. They only realized the city had turned into an ocean when the storm hit them in the face. The water even destroyed the dam and went a few meters higher!

By the time everyone realized what was going on, the city was already drowned in seawater. As they glanced across the water, they saw the rapid currents carrying corpses, broken trees, and metal sheets away. The taller buildings were like isolated rafts carrying many survivors. They were standing close to the windows, observing the unfamiliar city in fear.

The civilians were stranded in buildings surrounded by deep waters.

On the other hand, the people on the highway had plenty of space to move around, yet they were constantly in the storm and strong winds in the open. Their faces and lips were pale from the cold.

“Lingling, does the rapid transit route reach the mainland?” Mo Fan asked indifferently.

Xiamen was different from most cities along the coastline because the city was located on an island, while other cities were on a peninsula or a bay. When the huge storm came, the bridges connecting the island and the mainland were no longer accessible. Xiamen and its people were now completely surrounded by water.

Mo Fan now understood why the situation was such an emergency. Many places had gone through disasters, but the government could at least evacuate the people to safety by moving them where the seawater could not reach. Unfortunately, Xiamen was stranded by the seawater. The civilians had nowhere to escape to. The tall buildings and highways had become their only shelters!

“Sea monster! It’s a sea monster!” someone screamed all of a sudden.

Lingling was holding a map in her hands to point out the routes of the rapid transit system to Mo Fan, but she immediately put it away when she heard the cry.

The cry scared everyone that was hiding from the storm at a station.

The stations had awnings to provide the people with temporary relief from the storm. It was very crowded with people. They had no idea where to go when they heard the scream. They started screaming too!

“Everyone, stay calm. I’m a Mage, I will protect you all!” a woman in a blue hooded raincoat spoke up.

The woman was around the age of twenty-five. She seemed to work for a Magic Organization. She stepped forward from the crowd while the huge raindrops fell on her and spattered off her raincoat.

“Where’s the sea monster?” The woman stood at the edge of the highway and studied the water below.

“It’s beside the house with the sign advertising English classes. It’s under the pile of white trash bags. I saw it poking its head out,” a young teenager in a school uniform exclaimed.

“What does it look like?” the woman asked.

“It looks like a crab. It had a pair of eyes on its head, with pincers like excavator claws!” the young teenager said nervously. It was most likely his first time seeing a sea monster at such a close distance.

“The rain is so thick. How did you manage to see it so clearly?” the woman was puzzled.

“My vision is naturally better than most people, but it’s not enough for me to enroll into a magic school… but I think the monster has snuck under the bridge. I can still see its shadow,” the young teenager said.

“I can’t see it. You should follow me to the tollway below us and tell me where it is,” the woman said.

“Ah? But…I’m scared!”

“It’s fine, I’ll protect you. We have a few hundred people here. The wind and rain are too strong, and we won’t be able to find a shelter. If the sea monsters show up, many are going to die, but don’t you worry, I’ll deal with the sea monsters. You just need to tell me where they are,” the woman assured him.

A young teenager subconsciously glanced at a young woman who was also in a school uniform under the awning. She had an attractive face. Her wet hair and pale lips did not affect her beautiful appearance. She was currently looking at the young teenager with a hint of helplessness.

“Alright, I’ll go with you… I can see around three meters into the water!” the young teenager said.

“I’ll go with you two. I’m a Mage too,” Mo Fan came over and told the young teenager and the young woman.

“Mm, but don’t stay too close when the sea monsters show up.” The woman in a raincoat did not seem to trust Mo Fan. She sounded a little cold.

Mo Fan was unable to see the sea monsters. He might have better vision at night, but if there were too many obstacles and the surroundings were misty, his vision was no different from an ordinary person. Meanwhile, the young teenager’s eyes were indeed impressive. He could see a hundred meters away despite the falling rain. He could even see things in the cloudy water!

The highways in the city had many entrances with toll stations, which were  usually on the first floor. They were about as high as an overhead walkway. As a matter of fact, the toll stations were treated as pedestrian bridges for civilians to cross the busy streets. Other public transportation was located on the next floor.

The toll stations were less than a meter away from the surface of the water. The young teenager with outstanding eyes felt like his legs were losing their strength when he was so close to the fierce currents, especially when he remembered a terrifying sea monster with huge pincers was somewhere in the water!

“The sea monsters can just enter the city at this rate…” the young woman murmured with a frown.

“The nihhrt sea monsters won’t be able to enter the city for now, but it might no longer be the case if the rain keeps falling,” Mo Fan agreed with her.

Huge sea monsters would cause great destruction to the city, especially under the current circumstances. The buildings and bus rapid transit were still able to provide the civilians shelter from the smaller sea monsters, but if the huge sea monsters came into the city, they would be taking the last hope away.

“Can you see it?” the young woman ignored Mo Fan’s comment, as if she was displeased by Mo Fan’s negativity.  He was merely stating the truth!

“Strange, I saw it moving down here before,” the young teenager said.

“Don’t just look in front or around you. Watch under your feet too,” the young woman reminded.

The young teenager immediately poked his head over the rails and stared into the water below him.

A pair of huge eyes around the size of a basketball were poking out from the water, revolving back and forth continuously.

The eyes seemed to suffer from huge blind spots. It too did not notice the young man who had poked his head out of the rails. It slowly observed the surroundings before looking upward.  Its eyes soon reflected the young man’s horrified expression, like his face had frozen on the eyes.

“Look out!”

The young woman swiftly reacted. She immediately pulled the young teenager who had frozen back!

BANG!

At the same time, a huge claw like the scoop of an excavator slammed into the toll station. The toll station was nowhere as sturdy as a pillar of the highway. The huge clam simply smashed it into pieces like a toy!

A huge hole was left at the center of the toll station. Luckily, the highway above them was supporting the platform. It was hanging in the air instead of collapsing right away. Otherwise, both the young teenager and the young woman would fall into the water.

Mo Fan flipped his left hand after seeing what happened. A wild lightning orb with spikes on its surface appeared on his palm. The lightning orb gradually enlarged as Mo Fan rapidly accumulated the energy.

“Don’t,” Lingling grabbed Mo Fan’s wrist and shook her head.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan was confused.

“This sea monster is most likely the first species to invade the city. We should learn how strong it is. Let that woman handle it, so I can observe its level, strength, and weaknesses,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan thought about it. The sea monster with the shell of a crab was obviously not going to survive his spell. He could just kill it with a single blow. They would indeed struggle to learn how strong it was and its abilities.

It was no longer just about killing a few sea monsters instantly to feel good about himself. They had to consider how they could eliminate an entire species that was invading the city. After all, these sea monsters might have scattered across the city, waiting for their chance to strike.

“You’re right, there’s no need for me to intervene if she can handle the sea monster on her own. We’ll wait until Zhang Xiaohou gather everyone else,” Mo Fan said.

“You’re right, there’s no need for me to intervene if she can handle the sea monster on her own. We’ll wait until Zhang Xiaohou gather everyone else,” Mo Fan said.

1

It was not the same as leaving someone to die. Mo Fan was hoping that these people could adapt and learn to survive. That being said, Mo Fan would intervene if the young woman was unable to defeat the sea monster on her own.

“Zhang Xiaohou is already gathering his men. Once he regroups with his men, they will focus on the mission from the authorities. It’s going to be tough…these sea monsters aren’t as powerful as a Warrior-level creature, yet they are several times stronger than a Servant-class creature,” Lingling said.

“Sea monsters are generally stronger than the demon creatures on land, especially when there’s a ready supply of seawater,” Mo Fan had spent some time at the East Maritime Fortress in Tokyo. He was well aware of it.

The level of Servant-class, Warrior-level, and Commander-level were based on the strength of the demon creatures on land. They were rarely used as a reference for the sea monsters. Among the sea monsters that Mo Fan had encountered, assuming there was water around, a Servant-class sea monster was strong enough to fight three Servant-class creatures on land.

The sea monster with huge clams was only a Servant-class creature, yet it was pretty strong!

“Its strength is three times the strength of a typical brute-force creature. It can hide quickly when there’s water around. Its agility is equivalent to a balanced-type creature. I wonder if it has other abilities…” Lingling murmured as she closely observed the battle between the young woman and the sea monster.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

BANG!

The sea monster raised its pincers and smashed the other side of the toll bridge into pieces. Broken steel rebar was exposed to the air, while shattered cement fell into the water. The young woman failed to stand firm this time, and fell together with the other half of the toll bridge. However, she was quite agile. She noticed a metal sheet roof that happened to be near her. She quickly used it as a stepping stone before it fell and jumped to a large billboard around a pole.

She was able to get her footing on the billboard. After stabilizing herself, she pulled the hood of the raincoat back as if it was hindering her vision, revealing a rather attractive face. Her wet short hair dangling by the side of her ears was clean, and more than enough to set off her beauty!

“Tell me where it is!” the young woman’s eyes sharpened. The menacing look was out of place on her face.

The young teenager could barely stand properly on the remnants of the toll bridge. His trembling legs were losing strength. He climbed miserably toward the rails after hearing the young woman’s order, gathering his courage before looking into the water.

“It’s…it’s on the other side of the street. It’s heading toward you!” the young teenager shouted when he noticed the shadow moving quickly underwater.

The young woman quickly fixed her eyes in the direction the young teenager had mentioned.

“Run, it’s charging at you, you’re going to die!” the young teenager yelled in fear.

Mo Fan glanced at the ripples on the water. He noticed the sea monster was indeed speeding up, as the young teenager had mentioned. The creature was several times stronger than normal Servant-class creatures. If it had a chance to gather its strength, a blow from it was even comparable to the attack of a Warrior-level creature. The force would crush the young woman to pieces!

Mo Fan clenched his left hand. He had formed a lightning orb and was ready to strike at any moment!

“Glacier Zipline!” the young woman uttered firmly.

Rings of frost appeared half a meter behind her. As she pointed forward, several icy zip lines as sturdy as metal sprang forward. Unlike the Ice Lock of most Ice Mages, the tip of the woman’s Glacier Zipline was as sharp as a spear!

The Huge-Pincered Sea Monster jumped out of the water. Its dark green body resembled an armored tank. It was rather terrifying when it was charging at its target with such great momentum!

The Glacier Zipline shot at the sea monster as it was pouncing forward. The icy sharp Glacier Zipline had remarkable penetrating force. It easily punched right through the sea monster’s thick armor.

Four of the eight ice zip lines punctured the creature and nailed it to a supporting pillar of the highway.

The Huge-Pincered Sea Monster’s attack halted in mid-air. The Glacier Zipline was thin, yet it was still strong enough to support the creature’s weight. The sea monster suddenly resembled an Alaskan crab that had been placed on a barbecue grill. It was struggling to break free despite waving its huge pincers around.

The young woman on the billboard stared at the Huge-Pincered Sea Monster coldly. The Glacier Zipline had most likely damaged its vital organs. Its life was draining away rapidly as light green blood leaked out from its wounds and dripped into the water.

A moment later, the young woman flipped in the air and landed on the ice zip lines. She approached the Huge-Pincered Sea Monster steadily.

The Huge-Pincered Sea Monster planned to murder the woman with its huge pincers, yet it could no longer swing them at the right angle. The woman stepped on the Huge-Pincered Sea Monster’s head and walked over its back to the zip line behind it.

The young woman soon returned to the highway by following the zip line. A huge crowd was watching her from the awning of the highway. They cheered excitedly when they saw the enormous sea monster slain by a seemingly feeble young woman!

The young teenager stared at the young woman blankly. His mind was empty for some time. In his eyes, the Huge-Pincered Sea Monster was incredibly strong. It would easily kill everyone on the highway, and even destroy the bridge that would decide their fate. However, it was actually possible to kill such a terrifying creature, not to mention it was a seemingly weak young woman who killed it. She was stronger than the sea monster!

“You did well.” The young woman helped the young teenager who was struggling to stand properly up.

The young teenager’s eyes glittered passionately after he overcame his fear. “Can a Mage be so strong?”

“There are many who are stronger than me.” The young woman did not smile because of the compliment.

She gave Mo Fan a quick glance while they were passing him by and said coldly, “Too scared to move your feet? If not, you should go up there now.”

Mo Fan rubbed his forehead and withdrew the lightning spell in his left hand. He said with an awkward smile, “I was going to help you, but you took care of it yourself. You are stronger than I thought.”

A Battlemage was different from a salaried Mage. A Battlemage’s ability to remain calm when facing demon creatures was something that Mages who normally worked in offices lacked. The young woman was obviously trained and experienced. The Intermediate Ice Spell was the result of countless improvements through experience in battles!

The Intermediate Ice Spell: Ice Lock was more of a utility spell that was mostly used to bind and impair an enemy’s movement, but it had become a powerful offensive spell in the young woman’s hands. She had turned the ice chains into zip lines to maximize their penetrating power!

—

The others’ attitude toward the young woman shifted when they returned to the highway. They were hoping to get closer to her.

Mo Fan glanced at the communication device on his wrist. The screen was displaying the coordinates of the place where everyone would be regrouping at.

“We can climb to that building from here.” The young teenager pointed at a nearby building after realizing something.

“There should be food, clothes, and medicine in the building. It’s better than staying out here in the rain.”

“Yeah, let’s take shelter in the building!”

The ice zip lines that the young woman summoned had become a bridge for them, but the catch was they had to pass by the dead body of the huge sea monster. However, they had no choice but to climb over it to find themselves a safer spot.

The group began to climb along the Glacier Zipline. Meanwhile, the young woman was staring in a different direction.

“Sister, aren’t you going to come with us?” the young teenager asked.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m a Rescue Mage of the Donghai Magic Association. I’m currently responsible for gathering and contacting everyone who came to lend the Donghai Magic Association a hand. They are gathering at Jiangtou Park. They are not familiar with the area, as they have come from other places,” the young woman said.

“My house is close to Jiangtou Park…” a female high-schooler in the same uniform as the young teenager piped up. “My family is still there. Can I go with you?”

The young woman looked at the others who were climbing the zip lines to the building. She said with a troubled look, “I think it’s better for you to stay with them.”

“My mother can’t see anything. I’m really worried about her. I’m begging you,” the high-schooler pleaded.

“Sister, please help her. I can help too… I can see deeper into the water if I’m not scared,” the young teenager said.

Mo Fan let out a sigh when he saw how hard the young teenager was defending the high-schooler. Was displaying affection in public so common among young school kids already? How old were they!?

The young woman was obviously the kind who pretended to be cold on the surface but warm on the inside. She finally agreed after the two high-schoolers pleaded.

However, it was not a wise decision in Mo Fan’s eyes. It was completely different having to bring two people who did not know magic than moving around alone. The difficulty was more than doubled!

“We are heading that way too. Let’s go together,” Mo Fan told the young woman.

The young woman did not respond, but the young teenager gave Mo Fan a disdainful look instead.

It was likely that the young teenager had taken the young woman’s comment seriously. He assumed Mo Fan was too scared to even move his feet when he saw the sea monster.

“What’s with the look in your eyes? Do you know I can use Blink?” Mo Fan glared at the young teenager.

“Yeah, sure, I can use a Forbidden Spell too.” The young teenager rolled his eyes.

“Damn, I will show it to you now. You better hope it doesn’t blind you!” Mo Fan’s temper rose.

“Show it to me then, don’t just put on an act, I didn’t see you contributing just then, yet you are claiming to be a Super Mage now when the sea monster is already dead. Show me a Super Spell, and I’ll apologize to you right away,” the young teenager said.

“Screw it, I can’t stand you any longer,” Mo Fan was seriously going to Cast a spell.

Lingling immediately kicked Mo Fan in the stomach when she sensed the energy ripples from him. She grunted, “Are you out of your mind? Are you really arguing with a kid? Save your energy, we are on a mission!”

The young woman stared at Mo Fan and the young teenager like they were retards. She followed the bus rapid transit route together with the high-schooler. Lingling went with the young woman as she had enough of Mo Fan, leaving him and the young teenager who were arguing behind.

“You were still drinking milk somewhere when I first learned magic!”

“Keep going, the next time a sea monster shows up, go and fight it yourself instead!”

“I’m telling you, I was just observing how strong the sea monster was. I could have killed it with a single spell if I wanted…”

“Your face is thicker than the sea monster’s shell!”

“Blin… damn it, forget it, I won’t waste my time on a kid like you.”

—

The group continued on the highway. After some discussion, Lingling learned the young woman was indeed a member of the Donghai Magic Association’s Rescue Squad. Her name was Shen Qing. The rescue squad was currently scattered across Xiamen. She was entrusted with the important mission of guiding the South Wing Mages who had come to Xiamen to make sure they knew their way around.

Mu Bai was leading the South Wing Mages who had been dispatched to Xiamen. In other words, Shen Qing was the representative of the Donghai Magic Association who was supposed to receive them. Mo Fan glanced at the coordinates provided by Zhang Xiaohou. The soldiers from the Qinling Division and the Hongling Division were gathering at Jiangtou Park too.

Many organizations had come to lend Xiamen a hand. The people from the Qinling Division, Hongling Division, and South Wing Platoon had taken a military plane at Feiniao City to Xiamen. It was very likely that the authorities had combined the three troops into one for the operation.

The Donghai Magic Association and the Southern Military were most likely in charge of the operation!

The young teenager’s name was Liu Xi, while the female high-schooler’s name was Fang Xiaoxue. They were from the same high school. Interestingly, they were not an official couple yet. The young teenager was asking the girl out instead.

Mo Fan was a lot more relieved after learning the truth. If these high schoolers were already bringing negativity to society when they were only freshmen in high school, how heavy-hearted would the singles from the nineties be?

“So it’s only a one-sided love! Kid, you have a long way to go still,” Mo Fan mocked.

1

“It’s none of your concern!” Liu Xi snapped. Teenagers his age were very sensitive about their love interests.

Lingling had also told Shen Qing about Mo Fan and her background during their conversation. Shen Qing purposely looked back at Mo Fan, who was still arguing with the young teenager. She had to admit that Mo Fan was so pompous that she could hardly think of him as someone reliable. She was still doubtful even when Lingling told her the truth.

“Is Jiangtou Park far away from here?” Lingling asked.

Shen Qing pointed in front of her and replied, “We won’t be able to take the bus rapid transit any further after we reach the station ahead.”

The bus rapid transit did not have many stations. Xiamen only had three highways going from the south to the north, and Jiangtou Park was a certain distance from them.

“The water is shallower here,” Lingling pointed out.

“Jiangtou Park is the center of the island. The coordinates you received should be the Sheraton Hotel,” Shen Qing confirmed.

“Do you mean the tall, gold-copper building over there?” Lingling asked, pointing in a specific direction.

“Mm, that’s the one. It should be the evacuation point for the people in Jiangtou,” Shen Qing said.

Lingling took a closer look and discovered the Sheraton Hotel covered a huge area. The building was just beside the park. It was a lot bigger compared to the office buildings and commercial lots nearby.

“That’s where our landing point should be. Does that mean it was us who was separated from the team?” Mo Fan exclaimed when he saw the building.

“And whose fault was that!?” Lingling snapped.

Zhang Xiaohou had landed precisely on the designated point, while his men had landed in the nearby areas. They were able to reach the gathering point fairly quickly. Some who landed further away had already regrouped with the team. Mo Fan, who had to cross a huge section of the bus rapid transit and a few more streets to reach the gathering point, had turned out to be the most unreliable member among them!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan noticed every floor of the huge hotel was crowded with people. It was obvious that the person in charge of the district had gathered many of the survivors at the hotel so it was easier to manage them.

There were a lot of tall buildings in the district, but if the people were scattered across the area, it would be difficult to keep track of their numbers. They would need extra manpower to evacuate each building, too. As there were several hundred units in a single block, it was unlikely they could take care of everyone.

Mo Fan reached the higher floors and saw the people of the Hongling Division, Qinling Division, and South Wing Platoon gathering at a balcony. The fierce wind and rain were just a few meters away, greeting them with a cold mist.

“We can’t help it, there’s isn’t anywhere else to stand inside, so we shall discuss here,” an elder of the Donghai Magic Association named Zhuang Hong said.

“There are so many people here. Are the food, water, and medicine enough?” Shen Qing asked in a worried voice.

The entire Sheraton Hotel had become an emergency shelter for around twenty thousand people. The situation was now under control, but these people would need a huge supply of food and water to feed everyone. The seawater had sealed off the roads for around a day. Many people could survive without food for a day, but it was unlikely they could go for another one without complaining mightily.

“The Shoreline Alliance estimates that the seawater will rise to a dangerous level of fifteen meters in eight hours. When it happens, a species called the Armor Antenna Sea Monster will be able to reach the island. The species is very unique. They strongly favor meat and they have a pair of antennas on their heads that can detect human heartbeats. If we don’t evacuate the city and bring these people inland in time, it will be a bloodbath in eight hours,” Elder Zhuang Hong said sternly.

Everyone immediately straightened their faces.

Which kind of demon creatures were the biggest threat to Mages in the wild? Was it the kind with outstanding strength?

The Hunters who spent most of their time in the wild clearly knew that the biggest threat was always the species with sharp senses who could pick up the presence of humans from miles away!

If it was a powerful creature, people could just try their best to avoid it. They could still flee for their lives if they were unable to defeat it.

However, demon creatures with sharp senses were like hunters. They would pursue their prey endlessly once they set their focus on them. They would often wait patiently for the humans to lower their guards. They would torture their prey with their menacing glares and finally kill them all!

Among the species with sharp senses, one kind that would even make the face of experienced Hunters turn pale were those with the ability to sense a human’s heartbeat!

It was possible to cover your scent with certain methods. An experienced Hunter even knew how to trick the demon creatures with a keen sense of smell. The demon creatures would eventually lose track of their prey, but there was no way to conceal a person’s heartbeat!

Every human’s heart was beating continuously. The faster it was beating, the easier it was to alert the demon creatures. Since the area was now drowned in water, it was harder for smells to spread, so it was impractical for the demon creatures to track their prey via scent. Therefore, certain species of sea monsters had developed the ability to sense heartbeats instead!

The Armor Antenna Sea Monster was one of them. They had long segmented limbs. When they stayed still while the antennas on their heads were swinging around, it meant they were searching for the heartbeats of creatures in the nearby waters or along the seabed.

It was meaningless for humans to hide from the Armor Antenna Sea Monster inside buildings. They could easily track down the people inside a building without having to raze it to the ground. If those savage Armor Antenna Sea Monsters reached the island, horrible things would occur in every corner of the city!

“We only have eight hours left, but before then, the vanguards among the sea monsters will continuously invade the city too…” Elder Zhuang Hong continued.

“The sea monsters have already entered the city. We stumbled into one on our way here. It was a Huge-Pincered Sea Monster, a brute-force species that is able to move freely in shallow waters,” Lingling chimed up.

Zhuang Hong frowned. “They came quicker than we expected. It seems like we might not have eight hours left after all. The government has done everything it could to gather the victims in buildings that won’t be destroyed easily.”

“The whole city is drowned in seawater. We don’t have enough flying equipment. The streets are submerged too. How are we supposed to evacuate so many people?” Chu Mingxi of the Hongling Division asked.

It was not like the man was being pessimistic. Everyone was well aware of the situation the city was under. Xiamen was not that big, but it still had a diameter of twelve kilometers from the south to the north, with streets densely and unequally packed alongside one another. The Hongling Division had helped evacuate a few towns amid disasters, but it was their first time doing so in a place that was basically out in the ocean. They had no experience with this whatsoever.

That being said, fighting the sea monsters was still the most important part of the operation. It did not mean they were not good at fighting in water. Xiamen was a prosperous city with fewer old houses and more tall buildings. There was plenty of space for them to fight the sea monsters.

The only problem was that they were not familiar with sea monsters at all. Which species was capable of spitting poison, which species were able to move swiftly, which species had some kind of deadly moves… they were utterly clueless. They would end up with a lot of casualties without the necessary information.

“Don’t worry, we’ve already organized everything. We didn’t call you here to place you fully in charge of the operation. We are just telling you the details,” Zhuang Hong said.

“What should we do then?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“We want to know the exact species that have invaded the city. The Armor Antenna Sea Monsters aren’t the only species that can deliver a devastating blow to us. The Shoreline Alliance has only warned us about the possibility of them invading the city in eight hours, but we are still clueless about the rest of the species that might show up before that. Our men are fully preoccupied with the evacuation operation. The Donghai Magic Association, Southern Military, and the local government are asking for your help in eliminating every potential threat to the operation before the crisis in eight hours!” Zhuang Hong said.

The operation to evacuate the city!

The crisis in eight hours!

The people of the Hongling Division, Qinling Division, and South Wing Platoon were Advanced Mages on average. They did not have high numbers, but they were capable fighters. It was unlikely they could evacuate the entire city, but they were entrusted with a more difficult mission: eliminating all threats that might hinder the operation to evacuate the city!

No one knew what species of sea monsters would show up. They would be facing the unknown for the next eight hours…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Can you please explain to us how you are planning to evacuate the city? Not only is the city surrounded by the seawater, the streets are all submerged too!” Chu Mingxi of the Hongling Division spoke up.

Zhuang Hong placed a waterproof map on the table. “Take a look at this map. There are three main paths from Xiamen to the land: the three main bridges in Haicang, Xinglin, and Jimei. The three highways which these bridges are a part of branch off further inside the city. The Haicang Highway goes from the west to the east across Xiamen Island, while Xinglin and Jimei Highways go around the island from the north to the south…”

The map was huge. The highways on it were highlighted with an obvious green.

Mo Fan stuck his head closer to take a glance at it. He noticed the highways of the rapid transit route formed a horizontal route and two vertical routes across the city. The routes did not necessarily cover the whole city, but they reasonably covered most of the districts. Every street was at a reasonable distance from a bus rapid transit station.

“These three routes are our lifelines. We will move the civilians trapped in the buildings in different corners of the city onto the highways,” Zhuang Hong continued.

Mo Fan took a closer look. In other words, the civilians only needed to follow the highways to the three bridges. Once they crossed the bridges, they would reach safety once they reached the mainland.

“It seems like the authorities managed to keep their heads clear. I was wondering if we could use the highways to relocate the civilians too,” Lingling whispered into Mo Fan’s ear.

“Mm, those roads are the best choices we have. The rapid transit highways are over twenty meters high. The bridges are very sturdy, too. Normal sea monsters won’t be able to destroy them. If the routes remain clear, we should be able to evacuate the city in eight hours,” Mo Fan nodded.

“I’ve already assigned our men to stay in positions along the routes where the civilians will be escorted to the highways. Therefore, you must make sure the operation is a success by reporting to us the species, locations, and numbers of the sea monsters! You will have to clear the obstacles that show up on the three routes in time and eliminate the powerful sea monsters that might threaten any of the three lifelines!” Zhuang Hong finished sternly.

The South Wing Platoon, Hongling Division, and Qinling Division were clear about their mission. The three leaders – Mu Bai, Chu Mingxi, and Zhang Xiaohou – had serious faces now. They had now realized how difficult the mission was!

“We will handle the Haicang Route,” Chu Mingxi of the Hongling Division stated.

“Then we’ll take the Xinglin Route,” Mu Bai declared on behalf of the South Wing Platoon.

“The Qinling Division will take the Jimei Route,” Zhang Xiaohou finished.

The three leaders confirmed the routes they were in charge of respectively and immediately proceeded to make the necessary arrangements. The three routes connected the mainland and Xiamen through the three main bridges, so they each covered a distance of more than ten kilometers. It was impossible to ensure the roads would be clear at all times without preparing in advance.

They could not afford to waste any more time. The three leaders immediately carried out their tasks.

“Hey, what about me?” Mo Fan was at a loss after everyone was dismissed. He did not necessarily represent any organizations, even though he had come with Mu Bai and Zhang Xiaohou, who had now received their orders. Mo Fan suddenly had no idea what he should be doing.

Zhuang Hong was putting the map away, and asked Shen Qing with a puzzled look, “Who is he?”

“A freelance Hunter, I think,” Shen Qing answered.

“If you want to help, you can go with Shen Qing. Her job is to rescue the civilians who are stranded in secluded areas…” Zhuang Hong did not know who Mo Fan was. He indifferently assigned Mo Fan to Shen Qing and left with his men.

Mo Fan stared at the others who had left in a hurry with a blank face.

“Green Tea, Houzi, you can ask me for help if you are in some kind of trouble,” Mo Fan yelled.

“Got it.”

“Sure, Brother Fan!”

The two were leaders of their troops. They could not bother wasting their time like Mo Fan.

Mo Fan looked at Lingling, who was just staring back at him.

“We have no clue where Jiang Shaoxu and Bai Hongfei are, either… forget it, they should be able to handle the sea monsters that have just invaded the city for now,” Mo Fan murmured.

“Why don’t you two come with me? We can rescue the civilians while collecting information about the sea monsters around the city. Someone has to gather the information and report to the authorities,” Shen Qing told Mo Fan.

“Wouldn’t it be overkill?” Mo Fan rubbed his temples. When he saw the others having a race with the God of Death, he too felt an urge to roll up his sleeves and contribute for the sake of the city. However, he felt his balls hurting when he heard Shen Qing’s arrangement. Wasn’t this like dispatching a general as a scout?

“Intel is more important than strength most of the time. Mo Fan, it’s not like we have anything else to do. We might as well follow Shen Qing around,” Lingling chided him.

Mo Fan hesitated for a moment.

Lingling added, “We will surely bump into some dangerous creatures roaming in the city. We can take them out if that happens.”

“A form of entrapment! Mmm, that’s not a bad idea!” Mo Fan gladly accepted it.

Shen Qing looked at Mo Fan. She could not help but wonder how her way of saying things was any different from the little girl’s version…

1

—

When they reached the main hall, the teenage girl named Fang Xiaoxue ran up to Shen Qing.

“My mother isn’t here. I’ve searched the whole building and asked the workers. She must be at home still. Sister, please help me save my mother. She…she’s blind, if no one helps her…” Fang Xiaoxue blurted out in tears.

1

Most of the residents nearby had been moved to the hotel, but there were still people out there who failed to gather at the hotel for different reasons.

“Where is your mother? Will she be at home?” Shen Qing asked patiently.

“Maybe, my home is in Tiancheng Garden,” Fang Xiaoxue said.

“I just received an order to gather everyone around SM City Xiamen to the Xinglin Route. Your home is very close to SM City Xiamen, but you will have to bring your mother to the plaza yourself so I can bring you both to safety,” Shen Qing said.

“Mm, I got it!” Fang Xiaoxue’s eyes flickered with hope.

Shen Qing glanced at Mo Fan. She was about to set off for the shopping center when she saw Mo Fan standing still.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Does the shopping center you just said sell candles, whips… hey, Lingling, why did you step on my foot!?” Mo Fan yelled.

“It’s time to save some lives,” Lingling said expressionlessly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan noticed a benefit while following Shen Qing around. They no longer had to worry about having no place to stand, nor did they need to worry if the water was going to flood the path behind them. The zip lines her Ice Magic were producing could easily establish bridges from one building to another!

They were currently standing on the roof of a school. Shen Qing fired a Glacier Zipline far away and nailed it to an administrative building accurately. It was a very efficient way to evacuate the civilians. If Mo Fan used Blink to move the people to safety, his energy would be depleted in just a few rounds!

“Did you know Spiderman was released recently? Should we go to the movies after we’re done here?” Mo Fan asked Shen Qing while walking on the ice zip lines.

1

“The two white buildings across the street are the shopping center we are going to,” Shen Qing said, pointing ahead as if she had not heard Mo Fan’s teasing.

The emergency shelter was around a street away from the sadomasochism… the SM City Xiamen. It was not too far away. Mo Fan followed the direction Shen Qing was pointing to and saw two large white buildings. One was like a cube, occupying half the street. Its surroundings were relatively spacious, without any tall buildings.

1

The water had reached above the first floor. To their relief, even though the building only had five floors, each floor was widely spaced, so it should have plenty of space available.

Mo Fan also had a feeling that the building was solid and firm. It was not a bad option for a temporary shelter. The civilians in the area must have taken shelter inside it.

Opposite the white cube-like building was another smaller cylinder-shaped building. The two shopping lots were connected by a bridge, which was a lot higher than normal overhead bridges for pedestrians. It was a safe path to move on.

“My Heavens, what are those!?” Liu Xi suddenly screamed in fear, pointing at the cylinder-shaped building.

The rain was still pouring down heavily. The two shopping lots were extremely blurred. Mo Fan and Shen Qing were unable to see anything else around the shopping lots.

“It’s close to Xiamen Phase One, many things are crawling into the shopping lot. They are black with insane numbers!” Liu Xi added.

“Isn’t it just dirty water?” Mo Fan asked.

“No, they are wriggling, like huge earthworms!” Liu Xi said.

“Let’s head over now!” Shen Qing did not dare waste any time thinking about it when she felt something was not right. She immediately created a path straight to the square-shaped shopping lot with her Glacier Zipline.

—

Mo Fan had no idea what Liu Xi had spotted, nor did he know why the teenager was acting so afraid. However, he immediately felt his scalp turning numb when he and Shen Qing were above the shopping lot!

Mo Fan considered himself a rather experienced Mage, yet he had never seen something that he could only describe as that disgusting until now.

Liu Xi did not describe the creatures accurately. Instead of describing the creatures as earthworms, they were more like leeches, a black bloodsucking and soft-bodied creature that looked somewhat like a cocoon. They were usually found in fields, ponds, and lakes. They would attach themselves onto an animal’s skin to drink their blood!

It was rare to see these creatures in the ocean, but the leeches before them were surprisingly big, around half a meter to a meter long. They moved rather quickly, too. They could curl up their bodies and hop over six meters, allowing them to pounce on their targets!

The leeches in fields would usually attach themselves to the blind spots of buffaloes. The buffaloes would not be able to see or reach the cunning leeches. However, these leeches who came from the ocean were obviously capable of hunting down their prey on their own!

Mo Fan and Shen Qing reached the first floor. The floor was fully submerged. Many demon leeches were crawling along the walls and stairs toward the second floor where many civilians were. Screams were filling the shopping lot when they arrived. A few dozen demon leeches had pounced on a few people in the corridors. Their bodies were throbbing continuously as they were sucking a huge amount of blood from the victims!

The creatures could easily turn their bodies into suction pads as required. The teeth along their abdomens could tightly grab onto a human’s skin, making it difficult to separate them from their victims. Therefore, anyone who had fallen victim to the demon leeches had no chance of breaking free until their blood was sucked dry.

The people were fleeing to the third floor in a panic. The demon leeches were totally unrestrained. They would curl their bodies as they launched their attacks. Some could even hop up to ten meters away. Ordinary people would struggle to dodge their attacks!

“These filthy creatures!” Shen Qing was enraged by the sight. She punctured the demon leeches who were assaulting the civilians with the Glacier Zipline!

The strange thing was, these soft-bodied creatures did not die even when their bodies were punctured. Their blood would pour out from the hole into a pool, yet they would soon reabsorb the blood and start wriggling like nothing had even happened.

“Lingling, what the hell are these things?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

“I have never seen anything like them before. Let’s move the civilians to the third floor for now,” Lingling advised him.

There were great numbers of the demon leeches. A lot of them were scattered in Mo Fan’s blind spots, as they could climb wherever they pleased. They were on the walls, ceilings, cracks, stairs, and ventilation ducts…

Mo Fan used his Telekinesis to toss the civilians who had lost their way to the third floor. The shopping lot was a little too big, around three hundred meters from one end to the other. Mo Fan could not afford to use his destructive spells, since that might raze the whole building to the ground!

Mo fan saving civilians was like a huge bloke trying to do needlework. He could not afford to use his brute strength. Things like chopping firewood and killing boars were more suitable for him.

“Telekinesis, Knock Back!”

Mo Fan was constantly monitoring his surroundings. He immediately locked his will onto the demon leeches when they were about to pounce on the civilians.

The demon leeches were not very powerful, yet they were not easy to deal with either. Normally, Mo Fan’s Telekinesis would smash a creature of their level into pieces, yet because of their yielding nature, he felt like he was hitting a rubber ball instead. The force would only alter the creatures’ shape instead of smashing them to pieces!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The stronger the Telekinesis, the greater the rate of consumption of Mo Fan’s energy. There were so many demon leeches on the first floor and outside in the parking lot. Mo Fan’s Space Element would be depleted in less than half an hour at this rate!

Even if his energy was depleted, the number of the demon leeches did not seem to be dropping.

“Don’t worry about killing them. Just keep them away!” Lingling said when she noticed Mo Fan’s troubled look.

“My Advanced Spell should be able to kill them,” Mo Fan said.

“That won’t be necessary! Use some other way to make sure everyone is safe. You’re too naive if you think you can kill them all,” Lingling said.

The demon leeches’ numbers were too overwhelming, not to mention the huge group that was surrounding them in the parking lot outside. Mo Fan would not have trouble killing them, but what difference would it make? He would be consuming his energy for no reason. No one knew how many sea monsters they would have to face in the next eight hours. These demon leeches were only Servant-class creatures. In simpler words, they were merely the cannon fodder of the army of sea monsters, even though the demon leeches were trickier to deal with than they had thought.

Mo Fan focused on saving the civilians with his Telekinesis. He was grabbing a civilian on one side while tossing another on the other side. He would mix in the Chaos Element too. When a group of people was heading for the stairs, which were crawling with the demon leeches, Mo Fan simply reversed gravity and lifted them to the third floor like they were taking a lift.

“There are more of them ahead!” Shen Qing immediately ran in the direction of someone’s scream.

Mo Fan’s Telekinesis was struggling to keep up with the pace of the demon creatures. Rescuing was more difficult than killing demon creatures most of the time, especially when the civilians were knocked to the ground by the demon leeches. Mo Fan could not afford to use his Lightning or Fire Spells. He had to separate the civilians and the demon leeches first before killing the leeches with a Fire Burst.

“Help…help me!…” came a loud scream from a brand-name fashion outlet.

Mo Fan was in the corridor opposite the shop. He had just rescued a family of four surrounded by a bunch of demon leeches, and did not even have the chance to catch his breath when he heard the scream.

Mo Fan jumped over the rail and launched himself to the opposite corridor. However, several demon leeches suddenly jumped into the air from the water below to intercept Mo Fan like he was a piece of flying meat.

“Damn it, you disgusting pricks, die!” Mo Fan reacted swiftly. He clenched his fists when he saw the demon leeches jumping into the air after him.

Scorching flames emerged around Mo Fan like a burning flower. The demon leeches instantly curled up after making contact with the flames. If they were just ordinary flames, the demon leeches could protect themselves by curling up, but Mo Fan’s flame was a Soul-grade fire! The flames easily broke through their protective outer layer before burning through their thick skin and bodies.

If Mo Fan was not worried that his flames would burn some civilians to ashes, he would have used a Sky-Flame Funeral to wipe out these disgusting creatures!

“I dare you to come at me!” Mo Fan scoffed after he successfully reached the opposite corridor. He glanced back at the demon leeches who were falling into the water as ashes.

“Help, help me!” the unpleasant voice inside the fashion outlet yelled again.

Mo Fan immediately picked up a disgusting smell after going inside the shop. He looked inside and saw a fatty who most likely weighed over a hundred kilograms screaming for help on the ground. He was pressing his body down on a demon leech around a meter long. There was a huge mirror between him and the demon leech.

Blood was pouring out from the demon leech, but the fatty was perfectly unharmed. It was likely that the clumsy demon leech had made a mistake and hit the mirror when it was pouncing at the fatty, and the fatty somehow ended up on top. The fatty was pretty smart, and knew he could not make direct contact with the demon leech, as he might get stuck to it.

“Damn it, I thought you were dying. Why the hell were you screaming so loudly for?” Mo Fan grunted. He was left speechless by the sight before him.

“Brother, isn’t it obvious that I’m in a pinch here? I don’t even dare to move anywhere. It might pounce on me again. Won’t I be dead if another one of these things shows up?!” the fatty sobbed.

“Fine, your voice is the loudest in this building…”

“I’m loud because I’m still f**king alive. Those who can no longer shout are already dead!”

“That does make some sense… by the way, can you do me a favor? I’m having trouble rescuing everyone when you all are scattered across the shopping lot,” Mo Fan told the fatty.

“F**k me, I’m screaming for help so someone can save me from this pinch here! However, not only aren’t you helping, you are asking me for a favor instead? Damn it, damn it, I’m going to crush you! How dare you try to drink my blood! It has always been me sucking my customers’ blood! Since when did I give you the permission to drink mine!” the fatty cursed.

1

“We should be helping one another in their time of need. If you don’t agree to help me, I’ll go and save the others first,” Mo Fan said.

“Brother, I really don’t have any money!”

“I’m not asking for your money.”

—

Mo Fan was surprised when he noticed the badge of a manager on the fatty’s chest after getting rid of the clumsy demon leech for him.

The fatty was the operating manager of the shopping mall, an employee with a high position. He had asked the right person to do him a favor!

“Brother, brother, can I go back and lay on the mirror instead? You can find someone else for the job. I’m begging you,” the fatty pleaded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe,” Mo Fan said.

“You don’t look so reliable to me. I’m being serious, I’m begging you, I’m not necessarily a piece of fat meat. They won’t bother eating me even if you hang me in the air…” the fatty almost burst into tears.

“Enough talk, let’s do it!”

Mo Fan ignored the fatty’s plea. He tossed the man into the air and kept him hovering in the center of the shopping area.

The fatty was currently beyond the corridor. The seawater was around eight meters below him. Countless demon leeches were swimming in the water. The surface of the water started bubbling when the fatty was hung in the air like bait.

Most people had been evacuated to the third floor. Shen Qing was keeping an eye on them, but many demon leeches were still climbing their way up. They would soon occupy the third floor, the fourth floor, and finally the fifth floor!

The people in the shopping areas would have nowhere to run to eventually. Having this thought, Mo Fan believed they could not afford to remain passive anymore!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Brother! I never did anything wrong to you! Why are you doing this to me!?” the fatty almost wet his pants in fear, pleading in tears.

“It’s fine, it’s going to be fine,” Mo Fan comforted him calmly.

“Help! Help me!” the fatty began screaming at the top of his lungs. He was seriously screaming for help this time.

Mo Fan felt a little awkward when he heard the scream, yet he simply dug into his ears and pretended he did not hear it. He looked around him. As he thought, the demon leeches were brainless, and would go for the closest prey after picking up their scent. A huge group of them started moving toward the fatty, including those already on the second and third floors.

The whole shopping lot could hear the fatty’s screams. It was horrendous. The man was extremely desperate. He never knew there were such shameless Mages, who were even more terrifying than the demon creatures!

The water below was bubbling. The fatty could see the demon leeches rolling around like carp waiting to be fed in a pond.

“Help…help me!” The fatty’s voice was a little hoarse now.

Mo Fan immediately withdrew his playful attitude when he saw the demon leeches nearby had gathered toward them.

He could not afford to use his spells while the demon leeches were still some distance away from the fatty, as that would only scare the demon leeches away. These sea monsters would back out of an unfavorable situation. However, he could not attack when the demon leeches were too close to the fatty, either. Not only would that endanger the fatty’s life, his spells might hurt the man too!

The demon leeches in the water finally ran out of patience. They jumped out of the water with their mouths wide open. From the fatty’s angle, he could see the demon leeches’ deep throats and the teeth along them. The teeth were initially concealed inside their necks, but they were completely exposed now. The fatty was already running out of breath from the continuous screams. He rolled his eyes and fainted when he witnessed the ghastly sight!

“Air Catapults!”

Mo Fan squinted as he controlled the airflow nearby in the corridor, turning the air into a succession of bolts with a push of his Telekinesis.

The air bolts were extremely powerful under Mo Fan’s control. They howled while traveling through the air before puncturing the demon leeches that had jumped into the air and sending them flying with blood all over the place. The demon leeches were left full of holes before they had a chance to taste the fatty’s delicious blood!

The Lightning and Fire Elements were too destructive to be used in the shopping lot, but Mo Fan could easily control the Space Element as he pleased. His will was as sharp as a sword too, which he needed to hone and use so it would stay keen at all times!

The air kept buzzing like the sound of ballistae being fired. Mo Fan was like an angler waiting for the fish to take his bait, and continued to Summon more air bolts around him. As the number of demon leeches going after the fatty increased, the number of bolts hovering in the air at Mo Fan’s sides and behind him increased too!

“Order Manipulation!”

Mo Fan soon noticed the demon leeches were starting to dodge the air bolts. Some of them were even hiding behind walls and pillars, and Mo Fan’s air bolts ended up landing on the solid surfaces. But those smartass demon leeches had no idea that the air bolts did not necessarily need to travel in straight lines, and could turn corners too! They were more like a rain of homing arrows!

Mo Fan was Summoning the air bolts rapidly by splitting his will into tens of thousand wisps. The air bolts were even deadlier after being strengthened by Space Rhythm, and would not disappear immediately after hitting their targets. They would return to Mo Fan’s side with the help of the Chaos Element and await their next order!

As more air bolts were produced while the rest continued to return to Mo Fan, the air bolts eventually formed an aura as they were flying around Mo Fan. They were either circling Mo Fan, flying around randomly, or hovering nearby while accumulating their force for the next attack.

They were almost invisible, yet they were extremely sharp!

Mo Fan was extremely focused, as it was quite difficult to control so many air bolts at once. He could not afford to shift his attention, and needed to ensure every air bolt was ready to be fired.

Mo Fan was like a juggler. Every time he produced an air bolt, it was the same as adding another ball to the juggling. He would toss the balls quickly into the air with one hand while catching the balls with the other. He also had to transfer the ball he caught to the other hand to toss them back into the air again. The balls were like elves dancing in the air while holding hands. They would rise and fall in a regular pattern.

The air bolts close to Mo Fan were in a similar situation. Even though Mo Fan could control several air bolts simultaneously, Order Manipulation could only be applied to the air bolts sequentially. He would place a Seal on an air bolt so it would return to his side later; during its flight, he would have to repeat the same thing while relaying different orders to a dozen other bolts!

The trick was an idea had Mo Fan come up with while he was practicing the Space Element. He had never used it practically before. However, he was able to master it quickly while he was fighting the demon leeches!

The fatty let out a relieved sigh after he regained consciousness. He thought he would wake up on a comfortable bed with his handsome subordinate beside him, but he almost fainted again after witnessing the gory sight below him.

1

The hungry demon leeches kept jumping into the air, but they were being punctured as they got within a meter of him. The fatty could not see anything hitting them, he could only hear rapid whooshes.

The man patted himself and realized his flesh was still intact. He glanced at the bully Mage who was using him as bait. The Mage was walking from the corridor to the stairs with a stern face. The demon leeches were gathering toward him, as if they were returning to their nest. The furious demon leeches were not only going to drink the fatty’s blood, but they were flanking the Mage!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

If it had been ten minutes ago, Mo Fan would be suffering from a headache as he had no clue how to get rid of the demon leeches. However, Mo Fan now had a way to eliminate them quickly even if they were scattered across the place and attacking different targets, let alone when the demon leeches were grouped together!

Mo Fan no longer had to rely on other spells. His eyes flickered sharply. More than ten launchers were set up close to him. There was no need for him to be afraid, no matter how many demon leeches there were!

The air bolts would only cause space to shudder. The demon leeches were unable to sense them as they had rather weak senses, let alone dodge the air bolts.

Puncturing the demon leeches once was not going to kill them. Shen Qing had already proven that. However, Mo Fan’s air bolts would keep returning to his side, not to mention there were so many of them under his command!

The demon leeches had broken into a castle with countless machine guns waiting for them. They were covered in holes before they got within ten meters from Mo Fan. The air bolts did not have the slightest stains from their blood. They flew back to Mo Fan before being fired in a new volley!

Both the demon leeches in the distance and those planning to ambush Mo Fan nearby failed to escape from the air bolts. Blood and remains were soon scattered all over the second floor. Some fell to the first floor and turned the water there into a red pool.

The demon leeches finally realized how stupid it was to attack the human Mage. They stopped climbing to the higher floors after witnessing the fall of their comrades, and began to retreat into the water.

Shen Qing, who had escorted the last group of civilians to the third floor, stood at the stairs and stared blankly at the show Mo Fan was putting on.

She had met Space Mages in the Magic Association, but she had never seen anyone so adept with Telekinesis. Most of the time, the demon creatures were not terrifying because of their strength, but because of their numbers. However, their numbers did not seem to matter much against the Space Mage before her!

“Put…put me down!” the fatty pleaded.

“Are you sure you want to come down?”

“Bring me up, I want to go up!” the fatty yelled.

Mo Fan smiled, and tossed the fatty to the third floor. A foul smell lingered in the air as soon as the man landed on the ground.

“Brother, thanks for your help!” Mo Fan did not forget to thank the man.

“A man like you should go to Hell!” the fatty snarled.

The fatty suddenly noticed glares directed at him from the surroundings. They were from the civilians and workers of the shopping mall that Mo Fan had rescued.

The fatty quickly shut his mouth, worried that he might bring misfortune to himself again…

—

“The demon leeches won’t show up again anytime soon, but we’ll need people to keep an eye on the ventilation and ducts in case the demon leeches climb up through them,” Mo Fan told Shen Qing after he reached the third floor.

Several people had gathered around Shen Qing. They seemed to be other Mages who happened to be inside the shopping lot. They had witnessed how Mo Fan had slaughtered the demon leeches, and were utterly impressed by his strength.

“I told them about the evacuation plan during the next eight hours. They are willing to help us escort the people from the shopping lot to the Xinglin Route.” Shen Qing’s attitude toward Mo Fan had shifted. She was no longer as cold as she used to be.

“Oh, that’s great! We still have a lot of things to do,” Mo Fan agreed.

“I’ll set up a pathway for them. I might need you to cross the bridge and relocate the people in the other shopping area to here,” Shen Qing told him.

“Alright, I’ll go now. Fatty, are you interested in following me around and doing good deeds for the people? We had a pleasant time working together just then,” Mo Fan asked the fatty who was lying feebly on the ground.

“Please, spare me!” the fatty cried out, bursting into tears.

“There’s no point in going now,” Lingling said.

Lingling was standing close to a window. Her eyes were fixed on the Phase Two building across the street.

Mo Fan and Shen Qing immediately ran to the window and saw the cylinder-shaped Second Phase building was already covered by darkness. Both its inside and outside were crawling with demon leeches. It looked like a huge nest of demon leeches from afar instead of a shopping area!

“But there are people…” a middle-aged Mage blurted out, but could not finish the sentence.

Mo Fan gasped. He felt like something was stuck in his throat.

The fatty crawled to his feet and said with a trembling voice, “The First Phase is bigger with more people. The Second Phase usually has fewer people. We should consider ourselves lucky.”

Some people had come from the cylinder-shaped building to the shopping area Mo Fan was in, thus the majority of the survivors were taking shelter in the First Phase. The building was studier too, but Mo Fan believed there were some people who had decided to stay at the cylinder-shaped building instead.

Mo Fan let out a sigh as he stared at the black nest of demon leeches across the spacious street through the window. He thought it was overkill to send him on a rescue mission, but it turned out that even he could only do so much. He had only managed to take care of the people in one building, let alone the whole city!

“Lingling, these demon leeches are quite tricky to deal with. They don’t need deep water to move around, and can climb up buildings to attack people. They are a huge threat to civilians. Let’s organize the information we have learned so far and send it to Zhuang Hong.” Mo Fan turned around, not wanting to stare at the terrifying sight any longer.

“I’ve already sent out the information. The way they move, the way they attack, and their range of attack…” Lingling was far ahead of him.

Shen Qing was expressionless now. She initially thought the greatest threat was the Armor Antenna Sea Monster that would show up in several hours, yet they had encountered these demon leeches, which they had never seen before, hunting the civilians unrestrainedly after less than an hour. Shen Qing could not help but worry about what other terrifying creatures they might encounter next!

“Where are you going?” Shen Qing asked with a confused face when she saw Mo Fan going toward the Second Phase.

“I’ll check out the bridge and see if I can save a few of them. If there’s no one alive, I’ll destroy the bridge to stop the demon leeches from coming over,” Mo Fan said.

“Oh, alright, that’s fine… I’ll set up the zip lines for you.” Shen Qing refocused quickly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan returned to the second floor. The demon leeches were obviously intimidated by him now, and did not dare go to the higher floors. Mo Fan reached the elevated bridge that was connected to the other building, but only saw a dark tunnel crawling with demon leeches. It felt like he was walking into the throat of a monster. He could not bear to look at it very long.

Mo Fan let out a sigh. It was unlikely there were any survivors from the looks of the building.

He glanced at the spots the demon leeches were crawling toward and fixed his eyes on the connecting points on the bridge. His eyes emitted a sharp flicker.

With a crack, the bridge snapped in the middle. The side of the bridge that Mo Fan was on shattered into pieces in the next few seconds. The cracks continued until they reached Mo Fan’s location!

Mo Fan turned and left after destroying the bridge.

Meanwhile, Shen Qing had finished constructing the walkway to the highway for the civilians with her ice zip lines, purposely placing the zip lines close together. The other Mages guided the terrified civilians into moving to the highway as quickly as possible.

Some people preferred to stay behind in the shopping mall. After all, the place was huge and had five stories, with plenty of supplies for them. They could easily survive until the water fell. Shen Qing blatantly told the people who were reluctant to leave that sea monsters deadlier than the demon leeches would show up in just a few hours. At that time, everyone hiding in buildings would end up as monster food.

Those people were horrified at the mention of sea monsters. They immediately followed the Mages’ instructions without any more hesitation.

The people were taking the Haicang Route. Mo Fan glanced at the map and noticed the shopping mall was located at the center of the route. In other words, these people just needed to head west to reach the Haicang Bridge, which would bring them to the mainland.

“Escort them to Haicang Bridge. Someone will receive you along the way,” Shen Qing told the Mages in the group.

“Got it,” the middle-aged Mage who was leading the group nodded.

Shen Qing glanced at the young teenager Liu Xi and the teenage girl Fang Xiaoxue. She said, “Be careful, I must go to other places for now.”

“Mm, we understand!”

Liu Xi and Fang Xiaoxue were very brave. Not only did the teenage girl brought her blind mother over from the residential building not far away, they also brought a few old folks who could not move around well to the rapid transit route. It had been extremely tricky, since neither of them knew magic, but they were obviously calmer and more capable of handling themselves now compared to the panic they were in previously.

1

—

After sending the group in the shopping mall away, Mo Fan glanced at Shen Qing, saw the worried look on her face, and asked, “What’s our next destination?”

“It’s a primary school,” Shen Qing said.

Shen Qing was carrying a communication device. Normal voice and text communication were not functioning properly under the circumstances. The military could only place markings on display to communicate with the troops. The Donghai Magic Association was using the device to inform the rescue teams and the Mages of the locations that needed backup. The faster the red dots were flashing, the more urgent the situation was.

Mo Fan took a quick glance at the communication device, which looked like a pocket watch. He noticed a lot of red dots were flashing on it. There were roughly around a hundred of them in the Jiangtou District. Many buildings had some survivors trapped in them.

The one that was flashing the fastest was Zhongxin Primary School. It was around two streets away from the shopping lot. It would not take long for them to reach the place.

“Someone has already gone to Zhongxin Primary School, but they seem to be having trouble,” Shen Qing noticed.

“Lead the way then! Those students are the future of our country. We can’t afford to let anything happen to them!” Mo Fan said.

1

—

—

The Haicang Route happened to pass between the Huwei Mountain and the Xianyue Mountain. Many people had gathered in the mountains now. Authorized personnel were currently leading them to the highways.

“We are safe once we cross the Haicang Bridge,” Liu Xi let out a relieved sigh while talking to Fang Xiaoxue.

“Thank you for staying by my side,” Fang Xiaoxue said softly, standing beside her mother.

“It’s nothing, it’s what I’m supposed to do…” Liu Xi was overjoyed when he sensed the changes in Fang Xiaoxue’s tone and attitude toward him. However, he was a little embarrassed, since her mother was with them. He glanced at the blurry bridge through the falling rain ahead and changed the topic. “There are a lot of people in front of us. I bet it’s going to take a while for us to cross it.”

There were three main bridges. Vehicles were not being permitted, so everyone was traveling by foot. Liu Xi could see the rapid transit route was connected to the spectacular bridge that crossed the sea to the mainland.

More than a hundred steel cables were hanging from the massive cable tower in the middle. The bridge was hanging above the sea like a long silver ribbon. The sky was dark because of the rain, so it was difficult to see the other end of the bridge. However, the people in the city knew the other end of the bridge was Haicang Wharf, which was connected to the mainland.

The bridge had three lanes in each direction and was extremely spacious, yet it was congested with long queues, especially on the side of the island.

“So many people, how long is it going to take to cross the bridge? I remember the bridge is around seven hundred meters long,” Liu Xi spoke up.

“Let’s take it slowly. We are already very lucky to be able to reach here in one piece. Many people are still trapped in the buildings.”

Liu Xi nodded. He subconsciously glanced at the Mages who were flying in the rain.

The bridge was being guarded by plenty of Mages, Battlemages, members of the Magic Association, Hunters, and government personnel. They were escorting the groups below them in the heavy rain. Liu Xi greatly admired the Mages who were capable of flying in the air. If he could fly too, he would have no trouble bringing Fang Xiaoxue and her mother to safety.

“Captain Chu, there are some unusual movements in the water!” a Mage of the Hongling Division reported loudly.

Liu Xi looked to the side and saw a troop leader he had met at the Sheraton Hotel was also here. He was standing on the back of a Heavenly Eagle that was flying along at a low altitude. The Heavenly Eagle was slightly different from the rest, as its feathers were emitting a golden glow. It seemed nobler than the normal Heavenly Eagles with white feathers.

Chapter 1882: The Crisis on the Bridge

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’ll go check it out,” Chu Mingxi of the Hongling Division said.

Liu Xi immediately watched the Mage make a move. He saw the man fly closer to the water. He was about to cheer for the man’s valiant appearance when he suddenly noticed an enormous shadow with suffocating pressure under the water.

Liu Xi initially thought it was the silhouette of the Huoshao Islet below the Haicang Bridge. It was currently submerged due to the rise of the sea level, but he soon noticed the shadow moving around!

“Look out, there’s something in the water!”

Liu Xi’s vision was outstanding compared to a normal person’s vision. He could see further than Mages in the pouring rain. Even Chu Mingxi was unaware of the huge creature hiding under the water when he was so close to the surface.

Unfortunately, Liu Xi was only an ordinary teenager. Chu Mingxi was too far from him. His yell had no chance of reaching the captain.

“There’s a huge monster in the water! Get everyone to leave the bridge now. There’s a huge monster in the water!” Liu Xi quickly ran toward the Battlemages nearby when he realized his voice could not reach Chu Mingxi.

“Stay in the queue, kid, we’ll handle everything,” the Battlemage of the Hongling Division said.

“It’s right under the Haicang Bridge! The thing is huge. It’s speeding up too!” Liu Xi yelled in the rain, hoping that someone would believe him.

“I told you to stay in the queue!” the Battlemage grunted.

Liu Xi was astounded. The Battlemages did not believe him at all!

“Say it to him, he seems pretty impressive,” Fang Xiaoxue said, pointing at a Mage in a silver outfit who was hovering in the air.

Liu Xi looked down at the bridge again. He noticed the huge monster was picking up speed…

Its speed was slightly hindered, possibly because the strait was too shallow for it. It was unable to use the depth of the water to accelerate further. It could only swim back and forth continuously to pick up its speed. Its movement was causing unusual waves to start rolling in the strait!

The Battlemage with the name Chu Mingxi was too close to the sea monster. Most importantly, he still had not spotted the monster due to the heavy rain and fierce waves!

A blasting roar exploded above the ocean. A strong wind swept the seawater and the storm before lashing at the bridge!

The wind was disastrous. It went straight at the cable tower of the Haicang Bridge. The bridge, supported by the steel cables, began to shake hard. The bridge was held up by the steel cables, so when the cable tower was under attack, the whole bridge started shaking with it!

The wind was not just threatening the bridge. It also knocked the people crossing it into the air like leaves.

The storm swept through fiercely while the bridge shook vigorously. Civilians were knocked into the air and away from the bridge. Some were even tossed into the sea. The people who were still stuck at the bridgehead froze in place with their eyes wide, staring at the astonishing sight in disbelief. It looked like the apocalypse to them!

It was not just a few people, but hundreds or even thousands of people were being swept into the air like grain. Cries of agony were mixed with the howling wind, which soon fell down together with the rain.

The people who had yet to cross the bridge were not sure whether they should be feeling relieved or desperate. The sudden wind was not just merciless, it was like the wrath of the Heavens!

“Sea monster! A Ruler-level creature!”

The Mages finally noticed something. Someone had spotted an enormous mouth emerging from the sea, followed by the fierce gust of wind that struck the bridge and knocked the people into the air. The mist was preventing the Mages from seeing the monster clearly!

“Back off! Back off! Everyone, back to the bus transit!” the Battlemages yelled. The single gust of wind had completely toppled the order they had put in so much effort to maintain.

The truth was, the Mages were just like ordinary people against a high-level sea monster. They were as tiny as dust particles against a Ruler-level creature.

The bridgehead was now in complete chaos. Many people were still heading for the transit station from the mountains on both sides, hoping to cross the sea as soon as possible. They were a fair distance away, thus they were unaware of what was happening on the bridge. As for the people that were drifting in the wind, they simply assumed they were blowing debris. They kept moving toward the bridgehead, while the people on the bridge were backing away desperately. It further delayed the evacuation of the bridge.

Panic and chaos; the steady operation had encountered a huge crisis out of nowhere. The Battlemages and members of the Magic Association were at a loss now. The situation clearly displayed how terrifying the sea’s unpredictable nature was. No one knew exactly what was hiding in the water!

As a matter of fact, they already arranged for a troop of Water Mages to keep an eye on the water, but the sea monster somehow snuck past their watch. Not many could see and sense its presence despite its enormous size, and even the few Super Mages watching over the strait were unaware of it!

Many sea monsters had unknown abilities, so the Mages of various organizations were unsettled and lost under the circumstances.

“It’s still moving around! It’s going to ram into the bridge!”

Liu Xi was constantly pushed back by the crowd, but he tried his best to stand in places where he could see the water. His screams almost tore his throat apart. He only hoped that someone was able to hear him!

The wind swept a curtain of mist into the air. It was not like the Mages were slow and dumb, but they could not see a thing at all. The white mist was constantly circling the bridge. They could only see a few dozen meters away at most, let alone the shadow in the water under the bridge!

There was a buzz, and the Mage in a silver outfit vanished into thin air, leaving silver sprinkles behind to disappear into nothing.

A second later, the Mage reappeared on the cable tower over five hundred meters away. The tower was shaking vigorously. Many steel cables had already snapped in half after terrifying screeches.

The snapping steel cables were extremely deadly to the people on the bridge. Their force would leave a gory mess along the path they were swinging through!

Chapter 1883: The Sea Monster Rams the Bridge!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Mage in the silver outfit initially had his attention on the surface of the water, yet he noticed a dozen steel cables lashing at the crowd like demonic whips. His dark gray eyes immediately emitted a sharp flicker of light as he used his powerful Will to stop the steel cables!

The steel cables froze in the air. One of them was within inches of a group of people’s heads. The people could feel its force, but the steel cable did not land on them. Blood did not splatter across the place, even though many of their hearts had almost stopped beating!

“Great Advisor!”

A few Mages with Magic Wing Equipment and Wind Wings flew to the cable tower. They let out a relieved sigh when they saw the Mage in a silver outfit controlling the steel cables. They immediately gave him a lot of respect.

“Evacuate the bridge, I’ll deal with the sea monster in the water!” the Great Advisor uttered coldly.

“Yes!”

The Mages flew back to the bridge and immediately located the most congested spots. They used the Earth Element to move the entire crowd at one time.

“Pick up the pace!”

“Yes!”

—

There were cries and screams, but many people had already lost the ability to follow their instincts. People screamed for help when they were in danger or their lives were being threatened, but the scene was just too much of a shock for them. They had no clue how they were supposed to react to it, which made the evacuation even trickier!

The Great Advisor on the cable tower glanced down at the bridge full of helpless civilians. He felt like his heart was being torn apart, yet he still had to slowly lower the broken cables.

The steel cables fell into the sea. Loud noises were still coming from the unusual movement under the water, as if thousands of sea monsters were roaring furiously.

With another deafening blast, a dark creature sprang up from the water amid the wild splashing. The Great Advisor had expected the creature to jump into the sky, yet little did he know, the creature did not even have to leave the water, it only had to expose itself. The depth of the strait was like shallow water to it!

It simply straightened its body… and it easily reached the highest point of the bridge and the cable tower!

It remained upright while charging at the bridge. It was like a moving mountain on the water. Its length of seven hundred meters made the bridge look like a toy model.

The Great Advisor stood there on the cable tower. He could only stare blankly at the enormous sea monster.

He was struggling to see the creature’s appearance clearly in the thick mist, but he had spotted hair follicles, meat lumps, and fleshy tumors around its head and neck. He could even see disgusting parasites crawling all over its body. They were falling in lumps as the creature moved around wildly. They were curled up like leeches, yet each of them was over half a meter long!

Demon… leeches!

Liu Xi was still at the bridgehead and felt like his head was being torn in half by a lightning strike!

The monster was terrifyingly large. It rammed into the cable tower and crushed the bridge with its body. Its rough, greasy skin was covered by countless parasites, the same demon leeches that he had seen at the shopping lot!

Countless demon leeches fell from the enormous creature in clumps when the bridge collapsed. It was like a scene from a nightmare.

The cable tower snapped as the bridge was crushed into pieces. The Mage in the silver outfit established a Space Domain to protect the bridge. A silver barrier encapsulated the bridge in an arc, yet the creature’s might was simply too overwhelming. The silver barrier was shattered into pieces, and the bridge began to collapse and fall into the water!

Many Mages were flying in the air, yet there could only hover there impotently. There was nothing they could do against the enormous creature, nor could they stop the bridge from collapsing, or the creature from fleeing!

The thick mist still lingered in the air. Most people were unable to see what exactly had happened to the bridge. They only heard a loud collision before the ground began to shake like an earthquake. Even the sturdy transit station had cracks all over the place.

Cries of agony came after the loud collision, followed by great fear spreading like a plague. The people who were on the Haicang Route trembled in the pouring rain.

“What…what exactly… was that?” Liu Xi had a blank face. Concrete and reinforced steel were falling from the remains of the bridge, but the enormous creature had already vanished without a trace.

What was that?

It had simply shown up to crush the bridge that was supposed to lead the people to safety, trapping the humans in the city that was eventually going to be submerged by the seawater!

—

—

Zhongxin Primary School…

The rain had grown stronger. The clouds were becoming restless, and the strong wind had even blown the roofs of some buildings into the air, together with the people who were taking shelter on them if they were not holding onto something tightly!

Raincoats were no longer effective, and everyone was soaked by now. Mo Fan had to use Space Rhythm to keep the students of Zhongxin Primary School firmly on the ground and ensure the future hope of his motherland was not swept away by the fierce wind.

“Great, that was the last class,” Shen Qing wiped away the rainwater from her forehead. Her wet hair was blocking her vision.

“Mm, rescue operations aren’t easy after all,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan and Shen Qing brought the school kids to the Haicang Route and escorted them for a few hundred meters.

Meanwhile, Lingling was riding the Flying Creek Snow Wolf as he was jumping between the roofs of the tall buildings. She was busy collecting information. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was able to run up and down the buildings easily.

“The path ahead is blocked.” Lingling jumped down from the back of the wolf.

The strange thing was that normal adults would be overwhelmed by fear when they saw the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. After all, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was just as menacing as a demon creature. The adults could easily sense how unusual the creature was from its murderous aura, but the primary school kids were not afraid in the slightest. They immediately went up to the creature to touch the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s fur, like they had just seen an enormous white dog.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf ran out of space to move when he was surrounded by the little kids. He was afraid that he might step on them by accident!

“An unknown creature has destroyed the Haicang Bridge!” Lingling informed Mo Fan and Shen Qing.

Chapter 1884: Flanked at the Reservoir

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How is that possible, it’s the sturdiest bridge among the three! Even a high-level creature has no chance of destroying it, not to mention there were so many people protecting it!” Shen Qing blurted out in disbelief.

“It was an enormous creature. I met Liu Xi. He told me the demon leeches we stumbled into at SM City Xiamen were falling off the sea monster that destroyed the Haicang Bridge,” Lingling said.

“Falling off? What do you mean?” Shen Qing was confused.

“They were parasites on its skin. The demon leeches were only parasites feeding off the monster’s skin cells,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan and Shen Qing dropped their jaws. They stared at one another speechlessly.

Parasites feeding off the monster’s skin cells…

Wouldn’t that mean the demon leeches were only fleas to the sea monster? How were they half a meter to a meter long?

Exactly how massive was the sea monster that had destroyed the Haicang Bridge? Even the parasites living off its skin were already at plague proportions!

What exactly was the city up against?

“How about the other bridges?” Mo Fan asked.

“Nothing so far, but according to Liu Xi, the monster had a very clear goal in mind. It disappeared right after it rammed into the bridge. It was already gone before the Super Mages were going after it,” Lingling said.

“It only attacked the bridge?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, the sea monsters are intelligent creatures. I believe it is trying to delay the evacuation so the rest of the sea monsters can arrive in time,” Lingling said.

Most demon creatures would attack the humans they saw, but the enormous sea monster had disappeared after accomplishing its mission, without giving the Super Mages a chance to fight it. It was obvious what the creature had in mind!

It was waiting for the real army of sea monsters to arrive!

“We must strengthen the defense of the other two bridges. There is still time. We can still evacuate the people through the Xinglin Bridge and Jimei Bridge, but it will be impossible once they are destroyed too!” Shen Qing exclaimed.

“Mm, the Donghai Magic Association and the Southern Military are already assigning most of their men to the other two bridges. The people on the Haicang Route are heading to the remaining two routes too, but we have a tight schedule to evacuate everyone. We have no idea if we can evacuate the island before the Armor Antenna Sea Monsters show up,” Lingling said.

“Damn it, these sea monsters even know to use tactics!” Mo Fan cursed.

The sea monsters had come well prepared, unlike the demon creatures inland, who only knew to invade human territories with brute force

The depth of the water would decide the active areas for the sea monsters. If the heavy downpour kept going at the current rate, the depth would soon reach fifteen meters in just a few hours, which meant most species of the sea monsters would be able to roam freely throughout the city!

Currently, only certain species of sea monsters could sneak into the city, but the sea monsters had already learned of the humans’ plan to evacuate the city. They had decided to deal a critical blow to disrupt that plan. Most importantly, the enormous sea monster had disappeared right after it had accomplished its mission, instead of fighting with the humans. It was determined to drag out the evacuation until the full army of sea monsters arrived. The people were absolutely terrified of its intelligence.

Perhaps they had to reevaluate the sea monsters’ strength. The same methods they normally used against the demon creatures on land were not necessarily suitable to be used against the more cunning sea monsters. They had to take the sea monsters’ intelligence into consideration now!

A screeching light beam sprang into the cloudy sky above the city, followed by sprinkles of glitter around it.

The light lasted for some time in the air. It seemed to be a signal fired with the Light Element to gather people’s attention.

“It’s a signal requesting backup. They must be under attack by some powerful creatures!” Shen Qing said.

“Let’s go!” Mo Fan said.

“You two go ahead, I’ll continue to look around in the surroundings.” Lingling was not planning to follow them. She needed more information.

Mo Fan was not too worried about her safety with the Flying Creek Snow Wolf by her side. The deepest spot in the city was where the lakes were, hence the powerful sea monsters were still unable to enter the city. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf should be able to handle the sea monsters that had snuck into the city!

——-

Mo Fan followed Shen Qing to the place the signal requesting backup was fired from. Mo Fan had seen the signal before. It was normally used to ask nearby Mages for help in eliminating some powerful demon creatures.

“It’s at the reservoir,” Shen Qing said grimly.

Mo Fan was not familiar with Xiamen. Having Shen Qing around definitely saved him a lot of trouble.

Their destination was not too far away. The reservoir was not very big, like a lake in the city, slightly bigger than the usual ponds used for aquaculture purposes. However, Mo Fan was a little troubled when he saw the buildings nearby. There were not many tall buildings in the area, and most of the houses were already submerged. There was a lot of trash floating on the water, which mostly consisted of metal sheets from the houses and storage building!

Shen Qing knew Mo Fan was not good at swimming. She purposely found him a taller building.

The building was a residential building with a lift, and had more than ten stories to it. When Mo Fan made his way up the building, he found it strange when he noticed someone had painted a green line up the wall.

The waves were splashing at the building fiercely. Mo Fan saw a strong wave almost thirty meters tall heading right at him as he reached the building. It took Shen Qing by surprise.

“Look out!” Shen Qing warned.

“It’s fine, stay where you are,” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered and emitted a silver light.

“Time Stasis!”

The Space Spell swiftly covered the area in front of Mo Fan. A faint silver light flickered within the area. The fierce wave suddenly halted after entering the area!

The wave had reached its current height with a continuous push from behind. As the wave came to a stop, the push from behind gradually weakened. The wave quickly dissipated after halting for a few seconds.

Mo Fan could finally see the reservoir clearly after the wave fell away. It turned out that a Water Mage had just cast an Intermediate Spell to attack a crimson-shelled sea monster. To his surprise, the sea monster was extremely agile. The Mage failed to control the wave in time, and it ended up surging toward the building Mo Fan was on.

There were over a dozen Mages at the reservoir, apart from the Water Mage wearing the Magic Association’s uniform!

Four Advanced Mages of the Donghai Magic Association were taking on the crimson sea monster, while over twenty Mages were scattered across the buildings on both sides of the reservoir. Among them were Hunters, members of the Magic Association, and disciples of renowned clans. They were all focusing their attention on the sea monster in the middle of the reservoir!

“A Scarlet Rending Demon?” Mo Fan was surprised when he took a closer look at the creature.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Scarlet Soaring Demon was the first species of sea monster that Mo Fan had ever encountered. The Warrior-level creature’s strength had surprised Mo Fan back then, since it was rare for an entire species to be made up of Warrior-level creatures.

The Scarlet Rending Demon which appeared after the Scarlet Soaring Demon was giving Mo Fan a strong impression. Even though Mo Fan eventually found out the Guild of the Wicked was the real culprit for kidnapping the children, he was still disgusted by the Scarlet Rending Demon’s sinister nature!

The Scarlet Rending Demon at the reservoir was a lot more mature than the one he had encountered in the past. Its shoulders, elbows, forehead, and ankles had sharp dagger-like bones growing out of them. It had a menacing appearance, as if its whole body was made up of deadly weapons. Its crimson skin was as bright as lava, with an eerie luster to it. Its lizard-like head had a thick mane covering the back of its head and neck. It had the wild demeanor of a noble species!

Mo Fan clearly remembered the Scarlet Rending Demon he had fought against in the past only had a very short mane on its head. Even though it was not very accurate to determine the age of a demon creature through its physical traits, the difference between the two creatures’ manes was equivalent to the difference between a young teenager and a muscular adult.

This Scarlet Rending Demon was a lot stronger than the one he encountered before!

Bang!

The Scarlet Rending Demon waved its tail. The jagged edges on it had turned it a deadly weapon. It hit a Mage of the Donghai Magic Association who was in his thirties. Blood immediately sprayed in the air as the man was knocked flying like an arrow!

Most coincidentally, the Mage ended up slamming into the same building as Mo Fan. He smashed through the balcony of a household and landed in the living room.

Shen Qing quickly jumped down to observe the person’s condition. “Senior Brother Zhang!”

Shen Qing recognized the man. She was worried about his condition after seeing the blood.

Mo Fan and Shen Qing saw the man lying on an expensive carpet. The living room was now in a mess, showing how powerful the Scarlet Rending Demon’s attack was.

“I…I’m fine… Shen Qing?” The Mage with the surname Zhang crawled to his feet.

Mo Fan glanced at him and saw a cut extending from his chest to his stomach. He was wearing a suit of high-quality Magic Armor, so the cut was not too deep.

“We saw the signal, so we came to help… What is that creature? It looks tough!” Shen Qing helped the Mage up.

“It’s a Commander of the Scarlet Soaring Demons, a Scarlet Rending Demon, a savage amphibious creature with a strong desire to kill! I was patrolling the area with your Brother Huang when we saw the creature murdering people, so we fired the signal to request backup. It’s a strong Commander-level creature, so you and the others should keep a certain distance away from it when Casting your spells. Don’t even get close to it. Junior Brother Wang was killed because he failed to dodge the creature’s attack before the others arrived…” Senior Brother Zhang said.

“Junior Brother Wang is dead!?” Shen Qing’s eyes were filled with shock and grief.

The man was in the same group as Shen Qing, they joined the Donghai Magic Association together. He was a talented Advanced Mage too! Shen Qing did not expect a talented young Mage whom she was quite impressed with would die so suddenly!

“We need more backup. The people here can only hold it back. Over a dozen Intermediate Mages have come since we fired the signal, but we can only keep the Scarlet Rending Demon at bay instead of defeating it,” Senior Brother Zhang sighed.

“I’ll stop your bleeding first. The wounds are worsening,” Shen Qing said.

“No! Without me, the rest are going to be taken out too. Once that happens, the Intermediate Mages who came will be wiped out, not to mention the civilians that are stranded here!” Senior Brother Zhang clenched his teeth as he struggled to his feet. His bones were crackling. His joints were most likely dislocated from the impact.

Shen Qing was unwilling to let the man go out there after seeing his condition. His joints were severely dislocated. His movements were going to be hindered if the joints were not treated. He would be dead for sure if the Scarlet Rending Demon landed another blow on him!

“Don’t move, I’ll treat your injuries. Mo Fan, can you please head back to the Sheraton Hotel and warn the elder about the Scarlet Rending Demon so he can send some experts over? It’s an emergency, you have to be quick!” Shen Qing turned to Mo Fan.

“If it’s an emergency, can’t I just kill the creature instead?” Mo Fan asked with a puzzled face.

Senior Brother Zhang and Shen Qing immediately fixed their eyes on Mo Fan, especially the injured man. His expression was already mixed with pain and grief, yet Mo Fan’s unreasonable words further added anger to it. He snarled, “Didn’t you hear what I just said? Why are there always people like you who have no clue how serious the situation is? We are risking our lives to hold the Commander-level creature back, yet you are still wasting our precious time by acting arrogantly!”

Mo Fan’s face contorted after the man scolded him for nothing.

“Mo Fan, that creature is too strong for us, can you please do as we say…” Shen Qing was a lot gentler.

“You still don’t trust me, do you?” Mo Fan let out a wry smile.

He already told Shen Qing many times that he was a Super Mage. It seemed like it was easier to convince her with a Super Spell than using words!

That being said, Mo Fan was not planning to cast a Super Spell. It was unnecessary just to take out a Scarlet Rending Demon!

“What…what are you doing!?” Senior Brother Zhang snapped when he saw Mo Fan jumping out of the window and heading toward the reservoir. “Idiot, what a f**king idiot!”

Shen Qing was unsure how to stop Mo Fan. However, when she recalled the strength he displayed at the shopping lot, she believed he might actually stand a chance against the Scarlet Rending Demon.

“Senior Brother Zhang, let him be, he’s pretty strong,” Shen Qing said.

“Help me to a higher spot!” Senior Brother Zhang was not convinced.

—

Mo Fan did not engage the Scarlet Rending Demon right away. The creature was currently in the middle of the reservoir, where huge waves were splashing around. The water in the reservoir had provided the Scarlet Rending Demon the perfect environment to use its magic.

There was a gap in one corner of the encirclement after Senior Brother Zhang was injured. The cunning Scarlet Rending Demon immediately focused on the group of Intermediate Mages who were firing spells at it from the nearby buildings!

Around twenty Mages were on the roofs of three buildings, which were side by side. Their faces turned pale when they saw the Scarlet Rending Demon charging at them. They immediately fled for their lives in panic!

Chapter 1886: Senior, Look Out!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This is bad!”

Senior Brother Zhang was currently on the roof. He immediately saw the Scarlet Rending Demon heading toward the three buildings with the Intermediate Mages.

Even Wang Zhongyi, who was an Advanced Mage, had died easily to the creature, let alone those Intermediate Mages! They would not survive a powerful blow from the savage Commander-level creature, regardless of their magic equipment or any defensive spells they had!

“Mo Fan is going after it!” Shen Qing quickly noticed Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was moving at such an incredible speed even his outline would become blurred at times. The Scarlet Rending Demon had started toward the buildings first, but somehow it felt like Mo Fan would reach them first, even though he took off later.

“He’s only going to get himself killed. Why does the rescue team have someone who can’t even assess the situation properly…” A bright flame suddenly erupted to the north of the reservoir while Zhang Shi was throwing a tantrum. He was startled to see that the fire lighting up the whole reservoir through the curtain of rain was none other than the young man!

The rain was pouring down heavily, while the waves were rolling fiercely. The Scarlet Rending Demon was riding a strange wave toward the group of Intermediate Mages. Some of them did not have any spells to speed themselves up, and were simply running on their feet.

Mo Fan, his right hand engulfed in flames, intercepted the Scarlet Rending Demon. The Scarlet Rending Demon had just arrived at the shore when Mo Fan showed up from the side and threw a Fiery Fist at the Scarlet Rending Demon!

Dazzling flames resembling a serpent sprang forward. The rain nearby evaporated instantly. The unstoppable Scarlet Rending Demon took the punch in the face. It went flying, engulfed in scorching flames!

There were a lot of shorter residential buildings close to the shore. The water was more than ten meters higher than those buildings. Mo Fan’s punch simply split the water in half. The Scarlet Rending Demon crashed into the buildings and finally came to a stop after flying across the whole street!

The white steam produced by the heat did not last for too long, and the heavy rain soon reclaimed its dominance over the area. The Intermediate Mages who were fleeing for their lives halted in their tracks. They were staring at the mess left by the powerful punch in disbelief.

Senior Brother Zhang, who was still standing on the roof, dropped his jaw. The waves in his heart were higher than the waves in the reservoir!

If he had not been risking his life to fight the Scarlet Rending Demon just a moment ago, he would have assumed the guy had just knocked an ordinary Servant-class creature flying instead!

“Shen Qing… who exactly is that guy?” Senior Brother Zhang finally realized he had yet to ask about Mo Fan’s identity.

“I’m not sure either. I only know he came with the Hongling Division, Qinling Division, and South Wing Platoon to lend us a hand,” Shen Qing replied softly.

—

The submerged residential area was full of trash being carried along by the currents.

A pile of debris along the trail left by the Fiery Fist was shuddering, and suddenly exploded as a creature covered in scorching lava jumped out from it. It landed miserably on a factory now half-destroyed by the strong current.

The Scarlet Rending Demon was severely burned. The bones on its ankles and forehead had been destroyed by the Fiery Fist.

It stood on the factory’s roof and glared at Mo Fan. It was emitting a strong aura with a fishy stench!

“It’s still alive?” Mo Fan gave the Scarlet Rending Demon a slightly surprised look.

Mo Fan had subconsciously cast the Fiery Fiery Fist when he drew close enough to his target. At a close distance, the strengthened Fiery Fist was on par with the strength of his Advanced Spells.

However, he forgot he was in the reservoir, where rain was pouring down heavily. The strong presence of the Water and Wind Elements had significantly weakened the Fire Element, so his Fire Spell was not as effective too!

Normally, Mo Fan would have no trouble killing a Commander-level creatures with a direct punch to their face… It seemed he seriously needed to change his habit of starting a fight with a Fiery Fist, since it was not going to work all the time!

Mo Fan had, however, successfully provoked the Scarlet Rending Demon. The creature was focusing all its attention on him. The rest of the Mages no longer had any place in its eyes.

Mo Fan grinned when he saw the Scarlet Rending Demon fixing its gaze on him.

The Fist actually worked in his favor; at least the Scarlet Rending Demon now assumed he was not that much stronger than it was. If he had used a Lightning Spell and inflicted serious injuries on the creature, it might have fled right away. The creature was planning to get its revenge, which was exactly what Mo Fan was hoping for!

“Senior, beware of its Crimson Strike, it might go for your heart!” one of the three Donghai Mages who had been fighting the Scarlet Rending Demon yelled.

Mo Fan was extremely pleased when the Mages called him Senior! Very well, I shall get rid of the demon on your behalf!

“It’s fine, just tell me whether they are any survivors close to the factory!” Mo Fan shouted back.

“The areas and buildings marked with the green paint have been fully evacuated. Senior, feel free to use your spells!” the Donghai Mage answered.

Mo Fan noticed the buildings around the Scarlet Rending Demon and him were marked with the same green paint. It marked that the buildings were fully evacuated, meaning that the Mages were free to cast their spells at will.

It was definitely in Mo Fan’s favor. He had not dared to use his Lightning Spells before, as he was afraid that the twelvefold damage amplification of the Lightning Tyrant would spread rapidly via the rain and water. Even the slightest lightning arc would kill any young child who had not yet been evacuated from the area.

There were quite a lot of buildings nearby. Mo Fan was unsure if there were any survivors in the buildings. He had purposely aimed the Fiery Fist at the buildings that were submerged.

An eerie red flicker flashed through the rain. The Scarlet Rending Demon was suddenly moving at a terrifying speed, aiming its bone daggers at Mo Fan’s heart!

The three Donghai Mages held their breaths subconsciously. It was the same move that had killed the Advanced Mage previously. The attack had left a huge hole in the man’s chest!

The creature was just too quick, and the bone daggers were extremely sharp, able to stab through the hearts of its targets in the blink of an eye. Even those protected by defensive spells might die to the strange ability!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Scarlet Rending Demon was an agility-type creature, moving like a red dagger traveling atop the ocean. It would bring death upon creatures with an eerie blur before they realized what was happening. The Scarlet Rending Demon was fully displaying its cruelty and speed!

The Scarlet Rending Demon uttered a merciless cry as it moved in a deadly red flash. It left a trail of afterimages behind it, together with a fishy stench, intended to confuse its target, as if danger might come at the same time from several directions.

Mo Fan felt like he was being targeted by a strange power. He was surprised, as the Scarlet Rending Demon was stronger than he had thought. He knew he would struggle to get his Advanced Spells off after seeing how fast the creature’s attacks were!

Luckily, Mo Fan had come prepared. His Space Element was readily available. He knew he could not dodge the attack with his Shadow Element, nor could he strike first to secure the advantage. His Stars constructed a glowing silver trail, which swiftly combined into a complete Star Constellation. He vanished into thin air just as the creature was about to land its blow.

The Scarlet Rending Demon swept past like an evil red star. Its deadly bone dagger could not wait to taste the blood that was going to squirt out of the human’s body. However, it tasted nothing, apart from the whistling air disturbed by the powerful stab!

The Scarlet Rending Demon stopped at Mo Fan’s previous location. It turned around and tried to locate Mo Fan with its sense of smell.

The presence of the Space Element was extremely faint, like a little raindrop in the reservoir. Mo Fan’s Blink was constantly improving. A Commander-level creature would need to be extremely sensitive toward energy ripples to sense it. Otherwise, it would have no chance of predicting where Mo Fan was going to show up.

The Scarlet Rending Demon obviously was not capable of detecting Mo Fan’s whereabouts. He showed up in the Scarlet Rending Demon’s blind spot so the creature could not see him right away.

“Rise!”

Mo Fan suddenly raised his hands. A cloudy energy in the shape of a snake rose like a mist between his hands.

Mo Fan was using the Chaos Element. As a matter of fact, he already established an energy field at his previous location to reverse the forces within it prior to using Blink.

The Scarlet Rending Demon was still looking for Mo Fan when the energy of the Chaos Element emerged under its feet. An irresistible force sent the Scarlet Rending Demon falling up into the air.

The force was different from a simple impact being applied onto an object. Mo Fan had reversed the gravity within the energy field, instead of applying a force to the creature. The Scarlet Rending Demon tried to jump to the side when it realized something was not right, yet it found itself falling upward endlessly as soon as the energy field was activated. It could only struggle to break free from the energy field!

The Scarlet Rending Demon fell into the sky, together with the raindrops that were initially falling to the ground. The Chaos Element had sent them back to the clouds.

“Lightning Grip!”

Dense lightning interwove below the clouds rapidly, like a cat’s cradle of strings, even as the Scarlet Rending Demon was approaching them. They eventually combined into a demonic claw made up of thousands of lightning arcs!

Unlike the Sky Lightning Claw that usually tore an enemy into pieces, the demonic claw grabbed the Scarlet Rending Demon tightly instead. The creature was fully bound between the rapid flashes of lightning, and the lightning arcs continuously dug into its skin and tortured it with tremendous pain.

Apart from the torture, the real threat to the Scarlet Rending Demon was the crushing force from the grip that was gradually tightening around it. The Commander-level creature was like a tiny lizard to the powerful spell. It had no chance of breaking free!

The Lightning Grip crushed the bones of the Scarlet Rending Demon in mid-air. The eerie cracks from its bones echoed throughout the reservoir. The brilliant flashes of the lightning shone upon the astounded faces of the Intermediate Mages who were looking up into the sky.

The flank attack from over a dozen of them was less effective than a single one of his lightning spells. The Scarlet Rending Demon was soon squashed into a messy pile before falling from the sky.

The scorched Scarlet Rending Demon no longer had a menacing appearance. It had turned into a burned corpse with all its bones broken instead. Meanwhile, the person who was strong enough to kill it seemed younger than most of the Mages at the scene!

Senior Brother Zhang grabbed the railing on the balcony, as if he was the one who had been struck by lightning instead of the Scarlet Rending Demon. He immediately recalled what the young man had told him not long ago.

“Did…did he really kill the Scarlet Rending Demon?” The man was dumbfounded.

It was already difficult for the man to believe Mo Fan was able to defeat the Scarlet Rending Demon. To his surprise, Mo Fan had killed the Scarlet Rending Demon with sadistic ease!

Shen Qing was also struggling to collect her thoughts.

How was the young man so ridiculously strong? Was he actually telling the truth, and he was actually holding back?

—

Mo Fan walked up to the Scarlet Rending Demon’s corpse while the Intermediate Mages were staring at him like he was the monster. He did a quick check on the corpse before giving it a kick.

“Your friend gave me a Commander-level Soul Essence, yet you gave me nothing even though you’re older!” Mo Fan snarled.

The burned corpse obviously did not have anything valuable. Mo Fan did not bother wasting his time on it.

“Se…senior, is it really dead?” a Donghai Mage around the age of forty asked as he came over in disbelief.

“I think I might have overdone it. I might have been able to find rare bones from its remains, but I think I’ve destroyed them too,” Mo Fan lamented.

Mo Fan did see a rare bone on the creature. It was the spike-bone on the creature’s forehead, the same bone it was using to execute its deadly stab!

“It still has its value. If senior doesn’t want to dirty your hands, I’ll secure it for you,” the Donghai Mage proposed swiftly.

“Keep it for yourself, I’m not interested in it at all,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Thank you, senior.”

Two other Donghai Mages were standing to the side. They felt a little embarrassed to be calling a young man who was only in his twenties Senior when they were almost in their fifties, yet they began to regret it when the Scarlet Rending Demon’s remains were given to the guy named Zhang Xin.

The rare bones had broken into pieces, but with enough patience and skill, they could still reassemble the pieces and use them as a material to craft Magic Equipment. The rare bones of an adult Scarlet Rending Demon were being sold at a high price in the market. It was actually worth risking their lives to fight this sea monster!

Chapter 1888: Dangerous Estuary

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Senior Brother Zhang and Shen Qing came over to Mo Fan. Lingling happened to be arriving on the Flying Creek Snow Wolf from another direction. They gave the Donghai Mages and the Intermediate Mages a huge fright.

“It’s fine, that’s my Summoned Beast!” Mo Fan told them.

Shen Qing’s cultivation was not particularly high. She could not tell how strong the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was, but Senior Brother Zhang and the three Donghai Mages were experienced enough to notice that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was most likely a lot stronger than the Scarlet Rending Demon!

“What creature was it?” Lingling asked when she saw the corpse burned beyond recognition on the ground.

“A Scarlet Rending Demon, a Commander of the Scarlet Soaring Demons. They are an amphibian species that can fight both on the ground and in the water…” Mo Fan explained.

Mo Fan was quite familiar with the Scarlet Soaring Demons.

“A Great Commander-level creature?” Lingling said.

“Yes.”

“Why did it take you so long, then?” Lingling asked with a puzzled face.

“I used the wrong spell at the start.”

Senior Brother Zhang and the three Donghai Mages had an urge to die after hearing Lingling’s question!

“I just came from the Wuyuan Bay. A lot of sea monsters are entering the island from the estuary there. They must be the Scarlet Soaring Demons. They are hiding in the water without revealing themselves. I believe they only sent the stronger members of their tribe to scout the area,” Lingling said.

“The Wuyuan Bay?” Mo Fan gave Shen Qing a puzzled look.

“It’s a bay connected to the sea. The sea monsters can easily enter the city from there,” Shen Qing explained.

“Aren’t there people watching it?” Senior Brother Zhang asked.

“We are currently short on men since more sea monsters have invaded the city, but the sea monsters are used to moving around in seawater. They feel more comfortable in areas that are submerged, and they aren’t able to fully utilize their strength in crowded areas. I just checked the map. There are some hills around the island which serve as a natural barrier to stop the sea monsters from invading the busier areas, but the Wuyuan Bay is different! The sea monsters can first hide in the water and swim into the bay before sneaking into the city…” Lingling said.

“You’re saying that if a lot of sea monsters are invading the city, they will choose to invade through the Wuyuan Bay?” Shen Qing asked after realizing what Lingling was hinting at.

“Exactly! There must be a reason the Commander-level Scarlet Rending Demon has shown up here. Didn’t you wonder how the creature snuck into the reservoir? This place is meant to be an enclosed lake surrounded by the buildings, roads, and mountains. It couldn’t possibly travel a few kilometers here even if it was amphibious, so it’s very likely that the creature swam to Wuyuan Bay first, before sneaking its way in here! The sea monsters are afraid of being stranded. Shallow waters, to them, are like places with insufficient oxygen to us. They won’t have the guts to invade the city from all directions unless the whole island has sunk or is submerged below thirty meters,” Lingling declared.

The sea monsters were fond of deeper waters. Such areas were common for most sea monsters in their homes, but not every area on the island was submerged more than ten meters. The mountains served as a natural barrier, shielding the island. Otherwise, the city would have long been overrun by the sea monsters, considering their numbers!

The rain was still falling, causing the water to rise slowly, yet most of the sea monsters were still unable to sneak into the city!

Therefore, the sea monsters needed to find a better entry point if they wanted to stir up troubles earlier.

This Wuyuan Bay was the best entry point for the sea monsters. The amphibious Scarlet Rending Demon was most likely scouting the area for the sea monster army, since it was able to move around freely on land. It was unlikely that a Commander-level creature would invade a human territory on its own. It might be able to put on a show if it did not stumble into a strong human Mage, but it was merely seeking its death if it did!

“I too agree that the creature was only a scout. I’ve fought a Scarlet Rending Demon before, and they don’t seem like the brainless kind,” Mo Fan nodded. Lingling’s analysis made a lot of sense to him.

Commander-level creatures treated their lives as very precious. Mo Fan was actually quite surprised that the Scarlet Rending Demon did not bring a thousand Scarlet Soaring Demons along to act as its lackeys!

“If their scout is a Great Commander-level creature, it means the species about to invade the city is quite strong. If they realized the Wuyuan Bay isn’t heavily guarded, they might invade with greater numbers,” Lingling guessed.

“Little girl, we know the Wuyuan Bay is extremely dangerous since it’s connected to the sea, but it’s not like we aren’t assigning people to guard it. The whole city is under an emergency. Where can we even find enough people to protect it? We can’t necessarily move the soldiers protecting the bridges to the Wuyuan Bay just because of a Scarlet Rending Demon, right? What if the Scarlet Rending Demon only stumbled into us because it was roaming in our territory for no reason? It’s a bigger problem if we lose the bridges!” the middle-aged Mage named Zhang Xin spoke up.

“That’s true…” Senior Brother Zhang agreed.

“Lingling, are you sure a lot of sea monsters are going to invade through the Wuyuan Bay?” Mo Fan asked seriously.

“It’s very likely, and we have to protect it. If we lose it, there’s no way of fixing it, no matter how many rescue teams or Battlemages we have,” Lingling declared sternly.

Lingling had been studying the sea monsters ever since the sea level rose. There had been many incidents where cities had been wiped out by sea monsters in other countries. Lingling had done a lot of studies on how the sea monsters invaded the cities. She learned that the species that were the real threat to the cities were usually not amphibious, but species that could only move around in deep waters. These species did not just ride the waves and invade the city, but usually entered through the bays, ports, rivers, or lakes that were connected to the sea!

Lingling also knew the city was currently short on hands. It was currently lacking manpower…

However, Wuyuan Bay was not just threatening the people of a single building or a district, it was a threat to the entire city!

“Senior Brother Zhang, can’t we somehow get a team together?” Shen Qing was worried. She was very familiar with the Wuyuan Bay, since she had grown up in a nearby district. Lingling’s speculation was definitely on point!

“I’m afraid not,” Senior Brother Zhang shook his head.

“We’ll defend it then,” Mo Fan said.

“We? You mean just the few of us?” Senior Brother Zhang blurted out in shock.

“Mm, it’s better than giving the sea monsters a clear path!” Mo Fan said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Despite being unwilling, the people of the Donghai Magic Association still set out for the Wuyuan Bay after taking a quick rest.

When they arrived at Wuyuan Bay, Mo Fan studied the estuary and confirmed that it was connected to the strait, just as Lingling had mentioned. Most importantly, the strait was extremely close to the open waters. Some bays did not necessarily face the sea. Many bays had lands and cities on the opposite side. Even though opposite Wuyuan Bay was the Xiang’an District, a landed area, the vast ocean was to the east of the bay, the same direction the fierce storm was approaching from.

The storm at Wuyuan Bay was even stronger. The trees and street lamps had all been knocked to the ground. The vegetation, wetlands, and bridges had been devoured by the rolling waves too. As they looked further into the distance, they saw several waterspouts spinning on the ocean. They were like gray-white serpents that seemed to be protecting something.

“Lingling, I think you’re right; this place is too dangerous!” Mo Fan felt uneasy when he saw the waterspouts outside the bay.

“It looks like we came just in time!” Lingling glanced at the strait between the bay and the sea.

Zhang Lulin and Zhang Xin were with Mo Fan. They were carefully treating Mo Fan as their senior now and being very respectful around him.

Zhang Xin was a shameless middle-aged Mage. He asked with a puzzled look, “I don’t see anything. Why does senior say this place is very dangerous?”

“Yeah, I don’t see any movement of sea monsters apart from the storm. It looks pretty normal to me,” Zhang Lulin agreed.

“I bet you two rarely hunt demon creatures in the wild. You don’t have to see demon creatures to tell they are about to attack… Have you heard of something called Auras? They aren’t necessarily a smell or a wind. They are a unique presence of the demon creatures, which might be mixed with their smell and breath. It can send chills down a person’s spine… Have you ever experienced the fear of the bugs suddenly falling silent when you’re in a jungle?” Mo Fan explained from where he was standing in front of the bay.

“Yeah, of course, senior, I understand what you’re saying. It’s an Aura only high-level demon creatures possess, a naturally intimidating Aura that will make their prey panic,” Zhang Xin nodded. Mo Fan had explained it clearly!

“So you’re saying you’ve picked up the Auras of high-level creatures from the Wuyuan Bay?” Zhang Lulin asked seriously.

“No, there’s no Aura here,” Mo Fan said.

“…” Zhang Lulin and Zhang Xin were left speechless. What exactly was the senior trying to tell them?

“So if there’s no Aura, it means the place is safe?” Shen Qing asked.

“No, it’s not safe at all!” Mo Fan immediately shook his head.

“…Senior, please be more straightforward,” Zhang Lulin said impatiently.

Lingling began to explain in a serious tone, “Only creatures of certain levels will possess the Aura that Mo Fan mentioned, but it’s not exactly rare among the demon creatures. The ones that are stronger and more terrifying are capable of something else: the ability to conceal their presence and Aura!”

Lingling and Mo Fan were Seven Star Hunters. They could easily tell if a pond or a mountain had demon creatures in them at a glance. It was a trait of experienced Hunters!

Zhang Lulin, Zhang Xin, and Shen Qing were still confused, but Mo Fan had taken a step forward, like the string of a bow being extended. He was preparing himself for battle, but the problem was, there was nothing in front of him apart from the restless water in the bay. Was he going to challenge the storm?

“They have concealed their presence in order to sneak through the estuary into the bay. I might not be able to see them, but I can feel they are observing us under the water!” Mo Fan straightened his face as he was speaking.

Zhang Lulin still did not believe Mo Fan’s claim. He went forward and found a destroyed bridge. Its steps were shaking from the wind, but he could still use them as stepping stones.

The rain was pouring down heavily. When Zhang Lulin approached the water, a shadow moved past him like a spirit. It was less than ten meters away from Zhang Lulin, yet the man was unaware of it. The shadow did not attack him, remaining hidden in the water.

“I still don’t see anything,” Zhang Lulin said after checking the area.

“Is that so? I guess I’ll have to beat the grass to scare the snake then,” Mo Fan randomly came up with an idiom.

He flipped his hand and produced a lightning orb like a stone on his hand. He had compressed his Lightning Magic and stored the energy into the orb.

He tossed the lightning orb into the air. A dazzling lightning bolt suddenly swept through the sky that was currently dominated by the wind and rain.

The lightning bolt seemed to have activated some kind of switch. More lightning arcs began to appear from different directions. The lightning arcs soon combined into a weapon diagram in the dark sky before striking at the seemingly calm surface of the lake in the Wuyuan Bay!

The water splashed wildly as the lightning went a dozen meters deep and lit up the bottom of the lake.

The lightning flickers under the water immediately reflected the shadows of the sea monsters like a black and white film. The shadows were stacked on top of one another, extending from the bay to the estuary. There were hundreds of them. The lake looked like it was having serious congestion issues!

Shen Qing, Zhang Xin, and Zhang Lulin were standing too close to the lake. They immediately held their breaths after witnessing the ghastly sight!

A lake that was currently experiencing a storm had so many sea monsters hiding in it. Even an army would struggle to hold them back if they all came on land!

“They…they are all in the water!” Zhang Xin staggered and almost fell to the ground.

They had concealed their presence!

They were sneaking under the water!

They were waiting for more of their comrades to arrive…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sea monsters finally jumped out of the water after they were exposed, springing twenty meters into the air. Their skinny figures were similar to humans, but their heads and bodies were made up of twisted bones.

Their backs had a bone sack that resembled a box. People could easily mistake them for backpackers in the heavy rain!

“Viscera Hunters!” Lingling recognized the unusual species right away.

Mo Fan had heard of the species too. He remembered these Viscera Hunters had been ambushing and killing Mages when Fanxue City was first established. They were even more brutal and cunning than the Scarlet Soaring Demons!

These Viscera Hunters mainly resided in ravines along the ocean floor, but they were active on islands and peninsulas, and along the coastlines too. They had been spotted by almost every country connected to the sea. They were infamous for their savage nature!

“Why do I feel like these creatures are formed from the bones of the dead fish in the ocean?” Mo Fan wondered aloud, observing the Viscera Hunters calmly.

The Viscera Hunters were completely exposed above the water, and able to stand on their feet. Some had landed on the houses that were still standing in the area, but many were standing on the lake. They were able to stand on water!

“They are a mixed species of sea monsters and phantoms. You can think of them as sea ghosts. They don’t have any particular obsession, nor do they need to eat. They just like killing and collecting the organs of living creatures and humans,” Lingling explained with a disgusted face.

Some species of demon creatures were absolutely detestable. Lingling had found a book and read the author’s account of how he had escaped from the Viscera Hunters. The author had witnessed how the Viscera Hunters tortured their prey by removing their organs while they were still alive.

People were naturally afraid of a lot of powerful species in the sea. The Viscera Hunters were not necessarily a strong species, yet no Hunter or Mage wanted to stumble into them. These creatures would drag them to deep waters and dissect them if they were at all careless!

“Viscera Hunters, huh?” Mo Fan let out a hollow laugh.

Mo Fan had heard of incidents where members of Fanxue Mountain were ambushed by the Viscera Hunters. Shao Yu had conveyed her hatred of these creatures, and Mu Ningxue had also told him the detestable acts of these creatures on several occasions.

Mo Fan finally had the chance to stumble into so many Viscera Hunters today. He could not help but crack his knuckles. As a righteous young man with a strong sense of justice, he felt obliged to remove this abhorrent species from God’s list of creation!

People had long loathed these Viscera Hunters.

In addition to Shen Qing, Zhang Xin, and Zhang Lulin, the Intermediate Mages who had fought the Scarlet Rending Demon previously had also come to Wuyuan Bay. They too were brave and had a strong sense of responsibility. They had volunteered to lend a hand when they heard Wuyuan Bay might become an entry point for the sea monsters.

However, their expressions shifted when they saw the Viscera Hunters. Even the Mages who rarely went out to sea had heard of the Viscera Hunters’ brutal methods of killing humans. They could not help but shiver at the thought despite the anger that was rising in them.

More than a hundred Viscera Hunters had jumped out of the water. How could they possibly gather their courage to fight these creatures when they struggled to take out just a single Viscera Hunter?

“We…we should ask for backup instead!” Zhang Xin’s legs were already trembling.

His organs were clearly not enough for these Viscera Hunters to split evenly among themselves!

“They can smell our fear. The uneasier we are, the more excited they would be. Our fear will make them stronger too,” Lingling said.

Many cursed, undead, and darkness creatures were able to feed on the hatred, fear, and anger from other living creatures. These negative emotions were like fresh oxygen to them. The Viscera Hunters were an undead species. They liked to kill their prey brutally since it would inflict fear on their prey, which would make them stronger in return!

It was similar to the mummies in the Pyramids, who nurtured themselves with hatred!

Fear would only provide the Viscera Hunters with more power, especially when the Intermediate Mages were subconsciously backing away. The scent of their cowardice was producing a fresh meal for the Viscera Hunters. Their white bones started to gain a dark red glow as they turned as sturdy and sharp as metal!

The Viscera Hunters acted like they had a weird fetish when they could easily pounce on the Mages. They remained still despite the strong fragrance of the Mages’ flesh. They stared at the humans and constantly absorbed their emotions, like gourmets who were admiring delicacies. They would first appraise the appearance of the dishes before eating them.

Suddenly, a disgusting aroma from one of the dishes completely ruined the mood of the gourmets. The creatures realized the pungent smell was coming from a young man.

His Aura was outstanding among the humans, yet he was scorning the fear the creatures were inflicting on the other humans!

A bad apple would spoil the whole barrel. The Viscera Hunters glared at Mo Fan, utterly disgusted by his Aura. They were eager to take him out first or make him afraid, which might make his flesh taste the best among the humans!

“Isn’t it annoying?” Mo Fan could feel the anger of the Viscera Hunters from their twisted expressions. “That’s right, it’s only the entree, it’ll soon be so bad that you’re going to regret being born in this world!”

Mo Fan did not give the Viscera Hunters any chance to put on airs. Since his lightning had provoked them to show themselves, he would use lightning to eliminate them during the storm now!

“Electro Cannon!”

Mo Fan used one of his strongest attacks right away. Lightning began to coil around his arms. The storm already made the presence of the Lightning Magic strong. Mo Fan merely turned himself into a magnet absorbing the Lightning Magic. He was rapidly charging his arms with lightning!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The lightning exploded across the lake. Lightning arcs flew around destructively and spread across half of Wuyuan Bay!

The Viscera Hunters were relatively agile creatures, but it was far too late for them to escape when they saw the terrifying lightning burst out of Mo Fan’s body. The Electro Cannon’s area of effect was surprisingly wide, and the Viscera Hunters on the lake were completely devoured by the lightning. They dispersed like ashes after falling to the Lightning Tyrant’s twelvefold damage amplification.

The lightning flickered wildly and lit up the gray sky. Zhang Lulin and Zhang Xin dropped their jaws when they saw the lightning bolts surging into the sky.

Was that really an Advanced Spell?

Since when was there an Advanced Spell strong enough to kill dozens of Viscera Hunters instantly?

The Viscera Hunters were a bunch of cold-blooded creatures that usually hunted in packs. They were not bothered by the deaths of their comrades. As a matter of fact, they would feel thrilled when their comrades died, as the scent of death was a delicacy to them!

The rest of the Viscera Hunters charged at Mo Fan after smelling the ashes of their comrades lingering in the moist air. They displayed a strange ability to control their bones. They had skinny figures just before they leapt into the air, but suddenly had bones growing out of their bodies like axes when they attacked Mo Fan. They went from swiping their claws in the air to slashing at Mo Fan with twin axes. The surface of the axes gleamed eerily while they were swinging at Mo Fan with formidable power!

Mo Fan knew the Viscera Hunters were good at turning their bones into all kinds of weapons, including swords, axes, spears, and blades. Each Viscera Hunter had their favorite tools to torture their prey with. The strength of the light on their weapons represented the evil power they had collected, which could dramatically increase the damage of their bone weapons.

Mo Fan was currently being flanked. The Viscera Hunters were pouring down like a huge rain with strange-looking bone weapons, slashing at Mo Fan from different angles, which turned into a red-blue hurricane shredding everything along its trail.

Mo Fan did not plan to let these creatures enter the island. He had purposely lured the creatures to Wuyuan Bay, but another group of Viscera Hunters had jumped out of the water after he had just dodged the wave of attacks from the first group of Viscera Hunters with relatively quick movements. The Viscera Hunters threw their bone spears at the spot Mo Fan had landed on!

The bone spears lined up in the sky and loomed over Mo Fan’s head like a web of bones. The bones emitted an eerie red light and suppressed Mo Fan’s body as he was planning to Blink away from the area. They were preventing him from escaping through the other dimension.

Mo Fan landed on a tree that was floating on the water. He looked up and saw more bone spears falling down at him. He was slowly running out of space to dodge the spears.

Mo Fan did not expect the creatures to be capable of nullifying his Blink. These Viscera Hunters had undergone some kind of training. They knew how to engage their enemy strategically. They were using the eerie lights of their weapons to suppress their prey!

“Time Stasis!”

Mo Fan had no choice but to use the Space Element. His pupils emitted a silver light as he created a Time Stasis rhombus.

The bone spears were like a rain of arrows, while Mo Fan’s rhombus was like a straw boat. The straw boat was fully covered in bone spears. Even Mo Fan was struggling to hold the rhombus in place for long due to the overwhelming pressure. He immediately fled to a more favorable spot.

{TL Note: A reference to an idiom that was derived from an incident in the Romance of Three Kingdoms.}

These creatures are phantoms. I doubt my Fiendish Night is going to work against them… Mo Fan distanced himself from the Viscera Hunters. He was about to use the Dark Material to relieve himself from the pressure when he noticed an important problem.

The Fiendish Night was only effective against living creatures. Phantoms did not necessarily even have shadows, let alone trying to turn their shadows against them.

Mo Fan did not waste his time spreading darkness since he could not use the Fiendish Night against the Viscera Hunters. His Fire Element was weaker due to the heavy storm, so he could only rely on his Lightning Element while using the Space and Earth Elements as support!

Zhang Lulin’s voice came from the distance as Mo Fan was coming up with a plan. “Water Curtain!”

The Water Curtain was not that thick, but it was enough to give Mo Fan some time to prepare his counterattack. Mo Fan quickly accumulated his Will when he saw twenty-some Viscera Hunters charging at him.

The Viscera Hunters were capable of moving on water. They were like demons when they were running, using all four of their limbs like pouncing beasts, dashing and jumping around on the surface of the lake. They tried to disturb Mo Fan with the annoying screeches produced when their fangs rubbed against one another.

Mo Fan could not possibly let such a strange trick interfere with his mind. He proceeded to start the Space Bolts which he had perfected recently.

The Space Bolts made of his will were invisible indoors, but their outlines were visible in the rain, hovering half a step behind Mo Fan. The Space Bolts unleashed a terrifying murderous aura as Mo Fan’s eyes glittered.

The Space Bolts sprang forward, leaving trails in the air before landing accurately on the Viscera Hunters. Over a score of the Viscera Hunters were running on the water, yet half of them fell after the first wave of Space Bolts!

Mo Fan gathered his Will to strengthen the Space Bolts. He realized not only were these Space Bolts effective against lesser creatures, they were just as powerful as the spells he normally used if he focus-fired on a specific area.

“Come back here!”

Mo Fan quickly Summoned the Space Bolts back to him. He had purposely left a few of them behind in case the Viscera Hunters leapt out from different locations. If the Viscera Hunters were so close to him that he was unable to cast another spell in time, he could easily fire the Space Bolts at the creatures to defend himself.

Mo Fan found another chance to cast an Advanced Spell after eliminating the group of Viscera Hunters.

When Mo Fan saw shadows moving rapidly under the water, he knew another group of Viscera Hunters was planning to ambush him. He decisively tossed a lightning orb into the water and gave the creatures sneaking up on him a fascinating lightning bomb to examine!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The lightning orb created an explosion and triggered a rain of bones. The remains of the Viscera Hunters were knocked several dozen meters into the sky before pouring down in a spectacular manner!

Mo Fan grinned. These Viscera Hunters seriously thought he was unaware of their presence when they were moving under the water. His Dark Material might not be effective against them, but he could still treat it as his eyes and observe the movements of the creatures in the water!

Mo Fan took on the Viscera Hunters alone and killed over a hundred of them before he realized it. He was fending off the creatures at Wuyuan Bay by himself.

However, the Viscera Hunters’ numbers exceeded their expectations since the Wuyuan Bay was connected to the sea. More shadows had swum into Wuyuan Bay while Mo Fan was busy fighting the Viscera Hunters.

“Mo Fan, these creatures aren’t trying to invade the city. They are escorting some other creatures behind them!” Lingling had quickly scouted the area by riding the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

Mo Fan had killed a lot of Viscera Hunters in Wuyuan Bay, but not only did he see more shadows swimming into the bay, he also noticed bigger shadows riding the waves in the distance. They were clearly not Viscera Hunters, yet they were surrounded by Viscera Hunters. They were being escorted to the bay, just as Lingling had mentioned!

“What are those?” Mo Fan asked with a confused face.

The strange thing was, when the bigger shadows showed up, the Viscera Hunters in Wuyuan Bay stopped attacking Mo Fan so stubbornly. They jumped back into the water like they had accomplished their mission.

The bigger shadows had entered Wuyuan Bay. There were more than a few of them, each followed by almost a hundred Viscera Hunters!

When the first shadow reached the inner part of Wuyuan Bay, the remaining Viscera Hunters that were fighting Mo Fan immediately gathered around it.

With a deafening splash, a huge mouth rose out of the water!

The creature did not fully reveal itself, leaving a huge chunk of its body in the water. It was about the size of a warship, but for some reason, it only revealed a mouth that resembled a giant bell above the water. Therefore, the people on the shore felt like they were staring at a huge bell floating on the water, with its opening facing the sky.

The creature uttered a thunderous roar. Everyone’s head started buzzing from the loud noise.

Mo Fan glanced at the creature with a rather unique appearance. He was not sure what he was supposed to do to it.

Were the sea monsters so intelligent that they even knew how to stand in formations and used the strange bell creature to relay orders around?

“What the hell are those? Don’t tell me the Viscera Hunters were escorting these huge creatures here to perform a symphony in front of us?” Mo Fan could not help but ask. The sight before him was just too bizarre.

The Viscera Hunters stopped attacking him. They were backing away into the water, giving Mo Fan a chance to catch his breath. Mo Fan was very curious about what the Viscera Hunters were up to.

“I think these are most likely some Magical Sea beasts!” Lingling said with a frown.

“What’s a Magical Sea Beast? Why are the Viscera Hunters escorting them like they are their beloved daughters?” Mo Fan said.

“I’m not sure either, but I heard some Magical Sea Beasts are capable of controlling the sea,” Lingling said.

“I thought most sea monsters had the ability to control the sea?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Shen Qing seemed to know something. She stared at the strange beasts and said with a blank face, “Controlling water and controlling the sea are two different things. Most sea monsters have the ability to control water, but only the creatures capable of controlling the sea can manipulate the rules of the sea!”

“What rules does the sea have?” Mo Fan was utterly clueless about the sea.

“The most common rule is the tide, which is usually called the rise and fall of the waves.

“When the tide rises, the beach will be submerged. In some seasons, the tide might even reach a greater height. The rise and fall are mostly affected by the day and night and the changing of seasons, but there are certain unique creatures in the sea that are like the mystical creatures from the legends. Every time they show up, they greatly influence the tide. Many people in Minnan still worship these sea creatures in return for calm weather along the coastline,” Shen Qing told them.

“So what are those Viscera Hunters up to? Did they escort those mystical beasts here so we can worship them too?” Mo Fan was still confused.

Mo Fan understood the part where certain mystical creatures in the sea were able to control the tide. There existed many special creatures in the world with incomparable capabilities, yet Mo Fan was struggling to understand what the sea monsters were trying to achieve through them.

“What do you think the most important factor that determines whether the sea monsters can invade the city or not is?” Lingling asked seriously.

Mo Fan fell silent and pondered, then suddenly realized something!

He glanced at Shen Qing, whose face was as pale as a sheet of paper. It meant she had also linked the beasts to a horrifying possibility!

The Viscera Hunters were willing to serve and escorted the mystical beasts with the power to control the tide to Wuyuan Bay because they were planning to manipulate the tide and make it rise!

“The city is already submerged. Can the tide rise further?” Mo Fan asked in disbelief.

“What do you think!?” Lingling snapped.

Of course it was still possible for the tide to rise!

These unique creatures had the ability to make the tide rise rapidly. Xiamen was already in a devastated state due to the endless rain and the tropical storm. If these unique creatures make the sea level rise further, the whole city, including the higher terrain and hills would be submerged too!

By then, the sea monsters would no longer have to look for an entry point, since they could just invade the city from any direction!

Thousands of sea monsters had gathered due to the storm. If they had the perfect environment to invade the island, the city would no longer be able to defend itself, regardless of the number of Mages it had!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Holy crap! If the tide does rise, there’s no way we can evacuate the city in eight hours. These sea monsters are seriously smart!” Mo Fan cursed.

They had sent some high-level creatures to scout the island first. Then they sent the Viscera Hunters to sneak into the island to find a good entry point for the magical beasts that were able to trigger a tide rise and speed up the rate the sea water was devouring the city, so the rest of the sea monsters could invade the city too! Mo Fan had witnessed how cunning and evil these sea monsters were. They were not giving the city any chance to survive!

“There are a few more magical beasts further away, if they all use their power at the same time…” Shen Qing’s eyes were filled with despair. Even though she was only watching the beasts swimming to the island, she could already imagine the terrifying tide rising above the hills and the higher ground, including some of the tall buildings and bridges!

The number of sea monsters was many times that of the number of demon creatures on land. If the tide rose, the city would be full of sea monsters. The place would turn into a bloodbath before the eight-hour mark!

“Backup… someone, call for backup right now, tell the authorities that four Magical Sea Beasts have appeared. They are going to bring in a huge tide!” Zhang Xin had already lost his mind. He kept telling the others to call for backup, yet he was constantly backing away like he had an urge to flee for his life at once.

“It’s too late. It doesn’t take a long time for these Magical Sea Beasts to Summon the tide, not to mention there are four of them here! I doubt we can find any backup now under the circumstances, and even if we did, the tide will already be approaching like a gray line of mountains by the time our backup arrives,” Lingling said, shaking her head.

If only they could have found out what the Viscera Hunters were up to and learned of the existence of the Magical Sea Beasts half an hour earlier, they might have had a chance to stop the tragedy, but it was too late now. The Magical Sea Beasts could Summon a tide from a great distance away. It was already disastrous that the Magical Sea Beasts were in the vicinity of the island, let alone letting them reach Wuyuan Bay!

“What if we take out the Magical Sea Beasts?” Zhang Lulin asked.

“Didn’t you see the Viscera Hunters holding their positions like guards around the Magical Sea Beasts? If they can come up with the plan to bring the Magical Sea Beasts here, they are obviously going to protect the Magical Sea Beasts! Each of the Magical Sea Beasts has around a hundred Viscera Hunters by their sides, without including those that are still hiding in the water. These Viscera Hunters have already invaded the bay, yet they didn’t attack any person or building. It simply means their mission is to protect the Magical Sea Beasts. They can easily overwhelm any troop that is trying to kill the Magical Sea Beasts!” Zhang Xin blurted out in a trembling voice.

Even Advanced Mages were not going to last for more than half a minute against so many Viscera Hunters. They were thinking of helping the city just a few moments ago, but Zhang Xin’s mind was now completely occupied about how to guarantee his own safety. Once the Magical Sea Beasts Summoned a huge tide, countless sea monsters would invade the city by riding the waves.

“Lingling, how do these Magical Sea Beasts Summon the Tide?” Mo Fan asked urgently.

Lingling did not answer, since she did not necessarily know everything. The Magical Sea Beasts were an extremely rare species. Humans did not know much about them in the first place. Lingling had only read some books that mentioned them, but not much detail had been included.

“Can you see the thing that looks like a huge bell on their backs? It’s called the Tide Commanding Shell. When the Magical Sea Beasts shake their bodies vigorously, the Tide Commanding Shell will produce a sonic wave beyond our hearing range. The wave will manipulate the tide and gather the waves and undercurrents to its source. A Sea Magical Beast can double the height of a normal tide. The sonic waves are stackable too, meaning that if a Sea Magical Beast can double the tide’s height, two Magical Sea Beasts will multiply the tide’s height by four. Therefore, a single Sea Magical Beast might not matter much, but if two of them show up, the rising tide can easily overwhelm a lot of things!” Shen Qing explained what she knew.

Mo Fan gasped when he learned the principles behind the Sea Magical Beast’s power.

If two Magical Sea Beasts could multiply the tide’s height by four times, wouldn’t it mean the tide would be thirty-two times taller if there were four Magical Sea Beasts!

{TL Note: I’m not a Mathematician, but shouldn’t it be 16 times instead?}

1

A one-meter-high wave would turn into a giant wave thirty-two meters high!

Besides, the waves were already very high due to the wild weather. If they were pushed even higher…

“Why does such a terrifying species exist in this world?” Mo Fan did not expect the power of the Magical Sea Beasts to be even scarier than he thought.

“They are spirits of the sea in the first place. Otherwise, why do you think people worshipped them in ancient times? However, with four of them showing up at the same time, I’m afraid the tide is going to be…” Shen Qing was more familiar with the terrifying ability of the Magical Sea Beasts than anyone else there.

However, why would these magical beasts allow the army of sea monsters to control them and bring great disasters to their land?

Zhang Lulin was already firing regrouping signals into the sky. The light soared into the gray sky and made the raindrops sparkle. The light was reflected on Shen Qing’s face as she turned to Mo Fan.

For some reason, Shen Qing was placing all her hopes on Mo Fan. The man was clearly not afraid of Viscera Hunters, judging from the strength he had displayed.

“Mo Fan, could you…” Shen Qing realized how naive she was in the middle of her sentence.

How was it even possible? People would be fleeing for their lives like Zhang Xin when facing so many Viscera Hunters. There was no way Mo Fan could handle the situation by himself. They were too late!

“You shouldn’t place too much hope on me. The things I can do are very limited,” Mo Fan knew what Shen Qing wanted to say. Her eyes were filled with helplessness and pleading.

“I…I know, I’m sorry,” Shen Qing was a little disappointed. She said, “Let’s go, we should warn the Donghai Magic Association and the military.”

“Go? I didn’t say I was leaving,” Mo Fan sniffed.

Shen Qing raised her head and looked at Mo Fan with confusion. She did not understand what Mo Fan meant.

COMMENT

“I can’t resolve the crisis since there are too many Viscera Hunters. I won’t be able to kill them all even if I use up all my energy… however, I might be able to kill one Sea Magical Beast if I try my best. It’s better to reduce the level of the rising tide, even if it’s only by one level!” Mo Fan told Shen Qing.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Shen Qing’s eyes reclaimed their brilliance after hearing Mo Fan’s words.

Killing a Sea Magical Beast would reduce the rising tide by a level. It was too important for the city that was already in a pinch!

“Are…are you serious?” Shen Qing gasped in disbelief.

Even a Super Mage would struggle to fend off so many Viscera Hunters. Could the person who had been tagging along to help her with a rescue operation really kill a Sea Magical Beast that was protected by so many Viscera Hunters?

“I can kill one of them, at least. Help me contact Zhang Xiaohou. If the situation isn’t so bad on his side, ask him to support me. We might be able to kill two of them if there’s enough time,” Mo Fan reached out his hand and placed the hood of Shen Qing’s raincoat back on her head. “Go.”

“Got it!” Shen Qing nodded. She almost shook the hood off again. Raindrops slid down her neck and into her clothes, yet she did not feel cold at all. She sprinted toward the woods.

Killing two Magical Sea Beasts…

If they could take out two of the Magical Sea Beasts, the tide rise would only reduce to four times. It would still be disastrous to the city, but it was a lot better than the tide rising thirty-twofold!

It did not matter if Mo Fan was telling her the truth, nor did she know whether calling Zhang Xiaohou here was going to make any difference. She had to do as she was told immediately!

—

“The rest of you, back off a little.” Mo Fan moved closer to Wuyuan Bay.

Zhang Lulin was done firing the signals, yet only a few Mages had shown up. When he saw Mo Fan approaching the first Magical Sea Beast, he yelled, “Are you out of your mind? The situation is clearly out of our control. You should guarantee your own safety instead!”

“I have a bad habit of trying things no matter how bad or desperate a situation is. I have no idea what the outcome is going to be, but I’m bold enough to at least try changing the situation!” Mo Fan cracked his neck and loosened his shoulders.

Damn it, even these lowly sea monsters knew to come up with a strategy!

Even if he could not change anything, he could still vent his frustrations by killing a bunch of them!

—

Mo Fan did not get too close to the Magical Sea Beast. He was standing on a bunch of floating tires, most likely swept into the bay from a factory nearby. They had ended up around the bay and the shore, providing Mo Fan with some stepping stones.

Previously, the Viscera Hunters had immediately lost their temper and charged at Mo Fan when he provoked them. They would keep chasing him even when he retreated from the bay, but now the creatures did not attack him right away, as their priority was to guarantee the Magical Sea Beasts’ safety.

Mo Fan grinned when he noticed their behavior.

If they were not going to take the initiative to attack or surround him… it would make a lot of difference!

During the World College Tournament, the whole team was protecting him since he was the magic cannon of the team. He could inflict serious damage on the enemy team as long as he had a safe environment to cast his spells.

The Viscera Hunters were close-combat fighters. If they stayed close to the Viscera Hunters, he would seize the initiative!

In other words, he could fight the Viscera Hunters at a safe distance and then back away to a spot where he would not pose any threat to the Magical Sea Beasts. That way, the Viscera Hunters would not bother chasing him since they could not afford to leave the Magical Sea Beasts’ side. Therefore, it would split the Viscera Hunters into smaller groups!

Taking on smaller groups of the Viscera Hunters and taking on a whole swarm of them were totally different!

—

Mo Fan started drawing closer while tossing long-ranged Basic and Intermediate Spells at the Viscera Hunters. The Jagged-Bone Viscera Hunters were rather patient. They simply endured the spells when Mo Fan remained on the shore. Even if Mo Fan was using an Advanced Spell, they would only line up like a wall to resist his attack.

The shore was quite a distance away from the Viscera Hunters, thus by the time the Advanced Spell reached Wuyuan Bay, its strength had already dropped significantly. Only certain Advanced Spells could hit targets at such a distance. If Mo Fan remained on the shore, he would not be able to kill the Sea Magical Beast even if he consumed all his Lightning Energy.

“I have to get a little closer to figure out what their acceptable range is…” Mo Fan mumbled as he stepped on the floating tires and gradually moved closer toward the water.

The Viscera Hunters were watching Mo Fan at all times. Many had already fought Mo Fan previously. They had an urge to pounce at Mo Fan and capture him alive and torture him, yet the Sea Magical Beasts were extremely weak, even though they had the strongest power to manipulate the sea. Even a single Viscera Hunter could kill them if they did not have any protection!

Mo Fan did not stop casting his spells. The Viscera Hunters began to move when he was less than three hundred meters from the group surrounding a Magical Sea Beast…

Three hundred meters!

It was their borderline.

Mo Fan canceled the Advanced Spell he was channeling. He was merely pretending to attack the Viscera Hunters to see what their reaction was. As he thought, the Viscera Hunters were reacting strongly to his actions!

“Come, I didn’t have enough just then!” Mo Fan gave the easily-provoked Viscera Hunters a mocking look.

Around thirty Viscera Hunters left the circle and attacked Mo Fan once he was within three hundred meters.

Mo Fan stayed in the area. He immediately used his Lightning Magic and fired over ten Thunderbolts across the lake. They flared rapidly and created a strong impact across the surface, fully capable of killing Commander-level creatures.

The Viscera Hunters were not Commander-level creatures, only Great Warrior-level creatures, but if the standard of how sea monsters were usually three times stronger than the demon creatures on the land, three Viscera Hunters would be as strong as a Lesser Commander-level creature!

Mo Fan’s spells were usually strong enough to kill Warrior-level creatures instantly, so he would not have any trouble taking on a hundred Warrior-level creatures, but it was not as easy when he was fighting the Viscera Hunters.

The Viscera Hunters were cunning. They were familiar with Mages’ capabilities and they could smell the destructive aura of an Advanced Spell.

Whenever Mo Fan used an Advanced Spell, the Viscera Hunters would spread out, so Mo Fan could only kill at most two or three of them, if he even landed his spell!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Viscera Hunters were not training dummies, and they were extremely agile.

In addition, Mo Fan’s strengthened Intermediate Spells were still not strong enough to kill all of the Viscera Hunters instantly.

His Thunderbolt spell was quite effective. After all, it was an Advanced Spell that was cast with a Lightning Constellation. However, since the Viscera Hunters were so agile, each Thunderbolt could only kill three of them.

If an Advanced Spell could only kill three Viscera Hunters, there was no way he could even kill a single Magical Sea Beast before the thirty-two fold tide came, not to mention the possibility of him running out of energy.

“It’s a lot easier to fight the creatures at my current distance, but it’s wasting too much time! I have to be a little bolder and lure more of them to me,” Mo Fan muttered to himself.

He glanced at the shore and saw the Flying Creek Snow Wolf taking a detour to look for an opening to ambush the Magical Sea Beast. Unfortunately, the Viscera Hunters were fully aware of his movements.

Mo Fan was not expecting the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to ambush the Magical Sea Beast successfully if all he was doing was provoking the Viscera Hunters from a safe distance. He sent the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to the other side to prevent too many Viscera Hunters from leaving the circle and surrounding him.

Mo Fan could only run away if he had to fight a hundred Viscera Hunters at the same time. He could only kite the creatures around, making it impossible for him to kill the Sea Magical Beasts.

It was actually useful to send the Old Wolf to another side. When Mo Fan drew another fifty meters closer, only half of the Viscera Hunters left the circle to take Mo Fan out. The rest were holding their positions while observing the situation.

“The other Magical Sea Beast and more than a hundred Viscera Hunters further away do not seem interested in the fight here.” Mo Fan could see the other circle made up of another Magical Sea Beast and the Viscera Hunters protecting it when he jumped into the air to dodge some attacks.

Each Magical Sea Beast was protected by at least a hundred and fifty Viscera Hunters. They were cunning and deceitful, but most importantly, they only cared about their own business. The rest of the Viscera Hunters were not too bothered while Mo Fan was targeting the first Sea Magical Beast. Mo Fan was not sure if it was because he was still quite far away from their Sea Magical Beast. Either way, they were only focusing on looking after the Magical Sea Beast they were assigned to protect.

It was a good sign for Mo Fan. There were some other Mages in Wuyuan Bay, but he was the only capable fighter.

Luckily, he had a smart girl like Lingling with him. She was constantly asking Zhang Lulin and Zhang Xin to pretend like the human army was about to arrive.

—

“That guy has seriously lost his mind to charge into an encirclement like that. He’s going to be dead for sure!” Zhang Xin was forced to stay behind. His face immediately turned pale when he saw Mo Fan slowly being surrounded by the Viscera Hunters after running toward their position.

How could anyone be so ballsy?

Does he not know how vicious these Viscera Hunters were?

Mo Fan had already reached a spot close to the circle. Over a hundred Viscera Hunters were attacking him at his current distance. He was fully surrounded by the sea monsters.

As Mo Fan drew a little closer, even the Viscera Hunters that stayed close to the Magical Sea Beast began to attack him. They could not afford to let the human get any closer to the Sea Magical Beast. They had no idea if the human was going to use some strange spell to kill their ward. They had to eliminate the threat at once.

“They are coming!”

Mo Fan realized his provocation was actually working. The Viscera Hunters were all coming to kill him.

“Bli…”

Silver dust particles drifted in the wind as a Space Constellation was built swiftly.

The Viscera Hunters let out an unpleasant laugh. As a matter of fact, the Space Element was not so effective when the Viscera Hunters were grouped together. Mo Fan was already having trouble using his Blink to dodge their attacks. Most importantly, they could easily slit his throat considering the current distance between them and the human before he could use Blink!

Trying to escape with a complicated spell while being surrounded was like a person who was busy putting his shoes on in front of a wild bear.

The Viscera Hunters were extremely cunning. They quickly attacked when they noticed Mo Fan making such a deadly mistake. More than fifty Viscera Hunters pounced at him to kill him before he could finish constructing the Space Constellation!

Mo Fan continued to draw the Star Constellation. The pattern was reflected on the surface of the lake, but he was completely surrounded by the ghastly faces of the creatures and the deadly weapons they had constructed with their bones. The Viscera Hunters had sealed off every escape route!

Bone sabers, spears, clubs, and other weapons that were covered in blood stabbed and swung at Mo Fan at the same time. His body immediately broke into pieces. The rest of the Viscera Hunters that came late proceeded to chop Mo Fan into smaller pieces.

Zhang Xin and Zhang Lulin were traumatized by the sight.

They were utterly shocked by Mo Fan’s strength when he killed the Scarlet Rending Demon with ease, yet even a strong Mage like him was torn into pieces by the group of Viscera Hunters. He had died such a horrible death, not even his remains were left!

The Space Constellation was done. It became even brighter, but its Caster was already dead. The silver Star Constellation was only a mere decoration.

However, Zhang Lulin soon noticed something strange. It seemed like the Space Constellation was still working?…

There were occasions where Mages were killed just as they completed their Star Patterns or Star Constellations. Since the spells were supported by the Mages’ energy, the spells would dissipate after the Mages were killed.

However, the Space Constellation did not disappear!

The area where the Space Constellation shuddered all of a sudden. The Viscera Hunters that were attacking Mo Fan suddenly disappeared following a bright flash.

The spell was still working. It happened to teleport the Viscera Hunters that had killed Mo Fan a hundred meters away.

Meanwhile, a black mantle appeared on the spot where Mo Fan had been torn into pieces. The person wearing it was charging at the Magical Sea Beast at a terrifying pace!

“Die!”

The Viscera Hunters immediately panicked!

The Blink had relocated them a hundred meters away from the Sea Magical Beast, leaving a huge opening behind. The human was charging right at the Sea Magical Beast!

“He’s alive?”

“What just happened?”

“Did the Viscera Hunters only kill a shadow decoy?” Zhang Lulin was astounded after he realized something.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“He used Blink to relocate the Viscera Hunters. As expected of Senior!” Zhang Xin finally realized what just happened.

Mo Fan purposely exposed himself to lure the remaining Viscera Hunters by the Magical Sea Beast’s side to attack him. He then used Blink to move the Viscera Hunters away from the Magical Sea Beast after they pounced on him, giving him the perfect opportunity to kill the Magical Sea Beast!

With a huge clap of thunder, Mo Fan shoved a lightning orb at the Magical Sea Beast with half of its body above the water.

The flesh of the Magical Sea Beast blew all over the place like a scarlet wave when the lightning orb exploded!

The Magical Sea Beast’s blood poured down on the Viscera Hunters. Normally, these creatures would be celebrating in the rain of blood, but the Magical Sea Beast…

The Magical Sea Beast had died, meaning that the Viscera Hunters who were supposed to protect it were doomed too!

The Viscera Hunters completely lost their calm. They roared and charged Mo Fan while they were soaked in blood.

This time, Mo Fan was truly surrounded by the creatures. More than a hundred Viscera Hunters had been enraged. They were going to drag Mo Fan to death too, or perhaps scatter his remains across the sky just like what he did to the Magical Sea Beast.

“Crap, Senior is struggling to break free from their surround!” Zhang Xin exclaimed.

They did not even have the chance to celebrate the death of the first Magical Sea Beast before they noticed Mo Fan was already injured by the raging Viscera Hunters.

The biggest problem Mo Fan was facing when being heavily surrounded was not being able to use his Advanced and Super Spells. His Basic and Intermediate Spells were not very effective against the Viscera Hunters.

“Senior, we will remember your sacrifice for the city…” Zhang Xin yelled at the circle of sea monsters in Wuyuan Bay.

“Is there really nothing we can do?” Zhang Lulin said.

“We will only get ourselves killed if we go. Killing each Magical Sea Beast will lower the tide rise by a level. Senior is buying more time for us to evacuate the city. We shouldn’t let him die for nothing!” Zhang Xin declared.

“Zhang Xin, he’s still alive.”

“He’s pretty much dead, let’s go.”

—

Mo Fan was indeed in a very dangerous position under the circumstances. It was not his first time being surrounded by a large group of demon creatures, but the creatures then were usually Servant-class or Warrior-level creatures, and not as strong as the Viscera Hunters. Mo Fan had taken a huge risk just to kill the Magical Sea Beasts before the tide rose. He ended up leaving himself with no escape.

He had to be constantly running when fighting the Viscera Hunters to gradually reduce their numbers, so he would not be attacked from different directions. It was the only way to make sure he had a chance to use his Advanced Spells. Unfortunately, these cunning Viscera Hunters were not giving Mo Fan any chance to use his Advanced Spells. They were recklessly crossing the Intermediate Spells Mo Fan had left along the way and inflicting cuts on him.

“These scumbag undead!”

Mo Fan was covered in burning wounds. He did not withdraw his flames while he was cursing.

The presence of Fire Magic was very weak around here, and so were Little Flame Belle’s abilities. However, Mo Fan still used his Fire Element since it was his main Element when fighting. His control over the Fire Element was the strongest, so he was more adept at using the Fire Spells!

I still made a mistake. These things are more annoying than I thought. Mo Fan took another blow to his back. Luckily, he had formed a shield with Telekinesis to block the attacks, so the cuts were not so deep. If my Earth Element and Chaos Element were stronger, I wouldn’t be in this situation now.

The spells Mo Fan could use were too few. He was currently in a pinch because his Fire Element was suppressed. Most annoyingly, his Dark Material was not very effective against these creatures that were a hybrid of sea creatures and phantoms.

It did not mean his new Dark Material was not strong, but the Shadow Element was just not effective against creatures like the Viscera Hunters.

His Fire Element was not working well, and his Shadow Element, which had gotten a lot stronger recently, was useless against the Viscera Hunters. He was in a pretty bad spot. The sea had never been kind to him. If he did not Awaken other Elements and improve his Chaos Element and Earth Element, he would continue to be bullied by sea monsters!

The wind was howling. Mo Fan even sensed a significant change in the airflow nearby. He lifted his gaze amid the chaos and happened to see a huge waterspout rolling toward him like a ferocious beast.

Mo Fan initially thought some sea monster capable of manipulating the wind was attacking him, yet he realized someone was helping him when the waterspout knocked more than twenty Viscera Hunters into the sky!

Mo Fan saw a blurred figure in the waterspout, who seemed to be responsible for the powerful wind. The whole waterspout was following him!

Mo Fan was surprised. The person’s Wind Element was quite astonishing. He was able to control the wind to destroy everything along its path!

“Brother Fan, come with me!” a familiar voice shouted.

Mo Fan was startled.

It was Zhang Xiaohou? Since when was his Wind Element so powerful?

A swift figure appeared in front of Mo Fan before he could react. The wind around him quickly engulfed Mo Fan and swept him higher.

“Time to go!”

The wind suddenly picked up its momentum and forced an opening through the encircling creatures, helping them to break out of the circle.

The Viscera Hunters lunged at them angrily. They even rammed into the waterspout to drag Mo Fan down, but Zhang Xiaohou’s speed was absolutely insane. He managed to clear a path right through the pack of them. The Viscera Hunters seemed a lot slower when compared to Zhang Xiaohou!

Speed had always been Zhang Xiaohou’s strength. Mo Fan just did not expect his speed to be so shocking.

Did Mo Fan have to worry about being surrounded by the Viscera Hunters or not having an opportunity to kill the Magical Sea Beasts now that Zhang Xiaohou was here?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou brought Mo Fan to the shore after breaking out of the surrounding Viscera Hunters. The shore was now submerged in deep water, as the tide had risen because of the Magical Sea Beasts. There were not many good spots to set their feet on nearby.

Zhang Xiaohou looked around him and realized there was not a single place for Mo Fan to stand on. He cast a Wind Spell that Mo Fan had never seen before.

“Wind Wheel!”

Two Wind Wheels formed under Mo Fan’s feet. They could support him easily, as if Mo Fan had put on a pair of shoes that were able to hover in the air while maintaining his balance. He was able to walk in the air now!

1

Most Wind Mages could only use the spell on themselves, and it was rare to see anyone able to cast it on someone else like Zhang Xiaohou just did. It was likely that the man had never stopped training diligently since they last met. He had also had his own special encounters, which had provided him with great benefits.

“Hehe, it was the Fruit of the Vow. Not only did my Wind Element improve significantly after consuming it, I also learned some unexpected skills! The spell that I Cast to bring you out of there and the Wind Wheels are from my Feathers of the Wind Spirits. I only discovered that I could Cast them on someone else recently. Brother Fan, you should be able to familiarize yourself with the Wind Wheels after some practice.” Zhang Xiaohou had indeed been Mo Fan’s friend for a very long time. He knew exactly what Mo Fan was thinking!

“These Wind Wheels are perfect for me,” Mo Fan nodded.

The tide had risen in the bay. There had been some abandoned tires and broken trees floating around before, but there was nothing but water now. It was a troublesome sight for Mo Fan.

“Brother Fan, I rarely see you injured like this. However, I did notice that the sea monsters are a lot stronger than the demon creatures on the land. I almost messed up when I first encountered them!” Zhang Xiaohou sighed.

“Some of my Elements are greatly hindered by the environment… Houzi, do you see those circles of bony scum in the bay?” Mo Fan stood in the air with the help of Zhang Xiaohou’s Wind Wheels and pointed at a nearby area.

Zhang Xiaohou followed Mo Fan’s gaze and noticed the area Mo Fan was referring to was already submerged in fierce waves. The waves had reached ten to twenty meters high, like moving mountains.

Zhang Xiaohou saw the creatures Mo Fan had mentioned between the waves. They were a group of Viscera Hunters half-submerged in the water. Some were spreading their limbs out like spiders to float or glide above the surface of the water.

“But we aren’t done with those in front of us,” Zhang Xiaohou said with a wry smile.

“Shen Qing should have told you what those things are. If the tide reaches the third level, we will all end up as floating bodies soon,” Mo Fan said.

“Brother Fan, I understand… so, do you have any good plans?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Plan my ass, let’s screw them up!”

1

“…”

Mo Fan did not have time to come up with a plan. Even if they had a strategy, they had to adapt to the situation on hand during a battle. Mo Fan was not the kind to worry about coming up with a plan first; his strategy was always taking on the enemy head-on before worrying about the rest!

“I’ll lure these creatures away first. Brother Fan, you should give the Viscera Hunters around the second Magical Sea Beast some trouble. I’ll sneak up on it later,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Zhang Xiaohou had no idea whether Mo Fan had heard him. However, there was no need to state everything clearly with the synergy they had developed over the years.

Mo Fan no longer had to worry about finding himself solid ground to stand on after being given the Wind Wheels. They made Mo Fan a lot more comfortable. Besides, he could also use his Fire Element in the air. His Soul-grade flames could easily evaporate the petty raindrops!

Mo Fan rode the Wind Wheels and approached the circle of Viscera Hunters around the second Magical Sea Beast recklessly. The Viscera Hunters were like tigers and leopards accumulating their strength. They were tensing their bodies and limbs taut while glaring at Mo Fan up in the air. They were surely going to pounce at him once he was within their reach!

“Flame Sword!”

Mo Fan despised these Viscera Hunters a great deal now. He straight away used the strongest spells of his Fire Element.

He unleashed the three Soul-grade Flames while being Possessed by Little Flame Belle. Several Swords made of scorching lava appeared around Mo Fan. They plunged forward like meteors at the Viscera Hunters when Mo Fan pointed at them with a strong killing intent!

Mo Fan might have many Elements, but he had to admit that he was favoring his main Elements too much. The Viscera Hunters might be strong, but they were nowhere strong enough to inflict so many injuries on him and trap him. He was merely relying too heavily on the Fire Element and Little Flame Belle’s Possess. His Fire Element was the main reason he was capable of defending himself when fighting against huge numbers. The Flame Belle’s Domain would inflict serious damage on enemies that were too close to him, giving Mo Fan a safe environment to cast his destructive spells.

However, whenever he was up against sea monsters, especially when he had no choice but to fight in the waves, he would lose the game-breaking ability from being Possessed by Flame Belle. In addition, this environment was not perfect for his Lightning Element either, making him far more passive in the battle!

Mo Fan was relying too much on his Fire and Lightning Elements. If his Space, Summoning, Shadow, Chaos, and Earth Elements were as strong as his Lightning and Fire Elements, why would he struggle so much against these Viscera Hunters?

It was not like Mo Fan’s other Elements were not as useful as the Lightning and Fire Elements. This was all because Mo Fan had been taking on difficult challenges by fighting Ruler-level creatures or groups of Commander-level creatures. Therefore, the other Elements that were significantly weaker did not feel as useful to him.

In the end, his cultivation was still lacking!

His Fire and Lightning Elements were indeed strong enough to pose a threat to a Ruler-level creature.

Unfortunately, his other Elements could only inflict serious injuries on Commander-level creatures. They would struggle to hurt a Ruler-level creature.

Mo Fan tossed the Flame Swords at the Viscera Hunters while hovering in the air. He was not so brainless as to not know the Fire Element would be weakened by the water. It was merely because his Fire Element’s attacks were still stronger than other Elements, even when the environment was not favorable for him. As for his Lightning Element, he had used a lot of it previously. His energy would be depleted soon if he did not conserve it!

The Viscera Hunters were sea monsters, and so they were fond of wet and chilly environments. They greatly despised the Fire Element. Yet these cunning phantoms were surprisingly loyal in front of the Magical Sea Beast. They held their claws together and formed a huge shield with their backbones above the Magical Sea Beast to block the Flame Swords!

White vapor blew into the sky above the bay, but soon dispersed beneath the heavy rain.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Little Flame Belle was furious. If she could fight these Viscera Hunters on the land, she could easily burn them into ashes with her Soul-grade flames, killing them instantly if they dared to block her path. Most annoyingly, these Viscera Hunters were too close to water. They were using the water to reduce the heat of the Flame Swords before blocking them with their bodies. The Flame Swords had no chance of burning through their bones after losing so much of their heat!

“Stay calm. Even if their water isn’t as strong as our Soul-grade flames, it’s normal for water to be strong against fire. Little Flame Belle, you should withdraw your Domain slightly. Your fire will be hindered a lot more if you spread it too far away. You’re only wasting your energy,” Mo Fan comforted her. He knew she was feeling impatient.

Little Flame Belle was not just standing by when she was Possessing Mo Fan. The raging flames engulfing Mo Fan, the Fire Domain spreading a few hundred meters away, and the Fire Magic accumulating around Mo Fan were all under Little Flame Belle’s control. Whenever she Possessed Mo Fan, it was the two of them fighting together, instead of Mo Fan fighting by himself!

Little Flame Belle withdrew her meaningless Domain and only maintained a small ring of flames around them, using it to evaporate the raindrops since she would feel extremely uncomfortable if the rain fell on her!

“Try to gather the flames. I heard there’s a kind of lava deep in the sea that even the cold water struggles to cool. They only solidify into rocks after a long time. If our flames are concentrated enough with a high enough temperature, their water won’t stand a chance against our Soul-grade flames…” Mo Fan told Little Flame Belle his plan patiently.

Little Flame Belle agreed with Mo Fan. She started gathering the flames and refining them into a flame with higher density!

She temporarily put the Ardent Sunset and Meteor Scarlet aside. She placed all her focus on the Calamity Fire.

The Calamity Fire was Little Flame Belle’s natal flame, and she was able to dig out more energy from it. She currently needed a refined version of it instead of trying to spread it all over the place. She turned herself into a little furnace where the Fire Magic was constantly refined. She would soon produce a purer version of the Calamity Fire!

Mo Fan was harassing the Viscera Hunters with his Space Element as he waited for Little Flame Belle to refine the flame. He soon noticed the color of the ring of flame about him turning from a faint brown-red to a much more vivid hue!

The Calamity Fire’s strength might be restricted by the level of the Soul-grade Fire, but if Little Flame Belle kept refining the flame with Fire Magic, she could modify the fire’s temperature and density. The fire would last longer and would be harder to be put out!

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle let out an excited cry, telling her king that the furnace was heated!

“Alright! Let’s show them what we’ve got!” Mo Fan could already feel the difference in the Calamity Fire.

“Let them have a taste of the phoenix!”

Mo Fan extended his arms as Little Flame Belle spread the refined Calamity Fire around him.

The flames spread out under Mo Fan’s control. Not only were they engulfing Mo Fan’s body, they further took on the shape of a flaming bird, making Mo Fan look like a sacred phoenix who had just been reborn!

Shen Qing and Zhang Lulin were dumbfounded when they saw the sacred phoenix rising into the sky, stacked on top of Mo Fan’s figure amid the rain.

They had never seen any Fire Spell that was able to merge with its Caster. They were unable to tell if some heavenly fire spirit had Possessed him or the Aura of his Fire Element was actually that imperious!

The pure and rising cry of a phoenix rang out, and the phoenix-clad Mo Fan dove for the fierce waves below. The brilliant light of the attack immediately dyed the gray sea red!

The Viscera Hunters were still using their previous tactic of forming a shield with their bodies. Their bones were indeed quite sturdy, and the layer of water flowing over them strengthened them like a steel shell.

The layer of bones above the Magical Sea Beast was indeed a strong layer of protection against Mo Fan’s Raging Phoenix!

The refined Calamity Fire was much stronger than before. The waves splashed as the rain poured down heavily upon them. In the past, the flames would gradually weaken during the flight, but it was not the same this time. The waves and the rain were struggling to get closer to the refined Calamity Fire no matter how fierce and cold they were. They evaporated instantly after reaching a certain distance.

The Raging Phoenix smashed down on the Viscera Hunters and broke through the layer of water first, the first protective layer covering their bones. Previously, Mo Fan’s Fire Spell would be weakened by half after making contact with the water, but after he increased the temperature and density of the Calamity Fire, the layer of water could no longer resist its force!

The flames finally struck the bones of the Viscera Hunters directly!

The Viscera Hunters were only Warrior-level creatures in the end. The layer of water could not regenerate continuously if they were out of the sea. After losing the important protection, they were only as tough as Warrior-level creatures on the land!

They were not Commander-level creatures, which meant they would be killed instantly by Mo Fan’s flames!

After Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle broke down the water membrane, the flames continued to melt through the Viscera Hunters’ bones!

The Viscera Hunters cried out in agony. They had bravely stacked their bodies up to shield the Magical Sea Beast, but they now wished they had a few extra pairs of legs just so they could run away from the wrath of the Phoenix. Unfortunately, they no longer had the chance after they grew too full of themselves!

The Viscera Hunters had formed a mountain of bones without any visible gaps when they were stacked together. However, the Phoenix soon melted a huge hole right through the mountain, killing a third of the Viscera Hunters in seconds!

The last thing these creatures should have done was bundle up together against a destructive Mage like Mo Fan. If Mo Fan found a way to break through their defenses, he would reduce them to a pile of ashes!

“A chance!”

Zhang Xiaohou had finished luring another group of Viscera Hunters away. He was figuring out a way to make his way through the Viscera Hunters when Mo Fan simply tore a huge hole right through them with the Raging Phoenix!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Feathers of the Wind Spirits gathered on Zhang Xiaohou’s back after he Summoned them. They combined into a pair of mystical and stunningly beautiful wings. The Wind Wings did not beat the usual way, as the Wings of the Wind Spirits were rather tiny. As they turned into two larger wings, it was like a few hundred propellers had been installed on Zhang Xiaohou’s back, launching him into the sky like a jet.

Mo Fan’s flames were still around. Zhang Xiaohou quickly found the perfect spot to break through the Viscera Hunters’ defense.

“I see it!”

Zhang Xiaohou found the Magical Sea Beast with the help of the light produced by Mo Fan’s flames!

The Magical Sea Beast was being protected by the Viscera Hunters as carefully as if it was their child. Previously, they could not even see the mouth of the Magical Sea Beast that resembled a giant bell. Zhang Xiaohou finally saw what it looked like after breaking through the surrounding Viscera Hunters.

Mo Fan was moving rapidly amid the flames. He asked when he saw Zhang Xiaohou flying into the opening, “Houzi, can you take care of it?”

“Not a problem!”

Mo Fan had opened a huge hole, but there were still more than a hundred Viscera Hunters gathered around the Magical Sea Beast. The Viscera Hunters who were not injured by the flames were still protecting the Magical Sea Beasts with their lives. Mo Fan had used all his might to unleash the Raging Phoenix. He had no energy left to kill the rest of the Viscera Hunters, so Zhang Xiaohou was the perfect candidate to take over his role.

Zhang Xiaohou was extremely quick, and even the flames could not match the speed of his wind. The Viscera Hunters with rather slow reaction times did not even notice a human had woven through them, too busy focusing on Mo Fan’s flames.

The Viscera Hunters who did notice Zhang Xiaohou could not do anything, unless they formed another wall with their bodies to stop Zhang Xiaohou from getting any closer, or he could easily sneak past them!

A dozen Viscera Hunters pounced at Zhang Xiaohou, and he quickly came to a stop. The smartass Viscera Hunters had predicted where Zhang Xiaohou was going to be based on his speed, yet they all ended up missing their attacks. They even fell into the water from their momentum.

Zhang Xiaohou picked up speed again after dodging those Viscera Hunters. Another group of Viscera Hunters made some moves on him, yet he was like a sparrow in a jungle, dodging every obstacle in his path.

“Die, monster!”

Zhang Xiaohou reached the Magical Sea Beast, and clenched his hands into claws. The intelligent Feathers of the Wind Spirits immediately settled around his hands and slashed at the target murderously as Zhang Xiaohou swung his fists!

The tiny feathers emitted a sharp gleam. The wind they produced slashed forward like a pair of ferocious claws!

The wind claws landed on the Magical Sea Beast. The rest of the Viscera Hunters naively thought they could take the blow on behalf of the Magical Sea Beast, yet their bones were soon torn into pieces by the imperious claws!

The Magical Sea Beast did not survive either. It was shredded into bloody pieces that scattered across the water, just like the remains of the Viscera Hunters. Its mouth, previously vibrating to produce the sonic wave, was still gaping as it fell to the bottom of the bay.

“Nicely done!” Mo Fan exclaimed when he saw the Magical Sea Beast was dead.

That sonic wave was manipulating the tide. The remaining two Magical Sea Beasts further away were still playing their symphony, but as the first two Magical Sea Beasts died, the strength of the sonic wave had weakened by two levels, so the incoming tide had fallen significantly.

Even though there was a certain delay needed for the height of the tide to change, the difference was quite obvious. The difference between the peak and the bottom of the waves was around twenty meters previously. They were literally like incoming beasts just then, but the difference was now around seven to eight meters.

Even though the waves were still huge, they would soon be weakened by the obstacles around the island, including the mountains and hills. The city would slowly be flooded instead of being devoured by a tsunami!

“Brother Fan, let’s go!”

Zhang Xiaohou knew there was no reason to waste further time on the Viscera Hunters. He flew to Mo Fan’s side and withdrew to the shore with the Feathers of the Wind Spirits.

It was a lot more convenient for Mo Fan to move around with Zhang Xiaohou’s aid. They could just break out of an encirclement amid the Viscera Hunters as they pleased. They shook off the enraged sea monsters in the blink of an eye and made it back to the shore.

“Thank you, thank you so much!…” Shen Qing was so emotionally stirred that tears almost ran down her cheeks.

She had grown up in this city. She would feel like she had lost everything if the city was swept away by the tide!

“We came to help. Many cities across the country are suffering from different disasters. We must stick together and help one another to survive in these difficult times,” Zhang Xiaohou replied calmly.

Shen Qing did not expect Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou to actually be able to kill the Magical Sea Beasts. Apart from being grateful to them, she was utterly impressed now. “If I was strong as you two, I’ll be able to do a lot of things… but unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do right now.”

“Don’t say that, you’ve saved a lot of people! Strength doesn’t mean everything. Most importantly, we’re all in this together. If you didn’t warn me about the Magical Sea Beasts’ power, terrible things would be happening right now,” Mo Fan reassured her.

The device on Zhang Xiaohou’s wrist suddenly blinked rapidly while Mo Fan was comforting Shen Qing, as if there was some emergency.

“Brother Fan, we have a mission with a higher danger level. They are requesting backup from Super Mages,” Zhang Xiaohou said with a frown.

“Why can’t they give me a chance to catch my breath?… Forget it, let’s go,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Mm, I’ll give you the Wind Wheels!”

Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan did not stay around longer. The remaining two Magical Sea Beasts were no longer a threat!

—

Zhang Xiaohou looked back at Shen Qing, who watched them leave as they flew above the flooded city.

“What is it?” asked Mo Fan, looking confused.

“She reminds me a lot of things in the past. We were actually weaker than her before. We used everything we had to survive, and now, we can actually change a lot of things. We no longer feel helpless too… It’s quite a relief for me,” Zhang Xiaohou rubbed his nose. His eyes were glittering a little.

“Yeah, we have grown stronger!” Mo Fan agreed loudly.

“Mm, we did… but Bo City is no longer around…”

Chapter 1900: At Least a Purple Alert!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The strange thing was, even after everything they had been through, especially those events that were even worse than the Calamity of Bo City, the words that Zhang Xiaohou uttered easily broke through the defenses in Mo Fan’s heart and touched the deepest parts of it. His emotions were stirred uncontrollably, like ripples before spreading throughout his body.

It sounded like there had been a hole in Zhang Xiaohou’s heart ever since the Calamity of Bo City. The hole had not closed up, despite the amount of time that had passed. As a matter of fact, no wounds or holes in a person’s heart could ever be fixed with time. Time would only make people forget, run away, or give up. The only way to fix these holes was to gather their courage to face their problems.

The sense of helplessness in the past was their motivation to work harder now and in the future.

The same situation or same calamity might happen again. Even though Bo City was not the victim, the fact that they were able to bring hope to people like Shen Qing who truly loved their homes was a way to slowly mend the hole in their hearts. The sense of relief was slowly healing their wounds.

They could not get back what they had lost, nor would the wounds heal over time. The time that passed would numb their emotions, but when the same thing happened again, it would easily blow away the dust that had precipitated in their hearts.

No one could possibly go back in time or stop time. The only thing they could do was to work harder and stop the same incident from happening again!

Therefore, when Shen Qing was in tears expressing her sincere gratitude, Zhang Xiaohou immediately remembered Bo City that he could no longer go back to. He also remembered how hard Mo Fan fought just to protect whatever city he was in, from Beijiang all the way to the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Zhang Xiaohou could not forget the girl lying in the pool of her own blood, while Mo Fan could not forget Bo City soaking in the crimson rain of blood. He loved Bo City more than anyone else. The hole in his heart had motivated him to contribute to the Ancient Capital and Beijiang, but the things he had done would never fill up the hole in his heart.

Zhang Xiaohou did not express his thoughts well, and was rather confused at times. His Brother Fan might seem like a carefree and selfish person, yet he still saw Mo Fan as the most impressive person he knew and enjoyed hanging around him. He finally knew the reason behind it!

“Brother Fan, this might sound a little lame, but I really think you are actually like a hero now,” Zhang Xiaohou suddenly piped.

A real hero truly would save others instead of themselves.

“Really? Heroes normally have a devastating past, which gives them a great sense of justice and formidable strength. They are always surrounded by beauties, too. The first criterion doesn’t really fit me, the second is alright, but I will have to work harder to achieve the third one…” Mo Fan was amused by Zhang Xiaohou’s comment, and soon burst out laughing.

“So according to your logic, the combination of you and Brother Zhao is a hero then?” Zhang Xiaohou smiled.

“Old Zhao?” Mo Fan rubbed his jaw. He immediately corrected Zhang Xiaohou’s statement, “None of us three is a hero. There are certain things we lack, but if you, me, and Old Zhao are combined together, we do tick all the boxes!”

Zhang Xiaohou was startled, and subconsciously scratched his head.

It was indeed the case!

“Don’t always think so highly of me. I’m a selfish person most of the time, but I just can’t help it. I’ve been around you two for a long time. Every time I have the urge to just turn around and leave, I will remember you two and wonder what you would do if you were in my shoes. You will definitely try your best to do something instead of running away!” Mo Fan patted Zhang Xiaohou on the back of his head and added, “I’m limited on my own, too. If you hadn’t saved me from the Viscera Hunters just now, I would be dead by now instead of looking like a hero in your eyes. You are pretty strong now too! You always surprise me!”

“The military has been helping me a lot. I’m basically relying on them, but Brother Fan, you have been doing everything yourself…” Zhang Xiaohou said ashamedly.

“Yu Ang once said that background is considered one’s strength too! Now that I think about it, there’s nothing wrong with his saying.”

“Yu Ang? I heard that you tore him to pieces at Beiyu Mountain!”

“Mm, you should really have seen his eyes popping out. I managed to eat an extra bowl of rice for dinner that night,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“HAHA, you should turn his corpse into a sample and put it in Bo City’s museum. We’ll see if the Black Vatican dares to stir any trouble again!” Zhang Xiaohou laughed.

“You’re right, I will ask the people at Beiyu Mountain if they still have his corpse!” Mo Fan agreed with Zhang Xiaohou’s suggestion.

“Ugh.. .Brother Fan, I was just joking. That’s going to be disgusting.”

“Not at all, it might actually increase my appetite if I look at it when I’m in a bad mood!”

—

—

A condo in the Southern Zone of the Pearl Institute…

Zhao Manyan stretched and flung his golden hair around. He felt a lot more refreshed.

He walked along the cozy path in the park and blatantly observed the girls who were having pleasant conversations around him. He enjoyed staying here, as it was close to the girls’ dormitory. He could easily find some beauties when he was least expecting it. The girls would be even more charming and attractive once he refined them with his magical hands!

As soon as Zhao Manyan located his prey, the wooden clapper in his pocket started knocking, as if it was trying to get rid of his evil thoughts. Zhao Manyan was immediately displeased. Why must his Lifetime Vessel be something that was commonly used by the monks? The last thing he would do in his life was to be a monk!

“Stop knocking, how worldly can you be? You didn’t even bother responding when I was still an Advanced Mage, but you’re Summoning me now when I’m just about to have some relaxing moments with a chick after achieving the Super Level. What’s with the rush!?” Zhao Manyan snarled.

Zhao Manyan tried to put the wooden clapper away, yet it started knocking even louder. Zhao Manyan had no choice but to look at it. He suddenly saw a scene transmitted into his mind by the wooden clapper. He was extremely familiar with the place. It was Pudong District, that had been turned into the Pudong Sea after it was flooded.

“Holy crap, when did you come to Shanghai? I’ll go look for you, don’t come any closer! You’re going to cause a lot of trouble!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Zhao Manyan was startled speechless. The world was so big, so the ancient turtle would usually pretend to be an island in some random ocean. Zhao Manyan always struggled to track it down, yet it had come to the East China Sea when Zhao Manyan least expected it. It had already reached the Pudong Sea!

Zhao Manyan no longer had the mood to have an enjoyable time with some chick. He quickly ran for Pudong Sea, as he was afraid the Magic City would sound the alarm at any second. Knowing Baxia’s power, he knew it would trigger at least a Purple Alert as soon as it approached the safe zone!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“It’s an order to gather the Super Mages… Brother Fan, a Ruler-level creature must have shown up,” Zhang Xiaohou told Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nodded. Super Mages were very important to a city. It was rare to gather all the Super Mages available in one place, unless some powerful sea monsters had shown up.

“It is at the Jimei Route I was in charge of previously. It’s in the direction of Jimei Bridge…” Zhang Xiaohou went on.

“Jimei Bridge… Lingling told me that the Haicang Bridge collapsed after a mysterious creature rammed into it. They aren’t able to use that route anymore. It turns out that the sea monsters are trying to stop us from evacuating the city. They are planning to destroy every bridge!” Mo Fan spat.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded. He concentrated and Summoned the Feathers of the Wind Spirits to speed them up.

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were traveling through the sky. Stormy clouds over ten kilometers high were right above them, like they were continuously compressing the space between the clouds and the surface of the sea.

Meanwhile, the sea level continued to rise from the rain and the tide Summoned in by the sea monsters. The dark sky and the gray sea kept applying a suffocating pressure to the city!

A huge wave suddenly splashed into the dim sky ahead. The wave was an eerie black. It was more like some thick mud instead of normal seawater.

The wave immediately startled Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou. It was simply too huge. A Commander-level creature would never be able to stir such a huge wave, something that almost reached the top of a skyscraper. It must be an extremely powerful creature!

After the wave fell onto the city, the buildings, streets, and the land over a kilometer away were all submerged. Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou stared at the wave. They suddenly felt minuscule and helpless.

The wave was like a veil across the sky, not something they could handle. Their minds were overwhelmed by fear even when they were still three kilometers away.

“Brother Fan…” Zhang Xiaohou remained still in the sky. He had lost the courage to keep going.

They were simply asking for their deaths if they kept flying forward!

“It’s no ordinary Ruler-level creature. It’s most likely a Great Ruler-level creature!” Mo Fan had to take a deep breath too.

The sea monsters were generally stronger than land creatures. That meant that Mo Fan would have no chance of defeating a Lesser Ruler-level sea creature with all his might, not to mention his strength was greatly affected when fighting around water.

It would be even worse if it was a Greater Ruler-level creature. Its formidable strength could easily murder rookies at the Super Level like them. The destructive wave before them had said it all!

Zhang Xiaohou was in a panic. He did not dare to go any closer, yet he could not afford to just stand there and watch the wave fall.

A sacred silver light flickered between the sky and the sea. A mysterious force spread across the area right before the destructive wave collided with the city, and forcibly held the enormous wave in place!

Mo Fan asked Zhang Xiaohou to climb higher so he could get a clearer view of the battle. It was happening over the waters close to Jimei Bridge.

Countless huge waterspouts were churning close to the bridge, looking like magnificent pillars supporting the sky. A huge figure the size of a mountain was weaving in between the pillars. It had yet to reveal its true appearance, yet even the tip of the iceberg was suffocating and astonishing to the people.

The wave was created by the sea monster’s swipe as it was targeting the bridge. However, the humans were prepared this time. They did not let the creature get any closer to Jimei Bridge. They intercepted it in the water around three kilometers away!

There were a lot of tiny dots scattered randomly in the air and on the sea between Jimei Bridge and the beast. They were all Advanced and Super Mages. They were in positions, even though they were not necessarily in a Formation.

There was only one beast, but every Mage in the Advanced Level and above in Xiamen had gathered here!

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou arrived after receiving the order to do so. They too were Super Mages, yet they were only two of the tiny dots under the circumstances.

Three powerful Mages were taking on the sea monster at the strait. One of them was wearing a silver robe, the same person who had stopped the powerful wave with his outstanding Telekinesis. His Space Element was surprisingly impressive. The huge wave simply froze in the air and did not advance any further.

Even the tiniest ripple from the enormous wave was exceedingly strong. Mo Fan believed his Space Element could only stop a tiny ripple of the wave, but there were more than a hundred surges of the thing falling from the sky. His Telekinesis could only stop a hundredth of the wave!

His Space Element might have yet to reach the Super Level, yet he did not expect it to be so inferior when compared to the force of the wave!

“Freeze, freeze it, quick!” an old Mage used his Sound Element to command the Mages who were participating in the battle.

There were around thirty Ice Mages at the Advanced Level or above. They quickly spread their magic across the sky above the city.

The wave that had come to a halt because of the Space Mage started falling down a little. However, the huge wave was soon turned into ice after the Ice Mages Cast their spells!

“It’s impossible to overcome its force, but if it’s frozen, it won’t cause any serious damage to the city and the bridge,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Mm, but… so many people, so many powerful Mages, against just a single sea monster!” Mo Fan said with a wry smile.

Mo Fan thought a few Ruler-level creatures had shown up after they received the order. To his surprise, there was only one sea monster. A single sea monster was already so powerful! Every Mage was as tiny as an ant before it. Neither Zhang Xiaohou nor him could survive for more than half a minute against it!

“It must be the culprit that destroyed the Haicang Bridge,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Mm, I already saw some clumps of demon leeches falling off its body like dead skin cells,” Mo Fan agreed, staring at the beast in the strait.

Chapter 1902: Teaming Up against the Ruler-level Creature

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A layer of icy clouds were frozen above the bridge, right above a skyscraper with a few dozen floors. It was within the reach of the people who were taking shelter on top of the building. It felt like a world of ice was hanging upside down above the city, a spectacular yet terrifying sight!

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were extremely close to the sheet of ice. They flew under it and reached the strait.

The Ice Mages were still using their magic. The wild sea needed some tranquilizers to calm down, so freezing it was the best option. If they could control the waves, it would weaken the sea monster’s ability to manipulate the water!

“These things are so disgusting,” Zhang Xiaohou spat, pointing at the demon leeches on the water.

The demon leeches were falling down in huge clusters. The sea monster’s body was basically their nest. An army made up of thousands of demon leeches was moving freely atop the frozen water.

The demon leeches seemed to be heading toward the bridge too. The Super Mages were busy fending off the enormous sea monster. They had no time to worry about the army of demon leeches!

“Those demon leeches are like rubber. Normal destructive spells aren’t effective against them,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had already fought the demon leeches. He knew their bodies were soft and elastic. Their multiple skin layers allowed them to extend their bodies to more than several times of their size without any effort.

As such, when ordinary spells landed on the demon leeches, they would just absorb the energy of the spells like a sponge!

The army of demon leeches was moving across the frozen water like black mud. Some Advanced Mages were already handling them, but they were not very efficient.

“You two, back away, you’re going to die if the energy ripple from that powerful creature’s attack hit you!” the Sound Mage who was giving orders shouted.

“Old man, we were summoned here by the order!” Zhang Xiaohou shouted back.

“We are gathering Super Mages, not young Mages like you!” the Sound Mage said impatiently.

“Ugh… we are Super Mages, although we just advanced recently. What do you need us to do?” Zhang Xiaohou replied patiently. He was not offended.

Mo Fan had been in the same position many times. People were used to judging the strength of Mages based on their age. A Mage in their twenties was just like a kid in the eyes of older Mages. They would be relieved if such younger Mages did not cause more trouble.

It was true that people like Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were considered geniuses at their age. Not many Mages with white hair were even Super Mages, let alone them!

“You are Super Mages? What Elements?” The Sound Mage was astounded, and took a closer look at Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou.

“Mine is the Lightning Element, and his is the Wind Element,” Mo Fan said. He knew that only their Elements in the Super Level would be effective against the sea monster.

“Lightning, Wind, perfect! You with the Lightning Element, have you learned the Seal of the Nine Laws?” the Sound Mage asked seriously, his stern expression easing slightly.

“I’m a little slow at it,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“It’s fine, can you see that Space Mage? He’s preventing the sea monster from destroying the bridge and city…” the Sound Mage went on.

“I can,” Mo Fan nodded.

“That monster has a whipping clawed tentacle along its backbone, hidden under the layer of demon leeches on it. The Space Mage is hindering it from attacking the bridge, so it’s very likely that the creature will attack him with the tentacle. I need you to focus and find the root bone of its tentacle while we are fighting it and use your Seal of the Nine Laws to Seal it so it won’t be able to use the attack again!” the Sound Mage said.

Mo Fan glanced at the area with all the waterspouts. He noticed something like a cobra’s tail was whipping around whenever the creature moved around. It barely missed the three powerful Super Mages a few times!

“It’s one of the creature’s main attacks. If you can get rid of it, it will lift the pressure that the three advisors are under significantly. However, you must be extremely cautious too! We aren’t as strong as the three advisors, and you are certainly within the creature’s attack range when you are casting the Seal of the Nine Laws. You can’t let it notice what you’re up to. Otherwise, you might die right away if it attacks you with full force!” the Sound Mage said.

Young people were usually impetuous, as they wanted to make some contributions. The Sound Mage was well aware of the traits of younger Mages, but the sea monster was far stronger than anyone could imagine. A new Super Mage would die instantly to its attack, so the young man could not afford to be targeted by the creature. He had to be very careful!

“Don’t worry, I am well aware of the risk,” Mo Fan nodded. He was considering the old man’s advice seriously.

“Mm, I’ll leave it to you,” the Sound Mage turned to Zhang Xiaohou after he was done explaining the details to Mo Fan. “What level is your Wind Element’s speed?”

“This is my Soul-grade Wind Seed, the Feathers of the Wind Spirits.” Zhang Xiaohou knew how critical the situation was. He immediately showed the old Mage what he was capable of.

The Sound Mage was a little surprised. The Soul-grade Wind Seed was extremely rare. More importantly, it felt like it could be controlled very easily!

“We haven’t found the creature’s eyes yet. The other two advisors are trying to target its blind spots, yet they were spotted every time. The layer of demon leeches keeps nullifying their attacks,” the Sound Mage told him.

“Should I be looking for its other weaknesses?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“No no no, don’t even bother finding its weaknesses. This Vast Sea Monster is like an emperor in the sea. If we could find its weaknesses during our first encounter with it, it would long have been fed on by other creatures in the cruel world of the oceans. If it could make it to the top of the chain, it means the creature doesn’t really have any obvious weaknesses!

“Your job is to find its blind spots. We humans have flexible limbs, yet we still have blind spots on our back, the back of our neck, and behind our legs, not to mention an enormous creature like that. It doesn’t have many limbs, nor is it relying on other senses. Its mainly relying on its vision, so there must be a limit to it. I want you to find its visual range and its blind spots so the advisors can inflict serious injuries on it before it can defend itself with the demon leeches!” the Sound Mage said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan did not make a move recklessly. He still had to rely on Zhang Xiaohou’s Wind Wheels in a situation like this, or he would have no way of getting close to the beast.

“Brother Fan, he’s a very experienced senior. He has made all the necessary arrangements for the plan. I believe the other Super Mages have their own tasks too?” Zhang Xiaohou prodded.

“Mmm, can you see the Light Mage in the middle of the strait? He’s constantly using his spells to protect the other Super Mages who are fighting the monster. The woman at the highest spot there? She has been using all kinds of spells, including the Psychic Element and the Sound Element, to prevent the monster from executing powerful moves for some time. The Donghai Mages behind that Light Mage are Super Mages, too. They are firing their Elemental Spells at the monster, together with the advisor in the blue outfit. There’s also a Super Plant Mage…crap!” Mo Fan blurted out as he looked at a little sand island in the strait.

It felt like the white sand island was going to sink at any second. The Plant Mage was at a relatively safe distance while using his Plant Spells to intervene with the sea monster’s attacks. However, the Vast Sea Monster happened to notice him. It flung the clawed tentacle on its backbone, which looked like a scorpion tail, at the island!

The clawed tail was insanely fast. The Super Mage on the sand island was not even aware of it. After all, the creature was massive and there were waterspouts everywhere, hindering his vision.

BANG!

The spinal whip knocked huge waves like two curtains into the air. The island in the middle of the strait was split in half!

The incredible force of the blow left a ravine several dozen meters deep and wide in the strait as it blew the seawater into the air. The water eventually filled the hole, yet the sand island and the Plant Mage had already vanished in the middle of the enormous impact.

Mo Fan gasped, while Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes widened.

“Brother…Brother Fan, are you really going to Seal that thing’s attack?” Zhang Xiaohou asked worriedly as he collected his thoughts.

The spinal whip was already more terrifying than the attacks of normal Ruler-level creatures, not to mention the creature itself that had yet to reveal its true appearance. The person on the sand island was a Super Mage, yet he was smashed to pieces just because he was a little too careless!

Any Magic Armor, Shield, or defensive spell was mere decoration before the Vast Sea Monster. Its whipping tail could shatter all of them to pieces. Inexperienced Super Mages were just like clowns in front of that absolute strength!

“Do you think it’s too late for us to turn around and deal with the remaining two Magical Sea Beasts instead?” Mo Fan asked rhetorically.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Zhang Xiaohou turned around and looked at the Sound Mage.

The Sound Mage’s eyes were filled with astonishment too. He had sent the Super Mage to the island to control the plants under the water and restrict the Vast Sea Monster’s movements. He did not expect the Plant Mage to die just like that!

“Don’t let your guard down. Keep it under control. Fang Tong, take over the Plant Mage’s role. Don’t let the creature get even half a step closer to the bridge. Fang Dong, what are you waiting for? Are you seriously going to watch everyone die now?” the Sound Mage’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

Their anger could not change the fact that they had lost a Super Mage. They had no choice but to withhold their emotions since the Vast Sea Monster was still around. More tragedies would happen if they continued to let their guard down!

“Brother Fan, I think we should fight. Everyone is trying their best to protect the bridge,” Zhang Xiaohou suggested.

“I understand. Just bring me over there, I’ll find that creature’s backbone. The spinal whip is insane. If I don’t Seal it with the Lightning Element, more people are going to die. Its speed and angles of attack are making it unpredictable,” Mo Fan agreed.

“Brother Fan, you can’t fly. If you’re on your own…” Zhang Xiaohou was still worried about him.

“If you keep escorting me around, you will need to keep an eye on me at all times, which is going to slow you down. That thing isn’t like some petty creature we are normally up against. We might die if we don’t use everything we have. I’ll find a spot a safe distance from it. Besides, my Shadow Element isn’t for decoration!

“Don’t worry about me. You should be extremely careful when you’re looking for its blind spots and its field of vision. If you die here, I’ll bury you together with Yu Ang’s remains!” Mo Fan told Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou became energetic as soon as he heard those words.

“Brother Fan, I promise you that I’ll come back alive,” Zhang Xiaohou swore.

“That thing is definitely stronger than it looks. It might have different forms too, like the probing stage, the focused form, the full-strength form, the enraged stage, and the dying stage. Each form will have different abilities. You should pay close attention. When it switches forms, its abilities and strength will instantly rise by one or two levels,” Mo Fan warned Zhang Xiaohou.

Mo Fan was rather familiar with creatures of the sea monster’s level, including the Black Totem Snake, the Mountain Zombie, the Silver Skyruler, Hayla, the Scorpion Lord Medusa, the Sphinx, and the Dark Serpent Mummy. Mo Fan could not tell whether any of the Ruler-level creatures he had encountered was as strong as the Vast Sea Monster, but it was definitely around their levels.

The strength of Ruler-level creatures differed between them. Mo Fan clearly remembered every Great Ruler or Supreme Ruler, as they had all had left him with strong impressions. One reason was their ability to suddenly shift forms during a fight. Their abilities would change dramatically when they did.

The probing form was obviously when these cunning creatures were trying to conceal their true strength.

The focused form was the usual battle stance of the Ruler-level creatures. The strength and moves they displayed during this form were their true strength.

The full-strength form was when certain Ruler-level creatures began to use the specialized powers of their species, such as the terrifying Medusa’s Stare.

The enraged form was when they started bringing out their trump cards, the scariest form of a Ruler-level creature!

Mo Fan had no clue which form the Vast Sea Monster was currently in. Was it in the focused or full-strength form? Perhaps it was only in the probing form?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou nodded seriously. He cast a spell to refresh the Wind Wheels’ duration so Mo Fan could find a better spot to observe the Vast Sea Monster.

Mo Fan rode the wind and flew above the fierce waves of the strait. He reached a spot close to the sand island that had been destroyed. His job was to observe the clawed tail on the Vast Sea Monster’s back. He had noticed something very minor previously when the creature was attacking with the spinal whip.

Assuming the spinal whip was located along the monster’s backbone, which extended along its back to its lower body, it was impossible for the tail to be snapped perpendicularly to the strait, judging from the sea monster’s current position.

The angle of the whip had to match the angle of the force. Demon creatures had their own body structures, even though there were some with unusual shapes. However, in order to fully utilize their strength and land their attacks accurately, their attacks still had to follow certain patterns. It was similar to a person maximizing their force by throwing their fist ahead. It would be weird to throw punches backward!

Maybe the Sound Mage made a mistake? The bone whip isn’t on the Vast Sea Monster’s back, and is on its arms instead? , Mo Fan thought.

The Vast Sea Monster’s body was extremely massive. Mo Fan was currently studying it from the side. He could barely see the creature’s outline amid the waterspouts, like it was hiding in a mist.

It was reluctant to show its true appearance. It was a very cunning approach, since the human Mages were struggling to target its body parts.

The sea monster attacked once again. The spinal whip Mo Fan was asked to take care of sprang out of the waterspouts once again. It had just killed a Super Plant Mage in Mo Fan’s direction not long ago, yet it had already appeared on the other side. Luckily, the clawed tail was targeting the advisor in a blue outfit. He was a very powerful Mage, so it was unlikely he would die so easily to the bone whip.

How strange, the bone whip shouldn’t be able to go from one side to the other so quickly, even though we couldn’t see it clearly in the heavy rain! Mo Fan was quite confused.

The bone whip was surprisingly large. It was not even exaggerating to describe it as an evil serpent. Mo Fan had been staring at the clawed limb from the beginning. He could faintly see the bone whip extending out from the back of the Vast Sea Monster’s right arm. He did not notice it moving, so how did it suddenly move to the Vast Sea Monster’s left and attack the advisor in the blue outfit?

Mo Fan frowned. He felt like he had to go a little closer. Otherwise, he would not be able to figure out where the bone whip was coming from, or where it was hidden on the creature’s body.

—

The heavy rain was pouring down from the clouds like a waterfall, while waterspouts were rising continuously from the strait to the clouds. The combination formed a spectacular sight of hundreds of water pillars connecting the sky and the city.

Mo Fan boldly flew to the spot where the island had sunk in the mist. He was able to see the Vast Sea Monster more clearly from there.

The Vast Sea Monster had extremely sharp senses. However, Mo Fan was not really posing any threat to it. After all, it was busy fighting the three advisors, while nine other Super Mages were backing them up, not to mention the hundreds of Advanced Mages close to the bridge.

Mo Fan stood on what was left of the island. The Vast Sea Monster immediately opened a line of valves like gills on the side of its body to release some blood-red steam!

Mo Fan had no clue what the blood-red steam was. He immediately moved three hundred meters away with Blink when he noticed something did not feel right. However, the steam kept chasing after Mo Fan eerily!

“What’s going on? Does it have eyes too?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded when he saw the blood-red steam approaching him.

“Damn it, it’s a bunch of parasitic grasshoppers!”

Mo Fan was not the kind to panic so easily. He soon noticed the blood-red steam was actually groups of flying grasshoppers. These insects were most likely another species of parasite living off the sea monster like the demon leeches. The only difference was that these flying locusts were living inside the Vast Sea Monster’s body!

The parasitic grasshoppers were constantly emitting heat, almost like they were burning. They would pounce at their target and melt their enemies with the heat they were generating.

Luckily, Mo Fan was not afraid of flying species with overwhelming numbers. Little Flame Belle’s Ardent Sunset was the nemesis of these creatures. Were they planning to burn him with their heat? He would let them have a taste of real fire instead!

Mo Fan did not have to control the Ardent Sunset himself, as it would spread swiftly among the insects. Mo Fan soon reduced the blood-red cloud to ashes, which scattered across the strait.

“Demon leeches, parasitic grasshoppers; it seems this creature is raising a lot of strange species. It’s using them to attack nearby enemies that are posing a threat to it! It’s most likely one of its abilities!” Mo Fan murmured to nobody in particular.

The Ardent Sunset was extremely effective against the parasitic grasshoppers, or those creatures might have troubled him. Even though his life was not in danger, the creatures could keep him busy for a long time. More people were going to die if the bone whips continued to attack the Super Mages freely.

Mo Fan quickly eliminated the parasitic locusts, but did not recklessly get any closer. It was obvious that the sea monster was still observing its surroundings while it was busy fighting the Super Mages. It was not giving people like him any chance to intervene in the battle.

He purposely waited for a while before Summoning a shadow clone that looked exactly like him, timing it for when the advisor in the silver outfit cast a Super Space Spell. He applied the Chaos Element to the shadow clone just to make it look like it was him moving around with his Shadow Element.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS

XephiZ XephiZ

Swarms are nasty business. Happily, Our Hero has a perfect counter, even if they are fire-type bugs…

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Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan did not kill all the parasitic grasshoppers. He purposely used his Rebelling Shadow to keep the burning locusts busy just so the Vast Sea Monster would assume the insects were dealing with him.

The method was surprisingly effective. The Vast Sea Monster was keeping the focus of its attention on the outstanding Space Spells from the advisor in the silver outfit. His spells were obviously the real threat to it. More blood-red Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers appeared from the other side of its body to protect it. The Vast Sea Monster did not notice Mo Fan moving boldly closer to it.

“Phew, it hasn’t noticed me yet. I can finally see its deadly bone whip clearly!” Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh. Even getting closer to the Vast Sea Monster to learn its traits was like walking on thin ice.

Mo Fan stayed between the shadows, as it was quite dark in the area. He looked through the curtain of water that was pouring down ahead, until he could finally see the real appearance of a huge mountain behind the clouds!

Mo Fan had to admit that he had only seen the tip of the iceberg, which was the Vast Sea Monster’s back and shoulders. Unlike most ocean creatures with strange shapes and sizes, the Vast Sea Monster was more like an enormous mountain beast. It had a neck, shoulders, backbone, and the two sides of its stomach were like cliffs with lines of gills that acted like valves, everything covered in gleaming scales. It looked like the huge machinery that served as the core of an automated factory!

The scorching parasitic locusts were flying out of its gills like squadrons of fighting jets leaving a huge aircraft carrier. It was lucky Mo Fan was relatively experienced. Ordinary Mages would immediately lose their will to fight after witnessing the astonishing sight of the creature’s true appearance!

“What’s going on here? The bone whip that killed the Super Plant Mage is still on this side!” Mo Fan looked up and noticed the bone whip attached to the back of the Vast Sea Monster’s right shoulder!

The creature had a ravine on the back of its shoulder. The deadly bone whip was currently inside the ravine, but as Mo Fan looked to the other side, another bone whip was clearly attacking the advisor there!

There were two bone whips hidden on the back of the Vast Sea Monster’s shoulders!

“Crap!” Mo Fan blurted out.

He had witnessed how deadly the bone whips were. No defense was going to save him if the bone whip was flung at him with full strength. He was going to die just like the Super Plant Mage.

Mo Fan was only bold enough to go closer because he saw the bone whip attacking someone else. To his surprise, the Vast Sea Monster had two bone whips. He had exposed himself inside the range of the bone whip. He had found himself in an inescapable situation!

As he thought, the terrifying bone whip started moving. It was like a bone serpent that had just regained control over its joints. It was slowly extending from the fold in the creature’s body as it swung in the sky like it previously had before killing the Super Plant Mage.

Mo Fan was going to die without a doubt once the bone whip landed on him!

Cold sweat started falling like rain. Mo Fan was already extremely cautious, but the Vast Sea Monster had outmatched him with its cunning. Mo Fan did not actually trick it. It simply allowed Mo Fan to come closer so he would not have a chance to leave in one piece!

“Screw you, I’m not afraid of you!” Mo Fan was enraged.

The terrifying Ruler-level creature was no reason for him to cower. Besides, many Mages were around to keep it under control. The only threat he was facing was the bone whip. It was only one of the weapons that the Vast Sea Monster possessed!

He had no idea whether he could survive if he backed away now. The bone whip could reach up to a kilometer away. Mo Fan’s Blink was not strong enough to relocate him a kilometer away, even if he combined it with the Fleeing Shadow.

“Seal of the Nine Laws!”

Mo Fan did not withdraw from the scene. He started drawing the Star Orbits as soon as he saw the bone whip moving!

A Star Palace consisted of three hundred and forty-three Star Orbits. Hundreds of Lightning Star Orbits rapidly connected with one another precisely in Mo Fan’s Spiritual World to construct a purple Star Palace.

“Quick, hurry up!”

Death was approaching from above. The bone whip had reached its highest point. It was seriously going to destroy everything once it came down. Mo Fan had to be quicker than it!

Mo Fan’s speed when casting a Super Spell was something he was trying to work on. Cultivating in safe environments would only help familiarize him with the process, but situations of life and death were able to make him concentrate, thus increasing his speed when drawing the Star Orbits, Star Patterns, and Star Constellations. Mo Fan could not remember how many times he had exceeded his limits in situations where his life was being threatened. He did not back away, as he believed he could do it this time too!

“Lightning Halberds!”

Nine lightning halberds appeared after Mo Fan’s roar, combining into a powerful Magic Formation!

The deadly bone whip was hanging above Mo Fan’s head. Mo Fan had a hard expression as he forcibly targeted the back of the Vast Sea Monster’s shoulders with the Super Lightning Spell. The lightning halberds landed continuously at the end of the ravine, where the root of the bone whip was anchored!

The Super Lightning Spell, the Seal of the Nine Laws, might not be enough to imprison the massive creature, yet it had no problem sealing off a certain body part of its target!

The bone whip suddenly stopped as dense lightning Runes crawled onto it, freezing it in mid-air.

—

“That Lightning Mage has managed to Seal its bone whip!” The Sound Mage could clearly see the lightning halberds of the Seal of the Nine Laws hanging above the creature’s shoulder.

“He did well!” the advisor in the silver outfit agreed.

“However, I must say that I didn’t expect the monster to have two bone whips. If we had known that before, the Plant Mage wouldn’t have died,” the Sound Mage sighed.

The cunning Vast Sea Monster was reluctant to show its true appearance, trying to keep one of its bone whips hidden. The Super Mages might die a horrible death to the bone whip if they were being careless.

Luckily, the young Mage was extremely calm, even when his life was in danger!

A breeze came from behind them. The Sound Mage turned around and saw a Mage who had been heavily burned approaching on his Wind Wheels.

“Senior, that creature’s field of vision is around two hundred and seventy degrees. It has a blind spot behind its head, extending from the back of its neck to its bottom. Its head and body aren’t very flexible when turning around,” reported Zhang Xiaohou, who was now suffering from severe burns.

Chapter 1906: Flanking Boldly

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Great, you’ve done well. Go treat your wounds,” the Sound Mage told him.

Zhang Xiaohou put a grin on his nearly unrecognizable face. “Senior, these injuries don’t matter. Is there anything else that I can help with?”

“The Vast Sea Monster is acting strange. The water under its body seems to be boiling, and keeps firing waterspouts into the sky like a volcanic eruption. The mist they produce greatly hinders our vision. I have a feeling it’s trying to hide something. It would be helpful if you could find out what it is,” the Sound Mage told Zhang Xiaohou.

“Leave it to me!” Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

Zhang Xiaohou had no chance of harming the Vast Sea Monster. His offensive spells would struggle to hurt a normal Ruler-level creature, let alone a powerful Ruler-level creature like the Vast Sea Monster. However, harassing and scouting were his areas of expertise. He could learn the dangerous abilities of the Vast Sea Monster in advance, which would basically save the lives of others!

Zhang Xiaohou flew to the right of the Vast Sea Monster and happened to see Mo Fan backing away from the Vast Sea Monster. The Parasitic Steam Locusts were chasing after him.

“Brother Fan, come to me!” Zhang Xiaohou flew toward Mo Fan while riding the Feathers of the Wind Spirits.

“Look out!” Mo Fan was startled when he saw Zhang Xiaohou and quickly warned him.

A deadly object resembling a white dragon appeared from the pillars of water. It was heading straight at Zhang Xiaohou.

Mo Fan had obviously provoked the Vast Sea Monster after sealing off its right bone whip. Its other bone whip went into the sky from its left before it was flung to its right. The bone whip was initially targeting Mo Fan, but it immediately locked onto Zhang Xiaohou when the creature saw him approaching. Zhang Xiaohou was being too careless!

Zhang Xiaohou finally noticed the danger hidden in the waterspouts. After a slight pause, the Feathers of the Wind Spirits circled him like a tornado and altered the direction of his flight with shocking speed. He began to dive into the water like a spinning top.

The bone whip was aiming at the sky. Mo Fan could even see the energy ripples spreading like spiderwebs as it was flying through the air. It did not hit anything, yet it had left cracks in the space. If even a Space Mage had reacted too slowly, they would still suffer serious injuries, even if they tried to escape through the other dimension.

The Space Element was the most stable Element in the world, as only energy of a certain level could influence it. Mo Fan had always thought the Space Element was unmatched in terms of its ability to escape from danger. He could basically avoid any danger with it, but after he went with the madwoman Asha’ruiya to Mount Tyrant and witnessed the strength of the Black Dragon Emperor’s claw attack, he realized that space could be shattered too. The Black Dragon Emperor had almost destroyed the other dimension when they ran away with the Scroll of Space!

The Vast Sea Monster had only left a few cracks across the space, which were fixed in mere seconds, but only a few Ruler-level creatures were strong enough to do so!

“Brother Fan…” Zhang Xiaohou came out of the water and appeared behind Mo Fan like a wind.

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh. He could not help but scold, “How reckless were you? What if you didn’t dodge it?!”

“Brother Fan, that thing has a blind spot. I was in its blind spot, so it could only attack by roughly estimating my position,” Zhang Xiaohou explained.

“If it was that accurate, you won’t be so badly burned!” Mo Fan chided him.

“Well, that was because I hadn’t found out its blind spot yet,” Zhang Xiaohou admitted.

“Is your blind spot reliable?” Mo Fan asked.

“The bone whip would have killed me if it wasn’t. It only gave up because it didn’t know where I went,” Zhang Xiaohou said confidently.

Mo Fan shook his head helplessly. Zhang Xiaohou had seriously become much braver. He dared to take a bet against a creature like the Vast Sea Monster!

“Alright, we’ll go to the other side and seal off its other bone whip,” Mo Fan said.

There were two bone whips. Mo Fan had only Sealed one of them, so the other was still a huge threat to them. It could even damage space slightly. It could kill anyone present with a single hit, other than the three advisors. They could not afford to lose any Super Mages again, or they would struggle to stop the creature from advancing toward the bridge.

“Sure, Brother Fan, we’ll go around it. There won’t be any problem. I also need to check out the water on the other side in case it’s preparing some deadly attacks,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Zhang Xiaohou was a lot bolder after deducing the creature’s blind spot. He was not worried about bringing Mo Fan along while he was flying.

—

The creature was incredibly huge. It felt like they were going around a huge mountain. The holes on its back were crawling with demon leeches, no different from nests of demon creatures.

“The sea is indeed resourceful. It has grown so huge. Only the sea has enough space to hold huge creatures like that,” Zhang Xiaohou murmured.

The biggest creature in the Qinling Mountains was only a fifth of the Vast Sea Monster’s size. A creature of its size would have no chance of getting so close to a city without using the sea as its cover. This kind of size was the main reason why naval battles were not very friendly to humans.

“Sea monsters are generally bigger, but there’s a downside to that, too. People with great speed like us can easily take advantage of their size, since they have relatively bigger blind spots,” Mo Fan agreed.

“Mm, that creature probably knows it will be at a disadvantage if the battle goes on for too long, so it immediately left after destroying the bridge. Luckily, we managed to spot it early this time. If the Jimei Bridge collapses too, more than half of the city won’t be evacuated in time,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Zhang Xiaohou might be acting boldly, but he was extremely cautious when he was flying around the Vast Sea Monster. He kept staring at the back of the creature’s neck.

The creature was able to turn its head around, yet it was focusing on the fight with the three advisors and the other Super Mages. Zhang Xiaohou was using the chance to move around the creature.

“It should be aware of our existence, right?” Mo Fan asked worriedly.

“It knows we are behind it, but it doesn’t know our exact position since it can’t see us,” Zhang Xiaohou confirmed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The giant was aware of the little mice moving behind it, but even if it were to turn around now, the little mice would have moved somewhere else where the giant could not see. Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan were the two little mice that were making the Vast Sea Monster very uncomfortable!

Zhang Xiaohou’s strategy was actually working. The Vast Sea Monster realized it would only waste its time if it tried looking for the little mice. It simply ignored them since the damage the two mice could cause was almost negligible.

“Brother Fan, you should be able to take care of it yourself. I’ll place you down here.” Zhang Xiaohou dropped Mo Fan at a spot where he could move around freely.

“Yeah, go do your thing, but remember what I told you: there must be a reason why the creature hasn’t shown its true appearance yet,” Mo Fan said seriously.

“Mm, I won’t die so easily, especially after hearing what you said,” Zhang Xiaohou reassured him.

Zhang Xiaohou had goosebumps when the thought of being buried alongside Yu Ang’s remains crossed his mind. Only Mo Fan would come up with such an insane idea!

—

Zhang Xiaohou was flying at a low altitude, around twenty meters above the water. The waves were splashing wildly and hindering his vision, not to mention the waterspouts that were rising continuously from the sea.

“If it’s really trying to destroy the bridge, why didn’t it just show itself and ram into the bridge with all its might?” Zhang Xiaohou mumbled to himself with a confused face.

The depth of the strait was over a hundred meters. Currently, the Vast Sea Monster had only exposed its head, shoulders, and stomach above the surface. No one could tell if it had the strong limbs of a beast, or the body of a whale under the water.

“Why are there so many parasites? How disgusting…” Zhang Xiaohou looked at the water and saw countless black demon leeches wriggling around.

The demon leeches had spread across the water below the area of the creature’s body that was currently exposed. It was not the only species of parasites feeding off the creature’s body. The Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers that were flying out its gills had been a huge threat to him previously.

“Do I have to go under the water?”

Zhang Xiaohou hesitated. The only way to learn the creature’s true appearance was to dive into the water.

However, that was going to be extremely dangerous. Mo Fan already warned him they had no idea what the creature’s current form was. If it was only in its probing mindset, the rest of the body that was hidden under the water might be insanely powerful, so he would only get himself killed.

If he sacrificed his life just to see the Vast Sea Monster’s true appearance, Mo Fan was surely going to bury him with Yu Ang’s remains! He wondered if the risk was even worth it.

Zhang Xiaohou maintained his distance outside the Vast Sea Monster’s field of vision. The three Super Mages were attacking the creature at the same time. The light of Super Spells pierced through the thick clouds before lighting up the dim strait like miracles at work.

“I wonder if this is going to work.”

Zhang Xiaohou knew the Vast Sea Monster was focusing on defending itself from a Super Light Spell. He had to make use of the opportunity.

He stuck close to the water and suddenly gathered his focus to see through it, even though he could only see a few dozen meters deep. He used the Eyes of the Rock Demon and Petrify.

Zhang Xiaohou was observing the demon leeches under the water. He realized they were actually attached to the Vast Sea Monster’s skin, as if it was secreting the fat they were feeding on. The petrifying energy turned the demon leeches into a layer of stone on the creature’s skin and outlined the creature’s body.

Zhang Xiaohou did not believe his Petrify would be able to turn the creature into stone. He was only aiming at the demon leeches on its skin, like he was applying a layer of cement to the creature. Once the cement dried up, it would reveal the creature’s true outline.

The Vast Sea Monster was not bothered by the demon leeches’ death. When Zhang Xiaohou noticed the Petrify energy had covered quite a huge distance, he decisively drew the layer of stone toward him.

It was like a huge wax model. Zhang Xiaohou gasped when he saw the number of demon leeches that had been turned into stone.

“How big exactly is…” Zhang Xiaohou suddenly realized something strange as he was observing the outcome.

Zhang Xiaohou had only turned the demon leeches into stone. The result consisted of over a hundred demon leeches, yet they were not outlining the lower body of a creature…it looked more like a mask over thirty meters wide!

It was a head!

A head that resembled a sea iguana!

“How is this possible?” Zhang Xiaohou stared at the stone mask blankly.

To be more precise, it was the outline of a creature’s head and face. Zhang Xiaohou was utterly confused. Wasn’t the Vast Sea Monster’s head above the water? Why would its body under the water have another head and face?

The demon leeches had spread across the water to deny them a clear view.

More than half of the creature’s body was concealed under the water.

The waterspouts were adding to the chaos.

What was the Vast Sea Monster trying to hide?

The water began to boil as Zhang Xiaohou felt a strong heat surging at him.

Zhang Xiaohou finally realized something. He yelled at the Sound Mage far away, “There’s another creature under the water!”

There was a second creature in the water!

The Vast Sea Monster was using its enormous body to hide the existence of another creature below it!

The creature did not show itself and was reluctant to move around. It was even splashing the water around to provide cover for the other creature under the water!

The face and the head that Zhang Xiaohou had framed with Petrify belonged to the other creature, and its level was most likely on par with the Vast Sea Monster!

There was only one reason why the creature had stayed hidden all along: to destroy the Jimei Bridge!

The water became even more restless. Zhang Xiaohou lowered his head and was immediately thunderstruck

It was a huge shadow!

It was a head!

The creature hiding under the Vast Sea Monster was finally making its move. It was a sea monster that was able to make the water boil instantly!

Mo Fan’s voice came from above, “Zhang Xiaohou! Run!”

Zhang Xiaohou tried to escape, but the Feathers of the Wind Spirits were not responding. Even the Wind Spirits were trembling under the terrifying Aura of the sea monster under the water. Zhang Xiaohou’s speed had dropped to a fifth normal!

He activated his Wind Wings and tried his best to stay away from the water. The second Ruler-level creature under the water was too close to him. Its speed made Zhang Xiaohou feel like the moment of his death had arrived.

The Wind Wings were extremely slow. He was like a clumsy mosquito, struggling to escape from a lizard’s tongue…

Zhang Xiaohou looked at the heavy rain falling from the sky as his death was approaching. For some reason, he was not thinking about pain, his unwillingness to die, or his careless mistake. He was instead preoccupied with the ridiculous thought of his body being buried together with Yu Ang’s remains.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Die!” A furious roar came from above, followed by a dark red figure diving from the sky. The shocking shadow of a fiery spirit rose above the clouds with a suffocating aura.

Zhang Xiaohou did not give up, and was still flying away. He saw the enraged Mo Fan diving from the sky as his body was taken over by the Demon Element. However, for some reason, his aura was a lot weaker than when he was standing before the Great Pyramid of Giza. The dark red flames did not spread across the whole sky, and he still felt extremely tiny compared to the Vast Sea Monster.

—

“Damn it!” Mo Fan cursed. The dark red energy emitting from his body suddenly dissipated.

The Essence Orb was not filled yet, meaning that Mo Fan was unable to use his demon form. It was the same situation as when he had encountered the Scorpion Lord Medusa inside the Pyramid!

Mo Fan landed in front of Zhang Xiaohou while Zhang Xiaohou looked at the water.

The water was still boiling, yet the second Ruler-level creature did not come out and attack Zhang Xiaohou. It was making its move, but its target was not Zhang Xiaohou, who was the closest to it!

Mo Fan was startled too. He could sense how powerful the sea monster under the water was. He had no chance of saving Zhang Xiaohou’s life without using the Demon Element, yet his attempt to transform into the demon form had failed. However, Zhang Xiaohou was still alive. The Ruler-level creature under the water had taken off like a torpedo. It was charging at Jimei Bridge, bringing a powerful tide of boiling water with it!

The second Ruler-level creature was targeting the bridge. It could not care less about Zhang Xiaohou’s life!

“Damn it, the bridge…” Zhang Xiaohou had somehow survived, but he immediately realized why the Ruler-level creature had spared his life after turning around.

The creature did not spare Zhang Xiaohou’s life. They were planning to sink the whole city!

Mo Fan was more concerned about Zhang Xiaohou’s safety. It was no longer within their capabilities to stop the sea monsters when they learned there was another strong Ruler-level creature underneath the Vast Sea Monster. Mo Fan was relieved that he and Zhang Xiaohou were still alive.

—

The Ruler-level creature under the water was insanely fast. It had covered more than three kilometers before Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou had recovered from the shock.

The three advisors were completely unaware of the Boiling Sea Ruler’s existence. The other Super Mages were focused on the battle too, as they did not dare to lower their guard. As for the Advanced Mages behind them… they had no chance of stopping the Ruler-level creature!

“We are done for!” the face of the Sound Mage who was commanding the battle was pale.

The Vast Sea Monster was behaving strangely, like it was trying to hide something, hence why the Sound Mage had sent a Super Mage to find out the truth. However, he did not expect the Vast Sea Monster to be hiding another Ruler-level creature under its body, not to mention that its speed was several times quicker than the Vast Sea Monster.

Everyone was too focused on the Vast Sea Monster. It was already too late by the time they noticed there was a second creature!

The Sound Mage had overlooked the possibility. The Boiling Sea Ruler had already broken through their defense by the time he collected his thoughts!

Thousands of people were taking the bridge to reach the mainland, while most of the Super Mages and Advanced Mages had gathered at the strait to stop the Vast Sea Monster’s advance.

The sea monsters were too cunning and powerful!

A single Great Ruler-level creature showing up once every ten years on the land was enough to make the whole country panic. However, two sea monsters of the same level had appeared at the same time from the sea. Not only were they powerful, they were ambitious. They were playing the humans like a fiddle…

How were they supposed to stop the sea monsters?

Councilman Shao Zheng had warned them of the crisis along the coastline many years ago. He had emphasized the fact that the sea monsters were significantly stronger than the demon creatures on land on numerous occasions, yet not many people from other countries, and even from the same country as him, were willing to believe him. No one would ever doubt him again after experiencing this battle with unequal strength between both sides, yet who could have thought they would have to pay such a huge price just to learn the truth?

A strange cry was heard from below the boiling water. The Boiling Sea Ruler was finally within range to carry out its attack. Its terrifying force easily broke through the protection set up by the Advanced Spells!

Hundreds of Advanced Spells with their Water Curtains, Plummeting Rays, and Icebound Coffins were mere decorations before the Great Ruler-level creature. It had managed to break through them with its momentum alone.

How could a spiderweb in a forest stop a ferocious tiger? The Advanced Spells were not necessarily stronger than a spiderweb!

The Boiling Sea Ruler sprang into the air. It was covered in some kind of magical lava scales, causing the water to boil continuously. It seemed to be responsible for the waterspouts that had been occurring around the Vast Sea Monster.

Jimei Bridge was around three kilometers long. The Boiling Sea Ruler was heading straight toward its center. It was going to break it in half!

A few Super Spells appeared on the bridge, yet it was already too late. The spells were nowhere enough to defend the bridge from the Boiling Sea Ruler that had long prepared and had accumulated its strength for some time.

It sprang out of the water and exposed itself in the air. It was nowhere as massive as the Vast Sea Monster. Its body was half-curled up when it was in the air, like a scythe slicing at the bridge with incredible heat!

Another deafening roar came from below the bridge as the water became restless.

As everyone was overwhelmed by their fear of the Boiling Sea Ruler, no one noticed that an enormous shadow had entered the strait from the other side!

The water splashed onto the bridge. It started trembling…

“What…another one of them?”

The Sound Mage felt like he had aged a century all of a sudden.

A third Ruler-level creature!

The Mages that were protecting the bridge from the Vast Sea Monster did not expect the second Ruler-level creature hiding in the water.

However, they fell into complete despair when they realized another sea monster shaped like an island and the size of the Vast Sea Monster had shown up too. Most terrifyingly, no one even knew when it had gotten so close to the bridge!

Three powerful sea monsters!

All three of them were Great Ruler-level creatures!

—

The city could not even survive against any single one of them.

Why must the Heavens be so cruel to the city by not showing any mercy to it?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The bridge was full of people, so crowded that not even half a person more could stand on it. They were all moving ahead nervously along the three-kilometer-long bridge. It was going to take them some time to cross it.

Fierce waves splashed up from the strait below the bridge, the gray waves rolling towards it with increasing power. A single wave would easily sweep the crowded people off the bridge if it weren’t for the barriers set up by the Mages.

A deafening roar came from below the bridge. The people who were closer to the edge looked down into the spacious strait, but to their surprise, they could only see a brown body the size of the greatest warships!

Its backbone was huge, like an island studded with rocks. Half of its body was still submerged, but the other half above the water almost reached the bridge!

It swam past the bridge from below, produced a mighty gust of wind like the passing of an apocalyptic storm, even though it did not touch the fragile bridge!

Another roar echoed in the sky. The enormous creature passing below the bridge was not targeting the bridge, but the Boiling Sea Ruler charging at the bridge from the other direction!

The enormous brown beast rammed into the Boiling Sea Ruler. If it was a great warship, the Boiling Sea Ruler was merely a normal tanker. Its burning-hot lava scales were scattered across the water following the impact, and its body was knocked flying in the opposite direction from the bridge.

The force that sent the Boiling Sea Ruler flying had split the waters of the strait in half, leaving a spectacular ravine behind that almost reached the layer of mud and stone at the bottom of the strait!

The Boiling Sea Ruler had traveled three kilometers at the speed of a torpedo, but it was instantly sent backward with the same speed and momentum. If the Vast Sea Monster had not caught it along the way, it might have ended up another two kilometers away!

It left behind the deep ravine, which the seawater only filled in after a long time. Broken lava scales were scattered all over the place. The impact was so strong that the Boiling Sea Ruler had lost half of its outer scales!

“What…what just happened…”

The Sound Mage was desperately heading toward Jimei Bridge to help as much as he could. To his surprise, the third creature that had shown up from nowhere did not attack the bridge. It actually stopped the Boiling Sea Ruler in the nick of time!

Apart from a little shaking and a large number of people who fainted after seeing the enormous beast, the bridge had remained standing. It was still in perfect condition!

“What…what exactly is going on!?” The Advanced Mages whose defenses were broken through were absolutely dumbfounded.

The brown beast that had shown up at the end had knocked the Boiling Sea Ruler flying?

The brown beast had protected the bridge?

Screams were rising across the bridge. Many Advanced Mages and Super Mages had never seen such a shocking beast at such a close distance in person, let alone ordinary people. The beast’s back was as broad and mighty as an island. Its head was like a moving mountain, and its claws could easily trample hundreds of people to death!

Humans were literally ants before it. They could only be compared to a tiny pimple on the creature’s body!

The huge beast crossed under the bridge, its back to the watchers.

It did not touch the fragile bridge, nor did it pay any attention to the crowd that was being evacuated along it. It continued moving forward… but it was not swimming in the water. It was walking…

The strait did not have enough space for it if it fully extended its body. It had to bow down in order to barely move under the bridge behind it!

The beast took a few steps forward. The Advanced Mages flying a few hundred meters above it were like mosquitoes and flies, and the beast ignored them too. It kept moving ahead, while the Advanced Mages backed away in fear, not daring to stop it.

“It’s staring at the other beast,” the Sound Mage blurted out in surprise when he noticed something.

Humans did not know much about the sea monsters. They did not even know what the Vast Sea Monster covered in demon leeches and parasitic insects was called, or which species it belonged to. They could only number them.

They referred to the Vast Sea Monster as Number One Disastrous Beast, and the Boiling Sea Ruler hiding under its body as the Number Two Disastrous Beast!

“Could they be nemeses?” the advisor in a blue outfit wondered aloud. He decided to observe the situation for now.

If the three creatures shared the same goal of destroying Jimei Bridge, it would have collapsed by now. The third beast that showed up at the end was obviously an enemy of the first two sea monsters, judging from the blow it delivered to the Boiling Sea Ruler.

However, even though they were enemies, the third beast was insanely strong too. They had no idea if it was hostile toward humans. It was simply ignoring them!

“Don’t move!” the Sound Mage snapped when he saw some of the Mages attacking randomly after losing their calm.

The fact that the bridge was still standing was the best outcome they could hope for. They had no reason to attack the third beast as long as it was not targeting the bridge!

As a matter of fact, most of the Mages had already frozen in place in fear. The brown beast’s Presence was simply too overwhelming for them. They had completely forgotten how to draw their Star Orbits, Star Patterns, and Star Constellations!

The beast continued forward, moving further away from the bridge. Its massive body had basically blocked the strait now, with the Jimei Bridge behind it.

The Boiling Sea Ruler finally rose from the water far away. It crawled up along the Number One Disastrous Beast’s body and climbed onto its back. Its eyes were engulfed in flames, like a volcano’s caldera. They were spitting out flames as it glared at the third beast!

The brown beast stood two kilometers away from the bridge, facing the strait.

The long strait had somehow turned into a dueling ground for the great beasts. Their Auras surged wildly. Even the Super Mages were struggling to remain in the area.

Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan did not overstay their welcome. Even the slightest hit from the battle would inflict serious injuries on them. It was better for them to move to a safer spot!

“Brother Fan… I think I saw someone standing on the brown creature’s head,” Zhang Xiaohou blurted out in surprise.

“Is his hair blond?”

“How did you know?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan grinned.

He had seen the creature that knocked the Boiling Sea Ruler flying before!

The first time he saw it… well, he did not actually see it, but it had first appeared in Japan, at the city where they found the wooden clapper.

The creature had been following them since then, and he had only seen its true appearance in Venice!

Along the dam at the bay in Venice, the enormous creature had rushed toward a spot as the whole city was watching and saved Zhao Manyan, who had been in a pinch!

Mo Fan only saw its outline in the dark.

However, Mo Fan knew it was the same creature. That back resembling a tortoise shell was simply too distinct!

“Fly over there,” Mo Fan told Zhang Xiaohou.

“Where to?”

“Onto that creature!” Mo Fan pointed at the third beast.

“Brother Fan, are you mad? It might not be our friend!”

“It’s fine, just fly to it.”

Zhang Xiaohou reluctantly brought Mo Fan over to the third beast. They were finally able to see the man on the beast’s head clearly. His hair was blond, and he was wearing a fancy outfit.

“Why didn’t you ask me to join you on such a thrilling adventure? Do you really think of me as your friend?!” The young man on the creature’s head rose to his feet and waved at Zhang Xiaohou and Mo Fan.

“Brother Zhao!” Zhang Xiaohou blurted out in surprise.

“Hehe, did I come just in time? Oh, by the way, say hello to the big guy…” Zhao Manyan had a confident smile. “This is Baxia!”

Baxia!

Even though Mo Fan had long known about the creature that Zhao Manyan always described as the thousand-years-old tortoise, and had even seen its astonishing shadow at the bay in Venice, he was still greatly astonished when he saw it at such a close distance!

It was Baxia!

A Totem Beast from the ocean!

Baxia’s size was absolutely insane. The Black Totem Snake would be considered slim compared to it. When it stood in the strait, it was not necessarily inferior to the Number One Disastrous Beast in terms of presence and size.

The Vast Sea Monster that was covered in demon leeches was no longer fooling around, acting like it had been provoked. It finally revealed its body that had been hidden under the water. It also had massive limbs, like pillars soaring into the sky.

However, its limbs were also crawling with demon leeches. They were not just parasites feeding off it, they were more like a layer of clothing attached to the creature. The three advisors were struggling to inflict any serious damage on the Vast Sea Monster mainly because the demon leeches were absorbing most of the damage.

“Brother Zhao, is this Baxia your Totem Beast? It’s so cool!” Zhang Xiaohou exclaimed in excitement.

Baxia had saved the bridge by ramming into the Boiling Sea Ruler. The people on the bridge were now safe.

“Hehe, we should go somewhere else first. I think he’s about to fight those two creatures,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Sure!”

Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou did not stay on Baxia’s head. He obviously held a grudge against the two sea monsters. He was already in his battle stance as soon as he saw the two creatures. The Boiling Sea Ruler was also already in an enraged state!

It was unlikely that Baxia had shown up for no reason. Mo Fan was well aware that the Totem Beast was reluctant to take orders from Zhao Manyan.

“Baxia, I’ll leave it to you!” Zhao Manyan sensibly backed away.

Baxia did not even listen to Zhao Manyan, completely focused on the fight. He had the innate imperious demeanor of a Totem Beast. His Aura rivaled both of the Ruler-level sea monsters, even though it was one against two!

—

“Old Zhao, what’s going on?” Mo Fan turned around to take a clear look at Baxia.

Even though they had gathered many powerful Mages at the strait, they had still struggled and failed to hold the two disastrous sea monsters back. As expected of Baxia, he was merely standing in the strait to defend Jimei Bridge like it was the entrance to his home, yet it had dramatically reduced their fear of the sea monsters!

Baxia’s back was actually a carapace, similar to a tortoise’s shell. Mo Fan finally realized what Zhao Manyan’s wooden clapper resembled.

They had found it in a temple, so they had subconsciously assumed it to be a wooden clapper. However, if they took a closer look at it, they discovered that it was carved to resemble the Black Tortoise’s Shell. The lines on it were the lines on its shell!

Baxia and the Black Totem Snake were brothers, but for some reason, Mo Fan had a feeling that Baxia had been around for a longer time. Even its demeanor of a Totem Beast was a lot stronger!

“Baxia and the two sea monsters are arch-enemies. They mainly reside in the region between Japan’s sea and the East China Sea. Baxia has stayed close to Xiamen for around two hundred years. He noticed the sea monsters were heading toward Xiamen, so he came to the East China Sea and picked me up from the Magic City. As he thought, the two sea monsters are stirring up trouble here…” Zhao Manyan explained.

“They are arch-enemies?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Mm… I was also shocked when Baxia showed up in the Magic City. I’m well aware of his level, and there are only a few creatures that can match his strength. He told me his arch-enemies were in Xiamen, and I also heard the two of you were saving the city, so I immediately asked him to bring me here… to retrieve your dead bodies,” Zhao Manyan said.

“It’s true that we almost died,” Mo Fan said with some lingering fear.

He was still too reckless, and the Demon Element was not available. He could have died very easily trying to outsmart Ruler-level creatures of their level!

“Mm, we really lack information about the sea monsters,” Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

Normally, if it was the demon creatures on the land, a Ruler-level creature would be leading a horde, so people simply assumed the Number One Disastrous Beast was already the strongest sea monster leading the invasion. To their surprise, there was a second Ruler-level creature with it!

Luckily, the third creature was Baxia. If it was a sea monster, the coastline would have been overrun by now.

“Those two are called the Disastrous Duo. The bigger one is called Qiu Chi. Whenever it shows up, there will be a huge downpour for days. It can also manipulate the tide. It’s a blessing to many species of sea monsters, but a disaster for our land.

“The smaller one is Qiu Zi. It lives in the undersea volcanoes and will follow its big brother Qiu Chi around in certain seasons. It can use its body temperature to create strong pressure differentials.

“When the two of them are together, they can bring a super tropical storm to anywhere, and Xiamen is their current target!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Mo Fan, you’ve always been the hero. It’s my turn to put on a show this time!” Zhao Manyan declared proudly.

With the Totem Beast Baxia’s help, he was going to change the situation in a city that was currently fighting disaster. There was nothing more satisfying than this, especially when he heard Xiamen had a lot of beautiful women. After he saved the city, many beauties were going to take the initiative to climb into his bed. He could change his partner every day, or perhaps enjoy the company of a few of them every day…

“Alright, Baxia, show those two idiots the strength of the Totem Beast!” Zhao Manyan was extremely excited.

As a matter of fact, he never imagined the defense of a huge number of Mages was inferior to the power he possessed. The sense of being superior to everything felt more pleasant than women!

Zhao Manyan pointed forward and unleashed the unruliness and passion he had long withheld as he gave Baxia a command!

“Charge!” Zhao Manyan shouted once again.

The enormous Baxia stood in the strait, a watery valley between island and shore.

He did not move, but the eyes hidden under his thick skin were staring at Qiu Chi and Qiu Zi. He completely treated Zhao Manyan’s excited cry as some insignificant breeze.

Zhao Manyan immediately felt awkward when the creature totally ignored his order.

“Old Zhao, stop acting like he’s going to listen to you,” Mo Fan helpfully added another blow.

“Damn it, this old tortoise, he never listens to me. Why does he keep looking down on me? I’m a Super Mage now!” Zhao Manyan blushed.

“Can Baxia handle them? Those two creatures aren’t easy to deal with!” Mo Fan said with a worried face.

“It’s going to be a little tricky, but I can ask the advisors to lend Baxia a hand,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

—

Baxia was concentrating intently. He was currently in his focused stance.

He could not afford to charge recklessly. Qiu Chi was one of the few creatures in the East China Sea that could match his strength. If he seriously followed Zhao Manyan’s rather dumb order, he would lose in just a few rounds.

However, Qiu Chi was even more anxious!

They were so close to destroying the Jimei Bridge. Once the rest of the sea monsters arrived, the city would turn into their hunting ground and festival grounds.

Baxia’s intervention had completely ruined their plan!

More humans were being evacuated from the city. Qiu Chi was losing its patience as the prey creatures of the hunting ground it had carefully planned were sneaking away!

Qiu Chi was the first to move. Its back was like a sea dragon with a jagged spine. It completely exposed its jagged bones as it uttered a furious roar. The jagged bones turned into countless terrifying swords.

Qiu Chi curled its body and dug its head into its chest, like a rhinoceros with horns on its back, pointing its weapons at the enemy!

Everyone thought Qiu Chi was going to gather its momentum while charging at its target, yet the enormous creature suddenly lunged forward at a terrifying pace.

The seawater and the island nearby were shattered into pieces by the sudden burst of speed. Qiu Chi had turned into a meteorite covered in sharp weapons. It swept through the strait and headed right at Baxia!

The shockwave from the collision between the two enormous creatures could easily sweep a few kilometers away. Qiu Chi rammed into Baxia with its sharp bones. However, the latter was utterly reckless. He simply withstood the blow with his flesh.

His enormous body was continuously forced backward by Qiu Chi. He was initially two kilometers away from the bridge, but he almost destroyed the bridge when he was knocked back by the force of the impact.

“Don’t let them collide into the bridge!” Zhao Manyan yelled after he realized what the Disastrous Duo were up to.

Baxia’s body began to emit a brown light. His weight increased rapidly under the special Totem glow. His body sank slightly into the water as he turned into an immovable boulder.

The remaining shockwave swept at the bridge. Many Mages were still protecting it with Magic Formations, or the force could easily have knocked the bridge down.

“Be careful of Qiu Zi!” Zhao Manyan reminded Baxia.

Qiu Zi was an extremely cunning creature. It immediately dove into the sea, its body was releasing a lot of steam as soon as Qiu Chi rammed into Baxia. It quickly followed behind Qiu Chi and snuck up to Baxia while the two enormous creatures were brawling!

Qiu Zi’s head bore a pointed reptilian muzzle. Its head was not particularly huge, but when it opened its mouth, it could extend its bite a huge margin. The fangs exposed under its upper jaw were brimming with heat!

The scorching bite was effective against many creatures with thick skin. Qiu Chi was holding Baxia’s neck and head firmly. The Disastrous Duo had a certain level of synergy. Qiu Chi was preventing Baxia from withdrawing his neck and head into his shell so Qiu Zi could bite his neck!

The brown light around Baxia intensified. It quickly Summoned a shield of brown energy above him. Qiu Zi ended up biting the shield, resulting in a thunderous clanking sound.

Fresh blood jetted out of Qiu Zi’s fangs. It had set itself up by trying to defeat Baxia with its first attempt. It quickly dove back into the water.

Qiu Zi did not dare to compete with Baxia in terms of strength. If Baxia had a chance to get his hands on it, he could easily break its bones!

Qiu Chi had parasites both on its skin and inside its body. Countless demon leeches were crawling onto Baxia’s skin while they were in a standoff.

The demon leeches had no chance of harming Baxia, yet they contained a strong acid in their bodies. If they climbed onto Baxia and detonated themselves, they would splatter the acid all over Baxia’s skin. The acid would corrode his thick skin!

“Those leeches are Baxia’s weakness!” Zhao Manyan blurted out when he saw the blisters forming on Baxia’s skin.

“We can’t just stand here and watch. Old Zhao, tell Baxia to focus on those two. We’ll handle the parasites!” Mo Fan said.

Chapter 1912: It is Calling for Reinforcements!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The demon leeches aren’t the only parasites on Qiu Chi’s body. There’s also another species of demon grasshoppers with extremely high temperature,” Zhang Xiaohou reminded them.

“Baxia and these two creatures are arch-enemies. As a matter of fact, the Disastrous Duo is part of the reason why it went to Japan. Qiu Chi’s strength is in fact inferior to Baxia’s because of his godly shell. It’s unlikely for Qiu Chi and Qiu Zi will be able to harm him, but sometime in these last few dozen years, Qiu Chi obtained a strange power that makes the parasites in its body a lot stronger. These never-ending parasites keep corroding Baxia’s skin and shell. During their last encounter, Baxia left the East China Sea with serious injuries. He has been disguising himself as an island close to the land for a long time…” Zhao Manyan said.

Baxia had always been searching for a suitable Totem Guardian. Most Totem Beasts had obtained their power from humans through the Totem Containers.

The East China Sea was Baxia’s territory. He had been expelled to other oceans after Qiu Chi and Qiu Zi took over his territory. He no longer had a fixed place to stay. Most importantly, a Totem Beast would never allow itself to be a wanderer, valuing its pride.

Baxia needed more power, so he kept urging Zhao Manyan to grow stronger.

Only when Zhao Manyan grew stronger would he be able to lift the Totem Seal and Awaken Baxia’s true strength!

This time, Baxia had returned to his territory and was daring enough to challenge the Disastrous Duo because Zhao Manyan had reached the Super Level and acquired the Totem Power from the remains of the Totem Beast at the bottom of the sea. It had helped to improve Baxia’s strength!

“Baxia, we’ll take care of the insects for you, but you should protect us too. We are on your back!” Zhao Manyan told Baxia.

Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and Zhao Manyan landed on Baxia’s back. It actually felt like an island to them considering the amount of space they had. It was an extremely spacious dueling ground!

Baxia made some noise, most likely to acknowledge Zhao Manyan’s words.

“He will protect us if Qiu Chi and Qiu Zi attack us,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Brother Fan, look, what is Qiu Zi doing?” Zhang Xiaohou pointed at the strait.

Mo Fan looked where Zhang Xiaohou was pointing and saw Qiu Zi staying in the water. However, it had straightened its head while emitting strange sound waves into the clouds.

Mo Fan could not hear the sound waves, yet his brain kept buzzing in pain.

“It’s Calling!” the Sound Mage who was commanding the battle blurted out.

The best thing was that the pain in Mo Fan’s head disappeared after he heard the Sound Mage’s voice.

“What is it Summoning?” Mo Fan asked after he felt a lot better.

“Sea monsters, it’s Summoning every sea monster in this region!” the Sound Mage said.

Mo Fan glanced at the device on his wrist. There was not much time left until the eight hours mark.

Mo Fan had a clear view when standing on Baxia’s back. He noticed countless waves rising around him. There were sea monsters riding the waves toward them, regardless of the direction he was looking in!

“They are trying to destroy the bridge with everything they have!” the advisor in a silver outfit said.

“These scum, are they really treating us as their food? This is unacceptable, we won’t let them leave in one piece since they dared to invade our land!” the Super Mage in the blue outfit snarled.

“You guys, aren’t you going to tell us what exactly is that enormous brown beast first!?” the female advisor said.

Mo Fan looked at the advisors. The female advisor was most likely the leader of the Donghai Magic Association. He recalled seeing her on Gulangyu before.

“It’s a Totem Beast. Councilman Shao Zheng sent the few of us to search for the Totem Beasts that had been lost to resolve the crisis along the shoreline. His name is Baxia…” Mo Fan explained, but Qiu Chi suddenly pounced at them in the middle of his sentence. Its enormous claw almost knocked Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and Zhao Manyan off.

Luckily, the three of them had reached the Super Level. They were no longer mere ants against these enormous creatures. They were not in danger as long as the attacks were not targeting them directly.

“Enough questions, we know it’s here to help us! The brown beast is obviously struggling to take on both sea monsters by himself. We’ll take care of Disastrous Beast Number Two. That thing which keeps releasing hot lava and steam is obviously not friendly to us!” the advisor in the silver outfit announced.

“Advisors, I can hear thousands of sea monsters coming toward us,” the old Sound Mage said sternly.

The three advisors looked into the distance and saw a terrifying horde approaching!

“Can you three fend off Disastrous Beast Number One for the time being? If so, the three of us will handle Disastrous Beast Number Two. The rest will protect the civilians on the bridge from the army of sea monsters!” the advisor in the silver outfit said.

“Got it!” Zhao Manyan answered.

“You have my thanks!” The Super Mage in the silver outfit glanced at Zhao Manyan, as if he was trying to remember his face.

He was clearly not ordinary if he was able to order a Great Ruler Beast around!

—

“Baxia isn’t afraid to fight that thing if it’s alone,” Zhao Manyan said.

“We still have to take care of the demon leeches. These things are seriously disgusting. They are extremely aggressive too,” Mo Fan said.

“There are so many of them. They are climbing up!” Zhang Xiaohou looked around him and saw the demon leeches climbing onto Baxia.

In Baxia’s eyes, the demon leeches were more like corrosive fleas. It was troublesome for him to keep an eye on so many tiny parasites at once due to his size. If he just ignored them, they would dig into his pores and his skin, resulting in a lot of damage. However, he would waste a lot of energy just to get rid of them, and their acid would still splatter all across his body when they died!

“We are currently the Darknin Brothers. We are here to cleanse the parasites!” Zhao Manyan once again felt like he had entered the limelight. He was overwhelmed by excitement.

{TL Note: Darknin is a brand of Miconazole, a medication for treating ringworm and yeast infections.}

Chapter 1913: Pest Exterminators

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The insects just kept coming. An army of demon leeches had already crawled onto Baxia’s body after some contact with Qiu Chi. They immediately headed toward the unprotected spots, as if they already knew where Baxia’s weak points were.

“Brother Fan, the Parasitic Steaming Locusts are circling above us!” Zhang Xiaohou pointed out.

More parasites had appeared from Qiu Chi’s body as Baxia kept knocking it away from the bridge. The parasites consisted of the demon leeches and the Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers. The parasitic grasshoppers were like flies circling a huge corpse, as they flew in groups around Qiu Chi.

They were different from the demon leeches that were continuously falling onto Baxia’s body. These parasitic grasshoppers would let the demon leeches scout the area ahead first. Whenever the demon leeches located a weak point, the parasitic grasshoppers would dive at the spot together, like they had picked up the scent of some rotting flesh!

As a matter of fact, these parasitic grasshoppers were the digestive system in Qiu Chi’s stomach. Humans normally relied on the gastric juices in their stomach to digest the food they ate, but Qiu Chi did not have gastric acid in its stomach. It relied on the heat of these Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers to melt the food. Qiu Chi would obtain the nutrients and energy it needed, and the rest was split among the burning locusts!

Therefore, these Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers were just as horrifying as the demon leeches. As parasitic creatures, their biggest strength was their ability to disintegrate everything, be it flesh, skin, bones, or other strange objects!

“I’ll deal with those in the sky. Can you two handle the demon leeches?” Mo Fan asked Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan.

“How are you going to fight those in the sky when you can’t fly?” Zhao Manyan had to ask.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take them all out regardless of their numbers!” Mo Fan declared.

As soon as Mo Fan finished his sentence, Baxia once again secured the upper hand in another exchange of brute force. It used the elbow of its front limbs and shattered the sharp bones on Qiu Chi’s back. The creature let out a painful cry as its black bones were broken to pieces. It was very likely that the bones connected to them inside its body had fractured too!

Qiu Chi was knocked further back. They were now over three kilometers away from the bridge. They no longer posed an immediate threat to the people being evacuated across the bridge.

Qiu Chi let out a furious roar. The Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers that were still looking for an opportunity to strike ran out of patience. They began diving at Baxia, carrying out a kamikaze attack with the special heat their bodies contained. They were using the same move as the demon leeches!

These Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers were the gastric juices in Qiu Chi’s body. If it was only one or two of them, they could not have left leave a single wound on Baxia’s body. However, when thousands of them were attacking the same spot, they could easily burn through Baxia’s skin!

Baxia’s body was mostly protected by his shell. He would normally block eighty percent of the damage when fighting a creature like Qiu Chi, but the Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers were like fleas to him. His shell was not so effective against them!

“Nice, I like it when they bundle up!” Mo Fan saw the Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers’ plan to carry out a suicide attack.

The flames of the Ardent Sunset erupted on his palms. He waited for the right moment!

“Old Zhao, I won’t hurt Baxia if I set his back on fire, right?” Mo Fan asked after he suddenly thought of something.

“Your flames are no different from a heater pack on his skin. Just go ahead, he’s more worried about those corrosive parasites! Elemental Magic won’t hurt him so easily,” Zhao Manyan said disdainfully.

“Great, I can use everything I have then!” Mo Fan grinned.

Fighting on Baxia’s back was better than fighting on the sea, since his Fire Element was only weakened slightly here.

“Little Flame Belle, is the furnace ready?” Mo Fan asked.

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle responded joyfully.

Little Flame Belle had learned how to refine her flames to make them purer and stronger after the battle against the Viscera Hunters.

If she could refine the Calamity Fire, she could do the same thing to the Ardent Sunset too! Mo Fan had already told Little Flame Belle to prepare herself when he saw the Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers roaming around.

Little Flame Belle liked refining her flames, but she enjoyed seeing the destruction her flames could bring even more!

“Alright, let’s wait for them to come a little closer!” Mo Fan continued waiting for the right moment to strike.

The Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers’ wings were almost transparent, and their bodies were constantly emitting steam under high temperature. They looked like clusters of meteorites as they dove together. The thick steam also acted as a protective layer around them!

“Lava Pond!”

Mo Fan lifted his hands. The refined Ardent Sunset erupted like a furnace in the shape of a hexagon. Inside it were thick flames that extended out like the tongue of an enormous burning frog. It reached into the sky and swept the brainless parasitic grasshoppers toward itself!

The Ardent Sunset had the ability to spread rapidly in tight clusters. Even the faintest spark could grow into a huge fire. The devouring flames continued to stack on top of one another, and the parasitic locusts in the sky were like dry grains. The flames burned them to ashes as they spread further and further among the locusts’ ranks.

The light of the flames flickered continuously across Baxia’s back. The creature purposely turned his head around and looked at Mo Fan.

“I understand! I hate mosquitos the most when it’s summer too!” Mo Fan smiled when he saw Baxia looking at him.

Mo Fan had almost set a whole street on fire once while he was eliminating mosquitos, but these Parasitic Steam Grasshoppers were over a hundred times deadlier than mosquitos. Mo Fan could imagine how terrible Baxia felt when he had fought Qiu Chi in the past!

The Ardent Sunset was godly against insects. The Parasitic Steam Locusts were extremely vulnerable when the flames of the Ardent Sunset continued to spread through them. Even though they were constantly releasing heat, the steam they released to attack their enemies and the temperature of the flames were two different things. They were extremely afraid of the flames that were spreading rapidly through their swarms.

A blue Soul Remnant floated toward the Loach Pendant around Mo Fan’s neck every time a Parasitic Steam Locust died, and as a result, the Soul Remnants began pouring down from the sky like stars. Mo Fan was quite surprised when he noticed how great the quality of the Soul Remnants were. He only needed a few of them to refine them into a Soul Essence!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Qiu Chi realized its secret weapons against Baxia had all died miserably in the flames. It immediately looked around and saw a few humans on Baxia’s back who were busy massacring its parasites!

Qiu Chi was enraged. Its strength was inferior to Baxia, even though its size was around the same. However, Baxia’s defenses were clearly stronger. Its bones had already fractured after the two collided with one another a few times. Meanwhile, Baxia was perfectly unharmed. It would clearly struggle to break down Baxia’s defenses without the help of its parasites!

On the other hand, more humans were keeping Qiu Zi busy, forcing Qiu Chi to fight Baxia alone. They were clearly at a disadvantage!

Qiu Chi yelled and suddenly dashed to one side. It swung its deadly bone whips into the air before they lashed down like bolts of lightning!

The duration of Mo Fan’s Seal of the Nine Laws had already run out, so Qiu Chi was able to use both of its bone whips again. It was swinging the bone whips at the back of Baxia’s head from both sides. It looked like it was going to choke Baxia instead of whipping him.

Mo Fan looked up with a confused expression.

Did Qiu Chi already give up on using its brain? Baxia’s overall shape was a tortoise, so his neck was extremely short. He just needed to shrug a little to protect his head with his shell. Wasn’t Qiu Chi pretty stupid to be aiming for his neck?

One of the bone whips suddenly changed path while he was lost in his thoughts. It suddenly turned and lashed at Mo Fan!

“Damn it!” Mo Fan cursed.

He knew something was off. Qiu Chi was actually targeting him! His flames had obviously infuriated the sea monster!

The bone whip was extremely quick, and was coming in at a very tough angle too. Mo Fan looked up and felt like a white skeleton dragon was swinging its tail down to slice the mountains and seas in half!

Mo Fan definitely had a hard time enduring the creature’s full strength, especially when the bone whip was engulfed in blood-red steam. It was even stronger than before, as if the creature had entered its enraged state!

As the bone whip was coming down, Mo Fan noticed Baxia’s back bulging and forming a round shield around him!

The bone whip landed on the shield, leaving an obvious mark on it. Mo Fan could only feel his head buzzing…

“Brother Fan!” Zhang Xiaohou’s face went pale when he saw the bone whip attack Mo Fan out of nowhere.

“I’m fine, Baxia is keeping an eye on me!” Mo Fan climbed out from under the shield and looked to the side. He immediately saw a terrifying scar on Baxia’s shell. The bone whip’s strength was absolutely shocking!

However, Baxia was not to be messed with either! He did not give Qiu Chi the chance to withdraw its bone whip, grabbing the bone whip that had attacked Mo Fan with his claw. The enormous Totem Beast stood up in the strait and tossed Qiu Chi like a shot put. The creature slammed into the unused land in Xiamen that was still in the planning phase!

Qiu Chi’s true appearance was finally revealed after it was thrown out of the strait. Even though its limbs were like pillars, its skin sagged like a Chinese shar-pei. Its sides, stomach, and the flesh on its limbs were all sagging in multiple layers, all the moist and sticky layers full of demon leeches.

“No wonder it can hide another monster under it,” Zhang Xiaohou commented after seeing Qiu Chi’s true appearance.

Baxia’s skin was tight and firm, and his muscles were brimming with strength. Meanwhile, Qiu Chi looked odd and strange in comparison. Its back was like a bony mountain, and its rotten flesh and skin were crawling with parasites. Its flesh sagged like an obese old woman!

“It shouldn’t have looked like that before. Perhaps it has spent too much time around these parasites,” Zhao Manyan murmured.

“It’s disgusting and terrifying. Luckily, it didn’t get into the city. Otherwise, the plague and disease it would cause after it is killed would result in many deaths too!” Mo Fan spat.

Baxia forcibly snapped Qiu Chi’s bone whip in half. More Parasitic Steam Locusts poured out of Qiu Chi’s body as the creature lost its temper. The demon leeches started crawling down its body like they were fleeing for their lives!

ROOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR!

Baxia spat out his killing breath when he saw the parasites crawling across the land and the water!

His breath had a pale destructive light. It killed every one of the demon leeches and Parasitic Steam Locusts that were exposed to it. Even Qiu Chi was constantly forced back by it!

Qiu Chi might be furious, but there was nothing it could do to stop Baxia. It began to move itself, trying to return to the support of the water.

The strait was not very deep. It had lands and islands nearby, so Qiu Chi did not have much space to move around. It finally backed away from the strait and returned to the deeper water!

Baxia was from the ocean too, and did not mind fighting in deeper waters. He immediately chased after Qiu Chi as it retreated to the ocean. His steps even created strong waves surging ahead as he pursued Qiu Chi directly!

The waves swept past Qiu Chi and left a few cuts on its wrinkled skin. Its dark green blood immediately spread across the water!

“It’s going to dive underwater!” Zhao Manyan shouted.

“Maybe it’s trying to reclaim the upper hand under the water. I won’t be able to follow you guys into the water!” Mo Fan noticed Baxia was submerging too. He decisively jumped back to a stretch of land that was not under water yet. It still had the huge hole that Qiu Chi had smashed into it previously.

“I’ll stick with Baxia. You two should be careful on your way back,” Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Manyan was worried there might be other parasites helping Qiu Chi after they went underwater. He decided to stick around to help Baxia.

“It’s fine. The rest of the sea monsters can’t really harm us as long as these two creatures are kept at bay!” Mo Fan agreed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan jumped to a hill nearby, and Zhang Xiaohou landed beside him. Zhang Xiaohou would also struggle to use his magic freely in deep waters.

Zhang Xiaohou glanced at the sea and said sharply, “Brother Fan, the army of sea monsters is here.”

The sea monsters Called for by Qiu Zi had shown up. The rain was still pouring down, and almost sixty percent of the species of sea monsters were able to move around in Xiamen with the current depth of the water. These sea monsters consisted mainly of Viscera Hunters, Scarlet Soaring Demons, and Huge-Pincered Sea Monsters. Mo Fan had not fought the other species yet, nor did he know what strange abilities they possessed.

However, the time limit of eight hours would soon reach its end. The deadly Armor Antenna Sea Monsters were most likely on their way, too. Those sea monsters would soon enter the city through the areas that were the most deeply submerged and begin their feast.

The Viscera Hunters and Scarlet Soaring Demons were obviously taking orders from Qiu Zi, and were heading toward the strait where the battle was taking place. Their target was none other than the bridge that was still standing!

—

Thousands of sea monsters invaded the strait. The Mages standing by at the bridge felt their scalps turning numb and chills running down their spines!

They had seen huge armies of demon creatures in the past, but the armies of demon creatures on land mostly consisted of Servant-class creatures. Warrior-level creatures already stood out among the armies, let alone the Commander-level creatures.

However, this army of sea monsters completely toppled their understanding. The average level of the creatures was the Warrior-level. The Huge-Pincered Sea Monsters were actually the weakest among their ranks, but those sea monsters with pincers like the scoop of an excavator could easily destroy the buildings in the city. Once those creatures invaded the city, it would be difficult for the city to recover from the damage. Xiamen would soon vanish amid the tropical storm and become a territory of the sea monsters!

Humans were mainly active along the coastlines. The space they were active in would shrink rapidly after losing a city, especially when other sea monsters were stirring up a lot of trouble as the sea level rose. Even fewer places remained safe from the sea monsters. Xiamen was an important island city between the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and connected it to the Feiniao Headquarters City along the east coastline and other cities like Shenzhen and Hongkong along the southern coastline. If the sea monsters took over the city, the place would soon join the vast ocean, making it a breakthrough point for the sea monsters to invade the land and expand their territory.

The evacuation was only a temporary solution, and did not necessarily mean they had given up on the city. No one would abandon their home just because of a disaster. Once the tropical storm and the rain stopped, everything would return to normal!

Therefore, they had to prevent the city from being destroyed, especially the streets, buildings, and the defensive barrier!

The sea monsters were extremely cunning. They had sent the strong Viscera Hunters and Scarlet Soaring Demons to fight the Mages and assigned the Huge-Pincered Sea Monsters to raze the buildings to the ground. Clearing a path for the Armor Antenna Sea Monsters!

A woman in a captain’s uniform appeared above the hill, riding a Hurricane Hawk. “Major General Zhang, the sea monsters are advancing. The general has asked us to regroup at Gaoqi Airport to stop the invasion!”

“What about the others?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“They are already on their way,” the woman replied.

Zhang Xiaohou looked around the strait and frowned.

“The bridge should be safe with Baxia protecting it. The sea monsters are launching a full assault on the city. We must defend the important entry points. We can’t guarantee the city’s survival, but we must hold on and evacuate the people before the eight hours mark!” Mo Fan stated.

The bridge was more or less safe. The three advisors were keeping Qiu Zi at bay in the strait, and did not allow the creature to go any closer. The bridge was heavily protected by a huge barrier established by over a hundred Advanced Ice Mages over a long period. As a result, the bridge was no longer as vulnerable. Even if Qiu Zi were to sneak up to the bridge again, it would take some time for the creature to destroy the barrier!

The Mages finally had a chance to catch their breaths after the barrier was established. The civilians were now able to cross the bridge safely. If the incident at Haicang Bridge was repeated again, resulting in huge casualties, the Mages and civilians were going to lose their composure.

“These sea monsters think they can destroy our home and treat our close ones as their food… if they seriously think we are a weak species waiting to be slaughtered, we’ll show them with our magic that they too can’t withstand a single blow from us!” the Sound Mage’s voice echoed in everyone’s mind. As the commander of the battle at Jimei Bridge, he was telling the others who were fighting the sea monsters alongside him not to back away or be afraid!

“Mages are born to fend off the demon creatures. We will stop these filthy creatures from invading our land and harming our people, even if we have to consume all our energy and sacrifice ourselves!”

The civilians were being evacuated continuously. The barrier on the Jimei Bridge was fully constructed now. The Mages, regardless of their levels, were trying their best to defend it. They could finally give their best shot!

The Shoreline Alliance, Donghai Magic Association, renowned clans, Hunter Union, military, high schools, and unassociated Mages… Almost every major city would have people from those organizations. Smaller organizations might hide among the civilians and flee to safety with them, but the members of the aforementioned organizations could never back away during a calamity like this. The Sound Mage was increasing their morale while arranging organizations other than the military to help fight alongside the soldiers.

There were many organizations, and normally the military would only take orders from the government of the country.

As for the other organizations, like the renowned clans, schools, alliances, and associations, they were all under the Magic Association. The Donghai Magic Association was the highest Magic Association in Xiamen. Mo Fan was unsure about the Sound Mage’s identity, but after hearing his speech, he realized that the old man was most likely the president of the Donghai Magic Association!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Magic Associations had different levels of influence. The highest Magic Association in the country was the Dongfang Oriental Magic Association. It was a national-level Magic Association, and above it was only the Asia Magic Association, based in Dubai.

The Donghai Magic Association was rather special. It was a subsidiary of the Asia Magic Association, not the Dongfang Oriental Magic Association. Strictly speaking, its level was on par with the Dongfang Oriental Magic Association, which explained why it had three advisors who were strong enough to fight Qiu Zi and Qiu Chi.

Mo Fan was not too familiar with these big shots, but judging from the situation at Jimei Bridge, the Sound Mage was indeed an experienced commander. The tasks the man had assigned to him and Zhang Xiaohou had been crucial in the battle.

It was not the commander’s fault for not discovering Qiu Zi’s existence earlier on. After all, the order to gather at Jimei Bridge was sent out not very long ago, yet two Great Ruler-level creatures had already shown up. It was already a miracle that the bridge was still standing!

“Brother Fan, I must go to the airport. The military has assigned us a mission. It sounds pretty urgent,” Zhang Xiaohou told him.

“Go ahead, Old Zhao and I will defend the bridge,” Mo Fan said warmly.

“Alright, let’s hope Brother Zhao can slay Qiu Chi. That way, the army of sea monsters is definitely going to lose their morale,” Zhang Xiaohou said with great anticipation.

Qiu Chi was most likely the commander of the army of sea monsters. Once it died, the sea monsters would definitely lack cohesion, making it easier for them to drive the sea monsters away.

“Slaying it is impossible, but beating the crap out of it until it flees into the ocean like a beaten dog shouldn’t be a problem!” Mo Fan agreed.

Creatures of their level surely had insane vitality and ways to escape from a fight, not to mention their outstanding strength. The Black Totem Snake had failed to kill the Silver Skyruler, even though the bird’s level was significantly lower, let alone Baxia, whose strength was merely about on par with Qiu Chi.

Unfortunately, the Black Totem Snake had been resting and recovering since the battle at the Parthenon Temple. Otherwise, if he could Summon the Black Totem Snake here to join hands with his brother, they would be able to smash Qiu Zi and Qiu Chi!

“Brother Fan, what level are those creatures?” Zhang Xiaohou could not help but ask.

A single storm had brought two Great Ruler-level sea monsters here, but everyone knew it was only the beginning of the crisis along the shoreline. More battles were going to take place from here on. The country had allocated most of its firepower to defend the coastline by building the breakwalls and headquarters cities.

What would the real battle look like?

Were there many more creatures like Qiu Chi and Qiu Zi in the ocean?

Or perhaps… there were creatures that were even stronger than them?

“Among the Ruler-level creatures, the strongest I’ve stumbled into are the two Gods of Death of the Ancient Greeks: Hayla and the Sphinx. Both of them are land creatures. If they were in the water, they might end up in a draw against these two, but if these sea monsters were on land, Hayla and the Sphinx were stronger without a doubt. Even the Black Totem Snake could take on these two sea monsters at the same time on land,” Mo Fan declared.

Qiu Chi and Qiu Zi were not Supreme Rulers. They were at most Great Rulers.

The sea monsters tripled in strength compared to land creatures when they were in the ocean, which was why they seemed oddly strong when fighting in the strait.

“What about Baxia?” Zhang Xiaohou was slightly confused.

“Baxia is injured… Old Zhao told me before that if Baxia is really the Black Totem Snake’s brother, his strength should be much crazier than what we’ve just seen. At least Qiu Zi and Qiu Chi wouldn’t have a chance against him without relying on a dirty trick like the parasites,” Mo Fan said.

“I see…” Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

“Major General Zhang, time is running out!” The captain’s face had darkened. She had no clue what the two were discussing.

“Oh, time to go! Take care, Brother Fan!” Zhang Xiaohou jumped onto the Hurricane Hawk’s back.

Mo Fan watched Zhang Xiaohou and the slender captain lift off into the sky. He shook his head, smiling, “Damn that monkey; the country has already assigned such a beautiful cold subordinate under him. Should he consider joining some organization, too…”

Mo Fan looked into the distance after Zhang Xiaohou left. He saw how cunning Qiu Chi was. It pretended like it was fleeing deeper into the ocean to have a proper showdown with Baxia, yet it had gathered the sea monsters to surround Baxia instead!

Qiu Chi did not stand a chance against Baxia in a duel, so it had decided to abuse their numbers.

However, Baxia was not intimidated in the slightest. He mercilessly crushed every sea monster that attacked him. The disgusting parasites might be a threat to him, but that did not mean he would treat the Viscera Hunters and the Scarlet Soaring Demons seriously! If he was cocky enough, he could just take a nap and let the Viscera Hunters and Scarlet Soaring Demons attack him. He would surrender right away if these creatures could even leave a wound on him!

Baxia was not afraid of the Viscera Hunters and Scarlet Soaring Demons. He swung his claws furiously, shattering the Viscera Hunters into pieces and smashing the Scarlet Soaring Demons. The sea monsters completely lost their courage after Baxia swung his claws around briefly.

After the Ocean Father had passed away, Baxia was basically the only Ruler left in the East China Sea. These Viscera Hunters that came from some unknown ocean only knew how to bully the weak and fear the strong. They quickly retreated and avoided contact with Baxia.

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were even worse. Their species had always stayed in the East China Sea, and they knew about Baxia in the first place. When the true ruler of this sea unleashed his wrath, they had no choice but to submit themselves to him!

Baxia stared down at the Scarlet Soaring Demons. His eyes were showing no mercy.

If it was any other species which was forced to submit themselves to Qiu Zi and Qiu Chi just to stay alive, Baxia would consider sparing their lives. However, the Scarlet Soaring Demons were not necessarily any better than the outsiders like the Viscera Hunters. They deserved to die!

Baxia exhaled a destructive breath across the surface of the sea!

The Scarlet Soaring Demons did not dare to move. The breath swept past them and erased them from the surface of the Earth. Even their souls had perished!

Qiu Chi was extremely mad after seeing that. The army of sea monsters had almost filled up the area, yet not many of the species dared to step forward to fight Baxia. They were all trembling in fear like cowards!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Young man, are you hurt?” the Sound Mage’s voice suddenly echoed in Mo Fan’s ears.

Mo Fan looked toward the bridge and saw the Sound Mage was actually quite far away from him. The man had obviously transmitted his voice into his ears.

“I’m fine, do you need me to do anything?” Mo Fan asked.

“The sea monsters are entering the strait from the east. There are more of them behind the waves we are looking at from here. Gaoqi Airport and Jimei University are located at the entrance of the strait. The school still has land available. I notice that you are an artillery Mage, so may I ask you to head to Jimei University and bombard the sea monsters who are entering the strait with your spells? It will reduce their numbers before they reach the strait,” the Sound Mage said.

Jimei University was directly opposite Mo Fan’s position, very close to the strait. The terrain was not that high, so most of the school was submerged in seawater. However, the hills and the buildings were perfect for Mo Fan to fight on!

“Alright, I’ll go there at once,” Mo Fan agreed.

“Since you are a Super Mage, I’ll place you in charge of the battle there. Many students and teachers of the school are waiting,” the Sound Mage said.

“Leave it to me!”

—

Even though Jimei University was opposite the strait, which was around four kilometers away, Mo Fan was a non-swimmer and unable to fly, and did not dare cross the strait to the other side. Most importantly, the strait was now a battlefield for the fight between the three Super Level advisors and Qiu Zi. He had no clue whether Qiu Zi was going to vent its frustrations on him if he crossed the strait.

Mo Fan simply ran to Jimei Bridge and wove through the crowd with his Fleeing Shadow.

The bridge was fully crowded with civilians. Luckily, the situation was still under control with the protection provided by the barrier. The people were slowly being evacuated.

Mo Fan noticed there were many Earth Mages on the bridge as he was crossing it. They were using Earth Wave to speed the civilians up. The tactic was quite effective. It would take ages for them to evacuate the city if they were merely walking at their own paces!

Mo Fan reached the other side of the bridge and saw a Water Mage riding the waves. “That should be it… mm? Someone is riding the waves. He seems to be heading in the same direction too.” The waves were heading in the direction of his destination. The Water Mage simply stood on the waves while they were rolling toward Jimei University.

“Hey, kind sir, give me a ride please, I’m on my way to Jimei University too!” Mo Fan quickly yelled when he saw the man brush past him.

“What are you doing? I have urgent matters to attend to,” the Mage on the waves snarled.

The place was in such great chaos. How could he possibly have the time to give someone a ride? Besides, he was the director of the Water School in Jimei University, not a f**king cab who would stop whenever someone waved at him!

The man ignored Mo Fan and continued on his way.

Mo Fan’s head hurt when he saw the fierce waves in front of him.

He had the option to cross the waves with Blink, but it would be a waste of his energy if he had to rely on Blink to travel such a long distance. The battle had been going on for quite some time. It was not like he had unlimited energy.

“Are you a student too? Hurry up and get on my Summoned Beast!” A Maga with a long ponytail showed up beside Mo Fan. She had come to a stop after hearing Mo Fan’s yell.

“Oh, thank you so much, fellow schoolmate!” Mo Fan jumped onto the back of the young woman’s Summoned Beast.

Mo Fan was quite surprised when he observed the Summoned Beast clearly. The Maga’s Contracted Beast was a Sea Gong Fighter! Mo Fan was not an expert about the Summoning Element, but the official documents of the Summoning Element had records on a lot of rare Contracted Beasts. Among them, the Sea Gong Fighter was a powerful Contracted Beast that was extremely friendly and loyal to humans. Mo Fan had seen their young being sold at crazy prices during more than one auction.

He had failed to get on the waves previously, yet a Summoner with an impressive Contracted Beast had shown up instead!

“Fellow schoolmate? I’m not a student, I’m a teacher,” the Summoner giggled.

“Oh, I’m not a student either!”

Mo Fan followed the Summoner to Jimei University. According to the Sound Mage, he was supposed to set himself up like a defensive cannon on this side of the strait, and bombard the army of sea monsters that were invading the strait.

If so, Mo Fan had to find a suitable location. It had to be close to the strait so the sea monsters were within range of his spells. Second, it had to be on the high ground so the place was not submerged underwater, preventing the sea monsters from flanking him. Last, the place should have tall buildings around it. Wouldn’t it make more sense to set up a cannon at the tallest spot?

“Fellow teacher, may I ask is there any place that fits these criteria?” Mo Fan shared his thoughts with the Summoner.

“The president of the Donghai Magic Association has already sent someone to command us. You just need to come with me to the gathering point and follow his orders,” the Summoner said.

“…Ugh, I’m the commander!” Mo Fan told her.

The Summoner did not treat Mo Fan’s words seriously, as she had placed her attention on the students on a kiosk. They rode the Sea Gong Fighter to the kiosk.

“Students, get on my beast now,” the Summoner ordered.

“Miss Biling, we’ve been waiting for you… a whole bunch of Scarlet Soaring Demons are heading toward the strait from the lake behind the library. They will be able to invade the island through Gaoqi Airport once they cross the strait. We are at the rear of the path the sea monsters are taking. We might be able to take them out,” a representative among the students said with glittering eyes.

The student was very eager to show off his strength. He was somehow very excited about the fight!

“Alright, we’ll head to the library. The director of the Water School, Deng Yongchuan, is already ahead of us. I saw him heading to the library. We aren’t sure when the commander is going to arrive. Let’s prepare ourselves in advance first,” the Summoner named Biling said sternly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was going to say something, but he knew these people were not going to believe he was the commander even if he tried to convince them.

He followed them to the library. It was a sturdy building that happened to be on a little hill. The seawater had yet to reach its first floor. He could see the whole entrance to the strait through the windows of the library.

From afar, he could see a sea monster every few meters swimming in the gray water, not to mention those that were under the surface.

The sea monsters were heading toward the relatively narrow entrance of the strait from all directions. The density of the sea monsters was quite high at the entrance of the strait, similar to the entrance of a subway during peak times…

The sea monsters would travel for another kilometer after entering the strait before turning to the south to invade the island through the Gaoqi Airport, which was located on the shore opposite Mo Fan. It was just as the student had mentioned before. Jimei University happened to be behind the sea monsters’ entry point. They could inflict a huge number of casualties to the ranks of the sea monsters if they were to attack them from here!

“Are these people all we have?” the director of the Water School said with a frown.

“More students are heading our way, but we don’t really have much fighting power,” Biling admitted.

“If we attack the sea monsters from here, our spells have to cover a distance of a kilometer and a half across the water. Most of our spells won’t have enough range unless the sea monsters are heading right toward us,” a Wind Element teacher spoke up.

“Yeah, even us teachers won’t be able to attack the sea monsters from here, let alone the students.”

More students arrived at the library as the teachers were figuring out a plan.

Mo Fan roughly estimated about fifty people for each primary Element. There were around a hundred people split up among the rest of the Elements, too. There were around four hundred people, but most of them were Intermediate Mages.

If these Intermediate Mages were grouped into formations to attack with the same spell, they could deal a destructive blow to the enemy. They should be able to thin out the army of sea monsters just as they entered the strait.

But they still had the same problem: their range was limited!

The distance was around one and a half kilometers. A Fiery Fist was a spell with rather outstanding range, yet it could only travel up to two hundred meters away. Its damage would drop as it traveled further.

The Thunderbolt’s range was limited too, as the Mages would have to be at a range where they could control where to accumulate their magic to cast the Lightning Spell.

The Wind Mages’ spells had a greater range, but even if they were to stack their Wind Spells up into a huge Wind Disc, it would be impressive if it could cover a distance of merely a kilometer!

Considering the altitude and terrain of the library, if the spells were treated as projectiles, it might help to increase their range, but it still was not enough to solve the problem.

“We can compress the space. If there are Space Mages here, they can compress the path that our spells are traveling in so our attacks could reach the sea monsters,” Biling suggested.

“Miss Biling, why have I never heard of the Space Element being used in such a way before?” the director of the Water School, Deng Yongchuan, spoke up promptly.

Mo Fan too was dumbfounded when he heard the words.

Compressing the space to increase the range of spells, splendid idea…

Either way, Mo Fan could not do it. He knew how to compress the space, but there were many other factors involved still.

“Does someone know how to do that?” Mo Fan asked.

“Leave it to me!” an aged Mage came up to them.

The old Mage had a white beard, and was dressed in plain clothes. Several Mages in similar outfits stood behind him. Mo Fan could sense a familiar aura from them. They were all Space Mages!

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered when he saw them.

“Young man, you must be the commander whom the president has sent here,” the old Mage stopped in front of Mo Fan.

“That’s me,” Mo Fan nodded.

“I was utterly impressed by your courage when you were fighting the two beasts. I’m the director of the Space School of Jimei University, Lin Du. These are my students; they are the Space Mages of this school,” Lin Du said calmly.

“Oh, it’s an honor to meet you all!” Mo Fan had no idea who the person was. He was simply being courteous.

Deng Yongchuan, Biling, the Wind Mage, and the students who had gathered at the library all looked at Mo Fan in astonishment.

Why would the president assign someone who looked just like a student to be the commander?

“You’re the commander?” Deng Yongchuan harrumphed coldly.

“That’s me!” Mo Fan confirmed.

“I seriously don’t believe you are capable of leading us judging from your age. We should be relieved that you aren’t holding us back,” Deng Yongchuan sniffed.

“The Donghai President might be under a lot of pressure trying to command the battle to assign someone like him as the commander. Director Lin Du, you should be in charge instead,” the representative among the students said.

Lin Du frowned. He did not expect these people to be so against the idea of making Mo Fan the commander. He was about to rebuke them when he felt a strong Aura bursting out of the young man’s body. It felt like the library was being targeted by a great thunderstorm. No one dared to breathe when they felt the wild Lightning Magic lingering in the sky.

Lin Du immediately looked at Mo Fan and saw him engulfed in wild lightning. Everyone dropped their jaws when they saw the wild energy around him!

Mo Fan had lost his temper. “I have no time to waste on you arrogant people! If you think I am not worthy to be the commander, I shall deal with the sea monsters myself while the rest of you continue to waste your time deciding who’s the commander!”

He was seriously left speechless by these arrogant pricks! Lin Du had already told them he was the commander, yet they were still doubting him, forcing him to control the situation with his Domain. Wouldn’t it be better if he used the Domain against the sea monsters instead?

“Young man, please don’t be mad. They just didn’t expect you to be a Super Lightning Mage at such a young age… Fellow directors and teachers, this young man’s courage and strength are outstanding. He was the one who Sealed off the Number One Disastrous Beast’s bone whip with his Super Lightning Spell!” Lin Du announced.

Lin Du was a Super Mage too. He was at the scene when it all happened. He had witnessed how Mo Fan Sealed off Qiu Chi’s bone whip in person!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The directors of the schools did not dare speak any further. Even the proud director of the Water School, Deng Yongchuan, only dared to glare at Mo Fan without voicing his disagreement. Only the face of the representative of the students who was so excited for the battle stayed blank.

Super Level?

The young man was only around his age. How was he a Super Mage already?

Did he eat some magical pills to boost his cultivation?

On second thought, some clans would use some ancient and extreme methods to forcibly raise one or two Super Mages, but those people were just like nerds, and had zero practical skills.

“Mr. Lin Du, is the Space Compression Bridge you just mentioned going to work?” Mo Fan asked Lin Du.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. It’s a technique I invented, yet it rarely comes in handy. My students here have been practicing it with me. We should be able to tackle our lack of range if the few of us establish a Space Compression Bridge,” Lin Du said.

“Let’s not waste any time, then. The Scarlet Soaring Demons have already reached the opposite shore. Mr. Lin Du, I’ll leave it to you. The Lightning Element is deadlier against sea monsters. All Lightning Mages will form a team, while Wind Mages and Ice Mages slow down the Scarlet Soaring Demons and limit the space they can move in before the Lightning Mages cast their spells,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had been through many battles. He would have seen pigs run even if he had never eaten pork. He had no trouble giving instructions in a battle.

The university did not have many Lightning Mages, only thirteen of them in total. Mo Fan roughly inspected their cultivation and was quite disappointed when he noticed their cultivation was below average.

It was perfectly normal, since the odds of Awakening the Lightning Element was extremely low. The chance of Awakening the Lightning Element as the first Element was a thousand to one. Even if someone were to use an Awakening Stone to Awaken the Lightning Element as their secondary Element, the odds were still low. This number of Lightning Mages was already considered high if they were not currently in a university.

The thirteen Lightning Mages were only at the Intermediate Level, apart from a teacher in the Advanced Level. Mo Fan assigned the teacher to be in charge of the group.

The rest of the Elements were Wind, Earth, Ice, Light, and Fire.

The chance of Awakening the Fire Element as a secondary Element was not too low, thus the Fire Element was much more common among Intermediate Mages. Many people were willing to spend money on an Awakening Stone to Awaken the Fire Element.

The rest of the students formed five teams based on their Elements and went into positions on the higher ground.

After grouping the students based on their Elements, Lin Du quickly and efficiently constructed the Space Compression Bridge.

Normally, the Space Compression Bridge was invisible, but the heavy rain pouring down from the sky outlined an obvious archway between Jimei University and the strait. Mo Fan summoned a Fire Burst by flipping his hand and tossed it at the bridge.

The Fire Burst faded slightly amid the rain. It quickly crossed the tunnel of the Space Element and reached the center of the strait before falling into the water like a projectile.

“Splendid, that is great!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing the technique. He had to ask the old Space Mage to teach him the trick once he had the time. It might come in handy on certain occasions!

“Commander, how about us?” Miss Biling asked with a confused look.

Mo Fan had only assigned tasks for the Elemental Mages. He was not intending to assign roles to the rest of the Mages, including Miss Biling and the students. They were puzzled as they had no clue what they were supposed to do.

“The rest of you will defend the library and the hill,” Mo Fan said.

“Why do we even need to defend this place? We are currently on the land. The sea monsters will all be rushing into the city,” the student representative complained.

“Just do as I say, what’s with all the nonsense?” Mo Fan snarled impatiently.

“What…what do you mean by that!?” the student representative blushed in anger.

“Yang Zhe, just listen to the commander. We’ll be on standby here,” Biling pulled the student representative back.

—

Mo Fan stood at the highest point on the library. He was able to observe the entire strait from his position. Countless Scarlet Soaring Demons were heading toward Gaoqi Airport. These amphibians were indeed perfect vanguards for the army of sea monsters. Their crimson skin made them look like wriggling pieces of meat crawling through the strait as they were approaching Gaoqi Airport.

Jimei University’s library was on the other side of the strait, opposite the shore that the sea monsters were invading.

“Wind Mages, Ice Mages, restrict their movement!” Mo Fan gave the order when he noticed the time had come as the density of the Scarlet Soaring Demons peaked.

“Leave it to us!”

“Make sure you direct your spells through the Space Compression Bridge!” Mo Fan reminded them.

Wind Spells appeared above the strait in abundance. The Wind Discs collided with one another and combined into a wild Wind Domain, drawing the seawater into the air.

On the other side, the Ice Spells poured down like hail. They quickly froze the water after landing on the sea. Since the spells were focusing on an area, a thick layer of ice quickly formed on the surface!

The Scarlet Soaring Demons knew how to draw on their advantages and avoid their disadvantages. They purposely avoided the spells and proceeded to the middle where the spells were not landing.

It was exactly what Mo Fan had planned. He was trying to herd the Scarlet Soaring Demons tighter together.

Mo Fan was not hoping that the Wind Spells and Ice Spells would kill a lot of the Scarlet Soaring Demons. The strait was rather spacious. Despite the overwhelming numbers of the sea monsters, there was still space between them, allowing them to dodge the spells. Therefore, Mo Fan had planned to limit their available space with the Wind and Ice Spells.

“Lightning Element, Thunderbolt Cluster!”

Mo Fan signaled the Lightning Mages when he saw the Scarlet Soaring Demons were all clustered in the same area.

Mo Fan emitted a blinding light after giving the order. The Lightning Magic accumulating under Mo Fan’s control easily exceeded the presence of all of the Lightning Magic the thirteen students and the teacher were gathering. The power of Mo Fan’s spell was actually stronger than the whole team combined!

“Such an imperious Soul-grade Lightning!”

“Soul-grade Lightning? That’s not it!” Biling’s eyes flickered with astonishment and confusion when she saw Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant.

Chapter 1920: The Wild Lightning that Kills Instantly, Part Two

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The highest damage amplification of a Soul-grade Lightning Seed was sixfold. The power of the Soul-grade Lightning when Mo Fan was showing his Aura of a Super Mage was within expectations, but the Soul-grade Lightning he was using was double the strength of the Aura. It was wilder, stronger, and more destructive!

Even the whole Lightning School of the university might struggle to match Mo Fan’s lightning, let alone a group consisting of merely thirteen students and a teacher of the Lightning School.

Dense lightning strikes descended from the sky above the strait. They landed on the surface of the sea and blasted the Scarlet Soaring Demons into pieces while creating huge geysers of water.

The Lightning Magic could spread through the water. As the lightning struck continuously, the Scarlet Soaring Demons hidden under the water were also in danger. The high voltage surged between the Scarlet Soaring Demons like a school of fish being electrocuted. Those whose bodies were still intact eventually floated to the surface like dead fish, their abdomens facing up.

“The Fall of the Heavens!”

Mo Fan cast a Super Spell.

He did not use the Seal of the Nine Laws, since that was more suitable for trapping and killing a single target. It would only kill a limited number of Scarlet Soaring Demons under the current circumstances. As such, Mo Fan modified the Star Palace and combined the Lightning Magic provided by the Star Palace into a single lightning bolt!

The lightning bolt passed through the Space Compression Bridge and reached the sky above the strait. An extremely thick lightning bolt flashed across the gray sky before falling into the middle of the strait with a piercing light. Its flash blinded everyone temporarily!

Everyone’s vision turned white from the flaring of the spell. As their vision recovered, they saw a terrifying lightning bolt exploding among the Scarlet Soaring Demons. It spread wildly across the surface and plunged into the water. Its light illuminated the silhouettes of the creatures swimming in the water. To everyone’s astonishment, it actually showed the bones of the Scarlet Soaring Demons!

The lightning passed through the sea monsters’ skins and struck their bones. The Scarlet Soaring Demons were not just blasted into pieces by the lightning bolt, even their bones were blown into powder!

More dead bodies of the Scarlet Soaring Demons floated up to the surface. If the group of Lightning Mages was electrocuting a pond of fish, Mo Fan was simply blowing up the whole pond!

The random flickers of lightning lasted for some time. The students and teachers on the library had yet to recover from their astonishment.

The group of Lightning Mages began to doubt their lives when they saw the combined strength of their Lightning Spells was not even a tenth of the commander’s strength!

“All the sea monsters in that area are dead!” Deng Yongchuan rubbed his eyes. They were hurting a little from the blinding flashes, yet he could not resist the urge to stare at the area with wide eyes.

He killed them instantly!

They had no idea how many Scarlet Soaring Demons were planning to invade the city through the Gaoqi Airport, but they were quite sure that not a single one of the Scarlet Soaring Demons that had been forced into that area by the Wind and Ice Spells had survived.

“Aren’t the Scarlet Soaring Demons at the Warrior-level!?” The students dropped their jaws.

Warrior-level sea monsters…

The students who could kill a single Scarlet Soaring Demon on their own were already quite brilliant, yet the commander had blasted hundreds of them to death with a single Super Spell. In other words, the spell would kill all of them if he was targeting them instead!

“It seems like the president has made a brilliant choice sending you here!” Lin Du was truly impressed by the destruction that Mo Fan had caused.

It was rare for even a Super Mage to be able to cause such massive destruction. Even Lin Du had no idea how the young man did it.

“I managed to preserve the energy of my Lightning Element before. I’ll need to catch my breath. The rest of you can keep attacking with your spells. Try to leave an area for the Scarlet Soaring Demons to gather together. My Lightning will be able to eliminate them all if they are clustered together!” Mo Fan declared confidently.

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were not as strong as the Viscera Hunters, so Mo Fan’s Lightning with twelvefold damage amplification had no trouble killing them instantly, not to mention the overwhelming power provided by a Star Palace. He could greatly thin out the army of sea monsters that were invading Gaoqi Airport with another Super Spell!

—

Unsurprisingly, no one in the library dared to question Mo Fan again after witnessing his strength, and the rest of the teams diligently followed his orders. Their spells might not be strong enough to kill the Scarlet Soaring Demons, but if they simply focused on certain places, they could still force the Scarlet Soaring Demons to stay within a certain area.

The spells kept pouring down randomly, but there was a huge circle which was free from the bombardment of spells. The Scarlet Soaring Demons were clueless about the conspiracy and naively moved into the area. Little did they know, a huge lightning atomic bomb was waiting for them!

“Sky Lightning Demon Claws!”

This time, Mo Fan cast the Sky Lightning Claw, but unlike the Advanced Level version, the Sky Lightning Claws appeared in clusters. They were tearing at the sea monsters like lightning demons!

Blood and flesh scattered across the place again. The Scarlet Soaring Demons had no chance of enduring the damage from the Lightning Tyrant. The middle of the strait turned shockingly red and gory!

—

The command post at Gaoqi Airport…

Gaoqi Airport was located on a spacious stretch of land close to the shore and the sea. There were some hills close to the strait, so most Scarlet Soaring Demons were approaching the airport from the strait.

Zhang Xiaohou was currently in the command post. He was only a squadron leader instead of the commander here.

The commander was a general from the Southern Army. The man had a stern face at first, but soon looked puzzled when he saw the bright magic flashes from the opposite shore through the rain.

“Report, a pack of Scarlet Soaring Demons are invading the airport from the side of the hills!”

“Report, the second pack of Scarlet Soaring Demons from the strait is being massacred by a Super Mage from Jimei University! Almost a thousand of them were killed! The Scarlet Soaring Demons have slowed down their advance!” a Mage near the strait announced.

Zhang Xiaohou had also noticed the Sky Lightning Claws over the strait. His face was brimming with excitement.

“It must be Brother Fan, as expected of the Lightning Tyrant! It has killed almost a thousand sea monsters before they could reach the shore. It has significantly lifted the pressure from our shoulders!” Zhang Xiaohou commented.

The military could rely on certain formations and tactics to fill the gap in strength between them and demon creatures. However, a thousand Warrior-level Scarlet Soaring Demons were comparable to a troop of a thousand well-trained soldiers!

Chapter 1921: Massacring Little Demons

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

On top of the library…

Mo Fan was already channeling his fourth Lightning Spell, constructing another magnificent Star Palace. Its strong presence gathered the Lightning Magic for a dozen kilometers around to him. The whole strait could see its brilliance.

A student with the Water Element hurried over and blurted out in a panic, “Miss…Miss Biling, sea monsters are approaching from the beach garden. There’s a whole lot of them!”

“The beach garden? Isn’t that just below us? What kind of sea monsters?” Miss Biling asked urgently.

“The Scarlet Soaring Demons! They were hiding in the water previously, so we didn’t notice them until now!” the student answered.

Biling frowned. She purposely glanced at Mo Fan, who was channeling the Super Spell.

Mo Fan did not lose focus even after he heard every word from the student. He believed anyone with a brain would understand why he had not assigned roles to the rest of the students!

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were not a brainless species. They were obviously going to attack the university when they realized they were being flanked and attacked!

The continuous blasts from Mo Fan’s Lightning Spells and the students with Elemental Magic were similar to a super magic cannon firing at the sea monsters. The army of sea monsters was obviously going to suffer great casualties if they did not take out the magic cannon as soon as possible!

Therefore, there was only one reason why they had sent a troop of sea monsters to the university: to kill everything that posed a threat to their plans of invading the city!

Biling saw Mo Fan had no intention of responding, but she now understood why he had asked them to be on standby.

“The rest of you whose Primary Element isn’t Elemental Magic, come with me to the outside! We can’t let the sea monsters reach the library!” Miss Biling took over the responsibility of defending the library. Her Sea Gong Fighter was already in position on the hill.

The Sea Gong Fighter roared when it saw a few Scarlet Soaring Demons approaching the hill. It intercepted them quickly and smashed them into pieces before the rest of the students arrived.

“There are more of them down there!” the student representative said. He was looking excited again, as if he finally had a chance to show his capabilities.

“Stay on the hill. Don’t go any further. Our job is to defend the library!” Miss Biling ordered.

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were having trouble climbing the hill with Biling’s Sea Gong Fighter in the way. Many Scarlet Soaring Demons were immediately reduced to gore splashing across the place when they tried to sneak past the Sea Gong Fighter!

—

Mo Fan looked down the hill and was relieved when he saw the students sticking close to the Sea Gong Fighter while fighting the Scarlet Soaring Demons.

Mo Fan was not necessarily afraid of the Scarlet Soaring Demons, but he would not be able to cast his Super Spells so easily if the Scarlet Soaring Demons got too close to him. He was still not adept enough with the Super Spells!

The fourth Lightning Spell was completed. It went through the Space Bridge and killed a lot more of the sea monsters instantly. Happily, the Soul Remnants of the Scarlet Soaring Demons still ended up flowing into the Little Loach Pendant, even though they died over a kilometer away!

The blast came down after the number of sea monsters in the area peaked. The spell ended up killing even more Scarlet Soaring Demons than before!

“Qiu Zi is starting to get impatient. It has ordered the sea monsters to charge recklessly. If they waited a little longer and invaded the city through Wuyuan Bay and other places that were relatively lower, my spells wouldn’t be able to kill so many of them!” Mo Fan grinned as he stared at the Scarlet Soaring Demons.

Qiu Zi was oddly furious. It kept screeching loudly, giving orders to the sea monsters and demanding they attack the bridge and the city. The sea monsters had no choice but to push forward recklessly despite their fear.

Normally, a Super Spell with a large area of coverage would only kill about a hundred Warrior-level creatures at most. It was rare for a Super Spell to kill almost five hundred creatures at once like Mo Fan was pulling off!

The sea monsters were packed too tightly. Normally, they would maintain a distance of a few dozen meters from one another, but in order to break through the defenses and invade Gaoqi Airport, the gaps between the Scarlet Soaring Demons were less than three meters. Some Scarlet Soaring Demons were even climbing on top of their comrades’ bodies!

The creatures were densely packed together, without any reliable defenses. Mo Fan’s Super Lightning spell with twelvefold damage amplification could easily ignore their numbers and kill every sea monster caught inside it!

The Lightning Tyrant was able to kill the Scarlet Soaring Demons instantly. The army of Scarlet Soaring Demons that was initially clogging the entry point to the Gaoqi Airport was thinned out by half.

This outcome was significant, since Mo Fan was only the first cannon tower at the front line. As a matter of fact, the numbers and strength of the students here were not comparable to a platoon of five hundred Battlemages, but Mo Fan’s damage output had already surpassed that of a troop of five hundred Lightning Mages!

Lightning Magic was the deadliest among the Elemental Magicks, but not many divisions had enough people to form a force of five hundred Lightning Mages. The Scarlet Soaring Demons were supposed to be the sea monsters’ main forces, but Mo Fan had eliminated too many of them before they even reached the shore. It was absolutely insane!

“Keep going, I need some rest!” Mo Fan’s head was spinning after he completed the fourth Star Palace.

He had only become a Super Mage recently. His energy was still lacking, so he was definitely going to struggle after casting a Super Spell several times within such a short period.

“Commander, you’ve killed too many Scarlet Soaring Demons. Some of their leaders are coming after us! We don’t have enough firepower at the beach garden to fend them off!” the teacher with the Wind Element spoke up.

“I’m aware of it,” Mo Fan nodded.

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were finally treating him seriously. They had sent almost eight hundred Scarlet Soaring Demons to attack Jimei University. They were all Warrior-level creatures, and fairly close now. He could no longer take out a few hundred of them with a single blast like before.

“We might have to retreat. We won’t be able to hold on for any longer,” the Wind Mage continued.

“That won’t be necessary!” Mo Fan shook his head and began searching for the director of the Water School. He noticed the man was not too far away from him. He said, “Ask the director of the Water School to come here.”

His Lightning Element was currently out of gas, but it was not the only Element Mo Fan had. He might not stand a chance against powerful creatures like Qiu Zi and Qiu Chi, but he was definitely experienced at massacring little demons!

Chapter 1922: This is Mo Fan’s Army

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“What do you need from me?” Deng Yongchuan arrived with a straight face, but his tone had changed a lot.

It made a lot of sense. The director of the Water School was basically a peak Advanced Mage. It would be impressive if he could take on a hundred Scarlet Soaring Demons himself. However, Mo Fan had killed at least thirteen hundred sea monsters with just four spells. He was obviously no match for the young man!

“A lot of Scarlet Soaring Demons are coming our way. The students and teachers won’t be able to hold them off, but if we lose the hill, we won’t be able to attack the sea monsters anymore. We must hold our ground,” Mo Fan said.

Range was no longer a problem with Lin Du’s Space Bridge. Their spells could now reach the needed distance, but altitude still remained a huge factor.

The seawater had drowned many places, so the high ground was extremely important for Mo Fan. They could not afford to lose the library!

“I know that too, but these are all the people we have. If we don’t retreat in time, we will be surrounded by the Scarlet Soaring Demons soon. The students are going to die!” Deng Yongchuan said.

“I have an army, but they aren’t good at fighting in water. If you and your students can draw the water nearby away, they can easily defend the place,” Mo Fan said.

“What army?” Deng Yongchuan asked.

“Don’t worry about that, just tell me if you can make it work, and at least make sure the area below the hill is dry,” Mo Fan said.

“That won’t be a problem. If you need land to fight on, the Earth Mages can help by raising the ground too,” Deng Yongchuan suggested.

“Great, the Fire, Lightning, Wind, Light, and Ice Mages will keep firing at the sea monsters in the strait. I’ll place you in charge of the Earth and Water Mages to create a suitable environment,” Mo Fan nodded.

—

The hill was covered in fresh blood. The water at the beach was dyed red from the remains of the Scarlet Soaring Demons floating on it. There were dead bodies of students down there too.

“Miss Biling, we have to go!” a Fire Mage on the higher ground yelled.

Biling had already witnessed quite a few students being dragged away by the Scarlet Soaring Demons and torn to pieces. She knew that they had no chance of stopping the Scarlet Soaring Demons even if they insisted on staying behind. She immediately told everyone to retreat.

“Back off, my Summoned Beast will cover you,” Miss Biling said.

The Sea Gong Fighter had killed dozens of Scarlet Soaring Demons in a short period of time, yet there were just too many Scarlet Soaring Demons. The Sea Gong Fighter was covered in wounds now.

The students gradually retreated to the library a safe distance from the sea monsters. They did not lack the ability to flee and soon returned to the plaza in front of the library.

Biling saw most of the students had reached a safe spot. She immediately gave the Sea Gong Fighter the order to retreat from the area.

However, she heard a few strange cries. The Sea Gong Fighter had just broken free from the surround of the Scarlet Soaring Demons when three fast-moving shadows intercepted it. Its lower limbs were brutally torn apart. Even its bones were broken.

The Sea Gong Fighter cried out in pain. It fell onto the ground and smashed heavily into a pool of mud.

Biling’s face turned pale. She looked behind the Sea Gong Fighter and noticed three huge beasts emitting crimson lights rising among the Scarlet Soaring Demons. They had been waiting for the Sea Gong Fighter to lower its guard so they could cripple it!

The Sea Gong Fighter could not run anymore, and was soon drowned by a terrifying tide of Scarlet Soaring Demons. Their claws tore at the Sea Gong Fighter continuously. Its blood began pouring out like a fountain. Biling’s eyes soon teared up.

“Scarlet…Scarlet Rending Demons!” The student representative was also grim now.

Three Commander-level creatures had shown up at once!

Biling wiped her tears. She rushed toward the Sea Gong Fighter before anyone could react.

“Miss Biling, don’t go!” the students cried out in a panic.

The Sea Gong Fighter was completely surrounded, and had no chance of escaping. The woman was basically jumping into a burning pit if she rushed toward her Summoned Beast now.

The Sea Gong Fighter seemed to have sensed something. It rose to its feet even though the Scarlet Soaring Demons were all over it. It spat a gust of wind in Biling’s direction.

The wind was not targeting the Scarlet Soaring Demons. It instead knocked Biling, who was no longer able to think straight, away from it.

The wind knocked Biling back, but her heart had shattered further into pieces!

The Sea Gong Fighter was the strongest on the defensive side. It was the biggest hindrance for the Scarlet Soaring Demons, so the sea monsters were obviously going to take the Sea Gong Fighter out first while it was by itself.

The Sea Gong Fighter’s lower limbs had broken, but it did not sit and wait for its death. The beast kept swinging its sharp gongs around as the enemy kept coming from all directions, slaughtering the Scarlet Soaring Demons!

However, the sea monsters had ot noticed the ground was rising and the seawater falling…

“AWOO!”

A series of thunderous howls suddenly came from behind the library. They burst out of the woods like a ferocious gust of wind and surged toward the beach!

The students trembled after hearing the howls.

A strong wind blew past as huge creatures with white fur poured down the hill. Some even jumped over the students’ heads and sprinted at the Scarlet Soaring Demons like they had spotted some delicacies!

The wolves just kept coming. The students would occasionally see wolves built like giant bears ramming at the Scarlet Soaring Demons menacingly!

The students in the library were stunned when they saw the overwhelming number of wolves. Since when was there a wolves’ den behind their library?

There were White-Marked Wolves, Enormous White Wolves, and Moon-Devouring White Wolves…

Mo Fan had collected a lot of Soul Essences recently. He had sacrificed half of them to the Magic Medium Ring and increased the capacity of the Beast Tide to three hundred and thirty-three Summoned Beasts!

There were around three hundred White-Marked Wolves, twenty Enormous White Wolves, and thirteen Moon-Devouring White Wolves!

There were only eleven Moon-Devouring White Wolves before, but each of them was a Commander-level creature.

Mo Fan had purposely given two Commander-level Soul Essences to two of the Enormous White Wolves so they were able to evolve into Moon-Devouring White Wolves for this battle. Therefore, he now had thirteen Commander-level wolves under his command!

If the spell did not have a time limit and was so energy-consuming, Mo Fan would not have treated these petty creatures seriously. His army of wolves could easily take care of the sea monsters. He did not have to lift a single finger!

This was his army!

Chapter 1923: Wolf Army vs Scarlet Soaring Demons

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Thirteen Commander-level Moon-Devouring White Wolves led the way as the army of wolves charged at the Scarlet Soaring Demons. The water nearby had been drawn away constantly by Deng Yongchuan and other Water Mages. It looked just like the tide was falling rapidly away from the beach.

Shallow water was not much of a problem for the Moon-Devouring White Wolves and the White-Marked Wolves. The remaining puddles splashed everywhere as the Moon-Devouring White Wolves lunged at the Scarlet Soaring Demons, their claws tearing around and ripping at the sea monsters’ throats with their fangs. The Scarlet Soaring Demons were just like ordinary Warrior-level creatures when there was no water around. The Commander-level Moon-Devouring White Wolves could easily massacre them all!

The Moon-Devouring White Wolves attacked multiple Scarlet Soaring Demons at once. Their fangs tore at the vulnerable parts of one Scarlet Soaring Demon, causing blood to splatter everywhere, while their claws crushed the bones of another Scarlet Soaring Demon to pieces. They promptly pounced at other Scarlet Soaring Demons nearby without having to confirm the deaths of the previous two. They wove through the Scarlet Soaring Demons, rending with their claws at every step, killing the Scarlet Soaring Demons in a straight line. Almost every Moon-Devouring White Wolf was capable of doing the same!

“Awooo!”

The Warrior-level Scarlet Soaring Demons were never Big Wolf’s target. He had set his eyes on the three Scarlet Rending Demons, who were about the same color as lava.

Big Wolf let out a provoking cry. He was basically telling them, “Come at me, the three of you!”

The leader of the Moon-Devouring White Wolves was extremely proud, yet he did have the right to be full of himself, as he was now a Great Commander, and his strength significantly surpassed the rest of the Moon-Devouring White Wolves. Meanwhile, the three Scarlet Rending Demons were only Lesser Commanders. They were a lot weaker than the Scarlet Rending Demon that Mo Fan had bumped into at Wuyuan Bay.

Big Wolf had a hot temper. When he saw the Scarlet Rending Demons standing still, he simply cleared a path by shoving the Scarlet Soaring Demons in his way aside and took the initiative to attack them!

The three Scarlet Rending Demons were surrounded by over a hundred Scarlet Soaring Demons. They assumed they were safe, but the Aura of the Moon-Devouring White Wolf gave them a huge fright when it charged at them.

Second Wolf and Third Wolf did not have good tempers, either. As the second and third leaders of the wolf den, they clearly did not want to fall too far behind Big Wolf, so they also targeted the Commander-level Scarlet Rending Demons. As the Scarlet Soaring Demons were shoved away by Big Wolf, they also managed to clear paths toward the Scarlet Rending Demons!

“Awooo!”

Mo Fan’s Beast Tide had not Summoned just the thirteen ferocious Moon-Devouring White Wolves; there were around three hundred White-Marked Wolves too! The lesser wolves sprinted down the hill toward the beach. Those watching felt like they had outnumbered the Scarlet Soaring Demons several times over, even though the Scarlet Soaring Demons still had an advantage in numbers. They were ready to reap a harvest!

The wolves charged ahead. The morale of the White-Marked Wolves peaked as their commanders were clearing paths ahead. They dove in and began to tear the Scarlet Soaring Demons to pieces!

A beast covered in blood and wounds slowly limped its way out of the pack of wolves amid the chaos.

Biling had returned to the beach. She burst into tears of joy when she saw her Sea Gong Fighter had survived.

The Sea Gong Fighter was very tenacious. Many of its bones were exposed after the Scarlet Soaring Demons tore its flesh apart, but it was still alive. However, if it weren’t for the hot-tempered Big Wolf, Second Wolf, and Third Wolf, the Sea Gong Fighter basically had no chance of surviving. The three reckless creatures had traumatized the entire troop of Scarlet Soaring Demons so much that they had completely forgotten to deal the final blow to the Sea Gong Fighter.

“Where did so many Summoned Beasts come from?” the student representative blurted out in disbelief.

It was unbelievable! The ferocious wolves were like heavenly soldiers. The library that was going to fall had instead turned into a bloodbath for the Scarlet Soaring Demons. The escape routes of the Scarlet Soaring Demons had been removed by Water Magic, and now they were no longer able to retreat to the strait!

The Scarlet Soaring Demons totally lost their sense of security after the water in the area was drawn away, and were like a sheet of loose sand when the army of wolves charged in at them. It served as a great contrast to the wolves, who were becoming braver the longer they fought.

“These…these are all your Summoned Beasts?” Biling went back to the library. She was no longer able to shift her teary eyes away from Mo Fan.

Biling was a Summoner, with the Summoning Element as her primary Element. Her Beast Tide could only Summon fifty demon rhinos at most to trample the enemy within a certain area. Such numbers were limited in use against the Scarlet Soaring Demons, as the fifty demon rhinos would soon lose their momentum against the overwhelming numbers of the Scarlet Soaring Demons.

Meanwhile, this commander’s Beast Tide was not only Summoning a bunch of creatures to clear a path, but he had simply moved a whole den of wolves from the Summoned Beast Plane over to their world. These well-trained wolves seemed to have all come from the same tribe. They were massacring the sea monsters!

“Why can you Summon so many of them at once? How did you do it?” Biling knew now was not the best time to ask it, yet she could not hold the urge back.

Three hundred Summoned Beasts! It was impossible for a normal Summoner to Summon so many creatures at once. It was not even a Super Spell!

Mo Fan did not answer her. He looked like he was very focused.

The truth was, he was not really doing much, since he had let Apas control the wolves. He could just answer the woman, yet he believed he should be reserved at times so he would be more mysterious to others.

This Miss Biling had basically taken the bait!

“We’ll discuss it in private once we are done here.” Mo Fan grasped the situation perfectly. He gave Biling a glimpse of hope just when she was about to feel disappointed.

“Oh… Sure, either way, you’ve saved my Sea Gong Fighter. Thank you so much,” Biling told him.

“I understand the precious relationship between a Summoner and their Contract Beast,” Mo Fan said.

Biling nodded solemnly.

She looked at the wolves and suddenly thought of something. If this was only his Beast Tide, what about his Contracted Beast? He had yet to Summon his Contracted Beast!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Time to continue, I’m done resting. It’s time to give these things some wild blasts!” Mo Fan returned to the high ground on the library.

The students were still firing their spells at the strait from above the library. However, the damage inflicted by their Intermediate Spells was fairly limited. The number of Scarlet Soaring Demons they had killed until now was still less than what Mo Fan had killed with a single Super Lightning Spell!

Their eyes glittered when they saw Mo Fan had returned, especially Lin Du.

“Brother Mo Fan, you’re back,” Lin Du greeted warmly.

Mo Fan felt a little awkward when he heard how the man addressed him. Imagine a man in his sixties calling a young man in his twenties ‘brother’. How were the rest of the directors and teachers in their forties going to feel?

“Senior, we still need your help to hold the lines.” The teacher with the Wind Element sensibly changed the way he addressed Mo Fan.

They had around a hundred people, yet their damage could not even match a single spell from Mo Fan. His strength definitely deserved their respect, regardless of their age difference.

“Senior, do you already have two Elements at the Super Level? Are those wolves yours too?” a female student who was resting asked in admiration.

“You’ve truly embarrassed us all. Even with us all combined, we are still not as good as you. Your strength is comparable to a troop of soldiers!” Lin Du sincerely expressed how impressed he was.

When they were fighting the Number One Disastrous Beast, Super Mages like Lin Du felt like there was nothing they could do. They were unable to locate the enormous beast’s weaknesses, and they were afraid of dying to the beast.

However, Mo Fan had managed to Seal one of its bone whips, or more Super Mages might have died in the battle.

Even now, Lin Du could not help but admit how strong Mo Fan was after witnessing his Lightning and Summoning Elements.

“Not really, my destructive spells could only do so much too if it weren’t for your help,” Mo Fan replied humbly.

Mo Fan’s Lightning Element was running out of enough energy for him to use the Super Spell. He could only Cast it twice more at most. Unfortunately, there was no one with the Blessing Element among them. If someone like Xinxia was around to replenish his energy, he might be able to fire a few more blasts at the sea monsters. He would be able to kill around three thousand Scarlet Soaring Demons before they even reached the island!

The number of sea monsters that were entering the island was currently at its highest. Mo Fan fired two Super Lightning Spells at the strait and eliminated around seven hundred more Scarlet Soaring Demons. The mouth of the strait was choked with the dead bodies of Scarlet Soaring Demons. Not only were the students dumbfounded, even the military and the members of the Magic Association at Gaoqi Airport and Jimei Bridge were astounded.

—

“The energy of my Lightning Element has depleted. I can only use my Fire Element from here on.” Mo Fan took a deep breath. His face was a little pale.

“You should get some rest. Even though different Elements have a different energy supply, you will still wear yourself out if you keep using your magic. I can see that you’re a little overdrawn,” Lin Du said.

“I’m fine, my Fire Element won’t consume a lot of my energy. Oh, can I ask you something? I keep detecting an unusual aura from the school. I believe it’s Dark Magic. Is there a special place brimming with its energy in the school?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan had sensed a strong dark Aura after he arrived at Jimei University. It was not an evil presence, but a pure source of dark energy. It was coming from the hill behind the library.

“You’re very sharp. Our school does indeed have a Dark Moon Pavilion. An ancient scholar built it to collect the dark energy over time, thus our school’s Dark Magic is quite outstanding, especially the Shadow Element. Unfortunately, our Shadow Mages can’t really do much in a battle like this,” Lin Du said.

“My Fire Element is greatly hindered due to the environment. It won’t be as effective as the Lightning Element, but the sea monsters are still invading the island. If we don’t control their numbers, it will result in huge casualties, so I’m wondering if I should try using the Shadow Element…” Mo Fan said.

“The Shadow Element? It’s not a destructive Element, though?” Lin Du and Deng Yongchuan were confused by Mo Fan’s suggestion.

“I have a Dark Material that can attack the enemy, but it needs time to spread and grow…” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan’s Dark Material was similar to the Plant Element, which required the Mage to plant seeds under the ground and wait for them to sprout and their roots to grow. Mo Fan was unable to spread his Dark Material two kilometers away and form the Swamp of Darkness in the area where the sea monsters were.

“We haven’t seen a lot of offensive Dark Material before, but if you can do it, we are willing to provide you with the dark energy. It is possible to share the Dark Moon Pavilion’s energy. I will go and get the Dark Moon Crystal for you!” Lin Du immediately turned around.

“Director Lin, I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Deng Yongchuan was a little hesitant.

Deng Yongchuan was obviously going to hesitate since the Dark Moon Pavilion needed a long time just to refine a single Dark Moon Crystal. It was the most valuable possession of Jimei University. They would only use it on occasions when their school was being assessed!

How could they give away their treasure so easily?

“Now isn’t the time to keep it to ourselves! Brother Mo Fan isn’t obliged to help Xiamen in the first place, yet he’s willing to risk his life for us. Are we going to wait until the city is destroyed just because we want to hold on to the Dark Moon Crystal?” Lin Du said righteously.

Lin Du had obviously recognized Mo Fan. He knew Mo Fan was the student who had won the World College Tournament.

“Err, I’m only borrowing its energy. Why do you sound like I’m going to destroy it?” Mo Fan asked with a confused face.

“Brother Mo Fan, you might not know this, but the Dark Moon Pavilion is a tower that absorbs the energy of the moon. Normally, students can cultivate in it to boost their efficiency, but its greatest power is the ability to refine a Dark Moon Crystal when there’s sufficient moonlight. The crystal contains an enormous amount of pure dark energy, but the tower has only produced a single crystal over the past few years. Your Shadow Element will improve greatly if we give it to you! However, it’s more of a consumable, so it will be gone once you use it…However, we are willing to give it away if you can take out another wave of those sea monsters. Besides, you won the World College Tournament for our country. You have more right than anyone else to claim the Dark Moon Crystal!” Lin Du explained.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Pearl Institute had the Three Step Tower, which served as the backbone of the school.

The Dark Moon Pavilion was Jimei University’s equivalent landmark. Mo Fan had only sensed a source of dark energy at first, and did not expect the school to have such a unique heritage.

“I didn’t know it’s a consumable. The school should hold on to it. After all, I’m not from this school.” Mo Fan belatedly realized how precious the thing was. He sounded a little apologetic.

He might say that, but what the others thought he meant was no longer within his control!

As he thought, Deng Yongchuan seemed a little embarrassed after hearing Mo Fan’s words.

“I…I’ll go get it now.” Deng Yongchuan finally agreed with Lin Du. If the city ended up as debris and became a part of the sea, it was meaningless for them to hold onto their valuables.

Even though it was a waste to use the Dark Moon Crystal’s energy just to cast a spell, it would not kill a single sea monster if it was just kept on display!

Time was running short. Deng Yongchuan placed his students in charge of keeping the water away before he quickly headed to the Dark Moon Pavilion.

The Dark Moon Pavilion was located further inland. Deng Yongchuan would need some time to get it. Mo Fan looked toward the beach as he was catching his breath and saw the battle between his army of wolves and the Scarlet Soaring Demons had reached the most intensive stage.

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were in a terrible spot. The Commander-level Moon-Devouring White Wolves were simply too strong for them. The White-Marked Wolves just had to stick with their leaders and pick on the injured Scarlet Soaring Demons.

Mo Fan roughly estimated that the Scarlet Soaring Demons were about as strong as the White-Marked Wolves on the land. It was difficult to tell who was going to win if a White-Marked Wolf was fighting a Scarlet Soaring Demon, but the Scarlet Soaring Demons had already lost their morale. In addition, the students on the library roof were giving the army of wolves a hand too!

The outcome was very obvious. It was a one-sided victory!

“Awoo!!”

A Moon-Devouring White Wolf suddenly withdrew from the battle. It ran up the hill where the library was on and landed in front of Mo Fan after doing a flip in the air. It was like a ninja among the wolves!

Mo Fan looked at the wolf. He was not sure which one among the thirteen Moon-Devouring White Wolves it was. He could only recognize the three leaders.

The Moon-Devouring White Wolf lowered its head onto the ground like a humble servant. It placed an object glowing with a bloody-red light in front of Mo Fan.

“What’s this?” Mo Fan stared at the object with a confused face. He picked it up from the ground.

“Brother Mo Fan, it’s a Sea Monster Agate, a valuable item that contains the sea monster’s power. It can improve a Water Mage’s control of the Water Element significantly…” Lin Du told Mo Fan with glittering eyes.

“Improve a Mage’s control? This thing here?” Mo Fan said.

“Yes, and it’s extremely rare. If you craft a ring or a bracelet with it, you can sell it for a high price,” Lin Du said.

“For how much?” Mo Fan asked.

“Depends on the buyer, but at least seven hundred million.”

Mo Fan dropped his jaw. The price took him by surprise.

Money!

He loved money the most!

The object was more valuable than a Commander-level Soul Essence. It seemed to have dropped from one of the Scarlet Rending Demons. The Commander-level Moon-Devouring White Wolf immediately knew it was valuable with just a little sniff. It immediately returned and offered it to its master!

“Well done, I remember you now, I won’t forget you if I have something good for you,” Mo Fan patted the Moon-Devouring White Wolf that had lost half of its right ear. He was extremely pleased with the sensible creature!

The Sea Monster Agate was rather fragile, and the battle between the wolves and the Scarlet Soaring Demons was very chaotic. It would be quite normal if some idiot happened to step on the Sea Monster Agate and break it. Luckily, the chop-eared wolf was quite intelligent. It immediately gave it to its master.

“I’ve brought the stuff!” Deng Yongchuan’s voice came from behind them.

Mo Fan was still holding the warm Sea Monster Agate. Deng Yongchuan immediately noticed it when Mo Fan turned around. He immediately stood still and stared at the thing in Mo Fan’s hand.

“A Sea Monster Agate!” Deng Yongchuan exclaimed.

“Yeah, my Summoned Beast found it from a sea monster’s dead body,” Mo Fan said. He immediately realized something when he noticed the passionate look in Deng Yongchuan’s eyes. He took the initiative to speak, “How about this? I feel a little bad for taking the school’s valuable. I shall give this Sea Monster Agate which my army of wolves risked their lives to acquire to you as a gift.”

“No way, we can’t accept it. It’s your personal loot. Our school has offered you the Dark Moon Crystal to protect the island. It’s not the same, so please put it away,” Deng Yongchuan said sternly.

It was exactly what Mo Fan was waiting to hear. He nodded and put the object into his Space Bracelet.

“This is the Dark Moon Crystal. It’s a consumable. Go ahead and absorb its energy. It can temporarily provide you with abundant dark energy and greatly increase your cultivation,” Deng Yongchuan said.

“My Shadow Element has already peaked,” Mo Fan said.

“Oh, it will still benefit you,” Deng Yongchuan reassured him.

Mo Fan received the Dark Moon Crystal. He felt a soothing coldness flowing from his arm to his chest as soon as the crystal was in his hand. He felt the anxiety and worry in his heart cooling down. His thoughts were unprecedentedly calm and clear!

Darkness did not necessarily represent evil. Pure dark energy would actually provide a person with a sense of security, especially when their lives were being threatened. It would bring calmness and decisiveness when the person was surrounded by danger!

“Break it into pieces,” Lin Du instructed him.

Mo Fan nodded. His eyes suddenly emitted a dark flicker with a unique iciness!

Mo Fan broke the Dark Moon Crystal. Its pieces began to spread into his surroundings while defying the law of gravity. They did not travel very far away, simply floating around Mo Fan. They were inspecting Mo Fan like they were alive, seeming to have found a suitable candidate for them to reside in. After a brief pause, the pieces entered Mo Fan’s body.

The pieces seemed sharp, yet they transformed into a glowing liquid and dissolved into Mo Fan’s body instantly!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan already had the Flogging Curse and Fiendish Night in his body. He initially thought the Dark Material would absorb the pieces in no time, yet he noticed the energy flowing to different parts of his body, like they were trying to activate different acupuncture points across his body!

There were a few dozen pieces of crystal. A strange flow of energy circulated inside Mo Fan’s body under their influence, following the path which the pieces were lined up in.

Mo Fan felt like he suddenly had extra blood vessels inside himself. The difference was that his blood vessels contained blood, but these meridians had a pure dark energy flowing in them!

The Dark Material in his body suddenly reacted like a bunch of little elves who had found a stream after coming out of a desert. They immediately dove into the dark energy meridians!

A huge area around Mo Fan was suddenly covered by darkness, as if a lunar eclipse was happening, only the dark energy meridian that were transparent on Mo Fan’s body were emitting a strange light!

Lin Du, Deng Yongchuan, and Biling were startled. They had no idea what to do upon witnessing Mo Fan’s transformation, nor did they know what was going on.

“Did the Dark Moon Crystal expire after so long? Why do I feel like he’s going to melt at any second?” Deng Yongchuan said with a worried look.

“Err… let’s observe it for a little longer. There shouldn’t be any problem. The Dark Moon Crystal was refined during the month with the strongest exposure to the moonlight around ten years ago. We have no clue how pure the dark energy in it is,” Lin Du said.

“Professor Lin, aren’t you worried that the dark energy will overwhelm him instead? Why did you let him absorb the energy just like that?” Biling said with a concerned look.

Everyone knew that the Dark Magic was like a double-edged sword. It would have great consequences for the person absorbing it if it was not controlled properly. Many Mages who practiced the Curse and Undead Elements had died from the serious injuries their souls had suffered from practicing Dark Magic!

—

A while later, the phenomenon resembling an eclipse finally came to a stop, but the light Mo Fan was emitting previously had gathered in his eyes instead. His eyes were now like the cold moon hanging in the night sky. They would catch people’s attention without them knowing!

“Brother Mo Fan, how was it? Are you alright?” Lin Du asked with a worried face.

“I’m great, I’m perfectly fine!” Mo Fan assured the man. Even though his expression was not telling much, his lips had curled upward slightly. It was a sign that he was brimming with confidence!

“Are you able to kill the sea monsters?” Deng Yongchuan asked.

A few waves of the Scarlet Soaring Demons had already reached Gaoqi Airport after Mo Fan stopped using his Lightning Spells. Even though the military was defending the airport, the soldiers struggled to stop every Scarlet Soaring Demon, as the creatures were invading the city from different points. There were also still a great many civilians in the city. Deng Yongchuan had begun to panic. If it had been possible to transfer energy to others like a blood transfusion, he was more than willing to share all his energy with Mo Fan!

“Yes, I can kill many of them!” Mo Fan declared confidently.

“How?” Biling asked.

“The same old way. Try to gather the sea monsters in the same area and I’ll take them all out!” Mo Fan’s tone had changed too.

“Is it fine if they are underwater?” Lin Du asked.

“That’s fine, the water won’t hinder my Shadow Element, but I’ll have to get closer,” Mo Fan said.

“You sure? It’s very dangerous, those sea monsters can still attack you even if you’re in the air,” Deng Yongchuan said.

“I’ll give you a ride,” Biling did not ask too many questions. They had already witnessed Mo Fan’s strength. They were willing to help Mo Fan as much as they could if he was able to kill the sea monsters.

Biling quickly drew a blue pattern of the Summoning Contract in front of her. It resembled a gate, from which a mystical blue spirit quickly appeared.

The mystical spirit’s appearance was rather unique. They could only see a pair of wings and not its body and head from a certain distance away.

Mo Fan was astounded when he saw the creature.

“It’s a Magic Feather Imp. It can wrap its body around an enemy like a tentacle and lift them into the sky if they can’t fly. It will then drop the enemy and let them fall to their death… These imps aren’t too friendly, but they can be used as a flying tool,” Biling explained.

The mystical creature had already wrapped itself around Mo Fan like an octopus while they were talking. Its wings happened to be on Mo Fan’s back…

It felt like he was wearing a backpack with wings, but the backpack was actually a rare creature!

Mo Fan was quite surprised. He had never seen this kind of creature before. It must be a unique species among the Winged Beasts.

“It’s a mischievous creature, so I’ll have to stick close to you in case it doesn’t want to behave itself. I’ll go with you,” Biling said.

Biling cast a Wind Spell and Summoned a pair of Wind Wings onto her back.

Biling had the Wind Element, so the Magic Feather Imp was not that useful for her. She had almost forgot she had a second Contracted Beast.

“Alright, we’ll go together. We’ll stick to the plan…” Mo Fan nodded.

The Magic Feather Imp was in high spirits. It beat its wings and took off into the sky before Mo Fan could finish the sentence.

Normally, a flying creature would have great coordination between its body and wings to maintain its balance, but when Mo Fan took off with the Demon Feather Imp, it felt like the wings were separating from him. Well, the wings were not attached to him in the first place. As a result, it felt more like an eagle was holding a little chick in its claws, and Mo Fan was the chick!

—

Mo Fan finally recovered his balance after he was up in the sky. He glanced resentfully at the Magic Feather Imp lying on his back!

“Damn it, I was trying to act cool after having a breakthrough, but this idiot ruins it all!” Mo Fan held a strong grudge against the creature for embarrassing him in front of the others. The Magic Feather Imp was truly a problematic beast. He actually thought the creature was special and useful at first.

“Senior, we are almost there,” Biling said.

Mo Fan grinned once again.

It was time to satisfy the thirst of his Super Level Shadow Element!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan looked down at the water and saw bulging eyes sticking out from fishlike heads. They were staring up at the uninvited guest in the sky above them.

A Scarlet Rending Demon riddled with injuries suddenly starting shrieking among the sea monsters. It kept sweeping its claws in Mo Fan’s direction. Mo Fan was amused when he saw the Scarlet Rending Demon that had lost an arm. It was one of the Scarlet Rending Demons that had escaped from Jimei University.

The creature had recognized him. It was telling its comrades that he was the one who had been bombarding them with the Lightning Element. He was the culprit who had killed many of their comrades!

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were planning to invade Gaoqi Airport, but they immediately turned around after hearing the Scarlet Rending Demon’s screams. They started swimming toward Mo Fan.

“Here they come!” Biling’s face paled. She had never faced so many demon creatures at such a close distance before. The fishy stench of the sea monsters was so strong that she felt like she was going to faint, not to mention the pressure from their glares.

Mo Fan looked up and told Biling, “Go higher. I’ll wait until more of them take the bait.” Her slim legs were completely exposed from his angle.

“But you…” Biling was still worried about Mo Fan’s safety.

“I’m fine, go ahead. From here on, I will kill every Scarlet Soaring Demon that shows up!” Mo Fan said confidently.

Biling nodded. She started rising to a safer height.

In addition to the huge groups of Scarlet Soaring Demons, there were quite a lot of Scarlet Rending Demons beneath Mo Fan now. They had stacked on top of one another like a platform so their attacks were able to reach him.

Mo Fan took his time when he noticed the trick the creatures were trying to pull off. However, the Magic Feather Imp on his back was a little intimidated. It beat its wings to escape from the area.

“Behave yourself, or I’m going to kill you first!” Mo Fan did not go easy on the Magic Feather Imp this time. He directly applied his Aura of dark magic toward the misbehaving Magic Feather Imp, forcing it to obey him.

The Magic Feather Imp realized Mo Fan was seriously going to kill it if it tried to run away on its own. It had no choice but to carry Mo Fan while staying at a dangerously low height.

“They are seriously holding a strong grudge against me,” Mo Fan murmured after glancing at the sea.

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were gathering toward him like they were organizing a protest. Even the water was unable to flow between them now. They were like demons crawling out of an abyss, trying to drag living creatures like Mo Fan down and tear him into pieces!

Mo Fan remained calm, using simple tricks to dodge the Scarlet Rending Demons’ attacks.

Biling was even more worried when she saw Mo Fan’s approach.

Mo Fan was simply playing with fire. She could already see the Scarlet Soaring Demons channeling their power to increase the height of the waves in the area. The Scarlet Soaring Demons were no longer just standing atop one another’s bodies. Even the water had formed a platform for the Scarlet Soaring Demons to climb up higher. Many of the Scarlet Soaring Demons could already reach Mo Fan with a jump.

“Strange, why do I feel like he’s fading away?” Biling suddenly noticed Mo Fan’s figure fading into the rain at times, like he had completely disappeared.

Biling realized Mo Fan was using himself as bait by staying at a height where only some of the Scarlet Soaring Demons, instead of the whole pack, could reach him. However, to her surprise, the duration of Mo Fan turning invisible grew longer as time went by!

Mo Fan would only disappear into the rain at times at first, but he was actually invisible most of the time now. She would only notice he was actually at the same spot the whole time after a while.

What is happening here?

Biling was utterly confused. She watched Mo Fan closely…

Mo Fan hovered in the rain, while his body kept turning invisible. Biling placed all her attention on him, yet she still did not understand what was causing it. Little did she know, a strong darkness had long spread through the area between the sky and the water!

When dusk arrived, people might not notice when the last glimpse of sunlight vanished below the horizon. Likewise, no one had noticed when the thick darkness in the air had appeared. Both the Scarlet Soaring Demons below and Biling higher up in the sky were not aware that the light in the area was slowly being devoured by something. However, the people further away could see nothing but darkness. It had a clear boundary, like it was a completely different world!

The Scarlet Soaring Demons still had no idea they were inside a zone of darkness. They kept lunging, biting, swinging their claws, spitting poison, and firing their spikes into the sky.

They were screaming with fury. Many dead bodies were floating in the nearby waters, and almost half of them were the brilliant work of Mo Fan. The vengeful creatures could not wait to swallow him alive!

“You petty creatures know about hatred and anger too?” Mo Fan was amused when he saw the expression on the ugly sea monsters’ faces.

The demon creatures on land were fighting humans to compete for the limited resources, but what conflict did the sea monsters in the oceans even share with humans?

They were just being greedy!

Did they really think humans were some prey they could slaughter as they pleased just because they could abuse the size of the oceans and the advantage the Creator had granted them?

Did they really come to a human city to hunt humans?

Mo Fan could not wait to see who the true prey was in the end!

“Dark Execution Ground!”

The Dark Moon Crystal had planted a lot of Seeds of Darkness for Mo Fan. The Scarlet Rending Demons were still enjoying the elegant view of the setting sun. Little did they know, the night curtain with a dangerous aura had already arrived!

Several Scarlet Rending Demons suddenly burst out of the water and lunged at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s figure vanished into thin air when the Dark Magic poured out, leaving only deadly darkness in the area!

Inside that darkness, an execution ground using the darkness to set up its boundary had appeared out of nowhere. Most shockingly, a shadow guillotine made up of countless shadow fiends was hanging at its highest point, almost reaching the clouds!

The shadow guillotine was as enormous as a magical artifact in the hands of a deity as it pointed down at the mundane sea. The Scarlet Soaring Demons in the sea lifted their heads and finally saw the icy shadow guillotine. Even though it was still hanging in the air, the sea monsters started suffering a mental breakdown, as if their heads were being held in place under it!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Execute!”

Mo Fan was like the Executioner of the World of Darkness. His voice had an inviolable authority and an overwhelming killing intent!

The guillotine fell from the clouds and chopped down at the Scarlet Soaring Demons and Scarlet Rending Demons in the execution ground mercilessly.

To the naked eye, a huge shadow guillotine was falling from above, yet to the Scarlet Rending Demons, after the Dark Execution Ground bore down on them, they were like a bunch of slaves whose necks had been placed under a guillotine made specifically for them. They were suppressed by the Dark Magic and could only prostrate themselves feebly in the execution ground. When they turned their heads and looked up, all they could sense was death and the chill of their own fear!

There was nowhere to hide. Their minds and souls were massively suppressed. The countless Scarlet Soaring Demons had all been sentenced to death by Mo Fan, the Executioner!

These sea monsters might not turn into scattered souls from the descending blade, yet they would cease to exist between the sky and the sea. It was a true obliteration for them. It was worse than death!

With a loud snap, an eerie event took place in the strait that was still crawling with the Scarlet Soaring Demons. Their heads were chopped off their bodies, as if thousands of axe-bearing demons had executed all of the Scarlet Soaring Demons at the same time after receiving their order!

The sea monsters on the surface of the water, on top of the platform they had stacked up into, and hiding under the water had all lost their heads. Not a single drop of blood was spotted, only a puff of black smoke was rising from the cuts.

Certain execution grounds would use black gauze to slightly hinder the crowd’s vision, just so the scene would not be so gory to ordinary people and they would not feel so uncomfortable after witnessing an execution. It was exactly the same situation. The cloth fell to the ground after the headsmen were done with the execution. The people would only see a headless body and a head rolling on the ground. The main difference was that Mo Fan was not just doing it to a Scarlet Soaring Demon, but thousands of them at the same time!

The Dark Execution Ground was like a curtain falling away. Everything returned to normal after the execution was done, leaving no sign of the darkness behind. There were only lots of dead bodies in the strait. There was no blood, which made it even creepier!

“They are…all dead?” Biling was flying right above Mo Fan. She was able to survey the whole shocking scene just by looking down. The name of the spell had said it all. It was literally an execution ground, now full of the dead bodies of the sea monsters who had just been executed!

There was not a single living creature below her apart from Mo Fan, who was currently shrouded by a layer of darkness. The Scarlet Soaring Demons and the Scarlet Rending Demons were all dead. The deaths resulting from the Shadow Element had significantly surpassed the deaths caused by his Lightning Magic.

“Your…Your Shadow Element is at the Super Level too?” Biling stammered after some time.

“Thanks to the Dark Moon Crystal your school has provided me with. It helped my Shadow Element to improve in advance… Mm, I’m indeed a Super Shadow Mage now,” Mo Fan smiled. He remained hovering in place, waiting for the Soul Remnants that were flying towards him like a meteor shower.

Biling stared at Mo Fan blankly.

Two Elements at the Super Level!

The Lightning Element!

The Shadow Element!

It had not been that long since the World College Tournament ended. The participating countries had yet to hold selections to choose their candidates for the next World College Tournament, yet the young man had already become a Super Mage with two Elements at the Super Level. It was unbelievable!

The Dark Moon Crystal was indeed a valuable possession of Jimei University, but it was nowhere enough to turn an Advanced Shadow Mage into a Super Mage. It still depended on the person’s cultivation and their compatibility with the Shadow Element. The Dark Moon Crystal was not necessarily suitable for every Shadow Mage.

“What…what should we do now?” Biling was a little lost, but her thoughts were still focused on their mission.

The goal of their mission was to thin out the sea monsters’ numbers in the strait, and had already gone beyond her expectations. They did not just thin out the army of sea monsters. It almost felt like they had wiped out the majority of the invaders!

“There’s still some energy of the Dark Moon Crystal left. I can use the Dark Execution Ground twice, but these Scarlet Soaring Demons…” Mo Fan pointed at the remaining numbers of the Scarlet Soaring Demons.

Countless heads were floating on the sea. Mo Fan had slain a spectacular number of sea monsters with that group execution, but it was only a small number compared to the entire army of sea monsters that were invading Xiamen. Mo Fan could not possibly defend the entire city alone. All he could do was to thin out the number of sea monsters as much as possible.

“They are scattering. They are no longer invading through the strait!” Biling exclaimed after observing the movements of the Scarlet Soaring Demons.

“Mm, this isn’t the only entry point into the city. Wuyuan Bay is a great entry point too, and the Sea Magical Beasts are there, too. The tide must have risen by now, so the Scarlet Soaring Demons should be heading there now,” Mo Fan said.

“There’s nothing we can do about that. However, as long as the Scarlet Soaring Demons aren’t invading through Gaoqi Airport, the people heading to Jimei Bridge are going to be safe. Even if the sea monsters invade through Wuyuan Bay, the areas nearby have long been evacuated. Our efforts here weren’t wasted!” Biling declared.

The Scarlet Soaring Demons were obviously intimidated by Mo Fan’s magic, and in response had scattered to invade the city through other areas. The strait was quite a distance away from Wuyuan Bay. The people would all be gone by the time the creatures reached the city!

Mo Fan nodded. Biling was right, they had done plenty of good work for the city.

He looked down at the corpses blanketing the water. A pungent stench rose into the sky. Even the rain could not cover the smell!

“Super Shadow Element… I thought my Fire Element would reach the Super Level first, I didn’t think the Shadow Element would reach the Super Level first. This trip was definitely worth it!” Mo Fan was overjoyed as he observed the outcome of the battle.

Now that he thought about it, if his Dark Material had not been strengthened lately by acquiring the Soul-grade Flogging Curse, he might not have been able to achieve the Super Level so easily. After all, the breakthrough from the Advanced Level to the Super Level was extremely difficult.

Jimei University had seriously given him a huge gift!

Now that he had two Elements at the Super Level, whoever claimed to be the youngest Super Mage no longer stood a chance against him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan did not hover above the sea for too long. It was not like he didn’t want to contribute to the battle anymore, but he might have caught the attention of some powerful sea monsters after using such a strong Shadow Spell.

The horde of sea monsters obviously had quite a number of Commander-level sea monsters. There might even be more Ruler-level creatures there. His Lightning Magic had already depleted, and his Shadow Element had just had a breakthrough. He had not learned how to draw the Shadow Star Palace, so it was unlikely he would stand a chance against a Ruler-level sea monster!

The Dark Execution Ground had beheaded at least nine hundred Scarlet Soaring Demons. The spell had greatly reduced the size of the army of sea monsters and lifted the pressure from the shoulders of the military at Gaoqi Airport.

“Let’s go back to the library,” Mo Fan said.

“Alright…” Biling maintained her altitude as she followed Mo Fan back to the library.

Fierce waves were still rolling below them. They looked like sand dunes moving forward rapidly. Mo Fan did not have the chance to familiarize himself with his potential new spell after his Shadow Element reached the Super Level. The Dark Execution Ground was actually just a variation of the Plaza of Death, established with the energy of the Dark Moon Crystal. It was not actually a Super Spell!

“Strange, I keep feeling like something is watching us!” Mo Fan looked behind them anxiously.

He purposely glanced in Qiu Zi’s direction. The creature was far away from him. Mo Fan was a little confused. Why was he feeling so uneasy?

It felt extremely strange. It was not like he had sensed something was hiding nearby, nor were his instincts telling him that he was being preyed on based on his experience. He did not notice anything out of ordinary, either. Mo Fan had never felt like this before. He was unsure where the feeling had come from.

A gray shadow suddenly burst out from the water below. It sprang up like a phantom and almost instantly reached Mo Fan’s altitude.

Mo Fan was taken by surprise. Even though he was already on alert in case some powerful sea monsters showed up, being on alert was not necessarily enough to guarantee his safety. He could not even see the shadow clearly because of its incredible speed.

“Shadow Partition!”

The thought suddenly came out of nowhere when Mo Fan was in danger.

Mo Fan spread his arms apart like he was acting subconsciously. He somehow disappeared as he sank into a dark layer of shadow!

The sea monster slammed into the dim screen. It was just a thin layer of shadow, but to Mo Fan’s surprise, the sea monster simply went right through it. He was just like a mere reflection in the sky, and the sea monster had gone right through his body, but it did not harm him in the slightest.

Mo Fan turned around and saw the Ruler-level creature behind him.

He managed to get a close look at the Ruler-level sea monster. It was the same species as the Scarlet Soaring Demons, but the difference was that it had a metallic dark green skin. Its back was covered in extended coral-like crests. It was standing upright, but its upper limbs were like blades, while its lower limbs were built like the legs of a frog!

The creature did not have a very outstanding appearance. It was just as ugly as the Scarlet Rending Demons, but the coral-like crests on its back were astonishing. They clearly displayed how dangerous the creature was, as they corresponded to its noble status in its tribe!

“Mo Fan, are you alright?” Biling was terrified. She initially thought the creature had shredded Mo Fan to pieces.

Mo Fan looked at Biling and realized the danger she was in. He quickly yelled to warn her, “Go now, this thing is a Ruler-level creature!”

Biling had stopped because she wanted to help. To their surprise, the Ruler-level creature with coral reef fins immediately switched targets. It was supposed to be falling in the air, yet it managed to propel itself in a new direction with its powerful lower limbs!

Its kick slammed against the air, forcing a strong gust of wind at the sea. The force launched the Ruler-level creature higher into the air, like a menacing ray of light!

Biling immediately realized she was in danger. She quickly beat her wings to fly higher.

Mo Fan felt like his heart was on fire as he watched this.

He had used an ability he had learned out of nowhere to dodge the deadly strike from the Coral Fins Ruler, but Biling did not have the chance to dodge it. The Ruler-level creature was extremely cunning. It had switched targets as soon as it failed to kill Mo Fan first!

Fresh blood squirted like a fountain, dying the rain red.

Mo Fan was on the other side of the Dark Partition, like he was separated from reality. There was nothing he could do, as he could not even use his other Elements.

Mo Fan was infuriated by the scene before him when he returned from the Dark Partition.

A pair of legs covered in blood fell from the sky. They were cut off around fifteen centimeters above the knees, and belonged to Biling.

Biling’s legs had been severed. Her cry amid the rain was heart-wrenching. Her blood mixed with the rain was pouring down right in front of Mo Fan.

“Die!”

Mo Fan was enraged. The meridians of the dark magic scattered across his body were activated suddenly!

A bolt of white lightning flashed across the dim sky and lit up the raindrops. The light it produced reflected Mo Fan’s shadow.

The shadow was oddly visible in the curtain of rain. It spread together with Mo Fan’s Dark Magic and went from the length of a normal human being to the size of the clouds!

The shadow caught up to the Coral Fins Ruler, which was still trying to attack the woman, and transformed into an elder of the Shadow Tribe!

A Shadow Tribe Elder was a rank higher than a Dark Swordmaster. Mo Fan did not just summon a weak rebelling shadow like he normally did. This was a true dominating entity from the Dark Plane!

The Shadow Tribe Elder was just like most phantoms. Its lower body was like a puff of smoke, but its upper body was a dozen times thicker. The Shadow Tribe Elder waved its hands at one another after sensing Mo Fan’s wrath.

The Coral Fins Ruler tried to escape after it became aware of the approaching danger. However, when it looked around it, it noticed the Shadow Tribe Elder’s hands were as enormous as the sky. It had no chance of escaping the hands, no matter how quick it was!

BANG!

The force was utterly terrifying. The Coral Fins Ruler was smashed between the hands. It began screaming an unpleasant cry in pain!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Black smoke was rising continuously from the Coral-Crested Ruler’s body. The Shadow Tribe Elder’s claws had a strong corruptive energy in them. The Coral-Crested Ruler’s body was rotting rapidly, while its bones were cracking under the force exerted by the hands!

“Kill it!” Mo Fan ordered the Shadow Tribe Elder coldly.

The Shadow Tribe Elder let out an eerie chuckle as it separated itself from Mo Fan’s shadow. Mo Fan’s own shadow disappeared right away. The lightning flashing in the rain now projected the complete silhouette of the Shadow Tribe Elder. It flew in the direction of its extended arms while its head enlarged significantly!

It was like a primordial demon that had captured some delicious prey. When the Shadow Tribe Elder crushed the Coral-Crested Ruler’s bones, it treated the creature that was no longer able to defend itself as its tasty food. The Shadow Tribe Elder shoved the sea monster into its mouth and chewed it. Cries of agony echoed across the sky.

—

Mo Fan flew toward Biling, who was suffering from serious injuries. She had already fainted. The remaining energy of her Wind Wings was stopping her from falling into the water.

The Demon Feather Imp did not dare to behave mischievously. It obediently carried Mo Fan and Biling back to the Jimei Library.

The wolves were done with their battle, and were chasing the Scarlet Soaring Demons that were fleeing back to the sea. Since the duration of the Summoning Spell had run out, a small portion of the Scarlet Soaring Demons ended up escaping.

“Biling!”

“Miss Biling!”

The people immediately gathered toward them. Their faces turned pale when they realized her legs were missing.

“Is there a Healer here? Treat her wounds, quick!” Mo Fan ordered.

“I’ll bring her over,” one of Lin Du’s students said.

Mo Fan watched Biling being carried away. He was not sure if she could survive. The injuries left by a Ruler-level creature were difficult to heal. Biling was still in danger, even if a Healer began treating her. It all depended on whether her wounds were going to threaten her life.

“Did you just Summon an Elder of the Shadow Tribe? How did you do it?” Lin Du stared at Mo Fan in disbelief.

The Shadow Tribe Elder was a powerful being from the Dark Plane. Lin Du had spent a long time researching Dark Magic, but he had never seen anyone Summoning such a rare creature from the Dark Plane and merging it with his shadow!

“I’m not sure either; perhaps the Dark Moon Crystal has something to do with it. It seemed very interested in its energy,” Mo Fan answered helplessly.

“That might be a possibility, but I believe the main reason is because your Rebelling Shadow is rather compatible with its kind!” Lin Du said.

“Maybe, but I have no idea if I can Summon it again,” Mo Fan shrugged.

The Shadow Tribe Elder was extremely powerful, and even the Coral-Crested Ruler had not stood a chance against its attack. Mo Fan knew the Coral-Crested Ruler was still alive. It managed to escape from the Shadow Tribe Elder’s jaws after being severely injured, but the Shadow Tribe Elder’s attacks were not just physical! It had damaged the Coral-Crested Ruler’s soul!

The Coral-Crested Ruler’s soul was no longer complete. Its lifespan had dropped significantly, and its organs would deteriorate in just a few years.

The damage dealt to its soul was incurable. Most Ruler-level creatures were extremely tough, with outstanding regenerative capabilities, but they were still afraid of their souls being injured. The hourglass of death was already in place, and the countdown had started!

Mo Fan was struggling to understand why the Shadow Tribe Elder had awakened from his shadow, but he had a feeling that it had something to do with his Dark Material. The Shadow Tribe Elder was fond of the Dark Material related to the Shadow and Curse Elements. It might have something to do with the Flogging Curse Feng Zhoulong had merged with his Dark Material. On top of that, the Dark Moon Crystal had also provided him with abundant dark energy…

“If I can control the Shadow Tribe Elder, my Shadow Element will definitely be unstoppable among the Super Shadow Mages…” Mo Fan looked at his shadow.

Lightning kept flickering in the sky. Mo Fan’s shadow was projecting out into the curtain of rain seemed darker than everyone else’s. It felt like his shadow now had its own consciousness.

The shadow…

It was still his shadow. However, Mo Fan felt like it was like a cunning and ruthless demon servant standing still in the dark. Even though he knew it was not going to harm him, he still had an urge to keep an eye on it!

The Shadow Tribe Elder was definitely stronger than him. Even if it was supposed to be his servant, it could still overwhelm him. Mo Fan knew another dangerous existence would be following him around from today on. He only hoped that the Demon Element in his body could keep it at bay.

—

A loud bellow came from the sea over ten kilometers away.

The people saw a sea monster with rotten flesh leaving a great trail of blood behind as it swam quickly away to the east. Its cries were filled with pain.

“It ran away?” The Sound Mage on Jimei Bridge managed to learn some information from the Number One Disastrous Beast’s cry.

Meanwhile, Baxia had also returned to the surface around ten kilometers away. The water in the area he was in was tilting to one side, most likely the aftereffect of their battle.

Baxia did not chase after Qiu Chi. He turned around and stared at Qiu Zi, who was still causing a huge scene, and suddenly sped himself up.

“He’s going to kill the Number Two Disastrous Beast?” The Sound Mage received a message from Zhao Manyan, which he had delivered on behalf of Baxia.

Qiu Chi had escaped to the ocean to stay alive, so Qiu Zi was the only threat left. Baxia would flank it from the rear to cut off its escape. They might have a chance to kill it if he worked together with the Super Mages on the human’s side!

The president of the Donghai Magic Association was a little hesitant at first. After all, it was almost impossible to kill creatures like Qiu Zi and Qiu Chi. It was already a miracle that they were able to drive them away, but their hearts began to pound heavily when they saw Baxia approaching with a strong murderous aura.

Sure, why couldn’t they kill the beasts?

The sea monsters had been stirring up a lot of trouble lately because they thought humans were weak. Would the sea monsters dare to invade them again if they killed a Great Ruler?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Baxia was approaching rapidly. Qiu Zi noticed the ferocious Toten Beast was targeting it. It tried to break free from the surrounding humans and move to a safer location.

The three advisors were well aware of Baxia’s intentions, and were not going to let Qiu Zi escape. The advisor in the blue outfit cast a Super Lightning Spell. Sixteen lightning staves descended between the stormy clouds and the water around Qiu Zi. They followed Qiu Zi around while staying centered on him!

The sixteen lightning staves emitted a sacred light, lifting Qiu Zi up from the water as it was trying to escape. The impairing force from the staves raised the beast into the air like a puppet.

Qiu Zi let out a furious roar, trying its best to break free from the lightning staves.

It was not afraid of the humans’ Super Spells, but Baxia, who was charging at it so ferociously!

BANG!

Baxia burst out of the water like he had blasted his way through it. His enormous body kept growing to the size of a mountain, and covered the entire sky and the sun as he collapsed onto Qiu Zi.

Qiu Zi was unable to move. Its bones were nowhere as sturdy as Qiu Chi’s. Baxia’s ferocious blow smashed a destructive wave across Qiu Zi’s skin. Its backbone bent out of shape, as if it had been smashed into pieces around its waist.

Qiu Zi released a blast of red steam after it was badly injured. The steam spread rapidly and soon filled the space above the waters around it, spreading in the air like scorching flames. The Mages nearby immediately felt like they had been set on fire, their skin so dry that it was about to fall off. Even the liquid and blood in their bodies were evaporating!

The cloud of red steam spread toward the entrance of the strait. It swept across the Scarlet Soaring Demons that had reached Gaoqi Airport, who began venting the same red steam. The strange mist vaporized everything under the Scarlet Soaring Demon’s skin. They eventually collapsed and turned into a portion of the steam.

“It’s the Poisonous Red Steam, don’t let it reach the bridge!” The advisor in the blue outfit was startled when he saw the steam approaching the bridge.

If the Warrior-level Scarlet Soaring Demons were vaporized in such a short time, the civilians on the bridge were going to share the same fate. They would die as soon as they breathed in the steam!

The red steam was obviously Qiu Zi’s deadliest ability. It was using everything it had to flee for its life.

The Poisonous Red Steam was not much of a threat to the Super Mages and Baxia. The human Mages and Baxia could just focus on killing it. However, the steam would cause huge casualties once it reached the bridge and the island.

They might be able to kill Qiu Zi, yet it was going to drag down thousands of humans with it!

“That piece of s***, it’s threatening us with a suicide attack!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

Qiu Zi was currently a terrorist that was armed with bombs. If they forced it too much, it would detonate itself and spread the poisoned steam across the island. Baxia was very determined to kill Qiu Zi. An ancient Totem Beast, he was no longer as merciful and compassionate toward humans. He just wanted to kill Qiu Zi, so he was not too concerned about the poisonous steam.

Baxia did not mind, but Zhao Manyan thought otherwise. The steam was spreading quickly. The barrier the Mages had set up only protected the bridge, not the civilians. Many of them were going to be vaporized just like the Scarlet Soaring Demons.

Zhao Manyan would not allow it. Xiamen was a place full of beauties. He would rather die than watching the ladies turn into withered empty sacks of skin!

“Don’t force it too much, let it back out of the strait,” Zhao Manyan told Baxia.

Baxia let out a roar to express his resentment, using his actions to express his anger.

“Old turtle, what are you doing? I’m warning you, I’m your Totem Guardian. If you don’t listen to me, I’ll throw the wooden clapper away. You can wait for another hundred years to find someone suitable to be your new Totem Guardian!” Zhao Manyan snarled when he saw how stubborn Baxia was.

Damn it, every Totem Guardian was extremely close to their Totem Beast, yet his old turtle was aloof, arrogant, and proud. Zhao Manyan had enough of it. He was now a Super Mage. If he did not lift the Seal on the wooden clapper, this Totem Beast would still be getting bullied by the Disastrous Duo. He would not be able to defeat the big one, then pick on the small one!

“I promise you, I’ll help you kill the Disastrous Duo, but not today. Its steam is going to kill everyone here. You should be looking at the big picture instead,” Zhao Manyan said.

Baxia did not slow down. He insisted on delivering a huge blow to Qiu Zi, even if his skin was going to be badly burned by the steam!

The powerful beast grabbed Qiu Zi’s neck and lifted it into the air.

He pulled with a great force, snapping Qiu Zi’s neck and tail. More steam burst out of its body and spread toward the bridge and Gaoqi Airport. The Scarlet Soaring Demons in the path of the crimson cloud died in great numbers almost instantly. It was a terrifying sight.

Baxia’s anger erupted like a volcano, yet he managed to retain his rationality. After breaking Qiu Zi’s bones, he let out a furious roar and tossed the beast away from the strait!

Qiu Zi was like a poisonous red bomb when its body was contorted like that. It was thrown into the sea over six kilometers away…

The scorching air cooled down after the beast was thrown into the distance. Baxia stood in the water and let loose an infuriated roar into the sky after he missed out on the opportunity to kill Qiu Zi. The whole city trembled under his rage, including the sea monsters who were invading the island!

Chapter 1932: The Disappearance

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The storm above Xiamen started to dissipate after Qiu Chi and Qiu Zi were gone. As it left, the rain finally stopped falling.

Sea monsters were still roaming in the city, but the majority of the city was already evacuated. The Mages began to exterminate the sea monsters that were damaging the city.

The sea monsters were like a sheet of loose sand without the two Great Rulers. As the water in the city started to fall, their strength dropped significantly with it.

———————-

Two days later, the sunlight finally pierced through the thick clouds and shone upon the drenched city around dusk. The shadows of the buildings that were still standing dragged across the water, swaying as the tide gradually fell.

The weather was most likely going to be clear tomorrow if there was sunlight now. The city would soon regain its warmth and charm. By then, the sea monsters would all have retreated to their dens. For those who stayed, there was only one ending: death!

—

Mo Fan did not join the others in exterminating the remaining sea monsters. He was completely worn out. It was already afternoon before he even woke up. He could hear giggles on the field outside the window. He knew they were ladies in the prime of youth as soon as he heard the giggles.

Mo Fan rose to his feet and pulled the curtain to the side. He realized he was still at Jimei University. Even though the school was close to the sea, it did not suffer much damage from the sea monsters and the storm due to its higher terrain.

The storm that had loomed over Xiamen not long ago felt like a nightmare when he heard the giggles of the young and attractive girls. Everything was just as peaceful and fine after he woke up from his sleep.

Mo Fan stood in front of the window and watched the ladies in short skirts for some time. He was starting to miss the day when he first set foot into Pearl Institute. The days back when he was still a student had indeed been more relaxing. He did not have to go rushing about to so many different places that were on fire to put out the flames. He might not be able to wake up again someday, which meant he would not be able to see those pretty skirts and beautiful legs swaying outside his window.

The door opened. The little beauty Lingling came in with a cup of milk tea. She twisted her lips when she saw Mo Fan awake, standing at the window to peep on the girls in their dorm’s garden.

“The water level has fallen by half. Most of the buildings were destroyed, but it shouldn’t be much of a problem to repair them. The main roads and city core are still intact,” Lingling informed him.

“That’s great, at least our efforts were not in vain!” Mo Fan answered.

“Is your Shadow Element at the Super Level now?” Lingling asked him.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect it either.” Mo Fan finally remembered what had happened.

Yeah, his Shadow Element had reached the Super Level. He was struggling to recall everything that happened, since he had just woken up. He was completely worn out after fighting for so long.

“You can do a lot more things now,” Lingling said.

“Of course, and my Shadow Element has evolved again. I feel like it’s on par with my Lightning Element,” Mo Fan said.

“You’ve claimed the Dark Moon Crystal from Jimei University, which is said to be of the finest quality. It’s not surprising that your Shadow Element has evolved again,” Lingling told him.

“I’ll need some time to stabilize my cultivation when we are back. That way, it will be easier for us to achieve our goals,” Mo Fan smiled.

“The duel between you and the guy from the Zu Clan is just around the corner too,” Lingling reminded him.

“Mm, I bet he didn’t expect my Lightning Element to break through to the Super Level in such a short time. My Shadow Element is now at the Super Level too.” Mo Fan was now looking forward to the duel!

Zu Xiangtian had purposely hired people to impersonate him and ruin his reputation to gather more attention before the duel. Mo Fan had been given no choice but to keep a low profile since then. Zu Xiangtian had done everything to secure the limelight for himself. He had even sent out invitations for people to watch the duel a long time ago, so he could claim the title as the strongest young Mage in front of the whole country.

It was true that Mo Fan was no match against Zu Xiangtian when they were still in Greece, as he had only been an Advanced Mage. However, that was no longer the case now. Zu Xiangtian did not have much time left to be full of himself, as Mo Fan would soon beat the crap out of him when the time came!

“By the way, where’s Old Zhao?” Mo Fan remembered Zhao Manyan and his Totem Beast, Baxia.

It was a relief that Old Zhao had managed to bring the old turtle to their aid in time. If the Jimei Bridge had collapsed, Xinglin Bridge would have been the only escape route left. They would have had no chance of evacuating the city within eight hours.

Baxia had played a very important role during the battle!

He now understood why Shao Zheng insisted that they find the Totem Beasts. Most Mages did not stand a chance against the powerful and ancient sea monsters. Only the Totem Beasts were strong enough to face them!

“He left quietly,” Lingling said.

“Really? That’s not like him. He would normally stay here for some time after contributing so much, so he could enjoy the fame and admiration from the people. The ladies would fall into his arms. He wouldn’t leave until he had enough!” Mo Fan was amazed.

“People might link Baxia’s appearance to the incident in Venice. Zhao Manyan might want to enjoy the benefits like you mentioned, but he still needs to keep an eye on his brother, and the Zhao Family who’s currently under his brother’s control. Let’s just say he has grown a lot. It was best if he left quietly,” Lingling said.

“That’s true. Zhao Youqian is vicious. If he knows Old Zhao is still alive, who knows what crazy acts he would try to pull off,” Mo Fan agreed.

The Zhao Family was able to match the Mu Clan in terms of influence. Money could do a lot of things. They would never be short of tricks if they wanted someone dead. Zhao Manyan wanted to improve his strength in peace, so he should avoid the public eye as much as possible.

“There’s something I need to tell you.” Lingling sat down on the edge of the bed. She tossed back the cup of milk tea and straightened her face.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan could not figure out any reason why Lingling would be so serious all of a sudden, as if something was bothering her.

“I’ve asked many people, and even asked the people of the Donghai Magic Association for help. I also asked Sister Ningxue to investigate the Dali Clan, but we haven’t learned anything useful…” Lingling said.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

“Mu Bai,” Lingling paused briefly, as if she was having a hard time believing it. “Mu Bai is missing.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Dali Clan…

Leaves were falling to the ground in the delicate front yard after a gust of wind blew by. Li Dong was sitting on a recliner with a grim face.

The Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union had still ended up in Tangyue’s hands. He was supposed to be promoted as the Vice Elder’s assistant, but unfortunately, he had picked the wrong side, so he had to find another position to fill. He wondered if the clan was going to help him again.

BANG!

Li Dong fell from his chair after hearing the loud crash. When he rose to his feet, he saw a man flying into the front yard from the other side of the fence. He landed in the middle of the court and destroyed the delicate hedges that the gardeners had put in a lot of effort to trim.

The man was still engulfed in flames, and was badly burned.

Li Dong immediately recognized his cousin. He asked with a puzzled face, “Li Kai, what’s going on?!”

Li Kai was now a member of the South Wing Platoon. His position was much better than a nominal member of the Enforcement Union like him, so Li Dong did not understand why Li Kai was badly beaten up on such a fine afternoon. Who was he fighting with?

With another huge blast, the beautiful fences of the courtyard were smashed to pieces. A strong wave of heat surged into the courtyard, together with blazing flames. It spread across the outer circle of the courtyard like a rug.

A man walked out of the flames menacingly. The flames erupting from him were about to set the whole place on fire!

Many servants had gathered in the courtyard. Their strength varied, and many of them were Advanced Mages. However, not a single person dared to step forward to stop the man in raging flames, standing quickly to the side.

“Who do you think you are? I might not stay in Fanxue Mountain and Feiniao City too often, but it doesn’t mean any Tom, Dick, or Harry can point their fingers at us!” the man snarled.

The people who were having a clan meeting came out after hearing the loud noises.

The Dali Clan had been around since Feiniao City was designated a headquarters city. The clan had grown and become one of the top three clans in the southeast of the country, yet someone had dared to force their way in. That person was seriously going to screw himself up for this!

“Mo Fan!” The cunning old fox Li Kuang recognized the man in the flames instantly.

The person who was walking out of the flames was none other than Mo Fan!

Li Kuang’s eyes were starting to blur with anger. Li Kuang had been competing with Mu Ningxue and Mu Zhuoyun for a long time, since he was the person-in-charge of the Dali Clan. He had never taken Mo Fan seriously, yet this infamous scoundrel had broken into their territory during their first encounter!

He had gone too far!

“I’m only going to ask once: did your clan set Mu Bai up?” Mo Fan did not show any mercy. They were already enemies in the first place. The Dali Clan had been troubling Fanxue Mountain a lot. He would not be Mo Fan if he still went easy on them!

“What Mu Bai? Don’t you dare act recklessly just because Great Councilman Shao Zheng has your back! This is private land that belongs to the Dali Clan! If you dare trespass into our territory and use magic, we can execute you right on the spot without the Magic Association’s permission! We won’t be afraid to bring it up to the Great Councilman either!” Li Kuang pointed at Mo Fan and snarled, like he had just been slapped in the face.

To think that someone like him had broken into a renowned clan’s courtyard! It would be a disgrace if they allowed Mo Fan to leave in one piece.

“The fact that I’m here means your petty tricks simply aren’t a threat to me!” Mo Fan continued forward while glaring at Li Kuang.

Li Kuang was startled by Mo Fan’s Aura. He did not expect the young man’s cultivation to be so strong!

“Do you really think our clan has no one else? Go, I’ll make whoever kills him an honorable elder!” Li Kuang told his men.

There were some experts among the henchmen, but they were not even comparable to Mo Fan’s little finger. There were also one or two Super Mages watching over the clan, but they would not make their moves recklessly before understanding what was going on. A battle between Super Mages was not playing house. The whole clan would be caught up in it!

“Calm down, calm down, master, please calm down first. Let me ask him why he’s here first…” Li Dong noticed the tension between both sides. He knew starting a fight now would not bring any benefits to either side.

Li Dong did not wait for Li Kuang’s response. He quickly ran up to Mo Fan with a smile.

Mo Fan glanced at the opportunist. His face was not friendly in the slightest.

“Brother Mo Fan, even though there were some conflicts between us, it’s only because we are on different sides. However, there’s no reason for you to break into our territory today. We still have the elderly and some young children with us. Even if you want to settle the dispute between us, we should find another place and time to do so… That being said, we don’t have to go so far. There must be some sort of misunderstanding. Can you please put out your flames and withdraw your lightning first. There’s nothing we can’t settle peacefully!” Li Dong said.

“Go ahead and ask Li Kai what he did!” Mo Fan said impatiently.

Li Dong knew Li Kai was the reason why Mo Fan was here. He quickly helped Li Kai up and gave him a probing look. “I’ve witnessed this Mo Fan’s strength in person. We’ll need a few Super Mages just to stop him. You should bear with him and tell us everything. Otherwise, this madman might actually kill you on the spot and leave right away. We won’t be able to stop him.”

“I…I didn’t do it!” Li Kai protested as he struggled to his feet. He no longer dared to act arrogantly after he was beaten up, and started spilling the beans. “I admit that I wasn’t paying attention to Mu Bai’s back when we were defending the Xingling Route. A sea monster ended up ambushing him from behind, but I wasn’t the one who killed him. I didn’t kill him. I was just jealous of him, but there’s no way I would dare to kill him in the middle of an operation!”

“You killed Mu Bai? The Chief of the South Wing Platoon?!” Li Dong blurted out.

“No, I didn’t do it! He was only injured because of my carelessness. He did say he was fine, but he suddenly disappeared after that. The South Wing Platoon has been looking for him in Xiamen ever since, but we just couldn’t find him… you have to believe me, I didn’t set him up!” Li Kai was seriously afraid. He finally recalled that this Mo Fan was someone who would do anything just to get his revenge!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Li Kai, tell me the exact details of what happened. Our Dali Clan is strict when it comes to serving justice, too. If you really killed the Chief of the South Wing Platoon out of jealousy, we won’t forgive your wrongdoings,” Li Dong stated grimly.

“I really didn’t kill him! We were short on numbers when so many Viscera Hunters showed up! Besides, Bai Hongfei of Fanxue Mountain was with me all the time. He can bear witness for me. I didn’t kill him!” Li Kai blurted out in a panic.

“I want more details!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“The Viscera Hunters ambushed us all of a sudden. The Chief quickly asked us to split into two groups on each side of the highway. I saw a Viscera Hunter approaching the chief, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I assumed the Chief would notice it considering his strength, so I just focused on the enemy in front of me. To everyone’s surprise, his back was injured. When I went over to help, he had already killed the Viscera Hunter. He told me it was nothing serious, and Bai Hongfei stayed close to me thereafter. I didn’t even have a chance to do anything to him. Besides, aren’t they still looking for him? Perhaps he’s not dead yet!” Li Kai exclaimed quickly.

“What was his status?” Mo Fan demanded.

“His status… he looked pretty full of himself… oh, I remember now, he was a little distracted. He wasn’t paying attention when I was talking to him. I thought he was just looking down on me, but it doesn’t seem to be the case, now that I think about it,” Li Kai remembered somewhat absently.

Mo Fan fell into deep thought after hearing the words.

Bai Hongfei was with Mu Bai and the South Wing Platoon when it all happened. Based on what Bai Hongfei had told him, the possibility of the Dali Clan killing Mu Bai was extremely low. However, this Li Kai just had to step on his tail when he was brimming with anger. He had to teach Li Kai a lesson, or the idiot might try to fool him with his lies.

Some people seriously deserved a beating. Li Kai could have told him the truth at the start, yet he had to force Mo Fan to use violence!

“Brother Mo Fan, I believe you can seek confirmation from Bai Hongfei on whether Li Kai was telling the truth. We were worried about Mu Bai’s disappearance too. You should keep searching for him instead,” Li Dong said in a friendly voice.

“Li Kai, you better wish you’ve told me everything, or I’ll be back again!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly. He withdrew his flames and turned around to head for the exit.

He heard an angry voice from behind as soon as he stepped over the fence he had destroyed. “Mo Fan, do you really think you can just break into our place and leave as you please after injuring a member of our clan?”

“You don’t want me to leave?” Mo Fan halted in his tracks. He turned around and grinned, “Sure, I’ll stay and have some fun with you! I might be able to learn more useful information too, since I have no idea where to start. We’ll settle our old dispute too!”

Li Kuang’s face flushed further with anger.

“Master, master, let’s forget it, he only broke our fence! It’s nothing serious,” Li Dong quickly intervened.

“What do you mean forget it? Does he think no one in our clan can stop him?” Li Kuang demanded.

“Well… I’m afraid that’s really the case,” Li Dong confirmed timidly.

Li Kuang glared at Li Dong, but when he thought about it, the rest of his disciples did not really stand a chance against the young man; he would have to take on Mo Fan himself.

To think that the Dali Clan was not capable of fighting back when someone broke into their territory. How humiliating!

“Brother Mo Fan, you should just attend to your business if you’re busy. We won’t be entertaining you,” Li Dong said with a smile.

They should just send this man full of explosives, who was like a bad omen for them, away. Li Dong did not forget how Mo Fan had dealt with Chief Zhu Qi of the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union. Their clan did not really have many people who were stronger than Zhu Qi!

Li Kuang was not going to fight Mo Fan, either. If the old man ended up hurting himself while fighting the young man, he might end up in a coffin in just a few years’ time!

“I will demand an explanation from Fanxue Mountain myself!” Li Kuang pointed at Mo Fan and snarled. He could not afford to lose face in front of his men.

“I’m standing right here. Come at me if you want an explanation! However, I won’t be paying for your losses, regardless of how expensive your fences are, nor am I going to pay for Li Kai’s injuries!” Mo Fan answered fearlessly.

Mo Fan might be a little wary of the Super Mages in the Dali Clan, including Li Kuang, if it was a few days ago. However, he was no longer afraid of their nonsense after he had the strength to back himself up. His Shadow Element at the Super Level had given him enough confidence to challenge the Dali Clan. They had always been an eyesore to Fanxue Mountain, so he would not mind getting rid of them.

Li Kuang was left speechless, and felt greatly ashamed. His lungs were about to explode from anger.

“Brother Mo Fan, our clan master was telling you that if Li Kai happened to recall anything important, we will let you know immediately. Anyway, you should leave at once. We won’t keep you busy!” Li Dong spoke up quickly once again.

Mo Fan purposely waited for a few seconds. He twisted his lips disdainfully when he saw no one among the Dali Clan dared to attack him, then continued on his way.

“Hold it right there!”

The imperious voice of a woman stopped Mo Fan.

He turned around. The voice felt a little familiar, yet he remembered she was talking with a different tone before.

“Mu Xumian, it’s a relief that you’re here. This Mo Fan is out of his mind. Not only did he not show any respect to our Dali Clan, he wasn’t treating the Mu Clan seriously either! If he dares to break into our clan today, he might break into the Mu Clan tomorrow. We can’t let him leave so easily!” Li Kuang acted like his savior had arrived when he saw Mu Xumian.

Mu Xumian was quite strong. She might stand a chance against Mo Fan!

“I was wondering who it was, but I think I beat you before I became a Super Mage, didn’t I?” Mo Fan chuckled when he saw Mu Xumian.

Mu Xumian ignored Li Kuang’s words. She also ignored Mo Fan’s mocking comment.

She went up to Mo Fan. She did not have her usual flirtatious manner, stating expressionlessly, “I think I know who’s targeting Mu Bai.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You know who’s behind it?” Mo Fan eyed Mu Xumian curiously.

“Let’s discuss it somewhere else,” Mu Xumian said.

“Sure, pick a place,” Mo Fan nodded.

Mu Xumian was not much bothered by the scene Mo Fan had caused, and left the mountain with Mo Fan. It stunned everyone from the Dali Clan.

What was going on? Mu Xumian was from the Mu Clan, so she was the biggest person the Dali Clan was relying on. How could they possibly forget this humiliation so easily?

“Master, it’s fine for us to pick on the people of Fanxue Mountain, but we really shouldn’t mess with that Mo Fan. Didn’t you hear? A Councilman was killed because of him!” Li Dong advised his master carefully.

The others from Fanxue Mountain might focus on the general situation and behave more like a renowned clan should. They would not go all out with anyone very easily, and would only pull the strings behind the scenes when competing for resources. They would not settle the dispute with mere violence.

But Mo Fan?

He might be from Fanxue Mountain, but he was utterly reckless! He had to make both sides suffer instead!

They should avoid messing with people like him, since they would normally suffer greater losses as a result.

“How did he even cultivate? I thought Mu Ningxue was the strongest person from Fanxue Mountain!” Li Kuang snarled angrily.

Their youth gave them unlimited possibilities, unlike an old man like him. He could no longer improve any further, even with the best resources and environment to cultivate in.

If the Mu Clan did not send some real experts over soon, the Dali Clan would no longer be able to keep Fanxue Mountain at bay!

However, Li Kuang had a feeling that was not going to happen, judging from Mu Xumian’s reaction just now.

Forget it, the dispute between them and Fanxue Mountain was mainly because of the Mu Clan. The Dali Clan was only the Mu Clan’s lackey. If the Mu Clan was not fussed over it, why should he care so much?

—

The two went down the mountain. The Dali Clan’s mansion was not too far from Feiniao Headquarters City. The center of Feiniao City had already been relocated inland. It now had a lot of new buildings and streets, and felt like a second Magic City.

They walked along the main road toward the harbor. Mu Xumian was acting like a different person. She was actually more pleasing to the eye when she was not acting coquettishly.

“How did you know Mu Bai was being targeted?” Mo Fan asked with a puzzled look.

“Didn’t anyone tell you I was placed under an Undead Spell?” Mu Xumian answered.

“I did hear about it…” Mo Fan confirmed.

“Humph, I was unlucky that I happened to stumble into it… but the guy is unlucky too, to stumble into me!” Mu Xumian snarled.

“I don’t understand,” Mo Fan said.

“I have to say that you were pretty lucky when we met in the little town in the other dimension. My Queen Bee of Revenge was hibernating back then. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have stood a chance at all!” Mu Xumian declared.

“Can’t we talk about Mu Bai first?” Mo Fan said.

“I almost died to that Undead Spell! I only recovered recently. My other Element is the Poison Element. There’s a Queen Bee living inside me after merging with my soul. It won’t fight for me, but it will avenge me if I die by killing the person who killed me, unless the person is a lot stronger than me. If they aren’t, my Queen Bee of Revenge will kill that person before it perishes!” Mu Xumian said.

“But aren’t you alive now?” Mo Fan said.

“I am, but he must pay the price after trying to kill me!” Mu Xumian stated emphatically.

“Oh? You mean your Queen Bee of Revenge already has its eyes on the guy who is targeting Mu Bai?” Mo Fan said.

Previously, after Mu Xumian had almost died, they had already suspected the culprit was after Mu Bai. Mu Xumian only got herself in trouble by staying at Mu Bai’s place for a few days. She must have been placed under the spell during that time through things like the food, the presence of magic, and other stuff in the house.

“Yeah, I’ve now recovered. Once I Summon the Queen Bee of Revenge, I’ll be able to find the person who tried to kill Mu Bai,” Mu Xumian declared.

“But he went missing in Xiamen…” Mo Fan said.

“It must have something to do with the guy who tried to kill him. Judging from the spell I was placed under, it’s obvious that the person wants Mu Bai dead at all costs. I overheard the conversation between you and the Dali Clan. Do you think the Viscera Hunters or Li Kai could possibly hurt Mu Bai now that he’s a Super Mage? Who could make him vanish without a trace, other than the person that tried to set him up last time?” Mu Xumian said.

Mo Fan nodded. He totally agreed with Mu Xumian’s assessment.

Lingling had arrived at the same conclusion. Mo Fan had only been confused about one thing. If their enemy was coming after himself, why did they not set him up in Xiamen during the battle against the sea monsters? Why did they pick on Mu Bai instead?

Therefore, Mo Fan also believed the person was after Mu Bai after hearing Mu Xumian’s explanation.

“The culprit is very strong. You better bring one or two capable Mages with you. He should still be in the country. My Queen Bee of Revenge will track him down. Let’s hope Mu Bai is still alive,” Mu Xumian said.

“Got it!” Mo Fan nodded.

“Don’t find someone who’s too far away. We are running short on time. My Queen Bee is telling me that the culprit is already on the move,” Mu Xumian said.

“I’ll ask Mu Ningxue to go with me.”

“That won’t be enough, the three of us will still struggle against the culprit,” Mu Xumian said.

“You’re going too?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Humph, even though I almost died because of Mu Bai, he did save my life! I don’t like owing anyone!” Mu Xumian sniffed.

—

Mo Fan did not think Mu Xumian was lying to him. From her description, the culprit was unusually strong.

Mo Fan could only bring Zhao Manyan or Liu Ru with him. The others might die instantly when fighting the culprit.

Unfortunately, they were currently in the season when the days were longer, so it was not a suitable time for Bola to go with him. He had been forced to rest for a long time after he went to Dawn Island before. It would have been a lot safer if the elder vampire was around.

Mo Fan could only ask Zhao Manyan and Mu Ningxue for help. They were both Super Mages.

Mu Xumian was tagging along too, meaning they had four Super Mages, including himself.

It was time for them to face the person who was hiding in the dark!

Chapter 1936: Cadaver

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The port was oddly clean after the ferocious storm, as if the wind had blown away all the dust particles and the gloominess of the city. The sky was oddly blue, and so was the sea.

Women in sailor outfits were standing in a row at the dock of Lihai City. The tight outfits were setting off their alluring figures and curves.

A luxurious cruise ship was parked at the dock. Apart from the well-trained ladies who were receiving the guests, Mages in dark blue uniforms were assembled on the deck. They were standing straight with stern looks on their faces. They had the demeanor of powerful Mages.

Men and women in fancy clothes were boarding the cruise liner. The men kept shifting their eyes between the ladies who were receiving them, while the aloof women had disdainful expressions. That being said, their eyes would occasionally glance at the handsome Mages on the deck.

The physical and mental traits of Mages were usually more outstanding than ordinary people. It was not rare for rich women to provide for young Mages, especially on a vacation cruise with Tokyo as its destination. The men and women who were holding hands while boarding the cruise were not necessarily couples. Once the cruise departed, they might even go hunting on their own. There were at least thirteen hundred passengers on the cruise liner. They would eventually stumble into someone who caught their eye. If not, the organizer was more than willing to provide its guests with the best services!

“Sir, are you alone?” an inspector in a white outfit asked.

“Sir?” the short-haired person took off her sunglasses. She looked at the bulky inspector with a puzzled expression.

“Oh, I’m sorry, are you by yourself, beautiful miss?” the man quickly corrected himself.

“For now, this is my ticket,” the short-haired woman said.

“Your room number is 1316, the most luxurious suite on the cruise. Someone will bring you to your room soon. May I ask, you have a piece of oversized luggage with us. Even though we aren’t allowed to inspect the content of our guests’ luggage without their permission, we are asking for your cooperation as part of the standard procedures. Can you tell me what’s inside the luggage?” the man said.

“You’re only asking it now that I’m on board. How inefficient!” the woman replied.

“How about this? I’ll bring you to your room, and you can explain the details to me. I will be lenient on you if it’s something discreet,” the man said.

“Sure.”

The short-haired woman walked on the bridge in elegant steps. She conveniently passed her luggage to the manager.

The cruise was managed like a hotel. The man was probably someone with a high position. He told the rest of the crew that he would be away for some time, and asked them to attend to the guests. He then led the short-haired woman to the level with the luxurious suites.

“Let me show you around briefly. There’s a huge hall at the main deck where the banquet will be held tonight. Please dress up formally for it. I believe you will attract the attention of a lot of gentlemen. The bar, restaurant, gym, karaoke, and cinema are located on the seventh floor. The ninth floor has…” the manager explained.

“I’m not too interested in the facilities. Is my room the one ahead of us?” the woman asked.

“Yes, but before you go into your room, can you explain what’s inside the oversized luggage? Our scan indicates it’s something that needs extra attention,” the manager said.

“Let’s discuss it inside the room. Whenever someone asks about my occupation, they are willing to listen to me even if they aren’t interested in me. It might take some time, so if you have some time to spare…” the woman said.

“I’m a little busy indeed, but I can just assign the others to take over my job. However, I’m still in the middle of my shift, so I have half an hour at most,” the manager said with a smile.

“Oh, I see, half an hour… that’s plenty of time!” the woman said thoughtfully before closing the door.

—

The manager politely took his hat off after going inside the room, revealing a handsome face.

“Is here good enough?” the manager asked.

“Of course, I like going straight down to business,” the woman reached behind her neck and untied the knot of her dress.

“Oh, I think you’ve misunderstood. What I meant was, can you tell me more about your luggage for now? As for other matters… I believe we can arrange it for another time when we are freer. Half an hour isn’t enough,” the manager quickly said.

“I almost forgot. Actually, my occupation is a little unique. It might scare you if I tell you about it,” the woman said.

“I’m not that ignorant either,” the manager said.

“My luggage has a dead body in it!” The woman poured herself a glass of water. She took a sip from it while observing the manager’s reaction.

“Dead…body?” The manager was surprised. He did not expect that explanation.

“Do you still want to hear about it?” the woman asked.

“Of…of course, I don’t think we would allow someone to bring a dead body onto the cruise,” the manager said.

As a matter of fact, their scans had already detected something like a human figure inside the huge luggage, so he was told to ask the woman for more details.

“Don’t worry, I’m not a murderer. I normally work on specimens, mostly human bodies. I have an international license for it. I go around the world to look for cadavers in good conditions and preserve them with advanced methods before storing them in boxes that you won’t be able to open so easily… oh, you can think of them as caskets, but we usually call them preservative boxes. If you were a medical person, you would know how valuable an undamaged cadaver is. The specimen I’m bringing along is absolutely perfect, the best that I’ve collected over the years. I believe it will help a lot with my current research. I’m in a great mood, which is why I’ve decided to take your cruise liner back to Japan,” the woman stated.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Well… your job is indeed unique, but isn’t there a more common way for you to transport the specimen?” the manager said.

“A more common way? My job is already uncommon. Besides, China’s customs have always been strict. Even with the highest certification, they would still think we are disrespecting the dead. Even if they don’t confiscate my specimen, it would still bring me a lot of trouble,” the woman replied.

“I see. Our cruise does have a certain prerogative when passing the customs. If you can indeed provide us with your identification, certification, and the proof of ownership of the specimen, we won’t have to check what’s inside the box,” the manager finally agreed.

“Everything you need is here.” It seemed like the woman had long prepared the documents. She handed a file to the manager.

“We’ll need to hold on to your documents and identification while you are on the ship. We’ll give them back when you leave the ship. Is that fine?” the manager asked.

“Sure, once we’ve reached Japan’s borders, I’ll be fine even without these documents. No one has the right to touch my precious,” the woman agreed easily.

“Thank you for your cooperation. One more thing, your preservative box… how tightly sealed is it? I’m just concerned about other passengers’ luggage, I don’t mean anything else,” the manager asked one final time.

“The box is sealed perfectly. It’s protected with magic, too. Those who are weak won’t be able to open it. Don’t you worry. My staff and I are the most professional researchers of the Undead Element,” the woman said.

“So you’re an Undead Mage! That’s a relief,” the manager sighed in relief.

It was not uncommon for Undead Mages to be interested in dead bodies. The Magic Association had strict rules that the Undead Mages had to stick to the rules when acquiring dead bodies. The Magic Association was also more lenient with Undead Mages regarding the possession of cadavers.

“I’ll submit your documents first. Please enter my ID through the device in your room if you need my help. It will send your message straight to me.” The manager had immediately lost any interest to have some fun with the woman after learning what her job was.

“Aren’t you going to stay for a little longer? It has only been five minutes,” the woman almost cooed at him.

The manager looked at the woman’s identification and the smile on her face. For some reason, her smile looked weird to him after he knew what her occupation was.

“I still need to work. I wish you a pleasant time on board!” The manager hurried to the door.

“You forgot your hat,” the woman said, holding it out.

“Oh, right, my apologies.” The man took back his hat. He was completely exposed after trying his best to remain calm.

The manager took a deep breath after he left the room. His face turned extremely pale.

“Damn it, why did I have to get involved in something like this!” The standard smile on the manager’s face was replaced with a hint of disgust.

He glanced at the woman’s identification again and murmured, “Uesugi Kotoko, a Japanese woman… I wonder what the first officer is going to think after he learns about it.” He pulled a heavy sigh. “Forget it, the Magic Association is responsible for Mages. It’s none of our concern whether the woman made the cadaver herself!”

—

—

Under a clear blue sky, the cruise liner left the port and slowly distanced itself from the land.

People felt like they were being restricted by the law, ethics, and expectations, but when they were out on the vast sea, it felt like all their disguises were torn into pieces, allowing them to fully unleash their true nature. They could do anything as long as they did not cross the line. They were willing to try anything which caught their attention, even if it was something beyond their normal boundaries.

The thrill provided by the free and enclosed environment of the cruise ship was irreplaceable, hence why so many people insisted on going by ship when the whole world had sounded the alarms along their coastlines.

Sea monsters?

Didn’t they have Mages on the ship? They were here to protect the civilians. It was the reason the Mages were standing by on the deck! They were here to guarantee the passengers’ safety, while they were indulged in their desires and enjoyed themselves!

The sea was oddly calm. The fierce storm that Xiamen had gone through not long ago did not bother the passengers. Once the liner they boarded left the port, it was like they had gone through the dark entrance to a carnival. The door closed behind them, and the restrictions of the outside world no longer applied to them. They could behave politely or recklessly, as long as they got what they came for.

Tuxedos and evening dresses filled up the hall when it was time for the nightly banquet. It was the first ritual onboard the ship. Most passengers would attend it to pick their targets for their hunt.

Mo Fan had never dressed formally, but he was standing among the crowd in a suit that perfectly set off his build. His eyes were dark brown and glittering. In contrast to Zhao Manyan and his blond hair, currently showing off the etiquette of those born wealthy, Mo Fan’s cleaner appearance was more appealing to many of the ladies.

Unfortunately, these starving ladies gave up when they saw the glamorous woman beside Mo Fan. The woman was so beautiful that they could not help but back down in jealousy.

“Are we really going to stay on the liner until it reaches Japan’s borders?” Mo Fan asked Mu Xumian, who was pretending to be Zhao Manyan’s partner. He was not too interested in the banquet.

“My Queen Bee couldn’t locate him after he came on board. We have to wait until he uses magic…” Mu Xumian said softly.

“There are at least two thousand people on this ship, including the staff and the Mages. It’s not a wise choice to fight a powerful enemy in such a crowded place,” Zhao Manyan said.

“We should track him down first,” Mu Ningxue pointed out.

“We shouldn’t do anything reckless even if we find him. It’s better if we learn his abilities first, or find a way to suppress him completely,” Mu Xumian said.

Their enemy was extremely strong. Mu Xumian had almost died to his Undead Element. Mu Bai had also been ambushed in Xiamen and gone missing. There were a lot of civilians on the ship. They could not afford to expose themselves before learning the enemy’s identity and capabilities!

They had to be extremely careful. Their enemy was hiding among the ordinary people. It would not be easy to find him and take him down!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Uesugi Kotoko was in her swimsuit, lying on a couch beside the window in her cabin. She was staring at the sea in boredom.

The sea was not so fascinating to her since she could see it everywhere in Japan. She thought she might stumble into one or two interesting people on this cruise, but it seemed she was going to be disappointed.

There were a few knocks on the door, which brought some excitement into Uesugi Kotoko’s eyes. However, she immediately realized it might be a waiter. However, if the waiter was good-looking, she might tease him a little. If he was just ordinary-looking, she would not bother wasting her time.

“The door isn’t locked. Come in,” Uesugi Kotoko said.

“You sure about this?” said a man with a gentle and charming voice.

Even so, the man still pushed the door open. The couch was right on the other side of the room, thus he could see the exposed Uesugi Kotoko, as she was only wearing a swimsuit.

“It’s you!” Uesugi Kotoko blurted out in surprise. She looked at the blond man passionately.

Normally, only Europeans were good-looking with blond hair, perhaps because of their distinctive facial features that set off a natural noble aura, but this man was an Asian. However, the blond hair suited him perfectly. His handsome face could easily set any woman on fire. He was definitely the type that Uesugi Kotoko liked.

“I found your purse at the swimming pool; the card in it had your room number. I thought you might be worried after you lost it, so I came to bring it back,” the blond man said gently.

“What if I told you I purposely left it behind?” Uesugi Kotoko said with squinted eyes.

“I would tell you that I purposely came to give it back, too,” the man answered easily.

The two exchanged glances with a smile. Uesugi Kotoko slowly rose to her feet and went up to the man in a catwalk. She went around him in a circle, like she was admiring a piece of art. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder while closing the door behind them.

“I don’t really like the cabins here. Should we go somewhere more exciting?” The man sounded very experienced. He could easily tell what kind of women he could tackle without a disguise, as it would entice them more.

“Enlighten me,” Uesugi Kotoko said agreeably.

“I like it dark, messy, and a little dirty. An underground chamber, the fire escape stairs, or the water tank on a roof…” the man hinted broadly.

“I like it dark too,” Uesugi Kotoko agreed.

“How about the cargo bay? I’m pretty sure no one is there,” the man suggested.

“It won’t matter if someone is there,” Uesugi Kotoko said.

The two exchanged smiles again.

—

The cargo bay normally had a few crew members watching it. The ship might be a luxurious cruise liner, but it was also transporting some valuable resources. The hold also contained the luggage of the passengers.

The cargo bay was huge, located a few levels below the deck. The crew members were dozing off, as it was late at night.

“I saw a man in a uniform having a long conversation with you at the pool. Is he your husband?” the man asked.

“Of course not,” Uesugi Kotoko rolled her eyes. She added seductively as if she realized how to stimulate the man, “My husband is in Japan. He’s most likely indulging in his AVs (adult videos).”

“I see, I thought that sailor was close with you. Why were you two talking for so long?” the man asked.

Uesugi Kotoko was a little unhappy. She could not stand it any longer, as she wanted to vent her desires immediately. However, she could not rush it, either. Otherwise, she might look too impatient.

“They were checking my identification. I brought something they aren’t comfortable with onto the cruise. I’m planning to bring it back to Japan,” Uesugi Kotoko said.

“Drugs?” the man asked.

“Something more exciting,” Uesugi Kotoko said.

“Really? I’m curious about it now,” the man said.

“You wouldn’t say that if you know what it is,” Uesugi Kotoko said.

“I really want to try it now. I’m experienced with my stuff. It might serve as the entree before the main course,” the man said.

Uesugi Kotoko’s eyes glittered with excitement. She was not excited because of the dark environment, but at the mention of her job!

“I know where my luggage is. I wouldn’t mind if you’re interested, but I hope you are still hard after seeing it,” Uesugi Kotoko said.

“I told you I’m experienced. Normal stuff won’t excite me at all.”

—

They went past the shelves. Uesugi Kotoko was actually going to show Zhao Manyan her brilliant masterpiece.

“The cold storage?” Zhao Manyan was surprised.

“Didn’t you say you are experienced? Take a guess,” Uesugi Kotoko smiled.

Zhao Manyan did not answer. He followed Uesugi Kotoko into the cold storage.

A box with silver lines was placed on a shelf. It had the shape of a coffin, with simple decorations on the outside.

“What about now?” Uesugi Kotoko asked.

“Ugh… I can’t guess it still. Can we open it?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Of course not, it took me a lot of effort to seal it up. Once it’s opened, the air inside will be corrupted. I believe you know how many microorganisms there are floating in the air. It’s going to make my precious rot,” Uesugi Kotoko said.

“Rot? Don’t tell me there’s a body inside this box that looks like a coffin,” Zhao Manyan said.

“You guessed it right…”

They heard some knocks from inside the box before Uesugi Kotoko could finish her sentence.

Zhao Manyan was startled. He immediately fixed his eyes on Uesugi Kotoko.

Uesugi Kotoko did not look surprised. She explained with a smile, “A dead body will eventually rot. Even the best preservation method won’t be able to preserve it perfectly. The fresher the dead body, the more valuable it is, so we are a little lenient when we are collecting specimens.”

“What do you mean?” Zhao Manyan’s expression began to shift.

“It means sealing up someone who’s dying when he’s still alive,” Uesugi Kotoko said.

“You sealed up a living person inside to be used as a specimen?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Don’t worry, I’m not a murderer. I only find people who are dying and preserve their bodies to maximize their contributions to mankind. Even the greatest Healer in the world won’t be able to save this person’s life. I found him in Xiamen and Sealed him up!” Uesugi Kotoko was extremely excited when she was talking about her work.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Uesugi Kotoko was very happy when she was discussing her work with others, so whenever someone was interested in her job, she would put all her physical desires away to satisfy her mental needs first. Not many people were willing to discuss her job. She almost went crazy from focusing on her work so much. She even wished that the dead bodies could talk so she could share her discoveries and progress with them.

Therefore, she answered every question Zhao Manyan had. Little did she know, a shadow was creeping up to her in the darkness. It placed its long claws around her neck.

Uesugi Kotoko did not notice it at first until a few figures showed up behind her.

“Who are you?…” Uesugi Kotoko only realized something was not right when she turned around and saw people behind her.

“Enough with your disguise, you Undead Mage!” Mo Fan said coldly.

She had murdered people, sealed them up in boxes, and transported them out of the country as specimens. How could Mo Fan not be angry when he heard about it? Most importantly, the person inside the box was Mu Bai!

“What do you mean? I told you I have international certification for my job. The cruise liner is out in the ocean too. If you intervene with my job, I will call the police immediately!” Uesugi Kotoko realized these people might be after her specimen. The blond man was only bait!

“Call the police?” Zhao Manyan chuckled.

Mu Xumian frowned. She observed the woman carefully before looking at the Queen Bee of Revenge on her shoulder.

“Wait a second, she isn’t the warlock we are looking for,” Mu Xumian informed them.

“What warlock? I’m only a researcher! You have no right to interfere with my job, even if my specimens are humans!” Uesugi Kotoko defended herself.

“You better tell us the truth, or we’ll turn you into a specimen and deliver it to our country’s Research Union!” Mo Fan’s dark brown eyes were wide and murderous. Great fear suddenly surged into Uesugi Kotoko’s mind.

Her face turned pale, and she took a few steps back.

“He is our friend. If we found out you were the one who killed him, we’ll make sure your soul goes through the most painful torture after you die!” Mo Fan did not have the patience to go easy on Uesugi Kotoko.

Uesugi Kotoko could not withstand the pressure from Mo Fan. She fell to the ground in fright and trembled.

“I didn’t kill him. I really didn’t kill him!…” Uesugi Kotoko cried out.

“What happened then!?” Mo Fan asked.

“I was in Xiamen… I spent some time there. I was there when the storm came. I was planning to go back to Japan from Xiamen, but I was trapped in the city. I hid inside a deserted mall when the sea monsters showed up. I soon heard some strange noises. I was so scared that I didn’t dare to move around. I heard someone running toward me, and a strange thing like a phantom was chasing him.”

“I couldn’t see a thing, as the place was in complete darkness. I only knew that your friend had gotten rid of the phantom, but he was barely alive when he escaped into the mall.”

“I waited for a long time. I made sure nothing was nearby before I went to inspect him. He was dying. His body was emitting the rotting aura of the undead. The organs inside his body were failing, too. He was going to die within half an hour.”

“However, for some reason, a layer of frost wrapped around his body like a cocoon as he was about to die…”

Uesugi Kotoko had quickly removed the seal on the box and opened it up while she was talking.

A frosty aura burst out from it. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Mu Ningxue, Mu Xumian, and Liu Ru immediately stared at the contents. It was just as Uesugi Kotoko had mentioned. Mu Bai was currently wrapped inside a cocoon of ice.

“Is he still alive?” Mo Fan blurted out in joy.

“He’s dead,” Liu Ru shook her head.

The rest looked at Liu Ru with a puzzled expression. Liu Ru explained, “When a human is severely injured, like from rapid loss of blood or excessive damage to the organs and tissues, their vitality will be drain away rapidly. He’s currently in the stage of awaiting his death. As soon as the ice cocoon melts, he will die within a single breath, before a Healer can use their magic.”

“The Healing Element works by awakening the self-rejuvenating ability of a person’s body. Once the ice cocoon melts, the rate of his life being drained away is at least ten times quicker than the rate of rejuvenation. It’s impossible for him to survive… I’m not lying to you. I might not be a talented Mage, but I know when a person is as good as dead. You won’t be able to save him, no matter what trick you used to preserve his body. I’ve been working in this field for a long time. I believe he only froze himself because he didn’t want to die just like that, so I simply stored his body inside the preservative box. If you still want to preserve his body, you should put the lid back on,” Uesugi Kotoko said.

Mo Fan looked at Mu Bai, who was frozen in the ice cocoon. He could see the pain and resentment on Mu Bai’s face.

He knew someone terrifying was hiding nearby, yet he naively thought he was the enemy’s primary target. Little did he know that enemy was after Mu Bai all along!

Mu Bai was ambushed by the Undead Warlock while he was defending the Xinglin Route. Mu Xumian had already told them how strong the enemy was. They needed to gather so many people just to match the enemy’s strength, yet Mu Bai had managed to drive the enemy away by himself while holding onto his last breath.

“Mo Fan, can Xinxia save Mu Bai in his current state?” Mu Ningxue asked softly.

“I’m not sure. The Parthenon Temple might know some powerful spells,” Mo Fan replied, equally quietly.

“The Parthenon Temple won’t be able to save him either. People in our field are quite familiar with the Parthenon Temple. Their Healing Magic only works on living beings. As for your friend… even if he isn’t corrupted by the Undead Magic, he’s no longer considered living,” Uesugi Kotoko said confidently.

“Either way, let’s bring him to the Parthenon Temple first, so Xinxia can take a look at him,” Zhao Manyan said.

“You can’t take him away. He’s my…” Uesugi Kotoko blurted out.

“Humph, keep grumbling if you want to spend the rest of your life in jail,” Mo Fan spat coldly.

Uesugi Kotoko might be a disgusting woman, but she had somehow preserved Mu Bai’s body by sealing him in the specimen box. Otherwise, not even a body would be left if the Undead Mage found him again. It was the fortunate part of this misfortune.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Considering the possibility that the Undead Mage might show up again to end Mu Bai’s life, the group took the cadaver storage box and left the cruise liner that was still on its way to Japan.

The liner was not too far out in the sea, so it would not take them too long to go back to China if they turned around now. Once they reached the land, they took the first plane to Greece.

—

Meanwhile, a waiter came out of Uesugi Kotoko’s cabin back on the liner. He looked around himself and made sure there was no one in the corridor before closing the door.

There was a little gap in the door. A person could peek through it and see Uesugi Kotoko lying on the couch. She was still in the swimsuit she had assumed would make her look alluring, but her skin was no longer tender. It was like the skin of an aged tree, falling off in pieces.

Her face was frozen in disbelief forever!

“Greece, Athens, the Parthenon… do you really think you can save him? No one has ever escaped the hands of I, Spectre!” The waiter was emitting a ghastly aura.

Even he did not expect he would be a step late, and the living specimen would be taken away right under his nose. The good news was that he knew where those people were going. He also knew that the Parthenon Temple had no chance of saving a man who was put under the Undead Curse!

—

Citadel of Athens, Mount Parthenon…

Xinxia was already waiting when they brought Mu Bai to the place where Mo Fan used to stay. There was no one else there, apart from Tata.

Tata was displeased by Mo Fan’s behavior, and rebuked him, “Mo Fan, do you treat this place as your private hospital? You keep bringing people with all kinds of troublesome conditions to us! How many times have I told you? We are the Parthenon Temple, there are rules you must follow…”

“Tata, that’s enough.” Xinxia knew who Mu Bai was. She already knew how serious the situation was when she saw his pale face and how he was frozen in the ice cocoon.

“Humph, bringing a dead man here. There’s no need for us to waste our time,” Tata scoffed after glancing at Mu Bai.

Xinxia placed her hand on the ice cocoon and used her magic to inspect Mu Bai’s condition.

His body was cold and still, and it might still worsen. If it was not because of the special ice cocoon, his organs might have failed and his body would have rotted by the time Mo Fan brought Mu Bai to her.

“Can you save him?” Mo Fan asked after some time.

“Of course not, kid, don’t you forget about your Contracted Beast! She sacrificed her heart just to bring her back to life. Yes, you can bring that man back to life too, but you’re going to kill Her Honor in return!” Tata snarled.

Tata was angry because of how ignorant Mo Fan was. Did he really think the Spell of Resurrection could be used at any time on any person? Every spell that defied the law of nature would need certain sacrifices. Xinxia’s cultivation speed had dropped significantly because she no longer had a complete heart.

“Is this an Undead Curse?” Xinxia asked.

“Mmm, it’s from a powerful Undead Mage. We were too careless. We didn’t expect Mu Bai to be his target,” Mo Fan said.

“What about the ice cocoon?” Xinxia asked.

“I know what it is. Green Tea Man shared it with me not long ago. He said that he had found a new magical silkworm that normally resides in its host’s body. When its host’s life is in danger, it will spit out icy silk to wrap the host in it. It will defend its host and stop the injuries from worsening,” Zhao Manyan spoke up.

Mu Bai was planning to conduct an experiment on Zhao Manyan. However, Zhao Manyan was uncomfortable with the idea of having silkworms living inside his body, and was not willing to be Mu Bai’s lab rat. To his surprise, Mu Bai had used his own body for the experiment, and the ice silkworm had actually saved his life. Otherwise, there would have been no need for them to come all the way to the Parthenon Temple. They would only have been able to cremate his remains and proceed to look for the culprit!

“Xinxia?” Mo Fan only wanted to know whether Mu Bai could still be saved. He was extremely worried.

“Stop pushing!” Tata ran out of patience. She continued before Xinxia could speak, “The Spell of Resurrection has its requirements too! First, the requirements of the Caster, and second, the requirements of the target being resurrected. Leaving aside the sacrifices Her Honor has to make to make the spell work, the man you brought here doesn’t meet the requirements to be resurrected!”

“I can find a way to overcome the challenges on my side, but his condition is a lot worse than Sister Leng Qing’s. I can still try my best and hope for something good,” Xinxia said.

“Your Honor!” Tata was displeased with Xinxia’s decision. She said, “You’re now a candidate for the role of the Goddess. The Spell of Resurrection can win a lot of support for us. Izisha has been quite aggressive lately. If you waste the Spell of Resurrection, you are basically giving up on competing for the role, which means all the efforts you’ve put in are in vain, including the support that we’ve given to you. On behalf of the people that have chosen to support you, I won’t allow you to do it. Apart from Mo Fan, I won’t let you use the Spell of Reincarnation to save anyone else!”

Tata had made her position very clear. Hall Master Haylon of the Hall of Knights happened to arrive too. He looked at Mo Fan before looking at Xinxia.

He bowed at Xinxia before he spoke to Mo Fan, “I know Her Honor has never turned down your requests, so I feel that I have to come. Let’s put aside the relationship between you and the half-dead man, I believe you are aware that using the Spell of Resurrection might put Her Honor’s life in danger, too. Also, she’s the hope of the Parthenon Temple and those supporting her to defeat Izisha and be elected the Goddess. The man might live in the end, but for those who have chosen to side with Her Honor, we will be as good as dead. Izisha has never shown any mercy to the people who are against her.”

It was obvious that Haylon was here because Tata had informed him.

Haylon was neutral on the surface, but he had long decided to support Xinxia after the recent bloodbath at the Parthenon Temple. He was currently Xinxia’s trump card and her most powerful supporter. Xinxia might struggle to make up her mind if even he was against the idea.

Mo Fan’s heart sank.

Mo Fan did not want to force Xinxia to use the Spell of Resurrection on Mu Bai. He knew the spell could not be used all the time. He just did not expect Mu Bai to be in such a bad condition that only the Spell of Resurrection might have a chance to save him. In other words, he was as good as dead!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Tata, Haylon, there’s no need to trumpet your stance so eagerly. I won’t let you both down… Brother Mo Fan, don’t worry too much either. What I just said is just a rough assessment. Mu Bai’s condition isn’t looking too great. Normal Healing Spells are not going to save him, but luckily, he managed to save his last breath with the ice silkworm. Many terminal illnesses are critical not because they have no cure, but because we couldn’t stop them from draining away the patients’ life in time. We need time to figure out a way to save him and time to make the preparations. Mu Bai’s life is currently in a stasis, which gives us plenty of time to come up with a cure,” Xinxia told them.

“As long as you don’t use the Spell of Resurrection, I won’t mind you trying to save his life. The Spell of Resurrection is my limit,” Tata stated firmly.

Tata already made it clear. Unless Mo Fan was dead, Xinxia was not allowed to use the Spell of Resurrection on anyone else!

“I agree with her, my suggestion is to wait until Her Honor is elected as the Goddess to claim the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. We can then save this man’s life slowly,” Haylon said.

Xinxia shook her head, signaling them to keep quiet for the time being.

She saw the anxious look on Mo Fan’s face. She went up to him and held his hand. She looked into Mo Fan’s eyes and said, “Brother Mo Fan, don’t you worry, I won’t let you down.”

Xinxia clearly understood Mo Fan. He was something of a male chauvinist. He would not bother coming to her if it was something he could handle himself.

“Give me some time,” Xinxia said.

“Alright, Old Zhao and I will find a place to stay down the mountain,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Sure,” Xinxia pouted.

——

Zhao Manyan kept grumbling beside Mo Fan while they were going down the mountain. He was obviously displeased by Tata and Haylon’s attitude.

“Seriously, they keep using the big picture to apply pressure on us. I hate people like them the most,” Zhao Manyan cursed.

“Let’s wait. We’ll have to find another way if Xinxia can’t find a solution,” Mo Fan had made up his mind.

“Find another way? Are you kidding me? Where else can we find someone to save Mu Bai if even the Parthenon Temple can’t save him? Mo Fan, I think you should stay on the mountain for the night and help Xinxia think it through. Otherwise, those scumbags of the Parthenon Temple might brainwash her by saying how important it is to focus on the big picture. Such bullshit, it’s called the big picture because it won’t be affected by one or two people, or one or two incidents. It’s more about if they are willing to help or not!” Zhao Manyan kept going.

“Don’t you worry. No matter how long Xinxia has stayed here, she’s always on our side. However, I do know the consequences of using the Spell of Resurrection. I’m pretty sure Xinxia can’t use the Spell of Resurrection now. Otherwise, what does Izisha have to compete with her?” Mo Fan said.

“Oh, I guess Green Tea Man is seriously going to die, then. Really? Is he going to die just like that? I’ve gone through so much to reach the Super Level, yet he’s going to die so easily? What does he mean by that!?” Zhao Manyan protested.

“We’ll talk tomorrow. We should also figure out who would want Mu Bai dead,” Mo Fan said.

“I have a feeling the culprit isn’t just an ordinary Mage… wait a second, don’t you know that gorgeous information vendor? The culprit is most likely no ordinary person based on his capabilities. Perhaps you can learn something from that woman?” Zhao Manyan advised him.

“You’re right!”

—

After finding an inn not far away from the sacred mountain for the night, Mo Fan proceeded to set up a meeting with Asha’ruiya.

Mo Fan found it strange that Asha’ruiya seemed very free all the time. She would show up very quickly whenever Mo Fan called her.

The fragrance of roses Asha’ruiya bathed in all the time assailed Mo Fan’s nostrils as soon as she came into the room. Mo Fan felt like he was being enchanted by some evil spirit before he could see the woman clearly.

“I was wondering if you’re going to meet me since you are in Athens… but this is clearly outside my expectations. I thought you were only going to find me when you weren’t satisfied after having some enjoyable time with Ye Xinxia.” Asha’ruiya wore a slightly disgusted look after she saw it was an ordinary inn.

“We can hook up next time. I need your help.” Mo Fan had no choice but to go outside when he saw the woman did not want to come into his room. They took a walk down the street.

“Mo Fan, please understand that you are supposed to owe me a favor since the World College Tournament. Why am I always the one helping you instead?” Asha’ruiya said in a displeased voice.

“Didn’t I cause a huge scene during the battle at the Parthenon Temple in your favor? You will have to pay me back multiple times for that… My friend was ambushed by an Undead Warlock. We have no clue whether he’s going to survive or not. I need your help to find the person behind it. It will be even better if you can tell me his background,” Mo Fan told her.

The Undead Warlock was extremely cunning. Even Mu Xumian’s Queen Bee of Revenge had failed to track him down. The culprit was most likely familiar with the Poison Element’s capabilities, and was not showing any weak points.

“My information is quite expensive, even more valuable than myself. Why don’t I just pay back the favor with my body? We’ll be even after that!” Asha’ruiya proposed.

Mo Fan began to hesitate when he heard the offer.

(Sigh), he still had to save Mu Bai’s life…

“It’s fine if you don’t know who the culprit is. I just need to be a little more patient. Chances will come eventually,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Xumian’s Queen Bee of Revenge was not ineffective. The culprit was just not making any move for the time being, probably because he was extremely cautious about her ability.

“I do know a thing or two,” Asha’ruiya said.

“Oh?” Mo Fan raised his brows. As he thought, there was nothing this information vendor did not know. They still had no clue why Mu Bai was being targeted, yet Asha’ruiya already knew some information about it. It had to mean some organization had wanted Mu Bai dead for quite some time, or perhaps the person who wanted Mu Bai dead was also part of organizations that were unknown to the general public.

“The guy you are looking for is Spectre,” Asha’ruiya stated confidently.

Mo Fan’s eyes widened. He was wondering if Asha’ruiya was telling the truth.

Asha’ruiya smiled easily, “Why are you looking at me like that? I already explained to you once.”

“Tell me more about this Spectre,” Mo Fan said.

“He’s from the Hall of Assassins, the same organization as the people who tried to kill Zhao Manyan. However, this guy has ties to multiple organizations. It’s difficult to say who he’s working for now. As for why your friend is targeted, I do know the reason behind it, but I don’t dare give you the answer,” Asha’ruiya said.

“You won’t dare tell me the answer?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

Chapter 1942: The Avatars of the God of Darkness

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Yeah, my life will really be in danger if I tell you. I’m not like Xinxia, who’s protected by the strongest knights in the Parthenon Temple. I basically became Wen Tai’s illegitimate daughter after she came here. The way they treated me changed entirely,” Asha’ruiya declared.

“What else do you know?” Mo Fan asked.

“My goodness gracious, do you want me to give you his address, phone number, and hobbies, too?” Asha’ruiya replied cheekily.

Mo Fan could only smile awkwardly. It was already a surprise that Asha’ruiya was willing to give him the killer’s name right away.

Now that he knew who the culprit was, he was not going to get away, especially since the Queen Bee of Revenge was still tracking him down!

“You can figure out a way to get rid of Spectre. I don’t think it’s going to be difficult for you guys, but I suggest you not look into the matter any further…” Asha’ruiya said.

“Because of the person’s background?” Mo Fan asked.

“It has nothing to do with his background. I just have a feeling that the person is extremely dangerous. Mo Fan, I see you as a friend, so consider this a friendly reminder from me,” Asha’ruiya told him.

Mo Fan stayed quiet.

Asha’ruiya was obviously not going to tell him who the person that actually wanted Mu Bai dead was. She had also hinted to Mo Fan that Spectre was not the person who wanted Mu Bai dead. Spectre was only an assassin.

Their only option was to get rid of Spectre, who was threatening Mu Bai’s life, then wait until Mu Bai was awake so he could tell them who actually wanted him dead!

The question was… would Mu Bai actually wake up again?

—

Mo Fan went to the sacred mountain early in the morning on the following day.

Xinxia was already waiting. Her previously flushed face seemed a little pale. She must have spent the whole night trying to figure out a solution.

She had even put on a little makeup. She was just as gorgeous as ever, yet Mo Fan felt sorry for her. He gave Xinxia a huge even though they were people around him.

“Brother Mo Fan, his condition is even more complicated than I thought before…” Xinxia went straight to the point, as she knew Mo Fan was dying to know the answer.

“What’s wrong?” asked Mo Fan.

“Based on Mu Bai’s condition, I won’t be able to bring him back to life even if I became the goddess and mastered the real Spell of Resurrection,” Xinxia said.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan exchanged glances with one another in shock.

What exactly was going on? How was Mu Bai beyond redemption after a single night?

If even a candidate for the role of the Goddess in the Parthenon Temple could not save Mu Bai, he would be Sealed forever in the ice cocoon!

“Xinxia, are you sure about that?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm!” Xinxia nodded.

“I…I guess that can’t be helped,” Mo Fan let out a sigh.

“Brother Mo Fan, the ancient Greeks have a saying about death. Everyone’s final destination has already been decided when they are alive, whether it’s going to Heaven or Hell. As a matter of fact, Hell isn’t just a fictional place where people suffer because of the sins they have committed when they were alive. It’s a place that actually exists, called the Dark Plane,” Xinxia told Mo Fan.

“Dark Plane? Does that have anything to do with curing Mu Bai?” Mo Fan was confused.

“I’ve read some documents about the Dark Plane. It’s an independent plane from our world, parallel to the Summoned Beast Plane. The creatures in the Dark Plane can live forever, but they aren’t able to reproduce. They have their own hierarchy of species and ranks there… Normally, the Dark Plane has no affiliation with our world, but ever since the invention of Dark Magic, humans have been obtaining energy from the God of Darkness. The Dark Plane has been exchanging resources with us ever since the God of Darkness granted humans access to Dark Magic,” Xinxia said.

Zhao Manyan was totally puzzled after hearing her words, but Mo Fan was able to understand some of them since he was a Shadow Mage.

“The God of Darkness has countless avatars spying on our world. His sub-selves will drag the souls of those who have died to Dark Magic to the Dark Plane at times to replenish the number of denizens of the Dark Plane,” Xinxia went on.

“Brother Mo Fan, the Spell of Resurrection is powerful because it can reconstruct a dying person’s flesh. Most people’s souls will still wander in the living world and remain on certain objects, but there’s one scenario where the Spell of Resurrection won’t work: when the person’s soul is chosen by the God of Darkness’ avatar…”

Mo Fan had never heard anything like this before. Xinxia must have read some confidential secrets about Dark Magic!

“You’re saying that Mu Bai has been chosen by the God of Darkness’ avatar?” Mo Fan blurted out. He roughly understood what Xinxia was trying to say.

“Mm, he has died to an Undead Spell. Even though he isn’t completely dead yet, he’s already on the very edge. As soon as he dies, his soul will be dragged into the Dark Plane and become an entity there,” Xinxia stated.

Zhao Manyan was utterly dumbfounded.

Why did it sound so bizarre? He knew the souls of some people could stay behind because of hatred and resentment. They would turn into vengeful spirits, but he had never heard of souls being dragged into another realm called the Dark Plane!

“The God of Darkness didn’t grant us Dark Magic out of kindness. It’s constantly taking fresh blood into the Dark Plane through our deaths,” Mo Fan murmured.

He had always thought the Dark Magic was not as simple as it seemed. The leaders in the Magic Association must know this too, yet they simply ignored it because humans were too weak. Humans needed the Dark Magicks! If Dark Magic was forbidden, the overall strength of human Mages would drop significantly!

“I still don’t understand,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Old Zhao, you must have heard of Yama, the King of Hell before, right?” Mo Fan asked him.

“Of course,” Zhao Manyan said.

“The God of Darkness is like Yama. He now has his eyes on Mu Bai. He was going to make Mu Bai his envoy after he died. In other words, Mu Bai is currently on Yama’s wanted list, so Xinxia’s Spell of Resurrection won’t work on someone who’s already dead in Yama’s eyes,” Mo Fan explained.

“Damn, that’s a thing!?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Mo Fan would also have thought it was ridiculous if he did not practice Dark Magic. However, after he learned about ancient Greece, and the undead in Egypt and China that were unknown to the general public, Mo Fan believed the God of Darkness did exist, and so he also believed Xinxia!

Chapter 1943: Should We Cremate Him?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s not that bad if Mu Bai is chosen to be an envoy for the Dark Plane, right?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Xinxia immediately shook her head, “Once his soul is enslaved by the God of Darkness, the pain and suffering he endured prior to his death will be magnified significantly after he turns into a Darkness Creature. It’s how the God of Darkness enslaves the souls from our world for eternity. Even though we haven’t received any information about the Dark Plane, we can only imagine it’s worse than death. Death only happens briefly, but those who are enslaved by the God of Darkness will suffer eternal torture. Most undead do not have their own consciousness. They are merely walking corpses, yet Darkness Creatures have their own consciousness, spirit, and senses…”

“It’s similar to the Dark Beast Monsters, but Mu Bai’s rank in the Dark Plane will be slightly higher,” Mo Fan said.

Xinxia nodded. She had only read about the Dark Plane last night. She had basically opened a terrifying door leading to the unknown!

It was also the reason why she could not resurrect Mu Bai!

“Dark Beast Monsters… that’s one more reason we have to save Mu Bai!” Zhao Manyan declared.

“Mm, if we can’t save him, we should at least purify his soul to prevent it from falling into the God of Darkness’ hands,” Mo Fan agreed.

“Strange, why have I not heard about this before?” Zhao Manyan had to ask.

“We were still too weak in the past. There are things that we can only comprehend after we have reached the Super Level. The Dark Plane is very selective. The God of Darkness’ avatars will only choose powerful human Mages to replenish their lost numbers,” Xinxia said.

“What should we do now? Should we cremate him?” Zhao Manyan proposed.

Zhao Manyan studied Mu Bai. He suddenly felt sorry for Mu Bai when he realized how unfortunate the man was. Death was the final punishment for many people when they found themselves at a dead end, yet Mu Bai had been chosen by a God of Darkness’ avatar!

“If we can figure out a way to make the God of Darkness give up on Mu Bai, I can heal him without relying on the Spell of Resurrection,” Xinxia said.

“Let’s just cremate him instead!” Zhao Manyan rolled his eyes.

What kind of joke was that? If the God of Darkness was like Yama, the King of Hell, were living humans like them even worthy enough to negotiate with it? It would already be merciful by not enslaving them too!

Mo Fan was struggling to make a decision now.

They had no clue where to find the God of Darkness. How were they supposed to negotiate with it?

Even if they did find the God of Darkness, how could they possibly convince him to give up on something he had laid its eyes on?

The God of Darkness was most likely a far more formidable existence than Khufu!

The Dark Magic that had been used across mankind’s history was from the God of Darkness… It was a true god! Why would it care about a mere human’s request?

No wonder Xinxia told them the situation was much worse and complicated than she had thought yesterday.

They had thought that even if Xinxia was unable to use the Spell of Resurrection now, they could just wait until Xinxia defeated Izisha and was elected as the Goddess. Mu Bai only had to wait in the ice cocoon for a few years. It had been their last resort, yet it was no longer an option now.

“Xinxia, is there really no other option?” Mo Fan asked.

“The worst thing about Mu Bai’s condition is the fact that his soul is locked away by the God of Darkness’ avatar. If he doesn’t reclaim his soul, he won’t be able to recover, so his body is going to fail rapidly…” Xinxia said.

Mu Bai’s condition was worse than anyone could have imagined. Normally, death was the end for humans, yet death was only the beginning of the nightmare for him!

“Is it possible to negotiate with the God of Darkness?” Mo Fan asked.

“Brother Mo Fan, someone you know was chosen by the God of Darkness, too. He was dragged into the abyss by Greece’s God of Death, Hayla…” Xinxia said.

“Wen Tai?” Mo Fan blurted out in astonishment

The Holy Saint Wen Tai!?

“Mm, his followers were hoping to bring him back to life, but his soul has long been reserved for the God of Darkness. He would be the hardest person to resurrect in this world,” Xinxia said.

Xinxia had only learned the truth after reading the forbidden records.

After all, that man she had never met was her blood father. Now that she had learned the Spell of Resurrection, if she could bring Wen Tai back to life, him being the reason so many things had happened…

However, Xinxia was dumbfounded after learning the truth. The people who wanted Wen Tai dead had already taken the Spell of Resurrection into consideration, so they had consigned Wen Tai to eternal damnation, where the God of Darkness was personally watching over him!

“Xinxia, has anyone on the God of Darkness’ list managed to escape?” Mo Fan pressed further.

“Brother Mo Fan, the people who want Mu Bai dead already considered the possibility of him being resurrected. There’s no escape,” Xinxia let out a sigh. She initially thought she could be of some help, yet the situation was much complicated than she thought.

Even though Mu Bai was now a Super Mage, the enemy went further than just taking him out. Xinxia was confused. What exactly did Mu Bai do that the culprit had to go so far to remove him?

“But he’s not completely dead yet now, right?” Mo Fan looked at Mu Bai lying in the ice cocoon.

“Brother Mo Fan, I know someone who has reached an unknown agreement with the God of Darkness. She might know how to convince the God of Darkness to give up on Mu Bai if you talk to her… but I’m afraid she won’t tell you anything,” Xinxia said.

“It’s fine, just tell me who she is,” Mo Fan stated.

“Izisha,” Xinxia slowly uttered.

Xinxia had already figured out a way to save Mu Bai, but she felt like it was harder than using the Spell of Resurrection because of the person that was involved…

Izisha!

Her name sounded even more hopeless than the God of Darkness. Mo Fan might even get himself killed as a result. There were two people in this world who wanted Mo Fan dead the most: one was Salan, and the other was Izisha!

If he was going to ask Izisha to save Mu Bai… He would rather figure out a way to find the God of Darkness and negotiate with it in person!

“Mo Fan, should we just cremate Mu Bai instead?” Zhao Manyan asked the same thing for the third time.

Seriously? They had to talk to Izisha now?

Leaving aside their goal to save Mu Bai, Izisha was definitely going to hit them when they were down. She was more than willing to send both Mo Fan and Mu Bai to the God of Darkness!

Mo Fan took a deep breath.

He wondered if Asha’ruiya’s offer last night was still valid…

Chapter 1944: Talking to Izisha

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

A lamp was hanging by the balcony, like a crescent moon fallen down to the mountain.

Ever since a Candidate for Goddess had jumped to her death from the watchtower on the Mountain of the Goddess, not many people were willing to come here. There were a lot of other attractions on the mountain, so it did not really matter.

Mo Fan went up the stairs and saw a slender back up on the watchtower. She was wearing a silk robe that was almost long enough to reach the ground. Even her hair was hidden inside the robe.

A rather distinctive face was under the hood. Her nose was so pointed that even some men would feel ashamed of themselves. Her nose bridge made her look like she was superior to others!

“Have a seat!” Izisha said calmly when she saw Mo Fan approaching. Her expression was similar to a cat playing with a mouse.

Izisha was in a good mood. She had considered many ways to get rid of Mo Fan, but not many of them were viable. To her amusement, Fate had arranged for him to come to her instead!

“Let’s get straight to the point,” Mo Fan said.

“Sure, drink this poison, and I’ll tell you everything,” Izisha poured a cup of tea and gave it to Mo Fan.

“Why don’t you jump off the tower instead?” Mo Fan scoffed.

“I guess we won’t have a proper conversation then,” Izisha took the cup of tea back and drank it.

Mo Fan’s lips twisted when he saw what she was doing. Damn it, this woman was toying with him!

“If I didn’t have a few things to ask you, you wouldn’t even have the right to sit in front of me,” Izisha informed him.

“If my friend wasn’t in trouble, I would feel disgusted if I said another word to you,” Mo Fan immediately shot right back.

Mo Fan had no reason to compromise in front of Izisha.

He was just going to try everything in this desperate situation. If Izisha was willing to reach a deal with him, they could still talk business while putting their personal grudges aside. Otherwise, he would not even bother talking to her. Who knew if Izisha was going to make things worse and drag them all into a mess?

That being said, if Mu Bai knew Mo Fan was going to negotiate with such an attitude, he might just roll his eyes and die straight away!

“I heard you were the one who opened the gate on the Island of Oblivion?” Izisha asked him.

“Something like that,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“Ethan in Egypt is an old friend of mine. I heard he’s in a pretty bad spot,” Izisha remarked.

“He asked for it,” Mo Fan replied simply.

General Ethan from Cairo had been placed under the Medusa’s Curse by Apas. He was constantly being tortured day and night. Ethan had asked Izisha for help, but even Izisha had no clue how to overcome the deadly stare of Medusa’s descendants!

“Give Ethan his freedom, and we’ll talk,” Izisha stated her condition.

“Ethan is Egypt’s general.”

“Your friend is ensnared by the God of Darkness.”

“How can I guarantee that you’re going to tell me what I want and it’s going to work if I give Ethan back his freedom?” Mo Fan countered.

“Mo Fan, the conflict between us only happened because we are on opposing sides. There’s no such thing as enemies forever. If you’re willing to exchange benefits with me, I won’t mind. At least from the way I see it, having the general owe me a favor is more valuable than your life,” Izisha declared.

Izisha poured Mo Fan another cup of tea and placed it in front of him.

Mo Fan completely ignored it. He would never drink anything she offered.

Izisha smiled when she saw Mo Fan not willing to accept it. She poured the tea into the bush nearby. The bright flowers immediately turned into a patch of black slime. Even the soil was completely spoiled.

“Are you showing me a trick?” Mo Fan said scornfully.

“I’m practicing. I will bump into different people in my life who control a part of the world. Once I master it, I will be able to pour them a cup of normal tea or a cup of poisonous tea as I please!” Izisha played around with the cups and the teapot.

“I normally just pour it on their faces,” Mo Fan sniffed.

“Good idea. I won’t pour you a cup of normal tea next time,” Izisha nodded, as if she had learned something from Mo Fan’s advice.

“I can let Ethan go, but you will tell him that the Curse only happens because of himself. If he continues with his wicked behavior, the Curse will target him again,” Mo Fan finally said.

“I’ll relay the information to him. I’m not fond of his character either,” Izisha agreed.

“It’s your turn,” Mo Fan prodded her.

“The God of Darkness… Didn’t you already open the Gate of the Underworld on Izisha? Why don’t you try entering the Dark Plane from there? The God of Darkness is actually a merciful god in his world. He is willing to let your friend go as long as you replace him with something more valuable,” Izisha said.

“Are you kidding me? The Dark Plane is so huge. Am I going to travel across mountains and oceans just to look for him?” Mo Fan said.

“If you aren’t willing to look for him in the Dark Plane, you can only let him come to you instead. You can Summon the God of Darkness to you; he will at least send his avatar to you. However, whether he will erase your existence or is willing to listen to your offer is totally up to you,” Izisha continued.

“What do I need?” Mo Fan asked neutrally.

Going into the Dark Plane to look for the God of Darkness was definitely not an option. There was no way he would leave the Dark Plane in one piece. It was the true definition of Hell!

“You haven’t fulfilled your end of the bargain,” Izisha said.

—

Mo Fan left the watchtower. He Summoned Apas, who had been sleepy most of the time lately.

Apas seemed to have gone into seclusion after she acquired the Receiver Crystal. Sometimes, she would turn into a little snake with an unquenchable hunger, and would drain away all the energy in Mo Fan’s Summoning Element.

Apas was obviously not pleased with Mo Fan. She stood behind Mo Fan with a cold smirk, as if the two were not bound by a Contract. Apas was like a queen staring at an insignificant creature.

“Trying to revolt?” Mo Fan chuckled when he saw Apas’ reaction.

“I think about it every day!” Apas confirmed.

“Enough putting on airs, it’s time to get rid of the Curse you placed on Ethan,” Mo Fan told her.

“Medusa’s Stare isn’t a promise between two kids that are playing house! You can’t just remove it!” Apas snarled back at him.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Getting rid of the Curse or not was still Apas’ call. Mo Fan had no intention of wasting his time on her.

Apas was furious. Getting rid of the Curse was just as troublesome as using the Medusa’s Stare. She had basically used all her energy to drag Ethan into that psychological hell. She had barely recovered some of her strength through absorbing the energy of the Receiver Crystal, but Mo Fan was ordering her around again!

“I can get rid of the Curse if you let me go back to Greece on my own for some time. I need to collect something,” Apas declared.

“Is your skin peeling off?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s called ecdysis!” Apas stomped her foot.

“Fine; this ecdysis, will you grow stronger after it?” Mo Fan asked her.

“I think I can recover a tenth of my strength,” Apas said.

“Sure, go ahead. I’m very poor now. Don’t ask me to buy you anything, especially things that are very expensive,” Mo Fan told her.

Apas rolled her eyes. She had never counted on Mo Fan to buy her stuff!

—

Mo Fan agreed to give Apas a few days off. No one could possibly pose a threat to her, considering her strength.

Apas removed the Curse of the Snake Eyes Ethan had been placed under. He could finally get a peaceful night’s sleep after he no longer being bothered by the ghastly faces at night. He immediately told Izisha about it.

Izisha kept her promise in good faith. She gave Mo Fan a letter she had prepared long ago. It held the information on how to Summon the God of Darkness.

“Do you think that woman is trying to trick us? Is she going to tell us the wrong thing and get us killed while we are looking for it?” Zhao Manyan asked Mo Fan.

“Apas might have removed the Curse, but she can still revert it within a certain period. I have thought of a backup plan just in case,” Mo Fan answered calmly.

“Very well. Speaking of which, what exactly is this Night Amethyst? I’ve never heard of it before,” Zhao Manyan asked with a puzzled face.

—

Night Amethyst was an extremely rare mineral. In addition to collecting the souls of the dead who might be useful to the Dark Plane, the God of Darkness also sent his avatars across the worlds for his own hobby, which was collecting Night Amethyst. As a result, it was not difficult to lure an avatar to them. They just had to find a piece of Night Amethyst and offer it to the God of Darkness via a Dark Ritual. An avatar of the God of Darkness would normally show up. If they were in luck, the real God of Darkness might show up, meaning that they could exchange the Night Amethyst for something even greater in return.

Mo Fan purposely paid Asha’ruiya a visit to make sure Izisha was not lying to him.

“I think she’s telling the truth. Back in the days, when Dark Magic hadn’t been granted to us yet, some Mages exchanged rare minerals with the God of Darkness. It was known as a Pact with the Devil. Since then, some talented people figured out the patterns of how the God of Darkness went back and forth between the Dark Plane and our world. They were the originators of Dark Magic. I believe this Night Amethyst is something that established the connection between the Dark Plane and our world in the first place,” Asha’ruiya informed them.

“Is that so? That means if we can find some Night Amethyst, we can make a deal with the God of Darkness, ask it to spare Mu Bai’s soul in return, and everything is settled?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“More or less, but no one knows whether the God of Darkness will have some other requests. It was called the Pact with the Devil in the past, so the Devil will most likely demand more from us. Besides, if you did Summon the real God of Darkness, it could just take everything it wants forcibly with its strength. Could we even bargain with it?” Asha’ruiya let them know.

“Do you know where we can find some Night Amethyst?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m not sure myself, but if you want, I can put up a request for it in my network. Only a few people would know about something like the Night Amethyst, which only exists in the legends. We can only obtain information among those people and certain strange folk. You will have to decide whether the information is reliable or not,” Asha’ruiya proposed.

“You have my thanks.” Mo Fan glanced at Asha’ruiya. He purposely waited for a while to see if she was going to ask for any benefits from him in return. After all, she had helped him twice at no cost. She had no reason to be so generous, knowing her traits of being a meticulous planner and keeping careful account.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, Asha’ruiya blinked at Mo Fan with her dazzling eyes instead. She seemed confused about why Mo Fan was staring at her. She conveniently gave him a flirtatious look and sent an electric shock across his body.

“I find it embarrassing that you’re helping me so much,” Mo Fan had to say.

“We are friends,” Asha’ruiya pointed out.

“Why don’t I pay you back with my body? Check out my build, stamina, and durability. I can guarantee you that you will be satisfied,” Mo Fan said shamelessly.

Asha’ruiya almost had an urge to beat him up. Was that supposed to be a payback? He was the one enjoying it in the end!

1

—

Filtering information was not Mo Fan’s expertise, but he knew someone who was an expert at it.

Asha’ruiya kept her promise. She soon relayed all of the information related to the Night Amethyst that she had collected to Mo Fan. Mo Fan promptly gave the information to Lingling.

To avoid folk tales misdirecting them from the truth about the Night Amethyst, Mo Fan even stole the forbidden Manuscript of Dark Magic from the Parthenon Temple and passed it to Lingling. She had a higher chance of finding the origins of the Night Amethyst and the location of some.

They were forced to wait until Lingling found some reliable clues. Mo Fan sat outside and fell into deep thought while watching the sun setting on the horizon.

Mo Fan suddenly smelled something burning. He spotted black smoke rising behind a wall not far away.

Mo Fan walked over and saw the light of a small brazier. A man was crouching beside it, tossing joss paper into the fire.

“Old Zhao, what the f**k are you doing!?” Mo Fan blurted out.

“I’m burning money for Mu Bai. He was still a virgin when he died, so I decided to burn him some money so he could find a hot demoness in Hell and have some fun,” Zhao Manyan said.

1

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless.

“I saw you were sitting there spaced out. What were you thinking about?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“I was thinking about Izisha,” Mo Fan said.

“F**k me… some heavy fetish you got there! But on the other hand, if you can really dominate her, it will save us a lot of trouble. We won’t have to worry about who will be elected the Goddess,” Zhao Manyan mentioned.

Mo Fan put on a fake smile, and simply ignored that nonsense. He murmured to himself, “I’m suspicious about Izisha’s resurrection.”

“She was the Goddess; what’s wrong with her being resurrected?” Zhao Manyan said.

“She doesn’t have the Spell of Resurrection! Xinxia had the Soul of the Parthenon Temple all along! There are only two ways to bring a dead person back to life. If it wasn’t the Spell of Resurrection that brought her back to life, does that mean her resurrection has something to do with Egypt or the God of Darkness? Otherwise, how did she manage to wake up as if she was still alive after she was seriously ill and chopped into pieces?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

“Chopped into pieces! Who the hell dared to chop the previous Goddess into pieces!?” Zhao Manyan blurted out with wide eyes.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan pondered for a moment before going inside the house.

Xinxia was helping ease Mu Bai’s pain.

Xinxia told Mo Fan that Mu Bai was still conscious, and could still hear people talking beside him. His condition was similar to a patient in a vegetative state, so Zhao Manyan was being very disrespectful by burning joss paper and knocking on his wooden clapper while Mu Bai was actually still alive.

“Xinxia,” Mo Fan went closer. Tata was no longer around to bother them, so he could finally act a little more reckless.

“Mm?” Xinxia responded.

“Does Izisha’s resurrection have something to do with the God of Darkness?” Mo Fan asked straight away.

Xinxia nodded.

Izisha must have made a deal with the God of Darkness. She looked normal on the surface, like a living person, yet she had been emitting a dark aura ever since she came back to life. It was also the reason Xinxia had told Mo Fan to ask Izisha about Mu Bai’s situation.

“Brother Mo Fan, I recall that you have claimed some of the Pharaoh Spring from the Egyptian team during the World College Tournament, right?” Xinxia asked shrewdly.

“Oh, that is some useful stuff!” Mo Fan confirmed.

Little Loach had given his cultivation a huge boost after absorbing the Pharaoh Spring, even though he had only acquired a small amount of it. Mo Fan was actually thinking of getting more of it from the Egyptian team.

Mo Fan did not consume all of the Pharaoh Spring. He had given Xinxia some of it, as he believed Xinxia would know how to use it better, since it had a pure energy of life.

“Izisha might have come back to life with the help of the Pharaoh Spring, but the Pharaoh Spring isn’t necessarily something the Pharaohs invented. They might have gotten it from the God of Darkness too,” Xinxia said.

“Does that mean Izisha is undead now?” Mo Fan asked.

Xinxia shook her head, “We can’t tell exactly what she is now.”

Izisha was definitely not undead, or the sacred magic Formations in Parthenon Temple would have driven her away. She still had a hint of sacredness about her, and she was still able to use the Healing and Blessing Elements. She could still heal people and drive away plagues with a sacred light.

If she was undead, or even living dead, she would not be able to use the White Magic, since the White Magic and Dark Magic would conflict with one another!

Either way, both Egypt and the God of Darkness had something to do with her resurrection, yet she had managed to bypass the rejection and condemnation of White Magic with some mysterious trick.

Unfortunately, they had yet to find any evidence related to the secret of Izisha’s resurrection. If people believed the way she came back to life was evil and corrupt, that would be treated as blasphemy to the gods the Parthenon Temple worshiped, and she would be overthrown instantly. There would be no need for them to compete with her any longer.

“The scariest thing is, we all know how rotten and wicked she is under the disguise of her flesh, yet we still can’t blow her cover, as no one is going to believe us!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

The Parthenon Temple was supposed to be the most sacred place in the world, yet its heart was already rotten and corrupted. If not, why would they condemn Holy Saint Wen Tai to eternal damnation? What sins did he commit? He was just shining so brightly that the others were jealous of him and wanted to get rid of him. His brilliance was so bright that it lit up the dark side in many people’s hearts, preventing them from keeping up their disguises.

Mo Fan had never met Wen Tai. He was unfamiliar with what kind of a person he was, but he believed Wen Tai was a godly man, since he had managed to convince Salan to choose the path of virtue.

Unfortunately, Wen Tai was dead.

Where did Salan come from?

Weren’t the high-rankers who condemned Wen Tai to Hell the ones who brought her up too? They had killed a sacred man and nurtured a devil!

Mo Fan finally realized why Xinxia could not afford to leave the Parthenon Temple. If Izisha was elected as the Goddess again, Salan would surely stir up great chaos to take revenge. If Izisha was still a ‘sacred person’, Salan would see every person that brilliance shone upon as demons. She had sworn to kill them all. If Izisha had become evil, a fight between the two she-devils was going to result in a bloodbath!

As for innocent people? The two could not care less about them. They were only concerned about winning the fight!

Following the rising sea level and the invasion of the sea monsters across the world, disasters, sickness, plagues, and deaths kept rising. As the Magic Associations and many countries were suffering, the status of the Parthenon Temple continued to rise, so the election of the Goddess was imminent.

The next Goddess would become a person that faith of the whole world clung to. Did Izisha predict all this? Was it the reason she had sealed herself up in the coffin and waited until the new era arrived?

Unfortunately, it did not work out according to her plan after Xinxia showed up with the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. Xinxia had ruined her perfect plan!

Salan had chopped Izisha into pieces to show everyone that Izisha had not come back to life using the Spell of Resurrection!

Izisha seemed to be very familiar with the God of Darkness, knowing how to Summon it to their world. She was also emitting the same strange aura as the Pharaoh Spring!

When Xinxia joined the Parthenon Temple, she went from an intern to a Candidate for the role of the Goddess. She had stopped Izisha from getting her way, but who was supporting Xinxia behind the scenes?

Mo Fan knew that someone had pushed Xinxia into the Parthenon Temple. Those people had never shown themselves, yet they were pulling strings behind the scenes. Who exactly were they?

Mo Fan believed Salan was not responsible for this. Salan had brought Xinxia to Bo City and hid her in his ordinary family because she did not want Xinxia to be involved in the Parthenon Temple’s politics.

It meant there was another faction behind the scenes!

The more Mo Fan thought about it, the more he felt Xinxia was like a puppet being controlled. They might not hurt Xinxia, but they would keep pushing her toward the heart of the struggle. What would happen to Xinxia if Izisha won in the end?

“Every time I come to the Parthenon Temple, I feel like I’m walking into a muddy swamp. The mud alone is enough to trap me, not to mention the demons and devils under it!” Mo Fan sighed deeply.

Xinxia knew someone was pulling strings behind the scenes, yet there was nothing she could do since those people were reluctant to show themselves.

What if she chose to leave?

Once Izisha reclaimed her power, would she let Xinxia go, knowing that she had the Soul of the Parthenon Temple?

Xinxia knew she could no longer live the same life as she had in the past after the Soul of the Parthenon Temple was exposed. She would rather fight bravely than end up being a burden to others because of how useless she was!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Ling!~”

Little Flame Belle snuck out of the Contracted Space after waking up from sleep while Mo Fan and Xinxia were having a heavy conversation. She flew straight into Xinxia’s gentle arms instead of staying on Mo Fan’s spacious shoulders.

Xinxia giggled when she saw the adorable little creature.

Xinxia and Little Flame Belle shared the same heart, so they were as close as mother and daughter.

As a matter of fact, the reason Mo Fan did not dare to accept Asha’ruiya’s offer the other night was because he was worried that Little Flame Belle might tell her mother about it!

Any way he looked at it, he had to make sure he was out of the range of their telepathy before doing anything mischievous. He definitely could not do anything in the Citadel of Athens!

The tension eased after Little Flame Belle showed up. Mo Fan pushed Xinxia’s wheelchair into the woods on the sacred mountain. He was purposely heading toward a remote corner.

“(Cough cough) Time for kids to go to bed,” Mo Fan noticed the environment was perfect. There was the moon, the lights in the distance, and enough cover and shadows in the area.

Little Flame Belle had a displeased look. The sun had only set less than an hour ago!

“Off you go. If you don’t sleep now, I won’t be giving you any snacks,” Mo Fan said.

Little Flame Belle knew she had to stick to Mo Fan most of the time as he had full control over the supply of her snacks. She had no choice but to go back to her Contracted Space unwillingly.

“Little Flame Belle’s flames don’t seem to be stable,” Xinxia told Mo Fan, having noticed something.

“Mm, she must be close to evolving, but I’m not sure why she has stayed like this for such a long time. She has yet to evolve fully,” Mo Fan agreed.

Mo Fan clearly remembered that whenever Little Flame Belle had a ‘fever’, meaning that her temperature was unstable, she was on the verge of evolving into the next stage. It had been the same when she went from the Infant Stage to her Youth Stage, then from the Youth Stage to the Adolescent Stage.

However, it had been almost half a year since she started having trouble controlling her temperature, yet she still had not evolved into a Flame Belle Empress.

She would evolve into a Flame Belle Empress in her next stage. Little Flame Belle had transformed into a Flame Belle Empress temporarily under the influence of the Time Liquid, defeating thousands of Nazca Monster Birds back then. Mo Fan would never forget how unstoppable she was!

The Flame Belle’s true form was her Mature Phase. She was so strong that he had an urge to drop to his knees and worship her!

“Brother Mo Fan, why don’t you let Little Flame Belle stay with me for some time?” Xinxia asked.

“Ah?” Mo Fan was taken by surprise.

“Little Flame Belle’s condition isn’t necessarily a good thing. If she is stuck in it for too long, it might affect her growth. Brother Mo Fan, being a candidate for the role of the Goddess isn’t entirely a bad thing. I have a lot of resources that ordinary Mages and factions would struggle to get their hands on,” Xinxia said.

“Oh Xinxia, you’re corrupted too…” Despite what Mo Fan said, he still raised his brows excitedly, as if that was exactly what he was hoping to hear.

His Lightning Element was at the Super Level, and it was the same with his Shadow Element. Although his Fire Element had always been his greatest fallback, it was indeed necessary to deal with Little Flame Belle’s strange condition first.

Besides, he usually did not have the time to supervise Little Flame Belle’s cultivation. He could just leave Little Flame Belle at the Parthenon Temple for a while and let Xinxia discipline the lazy bum. Perhaps she would already be a Flame Belle Empress when he came to take her back next time!

Mo Fan felt a surge of excitement inside when he recalled the power he could feel when the Flame Belle Empress Possessed him.

Mo Fan had defeated a Dark Swordmaster when he was Possessed by the Flame Belle Empress in Egypt. He was only an Advanced Mage back then!

“By the way, I brought the fruit of the Tree of Vows for you. This thing is a rare valuable of the Blessing Element. I thought it might come in handy for you, so I’ve been saving it until now,” Mo Fan finally remembered.

The Parthenon Temple might have plenty of resources, but they would not have the fruit of the Tree of Vows! Mo Fan had purposely kept it so Xinxia could grow stronger too!.

“Brother Mo Fan, that is something that the Tree of Vows has given you. It’s dedicated to you, similar to the Blessing of the God’s Seal. I can’t use it,” Xinxia shook her head.

“Ah? I thought I could give you a little surprise,” Mo Fan scratched his head awkwardly.

They arrived at a remote corner. The time when hormones were easily stimulated had arrived too. There was no sign of other people around. Most importantly, the annoying Tata was not around! Mo Fan initially planned to give Xinxia a little present to make her happy so he could conveniently place his hand on the butterfly knot on the back of her dress and undo it, allowing his hand to slip into her smooth waist and make its way toward her butt easily.

To his surprise, he already failed to carry out the first step. His hand froze in the air, defeated.

The fruit of the Tree of Vows was exclusive to him?

He should have consumed it right away! The others had obtained great benefits from it, especially the Feathers of the Wind Spirits that Zhang Xiaohou had acquired. They were insanely strong!

“Xinxia, don’t you think the moon is beautiful tonight?” Mo Fan suddenly changed the topic.

“The moon hasn’t shown up… Brother Mo Fan!” Xinxia immediately noticed a scorching hand slipping into an embarrassing spot before Xinxia could finish. She instantly blushed, “We are still outside…”

“That Tata is going to show up again once we go back,” Mo Fan said.

“But a place like this…” Xinxia blushed even further. Who the heck would even want to do it here? Anyone might visit the woods on the Mountain of the Goddess at any time. What if a few probationary servants stumbled into them as they came to take a stroll? How could she possibly stay in the Parthenon Temple any longer?

“It’s fine, I’ll set up a Realm of Shadow. No one is going to come. I’m just going to caress you a little,” Mo Fan said.

Caress her a little?

As if Xinxia had no idea what kind of a person Mo Fan was. There was no way he was going to stop at just caressing!

Mo Fan had a stern face, like he was in deep thought when they started going for a walk. She actually thought something was troubling him, yet he was having dirty thoughts all along! The problem was, to do it in a place like this… she could still see the mountain opposite the woods. The bushes of flowers were right beside them. There was also a comfortable bench nearby!

Mo Fan could not care less about all that.

Troubling thoughts? Little surprise? The woods on the Mountain of the Goddess?

So what if they were on a sacred mountain, everywhere could be a thrilling deserted garden as long as they were bold enough!

—

Xinxia was unable to walk. Her legs would lose their strength after taking a few steps, yet they were not much of a nuisance when carrying out certain activities.

They had always done it on a bed. They were too embarrassed to make it work before, but the environment here was perfect for them. They might even unlock some new postures…

“You don’t have to take it all off. Just roll it down to your knees. Like this, yeah, and face the other way. Sit on me slowly… I’ll carry you…” an evil voice instigated gently.

4

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Xinxia’s face was still red when they headed back. There was nothing more embarrassing than what they did. Meanwhile, Mo Fan was brimming with excitement, like he was extremely proud of himself.

Zhao Manyan was murmuring beside Mu Bai’s coffin. It was surprising how he could keep talking to a person in a vegetative state on his own.

“I…I’ll be going back first, Brother Mo Fan,” Xinxia said softly.

“Sure,” Mo Fan nodded. He glanced at the stern-faced Guardian Knight standing at the door. Tata was most likely going to show up soon.

Zhao Manyan stared at Mo Fan in a strange way as soon as Xinxia left. Mo Fan rubbed his nose with a puzzled look.

Zhao Manyan went up to Mo Fan and sniffed like a dog.

“What are you doing?” Mo Fan snapped.

“You assh***, Mu Bai’s corpse isn’t cold yet, but you’re already having outdoor sex. Did you even consider his feelings as a virgin!?” Zhao Manyan snarled.

“Those are two different things!”

“How was it?”

“It was f**king awesome!”

—

Lingling needed time to collect and filter the information given her. There was nothing Mo Fan could do to help her, so he could only wait patiently. To their relief, Mu Bai’s condition was not going to worsen anytime soon. They were at the Parthenon Temple’s Mountain of the Goddess, which had the tightest security. Their safety was guaranteed for the time being.

However, things were quite complicated in the Parthenon Temple. To make sure Mu Bai was safe, Mo Fan purposely found Kris and asked him to keep an eye on Mu Bai while he was away looking for the Night Amethyst.

“Kris, where are you bringing me to?” Mo Fan had only asked Kris to keep an eye on Mu Bai, yet he seemed to be planning something. He was bringing him toward the Hall of Knights.

The Hall of Knights was Haylon’s territory, but there were many other authority figures in the Hall of Knights. Haylon did not necessarily have a say in everything. Mo Fan was not sure if it had someone who had been around for a long time and was no different from a malignant tumor.

“Did you see any knights on your way to the Parthenon Temple? A Blue Star Combat Officer mentioned you when we were training in the morning yesterday. He said that you have the highest potential among the young Mages that are ranked internationally,” Kris said.

“He’s very insightful!” Mo Fan nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, he admires you, so he wants to meet you in person. I’m thinking of introducing you to him,” Kris said.

“Sure thing. By the way, is this the training ground for the Blue Star Knights? It’s fascinating!” Mo Fan agreed readily.

“Of course, as the knights of the Parthenon Temple, we have the best facilities to practice our magic. The training ground here is actually a mountain with great scenery. Haylon believes the Blue Star Knights are the fresh blood of the Hall of Knights, so the training ground and dueling ground have to be good enough. He asked people to turn the mountain into this training ground. The Blue Star Knights and Silver Moon Knights both normally practice here. The air quality and presence of magic here are wonderful. In addition to the Hall of Knights, the people from the other Halls, including the Hall of the Goddess will come here too,” Kris explained to Mo Fan.

Kris was currently one of the probationary knights being trained to serve the Candidates. He was still a long way away from becoming a real Guardian Knight, but the title of a probationary Guardian Knight was already insanely good for a Blue Star Knight!

The knights of the Parthenon Temple served the members of the Hall of the Goddess. In addition to having a greater allocation of resources, the servants, Muses, and Candidates whom they served would provide them with their greatest support. After all, the members of the Hall of the Goddess were the core of the Parthenon Temple, and the resources were mostly gathered in their hands. If the knights wanted to stand out, they had to serve the right person, in addition to showing their talents!

The Parthenon Temple had always been an organization of women’s rights. It was the only powerful organization focused on the Blessing Element!

“Kris, did you bring your friend over for a visit?”

“Kris, haven’t seen you in a while, you look a lot fatter. Have you been eating nice food ever since you were chosen as a probationary knight?”

“Kris, please send my greetings to the Goddess.”

“The result of the election isn’t out yet.”

“Does it even matter? There’s only one goddess in my heart!”

When they entered the spacious training ground, Mo Fan noticed most of the people were greeting Kris warmly. Kris responded with a smile too. Many were scoffing at him, yet he did not seem to be bothered.

They were mostly talking in English, but some were talking in Greek. Mo Fan could guess what they were saying from their expressions and body language.

“See that guy over there? He’s the Blue Star Combat Officer, Lido,” Kris pointed out for Mo Fan.

Mo Fan glanced at the circle set up in the training area. He saw a knight wearing a Blue Star uniform with golden embroidery along the edges standing in front of a group. He was rebuking the Blue Star Knights, as if he was not too pleased with their training. He was going to deprive them of their rest day as punishment!

Kris went up to Combat Officer Lido and said with a smile, “Combat Officer Lido, look who I brought!”

Lido turned around. He had a dark expression at first, yet his eyes glittered when he saw Mo Fan.

“Mo Fan!” Lido exclaimed.

Mo Fan noticed how enthusiastic the man sounded. He had to say, he had no idea who the fellow was.

“I’m well aware of the things you’ve done, including your outstanding performance during the World College Tournament… I’m so jealous of your Double Innate Elements. Many people once argued that Zorro’s Innate Talent is the strongest, but I disagreed. They will never understand how powerful a person with Double Innate Elements is when they reach the Super Level!” Lido exclaimed.

“Ugh… you’re pretty insightful,” Mo Fan said after a pause.

“Therefore, if I can defeat you, I’ll be considered one of the strongest young Mages too! I have been waiting for this day for a long time!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There must be a reason if something was out of the ordinary.

Mo Fan felt something was odd when the man was staring at him so passionately. As he thought, the man was not homosexual. He was thinking of raising his own status by stepping on Mo Fan!

“Combat Officer Lido, that’s a little inappropriate! Aren’t you a fan of Mo Fan?” Kris blurted out. He was greatly surprised.

Mo Fan looked at Kris’ naive face and let out a sigh. He really was a natural muddlehead. Kris still had no clue how wicked humans could be. Sometimes, when one person greatly admired another, they were not truly admiring them, but believed themselves or their students were stronger than the person they were fixated on!

“So he’s Mo Fan?”

“The Candidate seems pretty close to him.”

“I heard they are lovers.”

“Damn it, lovers!?” a Blue Star Knight almost yelled at the top of his lungs. He soon realized how impulsive he was.

“Humph, he only earned a name for himself during the World College Tournament. The Parthenon Temple isn’t allowed to take part in it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had a chance to win it!”

“I can easily tell that he isn’t worthy of the Candidate judging from his lack of etiquette!”

The members of the Parthenon Temple were not prohibited from entering a relationship. There were times when knights had managed to enter a relationship with the members of the Hall of the Goddess.

In the West here, Guardian Knights were merely the servants of women who held great authority. The master-servant relationship was still valid. The Parthenon Temple might not have stated it clearly, but the status of the women from the Hall of the Goddess was significantly higher than that of the knights. They were the nobles here, meaning they could easily win the support of the others. Being with a member of the Hall of the Goddess was the ultimate dream for the Guardian Knights!

The young Blue Star Knights were enraged when they heard Mo Fan and Xinxia were lovers!

What kind of a joke was that? Each of them had an outstanding background, and their looks were definitely more handsome than an Eastern monkey. They had put in so much effort to learn magic and proper etiquette, yet they could not touch even a corner of the Candidates’ dress. Meanwhile, this assh*** was able to tear a Candidate’s dress in half. How unforgivable!

Kris soon noticed that the majority of the knights were jealous of Mo Fan, not admiring him. He also realized he had done something unwise by bringing Mo Fan to the center of the conflict. He said apologetically, “Why don’t we go somewhere else? They are other attractions in the Hall of Knights.”

“I’m actually not that interested in the scenery. However, I immediately picked up the smell of people who deserve a beating as soon as I came here. It will be quite disrespectful if I simply turned and left. Either way, the knights of the Parthenon Temple are… one of the strongest organizations in the world…” Mo Fan purposely emphasized the words in the latter half of the sentence.

They did not understand the term ‘deserve a beating’. They were quite pleased at first, as they thought Mo Fan was complimenting them.

However, they were extremely uncomfortable when they heard they were only one of the strongest organizations, instead of the strongest organization!

The knights of the Parthenon Temple were the strongest in the world!

“Even though beating you guys up won’t necessarily improve my reputation, it’s better than being challenged by little shrimps wherever I go. If anyone tries to challenge me after today, I can easily use the knights of the Parthenon Temple as a standard to turn them down!” Mo Fan went on.

“Use us as a standard? What does he mean?” Lido raised his eyebrows. His thought process was a little slow.

“He’s saying that we are below him. Whoever wants to challenge him must beat us before they have the right to challenge him!” a student knight who came for a class said softly.

The faces of Combat Officer Lido and the Blue Star Knights who were training with him suddenly contorted. They had an urge to simply charge at Mo Fan and beat him up!

However, the knights treated etiquette very importantly. They had to conform to their rules of etiquette, even when they were being humiliated. They had to bow before drawing their swords out when challenging a person to a duel, so they would take back what they said. They would then accept the person’s sincere apology after winning the duel.

They would also not fight their enemy all at once, and would figure out a way to settle their disputes more elegantly. If their enemy did not agree with their method, they would consider using pure violence instead.

Would Mo Fan bother wasting his time with them?

He had long planned to teach these scum who were born with a natural sense of superiority a lesson. There were still good people among the knights, like the kind and fairly innocent Kris, as well as the expressionless knight who was looking after Xinxia’s safety. However, most of the knights he had encountered so far were useless idiots!

Their rules and customs of honor were supposed to earn the respect of others, regardless of a person’s identity and status. However, these people kept using them to show off their superiority by referring to themselves as honorable knights, while everybody else was just ordinary people in their eyes.

Mo Fan had already met Haylon, who was not too fussy about the rules of honor. Haylon was more concerned about a person’s talents and capabilities. Mo Fan did not believe Haylon was responsible for the current practices of the Hall of Knights. It had to be the work of some other authority figures, especially those who loved to emphasize a person’s lineage and heritage. They must have encouraged these young knights to be so full of themselves.

It was time to teach them a lesson!

As the Parthenon Temple’s son-in-law and Xinxia’s only knight-in-the-dark, Mo Fan felt the need to teach the correct way of thinking to the Parthenon Temple’s young bloods!

“Mo Fan, pardon me for my impropriety. You shouldn’t accept challenges to a duel so easily with your special identity…” Kris felt his head hurting. He was unsure about how to handle the situation.

“I was planning to practice my magic too. I think training with the Blue Star Knights is more interesting than practicing my spells on dummies,” Mo Fan replied evenly.

Despite saying that much, the only reason was because Mo Fan had a hot temper. He was not afraid to start a fight against whoever did not see eye to eye with him!

“How dare you compare us with dummies?” The Blue Star Knights’ faces darkened further.

The guy who did not even hold a position in the Parthenon Temple was humiliating the knights over and over again!

“You are no different from dummies under my magic,” Mo Fan replied easily.

A knight who happened to have blue hair among the Blue Star Knights shouted out, “Combat Officer, please give us permission to challenge him to a duel! We must make him take back his words at all costs! We will not accept his apology!”

“It’s true that as the Blue Star Combat Officer, I’m not allowed to challenge a student myself. However, my students might be able to have a friendly duel with Mo Fan to warm them up. Wandi, you shall earn back the dignity of the Blue Star Knights on behalf of us!” Lido smiled. He had managed to provoke both sides into a fight. He was worried that Mo Fan would not take the bait!

“Combat Officer Lido, I won’t be impressed if you only let a single one challenge me,” Mo Fan spoke up.

“Wandi is one of the strongest of this class. He’s our representative,” Combat Officer Lido replied.

“Some people might not be convinced of the result. It’s difficult to determine whether someone is stronger without fighting the duel themselves. Anyway, people won’t admit they are weaker unless they lose the duel themselves,” Mo Fan returned.

Many among the Blue Star Knights nodded. Wandi might be the strongest among them, but it still depended on his performance on that day. It was not rare for him to lose a few duels because he was not performing up to par. There were also other factors, like the restraints between different Elements, and one’s ability to adapt to the situation during a fight.

“Do you have a better suggestion?” Combat Officer Lido asked.

“Pick a bigger place, you and your whole class will fight me at the same time. If you think your students are stronger than me, you will have to prove it to me,” Mo Fan grinned. It completely exposed his true nature.

The whole training ground fell silent after Mo Fan finished his sentence!

Combat Officer Lido was no longer smiling in excitement, nor were his eyes filled with passion. His expression began to darken while his face started twitching. His eyes were filled with anger!

The Blue Star Knights were about to lose their minds.

Challenging an entire class of Blue Star Knights!

There were at least forty people in their class. Even the probationary Blue Star Knights had to be Advanced Mages, not to mention everyone in their class was an official Blue Star Knight. Combat Officer Lido was also an experienced knight. They believed Mo Fan might have to struggle if they sent a representative from among them to duel Mo Fan, and instead, the man was crazy enough to challenge the whole class of Blue Star Knights!

How humiliating…

It was incredibly humiliating that someone dared to challenge their whole class!

The duels between knights had always been one-to-one. They would not allow any third parties to intervene with their duels.

The fact that Mo Fan had suggested fighting forty Blue Star Knights at once was already massively looking down on them!

“Mo Fan, I can overlook that by simply assuming you’ve said something wrong,” Lido said coldly. He already stopped addressing Mo Fan formally.

In the eyes of the knights, dignity was more important than their lives. Honor could be passed down continuously, and it could determine the rise and fall of a clan, so they would not allow anyone to humiliate them!

Mo Fan was well aware of that, however, he could not care less about what they thought.

“There are things you can’t take back after you have said them. I might be wrong if I didn’t have the strength to back my statement up. However, if it was the other way around, it was just a normal statement from me,” Mo Fan said.

“A normal statement…” Lido’s face twitched even further.

Mo Fan enjoyed group fights the most. They were indeed very common events in his eyes, yet in the eyes of Combat Officer Lido and the Blue Star Knights, he was trampling on their dignity!

“You’ve disappointed us, but since we are knights, we insist on challenging you to one-on-one duels,” Lido stated coolly.

“I have always found those rules of yours annoying. I insist that you all fight me at the same time. Otherwise, some of you might not be convinced of the result,” Mo Fan returned shamelessly.

“It’s a humiliation for us to accept that,” Lido ground out.

“I’ve never respected the weak who are full of themselves.”

AHHHHHH!!!

They were going nuts!

The Blue Star Knights were about to go crazy!

“Combat Officer Lido, we’ll do as he says. I must beat him up, even if it means I might lose my role as a knight!” Wandi snarled.

“Combat Officer Lido, I’m willing to resign too just to protect the dignity of the Blue Star Knights!”

“Me too!”

“Me too!”

Mo Fan’s words had driven the whole class crazy. They were willing to resign just to beat Mo Fan up. They could not care less about their decorum as knights after being humiliated like that.

Anger was contagious. Some of the Blue Star Knights were relatively calm, but they were around the same age and were jealous of Mo Fan. On the other hand, Mo Fan’s words were just too harsh. No one managed to remain calm.

Who did he think he was? He thought he was comparable to the Parthenon Temple the whole world admired, just because he had won the World College Tournament?

He was only a Candidate’s lover, not even of a member of the Parthenon Temple. They were only addressing him formally out of politeness!

He was just a nobody, yet he dared to humiliate the Blue Star Knights!

Combat Officer Lido realized the duel was inevitable as more people volunteered to resign just to participate in the duel.

Let them be…

The Blue Star Knights had offered to resign to protect their dignity. The Hall Master and the Hall Mother would not blame them for it. Besides, it was Mo Fan who came up with the crazy idea in the first place. They could explain themselves, even if the matter was brought up to the Candidate!

It was like a protest at school. A student would threaten to quit school to protest against it. If the school ignored the matter, the student might actually be let go. But if a whole class were to quit the school, everyone was going to be fine, since the school would not allow an entire class to quit, regardless of the circumstances. The school might end up in international headlines otherwise.

The Blue Star Knights were aware of this, so they had all volunteered to resign just to participate in the duel for such a reasonable cause. They would at most be scolded for acting recklessly, but they would still retain their roles as Blue Star Knights.

They would worry about the consequences after venting their frustrations. They could not bear it any longer!

—

Mo Fan glanced at the Blue Star Knights’ petty acting with a smile. He did not seem to be bothered, despite the possibility of catching too much attention.

On the other hand, Kris almost fainted.

He had only planned to bring Mo Fan here so Lido could meet him in person. How did it even end up like this? A whole class was offering to resign just to challenge Mo Fan to a duel. Was Mo Fan going to offend the entire Hall of Knights!?

Mo Fan waited patiently until the class of Blue Star Knights took off their coats, and folded their coats nicely off to the side. They were obviously planning to put them back on again.

“Kris, what about you? You are one of us too. Are you still going to stand on his side?” Wandi asked. He had already taken off his coat.

“Wandi, this only happened because of me. I shouldn’t have…” Kris was already stammering. He was trembling, too nervous to act.

“Enough nonsense, just tell us which side you are on. Humph, fawning upon an outsider because he’s close to a Candidate isn’t the way of a knight!” Wandi scolded him.

Wandi sounded extremely serious. Kris’ mind went blank after hearing those words.

He looked at Mo Fan, then at the class of Blue Star Knights who had taken off their coats. Many of them were from the same batch as him. He could still remember some of their names. He had been quite close with them in the past.

“A piece of advice from me, if you still want to hang around in the Hall of Knights, you should join them,” Mo Fan whispered.

“I’m sorry, mister,” Kris said.

“I should be the one saying sorry. I’ve placed you in a difficult position,” Mo Fan smiled.

“No no no, it was my fault for treating everything so naively. It’s all my fault. I should take responsibility for it,” Kris said seriously.

Mo Fan was struggling to understand what Kris meant.

Kris undid his buttons and took off the coat symbolizing his role of a Blue Star Knight.

Mo Fan observed Kris carefully. His hands were shaking visibly. He knew how difficult it had been for him to achieve his current position. He also had a bright future ahead of him after he was chosen as a probationary Guardian Knight, yet he was determined in his actions.

He knew the consequences. He had chosen to become a Blue Star Knight. He would always be a Blue Star Knight.

If he sided with Mo Fan, he would no longer be a knight or the servant of a Candidate. The Hall of Knights would have no place for him!

“Well done, the Blue Star Knights are proud of you!” Wandi realized Kris’ decision after seeing his reaction.

“Wandi, you’ve misunderstood. I’m resigning because I have decided to side with Mo Fan. I will be participating in the duel, too. I will accept the challenge together with him,” Kris also folded his coat nicely and placed it off to the side. However, he believed he had no chance of putting it on again.

Kris’ actions took everyone by surprise.

“Traitor!”

“How dare you overlook the way he humiliated the Blue Star Knights, and you still call yourself a Blue Star Knight?”

“You are not worthy to stay close to a Candidate!”

“The Blue Star Knights are ashamed of you!” Wandi snarled, pointing at Kris.

Kris almost burst into tears when everyone swore at him.

However, it did not change his mind. It was he who had brought Mo Fan here, but he had not realized many people just wanted to defeat him because he was considered the most talented Mage of their age. He had not realized it had only come down to this since both sides were not willing to compromise because of how aggressive his comrades were.

Mo Fan did not do anything wrong. He was just responding to their provocation.

The Blue Star Knights were not wrong, either. They just wanted to prove their strength.

It was all his fault, and he had to take responsibility for it.

—

—

Lido had already mentioned he had waited a long time for this day, but this development was no longer following his script.

Mo Fan and Kris versus the entire class of Blue Star Knights.

Two versus forty!

A duel of this scale did not even need any promoting. News about it spread as rapidly as a nuke. Almost every Mage in Greece would come and watch it if the Hall of Knights had not forbidden unauthorized personnel from entering.

Combat Officer Lido was a cunning man. He knew he could not afford to drag the matter on for too long. He had to settle it as quickly as possible.

He had to start the duel before the news reached the Hall of the Goddess. Otherwise, the higher-ups would definitely intervene with it!

—

The others in the training ground had moved over to the spectators’ seats. It was easily possible to combine the individual training grounds into a huge battleground. Lido decided to hold the duel right on the spot. The people on both sides quickly moved into their positions.

The difference in numbers was just too overwhelming. Even the members of the Parthenon Temple were dumbfounded.

They thought the people of the Hall of Knights just wanted a friendly duel with Mo Fan when the quarrel started. Little did they know, it would turn into such an astonishing sight!

“I won’t be able to keep an eye on you once the fight begins. You should be careful,” Mo Fan told Kris.

“I’ll protect you,” Kris said.

“No, that won’t be necessary. Actually, you shouldn’t be so worried about me just because I’m close to a Candidate. You should have stayed on their side instead,” Mo Fan sighed.

Kris was definitely not going to have a pleasant time in the Hall of Knights from today on. Men were scarier than women when it came to crowding someone out.

“I…I’m not doing it because of the Candidate. I just think I should help you because I’m your friend, even though I can only take on one or two Blue Star Knights myself,” Kris stammered.

Mo Fan was stunned by the words. He recalled something similar happened when he was still studying at the Pearl Institute.

He too had a partner. He has already forgotten the person’s name, yet his behavior was totally different from Kris’ reaction.

Mo Fan was disappointed back then, but he was actually quite touched this time.

A real knight should be someone like Kris!

“Sure, you take on the guy called Wandi, leave the rest to me!” Mo Fan reached out his fist.

Kris stared at Mo Fan’s fist. He too reached out his fist and gave Mo Fan a fist bump after a few seconds.

Friends… Different people might grow at different rates. However, a true friend would not think his one perfect effort was insignificant when you were able to handle ninety-nine percent of the trouble.

A true friend was willing to endure hardships together with you all the time!

Mo Fan did not make friends easily, but the spirit of a knight which the naturally muddleheaded Kris had shown had earned his respect!

“I’m glad I can fight alongside the most talented young Mage.” Kris put on a wry smile. It was worse than a crying expression.

“I had a neighbor. He was skinny and was picked on all the time. I always helped him whenever he was in a fight. I usually beat three or four kids myself while he bit one of them… We would always go home with swollen faces!” Mo Fan stepped forward as he spoke.

“Really? We might lose a limb or two today,” Kris said.

“Later, I found out that the kids didn’t bully him because he was skinny, but he started the fight because he saw them laughing at my sister,” Mo Fan continued.

Kris dropped his jaw, left speechless.

“Do you know who my sister that the kids were laughing at is?” Mo Fan went on calmly.

Kris was immediately struck by lightning. He could not find any words!

He still remembered how the Candidate was enraged after the priest of the Hall of Faith had locked Mo Fan up. It was during that same incident that he learned Mo Fan was the Candidate’s brother.

The girl who was laughed at. The Candidate who had to rely on a wheelchair to move around…

What right did Mo Fan have?

Almost every Blue Star Knight was bothered by that question, but Kris realized the answer immediately.

What right did Mo Fan have?

The fact that he had been looking after the Candidate when she was just an ordinary girl with a defect!

Even the knights of the entire Parthenon Temple were not worthy to compare themselves to him!

Chapter 1950: Super Level, Ink Shadow

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The sky was dark, yet not a single drop of rain could be squeezed out of it. The air on the mountain felt heavy. The Blue Star Knights opposite Mo Fan and Kris felt like a beast was about to be released from their hearts.

Wandi was the most impatient person among the Blue Star Knights. As the elite of the group and the first person to resign to teach Mo Fan a lesson, he decided to take the lead!

Wandi was a Light Mage, but unlike most Light Mages who focused on defense and support, he was able to turn his Light Element into armor. The weak Mage suddenly transformed into an armored sacred warrior, equipped with a Magical Longspear emitting a light that was as scorching as flames.

Gorgeous!

Wandi’s magic was rather unique. He had invented his own way of doing battle with his magic. It reminded Mo Fan of a guy called Guan Yu on his team during the World College Tournament. He also relied on his Magic Weapon as his primary way of attack.

Most magic equipment was only single-use, including Magic Armor and Shields, and could only be used a limited number of times during a fight. Someone would therefore need a long-lasting Deathstrike Magic Equipment if they were thinking of choosing the same path as Wandi and Guan Yu.

Wandi had obviously come from a wealthy background, as the Burning Spear in his hands was extremely expensive. It was rare to see someone among ordinary Mages charging at their enemy like a warrior. Most people would have no clue how to defend themselves when a powerful magic warrior suddenly charged at them.

Wandi was targeting Mo Fan right from the beginning. In his eyes, winning the World College Tournament was nothing worth mentioning. Why would anyone treat the achievements someone had earned while they were still a student so seriously?

The burning Spear brought up flames like burning ravens. The flames surged forward as the Spear flashed with a blinding burst of light.

Mo Fan remained standing still. His eyes emitted a mysterious silver flicker while staring at the fascinating spell, widening before Wandi’s attack reached him.

Wisps of will immediately turned into invisible steel cables, intertwining into a zone of Will, stopping Wandi from coming any closer. It looked like Wandi’s attack had frozen in mid-step!

His movements were oddly slow, moving as stiffly as a marionette.

His flames and scorching light could not spread any further. They all stopped less than three meters in front of Mo Fan, their energy slowly drifting away!

“Flames of Exploding Star!”

Wandi thrust his Spear forward. Exploding flames erupted from the tip of the Spear like meteorites sweeping through the night sky. They sprang at Mo Fan with overwhelming force.

Mo Fan finally moved this time, but he was moving forward instead of backing away.

The Flames of Exploding Star blinked rapidly in front of Mo Fan. The explosions could easily destroy a hill under normal circumstances, yet their force was unable to break through the Zone which Mo Fan had set up with his Will. He was walking freely through the explosions like they were all just a breeze.

Wandi’s eyes turned bloodshot as they filled with anger!

How did Mo Fan nullify two of his strongest attacks with only the simplest Telekinesis of the Space Element?

“Don’t you underestimate me!” Wandi yelled furiously. The light and flames on him grew stronger.

Mo Fan walked past Wandi like he was just a little kid swinging a toy Spear around. He casually walked past Wandi and Sealed off his attack with the Shadow Element. Mo Fan then turned into a dark shadow and vanished into Wandi’s flames. The shadow started drifting toward the rest of the Blue Star Knights.

Wandi’s movement was Sealed, freezing him in place. He was wearing a terrified expression now, and was feeling enormous pressure. He did not understand why Mo Fan had simply walked past him when he had the perfect opportunity to launch his counterattack.

The Seal only lasted briefly. Wandi soon regained his freedom, yet he no longer had the courage to cast his spells when he saw Mo Fan was perfectly unharmed!

“Come, don’t you say you are the strongest Magic Association in the world? Don’t you say you are going to serve the Parthenon Temple until your deaths? I’m the demon who has violated your Goddess, can you even stop me!?” Mo Fan’s shadow appeared eerily in front of the Blue Star Knights, exuding an evil and ghastly Aura.

The Blue Star Knights were infuriated by his words. No one was allowed to blaspheme their Goddesses, be it in imagination, words, or actions!

The other Blue Star Knights finally made their moves. They were all Advanced Mages, and had initially thought winning the duel by numbers was nothing impressive, yet the man had gone so far just to provoke them! As the first people started Casting their spells, more people followed.

Mo Fan had indeed provoked them all!

Brilliant spells shining in different colors intertwined on the battleground. Their radiance lit up the other mountains nearby. As different Elements combined together, they might trigger an Elemental Storm from the contradicting energies of the Elements, which might result in greater destruction!

Mo Fan realized the Blue Star Knights were impressive in certain ways. Their Advanced Spells were no longer bound by the standard forms of the Advanced Spells. Their Fire Spells were not just simple Sky-Flame Funerals. Their Lightning Spells were not the Silent Deadly Bolt, and their Light Spells were not the Plummeting Rays.

They had long practiced their control over the Elements and used their understanding of their magic when Casting their spells, manipulating the spells into forms that fit their fighting ../style and capabilities better.

It was a great thing to figure out their unique ../style while they were still at the Advanced Level. It prepared them to become a unique Mage even prior to reaching the Super Level!

Mo Fan did not have a tortoise shell like Zhao Manyan, and could not afford to withstand the impacts of so many Advanced Spells at once.

Mo Fan dissolved into his shadow before the spells could crash onto him. The spells washed away the shadow like it was just an ink stain, yet Mo Fan did not vanish into thin air…

Ink Shadow!

It was the Advanced version of Mo Fan’s Fleeing Shadow. It was even stronger than the shadow images Bei Jiang had used before.

The Ink Shadow was able to weave through destructive spells, meaning that if his opponents did not specifically restrict his Shadow Element, he could just dodge their attacks with ease by relying on the Ink Shadow!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The most powerful Shadow Spells were related to a Domain that was established beforehand by spreading out the Caster’s Dark Material.

The spells of the Dark Element had a great weakness. Whenever the Light Element was used and the light it produced was too bright for shadows to stay around, the Shadow Element would no longer work, making it difficult for Shadow Mages to use spells like the Fleeing Shadow and Giant Shadow Spike.

Mo Fan was in the middle of the exploding spells, yet he was able to cast Ink Shadow freely thanks to the Dark Moon Crystal he had obtained from Jimei University!

The magical Dark Moon Crystal had thoroughly modified the traits of Mo Fan’s Dark Material, building a powerful Dark Vein into Mo Fan’s body.

The Dark Vein was similar to Mo Fan’s blood veins, and was located inside Mo Fan’s body. The reason he could use Ink Shadow without being affected by the Light Element was because the Dark Energy was constantly flowing through his body. The lack of Dark Energy on the outside would not affect Mo Fan’s magic now!

His Ink Shadow left only a faint presence in the area where the spells had bombarded. The real Mo Fan had woven through the Blue Star Knights and reached a safer spot.

“He’s over there!”

“Damn it, was it Blink?”

“No way, I have been staring at him all the time. I was going to interrupt his Space Spell as soon as I saw its flicker. There was no way he could escape with Blink when our spells landed on him!” a Blue Star Knight with the Psychic Element exclaimed.

It was difficult to use Blink in an area being blasted with Elemental Spells. There had no clue as to how Mo Fan relocated himself.

“Look out, under your feet!” An alert Light Mage had noticed something.

Many immediately lowered their gaze and noticed the ground they were standing on had been replaced with a huge black swamp. Their shoes had already sunk a few millimeters into it.

When did the black swamp appear?

“Get rid of it!” Everyone knew the Light Element was effective against Dark Magic!

The benefits of having an advantage in numbers was displayed, as many of the Blue Star Knights were Light Mages. They immediately drove the dark swamp below their feet away when they realized something was not right.

The Light Spells were very effective. They managed to drive away the Dark Magic, even though Mo Fan’s Shadow Element had reached the Super Level.

Mo Fan was not too bothered by it. It was only one of his attempts. It had managed to keep a few Blue Star Knights busy.

“Mo Fan, look out!” Kris’ voice suddenly appeared amid the blasts.

Mo Fan turned around and saw four Blue Star Knights sneaking up from behind him. They were rapidly firing Lightning Spells at him, intending to paralyze him!

Mo Fan was able to absorb Lightning Magic, but that did not necessarily mean he would be able to endure every Lightning Spell. Those Lightning Spells were obviously imbued with the power of Soul-grade Seeds. He would obviously lose some strength if the lightning hit him!

Mo Fan raised his hands without turning around. “Rock Stele!”

1

His hands were emitting a golden-brown light. A huge stele suddenly emerged from the ground around a meter away, standing firmly behind Mo Fan.

The Lightning Spells struck the golden-brown stele, preventing them from reaching Mo Fan. The Lightning Magic was unable to penetrate it.

“Damn it, he has the Earth Element too!?” The Blue Star Knights with the Lightning Element were frustrated.

The Earth Element was perfect at restricting the Lightning Element’s conductivity. Almost any Lightning Mage would roll their eyes as soon as they saw the thick barrier of rock!

“It’s fine, we’ve distracted him.”

“Look above him.”

A dozen terrifying ice caskets were falling down on Mo Fan just as he nullified the sneak attack from behind!

Even if the Icebound Coffins did not inflict serious injuries on Mo Fan, their chill was still beyond an ordinary person’s tolerance.

Mo Fan reacted swiftly, and the soil under his feet rippled as he increased his speed with Earth Wave. The Icebound Coffins were not all falling at the same rate. Mo Fan was able to avoid their direct impacts with his nimble footwork!

As he expected, the Icebound Coffins were not dangerous because of their force of impact, but from the insane freezing energy that was unleashed when they smashed into the ground.

The cold surged wildly instead of spreading slowly like a normal Ice Spread.

Mo Fan could not afford to preserve his strength any further! “Blazing Ignition!”

Mo Fan was engulfed in flames as the Calamity Fire, Ardent Sunset, and Meteor Scarlet were unleashed simultaneously, forming a Domain in the shape of a ring. It was like an impenetrable wall, stopping the Ice Magic from pushing any closer!

If Little Flame Belle was around, the Ice Element would not necessarily suppress his Fire Element. The truth was, when the Fire Magic was stronger, the Ice Element was the one that would be suppressed instead.

The Icebound Coffins were nullified too! The Blue Star Knights began to feel ashamed. Their spells were stronger as they were Casting them in a group, yet they still could not take Mo Fan out after a few volleys?

“Keep attacking, use Intermediate Spells if you need to, don’t stop!”

The Blue Star Knights were overwhelmed by anger. They did not give Mo Fan any chance to catch his breath.

They needed some time to recover from the Casting of their Advanced Spells, but they could fire their Intermediate Spells continuously. It was almost impossible to defeat a group of Mages alone. Even a demon creature would have to withdraw from the fight, let alone a human!

Intermediate Spells were easy to cast since they were all Advanced Mages. The damage of Intermediate Spells being fired at a high rate could be just as significant. It was unlikely that Mo Fan would be able to defend himself by hiding behind an Earth Spell. Mo Fan was not Zhang Xiaohou, after all. He was unable to weave through a rain of bullets like a ghost.

Mo Fan did not dodge the attacks. He relocated himself to a spot where he was facing most of the Blue Star Knights to ensure no one was going to sneak up on him from behind.

Kris was quite intelligent. He noticed Mo Fan was wary of enemies showing up behind him. He immediately advanced closer to Mo Fan and kept a close eye on the Blue Star Knights with the Shadow Element.

The Intermediate Spells were too easy to cast. Every Blue Star Knight was firing them like an automatic weapon!

Mo Fan did not Blink away when he saw the destructive spells approaching him.

Blinking away would not make any difference. His enemies were casting Intermediate Spells continuously. They would simply keep firing Intermediate Spells at him after he relocated to a safe spot.

Mo Fan stood there, observing the paths the spells were flying along.

“Chaos Vortex!”

Mo Fan suddenly executed a spell that took every Blue Star Knight by surprise!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Kris now realized why Mo Fan needed someone to defend his back. The Chaos Vortex could only face in one direction!

The Intermediate Spells flew into the vortex like they had entered a different world. The spells were devoured regardless of how much or what type of energy they possessed.

The Chaos Vortex did have a capacity, but the Intermediate Spells of these Blue Star Knights were obviously nowhere close to its limit. Their energy was completely absorbed by the vortex.

“Reverse!”

Mo Fan spun the vortex in the opposite direction, firing the strengthened Intermediate Spells back at the Blue Star Knights. He suddenly turned into a magic Gatling gun, firing a rain of bullets back at the Blue Star Knights.

The Blue Star Knights immediately lost their ground, and many of them fled for their lives. The Chaos Vortex was not an offensive spell by itself, but it was able to keep absorbing nearby energy. As a result, the spells reflected by it that had been provided by the Blue Star Knights were unusually strong.

Combat Officer Lido clenched his teeth when he saw his Blue Star Knights could not inflict even the slightest injury on Mo Fan after a few rounds. He had an urge to join in on the duel himself!

The spells reflected by the Chaos Vortex left a great mess across the battleground. Not every Blue Star Knight had a great defense, and the spells from the Chaos Vortex were equivalent to a group of forty knights bombarding them with Intermediate Spells. There was no doubt someone was going to be injured after the rain of spells poured down at them.

The glow in Mo Fan’s eyes was replaced by a silver gleam. “Air Catapults!” he shouted as he focused.

The Chaos Vortex was only an Intermediate Spell. It was best used when the Mage was targeted by a variety of Elemental Spells.

1

Mo Fan immediately cast a Space Spell once the Chaos Vortex was gone.

His Will split into countless bolts of solid air. They shot rapidly at the Blue Star Knights who were still stumbling around in the smoke and dust swept up by the previous rain of spells. Blood jetted into the air, followed by cries of agony from the Blue Star Knights before they could even react.

Mo Fan’s Air Catapult was a spell that the Blue Star Knights had never seen before. They did not expect the Will of the Space Element to be turned into deadly weapons, not to mention the homing feature of the air bolts. The bolts were even able to rotate one hundred and eighty degrees after passing them by and hit them from the back!

Mo Fan was actively controlling the Air Catapults, and immediately fired the air bolts whenever he saw a Star Constellation appearing close to a Blue Star Knight. He was preventing his enemies from using their Advanced Spells, even though the air bolts would not necessarily land on his targets!

“An arrogant man like you must be despised by everyone!” a loud voice shouted from behind Mo Fan.

Mo Fan turned around and saw Kris was struggling to stop several Blue Star Knights by himself. A Blue Star Knight with the Wind Element and Fire Element was only inches away from Mo Fan.

He was sprinting in the wind, his arms spread far apart. He threw a fist engulfed in flames at Mo Fan as he drew close enough.

Mo Fan saw the flames surging at him like an eagle. The man was obviously a Fire Mage with an Innate Talent. His flames were soaring like eagles, and his Fire Spells were obviously stronger than ordinary Advanced Mages too!

Eagle Strike Fiery Fist?

Mo Fan turned around and put on a mocking grin!

“You’re displaying your small skill before an expert!” Mo Fan told the fellow.

Did it matter if the man had unleashed his flames first? As Mo Fan’s fist burned against the air, a fierce flame sprang forward and put out the Eagle Strike Fiery Fist the Blue Star Knight was so proud of!

Mo Fan’s Fiery Fist was followed by terrifying explosions. The Blue Star Knight trying to pummel Mo Fan with a Fiery Fist was sent flying. His Eagle Flames were only spectacular visually; they were no match for Mo Fan, who had improved his Fiery Fist to the sixth-tier!

He had three Soul-grade Flames and the sixth-tier Fiery Fist. No matter how talented the Blue Star Knight was, he did not stand a chance before the overwhelming differences in their strengths.

That Blue Star Knight was knocked a huge distance away. He could not even feel the pain while he was flying through the air. His mind was full of disbelief.

He had thrown his fist first… so how did he lose so miserably!?

The Blue Star Knight fell to the ground at the edge of the battleground. He was no longer able to rise back to his feet.

“You there, you shouldn’t assume you are safe enough to cast Advanced Spells just because my air bolts aren’t targeting you. Didn’t anyone teach you to check your flanks before constructing your Star Constellation?” Mo Fan glanced at four Blue Star Knights who were around two hundred meters away on his right.

The four Blue Star Knights were wielding destructive spells. They had dodged the rain of spells from Mo Fan’s Chaos Vortex and found a perfect chance to channel their Advanced Spells.

However, Mo Fan was not only controlling the battleground with the Air Catapults. The four Blue Star Knights were totally unaware of the shadows looming over them. The shadows had climbed onto their backs like evil spirits, and now stabbed their targets in the head.

Mo Fan obviously did not use the Rebelling Shadow Throat Slice, since he had no intention of killing the Blue Star Knights. He was only going to knock them out. The psychological effect of the Shadow Element was more effective than crippling an enemy!

The four Blue Star Knights did not expect Mo Fan’s eerie shadows to ambush them. They immediately fainted after they were stabbed in the temple.

“Idiots!” Combat Officer Lido cursed angrily.

They even forgot to set up a basic defense. They were taken out so easily by Mo Fan’s Shadow Element!

Lido memorized those four Blue Star Knights. He swore he was not going to let them graduate from his class so easily after acting so overly stupid!

“That guy is so good! He managed to take out five Blue Star Knights even when he’s at a disadvantage in numbers. Not many people could do that,” the members of the Parthenon Temple who were watching the duel discussed among themselves.

“I wouldn’t be able to last for more than ten seconds.”

“He is only using some basic spells too! I wonder how many Blue Star Knights would be defeated if he found a chance to use his powerful spells?…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Hall of Knight’s Mount Beauty Training Ground was open to members of the Parthenon Temple. As the duel kept going, more people from other halls came to watch it.

“My Heavens, I thought the Blue Star Knights were fighting another team. Why did they team up to bully two people?” a Mage of Faith who had just arrived asked.

“What bully? They are being crushed!.”

“Another one is taken out…”

“(Sigh), the Blue Star Knights are too young. The man was clearly using a Lightning Spell, yet they didn’t immediately dodge it or defend themselves with the Earth Element.”

“Do you really think ordinary Earth Spells can endure the damage of that terrifying Lightning Spell? Didn’t you see their defenses collapsing like bubbles?”

The twelvefold damage amplification of Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant had played an important role in the fight.

Many people were familiar with Soul-grade Seeds after reaching the Advanced Level. They knew there existed some Soul-grade Seeds that could strengthen a person’s magic up to sixfold. However, even though they were very cautious when facing Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic, their efforts were still meaningless against the Lightning Tyrant!

With its twelvefold damage amplification, even Mo Fan’s Intermediate Lightning Spells were enough to pose a huge threat to the Advanced Mages!

When Mo Fan cast an Intermediate Lightning Spell, a Blue Star Knight naively thought he could withstand it, but was instead scorched black by the Lightning Strike. Another of his opponents was taken out instantly!

—

The battle hadn’t started very long ago, but the Blue Star Knights had already lost ten people.

Most of the Blue Star Knights were thinking of proving themselves. The proudest ones among them had attacked Mo Fan, while the others were preserving their strength.

However, when they saw Mo Fan taking out their comrades and thinning out their numbers, they realized the young man they had challenged to a duel was much stronger than they had expected. They might actually lose if they did not fight with their full strength!

As a matter of fact, if they had not witnessed ten of their comrades being taken out right before them, they would never have thought that a young man around their age could take on their entire class of Blue Star Knights!

—

“Kris, piss off. You’re a disgrace to the Blue Star Knights!” Wandi cursed anxiously.

Kris’ strength was actually on par with Wandi. He had even secured the upper hand in the fight against Wandi.

Wandi was extremely annoyed. He did not want to fight Kris. His target had always been Mo Fan!

“You can’t even defeat me!” Kris scoffed back.

“How amusing, who do you think you are? Did you forget you were just a disciple of a falling clan half a year ago? Even though you joined the Parthenon Temple at the same time as us, you were just a lackey back then. Do you think you would have the right to stand in front of me and talk to me now if you weren’t lucky enough to earn the favor of a Candidate!?” Wandi snarled.

Kris’ expression darkened after hearing those words.

Kris might have been a naïve muddlehead, but his thoughts were not slow. After he was chosen to serve a Candidate, he had noticed Wandi, whom he had treated as a friend, was acting strangely toward him. He would sound envious and disdainful, and most importantly, he had forced Kris to make a choice that might affect his career.

Wandi had always been jealous of him. He envied Kris because Kris was chosen to be a probationary Guardian Knight!

Kris finally toughened up. “Wandi, stop deceiving yourself. Can’t you tell? Even if you and the others win the duel, you won’t be able to withstand a single attack from Mo Fan… You had already lost at the start of the battle. He didn’t even bother taking you out, so he asked me to deal with you instead!”

“You… shut the f**k up!” Wandi was enraged. The golden armor he was wearing began to unleash all its power. The Deathstrike Magic Equipment in his hand burst into flames again.

“You have indeed lost your mind. Did you forget that I’m a Summoner?” Kris huffed.

A Steel Griffin dove from the sky while they were talking. Its sharp claws sliced into Wandi’s chest just as he thought he could defeat Kris. Crimson blood jetted into the air.

Injuries were pretty common in a duel. The Steel Griffin had perfectly controlled its attack. If Kris was a little crueler, the Steel Griffin could have broken Wandi’s ribs with ease!

“I haven’t received any benefits and resources from the Candidate even to this day. I’ve been practicing diligently myself, yet all of you assumed I managed to come so far because of mere luck?… Wandi, you have such great talents and a good background. You also have a full set of luxurious magic Equipment, yet you can’t even defeat me! You’ve wasted all your time on trying to feel superior over others and fawning one another with others who are as narrow-minded as you are!” Kris was extremely disappointed in Wandi.

They had joined the Hall of Knights at the same time. They used to be quite close, yet their friendship had gone bad after Kris was selected as a probationary Guardian Knight.

“You…What right do you have to say those words to me! Even if you’ve won, it doesn’t mean you’re stronger than me!” Wandi clutched his wounds with a resentful face.

“What about Mo Fan? Does he have the right? Would you still be standing if you were fighting thirty-nine Blue Star Knights alone?” Kris instantly rebuked him. “The truth is, you just can’t admit that other people are stronger than you. You keep telling yourself that they are stronger because of luck!”

Kris’ words stabbed Wandi in the heart.

Wandi was not retarded. He already knew Mo Fan was stronger than some Super Mages after taking out ten Blue Star Knights by himself. The Blue Star Knights were clearly no match for him.

He was around their age, yet the difference in their strength was already so huge. Even if he was struggling to admit it, the truth was right before his eyes!

“Shadow Mirage: Thousand Troops!”

The Dark Material had spread across a great area without alerting the Blue Star Knights. It was not as obvious as the Swamp of Darkness, nor was it like the Nyx Regime. Mo Fan’s Realm of Darkness had arrived like dusk. The people in the duel thought they were still in the day, but night had long arrived. Countless shadows were nurtured and strengthened while waiting to be Summoned by Mo Fan!

Chapter 1954: Summoning vs Summoning

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The shadows were not flat on the ground in the zone. They were standing there like living creatures.

They looked like evil soldiers from another world. Their hollow eyes had a bright red glow, like flames were burning in them.

They had come here to take over the area by bringing utter destruction upon it!

The shadows resembled the Blue Star Knights, but each of them was riding a dark horned beast and they were holding different weapons. The Dark Aura released from their bodies engulfed them like armor!

Black heavy armor, a dark horned beast as their mount, and deadly weapons with strong murderous intents: their Aura was already overwhelming as they were preparing for the fight!

Mo Fan had used Shadow Fiend: Thousand Troops in Egypt before, but the shadows he had Summoned back then did not have the excellent equipment that they did now. If the shadows only consisted of mere peasants in the past, this time he had Summoned a troop of Dark Knights from the Dark Plane! Their strength was not to be underestimated!

The name Thousand Troops was a clear indication of the insane number of shadows. Mo Fan did not have a thousand men under his command, but the shadow knights before him were comparable to a troop of vanguards. Mo Fan gave his order, and the knights charged ahead, leaving a trail of killing intent behind!

The Blue Star Knights started panicking when faced with the overwhelming Aura of the Shadow Knights. They had no clue about how to defend themselves.

Heavy swords and spears thrust forward. In addition to that, the force of impact when the knights were charging at full speed was incredible. The Blue Star Knights were covered in rotting wounds after the shadow knights landed their attacks. Their flesh dried up rapidly, like wilting flowers.

The damage output of the Shadow Mirage was comparable to a Super Spell. The capabilities and strength of Dark Magic developed continuously as a Mage’s cultivation improved. Even though Mo Fan had yet to learn how to draw the Star Palace of the Shadow Element, he could still use the Dark Material to cast powerful spells that were on par with the Super Shadow Spell!

The strength of the Super Level was displayed by absolute destruction. The Blue Star Knights’ defense was mere decoration compared to the Shadow Knights’ advance. All of them were injured by the Dark Magic, and the pain was spreading throughout their bodies. Many had fallen to the ground with a dark rotting Aura rising from their wounds. They were no longer fit for battle.

The Shadow Mirage had brought the knights and warriors who had died in battles of the past back to life under the watching eye of the evil moonlight. They were launching a full assault on the people who had set foot into an unsettled land, leaving a huge mess behind!

The Blue Star Knights were still eager to challenge Mo Fan before he showed his Shadow Element, but after they were trampled by the Shadow Knights on top of being wounded heavily, their faces were filled with astonishment now. They had never realized they could be so ignorant…

“His Shadow Element…” Combat Officer Lido stared at the area, the Dark Aura starting to dissipate now.

He had doubted it at first, but he had now confirmed that Mo Fan was a Super Mage!

The Super Level was obviously beyond the Blue Star Knights’ reach. Many Silver Moon Knights were not at the Super Level, not to mention that the young man’s strength was comparable to a Golden Sun Knight. Lido wondered if they were the ones who had overestimated their own capabilities.

The battleground cleared up significantly after the Shadow Mirage: Thousand Troops ended. Only eighteen Blue Star Knights were still standing, although they still had rotting wounds left by the Shadow Knights.

Those people were still protecting the dignity of the Blue Star Knights, whatever was left.

“He must be worn out after using a spell like that. This is our chance!” a few Blue Star Knights who were not willing to admit their defeat exclaimed.

They Summoned their Contracted Beasts and expended a huge amount of energy to construct a Summoning Gate and Summon the beasts from the Beast Plane.

They were going to return the favor after Mo Fan dispatched his troop of Shadow Knights to trample him back!

Four Blue Star Knights with the Summoning Element were working together. It was quite spectacular, as they Summoned four Contract Beasts and constructed four Summoning Gates.

Huge creatures with steel armor charged out of the Summoning Gates. They quickly filled up the area, running at Mo Fan like bulls who had been provoked by red capes. The ground was shaking hard.

“Flying Creek Snow Wolf, Little Flame Belle, I’ll leave these Summoned Beasts to you.”

Mo Fan Summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. Little Flame Belle had always been in Mo Fan’s body. She was very excited after she was given permission to fight on her own.

Little Flame Belle finally had the chance to fight an enemy as she pleased with the Flying Creek Snow Wolf as her support. She went straight at the beasts that were approaching and spat out a wave of flames when she saw their numbers.

The flames immediately set the area on fire like a lake of fire, blocking the path of the Summoned Beasts.

The horde was quite intimidated by Little Flame Belle’s scorching flames, and decided to look for a detour.

However, when they were closing on Mo Fan, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf used his Ice Magic to set up a jagged wall like a frozen ridge and intercepted them. He then abused his agility to take them all down!

—

Mo Fan did not use his Summoning Gate.

As a matter of fact, if he used his Summoning Element and Summoned his wolf army, the Blue Star Knights would have lost even faster. Leaving aside the question of whether the wolf army was able to defeat forty Advanced Mages on their own, as long as the wolves were able to provide Mo Fan with a safe environment to cast his spells, how many Blue Star Knights could possibly withstand his attacks?

Mo Fan’s Advanced Lightning Spells were Silent Deadly Bolt and Electro Cannon, his Advanced Fire Spells were Sky-Flame Funeral and Flame Sword Feathers. Those spells had all reached the fourth tier, and there were also the Lightning Tyrant, the Blessing of the God’s Seal, and the three Soul-grade Flames. The Blue Star Knights already struggled to handle his Advanced Spells, let alone his true trump card, the Super Lightning Spell: The Seal of the Nine Laws!

It was terrifying once a destructive Mage had a perfect environment to channel his spells. Mo Fan was already going easy on the Blue Star Knights!

Mo Fan had no intention to use his Summoning Gate. He was just using the duel as a way to practice his spells and his ability to react according to the situations in a battle.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Blue Star Knights with the Summoning Element were planning to use the opening available after Mo Fan had just used a powerful spell to defeat him. To their surprise, Mo Fan had Summoned his powerful Summoned Beasts out as well!

The difference in strength between the Summoned Beasts of both sides was quite obvious. Little Flame Belle was bullying the four Contracted Beasts by chasing them around. The rest of the beasts did not have great discipline and were intimidated by the fire and ice. They naturally missed their best chance to defeat Mo Fan.

The Summoning Element was their strongest Element, yet Mo Fan had only used two Summoned Beasts to keep them at bay. The four Blue Star Knights were quickly filled with despair.

Mo Fan had only Summoned a Summoned Beast with Dimensional Summoning and used a Contracted Beast, yet they had still failed to secure the upper hand in the battle!

The Blue Star Knights were not brainless. They understood how dangerous it would be if Mo Fan were to Summon a Beast Tide after seeing how strong his Dimensional Summoning and Contracted Beast were. The outcome of the battle was already decided!

—

Just over a dozen Blue Star Knights were left after the four Summoners lost their will to fight.

The remaining Blue Star Knights held their ground stubbornly, and did not stop attacking with their spells. They looked like a bunch of sacred knights trying to fend off a demon with the strong determination on their faces.

They seemed to have forgotten the fact that their class was supposed to teach the arrogant man a lesson. However, Mo Fan had taught them a lesson with his overwhelming strength instead. They were now defending the remaining pride of the Blue Star Knights!

Mo Fan took his time to deal with his remaining opponents.

He was not unbeatable. He could still be injured by Advanced Spells with special effects if he was careless. He was also covered in wounds of varying severity, but he was experienced enough to dodge the critical attacks, even if it meant he had to endure a few hits.

The Shadow Mirage had consumed a significant amount of Mo Fan’s energy. It was basically a Super Spell, or it would not have been able to take out ten Blue Star Knights. Mo Fan’s Shadow Element was still not stable, since it had just reached the Super Level, and he was worn out after expending so much energy at once. Luckily, he would recover in a few minutes if he did not use any powerful spells. Little Flame Belle and the Flying Creek Snow Wolf were around to ease the pressure of being flanked by the enemy.

Over a dozen Advanced Mages firing their spells continuously was still a great threat to him. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan would not have felt confident enough to defeat the class of Blue Star Knights if his Shadow Element had not reached the Super Level, mainly because the duel might have ended after the enemy fired their first wave of attacks. He would not have lasted for more than the first round due to his lack of defense!

However, he now had the Dark Vein and the Ink Shadow, which were absolutely perfect for escaping, allowing him to dodge those Elemental Spells like a spirit.

Mo Fan had used the Ink Shadow again. His body wove through the spells like a puff of smoke. He found himself a safe spot before the duration of the Ink Shadow ended, making sure he was able to use Blink to dodge another wave of spells.

As for the spells that were not so much of a threat, he could just defend himself with the Earth Element and Telekinesis. He could also dodge them by sliding around with Earth Wave.

The movements of a Mage with the Space Element and Shadow Element were unpredictable. It was rather difficult to even hit them, and Mo Fan still had the Earth Element to defend himself during the openings when his Shadow Element and Space Element were on cooldown. He was truly a ghost wandering around the battleground!

The Advanced Mages failed to take Mo Fan out with their continuous attacks. Mo Fan’s mental strength was recovering rapidly.

“Electro Cannon!”

Mo Fan cast the Advanced Spell with ease. It was capable of killing Great Commander-level creatures instantly. Mo Fan decided to end the battle with his Lightning Element by abusing its twelvefold damage amplification. The two Blue Star Knights who thought they were at a safe distance from him were his first targets.

The two Blue Star Knights realized their attempt to drive away the presence of Dark Magic with their Light Element was useless. Mo Fan could still rely on the Ink Shadow. They had started to purify Mo Fan directly with the Light Element, trying to seal off his Dark Vein.

The two Light Mages were quite observant. If they could have deduced Mo Fan’s secret a bit earlier, Mo Fan would have lost the duel!

Unfortunately for them, the Electro Cannon was unreasonably powerful. It knocked the two Light Mages out instantly after landing between them. They did not even have a chance to cast their spells!

They tried defending themselves with Sacred Light Protection, but how could their normal Light Element possibly stand a chance against Mo Fan’s destructive Lightning Element, which could even injure a Ruler-inferior creature? Mo Fan was already showing mercy when he did not blast them to ashes!

Two more Blue Star Knights were taken out. The number of Blue Star Knights left now was quite pitiful.

No one had expected the battle to come down to this. The people who were taken out were frustrated, angry, and resentful, but those who remained in the duel were now anxious and panicking.

They had no idea what they were supposed to do. Their Advanced Spells and their enemy’s Advanced Spell were not at the same level!

Not every Blue Star Knight had a Soul-grade Seed. Those things were extremely rare and expensive!

Their tier-one Advanced Spells, together with a Spirit-grade Seed that would amplify their damage by two or three times, would be able to destroy a shopping mall. Those with a stronger cultivation would have tier-two Advanced Spells, but only a few would have tier-three Advanced Spells. Not many people had tier-three Advanced Spells and a Soul-grade Seed like Wandi possessed.

On the other hand, Mo Fan’s Advanced Spells were all fourth-tier, so his spells were already two or three times stronger than a normal Advanced Spell. Second, Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant’s sixfold damage amplification was also two or three times higher than mere Spirit-grade Seeds. When the two combined, a single fourth-tier Lightning Spell from Mo Fan would be around five times stronger than the Blue Star Knights’ spells…

There was also the insane amplification of the Blessing of the God’s Seal, which doubled his Lightning Spell to ten times stronger than theirs, instead of five!

If the Blue Star Knights’ spells were a small fuse, Mo Fan’s spell would be C4!

Therefore, even if the remaining Blue Star Knights and Mo Fan were to stand on opposite sides and merely fire spells at one another, the Blue Star Knights might still not be able to beat Mo Fan. After all, a Super Mage was faster at Casting spells, and their consumption of energy and cooldown between spells were much lower too!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was having a shootout using offensive spells with the remaining Blue Star Knights.

They no longer bothered setting up their defenses, trying to see which side was going to fall first!

The overbearing power of the Fire and Lightning Elements was on full display. Both sides were covered in thick smoke and destructive auras. Mo Fan was covered in wounds inflicted by the Ice and Wind Element He was struggling to stand firmly.

However, the Blue Star Knights were in an even worse state. Their defenses, Magic Armor, and Magic Shields were mere decorations when the Lightning Tyrant fell. They began to fall amid the shower of Lightning and Fire coming at them.

Mo Fan was indeed like a demon king as he stood there in the chaotic field of Elemental spells while both sides suffered. However, he was simply unstoppable. The Hand of Silent Thunder was his only defensive mechanism, and it was able to turn every attack into Lightning Magic. The purified energy was stored inside Mo Fan’s body to support his Lightning Element after he endured the spells with his outstanding Lightning Resistance.

Therefore, Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic was not declining at a constant rate. His Lightning Spells were instead growing stronger while the Blue Star Knights were attacking him. A few exchanges later, only a few Blue Star Knights were still standing, and they did not have much fighting capacity left!

The whole battleground was in a complete mess. After all, it was an Advanced Level battle. If the Parthenon Temple’s battleground and barrier had not been not sturdy enough, it was likely that the whole mountain would have collapsed.

The strong winds of the mountain slowly blew the thick smoke away. The place was now covered in pits and ravines. Blue Star Knights in ragged clothes were scattered across the ground. Some were unconscious, some were heavily injured. Those who were still upright were standing there stiffly, having completely lost their will to fight.

On the other hand, Mo Fan’s eyes were glittering as if he had not had enough yet. He had stopped casting spells, but he was still emitting a ferocious aura which was bearing down on the others with suffocating pressure.

This class of Blue Star Knights was glorious and shining not long ago, but were now no different from defeated soldiers waiting to be enslaved. Their eyes no longer had the pride of the Blue Star Knights, nor was there any sign of resentment. All that was left were the astonishment and doubts, like they had just woken up from a nightmare.

They had lost!

The whole class of Blue Star Knights had lost to a Mage around their age!

Many of them had planned to challenge Mo Fan to a one-on-one duel and defeat him fair and square at first. They would prove to the world that the Blue Star Knights who could not participate in the World College Tournament were the most talented young Mages in the world.

But the outcome…

If the Parthenon Temple had a similar practice to the Japanese seppuku, they would not have been able to retain their honor even if the forty Blue Star Knights were to slice their heads, necks, chests, and veins off!

“Combat Officer Lido, it looks like you need to improve your instruction,” Mo Fan smiled at Combat Offer Lido, who was dumbstruck as a wooden chicken.

The smile on Mo Fan’s face reminded Lido of a devil.

He had to improve his teaching? If the others knew what happened, he would be too ashamed to stay in the Parthenon Temple any longer!

It was not supposed to end like this! According to his script, the most talented Blue Star Knight whom he had taught would defeat Mo Fan in a duel, but in reality, the whole class of Blue Star Knights was wiped out by the man instead!

“To be honest, I hadn’t fully expressed myself in that fight. Combat Officer Lido, why don’t you come down and play with me?” Mo Fan proposed slyly.

The people who were watching the duel almost screamed out loud.

He was going to challenge the combat instructor officer after beating his students! Was there anyone more disrespectful than him in the world?

Combat Officer Lido wore a strange expression. The truth was that he knew that even he would struggle to take on the whole class of Blue Star Knights alone!

“About that… I guess we’ll call it a day. The duel today was, was very spectacular,” Combat Officer Lido demurred awkwardly.

“Well, your students are now convinced of my strength. You are the only one left, and I happen to be in a good mood today,” Mo Fan continued mercilessly.

Combat Officer Lido’s face was already pale, but he managed to force a smile and reply, “I’m almost forty years old. I’m no longer considered a young Mage.”

“Are you really using your age as an excuse? You should take responsibility for your actions, since you’re an adult. I actually think I want to challenge you the most, since you kept acting like you wanted to fight me, but you can’t because of your position and status. Don’t worry about that, I’ve just loosened my bones a bit,” Mo Fan invited Lido warmly.

Lido’s expression was no longer something words could describe as Mo Fan kept pushing him. It was a mix of anger, humiliation, and mental breakdown, yet he had to suppress it all.

Lido did not dare fight Mo Fan. If the Blue Star Knights were the students of the Parthenon Temple, he would be an actual authority figure of the Parthenon Temple. He only dared to provoke his students to fight Mo Fan because they were considered students and fresh blood. It was thus only a friendly duel between young Mages, but a duel between him and Mo Fan would have a different meaning. The Candidate would be merciful if she did not chase him and his family out of the Parthenon Temple!

Most importantly… What if he lost the duel in the end?

Lido had watched the entire duel. Mo Fan’s strength was utterly terrifying. He was only the combat instructor of the Blue Star Knights. If he lost, he would be too ashamed to stay in the circle!

“Mo Fan, you should treat your wounds first,” a deep voice intervened.

Mo Fan looked up and saw a man he had met a few times among the spectators. He had been watching the duel silently for some time.

“Great Combat Officer Norman!”

“Great Combat Officer Norman!”

Most people at the training ground were from the Hall of Knights. The combat officers were their instructors and trainers, so they respected the combat officers greatly. Lido was only the combat officer of the Blue Star Knights, so his status was on par with an ordinary Golden Sun Knight. However, the Golden Sun Knights had their own combat officer too!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The combat officer of the Golden Sun Knights was the most respected person in the Hall of Knights, except for the elders and Hall Masters!

Norman was the Golden Sun Knights’ combat officer. Even the strongest Golden Sun Knight had to address him as their teacher, let alone the lesser Blue Star Knights and the Silver Moon Knights!

“Servant Feni, can you please attend to mister Mo Fan’s wounds? He’s the Parthenon Temple’s beloved guest after all,” Combat Officer Norman said to a Servant who was watching the duel nearby.

The Servant collected her thoughts. She approached Mo Fan after a moment of hesitation.

The Servant was obviously on Izisha’s side. She was not supposed to heal Mo Fan under any circumstances, but she could not disobey Combat Officer Norman’s order, either.

Mo Fan no longer had a chance to fight Lido with the Servant around. It was a pity for Mo Fan, but since an authority figure of the Parthenon Temple had already intervened, it was meaningless for him to keep pushing any further. After all, the Hall of Knights and Haylon were on Xinxia’s side. He would put them in a difficult situation if he went too far.

“You are doing fine,” Mo Fan left the battle circle. He simply ignored the Servant who was troubled by her own thoughts.

“Thanks to you and the others who saved me in time.” Norman sounded rather friendly.

“It was just a small effort,” Mo Fan said politely.

Mo Fan was actually quite impressed with Combat Officer Norman. Su Lu and all his men from the Asia Magic Association had been gathered at the top of the cliff on Mount Tyrant. They had planned for many years to subdue the powerful dragon. Even Mo Fan and the others had no choice but to withdraw from the scene, yet Norman had broken through forcibly. He had ruined Su Lu’s plan and prevented him from controlling the Black Dragon Emperor.

Su Lu was not a good soul, regardless of how impressive his political achievements were. If he had managed to subdue the Black Dragon Emperor, he would have had great influence over the whole of Asia.

As such, Norman played an important role when he ruined Su Lu’s plan by risking his life.

Combat Officer Norman was a real man, daring to oppose Su Lu and involve himself in a fight against Forbidden Mages!

“Lido, come over here,” Norman ordered.

Lido was dumbfounded. He did not expect Norman to be here, nor did he expect Mo Fan and Norman to know one another. They seemed pretty close, too!

Combat Officer Lido had no choice but to obey Norman’s order. He seriously had an urge to slap himself to the face. Why couldn’t he just focus on teaching the Blue Star Knights? Why did he have to provoke Mo Fan? Not only did he embarrass himself, but Norman had witnessed it all too!

“I’ve left the Hall of Knights for some time. May I ask who taught the knights of the Parthenon Temple to pursue fame and glory and be so vain?” Norman asked calmly.

Lido’s legs weakened when he heard the question. He immediately dropped to his knees in front of Norman.

“It was just a whim! I thought it was an opportunity for my students to compare themselves with the most talented young Mage in the world! That way, we would be able to protect the Parthenon Temple and the Goddess better!” Lido blurted out.

“Then who taught them they could take off their knight’s coats on a whim!?” Norman suddenly altered his tone. It felt like the mountain was trembling, as if it had just been struck by lightning!

Norman’s roar shocked the rest of the crowd. The Blue Star Knights who were still conscious and howling in pain quickly knelt on the ground.

Their coats were not something they could wear and take off as they pleased!

Norman was not angry because the knights were competitive, nor was he disappointed by their behavior. However, they were not supposed to take off their coats under any circumstances. Losing and being defeated was not the greatest humiliation for a knight. They had brought themselves shame by proclaiming they were taking off their coats to defend the pride and dignity of the knights!

Norman had been at the training ground the whole time, and had witnessed everything from the very beginning. When the Blue Star Knights volunteered to resign just to teach Mo Fan a lesson, Norman had an urge to toss them all down the mountain so they would be smashed into a pile of mud. Did no one teach them they were not allowed to forfeit their identities as knights, even when someone was placing a blade on their neck?

Was this still the Hall of Knights he knew? The management was corrupt and the fresh blood was acting like a bunch of good-for-nothing arrogant young men. They were not paying any respect to the rules of conduct of knighthood. If these unreliable young Mages were the future of the Hall of Knights, they were only going to lead it to destruction!

“Those who took off their coats won’t be wearing them again. You will be reporting for duty at the Hall of Faith starting tomorrow.” Norman did not show any mercy.

“Combat Officer Norman, we…we…”

The Blue Star Knights almost lost their minds.

It was not easy to become a knight. They had not solely relied on their backgrounds, but had to stand out among the competition too! Becoming a Blue Star Knight was only the first step. They would soon surpass other Mages their ages if they had more time to practice. However, they had lost everything because of this duel!

“Norman…” Mo Fan glanced at Kris and immediately had an urge to advise against it.

“Mister Mo Fan, this has nothing to do with you. The Hall of Knights has its rules. I never expected the Hall of Knights to become the strongest in the world, yet it must have the strongest faith and determination!” Norman stated clearly.

Mo Fan wanted to plea for leniency because Kris had also taken off his coat. Norman was going to dismiss Kris together with the rest of the Blue Star Knights! Mo Fan could not care less about the rest. Those scum should not hold on to the limited positions available in the Hall of Knights. There were still a lot of talented Mages out there waiting for their chances!

However, Norman was obviously not going to listen to Mo Fan, even though he had saved the man’s life before. Norman was grateful to Mo Fan, yet he had zero tolerance when it came to disciplining the knights!

Norman had not managed the Hall of Knights actively for several years. He was wondering whether he should head off to other places or stay at the Parthenon Temple after he fully recovered from his injuries.

He was heartbroken and furious after watching the duel.

The others might only treat it as a reckless decision and an embarrassing incident, but Norman had seen the fall of the Hall of Knights there in it.

If he left now, it would be even worse once these people took over the Hall of Knights in five to ten years.

He decided to stay!

Chapter 1958: Norman, Someone who doesn’t Submit to Authority

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Norman had decided to stay as soon as the Blue Star Knights took off their sacred coats!

If he did not set an example for the young knights, the Hall of Knights would be done for!

The news spread rapidly in the Parthenon Temple. Golden Sun Combat Officer Norman, who had not been around for years, had dismissed forty-one Blue Star Knights!

The incident raised a great commotion. Almost every authority figure that was present in the Parthenon Temple soon showed up. Even some of those who were on duty outside the Parthenon Temple returned as soon as they received the news.

The three Candidates – Izisha, Asha’ruiya, and Xinxia – had arrived at the scene, too.

The Hall Mother, Haylon of the Hall of Knights, the three Great Priests of the Hall of Faith, and some senior members who still held some power even though they were half-retired had shown up as well.

The injured Blue Star Knights and Combat Officer Lido were on their knees. Norman was the only knight standing; before him were the authorities of the Parthenon Temple. The first row was made up of representatives from the Hall of Faith. The second row was Combat Officers and Hall Masters, and the last row was the Great Muse, Hall Mother, and the three Candidates of the Hall of the Goddess!

The Hall Master of the Silver Moon Hall was the first to speak. “Norman, we have great respect for you. You have done a lot for the Parthenon Temple, but this is a serious matter. The Blue Star Knights have gone through a strict selection process. We won’t allow you to dismiss the entire class, including a probationary Guardian Knight from the Hall of Knights!”

“It will bring us a lot of negative influence. Combat Officer Norman, please reconsider it,” the Great Muse added.

“It’s only a duel between young Mages. Even if they did take off their coats…” the Great Priest of the Hall of Faith began.

However, the Norman glared at the Great Priest while he was still in the middle of his words, and the man did not dare continue his sentence. He suddenly realized that knights were not allowed to resign. No one had ever resigned from the Hall of Knights!

“I’m relieved that you are all committed to your duties. However, I will decide if the members of the Hall of Knights have the right to stay or not!” Golden Sun Combat Officer Norman showed no intention to back down despite facing the leaders of the Parthenon Temple!

From the second row on, the Hall Masters, Vice Hall Masters, Great Muse, and Hall Mother were already on the same level as him, let alone the three Candidates.

However, Norman did not compromise. He insisted on sticking with his decision!

“Norman, you better think twice…” Izisha sounded a little angry.

The Blue Star Knights, including Combat Officer Lido, were mainly in Izisha and Xinxia’s factions. Only a few were supporting Asha’ruiya. It was the reason why all three Candidates had shown up. If the knights were in only one faction, it would be unnecessary for all three Candidates to show up.

Norman was not just picking on the Blue Star Knights, nor was he picking on any of the Candidates. He was simply going to beat them all with a stick!

Mo Fan had a headache as he watched it all happen from a spectator’s seat.

This Norman was the demon king of the Parthenon Temple, without a doubt. He had balls of steel!

He did not care which faction the knights were from. He was going to take them all out!

That being said, Mo Fan still felt sorry for Kris getting dragged into this mess.

Mo Fan had no idea how serious it was for a knight to resign from their role. He only knew Asha’ruiya had rolled her eyes at him before the standoff took place!

The good news was that Kris was already prepared for it. He knew it was impossible to put his knightly coat back on after taking it off, yet he still chose to side with Mo Fan. Meanwhile, the Blue Star Knights led by Wandi had not expected it to be so serious. They did not mean to lose their knighthoods. They cared about their positions more than anyone!

“How about we dismiss those who asked to resign first, and send the others to serve in the Hall of Faith as a punishment?” Izisha suggested.

Izisha might be furious, but she had to sound like she was negotiating.

The main reason for that was because some of these Blue Star Knights were tied to several renowned clans in Europe. If they were dismissed, she would have a hard time explaining things to their clans.

“That won’t do. Both the ones who started it and the ones who followed all took off their coats,” Norman replied coldly.

Izisha had a resentful face, but she did not speak further.

“Is it possible that those who voluntarily resigned aren’t allowed to enter the Hall of Knights again, while those who only took off their coats are allowed to stay, but would be punished for their actions?” Xinxia asked.

Xinxia and Izisha had been fighting for a long time, but they surprisingly stood on the same side for this matter. This incident would definitely be recorded in the Parthenon Temple’s annals in the future.

“That cannot be done. They took off the coats themselves. I saw it myself,” Norman answered evenly.

—

Zhao Manyan and Xinxia’s Servant, Fiona, were sitting beside Mo Fan. Fiona had a displeased expression.

“It’s such a relief that you’re not a member of the Parthenon Temple. I’m pretty sure you and Combat Officer Norman could form a team, the demon king duo. No one is allowed to cross your path, and no one could possibly convince you to change your mind!” Fiona spluttered.

“Mo Fan, I have to say, that guy is just like you. Both Izisha and Xinxia are speechless against him. Almost half of the authorities of the Parthenon Temple are here to plead for leniency on behalf of the Blue Star Knights, but he has no intention of backing down. He’s having a verbal joust with all of them. How imperious! I’ve really witnessed how a person can choose not to submit to authority!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Take a close look at Haylon. He looks like he is pitying the Blue Star Knights, but he’s actually overjoyed inside. It’s something he has wanted to do for a long time, but the consequences were too great since he’s the Hall Master of the Hall of Knights. To his relief, a reputable man like Norman, who isn’t a Hall Master, stepped forward to cut through the tangled hemp with a quick sword on his behalf!” Mo Fan pointed out.

“Cutting through tangled hemp? Many among them are actually on Xinxia’s side!” Fiona grumbled.

“It’s fine, there are quite a lot on Izisha’s side, too. Both sides might suffer some losses, but what Norman did is still in Xinxia’s favor in the long run. Izisha likes playing at politics, while Xinxia focuses on her public reputation. Norman will definitely support the one with a better reputation. I’ve just talked to Norman; he has decided to take over the Hall of Knights. He will become Haylon’s sword and get rid of the tumors in the Hall of Knights. I believe the Hall of Knights will soon be Xinxia’s,” Mo Fan informed them.

“What public reputation? We aren’t selling cosmetic products. How bad is your choice of words?” Fiona grumbled. “But then again, if Master Norman is willing to support Xinxia, it might make up for her recent losses in Europe.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan witnessed the Golden Sun Combat Officer’s demeanor throughout the incident. In the end, forty-one Blue Star Knights were dismissed. Their Combat Officer Lido was dismissed too, for failing to teach his students to obey the rules of conduct for the knightly Order!

The Hall of Knights did not have a lot of members. There was quite a huge vacancy when forty-two members were dismissed.

The authorities realized they were unable to change Norman’s mind, and they were well aware of his temper. They could only think of other ways to make up for it, despite their anger and resentment.

The Blue Star Knights were the fresh blood of the Hall of Knights. Norman had already started selecting new members!

The remaining Blue Star Knights were trembling in fear after witnessing how the ambitious disciples of the renowned clans were dismissed in such a short period of time. They immediately focused on their training and cultivation, afraid of being caught by Norman after overstepping the bounds. Even the gods could not save them if that happened!

—

After the meeting was dismissed, Izisha purposely walked in Mo Fan’s direction and glared at him for a few seconds.

Norman was Wen Tai’s adopted son, which meant he was also Izisha’s nephew. His reputation in the Parthenon Temple was only second to Wen Tai, so Izisha knew there was no good falling out with such a reputable man. She ended up directing all her anger at Mo Fan.

Xinxia might suffer losses too, but Izisha was troubled because she had to explain what happened to the renowned clans in Europe!

“Someone like you should really be condemned to eternal damnation!” Izisha said to Mo Fan, flinging her sleeves.

Nowadays, most people would only do things that would benefit them. Izisha would overdo it a little, as the things she did would often harm others in addition to benefiting herself. It would grant her two steps of advantage over her opponents, but someone like Mo Fan, who not only harmed others but himself too, was simply a maniac! It was better for someone who constantly brought pestilence like him to die as soon as possible!

Mo Fan kept an innocent face.

The knights had provoked him first, he was simply teaching them a lesson. It was Norman’s fault for complicating matters. How was it even his fault? Mo Fan had no idea whose side the Blue Star Knights were on before the fight!

“Ugh… my lady, you should spend more time with Mo Fan. I’ll clean up the mess for you,” Tata spoke up.

“Oh, oh… mm, okay…” Xinxia did not understand what Tata meant at first, but she realized what Tata was implying when she saw the look on her mentor’s face.

Tata was seriously scared of what Mo Fan might do. The man just kept stirring up trouble wherever he went.

Luckily, Izisha had suffered great losses from this too…

Tata believed it was better for Xinxia to put some insignificant matters aside and spend more time with Mo Fan than letting the ticking time bomb wander around in the Parthenon Temple as he pleased. Gods knew when he was going to detonate himself and blow everyone up!

—

“Brother Mo Fan, you seriously didn’t change a bit,” Xinxia said as she returned to the Hall of the Goddess with Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was not allowed to enter Xinxia’s residence in the Hall of the Goddess. They usually stayed in the house with a sea view.

“Why? Are you blaming me for bringing you trouble?” Mo Fan raised his brows like he was displeased.

Xinxia giggled. She recalled what Tata had said before she left and told Mo Fan the same thing.

“What did that old hag mean by that? Was she asking you to keep an eye on me? I’m a man, do I even need someone to look after me? Would I beat the crap out of them if they didn’t provoke me first?” Mo Fan snarled.

“Norman’s return might be a good thing for the Hall of Knights,” Xinxia went on.

“Isn’t he Asha’ruiya’s brother?” Mo Fan suddenly remembered something.

“Yeah, but do you think he’s the kind to lean toward Asha’ruiya just because she’s his sister, judging from his behavior today?” Xinxia asked.

“That’s true. By the way, he did mention that he approves of the path you’re taking. It’s more fitting to the Parthenon Temple’s beliefs. You can ask him for help if you are in any trouble. He’s a trustworthy person,” Mo Fan told her.

“I think so too!” Xinxia nodded.

Losing the factions that the Blue Star Knights on her side were from was insignificant compared to earning Norman’s support.

Xinxia had saved Norman’s life, but it was difficult to understand his personality. If he continued to wander around outside the Temple like he was doing before, he would not be of any help to Xinxia, even if she had his support.

However, now that Norman had decided to take over the Hall of Knights, he would be on her side as long as she stuck to her original intentions. She had claimed another huge asset in her fight against Izisha!

“Brother Mo Fan!” Xinxia accentuated her voice when she noticed something happen after she was still thinking deeply.

“What?”

“We haven’t gone inside yet!”

“It’s fine, I already looked around, there isn’t anyone nearby…”

Xinxia began to regret it. She should not have listened to Mo Fan’s instigation and did the embarrassing thing outdoors. Ever since then, Mo Fan would reach his hands into someplace he was not supposed to regardless of the location. She had no chance of stopping him.

“Didn’t we still have a few days left?” Xinxia said with a blushing face. She seriously did not understand why Mo Fan was being so impatient.

Xinxia thought Mo Fan was being impatient, but that was not the case.

He was just after the thrill!

It was oddly exciting to do it in certain places!

Did people really think the couple who did it in the fitting room could not afford a room in a hotel?

The Parthenon Temple had many remote spots with great scenery. The place provided Mo Fan with countless potential venues to commit his crimes.

“Xinxia, don’t you think it’s romantic to do a little exercise while watching the stars?” Mo Fan suggested.

“Brother Mo Fan, it’s still bright out!” Xinxia said with puffed cheeks.

What romantic? There should be a ceiling when they were doing that thing! The curtains must be pulled, and it should be done on a bed at night… who the heck would even want to watch the stars!?

“Oh, I meant watching the clouds. Look at the sky, the clouds are so white, like your skin…” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan’s instigation did not work. Xinxia strongly believed they could not do the naughty thing during the day.

“Fine, we’ll do it inside,” Mo Fan compromised.

“It has to be in the bedroom!” Xinxia added as she remembered something. She was already blushing.

“Fine!” Mo Fan grumbled. The cunning flicker in his eyes vanished.

It was indeed unwise to leave Xinxia at the Parthenon Temple. She had become a lot smarter. His evil thoughts had no place in the light of her wisdom!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

“Look at the proud grin on your face. If this goes on for another few days, I bet you will even forget why you came to the Parthenon Temple in the first place,” Zhao Manyan could not help but scold Mo Fan.

“Stop being jealous, was there any progress?” Mo Fan shot right back.

“Lingling is as reliable as usual. She did find a convincing lead on the Night Amethyst, and interestingly enough, it’s in our homeland,” Zhao Manyan said.

“In our country? That’s great,” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“It’s not. Do you know where it is?” Zhao Manyan promptly shot him down.

Mo Fan remained silent. He knew it had to be somewhere extremely dangerous, based on Zhao Manyan’s tone and reaction.

There were quite a few dangerous places in their country, so much so that were infamous across the world. Mo Fan had not visited any of them since his cultivation was lacking in the past. However, he should not have trouble venturing deeper into them now.

“It’s f**king Tianshan Mountain!”

“THE f**king Tianshan Mountain?!”

“Yeah, that f**king Tianshan Mountain! I bet you’ve heard of the forbidden place called the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. The Night Amethyst we are looking for is inside it. It’s in complete darkness and is cold, like an icy Hell on earth. The demon creatures there are mostly mutated and powerful. It’s a place that dates back to the origin of the Totem Beasts and mankind!” Zhao Manyan groaned in disbelief.

The Scar of the Tianshan Mountain! Mo Fan had heard about it before. He remembered Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong had some he had regretted left there. Even though he had made up for it now, he and his love were now separated by the living and the dead.

There were many infamous dangerous places and black zones in their country, but the Scar of the Tianshan Mountain was truly forbidden to humans. The people who went there either never came back, or would suddenly return after a few dozen years, having forgotten everything that had happened in the Scar.

Just like the people who did not return, they could not tell the world about what they had seen. It was a mysterious and terrifying place. There were many folk legends about it, and sayings that many had earned a name for themselves after claiming valuable treasure on the Tianshan Mountain. However, both the many brave adventurers who were buried under the snow and reputable legendary figures were not willing to mention anything that happened on the mountain!

“Speaking of Tianshan Mountain, I remember someone telling me that it’s where we should go if we want to learn the secrets of a certain Totem Beast,” Mo Fan thought aloud.

“Tianshan Mountain has been around for so long. It’s even described as a sacred mountain by the locals. I wouldn’t even be surprised to learn that there are a few Totem Beasts living on it, let alone some legends about the Totem Beasts!” Zhao Manyan agreed.

“Have you asked Jiang Shaoxu about it? Her brother Jiang Shaojun never mentioned the Totem Beast on Tianshan Mountain. If we have to go to Tianshan Mountain to look for some Night Amethyst, we might as well find the secrets of the Totem Beast too. I’ve long wanted to visit it!” Mo Fan declared.

There was no doubt that Tianshan Mountain had Totem Beasts. Mo Fan had read many ancient records. Even the records in Egypt and Greece mentioned a mysterious sacred mountain in the east, which obviously referred to Tianshan Mountain. As they gathered more Totem Seals and gradually formed the patterns of Totem Beasts, Mo Fan was eager to learn the real identity of the Totem Beast there. He needed a huge Totem Seal that would reveal the overall outline of the Totem Beast like its skeleton, and the answer currently lay on Tianshan Mountain!

Mo Fan could not remember who had mentioned the Tianshan Mountain to him, but he was told multiple times the Tianshan Mountain was the place to go if he was seeking the truth about Totem Beasts!

“You’re right, the clues about the Totem Beasts we have gathered so far don’t seem to match. It’s not reliable to let Jiang Shaoxu dole out clues by recalling memories of her brother. We will have to pay the Tianshan Mountain a visit,” Zhao Manyan nodded in agreement.

Zhao Manyan was extremely motivated whenever Totem Beasts were involved. He was glad they had decided to look for the Totem Beasts, as not only had it helped him become a Super Mage, he had also finally earned the old turtle’s approval. Zhao Manyan had finally felt the pleasure of having everything under his control during the battle at Xiamen. No wonder so many American dramas had superheroes. He must admit that being a superhero protecting the world felt insanely great. It was just as thrilling as hunting for beauties!

Zhao Manyan was willfully ignorant before. He always thought he would be satisfied living a peaceful life while spending money extravagantly. However, he had changed now. He wanted to be like Iron Man: spending money extravagantly, sleeping with gorgeous women across the world, and saving the world!

1

It was the biggest reason why he was so motivated to look for Totem Beasts. He could even worry about Mu Bai’s condition later. Everyone was eventually going to die. Mu Bai was just unlucky that he had died at such a young age. Zhao Manyan was willing to sleep with the women Mu Bai was supposed to sleep with on his behalf!

1

——

They departed for the Tianshan Mountain without any hesitation. They had to visit the local towns around it to collect more information.

The Dongfang Oriental Tower had the largest collection of information in their country, but information like Totem Beasts and the Night Amethyst that almost no one was interested in would barely travel the distance from the mountain to reach there.

They set out decisively, not returning to the Magic City or Fanxue Mountain first. They decided to meet up at Lhasa, the Capital of God, instead.

On the other side, Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu were already on their way from Fanxue Mountain after receiving the information.

—

Mo Fan said goodbye to Xinxia before he left.

Xinxia had always been busy. She only had the chance to keep Mo Fan company thanks to Norman.

Mo Fan had to go eventually. No matter how reluctant they were to part, they still had to work toward their respective goals.

“Brother Mo Fan, Little Flame Belle will be staying with me for now. I’ve looked around yesterday and learned that the main reason she wasn’t able to evolve fully is the restrictions of the Contract,” Xinxia said.

“Restrictions of the Contract? What do you mean?” Mo Fan was confused.

“It’s similar to the situation between you and little Apas. Her strength is currently suppressed by your Contract. The same thing is stopping Little Flame Belle from evolving into a Flame Belle Empress,” Xinxia said.

“You’re telling me that I’m dragging Little Flame Belle down?” Mo Fan asked in disbelief.

Xinxia giggled, “You could say that too.”

“Seriously? I’m a Super Mage with two Elements at the Super Level, yet I’m still dragging my Contracted Beast down?” Mo Fa’s face fell glumly.

Are you kidding me!?

Were his two Contracted Beasts trying to overthrow him? It was reasonable that Apas’ strength was suppressed by the Contract, since she was one of the inheritors to the throne of Queen Medusa, yet how was Little Flame Belle, who only knew how to slack off, eat snacks, and sleep making more progress than him too?

“Brother Mo Fan, don’t worry about it too much. You’re only a part of the reason. Little Flame Belle also needs a huge boost. If it’s going to take you a long time to collect the resources needed, I’ll lend you a hand. Besides, I can also strengthen her heart while I’m cultivating,” Xinxia told him firmly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was a little down after bidding farewell to Xinxia. Little Flame Belle had gone with her mother, leaving him with a snake demoness and a simple-minded wolf. Mo Fan lacked a sense of security without the power from Little Flame Belle’s Possess and her two Soul-grade Flames.

Now that he thought about it, he had been relying too much on Little Flame Belle. Little Flame Belle had given his Fire Element the ability to overpower those at the same level as him without him acquiring powerful Soul-grade Seeds and cultivating diligently.

However, it was important for him to grow stronger too! His Fire Element had to improve further since it was his foundation. He also had to tackle the shortcomings of his Fire Element when he was not being Possessed by Little Flame Belle.

Even without the Fire Element, he still had six other Elements. Some of their spells were quite useless since he never practiced them seriously. The enemies he was going to face would only get stronger from here on, so his spells would be even more useless if he did not practice them.

The battle at Xiamen had helped Mo Fan realize that he would never be strong enough. However, if he kept improving, he would be able to do more things!

(Ed. Note: Oi, it’s like he has realized he has to be a… versatile mage…)

2

—

—

The wind was chilly when you were high in the sky. The white clouds were scattered below like sheets of ice, creating a spectacular view. The mountainous folds of the lands under the clouds were visible when the clouds were thinner. The mountains, valleys, and roads had become little wrinkles, scars, and cracks from so high above.

“I didn’t think the Parthenon Temple knew such a fascinating route. This is great. I can save some money not buying a flight ticket,” Mo Fan laid back on Kris’ Steel Griffin and crossed his legs.

Kris was a responsible man. As the purser of the flight, not only did he provide the group with his Steel Griffin, which had outstanding endurance and comfortable hair on its back, he had also set up a magic barrier along the journey to protect his passengers from the wind. The breeze was gentle and soothing.

“It’s also my first time taking this route. It’s all thanks to Muse Pelina, Priest Dowell, and the rest of the knights,” Kris said politely. He was paying great respect to the others who were traveling with them.

The routes for commercial flights had become quite dangerous lately, as demon creatures had moved into the airspace. Nine out of ten flights from Greece to China were canceled, so Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan could only get a lift from Kris since they were in a rush.

Kris was demoted to an Attendant Mage in the Hall of Faith as his punishment. He was currently taking orders from Priest Dowell.

However, Priest Dowell was in Xinxia’s faction. He was Fiona’s elder brother. The arrangement basically meant Kris was to go on missions for some time as his punishment. He would slowly be promoted again sometime later.

He could no longer be a knight, but the Parthenon Temple had other halls than the Hall of Knights. If he could secure a foothold in the Hall of Faith and be promoted to a Priest, it might actually work out better for him.

A Priest was on par with a Golden Sun Knight in terms of their ranks. However, the Golden Sun Knights usually earned more respect, since they were closer to the Muses. That being said, Priests usually had more authority in their hands since every decision made by the members of the Parthenon Temple had to go through them.

Pelina was a Muse. No one knew which faction she was in, since she had not chosen a side during the election.

Pelina often went out to handle external affairs. She was not interested in the infighting in the Parthenon Temple. When Tata learned Pelina was going to the Scar of the Tianshan Mountain, she paid the Muse a visit and asked her to give Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan a lift when she realized Mo Fan was being forced to stay at the Parthenon Temple for a few more days because the flights to China were canceled.

Tata had agreed to make Kris the Attendant Mage of one of the Priests, just so Mo Fan would leave earlier. It was also a chance for Kris to atone for his mistakes.

Kris was very excited when he heard he had the chance to go on an adventure with Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan. Zhao Manyan had shared their exciting adventures when they were traveling around the world, including the encounters in the Amazon, the Sahara Desert, and at the Pyramids…

1

Every man had an adventurous spirit in their bones. Kris had always been obedient to his clan, and had never done anything that overstepped his bounds as he grew up. When he was expelled by the Hall of Knights, he actually felt somewhat relieved, since he could finally do something he wanted!

“Kris, did the people of your clan trouble you after what happened?” a Silver Moon Knight that was serving a Muse among the knights asked.

“Brother William, they just told me not to go back… so I decided to tag along,” Kris smiled.

“…” The Silver Moon Knight was left speechless. He let out a sigh and did not say anything.

“It’s fine, Kris, we all knew whose fault it was. You didn’t have a choice. If you do well in this mission, I can recommend you as a Probationary Priest. I remember you scored perfect grades in the courses for Priests. Why did you end up becoming a knight?” Priest Dowell had high hopes for Kris.

“Well… it was my stepmother’s suggestion. She believed being a knight was more fitting for our family’s situation,” Kris replied softly.

“Kris scored perfect grades in the courses for knights too,” William added.

“Impressive, muddlehead! I didn’t expect you to be so good at your studies. It’s fine; just hang around with us, I can guarantee that you’ll be able to make a name for yourself!” Zhao Manyan smiled confidently.

William glanced at Mo Fan disdainfully. “It’s already a relief if he doesn’t stir up more trouble!”

Muse Pelina glanced at them briefly too, as if she was sharing the same thought. She added since someone had mentioned it, “I’m only bringing you two along because I gave Tata my promise. I hope you two won’t bring me any trouble or interfere with my mission. I’m only going to bring you to the Scar of the Tianshan Mountain. Whatever happens after that is no longer my concern.”

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan grinned after hearing Pelina’s proud and impatient words.

“She seems to be looking down on us,” Zhao Manyan whispered to Mo Fan.

“It’s pretty obvious. She doesn’t even want to lay her eyes on us when she’s talking to us. She’s looking into the sky instead,” Mo Fan said.

“Damn it, I can’t stand arrogant chicks like her. What a pity, Mu Bai has passed away at such a young age. Otherwise, I would definitely ask him to mix some drugs so I could bring her to the Heavens instead!” Zhao Manyan scoffed.

2

Chapter 1962: The Divine City

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s just how the female rights organizations are. The people of the Alps Institute were the same when we first visited them,” Mo Fan reminded him.

“Yeah, Kris, the Priest, and the Knights, they are being too respectful to her. She can easily feel superior,” Zhao Manyan agreed.

“Bear with it, we aren’t familiar with the place. We might save a lot of time with her leading the way,” Mo Fan said.

—

Muses had incredibly high statuses in the Parthenon Temple. Priests and Golden Sun Knights would normally surround the Muses. According to Kris, this Muse Pelina was quite well respected in the Parthenon Temple. She had many supporters in Asia.

“Muse, was there any emergency in Lhasa that you have to go there so urgently?” Priest Dowell asked her.

They had all set out in a hurry. Priest Dowell only knew that his mission was to accompany a Muse to Tibet and China, but he was unaware of the details.

Muse Pelina glanced at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, the two outsiders. She was obviously not willing to discuss it in front of them.

Priest Dowell was sensible about that. He realized their mission in the Divine City of Lhasa was confidential.

Dowell had learned that there were many things that the public was unaware of as his cultivation continued to improve, especially after he became a Priest of the Parthenon Temple. The things he had encountered had toppled his understanding of the world. However, despite his astonishment and disbelief, there were things he had to accept, as he had no other choice.

Muse Pelina was not well respected in the Parthenon Temple just because she had a great reputation in Asia. More importantly, she was often sent to other places for secret missions. These missions were usually related to the Magic Associations of the Five Continents, the Heresy Judgment Court, the Main Hunter Alliance, and other top organizations in the world.

Dowell was more experienced with the situation in Greece or the Parthenon Temple as a Priest, but Pelina had obviously encountered more things than him. She had been to Tibet’s Divine City of Lhasa.

The Parthenon Temple was not on very friendly terms with the Chinese organizations, but they had great respect for the Sacred Palace Mages of Lhasa’s Potala Palace. Pelina had a great reputation in Asia mainly because she was close to the Sacred Palace Mages.

—

—

Kris’ Steel Griffin was an impressive Summoned Beast. Its endurance as a mount easily stood out among the other Summoned Beasts there. It could even wrap itself with a harmless aura which ensured it was not attacked when crossing other demon creatures’ territories.

High endurance, great speed, and an aura of harmlessness. Not many Summoned Beasts could tick off all three criteria, not to mention Kris’ Steel Griffin was also a Commander-level creature!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was not suitable to be used as a mount. Mo Fan would only ride him when he was in a hurry. The main reason for that was that the wolf species was extremely invasive. Their presence would spread for a great distance even if they were just passing by other demon creatures’ territories. The hot-tempered demon creatures would race to intercept the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and interrogate him.

The distance between Greece and Lhasa was almost half the width of Asia. A normal flying creature would be worn out after covering half a country’s distance while carrying them, let alone flying across so many countries and territories of demon creatures in a single flight…

That being said, it was Mo Fan’s first time hearing that the high-level Mages had a certain route that they would use to fly around. It allowed them to travel between countries and through the demon creatures’ territories safely. Only certain people knew about the route, and it was not disclosed to the public.

“Kris, how good is your Steel Griffin’s memory? For someone who has difficulties staying in one place and often visits the Parthenon Temple like me, it’s quite troublesome to take the planes. Can you memorize this route for me?” Mo Fan asked Kris softly.

He had always had problems with international flights, and since he was currently a thorn in many people’s eyes, he did not want others to learn his whereabouts easily. If he could learn the special route, he would have another option to travel between countries!

“Well… I can draw it for you if you really need it, but please don’t tell the Muse. Only she has access to the route. I will be in great trouble if they learn I leaked it,” Kris answered softly.

“You can remember it after we’ve traveled across so many countries, mountains, deserts, and forests?” Mo Fan blurted out.

“Perhaps it’s because I’m good at my studies. I can remember the places we’ve been to, I just need a little more time to recall the details and draw them,” Kris confirmed.

“Sick, as expected of a genius!” Mo Fan raised his thumb at Kris.

Mo Fan was a geography idiot. He actually thought the Middle East was part of Africa when they were flying over it. There was no way he could remember the route himself!

—

They were unable to fly to the tall mountains directly as they were arriving at Lhasa. The Steel Griffin had to fly to other areas with a lower altitude so the team could reach Lhasa on foot through a side entry.

The air was slightly thinner up in the mountains, but it was clean and refreshing. It was similar to the air in the Alps. It was Mo Fan’s first time in the Western Regions of China.

They finally arrived at the reputable Divine City, sometimes called the City of the Gods.

Lhasa was famous across the world. Many of the top organizations in the world held their meetings in the Divine City. China had two such powerful organizations: one was the Magic Palace of the Imperial Mages, and the other was the Potala Palace, with its Sacred Palace Mages. The Imperial Mages focused on matters inside the country, while the Sacred Palace Mages focused on matters across the world.

The Sacred Palace Mages worked closely with the Parthenon Temple, hence the members of the Parthenon Temple never acted superior in front of the Sacred Palace Mages.

“Wait for me here, I’ll need to pay a trip to the palace. We will depart for the Scar of Tianshan Mountain in three days,” Muse Pelina said.

“Muse, do we have to wait here too?” Silver Moon Knight William asked, clearly wanting to go with her.

“You are covered in dust, just wait at the mountain foot,” Pelina ordered him.

“Affirmative!”

Pelina went up to the palace alone. The knights were resolute and upright, and simply stood in place without going anywhere. Their imperious bearing immediately attracted the attention of the tourists on the plaza, who began to whisper among themselves.

One had to admit that the knights of the Parthenon Temple were very eye-catching. The specially-made coats of the Blue Star Knights and Silver Moon Knights were oddly imposing, making any other Mages standing beside them look like lowly beings.

“Let’s regroup with Lingling and the others,” Mo Fan said.

“Oh my, those people even went to take photos with them. Are they really that ignorant?” Zhao Manyan was speechless when he saw people taking selfies with the knights.

Chapter 1963: Flirting

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

No wonder so many people admired the knights of the Parthenon Temple. It was not so obvious when they were at the Parthenon Temple, but when they went somewhere else, they looked completely different from the ordinary people, as if they had come from the heavens.

If the knights were already so outstanding, the Servants and Muses whom the knights escorted were basically like angels. Mo Fan could not help but reevaluate his impression of Muse Pelina, who was walking up the stairs leading to the Palace while holding her skirt in one hand.

“Mo Fan, I finally know why people keep looking down at us. We look no different from street thugs. We aren’t giving people a good first impression! We don’t have a bunch of well-trained lackeys in bright outfits beside us to set off our brilliance. Everything needs something to set off their brilliance through comparison. We should start gathering our followers so we can attract attention wherever we go,” Zhao Manyan observed while fondling his chin.

Mo Fan strongly agreed. They were used to being free and going places on their own. No one really treated them seriously.

Meanwhile, the Muse of the Parthenon Temple was accompanied by her own knights and a Priest! She would stand out even if her looks were ordinary.

Mo Fan glanced at his phone and saw a message from Lingling. “Lingling told us to wait for them at the plaza.”

“We can examine the problem with our appearance while waiting for them!” Zhao Manyan believed it was a priority they needed to address.

There were many tourists at the plaza, chattering among themselves. A few knowledgeable ones realized the knights were from the Parthenon Temple.

“They are knights from the Parthenon Temple, no wonder they look so noble!”

“Perhaps some authority has just gone up the mountain. I saw a woman just now.”

“Maybe she is the person they are escorting!” The Hunters were discussing things right beside Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan. They immediately stared after Pelina, who was fading into the distance.

“There are Silver Moon Knights. She must be at least a Muse!”

“Silver Moon Knights… are they strong?”

“Our Hunter Group wouldn’t be able to defeat a single Silver Moon Knight,” an old Hunter with a beard declared firmly.

—

There were fewer clouds in the mountains, and the sky looked oddly blue as a result. It was as bright as a sapphire.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were bored of waiting. They went from examining the problem with their appearances to flirting with the female tourists on the plaza.

It was easy to tell the difference between locals and tourists in Lhasa at a glance. The people could easily tell Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were different from the members of the Parthenon Temple. They soon blended into the group of tourists.

“We just came here. We aren’t sure where to go yet, so we came to visit the Potala Palace first. However, it seems like something happened recently, as they are not letting visitors go inside. What a letdown,” a lady with short hair complained.

“You just graduated?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Yeah, this is our graduation trip. How about you two?” another cheerful girl who had tied her hair up asked.

“What a coincidence, we are here for our graduation trip too,” Mo Fan said.

“Ah? such a coincidence indeed. Which school are you from?” the short-haired girl asked.

“We are from Pearl Institute.”

“Pearl Institute? That’s a famous school!”

“It’s alright.”

“Speaking of which, you remind me of someone.”

“Are you referring to the winner of the World College Tournament, Mo Fan?”

“Yeah, you two are so alike.”

“Many people told me the same thing. I’m quite frustrated actually. I’m stuck under his brilliance,” Mo Fan said with a wry smile.

“Aren’t your boyfriends worried about you? You’ve come so far for your trip,” Zhao Manyan asked. It was one of his little tricks.

As he thought, the girls giggled embarrassedly and said, “We don’t have a boyfriend, except for her, but we don’t really like her boyfriend, including her.”

Zhao Manyan nodded. He glanced at the girl who had a boyfriend and noticed she was the fairest, most mature, and the best-looking among the girls. To Zhao Manyan’s surprise, Mo Fan had long set his eyes on her. The girl was already laughing after being teased by him.

Zhao Manyan twisted his lips. Mo Fan was no longer adhering to his bounds. He was already quicker at making his moves!

Since Mo Fan had already selected his prey, the rest of the girls were all his. It had been a while since he last had a 4P.

Zhao Manyan always followed a certain routine when picking up chicks. However, as he was planning to have a deeper conversation with the girls, he noticed a few familiar figures approaching them.

“Mo Fan, Lingling and the others are here,” Zhao Manyan warned Mo Fan.

“Got it,” Mo Fan did not treat it seriously. He had already learned where the girl was staying. He just needed to get the girl’s room number. “Oh, don’t you misunderstand, she’s my little sister. Where was I? Oh, if a man keeps suspecting what you are up to all the time, he is obviously insecure and lacks confidence. It’s tiring to have a relationship with someone like him, so you’ve made a smart choice by coming to Lhasa even though he was against the idea. You will enjoy yourself more here…”

“You sound quite experienced?” the girl giggled.

“A little…” Mo Fan chuckled.

“Mo Fan, Lingling and the others are here,” Zhao Manyan warned him again.

“Oh, Lingling, you and Jiang Shaoxu should head to the Hunter Union to collect some information first…” Mo Fan finally turned around to make Lingling leave.

Collecting information had always been Lingling’s job. Even though Tianshan Mountain was located in Xinjiang, Lhasa was still the place where the most information in the Western Regions was gathered.

Mo Fan’s smile froze as soon as he noticed a gorgeous, pale-skinned woman standing beside Lingling.

“Let’s go collect some information,” Mu Ningxue was like her usual self. The icy aura around her prevented anyone from going closer to her.

—

They already planned this trip when Mo Fan was still at the Parthenon Temple. Only Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu would join them on the adventure.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, Mu Ningxue had come too!

Besides, judging from her tone, she had obviously seen Mo Fan flirting with the girl after they arrived at the plaza.

Mo Fan wondered if kneeling on a washboard would convince Mu Ningxue to forgive him. Either way, Mu Ningxue did not say a single word to Mo Fan that day. Their relationship had gone back to the first step.

Mo Fan was helpless. Not only did he fail to get the girl’s room number, even Mu Ningxue was not letting him into her room. He had no choice but to cultivate in the cold night by himself until the next day.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Xuexue, why are you here too?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m worried Tianshan Mountain might be too tough for you guys. Also, I was able to achieve the Advanced Level because of the presence of the Ice Magic here. It’s useful for me,” Mu Ningxue answered.

She finally spoke normally to Mo Fan the next day. Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh.

Mu Ningxue was well aware of Mo Fan’s personality, so she was not too bothered by it…

“Tianshan Mountain is your place of blessings,” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan remembered Mu Ningxue had come here alone to train herself when she was disqualified from the national team.

Mu Ningxue had never slacked off her cultivating while at Fanxue Mountain, but she still needed experience too. She had decided to tag along when she heard Mo Fan was planning to visit Tianshan Mountain.

There were not many streets in Lhasa, and they finished touring them after a while. The ancient slabs were full of markings left by the believers when they knelt and pressed their heads to the ground. The faith and dedication of the believers in Lhasa were not necessarily inferior to the believers of the Parthenon Temple.

The rain started falling out of nowhere when Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue while walking on the streets.

Known as a daylight city, Lhasa usually had sunlight for more than eight hours every day. It was rare to see a downpour start out of nowhere. The locals on the streets seemed quite pleased with it, but the vendors doing business with the tourists were annoyed.

“What’s going on? Is this daylight city turning into a downpour city instead? It’s been raining a lot more these last few days,” a vendor grumbled.

Mo Fan was buying a cup of juice for Mu Ningxue from the man. He chuckled when he heard the vendor’s complaint, “I thought the people always prayed for rain here. Shouldn’t you be happy now that it’s raining?”

“You only pray for rain when there’s a drought. The weather here is balanced. Having too much rain isn’t necessarily a good thing, do you understand? Besides, it’s very strange, since this is already the fifth rain in the last month. It’s rare for it to rain even once during this season in the past,” the vendor said sourly, glancing at Mu Ningxue, who was waiting on the street. He raised his eyebrows and said, “Lad, quite a beautiful girlfriend you got there. She looks like a fairy out of a drawing.”

“Mister, how sweet of you. How much do two of these cost?” Mo Fan asked.

“Fifty.”

“Holy crap, why don’t you rob people instead?”

“Are you buying or leaving?”

“Watch your words, are you seriously a businessman!?”

—

Mo Fan bought an umbrella. He and Mu Ningxue did not want to grab too much attention by using their magic to keep the rain away. It was a rare chance for Mo Fan to walk under the rain in a beautiful foreign land with Mu Ningxue, so Mo Fan was not bothered about the umbrella, which the vendor sold him for sixty yuan.

The rain poured down heavily, and the pedestrians quickly ran to seek shelter. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue walked along on the huge slabs. They saw a skinny figure in a monk’s robe after turning a corner. The man was on his knees praying in a certain direction, like he was expressing his gratitude to the Heavens for blessing them with the rain.

He remained unmoved as the raindrops fell on him, and was not bothered by the tourists running past him.

The rain grew heavier, but the man did not rise to his feet. It felt like he had turned into a statue after he knelt on the ground and pressed his head to the ground, like time had frozen in his view.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Ningxue asked when she saw Mo Fan stopping in his tracks.

Mo Fan fixed his eyes on the man for a long time. A puddle gradually formed under his feet. The puddle was covered by a layer of darkness, but Mo Fan was actually its source.

“I don’t know, I have a strange feeling.” Mo Fan shook his head.

Mo Fan purposely took a closer look at the man as they walked past him. The man happened to turn his head around too…

The man did not lift his head after he was done praying, and was in a very strange stance. He only turned his face to the side and looked at Mo Fan from the corner of his left eye.

When Mo Fan saw the man’s face and eyes, the Dark Vein in his body started flowing rapidly. A strong chill spread inside his body before it was released from his pores.

The man stayed in the strange posture for some time while Mo Fan was staring at him. Their gazes were fixed on one another’s eyes.

Mo Fan felt his hair standing on end!

The man also seemed uneasy a few seconds later. He put his head down and returned to his initial posture.

—

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue reached the end of the street, and quickly made their way to the middle sector of the main street.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Ningxue asked when she noticed Mo Fan had still not recovered from the encounter.

“I have a Dark Vein in my body. It’s something the Dark Moon Crystal gave to me. It has integrated my Dark Material and made my Shadow Element stronger. It also granted me some special abilities. One of them is the ability to predict danger,” Mo Fan told Mu Ningxue as she held his arm.

“Predict danger? That’s a great ability, what did you notice back there?” Mu Ningxue persisted.

“That man in a monk’s robe. I don’t know why, but the Dark Vein sensed a great danger from him… and he seemed to be aware of my ability to sense his aura too,” Mo Fan told her quickly.

“I didn’t sense any hostility from him toward you. Why did you think he was dangerous?” Mu Ningxue was confused.

Mo Fan and the man in a monk’s robe were acting strangely on the street, like two arch-rivals had stumbled into one another in public. The atmosphere between them was so cold that even the rain was freezing.

Yet they clearly did not know one another!

“Yeah, it’s why I’m puzzled. He wasn’t hostile toward me, but my Dark Vein kept warning me. The man seemed like he was worried that I might see through him too…” Mo Fan went.

“Is there a chance you two have met before?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“No, he’s obviously not after me. My Dark Vein is just telling me that he’s an extremely dangerous person. It’s urging me to stay away from him,” Mo Fan answered quickly.

“An extremely dangerous person…” Mu Ningxue repeated the words.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue continued on their way. They did not mention the man again.

Mu Ningxue wanted to visit the Sacred Palace, but it had been closed to the public recently, and the two could only walk around its perimeter. However, several wings with a sacred light suddenly appeared from the Potala Palace. The wings looked like heavenly spirits descending from the sky when they were extended fully.

Mo Fan took a closer look and saw a few Sacred Palace Mages were flying out of the Potala Palace, like there was an emergency!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was obvious that the Sacred Palace Mages had impressive cultivation, and their speed matched it. They had already reached the plaza after a flash of light from the Potala Palace. They were scanning their surroundings cautiously, like they were searching for something.

Mo Fan looked up and saw Muse Pelina among the Sacred Palace Mages. She was riding a mystical beast that was able to race through the air, further setting off her grand appearance.

“This way. How bold of him to come to the sacred city! We can’t let him escape this time!” a Sacred Palace Mage with a thick ponytail said.

“There are too many locals and tourists around here. We should be careful,” a female Sacred Palace Mage in her forties corrected him quickly.

“Let’s find him first!”

Four Sacred Palace Mages split up into different directions and spread out like four light rays along the axes from the Potala Palace. The crowd gasped in astonishment.

The Sacred Palace Mages usually kept a low profile. They would normally land on the plaza and walk up the mountain to show their respect for the sacred palace unless there was an emergency, so it was rare for them to use such spectacular and stunning magic in front of the people.

For some reason, Mo Fan subconsciously looked back at the street he had just come from. His instincts were telling him that the Sacred Palace Mages were looking for the man in the monk’s robe!

Muse Pelina did not move out with the Sacred Palace Mages. She slowly descended to the plaza, landing before the Priest and the Knights.

Priest Dowell had been waiting for her there calmly all along. He and the knights bowed immediately as she returned. “Is there anything we can do for you, my lady?” Priest Dowell asked.

“We never thought that guy would be bold enough to come to the sacred city. He actually came so close to the Sacred Palace!” Pelina exclaimed.

“Who are you referring to?” Priest Dowell was clueless about the situation.

Pelina did not explain the details. Another figure was moving rapidly up the stairs nearby. Their actual body had already reached the plaza, leaving a whole bunch of afterimages behind.

The figure stopped close to Pelina. It was a man in a European monk’s robe, embroidered with gold. He had a commanding air about him.

“So many powerful Mages!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

It was quite rare to see even a few Advanced Mages in public in most cities, let alone Super Mages. However, Mo Fan had already seen so many powerful Mages within a short period of time around the sacred palace. He was rather impressed, especially since it was his first time in Lhasa.

“Judicator, are you sure he’s less than a kilometer from the Potala Palace?” Pelina asked quickly.

“I’m very sure,” the man whom Pelina referred to as a Judicator responded.

“Will he do something extreme?” Pelina asked.

“Our duty is to arrest or purge him before that happens!” the Judicator declared.

Mo Fan was not far from the group. He could hear their conversation clearly.

Mu Ningxue asked softly, “Judicator… isn’t that the title for someone of the Heresy Judgment Court?”

“Mm, why are the people of the Heresy Judgment Court here?” Mo Fan agreed with her.

The Holy Judgment Court and the Heresy Judgment Court were more powerful than the Magic Associations of the Five Continents. The Holy Judgment Court was responsible for watching over every Mage, including members of the Black Vatican.

The Heresy Judgment Court’s scope of responsibility was more mysterious. Ordinary people would never come across the Heresy Judgment Court. However, Mo Fan happened to be on the Heresy Judgment Court’s watchlist!

The man in a golden monk’s robe referred to as a Judicator suddenly turned around and stared at Mo Fan like an eagle, as if there was some strange connection between them.

Mo Fan was displeased by that. People had been staring at him weirdly two times in a row within a short period of time. It felt like something on his face was telling people he was a vile person, even though he was actually a Five Good Youth.

{TL Note: Five Good Youth is Internet slang in China. It is used to describe young people who are good at five things: studies, beliefs, work, discipline, and behavior.}

The Judicator came over to Mo Fan and asked him directly, “Who are you?”

“What do you mean by that? Why are you only asking me, when there are so many people on the plaza?” Mo Fan snarled.

According to Old Bao’s friendly warning, the people of the Heresy Judgment Court were all monsters. The old man had asked Mo Fan to stay out of their way if possible. The Holy Judgment Court would stick to the rules, still since they were supervised by the governments and Magic Associations of the Five Continents in the world. As for the Heresy Judgment Court… so far, no organization had dared to oppose them!

“You are Marked,” the Judicator said in an overbearing tone, like he was interrogating a criminal.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan snapped defiantly in return.

“You have a Marking from the Heresy Judgment Court,” the Judicator explained sternly.

“You’re saying that I have a criminal record in the Heresy Judgment Court?” Mo Fan swore.

“You can think of it that way. It makes you suspicious,” the Judicator declared confidently.

Mo Fan’s expression darkened immediately.

Screw the Heresy Judgment Court!

When he handed the Cold Prince to the Holy Judgment Court, the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court promised to clear his record as long as he did not use destructive power that defied the laws of magic anymore.

A marking?

Mo Fan seriously had no idea when the people of the Heresy Judgment Court had left a Mark on him tagging him as a ‘potential criminal’!

The Marking had worked like a charm. The Judicator instantly recognized him as a problematic person, and stared at him like he was some kind of heretic. The Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court could not even keep their promises! What right did they have to stand at the top of the world?

“I’m going to talk to your leaders!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

Those scumbags! Mo Fan had yet to question the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court about how the Cold Prince had escaped and ended up being assassinated. Did they have any idea how many soldiers had died in Beijing when they were fending off the Cold Prince and his men? Weren’t they ashamed to face the heroic spirits of the dead?

“If you weren’t here to disrupt my judgment, the other heretic wouldn’t have had a chance to escape!” the Judicator stated coldly.

The Judicator only knew that Mo Fan had a Marking on him. It did not necessarily make him a true heretic. He would not waste his time on someone like Mo Fan without an order to purge him from his superiors. However, the Judicator was unable to locate the real heretic accurately because of the marking Mo Fan had. The man might have already escaped by now.

Mo Fan lost his temper instantly!

No wonder Old Bao reminded him not to cross paths with the Heresy Judgment Court. The people of the Heresy Judgment Court clearly did not have sound minds!

Not only did they fail to keep their promise and wipe his records, they even blamed him for failing to find the actual person because of their own Marking!

Mo Fan was f**king speechless about the retard’s logic!

Chapter 1966: Suspected Heretic

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Are you going to blame me for distracting you if you are having trouble pooping too?” Mo Fan asked the Judicator sincerely.

“Watch your tongue!” the Judicator snapped.

“Why don’t you mind your own tongue first? Let’s put aside the question of why I still have a Marking left by the Heresy Judgment Court for now. Even if I do have a Mark, have I done anything that breaks the rules of the Heresy Judgment Court!?” Mo Fan demanded in return.

“Having a Marking makes you suspicious, so it’s necessary to question you! Who exactly are you? Reveal your identity at once, and stop wasting my time!” the Judicator demanded sternly.

“Oh? That’s the last thing I’m going to do!” Mo Fan declared stubbornly.

The Judicator’s face immediately darkened.

Seeing this, Muse Pelina came over. She explained when she saw the tension between the two, “Judicator, this is Mo Fan, a family member of one of our Candidates.”

“You’re Mo Fan?” The Judicator had a weird expression, like a doubtful bailiff who had stumbled into a repented criminal.

The Judicator did not interrogate Mo Fan any further after learning his identity.

It was obvious that the Judicator was after the real heretic. If the Judicator had been polite, Mo Fan might have considered pointing him in the right direction. He believed they were after the man in the monk’s robe. However, after witnessing their attitude, Mo Fan was suddenly unsure of which side was the real heretic now.

After Judicator Maule left, Muse Pelina inspected Mo Fan with glittering eyes.

“Judicator Maule mentioned there was someone who was blatantly walking around and another who was hiding in the dark. It turns out that you were the one blatantly walking around. You are truly a problematic guy,” Pelina said in an unfriendly tone.

“Is the wind stronger for those in a higher position? Why do I feel like none of you up there has a sound mind?” Mo Fan responded promptly.

Pelina ignored Mo Fan’s sneer.

Priest Dowell was worried the conflict would escalate further at this rate. He quickly switched the topic, “Muse Pelina, did something serious happen? Why is a Judicator of the Heresy Judgment Court here? Mo Fan has been with us all the time. I don’t think he has done anything that has crossed the line?”

Pelina slowly shifted her gaze away from Mo Fan. If the Heresy Judgment Court was keeping an eye on Mo Fan, she believed it was no longer necessary to keep everything a secret, and stopped avoiding the topic. She explained, “Do you know how the Heresy Judgment Court judges whether a person is a heretic?”

“I’m not familiar with the process. Please enlighten me,” Priest Dowell said respectfully.

“The power that humans use is referred to as magic. Since the beginning of the Magic Civilization a few thousand years ago, we have developed our own system, consisting of the White Magic, Dimensional Magic, Elemental Magic, Dark Magic…” Pelina went on.

These were common schools of magic. Every person who studied for nine years in magic schools would know that.

“We are aware of that,” Priest Dowell nodded.

“I suppose you also know there is power beyond the scope of the Magic Compendium after you reach the Super Level. They are usually described as the Forbidden Arts,” Pelina said.

“I have heard a little about that,” Dowell said cautiously.

“The category of the Forbidden Arts has the highest classification. The Magic Associations and various organizations are experimenting with Forbidden Spells to make them a new magic tier in the Magic Compendium, or a new Element in simpler words. There’s also another category in the Forbidden Arts, called the Evil Arts. The Heresy Judgment Court goes after every Mage who practices the Evil Arts,” Pelina informed them.

Mo Fan understood Pelina’s explanation. The Heresy Judgment Court had been after him because of the Demon Element. Luckily, Old Bao and some mysterious people on his side had fended off the pressure. Otherwise, it would not have been as simple as tagging him as a suspicious person.

There were Mages who were maintaining peace in this world. Mo Fan was obviously at the edge of destroying the world’s peace!

“There’s another category above the Evil Arts, called the Disastrous Arts. The Magic Association and Holy Judgment Court usually handle people who practice the Evil Arts, but the Heresy Judgment Court will arrest and purge those who practice the Disastrous Arts. Not only are the Disastrous Arts not included in the Magic Compendium, those arts are so powerful that they might threaten the peace of society and result in great casualties. People who practice the Disastrous Arts are like devils blending into the crowd. We can’t predict when they will reveal their true form. It might be in the wild or the middle of a crowd… if it’s the latter, it will definitely be a bloodbath,” Pelina continued.

Disastrous Arts!

They had never heard of them before. Even Priest Dowell only knew about the Evil Arts.

“I’ve come to the Sacred Palace to help the Heresy Judgment Court and the Sacred Palace Mages purge a heretic. The Disastrous Art in the heretic’s body is already out of control. A village in the Tibetan Plateau already fell victim to it; the whole village was wiped out. The heretic tried to take his revenge on a branch of the Asia Magic Association, but the Sacred Palace Mages stopped him in time. He is now taking his anger out on the Sacred Palace and has been active around here lately,” Pelina finished.

“Taking revenge on a branch of the Asia Magic Association and threatening the Sacred Palace… That heretic is out of his mind!” Dowell exclaimed.

“Otherwise, why would they be treated as heretics?” Pelina purposely glanced at Mo Fan as she was talking. It made Mo Fan extremely uncomfortable.

“What about Mister Mo Fan?” Dowell could not help but worry.

“He only has a Mark that makes him a suspect, but Judicator Maule ended up wasting his time on him because of the Mark. It prevented the Judicator from locating the heretic. There are so many people in this city, so finding him is going to be difficult,” Pelina explained.

“No wonder Judicator Maule was picking on Mo Fan, but it’s not entirely his fault,” Dowell murmured.

Mo Fan’s lips twisted. It seemed like he had gone too easy on the Holy Judgment Court and the Heresy Judgment Court. He would not bother handing them half a member of the Black Vatican again even if they were kneeling before him!

They had taken all the credit for his achievements to help stabilize their authority and earning the compliments of every magic organization. Meanwhile, Mo Fan remained a potential heretic. What in the world!?

Chapter 1967: The Rift Valley of Tianshan Mountain

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

It was extremely rare that Mo Fan had a chance to have a little walk in the rain with Mu Ningxue. It was supposed to be romantic. Mo Fan had already imagined the positions he was going to use later, but instead he had found himself entangled with a series of troublesome matters.

Mu Ningxue was still worried about the Marking on Mo Fan after they went back to their inn.

“It sounds like the Heresy Judgment Court isn’t going to let you off the hook easily. They are still keeping an eye on you,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Those hypocrites!” Mo Fan snarled.

“I heard the Heresy Judgment Court has a powerful seal they can use to track down heretics and execute them no matter where they tried to escape to,” Mu Ningxue said.

Mu Ningxue was still worried about Mo Fan’s Demon Element. The Demon Element was just too powerful. It was difficult to avoid unnecessary casualties when using it. Judging from the Heresy Judgment Court’s attitude toward Mo Fan, they would immediately mark him as a real heretic as soon as his Demon Element took an innocent life.

There would be no escape once Mo Fan was considered a heretic. The Heresy Judgment Court was cruel and merciless. It had played a huge role in purging Saint Wen Tai!

Even someone like Wen Tai could not escape the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court’s execution. How could Mo Fan possibly stand a chance against them?

Mo Fan was fortunate that the Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, the Cold Prince, had taken the blow for him. Otherwise, he would have had nowhere to run to once his execution was decided on.

The Demon Element did not originate from a proper source. Many magic organizations had forbidden it. Commander Lu Nian had continued to experiment on it after it was banned by the Magic Association. He ended up creating a few monsters, but the powerful Forbidden Art somehow ended up in Mo Fan’s hands, and had merged perfectly with his Double Innate Elements to create the Demon Element.

Based on Pelina’s explanation, Mo Fan’s Demon Element was indeed considered a Forbidden Art!

“The power of the Demon Element is indeed a huge problem.” Mo Fan let out a sigh.

“It’s not your fault either, you only did it to save us…” Mu Ningxue grabbed Mo Fan’s hand.

Mo Fan did not have a choice when he acquired the power of the Demon Element. He only did it to save himself and the others.

Mu Ningxue was clueless about where Mo Fan’s power came from before, but after learning the truth, she could not help but feel sorry for him.

——

When they reached the inn, Lingling, Jiang Shaoxu, and Zhao Manyan were discussing something in the teahouse on the ground floor.

Mo Fan raised his eyebrows and asked, “Did you find something?”

“Yes! According to the information that was leaked from the Sacred Palace, there’s only one entrance to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. As long as we find the entrance, we can keep going into the Rift Valley and reach the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, no matter how terrible the weather is,” Lingling said.

“So we just have to find the entrance?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mo Fan, you never did your homework, do you!?” Jiang Shaoxu grumbled.

Mo Fan scratched his head awkwardly.

“The Scar of Tianshan Mountain is at the boundless layer of thick snow and ice. The mountains are irregular, making it difficult to pinpoint the location of the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. Even those who found it before have to look for it again. Many have died while looking for it. In addition to that, the altitude of the Scar of Tianshan Mountain is exposed to strong winds that even Mages can’t withstand. Those with outstanding cultivation can still be trapped forever on the mountain once they use up all their energy,” Mu Ningxue explained.

Mu Ningxue had been to Tianshan Mountain. She clearly remembered everything about the place.

“One more thing! The demon creatures on Tianshan Mountain are great fighters. Warrior-level and Commander-level creatures are everywhere, and Ruler-level creatures are pretty common too!” Zhao Manyan added.

“The Scar of Tianshan Mountain is the most dangerous place on Tianshan Mountain. Even the lesser creatures there are at the Commander-level. It’s one of the reasons why the Scar of Tianshan Mountain is called the Graveyard of the Strong. The Commander-level is only the weakest level. Every human who goes there is basically delivering themselves to the demon creatures like takeaway,” Jiang Shaoxu added.

Mo Fan dropped his jaw as he scanned everyone’s face.

Why did it feel like he was the only one who was clueless about the situation in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain?

The weakest demon creatures are at the Commander-level…

The Scar of Tianshan Mountain was beyond terrifying!

“What about the entrance to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain?” Mo Fan asked.

“The entrance isn’t really a secret. As a matter of fact, someone found it only a month ago. A group of adventurers discovered a rift valley. They keep climbing in the rift valley with no visible ends. They eventually reached the Scar of Tianshan Mountain after passing layers of barren ground, meadows, alpine, and a valley of glaciers!” Lingling said.

“Just like that?”

“That is very important. Putting aside the danger in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, it’s highly possible that we will have to withdraw empty-handed if we can’t locate the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. It’s quite surprising that someone found the Rift Valley that serves as its entrance,” Mu Ningxue said.

Those who had been to Tianshan Mountain knew the Scar of Tianshan Mountain was a never-ending topic. Many explorers had searched for it. Some had grown a lot stronger after visiting it, yet many were buried forever under the snow. Apparently, a town on Tianshan Mountain was full of posters of the people who had gone missing on the mountain. The town was populated by the family members of those who had gone missing. Some had waited for ten or twenty years, and eventually settled down at the foot of Tianshan Mountain.

Mo Fan did not do his homework researching the legendary snowy mountain. Otherwise, he would have treated the trip more seriously!

“There’s one more thing. We’ve gathered some information related to the Totem Beast. Someone once spotted a flying beast with mystical wings hovering above the ridgeline of Tianshan Mountain. We’ve contacted the person, and he will trade us the clues. We’ll meet up with him once we arrive at the town,” Lingling said.

“We’ve also heard rumors about a sacred tiger on Tianshan Mountain. This sacred tiger is closely related to one of the Sacred Totem Beasts above the level of the Black Tortoise. This information cost a lot of money, but it seems quite reliable after comparing it to the information we have,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Mo Fan nodded. He said sternly after some time, “It sounds like you two have collected a lot of information, but did you learn anything useful about the Night Amethyst?”

Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu exchanged glances.

Jiang Shaoxu replied with an awkward face, “Well… there was too much exciting information related to Tianshan Mountain, but the Night Amethyst is rarely anyone’s concern, so there isn’t really much information about it.”

Lingling nodded in agreement.

“So… you totally forgot about it?” Mo Fan asked knowingly.

“That’s not the case! We can still ask around now, or we can wait until we are at Tianshan Mountain,” Jiang Shaoxu replied a bit too quickly.

“I seriously think Mu Bai should just close his eyes and rest in peace,” Mo Fan sighed, eyeing the two of them.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

Mo Fan did not continue staying in Lhasa, since the retarded Judicator might blame him if and when he failed to track down the heretic.

After saying goodbye to Kris and Priest Dowell, Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Shaoxu, and Lingling headed for Tianshan Mountain. Muse Pelina was planning to visit the same town, but Mo Fan and his crew had no intention of waiting for her. They could just go on their own since they now had some clues to follow.

——

The town of Hope was located at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain. It was very different from some of the outposts nearby, since it consisted of wooden huts that the people who had come to look for their missing family members had built along a river. It had gradually developed from a village into a town. People who were planning to visit Tianshan Mountain would drop by because of its convenient location. It eventually turned into a point of departure for groups of adventurers, explorers, mercenaries, students, and people who came to train themselves.

The town did not have many locals. Most of the people came from other places.

When Mo Fan and his crew arrived at the town of Hope, they realized the town that had made a name for itself due to Tianshan Mountain was a lot bigger than they had thought. It was almost half the size of Bo City!

Mo Fan initially thought the town would be like a typical outpost, where the houses were built with simple materials and the streets full of vendors selling magic serums, equipment, magic ores, information, and people recruiting new members for their teams…

“This place is surprisingly lively. The town at the foot of a mountain is more bustling than the marketplace of most cities,” Zhao Manyan observed.

“Why aren’t these people afraid of being killed?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“Tianshan Mountain is huge. It’s split into different layers by altitude. Not everyone is aiming for the Valley of Glaciers. The other layers have lots of undiscovered treasures too,” Lingling informed him.

Only Advanced Mages and above were strong enough to enter the Valley of Glaciers. The town had at least a few thousand Mages, but not many of them were in the Advanced Level.

However, it was obvious that the Mages did not come here to play. Their overall strength and morale were more impressive than Mages in most other places.

“Hey, did you three bring the national team’s badges?” Jiang Shaoxu suddenly asked.

“Yeah, they are quite useful. They can help us track where everyone is,” Zhao Manyan confirmed.

Mu Ningxue had brought hers, too, storing it in her Space Bracelet. She took it out after Jiang Shaoxu reminded them.

The badge was made of a special material. The badges contained pieces of a single stone that was imbued with the Psychic Magic, granting the badges the ability to display one another’s presence through the strength of the light they were emitting.

If the badges were too far apart, they were not very effective, and they could only point in a rough direction, like a compass. However, the badges would definitely glow when they were within a certain distance.

The badges were custom-made, and every member of the national team would have one. Even though they had already graduated and the World College Tournament was over, everyone still held on to their badges and treated them as a souvenir.

“Why is it glowing? Is it because we are close to one another?” Mu Ningxue was puzzled.

“No, it’s someone else,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Someone else?”

“You’re saying that someone from the national team is nearby?” Mo Fan asked, looking around.

“Mm, let’s follow the light and see who the person that is bold enough to come to Tianshan Mountain is,” Jiang Shaoxu smiled.

They had not expected their badges to light up. The members of the national team had parted ways after the World College Tournament. Only Jiang Shaoxu, who was so obsessed with Totem Beasts, had stayed in contact with them. Even Jiang Yu, who used to be quite close to Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, was nowhere to be seen. He must have moved on with life.

Their team had won the World College Tournament. Almost every member on the team was supported by a powerful faction, not to mention the honor and fame gained by winning the World College Tournament. Their victory had basically given all the members of the national team a bright future.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Ningxue had all reached the Super Level without being supported by any faction and cultivating on their own. If they had reached the Super Level, the others with a solid foundation should have grown stronger too!

1

The group of five walked down the main street while following the light of the badge.

The street was crowded, and the light of the badge gradually grew brighter. It was flickering at a higher frequency too, almost shining continuously.

“We are very close.”

“It should be the man in a brown shirt.”

“Damn, how can you tell?”

“Are you blind? He’s right in front of you. Don’t just stare at the badge.”

Zhao Manyan looked up and saw a man with a tanned face in a brown hemp coat. The mink scarf around his neck enhanced his haughty demeanor.

He was standing there staring at Mo Fan and the others as they were approaching him, his face blank.

Most importantly, he was holding a badge from the national team in his hand too. He had also noticed that someone on the national team was nearby.

“Oh my, isn’t that Captain Ai?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Why is it you… the four of you are all here?” Ai Jiangtu was stunned. He did not expect to bump into four fellow members of the national team in a place like this!

“Say nothing, let’s find a place and have some drinks first!” Jiang Shaoxu was overjoyed.

“Well, I’ll bring you all to meet a few people first,” Ai Jiangtu agreed.

—

The atmosphere was a little weird as everyone took their seats.

The table had eight seats. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Shaoxu, and Mu Ningxue were sitting on one side, and opposite them were Ai Jiangtu, Nanyu, Jiang Yu, and Guan Yu.

They were all staring at one another with wide eyes!

“Is this like an annual gathering after we’ve all graduated?” Jiang Yu was the first to break the silence.

“How would we know you guys came to Tianshan Mountain?”

“We didn’t expect you to be here either!”

“HAHAHA, I bet the Heavens have gathered the members of the strongest team here because we are about to set the Thames on fire.”

It was a great coincidence that they had bumped into one another in Tianshan Mountain.

Both sides finally explained what was going on after laughing about it.

“Basically, our advisors invited us to the capital to give the students a lecture, so we decided to hang around for a bit. Old Ai told us he’s planning to take some time off from the military to train himself. Jiang Yu, Guan Yu, and I had the same thought. We heard something about a Rift Valley in Tianshan Mountain recently, so we all agreed to come here,” Nanyu explained with a smile.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Nanyu was a calm person, but her eyes were obviously brimming with joy.

They had not met one another since the World College Tournament, yet fate had brought them all to Tianshan Mountain.

The eight of them were almost the whole team!

The rest of the team were either incompatible with them or were in opposing factions. It would not be a coincidental gathering if they were here too…

“A powerful Mage must visit Tianshan Mountain at least once!” Ai Jiangtu sounded quite obsessed with Tianshan Mountain.

Many people were obsessed with Tianshan Mountain, but they were a little hesitant at first due to how mysterious and dangerous the place was. However, they felt more confident now that everyone was here.

“When are you guys heading out?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“If only you had come here earlier! The four of us have already joined a group of mercenaries. After all, we aren’t familiar with the weather, wind, terrain, distribution of demon creatures, and how we should react during an emergency. Just collecting information isn’t enough since we all lack experience,” Jiang Yu sighed.

“It’s not a bad idea to follow a group around.”

“Why don’t you all join the same group then? They are still looking for members. We’ll ask the leader to arrange for us to be on the same team. Following an experienced group will save us a lot of trouble,” Nanyu encouraged them.

Their cultivation did not really matter if the environment was terrible. What mattered was their experience and their ability to adapt to circumstances.

“It’s a long journey through the Rift Valley. It’s necessary for us to stick with a group,” Lingling said.

If they had not stumbled into Ai Jiangtu and the others, Lingling had also been planning that they join a bigger Hunter Group. Nanyu’s choice of a more disciplined and well-trained group of mercenaries was not a bad idea either!

“At least three thousand Mages have gone into the Rift Valley, but I bet only a few made it to the end. It doesn’t matter, since they can still obtain valuable resources along the way,” Guan Yu spoke up.

Guan Yu occasionally glanced at Mu Ningxue as he spoke, but he had noticed that Mu Ningxue was sitting very close to Mo Fan. Their skin was almost touching.

Only lovers would sit so close to one another!

Guan Yu knew his chance of building a relationship with Mu Ningxue was slim to nothing ever since Fanxue Mountain had been established, but he still felt uncomfortable when he saw Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue acting so intimately.

—

Mercenaries were similar to Hunters, but mercenaries were usually more organized, like actual military. Their members were usually fairly fixed.

Hunters were more casual and freewheeling. They were constantly on the move, chasing after quests with handsome rewards. Ai Jiangtu was used to the military, so he preferred to join a group of mercenaries instead of a Hunter Group.

A group of mercenaries would normally be considered elites among the Hunters. The mercenary group Ai Jiangtu had chosen was ranked in the top three in Asia. It had around a hundred and ten members, split into ten teams.

Mo Fan and his crew were assigned to the ninth team of the Mailong Private Military Company. It turned out that Ai Jiangtu was quite close to the Vice Leader of the mercenary group. Without that connection, it would be unusual for a mercenary group with fixed members to bring in so many strangers at once.

“The Mailong Private Military Company… even a renowned organization based in Dubai has come to Tianshan Mountain. It’s going to be bustling on the mountain!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The Mailong Private Military Company was reputable throughout Asia. Its members were strong and reliable. The jobs they took were not just quests submitted by the Hunter Alliance. They were even hired to fight in some of the wars in the Middle East!

Zhao Manyan was quite at ease after joining the mercenary group.

“I heard the Mailong Private Military Group has its own city in the Middle East?” Jiang Shaoxu asked him.

“Yes, they do have their own city. They collect tax from the residents just like a normal government, but their main focus is still on mercenary jobs and exploration. They have been sponsored by the Liden Royal Family to explore the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. The Liden Royal Family wants to make a name for themselves, but they are also looking for the Snow Lotus of the Scar to treat their queen’s illness,” Ai Jiangtu told the rest of them.

“The Liden Royal Family is quite wealthy and imposing,” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Your family is here too. They have hired one of the top Hunter Groups in our country,” Guan Yu mentioned to him.

Zhao Manyan twisted his lips. He did not comment on the topic.

He had no clue what Zhao Youqian was up to. The man had hired one of the most expensive Hunter Groups in the country!

It was not like they were traveling to the moon to raise their flags on it.

“What illness is the queen of the Liden Royal Family suffering from?” Mo Fan asked. He had heard something about the queen from Xinxia.

Tata did not let Xinxia use her Spell of Resurrection because she was hoping Xinxia would reserve her remaining energy for the queen, earning the Liden Royal Family’s support.

Both Xinxia and Izisha had tried to cure the queen’s illness, but it was beyond their capabilities!

“It’s not really an illness… but she has reached the end of her lifespan. Not everyone can live for a hundred years. Some people have already reached their limit in their fifties or sixties. It’s not that complicated,” Jiang Yu said.

Mo Fan only realized the truth after hearing Jiang Yu’s words. No wonder both Izisha and Xinxia were unable to do anything about it!

Even the Spell of Resurrection was not going to save someone who had reached the end of their lifespan. The Spell of Resurrection did not make a person immortal. It was not going to work for someone who was dying a natural death!

“I know a thing or two about the Liden Royal Family. The queen isn’t on friendly terms with her first grandson. She wants her youngest grandson to be her successor. She even wrote it into her will, but her youngest grandson is still in his mother’s womb. She will only give birth half a year from now. A kid who isn’t born doesn’t have the right to be her successor. If the queen can’t live until her little grandson is born, all her wealth will fall into her first grandson’s hands,” Zhao Manyan told everyone.

“The Snow Lotus of the Scar can extend a person’s lifespan. Rumors say it can make a person live at least three to five years longer, up to ten years at most, so the queen is willing to spend a fortune to hire the Mailong Private Military Company,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“That’s fine, they can look for the Snow Lotus of the Scar while we look for our Totem Beasts,” Zhao Manyan said.

“What Totem Beasts?” Nanyu asked with glittering eyes.

Zhao Manyan put on an awkward face when he realized he had carelessly spilled the beans.

“We are here to look for a Totem Beast,” Jiang Shaoxu explained quickly. She believed there was no need to keep it a secret.

“The Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain?” Nanyu asked sharply.

“You know about it?” Jiang Shaoxu was surprised.

“Did you forget? I’m very interested in our ancient heritage, and the most mysterious heritage of our country is the Totem Beasts!” Nanyu said confidently.

Chapter 1970: The Gift from the Sacred Tiger

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Rift Valley in Tianshan Mountain had appeared less than half a month ago, yet Mages from all over the world had already gathered at the foot of the mountain. The Town of Hope was bustling like never before. Some of the opposing factions were even cursing at one another on the streets when most people were asleep at night. They were deciding places and times to settle their disputes.

Lingling began analyzing the information she had bought from the vendors on the streets.

Lingling established a dataset to link all her information every time she was on a new mission, so that she could filter the facts out of the pieces of information she had gained from a variety of sources.

Not every piece of costly information was accurate. There were usually discrepancies between the information from different sources, so she needed more sources to verify the validity of the clues.

Lingling did not have a lot of information on the Night Amethyst. If it weren’t for Asha’ruiya’s help, they would be trying to find a needle in a haystack.

There was a lot of information and rumors related to the Totem Beasts. Many Mages had no idea Totem Beasts existed, but there were a lot of tidbits related to the Snow Tiger, the White Tiger, and the Sacred Tiger of the Scar.

China had many powerful species of demon creatures, and the demon tigers had always been at the top. Some of the infamous tribes were the Dunhuang Demon Tigers, the Tianshan Demon Tigers, and the Kunlun Demon Tigers.

The Tianshan Demon Tigers and Kunlun Demon Tigers were both strong species. The Tianshan Demon Tigers were able to use Ice Magic and were mostly white as snow. Their white fur gave them an aloof and imperious demeanor.

The Sacred Tiger of the Scar was the King of the Tianshan Demon Tigers!

Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult to spot the Sacred Tiger of the Scar. Even finding its trail was an extravagant hope, let alone meeting it in person.

“Rumors say the Sacred Tiger of the Scar is friendly to humans. It would stroll through the Scar of Tianshan Mountain around the end of autumn every year. It would gift the first person who saw it. Some people grew a lot stronger because of the gift from the Sacred Tiger of the Scar!” Lingling said.

“Friendly to humans? Does that mean the Sacred Tiger might be a Totem Beast?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, it’s rare for a powerful demon creature to be friendly to humans. This Sacred Tiger of the Scar might be closely related to the Totem Beasts. It might even be a Sacred Totem Beast itself,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Lingling, are you sure the gift from the Sacred Tiger of the Scar is real? I heard people mentioning it at the bars in Lhasa. It’s a ridiculous idea,” Zhao Manyan spoke up.

“It’s real,” Nanyu declared.

“How do you know it’s real if no one has ever seen the Sacred Tiger of the Scar before? How can you be so sure that it’s the Sacred Tiger’s doing? I doubt the Sacred Tiger is like a random NPC in the Rookies’ Village who gives players a luxurious gift after they talk to it,” Zhao Manyan protested.

“Someone has received the gift before, someone whom we are familiar with. His current status and achievements are closely related to the Sacred Tiger of the Scar,” Nanyu stated firmly.

“Who is it?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“Chairman Shao Zheng!” Nanyu declared.

Everyone was startled, especially Mo Fan, whose eyes flew open.

Shao Zheng!

“Are you serious? Chairman Shao Zheng is someone who received a gift from the Sacred Tiger of the Scar?”

“Why have I never heard it from him?”

“Now that you mention it, I did read in his biography that he spent three years on Tianshan Mountain. He didn’t get much attention before the age of twenty-five. However, after he left Tianshan Mountain, he had made incredible progress and became one of the highest authorities in our country,” Jiang Yu mentioned.

“Chairman Shao Zheng did mention the changes that Tianshan Mountain brought him many times when he was younger. He also mentioned the Sacred Tiger of the Scar often over the past twenty years. Many people strongly believe the Sacred Tiger of the Scar and its gift are real because of him,” Nanyu said.

“No wonder Shao Zheng asked us to do our best to look for the Totem Beasts. It’s because he was also blessed by one!” Mo Fan realized.

“However, many people died after coming to Tianshan Mountain because of that legend over the last twenty years, so he stopped mentioning his past here,” Nanyu finished.

“I see. It’s currently around the end of autumn, too. Tianshan Mountain will soon be entering its coldest season,” Mo Fan noticed.

“It’s exactly when the Sacred Tiger of the Scar might show up. No wonder the top organizations across the world are here!” Zhao Manyan nodded.

“I believe the Blazing Song Hunter Group the Zhao Family hired is after the Sacred Tiger of the Scar too,” Guan Yu said.

“Why would they bother chasing rumors around instead of focusing on making money?” Zhao Manyan shook his head, like he had no interest in learning the state of his family.

Guan Yu knew Zhao Manyan had faked his death. He could easily guess it was because of his family, so he did not continue the topic.

Guan Yu used to hang around with Zu Jiming, Nanrong Ni, and Mu Tingying, but he was no longer on friendly terms with them after something happened. He had drawn closer to Jiang Yu, Ai Jiangtu, and Nanyu instead, since he was at the capital most of the time.

He had basically given up on his wrong way of life and turned to a better one. The others were not worried that he would leak the secrets about the Totem Beasts and Zhao Manyan still being alive.

Shao Zheng’s personal experiences had further increased the credibility of the rumors about the Sacred Tiger of the Scar. Mo Fan had been through similar situations where he was gifted. The Fruit of the Vow was a gift that possessed similar effects to the Blessing of the God’s Seal. These things were even more appealing than valuable resources to Mages. Mo Fan’s strength was outstanding mainly because of the unique effects of the Blessing of the God’s Seal on his Lightning Element. Otherwise, he would have to struggle to beat people with a higher cultivation than he had.

Speaking of which, Mo Fan still had not consumed the Fruit of the Vow. He initially planned to give it to Xinxia, but since he was the only person that could consume it, he had to find a time to enjoy it. Zhang Xiaohou, Jiang Shaoxu, Bai Hongfei, and Zhao Manyan had all received their benefits. He wondered what special blessing he would receive from it.

“You said you are looking for the Night Amethyst. Why are you interested in such an ancient and evil thing?” Nanyu asked.

“You know about the Night Amethyst?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

Not even one person in a group of ten thousand would have heard of the Night Amethyst before, let alone know its traits, yet Nanyu was right on point!

Nanyu explained with a smile, “The Night Amethyst is the God of Darkness’ favorite, like how dragons love shiny jewelry, gold, and agates. You came to the right place if you’re looking for the Night Amethyst. If there’s still a place where the Night Amethyst can be found in the world, it will only be the Valley of Glaciers that has existed for millions of years!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“We’ve been searching high and low for clues and people who know where to find the Night Amethyst, but it turned out that you knew about it all along!” Mo Fan exclaimed, while smacking his forehead.

Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu looked at Mo Fan disdainfully. Since when had he spent time searching for information about the Night Amethyst?

“I don’t believe many people in our homeland know about the Night Amethyst. The person who told you to come to Tianshan Mountain to look for it must be an expert too,” Nanyu said.

“Can you help us find it? Someone’s life is at stake,” Zhao Manyan asked her.

“I can give it a try, but there’s no guarantee. In the past, many Mages used the Night Amethyst as a bargaining chip when dealing with the God of Darkness, in exchange for his power. The Night Amethyst is extremely rare now, since it takes over a hundred thousand years or even millions of years to form. It’s rare to find a place that has been well preserved for over a hundred thousand years. The Southernmost Land is one possibility, and Tianshan Mountain is the other,” Nanyu told him.

“The Southernmost Land…” Zhao Manyan twisted his lips. Did that mean they had to visit Antarctica if they could not find the Night Amethyst on Tianshan Mountain?

He would rather choke Mu Bai to death and force him to swallow his last breath. The Southernmost Land was worse than Tianshan Mountain!

“Next time, if you’re looking for something ancient, you can ask me first. How much have you spent on the information related to the Night Amethyst?” Nanyu said.

Mo Fan turned to Lingling.

Lingling was also Mo Fan’s treasurer. He had given her all his cards. Mo Fan had saved up some money lately. He should have at least a billion by now…

“One or two hundred million,” Lingling said calmly.

Mo Fan almost fell from his chair.

One or two hundred million was enough for him to buy a luxurious mansion with a sea view in a modern city, yet she had spent it on some unreliable information?

Could a piece of information be worth a hundred million?!

“I have bought information from more than a hundred sources, each of which cost around a million. Most of them were information on minerals and crystals, so we might be able to earn some back if we bother looking for them, but that’s largely a waste of time for us. I ended up re-selling the information, but most people were interested in the rare resources in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain instead of minerals, so I couldn’t cover the losses,” Lingling went on.

“Lingling… you shouldn’t treat my money as mere numbers. I come from a poor family. I had to think twice when I spent over ten yuan on two bottles of water!” Mo Fan winced.

“It’s fine, I received some unexpected information too. I’ll explain it some other time,” Lingling waved it off.

“You can cancel those which you haven’t paid for. I can guarantee you that most of the information they have is fake. The truth is, they can’t really differentiate between the real Night Amethyst and another thing called the Night Quartz,” Nanyu sniffed.

“Mm, you’re right; half of the information I received is actually related to the Night Quartz,” Lingling was impressed when she heard Nanyu’s words.

The fact that Nanyu knew about the difference between the Night Amethyst and Night Quartz indicated she was an expert. Lingling only learned the difference between the two after spending a fortune on the information.

“Lingling, does the money you spent include information on the Totem Beasts? Or is that only the amount you’ve spent on information about the Night Amethyst?” Mo Fan asked as he suddenly remembered something.

“Of course it was only about the Night Amethyst. The rarer the thing we are looking for, the more expensive its information is going to cost,” Lingling said.

Mo Fan began to regret all this. He had been too focused on enjoying his time with Xinxia at the Parthenon Temple. He did not even realize his treasury had blown a hole!

He was planning to buy some magic Equipment, but it seemed like he had to continue on his adventure naked!

Lingling did not seem too bothered about it.

With all the information she had gathered, they could easily earn back the losses from the valuable resources along the way, even if they did not find the Night Amethyst or the Totem Beast.

—

The next day, Ai Jiangtu introduced them to the group of mercenaries.

Mo Fan summoned Apas and asked her to keep Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu, who both had yet to reach the Super Level, safe.

Apas had spent a long time cultivating on her own. She no longer had a voracious desire for the human world. She was not willing to be Lingling’s caretaker at first, but when she heard they were heading to Tianshan Mountain, her eyes flickered with excitement!

She was very interested in this place!

The group of six joined the rest of the mercenaries. The Vice Leader of the mercenary group was an Indian woman. She was tanned and had a huge nose. She was physically fit and had the bearing of a leopardess.

When she saw Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were with so many women, and how young Lingling and Apas were, she looked quite displeased.

“Well, they have quite a lot of useful information. Don’t worry. If anything happens, we can guarantee their safety,” Ai Jiangtu told the Vice Leader, Kuma.

“I’m more worried about their well-being than safety. My men might obey my orders, but they are also like beasts that might lose their rationality at any second. After all, Tianshan Mountain is a world without discipline and rules,” Kuma did not mind spilling the beans as a woman. She also made it clear that she would not intervene if those kinds of things happened.

“You better remind your men to not court their death,” Mu Ningxue said coldly. She was not fond of Kuma’s attitude.

Kuma raised her brows and burst out laughing like a man. “Interesting, I will remind them!”

Most of the members of the Mailong Private Military Group were men. There were a few women, but they were similar to the Vice Leader. They were just as muscular and tough as the men. Nanyu usually wore neutral outfits and always wore men’s clothes when she was in the wild, but Mu Ningxue, Jiang Shaoxu, Apas, and Lingling were different. They looked just like typical delicate women from the cities. The men could feel their blood rushing after a few extra glances.

“I’ll make you the captain of the ninth team, then. Since there aren’t a lot of members on your team, I’ll assign a few rookies and freeloaders to your team to make it thirteen,” Kuma said.

“Can’t you assign some reliable teammates to our team instead?” Ai Jiangtu asked with a wry smile.

“I can’t help it. We have already broken the rules by letting them join the group. The others won’t say a thing only if your team is mainly full of freeloaders and rookies,” Kuma said.

“Alright,” Ai Jiangtu agreed helplessly.

—

As everyone thought, the men of the Mailong Private Military Group became restless when Mu Ningxue, Jiang Shaoxu, Apas, and Lingling joined the group.

Some were whistling and uttering filthy words that made the women feel uncomfortable. However, they were not complaining since they had joined the group of mercenaries on a tight schedule. Besides, they could easily get rid of the discrimination and disturbance with their strength if they wanted to.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Rift Valley of Tianshan Mountain was not the grassland in front of the group. They had to make their way around a few smaller peaks below Tianshan Mountain and enter a barren land first.

The Mailong Private Military Group had departed quite late. When the group, now consisting of over a hundred people, reached the entrance of the Rift Valley, many Mages had already set up their tents or built temporary huts with their magic.

“What’s going on here? Are these people here to watch the show?” Jiang Yu wondered aloud.

The Rift Valley had only been discovered recently. It had a lot of things valuable to groups who were not planning to go to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. Normally, people would be competing fiercely for the resources in the Rift Valley, yet they had set up tents outside the valley instead!

“Go and find out what they are up to,” Kuma ordered Tommy, the captain of the third team.

Everyone could tell that Tommy was an experienced Mage. He blended into the groups in no time.

Tommy returned after asking around for a while and reported back to Kuma, “It sounds like landslides are happening in the Rift Valley. They had buried a Hunter Group that went into the Rift Valley half a day ago alive,” Tommy reported to her.

“Are these people so afraid of a little situation? Did they forget it’s Tianshan Mountain, the Land of the Brave?” someone scoffed aloud.

“It’s not that simple. The landslides happen randomly, and they are quite deadly, especially if the people are stuck in the Rift Valley. They have nowhere to run and no chance to stop the landslides,” Tommy corrected him sternly.

“We have so many people in our group. Couldn’t we just build a wall and stop the landslides?” Kuma asked.

“It won’t work. The Rift Valley goes from a higher altitude to a lower altitude, especially in the longer segments. The landslides continuously pick up momentum and more rocks and mud along the way. They will only slow down when the terrain is flat. They would simply bury us all alive,” Tommy said.

“Do these landslides have any patterns?” Kuma asked.

“We can set out now. We will be safe if we reach the canyon before sunrise,” Mo Fan told Kuma.

Kuma, Tommy, and other captains turned to Mo Fan. A proud senior harrumphed, “Where did this rookie come from? Did he have a right to speak?”

Kuma waved her hand to silence Gavin.

“Are you familiar with the landslides?” Kuma asked.

“The landslides are happening because the ice higher up the mountain is melting, thus turning some of the sections in the Rift Valley into a rapid drainage channel. The rapid current picks up the mud, sand, and rocks along the way and eventually turns into landslides. Therefore, we should be on the move when the temperature is still low and there isn’t much sunlight. It’s going to warm up quickly after the sun rises, meaning more landslides are going to happen,” Mo Fan said easily.

“Is that true?” Kuma asked Tommy.

“A few experienced Hunters did mention it as a possibility, but everyone has their own saying,” Tommy said.

“We’ll set out now. He’s one of us now, so we should believe in him… Young man, it turns out that you’ve come prepared?” Kuma asked with a smile.

Mo Fan obviously did not prepare himself. It was part of the information Lingling had purchased! He was not willing to share the information that had cost him a fortune with the others if he did not need their help to clear a path.

—

The people of the Mailong Private Military Group headed into the Rift Valley. Humans enjoyed following the crowd blindly. When the Mailong Private Military Group went into the Rift Valley confidently, the rest of the hesitant groups started following them too.

The Rift Valley was not a long narrow path, there were countless forks along the way. It was difficult to tell which path was going to lead them to the higher altitudes. After all, the Rift Valley was incredibly long. No one could determine whether the path was actually going to lead them to a higher altitude, nor could they guarantee the path would be clear. Some might end up in a dead-end after traveling for a few kilometers.

The Rift Valley was like a maze, the paths were meandering and interconnected. People might even circle around and end up in the same spot if they lost their way. They would not know if they were going in the wrong direction.

There was little sunlight to guide them in the Rift Valley. Certain segments of it were deep and narrow. The people could only see jagged rocks around them instead of the sky when they looked up, and had to carry torches to light up the surroundings. Other segments were spacious and clear, like an actual valley with plenty of sunlight and flat terrain. They would think they had reached open land if they could not see the walls of the mountains in the distance.

“Damn it, how the hell do we know which way is the right way?” Gavin grumbled impatiently.

“It should be that way there.”

“Should? I don’t want to go back to the cave full of spider poop again!” Gavin cursed.

The group had just made their way through a cave. It was the only path to go deeper into the Rift Valley. The people who explored the Rift Valley first also mentioned a spider cave along the way, so the group assumed they were heading in the right direction. However, the later paths kept leading them back to the spider cave.

“We can ask the Chinese man. Didn’t he come prepared?” Tommy remembered Mo Fan.

“We’ll set up a camp here and rest for now. I’ll ask him for some advice,” Kuma said.

Kuma asked the group to rest on the spot while she went to the ninth team.

—

“Do you know which way we should go from here?” Kuma asked.

Mo Fan glanced at Lingling when he noticed Kuma looking at him. How could he possibly know the answer?

“Just follow the direction the landslides are coming from,” Lingling said.

Kuma initially thought the little girl was kidding, yet she smiled as she realized something, “That’s right, the landslides are happening because the ice higher up the mountain is melting. The landslides are only occurring because there’s a clear path to send them down. Smart!”

“I suggest you not set up camp here,” Lingling added.

“Why is that?”

“I think the cave is full of digested corpses instead of poop,” Lingling replied.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Little girl, my men have already checked the area. I didn’t notice any trace of demon creatures. The spiders have already left,” Kuma said.

“It proves your men aren’t so reliable after all. Did they check above them?” Lingling asked.

“Above?” Kuma was stunned. She immediately went to a wall nearby and placed her hand on it.

Kuma was extremely focused. Her expression shifted after a few minutes. When she looked at Lingling again, her eyes were full of shock and disbelief.

She did not have time to say anything. She quickly returned to her men and yelled, “Prepare for battle!”

“Battle? There isn’t any sign of demon creature near us,” Tommy scanned his surroundings with a puzzled look.

“Yeah, I’ve already checked…”

“Open your goddamned eyes and look up the walls!” Kuma cursed.

The mercenaries finally observed the walls closely.

The Rift Valley was deep, thus there was not much light. The walls were jagged and irregular too, making it difficult to see the higher spots clearly.

“I saw something, it’s above me. Holy crap, it’s the Bone-Eating Spiders!” a mercenary cried out.

The mercenary was standing close to the wall. He even had to twist his head a little to see through the gap. He could see a few dozen Bone-Eating Spiders lining up the wall.

They each had a huge gland on their back. Their tiny heads resembled the menacing faces of vicious women. Their long and flexible legs were attached to the wall. They did not make a single sound, even when they were moving rapidly!

Many Mages relied on the Earth Wave spell to detect demon creatures’ presence when they were moving. The vibrations from the ground were useful for sensing the demon creatures’ footsteps. The greater their numbers, the stronger the vibration. Therefore, experienced Hunters with the Earth Element would never be surrounded by demon creatures, since their movement was the greatest when they were moving in numbers.

However, these Bone-Eating Spiders were not making a single sound, quietly observing and approaching their prey. It was so quiet that everyone felt a chill running down their spines.

Most importantly, the spiders were great in numbers. The mercenaries had only noticed the demon creatures after they were already so close to them. If they had taken a little longer to notice the demon creatures, they would have been pinned down before they had a chance to set up their defenses!

“They are here too!” another mercenary yelled.

“Vice Leader, there are a lot of them on our side. More than a hundred of them!”

“What’s with the panic? Kill all of them! These scum think we are here to feed them, let’s show them the strength of the Mailong Private Military Group!” Kuma yelled back.

The mercenaries were indeed well-disciplined. They were busy setting up tents a moment ago, but they had already moved into position. The Earth Mages and Light Mages were on the outer circle while the Mages with destructive spells were in the inner circle. The agile Mages were distracting the demon creatures by moving around. Those who were relatively stronger were attacking at will!

“Damn it, why aren’t they protecting us too?” Zhao Manyan cursed.

The perimeter of the Earth and Light Spells had included the members of every team except the ninth team. The ninth team was left on the outside. The Bone-Eating Spiders were quite intelligent. They immediately focused on attacking the ninth team when they realized they were stranded.

“We were too slow. We should have moved closer to the middle when they were moving into position. We can only find a spot to hide since they have to maintain their formation. We are on our own,” a rookie on the team spoke up.

There were four other members apart from Mo Fan and his crew on the ninth team. Two of them were rookies, one was suffering from high altitude sickness, and the other was a freeloader. Their team was indeed a mess compared to the other teams who were moving in a disciplined fashion.

“Let’s head over there. We will have a better view,” Ai Jiangtu pointed at a huge rock.

“Won’t the spiders surround us if we go there? I think this place is fine. There are walls above us too. It feels safer here,” a rookie said.

The rest of the team followed Ai Jiangtu’s order and quickly moved to the huge rock with a lot of space around it. The rookie stayed behind, as he was unsure what to do.

The rookie subconsciously looked up and saw four limbs reaching out of a gap along the walls. More limbs poked out in just a matter of a few seconds!

The rookie was horrified. He immediately ran toward Mo Fan and the others.

“The Bone-Eating Spiders live in packs. They stay in packs when they are hunting. They will hide under the sand in the day and wait for their prey to walk into their traps. At night, they will return to the cracks and the caves where they live,” Lingling said.

“Can you tell us something useful? Like the Elements they are afraid of, or their average strength?” Mo Fan complained.

The terrain in the Rift Valley was complicated, especially since the walls had cracks above the group which the Bone-Eating Spiders could climb around on. They did not see any spiders moving on the ground.

It meant that the Bone-Eating Spiders had a habit of attacking from above. They had to evaluate whether their spells were going to destroy the walls, as falling rocks might bury them all.

—

More Bone-Eating Spiders showed up. None of them were approaching from the ground. They were all crawling on the ceiling and hanging upside down, forcing everyone to look up.

“Fire!” The mercenaries loosed their first wave of spells at Kuma’s command.

The Bone-Eating Spiders were very agile. They had been rapidly approaching a moment ago, but they immediately withdrew inside the cracks along the walls when the spells were fired at them!

The spells did not kill many of the Bone-Eating Spiders. These creatures were extremely patient. They were hanging above the group and staring at them with their green eyes.

“They are very cunning.”

“Keep going, wait for my mark… now!” Kuma ordered.

The mercenaries were split into different formations, so they could still attack after the first wave of spells. Their main firepower was split into two teams; the second team would take over after the first team was done.

The mercenaries were very experienced in such battles!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The second wave of spells was deadlier than the first. The whole canyon trembled as their spells landed on its walls. Huge rocks started falling, with several Bone-Eating Spiders among them.

Unfortunately, only a few Bone-Eating Spiders had fallen with the rocks. The Mages who were free to engage at will proceeded to finish those on the ground.

“These creatures have sharp senses,” Gavin said.

“Humph, it’s nothing,” Kuma said disdainfully.

When the falling rocks stopped after a while, the Bone-Eating Spiders remained cautious.

They were different from other species of demon creatures that lived in packs. Most demon creatures would simply lunge at their prey recklessly. A well-trained troop could easily wipe out such reckless creatures with ease.

However, the Bone-Eating Spiders were different. Even though they were crawling above the mercenaries in great numbers, not many Bone-Eating Spiders had pounced to the attack. They had used the cracks in the stones to dodge the spells twice!

It was rare to see demon creatures with such great patience. The mercenaries were unsure whether the demon creatures were taking the fight cautiously, or if they were waiting for something.

“Fire!”

Another wave of spells was fired at the ceiling, and more rocks fell to the ground. The spells also landed on the Bone-Eating Spiders that were hiding in shallower cracks and knocked them to the ground, but the number of Bone-Eating Spiders that fell was still nothing compared to their overall numbers.

“Are they just going to drag this fight out?” Tommy demanded impatiently.

“Should we withdraw from this place for now?” someone suggested.

Kuma also noticed the Bone-Eating Spiders behaving abnormally. She asked her men to move to the open.

As soon as they moved, the Bone-Eating Spiders followed quietly, trailing the mercenary group.

The Bone-Eating Spiders stayed above the group, observing the humans while waiting for their chance to strike, putting the group under immense pressure.

No one liked being stared at by hundreds of spiders. They had to keep looking up to make sure the creatures were not on a wall nearby, since the demon creatures might pounce at them when they were distracted!

“Move to the open, these things can only stay on the walls to the sides once we are in the open. If they dare to follow us out there, we will take them all out!” Gavin declared.

The mercenary group continued forward. There was an opening around six hundred meters away, a huge crack around three hundred meters wide. They could see the sky through the crack, which had rocky cliffs on both sides. The Bone-Eating Spiders would no longer be able to hide in the cracks along the ceiling.

The people of the Mailong Private Military Group were astounded after they traveled for another hundred meters.

The Bone-Eating Spiders behind stopped following them, but the walls along the way were full of them. The walls were covered in eerie lines and sets of eyes that were glittering like the stars.

“Why are there so many of them?” Tommy exclaimed.

The members of the mercenary group began to panic. The Bone-Eating Spiders’ numbers were beyond their expectations. Most importantly, the creatures were staying still instead of attacking them.

“Why do I feel like we are walking right into a trap?” Guan Yu spoke up.

“What do they want? Are they letting us pass because we are stronger? Are they preying on the weaker Mages behind us?” Zhao Manyan said.

“If they weren’t going to attack us, they wouldn’t have shown up in the first place, since we were completely unaware of their existence,” Lingling corrected him.

“This is so stressful. I hate these creatures with hairy legs!” Jiang Yu said. He was getting goosebumps.

Mo Fan began releasing the energy of his Dark Vein into their surroundings, including the blind corners that were blocked by the rocks, making sure there were no high-level creatures nearby.

Mo Fan was not too afraid of the Bone-Eating Spiders. He was worried about some higher-level species hiding in the dark. The mercenary group was going to suffer great losses if it was ambushed.

“AH!” A loud cry of agony echoed in everyone’s ears.

The dark environment was already making everyone uneasy. The echoes of the scream in the canyon further sent chills down their spines.

Their range of vision was limited and the paths were narrow and meandering. The people at the back were clueless about what was going on at the front.

“Back away, everyone! Move backward, go back to where our camp was!” Kuma yelled.

The others quickly retreated to the place where they had been going to set a camp at.

The cries kept going even when everyone was back at the camp. It was obvious that the group had lost someone. He was being surrounded by demon creatures and being eaten alive.

“How many did we lose?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“It sounds like there were three of them,” Nanyu answered, using her Sound Element.

“Seriously? We’ve already lost three? How deep have we gone so far?”

“The species of demon creatures on Tianshan Mountain are cunning and vicious. The whole place is full of danger. No mercenary group that came here is able to guarantee everyone’s safety.”

“But still, it’s too early for people to die here. We didn’t even know how they died. The spiders didn’t move at all.”

“I’ll go and ask,” Ai Jiangtu said.

—

Ai Jiangtu went to the front of the group and saw Kuma, Gavin, Tommy, and the captains of other teams had troubled faces.

“Are you sure you saw it clearly?” Kuma asked a mercenary sternly.

“Yeah, I swear I saw it. It was on the ground. I saw something with the silhouette of a huge spider moving on the ground. The three scouts never returned after that,” the mercenary said with a pale face.

“What kind of spiders have the ability to camouflage themselves!? I thought only demon creatures at the Commander-level and above could camouflage themselves!?” Gavin cursed.

“We have underestimated the demon creatures on Tianshan Mountain!”

Ai Jiangtu’s expression sank when he heard the conversation.

Camouflage…

In other words, the Bone-Eating Spiders would look exactly the same as the rocks if they stayed still and closed their eyes. People would have no clue the creatures were there even when they passed by.

It was why the three scouts had died!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group had retreated to their previous spot, and everyone was struggling to calm themselves.

They were currently surrounded by rocks, in addition to the lack of sunlight. If the spiders did have the ability to camouflage themselves on the rocks, the spiders might be everywhere as long as there were rocks nearby!

The mercenaries felt their hair standing on end. Previously, they only needed to look up in case the Bone-Eating Spiders pounced on them from above. However, they now had to constantly keep an eye on the surroundings too, since a Bone-Eating Spider might be lying in every blind corner around them.

The Bone-Eating Spiders also existed in deserts and barren lands, but no one had ever heard of their ability to camouflage themselves. The Bone-Eating Spiders on Tianshan Mountain might have developed the ability due to the harsh environment, or perhaps the species here possessed some ancient lineage. Either way, everyone was trembling with fear after learning the Bone-Eating Spiders’ ability.

The whole place suddenly fell quiet, since the demon creatures might ambush the group from any corner. The Bone-Eating Spiders were not making any noise, nor could the humans hear their movements. The heavy breathing of the mercenaries was making everyone nervous instead.

“Nanyu, can’t you hear their movements?” Guan Yu asked urgently.

Nanyu shook her head.

The Bone-Eating Spiders’ movements were too light. The sound of their movements was softer than a fly beating its wings. Humans could hear a fly buzzing because it was beating its wings at a high frequency.

The cunning Bone-Eating Spiders were slow and cautious when they moved around. Nanyu’s Sound Element was not effective, unless the Bone-Eating Spiders took the initiative to attack or picked up their pace when they were getting impatient.

“My Dark Material isn’t working either. These things don’t move at all,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“If there’s nothing we can do, we’ll just hold our ground as long as they aren’t moving,” Zhao Manyan said.

The group did not dare to move to spots that they had not checked carefully. Heavens knew if a Bone-Eating Spider was waiting right beside them or under their feet. To their relief, the Bone-Eating Spiders were not completely invisible. They could still see their unusual lines when they were moving on the walls and the rocks.

The Mailong Private Military Group did not have a better idea. The Bone-Eating Spiders showed no intention of attacking them. The Mages managed to kill a few Bone-Eating Spiders that carelessly exposed themselves, but it did not make any real difference.

—

A strange rumble came from a great distance. Nanyu, who naturally had outstanding hearing, stood still and listened carefully.

“It’s far away from us…” Nanyu murmured.

Nanyu said with a frown after listening to the rumble for a few minutes, “Could it be a beast tide?”

“What are you talking about?” Mo Fan asked with a puzzled look.

“Something formidable is approaching from the distance,” Nanyu said.

“How far is it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Around seven to eight kilometers,” Nanyu said.

“Seven to eight kilometers? It’s none of our business. Perhaps some Hunter Group is being chased around after messing with a pack of demon creatures,” Zhao Manyan said.

“It didn’t sound like that…” Nanyu shook her head.

Nanyu felt uneasy. She kept listening to the rumble.

Around ten minutes later, Nanyu had a gloomy face. “I think I know what the Bone-Eating Spiders are waiting for,” she said.

“Are they waiting for backup?”

“Ai Jiangtu, you must tell the Vice Leader that we have to find a huge slope within half an hour. Otherwise, the landslides will bury us all alive… the Bone-Eating Spiders are waiting until we are buried to dig us out and eat us!” Nanyu said.

The Rift Valley was leading them higher up the mountain. If a landslide poured down in a strong current, it was going to fill most of the canyons, creeks, and paths. The caves and cracks without enough support were going to collapse from impact of the debris.

Therefore, they had to find a tall slope against the landslide to provide them with some cover!

The Bone-Eating Spiders had to be familiar with the occurrence of the landslides. They did not engage the humans because they had figured out an easier way to take them all out. They were simply keeping them in the sections where the landslide was going to crush them all soon!

The Bone-Eating Spiders could easily find shelter when the landslide occurred, but it was not the same case for the humans!

—

“What!?”

“The landslide is going to reach here within half an hour? Damn it, why did it have to happen now, of all times?”

“These Bone-Eating Spiders must have used the same trick to kill many of their prey. Otherwise, how could their numbers grow so quickly in a barren land like this?”

Kuma frowned. They did spot a suitable slope along the way, but they had to travel a kilometer back the way they came. However, they had struggled to travel four or five hundred meters. How were they supposed to go back a kilometer? How many Bone-Eating Spiders that were prepared to feast on them would they stumble into?

“There’s no other choice. We must head to the slope now!”

“The ninth team will open a path for us. The other teams will be following behind!” Kuma said.

“Affirmative!”

“Affirmative!”

Zhao Manyan almost lost his temper when he heard the order.

“Damn it, why should we be their spotlights? We all know the path is going to be crawling with the Bone-Eating Spiders!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

1

“I’ll lead the way. Stick close to me,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“Be careful, the Bone-Eating Spiders might be only a few meters or even closer to you. You won’t have time to use your magic,” Nanyu said.

“It’s fine, I have good reactions,” Ai Jiangtu said confidently.

“I’ll stay behind him to deal with the creatures in his blind spots,” Mu Ningxue said.

Ai Jiangtu and Mu Ningxue took the lead. The rest followed behind them closely.

The people of the Mailong Private Military Group followed too after the ninth team set out. They moved at a quick pace.

The Bone-Eating Spiders waiting on the rocks finally began to move when the group decided to leave the area.

The creatures were no longer probing them, and obviously knew the humans were trying to escape. They started dropping from the cliffs, cracks, and walls to attack the humans recklessly.

“I’ll deal with them. Keep going!” Mo Fan knew the creatures were not going to watch them leave. His Space Bolts had long been hovering around him.

The Bone-Eating Spiders were dropping from the ceiling and the walls on both sides. Mo Fan’s Space Bolts pierced through them as they were falling through the air.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The way they had come from was indeed full of Camouflaged Bone-Eating Spiders. Things were scuttling along the walls on both sides as Ai Jiangtu was running forward rapidly. People would think the walls were covered in mud if they were not looking closely. However, in just a second, the ferocious spiders revealed there would swing their poisonous claws at the Mages that were on the move!

Ai Jiangtu looked around him. Three Camouflaged Bone-Eating Spiders were extremely close to him. He gathered his Will and turned it into three enormous swords, slashing at the creatures and killing them instantly.

Mu Ningxue was right behind Ai Jiangtu, constantly circled by silver frost. She looked like an icy fairy purging evil existences as she was hovering above the ground.

The frost would immediately harden and strike the Bone-Eating Spiders when she pointed her finger. The flesh and blood of spiders splattered and froze all over the place.

“Ai Jiangtu, stop for a second,” Mu Ningxue said.

Ai Jiangtu was just about to enter a narrow path. He immediately stopped when he heard Mu Ningxue’s words.

“Lunar Frost!”

Mu Ningxue held her right arm up at the entrance like a saber as moon-white frost quickly appeared on her fingers. The frost spread from the tip of her fingers to her elbow, turning it into a shiny weapon.

Mu Ningxue swung her arm and fired a glowing slash ten meters wide into the dark passage. The light emitted by the strike lit up the walls as it went past them and revealed the creatures hiding on them.

The Bone-Eating Spiders that were lying in wait on the walls had nowhere to run to. They all turned into ice instantly.

Ai Jiangtu was startled. He had already predicted many Bone-Eating Spiders were lying on the walls waiting to ambush them as he was about to enter the passage, but their numbers were several times what he had imagined. He would have been in grave danger once he set his foot inside the passage if Mu Ningxue had not killed the creatures first.

“I might have missed some. Be careful,” Mu Ningxue told him.

“You’ve done a lot!” Ai Jiangtu said gratefully.

Ai Jiangtu continued to lead the way. He cast Space Rhythm as he was traveling in the passage, and it began to vibrate at a high frequency.

The frozen Bone-Eating Spiders shattered from the vibrations. Their remains fell from the walls and scattered across the ground.

The others quickly followed Ai Jiangtu. The two rookies behind them were dumbfounded.

They initially thought Mo Fan and the others were rookies and freeloaders like them. To their amazement, the group was incredibly strong. Other people had to take on one of the Bone-Eating Spiders at a time and might need extra support from their teammates if they made a mistake, but these young Mages were able to kill a bunch of demon creatures with every spell. The Bone-Eating Spiders did not even have the chance to attack them. They had all died when they were caught by the light of the spells!

Kuma had caught up to them, and complimented, “Ai Jiangtu, your friends are quite impressive!”

The path was now stacked with corpses of the Bone-Eating Spiders. The mercenaries were dumbfounded by the ninth team’s strength. They had asked the ninth team to take the lead because they were treating them as cannon fodder, yet the Bone-Eating Spiders had become cannon fodder instead.

They passed the narrow passage safely and reached a narrow creek. Only three people could travel side-by-side along it. The space was extremely limited for the group.

However, the walls of the creeks were high. The Bone-Eating Spiders had long been waiting for them when they looked up, lining up while waiting for the humans to walk right into the trap.

The Bone-Eating Spiders poured down from above like rain. It did not matter if the path ahead was clear, since every Mage in the creek was now under attack.

The Mailong Private Military Group could only stick close together in a straight line, and were vulnerable when standing in such a formation.

“Don’t just look above you. Watch out for the cracks on the walls!” the captain of the fifth team reminded everyone.

The walls were not smooth; there were a lot of cracks and crevasses in them. If they took a closer look at them, they noticed the cracks actually resembled the pattern of spiderwebs along the walls. The Bone-Eating Spiders were thin and skinny, and could easily move inside cracks that were seemingly around a thumb’s-width wide. Even the Bone-Eating Spiders that did not have the ability to camouflage themselves were able to sneak up to the Mages without alerting them.

Cries of agony rose once again. They had no idea what was going on amid the chaos. They only saw a few of their comrades covered in blood while being dragged into the cracks when they turned around.

It was difficult to squeeze a human into the cracks because of their bone structure, but the demon creatures were incredibly strong. They forcibly compressed the mercenaries and squeezed them into the cracks. Their blood gushed out of the cracks, resulting in a terrifying sight!

“We have to leave this place at once!” Gavin yelled.

The space was too limited, making it difficult for them to use their destructive spells. To make things worse, the Bone-Eating Spiders were inside the walls just a few meters away from them. Even the strongest Mage would struggle to defend themselves at such close range!

The creek was not too long, but everyone’s heart was pounding heavily as the group made it out of the confined area, like they had barely survived.

“There’s a rather spacious spot ahead. Let’s go, team nine, keep going!” Gavin ordered them.

The Mailong Private Military Group found themselves in an open valley after leaving the defile. The distance between the walls on both sides now ranged from twenty meters to a hundred meters. It was a lot better than the narrow creek despite its irregularity.

—

“Take a rest, I’ll lead the way,” Mo Fan told Ai Jiangtu.

Ai Jiangtu had killed around a hundred Bone-Eating Spiders along the way. He definitely needed some time to catch his breath after using his magic at such high intensity.

“Alright, be careful,” Ai Jiangtu agreed.

Mo Fan did not move his feet, moving around with the Earth Wave now. It felt like a speedboat was carrying him around. He spread his arms and wrapped them with lightning. He quickly looked around and fired lightning bolts at every Bone-Eating Spider he could see!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s Lightning Element was able to kill the Bone-Eating Spiders instantly. He did not have to worry about being ambushed from his blind spots, since the Dark Vein would alert him whenever he was in danger. He slew every Bone-Eating Spider nearby before they had a chance to attack him.

“Don’t lower your guard. There are still a lot of them here!” Mo Fan frowned.

Mo Fan was feeling uneasy because of his Dark Vein’s ability to predict danger. The spacious valley was not as calm and safe as it looked.

“Humph, imbecile!” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered as he fixed his gaze on a Camouflaged Bone-Eating Spider less than five meters away.

The Camouflaged Bone-Eating Spider was extremely patient, and only revealed its murderous intent once Mo Fan was close enough. Unfortunately, its plan to ambush Mo Fan was not very effective against Mo Fan’s ability to predict danger.

The Camouflaged Bone-Eating Spider launched itself at Mo Fan. It went right for Mo Fan’s face, like it was going to stab him in the eyes.

Mo Fan reached out his left hand and clenched his fist. He caught the creature firmly in mid-air with Telekinesis.

“Fire!”

Flames erupted between Mo Fan’s fingers. The Bone-Eating Spider being held in the air was set on fire too!

The flames on the Bone-Eating Spider burned harshly. It fell to the ground and turned into a scorched corpse in just a few seconds.

“The Bone-Eating Spiders with the camouflage ability are most likely higher-level,” Mo Fan told the others.

The Camouflaged Bone-Eating Spiders were obviously stronger than the brown Bone-Eating Spiders in terms of speed, strength, and defense. Mo Fan had to put in extra effort to kill the Camouflaged Bone-Eating Spider. He could not kill a bunch of them with a single spell.

“Let’s go. The mudslide is getting closer!” Nanyu said uneasily.

She could hear the mudslide speeding up. It meant the steep terrain that the flood was passing through had sped it up!

Time was running short, yet the Bone-Eating Spiders were still blocking their way. If they did not reach the slope in time, the mudslide would bury them all. Even if they were lucky to survive, the Bone-Eating Spiders would be the ones to dig them up.

The people felt chills running down their spines when the thought crossed their minds.

Mo Fan began killing the creatures more decisively. His high-tier Intermediate Spells were extremely effective in this battle. He did not have to rely on Advanced Spells when the Bone-Eating Spiders were nearby, nor did he have to use weaker spells that were ineffective when his spells were on cooldown.

The journey was relatively smooth. The ninth team had almost reached the end of the valley, yet they kept hearing cries of agony and Gavin’s furious roars from behind.

“Team nine, what the hell are you doing? Why are there so many Bone-Eating Spiders along the way?” Gavin cursed.

“Look out under your feet!”

The mercenaries had spread out a little after there was more space to move around. They were maintaining some distance between themselves to support one another when needed.

However, some of the members suddenly disappeared while they were running. Their formation suddenly had a lot of gaps. The people began to feel uneasy.

They were hearing strange noises from the ground. Nanyu was at the back of the team and looked behind her, seeing claws reaching out from the ground. The claws were hidden in unnoticeable spots. They would grab onto the mercenaries’ legs firmly as they were passing by.

Those who failed to activate their magic Armor in time were stabbed in the chest and the ribs by the spiders, before being dragged into the ground in the blink of an eye!

“What’s happening? We just passed by those spots, but they didn’t attack us! Why did they attack the mercenaries instead?” Zhao Manyan blurted out when he saw the mercenaries were under attack.

They had been clearing a path for the group. The mercenaries were following the same path too, but the Bone-Eating Spiders had let them pass and attacked the mercenaries behind them instead!

“They are choosing their targets. These things realized they couldn’t afford to mess with us, so they chose to attack the weaker mercenaries!” Lingling answered.

“It’s likely that Mo Fan’s is too intimidating. He has slain too many Camouflage Bone-Eating Spiders,” Jiang Yu agreed.

“Mo Fan, come back! You’re getting too far ahead,” Jiang Shaoxu quickly called out to Mo Fan, who had already gone quite a distance ahead.

Mo Fan noticed the group was falling behind. He was about to curse the mercenaries for moving slowly when he saw them being dragged into the ground.

“Damn it, the Bone-Eating Spiders are under us too!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

“Why do I have a feeling we have fallen into a spider cave? We are stuck in multiple layers of spiderwebs!” Jiang Yu murmured.

The spiders in a forest would only build thin spiderwebs. Some insects that were slightly bigger could easily break the spiderwebs by flying through them. However, it did not necessarily mean the spiders could not trap the insects. Those careless insects would simply overlook the spiderwebs since they were too thin, and the spider silk would then stick to their wings. When they realized they were struggling to beat their wings properly, they would fall into the spiders’ traps. The further they flew, the more they were entangled by the spiderwebs. They would eventually be worn out and be stuck to a seemingly thin spiderweb.

The group was like prey that was slowly walking into a spider’s trap. They were not yet stuck in a spiderweb, but they were stepping into a trap that the spiders had long set up. The more they panicked, the more dangerous their situation was!

“Mo Fan, how did you detect the Camouflage Bone-Eating Spiders? Can you warn the others?” Ai Jiangtu asked.

“It’s tricky. I can’t detect them if they aren’t hostile to me,” Mo Fan answered helplessly.

The ability of Mo Fan’s Dark Vein to predict danger was his greatest trick in this situation, but the Bone-Eating Spiders had stopped attacking him. If the creatures stopped being hostile toward him, he could not detect them with the Dark Vein.

It was similar to a signal. When something was posing a threat to Mo Fan, the Dark Vein would immediately capture the signal and warn Mo Fan by making his heart beat faster, his pores expand, his muscles clench, and his skin turn cold. How could the Dark Vein warn him when the Bone-Eating Spiders were not even attacking him?

There was also another scenario when the Dark Vein would alert Mo Fan beforehand: when there was something nearby that could kill Mo Fan in an instant!

Unfortunately, the Bone-Eating Spiders were not strong enough to trigger the Dark Vein’s ability!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Mailong Private Military Group had no choice but to charge forward, even when they knew the claws of the spiders were everywhere under their feet. Some of the mercenaries were tenacious. They would rather sever their own legs than be dragged into the ground by the Bone-Eating Spiders!

The mercenary group lost a few more people in the valley. The slope they were looking for finally showed up ahead after they all made it through the valley.

The slope was similar to a narrow path on the edge of a cliff. The steep cliff rose up and parted ways with the path leading deeper into the canyon.

The group quickly climbed up the slope. The Bone-Eating Spiders were long waiting for them, as if they knew their plan all along. The side of the cliff was crawling with spiders. It looked like a sinister brown agate from afar!

“They are trying to block our path!” Tommy snarled.

“We have to clear a path with brute force,” Kuma harrumphed. She quickly ran to the front of the group and overtook the ninth team.

The Vice Leader was going to lead the way to clear a path up the slope, which was now full of spiders hanging on it like a vineyard.

Kuma was a Plant Mage. She fired red seeds onto the ground, which grew rapidly as soon as they touched the dried rocks. They turned into huge Flesh-Eating Morning Glories in just a few seconds!

The Flesh-Eating Morning Glories blossomed continuously, as if they were growing in fertile soil. Flesh-Eating Morning Glories were able to swing their stems and roots around. When they picked up the scent of the Bone-Eating Spiders, countless fangs immediately surfaced on the thing and long-stemmed flowers in circles. The Flesh-Eating Morning Glories could devour several Bone-Eating Spiders at once.

“Follow the Vice Leader!”

“Follow the Vice Leader!”

The Mailong Private Military Group did not break from its formation even after losing a few members. They had been through many situations where comrades who just had a laugh with them a few moments ago suddenly turned into dead bodies. The mercenaries all possessed a strong will to survive. They followed the path that Kuma cleared with the Flesh-Eating Morning Glories and charged toward the slope with high morale.

“We have to go higher. Otherwise, the mudslide will bury us!” Nanyu declared.

“Watch our backs, you useless pricks!” Gavin snarled.

Gavin did not care whether they were strong, he was only concerned about the outcome. The ninth team had failed to do their job properly when clearing the path in the valley, and members of his team had died because of it.

Ai Jiangtu had a good temper, and actually tolerated it. He knew it was meaningless to argue among themselves when their lives were at stake.

The ninth team was at the back of the group again. The Bone-Eating Spiders that were appearing from the cracks and walls were trying to keep them busy.

They no longer had to rely on Nanyu’s hearing, as the entire Rift Valley was shaking now. The Mailong Private Military Group was under a lot of pressure. They wondered if the oncoming flood was going to be upon them in the next second!

The Mailong Private Military Group worked even harder to eliminate the Bone-Eating Spiders. The blood of the spiders was pouring down the slope like a stream and formed a pool of gore at the lower ground. Their remains rolled down the slope and piled up at the bottom.

Overall, the Mailong Private Military Group was quite strong. The Bone-Eating Spiders found them unstoppable. The low-level Bone-Eating Spiders had no chance of even slowing them. They were already eighty meters above the lowest ground.

They stood on the slope and looked back at the canyon and the valley. They thought the landslide would be similar to a river flowing into the canyon. It would follow the structure of the canyon, but the flood’s momentum was crazier than everyone had imagined. It was like a steel magic dragon ramming into the walls and leaving the area in ruins. The canyon was now twice as big!

The mudslide was getting closer. Luckily, the ninth team made a final push and claimed a higher location, or someone might have been caught by the destructive landslide.

—

Everyone felt like they had temporarily lost their hearing beneath the deafening noise the mudslide was producing.

The flash flood swept past like a terrifying dark brown dragon, and everyone witnessed the utter destruction it brought. They were relieved they had reached the slope and cleared a path forcibly in time.

“How terrifying!” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed.

She had thought the mudslide would just be an ordinary occurrence before, but after witnessing its destruction, she realized how minuscule she was. Even those with outstanding cultivation had no chance of surviving it.

“These Bone-Eating Spiders are very cunning. They retreated immediately when they figured out the mudslide wasn’t going to bury us. They left quicker than a falling tide!” Zhao Manyan noticed.

“They know how to abuse their advantages and avoid unfavorable situations. They chose to wait for their next prey patiently when they weren’t confident enough to take us down. The spiders just need to rebuild their spiderwebs when a powerful creature runs through them. They just need to be patient,” Lingling said.

The threat posed by the Bone-Eating Spiders had been beyond everyone’s expectations.

After doing a quick headcount, the Mailong Private Military Group had lost around ten people. They had remained in formation while they were clearing a path on the slope, which minimized the losses. Their main losses were in the valley where the Camouflage Bone-Eating Spiders dragged some of their members into the ground.

There was nothing they could do about it. If it weren’t for the mudslide, they could still have saved their comrades. They would not abandon anyone if they were still alive, but they were left with no choice with the terrifying flash flood coming right at them!

“We’ve encountered so many obstacles, and we are only at the barren layer. Won’t the situation and demon creatures at the higher altitude be a lot worse?” Guan Yu spoke up. “The Mailong Private Military Group is quite impressive. If it was some other group with a weak mentality, the Bone-Eating Spiders might actually have dragged the battle out until we were all buried under the ground.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Cunning and vicious were the first impressions that the demon creatures on Tianshan Mountain had left on those visiting it for the first time.

“I thought only the demon creatures in the Valley of Glaciers would pose a threat to us. I didn’t expect it to be so dangerous,” Zhao Manyan admitted.

The Bone-Eating Spiders were not even considered a high-level species on Tianshan Mountain, but they knew how to use the environment to hunt their prey. They were able to feast on their enemies even though they were weaker!

It explained why so many powerful Mages had died here. The creatures in the lowest layer of barren ground were already so cunning!

—

The Mailong Private Military Group checked their casualties and settled themselves. They continued on their way after the mudslide had passed.

Mercenaries usually had a stronger mindset. They were used to losing comrades when they were on a mission, and did not have time to mourn the dead. They were reflecting and reevaluating Tianshan Mountain instead. Losing more than ten people in the layer of barren lands meant the group would not have many members left by the time they reached the Valley of Glaciers.

“Walden, go get some clean water from the tenth team so we can treat our wounds,” Ai Jiangtu asked one of the rookies.

“Sure,” Walden nodded.

Walden was a European in his twenties.

He went to the tenth team, which was managing the resources and supplies of the group, like food, water, medicine, devices, and one-use magic equipment.

When Walden arrived, he saw three old mercenaries gathering together to make a deal while smoking.

“I must say, that kid is extremely lucky. I won’t accept it; I bet he won’t survive the next encounter!” Li Yu from the tenth team said.

Li Yu gave the amount he lost on the bet to Xu Luoqing.

Xu Luoqing received the money with a smile. He said, “Honestly, I didn’t expect those on the ninth team to be so strong. The spiders would have dragged Walden and Heeto into the ground if they weren’t around.”

Walden was standing right behind them. He blushed with anger when he heard their discussion.

Not only did these old mercenaries order him around like a slave, they actually bet on whether he was going to survive when he finally had a chance to go on a mission with the group. Did the guy called Li Yu want him dead just so he could win the bet?

“What do you mean? Is my life so insignificant in your eyes?” Walden blurted out angrily.

The mercenaries were surprised when they saw Walden was right behind them.

However, they were not too bothered by it. Xu Luoqing said with a smile, “It’s nothing serious. We were just fooling around.”

“Fooling around? You sound like you can’t wait to see me die!” Walden snapped.

“Walden, stop acting like a brat.”

“I’m a brat? Even though I found out you were betting on my life, you claimed that you’re just fooling around?” Walden cursed.

“It’s nothing serious, we’ve bet on every rookie’s life. A rookie like you is nothing but a burden to the group. You have no uses apart from providing us with some entertainment, so stop making a scene and piss off back to your team,” Li Yu said disdainfully. He had never treated Walden seriously.

Walden trembled in anger after hearing the words.

Xu Luoqing asked, “Walden, why are you here?”

“I’m here to get some clean water,” Walden said.

“Here, take it,” Xu Luoqing said.

“I will tell the Vice Leader about it. You must apologize to me,” Walden said angrily.

“Go tell her then. If you’re the kind to complain to your mother after being bullied at school, you should just stay home and let your mother look after you. You shouldn’t become a mercenary… Right, Xu Luoqing, how much was I going to bet just then? I’m going to bet three times that amount. If he can survive the next encounter, I’ll pay you three times the amount. Do you dare to accept it?” Li Yu yelled.

“Sure, I’ll take it!”

“Three times? Li Yu, you’re seriously playing with fire. Fine, I’ll take it!”

“Walden, you better work harder for the sake of this bet.”

“Can I bet he’s going to die instead?”

“Aren’t you taking it too far? Baby Walden is getting angry.”

The older mercenaries enjoyed making a fuss out of everything. Walden could not bear staying with them any longer. He left furiously with the clean water.

There were a lot of people addicted to gambling in the mercenary group. The losses the mercenary group had just suffered did not stop them from entertaining themselves. Walden heard them mentioning other bets even as he was leaving.

“By the way, the other bet we agreed on; everyone is going to give whoever that f**ks the silver-haired beauty five times the amount we’ve bet. Does it count?”

1

“Of course, it’s more interesting than betting on Walden’s life,” Li Yu agreed.

“But you saw how strong that Lightning Mage was.”

“Yeah, I did. I think we should increase the amount to seven times instead. What do you think?”

“Seven times it is!”

“HAHAHA, not only am I going to have an enjoyable time, I’m going to make a fortune out of it too,” a voice exclaimed.

—

Walden was shaking in anger. Those old mercenaries had no ethics whatsoever.

He returned to the team with the clean water. He looked at Mo Fan and wondered whether he should tell Mo Fan what he had just heard.

Walden shook his head after a brief thought. He should just ignore them. It was not like he could interfere with their bet.

He could not even stop them from betting on his life!

“I’ve got some clean water,” Walden said.

Ai Jiangtu took the water. He asked when he saw the odd look in Walden’s eyes, “Did anything happen?”

“No… nothing,” Walden shook his head.

Walden went to the side. However, Mo Fan approached him out of nowhere.

Everyone could tell that Mo Fan was the silver-haired beauty’s boyfriend. Walden was amazed by how beautiful the woman was when he first saw her. He knew that many in the mercenary group were drooling over her.

“What’s wrong with the guy who’s sick?” Mo Fan asked.

“You mean Parker?” Walden said.

“Mm, it seems like he’s in great pain,” Mo Fan said.

“We initially thought he’s suffering from altitude sickness, so we decided to bring him along. His body might adapt eventually, but we didn’t think it would take him so long to recover,” Walden said.

“Doesn’t the group have medics?” Mo Fan asked.

“We do, but they should be looking after the injured now. Parker is a rookie like me. They won’t care about him unless he’s dying,” Walden sighed.

Chapter 1980: Unknown Cause of Death

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Your face is pale. Did the Bone-Eating Spiders scare you?” Mo Fan asked Walden.

“No… not at all,” Walden replied, shaking his head.

“It’s going to be a dangerous trip, but don’t worry, you will be safe as long as you stick with us,” Mo Fan stated, slapping Walden on the back.

“Oh, let’s hope so,” Walden said. He subconsciously looked at Mo Fan as he left.

As a matter of fact, he was a little touched by Mo Fan’s words after being humiliated by the older mercenaries. However, he had a feeling that he should not treat everyone’s words too seriously. In a dangerous place like Tianshan Mountain, it was quite likely that a man would run away just like the others when there was any danger, let alone protect him. Everyone knew how to talk pretty!

—

The only good thing about the landslide was they now had a much clearer idea of which way they should be going.

The landslide had come down from the higher layers. They just needed to follow its trail!

After waiting half a day, the landslide turned into ordinary flowing sand and rocks. It might have changed the ground along the way, but the Rift Valley remained. It would not be sealed off by the landslide, nor was it going to just disappear after the landslide filled it up.

“I believe the Rift Valley is closely related to the flash floods. Tianshan Mountain has had strong undercurrents flowing within it for a long time. The Rift Valley has been around a long time too, but it was buried underground. The recent mudflows must have broken through the ground and cleared a path to the Rift Valley!” Lingling declared after a thorough analysis.

“Yes. It’s unlikely such a spectacular valley would suddenly appear out of nowhere,” Nanyu agreed with Lingling’s speculation.

Valleys and streams were the result of constant rain and flowing water. The flash floods must have occurred countless times before they finally opened up an entrance into the Rift Valley.

Therefore, the Rift Valley would surely lead them to the Valley of Glaciers.

The Valley of Glaciers had a deadly wind that even the strongest Mages would struggle to defend themselves from. It was like a natural magic barrier established around Tianshan Mountain to stop outsiders. However, if they headed for the Valley of Glaciers through the Rift Valley, they could avoid the deadly wind. Most importantly, it would lead them to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain!

No wonder countless Mages across the world had come to Tianshan Mountain. Even though their cultivation was not too impressive, they could still enter the treasure vault in Tianshan Mountain by taking the right path!

—

The barren land fell silent after the mudslide had passed. The group had discovered some corpses buried under the ground along the way. Even the creatures of Tianshan Mountain had not all found shelter from the mudslides.

Tommy, who was scouting the path ahead, called out, “There are some corpses here!”

“Is there anything special about them?” Gavin said.

“They are humans.”

“Oh, that’s pretty normal.”

Tommy glanced at Kuma and added, “These people didn’t die to the landslide. They managed to find a shelter like us, but they still died to some unknown cause.”

“Maybe the demon creatures killed them,” Gavin said impatiently.

“I didn’t see any wounds or injuries, either.”

“Maybe it’s poison,” Kuma ventured.

“Mm, I think so too. If they died in the same direction we are heading in, it’s likely that we’ll encounter the same thing!” Tommy agreed.

Corpses were not scary to the mercenaries. Every path to some kind of treasure would have dead bodies along it. The dead might provide hints. If the bodies were torn to pieces, it indicated they had encountered some ferocious beasts. If the corpses only had bones left, it meant there were species that fed on them. If the bodies were in good condition, it was likely they were poisoned to death, or they had died to some other strange cause. These clues served as warnings to those who were taking the same path!

—

The group marched past the corpses. The ninth team was toward the back of the group and only saw the dead some time later.

Lingling was performing like an expert. She immediately put on a pair of gloves and a mask before inspecting the dead.

When Walden and the others on the team saw the little girl running toward the dead bodies curiously, they all had strange looks on their faces.

Lingling was not bothered at all. Every corpse contained a lot of information. The path ahead of them had too many unknown factors, whether it was related to nature or the demon creatures. Even if Mo Fan and the others were strong, there might be problems which they could not overcome with strength alone. Their group had so many people. How could they possibly guarantee everyone’s safety?

Therefore, it was extremely important to collect information. Every useful bit of data they gathered from the mysterious reaches of Tianshan Mountain might be the key to preventing some uncontrollable tragedies.

“Did you find anything?” Mo Fan asked her.

“It’s strange…” Lingling’s sentence made Mo Fan’s heart skip a beat.” Judging from their clothes, they should have reached the Meadow. There is moss and grass on their clothes.”

“If they already left the barren land and reached a higher layer, why would they come back here and end up dead?” Nanyu said.

“What’s the cause of death?” Mo Fan asked.

“They died of suffocation, but I couldn’t find what was causing it,” Lingling answered.

“Poison?”

“I have considered it too, but if it was poison, they should have stayed in the Meadow. They should be looking for an antidote nearby if they had the slightest common sense,” Lingling said.

“Is there a chance they were poisoned in the Meadow and the slide brought them here?”

“There isn’t any signs of the mudslide on them. I’ll collect some samples. Let’s keep moving. We might have to see what’s ahead to figure out the real cause of death,” Lingling told them.

“Maybe they were too weak?”

“Probably not, one of them is a strong Advanced Mage.”

“There wasn’t any trace of a fight, which means their deaths had nothing to do with their strength…” Nanyu realized.

“The group has already gone ahead. Let’s hurry. If anything happens, the Mailong Private Military Group will deal with it first,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“Old Ai, is that the actual reason why you joined the mercenary group, so they could be our meat shield?” Zhao Manyan smiled.

“You’re talking too much,” Ai Jiangtu answered quietly.

“Hehe…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Starting from the highest altitude, Tianshan Mountain was split into the Valley of Glaciers, the Alps, the Meadow, and the Barren Land.

The Rift Valley meandered upwards, which meant the group would arrive at the Meadow after passing the Barren Land. They would be closer to the Valley of Glaciers and the location of the Scar of Tianshan Mountain.

—

The Mailong Private Military Group successfully made it out of the Barren Land by following the trail of the mudslide. They had entered the Meadow, which was full of moss and grass.

It was called the Meadow because the land was covered in thick grass. The whole place was dazzlingly green, like a sacred field!

However, since the Mailong Private Military Group was traveling in the Rift Valley, they were unable to enjoy the spectacular view of nature. That being said, the Valley in the Meadow was a lot more spacious than before. It consisted of valleys, basins, and low-lying grasslands, which had also inherited the Meadow’s traits.

The group saw a layer of vegetation similar to a grassy space in the Rift Valley after they reached the Meadow. However, as they ventured deeper, they noticed the walls and cliffs were covered in plants, in particular with vines bearing huge leaves. Some of them were as thick as a wall. They might even think they had walked into a dead end if they were not observing the plants closely.

A place covered in plants would obviously be home to many species, especially poisonous ones. They were supposed to be relieved after leaving the Barren Land, but now they had to stay on alert when they realized they had entered a much complicated area.

The Bone-Eating Spiders were not the only species the Mailong Private Military Group had encountered in the Barren Land, after all.

They had stumbled into a variety of species along the way, but they had managed to drive the creatures away with brute force. Under normal circumstances, the creatures in the Barren Land had no chance of stopping a strong mercenary group like the Mailong Private Military Group. Luckily, they had not encountered another cunning species like the Bone-Eating Spiders. However, they had no idea if other groups had encountered some even deadlier species.

Either way, the environment in the Barren Land had been quite simple. It was made up of rocks, sand, cliffs, and crevices. On the other hand, the Meadow was a lot more complicated, meaning there were more types of demon creatures with higher numbers. None of them dared to underestimate Tianshan Mountain after encountering the Bone-Eating Spiders!

“Old Ai, ask the Vice Leader and Gavin to come here,” Nanyu said.

“Oh, alright.”

The group had set up their camp at a spot covered with dried moss. Ai Jiangtu went to ask Kuma and Gavin over.

“What now?” Gavin asked impatiently.

“He’s dying,” Nanyu pointed at Parker who was severely ill.

Parker had been sick ever since he came to Tianshan Mountain. He could still walk on his feet at first, but he was now lying down most of the time. The other two freeloaders on the team took turns carrying him around.

“Parker, what the hell is wrong with you? Have you been staying at comfortable places for too long? Did you fall sick so easily when the conditions aren’t so favorable to you? Are you a sissy?” Gavin scolded him.

“I…I need a medic,” Parker said feebly.

“So many people are injured. The medics are busy. It’s your own problem that you are sick!” Gavin said.

“Ask Warner to come take a look,” Kuma said.

“Seriously, why must you call us over for something so trivial!” Gavin grumbled.

The medic called Warner soon arrived, but he was obviously worn out too. It seemed like he did not even have time to quench his thirst.

He observed Parker and said, “It’s the same symptoms as before, high-altitude sickness, but they are a lot worse now. Parker, it seems like this place doesn’t suit you at all. Normally, people with high-altitude sickness will recover in a day or two, but you’re getting worse instead.”

“Help…help me…” Parker pleaded.

“There’s nothing I can do. Your body has to adapt to the environment. Try taking more deep breaths,” Warner said.

Even a Healer could not do anything much for a sick patient, let alone something like high-altitude sickness.

Parker’s eyes dimmed after everyone left. He seemed to be suffering a lot, but there was no way the group would turn back now because of him.

1

“He should have rested in the town.”

“Who knew it would be so serious.”

“Parker is going to die at this rate.”

Even a small fever might kill a healthy adult if it was not treated properly, not to mention the high-altitude sickness, which had a variety of symptoms. If the patient’s body could not adapt to the environment, vomiting, nausea, and edema were only some of the obvious symptoms.

Parker could no longer eat. He might even die of starvation instead of sickness.

Mo Fan and the others did not have any better ideas. Mo Fan and Ai Jiangtu tried compressing the air to provide Parker with more oxygen, but that did not work either.

1

“It seems like they are going to leave him behind,” Jiang Yu shook his head.

“It’s the same for many mercenary groups. Many people fall ill when a journey is long, and most of the time, the sick can only be treated in the cities with doctors, devices, and medicine. It’s normal for the sick to be abandoned by the group,” Ai Jiangtu said softly.

It was the difference between the military and mercenaries. Soldiers were not allowed to abandon their comrades under any circumstances. Even if they were dead, they had to carry their bodies back. Mercenaries were more cold-blooded. They only cared about money and their missions.

“Old Ai, what did Gavin tell you?” Nanyu asked.

“He asked me to leave Parker behind and let him die when I found a suitable spot,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“Holy crap, did he seriously ask us to act like assh***s?” Zhao Manyan said.

“I didn’t agree to it,” Ai Jiangtu said.

—

The group set out again, but before they took off, two old mercenaries carried another man and placed him in front of Ai Jiangtu and the others.

“What’s wrong?” Ai Jiangtu asked.

“He seems to be suffering from symptoms of the high-altitude sickness too. Gavin has asked us to bring him here for you to look after, since you are so compassionate toward the sick,” the gambling addict Li Yu said.

He kept staring at Mu Ningxue’s bust without concealing his lust.

“What the heck? Is our team the Team of the Sick now? Shouldn’t his team be looking after him?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

“You should be relieved that we aren’t asking you to take care of the injured, too. Besides, there are many women on your team. It’s normal for you to be looking after the sick,” Li Yu went on

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The ninth team started having difficulty moving around once they had to look after two ill members. They were falling behind when the Mailong Private Military Group arrived at a place covered in frozen moss.

The Mailong Private Military Group left them markings along the way. Ai Jiangtu noticed the mercenaries had set up camp at a spot with a clear view after losing sight of them for some time.

“Is it already time to rest?” Nanyu asked.

“Something must have happened,” Ai Jiangtu judged.

“What are these mercenaries up to this time?” Mo Fan was starting to feel impatient with the Mailong Private Military Group.

When they arrived at the camp, they saw Gavin and some other people surrounding three members who were lying on stretchers.

Gavin frowned. When he saw Mo Fan and the others, he said, “Right on time, we are moving them to your team.”

“What happened to them?” Ai Jiangtu asked.

“They are ill. Same symptoms as the high altitude sickness,” Gavin said.

“We are already looking after two ill members. We won’t be able to maintain the same pace as the group,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“It’s an order. You should bear some responsibility for the group if you’re one of us. We’ll rest up here and set out again in three hours,” Gavin said.

Zhao Manyan could not bear with it any longer. He pointed at Gavin and snarled, “You’re overdoing it. We aren’t a team of medics. You should know that your people aren’t any stronger than us!”

“Huh, kid, do you think the world is short on powerful Mages? You might be strong, but can you take on the entire group?” Gavin scoffed.

“Humph, there’s no reason for us to follow you useless pricks around either,” Zhao Manyan returned promptly.

“Sure, you’re only joining us temporarily. Feel free to leave if you want. We won’t stop you,” Gavin sniffed.

“That’s enough, why are we arguing in a time like this? Team nine, you don’t want to look after so many ill members, but the other teams share the same thought. It’s quite simple, actually. We’ll just move those who are sick to that spot. If they don’t recover in three hours, their chances of survival will depend on whether they can keep up with us,” Kuma said.

1

Everyone shivered after hearing Kuma’s words, especially the three sick members.

1

“I’ve already told you that if anyone slows us down while we are on a mission, they will be abandoned, including me. If you remember the terms we’ve agreed to, you should leave the group on your own, or else we’ll have to do it the hard way,” Kuma went on.

1

The three ill mercenaries begged for mercy, but the rest of the group remained silent.

1

The relationships between mercenaries were not as solid as the relationships in a Hunter Group. They were only after personal gain, and had no obligation to look after one another. They were only forbidden from fighting among themselves.

Every time they were on a mission, they were risking their lives. Not getting the reward was worse than dying for them!

“Bring them to our team,” Ai Jiangtu said after some time.

“Are you sure? We didn’t force you to take them this time,” Kuma pointed out.

“I’m from the military. I can’t accept it,” Ai Jiangtu replied.

“Very well, let’s hope you don’t fall behind, or we’ll have to abandon you too. You should know that more than ninety of us in the group are hoping to get enough of a reward to live a prosperous life, so they won’t be happy if you are in the way,” Kuma informed him.

The mercenary group had been promised a handsome reward. These mercenaries had their own principles. If someone died during the mission, they would still receive their share. They had all put down a close relative’s name while signing up for the mission. If the mission was a success, the mercenary group leader would deliver the sum to the close relatives of those who died. The mercenaries might be cold-blooded and selfish, but they would stick to their principles when money was involved. The others were not allowed to claim their shares. The rule was needed to stop the mercenaries from fighting among themselves.

—

“Ai Jiangtu, how are we supposed to keep going if you’re taking all the ill members?” Zhao Manyan said.

“I don’t have a choice, they are more cold-blooded than I imagined,” Ai Jiangtu shrugged.

“I’m seriously done here. Those regular members of the Mailong Private Military Group don’t even care about the sick, but we have to look after them when we are only joining them temporarily. We aren’t Bodhisattvas!” Zhao Manyan spat.

“Old Ai didn’t do anything wrong. After all, we aren’t mercenaries like them. We should stick to our principles as Mages,” Nanyu disagreed.

“Mo Fan, what do you think?” Jiang Yu asked.

“We’ll just follow Old Ai’s decision. These people are all foreigners. We’ll just treat it as a chance to show them how humane our country is,” Mo Fan shrugged.

1

The team now had five sick members. Jiang Yu summoned his Rock Golem and combined the stretchers with vines so the Rock Golem could drag them on the ground.

The five ill members could only lie still. The national team members could not help but sigh when they saw the ill members’ painful expressions and how cold-blooded the mercenaries were.

“What’s going on? Why are so many people falling sick?” Mu Ningxue asked. Something did not feel right to her.

“For some reason, I have a feeling it’s going to happen again,” Lingling said.

—

The team set out three hours later. They had to admit that oxygen was indeed lacking in the Rift Valley. The plants were not receiving any sunlight, so they were not using photosynthesis to produce fresh air. Everyone was having trouble breathing evenly.

Guan Yu suddenly breathed heavily as if his nose was clogged.

Jiang Shaoxu turned around and asked quickly, “Guan Yu, did you get a cold?”

“I have no idea. My nose feels blocked all of a sudden,” Guan Yu used his mouth to breathe when he noticed his nose was clogged.

His breathing had turned heavier. Jiang Shaoxu kept observing him. She noticed his face was turning pale.

“Guan Yu, are you sure you’re fine?” she pressed.

“I…I’m having breathing difficulties. I feel so weak. I can’t breathe,” Guan Yu staggered before sitting down on a nearby rock. His chest was rising and falling heavily.

“Seriously? You’re having symptoms of the high altitude sickness too?” Zhao Manyan said.

“I’m not feeling well, either,” Ai Jiangtu admitted.

“Same here,” Lingling said softly.

Mo Fan was carrying Lingling on his back. He only noticed her face was pale when he turned around. She was panting heavily, like a little fish struggling to breathe with its gills.

“Lingling,” Mo Fan quickly put her down.

“I’m feeling a little light-headed,” Lingling said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Damn it, could it be a contagious disease? I told you we shouldn’t be bringing the sick with us. Our whole team has caught the disease too!” Zhao Manyan began to panic when he saw Lingling and Guan Yu’s condition.

“It’s troublesome since we don’t have a Healer on our team. What should we do now? A few of us have fallen ill so suddenly,” Jiang Yu said.

Both Lingling and Ai Jiangtu were showing symptoms of high altitude sickness after Guan Yu, and were having difficulty breathing. They felt light-headed and sick, and they could not move, like they were overwhelmed by fatigue.

“It’s…it’s not… contagious…” Lingling said.

“Stop talking, just rest up,” Mo Fan was worried about Lingling. He did not let her speak again.

She did not even have the strength to talk properly. The whole Mailong Private Military Group only had a single useless Healer, who was clueless about the strange disease. They could not afford to place their hopes in him.

Mo Fan looked around and asked everyone how they were doing.

Apart from Ai Jiangtu, Guan Yu, and Lingling, the others did not have any symptoms for now.

Nanyu went ahead and communicated with the Mailong Private Military Group. She soon returned with a grim face.

“More than twenty people in the Mailong Private Military Group are showing the same symptoms now,” Nanyu informed them.

“Over twenty…” Zhao Manyan took a deep breath.

“What should we do now? Is the whole group going to fall sick? What the hell is causing it? Can anything other than a contagious disease take down so many people at once? We are all Mages, so we shouldn’t fall sick so easily,” Jiang Yu exclaimed.

“Isn’t Ai Jiangtu a Super Mage? Can a Super Mage even fall sick?”

“I doubt it has anything to do with our cultivation,” Mu Ningxue spoke up.

As soon as Mu Ningxue finished her sentence, a bright flame suddenly erupted in front of them. The light outlined several figures in the outfits of mercenaries. They looked fierce and angry!

“It must be them. They have spread the disease to others. The Vice Leader already told us to abandon them, yet you hypocrites insisted on bringing them along. More people have fallen ill now!”

“So what? Are you going to burn your comrades to death then, including the dozens who have fallen sick too?” Mo Fan scoffed when he saw the aggressive mercenaries.

These mercenaries were not even that strong, yet they lacked even the slightest kindness as human beings. He was relieved that he had never crossed paths with mercenaries before.

“That’s enough, behave yourself!” Kuma demanded.

“Vice Leader, we can’t afford to keep the sick members around. More people are only going to fall sick because of them. Everyone is going to die here!” The person leading the mercenaries who were throwing a tantrum was none other than Li Yu.

“We’ll split into two teams. Those who are healthy will go on ahead. If the sickness is contagious, those who are with the ill are more likely to fall sick,” Kuma said.

“But…”

“Enough talk, do as I say!”

Kuma immediately split the Mailong Private Military Group into two groups. The first group was made up of fifty healthy members. They were around three kilometers ahead of the second group. They would leave markings behind for the group who was sick.

Around thirty people in the second group were ill. Those who were healthy had to use their magic to transport them.

“Seriously, more than thirty in a group of fifty are lying on the ground. If we encounter a species like the Bone-Eating Spiders again, we are all going to die!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Our own team is sick too,” Nanyu agreed helplessly.

It was meaningless to part ways with the mercenary group now. They were all in the same situation now. They had to find the solution to it as soon as possible!

—

The number of the ill kept increasing, as expected. Around ten people in the first group began to have the symptoms of high altitude sickness. Meanwhile, five out of twenty of the healthy people in the second group had also fallen ill. Mu Ningxue was one of them.

Mu Ningxue was having difficulty breathing. Mo Fan Summoned the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to carry Lingling and Mu Ningxue.

Everyone began to panic!

How did they contract the sickness? It seemed like anyone could be the next person to fall sick!

“Mo Fan, my nose feels uncomfortable,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Uncomfortable my ass, you’re just scaring yourself. Seriously, the group is being taken out by this strange disease when we haven’t encountered a single demon creature, yet we have no clue how to treat it!” Mo Fan snarled.

Zhao Manyan was fine. It was just his mind playing tricks with him.

More than half of the group had fallen ill. When the healthy ones saw them struggling to breathe, they also felt like they were struggling to breathe properly.

The first group had turned back to regroup with the second group. It was obvious that the sickness was not contagious.

If it was contagious, more people in the second group would have fallen ill while the first group remained healthy. However, ten people in the first group had fallen ill instead!

“The ratio is almost the same,” Kuma said.

“If it’s not contagious, it must be the environment,” Warner said.

“Are you seriously telling me that you’ve only figured out the reason behind it after so many of us have fallen sick!?” Gavin snarled.

“Didn’t we discover a few dead bodies before we left the Barren Land? I think I know what killed them. They must have encountered the same situation as us. They decided to head back to town, but they all died to the sickness after they found shelter from the mudslide,” Warner spoke up.

“I don’t want to hear any more useless analysis. Just tell me how they can recover, or how we can stop more people from falling sick!” Kuma said impatiently.

“There’s a plant called the Mountain Frost Lotus in the Meadow. Rumors say these plants are the leaves of the Snow Lotus of the Scar that drifted to the lower layers when the ice melt. It can cure poison and treat certain diseases. We should be able to find them in this area,” Warner said.

“I did hear the people at the entrance mentioning the name of the Mountain Frost Lotus,” Tommy said.

“Find it then!” Kuma said.

—

Mo Fan was appointed as the temporary captain of the ninth team, and had received the order to look for the Mountain Frost Lotus.

When he went back to the team to discuss with the others, Lingling murmured softly.

Lingling was trying to tell Mo Fan that she had read about the Mountain Frost Lotus in some mysterious records. She had tried to prepare them in advance before entering the Rift Valley, but she could not find them.

“It should come in handy… Jiang Shaoxu, Jiang Yu, and I will look for it with the others. Old Zhao, you and Nanyu will stay here to look after them,” Mo Fan said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

It was not difficult to find the Mountain Frost Lotus. The Mailong Private Military Group had not come unprepared. Tommy also took out some of the useful information he had purchased previously, and led a dozen members off to climb some hills.

The mountains were located in the Rift Valley. Some of them were like pillars connected to the outside, covered by strange-looking plants, many of which were dangling from the mountains like ropes.

“You guys, keep an eye on the entrance!”

“Don’t you worry, we won’t let those Mudcat Demons in.”

Mo Fan was standing on the opposite cliff. His job was to keep an eye on the Valley Bird Demons that were approaching from another canyon. Kuma was climbing another hill with a few of the captains to retrieve the Mountain Frost Lotus.

“You better stay on alert. If those Valley Bird Demons ambush us, I won’t go easy on you,” the captain of the fourth team said.

“Just mind your own business.”

The Valley Bird Demons were a low-level species, with wings that looked like huge banana leaves. They would normally dive at their targets like howling banshees. They were able to reproduce rapidly in a short period of time, so they did not mind sacrificing themselves for the sake of feeding their tribe.

Many high-level demon creatures struggled to fend them off, since they relied on their suicide attack.

“They are here already?” Mo Fan could already hear the bird demon’s cries echoing off the cliff.

He glanced at the edge of the canyon and noticed a large flock of green creatures moving through the air like a stream. They were approaching the group rapidly through the canyon.

The Valley Bird Demons hated sunlight. Whenever a ray of sunlight crossed their flight path, they would avoid it as if it was a solid obstacle along the way. They insisted on staying in the shadows. It looked like the flock was suddenly cut in half diagonally.

“So, you aren’t afraid of dying? The defeat is mine if even one of you manage to fly through my wall of flames!” Mo Fan raised his hands. Flames erupted from his palms.

He tossed the flames out at them. The first one landed on the narrow opening of the canyon. There were no flammable plants nearby, yet the Ardent Flame immediately set the area on fire and filled up the gap!

The Valley Bird Demons let out unpleasant, bat-like cries, but continued to advance recklessly. The double-layered flock went through Mo Fan’s flames directly. They were treating the bodies and wings of the Valley Bird Demons on the outside as protective clothing.

Mo Fan was still holding another flame in his hand. He did not panic even when he saw many Valley Bird Demons flying toward him.

The captain of the fourth team turned around when he heard the loud screeches of the Valley Bird Demons. He yelled when he saw Mo Fan’s petty flame about to be put out by the flock of Valley Bird Demons, “Is your energy as valuable as gold? Why aren’t you using your Advanced Mages? Idiot!”

Mo Fan glanced at the Valley Bird Demons toward the back and noticed they had entered the vicinity of his flames. He finally hurled the second flame out.

The tongue of flame seemed like an ordinary fireball on the surface. However, when it landed amid the burning flames in the canyon, it was like a catalyst. The wall of flames instantly grew into a sea of flames over a few dozen meters high. The flames immediately devoured the Valley Bird Demons.

The taller the wall of flames, the thicker the flames. The Valley Bird Demons on the outer layers could not endure the heat. Even the Valley Bird Demons in the inner layers were burned into ashes.

The Ardent Sunset was strong because every living creature on fire served as fuel to the flames. Creatures that liked huddling together were always its favorite. It was not going to spare any of them!

The fierce flames were producing loud crackling sounds as the creatures were burned to death. Mo Fan could even smell a pleasant aroma when the wind blew toward him.

“It seems like these Valley Bird Demons are a great ingredient for cooking. Unfortunately, the flames are a little too strong,” Mo Fan smiled when he picked up the pleasant smell.

Meanwhile, the captain of the fourth team was struggling to fend off the startled Mudcat Demons. They were also not a high-level species. Their strength was their ability to use the shadows and dim surroundings as cover, making it difficult for their enemy to keep track of them. They were good at ambushing their prey.

As Mo Fan expected, the fourth team failed to fend off the Mudcat Demons in the end. Almost thirty of them broke through the defense and chased after Kuma and her men.

“Idiots, you can’t even keep the Mudcat Demons away!” the Vice Leader yelled like a ferocious beast.

The captain of the fourth team had an awkward face. He glanced at Mo Fan who seemed quite relaxed.

“Do you need help?” Mo Fan asked.

“If you’re willing…” the captain said shamelessly.

“Unfortunately, I’m not…”

—

The low-level Mudcat Demons were not much of a problem for the powerful Vice Leader, but it meant they had to waste their time taking care of the demon creatures first.

“Vice Leader, I got it!” Tommy said.

“Retreat, we must leave now. More demon creatures are coming this way!” Kuma said.

“Our path has been blocked by an unknown species.”

“Force our way through!”

—

The Mailong Private Military Group was quite impressive. They managed to withdraw in one piece even as they were surrounded by demon creatures.

When they retreated along the same path, another group was ready to receive them. It did not take the band long to break free from the encirclement of the demon creatures.

They returned to the campsite. It was getting dark, and they only had a few torches to light up the camp. The Light Mages were not willing to use their spells, since they had to preserve their energy.

“We’ve found the Mountain Frost Lotus. What now?” Kuma asked.

“I think we just need to boil it in water and drink it.”

—

Warner plucked the petals of the Mountain Frost Lotus and boiled them with drinking water.

A pleasant aroma soon rose from the pot. Those who were ill immediately felt a lot better after smelling it. They opened their eyes and looked at the source of the smell.

“It seems to be working!” Kuma was overjoyed.

If the aroma alone was already so effective, everyone would soon recover from the illness by drinking the water!

“Be careful, the smell might attract demon creatures to us,” Tommy reminded them.

“Humph, once our people recover, we’ll kill every single one of them!” Kuma swore.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group boiled the Mountain Frost Lotuses with water. They soon served bowls of the remedy to the patients.

“Damn it, they are only giving it to their own people. These selfish pricks!” Zhao Manyan was displeased when he saw the other teams had received the antidote first.

“Why are those who aren’t sick drinking it too?” Jiang Shaoxu pointed out.

“Apparently they are drinking it as a preventive measure. The disease is pretty odd. It feels like anyone might fall ill at any second. They are afraid they will fall ill next, so they all drank the remedy too,” Mo Fan said.

While they were talking, Kuma finally sent someone over to give them the remedy. She seemed to be pleased with Mo Fan’s contributions at the cliff.

“Do we all have to drink it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes for everyone’s sake,” Kuma said.

They brought the remedy to Lingling and Mu Ningxue. Its pleasant aroma was energizing. Mo Fan took a sip before feeding it to them to make sure it did not have any side effects.

Apas was standing beside him. She kept staring into the bowl Mo Fan was holding.

“I think you shouldn’t feed it to them,” Apas said.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan looked at her.

“Us medusae have a great sense of smell. For example, if something poisonous is placed in front of us, no matter how alluring and delicious it seems, our instincts will stop us from eating it like other brainless creatures. There’s something fishy about its aroma,” Apas said.

“But I didn’t feel anything after drinking it,” Mo Fan said.

“Of course you’re fine. You’re almost immune to poison because of the Black Snake Armor,” Apas pointed out.

The Black Snake Armor was able to protect Mo Fan from most poisons, but it was not necessarily effective against certain Poison Spells. Mo Fan had yet to find himself a new suit of Armor.

“Oh, I almost forgot about that… but the others seem to have recovered after drinking it.” Mo Fan looked at the other patients.

The guy called Parker had been the first to fall ill. His condition was the worst, but he was immediately filled with energy after he drank the remedy.

“They won’t die anytime soon. You better observe them for a little longer. It’s not too late to feed them the medicine if nothing happens to the others,” Apas said.

Mo Fan thought about it. He believed in Apas’ instincts when it was related to nature.

Apas’ ability to predict danger was an innate talent of their species, and more impressive than Mo Fan’s Dark Vein. They had a strong awareness of other creatures and their surroundings.

Mo Fan believed it was necessary to respect a Medusa’s warning.

—

“Great, everyone has recovered!”

“This Mountain Frost Lotus is pretty useful. The patients are feeling a lot better after drinking the remedy. They even feel more energetic than before. If the Mountain Frost Locus already has such magical uses, won’t the Sacred Lotus at the top of Tianshan Mountain be able to bring the dead back to life or extend a person’s lifespan?” Gavin blurted out excitedly.

“Yeah, let’s set out right away. We can’t let something so valuable fall into others’ hands.”

“Let’s go, there’s nothing to be afraid of in the Rift Valley!”

The Mailong Private Military Group was suddenly motivated after they found the cure to the disease. They could not wait to venture deeper into the mountain.

—

The disease had slowed the group down significantly, but the Mailong Private Military Group finally continued on with its mission. Everyone’s stamina had improved after consuming the remedy. Not a single person complained about fatigue.

“Team nine, send someone to scout this path over here,” Gavin said.

“I’ll do it,” Jiang Yu said.

“I’ll go with you.” Nanyu was worried about Jiang Yu.

The two followed the path Gavin was pointing to. The group soon discovered a few crossroads branching off it. Kuma assigned the other teams to scout the paths.

There were too many forks along the way. The group soon discovered a few more unexplored canyons.

The group was further split up. The ninth team only had a few members left. Some of the patients on the team still had not recovered. Mo Fan had no choice but to ask Zhao Manyan to keep an eye on them.

—

“It’s too inconvenient like this. Should we let them drink the medicine too? It doesn’t seem like there’s any problem after so long,” Zhao Manyan asked Apas.

Zhao Manyan and Apas had stayed behind to look after the others.

“Walden, don’t just sit there and do nothing. Go patrol the area with those guys and make sure there isn’t any danger nearby,” the captain of the tenth team said.

“Oh, got it!” Walden nodded. He immediately rose to his feet.

As a rookie, patrolling under someone’s lead was a great way to gain experience. However, Walden noticed the gorgeous girl staring at him in a weird way. He blushed when their eyes met.

—

Walden followed four other mercenaries to scout the path that was opposite the direction of the wind. They were soon over a kilometer away from the group.

“Walden, go check out the cave down there,” Li Yu said.

“There’s nothing in it.”

“I said check it again!” Li Yu demanded.

Walden did not dare oppose the old mercenary, and went into the cave. It was pitch-black, even the faintest light devoured by the darkness. Walden purposely looked Li Yu in the eyes. He noticed a strange look in them… Walden immediately recalled the way the little girl was looking at him before he left.

“Was he trying to…” Walden felt a great chill behind him.

Walden turned around and saw black gas rising from Li Yu’s body, whose eyes were glittering like a ferocious beast. Walden immediately felt his hair standing on its end!

The man was trying to kill him!

—

—

Many people had now moved away from the group. Only a few had stayed behind to keep a lookout for demon creatures.

Mu Ningxue was lying in her tent, breathing with difficulty. She had no clue why Mo Fan had not let her drink the medicine, but she believed in his judgment.

She was still fully awake when she heard footsteps outside the tent.

They did not belong to Zhao Manyan or Apas. The footsteps were heavier, and were accompanied by a strong presence.

Chapter 1986: An Outbreak, Part Two

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A figure suddenly rushed into a tent. Mu Ningxue slowly opened her eyes. There was no sign of panic in her eyes.

“I must say, even if I have to pay them money instead of winning seven times what I’ve bet, I’m willing to do it as long as I can have an enjoyable night with you. You are seriously the most attractive woman I’ve ever met.” Gavin stood there admiring Mu Ningxue, who was lying inside the tent.

He was looking at her beautiful face, her fair and long neck, and her delicate body.

“Didn’t your Vice Leader tell you anything?” Mu Ningxue sounded a little weak.

“Her? What could she say? That woman… to be honest with you, when she was still attractive around ten years ago, she was also a plaything in our group. The old mercenaries all have their own stories of how they fooled around with her after some drinks. If she hadn’t been lucky enough to become a Super Mage a few years ago, there’s no way she would have been appointed the Vice Leader,” Gavin said while stepping closer to Mu Ningxue.

“Three steps,” Mu Ningxue said.

“What did you say?” Gavin smiled. He added, “I’ve made sure there’s no one around. Don’t worry, it’s only us now.”

The mercenaries enjoyed gambling, but everyone who took part in the bet knew it was Gavin who had suggested the bet related to Mu Ningxue.

The more Gavin thought about how such a beautiful woman was with an insignificant young man, the more he wanted to show his manliness.

“One last step.” Mu Ningxue stared at Gavin.

“Don’t be afraid, we’ll be zero distance from one another… oh, my bad, it should be negative distance,” Gavin grinned.

Mu Ningxue’s eyes flickered with disdain. She closed her eyes as an icy glow rose from her fingers.

A lunar-white gap appeared behind Mu Ningxue, like something connected to another world. A howling gust of icicles burst out of it and knocked the shocked Gavin into the air.

The icicles stabbed into Gavin. His blood squirted out as he flew over sixty meters and slammed into a wall.

The impact shocked everyone. It felt like the roar of a powerful creature from close by.

“What just happened?”

“I heard a loud roar!”

“Colonel!”

Several mercenaries quickly followed the sound and saw Gavin lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

Gavin was as furious as a lit fuse. He was glaring at Mu Ningxue in the distance.

Mu Ningxue had already risen to her feet. Even though she was struggling to stand properly, a powerful Aura was circling her like a living beast.

“You dare attack me!” Gavin yelled.

Mu Ningxue did not respond. The man was as good as dead in her eyes. There was no point in talking to a dead man.

“Colonel, maybe we should just forget it…” Xu Luoqing advised.

“Humph, I’m in charge here!” Gavin snapped.

Xu Luoqing clearly knew what Gavin was up to. He should just bear with it since he was injured and had been discovered. Otherwise, he would not be able to explain himself once the rest of the members of the ninth team returned.

“That woman dared to attack me. What are you all waiting for? Get her!” Gavin ordered the others around him.

“Colonel, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Let’s wait until the Vice Leader is back.”

“You’re not going to listen to your colonel!?” Gavin was enraged.

They had poked Gavin’s sore point when they mentioned Kuma’s name. A blazing red flame engulfed him. He was using it to conceal his Star Constellation.

The mercenary beside Gavin suddenly spat a mouthful of green matter onto Gavin’s face as he was about to complete his Star Constellation.

“Do you want to die!?” Gavin was infuriated. He glared at the mercenary as if his eyes were set aflame.

The mercenary fell to the ground before Gavin had the chance to do anything. His body was twisted in an odd way, like he was suffering from a stroke.

A few mercenaries nearby had the same symptoms. Their noses were blocked with the same green matter. It erupted from their stomachs when they tried to wipe their noses.

Only their nose was blocked at first, but their mouths were soon clogged too. The tense atmosphere suddenly felt weird when five mercenaries were having the same symptoms.

The afflicted mercenaries all fell to the ground. Even Gavin was lost for words. Why did it feel like everyone had been poisoned all of a sudden?

“Colonel, colonel, Parker… he’s dead… my gods, what’s happening to everyone!?” Tommy came over to report something when he saw the mercenaries falling to the ground.

“I…I have no idea,” Gavin was dumbfounded.

“Colonel, they are dying too,” Xu Luoqing blurted out.

“They are the ones who fell ill before!” A mercenary quickly noticed the connection between those who were having the symptoms.

“Didn’t they recover?”

—

The others who went scouting returned to the camp after receiving the news.

When they made it back to the camp, they saw over a dozen dead bodies on the ground, each with green matter pouring out of their eyes, noses, mouths, and ears.

Even Kuma was shocked. So many of her men had died so suddenly!

“It seems like only those who were ill before have died…” Warner murmured.

“You assh***, didn’t you say the Mountain Frost Lotus could treat them? Why are they all dead now!?” Kuma snarled. She almost had the urge to feed Warner to her Man-Eating Flower.

“I have no clue either! Nothing on Tianshan Mountain makes any sense!”

The mercenary group was troubled by the strange deaths. It was scarier than the sickness that had been troubling them previously. Not a single person who had fallen ill before had survived, including those with outstanding cultivation.

“By the way, Vice Leader, not one of the members on the ninth team has died,” Tommy noticed.

Kuma led her men over to the ninth team. Ai Jiangtu, Lingling, Mu Ningxue, and the others were alive, but they had yet to fully recover from the sickness.

“I need an explanation!” Kuma glanced at the ninth team coldly.

“I’ll give you one,” Mo Fan had just come back from a trip into a deep canyon, and had a hard look on his face.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Humph, perhaps you are the reason they are dead!” someone immediately rebuked him.

Mo Fan ignored the comment. He walked up to one of the dead bodies and said, “The Mountain Frost Lotus is the source of the illness in the first place. Its pollen will spread in the air and cause symptoms similar to high altitude sickness to certain people.

“Many plants have fruits. These fruits are eaten by animals when they are ripe, and the seeds are spread to other places by the animals when they defecate. It’s how these plants spread their seeds.

“It’s the same for the Mountain Frost Lotus. It will make living creatures sick so they have to rely on its fruits to relieve them from the symptoms. The Mountain Frost Lotus is effective against poisons, but that doesn’t include the sickness it causes itself.

“Consuming the Mountain Frost Lotus is like eating its fruit. Those who consumed it are carrying its seeds around. These seeds aren’t discharged through defecation. They will kill their hosts and use the nutrients in their bodies to nurture themselves. The dead bodies will grow into a new Mountain Frost Lotus after some time.”

While Mo Fan was talking, he pried open one of the corpses of the mercenaries and tore the heart out.

He squeezed the heart in his fist. A huge amount of green liquid burst out of it. As everyone was disgusted by the sight, a tiny sprout with legs jumped out from the liquid like a flea and dug into the ground in a panic.

Mo Fan casually grabbed the sprout demon that had jumped out from the heart and showed it to Kuma.

The demon sprout was strong, even though it was only around the size of a little finger, and it was also very aggressive. It quickly extended its roots toward Mo Fan’s nose, attempting to suffocate him.

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered. The little creature’s roots immediately shattered into pieces.

The mercenaries were terrified. It turned out that such an insignificant creature was responsible for so many deaths!

Most importantly, the Mountain Frost Lotus which even the locals believed could cure a lot of sicknesses and poisons, had such a cruel reproductive method. It had cost over a dozen lives in the Mailong Private Military Group without alerting them!

“If you already knew what’s going on, why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Gavin yelled.

“I discovered a group of dead Hunters below a cliff when I went scouting just now. Their symptoms were similar to the dead bodies we saw at the Barren Land. I also noticed a lot of Mountain Frost Lotus down the cliff, and under them were a lot of skeletons. I also encountered a plant demon that was as big as a pine tree, so I killed it,” Mo Fan replied.

When Mo Fan went scouting, a few of the mercenaries who went with him had died to the sickness too.

Mo Fan immediately recalled what Apas had told him. He had followed the pleasant scent that the Mountain Frost Lotus was emitting and then discovered the cliff.

Before Lingling fell severely ill, she had given the samples she had collected from the dead bodies in the Barren Land to Mo Fan. He had easily figured out what was going on!

It was also not Mo Fan’s first time encountering demon plants that disguised themselves as harmless existences.

“So… those who drank the water that was cooked with the Mountain Frost Lotus…” Tommy immediately felt uneasy, especially after seeing the tiny demon sprout that had jumped out of the dead mercenary’s heart.

“Only those who are sick are suitable hosts for the sprout demons. Those who aren’t are safe even if they drank the water. They will only lose control of their emotions and do something like killing their comrades for the sake of money,” Mo Fan said.

Li Yu shuddered as Mo Fan finished his sentence. “I didn’t do it!” he argued.

“I wasn’t referring to you,” Mo Fan replied grimly.

Another mercenary fell to the ground in front of Kuma.

“I didn’t want to kill Simon. I swear, the demon lotus was controlling me. I… I didn’t…” the old mercenary almost burst into tears.

“Didn’t he list you down as his next-of-kin if anything happened to him? He trusted you so much!” Tommy let out a helpless sigh.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” the old mercenary almost bled from knocking his head on the ground.

“What about you? Don’t you have something to say?” Mo Fan glanced at Li Yu and said, “The guy called Warden on my team hasn’t returned yet. I thought he went scouting with you?”

“Li Yu, don’t tell me you actually killed Warden for the sake of the bet…” Xu Luoqing looked at Li Yu like he was a monster.

Li Yu’s face turned pale.

Kuma stared at Li Yu like a leopard eying his prey. The man finally spilled the beans after he could not withstand the pressure any longer, “He somehow noticed my intentions. I didn’t kill him. He ran away with serious injuries. Maybe some demon creatures have already dragged him into their caves.”

“Li Yu! Are you out of your mind!?” Xu Luoqing, the captain of the tenth team, snarled at him.

“I…I don’t know what happened… It’s like… I somehow lost control of myself as he just mentioned,” Li Yu said.

The group fell silent.

Kuma immediately did a headcount when she realized how terrifying the Mountain Frost Lotus was.

She found thirty-three of her men had been killed by the Mountain Frost Lotus to spread their seeds while five of them were still missing, including Simon, who was thought to be dead, and the rookie named Warden.

The atmosphere was weird in the group. Those who were not sick were mentally unstable because of the Mountain Frost Lotus. They had no clue whether the other three who were missing had died to demon creatures or one of their own!

“You did well. You’ve managed to find the truth. Tianshan Mountain… such a terrifying place… I’m considering turning back,” Kuma told Mo Fan. She had finally acknowledged the ninth team’s capabilities.

“Vice Leader, I don’t care what your men have done, but there’s one thing I won’t overlook so easily.” Mo Fan’s tone had changed.

Mo Fan sounded calm when he was explaining the truth. He was scoffing a little at those who had ulterior motives among them, yet his voice had turned cold very suddenly!

“About Gavin… I heard what he tried to do, but nothing actually happened. Gavin has also paid for it,” Kuma said immediately.

“Are you treating me like a three-year-old? Are you saying that I should forget it just because nothing happened? I’ll make it clear: you people who see yourself as elites in this group are no different from a bunch of useless dogs in my eyes. If I want you dead, none of you can leave in one piece, including you, their Vice Leader!” Mo Fan said as a dark shadow loomed over him.

The canyon was already quite dark, but it was now shrouded by a dark veil. The mercenaries who had assumed everything was fine suddenly felt like there were assassins standing behind them!

The eerie shadows behind the mercenaries were quite obvious. They could see shadows standing behind one another like executioners holding axes to their necks. It was a spooky sight!

“What…what do you mean by this!?” Kuma’s expression shifted.

“I’ll let you choose: whether you’re going to protect Gavin and have the whole Mailong Private Military Group die together with him, or you and your men will behave yourself and stand aside when I kill him,” Mo Fan stated icily.

2

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Do you think I’m afraid of you?” Kuma said proudly.

“Either you are all going to die, or only that piece of trash is going to die. I don’t care whether you’re afraid or not,” Mo Fan replied grimly.

Kuma scanned her surroundings. She was a Super Mage. As a matter of fact, the Mailong Private Military Group had three Super Mages. Colonel Gavin was also one of them.

However, the terrifying shadows had already placed their axes on everyone’s necks. Kuma was totally unaware of when Mo Fan used his magic, or that he could just kill everyone in a short burst!

Either way, Mo Fan was right. The mercenaries were as helpless as useless dogs in his eyes. Once he gave the order, over seventy percent of them would die instantly!

Kuma was not afraid of Mo Fan. She actually believed she was stronger than the young man, but her men were most likely going to die!

“It’s your personal matters. I won’t intervene with it. However, I won’t do anything if you’re killed by him, either. Don’t overestimate yourself. You don’t want to mess with Gavin,” Kuma finally said.

Personal matters!

It was exactly what Mo Fan was hoping to hear. It was unnecessary for him to kill all of them. Luckily, Kuma still had enough brains to make the wiser choice!

—

The demon sprouts were the true cure to the illness. Mo Fan gave Ai Jiangtu, Lingling, Mu Ningxue, and the others the water he had boiled with the little plants. They all recovered in no time.

“I’ll do it myself,” Mu Ningxue told Mo Fan.

“Let me handle it. You’re my woman. I should show them the consequences of messing with my woman,” Mo Fan stated firmly.

Mu Ningxue did not say another word.

Mo Fan approached Gavin. The Colonel seemed to have some privileges in the group. A few female mercenaries were treating the wounds that Mu Ningxue had inflicted on him. Gavin was still unaware of what was going on.

“Don’t bother treating the wounds. He’s going to be messed up soon,” Mo Fan stood close to Gavin. He was staring down at Gavin, who was sitting on the ground.

Gavin looked up and burst out laughing. He said, “You already mentioned we have lost control of ourselves. You have such a beautiful girlfriend. I bet every man in the group has dirty thoughts about her. You are a man too, I bet you can understand.”

“Of course I do, I swore to make her my woman during our first encounter. Unfortunately, thinking about it and actually doing something are two different things,” Mo Fan replied evenly.

Wasn’t it normal for men to have dirty thoughts?

Mo Fan did not mind what the men in the Mailong Private Military Group were thinking. He could not care less about their lowly bets, either. Even those who were not addicted to gambling had taken part in the bets out of curiosity. However, only Gavin had tried to act on his evil thoughts.

Was it because he had lost control of himself?

Obviously not. He would do the same thing whenever he had an opportunity, even if he was not under the influence of the Mountain Frost Lotus!

“I can tell that you’ve done similar things in the past,” Mo Fan said.

“So what? Are you a cop or a judge? Go ahead and sue me. I’m willing to be jailed if I’m sentenced guilty,” Gavin answered confidently.

“Nothing happened to you before because the women you preyed on were too weak. However, it seems like you’ve used all your luck, since you’ve stumbled into someone you shouldn’t be messing around with, like me,” Mo Fan answered simply.

“You think too highly of yourself. Please enlighten me with your petty skills!” Gavin rose to his feet with a formidable aura.

Gavin was a Fire Mage. Flames burst out of his body and spread rapidly the moment he stood up. The others quickly backed away.

“You’ve made a mistake standing so close to me!” Gavin swore.

White tongues of flame burst out of his body. The flames from before were only little sparks that had leaked out of his body. The real deal was the blinding flame on his body. Even his blood and bones were visible under the bright flame. The blood flowing in his body was about to erupt like scorching lava!

The man was like a ticking bomb of wild flames!

The two female mercenaries were terrified. They quickly ran for their lives while Mo Fan remained where he was standing.

“You’re asking for it,” Gavin yelled when Mo Fan’s inactivity ridiculed him.

The flames exploded and surged wildly through the canyon!

The ground within the flames trembled from the force. The forest soon turned into a sea of flames. The steep cliffs collapsed, while the uneven landscape was scorched black.

The people of the Mailong Private Military Group were all well aware of Gavin’s strength. They had long moved to a safe distance and set up a defensive barrier. However, many people were still knocked flying and injured by the flames.

The closer they were to Gavin, the stronger the impact from the explosion. Mo Fan was only a few steps away. No one apart from Gavin could possibly survive the impact!

“I’m the one whom you shouldn’t have messed with, imbecile!” Gavin took a deep breath. His body was releasing white steam like a steam engine, cooling down after executing the powerful move.

The white steam dissipated rapidly. Gavin had a grin on his face. He began searching for the young man whom he expected to be lying on the ground like a dying dog.

However, he saw a dark figure only a few steps away from him as he was trying to focus!

For some reason, the figure’s outline was blurred like a phantom. It slowly returned to normal and reclaimed its color as time went by.

“You…you…you...” Gavin’s face twitched like he had just seen a ghost when he saw Mo Fan at the same spot with a mocking grin on his face.

The younger man was unharmed!

Even a Ruler-level creature would be knocked flying by the explosion at such a close distance, yet not even a corner of the young man’s shirt had caught on fire. How could he possibly be standing in the same spot and staring at him in such a terrifying manner?

“Colonel, isn’t it better to be alive?” Mo Fan asked him rhetorically.

“You…you’re a monster!” Gavin cried out in disbelief.

The Dark Aura circling Mo Fan thickened. It looked like his outline had grown deeper somehow…

He clenched his hand like a claw and swung his arm. The Elder of the Darkness Tribe that was attached to him immediately pounced forward like a starving fiend!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe did not have a muscular upper body like last time. It was more like a Grim Reaper, holding a scythe in its hands. When it appeared, it immediately released Soul Chains of the Dead and nailed Gavin to the cliff like the opening of a dark ritual!

Gavin had never seen a spell like it. The magic Shield and Armor he activated were completely useless, and his back slammed hard onto the cliff, his body almost sinking into the wall. The chains intertwined like a spiderweb, but were eerier and more domineering, as if they were going to Seal the entire wall!

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe let out an eerie laugh, like it was about to enjoy something.

The scythe it was carrying started swinging rapidly, so quickly that only a few black lines were visible.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe did not show any mercy. After a few slashes, Gavin’s chest burst open as blood poured out from it. His magic Armor was completely useless.

His blood flowed down the wall continuously. It was a shocking sight.

The scythe continued to slash at Gavin’s other body parts. Even his bones were soon visible. His cries of agony were echoing in everyone’s ears and dove straight into their hearts.

The process only lasted for a while, yet it felt endless to Gavin. The people of the Mailong Private Military Group could only feel chills running down their spines.

Was that really their Colonel? He had no chance of fighting back whatsoever!

A skeleton with a well-preserved head now hung on the wall. Its twisted face clearly showed the torture and pain its owner had experienced right before death. It no longer had any signs of life, yet it would wear its terrified expression forever. It was none other than the mercenaries’ Colonel Gavin!

Kuma was completely dumbfounded. On top of the great shock she was under, she was a little relieved.

She felt lucky that she had not provoked the young man’s wrath. She would have had no idea on how to defend herself from the eerie demon that had rendered Gavin defenseless!

She recalled how Mu Ningxue had warned them not to seek their death when the woman and her friends had first joined the group. She finally realized Mu Ningxue was dead serious at the time. Even Gavin did not stand a chance against them!

—

Mo Fan’s cruelty stabbed the old mercenaries right in the heart. Their minds were filled with Gavin’s horrible death if they had the slightest imagination about, let alone did anything disrespectful to, the women. Not just Mu Ningxue, the Mailong Private Military Group also began treating the rest of the women on Mo Fan’s team with utter respect. They did not even dare to peek at them inappropriately!

“Mo Fan, you’re seriously an expert at this!” Jiang Shaoxu raised her thumb at Mo Fan.

Seven out of ten among the older mercenaries were perverts. Jiang Shaoxu always felt like they were stripping her with the way they were staring at her. She had been feeling extremely uncomfortable.

The situation had now improved. The old mercenaries even had an urge to prove they were actually homosexual so they could claim they were innocent.

“By the way, we are lucky that we are with a bunch of mercenaries. If it was a normal Hunter Group, they would most likely turn back after losing so many members after an incident like that,” Zhao Manyan said.

Mercenaries were much more tenacious, and would keep going regardless of the number of comrades they had lost. Their fear was usually surpassed by their desire for glory and fortune!

—

There were more demon creatures of many species in the Meadow. They also had to be extremely cautious around the plants, in addition to the demon creatures!

Plant demons were not common, and were the hardest to be cautious around. Most of them would just swallow a human without spitting a single bone out.

Luckily, the Mountain Frost Lotus had taught the Mailong Private Military Group a huge lesson. The group was oddly cautious whenever they discovered something that might be valuable along the way.

The trick saved many of the mercenaries. Humans would die for riches, just as birds would die for food. There were indeed a lot of valuable resources along the way, but in a place like Tianshan Mountain, every valuable had a certain danger around them. They were either deadly or some demon creatures were staying close to them. The mercenaries barely survived by being extremely cautious, but other Hunter Groups, Mages, and mercenaries were not so lucky.

There were a great many dead bodies along the way with unknown causes of death. It was difficult to say how many groups had managed to leave the Meadows in one piece.

The information related to the Meadows that Lingling had purchased came in very handy. There was information on whether the valuables were safe to claim, and the appropriate way to retrieve them. It also mentioned if they were related to some other even more valuable resources.

The people of the Mailong Private Military Group were afraid of the ninth team after what had happened to Gavin. However, when Lingling told them how they could make a fortune, they immediately had a much better impression of the ninth team. The fear they had was replaced with respect!

Mercenaries were given a commission and potentially high reward for every mission, including insurance payments if they died during the mission. In addition to those payments, everything that the mercenaries found during the mission would belong to them. Kuma made sure the group was happy with how the loot was allocated.

The average loot that every member in the group now had was already worth more than the money they had received when they signed up for the mission. Didn’t they sign up for the mission to make money? If the mission was a success, the pay was more than enough for them to live a luxurious life for a while!

“Having a huge group is definitely better. We wouldn’t bother wasting our energy claiming the available resources if we were on our own,” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Yeah, we should still be in a good spot when we reach the Scar of Tianshan Mountain with them around,” Ai Jiangtu agreed.

“We can also claim a lot of valuables. This Tianshan Mountain is seriously a land of gold. Even a stalk of grass by the road is more valuable than the grass outside!” Jiang Yu was overjoyed.

“Yeah, the Condense Grass is an important raw material to produce serums that are effective at stopping bleeding. Normally, it would take more than ten years for these grass to grow and blossom more than a hundred times before they would be considered high quality. They are rare in the deep forests and mountains, yet they are so common here on Tianshan Mountain. Some of them have even lived for a hundred years and have blossomed more than a thousand times. If the pharmacists manage to find a safe path here, they can easily make a fortune from these valuable herbs and plants,” Guan Yu spoke.

“It’s really just a small fortune for us!”

“Mo Fan, didn’t you say you killed a Mountain Frost Demon Lotus? The Mountain Frost Lotus is already so expensive, and is very useful despite its cruel reproduction method. Doesn’t that mean the Mountain Frost Demon Lotus is far superior?…” Zhao Manyan asked after he recalled something.

“I’ve managed to acquire a Queen Sprout Demon,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“Holy crap, that thing is a money-printing machine! It’s possible to nurture a Queen Sprout Demon with the right method! You might be able to mass-produce serums with effects similar to the Mountain Frost Lotus!. You could easily build a business with it!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Antidote Serums were usually more expensive than Blood Serums and medicine, especially those that could cure multiple poisons and diseases. Almost every Hunter Group would choose Antidote Serums over magic Equipment. After all, not every Hunter Group had a Healer!

If a normal Sprout Demon was already enough to be the ingredient of an Antidote Serum, a talented Plant Mage could easily turn the Queen Demon Sprout into something that kept producing the Demon Sprouts.

“The coasts have a high demand for these Antidote Serums. You might have to spend a little money to produce your specialized Antidote Serums, if you find a way to nurture the Sprout Demons,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Mm, that’s not a bad idea,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

A mature renowned clan had to have a symbolic asset before expanding into multiple domains. Fanxue Mountain currently had a lot of members. The taxes they were collecting from the residents were nowhere enough to feed everyone, nor were their funds sufficient to help them grow. They had to continue to grow their economy.

—

The Mailong Private Military Group cautiously retrieved the valuables. They were a little reluctant to leave the resource-abundant Meadow layer.

The real treasures of Tianshan Mountain lay in the higher mountain Alpine reaches and the Valley of Glaciers, since they were pure and unmarred. The mercenaries were looking forward to the higher layers after earning a fortune in the Meadows.

The vegetation at the Alpine level was obviously thinner. There were only more steep cliffs and rocks around. Due to the huge difference in altitude, it felt like they were venturing deeper into the shadow of a cliff when they were in the Rift Valley.

They finally exited the dim valley and arrived at a well-illuminated canyon.

The canyon did not even seem to be inside a ravine. Massive mountain walls stood on both sides. The undulating peaks could almost reach the sky. Some of the peaks even had obvious snow lines. The purity of the white snow reflected the sunlight, highlighting the meandering outlines of the mountains in the distance.

“Did anything happen to Tommy? It’s already been half a day, but he hasn’t reported back,” Kuma said sternly.

“Was he in some kind of trouble?” Xu Luoqing said.

“He would alert us if he was in trouble.”

“Let’s wait for a while.”

The group decided not to advance recklessly, and was scouting the situation ahead. Heaven knew if they would be surrounded by demon creatures under one of the cliffs.

“I can smell blood,” Ai Jiangtu pointed ahead with an alert face.

The wind was blowing from a greater height. The cold breeze was like a whip soaked in cold water. Ai Jiangtu kept staring ahead into the Rift Valley, which differed greatly from the surrounding terrain.

A figure was jumping around by bouncing off the irregular rocks nimbly. It gradually grew in size from a dot to someone recognizable.

“Tommy!” Xu Luoqing yelled.

“He’s injured!” Ai Jiangtu quickly went forward to receive Tommy.

The third team was scouting the path ahead, and Tommy was its leader. He had brought four members with him to survey the complicated terrain, but he was the only one that made it back. He was now covered in blood.

Ai Jiangtu quickly reached Tommy, who was fleeing for his life in a panic. He purposely looked behind Tommy to see what he was being chased by, but he only sensed some unsettling movements in the distance. The thing that was chasing him had disappeared.

“Demon tigers… it’s the Tianshan Demon Tigers, the others are all dead!” Tommy cried out.

“What happened? Wasn’t your squad able to conceal its presence?” Kuma asked.

“I don’t know how it found us. We were actually quite a distance away from it. However, it was approaching us before we even noticed its existence,” Tommy reported urgently.

“It?” Xu Luoqing emphasized.

“Just one?”

“Yeah, just one,” Tommy nodded.

Even Tommy did not expect a single Tianshan Demon Tiger to wipe out the entire squad. The scouts had basically trespassed into the territory of a king of the mountain. They did not stand a chance!

“We’ve reached the Alps, where the Tianshan Demon Tigers reside at. The place ahead must be the territory of a single Tianshan Demon Tiger.”

“The Tianshan Demon Tigers have strong territorial instincts. They will chase their enemies recklessly. No one knows how to avoid them.”

The contractors of the Mailong Private Military Group were strong, but they were like mere goats to the Tianshan Demon Tiger.

“Let’s set up a camp and rest here. We’ll discuss our next steps tonight,” Kuma ordered.

“Set up the camp here!”

—

The Tianshan Demon Tigers were a powerful species, the predators of the Alpine level. The Mailong Private Military Group could handle the powerful species by fighting with their full strength, but it also meant they were going to lose some of their men.

The Tianshan Demon Tigers were unpredictable. The strength of an adult Tianshan Demon Tiger ranged from the Commander-level to the Ruler-level. It was fine if the Tianshan Demon Tigers they encountered were only at the Commander-level. The Mailong Private Military Group was not afraid to fight Commander-level creatures, but if they were in the Ruler-level…

If they were not well-prepared, the Mailong Private Military Group, including the ninth team of the strongest members of the national team, would be killed instantly by a Ruler-level Tianshan Demon Tiger. As such, they had to be extremely cautious after reaching the Alpine Level. The whole group might be wiped out because of a wrong step!

“Let me scout the path ahead. The third team is only going to feed themselves to the Tianshan Demon Tiger,” Guan Yu said.

“You sure you can handle it?” Ai Jiangtu asked.

“Of course. It won’t be a problem for me.”

Kuma knew the ninth team was extremely reliable. She was relieved when Guan Yu volunteered to scout the path ahead.

“You have my thanks!” Kuma said.

Most of the members on the third team had the Wind and Earth Elements, granting them outstanding speed. If even they had struggled to escape from the Tianshan Demon Tiger’s pursuit, not many people in the Mailong Private Military Group would dare to act alone.

“I’ll ask Night Rakshasa to go with you. She can keep an eye out for you too,” Jiang Yu said.

“Meow?” Night Rakshasa was lying lazily on Jiang Yu’s shoulder. She immediately put on a blank expression.

Night Rakshasa was trying to say, “Why didn’t you go with him instead? What do you mean you’re just going to send your Contracted Beast to scout the path ahead?”

“Well, I’m slow and clumsy, but you’re quick. You and Guan Yu can retreat if there’s any danger,” Jiang Yu explained to the creature in an awkward voice.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Mailong Private Military Group set out at night.

They knew it was unwise to mess with the Tianshan Demon Tigers, so they decided to avoid them at all costs.

Luckily, the Tianshan Demon Tigers did not live in packs, and had their own territories. The group just had to follow the safe route that Guan Yu and Night Rakshasa had scouted.

“These creatures have outstanding awareness. They can detect us through presence and sound, but I have a feeling they have other strong senses too,” Guan Yu commented.

“We’re making progress. It’s better than being stuck back there,” Kuma replied.

Kuma was quite impressed by Guan Yu’s capabilities. She initially thought the ninth team would be a burden to the group, but it had turned out that a few of its members were very impressive.

The group hurried through the night. The Tianshan Demon Tigers were more active in the day. Little movements at night did not bother them unless they were extremely close to the creatures.

—

The sky was turning brighter. The light of dawn shone on the Alpine layer’s many pine trees. The same trees were common in the Rift Valley, as not every section of the Rift Valley was dark and narrow. There was little difference between the Rift Valley and the Alpine Layer. The group actually wondered if they were still in the Rift Valley.

The ground was covered in pine needles. They cracked softly when they were stepped on.

The snow melted in the morning, making the needles wet. It felt uneasy walking on the silent path that was full of needles. They were unable to tell whether the footsteps they heard were friendly, or if they belonged to a predator that was running out of patience.

Mo Fan began to feel a little thirsty. He took out a bottle of drinking water and conveniently passed it to Mu Ningxue, since he preferred it cold.

Mu Ningxue looked up and twisted her lips.

She passed the bottle back to him. Mo Fan thought she would just ignore his lame request, but he noticed the bottle was indeed chilled.

Mo Fan took a big sip from the bottle. He turned to Apas and saw she kept looking behind them.

“Go ahead first, I’ll need to train my pet,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan went to the back of the team. Apas immediately put on an angry and disdainful look when the taller Mo Fan came closer. She turned her head around, implying that she was not in the mood to talk to him.

“Is there something behind us?” Mo Fan asked.

“Who knows?” Apas answered.

“Apas, you seriously think I’m unaware of your little tricks? I asked you to take care of Mu Ningxue when she was sick, but did you do it?” Mo Fan spoke in a heavy voice.

“I…” Apas was a little intimidated when Mo Fan’s gaze sharpened. She had no idea why she was afraid of Mo Fan. She had an urge to behave herself whenever Mo Fan sounded serious. “I was just curious if she had some other abilities.”

“If you do it again next time, I’ll throw you back to Egypt!” Mo Fan threatened.

The look in Apas’ eyes shifted. “I dare you to do it then!” Apas harrumphed.

“Stop right there.”

“I’m not your slave!” Apas ran toward a ravine nearby.

It looked like she was just running at a normal pace, but she disappeared in the blink of an eye. Mo Fan tried to catch up to her with Blink, but he soon lost track of her.

Mo Fan was going to Summon her back forcibly, but he shook his head instead when he realized it was only going to make her angrier.

—

“She was right beside my tent all the time,” Mu Ningxue informed him later.

“(Sigh), why do I feel like it’s trickier to deal with my Contracted Beast than my girlfriend?” Mo Fan exclaimed. He immediately realized how inappropriate it sounded. He quickly corrected himself, “I wasn’t referring to you. By the way, I heard they say something howling injured Gavin when you were sick. What was that?”

“It was my Third Element,” Mu Ningxue admitted.

“Your Third Element? I always thought you were focused with the Ice Element, so you never bothered to Awaken your Third and Fourth Elements,” Mo Fan said.

“I haven’t Awakened the fourth Element, but the third Element is a little complicated…” Mu Ningxue said.

Mu Ningxue was just about to explain her third Element when they heard something like a whistle from Nanyu’s direction. Only those on their team would hear it.

“It sounds like something just happened,” Mo Fan said.

“Let’s go take a look.”

—

The Mailong Private Military Group had already stopped. The captains and Kuma were heading to the back of the group.

The seventh team was the last team in the group. They had not suffered many casualties so far, and had taken over the ninth team’s role watching the group’s trail.

“Something is following us,” reported Aubern, the captain of the seventh squad.

“Three of us have gone missing.”

“They might be dead, I heard something dragging them away,” Nanyu said.

“Damn it, we couldn’t see it clearly. We only saw something big flashing past and dragging the guy at the back up the wall. None of us can fly, and we don’t have any Earth or Wind Mages to chase after it!” Aubern swore.

“Remain in your positions. Stay on alert!” Kuma ordered.

—

They waited for an hour but nothing happened. Even the sound of the leaves being stepped on was gone. Everyone held their breaths and focused, but they did not notice anything apart from the pine trees and the cliffs.

“They have gone far away,” Nanyu reported.

“Let’s hurry. We might have entered some creature’s territory,” Kuma said.

It would be almost impossible to find the missing members. They had to leave this place as soon as possible.

The Mailong Private Military Group continued forward, everyone picking up their pace. It was unwise to stay in the dangerous area for too long.

They continued forward for some time and rested that evening. The sunlight at dusk was the same orange color as the dawn. It shone upon the ground needle-covered like a spectacular drawing.

Mu Ningxue went over to Lingling, worried the little girl might struggle with the cold. She wrapped her thick coat around Lingling.

Lingling was sleeping on the back of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. Mu Ningxue placed her coat on the little girl’s back and patted her softly.

Soft footsteps came from a little corner with a pile of pine needles. The needles were rustling, whether it was because of the wind or something was moving on them.

Chapter 1992: The Predator in White

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue stared at the pine trees. A woman with her hair in a braid from the seventh team was walking toward them, intending to pluck a Lantern Fruit from them.

The Lantern Fruits of the Alpine Level were utterly delicious. The mercenaries had been stuck eating dried food, so the Lantern Fruits were obviously more appealing to their stomach.

“Don’t go over there!” Mu Ningxue yelled at the braided woman.

The woman looked at Mu Ningxue and grinned disdainfully. She purposely took a huge step toward the Lantern Fruits and plucked one. She took a huge bite on it to assert her ownership of it!

The same rustling sound occurred again. Even though Mu Ningxue could not see a thing, she knew something was hiding nearby.

As she thought, a very quick white blur suddenly jumped out from the pines.

The white figure pinned the female mercenary to the ground in the blink of an eye. It bit down on her shoulder and jumped onto a tree that was growing out of a wall, carrying the screaming woman with it.

The white creature jumped again after landing on the tree, hopping to a rock that was sticking out of a cliff.

The others nearby finally realized what was going on. They immediately looked up, yet they could only see the bottom of the cliff. They did not see the white creature, nor could they see the woman being carried away!

“They are above the cliff!” Mu Ningxue shouted.

However, the mercenaries nearby were not that strong. Their speed was nowhere close to that of the white creature.

Mu Ningxue told the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, “Take care of Lingling.” A gust of wind circled Mu Ningxue and lifted her up.

She stopped briefly when she was around twenty meters up, a pair of elegant white wings spreading on her back. They were made up of milky-white lines of wind, and were quite noble and spectacular.

Mu Ningxue beat her wings and launched herself further into the sky, nearly rising above the cliffs on both sides.

She immediately scanned the cliffs from above and noticed the white creature moving rapidly on the irregular terrain. It was climbing, bouncing between walls, and sprinting across the ground at times.

“Such an agile creature!” Mu Ningxue was surprised by the creature’s speed.

The area had a lot of huge pine trees. Mu Ningxue would not even notice where the creature was going if it weren’t for the needles that were being swept into the air.

The wings on her back beat once. The Wind Wings suddenly turned into propellers that pushed Mu Ningxue a few hundred meters away in an instant.

Unfortunately, she soon noticed the white creature disappearing into a cluster of boulders. She was unable to tell where it had gone from her angle.

Mu Ningxue had no choice but to transform the Wind Wings and rise higher into the air, similar to a bird that was trying not to lose its prey.

A piercing screech came from the sky. Mu Ningxue looked up and saw an eagle, shining like a metallic fighter jet under the light of the setting sun as it spread its wings. It was glaring at Mu Ningxue, who was gliding below it, with great hostility.

Mu Ningxue realized she had almost reached the height that belonged to high-level species. She quickly lowered her altitude.

After descending to a height of around a hundred meters, the eagle stopped staring at Mu Ningxue so hostilely.

However, it was harder for Mu Ningxue to stay on the white creature’s trail. She had no choice but to fly close to the walls and cliffs, and quickly found herself in complicated terrain. It was not easy to dodge the odd rocks that were poking out of the walls, let alone the huge pines that were growing from the cliffs.

The white creature was obviously familiar with its surroundings. It knew where the caves, streams, and trees that could hold its weight were. The complicated terrain did not hinder its movements.

Mu Ningxue kept chasing after it. She could only search for it during the remaining sunlight.

—

—

The sun finally set. The Rift Valley was getting darker.

A gust of wind blew down from above. The seventh team of the Mailong Private Military Group immediately went on alert and looked up.

An alluring figure surrounded by white Wind Wings descended from above. It was Mu Ningxue, who had gone chasing after the white beast.

“How was it?” Mo Fan immediately went up to her.

“I only found this.” Mu Ningxue placed a severed bloody hand on a rock.

“Even you couldn’t catch up to it?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise.

Mu Ningxue was extremely fast, an expert of the Ice and Wind Elements. If she struggled to catch up with the white beast, the others would have no chance to track it down.

“It wouldn’t be able to escape if we were on a prairie, but in these mountains…” Mu Ningxue sighed in resignation.

“What else did you notice?” Mo Fan asked her.

“It was a Tianshan Demon Tiger. Half of its body was white,” Mu Ningxue said.

It was very easy to evaluate a Tianshan Demon Tiger’s level. The more white fur it had, the higher its lineage and level!

An ordinary Tianshan Demon Tiger was ice-blue with white stripes. However, the one that Mu Ningxue was chasing after was half-white, indicating that it was a high-level Tianshan Demon Tiger.

“It must be the same creature that killed three members of team seven,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Seriously? I thought we had already left its territory.”

“Yeah, we were moving pretty quickly. We even made sure nothing was on our trail. How did it find us?” Aubern wondered.

“Stay on alert and rub your eyes to keep alert of your surroundings,” Kuma warned them.

“Vice Leader…” the leader of the third team, Tommy hurried over like there was something urgent. “Two of our members that were on patrol have gone missing.

“When did it happen?” Kuma asked.

“Fifteen minutes ago,” Tommy said.

Kuma frowned immediately.

“Three victims again,” Mu Ningxue murmured.

If it happened fifteen minutes ago, it implied the woman with a braid was the third victim. The creature was seriously unpredictable!

Chapter 1993: Moving Canteen

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Mailong Private Military Group decided to leave the mountains that night. They were moving even quicker this time, trying to leave the Tianshan Demon Tiger’s territory and shake it off.

The group finally stopped in the afternoon of the next day. Bright sunlight shone upon the irregular mountains, delivering warmth to the Rift Valley.

“It has been a while since we were last under the sun. I’m already missing the Middle East,” a mercenary with a hat spoke up.

“I believe you miss the warm embrace of your new girlfriend’s bust instead?” another mercenary grinned.

“HAHA, you’re right on the money! To be honest, she doesn’t treat me seriously. I’ll dump her after having a blast once I earn a fortune from this mission. I’ll look for someone with a beautiful face too!” the mercenary with a hat said.

A cold shadow suddenly loomed over the mercenary as they were talking. Its menacing eyes were glaring at them like they were mere food to it.

“We’re under attack!” the mercenary yelled.

The shadow that was blocking the sunlight suddenly disappeared with a whoosh. The man immediately searched for the figure among the rocks, yet he only saw some leaves spiraling.

“Where’s the enemy?”

“I saw it just then, right over there,” the man said.

Someone tossed a Brilliant Light in the direction that the man was pointing into. It immediately lit up the area.

The light would expose every living creature, especially those that were moving.

“Are you messing with us? The group didn’t get to sleep well for the past few days. Don’t you know your false alarm is going to waste a lot of our precious energy?” an old mercenary rebuked.

“I…I’m sorry. Eiro, didn’t you see something too? I’m pretty sure… Eiro?” The mercenary turned around and realized the man named Eiro he was having a conversation with had already disappeared!

He quickly looked around, but did not see Eiro anywhere. The two of them were standing close together. How did he disappear all of a sudden?

The old mercenary belatedly realized something had shown up, and quickly gathered the others.

—

“It’s the third victim today,” Tommy said.

“Yeah, and one of them was killed when someone was right beside him. Speaking of which, the creature could have killed both of them. Why did it only kill one and leave?” Aubern said.

“It seems like the creature only eats three humans every day,” Kuma said.

The others were spooked.

It made a lot of sense, as the creature had killed three mercenaries for three consecutive days. It did not kill more than three even when it could.

“Damn it, is it herding us?” Aubern spat.

“I heard the Tianshan Demon Tigers prefer eating their prey alive. They won’t even bother sniffing a dead body,” Tommy said softly.

“Which means, that son of a b**ch is treating us like a moving canteen!” Aubern said angrily.

“It does seem like it.”

A moving canteen serving fresh food. Mo Fan could not help but agree with the metaphor.

The cunning Tianshan Demon Tiger had its eyes on them from the very beginning. It had picked on the mercenaries who were further away from the group, dragging them away one by one. Its only mistake so far was attacking someone close to Mu Ningxue.

However, even Mu Ningxue had failed to stop the creature, let alone the rest of the mercenaries. They could not even react when someone nearby had fallen victim.

“It’s just a timid son of a b**ch that keeps picking on those who aren’t with the group. Since it had enough for the day, we’ll rest up tonight and lure it out tomorrow to kill it so we can cook a pot of Tianshan Demon Tiger stew for everyone,” Lu Xiu, the captain of the first team declared.

“We shouldn’t lower our guard.”

“Yeah, what if the creature decides to eat again at night? Eiro was so skinny. He was just a little bite for the creature.”

—

The group set up a campfire. The Rift Valley was extremely quiet at night.

“That creature is smart. It seems to be aware of our strength. It never picks on us,” Mo Fan said.

“At this rate, only a few mercenaries of the Mailong Private Military Group will still be alive in a few days. The kill rate on Tianshan Mountain is insane. This so-called strongest military group in Asia has already lost half of its members when we haven’t even reached the Valley of Glaciers,” Jiang Yu said.

“I don’t get it, how did the creature find us?” Guan Yu said.

“Hasn’t it been following us?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“It wasn’t following us, but no matter how far we went, it can somehow track us down on the next day. The Alpine is a huge place with many crossroads. We should be a few kilometers away from its territory by now. How did it know where we are?” Guan Yu was confused.

“Guan Yu, are you sure it wasn’t following us?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m very sure about it. I even suspect the creature returns to its den to sleep after it is done feasting on us. It looks for us again on the next day,” Guan Yu said.

“…does this Tianshan Demon Tiger have eyes like a satellite?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

“If we can figure out how it was tracking us and shake it off completely, the group should be safe,” Guan Yu said.

“Or perhaps we can take it out when it hunts again,” Mo Fan said.

“I don’t think so. If it was that easy, Mu Ningxue would have done it before,” Guan Yu said.

“You stick to your plan, and I’ll stick to mine,” Mo Fan said.

—

The Mailong Private Military Group went on alert when the sun rose the next day. The group had slowed down significantly now.

They still needed someone to patrol and scout the path ahead, but if the scouts went too far ahead, the Tianshan Demon Tiger could easily drag them away.

There was plenty of sunlight during the day, but the mercenaries who were on their toes did not see a single trace of the Tianshan Demon Tiger. It did not show up even when the night fell.

“Did it know we were trying to lure it out?” Aubern wondered.

“It must be starving then!” Lu Xiu smiled fearlessly.

Mo Fan was left speechless too. He had purposely spread his Dark Material around and waited for the creature to show up. He wasted a lot of his energy doing so, yet the creature was more cautious than he had thought.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group had wasted an entire day. At night, strong winds that sounded like the roars of ferocious beasts started blowing across the mountains.

The tents could not withstand the wind. The group had to send two Light Mages to set up a Light Barrier and stop the strong wind from raging through the camp.

The winds gradually grew stronger. The gusts were like powerful dragon breaths as they poured into the Rift Valley from higher up the mountain, striking the uninvited guests with great might.

The Mailong Private Military Group was unprepared for the ferocity of the winds. The two Light Mages at the entrance of the camp were knocked flying. They slammed heavily into a cliffside and died horrible deaths.

The rest of the mercenaries did not expect to be attacked by the wind. They scattered across the place and kept using their defensive magic. However, they were struggling to defend themselves from the constant wind!

“Damn it, what the heck is going on? Tommy, why didn’t you have any information about the wind? How the hell are we supposed to defend ourselves from this strange wind?” Lu Xiu cursed.

Tommy observed the strong wind and answered, “I…I’ve never heard of it before. Tianshan Mountain has a lot of strange factors and conditions. The place we set our camp up at might be a wind gap.”

The strong wind had appeared out of nowhere, and lasted for a very long time. The group was at the wind’s mercy for the whole night.

More barriers were established, but some of the weaker Mages were still knocked flying by the strange wind. The lucky ones were knocked out and blown far away, but the unfortunate ones either died after slamming into the walls, or were blown to unreachable places.

“Lingling, what’s going on?” Mo Fan asked.

“If a strong cold wind happens to follow the structure of the Rift Valley, it would indeed serve as a wind gathering tube that helps the wind grow, but the odds are extremely low. I’m not sure if we are just too lucky or what,” Lingling shrugged.

“I think I heard something,” Nanyu suddenly said cautiously.

“The wind sounds like a generator operating right beside our ears. What else can you hear!?” Zhao Manyan said.

—

It was already daylight when the wind stopped. Kuma immediately asked Tommy to do a headcount. To nobody’s surprise, they had lost five more members.

Among them, the two Light Mages had died right on the spot. The wind hit so fast that they could not react at all.

The remaining three were swept a great distance away and had yet to return. They were most likely dead by now.

“I seriously don’t want to spend even a second more in this place,” Aubern declared.

“Yeah, I feel like we won’t be alive to enjoy the reward.”

The group kept losing members. They were almost down to half of their initial numbers!

The problem was that the way back was not safe either. The group had no choice but to continue forward under Kuma’s lead.

—

The group continued forward for another two days. The two days were surprisingly peaceful. The Tianshan Demon Tiger had stopped showing up, so the mercenaries were relieved.

“Did you notice? We haven’t seen any crossroads for the past two days. Are we going in the wrong way?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“The altitude is still rising. We can already see the snow line. There shouldn’t be any mistakes,” Lingling said confidently.

“Which means this is the only way to the Valley of Glaciers?” Zhao Manyan persisted.

“Mm, you can think of it like that. Take a look ahead!” Lingling pointed.

Zhao Manyan looked up and saw a golden flag up on a cliff. English words were written on it.

“A flag?” Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded. Why the hell would there be a flag here!?

“It means someone else has been here before us. They should be in the same situation as us. All the paths have merged here, so we should be seeing more flags,” Lingling said.

The group continued forward. As Lingling mentioned, a few groups had set up camps on the mountain, not just the one with the golden flag!

They climbed a slope and arrived before a huge lake. Its diameter was over four kilometers. They did not expect to find such a beautiful lake at the entrance to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain.

The lake had a thin layer of ice on its surface that could barely support the weight of humans. Mages in colorful outfits had set up camps close to the lake. There were lines of trees shielding the camps from the freezing winds.

“I thought we were quick, but so many groups had arrived before us!” Kuma twisted her lips. She was obviously not satisfied with their progress.

The shore of the lake where the pines were at was the best spot to set up camps. However, it was strange that the other groups had all gathered at the lake instead of trying to be the first to enter the Scar of Tianshan Mountain.

“It’s the Mailong Private Military Group!”

“Isn’t the Mailong Private Military Group one of the best in Asia?”

“Great, another powerful group of Mages has arrived. We should feel a lot more confident.”

The other groups warmly received the Mailong Private Military Group after they arrived, but Kuma could not help but stay on alert.

They were supposed to be competitors. Some might even have hoped that they would be wiped out on their way up the mountain. It was unreasonable for the other groups to receive them so warmly.

“Kuma!” a bulky man with thick brows approached them.

“Senior Hunter Yassen?” Kuma studied the man in some surprise.

“Is everything alright for your group?” the Senior Hunter asked.

“Not really. We lost half of our men,” Kuma replied.

“Same here, we had seventeen people. We thought we wouldn’t be an easy target if we have fewer people, but we lost five on our way here,” Yassen said.

“But your men have outstanding cultivation. Why is the death rate so high?” Kuma blurted out in astonishment.

Senior Hunter Yassen was known across the world. The Hunter Group he was leading had to be one of the best too, yet even his group had suffered great losses. Compared to them, the Mailong Private Military Group was already quite impressive if they were not wiped out. After all, they were no comparable to Senior Hunter Yassen’s group!

“Cultivation is the least significant thing on Tianshan Mountain,” Yassen sighed helplessly.

“So many teams have gathered here. Is the path ahead uncrossable?” Kuma asked.

“No, but a group alone won’t make it. Who would have thought, the mysterious Tianshan Mountain has forced us competitors to join hands,” Senior Hunter Yassen answered.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Are there powerful creatures ahead?” Kuma asked.

“It’s a little complicated. You better take a look for yourself,” Senior Hunter Yassen replied.

Kuma was confused. She asked the Mailong Private Military Group to rest near the pine trees and wait patiently so she could observe the reason why the groups were forced to join hands.

—

Mo Fan was a curious man. He had already climbed up a huge pine.

The others wanted to see what was on the frozen lake too, and also climbed up pine trees of their own. The group was able to see about half of the lake, the rest of the area being shrouded by a cold mist. Past the lake were ridges covered in ice.

The mountains beyond the ridges were steep and lofty. They were spectacular from a distance, but they could also see the peak of Tianshan Mountain like the tip of an iceberg poking up further away. In other words, the lofty mountains ahead were just little hills compared to Tianshan Mountain!

“Can you see the shiny dots circling the ridges?” Jiang Yu pointed at the mountains.

“Aren’t those just the ice particles reflecting the sunlight?” Mo Fan speculated. He had no clue what they were.

“Have you ever seen ice particles circling around something!?”

“They must be some kind of living creatures.”

They did not notice any changes after watching the shiny dots for a while, but suddenly they heard loud movements coming from the ridges, as if a huge group was charging at the lake.

“Here they come!” the Mages in their respective camps yelled.

Mo Fan and the others were still up in the pines. They saw a pack of huge creatures covered in spikes charging down the mountains. They raced straight toward the lake and headed across it for the camps.

—

“Demon creatures?” Kuma was disdainful when she saw the beasts that looked like bulls covered in spikes.

The Steel Spike Bulls were a Warrior-level species on Tianshan Mountain. The bigger ones with hard shells full of thorns were Commander-level creatures. However, it was unnecessary for powerful Mages to halt their progress simply because of these Steel Spike Bulls and Icy Thorn Bulls.

The sound of movements grew louder. In just a few minutes, more demon creatures appeared from the icy mists that were shrouding the mountains. Their numbers increased at a terrifying rate. The mountains were calm just a moment ago, but the demon creatures suddenly charged down the mountains like countless drops of sweat, and gathered up by the lake.

“It’s a horde!” Kuma’s expression finally shifted.

The demon creatures were charging down the mountains wildly. They would soon reach the trees where the Mages had set their camps at after crossing the frozen lake.

“Yes, there’s a horde of them,” Yassen agreed.

“Prepare for battle!” Kuma immediately ordered her men.

Yassen stopped Kuma. He said helplessly, “There’s no rush for it. Just wait and see.”

“Their numbers can easily trample an army of Mages to death. Shouldn’t we prepare ourselves in advance?” Kuma asked sternly.

“Don’t you worry,” Yassen replied, unconcerned.

Kuma was doubtful, but she still asked her men to brace themselves.

—

Mo Fan and the others who were up in the pines also saw the horde of demon creatures.

“The frozen lake seems to be a boundary line between the Alpine layer and the Valley of Glaciers,” Lingling said.

“Are the demon creatures rushing down the mountain because they have discovered our presence?” Zhao Manyan said.

“It doesn’t seem like it. If they were charging at us, they would do so in a cone-shaped formation to surround us,” Lingling said.

Many species had come down from the ridges, in addition to the Steel Spike Bulls. They saw many other species moving around quickly, including Freezing Fury Wolves, Ice Mountain Ape Beasts, Tianshan Mountain Howling Bears, Shielded-Horn Ice Demons…

All those creatures were natives of Tianshan Mountain, and made up a great proportion of the species there, being commonly found in the Valley of Glaciers, the Alpine, and the Meadows. They would relocate between the layers depending on the seasons. For example, the resources in the Meadows were sufficient in spring. There were many little creatures and Servant-class demon creatures for them to feed on, so these creatures would move there in huge numbers.

“There are some high-level species. It’s rare to see something like this in other places,” Jiang Shaoxu commented.

“It feels like there are hundreds or even thousands of Summoners casting Beast Tides!” Jiang Yu came up with a perfect analogy.

The Beast Tide was an Advanced Spell of the Summoning Element. The beasts that were Summoned with the Summoning Gate were at least Warrior-level creatures, and were usually species that overwhelmed their enemies with brute force or stampedes.

The demon creatures rushing down the ridges were indeed typical species that were Summoned with the Advanced Summoning Spell. They were either muscular or covered in armor, with ready fangs. They could raze a whole city to the ground, let alone a forest of pine trees.

“If they aren’t attacking us, why are they running down the mountain?” Mo Fan asked with a confused face.

The demon creatures were behaving abnormally. It was unnecessary to make so much noise if they were merely making a trip down the mountain. He had never seen demon creatures in such a rush, like something was chasing them. The creatures that reached the frozen lake were still picking up their pace, like they were in a panic.

“The season is changing,” Lingling glanced at the white mist opposite the lake and added, “These creatures aren’t residents of the Valley of Glaciers. They mainly reside in the Alpine or the Meadows. They move to the Valley of Glaciers in spring and autumn to train themselves in the most sacred and harsh environment. They are also interested in the resources in the Valley of Glaciers, but the place is no longer suitable when winter comes. They have to move from the Valley of Glaciers to the Alpine or the Meadows as soon as possible before winter. There aren’t many paths down the mountain, but this lake is one of them, so they end up gathering here.”

Chapter 1996: The Food Chain of Tianshan Mountain

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Why didn’t they move earlier, then? Why did they wait until the end of autumn? The deadliest storms are on their way. They aren’t good at managing their time,” Mo Fan scoffed.

“The Valley of Glaciers is richest in resources at the end of autumn. Otherwise, why are so many organizations insisting on visiting the Scar of Tianshan Mountain around this time, when the place is also accessible in spring? They didn’t come just for the sake of the legend of the sacred tiger!” Lingling snorted.

“I see, so these demon creatures are just like us! They were after the resources in the Valley of Glaciers,” Mo Fan realized.

“Mm, but it’s odd, why do they have to leave the mountain now, and this lake… They are clearly different species. Strictly speaking, they are one another’s competitors. Their situation is similar to ours,” Lingling noticed.

“You mean our current situation?” Mo Fan was a little lost.

“Our group is competing with other groups, yet we have gathered at the lake. The different species of demon creatures are also stopped at the lake, even though they are coming down the mountain while we are climbing up,” Lingling said.

Everyone immediately realized something after hearing Lingling’s explanation.

“You’re saying that these hordes of demon creatures aren’t the reason why so many groups have stopped advancing?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

Lingling did not answer. Her keenly intelligent eyes were fixed on the frozen lake.

The lake remained calm. The strange thing was, the thin layer of ice did not break, even though a huge number of demon creatures were stomping around on it now. A few dozen demon creatures had almost reached the center of the lake, but they showed no sign of slowing down. It looked like they were running for their lives.

A loud cry came from the sky. It was clear and piercing despite the thunderous noise that the hordes of demon creatures were making.

“It’s the shiny dots… f**k me, it’s an eagle!” Zhao Manyan pointed at the sky.

The shiny dots had gone from circling the mountains to diving from the sky. They were falling toward the lake like meteorites crashing to the surface of a planet. There were even reflections of their fast-moving figures on the frozen surface!

A Frosty Ancient Eagle suddenly spread its majestic wings when it was less than five meters from the ground. It managed to come to a hover even though it was diving from the sky like a falling sword just a moment ago. The Mages gasped when they witnessed how powerful its wings were!

The Frosty Ancient Eagle was not showcasing its outstanding flying ability. It had stopped right at the spot a Steel Spike Bull was running to. The Steel Spike Bull saw the Frosty Ancient Eagle, but it was already too late as it tried to stop.

The sharp and powerful talons dug into the Steel Spike Bull’s body. The Frosty Ancient Eagle instantly plucked up the Steel Spike Bull as it was still moving. The eagle beat its wings a few times, and surprisingly dragged a bull that was at least a few times its weight into the air with ease.

The eagle did not seem to struggle, as if it had just caught a tiny chick. The Steel Spike Bull was lifted a few dozen meters into the sky. The eagle continued on, flying toward the ridges in the distance.

While the members of the Mailong Private Military Group who had just arrived were still recovering from the shock, more shiny dots dove from the sky and headed for the demon creatures that were still running at full speed!

One after another, Frosty Ancient Eagles spread their wings and stopped at a certain height above the lake, hovering above the surface.

Their talons latched into the demon creatures and snatched them into the sky. The demon creatures on the ground had nowhere to hide!

The scene resembled the production line of a factory. The eagles were like machines that were grabbing parts off the conveyor belt with great precision. Everything happened in an orderly manner despite the chaos. The Mages who were watching it were spooked!

“This…this is the reason why they didn’t cross the lake…” Kuma no longer had any doubts.

No one would naively think they could cross the lake safely after witnessing the scene. Despite the outstanding numbers of the hordes, not many demon creatures managed to escape the Frosty Ancient Eagles!

The demon creatures had no choice. If they continued to stay in the Valley of Glaciers, they would not last more than three days, and would eventually turn into ice statues. The lake was their only way out, but the Frosty Ancient Eagles were not letting them go so easily.

They had lost their chance to leave in one piece the moment they set foot into the Valley of Glaciers!

—

“How…how terrifying!” Nanyu’s voice trembled slightly.

“The worst thing is, these Frosty Ancient Eagles could have hunted the demon creatures when they first moved to the Valley of Glaciers in autumn, but they chose not to do so. They waited for the creatures to look for the resources in the Valley of Glaciers until the end of autumn, so they could claim both the resources and the creatures’ meat!” Lingling explained.

A great chill exploded in everyone’s heart when they linked Lingling’s words to the ghastly scene before them!

“In other words, even if we make it to the Valley of Glaciers, those things are still going to hunt us down when we leave the mountain if we can’t find another way down?” Mo Fan asked.

“The problem is, are they going to attack us if we are going up the mountain?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

“Of course they are! Why do you think the Mages have gathered here? Can’t you tell? The different species of demon creatures are rushing down the mountain all at once because they know the Frosty Ancient Eagles are waiting for them. If they all leave the mountain at the same time, some of them will survive by luck.”

“The same logic applies to us too. We have gathered here because we are waiting for more groups to arrive. We will all cross the lake when there are enough of us, and it will be everyone for themselves!” Jiang Shaoxu agreed.

The people of the Mailong Private Military Group became uneasy right after Jiang Shaoxu finished speaking.

The Mailong Private Military Group also realized what the other groups were planning. However, they were struggling to accept the fact when they imagined themselves being targeted by the Frosty Ancient Eagles after witnessing the gruesome scene!

Chapter 1997: Recognized!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Everyone was filled with fear when they imagined themselves like livestock in a slaughterhouse. Their survival solely depended on who the butchers were going to point at!

Did they really have to climb the mountain? It was clearly a path of death!

“The Scar of Tianshan Mountain is just ahead. The Rift Valley will bring us straight to it after crossing the ridges. I believe there’s no need for me to explain how much treasure there is in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain.” Yassen was the leader of the temporary alliance between the groups of mercenaries and Hunters. He felt the need to step forward to comfort the Mages.

“Yassen, those Frosty Ancient Eagles will eventually be full. Should we wait for another group of demon creatures to rush down the mountain and feed the Frosty Ancient Eagles first? Wouldn’t it be a lot safer for us by then?” Zhao Kang, the leader of the Savage Raptor Hunter Group, asked.

Yassen shook his head and said, “From what I know, those Frosty Ancient Eagles are storing food for winter. Even a powerful species like them has to stay in their nest for a long time when the weather is too harsh. It’s important that they stock up enough food to feed themselves.”

“The beast hordes might be a problem too when they are charging down the mountains. We can’t possibly make our way up the mountain when the Frosty Ancient Eagles are hunting them,” Kuma added in.

“Three days ago, a bunch of seniors shared the same thought. They tried to climb the mountain while the beast hordes were on their way down. They proved to us with their lives that the Frosty Ancient Eagles were more interested in humans because of the energy in our bodies,” Yassen said.

“On top of that, the Frosty Ancient Eagles are great in numbers, and their nest is not far away from here. This lake is the perfect feasting ground for them,” a group of explorers from the Sacred Hall of Liberty spoke up.

The Sacred Hall of Liberty was the highest Magic Association from the Americas. Its Research Union was intrigued by the mysterious Tianshan Mountain, but their leaders were not willing to risk their lives for it. Therefore, they had hired a group of explorers instead.

“When is the right time to make our move?” Xing Hui, a representative of the Mu Clan, spoke up.

“When there aren’t many demon creatures left. It should be around ten minutes from now, which means we have ten minutes to decide whether we are going forward or we are retreating,” Yassen said.

Many groups fell silent after hearing Yassen’s words.

Ten minutes from now, they would share the same fate as the hordes of demon creatures. Those who had arrived at the lake had a certain status in society. They were not just some insignificant Hunters and mercenaries, since luck was not the only reason they were still alive now, considering the insane death rates among the groups.

A few groups decided to leave the mountain.

They were not going to joke around with their lives. They had suffered great losses and endured a lot of hardship to reach here. They thought they had a bright future from here forward, but they were greeted by the hellish sight of the hunting ground. They would rather choose a safer approach by searching for valuables in the Alpine and Meadows.

——

A third of the people that had gathered at the lake left. Mo Fan was quite surprised by the ratio. It was somewhat surprising more than a fifth had stayed after witnessing the terrifying sight!

“It seems like those who stayed aren’t necessarily fearless, but they are extremely confident in their strength!” Mo Fan glanced at the groups that had stayed behind. Most of them were members of reputable world-renowned organizations, including the representatives of the Zhao Family and the Mu Clan.

It would be strange if the two most renowned clans of the country were not involved after the Rift Valley that served as a ticket straight to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain was discovered.

“Yeah, only those who have been through big occasions wouldn’t be scared,” Jiang Yu agreed.

“What about the Mailong Private Military Group? Are they still in this?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“I believe so.”

—

The groups prepared to move out. A strong smell of blood lingered over the frozen lake. It even condensed into a crimson mist floating above the lake.

Yassen glanced at the Mailong Private Military Group. A few people on the ninth team caught his attention.

He already noticed them when the Mailong Private Military Group first arrived. He asked with a smile, “Since when did the Mailong Private Military Group recruit the Chinese national team?”

“The Chinese national team?” Kuma turned to the ninth team.

Kuma knew Ai Jiangtu was a member of the national team. She did not recognize the others.

She had always assumed the World College Tournament was like a martial debate between a bunch of kids. The participants were incomparable to those who were constantly risking their lives. She had never treated the World College Tournament seriously.

“So they are a group of bright talents favored by the Heavens? They actually have the guts to come here? It looks like there’s a reason why they won the tournament,” Zhao Kang of the Savage Raptor Hunter Group chuckled disdainfully.

“We should take care of them since we are their seniors. We can’t let these famous graduates die under our watch. Otherwise, our reputation is done for, HAHAHA,” Bertan, one of the explorers hired by the Sacred Hall of Liberty piped up.

The members of the different groups were looking at Mo Fan and his crew while their leaders were discussing them. They did not have friendly faces.

“We’ve been recognized,” Guan Yu noticed.

“They seriously took their time if they only recognized us just now,” Jiang Shaoxu sniffed.

“I don’t agree with you. I’ve noticed how most older Mages don’t treat the World College Tournament seriously after traveling to many countries,” Mo Fan refuted them.

Mo Fan was speaking from experience. He rarely put on a disguise, and had always shown his handsome face across the world, yet he rarely received any respects or compliments. Most people who recognized him were assh**** like Lido, the Combat Officer of the Blue Star Knights.

“It’s just the way it is. The participants of the World College Tournament are usually supported by formidable factions. In their eyes, we were born with a silver spoon in our mouths, and we don’t really have any experience. They think we are all show instead,” Jiang Yu agreed.

Mo Fan recalled how the representatives of the national team were chosen. It was true that the candidates were chosen based on their strength, yet the actual members were decided based on their backgrounds.

Now that he thought about it, the others on the team were indeed kids of the rich and the powerful, except for him and Mu Ningxue.

In other words, they were the reasons why people were reluctant to accept his well-deserved title of winning the World College Tournament!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Time to go!” Yassen clearly had enough of a reputation among the experts from all across the world that the others were willing to follow his commands.

The lake was shrouded by a red mist. There were not many dead bodies, as such had been brought away to the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ nest to be stored as food.

The Hunter Group under Yassen’s lead was leading the way. Its members were very strong. Even though they had not used any Super Spells, it was obvious there were Super Mages among them, judging from their control over their magic.

It was obvious why the top organizations’ members were following Yassen’s lead. The strength of his Hunter Group said it all. They were calm and collected despite facing the powerful Frosty Ancient Eagles that were coming down from the sky. Their ability to utilize their Elements and their teamwork were impressive!

“Charge!”

“Dying on Tianshan Mountain is better than dying on a sickbed, charge!”

“There’s no place we can’t conquer. Tianshan Mountain is no exception!”

There were four other mercenary groups, in addition to the Mailong Private Military Group. Their numbers were greater than the Mailong Private Military Group. They seemed to be a lot luckier too, as they had not lost many members along the way.

Both mercenaries and Hunters had joined hands temporarily to tackle the Valley of Glaciers. The teams pushed forward after Yassen and his group cleared a path. They operated like a team of elites on a mission.

The Wind Mages built a wind raft and sped up the Hunters and mercenaries, allowing those who did not have reliable spells to boost their speed to stay up with the others.

The Mailong Private Military Group was moving with them. Its members were mostly on the left wing, responsible for covering fire.

“Follow the markings of my Brilliant Light!” Lu Xiu called out.

Lu Xiu was the third Super Mage of the Mailong Private Military Group. He had only become a Super Mage a year ago, yet he was a lot stronger than the unreliable Gavin had been.

His main Element was Light, and his Brilliant Light was quite special. When he used it on the Frosty Ancient Eagles, the strength they glowed at corresponded to the strength of the demon creatures.

The battle was expected to be chaotic. It was important to focus their spells on the stronger demon creatures and kill them first, or these creatures could easily break the teams’ formation. Lu Xiu’s Brilliant Light was able to tag the Great Commander-level Frosty Ancient Eagles. Those creatures could easily kill a lot of their members instantly if they broke through their formation.

A Great Commander-level Frosty Ancient Eagle dove at the group after being hit by the Light Spell. Its icy aura could inflict unimaginable destruction along the ground when it was plunging like a meteorite. It took the destructive Mages of the Mailong Private Military Group three rounds of spells to finally kill the Great Commander-level creature when it reached around thirty meters from the ground. Everyone was relieved when they saw the creature was dead.

“Don’t lower your guard. Petrify the enemies that are tagged by the Brilliant Light!” Lu Xiu ordered.

Their Earth Mages were closer to the center of the formation. They soon noticed more than ten Frosty Ancient Eagles were approaching from a lower altitude!

These Frosty Ancient Eagles had been hiding in the blood mist. Nobody noticed them when they first ran toward the lake. Luckily, Lu Xiu’s Brilliant Light had tagged them in time. Otherwise, their sharp wings could have easily sliced the people of the Mailong Private Military Group in half!

“Eyes of the Rock Demon: Petrify!”

Seven Earth Mages fixed their eyes on the Frosty Ancient Eagles. Their pupils turned brown and with an eerie gray flicker of light, the energy of the Petrify spells spread like a fan toward the Frosty Ancient Eagles!

The Frosty Ancient Eagles were very alert. They quickly beat their wings and flew higher into the sky when they noticed the Earth Magic.

The Petrify spells obviously had their limits. Lu Xiu frowned when he realized the Frosty Ancient Eagles were only probing them. He cursed in a different language.

A voice appeared behind Lu Xiu as the Frosty Ancient Eagles were about to leave the range of the Petrify spells. “Eyes of the Rock Demon: Area of Gravity!”

Lu Xiu turned around and saw the young man who had killed Gavin. His eyes had turned golden-brown. A strong Earth Magic loomed over the area like an invisible mountain.

The Frosty Ancient Eagles had just risen into the sky and were picking up their pace, but when the Area of Gravity was established, they struggled to beat their wings properly.

The Frosty Ancient Eagles were not crushed by the gravitational force, but it still held them back. The energy of the Petrify spells swept across their bodies and hardened them. They suddenly stopped moving in midair.

A moment later, the Frosty Ancient Eagles that had turned into stone fell heavily onto the lake and were smashed into pieces!

“Not bad, but you shouldn’t intervene with other teams’ matters without my permission,” Lu Xiu told Mo Fan.

“That’s not going to hold me back,” Mo Fan replied indifferently.

It was Mo Fan’s first time using the Advanced Spell of the Earth Element in a practical situation. The Eyes of the Rock Demon was able to greatly increase an Earth Mage’s control over their Earth Magic. Mo Fan had learned the Area of Gravity a long time ago. He could suppress the Frosty Ancient Eagles up to around a hundred and fifty meters from the ground with the Eyes of the Rock Demon. It gave Mo Fan an effective way to fight flying creatures.

He could also use it together with the Space Element and the Chaos Element. Even a Ruler-level creature would struggle to move freely under the pressure of his magic!

“A Ruler-level creature!” someone at the front suddenly yelled. It sounded like one of the experts in Yassen’s group.

The Frosty Ancient Eagles were at the top of the food chain in the Valley of Glaciers. The Tianshan Demon Tigers and the Frosty Ancient Eagles were the symbolic species of Tianshan Mountain. There were obviously Ruler-level creatures among them since Commander-level creatures were so common here!

Mo Fan looked up, trying to find the Ruler-level Frosty Ancient Eagle. However, he only saw the bright sun. There was no Ruler-level Frosty Ancient Eagle in his view.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s that bright light!”

“I can’t even open my eyes properly!”

“Damn it, don’t look up, your eyes are going to burn!”

The groups of Mages were panicking. There were cries everywhere.

Mo Fan immediately looked at the blinding light when he heard it was the Ruler-level Frosty Ancient Eagle. To his surprise, it was as bright as the sun: his eyes were hurting when he was looking at it.

“F**k, that Ruler-level eagle is unstoppable. We are basically blind whenever we look up!”

“How are we supposed to know when the Frosty Ancient Eagles are attacking us… AHHH!” a Hunter Master cried out in agony.

An eagle’s talons had driven into the Hunter Master’s torso. He was lifted into the sky before the pain even spread throughout his body. The others nearby could not even react. They only heard the man’s cry after he was already several meters high from the ground!

“Zhao Kang, tell your men to deal with the Ruler-level eagle’s eyes now!” Yassen ordered.

“Why us?” Zhao Kang from the Savage Raptor Hunter Group protested promptly.

“Do you want to take care of the creature ahead instead?” Yassen snarled.

Zhao Kang looked ahead and saw nothing but the ice on the lake. Right at that time, the surface of the lake started cracking, as if something was about to come out from beneath.

There was a huge blast, and an enormous hole was left on the surface of the frozen lake. The water splashed in the air, but it soon turned into ice after it was exposed to the air above the surface. The ice shattered when it fell back to the surface below.

A great white leech appeared from the hole. Half of its body was still in the lake, while its head’s cavernous mouth was exposed above the surface.

It had the body of a leech, but its skin had multiple layers. The white demon leech displayed its teeth as Yassen and his men approached the center of the lake.

The white demon leech was about the size of a building, yet its skin spread across the large area like intestines. When the creature extended its skin, its esophageal organ was so huge that it looked like a curtain of darkness!

It was a dark tunnel with teeth along the walls. It felt like the white demon leech could devour the whole lake just by opening its mouth. The Mages that were charging at it were like little shrimps being drawn into a huge whale’s mouth!

“We…we’ll deal with the creatures in the sky!” Zhao Kang told Yassen after a moment of shock.

He could feel his muscles twitching in fear. Yassen had reminded the others that there was something in the lake before they set out. The creature in the lake was said to feed on the Frosty Ancient Eagles, but no one had expected it to be such a hellish creature!

“How many monsters did this lake even raise? Can anyone tell me what the creature that keeps spitting out poison over there is?” Zhao Manyan cursed as he was defending the others from the claws of the Frosty Ancient Eagles.

“It’s a Tianshan Ancient Insect Lord. It is said to feed on the Frosty Ancient Eagles and the Tianshan Demon Tigers, but it has obviously had a change of mind since most demon creatures are more interested in humans,” Nanyu called back.

Mages contained an abundant supply of energy in their bodies, much like magic ores brimming with energy. Demon creatures with a certain level of intelligence would often treat humans with outstanding cultivation as a great source of nutrients. Many Hunters had earned a fortune killing high-level demon creatures in the wild, but they had also raised many high-level demon creatures!

The white demon leech’s appearance had made the situation worse, but the good news was that the Frosty Ancient Eagles were obviously afraid of it, and stopped attacking so recklessly.

The white demon leech was not brainless, either. The three sides were currently at a standstill. It was not going to let the Frosty Ancient Eagles benefit from the situation, so it retreated into the lake after fighting Yassen’s group for a few rounds.

The creature might be interested in humans, yet it had no intention of sparing the Frosty Ancient Eagles. It dragged a few mercenaries and Frosty Ancient Eagles into the lake with it!

“Quick, let’s go, we can’t stay here for too long!” Yassen yelled when he saw the white demon leech withdrawing into the lake.

Fighting the demon creatures of Tianshan Mountain here would be suicide. The fact that they could stay at the top of the food chain for so long not only indicated they had unusual strength, but intelligence that was comparable to humans.

Their goal was to reach the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, so their priority was to cross the lake. As for the people who died here, it was none of their concern. The paths to treasure were always littered with corpses. Everyone knew that!

“The Frosty Ancient Eagles are stopping us from getting close to the Ruler-level eagle. Otherwise, we would have taken care of its annoying eyes!” Zhao Kang shouted out.

“You’ve done enough! Those who aren’t blind, keep an eye on the flying creatures!” Yassen yelled out.

The Frosty Ancient Eagles circled about in the sky. They eventually failed to hold back on the urge to feed on more humans when the white demon leech did not show up again.

Humans were like ginsengs a few hundred or thousand years old in their eyes. A Warrior-level Frosty Ancient Eagle could advance in rank in a very short time after eating an Advanced Mage!

A place like Tianshan Mountain was not a peaceful environment for living creatures to grow at their own pace. The food chains were compact and the weak would end up as energy for the strong to survive the winter. There would only be one outcome if they were not strong enough!

The Frosty Ancient Eagles launched a full assault, diving at the humans like icy rays. The people below struggled to react in time. Minor defensive spells had no chance of stopping the deadly attacks of the Frosty Ancient Eagles. Hundreds of Mages shared the same fate as the beast hordes.

The beast hordes knew they would have to pay the toll with their lives on their way back, but they still chose to enter the Valley of Glaciers. Human beings were willing to die for riches, just as birds would die for food. The mountain of treasure was too enticing for any living creature. They were willing to take the risk despite the cruel fate that was awaiting them ahead!

The Mages were looking at the mountains when they heard a loud rumble.

They were soon soaked in sweat. The beast hordes had appeared again, just as the lake was already in a great mess!

The demon creatures had been hiding behind the ridges. Everyone thought the previous batch was the majority of them, yet many more were still hiding on the mountain. They had obviously been drawn by the loud noises at the lake!

“Damn it, there are still a lot of demon creatures on the mountain! They are going to charge down the mountain amid the chaos!” Kuma cursed loudly.

Chapter 2000: Tianshan Howling Bears

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Yassen was also dumbfounded when he saw the demon creatures charging down the mountain.

They had initially planned to use the beast hordes to help thin out the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ numbers before making their way up the mountain. To their surprise, the demon creatures were waiting for the humans to be attacked by the Frosty Ancient Eagles before coming down the mountain!

In the end, the beast hordes had outsmarted the humans. Most importantly, the size of the beast horde was going to cause serious trouble to the group as it was going up the mountain!

“Damn it, those scum played us. Why are the creatures on Tianshan Mountain so clever?” Zhao Manyan had a bad habit of crying out loud whenever he was in danger. His loud voice stood out even with the noise everywhere.

“Someone has to take care of the beast hordes!” Nanyu shouted.

The beast hordes were rushing down the mountain like tanks. They were definitely going to disrupt the group’s formation.

Mages were extremely vulnerable to demon creatures of their strength and numbers. A Commander-level demon creature could often easily kill an Advanced Mage. The Mages had to stay in formations to be effective, especially those in a Hunter Group or a mercenary group.

“Team nine, hold the front!” Lu Xiu suddenly ordered.

“Are you kidding me? Why do we have to be your shields?” Zhao Manyan snapped.

“Do you think the others in the group are able to hold the demon creatures off?” Lu Xiu challenged him in return.

The people of the Mailong Private Military Group were already worn out from fighting the Frosty Ancient Eagles. Many were already regretting their decision to not leave the mountain with the others.

It was true that the mercs had no chance of stopping the beast hordes!

“Let’s move to the front. If they die here, we will also struggle to cross the lake,” Ai Jiangtu agreed.

Ai Jiangtu led his team to the front. He was about to take the lead when Mo Fan stepped forward and said, “Your Space Element is stronger. You should stay at the center of the team to look after everyone. I don’t really care about others, but I can’t accept any casualties among our own. Old Ai, stay here and command the team to guarantee our safety. Mu Ningxue and I will take the lead.”

Ai Jiangtu looked at Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue.

No one was stronger than Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue in terms of offensive capabilities. Ai Jiangtu knew that even he was no match for them. He nodded agreement, “Alright, I’ll take care of everyone. Leave it to me!”

“Mm, everyone, please be careful too. The Frosty Ancient Eagles and the demon creatures coming down the mountain aren’t the only trouble. There might be some other unknown creatures in the lake. Be ready to use your defensive equipment. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you,” Mo Fan warned the others behind him.

Mo Fan was worried about the chaotic situation. Even though everyone on the team was strong and capable, they were facing the fiercest level of demon creatures!

“Mo Fan, it’s the Icy Thorn Bulls!” Nanyu warned Mo Fan. She used a special sound to tell Mo Fan the position of the Icy Thorn Bulls.

Mo Fan followed the sound and saw two Icy Thorn Bulls among the demon creatures that were charging down the mountain. It looked like they were wearing armor made of gray thorns of steel, and were around the size of a double-decker bus. Their momentum was insane as they charged ahead at full speed!

“Chaos Order!”

Mo Fan swung his hand and left a strange crack before him. The two Icy Thorn Bulls saw Mo Fan’s magic, but they were planning to knock everything aside with brute force as they were in a rush. They ran straight into the strange crack.

It felt like they had entered a gate Mo Fan had prepared for them. Half a second later, the two Icy Thorn Bulls ran out of the crack, but they were charging at the Steel Spike Bulls nearby instead!

The Icy Thorn Bulls’ momentum was absolutely insane. They knocked a dozen Steel Spike Bulls into the air on both sides, resulting in a chain collision. The rest of the bulls crashed into one another and sent their own kind flying!

“Frosty Ancient Eagles above us, seven of them!” Nanyu called out.

“Leave them to me,” Mo Fan said confidently.

He glanced at a group of Tianshan Howling Bears that were approaching the team. He chuckled when he saw how unstoppable the enraged creatures were, “You must be holding a strong grudge against those creatures in the sky. I’ll give you a hand so you can vent all your anger on them!”

A silver Star Constellation appeared swiftly. Mo Fan cast an Advanced Space Spell in mere seconds.

“Blink!”

An elegant silver Star Constellation appeared under the Tianshan Howling Bears. These enormous creatures were about to smash the tiny humans before them into mincemeat when the magic under their feet transferred them into the sky.

They were around eighty meters above the ground. Seven Frosty Ancient Eagles happened to be diving right at them. They were surprised by the Tianshan Howling Bears suddenly appearing out of nowhere, and quickly triggered their emergency brakes.

The Tianshan Howling Bears were one of the species that was strong enough to fight the Frosty Ancient Eagles. However, they were usually at a disadvantage because they could never reach the Frosty Ancient Eagles in the sky. The Frost Ancient Eagles would take their time and kite the Tianshan Howling Bears to death.

The Tianshan Howling Bears in the air noticed the Frosty Ancient Eagles were flying right at them. They instinctively swung their powerful paws!

Blood and flesh scattered in the air. The Frosty Ancient Eagles did not stand a chance against the formidable paws of the Tianshan Howling Bears, and were torn to pieces.

—

“Stop the beast hordes, ask your Inverse Hawk Private Military Group to stop the demon creatures.”

“Why do we have to do all the dirty work… Holy crap, why the Hell are bears falling from the sky!?” Zhao Kang cursed.

“How did the bears get up there?”

“Screw it, just keep going!”

“The Ruler-level eagle is on the move…”

“Do you mean the one from before?…”

“F**k me, there are two Ruler-level Frosty Ancient Eagles. Quick, get Yassen to help us!”

Yassen was still focusing on the white demon leech under the lake. The creature was a serious threat to the group. To his dismay, another Ruler-level Frosty Ancient Eagle had appeared. It seemed like the Frosty Ancient Eagles had sent out their main army!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, are you seriously juggling them now?” Zhao Manyan asked when he saw Mo Fan using Space and Chaos Magic in such a fancy way.

“It’s me being wise and farsighted. It’s a form of art, or should I wrap myself in armor and charge at them like a retard, like you?” Mo Fan shot back.

Magic of different Elements was interweaving on Mo Fan’s palms. The Basic and Intermediate Spells he had strengthened multiple times were surprisingly effective in this chaotic battle.

However, the beasts of the horde were not gentle animals. Even as many demon creatures were fleeing from the Valley of Glaciers, more demon creatures had shown up in front of Mo Fan. His weaker spells were no longer enough to resolve the situation.

“Make way, I’m going to use a Beast Tide!” Lu Xiu yelled.

Lu Xiu opened a Summoning Gate. A bunch of wild boars with thick fur and long tusks charged out of the gate while uttering loud cries.

They were around forty to fifty boars, each around the size of a jeep. The ice began to crack as the boars stomped on it.

However, the Steel Spike Bulls and Tianshan Howling Bears did not treat the boars seriously, and continued to charge ahead. The stampeding creatures soon trampled the boars and knocked them flying. The boars were not on the same level as the demon creatures!

“Damn it, their numbers are too much for us!” Lu Xiu cursed.

“Back away, let me handle it,” Mo Fan told Lu Xiu.

“You?” Lu Xiu twisted his lips disdainfully. “Do you think your Beast Tide is stronger than mine? You should just focus on using your Lightning Element. It’s your only chance!”

“Can you move aside now?” Mo Fan replied evenly.

Lu Xiu glared at Mo Fan, then noticed Mo Fan was emitting a lunar-white light. The Star Patterns combined into a spectacular Gate on the ice, opening in the direction of the beast horde.

Roars burst out of the Gate, carried on a formidable Aura, and were followed by massive figures rushing out of it from a different world.

The creatures were as restless as bulls provoked by a red cape. Rock Beasts covered in dark golden armor extended their limbs and charged at the beast hordes fearlessly!

The endless streams of Rock Beasts pouring out of the Gate were like dragons with spikes on their back. Their heads were as deadly as the lances of knights as they charged at the enemy. The group of Rock Beasts pouring out of the Gate was just as menacing as the beast hordes that were charging down the mountain!

Bang!

Bang!

The Rock Beasts had an ultimate showdown of brute strength with the Steel Spike Bulls and Tianshan Howling Bears. Their armor, blood, and flesh scattered in the air amid the simplest and purest form of strength. The ones with sturdier flesh were the winners, there were no techniques or skills involved. The creatures with the slightest drop in confidence were crushed to pieces in the collision.

The stampede of the Dark Golden Rock Beasts!

Mo Fan’s Beast Tide was not limited to Summoning his demon wolves. He kept Summoning the demon wolves mainly because their overall strength and discipline were better than other species that were randomly Summoned from the Summoned Beast Plane.

Each activation of the Summoning Gate was able to Summon a different species. Mo Fan knew his demon wolves would suffer great losses in a battle like this. They could also end up as the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ food supply, so it was better to Summon the Dark Golden Rock Beasts!

The Rock Beasts used a simple yet violent approach. The beast hordes were confused when they saw the Rock Beasts. Were they out of their mind? They were clearly charging in the wrong direction!

They had to keep an eye on the Frosty Ancient Eagles that could pluck them off the ground even if they were running at full speed. The beast hordes crashed horribly when obstacles suddenly appeared in their path. Huge creatures were rolling and flipping across the surface of the frozen lake!

“Mo Fan, your Beast Tide is pretty impressive. Those creatures are avoiding us!” Jiang Yu exclaimed, his eyes glittering.

Jiang Yu was also a Summoner. He knew a Beast Tide was a clear indicator of a Summoner’s strength. The Beast Tide of a strong Summoner was like hundreds of beasts charging down a mountain, or dragons crossing a lake. On the other hand, the Beast Tide of those who did not put much attention into their Summoning Element would feel like a bunch of ducks crossing a river!

Lu Xiu’s boars were obviously the latter. It was important to compare spells in a practical setting. If they did not have to fight the powerful creatures of Tianshan Mountain, would they even realize how petty their magic was?

“He’s just relying on his magic Equipment to increase the scale of his Beast Tide. It’s not that impressive!” Lu Xiu’s Beast Tide was obviously inferior in comparison. However, he blamed it all on Mo Fan’s Ring.

Lu Xiu was sharp enough to notice that the Magic Medium Ring was the main reason why Mo Fan was able to Summon so many creatures. However, the Magic Medium Ring was only so effective because Mo Fan had been feeding Soul Essences to it!

However, Mo Fan considered it meaningless to be fussy about someone who was never going to admit defeat.

Mo Fan’s Beast Tide had eased the pressure on the Mailong Private Military Group, which meant the other groups were intercepted by the beast hordes. They were trapped in the middle of the lake while the Frosty Ancient Eagles circling in the sky continued to pick them off one by one.

A huge group of Frosty Ancient Eagles suddenly appeared above the Mailong Private Military Group, their wings beating wildly at different altitudes. Some were so quick that the people could only see their afterimages. The cunning Frosty Ancient Eagles would mix up their attacks by probing their enemies. A pair of sharp talons would stab through their ribs from behind once they lowered their guard!

“What’s going on? Why are the creatures focusing on us all of a sudden?” Zhao Manyan was under great pressure. The Frosty Ancient Eagles had broken through a few of his Barriers.

Jiang Shaoxu frowned. She fixed her eyes on a woman in thick makeup and a black and red outfit in the Inverse Hawk Hunter Group. She snarled, “That b**ch, she’s using the Psychic Element to direct the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ anger toward us, to ease the burden on her group!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Jiang Shaoxu was a Psychic Mage. She had wondered why the Frosty Ancient Eagles that had been picking their targets randomly had suddenly gathered above their team. She soon discovered the reason with her Psychic Magic!

They were provoked!

The Maga in a black and red outfit had directed the creatures’ hatred toward them. The number of the Frosty Ancient Eagles that were circling above the team had multiplied fourfold!

“Jiang Yu, watch out behind you!” Nanyu yelled.

Jiang Yu was summoning his Beast Tide. Even though it was not as impressive as Mo Fan’s Beast Tide, it was still able to clear a path for the team. To his surprise, he felt a sudden great pain from his back as a sharp talon punctured his shoulder!

The Night Rakshasa quickly reacted by cutting through the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ nails.

Unfortunately, one of the talons still buried itself in Jiang Yu’s back. The Frosty Ancient Eagle dragged him into the sky.

The Night Rakshasa jumped into the air and sliced down like a black crescent!

Her sharp claws tore the Frosty Ancient Eagle in half. The Night Rakshasa was just a little flea compared to the Frosty Ancient Eagles, yet the strength stored in her petite body was enough to rip the Frosty Ancient Eagle to pieces!

The insides of the Frosty Ancient Eagle poured down from the sky. However, the detestable creature had tossed Jiang Yu higher into the sky prior to its death, passing him to its comrades.

The Night Rakshasa’s fur stood on its end when she did not see Jiang Yu fall down to safety. She moved like a black ray of light, bouncing off a Frosty Ancient Eagle that was gliding at a lower height to catch up with the other one that had caught Jiang Yu.

The Frosty Ancient Eagle was extremely quick, and beat its way into the sky after catching its prey. The Night Rakshasa was unable to fly. She could only bounce off the backs of the Frosty Ancient Eagles!

“They got Jiang Yu!” the slow-reacting Zhao Manyan finally yelled.

Ai Jiangtu had barely protected Jiang Shaoxu from the encirclement of the demon creatures. The expression in his eyes shifted when he saw his team member being dragged into the sky. However, as he was about to chase after Jiang Yu, several layers of wings came and intercepted him!

“That b**ch, if anything happens to Jiang Yu, she’s going to pay with her life!” Jiang Shaoxu cursed.

Jiang Shaoxu had the Psychic Element too. Would she be afraid to pull off dirty tricks like the woman had done to them!?

Since the woman had set them up first, Jiang Shaoxu was not going to show them any mercy!

Jiang Shaoxu cast the same spell, Spirit Ripple, and inflicted fear on the beast hordes that were fleeing for their lives.

The beast hordes had been avoiding the team after they were hindered by Mo Fan’s Beast Tide. The fear that Jiang Shaoxu inflicted on them drove the creatures that were approaching the Mailong Private Military Group to charge toward the Savage Raptor Hunter Group instead.

The woman was focusing on directing the anger of the Frosty Ancient Eagles towards the other groups. Little did she know, the beast hordes that were carrying Jiang Shaoxu’s rage were already heading her way!

“I can’t fly up there. How are we supposed to save Jiang Yu!?” Zhao Manyan swore. He could not see Jiang Yu anywhere above them.

Many Frosty Ancient Eagles had shown up so suddenly. Their team was struggling to fend them off.

“The Night Rakshasa can’t fly. She’s going to be in danger if she keeps forcing her way up!” Nanyu exclaimed.

While everyone was worried about Jiang Yu, several Icecloud Jellyfish appeared out of nowhere. They were able to attach themselves to other creatures and devour them, rendering their abilities useless.

The Icecloud Jellyfish were very aggressive. Over half of the Frosty Ancient Eagles quickly fell victim to them. A strong gust of wind rose into the sky and shattered the Frosty Ancient Eagles that had been targeted by the Icecloud Jellyfish.

Broken ice poured down like crystal rain. An alluring figure hovered between the Icecloud Jellyfish and the wind, her silver hair drifting elegantly.

“Thousand Leaves Saber!”

The figure spun around like a dancer, firing blue gusts of wind in all directions.

A single wind slash might not be enough to penetrate the Frosty Ancient Eagle’s sturdy feathers, but what about hundreds, or even thousands of them?

The Frosty Ancient Eagles turned into a bloody mist, and their lifeblood poured down like rain. The Thousand Leaves Saber returned to Mu Ningxue’s hands after annihilating all the creatures within a kilometer, combining into a magical wind sword!

“Slaughtering Wind Slash!”

A blue line sprang into the clear sky. The Frosty Ancient Eagle that had captured Jiang Yu suddenly froze in midair. Its body fell apart, sliced perfectly in half, just before they started falling.

Jiang Yu was falling to the ground. Mu Ningxue observed everything before glancing at the Night Rakshasa, telling her, “He’s all yours.”

The Night Rakshasa put on a grateful face. She ran swiftly toward the spot Jiang Yu was falling to.

The Night Rakshasa was quite small, like an insignificant hare in the eyes of the enormous creatures, and was able to move freely amid the chaotic battle. No creature would bother wasting their time on her.

“Jiang Yu’s armor can withstand the attacks of a Ruler-level creature. He should be fine,” Guan Yu said.

“He was lucky that the Frosty Ancient Eagle died before it reached its nest. Otherwise, he would be dead even if he was wearing indestructible Armor!” Zhao Manyan let out a relieved sigh. He glanced at Mu Ningxue, who brought such a bloodbath to the Frosty Ancient Eagles, and exclaimed, “The Goddess is as reliable as usual when it counts! Look at Mo Fan, he might have seven Elements, but he didn’t even use a lot of them!”

“I can only fight on land. Those in the water and in the sky are out of my reach. However, if any of you are killed on the land, I’ll bury myself next to you!” Mo Fan lost his calm after hearing Zhao Manyan’s comment.

How were the creatures in the sky his problem? It was not his fault that he could not fly!

He was not a f**king swan. Did people seriously expect him to be able to fight in the air, on the ground, and in the water?

“Jiang Yu is the first person to reach the mountain!” Zhao Manyan noted wryly.

“You can go ahead and ask the Frosty Ancient Eagles to give you a ride too!” Nanyu scoffed.

“Friends, how should we make that b**ch pay?” Jiang Shaoxu was still irritated.

If the woman had not sent the Frosty Ancient Eagles to them, Jiang Yu’s life would not have been in danger.

“I’m used to stirring up trouble even when people aren’t messing with me, let alone when they do… was she trying to set us up? We’ll make her pay then!” Mo Fan declared.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, we are currently in a pinch. Let’s forget it for now. We’ll settle the debt later once we crossed the lake,” Nanyu said.

“Once it’s over, she will never admit it if she has the slightest brain. We should settle it here and now. Just keep following Mu Ningxue, leave her to me,” Mo Fan declared.

“You’re still so hot-tempered,” Nanyu said helplessly.

“I’m not, I’m pretty calm now,” Mo Fan left before he even finished the sentence.

Mo Fan did not use Blink, yet he was able to move three hundred meters without leaving any traces behind. The other people could only see wisps of black energy, and his movement was unpredictable, as if he was able to use the Fleeing Shadow continuously.

“That guy, since when is his Shadow Element so outstanding?” Guan Yu was surprised by Mo Fan’s evasiveness.

Guan Yu was an assassin-type Mage, so agility was very important to him!

Mo Fan was able to move freely through the chaotic battle. On top of that, most of the powerful Mages were completely unaware of him.

“Where did the little demoness go?” Jiang Shaoxu turned around and saw the glamorous girl was gone too. She quickly looked up, as she was worried the Frosty Ancient Eagles had caught her.

“She left with Mo Fan,” Lingling said.

“Why did you call her little demoness? It doesn’t sound appropriate,” Guan Yu said.

“Why not? Don’t you know a girl of her beauty has brought nothing but disaster to countries in the past? How is Mu Ningxue so carefree? Won’t she suspect something fishy between Mo Fan and the girl? He’s definitely not an upright gentleman!” Jiang Shaoxu sniffed.

“Speaking of which, is the little girl going to be fine following Mo Fan around? Can she look after herself? ” Guan Yu asked in a worried voice.

“Guan Yu, don’t you worry about that. That little girl is stronger than you… Are you guys going to be fine on your own? I’ll go with Mo Fan,” Zhao Manyan said. How could he possibly miss out on the fun?

“Shouldn’t you be focusing on the task on hand? Jiang Yu almost died!”

“Well, he’s still alive, right?”

—

The Savage Raptor Hunter Group was ranked at the top of the country. Zhao Kang was one of the captains in the Hunter Group. He had been hired by the Zhao Clan to explore Tianshan Mountain.

As a matter of fact, Zhao Manyan knew Zhao Youqian was the main sponsor of the Savage Raptor Hunter Group, so it was not surprising that his distant cousin Zhao Kang held an important role in the Hunter Group.

Zhao Manyan was still in disguise. Zhao Kang had rarely interacted with Zhao Manyan in the past too, so he did not recognize Zhao Manyan. However, Zhao Manyan was aware that Zhao Kang was one of the members of the Zhao Family who was very close to Zhao Youqian. Apparently, Zhao Kang was Zhao Youqian’s go-to for illegal matters. Their father had a huge argument with Zhao Youqian because of it. It had happened around the finals of the World College Tournament.

Zhao Manyan briefly explained Zhao Kang’s background to Mo Fan as they were approaching the Savage Raptor Hunter Group.

“Zhao Youqian must have done a lot of black deeds, right?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, my father isn’t stupid. I’m clearly not a good businessman, but he still made me his successor because he knew the wicked things that Zhao Youqian had done. Even though no businessman is perfectly clean, there are lines that we should never cross. There are things we shouldn’t do even if we can make a lot of money from them.” A lot of things had crossed Zhao Manyan’s mind when he first saw Zhao Kang.

Zhao Kang was Zhao Youqian’s errand boy. In the past, he had constantly followed Zhao Youqian’s orders. Zhao Manyan had long despised Zhao Kang, yet to his surprise, Zhao Kang was now a captain of the Savage Raptor Hunter Group. He must have done a lot of ‘favors’ over the years.

“I see. I initially thought your brother only turned wicked because your father favored you too much,” Mo Fan said.

“Zhao Youqian knew his misdeeds would soon come to light. My father knew it too. If Zhao Youqian became his successor, the Zhao Family’s reputation would be ruined, so my father changed his mind. Do you have any idea how twisted Zhao Youqian is? He blamed all the misdeeds he did on our father after killing him, since the dead can’t testify. In the end, a bunch of hoodlums showed up at my father’s funeral and wrecked the place. His reputation was completely ruined. I won’t forgive him for that!” Zhao Manyan clenched his teeth.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“No one likes to share their family’s scandals. You’ve never mentioned your mother-in-law or your stepmother to me, either!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Holy crap, I can’t believe you have the guts to bring that up now. I should take you out first before dealing with the Psychic Maga!” Mo Fan swore.

“Let’s take her out first. Leave Zhao Kang alive, he still has some uses!” Zhao Manyan responded grimly.

—

The situation was simple. Zhao Kang was a black-hearted man. He was the one that had asked the Psychic Maga to redirect the anger of the Frosty Ancient Eagles onto the national team.

Zhao Kang obviously held a grudge against the national team, mainly because of his relationship with Zhao Youqian. Otherwise, why would he choose the national team when there were other groups around? Or did he think the national team was an easier target?

Either way, they had no intention of forgiving Zhao Kang and the Psychic Maga!

“Apas, can you control the Frosty Ancient Eagles?” Mo Fan asked her.

“The Frosty Ancient Eagles are quite intelligent. It’s going to be tricky,” Apas said. She grinned when she looked at the Psychic Maga, “It’s easier to control her.”

“You can control her directly?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Her Psychic Magic is full of weaknesses. Her cultivation might be higher than the Mole Woman, but her foundation is not as solid,” Apas said.

1

“Mole Woman?” Mo Fan was confused.

1

“I think she’s referring to Jiang Shaoxu,” Zhao Manyan offered.

“…”

The mole actually set off Jiang Shaoxu’s beauty, yet the way Apas mentioned it sounded strange.

Forget it, Jiang Shaoxu had also given Apas a less-than-complimentary nickname. They could call one another whatever they liked!

“Apas, have her strip and dance in front of the beast hordes until she is trampled to death,” Zhao Manyan suggested.

“…” Apas glared at Zhao Manyan after his perverted request!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Kang’s group had almost reached the mountain. He frowned after glancing at the Mailong Private Military Group.

“Black Spade, they don’t seem to have suffered great losses,” Zhao Kang told the woman with the Psychic Element.

“There seem to be experts among them. The Liden Royal Family must have spent a fortune on them to acquire the Sacred Lotus,” Black Spade replied.

“Yassen and the others are quite close with the Liden Royal Family, too. If they do find the Sacred Lotus, it’s very likely they will sell it to the Liden Royal Family,” Zhao Kang commented.

“We shouldn’t mess with Senior Hunter Yassen. His team is very strong,” Black Spade said softly.

“Let’s focus on the Mailong Private Military Group then,” Zhao Kang agreed viciously.

“Brother Kang, I don’t understand. Why must we pick on those who serve the Liden Royal Family?” Black Spade was confused.

“Brother Zhao Youqian and Liden’s eldest grandson are close friends. Liden’s eldest grandson asked him to get rid of the mercenaries that were hired by the Liden Royal Family. Once the queen is dead, Brother Zhao Youqian will be able to secure a lot of business opportunities from the Liden Royal Family. Black Spade, have you lived in a royal palace before? After everything is done, I’ll bring you along and let you stay in the palace for half a month so you can enjoy how it feels to be a member of the royal family,” Zhao Kang told her.

Black Spade’s eyes glittered. The palace of a royal family with carpets covered in fresh flowers and valuable ornaments embroidered on the walls… they also had maids serving while they were having breakfast.

“Brother Kang, it’s not that difficult to take out the Mailong Private Military Group, but it’s going to be tricky to take out Yassen and his team… it’s a difficult job, and we’ve lost quite a few men already,” Black Spade told him.

“Don’t you worry, if it doesn’t work out on our end, Brother Zhao Youqian has another plan in mind. Hehehe, Brother Youqian always has a backup plan… it’s just who he is,” Zhao Kang replied with a vicious look in his eyes.

—

Apas was able to hear every single word of the conversation. She relayed the information to Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

“So the Liden Royal Family is involved… I was wondering why Zhao Youqian would bother sending his men here. It’s not like he needs the loot on Tianshan Mountain for his own business,” Zhao Manyan muttered.

He should have long figured it out. Zhao Youqian had been close to the people in the Liden Royal Family for some time. He had a lot of business in the Middle East, too. Queen Liden’s eldest grandson was definitely a good entry point!

“Zhao Youqian has a backup plan; what would it be?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

“Isn’t it obvious? He’s going to kill the woman who’s pregnant with the successor to the throne,” Apas said indifferently.

Zhao Manyan was startled. He did not even realize it, but he trembled when Apas mentioned it.

How insane had Zhao Youqian become?

Sending men to stop the Mailong Private Military Group from acquiring the Sacred Lotus was still acceptable in Zhao Manyan’s eyes. After all, it was never peaceful between factions that were competing with one another. They would use all kinds of dirty tricks to achieve their goals, but it was inhumane to target the mother of the queen’s youngest grandson!

1

“Your brother is seriously out of his mind!” Mo Fan stated.

“Damn it, the Zhao Family is seriously screwed at this rate! The Heavens know what we did. I can’t believe that Zhao Youqian has managed to wash his hands clean all the time. I should really send him to the most reputable psychiatric hospital in the world as soon as possible!” Zhao Manyan snarled.

“I don’t think he has gone mad. He’s just a little twisted,” Mo Fan commented.

“Who cares whether he’s still thinking straight or not, don’t you know it’s common for the loser of a family or clan’s infighting to be sent to a psychiatric hospital? As long as you behave yourself by eating and sleeping obediently, you can still live comfortably as a useless person. However, if you are up to something, the psychiatric hospitals have instruments that will teach you to behave properly. Do you really think the doctors in the psychiatric hospitals are clueless that you are not normal? You’re just not allowed to live a normal life anymore,” Zhao Manyan informed him.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless. So that’s how it was in the renowned clans. He had definitely learned a lot!

“Because of that, the psychiatric hospitals charge insane fees. I’ll have to spend over a hundred thousand every year if I send Zhao Youqian to one. Wouldn’t it be better if I used the money to provide for a mistress instead?” Zhao Manyan had to say.

“You think you can send your brother into a psychiatric hospital with your current strength? I believe the psychiatric hospitals suit YOU better,” Mo Fan refuted.

“Being rich doesn’t mean anything.”

“Yeah, being rich doesn’t mean he can hire Forbidden Mages as bodyguards, but he can still invite Forbidden Mages to his functions. I wonder if that old turtle of yours can beat a Forbidden Mage?” Mo Fan challenged him.

Zhao Manyan fell silent, glaring at Zhao Kang and Black Spade for a while, “Those assh****, how dare they mess with the national team? Let’s deal with them first. They even think they can enjoy living in a royal palace. I should send them to Tianshan Mountain’s Lake of Corpses!”

“You’re finally being practical…” MO Fan agreed.

—

—

BANG!

The freezing lake ahead exploded. Ice splinters flew at the groups like a rain of swords.

An enormous demon leech with several layers of flesh appeared from the hole. It felt like its body was able to expand infinitely. It went from a dozen meters tall to the height of a skyscraper in a moment, swallowing a bunch of Frosty Ancient Eagles with a single bite!

The Savage Raptor Hunter Group froze as soon as the white demon leech appeared.

“Luc…luckily it wasn’t after us,” a Hunter Master in the group gasped.

“What kind of monster is that!?”

“Everyone, stay calm, don’t provoke it,” Zhao Kang told the others.

Black Spade stepped forward. Her hair floated as her eyes transmitted the energy of a Spirit Ripple to the white demon leech that was hunting the Frosty Ancient Eagles.

“Black Spade, don’t be reckless, you will get its attention,” Zhao Kang told her.

Black Spade did not listen to him. She kept using the Psychic Spell.

“Black Spade, what the f**k are you doing? I told you not to mess with it!…” Zhao Kang yelled.

The demon leech suddenly bent forward and faced the people of the Savage Raptor Hunter Group, as if it had been provoked by the Psychic Spell.

Zhao Kang’s expression shifted.

Black Spade finally managed to recollect herself. She was dumbfounded when the huge creature started focusing its anger at them.

What just happened? What was she doing? Why did she provoke the creature with her Psychic Spell?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The white demon leech was obviously a greater threat than the Frosty Ancient Eagles, especially when it had a clear target in mind.

Zhao Kang immediately ran toward Yassen’s group when he noticed something was not right. His men were being butchered by the demon leech. The cries of the Savage Raptors echoed across the lake as the demon leech dragged many Hunter Masters into the water.

The water of the lake was bone-chilling. No one knew if there were other creatures hiding in the lake’s immeasurable depths. The Mages that were dragged into the lake by the demon leech had no chance of survival, regardless of their cultivation.

“B**ch, what the heck have you done!?” The rest in the group were not idiots. They clearly saw Black Spade using her Psychic Magic to provoke the demon leech.

The other groups were approaching the mountains, meaning that their partnership was reaching an end. No one was willing to turn around to save the Savage Raptors!

The Savage Raptor Hunter Group suffered great losses after the encounter with the demon leech, not to mention the Frosty Ancient Eagles were constantly hunting them now!

Zhao Kang followed Yassen’s group and managed to flee to safety.

“Help me, Brother Kang!” Black Spade was running on the ice. She even took off her coat just so she could run quicker.

“Humph, are you trying to get revenge because of your sister? You have only yourself to blame if you die!” Zhao Kang swore at her.

“What did you say? My sister?” Black Spade was startled.

Zhao Kang ignored Black Spade’s reaction. He waved his hand and Summoned a rock barrier, blocking the direction Black Spade was running into.

Black Spade was not an agile Mage. She trembled in fear when she saw the rising wall gradually blocking Zhao Kang’s cold face.

The ice behind Black Spade collapsed as the demon leech drew closer. It opened its mouth and swallowed the human who had dared to provoke it!

“How could you do that to your own teammate?” Senior Hunter Yassen spat.

“She deserved it. She provoked the monster and almost got us all killed,” Zhao Kang said disdainfully.

“Is that so…” Yassen did not comment on it further. He glanced at the remaining Savage Raptors and noticed they were skillful in their own way. They had managed to reach the mountain after the team split up.

As for the rest of the groups that were stuck in the middle of the lake, there was nothing much Yassen could do. They had obviously failed to overcome the beast hordes, and the Frosty Ancient Eagles had already gathered above them. If they did not make it out, their chance of survival were very slim.

“How many teams made it?” Yassen asked the woman at his side softly.

“The Mailong Private Military Group has arrived now. The explorers hired by the Sacred Hall of Liberty are all here. The Savage Raptor Hunter Group lost a few of its members. The Mu Clan had a lot more casualties, and only five of them are left. The Heaven Star Mercenary Group is here too, but the rest aren’t even teams anymore,” a Huntress beside Yassen reported.

“Many of those with a weaker cultivation are dead.”

“Indeed, they struggled against the Frosty Ancient Eagles.”

Among the groups, only those with higher cultivations, like Yassen and his men, had managed to preserve their numbers. Their strength was enough to guarantee their own safety. As for the other groups with numbers in strength, their survival was purely based on luck. The unfortunate ones had ended up as food to the demon creatures of Tianshan Mountain.

Many people had died in the battle. Only half of the human explorers had made it to the other side of the lake.

Tianshan Mountain was like the Gates of Hell!

—

“What now? Are we going separate ways, or are we sticking together?” Kuma asked.

The Mailong Private Military Group’s numbers had gone from a hundred and ten to thirty-eight. Even Kuma was in disbelief from shock.

They had only reached the Valley of Glaciers, where the entrance of the Scar of Tianshan Mountain was located, yet they had already lost two-thirds of their team! Putting aside the question of whether they could claim the Sacred Lotus or not, how many of them would survive until the end?

“Tianshan Mountain is a lot scarier than we imagined. If we split up here, not many teams are going to survive,” Senior Hunter Yassen spoke up bluntly.

“You mean, we should continue to stay in an alliance?” Kuma asked.

“Mm, the lowest level of the demon creatures in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain are at the Commander-level. There’s a great chance we’ll stumble into Ruler-level creatures, and more than one of them… I do know everyone here is confident in taking on one Ruler-level creature, but two or three of them at the same time? I don’t think anyone will escape,” Yassen mused aloud.

“My people are almost all dead, I’m fine with staying in the alliance, but there must be rules…” the leader of the group hired by the Mu Clan, Xing Hui, spoke up.

“For those who are willing to form an alliance, I just hope we can work together at all times. If anyone tries to mess it up, I, Yassen, will be the first to kill them!” Yassen warned them.

“It seems like there are people who don’t agree with the idea?” Zhao Kang observed.

“It’s fine, they can go their separate ways. We won’t force them.”

Kuma was the leader of the Mailong Private Military Group, and had great trust in Yassen. She immediately agreed with Yassen’s suggestion.

Tianshan Mountain had crushed Kuma’s confidence. If the rest of her men could not rely on a stronger group, how were they supposed to survive the Scar of Tianshan Mountain?

“The Mu Clan is quite embarrassing. Look at the Scouts, they have only lost one member,” Bertan of the Sacred Hall of Liberty commented.

Xing Hui glanced at the ninth team of the Mailong Private Military Group. How did they make it across the lake in one piece?

“They are Super Mages on average,” Yassen informed the others.

Yassen’s impression of the national team had changed. His group was at the Super Level on average, but those younger Mages were all Super Mages too! They were the real elites present!

“Strange, why are there a few abandoned tents here?” Kuma suddenly noticed.

Yassen followed her eyes and saw some tents, drinking bottles, and some clothes that were not buried under the snow.

“It looks like someone has reached the Scar of Tianshan Mountain before us,” Yassen frowned.

“Could it be them?”

“I can’t think of any others that are strong enough to do so except them.”

Chapter 2006: Learning the Hard Way

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan found Jiang Yu at the back slope of the nearest hill. He was not in too bad of a condition, but he had only broken his legs. His chest had been pierced by talons, and he had also hit his head on a rock and was bleeding.

“I can tell you indulged in your desires at the capital for too long. You don’t even have the basic awareness to protect yourself. Don’t you know you should land on your body instead?” Zhao Manyan murmured while carrying the bloody Jiang Yu away.

“Stop it, he clearly landed on his legs. Otherwise, how did he break them? He rolled over on his back and hit his head,” Mo Fan explained for Jiang Yu, who was unable to talk.

“Oh, I misunderstood. Luckily, Mo Fan and I came over in time, or you’d be dead. By the way, we also took out the woman who set you up, so you shouldn’t have any regrets,” Zhao Manyan said quietly.

“I…I think I…I’m still alive…” Jiang Yu replied weakly.

The Mailong Private Military Group did not have a Healer. The only doctor in the group was now most likely being digested inside a Frosty Ancient Eagle’s stomach.

Luckily, the Mailong Private Military Group had chosen to stick with the alliance. Otherwise, Jiang Yu would not have survived for more than a day. Normal people were not able to survive in the icy wind and snow, let alone an injured person!

—

“We have so many wounded, we have to stick with the queue. It’s fine if you want us to treat your teammate. Get the beauty of the national team, Mu Ningxue to perform an erotic dance in front of us and help us loosen our nerves, and we will treat your friend first,” Bertan told them.

“You might not know this, but Mu Ningxue is the hot-tempered Mo Fan’s girlfriend, so you better hope he doesn’t hear this,” Ai Jiangtu informed Bertan.

“I know, I know. Mo Fan, the strongest participant in the World College Tournament, the so-called strongest young Mage in the world… I’ve long wanted to see what he got,” Bertan replied airily.

Ai Jiangtu frowned when it was clear Bertan was not willing to treat Jiang Yu.

—

Ai Jiangtu told everyone Bertan’s attitude after he returned to the team, automatically filtering out the inappropriate part related to Mu Ningxue. If he didn’t, Mo Fan might just have gone ahead and killed him. Ai Jiangtu was well aware of Mo Fan’s temper!

“Old Ai, I think you’re being too polite when talking to foreigners. I’ll pay them a visit. I guarantee you they will come and treat Jiang Yu right away.” Mo Fan rose to his feet. He was about to take matters into his own hands.

Ai Jiangtu quickly stopped Mo Fan. “No, don’t… let me figure out a way.”

“There’s no other way. There’s only one Healer among us, and he’s with the explorers hired by the Sacred Hall of Liberty. I must say, Nanrong Ni might be a disgusting person, but she was very useful in certain situations. We should find ourselves a Healer next time. It’s so annoying. Look at Bertan’s attitude; the man is acting like the whole world is at his mercy,” Zhao Manyan scoffed.

The national team had once had a Healer, Nanrong Ni, who was now Mu Ningxue’s enemy.

When Mu Bai was around, his skills and knowledge at treating injuries were also useful to a certain degree, but Zhao Manyan was definitely afraid of his methods.

Mo Fan went up to Apas and asked her quietly, “Apas, can you heal the wounded?”

“Do the Medusae sound like a species that is good at healing?” Apas replied sharply.

“I believe you can expand your business. Don’t just focus on things that harm others. That way, the Medusae will eventually become humanity’s good friends!” Mo Fan replied.

“Hah!” Apas rolled her eyes and ignored Mo Fan.

—

—

Nanyu and Ai Jiangtu went to discuss things with Yassen, but they heard a few cries before they even got down to business.

“This Mo Fan is just as unreasonable as rumors have mentioned,” Yassen smiled helplessly.

Nanyu and Ai Jiangtu were startled when they saw Mo Fan holding Bertan by the collar, dragging him toward Jiang Yu.

Mo Fan cursed along the way, “It f**king took you half an hour just to get a drink. You just had to force me to do it my way. Isn’t it better when you are sensible enough to treat my friend’s wounds!?”

“I can walk myself!” Bertan complained helplessly

Bertan still had no idea what the cold thing that was held to his groin was, yet he could feel his balls twitching as he recalled the sensation.

“Heal my friend and do some pole dancing at the bonfire over there, or you’re going to pay for it!” Mo Fan kicked Bertan from behind.

“I…I don’t know how to pole-dance…” Bertan whined.

“Just do whatever dance you know, and you better show some respect to my girlfriend, or I won’t go easy on you again!” Mo Fan swore.

“Of course…”

Mo Fan glanced at Ai Jiangtu and Nanyu, who had returned to the team. He shrugged when he saw the weird looks on their faces. “It’s cold and the situation isn’t favorable to us. We don’t have time to reason with them!”

“Mo Fan, I must say, you’re more like a powerful second generation compared to the rest of us,” Nanyu had to comment.

“Yeah, you shouldn’t be so harsh with the others. We are all noble Mages. Shouldn’t we settle our disputes peacefully? I was just kidding with you. There’s no reason not to heal your friend since we all agreed to form an alliance. Young man, don’t be so hot-tempered. There are many strong Mages in this world. You can’t possibly get your way every time with violence when you eventually meet someone that is stronger than you, right?” Bertan added quickly.

Mo Fan snorted disdainfully at the man.

If he met someone he could not defeat, then he would just reason with them! They had nothing but time since they were currently trapped in the harsh environment on Tianshan Mountain.

—

The alliance seriously lacked Healers. Many people were suffering from serious injuries. The alliance decided to rest up before heading to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain.

The Scar of Tianshan Mountain was right before their eyes. They had already reached their destination.

However, every step forward would require a lot of planning. The groups were relieved when they had a chance to sit down and share their experiences. It turned out that every group had different encounters along. Many of them were extremely lucky, as they did not stumble into any deadly species along the way.

“Bertan, what is your team here for? Don’t tell me you’re seriously on an expedition?” Mo Fan was a lot more easygoing when he saw Bertan diligently healing the wounded from the other groups.

He didn’t hold a grudge when someone like Bertan started behaving himself after learning the hard way.

Chapter 2007: The True Colors of the Scar of Tianshan Mountain

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“We are actually working for the Sacred Hall of Liberty. The Sacred Hall of Liberty and the Dubai Magician Tower have reached a deal. The Dubai Magician Tower asked the Sacred Hall of Liberty to provide them with some perfect Elemental Diamonds. You should know how rare those Elemental Diamonds are. We only found a small amount of them after searching for them throughout the Americas. Most of them have ended up in the hands of black market merchants or renowned clans. The price will be several times higher if we try to buy from them. The Sacred Hall of Liberty doesn’t want to be taken advantage of, so they hired us to collect more Elemental Diamonds.

“I found one at the lake not long ago. Tianshan Mountain is really a land of treasure. I believe there are more of them in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, since no one has ever set foot inside it!” Bertan was a talkative person. He explained everything, even though Mo Fan had only asked the question casually.

“Elemental Diamonds?” Lingling looked intrigued.

“Hehe, many people know that the pure Elemental Magic Ores are the main source of energy for modern cities, but they are clueless about something that can replenish the energy of Mages,” Bertan kept going when he saw Lingling’s reaction.

“Elemental Diamonds are commonly used for constructing complicated Magic Formations, such as a teleporting formation with a precise destination,” Lingling spoke up.

“That’s right little girl, you know quite a lot about them! But do you know that certain magic doesn’t require the Caster to expend their own energy? The Caster is only a medium, as the spell consumes a large amount of energy from the Elemental Diamonds. For example, a torch will need batteries and the components inside it to emit light. The Caster is like the wires. The batteries are the ones providing the energy, which the Elemental Diamonds serve as,” Bertan said.

“So you’re saying that we won’t have to worry about our energy anymore? We just need to bring a few Elemental Diamonds around and we can use our magic without limit?” Mo Fan comprehended it in his own way after hearing the gist of it.

“You can think of it like that, but it isn’t available to everyone. Only a certain group can do so. As for who they are… well, I’m not allowed to tell you,” Bertan hedged.

“If we can generalize it, it would be a great invention. I’m fearless most of the time, until my energy runs out!” Mo Fan murmured.

“A single Elemental Diamond is around the price of a mansion with a sea view. I doubt ordinary people could afford it, leaving aside the question about how we could turn ourselves into conduits,” Zhao Manyan said disdainfully.

The leaders of the alliance began to discuss their next steps after they were done with the conversation.

It would soon be winter on Tianshan Mountain, so they could not afford to waste too much time. If they did not leave this place before the snowstorms came, they had no idea when they would be able to, if it was even a possibility!

Tianshan Mountain was just as merciless toward Super Mages as it was to anyone else. The winter snowstorms were going to trap all visitors. Why else did the beast hordes risk their lives to leave the mountain? Why did the Frosty Ancient Eagles have to stock up on food supplies for winter when they were already creatures of the Ice Element?

The winter of Tianshan Mountain was the true bringer of silence!

“A snowstorm is happening in ten days. I doubt anyone would like to spend the winter here, so we’ll set out for the Scar of Tianshan Mountain in the morning. The terrain of the Scar of Tianshan Mountain will defend us from the icy wind so we can preserve our energy,” Yassen told the others.

“Not a problem! We also want to visit the legendary place as soon as possible,” Xing Hui agreed.

“Since we agreed to form an alliance, I hope everyone doesn’t have any other plans in mind. I know we are here to achieve our goals or to finish our jobs and quests, so let’s achieve them together instead of dying for no reason on the mountain,” Yassen said solemnly.

——

The alliance entered the Scar of Tianshan Mountain the next morning.

Everyone assumed the Scar of Tianshan Mountain would be a pitch-black icy ravine, but they were dumbfounded by the sight before them when they advanced into it.

It felt like they had just entered a different world. White ice was coating the irregular mountains like sheets of armor. The mountain range extended off into the distance. The peaks nearby were white, while the ridges in the distance were blue, and had merged with the blue sky. It was like a spectacular sculpture that a master artisan had crafted all his life!

Most shockingly, there were thin clouds floating around like veils at different altitudes. The smaller ones were around the size of a basketball court. The big ones were like icy curtains as wide as the sky, covering the highest peaks of Tianshan Mountain.

“I finally understand why they always say we shouldn’t trust rumors. The Scar of Tianshan Mountain is unlike anything that people have mentioned. I feel like I’ve entered a kingdom of ice in the Heavens instead of a canyon in the ground!”

“This is mesmerizing. This is the real Scar of Tianshan Mountain!”

The glaciers were hanging above them like a frozen waterfall in the clouds. They sometimes felt like the ice hanging above them was the actual surface when they were walking in areas shrouded by the clouds, like they were in a world that had been turned upside down.

The funny thing was, none of their information had described what the Scar of Tianshan Mountain actually looked like. It was either described as a hell of ice or a deep valley of snow surrounded by cliffs. The truth was, it was not snowing inside the Scar of Tianshan Mountain right now, so everything was as silent and still as a painting. The mountains were like mirrors, and the clouds were like curtains. The level of oxygen was low, but the air was still very refreshing.

There was nothing terrifying. Everyone was prepared to face the Gates of Hell when they entered the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, but they were greeted by a sacred place where they could forget all pain, fear, and sufferings!

“If this is the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, I think being trapped forever here isn’t that unacceptable…” Jiang Shaoxu was lost in the beauty of the place.

“Give me a beauty and I’ll make my own tribe here!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed in appreciation.

Chapter 2008: The Ancient Eagles’ Nest

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

People easily lowered their guards when they were mesmerized by beautiful things. Even Mo Fan, who had been to the Dark Plane, was oddly relaxed when he entered the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. It was a visual pleasure, like a noble goddess wearing a sacred veil was whispering her secrets into his ears. Anyone would open their hearts to her.

Scary?

How was the Scar of Tianshan Mountain scary?

They were actually ashamed of their greedy and wicked thoughts toward the goddess prior to their arrival!

It was quiet. There was not a single cry or screech of demon creatures in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, as if everything was in a deep sleep. Their footsteps in the kingdom of ice were the loudest noises. They subconsciously softened their voices and were friendlier to one another.

“Damn it, where are we supposed to look for the Night Amethyst in such a huge place? I’m afraid Mu Bai’s body is going to turn cold soon!” Mo Fan was utterly lost as he looked over the Valley of Glaciers ahead.

The women had never seen anything so pure and beautiful, but now the atmosphere was completely ruined by Mo Fan’s exclamation. This was especially true for Mu Ningxue, who was born with the innate traits of an Ice Spirit. She felt an odd sense of belonging when she arrived at this place.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan had little appreciation for nature and its beauty.

“Look at the glaciers and clouds ahead. Why do they feel so artistic? They are full of holes… to be honest, they might be able to cure my trypophobia!” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

Clouds had shrouded the area ahead. The ground was sloping up while the clouds were heading down, a spectacular view of this place that was surrounded by ice.

It was different from the snowy valleys they had visited so far. The Valley of Glaciers was full of ice studded with holes. Most of them were hanging above the clouds, so they looked like beehives from afar.

Senior Hunter Yassen suddenly halted in his tracks. He signaled the others to keep quiet with a gesture.

Everyone was indulging in the scenery. The atmosphere suddenly became tense when Yassen started acting so grimly. They all stood there, not daring to make a single noise, staring ahead while staying on alert.

“I…I think we have arrived at the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ nests,” Yassen told everyone softly.

The Frosty Ancient Eagles’ nests!

Many of those in the group almost screamed. Why would the Frosty Ancient Eagles build their nest in the middle of the path? How were they supposed to keep going forward?

“It should be fine, right? We managed to cross the lake. We should be able to kill them all considering our strength. We can definitely make our way through their nest!” the healer Bertan spoke up.

“You’re too naive!” Lingling blatantly conveyed her disdain of Bertan’s ignorance. “The demon creatures that live together usually split the work, like a den of lions. The lionesses are responsible for hunting prey, while the lions only have to wait for the lionesses to feed them. However, it doesn’t mean the lions are only good at breeding. When the den of the lions is threatened by other species, the lions will step forward and eliminate the threats to protect the den.”

Yassen turned around with a grim face as Lingling was speaking.

“Little girl, are you saying that only the females among the Frosty Ancient Eagles attacked us when we were crossing the lake, but the stronger males were staying in the nest to protect it from invaders?” Yassen asked her.

“Among eagles, the males are usually stronger. Take a look at the ones that are patrolling in the sky. Aren’t they different from the ones we encountered before?” Lingling pointed up at the clouds.

Everyone followed Lingling’s finger and noticed the male eagles that were patrolling had an impressive crest on their heads that was glowing like the sun. Their body structure and wings were obviously stronger than the Frosty Ancient Eagles they had fought against. Even their talons were brimming with power!

“The Frosty Ancient Eagles at the lake are petite compared to them… My gods, do we really have to take this path? Can’t we find another way?” Bertan had already lost his confidence.

The other Mages also felt hopeless after learning the truth.

The females of the Frosty Ancient Eagles were already a huge headache for them, let alone the stronger males that seemed even greater in number!

“We shouldn’t forget about the Ruler-level eagles, and their queen and king, if we are close to their nest,” Yassen added some fuel to the fire.

“Please, don’t even mention it. I’ll just find some valuable rocks nearby to turn in the job. I’m not going to take a step closer to them,” Bertan said.

“There must be a way.”

Everyone fell silent. Some were already backing away, hoping the patrolling eagles would not notice them.

—

“Mo Fan, the eggs of the Frosty Ancient Eagles can only hatch in extremely cold and dark environments. Those are also the places where Night Amethysts are usually found, so it’s simple where you should go next,” Nanyu told him quietly.

“Why do I feel like it’s not simple at all? I might not be good at studies, but I’m pretty sure all living creatures treat their eggs and younglings very seriously, especially the places where they lay their eggs. There must be a powerful leader among them guarding the eggs, and you’re telling me that’s where I should go to look for the Night Amethyst?” Mo Fan protested.

“I’m saying that it’s a possibility, since the conditions for a Night Amethyst to form naturally are extremely harsh. If you can’t find one where the Frosty Ancient Eagles are laying their eggs, you will have to go deeper,” Nanyu persisted.

“Please don’t add injury to my insult!” Mo Fan pulled a long face.

Mo Fan’s heart was covered in holes, just like the eagles’ nesting grounds.

While Mo Fan was figuring out a plan to tackle the situation, a deafening roar suddenly came from above. The glaciers attached to the mountain cracked and fell to the ground. It looked like the huge mountain had just shed a layer of its skin. The Mages quickly backed away to safety!

“My ears hurt!”

“Such a powerful roar!”

Chapter 2009: It’s Friendly

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan looked in the direction the roar came from and saw a striking creature glowing a sacred white standing on a peak there. Its white fur drifted wildly in the cold wind. It let out another deafening cry, as if it was going to trample every creature under its feet.

“A fully white demon tiger. It must have a pure lineage!” Mo Fan took a deep breath.

The Tianshan Demon Tigers they had encountered in the Alpine had stripes and markings on them, but the demon tiger on the peak was as white as snow. Its hair was giving out an indescribable sacred aura, and its muscular build was brimming with power and savageness!

“It’s a Skyridge White Tiger, a true child of the Sacred Tiger!” Lingling’s eyes glittered like she had discovered something rare.

“As expected of the Scar of Tianshan Mountain! I didn’t expect to see a creature as rare as the Skyridge White Tiger in person!” Nanyu exclaimed.

“Lingling, how is the Skyridge White Tiger related to the Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain? What about the Totem Beast we are looking for?” Mo Fan asked quickly.

“The ancestor of the powerful Tianshan Demon Tigers is a Sacred Totem Beast. The purity of their lineage matters a lot. The Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain who is rumored to have given some people special blessings must be the Sacred Totem Beast we are looking for, similar to the Black Totem Snake, to Baxia, and to the Deer God. However, according to certain records, the Sacred Tiger is significantly stronger than most ancient Totem Beasts. He must be close to the Emperor-level!” Lingling said.

“So is the Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain the strongest Sacred Totem Beast among the four?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“No,” Jiang Shaoxu shook her head firmly and explained, “The Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain is only a Child Totem of the four Sacred Totem Beasts that are related to the Kunlun Ancestor Tiger. Their relationship is similar to that between the Black Totem Snake and Baxia.”

“What about this creature?” Mo Fan pressed.

“It should be a level lower than the Sacred Tiger. However, just by looking at its fur, it’s obvious that it has been cultivating in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain for more than a hundred years. It’s weird that it has suddenly shown up close to the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ nest.”

The powerful Skyridge White Tiger was roaring at the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ nests. A few of the ones with weaker support had even fallen to the ground!

The Mages thought the nests only had a few dozen Frosty Ancient Eagles in them when they were observing the nests from afar, but everyone gasped when they saw the Frosty Ancient Eagles boiling out of the nests like angry bees!

How did such a small nesting site contain over a hundred Frosty Ancient Eagles? How many Frosty Ancient Eagles would the bigger sites contain?

Even though the Frosty Ancient Eagles were not Commander-level creatures, they were unusually strong. The Intermediate Mages among the mercenaries were like helpless little chicks when facing them!

“They are going after the Skyridge White Tiger,” Lingling pointed out.

The Frosty Ancient Eagles were enraged after their nests were destroyed. They flew at the peak where the Skyridge White Tiger was standing and circled it like a tornado of sheening feathers.

The Skyridge White Tiger did not stay on the peak, and ran away across the irregular glaciers.

It seemed to be exposing itself to the Frosty Ancient Eagles on purpose. It was running across the ridges and mountains, while making sure the Frosty Ancient Eagles could see it.

The Skyridge White Tiger was surprisingly quick, and its jumping ability was shocking. It managed to jump from one hill to another even if they were a few hundred meters apart. The Skyridge White Tiger soon vanished into the woods deep in the mountain. The Frosty Ancient Eagles flew into the distance as they chased after the bold Skyridge White Tiger.

“Is the Skyridge White Tiger our friend? It has lured many Frosty Ancient Eagles away for our sake,” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“We should keep going and cross their nest then.”

“It depends on the Senior Hunter’s decision.”

Senior Hunter Yassen was hesitant. The Skyridge White Tiger might have lured many Frosty Ancient Eagles away, but it was still their nesting ground. It was difficult to tell how many Frosty Ancient Eagles had stayed behind, making it extremely dangerous!

“It’s an opportunity for us. If we don’t take it, I’m afraid retreating is our only option,” Xing Hui said impatiently.

Xing Hui was representing the Mu Clan. There had been many casualties among his men. If he did not return to the Mu Clan with any valuables, not only would he fail to be promoted to a core member, he might even be exiled somewhere far away.

“Yeah, we are ready to face our death.”

“Let’s go then. We are aware of how strong the Frosty Ancient Eagles are. I believe any group will most likely going to fail on their own, so I hope we can work together. No one wants to be wiped out here,” Yassen finally agreed.

“Don’t worry, Senior Hunter, we are now grasshoppers tied to the same rope.”

“Let’s go!”

—

The Skyridge White Tiger had lifted a great burden from everyone’s shoulders. The alliance advanced cautiously into a gully which blocked the view of the patrolling Frosty Ancient Eagles in the sky. They might be able to remain unnoticed if there were no high-level creatures patrolling the area.

“Did you see that? It’s an Ice Fundamental Crystal!”

“There are many pieces of Soul-grade Ice Seeds too…”

“There seems to be Ice Elemental Diamonds on the nests. Oh my, I can’t take it anymore,” Bertan blurted out.

The people were afraid of being discovered by the Frosty Ancient Eagles, yet they still had the urge to climb up to the nests and claim the shiny valuables. They had been to many places across the world, yet they had never seen Soul-grade resources woven into some demon creatures’ nests like they were just some insignificant pebbles.

Mo Fan was desperate for money. Money was the huge difference between a grassroots Mage and the rich second generations. Mo Fan had used all his money to improve his cultivation and strengthen his abilities. He could not even afford magic Equipment, but everyone else on the national team, including Zhao Manyan, owned a full set of luxurious magic Equipment!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was just like every mercenary and Hunter. His eyes were glittering with greed.

Normally valuables like the ones just above him were located a few thousand meters deep in the ground under the watch of some powerful demon creature, instead of hanging in the air within his reach like bunches of grapes. Even he could not withstand the urge to claim them, let alone the other Advanced Mages.

Money was everywhere! Each of those valuables was worth a million at least. Mo Fan would happily nod in agreement if anyone suggested they kill all the Frosty Ancient Eagles and take all their treasure!

“Night Rakshasa, can you take some of them?” Jiang Yu whispered to the Night Rakshasa after failing to hold back his greed.

Jiang Yu’s Night Rakshasa had another impressive ability beyond her outstanding strength. She was good at theft!

The Night Rakshasa had a petite, harmless demeanor. Most demon creatures were not going to treat her as a threat, let alone certain enormous creatures with slower reactions.

The Frosty Ancient Eagles had quick reactions, yet the Night Rakshasa was still able to weave through them freely, like she had at the lake.

The Night Rakshasa was fond of shiny valuables too, although the things above her were no different from marbles in her eyes.

“I should warn you all, don’t even think about taking the things above us. Our priority is to make it through safely. There are more valuables waiting for us ahead!” Yassen had stayed fairly calm.

Jiang Yu hesitated when he heard the warning.

“Go ahead, your cat will be fine even if she pees in their king’s nest. Those floating ice clouds won’t be a problem for her. Hurry up and loot them so we can share them among ourselves. I’m tired of living in poverty!” Mo Fan urged him.

“I’m confident in the Night Rakshasa, just don’t let Yassen and the others know,” Nanyu added quietly.

Jiang Yu was relieved when Nanyu agreed too.

Everyone was familiar with Jiang Yu’s Night Rakshasa, so despite Yassen’s warning, they agreed to let the Night Rakshasa steal the valuables.

“There are all ours!”

“We are rich!”

“I can finally afford some worthy equipment,” Mo Fan said.

The Night Rakshasa was indeed one of the most mystical creatures in the world. She easily snuck through the lair of the Frosty Ancient Eagles. Many Frosty Ancient Eagles saw her, but they simply ignored her.

The Night Rakshasa was very intelligent. She knew she could only carry so much, so she only focused on the valuables. The adorable shirt that Jiang Yu had made for her soon became quite heavy.

The national team followed the rest of the group, but they would look up occasionally and murmur, “Yeah, that one, awesome!”

“The Frosty Ancient Eagles are returning to their nests!” Nanyu quickly informed Yassen when she heard something.

The group was startled.

They were still in the vicinity of the eagles’ nests, so the Frosty Ancient Eagles were obviously going to see them when they came back. They were basically stuck in the eagles’ nesting ground!

“What should we do now!?” Kuma hissed urgently.

“Over here, hide inside! The Frosty Ancient Eagles won’t spot us,” Bertan blurted out. He had located a cave.

“Go inside, even if they did spot us, we won’t be surrounded.”

The group quickly changed direction and took cover in the cave.

The cave was very deep. Anyone with some common sense would know the temperature would be lower deeper inside the cave, and they would most likely suffer from hypothermia. If their blood stopped flowing, they would be frozen forever.

The Valley of Glaciers had many species of demon creatures that were beyond the strength of humans, so a lot of Mages ended up hiding inside caves to avoid the demon creatures. However, many people did not return after going into the caves. Hypothermia was like boiling a frog. Their bodies were no longer under their control by the time they realized death was approaching!

Fighting the Frosty Ancient Eagles was suicidal. They could only bet their lives on hiding in the cave and waiting for a better opportunity to flee for their lives.

“The cave is so deep. Luckily, there’s reflected light in here. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to see a thing,” Kuma said softly.

“Did you see the bloodstains?”

“I did…”

“There are more of them ahead. Have we entered a lion’s den instead?”

More blood was spotted as they went deeper into the cave. They even found some fresh bloodstains!

“Look ahead!”

“My god, isn’t that Might? I saw him being caught by a Frosty Ancient Eagle…”

“There are more ahead. Those are frozen Steel Spike Bulls!”

“And the Tianshan Howling Bears!”

As the group went deeper into the cave, they saw frozen creatures covered in blood stuck on the walls. In addition to the demon creatures, the humans that were caught by the Frosty Ancient Eagles were here too!

They were already dead and had been turned into frozen specimens. The Mages realized they had entered an ice chamber where carcasses were stored!

“I…I think we’ve found their food storage!” Mo Fan murmured.

“Don’t say it, I’m about to throw up!” Jiang Shaoxu was covering her mouth.

These frozen dead carcasses were the Frosty Ancient Eagles food supply for the winter. All of the people who were fighting alongside them not long ago had ended up like this. The Mages were about to lose their minds, especially since some of the victims used to be their comrades!

The cries of the Frosty Ancient Eagles came from outside the cave.

Nanyu soon heard the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ moving around. She blurted out, “Crap, it sounds like they are coming for their food.”

“It’s not even dark yet. Why do they have to have their meal so early!?” Zhao Manyan whined.

“Who cares when their mealtime is? We must figure out a plan. We can’t be stuck in here, or we’ll be frozen like them!” Guan Yu snarled.

“What can we possibly do?”

“They have clearly classified the food so they can survive the whole winter. The demon creatures at the back are frozen in thicker ice. They must have been stored here more than half a month ago. The ones closer to us are covered in thinner ice and are still covered in blood. They are the demon creatures and our allies from the lake…” Lingling pointed out.

“What does that mean… are you saying that the Frosty Ancient Eagles are suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder?” Mo Fan’s mouth coughed up.

Lingling rolled her eyes. She was so calm that she did not look like a teenager at all. “Judging from the scratches, they usually start with the food that was stored more than half a month ago. They are reserving the latest food supply for winter!”

“Mm, we can ask Sister Ningxue to freeze us over on this side and pretend we were caught more recently!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Nanyu quickly told Yassen about Lingling’s plan. Xing Hui, Zhao Kang, and the others immediately cursed.

“Are you kidding? It’s the same as waiting for our deaths!” Zhao Kang spat.

“So you’re saying we should fight them instead?” Kuma challenged him.

Kuma knew Lingling was the ninth team’s brain trust. She believed the girl’s suggestion was viable. If they were frozen in the ice, it would conceal their presence. The Frosty Ancient Eagles also had a habit of freezing living creatures, so they would not be able to tell them apart.

“Either we fight them or pretend to be food. I prefer the latter option,” Yassen agreed.

The Senior Hunter was impressed with the little girl’s imagination, even coming up with the idea of disguising themselves as food under the circumstances.

As for putting up a fight? Were they seriously going to fight the Frosty Ancient Eagles in their nest?

It was no different from a bunch of rats trying to bite an eagle to death in its cave!

The Frosty Ancient Eagles only had to assign a group of their fighters to watch the entrance and the whole alliance would really become food in the cold storage after twenty-four hours!

“We are running short on time. We have to make up our mind!” Nanyu could hear several Frosty Ancient Eagles entering the cave.

“We’ll freeze ourselves then. Who is the strongest Ice Mage among us?” Xing Hui had no choice but to agree with the plan.

Mu Ningxue had already accumulated her Ice Magic. She applied a layer of frost on her team members to make it look more realistic.

There were other Ice Mages in the alliance. They chose to handle the disguise on their own as they did not really trust Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue did not force them. She focused on freezing over her team and the Mailong Private Military Group.

“Speaking of which, if you don’t unfreeze us, does that mean we are all going to die here?” Lu Xiu asked harshly.

It was difficult for people to unfreeze themselves. The cave was a freezer to begin with, so the ice was going to become thicker and harder. Even Ice Mages would be frozen forever if they failed to control the thickness properly.

“You can choose an Ice Mage from a different team,” Mu Ningxue replied calmly.

“You do it, but make it thinner for me. I don’t like the feeling of waiting for my own death,” Lu Xiu said.

Lu Xiu had worked so hard to become a Super Mage, just so he could control his own fate. However, they were like a bunch of rats in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. They had to pretend to be dead to stay alive.

“Ningxue, they are coming. You better hurry!” Nanyu said urgently.

“Got it.”

There were a lot of people in the group. Mu Ningxue could only freeze one person at a time to ensure her magic was not going to endanger their lives. The ice could not be too strong, yet it had to be thick enough for the disguise to work.

They could now hear the Frosty Ancient Eagles without relying on the Sound Element.

The best perk of having a Sound Mage like Nanyu in the group was the ability to predict emergency situations beforehand, giving them more time to prepare themselves. Otherwise they would have been in a rush to even prepare for a fight when the Frosty Ancient Eagles came into the cave, let alone come up with another plan!

The beating of their wings was getting closer. Only a few Frosty Ancient Eagles had entered the cave to enjoy a meal, but alerting them meant alerting the entire nest. Mu Ningxue was still using her Ice Magic, and still had a team to work on.

“Quick, they are coming!”

“Screw it, I’ll do it myself.” A few Ice Mages used their own magic to freeze themselves.

Mu Ningxue glanced at them and noticed they had done a poor job. They might struggle to unfreeze themselves later!

“Xuexue, don’t worry about them. Just look after yourself,” Mo Fan told her.

Mu Ningxue’s Ice Magic surrounded Mo Fan as soon as he finished the sentence. It wrapped around Mo Fan like clothing before thickening gradually. Mo Fan did not even feel the cold, it was like he was wrapped in a thick coat.

Mu Ningxue’s Ice Magic was not touching their skin. As long as the ice was not touching their skin, their blood would cool at a slower rate. The people inside the ice were able to breathe, too and would not suffer from oxygen deprivation.

This care was the reason why Mu Ningxue had to freeze one person at a time. She had to make sure their blood could circulate properly and there was enough oxygen inside. They would still be fit for battle after they were frozen, instead of turning into a pile of mash after the ice was broken apart.

An impatient Frosty Ancient Eagle ran into the cave. It was obviously very hungry. It kept knocking into the walls as it ran inside.

However, it quickly picked up an unusual presence. It immediately fixed its eyes in Mu Ningxue’s direction.

Mu Ningxue had only applied a layer of frost on herself. The frost was slowly spreading to form a wall between Mu Ningxue and the Frosty Ancient Eagle.

The Frosty Ancient Eagle had a puzzled look. It suddenly moved toward Mu Ningxue, but the frost spread rapidly and formed a thick wall between them. The Frosty Ancient Eagle crashed into the wall and cried out in pain.

The rest of the Frosty Ancient Eagles came into the cave. They screeched in amusement when they saw the Frosty Ancient Eagle bang its head on the wall.

The Frosty Ancient Eagle rose to its feet clumsily. It looked at Mu Ningxue, who was now frozen inside the wall, before regrouping with the other Frosty Ancient Eagles.

The wall did not fully cover Mu Ningxue; there was still a gap on one side. If the Frosty Ancient Eagle was a little smarter, it could have checked the other side and discovered Mu Ningxue’s trick!

Luckily, it was driven away by the mocking cries of its friends. Mu Ningxue quickly filled in the crack and sealed the wall before letting out a relieved sigh.

The wall quickly fogged up under Mu Ningxue’s breathing.

It was extremely cold in the cave. People were already suffering from frostbite. Even Mu Ningxue, who was born with an innate Ice Element, was feeling uneasy, let alone the others. She wondered if they could make it.

“We can only be frozen for an hour. If we don’t unfreeze ourselves in an hour, we’ll be stuck here forever!,” Mu Ningxue murmured.

They could only pray that the Frosty Ancient Eagles would not take more than one hour to choose their meal, like some housewives in a supermarket.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As Lingling speculated, the Frosty Ancient Eagles started from the food that had been caught around half a month ago. They were keeping the latest kills for the long winter.

Everyone was frozen inside the ice. The wall of ice was transparent, as if they were separated by a steel-reinforced glass all around them. The Frosty Ancient Eagles were very close to them, so they could see every single move of the raptors.

Yassen, Zhao Kang, Bertan, and the others were relieved when they saw the Frosty Ancient Eagles digging out the corpses from the thicker ice. The plan had worked as intended, or they would be fighting the Frosty Ancient Eagles right now!

They were unable to move in the ice, but they could still blink. Mu Ningxue’s encasement technique had left them with some extra space instead of sealing them up completely, just in case there was an accident.

Mo Fan was watching the eagles carefully. He saw a few male eagles roaming about who were currently behind Zhao Manyan and Guan Yu.

Zhao Manyan and Guan Yu could not turn around, so they had no idea a few Frosty Ancient Eagles were behind them. Mo Fan kept rolling his eyes to signal Zhao Manyan and Guan Yu through the ice.

Zhao Manyan was utterly confused when he saw what Mo Fan was doing. Is Mo Fan having a brain freeze from the ice? , he wondered.

What the heck is wrong with him? Why does he keep rolling his eyes? Up down left right, is he trying to toggle a cheat code to increase his lives?

“Behind, behind you, the Frosty Ancient Eagles are digging in the ice!” Mo Fan wished his eyes could transmit his thoughts so he could warn the two idiots!

The male Frosty Ancient Eagles were digging into the ice that Zhao Manyan and Guan Yu were in. These bulky creatures were behaving strangely. They were going after the fresher food instead of the food that was stored half a month ago!

“Apas, can you drive those three male eagles away?” Mo Fan communicated with Apas through their Contract.

Apas was frozen right beside Mo Fan. She tried her best to lift her head and answer Mo Fan’s question with her eyes: No!

What’s going on? Aren’t they supposed to keep the fresher food for winter? Why aren’t those male eagles following the rules? , Mo Fan thought.

“Most demon creatures prefer fresh food. Even though the Frosty Ancient Eagles are storing food for winter, there are Frosty Ancient Eagles with a nobler status. They are obviously not restricted to eating the lower-quality food that was stored half a month ago. These male eagles are picking the fresher food to pander to the nobles… that stupid girl didn’t take it into account!” Apas informed Mo Fan through their Contract.

“Why didn’t you tell us before?” Mo Fan demanded.

“What difference would it make? Are you going to come up with a better plan? Perhaps Lingling already considered it, but she didn’t say anything!”

“Use your Psychic Voice to warn Zhao Manyan and Guan Yu!”

“I’ll try, but the ice might affect my ability.”

—

Zhao Manyan and Guan Yu soon received Apas’ message. She warned them that the male eagles behind them were planning to feed them to the nobles!

Zhao Manyan finally realized there were male eagles digging through the ice behind him. A huge chunk of the icy outer layer was already broken!

Guan Yu was so scared that his eyes were rolling around now. Is this some kind of a joke? There are so many fresh ingredients around the cave. Why did they choose them instead of the bears or the bulls? Their meat was so little!

Stay calm, stay calm, we can’t do anything reckless! Zhao Manyan used his eyes to share his thoughts with Guan Yu.

Guan Yu replied with a glare, Fine, let’s go all out with them!

The two were obviously not in sync. They soon received another message from Apas. “Mu Ningxue asks you both to stay still. Don’t release your energy.”

Zhao Manyan and Guan Yu could hear the talons digging through the ice behind them, yet they were unable to see anything. They kept anticipating the talons would dig through their heads in the next second. However, Mu Ningxue had asked them not to fight back. How were they supposed to stay calm?

The sounds were getting closer. Zhao Manyan and Guan Yu would be soaked in cold sweat by now under normal circumstances. They never thought they would be trembling like some fish in a freezer!

The sound of the eagles’ talons digging the ice was getting louder. Zhao Manyan had almost reached his limit.

The talons would soon dig into his head. He had to melt the ice with his Light Element and fight them!

The male eagle suddenly let out an anxious cry. It beat its wings and flew to another block of ice and pecked at it angrily, like it was venting its frustrations. It soon dug out a hole and smashed the Steel Spike Bull inside the ice into pieces!

Zhao Manyan and Guan Yu saw the bird right in front of them. A chill colder than the ice ran down their spines.

It was obvious that the Frosty Ancient Eagles could easily dig through normal ice, but since Mu Ningxue had frozen this ice, it was as sturdy as metal! The Frosty Ancient Eagles had failed to dig through it!They eventually gave up on digging out Guan Yu and Zhao Manyan out and turned to the Steel Spike Bull instead.

Luckily, Mu Ningxue had warned them not to move. If they had melted the ice, they would have been smashed into pieces, just like the Steel Spike Bull!

What a f**king horrible feeling! They swore they would never visit Tianshan Mountain again!

A loud cry suddenly echoed forth. One of Xing Hui’s men was chosen to be presented to the noble. He was dug out of the ice by a Frosty Ancient Eagle with a shiny crest.

The man kept screaming as the eagle snipped off his limbs with its beak. The mage from the Mu Clan did not stand a chance, and was quickly dragged outside the cave and taken away to the main nest.

Everyone’s eyes widened after witnessing the man’s fate. They immediately prayed in their hearts that the eagles were not going to choose them!

Many of them began to regret their actions. They should have let Mu Ningxue freeze them instead!

Guan Yu and Zhao Manyan had only survived because Mu Ningxue’s ice was too sturdy for the male eagles to dig through. The eagles thought this ‘food’ had been frozen for a long time, so they ended up choosing other kills.

The talons of the male eagles were very sharp, and not every Ice Mage’s magic could withstand them. Another member of the Mailong Private Military Group was soon dug out by the eagles. He was torn to pieces right before everyone as the male eagles divided him up among themselves!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Everyone had their eyes open wide. Their hearts froze when they imagined themselves in the same shoes as the men who had fallen victim to the eagles!

Mo Fan looked around and caught a glimpse of a female Frosty Ancient Eagle flapping its wings and hovering in front of a small crack.

It was a tunnel leading down out of sight. The eagle kept crying out softly, like a mother calling her kids in from the balcony now that it was time for dinner.

As he wondered, a small eagle still growing its feathers flew out of the crack. There was some strange fur attached to it. He could not tell which creature it belonged to.

It flew over to the back of the female eagle and sat down there.

The female eagle dug out some frozen meat and flew out of the cave. They were obviously going to enjoy their meal together as a family.

Why was there a little eagle inside the crack? Mo Fan was confused.

——

The Frosty Ancient Eagles finally left the cave half an hour later, done shopping for dinner.

The Frosty Ancient Eagles enjoyed staying at high altitudes and enjoyed the blue sky too, so the food storage was not guarded at all times. Not many species in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain would dare to steal their food!

“We almost died!”

“I feel sorry for Hayes. They dragged him away like that…”

Many people had already regretted intruding on the sacred mountain, but they had no choice but to keep going now.

“We should be safe for now. We’ll leave when they are asleep,” Yassen said solemnly.

The alliance tried to rest even though they were all on edge. It was not like they could go anywhere.

Mo Fan was very concerned about the tunnel the little eagle came from. He stepped closer to it.

“What’s wrong?” Mu Ningxue asked when she saw Mo Fan acting suspiciously.

“I’m thinking of taking a look down there,” Mo Fan answered.

“It’s so dark. Will it be dangerous?” Mu Ningxue was worried.

“It’s fine. I’m a Shadow Mage. Why would I be afraid of the dark? It’s actually my best camouflage,” Mo Fan reassured her.

“Be careful…” Mu Ningxue said.

The tunnel was narrow and Mu Ningxue could not use Fleeing Shadow. She could not follow Mo Fan down, even if she wanted to.

Unfortunately, there had been some problem when forging the Reefgold Magic Armor. Otherwise, Mu Ningxue would not have worried so much about Mo Fan’s safety.

Mu Ningxue had long wanted to gift Mo Fan some nice magic Armor, but Mo Fan’s cultivation had improved too quickly. Most of his enemies were either Ruler-level creatures or Super Mages now, so ordinary armor was useless for him.

He had been using the Black Snake Armor for a long time. Its defenses and resistances might not be useful for Mo Fan in the fights of his current level, but its other attributes were unmatched, such as its ability to resist all kinds of poison.

“Apas, come with me.”

Mo Fan drew Apas into his Contracted Space without waiting for her consent. He then turned into a black shadow and flowed down the tunnel, which was only big enough to fit an eagle fledgling.

Certain parts of the tunnel were too narrow for an adult. The Frosty Ancient Eagles obviously could not fit in the tunnel, either. It was strange that a tunnel like it existed in the food storage area.

The tunnel was quite long, and it took Mo Fan some time before he reached an opening.

It looked like an ice cellar. A ray of sunlight had been reflected countless times by the ice, serving as the only source of light in the cellar.

The cellar had a high ceiling. Mo Fan could see tiny figures flying around, all of them screeching in joy.

Mo Fan took a closer look and realized they were all fledglings that had yet to grow their feathers. Even though they were flying around, they were staggering like kids that had only learned to walk.

Their size was smaller than the one that had been brought home for a meal. Some were so chubby that they could merely stand on tiptoe despite beating their wings with all their might. It looked somewhat hilarious.

“I think we’ve found their kindergarten,” Mo Fan murmured.

“These naughty and gluttonous younglings must have dug the tunnel,” Apas observed.

“Apas, look down there; are those eagle eggs?” Mo Fan looked deeper and saw a thin layer of ice.

“They are!” Apas exclaimed with glittering eyes.

Mo Fan was overjoyed.

Luckily, he had been observant enough to notice the fledgling that had been called out for a meal.

The ceiling of the ice cellar was partially exposed to sunlight. There must be an area that was connected to the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ nest. Some powerful male eagles were probably guarding the real entrance. The adult Frosty Ancient Eagles did not expect anyone to break into their kitchen and sneak into the place where they kept their eggs through a tunnel that had been dug out by the kids.

Unlike the hatched fledglings, the rest of the eggs were placed in an orderly manner inside a hole filled with dirty water, then sealed with a thin layer of ice. The eggs were like pebbles at the bottom of a frozen lake.

Nanyu mentioned the place where the eggs of the Frosty Ancient Eagles were stored would be dark and icy. Only the top of the cellar was exposed to sunlight. The pond where the eggs were stored was quite far away from it.

“Strange, there’s an unusual presence here,” Apas noticed.

“You shouldn’t invade their mothers’ privacy. We should hurry. Let’s see if the thing we are looking for is here. The adult Frosty Ancient Eagles are most likely going to check on their younglings when it’s time to vaccinate them or feed them medicine!” Mo Fan was still surprised by his unexpected discovery.

Apas suddenly noticed something as they approached the pond. She blurted out, “Did you see something shiny over there, something like a stone?”

Mo Fan followed the direction Apas was pointing to and saw a stone moving around at a fast pace.

The shiny stone seemed to have noticed Mo Fan and Apas’ existence. It suddenly jumped toward them, giving Mo Fan a huge fright.

Mo Fan finally saw what it was when it was they were close enough.

The stone was not moving on its own, a little creature was holding it with its mouth. They could not see it at first due to the lack of light!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A little creature was playing around with the glowing stone!

Mo Fan would not have been surprised if it was a little eagle. After all, the glowing stone looked quite precious, as if it contained a high amount of energy.

However, the strange thing was, the little creature carrying the Night Amethyst was not an eaglet, but a creature that resembled a tiger!

Its eyes were huge and adorable, like something from a cartoon, glittering in the dim light.

Its snow-white ears were erect with curiosity, and its head was slanted to one side.

Its chubby paws were stepping on the ice. Its short but balanced limbs were like those of an elegant kitten, but the silver whiskers and menacing mouth made it look completely different from a kitten. Its presence was already several times stronger than any cat.

“A tiger cub?!”

It was a tiger! A small white tiger with an elegant and mystical demeanor!

Mo Fan and Apas stared, their eyes wide. They were wondering if they had seen it wrong.

Why was there a white tiger’s cub in the eagle fledglings’ kindergarten? Was the Scar of Tianshan Mountain already free from species discrimination? Were the young of different species taken care of in the same place?

“Ugh… little thing, did you go to the wrong class?” Mo Fan gently asked the little cub, who was unafraid of these strangers.

The little white tiger was intrigued too. It was struggling to understand how such a stick-like creature had appeared out of nowhere. They did not look like eagles at all!

Apas reached her hand out to express goodwill to the cub.

The little cub was still holding the glowing stone, like a little baby clinging onto his pacifier. It sniffed and stuck its nose closer to Apas’ hand.

“Don’t scare it with the foxy scent of yours,” Mo Fan said.

Apas ignored Mo Fan. She waited for the cub to come closer before fondling its ears. She boldly bent the ear back around. The ear looked firm, but it was actually soft and flexible. Mo Fan thought the cub would be mad, yet it suddenly turned into a happy kitten and let Apas play with its ear gently.

“So it’s a perverted cub,” Mo Fan said disdainfully.

“It seems to have entered the eagles’ nest by accident.” Apas was extremely pleased by the little cub. She soon picked it up in her arms.

“Aren’t the demon tigers and the ancient eagles enemies? What a bold little cub she is to sneak into their enemy’s nest. Most importantly, the eagles are clueless about her existence!” Mo Fan said.

“The eaglets know. They were playing with her just now,” Apas replied.

The eaglets were not aggressive. They even behaved normally when they saw Mo Fan and Apas were there. Some of the bolder chubby ones even circled Apas and Mo Fan.

Loud cries suddenly came from above. They obviously belonged to male eagles.

“We should leave,” Apas said.

“We haven’t found any Night Amethyst,” Mo Fan complained.

“We won’t be able to leave if they see us. I’ve already checked the area. The Night Amethyst isn’t here,” Apas said.

1

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“What about this little thing?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course we are bringing her with us. The male eagles will tear her into pieces if they see her… oh, I just realized why that Skyridge White Tiger was provoking the Frosty Ancient Eagles!” Apas blurted out.

“Why?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

“It’s because of the cub. The Skyridge White Tiger knows its cub entered the nest by accident. It was trying to distract the eagles so the cub would have a chance to escape… which is our chance to escape too! The Skyridge White Tiger will be back!” Apas said.

Mo Fan finally understood the situation.

“Little thing, you must have worried the hell out of your parents!”

—

—

Apas kept holding the little cub after they returned to the cave. The other Mages thought it was her pet cat, so they did not treat it seriously. However, the observant Night Rakshasa immediately noticed its unusualness. She stared at the cub vigilantly.

The cub had an innocent and harmless expression. She tilted her head and looked back at the Night Rakshasa curiously.

The Night Rakshasa lowered her guard when she realized the creature was just a child. To her surprise, the cub jumped down and started playing with her tail as soon as she turned around.

The Night Rakshasa was most likely an unapproachable empress in the world of cats. She immediately lost her temper when the cub grabbed her tail.

The cub was overjoyed after provoking the Night Rakshasa. She quickly ran over to Mu Ningxue.

The cub jumped into Mu Ningxue’s arms as if she had sensed the pleasing icy Aura coming from her. Mu Ningxue was suddenly at a complete loss.

“Xuexue, it seems like she is fond of you more, unlike some demon snake that keeps enchanting her,” Mo Fan smiled.

Mu Ningxue was not fond of little creatures. She tried to put the cub down, but the cub was already asleep in her arms. She was already snoring, speaking of falling asleep within a second!

Mo Fan admired the little cub’s boldness when he saw how attached she had become to Mu Ningxue. The little tigress had no clue how evil the world was.

“Xuexue, you should just keep her. Fate has brought her to you,” Mo Fan smiled.

The little cub was currently at the age that was the easiest to trick since she was curious about everything around her and had no suspicion of the world. A Summoner had a high chance of establishing a Contract with it successfully. It was also the reason why younglings of demon creatures were sold at a high price on the market.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan had run out of Contract slots. In terms of usefulness, Apas was a far better option than the little cub, except for her lack of obedience.

“I…” Mu Ningxue was baffled too. Why was the creature so attached to her? “I…I don’t think I can take good care of her,” Mu Ningxue quickly gave the cub back to Apas.

The cub obviously liked Mu Ningxue’s presence more. She twisted around in Apas’ arms a bit before going back to sleep.

Mo Fan looked at Mu Ningxue. He noticed she was behaving strangely.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“We can’t just keep waiting here, right?” Zhao Manyan spoke up.

“Don’t worry, the Skyridge White Tiger will be back,” Mo Fan said.

“Why are you so sure? It’s not your pet!” Guan Yu pointed out.

“Well, it’s not like we have any other choice.”

Mo Fan was placing his hopes on the Skyridge White Tiger that was worried about its reckless child. In order to save its child, it would definitely invade the dragon’s den that was the eagles’ nest!

—

Time gradually passed. Frostbite was already happening. Everyone had gathered in a circle. The more they trembled, the more heat they generated, since even the slightest fire would attract the Frosty Ancient Eagles.

Finally, the growl of a tiger, like a gospel from the Heavens, echoed in the mountains. It immediately stirred the dizzy Mages and brought a glimpse of hope into their eyes.

The little cub that was having a pleasant nap in Apas’ arms immediately straightened its ears. It was awake at last.

It stretched its limbs and lifted its head, like it was looking for its parents. However, judging from its indifferent attitude, it was not in a rush. It was planning to play in the eagles’ nest for a while longer.

“Your mother is telling you that dinner is ready,” Mo Fan said.

The white cub purred, sounding almost the same as the eaglets. It explained why the eagles did not notice its existence.

“Our chance is here. The Skyridge White Tiger might end up fighting the Frosty Ancient Eagles. We should take hold of the opportunity to leave this place!” Zhao Kang exclaimed.

“The white tigers are truly the sacred spirits of Tianshan Mountain,” Lu Xiu agreed.

“You seem to have forgotten how we lost three members every night to the demon tiger,” Mo Fan reminded him.

Lu Xiu harrumphed and shut up.

“Everyone, prepare to move. If we don’t get out of here, we’ll be stuck here forever.”

Yassen and the others first went outside to observe the situation, doing a careful job concealing their existence. The Frosty Ancient Eagles did not notice them.

Some time later, Yassen told everyone to leave the cave. The Skyridge White Tiger had indeed lured a lot more Frosty Ancient Eagles away.

The Skyridge White Tiger had obviously gotten on the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ nerves. Was it treating their nest like a karaoke place? It would come and growl at times. They had to take care of the Skyridge White Tiger today!

The eagle nest felt a lot emptier. The Skyridge White Tiger had to be very strong, as the Frosty Ancient Eagles had sent out most of their members to deal with it. The tiny blue dots in the distant sky were the Frosty Ancient Eagles.

The Frosty Ancient Eagles were in charge of the sky of Tianshan Mountain, but the mountains themselves were ruled by the Tianshan Demon Tigers. The Skyridge White Tiger had tried very hard to lure the Frosty Ancient Eagles out of their nest. It had taken the risk of being surrounded by the eagles a few times until it finally broke free of their encirclement.

The Skyridge White Tiger was working so hard, yet its little cub was still so unconcerned. She totally looked like she was still going to play with the eaglets that she had just befriended. Luckily, Mo Fan stopped her.

“Will you only be satisfied when your parents are killed? Come with us now!” Mo Fan dragged the little cub away.

The little cub left with Mo Fan and the others unwillingly. The nest was rather empty after they left the cave, and the remaining male eagles that stayed were not high-level too. The group was able to leave safely with Yassen’s guidance.

—

“Phew, we are alive!”

“Fresh air!”

Everyone was relieved the moment they left the eagles’ nest. They recalled their comrades who were taken away as fresh meals and shivered in fear.

Was strength or luck the most important factor in conquering Tianshan Mountain? No one knew the answer. Many experts had died along the way!

“Mo Fan, if you found their eggs, why didn’t you steal some of them? The Frosty Ancient Eagles’ eggs are very valuable. If you had taken them all, we could just turn back and live luxuriously for the rest of our lives,” Jiang Yu said.

“You think I didn’t want that? First of all, the layer of ice protecting the eggs was special. It was nearly unbreakable. Second, we didn’t really have time for that. The eagles were checking on the fledgling too,” Mo Fan answered huffily.

“What about the Night Amethyst?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“We looked around quickly, but we didn’t find anything,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“If so, we’ll have to go deeper. Let’s hope it’s not dangerous,” Nanyu said.

1

—

The group did not dare to use any spells to boost their speed that were too obvious. After the countless dangerous situations they had been through along the way, they realized the demon creatures of Tianshan Mountain were very sensitive to the presence of magic. They could pin down a target whenever a Star Pattern or Star Constellation was constructed within a few kilometers of them.

However, the presence of Basic Spells was much weaker.

Mo Fan had the Shadow Element and Earth Element. The Basic Spells of both these Elements were useful for moving around. The other mages were not so lucky. If they had the option to change their Elements, they would have chosen the Wind Element, Earth Element, and Shadow Elements so they could leave this place as quickly as possible!

The group crossed the nest made up of hanging ice. They thought the eagles would only show up in the area where the glaciers were hanging in frozen curtains from above, but to their surprise, the glaciers were everywhere in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. Some of them were even like upside-down mountains. They were suffocatingly spectacular.

The cries of male eagles suddenly came from behind them.

“They found us!”

“Use higher-level spells!”

“We should split up, don’t let them surround us!” Yassen blurted out.

Quite a number of Frosty Ancient Eagles were guarding the nest. They felt humiliated when they noticed the humans that had gotten past their nest. They immediately chased after the intruders relentlessly.

“This way!” Zhao Kang led his men down a slope.

“Over here!” Bertan used a Wind Spell and disappeared with his men.

“Let’s head up,” Ai Jiangtu pointed.

The alliance quickly parted ways. If they did not run their separate ways, the Frosty Ancient Eagles could easily block their path. If they split up, they might still be able to fight the Frosty Ancient Eagles if they were caught.

However, Mo Fan and his crew were not so lucky. The alliance split into many teams, but a large number of Frosty Ancient Eagles kept following them. His group was struggling to shake the Frosty Ancient Eagles off!

Chapter 2016: Tianshan Scar White Tiger

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Luckily, there were two Space Mages on the team. Whenever Ai Jiangtu cast Blink, Mo Fan would follow up and they would quickly increase the distance between them and the aggressive Frosty Ancient Eagles.

The benefit of using Blink was being able to move to a spot where their enemies could not see them in the complicated terrain. The Frosty Ancient Eagles had to rely on their altitude and sharp eyes to search for the band. They had difficulty finding the team after Mo Fan relocated everyone below a hanging glacier with Blink.

“There’s a long icy canyon here. We should be safe,” Guan Yu called back while leading the way.

“The demon creatures in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain are so strong. Are we going to die now that we have split up with the rest of the group?” Zhao Manyan was feeling uneasy.

He believed the team had only stayed safe because other Mages had sacrificed their lives. Otherwise, they would have had no chance of crossing the lake!

“Let’s be more careful. It should be safer in a smaller group,” Nanyu answered.

“We will be fine as long as Nanyu is with us,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

———–

The Frosty Ancient Eagles did indeed lose them after they entered the icy canyon. The eagles kept circling about in the sky, trying to find Mo Fan and his team, but the area was extremely broken-up, with lots of passages, caves, gorges, and mountains.

“They seem to have given up.” Nanyu was listening to the movement of the eagles. She noticed the Frosty Ancient Eagles were drawing away from them.

“Finally! Damn it, this Tianshan Mountain is as terrifying as the Pyramids!” Zhao Manyan sighed.

“Seriously, let’s not choose the Hell difficulty if we are finding somewhere to train ourselves. It took us so much effort to achieve our current level, but it feels like we are back yo being Basic or Intermediate Mages, when we were being chased around by demon creatures!” Guan Yu grumbled.

“Why didn’t I hear you complain when the Night Rakshasa was digging out their valuables?” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“…”

“Nanyu, are you sure they have left?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes, but something is strange,” Nanyu answered.

“Is there any chance their nest is under attack, so they have to turn back to defend it?” Zhao Manyan asked quickly.

“No, it feels more like they did not dare to cross the canyon. I noticed them circling around instead of coming after us. If they kept circling in the sky, they would eventually find us unless we remained hidden somewhere,” Nanyu explained.

“Does that mean we’ve accidentally entered a stronger species’ territory?”

“Even the Frosty Ancient Eagles are too scared to come here, I think we should…”

“Shh!” Nanyu suddenly signaled them to keep their voice down with a hand gesture. She whispered, “Something is coming!”

Something was coming!

Something dangerous enough in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain that even the Frosty Ancient Eagles did not dare to approach its territory!

“It’s very close to us!” Nanyu’s expression shifted as she prepared for battle.

The others also realized some powerful demon creature was aware of their existence. They focused and began to utter the chants of their strongest spells silently, making sure they could cast their spells smoothly.

The little cub had no idea how nervous Mo Fan and his team were, and let out a happy cry.

Everyone’s heart skipped a beat when they heard the cry. Crap, the creatures must have known they were hiding here!

As they thought, Mo Fan’s Dark Vein soon flowed on its own, sending chills down Mo Fan’s spine. He slowly looked up and saw a menacing white head with stripes on it!

“A…a white tiger!” Jiang Yu blurted out.

Even the Night Rakshasa’s hair stood on its end when she faced a ruler of Tianshan Mountain, a white tiger!

“Is it a Skyridge White Tiger?”

“No, it’s a Tianshan Scar White Tiger, with an even purer lineage!” Apas fixed her eyes on the powerful creature.

This Tianshan Scar White Tiger was amber white. It looked pure and slightly glassy, but it was not crystalline. It was covered in thick fur from its neck to its tail. Its ears were pointy, like the tips of triangular leaves. The imperious stripes on its forehead resembled two crescents.

The most unusual part about the Tianshan White Tiger was its eyebrows.

Its brows were icy white and as thick as a beard. They went down the tiger’s cheeks, giving it the demeanor of a king!

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger climbed down the cliff. It moved down the perfectly straight wall of ice like it was walking nimbly on a normal field.

Its limbs were strong and brimming with power, yet it was completely silent when moving around. This was unlike other Ruler-level creatures, who would shake the ground with every step. However, this made Mo Fan and the team feel even uneasier when facing it.

Even a powerful Sound Mage like Nanyu had not detected its presence. It was too late to figure out a plan now!

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s tremendous aura froze everyone in place as it approached Mo Fan. It was staring at Mo Fan and the little cub in his arms.

The little cub was very excited. It kept waving its paws around.

“Little thing, don’t tell me he’s your father…” Mo Fan said with a stiff face.

“Mo Fan, hurry up and give its child back!” Zhao Manyan said without moving his lips.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger did not attack right away. As a matter of fact, the team might not have been able to react in time if the creature had ambushed them, seeing how it managed to get so close to the team silently.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger was obviously after the little cub. The fearless cub did not reunite with her father, as if she still wanted to play.

“Kid, hurry up and go back to your mother. You’re lucky that you’ve stumbled into us, as we didn’t mind rescuing you from the eagles’ nest. You’re safe now,” Mo Fan told the little cub.

The truth was, Mo Fan was actually telling that to the Tianshan Scar White Tiger. He was hoping that the creature could understand him.

The cub finally jumped down from Mo Fan’s arms. It landed nimbly on the ground and slowly walked toward the Tianshan Scar White Tiger.

“Don’t bother waving us goodbye. Little kid, hurry up and reunite with your parents. We are struggling to stand properly on our trembling legs,” Zhao Manyan muttered, his face twisted.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger was indeed the Totem Beast’s descendant. It did not trouble Mo Fan and his team further, and waited patiently for the little cub to reach it.

“Mo Fan, what is she holding in her mouth?” Lingling asked.

“I don’t know. It’s a stone with a dark glow to it. She keeps holding it like a pacifier,” Mo Fan answered.

The little cub was holding the stone with her mouth at the beginning. However, she kept it inside her mouth after they left the kindergarten, even when she was taking a nap.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan was puzzled. Lingling looked a little nervous.

“The thing she’s holding… I believe it’s a Night Amethyst,” Lingling said softly.

Chapter 2017: Kidnapping the Little Cub

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan looked at Lingling. His whole face was saying, “What the actual f**k!?”

Why couldn’t she say that earlier? Even thirty seconds earlier was good enough, as Mo Fan could easily have taken the stone from the little cub. The little creature had almost reached the Tianshan Scar White Tiger now.

Mo Fan’s face twisted. He turned around and signaled the others with his lips, “Run!”

“Mo Fan…”

“Mo Fan, please calm down, that’s a f**king Tianshan Scar White Tiger!”

Zhao Manyan and Jiang Yu tried to advise against Mo Fan’s decision, but he already moved to the staggering little cub’s side in an instant.

Mo Fan suddenly grabbed the little cub when she was almost back in her mother’s embrace.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger reacted very quickly. It raised its claws as soon as it realized Mo Fan was up to something. The claws emitted a white light which turned into a claw-shaped glacier falling down at Mo Fan, leaving him with no chance to escape.

Mo Fan hugged the little cub tightly and was going to run away before the Tianshan Scar White Tiger could react. To his surprise, the terrifying claw falling on him had sealed off his escape. He was going to endure the wrath of the furious claw falling at him no matter how quick he was.

With a huge blast, the Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s claw destroyed the canyon. The walls for over three kilometers on both sides collapsed like a great disaster.

Ai Jiangtu, Jiang Yu, Nanyu, and the rest were indeed Mo Fan’s old teammates. They were ready for the unexpected turn of events as soon as Mo Fan told them to run. Ai Jiangtu cast Blink and teleported everyone out of the Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s line of sight over three hundred meters away. However, they did not expect its claw to possess such a remarkable strength. They quickly used their spells to run away from the canyon as the walls collapsed.

“Holy crap, we just escaped from the eagles’ nest, but we walked straight into a tiger’s mouth!” Zhao Manyan screamed.

Couldn’t they just enjoy a moment of peace!?

“Mo Fan’s guts are really…” Guan Yu shook his head.

“Enough talking, let’s run!”

“What about Mo Fan? I think he’s been trapped by the Tianshan Scar White Tiger.”

“He should be able to escape, right?” Jiang Yu shot back. Nobody slowed down.

—

The sky and the ground were tumbling!

It was Mo Fan’s first time experiencing anything like it. The glaciers hanging above him were falling even as the ground was sinking. He would have been shredded by the Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s claw if it weren’t for the Dark Vein’s powerful ability to completely blend into the darkness.

What Mo Fan did not know was that the Tianshan Scar White Tiger had actually gone easy on him, as it was afraid of hurting the little cub!

“That thing must be very close to the species of the Tianshan Scar Sacred Tigers! How insane is that strength!” Mo Fan barely escaped with the Fleeing Shadow. He immediately used Earth Magic to move quickly along the wall.

Mo Fan’s little tricks did not deceive the Tianshan Scar White Tiger. It was trailing a mystical white glow like an illusion, leaving a dazzling trail behind as it sprinted across the collapsing canyon.

The little cub in Mo Fan’s arms seemed very excited. She thought they were playing hide-and-seek. She was riding someone while her mother was chasing behind them.

“Give me the pacifier,” Mo Fan was running out of patience. He tried to take the Night Amethyst out of the little cub’s mouth.

The little cub was reckless indeed, playing with something so valuable!

The little creature was very cunning. She quickly put the Night Amethyst deeper inside her mouth when Mo Fan tried to take it. She was reluctant to open her mouth, regardless of what Mo Fan did.

“My little ancestor, hurry up and give it to me considering that I rescued you from the eagles’ nest. I’m dead once your mother catches up to me!” Mo Fan almost burst out crying.

The little cub cried out happily. She would occasionally wave at the Tianshan Scar White Tiger behind them like she was saying, “Come and catch me, quick…”

“She seems to be playing. You can play along, she might give it to you later… I’ve placed the Tianshan Scar White Tiger in an illusion to buy us sometime, but it won’t take too long to break it,” Apas said.

“You’re asking me to play with her when I’m about to die? Apas, stop preserving your strength. Help me figure out a way to shake off the Tianshan Scar White Tiger,” Mo Fan cried out.

“If I was preserving my strength, you would be a dead body by now!” Apas was quite displeased by Mo Fan’s lack of trust in her.

The little cub kept crying out, as if she was talking to Mo Fan.

“What is she saying?” Mo Fan asked.

“Kids don’t know how to talk properly. How would I know what she’s saying!?” Apas replied.

Mo Fan’s head hurt. If the little cub was unwilling to compromise, he would not be able to give her back to the Tianshan Scar White Tiger. He wondered if the Tianshan Scar White Tiger was going to chase him until the end of the world if he kidnapped her.

“Little girl, how about this. I win if your mother doesn’t catch me before I leave the canyon. You will give me the stone, and I will hand you back to your mother. You will ask your mother to stop chasing us too!” Mo Fan negotiated with the little cub.

The little cub actually understood Mo Fan. She shook her head, indicating that she disagreed with the rules.

“Alright, before I leave the mountain, that’s my limit. Your mother is too fierce. It’s already a miracle that I’m still alive now!” Mo Fan said.

The little cub cried and waved her hands around. He had no idea what she was saying.

Mo Fan was purely interpreting the little cub’s language with his imagination. He was starting to miss Little Flame Belle. She was the best at sign language, regardless of age and species.

“Are you asking me to bring you out of this place, and in return, you’ll give me the Night Amethyst?” Mo Fan asked her.

The little cub nodded. Her face was brimming with excitement at the thought of leaving home.

Mo Fan’s face twitched. Why the Hell are you so excited for? If you want to leave home, just ask your mother to stop chasing us. My legs are going to break!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Apas, you stay here and play with the Tianshan Scar White Tiger. I’ll be going first.” Mo Fan had decided to use Apas.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger was far too strong for him to handle. Apas had improved her strength in secret recently. She was obviously lying to him when she said she was not holding back!

Apas watched Mo Fan leave with great resentment.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger broke through the illusion and dove down with the falling glaciers. It glared at Apas murderously.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger had found the culprit that had placed it under an illusion. It realized that if it did not take her out, it would be hindered by more illusions along the way, and would never catch up to Mo Fan!

“Damn it!” Apas swore, cursing after Mo Fan.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger was too powerful. Apas had already set up a double-layered illusion. Ordinary Ruler-level creatures might be able to destroy the first layer, but they would be stuck in the second layer for a long time. However, the Tianshan Scar White Tiger was different. It simply tore through the illusions with its overwhelming strength, regardless of the number of layers. Apas felt like her Psychic Magic was ineffective against the creature.

(ROAR)!

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger moved swiftly. It was at least five hundred meters away from Apas, but it suddenly showed up in front of her after a flash of motion. Its upper body rose into the air as it spread its claws while pouncing at her.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger was not that big, yet whenever it attacked with its claws, they would seem to be as huge as mountains. Apas was stuck in the middle between two colliding hills. Her petite figure was minuscule, like a dust particle before falling boulders.

Apas’ eyes shifted. They went from being a pair of attractive human eyes to the sparkling golden eyes of the Medusae!

A bright mist circled her as she lifted her chin while placing her legs together and standing on her toes. The curves under her slim waist made her look like an alluring snake.

Apas bent slightly as a sheet of rose-golden snake scales appeared from the mist and draped over her hair, neck, bust, waist, abdomen, and legs like a perfect outfit.

The scales attached to her body perfectly. They looked like a snake wrapping around a teenage girl, yet her body and the snake were merging into one, like a mantle that was connected to her soul!

“We aren’t going to hurt her, stop forcing us!” The Tianshan Scar White Tiger had seriously enraged Apas. Her sparkling golden eyes were now displaying the authority of the Medusa Queens!

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger was obviously aware of Apas’ strength, hence why it did not put much attention on Mo Fan, who was not much of a threat in its eyes.

This time, the Tianshan Scar White Tiger had used all its strength. Its claws possessed the power to destroy anything. The icy clouds floating in the air and the glaciers turned into white bubbles that were drifting around its claws.

Apas vanished into thin air, leaving only the rose-golden snake mantle behind. It wove through the destructive attack like a piece of silk, dodging the deadly force nimbly.

Apas dove rapidly after rising into the air. She was not too fond of the glaciers, but she could also move nimbly in complicated terrain.

Her actual body would be visible at times, but her snake form kept weaving through the gaps, cracks, and caves. The Tianshan Scar White Tiger might be quick and powerful, but Apas always managed to slip away. She was impossible to catch.

Apas slithered up a tall hill. A rose-golden light quickly coiled around the mountain and reached its peak in the blink of an eye.

The glaciers shattered as the area for over a kilometer nearby sank. The Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s trampling had turned the bottom of the mountain into a terrifying ice cellar. Apas had dodged the Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s furious attack by moving to the top of the hill.

“Petrify!”

Apas was angry too. She glared down from the peak.

The blue sky was above her. The Tianshan Scar White Tiger had shattered most of the icy clouds floating in the sky. Following her cry, a set of domineering snake’s eyes appeared in the sky.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger looked up. It was about to howl at Apas and fire whole walls of ice at her when the eyes the size of moons in the day froze it in place.

The ground that was cracking apart suddenly stopped under the effects of Petrify!

The Commander-level eagles that had been startled by the Tianshan Scar White Tiger were fleeing for their lives. However, they turned into hard rocks and fell from the sky after the Medusa’s Eyes appeared.

Yassen and his men were resting five kilometers away when they suddenly noticed the gray curtain spreading in the sky and looming over the mountain in the distance. Every creature within it was turned into rocks. Even the thick ice was painted gray.

Yassen took a deep breath. “Petrifying Skygaze!”

He recalled encountering the same disastrous magic when his Hunter Group was in Africa. A furious descendant of the Medusa Queen had cast it. Back then, he was only a rookie in the group. There were a lot of casualties!

“Why would the power of the Medusa Queens show up here?” Yassen was astounded.

Only four creatures in this world had a power like that. They were some of the strongest creatures in Africa: the Queen of Medusa, and the three daughters that would soon inherit her throne. Yassen was with a bunch of strong Mages when they encountered the second daughter of the Medusa Queen. He clearly remembered his fear back then. He still could not shake it off, even after he became a Super Mage.

“Aren’t powerful demon creatures common in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain?” another Senior Hunter asked.

“Impossible, that’s impossible, I’m pretty sure a magic like that… What the Hell is going on here!?” Yassen was struggling to believe this was happening.

Did that mean a descendant of the Medusa Queen was staying in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain?!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger was leaping into the air when the area was Petrified by the Medusa’s Gaze. Its amber white hair was instantly covered in a thick layer of mud. The mud flowed over the Tianshan Scar White Tiger and gradually hardened.

As a result of their encounter with the Mud Morphing Monsters, harvesting the special crystals they possessed had strengthened Apas’ Petrify. She was not able to use the Petrifying Skygaze when Mo Fan kidnapped her. It was one of the reasons why she did not stand a chance against her sisters.

The Petrifying Curse of the Medusae was one of the strongest magicks in the world. The Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s strength was several levels higher than Apas, so it was the only power she could use against it.

Apas came down from the peak when she saw the Tianshan Scar White Tiger turning into a rock.

She grinned and naughtily knocked the Tianshan Scar White Tiger on the head.

“I told you, if we wanted to hurt your little cub, you wouldn’t have had a chance to see her. Why must you attack us so recklessly? We aren’t some brainless creatures,” Apas told the petrified Tianshan Scar White Tiger.

Even though that assh*** Mo Fan had forced her to use her full strength, she was satisfied with the outcome. It meant she was able to defend herself if she had to face her sisters in the future. The Petrifying Skygaze was the symbolic ability of those with the purest lineage, and a sign that she had matured!

Cracks surfaced on the Tianshan Scar White Tiger while Apas was enjoying the pleasure of using the power for the first time. The cracks were thin as hairs at first, but they soon grew wider. The satisfied grin on Apas’ face froze.

“How are you breaking it so quickly…” Apas did not expect her magic to reach its limit so soon!

Normally the Petrifying Skygaze would turn a Ruler-level creature’s organs and blood into rocks too. Even if the spell was lifted, the creature would be as good as dead. As for creatures like the Tianshan Scar White Tiger, the Petrifying Gaze would temporarily seal them in stone and stop them from moving while inflicting serious damage on their skin, hair, and shell. However, the duration was shorter than Apas had imagined!

“It’s because of the limits of the Contract again!” Apas soon realized she was still unable to use her full strength.

Mo Fan might have reached the Super Level, but he was still a long way from matching Apas’ natural strength. Differences at the Ruler level were huge, and were clearly reflected here in Tianshan Mountain. The Valley of Glaciers was just one boundary; there were mountains and peaks of different altitudes. Some of the peaks were several thousand meters taller than the shorter peaks.

Mo Fan had only reached the Super Level, so their Contract was still limiting Apas’ power.

It also showed how strong the Tianshan Scar White Tiger was. Even Apas’ Petrify could not buy her much time.

Apas knew there was no need to have a showdown with the Tianshan Scar White Tiger now. She quickly turned into a mist and left the area by flitting along the ice when she noticed the situation was not in her favor.

—

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger broke through the hardened mud on its body. They were closely attached to its skin and hair, meaning that it had to shed its fur too!

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger was soon covered in blood. When its blood fell onto the ice, it produced white steam as the ice melted rapidly.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger let out a roar. The glaciers nearby shook, and some even shattered and collapsed.

The huge pieces of ice floated in the air and shattered into smaller pieces after a second roar from the Tianshan Scar White Tiger.

The pieces of ice circled the Tianshan Scar White Tiger like a tornado under its control.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger gradually absorbed the pieces to regenerate its damaged skin and hair at a visible rate.

As the pieces completely melted inside its powerful aura, the Tianshan Scar White Tiger reclaimed its previous magnificent appearance and its crystalline white hair!

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger began searching around, trying to track down Apas.

The truth was, it was difficult for humans to escape the Tianshan Scar White Tigers when they were hunting. The Tianshan Demon Tigers had an outstanding ability to track. It was their innate ability, and the Tianshan Scar White Tiger had the purest lineage among them. How could the humans possibly run away from it?

The Mailong Private Military Group had experienced the ability first hand. No matter how far they went, the demon tiger could still track them down.

A strange sound came from deep within the Scar of Tianshan Mountain as the Tianshan Scar White Tiger was about to pursue the reckless humans. It was like a howling breeze over a creek, but it also sounded like the cry of a living creature if one was listening carefully.

The Tianshan Scar White Tiger lifted its head and stared deeper into the Scar of Tianshan Mountain.

Its rage-filled eyes immediately calmed down, as if it had just received an order. It glanced in the direction the humans had escaped to, yet it did not chase after them. It turned around and climbed back to the higher altitudes instead.

—

Apas kept setting down illusions along the way. The Tianshan Scar White Tiger had an outstanding tracking ability, just like how the Medusae were able to locate their enemies by tracking their scent. Apas was hoping that Mo Fan would quickly trick the little cub into giving him the Night Amethyst and let the little creature go, just so the Tianshan Scar White Tiger would give up on the chase.

Apas knew she would struggle to defeat the Tianshan Scar White Tiger with her current strength.

“It stopped chasing?” Apas suddenly turned around and looked in the direction she had come from.

Apas was capable of sensing danger. She could tell if the Tianshan Scar White Tiger was still chasing her.

The sense of danger had just disappeared! Did the creature let them go, just like that?

But its little cub was still in Mo Fan’s hands!

It was unbelievable. There was no way the Tianshan Scar White Tiger would believe they were not going to harm the little cub at all…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

It was difficult to trick the kids nowadays. Mo Fan had realized it from interacting with the little cub.

Wasn’t it just a shitty rock? It didn’t have any scent, and she might break her teeth biting it. Why did she keep holding it in her mouth?

“Believe me, I seriously need it to save lives. We humans treat the people around us preciously. I’m sure the white tigers are the same, too. I’ve rescued you from the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ nest, so in return, you should give me your pacifier,” Mo Fan said.

The little cub grinned and completely ignored Mo Fan. She was acting like ‘if you try to force me to give it up, I’ll just swallow it instead’.

Mo Fan scratched the back of his ear. He seriously missed Little Flame Belle. If Little Flame Belle was around, she would be able to befriend the little cub and convince her to give up the thing inside her mouth. After all, wasn’t she just a little baby?

The little cub did not compromise. She had been having fun in the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ nest. Now that Mo Fan had brought her out, he had to show her something more interesting, or he would have to bring her back to the kindergarten!

“You little sh**, why didn’t you keep your promise? You told us you would give it to us after we’ve shaken off your mother. We risked our lives to fight the Tianshan Scar White Tiger, yet you didn’t keep your promise. Are the tigers so dishonest? Won’t Tianshan Mountain be ashamed of you?” Mo Fan went on.

The little cub raised her head proudly, like she was saying, “I’m just a kid, I will be forgiven for anything!”

Forcing the little cub to give up? The truth was, she was not as delicate as she seemed. It would be a little tricky to take the Night Amethyst by force!

Mo Fan did not dare to be too harsh on her. He had already met the Tianshan Scar White Tiger. If any harm befell the little cub, he would have no chance of leaving Tianshan Mountain!

“What exactly do you want?” Mo Fan asked helplessly.

The little cub growled to express her intention.

“She’s basically saying if you play with her, she will give it to you.” Jiang Shaoxu had come over, and used the Psychic Element to interpret the little cub’s thoughts.

Jiang Shaoxu seemed to be on point. The little cub kept nodding. Her round head was like a chubby panda’s instead of a tiger.

“Why must I stumble into such a little ancestor that isn’t afraid of being kidnapped? Screw it, the Night Amethyst is in her hands… her mouth anyway. It means we have secured a Night Amethyst,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan placed the little cub down so she could play with the Night Rakshasa.

They were both from the cat family, but the Night Rakshasa was unapproachable compared to the little cub. She completely ignored the naughty kid, yet the cub treated no one as a stranger. She kept playing with the Night Rakshasa’s tail.

The Night Rakshasa was enraged. She turned into a black ray and flew to the ice clouds above the group like she was off to patrol the area. She was just trying to shake the annoying little cub off.

A white figure swiftly sprang onto the ice clouds after her. The little cub was behind the Night Rakshasa in less than a second. She reached her chubby paw toward the Night Rakshasa’s tail again.

The Night Rakshasa hated being touched on the tail. Her hair stood on its end when the little cub touched her there. She subconsciously raised her claw and turned her head to glare at the little cub.

The little cub immediately looked up. She stared at the Night Rakshasa with wide glittering eyes.

The Night Rakshasa had no choice but to withdraw her claws.

She did not feel like hitting or scolding the little cub. She ran away as quickly as she could from the troublesome kid. To everyone’s surprise, the little cub was extremely quick too! She was able to catch up to the Night Rakshasa no matter where she ran to.

“The little cub is pretty strong!” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

No wonder the little cub was perfectly safe in the eagles’ nest. She was just as fast as the Night Rakshasa!

The little cub enjoyed playing with the Night Rakshasa, which almost drove the Night Rakshasa mad. Why did they bring along such an annoying little creature? She was struggling to shake the cub off, who was chasing her like a second tail.

Luckily, the little cub was just a kid. She soon fell asleep after she was done having fun. The little cub wanted to sleep in Mu Ningxue’s arms, but Mo Fan disagreed with it.

“That’s my place. Off you go,” Mo Fan angrily shoved the little cub into Jiang Shaoxu’s arms.

Mu Ningxue rolled her eyes at Mo Fan. Must he really say that out loud?

“Xuexue, her attributes fit nicely with yours, and she’s particularly fond of you too. I’m pretty sure she is willing to go with you,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan believed things would be a lot simpler once Mu Ningxue adopted the little cub. It would only be a matter of time until they secured the Night Amethyst.

Mu Ningxue shook her head, like something was bothering her.

“I can tell you are troubled. Tell me about it,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Ningxue stared at the campfire. She was lost in her thoughts while her eyes were fixed on the flickering flames, but eventually realized Mo Fan was still looking at her. She replied after a slight hesitation, “My Contract is a Death Contract.”

“Death Contract?” Mo Fan had never heard of the term before.

“As the Ice Crystal Bow is being repaired, it will obtain its own soul. I’ve bound my Contract to it just so I can control it better, so my Third Element is basically non-existent,” Mu Ningxue explained.

Mu Ningxue rarely mentioned her Third Element to anyone, but the little cub had reminded her of what happened on Tianshan Mountain when she first came here.

“What’s your Third Element?” Mo Fan asked.

“Summoning Element,” Mu Ningxue replied.

“Huh? I’ve never seen your Summoned Beast,” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“It’s my fault that it has become a Death Contract…” Mu Ningxue sighed.

“What do you mean by a Death Contract?”

“My soul is bound with the Ice Crystal Bow. You do know how challenging and torturous it is for me to control the Ice Crystal Bow. If I sign a Contract with other creatures, they would have to go through the same challenges and pain…” Mu Ningxue’s voice softened. She was obviously recalIing something painful, “Do you remember Qin Yu’er? The woman who was frozen in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was surprised. Why would Mu Ningxue mention her all of a sudden?

“I initially thought I was the only person in this world with such a special trait, but I realized there are others who suffered more than me after I met Qin Yu’er,” Mu Ningxue said.

“That Qin Yu’er, does she have an Innate Soul Seed too?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mu Ningxue shook her head and said, “Her body is even more special than mine. The Ice Magic in my body was Awakened when I was around the age of twelve. At first, I only needed to endure the cold, but it grew stronger as I grew up. Therefore, I had to cultivate diligently so I wouldn’t freeze myself to death in bed. My body is like a devil that keeps growing stronger. It keeps whipping me so I can sustain it with a higher cultivation.”

Mo Fan subconsciously reached his hand out. He finally understood why Mu Ningxue’s personality had changed so much. Any other emotion was no longer important under her circumstances, since her thoughts were constantly filled with pain.

“The situation lasted until I was finally able to control it when I grew up. However, outsiders only know it as an Innate Soul Seed, the perfect Innate Talent of the Ice Element…” Mu Ningxue finished.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Mo Fan said. He was sorry for her.

She used to be a cheerful little princess, but she had turned into an icy goddess only a few years later. Mo Fan never understood the reason behind it. He could not help but feel guilty about it now that Mu Ningxue had finally told him the truth. He was too young and naive. He thought everyone was looking down on him because he was born at the grassroots. It even distanced him from Mu Ningxue.

“There’s nothing you could do either,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Ugh… you’re right. I can just rub you when you sleep and warm you with my body,” Mo Fan said.

“As a matter of fact, my body is pretty aggressive too. It’s difficult for me to physically touch someone. It’s similar to the weather here in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. It will freeze a person’s blood in less than ten minutes,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Ten minutes? Mm, that’s plenty. I’m pretty fast sometimes. I can’t hold it back since you are so good-looking,” Mo Fan commented.

Mu Ningxue did not understand what Mo Fan was implying at first. She immediately realized the meaning behind it when she saw his mischievous grin. Her eyes flickered with embarrassment. She stepped on Mo Fan’s foot with her heel, the trick that Lingling often used to teach Mo Fan a lesson!

Mo Fan took a deep breath reflexively.

“I’m being serious!” Mu Ningxue said.

“Sure, alright, go on, I won’t interrupt again!” Mo Fan piped up.

“My situation was pretty bad, but Qin Yu’er’s was worse…” Mu Ningxue directed the topic back to Qin Yu’Er.

“So five minutes is the limit for her, I feel bad for Zhan Kong… my bad, go on,” Mo Fan lowered his head quickly.

Mu Ningxue was about to lose it. Couldn’t he wait until she was done talking? He was the one that wanted to know the truth in the first place, yet he kept adding nonsense to it!

“Her situation is worse because her Ice Magic doesn’t grow with her age,” Mu Ningxue said after organizing her thoughts.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan was confused.

“When she Awakened her Ice Magic at the age of ten, it was as strong as mine when I was twenty years old,” Mu Ningxue said.

“When you were twenty years old? Weren’t you almost an Advanced Mage by then?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“She was only ten years old. Even the most talented Mage would struggle to endure such powerful magic, especially when it was not under her control…” Mu Ningxue explained.

Mo Fan dropped his jaw, lost for words.

“Since she couldn’t control the Ice Magic in her body, she was like a calamity that the legends foretell. Whenever she lost control of her emotions, it would bring a huge snowstorm to the area she lived in. All the plants would freeze to death, so it was inhabitable for living creatures. If it happened in a city, the city would be locked in snow. My body only brings pain to me, so I can still live with my family. I could also go to school, but she couldn’t live with anyone, not even the remote villages,” Mu Ningxue went on.

Mo Fan was astounded. He had never thought such an Innate Talent existed. It gave the person overwhelming power, yet it also brought her disaster!

“She was sent to Tianshan Mountain when she was eleven. She could only live in the Valley of Glaciers. The people of her clan still came to visit her at first, but she was soon left alone, including her immediate family. They believed she wouldn’t harm anyone while she was at Tianshan Mountain,” Mu Ningxue said.

Mo Fan’s eyes teared up.

The Valley of Glaciers might be sacred and beautiful, yet it was also extremely lonely. To think that a girl had been forced to live here since the age of eleven. Mo Fan was soon filled with sorrow. His throat felt sour.

“She only Awakened the Star Dust of the Ice Element at the age of fourteen. She started cultivating by referring to the books her family left with her…

“Her Ice Element reached the Advanced Level when she was seventeen. She could finally control the Ice Magic in her body and return to her normal life.”

“She was enrolled into the Imperial College, with outstanding results. She met Zhan Kong there, and they were both chosen as candidates for the national team. They traveled around the world to train themselves, just like us.”

“The Chief Military Instructor was on the national team too?” Mo Fan was startled.

Zhan Kong was a representative of the national team? Why would someone on the national team be appointed to Bo City, which was small and far away? Or perhaps he was downhearted by the things that befell Qin Yu’er?

“There was an accident during the World College Tournament. The Heresy Judgment Court was suspicious of Qin Yu’er, as her strength was too overwhelming. You are familiar with what kind of people the Heresy Judgment Court are. Back then, the advisors and Qin Yu’er’s clan did not step forward to explain Qin Yu’Er’s situation, as they were scared of being accused by the Heresy Judgment Court. The Heresy Judgment Court ended up proclaiming her guilty and accusing her of being a living disaster!” Mu Ningxue said.

Chapter 2022: The Scar of the Ice Magic

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Wasn’t she able to control her power? Why was she considered a heretic?” Mo Fan gasped.

“The Magic Association has always been like this. They are afraid of powers unknown to them. Those who possess power the Magic Association is unfamiliar with, either innately or purposely, are treated as heretics. The truth is, we all know many powers aren’t listed in the Magic Index, such as the Totem Beasts. They exist, but the Magic Association has never acknowledged them. Their existence was even erased from history!” Mu Ningxue explained.

“The Magic Association… They might have existed for humans and Mages’ sake at first, but that’s not necessarily the case now. It’s more about politics,” Mo Fan sighed.

The Magic Association was huge. Its branches were scattered across the world.

Not every Magic Association had diverted from their main goals. Many local Magic Associations still obeyed their rules of conduct. Mo Fan had witnessed all this in person: the higher authorities, especially the continent-level Magic Associations and the two greatest arbitration organizations, the Holy Judgment Court and the Heresy Judgment Court, had tyrannized people on more than one occasion.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, Qin Yu’er was targeted by the Heresy Judgment Court too. She was considered a heretic!

“The Heresy Judgment Court has too much power. No faction or organization dared to stand on Qin Yu’er’s side, except Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong…

“Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong was a disciple of a renowned clan back then. His objection was meaningless. Instead, he was expelled by his clan, hence why a great talent like him was assigned to our Bo City. Qin Yu’er didn’t tell me that, I heard it when I was in the Mu Clan. If it weren’t because of the Heresy Judgment Court, Chief Military Instructor would have held a high position on the national team. He might even have been the advisor of our batch,” Mu Ningxue went on.

The advisors of the national team had great power. Even the local Councilmen had to nod their heads and bow around the advisors. It was Mo Fan’s first time hearing this about his Chief Military Instructor’s past. He could imagine how impressive the Chief Military Instructor had been from the few words, including the pain he had gone through.

“The Heresy Judgment Court sealed Qin Yu’er away in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, the deserted place that had tortured her for seven years. They wanted her to fall into eternal slumber in the Valley of Glaciers that has been around since forever!” Mu Ningxue’s lips were trembling as she spoke.

Seven years, seven years were gone in the blink of an eye. It sounded so simple when Qin Yu’er told her what had happened, yet Mu Ningxue knew how much of a torture it was to spend seven years alone.

Mu Ningxue was familiar with the problems of cultivating with their Innate Ice Magic. Qin Yu’er had practiced diligently for seven years so she could control the Ice Magic in her body, allowing her to return to a normal life.

However, the Heresy Judgment Court had sealed her back in the land of ice that was her absolute nightmare, even though she could already control her power. The Scar of Tianshan Mountain was beyond anyone’s reach. It was crueler than executing her!

“‘He said he would come, even if his hair had turned white… it was the only thing that kept me alive’, Qin Yu’er told me,” Mu Ningxue repeated the phrase softly. She could deeply relate to Qin Yu’er.

Mo Fan was completely lost for words.

He was extremely touched when he heard of Qin Yu’er’s past from Mu Ningxue. He had experienced how cold and cruel Tianshan Mountain was himself now, so he could easily relate to what Qin Yu’er had gone through.

It was why Zhan Kong insisted on visiting Tianshan Mountain even after becoming one of the living dead!

Was that the promise that helped Zhan Kong preserve his consciousness when the Qin Emperor’s soul tried to devour him?

When Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong lunged at the black mantle, the greatest pain he endured was not losing his flesh, but the fact that he was unable to see Qin Yu’er again.

“Qin Yu’er said she saw Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong when she was freed from the ice, but he turned around and left. She couldn’t understand…” Mu Ningxue said.

Mo Fan looked at the frozen valley. He recalled Zhan Kong’s half-dead face.

Mo Fan could relate to Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong’s feelings when he chose to turn around.

Mu Ningxue did not speak, as if she was lost in the story. She could feel an endless sorrow pouring into her chest. She felt sorry for the couple.

Mo Fan was recalling everything that had happened on Tianshan Mountain. He suddenly had an urge to go back in time and change the past, to relieve Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong from the Qin Emperor’s Curse so he could reunite with Qin Yu’er and tell her with a smile, “I’m here!”

The two remained silent for quite some time.

After a while, Mo Fan finally recalled the question he meant to ask at first. He cleared his thoughts and asked, “What about your Third Element? What happened to it?”

“People like us will face a serious problem, in that there is a possibility that our new Elements are unusable. You can think of it as some kind of deformity. Their Star Dust won’t grow like other Elements, but die prematurely. I asked Qin Yu’er about it. She told me she had the same problem. She only had a single Element even after she reached the Advanced Level. She never Awakened a second Element,” Mu Ningxue said.

“How could that be?” Mo Fan wondered.

“Even though I’ve Awakened the Third Element… A Tianshan Scar Ice Spirit dies prematurely because of me,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Dies prematurely?”

“I was too eager to grow stronger. Qin Yu’er already told me there might be some problem with my Third Element, yet I still signed a Contract with a little Tianshan Scar Ice Spirit. In the end…” Mu Ningxue’s face turned gloomy.

Back then, Mu Ningxue and her family were cast out because of Mu He. She was also disqualified from the national team and forced to leave the clan. She desperately wanted to grow stronger.

The little Tianshan Scar Ice Spirit’s death had woken her up. She realized she was being too impatient. If she did not calm herself, her recklessness was only going to hurt the people around her.

Qin Yu’er spent seven years on Tianshan Mountain controlling her power so she would not hurt others. Mu Ningxue realized she could not afford to lose control of herself and act irrationally.

Mu Ningxue grieved over the death of the Tianshan Mountain Ice Spirit, but she managed to recover from her obsessions. Her path forward was much smoother after that, and paying an unforgettable price!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan immediately realized why Mu Ningxue was uneasy and tried to run away when the little cub​ asked for a hug.

The little Tianshan Scar Ice Spirit must have been extremely fond of Mu Ningxue’s Aura, similar to the little cub. The little cub had reminded her of the grave mistake she made when she was lost in her obsessions.

“I…” Mu Ningxue was emotionally stirred at the mention of the topic.

After all, it was the first newborn who crossed paths with Mu Ningxue. She blamed herself for what she had done and was struggling to walk out of the pain.

The premature death of the Tianshan Scar Ice Spirit was sealed away at the bottom of Mu Ningxue’s heart, together with her Third Element.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself too much. I believe the Ice Spirit would still choose to sign a Contract with you if she was given a second chance. She wanted to share the pain with you. Your souls were connected briefly before the Contract was signed. She was aware of the risk involved, she just lacked a little luck. If she made it, your Third Element should work too. I think the little cub is pretty tough. Do you want to try it again?” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan assumed the little cub possessed an outstanding lineage, even among the species of the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. Mu Ningxue’s Innate Ice Magic was not as terrifying as Qin Yu’er’s. The little cub should be fine if Mu Ningxue signed a Contract with her. Mu Ningxue would then be able to cultivate the Summoning Element!

If the little cub did not make it, it was not their fault, either. They did not force her to sign a Contract with Mu Ningxue. It was she that kept jumping into Mu Ningxue’s arms because she was particularly attracted to her.

“You are after the Night Amethyst, right?” Mu Ningxue had a feeling Mo Fan had some ulterior motives.

“No, am I the kind of person that would do anything to achieve my goals?” Mo Fan denied awkwardly.

“Let’s not try it. Qin Yu’er used her power to seal the Tianshan Scar Ice Spirit’s soul in a leaf. She made a protective talisman with it that can protect me from danger,” Mu Ningxue said.

Mo Fan glanced at Mu Ningxue’s neck and saw an amulet resembling a leaf. He had never noticed it before, perhaps because Mu Ningxue was quite busty.

2

“Such a pity, you are missing your Third Element… what about your Fourth Element?” Mo Fan asked after he realized something.

Mu Ningxue was now a Super Mage. She could have Awakened her Fourth Element too! Mo Fan was worried that her Fourth Element had encountered the same problem too. If so, it would put Mu Ningxue at a great disadvantage.

“I…I feel very lost too,” Mu Ningxue’s pupils were unfocused.

Mu Ningxue was uneasy about Awakening a new Element after what happened to her third Element. She had yet to Awaken her fourth Element. She was afraid that it might share the same fate.

After reaching the Super Level, Mu Ningxue did not struggle to take on people with only one or two Elements at the Super Level. Her outstanding Ice Element granted her an edge over others.

However, how was she going to fight those with three or four Elements in the Super Level?

Every Element would have its bottleneck. If her cultivation was stuck, focusing on other Elements was an effective way to push her main Elements’ cultivation too! However, if Mu Ningxue only had two Elements, her cultivation would be stuck in the middle of the Super Level. She would struggle to achieve higher levels!

Mu Ningxue was still quite young. She had a great chance to achieve the Super Level for all her Elements, and even became a Forbidden Mage!

It would be terrible if her cultivation was stuck because she only had two Elements!

Mu Ningxue had tagged along on the expedition because the cultivation of her Ice Element had been stuck for some time.

Her cultivation was supposed to improve significantly after she obtained more Fundamental Crystals of the Ice Element, because of the Ice Crystal Bow’s powerful traits.

However, her cultivation stopped improving. Mu Ningxue realized the thing she worried about the most had happened. Her cultivation had stopped improving because it lacked the push from other Elements!

“You didn’t dare to awaken the fourth Element, right?” Mo Fan said.

“Mm,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

“It’s even more a reason you should untie the knot of your third Element,” Mo Fan pointed out.

If Mu Ningxue did not get over her third Element, her fear and worry might cause the awakening of her fourth Element to fail too. Every Mage only had one attempt at Awakening new Elements. If she failed, she would never obtain a new Element! Mo Fan understood the reason why Mu Ningxue did not dare Awaken the fourth Element, but the main problem was still her third Element.

If Mu Ningxue was unable to Awaken new Elements, she would not have Awakened the Summoning Element as her third Element. There was no way she would have been able to sign a Contract with the Ice Spirit.

“I believe there are certain odds to signing the Contract. The weaker creatures are unable to endure the power of your Ice Magic, but the stronger ones should be fine. In the end, you still need to establish a Contract to unblock your Summoning Element so you can Awaken the fourth Element,” Mo Fan declared after analyzing the situation.

“Qin Yu’er told me the same thing, but I want to try another way, like the Tianshan Dew…” Mu Ningxue said with a troubled face.

She did not want a little creature that she built a relationship with to die because of her. It was like losing someone close to her.

“What’s the Tianshan Dew?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

“It’s the dew from the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. It will never freeze. Ice Magic keeps freezing my body and my soul, but the Tianshan Dew can protect my soul, so it will stop the Ice Magic from harming my Contracted Beast,” Mu Ningxue said.

“We don’t even know where to look for the Tianshan Sacred Lotus… Maybe you should really try doing it with the little cub. She’s more than willing to let you place a seal on her,” Mo Fan tried to convince Mu Ningxue.

“I would rather stick to two Elements,” Mu Ningxue refuted him.

She did not want to take the risk. Besides, she was not fond of the little cub. If she wanted to sign a Contract again, she would still choose the Tianshan Scar Ice Spirit.

“(Sigh), why don’t I give you two of my Elements. I have too many of them. I can’t take care of them myself,” Mo Fan teased her.

There were only seven Calabash Brothers, yet he had eight Elements to water and fertilize!

“I’m not interested in your Elements!” Mu Ningxue huffed.

“Seriously? You aren’t interested in any of them?” Mo Fan said with a wry smile. He was shunned even when he tried to sacrifice his Elements!

“No.”

“Fine, let’s keep going. We’ll find the Tianshan Sacred Lotus!” Mo Fan promised.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

They had to follow the alliance if they wanted to find the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. Only the leaders of the alliance knew where it was.

They had found a Night Amethyst, they just needed to look after the little cub. It would be safer for them to stick with the alliance too.

The group followed the markings left by Yassen and the others, who had not traveled too far away. However, when they noticed some of the mages were missing, they knew it was unlikely that those who had not regrouped with them would return.

“You guys are pretty lucky. Every one of you has returned,” Xing Hui smiled at Mo Fan and his crew.

Mo Fan’s team had done the best job at preserving its numbers compared to the other teams. The old Hunters were feeling uneasy about it.

Xing Hui purposely glanced at Mu Ningxue. He wore a strange look as he said, “I know you, I’ve heard about you. I hope you won’t trouble Mu Tingying again.”

Mu Ningxue did not even bother looking at Xing Hui. She treated his words like an insignificant breeze.

Mu Ningxue was the kind of person who did not bother arguing verbally with others. She was used to hearing distorted truths, and would not waste her time correcting them.

Mo Fan, on the other hand, turned around and stared at Xing Hui. “Some people like to think others are stronger than them because of luck. When tigers are kept in cages in a zoo for too long, they will lose the ability to hunt when they return to the wild, not to mention an old dog that only knows to obey its master’s order and bark randomly at people!”

Xing Hui was from the Mu Clan, even though his surname was not Mu.

The Mu Clan had many women with great power, thus many people had married them and lived in their clan to earn their support.

The strange thing was that Xing Hui was a typical man who had married someone from the Mu Clan for his own gains. Everyone who had spent some time in the capital knew how what kind of scum he was. He had abandoned his wife and daughter and took up with Mu Tingying’s sister, Mu Nan, instead!

Mu Tingying was Xing Hui’s sister-in-law. He had been looking down on Mu Ningxue from the beginning.

Most interestingly, the man’s eyes were brimming with lust, yet he had to talk to Mu Ningxue with an attitude, just so the others from the Mu Clan were aware that he was loyal to Mu Tingying and Mu Nan.

Mo Fan was seriously impressed. Why did every man and dog dare to jump out of nowhere and bite Mu Ningxue now? She was now the leader of Fanxue Mountain, which was currently a powerhouse in Feiniao City. They were being too respectful to a dog who was sticking his face up the Mu Clan’s ass!

“I hate it when people scold indirectly. I can ignore it if you’re referring to someone else, but if you’re referring to me, please say my name out loud. Make sure you can hold yourself responsible for your words!” Xing Hui stepped forward and snarled.

“I don’t have the time to remember a nobody’s name. Look at my finger, not my thumb, not my index, not my nameless, and not my pinky. Whoever it points at, that’s the guy I’m talking to.. .you there, those who are behind him, please step aside, or he might ask if I was pointing at you all instead. Now, you should know who I was referring to, old dog!” Mo Fan reached out his hand and raised his middle finger.

His finger was right in front of Xing Hui. The people who happened to be behind him were Kuma, Lu Xiu, Tommy, and the others. They were dumbfounded when they heard Mo Fan.

Brother, you almost stick your finger into the man’s nose. Do you seriously think he’s that retarded to think you are actually referring to someone else? We are at least ten meters away!

“Why must he always be so arrogant?” Lu Xiu complained.

“He might be arrogant, but you wouldn’t want to mess with him, either,” Kuma replied.

They had witnessed Gavin’s death in person. Even though Lu Xiu was not pleased with Mo Fan, he was too scared to provoke him!

The old dog… uh, Xing Hui, did not move. His lungs were about to explode when he saw the middle finger and the disdainful grin on Mo Fan’s face. Even the disciples of renowned clans in the capital who were going to be leaders in the future did not dare humiliate him like that. Did this Mo Fan really think he was a national hero after winning the World College Tournament?

1

“I can kill you right now!” Xing Hui’s eyes were almost sticking out. His Ice Magic was spreading. It solidified and turned into sharp spears before it dissipated. It felt like the place was growing full of deadly thorns.

“Xing Hui, the alliance still holds. I hope you aren’t planning to break the rules. Verbal argument is fine, but don’t cross the line. It’s not safe here,” Yassen stepped forward with a powerful aura of the Wind Element rising about him.

“I hope you aren’t going to interfere with this,” Xing Hui said coldly.

“I also don’t like it when people boast in front of me. You better stick to your words if you said you are going to kill me. It’s pretty embarrassing if you fail to achieve what you said!” Mo Fan hugged his head like he had never treated Xing Hui seriously.

How amusing, so many people wanted him dead! Xing Hui might even struggle to get a spot in the queue!

The words set the gunpowder keg in the man’s stomach on fire. Blue veins surfaced on his face as more Ice Spears appeared and surrounded Mo Fan, preparing to stab him to death.

“Enough!” Yassen snapped.

A strong pressure fell from the sky with fierce gusts of wind, surging at the area Xing Hui and Mo Fan were in.

The Ice Spears shattered into powder. The Ice Magic was blown away by the winds, making it difficult to use the Ice Element.

“Yassen!” Xing Hui yelled angrily. It seemed like he had known Yassen for some time.

“Rules are rules! I already made it clear before forming the alliance! You can settle your disputes after the alliance comes to an end, but before that, I don’t care who you are or what grudge you hold, I will stop you if you are going to place everyone in danger! Don’t force me!” Yassen declared grimly.

Xing Hui knew he was no match for Yassen, but he was infuriated when he saw the proud grin on Mo Fan’s face!

He had to withhold his anger when he was on the verge of exploding. How unbearable!

“You can’t win an argument against me, either. Just mind your mouth. I won’t be fussed about you either, since our fine leader has made it clear…” Mo Fan went on dismissively.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had not used his magic, so Yassen’s Aura did not target him. However, he had to admit that Yassen was strong. He had completely nullified their magic!

“You!…”

“You better think twice before you talk, or you’re only going to bring more shame to yourself,” Mo Fan did not mind giving Xing Hui another blow when he saw the man was so angry that he was struggling to speak properly.

Mo Fan turned around and wrapped his arm around Mu Ningxue’s slim waist before strutting away.

Scolding the wildest dog and hugging the prettiest woman. Nothing feels better than this!

—

The campfire was set for another cold night.

The Scar of Tianshan Mountain was too cold. Those people with weaker cultivations were showing symptoms of frostbite.

The temperature of their bodies was too low, so their blood was having difficulties circulating. The symptoms were worse than altitude sickness. Many people had red patches on their bodies.

The patches often took up a large area, like the whole chest, an arm, or a leg. They would struggle to walk if their legs were frostbitten.

They found themselves in such a harsh environment after escaping from a deadly species. The Scar of Tianshan Mountain was indeed a no man’s land!

“Yassen, we are bringing a huge group to the Snow Heaven Gate. Are we really going to share the petals of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus equally with them?” Senior Hunter Klope said.

Yassen’s team had two Senior Hunters. The rest of the team were Seven Star Hunter Masters with a certain variance in strength.

Having an outstanding cultivation would not necessarily solve every problem in a harsh environment. A Senior Hunter was willing to bring a Healer with them, even if the Healer was only an Intermediate Mage. However, the Healer had to know how to defend themselves to a certain degree.

The others who were not Super Mages had special capabilities to help them overcome certain dangers. However, the two Senior Hunters were mainly focused on the fighting.

“We’ve already lost many men on the way here. We have a huge advantage in knowing the precise location of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus, but have you even thought of the possibility that we won’t even make it? If so, I would rather share it with them equally,” Yassen said.

“Sharing equally…

“You still don’t understand what I’m saying. Seriously, do I always have to explain everything? I’m telling you, it’s going to rain soon, and there’s a stall renting umbrellas nearby. You shouldn’t keep staring at the sky to see if it’s raining. You should rent the umbrellas, and at three times the price to the people who didn’t want their branded clothes getting wet,” Yassen said.

“What does that have anything to do with this?” Klope asked blankly.

“Seriously, your comprehension… forget it, no wonder you only fool around with hookers instead of finding an actual companion,” Yassen sighed.

“There is nothing wrong with hookers. They just leave after I pay them.”

“Knowing where to find a delicious cake isn’t enough. We can’t afford the huge cake ourselves. We should tell the others so we all chip in to buy it, and we all have a chance to taste it…” Yassen hinted.

“Just do whatever you want, then. You make the calls.”

—

Yassen shared the location of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus with the alliance. Everyone was shocked.

“I was explaining it to Klope just now. To be honest with you, I don’t have a choice. It’s normal for us to keep something good to ourselves, but I know better than anyone else that not a single team here can claim it on their own, so I have decided to share its location with you. I hope we stop the meaningless infighting and focus on how we can acquire the Tianshan Sacred Lotus with the remaining manpower we have. I don’t care if you’re planning something or you have ulterior motives that you can’t share with others. Even if we do end up fighting one another for it in the end, you must remember one thing: no one will benefit from it if we don’t find the Tianshan Sacred Lotus first!” Yassen exclaimed.

Yassen had made it very clear. The groups were only allies on the surface, but tearing at one another before they found the treasure was the most stupid decision possible!

Mercenaries, Hunters, renowned clans, explorers; they had all come to make a profit. They all had to admit that Yassen had helped to raise their morale after sharing the location of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus with them.

They had been losing men along the way, but didn’t that mean that those who were alive were able to share more of the loot?

—

The alliance was still very strong when they worked together, and the journey was a lot smoother. The species they encountered after the Frosty Ancient Eagles were not as united or so large in numbers.

The weakest creatures in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain were Commander-level creatures. On the other hand, the alliance mostly consisted of Mages in the Advanced Level and above. They had no problem getting rid of a small group of Commander-level creatures!

“Look out, three powerful creatures are heading our way. The scent of blood must have attracted them!” Nanyu was using her Sound Element to warn the alliance about any approaching danger.

“Are they coming at us?” Kuma asked.

“They should be observing us, but the people at the rear should be more careful. They will pick on those who are stranded and trapped first… I can’t tell how strong they are, but they are at least Great Commander-level creatures,” Nanyu informed them.

“I hate the kind of demon creatures that roam around the edges!”

“Even the weasels here know that when two dogs are fighting for a bone, the third is going to run away with it.”

There were two kinds of demon creatures in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. The first kind would keep pursuing them recklessly once they trespassed into its territory. Those creatures mostly lived in packs. They had to ensure their status and reputation in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, so other species would not dare to provoke them.

The second kind was the cunning type. They would not involve themselves in a battle easily. They liked to roam around the edges of a battlefield, and only made their moves when they were confident of winning the fight. Otherwise, they would keep watching until they finally gave up.

These scavengers were a huge threat. Humans were not welcome on Tianshan Mountain, so it was easy for blood to be shed, which would attract many roaming species to them.

They had cleared obstacles, killed countless demon creatures, and advanced by stepping on the remains of Commander-level creatures. They thought they had cleared a path. Little did they know that a huge number of scavengers had set their eyes on the group.

The scavengers were like the flies that kept flying around a person’s face in summer. You could not shake them off, and they would maintain a safe distance from you.

That being said, flies did not attack humans. It was more appropriate to describe the scavengers as vultures. They would circle in the sky and wait until the fights were close to an end or their prey were worn out before diving on them to clean up the mess!

Chapter 2026: Did I Panic?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Scar of Tianshan Mountain had remained in its unspoiled state. Living creatures here would either eat or be eaten. There was no law of the jungle. It was all about survival!

The alliance was strong once the Mages came together. They kept advancing by killing the demon creatures, but their lives were at stake as they continued to attract more scavengers. These scavengers were good at teaming up against a common enemy. They were not as ignorant as the humans!

The beasts had found a huge piece of cake. A single scavenger could not possibly eat the entire cake. If it chose to wait for more scavengers…

“A Ruler-level Flying Snow Fox has appeared,” Nanyu said softly.

“It feels like they are preparing a crusade against us,” Jiang Yu said grimly.

“We’ve left a trail of blood and magic presence behind us, not to mention the noise of the battles… it is going to attract all the scavengers within a few kilometers,” Ai Jiangtu warned them.

“When do you think they will make their moves?” Mo Fan asked Jiang Shaoxu.

“When we arrive at the next species’ territory,” Jiang Shaoxu surmised.

“We are screwed then; these scavengers are too united!” Zhao Manyan complained.

Most scavengers were solitary creatures. They would have long ended up as other creatures’ food if they were not strong enough to protect themselves!

“Should we stop somewhere and deal with the things that are on our tail?” Bertan proposed.

“And how can we do that? They are maintaining their distance from us. If we attack them, they will just scatter and run!” Xing Hui said impatiently.

“We don’t have the time to stop here. These scavengers are just like us. Their coalition will break easily. They are planning to take us out first before fighting among themselves. The first storm is on its way, so this hunt must make sure they have enough food supply to last until spring. They are very cautious, but they are determined too,” Yassen declared.

“Are we really running out of time?”

“Yes, it will be a close call, and that’s assuming our path back is clear and smooth!”

“Let’s do it then. We have no choice but to force our way through the Ice Mountain Beasts ahead,” Klope said.

“We have to be careful. The Ice Mountain Beasts aren’t our only worry!” Yassen glanced at the walls nearby.

The figures moving in the shadows, the cunning grimaces of the demon creatures, the peeping eyes hidden in the blind spots, and the greedy intentions surrounding the alliance from all directions… those were the ones they should keep an eye on!

“We are getting closer to the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. This will be a very important battle!” Yassen said.

He had already told everyone where the Tianshan Sacred Lotus was. The opening in the two huge walls was already within their view. They should be able to see the light of the Sacred Lotus once they crossed the Ice Mountain Beasts territory. Everyone was aware of the Sacred Lotus’ value, even if it was not the reason they had come to Tianshan Mountain in the first place.

“Charge!”

“Charge!”

A few leaders took the initiative to charge at the Ice Mountain Beasts’ den, riding their Wind and Ice Magic. The den was inside a spacious canyon full of ice pillars and spikes. They could see complicated bridges made up of irregular sculpted ice when they looked into the canyon. They were as thick as the branches in a forest.

The Ice Mountain Beasts resided in their little kingdom. They were a Commander-level species with a pure lineage, and most importantly, they lived in groups!

A Commander-level species that lived together was pretty rare outside the safe zone of any country, but it was very common in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain!

The scavengers stayed outside the Ice Mountain Beasts’ territory. They did not dare set foot into it.

The scavengers had formed a weak coalition. Their strength might be comparable to the Ice Mountain Beasts, but they lacked synergy and teamwork. The Ice Mountain Beasts were willing to fight to their death to protect their territory, but that was not the case for the scavengers. They would leave right away when faced with such reckless creatures.

The humans had gone into the Ice Mountain beasts’ den. The scavengers had no choice but to wait until the battle in the canyon came to an end. They would then take out whoever won the battle so they could survive the winter!

—

“Did they follow us inside?” Zhao Manyan looked behind him. The scavengers had vanished behind the ice pillars.

“Don’t worry, they won’t come inside. That would only provoke the Ice Mountain Beasts,” Nanyu said.

“It’s usually us humans abusing the stupidity of the demon creatures and letting them fight one another, but they are doing the same thing to us now,” Zhao Manyan noticed.

“We don’t have a choice. As a matter of fact, high-level demon creatures are intelligent too. Otherwise, we would have long conquered the world, instead of hiding in our safe zones and cities,” Nanyu pointed out.

“So who’s familiar with the Ice Mountain Beasts? Can anyone tell me what their capabilities are before the fight?” Jiang Yu said.

“Jiang Yu, aren’t you an expert when it comes to demon creatures, yet you’re asking us now? Are you being serious?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“…I’ve never seen these creatures before, nor have I read about them. It’s Tianshan Mountain. Not many people have been here,” Jiang Yu said awkwardly. He subconsciously looked at Lingling.

Lingling was weak. She had to rely on magic Equipment to survive in the harsh environment. She was currently in Mo Fan’s arms, as she had to rely on Mo Fan’s Fire Magic to fend off the cold.

Mo Fan was worried when he saw her struggling to stay awake.

He should not have brought Lingling along. Her fragile body was unable to withstand the cold.

“Be careful of the bones that grow out of their joints. Those bones can break through almost every defensive Equipment, so you shouldn’t rely on your Equipment too much,” Lingling said softly.

“Our defensive Equipment is useless?” The eyes of everyone on the team opened wide.

The truth was, their team had only managed to preserve its numbers because of their outstanding Equipment!

Their Equipment was far better than anyone else’s in the alliance. Their factions were only worried about one thing, their safety, so their Equipment was capable of defending them from attacks far beyond what they could handle themselves.

Their hearts turned cold when they heard the Ice Mountain Beasts’ attacks could penetrate their defenses!

“Look at you, you bunch of… (sigh), didn’t I tell you not to rely on your magic Equipment so much? Look at me, did I panic?” Mo Fan grinned. He finally had a chance to school these rich second generations!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Ice Mountain Beasts’ faces were covered in long snow-white fur. Their dark red eyes were covered by thick brows, like evil orbs with a dangerous red glow hidden in deep caves.

Their arms were thick and muscular, like the Tianshan Snow Apes. Atop their distinctive muscles was a layer of armor made of frost, accumulated over a long period of time. The ice-blue armor extended from their head to their knees.

Usually, any creature covered in armor would have a weakness, and they would be clumsier. They would struggle to react when Wind Mages and Shadow Mages kept changing their positions.

However, the Ice Mountain Beasts’ joints, like their neck, shoulders, elbows, waist, and knees, were only covered by thick fur instead of the armor.

Many people would assume these joints were the Ice Mountain Beasts’ weakness when they first encountered the species. However, it was completely the opposite, as their joints had a kind of flexible bone that was firm enough to destroy any metal, rare bone, and rare skin!

They were materials that many magic shields and armor were made of. Therefore, they would fall right into a trap if they tried to attack the Ice Mountain Beasts’ weak points!

Lingling’s reminder helped the team avoid unnecessary casualties!

—

“Mo Fan, I can’t hold on for any longer. Hurry up and drive these things away!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Three Ice Mountain Beasts were throwing punches at a thin Water Barrier. They were crazily pounding Zhao Manyan’s defense, knocking the ice around them everywhere.

Zhao Manyan was struggling to fend them off. He wondered if the Ice Mountain Beasts were out of their minds. Why did they keep attacking his barrier when there were others around? Zhao Manyan’s defense was difficult to break when they were going up against Warrior-level creatures, but these Ice Mountain beasts were Commander-level creatures, stronger than ordinary species. His defense was too weak against them!

“I feel like their bones do more than just penetrate magic Equipment. They are effective against our barriers too!” Jiang Shaoxu saw how much Zhao Manyan was struggling, but she was not showing any intention of lending a hand.

Zhao Manyan did not place any hopes in Jiang Shaoxu. There was nothing a Psychic Mage could do against stronger demon creatures, especially since they were the ones that had trespassed into the demon creatures’ territory.

—

Mo Fan jumped over an Ice Mountain Beast. He landed behind their back and cast an Earth Spell.

Pieces of Bright Rock grew out from Mo Fan’s shoulders to his fists. The sturdy rock amplified Mo Fan’s strength significantly as he threw a punch out!

BANG!

The Bright Rocks shattered into pieces. However, the Ice Mountain Beast was knocked flying after vomiting a mouthful of blood. Its armor was broken into pieces as well.

“Trying to see who has the bigger fist?” Mo Fan said disdainfully, looking at the Ice Mountain Beast that was still on the ground.

“Mo Fan, four Ice Mountain Beasts are approaching you from above!” Nanyu warned him.

“Behind! Behind us! Mo Fan, take out the ones behind us first!” Jiang Yu yelled.

Mo Fan looked up before glancing to the back of the team.

Damn it, was he the only damage output for the team? Why did he have to take care of everything!

“I’ll take care of those that are approaching from above. You guys will handle the ones at the back!” Mo Fan shouted.

He was not a superhero. There was no way he could put out the fires that were happening all over the place. He had to take care of one side before he could catch his breath.

BANG!

There were interconnected bridges above the team. Four Ice Mountain Beasts were running rapidly across them. They were so quick that the Mages could only see their white afterimages.

Mo Fan had no idea when the little cub had jumped onto his hat. She was waving her paws around excitedly, like she was commanding the battle.

“I’m not your Pikachu, go away!” Mo Fan tried to pull the little cub down, but she was stuck to his head like a patch of ointment. He could not even take off his hat.

1

The four Ice Mountain Beasts were already approaching. Mo Fan did not have the time to mess around with the little cub. He quickly turned into a shadow and glided below the ice bridge to reach a spot more favorable to him.

The four Ice Mountain Beasts had great synergy. They quickly split up into four directions when they saw Mo Fan’s shadow. They were waiting for Mo Fan to come out of the shadow so they could attack him when he could no longer escape!

Mo Fan quickly came out of the shadow. He was unable to use other spells while he was in shadow form.

He had glided under the ice bridge. When he showed himself, he half-clenched his fists and placed them close to his waist.

Wild lightning coiled around his hands in layers. More than ten layers accumulated in less than a second.

Mo Fan clenched his fists like he was releasing something.

The lightning flickered with more energy, while spreading into its surroundings with great force!

The four leaping Ice Mountain Beasts were paralyzed briefly in mid-air when they made contact with the lightning, before they were sent flying.

“Soul-Hunting Giant Shadow Spike!”

Mo Fan switched between his Elements rapidly. The Dark Vein was already surging inside his body when he released the Lightning Magic. Four Giant Shadow Spikes flew at the four Ice Mountain Beasts that had been knocked flying.

The Ice Mountain Beasts slammed into a wall. The Giant Shadow Spikes penetrated them and nailed them to the wall, not giving them any chance to resist.

“Shadow Execution!”

The Giant Shadow Spikes contained strong Dark Material. It spread rapidly and turned into Soldiers of the Shadow Tribe before the Ice Mountain Beasts could break free.

The Soldiers of the Shadow Tribe were like twisted executioners. They wrapped the dark chains they were holding around the Ice Mountain Beasts’ necks and choked them to death.

The Ice Mountain Beasts tried their best to escape from the Shadow Execution. They even broke the wall apart with brute force, yet the Shadow Tribesmen would not allow their targets to escape so easily.

As time passed, the Ice Mountain Beasts gradually lost their strength as they were being choked to death.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The Dark Moon Crystal is the best!” Mo Fan exclaimed, staring at the four Ice Mountain Beasts that had been executed.

Mo Fan had once acquired a powerful Dark Material from Feng Zhoulong, which granted his Shadow Element a powerful Curse effect and increased its capabilities. The Dark Moon Crystal had further strengthened his Shadow Element and granted him the Dark Vein that now flowed inside his body.

The Dark Vein’s power was the ability to generate Dark Material continuously, so that even a little Giant Shadow Spike that Mo Fan fired contained an enormous amount of Dark Energy. It could grow rapidly, and was large enough to turn into a creature of the Shadow Tribe within a short period of time!

The Shadow Tribe was able to kill the Ice Mountain Beasts, even though they were Commander-level creatures. Mo Fan still remembered how envious he was of Bei Jiang’s outstanding mix of the Shadow and Chaos Elements. It had felt like the assassin could do whatever he wanted to in the dark. However, Mo Fan knew his Shadow Element had now surpassed Bei Jiang’s after he obtained the Dark Vein.

Ai Jiangtu suddenly appeared behind Mo Fan and asked, “Why aren’t you using your Fire Element?”

“Damn it, can you not Blink behind me out of nowhere? It scared the crap out of me!” Mo Fan shouted.

“I thought you knew. I’ve taken out the Ice Mountain Beasts behind the team. I was thinking of lending you a hand, but it seems like you don’t need it,” Ai Jiangtu answered calmly.

“The Fire Element isn’t effective in a place like this. Besides, Little Flame Belle is with her mother now. Without her, my Fire Element is too weak,” Mo Fan sighed.

He had relied too much on Little Flame Belle’s power. The Fire Element he had abused in the past became a supportive Element when she was not around!

“The Shadow Element should be your strongest Element now then, right?” Ai Jiangtu said.

“More or less, but I am close to learning the Shadow Element’s Star Palace…” Mo Fan admitted.

“You haven’t learned the Shadow Star Palace? Are you saying that these spells were cast with Star Constellations?” Ai Jiangtu was stunned.

The spells of Super Mages had many forms, but they still relied on the energy provided by Star Palaces. Only a Star Palace could provide a large enough amount of energy. Ai Jiangtu did not expect Mo Fan’s Shadow Element to be so powerful when he still had not learned the Star Palace!

The little cub scratched Mo Fan’s head impatiently when Mo Fan stopped.

“Stop waving your tail in my face!” Mo Fan moved the little cub’s tail away.

The little cub growled excitedly at a group of Ice Mountain Beasts around three hundred meters ahead. She could not wait for Mo Fan to charge into them and kill them all!

“Stop crying and go ahead if you want. I just need to mind my own business… can you stop waving your tail!?” Mo Fan was almost at his limit.

Since when would a Summoned Beast order its Summoner around in a fight, not to mention the little cub was not even his Summoned Beast!

The little cub used all her might to growl and provoke the Ice Mountain Beasts, trying to grab their attention.

Mo Fan quickly covered the little cub’s mouth and snarled, “If you keep this up, I’ll send you back to your parents. You can keep the Night Amethyst.”

The little cub immediately shut her mouth when she heard Mo Fan was going to send her back. However, her eyes were still rolling around impatiently.

“I think you two are a perfect match,” Ai Jiangtu observed.

“Why so?”

“You both don’t care how messy things are. I’ll go help Zhao Manyan. I’m leaving this side to you,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“It’s not your first day with Zhao Manyan. If he’s screaming and yelling like a sissy, it means he can still handle it. I think Kuma and the others are in a pinch. You should consider helping them,” Mo Fan said.

1

“Why are you interested in helping them now?” Ai Jiangtu was confused.

“We have no idea what’s going to happen after we find the Tianshan Sacred Lotus, but the Mailong Private Military Group will most likely take our side,” Mo Fan hinted.

“You’re right. We should keep an eye on them.”

—

When the group reached the middle section of the Ice Mountain Beasts’ den, they saw a huge shadow like a mountain standing in the path they were heading into. It was far bigger than the normal Ice Mountain Beasts. It did not engage them when they pressed forward. It remained still and stared at the intruders coldly. The humans were as good as dead in its dark red eyes, which were almost unseen under its fur!

“The big one over there…” Mu Ningxue said with a hint of fear.

Mu Ningxue had already sensed the creature glaring at her a few times. She wondered if she had gotten the Ice Mountain Ruler’s attention because she had killed the most Ice Mountain Beasts, or perhaps the others were feeling the same thing too!

“A Ruler-level creature!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

A real Ruler-level creature was able to take on five to ten Super Mages. The Super Mages in the alliance were not outstanding, except Yassen and Klope. The others only had one Element in the Super Level.

Therefore, when a Ruler-level creature appeared, the Super Mages of different teams had to immediately come together. Otherwise, the teams would suffer huge casualties.

“I’ll handle it, you keep an eye on the scavengers,” Klope said.

“Sure!”

The Senior Hunter asked the other teams to send a Super Mage over to take on the Ice Mountain Ruler together.

The Mailong Private Military Group was in a terrible spot. They were struggling, as their average strength was weaker than the Ice Mountain Beasts, and kept losing their men. Kuma and Lu Xiu had tried their best to protect their troops, since they might not survive if they lost all their men.

“Team nine, send someone over, we…” Kuma was covered in blood. Most of it belonged to her men.

The Scar of Tianshan Mountain was like Hell to them. The odds of survival were too low for the Mailong Private Military Group. They only had around twenty people left.

“It’s fine, leave it to us, just look after your men,” Ai Jiangtu said.

“Thank you,” Kuma replied sincerely.

“Old Ai… that Ruler-level Flying Snow Fox seems to be ambushing our squad from behind,” Nanyu said.

“Damn it, why does it have to be us!?” Kuma snapped.

The scavengers were most likely targeting them because they were too weak. The Mailong Private Military Group did not have many people left, yet they were still being ambushed by the scavengers.

It was making matters worse!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Flying Snow Fox Ruler was the most cunning of the scavengers. It kept roaming around the edge of the battlefield and picking off the Mages who were weaker, stranded, or severely injured.

It blended into the fight between the Ice Mountain Beasts and the humans. Those fighting were completely unaware of its existence most of the time. No one would have realized it was responsible for the death of their comrades if the Sound Mages had not heard its breathing and the unusual cries of agony uttered by its victims.

“That son of a b**ch, I’m going to skin it and spread it across my floor!” Lu Xiu was enraged.

The leaders were furious when they saw their members disappearing one by one. Lu Xiu fixed his eyes on the Flying Snow Fox Ruler’s position and constructed a brilliant Star Palace. The golden Star Palace was established rapidly, releasing a formidable energy of the Light Element.

“Demon Judgment Sword!”

Following Lu Xiu’s roar, an enormous light sword with a formidable power descended from the blue sky. Golden ripples kept appearing in the air while it was falling, driving away the frosty aura lingering across the place.

The Demon Judgment Sword landed in the direction that the Flying Snow Fox Ruler was fleeing into. The creature was dragging one of their captains in its mouth. It squinted when it saw the Demon Judgment Sword locking onto it. It shook its head indifferently and tossed the dying captain into the air!

The scorching Demon Judgment Sword burned the captain into ashes before even touching him.

The Flying Snow Fox Ruler spread its limbs. It could turn itself into a glider when it fully extended its limbs.

A gust of wind lifted the Flying Snow Fox Ruler into the sky like a kite.

The Flying Snow Fox Ruler rode the wind into the sky as the Demon Judgment Sword reached the ground. The creature soon disappeared behind the glaciers.

Walls of ice collapsed to the ground. An eerie laughing bark came from the distance. Lu Xiu was breathing heavily while staring in the direction that the Flying Snow Fox Ruler had fled into.

He was fooled! The Flying Snow Fox Ruler was playing him like a fiddle!

“I thought it was impossible to dodge the Demon Judgment Sword once it locked onto its target?” Guan Yu was astounded.

The Demon Judgment Sword was the strongest single-target Super Spell. It would emit a strong light like the sun before it took form. The light would fill the sky, making it impossible for the target to see where the Demon Judgment Sword was falling from. As such, it was difficult to dodge the Demon Judgment Sword.

It was not that surprising if the Flying Snow Fox Ruler dodged the attack right away, but the irony was, it purposely threw the mercenary captain into the path of the falling Demon Judgment Sword. Lu Xiu ended up killing his own man instead!

The speed of Super Spells was extremely high, like a flicker in the sky to normal people. The next thing they knew, the glowing figure of a sacred sword had struck the ground with a terrifying impact. However, the Flying Snow Fox Ruler was showing Lu Xiu how slow his spell was, as it still had time to dance around before running away!

“Night Rakshasa, keep an eye on the Flying Snow Fox Ruler. It will be back. Don’t let it pick on the people of the Mailong Private Military Group again,” Jiang Yu said.

The Flying Snow Fox Ruler’s moves were unpredictable, and its agility was outstanding. Other spells would not stand a chance if even the Demon Judgment Sword failed to take it out. Their only choice was to let the Night Rakshasa keep it at bay.

The Night Rakshasa was extremely proud. She was not interested in fighting weak enemies, so the Flying Snow Fox Ruler was a worthy opponent for her.

The little cub’s voice suddenly came from behind them.

The Night Rakshasa’s hair stood on its end when she heard it. She jumped up and flipped in the air. She spread her limbs and entered a cautious state as she landed on the ground.

The little cub’s eyes widened. She was supposed to be an imperious tiger, yet her charm outweighed that of a kitten. The Night Rakshasa was more like the bad guy compared to her!

The Night Rakshasa was about to go mad. She had never seen such a shameless tiger. Wasn’t she supposed to be more like a cat?

“Little cub, I was giving Night Rakshasa the order instead of you. Just stay put!” Jiang Yu was left speechless.

What was wrong with the little cub? The order was meant for the Night Rakshasa, but the little cub seemed more eager than the Night Rakshasa.

“Stop causing more trouble, you might be fast, but you are no match against the cunning Flying Snow Fox Ruler,” Apas finally found the little cub that was wandering around aimlessly. She quickly scooped her up in her arms.

The little cub struggled fiercely in Apas’ arms. She was rubbing her head in Apas’ bust, like the act of a lustful man.

“Damn it!” Zhao Manyan cursed when he saw what the little cub was doing from the corner of his eye.

—

The fight between the Ice Mountain Beasts and the humans slowly came to an end. The Ice Mountain Ruler fled after killing a member of the team of explorers from the Sacred Hall of Liberty.

The other Ice Mountain Beasts stopped defending their den after the Ice Mountain Ruler fled.

However, the scavengers were not going to let the losers of the battle go. They immediately went after the Ice Mountain Beasts who were fleeing for their lives.

Each Ice Mountain Beast was a Commander-level creature. It was easier to kill them when they were running away injured.

“Did you see that? If we run away, we would end up as the prey of the scavengers instead. There’s no turning back now!” Yassen said.

“But we lost too much,” Bertan glanced at the dead bodies scattered across the ground helplessly.

The man who had died was Bertan’s old comrade. He felt horrible when he saw his friend being smashed into the ground.

“It’s better than us all dying here,” Yassen replied.

The scavengers were disgusting. They always picked on the weaker prey!

The humans had destroyed the Ice Mountain Beasts’ den, so the scavengers targeted the Ice Mountain Beasts who were running for their lives. The scavengers had already surrounded the place, so the Ice Mountain Beasts were running to their deaths after losing their will to fight.

“They…they aren’t leaving,” Klope said.

“They won’t as long as we are still alive. We all saw what happened to the Ice Mountain Beasts, so no matter what happens, we can’t show them we have lost our ability to fight. We must pretend we can still fight back so they won’t dare to do anything recklessly!” Yassen declared.

Chapter 2030: Infighting

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

They could not afford to rest in this area. The smell of blood lingering in the air might attract more Ruler-level creatures to them. They had to keep moving, despite the fatigue they were feeling.

The land was littered with dead bodies, adding hints of bright redness and trails of red footsteps to the world of snow.

Ghastly cries kept echoing around them, inflicting a sense of hopelessness on the people on Tianshan Mountain. They were forced to close their eyes because of the extreme cold, yet they did not dare to sleep, as they were afraid they might not wake up again.

They had won the battle, yet they were like cattle trapped inside fences. The predators would lunge at them when the fences fell!

The alliance was a lot weaker after the battle. Only a few lucky Advanced Mages had survived. Their odds of survival solely depended on whether the scavengers had targeted them or not. Being above the Advanced Level did not necessarily guarantee their safety, either. Normally, in the cities or territories of demon creatures, the Advanced Level was enough for humans to be nigh-fearless, but they were currently in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. Every creature here was stronger than an Advanced Mage. They were dead for sure if they were left alone!

The alliance had many Super Mages, but they too were tense and nervous. Both the demon creatures they were going to stumble into ahead and the scavengers behind had cunning Ruler-level creatures among them. Those creatures were capable of killing Super Mages with a single blow. They were experienced at hunting and were gradually applying pressure to the Mages, making them uneasy and scared so they would lose their calm.

“It’s so cold…”

“Can we use our magic?”

The frostbite was still happening. As time went by, their skin and muscles were being injured by the cold.

Their bodies were getting stiffer. The cold felt like something was rubbing against their bones. Even those with a strong will could not withstand it.

“We can’t use our magic!” Yassen said.

“I can no longer feel my body. If we don’t use our magic…” a Hunter Master complained.

“If we use our magic, the scavengers will know we are getting weaker. Do you think they don’t suspect we are just putting up a front? Once it’s exposed, none of us will survive!” Yassen declared.

“It’s better than freezing to death!”

“Yeah, we can no longer sense our bodies. If we don’t use our magic to protect us from the cold…”

“Hang in there, we still have a glimpse of hope! But if our energy depletes, we are as good as dead!” Yassen stated coldly.

“Do you think we care about that now? You asked us to form an alliance and tell us the location of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus so we could be your cannon fodder. We’ve been dying along the way, yet none of you have been fighting with your full strength… we don’t want to waste our magic just to warm ourselves, but we might die to the cold at any second now?! Why should we keep putting up a front just so you are safe from the scavengers?” Zhuang Qi from the Savage Raptor Hunter Group cursed harshly.

“That’s right! You Super Mages never treated us seriously! In the end, only you are going to survive, meaning that the Tianshan Sacred Lotus is yours too!” someone added.

“How can you think like that? You volunteered to enter the Scar of Tianshan Mountain in the first place. We did tell you how dangerous it’s going to be…” Yassen spat back.

“Since you keep saying we are one group now, shouldn’t you Super Mages sacrifice some of your energy to set up a barrier for those who are dying to the cold?” Zhuang Qi retorted.

“Ugh… if we waste our energy, how are we supposed to fight the Ruler-level creatures?” Yassen pointed out.

“Humph, I know you have been preserving your strength. We are all ants on the same string. We risked our lives to clear a path for you, so it’s your turn to step forward now that we can’t hold on for any longer!”

“Yeah, the Super Mages should step forward!”

The leaders of the alliance were hesitant as more people began to doubt them.

It was the truth that the rate of casualties had increased significantly after they entered the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. They claimed they had to work together, but only the Super Mages could survive in the end.

More people were protesting. Yassen, Xing Hui, Zhao Kang, and the others were struggling to keep the situation under control.

They could not afford to lose the Advanced Mages, as they still made up the majority. If they left, the scavengers were going to attack them.

It did not mean they were no match for the scavengers, but it did mean they would be worn out and injured after fighting them. They might not return from the mountain safely!

In the end, Yassen and the others chose to compromise. The Super Mages had to establish barriers to protect the Advanced Mages from the cold.

——

“They are not idiots. There must be a limit, even if they are treated as cannon fodder,” Mo Fan commented.

“We are Super Mages too. Does that mean we need to set up barriers for them? We didn’t get to rest at all. We are running out of energy,” Zhao Manyan replied quietly.

“Nanyu, Jiang Shaoxu, and Guan Yu are still in the Advanced Level. Besides, the Mailong Private Military Group has indeed cleared a path for us. We should protect them,” Ai Jiangtu spoke up.

“It’s not like I know how to set up a barrier. You all can make the call,” Mo Fan said.

“And you have the most energy left!” Zhao Manyan complained.

Mo Fan had many Elements, and kept switching between them during the battle. If anyone had managed to preserve most of their strength, it was Mo Fan.

Mu Ningxue was very strong too, but she was facing a huge problem, as her energy was almost depleted!

She only had the Ice Element and Wind Element. Even if she had only used Basic and Intermediate Spells, she still could not fight a long battle.

“That Nanrong Ni might be a b**ch, but her Blessing Element could easily help us recover our energy in less than a day. We weren’t fully prepared before coming to Tianshan Mountain. We didn’t have a Healer or someone with the Blessing Element…” Zhao Manyan sighed.

They were no longer on the national team. It was difficult to have every Element available!

They might be able to find a Healer, but it was almost impossible to find someone with the Blessing Element. It was the Parthenon Temple’s specialty, the foundation of their outstanding status in the world.

“Old Zhao, you haven’t Awakened your Fourth Element, right? I might be able to arrange it with Xinxia. You want to try to see if you can Awaken the Blessing Element?” Mo Fan suggested.

“Screw you, why do I have to be the support? I was determined to become the coolest destructive Mage when I was sixteen. I’ll toss my Forbidden Spell at whoever looks at me in the wrong way. However, I ended up Awakening the Light Element, the Water Element, and the Earth Element instead. If I don’t get a good offensive Element as my fourth Element, I should just uninstall myself!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed indignantly.

Chapter 2031: The Desolate Ice Field

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Psychic Mages, Healers, and Blessers could only improve their cultivation through situations that forced them to exceed their limits, so their progress was slower. Nanyu and Jiang Shaoxu were great examples. They were not slackers; their Primary Element was the main reason why they still had not achieved the Super Level!

Nanyu’s Sound Element was most useful for observing enemies, assisting her allies, and controlling situations. Her situation was similar to those whose Primary Element was the Psychic, Healing, or Blessing Element.

Those Elements required great patience, so Zhao Manyan knew he could not handle them, even though these Elements were very useful and would be a lot of help to a team!

That being said, most teams could not hope to find a high-level Mage with the Sound, Psychic, Healing, or Blessing Elements. Even an Intermediate Healer or Blesser could give a Super Mage great help!

—

The cold wind they had endured previously was like a spring breeze compared to the one now. The wind was as sharp as a cold saber, continuously draining their lives away. They could no longer feel their own bodies. As they walked, their vision would suddenly darken, like they had fallen into an abyss. Their body would temporarily be free of pain until someone shook them vigorously and transmitted some energy into their bodies to wake them up. They would then realize they were at the brink of death!

If no one was around to keep them awake, they would simply fall asleep after being overwhelmed by fatigue, and would never wake up again.

The Super Mages took turns expending their energy and maintained the barrier that was keeping the others safe. However, the frost continued to penetrate their bodies.

Everyone was dazzled by the Scar of Tianshan Mountain’s beauty when they first arrived. However, they now realized it was as white as a devil’s fang. They were tired of seeing the same whiteness. Their hearts were filled with hatred for it now!

—

“The Desolate Ice Field is just ahead. The ice there has been around for tens of thousand years. Even Super Spells will struggle to break it,” Yassen informed every, pointing at the cracks that were hard to notice in the ice field, “Be careful of where you step, especially those cracks that are hard to see.”

“We aren’t blind. Are you saying that we might fall into them?” Zhao Kang challenged him.

“Is that right? You can try it yourself,” Yassen replied calmly.

Zhao Kang felt Yassen was being overly cautious. He started walking toward a crack that was over thirty meters wide about a hundred meters away.

The Desolate Ice Field was full of cracks that resembled claw marks. It felt like devils had left their markings across the place. These cracks were only visible when the people were within three hundred meters from them because the ground and the glaciers were reflecting the sunlight like a mirror. They had to look closely to see the cracks!

Zhao Kang did not treat the warning seriously because he believed he could easily tell where the cracks were.

“I can easily jump across them…” Zhao Kang jumped into the air to cross the rift in the ice.

However, something strange happened. Zhao Kang suddenly stopped in the air as if something was grabbing him. His clothes and hair were being pulled down!

“Wind suction!” Zhao Kang realized abruptly. He immediately cast a Wind Spell to break free from the air pressure that was pulling him into the split below him.

Zhao Kang had released his Wind Wings. The Star Constellation of his Wind Element was established rapidly. However, the connection shattered as the last Star Pattern was being added to the structure.

The Wind Wings disappeared at the last second. Zhao Kang was dragged into the crack by a powerful force.

“Damn it!” Zhao Kang cursed, casting the same spell again.

It had the same outcome. His Star Constellation broke in the process as a stronger force pulled Zhao Kang deeper into the split.

He was currently eight meters inside the rift now. The frost inside it wrapped around him like some kind of white silk.

The silk gradually hardened and attached to Zhao Kang’s body like an icy armor.

Zhao Kang was terrified when he could no longer move his body. To make things worse, he was unable to use his magic. Every Star Constellation he tried to construct would shatter before the strange wind that was pulling him down!

Zhao Kang finally realized the rifts were not as simple as they seemed, and screamed at the top of his lungs, “Help, help me!”

The rift looked bright and simple when he was on the surface, but it felt like an endless abyss after he fell into it. He could only see a narrow crack above him. Not only was he wrapped in the deadly frost, his heart was filled with despair now!

A dark vine fell into the crack and wrapped around Zhao Kang’s body. The vine tightened and dragged him out of the crack.

The wind was unwilling to let Zhao Kang go, even when an external force was pulling him up. It almost broke the vine helping him as Zhao Kang was lifted higher. Kuma had no choice but to use a few more vines to drag him out of the crack.

Zhao Kang was already covered in a layer of solid ice when he exited the rift. Klope had to use his Fire Element to melt it. Only then was Zhao Kang safe!

“It was so frightening!” Zhao Kang had a pale face. He kept staring at the split in the ice nervously after managing to focus.

“These cracks in the ice have the Desolate Wind of Death and the Icy Silk of Death. The Desolate Wind of Death will pull in everything close to it and convert the energy their target is releasing into a stronger pulling force. Once the target is in the rift, the Icy Silk of Death will wrap around them like a mummy. When the layer of ice takes form, even the strongest Mage will be stuck forever in the rift and become a part of the ice that has been around for tens of thousand years!” Yassen declared solemnly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Desolate Ice Rifts were a nightmare to all living creatures. The peak of Tianshan Mountain did not welcome anything living. Many powerful species never woke up after falling into the cracks.

The crevasse that Zhao Kang had challenged was only about thirty meters long. Those that were hundreds or thousands of meters long were common in the Desolate Ice Field, and could not be crossed easily!

They were forbidden territory in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. Even the strongest creatures had to cast their pride aside and avoid them!

—

The ice rifts were impassable, meaning that the ice field was as complicated as a maze. Their destination was just ahead, yet they had to go up to a thousand meters around to avoid the rifts. They still had no idea if there would be other crevasses in their way after they avoided the first one.

The Tianshan Sacred Lotus was almost within sight, yet reaching it was harder than anyone had imagined.

A huge blast suddenly echoed in the quiet Desolate Ice Field. Everyone looked in the direction it came from.

There was a hill there fully made up of crystalline ice. The fact that it existed in the Desolate Ice Field indicated it was sturdier than most of the mountains around, but it had suddenly collapsed. Its spectacular body smashed onto the spacious ice field and shattered.

The ice shards scattered across the place, some flying at Mo Fan and the others. Everyone fixed their eyes on the area and saw glowing wings weaving through the fallen hill. They were quick, like rays of light, covering several thousand meters in the blink of an eye.

“It’s them!” Klope exclaimed.

“Are they here for the Tianshan Sacred Lotus too? If so, we are wasting our time here.”

“It doesn’t seem like it. The Tianshan Sacred Lotus is located at the Nine Flowers Scar, but they are fighting in an area with fewer ice rifts. If they are here for the Tianshan Sacred Lotus, they should be heading toward the Nine Flowers Scar,” Yassen observed.

“Who are they? Why are they fighting here, especially with their outstanding cultivation?” Kuma asked.

Mo Fan looked ahead. He already furrowed his brow when he saw the glowing wings. He could not help but curse under his breath when he saw the outfit that one of the figures was wearing.

Son of a b**ch!

Why did he have to stumble into these retarded assh**** after coming to such a distant and deserted place?

“They must be the people who entered the Scar of Tianshan Mountain before us,” Jiang Yu commented.

They had noticed a group of people had entered the Scar of Tianshan Mountain before them after they crossed the frozen lake. It was obvious that the people they were watching were from the same group. They wondered if the group ahead would have any conflicts of interest with the alliance. Hopefully they were after different things, or they were all going to die trying to fight the group of powerful Mages!

“Mo Fan, you know who they are?” Guan Yu asked when he heard Mo Fan’s swear.

“Only those scum of the Heresy Judgment Court would wear outfits like that!” Mo Fan spat.

Mo Fan had met an arrogant Judicator in the Divine City of Lhasa not long ago, giving him a better understanding of the infamous Heresy Judgment Court. He did not expect to see them here so soon!

“Mo Fan,” Mu Ningxue whispered beside Mo Fan’s ear.

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked when he saw the nervous look on her face.

“The person they are fighting…” Mu Ningxue pointed at the icy wall rising across the field in disbelief.

Mo Fan had just noticed the Heresy Judgment Court was surrounding a person, a woman in a long purple robe. To Mo Fan’s surprise, the woman had the same silver hair as Mu Ningxue!

The color was not available as a dye at a hairdresser. Its unique noble temperament and the fair skin that further set off its beauty made her look like a Goddess of Ice had descended upon the mundane world.

Mo Fan had always been dazzled by Mu Ningxue’s unique and natural beauty!

“That woman?” Mo Fan glanced at Mu Ningxue before looking at the woman with silver hair, who was slightly more mature. He almost thought she was Mu Ningxue’s twin sister!

“Qin Yu’er,” Mu Ningxue replied.

Mu Ningxue had shared a fate similar to Qin Yu’er. Mu Ningxue had only realized how fortunate she was after meeting Qin Yu’er. She was utterly impressed by Qin Yu’er’s unyielding spirit.

Mu Ningxue had just told Qin Yu’er’s story to Mo Fan recently. She did not expect to meet Qin Yu’er on Tianshan Mountain, the Ream of Ice, as if they had never left!

However, Mu Ningxue clearly remembered that Qin Yu’er had returned to the city after she left Tianshan Mountain. Why did she come back here? And why was she fighting the Heresy Judgment Court?

“She’s taking on four experts of the Heresy Judgment Court on her own?” Mo Fan was surprised at how strong Qin Yu’er’s Ice Element was. Four Judicators of the Heresy Judgment Court were attacking her, yet they could not secure the upper hand.

“She had already reached the Super Level after leaving the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. She is significantly stronger than me, too. Give her a few more years, and she might even become a Forbidden Mage,” Mu Ningxue explained.

Qin Yu’er had an Innate Soul-grade Seed!

Mu Ningxue’s Innate Spirit-grade Seed had given her a head start among those of her age. Qin Yu’er just had to improve her cultivation to better control her Ice Magic. She was an empress in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain!

“Mo Fan, look over there!” Zhao Manyan suddenly pointed in a direction.

Mo Fan followed Zhao Manyan’s finger and saw a woman dressed like a Muse from the Parthenon Temple, covered in the sacred light of the Blessing Element. She was strengthening the Super Spell of one of the Adjudicators.

“Pelina?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

Wasn’t the woman helping the Heresy Judgment Court looking for a heretic? Why was she here?

“Didn’t she say she was going to Tianshan Mountain?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Right… but we set out first,” Mo Fan said slowly.

“Look at her formation, and look at ours,” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

Both sides had Super Mages, but it was obvious that the four Adjudicators and Pelina were experts among Super Mages. They did not require much time to channel their Super Spells. They even had multiple Elements at the Super Level!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Could it be… Qin Yu’er is the heretic they mentioned?” Mo Fan realized abruptly.

“Very likely,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

“Damn it, I thought it was the dangerous guy I saw on the street!” Mo Fan said.

“Perhaps he wasn’t their main target,” Mu Ningxue suggested.

Qin Yu’er had been judged a heretic. The Heresy Judgment Court must have learned she had escaped from the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, so their people gathered at the City of the Gods before coming here!

Mo Fan was struggling to understand why Qin Yu’er came back to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. Did the people of the Heresy Judgment Court bring her here?

“Maybe they apprehended Qin Yu’er in the city, but the Realm of Ice here greatly increased her strength after she was escorted to the Scat of Tianshan Mountain. They couldn’t control her anymore, hence the fight?” Mo Fan speculated.

“Perhaps… the people of the Heresy Judgment Court still wouldn’t let her go!” Mu Ningxue hissed angrily.

Mu Ningxue was rarely so concerned about someone else’s business, but she empathized with Qin Yu’er since they had both shared a similar fate. The Heresy Judgment Court had already committed an unforgivable act in the past, yet they still did not want to let her go!

Qin Yu’er just wanted to be free. The Heresy Judgment Court’s overbearing attitude would only worsen Mu Ningxue’s grudge against them.

“Ningxue, that woman…” Jiang Shaoxu whispered.

Mu Ningxue looked further ahead and saw a man and a woman in familiar outfits standing apart from the four Adjudicators from the Heresy Judgment Court and Muse Pelina.

They were standing further away, behind an ice ridge. Their existence had only been exposed after Qin Yu’er destroyed the ice ridge.

“It’s the Ice Luan and Ice Phoenix of the Mu Clan!” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed.

Mu Ningxue nodded.

Everyone in the Mu Clan knew who they were. They were a brother and sister team who possessed powerful Innate Talents, the power of the Ice Luan and the Ice Phoenix!

They were the symbolic representatives of the Mu Clan, born in a clan of the Ice Element with the perfect Innate Talents. They were just as outstanding as their Innate Talents.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan held Mu Ningxue’s hands. He could feel her hands trembling. Even her pupils were flickering.

“It was they who expelled me from the Mu Clan and demanded my father and I change our surname,” Mu Ningxue said coldly.

The competition between Mu Tingying and her was treated like a little quarrel between kids.

Mu Tingying was from the younger generation of the Mu Clan, a potential candidate raised by the clan. However, before the Mu He incident, she was only Mu Ningxue’s substitute.

Mu Ningxue did not feel humiliated and angry because of Mu Tingying, but because of the Ice Luan and Ice Phoenix, who held great power in the clan!

They had a lot of say in many things in the clan, especially raising the younger generations, which they were fully in charge of.

Being abandoned…

Being replaced…

These had led Mu Ningxue to the lowest point in her life, but what she could not forgive was their decision to take everything from her at Venice, including her life and her soul!

Pan Xi was their right-hand man. It was they who had decided to remove the Ice Crystal Bow from her soul and turn her into a cripple who could not even cast a Basic Spell!

The Ice Luan, Mu Feiluan. The Ice Phoenix, Mu Yinfeng.

They had received their nicknames from their Innate Talents. They were brimming with extraordinary power since they were born, and had been aloof for a dozen years!

“They…”

“The people of the Heresy Judgment Court must be aware of how outstanding Qin Yu’er’s Ice Element is, so they asked the two experts of the Mu Clan to lend them a hand. The Mu Clan is more than willing to fawn upon the Heresy Judgment Court!” Mu Ningxue held a strong grudge against the two.

They were the leaders of the Mu Clan she wanted to destroy! Only by dragging them down from their sacred altar would she be able to get over the humiliation and despair she had endured in Venice!

“We can’t let her escape. She’s going to bring us disaster,” a Judicator in the distance spoke up.

The four Judicators were fighting Qin Yu’er while the Ice Luan and Ice Phoenix controlled the Ice Magic in the area, using their magic to suppress Qin Yu’er’s Innate Talent. One could not deny how outstanding the Ice Luan and Ice Phoenix’s Innate Talents were, as Qin Yu’er’s magic was greatly suppressed by them. Otherwise, the fight would not have lasted for so long in an extreme environment like the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, regardless of how strong the four Judicators were.

“It’s a fight between immortals, my Heavens…” Jiang Yu’s eyes and mouth were wide open.

Their Super Spells were like fireflies compared to the Super Spells that the Judicators were tossing about. Most importantly, each of the Judicators seemed to possess some kind of forbidden power which granted their spells different effects!

“Qin Yu’er is casting spells so frequently. How does she do it?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan thought it was a four-on-one, but he realized it was actually a seven-on-one after he saw the siblings from the Mu Clan and Muse Pelina. However, Qin Yu’er was able to use her magic simply by waving her hands around in the fight. She was able to gather Ice Magic and turn it into destructive spells with a single thought!

“During the years Qin Yu’er was stranded on Tianshan Mountain, she learned how to use Ice Magic without drawing Star Orbits. It’s why the Heresy Judgment Court accused her of being a heretic,” Mu Ningxue stated.

“She doesn’t need to draw Star Orbits? So she’s a magic automatic rifle?” Mo Fan could not believe it.

Star Orbits, Star Patterns, Star Constellations, and Star Palaces were supposed to be the source of energy when using magic. How was she transmitting and outputting energy without them?

If it was possible to cast Advanced Spells and Super Spells with a single thought, Qin Yu’er could defeat her enemies by abusing her casting speed, even if her cultivation was not as strong. It explained why the Heresy Judgment Court was so wary of her. Her ability was inhuman!

“That being said, can’t you see they aren’t trying to win the fight? They are just wearing her out,” Mu Ningxue pointed out to him.

“Yeah, if she only has the Ice Element, it means her energy is limited. Those guys are so fighting so dirty when it’s a seven-on-one,” Mo Fan agreed.

Qin Yu’er had also realized what her enemies were up to. She was looking for a chance to break free from the envelopment!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A strange wind spiraled down from the sky, bearing dense ice petals within it.

The ice petals kept increasing in number and filled up the area ahead. They would gather together and turn into a flower to protect Qin Yu’er from the destructive spells of the four Judicators, or turn into sharp weapons to attack those within three kilometers of her.

The ice petals scattered across the sky like snow, nullifying the attacks of the four Judicators and forcing them to back away.

The ice petals accumulated rapidly, turning into a vortex close to Qin Yu’er with the help of a rising airflow.

The ice petals inside were dancing wildly. The slender figure within the vortex was extremely blurred.

The ice petals inside the vortex suddenly stopped. They were like little elves dancing around a campfire just a moment ago, but they suddenly fell to the ground and piled up like wilted flowers.

“Where did she go?”

“Damn it, aren’t you supposed to keep a close eye on her? Why did you back away?” Judicator Maule asked angrily.

“What the heck? You know how powerful that wicked woman is! If I hadn’t backed away, I would be a pile of shredded meat by now!” a Judicator with light blue hair shot back.

“She escaped again. It took us great effort just to trap her here… but it doesn’t matter, we’ve already set up the Nine Lights Formation. She can only find a place to hide, and she won’t escape our grasp. We can’t let her escape and pose a threat to society again!”

The seven people regrouped before they realized others had arrived on the field, and looked over at them.

“Who are they?” Judicator Maule frowned.

“Should be a bunch of explorers. The Rift Valley gave them a chance to reach the deeper regions of Tianshan Mountain,” Mu Feiluan said after a quick glance at the group.

“Great Chief!” Xing Hui was overjoyed when he saw Mu Feiluan.

Mu Feiluan looked at Xing Hui expressionlessly. “Where are the others?” Mu Feiluan asked.

The clan would occasionally send a team of disciples to Tianshan Mountain to search for valuables. The Scar of Tianshan Mountain was full of glaciers, so the resources here were very attractive for a clan using the Ice Element. However, it was not something Mu Feiluan was in charge of, so he did not bother to intervene with it.

“The others didn’t survive…” Xing Hui admitted softly.

“That’s not a surprise, I have long wanted to get rid of the incompetent ones. Tianshan Mountain happened to do us the favor. Otherwise, they were going to blame me for being merciless again, hehe,” Mu Yinfeng smiled.

She was pleased with the casualties on Xing Hui’s team! Xing Hui looked quite awkward. He had no idea how to respond to that.

Xing Hui suddenly thought of something. He glanced at Mu Ningxue before whispering to Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng.

The two immediately stared at Mu Ningxue, who had the same silver hair as their target, sharply.

“She’s over there!” the Judicator with light blue hair suddenly yelled when he noticed Mu Ningxue.

The other Judicators quickly surrounded Mu Ningxue, like they were about to apprehend her by force.

“Are you blind?” Mo Fan stood in front of Mu Ningxue and glared at Judicator Maule.

Judicator Maule also realized Mu Ningxue was not Qin Yu’er. He struggled to keep a straight face.

“You Asians all look the same. Why are you here? Are you the Ice Witch’s accomplice too?” Maule pointed at Mo Fan.

“I’m seriously impressed by how retarded you can be! I finally understand why the Heresy Judgment Court managed to lose the Cold Prince after learning that someone like you can be a Judicator,” Mo Fan scoffed right back.

“You disrespectful scum, you do know Judicators have the right to execute you on the spot if you insult us, according to the supreme law of the Magic Association?” Maule snarled at him.

Maule was not in a great mood after Qin Yu’er escaped, and now he had stumbled into the man with a filthy mouth. How dare he provoke a Judicator when he was still a suspected heretic?

“He has always been like this, acting arrogantly just because he earned a slight reputation for himself. We have long wanted to teach him a lesson, but the Pearl Oriental Tower and Pearl Institute might accuse us of bullying him. However…” Mu Yinfeng’s eyes were filled with disdain toward Mo Fan.

Mu Yinfeng purposely dragged out her tone. She glanced at Mu Ningxue and said, “Mu Ningxue, as a sinner of the clan, you have disobeyed us several times. You even used the resources of the clan to establish a petty faction called Fanxue Mountain to oppose us. I’m afraid I won’t overlook your treacherous acts since you happen to be here today!”

Mu Ningxue calmly listened to Mu Yinfeng’s lies. She already knew a cracked bell could not sound well, but she did not expect one of the highest authorities of the Mu Clan to be so shameless.

The tears she had shed in Venice were too precious. They had allowed her to see the real nature of the Mu Clan.

The icy wind that had calmed down started blowing again. Mu Ningxue’s clothes and silver hair drifted in the wind.

Frost suddenly appeared in the air. It turned into an icy aura around Mu Ningxue’s position.

Mu Yinfeng was startled. She subconsciously took a step back after seeing the aggression in Mu Ningxue’s eyes.

Mo Fan was dumbfounded too!

Why was his first wife more hot-tempered than him? No one had expected her to start a fight right away!

Star Patterns shifted rapidly to establish Star Constellations, which further constructed a Star Palace. Mu Ningxue had no intention of arguing with Mu Yinfeng. It was time to settle the dispute once and for all since they had met on Tianshan Mountain!

“Humph, you dare attack your benefactor? Don’t forget that you are only strong now because of our generosity!” Mu Yinfeng blurted out. Her eyes were brimming with anger as she continued, “Do you really think you can take me on? You are still a pitiful insect in my eyes!”

Countless ice feathers suddenly appeared around Mu Yinfeng. The scattered ice feathers combined into the spectacular pattern of an ice phoenix, displaying the strength and imperiousness of her Ice Domain!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Feiluan walked toward the alliance. He seemed to know Senior Hunter Yassen. He smiled at Yassen and said, “I believe you saw what happened just now. The woman is a heretic who the Heresy Judgment Court froze on Tianshan Mountain in the past, but somehow she has escaped. She is extremely dangerous and likes to stay in cities. She is a lot stronger here because of the environment. The four Judicators have trapped her in this area, but it will take us some time to apprehend her.”

“I understand, but we are here for the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. We have lost a lot of men along the way. You can’t possibly ask us to risk our lives for something so dangerous when we are already worn out both physically and mentally, just because the Heresy Judgment Court is catching a heretic here, right?” Senior Hunter Yassen tactfully rejected the request.

“The Nine Flowers Scar where the Tianshan Sacred Lotus is located is exactly where we have trapped the Ice Witch. If you go there without the Heresy Judgment Court’s permission, you will have to bear the consequences. We already discussed this with the Great Judicator. If you help us apprehend the Ice Witch, the Judicators will help you find the Tianshan Sacred Lotus in return,” Mu Feiluan promised.

“Are you serious?” Yassen was surprised.

The Tianshan Sacred Lotus was extremely valuable. Even Forbidden Mages would be interested in it, let alone Super Mages. Yassen almost gave up when he saw the group of powerful Mages, since his group had no chance of competing with them.

“Eliminating heretics is the Heresy Judgment Court’s sacred duty. They aren’t interested in the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. As for us, we are more interested in establishing a friendly relationship with the Heresy Judgment Court. Don’t you worry; if you’re willing to lend us a hand, we won’t demand a share of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus!” Mu Feiluan swore.

Mu Feiluan could easily tell Yassen was the leader of the alliance. If he could convince Yassen, the others would follow too.

“I shall discuss with the others first,” Yassen said.

“Be quick, we can’t let the Ice Witch rest for too long,” Mu Feiluan warned him.

Yassen called a meeting with the leaders of the teams to discuss it. Yassen was leaning toward working with the Heresy Judgment Court, mainly because they had to cross the complicated terrain in the Nine Flowers Scar before reaching the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. They could also see many powerful demon creatures roaming in the area ahead, who were also probably interested in the Tianshan Sacred Lotus.

A huge battle clearly awaited them if they went after the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. Most importantly, the people of the Heresy Judgment Court had established the Nine Lights Formation in the Nine Flowers Scar. They would not withdraw from the area if they did not catch the heretic, meaning the alliance would struggle to achieve their goal.

The Heresy Judgment Court would normally seal up an area when they were on a mission. They had the right to execute any unauthorized personnel on the spot. No one dared to challenge the Heresy Judgment Court’s authority!

Yassen told everyone about the situation. Bertan, Kuma, Zhao Kang, and the others were hesitating to make a decision.

“It sounds like we don’t have a choice, but the Ice Witch is incredibly strong. I’m afraid none of us will stand a chance against her,” Zhao Kang pointed out.

“Don’t worry, we aren’t facing her directly. Look on the bright side, it’s a chance for us to befriend the Heresy Judgment Court too.”

“Speaking of which, who’s the woman they are after? She looks not much different from us. Why is she a heretic?”

“We shouldn’t ask too many questions. The Heresy Judgment Court has its reasons.”

—

The leaders told the teams their decision. Although many people were against the idea, they would overstay their welcome on the mountain if the Heresy Judgment Court sealed off the area. The Heresy Judgment Court had ways to leave the mountain safely when the storm came, but the alliance would be in danger.

They had no choice but to help the Heresy Judgment Court since they did not have a choice.

“The Nine Lights Formation should be the silver-blue magic formation across the field. The Heresy Judgment Court has come prepared,” Mo Fan saw faint lights rising from the cracks when he returned to his team. They formed a huge circle around the field, like some icy flames.

“Qin Yu’er must be trapped in the Formation. I wonder where she’s hiding now,” Mu Ningxue said worriedly.

The field was surrounded by glaciers and peaks. There were glaciers hanging upside down in the sky and bottomless cracks in the land. Qin Yu’er was nowhere to be seen, but there were only limited spots in the enclosed area where she could hide.

“It’s obvious that Qin Yu’er has no trouble running away even if she can’t defeat them. The main problem is the Nine Lights Formation. We have to break a hole so she can escape,” Mo Fan said.

Qin Yu’er did not confront her enemies all the time, since that would only consume her energy. She needed time to catch her breath, so she was using the complicated terrain to play hide-and-seek with the Heresy Judgment Court. She was recovering energy while waiting for the Nine Lights Formation to disappear.

Mu Feiluan had already scattered the people of the alliance across the field to do a thorough search.

They believed Qin Yu’er did not have much energy left. They should be able to apprehend Qin Yu’er if they could find her in the next three hours.

The seven Judicators had difficulties searching the field on their own. There were many spots in the field where Qin Yu’er could be hiding. However, she would have nowhere to go if the alliance was searching for her too!

“Nanyu, don’t help those people,” Mo Fan told Nanyu.

It was easy for Nanyu to look for someone with her Sound Element. She could pick up a person’s breathing and heartbeat within a kilometer if she was focused.

Mo Fan was worried that Nanyu might help the Heresy Judgment Court since she was clueless about the truth of the matter.

“Do you know her?” Nanyu was surprised.

“I do, and she’s very important to me. I might even have to oppose the Heresy Judgment Court as a last resort,” Mo Fan admitted.

“Are you out of your mind?” Nanyu said with wide eyes. “You can challenge any faction, but not the Heresy Judgment Court. Even Chairman Shao Zheng won’t be able to protect you!”

“I know, I know, but I can’t let her fall into the Heresy Judgment Court’s hands. I will explain the details to you later. Help me find her before the others so I can help her escape secretly,” Mo Fan said.

“We can help her secretly, but make sure the Heresy Judgment Court doesn’t learn about it. We can’t afford to go against the Heresy Judgment Court. Even Ai Jiangtu and the others won’t side with you!” Nanyu warned him.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. I won’t put you all in trouble,” Mo Fan nodded.

Nanyu and the others would not hesitate to side with him against the Mu Clan, but the Heresy Judgment Court was a different story!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Even though the group was conducting a thorough search, it could still be dangerous, as many terrifying demon creatures were hiding close to the rifts in the ice, waiting viciously for the humans who were unaware of their existence to get closer.

The creatures that lived in the Desolate Ice Field had certain abilities to disguise themselves. The people struggled to perceive them on the mirror-like ice. They had no idea when they entered the creatures’ attack range!

“She might be hiding behind that hill. It’s where the last movement I heard came from,” Nanyu whispered to Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue.

“Alright, lead us to her. We must find her before the Heresy Judgment Court,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Zhao Manyan followed Nanyu as they pretended to search behind the hill. The Heresy Judgment Court was not suspicious of them, and continued to search for Qin Yu’er.

Every minute they wasted meant more time for Qin Yu’er to recover her energy. The Judicators would not have the upper hand if she was able to cast her magic at will while having plenty of energy.

“You guys, search that area,” Yassen told a few Hunter Masters from his team.

“It’s dangerous over there. I heard a few deep growls just now!” The Hunter Masters were reluctant to go any further.

“One must put in the effort to be rewarded. Do you think we can take the Tianshan Sacred Lotus if we are pretending to be searching for her while we are strolling around the field?” Yassen reminded him.

The other teams went separate ways. Everyone knew how dangerous the rifts were. No one dared to fly in the Desolate Ice Field, as the strange winds might drag them into the rifts if they were the least bit careless!

—

Mo Fan turned to watch where the others were going. He noticed Xing Hui was following them with a bunch of people.

“Do they know we are up to something?” Zhao Manyan said.

“I don’t think so. I bet they are just trying to annoy us. We have to send them away, or we won’t be able to meet Qin Yu’er,” Mo Fan said.

“Leave it to me!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Zhao Manyan approached Xing Hui. He was heading up an ice dune when he suddenly pointed at a deep rift and said, “I think I see her, she’s down there!”

His shout immediately attracted everyone’s attention. They quickly gathered around while Zhao Manyan headed to the lower ground, like he was trying to take a head start.

Even though Zhao Manyan’s exaggerating act was awkward to look at, some people actually believed him, including Xing Hui and the others who were following Mo Fan. They immediately started after him.

The person who found the Ice Witch first would be rewarded with the biggest petal of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. Wasn’t that what they were risking their lives for?

—

Mo Fan’s group successfully reached the back of the mountain. The hill’s waist had many ravines that were excellent hiding spots. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue thought she would be hiding somewhere on the hill, but Nanyu went straight to the back of the hill.

“Weird…” Nanyu said.

“She’s not here?” Mu Ningxue asked worriedly.

“She is, but the movement I heard is coming from over there.” Nanyu pointed down a ravine.

Mo Fan followed her finger and saw Nanyu pointing at a huge canyon. It was one of the Nine Rifts. People who came within five hundred meters of it could already feel the force trying to drag them into it, let alone if they fell into it!

“She’s around there?” Mo Fan asked in alarm.

“No, she’s inside it,” Nanyu declared.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue exchanged glances. They immediately ran to the huge canyon when they realized something.

The rift was over seven kilometers long and around four hundred meters wide, easily comparable to the quickmud of the Swamp of Death. It was unlikely anyone would survive after stepping into it.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue arrived at the edge of the rift. The overwhelming force kept dragging them towards the rift. Mo Fan had to use the Space Element to resist it.

They looked down and saw a cliff down the wall, around a hundred meters down. A woman in a light purple robe was standing on the cliff. Her silver hair stood out clearly.

“She’s down there!” Mu Ningxue exclaimed.

“Is she trapped? How did she fall into a rift, not to mention such a big one? How are we supposed to save her?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“Take it easy, you two,” Nanyu said.

Qin Yu’er who was standing on the cliff seemed to notice them too. She looked up in their direction.

“I’m going down,” Mu Ningxue said.

“I’ll modify the laws with the Chaos Element. You should hurry and save her. I can’t hold on for too long,” Mo Fan told Mu Ningxue.

“Got it!”

The Chaos Element could manipulate gravity. It would work on the ice rift too, but its power was overwhelming due to its size. Mo Fan could only manipulate the force of a small area.

Mu Ningxue jumped into the rift. It was rare to see her so worried about someone, perhaps because Qin Yu’er’s fate was too similar to hers. They even had the same silver hair. Only they understood one another’s loneliness.

“Sister Qin!” Mu Ningxue felt oddly warm when she saw Qin Yu’er.

“Ningxue, why are you here?” Qin Yu’er was surprised. They were at the Scar of Tianshan Mountain, an extremely dangerous place, even for Mu Ningxue!

“I came here to train myself. You are in a pretty bad spot,” Mu Ningxue said.

“I know,” Qin Yu’er sounded calm. She did not panic even when the Heresy Judgment Court was after her.

“Why did you come back here?” Mu Ningxue did not understand.

She had managed to get out from the Scar of Tianshan Mountain before. Why didn’t she stay in the city? Did she come here to hide from the Heresy Judgment Court?

Qin Yu’er shook her head. Instead of looking across the world for the man she wanted to meet, it was better to come back here and wait.

She was confident that she had seen a familiar face when the ice melted. Why did he turn and leave?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Either way, we must leave this place first,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Mm,” Qin Yu’er nodded.

Qin Yu’er had accidentally fallen into the rift while she was running away from the Judicators. Luckily, there was a cliff inside the crevasse for her to stand on. She would have ended up frozen again if she fell to the bottom of the rift!

Qin Yu’er looked worn out, and did not have a lot of energy left. She could still Summon frost to circle her like leaves and protect her from the wind, but the wind had already lashed at her like a whip when she fainted briefly.

Staying in the rift would only drain her energy more swiftly. If it wasn’t for Qin Yu’er’s Innate Talent, she would already have frozen on the cliff while she was unconscious.

Mu Ningxue helped Qin Yu’er up. She struggled to draw a Star Constellation due to the strong wind, which meant she could not use the Wind Wings. She had to rely on external help to get out of the crack.

“Get ready to come up!” Mo Fan called out.

Mo Fan was holding his right wrist tightly with his left hand. He spread his right hand like he was turning a compass with all his might. He was slowly modifying the direction of the wind in the rift!

The strong wind soon weakened significantly. Mu Ningxue and Qin Yu’er even felt a force lifting them into the air.

“Icebound Coffin!”

A heavy ice casket appeared above Mo Fan and collapsed onto him as he was channeling the Chaos Magic.

Mo Fan had no choice but to cancel the magic. His Dark Vein surged inside him as he escaped into the darkness as swiftly as a phantom.

The Icebound Coffin had appeared out of nowhere. It crashed on the spot where Mo Fan blended with the shadows. Mo Fan turned into a shadow sparrow and flew out of the Icebound Coffin’s area.

He left the shadows after arriving at a safe spot. He turned around angrily and saw a mischievous grin. It belonged to Xing Hui, who had been tailing them.

“I had a feeling you are somehow related to the Ice Witch. As I thought, you guys are pretty bold, trying to save the woman whom the Heresy Judgment Court is purging!” Xing Hui said from up a slope.

Mo Fan frowned. Zhao Manyan had failed to lure Xing Hui away. He had followed them here!

If the four Judicators found out about Qin Yu’er’s condition, they would kill her at all costs. Mo Fan’s eyes immediately emitted a cold flicker. His murderous aura soon filled up the area through the Chaos Element and transformed into a ferocious demonic shadow lunging at Xing Hui.

“What now? Trying to silence me?” Xing Hui smirked.

Xing Hui was not dumb. He knew what Mo Fan was planning to achieve by releasing the aura of the Chaos Element. Mo Fan was isolating the area so Xing Hui could not call the four Judicators to his aid!

“Such a pity, I was thinking of killing you myself, but it’s more entertaining if I let the Heresy Judgment Court deal with you… don’t even bother putting up a fight, I’ve already sent someone to alert the Judicators. They will be here in a few minutes,” Xing Hui said.

Mo Fan’s face darkened.

He looked into the crack. Mu Ningxue and Qin Yu’er were still in it. They would have no chance of leaving the rift without external help, yet this Xing Hui had to trouble him now to stop him from saving them!

“Mo Fan, take him out as soon as possible. Don’t worry, I’ve dealt with his man,” Nanyu said.

Mo Fan immediately turned to Nanyu.

Nanyu explained in an apologetic tone, “I was so focused on looking for Qin Yu’er that I didn’t notice Xing Hui was following us… but I heard him when he was sending his man away to alert the others.”

Nanyu pointed at a man wearing the outfit of the Mu Clan nearby. His eyes, nose, mouth, and ears were bleeding. He was unconscious.

Xing Hui’s expression shifted when he saw the man.

He had purposely stayed behind to stop Mo Fan from saving Mu Ningxue and Qin Yu’er, but that had allowed Nanyu to take his man out!

They were currently on the other side of the hill, so the others would not be able to see what was happening. Mo Fan had also distorted the space with the Chaos Element to isolate the area, meaning that Xing Hui was stranded with no backup!

“Humph, do you really think you can keep me here?” Xing Hui chuckled.

Why was he panicking?

His opponent was only a petty Mage who had just reached the Super Level not long ago! Mu Ningxue and Qin Yu’er were still stuck in the rift. He just had to take out Mo Fan and hand Mu Ningxue and Qin Yu’er over to Mu Feiluan!

“Nanyu, look after them. I’ll finish him in no time,” Mo Fan was relieved. Nanyu was extremely reliable when it mattered, unlike that idiot Zhao Manyan.

“Mm, be careful,” Nanyu was confident in Mo Fan’s strength.

—

Even though Xing Hui claimed he was going to fight Mo Fan, he immediately took off with his magic Equipment and headed for the other side of the hill.

As long as anyone from the alliance learned what was going on here, the Heresy Judgment Mages would treat Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue as its enemy. It was much easier than having a showdown with Mo Fan.

His magic Boots gave him the ability to jump around as agilely as a beast. He stepped on the ice and bounced around to reach the top of the mountain.

“The Ice Witch is here! She’s here!” Xing Hui yelled from up on the mountain, hoping that someone could hear him. However, he was stunned by the sight before him.

Mo Fan stood at the foot of the hill like he had been waiting for him. More importantly, the rift that Mu Ningxue and Qin Yu’er were trapped in was right beside him.

He clearly went over the mountain. How had he come back here again?

Xing Hui quickly turned around and ran to the other side of the hill, but he soon felt a chill running down his spine. He still arrived at the back of the hill where Mo Fan was looking at him with an eerie grin!

Space Distortion!

Xing Hui did not fall into an illusion. No matter which side of the mountain he ran to, he would end up at the same side where Mo Fan was. Mo Fan had already manipulated the space with the Chaos Magic!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Chaos Magic was different from illusions. Everything the person saw was like an illusion, yet the scene that felt like a dream was actually real. The Chaos Magic was actually manipulating the laws and order of space!

Xing Hui was not totally clueless about things. He straightened his face after he realized he was trapped in an isolated distorted space!

His options were to defeat the person who had created the distorted space, or to destroy the weak points and shatter the whole thing like glass.

However, Xing Hui was not great at perception. He would rather defeat Mo Fan instead of wasting the time and energy to look for the weak points. He preferred the simpler approach!

“You have sent the Sound Mage outside too. It seems you are stupider than I thought,” Xing Hui looked around and grinned. His yellow teeth glittered under the sunlight.

Xing Hui was standing at the top of the peak. The hillside was jagged with many sharp edges. In front of him was a steep slope, covered in ice rocks scattered irregularly across it.

Behind him was a steep slope with the same ice rocks. Most importantly, he would see the same things whether he was looking forward or back. A steep slope, Mo Fan, and the enormous rift!

The world was like an endless loop of mountains, valleys, rifts, mountains, valleys, rifts…

Xing Hui had seldom fought against Chaos Mages, so it was his first time being trapped in such a strange space. He could tell that Mo Fan did not want him to leave, going as far as setting up a space with endless loops just to trap him.

Having less experience with the Chaos Magic did not necessarily mean he was going to lose the fight miserably. The Chaos Element was not destructive on its own. He just needed to figure out his opponent’s weakness. The Chaos Magic would end up like an amusing and meaningless clown’s trick!

“You are overestimating yourself. I’m in a rush here. Otherwise, I could easily beat the crap out of you with a handicap of just using half my Elements!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

“Half your Elements?” Xing Hui was amused, but on second thought, half of Mo Fan’s Elements would mean the same number of Elements as his!

Xing Hui had no idea where Mo Fan had gotten the courage to fight him alone without the Sound Mage’s help. He had reached the Super Level at least a year or two faster than Mo Fan. Even though he had wasted the past two years on gambling and drinking, he could still defeat a novice Super Mage like Mo Fan with ease!

“You should focus on mastering your spells instead of coming up with these boring tricks!” Xing Hui yelled.

The mountain began to tremble. The thick snow covering it began to fall.

The ice mounds started breaking. The snow rolled down the mountain with the ice.

It was only a part of the ice and snow at first, but by the time it reached the middle of the hill, it had turned into a terrifying avalanche after half the hillside was shaved clean!

Xing Hui stood on the avalanche like he was commanding hundreds of ferocious beasts charging at Mo Fan. The avalanche was already big enough to overwhelm the entire valley by the time it reached the foot of the hill!

“It seems like your Earth Element is just a little baby. Unfortunately, you will no longer have the chance to practice it, HAHAHA!” Xing Hui looked down at the little barrier that Mo Fan had set up.

Rock Barrier: Mountain Screen?

The spell was like the little fence around an ancient village. It might be slightly effective against a small flood, but even ten times its sturdiness was no match for his avalanche! The whole village would soon be destroyed by the spell!

The avalanche devoured everything in its path mercilessly. The barrier Mo Fan had established had collapsed too. Xing Hui slid all the way to the edge of the crevasse. He turned around and grinned when he confirmed Mo Fan and his petty spell were buried under the snow.

Having more Elements was just a joke compared to his absolute strength!

“Climb out, get out of the snow, I don’t believe you will die so easily,” Xing Hui yelled disdainfully at the snow.

“A brain is a good thing, if you actually have one,” Mo Fan’s voice suddenly came from higher up.

Xing Hui was startled. He immediately looked at the top of the hill.

He was at the top of the hill! How was he up there?

He was clearly at the base not long ago. The snow had devoured both him and his Rock Barrier. How did Mo Fan get to the top of the hill? Didn’t he just come down from there?

Xing Hui suddenly realized something was off. He immediately looked behind him and noticed the space behind him spinning and the ground under his feet shaking. Everything around him had turned into pieces of a puzzle that was being shuffled. They were being reconstructed under someone else’s control!

The process only lasted for a few seconds. When everything returned to normal, Xing Hui realized the avalanche had gone in the wrong direction. The real Mo Fan was actually at the foot of the hill behind him, instead of the one in front of him!

The principles of the space that Xing Hui was trapped in were quite simple. It was like placing a mirror both in front and behind Xing Hui, but the only difference was, the world within the mirrors was real too!

Mo Fan was clearly behind Xing Hui, but he kept yelling at the Mo Fan inside the mirror in front of him. He had even made an avalanche to attack the Mo Fan in the mirror!

As a matter of fact, anyone with a basic understanding of the Chaos Element knew they could estimate the distance of something they saw within via the transmission of sound, and determine if what they were seeing was actually in front of them.

Xing Hui’s stupidity was beyond Mo Fan’s imagination. He seriously wondered where the guy had gotten the confidence to provoke him and Mu Ningxue!

“I have nothing but time, but you are in a rush to save someone. Keep using your stupid tricks!” Xing Hui realized how stupid he was too, but he would never admit it.

Mo Fan almost burst out laughing after hearing Xing Hui’s words.

He had set up the distorted space long ago. Did the man really think he was doing nothing all this time?

Couldn’t he see the dark energy surrounding him that was about to drag him into the abyss of death?

Didn’t he notice the Star Palace of the Lightning Tyrant with twelvefold damage amplification was accumulating its energy and ready to kill him at any second?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Xing Hui’s awareness was at the level of an Advanced Mage. Mo Fan even felt like Xing Hui was worse than a Hunter, who had to be on alert at all times. It had to be the result of indulging in secular desires inside the safe walls of the cities for too long. Mo Fan seriously wondered how someone like Xing Hui had survived until now on Tianshan Mountain!

The shadows slowly crept closer, like dusk chasing the last glimpse of sunlight away. Mo Fan was amazed by how slow Xing Hui’s response was. As a Super Mage, he should have realized that once darkness ruled the area, his life would be trapped in darkness forever too. He only realized he was surrounded when all that remained was the final glimpse of sunlight.

The shadows were like devils hiding under the ground, or deadly black seawater forcing Xing Hui to stand on a single spot, like he was stranded on an island.

The seawater kept rising. They would soak his legs and slowly crawl onto his body, finally clenching his throat coldly.

It was actually easier for Mo Fan’s army of darkness to infiltrate the space while it was under the influence of his Chaos Magic. When the remaining land of the living that Xing Hui stood on was invaded, the darkness immediately turned restless.

The frozen ground was replaced by a black swamp Xing Hui was sinking continuously into.

The guards of the Shadow Tribe rose from the swamp. They resembled knights of the ancient days under Mo Fan’s influence, each holding two jagged swords with hooks at the tip as they approached from all directions, inflicting injuries that festered rapidly on Xing Hui’s body.

Xing Hui only wished he could use all his limbs to cast his magic. He even wished he had Qin Yu’er’s ability to cast spells without drawing any Star Orbits. Every time he killed a few guards of the Shadow Tribe, a new bunch of them would appear from the swamp. They just kept coming!

“Seal of the Nine Laws!”

Mo Fan had already completed the Lightning Star Palace on the mountain. The Lightning Tyrant displayed its imperious aura as huge lightning halberds fell from the sky, accompanied by a deep rumble, like the roars of dragons from the Heavens. Xing Hui’s head was buzzing badly before the lighting halberds even reached the ground.

Xing Hui was already worn out trying to deal with the endless guards of the Shadow Tribe. He cried out in agony when he felt like his body was being split into pieces after the lightning halberds landed on him.

“That’s only the fourth, five more to go!” Mo Fan said coldly.

Mo Fan never showed his enemies mercy. He had no intention to call off the remaining five halberds, even though Xing Hui was already at his last breath after the first four halberds.

The entrapping power of the Seal of the Nine Laws was even more terrifying when all the lightning halberds landed. Xing Hui naively tried to defend himself with magic Equipment, but he forgot the outstanding penetrating power of the Lightning Element. Any defensive Equipment was mere decoration before the Lightning Magic. Not only would it fail to reduce the pain, his flesh would shatter too!

Xing Hui turned into scorched ashes following a few blinding flashes. His cries of agony echoed in the area for a few seconds.

Mo Fan withdrew the imperious lightning and his army of darkness. He shook his head as Xing Hui’s remains scattered in the wind. This Xing Hui was seriously too weak. A relatively strong Advanced Mage might have beat him if they could stop him from using his Super Spell.

The Mu Clan had raised many useless pieces of trash like him!

As a matter of fact, there were a lot of Mages like him in the Magic Associations. They occupied important positions in society and claimed a lot of resources for themselves instead of giving them to those who needed them. They were also the first to run away when the cities were invaded by demon creatures!

A person’s cultivation was not directly proportional to their strength; Mo Fan had known that for a long time. The unpredictable Chaos Element had played a crucial role in the fight. Xing Hui was lost right from the beginning of the fight. The avalanche he had prepared over a long time had also been useless. Otherwise, not only would Mo Fan have struggled to defend himself from the Super Ice Spell, he would not have had enough time to expand his shadow army and construct the Lightning Star Palace!

—

“Did you take him out?” Nanyu asked curiously when she saw Mo Fan leaving the distorted space.

“Yeah, the guy was weaker than I thought,” Mo Fan replied.

“It’s you who’s too strong!” Nanyu immediately refuted.

“You’re right, he’d be no match for me even if I hadn’t reached the Super Level,” Mo Fan agreed with a smile.

He looked into the chasm and saw Mu Ningxue and Qin Yu’er still on the cliff down there.

“I can only protect them with my magic. I can’t pull them up,” Nanyu told him.

“Keep watch, I’ll help them.”

Mo Fan had no trouble saving the two inside the chasm with the Space and Chaos Elements, as long as no one was disturbing him. It was like pulling a rope, but he had to keep pulling with both hands.

Luckily, no one had found them again. Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh after pulling Qin Yu’er and Mu Ningxue from the rift.

“What now?” Nanyu asked.

“We have to destroy the Nine Lights Formation first. Otherwise, none of us can leave this place,” Mo Fan said.

“Sister Qin, do you know…” Mu Ningxue turned around. She was going to ask about the Formation, but Qin Yu’er was already gone.

Qin Yu’er was behind her just a moment ago. Mu Ningxue could even hear her heavy breathing after being overwhelmed by fatigue, but there were only a few ice petals drifting around, with no sign of Qin Yu’er.

“Where…where did she go?” Mo Fan opened his eyes wide. He did not see Qin Yu’er no matter where he looked.

“She’s at the hill over there, but she’s really soft…I don’t think she wants to be a burden to you two,” Nanyu said.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue fell silent.

No faction or country dared to oppose the Heresy Judgment Court, Qin Yu’er knew that better than anyone. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were already in deep trouble for saving her from the rift. She did not want them to become the Heresy Judgment Court’s enemy!

“Mo Fan, Ningxue, either way, we can’t afford to offend the Heresy Judgment Court. It’s not only about you, but Fanxue Mountain will be affected too! She did the right thing. You can’t oppose the Heresy Judgment Court if you want a place in this world. You should keep that in mind if you are planning to destroy the Nine Lights Formation,” Nanyu warned them sternly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Snow began pouring down on the world of white crystals. In just a few minutes, the ground that was as clean as glass was covered in a soft layer of snow, crunching when people stepped on it.

The storm kept growing, and the whole Desolate Ice Field was drowned in whiteness. The previously clear blue sky was now full of snow. The mountains in the distance gradually disappeared into the whiteness.

“Damn it, it’s so difficult to see! How are we supposed to find the Ice Witch?” Zhao Kang grumbled.

The snow was like a thick fog. It was hard to see anyone clearly beyond twenty meters, and they could not even tell if it was a human or a demon creature beyond fifty meters. They were subconsciously shouting at one another in the storm. Even their voices would soon be devoured by the sudden snowstorm!

“We can’t keep going around aimlessly like this. It’s too easy to fall into the rifts in the storm, and we won’t be able to support one another if we stumble into any dangerous creatures,” Yassen advised.

“Let’s gather the people first. It’s too dangerous!” Klope agreed.

Yassen began signaling with his Light Element to gather the people at different spots, but not that many people showed up, even after he cast Brilliant Light a dozen times.

“Talk about perfect timing!” Judicator Maule snapped.

They were already struggling to find Qin Yu’er when the weather was clear, let alone now that the storm had come!

“Judicator, I don’t think we should worry about apprehending the Ice Witch now,” Yassen said with a grim face.

“Arresting heretics is our most important duty. Anything else can wait!” Judicator Maule responded instantly.

“I’m afraid this snowstorm will seal Tianshan Mountain off. It’s a sign that winter has come. We should leave Tianshan Mountain as soon as possible, especially the Valley of Glaciers. Otherwise, it will trap us all here,” Yassen went on as if he’d said nothing.

1

The snowstorm that he worried about the most had still happened in the end.

Yassen was more concerned about his life than he was about the rewards. He believed even the powerful Judicators would struggle to leave the mountain after the storm sealed it off.

“Don’t we still have some time left? We must find her at all costs!” Judicator Maule said desperately.

The truth was that the Judicators were fully aware of the deadliness of the snowstorm, or they would not have asked unauthorized personnel to help with the search. No one below the level of a Forbidden Mage could survive the storm, unless they were blessed by Tianshan Mountain!

Even the Frosty Ancient Eagles residing in the Valley of Glaciers had to store a lot of food before the snowstorms. They had to curl up in their nests during winter to keep one another warm and pray they would wake up when spring came.

“This storm is a warning signal from Tianshan Mountain. We can make it if we leave now,” Yassen stated.

“Enough, we know it better than you!” Maule snapped impatiently.

“Then let us leave first,” Yassen replied.

Yassen had already sent someone to get the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. They might not find one that had been around for seven hundred years, but they would have no problem finding some that were a few hundred years old. They had already profited from the adventure. They could live luxuriously for the rest of their lives if they could make it out alive!

“Are you kidding me? We won’t take down the Nine Lights Formation before we arrest the Ice Witch. I suggest you focus on the search. Otherwise, you won’t be able to leave this mountain!” Judicator Maule said coldly.

Yassen, Klope, Zhao Kang, and the others were stunned.

The Nine Lights Formation had trapped them all in the area too? In other words, it was up to the Judicators whether they could leave or not?

No one knew where the Ice Witch was hiding, or if she had died in one of the rifts. Were they all going to die here if they could not find her?

“Judicator, we agreed to help, but we aren’t obliged to…” Yassen emphasized.

“If you have time to utter such nonsense here, why don’t you hurry up and find the Ice Witch? We are done here once we get our hands on the Ice Witch. You will get your Tianshan Sacred Lotus too! We all leave the mountain together… the Nine Lights Formation will only be removed after we find her!” Maule declared.

Yassen’s face darkened following those words. He had lost all his respect for the Heresy Judgment Court. He had long heard about the Heresy Judgment Court’s ruthlessness, but he did not expect it to be this bad.

They were going to force so many Mages to die on Tianshan Mountain!

—

The news was spread to everyone via the old-fashion way of passing the message verbally. The members of the alliance began to curse under their breaths.

“It might be favorable to us. The snow is limiting everyone’s vision. The others won’t know if we take out the Judicators,” Mo Fan grinned. The storm had come at the perfect time. It even helped to cover up his little offense of taking out Xing Hui.

They were all trapped in the heavy storm, so it was not a surprise if someone was lost in it or killed by the demon creatures. There was also the possibility of falling into the rifts and being trapped in them forever. When the snow fell, every death was erased by the whiteness!

“I believe we have a reason to destroy the Nine Lights Formation now,” Zhao Manyan said.

“The alliance has many great talents. They might know how to destroy the magic formation. We just need to exaggerate how deadly the storm is. I bet the people will destroy the magic formation without our involvement,” Mo Fan agreed.

Who would want to risk their lives for others for no reason?

The Heresy Judgment Mages were only asking for trouble. They would never be able to tell who had destroyed the Nine Lights Formation because of the snow. Mo Fan and his crew did not have to do anything. They just needed to wait for the ‘technicians’ of the alliance to make their moves. The alliance would only give their all and work together at a time like this.

The storm had provided Qin Yu’er with the perfect cover. Mu Ningxue let out a relieved sigh when she saw the whole mountain was covered in snow.

“By the way, she hasn’t left the mountain either, right? Will she fall into an eternal slumber if she stays on the mountain?” Zhao Manyan asked suddenly.

Mu Ningxue shook her head and said, “She can survive the winter here!”

“Even Tianshan Mountain is being more merciful to her than us humans are!” Mo Fan sighed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Tianshan Mountain liked the quiet. She seemed to be expressing her anger toward the outsiders who were making so much noise through the growing snowstorm. However, not everyone was showing enough respect to her. They were still going after their personal gains recklessly.

The alliance and the Heresy Judgment Court were not the only people in the Valley of Glaciers. Around two thousand people who had entered Tianshan Mountain at the same time as Mo Fan and his crew, not to mention those who came earlier or later. The snowstorm was just the first warning. The people at lower altitudes might not sense the mountain’s wrath yet, as they could only see the vast whiteness at the top of the mountain. However, it would be too late if they had just started to turn around when they felt the cold of the coming storm!

All of the old folks living close to Tianshan Mountain would tell outsiders to be respectful toward her. They had to leave without any hesitation when the storms came!

—

The storm was deadlier than any of them had imagined. Not only was it blocking the Mages’ vision, it had also blocked the path the alliance took to reach the top. It made the surface as deadly as the rifts!

The icy wind of the Valley of Glaciers was everyone’s main concern. They had to keep expending their energy to protect themselves, but the wind was like a spring breeze compared to the Desolate Wind of Death and the Icy Silk of Death in the rifts.

The Desolate Winds of Death had a strange pulling force that would interrupt any spell being Cast above a Star Pattern. It would then convert the energy of the spells into a stronger force, making it impossible for those who fell into the rifts to save themselves.

The Icy Silk of Death that would then wrap someone up like a frozen mummy in a brief period was even more merciless. It was like a pair of gentle yet merciless hands that put a spectacular suit of armor on outsiders, at the price of them staying behind forever.

Everyone’s life in the Desolate Ice Field was in danger because of the storm. The Mages rebelled when they learned the Nine Lights Formation was trapping them, and used everything they had to break down the magic Formation.

The Nine Lights Formation had been going for quite some time, all the while enduring the wrath of the storm, and was a lot weaker than when it was first established. The people of the alliance might not possess outstanding cultivation, but many of them were experts in magic Formations. Such Formations had always been a field of study open to the public. Constructing a powerful Formation was difficult, but breaking one down was a lot easier!

“The Formation has been broken! That was quicker than I thought!” Zhao Manyan blurted out excitedly.

“Who said an alliance with a common goal is the most reliable? The people are cooperating better when they are all in danger!” Mo Fan exclaimed. He had to admit that humans were a wonderful species. The Heresy Judgment Court’s Nine Lights Formation was specifically used to catch heretics, so breaking it down would have been as difficult as acquiring the Tianshan Sacred Lotus from the Nine Great Rifts.

“What about the Tianshan Sacred Lotus? We tried so hard to get here. How could we leave without a few of them so we can nurture our bodies once we are back?” Jiang Yu said.

“Do you think now is the time to worry about that? We should hurry and leave the mountain before it’s too late!” Zhao Manyan answered quickly.

“It’s indeed a pity if we leave empty-handedly… Huh, where did the little white rice dumpling go?” Mo Fan immediately recalled the little cub as soon as a greedy thought crossed his mind.

He had not seen the little cub for some time. He had no clue where she ran off to.

The little cub’s speed was comparable to the Night Rakshasa, so Mo Fan was not too worried about her safety. He was more concerned about the Night Amethyst that was crucial to saving Mu Bai’s life!

“Did her mother finally call her home for dinner? Damn it! We are screwed!” Mo Fan began to panic.

Mo Fan seriously did not want to see the Tianshan Scar White Tiger again. He had kidnapped its child right in front of it. It would still tear him into pieces and make a hand lotion with his remains, even though it had been kind to humans!

“Meow!~” the Night Rakshasa cried impatiently, signaling Mo Fan to look behind him.

Mo Fan turned around and saw a chubby round figure running toward him. The terrifying Desolate Wind of Death had no effect on it, as if its elegant white fur was immune to the wind.

The little cub shook her head while springing on her short limbs. She tripped and rolled on the ground before arriving before Mo Fan’s feet like a ball.

“You naughty little kid, can you stop running around? I’m more worried about you than your parents. You had your fun, isn’t it time to… huh, what do you have in your mouth there?” Mo Fan picked up the little cub and was about to scold her when he saw her holding a crystalline plant in her mouth like a handsome dancer holding a rose between his lips.

The plant was around the size of a rose. It was thoroughly white, including its stem. Its petals had an attractive gleam to them, and were packed closely together in an orderly fashion.

Guan Yu stuck his face closer and blurted out in astonishment, “It is said the Tianshan Sacred Lotus only grows a full petal every one hundred years. Hurry up and count the petals!”

“One…two…three…four…five…six…seven! Holy crap, isn’t this the seven-hundred-year-old Tianshan Sacred Lotus everyone is looking for!?” Mo Fan opened his eyes so wide that they almost fell out of the sockets.

The others were dumbfounded too!

A seven-hundred-year-old Tianshan Sacred Lotus was the biggest reward that the Heresy Judgment Court had promised the alliance. Where did the little cub find it?

“She seems to be immune to the Desolate Wind of Death and the Icy Silk of Death. She’s blessed by Tianshan Sacred Lotus! She can easily pluck up the Tianshan Sacred Lotuses, just like plucking cabbages in her backyard!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Mo Fan turned restless after hearing those words. He suddenly proposed, “I have a crazy idea.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t leave the mountain as soon as possible?” Ai Jiangtu asked hesitantly.

“Sure, you may leave first,” Mo Fan agreed.

“I’ll stay around for a little longer,” Ai Jiangtu thought it over quickly.

Mo Fan might have a bold idea, but the little cub was reluctant to cooperate. From the way she was waving her limbs around, she was saying that it took her a great effort just to pluck the beautiful flower. Mo Fan had to bring her to somewhere more entertaining if he wanted her help.

“Mo Fan, I have a question,” Zhao Manyan suddenly thought of something. He interrupted while Mo Fan was imagining himself carrying a sack of Tianshan Sacred Lotus on his back.

“Nothing is more important right now. Let’s figure out a way to convince her,” Mo Fan said.

“Wait, did you not realize the little cub can only hold one thing in her mouth at a time. If she took the Tianshan Sacred Lotus, what about the Night Amethyst she was carrying initially?” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

Mo Fan shuddered after hearing the words!

Chapter 2042: Escaping Tianshan Mountain

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan quickly lifted the little cub and reached his hand into her mouth to inspect it.

“Damn it, where’s the pacifier stone you kept holding onto so preciously?” Mo Fan was almost yelling.

The little cub bit Mo Fan’s finger. She was not to be outdone either!

Mo Fan quickly pulled his finger back. His tears froze as they were falling to the ground.

He was not crying because of the pain from the bite, but why he had to stumble into such a stupid little cub!

“You threw away your pacifier for a flower, are you an idiot? Can’t you see the difference between watermelon and sesame?” Mo Fan snarled, pointing at the little cub.

Mo Fan finally learned what it meant by the rise and fall of a person’s life. He was thinking about how to loot more Tianshan Sacred Lotus with the cover of the snow, but he had lost the most important goal that he came here for. Did the Heavens think Mu Bai deserved to rot in Hell for what he had done?

“What now? We can’t just turn back now, right?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“How do I know? Don’t ask me!”

—

—

The snow poured down heavily. It was difficult to see beyond ten meters. The white snow was drifting wildly in the dim surroundings. Everyone was overwhelmed by the fear of getting lost on the mountain.

With a faint light, the snow was pulled to both sides like a thick curtain. A man in a retro long shirt with its collar upright walked out. He walked toward Mu Yinfeng who was standing there and grumbled, “What the heck? I swear this is where the seven-hundred-years-old Tianshan Sacred Lotus was before the snow came. How did it disappear in the storm?”

“It’s gone?” Mu Yinfeng asked.

“Yeah, I’ve already checked the surroundings and found nothing. Forget it, we were meant to give it to those Hunters anyway. It was just a waste of time,” Mu Feiluan sighed.

Mu Feiluan promised the alliance he would reward them with the Tianshan Sacred Lotus if they helped them find the Ice Witch, so he had gone to retrieve it.

Unfortunately, Mu Feiluan did not find anything. The Mages of the alliance had also left because of the storm.

“Why are you holding onto a shitty piece of pitch-black stone?” Mu Yinfeng gave Mu Feiluan a confused look.

“I don’t know, I found it at where the Tianshan Sacred Lotus was. I just picked it up. I have no idea what it’s for. I was going to throw it away,” Mu Feiluan admitted.

“You’re weird. You went to pick a black stone instead of a Tianshan Sacred Lotus.”

Mu Feiluan was displeased by Mu Yinfeng’s words, and decided not to throw the black stone away.

The stone had a smooth and moist surface. It felt comfortable holding it in his hand. He decided to bring it back. If it turned out to be useless, he would place it in his study as a decoration.

—

The four Judicators were not willing to give up, but their rationality was telling them if they stayed on the mountain any longer, they might die here.

“We have no choice, it’s our only option,” the Great Judicator frowned.

“I think the authorities will understand. After all, she will be gone in spring if we don’t deal with her now,” Judicator Maule said.

“Damn it, we thought we could use those Mages’ greed to help us with the mission, but those reckless idiots dared to destroy our Nine Lights Formation!” the Judicator with blue hair swore angrily.

“Enough talk, time to work together now that we’ve agreed to use it,” the Great Judicator said.

The Great Judicator glanced at Muse Pelina, who was standing close nearby. He added, “Thank you for coming all the way here. You are aware of the situation, too. We have no choice but to use some questionable method to arrest her. Please ask everyone else to leave as soon as possible. We don’t want innocent people to die because of it.”

“Great Judicator, please reconsider this,” Pelina said.

“We don’t have a choice. We can’t let someone who might pose a great threat to a city go free, even if the authorities are going to punish us for doing this,” the Great Judicator answered.

“But… she came back to Tianshan Mountain! She won’t hurt anyone here. Shouldn’t we give unfortunate people like her a chance?” Pelina replied.

“She isn’t an unfortunate person, she’s an extremely dangerous person. There will be serious consequences if we don’t deal with her as soon as possible! At that time, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people might die. That’s a real misfortune! Our job as the Heresy Judgment Court is to prevent these incidents by eliminating the heretics! Being merciful will only bring us terrifying consequences!” the Great Judicator said righteously.

Pelina sighed, “Fine, I will evacuate the others as quickly as possible. From what I know, the Ice Witch has never hurt anyone. I hope you will keep her alive.”

“We were told to arrest her alive.”

Pelina knew she would be unable to survive in the harsh weather after the storm came for very long. She turned and looked at the four men in the snow. She let out another long sigh before riding her mount down the mountain.

—

The snowstorm was compelling everyone to leave the mountain. The Desolate Wind of Death and Icy Silk of Death grew even stronger. No one would think it was just a normal storm. It was a deadly storm that no one could possibly survive!

The little cub cried excitedly, while waving her paws around as if something delicious was nearby.

“Stop giving me more trouble. Go home when we are back at the lake. Enough tagging along with us to eat, drink, and nap on the ladies’ chests. You’re getting all the benefits. Most importantly, you lost the Night Amethyst!” Mo Fan swore.

The little cub kept crying. She would normally behave herself when Mo Fan threatened to send her back to her mother.

“She seems to be saying there’s something important over there,” Apas interpreted.

“But she lost the Night Amethyst… huh, that thing looks familiar,” Mo Fan looked at the curtain of snow and saw it was being pulled apart like a curtain. A man in a long shirt was walking out from it.

His hand was glowing. He was holding the lustrous stone that the little cub had been holding in her mouth in the eaglets’ kindergarten.

Chapter 2043: Stone of Drool

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Night Amethyst!

Mo Fan almost cried out at the top of his lungs, but his joyful expression twisted when he saw the man walking out of the snow.

Mu Feiluan came out of the curtain while tossing the Night Amethyst into the air constantly, as he was bored. The calm look on his face vanished immediately when he stumbled into Mo Fan and his weird expression. He harrumphed, “Stop blocking my way. I don’t have time to deal with you today, but it doesn’t mean I won’t in the future!”

Mo Fan stared at the Night Amethyst on Mu Feiluan’s hand. The strange thing was, the Night Amethyst still had the little cub’s drool on it. It had not dried even after so long. Mu Feiluan seemed to treat his hands preciously. He noticed the sticky substance on the Night Amethyst was good at lubricating his hands. He even rubbed the Night Amethyst on the back of his hand.

Is he using the little cub’s drool like hand lotion?

Mo Fan was impressed by Mu Feiluan’s taste!

Mo Fan raised his brows and asked Mu Feiluan, “Why are you lubricating your hand with my pet’s pacifier? We might not be on friendly terms, but you are a respected person of the Mu Clan. Why did you take my pet’s pacifier?”

Mu Feiluan was stunned. He immediately looked at his hands.

The little cub’s drool was like glue. It did not freeze despite the low temperature, nor did it dry up because of the wind. The truth was, many white tigers would groom themselves with their drool to protect their paws.

Mo Fan realized Mu Feiluan had no clue what he was holding, and simply treated it like a little pebble. He immediately figured out a way to disgust Mu Feiluan!

He did not even have to do it on purpose. Mu Feiluan had already been rubbing the little cub’s drool on the back of his hand!

Mu Feiluan was not an idiot, and was not going to believe Mo Fan’s words right away.

The funny thing was, the little cub was very cooperative. She opened her mouth wide as drool leaked out of it. She purposely tilted her head to one side so Mu Feiluan could see the lubricant on the Night Amethyst was the same as the drool that was leaking out of her mouth.

“What kind of nonsense are you going on about? Step aside, or I won’t show you any mercy!” Mu Feiluan’s face twisted, but he did not want to admit it.

Mo Fan smiled. He politely stepped aside to give way.

Mu Feiluan quickly went on ahead. He was initially pulling the curtain of snow to the side while he walked through it elegantly. However, his thoughts were in a mess after encountering Mo Fan and the little cub. The snow began to fall on his head and shoulders.

“Follow him! Ge’s going to throw the thing away after rounding the corner ahead… forget it, Night Rakshasa, go get it for me, I don’t trust the little cub!” Mo Fan interrupted himself.

—

Mu Feiluan’s face was twitching. He initially thought the stone was something valuable, since its secretion could protect his hands from the icy wind. To his surprise, it was a little creature’s drool!

Mu Feiluan threw his beloved stone down the cliff after turning the corner. He even took out a handkerchief from the pocket of his shirt and wiped his hands clean.

Mu Feiluan folded the handkerchief and put it back into the pocket after his hands were clean from the sticky substance. However, he immediately recalled how the little cub was drooling while tilting her head to one side. He frowned and threw his favorite handkerchief away, too!

He was obsessed with cleanliness. He even thought he might chop his right hand off and ask a Healer to help him grow a new one, let alone throw his favorite handkerchief away!

—

Mo Fan was extremely pleased with the Night Rakshasa’s diligence. She returned with the Night Amethyst only a few minutes later.

The Night Rakshasa was also disgusted by the little cub. She purposely wrapped a piece of cloth around the Night Amethyst to keep her fingers clean.

Jiang Yu’s little magical cat was extremely cool. She was wearing tall boots and a pair of gloves. When she was walking on two legs and shunning everything around her, it almost urged people to fall to their knees and submit to her.

The little cub was overjoyed when she got her pacifier back. She immediately jumped forward to grab the Night Amethyst in her mouth. She felt more secure when the Night Amethyst was emitting a cool aura in her mouth.

“I’ll hold onto it for now!” Mo Fan immediately snatched up the Night Amethyst.

As he thought, the Night Amethyst was once again covered in the little cub’s drool. It was a lot drier after Mo Fan wiped it on his pants.

He wondered why the God of Darkness was so fond of these stones. If the God of Darkness was going to sleep on them like a pillow, he wondered if the God of Darkness would still accept a Night Amethyst that was covered in drool…

The God of Darkness had to accept it, as they had only found one Night Amethyst after searching Tianshan Mountain for so long. They were lucky to get it back, too. The seven-hundred-year-old Tianshan Sacred Lotus was merely a bonus. This trip to Tianshan Mountain had been like paying the devil a visit. They did not want to set their foot on the mountain again. They did not even want to drink the mineral water of the same brand!

“We can finally save Mu Bai!” Zhao Manyan let out a relieved sigh.

Zhao Manyan had always shunned Mu Bai because of his personality, but he had been missing him a lot ever since he was lying in the coffin. He still had so many shameless things to tell him. He would greatly regret it if Mu Bai died just like that!

“Is it time for us to leave the mountain? If we don’t, we will end up becoming the ones who need rescue.”

“Yeah, we are done here… by the way, the Night Rakshasa has taken so many valuables. How are we going to split them? Jiang Yu, don’t you keep quiet about it. Even though it was the Night Rakshasa who retrieved them, you wouldn’t have made it to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain without us in the first place!” Zhao Manyan was still concerned about the valuables they stole from the Frosty Ancient Eagles’ nest.

“Do I look like someone who would keep the loot to myself?” Jiang Yu said.

“What about the Tianshan Sacred Lotus?” Guan Yu asked.

“Well.. .we only have seven petals, even if we want to split them evenly,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“I won’t need one. I just need its dew,” Mu Ningxue spoke up.

Mu Ningxue was not interested in the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. She was more concerned about her Third and Fourth Elements. Everything was worth it as long as she had the dew of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. Additionally, she had also helped Qin Yu’er to escape the Heresy Judgment Court.

“It’s fine, we will give those who didn’t get the Tianshan Sacred Lotus other valuables to make up for it. HAHAHA, if Yassen, Zhao Kang, Kuma, and the others knew we had the seven-hundred-year-old Tianshan Sacred Lotus because of the little cub’s help, they might lose their minds!” Zhao Manyan burst out laughing.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The journey back was smooth. Many of the native creatures were hiding in their dens after the snowstorm arrived. They might fail to find their way back home if they continued to roam around outside.

The group did not have to follow the Rift of Tianshan Mountain to leave the mountain, they just needed to go downhill most of the time. Their first priority was to escape the snowstorm.

The higher the altitude, the deadlier a storm was. It was like a slow-moving avalanche. It turned the whole mountain white, including the Meadow and the Barren Ground which they had passed first. Even species with an outstanding cold resistance would struggle to survive the cold, let alone outsiders with not much cold resistance, such as humans!

—

Mo Fan could not help but turn around to look over the true land of ice and snow one last time after they reached a safe distance. The vast whiteness had devoured the blue sky and the mountain.

Even without the Rift of Tianshan Mountain, their journey to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain had been challenging. It would have been a lot worse if they had searched aimlessly for the way up in the Meadow, the Alpine, and the Valley of Glaciers. Their chance of survival would have dropped significantly; there were too many unknown factors, and situations that human Mages had never encountered before. The old folks were right. It did not matter what cultivation one possessed, they had to pay enough respect to the mountain!

—

The group finally made it back to Wanggui Town. Normally, everyone would have taken a nice hot shower and had a delicious meal, before enjoying a comfortable sleep after returning from an adventure.

However, they could not afford to make any contact with water after leaving Tianshan Mountain, not even hot water. Their skin had almost cracked apart from the cold. There was still ice that had not melted inside their skin and flesh. They had lost feeling in many body parts, like they had been injected with anesthetic. Many of the survivors were terrified when they discovered their bodies were like seriously damaged old machines that might stop operating at any second. It was the reason some Mages never woke up after falling unconscious on the mountain!

Mo Fan recovered rapidly. He was already enjoying the hot spring while the others were using traditional methods to drive the cold out of their bodies.

—

The wooden door swung open before Mu Mu Ningxue walked in with a basket containing her bathrobe, bath scent, and clothes. Her alluring silver-white hair was already tied up, revealing her flawless face and neck. Most importantly, she was only wearing a sling skirt since she was going to change into the bathrobe. The thin skirt was unable to conceal her bust.

Mu Ningxue was startled when she saw Mo Fan lying in the hot water.

“I’m sorry, I took the wrong door,” Mu Ningxue turned around and was going to close the door.

“No, it’s the right one, it’s your bath. I was just testing the water temperature for you. Mm… the temperature is just right. You should come inside,” Mo Fan smiled. He was getting restless.

“Well… you can enjoy the bath first. I’ll come later,” Mu Ningxue still insisted on closing the door.

“Xuexue, come here, I have something to discuss with you too. We have been together for so long. Why are you feeling embarrassed? We can finally relax. Let’s enjoy the bath together, drink some tea, and have a heart-to-heart chat and do something, uh, something meaningful,” Mo Fan said.

1

While Mu Ningxue was hesitating, Mo Fan already left the bath and came over shamelessly to drag her into the water.

“Just lie still, I’ll go down myself…” Mu Ningxue was still a little embarrassed. She quickly stopped the shameless man’s reckless act.

“Oh, sure, I’ll lie still, you can climb on me yourself,” Mo Fan immediately understood. He went back into the comfortable water and lied with his face upward, resting his head on a hot stone.

Mu Ningxue blushed after hearing the words from this man who was constantly filled with evil thoughts. She slowly put the bucket on the side and prepared her hair before going into the water…

“Xuexue, no one wears their sleepwear when enjoying a hot bath. It’s very cold here, so it’s difficult for clothes to dry even under sunlight. You shouldn’t soak your sleepwear. Here, I’ll lend you a hand,” Mo Fan went closer to Mu Ningxue.

“I just want to take a bath. Don’t…” Mu Ningxue said.

Every woman had a great ability to predict danger, especially when a man was blatantly showing his intentions. It meant she would struggle to get anything done for a long time. While they were trying to study properly, the molesting hands would strike. When they were taking a nap, they would be hugged from behind. They even had to lock the door after going into the bathroom.

Mo Fan’s passionate gaze could easily melt the ice of Tianshan Mountain. Mu Ningxue decisively covered herself with her towel after realizing something was fishy and quickly went back to her room.

“Seriously?” Mo Fan was left speechless.

He was being too impatient with things. Taking a bath together was a little challenging, unlike doing it on the couch, in the kitchen, or on the balcony.

Mo Fan rubbed his chin and lay there comfortably. He was figuring out a way to make steady progress. There were so many places and postures he had not unlocked. The days ahead were long. He could not possibly use the standard missionary posture every time. It would be a waste of Mu Ningxue’s flexible body and his outstanding abs.

1

Mo Fan was just letting out a long sigh when he suddenly heard a comfortable sound beside him. He turned around and saw a little creature lying in the shallow area of the hot spring with its limbs upward and a pleasant expression on its face!

“Damn it, why are you still here?” Mo Fan almost jumped out of the water in shock.

He had prepared the bath for his wife, instead of this dirty little cub who kept drooling!

The little cub ignored Mo Fan’s shout. She waved her limbs around as if she had never enjoyed such a comfortable bath before.

“Should I serve you a plate of marinated beef too?” Mo Fan asked her.

The little cub nodded immediately!

“Piss off! I’m telling you, my Contracts are full, and I won’t take you in even if I have a vacant spot. What can you possibly do except for eating, drinking, tricking girls to hold you in their arms, and bringing me trouble?” Mo Fan snarled.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The little cub was displeased by Mo Fan’s attitude.

She moved swiftly, leaving only an afterimage in the water. She was already beside Mo Fan and was about to take the petal of Tianshan Sacred Lotus from Mo Fan like she was going to crunch it into pieces.

“You, stop it right there!” Mo Fan yelled. “You’re very impressive, so please spare the petal! Just come at me instead.”

The little cub snorted, harrumphing coldly like a tiger queen. Unfortunately, the drool leaking out by her lips was incompatible with that demeanor.

“I’ll give you the marinated beef and you give me the petal in return. By the way, if you happen to come by anything valuable, bring it back to me and I’ll trade the precious authentic marinated beef that cost me fifteen per kilogram with you. Let me be honest with you, I wouldn’t trade our sacred marinated beef with you if you weren’t the sacred tiger of Tianshan Mountain. Think about it! Do you think the grassy taste of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus is comparable to the salty and spicy marinated beef?” Mo Fan babbled to the little cub.

The little cub nodded. The Tianshan Sacred Lotus she had been eating since she was young was now like ordinary carrots and cabbages. She’d had enough of it. The marinated beef was just too delicious, unlike the Steel Spike Bulls on Tianshan Sacred Lotus that tasted like metal sheets.

The little cub waved her paws around again. She was back to her favorite game of letting Mo Fan guess what she was trying to say.

“You mean the mountain is off-limits because of the storm, so you can only go back in spring?” Mo Fan asked.

The little cub was overjoyed when the idiot could finally understand her.

“What about your parents? Aren’t they worried about you? Won’t they come down the mountain to look for you?” Mo Fan asked. “They can only leave the mountain in spring, which means you can go anywhere for the whole winter? F**k me, you are seriously going to get me in trouble!” Mo Fan was left speechless.

What exactly was wrong with the little cub? How could it not be wary of strangers as the youngling of a powerful species? Didn’t her parents teach her not to talk to or follow a stranger? Didn’t she know how wicked people might be? If she had not stumbled into a kind-hearted young man like him, she would be turned into a pair of white boots by now!

“Perhaps it’s my charm, (sigh).” Mo Fan arrived at a conclusion after some serious thought. It was the only explanation about why the little cub had followed him down the mountain.

Mo Fan had no idea what to do with the little cub. She was too playful. It felt like she had been planning to leave the mountain before the storm, and found Mo Fan was a convenient ride.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan!” Lingling cried outside the bathroom.

“I’m here, what is it?” Mo Fan yelled.

Lingling followed the voice and came into the bathroom. “You pervert!” Lingling immediately turned around and left.

—

Mo Fan felt refreshed after he was done bathing. He was even more delighted when he saw Zhao Manyan, Jiang Yu, and Ai Jiangtu still suffering in pain from the clinging cold.

“Lingling, why were you looking for me?” Mo Fan went to the communal hall and saw Lingling recording something with a pen.

Mo Fan went closer and realized she was drawing a pattern.

“Take a look at this,” Lingling said.

“I have no idea what it is,” Mo Fan shook his head.

“I memorized the pattern on the Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s forehead when we saw it the other day. I tried to compare it to the Totem Seals we’ve found so far. Guess what?” Lingling said excitedly.

“I still have no idea,” Mo Fan shook his head.

“The pattern on the Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s forehead has fifty percent similarity with the Totem Seal of the Deer God!” Lingling said.

“So…?” Mo Fan asked.

“It means we were right with our speculation. The Tianshan Scar White Tiger is a descendant of a Totem Beast, and it’s a direct offspring! In other words, if we can find its parents, we will find the Totem Beast of Tianshan Mountain!” Lingling declared.

“Ugh… it’s pretty easy to find the Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s offspring though.” Mo Fan looked at the little cub whose hair was fluffy like a lion’s. He said, “It would be difficult to find the Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s parents, since we can’t visit the mountain anytime soon.”

“But we have a clear lead!” Lingling exclaimed.

“Yeah, that’s right, the little cub’s parents will definitely come and pick her up in spring. We can ask the little cub to call her grandparents instead,” Mo Fan said.

“Did the ice in your brain melt?”

“Lingling, kids shouldn’t have a sharp tongue. You might struggle to grow some breasts,” Mo Fan replied calmly.

“Humph!”

“Lingling, the little cub has a pattern on her forehead, too. Can you see if it bears twenty-five percent resemblance with the Totem Seal?” Mo Fan said.

“I used to think the Deer God and the White Tiger belonged to two different Sacred Totem Beasts. I didn’t think they were so closely related to one another. That means we have grouped that wrong. We should put the White Tiger of Tianshan Mountain on the Deer God’s side…” Lingling soon fell into deep thought, completely ignoring Mo Fan’s suggestion.

Mo Fan shook his head helplessly. He believed he should deal with the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. He might be able to sell it for a fortune. He finally had a chance to buy the magic Equipment he had long wished for!

Lingling suddenly yelled when Mo Fan was about to turn around. He almost snapped the petal of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus in half!

“What now?” Mo Fan went back to her.

“Look, take a look yourself…” Lingling pointed to the screen. She was so shocked that she was struggling to control her emotions.

“A hundred percent?” Mo Fan read the value derived by the program.

Lingling had made a program to compare the Totem Seals, like they were fingerprints to help them find the Totem Beasts. It could also combine different Totem Seals and derive the seal of other Totem Beasts.

She was previously comparing the pattern on the Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s forehead and the Deer God’s Totem Seal. As a matter of fact, Lingling was matching it with every Totem Seal they had found so far. She eventually discovered it had the highest similarity with the Deer God’s Totem Seal!

The pattern bore a fifty percent similarity with the Deer God’s Totem Seal, which indicated the Tianshan Scar White Tiger was the Tianshan Mountain Totem Beast’s direct offspring, making it half a Totem Beast.

So what was the Totem Seal that bore a hundred percent similarity?

Which creature was the real Totem Beast with a pure lineage?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lingling turned to the little creature whose hair was just as fluffy as a lion’s mane.

Mo Fan could not help but fix his eyes on the little creature too. The little cub was currently digging her head into a bowl of marinated beef. She soon made a mess of her face even though she had just taken a bath. She was already grabbing at another piece before she was done swallowing the previous piece.

It was more or less how a pig feasted after starving for a few days. Perhaps sacred Tianshan Mountain would have an urge to bury her in the snow just so she would not bring it any more disgrace.

“I think there’s something wrong with your program,” Mo Fan eventually concluded.

“It’s not, I did the comparison twice,” Lingling denied instantly.

“Are you sure it’s her?” Mo Fan asked.

“Weren’t you the one asking me to compare the pattern on her forehead with the Totem Seals? I was doing it to prove my speculation too, but…” Lingling was still lost in thought.

She already confirmed it. The pattern on the little cub’s forehead bore a similarity of one hundred percent instead of twenty-five percent!

In other words, the little cub was not the Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s child. It was actually the Tianshan Scar White Tiger’s senior, based on their lineage!

“This retarded little cub is the senior of the Tianshan Scar White Tiger we saw?” Words could not describe the expression on Mo Fan’s face.

“Mm, and she’s a real Totem Beast,” Lingling sounded like even she was struggling to believe it.

A real Totem Beast!

This little cub…

Is a f**king Totem Beast!?

What the hell was wrong with this world?

Were the Heavens trying to be fair by giving her an incomparable lineage, but a completely opposite brain? Her intelligence and maturity were easily at the bottom of the whole universe, let alone among the species on Tianshan Mountain!

—

Bowls of marinated beef were emptied on the messy dining table. The little cub had turned into a little piglet, seriously embarrassing the tiger species. She was still shoving down the beef even when her stomach was about to explode. Most amusingly, she even hid the remaining beef in holes that she dug and ran away like a dog, as if she was afraid that the others would find her treasure.

Beside the table, Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Shaoxu, Nanyu, Ai Jiangtu, Guan Yu, Lingling, and Jiang Shaoxu were staring at one another just like how they reacted on the first day after bumping into one another. They had no idea what to say.

“This little thing that ate our deposit… is really a Totem Beast?” Even Ai Jiangtu, who normally kept a very straight face, was wearing a rich expression for once.

Mo Fan and Lingling nodded. Jiang Shaoxu flipped through her brother’s notes and found something relevant in them.

“The Totem Beast of Tianshan Mountain is as playful as a kid,” Jiang Shaoxu read the conclusion.

Jiang Shaojun had seen many Totem Beasts. He would put their information down like records in a diary.

Jiang Shaojun had never bothered the Totem Beasts directly. His mission was to prove they existed. He had taken out the traits, habits, and whereabouts of the Totem Beasts from his notes so those with ulterior motives would not abuse his findings. Jiang Shaoxu could only guess what her brother’s notes meant.

“As playful as a kid? Calling her a kid is already overestimating her intelligence!”

Mo Fan rubbed his temple. His head began to hurt.

It was a lot more acceptable if the Tianshan Scar White Tiger was the Totem Beast. Why must this brainless little cub be the real Totem Beast? Other Totem Beasts had endured hardships with mankind. It took a few decades of trust and protection for the Totem Beasts and humans to come together, yet the little cub was stuck to them like gum since their first encounter. He had never seen such a careless Totem Beast before!

“What…what about the Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain which Shao Zheng met in the past? Was it her?” Zhao Manyan suddenly asked.

“I’ll try asking him,” Lingling said.

Lingling called the Chairman’s secretary. Chairman Shao Zheng was still awake even though it was the middle of the night.

Lingling turned her laptop to the little cub who was reluctant to leave the dining table after the call was established.

“Lingling, is that your new Poodle? How adorable, but I must go outstation tomorrow. I’ll bring some foreign snacks for your pet the next time I visit you…” Shao Zheng said with a gentle smile while tidying his hair.

Everyone on the table froze after seeing Shao Zheng’s reaction.

Shao Zheng assumed Lingling was showing off her new pet, even though it was supposed to be a little cub instead. How did he even… forget it, the little cub had already dirtied her hair because of the marinated beef.

Lingling was left speechless by Shao Zheng’s response too. She quickly said before Shao Zheng ended the call, “Chairman, is she the Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain you met when you were young?”

“Huh? Where did you hear that from?” Shao Zheng asked curiously.

“The whole of Tianshan Mountain is spreading rumors about how you stumbled into the Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain when you were young. It was because of the gift of the Sacred Tiger that led you to the peak of your generation,” Zhao Manyan interrupted.

Shao Zheng shook his head. He tried to explain, yet he wondered where to begin.

He said after a pause, “I didn’t stumble into the Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain. It was a person instead. I was worried about placing her in danger, so I told everyone it was the Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain instead.”

“A person?” Everyone exchanged glances with one another.

“It was a girl around Lingling’s age. I have no idea why she was there. I happened to be troubled by something during that time, and I was deeply touched when I saw how she endured the hardships on the mountain just to survive… She gave me some plants that would only grow on Tianshan Mountain, which helped a little with my breakthrough. Thus, the rumors aren’t true at all. I didn’t receive a gift from the Sacred Tiger. I believe everyone who has been to Tianshan Mountain will learn a lot of things. There is no path more difficult than the climb to the top of Tianshan Mountain, and the warmth between people is better than the cold on the deserted mountain,” Shao Zheng said.

Shao Zheng’s words took everyone by surprise, especially Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue.

A girl around Lingling’s age on Tianshan Mountain…

Taking the time that had passed into consideration, Shao Zheng was currently in his forties, and if he went to Tianshan Mountain around twenty years ago, it was the same time when Qin Yu’er had been abandoned on Tianshan Mountain when she was around ten years old.

“So the legend about the gift of the Sacred Tiger is fake?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Not entirely. There was indeed a kind spirit on Tianshan Mountain, but she’s a human. The people whom she helped only described her as the Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain to protect her. Therefore, the rest of the people she helped without showing herself would assume it was the Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain.”

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were stunned.

Despite being a victim of misfortunes, she had given people such a well-received legend instead of coldness. Yet someone like her was being treated as a heretic and was being purged by a bunch of powerful Mages…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The topic had brought back some memories. Shao Zheng was initially feeling sleepy, but he was now discussing his past with the group of young Mages. Everyone was intrigued at first, but the fatigue soon kicked in after a while.

“Councilman, didn’t you say you are going outstation tomorrow? You should rest early. Why don’t you continue your story next time?” Mo Fan yawned. He could not agree more about the saying that it was easier to call up a spirit than sending it away.

“It’s fine, I will definitely suffer from jet lag because of the time difference. The people in Argentina are only waking up now. I’ll be spending half a month there. Thank you for reminding me,” Shao Zheng said.

“But… we young ones are more concerned about maintaining good health. We’ll be taking a bath with wolfberries in it. You should worry more about the country if you’re feeling restless. We will be going to bed first,” Mo Fan said.

Shao Zheng seemed like he had a lot more to tell them, but he had no choice but to say goodbye to the members of the national team in the end. He realized Ai Jiangtu, Nanyu, and Guan Yu were already asleep on the table. They had completely missed out on the most important part of how he rebuked the Great Prince of England. He was so angry that he took a huge sip of the tea before him.

“Time to head off. Don’t you call me again in the middle of the night for no reason,” Shao Zheng said.

“Rest well…”

“Rest? I’m adjusting my biological clock!” Shao Zheng snapped.

Mo Fan chuckled.

Mo Fan, Lingling, Zhao Manyan, Mu Ningxue, and the others still awake let out a relieved sigh after the call ended.

Jiang Yu finally said with a gloomy face, “I already told you the Chairman loves bringing back old memories. Once, he came to the capital to give us a lecture. The ambassador from Korea was waiting for him, so he was only supposed to give us a forty minutes talk, yet he kept going until it was dark. Everyone was so hungry…”

“Well, I’ve finally witnessed it today. I shall keep that in mind next time,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan’s phone suddenly rang.

Mo Fan looked at the name on the screen. Oh my, it was Chairman Shao Zheng, and it was his number instead of his secretary’s!

Seriously!?

Was he going to talk to him for the entire night? There were eight members of the national team here. Why must it be him?

Please spare this young man’s life!

“Mo Fan?” Shao Zheng lowered his voice.

“Mm!” Mo Fan felt a great change in Shao Zheng’s tone.

“Were the people of the Heresy Judgment Court on Tianshan Mountain?” Shao Zheng asked.

“Yes,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“I won’t be going to Argentina. I must visit the Heresy Judgment Court,” Shao Zheng declared.

“What happened?” Mo Fan was startled.

“The girl I mentioned before… she became a member of the national team, but the strength she displayed during the World College Tournament was too great, making her a target of the Heresy Judgment Court. Apparently, the Heresy Judgment Court froze her in the biggest rift in the Desolate Ice Field, but she managed to escape somehow. I was told that the Heresy Judgment Court has apprehended her on Tianshan Mountain. They have crossed our country’s boundary to the west and are on their way back to the Sacred City in Europe.”

The news had come as soon as Shao Zheng turned off his laptop. The secretary came into the room without knocking.

Shao Zheng immediately recalled Mo Fan and the others had been on Tianshan Mountain. He decided to call Mo Fan since they might know the details.

“Arrested? Impossible, their Nine Lights Formation was destroyed. The Judicators had to leave Tianshan Mountain before the storm came. There’s no way they could stay behind!” Mo Fan blurted out in astonishment.

Arrested? Didn’t she already escape? How did the Judicators find her in the storm?

“They must have used Forbidden Spells. Those Heresy Judgment Court members are out of their minds, using them in our territory! They did not even care about the safety of our people on Tianshan Mountain!” Shao Zheng said angrily.

“Forbidden Spells? What Forbidden Spells did they use? Isn’t the Heresy Judgment Court supposed to forbid use of Forbidden Spells? Why were they using them instead?” Mo Fan did not understand a single word.

“You don’t need to know the details for now,” Shao Zheng said.

“Where are they now? I’ll intercept them!” Mo Fan was enraged too.

“No, no way, what do you think the Heresy Judgment Court is? You’re just going to intercept them? Mo Fan, you can choose not to treat any countries or organizations seriously, except for the Heresy Judgment Court!” Shao Zheng warned him.

“I can’t let the Heresy Judgment Court take Qin Yu’er. She’s the only concerned the Chief Military Instructor has left. He has sacrificed so much for us. I will be letting him down if I can’t even protect her. He started the War of the Underworld to protect our land…” Mo Fan blurted out.

“I know what you’re trying to say. I’ll negotiate with the Heresy Judgment Court, but you will return to Feiniao City at once. You and Mu Ningxue shouldn’t do anything reckless!” Shao Zheng said.

Mo Fan acknowledged, yet he was unwilling to obey.

Mo Fan was not stupid. The Heresy Judgment Court would not even care, even if Shao Zheng was visiting them as the highest authority of the country’s Magic Association.

The Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court were both superior to the Magic Associations. The Magic Associations were obliged to cooperate with them, but they had never taken orders from the Magic Associations. Mo Fan knew Shao Zheng was only trying to protect him. After all, the Heresy Judgment Court had yet to clear his name even now. If he dared to oppose them, they would not hesitate to consider him a heretic and bring him to trial too!

“Mu Ningxue, what should we do now?” Mu Ningxue was struggling to make a decision.

“I have to let Zhan Kong know at once. Only he can save her now,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan knew there was nothing he could do about it. He was no match for the experts of the Sacred City, even if he could use the Demon Element. Not only were there Forbidden Mages in the Sacred City of Europe, it was also under the protection of magic Formations that he could not break through, even with all his might. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue could possibly take on the Judicators back on Tianshan Mountain, but their strength was too insignificant once Qin Yu’er was brought to the Sacred City.

“Alright!” Mu Ningxue nodded.

—

Mo Fan headed to the Ancient Capital. The Queen of the Netherworld was the only one left. The rest of the Undead Rulers were still busy with the war.

Mo Fan flew to the Ancient Capital even before he could get some rest. The Queen of the Netherworld had left him with a method if he needed to contact her.

Mo Fan went to the shrine and lit an incense stick. The Queen of the Netherworld’s alluring face gradually solidified, materialized while drifting closer to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan spoke before the Queen of the Netherworld could attempt to seduce him, “The Heresy Judgment Court has taken your boss’ woman. You must let him know at once.”

Chapter 2048: Unforgivable Sins

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was panicking. Why couldn’t the Undead give him a phone or something? Why did he have to use such a traditional way to communicate with them? By the time he paid the Ancient Capital a visit and waited for the Queen of the Netherworld to relay the message to the Underworld, those assh**** Judicators would have already locked Qin Yu’er up!

“Oh, I’ll let the king know!” The Queen of the Netherworld immediately withdrew her smile and vanished quickly back into the memorial tablet.

Mo Fan had no idea what else he could do, as his only option was to let Zhan Kong know.

Hopefully, Shao Zheng would be able to delay the Judicators so they would not reach the Sacred City of Europe so soon.

“I’ve told the king!” The Queen of the Netherworld suddenly returned before he could leave. Her voice took Mo Fan by surprise.

“What did he say?” Mo Fan said.

“I don’t know…”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I can only send him a message. How would I know what his reaction is? The woman you mentioned was only related to him when he was alive. Perhaps the king no longer has any feelings toward her. We are close to beating those scum in Egypt. The king is soon going to conquer the Underworld. There’s no reason for him to make a big fuss over a woman. We can’t afford to mess with the Heresy Judgment Court, either,” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“That’s only what you think, right? Queen of the Netherworld, stop trying to win over your king, he will never accept you,” Mo Fan said.

“Nonsense, I was born a natural beauty. The stars fell and the flowers wilted when I died. How is that Qin Yu’er even comparable to me? Your ancestors were once dazzled by my beauty when I was the empress!” the Queen of the Netherworld stated loftily.

“What empress? Are you saying you are the Tang Empress? What a joke, I already saw your memorial tablet…” Mo Fan said.

“Who told you there was only one empress in the past? Do you seriously believe those historical records?” the Queen of the Netherworld snarled.

“Enough fooling around, hurry up and tell me what Zhan Kong is planning,” Mo Fan scoffed.

“What else could he do? Humph, I seriously don’t understand why you must tell the king that. It’s only going to cause him trouble. Do you seriously think the Heresy Judgment Court is trying to take out Qin Yu’er because she’s a heretic? If so, why didn’t they purge her on the spot? Why are they bringing her back to the Sacred City of Europe? Can’t you living people use your brains for once?” the Queen of the Netherworld snarled at him.

Mo Fan’s heart sank after hearing those words.

The Heresy Judgment Court would normally execute people on the spot. If they had used Forbidden Spells against Qin Yu’er, she would be dead by now, yet they had done everything just to bring Qin Yu’er back to the Sacred City…

“But how did they know Zhan Kong was the King of the Undead?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Mo Fan, if the world was that simple, wars wouldn’t have occurred so regularly in the past,” the Queen of the Netherworld lectured him.

“You’re telling me the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court have colluded with the Black Vatican?” Mo Fan said.

Only the members of the Black Vatican knew Zhan Kong had become the Qin Emperor. Han Ji, Senior Hunter Xiao, Zhu Meng, and the others would never tell anyone that secret.

“Why would they collude with the Black Vatican? Would they throw away their power and reputation by colluding with the Black Vatican? However, members of the Black Vatican might be helping them. It’s not against their duty to uproot the Black Vatican, thus it isn’t against the rules for them to trade information,” the Queen of the Netherworld reminded them.

The Black Vatican was trading information with the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court?

“Khufu won’t be taken out so easily. We are putting a great pressure on him in the Underworld. Do you think he won’t pull off some dirty tricks in the living world to throw us off?” the Queen of the Netherworld prodded him.

“So who’s behind it?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“(Sigh), why don’t you understand? No one is conspiring. It’s just a fact that the king’s existence is a threat to their system! The Underworld, Magic Association, Parthenon Temple, countries, and various alliances… whenever they are threatened by a person or an organization, even the Black Vatican and the Heresy Judgment Court can join hands temporarily. Did you forget how your father-in-law died?” the Queen of the Netherworld reminded him.

“My father-in-law is still alive. Oh, I thought you were referring to Mu Zhuoyun. I do hope he lives a few years less… Are you talking about Wen Tai?” Mo Fan asked after a moment.

“Who else could it be? Was he a heretic? Did he do anything outrageous? What did he do except for being too outstanding and brilliant, which got in the way of too many people achieving their goals? The Holy Judgment Court took him out too, and it’s obvious they weren’t the only ones. The Holy Judgment Court only took the lead. Those who wanted him dead just needed to go along with the tide, while none of the other organizations were willing to step forward. It doesn’t matter if you’re good or bad, they will just send you to Hell! Do you think Izisha, who failed to earn the approval of the Soul of the Parthenon Temple, could possibly usurp the Saint? She was just abusing the fact that many had the same goals as she,” the Queen of the Netherworld calmly lectured him.

Mo Fan looked at the Queen of the Netherworld curiously. He did not expect her to know so much about the world when all she did was hide inside her memorial tablet while laughing at the people who burned incense sticks for her. Was there a computer that breached the Great Firewall of China in this temple?

“Anyway, it’s a conspiracy against Boss Zhan Kong. The Heresy Judgment Court sees him as a threat, Khufu is abusing it in his favor, and the Black Vatican provides the information…” Mo Fan organized what he’d just learned.

“You can count your country in, too. Not everyone wants Councilman Shao Zheng to hold so much power. You might have done well to resolve the crisis of the Ancient Capital, but everyone knows you are on Shao Zheng’s side. Shao Zheng is now in charge of the defense of the inland and the coastline. He is blocking many people’s paths in achieving their goals, making the rest of the Councilmen look like they are useless. Therefore, taking out the king is basically landing a direct hit on Shao Zheng’s head. He would have to give up his power, since he couldn’t look after both the inland and the coastline by himself,” the Queen of the Netherworld deduced for him.

Mo Fan’s heart shuddered. “Is that true?” Mo Fan asked softly.

They had done so much to help the Ancient Capital survive. They even led the restless undead that had been a constant threat to the country into the Underworld to keep the undead in Egypt that were trying to invade their land at bay. If Councilman Shao Zheng was the protector of the country, Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong was the commander of the undead in the Underworld!

Even though the invasion from the Pyramids in Bejiang was not disclosed to the public, without Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong’s contribution, the north of the country would be Hell by now. How many people would possibly live comfortably in their cities right now?

Yet some of the authorities of his country were hoping to destroy the peace instead?

Those people were unforgivable!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m only telling you it’s a possibility. Whether it’s true or not, you will have to find it out yourself,” the Queen of the Netherworld reminded him.

The Queen of the Netherworld swallowed the rest of the words she was going to say when she saw the disappointed look on Mo Fan’s face.

The Queen of the Netherworld knew a lot of things, especially since she was able to see through everything after she died and became a phantom.

Being alive was like living in a dream, or living to make a dream a reality. The Queen of the Netherworld realized she had told Mo Fan a lot of things that she was not supposed to. He should see and figure out the truth about the world himself, rather than hearing it from others.

Whether it was corrupted or beautiful, there might be things that he liked or despised. The most important thing was how he perceived it.

The world that Qin Yu’er perceived was ugly and merciless… She had nowhere she could go, even when she was hiding in the rift on Tianshan Mountain. However, was her soul corrupted because of it?

The Queen of the Netherworld believed Mo Fan had to perceive the world himself. He might have seen some evil, but it was obviously not enough!

—

Mo Fan left the shrine. The Queen of the Netherworld quickly followed him.

“Why are you following me?” Mo Fan was confused.

“The king gave me a mission, so I have to follow you,” the Queen of the Netherworld replied.

“What is it?” Mo Fan asked.

“It doesn’t hurt telling you. He asked me to keep an eye on you. It’s his business. You did well when you tried to help on Tianshan Mountain. He will handle the rest. He doesn’t want you to oppose the Heresy Judgment Court, at least not right now,” the Queen of the Netherworld informed him.

“Is it because I’m too weak?” Mo Fan said.

“You are strong, but certain things will need time to settle,” the Queen of the Netherworld stated.

Mo Fan could only smile wryly.

“It feels terrible, right?” the Queen of the Netherworld asked in a gentler voice.

Leaving in humiliation felt terrible. Mo Fan had already experienced it once on Mount Tyrant, and now he had to experience it again here!

“There’s something fishy around here if I feel good about it… oh, no offense,” Mo Fan answered.

“Should I find a way to see if someone is really pulling the strings behind the scenes in your country? The king has asked me to keep an eye on you so you don’t mess with the Heresy Judgment Court, but you can help the king deal with the scum in your country,” the Queen of the Netherworld suggested.

“Sure,” Mo Fan agreed.

Mo Fan was angry toward the people of his country who were responsible for this than the Heresy Judgment Court and Khufu. They had survived the calamity of the Ancient Capital and the crisis at Beijiang. Mo Fan had witnessed many who had sacrificed their lives to protect the country, yet not only did everyone forget their names, some authorities even tried to disrupt the peace for their own gains…

Those people were unforgivable!

The Queen of the Netherworld let out a relieved sigh when Mo Fan agreed not to go to the Sacred City. “Go back to Fanxue Mountain. Give me some time, I’ll need to gather information and proof from my subordinates.”

“There really are people behind it in our country?” Mo Fan asked again.

“Ugh… yes!” the Queen of the Netherworld finally nodded.

“They deserve to die!”

——

The Asia Magic Association at Dubai Magician Tower…

Shao Zheng pushed the door open and barged into the meeting room beyond it.

“Zu Huanyao, why didn’t you tell me that the Heresy Judgment Court came to our country!?” Shao Zheng was extremely mad. He pointed at Zu Huanyoa and scolded him regardless of the people inside the room.

There were authorities from different countries in the meeting room, who seemed to be in the middle of a discussion. They were shocked when Shao Zheng broke into the room. They had no idea why the Councilman of the Asia Continent was so angry.

“Everyone, pardon us. It seems like there were some misunderstandings between me and my young colleague. We’ll stop the meeting here,” Zu Huanyao calmly dismissed the people in the room.

Shao Zheng stood at the door. He did not bother greeting the other Councilmen when they walked past him. His eyes were fixed on Zu Huanyao.

Shao Zheng was mainly in charge of the internal affairs, while the older Zu Huanyao with a black mustache was in charge of international affairs. He was close with Su Lu in the Asia Magic Association. If Zu Huanyao had not been against Shao Zheng’s proposal, they would have started preparing the defense along the coastline half a year sooner!

“Can’t we sit down and talk about it? You are just making us a joke in front of our foreign friends. They might think everyone in our country has a hot temper like you,” Zu Huanyao offered.

“Enough with the act. The Heresy Judgment Court used Forbidden Spells on Tianshan Mountain and took away someone important to our country. Have you ever thought of the consequences? You can discuss it with me if you want to appoint your men as presidents of local Magic Associations, but what you did has seriously crossed the line!” Shao Zheng snarled.

“Oh Shao Zheng, you’d rather believe the vicious undead who killed so many of our people at the Ancient Capital instead of my loyal men. How could you rely on those things to protect our country? You can disclose your plan to the public. If everyone supports you and that kid’s plan of fighting a war in the Underworld, I’m more than willing to risk my life just to save the woman from the Heresy Judgment Court,” Zu Huanyao countered.

“How many times have I told you that the ocean is our greatest threat? We can keep the undead at bay for now. Why must you take away our only chance to catch our breath!?” Shao Zheng snarled back.

“You are too scared of the ocean. If I was handling it, the coastline will still be a beautiful place where we can build expensive houses… fine, you shouldn’t vent your anger at me. I wasn’t the one dealing with the Heresy Judgment Court. We have been colleagues for many years, you know the kind of person I am,” Zu Huanyao replied.

“Get her back!” Shao Zheng stated.

“Shao Zheng, didn’t you say the same thing to me a dozen years ago? I remember you were still a little minister back then. The girl was still on the national team…” Zu Huanyao went on.

Shao Zheng was stunned.

“It has been over a dozen years. I’m still sitting in the same seat, yet you have already climbed to the same height as me. However, I think you understand that, even if you are the boss here, do you think the Heresy Judgment Court will agree to hand her back?” Zu Huanyao asked.

Shao Zheng fell silent.

“I asked him to change his surname and move to the south just so he could stay away from the Heresy Judgment Court, so why didn’t anyone tell me the resurrected Qin Emperor had taken my grandson’s life? I just want him to be well and alive instead of being trapped inside the shell of a ghost who has been around for a few thousand years!” Zu Huanyao declared.

Chapter 2050: Heaven-Grade Seed

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan could only wait at Fanxue Mountain, grounded by the Queen of the Netherworld. He had no way of learning what had happened to Qin Yu’er.

Mo Fan could only spend his time experimenting with the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. After all, becoming stronger was his first priority now!

After some close observation, he realized there was nothing special about the Tianshan Sacred Lotus except for the slight fragrance it was emitting.

“Why are you staring at it? Don’t tell me you are trying to neutralize the oiliness in your stomach after eating too much meat recently?” Mo Fan saw the little cub lying on the dining table. Her belly was as round as an inflated ball.

The little cub seemed to like Fanxue Mountain, especially the mountain full of peach trees and maple trees occupied by countless mystical moths. The moths were dancing everywhere. The little cub could play around on it for a whole day. She would dig a hole to take a nap if she was sleepy, and eat some delicious fruits when she was hungry.

Mo Fan was sitting on the balcony of Yu Shishi’s hut. There were a few high-level Mages in Feiniao City. If they happened to see the little cub, they might kidnap her and conduct experiments on her.

Therefore, Mo Fan had decided to put the little cub under Yu Shishi’s care.

The Moon Moth Phoenix was aware of Mo Fan’s arrival. She flew over from the slope in the distance, beating her soft and luminescent wings and spreading colorful dust in the air. The dust would soon disappear, like a rainbow that was gliding across the sky.

The little cub raised her head. Her eyes were fixed on the Moon Moth Phoenix, as if she had never seen such a beautiful lady before.

“Hey, watch your drool… can you please behave like a Totem Beast for once? Stop drooling over the table all the time!” Mo Fan snarled.

The little cub quickly wiped her mouth with her paw. Meanwhile, the Moon Moth Phoenix began to shrink as she reached the hut. She eventually turned into a tiny moth before landing on Mo Fan’s shoulder.

She was inspecting the little cub, who was also staring back at her. The two creatures began communicating with one another.

“Stop trying to impress one another with your cuteness, you two. If Little Flame Belle was here, you two would be like old women compared to her. You know that, right?” Mo Fan said.

The Moon Moth Phoenix’s intelligence was not fully developed, and the little cub was a complete retard, so the two little creatures soon started playing with one another.

The little cub did not really enjoy herself when she was playing with the moths. She was too quick for them, so she had to slow down on purpose, but that was no longer necessary when playing with the Moon Moth Phoenix.

Mo Fan was experimenting with the Tianshan Sacred Lotus on the balcony while the Moon Moth Phoenix and little cub kept running around the hut and leaving afterimages in different spots. In Mo Fan’s eyes, they were simply flashing back and forth. The little cub had finally found her playmate, and no longer asked Mo Fan to bring her to the city.

Yu Shishi came out of her hut. Her eyes glittered when she saw the Tianshan Sacred Lotus in Mo Fan’s hands.

“Where did you find that?” Yu Shishi asked.

“I found it on Tianshan Mountain, and almost died because of it. I’m wondering if I should sell it and buy some useful magic Equipment with the money, or if I should keep it if it has some uses, like being able to come seven times in a night. Then I’ll consider keeping it,” Mo Fan said.

“Give it to the Moon Moth Phoenix then,” Yu Shishi said.

“That won’t do, I desperately want to become stronger,” Mo Fan rejected immediately.

“I recall you still have a Fruit of Vow. Did you use it?” Yu Shishi asked.

“No, I’m considering selling it for money too,” Mo Fan replied.

“Since when are you so hungry for money?” Yu Shishi asked.

“I have too many Elements to nurture. I won’t be able to do it without money. My Earth Element, do you know how impressive my Rock Element is? I just can’t afford a suitable Spirit-grade Seed or Soul-grade Seed,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Do you want a Heaven Seed?” Yu Shishi asked him.

“What Heaven Seed?” Mo Fan did not react at first. His eyes widened after some time, “Do you mean a Heaven-grade Seed, which is a level above a Soul-grade Seed?”

“What else could it be?” Yu Shishi agreed.

“Heaven-grade Seed? To be honest with you, I have never seen one being auctioned before. Isn’t it priceless?” Mo Fan gulped.

“Of course it is, since it can only be refined under extremely harsh conditions. A place with extreme levels of a certain Element alone isn’t enough…” Yu Shishi answered him.

“Wait a second, where did you learn about a Heaven-grade Seed? Why did you ask me?” Mo Fan realized something was up.

“Do you want a Heaven-grade Seed?” Yu Shishi grinned. She believed no one would lack interest in a Heaven-grade Seed.

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide. He was speechless all of a sudden.

A Heaven-grade Seed! He had never heard of anyone with a Heaven-grade Seed!

“Did you really think the Research Union is after me because of the Moon Moth Phoenix?” Yu Shishi said.

“Do you really know how to get a Heaven-grade Seed?” Mo Fan’s eyes were glittering with greed.

If he could obtain a Heaven-grade Seed for any of his Elements, he would be unstoppable in the Super Level, as long as he did not stumble into monsters with every Element at the Super Level!

“The blessing from the Fruit of Vow gave me a special ability. If you still have a Fruit of Vow, I might be able to evolve one of your Soul-grade Seeds with the power of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. If you’re lucky, you might end up with a Heaven-grade Seed,” Yu Shishi proposed to him!

“Are you trying to trick me?” Mo Fan found it hard to believe.

“It’s up to you. You can sell them if you want,” Yu Shishi replied carelessly.

“Can a Soul-grade Seed really evolve into a Heaven-grade Seed?” Mo Fan pressed her.

“It’s possible, but it’s similar to the process of tempering iron into steel. I’m familiar with your Elements, too. I believe your Earth Element with an innate additional effect is your best bet, since the rest of your Elements are close to being finalized,” Yu Shishi said.

“I don’t understand,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s a little complicated. A Heaven-grade Seed must not have any impurity, but most Soul Seeds contain other Elements in them. After all, there’s no such thing as a perfect Elemental Ground. There is wind in a land of ice, fire amid lightning, and light amid flames… no Soul Seed is one hundred percent pure. It will be mixed with other Elements while it is formed, but a Heaven-grade Seed must only contain a single Element,” Yu Shishi stated clearly.

“So, you can get me a Heaven-grade Seed?” Mo Fan asked.

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You must put in the effort and take the risk, but if you are seriously after a Heaven-grade Seed, I can lend you a hand. Your Earth Element has a better chance of refining a Heaven-grade Seed!” Yu Shishi stated firmly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You need to buy a few Soul-grade Seeds of the Earth Element first,” Yu Shishi informed him.

“Huh?” Mo Fan almost knocked his jaw on the table. He said, “Are you sure you meant to say ‘a few Soul-grade Seeds?’”

Damn it, people normally counted fragments of the Soul-grade Seeds in grams! The fragments were a lot more expensive than diamonds, let alone the complete Soul-grade Seeds! A single piece was enough to buy an expensive building. Did Yu Shishi lose her common sense after staying in the deep woods for too long!?

“We need material to refine a Heaven-grade Seed. Where else should we get the huge amount of energy from?” Yu Shishi said.

“So how many Soul-grade Seeds do you need exactly?” Mo Fan asked.

“Around ten!” Yu Shishi answered.

Mo Fan almost spat his tea out.

“Forget it, I now remember how I almost went bankrupt when Feng Zhoulong told me he could make me stronger. I’m afraid I will never save enough money to afford ten Soul-grade Seeds!” Mo Fan shook his head.

“Why are you so impatient? I haven’t finished!” Yu Shishi sniffed.

“Don’t bother if you aren’t going to say something practical. How strange, whenever I find something valuable, there is always someone who would guide me down a path of no return, claiming I could be rich in no time with just a little investment… But in the end, I would stay extremely poor. I couldn’t even live luxuriously for a few days,” Mo Fan sighed, mostly to himself.

“You will receive the benefits immediately if you follow my advice. Just buy one Soul-grade Seed for now, the normal kind with a damage amplification of four to six times. It would be better if it has a Domain or some kind of additional effects. It’s a gradual process to refine a Heaven-grade Seed. I’ll help you with the first step of strengthening the Soul-grade Seed,” Yu Shishi told him.

“Just tell me the exact effects you are after!” Mo Fan replied.

“Find a Soul-grade Seed with a fourfold damage amplification. The first step will improve its damage amplification to six. If you’re lucky, its initially useless additional effects might become stronger too,” Yu Shishi replied easily.

“Useless additional effects? I’m satisfied as long as it has any additional effects!” Mo Fan had a feeling Yu Shishi was fooling with him. How was it possible that the owner of a moth farm would know the obscure process of refining a Heaven-grade Seed? Even the best forgemaster in the world would not dare to guarantee they could refine a Heaven-grade Seed!

However, Mo Fan had no idea that the moths that Yu Shishi raised had an ability similar to the ability of bees to collect nectar. The moths did not just fly in the woods happily and do nothing for the whole day. They were extremely sensitive to the rare energies scattered around them. This rare energy was like nectar to them. They would slowly gather it and build their nests across the woods. Only Yu Shishi knew how to gather the energy from their nests!

Yu Shishi had never told anyone her secret. She was afraid that the Research Union would abuse the moths’ ability and turn them into harvesters. After all, there was always a huge demand for Soul Seeds. If they knew the moths could harvest the impure energy in the air, people would greatly abuse their ability!

Yu Shishi was grateful that Mo Fan’s Fanxue Mountain had provided her and her moths a peaceful home, or she would never have revealed her secret to him. That being said, it also depended on whether Mo Fan was interested in her suggestion or not.

“Can you really refine a Heaven-grade Seed?” Mo Fan asked after giving it more thought.

“Mm, it’s possible based on the number of moths I have,” Yu Shishi answered firmly.

“My Earth Element has only expanded into a Galaxy. Can it hold the power of a Heaven-grade Seed?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“The Advanced Level is good enough. If you are free, you should visit the city. There are a lot of resources for the Earth Element there. You should buy some of them. The first step won’t evolve the Soul-grade Seed into a Heaven-grade Seed right away, but it will make the Soul-grade Seed stronger than those being sold on the market. If we split the Heaven-grade Seed further into three levels, they will be a Heaven-inferior Seed, Lesser Heaven Seed, and Greater Heaven Seed. The truth is, the same principles apply to the Spirit-grade Seeds and Soul-grade Seeds too, but I’m not sure why the Magic Association doesn’t classify them further,” Yu Shishi said.

“What do you mean by inferior, lesser, and greater? Did you come up with the names yourself? I have never heard of them before!” Mo Fan spluttered.

“You should seriously read more books. I didn’t come up with them myself. There are books about them from other countries!” Yu Shishi responded primly.

Mo Fan was struggling to believe it. He gave Feng Zhoulong, who was a member of the Research Union, a call. Feng Zhoulong was a renowned professor both in and outside the country. Mo Fan would rather trust his academic achievements.

“Old Feng, have you heard of the classification of Soul-grade Seeds? Something like, Soul-inferior Seeds, Lesser Soul Seeds, and Greater Soul Seeds?…” Mo Fan asked cautiously.

“Wow, you know a lot, don’t you? The Magic Association of the Five Continents is planning to include them in the official index at the end of this year, but you forgot another level, there’s another Pseudo level before the Inferior level. Their classification is similar to the levels of a demon creature,” Feng Zhoulong answered instantly.

Mo Fan stared at Yu Shishi in disbelief while he was on the call.

To think that a woman who spent her days drying red beans, cooking porridge, and raising moths would know the latest concept that was about to be released!

Mo Fan knew people were still exploring different concepts of magic, but something like a new classification of the Spirit-grade Seeds and Soul-grade Seeds would doubtless remain confidential.

“Don’t look at me like that. The academics of other countries have already published the topics before, but the Magic Association was too stubborn to accept it. The classification should already be in textbooks by now. Isn’t it obvious how Soul Seeds differ greatly, even if they are of the same level?” Yu Shishi huffed.

“That’s true. So how will you classify my Soul-grade Seeds?” Mo Fan was intrigued.

“For your Fire Element, the Calamity Fire mainly depends on Little Flame Belle’s strength, so I can’t say for sure. The other two are most likely Lesser Soul Seeds. The Lightning Tyrant is a Greater Soul Seed,” Yu Shishi informed him.

“So did you say you can get me a Heaven-Inferior Seed? Not a Pseudo-Heavenly Seed?” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered.

The Lightning Tyrant was Mo Fan’s strongest Soul-grade Seed for now, but the Heaven-Inferior Seed was two levels higher! Wouldn’t that mean his Earth Element was going to be unbeatable?

“Pseudo-Heaven Seed… Yes, there should be another level before the Inferior level. The first step will guarantee you a Heaven-Inferior Seed. If you want it, you have to give me the Fruit of Vow and the petal of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus,” Yu Shishi said.

“Now? Don’t you dare trick me! I’m seriously worried,” Mo Fan grimaced.

“Now! You will get your Heaven-inferior Seed after you find a Soul-grade Seed… but I want you to swear an oath that you will never tell anyone about this!” Yu Shishi demanded of him.

“Don’t worry, I will make sure it rots in my stomach forever!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The investment was like throwing money into the sea; one might end up a povo for the rest of their life!

Mo Fan was still a little worried, but his heart pounded heavily whenever he imagined having a Heaven-grade Seed with four additional effects. He would be able to beat the crap out of a Super Mage, even if he was only an Advanced Mage!

Heaven-grade Seeds were extremely rare. The four additional effects they provided their Element made them extremely powerful. The people would no longer refer to him as the Demon King of Lightning and Fire’s Shadow. They would call him the Rock Emperor instead!

4

The moths nearby began to panic while Mo Fan was indulging in his fantasies. They beat their wings and streamed into Yu Shishi’s hut.

The Moon Moth Phoenix and the little cub who were enjoying themselves seemed to have noticed something, too. They quickly retreated into the hut and stared in the direction a misty cloud was appearing from.

“Oh my, I’m such a failure as a phantom. The two little creatures in the hut found me first!” The Queen of the Netherworld slowly appeared from the mist.

“Go talk to her outside, they don’t like her presence,” Yu Shishi ordered him.

“Alright!” Mo Fan realized the moths were afraid of the Queen of the Netherworld, judging from their reaction.

Mo Fan and the Queen of the Netherworld moved further away. The playful Queen of the Netherworld used Yu Shishi’s appearance and played with her ponytail, pretending to be an innocent young woman.

“I was also a beautiful and innocent woman back then…” the Queen of the Netherworld said silkily.

“Weren’t you the daughter of a eunuch court?”

“A court eunuch!” the Queen of the Netherworld snapped.

“Oh, what difference does that make?” Mo Fan asked guilelessly.

The Queen of the Netherworld rolled her eyes. It was pointless to argue with an uncivilized man like Mo Fan. She had focus on the matter at hand!

“Things are a little tricky. I think I can no longer obey my king’s order,” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“You’re setting me free?” Mo Fan said.

“I thought the king is planning to bring the Eight Undead Rulers to the Sacred City of Europe. If a battle breaks out, they could still turn half the city into debris, but the king doesn’t want a bloodbath…(sigh), the king is being too merciful. Those people aren’t his descendants, why is he being so considerate? If I were in his shoes, I would bring hell upon the Sacred City so those arrogant scum know they should respect the undead!” the Queen of the Netherworld declared fervently.

“He’s not bringing the Undead Rulers? He’s the one that the Sacred City is after, yet he’s going alone?” Mo Fan was in disbelief.

“He’s doing it for our sake. After all, the Sacred City has a powerful magic Formation imbued with sacred light. We are pretty much jumping into flames if we go,” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“Ugh… that’s one way to describe it…”

“He doesn’t want to involve you, nor is he bringing the Eight Undead Rulers. He’s taking matters into his own hands,” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“But it’s obviously a trap, isn’t it?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“That’s why I decided not to obey him anymore… we are going to the Sacred City. I can’t enter it, but you can lend me a hand. We’ll let the culprits in our homeland live for a few more days. We’ll take care of them after we’re back,” the Queen of the Netherworld said.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment!” Mo Fan said.

There was no place he did not dare to go and nothing he did not dare to do!

—

The Sacred City was located to the west of the Alps. It was managed by both the Holy Judgment Court and the Heresy Judgment Court. It was a place where laws were formed, the laws which every Mage in the world was bound to!

Most books never mentioned the Holy Judgment Court and the Heresy Judgment Court. They had established Magic Associations across the world, yet they were independent of the Magic Associations. They supposedly did not intervene with the functions of the Magic Associations, nor were they involved in the competition between Magic Associations. They were referred to as the Seat of God, as they were only responsible for supervising and purging threats.

Below the Seat of God was the Seven Great Angels.

They were the seven strongest Mages in the Sacred City, so were named after the Seven Angels: Michael, Raguel, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, Sariel, Metatron, and Remiel.

The seven Red Cardinals of the Black Vatican were mimicking the seven Angels of the Sacred City in some ways. Most interestingly, apart from Raguel, Raphael, and Uriel, who were guarding the Sacred City, the identities of the rest of the Angels were not disclosed to the public.

In other words, no one knew who the other four Angels were. The people only knew they existed and were patrolling somewhere, yet they were never seen. They were truly the envoys whom God had sent to the world!

Mo Fan was naturally unfamiliar with the Sacred City. He had only heard about it from Mu Ningxue and the Queen of the Netherworld as they pretended to be normal adventurers.

The Queen of the Netherworld needed a perfect host to get past the Dragon Light Formation of the Sacred City. The person she chose took Mo Fan by surprise. It was the girl who had served him coffee when he was in America, then he had stumbled into again in the Alps: Li Yu’e!

Mo Fan had to visit the Alps to seek her help.

Li Yu’e was surprisingly understanding. It was weird being possessed by a phantom. She would retain her consciousness while her body was controlled by something else. She would not be able to resist if the Queen of the Netherworld started messing around with Mo Fan, yet she did not get to enjoy the pleasure of it, either.

“Since no one knows who the four Angels are, isn’t it possible that they might be the Black Vatican’s Red Cardinals? For example, if they messed up during an important mission and left an obvious clue behind, so they pretend it was the doing of the Black Vatican’s Red Cardinals and play the whole world like a fiddle,” Mo Fan speculated.

“Mo Fan, if we are part of a fictional story, someone like you who spoils the ending would most likely die on the spot. You might die of poison in the middle of your sentence!” the Queen of the Netherworld chided him.

“Ugh, my imagination might be a little far-fetched, but it’s still a possibility, right?” Mo Fan said awkwardly.

“The Seven Angels possessed the power of Forbidden Curses. They are called Forbidden Curses for a reason. We are more worried about their after-effects than their power. The places targeted by a Forbidden Curse will lay barren for several dozen years. The presence of magic and the spaces about it will be distorted, so they are no longer habitable for humans… even us Undead despise places like that,” the Queen of the Netherworld informed him.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“No wonder our country keeps promising the people that they will only use Forbidden Curses as a last resort,” Mo Fan realized.

It turned out that using the Forbidden Curses could cause such terrifying aftereffects! No wonder Forbidden Mages were nowhere to be seen. The media and countries never mentioned Forbidden Mages or Forbidden Curses either…

“Forbidden Curses are too powerful. There’s a hidden rule in the Magic Associations. Every Forbidden Mage must protect the secret of Forbidden Curses. Every Forbidden Mage whose identity is exposed is under the surveillance of the Holy Court Mages and the Magic Associations of the Five Continents. In other words, they have lost their freedom,” the Queen of the Netherworld stated.

“So becoming a Forbidden Mage is like breaking the law now?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened. He had two important life goals. He had almost achieved the first one, but becoming a Forbidden Mage was his second life goal!

“Of course not, but when the Black Vatican first appeared in the early days, some of its members purposely provoked a Forbidden Mage by killing their close family members. The Forbidden Mage ended up losing his calm and used a Forbidden Curse to kill the culprit, resulting in a great tragedy, allowing the Black Vatican to achieve their goal. The Forbidden Curse being invoked was their true intention all along!” the Queen of the Netherworld declared.

“Why are you so good with history when you are just an empress who was never as reputable as the Tang empress…” Mo Fan muttered again.

“Stop interrupting, just listen to her.” Mu Ningxue rolled her eyes at Mo Fan, and he immediately shut his mouth.

The Queen of the Netherworld grinned proudly, like she could not be bothered arguing with Mo Fan, and continued on with her explanation. “Since some scum might abuse Forbidden Curses to reach their goals, the Magic Associations drew up a convention regarding Forbidden Mages. They are not allowed to disclose their identities to the public. Those who go public will be placed under strict surveillance, as will their close relatives and friends. They must report where they are at all times and are not allowed to use Forbidden Curses unless their lives are in danger!” the Queen of the Netherworld stated.

“Therefore, there are two kinds of Forbidden Mages. The first kind are those who kept their identity a secret. They can still live a normal life and go wherever they want. As for those whose identities are disclosed to the public, they hold important positions in society and are protected by their countries.”

Mo Fan fell into deep thought. It would be a nuisance if he was being supervised at all times once he became a Forbidden Mage. He was destined to be at the top of the world, yet there were so many restrictions!

However, on second thought, those restrictions were necessary for a peaceful world. The world would be in ruins if the strong Mages could do whatever they pleased!

“That’s the reason why the identities of the other four Angels aren’t disclosed to the public. They are far more special than normal Forbidden Mages. Not only would the Black Vatican fixate on them, but other countries and organizations might too, regardless of their intentions. As long as their identities remain a secret, they are free to visit every country and place, and their status won’t affect their judgment. They can live with normal people and experience what they are going through. They only need to be merciless when it’s necessary,” the Queen of the Netherworld continued.

“Strange, why does the life of the four Angels sound like the kind of life I would want?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

“Forget it, you are just a troublemaker! You will just throw a Forbidden Curse at anyone who dares to say a bad word about your girlfriends. There’s no way you could become an Angel. You are the last person that fits the role,” the Queen of the Netherworld assessed him mercilessly.

“So who’s responsible for the operation that arrested Sister Qin? Was it one of the three Angels?” Mu Ningxue asked intently.

The Queen of the Netherworld shook her head. She glanced at the crowded entrance of the Sacred City and said, “I’m afraid one of the four Angels is planning to go public.”

Mo Fan was unfamiliar with the Sacred City, but the Queen of the Netherworld had been keeping an eye on it. She had yet to reach the Emperor-level, so she believed the Angels of the Sacred City were not interested in her, but her King was different!

The King would easily grab the Seven Angels’ attention, and one of them had to be behind the series of incidents that had happened.

However, the Angel who was responsible for the plan could no longer hide in the dark. He would have to disclose his identity to convince the Sacred City to take out the Undead King!

Was the Undead King a human or a demon?

If he was a demon, Qin Yu’er would only be a nobody to him. The trial would take place and the Angel would not need to disclose their identity.

If he was a human, he would show up to save Qin Yu’er. The Angel would be waiting for him in the Sacred City, and would reveal their identity to the public!

—

“Shouldn’t these Angels spend more time on better things? Speaking of which, would they also be keeping an eye on me because of my insane potential?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“The Angels won’t waste their time on you even if you use the Demon Element, let alone your strength now. They only focus on Forbidden Mages and Emperor-level demon creatures. You are nowhere close to being a threat,” the Queen of the Netherworld answered promptly.

“Oh, should I work harder then?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

“It’s a huge world. There are many beings with strange powers. You can only make it onto the Judicators’ list for now,” the Queen of the Netherworld sniffed at him.

“Say, there’s something I never told you. I’m actually Gabriel, one of the Angels. I’ve been watching you for a long time!” Mo Fan said with a straight face.

1

The Queen of the Netherworld and Mu Ningxue both laughed. “Gabriel is a woman. You might need to change your gender first,” the Queen mocked him in delight.

“Ugh…”

“The Dragon Light is ahead, I should hide for now,” the Queen of the Netherworld said suddenly.

A brilliant light suddenly descended from the top of the Sacred City, as if the sun was focusing its attention on them. The whole sky was filled with a golden light emitted by the thing that resembled a huge planet engulfed in golden flames, freezing Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue in place.

What now?

They had thought the Orb on the tower of the Sacred City was something like a decoration. Why did it suddenly unleash such powerful magic? It was like God was examining them to pick up even the slightest amount malicious intent in their hearts!

“It’s said to be the eye of a golden dragon.” Li Yu’e had regained control of her body. She was unaffected by the light, since she did not harbor any malicious intentions.

“Golden dragon? A dragon of the Light Element? It’s made from the real eye of a Light Dragon?” Mo Fan asked, cold sweat on his forehead.

“Mm,” Li Yu’e nodded. She had learned a lot of things during her time at the Alps Institute.

“No wonder she says the army of Undead would only kill themselves coming here.” Mo Fan sighed heavily.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There were checkpoints everywhere in the Sacred City. Everyone had to undergo strict procedures to verify their identities. Luckily, the national team had taken great care of Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. The Pearl Institute and Imperial College had given them different identities so they could move freely in and out of the country without being targeted by malicious people.

“Are you students?” the owner of the inn asked.

“Yeah, she’s from the Alps Institute. Us two are from universities in China. Here are our student cards!” Mo Fan handed an identification card over.

The owner of the inn was young but bald already. He looked a lot older because of it.

He kept looking up and down at the two beauties who were with Mo Fan as soon as they arrived. Li Yu’e stood out because of her clean and innocent appearance. On the other hand, Mu Ningxue’s beauty was disaster-level. She would always attract attention wherever she went.

After getting their rooms, the owner reminded Mo Fan that officials of the Sacred City would be here before nighttime for an inspection. They must open their doors no matter what they were doing.

“Does this mean we have to wait until dark to do something?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“Yeah, but of course it’s fine in the day if you’re quick about it,” the owner grinned. He kept peeping at Mu Ningxue’s waist as she was heading upstairs.

“Bullsh**, it’s obvious you have gone bald because you were too indulgent in your desires when you were young. My hairline is a clear indication that I’m full of vigor!” Mo Fan said.

“(Cough cough), I’m only twenty-five, and I’m still a virgin. Brother, you’re taking on two at once. You are a great example for us Asian men… you must be very rich?” the owner replied shamelessly.

“I find it difficult to talk with you!” Mo Fan turned to leave after paying the money. The man deserved to be alone for the rest of his life. He had no idea that having a charming personality was far more important!

“Wait, wait a second, there’s something I want to tell you!” The owner stopped Mo Fan and said with a serious voice. “Basically, if you want to move freely in the Sacred City without them stopping you and asking you questions every hour, you should bring along a European, an Italian if possible.”

“Why is that?” Mo Fan was confused. “Is there race discrimination in the Sacred City?”

“The Sacred City doesn’t discriminate against anyone, but you know there are always people looking for trouble. The people at the checkpoints are very biased. They keep asking questions until you tell them your BWH measurements if they see a group of foreigners. Therefore, I provide a rental service of brunettes, or blondes with blue eyes. It won’t cost you much, only a thousand every day,” the owner proposed.

“Are you trying to rob me? Even a threesome with Ukrainians would cost less!” Mo Fan yelled at him.

“Brother, you are familiar with the market, but my price is already reasonable in this city. It’s fine, once you experience how it feels for one day, you will soon come back here and ask for my services,” the owner said.

“That won’t be necessary, I have my own candidate. I’m guessing there isn’t any discrimination in the city. It’s just you trying to milk your own people!” Mo Fan said.

“Hehe, that’s a little too harsh on me!”

—

Mo Fan was not going to waste a thousand euros every day. It was a thousand euros, not yuan! He could easily provide for an economical mistress in his homeland. Why would he hire a stingy guide with a big nose?

Mo Fan Summoned Apas after he went to the back of the inn.

Apas had kept asking Mo Fan to let her out after they entered the city, but Mo Fan had not agreed. He would attract too much attention if he was bringing three beauties along with him.

Not only did Apas appear European, her appearance was that of a typical hottie in the European myths. She might have taken a fall from grace and become an evil Medusa, but it did not affect her alluring good looks!

Legends said Medusa’s charm was on par with the Goddess Athena, and Apas was the daughter of the first Medusa. She had perfectly inherited her mother’s beauty.

“Are you sure it’s going to be fine?” Mo Fan asked Apas seriously.

“I guarantee you with my life,” Apas raised her hand.

Apas was considered a demon creature. The Golden Eye of the Sacred City was comparable to the Monkey King’s discerning eyes, with the ability to see through any disguise. However, the eyes of a Medusa were the strongest when it came to trickery. The Golden Eye had no chance of seeing through Apas’ lineage!

“Go check in first, use your identity at the Pearl Institute,” Mo Fan told her.

“Mm, an intern!” Apas was overjoyed. She liked her identity as an intern. She would visit Pearl Institute whenever she was free and use her good looks to make the women there jealous. She would then slap the faces of those who provoked her by abusing her powerful magic. She never got tired of it!

Mo Fan returned to the bald owner of the inn. “This is my… my younger female cousin. Get her a room.”

Apas liked hugging Mo Fan’s arm, even though she always wanted him to die a horrible death. She had to maintain her disguise as a little girl next door in front of outsiders.

The owner had just witnessed the intimate interaction between Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue just a moment ago. However, Mo Fan had quickly returned with another gorgeous teenage girl, European this time. He immediately had an urge to kill himself. He was done for. He might lose his remaining hair tonight in extreme grief!

“She’s…she’s a student too?” the owner asked while holding back his tears.

“Mm, this is her student card,” Mo Fan answered.

“Why didn’t she check in with you?” the owner protested.

“She was cruising around just now,” Mo Fan replied.

“Big brother, I just bought a countryside miniskirt. Can I show it to you later?” Apas was good at acting coquettishly. She put her legs that were covered in stockings together and bent forward while leaning on Mo Fan’s arm. The way she pouted her lips instantly overwhelmed the man in his thirties who had a fetish for young women.

“You…you should go to your rooms!” The owner covered his nose. He felt like it was going to start bleeding.

Mo Fan brought Apas to the rooms. The check-ins at every inn served as checkpoints too. Mo Fan could not arouse suspicion of the owner, or he might report them to the officials.

Many people had multiple identities, so it was not easy to find them when they blended in with a crowd. However, if they attracted official attention, their identities would be exposed. Mo Fan did not want to arouse suspicion for now.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Was that bald man suspicious of us?” Mo Fan asked Apas when they were going up the stairs.

“He’s cursing you to suffer from impotence. He’s also imagining who he would choose if Sister Mu Ningxue and I were standing in front of him,” Apas replied.

“How filthy…” Mo Fan sniffed.

What about you?” Apas smiled, thoroughly unleashing her coquettish aura. Mo Fan suddenly felt like he was in a colorful hut where a naked snake demon was rubbing herself against his body.

“Of course I’m going to choose Mu Ningxue. I prefer mature women,” Mo Fan replied without any hesitation.

“Is that so? Why is it different from the imagination I saw in your mind? Mm, I like the thrill you are after too, as long as you can convince Sister Mu…” Apas stuck her face closer to Mo Fan’s ear and whispered into it. Mo Fan could feel the moistness of her hot breath.

1

Mo Fan felt a surge of electricity running amok in his body before gathering at a specific part.

“(Cough cough), that’s enough, we are here for some serious business. Stop hugging me, it’s bad if Mu Ningxue sees us!” Mo Fan ordered her quickly.

“I want to go for a walk, on my own,” Apas exclaimed.

“It’s not happening,” Mo Fan replied.

“Then I’ll keep hugging you then. I always hugged you like this before you two became a couple. Why can’t I do it now?” Apas complained.

“Just go, but you must be back here when I call for you!” Mo Fan was left with no choice.

“Mm, I know my master is the best!” Apas stood on her toes. She purposely waited until Mu Ningxue turned the corner before kissing Mo Fan on the cheek. She then blushed and ran away, as if she had accidentally let Mu Ningxue see it.

Mo Fan’s eyes widened. Apas had still managed to set him up in the end!

1

Mu Ningxue came up to him like nothing had happened.

Mo Fan looked at her. She always wore an icy and expressionless face, whether she was angry or not. Mo Fan could not help but feel like there was no point explaining himself, not to mention he was guilty all along!

“She did it on purpose. Don’t mind it,” Mo Fan said awkwardly, scratching his head.

“I know,” Mu Ningxue said calmly.

As expected of his first wife, she was not fussed about the fighting and scheming among his concubines. Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh. He was about to follow Mu Ningxue into her room and discuss their plan of sneaking into the residence of a high-ranking official when the door slammed right in his face after Mu Ningxue went inside!

“S**t!” Mo Fan had almost knocked his nose on the door!

1

—

The owner’s eyes glittered when Apas came downstairs.

He had decided to pick Apas after a long hesitation. He had begun to have wild thoughts about gorgeous Western women after living in Europe for a long time.

“My honored mistress, if you need a guide… I’m more than willing to serve you for free,” the owner offered to her.

“That won’t be necessary, thank you for making a wise choice,” Apas giggled.

The owner was stunned. The seductive young girl was already gone, even though her giggles were still echoing in his ears…

Not every beauty was the kind that would dazzle a person and trigger a strong reaction in them. Most people would only take a quick glimpse of them, leaving a nice impression in their mind. However, they would recall the person’s good looks in the following days, months, or even years. The more times they recalled, the deeper they would sink, before they finally lost themselves.

Apas was obviously the second kind of beauty!

——

Apas left the inn, which was very close to the Sacred Residence. She wove adeptly through the complicated alleys.

She stopped in front of a shop selling delicate wigs and cosmetics. The bell on the door rang as she went inside.

A few female tourists were looking around in the shop. The female owner was sitting in front of the cashier, wearing thick makeup and a fake smile. She kept watching the women who were browsing the products in the store, as if her customers were the real products on sale.

The owner immediately shifted her attention to Apas when she came inside. Her calm but invasive eyes began to glow, as if she had finally found some satisfying prey.

“Oh my, you’re the rarest customer I have had in the past fifty years. How did you know I have a shop here? Is there something you are after in my shop? That doesn’t make any sense. The things I sell are nowhere as real and pretty as the ones you have. Do you have any idea how much I desire to put you on so every woman in the Sacred City will be jealous of me and every man will fall for me?” the woman said with great joy.

“You’ve been doing this for a few hundred years. It’s a little difficult not to know where your shops are.” Apas had lost her usual appearance of an innocent and lively girl, and her face was cold and hard.

“Hehe, you are familiar with your elder sister’s business, indeed. Quick, help me choose: that girl in a blue shirt; I like her innocent-looking eyes, but unfortunately, she isn’t a blondie… and the one at the back there, her legs are slim and long. I can easily dazzle a lot of men in my swimsuits.” The woman was smiling so much that her eyes were no longer visible.

“You can consider paying a visit to Korea. You will most likely find something better there. You can also murder fewer people, since you won’t have to be suspicious of people all the time,” Apas answered.

“I will miss a lot of fun there. I doubt you are here because you missed me. By the way, did something happen to you? Why does your presence feel like a crossbred lascivious snake? I even sent the Cruel Ocean Serpent to take care of you, but you beat up my favorite Friday night lover instead!” the woman said in mock sincerity.

“My safety doesn’t concern you!” Apas snapped back.

“How can I not be worried? You’re my most favorite younger sister. I will be mad if our eldest sister takes away your beautiful skin!” the woman exclaimed.

Apas did not respond. She glared at the woman with her sparkling golden eyes.

The woman’s eyes also transformed after she sensed Apas’ hostility. They went from dark brown to golden with a frightening light!

“I know what you want to ask me… our mother’s corpse is already cold, so she won’t be able to protect you any longer. You can roam around the world like a pitiful cat as you please, but there’s nowhere safe for you in Europe, except for the Sacred City!” The golden sparkles in the woman’s eyes slowly faded away.

“Euryale, I’m going to kill you and Cessna, just like you killed my godmother!” Apas snarled back at her.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Kill her? It’s true that she always told our mother you were more talented than us. She might be a little arrogant, but I didn’t kill her. I admired her unique lineage. Look, isn’t she living on in me?” Euryale laughed.

A pink mist appeared on Euryale’s face, which began to change. The corners of her eyes widened while her nose moved higher. Even her lips were thicker.

Her face had transformed by the time the mist dissipated. It was a familiar face to Apas, that of a woman in her thirties with an outstanding demeanor. Her slender neck and round face gave her a noble appearance.

Apas’ eyes had a strange look at first, before they began brimming with anger!

Apas could not be more familiar with that face. Although she had a mother, her mother was an imperious empress who always spoke to her in a stern and educating tone. She had always been cold and strict to her.

It was her godmother who looked after her when she was young. She was more like a gentle mother who took great care of her.

Apas’ godmother was a human, whom she had learned human language and knowledge from, yet she was still murdered by Apas’ sisters!

Apas had already accepted that fact after many years, but to her surprise, her second-eldest sister had taken her godmother’s face and was mimicking her most beloved person!

Apas felt anger exploding from the bottom of her heart when she saw the cruel and vicious woman putting on her godmother’s face.

They were in the Sacred City. The Medusae had to pretend to be humans. They could not afford to use their abilities, but if Apas insisted on destroying both of them indiscriminately, she could attract the Holy Judgment Court’s attention with her power!

However, Apas was unhappy when she realized her eldest sister Cessna would end up as the biggest winner. She did not want to use such a stupid method to get her revenge!

Euryale was trying to provoke Apas further, but she suddenly stared at the entrance alertly.

“Someone is coming. I should be going. Apas, promise sister that you will look after yourself!” Euryale smiled and went to the back of the store.

The bell on the door rang as it swung open. A man in a Judicator’s outfit walked inside and looked around the shop.

While the Judicator was inspecting the shop, the owner was already a different person, once again a middle-aged woman with thick makeup, her bright lips standing out.

They might look alike, but Apas knew the woman was no longer her second eldest sister, Euryale.

“Why are you here?” The Judicator looked around and eventually saw Apas. His stern expression was replaced with shock and excitement.

However, the Judicator was obviously good at concealing his emotions. He soon regained his calm and collected face.

Apas lifted her gaze and looked at the Asian man. She was surprised that the Sacred City would recruit an Asian as a Judicator.

Judicators were highly respected in the Sacred City, comparable to the Muses of the Parthenon Temple. They had great power and authority, and could be considered the Prince Charmings of many young women in European countries.

There were quite a few young women browsing around in the store. They immediately focused their attention on the Judicator the moment he walked in, like he was some reputable celebrity.

Apas, on the other hand, was the least excited. First of all, she did not expect the Judicator would know her. Second, the Judicator turned out to be Zu Xiangtian, who had challenged Mo Fan to a duel.

Zu Xiangtian was a Judicator of the Heresy Judgment Court? Mo Fan would be shocked if he heard about it!

“You don’t remember me? Oh…” Zu Xiangtian was a little disappointed when he saw the confused look in Apas’ eyes.

He was a little regretful. He regretted not trampling Mo Fan under his feet when he had the chance. He had no idea if that son of a b**ch Mo Fan had done anything immoral to the innocent girl since they had last met.

Zu Xiangtian would always remember the girl with Mo Fan, who was like an angel coming to him in the middle of every night since their first meeting in Greece. Zu Xiangtian was only a little fervent when they first met. However, Zu Xiangtian was about to lose it during their second encounter. He had tried a lot of young girls like Apas, but they only satisfied his desires temporarily. He was unable to fully satisfy the anticipation and passion in his mind.

Zu Xiangtian was led to the shop by a trace he was following. He did not expect to stumble into his dream girl here. He completely forgot about the mission from the Great Judicator!

“I remember you,” Apas reclaimed her demeanor of a cheerful teenage girl, and smiled charmingly.

Zu Xiangtian was expressionless at first, but Apas’ smile had torn apart his disguise straightaway. His eyes were glowing with passion.

“If you’re here…” Zu Xiangtian did not lose his rationality. He soon recalled Apas was with Mo Fan. He had no clue about the relationship between them, but he could not help but think about Mo Fan when he saw her.

“I sneaked out on my own. My brother always keeps me at school. I lied to him that our school has organized a trip to the Sacred City.” Apas stuck her tongue out.

Zu Xiangtian straightened his face. He did not want to expose his inner thoughts, especially his urge to pin the girl down and violate her.

“Mm, I know how annoying your brother is, but as a Judicator, I must remind you how dangerous it is to travel alone. I’m currently on a secret mission. According to reliable intel, someone is kidnapping young women in stores like this. A girl like you should be more careful,” Zu Xiangtian said.

“Thanks for the reminder,” Apas smiled. She had figured out a plan to get her revenge on her second eldest sister.

—

Apas quickly ran back to the inn and found Mo Fan in his room.

“Guess who I stumbled into?” Apas skipped onto Mo Fan’s bed like a little sparrow. Her eyes glittered like a cunning vixen.

“Hey, don’t just jump onto my bed. You are my third…fourth…no, fifth concubine. Don’t you know your place?” Mo Fan was seriously scared of Apas.

“Zu Xiangtian is a Judicator. Big brother, you didn’t expect that, right?” Apas said.

“Huh? That idiot is a Judicator?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Apas told Mo Fan about her encounter with Zu Xiangtian. She also briefly mentioned Zu Xiangtian’s mission to search for a demon creature, but she did not mention her sister.

“The Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court are indeed refuges of the retarded. If someone as brainless as Zu Xiangtian can become a Judicator, I believe the Angels aren’t good people either!” Mo Fan swore aloud.

“I didn’t tell him you were here. I think we can use him to sneak into the Sacred Residence,” Apas proposed.

“What’s your idea?” Mo Fan asked.

“He isn’t cautious of me. I told him I snuck out by myself. He might agree to bring me to the Sacred Residence for a tour if I asked him,” Apas said.

“No way! Zhao Manyan told me that Zu Xiangtian might be reputable in foreign countries, but his clan has abused their power and money to cover up a lot of his scandals. If he’s so into you, I can’t possibly put you in danger. You won’t be able to use your power in the Sacred City. You won’t be able to protect you with your useless Plant Element!” Mo Fan shook his head.

What was this little girl even thinking? Mo Fan would not use Apas to bait Zu Xiangtian when they were outside the Sacred City, let alone inside it, where she was unable to use her power. Zu Xiangtian was recruited as a Judicator for a reason. He must have some outstanding capabilities, and he was good at concealing his intentions. Mo Fan would never have known he had a fetish for young girls if it weren’t for Apas’ warning. He might even think the man was homosexual. After all, he did not even bother looking at a beauty like Mu Ningxue.

He had to be extremely careful of someone who was good at putting up a disguise. There was no way he would give Apas away… he had yet to have a taste of her himself!

“It will be almost impossible to sneak into the Sacred Residence without his help,” Apas said.

“So what if we sneak into the Sacred Residence? We still won’t have a chance to see Qin Yu’er,” Mo Fan replied.

“Mm, you’re right,” Apas nodded.

“Apas, why are you so keen to help me all of a sudden? You aren’t behaving like yourself,” Mo Fan asked, looking into Apas’ eyes.

When a man and a woman were intimate for some time, they were able to read one another’s minds. Even though Mo Fan and Apas had always kept a clean master-servant relationship, their hearts were more interlinked than an old couple who had been together for ten or twenty years.

Mo Fan could sense Apas’ anger even though he was at the inn the whole time.

Mo Fan had the urge to check what was going on, but Apas soon suppressed her anger and came back to the inn. Mo Fan was more concerned about the reason why Apas was so angry instead of her coincidental encounter with Zu Xiangtian.

“I…I feel sorry for Qin Yu’er too,” Apas said softly.

“There’s no point in lying to me,” Mo Fan pulled Apas to his side when he saw her still putting up a front. He said, “Apas, even though I uncovered your true identity, I’ve always been your big brother. You can tell me if you are feeling troubled. I’ll do my best to help you.”

Mo Fan clearly felt the sorrow in Apas’ heart even when she was not saying anything. He knew she must have lost someone dearest to her and someone had recently sprinkled salt on her wound.

Apas could not suppress that emotion even if she wanted to!

Mo Fan did not have a heart of stone, either. Mo Fan could tell Apas was more like a human than a snake after associating with her for so long. He believed it had something to do with the person dearest to her.

Mo Fan pulled Apas into his arms and rubbed her head. She was resisting fiercely at first. After all, she still held a grudge against Mo Fan for forcing her to sign a Contract with him. Although the Contract did not improve their relationship, it made her feel safe around Mo Fan.

Apas recalled how Mo Fan pampered her when they were in Cairo by bringing her shopping and buying her food. She had almost forgotten her real identity during that time. She was like a little girl who had left an island of flowers before stumbling into an interesting big brother, looking forward to seeing the world.

Apas curled up in Mo Fan’s arms after he rubbed her head for a while.

Mo Fan smiled when he noticed Apas lowering her guard. He was about to speak when Apas looked up with her usual innocent eyes and dazzling smile.

“Did Sister Mu stop you from going into her room?” Apas asked.

“Ugh…” Mo Fan had an awkward expression.

“This is my room. I won’t be sleeping in the Contract Space. You can sleep outside on the balcony or sleep with me. Either way, I’ll tell Sister Mu everything,” Apas said cunningly.

“Apas, we should give one another some room so we can see each other well still in the future. It’s so cold at night here. I’ll be frozen when I wake up the next day,” Mo Fan smiled wryly.

(Sigh), why was there always a lack of trust between people? Why must Apas think he was being kind to her because he was after her room? Couldn’t he just harbor malicious intent, like Zu Xiangtian instead?

Apas locked the door after leaving Mo Fan in the corridor. He shivered as a cold breeze swept past. He recalled the owner’s jealous face before staring at the three tightly shut doors.

Forget it, he should go for a walk. He had never been to the Sacred City. Perhaps a gorgeous hottie he met on the street would be willing to provide him shelter for the night after seeing how charming he was!

—

Mo Fan was walking along the splendor street of the Sacred City, surrounded by ancient Rome buildings done up in a religious ../style. However, the buildings were incompatible with the pedestrians in their fashionable clothing.

Mo Fan went to a dark alley, following his instincts. A dark figure suddenly appeared beside him. The tall figure was wearing a coat with an upright collar. Its outline was surprisingly clear in the shadows.

“Bola, are you sure this is the one?” Mo Fan pointed at the shop with the closed sign.

“Yes, my master,” Bola replied respectfully.

“Can you handle her?” Mo Fan asked.

“It will be difficult. The Eye of the Golden Dragon doesn’t reject the existence of demon creatures, but it can easily detect their power. The Holy Court Mages will be here in less than two minutes. We have to think of a better plan if we want to take down Euryale,” Bola answered.

1

Chapter 2058: Descendants with the Humans

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m not familiar with this place. Do you have any idea?” Mo Fan asked calmly.

“I have some old friends in the Sacred City. They might be able to help, but master, I don’t recommend you meeting them,” Bola said.

“Bola, you’re being dishonest. Did you go hunting for women while you were a statue in the Parthenon Temple?” Mo Fan smiled.

Bola had been a statue in the Parthenon Temple for so long. How could he possibly have any old friends?

“My master, even the youngest among my friends have lived for more than three hundred years,” Bola said.

“Ugh… were you all born in the year of the tortoise?” Mo Fan was left speechless.

“Some of them are mutants, like the little moth girl. They share the same habits as humans. They have to hide in places supervised by the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court to guarantee their safety,” Bola said.

“The most dangerous place is the safest place, right?” Mo Fan had to say.

“Not necessarily. They are threatened by different factions, organizations, people, and demon creatures in the wild, but in the Sacred City, they just need to play hide-and-seek with the Holy Court Mages. Those who manage to survive here are capable of concealing their presence, or they have some old agreements with the Holy Judgment Court,” Bola explained.

“Old agreements? Must be some dirty business!” Mo Fan snarled when he recalled the Queen of the Netherworld’s words.

Bola’s expression shifted. He coughed awkwardly and spoke with a soft voice, “My master, I am one of them. Even if my identity is exposed and I am brought to the Sacred City, they won’t put me on trial unless they have forgotten their ancestors’ commandments.”

Bola proceeded to explain when he saw Mo Fan staring at him with a confused face, “You already know I’m an honest member of the Blood Tribe. I was a guardian statue of the Parthenon Temple when you saw me. However, I used to be a City Designer before that.”

“What’s a City Designer?” Mo Fan asked.

“Just like a building has its architect, a city has its designer too,” Bola pointed out.

“Damn, you designed the Sacred City?” Mo Fan blurted out, eyes wide.

“That’s a little exaggerated. My master did, I was only part of it, and it was the old Sacred City. The Sacred City has been around for a few hundred years. It has changed a lot,” Bola replied.

“No wonder you insisted on coming along when you heard I was visiting the Sacred City,” Mo Fan realized.

“My master, I would like to lend you a hand. After all, the Sacred City is a dangerous place. Even the slightest offense is unforgivable. I made a mistake by joining the Blood Tribe. They would have purged me if my name wasn’t on the monument written with the names of those who first built the city,” Bola said.

“We’ll talk about your past later. What else do you know about Euryale?” Mo Fan asked.

“She moved into the city not long after it was built. I heard a lot about her from my friends. She’s different from the mutants who are content with having a safe environment to live in, acting extremely bold. She has been kidnapping foreign tourists for hundreds of years. Rumors say she’s doing it to retain her good looks,” Bola said.

“A few hundred years… doesn’t that mean she has killed thousands of people?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“A few hundred at most. No matter how bold she is, she will only kidnap one every year in the Sacred City if she doesn’t want to arouse suspicion,” Bola replied.

“One victim every year, that’s a lot better than most human traffickers,” Mo Fan had to admit.

“The Heresy Judgment Court has already noticed Euryale’s crimes, but they haven’t confirmed she was the culprit. She’s being too reckless,” Bola went on.

“Do you have a way to deal with her?” Mo Fan asked.

Bola might not be as strong as Euryale, but he had been around for a long time. His intelligence and connections were unmatched, links he built over a thousand years.

Mo Fan did have a feeling Bola was familiar with the Sacred City. After all, there were only a few formidable European countries in the early days, and most of them were located close to the Mediterranean Sea. The Sacred City was the symbol of magic civilization in Europe. How could Bola not be familiar with it? However, Mo Fan did not expect Bola to be one of the designers!

“You might need Euryale’s help if you are planning to sneak into the Sacred Residence,” Bola said.

“Why is that?” Mo Fan was confused.

Mo Fan only came to find out the reason why Apas was so overwhelmed by grief and anger. It turned out that her sister was the reason.

“Euryale is called the Deceiving Demoness. She possesses the lineage of the Eagle Demoness on top of her lineage of the Medusae.”

“Isn’t Euryale a pure Medusa?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“Euryale is a descendant of the Medusa Queen and the Eagle Demoness Queen,” Bola said.

“Hang on, the Medusa Queen and the Eagle Demoness Queen? Aren’t they both females?” Mo Fan was struggling to keep up.

“My master, many corrupted species in Europe do not need males to reproduce. Cessna, Apas’ eldest sister, isn’t a pure Medusa, either. Cessna is a descendant of the Medusa Queen and the Scorpion Queen. The snakes and the scorpions are the strongest species in Egypt, thus Cessna is most likely the next ruler of the demon creatures in Egypt,” Bola said.

A question suddenly crossed Mo Fan’s mind. “What about Apas?”

“It’s pretty obvious. Apas is an offspring between the Medusa Queen and a human,” Bola said.

“Ugh… so the human was a woman?” Mo Fan asked, thoughts going in certain unspoken directions.

“That’s right, Apas has two mothers. One is the Medusa Queen, and the other is from the Island of Flowers in the Mediterranean Sea… oh, you should know that by now,” Bola did not speak any further.

The Medusa Queen’s affairs were not a secret among the old demon creatures.

“That makes a lot of sense,” Mo Fan nodded.

It seemed like he had found the source of Apas’ anger and sorrow. It explained why Apas had such a strong intention to kill. It was very likely that Euryale had done something horrible to Apas’ human mother!

“Euryale is the descendant of the Medusa Queen and the Eagle Demoness Queen. She has the strongest ability to deceive in the world. She can transform into anyone, with the same appearance, voice, and presence,” Bola said.

“That’s insane!” Mo Fan said.

“Yes, and it’s not a kind of illusion. Even the Eye of the Golden Dragon can’t see through it. Therefore, if you can acquire Euryale’s Eye of Deception, you can disguise yourself as a Holy Court Mage or a Judicator and sneak into the Sacred Residence!”

Chapter 2059: The Granddaughter who is a Holy Court Mage

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered. He had finally found a glimpse of hope. As expected of Bola, he was able to come up with such a great idea when they were in a pinch.

The Eye of Deception!

Not only would they help Apas get her revenge, they would also achieve their goal in the Sacred City. Euryale was a timely rain for them, without a doubt!

“You should return to the inn. I’ll visit my old friends,” Bola said.

“I suppose it won’t be easy to take out Euryale?” Mo Fan asked.

“None of us would stand a chance against her in the wild, but it’s a different story in the Sacred City,” Bola said.

“Mm, I’ll leave it to you.”

“It’s my honor to serve you,” Bola said calmly.

—

The moon was shrouded by thick gray clouds. Most of the houses in the luxurious city center belonged to the businessmen who made a living off tourism. When the moonlight disappeared, the whole area fell into darkness. Even the Eye of the Golden Dragon could not drive it away.

Bola walked silently along the street. He did not have to worry about people noticing he did not have a shadow when there was no light around.

He went into a shop selling spare parts for watches and vehicles. An old man was repairing something under his glasses.

“We are closed for the day. Please come again tomorrow…” The old man paused in the middle of his sentence after he looked up.

“Fielding, it’s been a while,” Bola smiled.

“Bola… it’s really you! My God, it has been half a century since I last saw you!” the old man exclaimed.

“It has only been a few months in my eyes,” Bola laughed back.

“You’re still the same. I remember I once promised you that I would never be late to your funeral when we were on the battlefield, but a few years from now, you can easily hook up with some of the young ladies who are going to attend my funeral,” Fielding grumbled.

“I don’t have much time left, either. I’ve been sleeping most of the time. You are my last friend in the world,” Bola said.

“Don’t say that…”

They heard footsteps approaching rapidly while they were talking. It sounded like heels tapping heavily on the ground.

Bola and Fielding immediately stopped talking. A moment later, a woman in a golden coat and high heels came inside. Her blond hair parted perfectly in the middle. She was wearing the uniform of Holy Court Mages, giving her an inviolable aura!

A Holy Court Mage?

Bola was startled. Was he already so rusty because of his age? When did he become so bad at concealing his presence in the dark as to let a Holy Court Mage notice his existence so easily?

Bola believed he was going to be taken away. He was not afraid of being arrested, but it would be even more difficult to take out Euryale then, and enable Mo Fan to sneak into the Sacred Residence.

“Don’t be so nervous. Allow me to introduce you; this is Maggie, my granddaughter,” Fielding smiled.

“Grandpa, you should listen to me and move to the city. I keep picking up an unusual dark aura around here. We aren’t allowed to investigate this area because of the unknown person who’s in charge of it,” Maggie spoke up.

Maggie finally turned to the handsome man with a pale face and observed him carefully.

Bola breathed calmly like a normal person.

Maggie did not notice anything unusual about the man, and went on complaining to her grandfather.

“Bola, are you in some kind of trouble?” Fielding asked.

“I’m planning to take out a demoness.”

“Oh, my granddaughter can lend you a hand with that… Maggie, didn’t I always tell you I have an old comrade called Bola?” Fielding went.

“Grandpa, don’t even mention it. I’ve been hearing the same story since I was three until I was thirteen… I’m guessing this young man is your comrade’s grandchild. He does resemble the man you described to me. Did he come to visit you? Grandpa, I have a lot of work to handle. I don’t have time to be his tour guide, and I already told you I’m not planning to marry anytime soon, so you don’t have to introduce men to me!” Maggie exclaimed.

“Maggie, you have been a Holy Court Mage for quite a few years, yet you still have the habit of taking wild guesses. He isn’t Bola’s grandchild. This is Bola himself, but he doesn’t age because of some special reasons,” Fielding introduced him.

Maggie was shocked. She focused her attention on Bola again.

Maggie took a closer look at Bola. Her eyes sharpened as she finally noticed something.

“It seems like your perception is a bit lacking, as a Holy Court Mage…” Bola smiled, revealing his vampire’s fangs.

“How bold of you to come to the Sacred City. Are you treating us Holy Court Mages as fools!?” Maggie snarled.

“Relax, Maggie. He might be a member of the Blood Tribe, but he has always complied with the Sacred Constitution. Many seniors of the Sacred City respect him. He’s allowed to come back to admire his brilliant work as part of the old promise,” Fielding chided her.

“Fielding, you might be a great help to me this time… I mean, your granddaughter,” Bola said.

“Use her as you please… oh, I mean feel free to order her around. She will obey me instead than the Angels, except when I asked her to marry someone,” Fielding agreed shamelessly.

—

—

When Bola and Maggie reached a brighter spot on the street, Maggie purposely turned around and noticed Bola did not have a shadow.

Maggie kept asking Bola questions like a curious little kid. “It’s my first time stumbling into such a high-level member of the Blood Tribe. Which generation are you from?”

“I only swear my loyalty to the Demon. I don’t really belong to any of the generations, nor do I need blood to stay alive and maintain my youth. It’s the reason why I can obey the Sacred Constitution,” Bola answered her.

“The demoness you mentioned. Did she really do so many cruel things in the Sacred City?” Maggie said.

“Yes, she’s an Eagle Demoness. She’s planning to kill another tourist again this year, so I have decided to lure her out. However, I can’t use my power in the Sacred City, so I will need your permission,” Bola said.

“Speaking of which, the street you mentioned… right, I remember it now. A Judicator younger than me took the job. I was interested in it before, but I decided not to intervene with it when I heard he was in charge,” Maggie said.

“What about the young Judicator?” Bola asked.

“I heard bad rumors about him, but I don’t know if they are telling the truth. Either way, I have a feeling he’s a hypocrite. I think his name is Zu Xiangtian… yeah, an awkward-sounding one,” Maggie informed him.

“You made the right call.” Bola’s eyes flickered cunningly. He added, “I think I’ve figured out a better way to do this.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The sound of the bell echoed in the accessories store. The two eyes that were initially roaming between the customers like the hands of a hunter just a moment ago immediately froze on the woman who had set foot into the store.

“Such beautiful hair, I will fondle it admiringly!” Euryale’s snake eyes glittered.

She passionately approached the woman and began her sweet talk.

Euryale was good at dealing with women. She could compliment a woman until her whole body was filled with pleasure. Unfortunately, she was not interested in women. She was just interested in taking over their beautiful flesh!

“Thank you for your recommendation. I believe my fiancée will be dazzled by such a delicate head ornament. Oh my, isn’t it past your operating hours? Sorry for keeping you busy for so long,” the woman with silver hair said.

“That’s true, I would have long asked the customers to leave if it wasn’t for someone like you. Why don’t you treat me to dinner? I can give you a discount on the items in return,” Euryale proposed.

“Sure, I was wondering who should I eat dinner with too!”

—

The Sacred City was not as open and transparent as people had imagined. There were many illegal places hidden in the bustling city. People would never realize there were so many appealing trades happening behind the scenes without someone guiding them.

The two women were swaying a little after they were done with dinner. They must have drunk a lot of wine.

“Honey, over here, if you want to hail a ride,” Euryale said with a smile.

“Oh, right, that’s where we came from.”

Mu Ningxue shook her head. She had a feeling there was some hallucinatory drug in the wine. Otherwise, she would not feel so dizzy no matter how weak she was at drinking.

The street lamps shone upon the streets from high above. For some reason, the location of the lights would change at times. The street ahead also felt like a heavily photoshopped picture. Everything was suffering from serious distortion.

“Your body fragrance attracts me too. I so wish that I could be like you,” Euryale said passionately.

“A good skin will only last for twenty years. They will eventually be buried in the ground like wilted petals of a flower, but souls are different. They can remain filthy for a few hundred years.” Mu Ningxue stared at Euryale as if she could see the true face of a demon creature under her thick makeup.

Euryale stood still. The temperature of her smile gradually dropped.

This woman obviously knew her true identity judging from her words.

“Young woman, you should think twice about who you are dealing with,” Euryale warned her.

“Euryale,” Mu Ningxue said her name.

“Not bad, you were able to find out my true name. Let me guess… you must have set up a trap in this area, and you aren’t the only person after me,” Euryale said.

Euryale scanned her surroundings. She spoke at a steady pace before Mu Ningxue could speak, “But take a closer look at this place. Is this really the street you were trying to lure me to?”

Mu Ningxue was startled. She began to look around her.

The lights flickered once again. They suddenly turned blurry.

The walls were full of graffiti. The colors were mixed together in a strange way, like the watercolors on a palette.

Even the buildings began to change. The detached houses with pointed rooftops had turned into simple houses. Some were even made of metal sheets, where the homeless lived.

“Are you sure your friends are here? Or they are worrying about you, since you haven’t shown up at the right place for a long time?” Euryale let out a piercing laugh.

Mu Ningxue remained in place. Her slightly flushed face showed no signs of panic.

“Are you sure I didn’t see through your little trick?” Mu Ningxue asked in return.

Illusions were useless against them, since they had Apas on their side. Mu Ningxue knew she had entered Euryale’s illusion from the moment she had set foot out of the restaurant.

“Surrender now, the Holy Court Mages have been watching you for a long time, Euryale!” Maggie was wearing a golden coat and long metal boots as she stepped out from the shadows. Her bright golden hair made her look like a noble.

Euryale retained the fake smile that was like a mask on her face.

Mu Ningxue stood in front of Euryale at the crossroad while Maggie approached her from behind.

Two other figures appeared on Maggie’s left and right. One was Bola with his upright collar, his face hidden in the shadow. The other was Mo Fan, who was wearing a black singlet despite the cold night!

There was someone in every direction at the crossroad. Euryale was surrounded.

“How strange. Why would you think no one is going to help me in the Sacred City?” Euryale said.

“No one in the Sacred City is going to help you because of how disgusting your heart is,” Bola declared.

“Is that so? Bola, do you really think your friends are the most reliable?” Euryale mentioned Bola’s name right away.

Almost everyone that had been around for a long time knew about the sanctimonious vampire who looked after those sacred organizations like a dog. Even the mutants despised him. They believed he was a traitor!

“I’ve always been sincere toward my friends,” Bola answered evenly.

“Oh? It’s my first time stumbling into such a high-level member of the Blood Tribe. Which generation are you from?” Euryale asked him with an innocent face.

Bola was startled. He immediately glanced at Maggie, who was at the other end of the street.

Wasn’t that the same question that Maggie had asked him yesterday? How did Euryale ask the exact same question in the same tone?

Mu Ningxue felt something was wrong. She immediately took the initiative to attack first, casting the Heaven Spider Nine Locks. Nine ice chains came down upon the crossroad and sealed off the area like a huge spiderweb.

Euryale remained unmoving. Mu Ningxue attacked her once again but she noticed Euryale’s aura was as weak as an ordinary woman. She forcibly pulled the spell to one side. It landed on Euryale’s arm.

It sliced Euryale’s right hand off. Blood did not pour out because of the ice, yet the cut was clean and perfect!

There was no resistance at all!

The blood at the cut was red, like a normal human, but Apas already told them Euryale’s blood was blue!

The woman was not Euryale!

“HAHAHAHA…how stupid of you all!” Maggie suddenly burst out laughing.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Maggie’s golden hair suddenly moved around like snakes. Her face was shedding and falling to the ground in disgusting lumps.

“Deceptive Manifestation!” Bola exclaimed after realizing what was happening.

Maggie was wearing three-inch heels. Her slender legs had taken up two-thirds of her body ratio. The sharp heels were stuck firmly into the ground.

Maggie catwalked ahead. Her face was still transforming. Strange bones poked out from the back of her clothes before expanding like the wings of an eagle.

“Fielding, Fielding,” Bola murmured in disappointment after seeing Maggie’s transformation.

An old man slowly appeared behind Maggie. He stared at the pale-faced Bola and let out a sigh, “I’m sorry. You serve only the Demon, but I serve only my queen.”

“Bola, you must have been asleep for too long. You are as stupid as those humans!” Maggie smiled.

“I might not be the smartest, but it’s a relief that I’ve lived longer than any of you. I’ve learned that humans are the least reliable,” Bola said.

“It’s too late to regret it now. In two minutes, the Holy Court Mages will surround this place. Unfortunately, a young woman happened to die in the building over there after her blood was sucked dry. I believe the Holy Judgment Court will look into it,” Maggie announced smugly.

Mo Fan frowned when he saw Maggie’s transformation.

The woman whom Mu Ningxue had lured to the crossroad was a human. She was the real owner of the shop, who liked to put on thick makeup and color her lips red.

What surprised Mo Fan was the fact that Bola’s helper had already colluded with Euryale!

Most importantly, even the Holy Court Mage whom they were relying on was fake. She was Euryale’s disguise!

Deception!

Euryale was extremely good at deceiving people. She could claim a person’s voice, appearance, and demeanor, so that even the Eye of the Golden Dragon could not see through her disguise! It was indeed not easy to take out an old demon creature like her. They were unable to tell who was the real Euryale and who was her disguise.

“What now?” Mo Fan asked Bola. His head had begun to hurt.

“My master, I already told you that living a long life has its merits,” Bola replied.

“Merits my ass, even your loyal friend has betrayed you!” Mo Fan snapped.

“If you live long enough, you will understand that even the strongest friendships will fade away as time goes by. Many people keep calling my name and recalling the youth we shared, but ten years later, it would deteriorate. My first friend easily told others my name and location just so he could earn a position in the Magic Association. My second friend, when I told him I was about to die, dug up my grave and stole my beloved funerary objects just so he could buy some magic Equipment for his son. My eyes were closed while I listened to him complaining about how selfish I was. If I was able to shed tears, he would have realized that I was still alive. I was just in deep slumber…” Bola said like a grieving bard.

“Ugh… you can get your revenge on them before they set foot into their graves,” Mo Fan assured him.

“Fielding was my friend. Our friendship lasted for twenty years. That was already quite impressive. Humans are incomprehensible. Five years is enough for a person to change completely. Even the strongest relationship is no match for petty gains to them,” Bola went on.

Fielding blushed in shame after hearing the words.

However, Bola had said it all. Memories were only good for recollection, but it did not necessarily mean he was obliged to do anything. His only concern was to live a few years longer and retain his youth, like Euryale!

“Stop being emotional. This isn’t an anime where you can recall your past for a few episodes, yet only a few seconds have passed in reality. The Holy Court Mages will be here in thirty seconds!” Mo Fan said.

“I lied to you. I didn’t really just meet my old friends. The truth is, I had already had children back when I was still building the old Sacred City. My children worked extremely hard. Their family is now a reputable clan in the Sacred City. One of my great-great-grandchildren is a Great Judicator, and a righteous man. He came to the Parthenon Temple and went down on his knees to talk to me, so I gave him some useful advice. He promised me that he would do anything for me, as long as it wasn’t against the Sacred Constitution,” Bola went on calmly.

“So what?” Mo Fan said impatiently when he saw Bola still telling a story at his own pace.

“So the Holy Court Mages won’t be here. My great-great-grandchild has also established a Domain of Mirroring Space around us. It can protect every non-living thing in our surroundings and prevent any destructive magic from leaking out,” Bola informed Mo Fan.

“I still don’t understand!” Mo Fan rolled his eyes.

“It means you can do whatever you want, but the energy of your spells won’t leak outside. The Eye of the Golden Dragon won’t bother looking here either, nor will the Holy Court Mages show up…” Bola finished up.

“Why did you have to make it so complicated?” Mo Fan sighed.

It turned out Bola had a backup plan in mind. What a great relief! He had thought they were done for!

“Euryale is good at deceiving her enemies. You must find out which person is the real her if you are serious about taking her out. We have our answer now!” Bola looked at Maggie.

“Bola, did you visit me on purpose?” Fielding turned around. The Holy Court Mages had not shown up, exactly as Bola had said would happen.

It had already been three minutes. The Holy Court Mages were never late. Mu Ningxue had just used an Ice Spell above the Advanced Level. The Holy Court Mages should be here by now!

Maggie was dumbfounded too. She did not expect her plan to beat Bola at his own game had already been exposed. Bola had been trying to bait her out all along!

“You were the third person I visited,” Bola informed him blandly.

Fielding was struggling to breathe properly. The moment Bola left his shop, he had immediately informed the Eagle Demoness he had ties with about Bola’s plan. The Eagle Demoness relayed the information to their queen, Euryale.

Euryale had learned everything from Fielding and the real Maggie. She used her ability to take on Maggie’s appearance and pretended to take part in the operation in order to find out who was trying to take her out. She was planning to get rid of them all at once, but she did not expect Bola to be so cunning!

Bola was as spicy as old ginger!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A person’s age embodied their experience. What kind of conspiracy, betrayal, and deception hadn’t Bola seen before?

Even Euryale, an older demon creature who had lived for several centuries, was a little too naïve compared to Bola, let alone Fielding, who was trying to trick him even though his age of eighty was just like a little kid in Bola’s eyes!

Fielding had been his last living friend in the world. Bola was upset, yet he had gotten used to it. Bola decided not to attend his funeral after he saw Fielding meeting the Eagle Demoness.

“Bola, my granddaughter Maggie… she doesn’t know anything. Please don’t involve her. It’s all because of my own greed!” Fielding pleaded when he realized he had been outsmarted.

“Assh***, we haven’t lost yet, so why are you begging them for mercy!?” Euryale snarled.

Euryale looked no different from an old witch now. Her ghastly eagle hook nose, which looked rather broken, was very uncomfortable to look at.

“I just hope our fight won’t involve the young ones,” Fielding answered quickly.

“How could your granddaughter have become a Holy Court Mage without my help? There’s no use leaving her out of it now. Two days ago, a Judicator came to my shop. What was she even doing?” Euryale swore angrily.

Mo Fan realized something after hearing Euryale’s rant to Fielding.

It turned out that Maggie was the one protecting Euryale’s shop, but Zu Xiangtian had been recently appointed as a Judicator and went to investigate the shop without giving Maggie any face. It meant that Zu Xiangtian was not a completely useless piece of trash. He could actually fulfill his role at times!

Mo Fan cracked his knuckles and grinned.

He almost always had to refrain from using his full strength due to various circumstances. He was pleased to see an enemy was under the same restrictions!

“Are you sure I can use my magic however I like?” Mo Fan asked again.

“It’s fine even if you destroy the buildings,” Bola told him.

“Then I’m not going to hold back!” Mo Fan stepped forward.

Mu Ningxue’s Heaven Spider Nine Locks Formation had trapped Euryale at the intersection. It was unlikely she would be able to escape!

“My master, please be careful. Euryale should have some other capabilities if she has been able to act recklessly in the Sacred City for so many years,” Bola warned him.

Bola was not allowed to use the power of the Blood Tribe, and could only watch the fight from the side.

The Domain of Mirrored Space would only stop magic from leaking out. The Holy Court Mages would still pick up on the sorcery of demon creatures!

“I’ll perform plastic surgery on you first. Do the Eagle Demonesses choose the ugliest one among them to be their queen? You’re beyond ugly! Even giving you the body parts of an angel won’t make much of a difference. I’m afraid I will have to throw you back into the furnace to reforge you!” Mo Fan taunted her. Dense lightning flickered and gathered into a huge lightning orb around him.

1

“I’m going to chop up your tongue with your whole body!” Euryale was so furious that her face was about to fall off.

The lineage of the Eagle Demoness granted her outstanding illusionary powers, but it also gave her the ugly face of an old witch. Anyone with the slightest flaw in appearance among the demonesses led by the Medusae was treated as a laughing stock, let alone her face being that of an ugly witch. It was the reason why she was so persistent about collecting the skins of beauties from across the world, all in order to give her the appearance of the Goddess of Vienna.

Unfortunately, she was claiming body parts from the dead, so it was difficult to preserve them. She was incomparable to a natural beauty like Apas, and had no choice but to hunt for new women in the Sacred City every year.

She had lived for a few hundred years and had changed her appearance countless times. Even if she could take on anyone’s appearance, the effects only lasted briefly. Besides, she could not claim the appearance of whoever she pleased. She had to subdue the person or obtain their permission first!

“I’ll still be less of an eyesore than you even after you chop me up,” Mo Fan spat back at her.

Euryale almost fainted after hearing his words.

Even the venom of scorpions was less poisonous than Mo Fan’s mouth. Euryale had initially planned to keep her abilities up her sleeves until Mo Fan exposed his weaknesses with his impatience, but she could not bear it any further!

She had to at least shut his mouth first!

Euryale hissed. Her tongue was not small and adorable like Apas’. If they were both licking ice cream, Apas’ tongue would only leave a tiny mark on the ice cream, but Euryale’s tongue could easily devour the whole cone. The coating on her tongue was an oily and disgusting green.

There were great differences between snakes. Mo Fan finally understood why Euryale insisted on killing Apas, despite being her elder sister, after he saw her transforming into her true form!

Cruelty, ugliness, and jealousy were Euryale’s traits. Her body started to swell. The dark eagle wings covered in tiny crystals on her back were the only part that was easy to look at.

Her skin was covered by wrinkles, like the skin of an old tree. The golden sparkles in her eyes could not cover the ugliness of her huge, wrinkled face. Her upper body was that of an old witch with eagle wings, while her hands had claws like hooked talons. Her lower body resembled a snake. Unlike most Medusae, her skin was dry with many wrinkles. She was like a huge python in the desert that had been exposed to the sun for too long!

“She drank a Transfiguration Potion. Her physical strength has increased, but she won’t dare to use her magic,” Bola reminded Mo Fan.

Euryale’s transformation finished in no time. Her entire body was already bloated by the time Mo Fan’s lightning reached her.

The swollen skin might be an eyesore, but it had great defense. Mo Fan’s lightning only left some scorch marks on her. It did not inflict any damage to her flesh, let alone penetrate into her body.

“How many years has it been since you last took a shower? There is so much filth on you that it’s stopping my lightning from conducting!” Mo Fan exclaimed in disgust.

1

Euryale was about to lose her mind. An Eagle Demoness’ skin was an insulator. If it could conduct electricity, wouldn’t an Eagle Demoness die if they were struck by lightning while they were flying in the sky? However, the man had to accuse her of being covered in filth instead!

“I swear I’m going to brew your tongue and eyeballs into wine!” Euryale swore, gnashing her teeth.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan continued to aggravate Euryale. Meanwhile, Mu Ningxue had finished channeling her Cry of the Snow Mistress. The sacred and brilliant Ice Star Palace kept twinkling around Mu Ningxue as twenty-four hundred and one stars unleashed their energy simultaneously.

Mu Ningxue stood on her toes as she was lifted into the air. Her silver hair, every bit as elegant as the Star Palace, drifted in the wind. Her body was as lustrous as a crystal under the light of the Star Palace. Her outstanding curves made her look like an ice statue in a museum, suffocatingly beautiful within the limelight.

Mu Ningxue’s Cry of the Snow Mistress was not the only great threat to Euryale. Her otherworldly appearance as she was using her magic was a tremendous blow to Euryale, too!

The woman was like a Venus from the Far East. How could she be so pretty when she was using her Ice Magic? Meanwhile, Euryale became so ugly while she was using her power. Even Euryale was disgusted by her own appearance!

“I will make your whole body mine!” Euryale screamed jealously. Her voice was as piercing as the shriek of an eagle.

The icy tears of the Snow Mistress poured down like rain, each containing the wrath of the winter incarnate. The buildings nearby immediately turned into ice at the first touch!

The ice kept stacking up as more tears fell from the sky. Euryale moved around quickly, trying to break the rapidly freezing ice with her tail. She spat out snake phlegm wildly when she was unable to break the ice.

The acidic bile was able to corrode everything, including the sturdy ice. She had just fended off the ice when she saw the young man with the poisonous tongue had jumped into the air.

Mo Fan held his hands above his head while gathering the lightning magic around him, forming a huge pool of electricity above him.

“You’re an insulator, aren’t you? I’m going to blast you into pieces, then!” Mo Fan yelled at her.

He could not care less whether his enemy was insulated or not. He would just blast her into pieces with brute force!

BANG!

A super lightning strike, able to light up the whole Sacred City, descended from the pool of electricity and landed right on Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s hands seemed to catch the terrifying lightning strike. He tossed it right at Euryale, who was still restricted by the ice!

The lightning did not follow the usual routine, and exploded as soon as it touched Euryale. Thousands of lightning arcs spread wildly across her skin.

The explosion left wounds all over Euryale’s body, despite her thick skin. Even her organs were about to shatter from the violent blast!

“Do you know what I hate the most? Monsters like you that pick on beautiful ladies!” Another lightning strike thundered down into his hands as he was shouting.

Mo Fan held the lightning strike like a spear in his right hand, and tossed it at Euryale!

The lightning swept across the sky above the buildings and landed fifty meters in front of Euryale like a huge fork.

Euryale quickly turned to seek cover when she saw the lightning, but it suddenly exploded and fired shrapnel at her.

Euryale was knocked flying by the terrifying explosion. The front of her body was covered in blue blood.

“That’s not the end of it!” Mo Fan was falling freely from the sky. Explosive lightning continued to surge down at him from above.

Mo Fan was attacking with both hands now. He kept catching and tossing the lightning strikes down without caring about his accuracy. The explosions would still injure Euryale as long as they were within a certain distance of her!

It did not matter if his Lightning Tyrant with twelvefold damage amplification was not being conducted through her. Conductivity would only help it to spread and stack up the results. It was still effective if he just used the lightning like explosives!

Euryale was like an enemy soldier who had accidentally entered a minefield. She had barely survived the first explosion, but the mud and splinters had left her in a miserable state.

The nearby buildings were turned into debris by the time everything calmed down. It was the biggest downside of the Lightning Magic, being difficult to control precisely.

Luckily, the explosions were quite effective. Euryale was obviously injured. Her blue blood kept pouring out from the wounds inflicted by the lightning.

Euryale hissed. She reached her hooked fingers to her backside and swept them with great force.

Her swollen skin began to fall off, revealing a smaller body beneath, with an eagle’s upper body and a snake’s lower body.

It was like a woman in a formal dress pulling the zipper on her back down, allowing the tight dress to slip down on its own and reveal her gorgeous body within.

Unfortunately, the body that Euryale revealed was just as ugly, but her wounds and blood had completely disappeared after she took off the bloated layer of swollen skin.

Mo Fan’s eyes almost fell out when he saw Euryale was uninjured.

What just happened? Was she wearing a bulletproof vest?

“She has a Medusa’s ability to heal herself by shedding her skin,” Bola reminded him from the side.

Bola had also forgotten that she could use that ability without exposing her presence.

Euryale was a lot faster after shedding the layer of skin. She immediately reached the building where Mo Fan was standing with rapid twitches of her tail.

She swung her tail at the building. Mo Fan only saw a quick flash before the building was smashed into pieces!

Mo Fan reacted quickly, running away with Fleeing Shadow, but some of the impact of the blow still struck his shoulder.

His shoulder began bleeding, the wound almost reaching his bones. Mo Fan did not expect the counterattack from Euryale so quickly!

“Xuexue, slow her down!” Mo Fan quickly used Blink to separate himself from Euryale.

Euryale was able to follow Mo Fan’s scent, and a dark shadow was already racing towards him when he relocated to two hundred meters away. The terrifying hooked claws were headed for his chest, intending to dig out his heart!

“Ice Seal Isolation!” Mu Ningxue immediately set up a Barrier between Mo Fan and Euryale when she saw the creature was on the move!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Euryale slammed into the Barrier. She smashed it into pieces quickly, but it also slowed her down significantly, giving Mo Fan enough time to react.

Euryale had different forms. She was lunging like a ferocious eagle just a moment ago, but now she was weaving through the debris like a flexible snake. A terrifying gouge was left on the ground beside Mo Fan. She had almost sliced him in half!

Mo Fan used the Earth Element to relocate himself. Euryale’s attacks were very quick. A snake saber had swept past his ear just a moment ago, and another one immediately came stabbing at his back in the next second!

Their range was around five hundred meters. From Mu Ningxue’s point of view, it looked like a bunch of ferocious sabers were shooting in Mo Fan’s direction. They were pouring down on Mo Fan like arrows, lashing him like whips, and slashing at him like swords at times!

Mo Fan’s Shadow Element, Space Element, and Earth Element allowed him to move around with ease. He was considered a very mobile Mage since he had now reached the Super Level, yet he was still struggling to break free from the assault even as he was constantly switching between his three Elements.

“Breath of Sticky Ice!”

Mu Ningxue drew closer to Mo Fan when she saw the freezing was not effective.

The Breath of Sticky Ice spread across Euryale’s position. The icy mist had strong slowing effects, like a moving creature being caught in a spider’s web. When the ice reached a certain level, anything within its area of effect would be glued to it.

Euryale’s attacks were fiercer now, as if she was trying to vent all her frustrations on Mo Fan. He was now covered in wounds, but fortunately, they were only minor injuries.

“I’ll take her on!” Mu Ningxue shouted after Euryale was caught in the Breath of Sticky Ice.

“Alright, I’ll support you with full firepower!” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan had the same problem as usual: his defense was lacking. He would struggle to unleash his destructive spells when facing a fast enemy who kept attacking him. Every powerful spell required a certain amount of time to channel, but Euryale was so fast that Mo Fan did not have any chance to use his Advanced Spells! His Intermediate Spells were strong, but they were not strong enough to hurt Euryale!

“Perhaps the lineage of the Eagle Demoness is also mixed with the lineage of mad hounds, don’t you agree?” Mo Fan yelled, immediately backing away as Mu Ningxue covered for him.

Euryale shrieked. She had no intention of giving up so easily. She had yet to dig out Mo Fan’s heart!

“It’s a waste to destroy your appearance. I’ll kill him first and slowly skin you!” Euryale screamed at Mu Ningxue.

Euryale did not think of Mu Ningxue as a threat. She ignored Ningxue and kept going after Mo Fan.

“Heaven Spider Nine Locks!”

Mu Ningxue activated the Ice Magic that was hanging above her. The nine ice chains descended from the sky like nine ice dragons.

The ice chains landed on Euryale’s back and grew wildly, like icy thorns. The spikes interwove between the chains and were so densely packed together that even a hamster could not squeeze through the gaps.

The chains were over three hundred meters long. Euryale was pinned down by the Heaven Spider Nine Locks, despite her outstanding speed!

Euryale thrashed about wildly, trying to knock the chains off of her. Her body was pierced and slashed by the thorns when the ice chains broke, more blue blood pouring from her wounds.

“Thousand Leaves Saber!”

Mu Ningxue’s Heaven Spider Nine Locks was basically a trap that she had prepared earlier. Euryale had simply ended up in the trap Ningxue had waiting for her!

Ningxue had been planning to cast the Super Wind Spell in the first place.

Since she had only focused on two Elements, it did not take her a lot of effort to connect the Star Orbits, Star Patterns, and Star Constellations. The twenty-four hundred and one Stars of the Wind Element danced nimbly between her fingers.

A spectacular Wind Palace emerged behind Mu Ningxue, like countless sacred wings setting off the Empress of Wind. The elegant gusts of wind turned into deadly weapons at an order from Mu Ningxue!

The wind sabers spun rapidly, producing piercing howls. Thousands of them dove from the sky and slashed at Euryale mercilessly.

Euryale’s current defense was not as impressive as her initial bloated form. In contrast, Mu Ningxue’s Wind Element was very powerful. It felt like thousands of blades were shredding Euryale, who kept screaming out in agony.

“Slaughtering Wind Slash!”

Mu Ningxue gathered the wind sabers with their deadly auras in front of her. She guided them with her hands and combined them into a giant slashing horizontal tornado.

The Slaughtering Wind Slash had a width of over thirty meters, and its length was even crazier. It felt like the silhouette of a saber had suddenly appeared in the cloudy night sky, extending from one end of the street to the other.

Euryale was was sent flying to the other end of the street by the spell. She was already covered in blood after receiving the Thousand Leaves Sabers, and the Slaughtering Wind Slash tore a huge bloody hole across her chest, revealing her bones.

Mo Fan looked at the seriously injured Euryale and had an urge to take back his words of supporting Mu Ningxue with his full firepower. Mu Ningxue was not necessarily weaker than him in terms of offense!

“She can still shed her skin. My master, don’t be merciful to her!” Bola quickly called out in warning.

“I’ve never been merciful to creatures like her!” Mo Fan snarled back.

Hundreds of Shadow Claws chased after Euryale. They ripped at her back like sharp demonic talons before she could lift herself from the ground.

Euryale decided to leave a layer of skin behind and escape to safety, like a cicada shedding its carapace. She turned into a red snake that had just gone through shedding and fled into the gaps between the debris.

“So the Medusa has now turned into a petty lizard that sneaks into every hole it stumbles into?” Mo Fan mocked her.

Euryale hid in the debris. She was watching Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue closely through the gaps to see if they were using their Super Magic.

Her lungs were about to explode in rage. If she could use her sorcery of the Medusae and the Eagle Demoness, she could take the two Mages out in less than three minutes, but for now she could only rely on her brute strength and speed like an animal!

“I don’t care how many layers of skin you have. I’m going to destroy them all!” Mo Fan said while searching for Euryale.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Euryale held her breath and waited patiently, ready for Mu Ningxue to fly above her.

She just needed to take out one of the two Mages to win the fight. As for Bola, he was no different from an ordinary Commander-level creature if he could not use the power of the Blood Tribe.

Mu Ningxue was focusing on the ground below her. It was difficult to find where Euryale was hiding from above, even though she was only hiding somewhere in the debris. If they were fighting in the desert, Ningxue would have no chance of finding the Medusa if Euryale hid under the sands.

Euryale finally found her opportunity, lunging at Mu Ningxue from below. Her gaping mouth was far wider than her own body, just like how snakes were able to devour creatures larger than they were.

Her serpent fangs were long and sharp. The poison from the slightest cut could paralyze a Tyrant Titan, let alone a full bite!

Euryale had gone all out. A Medusa would only bite their enemy like a mere snake as a weapon of last resort.

It was extremely risky for snakes to bite their enemies, since their heads and the killing point seven vertebrae down their neck were the most vulnerable. Whenever they snapped their heads forward to bite their enemies, their foes would fight back fiercely before the poison managed to spread in their blood. If their opponent hit their head, both of them would die!

It was why Medusae rarely bit their enemies. If they were doing so, they had to be quick and accurate!

A snake bite felt like an electric shock, and the snake would immediately recoil after landing the strike. Sharp pieces of ice were floating around Mu Ningxue. Euryale knew that not only would the ice combine into armor to protect her, it could also turn into deadly weapons and shred enemies who were close by.

Therefore, Euryale had to land her bite before the ice could respond, then she had to back away before the ice could retaliate and hurt her too!

A deadly bite!

Euryale’s attack was like a flash of lightning. She had returned to the debris in the blink of an eye. The pieces of ice remained floating above her, showing no intention of defending or counterattacking.

“It worked!” Euryale grinned. She was about to burst out laughing.

A late lightning strike landed on the spot Euryale had initially retreated to. It was Mo Fan’s Lightning Spell, just a second late. His spell only struck the afterimage that Euryale left behind.

“Three!” Euryale started counting down.

The poison only needed three seconds to fully paralyze her target. In three seconds, the icy beauty would fall from the sky stiffly. The only antidote was Euryale’s tear!

Her tear?

Euryale had not shed a single tear over the past few centuries! If the young man wanted to save the woman’s life, he would have to surrender himself. She would slowly torture him to death, and he would still not be able to save his woman. The woman’s face would soon be hers!

Euryale belatedly noticed that she seemed to have hit something solid. Her fangs had almost broken from the impact. The speed of her strike was so fast that she only felt the pain from her fangs after she recoiled.

She looked up and saw the woman shattering into pieces, just like a mirror.

There was nothing in the sky. Mu Ningxue had used her magic to create a decoy. Euryale let out a cry of frustration, but her location had already been exposed. Nine Lightning Halberds fell from the sky like meteorites!

Euryale was intending to sneak away when a Lightning Halberd landed on the ground and blocked her path. The Lightning Punishment Formation forced Euryale to escape in a different direction, but a few seconds later, a second Lightning Halberd landed close by. It almost pierced straight through her!

Euryale slithered across the ground, lightning-fast, but one Lightning Halberd after another landed along her trail. She was extremely quick, and almost escaped from Mo Fan’s Seal of the Nine Laws. Luckily, Mu Ningxue’s icy mist managed to slow her down in time, allowing the Lightning Halberds to trap her inside the Formation!

The Lightning Halberds were embedded in an S-shape, looking like magnificent electricity towers that had emerged from the ground out of nowhere. Lightning began to surge and flow between the halberds.

This time, Euryale was unable to escape. Her brute force and speed alone were not enough to escape from the powerful magic Formation. She immediately took a destructive hit from the lightning.

Her body was promptly scorched black. Her bones loosened, and her organs were destroyed, her cries of agony echoing in the sky. Even the loud rumbling of thunder could not cover her cries.

She continued to let out screams as if she had gone insane. Her eyes emitted a strange glow as if flames were about to erupt from them.

“She’s using her sorcery!” Bola realized Euryale was about to lose her mind. He warned, “Euryale, are you sure about this? You will never leave the Sacred City once you use your power, but we won’t necessarily be punished by the Sacred City!”

“I will still make you suffer!” Euryale snapped.

“Give us your Eye of Deception and we will stop!” Bola pointed at Euryale’s left eye.

“Never!” Euryale’s body reddened. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had to back away under the enormous pressure from the demon creature.

“Do you think you can hurt us? You only have two minutes. You won’t be able to kill any of us!” Bola stated calmly.

If Euryale decided to use her power, Bola no longer had to restrain himself, either. He had a reasonable excuse if he was captured by the Holy Judgment Court!

“Petrifying Skygaze!”

A pair of sparkling golden eyes appeared in the night sky before Euryale unleashed her power. They looked down menacingly at the petty lifeforms on the ground!

The eyes glittered. The light turned everything into stone.

“It’s you, you little b**ch!” Euryale realized who was after her when she saw the eyes.

“Apas, control your power! Otherwise, the Holy Court Mages will purge both of you!” Bola warned her.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Apas immediately restrained her power so it would not leak out of the Domain, walking out from the debris with an unusual aura. She was like a cold and aloof demon queen!

Apas approached Euryale with a dagger in her hand, and suddenly stabbed Euryale’s left eye.

Apas hated Euryale’s guts. She definitely had the urge to thrust the dagger into Euryale’s heart so she would disappear from the world forever!

However, that would cause Euryale to fight for her life!

“Consider this the interest, I will take your life another day!” Apas spat coldly.

Euryale did not dare resist, even though the pain from losing her eye was worse than being tortured by the Seal of the Nine Laws after Apas carved it out with the dagger. More importantly, she was greatly humiliated!

The little sister who could no longer stay in Europe because of her elder sisters’ pursuit had now taken Euryale’s most precious eye!

It was supposed to be me who slowly sliced off Apas’ delicate body parts! How did I end up like this?

Euryale could only swallow the humiliation and discontentment for now. Her life was obviously more valuable than her eye!

It would be stupid trying to take these petty humans down with her. She swore to remember the pain and humiliation she was feeling. Once she returned to Egypt and recovered from her injuries, she would take her revenge on these people. She would reclaim her Eye and torture them a hundred times for what they had done to her, so they would forever regret their actions today!

Blue blood poured out from Euryale’s hollow eye socket and flowed down her face. She tolerated the great pain and glared at Bola, Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Apas.

“Hurry up and leave. Don’t ever set foot in the Sacred City again, or I’m going to dig your other eye out too, old witch!” Mo Fan harrumphed.

Euryale was terrifyingly cold, and on the verge of going berserk.

She finally moved, choosing to leave in hatred and humiliation.

“Won’t she try to get her revenge on the tourists?” Mu Ningxue asked in a worried voice when she saw Euryale’s rage.

“We have her Eye of Deception. The Eye of the Golden Dragon will easily see through her disguise if she doesn’t leave the Sacred City quickly. After all, her other lineage is an Eagle Demoness, instead of a human like Apas!” Bola assured her.

“It’s such a pity that we can’t kill her right now. We are pretty much releasing a tiger back to its mountain,” Mo Fan complained.

“We got what we came for. Killing her won’t be that easy. If the Holy Judgment Court isn’t aware of how strong Euryale is and only sends a few Holy Court Mages and Judicators after her, she might still make it out alive. She has shed two layers of skin. It will take her some time to recover,” Bola deduced calmly.

“Mm, she will most likely find a place to hide so Cessna doesn’t learn about her condition. We won’t have to worry about her vengeance for the time being,” Apas agreed.

Their eldest sister Cessna was even crueler and more cunning, and even Euryale was afraid to face her. She would be doing well just making sure their imperious eldest sister did not come and take her out after Euryale lost her Eye of Deception. She would not dare try getting her revenge in human territory!

—

“Thank you,” Apas said.

It was the first time Apas had said those words to Mo Fan since they had established their Contract. Mo Fan rubbed Apas’ head and smiled, “You should let me know whenever you feel wronged. By the way, how do I use the Eye of Deception?”

“You can take on Zu Xiangtian’s appearance after restraining him,” Apas replied.

“Oh, that should be much simpler than this.”

“My master, I’ve got it sorted,” Bola spoke up.

“You do?” Mo Fan did not understand what Bola meant.

“I have an old friend who’s good at hypnotizing. Zu Xiangtian should be carrying out his mission from the Heresy Judgment Court in his dreams right now. We just need to place her in his hands.” Bola pointed at the dead woman in thick makeup.

The woman had indeed been helping Euryale hunt for female tourists. Zu Xiangtian could just turn her in to the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court. It would also give them a valid explanation for establishing the Domain of Mirrored Space in the Sacred City. Zu Xiangtian would claim he was using it against his enemy, perfectly erasing any traces Mo Fan and the others had left behind.

Many people and demon creatures in the Sacred City were hiding their identities from the Eye of the Golden Dragon, the Holy Judgment Court, and the Heresy Judgment Court. It was important not to leave any traces behind, or the Judicators and Holy Court Mages might figure out why they had trespassed into the Sacred City!

—

The Eye of Deception! It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing something so magical.

Zu Xiangtian was lying on a huge chair in deep sleep. Mo Fan suddenly had a crazy thought, looking at the man who deserved a beating.

Mo Fan raised his brows and asked, “Bola, can you ask if there are any huge blokes who like young handsome men? Let’s hire one to serve Young Master Zu here. We can’t just let him sleep and do nothing, right?”

“Ugh… my master, if he thinks something doesn’t feel right when he wakes up, he might be suspicious of the illusion,” Bola replied glibly.

“This assh**** hired a bunch of scum to pretend to be me in my homeland and ruin my reputation. They even ruined the lives of my admirers! I have yet to settle the score with him. Now is the perfect time for it. The scolding I put up with back then would be in vain if I don’t pay him back!” Mo Fan snarled.

Mo Fan had not forgotten the impersonators. Not only were they responsible for many misdeeds, they had even blamed everything on him! He could not even use his real identity for a while. He was a national hero, yet people who blindly went with the tide kept scolding him. If it weren’t for Mui Nujiao doing her best to clear his name, he would have become an arrogant scum who took advantage of his admirers in the eyes of everyone!

“Alright, my master, I’ll ask my friend to add some details to his dream,” Bola reassured him smoothly.

“Mm, mm, perhaps you can make it so he was poked in the ass by a steel pipe during a battle. Hehehe, oh Zu Xiangtian, this is what you get for trying to set me up!” Mo Fan exclaimed, grinning wickedly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Eye of Deception did not allow its bearer to take anyone’s appearance right away. Even Euryale had to control a target she wanted to transform into first, applying a Disguise Seal to the person.

“Take this hourglass with you. You must leave the Sacred Residence before the sand is gone in the upper bulb, as you will turn back into yourself,” Bola informed Mo Fan.

“So I’m Cinderella now? I have to go home before the clock hits twelve?” Mo Fan mumbled to nobody in particular.

—

Mo Fan took the hourglass and put on the Judicator’s coat. He looked into the mirror and adjusted his hair.

Zu Xiangtian did have some of the physical traits of a European. He had a tall and firm build with defined edges on his face, a flat forehead, a high nose bridge, and a handsome face of mixed Asian and Westerner features. Unfortunately for him, he was still no match for Mo Fan’s handsomeness.

The face of a mix-blooded model? It was nowhere as charming as his own!

Mo Fan strutted his way over to the Sacred Residence. The building brimmed with a religious aura. The fact that they had named their highest authority the Angels clearly indicated what their religion was.

The Sacred Residence had huge stairs on four sides, each decorated with rugs knitted with dried flowers of different colors. Each stair had a female envoy wearing a long muslin dress that reached the ground. They would relay the latest updates and orders to the Holy Court Mages and Judicators when they went up the stairs.

The Sacred Residence did not use WeChat or QQ Instant Messenger-type services, in order to avoid their information leaking to parties with ulterior motives. These female envoys relayed the latest orders and updates from the authorities verbally and in person.

“Honorable Judicator, Magic Instructor MacArthur would like to discuss the demon creatures that are hiding in the city with you. He asked you to pay him a visit to update him on your progress,” the envoy said with a gentle smile. Her voice was deep and sexy.

“Who does he think he is, asking me to report to him? Ask him to visit me the day after tomorrow, and I’ll update him on my progress if I’m in the mood for it,” Mo Fan answered arrogantly.

The envoy remained calm. She was used to seeing Judicators and Holy Court Mages with hot tempers. She replied with an even smile, “Should I tell Magic Instructor MacArthur that you can’t make it because you are currently busy with your mission, and he should pay you a visit when he’s free?”

Mo Fan was stunned. This woman was a good talker, but he did not need her help.

He waved his hand and snapped, “Just tell him what I said. If you dare change a single word, I’ll make you stand on the street and force you to only charge a hundred to your customers.”

The envoy’s expression finally shifted!

Stand on the street? Is he referring to the women who are selling their bodies to the people in the alleyways?

Most importantly, despite her appearance, identity, and demeanor, she could only charge a hundred for her service. Did he think she was just a b**ch?

“I will pass on the same message,” the envoy confirmed, her smile stiff.

Mo Fan nodded, and strutted up the stairs.

The envoy was normally able to retain their soothing smile for twelve hours a day, yet she lost it when Mo Fan, disguised as Young Master Zu, walked by.

Based on the man’s attitude and how he threatened to make her stand on the street like a prostitute, not only would she pass on the same message, she would make it even more interesting, so the Magic Instructor would teach the disrespectful man a lesson!

—

Mo Fan reached the entrance soon after assailing the envoy with obscenities.

There were four guards at the entrance in full armor. They were more like magic knights who would draw their swords out and fight someone in close combat, rather than Mages who cast their spells from a distance.

“Judicator, did you forget something?” a guard reminded Mo Fan softly just as Mo Fan was about to step inside.

Mo Fan was unfamiliar with all of the rules of the Sacred Residence since he was a fake, but he did not panic at all.

“I’m already worn out from running around to deal with heretics. Don’t even bother mentioning the unnecessary practices to me. If you think I’m acting inappropriately, feel free to report me to the Angels!” ‘Young Master Zu’ snarled.

“Honorable Judicator, we understand that you are exhausted. We all pay our respects to the Sacred Residence from the bottom of our hearts. If you think the practices are unnecessary, you don’t have to follow them. We won’t report to the Angel. Please head inside if you are in a rush,” the guard said calmly.

“Are you saying that I’m not being respectful enough?” Mo Fan glared at the guard.

“No, please suit yourself.” The guard went back to his post after finishing the sentence.

Please suit yourself…

Mmm, as long as you, Young Master Zu, are happy. Even the four Angels would go down on their knee before entering the Sacred Residence, but you are the wisest with the greatest respect in your heart, who believes it’s unnecessary to bow before entering… Young men like him enjoyed treading a tightrope, there was no point in stopping them.

Mo Fan went straight to the Heresy Judgment Court after entering the Sacred Residence. It was like a royal palace. Bola had already told Mo Fan some information about the Heresy Judgment Court, both of which had inherited old traditions. Their ways did not change much even after a few hundred years, including the practices at the entrance. Mo Fan was well aware of that, but since he was disguising himself as Zu Xiangtian, he was more than willing to offend as many people as he could before his time ran out!

—

Mo Fan headed to the back of the Heresy Judgment Court, where the heretics were held in custody. As he expected, Qin Yu’er was nowhere to be found .

If she was someone an Angel had to publicize their identity in order to arrest, they would obviously lock her up in a special place to avoid people busting her out.

Mo Fan also knew it was unlikely he could save Qin Yu’er by disguising himself as Zu Xiangtian. A little Judicator like him would never be involved in the matters of the Angels!

“Xiangtian, why are you here? Didn’t you say you are going out for a mission yesterday?” an aged voice spoke up.

Mo Fan turned around and saw an old man with a gray beard and hair. He was an Asian and speaking Chinese. He seemed to be close to Zu Xiangtian.

“I…I’m feeling a little unwell. I have a sore throat too, so I came to ask for a short leave,” Mo Fan replied quickly.

“Unwell? As your elderly relative, I must warn you that you shouldn’t neglect your duties, even after you were promoted to a Judicator!” Zu Huanyao said sternly.

Mo Fan was shocked.

So the man was Zu Xiangtian’s relative! This was getting a little tricky. The man must know Zu Xiangtian’s habits if he was close to him. He might be exposed if he was careless. Luckily, he had claimed he was feeling unwell with a sore throat. He had an excuse to not speak unless it was necessary!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“My…my throat hurts,” Mo Fan pointed at his throat indicating he was having trouble talking.

Zu Huanyao rolled his eyes at Mo Fan and said, “You think I don’t know you are close with Su Lu’s faction? Su Lu is an impressive person, yet there’s something strange about his character. Even we from the older generation don’t really understand him, but there’s one thing we know for sure, and that is that he won’t hesitate to fall out with anyone who opposes him! I don’t care who you are hanging out with, but you should be careful with everything you do. Do you understand?”

“Mm, mm,” Mo Fan nodded.

Zu Huanyao’s eyes suddenly had a strange look. He began to observe Mo Fan closely.

The Dark Vein in Mo Fan’s body became restless. It was alerting Mo Fan about some kind of danger.

Did the Old Fox notice something?

Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat. Zu Huanyao was the pillar of the Zu Clan, and had the nickname of the Old Fox. He was a capable man. Even though Mo Fan was smart enough to pretend he had a cold and a sore throat, Zu Huanyao still noticed something was not right.

What went wrong? Could it be that Zu Xiangtian was never so obedient in front of Zu Huanyao?

“You have to scold me no matter where I go. I’m already getting tired of it. Can’t you keep it to yourself for once? I’m seriously unwell,” Mo Fan said impatiently.

“So what if I’m scolding you? I’m telling you, anyone who isn’t stupid can easily tell what you are after! There’s another thing I want to ask you about. Why are you making such a huge fuss about the duel?” Zu Huanyao regained his initial expression.

Mo Fan was relieved. It seemed like Zu Xiangtian had always acted impatiently in front of Zu Huanyao.

“I’ve waited long enough. I’m going to trample him to death. Besides, we can’t just forget what he did on the national team!” Mo Fan spat back.

“You’re still the same, you can never keep your cool. It’s in your best interest not to mess with that Mo Fan. He has done a lot for the country. Do you think it’s the same as your petty acts of virtue, which you purposely hired people to make a big fuss about?” Zu Huanyao sniffed.

“He’s just lucky. The outcomes of those incidents would be the same even if he wasn’t involved!” Mo Fan exclaimed, parroting the words of the people who were doubtful of his capabilities.

“Why have I never seen you being lucky, then? I’m telling you, don’t you earn our Zu Clan to shame!” Zu Huanyao rebuked him.

Mo Fan could not agree more in his heart. It turned out that the old man still had some sense in him!

“I have some other business to attend to. I can’t afford to waste my time talking to you here,” Mo Fan huffed.

“Don’t you have a sore throat?” Zu Huanyao snapped at him.

“Ugh…” Mo Fan had a feeling he should leave as soon as possible!

“(Sigh), I know you still hold a grudge against me. It’s true that you might have had a chance to meet the great Angel Michael if you had participated in the mission on Tianshan Mountain, but do you have any idea who that Qin Yu’er is?” Zu Huanyao told him.

“Is she related to us?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“Do you remember your second eldest brother, Zu Xingyi?” Zu Huanyao asked grimly.

“Mm,” Mo Fan nodded, trying not to speak too much.

“I demoted Xingyi and sent him to Bo City just so he could stay out of sight. Once the Heresy Judgment Court cleared his name, I would have brought him back to the capital. Who knew so many things would happen…” Zu Huanyao recalled the past, and Mo Fan listened closely without interrupting the older man.

Zu Huanyao had kept these words in his heart for a long time. He felt relieved after spitting them out.

Mo Fan initially thought Zu Huanyao was talking about someone who was more impressive and reliable than Zu Xiangtian, whom the young man might be able to learn from. To Mo Fan’s surprise, the Zu Xingyi he had mentioned was Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong!

It appeared that Zhan Kong was from the Zu Clan, yet he had never mentioned it!

This old man turned out to be Zhan Kong’s grandfather! The reason Zhan Kong became Bo City’s commander was because Zu Huanyao wanted to keep him out of the Heresy Judgment Court’s sight. Whatever he had done for Qin Yu’er’s sake had obviously provoked the Heresy Judgment Court!

Mo Fan stared at the grey-bearded old man in disbelief. In other words, Zu Huanyao knew everything that had happened!

“I don’t understand. The Heresy Judgment Court is clearly setting a trap for him. Why didn’t you stop them?” Mo Fan had to ask.

If Zu Huanyao was Zhan Kong’s grandfather, they might have a chance to bust Qin Yu’er out of custody if they joined hands. Zhan Kong would not have to come to the Sacred City and walk right into this trap!

“You think he’s still alive?” Zu Huanyao scoffed.

“Ugh… it’s still a possibility. After all, the undead at the Ancient Capital have never attacked any city since he took over,” Mo Fan said.

“I don’t care, I won’t let him suffer again!” Zu Huanyao declared.

Suffer?

Mo Fan had never thought of it that way. Either way, Mo Fan believed Zhan Kong was still alive. The ancient evil Qin Emperor did not steal his soul!

“In the past, I was hoping he would avoid the punishment from the Sacred City, but now, I’m hoping the Sacred City could bring him redemption,” Zu Huanyao went on.

“What if his soul is still around? You are going to get him killed. If he comes to the Sacred City, doesn’t it mean he still retains his memories and feelings?” Mo Fan persisted.

The look in Zu Huanyao’s eyes shifted, as if he had sensed Mo Fan’s unusual response.

Mo Fan realized Zu Xiangtian would never say something like that. He quickly explained himself, “I just don’t want you to be sad.”

“I’ve already asked the great Angel Michael. Not only is his existence a great threat, he’s being tortured constantly by the soul possessing him. I only have a few years left, yet the Qin Emperor’s soul might torture Xingyi for a thousand years. The last thing I can do for him while I’m still alive is set him free!” Zu Huanyao declared with determination.

“Fine, but what about Qin Yu’er? After all… I think she’s innocent,” Mo Fan said cautiously.

“Don’t worry, we only brought her to the Sacred City to lure the Qin Emperor out. We will make the necessary arrangements once it’s over. She won’t be able to live an ordinary life, but she will live,” Zu Huanyao said dismissively.

“I still think…” Mo Fan wanted to say something.

“I have told you too much today. Xiangtian, after Xingyi is set free, you are our Zu Clan’s only hope. I might be your great-uncle, but I’ve always treated you as my own grandchild. I hope you will be more mature and take on important roles.” Zu Xiangtian patted Mo Fan on the shoulder.

Mo Fan watched Zu Huanyao as he turned around and left.

Mo Fan felt bitter and helpless watching the old man leave.

Zu Huanyao was obviously the person responsible for the incident in their homeland. To his surprise, he was also Zhan Kong’s grandfather! From his perspective, there was nothing wrong with setting his grandson’s soul free from the shell of the Emperor of the Undead!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The cool breeze from the Alps blew through the Sacred City, lifting the cloudy mist lingering above the city like a veil away and revealing the clean city with golden lights under the clear night sky. The luxurious palaces, brightly lit streets, unique buildings, and glowing towers that resembled a network of blood vessels when looked down upon from above were brimming with life.

To the east, the Sacred City was leaning against a mountain. The tall peak resembled the back of a dragon, and allowed anyone upon it to enjoy the night view of the entire Sacred City.

Normally, the walls of the mountain would have some reflections of the lights in the Sacred City, but the mountain was currently pitch-black and had blended with the empty night sky, as if it had been devoured by something!

More shockingly, everyone in the Sacred City could clearly see the outline of a figure on top of the mountain, although they could not see the silhouette of the mountain itself!

Many people on the busy streets were staring at the top of the mountain.

They initially thought it was an illusion because of the dark, but after confirming the sight with others, they realized there was indeed a figure on the mountain. It stood tall under the night sky, projecting an eerie aura!

“It’s really a person!”

“I told you. My eyes aren’t trying to trick me.”

“I saw lots of Judicators gathering at the Sacred Residence. Did something serious happen?”

Lots of discussions were taking place on the streets.

The security of the Sacred City had never been so tight. Many Judicators and Great Judicators were on the move. Was the figure standing on the mountain the reason?

—

“He’s here.”

A man with blond hair and beard waiting up on a tower slowly rose to his feet. He looked past the luxurious city and focused on the figure on the mountain.

“Head Angel, are you sure he won’t do anything reckless? He’s… an Emperor-level existence after all,” the Angel Raphael looked up and asked respectfully from where he was standing below the tower.

“Yes, an Emperor!” Head Angel Michael exclaimed. For some reason, his emerald eyes flickered with passion.

Emperor-level, how many Emperors were there in this world?

The Sahara Desert, the Bermuda Triangle, the South Pole, Mount Kunlun, the Amazon, and the Pyramid…

Each Emperor occupied a huge portion of the world and monopolized the rich resources there, while humans were trapped in their cities like caged animals.

How much of the world did human cities occupy? Less than one percent!

The rest was divided among the demon creatures. Weren’t the Emperors the main reason humans were forced to stay in their cities, since even Forbidden Mages did not dare to challenge them?

Right now, an Emperor who had been asleep for a few thousand years had risen. He had started the War of the Underworld!

“I, Michael, shall take over if the God of Darkness isn’t willing to intervene,” Head Angel Michael declared.

“But the War of the Underworld isn’t necessarily a threat, compared to the crisis along the coastlines…” the Angel Raphael went on.

“The undead can roam freely among us, but they are the God of Darkness’ puppets. We should purge this Emperor of the Undead before he eventually turns into the sword of the God of Darkness. He will slowly lose his human nature over time to the darkness, yet our descendants still need a place to live for the next hundreds or thousands of years. Do you really think the temporary peace that the War of Underworld is giving Egypt and China is in mankind’s favor?” Michael scoffed at the other.

“It’s true that such a powerful existence will bring us unimaginable disasters if he can roam freely among us. Even Forbidden Mages will bring us doom if they are not under control, let alone an undead who is gradually losing his human nature!” Raphael had to agree.

“People always focus on the difficult situation in front of them and ignore the potential calamities further away. If we lose the coast, we still have the plains, the mountains, and the plateau. We might be able to live on the oceans too, but the undead can never coexist with humans. If the darkness continues to grow, the dead will banish us and recruit us into their ranks,” Michael declared firmly.

They could not afford to have another Emperor in the Dark Plane!

One Undead Emperor was enough! If the War of the Underworld kept going, the two Emperors of the Underworld would keep recruiting soldiers from the world of the living. The War of the Underworld would only bring them a temporary peace. Once the undead armies suffered enough casualties, the living would become sacrifices for the war!

The darkness would grow stronger as more deaths, killings, and slaughter took place. The God of Darkness would eventually grow strong enough to break through the barrier between the planes and set foot into the living world. No land would be livable by humanity then!

It was the reason Michael had decided to step forward.

He did not care about the Undead Emperor’s standpoint. He only knew that the Emperor was never meant to exist in this world. Even if he was doing everything to protect a country, he would eventually drag the whole of mankind into the abyss!

“Then why didn’t we pick on Khufu instead?” Raphael questioned him.

“I don’t believe Khufu is as much of a threat as this Emperor,” Michael replied solemnly.

“That’s true. He has only woken up recently, yet he almost brought a bloodbath to the Ancient Capital’s millions of lives. However, my only worry is…” Raphael stopped in the middle of the sentence.

He was worried if the Sacred City could endure the Emperor’s wrath, knowing he was a bigger threat than Khufu!

—

“Let’s begin. The one thing I can do today for the future of mankind is by killing the infant of darkness under the brilliance of the Sacred City!” Michael yelled.

Raphael raised a beam of light with golden edges. It soared into the sky above the city and turned into two sacred swords crossing one another!

The sacred swords transformed again. Colorful lights spread through the night sky and shone over the Sacred City.

The lights hung in the sky. To everyone’s surprise, they began to form objects. The streets of the city rapidly appeared in the lights, as if the hand of God was drawing a picture. The buildings with unique shapes were gradually appearing in the twisting colors. It was only their silhouettes at first, but even the tiny details like the carvings on the windows were soon rendered precisely.

The night sky above the Sacred City was replaced by an enormous canvas. The whole city was projected on it, and it all happened in front of the crowd.

A city on the ground and a city in the sky. A complete reflection!

“I feel like I’m looking down at the city while hanging in the sky, but I’m clearly standing on the street.”

“I began to wonder if our world is real!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The gates of the Sacred City were open, and people were walking along the main street. It looked rather like old times, as there were no vehicles on it.

Countless people had gathered on the street, like a festival was going on. Everyone was staring at the sky in disbelief. There was an identical Sacred City mirrored up in the sky, a breathtaking sight. Their souls could not help but shiver in astonishment!

The mirrored Sacred City in the sky was exactly the same as the Sacred City on the ground. Someone had smashed a window on a building before the spell was cast, and the same window in the mirrored Sacred City was smashed, too!

However, the people of the Sacred City were not reflected. The mirrored Sacred City was empty.

The Sacred City on the ground was bustling with noise, but the mirrored Sacred City was silent. They were emitting the same lights in the dark, yet it felt like they were from two different worlds!

Mo Fan stood silently in the Sacred Residence as he watched the sudden changes take place. He kept staring at the sky, his heart pounding heavily!

Mo Fan had just witnessed the power of the Domain of Mirrored Space yesterday. They had defeated Euryale inside it!. When the battle ended, Mo Fan thought the Holy Judgment Court would punish them for destroying the streets. To his surprise, the streets were undamaged and crowded with people.

Bola told Mo Fan that they were fighting in the unique Domain of Mirrored Space in the Sacred City. It was able to create an illusionary area with the exact same appearance as their surroundings, so that innocent people would not be involved when the Judicators and Holy Court Mages were carrying out their missions.

The Chaos Element was capable of setting up a Domain of Mirrored Space, but Mo Fan had not mastered it. Therefore, Mo Fan was only a little surprised when he first saw it in action.

However, he did not expect the Angel who was about to disclose his identity to mirror the whole Sacred City and create an illusion of it like a mirage above them.

“Into the battlefield!”

“Into the battlefield!”

The order from the Angel Raphael echoed above the city.

Many Heresy Judgment Mages and Judicators were on standby in the city. They turned into rays of light and flew to the city in the sky after receiving the order!

The Mages of the Sacred City who had prepared for the battle fell onto the mirrored Sacred City like a rain of lights. The empty city soon had many Mages with stern Auras glowing stationed at every street corner.

There were hundreds of streets in the Sacred City. The people had no idea how many Mages were stationed across the city in the crowded streets, but when they all flew to the city in the sky, they realized the city was already on high alert!

The city was upside-down, and so were the people in it. However, the people within it felt like they were on normal ground. The place was no different from the Sacred City, yet they could still see the real Sacred City and the crowd above them.

Clear footsteps echoed out, followed by pleasant chimes, like the intro of a war song.

Mo Fan turned around and saw a Lesser Ki-Rin, sometimes called a dragon deer, emanating a crystalline light as it ran through the sky toward the mirrored Sacred City.

On the back of the ki-rin was a well-dressed woman. Her black dress covered the back of the dragon deer, drifting in the wind of the night sky. It was like seeing the Night Goddess on her way back to her palace on the moon.

Mo Fan only managed to get a quick glance at the dragon deer as it ran past him. He recognized the person on the back of the ki-rin was Qin Yu’er.

Her hands were bound by silver cuffs tied to the ki-rin’s horn. Powerful magic was flowing from the horn to Qin Yu’er’s wrists, prevent her from using her power. She could only sit on the dragon deer like a delicate sacrifice, ready to be offered on the altar in the mirrored city!

Mo Fan tried to chase after it, but the dragon deer was so quick that he did not have time to react at all. It quickly reached the stairs of the Sacred Residence in the mirrored Sacred City.

The entrance of the Sacred City was wide open to welcome their guest.

There was only one guest, yet the mages were preparing like they were about to face an army of millions!

“I am Michael.” A man with blond hair and a blond beard was standing on a simple tower. His voice spread across the city. “I am the Head Angel of the Sacred City!”

Michael’s beard was slightly unkempt, obviously the kind of person who did not care much about his image. No one would even remember his face among a crowd.

However, the moment he pronounced his kingly identity to the city, his looks, height, and skin tone were no longer important. He was the Head Angel of the Sacred City, a person who examined every country and organization like an envoy of God!

“I can’t convince you to agree with our decision today with perfect logic and beautiful words, but a hundred years or a thousand years from now, your descendants will surely remember tonight; the night when I, Michael the Seventh, eliminate the Undead Emperor who might possibly inherit the throne of the God of Darkness in the future. If we humans are no longer threatened and suppressed by the darkness a thousand years from now, I will have no regrets even if I have to fight to my death today.”

“Blessed be to God! Blessed be to God!” the Mages in the mirrored Sacred City yelled. Their high-spirited chants roused the people of the Sacred City.

People fought for their personal gains, reputation, and glory, but who had ever fought for the peace a hundred or a thousand years from now?

The Head Angel’s announcing his identity had lit the flames in every Mage’s heart.

They were not fighting the battle for the present or their future, but the future of their descendants. That was the significance of the battle tonight!

—

Mo Fan was still at the Sacred Residence, still disguised as another person.

The moment he saw Qin Yu’er, he had the urge to intercept the dragon deer and stop the battle from happening.

However, he could sense a pair of eyes staring at him as the thought crossed his mind.

The gaze was coming from the top of the mountain. They belonged to Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong!

He had instantly suppressed Mo Fan’s ability to move with his powerful presence alone, and spoke to him in a muffled voice, “Michael is right. I’m slowly losing my memories, and my existence is slowly being erased. Even if I could still live for a few dozen years more, in a hundred years or a thousand, the ancient king will become a terrifying demon,” Zhan Kong told him.

“That’s something to worry about after a hundred or a thousand years!” Mo Fan replied urgently.

“I’m not willing to leave this world yet because someone is waiting for me. This battle is mine, I shall face it alone.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The battle is mine, I shall face it alone.

Zhan Kong’s words echoed in Mo Fan’s mind as he slowly regained his freedom after the pressure on him was lifted.

He was finally able to move, but was still struggling to step forward.

Mo Fan had just found out the culprit behind everything, but to his surprise, that person was not an assh*** after power or personal gains as he had thought. He was only trying to set his grandchild free from the curse of being one of the living dead.

Meanwhile, the mastermind who had planned this was fighting the battle for the sake of mankind a hundred or a thousand years from now, so he had his reasons, too. He was not fighting for his own sake, nor was he fighting so the Sacred City would remain dominant. He was preventing the darkness from being too overwhelming over time.

As for Mo Fan… he would be in the wrong, whichever side he took. It had never been his fight.

The best thing he could do was wait patiently for the outcome, paying them all his greatest respect!

—

A figure wearing a black mantle, his face shrouded by a cloudy mist, was standing on the mountain. His intimidating eyes were barely visible most of the time.

The figure came down the mountain. He did not choose the bustling Sacred City, approaching the Mirrored Sacred City one step at a time. The brilliant lights and the flames emitted by the great Golden Eye on the tower were covered in a cold veil as soon as Zhan Kong set foot into the city. Everything that was glowing suddenly lost its heat.

Head Angel Michael flew up to the Mirrored Sacred City, too, landing on the same tower. He could clearly see the main street from his position, the direction Zhan Kong was coming from.

Behind Head Angel Michael was the Mirrored Sacred Residence, and on top of it stood the aloof Lesser Ki-Rin. The dress of the woman atop it was still waving in the night breeze.

Qin Yu’er did not look like a hostage. A sacred light was wavering behind Head Angel Michael. It looked like he was defending a goddess the demons were after.

Zhan Kong stood on the grey-tiled main street. The copied luxurious shops rose on both sides of him. The street was full of hostile eyes brighter than the street lamps.

He looked into the distance. The faint memories in his mind surged forth wildly and reinforced his thoughts as soon as he laid eyes on Qin Yu’er!

Every single detail of his past was bare before him, including Qin Yu’er’s smile. However, the flesh that was about to take over his soul did not respond happily as he was recalling his past, but with unbearable pain!

The undead were not allowed to recall their past, especially the good old memories, as such things would worsen the torture they were suffering from.

Zhan Kong let out a demonic roar. His cry echoed in both cities as the lights and flames were replaced by a serene blue light, as if they had suddenly fallen into the cold Netherworld.

“Blessed be to God!”

“Blessed be to God!”

The Mages of the Sacred City across the street and the roofs repeated the chants in loud voices. Golden ripples spread across the pitch-black sky. They kept growing and eventually turned into Golden Blade Scars that could shred everything into pieces.

The Golden Blade Scars slashed at Zhan Kong, each of them as powerful as a Demon Judgment Sword. They would deliver destructive blows to the target they locked on, especially Darkness Creatures.

Light had always been darkness’s nemesis. Even the tiniest ray of light could scorch the undead. The Golden Blade Scars fell rapidly onto the street. They lit up the night sky like the day as they kept pouring down with no gaps between them.

The main street was shattered beyond recognition by the scars all over it. The Light Magic eventually turned into golden ashes, which rose into the air like tiny fireflies.

The mirrored Sacred City was upside down above the people in the real Sacred City, so the golden ashes were like meteors that had been slowed down greatly in the people’s eyes. They fell elegantly, until they dissipated like fireworks at the boundary of the two worlds.

The Golden Blades Scars slashed at the evil demon, the combined multiple Super Light Spells shocking every Mage in the Sacred City that was watching the battle. However, the emperor in the black cloak was perfectly unharmed, his Mantle easily repelling the golden flames. The Light Magic that was supposed to suppress darkness had no effect on it. It was like a piece of black steel weaving through the flames with ease.

“Bloodthirsty Evil Wind!” He clenched his hands into claws and waved at the street.

With a strange howl, a blood-red wind quickly swept towards the Mages on the ground.

These Mages of the Sacred City had their defensive Equipment and spells. They were not in charge of the offense, only those on the roofs were attacking. Their job was to defend the others from the Undead Emperor’s attacks!

However, the Bloodthirsty Evil Wind was not targeting their flesh. It was a soul-piercing wind, and even the strongest defensive Equipment and Barriers were like a net with huge gaps before it. The wind could instantly shred their souls into pieces!

The defensive Mages on the street fell like domino tiles. Their bodies turned blue as corpses and their eyes were hollow after their souls were shredded.

According to their commander’s plan, the defensive Mages would switch positions with the next line after resisting the first wave of attacks from the Undead Emperor. They were like the soldiers with shields in ancient times who would switch out with the next line of soldiers after defending the army from a rain of arrows.

Unfortunately, these Mages did not even manage to survive the first wave. Many Advanced Mages had died instantly, including two Super Mages who were leading them.

Black mist was rising from their rotting bodies after their souls perished. The black mist flowed toward Zhan Kong’s Mantle on its own and darkened it, granting it an even stronger Aura!

The pain Zhan Kong was feeling could only be relieved through killing. His face gradually calmed after he absorbed the Auras of the living.

He was still an undead, after all. Once he lost his temper, even fresh blood was no longer able to satisfy the hatred in him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Keep going!”

​”Blessed be to God!”

The Sacred City Mages on the roofs drew their magnificent Star Constellations and Star Palaces, and the densely packed Stars gathered above the buildings. Overwhelming auras surged wildly as their brilliance peaked.

More magic accumulated continuously. This time, the Sacred City Mages were using the most destructive Fire Spells. Fiery motes spread through the air, driving the dark aura in the city away. The flames dyed the night sky red for over a hundred kilometers around.

The motes ignited simultaneously, trying to trap Zhan Kong within a certain area.

The crimson curtains of flames formed a furnace as tall as a mountain, with flowing lava spraying across the area within it. The merciless lava was burning everything inside the furnace into ashes!

Zhan Kong’s figure was out of ratio compared to the furnace when it emerged from the ground. He was tinier than the ashes drifting inside it!

“Demon Purging Smelter!”

The ashes randomly combined and formed pairs of doors on each side, from which flames would burst out.

The temperature inside the furnace was terrifying. The doors the ashes changed into further increased the heat, spewing out out strong waves of lava at Zhan Kong.

In very little time, many doors had formed and were disgorging lava from all directions to cleanse away the Undead Emperor!

The black mantle remained undeterred. The scorching light had failed to penetrate his defense. How could the flames possibly melt his mantle? Zhan Kong continued forward across the burning ground amid the flames. His eyes were surprisingly brighter than every source of light nearby. The Sacred City Mages on both sides could not help but shiver in fear.

“Are the flames and the lights of the Sacred City mere fireworks?”

“If this is all you’ve got? Don’t worry about preserving the peace a thousand years from now. You will become history by the end of the night!”

Zhang Kong halted in his tracks, stomping the ground fiercely.

The destructive flames were put out instantly!

The darkness asserted its dominance again. The strong flames disappeared as the temperature dropped rapidly, and the cold aura of the undead returned. The flames were supposed to set the sky and the mountain range aflame, but it was put out by a single stomp of his foot.

The morale of the Sacred City Mages fell rapidly as the street dimmed.

How powerful did one have to be to disregard the combination of Super Spells and extinguish their strongest attack, like it was just a mere firecracker?

The undead were considered a kind of demon creatures, and the Emperors were something that humans had never dared to provoke, but the Sacred City had set up a trap for an Emperor who had come alone. However, he had mocked both their Light and Fire Super Spells!

Their spells were nowhere near strong enough. Even their strongest magic was nothing to the Undead Emperor. The brilliance of the Sacred City was only significant in the eyes of petty humans, but in the eyes of the Emperors of the demon creatures across the world, it was just a silly little trick!

“Do you only realize how petty you are after losing your lives?

“I’m only one of the Emperors who have been asleep for a long time. I’m not even comparable to the Emperors in the Sahara, the South Pole, and the Bermuda Triangle, yet I can easily wake you up from your foolish dreams!”

Zhan Kong’s eyes emitted a blood-red light. Strong demonic Auras came down from the Alps like a curtain of darkness that was devouring everything within view, including the sky, the mountains, and the horizon. The overwhelming Aura grabbed every person in the Sacred City firmly by the throat.

The people in the Sacred City were panting in fear. Their eyes were full of pain and struggling before their deaths.

Both the ordinary people and the Mages had seen the blood-red light, the figure in the black mantle, and the Aura of death that was now clutching their throats.

No one in the real Sacred City died to the Emperor’s Death Breath, but they all sensed how minuscule they were as the Undead Emperor had mentioned. They finally realized their precious lives and the magic they admired were nothing compared to the Emperors!

None of the people who were watching the battle in the real Sacred City died, but in the mirrored Sacred City, the Sacred City Mages who were fighting for the peace a thousand years from now had already turned into dried statues in the midst of preparing their spells on the roofs.

The corpse statues were now emitting a cloudy black mist. It rapidly gathered on Zhan Kong’s palm, like bees returning to their hives.

Zhan Kong lowered his head and inhaled the life energy of the Sacred City Mages greedily.

It relieved him of the pain he was under once again. He felt unprecedentedly calm now, and . even his dry veins were flowing once again. His heart, which was as still as a stone, began to beat once again.

He began to recall the good memories of his past life, but now he no longer felt the unbearable pain.

Recalling good memories was a luxury for the undead; without the support of thousands of fresh kills, they would have to endure the pain of recalling their past themselves!

Hatred, revenge, greed, and cruelty were supposed to be the nature of the undead nature.

They were not discarding their old selves. Becoming an undead was a new beginning for them. They were merely following their instincts in order to protect themselves.

However, the Undead Emperor was also disgusted by himself. He did not even dare to look Qin Yu’er in the eyes. He shivered after taking a deep breath of the living aura he had acquired.

Zhan Kong had the urge to chop his head off and shred it into pieces when he realized that his beloved woman had witnessed his disgusting and ugly side. He wanted to burst into tears of pain to show that he hated himself too, yet the only thing flowing out of his eyes were filthy blood.

His heart was calm after he absorbed the living aura of freshly slain human beings. However, he began to hate himself for being a living dead after he was able to think calmly.

The hate brought him great pain and new anger, which could only be calmed by absorbing the living auras of the people he had killed.

Another roar sounded out. The Undead Emperor soon forgot everything as the fresh blood splattered on the street and the walls of the buildings. One after another Mage fell and died in pools of blood.

Their living auras could no longer satisfy the Undead Emperor. He felt like something was missing if the ground was not dyed red by fresh blood.

Humans were as fragile as usual. They were only worthy to be a bright red carpet for him to walk on so he would not dirty his boots!

—

The blood was eye-catching. Mo Fan felt overwhelmed as he watched the battle.

Was this the strength of a real Emperor?!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The blood eventually formed a long carpet down the street of the mirrored Sacred City. It extended further as Zhan Kong walked upon it.

The Sacred City Mages from different streets were gathering on the main street, including their commander, Reynolds. As a Forbidden Mage, he had taken part in many battles, be they disputes between European countries or battles against demon creatures.

He had chosen the Sacred City Mages from among the experts who had fought battles with him in the past. They had gone through life and death together, and made a lot of contributions to the Sacred City. They were well-respected by the people as mighty warriors!

Reynolds commanded his men to move into a standard hexagram Formation.

A hexagram was the foundation of many magic Formations, as the diagonals allowed the Mages to transmit their magic to one another perfectly while confining the magic within the Formation. It was like an efficient way of generating power!

The Mages stood on the diagonals of the hexagram, with Zhan Kong in the middle. They were transmitting Light Magic between one another, their bodies constantly emitting a golden light.

The hexagrams lit up like the orbits of stars. The hexagrams grew brighter as they eventually combined into an enormous Light Spell!

“Sacred Dragon, please accept our offering by coming from the other plane to eliminate this heresy on our behalf!” Reynolds called out.

Everyone thought the hexagrams consisted of a Light Spell at first. They could easily tell it was a Forbidden Curse from the energy level.

To everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be the Summoning Element!

The light of the hexagrams reached far away, across the galaxy. A glowing golden star in a distant realm was responding to it.

A dragon’s cry came out of nowhere. The hexagrams seemed to have established a bridge with another plane, and an astonishing creature was approaching rapidly. Its voice reached the Sacred City through the gate first.

“Did…did I just hear the cry of a dragon?”

“Does this mean the legend of the Sacred City is real? There’s a golden dragon watching over it?”

The Eye of the Golden Dragon was the symbol of the Sacred City, able to drive away every evil and demon creature. Many people could not help but wonder if the Sacred City had reached a mysterious agreement with a golden dragon. If it had not… then where was the Eye of the Golden Dragon from?

Nobody could move their gaze away from the hexagrams in the mirrored Sacred City after hearing the dragon’s cry!

They soon beheld a shocking sight. The head of a ferocious creature, seemingly made of gold, had extended forth from the hexagrams!

The powerful creature emerged swiftly. Two golden wings that could cover half of the city followed its head!

Its size, appearance, and golden scales gave it a sacred appearance. Its terrifying claws, sharp horns, and thick tail proved that it was a real dragon!

The golden dragon flew up into the sky above the mirrored Sacred City, thus it was very close to the Sacred City on the ground. The shocking dragon beat its wings and left golden gusts of wind behind as it swept past their heads. The golden scales were so bright that the crowd was unable to look at them directly!

The golden dragon fixed its glowing eyes on Zhang Kong as it was flying across the sky. It was observing this opponent with a strong Aura of the undead.

The golden dragon despised the undead, as their filthy and deathly aura was incompatible with its own sacred Aura. It landed on the street in front of Zhan Kong. It was significantly taller than the buildings nearby, so the spacious street suddenly felt a little narrow.

The golden dragon waved its tail and knocked a whole bunch of buildings to the ground, as if not wanting them to hinder its movement.

Dust rolled in the air. The buildings were knocked down like toy models after the dragon swung its tail through them a few times.

Both sides of the street, damaged by the earlier fighting, quickly turned into debris. The golden dragon knocked down more of the buildings to clear up the space for itself. Not many buildings survived in the first half of the street, like it had undergone a high-level earthquake.

“So, this is the dragon with the strongest lineage, whom you all worship?” Zhan Kong chuckled.

There were ancient Totem Beasts in the West, too. Among them were Hayla, the Sphinx, the Tyrant Titans, and the real dragons. They were all similar to the ancient Totem Beasts in China. Unlike demon creatures, they were close with humans and commonly featured in mankind’s history.

The real dragons were publicly known as the strongest creatures in Europe. Any species with even a slight lineage from the dragons could easily rule over a land.

The dragons were not strong just because of their sturdy flesh. They were able to use magic just like humans!

The golden dragon was a wielder of the Light Element. Most demon creatures had no chance of hiding from its eye, which hung above the Sacred City!

However, was it really the strongest creature in Zhan Kong’s eyes?

This golden dragon might even struggle to defeat the Black Tortoise, the weakest among the four Sacred Totem Beasts!

The golden dragon opened its mouth and gathered a destructive ray of Light to fire forth. The beam ranged across the dilapidated city and headed for the pitch-black Alps.

The people followed the destructive ray and noticed the Undead Emperor had already withdrawn to the mountain. The golden dragon seemed to be aware of the Undead Emperor’s intentions, and had fired the beam right in the direction he was moving toward.

The Emperor’s black mantle suddenly soared into the sky like a kite.

Zhan Kong lifted his gaze after reaching a certain height, and his hollow eyes looked into the distance. He opened his mouth, like a Daoist cultivating the energy of the moon.

The destructive beam of Light was not traveling in a perfect line straight at him. It sliced across a few kilometers of the mountain and swept toward the King of Undead in an arc.

“Evil Moon Robe!”

Zhan Kong spread his arms after he was done absorbing the energy. The moon suddenly turned blood-red. Its light loomed over Zhan Kong and bestowed upon him a robe that was capable of nullifying any damage to him!

The robe was woven from the evil light of the moon. The destructive Light swept past like a meteor shower below the moon, but Zhan Kong was perfectly unharmed under the protection of the robe!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

If the destructive Light beam swept through the Alps, the whole mountain range might become a sunken ground, yet the powerful ray had failed to penetrate the Evil Moon Robe, which was as thin as a veil?

The golden dragon puffed angrily. It was about to spread its wings and fly into the sky to brawl with Zhan Kong when the cold moon’s evil brilliance flickered above it. Zhan Kong, who was standing under the moon just a moment ago, had already returned to the Sacred City. He had turned into a blood-red crescent saber!

The Crescent Evil Saber extended along the main street of the Sacred City, from the center of the city to the slums. The defenses along the way were sliced in half.

The slash covered a distance of about eight kilometers, and almost knocked the golden dragon out of the Sacred City. Its sturdy scales were scattered across the ground and fell on either side of the Crescent Evil Saber like metal parts.

The golden dragon rose to its feet in rage. It looked across the long ravine that now extended across half of the city. The Undead Emperor with the appearance of a human wielded immeasurable power. The golden dragon was struggling to handle a simple move from him!

“Attack!” Commander Reynold yelled.

The rest of the Sacred City Mages were not going to stand on the side while the golden dragon was taking on the Undead Emperor.

Help from the golden dragon was reducing their casualties, or they had no chance of defending themselves from the Undead Emperor’s attacks!

They were casting multiple Super Spells simultaneously again. This time, they were using the Wind Element.

“Vacuum Storm!”

“Vacuum Storm!”

The Star Palace was over ten times bigger than usual, as several Super Mages were constructing it together, using the energy provided by hundreds of Advanced Wind Mages. The resulting combination of Super Spells was beyond terrifying.

Everything inside the Vacuum Storm would end up as tiny particles. Zhan Kong was standing at the center of the storm, where the wind was the strongest. The tons of debris from the buildings nearby were swept off the ground and shredded by the merciless wind!

The wind shredded the debris into pieces, then into powder, and finally into tiny particles, leaving a shocking hole on the battlefield. Even though they were currently in the mirrored city, it felt like the real Sacred City would eventually end up in the same state!

Group Spells occurred when multiple Mages of the same Element used the same spell on the same target.

Combination Spells occurred when a huge amount of energy was poured into a single Magic Pattern to stack its power several times. It would also expand the spell’s coverage several times over.

There were many Super Mages around, with squads of Advanced Mages as their energy supply. The resulting spell was almost comparable to a Forbidden Curse. The Vacuum Storm did not let them down, either. It managed to inflict obvious damage on the Undead Emperor’s robe.

The battle robe was the Undead Emperor’s main defense. Any damage inflicted on it was an indication of his injuries. They finally saw the Emperor get injured after trying for so long. Even Commander Reynold was relieved.

They had sacrificed the lives of many powerful Mages and even used their trump card, the golden dragon. If everything they did had no effect on the enemy, wouldn’t that prove the Emperor’s words that the modern magic civilization of mankind was nothing but a joke?

—

Zhan Kong walked out of the Vacuum Storm and glanced at his black robe.

The outer layer of the robe was falling off. He was unharmed by the Light and Fire Elements, but the Wind Element had gotten the better of him. It seemed like the golden dragon had its uses after all! It had at least kept him distracted so the Sacred City Mages had a chance to prepare their attacks.

“Such a pity, there won’t be a second chance for you!” Zhan Kong declared.

Zhan Kong knew Commander Reynold must be extremely pleased with himself since he and his men had just injured an Emperor.

However, the injury was like a mere bruise to him. It would not affect the overall outcome of the battle.

“Guilty are the offenders!” Zhan Kong suddenly clenched his right fist as if he was crushing something into pieces.

A strange ripple of death spread in the air and swiftly swept past the Sacred City Mages who were involved in the preparation of the Wind Combination Spell.

The left sides of the chests of the Wind Mages suddenly burst open. Blood poured out after their hearts ruptured. One after another Mage fell to the ground with shocking holes in their chests!

BANG!

Commander Reynold had an old comrade by his side, who was also the core of the Formation when casting the Wind Combination Spell. He was the one who had constructed the huge Star Palace.

However, the old Wind Mage did not survive. His chest exploded as his blood splattered on Reynold. Reynold watched in utter disbelief as his old friend died in such a horrible manner.

“The…the revenge of the undead…” the old Wind Mage murmured as his mouth filled with blood.

Reynold finally realized something.

It was a vengeful Curse! Whoever harmed the person under the Curse would be tagged. The Curse would hurt everyone who was tagged when it activated!

However, wasn’t the Curse a little too terrifying? So many Wind Mages had only inflicted a minor injury on him, yet the seed of the Vengeful Curse had instantly sprouted in their bodies and butchered everyone in such a short period of time!

The Super Mages and the group of Advanced Mages were all dead!

Reynold was struggling to stand properly.

Are we really so weak?

They had just made a little progress, but they immediately felt like they had entered a deeper Hell. Who would dare to offend the Undead Emperor again?

Most Vengeful Curses would scale according to the damage that the target had received. Most Curse Mages could only return the favor by taking an eye for an eye, but the Undead Emperor was claiming his revenge by demanding the extermination of the entire party of offenders. It was no longer just a Vengeful Curse, it was the inviolable authority of a king!

Perhaps he is the true God of Death?

Most of the Mages who fought the Undead Emperor from the start of the battle were wiped out, even though their ace, the golden dragon, was still standing.

What about the injured?

Reynold had prepared Healers to take care of the injured, but there was not a single injured person in the battle. Every person who earned the Undead Emperor’s attention was dead!

Not a single one survived. These were the consequences of offending an Emperor!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Reynold trembled slightly, but was soon overwhelmed by anger.

It was normal for humans to be overwhelmed by rage when they lost control of their emotions. They would react like an animal, biting at their enemy subconsciously when their life was in danger, and they had completely lost their composure.

Reynold flew toward Zhan Kong, surrounded by a rotating field of ice. The white ice filled the Sacred City, as if a great snowstorm was pouring down heavily after something disrupted its flow.

White crystalline dust drifted in the wind. The people below could no longer see the mirrored Sacred City clearly. They only knew the snow that surrounded Zhan Kong was accompanied by terrifying danger.

The ice spun even faster, the white curtain was moving slowly, like a huge cloud. The piercing cold spread from the mirrored Sacred City to the western side of the Alps, further worsening the terrible weather.

The plants froze as the mountain there was covered in thick snow. The city was turning into ice, too. Even the air was about to freeze and turn into a boundless transparent crystal!

The golden dragon roared amid the snow, barely visible. A blinding ray of Light sprang from the thick white cloud and into the sky. The people guessed the golden dragon was unleashing its power, but they could not tell whether the Emperor was injured or taken out by the attack.

An elegant but oddly-sounding chime echoed out of nowhere. The snow began to dissipate rapidly.

It felt like the chime contained a purifying Sanskrit. Both the white cloud and the Light emitted by the golden dragon disappeared as the chime faded away.

The mirrored Sacred City cleared up, allowing the people on the ground to see into it.

The Undead Emperor had moved another two kilometers closer to the Sacred Residence. Behind him, Reynold was kneeling on the ground with his back to the Undead Emperor.

Sweat was pouring down from Reynold’s head like melting ice. His battle outfit was soon soaked. The spectacular ice field was just like a circus trick, nothing impressive after it was exposed.

The strange chime had stopped Reynold’s Ice Magic before it could reach its maximum potential. His enemy had discovered the weak point of the spell and destroyed it before it even started.

The chime also served as Reynold’s burial song. More cold sweat surfaced on Reynold’s forehead. He was completely soaked in cold water, and his eyes were filled with pain.

Soon, liquid was pouring out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, but this time, it was no longer sweat, it was blood.

The chime’s note had crushed his organs. He knew his life was draining away. He could barely see the black figure who was approaching him disdainfully through his blurred eyes.

The enemy could easily end his life, yet he was still forced to kneel on the ground miserably.

—

“Isn’t Master Reynold a Forbidden Mage?”

“How is this possible…”

The Holy Court Mages and the Judicator were stunned.

Reynold was a Forbidden Mage. A Forbidden Mage was supposed to be equal to the Emperor level, so why did it feel like there was such a huge difference in their strength?

“Is the golden dragon still around?”

“As long as the golden dragon hasn’t fallen, Master Reynold is its envoy!”

Reynold had fallen, but the people still had hope as long as the golden dragon was still circling the battlefield. Reynold’s strongest ability was Summoning the dragon from the other plane. The golden dragon was his Forbidden Curse!

More scales of the golden dragon shattered into pieces. It was no longer proud and aloof, staring at Zhan Kong like he was a dangerous enemy.

Previously, the golden dragon had stood in front of Zhan Kong on the main street and spread its wings, as if it was warning Zhan Kong not to take half a foot more forward.

Now, the golden dragon could only circle around Zhan Kong in the air as he continued to approach the Sacred Residence. The golden dragon needed time to catch its breath and looked for the next opportunity to attack.

The Sacred City Mages were still gathering at the crossroads. They stood in rows and lined up in Formations as they waited for Zhan Kong’s arrival.

Blue imprints spread across the ground of the mirrored Sacred City. The people on the ground in the real Sacred City could clearly see them as they grew brighter. The Sacred City Mages had set up a shocking trap!

The magic trap used the complicated streets of the Sacred City as orbits to transfer its energy. The tall buildings and towers served as gathering points along the paths. The blue imprints looked like the map of an ancient and mysterious city, containing an unknown godly power!

The Sacred City Mages began to chant. Glowing Runes rose into the air, each filled with a special magic, and the imprints on the ground grew even brighter.

“Isn’t that the Flower of the Sacred City?”

The people were shocked to see a blue sunflower form as the imprints lit up.

They had never seen such a huge sunflower. Even the old folks who had lived in the Sacred City for more than forty years never realized the distribution of the streets, buildings, and churches followed the outline of their city’s chosen flower. When the energy of the Plant Element flowed through the network, the city would crawl with its branches, leaves, and stem.

When the flower blossomed, its powerful magic-sealing energy rapidly spread through every opening and alley like pollen!

Its roots and stem continued to grow, surrounding Zhan Kong like soldiers in an orderly fashion.

The fragrance of the flower was driving away the presence of death around Zhan Kong. His robe started rusting, as if it was being oxygenized. The scent of the flower was obviously effective against Darkness Creatures!

“Demon Sealing Sunflower!”

Zhan Kong finally stopped moving when the sunflower the size of a whole city appeared. He had walked right into a dangerous trap. His hollow eyes were able to see everything that was about to happen. The flower grew rapidly with every step he took!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhan Kong lifted his gaze, and eventually continued on his way.

His black boots landed on bricks covered in the blue imprints. It felt like something was drawing away the energy inside his body with every step he took and transferring it to the flowers.

The sunflowers blossomed further while its fragrance grew stronger. The deathly Aura around Zhan Kong dissipated gradually, and his robe continued to fragment.

“His power is weakening,” Angel Raphael noticed.

“Wait a little longer.” Head Angel Michael remained calm.

Michael could feel the Sacred City Mages losing their morale. They were no longer as high-spirited as they were at the start of the battle. He could even see fear in their eyes.

The brave warriors who had initiated the attack had been wiped out. The Sacred City Mages were feeling extremely nervous. The whole Formation realized a God of Death was approaching them!

Zhan Kong kept coming forward. The undead energy in his body was rapidly drained away. His imperious appearance, that of a man in his prime of life, was now showing signs of age.

The undead had their life energy, too. Zhan Kong was one of the living dead. When his living aura was absorbed by the sunflowers, all that was left would be the aged and wilted body of an undead!

However, he kept moving forward.

He was still a great distance away from the woman. He could see neither her face nor the look in her eyes clearly.

This path was supposed to lead him to destruction, but he had never thought he would be safe after setting his foot into the city.

He knew the Forbidden Curse of the Sunflowers scattered across the city was unresolvable, so he boldly stepped forward and let it take away whatever it was after inside his body!

His dark robe continued to deteriorate, and his sinister Aura was suppressed too. The golden dragon circling nearby let out a roar and charged at him with its horn.

“Piss off!” Zhang Kong yelled angrily. His eyes were as red as a devil’s.

As he raised his arm, and thousands of sturdy horses made of dark copper charged at the golden dragon.

The golden dragon was knocked back by the horses, losing a huge amount of scales again. The horses even pierced through a few spots on its armored body. Dragon’s blood, covered by a dark Aura, was pouring out.

The golden dragon’s blood was capable of cleansing darkness, yet its wounds kept worsening as a black Aura rose from it.

The golden dragon was surrounded by the horses. It opened its mouth and unleashed its dragon breath!

The dragon’s breath was golden, like the sunlight had suddenly pried open the stormy clouds and shone down upon the vast land.

The demon horses collapsed when the dragon’s breath encapsulated them, turning into ashes. The golden dragon finally eliminated them, but it saw that Zhan Kong had already reached the Formation of Mages by the time it turned around.

The Mages were controlling the roots and stems of the sunflowers, moving them rapidly in the city to form a huge mountain of roots and stems in front of Zhan Kong. The twining mound was almost high enough to reach the real Sacred City on the ground. The two cities were connected by these blue plants.

“Bloodthirsty Evil Wind!”

Zhan Kong clenched his hands into claws and swung them at the mound of plants!

The blood-red wind swept at the plants. It not only targeted those in front of him, but those in the surroundings too! The Bloodthirsty Evil Wind started clearing away the plants across a huge area.

The roots and stems were shattered, and pieces of blue leaves scattered in the air. Yet every time Zhan Kong cleared an area, dense roots and stems would fill up the space again, blocking Zhan Kong’s path and trapping him within the sunflowers.

The golden dragon was the first Forbidden Curse Summoning Spell that Michael had prepared for the Undead Emperor. The Plant Forbidden Curse was the real deal, one that Gabriel had prepared to defeat the Undead Emperor!

“In the families you grew up in, some old men must have mentioned your impressive ancestors, who provided you with a peaceful environment to grow up in. They are the pride of your families. Do you know that even if you die in this battle today, your children and descendants will also see you as a memorable senior of your families? Will you run away and live, or will you glorify your ancestors? I believe you have all made your choice!” Michael proclaimed.

They could not afford to lose their morale. No matter how strong the enemy was, they must not show their fear!

Weren’t the sunflowers symbols of an unyielding spirit?

“I, Michael, am with you all!”

Michael jumped down from the tower, flying over to the mountain of stems and roots that was growing continuously. A sacred blue light burst out of his body as he stood on the highest point aloofly.

His sacred blue robe transformed into the illusionary figure of an angel behind him, spreading its layers of wings. Their light was strong enough to light up the entire land.

The Sacred Blue Robe of Feathers!

Michael had finally made his move. He was most likely one of the strongest Forbidden Mages that people had ever had the chance to see in action. His presence had already surpassed that of a human. He was like a heavenly spirit residing in the flesh of a man!

Zhan Kong watched Michael, the only person that was worthy of his attention in the battle.

The levels of humans and demon creatures were inequivalent. For example, only a team of Super Mages was strong enough to challenge a single Ruler-level creature.

Similarly, an Emperor-level creature would not necessarily see a Forbidden Mage as a threat. Reynold was a Forbidden Mage, yet he was extremely weak in Zhan Kong’s eyes, since with his magic, only the golden dragon could pose a little threat to Zhan Kong!

However, there were great differences between Forbidden Mages, too!

Michael and Raphael, the two Angels, were a lot stronger than Reynolds. However, Raphael was not showing any intent to take part in the battle.

There were only seven Angels in the Sacred City. Michael would have to sort out his battle himself. Many powerful demon creatures were watching the Sacred City like tasty prey. If they somehow lost two Angels in the battle, the Sacred City would be in great danger, and so would mankind!

They might be fighting for the peace to take place in a thousand years, yet they had to make sure the city was safe in the current times, too! Raphael was not going to use a single spell.

Zhan Kong seemed a little disappointed when he realized Michael was his only opponent.

“Just you?” Zhan Kong looked at Michael.

“Isn’t it enough?” Michael replied.

“Even the seven of you wouldn’t be enough!” Zhan Kong said.

“You might be strong enough to take on the seven of us outside the Sacred City, but you won’t be able to overcome the Forbidden Curse of the Sunflowers. You will soon run out of oil like a lamp…” Michael answered confidently.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Michael knew the Undead Emperor was here for Qin Yu’er.

As long as he was still in the Sacred City, the Demon Sealing Sunflower would continue to absorb his energy. His unstoppable Mantle was on the verge of being destroyed too, exposing his corrupted soul.

If the Undead Emperor’s soul perished, he would no longer remain awake. The Plane of Darkness would lose an Emperor, too!

Upright?

Michael had never thought what he was doing was worthy of being called upright. He was grateful toward the soul inside the Emperor’s flesh instead, and impressed by its unyielding spirit. Without him, the Undead Emperor would not have set foot inside the Sacred City knowing it was a trap, nor would he fight them in the Sacred City to the death. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult to reach the King of Undead through his army, let alone exterminate him!

Therefore, Michael believed this was their only chance to defeat the Undead Emperor. They had to keep him inside the Sacred City forever, before the soul in the Undead Emperor perished!

“Sacred Staff of Authority!”

Michael was standing on the roof of a building now completely covered by the sunflowers. He Summoned a staff with blue feathers out of nowhere. It began to expand as he chanted, growing from a length of one meter to the height of a tower.

To everyone’s surprise, the staff kept expanding, and was soon as large as the staff of a god, extending between the night sky and the spacious land. The two cities were suddenly a lot smaller in comparison.

As Michael uttered a strange tone, the huge staff slammed to the ground and unleashed a mighty wave of energy!

Michael was standing in front of the Sacred Residence. People were shocked to see half of the mirrored Sacred City was caught in the impact from the wave!

Zhan Kong had not stopped approaching Qin Yu’er. The golden dragon had only managed to knock him back a little. The Mages had no chance of stopping him, but the destructive power of the staff sent him flying.

The wave spread across half the city, but it did not inflict any damage on either the buildings or the sunflowers. However, Zhan Kong who was brimming with darkness, suffered great damage. The wave of energy was like soaking him in a pool of mercury and light. Not only was his body burning badly, but the rays of light that passed through him occasionally were also scorching him like the sun!

The Undead Emperor was knocked a great distance away. The strength that Michael had displayed was indeed different from the other Forbidden Mages. When the light of the staff disappeared, the Sacred City Mages clearly noticed multiple festering wounds on the Undead Emperor’s body, like a normal person whose skin had been badly burned.

The sunflowers displayed their power again. The stems and leaves grew rapidly atop Zhan Kong’s injuries, and immediately trapped him like a cage!

Sunflowers were blossoming inside the cage, their petals glowing like the stars in the night sky, yet their light was far from gentle and friendly. They were firing deadly rays at their target!

The cage was the size of a national stadium. The deadly rays emitted by the sunflowers were so dense that there was not the slightest gap between them. The deadly rays came from all directions to obliterate Zhan Kong.

“Black Jade Dragon Robe!”

Zhan Kong sprang into the air. His body was hovering oddly as draconic Runes suddenly appeared on his black Mantle. Something that resembled a snake flew out of the Mantle with a flicker of motion and circled Zhan Kong like a guardian.

The Star Sword Petals were attacking Zhan Kong from every direction, yet not only did his body turn transparent under the influence of the Dragon Robe, the dark Aura he was emitting grew even stronger!

Zhan Kong wove through the Star Sword Petals with the help of the Dragon Robe, flying out of the cage. Michael had successfully enraged him. He suddenly picked up speed and flew right at Michael!

The shadow of Michael’s Sacred Blue Robe of Feathers unleashed a blinding glow as it slowly took the shape of the God of Feathers, which was holding the same staff from before in its hand.

Zhan Kong did not back down, his Dragon Robe expanding significantly. The Black Jade Dragon circling him swelled in size!

“Evil Dragons Sweeping the Sky!”

The vast night sky turned into a heavenly river, with three thousand evil dragons soaring past. The mirrored Sacred City felt minuscule under the size of the army of dragons.

Zhan Kong was not just targeting Michael. The three thousand evil dragons were going to raze the mirrored Sacred City to the ground!

The golden dragon landed in front of the Mages. It spread its wings and defended the Mages from the evil dragons with its flesh.

Michael was astounded by the overwhelming power of this attack.

Why was the Undead Emperor still able to unleash such a strong power when the sunflowers had already drained a significant amount of his energy?

Did he actually underestimate the Undead Emperor? His dark energy seemed unlimited, like a deep abyss, so the sunflowers could only absorb a fraction of it in the end!

The evil dragons swept down on the city, and the golden dragon struggled to hold its ground. Its scales were covered in black blood, while its wings were covered in wounds. Unfortunately, despite the price it paid, it still failed to protect the Mages. It glanced back and saw a few dozen Sacred City Mages behind the protection of its wings lying on the ground. Their bodies were dissolving with a foul stench.

Michael’s feathers had dimmed significantly too. The Sacred City was no longer glowing after the attack from the evil dragons. It was now a fallen city corrupted by darkness. The golden dragon and Michael were struggling to suppress Zhan Kong’s Aura!

Zhan Kong returned to the main street and continued his walk. The evil dragons were destroying the Sacred City without restraint, forcing Michael and the Sacred City Mages to retreat to the Sacred Residence!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The ki-rin descendant on the Sacred Residence started pacing back and forth uneasily, as if it was feeling threatened.

Qin Yu’er was on its back, and could already see Zhan Kong. She could still see something familiar, despite the huge changes in him.

It was the exact same face, the half-human half-demon visage she saw when she woke up in the ice. She was sure that she had not imagined it. She had gone back to Tianshan Mountain to verify it, too!

Unfortunately, they had not met on the deserted Tianshan Mountain, but in the bustling Sacred City instead.

Qin Yu’er did not care if he was a living human or a living dead.

Humans? Humans had only shown her coldness since her birth.

She could not care less what Zhan Kong was, she just wanted to see him again. The world had nothing but disdain for her. She only felt some slight warmth when he was looking at her.

Humans were lowly at times. It was like seeing a glimpse of light in a deep abyss; no matter how tough and torturous the journey was, they would still climb toward the light.

Qin Yu’er was the same. She just wanted to climb toward the man that had brought her warmth. Nothing else was important.

And yet, they were unwilling to grant her wish! What did she even do wrong?!

Zhan Kong’s attacks were brutal. He had killed everyone that blocked his path. At times, he seemed to be disgusted by himself, as if he was afraid Qin Yu’er would see him.

The truth was, Qin Yu’er wanted to embrace him and tell him that he was overthinking it. He should stop hurting himself!

——

The Sacred City Reflection was corrupted by darkness after the attack by the evil dragons. The city had still been emanating a holy demeanor not long ago, but now it was like an execution ground waiting to execute a criminal. The Sacred City Mages had withdrawn to the Sacred Residence; the hunters had become the hunted. They could only defend an area they assumed to be safe.

The Sacred Residence was like an island stranded amid the darkness that had invaded the city. Michael’s Sacred Blue Robe was the only thing that could take on the Undead Emperor. Its colorful feathers would light up the darkness at times, as if dawn would arrive soon and they would have an upright victory over evil, but the next thing they knew, the darkness returned and dyed the sky black again.

The dark sky was filled with faces brimming with pain. They were groaning like claps of thunder, rebuking the people who were still alive on the ground.

Their hatred had accumulated over hundreds and thousands of years, but the people on the ground had only been alive for several dozen years at most. Their hatred and pain were leaving a lasting mark of fear in the people’s hearts, so that they would all suffer what these vengeful spirits had been through!

“Do you know what it feels like to be dead?” Zhan Kong walked up onto the stairs leading to the Sacred Residence.

Michael had delivered a motivating speech to the Sacred City Mages to increase their morale, but Zhan Kong could not help but scoff at it.

“Fighting to your death? Glory for a thousand years?”

“We are only alive for a few dozen years, yet those who have been dead for thousands of years still seek vengeance. Do you know the reason behind this?”

Zhan Kong proceeded up the stairs. His intimidating eyes were fixed on the Sacred City Mages.

“Death only consists of temporary fear and immediate pain. No matter what you turned into after your deaths, the petty glory you fought for is nothing compared to the torture you will suffer in Hell. Your descendants might treat you as respectable ancestors, but you will realize that if you were given another chance, you would never trade your lives for petty glory. It’s good to be alive, since the pain after death will last for thousands of years!”

Zhan Kong’s voice reached everyone. It was advice from the Undead Emperor to the living!

The time of happiness was always short, but the years of pain were lengthy!

Zhan Kong told them the pain would last for thousands of years, but the truth was, the pain would last for more than ten thousand years!

These people who were self-proclaimed as Saints had never been to the Kingdom of Death, nor had they experienced what it would feel like to be one of the living dead. Therefore, Zhan Kong was cordially giving them a chance to experience the pain of the living dead!

The darkness and the faces brimming with pain represented their sorrow, misery, anger, and hatred of the living world. These faces would select those with experiences similar to them and place them in a dream, forcing them to experience the sufferings they had gone through.

Everyone had some heart-breaking experiences in the past. The faces would force them to recall those painful experiences again!

Most regretfully, these painful experiences which most people would not want to go through again accompanied the dead every night! Humans needed sleep to forget their painful pasts, but sleeping was the same as experiencing their deepest sorrows to the undead!

One day, two days, one year, two years, one century, two centuries, one thousand years, two thousand years… there was no end to it!

Was it even worth it to fight to the death for mere glory? Was it worth it to die just to make their ancestors proud?

Zhan Kong continued up the stairs. He was not only planning to overwhelm one of the strongest humans, Michael, with his strength, but he was going to trample on their beliefs, too!

Those who respected one’s decision to sacrifice their lives were treating the person as a nobody. If they really cared about the person, they would only hope the person was well and alive. They would be overwhelmed with sorrow if the person died.

Therefore, being well and alive was the best way to respect the people around you!

If Zhan Kong was given the choice, he would choose to be a coward.

He just wanted to keep his promise. Someone was waiting for him. He would just show up as he had promised. She liked the way he looked at her, so he would look at her for the rest of his life.

Not like his current situation!

Nothing like his current situation, where he was neither human nor demon!

It was painful to recall his past and meet the woman. He could no longer feel his heart pounding heavily when they exchanged glances, nor could he experience the warmth when hugging one another, let alone more intimate interactions!

He did not show up at the Sacred City like a hero riding the clouds. He was a demon, a vengeful spirit. He was only bothering the woman whom he loved when he was alive. He was just getting his revenge.

If only he was still alive, none of this would have happened.

These idiots!

They had no idea how jealous he was of the living. He was trying so hard to withhold his urge, the urge to kill every living person on Earth!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Such nonsense! I, Walker Evans, the Sacred Judge of the Heresy Judgment Court, will purge you on behalf of the Evans Clan!” Sacred Judge Walker Evans snarled.

Some people would respond with anger when they were struck by fear. Walker was the same as Reynold. He felt humiliated when his beliefs were being challenged, and that sense of humiliation would quickly turn into anger.

Sacred Judge Walker was a Super Lightning Mage, and his Lightning Magic was quite reputable in the Sacred City. Lightning kept flashing in the stormy clouds as he lost his temper. Dense lightning strikes kept landing on the stairs Zhan Kong was walking up.

The stairs were blasted into pieces. The falling lightning was like nails of wrath from the Heavens, striking the ground with blinding sparkles.

“As you wish!” Zhan Kong replied.

Ghastly hands suddenly reached out from the clouds of twisted faces. The hands stacked up and formed a huge face that resembled Walker!

The ghastly face opened its mouth and swallowed Sacred Judge Walker. Walker controlled his powerful lightning to destroy the hands, yet the lightning only managed to peel off its skin. It was nowhere enough to destroy the face!

The ghastly face ate Sacred Judge Walker. He was greeted by countless ghastly faces that could not wait to transmit their pain to a living person, intending to torture his unyielding spirit and turn him into one of them!

“Nothing but lies!” another Sacred Judge snarled.

Zhan Kong did not even bother looking at him. A wisp of dark soul flew at him.

The dark soul wrapped up the Sacred Judge like a snake. A few seconds later, the man suddenly held his throat and fell to the ground in pain.

“Please forgive me, please forgive me, I was controlled by the evil powder. I didn’t want to hurt the kid…”

The sins deep in his heart were exposed. The Sacred Judge with thick brows was writhing on the stairs as if he was having a nightmare.

“Blessed be…to God…”

“Blessed…be to God…”

He no longer sounded as confident as he was at the start of the battle. It sounded more like he was drawing a cross on his chest while begging for mercy.

Blessed be to God. He was hoping God could protect him to survive the terrifying darkness and dawn would arrive quicker.

Zhan Kong had already reached the middle of the stairs. Every Sacred City Mage that attacked him was suffering from different circumstances. The Mages were fallen and mumbling on the stairs. They were either overwhelmed by their fear of death or lost in their sins. Only a few righteous people with firm wills remained in the end.

They stood beside Michael, the last line of defense for the Sacred Residence.

Michael was struggling to hold his ground. A blue light stood between the curtain of ghastly faces and the mirrored Sacred City, stopping the faces from falling into the city like meteorites.

He had used the golden dragon, sunflowers, and sacred feathers, yet he had still failed to stop the Undead Emperor. Michael had guessed right, in that the Undead Emperor was scarier than Khufu, but he had still underestimated the Undead Emperor’s strength.

The truth was that not many humans had ever dared to challenge an Emperor-level creature. People had known for a long time that there were Emperors among the demon creatures, and thought that because the strongest humans might stand a chance against them, the Emperors would not dare to invade their lands.

But there was no exact reference for their strength, it was merely based on intuition. As long as they took the appropriate actions, they thought they would be able to defeat the Emperors, too!

But the truth was before them; the strength of the Emperors was beyond their imagination!

The sunflowers were constantly weakening the Emperor, but they needed more time. They were like an enfeebling drug, which would slowly make an adult weak. Theoretically, even kids could beat an adult if there was no antidote.

However, the adult could easily trample the kids before he lost his ability to fight!

The sunflowers were Michael’s trump card, giving the Sacred City a chance to fight the Emperor, but they were unable to hold on for that long.

The ghastly faces finally came down from the clouds. They were not just phantoms or some cloudy mists, they were crashing into the Sacred City like terrifying meteorites.

Even the Sacred Residence fell. The golden stairs were left with craters. The sacred halls collapsed to the ground. The tall magical towers broke in half.

The majestic Sacred Residence was turned into debris right before the eyes of the crowd. Even though it was happening in the mirrored Sacred City, those with common sense knew that the battlefield was no different from the real Sacred City. If the Undead Emperor had been in the Sacred City on the ground, the Sacred Residence there would have shared the same fate as the building that had fallen into debris.

There were six other powerful Angels than Michael in the Sacred City, but the people were far more relieved right now by the fact that the Undead Emperor had chosen to enter the mirrored Sacred City. Otherwise, how many living would the evil dragons have devoured, and how many more would have been sacrificed to the rain of ghastly faces?

It was a battle fighting for peace a thousand years from now, but now the people had learned how ignorant and insignificant they were.

If any of the Emperors decided to start a war against humanity in the next century, how many cities would survive in the end? Let alone a thousand years from now?!

The being above them was only one of the Emperors in the world!

What if… what if the Emperors in this world all wanted to erase the existence of humans from the world? Would the magic they always thought so highly of be able to save mankind?

The Magic Civilization that was worshiped in the books was like the mirrored Sacred City above them. It was shown to be full of holes when it encountered a real threat!

The people below did not feel humans were strong in this era after seeing this battle. They realized they had only been living in a light they had invented for themselves.

A single Emperor was enough to topple the Sacred City!

——

“Michael can win against the Undead Emperor, right?”

“We still have the golden dragon. It’s still around. They haven’t shown their true strength. If Michael and the golden dragon join hands, they will eliminate the Undead Emperor!”

“If they fail to take the Undead Emperor out, will he come to the real city?”

The people down in the city could not possibly disregard the battle. It was not a movie where they would only comment enthusiastically if one side won or lost.

What would happen to them if they lost?

If an Emperor like that went on a massacre, the blood would easily form a lake under the Alps!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Michael started chanting some ancient curses again. Screeches came down from the sky.

Blue figures were appearing continuously, their speed outstanding. They flew across the valleys and the mountains in an instant and arrived at the Sacred City.

The mirrored Sacred City was soon shrouded by Mystical Blue Feather Birds. They looked like feathers of an angel that had awakened their self-consciousness. Some were dancing in rows, while others were circling above Zhan Kong. Most of them were alert and watching Zhan Kong, ready to attack at any second!

A blue flame engulfed Michael. He was offering his soul as a sacrifice to God in exchange for greater power to destroy evil!

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The number of Blue Feather Birds kept increasing. They each had a glowing tail and were flying in perfect order, like soldiers from the Heavens!

“I don’t mind you taking your time to prepare your strongest attack, so you won’t mind me paying her a visit, right?” Zhan Kong was already very close to the Sacred Residence.

Michael was Summoning the Demon Purging Birds from the Heavens, and froze when he heard the words.

It felt like the Undead Emperor was telling him that he could do whatever he wanted, as long as he did not disturb their reunion?

Michael was humiliated by the Undead Emperor’s confidence!

“This is the Sacred City, it’s not your Undead Palace!” Michael shouted back.

More Demon Purging Birds showed up. They were exterminating the demon faces in the clouds with their unique power, while staying alert in Zhan Kong’s vicinity.

A lot of the ghastly faces had come to the ground, inflicting great fear on the Sacred City Mages and rendering them unfit for battle. Michael could not blame them for being unable to cope. After all, they were up against an Emperor-level creature. A Super Mage was like a little kid in front of him!

Michael had to get rid of the frightening demon faces first, and rescue the Sacred City Mages who were fighting alongside him.

Zhan Kong completely ignored his enemy. He could easily intervene, but he was sticking to his word. He was only concerned about Qin Yu’er!

“I’m giving you a second chance. If you fail to eliminate me, I think you should bring your men and retreat to the real Sacred Residence so you can ask your ancestors for protection!” Zhan Kong told Michael.

Zhan Kong could sense that the real Sacred City had stronger magic Formations about it.

That being said, an Emperor who was serious about killing could still bring great destruction upon the Sacred City without setting foot into it. The huge casualties from its destruction would be enough to threaten the Sacred City’s authority.

Therefore, Zhan Kong had already given Michael a chance when he chose to set foot in the mirrored Sacred City instead.

Now he was giving Michael a second chance.

He was not going to stop Michael from using his strongest attacks. He had to teach these idiots the reason why humans had never dared to provoke the Emperors!

—

Michael’s face darkened, and his eyes were burning with anger. The majestic shadow of a deity behind him was burning together with his soul to unleash all his energy.

More Demon Purging Birds descended from the sky. They were circling the whole Sacred City like a tornado now.

Zhan Kong did not lift his gaze, and eventually reached the Lesser Ki-rin.

The ki-rin jumped around in panic. It was just a weak mascot, after all. It started running around wildly as the Undead Emperor approached it.

Zhan Kong waved his hand and unleashed a gust of Bloodthirsty Evil Wind. The wind struck the silver cuff on the ki-rin’s horn.

The broken pieces sprinkled down beside Qin Yu’er’s dress like crystals, glittering from reflecting the feathers of the birds in the sky, which had painted the sky blue. Michael was obviously preparing a stronger Forbidden Curse, which involved Summoning the birds from the Heavens!

The ancient gods would never come to the mundane world to purge demons. They would pluck the feathers off their wings, which would then transform into powerful and aggressive birds. Michael was the Head Angel, so he was granted the ability to use those heavenly feathers to purge the evils of the world!

The city was now full of the Demon Purging Birds, their feathers were shrouding the sky and the sun. It felt like the Sacred City was floating upon an ocean of their feathers. Their unique light could be seen even a hundred kilometers away.

Qin Yu’er looked up. She wore a wry smile when she saw the sky covered in birds, like one of the signs of an apocalypse.

She turned her attention back on the undead man in the black Mantle.

It was him. She remembered seeing his back when she woke up in the ice.

They had the chance of reuniting back then. Why did he leave?

Hadn’t they suffered enough? Why must they trouble one another further?

So what if he had become a living dead?

Even if he was just a corpse, she would prefer lying in his cold arms than roaming aimlessly! At least she would not be hurt again.

“You’re here…” Qin Yu’er said.

“Yes, I’ve come,” Zhan Kong nodded back slowly.

“Why did you walk away back then?” Qin Yu’er asked.

“I saw your face, the same pretty face when I first saw you. I was hoping you could start over again and live the life you always dreamed of…” Zhan Kong answered.

“I might be alive, but the only thing I’m reluctant to part with is you. Xingyi, if I couldn’t see you again, I might as well stay frozen as an ice statue,” Qin Yu’er told him.

The reunion could have occurred earlier. Why did they have to wait until now?

They could have spent more time together instead of their current circumstances. An apocalypse was looming over them, trembling with its readiness to bring mass destruction!

They were under great pressure, as if they had committed such unforgivable sins that the whole world was treating them as heretics and demanding they be burned alive!

Wouldn’t it be better if she could have met him on the deserted Tianshan Mountain after he broke the Seal on the ice?

That way, Qin Yu’er would have simply treated the pain she had suffered as a nightmare. Her beloved man had come to wake her up while she was calling for him during her nightmare. He would embrace her in his arms, telling her that everything was fine. It was just a nightmare.

Why did he choose to leave instead?

Even if this battle was inevitable, even if Michael still wanted to eliminate Zhan Kong, Qin Yu’er would rather face the battle together with him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I want to be with you, whether I’m alive, dead, turned into ashes, or end up as a vengeful spirit! I want to stay with you no matter what happens!” Qin Yu’er declared to him.

Zhan Kong remained still, lost for words.

Qin Yu’er had always been stronger than him when they were on the national team. Zhan Kong was ashamed of himself back then, so he always forced himself beyond his limits and acted like a fool.

Qin Yu’er had rebuked him in the same tone at that time.

He should be stronger than her now, yet she was still rebuking and criticizing him!

Zhan Kong grinned.

Facing everything together regardless of the circumstances. If only there was a second chance at life…

He promised Qin Yu’er they would face everything together. They would work hard, train, go on adventures, face hardships, fend off enemies, and even die together…

“Don’t come any closer,” Zhan Kong yelled when he saw Qin Yu’er heading toward him. “This Mantle, it will absorb any living flesh that touches it,” Zhan Kong told Qin Yu’er.

Qin Yu’er did not stop. She continued to walk toward Zhan Kong.

Zhan Kong quickly backed away. None of the experts of the Sacred City had forced him to back away, but he began to panic when he was facing Qin Yu’er.

“Let us go, together!” Qin Yu’er stated calmly.

“My kingdom of undead has no room for the living,” Zhan Kong protested.

“And you think the human world has room for all of the living?”

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Absolutely not, especially those who were judged to be heretics by the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court. They would not find peace in any corner of the world. Even the deserted Tianshan Mountain was no longer a safe place for her!

What about the Kingdom of Undead?

Was Zhan Kong willing to live as a living dead while his consciousness was gradually being devoured?

He despised himself. The truth was, he had come to the Sacred City seeking a way out!

“If there is no longer room for us in this world, why are we still struggling so desperately?” Qin Yu’er had already reached Zhan Kong. Her eyes were tearing up like a melted glacier.

Zhan Kong remained still.

Qin Yu’er spread her arms. Zhan Kong did not react to her.

“If I let the Mantle take my life, my soul will be closer to yours. It’s just a greedy evil Mantle. If the Sacred City didn’t stop you, why would I let the Mantle stop me?” Qin Yu’er declared.

She reached forward and hugged Zhan Kong.

His undead body was bulky. Qin Yu’er only managed to fall into his chest when she tried to embrace him.

Zhan Kong’s hands were hanging in the air. The expression on his face was changing rapidly.

The Mantle had taken countless lives, and the soul of every life it had devoured was still within it. Those souls were fighting fiercely over Zhan Kong’s memories and consciousness.

However, when Qin Yu’er fell into his arms, Zhan Kong’s face had appeared under the initially empty helmet. He had reclaimed his flesh. He was no longer half-human and half-demon, with the presence of an undead.

“I want you to live!” Zhan Kong lowered his head and kissed Qin Yu’er’s hair softly. His face was full of tears now.

“The life I want is free and full of happiness. A life without mistreatment and hostility, a life where I can go on adventures with you across the world…” Qin Yu’er looked up. She kissed Zhan Kong on the lips after finishing her sentence.

The black Mantle began to show its greedy nature. An evil force was devouring Qin Yu’er’s body, dragging her deeper into it, like quicksand.

“Don’t you want it too?” Qin Yu’er asked while touching Zhan Kong’s face.

“I just think it’s unfair for you. You didn’t do anything wrong. Why do you have to compromise with the world?” Zhan Kong protested to her.

Why did she always have to be the one compromising? If he wanted to, he could wake up a stronger existence. If he wanted, he could overthrow the Sacred City that was condemning Qin Yu’er’s right to live!

“Did you do anything wrong? You saved the world, but the world won’t accept you. They have always been so greedy! The ancient gods, the Totem Beasts, and the people they claimed to be heretics… your Mantle is nothing compared to them. I would rather become one with you in the Mantle than stay with them,” Qin Yu’er swore to him.

Why would she say such words if she wasn’t overwhelmed by disappointment? Qin Yu’er was tired of everything!

She now understood why the ancient gods had abandoned the humans, why the Totem Beasts stopped protecting them. Humans only believed in themselves. They believed it was necessary to purge everything that was a threat to their existence.

Should they keep fighting? Should they keep fighting just to teach the people they were wrong? To condemn their misdeeds?

Qin Yu’er was no Nüwa. She had no obligation to patch up the sky for humanity. Zhan Kong was no Pangu, either; he did not have to sacrifice his flesh to create the world!

If they believed eliminating her and Zhan Kong was going to guarantee the peace of their world a thousand years from now, let them be!

“Yu’er, are you sure you want to go with me? I’m already with the dead!” Zhan Kong was still unwilling to let Qin Yu’er die.

Zhan Kong wanted her to stay alive. It was enough for him for his weary soul to embark on the rotting path of darkness alone.

“Mm, I’m willing!” Even Qin Yu’er was startled when she uttered the words.

She had imagined spilling out those same words from her deepest heart to Xingyi on different occasions. It would be a wedding she had long hoped for, where she would receive the blessings of her family and friends.

She never thought she would say the words to Zhan Kong in the Sacred City. The sky full of blue feathers was dazzling, while the Sacred City was bustling with noise…

Yet they were surrounded by murderous intentions and disdain!

“Let’s go, Xingyi.” Qin Yu’er was discontent with the outcome too. She even had the urge to turn her tears into a hail that would destroy the world!

However, she would not do it. She believed leaving was the better choice.

Zhan Kong nodded.

He looked into the sky. The blue feathers were shining upon the ground like a sacred thing. He looked at the people in the city, and the anticipation in their eyes… as if they believed the Forbidden Curse was enough to kill him!

The strength of the Forbidden Curse was not even a tenth of the God of Darkness’s strength. How were they supposed to protect their peace for a thousand years?

The God of Darkness had never had any wild ambitions toward their plane. The real threat to mankind’s existence was never darkness, but the suffocating cold from the ocean…

“Michael, do you seriously not hear the whispers of that Emperor?” Zhan Kong hugged Qin Yu’er as the Mantle slowly devoured her. He burst out laughing frantically.

“What nonsense are you uttering!?” Michael snapped. “I will erase you from the world today!”

“You heard it, but you are afraid, right?” Zhan Kong smiled.

Michael was enraged.

“You chose to pick on me because I’m weaker just to boost mankind’s morale…” Zhan Kong said.

“Such nonsense, I’m fighting for the peace of a thousand years from now!”

“You obviously know who the God of Darkness of this era is.”

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Fighting for the peace of a thousand years from now?

If Michael was really a wise ruler who was concerned about his people, he should put all his attention on the Emperor who was a real threat to the world!

They were able to predict the future at their level, and see whoever was plotting against the world, whoever was stirring the waves behind the scenes. If Michael was not really after personal gains as he was spewing, the Undead Emperor would not be the one he invited to the Sacred City!

Darkness might bring mankind disasters, but it would not happen in the current century, nor the next century. The thing that would suffocate humanity was the cold water of the oceans!

The Emperor whispering softly in the deep would be their greatest danger in this century, and in fact, during the next few years, so why did these human leaders choose to ignore it?

Forget it, their wellbeing was no longer his concern…

Zhan Kong hugged Qin Yu’er tightly. Almost half of her body had already been absorbed by the Mantle. He looked down and saw a peaceful look on her face.

He could touch her skin. It was ice cold, like a piece of jade.

Who cared if his wilted heart would never beat again. Most importantly, they were together now!

“You might be an undead, but you will never wake up again in this world!” Michael’s shout echoed between the two cities.

“I despise your world,” Zhan Kong said as he raised his hands high. He looked like he was going to nullify the power of the heavenly birds, but he was not unleashing his power. He was waiting calmly for the blue feathers to reach him!

The feathers poured down like a sacred rain.

Zhan Kong had merged with Qin Yu’er. Their souls turned into a wisp of cloudy mist that separated from the black Mantle. The two souls were bound together, and dispersed in the form of black and ice-white dust. It stood out with odd clarity under the blue light.

It was not their souls that were powerful, but the black Mantle!

The black Mantle was the real Ancient King. It finally realized the danger it was in the moment Zhan Kong chose to die together with Qin Yu’er.

The Mantle moved on its own, struggling fiercely trying to break free from the light of the blue feathers. However, it was nothing but a walking corpse without a suitable soul to use!

The Ancient King was just a container without Zhan Kong. It naively thought it could control Zhan Kong’s will, but from the moment he saw Qin Yu’er, Zhan Kong had regained control. The Mantle could no longer manipulate his emotions and decisions.

It was the best outcome possible for them!

If there was another life, they would start over again. If not, they would fall into a deep slumber in one another’s arms.

—

“Blessed be to God!”

“Blessed be to God!”

“Blessed be to God!”

Countless devoted believers of the Sacred Residence fell to their knees in excitement and yelled at the top of their lungs.

The Sacred City Mages burst into tears. At last… they had eliminated the Undead Emperor. They had almost thought the Sacred City was done for.

“As expected of Michael, our Head Angel!”

“Michael!”

“Michael!”

The shouts continued. The Sacred City was bustling like a grand festival.

“An Emperor, that was an Emperor…”

“The unbeatable Emperor-level, yet our Sacred City still eliminated it. Blessed be to God! Blessed be to God!”

“The darkness has been purged. The warmest sunlight awaits us. From today onward, the Darkness Creatures will never invade our city again. We will purge them from our world and make them our slaves!” the Sacred City Mages rejoiced.

There were only a few Emperors of Darkness, and the Undead Emperor among them had been eliminated. It would definitely hinder the growth of darkness across the world.

The Darkness Creatures fed on their Emperors’ presence. The death of the Undead Ruler would significantly thin out the Darkness Creatures. The chance of a high-level Darkness Creature being born was now lower, too. Most importantly, the Kingdom of Undead in China would be gone forever. The rest of the undead would be buried forever under the rotting ground.

Mount Kunlun in China and the Alps in Europe would enjoy the cleanest air!

Mankind had taken down another powerful kingdom of the demon creatures in the prolonged history of the Magic Civilization. One day, the deserts, swamps, oceans, glaciers, and mountains would be full of humanity’s footprints. The safe zones would no longer be necessary, as the whole world would be safe. The demon creatures could only hide in caves, underground, and in deep trenches. Humans would become the real ruler of the world with their powerful magic!

—

The shouts in the Sacred City lasted for the entire night. Mo Fan was on the Sacred Residence’s outdoor balcony, watching the mirrored Sacred City disintegrate.

The cries of victory echoed across the cities and the bards were gracefully sharing their poems, yet the joyful atmosphere of the celebration only filled Mo Fan’s chest and throat with sourness. He was struggling to breathe properly.

The Little Loach Pendant on his chest was unprecedentedly restless.

Mo Fan took it out from his collar and held it firmly.

No one could see the soul dust sprinkling down from the sky, except for Mo Fan.

The fragments of the two souls that had perished in the battle had flown to the Alps, but their soul essence had floated toward him and gone inside the Little Loach Pendant.

The black Mantle, now heavily damaged by the sacred light of the blue feathers, also followed Zhan Kong and Qin Yu’er’s souls and took shelter inside the Little Loach Pendant.

The sparkles falling from the Mantle put a glossy sheen on the Little Loach Pendant and wiped away the rust on it. It now had a soft shine to it, as if someone had just wiped it with the cleanest water. It finally got rid of the muddy appearance that Mo Fan had always disdained. It now possessed an extraordinary splendor!

Mo Fan could not tell if the black Mantle had awakened the real Little Loach Pendant, or it had ascended because of Zhan Kong and Qin Yu’er’s soul essence.

Even though it was the best outcome possible for the two, Mo Fan did not feel the slightest bit of joy. It had been a long time since he grieved so badly.

It was like watching a movie which he already knew had a bad ending!

“Can you send them to a kinder world, Little Loach?” Mo Fan asked his Pendant, leaning forward and feeling like something was tearing his heart apart.

He suddenly had the urge to stand on the opposite side of the world he had so cautiously protected, just so he would not succumb to its evil.

Why did they have to be so merciful? Why did they compromise with this stupid world?

If it was him, he would never have done it!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The people were celebrating like they were living a dream.

The others might think Michael had done a great job eliminating the Undead Emperor, but Mo Fan knew better than anyone that it was the Emperor himself who chose to depart.

Michael was no match for Zhan Kong. Zhan Kong had the advantage before he ever set foot on the Sacred Residence.

However, the people would only believe what they saw, including Michael and the Sacred City Mages. It was the outcome they had desired.

The whole city was celebrating, but Mo Fan thought it was ridiculous.

The more reluctant they were to face the truth, the deeper they would be trapped in the swamp. In the end, they would fail to break free from it and slowly walk toward their own destruction!

—

Mo Fan regained his own appearance after leaving the Sacred Residence.

Things had turned out against his wishes. He initially thought he could do something, yet there was nothing he could help with all along.

Fancy lights were shining above the Sacred City throughout the night. The city was quite prepared to receive their warriors as they returned from their glorious battle and celebrated Michael’s victory.

Mo Fan could not listen to them anymore. He left the city that night.

He still had a path to walk. He just wanted to focus on his cultivation for some time, to improve his cultivation and forget what had happened.

———————-

His duel with Zu Xiangtian was less than a month away. Mo Fan did not go anywhere for a month, cultivating in seclusion with Mu Ningxue on Fanxue Mountain.

Strange things happened across the world during that month. The Chinese coastline was being constantly invaded by sea monsters. The battles had extended from the Dalian Maritime Battlefield in the north to Hainan Island in the south.

Feiniao Headquarters City was no exception. The new city was constructed not long ago, yet half of it was razed to the ground during a winter tidal rise. Sea monsters of many unknown species showed up. The fighting along the coastline never stopped!

China’s coastline was over twenty thousand kilometers long. It was easily one of the countries that suffered the most damage from the invasion of sea monsters.

Meanwhile, Japan, who had been dealing with sea monsters for a long time, did not suffer as many losses as people thought, even though it was surrounded by enemies. Every Mage in Japan was good at fighting maritime battles!

—

Cao Qinqin had returned from her trip to Japan to learn some of their defensive measures in maritime battles. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue happened to be done with their seclusion.

The core members of Fanxue Mountain were surprised when the two showed up in the meeting. They quickly updated them with their latest findings and decisions.

“Half of the Feiniao Maritime Fortress was destroyed. We don’t know how long it will take us to rebuild it. The headquarters city might assign our Mages to carry out some dangerous missions to protect the city instead,” Mu Linsheng informed them.

1

“The fortress was destroyed before it was fully constructed. The sea monsters seem to know it will be a nuisance to them to invade the headquarters city, so they never stopped attacking. The water within five kilometers of the coast reeks; it’s full of dead bodies of sea monsters and humans,” Bai Hongfei told them.

“It’s unwise to rely solely on the reefs to defend the headquarters city. The sea monsters that showed up lately are physically very strong. Apparently, they have been using those sturdy reefs to temper their claws. They rushed into the fortress like tanks and smashed the reefs into pieces so our Mages had nowhere to stand on,” Cao Qinqin added in.

“The reefs were the most solid foundation. How could buildings float on the water? We couldn’t possibly drive pilings deep into the ocean floor?” a person responsible for constructing the fortress asked rhetorically.

“Mentor, haven’t you been to the East Maritime Fortress in Japan?” Cao Qinqin inquired.

“Yeah, I’ve been to it,” Mo Fan nodded. “Why?”

“Did a non-swimmer like you find it difficult to fight in the East Maritime Fortress?” Cao Qinqin pressed.

Mo Fan recalled the battle in the East Maritime Fortress.

He had to admit that the East Maritime Fortress was built perfectly. It looked like an ordinary city, yet every building and street was organized perfectly, so that even a non-swimmer like Mo Fan was not restrained by the environmental factors.

“No, there was always a place for me to stand,” Mo Fan agreed.

“Japan doesn’t have a lot of Water Mages. They are good at utilizing the environment in their fortress to kite the sea monsters. Our Feiniao Maritime Fortress focused too much on stopping the invasion of sea monsters. We’ve ignored how we can help Mages of different Elements to utilize their strengths!” Cao Qinqin judged.

Mu Ningxue nodded too before adding in, “The East Maritime Fortress has two dams. The first dam is very short. The water can easily go above it during a tidal rise, but the second dam is extremely high. It’s an important line of defense between the city and the maritime fortress. Most Mages fight the sea monsters between the two dams.

“We are too stubborn with our defense, and we don’t give the sea monsters the slightest gap to sneak past our defense. But the coastline is so long and we only have limited material. It’s impossible to build an impenetrable dam more than a few kilometers long. Why don’t we purposely leave a crack so the sea monsters can come inside and fight us at a spot that is advantageous to us?” Cao Qinqin proposed.

“Cao Qinqin, weren’t we discussing the problems of the Feiniao Maritime Fortress?” Bai Hongfei led the discussion back on topic.

Fanxue Mountain did not decide how the fortress was built. Opening up a gap and letting the sea monsters in: the Councilmen of Feiniao City would think they were out of their mind!

“It’s easy to solve the problem. Didn’t Sister Mu bring some Blue Ocean Trees back from Greece? They grow very quickly and their roots intertwine quickly underwater, so when we rebuild the fortress, we just need to plant the seeds and set up a defensive perimeter with the trees. The sea monsters will struggle when they try to destroy the foundation of the fortress again!” Cao Qinqin declared confidently.

“That’s right, we can fill the water with plants! How brilliant! Those cunning councilmen demand we solve the situation, but I can’t figure out an effective way, no matter how I see it. Those Blue Ocean Trees are the perfect solution!” Mu Zhuoyun exclaimed excitedly.

“The Blue Ocean Trees are special because they can grow in seawater. We can sprinkle their seeds as we are rebuilding the fortress and let them grow between the buildings to provide the Mages more areas to move around on,” Mo Fan agreed with a nod.

An ocean with plants both above and under the water was much friendlier for non-swimmers like him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Have we produced the seeds of the Blue Ocean Trees?” Mu Zhuoyun asked Mu Linsheng, who was sitting beside him.

Mu Ningxue had brought the seeds of some Blue Ocean Trees back from Kris’ hometown. She had thought of planting them around Fanxue Mountain to fend off demon creatures after seeing the beautiful mystic plants floating on the water.

The Feiniao Maritime Fortress happened to be in a pinch, and Fanxue Mountain had been given the difficult task of rebuilding it. That had been Cao Qinqin’s field of study when she was a student at the Pearl Institute. She believed she would finally be able to discard the useless arrangements there and build a better fortress.

“Cao Qinqin, it’s finally your time to shine!” Mo Fan sighed in relief.

Dean Xiao of the Pearl Institute was the best teacher when it came to constructions and defenses, but he was currently busy in other headquarters cities. As a matter of fact, he was supervising the defense of the whole coastline!

Cao Qinqin had finally finished her apprenticeship under Dean Xiao. She had also gone to Japan to study further. Mo Fan believed the new fortress would impress Feiniao Headquarters City.

“If we can finish the task well, our reputation in Feiniao Headquarters City will continue to grow. We might become the strongest powerhouse of the city, HAHAHA!” Mu Zhuoyun burst out laughing.

Feiniao Headquarters City was countless times bigger than Bo City. It was Mu Zhuoyun’s dream to become the local tyrant of the Feiniao Headquarters City!

Mu Zhuoyun was getting closer to achieving his dream. He could not help but fondle his beard and look at Mo Fan. Mmm, that assh*** isn’t as much of a prick as I thought!

—

“Are there other important matters to discuss?” Mu Ningxue reviewed the agenda.

Fanxue Mountain was a lot more organized than before, so Ningxue no longer had to handle things herself, allowing her to visit Tianshan Mountain and the Sacred City. She and Mo Fan had been away for some time.

“There’s nothing else. Ningxue, I think it’s time for you two to prepare for the duel against Zu Xiangtian. We’ll worry about Fanxue Mountain and Feiniao Headquarters City. You can focus on the duel,” Mu Zhuoyun told her.

“Yeah, the duel is around the corner. I still remember the last person who went through so much fuss to challenge me to a duel was you, Mu Zhuoyun…” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mu Zhuoyun glared at Mo Fan. He had just thought Mo Fan was less of an eyesore only a few seconds ago!

“Stop bringing up the past. You two should treat the duel seriously. After all, Zu Xiangtian is strong enough to be ranked internationally, while people kept boasting how you are the strongest young Mage in the world. Not only will the younger generation put a lot of attention on the duel, many people from other countries will also come to watch the duel. It’s a chance for you to show off the strength of our Fanxue Mountain. You better not mess up, do you understand!?” Mu Zhuoyun glared at him.

“Why do you sound like we are in the Olympics?” Mo Fan rolled his eyes.

“The Magic Association forbids Super Mages from dueling one another, so why did they approve the duel between you two? It’s obvious that the Magic Association is using it as a chance to motivate the young Mages across the world to work harder!” Mu Zhuoyun harangued him.

Mu Zhuoyun’s words reminded Mo Fan of the reality of the situation.

It was true that the Magic Association did not allow Super Mages to duel, yet not only did they not put a stop to the duel, they had even promoted it a little!

Too many Mages had been hiding in the cities behind safe walls doing office work instead of fighting demon creatures in the wild.

The situation along the coastline was getting grimmer. The Magic Association did not want them to be short on fighters. They must have agreed to let the duel take place to motivate people to become Battlemages!

“Fine, father. Mo Fan and I will prepare for the duel,” Mu Ningxue nodded. She was also aware that the duel had received too much attention.

It was only a simple matter of Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian finding one another an eyesore and trying to prove they were better than the other, but it had somehow evolved into a duel of the strongest young Mages in the world!

“Mo Fan, Zu Xiangtian reached the Super Level earlier than you. He might have a few Elements at the Super Level, while you have only reached the Super Level this year. If you lose…” Mu Linsheng spoke up in a worried voice.

“There’s no way I’ll lose,” Mo Fan declared confidently.

“We’ll discuss the rest of the matters. If you two are tired, you should take a look around. You don’t have to worry about anything else,” Mu Zhuoyun assured them.

“We’ll be going then. Cao Qinqin, tell me if you are in any trouble. I have an urge to loosen my bones too… oh, I meant loosening some sea monsters’ bones,” Mo Fan quipped.

“Alright, mentor,” Cao Qinqin nodded.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue left the meeting. They heard the person responsible for buying the necessary material for the reconstruction bringing up another topic as they left.

“It’s only a matter of time until we get the material. Speaking of which, they are being more lenient with us. When the mayor of Feiniao City went in person to buy a batch of high-level defensive materials, they told him they were out of stock. However, when we went to place orders, not only did they sell the material at the basic price, they even arranged trucks and a squad of Battlemages to deliver the goods. Even the mayor was dumbfounded!” the man said.

“Speaking of which, why is Dingcheng giving us special care?” a core member who had only joined Fanxue Mountain recently asked.

“Our leader is an Honorable Councilman of Dingcheng.”

“Are you serious? I heard many Councilmen failed to get themselves a role in the Elemental Capital after spending a fortune trying to! How did our leader become an Honorable Councilman?”

“(Cough cough!) About that, we should keep it a secret between ourselves. We shouldn’t tell others.”

The reconstruction of the maritime fortress required a lot of stone. They could not possibly dig up the stone off some random mountains. The stones had to be firm and solid after being around for a certain period. They were the main material defending the fortress from the sea monsters’ powerful attacks. Dingcheng was the main source of the stone!

Mo Fan’s identity as an Honorable Councilman had given Cao Qinqin a huge hand. Otherwise, she would not have had the courage to take on the role of rebuilding the fortress!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

It was winter. The plum trees on the mountain had blossomed. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were strolling along the path between the trees. They could not help but recall the incident in the Sacred City.

Mo Fan felt there was a delay in his state of mind. Whenever something with great impact happened, he would carry on with his life or put all his attention on something else. When he finally relaxed, the impact of the incident would hit like a tide, bowling him over mentally.

“You’ve improved a lot in this month,” Mu Ningxue told him.

“You too,” Mo Fan replied in kind.

Mo Fan was improving quickly because of Little Loach. It had evolved again after they returned from the Sacred City, greatly speeding up Mo Fan’s cultivation rate. At this rate, he might be able to upgrade another Element to the Super Level!

Mo Fan had a feeling it would happen in the next few days, too.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, Mu Ningxue’s cultivation had improved a lot as well!

Mo Fan had been very efficient because of Little Loach’s help, but he noticed Mu Ningxue’s cultivation speed was almost on par with his.

Mo Fan had to look after seven Elements, but Mu Ningxue only needed to focus on two. It was possible that her Wind and Ice Elements had both reached the second tier of the Super Level!

“Sister Qin seemed to know her life was coming to an end. She gave me something when we were stuck in the scar on Tianshan Mountain. It’s been very useful to me,” Mu Ningxue said.

“I see. Can you fully control the bow now?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Not yet, it’s a lot more powerful than I thought, and for some reason, I have a strange feeling about it,” Mu Ningxue answered.

“Strange feeling?” Mo Fan did not understand.

“When you were fighting Xing Hui, Sister Qin told me something. She said the Mu Clan hasn’t used any extreme measures against me because they are still using me to raise the Ice Crystal Bow. Once the Ice Crystal Bow is completed, they will take it away at all costs!” Mu Ningxue explained with a worried face.

“Don’t worry, no matter how powerful the Mu Clan is, they can’t do whatever they want in this country. I won’t let them hurt you when the time comes!” Mo Fan promised.

“Mm,” Mu Ningxue nodded. In the past, she would think Mo Fan was just comforting her with some meaningless words. She knew exactly how powerful the Mu Clan was. The top clans in the country were not as simple as they looked!

But now she believed him. She knew taking on the Mu Clan alone was far-fetched. She was no longer as lost and afraid with Mo Fan around.

As they were walking, Mo Fan noticed a few couples around them. They were also taking a stroll in the beautiful mountain while enjoying the warmth of the sunlight and a private time with their beloveds.

—

They approached Yu Shishi’s territory as they ventured deeper into the woods.

No outsiders were allowed here. The mystical moths were hostile toward outsiders, not to mention there was now a Totem Beast looking after the woods!

The little cub sensed Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue’s presence from far away. She ran over to them like a white piglet who had just escaped from its pen.

The little cub was fond of Mu Ningxue. She came up to Mu Ningxue like she was begging for hugs.

Mu Ningxue was not interested in her at all, and kept walking forward. The little cub had no choice but to crawl up on Mo Fan’s head and lie there like a tiger cub hat. Her round eyes kept staring at Mu Ningxue.

“You drooling cub, did you already eat all the food in the pen where the pigs are kept? How much weight did you put on?” Mo Fan reached his hand up to rub the little cub’s belly. He had a feeling her belly was about to fall off.

The little cub scratched Mo Fan’s head in an act of protest!

Mo Fan was visiting Yu Shishi’s hut for something very important. He was too focused on going to the Sacred City when he accepted her offer. Now that he had returned, he came to check on whether Yu Shishi had kept her promise. If she didn’t, he would turn into Zhou the Exploiter and ask the Research Union to arrest her for bewitching him!

“Ningxue is here too?” Yu Shishi called out.

“Yes, I came to take a look around. Where’s little Moon Moth Phoenix?” Mu Ningxue asked her.

The little Moon Moth Phoenix, her glow still unique, flew out of the room before Ningxue could finish. She seemed sleepy, as if she was in the middle of a nap, but landed happily on Mo Fan’s shoulder.

It was strange how the little cub was fond of Mu Ningxue, but Mu Ningxue was fond of the Moon Moth Phoenix, who was fond of Mo Fan instead!

“When Little Flame Belle is back, this place is going to turn into a kindergarten, and I’m the headmaster!” Mo Fan sighed.

Yu Shishi and Mu Ningxue both smiled. Mo Fan indeed had special ties with the Totem Beasts!

“Now that you mention it, where is your Little Flame Belle?” Yu Shishi asked him.

It would be lively with the little Moon Moth Phoenix, little tiger cub, and Little Flame Belle around. They would be chasing one another across the mountain!

“She’s in Greece with her mother. I’ll bring her back when I visit Xinxia to save Mu Bai, but it will have to wait until the duel is over,” Mo Fan said.

“Oh right, you have a duel with some guy from the Zu Clan! This Heaven-Inferior Earth Seed might come into handy,” Yu Shishi nodded, remembering.

“My Earth Element is still in the Advanced Level. I’ll have to rely more on my Lightning and Shadow Elements to defeat Zu Xiangtian,” Mo Fan sighed.

“You’re underestimating the Heaven Seeds and their four additional effects,” Yu Shishi said.

“Oh? Are Heaven Seeds really that impressive?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

It was difficult to tell how strong a Heaven Seed was, since not many Super Mages had one!

“A Heaven-Inferior Seed is already superior to a Soul-grade Seed, not to mention the four additional effects. Oh, yours is only a Heaven-Inferior Seed that hasn’t awakened its fourth effect. It only has three additional effects for now,” Yu Shishi informed him.

“Only three additional effects…” Mu Ningxue could not help but shake her head.

Look at them go, proving how nonchalant they can be…

A powerful Soul-grade Seed had only one additional effect!

Mo Fan’s Heaven-Inferior Seed with three additional effects would basically grant him three Innate Talents. That was insane!

1

Chapter 2086: Second Additional Affect: Circle of Crystal Teeth

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There were three additional effects in total. The first one was the unique ability Mo Fan had gained when he had Awakened the Earth Element: Sturdy Strike!

The special effect would occur whenever Mo Fan was attacking with the Earth Element. It would make his Earth Element as hard as diamond, giving it the ability to destroy objects which were not as hard!

Whenever Mo Fan used something like Rock Fangs, they would inflict much more serious damage and have a stronger impact on enemies with thick flesh!

“The second additional effect is called the Circle of Crystal Teeth. It’s a trap effect. Every time a Star Orbit is constructed, the Circle of Crystal Teeth will take a small amount of its energy and summon some stone spikes within the area. When the spikes reach a certain number, they will combine into a Spikes Trap Formation. Enemies who get close to the Formation will be attacked by the spikes,” Yu Shishi explained to Mo Fan.

“A trap effect? It sounds like something I lack,” Mo Fan nodded, intrigued by the Circle of Crystal Teeth.

Whenever a Star Orbit was constructed, not his own, the Circle of Crystal Teeth would take some of its energy, which meant an enemy’s spell would be slightly weaker! The Circle of Crystal Teeth then used that energy to lay a splinter mine!

Yu Shishi told Mo Fan that it was difficult for beings to notice the spikes. Even if the area was full of them, they would only be visible when the trap was activated. At that moment, enemies would struggle to react in time!

“If it only takes the energy of Star Orbits, won’t it be useless if I’m fighting demon creatures?” Mo Fan asked as a thought crossed his mind.

Mo Fan spent most of the time fighting demon creatures. He preferred special effects that were useful in every kind of battle!

“Don’t worry, it works on demon creatures too. It might be useless if the demon creatures are fighting you with brute strength, but if they are using any kind of sorcery, the spikes will still appear!” Yu Shishi assured him.

“That’s great. Good to hear it. Hehe, I quite like it!” Mo Fan grinned.

The Circle of Crystal Teeth was an astonishing ability. Who the heck would suspect an enemy laying a mine under their feet in the middle of a fight? The trap would activate suddenly during the fight and surprise the enemy. He was thrilled just imagining it!

“And there’s the third additional effect. It’s very powerful. I like it too,” Yu Shishi smiled, pleased with her work.

Mu Ningxue straightened her face intently. She was interested in hearing about the third additional effect of this insane Heaven Earth Seed!

“The third effect is called the Blood Pact of the Earth. When you are injured and your blood falls to the ground, it will turn into a vengeful energy and Summon the Earth’s Demon Spirit to counterattack your foes!” Yu Shishi proclaimed.

“What the heck? Does that mean I’ll have to injure myself badly just to trigger the effect?” Mo Fan blurted out.

“Should we test it out?” Yu Shishi seemed to have great anticipation for the Blood Pact of the Earth.

“Sure, let’s head deeper into the woods,” Mo Fan agreed without missing a beat.

——

The group ventured deeper into the mountain. Their destination happened to be the boundary between the safe zone and the outer wilds. There was not much vegetation here, the terrain mainly consisted of rocks.

“Why is there a quarry out here?” Mo Fan was surprised. He had thought the side of the mountain was desolated and uninhabited, and was startled to see the quarry.

It was not very big and had only five trucks taking the loads. A few average Earth Mages were filling the trucks with the stuff that was being mined.

“It’s a private contractor. They leased this remote mountain from us to extract the minerals here,” Mu Ningxue recalled after thinking about the matter.

“Aren’t they demon creatures around here? These contractors are surprisingly bold,” Mo Fan murmured.

Yu Shishi knew about the quarry. It was far away from her mountain, so the two parties did not interfere with one another’s business.

The vegetation nearby had been cleared to build the quarry. The area was barren. It was a rare sight in the south, where most places were covered in green.

“Let’s do the experiment here. There is a rich presence of the Earth Elements here,” Yu Shishi said.

The Heaven-Inferior Seed had already merged with Mo Fan’s body. Yu Shishi had not figured out a name for it, wanting to observe how effective the Blood Pact of the Earth was first. Describing the effect with words alone was not enough. Some auctions would even showcase their Spirit Seeds and Soul Seeds’ powers at a dueling ground to further increase the prices!

The Heaven-Inferior Seed was oddly compatible with Mo Fan’s body, mainly because Feng Zhoulong had modified the Heaven-Inferior Seed in Mo Fan’s favor. Otherwise, it would not have been so easy to control its formidable power.

“Let your blood drip on the ground,” Yu Shishi instructed him.

Mo Fan twisted his lips. It was a strange way to activate the magic!

As he was about to bite his finger, he suddenly noticed a strange golden-brown glow from the quarry. It was like the brilliance of a jewel if a torch was shining on it.

Mo Fan thought he had seen something wrong. He took a closer look and noticed the same light again.

The quarry was around a kilometer or two from him. Mo Fan was confused. The objects emitting the glow seemed to be connected to him, as if they were under the control of his will. They would fly into the air with a single thought from him!

“The Circle of Crystal Teeth?” Mo Fan realized abruptly.

The second effect of his Heaven-Inferior Seed was triggered from such a great distance away! The Mages who were using Basic Spells to move the minerals around were unaware of the spikes hidden under their feet. The number of spikes was increasing every time they Cast a spell!

“Interesting, how interesting, the Circle of Crystal Teeth is actually forming on its own. I don’t even need to control it!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

In other words, it would absorb the energy of every magic spell or sorcery used within two kilometers of him and start laying its trap!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Unfortunately, the energy provided by the Mages in the quarry was not much, or it would have soon laid down complete traps, which he could use to pull a prank on them and make them wet their pants.

“Huh? More of them?” Mo Fan suddenly noticed something. He looked to the opposite mountain, where many spikes were appearing.

The spikes were increasing rapidly, scattered across the mountain. It was obvious that a stronger energy was present there, resulting in more spikes.

The quarry was an oval valley with the quarry at the center. The contractor had built a road for the trucks to move on. It was a rising slope from the valley, connected to the proper roads on the mountain.

Mo Fan, Yu Shishi, and Mu Ningxue were currently on the roads. The mountain opposite them was outside of the safe zone. The quarry itself was located between the safe zone and the outer world. The valley was part of the boundary.

Mo Fan initially thought some Intermediate Mages were using magic on the mountain, yet he soon realized there was no presence of magic!

“Demon creatures!” Mo Fan declared.

“On the lee of that mountain?” Mu Ningxue followed Mo Fan’s gaze, but did not see anything unusual.

“Yeah, at least three of them,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Ningxue was surprised.

Normally, she was more sensitive to the presence of an enemy because of her Wind Element, yet Mo Fan had discovered the demon creatures roaming on the back of the mountain around two kilometers away, before she had.

“It seems like the Circle of Crystal Teeth is useful for detecting enemies, too! It can quickly lock onto the enemies who are using their magic!” Yu Shishi smiled.

“Mm, I didn’t expect the Circle of Crystal Teeth to have such a huge coverage area. I thought it would only be around me,” Mo Fan admitted, surprised.

Since when was his ability to detect an enemy so outstanding?

He mainly relied on the Shadow Element to detect an enemy. However, he could only sense an enemy when his Dark Material had spread into his surroundings.

In other words, he had to guess if something fishy was nearby before spreading out his Dark Material to learn its whereabouts. However, he did not have to control the Circle of Crystal Teeth himself. As long as he and the enemy were on the ground, the Circle of Crystal Teeth would detect all sorcery and magic!

Therefore, it would be impossible to ambush him within two kilometers!

“I should warn them,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Here they come!” Mo Fan announced. He could see the top of the mountain from his position.

There was a sentry tower on the mountain. It was initially built for the people in the quarry to keep an eye on the surroundings. However, the private contractor had a terrible sense of safety. The sentry tower was supposed to be manned all the time, yet it was empty.

“That guy should be on duty, but he’s playing cards and drinking with the others!” Yu Shishi saw a man in his uniform. He had left his post and was playing with others in a tent. They had no clue that the demon creatures were already at the top of the quarry!

“Not every Mage is as diligent as Xuexue and I.” Mo Fan was not surprised at all.

Cultivating was tedious and boring. Most Mages looked for a stable job after they realized they could no longer improve their cultivation.

Those stable jobs would not necessarily guarantee them a luxurious life. They were unable to do their job properly most of the time, so they began to slack off and neglect their duties.

The mine leased by the private contractor was not very professional in the first place. The guards did not undergo strict training. If they did not drink and play cards in a place like this, they would have gone mad.

“Why don’t we wait for now?”

“I agree, those contractors should learn a lesson the hard way.”

If the quarry was destroyed, the contractor would just open another one in a different place. Mo Fan and his group just happened to be around to experiment with the Heaven-Inferior Seed. They might be able to take out the demon creatures easily, but there was no guarantee that these contractors would be so lucky next time!

If they did not encounter any hardships, they would only focus on maximizing their profits instead of caring about the safety of the miners!

“Mo Fan, you should go and warn them. Only intervene if their lives are in danger,” Mu Ningxue urged him.

“Sure, I’m waiting for the Circle of Crystal Teeth to stack up. Let them fight for a moment, I’ll observe the situation,” Mo Fan conceded.

Mo Fan had great anticipation for the second effect of his Soul Stone. He slid down the slope like a professional skier.

Mo Fan went straight to the tent and skidded to a halt in front of it, arriving before the people who were playing cards in spectacular ../style.

“(Cough cough)!”

“(Cough), damn it, who the Hell is riding a bike here? The dust is everywhere. My drink is going to get dirty!” the Mage in the uniform cursed.

“Hey you, enough looking cool, go get a few cans of beer for us. Hehe, I’ll be taking all your pay for the week… Hey, you guys, how long does it take for you to fill up the trucks? Aren’t you students of some renowned magic high schools? I can do it quicker than you even though I never went to school! I can fill up the trucks in less than ten minutes. You should treasure the opportunity to train yourselves!” the foreman berated them.

Mo Fan looked at the trucks and noticed the Mages were very young. It was likely that they had yet to graduate from school. Why were they here doing this work?

They might be using magic to fill the trucks, but it was no different from manual labor!

“By the way, aren’t you supposed to be on guard? What if the demon creatures show up?” Mo Fan asked.

“Piss off, that’s a bad omen from you,” the foreman shot back.

“Kid, are you new? Everyone here knows we aren’t capable of killing demon creatures. It’s useless to be on guard. We are done here next month. We are only here for the money. I’ve already prayed to Buddha. He told me the job is safe, so don’t you curse us now!” the guard scolded him.

Mo Fan dropped his jaw after hearing those words.

Were these people relying on Buddha to look after the quarry’s safety? They were a f**king bunch of carefree Mages!

Chapter 2088: Intermediate Mage, Awesome!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan looked at the top of the mountain. Dust was still lingering in the quarry and hindering their vision, making it impossible to see the demon creatures at the top.

“Seriously, can’t you treat your lives more preciously? A few Bright-Colored Beasts are on their way down. Hurry up and figure out a plan or run for your lives,” Mo Fan told the carefree Mages.

“Are you stirring up trouble here?” The foreman glared at Mo Fan.

I’m stirring up trouble? The quarry will soon turn into a slaughterhouse. What exactly are these guys thinking!?

“Damn it, look there yourself! Do you think those things that are running toward us are just some kind of rocks?” Mo Fan swore at them.

The Mages who were playing cards finally looked up the slope. A truck filled with ore was slowly moving up it.

The truck had made its way around the basin to reach the slope where the road was. Unfortunately, a huge Bright-Colored Beast the size of a bear was already standing on the road. It charged down the slope and slammed its shoulder into the fully-loaded truck.

The muddy road was not solid. The truck immediately rolled down the slope after the powerful slam.

Metal scraps scattered across the place. The front of the truck was almost separated from the rest of it. Luckily, Mo Fan reacted swiftly and wrapped his golden-brown rock around the driver like a layer of skin so he would not be crushed by the truck as it was rolling around.

BANG!

The truck landed heavily in the quarry and smashed a temporary hut into pieces. The noise finally caught everyone’s attention. They looked up the slope to where the truck had been and realized the Bright-Colored Beasts were already too close to them!

“Damn it, which assh*** is on duty today!?” the foreman yelled in a panic.

The guard in his uniform wore a dark expression. Holy crap, weren’t you the one who called me over to play cards?

“What are we waiting for? Let’s run!” the guard yelled.

“Don’t bother taking the cars!” the foreman snarled.

Driving vehicles at a time like this was a bad idea. The trucks were in the quarry. They would have to drive past the demon creatures to leave this place. The demon creatures could easily catch up to them, even if they gave them a five-minute head start!

“Hide in the caves, quick!” the guard shouted.

The whole place was in chaos. No one knew whose orders they should be listening to. They were running for their lives, just following their instincts.

Mo Fan was shaking his head when he suddenly saw a quick figure rushing at the Bright-Colored Beasts. It was one of the young Mages who had been loading up the trucks.

Mo Fan was impressed by the young Mage’s courage facing the demon creatures when another teenager yelled, “Zhou Pinghe, you’re going the wrong way!”

The young man called Zhou Pinghe stopped. He looked up and saw a Bright-Colored Beast with a huge head and fangs only inches from him. The young man’s eyes rolled up, and he fainted after seeing its menacing appearance.

“Zhou Pinghe, it’s no use pretending to be dead, run!” his friend shouted.

Mo Fan rapped himself on the head.

Please, he lost consciousness from terror!

The others were fleeing toward the caves, but Mo Fan doubted that was a wise decision.

These Bright-Colored Beasts were a mountain species who normally lived in caves. They were capable of digging up mountains! The people would be finding themselves in dead ends by hiding in the shallow caves without any defensive measure!

Mo Fan let out a long sigh. He initially thought he could let them fight for a while and taste the fear of death so they would learn their lesson, but these people were done for if he did not lend them a hand.

“Circle of Crystal Teeth, Rock Explosion!”

Mo Fan waited until the spikes had formed a complete circle. The Bright-Colored Beasts were still a distance away, but the Circle of Crystal Teeth should be able to blast them into pieces.

It was only a tiny circle of the crystalline spikes. The jagged shards had a different color from the ground. They seemed to be scattered across the place, but they were actually in a perfect circle.

With a single thought from Mo Fan, the spikes began to emit a dark red light, as if they were burning at a high temperature.

The red spikes exploded as the temperature gradually increased. The explosion fired the spikes in all directions!

The Bright-Colored Beast was over a hundred meters from the Circle of Crystal Teeth when the unexpected shards came out of nowhere. The scorching crystals blasted half its body into pieces.

The Bright-Colored Beast was covered in blood. It managed to stand for only a few seconds before falling to the ground.

The spikes were extremely hot, so they would seriously burn their targets. In addition to that, Mo Fan’s Rock Element also had the innate ability of Sturdy Strike. The Bright-Colored Beast was killed instantly, even though it was only at the edge of Mo Fan’s trap!

“If it was in the middle of the circle, I bet even a Warrior-level creature with thick skin would die instantly!” Mo Fan murmured to himself in satisfaction.

It was only a tiny Circle of Crystal Teeth, mainly because the Mages in the quarry were absolutely useless. None of them had the courage to fight the demon creatures. Otherwise, Mo Fan would have collected more spikes and formed a bigger circle.

It seemed the number of spikes would determine the strength of the trap that was triggered. The Rock Explosion was only the basic version!

“Someone’s explosive just killed a creature!” the foreman exclaimed.

“I don’t think it’s anyone’s explosives. Someone is using Earth Magic,” the guard corrected him.

“Who’s using magic?”

“I think it’s that kid!” The guard pointed at Mo Fan.

“Why aren’t those creatures moving? Oh my, what’s that kid doing?” the foreman asked.

“Ugh… I don’t know.”

The guard was lost for words, mainly because he noticed the ferocious beasts had turned into animals in a circus show as they were fighting Mo Fan.

It was difficult to accept that a young man was making a fool out of the demon creatures that had been chasing them around like livestock.

“That young man is strong. We are safe,” the guard, Zhu Kan, said after a while.

“Really?” the foreman said.

“Mm, trust me, that kid must be an Intermediate Mage!” Zhu Kan said confidently.

“An Intermediate Mage, how impressive!”

“When I’m rich, I’ll hire an Intermediate Mage to protect us!”

Chapter 2089: Scum of Society

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was not satisfied after killing the Bright-Colored Beasts with ease. They were already dead before he could test the new additional effect of his Earth Element.

The Bright-Colored Beasts were very weak. It was common for these Servant-class creatures to roam around the boundary of the safe zone. The mine seriously needed to be managed better. If he had not happened to be around, more than a dozen people would be dead!

“Kid, I didn’t expect you to be so strong. You must be a high achiever of some renowned college. Are you interested in working in our quarry? I’ll offer you a handsome pay. I can definitely afford it. It might look like a small quarry, but there are a lot of valuables in these mines. Once we extract them, I will build a bigger mine! I promise I won’t mistreat you, what do you say?” the foreman said.

“I’m already being kind for not reporting you for not following the protocols,” Mo Fan answered.

“I’m just short on funds. Once have the funds, I’ll tighten up security…”

Mo Fan was about to beat the foreman up when he suddenly noticed more spikes appearing on the other side of the hill. There were a lot more of them this time.

“More of them?” Mo Fan frowned.

It was common to see a small group of demon creatures at the boundary of the safe zone, but it would be unusual if there were more of them. Mo Fan had already used the Earth Pistil to cleanse the land. It was unlikely there were so many demon creatures living in the area.

The heavy stomping was shaking the mountain so vigorously that it was on the verge of collapsing. A few enormous beasts appeared from the cloud of dust, running straight toward the quarry.

There were three Warrior-level creatures with green hides. Their Auras were significantly stronger than the Bright-Colored Beasts, feeling like they were going to trample the quarry flat!

Mo Fan was astounded. They were still at the boundary of the safe zone, close to human territory, so where did these strong Warrior-level creatures come from? Was there a new demon horde in the mountains close to Fanxue Mountain?

Mo Fan finally noticed a group of people riding on the creatures as they arrived.

A man in a brown coat was riding on the creature that was around ten meters tall. He was wearing a pair of glasses with golden frames, and had a cold and vicious look to his eyes.

The man scanned the mine coldly. His expression shifted when he saw the corpses of the Bright-Colored Beasts.

“Leader, the Bright-Colored Beasts which were looking for the Silver Stone Heart for us are dead.”

“Who killed these Bright-Colored Beasts?” the man in the brown coat demanded.

“My friend…” the foreman began, stepping forward with a smile.

These people who were riding the strong beasts were obviously no ordinary people. The difference between the Green-Skinned Beasts and the Bright-Colored Beasts was like comparing a few stray cats with a bunch of lions!

“Answer my question!” the man in a brown coat shouted.

Mo Fan was about to speak when the guard grabbed him on the shoulder and shook his head.

“They are mercenaries. You might be in trouble. Let me handle it,” Zhu Kan told Mo Fan. He walked toward the mercenaries.

“Ugh… we killed them together. These Bright-Colored Beasts suddenly showed up in our mine and attacked our trucks, so we killed them,” Zhu Kan said.

“Fellow Mages, were these Bright-Colored Beasts your Summoned Beasts?” the foreman asked cautiously.

Summoned Beasts?

Impossible, Mo Fan could sense the innate savage Auras about the Bright-Colored Beasts. They were clearly not Summoned Beasts!

“We were training the Bright-Colored Beasts in the mountains to search for something. It took us a great effort to train them, but you have killed them all. Should I kill you all too?” the leader of the mercenaries spat.

The creature he was riding swung its arm and knocked Zhu Kan flying.

Zhu Kan did not expect them to attack him. He slammed heavily into the building behind him.

“What are you doing!?” the foreman yelled in shock

“Those creatures attacked us first. It’s normal for us to kill them! Why are you being so unreasonable?” the young Mage said angrily.

“Unreasonable?” the leader of the mercenaries smiled nastily. He looked down at the young Mage and said, “To be honest with you, the thing we are looking for is more valuable than all your lives. We drove the Bright-Colored Beasts here. They were so close to finding the Silver Stone Heart, but you killed them. I already have the urge to kill you all, and you’re telling me I’m unreasonable?”

“Please, let’s all stay calm. What did you say you were looking for? The Silver Stone Heart?” the foreman said.

“Yes, do you know where it is?” the man said coldly.

“Maybe, I guess,” The foreman did not dare to lie after seeing how vicious these mercenaries were.

As a matter of fact, he had built the quarry here because he had found something extremely valuable. As a normal merchant, he would struggle to dig the treasure up himself. He could only lease the area and slowly mine the minerals that the valuable object was producing. Once he saved up enough, he would figure out a way to dig the treasure up.

To his surprise, someone else was looking for the Silver Stone Heart, and they were a bunch of vicious mercenaries!

Zhu Kan would most likely have to spend all his life in bed after those injuries. The foreman believed he should guarantee his safety first, no matter how greedy he was. Otherwise, he would not be surprised if these people killed them and made it look like demon creatures were responsible for their deaths!

“Spill it out, or our Battle Beast Mercenary Group will break the bones of everyone here!” the leader of the mercenaries declared coldly.

“Yes, of course, they are only working for me. Please spare our lives,” the foreman nodded very quickly.

“Battle Beast Mercenary Group? You’re going to break the bones of everyone here?”

Mo Fan lifted his gaze. He looked at the aloof leader of the mercenaries and grinned, “It’s been a while since I last stumbled into scum like you!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Kid, please stay calm,” the foreman tried to stop Mo Fan.

“Even though I don’t like you private contractors not following the protocols, I find these people more annoying,” Mo Fan replied.

“Young man, a piece of advice from me. I have spent a long time in society, I know who is putting up an act and who is vicious. You don’t want to mess with these people. They must have killed a lot of people before,” the foreman told him.

“Do you mean their murderous aura from doing a lot of wicked things?” Mo Fan asked rhetorically.

“Something like that, they must be murderers. My mine isn’t really legal, so if anything happens the government won’t even raise an eyebrow. They will just assume it was an accident and accuse me of being responsible for my workers’ deaths. Kid, I know you are hot-blooded, but please don’t go against their will. How can you possibly take on a group of Intermediate Mages?” the foreman tried to convince him.

The foreman had no idea that Mages had better hearing than ordinary people, especially those with the Sound Element.

The leader of the mercenaries was obviously a Sound Mage. He was amused by the words of the foreman.

“Intermediate Mages? HAHAHA!”

“Leader, that fatty thinks we are only Intermediate Mages!” a mercenary with blue hair burst out laughing.

The rest of the mercenaries were laughing too.

“The weakest in our group has at least one Element at the Advanced Level! You’re funny!” a bulky man whose upper body was naked despite the cold weather laughed.

The Battle Beast Mercenary Group had been blacklisted by the country. They were registered with the Magic Association, but they had done a lot of foul things that were against the rules. They were still free, however, as the Enforcement Union had failed to collect solid evidence on them.

The Battle Beast Mercenary Group was strong, but they had a bad reputation. Most Magic Associations did not care to have any ties with them.

The foreman was obviously unfamiliar with magical society, but the old Basic Mages among them had heard of these mercenaries before.

“I’ve heard every word you said. Young man… you might think you are impressive in this world, so you dare to provoke anyone you stumble into, but to be honest with you, the words you said might cost you your life. Idiot!” the mercenary with blue hair mocked him.

The leader of the mercenaries looked down disdainfully. He did not treat any Mages who were guarding a petty mine seriously. To his amusement, this young man had dared to oppose him.

“Foreman, I’ll give you a chance,” the leader said. “Bury that kid alive, and I’ll spare the rest of you. However, if you think he is one of you, I’ll bury you all!”

“Please don’t, I promise I’ll give you what you want. This mine has been operating for a few months, so I also made a little profit. Please take it all. The people are only doing some manual labor to feed their families. It’s our fault for offending you. You must be tired. Please rest inside our tents. We’ll work hard and dig up the Silver Stone Heart in a week. What do you say?” the foreman offered quickly.

The leader of the mercenaries stared at the foreman coldly. There was not the slightest hint of mercy in his eyes.

“I’m taking the Silver Stone Heart, but those who make me feel uncomfortable are asking for their deaths! Make the choice, I’ve given you a chance. If you don’t…humph!” the leader of the mercenaries hissed with a murderous expression.

“Please, I’m begging you, the young man was just helping us, or we would have been eaten by the demon creatures. We can’t possibly turn against him. Please take what you want and all we have. We promise you that we won’t tell anyone, nor will we bring you any trouble. If that isn’t enough, I’m willing to give you a year’s profit from now too. I can’t bury my own,” the foreman begged. He almost had the urge to drop to his knees.

The mercenary with blue hair kicked the foreman and cursed, “What a useless jerk, the foremen of the bigger mines we know are willing to set their own people up and make it look like accidents just so they don’t have to pay them! How can you make a fortune if you don’t have the resolve to do such a simple thing!?”

“I…I’m just trying to earn some capital. Please let us go,” the foreman said after crawling to his feet.

“Leader, let’s not waste our time further. The Bright-Colored Beasts have already brought us here. The Silver Stone Heart must be somewhere here. I think this is Fanxue Mountain’s territory. I heard my old friends mention that their Disciplinary Team will investigate until they find the truth if they find an unusual body,” the mercenary with blue hair spoke up thoughtfully.

“Fanxue Mountain? Didn’t that b**ch join Fanxue Mountain?” the bulky man exclaimed.

“Humph, she was the one who caught Third Brother in Shandong and handed him over to the Enforcement Union.”

“If it’s her, I guess we should give her a huge gift in return, then!” the leader grinned.

The foreman and the students did not understand what the mercenaries were saying. However, they fell to the ground in fear when they saw the menacing look in the mercenaries’ eyes.

“Foreman, we have an enemy in this place, so we are planning to bring her a little trouble. My offer still counts, make your decision,” the leader of the mercenaries said with a twisted smile.

He was about to call it off after seeing how sincere the foreman was, but considered these people unlucky.

That b**ch Shao Yu was here. They would never forgive her!

“Ugh… I really can’t do it. He’s an Intermediate Mage too. How can we even bury him?” the foreman could only say.

“It’s simple. I’ll help you suppress him while you handle the burying. Foreman, you must show us your sincerity if you want us to believe you won’t report us. If you bury him, I believe you won’t tell the government about us,” the bulky man countered.

The foreman wiped the dust on his face. He looked at Mo Fan helplessly.

Mo Fan remained silent as he observed the situation.

“Don’t do it, Old Liu, don’t…” Zhu Kan said as he crawled out from the debris.

“Oh? You can still move? It seems like our mounts haven’t filled their stomachs. Foreman, how about this? If you don’t make your decision in the next minute, I’ll feed everyone here to our mounts for dinner!” the leader of the mercenaries proclaimed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A minute was not a long period of time. The leader of the mercenaries lit a cigarette. He was acting just like a judge, casually waiting for the ghost who had just entered Hell to confess their misdeeds so he could decide its punishment!

The foreman looked at Mo Fan.

“Kid, I’m really sorry,” The foreman was already tearing up. The tears became two lines of stain marks after mixing with the dust.

Mo Fan did not answer.

The foreman rose to his feet and cursed. “I just realized you aren’t from our mine. I’m sorry for getting you involved. I wasn’t able to protect you, but at least we can keep one another company in Hell. These assh**** will receive their karma eventually!”

“Who were you cursing, you fat pig? I’m pretty sure you are tired of living!” the mercenary with blue hair spat at him.

The leader of the mercenaries stopped smoking, and his face darkened further.

“I’m cursing you all, the Battle Beast Mercenary Group? You’re just a bunch of sons of b**ches. Do you seriously think I’m afraid of you? Just f**king do it if you want to bury us alive. I won’t forgive you even when I turn into a ghost. I’ll skin you all alive when I see you in Hell!” the foreman pointed at the leader of the mercenaries and vented.

The man was holding a lit cigarette with the tips of his fingers. He pinched the cigarette to put it out after only taking two puffs from it.

Hunters and mercenaries alike were overwhelmed by fear whenever they heard the name Fu Ying, yet a foreman of some lousy mine was cursing him instead?

“If you’re so impatient to die, I’m more than willing to do the honor. How courageous of you. Someone else here will bury the kid even if you don’t!” Fu Ying’s voice was piercing, and his glasses were slanting to one side.

The man seemed to have lost his temper!

As the man grew angrier, the Green-Skinned Beast under his legs roared too. It began swinging its heavy arm at the foreman’s head.

The foreman was still cursing. He was already doomed either way. He had to spit out the dirtiest word in his last moment!

BANG!

The heavy arm landed on the ground, the cement caving in and forming a pit twenty meters across.

The rest of the miners closed their eyes. They did not want to witness the gory sight.

Ashes were swept into the air. The Green-Skinned Beast stared at the ground. It lifted its leg and was about to stomp the spot where the foreman had been standing.

“Rock Fang Impale!”

Extremely sharp and sturdy rocks emerged from the ground as Mo Fan waved his hand.

There were sixteen of them, each with a golden-brown surface. They appeared just as the Green-Skinned Beast was stomping down.

The Rock Fangs drove up through the Green-Skinned Beast’s hooves, nailing it to the ground. Green blood immediately poured out. The creature screamed in agony, struggling to pull its hooves off of the spikes.

The Green-Skinned Beast had sturdy hooves, and would normally just break piercing objects Summoned by magic to pieces, but unfortunately for it, the first additional effect of Mo Fan’s Earth Element had come into play. The golden-brown rocks had insanely high density whenever they were used against sturdy objects!

The dust dissipated. The people looked ahead and realized the foreman was still alive and perfectly unharmed. On the other hand, the terrifying Green-Skinned Beast’s hooves were punctured. A few Rock Fangs had gone right through its knees and its legs!

“Karma never waits!” Mo Fan said, patting the foreman on the shoulder.

The foreman thought he was going to die, yet he was well alive. He did not understand why the kid was smiling at him when they were about to die. Did he not understand the situation? He might be able to defend them briefly, but he would not stand a chance against so many mercenaries!

“It seems like burying you alive is being too merciful toward you!” the leader of the mercenaries, Fu Ying, half-screamed.

“I was complaining how those Bright-Colored Beasts were too weak for me to test out my new ability, but you assh**** happened to be here…!” Mo Fan let out a dramatic sigh on their behalf.

“You seem to be good at putting up a front?” the leader of the mercenaries grinned. He flicked a finger in Mo Fan’s direction, and a screeching howl suddenly swept past Mo Fan.

Killing Tone: Bow!

Fu Ying was using the Intermediate Spell of the Sound Element. He was obviously an experienced Sound Mage. It was difficult to tell he was using his magic.

However, Mo Fan was completely aware of Fu Ying’s intentions with the help of the Circle of Crystal Teeth.

The Battle Beast Mercenary Group was not too weak. It would be impossible to defeat them with only the Circle of Crystal Teeth!

Mo Fan reached out his hand as he sensed the Sound Magic approach. He set up a defensive wall with his Will to nullify the attack.

The sound arrow was quite impressive. It ended up leaving a cut on Mo Fan’s palm!

The cut was a mere thread, and only started bleeding after some time, reddening the skin around the nick.

Fu Ying was a little surprised that his Sound Magic had not killed the young man.

Mo Fan was surprised too. He had underestimated the mercenary’s Sound Element. The enemy’s attack was slightly stronger than he had expected. He had failed to nullify it entirely.

However, it still did Mo Fan a favor, since he was now bleeding!

Mo Fan slowly clenched his hand into a fist, applying more pressure to the wound so more blood would come out.

1

A few drops of dark blood fell to the ground from the gap of his fist.

The soil was supposed to absorb the blood quickly, but instead quickly spread across the ground, like ink poured into a clear pond. The blood dyed the whole place red in an instant!

“Blood Pact of the Earth!”

Mo Fan tightened his fist. The blood-red ground began to shake vigorously and crack apart like mud.

When Mo Fan lifted his gaze and looked at Fu Ying, a bulky figure suddenly emerged from the blood-red soil!

A red rock demon steaming with heat rose from the ground. Its lower body remained buried, leaving its upper body exposed. However, its upper body alone was as intimidating as a red mountain!

The ferocious Green-Skinned Beasts were like little puppies with green fur before the rock demon. They almost fell to the ground in sudden fear!

1

Chapter 2092: Turning Themselves In

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Earth Spirit raised its arms and swung them fiercely at the Green-Skinned beast and the leader of the mercenaries!

Bang!

A blood-red rock resembling the back of a ferocious beast emerged from the ground and slammed into the Green-Skinned Beast.

Bang!

Another red boulder that was slightly bigger than the one before knocked the Green-Skinned Beast and the mercenary higher into the air.

With a huge explosion, a red mountain appeared where the Earth Spirit slammed its fists down.

The hill was sharp and pointed, puncturing through the Green-Skinned Beast. Its blood poured out like a wild spring.

Fu Ying was on the Green-Skinned Beast’s back, and ended up stabbed by the erupting stone too. His body went stiff as he was impaled. He tried his best to lower his gaze, struggling to believe he had been driven right through the chest.

Neither the Green-Skinned Beast nor Fu Ying had any chance of fighting back. The Earth Spirit had turned them into two lab specimens and hung them on the hill.

“Leader!” the mercenary with blue hair cried out in fear.

The other mercenaries panicked too.

The Earth Spirit’s appearance had a great impact, not to mention the strongest member of their group was on the brink of death after being impaled!

“You…you…” Fu Ying was trying to speak, yet he could only say a few words.

“So it’s that impressive. HAHAHA, this third additional effect is not bad at all!” Mo Fan ignored Fu Ying, overjoyed with his new ability.

The Earth Spirit’s strength had exceeded Mo Fan’s expectation. It felt like the battle had ended before it had begun!

Yu Shishi did mention the Earth Spirit’s strength was based on the amount of his blood. He had only squeezed his palm a little to let his blood fall to the ground. If he happened to be bleeding a lot when fighting an enemy, wouldn’t even Super Mages struggle to fend off the Earth Spirit by then?

“This…this…” The foreman who was on the brink of despair suddenly saw Mo Fan displaying his remarkable prowess. He was both astounded and overjoyed, “Young man, are you an Advanced Mage? We are safe. Everyone, we are safe!”

The mercenaries almost vomited blood after hearing the words.

Advanced Level my ass!

Their leader was an Advanced Mage with three Elements at the peak Advanced Level. He was already at the top of the Advanced Level!

The young man did not even use his magic, he only needed to dribble a few drops of blood on the ground to defeat their leader. How was he only an Advanced Mage?

Mo Fan looked at the rest of the mercenaries and said, “I won’t waste my time explaining the situation. You all should know what to do, don’t you?”

The mercenary with blue hair dropped to his knees and said sincerely, “Master, we’ve been blind and offended you…”

He had to act sincerely. Their leader Fu Ying was already insanely strong in their eyes. Wouldn’t someone who defeated him so easily be able to kill them all too?

“Master, we won’t be taking the Silver Stone Heart. We will give it to you as a token of respect. Oh, we also made some money over the years! We shall give it to you, too. We were just joking with the miners. There’s no way we would bury anyone alive!” the bulky man added quickly.

“Did you bring a phone?” Mo Fan asked them indifferently.

“Yes, I did!” The bulky man quickly showed Mo Fan his phone.

“You should know the number of the Enforcement Union. Call it and tell them everything that happened here. I didn’t kill your leader. I’m sure he’s responsible for most of the things your group did,” Mo Fan asked.

“Ah? You’re asking us to turn ourselves in?” the bulky man asked.

As a mercenary group that acted like a malignant tumor on society, they would feel humiliated if the Enforcement Union found any clues that could be used against them, let alone turn themselves in!

“It’s fine if you don’t want to call the Enforcement Union, I’ll just deal with you myself. I have a lot of new abilities that I haven’t tried out. I forgot to mention that you are in our Fanxue Mountain’s territory. I have the right to execute you for your offenses on the spot. When the Enforcement Union comes looking for you, I’ll just give them your corpses. They might even give me a reward,” Mo Fan said coolly.

“I’ll…I’ll call them…”

—

Tangyue was working in her office at the Nanxi Mountain Enforcement Union. Her uniform set off her mature curves.

“Chief!”

“Don’t you know to knock before coming in?!”

“I’m sorry, pardon me. Someone claiming to be a member of the Battle Beast Mercenary Group is making a report in Fanxue Mountain’s territory. He said they have been educated by a master and have decided to turn themselves in. They are asking us to send someone over to arrest them,” Li Dong said.

“Are you kidding me now?” Tangyue rolled her eyes.

“I initially thought it was a prank too, but we do have information that the Battle Beast Mercenary Group has been active around Fanxue Mountain lately,” Li Dong said.

—

The mine on the mountain northwest of Fanxue Mountain…

The bulky man had the urge to burst into tears after hanging up on the call.

If other mercenary groups found out they were caught by the Enforcement Union like this, they would have a hard time in prison!

“Make sure you repent and improve after going to prison. Speaking of which, I heard the Enforcement Union will send prisoners to the northwest to help with the development over there. They might even send you to a mine. Mm, it seems like you people are destined for mines!” Mo Fan said cheerfully.

“Yes, we are… our leader is bleeding to death. Can you put him down first?” the mercenary with blue hair asked.

“Fine, it doesn’t look good to keep him hanging on there. By the way, what do you think about the Earth Spirit?” Mo Fan asked them eagerly.

The mercenaries were about to lose their minds. Was he seriously collecting feedback now?

It was the fiercest and strongest Earth Demon they had ever encountered. They had almost fainted even when they were not being targeted!

The country only had a handful of Super Mages. Why did they have to stumble into one in the middle of nowhere? He even put up a great act so they would offend him… was this really karma?

Chapter 2093: Stealing Ore

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue and Yu Shishi were standing there watching the show on the mountain. Mu Ningxue was familiar with Mo Fan’s personality, so she did not bother disturbing him from finding some entertainment when he could handle everything himself.

The Enforcement Union came pretty quickly, with Li Dong in charge.

Li Dong was leading a few interns they had recruited from a few renowned schools. They were all Advanced Mages, but they lacked experience.

The young Enforcers were observing their surroundings cautiously. It was strange how the mercenaries were turning themselves in. They were all prepared for battle in case it was a trap!

“Look over there, you two, come with me, hurry up and find…” Li Dong pointed at the Enforcers like a proper leader.

“Hey, it’s the Opportunist!” Mo Fan yelled when he saw Li Dong.

Li Dong turned around and saw the last person he wanted to see at the mine. He immediately lost his proud demeanor. He had to force a stiff smile which Mo Fan would not be offended by onto his face.

“Brother Mo, why are you here?” Li Dong asked as he walked up to Mo Fan. The Enforcers were shocked when they saw how quickly his expression changed.

“See them? They are from the Battle Beast Mercenary Group, who I’ve now educated. Take them away and send them to the toughest mine in the west of our country for a dozen years,” Mo Fan answered, pointing at the mercenaries.

“Ed…educated…” Li Dong twisted his lips.

You f**king left such a huge hole on the man’s chest and almost killed him! The Enforcement Union was determined to arrest the mercenaries alive, but Mo Fan had almost executed their leader on the spot!

“Yes, we have learned a lot from him. We are seriously reflecting on the misdeeds we have done. We hope the Enforcement Union can give us a chance to repent,” the bulky man agreed quickly, seeing Mo Fan looking at him.

The mercenaries were struggling to stand properly. They wished the people of the Enforcement Union could have arrived sooner and saved them from Mo Fan’s experiments!

Mo Fan was feeling a little bored, so he showed off a few extraordinary spells and asked the mercenaries to provide him with some feedback.

Even though Mo Fan was only using the Earth Element, his Heaven Seed was several times stronger than a Soul Seed. He could easily crush them with an Intermediate Spell, let alone an Advanced Spell!

If they were sent to the west for reformation, they still had a chance to return to society after a dozen years. However, if they were hit by his Earth Magic, they would be crippled for the rest of their lives, even if they survived. It would be far worse than being arrested!

The Enforcers nervously arrested the mercenaries. One of them who took his job quite seriously asked, “We can’t prove them guilty if we don’t have evidence.”

“It’s fine, they wrote down their confessions while I was demonstrating my spells. They should be enough,” Mo Fan told him.

“Yeah, we have the confessions. Please arrest us as soon as possible!” the man with blue hair added hastily. He seriously did not want to be a cripple for the rest of his life. Their leader was already a lost cause. It was unlikely he would be sent to the west to repent!

“Take them away,” Li Dong waved his hand. He had roughly guessed what had actually happened here and said, “It’s rare to see you patrolling the mountains. You did us a huge favor.”

“It’s nothing. Send my regards to the people of the Dali Clan,” Mo Fan told him.

“Ugh… I will…” Li Dong’s face was so stiff that he felt like it was about to fall off.

——————-

Li Dong left with the enforcers. The Enforcers used the remaining Green-Skinned Beasts to transport the prisoners.

It was the first time that the Enforcers had been assigned to such a simple job. One of them could not help but ask, “Vice Chief, is that guy a close relative of your Dali Clan? Why did he let you take all the merits?”

“Nonsense, a close relative? Do you have any idea who he is? The god of plague, bearer of ill luck, and the worst malignant tumor of Feiniao Headquarters City!” Li Dong cursed. He still remembered how Mo Fan had gone to the Dali Clan and stirred up a lot of trouble for no reason. Nothing good had ever happened when Mo Fan was around. Li Dong just wanted to stay as far away from him as possible!

—

The people of the mine had yet to recover from the shock, even after the mercenaries were gone.

Who exactly was this young man? Why did he seem to be close with the authorities of the Enforcement Union? Ugh, they were not even close; the person from the Enforcement Union was nodding his head and bowing at the young man, acting like a subordinate. It seemed like the young man was his boss instead!

“Mister, I…I was right. I knew from my past experience that you were no ordinary person. It’s the reason I didn’t bury you when they were forcing me!” the foreman came over. Somehow, he felt like he was a lot shorter now…

“You can stand when you talk. Why the Hell are you on your knees? I won’t be fussed with you since you did show some conscience. Your mine here isn’t legal. I’m afraid you will have to pay a fine. After all, Fanxue Mountain is mine…” Mo Fan said.

“Ugh, my legs are a little weak, so I will have to kneel for a while. How about this? We’ll give you a year’s profit…” the foreman said.

“I didn’t come to ask you for a protection fee. Just pay the fine. If you can’t afford to hire a Mage to be your guard, you may request it from Fanxue Mountain. I believe we have someone available,” Mo Fan said.

“Thank you so much!” The foreman was overjoyed.

“Mo Fan, I’m afraid we’ll have to take over the mine,” Mu Ningxue and Yu Shishi were already there.

“Huh? Xuexue, is that appropriate? Are we doing them dirty?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“…” Mu Ningxue seriously had no idea where Mo Fan came up with the term. The mine was in Fanxue Mountain’s territory. It was their private land. How was it dirty?

“They need our permission to operate a mine here. I just gave Mu Linsheng a call. He told me this mine was supposedly used to extract yellow soil, but they never mentioned the silver ore. The yellow soil is only a decoy. There are silver ore at the bottom!” Mu Ningxue pointed at the truck that had been knocked over by a Green-Skinned Beast.

Chapter 2094: Recruiting the Foreman

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan took a quick glance and saw a few bright silver stones poking out of the yellow sand.

It did not matter if it was a public or private territory; third parties were only allowed to extract minerals in cooperation. They were not allowed to transport resources without permission.

It was obvious that the foreman had lied about the resources they were extracting and were after the more valuable silver ore. Most importantly, they were paying cheaper taxes for the yellow soil!

“Foreman, that’s very dishonest of you. It took us a great deal of effort to secure this land for Fanxue Mountain. You could just cooperate with us. Why were you lying to us instead? You are stealing from us!” Mo Fan demanded to know.

The foreman was about to rise to his feet, yet his legs weakened again when Mu Ningxue exposed him. He soon burst into tears.

“I couldn’t help it. The truth is, I didn’t know about the silver ore at first. I was only thinking of setting up a small mine!” the man answered quickly.

“I was wondering why you would build a mine here when the soil here isn’t even of good quality. Enough of your pitiful act; if you don’t spill the beans, I will send you to the mines that are used for reformation and you won’t be back here in the next thirty years,” Mo Fan snorted.

“Please, don’t do that, I only came back a few years ago… I’ll tell you everything!” the man begged him.

“Ugh… you just came back from the mines?” Mo Fan was startled.

“Yeah, I was in Gansu. I used to be a mine surveyor, but they sent me to a remote place and punished me with five years of manual labor because I made a mistake. I learned something in those five years, and figured out how to locate the silver stone ore accurately. After I came back from Gansu, I was hoping to make a fortune with my skill. I heard Fanxue Mountain is new and the rules weren’t strict, so I decided to sneak in here and…” the foreman trailed off.

“You requested permission to build five mines near Fanxue Mountain. This is only the first one, right?” Mu Ningxue pressed him.

“Yeah, this is my first mine. I was planning to make a fortune from it before investing in the rest!” the foreman confirmed.

“There are four more mines?” Mo Fan was astounded.

“Do the four of them have silver stone ore, too?” Mu Ningxue also asked with a surprised face.

“Yes, exactly! Fanxue Mountain happens to be rich in silver ore. It took me a year to figure it all out!” The foreman did not dare lie any further.

Mu Ningxue took out her phone and called Mu Linsheng after hearing what he had to say.

“Linsheng, put everything you are doing aside and come see me right now!” Mu Ningxue ordered.

“Do we have to handle the matter? It’s only a little contractor stealing some ore from us?” Mu Linsheng protested.

“Our Fanxue Mountain has five silver mines! The same contractor has requested being allowed to mine all of them!” Mu Ningxue went on.

“Silver mines? Five of them?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll be right over… Vice Mayor, I have something urgent to attend to. I won’t be able to stay here any longer. No, I wasn’t disrespecting you. My…my wife is about to give birth. She’s at the hospital now. (Sigh), yes, thank you for your understanding,” Mu Linsheng said on the other end.

Mo Fan was a little confused. He did not understand why Mu Ningxue had to call Mu Linsheng over.

—

Mu Linsheng was not exaggerating. He soon arrived in a helicopter.

The propellers of the helicopter swept the dust into the air. Mu Linsheng knew there was no place for the helicopter to land on, so he simply decided to jump from it.

“Catch me!” Mu Linsheng’s cultivation was far from impressive. He would injure himself badly if he did not have any help.

Mo Fan caught him with Telekinesis. However, he was unable to control his power properly, and Mu Linsheng almost fell to the ground miserably.

“Mu Linsheng, why are you in such a rush?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“How could I not be impatient? These are five silver mines we are talking about, five of them!” Mu Linsheng was very excited. He completely ignored the dust on his face.

“It’s just five silver mines. Why are you making such a huge fuss over it?” Mo Fan said.

“Boss, you are ignorant to even say that. Do you have any idea how expensive silver stone is right now? A silver stone mine can support a small platoon. If we really have five silver stone mines, we are going to be rich overnight!” Mu Linsheng said.

“Rich overnight? Is it really that crazy? Could this perverted-looking man with a big nose really dig up something so valuable?” Mo Fan looked at the foreman suspiciously.

The foreman’s eyes reddened. He told Mo Fan sincerely, “Mister, I was a mine surveyor working for the country when I was younger. Besides, do you seriously not know how valuable silver stones are? Why do you think the Battle Beast Mercenary Group came here and threatened to bury us all alive?”

Mo Fan looked at Mu Linsheng, Mu Ningxue, and finally back at the foreman.

Seriously? Was he really going to become rich in just one night?

“Boss, a mine of this scale can bring us an annual profit of this sum!” Mu Linsheng spread his fingers.

“Fifty million? Mm, that’s impressive. If we have five of them, we will earn two hundred and fifty million every year!” Mo Fan was satisfied.

“Boss, I meant five hundred million!” Mu Linsheng corrected him.

“Do you think I’m that bad at math? Isn’t fifty million times five two hundred and fifty million?” Mo Fan said suspiciously.

“Mo Fan, I think he meant each mine will bring us a profit of five hundred million every year,” Mu Ningxue explained calmly.

“Holy crap!”

A silver ore mine would bring them a profit of five hundred million every year. Was it some kind of golden fuel?

“A silver mine usually lasts for two to three years, but if we can make a huge fortune in the next two to three years, our Fanxue Mountain will seriously become the strongest powerhouse in Feiniao Headquarters City!” Mu Linsheng declared.

“Uh… actually, I also found traces of silver ore along the coast and islands of the East China Sea before I came to Fanxue Mountain. There should be even richer veins there. The silver ore that is dug up from the ocean usually has a higher density. I could find more of them if it weren’t for the sea monsters,” the foreman spoke up.

“Are you trying to absolve yourself?” Mo Fan said.

“No, not at all, I…I just don’t want to go back to the mines and do manual labor. I’m not exaggerating, but you won’t find a better expert on silver mines than me. After all, the experts have never worked in the mines themselves. I just want to live a free life and make some money… I realized I’m placing my workers in danger if I keep operating my mines illegally. Therefore, I’m willing to work for you as long as you don’t send me to jail,” the foreman said with tears rolling down his face.

Mo Fan was surprised. He had not expected the foreman to be such a talented person!

That being said, he was obviously asking for death if he operated the mines himself. He would not be able to handle the greedy scum of society or demon creatures!

“Fine, considering you still have some conscience left, Fanxue Mountain will recruit you,” Mo Fan said after giving it some thought.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, they were mentioning something about a Silver Stone Heart. Aren’t you interested in that?” Yu Shishi asked.

Mo Fan looked at Yu Shishi, then at the others, and admitted helplessly, “Fine, I’m uneducated. Please tell me what exactly a Silver Stone Heart is and what it’s used for.”

“You should know that we need some rare materials of the Earth Element to refine a real Heaven Seed. The Silver Stone Heart just gave me a great idea. Since you are after a Heaven Seed, it’s meaningless to only refine a Heaven-Inferior Seed. If you can collect some Silver Stone Hearts, I might be able to refine a real Heaven Seed!” Yu Shishi said quietly.

“Are you kidding me? You’re telling me I can turn something here into a Heaven Seed, even though it’s just a random mine we found?” Mo Fan found it hard to believe.

“Heaven Seeds are not made of fixed materials. I couldn’t guarantee you I could make a real Heaven Seed because I wasn’t sure what kind of Heaven Seed suits you and what material I should use to refine it. While you were wasting time here, I asked the little cub to dig out the Silver Stone Heart. I noticed it’s suitable to be used as the main material in refining a Heaven Seed after examining it closely,” Yu Shishi informed him.

“You’re telling me we can actually make a Heaven Seed with the Silver Stone Hearts?” Mo Fan asked in disbelief.

“The material we choose will decide the Heaven Seed’s attributes, Domain, additional effects, and the most important ability of a Heaven Seed, the ability to construct a Ward,” Yu Shishi went on.

“A Ward?” Mo Fan’s expression shifted when he heard the term.

Was he really that uneducated? Why did he not understand any of the professional terms Yu Shishi was talking about?

“What’s a Ward?” Mu Ningxue asked, rescuing him. Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh, happy to know that Mu Ningxue did not know what a Ward was, either!

“It’s similar to the Domain of a Soul Seed, but a Heaven Seed has a Ward. You can think of it as the absolute control over a certain Element. Within a Ward, even if your opponent is a few levels stronger, they will still lose the fight if they are restricted by the Ward,” Yu Shishi told them both.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was not familiar with Heaven Seeds. Not many books had information on them, since most of the textbooks called Soul Seeds the strongest Elemental Seeds.

He had never heard of a Heaven Seed with a Ward. Most importantly, it sounded extremely powerful!

“Can you please explain more about the Wards?” Mo Fan was fascinated by the Wards, which sounded so strong!

“The Heaven Seed you have is only a Heaven-Inferior Seed. Its power is around ten times that of an ordinary Spirit Seed. It only has some extra attributes and additional effects, but has yet to Awaken its power to form a Ward. I believe you are familiar with the Domains of Soul Seeds. They are capable of boosting the potency of your magic in a certain area, suppressing an enemy’s magic and allowing you to use some special abilities.

“It’s like a little boost to your strength while suppressing your enemy. It will give you an advantage if the gap between you and your enemy’s strength isn’t huge. However, if the enemy’s cultivation is far superior, the Domains won’t be as effective.

“The Wards are different. Normally, a Super Mage in the early stage won’t stand a chance against a Super Mage in the greater stage, right?” Yu Shishi prodded him.

“That goes without saying. The gaps between Super Mages are huge,” Mo Fan agreed.

A lesser Super Mage was usually describing a Super Mage with only one Element at the Super Level. They would stand no chance against a Super Mage with four Elements in the Super Level. It wasn’t just as simple as having three extra Elements at the Super Level!

“The Wards do not boost your strength or suppress the enemy. They are more like rules.

“For example, if your Ward has the rule ‘No one can construct a Star Palace here’, that means both you and your opponent are not allowed to use Super Spells. Will that increase your odds of winning when you are fighting a Great Super Mage?” Yu Shishi described for him.

“No one could construct a Star Palace?! Can a Ward be that powerful?” Mo Fan was shocked.

“Some Wards do have insane abilities like that. Why do you think it’s called a Heaven Seed? Anyway, you won’t be overwhelmed by your opponent’s strength, even when their cultivation is a lot stronger than yours!” Yu Shishi concluded.

Mo Fan was very excited after hearing her words, even though he had the urge to scold himself for being excited so easily. Either way, the Ward of a Heaven Seed sounded very alluring!

Mo Fan had the tendency to fight unfavorable battles. If the Ward could give him a chance to win a fight against stronger opponents, it would be perfect for him!

“Yu Shishi, just tell me how many tons of the Silver Stone Hearts you need!” Mo Fan was convinced.

“A fifth of the five silver mines should be made up of Silver Stone Hearts. Keep an eye on the East China Sea if you have the time. Didn’t the fatty just mention they are silver stone veins with higher density in the sea? You shouldn’t have a problem getting yourself a real Heaven Seed if you can collect enough Silver Stone Hearts,” Yu Shishi told him.

“A Heaven Seed with a Ward and four additional effects. I could easily conquer the world with the Earth Element!” Mo Fan burst out laughing.

It turned out that there were so many talented people around him!

—

An area with Silver Stone Hearts would normally contain other special materials. They could be used to forge low-level defensive Gear after refining them. If they were a little more extravagant, they could even use the Silver Stone to build walls!

If an entire wall was built with the Silver Stone, it would take even a Ruler-level creature some time to destroy the wall.

The Silver Stone was a lot more precious right now because of the grim situation along the coastline. Their prices kept increasing, as there was a huge demand for it.

The Silver Stone Hearts were even more valuable. They were the heart of a silver ore vein. The Battle Beast Mercenary Group was after the Silver Stone Hearts to forge themselves some outstanding magic Equipment.

The little cub tasted every valuable she discovered and lubricated it with her saliva.

As Mo Fan thought, the Silver Stone Hearts had fallen victim to her mouth. He proceeded to take the valuable stone from her mouth despite being disgusted by her drool!

“Speaking of which, the little cub was the first to find this mine. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even know it existed. I only remembered it when you said you wanted to try out your new abilities. Does that mean the little creature already knew there was something valuable here in the first place?” Yu Shishi pointed at the little cub for emphasis.

“That means she was the one that brought us here. Since you have helped us find something so valuable, I’ll let you hold on to the Silver Stone Heart for a little longer. Make sure you don’t lose it!” Mo Fan told the little cub, and gave the stone back…

Chapter 2096: Coming Out of Seclusion

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Even though Mo Fan was looking forward to having a real Heaven Seed, he was still quite satisfied with the three additional effects of his Earth Element. His Earth Element had not reached the Super Level, and it was not as solid as his other Elements, but it was very useful in battles now!

Mo Fan did not waste his time, as there were still a few days left until his duel with Zu Xiangtian. He went back to the Magic City and visited the Three Step Tower to consolidate his cultivation.

There was a benefit for becoming the most talented student of his school. In the past, he had to work extremely hard to earn the chance to cultivate in the Three Step Tower briefly, but now he could visit it anytime , like he was given a free membership!

The Three Step Tower was unique because it had many levels. The pressure of every level was different, so Mo Fan could still cultivate in it even though he was now a Super Mage, and he would continue to Awaken new Elements, too. It was very effective to learn how to control the energy of his new Element while in the Three Step Tower. It was the reason the Pearl Institute had remained at the top of the country’s schools!

Mo Fan went straight to the highest floor of the Three Step Tower. He now had eight Elements, meaning he had a great supply of energy. Cultivating in the Three Step Tower would consume his energy very quickly, especially on the highest floor, but Mo Fan was still able to stay in the tower for around five hours.

The progress he could make in five hours was comparable to a few months outside the tower!

“Why is it glowing? Could it be…” Mo Fan looked at his chest when he noticed the reaction from the Little Loach Pendant.

Any reaction from the Little Loach Pendant would make Mo Fan excited, since it had given him great benefits every time it showed some reaction.

Mo Fan had planned to visit the Three Step Tower to strengthen his Earth Element. After all, it had only reached the first tier of the Advanced Level. If the cultivation of his Earth Element was too low, it would not be effective even with the effects of the Heaven Seed.

To his surprise, Little Loach had reached its limit. It had absorbed a huge amount of energy at the Sacred City, and now had a mysterious and special sheen, unlike its previous dull appearance, like it was turning from a sparrow to a phoenix.

Mo Fan was guessing Little Loach would soon feed him a lot of energy. Mo Fan had already had a few breakthroughs because of it in the past!

“Is it coming?” Mo Fan spread his arms like he was trying to catch something. “Don’t hold back, shoot everything at me!”

Mo Fan could already feel the huge amount of energy Little Loach was transferring to him. There were eight Elements in Mo Fan’s Spiritual World. There was the Lightning Universe, Shadow Universe, Fire Galaxy, Summoning Galaxy, Space Galaxy, Earth Galaxy, Chaos Galaxy, and a little star representing the Demon Element.

The Fire Galaxy, Summoning Galaxy, and Space Galaxy were surrounded by firm walls, stopping them from expanding into a Universe.

The energy from Little Loach immediately shattered the wall around the Fire Galaxy. The Stars of the Fire Element emitted the purest and brightest light as they evolved rapidly!

The light spread as it grew from a red ribbon into a beautiful whirlpool. The light was extremely vivid, as if it would never be extinguished.

“It’s a Fire Universe! HAHAHA, my Fire Element has reached the Super Level too!”

Mo Fan was overjoyed. He was dancing happily, while his flesh was trembling.

His Fire Element!

It had finally reached the Super Level. He had waited a long time for this day!

Mo Fan had been relying on Little Flame Belle to support his Fire Element. It felt like his Fire Element had lost its limbs when Little Flame Belle was not around.

Now that his Fire Element had also reached the Super Level, no one could possibly stand a chance against him once he joined hands with Little Flame Belle, once she came back from the Parthenon Temple!

He could easily become unbeatable with only the Fire Element!

“Quick, I can’t waste even a single drop of the essence from Little Loach!” Mo Fan sat on the ground and focused on cultivating.

Little Loach had obviously evolved, and Mo Fan’s cultivating speed had improved significantly. Therefore, the best time to cultivate was when Little Loach was feeding him energy, not to mention the extra help from the Three Step Tower.

His cultivating speed had multiplied. It was the same method that people used to improve their efficiency in the past.

Mo Fan’s Little Loach Pendant was a Soul Container. The higher its level, the higher its efficiency. On the other hand, the Three Step Tower’s ability to compress the presence of magic and increase its density was like a pond full of mana. Mo Fan’s cultivation was increasing at the speed of a rocket when the two combined!

Mo Fan did not want to waste even a single minute. Not only was the energy from Little Loach able to break the barrier of his cultivation, it could further multiply his cultivating speed. In only a day or two, Little Loach would return to its usual efficiency, so he had to be quick!

—

Mo Fan spent the whole week in the Three Step Tower. He might have skipped the duel with Zu Xiangtian if he had not told the student outside the Three Step Tower to remind him when it was time for the duel.

When Mo Fan left the Three Step Tower, the school ground was covered in snow after a rare snowstorm, giving the school a different vibe.

Mo Fan was only wearing a T-shirt as he checked the time. He could still make it in time after having breakfast at the canteen.

He bought his favorite meat bun. He seemed very relaxed, even though an important duel was about to take place. He took a sip of the bottle of soy milk.

“Madam, did you buy a Joyoung Sand Mixer? Why does it taste of sand?”

“What the heck are you talking about?”

“Please don’t mix soybeans with sand. I prefer to taste the sweetness of the sand.”

“What do you want!?”

“Where are you from? Why do you have a terrible accent?”

“I’m from Shanghai.”

“…”

Mo Fan decided to go back to his apartment and take a shower.

He passed by the women’s dormitory and saw a man sneaking out of it. The man was obviously overwhelmed by fatigue, like he had been up all night.

“Old Zhao!” Mo Fan yelled.

“Damn, you came to sneak into the women’s dorm too?” Zhao Manyan was shocked.

“Piss off!” Mo Fan cursed him promptly.

“I have something to ask you. Why did you stand Zu Xiangtian up yesterday? Did you come up with a better idea to deal with him?” Zhao Manyan asked him cautiously.

“Is your brain malfunctioning? The duel is supposed to take place today!” Mo Fan answered, a certain feeling in his gut.

“Fine, I understand…” Zhao Manyan turned around and called a number on his phone. “Hello? It’s me, I found the guy. He’s at Pearl Institute. Nothing’s wrong, he’s perfectly fine. He just remembered the wrong date.”

Chapter 2097: Apologize? Impossible!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Did Mo Fan remember the wrong date?

He already asked the junior who was on duty at the Three Step Tower to remind him of the time. Did that idiot tell him the wrong time?

How could this happen? The Zu Clan treated the duel as important as a national festival. The Magic Association was using it to get rid of old ideas and beliefs, and to motivate young Mages to become fighters, so it was supporting the duel.

The preliminaries among the young Mages had just finished recently. The rise of young Mages was currently the trending topic, and the duel between Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian had gotten everyone’s attention.

Yet Mo Fan had skipped the duel that so many people were placing their attention on…

“I must say, everyone thought the people of the Black Vatican had assassinated you since you missed the duel, yet the actual reason was so stupid. What are you going to do now? Being stood up is going to feel worse than being defeated for Zu Xiangtian,” Zhao Manyan said.

“What else can I do? Just reschedule the duel. It’s only a slight delay… is he still at Fanxue Mountain? I’ll go roast him right now,” Mo Fan said.

“He should be there. Since you didn’t show up, Mu Ningxue might fight him on your behalf. You should go now, you might make it in time,” Zhao Manyan told him.

“Damn it, don’t let me find the name of that junior who was on duty at the Three Step Tower!” Mo Fan clenched his teeth.

——

Mo Fan headed to Fanxue Mountain right away. He realized how serious it was when he saw the number of people there.

“Since when is Fanxue Mountain as popular as the Parthenon Temple? Why are there so many people under the mountain?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Just get your ass up there!” Zhao Manyan swore at him.

He had been forced to give Mo Fan a lift with his Magical Wings, as he did not want to take a plane. How many kilometers was it from the Magic City to Feiniao City? His Wings were almost broken by the long flight!

Mo Fan landed on Fanxue Mountain. He initially thought he was going to have a grand entrance, but he could only sneak in via the back door when he saw the people complaining about him down the hill.

The duel yesterday had been canceled. Mu Ningxue was going to fight Zu Xiangtian on Mo Fan’s behalf today. Mo Fan had promised to trample Zu Xiangtian himself. How could he leave the job to his woman?

Everyone was preparing for the duel when he walked into the meeting room. Mu Ningxue had already put on her battle outfit. She looked cool and unusually charming in the tight black outfit.

“I’m here!” Mo Fan said.

Everyone turned around. They all had strange expressions when they saw it was Mo Fan.

“Mo Fan?”

“Mo Fan!”

“Where the hell have you been? Mentor, you have no idea how arrogant that Zu Xiangtian was. He gathered a thousand of his men on Fanxue Mountain to curse you out for the whole day. The words were so terrible that I don’t even dare to repeat them. I even had the urge to tear them into pieces if it weren’t for my lack of strength!” Bai Hongfei said angrily.

“Mo Fan, what happened? Everyone was worried about you.”

Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan. She did not speak, but her eyes were full of worry. She finally calmed down after she saw he was okay.

“Ugh, the people of the Black Vatican set me up. I almost ended up like Mu Bai, but I was being awesome and impressive as I usually am. I killed the scum of the Black Vatican and came here right away.” Mo Fan believed it was better to use that excuse after thinking about it.

“I told you it was the Black Vatican. Brother Fan, you’re the best!” Zhang Xiaohou had shown up too. He had purposely asked for some leave to watch the duel.

“It’s not much of a big deal. Am I late?” Mo Fan asked.

“You just fought the Black Vatican. Should I fight the duel on your behalf?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“That won’t be necessary. I can handle it myself,” Mo Fan replied quickly.

“It’s good to see you back. I’ll tell them you are fighting the duel. Mo Fan, you should have seen the people below the mountain. Many people were cursing us because you didn’t show up yesterday. You must make them pay and claim the title of the strongest young Mage!” Mu Linsheng exclaimed.

“Strongest young Mage!” Mo Fan grinned.

He had already won that title at the World College Tournament, yet many were still shunning it. It was time to prove his worth to them. Otherwise, every Tom, Dick, or Harry would keep challenging him to a duel wherever he went to prove he was unworthy of the title.

“Come, let’s go receive our guests!” Mo Fan said.

——

It felt like Fanxue Mountain was holding a huge festival. Many people enjoyed watching magic duels, but the rules of the Magic Association had taken the chances away. There were only private duels that the rich and powerful could watch. It was the first time that the Magic Association had officially agreed to a duel between two Super Mages!

Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian were standouts among the younger Mages. Technically, a duel between young Mages was allowed as long as their levels were not too outstanding. Otherwise, it would be difficult to guarantee the safety of the people.

A duel like this was not going to be held close to a city. It was not even suitable to hold it within the safe zone!

The Vice Mayor of Feiniao Headquarters City had made the necessary arrangements. The duel would take place out on the sea.

The Feiniao Maritime Fortress was left in debris after the raid by the sea monsters, and they had yet to rebuild the fortress. Feiniao Headquarters City had assigned Fanxue Mountain to handle it.

The reconstruction needed some careful planning, and they were still busy demolishing the place. There was a lot of work to clear the rubble from the buildings that had been destroyed.

The Vice Mayor had conveniently arranged the duel to take place in the destroyed fortress.

The duel between the two Super Mages would conveniently destroy the rest of the buildings, saving them a lot of work!

—

“Mo Qiannian is here. He has no choice but to accept the duel because of the pressure from the people.”

“Who’s Mo Qiannian? What does that mean?”

“He’s a thousand-year-old tortoise who keeps hiding in his shell!”

{TL Note: Qiannian means a thousand years.}

“Did he come to apologize?”

“We came all the way here to watch the duel! Even if he was going to miss the duel, he should have told us first. We have been waiting for a day and a night! I seriously don’t know why he’s so popular. I don’t think he is really that skilled. On the other hand, Zu Xiangtian is well-known at the international level!”

The people under the mountain kept ranting, but their words were like the noises of tractors to Mo Fan. He had no idea what they were saying.

“Mo Fan, shouldn’t you apologize to the public now that you are here?” asked the Vice Mayor, who was in charge of the duel.

“Apologize? Impossible, I didn’t ask them to watch the duel in the first place!” Mo Fan disagreed.

“Ugh…” The Vice Mayor was left speechless.

After all, Mo Fan was right. These people had come on their own!

Chapter 2098: Facing the Crowd

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was familiar with the surroundings of the destroyed fortress. There were reef fronds like bamboo shoots under the water, formed because the whirlpools in the sea had accumulated some kind of quartz over time.

Fanxue Mountain had discovered an island made up of banks of quartz reefs recently. It had tripled the economy of Fanxue Mountain, and was one of the main sources of income for them now. As a matter of fact, those quartz reefs were very common along Feiniao City’s coastline. They gathered up tiny gold particles in the sea. Those that had accumulated over a long time would turn into islands, while those that were not exposed above the surface became reefs.

The underwater reefs served as the main foundation for the buildings in the fortress. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to construct buildings where Mages could fight the sea monsters.

There was a huge area full of reefs facing the ocean in the old fortress, around the size of three soccer fields. When the tide fell, the reef was exposed above the surface of the ocean, forming almost flat ground. It looked like a dark brown plaza floating on the sea from afar. When the tide rose, the reef would be immersed underwater. Interestingly, people could still stand on the reef, since the water was only around knee-deep.

The people of Feiniao Headquarters City called the area the Floating Reefs Battleground, since it allowed Mages who were not good in water to fight the ferocious sea monsters on the unique terrain.

The Feiniao Maritime Fortress used the Floating Reefs Battleground as its core. The rest of the buildings were built on the reefs that surrounded the battlefield.

The duel between Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian was arranged to take place on the Floating Reefs Battleground.

Not only were the reefs rich in Earth Magic, they were sturdy, mainly consisting of quartz reef banks. Even the blows of Ruler-level creatures would have trouble destroying them.

Favorable terrain was important when fighting sea monsters. The Vice Mayor was treating all this as an opportunity to recruit more Mages to fight the sea monsters. He was not going to miss out on the opportunity of using the duel between Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian as a form of advertising!

“As the official witness, I hope you two young and talented Mages will treat this as a friendly match and not overdo it,” the Vice Mayor finished his speech.

Unfortunately, the Mages from all over the world did not treat his speech seriously. They had been waiting for a day and a night to watch the duel. The boring speech was only driving them mad!

The Vice Mayor noticed the people had no interest in his words. He coughed awkwardly and said, “Shall I ask the two participants to say some words?”

Zu Xiangtian was already standing on the Floating Reefs Battleground. His eyes were full of disdain.

“Mo Fan, do you know you are like a stray dog?” Zu Xiangtian added with a smile when he saw Mo Fan was not speaking up. “Many ferocious-looking stray dogs are just like you. They bark fiercely at everything, even if it’s a bear, a tiger, or a lion. However, they are the quickest to run away in a confrontation. I feel awkward for you now. I wonder where you found the courage to come here?”

“Zu Xiangtian, I didn’t expect you to make such a big fuss about it. Didn’t you know the duels were held behind closed doors in the past? Our Fanxue Mountain prefers to hold duels that way since we are lenient toward our challengers, so they won’t feel humiliated after losing the duel. Too many people want to challenge me. I can easily bump into five people like you when I go to grab some quick bites. It’s normal for me to forget the person and the time of the duel.” Mo Fan was digging his ear. The seawater had just splashed into it.

“You forgot the time?” Zu Xiangtian repeated in disbelief.

“Yeah, you only got my attention because of how desperate you are to fight me. I won’t feel comfortable if I don’t step on your face after you’ve put makeup on and leave the print of my sole on it, so I finally remembered the duel this morning when I was having dessert,” Mo Fan said dismissively.

“I didn’t put on makeup!” Zu Xiangtian refuted coldly.

“Oh, you must be suffering from kidney deficiency, then. Why is your face so pale?” Mo Fan promptly shot back.

Zu Xiangtian’s face turned even paler.

You are the one with kidney deficiency. Your whole family is suffering from kidney deficiency!

There was nothing Mo Fan did not dare to say, regardless of the occasion.

The Vice Mayor initially wanted them to share their thoughts of being considered the strongest young Mages to motivate others, yet they instantly started arguing with one another. Mo Fan even claimed Zu Xiangtian was suffering from kidney deficiency!

“(Cough cough) You two, your voices are being amplified, so can you please say something positive? After all, the international Magic Association is watching the duel too,” the Vice Mayor reminded them softly with a gloomy expression.

“I see,” Mo Fan finally remembered he was standing in front of the public.

“Mo Fan, you have done so many shameless acts. You have also claimed yourself to be the strongest young Mage in the country, but I’m afraid it will be the end for you today!” Zu Xiangtian pointed at Mo Fan as he spoke, following the script he had long prepared.

Zu Xiangtian had put a lot of effort into ruining Mo Fan’s reputation. The people enjoyed watching the rivalry, too. They were supporting Zu Xiangtian, since he was claiming he was taking down a shameless hypocrite who did not have any true skills up his sleeves.

“People like to use my name to do things I have never done, yet many choose not to believe the proven things that I’ve done. To be honest, I’m getting tired of this,” Mo Fan sighed dramatically.

“Getting tired? What does he mean? Is he going to retire?”

“Is he saying he’s going to stay away from the public?”

“No, please don’t, brother Mo Fan, I like you the most. I’ve tried so hard to enroll into Pearl Institute. I just need to score five hundred more!” a young student screamed.

“Mo Fan, you are the savior of Beijiang and the Ancient Capital. We don’t care if people are jealous of you and try to ruin your reputation. We have always believed in you!”

The crowd was in an uproar. It was mainly split into three groups.

The first group consisted of the people who blindly followed the rumors and supported Zu Xiangtian. The second group was made up of the people of Beijiang and the Ancient Capital who were grateful to Mo Fan for fending off the Black Vatican. The rest were onlookers who were interested in the duel. They had no clue who the good guy or the bad guy was. They would just support whoever earned the most attention.

“Mo Fan, we trust you!”

A bunch of his loyal supporters was shouting among the crowd, remaining faithful to Mo Fan. Some of the survivors from the inner walls of the Ancient Capital had come to support Mo Fan too.

Chapter 2099: Adding Gunpowder to Everything

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had rarely shown himself in the past. He was finally going to beat some assh*** up publicly this time, so these people purposely came all the way here to support him. They were not going to let those with ulterior motives vilify their hero!

“That won’t be necessary. You don’t have to believe me, it’s only adding to the burden. After all, I’m not a nice guy. I will feel troubled if I want to follow my own will, yet it’s against the moral standards you have for me,” Mo Fan said.

“Ugh… you still have our support!” his loyal supporters exclaimed regardless.

“It’s just like a cult!” Zu Xiangtian harrumphed coldly, scoffing at the people who were siding with Mo Fan.

“It’s rare to have a chance to talk to people who understand me in public. I would like to say a few words. I already mentioned that a lot of people thought I was the strongest young Mage in the country after I won the World College Tournament. I used to think it was ridiculous back then. I was only a student. I hadn’t really come across those who had already entered society, and I’d only been to a few places,” Mo Fan said.

The crowd who came to watch the duel quieted down. There were lots of rumors about Mo Fan going around, claiming he was either going on adventures or picking up chicks. He rarely showed himself in front of the people who were following him closely, so many people were interested in hearing him talk.

The Vice Mayor’s expression calmed down when he saw Mo Fan was finally willing to speak properly.

Mo Fan was giving a nice speech. He had great achievements at a young age, but he believed it was necessary to visit more places and learn from his experience. He realized the world was a lot bigger than he had imagined. It was exactly what the younger generations needed to hear.

“I’ve been to many places these few years. A few places in our country, the East China Sea, Thousand Islands Lake, Mount Kunlun, Tarim Basin, the desolate land in Beijiang, and Tianshan Mountain. I also went to other countries, such the Alps, Egypt, the Mediterranean Sea, Greece, and the Sacred City…” Mo Fan briefly described the adventures he had after the World College Tournament.

“Impressive, he’s been to so many places!”

“As expected of a model of the younger generation!”

The leaders of the Feiniao Headquarters City’s impression toward Mo Fan improved significantly when he listed the places he had been to. The young man had visited more places than they had, even though they were already in their forties and fifties!

“I think I can no longer consider myself a student. I believe there are people who have been to more places than I have, but I can now discard my identity as a student and truly become a member of society,” Mo Fan went on.

“You did well, Mo Fan. The national team is proud to have someone like you!” the Mayor of Feiniao City called out.

This was the real positive energy he was hoping to get from Mo Fan. They had always heard how unreliable Mo Fan was in the past, but Mo Fan’s speech had awakened the youthful hearts of the leaders and Councilmen of Feiniao City. They were thinking of traveling around the world after they retired!

“I’ve met a lot of people who looked down on me and challenged me these last few years. I just smiled… and I beat them up!

“Many people say I’m a coward who doesn’t dare to accept any challenges despite holding onto the title of the strongest young Mage. I’m getting tired of these rumors and being discredited. I’ve practiced magic for so many years and come so far. I’m no longer a student without confidence.

“I, Mo Fan, am no longer willing to please immature people.

“The strongest candidate in the World College Tournament? The strongest young Mage in the country? The strongest young Mage in the world?

“What a joke!

“These titles are nothing. I’m the f**king strongest Mage in the world!

“If anyone in the country is unconvinced of my strength, I’ll beat them up so they will learn it the hard way. If anyone outside the country doesn’t agree with me, ask them to see me, and I’ll convince them!

“I’m a busy man, just so you know. I will hold an arena for a day every year in the Feiniao Headquarters City or Fanxue Mountain. Let’s make it today. Every year, on this day, as long as you think you are worthy enough to challenge me like this arrogant Zu Xiangtian, go ahead and register your interest for a duel at Fanxue Mountain and secure your spot. I’ll fight you all!

Mo Fan pointed at Zu Xiangtian. “Today, I shall treat Zu Xiangtian as the chicken whose blood I’m offering to the Heavens to establish the arena!”

The man totally lost his calm when he heard the last sentence!

Mo Fan was going to treat him as a sacrifice to set up an arena fight once every year!

He had never seen anyone more reckless!

The whole place fell silent. It was bustling with noise just a moment ago, yet there was only the sound of the waves left.

The leaders and Councilmen of the Feiniao Headquarters City were seated in their designated area. The cold breeze of the East China Sea was slapping them in the face. A bald Councilman who had lost his hat completely forgot to take care of his image. The Vice Mayor’s mouth was wide enough to fit an island. The Mayor was asking his assistant to pass him the inhaler, but the assistant was staring blankly at Mo Fan.

How could someone be so reckless? Wasn’t he scared of being killed by a lightning strike?

“This young man… this young man… my inhaler…” The Mayor felt like he was going to suffocate.

The Councilmen who were representing the Magic Association were left speechless too.

The Magic Association did mention they were less strict on the duels between young Mages. They needed some belligerence and a strong impact to motivate the younger generations, but this young Mage was definitely overdoing it!

The Magic Association was trying to add some fuel to the flame, but they did not realize Mo Fan was a keg of gunpowder!

The Vice Mayor trembled. His hair was disheveled by the wind. He asked Mu Linsheng, “Does your leader never prepare a script before giving his speech? He was doing a great job at the beginning, but…”

Many people were touched when Mo Fan shared his story after making a name for himself. They had buckled in on Mo Fan’s motivational ride, but he suddenly did a drift and brought them onto a rollercoaster. They were struggling to describe their feelings. It was like falling to the ground from the Heavens in just a second!

Young man, they were too old to handle the shock!

“You’re basically saying that you were just an inexperienced student before, so you don’t think you were strong, but after visiting many places and meeting a lot of people, you are confident that you are the strongest Mage in the world?” Zu Xiangtian asked with a twisted expression.

“Exactly!” Mo Fan replied cheerfully.

Chapter 2100: Blood Bull Armor

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Exactly my ass!

Zu Xiangtian could not wait until the Vice Mayor declared the start of the duel. He wanted to trample Mo Fan over and over again, until he was no longer able to speak, after seeing this reaction.

The young Mages who came to watch the duel initially thought they were drinking a sip of harmless chicken soup for the soul, but they felt disgusted, as if they were being forced to drink a mouthful of wee!

Oh Heavens, why did such a shameless person exist?

Could Mo Fan be more shameless, calling himself the strongest Mage in the world?

The crowd was mainly split into three groups at first: those who were scolding Mo Fan, those who came to enjoy the duel, and those who were supporting Mo Fan. But now, Mo Fan’s supporters were dumbfounded by his speech, and the people who were scolding Mo Fan were angrier, now joined by those who only came to watch the duel!

Mo Fan stood in the limelight. He was relieved when he saw so many people were despising him.

It was reasonable to be scolded by people after what he had said, but he would just prove them all wrong with his strength, an indication of how confident he was!

Zu Xiangtian was just a nobody. He was going to defeat people who were a dozen times stronger than him!

“I know many of you don’t believe me.”

“(Cough cough), Mo Fan, thank you for such a motivational speech. Let us proceed with the duel. I believe everyone is looking forward to seeing how strong these two talented young men are,” the Vice Mayor quickly interrupted in case Mo Fan intended to say something even worse to stir up the crowd!

The Vice Mayor glared at Mo Fan after finishing.

Mo Fan responded with a helpless expression. It was you who asked me to say a few words. Why did you bother with such a meaningless step? Just focus on the real fight. Bring it on!

“Ready!” The Vice Mayor had no intention to talk to the leader of Fanxue Mountain. Seeing was indeed believing. He realized that Mo Fan was even more unreliable than the rumors had mentioned!

“There must be something wrong with your brain!” Zu Xiangtian went up to Mo Fan and performed the etiquette prior to a duel dishonestly.

The etiquette was more common in Italy. Italians had to perform the etiquette when they were being challenged to a duel, no matter how terrible the relationship between both sides was.

The seemingly noble and elegant etiquette, on top of the custom-tailored western battle outfit Zu Xiangtian was wearing, perfectly set off his appearance. Most people agreed he was a fine standard of an Eastern man.

On the other hand, Mo Fan was dressed normally. He was wearing a shirt when it was in the middle of winter. The top buttons were purposely undone. There was nothing wrong with the way he dressed, but he looked like a freshly dug-up relic compared to Zu Xiangtian’s rich attire.

“The last person who fought me in a duel was as annoying as you. I believe the weeds on his grave should be around your height by now,” Mo Fan replied carelessly.

“I think it’s meaningless to be talking to you, as you will be seeing a psychiatrist after the duel, but I don’t think it’s going to make any difference. I will become your worst fear for the rest of your life. I’m going to trample your arrogance and pride today!” Zu Xiangtian proclaimed.

“Can I ask you something?” Mo Fan said.

Zu Xiangtian was about to make his move when Mo Fan interrupted with a stern tone. He suddenly had no idea what to do.

“Just hurry up. Stop wasting my time!” Zu Xiangtian said impatiently.

“Did you hire people to impersonate me and do those shameless acts?” Mo Fan asked directly.

Zu Xiangtian was amused. There was indeed something wrong with this idiot’s brain!

“So what if I did? However, I feel like it’s unnecessary for me to help you enrage the crowd. The things you said just then are more effective than what I did!” Zu Xiangtian did not mind admitting to what he had done.

“As long as you admit it… by the way, during the night when the Sacred City was involved in a battle, did you feel uncomfortable after you woke up? I heard from a friend who wants to remain anonymous that you were having trouble walking properly?” Mo Fan asked.

Zu Xiangtian’s face almost ruptured like his anus had back then!

“You won’t walk away alive today!” Zu Xiangtian declared coldly.

Mo Fan just grinned.

Zu Xiangtian felt like his lungs were about to explode. He charged at Mo Fan like a madman, his body beginning to emit a blood-red glow like a demon creature. The light took the shape of a red demon bull with horns over seven meters long!

BANG!

Zu Xiangtian rammed into Mo Fan with the Blood Bull Armor. The water under his feet evaporated instantly, revealing the true colors of the Floating Reefs Battleground!

Mo Fan moved rapidly over the reef. He had no idea what kind of ability Zu Xiangtian was using, charging at Mo Fan like he was possessed by a demon bull. His speed and strength were comparable to a Ruler-level creature. Mo Fan soon lost his chances to use Blink.

Mo Fan had relocated twice with Blink, but Zu Xiangtian quickly caught up to him again. Mo Fan only saw a huge red flicker before Zu Xiangtian, who was emitting a scorching aura, appeared in front of him and rammed him with his head. The overwhelming force instantly sent him flying.

Mo Fan went from the Floating Reefs Battleground into a nearby building. The building collapsed instantly from the impact.

The crowd stared at Zu Xiangtian, who had suddenly displayed his remarkable prowess, with wide eyes. They did not understand what kind of ability he had just used, but they could feel his formidable strength from a great distance away. He was like an unstoppable bull in a bullfight. The petty fences separating the fight from the crowd might not withstand a single blow from him.

“Was he only boasting about his strength? He was already sent flying in the first round.”

“Zu Xiangtian’s ability feels like he’s Possessed by a Ruler-level creature!”

Zu Xiangtian had impressed the crowd with his first move. Even the Councilmen of the Magic Association could not do what he did. He was truly the brightest talent of the Zu Clan!

On the other hand, Mo Fan knocked the debris on himself away and patted the dust off his shirt.

His hair was a little disheveled, but he did not look injured. However, his image had definitely taken a huge blow!

Chapter 2101: Body-Borrowing Curse Art

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s only one of my Armor’s abilities! A bastard who can’t differentiate between humans and dogs like you is no match against me, a Judicator of the Sacred City!” Zu Xiangtian had turned the humiliation he had received into anger.

He was no longer charging at Mo Fan. He soared into the sky while emitting the same blood-red light.

A huge cloud was covering the sky above the Feiniao Headquarters City. Rays of sunlight were penetrating the clouds above the sea in the distance and sprinkling down upon the water. As Zu Xiangtian soared into the sky, the clouds were dyed red. Even the sunlight sprinkling down on the sea had a different color too. The sea had turned bright red under Zu Xiangtian’s rage!

A deafening cry came down from the sky. The crowd looked up and saw a bright red bull plummeting from the cloud. Its bright color resembled a meteorite falling from space to the ground!

The force it was carrying was strong enough to raze a mountain to the ground. Even the sky had changed color because of it! Zu Xiangtian would only be satisfied once he trampled Mo Fan into mud!

“Darkness!”

Mo Fan noticed how powerful the charge was. Only a defensive Mage like Zhao Manyan would be able to withstand the impact.

Mo Fan faded into the darkness. He did not vanish, but remained on the same place, wavering like a phantom. A mighty force struck the ground with a massive impact of the blood-red light!

The Floating Reefs Battleground was surrounded by buildings that ranged from a dozen to thirty floors high. They all looked like half-finished structures without any windows, with only floors and pillars. These buildings provided cover for Mages during the battles against the sea monsters. When the ferocious bull landed on the ground, a huge shockwave spread out in a circle and razed the buildings to the ground!

The buildings began to collapse, down from thirty floors to ten floors, and eventually they all fell to the ground. The water at the ground level turned into white steam as the impact left a huge pit in the maritime fortress!

The crowd was astounded!

These buildings were supposed to be sturdy, able to withstand the attacks of sea monsters when a battle took place, thus allowing Mages to hide in them and slowly wear out the invaders. However, it felt like there was nowhere to hide from Zu Xiangtian’s crushing charge. They would simply turn into dust and disappear together with the buildings!

He was too strong!

Zu Xiangtian’s strength had exceeded everyone’s expectations. Most people assumed he would probe his opponent with Intermediate and Advanced Spells first and slowly find opportunities to use his Super Spells. To their surprise, Zu Xiangtian had used such terrifying abilities at the start of the duel, and they seemed even stronger than ordinary Super Spells!

“Young Master Fang, I think that Zu Xiangtian is almost as strong as you, who are the strongest Mage in Yangcheng!” a student fawned upon the man beside him.

“Bullsh**, I’m not retarded. That impact alone could have killed me a hundred times. I know my own limits too!” the young man whom the student called Young Master Fang answered.

They were not blind. That destructive power alone could easily outmatch those who were considered the strongest in their schools and cities. They were obviously not on the same level. If Zu Xiangtian was the Bull Demon King, they were only the ashes that were produced when his underlings were burning a cauldron!

“I think that Mo Fan is dead for sure. Those who boast about their strength are usually good for nothing.”

“Dead? I’ll be damned if there’s even a piece of his meat left.”

“Look over there, there’s a shadow with a blurred outline. Is that Mo Fan?”

“It’s… holy crap, he’s not dead!”

Many people were hoping the arrogant maniac had died to the terrifying attack, but Mo Fan did not grant them their wish.

He came out of the darkness totally unharmed!

The Dark Vein had granted Mo Fan a perfect dodging ability. He was as untouchable as a phantom when he was hiding in the darkness, unless his opponent had the ability to crush the other dimension!

Zu Xiangtian landed near Mo Fan. He was down on one knee on the dried shore, like he had just vented his anger.

Mo Fan did not use any powerful spells as he came out of the darkness. He patted the unaware Zu Xiangtian’s shoulder and said, “To be honest, did you realize a whole new door has opened for you after that day? You should stop targeting young girls under the legal age. A muscular man in his forties isn’t a bad option for you, either!”

Zu Xiangtian rolled his eyes and almost fainted from anger!

The Skyfall Charge was his strongest move, but his opponent was perfectly unharmed. Most importantly, Mo Fan’s words stabbed him in his most painful spot again!

“You better think of your last words from now on. You don’t have much time left!” Zu Xiangtian whirled around. His Armor was releasing blood-red steam, like a huge piece of machinery that was cooling down.

“It’s not like you can keep using the same ability,” Mo Fan was very close to Zu Xiangtian, but he was not afraid at all.

Zu Xiangtian’s powerful Armor was able to transform him into a demon bull, but it could only store a limited amount of energy. Zu Xiangtian had to replenish its energy through a complicated method to use its power again.

“It’s only one of my weakest pieces of magic Equipment,” Zu Xiangtian grinned. A dark blue flame soon engulfed him!

The blue flame was coming out of his body, and his skin was cracking in the heat. Strange Runes soon appeared on his body.

“It seems like you have no idea why the Zu Clan was able to establish a strong foothold at the international level, nor did you bother investigating my capabilities. We are known for our Curse Element… the Blood of the Cursed Beast runs in our blood! Magic Equipment? You are too naive if you think I was only relying on my magic Equipment!” Zu Xiangtian proclaimed.

The blue flames burned fiercer as he finished the sentence, and Zu Xiangtian floated into the air. His feet were no longer touching the ground.

Zu Xiangtian was hovering without relying on Wing magical Equipment or flying magic. His body was fully covered in the strange flames, and his skin had turned dark blue. Even his face became twisted and ghastly, as if he was possessed by a demon.

The flames were not releasing heat. Mo Fan was actually feeling a cold aura from them.

Mo Fan had never seen anything like the,. However, he was sensing a greater danger from Zu Xiangtian than when he was in his demon bull form!

Chapter 2102: Shadow Tribe Demon Saber, Mo Fan

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Zu Xiangtian is a Curse Mage. The Zu Clan uses powerful demon creatures as sacrifices and seals their souls in magic Equipment with their Curse Magic, known as the Body-Borrowing Curse Art, granting them certain abilities of the demon creatures!” reported Ai Jiangtu, who had come to watch the duel.

Ai Jiangtu, Jiang Yu, and Guan Yu had arrived the day before. They were treating the duel between Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian seriously.

They had also heard Mo Fan’s speech.

They were familiar with Mo Fan’s personality, so they were not too surprised by his speech. He would not be The Demon King if he did not utter some nonsense to stir up the crowd!

“That’s the Zu Clan’s special technique, which has been passed on for generations. Zu Xiangtian is obviously very good at it. Body-Borrowing Curse Art. Why do I feel like the demon creatures whose powers Zu Xiangtian have borrowed are from Ruler-level creatures?” Guan Yu remarked.

“The core disciples of the Zu Clan can claim the power of two demon creatures simultaneously and wear them like magic Equipment. Zu Xiangtian is even crazier. He’s able to claim the power of four demon creatures! This Underworld Ghost Ruler should be the second one,” replied Jiang Yu, who was familiar with the Zu Clan’s secrets.

He could not help it. His sister was married to someone from the Zu Clan, so he knew a lot of things about them. The truth was, Ai Jiangtu was also interested in learning the Body-Borrowing Curse Art from the Zu Clan. Unfortunately, they were not willing to teach an outsider the art, holding tightly onto the secret about how to sacrifice demon creatures and seal their power in magic Equipment!

“The first one is already unstoppable, and the second one is extremely dangerous. I wonder if Mo Fan can hold on when he uses the power of the third and fourth demon creatures?” Jiang Shaoxu could not help but worry about Mo Fan’s safety.

Mo Fan was clueless about the Zu Clan’s capabilities, but the four of them were well aware of its strength.

“Besides, that’s only Zu Xiangtian’s Curse Element!” Jiang Yu added with a wry smile.

—

Mo Fan was surprised when Zu Xiangtian took on the form of a different demon creature.

He thought his opponent’s transformation into a ferocious red bull was a unique ability. To his surprise, Zu Xiangtian was able to use it again, and was Possessed by a demon creature engulfed in flames!

“That’s a fascinating ability,” Mo Fan smiled at Zu Xiangtian.

There were all kinds of strange abilities at the Super Level, especially from the Elements he rarely came across.

Mo Fan was fine with it. It would be boring if the two Mages were just standing on both sides, tossing spells at one another like a turn-based RPG game.

The Super Level Curse Magic was an eye-opener for Mo Fan. He was more interested in the duel now!

Mo Fan always learned new ideas from his enemies, so he preferred to fight different types of opponents.

“It seems like you aren’t as disappointing as I thought. I like to practice against punching bags that can fight back!” Mo Fan added.

“You’re still being so arrogant when you’re about to die!?” Zu Xiangtian lifted two dark blue flowers in his hands. He placed his palms together and turned the flowers into a long and poisonous whip.

The whip was encapsulated by the flames. It had spikes on every section, which moved on their own making a piercing noises, even when the whip remained still.

The poisonous whip looked like a great burning centipede. It looked even scarier when Zu Xiangtian was holding it in the form of a ghastly demon!

Using the centipede whip as his weapon?, Mo Fan observed.

Unfortunately, Little Flame Belle was not around. Otherwise, Mo Fan could forge a flame sword for himself with her Calamity Fire and carry it on his shoulder so he would look every bit as imperious as his opponent!

“Since you are using a Darkness Creature, let’s see whether your Underworld Ghost Ruler or my Shadow Tribe Elder is stronger!” Mo Fan’s Dark Vein began pulsing.

Mo Fan could not let his guard down, since Zu Xiangtian was fighting with everything he had. He could not afford to underestimate his opponent!

Darkness fell once again. The ghostly flames brought a strange chill to the fortress area. It grew stronger as Mo Fan used his magic.

The darkness was no longer looming over the area like a stormy cloud. Their surroundings were almost the same as before, but everything looked dimmer somehow. The bright objects had lost their brilliance, like a painting being covered by a veil which had actually separated the area from the world!

A dark shadow emerged behind Mo Fan in the darkness. It was struggling fiercely instead of standing still, as if it could not wait to break free from its restraints in the other plane!

Normally, the main units of the Dark Execution Ground were Shadow Soldiers, but there was something scarier inside Mo Fan’s Dark Vein. It was the evolution of the Whipping Demon Child, an existence from the Dark Plane, a true ruler of darkness!

It was merciless and cruel, with an unpredictable temper.

Mo Fan could not Summon the Elder of the Shadow Tribe as he pleased. The creature was similar to the Whipping Demon Kid, and would only show up when it was in the mood, but Mo Fan had noticed the pattern. Whenever he was angry and full of hatred, the Elder of the Shadow Tribe would become restless. It would also take the initiative to join the battle if there was another Darkness Creature nearby!

The crowd felt their blood running cold when they heard the Elder of the Shadow Tribe’s laugh. It was standing behind Mo Fan, yet its outline had stacked perfectly on top of Mo Fan.

“Isn’t that the creature which drove away the Ruler-level sea monster?” asked Deng Yongchuan, who had come from Jimei University to watch the duel.

“It’s an Elder of the Shadow Tribe!”

“A rare species of the Darkness Creatures!”

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe had a strange Aura. It was not particularly outstanding, yet it was on par with the Underworld Ghost Ruler, with a very intimidating appearance.

Mo Fan knew the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was a lot stronger than Zu Xiangtian’s Underworld Ghost Ruler, but it could not stay in the living plane for too long. It was only temporarily free from its restrictions in the area Mo Fan had set up.

It had to defeat its opponent as quickly as possible!

Mo Fan was only using his Shadow Magic, and was able to float around like a phantom in the darkness.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, the Elder of the Shadow Tribe did not lunge at its enemy impatiently like it usually did, remaining attached to Mo Fan’s back. It eventually turned into a demon saber floating behind Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was surprised at first, then drew the saber from behind him.

The Shadow Magic wrapped around Mo Fan’s arm as he held the saber firmly, and spread rapidly across its body. It was no longer just a saber. It even wrapped around Mo Fan like a cloak.

A black outfit, a black demon saber, and a black mantle. Mo Fan was now fully encapsulated by the darkness. He looked like a dark knight with an eerie Aura to the crowd!

Chapter 2103: Slaying the Ghost Ruler

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The whip engulfed in ghost flames was lashed into the sky, as if a ghastly centipede was rising in the fortress. When the centipede slammed heavily back to the ground, the dark blue flames split in half and spread rapidly.

Mo Fan backed away, his shadow weaving through the flames. The flames were grabbing at him like hands, but after Mo Fan was Possessed by the Elder of the Shadow Tribe, he was able to fly around with the Fleeing Shadow. The centipede whip was leaving sparkles across the air, but it could not hit Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s moves were based on the Elder of the Shadow Tribe’s capabilities. He felt like the moves were carved into his mind through the connection between him and the Elder of the Shadow Tribe via the Dark Vein. The skills were oddly familiar to him.

“Sandstorm Demon Saber!”

Mo Fan’s Saber had a dark light gathering at its tip. It looked like he had executed a rapid slash with a Saber that was trailing a black substance, but it somehow turned into a black sandstorm made up of shadow blades instead of dust particles.

The black storm of shadow blades appeared after a random slash and instantly devoured over a hundred buildings.

The flames that had established their control over the area were extinguished. The centipede whip also broke into pieces after being hit by the bladestorm.

“What the Hell is that!?” Zu Xiangtian blurted out.

He was forced to withdraw a great distance because of the bladestorm. The Floating Reefs Battleground was only around eight hundred meters long. Even though there was no rule saying that whoever was knocked out of the battleground would lose the duel, the crowd would assume he was losing the duel if they saw him get knocked off the stage.

Zu Xiangtian had never seen anything like the Elder of the Shadow Tribe.

Zu Xiangtian had tried collecting Mo Fan’s information before coming to Fanxue Mountain, and thought he was familiar with Mo Fan’s abilities. He had thought he only had to watch out for Mo Fan’s Lightning Element, which was enhanced by the Blessing of the God’s Seal. He thought Mo Fan would mainly rely on his Lightning Element, since his other Elements were nowhere strong enough to take him on, yet Mo Fan had only been using his Shadow Element since the start of the duel!

When Mo Fan was Possessed by the Elder of the Shadow Tribe, it was similar to Zu Xiangtian’s Body-Borrowing Curse Art. Zu Xiangtian was frustrated, as the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was obviously stronger than his Underworld Ghost Ruler, as was made clear from the previous clash!

“I shall sacrifice you to the Saber!” Mo Fan flew out of the Floating Reefs Battleground. The Demon Saber which the Elder of the Shadow Tribe had turned into left a dark swathe behind in the air!

The crowd only saw a line drawing an arc across the sky, but Zu Xiangtian, whom the Saber was locked onto, was seeing different things. In his eyes, the sky Mo Fan was coming from had darkened with a strong sense of death. The stormy clouds were hanging low above the sea like the calm before a great storm. Between the stormy clouds and the ground devoured by darkness stood a ghastly Saber!

The enormous Saber slashed through the stormy clouds and split the sea in half. It was capable of destroying the Heavens and the Earth in Zu Xiangtian’s eyes!

“Impossible, this isn’t happening!” Zu Xiangtian yelled.

Zu Xiangtian was an experienced Mage. He tried to control the fear in his heart, turning the flames around him into a Wall bearing a ghastly face in order to shield himself.

He knew it was the Soul-Locking effect of Curse Magic when he felt his soul being targeted. An enemy’s attack would enlarge significantly in his heart when his soul was being locked on. Even a normal fireball would seemingly turn into a sea of flames!

Zu Xiangtian was a Curse Mage himself, and was trying his best to break free from the Soul-Locking effects!

When the Demon Saber slashed down, the whole fortress soaking in the seawater trembled. A few pillars of lava rose from the ground when the force of the slash sliced through the shallow water.

The black Saber had turned Zu Xiangtian’s surroundings into a volcanic belt, with lava surging from below. Zu Xiangtian mistook the Saber standing firmly under the clouds as the real threat. The ghastly-faced Wall he had established was completely useless!

The pillars of lava rose to a height of several hundred meters. From afar, it looked like black towering structures were being constructed in the fortress, even taller than the old buildings, pitch-black and covered in restless demonic Auras. The slash had basically formed a magnificent cluster of demonic buildings!

The power that Zu Xiangtian had taken from the Underworld Ghost Ruler was nothing in comparison. The dark blue flames engulfing him dissipated. Even the special Runes he bore were filled with the demonic Aura emitted by the Saber and turned into corroded wounds!

Zu Xiangtian decisively withdrew the Underworld Ghost Ruler when he realized it was at its limit.

Zu Xiangtian climbed out of the Underworld Ghost Ruler’s body miserably, like he had just shed a layer of burned skin. The skin soon turned into an insignificant puff of flame and burned to ashes after Zu Xiangtian discarded it.

Zu Xiangtian glanced at his battle attire, which was now covered in scratches and scars. It didn’t look tailored anymore, but like something he had taken out of a trash bin!

“It seems like the Zu Clan invested a lot in you for the duel!” Mo Fan rested the Demon Blade on his shoulder and mocked Zu Xiangtian’s miserable appearance.

Zu Xiangtian had not sustained any severe injuries, managing to discard the Underworld Ghost Ruler in time. He was also wearing expensive magic Armor.

The Underworld Ghost Ruler was as good as dead. Not only did Zu Xiangtian lose one of his forms, the Armor that had cost several hundred million was broken too!

Zu Xiangtian might not have been injured, but he had suffered great losses!

“They were expandable. It doesn’t concern me,” Zu Xiangtian grinned back nastily.

The Zu Clan was resourceful and rich. He could just subdue another powerful creature after losing the Underworld Ghost Ruler, and buy some new Armor after his old one was destroyed. The Zu Clan was eventually going to be his. The cost was acceptable if it was necessary to establish his status as the strongest young Mage in the country!

Chapter 2104: Running Away When They Were Outmatched

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Is that so? I wonder if you can withstand another blow?” Mo Fan asked rhetorically.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe could only last for a limited time. Mo Fan was not willing to waste even a second. He was only talking to Zu Xiangtian so he could catch his breath. His body was struggling to bear up under the Elder of the Shadow Tribe’s outstanding strength.

The cloak on Mo Fan’s back beat wildly, like a pair of wings. He vanished into thin air.

The hooded cloak suddenly appeared above Zu Xiangtian a second later. The Demon Saber thrust at Zu Xiangtian fiercely.

Zu Xiangtian was also a Wind Mage, and immediately Summoned a gust of wind to carry him into the distance when he realized something did not feel right.

The Demon Saber stuck into the water with overwhelming force!

Its black Aura turned into ferocious flames that devoured the water, like a meteorite had just fallen into the sea.

Zu Xiangtian was moving very quickly, yet he still could not outrun the flames. The powerful impact knocked him over a kilometer away from the Floating Reefs Battleground.

The Demon Saber continued to chase after him after the astonishing blow!

The Blade slashed horizontally, leaving a huge crack between the fortress and the sky. It felt like the force was about to tear a crack between the dimensions!

Zu Xiangtian was flying around with his Wind Wings, all lit up by a purple glow, but could only run away from the Demon Saber like a stray dog. Zu Xiangtian had no choice but to use the power of the Wind Necklace he was wearing to further increase his speed!

His speed might be impressive, yet he could only run from the Demon Saber, which was not giving him any chance to catch his breath!

Mo Fan would occasionally turn into a Cloak weaving through the darkness, or merge with the Demon Saber as it was swinging mercilessly. If Zu Xiangtian had not had so many pieces of outstanding magic Equipment that saved his life multiple times, the Demon Saber would have repeatedly torn him into pieces!

—

“Who said Zu Xiangtian was unbeatable just then? Would someone unbeatable be running around the battlefield now?”

“Why do I feel like Mo Fan’s strength is even crazier? That Demon Blade could instantly kill any of us!”

Most of the spectators were young Mages. They felt like their understanding of magic was being toppled when they saw Zu Xiangtian going from displaying his outstanding strength to being chased around by Mo Fan like a pitiful dog.

Why was their magic so different from what these two were practicing?

Zu Xiangtian’s Body-Borrowing Curse Art had already exceeded the usual principles of a magic duel, yet Mo Fan’s ability to switch between an evasive Cloak and a Demon Blade was even more shocking. The crowd had a feeling these two duelists had come from a different planet!

—

“Mo Fan is being himself again… We only caught a glimpse of the Elder of the Shadow Tribe on Tianshan Mountain,” Jiang Yu sighed.

“I didn’t expect his Shadow Element to be so strong already,” Guan Yu also sighed helplessly.

He was still stuck in front of the door of the Super Level. If he did not break through any time soon, he would never catch up to Mo Fan!

“Zu Xiangtian’s Wind Element is quite impressive too. I would have died to the Demon Blade if I were him…”

—

The Councilmen were initially treating the fight as a duel between two juniors, but their expressions had changed completely.

“Zhu Meng, are we getting too old?” Councilman Shi Liang muttered as he watched Mo Fan dashing all over the place.

“I have the same feeling, too. I’m starting to feel a little embarrassed of myself after seeing how strong that kid has become. He was just a little chick when I first met him in Hangzhou, but I feel like I couldn’t beat him very easily if I were to fight him now,” Zhu Meng admitted.

Zhu Meng was based in Hangzhou, which was very close to Feiniao Headquarters City. There was no chance he would miss out on such an epic duel. He had gone back to Hangzhou when Mo Fan did not show up yesterday, but he had come immediately when he heard Mo Fan had finally appeared.

Zhu Meng could not help but think Mo Fan was a young monster after seeing his Shadow Element. He would soon be able to fight old Super Mages like them in no time!

“Zu Xiangtian is hanging on, too. They are both rare talents of our country,” Councilman Shi Liang observed.

“Zu Xiangtian is now an Adjudicator of the Sacred City. He’s getting a lot of support from the Archangels, so it’s normal for him to be this strong, but Mo Fan… it’s incredible how strong he has become without receiving any support!” Zhu Meng had been watching Mo Fan’s growth, so he had higher hopes for Mo Fan.

It was still too early to decide who was the winner, however!

Zu Xiangtian’s Wind Element was very impressive. Mo Fan was unable to inflict serious damage on him after a few rounds. As the battle dragged on, the Elder of the Shadow Tribe began feeling a little uncomfortable after overstaying in the world of the living. Most importantly, it was a huge burden for Mo Fan to be Possessed by the Elder of the Shadow Tribe. In the end, he had no choice but to send the Elder of the Shadow Tribe back to the Dark Plane.

Zu Xiangtian was obviously not stupid, strategically withdrawing from the fight while his opponent was too strong. As a Curse Mage, Zu Xiangtian knew the Elder of the Shadow Tribe could not Possess Mo Fan for long!

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was too strong. Zu Xiangtian did not even dare to use his third form, too worried that the Elder of the Shadow Tribe would destroy it with just a few moves.

Withdrawing temporarily was his best option!

Unfortunately, Zu Xiangtian had to use up most of his important magic Equipment to protect himself. He could only rely on his own strength now!

Luckily, he still had two chances to use the Body-Borrowing Curse Art. Zu Xiangtian was surprised that he had not forced Mo Fan to use his strongest Lightning Element when he himself had already used the Body-Borrowing Curse Art twice!

He swore he was going to kill the person who provided him with Mo Fan’s information. He had almost died to the Elder of the Shadow Tribe because the person told him that he only had to watch out for Mo Fan’s Lightning Element!

“The Wind Element is such a nuisance.” Mo Fan stood on a building, watching Zu Xiangtian flying in the sky in the distance.

Wind Mages had a tactic everyone knew about: running away when they were outmatched!

A Wind Mage who insisted on running away could easily shake off an enemy, even if their enemy was stronger. Mo Fan clearly remembered Zu Xiangtian using a Super Wind Spell when they first met in the little village in Greece.

Zu Xiangtian’s Wind Element would naturally have improved over the course of half a year!

Chapter 2105: Blazing White Gust

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Blazing White Gust!”

Zu Xiangtian smiled when he saw Mo Fan had stopped attacking with his Shadow Element, taking it as his turn to take over the duel!

The sea began to roil as strong winds blew, bringing black storm clouds to the battleground.

The water had turned gray, and become waves driven by the wind. The wavelength was about twenty meters, and they were approaching the battlefield majestically, like moving gray sand dunes.

The black clouds were rumbling as they quickly loomed over the fortress. The entirety of Feiniao Headquarters City had gone from sunny to dark and gloomy. Everyone could smell the approaching storm!

Strong winds were blowing in from the sea. They served as a great contrast with the gloomy sea and sky. They were entirely white, like the sand along the coastline.

The winds gathered around Zu Xiangtian like birds and circled him continuously. It was like attaching huge cotton balls to him. The winds grew thicker as time went by.

“Sail!”

“Break!”

Zu Xiangtian lifted his hands while holding them like blades.

The Blazing White Gusts wrapped around Zu Xiangtian’s hands. He swung his right hand down and turned the Blazing White Gusts into dangerous shockwaves!

The burning winds blew ahead between the gloomy sky and sea like white sails. Mo Fan was around five hundred meters away, but the slashing winds reached him in the blink of an eye. The winds were so fast that he did not have any time to use his magic to relocate himself!

The piercing white gusts lunged forward, leaving a distinctive line between the Floating Reefs Battleground and the horizon, crossing Mo Fan’s position. A line of blood jetted from Mo Fan’s arm!

Mo Fan did a side flip and landed on the shallow reefs. His blood spread in the water like dye.

“Break!”

Zu Xiangtian swung his left hand mercilessly. He was planning to defeat Mo Fan while he was vulnerable from the injury.

The wind was just too quick. Mo Fan did not even have a chance to use his magic, including Basic Spells.

Mo Fan had noticed Zu Xiangtian was still able to attack with his other hand. As he thought, Zu Xiangtian fired the windblade at where Mo Fan was landing. It was a lot easier to dodge the attack when he knew where it was being aimed!

Mo Fan was using a single hand to support his weight on the reefs after the flip. He used the rebound to launch himself to the side.

He did not fall directly on the ground, using his momentum to bounce and roll further away. As he did, he saw a slicing gust of wind sweeping past him only a distance of a few centimeters away, slicing the waves in half. Even the clouds that were hanging low under the sky were split along a line. The sunlight sprinkled down from the gap and shone on Mo Fan in a narrow wall!

Mo Fan glanced back and saw the huge windblade had disappeared into the distance. He let out a relieved sigh.

Luckily, he had pretended he was falling to the ground to trick Zu Xiangtian into thinking he had an opening. Otherwise, he would not have been able to dodge the attack!

He was chasing Zu Xiangtian around like a stray dog with his demon blade just a moment ago, yet he had recovered fiercely in no time. Zu Xiangtian definitely had some skills up his sleeves!

“It’s my turn to take over the battle!” Zu Xiangtian floated out there, surrounded by Blazing White Gusts. He was able to move freely in the air even without Wind Wings on his back.

Zu Xiangtian was no longer maintaining his distance from Mo Fan, as he knew Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic had ended. He returned to the Floating Reefs Battleground and slowly landed on the ground. The wind was blowing in, revealing the soaked coral reefs.

A burst of flame erupted on Mo Fan’s shoulder and swiped across Mo Fan’s wound . The bleeding stopped immediately, leaving a burned scar behind.

Mo Fan had used the same trick to treat his wounds when he did not have time to apply medication. It was able to stop the bleeding and disinfect the wounds. Most importantly, it made him look cool!

Mo Fan tried moving his injured arm around. The wound had little effect on his strength. He was long used to minor injuries like this. He had also learned not to frown from the pain. He would only curse in his heart, It f**king hurts!

“Mo Fan, show me your Lightning Magic. Did you forget that I was a member of the national team too? Even though we didn’t win the tournament, I also received the Blessing of the God’s Seal. Your Shadow Element might have suppressed my Curse Magic, but you will never win against my Wind Element. Fight me with your Lightning Magic!” Zu Xiangtian stood proudly among the Blazing White Gusts.

Lightning was almost Mo Fan’s symbol. Everyone who knew Mo Fan knew how he had dominated the World College Tournament with his Lightning Element. Even Zorro had lost to Mo Fan because of his Lightning Element!

The Blessing of the God’s Seal was not really a secret. Zu Xiangtian believed Mo Fan’s Lightning Element was the strongest because of its nature and the improvement to its base damage from the Blessing of the God’s Seal.

The Blazing White Gust was one of Zu Xiangtian’s trump cards, too. He had not expected the duel to go on for so long, Mo Fan had turned out to be stronger than he had expected. The duel would eventually come down to a showdown between his Wind Element and Mo Fan’s Lightning Element!

“I have a lot of Elements. Aren’t you going to try them all out?” Mo Fan replied easily.

“It’s meaningless to use them if they aren’t at the Super Level. Only my Curse Element and Wind Element are at the Super Level! I believe yours are the Shadow Element and the Lightning Element!” Zu Xiangtian shouted back.

“Mm, mm, your information is quite accurate…” Mo Fan nodded. He decided not to tell the others his Fire Element had also reached the Super Level so he would not hurt the other Mage’s dignity.

—

The crowd gasped when they heard Mo Fan already had two Elements at the Super Level.

Those who had achieved the Advanced Level at their age were already brilliant, but the young Advanced Mages were ashamed when they saw Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian’s Super Elements, let alone the Intermediate Mages. They almost had an urge to reforge themselves in a furnace!

—

“Since you are so eager to see my Lightning, I shall grant you your wish!” Mo Fan’s eyes shifted as he finished the sentence. Unlike the conservative and cold Shadow Element, the Lightning Element was totally wild and imperious. The stormy clouds had provided his Lightning Element with a huge breeding ground, as lightning had been flashing continuously in them. Hundreds of lightning strikes were occurring simultaneously.

Mo Fan looked up like he was releasing the restless energy of the Lightning Element. He was soon surrounded by a destructive aura of power!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Shadow Element mainly focused on a single target to overwhelm it with pressure and fear. The crowd would only see the target being devoured by darkness, but have no idea what was going on inside it.

The Lightning Element was different. It danced blatantly above the crowd. Their eardrums almost burst from the lightning’s deafening rumbles as it descended from the sky. It would produce terrifying sparks whenever it came into contact with bigger particles in the air and leave behind a burnt odor. Even Mages with weaker cultivation felt threatened, let alone ordinary people!

Mo Fan’s earlier speech had indeed angered the crowd. Anyone with a rational mind would not antagonize the public, but the crowd now received a dangerous signal when they looked at Mo Fan.

They had to stay as far away from him as possible!

The Vice Mayor had made the necessary arrangements, placing a Barrier between the battlefield and the spectators. The Barrier would only activate if the energy of the duel had gone out of control to protect the spectators. After all, the cost of activating the Barrier was counted by the second!

As Mo Fan’s Lightning continued to grow stronger, the Barrier, which was capable of assessing the danger level automatically, began emitting a faint green light to protect the crowd, rising over them like a transparent umbrella!

“This is insane! I feel like the Lightning is going to blast us into pieces if there wasn’t a Barrier in front of us!” a student Intermediate Mage yelped.

He was also a Lightning Mage, but Mo Fan’s Lightning was the true definition of lightning striking. Their Lightning was only the scale of static charges in comparison!

“Leaving aside what he said, I think it’s fair to call him the strongest Lightning Mage!” someone exclaimed.

Mo Fan was indeed worthy to be called the strongest Lightning Mage after the Blessing of the God’s Seal. Zu Xiangtian was wary of Mo Fan’s Lightning Element, too!

“Frame of Wind Shield!”

Zu Xiangtian began controlling the Blazing White Gusts when he sensed a strong Lightning Magic accumulating above him.

The solid winds combined into shields in the form of whirlwinds. They were around the size of a handheld shield, but there were over a hundred of them, orbiting around Zu Xiangtian while picking up speed. They gradually formed a huge white Barrier Dome around Zu Xiangtian!

“Any defense is mere decoration before me. Stop wasting your energy, Zu Xiangtian!” Mo Fan called out proudly.

“Enough talking, show me your real strength!” Zu Xiangtian sneered back.

Mo Fan grinned.

Defense? Did Zu Xiangtian seriously choose to just defend himself?

He must have hit his head on a wall!

“Didn’t the person who gave you my information tell you the only way to win against me was not giving me any chance to use my magic? It would be the end if I used my spells?” Mo Fan called out smugly.

“Perhaps you are treating this as a fight between primary school kids! Your Lightning Tyrant is no match for my Blazing White Gusts!” Zu Xiangtian declared confidently.

“Now that you reminded me, it’s been a long time since I found a nice punching bag!” Mo Fan grinned.

Mo Fan had plenty of time to accumulate his magic after his opponent chose a defensive approach. The Lightning Element’s biggest weakness was that it needed time to accumulate its energy, like charging a piece of machinery.

“Lightning Crow!”

Mo Fan constructed a full Star Palace with Star Constellations. The spell he was Channeling needed the energy provided by a Star Palace. His Lightning Magic was even scarier once the Lightning Palace was constructed!

Dark lightning fell from the stormy clouds like crows, which spread their wings like lightning forking. More lightning appeared, as if a flock of birds was migrating below the clouds.

These lightning crows were made up of thousands of lightning bolts. Their brilliance washed the clouds white. The gloomy fortress and sea were both lit up by the blinding light!

As Mo Fan waved his hand, the lightning crows plunged at Zu Xiangtian like they had finally found meat after starving for a long time!

These lightning crows did not possess any intelligence. Mo Fan was treating them as a flock of suicide bombers, each one delivering a destructive blow!

When the first lightning crow hit its target, the voltage spread through the air like a spiderweb. As more lightning crows came down, the lightning web grew big enough to cover half the fortress!

The water had already disappeared, leaving a huge hole in the surface of the sea. The buildings were scorched and razed to the ground. The whole area from the Floating Reefs Battleground to the buildings, including an area a hundred meters across in the sea, was scattered by destructive lightning feathers!

Zu Xiangtian’s eyes widened when he saw his shields dissipating. He felt like a castle covered in steel, yet still failing to withstand the blows from his enemy’s suicide squad. Even the strongest defense he could muster was slowly being peeled away by the continuous blasts!

“Your Lightning…” Zu Xiangtian skidded backwards. The Blazing White Gusts had endured through a lot of damage from the lightning, but black smoke was now rising from wounds on his chest, arms, and legs!

“How is it possible for your Lightning to be so powerful!?” Zu Xiangtian’s hair was disheveled too, and he was coughing out black smoke as he swore.

“My Blazing White Gusts isn’t any weaker than your Lightning Tyrant! My cultivation is stronger too, so how did your Lightning break through my defense!?” Zu Xiangtian exclaimed in disbelief.

Zu Xiangtian had chosen a defensive approach because he was confident in his Blazing White Gusts!

The Frame of Wind Shield was Zu Xiangtian’s strongest defensive spell. He had compared it to the spells of many Earth Mages and Light Mages, and it turned out that his defense was sturdier!

Even though the Lightning Element was known for its ability to penetrate defenses, that only applied to metal and solid objects. His whirling shields could not be penetrated, so they did not have any weaknesses!

What exactly was the reason that Mo Fan’s Lightning had broken through the defensive spell that he was so proud of?

“Don’t you already know the reason? Both your Wind Magic and my Lightning Magic have received the Blessing of the God’s Seal!” Mo Fan was not in a rush to attack. He patiently explained to Zu Xiangtian, “But the Blessing of the God’s Seal is also based on how good-looking a person is. A righteous and handsome man like me will receive a stronger Blessing. The Blessing of the God’s Seal I received is twice as strong as yours!”

Mo Fan blatantly told Zu Xiangtian the multiplier of his Lightning Magic’s base damage. It was not really a secret.

He was basically saying, My Lightning is stronger than your Wind. How do you feel about that!?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Double the base damage of the Lightning Element!

Zu Xiangtian had an urge to curse his informant again. He swore he would lock the guy up in a pig pen!

The amplification to the base damage that most people received from the Blessing of the God’s Seal was between twenty to fifty percent. Zu Xiangtian was already a giant among men, as the amplification to the base damage of his Wind Element was a full fifty percent! Together with the sixfold amplification of the Blazing White Gust, his spells were nine times stronger than a normal Wind Mage!

Ninefold amplification was already quite insane. Even some of the Pseudo-Heaven Seeds did not have a ninefold damage amplification. It often meant his Intermediate Spells were as strong as someone else’s Advanced Spells!

To his surprise, Mo Fan was even scarier. The base damage of his Lightning Element had been doubled!

An Element’s total damage was derived by multiplying its base damage with the multiplier of their Elemental Seeds. Mo Fan’s was two times six, meaning that his spells were twelve times stronger than a normal Lightning Mage!

Even a full Heaven Seed only had a twelvefold damage multiplier. Mo Fan’s Lightning Element was just as powerful as a Heaven Seeded one!

Zu Xiangtian did not just feel terrible, he even had the urge to strangle the Hall Mother of the Parthenon Temple to death. Was Mo Fan her bastard? How was Mo Fan’s base damage so much higher than his? He thought fifty percent was already the maximum!

The fifty percent increase to the base damage of his Wind Element had been enough to make him the most brilliant Wind Mage in Europe!

His high-quality magic Equipment had been destroyed by Mo Fan’s Shadow Element. The Wind Element he was extremely proud of was being suppressed, too. The duel was supposed to be totally one-sided, so why did he feel like he was displaying his insignificant skill before an expert!?

“Didn’t you say you were going to take over? I’m afraid you will have to start running like a stray dog again!” Mo Fan grinned.

He rested for a while to catch his breath, already prepared to cast his next spell.

With his twelvefold damage amplification, even the energy of a Star Constellation alone was quite destructive. He did not have to construct a complicated Star Palace, since Zu Xiangtian did not have much defense left.

“Electro Cannon!”

Mo Fan did not wait until Zu Xiangtian was ready, and punched both of his fists out. The lightning bolts intersected and exploded right in Zu Xiangtian’s face as he was desperately trying to escape its range in a panic.

“Lightning Shrapnel!”

Mo Fan grasped a lightning bolt in his hand and tossed it in the direction Zu Xiangtian was flying .

The lightning bolt exploded after reaching a certain spot, shattering into lightning arcs that burst wildly in all directions like shrapnel. Zu Xiangtian dodged nimbly and wove through the gaps in the lightning arcs like a white bird. However, as the Lightning Shrapnel had covered all the gaps, he began to accrue more injuries.

The Wind Element was as annoying as usual. Zu Xiangtian would start running whenever he knew he was no match for his opponent, slowly increasing the distance between himself and Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not bother chasing after Zu Xiangtian. He kept using his Lightning spells while standing there on the Floating Reefs Battlefield.

“Run, run quicker! Lightning Explosion!”

“Why did you stop? Lightning Dance!”

“Here, show us your dance moves! Sky Lightning Claw!”

Surrounded by lightning, Mo Fan stood in the limelight at the middle of the Floating Reefs Battlefield while Zu Xiangtian was constantly dodging about with his Blazing White Gusts. Zu Xiangtian was unwilling to run too far away, and felt like a lion in a circus. Its trainer was using a lightning whip and forcing him to run around the cage. The whip might not be deadly, but it was extremely painful when it hit, and he would eventually run out of stamina, too!

—

“Why do I feel sorry for Zu Xiangtian?”

“Mo Fan is just being himself.”

“Isn’t Zu Xiangtian known for his strength in Europe? Apparently, his strength is on par with Herr Casa’s, so why does he keep running away from Mo Fan? Why can’t he fight back?”

“Seriously? You should go ahead and fight Mo Fan instead! Even the weakest lightning arcs that are scattering around on the battlefield right now could easily puncture your chest, let alone the actual spell! The fact that Zu Xiangtian is still alive now indicates… just how impressive his Wind Element is!”

“Mo Fan isn’t that impressive, either. He just keeps using his Lightning.”

“Friend, would you dare to say the same thing if you were standing on the other side of the Barrier?”

“Exactly, didn’t Mo Fan already say so at the start? Go ahead and ask to fight him if you aren’t convinced of his strength! We hope to see you in the duel next year!”

“I won’t stand on the other side of the Barrier, nor am I going to challenge him to a duel. I’m just unconvinced of his strength. What are you going to do about that?”

—

Zu Xiangtian’s hair was disheveled. His initially clean face was darker than an aboriginal, as if he was a member of a scientific expedition who had been stationed in Africa for the last decade.

“You’re not going to just keep running until my energy depletes, aren’t you? You are too naive if that’s what you are planning!” Mo Fan squinted happily, watching Zu Xiangtian calmly.

Zu Xiangtian eventually returned to the Floating Reefs Battleground. He had spent two-thirds of the duel running around outside the arena. There were those who were aware it was a duel between the two most talented young Mages and approved by the Magic Association, but those who did not would think it was more like a circus show!

The Wind Element was quite irritating. Zu Xiangtian decided to back away when he could not fight Mo Fan head-on, and would run if he was outmatched by his opponent. He had managed to survive the attacks of the Elder of the Shadow Tribe by abusing his Wind Element, or his corpse would be long cold by now. He used the same trick when Mo Fan’s Lightning Element was too much for him to handle!

—

The crowd was not brainless, either. Previously, they had assumed Zu Xiangtian was wise to withdraw tactically, but when he did it a second time, it was obvious that he was scared to face Mo Fan and fight him head-on!

“He was being so smug at the start. I almost thought someone would finally teach the Demon King a lesson, but he was beaten up so badly that even his mother wouldn’t recognize him. I was wondering why Zu Xiangtian was so famous in Europe. It turns out that he was famous for his ability to run away!”

“Isn’t that true? Mo Fan wasn’t lying, he really is the strongest Mage!”

—

Mo Fan was not worrying as he watched Zu Xiangtian keep running away with the Wind Element.

Not only did his Lightning Element have a twelvefold damage amplification, but his Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Spells had all reached the fourth or fifth Tiers, allowing him to cast powerful spells without expending much energy. On the other hand, Zu Xiangtian was constantly consuming his energy while using the Wind Wings and the Blazing White Gusts. He was definitely consuming his energy at a higher pace!

As Mo Fan thought, when his Lightning Element still had two-fifths of energy left, Zu Xiangtian was no longer zipping about agilely as he once had. His opponent was growing reluctant to use his higher-level spells!

“Did you think you have won since you have the upper hand because of your Lightning Element? I was actually planning to save my trump cards for Herr Casa!” Zu Xiangtian shouted at him.

“When a dog realizes it has no escape after being forced into a corner, it will pounce at its enemy recklessly. I’m well aware of it!” Mo Fan shot right back.

“You are celebrating too early! You should know that the greater our power is, the harder it is for us to control it! You shouldn’t blame me if I end up killing you!” Zu Xiangtian snarled with murderous intent.

He had carefully planned this duel to make a name for himself in his homeland, yet he was being played like a monkey in a circus. How humiliating!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zu Xiangtian’s Wind Element was strong, but it was never his only trump card.

He had a high reputation in the Zu Clan mainly because he could be Possessed by four different powerful creatures with the Body-Borrowing Curse Art, gaining the ability to use their powers in a fight!

The creature Zu Xiangtian was Summoning now was something that two seniors in his clan had sacrificed their lives to subdue in a battle at Kunlun Ice Valley. Zu Xiangtian still remembered the battle clearly!

“Mo Fan, if you’ve been to Tianshan Mountain, you should know there’s a powerful creature who dwells there…” Zu Xiangtian kept talking while using the Body-Borrowing Curse Art, as if he wanted Mo Fan to know how he would lose the duel.

However, Mo Fan had a feeling Zu Xiangtian was just showing off his power to him and the crowd.

“I’m guessing you are referring to the Skyridge White Tiger?” Mo Fan was very patient too. Since it was an official duel, he preferred to overwhelm his opponent completely, and politely gave Zu Xiangtian time to prepare his move. Normally, he would not give an enemy time to utter nonsense. The only sounds they were allowed to make were cries of agony!

“That’s right, it’s the Skyridge White Tiger! But do you know about the species that has ruled over another mountain range in our country for more than ten thousand years?” An imperious yellow Aura was rising from Zu Xiangtian’s body as he was talking. The people could easily see the Aura with their naked eyes!

The Skyridge White Tiger was the sacred species of Tianshan Mountain, a species blessed by the Heavens. It was the symbolic creature of Tianshan Mountain.

However, there was another kingdom of demon creatures that posed an even greater threat to their homeland than the Kingdom of Undead: the Kunlun Demons Kingdom!

The ancestors of the demons from Dunhuang were from Kunlun!

The demon horde on the Qinling Mountains was a branch of the Kunlun Demons Kingdom!

The mixed breeds in the Dongting Lake had originated from the species of Mount Kunlun, too!

Since ancient times, the Kunlun Demons Kingdom had always been the largest and strongest demon kingdom dwelling in China. Most of the cold-blooded and vicious demon species scattered across China were descended from the Kunlun Demons Kingdom!

The Kunlun Demons Kingdom was the strongest kingdom of demon creatures in China. The Kingdom was even ranked seventh in the whole world!

Even though it was only ranked seventh, the places that ranked higher than it, like the Sahara Desert, Antarctica, and the Bermuda Triangle, were uninhabited regions far away from human territories.

However, Mount Kunlun covered half of China! There were even towns and villages located within its boundaries. There were humans living quite near the Kunlun Demon Kingdom!

The Kunlun Mountain Range varied greatly in altitude and weather. It held snowy peaks, valleys, mountains, forests, basins, and swamps, and there were all kinds of species on it, forming countless branches of the Kunlun Demon Kingdom. As a result, Mount Kunlun was also called the Kunlun Demon Mountain!

Even with so many species on it, one particular species had always ruled over Mount Kunlun: the species that was comparable to the white tigers on Tianshan Mountain, the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger!

Mo Fan had spent some time learning a lot about the history and origin of the demon creatures of China after his visit to the Tianshan Mountain. He knew the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger was the king of demon creatures, the most domineering species on Mount Kunlun!

That species was the first thing that crossed Mo Fan’s mind when Zu Xiangtian brought it up!

Mo Fan was still feeling a little doubtful when tiger stripes erupted on Zu Xiangtian’s face, fresh blood splashing all over the place like his face had just been torn apart. The bones on his face were sticking out. His face was replaced by a strange appearance that was the combination of a human face and the face of a tiger!

The demon tigers on Mount Kunlun were yellow, the color that symbolized royalty in ancient times. Even their Auras were different from most demon creatures. When its savage yet noble Aura spread into the surroundings, every creature would subconsciously tremble in fear, including humans!

All living creatures had the instinct to stay away from danger. Some species would naturally be afraid of their natural enemies, like how mice were afraid of snakes, and rabbits were afraid of eagles. When they noticed their natural enemies approaching, their hair would stand on its end while they shivered in fear.

The Kunlun Ancestral Tiger was called the king of demon creatures and the ancestor of Mount Kunlun because it was the natural enemy of every living creature! Even humans, who had evolved into highly intelligent creatures, would still react instinctively, like such tigers were their natural enemy!

—

“The Zu Clan seriously doesn’t care about the consequences when it comes to training your younger generations!” Councilman Zhu Meng could already guess what the creature was when he saw the yellow Aura. He was even more convinced when he saw the shocking changes to Zu Xiangtian’s body!

Was it really necessary to use a power like that in a duel? A power like that was only going to cause serious injuries, or even death!

“Our country is currently amid a grave crisis. Our clan must step up and take on an important role. I was planning to let Xiangtian train at the Sacred City for a few more years before coming back here to take on an important role for the country, but our country couldn’t wait any longer, considering the circumstances. Since he’s coming back, he should be leading the younger generations, so he must be strong enough to convince the others! I don’t think it’s unacceptable for him to use his trump card against Mo Fan, who has claimed to be the strongest Mage in the world!” Zu Bo said proudly, fondling his mustache.

Zu Bo was obviously Zu Xiangtian’s father, and had arrived not long ago. The officials of Feiniao City had immediately risen to their feet to greet the skinny middle-aged man before inviting him to take a seat.

The Zu Clan had three imposing figures. The first one was Zu Huanyao, who was reputable at the international level. He was particularly fond of Zu Xiangtian, since he did not have a grandchild.

Zu Bo was the Vice Chief of the Royal Guards, second only to Pang Lai. He had great influence in the country. Many Councilmen would line up in front of his residence to visit him during the Chinese New Year.

Two out of the three imposing figures of the Zu Clan were treating Zu Xiangtian like a pearl in their palm. On top of that, Zu Xiangtian’s Innate Talent was perfectly compatible with their clan’s specialty. He could easily achieve impressive results without putting in as much effort as the other heirs in the clan!

“It was an adult Kunlun Inferior Ancestral Tiger. One of our venture teams, made up of forty experts, took four years to track it down so we could make it our clan’s god. Two of my cousins died in the battle!

“Xiangtian is different from others, who are good-for-nothing. He’s obsessed with getting stronger, so he has been working very hard. He’s the only person worthy of the Kunlun Inferior Ancestral Tiger!

“Mo Fan is pretty strong too, since he has forced Xiangtian to use his last resort, but he’s too pompous and reckless. He can achieve great things, but he can also mess things up. He’s too unpredictable!” Zu Bo squinted. He was extremely calm, as if he had never been worried about the outcome of the duel!

“Vice Chief, why did you bring that up? The Chinese National People’s Congress has yet to pass the motion,” Zhu Meng spoke up.

“I’ve spoken too much. Let’s watch the duel,” Zu Bo smiled.

The other Councilmen and officials were confused. Was there something else related to the duel that their superiors had not disclosed to them?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan frowned as he asked Guan Yu, “That terrifying thing is only Zu Xiangtian’s third creature? How is Mo Fan supposed to beat him?”

Guan Yu shook his head, “No, it should be the strongest one he has. I think he skipped the third one because it wasn’t strong enough.”

“It’s still insane. How do you even fight him when he turns into a Kunlun Ancestral Tiger?” Zhao Manyan was worried about Mo Fan now.

“I don’t think it’s a real Kunlun Ancestral Tiger. I doubt Zu Xiangtian’s body and soul could withstand the power of one,” Ai Jiangtu commented from the side.

“Even so, it looks as strong as a Totem Beast! It’s already tough for Mo Fan to fight a lesser Ruler-level creature, let alone a creature as strong as a Totem Beast!” Zhao Manyan murmured.

No other species had a yellow Aura. It was the symbol of the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger!

—

Mo Fan backed away a little. He had to admit that the Aura was intimidating. He had to keep a safe distance from his enemy while learning its capabilities.

As Mo Fan was wondering whether he should attack or play safe, he heard familiar footsteps close to his feet.

Mo Fan lowered his gaze and saw the round little cub had snuck onto the battlefield without him noticing. The crowd did not notice it because of the shallow water.

“What are you doing? You aren’t pleased with it? Go away, it isn’t your concern!” Mo Fan scolded it.

The little cub had short limbs, and the water was almost above her nose. She tried her best to raise her head, and let out a roar while half her mouth was filled with water.

However, she soon lost her interest when she noticed something was not right about the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger. She spun her legs and swam away!

What the heck?

What was the little cub up to if she only came to roar at the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger and left with disdain in her eyes?

Does that mean that the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger Zu Xiangtian Summoned does not have a pure lineage?

The little cub was a Totem Beast, while the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger was an emperor of the demon creatures. One was from Tianshan Mountain, and the other was from Mount Kunlun. They were supposed to be one another’s nemesis!

It made sense that the little cub had shown up after picking up Zu Xiangtian’s new Aura, but she left immediately when she discovered the Aura was not to her liking.

Was the little cub looking down on the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger?

“That creature should be around the level of a Skyridge White Tiger. The little cub is a Totem Beast, so she’s only interested in the real Kunlun Ancestral Tiger…” Mo Fan roughly understood the little cub’s behavior.

A strong gust swept at Mo Fan and stirred up a huge wave on the sea. Mo Fan had to stabilize himself with the Earth Element.

The little cub might treat the creature with disdain, but Mo Fan could not afford to lower his guard. He had been forced to rely on Apas’ help to escape from a Skyridge White Tiger when it was chasing him. He could not Summon Apas to fight for him under the circumstances. First, Zu Xiangtian might totally lose his mind. Second, Mo Fan did not want to expose Apas’ identity as a Medusa!

He would have to face the Kunlun Inferior Ancestral Tiger by himself!

The Kunlun Inferior Ancestral Tiger was most likely a child of the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger and another Ruler-level tiger. It had half the lineage of the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger and half the lineage of a Ruler-level creature. Zu Xiangtian was most likely slightly stronger than a lesser Ruler-level creature while he was Possessed by the Kunlun Inferior Ancestral Tiger!

A deafening roar echoed between the sky and the sea. Schools of fish far away fled for their lives, while flocks of birds rose into the sky from the forest to the south of Feiniao Headquarters City.

Every living creature within twenty kilometers was overwhelmed by fear. Zu Xiangtian’s terrifying power had immediately shut the mouths of those who had doubted him. The legs of the guy who was mocking him in the crowd were trembling too!

His arms were covered in glowing fur from the Curse Magic. It looked like the fur of a tiger, drifting imperiously in the wind. Not only had his face changed, but his arms and legs had transformed like a demon!

He was standing there unmoving. As a matter of fact, the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger did not walk on four limbs, and normally stood like a human too, a godly warrior in a shiny golden armor made of tiger fur!

“You should consider yourself lucky to see me like this!” Zu Xiangtian stepped forward. With each step he took, his yellow Aura pulsed.

Mo Fan felt like he was experiencing a strong earthquake. His bones were on the verge of breaking!

So this was how strong the Presence of the Kunlun Inferior Ancestral Tiger was? It was a little terrifying, indeed!

A yellow light was accumulating beside Zu Xiangtian’s feet. The sturdy reef broke into pieces when he stomped the ground. The shards flew at Mo Fan under the influence of the light.

The stomp did not merely cause the ground to shake. Mo Fan noticed how wide its area of effect was. It was meaningless for him to try dodging!

“Circle of Crystal Teeth, rise!”

Mo Fan stomped the Floating Reefs Battleground himself. The water nearby evaporated instantly, revealing the shards that had been accumulating since the start of the duel!

The shards stacked up rapidly and formed a thick wall around Mo Fan. Its brown surface made it look like a huge fortress!

Cracks surfaced on the wall when the yellow shards struck it. The cracks glowed with a yellow light that could seemingly penetrate any defense.

“Stop embarrassing yourself with that petty spell of yours. You will never stop me!” Zu Xiangtian took another step forward.

A greater light appeared around his other foot. The next stomp produced more shards than the previous one, and they were a lot stronger, too!

Dense rays of light were flowing like electricity on a complex circuit. They reached Mo Fan’s fortress in the blink of an eye!

“You have underestimated my Earth Element!” Mo Fan took a few steps back and lifted his arms.

He had fought countless rounds with Zu Xiangtian. The man’s Curse Element and Wind Element had provided Mo Fan with a lot of shards. They had almost formed a second coral reef under the Floating Reefs Battleground!

“Circle of Crystal Teeth: Heavenly Gate!”

As Mo Fan Summoned the shards, the whole fortress began to tremble. The magical shards flew out of the water and at Mo Fan like they were being attracted by magnets. They quickly formed themselves into an enormous gate that was taller than a skyscraper!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Heavenly Gate stood in front of Mo Fan, and Zu Xiangtian’s crushing rays struggled to penetrate and destroy it.

Zu Xiangtian stomped over a dozen times, but finally realized he could not deal any damage to Mo Fan’s Circle of Crystal Teeth: Heavenly Gate. His face darkened.

The scum who had sold him Mo Fan’s information should really be sent to the worst prison in the world and be raped by the prisoners for ten days and nights straight! How dare he tell him Mo Fan’s Earth Element was like a little kid’s playdough?

Was Mo Fan’s Earth Magic as weak as playdough? A Heavenly Gate was not something a normal Earth Mage could build!

There was one more thing: who the heck told him Mo Fan was a pure destructive Mage who did not really have any defensive spells? Did he just pull the Heavenly Gate that even a Kunlun Stomp failed to destroy out of a magic hat?!

If Zu Xiangtian had known Mo Fan had stolen his energy with the Circle of Crystal Teeth, he would have lost his mind even further!

—

“Crap, since when is Mo Fan so good? Is he going to steal my job too?” Zhao Manyan’s eyes almost popped out when he saw Mo Fan’s defensive spell.

Mo Fan was known for his lack of defenses. He would have died on numerous occasions if Zhao Manyan was not around!

“I thought Mo Fan was never going to learn any defensive spells, but the one he just used was ridiculous. I’m sure it can withstand a few Super Spells!”

The members of the national team were in disbelief too.

Was that man really Mo Fan?

Mo Fan had so many Elements, so it was not strange for him to have a few defensive spells. However, the Circle of Crystal Teeth’s resilience was simply too crazy. It was like the desperate move of someone who had been focusing on defense for a thousand years. It was not something they had ever expected to see from Mo Fan!

—

“I think I overdid it, I should have preserved some of the shards!” Mo Fan exclaimed when he saw the Heavenly Gate.

The Circle of Crystal Teeth was a lot stronger than he had imagined. Judging from its defense, he had only needed half of the shards to defend himself from Zu Xiangtian’s attack!

“It’s only the beginning. It’s too early to be proud of yourself!” Zu Xiangtian started to press forward again.

His whole body was engulfed in the yellow light, and a yellow halo was circling him. As he drew closer, the people felt like a huge storm was coming. They felt minuscule, like they were facing something enormous.

Zu Xiangtian picked up his pace, and began to sprint. His strength was equivalent to an ancient deity, and his whole body was covered in a yellow Aura.

He arrived before Mo Fan instantly and swept his claws in a crossing pattern.

The space Mo Fan was standing on shuddered. Mo Fan disappeared before the claws touched him, leaving behind tiny silver particles which swiftly dissolved in the air.

“Blink? I know where your exit is!”

Zu Xiangtian moved rapidly. He was currently able to catch up with the speed of the Space Element!

He swung his claws as soon as Mo Fan came out on the other side of the spatial tunnel.

Yellow windblades swept at Mo Fan’s location wildly. Mo Fan did not dare dodge them with the Fleeing Shadow. He would only sustain greater injuries if he used the Fleeing Shadow while being targeted by clustered attacks.

Mo Fan felt like it would be a waste to use the Space of Darkness again. Zu Xiangtian should have some destructive and terrifying moves after being Possessed by the Kunlun Inferior Ancestral Tiger. Mo Fan felt like he should keep it as a trump card.

“Space Rhythm: Will of Steel!”

Mo Fan did not move, but his silver eyes began to glow.

He was able to gather his Will and turn it into a powerful force to attack his enemy. Similarly, he could also gather the Will around himself like steel armor. Mo Fan had practiced it whenever he was training with Mu Ningxue. It was not quite able to block Mu Ningxue’s attack at her full strength.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, the windblades were fiercer than he had thought, and the Will of Steel was quickly torn apart. The scything winds were close to slicing into him!

Full attention!

The Space Element was a very unique Element. Its level was determined by the limit of the Mage’s mental strength, so it was not a stable Element.

A person with an indestructible Will might even awaken a power that was beyond their level! The bolder a person was, the better the product was!

Mo Fan enjoyed playing with his limits. It did not matter if the Will of Steel was torn apart. As long as he believed he could stop the attack, his Will would do it for him!

Forget the pain, don’t be afraid of your opponent, shun the fear, and focus solely on yourself; you will be impervious to sword or spear, and well-fortified!

Trust your will and you will have eternal life. Who cared if he was against the Kunlun Ancestral Tiger? No one could possibly crush his Will of Steel!

The stronger the Will, the brighter the silver light. Mo Fan was already encapsulated by a dazzling silver light. The silver strings tied together without a single gap were Mo Fan’s Will!

It was subjective to describe something as strong or weak. A Space Mage’s Will might skyrocket when they were provoked or their lives were in danger. In Mo Fan’s case, his Will had grown stronger because of his confidence. More of his Will, manifesting as silvery silken strands were sparkling in his Spiritual World before merging with the armor that was being torn apart.

The more Will combined with the armor, the sturdier it was. Zu Xiangtian was too naive if he thought Mo Fan’s other Elements were not a threat!

“I don’t need any defensive Equipment. I only need my righteous aura!” Mo Fan’s Will only grew stronger over time. The jacket he had bought from a stall on the street was already shredded to pieces, yet he retained his confident appearance!

The silver light flared again as the number of silver strings doubled. The Armor of Will that was being torn apart recovered instantly. It even had an extra, even thicker layer!

Zu Xiangtian’s attacks were fierce. He kept moving around Mo Fan rapidly and attacking from different angles, trying to abuse Mo Fan’s blind spots and find a weakness. The scything yellow windblades gradually grew larger, growing from scything walls with a diameter of around thirty meters to huge whirling tornadoes with diameters over a hundred meters wide!

However, the silver light engulfing Mo Fan did not dissipate, even as the winds grew stronger!

—

“Are they using the long-lost martial arts, the Golden Bell and the Nine Yin Skeleton Claws?!”

“You’ve been reading too many Wuxia novels!”

“Everyone back away a little, the winds might penetrate the Barrier and hurt you. Please be more careful if you aren’t an Advanced Mage. The insurance companies don’t cover death caused by a magic duel!” a worker in charge of maintaining order at the scene warned everyone.

“I’m not a Mage…”

“So you should stay further away!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zu Xiangtian roared furiously. When he completed the Kunlun Thousand Shadows of Tiger Claws, the multiple cutting tornadoes with diameters of a hundred meters grew even stronger!

It was no longer necessary for Zu Xiangtian to keep attacking. The cutting winds were spinning on their own with great momentum. They almost shredded the Floating Reefs Battleground!

Mo Fan was still in the middle of the tornadoes. The silver light was no longer as bright as it used to be.

Zu Xiangtian had his back to the yellow tornadoes, and was now sporting a menacing grin.

Trying to stop his attack with only mere Will?

Was Mo Fan’s brain flooded with seawater? The Kunlun Ancestral Tigers were known for their unstoppable attacks. They would tear their enemies into pieces whenever they made their moves!

The tornadoes began to spread further, and the Barrier struggled to withstand its force. A huge force had penetrated it!

Luckily, the Mages who were maintaining order had asked the crowd to back away as a safety precaution. Otherwise, there would definitely have been casualties.

This was the main reason why the Magic Association did not allow Mages above the Advanced Level to duel one another: it was too difficult to maintain safety! Those who were injured were usually the Mages who thought they were good enough to watch the duel at a close distance, not the people who did not know magic!

—

When the tornadoes dissipated, the old fortress looked like it had just gone through a terrifying storm.

The old fortress was naturally divided into ten blocks. The blocks around the Floating Reefs Battleground were the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth blocks. Almost a hundred buildings in these areas were caught up in the tornadoes. The walls, floors, and bridges were covered in gashes over half a meter deep, from five to thirty meters long!

It was only the residual energy of the tornadoes, yet anyone who came to the fortress would assume it had just been invaded by a horde of demon tigers after seeing the dilapidated buildings!

—

The tide had begun to recede.

The Floating Reefs Battleground was unique because the reefs would be exposed above the surface when the tide fell. They would be completely dry in an hour or two under the constant blowing of the sea breeze.

The tide fell very quickly. Some reckless fish did not manage to follow the others back to the sea. They were bouncing on the reefs. Most of the fish were shredded by Zu Xiangtian’s attack. Their remains and blood had returned to the sea together with the falling tide.

A clownfish was flopping continuously under Mo Fan’s feet, trying to make its way back to the sea.

Mo Fan looked at the clownfish that had survived and smiled.

When Zu Xiangtian made his move, there was a school of clownfish under Mo Fan’s feet, numbering about a hundred.

The waves were strong, and the clownfish were forced to leave with the tide. Most of the fish had already fled because of the duel between Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian, but the school of clownfish could not get away.

The little creatures had noticed they were in danger when Zu Xiangtian attacked with the tornado, and fled in all directions in great panic. Some headed for the holes in the reefs. Some tried to swim back to the sea. The only clownfish that had survived trusted Mo Fan and believed the area protected by the Will of Steel was the safest spot.

It had stayed under Mo Fan’s feet to be protected by him!

“You are smarter than your friends. It’d be a pity for you to die because of the falling tide!” Mo Fan held the clownfish in his hand.

He walked to the edge of the Floating Reefs Battleground and put the clownfish back in the water.

The clownfish calmed down after it returned to the water. It swam close to the reefs in a few circles before disappearing into the vast sea.

Mo Fan’s action had silenced the crowd. The people were staring at him in confusion. He was covered in cuts and bruises!

The fish might be alive, but he was severely injured!

Zu Xiangtian’s attack was stronger than he had thought. His Will of Steel was already stronger than it normally was, yet he was still wounded!

—

“Oh my, The Demon King is so kind!” a woman among the crowd suddenly screamed. It sounded like Ai Tutu’s voice.

The woman who was screaming among the crowd was actually Ai Tutu. Mui Nujiao was beside her, both of them worried about Mo Fan. The VIP seats were fully occupied when they came, so they had no choice but to blend in with the crowd.

“Being kind isn’t going to help him. He’s already covered in so many wounds. He’s bleeding badly. He already lost!” someone snickered in a displeased voice.

“He could have stayed away, yet he insisted on putting up a front. He’s already at his limit! You girls are so petty to focus on something so insignificant!”

Ai Tutu pointed at the person and snarled, “What the Hell do you know, you piece of shit? The Demon King’s attempt to protect the fish and put it back in the water is so cool! I’m his fan from today on!”

“Tutu, didn’t you say Zu Xiangtian was your idol when you first arrived?” Mui Nujiao whispered.

“But his Body-Borrowing Curse Art looks so ugly. He’s nowhere as handsome as The Demon King when he crouched down and scooped the clownfish up. I want to be held like that too. I want to be protected like a happy clownfish!” Ai Tutu exclaimed.

1

Mui Nujiao pouted. She could not help but think how childish Ai Tutu was. Still, she had to admit that Mo Fan’s action was a little… eye-catching.

Women were a special species. Many of them were focused on Zu Xiangtian’s handsome appearance not long ago and were despising Mo Fan for being arrogant. Most of them were leaning toward Zu Xiangtian.

However, Mo Fan immediately won the hearts of many women with his little action.

—

Was Mo Fan really protecting the fish?

The fish’s wellbeing was none of his business. He just thought the little creature was unusually smart to stay under his feet. Mo Fan had always been friendly toward creatures who were smart and intelligent.

The wounds on him were burning with the seawater. It turned out that his Will alone had not been enough to defend himself from Zu Xiangtian’s attack. He was covered in cuts and bruises as a result. They might not be deadly, but they would definitely hinder his performance.

Luckily, being injured was not necessarily a bad thing for him!

“Mo Fan, hurry up and stop the bleeding. You are badly injured!” Zhu Meng urged him loudly.

“Just concede and treat his injuries. Those aren’t normal wounds. He can’t stop the bleeding by burning them!” Zu Bo chuckled.

Zu Xiangtian was laughing now.

Mo Fan was unable to stop the bleeding. He could either admit his defeat and find a Healer to treat his injuries, or continue to fight until he bled to death!

Zu Xiangtian had won the battle. It was still a favorable outcome despite how difficult it had been.

“It’s fine, just let me bleed for a while!” Mo Fan remained standing as blood was pouring out of the wounds and fell onto the reef.

The tide had fallen.

His blood stopped diluting in the water. The drops of blood landed on the reef and slowly permeated them.

Everyone was focusing on the high-spirited Zu Xiangtian and the injured Mo Fan. They did not notice the reef gradually turning crimson and heating up!

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The rocks kept getting hotter. The water on the reefs evaporated in seconds, white steam rising into the air. Even the seawater within a certain distance was boiling!

—

“That jerk Mo Fan, the little fish hasn’t gone that far yet!” Ai Tutu screamed. She almost had an urge to beat the crap out of Mo Fan.

1

—

As Mo Fan’s blood continued to fall, the temperature of the rocks increased until the reef beneath him was blazing red.

Zu Xiangtian had to start hopping between his feet while he was standing on the reef.

“Are you finally going to use your Fire Element? I’ve been waiting for it!” Zu Xiangtian looked at Mo Fan with a proud grin.

Fire? Zu Xiangtian was not afraid of Mo Fan’s Fire Element, since it had yet to reach the Super Level. Even if Mo Fan was Possessed by Little Flame Belle, he would still be no match for him!

Mo Fan’s strongest Lightning Element was already used up. Even if he still had other tricks up in his sleeves, he would eventually lose the duel as he was bleeding excessively!

“Don’t force it, admitting your defeat isn’t as difficult as you thought. You just need to lower your head and say two words!” Zu Xiangtian smiled arrogantly.

Zu Xiangtian was obviously not trying to convince Mo Fan to surrender. He knew what he said would only provoke Mo Fan to stay in the fight!

It would be the most ideal outcome if Mo Fan kept fighting until he bled to death. He would not offend the people who were grateful toward Mo Fan if that happened, and he would be able to get rid of the eyesore too!

“Why are you acting like you’ve won the duel?” Mo Fan smiled. The blood all over him made his smile look savage and twisted!

“Three minutes! In three minutes, you won’t have a single drop of blood left. Even the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple won’t be able to save you!” Zu Xiangtian sneered.

“That’s more than enough!” Mo Fan replied.

“What is!?” Zu Xiangtian was getting impatient with Mo Fan’s illogical words.

“I just need half a minute to talk with you, a minute and a half to defeat you, and half a minute to walk away elegantly and greet the people of our country passionately,” Mo Fan scoffed.

Zu Xiangtian immediately pulled a long face.

Was this Mo Fan always so reluctant to admit his defeat? Beating him in just a minute and a half?

Not many old Mages across the country would dare to say something like that, let alone among the young Mages!

Besides, he was already severely injured. The injuries would greatly hinder his strength. Where did he even get his confidence from?

“Fine, I would like to see how you are going to beat me in a minute and a half!” Zu Xiangtian laughed.

The outcome had already been decided. There was no way Mo Fan could turn the tables around! If he was not injured, he might have a glimpse of hope to win, but it was completely impossible now!

“Did you drink enough?” Mo Fan suddenly piped up.

“What drink enough? What the hell are you talking about?” Zu Xiangtian was annoyed.

What the heck was Mo Fan going on about now?

“You seem to mind every word I say. I think you are starting to be afraid of me,” Mo Fan added.

“Nonsense! I just don’t like it when someone keeps babbling in front of me!” Zu Xiangtian refuted immediately.

“It’s the right reaction. You should be afraid. I was asking the rocks under my feet if they had drunk enough,” Mo Fan told him graciously.

“You’re f**king insane to let the rocks drink your blood. Do you think those rocks can come to life and beat me after drinking your blood? You are seriously the most retarded opponent I have ever faced!” Zu Xiangtian burst out laughing.

1

“Your information is finally accurate for once!” Mo Fan laughed.

Blood was still pouring out from his wounds. It went from bright red to dark red.

When the drops of dark red blood landed on the reefs, they were no longer glowing with heat.

It was just as Zu Xiangtian had mentioned; the rocks were drinking Mo Fan’s blood greedily. The lifeless rocks had come to life like a devil after obtaining fresh blood. The entire surface was shaking hard, as it was trying to break free from the chains that were tying it down!

“It’s dark red…” Mo Fan murmured, staring at the blood that was flowing out of his body.

The dark red blood was most likely the power of the demon inside him.

Even the demon in him was bleeding. The injuries he had sustained were more serious than he thought!

If the bright red blood previously was only providing energy for the devil to come to life, the dark red blood of the demon had allowed the devil to evolve completely!

The Floating Reefs Battleground was a symbol of the old fortress. It underwent an astonishing change after Mo Fan fed it his blood and the demon’s blood.

The internal structure of the reef was being reassembled. The surface was vibrating with great energy. A terrifying roar that sounded like it had originated from Hell rose up, as if a demon ten thousand feet under the sea had awoken, unleashing its wrath across the sea to bring destruction upon the cities!

Half of the old fortress was shaking now. The dilapidated buildings collapsed to the ground as the reef rose up like it had been granted life!

The Floating Reefs Battleground was moving. It had turned into a Raging Reef Demon!

Its shoulders were like mountains. Its huge arms were engulfed in burning lava. Its chest was as magnificent as a dam.

The sea was spacious and the city was huge, yet everything felt incredibly tiny when the enormous demon rose up. The humans were literally ants in the eyes of the demon spirit summoned by the Blood Pact of the Earth.

—

“Oh…oh mama!”

“I want to go home and do my homework. I will never watch a duel again!”

“Mo Fan! We are sorry! We are sorry!”

The smell of piss lingered among the crowd. Many of them had seen enormous beings before, but they had never heard of a power that could turn the entire Floating Reefs Battleground into a towering rock demon. Ordinary people would not be able to control their bladder after seeing something like it!

—

Mo Fan stood on the Raging Reefs Demon, like a deity looking down at the living.

Zu Xiangtian was as insignificant as a kitten in Mo Fan’s eyes. What about the Kunlun Inferior Ancestral Tiger? Its yellow fur was already standing on its end. It was spooked out of its mind!

“What…what kind of magic is that?” Zu Xiangtian bleated out in a trembling voice.

The Summoning Element? No way, there wasn’t any presence of its energy!

My informer did not mention anything about this!

“It seems like I’ve overestimated you being able to last for a minute and a half. Where do you want to go to treat your injuries for the rest of your life? I’ll give you a ride there!” Mo Fan was planning to offer Zu Xiangtian a free ticket to anywhere in the world.

The Raging Reef Demon was tied to Mo Fan by blood. It stomped the ground fiercely when it felt Mo Fan’s anger!

The Vice Mayor of Feiniao City should be extremely grateful to him, as the stomp completely razed the remaining buildings that were going to be demolished to the ground. Every single building of the four blocks had turned into dust, regardless of its condition. Most importantly, the Raging Reef Demon had only stomped the ground to gather its strength!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’ve put up with you for too long. This is for justice!”

Mo Fan swung his fist. The Raging Reef Demon that was taller than a skyscraper was perfectly in sync with him. Its fist was like a huge meteorite that could explode at any second!

Mo Fan did not plan to become the strongest Mage with just words. He was using this destructive fist to convince the crowd!

The Raging Reefs Demon let out a roar. The sea everywhere within their line of sight roiled fiercely, forming a white curtain behind the Raging Reef Demon!

The meteorite fist smashed the white curtain, turning it into a huge downpour across the fortress. The fist slammed down onto the spot Zu Xiangtian was standing on!

Zu Xiangtian was running toward the sixth block, trying to hide from the terrifying punch that the Raging Reef Demon was using to vent Mo Fan’s anger by using the buildings as cover, but the Demon’s previous stomp had already destroyed all of the buildings in the sixth block. There was not a single scrap of cover. He could only flee aimlessly, like a stray dog!

He had to get as far away as possible. The Kunlun Inferior Ancestral Tiger knew the importance of drawing on advantages and avoiding disadvantages, too. It did not matter what Zu Xiangtian’s intentions were. The soul of the Kunlun Inferior Ancestral Tiger on him was too terrified to even stay in the area!

The fist seemed extremely slow. The force it was emitting was traveling slowly, too, but the destruction it brought was visible to the naked eyes. It was like a deity was unleashing its wrath upon the world. Everything within its impact area was crushed into pieces, and the destructive force kept spreading. It was meaningless to even run from it!

“Don’t, Mo Fan, that’s the new area, don’t do it!” The Vice Mayor fell to the ground from his seat. He almost had the urge to kneel before Mo Fan.

Mo Fan could not hear him at all. The deafening rumble from the giant rock demon’s movements had devoured every other sound in the vicinity.

Mo Fan did not care if it was a new area or an old area, as long as it was deserted. Keep smashing everything! Zu Xiangtian, there’s nowhere to run!

Zu Xiangtian knew running was meaningless, too. He was planning to distance himself to find an opening, but when he turned around, he realized the shockwave emitted by the fist was so huge that he could not see the ends of it!

Everything he could see behind him was being crushed into pieces. It was like the apocalypse!

“Why is this happening? How is this possible?” Zu Xiangtian was overwhelmed by despair when the shockwave from the Raging Reefs Demon’s punch approached him. It felt like he was about to be swallowed by a tide of death.

For some reason, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He swore he was going to chop the assh*** who sold him Mo Fan’s information into pieces and fed them to the dogs!

The information he had collected was completely useless. Zu Xiangtian hoped he could bring the informer here so he could experience what he was going through!

What did he mean by Mo Fan’s Shadow Element was nothing to worry about? What did he mean when he said he only needed to worry about Mo Fan’s Lightning Element, that his Space Element was only useful for inflating balloons, and his Earth Element was like children’s playdough?

Was the enormous demon behind him just a lump of playdough? It could easily destroy an average-sized city!

—

“No…no… my buildings… my buildings, is he with the sea monsters!?” The Vice Mayor was in tears. Every new building that collapsed to the ground was like a stab to his heart.

He was hoping the two young Mages could demolish the old fortress on his behalf, but Mo Fan had even destroyed the new buildings further away. The project had cost him hundreds of millions. If Fanxue Mountain did not compensate him for his loss, he swore he would chase them away from Feiniao Headquarters City!

“Vice Mayor, why didn’t you set up a Barrier around the new area? It might not be enough to stop the destruction, but it would still minimize it.”

“How could I f**king know Mo Fan was so strong!?” the Vice Mayor cursed back.

The single punch from Mo Fan’s Raging Reef Demon had completely ruined his plans. If the assh*** ended up breaking up the Floating Reefs Battleground, he would fight Mo Fan to death right away. He no longer cared about the Magic Association’s rules!

“Mo…Mo Fan, please stop it and give me back my Floating Reefs Battleground!” the Vice Mayor begged. He had lost all hopes of preserving the new buildings.

“Zu Xiangtian isn’t convinced of his defeat yet. No worry, I just need to throw a few more punches at him!” Mo Fan called back, staring at Zu Xiangtian, who was as tiny as a dust particle in the distance. He noticed Zu Xiangtian was still able to move around.

“Stop…stop it, how could you ignore the safety of the people? You are disrespecting the Magic Association to use your power so recklessly!” Zu Bo could not stand it any further. He condemned Mo Fan right away.

“Vice Chief, you are only worried whether your son is going to spend the rest of his life in a hospital, right?” Zhu Meng asked knowingly.

“Bullsh**, I’m worried about the city’s foundation!” Zu Bo lied instantly.

The Mayor did not say a word. The Vice Mayor was only concerned about his money. It was obvious that Zu Bo had only said those words because he was afraid.

Everyone was given a fright. The Raging Reef Demon Mo Fan had Summoned with his blood was a city destroyer. The sturdy buildings that were supposed to stop the sea monsters from invading the city had popped like bubbles under Mo Fan’s attack. Even the slightest quake could knock them to the ground!

The Mayor was not too worried. He was only concerned about the safety of the people, but the Vice Mayor had a different view, since he was in charge of the reconstruction.

—

“Zu Xiangtian, do you admit your defeat now!?” Mo Fan was at the highest point in the fortress. There was no building higher than the Raging Reef Demon.

Zu Xiangtian did not respond.

“Mo Fan, you are overdoing it. He might be suffering from a severe concussion because of you. How is he supposed to answer you?” someone reminded Mo Fan.

“Oh, I should wake him up then. Where did he go? I don’t see him anywhere. Hey, those who are on duty in the north, did you see Zu Xiangtian on your side?” Mo Fan asked loudly.

“We aren’t sure, everything happened too quickly. Can you please go easier next time? We almost thought we are dead!” the Mages who were on duty shouted back warily.

“Hehe, I can control it!” Mo Fan declared confidently, but he scratched his head. He was having trouble finding Zu Xiangtian!

Forget it, the Blood Pact of the Earth was not a Summoning Spell. It could only attack once. It was time to call it a day!

“Mo Fan, put the Floating Reefs Battleground back where it was!” the Vice Mayor yelled at Mo Fan. He could not care less about his image now.

“Oh, your reefs are pretty useful. My Blood Pact of the Earth is a lot stronger because of them. Next time…” Mo Fan chuckled.

“I’m going to kill you if there’s a next time!” the Vice Mayor yelled.

“Did I win? Shouldn’t you declare the outcome, as the judge of the duel?” Mo Fan called back.

“Has anyone found Zu Xiangtian?” the Mayor asked calmly.

“The north sentry is looking for him. We should hear something soon.”

“Maybe he has turned into dregs, since he’s always been one,” Mo Fan laughed dismissively.

Zu Bo almost jumped up in rage.

If his beloved son had turned into dregs, he would strangle Mo Fan to death with his own hands!

Chapter 2114: Doing it Secretively Is More Thrilling

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Demon King Mo Fan was eventually declared the winner of the duel. The speech he gave before the duel, which looked down on every other young Mage in the world, naturally spread like a plague across the planet. It became a trending topic among the Mages.

—

“Ningxue, I was wondering how we could promote our Fanxue Mountain so at least the people of our country would know who we are, but I think we can save the money now. Not only did our boss make sure the whole country remembers our name, people across the whole world know there’s someone called Mo Fan from Fanxue Mountain…” Mu Linsheng told Mu Ningxue after he quickly calculated the budget he had initially planned for marketing purposes.

Mu Linsheng showed the figure to Mu Ningxue when he was done.

“What about the Golden Reef Armor?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“The forgemaster has reforged it multiple times based on our requirements. I’m afraid he isn’t willing to reforge it again. Ningxue, I think we should just forget about it after seeing Mo Fan’s strength. I doubt anything below the Heaven-grade is going to be useful for him,” Mu Linsheng sighed.

Mu Ningxue was troubled too. She had prepared a nice armor for Mo Fan for when he came back from Greece. It was forged with pure quartz reefstone, and thus was capable of withstanding powerful attacks. However, Mo Fan’s strength had improved at an insane rate during the past few years. She kept feeling the armor was not that useful to him, so she had continued to invest money in it so the forgemaster could enhance it further. Yet no matter how often she did it, it still struggled to catch up with Mo Fan’s cultivation and the level of the enemies he had been facing.

She was like a mother who did not stay with her child. She had finally knit a sweater for her son, but the kid had grown a lot bulkier and taller in no time. She took the sweater back to readjust its size, but when she was done with it, it still did not fit him. The kid was growing like he had been injected with hormones!

“Let’s sell the armor. Yu Shishi is making a Heaven Seed for Mo Fan. Let’s see if we can find the materials she needs,” Mu Ningxue proposed.

“Sell it? We have put in so much effort… fine,” Mu Linsheng conceded with a wry smile. On second thought, the armor was not really going to be much use to Mo Fan, since he already had the Heavenly Gate.

“We’ll use the money we saved for marketing to buy the materials Yu Shishi needs, too,” Mu Ningxue added thoughtfully.

“Ningxue, how about this… since our boss has already given his huge speech, why don’t we make the day of the duel Fanxue Day? It’s rare for the Magic Association to allow anyone to hold duels, but Mo Fan is obviously an exception. Both Mages and ordinary people admire powerful magic. If we can hold something like a festival by decorating the streets, giving out some tax refund discounts, inviting celebrities, hiring famous chefs, and organizing some special events, we can make the duel between Mo Fan and any challengers the finale?” Mu Linsheng proposed.

Mo Fan’s boastful speech had spread across the world. Ninety-nine percent of the Mages across the world wanted to beat the crap out of him. On the other hand, it was extremely rare to have official duels above the Advanced Level, and people enjoyed watching them. The challenge Mo Fan gave to every young Mage in the world was most likely going to start a huge chain reaction that would help with Fanxue Mountain’s development. Otherwise, Fanxue Mountain might only stay a local tyrant, as its growth would be limited.

“Sure, it’s a great idea!” Mu Ningxue had already accepted many challenges on Mo Fan’s behalf. She had also noticed that many people were interested in watching the duels. He Yao, who had won the title of the strongest young Mage of Feiniao Headquarters City, was a great example. He had attracted a huge crowd to Fanxue Mountain when he challenged Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was a born troublemaker. Many people were jealous of him, but he also had a lot of supporters. The people would look forward to more duels like the one between Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian!

Zu Xiangtian did not represent the world. He could not even represent China. Mo Fan’s challenge was definitely going to attract stronger opponents. It was a great way for Mo Fan to train himself!

“We can keep holding it as long as boss doesn’t lose,” Mu Linsheng added cunningly.

“He won’t,” Mu Ningxue said confidently.

Just like the fight between him and Yu Ang at the Mu Clan’s mansion, Mo Fan would always surprise the people around him. Mu Ningxue did not know Mo Fan very well back then, but that was no longer the case now. She knew Mo Fan did not even use his true strength to beat Zu Xiangtian.

He had definitely preserved his strength. During the duel between him and Yu Ang, when everyone thought his Fire Element was at its limit, he had surprised everyone with the Lightning Element.

Many people saw Mo Fan in a bad shape when he defeated Zu Xiangtian. It seemed like a close match, but was that really the case?

Mo Fan had never even used his Fire Element!

Mo Fan’s Fire Element had already reached the Super Level! Little Flame Belle must have evolved by now, after cultivating diligently for a long time under Xinxia’s care. If she guessed right, the Fire Element was Mo Fan’s real trump card!

—

“Huh? Is that really a good idea? Xuexue, you are giving wages to so many people now. I can sort out the materials for the Heaven Seed myself,” Mo Fan protested righteously.

“You will only waste your time doing it yourself. After all, you won’t necessarily find these high purity elemental ores in auctions. Some are in the hands of factionless Mages. If we use Fanxue Mountain’s name to collect them, people who are scared of being scammed will be more willing to sell them to us. We can slowly gather the materials,” Mu Ningxue replied confidently.

“You’re right, it’s a little tricky to do it myself.” Mo Fan did not turn the offer down again.

The amount of materials needed to make the Heaven Seed was high, and some of the materials were extremely rare. Mo Fan was going to Greece tomorrow. He had to wake Mu Bai up and continue looking for Totem Beasts!

“It’s settled then, rest early,” Mu Ningxue turned off the light, draped a thin windbreaker over her shoulders, and headed for the door.

“Mm? Xuexue, do you have something else to do?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Not really.”

“Where are you going then? Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“Back to my room,” Mu Ningxue turned around and said.

“Shouldn’t you change and hop in my bed? I’ve warmed it for you!” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“We haven’t really performed any ceremony, so it’s not a good idea for us to stay together.”

“Fine, go back to your room and leave the window open. I’ll Blink into it later. Hehehe, doing it secretly is indeed more thrilling! I didn’t know you liked it that way,” Mo Fan smiled.

“…” Mu Ningxue looked at Mo Fan. She suddenly had a feeling she should ask someone to check Mo Fan’s head to see if there were any hidden wounds in it…

Chapter 2115: The Maidens of the Snowy City

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The weather was getting colder. Fanxue Mountain was covered in a cold mist early in the morning. The sentry towers were hidden in the mist, and the coastline was barely visible.

It was common for unpredictable events to occur in weather like this. Since it was now winter, the moths were either hibernating or had reached the end of their lifespans in autumn. Fanxue Mountain was relying solely on the Mages for protection.

Mo Fan had already left for Greece. There was only a Russian flight to Greece because of the huge fog, using a Russian air service. Just as Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan boarded the plane, Fanxue Mountain sounded an alarm.

“They should be able to handle it, right?” Mo Fan asked with a worried face.

He could only see nothing but the fog from the window. He had no idea what was going on.

“It won’t make any difference if you stay. Fanxue Mountain must rely on itself. A successful enterprise doesn’t involve the boss managing everything himself. The workers must develop their skills too! Don’t worry, Fanxue Mountain is already stronger than most renowned clans. The Mages can still handle any situation without the help of the moths. If they can’t handle it, you should consider hiring another batch, in case something serious happens and innocent lives are lost,” Zhao Manyan answered easily.

Mo Fan nodded. Zhao Manyan might be a little pompous, but he could spill out wise words at times, as expected of someone who was born in a renowned clan.

“It’s purple!” Zhao Manyan suddenly said sternly.

Mo Fan was startled. He immediately rose to his feet and tried to see the ground through the window.

A purple alert? Was it a purple alert!?

A purple alert means the city is going to face utter destruction! Didn’t they say the sea monsters were hibernating during this season too? Did they really launch a surprise attack?

If it was a purple alert, he could not afford to leave. Many people were going to die!

Damn it, these sea monsters seriously did not give them any chance to catch their breath!

“Tsk tsk, I didn’t think a stewardess with such an innocent face would wear sexy purple underneath. It seems like she’s feeling a little lonely on these flights. A Russian woman, I haven’t tried one before!” Zhao Manyan took out a little notebook with colorful flags on it.

He drew a little line across the Russian flag as he stared at the stewardess in stockings standing on her toes to organize the luggage like he was watching his favored prey.

“Screw you!” Mo Fan swore to Zhao Manyan’s face.

Zhao Manyan was confused. He did not understand why Mo Fan was cursing all of a sudden.

“Brother, if you are interested in her, I can consider giving her to you, but you should mind your behavior. No matter how bad our mouths and our behavior is normally, we should look after our image in front of the ladies, or you won’t be able to hook up with anyone,” Zhao Manyan chided him.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless. He glanced at Zhao Manyan’s notebook and pointed at their country’s flag, “Why did you write ‘正’ so many times behind our flag? Does it mean the women in our country are hotter?”

{TL Note: ‘正’ can be used to describe a beautiful woman.}

“Don’t you know it can be used as a tally mark? I draw a stroke for every home run I’ve had!” Zhao Manyan answered proudly.

{ TL Note : the word ‘正’ has five strokes.}

Holy crap, this Zhao Manyan is seriously an assh***!

Mo Fan seriously doubted the reason why Zhao Manyan’s face was so pale was because he was suffering from serious kidney deficiency.

“Look at my notebook; I shall pass away in peace once I have a ‘正’ behind every flag!” Zhao Manyan flipped through the notebook to show Mo Fan his achievements. He kept going when he saw Mo Fan looking at him disdainfully, “Your ambition is becoming the strongest Mage in the world, but my ambition is to f**k… I’m sorry, that’s a little vile, my ambition is to spread my love to beauties of all the different countries!”

“That isn’t your ambition, it’s the ambition of every man in the world!” Mo Fan huffed.

——

When they arrived in Greece, it was covered in a thin veil of snow, sacred and quiet.

The faithful women of the Parthenon Temple wore long icy-blue dresses and walked barefoot on the fresh carpet of snow, leaving lines of delicate footprints in front of the shops and residences as a sacred blessing.

It was a great honor for the believers, but even men who did not really share the faith of the Parthenon Temple like Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan would develop a foot fetish just by looking at them. They were enjoying the view as they followed behind the women.

It was a rare sight in other countries. The streets were crowded with tourists from other European countries who had come just to watch the interesting ritual.

“The one who’s leading the parade. Oh my, I can’t hold myself back!” Zhao Manyan pointed at the leader of the parade.

The parade consisted of twelve groups. They were walking barefoot across the main streets in Athens before gathering around their leader at the city center’s plaza.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan could only see their leader’s back from their angle. She was standing in a flexible posture, like she was holding the moon. Her legs looked like a pair of artist’s work, spread elegantly. Her curly brown hair draped over her shoulder.

She was standing still like a statue, with a noble yet approachable aura. It was enticing yet inviolable!

“She isn’t Xinxia, right?” Zhao Manyan asked cautiously as he realized something.

“No, her physique isn’t right…” Mo Fan said confidently.

“Oh, you sound quite familiar with her physique. Who could it be then? It must be some important ritual,” Zhao Manyan went on in relief.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were dying to know who the woman was. It felt like a goddess of the Greek Mythology had descended upon the city.

“A perfect side face,” Zhao Manyan was already giving his compliments as he reached the side of the plaza. He was finally able to see the woman’s face after he moved further ahead.

Mo Fan gasped. Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened.

“Why is she here? That vixen!” Mo Fan almost blurted out.

“Ugh… even though I consider her a peerless beauty across the world, I can guarantee you she isn’t on my list!” Zhao Manyan shook his head.

From the perspective of a judge, Asha’ruiya was indeed a beauty. Not only did she have the golden ratio that every Asian woman dreamed of, her bust was of the perfect size and her bottom was round and firm too. However, it was difficult to describe the woman’s personality with only a few words!

“She’s yours!” Zhao Manyan patted Mo Fan’s shoulder generously.

“Bullsh**, our relationship is so pure that I almost see her as a brother,” Mo Fan countered instantly.

Chapter 2116: Solely Relying on Personal Charm

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The twelve groups of maidens stood in a formation resembling an olive tree flower at the center of the snow-covered plaza, which was serving as an elegant stage.

A man in black formal attire appeared out of nowhere, like the Prince of the Night from the Snow Elves’ Kingdom. He danced skillfully, leaving footprints of different depths on the snow as he approached Asha’ruiya, who was also appeared very charming and noble.

He flicked out a black olive tree flower from nowhere, like he was performing a magic trick. He first kissed Asha’ruiya on the back of her hand, then placed the flower behind her ear.

The black olive tree flower turned white instantly. Asha’ruiya, who was as still as a statue, came to life abruptly.

“Holy crap, who the Hell is that guy?” Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened. He stared at the man in the black attire who was dancing so flirtatiously.

“I would like to know too. Didn’t they say there were only women!?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

The maidens came to life and began dancing too. Their flexible motions soon enticed the watching crowd to fall into a sea of beautiful waists and legs filled with soothing singing voices. Everything was divinely beautiful.

—

The ceremony ended at sunset. Even though Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan enjoyed it and had a better understanding of the Parthenon Temple and its Goddess, they found the man in the black attire extremely annoying.

“He won’t be an ordinary person if he can dance with the maidens to show off to the others at such a sacred ceremony!” Zhao Manyan fondled his jaw as he began to speculate the identity of the man whom the whole city was now envious of.

As a matter of fact, when the man in a black attire showed up, almost every man’s heart was broken. The twelve groups of one hundred and forty-four maidens were supposed to belong to everyone, including the Saintess who was standing so motionless. However, when the man appeared, it felt like all their adorable feet, beautiful faces, and long legs belonged to him, as if he was the king of a kingdom of women!

“Seriously, didn’t the Parthenon Temple consider our feelings? The rat stool has ruined the whole pot of soup. It’s disgusting!” Mo Fan scowled.

“Brother, you have known the Parthenon Temple for some time. The Parthenon Temple actually practices female supremacy, but they allowed a man to be involved in such an important ceremony and dance with a Saintess. He must have an insanely powerful background!” Zhao Manyan conjectured.

“So he was not part of the ceremony?” Mo Fan asked suspiciously.

“The ceremonies of the Parthenon Temple do not involve men. Their obsession with female supremacy is on par with the Alps Institute. There’s only one reason why they would let a man be a part of it…” Zhao Manyan analyzed. “Have you heard of placement marketing? Like a popular TV drama suddenly showing some weird logos or odd dialogue?”

“You’re saying that the Parthenon Temple is advertising that man?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“Something like that. Either way, that man is no ordinary person. The Parthenon Temple doesn’t even bother paying any attention to a renowned clan like mine, which is as rich as a country, let alone put a man into their ceremony. Mo Fan, I’m afraid you won’t stand a chance, at least in Asha’ruiya’s eyes,” Zhao Manyan consoled him.

“Like I care! She can hook up with whoever she wants. It’s none of my business,” Mo Fan retorted promptly.

—

They happened to bump into the maidens who were returning to the mountain on their way to the Parthenon Temple. The women were in high spirits after the ceremony. They seemed livelier when they were talking casually after losing the stern appearance they had earlier on the streets.

It was getting dark, but the Parthenon Temple was holding a feast in the Hall of Faith. The one hundred and forty-four maidens were going to be there, including some guests who came from far away.

Kris knew Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan would be here. He led them to the Hall of Faith.

Muse Pelina was with them, too. Mo Fan was Xinxia’s closest relative. She was not permitted to leave the mountain, but it was necessary for a Muse to welcome her family. Pelina and Mo Fan knew one another too, so Xinxia had sent her over.

Mo Fan always felt annoyed by the rules of the Parthenon Temple. He had to pass through many checkpoints just to see Xinxia, unless he did it secretly at night. The biggest checkpoint was none other than the old woman Tata. She was the last person to want Mo Fan and Xinxia to see one another.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan happened to visit the Parthenon Temple as it was holding an important ceremony. They were going to join the feast without a doubt, since they loved getting into all the action!

—

The feast held by the Parthenon Temple had lots of rules, too. The two simply chose a corner with a great view of the place so they could enjoy watching the beautiful women and the food.

“There, that one, I already noticed her on the street. I will never get enough of her slim and fair legs, even if I play with them for the whole night!” Zhao Manyan pointed at one of the maidens who had changed her attire.

“If your focus on magic was as brilliant as your ability to hunt down beautiful ladies, we wouldn’t have struggled so much in the Pyramid… what about the purple stewardess?” Mo Fan said.

“I prefer this more. Come, let’s approach her together. She has some friends with her. I can’t handle them all by myself,” Zhao Manyan said.

Teasing beautiful ladies was an offer that Mo Fan would never turn down!

Mo Fan had always been impressed by Zhao Manyan’s shamelessness. His flirting skill was top-notch, too. He could easily blend in with the women with just a few words. Most women emphasized a man’s looks, and Zhao Manyan’s face of an assh*** was their favorite type.

Mo Fan believed he was different. He was solely relying on his personal charm!

“Did you two try to sneak in here? Why didn’t you cut the tags on your suits?”

“Ugh… we rented them. We wouldn’t be able to return them if we cut the tags!”

The women were amused at the reply.

The maidens of the Parthenon Temple were very knowledgeable. They were not mocking Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan with laughter. They just did not expect to see someone so amusing at the feast.

“Look, the Night Prince is here, he’s so handsome!” a maiden who was only sixteen years old blurted out in excitement.

“Yeah, he’s so handsome. I would like to dance with him too!” the maiden whom Zhao Manyan had his eyes on said.

Zhao Manyan twisted his lips, obviously hurt by the comparison.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Who is he?” Zhao Manyan could not help but ask.

“We aren’t sure. However, three of our Great Priests received him when he first arrived at the Hall of Faith,” the maiden with small feet named Saveth replied.

“I heard he’s from an old and outstanding renowned clan around the Mediterranean Sea. He’s so well-matched with the Saintess. They are meant to be together!” another maiden spoke up.

“Asha’ruiya isn’t as pure as she seems. I don’t think she’s worthy for Master Tuis!” the sixteen-year-old maiden, Sammy, sniffed.

“Sammy, how could you say that?” Saveth protested.

“Did I say anything wrong? We’ve all heard rumors about her in the Parthenon Temple. Master Tuis is from the most ancient and secluded renowned clan around the Mediterranean Sea. He has such a pure Aura, unlike Asha’ruiya, who did all those outrageous acts!” Sammy exclaimed.

“Sammy, there are outsiders here. You should keep those words to yourself. How could you be so reckless? We are very sorry. Sammy is still young. She likes uttering nonsense and believing in rumors,” Saveth said quickly.

“It’s fine, the two of us aren’t related to anyone, so we don’t mind hearing them,” Zhao Manyan answered graciously.

It was obvious that the sixteen-year-old Sammy was Tuis’ loyal fan. She believed only she was worthy of him!

No one knew if the scandals related to Asha’ruiya that she had mentioned were real. Even Mo Fan had heard some of them!

—

Mo Fan had to admit that Tuis was acting like an exclusive sponsor for the Parthenon Temple, just as Zhao Manyan had mentioned. Almost everyone was fawning upon him during the feast, as if he was the center of focus for the whole ceremony.

“Thank you, everyone, for your warm welcome. I thought people have forgotten about our clan after we decided to keep a low-profile many years ago. To our surprise, many of you still remember us. I believe my grandfather would be proud if he hears about it!” Tuis raised his cup and gave everyone a toast.

The crowd emptied their cups. Tuis obviously had something else to say.

He looked at the two Saintesses on the main seats: Xinxia and Asha’ruiya.

Izisha had not joined the feast. Mo Fan had learned from the maidens that Izisha had a huge conflict with the Tuis Clan, and was against the idea of getting the clan involved.

The reasons were very simple. When Izisha was still the Goddess, the Soul of the Parthenon Temple was not willing to reside in her. The Tuis Clan did not acknowledge her as the Goddess since she did not possess the Art of Resurrection. The clan had gone into seclusion after that time!

“I was honored to have a dance with Asha’ruiya during the ceremony. I wonder if I could have a dance with the other person who was chosen by the Divine Soul?” Tuis placed his cup down. He walked toward Xinxia under the crowd’s eyes.

Xinxia was a little surprised. She stared at the man who came up to her and offered her his hand.

Only the leaders of powerful nations were bold enough to invite a Saintess to a dance!

He remained in the position for some time. The whole crowd had placed their attention on Xinxia.

—

“Damn it!” a voice snapped in a corner, followed by the sound of plates falling to the ground. However, the noise he made was ignored as the music was too loud.

The person was none other than Mo Fan!

“Bro, please stay calm!” Zhao Manyan tried to stop Mo Fan.

“Stay calm my ass, I’m going to beat that guy up first!” Mo Fan snapped.

Could he dance with Xinxia?!

Of course not!

European dances involved close contact of less than ten millimeters! The men would be wrapping their arms around the women’s waists. He just needed to slide his hand down a little to touch her bottom. Mo Fan could easily tell that Tuis was not someone who would behave himself. How could he possibly let him dance with Xinxia?

“Mo Fan, don’t do it, it’s a common practice in Europe!” Zhao Manyan dissuaded him.

“I don’t f**king care. I can’t stand it!” Mo Fan said.

He only knew he could never accept it. Women did not even allow their men to give their female colleagues a ride in their cars. Why should he allow his woman to dance intimately with another man?

—

“My lady, it’s favorable to us that the Tuis Clan is willing to provide the Parthenon Temple with full support after they decided to get involved again. I hope you won’t turn Tuis’ kindness down,” Tata said quietly.

“Yes, it’s also the Snow Festival today!” Tuis smiled. He seemed extremely patient.

He believed the Saintess would not turn down his offer, since he already reached out his hand. Many countries and renowned clans were trying to fawn upon the Saintesses, but the Tuis could easily make the Saintesses bow before them. If anyone in the Parthenon Temple tried to be the Goddess, she would need the Tuis’ help to keep the Tyrant Titans at bay!

The Tuis was one of the few clans in Europe with Forbidden Mages! Even the Parthenon Temple had to pay them some respect!

Therefore, inviting the two Saintesses to dance might be a dream for ordinary people, but it was actually achievable in Tuis’ eyes!

Tuis had all the patience he needed. He was still bowing forward, following the rules of etiquette.

“I’m sorry, Mister Tuis,” There was not much expression in Xinxia’s eyes. She had only a faint smile.

Tuis lifted his face. He retained his polite smile, but his eyes no longer had a gentle look.

“I grew up in the east, so I’m not used to the customs here. Besides, it isn’t part of the etiquette for us Saintesses…” Xinxia continued.

“You are in Europe now, aren’t you? Besides, from what I’ve heard, many women from the east are more than willing to follow our traditions. Why aren’t you accepting my offer? Or perhaps there’s some misunderstanding between us?” Tuis said, although it was more like a demand.

“It’s their freedom to follow the customs they like. I respect their choices, but I’m leaning more toward my own traditions,” Xinxia answered calmly.

“Oh? I was told that you had grown up in a simple family in China that subsisted on labor. Did they really teach you the proper etiquette?” Tuis said, as if he was displeased by Xinxia’s reaction.

The entire hall fell silent!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Tuis did not think what he said was inappropriate.

Nobles learned etiquette starting at the age of three. Every smile, gesture, and step had strict requirements, so they would emit a different demeanor from others!

Everyone knew Xinxia was from China, and from a family of the lowest level in the social hierarchy. The Parthenon Temple was not concerned about a person’s background or nationality. They would take anyone as their Goddess if they were chosen by the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. Therefore, the Parthenon Temple had never cared about Ye Xinxia’s background and nationality.

However, Tuis thought she was too arrogant, even discussing etiquette and customs with a clan that had existed for over a thousand years around the Mediterranean Sea!

Without their support, even Izisha would struggle to retain her role as the Goddess. How dare a mere Saintess who was picked up halfway act so arrogantly in front of him?

—

Luckily, the banquet was only an internal event, and there were not many outsiders. Otherwise, this would definitely have a bad influence on them.

“Mister Tuis, in China, even the poorest family will teach their boys not to offend, bully, or do evil. They will also teach their girls to be self-loving, polite, and respectful. I do like the etiquette in European countries, and the people are passionate, friendly, and carefree. But I will stick to the traditions and customs which my family taught me, so I ask you to respect my culture too,” Xinxia remained calm for the first half of her words, but her tone hardened in the second half.

A person who did not respect others’ culture and tried to apply their ideas forcibly on others was already a great offense. Xinxia did not mind telling him if he did not realize that. If he persisted with this behavior, he would only demean himself!

Tuis might be Izisha’s enemy, but Xinxia had only attended the banquet as a friendly gesture. It did not mean she was asking him for a favor. Even if they were on the same side, Xinxia had the right to decide who she danced with. The rules of etiquette for the Saintesses forbade her from dismissing people rudely, or she would already have asked Tuis to piss off after he mocked her family!

The belief that men and women should not have intimate contact casually might be a very old tradition, but there were many girls who retained the old beliefs, despite being in a society that was now heavily influenced by ideas from across the world. The people who had abandoned the old beliefs in pursue of free will were not condemned, but it did not mean that others were not allowed to follow the ideas they believed in!

It was more important for people to respect one another without mocking their beliefs!

—

“Mister Tuis, the Saintess has her own customs from her country, so please don’t force her to dance with you. She was not being biased toward you.” Tata quickly intervened once she realized the tense atmosphere between them.

“I wasn’t biased toward Mister Tuis before, but I am now,” Xinxia added sternly.

“What do you mean by that?” Tuis was startled.

Before Xinxia could answer, Mo Fan had already walked up to her. He raised his thumb at Xinxia and said, “It means she’s asking you to piss off. Do you understand now?”

Tata, Haylon, and the Great Priests’ faces darkened like they had been smeared with dirt when they saw Mo Fan. As they expected, Mo Fan had ignited the whole banquet with a single sentence. Everyone, including Tuis, had contorted faces, as if they had just eaten dung!

“HAHAHA, asking me to piss off? I’m afraid no one in the world dares to talk to me like that!” Tuis burst out laughing.

“Listen carefully, my name is Mo Fan. I’m from the simple family that you just mentioned. My sister Xinxia isn’t wrong. Our father taught his son not to offend people, bully the weak, and do evil, but when it comes to someone like you, even though we aren’t really told what to do, I think it was along the lines of ‘ don’t beat him up too badly, so he can still walk away himself! ‘” Mo Fan made sure he was being extremely clear.

Tata rolled her eyes after hearing those words, and almost fainted.

Even if they were not planning to fawn on the Tuis, they should avoid becoming enemies with them!

Tata was thinking of sending for someone to get rid of Mo Fan, but Xinxia glared at her and stopped that thought.

“Your Honor, this is going to be a huge problem at this rate. The Hall Mother will be very angry at you,” Tata whispered.

“Tata, if the Hall Mother only wants me to be a Goddess who is willing to abandon her principles for the sake of people’s support, I’m afraid I’m not a suitable Candidate for her. I’m competing for the role of the Goddess because I want to become the Goddess that blesses the world, not the Goddess who tries to win over everyone’s hearts as you and the Hall Mother prefer,” Xinxia replied sternly.

“Well said!” Asha’ruiya agreed with a smile.

While Xinxia was clarifying her stance, the atmosphere between Mo Fan and Tuis had intensified further. The air around them was even colder.

“Mo Fan? So you’re the guy who claimed to be the strongest Mage in the world?” Tuis grinned.

“I see the news has been spreading quickly, as even an assh*** in the deep mountains like you has heard it! For some reason, I found you disgusting when I first saw you on the street. I thought I was only being envious of you, yet I realize it was the Jerk Scanner in me doing its work. It accurately locked onto you!” Mo Fan condescended to reply.

“It sounds like you two brother and sister have brought your savage ways to the Parthenon Temple. No wonder I noticed a weird smell when I came here. I kept feeling something was different. Since when does a filthy mouse like you have the right to talk in our Greece, our Athens, and our Parthenon Temple?” Tuis was obviously the kind to say anything that came to mind. He no longer had to watch his words after they had fallen out with one another!

“I was just telling my friend that you were the rotten apple here,” Mo Fan agreed.

“I don’t like arguing with filthy people like you. It will only put an ugly stain on my character. I’m Tuis the Seventh, and my ancestors have protected the Parthenon Temple and Athens from the Tyrant Titans. What about you?” Tuis demanded haughtily.

“That was your ancestors’ doing. What do you have anything to do with it? It’s not like a respectful family will never give birth to an assh***,” Mo Fan shot right back.

“You! You are dishonoring my family!” Tuis snapped.

“I didn’t dishonor your family. I was only talking about you. Let me ask you, what exactly are you good for? What have you done except for acting like an arrogant and disrespectful scum? Nothing. If anything is dishonoring your family, it would be your existence. You despised someone’s background just because she turned down your invitation for a dance. I believe a real respectful clan wouldn’t teach their disciples to act like that, so I believe your pride is the reason behind it. Please don’t say another word. You will only embarrass your clan,” Mo Fan sniffed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Tuis was lost for words after being bombarded by Mo Fan’s series of accusations.

Most people in the Parthenon Temple were respectful toward Tuis because they were asking his clan for favors, but that was never Mo Fan’s concern. As a matter of fact, Mo Fan thought Tuis was already asking too much when he wanted to be involved in the Parthenon Temple’s ceremony and dance with Asha’ruiya. That was never part of the ritual!

There were people who totally agreed with Mo Fan, but it was only the silent minority.

“I have learned the skills to defeat the Tyrant Titans from my ancestors. The Tyrant Titans will soon reach their rejuvenating phase, and will soon make their comeback and invade Greece. When the time comes, my abilities will help Greece retain its peace!” Tuis declared proudly after collecting his thoughts.

“I see. Everyone is turning a blind eye to your misbehavior because you can suppress the Tyrant Titans. I’ve killed some of them too,” Mo Fan scoffed dismissively.

“You’ve killed some of them? Hah, it must have been the weak Blue Star Tyrant Titans. I’m talking about the Silver Moon Tyrant Titans or the Golden Sun Tyrant Titans, you imbecile!” Tuis snarled.

“You two, it’s the Snow Festival today. It’s supposed to be a joyful day with lots of blessings. You shouldn’t be picking on one another because of a little conflict. You might be hot-tempered because of your young age, but you can easily forgive one another by taking a step back…” intervened Valentine, who had recently been promoted to a Great Muse.

“I’m sorry, Great Muse, our clan will never take a step back when a nobody like him is dishonoring us. I hope the Parthenon Temple will give me a proper explanation!” Tuis snarled.

“Mister Mo Fan, Tuis only said something inappropriate because he was full of youthful vigor. Why don’t you give me some face?” the Great Muse asked Mo Fan politely.

“Not a problem, I can promise you I won’t beat him up until the end of the banquet,” Mo Fan agreed.

“How amusing, do you really think you are unbeatable just because you beat Zu Xiangtian? Zu Xiangtian is only a little clown who keeps promoting himself on the surface. The real experts normally stay in seclusion in ancient and sacred places. They will never have duels with anyone just for show!” Tuis responded instantly.

“Stop uttering nonsense, then, and let’s have a fight!” Mo Fan rubbed his palms expectantly.

“Humph, how reckless can you be? I already told you my specialty is fighting the Tyrant Titans. I don’t use my abilities on ruffians like you!” Tuis mocked him.

Tuis did not think he was the strongest in the world, but he did not have to stand at the top of the world. He just needed to master the abilities which the whole of Greece and the Parthenon Temple depended on!

The Tyrant Titans would forever be the Parthenon Temple’s biggest enemy, and his abilities were specifically useful against the Tyrant Titans. The Parthenon Temple needed his power. Even the Saintesses had to fawn upon him, and that alone was enough!

What could Mo Fan even do? The strongest young Mage in the world? Even if he could defeat every young Mage in the world, he was still incomparable to the Tuis!

Being able to bring peace to the Parthenon Temple was the same as bringing peace to all its believers!

“My specialty is teaching assh**** like you a lesson, but when you say it like that, I think I’m being a bully to pick on a nobody like you as the most honorable young Mage in the world,” Mo Fan was happy to reply.

Tuis felt like his lungs were about to explode. He had never met anyone so shameless!

What did he mean by the most honorable young Mage in the world? And did this commoner just call him a nobody?! The Tuis had existed around the Mediterranean Sea for over a thousand years! Their clan had only moved away from the public eye because of the restrictions applied to Forbidden Mages!

They were not a bunch of nobodies; they were at the top of the world!

How ignorant was this Mo Fan!?

“Are you saying that you can beat me if we are going up against the Tyrant Titans?” Tuis said after calming his thoughts.

“It would be a one-sided victory,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“HAHAHA!” Tuis burst out laughing like a female goose, as if it was the stupidest thing he had ever heard.

Tuis did not want to waste his time arguing with Mo Fan any further. He turned around and bowed at Great Muse Valentine, “Great Muse, it turns out that the Parthenon Temple already has a better option to get rid of the Tyrant Titans. There’s no reason for me to stay here any longer. You just need to send him to the Aegean Sea in spring to retain its peace!”

Valentine could only smile wryly. She knew it would come down to this if the argument continued.

Tuis was extremely proud of himself, and would not tolerate Mo Fan’s actions. As for Mo Fan, a person who had dared to start a bloodbath at the Parthenon Temple was obviously not afraid of Tuis either, especially since Xinxia had already made it clear that she was annoyed by Tuis.

“Did you two really have to chase away the person I worked so hard to convince to come here?” Asha’ruiya had to say.

It was not the outcome Asha’ruiya had expected. She was the one who had invited Tuis over. Tuis was going to do her a favor, so she would try her best to satisfy Tuis’ requests.

“Tuis!” a knight who had remained silent throughout the exchange spoke up.

The knight was wearing Golden Sun Armor, and bore the badge of a Hall Master. His blue hair stood out among the crowd.

“Uncle!” Tuis did not dare to misbehave in front of the knight, and bowed respectfully.

“Take back your words,” Poseidon ordered him.

“But he was disrespecting our clan!…” Tuis protested.

“There are many ways to solve the problem, but you have let your emotions affect your decisions!” Poseidon stated grimly.

“Yes, yes, they are both young men, so it’s normal for them to be competitive. Our Parthenon Temple is the same as the Magic Association. We encourage competition between young Mages. Poseidon, since you are leading the army in the war against the Tyrant Titans, we shouldn’t let the others think the young Mages of the Parthenon Temple are only a boastful bunch after how the two of them claimed to be so reliable tonight. Let them take part in the war. Since they are so keen to see who’s better, why don’t we set up a competition for them based on their achievements during the war?” Great Muse Valentine proposed.

“I had the same thought too,” Poseidon agreed.

“The war?” Mo Fan was startled.

Holy crap, I was just putting on airs to scold the assh***. How did I end up signing up for war?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Your Highness, what do you think?” Valentine asked Xinxia, inviting her input.

“It’s not a bad suggestion,” Xinxia nodded.

Xinxia noticed Mo Fan’s expression after she finished speaking.

Mo Fan was still confused and ready to refute all this when Xinxia’s voice entered his mind, speaking to him with Psychic Voice, “Brother Mo Fan, just accept it for now.”

Mo Fan was not going to turn down the challenge after Xinxia encouraged him.

“Mister Mo Fan, what do you think? You feel like Tuis was disrespecting your family, and Tuis feels like you were dishonoring his clan. The Parthenon Temple has always been lenient toward capable young men who have made great contributions to us. Why don’t you prove yourself, instead of leaving the matter to us?” Valentine encouraged him with a peaceful smile.

“It’s fine by me!” Mo Fan nodded.

“I don’t mind either,” Tuis grinned, as if he had already won the duel.

No one was better at dealing with the Tyrant Titans than him!

“Then I guess I, Valentine, and Knight Poseidon will be the witnesses of the competition. Do the Saintesses agree with this?” Valentine inquired.

Asha’ruiya nodded. Xinxia did as well.

“I can’t stay at the same place with someone who dishonors my clan. If he loses the competition, the Parthenon Temple will forever ban him from entering the Sacred Mountain!” Tuis declared.

A competition without stakes was no different from a fistfight between two kids!

“Not a problem,” Mo Fan agreed instantly. “However, if you lose… it’s not reasonable to ban you from entering the Parthenon Temple, since your clan is supposed to serve it. How about this? If you lose, you will have to live on Crete until the Tyrant Titan’s invasion is over.”

“Crete?” Tuis was startled.

The island of Crete might have elegant views and soothing weather, but it was like the countryside compared to Athens. Tuis was fond of living in the capital. The island of Crete was like a borderland compared to the Parthenon Temple and the Sacred Mountain!

It was a huge price to pay. Tuis felt like the conditions were unfair to him, since Mo Fan was only a guest of the Parthenon Temple. Being forbidden from entering the Parthenon Temple was not really a serious price for him to pay!

“You will have to bow before our ancestors and admit you are wrong too,” Tuis added another condition.

“Sure,” Mo Fan agreed without any hesitation.

Tuis finally smiled. If Mo Fan had to bow and admit he was wrong, it meant the Saintess Xinxia was lowering her head, too! That was the respect the Tuis were hoping to get!

—

After the banquet, Mo Fan went to the little mansion with a great view of the twilight that he had been missing a lot. It felt great to be related to a Saintess. Most officials did not even have the chance to stay at the mansion. Most importantly, there were a few well-educated girls around sixteen years old serving guests twenty-four hours every day!

Xinxia was not so strict with him, and was willing to appoint beautiful ladies to take care of him, unlike Mu Ningxue, who did not even allow a female cat to be within a hundred meters of his place. Why did Mu Ningxue never trust him?

“Brother Mo Fan, aren’t you curious?” Xinxia turned her head to the side and asked him. She was sitting on the swing on the balcony.

“Not at all,” Mo Fan answered.

Xinxia pouted as if she was displeased by the answer. Why couldn’t he just follow the script?

Mo Fan was amused by Xinxia’s reaction. He placed his hand on Xinxia’s head and fondled it like a kitten.

“Even though we traded the Night Amethyst to the God of Darkness in exchange for Mu Bai’s soul, his organs have deteriorated too much. He’ll be just as weak as an old man after coming back to life. He will need the Tyrant Titan’s organs to recover,” Xinxia told him.

“I see,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Normally, I could have asked the people around me to collect them, but it’s strange how I couldn’t get a single piece of Tyrant Titans’ organs, even though the Hall of Knights have eliminated a lot of them over the years. Even the organs of the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan that trespassed into Athens’ Barrier recently were gone!

“When I asked Fiona to investigate it, she told me the Tyrant Titan’s organs have always been in high demand in Europe. Every single one of them was purchased as soon as they were listed on the market. Even the rich merchants who do not practice magic believe the Tyrant Titan’s organs will strengthen their bodies, let alone the Mages!” Xinxia said.

“So even a Saintess like you can’t get your hands on the Tyrant Titans’ organs?” Mo Fan was surprised.

Xinxia nodded. It did not make any sense, but she was indeed struggling to secure them!

The Parthenon Temple normally had a lot of stock for every resource, except for the Tyrant Titans’ organs…

“Mu Bai is a Super Mage, and his soul has grown a lot stronger; it might have entered the Dark Plane while he was unconscious. If his organs are too weak, he will suffer from the same situation as mine, where the body can’t withstand the power of the soul…” Xinxia said.

Xinxia had her soul and the Soul of the Parthenon Temple within her. Her body could not endure the existence of the two souls, so she was unable to walk like a normal person.

Mu Bai was in a similar situation now. His body was too weak for his soul!

“It’s not easy to track down the Tyrant Titans, but if you follow Commander Poseidon, you can rely on the army’s intel to hunt the Tyrant Titans. The fresher the organs, the better they are for Mu Bai’s recovery,” Xinxia said.

“I got it!” Mo Fan nodded.

“Do you want to see him?” Xinxia asked.

“Who?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mu Bai, he’s awake. Didn’t I already tell you? It’s just that his body is very weak…” Xinxia said.

“Oh, so you already brought him back to life?” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Yes!”

——

Mo Fan quickly headed off to where Mu Bai was staying. It was not far from his place.

He immediately heard Zhao Manyan’s grumbling after he went inside.

“Say, Mu Bai, how are you supposed to dominate women with Mo Fan and I if a single breeze can blow you away. I would rather die if I were in your shoes!” Zhao Manyan complained.

Zhao Manyan was initially planning to hook up with Saveth, but immediately lost interest when he found out she was a fan of Tuis. He decided to visit Mu Bai’s corpse out of boredom and burn an incense stick for him or something. To his surprise, Mu Bai was awake. He was sitting on a wooden stool while a young girl was placing a plate of fruits on the table!

Zhao Manyan was extremely jealous when he saw this!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Stop grumbling into my ears.” Mu Bai’s voice was extremely soft, different from his usual deep tones, like he was pretending to be calm and collected. He was obviously worn out.

“Don’t you know what Mo Fan and I did just to save your life? Not only did we ask that Woman of White Impermanence for help, we even went to the terrifying Scar of Tianshan Mountain just to reach a deal with the God of Darkness to trade your soul back! What the heck have you done? Dying is one thing, but being targeted by the God of Darkness is a whole different level! We went through so much to save you, yet you didn’t even thank me, but complain I’m being annoying?” Zhao Manyan railed back at him.

Mu Bai had seriously had enough of Zhao Manyan. He replied softly, “Sure, Young Master Zhao, I’m utterly grateful toward you. Can you please stop shouting into my ears? My heart isn’t well.”

“That sounds more like it! By the way, you shouldn’t lower your guard. We haven’t found out who was trying to kill you. I don’t think they will give up so easily,” Zhao Manyan told him.

“I know what to do,” Mu Bai looked outside as he was speaking. He happened to see Mo Fan arrive.

Mu Bai smiled, his face pale.

It was as Xinxia had mentioned. He looked like he had aged a lot.

“How was it? The tour in the Dark Plane?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s better to be alive,” Mu Bai replied helplessly.

The Dark Plane was a real hell. The souls that were dragged into it were soaked in the sea of misery for eternity. He would rather perish instead of suffering more there!

“Did Xinxia tell you?” Mo Fan went on.

“Yeah, she told me I will need the Tyrant Titans’ organs to fully recover,” Mu Bai nodded.

“Leave it to us. Just get some rest,” Mo Fan told him reassuringly.

“I’m going with you!” Mu Bai declared.

Zhao Manyan snarled with wide eyes, “The Hell you are, look at you! Even that girl is livelier than you. The Tyrant Titan can easily flatten you with a stomp!”

“My body might be weak, but I can still use my magic. Besides, I’ve been lying still for too long. I will feel better if I go with you,” Mu Bai said.

Zhao Manyan was about to say something when Mo Fan stopped him. “Come with us, then. I have a little competition with Tuis. He seems to be a Tyrant Titan specialist, so it won’t be easy to beat him. If you can’t fight, you can just come up with ideas or mix a drug that can arouse the Tyrant Titans’ sexual desires so they will show themselves,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Bai’s lips twisted.

Damn it, these idiots could never leave the incident in the Alps behind. If he had known they would tease him about it for so long, he would not have mixed the drug in the first place!

——

Light snow was falling soundlessly outside.

Tuis was slightly intoxicated as he followed the stairs to the cliff. He looked up and saw a spectacular hut by a snowy cliff with a dim light.

Everyone in the Parthenon Temple knew the little hut was Asha’ruiya’s private residence. Even the Hall Mother did not dare to disturb her.

Tuis jumped and glided down like a sparrow. He nimbly landed on the balcony outside the hut.

Asha’ruiya was half-lying on a woolen bed. Her eyes were staring into the distance, lost in her thoughts. She did not even notice Tuis’ presence until he stepped into her view.

“Do you need any help?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“Nothing, just want to talk with you,” Tuis smiled, stepping into the hut.

“Tuis, are you in a bad mood?” Asha’ruiya asked him directly.

“Of course, an annoying bug has messed up such a pleasant day,” Tuis replied immediately.

“I’m not your caring big sister, so if there’s nothing important, you should go back to your room. If you aren’t satisfied with your room, I can rearrange it for you. If you have any needs, I can arrange those for you too.” Asha’ruiya sat upright and stared at Tuis.

“I’m not interested in those women,” Tuis replied disdainfully.

“Oh, so what kind of woman are you interested in?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“Someone like you, of course!” Tuis stared at Asha’ruiya. He did not restrict himself to her face. He was looking up and down Asha’ruiya’s body too!

“Tuis, someone should have told you that I will be very angry if anyone comes into my hut,” Asha’ruiya told him coldly.

“My apologies, but I believe you also need someone to relieve you of the boredom on a lonely night like this,” Tuis did not realize Asha’ruiya was asking him to leave. He continued to approach her.

The smile on Asha’ruiya’s face turned icy cold.

“I think you were very disappointing today. You were going to show how special you were to the public, yet you embarrassed yourself in front of Ye Xinxia. You drank so you would feel better, so you must be thinking, ‘Isn’t there another Saintess? She didn’t turn down my offer and seemed quite fond of me.’ Is that the reason you came here?” Asha’ruiya analyzed calmly.

Tuis halted in his tracks. The proud smile he was wearing disappeared.

“I only had a dance with you, and you think I’m already your possession? Is that why you can come into my hut regardless of the rules, time, and my privacy, just to fulfill your desires? Oh Tuis, you lack self-control, just like a little kid, or are you so arrogant that you think the whole world should obey you?” The snow began to fall heavier as Asha’ruiya was speaking. Even the air felt a lot colder!

Tuis remained still. He was startled at first, before his face filled with anger, and he began to blush with rage!

“What do you mean by that? Weren’t you the one who invited me here?” Tuis demanded after a long pause.

“I did invite you, but that didn’t mean I was offering you my body, so get out of my hut, now!” Asha’ruiya snarled.

“Who do you think you are, Asha’ruiya? Even the interns who have only been here a few days know about your rumors. Why are you acting so pure and innocent in front of me? Izisha relies on her brute force, Ye Xinxia has the Soul of the Parthenon Temple, and you have only gotten so far because of your body, wasn’t it?” Tuis yelled at her.

Asha’ruiya’s expression did not change by much, yet her eyes were now as cold as the snow outside.

Tuis realized he had overdone it after finishing the sentence, but he could no longer take back the words.

“I can’t stop people from gossiping about me, but you are the first one who dares to say that in front of me. Tuis, you should be very grateful that you have a splendid surname, or you would be very dead by now!”

Chapter 2122: Trying  to Hook Up with My Brother?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Tuis was very angry, yet he had no choice but to hold his anger in before Asha’ruiya. His chest bulged like something was going to explode inside it.

He turned and left, heading to the woods on the other side of the cliff.

He went back to his place and opened every bottle of wine. He poured them all down his throat, like he was trying to put out the rage he was feeling from the humiliation he had endured today!

Tuis was finally drunk after emptying five bottles!

“Just you all wait, I will make you all pay for what you did today!” Tuis slammed his fist on the table.

—

—

A little uproar took place in the Parthenon Temple early in the morning.

Asha’ruiya was the one who had invited Tuis to the Parthenon Temple, and everyone knew the conflict between the Tuis and Izisha, so they expected Tuis to stand on the opposite side from Izisha.

However, the old man who normally rang the bell every morning saw Tuis heading toward Izisha’s hall. His mouth fell open, just like the bell he rang every morning. The rumors soon spread across the whole mountain.

—

Mo Fan woke up to the soothing fragrance of flowers. He happened to hear the young girls discussing the news in the garden.

“What the Hell is wrong with him?” Mo Fan murmured.

Mo Fan went for a stroll after he was done preparing himself, then headed for the library.

He did not know much about the Tyrant Titans. It was necessary for him to expand his knowledge if he was competing against a specialist. He could also find out some information about the Tuis and see what they had done in the past to make their offspring so proud and arrogant!

He went to his familiar spot, where he could see a corner of the city. The streets here were like distinctive runes. He could barely see any movement from the vehicles or the crowd, as if they had blended into one. He was not in a deep mountain, but at the edge of a modern city, yet it was not bustling with noise.

To his surprise, someone had taken his favorite spot.

It was a reclining couch on sandalwood with a soft cushion. The bookshelves were lined up further inside, while windows with transparent curtains were on the other end.

Not everyone was allowed to enter the Sacred Mountain, so most places, including the residences, facilities, and recreational areas, were only meant for special people.

“The Sacred Mountain is so huge with so many people, yet we have stumbled into one another here early in the morning. It would be a pity if we don’t hook up now, since destiny has brought us together. Don’t you agree? Asha’ruiya?” Mo Fan looked at Asha’ruiya with narrowed eyes.

Asha’ruiya always seemed indolent. She would either be lying in her hut on the cliff or reading in the library. As long as she stayed quiet and stopped enticing people with her flirtatious vixen’s eyes, she did have the temperament of a goddess.

“It sounds like Xinxia didn’t satisfy you last night?” Asha’ruiya responded with a smile.

She seemed to have been here for some time. Mo Fan could see the fatigue on her face. She stretched out while ignoring his gaze.

Tuis’ passionate gaze had been extremely annoying. Mo Fan’s gaze was just as bad!

“She was busy last night. You two are both Saintesses, yet why are you always yawning, reading, or watching dramas, while my Xinxia is always occupied…” Mo Fan grumbled.

“Maybe there isn’t much for me to do,” Asha’ruiya replied lazily.

“By the way, that Tuis you invited, I heard he has sided with Izisha now. You didn’t need to kick him away just because we aren’t on friendly terms. I am not that narrow-minded. It’s all business anyway…” Mo Fan mentioned dismissively.

“Have you eaten breakfast?” Asha’ruiya switched the topic.

“Not yet,” Mo Fan was overjoyed. It seemed like he had a date for breakfast!

Did she purposely wait here because she knew he would come? He knew that useless piece of trash Tuis was not her type.

“What would you like for breakfast?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“Hangzhou’s steamed dumplings.”

“…”

——

Asha’ruiya was surprisingly resourceful. She actually found a steamed dumplings restaurant in Athens’ Chinatown.

Most importantly, the steamed dumplings were actually more authentic than many restaurants in his homeland. The soft and thin skin with the juicy fillings, all dipped in chili sauce was the perfect breakfast.

“I didn’t know you couldn’t eat something spicy, haha!” Mo Fan mocked when he saw Asha’ruiya keep sticking her tongue out.

“I prefer eating something light in the morning,” Asha’ruiya, answered, blushing because of the spicy food. She kept waving her hands in front of her tongue, looking rather adorable.

“You will miss out on a lot of delicacies if you can’t take the spiciness!” Mo Fan grinned.

“I’ll try my best,” Asha’ruiya drank a mouthful of cold water.

“So what’s the deal about Tuis?” Mo Fan brought up the topic again.

What exactly was Tuis’ role in the Parthenon Temple?

He could easily guess some things by observing the Parthenon Temple’s attitude toward him. Even the Saintesses had to respect the clan, but if it was any other ancient and sacred clan in Greece, as long as they showed the slightest disrespect in front of the Saintesses, they would be severely punished by the Parthenon Temple, regardless of their identity.

The Saintesses were the inviolable rulers of the Parthenon Temple!

However, Tuis had dared to disrespect the Saintesses, and still remained unpunished. Most importantly, those who had served the Saintesses had to pledge their utmost loyalty for their entire lives, yet Tuis could just switch sides as he pleased without being punished! It proved Zhao Manyan’s speculation: Tuis must have an astonishing background!

“It’s nothing. He wants to have sex with me, but I have no interest in him. He feels humiliated, so he wants to get revenge by siding with Izisha,” Asha’ruiya answered.

“F**k me, that son of a b**ch, who does he think he is, trying to hook up with my brother? I really went easy on him yesterday. I should have beat him up like a pile of shit so he could reclaim his actual form!” Mo Fan cursed the jerk.

“What did you just say? Who the Hell is your brother?” Asha’ruiya was amused.

Mo Fan scratched his head. He accidentally said what he had told Zhao Manyan the other day because he was disgusted by Tuis’ actions.

“It was a mistake, we are… let me think… Oh, right, you are actually my sister-in-law, so if he wants to take advantage of you, I will get rid of him first. Who cares about the competition!” Mo Fan finally found a reasonable way to word the connection between them.

Chapter 2123: The Year of Tyrant Titans

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Asha’ruiya was Wen Tai’s adopted daughter.

Xinxia was Wen Tai’s daughter. Since they had the same father, they could be considered sisters.

Therefore, it was not wrong to say Asha’ruiya was his sister-in-law!

Asha’ruiya’s mood improved after she was amused by how Mo Fan referred to her as his brother.

“Izisha still holds a grudge against the Tuis. Tuis is only trying to get revenge on me. He doesn’t dare do anything to me directly since I’m a Saintess, but you are a nobody in the Parthenon Temple. I believe he’s going to target you. Tuis might be a little childish, but he’s quite capable. He’s a little like you, both ruthless and fearless. If he’s provoked, he might cause you a lot of trouble, so you should be careful,” Asha’ruiya warned him.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Mo Fan nodded, agreeing with her opinion.

“There must be another reason why you came looking for me, right?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“It…it was just a coincidence,” Mo Fan said awkwardly when his intentions were exposed.

“Fine, I’m heading back to my place to have a nap, read my books, and watch my dramas. I’m quite busy too, so please don’t disturb me,” Asha’ruiya prodded him.

“Ugh, fine, I knew I could find you at the library… mm, I just want to learn more about the guy from the Black Vatican you mentioned, Spectre,” Mo Fan sighed.

If Spectre could turn Mu Bai into a soulless corpse without alerting anyone, he could definitely do it again after Mu Bai came back to life. Most importantly, Mo Fan already knew about his existence, yet he had yet to find any trace of him. Mu Bai might be killed again if he did not get rid of him first!

“My information has always been very expensive. I’ve given you a lot of free information since the first day we met!” Asha’ruiya sniffed at him.

“Why are we talking about money? It’s only going to damage our relationship!” Mo Fan protested.

“I asked Tuis for help because I’m after something in the hands of the Tyrant Titans. I chased Tuis away because I was worried you might be jealous. As compensation, you will help me get what I want, and I’ll give you the information about Spectre for free, deal?” Asha’ruiya’s eyes glittered cunningly.

“Deal, I’ll get you what you want, but can you give me the information first? I’m free tonight. You can come to my room. Xinxia is going to be busy, so you can talk to me about it throughout the night,” Mo Fan replied winningly.

“The Snow Festival is the last festival for Greece, since this year is going to be the Year of the Tyrant Titans. There will be disasters everywhere, but Greece will become a hunting ground filled with gold for Hunters. Even the most common Blue Star Tyrant Titans can be sold for a hundred million on the market. If Spectre is trying to kill Mu Bai, he will most likely hide among the Hunters, as it will be difficult to verify their identities. He’s currently hidden, so I have no idea about his whereabouts, but I can promise you, I will notify you as soon as he’s on the move,” Asha’ruiya informed him calmly.

“Sure!” he nodded along

“You should know it’s dangerous to collect information too, especially when the target is related to the Black Vatican. The thing I’m after is difficult to get too, so you should be prepared for it.”

“I’m willing to go through fire and water just to make you happy,” Mo Fan promised glibly.

“Don’t make it sound so noble when it’s only a deal.”

“Hehe!”

—

During the Year of Tyrant Titans, the sky in Greece would undergo obvious changes. The stars would become indistinguishable. It was a calamity many fortune-tellers were warning people about.

The stars were very dim. The people in the city were unable to see their lights, so the people in the cities did not even know the Blue Star Tyrant Titans were stirring up troubles across Greece.

After the stars were scattered, the moon would start to change!

The moon hung in the night sky. The people on the brilliant Sacred Mountain could still see its light.

The Silver Moon Tyrant Titans’ appearance was like seeing the turning of the moon. Every city regardless of its scale would panic when the Silver Moon Tyrant Titans showed up.

And there was the sun!

A night sky without the moon was only slightly darker, but a day without the sun was no different from an apocalypse!

The Year of the Tyrant Titans would surely have a Golden Sun Tyrant Titan. It was the reason why the whole of Greece had to be on alert. Humans were unable to survive in a land without sunlight. The Golden Sun Tyrant Titan could even revert a whole country’s development!

After learning more about the Year of the Tyrant Titans, Mo Fan realized the battle against the Tyrant Titans was not as simple as a mere quest or a mission; it was a war starting in the south of Greece which would cover the whole Aegean Sea, and even spread to Athens and the inland cities!

The Tyrant Titans had more space to move around in after the rise of the sea, making their movements harder to track. Asha’ruiya was right. The Snow Festival was the last celebration for Greece. They would be caught up in a war that had endured on and off for thousands of years, similar to the mirages in Egypt!

Every country had its own war to fight. They were like recurring natural disasters!

Someone might ask why these rare natural disasters kept happening in their era.

There were many kinds of natural disasters. Earthquakes, tsunami, hurricanes, landslides, floods, storms, blizzards, hail, drought, volcanoes…

Different countries had different demon creatures, history, and enemies. Egypt had the mirages, England had magical beasts that would surround the island. Greece had the Tyrant Titans. China had Mount Kunlun. These were the symbolic wars that each country had to fight. The Calamity of Bo City that Mo Fan had survived was only a minor disaster that occurred every twenty or thirty years.

Some cities were extremely lucky. They had stayed peaceful for ten, a hundred, or even a thousand years.

However, some cities and countries were very unfortunate. Their rise and fall were decided by a single battle!

Mo Fan had never bothered learning the number of calamities his country had survived.

In Greece, there were over a hundred and forty disasters, ranging from Thessaloniki in the north to Crete in the south, even when it was not the Year of the Tyrant Titans.

Apart from the natural disasters, there were also man-made disasters, like the ones the Black Vatican were responsible for.

It was impossible to put out the fires. Every country was short on Mages!

Mo Fan did not go to the library just to pretend he was being productive, nor was he forcing a coincidental encounter. He realized he was caught up in something serious after learning about the Year of the Tyrant Titans.

That being said, it also suited his tastes!

Chapter 2124: That’s a Titan

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

A nourishing drizzle was falling across Crete in March. The misty sea had lost the sacred blue it normally had in summer. It seemed a little ashen gray, which was a rather intriguing sight for the Aegean Sea near Crete, especially since it was the month when rain and sunlight were switching places constantly.

The curtain of rain formed a beautiful boundary line. The sea and the island were misty, but it was warm and bright on the other side, with lots of blues and greens.

Stands of olive trees were scattered across the area closest to the curtain of rain. A few old farmers were diligently clearing weeds and getting rid of pests for the trees.

The rise of the sea level had certain impacts on agriculture. There were now a few species of sea bugs around that fed on the leaves of the olive trees. These bugs were as transparent as water and would normally show up early in the morning. The farmers would mistake the bugs for dew if they did not watch carefully.

They would normally use chemicals to get rid of ordinary pests, just having to spray the non-toxic chemicals every now and then for the olive trees to grow well for a year. The roots would not rot and the leaves would remain in good condition. Huge olives would grow on the tree like agates. When it was time to harvest the fruit, the best ones would be kept as raw olives and the rest were refined into olive oil. Merchants from across the world would try extremely hard to get their hands on the final product.

Ever since the new bugs had shown up, the farmers had to get rid of the bugs themselves, as the chemicals were not effective against them.

The stands of olive trees were huge and manual labor was very expensive. The transparent bugs were difficult to spot, making things worse, so it was almost impossible to spot them when it was hazy.

“Let’s catch as many as we can while it’s still bright. I heard some magic vendors are buying these transparent bugs, too. We aren’t getting paid a lot for our work here. We might as well earn some extra income,” a woman wearing a hat spoke up.

“Why don’t we hide the olives in our bags? These things sell better than those disgusting bugs,” a young man with freckles proposed.

“Harper, don’t even say that again. They will really send you to jail!”

“Humph, they keep asking us to do so much work without increasing our wages! There’s no way I would stay here if it wasn’t for the boss’ daughter,” the young man called Harper tossed his tool to the ground and sat down under a tree to rest.

“Be quick, It’s going to rain soon. We won’t be able to spot those annoying bugs when it rains. If we don’t catch three full bags of them, we aren’t getting paid today,” the woman pointed out.

Harper ignored the woman’s remark.

He did not understand why anyone would bother putting in so much effort. Why couldn’t they receive their pay if they didn’t catch three full bags of the bugs?

According to his experience working on many fields and farms, as long as he gave them a reasonable excuse, he would still get the pay he deserved.

If he was getting paid either way, why would he have to climb up the trees and have a sore back after working for the whole day. It would hinder his ability to dance with the ladies at night!

“We still have half an hour, we should be able to make it, Harper! Harper…(sigh), forget it, just don’t get a cold,” the woman did not care about the guy who was slacking.

Harper pretended not to hear her, and took a nap under the tree. There was plenty of sunlight along the beach. In another month or two, it would be Crete’s hottest season again. He would be wearing beach pants and showing his six-pack on his sailboat, and many ladies from other countries would be falling into his arms. He would not have to waste money on hookers… he might actually earn some extra income, too!

Harper hoped time would pass quicker as he felt the warmth of the sunlight. Many women between sixteen and fifty-six came to the Aegean Sea searching for a romantic encounter. For some reason, they enjoyed hooking up with the local young men, perhaps because they were feeling a lot of pressure in their own countries and families.

A cold breeze swept at his face as he was deep in thought.

Didn’t they say the rain would come in half an hour? Why did the sunlight disappear all of a sudden? It was still very cold in March. He would not be able to take his nap without sunlight. He began to wonder if the Heavens were trying to mess with him.

“Isn’t it time to call it a day? It’s getting cloudy. The rain is almost here too!” Harper yelled out.

No one responded. Harper began to feel impatient.

Were they a bunch of machines? Did they think working diligently would guarantee them a fruitful life? How amusing, he could easily live a luxurious life if he owned an olive grove like this. Work had nothing to do with a person’s life!

“I’m leaving if you guys aren’t! How are we supposed to see those transparent bugs if there isn’t any sunlight…” Harper trailed off.

The trees in the grove were lush, but the wind suddenly stopped blowing.

It was strange when there was not any wind on an island. Either it was a perfect shelter from the wind, or a sign that a huge storm was approaching.

“Where did they go?” Harper went further inside and saw an empty area ahead.

The area was around the size of a basketball court, but it was unlikely their boss would leave the place empty, considering how expensive the land was. The area had enough space to plant at least seven olive trees.

“Oh? Did some idiot drive the tractors the wrong way? Why is everything smashed into pieces?” Harper realized the empty area was actually a pit. Water was flowing out of it, turning the surrounding area into a swamp.

Inside the mud were the crushed remains of olive trees.

Harper kept going forward for another five minutes, but did not see anyone. However, he found another hole around the size of a basketball court.

This time, in addition to the crushed olive trees, he also saw something bright red like mincemeat. It did not belong to an animal, since animals did not wear clothes!

Harper began to feel nervous. He started running in the direction he had come from.

He picked up his pace when he felt like something was not right!

A bright ray of sunlight suddenly came down from above and blinded him.

Weren’t there clouds above him? Why was there sunlight again?

Harper subconsciously lifted his head and looked through the leaves.

His organs stopped functioning, as if he had just touched a high voltage cable. His body started convulsing too!

It was not the clouds that had blocked the sun above the olive grove!

It was… a titan!

The sunlight returned when the titan that was the size of a mountain headed for the town nearby, yet Harper felt like he had fallen into darkness as he was overwhelmed by fear, like the sky had collapsed and formed a huge abyss atop him.

Humans were tinier than the transparent bugs on the leaves of the olive trees before the titan!

Chapter 2125: Searching for the Culprit

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan initially planned to stay at the Parthenon Temple for a few more days before heading to the Aegean Sea, at least until he was done having fun with Xinxia, since there was plenty of time left.

However, the news that evening took everyone in Athens by surprise!

In this Internet Age, any news could easily spread across a country within two hours, as long as it was shocking enough!

“Everyone, we just received an update from a reliable source that Green Sprouts Island to the west of Crete has totally disappeared from human territory,” Poseidon, one of the twelve knights reported sternly.

Disappeared from human territory…

Normally, they would only lose their territory to the invasion of demon creatures, but saying that a place had completely disappeared? The term was rarely used in the past hundred years.

Everyone remained silent. Many had heard the news from their phones, but it was shocking to hear it from an authoritative figure like Poseidon!

Did it really disappear, just like that?

The land on Green Sprouts Island was rich in nutrients. Its olive trees were of the highest quality in the world. The olive oil it produced was usually reserved for the royal families in Europe!

The town on the island was surrounded by olive trees, and quite beautiful. It housed a lot of locals from Crete, but it had now disappeared, along with the areas close to the sea.

“Were the Tyrant Titans behind it?” a Golden Sun Knight asked.

“Yes,” Poseidon confirmed.

“Damn it!”

“Those devils. Why can’t they spare our civilians? They are clearly declaring war against us!”

The knights were enraged like erupted volcanoes. The Hall of Knights was soon filled with their declarations for war!

—

Mo Fan did not think things would turn out like this so suddenly.

If it was a war, shouldn’t there be a boundary with the enemy on one side and them on the other? The enemy would have to cross the boundary to reach their city, yet something so disastrous had already happened before the two sides even engaged one another.

“I think that’s why our country insists on setting up the headquarters cities. Every country has so many cities to look after across its territory. It’s impossible to guarantee the safety of every mountain, forest, island, village, town, and city, even when the Mages have gathered at the frontline,” Mu Bai commented.

“Do we really have to go to war? It’s already at the level where an island could disappear in an instant. We might die at any second if we go!” Zhao Manyan said hesitantly.

“I’ve already given my promise. It’s not like we can quit now. I just didn’t expect things would escalate so quickly,” Mo Fan replied honestly.

“Yeah, the Parthenon Temple usually can succor the victims, but I believe they are feeling hopeless after what happened, too. They didn’t even have a chance to save the civilians, or heal the wounded,” Mu Bai agreed.

——

They traveled along the coastline and soon arrived at Crete.

Green Sprouts Island was to the west of Crete. Crete itself was shaped like a comb. It was located to the south of Greece, but the head of the comb was now gone. Only a few broken pieces of it remained, like an island that had exploded. Some pieces were still on the surface, while the rest had sunk into the ocean.

The Tyrant Titan was already gone by the time they reached the venue of the incident.

“The Tyrant Titans are terrifying not only because they possess destructive power with their mountainous bodies, but because it’s difficult to track them down. They might suddenly poke their heads above a mountain close to the city when the sun is up in the sky and look down at us like we are mere toys. They might also appear during a pitch-black night. Everyone would assume it is only a normal earthquake until the streets are destroyed and the buildings collapse. It might even happen in the afternoon when we lower our guard. Their massive figures suddenly appear in our view, even when the sentries are watching the sea at all times…” Poseidon told the others behind him.

The group who came with Poseidon to investigate the incident consisted of seven Golden Sun Knights, fifty Silver Moon Knights, and three Muses.

“Commander, we have only found a single footprint so far. It’s fifty meters long and seventeen meters wide. I believe this titan is taller than the lighthouse in Athens. We still can’t identify its level,” a Golden Sun Knight reported.

“Can’t we determine its level through its height?” Mo Fan asked.

Tuis, who had been silent most of the time, spoke as if he was purposely trying to pick on Mo Fan, “How naïve can you be? A Tyrant Titans’ height and size aren’t proportional to its level. Even a Blue Star Tyrant Titan might be as tall as a skyscraper, and a Golden Sun Tyrant Tian might be around the height of a tree if it’s in a bad environment.”

“Yes, we can only learn its height from the footprint, but there’s one thing we are sure of: the bigger their size, the greater their physical strength!” Poseidon also answered.

“Those who are here are experienced Knights, Muses, and Hunters. I’m afraid outsiders like you couldn’t even find the shadows of the Tyrant Titans, let alone hunt them!” Tuis scoffed.

“The one responsible for butchering Green Sprouts City is good at hiding. It won’t be easy to track it down,” Poseidon said with a worried face.

The Tyrant Titans never showed any signs before they appeared. They might even walk around your house a few times and smash your neighbors’ houses into pieces, but they were always able to conceal their presence.

It was a very strange phenomenon. They still did not understand how the Tyrant Titans were so good at hiding their massive bodies and loud footsteps.

“Please check the surroundings thoroughly and see if we can find any clues,” Poseidon told the others.

The Knights went their separate ways. Green Sprouts Island was not small and the Tyrant Titans could easily raze the residential areas to the ground, so it was not easy for them to search for clues. It also had many mountains and small islands around it.

—

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were naturally together. None of the Knights were willing to team up with Mo Fan. They were holding a grudge against him after he challenged an entire class of Blue Star Knights, and he had offended the Tuis, too. The three had no choice but to rely on themselves.

“Look, there’s a pile of clothes over there,” Zhao Manyan pointed at a pool of mud.

“Clothes? Why do I feel like it’s a person?” Mo Fan said.

“I think they are just clothes. They are just squashed.”

“I think it’s a human. Whoever it is is just skinny.”

“I bet it’s just some clothes.”

“I bet…”

“Will you die if you go closer to check it out?” Mu Bai sighed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The clothes suddenly sprang up from the muck and sprinted towards the fallen woods.

“Come over here, where do you think you are going?” Mo Fan used his Telekinesis to drag the clothes back.

“Spare me!” the man covered in mud cried.

“He must be guilty. He started begging before he saw us,” Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Manyan flicked his finger. A small droplet appeared above the guy.

The droplet suddenly burst open, and lots of water poured down on the guy. He was almost knocked over by the force.

The guy turned out to be a young lad in his twenties. He looked completely lost, as if he had just witnessed something horrifying.

“It looks like we have found our witness,” Mo Fan commented.

“Mm, but he’s a little unstable. Let’s bring him back to the city,” Mu Bai said.

—

Jade Bay City was the largest city in Crete. It was located right at the center, with lots of bays and harbors. These places along the coastline had become popular attractions. The number of tourists would peak in April and May every year.

It was still a little cold in March, but most residents on the islands and the cities were on alert after the terrifying incident that had befallen Green Sprouts City.

The Knights did not treat Mo Fan seriously. Mo Fan told Poseidon he found a survivor, but Poseidon did not think much of it. There were other survivors around. He was only following the order from his superior to bring them here. It was their business on how they dealt with the Tyrant Titans.

—

Jade Bay City had constructed many new sentry towers with Mages on patrol across the coastline. They would sound the alarm if they spotted anything unusual.

Mo Fan went looking for a place to eat. He was seriously not used to the European cuisine. However, the young lad who was mentally unstable immediately regained his senses after smelling the smoked meat.

The survivor felt a lot better after filling his stomach. He even picked his teeth with his fingernails.

“That scared the shit out of me. Luckily, you guys weren’t the titans!” Harper exclaimed.

“Did you see the titan?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course, it was right in front of me. It’s…it’s as tall as Mount Tibur. Its footprint is as big as a basketball court. For God’s sake, why does a creature like that even exist? If they can grow to that size, what’s the meaning of our existence?” Harper blurted out.

“Don’t we have Mages?” Mu Bai said.

“Mages? You’re kidding, Mages will never beat the creature I saw. It was just…it was like an ancient demon. We are just ordinary people!” Harper shuddered.

“Just ignore if it’s a god or we are humans, can you tell us what you know? We are here to hunt the Tyrant Titan,” Mo Fan told him.

“Hunt the Tyrant Titan? Hunt? You are the most ridiculous Mage I’ve met!” Harper yelled. He was so loud that the whole restaurant could hear him.

A few people in crimson outfits approached them with unfriendly faces.

They gathered around the table. A bald man with a bandana walked up to Mu Bai and spat onto his plate.

Mu Bai, Mo Fan, and Zhao Manyan were dumbfounded.

What the heck? He must be out of his mind!

“Leave Jade Bay City at once, you filthy Mages!” the man said, before they all strutted out of the restaurant.

Confused, Zhao Manyan asked as he watched them leave, “Are you so weak that you can’t even beat up those thugs?”

Mu Bai took a minute to collect his thoughts. He was just enjoying his meal. Why did they come and ruin it?

“I’ll deal with them. It’s my specialty anyway!” Mo Fan rose to his feet and cracked his knuckles.

“I didn’t sense any presence of magic from them. Don’t overdo it,” Mu Bai reminded him.

“Hey, what do you think you are doing? Are you seriously trying to beat up the people of the Black Church? You are asking for trouble doing that here in Crete!” Harper exclaimed.

“Black Church? What the heck is that? Are they powerful?” Mo Fan demanded.

“(Sigh), I guess I should repay you all for helping me… Come, I’ll bring you to my grandmother’s old house and tell you what I saw, but you must not mess with the Black Church. I still want to live here!” Harper said quickly.

“Mo Fan, forget it, let’s hear what he has to say. I have already lost my appetite,” Mu Bai agreed.

—

Harper only stayed at his grandmother’s house every summer. The house was on a hill close to the beach. It might be old, but they still earned a lot from renting it to tourists.

The house was given to him after his grandmother passed away. He earned ample food and clothing just by doing some manual labor.

“Look, that’s Jade Sea, the most popular attraction in summer here. Normally, I could earn a lot by renting this place out, but I don’t think there’ll be any tourists this year after what happened,” Harper sighed.

“Don’t you worry, there are billions of people in the world. Many people like looking for trouble, too. Whenever something happens, the thrill-seekers would definitely be there,” Zhao Manyan said.

“I hope that’s the case… treat yourself at home. I doubt you can find a place to stay for the night,” Harper said.

“I don’t really understand. Who are we up against?”

“Those people at the restaurant?”

Harper smiled and shook his head. He sat on a pile of hay on the ground and said, “And you call yourself Mages, when you don’t even know what the Black Church is?”

“We only know about the Black Vatican,” Mo Fan said.

“The Black Church and the Black Vatican… mm, they are basically the same, but the difference is that the Black Church is legally protected in Europe and America. Weren’t there a lot of disasters around the world in recent years? The Black Church has been around since the early days. They worship the ancient gods and believe humans aren’t supposed to practice magic. Mages are only increasing the burden on our world. The energy we take from nature will only provoke the gods and demons, thus the gods and demons are punishing humans by sending the demon creatures!” Harper told them.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What do you mean? Are they saying we are the reason why the disasters happen and why the demon creatures are on a rampage?” Zhao Manyan scoffed.

“Yes, Mages are the root of the problem. Mages have been taking a lot of the limited natural resources. They have also killed and captured the younglings of the gods and the demons for their own benefit. They might have obtained a lot of power, but the common folks who never practice magic end up as the victims,” Harper went on.

Mo Fan was shocked. It was his first time hearing anything like this. “What kind of bullsh** is that?” he blurted out.

“It doesn’t matter if the idea is crap or not, many people actually believe it. They assume the Mages are the reason why the demon creatures are so hostile toward us. They also believe the ways of Mages are against the will of the gods, so the wars between humans and demon creatures have never stopped. Most importantly, the Black Church had a lot of believers in the past, and after the rise of the sea, more people have joined their campaign to protest against Mages!” Harper went on.

It was Mo Fan’s first time hearing such a ridiculous claim. Humans would have long become the demon creatures’ livestock if there were no Mages, yet there were people who opposed their existence and accused them of being the root of the problem!?

“Apparently, the Black Church’s origin is in America, but there are a lot of members in Europe, too,” Mu Bai said. “As a matter of fact, their members are in our homeland too, but they aren’t able to convince a lot of people to join them, so they aren’t well-known to the public.”

“Some countries have too much freedom, and their people have already mastered the art of being total assh****. They are the ones hiding behind the comfort of the walls because they are not Mages while wasting our resources, yet they are accusing Mages of being the culprits. What genius, these foreign countries have so many geniuses!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Mo Fan totally agreed with Zhao Manyan. Certain people thought their ridiculous ideas were right because of some petty support.

Leaving aside whether the ancient gods actually protected humans or not, it could not alter the fact that their offspring had turned into the biggest threats to mankind. The demon creatures had originated from the ancient gods. Perhaps they had also inherited their bloodthirsty and savage nature from the ancient gods!

“The Tyrant Titans must be the most symbolic demons from ancient times. Does that mean the reason why some strangers spat in our food is because we have provoked the ancient gods, so they destroyed Green Sprouts City as a warning?” Mo Fan theorized.

“Something like that. It’s obvious that the Black Church will use the opportunity to proclaim their faith after such a terrifying incident,” Harper nodded.

“Why are you so familiar with them? Didn’t you only survive the incident?” Mu Bai asked sharply.

Harper pointed at a table with a photo on it. It was of a woman in her forties. She was wearing the same crimson outfit as the strangers they had bumped into at the restaurant.

“My grandmother was a loyal follower of the Black Church. She kept telling me that Mages are the root of evil in this world, but no matter what she said, I’m still envious of them. I love the feeling of being above nature, but I didn’t even make it into high school,” Harper explained.

“Considering the number of people in this world, there are going to be some retards. When these retards who appreciate one another gather together, they might stir up a little trouble, but it doesn’t really bother us. Just let them be. Shouldn’t you tell us more about the Tyrant Titan? We are trying to find the culprit that destroyed Green Sprouts City!” Mo Fan waved it off.

The Parthenon Temple did not mention it clearly, but Mo Fan knew his competition with Tuis would most likely depend on who could find the culprit first.

The Tyrant Titan had destroyed an island and made the whole of Greece to feel uneasy. Fear had spread throughout the Aegean Sea. If they did not kill the culprit in time, there would be serious consequences.

“To be honest, I thought I was dead for sure when it happened. I only saw its back because I was blinded by the light it was reflecting. I couldn’t even tell if it’s a Blue Star Tyrant Titan or a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan. I can only remember that it had a scorched mark in the shape of a cross on its back. It was burning like lava,” Harper said.

“Every Tyrant Titan has different markings. They are unique, like our fingerprints. It seems we have found our target!” Mu Bai smiled.

“You sound like you have done a lot of homework,” Zhao Manyan teased him.

“I told you I’m here to be your brain,” Mu Bai replied blandly.

“A cross on its back. Mm, there are so many Tyrant Titans in the mountains, forests, abyss, and oceans… I wonder which kind it is,” Mo Fan muttered.

Each of the Tyrant Titans stayed in one kind of environment. The mountains and forests would have the Tyrant Titans’ footprints and other clues, but it would be too difficult to search for Tyrant Titans in the oceans and abyss. If it did not show itself again, they would have no chance of finding it, even if they sent out all Senior Hunters in the world.

“It’s from the ocean,” Harper said confidently.

“How do you know?” asked Mo Fan.

“My grandmother worshipped the Tyrant Titans… don’t look at me like that, the members of the Black Church each worship an ancient god. Oh, I heard those in China worship something like the Totem Beasts. My grandmother kept telling me about the Tyrant Titans, so I’m familiar with them, at least better than those so-called experts. The Tyrant Titan that attacked us is from the ocean, and lives around ten thousand meters deep,” Harper said confidently.

“If it’s from the ocean, we won’t be able to find it even if we try for the rest of our life,” Zhao Manyan said with a wry smile.

“Don’t act like you can do anything to it even if you found it. The government can’t do anything about it, even if they sent an army after it, let alone you three. I’ve told you everything you want. You can stay here or leave. I’m going to rest for a month or two until it’s summer…” Harper said.

Zhao Manyan looked around and said, “Let’s stay here for the night. Mo Fan, I think there is a lot of information about Tyrant Titans here too.”

“Sure, it has great scenery,” Mo Fan nodded.

“I can give you a thirty percent discount, so it’s seven hundred for a person every night,” Harper said while lying back on the hay.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai’s eyes widened.

“Screw you, we saved your life!”

“I already thanked you by giving you the information you want. How can you not pay if you want to stay here? I need to save up before summer! Otherwise, how can I pretend to be a rich young lad so I can hook up with those lonely women who come to the Aegean Sea? It’s the only reason I stay on this island!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan purposely went back to the city as he did not want to be played like a fiddle by Harper. However, the hotels were reluctant to give him a room.

It was Mo Fan’s first time being discriminated against because he was a Mage, after being alive for more than twenty years!

1

There were all kinds of people in this world. He had no choice but to return to Harper’s place.

Seven hundred for a night was the normal price of a room for a hotel, although the service was not as great. The only relief was the great scenery.

—

Mo Fan grabbed Harper by the collar and snarled, “I dare you to say that again!”

“Seven hundred each person for a night. Trust me, those guys you met today won’t let you find a place to stay in Jade Bay City. Even if there is, the price is definitely a lot higher than what I’m charging! The guy who spat in your dish is Frank. He’s a core member of the Black Church. They always target young Mages like you. Old Mages usually have a worse temper and are stronger, so they won’t dare to provoke them,” Harper said.

“Mo Fan, forget it, we are here for serious business. We shouldn’t mess with those idiots. People like them aren’t really a problem, but they definitely think they are better than anyone when they are acting like retards. We are only going to waste our time,” Mu Bai said.

“People who died once do have the proper attitude. I’m not angry because of the Black Church. I’m angry because of him!” Mo Fan pointed at Harper.

——

They ended up staying for the night after paying the money.

Crete had a lot of members of the Black Church, so no one treated them seriously, even if they claimed they were representing the Parthenon Temple.

“The Tyrant Titan’s moves are a little strange. Normally, they pay great attention to the weather. Looking at the seasonal changes this year, they should only show up when the snow melts and the flowers blossom, around April, but it’s only March now…” Mu Bai was very serious about the mission. He started discussing matters as soon as they sat down.

Perhaps he was tired of lying in a coffin like a dead man. He had been very motivated to do things after he came back to life!

“Perhaps it’s a Tyrant Titan who’s having trouble adjusting its biological clock?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

“Do you think everyone sleeps during the day and comes out at night with no discipline whatsoever, like you?” Mu Bai huffed.

“I can’t help it, I’m not a little virgin like someone here. If I was not full of energy at night, a lot of women would be disappointed,” Zhao Manyan countered instantly.

Harper was cutting vegetables and fruits. He swung his knife around and said, “I totally agree with you!”

Zhao Manyan raised his brows. He observed Harper carefully and recalled what he had said about saving up money to hook up with chicks. He rubbed his chin and said, “It seems like you’re an expert, too!”

“Of course, here, let me show you something, hehe!” Harper seemed intrigued. He immediately took out a well-hidden notebook from his room.

Zhao Manyan looked at the notebook as Harper was flipping through the pages.

“What are these? Does every line represent the day you haven’t had sex? I saw a lot of prisoners using the same way to count the days they have been in jail,” Zhao Manyan noticed.

“It means a home run, the women I have had sex with are from all over the world. These were from Europe, these were Americans, and these were Asians… have a count!” Harper said confidently.

“How funny, you’re just a good-for-nothing on an island. Do you think the ladies are like cabbages that you can just pick up from anywhere?” Zhao Manyan scoffed.

“I don’t need to be rich, I just need to live in Crete. The romantic sea guarantees me an endless supply of women. I’m not even jealous of kings when I stay here…” Harper sighed happily.

“Are you sure this isn’t a list of guests?” Zhao Manyan flipped through the pages.

“I never kept a list of my guests. It’s the list of the women I hooked up with… hey, where are you going? Aren’t we going to share our experience? I can tell you are an expert too. It might not be summer yet, but there are some good local chicks too. I might not be rich, but I can show you around,” Harper offered.

“Screw you, I’m not that kind of a person. I only choose the best! Do you understand?” Zhao Manyan said angrily.

He went outside the house and drank a few mouthfuls of cold water.

He was feeling uncomfortable. It was very easy for someone who was so rich that he could even use money as fuel to pick up chicks. He initially thought he was at the top of the world when it came to hooking up with ladies, yet a good-for-nothing on an island to the south of Greece had dominated him, sleeping with twice the number of women he had!

Zhao Manyan had already counted. It was exactly twice his total!

He did not mind if someone’s cultivation was stronger than his, but how could he possibly allow anyone to sleep with more women than him? He must have wasted too much time following Mo Fan around, forcing him to put his great work aside and allowing a nobody to surpass him!

His pride was hurt!

——

Mo Fan was woken up by the uproar from the market in the distance early in the morning.

Did something happen?, he wondered.

He quickly rose to his feet and used Blink to travel to the market. He did not even take the time to brush his teeth and wash his face, as he was worried the Tyrant Titans might attack the market.

The Crete Market was huge. Many of the nearby islands and towns needed to get their supplies from somewhere. The market opened twice every week. Many vendors gathered there early in the morning. The residents of the different islands would also visit the market in the morning to buy fresh food.

The market was located on a harbor, where boats of different colors were docked. Many blokes with their upper bodies bare were carrying boxes of fruits and fish.

“Leave our islands, leave our islands, Crete doesn’t welcome you. You will only bring us disaster!”

“Leave, we don’t need you!”

Mo Fan heard loud shouts from the market. He saw a group of men in crimson outfits moving slowly through the market with banners. They were following a group of Mages who seemed to be Hunters.

“Protesting against the Mages in the market?” Mo Fan was shocked.

He thought the Black Church only consisted of a bunch of retards with nothing better to do, yet there were so many of them at the market. They had even started a protest on the spot.

The group of Mages was most likely a Hunter Group who had just arrived at the island. They had stumbled into members of the Black Church right away. It must be very annoying!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This place is seriously hopeless,” Mo Fan shook his head. He was very disappointed in the people here.

No wonder Xinxia was always so busy. She might not actually be taking care of a country, but the anti-Mage church was obviously going to be a huge headache for her. There were already so many of their disciples here in Crete, and the island was only a few hundred kilometers away from the Parthenon Temple! Not to mention there were other similar organizations across Europe, since they had so much freedom.

They were only ordinary people who did not learn magic. The Magic Association strictly forbade Mages from hurting civilians, and the punishments were very serious.

Even though they were opposing the Mages, the Mages were not allowed to scold them or fight back. The Hunter Group that had no choice but to leave like rats was a perfect example. It was definitely the worst feeling to have!

Mo Fan really did not understand the purpose of the Black Church. There might be differences between Mages and ordinary people, and the former usually had more authority and power, but the Mages always had a higher death rate when the cities were invaded by demon creatures.

The people were already divided, just when a war was going to happen!

It did not matter what the members of the Black Church were trying to achieve or whether they had a reasonable excuse to oppose the Mages, Mo Fan found their ways and actions disgusting!

The battle at Beijiang had guaranteed the safety of the civilians. The government claimed it was a great victory.

However, many people had died at Beijiang. Most of them were Battlemages or members of the Enforcement Union!

Their blood had dried on the ground. Their bodies were buried forever under the ancient walls. If there was an organization like the Black Church in Beijiang, the souls of the dead would never have peace if these people held a protest to deny their contributions!

What right did a bunch of people who had never been to war, yet did not have to worry about food and clothing have to deny the contributions of the Mages who might die at any time?

——

These people might be unreasonable, but the disappearance of Green Sprouts City had a huge impact, too. The Black Church was not only opposing the Mages, they were accusing the Magic Association of being useless too!

Their accusations were not completely unreasonable, either. An island had disappeared, yet the authorities had no idea how to track down the culprit. The Parthenon Temple was facing an unprecedented crisis. The whole world was doubting them, which was allowing the Black Church to expand its influence!

Mo Fan was able to see the nature of things. Although Xinxia did not tell him everything, he could tell that the disappearance of Green Sprouts Island had a huge impact on the three Saintesses’ status when the incident had occurred in their territory, not to mention they had just celebrated the Snow Festival not long ago. The Tyrant Titan had basically trampled on their celebration by pouring blood everywhere!

——

More members of the Hunter Union gradually arrived in Crete, eager to hunt the Tyrant Titans for personal gain. Crete’s government was more than willing to accept the Hunters’ help, but most Hunters also experienced the ‘special welcome’ the Black Church prepared for them.

Mo Fan did not watch the parade for long. Many people were terrified after what had happened, so the parade was not something too shocking.

He went back to Harper’s house. He suddenly heard a few people talking as he was walking up the pebble-covered mountain path.

Mo Fan did not mind them at first, but he soon noticed they were heading in the same direction.

Mo Fan realized they were looking for a place to stay when he reached Harper’s place. They had already contacted the young man.

“You can stay in the house at the back. I didn’t expect to have guests before April. Are you here to hunt the Tyrant Titans too?” Harper greeted the group of people.

“Why are you asking so many questions? Strange, are there other guests here too?” the man who seemed to be leading the group asked with a frown.

“Oh, you’ve misunderstood. They are my workers. They help me to serve the guests,” Harper quickly explained. while winking at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was speechless. He should have let the man drown in the swamp!

“Here is ten thousand for the deposit. We’ll be staying here for a while. Don’t let anyone disturb us. Do you hear me?” The man was extremely generous.

“Not a problem, you have my word. Please, come inside!” Harper’s eyes glittered when he saw the money. He quickly told Mo Fan, “Take their luggage to their room…”

Mo Fan was about to ignore Harper when he bent over and whispered, “You three won’t have to pay me.”

Mo Fan considered the offer and responded, “I know you have other information that you haven’t told us. If you want to earn their money…”

“I have told you everything you need to know… fine, I was going to sell it to these Hunters,” Harper agreed quickly.

Mo Fan wanted to find the Tyrant Titan as soon as possible to ease Xinxia’s burdena. He felt sorry for her after he saw her working so hard. In addition, he would no longer be able to visit the Parthenon Temple if he lost to Tuis!

Mo Fan did not mind being a bellboy if it was going to help him achieve his goals.

Don’t always treat yourself as the hero who is saving the world. There are times to put down your ambitious deeds and do a little manual labor, run errands, and eat simple food to live a normal life. You will quickly realize that it’s more interesting to be a hero!

“Don’t touch that!” a man whose face was dark on one side scolded him.

Mo Fan was just about to touch one of the boxes when he felt a sharp chill from his finger. It spread rapidly across his skin and left him with goosebumps.

“Oh? Do you need help with anything else?” Mo Fan immediately realized something was fishy about it as he withdrew his hand.

“Are you a Mage?” The man seemed to have noticed something. He was glaring at Mo Fan.

Harper came over hastily. “No, no, there’s no way he’s a Mage. Take a look… we are supporters of the Black Church. The decorations here are all related to it. We never hire Mages. We don’t like them either, so don’t worry!”

Mo Fan was a great actor, too. He added with a polite smile, “We forgot to mention that we don’t rent our rooms to Mages, so if you are one, please choose another place. Our place isn’t good enough for you either!”

“We aren’t Mages. Stop blocking our way, step aside!” the man snapped. He picked up the box very carefully and went into the room at the back.

Chapter 2130: Sea Titan

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had no idea what was inside the box, but it was definitely something evil if he felt such a strong chill from it after a single touch!

Were those guys Hunters? They did not look like Hunters at all. Crete might have a lot of annoying members of the Black Church, but Hunters would rarely choose such a remote place.

Normally, only those with fishy business or young people holding some wild parties would choose this place!

The group of people was not suspicious of Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai. It was not rare to see students from China working part-time in Europe, especially at a little inn like this.

—

To the south of Crete was a small island with a lot of coconuts.

The island was about three hundred kilometers from Africa. It had plenty of sunlight, and the coconut trees with orange glitters to them were scattered across the island.

The island was not very big, only around five kilometers long. Its sandy white beach was often covered when the tide rose.

“Did you notice it?” Jiang Bin, a Golden Sun Knight asked.

“Of course, are you doubting us Tuis’ capabilities?” Tuis responded with a displeased expression.

For some reason, Tuis was extremely uncomfortable when he saw Asians. The captain of the Golden Sun Knights who was assigned to assist Tuis happened to be an Asian. Regardless of his nationality and identity, Tuis felt like Asians’ facial features were incomparable to Europeans. They looked like like a bunch of monkeys who had yet to evolve.

“I didn’t mean that. I will set up the perimeter,” Jiang Bin replied.

The Orange Coconut Island had a village on it, and was secluded from the world. Not a single person in the village was aware of the shocking incident in Crete. They continued on with their lives as they waited for the coconuts to ripen.

Jiang Bin frowned when he saw the villagers had not taken shelter at Jade Bay City.

“Who’s in charge of this area? Don’t they know the Tyrant Titan might show up at any second?”

“I’ve already asked the officials. They did send out the notice to evacuate the area, but this village wasn’t willing to evacuate for some reason. Perhaps they did not realize how dangerous the Tyrant Titans are,” a Silver Moon Tyrant Knight reported.

“Stay with Master Tuis, I’ll go check it out,” Jiang Bin said irritably.

The local officials were getting even more unreliable. They must have realized how dangerous Crete was, so they had long fled to a safer city inland!

Jiang Bin followed the meandering path to the village. There was no road for vehicles. Motorcycles and scooters were the only modern transportation. The path was muddy, as it had rained recently.

The village was very primitive. However, there were many places similar to this village in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Most of the younger generation had moved to cities. A primitive village that relied on growing fruit and was surrounded by the sea like this was considered abandoned.

“Old man, didn’t anyone tell you all to pack your things and take shelter in Jade Bay City? Crete is currently on alert. Your village isn’t safe,” Jiang Bin asked an old man who was peeling coconuts under a tree.

The old man did not seem to understand Jiang Bin. He had no choice but to explain it roughly in Greek, but the old man still did not understand him.

Jiang Bin was helpless. He went further into the village and noticed the evacuation notice was already attached to the board at the entrance. The instructions were quite clear .

He visited a few households and noticed only older people above the age of fifty were left in the village. Jiang Bin finally found someone who understood English, but he was not from the village. He had only come to collect the coconuts!

“Huh? There’s a notice to evacuate the village?” the man called Daven, who was in his fifties, repeated curiously.

“It’s at the entrance… who’s in charge here? Shouldn’t they have made sure the village was evacuated first? Why did they only hang up the notice?” Jiang Bin demanded.

“I’m sorry, there aren’t many people in this village who can read, nor do they understand Greek. I only came here to collect the coconuts and sell them at Jade Bay City…” Daven answered.

“Didn’t you hear what happened ?” Jiang Bin asked with a confused face. How were they not informed, when it was so easy to spread news now?

“It’s been a month since I last paid my bills. People like us can live without smartphones or computers,” Daven replied carelessly.

“Hurry up and tell the others in the village. Master Tuis is an expert on the Tyrant Titans. He has sensed an unusual aura around here!” Jiang Bin told Daven.

“Alright, I’ll tell them. Hopefully, they can still understand me right,” Daven nodded. He finally realized it was something serious.

Daven picked up his walking staff and went to every household. Jiang Bin could only put on a wry smile as he watched the man leave.

The whole area must have forgotten about these elders!

——

An hour later, Daven had finally gathered everyone in the village. Jiang Bin was left speechless when he saw some of them carrying so much luggage.

“Captain, the military says they can’t send a helicopter to this island. We need to think of some other way to move them,” a Blue Star Knight who was in charge of communication reported to him.

“Those assh****, do they not realize there’s a village here?” Jiang Bin snapped.

“Captain, Master Tuis is asking for you. He says the Tyrant Titans might show up soon. He needs your assistance in the fight,” the Blue Star Knight relayed.

“We still haven’t evacuated the villagers. We can’t turn this place into a battlefield… go to the town and ask them to send a boat to take these elderly to safety,” Jiang Bin said.

“Captain Jiang, the officials in the town have already left for Jade Bay City.”

“Then find me a Summoner, quick!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Half an hour ago, the shadows of the coconut trees were swaying softly on the beach, and the sea was clear, too. However, a huge stormy cloud had approached from the distance, followed by a strong wind. The leaves of the coconut trees were rustling loudly.

Huge coconuts fell to the ground. There were only a few thuds at first, but as the wind grew stronger, the coconuts began falling like hail.

“It’s coming!” Tuis’ eyes glittered. His blue eyes were fixed on the gray waves.

“Master Tuis, how do you know the Tyrant Titan is going to show up here? We have been fighting Tyrant Titans for a long time, yet we always struggle to locate them. If we could predict where they are going to show up, we would have avoided many incidents that bring us shame,” Golden Sun Knight Lucas asked.

“It must be the difference between Tuis and you knights,” Tuis smiled arrogantly.

Fierce waves were rolling on the sea. An unusual wave suddenly rose above the others. It did not splash down after reaching its peak, but was replaced by a massive silhouette instead.

“It’s a Sea Titan!” Golden Knight Lucas yelled nervously.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for it!” Tuis grinned. His first prey had finally appeared!

“Star Constellation Moon Trapping Formation!” Golden Sun Knight Lucas ordered.

“Master Lucas, our captain isn’t here. We can’t complete the formation!”

“Where’s Captain Jiang?”

“I think he’s still at the village.”

—

—

Mo Fan might not be on friendly terms with the knights, but he still had to report for duty at the outpost.

The outpost was in Jade Bay City. The people of the Black Church only dared stir up trouble at remote areas away from the city. They did not have the guts to mess with Mages and Hunters in the city, nor would they confront the Parthenon’s knights directly.

Poseidon was talking to a general when Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai reached the outpost.

Poseidon glanced at Mo Fan and pointed at the meeting room, telling them to wait inside.

Inside the meeting room, the military and government officials and members of the Parthenon Temple were already at their respective seats, except for a proud figure who was standing in front of a Golden Sun Knight and uttering unpleasant words to vent his anger.

“How can someone like you be a Golden Sun Knight? Do you know how much trouble we are in because we allowed that Sea Titan to escape? Do you know that if we could capture a Tyrant Titan alive, I could find out every detail of their tribe, including how many Tyrant Titans are going to fight us? We might even find the culprit that destroyed Green Sprouts Island to give Crete some peace of mind! However, you hopeless piece of shit let the Tyrant Titan escape for the sake of some useless old migrants!” Tuis pointed at Jiang Bin, swearing at him.

Tuis was a reckless man. The meeting room had every core member of the battle, most of them with important roles and great power, yet Tuis was scolding the Golden Sun Knight in front of everyone without mercy.

Jiang Bin was kneeling on the ground with his head lowered. He did not say a word.

Tuis had no intention of letting it go. He was going to show how useless the guy was in front of everyone!

“What’s going on? Is Tuis the mad dog biting people for no reason again?” Mo Fan asked Muse Pelina, who was seated beside him.

Pelina hesitated for a moment before telling Mo Fan the details.

“The old villagers on Orange Coconut Island do not understand Greek. They were not evacuated to Jade Bay City, so Jiang Bin missed out on a great chance to capture a Sea Titan alive, as he was busy evacuating the village,” Pelina explained.

“Oh, he did a great job then!” Mo Fan nodded.

“Mm, it’s not his fault either, but Tuis doesn’t think that way. He believes Jiang Bin cost him a great opportunity just to save a few people’s lives,” Pelina remarked.

“How stupid can you be? I shall report to Haylon and ask him to expel you once I returned to the Parthenon Temple!” Tuis was still going on.

Mo Fan could not stand it anymore, and went up to Tuis. “That’s enough, why must I hear your annoying voice as soon as I come into the room? Can you shut up and let me have my peace?” Mo Fan swore at him.

No one had dared to offend Tuis, but Mo Fan did not mind interrupting Tuis while he was throwing a tantrum at all, since he already stepped on the idiot’s toes.

“What the heck does a yellow monkey like you know? We might lose another Green Sprouts City because of his mistake! He will be held responsible for it!” Tuis declared loudly.

“Nothing even happened yet, right? We will be ready when they come. He saved the lives of a village!” Mo Fan shot right back.

“Huh, a village of old folks? That’s the least of my concerns! Everyone here is an official. Don’t you talk about humanity with me! Besides, the documents stated that village was already abandoned. Those greedy old folks went there and built houses without permission so they could pick the coconuts and sell them. They cost us a great opportunity to secure the upper hand. I say those old folks should be sent to jail!” Tuis went on.

Poseidon finally came into the room. “Tuis, it’s fine. I’ll handle it!”

Poseidon was the only person who could make Tuis shut up. Tuis had no choice but to take a seat after Poseidon spoke. For some reason, he kept glaring at Mo Fan disdainfully.

“May I ask who here is in charge of Orange Coconut Island?” Poseidon asked.

A plump official rose to his feet nervously. “I am!”

“The knights, soldiers, and young Mages are risking our lives at the frontline, yet many of your men have already run away from the Aegean Sea. That is extremely disappointing. I hope you can control your men and at least make sure every resident close to the battlefield has been evacuated. The Parthenon Temple is being doubted by the whole world. We will take responsibility for our jobs, but we won’t take responsibility for yours. We will tell everyone the truth, and you will have to explain yourself to the public!” Poseidon stated firmly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Yes!” the bald official said.

Poseidon did not press the matter any further. It was as Pelina had said: Jiang Bin did not do anything wrong, nor was Tuis wrong for being angry with him. The local officials were to be blamed for not doing their job properly!

“Can you go and make sure every village, town, city, and island in Crete that we’ve marked have been evacuated?” Poseidon requested calmly.

“I’ll handle it. What about the meeting?” the official agreed quickly.

“Just do your job,” Poseidon stated.

“Sure, I promise you it won’t happen again!” The official was relieved, and left the room quickly.

Tuis was not pleased with the official. He said, “Uncle, shouldn’t you punish him?”

“Tuis, you have already heard that many officials have already fled to the cities inland. That guy Orlando might be bad at his job, but he’s a lot better than those who ran away. We can’t just fire him. Otherwise, the bureaucracy in Crete is going to crash,” Poseidon said helplessly.

Neglecting duties was better than running away, which was the situation Crete was in. Hopefully, they could end the fighting as soon as possible, or the whole of Greece would be in trouble.

Tuis glared at Jiang Bin after hearing the words.

Poseidon was obviously not going to punish Jiang Bin if he had forgiven the official!

—

“According to our investigation, a tribe of Tyrant Titans is going to attack Crete. The tribe mainly consists of Sea Titans, but there are also a few Mountain and Forest Titans. However, we haven’t seen any signs of Tyrant Titans above the Silver Moon level…” the general whom Poseidon was talking to previously reported.

“Please refer to the map here. The colors each represent a Tyrant Titan we are tracking. The purple line is an adult Tyrant Titan that we discovered around seven years ago. Its height is around seventy to ninety meters. It once showed up at Herb Garden Town to the south of the Aegean Sea…

“We call it the Glutton.

“Around five months ago, it seemed to be roaming in the mountains in Italy. The last time we saw it was at a nameless lake in the Alps. It was then spotted many times around fifty kilometers away from Crete a month before Green Sprouts City was destroyed. It once attacked a boat of fishermen and ate all the animals and plants on an island occupied by Sea Monkey Demons.”

The general was focusing everyone’s attention on the Tyrant Titan as he made a thorough report on its whereabouts. The military must have had a department specialized in tracking the Tyrant Titans.

“These are the photographs that were first taken in Herb Garden Town. Its back was covered in a fog,” the general explained while referring to the screen. He waited until everyone had taken a clear look at the photos, “We think it’s the one that destroyed Green Sprouts Island.”

Mo Fan looked at the photo of the Tyrant Titan’s back. He noticed its back was oddly smooth, with the an appearance resembling granite. It did not have the cross that Harper had mentioned.

“General, the survivor we rescued told us he saw a cross mark on the Tyrant Titan’s back. Does this Silver Moon Tyrant Titan have one?” Mo Fan asked.

“Cross mark?” The general looked at Poseidon in confusion.

“Mo Fan, the survivor you mentioned, is he a Mage or a normal civilian? I’ve asked over a hundred survivors, but none of them mentioned the cross mark,” Poseidon asked.

“He’s just a normal civilian… alright, perhaps he just imagined it,” Mo Fan shrugged.

“Humph, how stupid of you to believe a normal person who might have shit his pants,” Tuis mocked him.

Mo Fan ignored him and continued to listen to the general.

“We have found a clue. The Tyrant Titan seems to be interested in poppies, and the Sea Monkey Monsters are their favorite food. Based on our estimation of how much it eats, sleeps, and the energy it consumes, it might start eating again next week. A Tyrant Titan of its height has to eat around four hundred Sea Monkey Monsters to feed itself, and if our information on its whereabouts is accurate, it should feed on the Sea Monkey Monsters within two hundred kilometers from the center of Crete. Therefore, if we want to find it, we can wait at places with a higher number of poppies and Sea Monkey Monsters,” the general with long eyebrows proposed.

“That’s a brilliant plan,” a few Golden Sun Knights complimented.

“If that idiot hadn’t let the Tyrant Titan I found escape, we wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble!” Tuis scoffed at the general’s report.

The Tuis did not usually have to waste so much effort in looking for the Tyrant Titans. Unfortunately, someone had ruined the first step of his plan. He would have to start over again!

“Tuis, what do you think?” Poseidon asked.

“It’s a stupid approach, but it might find the Tyrant Titan they are tracking. Let the military and Blue Star Knights handle the strenuous task. Let me know once you find the Tyrant Titan. I’ll hunt it down,” Tuis declared, looking at Mo Fan provokingly.

Mo Fan placed two apples with a banana in the middle on the table and showed them to Tuis with a wave.

1

“How vulgar!” Tuis sniffed, looking away.

“Alright, the general will assign the tasks. I must leave for the north of the Aegean Sea. A Tyrant Blood Inferior Dragon has shown up, most likely because of the Tyrant Titans. I’ll leave it in your hands,” Poseidon said.

“We will do our best!” the general promised.

——

Mo Fan saw Mu Bai taking careful notes after the meeting. He asked, “What do you think, Advisor Mu Bai?”

Mu Bai had listened very carefully during the meeting, and arrived at his own conclusion, “The information provided by the military is very detailed, yet it lacks any proof that indicates the Glutton was the culprit who destroyed Green Sprouts City. After all, the Tyrant Titans are more like wanderers that go wherever the current takes them, similar to whales. They might be at the Mediterranean Sea this month, and show up at the Indian Ocean or the Pacific next month…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“If it’s not the culprit, why are we wasting our time on it?” Zhao Manyan said.

Mu Bai shook his head and said, “Finding out whether it’s the culprit or not after taking it down is what the military and the knights are thinking. We can’t just sit here and do nothing, since it’s only going to cause panic. Besides, the Tyrant Titans must be linked to one another in some way. Otherwise, Tuis wouldn’t be so angry after they let a Tyrant Titan escape.”

Mo Fan nodded, agreeing with Mu Bai.

It did not matter if the Glutton was the culprit they were after. The whole of Crete was on alert. Taking down one or two Tyrant Titans would bring the people some relief!

“Fine, we’ll try our best to capture the Tyrant Titan so you can recover your health,” Zhao Manyan said.

“By the way, what’s with the Tyrant Blood Inferior Dragon that Poseidon mentioned?” Mo Fan asked.

“The dragons have always colluded with the Tyrant Titans. The Inferior Dragons and Pseudo-Dragons in Europe are crossbreeds, just like Zhao Manyan, who hooks up with every woman he sees. Therefore, the Tyrant Titans are always found with a few Inferior Dragons, Pseudo-Dragons, and other mixed-breed dragons. The powerful Inferior Dragons are comparable to the Tyrant Titans, while the mixed-breed dragons have overwhelming numbers. We will need an army to fend them off,” Mu Bai explained.

“Green Tea Man, why must you use me as a comparison? Weren’t you lying in a coffin for a long time? Why do you know so much? Don’t tell me you were reading books in the coffin?” Zhao Manyan complained.

“I already knew these things before. I’m not like you two. I enjoy reading books about different countries. The books about dragons and Tyrant Titans were interesting to me. After the incident at the Ancient Capital, I came to the Aegean Sea and stayed here for a while for a change of scenery, but I didn’t stay on Crete,” Mu Bai replied evenly.

‘Yeah, sure thing, you read a lot of books, including the recipe for aphrodisiacs!” Zhao Manyan had to say.

Mu Bai’s face darkened.

Damn it, when will they ever stop talking about it!?

“That’s great, I always fall asleep when I read books. So what great ideas do you have on how we can capture the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan?” Mo Fan asked.

“Are you familiar with poppies?” Mu Bai asked.

“The plant they normally use to make anesthetics?” Mo Fan was not that stupid.

“Mm, some greedy people use them to make drugs. As for the Sea Monkey Monsters, a little cave can have three to four of their nests. There are plenty of places with more than five hundred Sea Monkey Monsters on them. We can’t possibly watch them all, so the poppies should be our focus…” Mu Bai said.

“Can you find their exact location? Otherwise, we will be wasting our time if we wait in one spot. Tuis has the knights helping him. We must find the Tyrant Titan before him,” Mo Fan said.

“I can try. Give me some time to find out the plant distribution on Crete,” Mu Bai nodded.

“It might take you a long time to collect the data. I’ll ask Lingling to help you prepare it,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s even better!” Mu Bai agreed. It would be a lot easier to find the spots where the Tyrant Titan might show up with Lingling’s help!

——

Mo Fan bought a box of fruit and carried it on his shoulder on their way back.

Zhao Manyan was confused. He did not understand why Mo Fan was trying so hard to disguise himself as a worker. Did it even matter if the other guests knew they were Mages? The chance of some strangers in such a remote place beating them up was almost zero, considering their strength!

“Something is odd about them. They are definitely doing some illegal stuff, so I’m quite curious,” Mo Fan explained.

“That’s quite a special hobby you have.”

The inn provided its guests with three meals; Harper was the one cooking all of them. It was strange how Harper was a lazy person, yet he was oddly patient when it came to preparing food, drinks, and fruits. He could spend a whole day cutting ingredients and cooking food while listening to music.

“Harper, are you sure the creature you saw had a cross mark on its back?” Mo Fan asked.

“Can I swear in the name of my grandmother?” Harper replied.

“You don’t have to go that far. Just swear that if you lie to us, you will be sexually impotent for the rest of your life.”

“You saved my life, I wouldn’t lie to you,” Harper said seriously.

“Alright, I trust you,” Mo Fan said.

——

They spent a few more days resting at the inn while Mu Bai and Lingling shared information remotely. Lingling eventually pinpointed a few possible locations.

Mu Bai sat in the common room of the house, wondering which spot they should wait at. They had found five possible locations, yet there were only the three of them, not to mention he was half-crippled now. It was impossible to keep an eye on every spot.

“You guys are being quite serious.” Harper had mixed some fruit cocktails. He leaned forward when he saw Mu Bai frowning in front of the laptop.

“We were never joking,” Mu Bai took the cocktail glass from Harper.

“You should leave these three spots out. Just focus on the other two,” Harper pointed at two of the locations after taking a quick glance at the map.

Mu Bai turned and looked at Harper. Harper was displeased by Mu Bai’s reaction.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think I’m just a good-for-nothing who only knows how to hook up with the ladies? I’m smarter than most people. I grew up close to the Aegean Sea, and I worked in a lot of forestry stations. I’ve planted olive trees and roses before. I also planted poppies when I was desperate for money, so I know the areas where you can find them; I only stopped doing it because it’s harmful to young ladies. Otherwise, I would be a hundred times richer than your blond friend. I might be poor, but I have a conscience!” Harper exclaimed.

“I could never tell that you had learned the importance of protecting future generations. Why do these two spots have the highest possibility?” Mu Bai’s impression of Harper had changed a little.

“There are many wild poppies on this island. I remember moving some of them in the past, but the water nearby is very shallow. It’s easy for ships to get stranded, so we rarely go there. The Tyrant Titans are massive sea creatures, and prefer deeper waters. Even though they have long legs to move on the land, if they are in deeper waters, they can easily escape into the sea and move more freely,” Harper explained.

“So they won’t go to this island, because the water is shallow?” Mu Bai asked, pointing at it.

“Mm, they might raid it, but they won’t treat it as a feeding ground. They won’t go over here, either. The Tyrant Titans aren’t fond of snakes. This place has the biggest sea snakes from Africa, who like to come to the Aegean Sea for vacation.

“As for this one, you have obviously not been to it in person. There are only fake poppies there.”

Mu Bai shook his head helplessly after hearing Harper’s explanations.

He would never beat a local’s knowledge, no matter how much preparation he had!

Chapter 2134: The Real Titan

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The moon was very low, so low that the waves rolling into the night sky were about to swallow it. A few dim stars were hiding behind the thin veil of clouds. One had to watch closely just to notice them.

A strong wind was blowing at the poppy shrubs scattered across the area. The bright flowers of the poppies were like glamorous ladies in long skirts in the spring.

The branches started shaking after a few loud thuds. A straight line of footprints had suddenly appeared on the ground, but there was nothing nearby.

A thin cloud suddenly shattered, as if something had bumped into it. A faint silhouette was barely visible in the mist. Its body had somehow merged with the night sky. It was almost transparent, despite its massive figure!

“Tyrant Titans like eating poppies, not because they are an entree dish before they eat meat, but because they have a strong lust for blood. They are often injured when they encounter strong enemies, and the only way to heal their wounds is to fall into a deep sleep in a safe place. They will struggle to fall asleep because of the pain from their wounds, but eating poppies will allow them to fall asleep after they have a meal,” a soft voice in the shrubs remarked knowingly.

“HAHA, I didn’t think it would actually show up here. Boss, you are awesome. You found the spot where the Tyrant Titan is searching for food before the military did. This Silver Moon Tyrant Titan belongs to our Red Pine Hunter Group!” a man with a sharp voice whispered.

There were unusual movements in the shrubs. The wind did not cause them. A Hunter Group had long been waiting in the shrubs.

The Red Pine Hunter Group was from Japan. The organs of Tyrant Titans had always been hot items in auctions. They could earn a lot more money than killing sea monsters!

They even broke the rules of their country and came all the way to Greece, just to hunt a Tyrant Titan!

“Boss, that thing looks a little… fierce.”

“Don’t be scared, there are more than fifty of us here!”

The leader of the Red Pine Hunter Grou was a Seven Star Hunter Master. His strength was already comparable to some of the Senior Hunters. However, he had yet to complete enough quests to increase his rank. Most Senior Hunters had contributed greatly to the Hunter Union. There were a limited number of Senior Hunters in the world because many people were stuck at the rank of Seven Stars Hunter Master.

Killing a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan… The achievement alone was enough for him to compete for the title of the strongest Hunter Master in Japan!

“It has stepped into our trap!”

“Dragon Whiskers Binding Formation!” the leader Akamatsu yelled.

Of the fifty Hunters, more than forty of them were experts of the Plant Element, whom Akamatsu had hired for a handsome amount.

Not many Mages focused a lot of time on mastering the Plant Element, yet it was the most effective Element against creatures like Tyrant Titans who had outstanding physical strength.

The Plant Element was the best way to pin them down. The Red Pine Hunter Group had already set up a trap for the Tyrant Titan while it was feeding on the poppies to numb its pain!

Countless branches reached out from the shrubs. They were flexible and tough. Hundreds of them had spread across the area under the control of the Plant Mages.

Their branches were blossoming like a huge flower if anyone was looking down from above. The Tyrant Titan was right in the middle of them!

The branches tied a few circles around the Tyrant Titan’s limbs, waist, neck, shoulders, and joints that were crucial to its movement.

The other ends of the branches were fixed to the ground. When the Tyrant Titan tried to flee, the branches tightened and bound it to the ground. It could not break free from the branches no matter how hard it tried.

“Hehe, these Wood Whiskers can even hold a fly-over bridge in place. They are tougher than steel cables!” Akamatsu declared confidently.

The Tyrant Titan tried to turn around and use its momentum to pull the branches up. Normally, a rigid substance might snap when the object being tied was rotating with great force, but the branches were very flexible. They remained intact despite the Tyrant Titan’s efforts.

“Boss, I’ll go slice the back of its neck!” shouted Akamatsu’s lackey, who wanted to look cool.

“Do you think this is a comic? That’s a Tyrant Titan, not a titan from Attack on Titans!”

“Hehe, I was just kidding. Is that thing really a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan? It’s not that impressive.”

“Idiot, don’t say something like that again in the middle of a fight. Don’t you know the enemy will often go berserk and kill everyone whenever someone says that line in a comic?” Akamatsu scolded him.

“Ugh… you’re right.”

The members of the Red Pine Hunter Group kept their eyes fixed on the Tyrant Titan. They did not dare to lower their guard before its shocking size. They did not think it would be this easy to suppress a Ruler-level creature, and were ready for any unforeseen events.

However, the thing they were most worried about did not happen. The Tyrant Titan failed to break free from the Dragon Whiskers Binding Formation despite its efforts. The members of the Red Pine Hunter Group were confused.

“It has stopped struggling,” the lackey noticed.

“That’s strange, we have prepared other ways too… are we really that strong? Or the Tyrant Titan isn’t as scary as everyone has said?” The leader of the Red Pine Hunter Group fondled his beard thoughtfully.

A short while later, the Tyrant Titan suddenly leaned forward and stopped moving, like a pig overwhelmed by fatigue and waiting to be slaughtered. The Mages exchanged glances with one another.

What the heck had just happened? They did not even attack it. Why did it surrender?

A few loud explosions suddenly came from the sea. This time, not just the grove started shaking, but the sky and the sea were shaking too!

The Hunters’ vision blurred suddenly. It eventually returned to normal, but when they raised their heads and looked toward the beach, they saw a head emitting scorching steam rising from the sea a kilometer away from them.

Burning lava was flowing out of the cracks on its skin, like an erupting volcano rising above the surface of the sea!

“A…Another titan!”

The Red Pine Hunter Group stared at the beach in shock. The titan with scorching lava looked like it was right in front of them, leaving them greatly afraid!

It was a real titan, compared to the one that was trapped in the Dragon Whisker Binding Formation!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Did…did we only capture a child Titan?” Akamatsu was dumbfounded. He turned to the little titan they had trapped.

Perhaps they were too nervous, but they had not realized the titan they had captured was only around forty meters tall. Most importantly, it did not have the silver light that a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan possessed.

On the other hand, the huge titan at the beach had a bright magical silver glow, on top of the lava that was flowing down its body. Even the moon in the night sky had disappeared!

A lunar eclipse!

It was a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan! And it was almost a hundred meters tall!

When they were collecting information about the Tyrant Titan, the description of a hundred meters was only data in their eyes. They could only compare it to the height of buildings. A building that was a hundred meters tall had about thirty floors. It was not that shocking in a Mage’s eyes, but buildings were non-living things, nor did they dribble lava off their faces, have the strength to shake the earth and sky with a single stomp, and magic that caused the moon to lose its brilliance!

A truck motoring in place and a truck coming at full speed were two different things, not to mention a titan that was as tall as a building!

The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was not clumsy. When it started running, it was like a meteorite rolling across the ground. It would not only bring destruction upon the fifty Hunters, but the whole island!

It did not have to attack the Mages, it could just destroy the island. Those on the island would have no chance of survival. No one would waste their time poking an ant with their finger. They would just slap their hand and kill every ant in the area. Why would such a massive creature bother killing tiny humans so delicately?

That was exactly the plan the Volcano Titan had in mind. It simply ignored the Hunters’ defenses, dodging, and attempts to hide. It would not bother to check if these tiny humans could survive after the island was smashed into pieces!

——

The water did not calm down for a long time. The Volcano Titan had raised a whirlpool that was big enough to swallow a large ship. It picked the little titan up after venting its anger and headed back deeper into the sea.

The water slowly rose above its head, leaving the remains of the island jutting above the water behind it.

The moon had reclaimed its brilliance, its light shining down on the Volcano Titan’s back. As it was about to disappear under the water, a tiny figure like a sparrow swept across the sky and landed less than two hundred meters behind it.

A distance of two hundred meters was still dangerously near the Tyrant Titan’s feet. It completely ignored the figure, as if it was not sensitive toward the tiny creatures around it, and continued to head deeper into the sea. Half its head was already submerged under the waves!

Mo Fan looked at the remains of the island behind him and sighed, “We are still one step late. We picked the wrong place when we narrowed down the places to only two!”

“Oh my, this Tyrant Titan is a lot fiercer than the one that showed up at Athens!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The first Tyrant Titan Zhao Manyan had seen was a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan that had appeared behind the mountain at the outskirts of Athens. Its face had risen between the mountains, looking down on the city like a deity.

The Tyrant Titan they were currently facing was in the middle of the ocean, yet it was still stunning to look upon as it stood there in the vast sea.

“You’re going to run just like that? Did you ask my fist for permission?” Mo Fan yelled at the back of the Tyrant Titan’s head.

A fiery dragon burst out of Mo Fan’s fist. His Fiery Fist had recently improved. The flames spread like clouds before turning into countless fiery dragons soaring across the sky and lighting up the darkness.

The seawater reflected the fiery dragons in the sky. The Fiery Fist looked even more stunning because of the reflections.

The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan noticed the heat coming from behind it. It turned around and stared at the fiery dragons that were approaching it.

The fiery dragons exploded upon contact and turned the area into a huge burning furnace. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan remained still, It had an enjoyable expression, as if it was bathing in a hot tub!

“Damn, it completely ignored your Fire Element!” Zhao Manyan shouted.

“My Little Flame Belle isn’t with me. Otherwise, its head would have exploded,” Mo Fan grumbled.

Little Flame Belle had to hibernate for some time to stabilize her power after evolving recently. She would hopefully be ready in a few days.

Even though Little Flame Belle was resting at the Mountain of the God’s Seal, Mo Fan was still a Super Fire Mage now. However, his sixth-tier Fiery Fist had only prepared a bath of hot water for the Tyrant Titan. The creature was ridiculously strong!

“I doubt we can make it stay if it insists on leaving,” Zhao Manyan commented.

They were currently at sea. Despite the Tyrant Titan’s massive body, they would soon lose sight of it if it kept heading deeper into the waters.

Mo Fan was a non-swimmer, too. It was impossible for him to pursue the creature deep into the water!

The Volcano Titan suddenly turned as Zhao Manyan thinking about what to do. It glared at them with a terrifying light in its eyes.

Zhao Manyan’s lips twisted when he felt the rage from the titan’s eyes.

It seemed like he should worry less about how they could make the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan stay here, and think about how they were going to stay alive!

The Tyrant Titan swung its arms at the water. Huge waves surged up in all directions.

The water that was around eighty meters deep was gone, leaving an empty hole behind, as if a huge piece of the sea had just disappeared.

The Tyrant Titan stood revealed in the hole. The strong gusts of wind it had produced knocked Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan flying.

The Tyrant Titan was very quick, taking huge steps in the sea. It was not walking on the surface, the water along the way was pushed to the side by the silver light it was emitting. Zhao Manyan could even see the bottom of the sea!

It chased after Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, and soon arrived underneath them.

It suddenly wrapped its arms around its chest and let out a roar. Dark red lava started jetting out from the bottom of the sea.

Spectacular and destructive fire pillars sprang into the sky, one at a time!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan felt like they were stuck between a dozen interconnected volcanoes. The combined ash had formed a terrifying black mushroom cloud. The scorching lava kept surging at them, leaving them with no place to stand.

“My Earth Element won’t be able to stop it. Mo Fan, I don’t think the two of us can defeat it!” Zhao Manyan called out.

The layer of protection he had applied to them with the Earth Element would melt in seconds because of the lava. No matter how quickly Zhao Manyan was producing the rock, he still could not match the speed of the lava melting it.

“Why don’t you try using your Earth Element?” Zhao Manyan taunted Mo Fan.

“Damn it, are you really trying to pick a fight with me at a time like this? My Circle of Crystal Teeth: Heavenly Gate needs to accumulate shards first. I can only set up a pig pen at most. Just focus, I’ll show him what I’ve got!” Mo Fan snapped back.

Zhao Manyan’s pride must have suffered a huge blow recently. He was acting strangely.

Mo Fan knew Zhao Manyan had yet to show his true strength. If he did not treat the fight seriously, they could turn into mincemeat at any second!

“It’s jumping up. That thing is jumping at us!” Zhao Manyan suddenly pointed down and yelled.

Mo Fan lowered his head and saw the creature’s lava-covered head was less than a hundred meters from him. It was not a big deal since they could easily dodge it with the reaction speed of a Mage, but the magical silver light it was emitting would be a problem.

The silver magical light had significantly magnified the area of its power. Mo Fan could sense a powerful force approaching from the vast sea below. Even Blink was not enough to get him to a safe distance!

The Tyrant Titan’s attacks had insane areas of effect. It was trying to destroy the little humans, together with the whole area!

“Old Zhao, it’s all you now!” Mo Fan decisively stood behind Zhao Manyan.

“Up to me my ass, why didn’t you just let it go in the first place?!” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

A Silver Moon Tyrant Titan…

Any Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was at least at the Ruler-level, not to mention an adult Silver Moon Tyrant Titan! Zhao Manyan had almost died when he tried to save the people in Athens, and now they were fighting one that was even stronger! No matter how diligent he was, he would never catch up to Mo Fan’s speed at trying to get himself killed!

A silver light sprang at the moon. Its overwhelming energy left white cracks across the sky. It looked as if rays of light were pouring down from the gaps between the clouds, yet it was actually the space being distorted by waves of energy!

Space was like a calm surface of water. Any energy that landed on it would only result in a slight ripple, which would return to calm eventually. However, when the energy was too strong, it would create a hole, resulting in a maelstrom as the hole was being filled!

Zhao Manyan had watched the fight between Baxia and Qiu Chi. Every time they had collided with one another, the space would crack apart and produce these same little vortexes!

The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was already strong enough to break the space around it. If they could not gather enough elemental energy to defend themselves, they would be shredded to pieces!

“Mo Fan, we can’t beat it, prepare to run!” Zhao Manyan shouted.

“Even you can’t withstand its attacks?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Just tag him with your Shadow Element. I’ll explain it to you once we retreat!” Zhao Manyan said.

“The tag doesn’t guarantee we can find it again. It’s a pity if we let it go now!” Mo Fan complained.

“Brother, I’m more than happy to do that if it will save our lives!” Zhao Manyan replied to that.

Mo Fan looked at Zhao Manyan and noticed his face was pale. He must have sustained internal injuries from the impact.

If Zhao Manyan’s defenses were not effective against the Tyrant Titan, he would not last for long either!

“Let’s go!” Mo Fan did not hesitate any further. He grabbed Zhao Manyan and fled into the shadows.

The Tyrant Titan was not willing to give up when it saw the two humans running away.

After chasing them for a few kilometers, it noticed some lights approaching from the north, flying over like meteors.

The Tyrant Titan decisively gave up its pursuit when it realized the humans’ backup had arrived. It swung its arms to the sides and split the sea in half. The huge waves rolled fiercely as the line extended into the horizon.

The waves completely blocked everyone’s view. Water fell from the sky like it was raining. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was quite gone by the time the lights arrived.

“Damn it, it ran away again!” Lucas shouted angrily.

“We didn’t arrange for our men to guard this area. A Hunter Group did request they be allowed to watch this place, but they didn’t notify us when the Tyrant Titan appeared. I wonder if…”

“Track it down, don’t let it escape!” Lucas interrupted.

The Mages immediately split up into groups to search for the Tyrant Titan, but the sea creatures were better at concealing their presence than creatures on land. Their efforts were in vain.

—

Tuis arrived around ten minutes later. His mount was a flying horse in dark golden barding.

The knights of the Parthenon Temple were very concerned about their appearance, but Tuis’ Golden Armor Flying Horse was obviously a few levels higher than the Golden Sun Knights’ mounts. If anyone were to compare him to Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, it was like the difference between beggars and an emperor.

“Mo Fan, can you please buy your own Wing Magical Equipment? It’s not like you can’t afford it,” Zhao Manyan grumbled while carrying Mo Fan in the air.

“I haven’t found anything that suits me. I don’t want to waste my money!” Mo Fan sniffed.

Tuis pulled in on his flying horse and strutted proudly beside them. The grin on his face clearly indicated his disdain for their ../style of transportation tool.

It was like someone who was driving a sports car stumbling into a high school classmate riding an old bicycle, not to mention he was also carrying another person on the bicycle!

“You two are more useless than I thought. You’ve let the Tyrant Titan escape!” Tuis sneered.

“Aren’t you the Tyrant Titan expert? Why didn’t you come here earlier than us?” Mo Fan shot right back.

“It’s because I know that thing isn’t the culprit that destroyed Green Sprouts City. Capturing it will only calm the people’s resentment temporarily!” Tuis sniffed.

“I knew that too, so I didn’t want to waste my time!” Mo Fan promptly agreed with him.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan left, ignoring Tuis’ ridicule.

Tuis’ face darkened as he watched them leave.

Tuis was not a kind and gentle person. He believed the most effective way to make people respect the Tuis Family was to make them fear them. He was never going to forgive Mo Fan, who kept disrespecting him so easily, or that b**ch Asha’ruiya!

He knew Asha’ruiya had gone to eat breakfast with Mo Fan at Chinatown early in the morning the next day after what had happened. She did not even bother keeping it a secret.

They might have stumbled into one another coincidentally if they grabbed lunch or dinner together, or perhaps they had something important to discuss. However, their relationship was obviously not simple if they ate breakfast together. Anyone could easily guess they must have done some intense exercise the previous night, as it was the only reason they would eat breakfast together early in the morning! After all, young people nowadays would normally sleep until noon if they did not go to work!

A monkey and a vixen, what a perfect match! Tuis swore he was going to make them both pay!

“Master Tuis, it’s too hard to look for it in the sea. It won’t leave any traces behind. We need your help to track it down,” Lucas said respectfully.

“That creature isn’t the one that destroyed Green Sprouts Island,” Tuis declared.

“Her Highness Izisha hopes you can capture it. People are doubting the Parthenon Temple, but the two young Saintesses aren’t doing much to answer their doubts. If we can capture it to comfort the people, they will believe Izisha and you are capable of dealing with the Tyrant Titans, even if it isn’t the culprit that destroyed the Green Sprouts Island. We will write the names of those who died in the tragedy with its blood!” Lucas said sternly.

“I understand,” Tuis nodded.

It was obvious that Izisha wanted him to prove his capabilities. Wasn’t that simple?

It also turned out that useless Mo Fan had failed to defeat the Tyrant Titan. It was time to teach that monkey the difference between them!

“Come with me, follow the direction the moon is falling to,” Tuis ordered them.

“Should…should we call for backup? Only a few members of the Red Pine Hunter Group have survived. They were a first-tier Hunter Group!” Lucas asked.

“That won’t be necessary. We have more than enough. I don’t want to waste too much time on it. Let’s go!”

—

—

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had saved a few members of the Red Pine Hunter Group who were soaked in the sea. They were in a terrible state, as they had either lost their limbs or half of their faces.

“F**k me, why did I think we were strong enough to take on a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan?” Akamatsu, the leader of the Red Pine Hunter Group, cried remorsefully.

Half of his face was ruined. He had managed to escape from the Tyrant Titan, but when he saw so many of his men get killed, he had an urge to lie in the water in despair and sink to the bottom of the sea!

“The Tyrant Titans don’t really show up a lot, so it’s difficult to evaluate their actual strength. I bet the guys who killed a Tyrant Titan and boasted about the loot they got never mentioned how high the piles of their comrades’ corpses were!” Mo Fan patted the Hunter on the shoulder.

“I’ve always wanted to do something impressive. I was planning to retire after this, but I didn’t expect things would turn out like this,” Akamatsu sighed.

“Something impressive also means the risk involved is beyond your capabilities. It’s normal for accidents to happen. It has nothing to do with whether you’re going to retire or not. Look at me, I’ve never said things like that. There’s only a harder job instead of the last job!” Mo Fan pontificated.

“Young man, you are an optimistic one. Either way, thank you for saving me and my brothers. Those knights are only concerned about tracking down the Tyrant Titans, they couldn’t care less about us… I’ll bring them home to treat their injuries. Come find me in Tokyo if you go to Japan. I’ll bring you to Soapland so you can glorify your country. (Cough cough) , pardon me, I shouldn’t be saying that about my homeland,” Akamatsu apologized.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were left speechless too.

“You mean a cultural exchange! After all, your country is way ahead in that field than ours. Our country has such a high population because the teachers in your countries are devoted to their work. We’ve learned a lot of postures that we have never seen from the books… ugh, I meant culture!” Mo Fan said.

“How humble of you, we shall meet again. Feel free to contact us if you need any help!”

——–

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan said goodbye to the Red Pine Hunter Group and followed the meandering path out of the city to head back to Harper’s inn.

Mo Fan recalled Zhao Manyan had something to tell him along the way.

“Have you heard of spatial cracks?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Mo Fan shook his head.

“Seriously? Aren’t you a Chaos Mage? How do you not know what the Spatial Crack spell is? It’s an ability of the Chaos Element above the Advanced Level. It can tear the plane we are in apart and shred everything!” Zhao Manyan explained.

“My Chaos Element is too weak. I haven’t learned the spell yet,” Mo Fan explained awkwardly.

He should spend some time on his Chaos Element. Little Loach had leveled up recently, so his cultivation speed was probably like a rocket now. The Chaos Element had many useful abilities. They might come in handy when he went up against a strong opponent!

“The things it can shred include our defensive spells, like a rock shield, a light barrier, a water curtain, or a wind wall… pretty much everything,” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

“I know, so please get to the point,” Mo Fan sighed.

“I’m getting there. Didn’t you notice how the space around us was breaking when it used the silver light? It was strong enough to crack open our plane, similar to the Spatial Crack spell. That means it could shred my defenses, even if they were ten times or a hundred times stronger!” Zhao Manyan declared.

It was tiring to explain theories to an illiterate. What the heck did Mo Fan do when he was in primary school?

“These Spatial Cracks, can they really shred anything?” Mo Fan asked directly.

“Let’s use sand as an example. If there was a lot of sand forming a huge thick wall, do you think it could stop a truck?” Zhao Manyan asked him.

“Sure!” Mo Fan nodded along.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What about water? Even a scoop of it can permeate the sand no matter how thick it is, let alone a huge wave, ” Zhao Manyan went on.

Mo Fan nodded. He felt like a young child listening to the teacher in a kindergarten.

“It doesn’t mean the truck has less force than the water, nor does it mean the defense of the sand isn’t strong. It’s the nature of different substances. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s attacks are targeting the plane directly, so it’s useless to defend against it. Even the thickest defense will be torn apart with the plane, as there isn’t any magic substance left,” Zhao Manyan concluded.

“So that’s why you think you can’t defend against it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Isn’t that obvious? Even if I try my best to defend us, it is still going to break down. Aren’t we asking for our deaths if we keep fighting?” Zhao Manyan retorted.

“That means, if we can’t find a solution, we will never defeat that Silver Moon Tyrant Titan, let alone the culprit of Green Sprouts Island?” Mo Fan deduced.

“Mm, the Red Pine Hunter Group wasn’t weak. They must have prepared themselves, yet they lost so miserably. The main reason is because they didn’t understand the Tyrant Titan’s abilities. Once there are cracks in the plane, their defense was going to crack apart, allowing energy to permeate it and strike the Mages!” Zhao Manyan lectured him.

“It’s really not easy to take on Ruler-level creatures,” Mo Fan admitted.

“But don’t worry, I’ve been experimenting on how to deal with Spatial Cracks after watching the fight between Baxia and Qiu Chi,” Zhao Manyan went on.

“Did you find any solution?” Mo Fan was intrigued.

The spells he had encountered after he became a Super Mage varied a lot, not to mention the strange abilities of different demon creatures. It was necessary to learn a way to deal with these Spatial Cracks!

“Spatial Cracks will recover on their own. It’s normally done in a few milliseconds, so if we can speed the process up and fix the cracks even quicker, we can prevent energy from permeating our defense. That way, I shouldn’t have a problem blocking the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s attacks!” Zhao Manyan said firmly.

“So can you do it?” Mo Fan wondered.

“I haven’t mastered the technique. I need someone’s help to gather the energy nearby in a short period of time. Even a little crack will need all the energy within a hundred meters to be fixed. Judging from the size of the cracks the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan caused, we’ll need to gather the energy from around three to four kilometers to fill the cracks!” Zhao Manyan declared firmly.

“Only a Domain can gather energy,” Mo Fan mused.

“Yeah, you can’t help me, since you must use the energy you gather to attack the Tyrant Titan, or we won’t even hurt its skin. However, my Domain alone isn’t enough to fill the cracks in a short enough time. We can only think of another way. If we don’t solve this problem, I won’t dare fight a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan again,” Zhao Manyan stated.

——

Mo Fan wanted to go back to the inn, but Zhao Manyan insisted on having a few drinks.

Mu Bai came in a little later; Harper was with him. The civilian had shamelessly tagged along when he heard they were going to get some drinks.

“Say, aren’t you two being too optimistic? Why are you drinking here if you didn’t catch the Tyrant Titan?” Mu Bai grumbled when he arrived.

“We tried our best,” Mo Fan replied lazily.

Mu Bai observed Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan closely, and did not notice a single scratch on them. They did not even need to change. It was obvious that they did not fight much.

“We are here to drink. Why do you have to bring up such a serious topic? Work is the same whether you treat it seriously or slack a little. It’s nowhere as comfortable as having some drinks at night and talking about girls!” Harper started drinking naturally.

“Here, have some snake gall cocktail, it’s good for your kidneys,” Zhao Manyan gave Mu Bai a glass of liquor.

Good my ass!

—–

The four had a few drinks. Zhao Manyan also explained the Spatial Cracks to Mu Bai and asked him to figure out a plan. Mu Bai was about to speak when people started cheering nearby.

“What happened? Did Manchester United score?” Harper immediately turned around, assuming they were watching a soccer game.

“Izisha is still the same. Our country never had any problems when she was in charge of the Parthenon Temple. Even when something happened, they could easily find the culprit in a short period of time, but now, with several Saintesses competing against one another, they keep fawning upon other countries instead of taking good care of their own country. What a joke!”

“Friend, you don’t have to flatter Izisha like that. It’s just a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan roaming in the wild. It’s not the one that destroyed Green Sprouts Island. It’s too early to be praising her now. I like Saintess Asha’ruiya more… she’s such a beauty with an outstanding temperament, not to mention how hot her body is.”

The crowd in the bar was engaged in loud discussions.

“Everyone, it doesn’t matter who we support. It’s worth celebrating whenever a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan is killed. Let’s drink!” the owner of the bar raised his malt beer to the whole crowd, who cheered.

“Speaking of which, who was the warrior that defeated the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan? I heard only four or five out of fifty members of a first-tier Hunter Group survived the attack…” a man who seemed to be a Hunter inquired.

“It was Tuis!”

“Is Tuis that good?”

“You mean the man who was dancing with the Saintess during the Snow Festival? He’s no ordinary person if he’s allowed to take part in the ceremony!”

“Here, let’s give the warrior Tuis a toast!”

“Hey, why aren’t you guys raising your drinks? You didn’t drink when we were giving Izisha a toast, and you aren’t drinking now either. What are you trying to tell us? Do you not want Crete to reclaim its peace?” A drunk man slammed his hand down on Mo Fan’s table.

Mo Fan was going to tell him to piss off, but Harper immediately raised his glass and drove the drunkard away with a few words.

Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan took a sip from their drinks.

“Mo Fan, you are in a pinch here. That Tuis is really a Tyrant Titan killer. Let’s not worry about how he found the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan after it ran away. The fact that he managed to kill the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan highlights the difference in strength between us. Why don’t you give him kowtows and admit you were wrong? Otherwise, you will seriously be separated from Ye Xinxia forever,” Zhao Manyan taunted Mo Fan.

“Bullshit, that Tyrant Titan only got away because we let it go. Tuis is only picking on the target we didn’t want. Our target is the culprit of Green Sprouts Island. The others aren’t our concern,” Mo Fan retorted instantly.

“There’s more bad news. Didn’t Tuis say he can locate other Tyrant Titans once he captures one? If he caught the Volcano Titan, doesn’t that mean he can track down the culprit of Green Sprouts Island?” Mu Bai recalled.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan immediately felt the pressure.

The guy was no ordinary person indeed if he dared to act so recklessly in front of the Saintesses of the Parthenon Temple. Mo Fan was not afraid to fight Tuis in a duel, but he had to challenge Tuis in his area of expertise!

“Izisha has suddenly won the support of the people. Xinxia will be under great pressure if we don’t work harder,” Mu Bai noted for him.

“Old Zhao, can you find a way to tackle the Spatial Cracks? It’s just a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan. We’ll take down another one that is taller than a hundred meters!” Mo Fan prodded him.

“What’s with the rush? I’m not done drinking,” Zhao Manyan answered indifferently.

“Now is not the time to drink. Time to get back to work. Mu Bai is already so weak. Do you want to see him suffering from sexual impotence for the rest of his life?” Mo Fan said loftily.

Mu Bai’s face darkened. Why did they always come back to that? His body was weak, not his kidneys!

——

Poseidon soon held an emergency meeting. He praised Tuis at the start of the meeting. Tuis wore a smug look throughout the meeting, disgusting Mo Fan.

“Mo Fan, I hope you can work harder. I’ve already reported everything back to Great Muse Valentine. She will judge the outcome of the competition between you two,” Poseidon said.

“My target is the culprit of Green Sprouts Island,” Mo Fan shrugged.

“The kill serves as a warning to the Tyrant Titans. I doubt they are going to stir up trouble in our territory anytime soon,” Poseidon reminded him.

Mo Fan did not respond. He was currently at a disadvantage. It was meaningless to talk too much.

Poseidon did not dwell on the topic, either. He concluded the operation that had successfully killed the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan and proceeded to focus on other Blue Star Tyrant Titans.

“Don’t call me if it’s a Blue Star Tyrant Titan. I don’t want to waste my time on those petty creatures,” Tuis sniffed.

“Mo Fan, if you can’t handle the Silver Moon Tyrant Titans, why don’t you help us with the Blue Star Tyrant Titans? It’s better than doing nothing. After all, the knights are well aware of your strength,” Golden Sun Knight Lucas mocked him.

“We are willing to help regardless of the Tyrant Titan’s kind. Please share the information you have with us so we can eliminate every potential threat,” Mu Bai immediately replied on behalf of Mo Fan.

“Very well,” Poseidon nodded. He was pleased with their attitude.

—

After the meeting, Tuis, who was so flattered during the meeting, walked past Mo Fan with a proud grin. He was wiping his hands with a handkerchief.

“It seems like you will soon kneel before the altar of my clan. I must remind you that the Blue Stars Tyrant Titans aren’t easy targets either. It’s no use bringing two pieces of trash with you. Why don’t you request a troop of Battlemages?” Tuis taunted them.

——

Zhao Manyan was frustrated with Tuis’ comment when they returned to the inn.

“It’s fine if he was scolding Mu Bai for being useless, but he was scolding me too! That son of a b**ch!” Zhao Manyan snarled.

Mu Bai had no time to waste on the angry Manyan. He was reading the information about the Blue Star Tyrant Titans they had received from the military.

“Why are you bothering to read the information? Are we seriously going to hunt Blue Star Tyrant Titans?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Can you use your brain for once?” Mu Bai said.

“It’s better than not having functioning kidneys!” Zhao Manyan shot back.

“Old Zhao, enough grumbling. Mu Bai has done the right thing, agreeing to hunt down the Blue Star Tyrant Titans. You saw what happened to the Red Pine Hunter Group. There were two Tyrant Titans on the island, a Blue Star Tyrant Titan and a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan. It means we have a chance to find the Silver Moon Tyrant Titans through the Blue Star Tyrant Titans,” Mo Fan pointed out.

Mo Fan had figured out Mu Bai’s intentions when he agreed they would help hunt the Blue Star Tyrant Titans. Tuis clearly had the upper hand for now. He would be treated as a sore loser if he tried to argue with Poseidon!

“But even if we catch eight Blue Star Tyrant Titans, it’s still nowhere close to killing a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan,” Zhao Manyan reminded them.

“Then we’ll kill ten or twenty of them. The Blue Star Tyrant Titans are not as good at concealing their presence. We have plenty of clues about their whereabouts. Tuis is an arrogant man. He won’t bother hunting ordinary Tyrant Titans… we can only rely on quantity since we don’t have his capabilities,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan knew when to put on airs and when to act sensibly. He did not think killing the Blue Star Tyrant Titans was embarrassing. The culprit of Green Sprouts City was still on the loose. If he did not act fast, Tuis was surely going to win the competition!

“Fine, we’ll go with the military tomorrow.” Zhao Manyan was not foolish, either.

“The military is making a move tonight, but they are short-handed. Only a few Blue-Star Knights are with them,” Mu Bai noted for them.

“Let’s do it, and show them the courage we had when we were invading the Pyramid!”

——

The wind was a little cool in spring. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai dragged a piece of turf over their heads and waited patiently for the Blue Star Tyrant Titans to show up.

“Airplane.”

“I’m not taking it.”

“Chain.”

“My cards are better than you. HAHA, I’ve been waiting for your Chain…”

“I’ve had enough. Damn it, didn’t they say the Blue Star Tyrant Titan would show up here? It’s almost morning. We’ve been playing cards for the whole night.”

The wind started blowing again, blowing the cards into the sky. A sexy Queen flew above the trees and followed the wind to nowhere.

However, it suddenly stuck to something when it was about to fly into the distance.

It looked like the card was stuck to a wall, even though the wind was still blowing. It was moving horizontally without spinning like it normally would in the wind.

Its abnormal behavior took Mo Fan by surprise, but he immediately constructed a silver Star Constellation when he realized something. The silver magic encapsulated Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai.

A huge foot fell from the sky and stomped down on the area where Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai had been playing cards, leaving a deep hole behind. Even the sturdy layer of soil nearby had cracked apart!

“Oh my, that thing is better at hiding than us!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The ambusher had stumbled into an invisible tank. The stomp would have flattened them if Mo Fan had not noticed it first!

“Prepare to fight!” Mo Fan readied himself.

“Blue Star Tyrant Titan, sixty meters tall. Be careful,” Mu Bai decisively backed away. He was unfit for battle with his current condition.

Chapter 2140: The Fishing Boats Predator

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Blue Star Tyrant Titan was able to devour the light of the stars. It was already the dark of night. Their surroundings were almost pitch-black when the stars disappeared. Somehow, even Mo Fan’s ability to see at night was affected by the Tyrant Titan’s ability too.

“I can’t see that thing!” Zhao Manyan shouted.

“Where’s your Light Magic?!”

Zhao Manyan was slow to react. He produced a light orb and tossed it into the sky.

He decided to create a small sun himself since the stars had disappeared. Light with a hint of blue sparkles poured down from above and drove away the darkness.

Zhao Manyan’s vision recovered, yet he still did not see the Blue Star Tyrant Titan. However, he felt a breeze coming from behind him.

“You’re good at hiding aren’t you? Back off!” Zhao Manyan could easily tell the Tyrant Titan was behind him. He clenched his fists and instantly constructed a Star Constellation under his feet.

A Water Curtain rose like a fierce wave between Zhao Manyan and the Blue Star Tyrant Titan that was now within inches of him!

Zhao Manyan’s Water Curtain was unlike a normal Water Curtain. Its waves were able to knock back nearby targets when they emerged!

The ripples spread and knocked the Tyrant Titan back continuously as it was about to raise its fist.

The Tyrant Titan was quickly driven more than two hundred meters away. Zhao Manyan turned around and said with a confident grin, “How dare you little titan try to kill your grandpa Zhao!”

“Lightning Punishment Formation: Seal of the Nine Laws!”

Mo Fan did not bother wasting his time on the Blue Star Tyrant Titan. He immediately used his Super Lightning Spell.

The Lightning Punishment Formation was very effective against huge targets. Not only was it good at suppressing its targets, its damage was outstanding. Mo Fan did not want a Blue Star Tyrant Titan that was able to go invisible at any second to run away!

Mo Fan’s Super Lightning Spell was unusually strong against a single target because of the Blessing of the God’s Seal. The Lightning Halberds came down from the sky and landed in nine different locations.

Deadly lightning was conducted between the Lightning Halberds. Tiny lightning needles pierced the Blue Star Tyrant Titan’s flesh despite its thick skin.

“Mo Fan, don’t damage its organs,” Mu Bai reminded him.

“Oh, right, I almost forgot!” Mo Fan quickly withdrew his spell.

The lightning that the halberds were conducting could blast the Tyrant Titan’s organs to pieces. Its remains would lose their value if the organs were damaged!

“I’ll handle it, I’ve been practicing for a long time!” Zhao Manyan rolled up his sleeves.

The Star Orbits of the Light Element intertwined like they were a piece of fabric being knitted. The strings eventually combined into complete patterns and Star Constellations, eventually lining up into a magnificent Star Palace!

“Holy Judgment: Demon Judgment Sword!” Zhao Manyan roared. A scorching ray appeared in the pitch-black sky, as if a gate to the Heavens, brimming with a blessed light, had opened!

A glowing sword plunged from the sky!

Its light spread out like rippling waves. The grove of date trees, their leaves covered in dew, turned into ashes when the waves reached them!

The Blue Star Tyrant Titan had a terrified expression when it saw the sword hanging above it.

As a titan, it was disdainful toward most living things in the world, as if it was a deity. They were born with innately overwhelming strength, capable of trampling every species under their feet, not to mention that humans once submitted to the ancient creatures in the past!

The Blue Star Tyrant Titan no longer cared about its pride after facing Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan’s Super Spells, acting no different from livestock when its life was under threat. It felt helpless when it realized it did not stand a chance due to its lack of strength. It even had the urge to beg for its life.

“Begging for your life now? Why didn’t you show any sign of remorse when you swallowed the fishermen?”

The trio scorned the Blue Star Tyrant Titan after seeing its reaction.

The information they had received from the military referred to this Blue Star Tyrant Titan as the Fishing Boats Predator. It picked on fishing boats that accidentally got lost in the middle of the sea and ate the fishermen alive!

The Tyrant Titans were similar to humans in a lot of ways except for one thing: they were extremely cruel to their prey, and were particularly fond of eating humans!

Did they fancy eating Sea Monkey Monsters? That was only because they could not invade human territory as they pleased, so they were not able to eat living humans all the time. They could only feed on Sea Monkey Monsters!

In the era of the ancient gods, the Tyrant Titans raised humans like livestock. They did not sincerely protect them.

The Tyrant Titans were never merciful. The relationship between them and humans was purely prey and predator, regardless of their emotions, but it was difficult to tell who was at the top or the bottom. It was just a matter of the weak being prey to the strong!

The Demon Judgment Sword sliced into the Tyrant Titan’s chest. Its painful cry spread across the islands, but it soon died after struggling briefly.

“Tell the military to move its corpse back to the city,” Mo Fan told Mu Bai.

Mu Bai nodded.

The organs of a Blue Star Tyrant Titan were quite valuable. Mu Bai needed them to recover his strength. They took out the important organs and let the military handle the rest.

The military would soon put out a notice after the Fishing Boats Predator was taken down, and the fishermen could finally go fishing with more peace of mind. They no longer had to worry about this Blue Star Tyrant Titan!

—

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were very efficient. They took out a third of the Blue Star Tyrant Titans the military was tracking within a week. Not a single Silver Moon Tyrant Titan had shown up during that time. Each of the seven Blue Star Tyrant Titans they killed had been infamous in the Aegean Sea for a long time.

“Your achievements have put us to shame. We are forever in debt to you!” the long-eyebrowed general told them gratefully.

“It’s nothing, it’s all thanks to your accurate intel. Otherwise, we could only roam around aimlessly like headless flies and achieve nothing,” Mo Fan said modestly.

“You must be aware that even though we have the numbers, it’s still challenging to keep the whole of the Aegean Sea safe. The people always condemn us if anything happens to any of the villages,” the general sighed.

“It’s normal when they are used to living peacefully for a long time. They only care if they can stay in their comfort zone and scroll their phones. They will just scold the authorities for being useless when something happens, not to mention the Black Church fanning the flame behind the scenes. You will find yourself under a lot more pressure,” Mo Fan agreed.

Chapter 2141: Titans and Dragons

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Yeah, what’s wrong with the people nowadays? Will they only think we have done our best after we are all dead in the war? If we die, who’s going to protect them?” the general agreed angrily.

The general was obviously annoyed by the members of the Black Church. Mo Fan had been busy killing Blue Star Tyrant Titans lately. He had no idea what the Black Church had been doing to mess with the military.

Tuis had killed a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan not long ago, giving the Parthenon Temple some time to catch their breath. That being said, more tragedies were going to happen during the Year of Tyrant Titans. No place was safe in a war, and the military was always blamed for every invasion!

The Parthenon Temple had more power than the national government and the military in Greece, putting the military in an awkward position.

“Just tell us if you need any help. We won’t find any trace of Silver Moon Tyrant Titans any time soon, let alone the culprit of Green Sprouts City,” Mo Fan offered generously when he saw the general had something to say.

“Are you really willing to help us?” the general asked in some surprise.

The military had a lot of Battlemages, but not many were as strong as Mo Fan and his friends.

It was more difficult and inefficient to organize operations when there were so many people. It was not like the military could not handle the Tyrant Titans, but the Tyrant Titans were not brainless. They would just run whenever they saw an army, not to mention trying to set up an ambush for them!

Therefore, they needed the support of small groups like Mo Fan’s team to kill the Tyrant Titans.

“The Sea Demon Snakes are invading the southern coast of Crete. We have learned that the Sea Demon Snakes are from the desert to the south of the Mediterranean Sea. A Cruel Sea Serpent has summoned them here. Based on our investigation, the Cruel Sea Serpent is colluding with a Tyrant Titan we have named the Steel Mountain Titan. It destroyed several rescue ships during the Incident of the Blood Sea.

“The Incident of the Blood Sea? Wasn’t that the incident that made the Cold Prince famous?” Mo Fan remembered.

“Yes, the fresh blood that was shed dyed the shoreline of many countries red with a foul smell, including our Aegean Sea. The Cruel Sea Serpent and the Steel Mountain Titan are both wanted by the Hunter Union, yet no one has managed to hunt them down after so many years. We have been trying to find a way to hunt them down too, but even when our brilliant soldiers found them, none of them came back alive. We have plenty of clues and information about them, yet no one dares to take them on,” the general said helplessly.

The Cold Prince’s masterpiece!

Even though the Red Cardinal had been killed by the infighting within the Black Vatican, people would not forget the Incident of the Blood Sea so easily. Many unknown bays around the Red Sea still stank, even today!

“It seems like I’m quite fateful with the Cold Prince. Fine, we’ll handle the Cruel Sea Serpent and the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan. Give us the information you have,” Mo Fan said.

“Thank you so much! If you can get rid of them, I believe Tuis’ achievements won’t be comparable to yours,” the general agreed hastily.

The competition between Mo Fan and Tuis was no longer a secret. The Cruel Sea Serpent and the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan were infamous across the Mediterranean Sea. They were mostly active between the Aegean Sea and Africa, and were a huge threat to Greece’s southern shoreline. The bounty on their heads was higher than the Volcano Titan because of the terrifying incident the Cold Prince was responsible for.

“It seems like we have earned their trust after helping them to take care of the Blue Star Tyrant Titans,” Mu Bai noted as they left.

“Mm, there’s a chance these two creatures were responsible for the destruction of Green Sprouts City. We might become Greece’s national heroes once we take care of them; the passionate ladies will also climb onto my bed willingly. HAHAHA, that Harper is clearly no match for me!” Zhao Manyan said.

—

The general had to go to the frontline. Mo Fan’s trio followed him to the southern coast of Crete.

The south coast of Crete was always under attack by creatures from the southern lands of the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert, which mainly consisted of Sea Demon Snakes.

“Are these Sea Demon Snakes one of the strong tribes under Euryale’s lead?” Mo Fan asked Apas.

Apas had to hibernate in winter, and had been sleeping for almost half the season. Mo Fan only Summoned her to ask her about the Sea Demon Snakes, yet she was still fast asleep. She could not hear him at all.

“Mo Fan, you are overdoing it. She’s still a kid. You shouldn’t torture her for days and nights…” Zhao Manyan said with an evil grin when he noticed Apas was so sleepy that she could not even stand properly.

“Forget it, go back to sleep,” Mo Fan could only smile wryly.

Mo Fan remembered they were ambushed by a Cruel Sea Serpent after he first kidnapped Apas. Her sister Euryale had sent it after them.

Euryale had already lost an eye, yet she still sent her tribe to stir up trouble, instead of focusing on recovering from her injuries!

“The Sea Demon Snakes must be related to the Cruel Sea Serpent. Let’s head to the front line,” Mu Bai recommended.

Mu Bai’s condition had improved a lot after he consumed the Tyrant Titan’s organs. His improvement showed why the whole of Europe was so eager to get their hands on them!

—

The trio followed the general to the southern coast of Crete. It had a long shoreline, most likely because the Sahara Desert was across the water. As a result, the southern coast was a common battlefield.

Jade Bay City was the first line of defense for Greece. Even though the war had yet to reach the city, there would soon be chaos when more Tyrant Titans and dragons appeared.

The three reached the front line after traveling a hundred kilometers to the south.

The helicopter brought them to a fortress on an island. A strong smell of rotten fish assailed their nostrils as soon as they landed. Both Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai started coughing.

Mo Fan was fine with it. He had already gotten used to the smell.

“I’m Major General Jessica. I’ve been waiting for you,” a female general in her thirties greeted them sternly.

“Oh, hello, general!” Mo Fan answered for them.

“We are currently at the Three Leaves Island Defensive Perimeter. The battlefield is less than three kilometers from here. I will ask someone to bring you around. You may take pictures as souvenirs, but please don’t post them on social media… I will excuse myself first. I must head to the battlefield.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Taking pictures as souvenirs? What the hell?” Zhao Manyan furrowed.

Not only did Major General Jessica greet them impatiently, but she even sounded like they were three good-for-nothing sons of rich families here on a vacation?

It was true that some rich second generations lacked capabilities and insisted on coming to the front line just so they could boast to others after they returned to their cities. It was like studying abroad to improve their resume!

Jessica had met a lot of young people like that, so she did not treat Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai, who looked nothing like soldiers, seriously.

The situation was already so bad, yet the officials were still adding trouble on top!

“Hold it right there!” Mo Fan was displeased by General Jessica’s attitude when he saw her about to leave. “Didn’t your superior tell you why we are here?”

General Jessica turned around and answered impatiently, “He did, but does it matter? Can you really kill the Evil Duo of the Mediterranean Sea? He’s just giving you a challenging task so you can write it in your resume that you’ve taken part in such a difficult mission. Am I right?”

“Can you please make your decision after you have spent five minutes hearing us out? Your superior asked you to assist us, yet you are leaving after greeting us. What the Hell are you thinking?” Mo Fan demanded.

“Hear you out? I just came from the battlefield and waited ten minutes for you to arrive. I have wasted another five minutes talking to you and will waste ten minutes getting back to the battlefield, and yet you are telling me I should waste another five minutes to hear you talk about your impressive background? Do you know how many of my men are going to die in that period?” General Jessica snarled.

Her eyes were red as she was speaking. She was obviously forced to be here.

They had assigned her to do such a meaningless task just because she was a woman. She was a warrior fighting at the front line too! The number of demon creatures she had killed was higher than any of the other Major Generals!

Yet her superior kept treating her as a secretary and assigning her to do petty tasks like this!

Jessica left after finishing her sentence. She was afraid that she could not hold back her urge to kill these men!

Why could not they just stay in the city and enjoy their lives? Why did they come to the front line and trouble her? She had enough of these assh**** and their formidable backgrounds!

—

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were speechless as they watched her leave.

“Seriously, why did we have to stumble into a resentful woman?” Zhao Manyan complained.

“Forget it, she must have been annoyed by some rich second generations. She already gave us the information. Let’s find them ourselves,” Mu Bai sighed.

“By the way, isn’t this place a little too close to the front line? Look at the mist and the clouds. They are like a black storm!” Zhao Manyan pointed at the water two kilometers away.

The whole fortress was shrouded by a mist. It wasn’t because it was raining, but because the waves of the battlefield that was only a few kilometers away were rolling fiercely in this direction under the influence of the strong wind. Even the helicopter had been shaking violently when it was trying to land.

The fortress was very simple. The soldiers were soaked and in a hurry. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai felt a little awkward, as they had no idea what to do.

“Tyrant Titan!”

“It’s a Tyrant Titan!”

The soldiers in the fortress started screaming in fear. The wind and the storm grew fiercer. The light that the soldiers’ magic was emitting dimmed all of a sudden, like the light of a fishing boat surrounded by huge waves.

“Fall back, fall back at once! Everyone, withdraw from the Three Leaves Island Defensive Perimeter and retreat to the bay!”

“Move!”

The soldiers in the fortress were constantly moving around. They were even more nervous after the Tyrant Titan showed up, and immediately went to secure their positions.

—

Around ten minutes later, Major General Jessica came back into the fortress. The bloodstains on her were being washed away by the mist as more blood seeped out from her wounds, dying her military outfit red.

“Why are you still here? We are going to lose the Three Leaves Island Defensive Perimeter soon!” General Jessica yelled at them.

“Is it because of the Tyrant Titan?” Mo Fan studied the chaotic sea in the distance. He could see a faint silhouette approaching the fortress.

Most magic was effective against the Sea Demon Snakes, but it was a different story when a Tyrant Titan showed up.

The Tyrant Titan was like a mountain as it stepped forward to protect the demon snakes. Every spell that landed on it was like mere fireworks without any damage. The Tyrant Titan could easily press forward with an army of demon creatures. They did not have enough Advanced and Super Mages to stop its progress!

“We are here to take out the Tyrant Titan,” Zhao Manyan declared.

“Idiots!” General Jessica shouted at them.

“We’ve killed two seventy-meters Tyrant Titans this week,” Mu Bai said.

“You are nothing but fools!” General Jessica yelled.

Mo Fan kept staring at the sea, noticing the tyrant’s head alone was around the height of the fortress. Mu Bai estimated the height of its head to be around forty meters.

Could it be a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan?

That was not possible. If it was a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan, General Jessica would not have come back alive. There would be no reason to retreat, since no one could possibly survive.

The figure in the mist rose as Mo Fan was still having his doubts.

It was rising as if it was climbing up a flight of stairs. It was more than a hundred meters high when it was less than a kilometer away from the fortress!

The fortress was currently at the Tyrant Titan’s waist, which meant the Tyrant Titan was around two hundred meters tall!

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai raised their heads. They were confident that it was a Blue Star Tyrant Titan, but they had never seen one so tall before!

The tallest Blue Star Tyrant Titan they had encountered so far was only ninety meters tall. They had never seen a Blue Star Tyrant Titan above one hundred meters, let alone two hundred meters!

A two-hundred-meter-tall Tyrant Titan was still a city destroyer, even if it was only a Blue Star Tyrant Titan. No wonder the defensive perimeter had collapsed so easily!

“The Blue Star Tyrant Titans we killed so far were like children in kindergarten compared to this guy…” Zhao Manyan swallowed hard.

“Ye…yeah!” Mo Fan nodded in awe.

Its size alone was enough to scare the crap out of people. The pressure it gave Mo Fan was stronger than the Volcano Titan!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A military fortress was as small as a sandcastle in front of the Tyrant Titan. The Blue Star Tyrant Titan was merely approaching the fortress, yet so many people had yet to evacuate the area. They were all going to perish under the Blue Star Tyrant Titan’s feet otherwise!

“Is this guy the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan?” Mo Fan looked up. He was having trouble breathing properly.

“Most likely! I didn’t expect it to be a Blue Star Tyrant Titan, but judging from its size alone, I’m afraid many Silver Moon Tyrant Titans are no match for it!” Mu Bai analyzed.

“If the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan is here…” Mo Fan was just about to look around when a piercing screech suddenly came from the cloud above him.

A long snake tail was undulating in the mist. Its huge body slowly glided into sight as it came down from the sky. Its huge wings were beating continuously, firing strong gusts of wind at the fragile fortress.

“The Cruel Sea Serpent!” The injured Jessica was overwhelmed by fear when she saw the creature.

A two-hundred meter tall Blue Star Tyrant Titan was already a destructive blow to the Three Leaves Island Defensive Perimeter, not to mention there was a Lesser Dragon that was as strong as the Tyrant Titan!

Lesser Dragons were mostly above the strength of a Commander-level creature. Some that had lived longer could even surpass the restrictions of their lineage and reach the Ruler-level.

The Cruel Sea Serpent was such a creature. It had kept killing and plundering resources to grow stronger, and had been committing evil acts with the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan for many years. It was even infamous in the Sahara Desert, and the tribes in the desert did not dare challenge it!

“They have indeed colluded…” Mo Fan subconsciously backed away.

The information from the general was from a few years ago. The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan and the Cruel Sea Serpent were obviously a lot stronger than the information had described. Mo Fan began to feel great pressure.

The Cruel Sea Serpent opened its mouth. Many Battlemages forgot how to cast their spells, frozen by terror after seeing its red tongue and white fangs.

The stomach and the chest of the Cruel Sea Serpent were vibrating hard. It spat out a huge waterfall, pouring down at the fortress!

The fortress was located on an isolated island, barely as tall as a hill. It was just like a tiny pebble in the eyes of the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan and the Cruel Sea Serpent!

The waterfall knocked out almost every Mage in the fortress. The number of Battlemages in the fortress was nowhere enough to fend off the ferocious creatures. That being said, the outcome would still have been the same, even if they had several times their current number!

Even though they were told to retreat, not many were going to survive in the end.

“Mo Fan, go do your thing now. Once this fortress is destroyed, we won’t have anywhere to stand on, let alone fend them off!” Mu Bai said.

The truth was, Mo Fan already had an urge to run away. They were clearly no match against the two creatures.

However, he had no choice but to fight them, since he was already here!

The timing when using his spells was very crucial against powerful foes. Mo Fan started constructing seven Star Constellations when the two demon creatures were not watching him.

Ruler-level creatures were quite smart. When they realized certain magic posed a threat to them, they would keep going after the person relentlessly, so they would not have time to Cast their spells. Every powerful spell needed some time to construct the complete Star Palaces. A powerful Super Spell required 2401 Stars and could not have any mistakes. If one of the Stars was unstable, all their efforts would be in vain. They had to start all over again!

The Battlemages were so terrified that they were struggling to connect their Star Orbits after seeing the Cruel Sea Serpent and Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan. It was not easy for Mo Fan to complete a Super Lightning Spell under such great pressure.

However, he could not miss out on the opportunity to execute his strongest blow with his Super Spell!

“Thousand Lightning Crows!”

The lightning took the shape of crows with flickering strands of lightning as their feathers!

Dark red lightning strikes had initially been appearing from the storm, but the dark sky for ten kilometers around was soon filled with Mo Fan’s lightning!

The lightning crows fired lightning arcs at the surface of the sea and triggered a series of explosions across the water.

The lightning crows were targeting the Cruel Sea Serpent in the sky. Mo Fan believed the Cruel Sea Serpent was not as strong as the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan, based on its size and aura. He was planning to inflict serious injuries on the Cruel Sea Serpent first to prevent the two creatures from attacking at the same time!

The proud Cruel Sea Serpent did not expect a Super Mage to be at the fortress. It began to flee in a panic when it saw the dense lightning crow flock diving from the sky.

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan suddenly let out a roar. Its speed was completely unlike the leisurely pace it had when it was approaching the fortress. It reached out its arm right before the lightning was about to land on the Cruel Sea Serpent and stopped it all by grabbing the lightning with its bare hand!

The lightning sizzled and crackled wildly. The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan’s outstanding reaction speed caught Mo Fan by surprise. More importantly, it had managed to catch his lightning in mid-descent!

He was using the Lightning Tyrant with a twelvefold damage amplification! That flock of lightning crows could disintegrate a Ruler-level creature, yet the two hundred meter Tyrant Titan had caught the whole group, like a warrior clenching the throat of a giant bird that was attacking him!

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan let out a roar. Its hand emitted a magical blue light that significantly improved its strength.

It started squeezing the whole flock of lightning crows, intending to crush the Super Lightning Spell to pieces!

The lightning crows eventually shattered, and the strong lightning magic began to dissipate. Even the lightning in the sky had faded away!

“That’s…that’s ridiculous!” Zhao Manyan almost dropped his jaw.

Crushing a Super Spell to death with its bare hands?!

The Lightning Element was Mo Fan’s strongest Element too… he had never seen anything like it!

“I’m afraid we have kicked an iron plate…” Mo Fan muttered.

Even he was shocked by how strong the Blue Star Tyrant Titan was.

The Blue Star Tyrant Titan had seen through his plan of trying to injure one of them at the start of the fight. The fight was only going to be harder from here on!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Cruel Sea Serpent let out a furious screech after it was frightened so. Its eyes had almost popped out of their sockets, and were now fixed on Mo Fan.

The Gaze of the Snake!

Mo Fan knew it was a common ability of snake species. He immediately focused to protect his mind. The stare from the Cruel Sea Serpent was merely trying to overwhelm him with fear. It was effective against many humans, but that was not necessarily the case for Mo Fan, who was not even afraid of the Medusa’s Stare!

The Cruel Sea Serpent was enraged. It dove from the sky and swung its claw at Mo Fan. A black Aura burst out from its claw, most likely possessing the power of the Dark Wither.

The Dark Wither would prevent its target’s wounds from healing and would serve as a deadly poison. The victim would suffer from severe dehydration in no time and turn into a dried-up mummy.

Mo Fan dodged the claw agilely, yet the withering Aura of the claw still caught him on the back. The skin on his back immediately dried up.

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan made its move as soon as he dodged the attack from the Cruel Sea Serpent. Mo Fan could not see its whole body. He could only see a huge foot over his head that was about to stomp onto him.

The Tyrant Titan was two hundred meters tall, so its stomp was exceedingly terrifying. Half of the hill on the island collapsed, leaving a huge hole across the surface of the sea. The sea water around began pouring into it.

Mo Fan was currently inside the hole. A golden barrier with an arc-shaped ceiling was shielding him, protecting him from being trampled to mush!

The golden barrier had stopped the Tyrant Titan’s foot from falling, but it soon had cracks on it. The cracks quickly spread further, like a piece of glass that had just taken a heavy blow.

“Its strength is too crazy! Mo Fan, you must get out of there now!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

The golden barrier was obviously Zhao Manyan’s defensive spell. However, the Tyrant Titan’s strength was too ridiculous. It was enough to leave a hole in the deep ocean!

“I want to leave, but it’s pressing onto me. I can’t move!” Mo Fan shouted back.

The Tyrant Titan was exerting great force. The hole its stomp had created was like an entrapping abyss. Mo Fan was unable to escape from it, even with his Shadow Element and Space Element.

“It’s the Force of Oblivion. You must figure out a way to overcome it, or Mo Fan won’t be able to make it out of there!” Mu Bai blurted out.

“As if I know how to do that!”

Zhao Manyan had never heard of a power like that. The Tyrant Titan was still pressing its foot down. The hole continued to sink deeper into the sea. More water was pouring into the hole, applying greater pressure to the barrier.

“You must hurry. Once the hole is filled, Mo Fan will be stuck forever at the bottom of the sea!” Mu Bai said.

“I really have no idea what to do. If Mo Fan’s Super Lightning Spell can’t even hurt it, my Light Sword will only be scratching its back!” Zhao Manyan said.

—

A huge whirlpool appeared in the sea. The surrounding water was diving fiercely into the hole, forming a circle of waterfalls.

Mo Fan was right in the middle of the hole, with the Tyrant Titan on top of him. Mo Fan was clearly a few hundred meters away, yet he felt like something was binding him down. He was struggling to leave the hole.

The water began to cover the hole. Mo Fan forcibly swept the water to the side with Telekinesis.

No matter how strong a person’s Telekinesis was, it was impossible to stop the rolling waves. The water weighed thousands of tons. Mo Fan was already at his limit trying to stop himself from drowning.

Mo Fan finally realized how terrifying the two-hundred-meter-tall Blue Star Tyrant Titan was.

“I’m almost at the bottom of the sea!”

Mo Fan was surrounded by over ten thousand tons of seawater in a hole he could not climb out of. Once the water covered him, he would be trapped at the bottom of the sea for eternity!

It was Mo Fan’s first time feeling so desperate and hopeless. He had underestimated the Tyrant Titan. He was still not strong enough to take on a two-hundred-meter-tall Tyrant Titan!

“Ling!~”

Mo Fan suddenly saw a bright light amid the darkness as he was about to be devoured by the sea. Why was there such a bright light at the bottom of the sea?

Why does that cry sound so familiar?

Mo Fan heard the sound of water boiling. He looked around him and saw the seawater at the bottom of the sea was turning into white steam.

Steam? Did the water evaporate? Why don’t I feel its weight pressing on me?

White salt fell continuously down from above. The seawater collapsing onto him had disappeared. He was surrounded by insane heat, as if he had just gone from a deep cold abyss into a steaming furnace.

The terrifying force that was binding Mo Fan disappeared with the water. He quickly turned into a shadow sparrow and left the hole.

He returned to the half-destroyed fortress. He was curious who had helped him in the nick of time when he saw Zhao Manyan pointing at the sky in disbelief.

“Little…little … no, it’s the Flame Belle Empress!”

Zhao Manyan remembered Mo Fan’s Little Flame Belle had evolved into the Flame Belle Empress and driven away the Nazca Monster Birds by herself when the national team was trapped in the old fortress in Peru. He remembered the unforgettable sight of the Flame Belle Empress dancing amid flames in the sky even today.

The same Flame Belle Empress surrounded by scorching flames had shown up again. The water had thoroughly evaporated in front of her Calamity Fire. Her stunning appearance left everyone staring in awe!

“Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan yelled in surprise.

It really was her!

However, unlike her adorable childish appearance, she was now an unstoppable empress of flames!

A Flame Belle in the Adult Phase!

Her flames were boiling the sea like a brilliant sun. This was the real Flame Belle!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The mist in the air had disappeared. It was not just sunny, but the clouds were burning now.

The water continued to evaporate. Mo Fan was not a fan of water, as it not only hindered his movement, it also greatly weakened his magic! However, the water in the area had completely disappeared, leaving a dried land behind.

White salt was scattered across the ground. It looked like the sands of a desert.

Mo Fan looked up and stared at the Flame Belle Empress that had secured the limelight. For some reason, he suddenly recalled her birth.

An unstoppable Flame Belle had left as a new Flame Belle was born. He recalled the resentment in Fiery Sorceress Jiang Feng’s eyes. The only reason she was unwilling to depart from this world was because she could not live until the day Little Flame Belle grew into an adult.

Little Flame Belle had finally grown up. Her Calamity Fire was purer and stronger than Jiang Feng’s, just like the destructive flames that had swept across the North Burning Valley!

The Calamity Fire was still dominating even when Little Flame Belle was at the edge of the sea. The sea had dried up, while the sky was burning!

The Cruel Sea Serpent let out a piercing screech.

It was a vicious yet cowardly creature. It immediately hid behind the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan when it saw the sacred spirit of the flames.

It kept hissing, but it did not dare get close to the Flame Belle Empress.

The fearless Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan stepped toward the Flame Belle Empress. The blue magical light it was emitting grew stronger and eventually formed a membrane over its body.

The blue membrane was flowing continuously, and was able to ward away the heat of the Flame Belle Empress’ flames.

The Flame Belle Empress showed no intention of backing away as the Tyrant Titan approached her.

“Ling!~”

Heavenly Flames of Destruction!

Fire began to fall from the sky. The whole place was scorching red within an instant.

The heavenly flames landed in the dried seabed and formed a forest of flames several hundred meters high!

The Tyrant Titan tried to get closer, but its protective blue membrane began to melt from the flames. Even its sturdy skin began burning!

A Tyrant Titan’s skin was effective at reducing the damage of spells, especially that of a two-hundred-meters Tyrant Titan, whose skin had been refined over a long time. It was extremely impressive if the spells that landed on it still inflicted twenty percent of their normal damage.

Fire and Lightning were some of the Elements that the Tyrant Titans were not afraid of. It had torn Mo Fan’s Lightning Crows apart with its bare hands, despite its twelvefold damage amplification!

The Tyrant Titan was trying to use the same approach now. It kept stomping the ground, stirring up blue shock waves and trying to extinguish the Empress Flame Belle’s flames.

However, it did not get its wish this time. The flames did not weaken even after it began stomping the ground. Instead, its skin sustained serious burns!

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan lost its temper. It tore up a part of the island and raised it above its head before hurling it at the Flame Belle Empress.

The rock was as big as a meteor. The airflow around it was visible as it was hurled forth at incredible speed. The Battlemages on the ground could feel its overwhelming force as it hurtled at them.

The Flame Belle Empress did not dodge the rock. Her burning eyes suddenly emitted a silver light.

The rock approaching her rapidly was covered by a silver edge, as if another force was being applied on it. It gradually slowed down and came to a stop before her.

“The Space Element!” Mo Fan was astounded by Little Flame Belle’s power.

Flame Belles possessed the Space Element. Her Telekinesis was far stronger than that of a Space Mage like him!

The Flame Belle Empress threw the rock back with even greater force.

The wind the rock had produced coming in was strong, but the turbulence produced by the rock as it flew back at the Tyrant Titan almost razed the fortress to the ground!

The Cruel Sea Serpent was obviously weaker than the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan, and was struggling to remain stable in the strong wind. On the other hand, the Tyrant Titan was knocked a great distance away, leaving a shocking ravine across the dry seabed.

Major General Jessica was dumbfounded when she saw the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan being knocked away.

The sacred flame spirit might actually defeat the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan!

Mo Fan had taught the Flame Belle Empress to attack an enemy relentlessly, so they would not have a chance to catch their breath.

The area already had a huge forest of flames. The Flame Belle Empress flew across the fires and crossed her arms to gather the flames around her!

She only had the appearance of a petite young woman, yet the moment her palm touched the back of her hand, thousands of flames ignited wildly around her before flying at the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan!

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan wanted to keep pressing forward, but the flames kept pushing it back further away. Its skin was growing scorched brands like blossoming flowers!

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan swayed and eventually fell onto the salt. Calamity Flames crawled all over it and continued to torture the creature.

The creature let out a furious cry!

“Ling!~”

The Flame Belle Empress was very angry. How dare it step on her father!

She did not give the Tyrant Titan any chance to rise to its feet. Her will pressed down on the Tyrant Titan like a heavy mountain!

The mountain was invisible, yet a loud blast was audible when it slammed onto the Tyrant Titan. The Tyrant Titan was crushed deeper into the seabed. The Battlemages could hear its bones crack.

“Ling!~”

The Flame Belle Empress was a lot scarier than the Tyrant Titan when she was mad!

She began using her Telekinesis to grab something else.

“Calm down, my little ancestor, that’s an island!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed in alarm.

The Three Leaves Defensive Perimeter was made up of three islands in the shape of a clover. There was another island around three kilometers away from the fortress.

The Flame Belle Empress was grabbing the whole island with Telekinesis. The people at the front line almost fainted when they saw the entire island being lifted into the sky and hurled at the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Luckily, the sentries on the island had already retreated, or the Flame Belle Empress would have caused a massacre when she threw the island at the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan. It might not even inflict any serious damage to the creature!

The Flame Belle Empress was very angry. After the small island hit the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan, it surprisingly started to struggle back to its feet. Not only was its body covered by burns, it had been knocked to the ground by something so huge!

The Cruel Sea Serpent screeched when it saw its protector being beaten up. It beat its wings and rose to a height above the Flame Belle Empress.

A loud cry suddenly echoed across the area. Most of Battlemages fell to the ground before the power of a scream that made their souls shiver. Not only were they unconscious, there was blood coming out of their nose and ears!

“It’s the Sound Element. Stop it!” Mo Fan told Little Flame Belle.

The piercing shriek did not affect the Flame Belle Empress much. She could set up a barrier with her Will to stop the sound from reaching her, but the Cruel Sea Serpent’s cry had spread across the whole Three Leaves Island Defensive Perimeter. If it lasted for more than half a minute, every Mage below the Advanced Level would be reduced to a vegetable!

Pure fire magic danced around the Flame Belle Empress, as elegant as butterflies.

As she tapped her fingers softly in the air, an even fiercer Calamity Fire spread wildly. A line of flame with a slight arc to it stood in the air.

When the solid arc of flame several hundred meters long first appeared, it was difficult to tell what ability the Flame Belle Empress was using. However, when a burning arrow was placed on it, Mo Fan realized it was a bow.

A huge fiery bow!

The bow extended from a height of several hundred meters to below sea level. The arrow was more than half the length of the island where the fortress was built. It would look very strange even if the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan was holding a bow so much larger than it!

The bow was just too big. The Flame Belle Empress was petite, like an ordinary young girl dressed in a burning red dress. However, she fancied exceedingly large toys!

2

She had just thrown an island at her enemy, and now, she had summoned a Sky-Spanning Fiery Bow. The Cruel Sea Serpent didn’t look like a ferocious creature before it. It was the size of an insect in comparison!

The piercing screech stopped when the arrow was placed on the bow. The Cruel Sea Serpent actually displayed the dignity of the dragon species when it did not choke in fear after seeing the bow.

As the Flame Belle Empress waved her hand, the string on the bow was fully stretched back. The burning arrow sprang forward when it was released, followed by clouds of flames behind it!

The Cruel Sea Serpent fled for its life, but it was useless. The burning arrow landed right on its back.

It was unlikely that such a huge arrow was going to pierce through the Cruel Sea Serpent’s body. Unlike a normal arrow that would pierce its target, the arrow the Flame Belle Empress had produced rammed into the Cruel Sea Serpent like a truck instead. It was sending the Cruel Sea Serpent into the sky so far it looked like it was side by side with the sun!

The Cruel Sea Serpent was using the greatest advantage of the dragons, flight! Its airspeed was higher than most flying species because of its powerful wings, yet it was slow as a turtle before the burning arrow, which seemed as quick as a hare. It had taken off earlier, yet the arrow still caught up to it with ease.

Half of the Cruel Sea Serpent’s body fell from the sky in the distance, landing close to the third island farthest away.

The flames on it were burning fiercely. The Cruel Sea Serpent had a high level of fat, and the Calamity Fire burned on its remaining carcass for a long time, even growing stronger as it did.

If the other half of its body had not been blasted into pieces by the impact, it might have burned like an active small volcano!

—

The island of the fortress and the third island were around two kilometers apart. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, and General Jessica stared at the huge pillar of smoke in disbelief.

Did the infamous Cruel Sea Serpent of the Mediterranean Sea just turn into scorched remains, just like that?

Exactly how strong was the Flame Belle Empress? She had just killed the Cruel Sea Serpent with a single blow!

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan finally rose to its feet. It was enraged when it saw the Cruel Sea Serpent had turned into a pile of burning fuel.

It started charging at the fortress recklessly, despite the meteors that the Flame Belle Empress was throwing at him.

“Is it trying to take us down with it?” Zhao Manyan cried.

“Have your men retreated?” Mo Fan asked General Jessica.

“They…they have withdrawn further!” the general confirmed.

“Old Zhao, we’ll use the Earth Element at the same time!” Mo Fan proclaimed.

“Got it, but I’m not sure if we can stop it!”

“Circle of Crystal Teeth: Heavens Gate!”

Mo Fan had gathered hundreds of shards during the battle. The shards could not form up earlier because of the seawater, but they had returned after the seawater in the area had dried up before Little Flame Belle’s power.

Little Flame Belle, the Cruel Sea Serpent, and the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan had provided Mo Fan with plenty of shards while they were fighting. The shards rapidly constructed an enormous gate in front of the fortress when Mo Fan activated them.

“Titan Body!”

Zhao Manyan also used his Earth Element specialty. A rock statue appeared in front of him and enlarged rapidly. It grew from Zhao Manyan’s height to a hundred-meter-tall giant!

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan might be taller than Zhao Manyan’s blocker, but that did not mean Zhao Manyan’s defense would lose to the Tyrant Titan in terms of sturdiness!

“Baxia’s Seal: Harden!”

Zhao Manyan was well aware of the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan’s strength, and did not dare to preserve his strength. He quickly applied Baxia’s Seal to his spell, doubling its effectiveness.

As a matter of fact, Baxia’s Seal had improved after Zhao Manyan became a Super Mage. The constraints on the wooden clapper had been lifted slightly, meaning that his defense had improved.

The Baxia’s Seal was also stackable with the Blessing of the God’s Seal. Given enough time, Zhao Manyan’s defense would be on par with the destructive power of Mo Fan’s Lightning Element!

—

BANG!

Two deafening blasts occurred. The Circle of Crystal Teeth: Heavenly Gate that was in the fore was shattered to pieces, but blood was now pouring out of the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan’s shoulders and chest. It had obviously been injured by Mo Fan’s Circle of Crystal Teeth!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan charged at Zhao Manyan’s Titan Body right after it shattered Mo Fan’s Heavenly Gate into golden dust!

Zhao Manyan’s Earth Element was obviously better at defending, as it was his specialty. The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan’s body distorted severely when it collided with the Titan Body. Its bones were visibly bent out of shape!

—

In the end, the remaining fortress still did not survive. The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan had decided to destroy everything it could see indiscriminately, but it paid a huge price for it!

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan was lying in the debris, and could no longer get back up. Its arms, chest, and face were charred beyond recognition. The Flame Belle Empress’ Calamity Fire had already broken down its defenses, so it was merely killing itself to get some revenge when it charged forward so recklessly.

Many Battlemages had died horrible deaths. The force of the collision had blown them into pieces since their cultivation was too weak. It had been a horrifying sight.

However, that outcome was totally acceptable compared to the whole army being wiped out. Otherwise, the Three Leaves Island Defensive Perimeter would have been littered with corpses by now. Even General Jessica would not have survived the attack.

As for the three islands, Little Flame Belle had thrown the smallest one at the Tyrant Titan. The island furthest away had become the Cruel Sea Serpent’s crematorium. The island with the fortress was now razed to the ground!

Seawater was slowly filling up the empty spaces, and soon covered the land of white salt. The Three Leaves Island Defensive Perimeter turned into a shallow beach.

The water kept rising as the dried area quickly reclaimed its initial appearance. The shattered remains of the three islands and the debris soon disappeared.

The Flame Belle Empress inspected the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan’s remains. She confirmed the creature was dead before flying toward Mo Fan.

General Jessica had no idea why the Flame Belle Empress had shown up. She might have defeated the Evil Duo of the Mediterranean Sea, but if she was merely looking for a fight, she could have burned the humans up instead! The general was on high alert when she saw the Flame Belle Empress approaching them, yet she could not help but tremble in fear.

When the Flame Belle Empress reached Mo Fan, her burning dress disappeared with a puff of smoke, replaced by a warm aura. Her appearance of a regal empress was gone. An adorable Porcelain doll jumped into Mo Fan’s arms and rubbed her head on Mo Fan’s chest with a soft purr.

It had been months since Little Flame Belle had last seen her daddy. She immediately acted like a spoiled child, which was a great contrast to her imperious manner when she was bullying the Cruel Sea Serpent and the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan. General Jessica was utterly dumbfounded by the sight.

Is this little thing the same sacred spirit that dominated the fight just a moment ago?

General Jessica finally gathered up her courage and asked, “Is…is she your Contracted Beast?”

“Mm, she’s a little clingy,” Mo Fan had no choice but to hug Little Flame Belle in his arms until she was satisfied when he realized she had no intention to get off him.

“I’ve seen such a powerful Elemental Creature,” General Jessica exclaimed.

Mo Fan smiled sincerely.

Mo Fan had been feeding Little Flame Belle pieces of Fire Seeds ever since she was born. He only fed her Spirit-grade Fire Seeds at first, but soon she was eating Soul-grade Fire Seeds like they were potato chips!

As a result, Mo Fan never had enough money. Only he knew how costly Little Flame Belle’s milk powder was.

And now… She had finally grown up!

Didn’t he put in so much effort to raise her, just for things like today?

Most importantly, the Flame Belle Empress was stronger than Mo Fan had expected. The Cruel Sea Serpent and Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan were not minor characters among the Ruler-level creatures, yet the Flame Belle Empress had played them like a fiddle. Mo Fan almost had the urge to burst into tears while he was watching the spectacular fight.

He no longer had to live like a povo from today onward. He could finally afford to buy himself some useful magic Equipment to replace the junk he had been wearing since his days as a student. He could finally buy a few seaview mansions and look after a few young and gorgeous models!

1

—

“Sir, yes, this is General Jessica from the Three Leaves Island Defensive Perimeter. We are about to transport the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan’s remains to Crete, please send a few of our largest warships… Sir, you heard that right, it was the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan of the Mediterranean Sea. It’s dead. Those three who came to visit… I mean, who came here to kill the Tyrant Titan, have killed it!”

General Jessica was reporting to her superior, yet even she was having a hard time believing what she had just said. Everything felt like a dream to her.

The infamous Evil Duo of the Mediterranean Sea had shown up at the Three Leavens Island Defensive Perimeter. Everyone thought the defensive perimeter was going to fall, while the whole army would end up at the bottom of the sea. No one had expected the two ferocious creatures to die during the battle. It was the last thing they expected to happen!

——

Mo Fan’s group did not stay at the Three Leaves Island Defensive Perimeter for long. They headed back to Crete.

The news spread at a shocking pace. They saw banners across Jade Bay City proclaiming the Evil Duo of the Mediterranean Sea had been killed before they reached Harper’s inn.

Many people were doubtful at first, whether they were the locals or the Hunters who had come to hunt the Tyrant Titans. No one had managed to kill the Evil Duo of the Mediterranean Sea for so many years, yet the two had been slain so suddenly.

Weren’t creatures of their level supposed to cause a massive tragedy first, before the officials held an emergency meeting to gather experts from across the world and fight an epic battle with the two creatures for a few days and nights and eventually kill them? How could they die so easily? It was not like they were just some Sea Monkey Monsters you could find by the sea!

However, those who were doubtful were left in awe when the military fleet transported the remains of the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan and the Cruel Sea Serpent back to Jade Bay City!

It really was the Evil Duo of the Mediterranean Sea. A few Hunters had been there for the Incident of the Blood Sea. They had seen the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan and the Cruel Sea Serpent in person.

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan’s remains were currently on the ships. It took four ships just to transport its body. The harbor was bottlenecked by its bulk!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This titan… those four battleships are at least two hundred meters when they are tied together. I never knew a two-hundred-meter-tall Tyrant Titan existed!” Some Hunters on the shore were still shocked by the sight.

“How strong is a two-hundred-meter Tyrant Titan going to be? The military must have paid a huge price just to kill them!”

“No, no, apparently, only the Battlemages who did not retreat from the Three Leaves Island Defense Perimeter died. There weren’t too many casualties in the operation.”

“There must be some Super Level experts here then. They must be quite reputable in Greece if they were able to kill the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan and the Cruel Sea Serpent!”

The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan’s death gave the people of Crete some much-needed relief. The Tyrant Titans were not invincible. They would also fall miserably if they dared to invade human territory!

——

A meeting was held right away. The general with long brows was smiling so hard when he saw Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai that his face was about to secrete oil.

“Mister Mo Fan, you did not let the Highnesses down. The Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan was a malignant tumor in the Mediterranean Sea. It might be clumsy, but we always failed to kill it because of the cunning Cruel Sea Serpent. Not only did their deaths bring people of Crete the peace they have long been waiting for, you have also avenged the dead from the Incident of the Blood Sea!” Poseidon complimented them

“How did you do it? That’s a two-hundred-meter-tall Tyrant Titan. Many people have never even seen one of its height before!” a few Golden Sun Knights blurted out.

They were no longer putting on airs. Most of the Golden Sun Knights who were present did not think they could take on the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan.

“It’s only a Blue Star Tyrant Titan. Why are you all making such a big fuss about it?” Tuis mocked their accomplishment.

“Tuis, a two-hundred-meter-tall Blue Star Tyrant Titan is actually stronger than many Silver Moon Tyrant Titans. Mo Fan has done a great job, and has won a magnificent battle for the Saintess’ Hall, helping the Parthenon Temple to earn back the people’s trust. A victory like this is the most convincing to the people at a sensitive time like this!” Poseidon rebuked him.

“Indeed, we need more victories so the Tyrant Titans will no longer dare to set foot in our territory. We must teach them to be afraid of us!” general long-brows declared.

Tuis was obviously irritated when he saw everyone in the meeting talking about the feat.

“No one can beat Tuis. It’s only a two-hundred-meter-tall Blue Star Tyrant Titan. I can kill ten of them. Just you wait!” Tuis could not stand it anymore, and strode out of the room angrily!

Tuis never thought Mo Fan would kill a two-hundred-meter Tyrant Titan after he heard their group was focusing on killing Blue Star Tyrant Titans. He assumed these amateurs would never track down a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan, let alone kill one!

They were just lucky they stumbled into a two-hundred-meter-tall Blue Star Tyrant Titan that was old and weak. His target was not those low-level creatures!

—

—

Zhao Manyan was humming as he walked along the path covered in pebbles. He had been quite pleased to see Tuis lose his temper. Most importantly, the whole of Crete was talking about the two-hundred-meters Tyrant Titan. The three of them were soon going to be famous!

They went back to their inn. They were used to the place, so they did not bother finding another place to stay. Harper might be scum, but he was quite an interesting person. They felt comfortable staying at his inn.

“Assh****, what is this junk you brought me? Did we purposely come here to collect this rubbish!?” a faint voice came from the grove beside the inn.

Mo Fan heard it from a great distance away, and looked in its direction.

“I think someone is talking in the grove, but I can’t hear him clearly.” Mu Bai had heard it too.

“Why didn’t I hear anything?” Zhao Manyan asked with a confused face.

“Your cultivation is too weak… I’ll go eavesdrop on them. I had a feeling those people who are staying at the inn are a strange bunch. I wonder what they are up to,” Mo Fan told them.

—

Mo Fan hid among the shadows in the grove, and soon located the group of visitors.

There was a simple shed in the grove, surrounded by weeds. Even the path leading to it was covered. No one would come here under normal circumstances.

The man with dark tattoos on one side of his face sat in the shed with the demeanor of a ruffian. He was cursing his lackeys scathingly.

“Boss, these are the freshest organs we can get from the Hunters,” the man with a black bandana said.

“What I need are the organs of Silver Moon Tyrant Titans, and the organs of the two-hundred-meters Tyrant Titan. You have three days to do your job. If you can’t find any of them, I’m feeding you to the snakes!” the leader said.

“Boss, it’s really difficult to get them. You do know the military has the two Silver Moon Tyrant Titans…”

“Who cares if the military has them? Our guild has been controlling the supply of the Tyrant Titans’ organs for many years. Last time, we failed to provide Su Lu’s men with enough hearts from the Tyrant Titans. This time, the Liden Royal Family is offering us a lot of money. We must get them at any cost!” the leader said.

“Boss, give us more time. We just need to figure out a way. We do have connections in the military. We also have people in the Parthenon Temple. The organs won’t fall into the wrong hands this time,” the man with a black bandana promised.

“Just get out of my sight. I will send someone to negotiate with the man from the Tuis.”

—

Mo Fan went back to the inn after he was done eavesdropping on the group.

A few minutes later, the man with black tattoos on his face came back. He was alone.

“Where have you all been for the past few days?” the man asked.

“We went to restock our supplies. Crete has been short on supplies lately. We have to cross a few mountains if we want to buy some fresh fruits,” Mo Fan replied calmly.

“What fruits do you have? Get me some and bring them to my room,” the man ordered.

“Not a problem,” Mo Fan retained his smile and watched the man leave.

The smile on his face lost its warmth as soon the man was out of his vision.

“The road is narrow for enemies indeed. I didn’t expect to stumble into them here!” Mo Fan spat.

“You know who they are?” Mu Bai was surprised.

“They are from the Guild of the Wicked!” Mo Fan stated confidently.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan brought a plate of sliced fruits to the tattooed man’s room. He had also asked for a plate of salad, so Mo Fan conveniently grabbed some maggots with Telekinesis when he was passed by the stable. It was brilliant mixing these maggots that had fed on horse dung with the fruits and the salad.

“You did great. Here, take this and spend it as you please,” the tattooed man smiled when he saw the young attendant doing such a great job.

“Enjoy!” Mo Fan flicked his finger and fired a wisp of the Dark Material into the man’s body.

Mo Fan heard the man calling for him when he was about to leave. “Wait!” the man stopped Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat. The man was no ordinary person. He was actually aware of the Dark Material? It seemed like he had no choice but to take him down first. He could learn what they were up to by slowly interrogating him!

“The fruits are pretty good. The sauce on the salad is fine too. Bring me more of them,” the man continued.

“Oh, sure, not a problem,” Mo Fan responded with a smile. He immediately withdrew the flame on his palm.

Mo Fan could not help but curse under his breath as he turned around, “What a f**king idiot!”

—

Mo Fan waited patiently for the Guild of the Wicked to make their moves. He knew exactly where the tattooed man was.

“Mo Fan, are they really from the Guild of the Wicked?” Zhao Manyan said doubtfully.

“We’ll soon find out. They should be on the move tonight. Those scum have stumbled right into us. Why shouldn’t we get rid of them once and for all?” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had not forgotten the cruel things that the Guild of the Wicked was responsible for. They had used children’s hearts as a substitution for the Tyrant Titans’ hearts. They never found out how many lives were lost because of these assh****. Mo Fan would feel uncomfortable if he did not take them out!

“We have no clue what they are up to. If they are only a bunch of small fries, we should just report them with an anonymous call,” Mu Bai commented.

“They are here to steal the Tyrant Titans’ organs. They don’t sound like small fries to me,” Mo Fan said.

These people had caught Mo Fan’s attention on the first day mainly because he could sense a strange Aura in their bodies. It was the ability of his Dark Vein, something like a sixth sense.

As he suspected, these people were not just some ordinary dealers on the Black Market. They were members of the infamous Guild of the Wicked!

“Harper is really something, too. He managed to attract a bunch of crooks to be his guests!” Zhao Manyan said.

“By the way, where’s Harper?” Mo Fan asked.

“He left a while ago. He was all dressed up too. He must be meeting some lusty woman again. That son of a b**ch seemed very unhappy when he saw us. He even scolded me. I didn’t bother getting back at him. Otherwise, he would be going to his date with a limp tonight!” Zhao Manyan said dismissively.

“Mm, I think he wants to chase us away because we haven’t paid him after staying here for so long,” Mu Bai said.

“Get over it, he’s just a greedy pervert,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

—

Mo Fan stayed at the inn the whole night. He thought the tattooed man was up to something tonight, but he had stayed in his room instead.

Mo Fan was a little confused. Could it be that he had sent out his lackeys instead?

He was watching the wrong person if that was the case. He did not have a chance to spread the Dark Material onto the man with the black bandana.

—

The man with a black bandana and the other two blond men who barely talked came back to the inn late that night. They did not stay in the lobby for long, heading straight to their leader’s room.

“Boss, I saw those three on my way here,” the man with a black bandana said.

“I know, I’m keeping an eye on them.”

“Should we take them out too?”

“The military and the Parthenon Temple are nearby. They are on alert at the moment. We’ll do it once I erase our traces. Mm, just a little longer,” the tattooed man said.

“We did our job too. Hehe, we made it look like the guy was attacked by a robber in a dark alley…” the man with a black bandana reported.

—

Mo Fan was not eavesdropping on the group. The tattooed man was being very cautious. He had set up some well-hidden magic Formations to confine their voices. Mo Fan had no clue how strong these people were, so he did not dare to expose himself.

“I didn’t expect he was only sending his lackeys out. We missed out on the opportunity to follow them and see what they were up to,” Mo Fan muttered.

The tattooed man had come back alone after the meeting in the grove. His lackeys did not return before now, thus Mo Fan never had the chance to mark them. He had no clue where they had gone.

“We are using a long line to catch a big fish. We shouldn’t alert them for the time being,” Mu Bai said.

Thud! Thud!

There were knocks on the door as they were talking.

“HAHA, I thought Harper would fool around until the next morning. I didn’t think he would come back so early. (Sigh), so what if he has hooked up with a lot of ladies, he couldn’t even satisfy them!” Zhao Manyan rose to his feet and went to the door.

He was stunned as soon as he opened the door. A strong smell caught him by surprise!

The man at the door was covered in blood from his chest to his pants. Even his hands had bloodstains everywhere. If Zhao Manyan had not recognized him as Harper, he would have reflexively sliced him with his Light Magic!

Mo Fan and Mu Bai smelled the blood too. They immediately came outside.

“Mu Bai, save him!” Zhao Manyan helped Harper into the room, but the man was grabbing onto the door frame tightly. He was oddly strong for a dying man, and reluctant to come inside.

“Ru…run!” Harper grabbed Zhao Manyan by his collar.

“You’re almost dead!” Zhao Manyan was not sure what to do. He was not a Healer.

Harper had sustained serious injuries. The spot his hand was covering kept bleeding. Mu Bai tried to treat the wounds, but he was not a Healer, either. His methods were not very effective on a dying person.

“Ru…run! They…” Harper was using all his strength to utter the words.

Chapter 2150: Choose a Way to Die!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s too late for you to run now!” a hoarse mocking voice called out from the room behind them.

Mo Fan turned around and saw the tattooed man standing in the yard, along with his lackey with a black bandana and the blond-haired brothers.

The four were standing in the yard with evil expressions. They obviously had not planned to stay here peacefully from the start.

“How righteous of you all, let me see… you crawled all the way back here from Saifu Street, that’s around a kilometer or two. Are you really that impressive? Or did I go too easy on you?” the man with a black bandana sneered.

“Run, they… they are from the Guild of the Wicked!” Harper gasped.

Mo Fan looked at the blood-covered Harper and the four members with evil smiles. He immediately realized what was going on.

“You idiot, you should go treat your wounds first. Why did you come here instead? So what if they are from the Guild of the Wicked. We told you that we are very powerful Mages. Not many people in this world can kill us!” Zhao Manyan swore angrily.

Harper was still bleeding. He could no longer move his eyes.

In the end, he finally reached his limit, and could no longer support himself. They slowly lowered him to the ground.

“Do a clean job next time, you almost let him live, you idiot,” the tattooed man scolded.

“Got it. What should we do with these three?” the tattooed man asked.

The tattooed man stepped forward and looked at Mo Fan with the same smile he had in the afternoon. “Your salad tasted really good. With that in mind, I’ve chosen a more comfortable way of dying for you. For example, the three of you drowned in an accident when the tide rose at night during a trip.”

“Trust me, it’s the wisest decision. People in our field know how much difference different ways of dying have!”

Mo Fan did not look at them. His eyes were fixed on Harper.

A dagger was stuck in Harper’s chest. It looked like a normal stab, but it made him bleed out non-stop. The man with a black bandana was clearly the one who had put it there.

What a pity, if only Mo Fan had made it back a little earlier, he could have eavesdropped on their whole conversation and found out they were planning to kill Harper tonight. He could have saved Harper’s life!

Life was too unpredictable. To Mo Fan’s surprise, Harper had still crawled all the way back here to warn them!

He knew he was going to die. He knew he was going to where his murderers were. Mo Fan could imagine how tough the journey here was.

“You could have run away on your own, seriously,” Mo Fan told the already-dead Harper quietly.

What a pity. If Harper had known how strong they were, or had he truly believed that they were indeed here to kill Tyrant Titans and were some of the strongest Mages in the world, he would not have had to suffer so much.

The clumsy stab had turned out to be deadly. Normally, a victim could only lie on the floor until they bled to death, but Harper had a strong desire to live. If he had climbed to the city, he might have survived.

However, he chose a deserted road and climbed such a great distance. They were only strangers coming together by chance. They had never thought he was a noble person. Why didn’t he focus on saving himself after he was stabbed?

“If only he could lived a little longer. He might not have made it, but at least he knows we are going to be fine,” Mu Bai said softly.

Harper gave his everything, including his life, to make sure they escaped. However, he saw the four crooks of the Guild of the Wicked when he was gasping his last breath. He must have thought Mu Bai, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were going to end up like him. If he could have lived a little longer, he could have died in peace.

“Make your choice. Don’t waste our precious time!” the tattooed man sneered at them.

“I have two things to tell you.” Mo Fan rose to his feet and faced the tattooed man.

“I’m interested,” he answered confidently.

“The three plates of fruits and salad you ate, I actually used the maggots from the stables as their sauce. They must have tasted very unique. I’ve told you my secret recipe, but unfortunately, you won’t have a chance to try it again,” Mo Fan said.

The smile on the tattooed man’s face froze. He turned around and looked at the stable not far away. There were indeed a few white maggots crawling on the pile of horse dung. His face began to twitch uncontrollably.

“It seems like you can no longer choose how you are going to die. Tell me about the second thing,” the tattooed man swore.

“As for the second thing, I will let you choose how to die. I can’t be bothered asking you why you wanted Harper dead. I just want to see you die now,” Mo Fan declared.

Asking the enemy to choose how they were going to die was only something one would say when they completely outmatched an enemy.

A few Asians who were working at an inn dared to ask them to choose how they were going to die? Did they really think Advanced Mages and Super Mages were everywhere?

“Kid, do you know who we are?” the tattooed man said.

“The Guild of the Wicked,” Mo Fan nodded.

“We are the Black Ornaments of the Guild of the Wicked! We aren’t your usual pirates, thugs, or human traffickers. I can sense some magic from you. You might have learned a few Basic Spells to light fires, cook dishes, or build walls. Those aren’t real magic…” Something exploded beside the tattooed man as he was speaking.

A thick sauce, like a salad dressing, splattered all over him when he was in the middle of his sentence, but it was bright red.

The smell of blood was so strong that he had an urge to throw up. He turned around in disbelief.

The lackey with a black bandana standing right beside him had exploded!

His ribs, arms, and head had been blasted to pieces. Only his legs remained, but they were covered in blood too!

He’s dead?

Did he die, just like that?

Chapter 2151: Go Ask for Help as You Want

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The tattooed man was so frightened that he quickly Summoned a shield of Light. He looked around him, assuming some terrifying Mages were hiding nearby. It was normal for them to be targeted by the law in Europe.

However, could he really handle someone who could kill his lackey without him noticing them?

“You should be looking at me.” Mo Fan approached the tattooed man.

The tattooed man assumed the three in front of him had nothing to do with events. However, his heart skipped a beat when he saw the silver light in Mo Fan’s eyes.

There was another explosion of flesh and bone; one of the blond-haired brothers blew apart. His bones and meat scattered across the ground after Mo Fan glanced at him!

“They can’t choose how they die, but you can,” Mo Fan went on.

He then turned his eyes on the other blond brother. The space around him compressed rapidly. The man had already used his Earth Element to cover himself, but it was useless against Mo Fan’s absolute strength.

He turned into dust instead of exploding, and his head flew past the tattooed man’s face. Only then did the man realize the person who had served him fruits was the one that killed his lackeys!

But how was this possible!?

“Who…who exactly are you!?” The tattooed man was scared. He could only think of one possibility. They were the local Enforcement Union, working undercover!

“We are just some guests here. We just happened to meet the man you killed,” Mo Fan said.

“Impossible, you have been tracking us for so long. Assh***, we are the Black Ornaments. Do you know our motto? If you offend one Black Ornament, the rest of them will be coming after you! It doesn’t matter who you are or which organization you are from! Kid, you have close ones, friends, and family too. If you kill me today, you shall suffer the wrath of the Black Ornaments! You will realize how wrong you are when you are holding the dead bodies of your loved-ones in your arms,” the tattooed man prattled in fright.

“Impressive, the Black Ornaments are much more organized than the Blue and Red Ornaments. You may go,” Mo Fan said suddenly.

“I can go?” the tattooed man squeaked in astonishment. He thought he had heard it wrong.

“Mm, I just thought of a more interesting way of dying for you. I bet you are just an errand boy among the Black Ornaments. I’ll give you a day’s time to ask your superiors for help. I’ll be coming after you in a day. I hope you still believe in the same idea by then,” Mo Fan continued thoughtfully.

The tattooed man did not fully understand Mo Fan, yet he did not hesitate to leave when he had the chance.

The tattooed man ran away quickly. He could still see Harper’s blood along the pebbled path leading to the inn.

What an idiot, he even sacrificed his life, just to save his friends!

That other guy was an idiot too! He let me go so easily!

The Asian could have killed him very easily. It seemed like the Black Ornaments’ motto was actually effective. Even the people of the Enforcement Union cared about their families. The Black Ornaments could strike from anywhere. Not only were they a bunch of reckless crooks, some of them had formidable positions in society too.

The tattooed man suddenly noticed a shadow moving behind him as he was running.

The shadow had crawled out of the ground like a mummy. It was pointing a dagger at his neck!

“Damn it!” The tattooed man realized the Asian had no intention of sparing his life. He belatedly recalled the Asian’s words.

He was told to find someone who could save him, as the Asian would come to take his life after a day!

“I don’t care who you are. You are just asking for your death!” the tattooed man screamed, and ran faster.

—

The tattooed man did not leave Crete. He would not be able to leave Greece in only a day without a plane. However, it did not matter, as the Black Ornaments had long infiltrated many places in Greece. He could easily find someone who could help him in Crete.

The tattooed man fled to the top of a tall building. An important meeting was taking place inside a room there. People in expensive suits were just leaving it.

The meeting room was emptied out quickly. A middle-aged woman with a bow tie was still seated at the table. Her curly fringe was dyed blue and orange. Her shiny diamond earrings made her ears look more alluring.

She was dressed in a business suit. She might not have long hair or an alluring figure, but she had her own charm.

“Didn’t I tell you not to meet me here?” the woman scolded him.

The tattooed man was still a little shaken. He stammered, “Sister Black Diamond, we have a problem. I met a very strong Mage. He suddenly showed up after we completed our mission.”

“Which organization is he from?” the woman asked.

“I’m not sure, but he let me go and asked me to look for help… a strange shadow has been following me since. I might die at any second, please help me!” the tattooed man said.

“You come here when you don’t even know who he is? You idiot, isn’t it obvious he has spared your life on purpose to lure me out!” the woman snarled.

“I know, but I had no other choice!”

“Where is he now? I’ll ask someone to find out who he is immediately. We better target his loved-ones too,” the woman said.

“He’s at…”

“I’m right here,” Mo Fan’s voice suddenly appeared in the luxurious meeting room.

The woman obviously had a higher cultivation. She turned to the window and saw a blurred shadow on it. However, its surface started twisting as the shadow walked out from it like a mirror.

“Damn it!” The woman was even angrier. Her attractive face had contorted.

The tattooed man had brought her such huge trouble!

Luckily, she had a few experts with her. The bodyguards around her were not just ordinary people, they were elites of the guild, and all of them were Mages. They were constantly by her side in case of some unexpected circumstances like this!

“I don’t care who you are, but this guy has nothing to do with me!” the woman exclaimed.

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll give you one day. You can try your best to ask your superior for help,” Mo Fan repeated coldly.

As soon as he finished his sentence, the elites in the room cried out in agony and fell to the ground at the same time.

The woman and the tattooed man immediately turned around, and almost fell to the ground too.

The throats of the elites had been sliced by their own shadows!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

Shadow Slit!

The tattooed man felt a chill running down his throat. He stiffly turned around and looked behind him.

The demonic shadow was still behind him. It was staring at him like an assassin, waiting for the moment to execute its target!

It had killed their men instantly!

The elites who were protecting Black Diamond were a lot stronger than his own lackeys, yet they had still died at the same time so easily!

Black Diamond was utterly terrified. She had been relieved that she had elites of the guild as her bodyguards just a second ago. Even if the Enforcement Union showed up, her bodyguards could still buy her time to escape. However, they had all died after their throats were slit by their own shadows.

She did not even see the man Cast a spell. Even if someone was killing a chicken or a monkey, they would have to chase after them and swing their knives. How did he kill the elites of the guild so easily?

“What? Do you think you have plenty of time left?” Mo Fan asked dangerously.

“What do you want!?” the woman asked in a trembling voice.

“Nothing much, I just want to see how strong the Black Ornaments are, how powerful the Guild of the Wicked is, and also find out if there are any real experts among the Black Ornaments, since you all are so reckless that committing crimes is so natural for you,” Mo Fan replied indifferently as he sat down on the table.

“You…you are asking for your death!” the woman yelled.

“Perhaps, let’s hope the person you ask for help is able to kill me!” Mo Fan replied agreeably.

—

Lunatic, he’s a lunatic!

Kachasa had never seen such a crazy man before. He could have killed her easily, yet he had let her go instead!

Kachasa could only think about being safe if she managed to reach Crete’s Merchant Guild after her elites were killed. She did not expect to reach the Crete’s Merchant Guild in one piece.

“You idiot, what did you do to provoke a guy like that!?” Kachasa swore.

“I have no idea. I was just following my orders to take care of a man called Harper, but that Asian killed my men and asked me to look for help, so I came to you!” The tattooed man could feel his legs going numb.

He did not really realize how strong the guy was when his lackeys were killed. After all, his lackeys were only strong enough to kill normal people, but the sight of the elites’ throats being slit so easily scared the crap out of him!

He did not expect the Asian who had served him fruits and salad to be so terrifying!

“Can we even survive? I’ve never seen a Mage as scary as him!” the tattooed man shuddered.

“He’s only going to get himself killed. It’s not like you don’t know who’s in charge of Crete’s Merchant Guild!” Black Diamond Kachasa hissed.

——

Crete’s Merchant Guild was located at the waist of a mountain, its back letting out on a peaceful bay. Its front was a luxurious commercial street.

The merchant guild was like a small European-../style palace. Expensive cars were parked in its outdoor parking lot. Beautiful women in branded clothing were everywhere.

“Congratulations, Mr. Babbitt, I believe you will be leading the merchants of the whole Aegean Sea in no time!” A woman in a mink coat handed over a glass of red wine to a man with a smile.

“I still have a long way to go. Besides, the Aegean Sea is currently in the middle of a war, which has a great impact on economics. It’s not easy to handle the business during this period. On the other hand, Miss Yuri, we merchants are envious of you because you have been dealing with the military for a long time,” the new president of the merchant guild, replied to her.

As the two were talking, a merchant with a big belly rushed up to them and grabbed Babbitt by the collar.

“Assh***, you son of a b**ch, I’ve given you everything I had. What else do you want? Give me back my daughter!” the man yelled angrily.

“Ah, isn’t this the owner of the olive grove on Green Sprouts Island, Mr. Lin?” Yuri said idly.

“The olive grove was destroyed together with Green Sprouts Island. I’m afraid Mr. Lin must be mentally unstable. Anyone who encounters such a tragedy will behave like this. I understand what you are going through. Your daughter passed away during the incident. The Tyrant Titan killed her. Please calm down,” Babbitt told him.

“You f**king assh***, you think I don’t know who you are? I will expose you and make you pay!” the man yelled.

“HAHAHA, feel free to do so, but everyone in the Crete’s Merchant Guild now takes orders from me,” Babbitt smiled.

“I will report you to the military, the Hall of Knights, and the Holy Judgment Court. You are going to pay for it, all of you. You won’t make Crete your filthy nest. You will suffer the consequences!” the man shouted.

The smile on Babbitt’s face soon vanished. He glanced at another man nearby.

“Why don’t I do you a favor? He’s just a fat pig who’s full of himself. It’s normal for him to drive his car off a cliff in an accident,” Yuri offered with a smile.

“You have my gratitude.”

Yuri turned around. Her slim arm suddenly exerted a shocking force and pushed the fat man, who weighed over a hundred kilograms, to the edge of the cliff.

“What a waste of a nice car,” Yuri lamented, as she waved her arm. A stony hand suddenly reached out from the ground under the parking lot. It grabbed a luxurious car and tossed it down the cliff.

The man was now rolling down the cliff. The car followed him and smashed him to a pulp.

“Miss Yuri, your cultivation should be strong enough to overwhelm the Aegean Sea Magic Association. Even the knights of the Parthenon Temple aren’t comparable to you, am I right?” Babbitt complimented her.

Yuri was about to respond when she noticed two figures rushing toward them. They were in a great panic, as if something was chasing after them.

“Isn’t that Kachasa, Mr. Babbitt’s most beloved little concubine? She seems to be in trouble,” Yuri observed.

Kachasa ran up to Babbitt. Her face was drenched in tears. She looked like a madwoman who had been wandering aimlessly on the street.

“Mr. Babbitt, we have a problem!” Kachasa blurted out.

“Calm down, tell me what happened. There’s nothing that I, Babbitt, can’t handle!” Babbitt declared confidently.

“Someone is trying to kill me, someone is trying to kill me, he’s behind me, right behind me!” Kachasa rambled on.

“Is that so? He’s behind you? That’s interesting. He might not know the true identity of Crete’s Merchant Guild!” Babbitt grinned.

A merchant guild? That was only a disguise!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

Mo Fan was not far from the two people fleeing him, tailing right behind them.

Babbitt immediately saw Mo Fan, who had a dark Aura around him. He grinned with disdain. Mo Fan was not far from the two, obviously following them.

Babbitt patted Kachasa’s back softly. He even slid his hand down to her waist. He knew it was her sensitive spot. She was willing to use any posture whenever he touched it.”So you are the one who’s trying to kill my baby?” Babbitt asked Mo Fan calmly.

Kachasa was twenty years old. Babbitt had trained her for twelve years. No woman was more pleasing to his eyes than her in every aspect.

Now someone was trying to kill her?

Even though she always kidnapped beautiful young ladies and sold them to nobles in remote places as playthings, it was not her fault. She had ended up in his hands the same way.

She was so pitiful and pleasing to his eyes. Babbitt would never allow anyone to kill her!

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here,” Babbitt felt sorry for Kachasa when he saw the terrified look on her face. He had an urge to kiss her on the forehead.

Babbitt suddenly picked up a foul scent when he moved closer. Where did the smell even come from?

Babbitt opened his eyes and immediately backed away. He pushed the woman in his arms away.

Kachasa’s face was dry and black. It was full of wrinkles like an eighty-year-old woman instead of her youthful looks.

“Mr. Babbitt…” Kachasa had a confused face as she fell to the ground.

She did not realize the changes on her, but when she reached out her hand and saw her tender fingers wilting like old branches, she was thunderstruck.

“What’s happening to me? What’s happening!?” Kachasa screamed.

It was not only happening to her arms, but her whole face and body were aging quickly. A minute was like a few dozen years to her.

Black gas was leaving her skin and taking away her youth, rapidly turning her into a blackened and dried corpse. Babbitt felt his heart being shredded when he saw her appearance and remembered her normal beauty.

Twelve years, Babbitt did not have many twelve years left! Many women had ended up in his hands, yet Kachasa had stood out among them. She was his best masterpiece, but she had turned into something so ugly that he felt like throwing up when he looked at her!

“Dark Wither, her body has long rotted.” Yuri studied Kachasa’s body calmly, analyzing what had happened.

“I don’t like people who are different on the inside and the outside. Their body should look just like their hearts.” Mo Fan stepped forward. He did not bother taking another glance at Kachasa’s corpse.

She had already done her job. It was no longer necessary to keep her alive!

“Do you know who I am?” Babbitt said with a dark expression. He was trying his best to withhold his anger.

“I know you are her superior. Oh right, tell him my motto. I can’t be bothered repeating the same words over and over again,” Mo Fan looked at the tattooed man.

The tattooed man was horrified. Kachasa had already reached the merchant guild, yet she had still died!

He knew why she had died and that he would end up just like her. He was still wondering why the guy had not killed him yet.

“Tell him, or I’ll blast you into pieces or kill you the same way I did to her!” Mo Fan ordered darkly.

The tattooed man was trembling, and struggling to speak properly. He obeyed Mo Fan’s order as he wanted to stay alive for a little longer. He told Babbitt, “Mr. Babbitt… this man asked me to ask my superior for help, or he was going to kill me. So I went to Miss Kachasa for help. He…he killed the Mages protecting Miss Kachasa and demanded she go look for help by telling her the same thing.”

Babbitt almost erupted like a volcano when he heard the words.

The guy had tortured his baby!

“You heard him. Your name is Babbitt, right? What role do you have in the Black Ornaments? Forget it, I don’t really care. You may leave now and ask your superior for protection. You will be safe if they can protect you… dammit, I still ended up repeating the words myself again!” Mo Fan sighed.

“Who do you think you are? One of the Great Angels of the Sacred City? The God of this world who judges human souls? Do you know how much power I have in Crete? Even the little thugs robbing people in the dark alleys must hand over a third of their loot to me! Do you think a little Shadow Mage like you can take us on?” Babbitt yelled.

“Covering the sun with one hand, that must be describing someone like you. Very well, I’m not interested in a minor character, either,” Mo Fan replied flatly.

“Kill him. No, take him down! I want him alive!” Babbitt ordered his men.

The people who were dressed up like businessmen suddenly surrounded Mo Fan. Each of them had magic flowing around them, like the breath of ferocious beasts.

“Do you know why I want you alive? I’ll capture everyone who’s related to you within the next week and kill them in the order of how close they are to you. You can watch them all die before it’s your turn to die in despair. You will have plenty of time to regret provoking the Black Ornaments and me!” Babbitt cursed him with a twisted face.

“That’s the same thing he told me too, but what you said was more detailed and easier to picture, as expected of his superior,” Mo Fan nodded, pointing at the tattooed man.

The tattooed man had long regretted his words. Why did he have to put on airs in front of someone who was such a devil? The truth was, he was not even considered an elite in the guild. As for Babbitt… if the guy was just a normal person or a low-level Mage, Babbitt might actually get his way.

Hopefully, Babbitt could kill the young man and end the nightmare.

“Capture him alive!” Babbitt spat angrily.

Mo Fan was oddly calm as magic began pouring at him like waves.

“I do have pets too, but they are not women. They specifically feed on people with rotten hearts. I prepared them for the scum of the Black Vatican originally, but you fit the criteria too!” Mo Fan was emitting a moon-white glow. It quickly coalesced into a Star Constellation!

“Summoning Tide: Feast of the White Wolves!”

2

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

It had been a while since he had Summoned his wolves to feed on his enemies. For some reason, the food in the mortal plane seemed more delicious to the wolves than the food in the Summoned Beast Plane. The Moon-Devouring White Wolves and the White-Marked Wolves were particularly fond of the food of his world.

Mo Fan knew there were some real merchants in this guild who did not know magic. Therefore, he only asked the wolves to attack those who had attacked him. Mo Fan would not show mercy to any of the people who had colluded with Babbitt.

It was like a pack of starving wolves had suddenly invaded a sheep corral. The fences of the pen were stopping the sheep from running away, not protecting them. The wolves and the sheep were playing chase inside the pen. Mo Fan was treating the wolves to a great feast!

Mo Fan was a well-behaved young man most of the time, and would not do cruel things to people. After all, it was not a pleasant sight to watch his wolves feeding on their enemies. The terrifying sight might traumatize little girls, so Mo Fan rarely treated his wolves to a buffet unless the enemy was from the Black Vatican. However, the Black Ornaments of the Guild of the Wicked had certainly inherited half of the Black Vatican’s spirit.

They did not dare be as wicked as the Black Vatican, as they were afraid of being picked on by them, nor did they dare oppose the whole world, and yet they were doing outrageous things, just like the Black Vatican did!

Curbing violence with violence had always been Mo Fan’s philosophy. He could not possibly wave a Holy Bible around and convince them to repent.

“You look a little familiar,” Miss Yuri noticed. She was not frightened by the gory scene.

“I also think you are a little familiar… I forgot to ask you, are you with them?” Mo Fan asked Miss Yuri politely.

Yuri shook her head and said, “I only do proper business with the merchant guild. Look down the cliff.”

Mo Fan looked over the cliff and saw a destroyed luxury car.

“You are a Shadow Mage. You should be able to see the fat pig sleeping comfortably down there, can’t you?” Yuri smiled.

Mo Fan did see a man lying on the cliff. It looked like he was covered in blood, but he was still alive. He had only broken his limbs.

“Who is he? Second Wolf, drag that guy to the side and eat him over there! Can’t you see I’m having a conversation here?” Mo Fan chided the wolf.

Second Wolf raised its head and looked at Mo Fan innocently. It had already been feeding on the enemy here before Mo Fan and the woman came over to the edge of the cliff!

“He’s Mr. Lin, the owner of the olive grove and a rich merchant from Green Sprouts Island. He has three beautiful daughters. Two of them died in the tragedy, and the last one was kidnapped tonight. Mr. Lin was out of his mind to come and confront Babbitt before you showed up, so I did Babbitt a favor and saved Mr. Lin’s life too,” Yuri said.

“Are you sure it happened before I reached here?” Mo Fan smiled.

Yuri was startled.

If he was a Shadow Mage, he would already have been here when Kachasa reached the merchant guild, which meant he had seen what had happened to Mr. Lin!

“You didn’t kill him, so my wolves didn’t eat you like the others. It’s a pity if a woman with a slim waist and big bust ends up being eaten by the wolves,” Mo Fan observed.

“Who are you?” Yuri asked.

“Who are you?” Mo Fan replied directly.

Yuri had not killed Mr. Lin, Mo Fan had seen it very clearly. The man had only fainted after falling down the cliff. In other words, she had saved his life. Babbitt would not have spared his life.

Mo Fan would not have let him die either way. It seemed he was involved in something serious.

Big Wolf burped all of a sudden. The smell almost reached Mo Fan.

The luxurious merchant guild looked like Hell, covered with broken limbs, shattered organs, and thick fresh blood scattered across the place. Mo Fan ordered the wolves to clean up the mess. It would be terrible if other people saw the place. They might think it was the work of the Black Vatican!

Babbitt remained motionless. He was surrounded by staring white wolves, their fangs all exposed. The guild had over two dozen elites! Seven of them were Advanced Mages! Their levels were above Black Diamond! Even if the sacred organizations in Europe sent a group after them, they would have to worry about their own safety.

But the top seven Mages were all dead now!

How could a Mage Summon forth a dozen Commander-level creatures out of nowhere? It was enough to attack a city!

“How did this happen? Even Babbitt’s men are dead?” The tattooed man was about to lose his mind!

He had thought Babbitt was very powerful among the people he knew, yet even he had lost to the worker of an inn who had served him fruits.

Most importantly, the nightmare did not end there.

Mo Fan did not kill Babbitt. He gave him the same offer!

Babbitt had a day to ask his superior for protection, but for some reason, the tattooed man had a feeling Babbitt was already a dead man. Their guild had seriously provoked a devil!

“So what if you are strong? There are many high-level Mages in this world, but those who are in control are usually people without magic. Have you had any idea the consequences of messing with the Black Ornaments and the Guild of the Wicked? You might be able to kill my men, but can you kill every member of the guild?” Babbitt screamed at him.

Only those who found themselves at the edge of a cliff would utter such words. They were just trying to provoke their enemy after learning they were going to die for sure, something along the lines of ‘I will hunt you down after I turn into a vengeful spirit!’

Mo Fan would not be provoked so easily, and remained calm.

“You don’t have to yell at me. I just told you that I won’t kill you right now. You can ask your superior for protection. If the Guild of the Wicked is as strong as you describe, there must be someone who can kill me. You will live once I’m dead, so if you have the time to throw a tantrum here, you might as well think about who you should be asking for help,” Mo Fan informed him calmly.

“Are you seriously letting me go?” Babbitt could not believe it.

“Why do you think he’s still standing here? Isn’t it easy for me to kill him?” Mo Fan pointed at the tattooed man.

Babbitt looked at the tattooed man, before glancing at Kachasa, who had been dead for a long time.

“You are going to regret it. I swear, my superior has great power in Greece. There’s nothing he can’t do!” Babbitt swore at Mo Fan.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

—

Babbitt was not an idiot. He did not waste time thinking about other things after he had a chance to run away.

It was more important to distance himself from the devil. He would worry about the rest after he was at the Crete Military Academy!

Babbitt kept looking back after he got on the road. He was afraid that Mo Fan would attack him from behind.

However, Mo Fan simply watched him leave. He did not give chase after Babbitt, even when the man was about to disappear from his sight.

Yuri was studying Mo Fan carefully. “He might get away with what he did,” Yuri noted.

“But there’s also a chance I can uproot the Guild of the Wicked. I have yet to settle many disputes with them!” Mo Fan countered.

“You are an interesting man,” Yuri said. She stepped closer to Mo Fan, staring at Mo Fan’s face with her attractive eyes and asked, “Well… may I leave?”

“Are you from the Guild of the Wicked?” Mo Fan replied calmly.

“No.”

“Then you may leave.”

——

The wolves were adept at cleaning up the mess. The merchant guild looked quite normal when they were done, other than a few cracks. The wolves had enjoyed a good meal and went back to the Summoned Beast Plane. Some of them might even evolve after such a pleasant repast!

Mo Fan and the tattooed man were the only ones left in the guild.

Mo Fan did not ask the tattooed man to leave. He took out his phone and checked the time.

“The twenty-four hours I gave you have passed. It seems like the highest rank that you could bring me to is Babbitt, but he’s nothing but a dog in my eyes,” Mo Fan said.

The tattooed man could not even stand properly. He did not want to die. He had joined the Guild of the Wicked because he wanted to gain things he could never earn by himself, even if he worked for his whole life, in a short amount of time. He had yet to enjoy his life, but he had stumbled into such a terrifying god of disaster!

“I…I…I beg your forgiveness… I don’t want to die! I didn’t mean to kill that young man. It was Kachasa who gave me the order, and I believe it was an order from Babbitt. I don’t even know why we had to kill him!” The tattooed man could feel his pants wetting.

The tattooed man was not so scared when he saw Mo Fan’s strength the first time. If he could not beat him, death would be his outcome.

The more of Mo Fan’s capabilities the tattooed man saw, the more he realized how much stronger the young man was. Even Babbitt, whom he thought was extremely powerful, had ended up like him!

The young man could pinch him to death easier than stepping on an ant!

It was just how humans were. If a country was erased by a war one day, the people would only think it was unbelievable and feel a little uneasy. However, finding their neighbor lying in a pool of blood would have a greater psychological impact on them. They would tremble in fear and cry like a child.

The tattooed man was in a similar situation. He still could not tell how strong Mo Fan really was. He just knew Mo Fan was strong enough to kill him. However, after living through the last day, he had realized he was basically digging his grave after trying to mess with Mo Fan.

He was going to die soon, but he no longer dared threaten Mo Fan’s family, friends, and close ones.

“Please, I’m begging you. I don’t want to die…” the tattooed man pleaded. He knelt in front of Mo Fan and knocked his head on the ground.

“You are regretting your actions, right?” Mo Fan asked.

“I am, I really am!” the tattooed man said.

“Do you regret joining the Guild of the Wicked?” Mo Fan asked.

“Give me one more chance. I will never harm anyone again!” the tattooed man said sincerely. He was overwhelmed by fear.

“I shall grant you a clean death since you have shown some remorse,” Mo Fan pronounced.

The tattooed man widened his eyes. He suddenly shivered as he was looking at Mo Fan’s back.

A great chill ran down his spine. He turned around and saw a dark face right in front of him.

It looked exactly the same as his, except for a weird smile, like he was looking at himself through a haunted mirror!

“You might have the flesh of a human, but your soul has turned into something like that. Even you are scared of it,” Mo Fan informed him.

The tattooed man was startled. The shadow suddenly reached out its hands and grabbed his throat.

The tattooed man struggled fiercely, but he could not break free from the shadow’s grip. Its hands continued to apply ever-greater force.

He was having difficulty breathing. He could only stare at the face that looked just like his own.

He eventually died, staring at his ghastly shadow.

——

Crete had a military academy in the south. It was around five kilometers from Jade Bay City, located at the top of a mountain with only a single road leading to it. Not only could one see the whole bay from the mountain, they could also see the southern coast.

A few trucks were transporting supplies down the mountain, most likely something that had to be kept fresh as the trucks had cold storage on them.

Major General Jessica was at the gate. She went up to the guard who was on duty.

“What’s going on here? Whose order was it to evacuate the people?” General Jessica demanded.

The guard looked at General Jessica. He replied without even saluting, “It’s an order from the higher-ups. Major General, you don’t have the clearance to ask questions about it.”

“I don’t have the clearance? We are the ones that brought the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan back here!” General Jessica swore.

“Major General, we are soldiers. It’s our duty to follow orders, so are yours!” The guard started lecturing a general instead!

General Jessica was anxious. She swore she was going to find out who was behind this!

They were currently at war. The Blue Star Tyrant Titans were showing up in many areas, including other places in Greece.

The military was held responsible whenever the Blue Star Tyrant Titans showed up, so General Jessica did not understand where the Blue Star Tyrant Titans’ organs had gone, even though they had killed so many of them!

She could not care less about the organs of the Blue Star Tyrant Titans, but she could not let the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan’s organs go missing, too!

“Officer… is Secretary Richard around?” a man in luxurious clothes with a strange expression asked urgently.

“Aren’t… aren’t you Mr. Babbitt?” the soldier tried to recall the man.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

“It’s me, it’s me!” Babbitt blurted out in joy.

“Secretary Richard is inside. Do you want me to bring you to him?” the soldier inquired.

“That will be great, quick, bring me to him!” Babbitt said impatiently.

General Jessica glanced at Babbitt, who was behaving a little strangely. She was also disgusted by the soldier’s attitude.

She was a Major General, someone who fought at the front line, yet the soldier was paying more respect to the merchant than her. Did the soldiers in Crete only care about money instead of their medals?

General Jessica glared at Babbitt’s back. She had a feeling something unusual was following him, yet she did not notice anything when she tried to take a closer look.

An old pine tree was swaying in the wind around a sharp corner of the road leading up to the mountain. An upright figure with a hint of a strange Aura appeared under its shadow.

General Jessica took a closer look and realized it was a person by the light their phone was emitting. The person seemed to be keeping an eye on something.

General Jessica hesitated for a moment, but decided to ignore it. She was at a military academy, not a secret military headquarters. It was normal for outsiders or the students from the academy to be roaming around. A lot of them would often chat with their girlfriends late at night for a long time.

—

“Are you sure? His daughter met with Harper the afternoon before she disappeared…” Mo Fan was holding his phone in one hand while leaning on the branches nearby with the other.

“Mo Fan, I couldn’t figure out why they wanted Harper dead. Do you really think Harper wasn’t paying the Guild of the Wicked a protection fee or something?” Mu Bai had to ask.

“I just gave Asha’ruiya a call and asked her to check on the survivors of Green Sprouts Island. The same thing that happened to Harper has happened to them too,” Mo Fan replied.

“You mean the survivors were killed in accidents? A lot of them?” Mu Bai asked curiously.

“Not really. If we didn’t look at their deaths as something intentional, there isn’t anything strange about them,” Mo Fan said.

Falling into the sea after being mentally unstable.

Hanging themselves in their room, as they felt it was meaningless to continue living after the rest of their family had died in the tragedy.

Joining the war to avenge their dead close-ones, yet ending up being killed by snake demons and titans.

They were seemingly ordinary deaths, considering the tragedy that had taken place. It was part of a chain effect after what befell Green Sprouts Island, but Mo Fan began to feel suspicious after Harper was killed.

Harper was an optimistic but lazy person. His situation was similar to those who had been forced to move from their old houses and were given a few houses as compensation, and who could easily make a living by collecting rent from their properties. He would just spend his days as he pleased, instead of worrying about the future.

He was trying his best to forget the incident of Green Sprouts Island. He did not speak a word about it after he told them about the magic pattern on the Tyrant Titan’s back.

Mo Fan initially thought it was just Harper’s way of living, selectively forgetting the pain and suffering he had gone through. He was trying to distract himself by putting his attention on the approaching summer and the beautiful ladies.

He seemed to be heading in the right direction.

However, Mo Fan realized something when he saw Harper lying in a pool of blood.

Forgetting what one had seen was only a different way of living on.

Harper was extremely smart, smarter than they had imagined. He had never told anyone the truth, just so he could live a little longer than the others who had died in the incident.

“I think Harper thought we were after him, so he kept pretending like he was relieved to have survived the incident. When the people of the Guild of the Wicked came to the inn, he still managed to keep up the act. However, why did he go and meet Mr. Lin’s daughter? The tattooed man and his men were already lowering their guard to him. They were about to give up, yet he gave them a chance to kill him in the end,” Mo Fan murmured.

“Yeah, he knew the group who came to the inn after us were the ones who were after him. He didn’t want us to get involved… those assh**** from the Guild of the Wicked,” Mu Bai agreed.

Harper was just an ordinary man living a carefree life who would hook up with strangers every summer. He was living a life that most men would envy.

It was unlikely that someone like him would be targeted by the Guild of the Wicked, unless maybe he was busted for hooking up with someone’s wife. If it weren’t for Harper’s death, Mo Fan would still have believed the incident at Green Sprouts Island was just a natural disaster.

Harper’s death implied that the incident was not as simple as it looked. He was one of the survivors the Guild of the Wicked was watching closely.

Why would they be watching the survivors? What did the survivors see? What was the person behind their deaths trying to hide?

Mo Fan did not bother asking the tattooed man. He knew the tattooed man was only doing the dirty work. There were many people like the tattooed man among the Black Ornaments. They were watching the survivors of Green Sprouts Island and trying to disguise their deaths as normal accidents.

“Can you find Mr. Lin’s daughter?” Mo Fan asked.

“Old Zhao and I will give it a try. Let’s hope she’s still alive,” Mu Bai confirmed.

“Where’s Mr. Lin?”

“He’s still unconscious. I asked the Golden Sun Knight called Jiang Bin to take care of him. I think we can trust him,” Mu Bai answered.

“Jiang Bin? Oh you mean the knight who was almost fired for protecting the illiterate old folks on the Orange Coconut Island? I think he’s a fine person,” Mo Fan agreed quickly.

—

Mo Fan hung up the call and stowed his phone in his pocket after he finished the conversation. His expression shifted as he lifted his gaze and stared at the entrance to the military academy.

Why did it always come down to this? Why couldn’t it just be a natural disaster?

Why did there always be some kind of human-caused factor in incidents like this?

Mo Fan was utterly disappointed by the truth that was soon going to surface.

Humans were clearly at a disadvantage in this world where demon creatures were on a rampage. The only way humans could preserve their existence was to be more united and wiser than the demon creatures.

However, humans could never secure the upper hand and break free from the cities that trapped them like cages, because they were just as greedy and selfish as the demon creatures out there. They were killing their own kind!

The people of this era were already troubled by a lot of natural disasters. Mo Fan thought he could finally have a showdown with the Heavens for once, but he ended up going against humans again instead!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

Despite being disappointed, what happened had clearly crossed Mo Fan’s bottom line. He had decided to take matters into his own hands.

He could not care less about the truth behind the incident or how many superiors of the Guild of the Wicked were involved. He only wanted to put an end to everything!

It was stupid to leave a malignant tumor inside a person’s body and let it worsen just because it was close to their vital organs. It was necessary to remove the tumor, despite the risks involved. Otherwise, the whole body would eventually rot until it was beyond redemption.

Crete Military Academy was the cradle of many outstanding officers from Greece, but Mo Fan’s heart had gone cold when he saw Babbitt trying to seek shelter there.

Why couldn’t it be a den of thieves? Why did it have to be such a sacred and authoritative place?

Most people, including the Holy Court Mages, would simply turn back if they followed the clues to the entrance of a military academy.

They could not afford to cross the entrance, as it would mean going against their own people.

Fortunately, Mo Fan was not representing any organization. He was not from the International Military Tribunal, the government, the Parthenon Temple, or the Holy Judgment Court. He was here on behalf of himself.

Only the International Military Tribunal had the right to condemn a military academy, but since Mo Fan did not belong to any organization, he could just do whatever he pleased without restrictions.

“Hold it right there!” The guards stopped Mo Fan at the entrance.

Mo Fan did not stop. He pointed at Babbitt, who had just gone inside not long ago, “Why did you stop me if you could invite him in?”

“Mr. Babbitt is the president of Crete’s Merchant Guild. He has serious business with our chief. Enough talk! Tell us who you are, or leave at once!” the guard demanded.

The guard was an officer. Normally, his men would be watching the entrance, but he occasionally checked on his men.

“I see, but he’s from the Black Ornaments of the Guild of the Wicked. They refer to him as the Black Wrist. Here is a recording of him admitting it in person. Here is also some information that proves he’s involved with the Guild of the Wicked.” Mo Fan took out his phone and showed the officer the evidence.

The officer was startled.

He did not doubt Babbitt’s identity. He was only wondering if the young man before him was out of his mind.

“I’m only in charge of the military academy’s safety. Why are you showing this to me? You should show them to the military tribunal instead,” the officer answered.

“I came to take him down, so could you let me in?” Mo Fan asked.

“Are you out of your mind? I don’t care if he has a secret identity, but for now he’s Mr. Babbitt, who is working closely with our Secretary! He has permission to enter the military academy, unlike you. Do you understand?!” the officer snarled.

“So you do admit that your boss has colluded with a member of the Black Ornaments, but you don’t have the power to judge them. That being said, you do have the power to let me in so I can settle them,” Mo Fan said.

The officer was dumbfounded. Where did this maniac come from?

“How dare you slander our Secretary! Leave at once, or I’ll arrest you on the spot. Slandering a flag officer, that’s five years’ worth of jail time for you!” The officer sounded very angry.

“(Sigh), if it wasn’t for the banner that said this is a military academy, I wouldn’t even bother wasting my time with you,” Mo Fan replied.

Many people in his country kept calling him a lunatic, demon king, bearer of ill luck, troublemaker, or a god of disaster.

Seriously, he was trying to be reasonable here!

He had shown the officer evidence and asked the officer to let him in nicely. He was almost as polite and humble as an outstanding politician.

Despite his efforts, the officer did not want to listen to him. It was a military academy, not a secret military base. It was not against the rules to let a Mage in. Besides, he had already shown the fool the recording. He had clearly heard Babbitt admit he was a Black Ornament from the Guild of the Wicked!

It was not like Mo Fan did not try to change his wild behavior, but there were too many bitchy people in this society that deserved a beating!

Mo Fan gathered his Will on his right foot in a layer of steel before the officer could react.

He picked up momentum with the Space Element and kicked the gate down before flying towards the training grounds.

The alarm rang out immediately. The military academy was unlike normal organizations. They were very quick to react!

Many people in military uniforms came running in from from all directions. When they reached the training ground, they saw Mo Fan, the guards who were on duty, and the officer with a relatively high rank.

“Mo Fan?” General Jessica came over when she heard the racket. She recognized Mo Fan instantly.

“General Jessica, you are here too? What a coincidence!” Mo Fan greeted her with a smile.

The officer climbed to his feet and yelled, “This assh*** is trying to break into the military academy by force. He has broken the rules of our country! I order you to execute him on the spot!”

1

Around eighty Battlemages had gathered around the training ground. They were part of the patrol platoon assigned to deal with situations like this.

The soldiers started Casting their spells even though the man seemed to know General Jessica.

Most of the soldiers were Intermediate Mages using Intermediate Spells. The combination of eighty spells was like a terrifying magic storm.

“Stop it, stop it right now!” General Jessica yelled.

General Jessica might have graduated from the military academy, but her current role was mainly at the front line. The Secretary was in charge of everyone in the military academy, so they were not in her chain of command.

“Time Stasis!”

Mo Fan stood in the center of the storm, and casually waved his hand. The spells approaching him immediately froze. Those watching could only tell the spells were moving by a small margin after watching them closely.

However, the spells could only last for a certain period of time. They soon dissipated into the air.

The magic storm looming over Mo Fan quickly disappeared under the power of his Time Stasis.

Unharmed, Mo Fan stood in front of the officer and demanded of him, “Why didn’t you follow the normal routine? Shouldn’t you arrest me first? Why did you ask them to execute me on the spot? Do you really want to kill me so badly? Are you afraid that the others might hear the recording and see the evidence? Does that mean you have colluded with the Guild of the Wicked too?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

“Nonsense, why would I collude with the Guild of the Wicked? If you dare use violence against a soldier on duty, you are threatening the safety of this military academy. That’s a death sentence on you!” The officer wiped off the blood on his face.

“Mo Fan, please stop using magic. This is a military academy, after all. No matter what reasons you have, you should stop using magic at once. Otherwise, you will be executed according to the laws of our country. The military’s authority is inviolable!” Major General Jessica blurted out in panic.

As long as Mo Fan stopped using magic, they could treat it as a private matter between him and the officer. General Jessica was still able to keep it under control.

However, if Mo Fan damaged the military academy and threatened the life of an officer on duty, she would not be able to sort things out once it reached the general with long brows. After all, Clerk Richard was in charge of the military academy!

“Normally, I wouldn’t go against the military, but today, I have a worthy reason to do so,” Mo Fan told General Jessica.

“You will only bring misery on yourself!” General Jessica exclaimed.

“It’s fine, I’m now representing justice,” Mo Fan replied loftily.

Representing justice?

In General Jessica’s eyes, Mo Fan was more like a reckless demon king. Would someone who represents justice break into the military school and beat the officer that was on duty up? However, she also agreed that the guy did deserve a beating!

“HAHAHA, representing justice? I didn’t expect to hear a crook say that in my military academy. How interesting,” A loud burst of laughter came from the administration building as a man in a blue navy coat stepped out of it.

He had a beard and his eyes were almost covered by hair. Mo Fan seriously did not understand why someone would keep that ../style.

“Secretary!”

“Mr. Secretary!”

“Sir Secretary!”

The officer who was beaten up limped toward Secretary Richard.

Babbitt was standing beside Secretary Richard.

Babbitt was at his wits’ end, just like the tattooed man, but he was totally different when he stood beside Secretary Richard, like he had just been resurrected. He was brimming with pride and a sense of superiority.

“Babbitt, so he’s the shelter you are looking for? The Guild of the Wicked does have a lot of influence. Even the military academy has become your shelter?” Mo Fan asked Babbitt with a smile.

“You lunatic, you devil, not only did you kill many members of the merchant guild, but you dare trespass into the military academy? Secretary Richard will teach you your place!” Babbitt spluttered back.

“I still have the recording, so you shouldn’t bother arguing with me. Major General Jessica, can you please play the recording for me? Do you have a broadcasting system here or something?” Mo Fan asked Jessica.

“Yeah, we do,” General Jessica nodded and took Mo Fan’s evidence.

Secretary Richard asked General Jessica quickly, “Major General Jessica, you know him?”

“Clerk Richard, this is Mo Fan, the expert whom the council hired. He and his friends were the ones who killed the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan and the Cruel Sea Serpent at the front line. They have helped us a great deal,” General Jessica answered immediately.

“So he’s our little hero? It must be a misunderstanding, then. Officer Haite, you were injured while having a friendly duel with Mo Fan, and the others on duty thought there was an invasion, which led to this, right?” Secretary Richard asked.

Officer Haite was stunned. He turned around and looked at the overbearing Mo Fan.

So this guy was the one who had killed the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan. No wonder he is so strong!

“Yeah, yeah, we were having a friendly duel,” Officer Haite covered his broken tooth and could only smile wryly.

“So it’s just a misunderstanding then, why would anyone dare to invade our military academy? Even the Black Vatican doesn’t have the guts to do so! Everyone, go get some rest, and you too Mr. Mo Fan. I will give you an explanation about what happened at the merchant guild,” Secretary Richard said.

“I am here for an explanation… Wait, no, I’m not here for an explanation. I’m here for an outcome. Secetary Richard, may I ask, are you a member of the Guild of the Wicked?” Mo Fan said.

“How dare you? You are slandering the military officers of our country!” Officer Haite snarled.

“I’m not, I don’t have a secret identity. I’m only the director of this military academy and a military officer in Crete’s division,” Secretary Richard answered smoothly.

“Babbitt, it seems like you have asked the wrong person for help. Secretary Richard isn’t your superior. Secretary Richard, I have solid evidence that proves Babbitt is a high-level Black Ornament of the Guild of the Wicked. I’m about to take his life. You don’t mind, do you?” Mo Fan asked.

Secretary Richard frowned.

What the heck was wrong with this young man? He had already given the idiot a chance to leave in peace, yet not only was he being insensible, he even asked such a retarded question!

“I’m not the tribunal, I can’t judge if Babbitt is a member of the Guild of the Wicked, so before he’s sentenced guilty, he’s still our partner. He’s helping us to settle the remains of the Tyrant Titans and provide great defensive Equipment for our soldiers at the front line,” Secretary Richard stated.

“Secretary Richard, have you heard of a story about a war?” Mo Fan asked.

“Please enlighten me.” The clerk was very patient.

“A soldier was assigned by his superior to guard a wall. He must shoot at anyone who tried to cross the wall, whether it was an enemy or a civilian. The truth was, they were the ones who had invaded the land. The wall was meant to stop the inhabitants of the land. They were about to lose the war, meaning the land would be returned to its habitants. When he was guarding the wall, he shot the civilians who tried to cross the wall, even though he knew they were not his enemy. After the war, he was accused of killing innocent people. He argued at the tribunal that he was merely following the orders from his superior to fulfill his duty as a soldier,” Mo Fan said.

Everyone at the military academy was listening carefully to Mo Fan’s story, including General Jessica and the officer.

The story had aroused fierce debates among the soldiers. The order was to kill civilians, yet the soldier would be sentenced to death if he did not obey the order. Was he guilty or not?

“I have never heard of the story before, but I would like to know your opinion on it,” Secretary Richard replied.

“The tribunal judged him to be guilty. It’s true that he couldn’t choose not to shoot, but he could raise his gun by ten centimeters,” Mo Fan answered.

The people of the academy were stunned when they heard Mo Fan’s reply.

General Jessica was one of them. She was still debating whether the soldier was supposed to fire his gun or not.

Even though he was obligated to fire his gun, he could still choose to hit or miss his target!

“It’s a fascinating story, but not everyone will figure out the smart way out like you,” Secretary Richard said.

“Which is why I’m telling you the story. You can do the same thing too. It depends on whether you are willing to raise your gun. You clearly know who he is,” Mo Fan replied.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

Placing humanity in front of obligations.

It was the message Mo Fan was trying to tell Secretary Richard!

He had all the evidence to prove Babbitt guilty. Babbitt had even admitted that he was a Black Ornament of the Guild of the Wicked. He had even tried to threaten the lives of Mo Fan’s close ones.

“Mr. Mo Fan, I’m the Secretary here. I don’t need you to teach me what I should be doing. Besides, don’t you forget, you’ve committed a serious offense in hurting an officer of the military academy. I have the right to execute you on the spot, without the Magic Association’s permission. I’m being very merciful by allowing you to stand and talk to me. You have two options now: either you leave, or you die!” Secretary Richard said with a coldly smug smile.

“Secretary Richard…” General Jessica tried to stop the Secretary.

“Silence!” Secretary Richard snapped.

Babbitt grinned when he heard Secretary Richard’s words. He was staring at Mo Fan. Mo Fan could see how pleased he was, even though he did not say a single word!

“You’ve asked for it!” Babbitt eventually gloated.

Mo Fan clearly had a chance to kill him at the merchant guild, but had let him go. Perhaps he never thought the person protecting him was someone from the military academy!

Going against the military was a lot worse than opposing the Guild of the Wicked. He would lose his place in society!

Babbitt had already told Mo Fan the Guild of the Wicked did not consist of a bunch of reckless people. Their influence had infiltrated many organizations. There was no one they could not bribe!

“So? Aren’t you leaving? Do I have to invite you out?” Secretary Richard fondled his beard and demanded with an overbearing air.

“It seems I’m not always the unreasonable one!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

He had had enough. He would be a retard if he kept arguing with these scum of the society!

“I already said he wouldn’t live for more than twenty-four hours. I am a man of my word. Secretary Richard, maybe you don’t know me well. If you do, you will know the consequences of being an assh*** in front of me!” Mo Fan said.

The atmosphere was tense. Scorching flames soon spread across the training ground. The surroundings turned red from the flames, as if they had suddenly fallen into a furnace.

A little official dared to put on airs in front of him? He was going too easy on these people!

“If you dare Cast another spell, I will execute you on the spot!” Secretary Richard yelled.

How bold was this young man?! How dare he ignore his authority?!

“You old piece of trash, I will raze your military academy to the ground and kill Babbitt!” Mo Fan unleashed his Fire Domain.

Mo Fan’s Domain had improved significantly after he achieved the Super Level. Countless fire serpents dozens of meters long surged wildly in front of him and formed a terrifying aura, forcing the low-level Battlemages to move a few hundred meters back.

Mo Fan stopped wasting his time after driving the Battlemages away. Fiery feathers emerged from his back and formed a propeller, sending Mo Fan straight at Secretary Richard like a missile!

Secretary Richard’s eyes widened. He did not expect Mo Fan would have the guts to use violence in his academy.

How reckless could he be!?

Babbitt was also dumbfounded . This guy was truly a demon king. Did he not realize the consequences of his actions?

Babbitt knew he had no chance of surviving in the fight of their level, and quickly took cover behind Secretary Richard.

Secretary Richard flung his sleeves. His coat flew toward the training ground.

Normally, Mo Fan’s flames would burn the coat into ashes in less than a second, but the coat was suddenly covered in frost as the man’s eyes flickered.

The ice spread rapidly. A shield in the shape of a coat appeared amid the flames before it touched the ground.

The thick ice blocked Mo Fan’s path. The burning feathers on Mo Fan’s back exploded as he was about to smash into the ice, further raising his speed and strength!

“Exploding Feathers Fiery Fist!”

The Fiery Fist smashed the thick ice into pieces with brute force. The pieces scattered across the ground.

The Fiery Fist did not weaken after the impact. The flames proceeded to turn into a fiery serpent lunging at Secretary Richard!

Secretary Richard did not expect the young man to be able to Cast such a terrifying Fire Spell, and quickly dodged to the side. He did not even have the time to withdraw his coat.

A teaching block turned into ashes within an instant as Secretary Richard hid behind a training dummy. He looked at Mo Fan with a dark expression.

“I hope you know what you are doing. Be ready to suffer the consequences!” Secretary Richard said coldly.

“I also hope you know the consequences of trying to protect Babbitt. It doesn’t matter what position you hold, but you shouldn’t throw away your humanity, Secretary Richard,” Mo Fan shot back.

“What does a good-for-nothing Mage like you know!” Secretary Richard snarled.

“At least I know Green Sprouts Island was destroyed because of some other reasons, instead of being attacked by a Tyrant Titan!” Mo Fan said.

“Hah, it seems like there’s no point wasting my time. I won’t let you leave here alive today. It’s time to show you my true strength!” Secretary Richard’s face began to twist.

He no longer had to wear a disguise!

So what if he knew Babbitt was from the Guild of the Wicked? His life was worth more than the people of a whole island!

“That’s more like it. Stop bringing up your position and arguing you are the good guy. It’s pointless. Whoever lives today will decide the outcome!” Mo Fan grinned.

There was no such thing as representing justice!

If Mo Fan died here, it meant Secretary Richard had successfully killed a villain and protected the president of the Merchant Guild.

If Secretary Richard died, Mo Fan would be a hero who took down a collusion between the military and some crooks.

It all depended on whose fist was harder!

If Mo Fan encountered something similar again, he would use a simpler and rougher approach, instead of trying to use a recording as the proof. He would show the enemy his hard burning fist first!

Chapter 2160: Strange Ice Spell

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How naive of you to be using the Fire Element against me!” Secretary Richard sneered, pointing at Mo Fan.

Secretary Richard took a step forward. He suddenly raised his right foot when he was around two hundred meters away from Mo Fan. He kept his foot in the air for more than a second, like he was accumulating his power.

He glared at Mo Fan like he was an ant under his foot before stomping down on the ground!

Mo Fan thought Secretary Richard was going to use an Earth Spell and was going to cause an earthquake with that stomp, but the ground did not shake, nor were there any terrifying cracks. He felt a strange iciness above him instead!

“Holy crap!”

Mo Fan looked up and saw a boot made of thick ice plunging down at him. From Mo Fan’s angle, he felt like he was currently under a huge falling iceberg!

Luckily, Mo Fan had already spread the aura of the Dark Vein beforehand, allowing him to move around freely with the Fleeing Shadow.

Mo Fan sank into the ground and turned into a shadow sparrow, gliding easily to the other side of the training ground.

BANG!

A boot of ice bigger than a building landed at the center of the training ground, like the crushing stomp of a Tyrant Titan.

Mo Fan was not really prepared for it, as he had no idea what special abilities Secretary Richard had. Luckily, the Shadow Element was one of Mo Fan’s trump cards. Otherwise, he would have had no chance of escaping in such a short time.

The ice boot appeared very quickly, and fell to the ground even faster. It was different from the Advanced Ice Spell Icebound Coffin, which would fall from a great height, giving its target some time to react. The ice boot had been right above Mo Fan’s head. It was strange and frightening!

“Do you think you are unbeatable after defeating the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan? How naive of you!” Secretary Richard shouted disdainfully.

He pulled his right arm back as he was talking.

He clenched his fist and accumulated his strength for around a second. An icy flow of energy began spiraling around his arm.

Secretary Richard threw his right fist at Mo Fan!

They were around three hundred meters apart. There was no sign of Elemental Energy on Secretary Richard’s fist except for the strange swirling flow of icy energy, but when he threw a punch at Mo Fan, an ice fist the size of a building appeared in front of him!

It was a fist made of sturdy ice the size of a building, yet Mo Fan could not even see its path until it appeared in front of him!

BANG!

Mo Fan formed a wall with his Will despite his astonishment, shielding himself from the ice fist that had come out of nowhere.

The Wall of Will was Mo Fan’s fastest defensive move. The Circle of Crystal Teeth was only effective once there were a certain number of Shards built up.

Mo Fan’s Wall of Will was already quite strong when he fought Zu Xiangtian in their duel, but Secretary Richard’s ice fist was shockingly powerful. Not only did it smash through Mo Fan’s defense, it also knocked him a great distance away.

Mo Fan had to use the Earth Element to keep himself on the ground. However, the strike had sent him sliding like he was skiing on ice. He finally stopped as he reached the entrance of the military academy.

Mo Fan’s arm was a little numb. He looked at his hands and chest, which were now covered in ice. A strong chill was penetrating his bones!

“I tried to ask you to leave, but you wouldn’t listen! You’re forcing me to do it the hard way!” Secretary Richard jeered him.

“Secretary, you are truly impressive. You must teach that kid a lesson!” Babbitt exclaimed in joy.

Babbitt had already warned Mo Fan he was going to regret it. The person he was seeking shelter from was one of the strongest people in Crete!

The Black Ornaments were not just messing around. Politicians, the military, and powerful Mages were willing to step forward to protect him. This was the true power of the Guild of the Wicked!

“What did you do to provoke such an annoying guy?” Secretary Richardson demanded of him.

“I…I’m not too sure either!”

“Forget it, I’ll take care of him first. We should clean this mess before the Parthenon Temple shows up. Otherwise, it will be troublesome to kill him!” Secretary Richard muttered.

“Yeah, we should take care of him as soon as possible, just like how we-”

“Shut your mouth!” Secretary Richard did not waste any more time talking to Babbitt. He moved to the center of the training ground, heading toward Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was staring at Secretary Richard, struggling to see through his attacks. His magic seemed different from that of other people.

However, it was not much of a surprise to him. Every Mage would have their unique abilities upon reaching the Super Level once they had a better control of their magic. The Secretary was clearly different from those who had only achieved the Super Level recently, and had obviously been at the Super Level for a long time, learning a unique way of using his spells.

“What is it? Are you confused by my power?” Secretary Richard grinned, approaching Mo Fan with his hands clasped behind him.

He spoke with authority while showing his power, like he was teaching a disobedient rookie a lesson, “I already knew you were just a kid in the Super Level when you used your first spell. Star Orbits, Star Patterns, Star Constellations, and Star Palaces… they are simply drawing a dipper with a gourd as the model. Your spells might have changed a little, but I can still see the framework of textbooks from them. Mages of my level are extremely familiar with our spells. You are no different from a frog under the well if you think you can beat me with your petty tricks!”

Secretary Richard did not give Mo Fan any time to catch his breath even as he was mocking him. Mo Fan had already noticed the same strange flow circling his elbow.

An elbow strike!

Secretary Richard attacked Mo Fan from around the same distance of two hundred-some meters!

Mo Fan was well-prepared this time. He constructed a silver Star Constellation and Blinked right up next to Secretary Richard.

Mo Fan had decided to attack!

“Do you think I can’t sense those energy ripples? Idiot!” Secretary Richard scoffed.

Mo Fan was about to make his move when he saw another ice elbow flying at him from the side!

Chapter 2161: Circle of Crystal Teeth: Enormous Rock Whale

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

If Mo Fan took the strength of Secretary Richard’s previous attacks into account, this ice elbow could easily break a defenseless person’s bones!

Mo Fan had only just appeared in front of Secretary Richard, and did not have time to attack. It was a great chance to defeat Secretary Richard, but his move had been predicted instead.

“Blink!”

The ice elbow was within inches from Mo Fan, and he could even sense its cold. Luckily, he had constructed a Star Constellation ahead of time to Blink away as a safety precaution.

The third-tier Blink was not only useful for transporting specific objects, but could also transport everything in an area to a different spot. Mo Fan realized Secretary Richard was no ordinary person, thus he had prepared a contingency plan beforehand. If he was not in danger, he could just cancel the teleporting formation!

Mo Fan disappeared right before the ice elbow hit him.

Mo Fan moved himself further away. It would be perfect if he could have grabbed Secretary Richard too. He would then have punched the annoying guy in the face!

“Double Blink, interesting!” Secretary Richard turned around and looked at Mo Fan, who had relocated to a spot behind him. “Unfortunately, you are slower at using your spells than I am!”

Mo Fan had just constructed a Lightning Star Constellation when Secretary Richard slapped at him from across the distance.

As he expected, an icy hand appeared behind him and slapped him on his back. It was not easy to dodge a hand when it was around the size of a building’s roof!

Mo Fan could only defend himself with his Will, but the outcome was the same as before. He was knocked flying a great distance away.

—

“HAHAHA, well done, break all his bones!” Babbitt cried in excitement.

Even though Babbitt was not involved in the fight, he was pleased to see Mo Fan being knocked back and forth by Secretary Richard’s attacks.

Mo Fan rose to his feet. Blood was leaking from his lips.

A group of Battlemages had shown up around him. They were obviously trying to kill him by bombarding him with spells, leaving over a hundred holes in the area.

“Secretary Richard, are you trying to get your men killed?” Mo Fan entered the Dark Plane. He was perfectly unharmed when the Elemental Energy swept past him.

It was obvious that Secretary Richard wanted to end the fight as soon as possible. He kept suppressing Mo Fan with his unique capability to prevent him from fighting back. He then ordered the Battlemages to attack at the same time to kill him.

Secretary Richard stared at Mo Fan in astonishment. He had no idea how Mo Fan had dodged the Battlemages’ spells!

Mo Fan could only enter the Dark Plane for a limited amount of time. He walked out of the smoke produced by the blasts.

“You won’t have a chance to use a single spell in front of me!” Secretary Richard began to accumulate his strength again.

“You’re underestimating me!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

Mo Fan could use powerful magic, even without Star Patterns and Star Constellations!

Countless Shards the size of pebbles had already appeared within five hundred meters of Mo Fan. He had kept them buried underground!

Mo Fan had to admit that if Secretary Richard kept attacking him, he would struggle to find a way to defeat the man. However, Secretary Richard had asked the Battlemages to attack him instead!

The combined strength of the Battlemages might be overwhelming, but Mo Fan could easily dodge the spells by entering the Dark Plane with the help of his Dark Vein. On the other hand, their spells had suddenly provided Mo Fan with a lot of Shards!

“Circle of Crystal Teeth: Enormous Rock Whale!”

Mo Fan did not need to construct a single Star Orbit. The sand on the training ground began to roll like waves, followed by a large rock whale digging itself out of the ground and leaping forth above the military academy!

Secretary Richard was slower than Mo Fan this time. After all, Mo Fan’s Circle of Crystal Teeth could be triggered instantly!

Every powerful spell needed the support of complicated celestial bodies. Secretary Richard did not give Mo Fan any chance to construct his Star Constellations and Star Palaces, and could easily defend himself against lower-level spells.

Even though the Circle of Crystal Teeth could be activated instantly, its strength was absolutely terrifying after it gathered up hundreds of Shards!

The rock whale was bigger and more solid than the one Mo Fan had once seen in Egypt. It felt like the whole military academy would be destroyed when it dove down from the sky!

The Enormous Rock Whale stirred up several waves of sand when it landed on the ground. Huge cracks spread rapidly toward the buildings and almost destroyed their foundations.

The Battlemages who had teamed up against Mo Fan were knocked flying by the waves of impact, and Secretary Richard was right in the middle of it. He had already applied a layer of thick ice to himself, yet it still felt like his organs were rolling around inside his body!

The Circle of Crystal Teeth was absolutely insane. If Mo Fan had waited until there were more Shards, he could have Summoned an Enormous Rock Whale that was several times stronger!

However, this was enough to resolve Mo Fan’s difficult situation.

“Trying to fight me with brute force?” Mo Fan wove through the dilapidated buildings and chased after Secretary Richard, who was now running away.

Secretary Richard was covered in metallic ice, making him look like he was wearing a full set of armor, but the blow from the Enormous Rock Whale had left cracks on it. The fact that he was running away proved that he had sustained serious injuries.

Babbitt was also caught by the impact, even though he had hidden far away, and was dumbfounded too.

Mo Fan was clearly being suppressed a moment ago, and bombarded with spells by the Battlemages. How had the tables turned so quickly?

Is this guy a monster? Did he just raze the military academy to the ground?

Secretary Richard’s lungs were hurting. He did not want to sustain any more injuries.

He turned around and saw Mo Fan was chasing after him.

What was going on? He clearly did not construct any Star Constellation or Star Palace. How did he Cast such an unusual spell that was even deadlier than normal Super Spells!?

Chapter 2162: One of You Must Die

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“If your flowery fist with the fancy footwork isn’t enough to kill me, you are going to be eating dirt when I knock you to the ground and step on your face!”

Mo Fan had the Shadow, Earth, and Space Elements. His ability to move around and track his enemies was outstanding. Secretary Richard tried his best to run away, but struggled to distance himself from Mo Fan.

“Do you know the consequences of harming a Secretary?” Secretary Richard dared him.

“Are you kidding me now? I’ve already told you everything and fought a few rounds with you, yet those are the last words you can come up with?” Mo Fan asked.

“Last…last words? You dare kill me?” Secretary Richard gasped in astonishment.

“Two of the Saints of the Parthenon Temple, one is my wife, another one is my in-law. Your general with long brows even said he wants to be my sworn brother, but I told him not to take advantage of me. You are just a Secretary, you aren’t even a local tyrant. Why would I have to think twice about killing you? You are in the military, too. Why don’t you ask around? General Ethan from Egypt wets his pants whenever he sees me. If I say I’m going to raze your military academy to the ground, if I say I’m going to kill Babbitt, I will do it, and that includes taking your life!” Mo Fan declared.

He did not even need to think with his brain to figure out Secretary Richard was with the Guild of the Wicked. He might not have any symbols of the Black Ornaments on him, but he could easily figure out the wicked acts an official of the military who had colluded with the Black Ornaments had performed!

“Thousand Lightning Crows!”

Mo Fan caught up to Secretary Richard and used the Lightning Tyrant.

Lightning was the real meaning of destruction. Even if Secretary Richard had a full set of luxurious magic Equipment and applied a layer of ice to himself, they were like a piece of paper against the Lightning Element!

The lightning crows penetrated Secretary Richard’s defenses. His body was spasming from the shocks, injured again as he was planning to kite Mo Fan around.

“Secretary Richard!” Babbitt felt like his heart was being electrocuted too when he saw Secretary Richard being scorched by the lightning.

If the sturdiest protective umbrella in Crete could not stop the devil, did it mean he was going to die too!?

“Your supporter isn’t as reliable as he looks. He’s supposed to be an experienced Super Mage, yet he doesn’t have anything else except for that surprising ability he was using at first. He must have sat too comfortably in his position for too long,” Mo Fan stepped onto the rubbles, and slowly slid toward Babbitt without moving his feet.

“You mad man, you are a mad man, kill us and you won’t get away with it! The Guild of the Wicked is going to hunt you down, and you will be brought to trial by the International Military Tribunal too!” Babbitt yelled.

“I’m not too worried about what comes next. I’m more curious if you and Secretary Richard have any other last words. Do you really want to protect the culprit, even if it means sacrificing your lives?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

“I don’t know anything, I don’t know what you are talking about! The culprit of Green Sprouts Island has nothing to do with me!…” Babbitt blurted out.

“I didn’t mention Green Sprouts Island. Ah, I get it,” Mo Fan smiled.

Babbitt’s face turned pale. Blue veins surfaced on his face and forehead.

“Secretary Richard, do you have something to say?” Mo Fan clenched his fist and dragged Secretary Richard toward him.

When Mo Fan dragged Secretary Richard to his side, the latter’s eyes suddenly glittered fiercely. He swung his right hand at Mo Fan’s head like a knife.

“Do you think I have no idea you are just faking your weakness?” Mo Fan grinned coldly. He remained still.

Secretary Richard’s own shadow tied him down as he was swinging his hand. He could not move his hand any further.

He turned his head and realized a shadow demon had appeared behind him out of nowhere.

The shadow demon was holding a hammer in one hand and a nail in the other. It aimed at Secretary Richard’s arm and struck the nail with the hammer.

“AHHHH!” Secretary Richard screamed in pain.

The shadow demon was targeting his soul. It felt like his heart and organs were being torn apart, even though the nail was on his arm!

“Secretary Richard, do you have anything to say? This military academy is located in quite a remote place. I’m guessing the backup you called for won’t be here any time soon. Are you familiar with being tortured by the Shadow Element? You just felt it, it’s very painful, and you will wish to die instead…” Mo Fan said.

“What are you trying to do!?” Secretary Richard yelled.

“We all know the answer, so there’s no point wasting our time,” Mo Fan said.

“Please… I’m begging you, give us a chance!” Babbitt suddenly interrupted.

Mo Fan was interrogating Secretary Richard. He was surprised that Babbitt would speak to him first.

“A chance to change your ways of living? Impossible, there’s no such chance for both of you for the rest of your lives. You forfeited your humanity when you had the chance, and now you are begging for mercy prior to your death. This world isn’t as merciful as you think,” Mo Fan replied.

“No, no, aren’t you trying to find out the truth? The two of us are only following orders. Really, give us another chance, just like what you told Kachasa. Let us go so we can seek shelter from our superior. I swear that the next guy will have the answers you are looking for. Please, give us another chance. Didn’t you say twenty-four hours? There is still some time left,” Babbitt said.

Babbitt finally realized how terrifying the man he provoked was. He was still in danger even after he ran to the military academy!

He could only ask that man for help if he wanted to live. Babbitt had a rough idea of what Mo Fan was looking for. If he did not give the devil something he was interested in, he would end up just like Kachasa and the tattooed man!

“Yeah, didn’t you want answers? You will get them if you let us go,” Secretary Richard finally realized how reckless Mo Fan was. It was meaningless to scare him off with rules and laws. He had already destroyed the military academy, so why would he hesitate to kill them?

“I’m sorry, I can only let one of you live. Someone has to die today. It depends on whoever is closer to the guy above. Otherwise, all my words would be in vain too,” Mo Fan told them apologetically.

Secretary Richard and Babbitt exchanged glances. Both of them claimed they were closer to their superior!

Chapter 2163: The Truth Behind Green Sprouts Island

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Secretary Richard, didn’t you say you aren’t from the Guild of the Wicked?” Mo Fan mocked him with a smile.

“With my position, it’s normal for me to come into contact with the superiors of the Guild of the Wicked, even if I’m not a member. Babbitt is only a crooked merchant whom I contact directly in Crete. He isn’t really a core member of the Black Ornaments, but the godfather of the Black Ornaments is a sworn brother of mine,” Secretary Richard quickly explained.

“Bullsh**, you are just greedy scum. The godfather is only close with you because you have a little power in the military. Do you really think he treats you seriously?” Babbitt yelled back.

“Babbitt, who do you think you are? You just sell the organs of the Tyrant Titans on the black market. Do you know how deep the Black Ornaments have established their influence in Crete?” Secretary Richard refuted him.

Mo Fan was amused when he saw the two turning against one another.

“You two shouldn’t treat me like an idiot. If you don’t say something valuable soon, I’ll kill both of you. It will only take me a little more time to find your superior. Let’s talk about Green Sprouts Island; I’ll see which one of you can provide me with more useful information,” Mo Fan said.

“The troop that isolated Green Sprouts Island was my men…” Secretary Richard said instantly.

“I told the godfather that Mr. Lin, who owns the olive groves on Green Sprouts Island, wasn’t willing to pay the Black Ornaments’ protection fee…” Babbitt blurted out.

“I was the one who controlled the movements of the survivors. The survivors whom the general and the Parthenon Temple found only arrived at Green Sprouts Island after the incident!” Secretary Richard said.

“I already knew the things you just said. If the next thing from you doesn’t get my interest, they will be your last words!” Mo Fan said coldly.

Secretary Richard and Babbitt lost their calm. They did not expect Mo Fan to already know so much.

“It…it was me who asked the godfather to teach Mr. Lin a lesson so that every merchant in Crete will be obedient to us and submit thirty percent of their income to us, so the president went to the olive grove and summoned his…his demon,” Babbitt blurted out.

“A demon with cross marks on its back, am I right?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes!” Babbitt exclaimed in surprise.

He did not think Mo Fan would know about the cross marks on the creature’s back. It was the most distinctive feature of their godfather’s demon. All those who saw it should have died in the incident!

Secretary Richard saw Babbitt had successfully gotten Mo Fan’s interest. He turned around and saw the shadow demon about to execute him. He quickly yelled in a panic, “It was me who activated the city’s defensive barrier. I was the one who did it!”

“Wasn’t it normal to activate the defensive Barrier? You did a good thing.” Mo Fan was surprised.

“No, it’s not like that. I activated the defensive barrier so the people on Green Sprouts Island c-couldn’t escape…” Secretary Richard stuttered.

Secretary Richard regretted his words after spilling the beans. When he looked at Mo Fan’s eyes again, he saw a terrifying glitter in them. Mo Fan looked like an envoy from Hell!

“I already guessed that,” Mo Fan withheld his anger in him for a moment.

Secretary Richard was dumbfounded. If Mo Fan already knew so much about the incident, he could have reported them to the Parthenon Temple, yet he had come here alone instead?

“Are you wondering why I didn’t let the government handle it?” Mo Fan explained in a calm voice when he saw Secretary Richard’s eyes moving wildly. “I came here by myself to take matters into my own hands. If the officials handle it, perhaps they might relieve you of some accusations by abusing the loopholes in the laws. I’ll be very sad when that happens, especially when I realized you scum were going to live for more than a few months!”

“There’s a pool to the east of the olive grove. Most of the dead bodies of the residents on Green Sprouts Island were buried under it!” Babbitt yelled to grab Mo Fan’s attention.

“Oh?” Mo Fan’s heart tightened, yet he still raised his brows like he was intrigued.

“The Bishop of the Black Church, Bandur, he’s responsible for the incident! The witnesses were all members of the Black Church. They insisted a sea titan was the culprit of the incident!” Secretary Richard immediately exposed the identity of someone involved in the incident when he saw Babbitt offer Mo Fan such an important piece of evidence.

“We bribed Frank, too! His Swiss bank account has the profits we’ve made from selling the Tyrant Titans’ organs over the past year!” Babbitt said.

“Screw you, you only gave me half a year’s profit!” Secretary Richard lost his temper when he heard the words. He almost had an urge to kill Babbitt on the spot.

“Frank is a famous news reporter in Greece. He doesn’t just work for the media or the government, the whole world listens to his news too. If he hadn’t claimed the culprit was a Sea Titan, we wouldn’t be able to cover up the incident. We had to erase a lot of evidence!” Babbitt went on.

The two got angrier the more they said. Even if Mo Fan did not do anything, only one of them would live in the end.

Mo Fan happened to receive a call as they were talking.

Mo Fan was not recording the conversation. There was no point in doing so. He just needed to find the pool where the bodies were buried to uncover the truth.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan knew nothing about the things that Secretary Richard and Babbitt had told him, he had only pretended to. He could picture a hellish scene as he was listening to them.

The city’s Barrier had been used to trap the residents of the city instead of protecting them. Mo Fan looked at the stars above him, yet all he could think of were bloodshot eyes filled with despair.

Even if the Black Ornaments had established their influence across Crete and infiltrated its military, government, church, and merchant’s guild, it did not mean they had the right to ravage innocent lives.

The cruel era of Tyrant Titans in Greece was still ongoing!

“Hey, Mo Fan, we found Mr. Lin’s daughter,” Zhao Manyan’s voice came from the other end of the call.

“What did she say?” Mo Fan asked calmly.

“It turns out that Mr. Lin isn’t innocent, either. He had planted a lot of poppies. The olive grove was just a disguise. However, he wasn’t willing to pay when the Black Ornaments found out his secret, so the Black Ornaments decided to teach him a lesson,” Zhao Manyan said.

“So how did the whole Green Sprouts Island end up being destroyed?” Mo Fan asked.

Babbitt thought Mo Fan was asking him. He quickly answered, “Our godfather’s demon has a strong taste for blood, and it’s very fond of poppies, too. It might have gone out of control after it ate the poppies after attacking the olive grove, so when it picked up the scent of humans from the island…”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

“If you knew there were poppies in Mr. Lin’s olive grove, why would you Summon the enraged demon? You have overdone it!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“No, that’s not the case! We didn’t know Mr. Lin was planting poppies in the olive grove, we thought he was just a normal businessman. We only found out he was planting poppies after the incident. He didn’t dare to tell the truth, so he sided with us to trick the government. However, he recently found out that a young man who had worked in the olive grove was still alive from his daughter, so we sent someone to keep an eye on him and wait for a chance to kill him!” Babbitt said.

“Your godfather’s demon, is it a titan?” Mo Fan demanded.

Harper had insisted he saw a sea titan with a cross mark on its back.

“It’s a Demon Titan, similar to the Tyrant Titans,” Babbitt confirmed.

Secretary Richard noticed Mo Fan was asking Babbitt a lot of questions. Babbitt had pretty much blurted out everything he knew. It was obvious that Babbitt was on the verge of breaking down mentally.

“Alright, that’s all I want to know. Secretary Richard, I’m sorry, I will have to execute you,” Mo Fan said.

Secretary Richard’s eyes widened. He immediately exclaimed, “Please, don’t kill me! You can turn me in to the military tribunal! I will tell them everything I know, including a lot of people who were involved in the incident. Don’t you want to know who they are? Don’t kill me, hand me over to the military tribunal! I swear with my soul that I’ll tell the truth, including everything the Guild of the Wicked has done in the past!”

Mo Fan shook his head. He lifted Babbitt, who was as limp as a pile of mud.

Mo Fan slowly walked away from the dilapidated military academy. Secretary Richard did not dare to move, and could only watch Mo Fan’s back.

The reason why Secretary Richard did not dare to move was because he sensed a cold presence behind him.

“Secretary Richard, it’s true that you can confess if I hand you to the military tribunal, but I’m afraid the process of putting you to a trial and finding witnesses is going to keep you alive for a year or two. The military tribunal might even provide you with a comfortable environment to stay in for the time being in return for your cooperation. Perhaps they might sentence you to life imprisonment considering your contributions to the military, allowing you to escape death…” Mo Fan said as he was walking away. At the same time, the demon shadow behind Secretary Richard thickened. Its ghastly blood-red eyes could tear a soul into pieces.

“I bet it’s the outcome you are looking for, but do you think you deserve it after what you have done?

“I won’t hand you over to the military tribunal. I wasn’t interested in the people you mentioned, either. I just want you to pay for your crimes.

“I’m condemning you to Hell, the one I’ve created for scum like you!”

The shadow demon thickened again, emitting a terrifying aura of darkness.

Secretary Richard slowly turned around and saw the shadow demon there was holding fetters and handcuffs. It had such a strong presence that Secretary Richard did not even have the will to defend himself.

“An… An Elder of the Shadow Tribe!” Secretary Richard was knowledgeable enough to recognize the Darkness Creature!

He did not think Mo Fan was able to summon an Elder of the Shadow Tribe!

“I guess I don’t have to explain to you what it does since you can recognize it,” Mo Fan turned around and looked at Secretary Richard who was under the Elder of the Shadow Tribe’s control in the distance.

Babbitt also looked back while trembling. He almost fainted when he saw the Elder of the Shadow Tribe’s eyes. The more wicked acts he had done, the more afraid he was of Darkness Creatures. The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was a torturer from Hell. In other words, even dying was not enough to pay for the crimes they had committed!

“No, don’t, don’t do it! Kill me, kill me please!” Secretary Richard completely lost his mind.

The Dark Plane was no different from Hell. Every soul that was dragged into the Dark Plane would undergo sufferings that were a hundred times worse than death. Their soul would be boiled, crushed, sliced, and shattered for eternity!

The pain of death was only temporary. They would only be reluctant to part ways with the living world at most, but it was nothing compared to being dragged into the Dark Plane!

Those who had performed a lot of misdeeds were the most afraid of the Dark Plane, as people who had died with great hatred might end up as Darkness Creatures in the Dark Plane. When the culprit of their sufferings entered the Dark Plane, these Darkness Creatures would make the culprit suffer!

“Don’t pull me, stop dragging me!”

Secretary Richard swung his arms wildly. He picked up a stone nearby to hit himself in the temple when he realized the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was dragging him into the Dark Plane.

Secretary Richard wanted to end his life. He had finally witnessed how terrifying Mo Fan truly was, but it was already too late. How could an Elder of the Shadow Tribe possibly give its prey a chance to end their life?

Secretary Richard’s hand froze in the air. A chain was tied around it.

The stone was only a few centimeters away from his temple, yet he had failed to get his wish. The Elder of the Shadow Tribe stuck a hook into Secretary Richard’s body after it locked him in place.

With a wrenching pull, Secretary Richard’s soul was dragged out of his body. General Jessica, the Battlemages, and the officer who was at the entrance previously were all watching it.

It really dragged the man’s soul out of his body!

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe whistled like a happy farmer who had just captured a wild boar. It draped the chain over its shoulder and was confident that Secretary Richard’s soul had no chance of breaking free. It slowly walked deeper into the abyss of Hell.

The chain was extremely long. The Elder of the Shadow Tribe dragged Secretary Richard’s soul behind it like a terrified young deer. It did not resist, as it was extremely weak. It stumbled continuously as the chain kept pulling it forward. It could not make any noises despite its cries of agony.

The moon was ice cold as it shone down upon the debris of the military academy. Mo Fan was carrying Babbitt, who was as good as dead, with him as he headed toward Green Sprouts Island. Meanwhile, the Shadow of the Elder Tribe who looked just like Mo Fan was happily dragging Secretary Richard deeper into Hell. Its chain kept making piercing clanks.

The two Mo Fans were walking into the distance with their backs to one another. It was a strange sight. General Jessica and the rest of the soldiers who did not dare intervene could not help but shiver in fear!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

The military arrived after Mo Fan dragged Babbitt off down the mountain.

Mo Fan purposely avoided them. He went to the olive grove on Green Sprouts Island, which was currently covered by the sea water.

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan were already waiting for him there. They lost their usual carefree attitude after they saw the menacing expression on Mo Fan’s face. After all, every person would feel angry after learning the truth behind the incident.

“Mo Fan, the godfather of the Black Ornaments in Crete will most likely run away after he learns the military academy has been destroyed. It will be tricky to take him down,” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

“I know,” Mo Fan nodded. He then turned to Babbitt, “Do you know why I avoided those soldiers?”

Babbitt shook his head.

“Didn’t you want me to give you another chance?” Mo Fan went on.

Babbitt nodded quickly.

“I will give you the chance you asked for. Go look for your godfather and tell him I’ll be collecting evidence near the pool. If he wants to cover up the truth, he will have to kill me before I report back to the Parthenon Temple and the Holy Judgment Court. If he can kill me, the two of you can retain your freedom,” Mo Fan said.

Babbitt had thought he was going to die for sure. His eyes glittered when he heard the words.

“For…for real?” Babbitt stammered.

“You already saw my way, and I don’t represent any organizations. For me, even if you are arrested and sentenced to death, it’s still too light of a punishment for you, so I’m dealing with you myself. I don’t want you to fall into the hands of the government, the military, or the Parthenon Temple,” Mo Fan stated grimly.

He had let the tattooed man go to ask Kachasa for help. He then spared Kachasa’s life so she could seek protection. He had let Babbitt go so he could seek shelter from Secretary Richard.

If Mo Fan was representing any organization, the whole of Crete would be in a mess right now. There had to be a reason that a troop of soldiers was heading to the military academy. They were most likely Secretary Richard’s backup.

The truth was still not out there. Mo Fan was the only person who knew everything!

“Leave. If your godfather doesn’t show up, my shadow demon will drag you into the deepest Hell. I bet Secretary Richard is already waiting for you down there,” Mo Fan told him emotionlessly.

—

Babbitt quickly fled to the city after Mo Fan released him. He might still have a chance if he managed to find the godfather!

Mu Bai frowned when he saw Babbitt running away. “Won’t the godfather run away if he has the slightest amount of common sense?” he asked.

“There’s nothing we can do if he tries to run away, so I can only gamble,” Mo Fan replied.

—

Green Sprouts Island had sunk into the sea. Only a part of it remained above the surface. Some of its trees were barely above the water.

The pool that Babbitt had mentioned was on the other side of the olive grove. It was a little body of water formed by the rapid currents. The pool was several times deeper than the surrounding areas. It was difficult to dive deep into the hole because of the rapid currents, let alone reach its bottom.

The hole was almost as big as an underwater cave, with a width of a few hundred meters and a depth of several thousand feet. Even a whale was like a little fish in it.

The water splashed as a soaked figure reached the surface. He was carrying a rotten corpse.

“Damn it, I almost vomited in the water,” Zhao Manyan shook the filthy water off himself and placed the rotten and slightly swollen corpse on the ground. He added, “I just grabbed whichever body I could find. The pressure and currents down there are too strong. I can’t dive any deeper, but I saw many of the bodies have already decomposed. I have no idea how the government is going to retrieve them.”

“Try and get a few more of them. If the godfather of the Black Ornaments doesn’t show up, we’ll have to bring these bodies to the general and Poseidon as evidence,” Mo Fan told him.

“Fine...”

—

Later that night, a cold breeze swept over the Green Sprouts Island, sending chills down their spines.

Zhao Manyan was still trying his best to retrieve the remains of the victims. Most of the bodies were no longer intact. As he did, Mu Bai, who as a Poison Mage and an alchemist was quite familiar with the human body, was inspecting the corpses.

“Mo Fan, this guy was killed with magic. There’s still a faint trace of Wind Magic in his muscles,” Mu Bai declared. He was wearing a pair of round glasses at the moment.

“I doubt Tyrant Titans know how to use Wind Magic,” Mo Fan replied.

“I’m sure they don’t.”

“Will it be a solid piece of evidence?” Mo Fan asked.

“It just proves not every resident on Green Sprouts Island was killed by a Tyrant Titan,” Mu Bai shrugged.

The titan with a cross on its back was indeed the culprit, but it also meant Elemental Magic was used to destroy the evidence on Green Sprouts Island. Perhaps the Guild of the Wicked or Secretary Richard’s men had killed those who had tried to fight back.

“Green Sprouts Island had a Magic College Society. It was founded by Mages who had studied at reputable colleges. Its aim was to train new talented Mages for Green Sprouts Island. On the other hand, it was also responsible for handling emergency situations here…” came a gentle voice from the olive grove in the same direction of the cold breeze.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai turned and saw a man in a dark blue robe walking out of the trees. He was holding a small book. He also had a dark stone pendant hanging on his chest.

“Black Church?” Mo Fan recognized the pendant. The members of the Black Church were everywhere in Crete. It was very easy to recognize their pendant.

“Aren’tt you going to listen to what I have to say?” the man asked haughtily.

“Go ahead,” Mo Fan said neutrally.

“The Magic College Society was fighting back fiercely. I remember a talented student who graduated from some college in Europe acting like he was going to save the day when he found out we were going to destroy Green Sprouts Island. However, I severed his limbs with the Slaughtering Wind Slash instead… His body is the one you are looking at right now, if I’m not mistaken,” the man said proudly.

A few seconds later, another man in the same robe came up to the man and whispered in his ears.

The godfather of the Black Church smiled gently, “Very well, it seems like you have kept your word. There aren’t any traps nearby, so I have come to send you off.”

Chapter 2166: It’s Because I am Strong Enough

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

For some reason, Mo Fan knew the godfather of the Black Ornaments was going to show up.

Perhaps he was familiar with how these maniacs thought after having dealt with the Black Vatican for far too long.

Committing such detestable acts and concealing them meant he was not willing to become a fugitive.

The culprit must have had a twisted personality if he had dared to destroy the entire Green Sprouts Island over such a small matter. If Mo Fan let Babbitt go, the godfather would learn there was someone even more reckless than him in the world!

It was just a mind game. Mo Fan wanted Babbitt to tell the godfather that he was waiting for him. He was giving him a chance to get rid of the evidence and witnesses. Mo Fan was challenging the godfather to kill him if he was so confident in himself!

In the end, the guy showed up, as he had expected!

It was obvious that the godfather of the Black Ornaments was not an idiot. He had asked his men to check the area thoroughly. He might even have used his influence to see what the Parthenon Temple, the government, and the military were up to, and made sure the truth behind the incident of Green Sprouts Island remained hidden. He had only showed up after he was sure that it was not a trap.

“To be honest, it’s been a while since I last met someone who was asking to die so desperately. The fact that you’ve killed a few of my useless men doesn’t mean you are worthy enough to provoke the Godfather of the Black Ornaments. Young man, you have made a terrible decision. That being said, I’m quite curious about the reason why you are doing this,” the godfather of the Black Church went on.

“Why did you kill the people on Green Sprouts Island?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“It was just an accident. Babbitt is in charge of the merchant’s guild. I heard someone foolish named Mr. Lin wasn’t being respectful enough. It just so happens that my new pet wanted to go for a walk, so I came here in person. However, something interesting happened. The things that Mr. Lin was planting drove my pet into a frenzy. I wasn’t able to stop it, so many people died in the accident, and many others saw what had happened. I thought, since I’m in charge of Crete, I could ask Richard to place Green Sprouts Island in lockdown so my pet could have a little more fun. I also bribed a few officials and settled the matter with ease… everything is just a coincidence, or a misfortune, you could say. Mm, I guess you could describe it as the butterfly effect,” the godfather of the Black Church replied breezily.

A little butterfly in an Amazon rainforest beating its wings could cause a tornado in Texas two weeks later. It was called the butterfly effect.

Babbitt had already spoken the truth. Everything he had said matched the godfather’s confession. The cause of the incident was only an insignificant matter. The greedy Mr. Lin was not willing to obey the Black Ornaments, so the Black Ornaments came to take revenge.

The reason was as simple as that.

However, there were too many coincidences that had escalated the matter into an incident that had shaken the whole of Greece.

“To me, taking care of Mr. Lin or destroying an island is no different, since I can clean up either mess myself. Like now, I can get rid of you all, too… speaking of which, you haven’t told me why you are doing this,” the godfather of the Black Church asked.

“I’m only here because a young man who we met recently is dead. His name was Harper,” Mo Fan answered firmly.

“Harper?” The godfather looked at Babbitt, frowning.

“Someone who worked for Mr. Lin. He was one of the survivors. I sent a few of my men to take care of him, but they ended up catching this guy’s attention,” Babbitt replied hurriedly.

“Just that?” the godfather asked in surprise.

“You can destroy an island and bury the truth with lies because of an insignificant matter. Why can’t I destroy the Black Ornaments because a young man who I was impressed with was killed? To me, killing a member of the Black Ornaments or destroying the entire Black Ornaments are the same. After all, I’m strong enough to do so,” Mo Fan explained airily.

The godfather’s face twitched as Mo Fan finished his sentence. This young man was even more ruthless than him!

“I hope you have the guts to repeat the same words after you’ve seen my pet!” the godfather snarled.

It was a great humiliation that he had been mocked so clearly in front of others. He had destroyed a whole island! Most people of the Black Vatican had never done anything like that, yet the young man was being so arrogant in front of him!

“You two, take care of the others, I’ll handle him myself!” the godfather told his men.

“President, the people of the Parthenon Temple are still around in Crete. Won’t your Demon Titan attract them here?” the vice president of the Black Ornaments mentioned quickly.

“They can’t track my Demon Titan! Tell our men to misdirect them with rumors!” the godfather snarled.

“Sure, I don’t think it’s going to take us a long time to deal with them,” the vice president grinned.

—

Mo Fan remained unmoving. He was not in a rush to attack.

He wanted them to Summon the culprit first, the Demon Titan with the cross marking!

It was the single most convincing piece of evidence. It was also the only way to uncover the truth behind the incident of Green Sprouts Island!

The Godfather of the Black Church might be arrogant, but he did not think Mo Fan and his group were only some ordinary Mages. They had to be quite strong if they had managed to kill Secretary Richard with such ease.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan was the youngest Super Mage he had ever met. As the leader of the Black Church and the Black Ornaments, he was good at analyzing a person’s personality.

He believed the more talented the young man was, the more arrogant he would be, especially since he had been taking matters into his own hands from the start.

He preferred it this way, since it made it much easier to take care of the trouble!

Whoever was more capable would live in the end. The rest would just follow the scripts they had in mind!

“Aren’t you looking for my Demon Titan? It’s time for you to experience its superiority!” The godfather of the Black Church suddenly stepped forward and clasped his pendant in both hands.

Mo Fan watched the godfather of the Black Church closely. He did not see any presence of magic.

The Summoning was more like evil sorcery, like he was establishing a terrifying pact with a Darkness Creature!

The sea began to shake vigorously, followed by a deafening roar.

An evil light shone upon the fierce waves. The sea began to split in half as a head covered in ghastly runes rose from the gap!

Chapter 2167: Flame Belle Empress, Possess!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The water kept splitting and formed a huge canyon with no visible end, stretching off into the distance.

Standing inside the canyon was a titan with a chilling Aura. It stood on the bottom of the sea, but its head was close to the surface.

It took huge steps toward the sunken island after being Summoned by the Bishop of the Black Church. The remains of the island and the land and woods that were soaked under the water were masterpieces of its work.

As it set foot in the area again, Green Sprouts Island started shaking vigorously, like it had recalled something horrible.

The Bishop of the Black Church raised his hands to welcome the Demon Titan!

He recalled the day when most of Green Sprouts Island sank under the sea. The people on the island were stubborn at first, but when the Demon Titan showed up before them, they were too terrified to even cough in front of it, just like they had just seen a true deity!

“Humans have been slaves of the deities since they were born. It was deeply branded in their blood, a fate they can never change, and I am the one controlling the titan, which makes me your god!” the Bishop of the Black Church proclaimed.

In his eyes, ordinary humans were two levels below him. The ancient gods had raised humans like livestock. They would just grab humans and eat them whenever they were hungry. As a god who controlled those deities, it was not excessive to drown an island and all of its residents!

“You Mages who blasphemed the gods, you will soon be trampled under the dirt!”

The words of the Bishop echoed above the island. The Demon Titan with the cross brand on it had reached the island now. It only took the Demon Titan a few steps to cover a few kilometers. The Demon Titan jumped up as it took its last step.

It was surprisingly nimble considering its size. Most creatures of its size were clumsy in their movements, but the Demon Titan was as agile as a tiger.

Humans and titans greatly differed in mass, so if a titan was proportionately as quick as a human, it could smash a mountain to pieces with a normal punch. A little jump would create a massive shockwave!

“Mu Bai, it’s a two-hundred-meter tall Silver Moon Tyrant Titan!” Mu Bai exclaimed, his face paling.

The Volcano Titan they had encountered was only around a hundred meters tall, but the Cross-Marked Demon Titan was a hundred meters taller than it!

Its height was comparable to the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan!

However, the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan was only a Blue Star Tyrant Titan. The Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was a level stronger than the Blue Star Tyrant Titan. The difference between each level was insane!

Mo Fan was shocked by the sight before him!

He had only managed to defeat the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan because Little Flame Belle came to his aid in the nick of time. How were they supposed to defeat an enemy who was several times stronger than the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan?

“Mo Fan, I think we are in deep trouble!” Zhao Manyan shouted as he came up out of the water.

If they had not fought the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan, they would have no idea how strong a two-hundred-meter tall Tyrant Titan was. Their encounter with the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan made them realize how strong a two-hundred-meter tall Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was!

They did not call for backup to lure the Bishop of the Black Church out, yet they had a feeling the Cross Mark Demon Titan could easily beat a bunch of Super Mages.

“I have a more sensible suggestion,” Zhao Manyan said.

Run!

It was the obvious choice!

The Cross Mark Demon Titan was likely five or six times stronger than the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan. The Parthenon Temple would have to send twelve Golden Sun knights just to defeat it!

The three of them… they were not even enough to fill the gaps between its teeth. They still had time to run away. They probably lacked skills in other areas, as they had spent most of their skill points on abilities to run away from a fight.

It was better for them to run separately. Their chances of survival were solely based on luck. God bless whoever was being picked on!

“Old Zhao, no more nonsense, prepare for battle!” Mo Fan said sternly.

“Let me send my location to my grandpa turtle, see if he can make it in time,” Zhao Manyan said quickly.

The Cross Mark Demon Titan was no weaker than the Disaster Duo in Xiamen had been. Zhao Manyan had a feeling Baxia was their only solution!

Unfortunately, Baxia was not a Summoned Beast who could just step out of a Summoning Gate. Zhao Manyan could only call his number and received a response along the lines of ‘The number you are dialing is currently unavailable.’

“F**k my life, that old bastard told me he would be roaming close to the Mediterranean Sea, but he’s now at the northern edge of the Pacific Ocean instead! Is he having a f**king date with a polar bear or something!?” Zhao Manyan swore vehemently.

Baxia and the Black Totem Snake were both Totem Beasts, yet the latter would show up whenever Mo Fan needed his help. He did not hesitate even when Mo Fan was causing trouble at the Parthenon Temple.

On the other hand, Baxia had only shown up at Xiamen because he had personal matters to settle with the Disaster Duo. He never picked up Zhao Manyan’s calls when he was in an emergency. He would just roam around aimlessly between the oceans when he had nothing to do. He was a typical playturtle.

The Pact Zhao Manyan had signed with the Totem beast was totally useless. Wasn’t it Baxia’s job to defeat enemies like the Cross Mark Demon Titan on his behalf?

Mo Fan retreated to the other side of the olive grove. It was unrealistic to wait for Baxia’s help when he was over ten thousand kilometers away. Besides, Mo Fan had never planned to ask for anyone’s help.

He had to rely on himself. He did not come unprepared when he decided to challenge this godfather of the Black Ornaments!

He was hoping to use his other Elements to buy him time, but that was no longer a viable plan under the circumstances. His enemy had Summoned a two-hundred-meter tall Silver Moon Tyrant Titan, so he could not afford to preserve his strength either.

“Little Flame Belle!”

Mo Fan opened the gate of the Contracted Summoning. The lunar-white rift perfectly matched the light of the moon.

Little Flame Belle had already sensed the pressure from the Cross Mark Demon Titan while she was still in the Contracted Space. She immediately took the form of a Flame Belle Empress when she appeared.

“Don’t fight it alone. We’ll face it together!” Mo Fan called out.

Flame Belle Empress nodded. She swiftly approached Mo Fan, flames engulfing her like a blazing red dress. Her shadow gradually merged with Mo Fan’s body.

Mo Fan was now a Super Fire Mage, and his control of the Fire Element had improved significantly after reaching the Super Level. He had already established the Domain of Meteor Scarlet. When Little Flame Belle’s Calamity Fire and Ardent Sunset combined with his flames, his Aura instantly grew over ten times stronger. The water nearby evaporated instantly as the flames surged at the pitch-black sky.

The Flame Belle Empress was Little Flame Belle’s ultimate form after she matured, and now Mo Fan’s Fire Element was in the Super Level, too!

Their combined power turned Mo Fan into a fiery shadow who resembled the Fiery Sorceress!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

Mo Fan grinned when he heard the Flame Belle Empress whispering into his ears.

His Flame Belle told Mo Fan when she Possessed him that her Calamity Fire was no longer just a normal Soul-grade Flame!

An adult Flame Belle had the rarest kind of fire in the world: the Heavenly Flame of the Burning Valley!

Mo Fan’s Earth Element had a Heaven-inferior Seed with three outstanding effects. It was as destructive as Super Earth Spells, even though his Earth Element had yet to achieve the Super Level, thanks to how outstanding a Heaven-inferior Seed was!

On the other hand, the Flame Belle Empress had an Innate pure Heaven Seed!

A Heaven Fire Seed that originated from the heavenly flames in the Burning Valley! Mo Fan could still remember the heavenly flames that had destroyed everything in the North Burning Valley. Every creature had to run away, just to stay alive!

Little Flame Belle was born in those flames, a fruit born on an ancient tree that had glittered like a star under the protection of the Fiery Sorceress!

The Fiery Sorceress was not a true Flame Belle. She had only inherited the Calamity Fire. Little Flame Belle was the true inheritor of the heavenly flames, a sacred fire spirit!

“A Heaven-grade Fire! Perfect timing!” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

Little Flame Belle had given him a Heaven-grade Flame when he needed power the most!

A Heaven-inferior Earth Seed had already given Mo Fan the edge in his duel with Zu Xiangtian. He now had a real Heaven-grade Seed! No wonder he could feel his power rising when Little Flame Belle Possessed him!

He looked at the dancing flames that reminded him so much of the Burning Valley. The flames did not have any impurities. They were like feather-shaped red carnelians attached to him when they were still. Even the pure and elegant flames of a phoenix were less impressive!

The Bishop of the Black Church was stunned by Mo Fan’s transformation. He had never heard of anyone merging with their Elemental Contracted Beast, let alone transforming into a fiery emperor like this!

“I don’t care what he’s up to. Just crush him!” the Bishop of the Black Church ordered.

The Cross Mark Demon Titan rushed up to Mo Fan. A silver light surrounded it like a shield. The light immediately shredded everything in its path as it charged forward!

The ripples of the light shredded the trees to pieces. From Mo Fan’s angle, the Demon Titan was smashing into the island like a meteorite!

Everything in its path had turned into dust. Even the water nearby had disappeared from the overwhelming force, leaving a shocking trail extending out to the horizon from the island.

Mo Fan took the blow, and his body was knocked over a kilometer away.

The Cross Mark Demon Titan was two hundred meters tall. It was clearly not satisfied when it only managed to knock its target over such a short distance. No creature should remain intact after it landed a charged-up strike on them!

The Demon Titan opened its mouth and roared at Mo Fan, who was still recovering from the impact, and fired a blinding ray at him.

The ray of Light swept across the sky and blasted a hole in the clouds. It almost caught Mo Fan off guard.

Crimson feathers swiftly appeared behind Mo Fan, each around four meters long. They were able to surround Mo Fan completely when they spread around him.

The Heavenly Flame of the Burning Valley the Flame Belle Empress wielded was no longer formless. These pure flames could take shape in an insant and turn into half-metallic half-ruby armor plates!

These solid feathers managed to nullify the destructive roar of the Demon Titan. Its remaining energy soon dissipated in harmless ripples.

“Did the flames just solidify and turn into armor?” Mo Fan looked at the armor plates in astonishment. He suddenly felt like an indestructible warrior. He did not expect Little Flame Belle’s flames to have such an outstanding capability after they had upgraded to the Heaven grade!

“Ling!~”

Flame Belle Empress was overjoyed. She could finally show her new power to Mo Fan. Most importantly, she could use her power to help her father punish the bad guys!

“Can you fly? It will be very helpful when fighting a creature like that!” Mo Fan asked.

Flame Belle Empress did not respond, proceeding to control the flames around Mo Fan.

The armor plates that were as solid as titanium softened like the feathers of a peacock with a quick flicker. Their flames were swaying like a peacock displaying its feathers.

The feathers moved over to Mo Fan’s back. They were now quick and flexible. Mo Fan tried beating the feathers and found himself rising higher into the sky.

Mo Fan had been floating in the air previously using his Space Element and Chaos Element. He had basically established a unique magnetic field for himself. If he left the field, he would fall to the ground. It was somewhat different from truly flying in the air.

The feathers the Flame Belle Empress had granted Mo Fan were able to form a pair of powerful wings after they had relaxed. Mo Fan could finally move around freely and fight enormous creatures in the sky!

Since the island had sank, Mo Fan only had limited space to move around. He no longer had to worry about the terrain now that he could fly freely!

“It’s coming. Let’s create some distance and test its speed,” Mo Fan said when he saw the Cross Mark Demon Titan moving closer to him.

The Cross Mark Demon Titan only needed a single bound to cover the distance of a kilometer between Mo Fan and it. It was already in front of Mo Fan even as it was gathering its speed. Mo Fan quickly beat his wings and zipped into the distance.

The Cross Mark Demon Titan continued to pick up speed. It was like a lightning bolt chasing after its target. When Mo Fan turned around, he immediately saw its giant face, seemingly only inches away from him. Its eyes were like bottomless caves in his eyes!

Mo Fan maintained a height of around two hundred meters as he was flying. The face of the Demon Titan was following right behind him, and almost took up his entire view. Perhaps this was what a mosquito saw when it flew past a human. However, a mosquito’s reaction speed and agility were several times higher than a human. Humans were extremely slow in their eyes!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

The Cross Mark Demon Titan was insane. It would stir up strong gusts of wind that could be felt over four kilometers away as it was running. It went from one side of the island to the other like a flash of lightning. Mo Fan was already using the Space Element as he was flying, yet he still could not shake the Demon Titan off.

“Ling!~”

Flame Belle Empress was a little angry. How was the enormous creature so agile? She did not believe the Demon Titan could beat her in speed. The fiery feathers on Mo Fan’s wings rose. He had no clue what kind of ability Flame Belle Empress was going to use this time.

“Exploding Feathers?” Mo Fan was informed of Flame Belle Empress’ intention since their minds were connected.

Every feather had a little tongue of heavenly flame attached to them. Flame Belle Empress directly poured her energy into the feathers and turned them into thrusters!

Mo Fan felt like a burning titanium robot carrying a rocket thruster on his back. He soared into the clouds. The mountains below him became blurry and eventually faded into the distance!

Flame Belle Empress cried out in joy when she saw the Cross Mark Demon Titan give up on the chase.

“Little Flame Belle, we are running away instead of probing its speed. Can you control the feathers individually so I can control our speed freely?” Mo Fan asked.

It was Mo Fan’s first time merging with Flame Belle Empress. He was still unfamiliar with her new power, so it was unwise to fight the strong Demon Titan head-on. He had to familiarize himself with Flame Belle Empress and set the hotkeys for her abilities!

“Ling!~” Flame Belle Empress’ voice was quite deep, yet she still responded like an energetic little girl!

“Great, time to turn around!” Mo Fan said.

The fiery feathers altered their angles and lined up perfectly, like the delicate armor of a robot!

The heavenly flames exploded simultaneously. The fiery feathers turned into lines of exhaust. When hundreds of them began to propel Mo Fan forward, they turned him into a brilliant ray of light, traveling several kilometers in the blink of an eye and lighting up the night sky!

“Let’s bait its attack out first!” Mo Fan had arrived before the Demon Titan. He clearly sensed it was reacting to his return.

The Demon Titan’s reaction time was surprisingly quick. Even with Mo Fan’s outstanding speed, it managed to react in time.

The Demon Titan was extremely confident in its defense, and did not bother taking a defensive approach. It accumulated a magical silvery light on its fist when it saw Mo Fan flying at it!

Mo Fan thought the Demon Titan was throwing a heavy punch at him, but the magical light shifted and gathered on its hand. The magic seal that was burning like lava on its back was glowing too!

The Sword of a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan!

Broadswords were popular in Europe, and were originally based on the swords of the Tyrant Titans. The Cross Mark Demon Titan was Summoning its strongest weapon!

Having a weapon was a great difference between a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan and a Blue Star Tyrant Titan. The weapons of the Silver Moon Tyrant Titans were their greatest power!

The Sword took shape rapidly. Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan were still at the olive grove on the other side of the island, but their souls shivered in fear when the Demon Titan brought forth its sword. They finally understood the reason why people in Greece kept referring to the Tyrant Titans as ancient gods!

The Sword was stuck into a hill, which looked like a little sand dune as it only managed to cover the tip of the Sword. When the Demon Titan wrapped its fingers around the Sword, it looked like an ancient god had descended upon the little island.

“Silver Moon Broadsword, Sea Splitting Sword!”

The Bishop of the Black Church was overwhelmed by excitement when he saw the Sword. He enthusiastically gave orders to the Demon Titan.

The Sea Splitting Sword was what had split Green Sprouts Island in half. It had sunk the olive grove, which was over three hundred hectares in size, and turned the city into ashes!

Who could possibly stand a chance against the Sea Splitting Sword?

No one!

1

—

The Sea Splitting Sword created a scything plane in the air when it was swung horizontally. It headed straight at Mo Fan!

“Little Flame Belle, change into flying mode!”

Mo Fan was not planning to attack. He had to trick the Demon Titan into attacking him first. Most importantly, he was getting used to Little Flame Belle’s thrusters!

The fiery feathers on Mo Fan changed direction as soon as he saw the Demon Titan swinging the Sword at him. The thrusters that were propelling him forward were aiming at the ground instead.

Explosive Thrusters!

Hundreds of feathers exploded, pushing Mo Fan into the sky as he shot forward at an insane speed!

The silver light emitted by the Sword barely scratched Mo Fan’s skin, as if a red meteorite which had altered its path had almost missed the surface of the moon.

Mo Fan rose into the sky and instantly reached the clouds. When he looked down, the Demon Titan was still in the motion of swinging its Sword, yet it had lifted its gaze and was staring after Mo Fan anxiously.

The Demon Titan had executed the slash with all its might, yet Mo Fan had dodged it by changing the direction he was flying in!

It was almost impossible to change direction once you were traveling at a certain speed. A vehicle would lose control when it tried to turn at high speed, let alone Mo Fan, who was flying at the speed of a rocket.

The Demon Titan had assumed Mo Fan was challenging its speed and power. He would not stop after gaining the momentum, yet it was instead tricked in the end.

Missing a swing was worse than landing the hit. It was easy for the person swinging a Sword to injure their ribs. The Sword hit nothing but air. It had to fully exert its strength before pulling the Sword back, or it would injure itself!

Mo Fan’s strategy to trick the Demon Titan to attack first was a success. He finally found himself a perfect opportunity for a counterattack against the Demon Titan and its outstanding reaction speed.

“You’re not the only one with a weapon! Little Flame Belle, give me my Sword!”

Mo Fan lifted his right arm. As expected of his beloved daughter, the pure heavenly flames were accumulating around his arm like a vortex before he even finished the sentence!

Chapter 2170: Corrupted Black Moon Demon Titan

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The raging flames dyed the night sky and the dark sea red. The world looked like lava and fire!

Fire Magic was accumulating. Under Little Flame Belle’s control, the flames could now solidify. The weapon in Mo Fan’s hand was no longer burning like an oversized torch. It was gradually taking shape, like it was made of ruby!

The Demon Titan was still recovering after missing its strike. Mo Fan took hold of the opportunity, and wrapped his other hand around the Sword above his head. Ugh, why did he feel like the hilt was a little too thick for him?

“Little Flame Belle, didn’t I ask you for a Sword? Why am I holding a Hammer?” Mo Fan looked up and realized he was not holding a sharp-edged sword, but a Hammer that had set the clouds on fire!

The huge Hammer did not really suit Mo Fan’s appearance, but it did look solid, especially since its material of fire-red ruby totally looked like a godly weapon!

“Fine, forget it, this will do!”

Mo Fan did not have the time to ask Little Flame Belle to make a sword, since the Demon Titan was about to recover. The Hammer would do just fine. On second thought, perhaps a simpler weapon, like a hammer, would be more effective against a huge creature like the Demon Titan!

“Take this!”

Even though Mo Fan felt a little awkward when he shouted, the Hammer was imbued with the power of the Calamity Fire and was insanely powerful, especially when Mo Fan was diving with great momentum. The Hammer smashed the Demon Titan right on the head. Not only did it shatter the silvery barrier around the Titan, it even knocked the two-hundred-meter creature to the bottom of the sea!

When the Hammer touched the bottom of the sea, a destructive sea of flames surged up wildly in every direction. Its scale was similar to the disaster that had occurred in the Burning Valley. If Green Sprouts Island was still around, it would have been a massacre!

The Demon Titan might be strong, but it could not withstand the destructive blow of the Hammer. Its skin was scorched after its protective silver barrier was shattered.

The seawater had evaporated once again. The whole area had turned into a basin filled with flames. The Demon Titan was being tortured in the middle of it.

“Stand up, stand up, you are an ancient god! How could you lose to these petty humans!?” the Bishop of the Black Church screamed.

The pupils of the Demon Titan began to change eerily, darkening with an evil light!

The icy moon hanging in the night sky had turned black, too. Its corrupted light shone down upon the Demon Titan and put out the flames on it.

“The Corrupted Black Moon!”

Mo looked up and saw a terrifying black moon hanging above him, like a celestial monster was watching him.

The Corrupted Black Moon was a sign that a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan had gone berserk. A Silver Moon Tyrant Titan normally became oddly wild and hungry during a lunar eclipse. The ancient records stated that whenever the Corrupted Black Moon appeared, it meant the ancient gods had enough of a human tribe. They would forsake their promise to protect the humans who offered them food every month and massacre the whole tribe.

When the Corrupted Black Moon appeared, the Tyrant Titan’s strength would rise significantly. They would also lose their calm and become like savage beasts!

The light of the Corrupted Black Moon added a layer of armor to the Cross Mark Demon Titan. Even the Sword it was holding had turned black. The demonic Aura it was emitting rose across the sea, looming like a great storm about to occur at any second!

The ground under the Demon Titan’s foot suddenly cracked apart as it crouched a little. It launched itself into the sky while holding the Sword above its head.

The black light wrapped around the Demon Titan like a mist, fully merging with the Sword.

A black slash connecting the dried basin and the dark clouds swept forward. Its light took on the moon’s role of lighting up the night!

Mo Fan took a deep breath. He was currently around a thousand meters above the ground, yet when he looked down, his vision was almost covered by the oncoming slash. The Demon Titan’s Sword was also heading his way, making it impossible for him to dodge it.

“Little Flame Belle, there’s no need to take the hit,” Mo Fan said.

Their fiery feathers were pointing at the ground. They exploded with flames, and he went from a thousand meters to two thousand meters, higher than the clouds above the sea.

The Demon Titan was right below the clouds. The mist dissipated instantly as it was sliced in half.

“Move horizontally!” Mo Fan ordered.

The feathers suddenly aimed left, turning him into a red meteor flying across the sky.

The Demon Titan did not fall for the trick again this time. Its Sword quickly changed direction and chased after Mo Fan as he flew into the distance.

The stormy clouds were hovering above the sea like mountains. Mo Fan tried changing his direction and using the clouds to hinder the Cross Mark Demon Titan’s vision, but the Sword the Demon Titan turned itself into was following closely behind him.

The range of its stroke was simply crazy. The Sword was hundreds of meters above the sea, yet its Aura was still leaving a huge ravine across the water’s surface!

The sky even cleared up because of the slash, but it was soon filled with the light of the Black Corrupted Moon. Mo Fan tried using different ways to weaken the slash, but he did not notice it weakening after trying every idea he came up with.

“Let’s try going into the water!” Mo Fan said suddenly.

Water had strong resistance. They had already reached the deeper sea areas. It was unlikely for an area with a depth of over a thousand meters to dry up.

Even though Mo Fan was not used to fighting underwater, it was the best way to weaken the Cross Mark Demon Titan’s attacks!

Mo Fan now had a Heaven-grade flame. The water did not affect his strength by much, just like the water could never cool down lava that was erupting from the seabed.

Chapter 2171: Reforge in the Furnace

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The feathers tilted at an angle. Mo Fan went from flying parallel to the surface of the sea to diving at an angle. He turned into a red streak and plunged into the sea.

A burning trail over a hundred meters wide was left along his trail. It was visible even after Mo Fan had dived deep into the sea.

The Cross Mark Demon Titan did not give up on the chase. The flames of the heavenly hammer had burned through its skin, and it was still in great pain. It did not matter if its enemy was hiding underwater. Even the sea had to clear a path for it!

The Aura of the Sword struck the sea rapidly, stirring up huge waves. The dark sea was sliced in half too, forming a ravine along the path the Demon Titan was traveling.

The water could not fill up the empty space faster than the Sword forced it away. Mo Fan soon found himself surrounded by the sword’s Aura instead of water.

—

“F**k me, it even sliced the sea in half. I doubt Mo Fan can survive!” Zhao Manyan muttered.

The sea was calm at first, but that Sword imbued with the power of the Corrupted Black Moon had split the sea in half. The gap was around fifty meters deep, and looked like it had left a bloody wound on the boundless sea. Mo Fan and the Demon Titan soon vanished from sight. Those watching only knew the fight was still ongoing because of the faint light in the distance.

“Just have some faith in Mo Fan, he will handle it,” Mu Bai said firmly.

However, for some reason, Mu Bai was already backing away as he was talking. He stood behind Zhao Manyan.

“Why are you standing behind me if you believe that?” Zhao Manyan snapped.

As soon as Zhao Manyan finished the sentence, he noticed a few sharp gazes locking onto him. A strong gust of wind swept in his direction and knocked him off balance.

“I’m still a little weak. I’ll let you deal with these Black Ornaments,” Mu Bai replied.

“Nonsense, you already recovered after eating the organs of the Steel Mountain Tyrant Titan. You can even f**k a sow in estrus to death now. I’ll handle the godfather’s lieutenant with the crooked face, while you take care of these nobodies!” Zhao Manyan spat.

“Nobodies?” a man who only had one eye repeated angrily.

The Godfather was not the only capable person among the Black Ornaments. His men had contributed a lot to earning the Godfather his current status. After all, strength alone was not enough to subdue a Demon Titan!

Zhao Manyan pointed at the man and sneered, “Why aren’t you wearing an eye patch? It doesn’t suit the requirement of being scum of the Black Ornaments. If you wear an eye patch, people will be afraid of you when they see you. It’s disgusting when you expose your rotten eye, which looks like a crushed walnut like that!”

A crushed walnut!

The man lost his temper when he heard Zhao Manyan’s taunting! “I’m going to dig out your left eye and crush your head like a tomato!” he snarled.

“I’m sorry, it was too dark just then, so I didn’t get to see your face clearly. Now that I have had a look at your face, I’m afraid an eye patch won’t do you any good. You should just wear a helmet to cover your roasted face, or you might scare the kids. I’m guessing that you don’t have a healthy sex life, either. Any woman would vomit in disgust when you stick your face in front of theirs, unless they have their eyes closed and pretend they are being f**ked by a dog,” Zhao Manyan continued.

The man felt like exploding!

Most importantly, he suddenly recalled the married woman he had hooked up with after spending a fortune on her. She always asked him to turn off the lights whenever they were having sex. She claimed that it was more thrilling with the lights off, but now that he thought about it, he realized she was disgusted by his face!

The one-eyed man charged at Zhao Manyan like an enraged wolf after Zhao Manyan poked his sore point!

“Let me tell you, for someone as handsome as me, I don’t even need to do anything to make a woman wet. Even the plastic surgery in Korea won’t help you. I guess the only way out for you is to be reincarnated. You will have to be reforged in the furnace… if you can’t do it yourself, I can lend you a hand by killing you!” Zhao Manyan added helpfully.

It was strange how Zhao Manyan could keep mumbling while he was constructing Star Orbits. Many Mages struggled to talk when they were using their magic, as it would distract them.

It had never been a problem for Zhao Manyan. It felt like he could Cast his spells quicker when he was cursing his enemies!

The one-eyed man almost had a heart attack at Zhao Manyan’s comment. Zhao Manyan managed to nullify his Thousand Leaves Saber with just an Advanced Spell!

“Speaking of which, weren’t you the one who asked your men to kidnap Mr. Lin’s daughter? I heard your men mention that they were planning to put her in your room so you can have some fun with her. How much of a failure are you as a man to use such a cruel and violent approach just to get your hands on a woman? By the way, can I ask you a question? Did you ever make a woman come?” Zhao Manyan continued on.

“Make a woman come?” The man was dumbfounded by the question. Wasn’t coming the same as screaming? If so, of course he had made them come before!

Damn it, why am I thinking about his question? He should just kill the guy who kept talking. He had had enough of the brat’s annoying voice!

“Making a woman feel comfortable is a man’s greatest pride. Don’t you understand?” Zhao Manyan continued heaping disgrace on him.

“Shut your f**king mouth!”

“You couldn’t even leave a crack on my defense. Why can’t I discuss how to be a man with you out of boredom? Oh, does this happen often when you are having sex with a woman? You already went inside her, but she kept trying to have a conversation with you. If that’s the case, you should really consider going into a furnace to reforge yourself. You should thank me for killing you!”

“Kill him, kill that son of a b**ch! Don’t worry about the other guy. Just kill the one with blond hair!” the one-eyed man shrieked in rage.

—

Mu Bai had hidden himself in the woods. He was trying to call the Parthenon Temple for help, but to his surprise, the Black Ornaments had locked the area down. They had even claimed the Black Church was holding a ritual of observance, and no Mages were allowed to interrupt them.

“They are using the excuse of holding a ritual to commemorate the people on Green Sprouts Island to stop Mages from coming here. The government is being too merciful if they let these people of the Black Church do whatever they want!” Mu Bai was amused when he saw the torches in the distance.

The Black Church was using the disguise of performing holy deeds to cover their evil crimes. It explained why the Black Ornaments were so reckless now. This kind of morbid society in Crete would be the result when the Black Church and the Black Ornaments were in charge!

Chapter 2172: Spectre’s Magic Trick

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Bai avoided the people of the Black Church and safely reached a cave close to the olive grove.

The Tyrant Titans did indeed fancy poppies a lot. It was normal for them to go berserk after eating too many of the opiate flowers. However, as an herbalist, Mu Bai had a feeling that something was not right.

“This must be where Mr. Lin was secretly planting the poppies. How many kilograms of poppies did a two-hundred-meter tall titan have to eat to lose its cool? Mo Fan fought the Cross Mark Demon Titan for so long, yet it didn’t really lose control of itself. It still targeted him after the Corrupted Black Moon appeared. It didn’t attack others indiscriminately…” Mu Bai murmured to himself as he went into the cave.

The cave was soaked in cold seawater, and the poppies were all drowned. The Parthenon Temple and the military obviously had not discovered the place. They might have searched the cave, but they did not link the incident on Green Sprouts Island with the poppies.

Mu Bai took off his jacket and dove into the water.

He soon found some decomposing petals from the poppies in the water. The stems and leaves were piled up at the bottom of the pool. Mu Bai swiftly collected the flowers and seeds that were still intact and carried them to the surface.

Mu Bai placed the flowers and seeds on his palm and analyzed their composition.

The flowers and seeds oozed a clear liquid when Mu Bai applied pressure to them. The liquid permeated Mu Bai’s skin and slowly entered his blood.

A few minutes later, Mu Bai’s face began to redden and heat up. Blue veins surfaced on his body as a strong urge to kill filled his mind, like a thirsty man desperately searching for water!

Mu Bai quickly used his Poison Element to remove the strange substance from his blood. Ten minutes later, he found himself soaked in sweat after he fully recovered.

“What just happened… does this mean the poppies aren’t the only thing that caused the incident?” Mu Bai murmured.

Strong waves kept coming from the distance, obviously caused by the battle between Mo Fan and the Cross Mark Demon Titan. The trees that were soaked in water swayed continuously and created a mist in the area.

The mist was spreading toward the land. A faint outline appeared behind a tree around three hundred meters away from Mu Bai. It was spying on Mu Bai as he was deep in thought.

Mu Bai seemed to notice something. He looked in the direction of the figure, but it had already disappeared, as if it was just his imagination in the strong wind.

Mu Bai was lost in thought for a moment. He stowed the flowers and seeds of the poppies in a transparent bag, deciding to bring them back to conduct thorough experiments on them.

The figure that vanished appeared behind Mu Bai. It no longer looked like some optical illusion occurring because of the wind. It was raising something that resembled a scalpel, and slicing at the back of Mu Bai’s neck!

The figure let out a strange chuckle, as if it was pleased with itself.

It was waiting for fresh blood to jet out from Mu Bai’s neck, but instead a layer of frost suddenly surfaced on his skin there. Not a single drop of blood jetted out.

The figure was startled. It immediately stabbed Mu Bai again.

Mu Bai’s body shattered like ice. He had turned into an ice statue in the mist!

“I won’t fall for the same trick twice!” Mu Bai slowly walked out from the shadows around a hundred meters away. The leaves of the olive trees were drifting around in the open area. His eyes were fixed on the figure in the mist.

“Tsk!” the figure in the mist uttered anxiously.

The figure vanished into thin air with a gust of wind. It seemed to have merged with the mist and faded into the distance.

“You won’t escape so easily this time!” Mu Bai stared at the spot where the figure had stood previously.

Did the killer think he could trick him with such a petty trick?

It looked as if the mist and the leaves had flown into the distance, yet Mu Bai knew it was just a little trick.

His enemy was still in the same spot!

It was like a transparent cloth on a white wall. The person under the cloth was using the wall to camouflage himself when the cloth was flipped upward. Mu Bai might have fallen for it in the past, giving his enemy the chance to ambush him from behind, but he had seen a lot of similar tricks in the Dark Plane. To him, Spectre’s tricks were as laughable as a clown’s act.

“Are you trying to deceive yourself?” Mu Bai’s eyes remained fixed on the same spot.

He flicked his finger, firing ice spears at the figure from different angles!

The ice spears surrounded the spot and attacked from all angles. A black shadow suddenly appeared out of nowhere, like a rat looking for food in a bin. It quickly ran past and snuck into a little gap nearby.

“Show yourself!” Mu Bai demanded.

Rows of ice spears lunged at the little gap and blasted it apart. A black shadow jumped out of the crack in a panic, before charging at Mu Bai as if it was his last resort!

The true attack came out of nowhere. Mu Bai did not have time to react after firing the ice spears. However, his body only shattered like an ice statue again.

“You’re not the only one with tricks up your sleeves!”

Mu Bai appeared on the other side. More ice spears were emerging in the area where he had been standing at previously!

The number of ice spears was shocking. There were hundreds of them on the ground, clustered as densely as bamboo shoots!

It was only the first wave. More ice spears were forming above the shadow in all directions. There were enough ice spears to form a cage and trap the shadow when they were stuck together!

There was not a single gap between the ice spears. Their tips were pointing at the shadow in the center. They eventually formed a sphere as they converged, trapping the shadow!

“Is my life really that valuable to you, Spectre?” Mu Bai asked coldly as he stood in the cage he had created.

Chapter 2173: Mu Bai Versus Spectre

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Tsk tsk tsk!” Spectre uttered a strange noise, sounding like an angry rat. Mu Bai had no clue what language it was.

Spectre could not see Mu Bai, as the cage of ice spears was completely sealed. There was not a single gap between the icicles.

The assassin wanted to break free from the cage, but he soon realized if he tried to break the cage by force, the spears would stab him immediately, leaving him with no escape.

His eyes spun quickly. He was not the kind of person who liked using brute force. He enjoyed killing his target and overcoming situations with unusual methods.

“I no longer have anyone I worry about in this world. On the other hand, I don’t think there’s anyone who holds a strong grudge against me, either.” Mu Bai suddenly waved his hand to withdraw the ice spears.

The cage of ice spears began to crack into pieces. The gaps between the spears widened.

“You may leave, tell her that our relationship ends here. My friends brought me back from death. If she keeps hassling me, I will take her with me, even if I die!” Mu Bai declared.

Spectre knew he was no match for Mu Bai once his best trick was exposed. He fled without any hesitation when Mu Bai decided to let him go.

He would run away if he failed an attempt. It was his way of killing. He did not stand a chance against most Super Mages in a proper fight. Besides, this Mu Bai, who appeared to be weak on the surface, was completely different from back in Xiamen. He could sense an overwhelming Aura from him. Could it be that his soul had grown stronger when he was in the Dark Plane?

The guy was a lot stronger than when he was before!

“Who you are talking to. I’m just a chess piece. Beating me doesn’t mean you are strong enough to take her on! I won’t leave. I would fail my mission if I don’t kill you, and failing a mission means death too! Show me your true strength, I want to see how strong you’ve become after I killed you the first time!” Spectre surprisingly stayed around.

“As you wish!” Mu Bai replied.

Mu Bai was not relieved when he came back to life. He was actually disappointed.

He did not have many people he cared about in this world, nor was there anyone who wanted him dead so much.

Mu Bai was not stupid. He was just unwilling to believe. He still had a little hope that the only close one he had left was innocent.

Unfortunately, she was not, and he had paid a huge price for it!

Mu Bai might be disappointed, but he was not going to give up on himself. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan went through so much just to save him. How could he let them down?

Spectre claimed he was only a chess piece. Mu Bai knew who the real culprit was.

However, he was still clueless about her true identity, nor did he know what she was going to do next.

That being said, if she tried to kill him again, she would end up exposing herself. As long as he was still alive, she would eventually show her true identity!

If she was naïve enough to think he was still the same, she was going to fail miserably!

Spectre draped a ragged coat over his shoulders. It even had a foul smell to it.

He had a serious hunchback. His head was small compared to his body, which made him look like a rat in the sewers. His eyes were glittering like a venomous rat now.

He stopped hiding, and the blades in his hands took on a poisonous glow. He hurled them at Mu Bai. The blades spun rapidly and swept past Mu Bai’s neck, only inches away. They hit the ground and stuck in the mud after Mu Bai dodged them.

Mu Bai looked up and noticed Spectre had disappeared. He turned around and saw Spectre at the spot where the blades had landed, picking up the blades.

Spectre lunged forward and swung the blades like a pair of scissors at Mu Bai’s belly. If the hit landed, his intestines would definitely fall out of his body.

Mu Bai reacted swiftly. Frost particles had already gathered on his hands, and he slammed them on the ground. An ice pillar emerged from the ground and stabbed at Spectre’s chest.

If Spectre insisted on slicing his belly, he would pierce Spectre’s heart. Let’s see who will survive in the end!

Spectre decided to back away in the end. It was not like he did not have the guts to take the risk, but he was unsure whether Mu Bai would end up being an ice statue again. He must have some contingency plan in mind if he had chosen such a reckless approach!

Mu Bai grinned when he saw Spectre backing away. He flung his sleeves and released a cloud of venomous golden insects at Spectre.

Spectre quickly tossed the blades in the opposite direction. The blades quivered on a tall tree.

Spectre dissolved into the ground like a pool of water before reappearing at the tree.

“Using objects to relocate himself?” Mu Bai finally saw how Spectre was moving around. He recalled how Spectre had used the same move to inflict serious injuries on him back in Xiamen.

It turned out that Spectre could move to where the blades were, yet Mu Bai could not tell which Element it was, especially since there were so many forbidden spells that had not been disclosed to the public.

When fighting against someone like Spectre, it was important to find out their capabilities first. He would only be killed if he was constantly in the dark.

“Bite of the Python!” Mu Bai raised his hands. The cloud of venomous insects gathered and turned into a golden python, which promptly chased after Spectre.

Spectre tossed one blade to the left and the other to the right. He was obviously giving himself two options to relocate himself to.

The python under Mu Bai’s control split into two and chased after the blades that were still spinning in the air.

However, Spectre did not relocate himself to either of the blades. He charged at Mu Bai after the blades lured the pythons away!

His body was like polluted water in the sewers. It had a suffocating, foul odor. He was planning to grapple Mu Bai as he did not have his weapons with him. Mu Bai took a step back as the leaves of the trees nearby flew to him.

The leaves formed a sturdy shield around Mu Bai under the influence of his Plant Element. They quickly assembled into a huge wall in front of him to protect him from the oncoming sewage!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

“Binding Leaves Armor!”

Mu Bai had already anticipated Spectre’s movements. He controlled the leaves to absorb the strange liquid as they intertwined in front of Spectre. On top of that, the leaves also formed an enclosed armor around Spectre.

The leaves had sharpened edges, like a sword only pointing inwards. Mu Bai forcibly put the armor on Spectre. If he tried to move, the leaves would cut him!

Spectre did not dare move his neck. He was worried that the armor would slice his throat open. However, he did not want to be bound by the leaves.

Blood was pouring out of the gaps between the leaves. The more he tried to move, the worse the cuts he sustained became.

Mu Bai stared at Spectre coldly. It was impossible to stop someone who was asking for his own death. Mu Bai had already told Spectre he was no match for him. The more he tried to break free from the Binding Leaves Armor, the closer he was to death!

More blood poured out and dyed the armor red. Just as Mu Bai thought Spectre was trying to kill himself, Spectre’s eyes suddenly emitted a terrifying glow just before he died. The glow was similar to the magical light the Cross Mark Demon Titan was emitting.

Even his savage Aura bore a resemblance to the creature!

Mu Bai stared at Spectre in surprise.

The Cross Mark Demon Titan was supposed to be the Black Church Bishop’s pet. How was Spectre related to it? What was the connection between the bishop and Spectre? Or perhaps the spell Spectre was using was the reason why the Cross Mark Demon Titan had gone berserk?

Mu Bai was not in a hurry to attack. He was observing Spectre, whose body had enlarged even though the leaves were constantly cutting him. He was like a warrior with no sense of pain!

BANG!

The Binding Leaves Armor failed to contain Spectre once his body enlarged enough. The armor broke into pieces, the leaves have lost their rigidity. They were too tattered to be used again.

Mu Bai knew his opponent was employing an unusual spell, yet he did not back away. His eyes gradually emitted a strange glow. He was observing Spectre’s power like an imperious judge.

The Evil Secrets Eyes allowed Mu Bai to see a lot of things. He soon noticed red strings attached to Spectre’s soul. The strings connected to a few hills nearby. They were leading in the direction of a huge fire in the distance.

Mu Bai was aware of the fire. It was where the disciples of the Black Church had gathered. They had sealed up the area by claiming they were mourning the dead, buying their bishop time to destroy the evidence.

Most importantly, Mu Bai noticed a lot more red strings scattered across different corners and towns of Crete. Most of them were in the direction of the deep sea!

Weren’t Mo Fan and the Cross Mark Demon Titan fighting in the same direction? The red strings were following the Demon Titan’s movements, as if it was a puppet!

“I see!” The light in Mu Bai’s eyes slowly faded away as he grinned.

He looked at Spectre again, whose muscles had turned blue. He looked more like a blue monster instead of a human.

“The power of Evil Faith. In the end, you are just using the Cold Prince’s trick. How disappointing, I thought you were able to produce evil power yourself, which the Black Church was using,” Mu Bai said.

Spectre had turned into an enraged monster, and had lost its ability to communicate. There was only one thought in its mind: to kill the human in front of him!

Spectre roared as he unleashed the evil power in his body.

Mu Bai reached out a hand, like he was opening a Gate. A strong force from the Gate absorbed Spectre’s power.

Spectre could not move. The power he had exchanged with his life and soul was completely useless against Mu Bai. Even the red strings were snapping continuously.

Each red string represented a person’s faith. The stronger the faith, the greater the power it was providing Spectre. Similarly, the more believers, the greater the power!

The power was supposed to be unbreakable, so why did the strings snap?

Mu Bai was only a human. He should only be able to defeat the Demon Titan or the person that the strings were attached to, so how was he able to snap the strings too?!

The transformed Spectre stood frozen in place. He was as skinny as a starving wolf after losing too much vitality and soul energy, and too dazed after seeing what Mi Bai had done!

“You…you are not Mu Bai! Who are you!? How did you destroy the strings? Only an ancient deity like the Tyrant Titans can do that! How were you able to destroy the Power of Faith?” Spectre exclaimed in fear.

Even the Cold Prince, who had believers across the world, was unable to destroy the strings. The Cold Prince was known for his skill at using the Power of Faith. If he had not lost the war he started by colluding with the Great Pyramid of Giza, half-wits like the Cross Mark Demon Titan and the Bishop of the Black Church would never have had a chance to cause such a scene.

How did an ordinary human like Mu Bai manage to do something that even the Cold Prince couldn’t, unless he had a greater Power of Faith than the Cold Prince?

“I’ll send you somewhere so you can learn the truth!” Mu Bai walked up to Spectre.

Mi Bai spread his fingers again. The same Gate appeared, but it was now absorbing Spectre’s flesh and soul, instead of his energy!

Spectre could not resist it at all. He was soon dragged into the Gate, like a piece of paper caught up by the wind.

The gate had black lightning flickering deep within it. Mu Bai closed the Gate before the lightning could come out of it.

Mu Bai was not concerned about Spectre’s death.

The man was only a chess piece. Mu Bai was more concerned about the person behind him, someone whom he was close to… someone who wanted him dead!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

“I finally found the source of their energy. Once I stop the believers of the Black Church from transmitting their Power of Faith, Mo Fan should end the battle in no time!” Mu Bai headed to the mountain where the huge fire blazing.

The Power of Faith could originate from many places in the world. They could still receive the power from across the ocean, but if there was a Ritual taking place to receive the energy, the Faith that was being transmitted over long distances would be a little more refined.

The believers of the Black Church did not gather on the mountain just to fool the people of Crete and stop the government, military, and Parthenon Temple from interfering. They were providing their bishop an abundant supply of energy to ensure the Cross Mark Demon Titan was imbued with the Power of Faith!

If a mere leader of the Guild of the Wicked’s side branch possessed such overwhelming power, there must be something they had overlooked.

Mu Bai had suspected it right from the beginning.

Luckily, Spectre was in a rush to kill him, which had given Mu Bai an important clue. Otherwise, he would never have linked the source of the Demon Titan’s strength with the incident of the Blood Sea that the Cold Prince was responsible for!

—

Mu Bai saw torches when he reached the top of the mountain, each held by a disciple of the Black Church.

They were mostly dressed in ordinary clothes. Some among them were young women wearing long Mediterranean-../style dresses. They had followed their family to become believers of the Black Church. They did not have to study and work hard to enjoy a materialistic life../style.

Unfortunately, they were unaware that they were accomplices in the tragedy of Green Sprouts Island. They did not hurt anyone, yet they had equipped the culprit with sharp knives!

Humans could not afford to be ignorant and give up on thinking for themselves. If they naively obeyed everything they were told, they would only be taking the side of evildoers!

Mu Bai stared at the crowd. The place was as lively as a festival. He looked at how sincere and serious the believers were before recalling the rotten corpses Zhao Manyan had retrieved from the sea.

Strong anger rose within him, urging him to kill the crowd with a Super Ice Spell. They would soon find out if they were going to Heaven or Hell…

However, after Mu Bai calmed himself, he realized he could not afford to do so.

These people were only being used.

Even if they believed the Black Church could return to them the dignity and pride they had lost, it was their choice to join the Black Church. They would either be shackled and thrown in jail, or live in a dream that was built on top of others’ pain. They had placed their souls in the hands of their superiors. Their fate was decided by their superiors, not themselves.

Mu Bai did not bother giving them a piece of advice. It was meaningless to tell them the truth, too. These stubborn believers would only treat the truth as a delusion!

“So he’s the guy leading the crowd...” Mu Bai picked out someone among the crowd. It was the man who had spat in their dishes in the restaurant!

Speaking of karma…

He did not teach the man a lesson last time, but this time, the man had hit the muzzle.

It would be hilarious if he did not know the truth, as the person in charge of this Ritual!

He could just take out the man. The rest of the believers who did not know magic and the reason behind the Ritual would just end up having a campfire gathering.

“Go, dig into his chest and see if his rotten heart suits your taste.” Mu Bai reached out his arm, and a tiny insect crawled out of his sleeve.

It was a delicate thing, resembling a tiny golden model, like something out of a cartoon. It wriggled and raised a pair of transparent wings before flying toward the leader of the Ritual.

—

—

The light of the Corrupted Moon that Mo Fan had devoured previously returned again. The moon was no longer hanging in the sky, it looked like it was going to sink into the sea. Its light was very close to the surface of the sea.

The light of the Corrupted Black Moon had initially devoured Mo Fan’s Burning Valley Heavenly Flames initially. The flames were struggling to spread across the vast sea, but for some reason, the Burning Valley Heavenly Flames had once again dyed the sea red. Even the sky and the thick clouds were blazing red now!

The flames had split into three layers. The first was spreading across the sky like the sun was setting. The middle layer consisted of fiery tongues scattered in the air around a height of a thousand meters. The bottom layer was spreading like a forest on the sea.

Mo Fan was standing above the forest. The Cross Mark Demon Titan had jumped into the sky like it was accumulating the energy of the Corrupted Black Moon. However, the whole area had already been conquered by Mo Fan’s heavenly flames. The sky, the clouds, and the forest were scorching the Demon Titan like it was stuck in a furnace!

“Why does it feel like this creature has suddenly lost its strength?” Mo Fan had a confused face.

The Cross Mark Demon Titan seemed unstoppable just a minute ago. It did not show any sign of fatigue, despite fighting Mo Fan for a long time. When the light of the Corrupted Black Moon disappeared, Mo Fan thought it was going to use a different power to fight him, but it had returned to its old appearance. Not only did its strength drop significantly, even its skin was struggling to fend off the flames now!

“Why did it shrink in size?” Mo Fan blurted out in astonishment.

It would take the Heavenly Flames more than a day and a night to burn a two-hundred-meter tall Tyrant Titan to death. Size did not necessarily reflect its strength, but it was proportional to the creature’s vitality. Mo Fan was glad that the creature had lost the power from the Corrupted Black Moon, yet he had now received an even greater gift. The Cross Mark Demon Titan was shrinking!

Mo Fan had collected a lot of information about the Tyrant Titans. There was no such thing as shrinking in size for the titans. They would retain their height even when they were dead. The Cross Mark Demon Titan had now fallen to a height of a hundred and fifty meters. It was likely that its previous size was not its actual size!

“So you were slapping your face to make it swell so you would look imperious. I thought you were really a two-hundred-meter tall Silver Moon Tyrant Titan…” Mo Fan grinned.

A two-hundred-meter tall Silver Moon Tyrant Titan was comparable to some of the Golden Sun Tyrant Titans. How could a creature of that level submit themselves to a mere Godfather of the Black Ornaments? His foolish and reckless behavior was not worthy to command such a powerful creature!

“It has shrunk to a height of a hundred meters… a hundred meters, it’s just like a little kid in front of me!” Mo Fan squinted. He began watching the Bishop of the Black Church, who was standing on the Demon Titan’s shoulder.

Chapter 2176: Preying on Both Men and Women, Zhao Skytopper

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Why did the link break? What happened?” The Bishop of the Black Church turned around in astonishment. He looked at the hills on the islands nearby, and saw the fires on them were no longer as bright as they used to be.

The Ritual had been intercepted!

The supply of Faith had disappeared!

The problem was, even if the Ritual was intercepted, he still had lots of believers spread across Crete. How did he lose the supply of Faith all of a sudden?

The Demon Titan would only weaken slightly without the Ritual. It would not shrink in size and fail to maintain its height of two hundred meters!

The Burning Valley Heavenly Flames finally penetrated the Cross Mark Demon Titan’s skin. The massive muscles that resembled huge intertwining pipes were burning now. The Demon Titan cried out in pain and dove into the water.

The deeper it dove, the lower the temperature. It was trying to relieve itself of the immense pain, but the Heavenly Flames did not weaken even after it reached a depth of over a thousand meters.

“Now you’re running?” Mo Fan stared at the bottom of the sea where the burning titan was moving back and forth.

“Little Flame Belle, time to send them off!” Mo Fan declared imperiously.

Mo Fan tracked down the Demon Titan and hovered above it. His flames left burning paths along his crossing trails in the night sky.

A burning Seal with a diameter of over seven hundred meters gradually formed in the sky. It looked like an umbrella made of polygons.

The burning umbrella pattern mirrored an identical pattern at the bottom of the sea. The two patterns were connected by lines of flames!

The two patterns went into fire-spitting mode. Deadly fire pillars surged between the patterns and filled up the empty space between them!

The pillars at the bottom blew the Demon Titan into the sky. It reached a height of around five hundred meters above the sea before the pillars from above struck it down and triggered a terrifying wave of explosions in the middle, with the Demon Titan right in the center!

“Little Flame Belle, increase the power, serve me a well-done titan!” Mo Fan ordered.

The Flame Belle Empress was able to refine her flames. Mo Fan continued to pour the flames of the two patterns onto the Cross Mark Demon Titan, while the Flame Belle Empress added more fuel to increase the temperature of the flames.

The higher the temperature, the stronger the flames were. The flames were not only burning the Demon Titan’s muscles now. It had lost its limbs to the flames, which proceeded to start burning away its shoulders.

Following its shoulders was its back. Once the flames burned through the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan’s back, it was as good as dead!

“Burn everything into ashes except for its organs!” Mo Fan stated.

Flame Belle Empress worked even harder to increase the temperature of the flames. They could even destroy high-level crystals now!

After the Demon Titan’s back was destroyed, its head began to burn. Its vitality was surprisingly high. It had lost all its limbs, yet it was still struggling fiercely. It kept charging forward fiercely, even when its body was no longer intact.

However, it did not change its fate. Its body parts might have escaped from the pillars, but the Heavenly Flames were still around. They would burn until there was nothing left.

—

The Bishop of the Black Church was overwhelmed by despair amid the flames.

He did not understand how his Cross Mark Demon Titan had failed to defeat a petty Mage, nor did he know the reason why the power of Faith had vanished so suddenly!

Mo Fan flew up to the Bishop of the Black Church and said, “You must feel sorry for your pet. I’ll use a calmer fire to burn you to death slowly. You will reflect on the things you did as you suffer.”

“A god isn’t supposed to lose to you mundane people. A god will never be defeated!” the bishop screamed at him.

Mo Fan did not mind giving the bishop plenty of time to figure out what went wrong, just not in a comfortable environment!

—

“Mo Fan, let me handle him,” Mu Bai intercepted him as he returned to the island.

“Are you going to dissect him?” Mo Fan asked calmly.

“He has the power of Evil Faith… Mm, it’s a long story, I’ll explain to you once we are done here. Just leave him to me,” Mu Bai said.

“Sure, but don’t let him be too comfortable!” Mo Fan agreed.

“Don’t worry, I promise you he will suffer more than anyone else. Those who use the power of Evil are like borrowing money from loan sharks. Once they are done enjoying themselves, they will suffer the consequences!” Mu Bai said coolly.

“The power of Evil Faith you just mentioned… Oh, you just reminded me, his power is indeed similar to a maniac I knew,” Mo Fan said brightly.

“I’ll explain later.”

“Mm, how is Old Zhao doing?” Mo Fan asked.

“Who knows.”

—

Zhao Manyan took out a bottle of mineral water that he got from the Alps to quench his thirst inside his golden barrier before he continued, “As a man, you must have endurance like me. Women don’t like men who can only last for a minute and a half despite, having the passion of a tiger!”

More than a dozen members of the Guild of the Wicked who had surrounded Zhao Manyan were feeling miserable. Their energy was almost depleted, yet they could not harm a single strand of Zhao Manyan’s hair. They could not help but feel like the magic they had practiced all their life was like playing pinball!

“A bunch of impressive-looking but useless men. How are you supposed to have fun with your ladies?...(cough cough)!” Zhao Manyan realized he was too involved in the drama. He quickly said, “This seminar has come to an end. I shall gift each of you something big, hard, and rough!”

He raised his hand and accumulated his strength for a brief moment before slamming his palm on the ground.

The ground shook as thick pillars emerged from the ground!

The pillars rose up below the feet of the members of the Guild of the Wicked. They were already overwhelmed by fatigue after Casting spells continuously. The pillars took them by surprise and hurled them into the air.

“How was it? Did my hard sticks make you feel comfortable?” Zhao Manyan called out cheerfully. “It’s fine if you didn’t have enough, there are more coming!”

Zhao Manyan slammed his palm on the ground again. The pillars shot up to smash the members of the Guild of the Wicked flying before they even landed on the ground!

“You can call me Zhao Skytopper! I’m interested in both men and women!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

​

—

Mo Fan and Mu Bai returned just around when Zhao Manyan was getting rid of his enemies. They were reluctant to admit they knew him when they heard his obscene tirade at the men.

Mo Fan was curious at times. What kind of childhood did Zhao Manyan have as a rich second generation, always bringing up lewd topics? If he was born in ancient times, he would be an infamous pervert, without a doubt!

“Where are the disciples of the Black Church?” Mo Fan asked.

“They already ran away. I lured some hornets over to them and drove them away. I contacted Golden Sun Knight Jiang Bin to handle the rest,” Mu Bai answered.

“Is it finally over?” Zhao Manyan asked, looking tired.

“More or less. We have already found the culprit of Green Sprouts Island,” Mo Fan replied.

“Mo Fan, things aren’t as simple as they look,” Mu Bai spoke up.

“What did you find?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’ve already conducted an experiment on the poppies that drove the Cross Mark Demon Titan crazy. I believe you two will be surprised by its contents,” Mu Bai said.

“Does it contain aphrodisiacs?” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

“Shut your f**king mouth!” Mu Bai yelled at him.

2

“Let’s talk business,” Mo Fan said quickly, before matters got worse.

“Zhao Manyan might not know it, but Mo Fan, you and I should be familiar with it. Do you remember what Salan used to lure the demon creatures into attacking the city?” Mu Bai said.

“The Frenzy Spring! It was similar to the Underground Holy Spring, and can be mixed with rain,” Mo Fan replied promptly.

“The poppies here have the same effects as the Frenzy Spring!” Mu Bai informed him.

Mo Fan was startled. The Frenzy Spring was Salan’s masterpiece. Why was it here in Crete?

“Are you saying Mr. Lin was very likely taking orders from the Black Vatican or Salan? Mu Bai, are you sure those poppies have the same effects as the Frenzy Liquid?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“I’m sure of it. I’ve been researching drugs and plants since the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. Around six months after the incident, I found a sample of the Frenzy Liquid among my uncle… Mu He’s possessions. I tried to figure out its composition, and learned it’s a powerful liquid made from the Underground Holy Spring, which can drive demon creatures into a frenzy,” Mu Bai stated firmly.

Mo Fan fell into deep thought.

Salan was called the Deathbringer and considered the most influential Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, mainly because of the Frenzy Liquid. Once it was mixed with rain, it would provoke any hordes of demon creatures within over a hundred kilometers to attack the nearby cities.

The Frenzy Liquid was one of Salan’s signature accomplishments. The Enforcement Union had yet to figure out where the Frenzy Liquid was from, or who was making it. They had no idea how much of the Frenzy Liquid Salan still had, either!

If Salan could keep producing it, they would have to be on alert whenever it rained. A country would struggle to handle the pressure if a rampage started happening in many cities at the same time.

“Mu Bai, do you have any idea what’s going on?” Mo Fan finally asked.

“I can think of two possibilities. First, Salan’s men have infiltrated Crete and the Guild of the Wicked. They knew the Bishop of the Black Church was going to teach Mr. Lin a lesson, so they applied the Frenzy Liquid on the poppies to make the Demon Titan go out of control, resulting in this tragedy.”

“Second, Mr. Lin might be a member of the Black Vatican. He’s planting the ingredients for the Frenzy Liquid, and the Guild of the Wicked happened to pick on him, which caused this tragedy,” Mu Bai said.

Mo Fan agreed with Mu Bai’s analysis, especially the second scenario.

If it was the second possibility, Mr. Lin might be an important subordinate to Salan. They would be one step closer to finding Salan now that Mr. Lin was in their hands!

“Where’s Mr. Lin now?” Mo Fan asked when he realized how important the man was.

“Didn’t I already tell you? Golden Sun Knight Jiang Bin is watching him…” Mu Bai frowned as he finished the sentence. He took out his phone as he continued, “The knights of the Parthenon Temple should have been here five minutes ago, knowing their efficiency.”

“Did you contact Golden Sun Knight Jiang Bin?” Mo Fan queried grimly.

“Yes.”

“Let’s go take a look!”

—

Mo Fan told Zhao Manyan to stay at the olive grove to protect the evidence while he and Mu Bai went to look for Golden Sun Knight Jiang Bin.

Golden Sun Knight Jiang Bin was staying at a small house. Both Mr. Lin and his daughter were being kept in custody there. Mu Bai knew Jiang Bin was a responsible person, and he also trusted his strength as a Golden Sun Knight, thus he was the best option they had to keep an eye on Mr. Lin and his daughter.

They immediately picked up the smell of blood as they arrived.

“Damn it!” Mo Fan and Mu Bai cursed together.

When they went inside the house, a man in the armor of a Golden Sun Knight was sitting on the ground staring blankly. Most importantly, his eye sockets were empty.

Mu Bai quickly went ahead to take a look around outside while Mo Fan turned into a cloud of shadows and searched the house. However, he did not find Mr. Lin. The daughter had ended up as a peaceful corpse!

“Jiang Bin? What about him?”

“He’s still alive, but I’m afraid he’s been blinded,” Mu Bai said softly.

“He’s still alive? That’s great… Damn it, why didn’t we find out the truth earlier? We finally found someone important to the Black Vatican, yet he escaped right under our noses!” Mo Fan was having mixed feelings.

It was a relief that Jiang Bin was still alive. It was rare for the Black Vatican to spare someone’s life.

“Brother, I’m sorry for involving you in such a great mess,” Mo Fan patted Jiang Bin’s shoulder.

Jiang Bin was finally able to calm down after he heard their voices.

“I’m the one who should be sorry. I have failed to accomplish such a simple task,” Golden Sun Knight Jiang Bin said in shame.

“We didn’t think the Black Vatican would be involved, nor did we realize Mr. Lin was Salan’s man. Otherwise… speaking of which, did you see who took Mr. Lin away?” Mo Fan asked. Mo Fan was eager to find out everything about Salan that he could.

“She referred to herself as the Blue Bat,” Jiang Bin reported.

“Blue Bat!” Mo Fan was startled. It was her!?

“She asked me to tell you that she had a pleasant conversation with you at Crete’s Merchant Guild. It’s the reason why she spared my life,” Jiang Bin said. He completely lost his calm after finishing the sentence, overwhelmed by a sense of failure and humiliation.

Mo Fan’s heart pounded heavily.

That explained why she had saved Mr. Lin’s life!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

A hundred-and-ten meter tall Silver Moon Tyrant Titan had arrived at Crete’s dock. Tuis purposely stood on the deck to be praised by the people of Crete.

However, he was in disbelief when the ship came to a stop. There were only a few white seagulls at the dock. It did not feel like they had just returned from a victorious battle. He felt stupid and awkward!

“Didn’t you tell them we are here?” Tuis demanded of Golden Sun Knight Lucas, who was standing beside him.

“Well, Mr. Tuis, I was told they found the culprit who destroyed Green Sprouts Island. It was a two-hundred-meter tall Cross Mark Demon Titan…” Lucas said.

“They found it? That’s not possible, there’s no one who could find it quicker than me. Did the Tyrant Titan lose its mind and confess to the military?” Tuis was surprised and flustered.

“I think it was… Mo Fan and his friends who found it. The Mages of Faith are already on their way to Crete. Even Great Muse Valentine will be here in person,” Lucas answered.

“Them? Those Asian monkeys who never stop talking?!” Tuis could not believe it.

“Either way, we should head back to the command center as soon as possible.”

Lucas was dumbfounded when he saw that no one had come to receive them after they had slain a Silver Moon Tyrant Titan, but that was before he learned someone had found the culprit for Green Sprouts Island. The whole of Crete must be in great shock!

—

“Mr. Mo Fan, we were a little suspicious when they said you had captured the Cold Prince, but you have settled such a complicated matter in a short period of time and found the culprit. Even I am impressed by you!” Great Muse Valentine complimented Mo Fan greatly.

“It’s not really complicated, but you should really look after your own lands while you are busy spreading your gospel across the world, to see if the roots have rotten,” Mo Fan replied casually.

Many people frowned when they heard Mo Fan’s words. Why was he scolding the Great Muse all of a sudden? The Saints might be more powerful than the Great Muse, but she was considered the teacher and senior of the Saints. None of them dared to speak to the Great Muse like that!

“It’s something the Parthenon Temple also feels helpless about, since we don’t interfere with the government or the military… Of course, it might sound like we are neglecting our responsibilities. After all, its our fault for lowering our guard against the Guild of the Wicked, which resulted in this tragedy. I, Valentine, promise everyone that I won’t allow any organization like the Guild of the Wicked to exist in Greece. Mo Fan, please be my supervisor. If I, Valentine, allow a tragedy like that to happen again, I am willing to accept any kind of punishment!” Great Muse Valentine declared.

Great Muse Valentine was being absolutely serious to say such a thing during the meeting at the command center. It was quite shocking that she had allowed someone who did not hold a significant role in the Parthenon Temple to be her supervisor. Wouldn’t that make Mo Fan a superior to the Hall Mother?

“We are a little tired. We are heading back to the Parthenon Temple first. I’ve already passed the evidence and information we have gathered to you. I’ll let you decide how to release it to the public,” Mo Fan said.

Tuis’ group happened to arrive after Mo Fan finished talking. He demanded an answer from Valentine with a sulking face.

Tuis turned into an unreasonable shrew after he received his reply. He insisted on looking into the matter himself, to see if Mo Fan was telling the truth!

“Tuis!” Valentine suddenly raised her voice.

Everyone was lenient toward Tuis most of the time. Even Valentine had sounded like a gentle senior in the past.

However, they had only let Tuis be because he had the potential to crack the case of Green Sprouts Island. The Parthenon Temple needed the people’s trust after the tragedy. If they could not resolve the case as soon as possible, they would only ruin their reputation, which they had built up painstakingly for many years!

The Parthenon Temple was furious after learning the truth from Mo Fan, but at the same time, they were relieved it was over!

The people who were demanding an answer from the Parthenon Temple would soon turn on the Guild of the Wicked. The Parthenon Temple only had to organize a group to take down the Guild of the Wicked by asking Mages across the world to join their cause.

As a result, the Parthenon Temple would no longer be considered unreliable. They would reclaim their reputation after taking out the branches of the Guild of the Wicked in Greece.

Mo Fan had helped the Parthenon Temple overcome a difficult situation.

What had Tuis managed to accomplish?

He had only killed two Silver Moon Tyrant Titans. They could just send a dozen Knights to kill Silver Moon Tyrant Titans if needed. Killing two Silver Moon Tyrant Titans was not going to do them any good!

Most importantly, Mo Fan had let the Parthenon Temple take the credit. It was going to restore trust in the Parthenon Temple among the people in Crete. The Temple would retain its status in Greece!

“Tuis, you should mind your words when you talk to Mo Fan from now on. You should be humble as a member of an ancient clan of the Parthenon Temple and respect those whom we are grateful to. After considering what you did to the Saint during the feast of the Snow Festival, I think it’s better for you to stay in Crete and reflect on your actions. You should also do something practical to build up your profile. Poseidon!” Great Muse Valentine called out.

“I’m here!” Poseidon saluted her.

“Keep an eye on your nephew. I hope he’s as impressive and humble as Mo Fan when I see him again,” Great Muse Valentine told him.

Tuis was ready to go crazy after hearing her words.

Everyone was fawning upon him when he first came to the Parthenon Temple. What were they thinking now, sending him to the borderland to prove his worth?

Tuis was about to lose his temper when Poseidon pressed his hand down on his shoulder. He said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, “If you dare offend Great Muse Valentine here, you and our whole Tuis Clan will forever lose their place in the Parthenon Temple. Valentine didn’t take over Mellaura’s role because Mellaura made a mistake. She only took the risk because she knew she was going to lose her position!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Tuis withheld the anger in his heart and blamed everything on Mo Fan.

He did not think he would lose the competition to hunt down the Tyrant Titan. Mo Fan must have cheated!

—

Mo Fan could not have cared less about the idiot. He was very satisfied with Valentine’s punishment of Tuis.

The southern coast of Crete was still a battlefield, and more Tyrant Titans were going to show up. Now that Tuis, the Tyrant Titan expert, was being sent to the border, he would have a long time to reflect on his arrogance.

As for Mo Fan, he was on his way back to the Parthenon Temple. He had done Xinxia such a huge favor. Wasn’t it time for her to reward him with her tender and delicate body?

Mo Fan was ready not to leave bed for three days and three nights!

——

Mo Fan went to the Hall of the Goddess in a great mood after he flew back to Athens. It was surprising how the people of the Hall of the Goddess were turning a blind eye to his existence, allowing Mo Fan to make his way into Xinxia’s place without having to sneak into it.

Being able to go into the Saintess’ Hall blatantly must feel a lot better than asking a Saintess to dance with him!

Mo Fan raised his chest. He was overwhelmed by excitement before he even saw Xinxia. He could finally enjoy himself and try out the fantasies he had in mind for a long time!

—

“Brother Mo Fan, I’m sorry, I didn’t expect you to return from Crete so soon. If you told me a few days earlier, I could have postponed it with medicine.” Xinxia almost burst into tears when she saw the helpless look on Mo Fan’s face.

Mo Fan felt sorry for her. He immediately comforted her. “It’s not your fault. Things like this are unpredictable,” Mo Fan said.

“Mm,” Xinxia nodded, laying on Mo Fan’s chest. She felt comfortable doing so.

Mo Fan’s fantasies surfaced once again as he picked up Xinxia’s faint body scent.

“Well, Xinxia, actually, there are other things you can do too. How should I explain it to you… here, I’ll show you some clips from Japan. You are such a fast learner, you can master it very quickly,” Mo Fan said sincerely.

Xinxia was not living in ancient times. She was well aware of what Mo Fan was saying. She had learned a lot from just scrolling Weibo.

{TL Note: Weibo is a social media platform like Facebook.}

Xinxia immediately blushed. She was feeling more nervous than when she had made love to Mo Fan for the first time. After all, it was even more embarrassing for her to do what Mo Fan was suggesting!

However, she thought about how much Mo Fan had been through in Crete. The Parthenon Temple had already given him permission to enter the Saintess’ Hall freely. How could she let him go back with regret?

“The clips… I don’t think they are necessary. I can…I can try… mm…” Xinxia’s voice softened gradually. Only she could hear what she was saying at the end.

“You’re going to learn it for yourself. Right, sure,” Mo Fan nodded.

“I’m…I’m a little nervous. Can we turn off the lights?” Xinxia asked.

“It’s not as exciting if the lights are off. I like watching you,” Mo Fan said.

“Then… can we turn off the lights first and turn them back on later?” Xinxia negotiated.

“Sure.”

The room was pitch-black when the lights were off. Only the faint light of the stars through the thin curtains remained. It slowly drew the outline of the objects and a beautiful lady whose clothes were falling off her elegant body like a waterfall in the room.

Mo Fan would only ruin the mood if he used his Shadow Element to see in the dark. He decided to enjoy the atmosphere of doing it when the lights were off, just like normal people would.

Mo Fan laid down and closed his eyes. He looked calm, yet he was full of anticipation!

He felt like shedding tears of excitement when he imagined Xinxia’s soft and round bunnies attached to his most sensitive body part. He had been watching them grow by feeding her papaya and milk. He would also give them a massage at times. His contributions were not in vain. It was time for the harvest!

Mo Fan suddenly felt like he was electrocuted. A tingling feeling kept coming from his important part. It was not hugged from both sides, but completely enclosed by something wet, warm, with a little suction.

Oh mama! Xinxia, you’ve misunderstood me! What your Brother Mo Fan asked you to do was… yeah, this was exactly it!

1

—

—

No wonder people in the past liked being reserved, as it might come with a great surprise.

Mo Fan’s kidneys felt energetic early in the morning. He left the Saintess’ Hall with confident strides.

If Mo Fan had a little notebook too, he would have ticked off an important life goal.

For some reason, the more ticks a man had, the more confident his aura was!

Coincidentally, when Mo Fan left Xinxia’s place, the other two Saintesses were on their way out. He happened to see Asha’ruiya, who was dressed like a goddess, on his left. However, despite the enticing look in her eyes, he remained perfectly calm!

On Mo Fan’s right was the Black and White Impudence, Izisha. Unlike Asha’ruiya’s angelic appearance, she had a firm and noble aura!

It was very likely that the Saintesses were strict with parts of their schedules.

Xinxia was having a holiday, and did not have to work for a few days, so Mo Fan was the one who came out of her place.

The three crossed paths at the center. Mo Fan was by himself. Asha’ruiya and Izisha each had a huge group behind them, as if they were having a stare down at a crossroad.

There was only a single path to the Hall of the Goddess. It was right in front of Mo Fan.

The path was only wide enough for one group to pass through, meaning that one side would have to give way to the other. There was only one Goddess after all, which was why the path was designed like this.

Who was going to go first? Was it going to be Asha’ruiya, or Izisha?

It was obvious that Izisha was not going to let Asha’ruiya go first, nor was Asha’ruiya going to compromise!

“Oh my, you are being too kind to me. I’m in a rush to grab some of Hangzhou’s steam dumplings!” Mo Fan greeted both sides and went straight through without stopping, as if the two beside him were just his subordinates.

Izisha and Asha’ruiya were still glaring at one another when Mo Fan strode past them. They completely ignored him!

But Izisha and Asha’ruiya still cursed under their breath, looking at Mo Fan’s back.

This was why a man’s achievements were very important!

Mo Fan was just that confident!

Chapter 2180: Important Clue

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had only told the Parthenon Temple about the Guild of the Wicked. As for the Black Vatican… frankly speaking, it was up to the Parthenon Temple to find out they were involved. Mo Fan was not willing to share such an important clue with the Parthenon Temple.

Who knew if the Parthenon Temple had more spies from the Black Vatican around. It was better if fewer people knew about the Black Vatican, so Mo Fan did not have to worry about being set up when he made his move!

“So we don’t tell anyone about the Black Vatican?” Mu Bai did not understand Mo Fan’s intentions.

“The Parthenon Temple doesn’t care about getting rid of the Black Vatican, they only care about their image. They won’t necessarily take action if you tell them about the Black Vatican. Besides, do you think telling them is going to make any difference? They didn’t know the Black Vatican was blatantly planting those Frenzy Poppies in their territory!” Mo Fan replied.

“When we were dealing with the Cold Prince, we didn’t dare ask the Enforcement Union for assistance, as we were afraid we might lose the clues we had. The Black Vatican is everywhere. It turns out that we made the right choice, which allowed us to track down their Red Cardinal!” Zhao Manyan chimed in.

Zhao Manyan was quite experienced when it came to dealing with the Black Vatican. It was tricky to take out the Black Vatican, since they had infiltrated many organizations. The three of them could not afford to leak the information they had.

“I’ll let Xinxia know, but tell her not to inform anyone else from the Parthenon Temple. Mu Bai, if you are confident that Yan Qiu is an important member of the Parthenon Temple, we might have a chance to find Salan!” Mo Fan said.

“Seriously? Are we really going after Salan?” Zhao Manyan protested.

“Of course!” Mo Fan and Mu Bai said together. They were both as determined as the other.

“Old Zhao, you have no idea how important it is to obtain a clue on Salan’s whereabouts. During the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, the officials had to sacrifice themselves just to expose Salan. Unfortunately, they let Salan go to save the millions of lives in the inner city. It was the closest the Enforcement Union has ever gotten to learning Salan’s identity. However, she has disappeared without a single trace since then. No one knows where she is.”

“Salan likes to abuse the Frenzy Spring. It can mix with rain and provoke the demon creatures within several hundred kilometers to attack human cities. If she can cause the Calamity of the Ancient Capital, she can do it a second time, or a third time…”

“Based on our speculation, Salan hasn’t been active lately not because she’s being merciful and thinking of retiring, but because it’s very likely that it takes a long time to produce the Frenzy Liquid!” Mo Fan went on.

Mu Bai nodded. He added, “I’ve analyzed the features of the Frenzy Poppies and noticed that they take a longer time to mature than normal poppies. Salan’s next move might depend on when she finishes producing the Frenzy Spring. You saw the dead bodies on Green Sprouts Island. They were buried in the pool and left to rot like a school of fish, but if Salan is on the move again, the deaths will be ten times, or a hundred times worse than the tragedy on Green Sprouts Island. The Bishop of the Black Church is like a kid playing with his playdough compared to Salan!”

“Fine… I guess we’ll be busy saving the world again. That being said, do we even have any clue to her whereabouts? Blue Bat has already taken Mr. Lin away. What should we do next?” Zhao Manyan finally agreed with a wry smile.

“Do you remember Harper mentioned he had planted poppies before? He bragged he could help us pick the places where the Tyrant Titans would most likely show up,” Mu Bai reminded him.

“Yeah, but that guy is already dead… Wait a second, are you telling me Harper was with the Black Vatican too?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Of course he wasn’t, but Harper knew Mr. Lin was planting poppies, and if he was familiar with poppies, he must have been aware of Mr. Lin’s secrets. I made sure to check Harper’s belongings after we left Crete. I must say it’s a blessing that we met him. He might be dead, but he has been a great help to us,” Mu Bai said.

“Harper’s belongings? Why do I have a feeling you were only trying to find a lot of sex toys?” Zhao Manyan scoffed.

“He told me once that he wanted to be a writer, the kind that writes about relaxing life../styles in remote places,” Mo Fan said.

“Him? A writer?” Zhao Manyan huffed disdainfully.

“He was just an amateur. He must have taught himself with tutorials he found online. He started to keep a diary to practice his writing…” Mu Bai took out a few notebooks. They were filled with words.

Zhao Manyan was stunned. He did not expect the guy who claimed to be living off women to have such a hobby!

“He did write about his secret relationship with Mr. Lin’s daughter, including that he was suspicious about the poppies Mr. Lin was planting, too,” Mu Bai told them both.

“Was there anything exciting that I might find interesting?” Zhao Manyan raised his brows.

Mu Bai could only look awkward at the question.

Mu Bai had basically read all of its contents while translating it. There was indeed an entry about how he had tricked Mr. Lin’s daughter to meet him in the field. Harper had described the encounter in great detail. Mu Bai seriously wished Harper was only practicing his writing skill when he wrote the entry, instead of trying to display his character!

Thanks to Harper’s shameless diary, Mu Bai learned that Mr. Lin’s daughter suspected her father was having an affair with another woman.

“Harper knew Mr. Lin was planting poppies, and according to the diary, he believed Mr. Lin had a bigger plantation of them somewhere else. Harper was amused that Mr. Lin’s daughter suspected her father was having an affair when the truth was that he was doing some shady business!” Mu Bai said, basically ignoring Zhao Manyan’s question.

“So that’s why Mr. Lin’s daughter is dead. The Black Vatican was afraid she might leak some important information,” Zhao Manyan said thoughtfully.

“Exactly, Harper was smarter than we thought. Mr. Lin didn’t even realize a lazy worker of his had seen through his disguise. However, Harper didn’t know Mr. Lin was working for the Black Vatican,” Mo Fan nodded.

Harper’s diary clearly stated his speculations about Mr. Lin’s plantation being somewhere Mr. Lin frequently visited. It had plenty of sunlight and the perfect temperature, weather, and moisture to plant poppies!

Chapter 2181: Being a Lecturer at a University

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Salan won’t hide forever. She’s waiting for the poppies to mature. If we find Mr. Lin’s plantation, it will bring us closer to Salan!” Mo Fan declared.

“That’s a very important clue. Shouldn’t we tell the Holy Judgment Court or the Enforcement Union instead, so they can take care of Salan? We don’t have to do it ourselves, do we? Zhao Manyan asked hastily.

“The Holy Judgment Court was stupid enough to let the Cold Prince escape from their prison. How reliable do you think they are? Our country’s Enforcement Union is determined to hunt Salan down, yet they have trouble doing anything since the other countries won’t allow them to operate freely in their territories,” Mo Fan scoffed at the idea.

“So you are saying that we have to rely on ourselves again?” Zhao Manyan felt like crying.

“We must handle the investigation ourselves. Otherwise, the people of the Black Vatican will quickly erase their traces again. They will do anything to protect their superiors. Besides, I don’t want to involve the others,” Mo Fan said sternly.

“Yeah, Golden Sun Knight Jiang Bin… he’s blind because of us. If someone like him can’t protect himself from the Black Vatican, who else can stay safe once they decide to take on the Black Vatican with us?” Mu Bai sighed.

Mu Bai was blaming himself for Golden Sun Knight Jiang Bin’s fate. If he had known the Black Vatican was involved, he would not have put the Knight’s life in danger!

“The three of us are nowhere near enough to take on the Black Vatican… Speaking of which, shouldn’t we focus on looking for the Totem Beasts with Jiang Shaoxu and Lingling?” Zhao Manyan proposed.

He felt like searching for Totem Beasts was a safer option. He still remembered what had happened when they went looking for the Cold Prince. It felt like they were walking on thin ice at all times. He did not want to experience that again!

“Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu are still searching for clues. We don’t have any accurate information on any of the Totem Beasts that we haven’t already discovered. Now that you have reminded me, we shouldn’t tell them about the Black Vatican, either,” Mo Fan said quietly.

Going against the Black Vatican was beyond dangerous. Regardless of how clever Lingling was, Mo Fan did not want the Black Vatican to go after her!

Mo Fan had already prepared himself to share the same fate as Xu Zhaoting when he decided to take on the Black Vatican!

“So you are saying my life is cheap like yours is? You can choose not to tell me about the Black Vatican too, since I don’t have the resolution that you two do. I just want to be a carefree writer like Harper, the kind who writes whenever he feels like, instead of being urged to write everyday just to meet a word count!” Zhao Manyan protested.

Zhao Manyan noticed both Mo Fan and Mu Bai were staring at him as he was grumbling. The looks in their eyes were making him uncomfortable. He eventually sighed and said, “Fine, I’m in. I might not hold a strong grudge against the Black Vatican, but without me, the Black Vatican is going to chop you both into pieces at any second. It’s going to be boring without you two as comparison whenever I put on airs and hook up with the ladies!”

Mo Fan was very familiar with Zhao Manyan’s personality. He would play as hard to get as a woman most of the time. He might say no, but his body was very honest.

Even if Mo Fan and Mu Bai had asked Zhao Manyan to not involve himself, he would have said no!

“By the way, there’s one more thing. Mo Fan, I need you to ask your lover about something. Thanks to her, I learned Spectre was going to disguise himself as a member of the Black Church,” Mu Bai suddenly recalled.

“My lover? Where did that even come from? Asha’ruiya and I are just friends,” Mo Fan said.

Both Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan believed Mo Fan’s relationship with Asha’ruiya was beyond friendship. Otherwise, why would a Saintess bother helping him? Mo Fan would claim they were both benefiting from it, yet Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan did not think Mo Fan was giving her any help. On the other hand, Asha’ruiya’s information had proven useful many times!

“I thought you two were just f**k buddies? Since when did you two become friends?” Zhao Manyan pretended to be surprised.

“F**k buddies my ass, I didn’t even touch those two chicks who lived in the same house with me. It’s important for a man to practice self-control, don’t you understand?” Mo Fan swore.

“You are just being a coward.”

“Coward my ass!”

“Go ahead and prove me wrong, then. You can settle that little vixen Asha’ruiya first and eat the two golden sparrows you are keeping in Shanghai later. A man must be free and at ease. The worst thing you can do is let a woman down!” Zhao Manyan declared proudly.

“Can you two idiots stop yelling at one another? I forgot what I was going to say.”

“Shut up, Green Tea Virgin!” Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan yelled back at the same time.

Mu Bai’s face twitched.

He had already had enough of being called Green Tea Man by them. He might have acted like a little prick in high school because he was not mature enough, but he definitely did not deserve to be called a Green Tea Man now.

What the heck did they mean by calling him Green Tea Virgin?

It might only differ by one word, but the damage it dealt to Mu Bai’s pride had multiplied!

Forget about risking their lives to go against the Black Vatican. He swore he would tear these two assh**** into pieces today!

—

—

The three needed new identities if they wanted to infiltrate the Black Vatican.

The Black Vatican would not set up its headquarters in the remote mountains or in a pirate cove. They were hiding at every level in society. They were just like ordinary people before their identities were exposed. They might be a businessman, an office worker, a civil Mage, an official, or common folks.

Similarly, Mr. Lin’s plantation was not hidden in a secret location. It was established inside a reputable university in the Americas!

When Mr. Lin’s daughter complained to Harper, she suspected her father was having an affair with a student from the university there.

To think that the Black Vatican was producing the Frenzy Spring Water at a university. The Holy Judgment Court and Enforcement Union would never have guessed, nor them, if it was not for Harper’s sex diary!

——

“Well, it’s not impossible for you to go there as exchange students, but it might arouse suspicion to request something like that all of a sudden,” Dean Xiao informed them.

“Is there any way we can be assigned there in a more natural way?” Mo Fan inquired calmly.

“Patience, I’ve already asked the national team. There seems to be a conference for mentors being held at the university. In simpler words, many lecturers from different universities will come to our school and attend courses that will last for a few months. We can also send our teachers over there,” Dean Xiao told him.

“You’re asking me to be a lecturer? ” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

“Yes, did you forget you are still a qualified mentor of our school? You did a good job last time,” Dean Xiao praised him.

“Ugh… I think so?” Mo Fan agreed awkwardly.

“If you go there as a student, you will need to control your strength as part of your disguise, but if you go as a lecturer, it’s a lot more convenient for you. You don’t have to conceal your strength. Besides, you will have a lot more power than a student to help you find the things you are looking for,” Dean Xiao said.

Mo Fan nodded. Dean Xiao was truly a wise man!

Being a lecturer at a university? The thought was already sounding quite exciting to him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Aorus Sacred Institute was located in a remote place. The closest city was around a hundred and fifty kilometers away.

However, despite being located in a remote place, many people had come to study magic at the Institute. Lately, it had overtaken the Sacred Hall of Liberty in terms of popularity. It was slowly becoming the most well-known university in the Americas.

A dozen kilometers to the west of Aorus Sacred Institute was the Pacific Ocean. There were no mountains or cliffs between them, just a sandy white beach.

The area between the shore and the Aorus Sacred Institute was covered in white sand, like a sacred desert, a place that every South American enjoyed visiting to cleanse their minds.

To the east of the Aorus Sacred Institute were the Andes.

The Andes Mountains were similar to China’s Qinling Mountains in some ways. The mountain range served as a boundary line, with the warm weather of the Pacific Ocean on one side while the other side had plenty of rain and obvious temperature differences between seasons.

The unique weather made the place a suitable ground to plant the Frenzy Poppies. The Andes Range was about five times longer than the Qinling Mountains, part of the longest mountain range in the world. Even though the area that was suitable for planting the Frenzy Poppies was only a few hundred kilometers long, finding the Frenzy Poppies was like trying to retrieve a needle from the sea due to the Andes’ complicated terrain.

To the left was the sea, a long shore, and a sandy white beach. To the right were the mountains and their complicated terrain.

The Aorus Sacred Institute was located in this unique environment. Its influence in the Americas was quite shocking. Even the Sacred Hall of Liberty, which was under North America’s Magic Association, had to act humbly before it.

Mo Fan was very bad at geography. Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan had heard of the Aorus Sacred Institute before, but Mo Fan thought it was just a random university when he first heard its name.

“The Aorus Sacred Institute is just like the European University Institute, but the latter is too competitive and has a lot of students from the ancient families from across Europe. The European University Institute might be powerful, but it doesn’t stand out too much. The Aorus Sacred Institute, on the other hand, is located in the Americas. It’s the first choice for many bright students, followed by MIT, Harvard, California…” Zhao Manyan gave Mo Fan a quick lesson.

“Why didn’t such a famous institute take part in the World College Tournament?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“The teams in the World College Tournament represent their countries, but the Aorus Sacred Institute takes students from across the Americas. They are like an independent kingdom that doesn’t belong to any country,” Zhao Manyan answered promptly.

“That’s impressive. It sounds like a place outside the law that many students are fond of,” Mo Fan noticed.

“More or less. Apparently the student IDs of the Aorus Sacred Institute are more useful than permanent residency in any nearby country. The students of the Aorus Sacred Institute are judged according to their own rules, even if they have committed serious offenses,” Zhao Manyan said.

“That’s true! I remember once a student of the Aorus Sacred Institute went back to the United States to visit his family. He ended up having a fight and blasted a building into pieces by accident, resulting in quite a few casualties. The government and local Magic Association arrested the student and were going to sentence him to life imprisonment, but the Aorus Sacred Institute’s Head of Discipline asked them to let their student go. The Sacred Hall of Liberty was going to use the incident to teach the Aorus Sacred Institute a lesson. To everyone’s surprise, the president of the local Magic Association and the government employees were alumni of the Aorus Sacred Institute. They had no choice but to hand the student back after the Head of Discipline scolded the crap out of them,” Mu Bai said.

He had seen it on the news a few years ago. It had gotten a lot of attention back then. Since then, many alumni had treated their passports as useless junk. They believed the student IDs of the Aorus Sacred Institute were far more superior to any citizenship!

“Doesn’t that count as harboring a criminal?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“It definitely is, but the Aorus Sacred Institute is like an independent country. Students need to get a visa just to study at the school. They used international laws to extradite the student. There was no problem with it at all. That being said, it doesn’t mean they will tolerate the crimes their students committed. They did punish the student, but no one knows what the punishment was…” Zhao Manyan shrugged.

“Even I am interested in getting a student ID from the Aorus Sacred Institute for myself now!” Mo Fan exclaimed. Being a student of the Aorus Sacred Institute was like having a death-exemption plate!

Most of laws existed to restrict ordinary people.

Even a murderer could be transferred from a prison to a psychiatry ward if they were proven to suffer from a mental disorder, but there were different kinds of psychiatry wards!

Some were scarier than a prison, but some were as luxurious as a resort, like sending the criminals off to a vacation. They could live an enjoyable life at the cost of not being able to engage with the outside world freely.

It was a common way for the criminals to escape punishment. Legal tomes were so thick, with so many laws and terms written in black and white. There had to be a lot of unknown ways that criminals could abuse to escape their punishment. It was most likely the reason why so many people were so hungry for power.

A lot of people might be fond of living a carefree life, but life always had its struggles. Most people could bear with the minor ones, but when they found themselves in difficult situations, it was meaningless to complain about unfair treatment to the world.

The Aorus Sacred Institute was able to extradite criminals from any country as long as they were students there. It was not against international law. As for the innocent people who died when the building was destroyed, making the student pay for what he had done was solely dependent on how selfish the Aorus Sacred Institute was!

——

Mo Fan and company finally arrived at the Aorus Sacred Institute after a long journey.

The area in front of the Aorus Sacred Institute was undeveloped. Most importantly, the Aorus Sacred Institute did not even have roads connected to it, as if the magic institute had no need for modern transportation.

Mo Fan felt like he had come to a different world when he arrived at the Aorus Sacred Institute.

The green lawns were perfectly tended. Buildings with characteristics of different countries stood among the trees. Mo Fan could see four magnificent statues with fountains just looking around himself, not to mention the delicate corridors, bridges, cafes, and sight-seeing towers that were decorated so elegantly!

“Damn it, our Pearl Institute is like the countryside compared to this place!” Mo Fan exclaimed as soon as he set foot into the Aorus Sacred Institute.

Zhao Manyan had been to many places, but he was shocked by the Aorus Sacred Institute’s appearance too!

Was this really an institute?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Leave, didn’t you see the warning sign there? You Asians are so annoying. You never follow the rules when you go to other people’s places. This isn’t your village or country, where you can go anywhere as you please!” A proud, but short woman who was sweeping the fallen leaves with a broom began driving Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan away angrily.

Mo Fan looked at himself. They had disguised themselves slightly according to Mu Bai’s suggestions so they would look more like teachers in their thirties, but it did not necessarily mean a student could treat them so impolitely!

“We aren’t here for sightseeing!” Mu Bai answered for them.

Normally, Zhao Manyan would be the first to speak when they stumbled into a woman. There was only one reason why he would ignore a woman; she did not look like one at all!

Zhao Manyan was a shallow man. He did not bother taking an extra glance at women who were not pretty.

“I don’t care why you are here. The Aorus Sacred Institute isn’t a tourist attraction. You should head to the beach instead. You won’t be sneaking in!” the woman retorted like a Gatling gun.

“(Sigh), let’s not waste our time talking to this ugly b**ch, I’m starving. We should find a few students in bikinis to have lunch with us,” Zhao Manyan said impatiently.

“Who are you calling an ugly b**ch, you blond sissy!” the woman snarled, pointing at Zhao Manyan.

“Who are you calling a sissy? Didn’t you see there’s a guy whose face is as white as a wall beside me?” Zhao Manyan pointed at Mu Bai.

“Zhao Manyan, are you messing with me now?” Mu Bai was seriously impressed. Why did Zhao Manyan have to involve him when he was arguing with a woman?

Mo Fan was not in the mood to waste his time on the arrogant woman. He took out the temporary pass the Aorus Sacred Institute had given them.

“Ah? Are you students? Seniors, I’m sorry. Most students do not use this entrance. Only tourists who do not know where they are going…” The woman’s eyes widened when she saw Mo Fan’s pass.

“Are you blind? Take a closer look at it!” Mo Fan said impatiently.

A student’s ID and a teacher’s ID had the same outer appearance, but the information on them was different.

The woman took a quick glance at the ID and almost threw her broom away in fear. She stared at the three in disbelief.

“Lec…lecturers? I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please forgive me…” The woman almost burst into tears.

“You are just a part-timer at the school. You are not even a student. Who gave you the right to throw your tantrum at strangers?” Mo Fan scolded her.

“I’m really sorry!” The woman was terrified.

If she offended students, she would only be picked on by them, but if she offended a lecturer, she could be fired immediately. Students of the Aorus Sacred Institute were like princes, and the lecturers were emperors!

“If you bring us around, I’ll let you go,” Mo Fan said.

“Huh? But I was told by my senior to sweep the leaves here. I must clean them all before sunset…” the woman said.

“Should you listen to a lecturer or your senior?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“A…a lecturer, of course!”

“Then what are you waiting for? Lead the way!”

——

It was true that the students of the Aorus Sacred Institute did not use that entrance, as it did not lead to the dormitories or the cafeteria. It was mainly for tourists, even though the school was not open for tourists.

The Aorus Sacred Institute only allowed visitors with appointments. They had to have valid visas, sufficient assets, and no criminal records.

Even so, the reservations could only be made a year in advance, so most tourists could only see the institute from the outside.

The three followed the broom-bearing woman around. They were not in a rush to report for duty, as they did not come here to be teachers. Their goal was to find clues about the Black Vatican. They were only thinking of walking around the campus to familiarize themselves with the school first before checking in. Once they checked in, they might find themselves busy with some useless stuff, giving them less freedom to roam around.

“So you are lecturers from China’s national team here for an exchange. The Aorus Sacred Institute has always been famous for its expertise in agriculture. We have around a hundred labs on the Andes Mountains. The smaller ones are around the size of ten soccer fields…” the woman immediately told them the information they were after.

Mu Bai’s lips twisted.

Was this school an agriculture enterprise? It had more than a hundred plantations. Other reputable schools only had a few fields under their names!

Mu Bai suspected the Black Vatican was using the school as a cover to plant Frenzy Poppies, so he wanted to learn how many plantations it had, but now found himself dumbfounded by the answer!

“To be honest, I have an urge to settle down here. With so many resources available, I could easily make anything I want!” Mu Bai murmured.

Mu Bai was a herbalist and a Plant Mage. He still felt like he was in Heaven.

The woman pointed in another direction and said, “Over there are the dormitories, aren’t they spectacular?”

Mo Fan looked over to a field on the other side. He noticed a colorful little town, built like it was from a fairy tale!

The buildings were unique and mesmerizing. Even the paths were built with marble. The material that was normally used to decorate the inside of luxurious buildings was scattered across the town, and that was just the dormitories for the students!

“Mo Fan, tell Dean Xiao that I’m forfeiting my status at Pearl Institute. I’m thinking of enrolling in this school,” Zhao Manyan blurted out.

Seeing for oneself was better than hearing from many others. Zhao Manyan had long heard about the school, yet he only realized how insane it was after visiting it in person!

It was not exaggerating to describe every place outside of the school as the slums!

No wonder even a part-timer felt so superior to others. Anyone who was part of the school would treat outsiders as imbeciles!

A woman with puffy hair came up to them and screeched, “Lily, how bold of you? I asked you to clean the leaves, yet you are having a stroll here with some savages!”

“Senior, it’s not what you think, they are…”

PA! The student slapped the woman across the face before she could finish her sentence!

The woman held her face. Her hair was disheveled, yet she did not dare to show any resentment. She was trying her best to act like she was in the wrong.

Mo Fan was right beside her, but he could not react in time. After all, he had no idea that the students here were all so tough!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What are you looking at? Do you feel sorry for her?” The student glared at Mo Fan.

“Not really, I’m just a little shocked,” Mo Fan replied, bemused.

The woman did deserve some beating, based on how she had treated them in the first place. Mo Fan did not think her attitude would change after guiding them around.

Mo Fan also realized the reason why she was looking down on the tourists after seeing her senior. The woman did not really have any place in the school. She was bullied by her seniors most of the time, so she could only vent her frustrations on the tourists who came to the school without permission.

The slap was not that heavy; it would only leave red marks on the woman’s face at most. Mo Fan had no intention of helping the woman. He could not be bothered wasting his time on someone who lacked both inner and outer qualities.

The woman left after swallowing her anger. Mo Fan quickly stopped the student with the puffy hair, as they no longer had a guide to bring them around, “Can you bring us around then?”

“Why should I bring you around? Are you blind? Even if you are blind, I’m not obliged to help the handicapped!” the student scoffed at him.

She left immediately, leaving Mo Fan and the others behind.

Zhao Manyan was going to teach her a lesson, but Mu Bai waved his hand and said, “Forget it, we have already gone to most of the places we need to. It’s time for us to check in with the school.”

“Speaking of which, since we came later than the others, we couldn’t make it to the welcoming ceremony. We have to start teaching tomorrow. Have you two prepared for the classes? We shouldn’t expose ourselves,” Zhao Manyan inquired, adjusting his glasses .

“What preparations?” Mo Fan asked dimly.

“Seriously? If you didn’t prepare for the classes, how are you going to teach the students? Mo Fan, can you be a little more professional? The Black Vatican can disguise itself in various ways. They can blend into society like secret agents. I hope the school doesn’t unmask you before we find the Black Vatican!” Zhao Manyan sighed.

—

Mo Fan purposely stayed up all night to prepare for the classes the next day. He thought he could enjoy the luxurious life../style at the Aorus Sacred Institute and have a coincidental encounter with the ladies of renowned families on the campus, but instead he was forced to stay in his room and practice how to be a teacher!

An assistant was waiting for Mo Fan outside his unit early in the morning. He was worried that Mo Fan might lose his way around.

The handsome assistant was in his late twenties. He was surprised to see Mo Fan walking out of his room in a simple outfit, as he noticed Mo Fan was only a few years older than him.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan had taken the Face-Altering Syrup that Mu Bai had refined just so they would not look too young. It might not be able to change their appearance completely, but it did make them look older. Most people would think they were in their thirties.

Mo Fan was a little disappointed when he saw his assistant was a man.

“Good morning, Lecturer Mo Yifan, we are honored to invite a bright lecturer from China like you to teach our students. I’ve been looking forward to learning more about the culture of your country!” the assistant said respectfully.

“Mm,” Mo Fan pretended to be unapproachable.

The assistant scratched his head. He did not expect the lecturer to be so reserved. He added, “How were your preparations last night? A kind reminder for you, the students of the Aorus Sacred Institute are a lot trickier to teach. They always come up with questions that our professors struggle to answer, so I hope you won’t find it troublesome. They are just passionate about their studies.”

“I understand,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Ah, there’s one more thing. Since you and your colleagues didn’t attend the welcoming ceremony, you might be unaware that there are lecturers from nine other reputable universities who will be teaching at our school for two months. Our school encourages competition in our teaching. Each guest lecturer will be in charge of a class, and these classes will be taking part in a competition in two months. I hope your students will win the competition!” the assistant said.

“Oh? That sounds interesting!” Mo Fan smiled.

Learning without competing with others was no different from relaxing on a farm. Even the women had to fight for the rights to the public square for a place to have their aerobic dances and promote themselves. How could the students of a magic institute not have a competitive spirit?

Mo Fan liked the idea of having competitions. He would be bored to death in a peaceful and doddering society!

“Your colleagues have already finished their classes. They are still getting used to the new environment, but their classes were fascinating,” the assistant said.

Mo Fan followed the assistant to where his class was. He thought it would be a spacious outdoor training ground, but instead it was a classroom with decorations that resembled Star Patterns.

“This is where your class is for today. You will be teaching Advanced Magic Theory… I’ll be attending the class too, so you can ask me anything if you need,” the assistant said.

“Huh? Advanced Magic Theory?” Mo Fan almost dropped his glasses to the floor.

“Is there something wrong? Mr. Zhao Yanzu took the class that teaches about demon creatures while Mr. Mu Han took the class about magic dueling… did I make a mistake? Let me take a look!” The assistant quickly took out his notebook and checked the schedule again.

They were told Mo Yifan was a great lecturer of magic theories in China. He must have profound knowledge in the field which would broaden their students’ horizons.

“No, it’s nothing. It’s just that I’m good in a lot of fields, so I didn’t expect my colleagues to take the classes I was planning to teach,” Mo Fan said.

Those motherf**kers!

How could they let a half-illiterate like him teach the students magic theory? The class about magic duels was obviously his area of expertise. If he knew magic theory, his father would not have had to sell their house to Mu He that old bastard!

Did they want him to expose himself by letting him teach magic theory in a university when he did not even graduate from high school?

“You may start, the students are waiting,” the assistant said.

Mo Fan put on a polite smile and walked into the class with the remaining confidence of a man he had acquired from Xinxia not long ago.

He thought it was only a small class with around twenty students. He could just fool around and get over it, yet he was almost spooked out of his mind when he set foot into the class.

It did not feel like a class, but a conference talk instead!

There were over three hundred students packed inside the hall!

The youthful students of different countries and races sat patiently in their seats.

Mo Fan had never felt so nervous before. It was worse than facing the army of undead from the Great Pyramid of Giza!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Teaching magic theory was different from teaching about magic duels, as magic theory was closely related to the latest magic technologies.

For example, how did vehicles powered by the Lightning Element maintain their stability?

How could one manipulate the structure of the soil and the terrain to make the walls of a city sturdier?

What were the principles that the Magic Tools and the special Cultivation Ponds were based on?

There was no way Mo Fan would know the answers to those kind of questions!

He might have the Lightning Element and the Earth Element, and he also owned a Magic Tool, but he was completely clueless about how they worked!

Mages not only learned how to use magic and maximize the potential of their spells, but they had to improve magic technology too, as it directly affected the advancement of civilization.

Mo Fan was being asked to teach this subject, not to mention it was an advanced class!

“Ahem… students, my name is Mo Yifan, I’m your lecturer for today.” Mo Fan tried his best to remain calm and introduced himself.

One of the students who was not far from the podium almost burst out screaming in disbelief.

She was none other than the overbearing senior who had slapped the woman with a broom in the face. She had the urge to hide under her desk when she recalled her behavior yesterday. She was hoping that the lecturer would not notice her.

Mo Fan had sharp eyes. He immediately noticed a familiar face among the students.

He had no idea where to start, so he decided to pick on her instead.

“You there… yes, the third lady on the fourth row. Nice to see you again. Please think of an interesting question for me to start our class today!” Mo Fan pointed at the woman with puffy hair.

The student rose to her feet, staggering as if she was having her period.

The Aorus Sacred Institute had a great reputation. Its lecturers were well respected too. The students had to behave themselves in front of the lecturers.

“Lecturer Mo, I don’t know which topic you are going to teach today…” the student, Bulma said softly.

“It’s fine, just ask whatever question you have,” Mo Fan slowly calmed his nerves after he found an entry point. As for the topic he was going to teach today… he did not have any idea either!

‘Ugh… then may I ask about the magic towers that are mainly built to defend cities. These towers replace the role of sentry Mages of firing spells and tracking demon creatures. How do they work?” Bulma offered with a lack of confidence.

Mo Fan had no idea how to answer Bulma’s question.

He did hear about these magic towers, but they were not generalized across the world. Not only did they cost a lot, they were unable to distinguish demon creatures very well. It was still being tested across the world, so Mo Fan had no clue how they worked!

“Isn’t your question too easy? You should just ask the lecturer of your construction classes instead of wasting my precious time!” Mo Fan adjusted his glasses proudly.

“Erm… I’m sorry, the question is indeed too simple for you,” Bulma’s head began to spin. She had regretted calling the lecturer a savage yesterday.

“Give me a better question,” Mo Fan prodded her.

“Then, what are the devices and Fire Seeds that are required and the procedures to purify the Elemental Diamonds?” Bulma asked.

“What’s the point of wasting your time on learning about these materials that are only useful for Forbidden Mages? Do you think you can become a Forbidden Mage?” Mo Fan replied coldly.

Luckily, he had heard about the Elemental Diamonds from Lingling and the American healer when he went to Tianshan Mountain. Mo Fan just briefly touched on it like he knew the answer and pretended like he was too lazy to answer the question.

Bulma was stunned.

Most people did not even know what the Elemental Diamonds were, let alone Forbidden Mages that did not even exist in most textbooks.

“Sir!” A handsome student suddenly rose to his feet. He seemed to notice Mo Fan was purposely picking on Bulma, so he decided to lend her a hand.

“Sir, Bulma must be a little nervous, so she couldn’t come up with a nice question. I did encounter a tricky problem when I was on an adventure. I was hoping to hear your thoughts on it,” the student with red hair called out.

“You…” Mo Fan was just about to ask the student to sit down, yet the student insisted on protecting Bulma, even if it meant offending the lecturer.

The student interrupted before Mo Fan could finish, “Our group went to Peru and encountered a strange species. They kept showing up like waves of the water in the ocean. Even the biggest hordes of demon creatures in the world can’t just keep coming like there’s no limit to their numbers. Most importantly, you can’t even sense their presence until they show up. It has been bothering us since, so I was hoping to get some answers from you.”

“Simpkins, the lecturer is teaching magic theory, but you are asking a question about demon creatures. Please rethink your question again!” the assistant reminded him.

The assistant was the class’ head aide. His job was to supervise the students instead of teaching them. Normally, the position was open for graduates who preferred to stay at the school.

The assistant was not a lecturer, but his status was still higher than the students.

“It’s fine. His question might not be my field of expertise, but as a lecturer, it’s my job to answer my students’ questions. I can answer his question too,” Mo Fan subconsciously fondled his beard before he realized he did not even have one.

The student’s question was Mo Fan’s last hope!

“The two of you should remain standing while I answer the question.” Mo Fan did not go easy on the students, acting like he was not someone they wanted to mess with. He said, “The question implies you like going on adventures and fighting demon creatures. I’ve never been to Peru, but I can easily guess what you’ve encountered without having to hear the details about it.

“The creatures you mentioned are called the Symbolic Creatures, a kind of Chaos Magic that the natives used. It allows certain creatures to duplicate continuously…”

The student had obviously encountered the Nazca Monsters!

Examples included the Nazca Monster Birds and the Nazca Monster Apes.

Mo Fan was much more familiar with the Nazca Monsters than some theoretical experts. After all, the Nazca Monsters once pursued the national team endlessly after the team was Cursed by them!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The secret of the Nazca Monsters’ overwhelming numbers was their ability to duplicate themselves. Once the true Symbolic Creatures were dead, their duplicates would disappear too.

Mo Fan had only realized it was a kind of Chaos Magic after he had Awakened the Chaos Element.

“What…” Simpkins purposely asked the question to make the lecturer’s life difficult, and did not expect the lecturer to answer it so easily. His team had put in a lot of effort figuring out the secret of the Nazca Monsters. How knowledgeable was this Chinese lecturer, to know the secret of the Nazca Monsters?!

“I only answered his question because the complicated Chaos Element happens to be the main topic for today!” Mo Fan began his teaching.

Simpkins’ question somehow reminded Mo Fan of Bei Jiang’s special abilities. Mo Fan had been intrigued by Bei Jiang’s abilities after killing him, so he had discussed things in depth with Feng Zhoulong at the Canton Tower about it.

Merging different Elements was the most advanced and complicated area of research in the world. Feng Zhoulong happened to specialize in it, or he would not have been able to transfer Bei Jiang’s power to Mo Fan. Mo Fan decided to discuss the possibility of merging different Elements and his in-depth knowledge of the Chaos Element and Shadow Element with the class.

The Shadow Element and the Chaos Element were considered the most complicated of the Elements. He simply repeated what Feng Zhoulong had shared with him, while adding some exaggerations. The advanced topic was still an unproven concept, thus the students could only understand him if they were as experienced as Feng Zhoulong. Blabbing all this out, Mo Fan managed to deceive the students until the end of the class.

Merging different Elements was a mysterious topic for the students. Most students were intrigued by Mo Fan when he talked about Bei Jiang’s abilities, and started taking notes seriously. Mo Fan could not help but feel impressed by himself when none of the students doubted his teaching. He was getting better at bluffing!

He left the podium under the students’ applause with a smile. His job for today was done!

—

“What the actual f**k? Are you two f**king retards? Didn’t I already say I was going to take the class that teaches magic dueling? If anything, you could have let me talk about demon creatures instead, but you let me teach the class of magic theories? Screw you!” Mo Fan cursed out Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai after he was back at their unit.

There were only three topics available, yet Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan chose the two topics he was better at, and forced him to teach the class about magic theory!

Mu Bai, who was good at studying, could have taken the class of magic theory instead. Mo Fan was pretty much an illiterate. If he had not met the talkative Feng Zhoulong from the Research Union, he would have busted his cover in the first class!

“We didn’t know, they arranged the classes beforehand. (Sigh), it doesn’t matter at all. Those students weren’t hoping to learn anything useful from us. You can just go through the motions,” Mu Bai replied dismissively.

“Excuse me, the guest lecturers are being told to gather at the Dusk Sea Restaurant at three in the afternoon. I’ll guide you there when it’s time,” Mo Fan’s assistant informed him.

“Got it.”

——

Mo Fan meditated briefly after lunch. He was practicing his control of his Fire Element, which now had twenty-four hundred and one stars. The difficulty had increased remarkably after going from constructing a Star Constellation to a magnificent Star Palace. The process of his meditation was similar to building a Star Palace, where he had to stack up a brick at a time!

That being said, with Little Loach’s aid, Mo Fan was able to move the bricks around like a crane. He was a lot more effective than most people. He did not want to waste even a second of his time. He was trying to learn the Star Palace of the Fire Element as soon as possible, as it would grant him access to the Super Fire Spell, which would be ten times stronger than other Super Mages’ Fire Spells!

The energy in a Star Palace easily outmatched any amount of energy from a Star Constellation!

—

The assistant came by when it was almost three. He was dressed formally, and seemed to take the gathering very seriously. He was trying his best to stand out.

“I haven’t asked you your name,” Mo Fan commented.

“It’s Miyamoto Shin!” the assistant replied.

“You’re Japanese?” Zhao Manyan asked, surprised.

“Yes, I’m from Japan… oh, my mother is a Peruvian, so I’m only half-Japanese. I have my father’s surname,” Miyamoto Shin explained.

—

The three followed him to a restaurant close to the beach. It had a unique ../style. It was built on top of a huge tree with wooden stairs leading up to it. Mo Fan noticed the restaurant was almost one with the tree, with a view that overlooked the vast blue sea.

The place had been reserved for the guest lecturers. When Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai arrived, they immediately noticed a beautiful European woman, whose blond hair stood out among the others.

“Mo…Mo Fan, it’s your lover again!” Zhao Manyan whispered.

Mo Fan was left speechless. Why did Manyan sound like he had been spreading his seeds across the world? Why would his lover come to the Aorus Sacred Institute? He might have gone to many places over the years, yet he was loyal to his two wives!

“Miss Brianca, what a pleasure to see you in person. I’m Beny!” a man with blond hair like Zhao Manyan’s called out.

Mo Fan followed the voice and almost mistook the man for Prince Beny, whom he had tossed into a river. He realized it was a different person after he took a closer look. The man was a few years older than Prince Beny. The wrinkles on his face indicated that he was no longer in his twenties.

“He’s the first prince, the brother of that little assh*** we met in Venice,” Zhao Manyan informed him in a low voice.

“Oh, shouldn’t he be busy fighting for the throne? What is he doing here? And why does he keep holding Brianca’s hand? Is he a pervert?” Mo Fan said darkly.

“I recall that he is a professor at a royal institute. The first prince is a lot more capable than that little assh*** who spends most of his time flirting with women. I think he’s interested in your lover. He’s only talking to her, even though there are quite a few female teachers here,” Zhao Manyan grinned.

“Brianca didn’t recognize us… Mu Bai’s trick is actually quite effective!” Mo Fan murmured.

Mu Bai nudged them while they were focusing on Brianca. He signaled them to look out the window.

“What is it?” Zhao Manyan asked impatiently.

“It’s Herr Casa!” Mu Bai told them sharply.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

One of the most renowned clans in Europe, the Casas!

Mo Fan had only heard about the clan after he saw how ruthlessly they demanded the Alps Institute hand over their student, not to mention the arrogant Herr Casa!

Mo Fan’s impression of Herr Casa still remained at his pitiful appearance after he was poisoned. It seemed like Herr Casa had completely forgotten the lesson dealt him after he had recovered. He was greeting the lecturers, giving himself a high profile, and a huge group was gathering around him.

“That guy is a lecturer too?” Mo Fan asked helplessly.

“Are you referring to him? He’s a representative of the student union. He’s a member of the main party of the student union,” Miyamoto Shin answered politely.

Mo Fan had almost forgot Miyamoto Shin was with him. Coincidentally, Herr Casa was walking toward them after greeting the other lecturers, but he was not looking at Mo Fan, as he did not recognize him. He was looking at Miyamoto Shin instead.

“Miyamoto Shin, we didn’t expect you to become an assistant after you left our party,” Herr Casa addressed Miyamoto Shin, completely ignoring Mo Fan and the others.

Miyamoto Shin retained his smile as he replied, “I’m just from a normal background, unlike you. Allow me to introduce, these three are brilliant lecturers from China.”

“Oh, nice to meet you.” Herr Casa did not bother memorizing their names. He quickly went through the motions and strutted in Prince Beny’s direction.

“Isn’t this a gathering for the lecturers? Why are there students here too?” Mo Fan asked in confusion.

He had noticed there were a lot of people in the restaurant. The guest lecturers from nine different institutes would only add up to around thirty people, yet there were around sixty people in the restaurant. Some of them were obviously just students, based on their age.

“They are members of the student union, here to represent the students. If you want to receive a positive evaluation from the school, having a close relationship with these members of the main party in the student union might help. They have a great influence among the students. They are like the leaders of the students,” Miyamoto Shin informed him.

“Leaders of the students… sounds impressive,” Mo Fan said cautiously.

“Indeed. After all, some of them are as strong as our lecturers,” Miyamoto Shin agreed.

“The guy who was talking to you, is he from the main party of the student union, too?” Mo Fan inquired blandly.

“Yes, he was in the main party last year. My connections are nowhere as impressive as theirs. The lecturers have taken the initiative to express goodwill to them, even though they are only students, because of their background and outstanding capabilities,” Miyamoto Shin sighed, his expression helpless and jealous.

Mo Fan watched a few lecturers taking the initiative to greet Herr Casa.

“What about the gorgeous girl who’s like a Barbie doll beside Herr Casa?” As expected, Zhao Manyan’s focus was always somewhere else.

“You mean Urthurman? He’s a son of the Sacred Hall of Liberty, a very famous guy!” Miyamoto Shin said.

“Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake? The son of the Sacred Hall of Liberty?” Zhao Manyan repeated.

“Yeah, that’s what everyone calls him, since he’s the son of the Sacred Hall of Liberty’s Honorable President. He has a delicate face and likes to dress up like a woman. It’s not even a secret in our school. Look, most men who come to our school for the first time are attracted by Urthurman’s gorgeous looks, just like you. That being said, he does have a lot of followers,” Miyamoto Shin told them, clearly amused.

“What? A beautiful lady with a dick!?” Zhao Manyan reacted as if he had just eaten a fly.

Zhao Manyan had seen many, many women. He could easily tell if it was a man dressed like a woman. After all, a real woman had a natural seductiveness that no disguise could mimic! But in Urthurman’s case… he was clearly a man, yet Zhao Manyan was imagining pressing him down on a desk just half a minute ago!

When Zhao Manyan recalled his thoughts, he felt like throwing up!

“Old Zhao, I didn’t know your tolerance had improved so much!” Mo Fan patted Zhao Manyan on the shoulder.

“Piss off, you dare say you didn’t think he was hot at first sight?” Zhao Manyan shot back.

Seriously, that round bottom and long legs. He did not lose his brilliance even when he was standing beside Brianca, who was known for her alluring physique. Zhao Manyan was seriously impressed by these cross-dressers. He could not even tell until they took off their pants. That alone was not enough; they would have be facing him after they did so!

“I’m not interested in his kind,” Mo Fan smiled aloofly.

“Aren’t you two supposed to worry about Herr Casa first?” Mu Bai hissed.

“Worry about who?”

Mu Bai had an urge to keep quiet. Were these two seriously over-indulging in their disguises? They were supposed to be looking for clues about the Black Vatican’s whereabouts!

Most importantly, his sister Yan Qiu was Herr Casa’s maid. If Herr Casa was here, it was very likely Yan Qiu was here too.

In other words, they had come to the right place!

The Black Vatican was here!

—

“Mr. Mo Yifan, can I have a minute with you?” a gentle voice spoke while Mo Fan was lost in his thoughts.

“Oh, hi, how can I help you?” Mo Fan had almost forgot his alias. He turned around and saw a girl with dark purple hair. Even the ornament on her head was purple.

Her choice of purple was not the enchanting kind. It was sacred and pleasing to the eyes.

“Your class about merging different Elements today intrigued me. Unfortunately, I have a lot more to learn about it. I couldn’t understand your explanation in the class. Could you instruct me privately if you have time to spare?” the student asked seriously.

Mo Fan was startled. Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai were shocked, too.

What now!?

Did Mo Fan really get the attention of such a beautiful student with the theories he made up? She even asked him to tutor her privately?

Heaven knew what Mo Fan was going to do to her!

Mo Fan did not respond. However, Miyamoto Shin looked very surprised.

He quickly introduced them when he saw Mo Fan did not respond, “Mr. Mo Yifan, this is the student union’s president, Sharjah!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan could tell Miyamoto Shin had great respect for the student union’s president by his tone. He might have acted humbly in front of Herr Casa previously, but he was only going through the motions. However, he was doubtful and surprised when he saw the beautiful girl who looked like a purple elf. He did not understand why Sharjah would attend a guest lecturer’s class.

Perhaps she really was interested in the possibility of merging different Elements?

However, was it really possible to merge different Elements? Every Element was incompatible with other Elements. Many scholars of the Magic Associations had tried accumulating the energy of different Elements in a confined space, but there were only two outcomes. They would either stay on one side without interfering with one another, like two different gases, or cause an Elemental explosion.

The energy had to remain stable before it was used as magic power. Otherwise, Mages would hurt themselves when they were Casting spells. The reason why Mages practiced controlling the Stars was to ensure the stability of their Elements!

How bizarre would it be to merge different Elements? Or perhaps Sharjah was attracted by Mo Yifan’s traits?

Miyamoto Shin had been a member of the main party in the student union for many years. He was familiar with Sharjah’s personality. It was unheard of to see her asking a lecturer for private tutoring like a good student!

“You’re interested in the topic of merging different Elements?” Mo Fan watched her closely.

She was indeed very pretty. Mo Fan rarely described a foreign woman as pretty, but Sharjah was definitely one of them. She did not have defined facial features like most Europeans. Her delicate face, nose, and eyes were quite attractive, like a piece of tanzanite!

“Mm, I’m very interested. If we could merge different Elements, I believe it might affect the status of Forbidden Mages,” Sharjah replied, very seriously.

There were other members of the student union in the restaurant, but most of them were here to fawn upon the lecturers. The smiles on their faces clearly hinted that they were here for socializing purposes instead of seeking knowledge.

Sharjah was completely different from them. She did not smile when she faced Mo Fan. If it wasn’t for her attractive looks, he might have assumed she was a pedant who did not fit in the setting, especially if she put on a pair of glasses.

“Sharjah, the Forbidden Curses are the fruit of human intelligence. The Forbidden Mages deserve the utmost respect. If you insist on thinking highly of other forbidden spells that aren’t approved by the Magic Association, those old monsters in our school might give you a warning!” A middle-aged woman who seemed to have heard their conversation came over just then.

“Demon creatures are evolving continuously. How can we afford to be at a standstill? The Forbidden Curses might be powerful, but they are not enough to solve the crisis we are facing!” Sharjah replied without turning around.

The middle-aged woman was the person in charge of the academic exchange program. Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan were late and missed the opening ceremony, so they had not met her before.

She had a broad mink fur belt tied around her waist. Her slightly plump body had the smell of expensive perfume. Mo Fan felt his nose itch a little, mainly because the woman had put on too much of the stuff. He preferred Sharjah’s scent. It was completely natural, unlike the smell of perfume. He wondered how it would taste if he licked… oh no, he was starting to think like Zhao Manyan!

“But merging different Elements is nowhere as powerful as the Forbidden Curses,” the woman, named Yesemia, said promptly.

“Not everyone can learn the Forbidden Curses, thus having another Forbidden Curse isn’t really any great help to us. But if there was a new form of magic, for example merging different Elements, Mages across the world would have more ways of using their magic, hence increasing the overall strength of mankind,” Sharjah refuted calmly.

Yesemia smiled helplessly. She patted on Sharjah’s shoulder softly like she was her mentor and said consolingly, “But it’s never going to happen.”

“The leaders of the tribes during the era of the ancient gods didn’t think magic was a possibility, either,” Sharjah answered evenly.

“That’s enough, Sharjah, you are wasting your time on things like this again. If you don’t take everything so seriously, you would be more lovable, just like your appearance.” Yesemia stopped arguing with Sharjah and walked elegantly to the center of the hall.

Sharjah ignored her, fixing her attractive eyes on Mo Fan again.

At that moment, Mo Fan had a feeling everyone else in the restaurant was a different kind of person than her. Only he shared the same ideas as she did.

Mo Fan found himself in an awkward position.

It was obvious that Sharjah was serious about looking for a new form of magic. Mo Fan also agreed with her statements!

Not everyone could learn the Forbidden Curses, but by merging different Elements, it would increase the strength of Mages as a whole!

He remembered how excited Feng Zhoulong was when he explained the concept to Mo Fan. He claimed he was going to change the world with his experiments, and now, Mo Fan had found a foreign girl who shared the same ideas as him!

“It’s rare for us to gather here. I shall give the lecturers from different renowned institutes across the world a toast. Welcome to the Aorus Sacred Institute!” Yesemia called out, raising her glass.

Everyone raised their glasses too. The discussions in smaller circles soon escalated to a bigger stage.

Mo Fan subconsciously raised his glass as well. He caught a glimpse of the annoyed look in Sharjah’s eyes. She slowly raised her glass, then placed it down without taking a sip. She stood beside Mo Fan like she was waiting for the gathering to end.

What an interesting girl. Mo Fan was amused.

She was not annoyed because of Yesemia’s words, but the fact that she had taken his attention, making it difficult for her to ask Mo Fan more questions about merging different Elements.

It was rare to see someone so eager to learn!

—

“Sharjah, as the president of the student union, is there something you would like to say?” Yesemia asked.

“No,” Sharjah answered decisively. She was reluctant to move half a step away from Mo Fan, like she was afraid Mo Fan would run away!

“If you really have questions, we can meet up again next time. I’ll tell you everything I know. You don’t have to stand beside me like a bodyguard.” Mo Fan was at something of a loss for words.

How stubborn could she be?

“Are you sure? I thought you weren’t willing to arrange a meeting with me,” Sharjah smiled. Her smile could melt everything.

Mo Fan felt an electric shock surging within him. He coughed and said, “It’s not like I can say no when you are watching me like that!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Kay Beny. I’ve been to China on academic trips, but I don’t remember seeing such a young lecturer there.” First Prince Beny had come over without them realizing it. He had a doubtful grin on his face.

The lecturers who were invited to the Aorus Sacred Institute had to have a certain reputation at the international level. Most lecturers who had come today already knew one another. Even if they were not familiar with a person, they would know who the person was just by hearing their names.

First Prince Beny did not put too much attention on the lecturers from China. It was normal to see new faces at a gathering, but he did not feel comfortable when he saw the student union’s president Sharjah standing behind them like a little girl.

Sharjah was such an otherworldly girl. Why would she find this yellow-skinned man who did not stand out in the slightest attractive? First Prince Beny did not think his class was really that interesting.

First Prince Beny meant to claim the limelight during the gathering. The crowd’s attention had to be on him at all times, no matter where he went. Even Yesemia had been looking at Mo Fan after she stopped talking.

As a matter of fact, she had never seen the young lecturer from China before, either.

Not everyone was eligible to be a lecturer at the Aorus Sacred Institute. Yesemia was not a fan of the concept of merging different Elements, either. She would even describe it as forbidden. When she recalled how Sharjah had contradicted her in front of the crowd, she decided to side with First Prince Beny.

“That’s right, I almost forgot we have some Chinese lecturers who did a fantastic job teaching their classes. They couldn’t make it to the opening ceremony, so I believe this is a great chance to ask them to introduce themselves. I’ve been quite active in the academic field for the past few years, yet I’ve never seen them before. They must have great contributions in certain fields to be invited to our Aorus Sacred Institute as guest lecturers here as exceptions!” Yesemia chimed in with false warmth.

Mo Fan glanced at Sharjah with a wry smile when he saw many people looking at him.

He could have muddled along if he had remained unnoticed. After all, he was not really a lecturer, yet Sharjah had brought him so much unwanted attention for no reason!

“This is bad, we are fakes after all. If they ask us some tricky questions, it’s going to expose us. We don’t know if Herr Casa is one of the Black Vatican, but I’m sure he’s related to them somehow. It’s going to be difficult to continue the investigation if we inadvertently alert them now,” Zhao Manyan whispered to Mu Bai.

“We’ve gone too far. We should have let Mo Fan talk about magic duels. He wouldn’t have any problem with that,” Mu Bai agreed with a slight hint of regret.

Mo Fan remained perfectly calm while the others were doubting him. He said confidently, “My name is Mo Yifan, I’m a mentor of the national team. Unlike others who like to show their face in public, I spend most of my time in the labs and conduct experiments that are related to my field. If it wasn’t for my mentor Feng Zhoulong, who insisted on sending me here to get some fresh air, I think I would still be in Guangzhou enjoying the delicacies there. The food here sucks!”

The gathering had a buffet served with local fruit, smoked deer meat, salads, roasted chickens… but apart from the fruit, everything else was almost tasteless. They were almost like dried rations compared to the delicacies in Guangzhou!

Mo Fan was so fussy about eating. The one thing he disliked about foreign countries was eating was just a survival instinct there, instead of something he could enjoy.

“I see. You normally live in seclusion instead of showing your face in public. Most of us are like that too, but if you keep shutting yourself away and do experiments in isolation, you will eventually fall down a cliff. You will learn a lot more by attending exchange programs like this. If you don’t like our food, we do have Chinese restaurants here, but we are used to having high expectations on certain details. The hygiene, ingredients, and service of Chinese restaurants are quite undesirable, so they aren’t suitable for occasions like this,” Yesemia replied.

“I’m a strange person. I would rather enjoy delicacies in a junkyard than eating trash in a luxurious hall!” Mo Fan responded instantly.

Yesemia pulled a long face.

She had checked every dish in the restaurant first, treating the gathering very seriously. She purposely prepared the favorite food for the guest lecturers who were from different countries. That being said, she had not prepared any Chinese dishes.

She believed it was unnecessary to prepare Chinese dishes for three Chinese lecturers whose names she had never heard before. She assumed they were only young and inexperienced lecturers, so they would just accept whatever dishes she had prepared for them. Besides, the food was already so delicious!

To her surprise, Mo Fan had described their food as trash!

He had claimed the food they ate was trash!

Didn’t he realize he would offend everyone by saying that?

“I’m sorry, Lecturer Mo Yifan, you and your colleagues came late, so it’s the student union’s fault for not preparing Chinese dishes in time. I will make sure some are served tomorrow,” Sharjah intervened.

The tense atmosphere eased a little after Sharjah spoke up.

There were guest lecturers from nine countries, but only the delicacies of eight countries were served. Not a single Chinese dish was served, which obviously indicated Yesemia did not treat the Chinese lecturers seriously. She was also biased toward Chinese cuisine if she believed it was inappropriate for a gathering like this.

Mo Fan had driven everyone’s attention to the food because he would surely be exposed if they began arguing about some academic topics. He had noticed there was not a single dish from his country among the items that were served in the buffet. He had been to a lot of similar meetings, so he knew the buffet was supposed to include the dishes of the countries the guest lecturers were from!

In simple words, they were not treating the Chinese lecturers seriously!

He might be a fake, but he was displeased when he realized the lecturers of his country were being mistreated!

“Oh, so the student union has failed to perform their duties. I was planning to make an exception and tutor you privately, but I shall cancel it as your punishment. Come to my class if you want to learn more about merging different Elements. I’ll be expecting your attendance,” Mo Fan said.

Sharjah was startled, and stared at Mo Fan with an innocent and confused face.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Sharjah was innocent of any wrongdoing, she was only trying to resolve the conflict that had occurred. The student union did not prepare the dishes. She was taking the blame on behalf of Yesemia.

To her surprise, the lecturer did not follow the script she had in mind. He still punished her for giving him an out and retained his superiority as a lecturer!

“Thank you for your understanding,” Sharjah nodded obediently. She had no choice but to accept the outcome.

First Prince Beny and Yesemia pulled long faces. They were planning to pick on the young Chinese lecturer, yet they had ended up boosting his morale instead. They did not feel comfortable when the proudest student of the Aorus Sacred Institute was as obedient as a mere intern in front of the Chinese lecturer.

Sharjah was like the noblest Persian cat of their school. Many lecturers tried to get her attention or at least some response from her, but not many had managed to do it. Most lecturers were attracted by Sharjah’s unique temperament instead. The people who attempted to conquer her ended up becoming her slaves.

However, the good-for-nothing Chinese lecturer had turned the proud and arrogant Persian cat into an obedient Golden Retriever in just a single class!

“Forget it, Sharjah has always been like this. She’s always curious about new things and will chase them passionately. However, when she figures out their secrets, she will just cast them aside,” First Prince Beny murmured.

Sharjah was as heartless as a cat.

“Our fellow lecturers from China, I believe you must have heard about the competition. Basically, we will evaluate the guest lecturers on three areas,” Yesemia switched the topic.

“Please explain it in detail,” Mo Fan said agreeably.

“That’s the reason I’ve gathered everyone here, to explain the details of the evaluation process to every guest lecturer. We have split it into three main parts. The first part is the magic theory classes. We will evaluate everyone based on students’ attendance. In simple words, whoever has the highest attendance in their classes will score the highest. From today forward, all guest lecturers will be teaching classes, and the classes might even occur at the same time.

“The second part is related to demon creatures. The Aorus Sacred Institute has always emphasized on teaching students practical knowledge about demon creatures. We don’t just stick to textbooks, illustrations, and verbal descriptions, we want our students to be equipped with practical skills. The lecturers who take these classes will bring their students on excursions while looking after their safety. The Andes Mountains have a lot of different species. You will teach them the demon creatures’ attributes, capabilities, and habits as they observe the demon creatures in person. We will evaluate you based on the feedback from the students and the grade of the demon creatures.

“The third part is the classes about magic duels between Mages. You will teach the students practical combat skills and techniques. The evaluation is quite simple. Each country will choose nine students they teach to take part in an open tournament across the Americas,” Yesemia said.

An open tournament across the Americas!

It was going to be a grand tournament. It sounded like nine countries were going to compete with one another!

Mo Fan liked the idea, but this time, he would not participate in the tournament himself. The students he taught would be fighting for glory instead. He found it pretty interesting, too!

He would earn the most glory if his students were able to emerge victorious!

It was better than winning a tournament himself!

“I have a question,” Brianca spoke up.

“Go ahead,” Yesemia smiled. She was like a completely different person when she was talking to Brianca, compared to her attitude toward Mo Fan.

“Certain topics in the Magic Theory classes are related to demon creatures too, as are the practical skills in magic duels and fights against demon creatures. Do we have to split the classes?” Brianca asked.

“You may teach the classes at the same time. For example, you can combine a class of magic theory and a class on demon creatures into one. The lecturer who handles magic theory will teach about magic theory while the other lecturer teaches about the demon creatures. We will still evaluate the lecturers differently, but as a kindly reminder, there are only a limited number of classes available. For example, you are only given ten classes of magic theories and ten classes of demon creatures. If you combine two of the classes into one, you will expend a class of each field,” Yesemia clarified.

“Okay, I understand,” Brianca nodded.

Mo Fan had the exact same question that Brianca had asked.

Mo Fan felt like he would go crazy if he had to teach ten classes on magic theory! The topic about merging different Elements would only last for three classes at most. He did not have any other topics that could intrigue the brilliant students of this school.

It would be a lot easier to deceive the students by combining the classes!

“There’s one more thing. We’ll only subsidize the first class for the students, but you may charge for the rest of your classes. You will receive Aorus gold as your payment. Meanwhile, the Aorus Sacred Institute will also charge you for the equipment, venues, and security personnel should you require them in your classes. You will have to decide how you should plan your classes with the money you have,” Yesemia went on.

“Gambling is also allowed before the open tournament. If the lecturer who’s in charge of classes of magic duels plans to obtain more money, they can ask their students to challenge the students from other factions. We also allow people in the Aorus Sacred Institute and outsiders to bet on the duels. The lecturer will receive a portion of the pool if their student wins the duel,” Yesemia said.

Gambling is allowed!

The whole school and outsiders are allowed to bet on the duels!

The Aorus Sacred Institute is blatantly challenging the Magic Association!

The Magic Association did not allow private duels between Mages, let alone betting on magic duels. Most importantly, the school even allowed outsiders to bet on the duels. It was going to be a huge betting scheme!

As expected of the Aorus Sacred Institute, which was its own nation… It could just do whatever it wanted!

“Every faction will have a thousand gold coins. The lecturers will allocate the funds themselves.”

The gold here did not refer to a kind of currency that was made of gold. Everyone in the Americas knew it was referring to the Aorus Sacred Institute’s own currency.

Every student would receive a certain amount of gold when they enrolled in the school. They could spend it within the boundaries of the Aorus Sacred Institute on food, classes, magic equipment, and resources. One might find themselves at the bottom of the ladder after enrolling in the school, but by saving up a lot of gold, they also had a chance to become a top dog!

The Aorus Sacred Institute was like a little kingdom with its own rules. Most importantly, it was possible to exchange their gold with US dollars, and the exchange rate was one gold to a thousand USD!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“As expected of the Aorus Sacred Institute, their education system is completely different from our country’s. As long as you have some reputation as a lecturer at this school, you can easily become a millionaire!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed excitedly.

“Yeah, it’s our first time being lecturers, yet we are teaching in such an exciting school. HAHAHA, I like their system. It’s straight and to the point!” Mo Fan smiled.

Mo Fan found this very interesting. He was not a real teacher. He would lose his mind if he was asked to teach the students the traditional way!

The Aorus Sacred Institute had arranged the guest lecturers into nine factions and allocated a thousand gold to each faction. The factions would constantly be competing with one another, thus it simply came down to how good the lecturers were. There was no reason to show consideration for others.

The nine factions were most likely unbalanced, too. Some would be crowded, while others were almost deserted. The Aorus Sacred Institute had no compassion for anyone. The guest lecturers who were not well received by their students would end up as laughingstocks!

The students had to pay to attend classes. The Aorus Gold was basically as valuable as their lives. No student would waste their money to attend some classes they were not going to benefit from just for the fun of it. They were only willing to pay if the content was useful to them!

The guest lecturers would have to give their best. Otherwise, no one would bother attending their classes.

“The rules might be exciting, but I have no clue why you two are so happy about it. The guest lecturers here are famous across the world, except for us three fakes. They have made headlines after publishing their papers through the Magic Associations. The students of the Aorus Sacred Institute are elites, too. They are either geniuses with outstanding talents or very hard workers. They aren’t stupid enough to give us their gold. I think we should be prepared to come last in the program,” Mu Bai said pessimistically.

“Mu Bai, can’t you be a little more optimistic? Don’t you think it’s a waste to live with negative thoughts all the time?” Zhao Manyan shook his head.

“I’m just speaking the truth.”

“You don’t have to analyze everything rationally. It will take away the fun in your life,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m no longer a kid who gets excited about everything. I like dampening the enthusiasm of myself and others. It helps me to be calm all the time and stay safe!” Mu Bai argued back.

“That’s why you are still a virgin,” Mo Fan pointed out.

“Screw you!” Mu Bai instantly lost his calm. Why could they not debate properly? Why did they always bring the same thing up, regardless of what he said? Did a virgin steal their food or girls? Did virgins not have the right to live in this world?

—

The timetable for the classes was very flexible. The first class was taught by First Prince Beny, who was from the Royal Spanish Imperial College. Many students were looking forward to it. First Prince Beny rented a hall with the capacity of a thousand students and utilized impressive technology to teach the class about the grades of Elemental Magic.

The class also explained the classifications of Elemental Seeds.

Pseudo Spirit-grade Seeds, Spirit-inferior Seeds, Lesser Spirit Seeds, and Greater Spirit Seeds.

Pseudo Soul-grade Seeds, Soul-inferior Seeds, Lesser Soul Seeds, and Greater Soul Seeds.

Pseudo Heaven-grade Seeds, Heaven-inferior Seeds, Lesser Heaven Seeds, and Greater Heaven Seeds.

It was the new classification that the Magic Association had declared recently. The Elemental Seeds varied in size, strength, and additional effects, and were classified into more groups. It was a hot topic for the class.

First Prince Beny was basically teaching the students how to differentiate between Elemental Seeds of different levels, in case the students ended up buying or digging up the lowest level Elemental Seeds.

The reclassification of Elemental Seeds was new. Most Mages had never heard of it before, so the hall was packed with students.

The truth was, Mo Fan also attended the class, which cost him two gold!

Two gold just to attend a single glass!

First Prince Beny was basically robbing them!

He had earned two thousand gold just by teaching a class. Even if it took him a hundred gold to prepare for the class, his faction would still be the richest now!

Many recording devices struggled to record magic, as the images would suffer from light exposures. First Prince Beny was actually presenting the Elemental Seeds to the class. The students would not learn as much by watching a recording of the class.

—

“Mo Fan, are you out of your mind? Why did you give two gold to First Prince Beny? Do you think we are rich? Can’t you tell that guy is nothing but a pervert? Not only is he interested in Miss Brianca, he even sees Sharjah as his prey! He’s going after them all!” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

1

“His character doesn’t contradict with his knowledge of the Elemental Seeds. I was there to learn. You know how many Elements I have and the number of Elemental Seeds I would need to improve them all. If I can’t distinguish between them, I might be tricked by those evil merchants out there,” Mo Fan replied righteously.

“Then you should come up with a better topic that will grab the students’ attention. Your concept of merging different Elements isn’t officially accepted yet. Do you really think they are going to pay two gold to attend your classes?” Zhao Manyan said.

“You’re right. There were around three hundred students who came to my class, and that was because it was free. There might only be a tenth of them if they have to pay to attend my class!” Mo Fan realized.

“The cost of renting the smallest hall is fifty gold. You might lose money if you don’t have more than twenty-five people attending your class!” Zhao Manyan said.

“How did Brianca’s class go?” Mo Fan asked when he thought of something.

“She’s a famous lecturer from the Alps Institute, and a great beauty. Do you think her class’ attendance is any worse than Beny’s? The Aorus Sacred Institute has a lot of nouveau rich, too. They are more than willing to pay two gold to please their eyes and masturbate under their desks!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Her class had full attendance too?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not only that, but Miss Brianca even underestimated how popular she is. Leaving aside how fascinating her class was, some students even sold their spots to other students at a higher price, like scalpers!” Zhao Manyan informed him.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless.

Were the students of the Aorus Sacred Institute the kind that thought with their lower body? Had they not seen a beauty before?

That being said, Brianca was just too gorgeous, especially for a teacher. The unique environment of the Alps also granted her a holy temperament, like an ice queen!

“I think the topic of merging different Elements isn’t that bad. Just you wait and see tomorrow. The demand is going to be higher than the supply!” Mo Fan patted his chest and said confidently.

He could not guarantee the outcome if it were any other topics, but the topic of merging different Elements was something he and Feng Zhoulong had discovered, experimented on, and discussed together. No one, other than Feng Zhoulong, knew the topic better than him!

Chapter 2192: At the End of the Line

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When it was time for Mo Fan’s class, he carefully put on a formal suit he had not worn for a long time. He was making himself presentable before going to the class.

Mo Fan thoughtfully made an overnight call to Feng Zhoulong to prepare for the class, asking him to explain the principles of merging different Elements in simpler words. Feng Zhoulong was more excited than Mo Fan when he heard Mo Fan was going to teach the topic at the Aorus Sacred Institute. He even wished he could come to the school in person to teach it.

If Mo Fan was not currently on a mission, he might have considered inviting Feng Zhoulong over for the class. After all, this was the result of his experiments!

Mo Fan could imagine the background music of the television series ‘The Bund’ when he walked into the class, but when he saw how many people there were in the class, the imperious music was replaced by the funny-sounding ‘Xi Shua Shua’ by The Flowers!

“Is this everyone?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened as he looked across the empty hall.

Mo Fan knew his limits. He only rented a hall with a capacity of two hundred students, one of the smaller halls in the Aorus Sacred Institute. The rental for the hall was only a hundred gold, yet he could count the number of students in the class with a single glance. The first student he saw was none other than Sharjah, the student union’s president.

The students had gathered around Sharjah. Mo Fan believed some of them had only come to his class to fawn upon Sharjah!

He was relying on Sharjah’s reputation and beauty to keep his class going!

Comparing to having three hundred students in the first class, Mo Fan felt like he had just fallen from Heaven to Hell!

In simpler words, if he had not turned down Sharjah’s request to tutor her privately, there might not even be a single student in his class.

A student would pay him two gold. There were thirteen students. He had spent a hundred gold to get twenty-four gold in return.

He had lost seventy-four gold!

What a great blow to his pride…

He had put in a lot of effort to prepare for the class. Were the students retards? Couldn’t they see the possibility of merging different Elements was the future?

Mo Fan forced a smile and proceeded to teach the class he had prepared for so seriously with hurt feelings.

——

Mo Fan packed up his stuff and left in disappointment after finishing the class.

Sharjah came over like she was going to tail him again.

After noticing Mo Fan’s disappointment, she said gently, “The truth is never accepted by the people. It’s like how Columbus tried to convince the people that the Earth is round, but no one believed him until Magellan went around the world…”

“I won’t tutor you privately even if you comfort me. I never planned to be a popular lecturer here. I’m only here for my duties, but I was quite sad when I saw the number of people who turned up,” Mo Fan admitted.

“Merging different Elements isn’t publicly accepted yet. No one will bother spending their time learning something that isn’t proven yet. If you want more students, you should change your topic. That being said, I’m really interested in the class. The others are only interested in things that can help them improve, but your class is about changing the whole world,” Sharjah said.

Mo Fan stared at Sharjah in astonishment. The thoughts of a genius were really different from ordinary people!

“Feng Zhoulong would burst into tears if he heard what you said!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Feng Zhoulong… you mean the president of the Research Union under Guangzhou’s Magic Association, who you mentioned before?” Sharjah asked him.

“Yes, he knows a lot more regarding the topic than me. If you think my classes aren’t enough, you can try to discuss the topic with him,” Mo Fan told her.

“Guangzhou… Sure, I’ll visit him after the open tournament!” Sharjah nodded. The look in her eyes and her tone indicated she was not just saying it for fun.

“Sharjah, can I ask you a question?” Mo Fan inquired.

“Go ahead,” Sharjah nodded.

“Were the other twelve students your fans?” Mo Fan asked.

Sharjah hesitated for a moment and decided not to hide the truth when she saw the sincere look in Mo Fan’s eyes, “Actually, I hired them to come. I think I’m the only one who’s interested in the topic…”

“Ugh… Sharjah, you’re such a considerate student,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“I only hired eleven. One of them came on their own. It’s not too bad. Lecturer Mo Yifan, you now have two students,” Sharjah said.

Mo Fan almost burst into tears of self-pity. Thank you so much, Sharjah…

He should not have asked her the question. At least he would have assumed he had thirteen students, but it was now two!

—

He would not be hurt if he did not compare himself to others. He had done so much work before the class, yet there were only two students who came to his classes. Meanwhile, there was not a single slot in Brianca’s class, even though someone was willing to pay six gold for it. Mo Fan realized even though his strength was on par with Brianca’s, his teaching skills were just beginner level compared to her!

The only relief was, Prince Beny’s students had also decreased in his following classes. There were only around three hundred students left.

He was happy to see others failing slowly while he was in a bad spot.

——

“Mo Fan, don’t rent a hall next time. You can just get a little room in the restaurant. Mu Bai and I aren’t earning much from our classes, either. We can’t afford to let you waste our money!” Zhao Manyan chided him.

“Bullsh**! One day, even a venue that can hold a thousand people won’t be enough for me. Even ten gold won’t be enough to secure a slot in my class!” Mo Fan snarled. He felt like Zhao Manyan was mocking him on purpose.

“It’s almost time for the class on demon creatures,” Mu Bai called out.

“I’m planning to teach the class of magic dueling together as well to save some cost, but you shouldn’t teach your magic theory class. We are worried that we might not get even a single student,” Zhao Manyan said.

“What are you trying to say? Who assigned me to teach magic theory in the first place? I’m telling you, if I was in charge of the class of magic duels, I could easily make a fortune! Is there anyone better at fighting than me?” Mo Fan snarled.

“There’s no point promoting your area of expertise. It’s like a professional basketball player asking people to challenge him. The outcome is pretty obvious. It’s more impressive if you can make a name for yourself in the areas you aren’t good at. If a professional basketball player is also good at playing video games, people will be totally impressed!” Zhao Manyan shot back.

Chapter 2193: The Student Lecturer

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Bai nodded in agreement.

No one was better at fighting magic duels. He could just expose his true identity in the class and claim he was Mo Fan, who won the World College Tournament. The slots for the class would most likely sell out!

Those who came would be there to challenge him or learn something from him. His reputation alone was enough to attract a lot of attention!

However, Mo Fan would completely expose himself if he taught the class on magic dueling, mainly because he was just too famous across the world. People were already familiar with many of his moves, so asking him to teach magic theory was a way to keep his cover intact.

“If it doesn’t work out, just minimize the loss and hang around with First Prince Beny and the others during the next gathering. After all, we are here with some other goals in mind,” Mu Bai consoled him.

“Stop trying to comfort me. I’m going after the Black Vatican, but I’m not going to give up on my classes. I’m the leader of Fanxue Mountain. If I can’t achieve an impressive result at the Aorus Sacred Institute, how could I possibly live up to my reputation after we are back in our country?” Mo Fan scoffed.

“Mm, that’s the spirit! I like how you insist on delivering a parcel into the mountains even when you know there’s a tiger around!” Zhao Manyan raised his thumb at Mo Fan.

“Mo Fan, your next class will have to wait until next week. Zhao Manyan and I will be taking the students to the Andes Mountains. We’ve already asked around, and the price to hire a security guard is two hundred gold. Fifty students have signed up for the trip, and the school says we need at least five security guards, excluding the teachers, for a group of fifty students. Even if we hire the cheapest security guards, it will cost us a thousand and five hundred gold in total… if your class didn’t make a loss, we would have enough gold,” Zhao Manyan said.

“What are you trying to say?” Mo Fan demanded.

“If your classes aren’t doing well, why don’t you work for us? It would save us two hundred gold. Besides, you’re more than capable of looking after the students,” Mu Bai suggested.

“Screw you, I’m a lecturer, yet you’re asking me to be your security guard? Who do you think I am?”

“Are you in or not? Otherwise, you will have to pay with your own money. Two hundred gold is around two hundred thousand dollars, which is around a sixteen hundred thousand yuan. It’s not really a lot for you,” Mu Bai proposed.

“I’m going!”

“Can you make up your mind?!”

Money was not a huge problem for Mo Fan. It was a matter of pride!

How could a guest lecturer subsidize the costs with their own money?!

Mo Fan decided to work as a security guard for the time being and see if he could convince some of the students in the group to attend his classes next week.

He had given himself a little goal. His next class had to have more than ten students!

——

An excursion usually lasted for three to seven days. The students had to pay fifty gold, instead of two gold like the normal classes.

Fifty students had signed up for it, each paying fifty gold, so the total was twenty-five hundred gold.

If the students were satisfied and gave positive feedback to the school, they would also receive a bonus from the school. If they acquired valuable resources and the remains of demon creatures, they could sell them to the school too!

In other words, the basic salary for the excursion was twenty-five hundred gold, not including the bonus!

“We can earn a fortune from this and also get to know more about the students, seeing who might be a good candidate for magic duels. If they win the duels, they can earn money faster than your classes!” Zhao Manyan already had a plan in mind.

“We will only get our payment after the class is finished. We’ve pretty much used all the money we have. If the feedback from the students is bad, we won’t even get a thousand gold in return,” Mu Bai warned him.

“Say, weren’t we doing much better when we were students? Why do I feel like a beggar now that I’m a teacher?”

“Changing profession is as difficult as traversing mountains!”

—

Most of the students had signed up for the excursion because of Mu Bai.

Mu Bai had always been good at studying. His knowledge of demon creatures was not necessarily less than Mo Fan and Mu Bai, so most of the students were here because of him.

After all, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were not good at teaching!

Even though Mo Fan was not willing to admit it, he and Zhao Manyan were basically Mu Bai’s assistants, since his presence was able to attract students to their classes!

“Mo Fan, your tail is here again,” Zhao Manyan pointed at Sharjah, who stood out among the students.

The students had no idea Sharjah had signed up for the excursion too. They were very excited to see her, especially the men!

“Normally, the excursions I sign up for would attract more than a hundred students, so I decide to sign up anonymously to make it easier for you to see how many students you have. It’s also easier to manage and figure out ways to improve your classes,” Sharjah told them sincerely.

“Actually, you can leak a little information about your whereabouts. We are almost at the end of the line,” Mo Fan said with a wry smile.

If she could bring in a hundred more students, that would be five thousand gold. Why wasn’t she being considerate this time?

“I’m also a student, and the student union’s president. If you want to know what the students are interested in, I can tell you about it,” Sharjah suggested to him.

“That will be great. You are my only hope!” Mo Fan agreed instantly.

“It’s best if you combine your theories with the classes of demon creatures and magic duels. I can tell pure theory isn’t your area of expertise,” Sharjah proposed first.

“You’re right. I might have the knowledge, but I’m not good at teaching others,” Mo Fan agreed handily.

“If you are confident in your strength and knowledge, I suggest you go after the Mountain Men in the Andes Mountains! The school always treats the Mountain Men as a serious threat. They are savage and difficult to track. They have two great hobbies: hunting humans and collecting humans’ valuables. If there’s an excursion related to the Mountain Men, a lot of students will sign up for it,” Sharjah said seriously.

“Sharjah, we also plan to choose the Mountain Men as our topic, but not only does the school require us to hire ten security guards, the students will choose the teachers they have faith in. The students of your school aren’t familiar with us three,” Mo Fan said.

“You can hang a sheep’s head while selling dog meat. You might focus on the mountain beasts, but I believe every student is interested in the Mountain Men. You can just finish the class early and spend the rest of the time on the Mountain Men. As long as their lives aren’t in danger, they will easily spread positive news around after seeing the Mountain Men. Our school’s student circles aren’t that big. Next time, more students will be willing to pay and sign up for your classes, once they learn your strength and your willingness to go on adventures to take on higher-level creatures,” Sharjah told him.

Mo Fan nodded.

He had learned a lot from Sharjah. She was right that every student was interested in seeing powerful demon creatures, instead of the weak ones which most lecturers would target as a safety precaution. The lecturers who were able to guarantee the students’ safety while teaching them about stronger demon creatures were well-received by the students!

“Thank you, Sharjah.”

“You’re welcome, Lecturer Mo Yifan.”

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai rolled their eyes.

Why did it sound like Sharjah was a knowledgeable lecturer and Mo Fan was just an obedient student who kept nodding like a chick pecking at grains?

And yet, they were still referring to one another as lecturer and student!

They were treating one another sincerely with a clear boundary based on their seniority. Could they be a little more reliable?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A female student who seemed a little slow pointed at Mo Fan and asked, “Huh? Aren’t you the lecturer who teaches magic theory? I even went to your first class. Why are you a security guard now?”

The young woman was quite popular, as a few handsome young men were following her around. They were obviously using this trip as a chance to get close to her.

Mo Fan smiled awkwardly. What was wrong with the students of this school? Did they not have the slightest EQ? Couldn’t they be more respectful to their teachers?

“I’ve always looked forward to visiting the Andes Mountains. My colleagues happen to be holding the excursion, so I decided to tag along,” Mo Fan said. There was no way he would tell the student he had only tagged along to save two hundred gold!

The security guards were made up of people like Miyamoto Shin, other personnel of the school, or teachers with lower positions. As the guest lecturers were advanced teachers or professors. It was rare to see a professor looking after the students’ safety!

“Oh, be careful, remember to hide if anything happens. If there aren’t any security guards around, you can stick close to me. I might be petite, but I’m a strong Mage!” the young woman declared.

“Thank you. What’s your name?” Mo Fan asked with a straight face.

“You can call me Boleyn. Lecturer, I actually enjoyed your class. The way you teach is different from other lecturers. It’s more interesting and I can understand most of the topic too,” Boleyn said with an innocent smile.

“Oh, my next class is next Friday. Do come to my class again!” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered.

He had found his next customer. It seemed like his charm was working!

“All students, please be cautious. There are traces of demon creatures ahead. It’s most likely an adult Mountain Ridge Beast. Please stay in your formations and stick closer to the security guards. If you see a Mountain Ridge Beast, try not to engage it on your own,” Mu Bai warned the group.

“Lecturer, I’m a Sound Mage too. I haven’t picked up any traces of huge demon creatures within two kilometers. How do you know there’s a demon creature nearby?” a proud student demanded to know.

They had to get the value of the fifty gold they had paid back. They did not come here for a picnic! The students of the Aorus Sacred Institute considered themselves the most brilliant Mages in the world. Some of them were more capable than the teachers in other countries. In simpler words, they had to be convinced that their lecturers were far better than them. Otherwise, they would ask the school for a refund!

“What’s your name?” Mu Bai replied.

“Sunny, a high-achiever of the Aorus Sacred Institute!” Sunny answered proudly.

The title of a high-achiever was a special grading system the school had implemented for the students. These high-achievers received a lot more gold than normal students per month.

“Sunny, try to listen carefully,” Mu Bai said.

“I already did, but I didn’t pick up anything suspicious!” Sunny said confidently.

“When a group is in the wild, the fighters do not play the most important role. The scouts with the Sound Element, Wind Element, or Shadow Element who help the group gather information are the most important members. You do know a Sound Mage is the most well-received for every group, right?” Mu Bai did not answer the student’s question right away. He pointed out the advantages of a Sound Mage instead.

Sunny grinned. He seemed to be pleased with himself.

A Sound Mage was as well-received as a Healer! Almost every team in the wild would compete to recruit a Sound Mage. The former was able to predict danger, while the latter was able to help the group recover from dangerous situations!

“If this wasn’t an excursion led by teachers and security guards, you would have to take full responsibility for the group’s safety as a Sound Mage,” Mu Bai continued grimly.

Sunny pulled a long face, but he did not dare to talk back to Mu Bai, since he was a lecturer.

“Listen carefully again!” Mu Bai demanded, his voice harder.

Sunny was startled. Even though he was angry about it, he still obeyed the order.

He closed his eyes and listened carefully. He could hear everything within three kilometers, despite the complicated terrain and hidden caves.

A girl was saying how handsome Lecturer Mu Han was to her friend around a hundred meters behind him.

A wild deer was sprinting around five hundred meters ahead.

A rock was falling down a cliff two kilometers away.

He could not identify the sounds three kilometers away. He could still hear them, but it was too difficult to tell whether they were the movement of demon creatures or the sounds of nature.

There was no presence of any demon creatures within two kilometers of the group. The lecturer had obviously made a mistake, yet he was still putting on airs.

“Thud!”

“Thud!”

He suddenly heard a faint sound from around five hundred meters ahead.

Was it from the deer?

Something was not right, it did not sound like a deer’s footsteps. It was more like the sound of a drum.

The wild deer picked up its pace as it was running past a shrub. It was fleeing for its life. Sunny heard the drumming quickening, but it soon calmed down and faded away.

The sound… It’s a beating heart!

The heartbeats of an enormous creature!

The wild deer had run away from where it was hiding. The creature was a little tempted to pounce on the deer, but it had chosen to stay hidden in the shrub instead, as if it was waiting for bigger prey!

The only living creature in the vicinity other than their group was the wild deer!

Damn it!

There was really a threat nearby! In just a few minutes, they would have been walking past the huge creature. It would be fine if their guards could react in time. If not, someone would be eaten alive!

Sunny opened his eyes. His forehead was covered in a cold sweat. His arrogance and resentment of the lecturer were replaced by disbelief!

“Lecturer Mu Han, are you a Sound Mage too? Did you hear its heartbeats from further away?” Sunny had to ask.

“Did you realize your mistake now?” Mu Bai asked him instead.

“Yes, I was being too careless,” Sunny admitted with a hint of remorse.

“If you were in the wild, people might have died because of your mistake, which is why I’ve emphasized how important it is to stay on guard at all times. But you and the other students aren’t treating this seriously. I expected much more from the students of the Aorus Sacred Institute!” Mu Bai stated coldly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The students were not pleased with Mu Bai’s words. Someone immediately stepped forward and argued, “The cultivation of your Sound Element is stronger. Of course you can hear the demon creature. You’re a teacher, after all!”

“Who told you Lecturer Mu Han is a Sound Mage?” Zhao Manyan interjected.

“If he isn’t a Sound Mage, how did he know there was a Mountain Ridge Beast five hundred meters away?” Sunny blurted out in astonishment.

Mu Bai did not answer the question. He led the group further ahead.

Words alone were not enough to convince the students. When they approached the shrub, Mu Bai immediately froze it with an Icebound Coffin and turned the Mountain Ridge Beast into an ice statue before it could attack.

Most of the students were still unaware of the Mountain Ridge Beast’s existence. They stepped closer and saw a seven-meter-long Mountain Ridge Beast concealed in the bushes. It was crouched on the ground with a confused look on its face. It did not understand how the humans knew it was hiding there.

The students fell silent after seeing the Mountain Ridge Beast. They were already so close to it, yet they had failed to notice its presence. Wouldn’t they have been ambushed if they were on their own?

“I’m not a Sound Mage, nor did I hear its heartbeats. However, there are other ways to learn if there are demon creatures nearby…” Mu Bai pointed at the nearby shrubs and said, “The feces of demon creatures are like fertilizers for plants. When you see patches of vegetation scattered across the area like this, you should realize there have been one or more demon creatures actively roaming in this area for a long time.”

“That’s right, Lecturer Mu Han already told us this in his class. We can determine if we have stepped into a demon creature’s territory by observing the distribution of vegetation. We can also estimate the creature’s size based on the size of the vegetation!” one of the students blurted out.

The amount of bodily waste was proportional to the nutrients it provided for the plants. Plants would cover the ground the feces was scattered on after a rain.

It was an old technique that Hunters relied on. Students might think it was disgusting to experiment on the feces of demon creatures, but it was surprisingly effective against most demon creatures that had lived in the same area for a long time.

“When we first entered this area, there wasn’t much vegetation around, but as we went deeper, I noticed the number of shrubs increasing, meaning that we were getting closer to the territory of demon creatures,” Mu Bai explained.

“But wasn’t it just mere speculation?” Sunny asked in confusion.

“It’s enough if you can learn there’s a huge creature active in the area. You will stay on alert and be more cautious when you observe your surroundings. It might save your life,” Mu Bai corrected him.

“That’s true!”

“Yeah, we are scared of being ambushed by demon creatures. We won’t have time to use our magic when something appears out of nowhere. I heard that when some of our seniors died, it was because they were ambushed,” Boleyn agreed quickly.

“Lecturer Mu Han, I apologize for not taking your class seriously. However, I’m still curious how you found out its exact location without the Sound Element,” Sunny said sincerely.

Sharjah, who had stayed quiet for a long time, finally spoke up softly. “The bugs!”

“Yes, the bugs! Every shrub has bugs gathered around it. If you observe where the bugs are and take note of the shrubs that do not have bugs nearby, it’s very likely you’ll find a demon creature hiding in them,” Mu Bai confirmed.

The students had gathered around Mu Bai. They were stunned after hearing Mu Bai’s explanation.

No wonder!

“Even Basic Mages and Intermediate Mages can easily observe the brush and the insects. As a matter of fact, even normal people can do it. If you can master these techniques, you can protect yourself better when you’re in the wild,” Mu Bai emphasized firmly.

The eyes of the students were brimming with admiration, as if Mu Bai was shining as brightly as a reliable lecturer. Even the Sound Element-using Sunny was ashamed of himself.

Mo Fan clenched his teeth when he saw Mu Bai’s image growing in the eyes of the students!

Damn it, he was already a Seven Star Hunter Master! He could easily impress the students if he was teaching the class, yet Mu Bai ended up getting all the credit!

——

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan took turns sharing their knowledge. The students began to have more faith in them, and started taking notes seriously.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was painstakingly working as a security guard. He could only chat with Miyamoto Shin while he was bored.

Miyamoto Shin had tagged along to maintain security. He claimed he was here to earn some quick money, but the truth was, he only came because he was worried about leaving the students in the hands of three younger lecturers.

“Let’s go this way, we are almost done with the Mountain Ridge Beasts, but there’s still some time left. Why don’t we teach the students something else? Consider it a bonus for the class,” Mo Fan proposed.

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, you shouldn’t go that way. We will be entering the Mountain Men’s territory after crossing that gully. The students have already learned a lot from the class. They will provide the school with positive feedback if we go back now…” Miyamoto Shin advised.

“Ah? Are we going to cross Earthworm Gully?”

“I’ve never crossed the boundary before, but I heard from my seniors that they have gone past it under the lead of their lecturers.”

“There are Mountain Men on the other side. I heard they are quite scary!”

Earthworm Gully served as a boundary. Only a quarter of the students of the school had crossed it before.

Normally, an excursion that went beyond Earthworm Gully would cost more than three hundred gold. The lecturers who did so would only allow high-achievers to join the group, so ordinary students like them never had the chance to go to the other side.

“Mm, we are planning to go take a look. We are ashamed of only teaching our students about the Mountain Ridge Beasts, knowing our levels. Oh, each of you will have to make the decision yourself. If you are willing to keep going, just stay in formation. For those who don’t want to go, you may follow Miyamoto Shin back to the school,” Mu Bai spoke up calmly.

Miyamoto Shin’s face darkened.

He knew these Chinese lecturers were not going to behave themselves!

“I must remind you that if you are going to bring the students to a more dangerous area than you planned at first, you will have to bring more security personnel. However, the school won’t stop you if you insist on going. That being said, you will have to take full responsibility if something happens!” Miyamoto Shin warned them sternly.

“We will take full responsibility,” Mu Bai agreed easily.

“If the demon creatures want to kill our students, they will have to step over my… Lecturer Zhao Yanzu’s body first!” Mo Fan said on behalf of Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan was on the verge of cursing Mo Fan again.

Why am I always everyone’s nanny!?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

As they moved deeper into the mountains, they noticed the plants had strange shapes, most likely because of the condition of the soil. They mainly consisted of trees smaller than ten meters and various bushes. The differences between the height of trees at the canopy layer were not huge, as if their king had told its residents not to build their houses more than four stories high.

The vast mountain looked a little flat. It was difficult to tell which direction would lead them to a higher altitude, and it was easy to lose their way in the woods.

Not every mountain had plants that gradually increased in height. Going to the higher layers in the Andes Mountains and reaching a higher altitude were two different things. There were taller mountains within the lower layers. One could only climb up and down the peaks. They were like isolated islands surrounded by trails instead of water, leading further inland.

Great knowledge was essential to avoid the peaks that were like isolated islands. Mo Fan might be a Seven Star Hunter Master, but he would also lose his way in the woods like a retard without Lingling’s guidance.

“Look for sources of water, it’s a simple and effective way of learning directions. You might think you are going down the mountain, but the terrain is actually heading up. It will cause us to misjudge where we are going, but the flow of streams or rivers will never trick you. They are your best guide when it’s not the rainy season,” Mu Bai explained. He was a few hundred meters away from Mo Fan.

The group had discovered a meandering stream. The clear stream was quite new, as it was not polluted. It was not wise to refer to it for directions, as there might be a basin nearby. The streams within a few kilometers might flow into the basin, resulting in a lake.

However, Mu Bai did not misguide the students. Mo Fan already checked the vicinity. There was no sign of a basin or a lake in the area.

Mo Fan took a huge bite of a fruit he had just plucked. It was sweet and refreshing.

“That’s right, you should eat more fruit. If you keep eating meat, how are you going to keep fit? Besides, hunting meat is pretty dangerous. You might be able to enjoy a meal if you stumble into those inexperienced students, but it’s someone like me, you will only lose your cultivation over a few dozen years and turn into roasted meat!” Mo Fan took another bite of the fruit he had stolen from a Commander-level creature while lecturing.

Another voice came from the distance.

“Lecturer Mu Han, it is very dangerous to follow a stream in the woods, since some creatures might be drinking from it. Some powerful creatures might even wait for their prey to show up close to it!”

“You’re right, so you must be very cautious when you are using a stream to find out the direction!”

“But we have yet to see any creatures. We didn’t stumble into a powerful creature even after we started following the stream.”

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan smiled and led the students deeper into the woods.

—

Meanwhile, Mo Fan had finished eating the fruit. He lifted his foot from the Silver-Horned Mountain Beast’s head.

Mo Fan patted the Silver-Horned Mountain Beast on the head and said, “Remember to eat more vegetables and fruits, do you understand?”

The Silver-Horned Mountain Beast fell to the ground like a worn-out bull.

It had never felt so humiliated in its own territory before!

It could not help it, since its life was in the human’s hands. It did not dare show its anger in front of the human. As for its pride as a demon creature not allowing other creatures to set foot in its territory, that was no longer its concern after its life was in danger.

Eat fruits and vegetables!

It had worked hard to grow from a little creature to an honorable Silver-Horned Mountain Beast, a Great Commander-level creature. However, it was wondering if it should start eating more fruits and drinking morning dew on leaves instead. It was not like it was planning to be a well-behaved beast, but it did not want to stumble into another human like this man again!

The Silver-Horned Mountain Beast slowly lifted its gaze to see if the man had left.

The man had eaten its fruit and drank its water. He had also beaten the crap out of it and taught it a lesson. He should be gone by now, right?

As it thought, the man had already left. He was catching up to the group of students.

The Silver-Horned Mountain Beast was relieved after escaping death.

It slowly gathered its thoughts. There was no way it would start eating just fruits and vegetables. It would just avoid the stream next time if it saw humans again!

——

“Why do I feel like it isn’t as dangerous as the seniors have mentioned? They always said we would never make it to the Earthworm Gully, let alone cross it,” Boleyn spoke up.

“Maybe they are just trying to scare us,” one of Boleyn’s pursuers said.

“Speaking of which, where’s the lecturer you were talking to? Where did he go after someone heard a strange noise? Is he hiding?” another pursuer wondered.

“Shh, he’s coming.”

Mo Fan was carrying a bag of fruit. He tossed one he had already washed to Boleyn.

“Thank you,” Boleyn took a quick bite at the fruit. She smiled after tasting it.

“You wild ducks should have some too!” Mo Fan gave everyone a fruit too.

Boleyn was like a colorful little peacock. She stood out among the students the most, apart from Sharjah. The boys who kept sticking to Boleyn were like wild ducks in Mo Fan’s eyes. Not only were their feathers rough and ugly, their tempers were bad too. Did they really think they could earn a girl’s affection like that?

“We are almost at the Earthworm Gully. Be careful of your surroundings,” Miyamoto Shin warned them.

Not a single student decided to go back to the school. Miyamoto Shin had no choice but to keep following the group.

Miyamoto Shin looked at the bag of fruits Mo Fan had plucked and frowned, “Lecturer Mo Yifan, it’s dangerous for you to go around alone. These fruits are called Silver-Horned Fruits. They are normally found close to the caves of a Silver-Horned Mountain Beast. Its horn grows longer every day, so it grinds its horn at the same place. The residue of its horn will then grow into a tree which bears these fruits. These Silver-Horned Mountain Beasts see these fruits as their precious treasures. They aren’t willing to eat the fruits themselves… it’s a miracle that you’ve returned in one piece!”

“Oh, no wonder it looked so down when I took the fruits. I didn’t realize I took all of its valuables. I’ll take note next time. Thanks for the reminder!” Mo Fan replied airily.

“There are many strange species and plants in the Andes Mountains. It’s not the same as other places, so you have to be more careful!” Miyamoto Shin said, totally missing the implications of the reply.

Miyamoto Shin let out a weary sigh. Not only did he have to worry about the students’ safety, he had to keep an eye on the lecturers too!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, are these Mountain Men the same species as the Hillmen we saw on Mount Kunyu?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Earthworm Gully was a heavily broken-up river valley around thirty meters wide. Certain parts of the gully were deeper and wider. It was like two cliffs facing one another.

The current was rapid, and the width of the river varied at certain points. Its meandering shape resembled an earthworm from above.

Earthworm Gully was the usual spot where the Mountain Men got their water. The Mountain Men were used to living in places with low temperatures, so the Aorus Sacred Institute had used Earthworm Gully as a boundary. It did not allow students below a certain Hunter level to cross Earthworm Gully.

Even though students were not allowed to cross the Earthworm Gully on their own, most students of the Aorus Sacred Institute really did not dare set foot beyond the Earthworm Gully. Everyone at the Aorus Sacred Institute was well aware of how savage the Mountain Men were. Not only did they have a strong lust for blood, they enjoyed torturing humans too!

There was even an unofficial reminder spreading around in the Aorus Sacred Institute. If someone happened to fall into the hands of the Mountain Men, they should try their best to kill themselves. Otherwise, they would regret staying alive!

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had witnessed the savagery of the Hillmen, but apparently the Mountain Men in the Andes Mountains were real devils when compared to the Hillmen of Mount Kunyu!

“I’m not too sure, either, but we shouldn’t lower our guard against them,” Mo Fan replied.

“Actually, I find them very disgusting. If you let me choose, I would rather fight the mountain beasts!” Zhao Manyan muttered.

The Hillmen on Mount Kunyu brutally gutted and beheaded Hunters, after severing their limbs. They seemed to understand how to torture humans since their body structure was similar.

The two of them were not afraid of the Mountain Men if they were on their own, but they had to look after fifty students. Not every student was capable of defending themselves. Many of them were just nerds!

Not every Mage in the school was a fighter. A third of the students that enrolled in the Aorus Sacred Institute might have outstanding cultivation and could build a tower in minutes, but they would hesitate when trying to kill a Servant-level creature.

On the other hand, the Mountain Men might be dangerous, but they were also valuable for researchers.

Their physical structure was similar to humans, but the Research Union was baffled by their explosiveness, strength, and fighting capabilities, which were comparable to other demon creatures.

The Aorus Sacred Institute would buy an intact corpse of a Mountain Man for five hundred gold, but it was difficult to subdue or kill a Mountain Man without damaging their bodies due to their savagery, not to mention the Mountain Men normally stayed in huge groups!

“Lecturers, are we really going to cross Earthworm Gully?” Miyamoto Shin spoke up.

“There’s no end to learning. We should give these students a chance to learn things outside of the textbooks,” Mo Fan answered loftily.

“Alright, but the Mountain Men of the Andes Mountains are scarier than anyone can imagine!” Miyamoto Shin shook his head.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai were leading the way, while the rest of the security guards, including Miyamoto Shin, stayed on both sides of the group. The students were walking in two orderly lines. They had long heard about the infamous Mountain Men, and none of them dared to stray from the path on their own.

“Mu Bai, didn’t you tell us you wanted to check out one of the plantations on the Andes Mountains?” Mo Fan asked to the side.

“I’ve filtered out eighty percent of the plantations based on my investigations, but that’s the most I can do before taking a look at the rest of them. We will have to check out each plantation to know for sure. The school has a simple plantation in the Mountain Men’s territory, and it doesn’t even have any guards. The school simply lets the plants grow in the wild. I want to see if the Frenzy Poppies are planted there,” Mu Bai responded quietly.

“The whole school is spreading rumors about how scary the Mountain Men are. They might be cruel and savage, but there’s also the possibility that the people of the Black Vatican are exaggerating it to prevent students from going to their plantation,” Mo Fan noted.

“I think so too,” Mu Bai nodded.

“The Black Vatican won’t see through our disguises while we are with the students. Good job on planning this excursion. We can make money and investigate the plantation at the same time!” Mo Fan patted Mu Bai on the shoulder.

As expected of a virgin, who could concentrate better and focus on the task on hand. No wonder many schools and parents did not want their students to enter a relationship at a young age…

——

The noises of the insects lessened after they crossed the gully. Everyone subconsciously lowered their voices when they felt the strange and quiet atmosphere.

The shrubs and low canopy were replaced by towering trees centuries old. The canopy was not thick, however, and the group could still see the sky through the branches.

The wind blew by occasionally. The trees swayed gently when the wind was a little stronger. It was like the audience of a concert, swinging their heads rhythmically to the music.

If Earthworm Gully was not treated as an obvious boundary, those who set foot beyond it might feel relaxed because of the soothing environment!

“Are we really on the other side of the Earthworm Gully?”

“I bet my friends will admire me greatly when we get back to the school!”

“It’s fine if we don’t encounter the Mountain Men, we can just enjoy a casual walk.”

The students spoke softly, while Mo Fan and Mu Bai kept going forward fearlessly. The plantation they were after was not far away.

“Take the lead, I’ll handle it,” Mu Bai said when he suddenly noticed something.

“I’ll go,” Mo Fan volunteered.

“It’s trying to conceal its presence. Your Aura is too strong, it might run away. It has been following us for some time. It’s most likely waiting for an opening to make its move. I’ll deal with it first, so it won’t cause us any trouble,” Mu Bai said.

“Is your ability to identify demon creatures from observing their feces that impressive? Are you a dung beetle?” Mo Fan blurted out in astonishment.

Mo Fan had noticed an unusual presence at times, but it was gone whenever he tried to track it with his Shadow Element.

“I brought some insects with me that can keep an eye on the vicinity for us, like the moths of Fanxue Mountain!” Mu Bai opened his palm and revealed a few flying insects.

“Oh, so they are dung beetles?” Mo Fan asked brightly.

Mu Bai’s face darkened. He said in a serious tone, “They drink dew!”

“Speaking of which, I’ve detected an Aura that you didn’t have before the incident where you almost died. I believe it’s related to Dark Magic. Your bugs have it too…” Mo Fan prodded him.

Even though Mu Bai had the Poison Element, it was still different from Dark Magic!

Mu Bai had a strong Presence of Darkness now, something that Mo Fan had only sensed from the Elder of the Shadow Tribe!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’ll talk to you about it after I take care of the thing that is following us. To be honest, I still can’t believe some of it myself,” Mu Bai smiled wryly.

“Alright,” Mo Fan said. He was not too worried about it, after all.

—

Mu Bai followed the insects to an area with more trees, while Mo Fan continued to lead the way for the group.

The mountains did not have clear trails. Weeds with razor-edged leaves and tough branches were blocking the way. The stems of the shrubs blocking the path often had sharp thorns, blocking the path ahead like fences. The students would doubtless damage their clothes and cut themselves if the path was not cleared.

It was possible to get rid of these obstacles with magic, but the presence of magic was like gunpowder or the scent of blood. It would alert the demon creatures nearby.

Mo Fan did not want to use his magic. He looked at Boleyn, who kept rolling her eyes.

As a teacher, he should let his students do the manual labor for him!

“You two, stop sticking around the girl and clear a path ahead!” Mo Fan pointed at the two boys sticking close to Boleyn.

“Why are you asking us to do it instead of the others?” one of the boys complained.

“Yeah, we are fighters. We can protect the others. You can find someone else to clear the path!” the other boy said.

“Fine, Boleyn, go clear a path ahead,” Mo Fan pointed at Boleyn.

“Sure!” Boleyn nodded and followed the order obediently.

“How can we let Boleyn dirty her hands? We’ll handle it instead!”

“Yeah, let us do it! Boleyn, stay behind us. Your skin is so tender. You will ruin it if you end up cutting yourself.”

The two boys diligently ran ahead. They were an Ice Mage and a Wind Mage respectively. They could just freeze the weeds and shatter them to pieces with a strong gust to clear a path.

“Hmm, boys!” Mo Fan laughed to himself.

—

The two boys worked extremely hard, as if they were trying to show off. The group was advancing at a slow pace, but the two boys ran ahead and left Mo Fan’s sight in the blink of an eye.

“Where did they go?” Mo Fan lost sight of the two boys while he was busy maintaining order in the group.

“Sir, I heard someone calling for help. It’s coming from behind us,” one of the girls exclaimed.

“But the number is right!” Zhao Manyan purposely did a headcount.

There was no way Mu Bai would ask for help. He should just kill himself if he could not handle the demon creatures here, since he would just embarrass their country!

“We didn’t hear anything. Damn it, where did those two assh**** go? Why didn’t they wait for the group?” Mo Fan scolded.

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, I’ll go take a look with a few of the guards. Can you wait here for the time being?” Miyamoto Shin said.

“Fine, just be careful. If you see students from a different group, you should report back to me first before taking any action,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Got it!” Miyamoto Shin and three other guards went in the direction the girl heard a scream from.

The students started talking among themselves.

There must be something dangerous nearby if someone was screaming for help. Unfortunately, Lecturer Mu Han, whom they had more faith in, was not around.

“Old Zhao, keep an eye on these kids. I’ll go find those two wild ducks,” Mo Fan said.

“(Sigh), is this a university or a kindergarten?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

Mo Fan was worried about the two boys. He told them to stay within fifty meters of the group, yet they had already gone far ahead.

Luckily, Mo Fan had marked them with the Seal of Darkness. He should be able to find them in no time by following the traces of the Shadow Element.

—

One of the boys combed his hair and grumbled while clearing the path, “That Lecturer Mo Yifan was acting so full of himself, even though no one is interested in attending his classes. He was acting like the boss in the group. I think we should beat the crap out of him when we have the chance!”

“I wonder what Boleyn is thinking. Why was she following his orders? Not only is he ugly and ordinary, he doesn’t seem that knowledgeable, either. He’s more like a scammer!” the other boy agreed.

“What took you two so long? How long do you want me to wait?” Boleyn’s voice came from a nearby shrub as the two were talking.

“We are coming!” the two boys immediately picked up their paces.

“She told us she had something important to tell us. Perhaps she’s finally going to decide on who she’s going out with.”

“She doesn’t have to choose. She can go out with both of us, HAHA!”

“HAHAHA, it’s good to be a student of this school. It’s condemned in other countries, but it’s totally acceptable in Aorus!”

“I like her bust. Her tits are mine!”

“I won’t fight over them with you, hehe!”

Many students in the Aorus Sacred Institute were very open-minded. The two boys had heard a lot of rumors about the others seeking thrills in the woods. They did not expect Boleyn to have such a fetish, despite her innocent looks!

That being said, it was still necessary to avoid the others when doing it, just so they had plenty of time to enjoy the process. Knowing their endurance, it might take them more than an hour…

The boys pried open the shrubs and saw a cluster of tall trees that surrounded the area like walls. There was not even the slightest gap between them.

“Boleyn seriously knows her way around!”

“How exciting!”

The two boys went inside without any hesitation. They were already imagining Boleyn’s sexy face as she was blowing their pipes, yet they were greeted by a face as ghastly and ugly as a witch instead!

Its body had a piece of rugged cloth draped over it. Most of its muscular body was exposed. Its breasts were moving up and down together with its breathing!

“You are finally here!” The ugly face was surprisingly uttering Boleyn’s sweet voice.

The two boys found it extremely disgusting!

“Where did this old witch come from? Piss off!” one of the boys snarled.

The witch had a ghastly smile just a second ago, but it was replaced by a twisted expression. It dove at the boy with long hair from above, like it was going to sit on him before he could react!

Guardian deity sitting on a lotus!

The boy’s contorted face was enough to describe his feelings!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The young man vomited blood. His delicate body could not handle the violence the creature was inflicting on him. Not only was he stuck in the ground, he also felt like his waist and hips were broken.

The other student was dumbfounded too. How was the female barbarian with Boleyn’s voice able to move so quickly? He quickly Cast an Ice Spell to pin down the savage, but she turned her head around and revealed her terrifying fangs.

She jumped down from the first student and went behind the other.

By the time the Ice Lock was flung forward, she was already behind him. He could feel a breeze behind his neck!

Thick arms wrapped around his neck. The savage placed the boy in a headlock and tossed him to the ground.

The boy’s white shirt was covered in blood as he landed. His chin was dislocated, while his teeth and joints were broken.

The savage beat her chest like a boxer who had just knocked out her opponent!

The two students could no longer stand on their feet from the pain they were under were totally dumbfounded. How did a secret date end up like this? What was this monster that was able to talk in Boleyn’s voice?

The savage seemed to like the boy with a long fringe more. She approached him while swinging her solid buttocks with her eyes fixed on him.

For some reason, the boy felt like he was a lady who had been captured by some mountain bandits. He could see a hint of lust from the creature’s eyes, on top of the pure violence!

My gods, don’t tell me she was going to do something crazy with me? I’m supposed to be a real man!

The creature went up to him and stuck its tongue out. The boy was not sure if the creature was going to eat him or do something else. He finally fainted when he saw the creature’s ghastly face!

“You ugly piece of shit, have you asked for my lightning’s permission before messing with my students?” Mo Fan’s voice came from one of the trees.

The creature immediately raised its head. By the time it looked up, a fork of black lightning was coming down at its head.

The creature’s reaction was surprisingly quick. It dodged the lightning so quickly that it left a few afterimages behind.

“Homing Lightning Serpent!”

The lightning did not disappear after landing on the ground. It sprang forward again and bit at the creature like a dozen serpents.

The creature’s eyes widened. It nimbly climbed into the branches of a nearby tree.

Mo Fan had applied the Seal of Order on his Lightning Spell so it could track its target. The lightning serpents promptly went right after the creature after it changed direction. Their bodies were as flexible as real snakes. They could even curl up and around the trees to reach a greater height!

The creature had already climbed to the canopy, and was jumping between the trees. It was so quick that Mo Fan’s lightning was struggling to catch up to it.

Mo Fan did not have time to tag the creature with the Shadow Element, as he was in a rush to save the boys. He would have a hard time chasing the creature if it abused the trees to run away. His Earth Element was only effective against targets on the ground.

The creature was aware of Mo Fan’s strength, and left without any hesitation. Mo Fan did not chase after it, either. He would be in trouble if something else killed the two students while he was chasing the creature.

—

Mo Fan carried the young men on his shoulders and brought them back to the group. He asked the boy in a white shirt what happened on the way.

“Why did you two leave the group?” Mo Fan asked.

“We heard Boleyn calling for us ahead… sir, Boleyn is in danger! They must have captured her!” the boy exclaimed.

“Boleyn was behind me all the time. She was having a chat with Sharjah,” Mo Fan replied darkly.

“That’s impossible. We clearly heard her voice!” the boy shouted.

“The Mountain Men can mimic human voices and target only certain people with them,” Mo Fan reminded him.

Even Mo Fan had forgotten about the possibility that the Mountain Men had the same ability as the Hillmen. After all, he did not know if the two were of the same species. However, it seemed like the Mountain Men on the Andes Mountains were better at mimicking voices.

A scream suddenly came from the distance. The boy curled up in fear and said, “Sir, is it coming again?”

“I don’t think so. My lightning must have hit it,” Mo Fan said breezily.

“Ah? It’s been quite a while. How could your spell still hit it?” the boy asked in disbelief.

“My spells never miss.”

“Sir, I didn’t think you were so strong. We didn’t stand a chance against it, yet you drove it away so easily. We were too proud of ourselves,” the boy admitted in shame.

If the lecturer had not arrived in time, not only would they be dead by now, they might even have lost their most precious thing as men!

“How could I be your lecturer if I’m not capable? You didn’t pay fifty gold for nothing… oh, speaking of which, remember to come to my classes next week,” Mo Fan told him.

“I’ll be there!” the boy swore.

—

Mo Fan left the boys in Boleyn’s care after regrouping with the others, as Boleyn’s secondary Element was the Healing Element. Her face turned pale when she saw their miserable condition.

“Sir, what happened to them?” she asked.

“They bumped into a Mountain Man. Sharjah, tell the others not to listen to the voices of people they are familiar with. The Mountain Men can mimic our voices and will lure them to a remote spot,” Mo Fan warned them all.

“What about your instructions a moment ago?” Sharjah’s eyes glittered.

Mo Fan was startled. He quickly looked around and realized half of the group was missing!

“Where’s Lecturer Zhao Yanzu? Didn’t I ask him to wait here?” Mo Fan asked.

“Sir, didn’t you tell him to head west? You told him Lecturer Mu Han was in trouble, so you asked him to bring some students along to back Lecturer Mu Han up,” Boleyn said.

“I never said that!. I asked him to stay put and keep an eye on the students!” Mo Fan’s face darkened.

They had really underestimated these Mountain Men. They had spread false information in the group to split them up while he was busy saving the boys.

It seemed like the scream for help was fake, too. He wondered how Miyamoto Shin and the others were doing!

Chapter 2200: Mistook the Wind for Rain

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s head began to hurt.

These annoying Mountain Men never had enough of the same trick. They had already fallen for it on Mount Kunyu once, yet they had fallen for it again here!

“Let’s head to the plantation. We’ll figure out a way to regroup with the rest,” Mo Fan said.

Sharjah took out a map and said, “There is indeed a plantation that belongs to our school nearby, but there aren’t any guards…”

“Sharjah, are you good at fighting?” Mo Fan asked her.

If Sharjah had been elected the president of the student union, she had to be outstanding in many areas. Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, and Miyamoto Shin had split up after they were tricked by the Mountain Men. Mo Fan was unable to be everywhere at the same time. If he knew it would be so troublesome, he should have summoned Apas right at the beginning and used her Aura of a Medusa to intimidate those creatures!

He would not be able to explain where Apas come from if he were to Summon her now. He could only rely on the students!

“I have no problem looking after myself, but I don’t think I can save the others,” Sharjah admitted honestly.

“Sharjah, how could you only pick the things you like as a student representative?” Mo Fan sighed.

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, not everyone likes fighting. It’s not my fault!”

Mo Fan smacked his forehead. He thought Sharjah was a hidden boss who had concealed her strength, but it turned out she was just a complete nerd, who was not good at fighting.

“Forget it, I’ll bring you all to the plantation first. Ugh… who knows the way?”

Mo Fan was struggling to tell the directions. He had no clue where the plantation Mu Bai had mentioned was either.

The remaining students shook their heads. It was their first time coming to the other side of the Earthworm Gully. How could they possibly know the way?

“Sharjah!” Mo Fan could only place his hope on the student union’s president.

Sharjah was speechless. She was only a little tail who joined the group because of her admiration of Mo Fan. Why did she have to do everything?

“I think it’s this way,” Sharjah said, pointing in a direction.

“Mm, come, let’s follow Sharjah… hang on, Sharjah, come closer to me. I want to see your lips when you speak,” Mo Fan corrected himself as he realized something.

Sharjah was aware of Mo Fan’s intention. She went up to Mo Fan and told him where she was going. Mo Fan nodded with satisfaction when her lips were only inches away from his face.

“Lecturer, we can just write down the important information,” Sharjah reminded. She was a little embarrassed staying so close to Mo Fan.

“It’s fine, I like to watch your lips… ugh, I agree with your suggestion,” Mo Fan corrected himself in English.

——

The plantation was not too far away. The Mountain Men did not dare pick on the group after they sensed Mo Fan’s powerful Aura, and they arrived safely at the plantation. Mo Fan noticed the place was no different from the wild. It only had a simple fence, with branches and leaves in its vicinity.

The enclosed area where the Mountain Woman had lured the two boys was actually at the outer circle of the plantation. The plantation mainly consisted of some kind of fir tree that grew tough leaves, useful for building defensive structures.

“The trunks of these trees are very thick. The trees can also grow very densely, allowing them to be grown around a city on a mountain as natural walls to fend off demon creatures. The leaves of these trees have sharp edges, which will cut demon creatures that are good at climbing. We should be safe for the time being,” Sharjah pronounced.

Mo Fan carefully checked their surroundings and noticed how unique the trees were. It was like a barrier enclosing the area. Mo Fan did not have to worry about the students being ambushed by the Mountain Men.

“Don’t leave this place no matter what you hear or see. I’ll go find the others,” Mo Fan reminded the students.

“Got it!” Boleyn nodded.

“Remember, even if you hear my voice, don’t believe it unless you see me talking in front of you. Sharjah, did you hear me? As the student union’s president, it’s your job to lead them!” Mo Fan repeated.

“Sir, have you read Journey to the West ?” Sharjah asked.

“Sharjah, I know you are knowledgeable, but now is not the time for it… You aren’t wrong, either. It’s true that I have two unreliable teammates! I have to clean up their messes every time.”

“What I meant was, you are as long-winded as the Sage.”

Mo Fan had just turned into a shadow sparrow, and almost lost his balance and crashed into the sharp leaves when he heard her comment!

This Sharjah was seriously unattractive at times. As her teacher, he had to teach her to behave herself!

—

Five minutes after Mo Fan left, Sunny, who was keeping an eye on any potential danger with his Sound Element, broke out in a cold sweat.

“President, I hear a lot of footsteps,” Sunny told her quietly.

“Just pretend you didn’t hear them,” Sharjah replied calmly.

“That’s impossible, they are only five hundred meters away at most! They are extremely quick and great in numbers. It’s like we have entered the Mountain Men’s den. These trees aren’t going to hold them back. They have immense strength! They can just smash their way in. We will be surrounded in five minutes!” Sunny blurted out in a panic.

“You heard what the lecturer said. We are staying here,” Sharjah answered calmly.

“But there are too many of them. I don’t even dare to tell the others, as it might scare them. President, please come up with a plan. It’s not too late to run now. There will be no escape once we are surrounded!” Sunny’s face was twitching in fear.

“How do you know what you heard is real?” Sharjah asked.

“But what if it’s real? Those are footsteps, not voices I heard!” Sunny said.

“If they can mimic humans’ voices, isn’t it even easier to mimic footsteps?”

“President…”

“Stop using your magic and stay here, and don’t tell anyone what you heard!” Sharjah glared at Sunny.

Sharjah suddenly realized something after she finished the sentence. She looked at the others and noticed they were all looking at her and Sunny.

“Damn it, I should have written it down!” Sharjah cursed.

It was obvious that the Mountain Men had passed on their conversation to the students. They all knew Sunny had heard a lot of footsteps approaching.

One of the young men, his eyes now brimming with fear, blurted out, “Are we really surrounded by the Mountain Men?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m going to skin you and use it to make a scarf.”

“I like your eyes. They are orange. I’ve never seen their color before. Once I pry open these trees, I’ll get to play with them.”

“I’ll hang you on the tree until your blood and meat are dried. I will store them for the winter.”

“You smell nice, I can smell you from a few kilometers away. We like human girls the most. Come live with me when I find you. You will stay with me, my brothers, and my fathers in our caves. We’ll eat you when you grow old.”

Scary voices spoke in the ears of the students, each sending a chill down their spines. They could not stay calm when they imagined what the Mountain Men were going to do to them.

Some of the girls even crouched on the ground and burst into tears.

They were not fighters, nor had they been in the wild many times. Even experienced Hunters would be spooked by the voices, let alone them!

“Stay calm, they can’t get in here!” Sharjah said.

“How are you so sure about it?”

“Yeah, you are the student union’s president. You have lots of magic Equipment to guarantee your safety, but what about us? If we are really surrounded, we are all going to die except for you!”

“I didn’t say anything. Write it down, don’t talk. They can mimic our voices!” Sharjah wrote on the ground with her Earth Element.

“Did you say it or not? Didn’t you say we are going to run?”

“I didn’t speak at all. Stop talking you all!” Sharjah yelled when she noticed the others did not even bother reading what she wrote.

However, she had broken her own rule when she shouted. The students were even more lost about what to do.

Which sentences were from Sharjah, and which weren’t?

They had to keep an eye on the surroundings. They did not have the time to watch her lips. Besides, none of them were calm enough to read her lips when there were so many voices bombarding their ears!

“Come with me!”

Sharjah realized the students would only lose their minds eventually if they stayed here. These Mountain Men’s ability to inflict psychological fear was too terrifying. They could easily trick the students by feeding them false information!

Sharjah used the Earth Element to write a few lines in front of everyone. It was the only way to calm them down.

Going with her was better than slowly falling into the Mountain Men’s traps!

Everyone, just read what I wrote and assume every voice you hear is from the Mountain Men! , Sharjah wrote.

Sunny, can you isolate their voices?

Sunny shook his head and explained the voices were coming too quickly. He could not isolate them all.

We’ll go look for the lecturers! , Sharjah wrote.

Sharjah led the group out of the plantation. Boleyn was extremely worried. She wrote on Sharjah’s hand, Sharjah, we’ll be falling right into the Mountain Men’s trap if we leave here.

Sharjah wrote in return, Don’t worry.

—

Mo Fan finally found the idiotic Zhao Manyan. To his relief, the rest of the students were still with the group.

The Mountain Men were extremely cruel. If someone had fallen behind from the group, the others would not have time to save them.

“Those voices of the Mountain Men are too horrifying. I wonder if the students at the plantation can hold their ground,” Zhao Manyan mentioned with a hint of worry.

“I’ve wasted too much time looking for you. Let’s hope they didn’t leave the plantation. They are in deep trouble if they leave the plantation!” Mo Fan agreed.

Mo Fan was a little nervous when he returned to the plantation. The students might not know what to do when he was not around. They might decide to leave there!

Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat when he did not see the students as soon as he arrived at the place!

However, when he looked to the other side, he noticed the students had gathered on the other end, close to the outer circle of the plantation. They were walking back and forth behind the walls.

“Lecturer Mo Yifan!” Boleyn almost burst into tears when she saw Mo Fan return with the other students.

Sharjah let out a relieved sigh.

She was afraid that the students might see through her trick if Mo Fan had not come back in time.

“Huh? Why are we still inside?”

“Didn’t we already leave this place?”

The students had finally regrouped, but Mu Bai, Miyamoto Shin, and the others were still missing. Mo Fan was not too worried about their safety, since they were a lot stronger than the students.

Mo Fan knew something must have happened, judging from the students’ reaction. He asked Boleyn and Sharjah about it.

“Those Mountain Men are too scary. They kept frightening us by mimicking our voices to make us argue with one another,” Boleyn looked at Sharjah and said with an impressed face, “Luckily, the president is very smart. She agreed to bring the students out of here, but she used an illusion to trap us in here so we were simply walking around in circles. The other students thought we had already left the place, but we were still protected by the trees!”

Mo Fan was shocked.

Those Mountain Men really knew how to attack their vulnerabilities. Mo Fan had already told them not to leave the place, and had assumed the students would follow his instructions. To his surprise, it almost ended up as a tragedy.

Luckily, Sharjah had remained calm and acted intelligently. She tricked the students into believing they had left the place, just to calm them down. If they had really stepped out of the walls, they would have been torn to pieces by the Mountain Men in seconds!

“I’m sorry, lecturer! I shouldn’t have lost my calm,” Sunny said apologetically.

“(Sigh), as a Sound Mage, you are supposed to remain calm. You are the commander and the core of the group. Try not to panic again next time, do you understand?” Mo Fan scolded him.

“Yes…yes, sir,” Sunny lowered his head. He had never felt so useless until he came to the wilderness.

“Sunny, you are a Sound Mage. Can you think of a way to stop them from mimicking our voices?” Mo Fan asked him.

“That’s a little tricky, but I think I can mimic their way of communicating with one another?” Sunny offered after a moment of thought.

Mo Fan raised his brows. This student was not as stupid as he thought. He was able to mimic the way the Mountain Men communicated. This was going to be interesting!

It was time for him to teach those vicious assh**** a lesson!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Is everyone alright? I couldn’t find you at the previous spot, so I came here instead… I’m glad that everyone is here,” Mu Bai called out.

Mo Fan went on alert as soon as he heard the voice. He quickly reacted by tossing a series of fireballs in the direction of the voice without any hesitation.

Those little pricks still dared to mimic Mu Bai’s voice to trick him? Did they really take him for an idiot?

The students’ eyes widened. How was their lecturer on Magic Theory able to Cast a volley of fireballs instantly, like a magic trick? Was he trying to raze the whole woods to the ground?

“Freezing Dust!” Mu Bai’s came out of the woods.

A freezing breeze came out at Mo Fan’s fireballs as they were about to explode. Their flames were put out before they touched the trees and the ground. The extinguished fireballs turned into white dust sprinkling across the canopy, before the wind swept them into the sky.

“A neat trick, I guess I’ll have to be more serious. Heavenly Flames of the Burning Valley!…” Mo Fan was in a fit of anger when he saw the enemy nullify his Fire Spell with ease.

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, I don’t think Mountain Men can use magic,” Sharjah reminded him.

Mo Fan was constructing a Star Constellation. He was planning to turn it into a Star Palace, but the flames around him disappeared when he heard Sharjah’s words.

Mu Bai came out of the woods with a dark expression. He glared at Mo Fan and snapped, “Are you out of your goddamn mind?”

“F**k me, can you come up to us first before talking next time? How would I know if the Mountain Men aren’t mimicking your voice? Besides, where the Hells have you been? What took you so long just to take care of a single creature? You are supposed to be in charge of the class. Don’t throw your responsibilities to me!” Mo Fan spluttered back indignantly.

“I saw them falling into the Mountain Men’s trap in their den. It took me great efforts to save them!” Mu Bai pointed behind him.

Behind Mu Bai were Miyamoto Shin and three other security guards, who were all limping. They were covered in thick blood, both theirs and that of the enemy. It seemed like they had just experienced a tough fight.

“We thought a student was in trouble, yet it turned out to be a trap. Luckily, Lecturer Mu Han came just in time, or we might have been stuck in their cave forever,” Miyamoto Shin admitted.

“These Mountain Men are too cunning!” one of the security guards snarled.

His arm was heavily bent. The bones at the joint must have broken. It could no longer support his arm’s motion.

“Did you save them from the Mountain Men’s cave?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, the creature we sensed must be their leader. Too bad I didn’t manage to kill it,” Mu Bai sighed.

Mo Fan grinned.

Things were a lot simpler if they knew where the Mountain Men’s cave was!

It was time to get rid of these vicious Mountain Men once and for all!

—

The Mountain Men of the Andes Mountains mostly lived in groups. They would stay in their groups most of the time.

There was a cave close to the Earthworm Gully, around five kilometers away from the plantation.

Around thirty Mountain Men lived in the cave. Their habits were similar to cavemen in primordial times. They lived in caves, fed on raw food they had obtained from hunting animals, and kept on reproducing.

Humans were like delicious deer in the eyes of the Mountain Men. They could eat their meat raw, cook them, or dry them. However, most humans who dared to cross the Earthworm Gully were Mages of a certain strength. They used to hunt humans with brute force, which resulted in a lot of casualties for them. There would not be not many members left in their cave, even if they managed to kill the humans.

They slowly adapted by learning how to split the work up and inflict fear on their prey.

It was similar to a pack of wolves when it was hunting a herd of cows. A herd of cows would easily outnumber a pack of wolves. If the cows worked together to fend off the wolves, the wolves would not stand a chance at all. However, the wolves would abuse the fear of the cows and drive them into a panic first. The cows would then focus on fleeing for their lives when the wolves showed up. They just needed to pick on the cows that were left behind.

The Mountain Men knew human Mages were strong when they were in their formations, and they would only get themselves killed if they faced the humans head-on. As such, they had learned to split a group of humans up and pick on those who had separated from the group.

They might not be as strong as the Mages, but they could still kidnap stray humans and drag them to their caves!

The leader of the Mountain Men was standing in the cave. He looked at his men who had returned excitedly in confusion.

What were these idiots up to? They had already returned with excitement even though they had yet to capture a single human. Did they catch a beautiful woman or something?

The leader of the Mountain Men yelled angrily when he saw his men were back.

He grabbed a Mountain Woman and slammed her head on the ground before asking them what was going on.

The Mountain Woman responded with a wronged face, “Didn’t you tell us you had captured a bunch of humans and ask us to come back to the cave? You even said that whoever arrived first could enjoy the meal first!”

The leader of the Mountain Men spat on the Mountain Woman’s face.

“Idiot, since when did I give you such an order?” He had yet to capture a single human, let alone holding a feast for his men!

The Mountain Woman was utterly confused. If their leader did not give the order, who was it that dared to send them a false message?

The leader of the Mountain Men and the Mountain Woman heard the voice of a human above the cave while they were still feeling puzzled!

“Seal of Lava: Firefall!”

Mo Fan had plenty of time to Cast his spell. He took his time to complete a Super Fire Spell!

A magnificent burning gate appeared above the cave as soon as the Star Palace was constructed. Its doors slowly swung open, followed by scorching lava pouring down at the Mountain Men!

It was like a huge waterfall hanging under the blue sky, over which tons of red liquid were pouring down. The lava fell heavily onto the ground, and huge waves of flames began surging wildly!

The Mountain Men were standing under an enormous firefall of lava!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The firefall soon filled the cave, despite its size and accessibility, leaving the Mountain Men no escape.

Sunny had tricked the Mountain Men into believing it was time for them to go home and enjoy a meal!

They were taking revenge by playing the Mountain Men’s game back at them. If the Mountain Men could mimic their voices and trick them, why couldn’t they mimic the Mountain Men’s voices to mislead them?

The Mountain Men were annoying because they would not dare to show themselves unless necessary. A violent Mage like Mo Fan would be wasting too much time on looking for the Mountain Men to eliminate them all.

He had asked Sunny to trick the Mountain Men into returning home while he followed Mu Bai and the others back to their cave.

A single Super Fire Spell was enough to send all the Mountain Men to Heaven. The whole family was able to reunite there!

Their cries of agony rose continuously, yet the students were only grinning pleasantly.

It was not like they had no compassion, but these Mountain Men were too vicious. They realized the Mountain Men were not just trying to scare them previously. They would have suffered miserably if they ended up falling into the Mountain Men’s hands.

How could they not be pleased to see such a vicious species being annihilated?

On the other hand, the Super Spell totally surprised the students. They had thought the lecturer who was teaching the class on demon creatures or magic dueling would be doing the dirty work since they should be experienced fighters, yet they both took a step back and let the lecturer of magic theory handle the rest!

It was as spectacular as a physical education teacher solving a challenging International Mathematical Olympiad’s question, or a math teacher doing a Thomas Flare on the ground!

Boleyn pulled Mo Fan’s sleeve and asked softly, “Lecturer, do you really teach magic theory?”

The way Lecturer Mo Yifan had constructed a Fire Star Palace and summoned the shower of heavenly flames was too astonishing. It had wiped out the detestable Mountain Men, leaving not a single one alive!

“(Cough cough), I’m more like an all-arounder!” Mo Fan explained awkwardly.

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, when’s your next class? I’ll be there.”

“Mm, mm, me too. I’ll go even if you increase the price!”

The students had witnessed the strength of the lecturers in person. The Mountain Men they did not stand a chance against were like little chicks in front of their lecturers. It was obvious that the lecturers could easily handle an even bigger group of Mountain Men if they did not have to protect the students.

“I believe everyone has learned a lot from this trip. Remember to write a simple summary on what you’ve learned which you can revise later. Do you understand?” Mo Fan immediately gave advice like a teacher.

The students were very obedient after witnessing his strength. They promised they would not miss out on any of the trio’s classes!

——

The trip was a little adventurous and risky. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai also needed to learn from their mistakes in order to prepare for their next few excursions and prevent accidents from happening.

The group returned to the plantation to rest while Mo Fan stayed behind in the cave looking for valuables.

The Mountain Men of the Andes Mountains enjoyed collecting human valuables. They would treat anything shiny as precious and either wear them or hide them in their caves.

Unfortunately, the Heavenly Flames of the Burning Valley were too powerful. Normal jewelry could not withstand the heat, and had all melted in the flames.

“Seriously? There’s nothing left here. I should have gone easy on them. I could have sold the valuables for gold,” Mo Fan searched the cave helplessly.

Thud!

Something tripped Mo Fan out of nowhere. It sounded like a metallic artifact.

Rumors said the Mountain Men too had submitted themselves to the ancient gods and Totem beasts just like humans, but they eventually took the path of demon creatures instead of magic civilization. Most of the Totem Containers had fallen into their hands.

Therefore, the Mountain Men possessed a lot of valuable ancient artifacts. Mo Fan could tell the thing he had kicked was something precious.

He picked up the object from a pile of ashes. Little Flame Belle wanted to join in on the fun, and puffed up her cheeks and blew at the thing that resembled a container.

Cough cough cough!, Mo Fan started hacking. Little Flame Belle mimicked her father and started coughing, too.

Mo Fan flicked Little Flame Belle on the forehead and rolled his eyes at her before inspecting the ancient artifact.

“A skull?” Mo Fan blurted out in disappointment when he realized what it was.

It was just a skull? What the heck? He had searched the entire cave and only found a skull in the end?

What the heck was a skull good for? Mo Fan threw it on the ground in a fit of anger.

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle surprisingly picked the skull up and handed it back to Mo Fan.

“What now? You like playing with skulls too? What kind of fetish is that?” Mo Fan shunned it.

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle tried her best to express her thoughts.

“You’re saying that your heavenly flames would have melted an ordinary skull, right? Fine, it’s a very tough skull. You can keep it as your toy. I don’t want it.” Mo Fan ignored Little Flame Belle.

Little Flame Belle actually kept the skull as her toy. It was strange seeing such an adorable little creature holding a skull with both hands.

Mo Fan touched the skull and wondered aloud, “Speaking of which, why does the skull feel a little cold in my hands? That’s not possible, especially after we just cooked it with our flames. Forget it, I’ll find someone to appraise it once we are back. We won’t know its secrets even if we inspect it here.”

——

Little Flame Belle continued to play with the tough skull on their way back. She would burn it with her heavenly flames at times, but not only was the skull still intact, it did not even heat up! Little Flame Belle was amazed.

“Your daughter seems to have an odd interest,” Zhao Manyan laughed upon seeing that.

Mo Fan was getting a headache too. Perhaps Little Flame Belle had never seen something that her heavenly flames could not destroy, so she was stubbornly having a showdown with the skull.

Mo Fan felt sorry for the skull, too. It was already a skull, yet Little Flame Belle was still torturing it continuously with her flames. Couldn’t she let it rest in peace instead?

“Mu Bai, did you find anything suspicious at the plantation?” Mo Fan asked.

Mu Bai shook his head.

There was not a single trace of the Frenzy Poppies. It seemed like they were wrong about the place.

“It’s fine, we have plenty of time to investigate them all,” Mo Fan shrugged.

“Yes, we should be right on the track. It’s only a matter of time until we find them,” Mu Bai agreed.

“We are going to be rich once we get back. We now have the capital to bet on the magic duels!” Zhao Manyan seemed to have forgotten about the Black Vatican, and was caught up in the competition between the guest lecturers.

Chapter 2204: Mo Fan is my Student Too!
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The lecturers would receive bonuses if the feedback from the students on an excursion was positive. Mo Fan’s group had received a bonus of a thousand gold on top of the base payment of two thousand and five hundred gold. They now had a capital of three thousand and five hundred gold!

However, they were still ranked at the bottom, as they expected. After all, they were meant to profit from the classes on magic theory. It was almost a miracle that Mo Fan had lost money from his class.

The lecturers of other factions were already betting on magic duels. Brianca’s faction had earned a fortune by abusing Brianca’s reputation in her classes, but First Prince Beny’s faction had reclaimed the first spot after winning bets on multiple magic duels in a row.

The faction in third place was the Institute of Liberty from New York. It had a reputable lecturer on magic duels, Nelson. Their other classes were not popular, but their classes on magic duels were always full. Not only did they earn a lot from these classes, they had been winning many magic duels too.

“Damn it, we worked so hard to organize a trip, yet we only earned twenty-five hundred gold from it. Meanwhile, these people are earning one or two thousand just from a single duel. How crazy were the bets?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

How dangerous were the Mountain Men? They had only earned a few thousand gold, even with a hundred percent positive rating from their customers, yet if a duel managed to get a lot of attention from the students, the stakes could even go as high as ten thousand gold! The factions involved in these bets would then earn a few thousand gold. They no longer had any motivation to spend too much of their time on the excursions.

“Do we have any students that are good at fighting?” Mo Fan asked.

The other factions were earning crazy money with their students. The three of them could not afford to be left behind either. After all, having huge capital meant they could rent a bigger venue, more advanced equipment, and even set up a strong magic barrier. Sometimes, a big class in the Aorus Sacred Institute was crazier than the concert of a well-known celebrity!

“There’s one. He’s pretty strong. We can ask him to be our candidate,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Are you familiar with him?”

“Didn’t we split up after crossing the Earthworm Gully? I had around twenty students with me. We weren’t just harassed by the Mountain Men, but we also stumbled into a bunch of Mountain Ridge Beasts that were drinking water nearby. Five of the students got lost when the Mountain Ridge Beasts showed up, but a student called Ritchie managed to clear a way and brought the other four back,” Zhao Manyan said.

“By the way, Star Palaces aren’t allowed in the duels, so even if our opponents have students at the Super Level, we still have a chance to win against them,” Mu Bai reminded them.

Super Spells were too destructive to be used in magic duels. Most barriers could not withstand the power of a Star Palace, let alone the Mages who were involved in the duel. The duel between Mo Fan and Zu Xiangtian had been held far away from the spectators in an abandoned part of a city!

“That’s good news. There must be students at the Super Level in the student union. It’s a little unfair if they could use their Super Spells in the duels,” Mo Fan said.

“Ask Ritchie to meet us. We’ll also pick a few others who are reliable.”

A solo duel was more about how Elements countered one another, so it was not too exciting to watch compared to team battles, unless it was a duel between two reputable students. After all, not everyone in the world could reach Mo Fan or Zu Xiangtian’s level!

Zhao Manyan asked the student called Ritchie to meet them, but they were greeted by something unexpected.

“Lecturers, the Institute of Liberty has invited me to be their forward. They promised to give me five hundred gold for every match regardless of the outcome,” Ritchie informed them with a polite smile. He added, “As a matter of fact, I wasn’t planning to join your excursion in the first place, but my points for excursions aren’t enough, so I just randomly picked one.”

“Ritchie, it’s saddening to hear that,” Zhao Manyan sighed.

“Lecturer Zhao Yanzu, you are an outstanding lecturer. You managed to protect so many students while being attacked by so many demon creatures, but the results of the duels are important for our reputation. I want to join the main party of the student union, and once I make a name for myself, I would like to visit China…” Ritchie said.

“Why China?” Zhao Manyan was confused.

“Aren’t you from China? There’s a strong fighter in China called Mo Fan who won the World College Tournament. Many people consider him the strongest young Mage in the world, and he also beat a famous young Judicator in Europe, Zu Xiangtian, so I want to challenge him on behalf of the Aorus Sacred Institute’s student union. I heard he’s accepting anyone’s challenge at Fanxue Mountain!” Ritchie exclaimed.

“…”

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were left speechless. It turned out that Mo Fan was the person Ritchie wanted to challenge the most!

Mo Fan’s head hurt. It seemed like his boast had spread all the way to the Americas!

However, if Ritchie was not on their team, their students would be like a sheet of loose sand. The three of them were not close with the student union, unlike most other factions.

Sharjah was supposed to be the strongest student since she was the president, but she had clearly told them not to ask for her help with the magic duels!

“Ritchie, you have no idea. That Mo Fan you want to beat is actually our disciple. We have taught him a lot about magic dueling. Wasn’t he on the national team? We are mentors of the national team too,” Zhao Manyan mentioned when he saw Ritchie was going to leave.

Ritchie halted in his tracks. “Is that true?” Ritchie’s eyes glittered.

“Every single word of it!” Zhao Manyan quickly signaled Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was still absent-minded, but he reacted quickly when Ritchie looked at him. He inquired thoughtfully, “How much do you know about Mo Fan?”

“I know a lot about him. I even watched the World College Tournament. His Lightning and Fire Elements are very impressive!” Ritchie smiled.

“Oh, so you’ve watched the World College Tournament. That’s great… Ritchie, you should know that the Sky Lightning Claw is one of Mo Fan’s strongest moves. Check out my Sky Lightning Claw: Descent of the Demons!” Mo Fan curled his finger.

Mo Fan flipped his hand. His fingers were emitting dark lightning even though he did not construct a Star Constellation. Instantly claws of lightning were flickering across the sky around fifty meters above the training ground, as if enraged demons were trying to tear the sky apart!

Chapter 2205: Recruiting Student Fighters

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ritchie stared at the Sky Lightning Claw in the sky blankly. It was exactly the same as he had seen during the World College Tournament, except it was even stronger! It felt like the claws could easily tear anything to pieces!

“What do you think?” Mo Fan put his hands behind him and turned his face slightly in case the student might recognize him.

“That’s it, that’s the one, Lecturer Mo Yifan! Is that Mo Fan really your student? Did he learn this move from you?” Ritchie blurted out excitedly.

Making a name for oneself by dueling and winning the World College Tournament were things most fighters were envious of. Ritchie was an outstanding Mage in the Aorus Sacred Institute, but he was nowhere close to reaching Mo Fan’s reputation.

Therefore, the man who won the World College Tournament had become Ritchie’s idol, and the person he wanted to defeat the most!

To Ritchie’s surprise, these three lecturers from China turned out to be Mo Fan’s mentors! He was obviously going to choose them!

Mo Fan was getting into his role. He patted Ritchie on the shoulder and said with great motivation, “Ritchie, if you join the Institute of Liberty, you will only be a forward at most, which means you are only playing a supporting role. But if you join us, you will be the main protagonist, the soul of the team. Mo Fan was also the core of the Chinese team, so if you join us, we can definitely make you famous across the world, just like Mo Fan!”

Ritchie nodded. He was obviously the simple-minded kind. He was easily convinced when someone promised to help him fulfill his ambitions!

“Very well, we’ll start training you tomorrow!” Mo Fan smiled.

——

Each team in the World College Tournament had five students, a standard format for team battles.

However, this open tournament was asking for teams of nine. It was a popular format in the Americas. The spectators also enjoyed it greatly.

Normally, these team battles with nine Mages on one team were only open for Intermediate Mages, as the power of Intermediate Mages was relatively limited. It was easier to choose the venue and handle safety measures for the spectators. The Magic Association had banned duels at the Advanced Level or above, so it was almost impossible to see an official battle between Advanced Mages or higher.

Most students at the Aorus Sacred Institute were Advanced Mages. They were like an independent country with their own rules, so the Magic Association had no right to interfere with their tournament. The Magic Association did not have a branch nearby, either.

The Aorus Sacred Institute WAS their Magic Association. They could just hold any tournament they pleased as long as they were able to handle the safety measures.

A battle at the Advanced Level had a higher requirement on the venue and the protective barrier. Only a place with deep reserves, like the Aorus Sacred Institute, could afford to hold such a high-level tournament. A venue suitable for holding such a high-level tournament would cost a hundred thousand every second!

A battle that lasted for ten minutes would cost sixty million!

A battle made up of nine-man teams would normally last for two to three hours, so the cost of a match alone was a huge fortune!

The teams of nine were the finale of the open tournament. The lecturers could recruit their students for their team in their classes. Before the teams were formed, the solo duels were only treated as a platform for the students to showcase their strength and the lecturers to show off how good they were at teaching, while earning extra income through betting.

If Zhao Manyan insisted on recruiting Ritchie, he had to be quite outstanding. He would become their money-earning machine after they trained him!

In addition, with Ritchie on the team, it would be easier to recruit the remaining teammates for the team.

“Boleyn, are you sure you want to join our team?” Mo Fan looked at the girl in surprise.

“Mm, I feel like I can learn a lot from you. Didn’t Ritchie already join your team? I believe we have a chance to win the tournament if he’s on the team!” Boleyn confirmed brightly.

“That’s great. Healers are the hardest to recruit,” Zhao Manyan smiled. He kept glancing at Boleyn’s bust too. Impressive volumes!

“Err… lecturers, I would like to join your team too, but I’m not as impressive as Ritchie and Boleyn,” Sunny said softly.

Even though Sunny was a high-achiever, Boleyn and Ritchie were two of the most brilliant students in the school. Sunny was not as capable as them in terms of dueling.

“That’s fine, a Sound Mage also plays an important role in a team battle. You just need to learn from us, follow orders, and practice how to work together as a team. It’s fine if you are not that good at fighting,” Mo Fan agreed.

A Sound Mage would greatly restrict the opponent team’s Destructive Mages. Mo Fan had been wariest of the Sound Mages during the World College Tournament!

“That means we now have three students on our team: Ritchie, Boleyn, and Sunny. We still have to recruit six more students for the team,” Mu Bai murmured.

“Each team has nine members, which means there will be eighteen Mages in one match. It’s going to be thrilling. Even I have the urge to join the tournament!” Mo Fan sighed.

“We won’t have to recruit anyone else if you are in it. You can easily defeat nine people on your own,” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

“You’re exaggerating it, but the three of us can easily take on nine people,” Mo Fan agreed.

“You can just let Little Flame Belle handle them all.”

“Ugh, I almost forgot!” Mo Fan turned around and saw Little Flame Belle raising the skull above her head. She was trying to see through the skull under the sun.

Little Flame Belle had become ridiculously strong after she reached the Adult Phase. Mo Fan did not even dare to fight her now. He only had a slim chance of winning despite having so many Elements!

——

Ritchie was indeed impressive. Mo Fan thought he was only a peak Advanced Mage, but he was actually a Super Lightning Mage.

He had only achieved the Super Level recently, and still lacked control over the Super Lightning Spell, but he had no problem winning duels against students of other factions.

He won five duels in a row after signing up for them, making him one of the elites.

Zhao Manyan used their capital of two thousand and five hundred gold to set up bets and earned a significant amount of money from them. Their capital had now increased to five thousand gold.

Their capital had doubled in no time!

“Ritchie, if you can win seven in a row, we’ll sponsor you a Soul-grade Wind Seed. The Wind Element might only be your Secondary Element, but it’s impressive how you kept using a Spirit-grade Seed before now,” Zhao Manyan offered generously.

Ritchie had won a lot of money for Zhao Manyan. Zhao Manyan was treating the student like his own son!

Chapter 2206: Lightning Pentagons

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Lecturer, I did gain a Soul-grade Seed which is perfect for my Innate Talent, but I keep failing to merge it for some reason,” Ritchie said sadly.

“Failing to merge a Soul-grade Seed is most likely a problem of your body’s constitution. Are you using a Lightning Cultivation Tool?” Mo Fan asked him.

“Yes, how did you know?” Ritchie blurted out in astonishment.

A Cultivation Tool was every Mage’s secret. Ritchie had never shown it to anyone. He was surprised that Mo Fan could see through him so easily.

Mo Fan only had a thoughtful grin.

How do I know? You have no idea how many times I’ve stopped Little Loach from swallowing your Cultivation Tool!

Little Loach had the urge to swallow every Magic Tool it came across, let alone a Cultivation Tool imbued with the Lightning Element. It would be a great supplement to Mo Fan and Little Loach!

Mo Fan thought Little Loach would remain in a satisfied state for some time after absorbing Zhan Kong’s Soul Essence. To his surprise, Little Loach had shown a great appetite lately. It was showing a temptation to swallow all the things it used to ignore, let alone the highest-quality ‘food’!

Ritchie owned a very expensive Cultivation Tool, which was the most likely reason he had achieved the Super Level at such a young age. Little Loach had long had its eyes on Ritchie’s Cultivation Tool. Ritchie would most likely lose his mind if Little Loach took away His Precious!

“The Lightning Element is an overbearing Element, and has a dominating presence over other Elements. Your body constitution and soul are influenced by it, since you have been cultivating with it for a long time. Didn’t I already explain this in my classes? Different Elements are incompatible with one another. The reason why Soul Seeds are called Soul Seeds is because they have their own conscience! They will protect themselves subconsciously, so it’s likely that the Soul-grade Seed you have isn’t willing to merge with you because of the strong presence of the Lightning Element,” Mo Fan informed him.

Ritchie fell into deep thought and eventually realized something.

“Lecturer, you are so knowledgeable. Why have I never thought of it before? My Cultivation Tool is made from a Lightning Pentagon from the Sun-Gathering Peak. It utilizes the imperious nature of the Lightning Element to refine a demon creature’s Soul Essence, which helps me cultivate a lot quicker than others. However, whenever I cultivate, my body is in great pain, like I’m being struck by lightning… I’ve never told anyone about it. Lecturer, you are so impressive!” Ritchie was amazed by Mo Fan’s explanation.

“The Sun-Gathering Peak? Where is that?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“It’s located at the highest region of the Andes Mountains. A few seniors of my clan brought me there once. The strange thing is, I can still remember the way to it roughly, but I can’t recall the things that happened on it. Anyway, we managed to find a rare Lightning Pentagon and forge it into the Cultivation Tool I’m using. I was able to overtake a lot of students with it!” Ritchie was very simple-minded. He believed there was no reason to hide his secret from such a knowledgeable lecturer.

“Lightning Pentagons…” Mo Fan murmured.

Little Loach was most likely interested in these Lightning Pentagons!

Forging a Cultivation Tool was a challenging task, let alone forging a high-level Cultivation Tool. Most clans would treat a high-level Cultivation Tool as an heirloom treasure!

A Mage’s cultivation level was extremely important, making Cultivation Tools extremely valuable.

Mo Fan initially thought he could buy Cultivation Tools on the market so Little Loach would keep growing by devouring them, but he quickly realized the market did not have any high-quality Cultivation Tools.

Even a normal Cultivation Tool was treated as being quite precious by the smaller clans!

Mo Fan recalled how the students had to take turns to rent the Magic Tools from the school when he was younger. He should have known Magic Tools were not something he could easily buy on the market, regardless of their quality!

“Lecturer, do you have any idea how to solve my problem? My Secondary Element is Wind, Tertiary Element is Plant, and Quaternary is Ice. I can’t just stop merging Soul-grade Seeds for my other Elements because of my Cultivation Tool,” Ritchie said gloomily.

It was impossible to win duels with a single Element. The Lightning Element was completely useless against the Psychic Element and the Sound Element, and Earth Mages could easily defend themselves against it, too!

“Mo Fan, do you have a way to solve his problem?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“I can give it a try,” Mo Fan said.

“How?”

“I have a Cultivation Tool that likes to absorb the impurities of different Elements. If I can absorb the impurities of Ritchie’s Cultivation Tool, he shouldn’t have the problem again,” Mo Fan said.

“Ah? Does something so magical really exist in this world?” Ritchie blurted out.

“Give me your Cultivation Tool.”

“Ugh… alright,” Ritchie nodded, choosing to believe Mo Fan.

It was the benefit of being a teacher. Most students would choose to believe their teachers. If it was anyone else, Ritchie would most likely fight to the death rather than give his Cultivation Tool away!

“You two should stay further away. I’m scared of hurting you by accident,” Mo Fan directed them.

—

Once Zhao Manyan and Ritchie left the training ground, Mo Fan placed his hand on the Cultivation Tool. Little Loach immediately pounced at it like a starving dog before Mo Fan could even do anything.

“Little Loach, why are you hungry when you devoured a Ruler-level Soul Essence not long ago? You better behave yourself. It’s my student’s lifeblood. Don’t you swallow it!” Mo Fan smacked the greedy Pendant.

Little Loach shuddered and quickly behaved itself.

“It has a lot of impurities of the Lightning Element. You can only eat them, instead of anything else. Do you understand?” Mo Fan chided it.

Little Loach cautiously stretched out to the Lightning Elements in the Cultivation Tool.

The impurities of the Lightning Element floated out of the Cultivation Tool in the form of purple gas. Mo Fan eyed Little Loach carefully, in case it tried to cross the line.

“Little Loach, do you like this? Ritchie told me it’s made from a Lightning Pentagon on the Sun-Gathering Peak. I wonder if there are more like it on the Sun-Gathering Peak. If you like it, I’ll find a chance to visit it and treat you to a feast!” Mo Fan promised.

Chapter 2207: The Andes Federal Union

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan returned the Cultivation Tool to Ritchie after getting rid of its impurities.

Ritchie sat down and started Cultivating. He quickly noticed he was no longer feeling any pain from the Lightning Element, and smiled like a little kid.

In the past, he felt like he was being hit by ten thousand volts every time he Cultivated. He had no choice but to endure the pain every day. He was more confident in himself now that he no longer had to endure the pain!

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, you are seriously the best teacher I have ever had. My family asked countless Forgemasters to solve the problem for me, yet none of them could do it. I could only Cultivate by enduring the pain…” Ritchie actually burst into tears of gratitude.

A Chinese lecturer had solved the problem that had troubled him for such a long time with ease. Ritchie felt like he had found his true mentor. He was utterly grateful!

“It’s nothing worth mentioning. I’m quite interested in the Sun-Gathering Peak you mentioned before. You can bring us there when we have the chance,” Mo Fan suggested.

“Not a problem!” Ritchie would not blink even if Mo Fan asked him to jump into a volcano now!

——

Mo Fan left in a hurry, finding a deserted corner.

Normally, Little Loach would collect Soul Remnants and refine them into Soul Essences, but Mo Fan had learned something new about it today.

Not only did Little Loach absorb the impurities of the Cultivation Tool, it further refined the impurities into pure Lightning energy, filling Mo Fan’s Galaxy!

The Galaxy of his Lightning Element had expanded slightly because of it. It even had the urge to reach the second-tier!

“Just a little more, if only there were slightly more impurities in the Lightning Pentagon, I could have reached the second-tier today!” Mo Fan felt it was a pity.

Not only would his supply of Lightning energy double after his Galaxy expanded to the second-tier, the strength of his Lightning Spells would rise. Mo Fan did not expect to receive such benefits just by lending Ritchie a hand!

“It seems the Lightning Pentagons are something extraordinary. Not only did it feed Little Loach, it also improved my Lightning Element…”

Mo Fan swore to pay the Sun-Gathering Peak a visit. If he could find one or two Lightning Pentagons, his Lightning Element could easily reach the second-tier Super Level, not to mention the increase in his Cultivation rate!

——

Mo Fan meditated until midnight, trying to break through to the second-tier Super Level.

He was so close to it! It gave Mo Fan a great headache, like he was unable to ejaculate despite trying all kinds of postures.

Mo Fan found himself starving. The dried food in his Space Bracelet was gone. He had no choice but to walk around the streets to see if there were any convenience stores still open to get a quick bite.

Cultivation was a long journey. It was important to accumulate experience. He might only be a step away from reaching the second-tier Super Level of his Lightning Element, but he would only produce the opposite of the desired outcome if he tried to force it.

“Why aren’t any of the shops still open? Don’t they have a McDonald’s, at least?” Mo Fan noticed only a few shops were still open.

He found a café that was still operating toward the end of the street. It was most likely open for students who had the habit of studying at night.

The café was almost empty when Mo Fan walked into it. He was wondering if the kitchen was still open and if he should just give up and head back when he saw a glamorous blonde sitting in a corner. The weary look on her face gave Mo Fan an urge to approach her to understand her inner clothes… ah, inner thoughts!

It was Brianca!

What a coincidence, he had stumbled into Miss Brianca from the Alps just as he was trying to find a quick bite. He would waste the opportunity that fate had brought him if he did not do something age-restricted to her.

Unfortunately, his rational side managed to overcome his inner desires. He immediately turned and headed for the door, as he did not want Brianca to recognize him.

“Are you Lecturer Mo Yifan?” Brianca called out, catching a glimpse of Mo Fan’s back.

“Ugh, I guess I am,” Mo Fan answered awkwardly.

“You are having insomnia too?” Brianca asked politely.

“I just finished my meditation. I was thinking of finding a quick bite before going to bed…” Mo Fan said.

“I happened to order the last serving of steak. I can give it to you if you want,” Brianca said with a gentle smile. Her eyes were glittering cunningly, like a smart snow deer.

Mo Fan had no choice but to take the seat across from her. It was obvious Brianca had seen through his disguise.

“You have my thanks.” Mo Fan scratched his head.

“Time flies. A certain someone has already become a Lecturer of the Aorus Sacred Institute,” Brianca smiled at him.

“Miss Brianca, why did you only expose me now if you knew who I was?” Mo Fan asked with a confused face.

“I was interested to see what you all are up to,” Brianca replied.

“Does our disguise suck that badly?” Mo Fan asked regretfully.

“Not at all, it’s pretty good. But the three of you came together, so it was pretty easy for me to guess,” Brianca pointed out.

Mo Fan realized Brianca did not see through his disguise. She had only guessed their identities by observing their habits!

It made a lot of sense. After all, Brianca was quite familiar with them!

“We are here for a secret operation, so it’s better for us to remain undercover. May I ask Miss Brianca to keep our identities a secret?” Mo Fan said.

“Sure, I won’t inquire any further,” Brianca gave Mo Fan her steak and said, “Here you go, you must be starving.”

“I’ll gladly take it… by the way, Miss Brianca, I can tell you are worried. Is something bothering you? Your classes in the Aorus Sacred Institute have been successful so far. The students can’t even buy a spot for your classes. Unlike us amateurs, we are losing money from our classes.” Mo Fan started feasting on the well-done steak.

“We didn’t come here to compete. The Alps Institute has branches across the world which mainly accept orphans who are victims of natural disasters,” Brianca answered.

“Mm, it’s why I’m very impressed by your school,” Mo Fan nodded.

“The safe zones have shrunk significantly because of the sea monsters. Many villages and towns are being abandoned. A few countries close to the Andes Mountains will soon establish the Andes Federal Union,” Brianca said.

“Isn’t that great? Everyone is joining hands to prepare themselves for the upcoming disaster!” Mo Fan said brightly.

The action of forming a federal union was similar to China’s approach of establishing headquarters cities. The military was short on hands when the cities, towns, and villages were too scattered. They would not be able to protect the places that were located in the more remote areas.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had learned to pay attention to the important news across the world. He had heard about the plan to establish the Andes Federal Union.

A few days after they arrived at the Aorus Sacred Institute, a few countries, including Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, and Chile, decided to form a federal union in South America to fend off the sea monsters of the Pacific Ocean together. It was named after the Andes Mountains.

The Andes Federal Union!

Many countries along the shore were taking appropriate measures to prepare themselves. China had decided to establish headquarters cities, like Feiniao Headquarters City, Magic City (Shanghai) Headquarters City, and Beast Capital (Guangzhou) Headquarters City. The people of the cities and towns along the shoreline had been moved to the headquarters cities, making it easier for the government to defend the people while fending off the sea monsters.

Countries like Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, and Chile in South America were also targets of the Calamity of Sea Monsters. They could not afford to build a dam tens of thousands of kilometers long. Even the most resourceful country would struggle to build a dam that long!

These countries had no choice but to form a federal union to share their resources and information on the sea monsters, helping one another to overcome the calamity together.

“The establishment of the federal union will strengthen the defense along the coastline, but it also means the efforts our seniors have put in over the past few dozen years are in vain. The orphanages scattered across different regions will be abandoned, but the new federal union doesn’t want to allocate a place for the orphans. Around fifty-four hundred orphans will be homeless… The Alps Institute is in Europe, and the laws of Europe and Switzerland do not allow us to take these orphans to the Alps Institute. Besides, we don’t even have the resources to shelter so many orphans,” Brianca said.

More children would be left homeless as the invasion of sea monsters continued. These children did not have proper identities. Meanwhile, the countries in the Americas were having political instabilities. They did not have a proper organization to handle the issue regarding the orphans victimized by the war.

1

The Alps Institute used to have many orphanages to shelter these children, but they would be abandoned when the federal union was established as they were mostly located in dangerous areas. The orphans would have nowhere to go!

Brianca was deeply troubled by this.

“So the reason you came to the Aorus Sacred Institute is to help those children?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, the Aorus Sacred Institute has great influence. I was hoping they could discuss the issue with the leaders of the federal union and allocate a place in the safe zone for the Alps Institute so we could shelter the orphans,” Brianca said.

“But the Aorus Sacred Institute didn’t agree with you?” Mo Fan asked.

“I wouldn’t feel so troubled if they had,” Brianca confirmed helplessly.

“Why didn’t they agree with you?” Mo Fan wondered.

“They claim they won’t interfere with other countries’ politics,” Brianca sighed.

“How is that even politics?”

“All I can do is help my students win in the open tournament and use my influence to get the local governments’ attention. What happens next is beyond my control,” Brianca shook her head.

Mo Fan was lost for words.

It was not like he could blame the countries for losing their humanity. Even adults were struggling to find themselves shelter during the invasion of sea monsters. No one would bother caring about orphans who were not going to contribute to the war.

The Alps Institute was basically doing some charity work, but it was not going to stop the invasion of sea monsters. There would only be more orphans as the war continued. The Alps Institute was only an educational institute, not a profitable organization. Their resources were mainly from the donations and sponsorship from the clans and factions in Europe. It was difficult for them to handle such a costly and strenuous task on their own.

The rich had so much meat and wine that they would never eat it all before their expiry dates, while the poor were starving to death on the streets. Whoever managed to enroll in the Aorus Sacred Institute would live in paradise without having to worry about necessities, but those who were not qualified could only live in the slums, under the bridges, and in junkyards. Their wellbeing was none of the school’s concern!

“If the Aorus Sacred Institute isn’t going to help, why don’t you contact the Parthenon Temple? They are concerned about the orphans too,” Mo Fan told her.

“The Parthenon Temple?” Brianca shook her head. “You are well aware of the conflict between our school and the Parthenon Temple. They will only hit us when we are down instead of cooperating with us.”

“Have you tried?” Mo Fan pressed.

“No, but the outcome is pretty obvious,” Brianca sighed.

“So you would rather worry about it, suffer from insomnia, and try to win the open tournament than put the past between you and the Parthenon Temple behind?” Mo Fan reiterated.

Brianca was startled, and stared at Mo Fan. She did not know what to say.

Mo Fan had heard the same thing from Xinxia, who was also troubled by this issue.

However, the Parthenon Temple had yet to establish its influence in South America. Most people here were supporters of the Alps Institute.

The Alps Institute had put a lot more focus on helping ordinary people, but they lacked the resources to do this job.

The Parthenon Temple had plenty of resources, but the people in South America only listened to the Alps Institute. They were hostile to the Parthenon Temple.

Xinxia was from China, and did not hold a grudge against the Alps Institute, unlike the people of the Parthenon Temple. Mo Fan had already hinted to the Alps Institute to contact Xinxia before, yet they had not taken the first step.

Mo Fan had no intention to interfere with the decisions of the authorities on both sides, yet he was annoyed by the fact that they were not getting anything done just because of some conflict in the past.

In the end, it was just some charitable work. Getting it done or not did not really matter to either side. However, if it was about their own survival, they would easily leave the past behind.

“I think, it’s already too late now, isn’t it?” Brianca sighed, feeling ashamed.

“Give it a try, perhaps there’s still a chance,” Mo Fan encouraged her.

——

Despite everything Mo Fan said, he was still unsure if the Alps Institute was willing to work with the Parthenon Temple. After all, Brianca was not her school’s leader, either.

However, while eagerly getting ready to pay the Sun-Gathering Peak a visit, Mo Fan received a piece of bad news. The federal union’s military had already occupied the Sun-Gathering Peak to mine it!

“Damn it, we were a little late!” Mo Fan grumbled.

“The Lightning Pentagons are the raw materials for Cultivation Tools… we should have gone earlier. It’s pretty much a gold mine. We could have earned a lot there!” Zhao Manyan said in self-pity.

Mo Fan was only planning to find a few Lightning Pentagons on the Sun-Gathering Peak, yet it turned out to be a mine of Lightning Pentagons. If he had secured it first, he might have been able to become a Forbidden Lightning Mage!

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan’s classes did a lot better after the excursion. He was finally profiting from them. Since the classes were about magic theory, Mo Fan could just teach anything he liked, as the school did not have restrictions on the topics. Mo Fan simply shared a manipulated version of his experiences on Mount Kunyu and the bizarre encounter with the Giant Purple Linden with his students.

Every student dreamt of going on adventures. The things that Mo Fan shared were nothing like they had heard before. Even books with records of bizarre events did not have anything like them. Mo Fan somehow turned the class on magic theory into his autobiography.

Mo Fan was not necessarily teaching new knowledge in his class, but many students were interested in his tales. After all, he had encountered a lot of strange things while he was still a student, very different from the typical students who spent most of their time at school. He could easily talk for the whole morning just by sharing one of his adventures.

It was one good thing about being a lecturer in the Aorus Sacred Institute. The lecturers had total freedom on the topics they wanted to teach, as long as the lecturers were not breaking the rules and the students were willing to attend their classes!

——

“Old Zhao, where’s Mu Bai?” Mo Fan went back to his room and saw Zhao Manyan lying on the couch and watching dramas in boredom, as if the sacred task of being a teacher had greatly hindered his progress of spreading his seed across the world.

“He must be studying the plant distribution of the Andes Mountains in the study downstairs. I’m not sure why he’s so stubborn about the Black Vatican,” Zhao Manyan yawned.

“Tell him to come back here. I have a new discovery,” Mo Fan said.

Zhao Manyan rose to his feet unwillingly. He only remembered there was a great invention called the cellphone after he reached the door. He glared at Mo Fan before dialing Mu Bai’s number.

“Hey, come up here… why do I hear a girl’s voice beside you? You assh***, you told me you were going to look for information, but you are hooking up with students instead? I f**king despise hypocrites like you!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

Mu Bai soon came into the room with a long face.

“Oh, it was the cleaner. Why were you having such a pleasant chat with her?” Zhao Manyan mentioned.

“I can’t be bothered talking to an idiot like you. Why did you call me?” Mu Bai demanded.

“Sit down, one of my students reminded me of something in my class today…” Mo Fan began in a serious voice.

The two immediately sat on the couch, eager to hear what Mo Fan had discovered.

“I did some checking. There are lots of farms and plantations close to the edge of the mountain range along the shore, and there are lots of farmers, workers, and gardeners living there. Even though they aren’t people of the Aorus Sacred Institute, they are working for the school. They are usually referred to as laborers,” Mo Fan explained.

Mu Bai was expecting Mo Fan to tell them a big secret since he immediately gathered them after he was done with his class. “Laborers?” he asked narrowly.

“The Aorus Sacred Institute is like a little palace. There have to be a lot of laborers helping with logistics and stuff considering the luxurious life../style here. We have completely overlooked them,” Mo Fan said.

“What about the farms and plantations you mentioned?” Mu Bai asked.

“In addition to the school’s plantations in the Andes Mountains, there are over a dozen villages along the shoreline where the laborers of the school live. Not only do they provide the school with necessities, they also plant herbs and provide smithing of magic ores, and refinement of magic pendants…”

Mu Bai smacked his leg when he heard Mo Fan’s words.

That’s right, why did I keep focusing on the people in the Aorus Sacred Institute? He had not found a single trace of the Black Vatican after so long!

The Black Vatican did not have to be students, lecturers, or personnel of the school. They might also hide among the laborers who were working for the little kingdom!

These laborers might not be considered the Aorus Sacred Institute’s citizens, but they were still protected by the school. They were free to enter its territory!

“One of the students in my class used to be a laborer. He told me a lot about them. I think it’s likely the Black Vatican is hiding among them, especially if they are planting the Frenzy Poppies. They can help plant what the school wants while planting what they want as well!” Mo Fan ventured.

“That makes a lot of sense. I was too focused on the people in the Aorus Sacred Institute. I completely ignored the possibility!” Mu Bai finally realized what went wrong.

The Aorus Sacred Institute did not allow laborers to stay at the school, so Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai, who spent most of their time on the school grounds, had no chance of meeting them. A huge machine consisted of thousands of wheels and parts. They kept focusing on the shiny surface of the machine, instead of looking at the parts inside it!

“Mu Bai, try filtering out the villages where we might find the Black Vatican. We’ll check them out,” Mo Fan suggested.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s unreasonable for lecturers to visit the villages, but I remember there are field trips where we can bring the students to patrol the coastline. Besides, we aren’t done forming our team of nine,” Zhao Manyan interjected.

“Fine! Mu Bai, you will filter out the potential places, while Old Zhao and I handle the field trip. You will decide on the route for the field trip. The Black Vatican won’t react in time once we find the right place,” Mu Bai said.

“Mm, but even if we found the Black Vatican, we shouldn’t do anything reckless. The students might end up as victims,” Mu Bai warned them both.

“Don’t worry, we’ll make sure they are safe.”

——

Mu Bai did not take long to filter out the potential locations. The Frenzy Poppies had strict requirements. He could easily eliminate the places that lacked suitable soil conditions, temperature, and availability of sunlight. In the end, there were only four villages left on the list.

“This one here that is closer to the sea is a plantation of aloe vera. It mainly provides the school with aloe vera and cacti. It has around seven hundred registered workers,” Mu Bai drew a circle on a map and continued, “This one over here is the Rock Coral Village that handles vegetation on wet ground close to the sea. It’s also perfect for planting the Frenzy Poppies. The other two are an olive grove and a cherry orchard, respectively.”

The Frenzy Poppies had to be looked after at all times. They were more difficult to plant than orchids, so the Black Vatican would need a lot of workers to plant them. They were indeed looking in the wrong direction when they tried to find the Black Vatican in the Andes Mountains.

Mu Bai was very sure that the Black Vatican was in one of these villages!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan and his group immediately registered for a patrol class. Mo Fan could have also registered it as a class on Magic Theory since they had plenty of funds now. They could easily afford to hold an outdoor class of Magic Theory that would cost a lot more.

A patrol class was different from a class on demon creatures. A patrol class was a practical class where the students patrolled the border of the school and exterminated nests of sea monsters and demon creatures to control their population.

It was impossible to kill every demon creature around. They were like weeds that kept on reproducing in the corners where humans could not see, especially the lower-level creatures who only needed a few months to mature.

However, if they allowed weeds to grow indefinitely, there would be serious consequences over time. Therefore, the school assigned people to exterminate demon creatures at times. Students could also volunteer to earn some quick gold.

A patrol was similar to a cleaning activity held by the school, but the students were not going to be bringing hoes, brooms, or sickles. They were toting full kits of magic ammunition instead!

——

The request for the class was processed smoothly. The school welcomed teachers who were willing to help with the school’s affairs and not merely their own benefits. Not many lecturers were willing to lead students on manual tasks like this.

The classes on demon creatures mostly focused on dangerous species. Many lecturers would not bother holding a class if it was not related to exciting Commander-level creatures.

The patrol class mainly focused on lesser creatures in great numbers. They were mostly Servant-class or Warrior-level creatures, so it was not a dangerous job. The students in the Aorus Sacred Institute were proud and aloof, and believed they should let the poor Mages who were looking for jobs outside of the school to handle such things. They were not willing to waste their time on such tasks.

“Why do we only have thirty students?” Mo Fan asked, feeling disappointed.

“It’s just a patrol class. It’s the least favorite class of the students. They consider it a waste of time, since they won’t benefit a lot from it,” Zhao Manyan replied.

The students had to pay for all classes, but the patrol classes were different. Even though they had to pay the lecturers first, they would get double the gold back from the school in the end. The students would still earn gold from them.

“Such arrogant pricks, why would they assume our class is going to be boring? They will learn a great deal from it!” Mo Fan grumbled.

“Lecturer, it’s just how the school is. Most people are selfish. They won’t bother wasting their time on things that won’t benefit them. The ones who are willing to join this class either lack a formidable background or they are just trying to earn some quick money,” Ritchie informed him.

Mo Fan looked at the students and noticed they were less impressive than those who had joined the excursion. Even their pride as students of the Aorus Sacred Institute was significantly weaker than those from the student union.

“Lecturer, the truth is that most students who join patrol classes used to be laborers themselves. On one hand, they are trying to earn a little extra income, while on the other they are helping provide the villagers with a safer environment,” Fan Ding told them.

Fan Ding was the latest student Mo Fan had recruited for the tournament. He was also the student who had told Mo Fan about the laborers.

“Alright, in simpler words, you are grassroots without any background… but don’t you worry, I was also a grassroots Mage, but I’m now a lecturer of the Aorus Sacred Institute after putting in a lot of hard work. You shouldn’t be disheartened by that. Lecturer Zhao, on the other hand, comes from a wealthy family. He’s so rich that he can fill the ocean with his money, yet he’s just a pitiful lecturer now too.” Mo Fan patted Zhao Manyan’s shoulder.

“Why do you sound so glorious, while I’m just a pitiful one, even though we are both lecturers?” Zhao Manyan shot back.

“Don’t mind the details, I’m just trying to encourage the students!”

——

Some of the students might have come from poor families, but there were also students with wealthy backgrounds who treated the class as an outing. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai treated the job very seriously. They did not spare a single demon creature, but the students differed greatly. Half of them were treating the class seriously, while the other half were treating it as a casual day out.

The villages around the Aorus Sacred Institute had great scenery. The students were used to the luxurious halls and shiny floors in the school. It was refreshing to see the beautiful villages and green plants on the outskirts.

“These students are quite undisciplined,” Mo Fan noticed.

“They are all high-level players paying the Rookie Village a visit. The demon creatures are too weak for them,” Zhao Manyan said helplessly.

“Why are two of the students missing?” Mu Bai frowned.

“It’s fine.”

“What do you mean it’s fine? We can’t afford to let our guard down even if the demon creatures are weak!” Mu Bai said.

“They are shaking the trees in those woods. They should be gone for at least half an hour,” Mo Fan smiled.

“What’s shaking the trees?” Boleyn asked naively.

Mo Fan raised his brows. He wondered if Boleyn was only pretending to be innocent. He was about to explain to her when he saw the two students returning from the woods. The boy looked satisfied while the girl was smiling too, but her lips twisted when she looked in a different direction.

Zhao Manyan looked at the girl, who was quite attractive. He looked at his watch and felt sorry for her.

That boy was such a disappointment. If he had been doing it, he would have let the hour hand spin half a circle longer!

——

As they reached a wet field, three students ran back to the group and told Mo Fan proudly, “Lecturer, we noticed a few demon creatures damaging the crops in the field, so we got rid of them and saved the villagers!”

The three students had been a long way ahead of the group. Mo Fan had let them be since there was not any danger nearby.

“Well done, I’ll write it down and give you bonus marks for the class.” Mo Fan took out a notebook and marked the students’ names with a plus sign.

He was just about to highlight the students’ names when he saw a group of farmers heading their way.

“We already told the farmers there’s no need to thank us, yet they still came to express their gratitude,” one of the students said.

Around eight villagers came up to them. They yelled when they recognized the three students.

“You little assh****, you killed the Plowing Beasts that our village recently bought after saving up for a long time. How could you do that to us? We are just mere farmers!” an old farmer scolded them, tears coming down his face.

The smiles on the three students’ faces vanished.

Mo Fan’s expression stiffened too.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Seriously, couldn’t these idiots tell the difference between demon creatures and livestock?

The Plowing Beasts were harmless tamed beasts useful for delicate fieldwork that machines could not handle. The Plowing Beasts were not common in China, but they were extremely popular in places with low populations, like Australia and South America. The farmers found them more reliable than brainless machines.

To his surprise, these students were like people in the city who had no idea what rice paddies were. They had killed all the Plowing Beasts!

“How could you do this to us? The Plowing Beasts were our village’s only hope… they are meant to plow the wet fields so we can plant coral! We will file a complaint with the school!” the villagers shouted angrily.

“Fellow villagers, let’s calm down. I’m a lecturer of the Aorus Sacred Institute. My students mistook the Plowing Beasts for demon creatures. They had made a mistake out of goodwill. We’ll compensate for your loss. You don’t have to complain to the school,” Mo Fan said.

“They also destroyed our fields!”

“What level of spells did you use?” Mo Fan turned around and asked them.

“Advanced Level…”

Mo Fan felt like exploding.

Were these students retards or something? The Plowing Beasts were less dangerous than Sea Monkey Monsters. Even if they lost control and attacked the villagers, ordinary people could easily dodge their attacks, yet these students were using Advanced Spells against them!

It was like using a cannon to kill a bunch of mosquitoes. Were they out of their minds?

“How much of the fields did you destroy?” Mo Fan asked.

“We have no clue. We were just killing the beasts, so…”

“Pay us a thousand gold. Those are our village’s treasures, yet they have destroyed them all!” the old farmer demanded.

“Say that again? Those wet fields are common along the beach, yet you are asking us to pay a thousand gold for them? Are you trying to rob us?” Mo Fan yelled back.

He could only earn a few gold with his classes! These farmers were obviously ripping them off!

“We’ll file a complaint then,” the old farmer said stiffly.

“Fine, we’ll pay!”

Mo Fan clenched his teeth and paid the money. He glared at the three idiotic students.

F**k them, it was supposed to be a not-for-profit class helping with public welfare, yet not only was their reputation going to suffer a blow, they had to make up for the losses of the farmers too. Mo Fan had never found himself in such a bad spot!

——

The group passed a town that worked with magic ores. Its people were mainly blacksmiths whose jobs were to process and refine mined materials. The Aorus Sacred Institute had a great demand for refined materials. The school was on the scale of a big city, so the supply chain of materials was enough to require a whole town.

The mayor warmly welcomed the group in person when he learned Mo Fan was a lecturer from the Aorus Sacred Institute leading a patrol class. He told Mo Fan there was a nest of Monkey Beasts that kept preying on their mining areas. He was hoping Mo Fan could exterminate them for the town’s sake.

“Fast Gunner, you’ll handle it.” Mo Fan pointed at the proud student who had gone missing in the woods not long ago.

“Why me?” the boy grumbled.

“Just go, we didn’t ask you to come for an outing!” Mo Fan said.

The boy unwillingly left the hut and went to the mountain which the cunning mayor mentioned.

“Don’t overdo it and blow up the town’s mine. Otherwise, you will take full responsibility for it,” Mo Fan reminded him sharply.

“Got it, how irritating!”

——

The boy returned in less than half an hour, flying back with his Wing Magical Equipment.

“Do you always do things so quickly?” Mo Fan was surprised by the student’s efficiency.

The boy was not aware of Mo Fan’s mockery. He harrumphed coldly and replied, “I’ve cleaned them up. It was just a bunch of weak demon creatures.”

“Let’s keep going. We are off to the aloe vera plantation next,” Mo Fan announced.

——

The group continued to patrol the coastline. It turned out that these talented students were definitely overkill for the job. Normally, it would take a Hunter Group to exterminate a nest or den of demon creatures, but these students could handle the tasks with ease. Mo Fan did not even have to do anything.

They did some of the village favors along the coastline before finally reaching the aloe vera plantation Mu Bai was suspicious of.

The village was responsible for planting aloe vera and cacti, mostly some rare and expensive species with high demand among the women in the Aorus Sacred Institute. Some of the products were exported to other countries, too.

The plantation even had its own guards in proper uniforms.

The more formal it looked, the more suspicious Mu Bai was. The Black Vatican always had a perfect cover on the surface. Its members were no doubt diligent workers, if it weren’t for their twisted beliefs!

“Let the students go out on their own. We are only here to inspect the place. Don’t do anything reckless, even if we see anything suspicious,” Mo Fan whispered.

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai nodded. After all, they had brought a lot of students. They might be using the students as their cover, but they could not afford to place them in danger.

——

They soon noticed a woman kneeling beside the road and cutting a cactus with a pair of scissors at the entrance of the village. She ended up poking herself while she was venting her frustrations.

Mo Fan recognized the woman. “Isn’t that the girl who was sweeping the entrance of the school when we first arrived? How did she end up here?”

The girl had received them when they first arrived at the Aorus Sacred Institute. Even though she was only sweeping fallen leaves at the entrance, she had still acted proudly, like she was a servant of a royal family.

But now, she was no different from another laborer by the roadside. She was wiping her tears as her hand bled, but she continued to do her job.

“Oh? Are you sure it’s her?” Zhao Manyan had trouble recognizing women who were not good-looking.

Mu Bai nodded, indicating it was the same person.

“You there, come over here,” Mo Fan called.

Lily already recognized Mo Fan and the others from far away. She had tried to hide her face with her hair so they would not recognize her.

She could no longer pretend she did not recognize them when they approached her. She forced a smile and said, “Honorable lecturer, how can I help you?”

“How long have you been working here?” Mo Fan asked.

“I was always a laborer here before I worked at the school. I have to harvest a thousand cacti every day,” Lily grumbled.

The difference between a worker in the school and a laborer outside the school was insane!

Lily thought she had finally made her way into Heaven, yet she had returned to Hell in just a few months!

She did not want to waste her time harvesting cacti. She wanted to learn magic like the students in the school, who applied aloe vera as face masks and bathed in cacti juices every day!

“Bring us around the village,” Mo Fan ordered.

“No way!” Lily said.

Her senior had beat the crap out of her because she took these three assh**** around the school. She ended up being sent back to this place, too!

“What a bad temper you have? Don’t you want to go back to the school?” Mo Fan asked.

“Humph, you are just a guest lecturer. You don’t have the power to bring me back to school! I’m not bringing you around, I still have seven hundred and thirty-six cacti to harvest for today!” Lily said.

“I might not have the power to bring you back to the school, but I do have the power to help you Awaken your first Element as a teacher,” Mo Fan offered.

Lily lifted her gaze. Her eyes were bloodshot from the grudge she had against them, but they glittered as soon as she heard Mo Fan’s words!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lily stared at Mo Fan. “Are you being serious?”

She was dying to become a Mage who was respected by others. She would no longer have to work as a laborer. She wanted to be like the students of the Aorus Sacred Institute, treated like a princess no matter which country she went to.

“Of course, but it’s up to you whether you can Awaken your first Element or not,” Mo Fan warned her.

“I can do it!” The girl was surprisingly confident in herself.

“Can you wipe your tears and start bringing us around? Has your village always planted aloe vera in the past?” Mo Fan asked her.

Lily was very passionate after she was promised a chance to become a Mage, and answered every question they had. She was like a totally different person.

It was perfectly normal, since the chance of becoming a Mage was extremely rare in the Americas. The Magic Association was in control of the limited Awakening Stones, and allocated the Awakening Stones among the schools, government, military, and clans.

Lily had not attended a magic school. She was supposed to be satisfied with just having a job. It was almost impossible for her to become a Mage.

Mo Fan was well aware of her desire, and did not mind giving her a chance. It was part of the power given to the guest lecturers. He could ask the Magic Association for ten Awakening Stones every year without going through the school. He could just give them away as he pleased.

“Mo Fan, have your tastes deteriorated?” Zhao Manyan observed Lily closely, but he did not notice anything unusual about the girl, except for her bad temper. He had no idea why Mo Fan bothered wasting his time on someone like her.

“Is sex the only thing you can relate between a man and a woman? Can you be a little nobler? We are teachers now!” Mo Fan said.

“Hehe!” Zhao Manyan scoffed.

——

Lily had grown up in the village. If she was a local, she could live a luxurious life by planting the rarer species, but she was only lodging under her aunt’s roof.

“My aunt forces me to work every day, while she has fun with different boyfriends…”

“You don’t have to tell us that. We are more interested in the crops here. There must be a reason why the produce here is better than in other places, like a special way of planting the crops?” Mu Bai inquired.

“A special way of planting the crops? I have no clue, I’m not interested in it. I don’t want to be a farmer,” Lily replied disdainfully.

“Does the village export the produce here to other places?” Mu Bai asked.

“I think so, we are working with merchants from Europe. They will come here every season to take the products,” Lily nodded.

“Do you know who they are?” Mu Bai’s expression shifted a little, yet he remained indifferent on the surface.

“I have no idea who they are. I only know women in European countries, including Italy, France, England, and Greece, like our produce. My aunt is in charge of receiving the foreign merchants. She always brings me along to their meetings. Humph, does she think I’m unaware of their filthy business? Those old men always look at me in an uncomfortable way!” Lily said.

“Lily, considering your looks, I think they are just here for business,” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

“Yes, you’re the good-looking one here! Your kind has always been those muscular men’s favorite!” Lily shot back.

“Lecturer, there’s nothing to see here. Should we go to the next place?”

“This is boring. It’s just a run-down village. It doesn’t even have a restaurant. Are we going to eat cacti for lunch?”

“We can head to Norzak City. I heard it’s fun there!”

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai exchanged glances. They were planning to stay a little longer, but the students were asking to leave. It was not a good sign, since there were many places they had yet to visit. How could they possibly find out if the Black Vatican was hiding here?

“I saw a mountain at the back enclosed with fences. What’s that for?” Mo Fan pointed.

“There? I’m not sure either, I guess it’s where the more expensive species is planted. We aren’t allowed to go in there. I bet they are scared we will destroy crops that are more expensive than gold if we step on them,” Lily answered.

“Can we go take a look?”

“I need to ask my aunt.”

——-

Lily’s aunt was a tanned woman who did a great job maintaining her physique. She was surprised to see the people from the Aorus Sacred Institute.

“You are interested in the rare species on the mountain? Sure, I can bring you there,” Lily’s aunt received them warmly. She seemed friendly, unlike the old witch Lily kept describing her as.

That being said, she was only kind and friendly to the people of the Aorus Sacred Institute.

Mu Bai insisted on taking a look, despite the complaints from the students.

“Why aren’t there any crops here?” Mu Bai looked at the plowed field in disappointment.

“We have already harvested the crops. The cacti and aloe vera have already been transported to the factories to be manufactured into goods. Look at my skin; it’s because I’ve been applying aloe vera to it for many years,” Lily’s aunt declared. She even glanced at Zhao Manyan as she was talking.

Zhao Manyan shuddered, and pretended he did not notice.

——

The three had no choice but to leave the village, as the students were getting impatient.

The village was the most suspicious place where the Frenzy Poppies might be planted, but they did not see a single stalk of them. Mo Fan began to doubt whether they were looking in the wrong direction again.

They proceeded to exterminate a few nests of demon creatures as part of their disguise. At night, the three sat down at the beach gloomily and had some drinks.

“Did we really have no clues left?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Perhaps we were a step late, and they already took the Frenzy Poppies,” Mu Bai said.

“Are you still suspicious of the village?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Yes, they plowed the soil, which doesn’t make any sense. Succulents can absorb nutrients and water from a huge area. There’s no point in plowing the soil,” Mu Bai said.

“Mu Bai, keep investigating that village. I’ll check on another one,” Mo Fan said.

“Another village?”

“The village I paid a thousand gold in compensation for their losses,” Mo Fan said.

“Why? Are you trying to get your gold back? You just said you are a glorious teacher, yet you are going to do something so shameless!” Zhao Manyan said.

“I was thinking. Why did the students use Advanced Spells just to kill the Plowing Beasts? Are the students of the Aorus Sacred Institute really that stupid?” Mo Fan pointed out.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, I have a feeling Lily knows something about it. Didn’t she say there are foreign merchants who visit their village? These foreign merchants might be a cover Mr. Lin from Crete was using. You should find a chance to ask her more about it,” Mu Bai said.

“Mm, I’m going to help her with the Awakening, too. Let me see if I can get her to tell us more information,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Let’s split up into three groups, then. Mu Bai, you will go after the aloe vera that was harvested. I’ll keep an eye on the villagers in the village that plants coral, and the students who destroyed the wet fields with Advanced Spells. As for Mo Fan, hehe, you can have some fun with that ugly chick, since it was you who promised to help her,” Zhao Manyan chuckled.

They were following three leads at once. They would eventually learn something if they were looking in the right direction!

——

Mo Fan was a man of his word.

The Aorus Sacred Institute did not have a branch of the Magic Association. The weakest student in the school was already at the Intermediate Level, so the school had no need for Awakening Stones of the Basic Level or the Intermediate Level.

The Awakening Stones were kept under strict care. Selling Awakening Stones privately was as serious as counterfeiting money. It was unlikely to find an Awakening Stone on the market.

“Can’t you just give me an Awakening Stone and let me Awaken my magic in the village? Why must I go to another city with you?” Lily seemed nervous. It did not feel right to follow a stranger to another city!

“Apas, come over here,” Mo Fan said.

Apas yawned. She was gorgeous even when she was acting lazy. Lily stared at her for a long time. She could not believe such a beautiful young lady existed in the world. Her features were so flawless she could not even feel jealous of her.

Lily looked at herself. Only the tiny mole under her eyes was a sign of good fortune. The rest of her face and body were roughly crafted.

“She’s my servant girl. She’s not even my lover, so don’t you worry about me having a fetish toward young girls. Even if I do, I’ll prey on her instead of you, do you understand?” Mo Fan said calmly.

Coincidentally, Apas had reached the Intermediate Level, meaning that she was ready for her second Awakening. She had Awakened the Plant Element as her first Element. Mo Fan had no idea what level her Plant Element was at now, nor did he know what Element she would Awaken as her second Element.

Apas rolled her eyes at Mo Fan. Who the heck wants to be your lover? What a shameless man!

“Apas, do you have multiple personality disorder or something? Why do you always look at me with disdain, yet you keep hugging my arm?” Mo Fan pointed out.

Apas enjoyed disguising herself as an approachable little girl who kept calling Mo Fan big brother.

“One day, if you can’t hold back anymore, I’ll eat you!” Apas smiled.

“Apas, enough with your wild imagination. I’ve seen a lot of beautiful girls. You will never seduce me!” Mo Fan declared.

Lily could not hear what the two were saying. However, she suddenly felt like a stormy cloud was looming over her head even when the sky was sunny and clear. How unfair was this world? If she had Apas’ appearance and physique, she could get whatever she wanted, even if she did not become a Mage!

——

They arrived at Norzak City, the capital of the new federal union. The Norzak Magic Association was quite popular in South America.

The students of the Aorus Sacred Institute enjoyed visiting Norzak City. The Aorus Sacred Institute was still a school, after all. It lacked the energy of society.

Norzak City was extremely lively due to the recent reforms. Buildings were being demolished and reconstructed. Both the officials and workforce were undergoing huge changes.

“Lily, does your village only plant succulents?” Mo Fan asked.

Lily was a talkative girl. She would jabber on and on whenever Mo Fan talked to her.

“What do you want to know?” Lily was not stupid at all. She knew Mo Fan was on to something.

“We noticed something strange in your village, so we are curious to find out the answer from you. Have you heard of poppies?” Mo Fan cut straight to the topic since he knew there was no point in hiding it.

Lily looked up and stared at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan could not tell what she was thinking through her eyes, but Apas was able to read her mind. She told Mo Fan Lily’s emotions were fluctuating. He was on the right track!

“Lily, I believe you are aware that the people of your village are involved in something fishy. The reason why we went to your village is because we have some reliable evidence on our hands,” Mo Fan continued to pressuring.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. You lied to me and tricked me to come here. You don’t want to help with my Awakening!” Lily yelled.

“I never lied to you. I wasn’t suspicious when we first arrived at your village, but who do you think we are? We are the most reputable lecturers in the world. We can tell what your village is planting just by smelling the air. These stairs will lead us to the Magic Association, and you will be registered under my name. I have to make sure you did not do anything against the rules. Otherwise, how can I make sure you won’t do bad things after you become a Mage?” Mo Fan said.

“I never wanted to stay in that village. I have no idea what they are up to!” Lily denied.

“She’s lying,” Apas informed Mo Fan.

Mo Fan stopped interrogating Lily after seeing her reaction. It was unlikely she was going to tell him the truth. That being said, there was indeed something fishy about the village. Their instincts were on point!

“You think I’ll go astray because you find me annoying, yet do you have any idea how many evil deeds the well-dressed students in the Aorus Sacred Institute have committed?” Lily continued scathingly.

“I didn’t mean that. Otherwise, why would I bring you here?” Mo Fan replied calmly.

“How would I know? Maybe you just find me pitiful. Maybe you enjoy the feeling of being able to decide a person’s fate!” Lily sniffed.

“If you wallowed in the mire with the villagers, you could easily live a luxurious life, just like the students in the Aorus Sacred Institute. But you chose to work at the school, despite being bullied by your seniors, instead! It’s clear that you know what kind of people the villagers are.

“The entrance of the Magic Association is right ahead. I can’t guarantee you will be a good person after stepping through the door, but I’m very sure you will become scum if you go back to the village and collude with the villagers there. You are the one who will choose your own destiny. Only you can decide your own fate.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan added when he saw Lily hesitating, “Lily, things aren’t as simple as you think. You might think the village is only planting some illegal plants, but you should know those plants are the ingredients for something called the Frenzy Liquid. The Black Vatican uses it to drive hordes and kingdoms of demon creatures into a frenzy, resulting in great calamities. The Black Vatican once caused a bloodbath in my homeland with the Frenzy Liquid. More than a million lives were lost in the tragedy. Do you have any idea how many lives that is?”

“A million lives?” Lily was so shocked that she was struggling to stand properly.

Their village’s population was only around seven to eight hundred people. The whole Aorus Sacred Institute only had around ten thousand people!

Norzak City might not have a population of a million people, but the people on the streets, and the number of buildings and vehicles was already a lot for her!

A million lives would include all these people she could see, and a lot more she could not see!

Weren’t the dead bodies enough to pile up into mountains and fill the ocean?

“I’ve seen people being slowly brainwashed by the Black Vatican, including adults with strong willpower, officials, and the leaders of countries. Anyone who doesn’t stick to their principles will end up as a victim… You were wrong when you said I’m taking pity on you. The truth is, I’m impressed by you. You didn’t collude with the villagers when they are benefiting greatly from planting the Frenzy Poppies.”

“Most people would have compromised, but you chose to stick to your principles. You have saved many lives because of your actions.”

Lily had never heard these things before…

Mo Fan had decided to tell Lily the truth when he asked about the Frenzy Poppies.

Apas was monitoring Lily’s thoughts. Even if Lily did not answer Mo Fan’s questions, she was pretty sure the village was planting the Frenzy Poppies the Black Vatican needed.

If the villagers were planting the Frenzy Poppies, the Black Vatican would be giving the villagers a lot of benefits in return. Lily had grown up in the village. It was not a surprise for her to collude with the villagers, but she chose to separate herself from the village and work in the Aorus Sacred Institute, despite being bullied. She did not fall into the pit like everyone else in the village.

Mo Fan recalled the student called Zhao Pinlin who had joined the Black Vatican on Chongming Island for his own desires. He had even used violence on his classmates.

Lily had ticked all the boxes to be recruited by the Black Vatican. She had a lowly background and was bullied by the people around her. She had a great desire to change her circumstances.

Mo Fan was quite surprised when Apas told him Lily was not involved in planting the Frenzy Poppies. He found her determination to stick to her principles very impressive.

Knowing the Black Vatican, they would normally easily convince a naïve girl to join their ranks!

“What do you want to know?” Lily eventually calmed down, realizing that she was caught up in something she could never have imagined.

There was indeed something fishy about the village.

Lily had learned it long ago. The villagers kept mentioning something about some religion, but Lily knew there was no such thing as free lunch in this world. Lily did not accept her aunt’s offer, even though her aunt had even promised she could make that senior pay after Lily was fired by the Aorus Sacred Institute.

She was afraid of the things the villagers were doing. She was also afraid of being punished for what they did.

“So, do you know if they are planting poppies?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m not familiar with plants, but they treat the plants as precious as their lives. I believe it’s the plant you described,” Lily said.

“How much did they plant?” Mo Fan asked.

“They planted it on the mountain enclosed by fences. My aunt never let me get close to it. They said I would die if I learned what was inside without joining them. The Aorus Sacred Institute happened to be recruiting workers around that time, so I applied for the job. I was away from the village for a long time. They should have harvested four seasons’ worth of the plants by now,” Lily answered.

“Is your aunt involved too?” Mo Fan asked for clarity.

“I’m not too sure, but I think she’s helping with the cover-up,” Lily ventured.

“You mentioned there are foreign merchants who visit your village. Have you seen this man before?” Mo Fan showed a photo of Mr. Lin to Lily on his phone.

Lily stared at the screen for a long time. She had a weird expression on her face.

Apas told Mo Fan Lily’s emotions were fluctuating again. She clearly knew who Mr. Lin was.

“What about him?” Lily asked Mo Fan in return instead of answering his question.

“He was planting the Frenzy Poppies back in Greece. We believe he’s the one who invented the Frenzy Poppies. The Black Vatican is killing people with the poison he provided,” Mo Fan stated firmly.

“He’s my foster father. I was searching for food in a junkyard when I was six. I found him at the brink of death and fed him water and bread. He decided to adopt me when he woke up. I followed him back to the village and he taught me a lot of strange stuff, but I struggled to learn it. He disdained me because of it and stopped contacting me. He did not even bother to see me whenever he came to the village,” Lily said.

Mo Fan stared at Lily in astonishment. It was something he had never expected!

Lily was actually the evil herbalist’s adopted daughter!

1

Mr. Lin had to be important to the Black Vatican if Blue Bat came in person to save him. The Rain of Doom was Salan’s trump card, so without the herbalist, she would have trouble using it. Mo Fan did not expect the ugly and tanned girl to be so close to a core member of the Black Vatican!

Mo Fan was having lingering fears!

Thinking about it, he realized why Lily was allowed to leave the village, even though she was reluctant to join the Black Vatican. She was only alive now because she was the man’s adopted daughter. Knowing how cautious the Black Vatican was, they would never have let an outsider hang around close to their secret plantation!

“Lily, do you know where your foster father is now? He’s an important member of the Black Vatican. If we can take him down, the Black Vatican will have trouble causing the same tragedy as they did in the Ancient Capital again,” Mo Fan sighed.

“He has long treated me like a pebble on the road. He won’t tell me his whereabouts,” Lily admitted sadly.

“By the way, did you tell anyone in the village that you have come here for the Awakening?” Mo Fan asked.

“I only told my aunt, but I don’t think she’s suspicious, since I have told her many times that I wanted to become a Mage. You did the right thing by going to the village with the students. Otherwise, the people in the village would be alert,” Lily said.

“That’s exactly what we thought,” Mo Fan agreed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“I only know he often visits a private research lab. He brought me there once when I was younger. It was the place where he taught me a lot of strange things, but I forgot where it was,” Lily said.

“Can’t you remember?” Mo Fan pressed her.

The private research lab was obviously where the evil herbalist conducted his experiments. It might be the exact place where he had invented the Frenzy Liquid and the Rain of Destruction!

“I don’t remember, but when I went back to the village recently, my aunt told me they invited a master here from China. If things go well, the village’s status in South America will rise significantly,” Lily told him.

A master from China?

Mo Fan frowned. What was the Black Vatican up to this time? Was the master one of the few remnants of their branches in China?

Salan was from China in the first place. She might have lost her influence in her homeland, but it was still flourishing in other countries. Many criminals treated her as their goddess in places the government had no control over.

“Are you sure you went there when you were younger?” Apas asked.

“Yes, but that was more than ten years ago,” Lily said.

“I can help you recall it.” Apas walked up to Lily and placed her hand on Lily’s forehead. She added, “Memories are hidden in everyone’s mind. They might fade away as time goes by, but they won’t disappear completely. I can help you recall your past in the form of a dream. You just focus on remembering every minor detail you can think of.”

Lily looked at Apas in astonishment.

“She has the Psychic Element… It’s not suitable doing it here on the stairs. Let’s head inside first,” Mo Fan said quickly.

He did not think Apas had the ability to help someone recall their past. He was lucky that he had picked her as his Contracted Beast!

——

Mo Fan asked for a room when they went inside the Magic Association.

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai both gave him a call. They seemed to be in a hurry.

Mo Fan asked them to meet him in Norzak City so he could also share his great discovery with them.

Mo Fan asked the worker not to disturb them after they were allocated a room. The worker looked at Mo Fan like he completely understood what Mo Fan was up to. His strange grin stuck in Mo Fan’s mind for a few seconds even after the door closed.

What is wrong with people nowadays?

He could have just gone to a hotel instead. Why would he come to the Magic Association? What was wrong with being a proper teacher?

Apas proceeded to help Lily recall her past. Mo Fan could only sit at the side and wait.

Lily’s eyes sprang open before Mo Fan felt bored. Her eyes were filled with fear.

“How was it?” asked Mo Fan.

Lily stared at Mo Fan for some time before saying in disbelief, “The private research institute is right here.”

“Where?” Mo Fan was confused.

Was she referring to the Aorus Sacred Institute, or Norzak City?

“Where we are right now,” Lily clarified.

“You mean this Magic Association?”

“Yeah!”

Mo Fan almost jumped out of his seat. He was almost afraid to set foot on the ground, as if it was covered with strong acid!

“The Research Union of this Norzak Magic Association is the herbalist’s lab. Norzak City has developed rapidly during recent years, so the lab was replaced by the Research Union,” Apas added. She had also seen Lily’s dream.

Mo Fan was dumbfounded once again!

He was so close to the Black Vatican!

Was Salan’s influence in other countries so ridiculous that even an important department of a Magic Association was her secret drug factory?

On second thought, even the Enforcement Union had spies from the Black Vatican in it. It was not surprising for the Research Union of a Magic Association’s branch to become the Black Vatican’s secret nest, either. Salan’s people were always good at disguising themselves. They were just like ordinary people as long as their identities were not exposed, especially those with a vital role in society. They might even be the cleaners on the streets of a city.

It was not difficult to condemn evil, but not every bad guy had a label on their head. They were not as ostentatious as the bad guys in Western movies, committing crimes like robbing banks openly.

As long as their cover remained intact, they could easily cover their wicked hearts with gentle smiles!

—

Mo Fan was not in a rush to leave the Magic Association. As long as he was undercover, the Black Vatican would have no idea the three of them were going after it.

Mo Fan even asked Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai to meet him at the Magic Association.

If the Black Vatican enjoyed disguises so much, they would simply discuss how to erase its existence in its own nest.

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai arrived in no time. Mu Bai purposely checked to see if the room was bugged after entering.

Mo Fan was not worried at all. Those things would not work as long as Apas was around.

“I have a great discovery!”

“Guess what I found!”

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan blurted out at the same time. They immediately glared at one another.

“Seriously?” Mo Fan did not believe all of them had found some important clues.

“Mo Fan, the students who destroyed the wet fields with Advanced Spells are indeed fishy. I purposely spied on the village that plants coral and investigated their fields. They weren’t planting coral, but the Frenzy Poppies. The students knew we would pass by the village, so they destroyed the wet fields before we arrived. The villagers who came asking for compensation were only putting up an act with them!” Zhao Manyan declared confidently.

It was an important clue!

“I went deeper into the mountain behind the village that plants succulents. It turns out the area enclosed by the fences are only a small part of the plantation. There’s a base that belongs to the Aorus Sacred Institute further up the mountain. The whole place was planted with Frenzy Poppies. The amount was more than ten times greater than the olive grove in Crete. If we had come half a month ago, we would have seen them harvesting the Frenzy Poppies, but they were all gone now. Mo Fan… the Black Vatican is definitely up to something. Those Frenzy Poppies are more than enough to cause a calamity of the same scale as the Calamity of the Ancient Capital!” Mu Bai declared.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was lost in thought after hearing Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan’s discoveries.

They had not been able to find a single clue for such a long time. They were only searching aimlessly like a headless fly, but they had immediately gained three important clues after searching in the right direction.

Mo Fan was going to show off to them by sharing his discovery, yet both Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan had found important clues too!

“(Cough cough), she’s the poppy grower’s adopted daughter. We were just helping her to recall her past to find where the man’s lab was,” Mo Fan said.

“Holy crap!” Zhao Manyan thought he had made the biggest discovery among them, yet it turned out Mo Fan had also learned something important.

“It seems like we are finally on the right track…” Mu Bai said softly.

—

It was important to plan their next step. First, the herbalist was no longer at the Magic Association. The Research Union used to be his lab, but he rarely came to the Magic Association now. They only knew the Black Vatican had infiltrated the Magic Association and was using the Research Union as a cover to produce the Frenzy Liquid.

Second, Zhao Manyan had found a member of the Black Vatican: the student who used Advanced Spells to destroy the wet fields. He had exposed his identity when he tried to destroy the evidence.

It was likely that the student had always been spying at the school. The school rarely had patrol classes. Whenever there was a patrol class, he would sign up for it and destroy any evidence that the group might come upon while patrolling.

The student had done a perfect job when no one suspected the Black Vatican was involved, but Mo Fan and his group were already considering the Black Vatican’s involvement in the first place. They only realized something was odd because they were suspicious about everything.

The people of the Holy Judgment Court would never expect members of the Black Vatican to be hiding at the Aorus Sacred Institute. They were abusing the rules of the Aorus Sacred Institute to produce their deadly weapon!

They had also harvested a huge amount of Frenzy Poppies!

After securing the raw material, the Black Vatican would quickly turn the Frenzy Poppies into a new batch of Frenzy Liquid. Based on Mu Bai’s rough calculations, the amount of Frenzy Poppies was enough to provoke a kingdom of demon creatures. They had used the same trick to provoke the undead into attacking the Ancient Capital!

“Old Zhao, keep an eye on the student. If you can find a Blue Deacon through him, we could learn more about their operation,” Mo Fan said.

“Although stalking a man isn’t really my expertise, consider it done!” Zhao Manyan agreed.

“Mu Bai, you should stop investigating the village that plants succulents. It’s most likely one of their biggest plantations, so the people there must be very cautious. If they notice we are on their tail, we will have a hard time making our next move,” Mo Fan warned him.

“Alright, I got it,” Mu Bai nodded. He said, “There’s someone in the Aorus Sacred Institute who might be a huge breakthrough for us too. I think I’ll focus on him instead.”

“Do you mean Herr Casa?” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah.”

“Are you really sure your sister Yan Qiu is involved?” Mo Fan asked.

“You do know that when my uncle Mu He’s identity was exposed, every member of my family in Bo City was interrogated. Mu Ningxue and Mu Zhuoyun suffered the most from it. There shouldn’t be anyone related to the Black Vatican left in our family, but there’s one person the Enforcement Union was unaware of,” Mu Bai said.

“You mean your sister, Yan Qiu?” Mo Fan ventured.

“Yes, only my mother and I knew about her existence. My mother has passed away, so I’m the only one who knows about her. I thought I could have a pleasant reunion with her in Europe after the tragedy our family went through, but I was almost killed because of it,” Mu Bai said with a wry smile.

Yan Qiu had been sent to Europe a long time ago. Even though she was sent there to be a maid, it was Mu He who had made the decision.

After Mu He was exposed, almost everyone in the Mu Family was interrogated by the Enforcement Union, but Yan Qiu was the exception. Even Mu Bai almost forgot he still had a sister in Europe.

The reason why he was targeted was pretty obvious. Yan Qiu did not want anyone to know of her existence, so Mu Bai was on the top of her kill list!

“But there wasn’t any evidence to prove she was the culprit, right?” Mo Fan asked.

“I had the same thought, too. I shouldn’t take precautions against the people around me just because of the things that happened to me in the past. It’s the reason why I decided to lower my guard and meet her. I believed she wouldn’t hurt me, but you know what happened from there…” Mu Bai said.

“Herr Casa is currently at the Aorus Sacred Institute, which means she’s also hiding at the Aorus Sacred Institute as his maid. It’s pretty obvious that she’s with the Black Vatican. It’s too much of a coincidence,” Zhao Manyan said. He patted Mu Bai on the shoulder and comforted him, “Your sister is so vicious, trying to kill you so many times. There’s no need for you to go easy on her. We’ll find her, and if you can’t do it yourself, I’ll kill her on your behalf!”

“I’ll do it myself. It’s not my first time punishing my own family if justice demands it,” Mu Bai answered grimly.

Zhao Manyan raised his thumb at Mu Bai. Seeing how righteous Mu Bai was, he decided to swallow the words, But there are also things you haven’t done before.

“I was wondering, what position does this Yan Qiu hold in the Black Vatican?” Mo Fan spoke up.

She was a spy Mu He had planted in Europe. She was not involved in the Calamity of Bo City and the Calamity of the Ancient Capital that Salan had orchestrated.

Salan had been forced to hide in Bo City in the past. She did not have great influence back then, yet Yan Qiu had left Bo City around that time. She must have joined the Black Vatican ages ago, yet why was she not involved in Salan’s operations? Or perhaps Salan had other plans for her?

“If Spectre was taking orders from her, her position should be higher than Mu He, right?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Yes, I thought she was only a spy who was taking orders from my uncle Mu He, but there’s also a possibility that she is more powerful than my uncle. It’s easy for people to lower their guard around women. Salan is the perfect example,” Mu Bai pointed out.

Mo Fan nodded. He thought Salan was a detestable man before learning her true identity. He had been ready to accept the fact that Salan was a seemingly gentle and kind man on the surface.

To his surprise, Salan had been a woman!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

They could not afford to be impatient when going up against the Black Vatican. They still had to maintain their cover as lecturers of the Aorus Sacred Institute as they continued to follow their leads.

Mo Fan helped Lily with her Awakening while pretending nothing had happened. If the villagers had already colluded with the Black Vatican, the Magic Association would also be affiliated with the Black Vatican. He had to stick to his plan.

Lily’s Awakening was surprisingly successful. She ended up Awakening the Wind Element as her First Element, which was the most ideal Element for her. She almost forgot about the Black Vatican when she left the Magic Association with a smile on her face.

“What should I do next? How do I use my Wind Magic? Will I suddenly fly into the sky with angelic wings on my back like my seniors?” Lily asked several questions all at once.

“You should calm your thoughts and focus on sensing the Stars in your Spiritual World. The Awakening is only the first step for Mages. You still have much to learn before you can Cast a spell. You must cultivate diligently. The path to becoming a Mage isn’t as easy as it seems. Look at her, she was very excited to become a Mage like you too, but she’s only an Intermediate Mage after so long,” Mo Fan pointed at Apas.

Apas harrumphed in disagreement. She had been cultivating diligently too, but as a noble Medusa, she had to have plenty of sleep to have smooth skin and powerful magic. She could only spend the rest of her free time cultivating. She was already making some impressive progress!

“Stars? What Stars?” Lily asked.

“Mu Bai, can you explain to her since you were the top student in our class. Oh, you’re a teacher now too,” Mo Fan said.

“You teach magic theory,” Mu Bai replied blandly.

“Screw you, we are from the same class. You know my scores in exams. Just cut the crap and treat the herbalist’s adopted daughter nicely. We need her to help for the leads we have on the Black Vatican!” Mo Fan chided him.

“You are a genius too, if you can score only six marks on an exam. You have the guts to teach university students in one of the top schools in the world. If it was me, I would have detonated myself on the spot so I wouldn’t embarrass my country,” Mu Bai shot back.

Mu Bai explained the Stars properly to Lily despite complaining about it. Luckily, Lily was a smart girl. She was able to pick up the basics very quickly.

“Ugly chick, I’m telling you, this is only the beginning for you. Making your way into the Aorus Sacred Institute is like climbing the tallest peak of the Andes Mountains from the ground. Don’t act so full of yourself,” Zhao Manyan warned her.

“It’s fine. I’m glad that I’m a Mage now. One day, I’ll own a school badge and attend the classes as a student. I’ll be living in a luxurious condo and enjoy my meals in the restaurants with a sea view while chatting with handsome seniors…” Lily had high hopes for her future.

Zhao Manyan poured a bucket of cold water on her. “A dumb girl like you only lasts for a few episodes in a drama or an anime. You also made the biggest mistake, like watching your family’s photo before going to war or promising you are going to retire after one last job. People like you always die in the films, especially when you are involved with the Black Vatican. Those guys will kill you without hesitation if things get spicy to protect their secret!”

“I think people who utter too much nonsense like you die the quickest instead!” Lily retorted.

“Lily, the people of the Black Vatican are merciless. You might be related to one of them, but they won’t show any mercy when they feel threatened. You should pretend you have gone back to the Aorus Sacred Institute for work. Apas will be protecting you. Be careful with everything, do you understand? Otherwise, the things you desire are the imagination the little match girl has before she dies in the cold,” Mo Fan said coolly.

Lily could not afford to treat her life as a joke. If she sided with them, the Black Vatican would eventually notice them as the trio continued to pry into their business. Lily had no chance of protecting herself, and would die if they failed to keep a close eye on her. Mo Fan did not want Lily who had just become a Mage to be sacrificed in their fight against the Black Vatican.

“Mm, I’ll keep it in mind!” Lily nodded. She was quite friendly toward Mo Fan now after he had helped her with the Awakening.

The herbalist had taught her many things, but none of them were to her interest. She had no interest in insects, spiders, toads, and rats. She hated the creatures in sewers. She wanted to stay at the Aorus Sacred Institute, which was like Heaven to her, and enjoy a life as a slutty university student!

——

They went back to the Aorus Sacred Institute and were about to take a rest when some students carried an injured man up to them.

Miyamoto Shin was with them. He told Mo Fan with a sorry face, “I’m sorry, Lecturer Mo Yifan, I tried to stop it, but I wasn’t strong enough to stop Herr Casa’s attack in time. I’m afraid Ritchie won’t be able to take part in any duels for quite a while.”

“I’m sorry, Lecturer Zhao Yanzu, I lost the duel…” Ritchie was badly beaten up. He was hurting even as he talked because of the wound on his face.

“Boleyn, what happened?” Mo Fan asked with a frown.

Ritchie was in very bad shape. An overwhelming Ice Magic had damaged his bones, making them very fragile. Even the slightest movement could break them. Boleyn had no idea how to treat his injuries.

“Ritchie stumbled into Herr Casa in a duel. Herr Casa used it to get his revenge on Ritchie… He was using his strange Ice Magic to inflict serious injuries on Ritchie so he couldn’t recover in the near future. The Ice Magic drives my Healing Spirits away when I tried to heal him,” Boleyn reported grimly.

Normally, the Healing Element was only ineffective against injuries inflicted with Dark Magic as both the Healing Light and Healing Spirits would dissipate quickly under the strong influence of any Dark Magic.

It was rare to see the Ice Magic hindering the Healing Element. Even the medicine that Xinxia gave Mo Fan was only a little helpful to Ritchie.

“He can’t move now. His bones would break if he tried to move his finger,” Boleyn said.

“That Herr Casa is pretty vicious to go so far in just a duel!” Fan Ding snarled.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s Herr Casa’s Innate Talent that is preventing the injuries from healing. He always says he couldn’t really control his power, but he just can’t be bothered to control it,” Sharjah told everyone after she arrived.

“President Sharjah, Herr Casa has treated a student so roughly when he’s a member of the student union’s main party. Can’t you punish him for that?” Fan Ding asked.

“If Ritchie didn’t agree to the duel, I might be able to punish him, but the duel was held as part of a class. I don’t have the right to punish him if the lecturer who was handling the class didn’t say anything,” Sharjah sighed.

“Did the lecturer say something?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“No.”

“Who was in charge of the class?” Mo Fan asked.

“It was Nelson from the Institute of Liberty. He was holding a grudge against us because Ritchie didn’t join his team, and purposely sent Herr Casa to teach Ritchie a lesson. He even mocked us and claimed a talented student like Ritchie shouldn’t waste his time by joining a faction led by useless lecturers. He’s only going to bury his own talents,” Boleyn informed them.

“Herr Casa and I have always been enemies. It’s not Lecturer Nelson’s fault,” Ritchie said.

“Ritchie, look at you. You’re still talking on behalf of that narrow-minded lecturer!” Boleyn snapped angrily.

“Screw them, I’ve been teaching in many schools. Only my students are allowed to bully others. They are seriously forcing me to do it the hard way whenever I try to keep a low profile!” Mo Fan immediately lost his temper.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he had an important mission to focus on, he would have trampled the different factions. The countries who thought they were unbeatable in the World College Tournament had been badly beaten by him, too!

Did they think he was no longer the demon king after he became a lecturer? He would still be their father no matter where he went. If he did not teach that son of a b**ch Nelson a lesson in the next class, he would write his name in reverse!

“I’ll handle Ritchie’s injuries. I happened to invent a new species that helps with the regrowth of bones. I was planning to experiment with it on Lecturer Zhao, but I can use it on Ritchie instead. It will help strengthen his bones too,” Mu Bai said after inspecting Ritchie’s injuries.

It was like Zhao Manyan’s face was smeared with tomato sauce when he recalled Mu Bai’s insects. Mu Bai had used the same method to treat his injuries when his bones were broken. It was the last thing he wanted to experience again!

“Ritchie, don’t worry about the tournament. Lecturer Mu here is an expert at treating bone-related injuries. His insects are rich in calcium and iron. You will be back to normal in a few days, and when you do, we’ll get our revenge!” Zhao Manyan encouraged him shamelessly.

“Forget it, both Herr Casa and Lecturer Nelson aren’t people we want to mess with. I’m satisfied if I can recover from the injuries,” Ritchie smiled wryly.

“Are you kidding me? So they think they can just mess with us instead?” Zhao Manyan spat.

“Ritchie, you should know that we won’t let you feel wronged once you decided to join us. The rest of you too! China is a country with etiquette. We are used to being humble and modest in a new environment, but it doesn’t mean we will submit to humiliation in silence. We’ll help you get your revenge in the next class!” Mo Fan promised.

“It’s next Friday,” Sharjah supplied helpfully.

“That means we will have some special training this week. Seriously, you can’t possibly lose duels if you are my students!” Mo Fan promised.

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, do you really teach magic theory?” Boleyn asked suspiciously.

“Why can’t I be an all-arounder?” Mo Fan replied promptly.

Who said that a physical education teacher could not teach math too?

A real teacher had to know both calculus and Tai-chi!

——

“Mo Fan, are you really going to beat Nelson up next week?” Mu Bai asked.

“Isn’t that obvious?” Mo Fan said.

“It’s too blatant if you use your Lightning and Fire Elements. We aren’t sure if Herr Casa is involved with the Black Vatican, but there are certainly other spies in the school. They can easily guess who you are after seeing your capabilities,” Mu Bai pointed out.

Nelson was also a guest lecturer. He was a strong Mage, without a doubt. Mo Fan would have to fight with his full strength if he wanted to beat the lecturer from the Institute of Liberty!

“Don’t you worry, I won’t use my usual abilities and Elements which are going to expose who I am. My cover is a Super Mage with the Lightning, Earth, Shadow, and Chaos Elements. I will only use those Elements in the fight against Nelson. I can easily alter my Lightning Element to prevent them from recognizing me,” Mo Fan explained.

Lightning, Earth, Shadow, and Chaos!

Mo Fan had Awakened the Earth and Chaos Elements at the Super Level. Not many people had seen him use those two Elements. He might have used them briefly in the duel against Zu Xiangtian, but no one could possibly memorize all his abilities at once.

It was impossible to record a magic duel, too. Even if someone had watched the duel in person, they could not possibly link all the spells with Mo Fan. After all, the spells of different Mages could be very similar to one another.

He did not have to hesitate in using the Chaos and Earth Elements. The Shadow Element had many forms, too. He was not worried about exposing himself, even if he had used it many times in the past. He would not have any trouble using the Lightning Element either, as long as he avoided using his trademark moves.

“We aren’t allowed to use Super Spells in the duels, so I’m very confident in these four Elements!” Mo Fan declared.

Mo Fan was already unbeatable with his Shadow Element, not to mention the Earth Element with a Heaven-inferior Seed. There was no reason for him to be afraid!

“Fine, you can do whatever you want, just because you have so many Elements,” Mu Bai grumbled.

It was unlikely someone would recognize Mo Fan as long as he did not use his Fire and Summoning Elements.

“Hehe, my Lightning Element has had a slight breakthrough recently. My Earth Element is a lot more reliable now, too. That’s one of the problems of being a lecturer. I can’t easily start a fight because of my identity, but students can just fight whoever they think is an eyesore,” Mo Fan complained.

Most organizations were more lenient toward younger Mages, since the competition was very effective at motivating them to become stronger. Mo Fan was struggling to find a worthy opponent among the students. It was time for him to challenge the next level!

“Herr Casa’s Ice Magic is a little strange. It might be helpful if you can force him to use his Ice Magic for me to understand how it works,” Mu Bai said.

“Didn’t Sharjah say Herr Casa’s strength is comparable to most lecturers at the school?”

“Mm, we should figure out a way to deal with him. Otherwise, I’m afraid he will be able to take on our students alone in the tournament.”

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s classes on Magic Theory did not have good attendance, but he could not have cared less about that. Ever since he had learned that they were allowed to combine the three classes into one, he had asked Mu Bai to handle Magic Theory while he focused on magic duels and demon creatures. The shift was extremely effective.

The public class for magic duels would be held the next Friday. Being a public class not only meant all students were allowed to participate in it, but even other lecturers and leaders of the school could attend. It was an important class at the school. The quality and scale of the class would decide the lecturer’s reputation.

Mo Fan’s group held another excursion before the public class. A lot more students showed up this time. Almost all of them were eager to see the Earthworm Gully, as rumors about the previous excursion had already spread wildly among the students.

More students signing up for the excursion meant more money for them!

When Ritchie lost to Herr Casa, Zhao Manyan had lost half of the gold he had saved up for them. He decided to earn a portion of it back through the excursion. Otherwise, they might not have the capital to take part in the betting for the upcoming class.

“We’ve earned ten thousand gold from the excursion. Those assh****, not only am I going to beat the crap out of them and ruin their reputation, I’ll make them lose all their gold too!” Zhao Manyan promised.

They put in a lot more effort in the excursion to satisfy the students. Not only did they bring the students out to see the rare Half-Lunar Bone Beasts, every student also went back to the school with full hands.

Their only goal was to get revenge.

They were representing their country as part of their cover. They could not afford to shame their country’s name!

——

It was finally Friday. Nelson, hailing from the Institute of Liberty, was a reputable teacher of magic dueling. Almost every young Mage who was interested in becoming a fighter wanted him to be their teacher.

Mo Fan could not help but scoff at the statement.

What a bunch of idiots! One could only learn the necessary skills to be a fighter by going through real wars and ferocious battles! If they really wanted to become fighters, they should go roaming in the wilderness alone or fight against the hordes and kingdoms of demon creatures. They would easily learn a great deal as long as they could come out alive!

Bai Hongfei was an unreliable guy like that at first, but his temperament had changed completely after he paid a visit to West China. If he had not been a few years behind them and had a weaker cultivation, his strength would be on par with theirs now!

One had to be covered in blood before they could become unbeatable. Mo Fan had been through all kinds of situations. Meanwhile, Nelson was living like a prince while using his mouth to teach. Why would he be afraid of Nelson?

The public class was being held in a huge stadium. The students were seated around the dueling ground like the Colosseum. The stadium was easily big enough to hold an international tournament.

Nelson and two eye-catching assistants stood at the center of the dueling ground. The two assistants were wearing tight-fitted fighting outfits which delicately displayed their impressive curves, making the other lecturers envious of Nelson.

They had no idea if Nelson had coerced the two assistants for sexual favors, but they would be satisfied if they also had assistants like them standing at their sides on such a big occasion.

“Today!”

Nelson’s voice echoed in the stadium. There were over a thousand students in the stadium. The front rows were occupied by the school personnel and the lecturers from other factions. They all treated Nelson with great respect.

“I’ll be demonstrating Magic Seals to everyone. What are Magic Seals? First, let’s conduct a simple experiment. Is there any student who’s willing to volunteer for this?” Nelson asked.

A lot of teachers and students quickly raised their hands to volunteer for the experiment.

Nelson picked a male student in the end. Mo Fan knew who the student was. It was the same guy who tried to mess with him with a difficult question on his first class, Simpkins.

Simpkins walked to the center of the stadium calmly, like he was used to staying in the limelight, yet his eyes were glittering proudly.

“Lecturer Nelson, what should I do?” Simpkins asked respectfully.

“Attack my assistants with a few Intermediate Spells,” Nelson said.

“Got it!”

Simpkins looked at the two assistants and decided to target the brunette on the left.

Simpkins started channeling Intermediate Spells. He purposely added some fancy light to his spells to show off his outstanding control. The spells looked spectacular and dangerous!

The brunette was a Wind Mage. She moved as agilely as a gust of wind. She had no trouble dodging Simpkins spells, regardless of their speed and accuracy.

Simpkins was not pleased with the outcome. He began to attack with his quickest spells, yet the brunette was able to dodge them easily, even when the spells sprang forward with the speed of light.

The other assistant suddenly appeared behind Simpkins, diving at him with a beastly aura.

It took Simpkins by surprise. He was forced to withdraw his attacks and defend himself.

“As you all have observed, many spells have difficulty landing on the enemies when they are moving at high speed. Spells that are slow are completely useless. However, if you focus too much on speeding up your spells, you might overlook the potential threats around you,” Nelson said.

The students nodded. Not being able to land their spells was a very serious problem.

Most spells had obvious signs when they were being channeled: the Star Patterns, Star Constellations, and Star Palaces! Not many people could attack their enemies without alerting them. If their enemies were smart, including demon creatures, they could dodge the spells by observing their signs. It was often a struggle to land spells on agile targets.

“Today, I’ll be teaching you an advanced technique, the Imprint Magic I’ve invented myself!

“There are many kinds of Magic Seals. The simplest kind are the Seals that contain our Will. When we focus on a single target, we can see through its movements with ease, but when we are going up against multiple enemies, we can’t focus on a single target for a long time. Therefore, I’ve invented the Seal Tagging Technique. It works by tagging the enemies with a Seal so you can lock your spells on the target to improve your accuracy.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I believe most students in the Aorus Sacred Institute have already learned how to accumulate Elemental Magic. You learned there are different Elements in the air when you first learned about Domains. A Domain allows you to quickly accumulate the energy of its respective Element so you can Cast spells quicker, and it will also strengthen your spells. What happens if you gather the energy around the enemy instead?” Nelson proposed.

Gathering energy around the enemy?

Wasn’t that a pretty stupid move? They were supposed to use the energy to Cast their own spells, so they should accumulate the energy around themselves instead!

“You can form a Seal by gathering some of the particles around the enemy. When you are Casting your spells, even if you can’t see your enemy, you can easily sense the distribution of energy particles. Your target will glow like a luminescent light amid the darkness, which will greatly improve your spells’ accuracy!” Nelson said. He seemed very proud of his invention.

By attaching the particles onto his enemies, he could tell his enemies’ whereabouts instantly, even if they tried to hide or move around at high speed. He would know where they were even with his eyes closed!

The words were followed by a round of applause. Most people had never tried the technique before.

Nelson then explained how to gather the magic particles and attached them to the enemy to form a Seal. Simpkins followed the steps on the dueling ground. He subconsciously straightened his chest as he left the dueling ground, like he was already better than others!

“As expected of Lecturer Nelson, he has taught everyone such a great technique for free, right at the start of the class!”

“Many lecturers prefer to hide their secret techniques, but Lecturer Nelson is willing to teach everyone the technique selflessly. He’s indeed a great role model for us!”

Every student learned something new in each of Nelson’s classes. No wonder his classes were always packed!

“Not bad, he does have some tricks up in his sleeves!” Mo Fan nodded when the class was done.

“Not bad my ass; you’re here to kick his ass, not to compliment him!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

“We can’t just deny someone’s talents just because we aren’t pleased with him,” Mo Fan retorted.

“Since when are you such a saint?” Zhao Manyan mocked him instantly.

“We should be more open-minded. That way, we’ll feel a lot better whenever we beat up some assh****!”

“Enough with your nonsense, go beat him up. What useless technique was that? Only students who have mastered a Domain can use it. How many people in the world had a Domain when they were only students? The technique is only useful for these rich students of the Aorus Sacred Institute. It’s useless for students from other schools!” Zhao Manyan repudiated instantly.

Mo Fan nodded. Zhao Manyan was right. Nelson’s technique might be useful, but it was only applicable to a certain group of people.

A Soul-grade Seed was only common at the Advanced Level. Those with a Domain were already experts among the Advanced Mages. It would be perfect if the technique was applicable for Basic Mages, Intermediate Mages, and Advanced Mages without a Soul-grade Seed. It could be included in the magic textbooks across the world!

“Alright, does anyone have any questions?” Nelson asked.

“I do!” Mo Fan said.

He was seated with the rest of the Lecturers, so it was unlikely Nelson would ignore him.

Nelson had always treated Mo Fan with disdain. He did not mind Mo Fan trying to mess with him in his class. “Lecturer Mo Yifan, go ahead,” he replied calmly.

“Well, one of my students was badly injured in your class. He couldn’t recover from the injuries because of the unique magic effects of the guy who did it. He’s currently in bad shape. I was wondering, shouldn’t you interfere with the duel when the students are overdoing it?” Mo Fan cut straight to the topic.

He did not bother running in circles. Others would prefer to settle their personal conflict privately, but Mo Fan enjoyed doing it right in front of the crowd!

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, we shouldn’t discuss this in a public class. We’ll talk about it after the class is done,” another lecturer who was teaching the class frowned.

Many leaders of the school holding great authority had attended the class. This one did not want Mo Fan to ruin the atmosphere.

The other leaders of the school did not speak. They watched silently, as if they were looking forward to something exciting.

Why would they interfere with the conflict between two guest lecturers?

“Ritchie was one of the talented students I had my eyes on, but he ended up joining your team for some reason. I was quite disappointed when he did not seize a better opportunity. It’s normal for students to be injured in a duel. The more he suffered, the greater the motivation for him to become stronger would be. I was hoping to motivate him. I meant no harm,” Nelson replied calmly.

“But his injuries were so serious that he couldn’t even take care of himself now. He might even miss out on the tournament and the golden period for him to achieve a great height in the next few years. I’m not too sure if you are motivating him or you were trying to turn him into a cripple,” Mo Fan shot back.

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, you are over-exaggerating it. Like I said, I was just trying to motivate him. It’s the only way I can motivate him to work harder since I’m no longer his teacher. I’ve worked in the Sacred Hall of Liberty for twenty years as an instructor. I have faith in my teaching skills,” Nelson said proudly.

Mo Fan was about to say something when Herr Casa rose to his feet and interrupted Mo Fan.

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, I’m the one who injured Ritchie. It was my fault for not controlling my power appropriately. The students always described Ritchie as a genius, so I thought he could withstand my attacks at full strength. If Lecturer Mo Yifan isn’t pleased with it, I will bear full responsibility for it. You shouldn’t blame Lecturer Nelson for it,” Herr Casa said in a gentle yet aloof tone.

Mo Fan glanced at Herr Casa and harrumphed coldly, “Who gave you the permission to interrupt us when we two lecturers are talking? Shut your mouth!”

Herr Casa’s face darkened. He almost lost his temper when he was scolded in front of over a thousand students and the leaders of the school.

This lecturer was out of his mind!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m a member of the student union’s main party. In terms of strength, I doubt a lecturer will have an advantage over me!” Herr Casa declared with a long face.

“Ritchie will settle the score with you in the tournament. As a lecturer, I won’t bother wasting my time on a cruel and narrow-minded guy like you. Piss off; I’m here to teach your lecturer Nelson a lesson!” Mo Fan rebuked him.

Herr Casa’s face was as dark as the student from Africa who was sitting beside him!

2

Everyone knew he was not just an ordinary student. Many of the lecturers of the Aorus Sacred Institute had to treat him with respect. Was this guest lecturer tired of living?!

“Herr Casa, he’s a guest lecturer after all. Don’t provoke him,” the Elemental Chief of the Aorus Sacred Institute warned him.

The man had a brown beard, and only his deep eyes were visible. His long robe covered his skinny figure. He looked like a scarecrow in the middle of a field.

Herr Casa was going to talk back to the Elemental Chief, but decided to withhold his anger instead.

“Interesting! You are going to teach me a lesson?” Nelson was amused by Mo Fan’s words.

Nelson looked around him and discovered the leaders of the school at the front rows had no intention of interfering with their argument. They seemed quite interested instead.

As expected of the Aorus Sacred Institute, the school would not interfere with fights between teachers, even if they were happening in front of the students. They couldn’t care less about the image and discipline of the school. They wanted the guest lecturers to fight one another instead!

“Chief, we are having a public class. The guest lecturer is being disrespectful to the school too,” Yesemia spoke up.

She had long held a grudge against Mo Fan. She did not want to allow him to do anything reckless on a public occasion.

The Elemental Chief ignored Yesemia’s complaint. He resumed his seat and said, “Lecturer Mo Yifan, I believe you must be very interested in the technique Nelson has taught us, so you want to test it out in a duel, right?”

Mo Fan was quite surprised that someone was speaking up on his behalf while he was planning to stir trouble. The man had found a valid excuse for Mo Fan to challenge Nelson to a duel!

“Yeah, I would like to see if the things he taught being useful in a practical fight. Of course, that’s only part of the reason. I’m mainly here because of my student. Either way, Ritchie is just a student. He didn’t do anything unforgivable, yet Nelson there allowed a student to sustain such serious injuries. I find it very disgusting!” Mo Fan replied loudly.

“Lecturer Nelson is a reputable teacher of magic dueling. Are you sure you can take him on as a lecturer of magic theory?” the Elemental Chief asked.

“Of course, do you think I’m here to make a fool out of myself?” Mo Fan replied breezily.

“Very well, Lecturer Nelson is almost done with his class. It’s important to demonstrate the things he has taught to his students. Lecturer Mo Yifan will verify the efficiency of the techniques on behalf of the students. Our students will be able to learn a great deal from the fight! Lecturer Nelson, you don’t mind showing us your skills, do you?” the Elemental Chief laughed hard enough that his beard was shaking.

1

“I don’t mind at all. I actually prefer to demonstrate the techniques directly in my class, so I’m glad someone is willing to challenge me to a fight!” Nelson was laughing too. He had finally found a valid reason to beat up the guy who had come to mess with him!

“Since the two guest lecturers have agreed to take part in the duel, the cost of the barrier is on me. Feel free to fight one another without worrying about the safety of the students. That being said, you shouldn’t use Super Spells in the duel. I don’t get paid THAT much, despite being a chief in the school,” the Elemental Chief, whose name was Green, encouraged them.

“Chief Green, the lecturers are having a duel in front of the students. The students are the ones benefiting from it. How can I possibly let you cover the cost? Don’t worry, the school will pay the cost for the barrier. As a matter of fact, I’m looking forward to the duel between our reputable guest lecturers too. It will be a great loss if we couldn’t see them fight in person!” a Dean in a white robe chimed in.

The Elemental Chief and the Dean were powerful authorities of the school. The others had no opinions if the two of them allowed the duel to take place.

The students started cheering when they heard the school had agreed to the duel!

A verbal argument was nowhere near as spectacular as a magic duel, not to mention it was a duel between two guest lecturers. They were glad they had enrolled in the public class!

——

“I’ve met a lot of reckless young Mages like you in America. They always make stupid decisions which benefit me in the end. I’m grateful to them for giving me my current status as a teacher of magic dueling. Therefore, I would like to thank you before the duel. If it weren’t for reckless people like you, my career wouldn’t have been a success,” Nelson said smugly.

He was glad that someone ignorant had come to challenge him to a duel. It would be difficult for him to build his reputation in the Aorus Sacred Institute if he did not use the other guest lecturers as his stepping stones.

“You two may start once the student union is done calculating the sum for the bet,” the Elemental Chief said. He was serving as the witness to the duel.

“There’s a bet for this?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course, there are bets on the duels between students. We are more than willing to set up bets for duels between teachers too. Lecturer Mo Yifan, please do your best. I’ve bet a thousand gold on you winning the duel,” Chief Green said.

“Why are you betting on me? It’s only our first time meeting one another,” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Why not? I’ve also bet four thousand gold on Nelson,” Green said.

Mo Fan pulled a long face.

“Alright, it’s done, the odds are ten to one, what a large disparity! I can win my money back with a thousand gold even if I lose four thousand of them betting on Nelson. Lecturer Mo Yifan, please do your best!” Green said after looking at the tablet in his hand.

“…”

Nelson looked up and checked the odds of the duel on the screen above the stadium. Betting were legal and encouraged in the Aorus Sacred Institute.

“It seems like a tenth of the people are clueless about the outcome,” Nelson smiled.

“Perhaps some of the people think you aren’t worthy enough,” Mo Fan replied, unconcerned.

“You will regret saying that soon!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A teacher of magic theory was challenging a teacher of magic duels to a fight. It was actually quite impressive that the odds were only ten to one. It meant the students had been very impressed by his strength during the excursions.

“Let’s begin!” Chief Green proclaimed.

Nelson was a man of formalities, and did not attack Mo Fan right away. He was treating the fight as a chance to demonstrate the techniques he had just taught in the class.

He established a Wind Domain, and visible gusts of wind began circling him like gigantic eels. They were currently in a defensive posture, but seemed ready to lunge forward at the enemy and tear them into pieces at any second!

Nelson did not attack with the Domain. He was displaying his Seal-Tagging Magic to the students.

He gathered the Wind particles around Mo Fan. Nelson’s wind was turbid, so the Seal that was meant to be invisible on Mo Fan was surprisingly obvious. It looked like Mo Fan had just walked out of a sandstorm.

“I have also done a lot of experiments on Domains,” Mo Fan retained a confident smile even when he saw the obvious Wind Seal on him. He did not bother to dispel the Seal that had been attached to him.

“You will be running for your life like a white mouse in a cage!” Nelson raised his hand. A wind eel quickly left the whirlwind around him.

The wind eel sprang at Mo Fan when Nelson pointed. It was inches away from Mo Fan in the blink of an eye.

The wind eel was not actually flying. Its undulating body was made up of ferocious wind blades, fully capable of shattering the sturdy rocks along the ground, let alone human flesh!

“Students, he can only defend himself or dodge the attack, but my Seal is constantly updating me on his movements. I can even use the Seal to predict where he’s going next, allowing me to cut off his escape!” Nelson explained his intentions as he was making his move.

The first wind eel was just meant to probe Mo Fan to see if he was going to dodge the attack or defend himself.

If Mo Fan decided to defend himself, Nelson would send out a few more wind eels to attack him. If Mo Fan tried to dodge the spell, he would fall into the trap Nelson had set up.

Mo Fan remained unmoving with a calm smile.

Defend?

Dodge?

Why must it be either of those two?

How does he know his attacks are going to land at all?

Mo Fan’s eyes gradually darkened. It seemed like something was flowing in his eyes.

He fixed his gaze on the wind eel that was flying right at him.

The wind eel suddenly flew off at a different angle. It was initially going to knock Mo Fan into the air, but it suddenly flew upward when it was still a meter away from him!

If it went a step further, it would have hit him. It felt like the wind eel was just playing around. It had completely missed the attack!

“It missed?”

“He didn’t even move. How did the spell miss?”

Mo Fan did not move as the wind eel continued to fly higher into the air. It looked like Nelson had made a mistake after he miscalculated the distance between himself and Mo Fan.

Nelson frowned. He was explaining his moves to the students confidently a moment ago, but now he stopped talking.

It did not matter if the first wind eel had missed, as he still had a few more of them left. He used the same move again, since his opponent did not bother dodging or defending.

“Rise!” Nelson yelled. A few wind eels swiftly combined into a bigger wind version.

The gigantic wind eel was howling deafeningly. Nelson did not give Mo Fan any time to react. He immediately fired the huge wind eel at Mo Fan!

“Take this!” Nelson hissed.

Mo Fan remained unmoving as the wind eel sprang at him. He soon found himself in the middle of a sandstorm.

“Break!”

Mo Fan uttered only a single word. The gigantic wind eel suddenly broke into pieces, as if it had been struck by a powerful blow, when it was about ten meters away.

The gigantic wind eel split into smaller wind eels. The smaller eels missed Mo Fan by a meter or two as they streamed at him.

They were like a school of fish who just so happened to swim past Mo Fan without hurting him!

“What’s going on?”

“Did Lecturer Nelson drink before the class? Why does he keep missing his attacks?”

The students started discussing with one another. Nelson had missed his second attempt too, even though he was teaching the students how to improve the accuracy of their spells in the class. He had ended up embarrassing himself.

Nelson was also dumbfounded.

Normally, he could land ninety percent of his spells on a target who was evading at the speed of wind, let alone an unmoving target like Mo Fan.

He was able to control the path of the wind eels freely. He was sure the spells were going to hit Mo Fan, so why did they all miss?

Could it be that he’s a Wind Mage too? Did he alter the flow of my Wind Magic? , Nelson considered.

“Lecturer Nelson, since you are a Wind Mage, can you tell me how accurate my spells are?” Mo Fan grinned as he stomped the ground. Shards of rock immediately bounced into the air around him, like the fangs of huge beasts.

“Rock Fang Impale!”

The splinters sprang forward. Their speed increased continuously as they sped forwards.

Nelson dashed and dodged the shards to his left with ease.

Another shard plummeted from the sky. Nelson took a step back, and the stone tooth landed on the ground.

“You won’t hit me even if they have double the speed!” Nelson declared.

“You shouldn’t be so full of yourself. Look out!” Mo Fan warned him kindly.

Nelson looked ahead and noticed three splinters flying at him. They had sealed off his escape routes to his left, to his right, and above him.

Nelson was already on the move, backing away at the same speed as the stone shards.

He suddenly sensed a strange airflow behind him, as if something was approaching him rapidly!

Nelson turned around and noticed the first shard he had dodged was flying right at him!

What’s going on? Did the spell turn around after missing me? Is it a boomerang?

Nelson did not notice the pointed stone behind him until it was too late. His plan to create some distance between him and the shards by moving backward had trapped him between the four shards instead!

Nelson had no choice but to Summon a gust of wind around him. The wind shredded the rocks into dust.

“So that’s your plan when you fail to dodge my spells?” Mo Fan mocked him.

“Why should I stick to my dogmatic techniques when your attacks are completely out of order?” Nelson said.

“So you are admitting that your dogmatic techniques aren’t that useful in a practical fight?” Mo Fan continued to provoke Nelson.

“Enough with your nonsense! It’s time for me to show you my true skills, since we are having a duel right now!” Nelson retorted angrily.

Nelson was anxious after being slapped in the face. He had failed to land his spells even though he was teaching the students how to improve their magic accuracy.

Nelson just wanted to trample this guy under his feet now!

“Tornado Slash!”

A huge roiling wind emerged. From a safe distance, it looked like a cluster of clouds looming over Nelson’s head. It was a certain distance above him, but it was completely under Nelson’s control.

The wind started moving, and quickly covered the whole dueling ground.

The wind started destroying everything in its path after it moved away from Nelson. It was slowly forcing Mo Fan into a corner.

Magic accuracy was no longer that important at their level. It was more about AoE attacks!

Nelson did not believe his spell was going to miss again.

“Chaos Vortex!”

Mo Fan raised his hands, a vortex slowly forming above him. It went from the size of his palm to the size of a roof.

The slashing wind was like huge raindrops falling on a lake when it made contact with the vortex. It did not cause any damage, save for some energy ripples.

“So he has the Chaos Element…” Nelson harrumphed coldly.

Nelson was an experienced fighter. He immediately realized what had gone wrong after seeing Mo Fan’s spell.

The Order Manipulation of the Chaos Element was able to manipulate the structure of magic, including the paths of Elemental Magic.

It was obvious that his wind eels had missed because they were manipulated by the Chaos Element. Mo Fan had also used the Chaos Element to fire the shard at him like a boomerang!

The Chaos Element was like magical sleight of hand. An opponent would easily be tricked if they did not understand its principles.

“Reverse!”

Mo Fan tossed the Chaos Vortex back at Nelson.

The Chaos Vortex spun rapidly while firing out the wind slashes it had just absorbed. The wind blades that had been targeting Mo Fan previously were now heading toward Nelson.

Nelson had a thin layer of wind draped over him like a coat. It expanded as the wind blades were fired at him.

The wind slashes crashed loudly against the blocking magic, as if they had just struck a piece of metal. Nelson was very good at controlling his Wind Element, and nullified Mo Fan’s counterattack with ease.

“There’s no way we can end the duel if it’s Wind against Chaos,” Nelson pointed out.

The Chaos Element…

It was a troublesome Element to fight against, one of the Elements which Nelson hated going against the most. He might not lose to a Chaos Mage, but he found the power of the Chaos Element very annoying, as it could disintegrate or absorb his spells, or manipulate their form!

“I don’t mind switching to other Elements,” Mo Fan offered blandly.

“I had high hopes in Ritchie, because he is a Lightning Mage like me,” Nelson replied.

“What a coincidence, I have the Lightning Element too,” Mo Fan stated evenly.

“Let’s see who’s Lightning is stronger!” Nelson was perfectly calm for a moment, but suddenly unleashed a dozen terrifying lightning bolts in the next second.

Some of the lightning bolts flew into the sky and created terrifying flashes. Some flew right past Mo Fan and landed on the barrier. Others swept across the ground, leaving intimidating spiderwebs behind!

Nelson’s Aura had changed completely. He was now imbued with a dangerous Aura of Lightning Magic!

The students had an urge to back away after seeing his transformation. They could sense the intimidating presence of the Lightning Element even with the barrier in front of them, and were afraid that the lightning might strike them unintentionally.

Mo Fan frowned. Nelson’s Lightning Magic was very strong. His Lightning Domain was surprisingly stronger than the Lightning Tyrant’s, too!

“He must have a top-grade Lightning Soul Seed,” Mo Fan mused.

The Lightning Element was very straightforward. It was easy to tell whose Lightning Element was stronger!

Mo Fan had initially planned to use his Lightning Element, but since his Soul-grade Seed was already inferior to his opponent’s, he would only expose himself if he used the Blessing of the God’s Seal.

Not many people in the world had the Blessing of the God’s Seal. Mo Fan did not think his Lightning Element was weaker than Nelson’s, but someone might recognize him if he fought with his Lightning Element at full strength.

“The Earth Element is good against Lightning. There’s no need for me to meet force with force!”

Mo Fan did not forget his mission even though he was trying to avenge his student. It was unnecessary to fight the guy with his Lightning Element. He decided to use his Earth Element instead!

“Star Dust!”

Mo Fan activated the Domain of his Earth Element!

Star Dust was the Domain of Mo Fan’s Heaven-inferior Earth Seed. It would rapidly gather the Earth Magic within five hundred meters around Mo Fan, protecting him like a cloud of star dust.

Mo Fan was not a fan of defense, but the Star Dust was just as useful for offense! He could easily fire hundreds of Rock Fangs at an enemy. The Star Dust would rapidly replenish the energy that was consumed and grant Mo Fan infinite ammo!

The Earth Element also served as an electrical insulator. The Star Dust was able to stop Nelson’s Lightning, even when it was not moving!

“My Lightning can penetrate everything!” Nelson yelled, as if he had already won the duel after unleashing his Lightning Element!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Nelson took a step back. The Lightning Magic he was accumulating surged in all directions in the form of lightning orbs bouncing around rapidly in the air. Their paths were unpredictable.

Some of the lightning orbs were not heading toward Mo Fan at first, yet they might suddenly fly at him after their next bounce and fire lightning bolts at him like the thorns of a cactus.

Nelson was not worried when he saw Mo Fan using the Earth Element.

The Earth Element was effective against most Lightning Mages, but the lightning bolts of his lightning orbs could penetrate sturdy objects like needles!

“Why is Lecturer Nelson’s lightning different from ours? Why is his lightning as thin as needles?”

“It takes outstanding control to reshape the Lightning Magic into thin needles.”

“Its penetrative ability is ten times stronger than a normal lightning bolt!”

Nelson looked like he was focused on controlling the lightning orbs, but he was actually preparing the lightning needles that would pierce through Mo Fan’s defense once the lightning orbs exploded.

The lightning orbs would not just explode in front of Mo Fan. They might hover above Mo Fan or float behind him. They might even be hiding under the ground. Mo Fan would be drowned in lightning needles as the lightning orbs exploded continuously.

Even the strongest defense of the Earth Element would crumble to his Lightning Spell!

Mo Fan was surrounded by the Star Dust. The particles consolidated into a round shell that enclosed Mo Fan as soon as the lightning needles appeared.

However, the sturdy shell lasted for less than four seconds before holes began to surface across it. Mo Fan shuddered as the lightning needles pierced his skin.

If it wasn’t for his outstanding Lightning Resistance, the lightning needles that broke through his defense would have left him with holes!

Mo Fan’s Lightning Resistance was still not effective enough against the lightning needles. It was similar to a man throwing punches at him. The injuries he sustained were only minimal as long as his muscles were sturdy, but if his opponent was using needles, they could easily penetrate his flesh and puncture the blood vessels. He might even die if the needles punctured his vital organs!

Nelson was a strong opponent. It was extremely difficult to refine the Lightning Magic into such thin and sharp forms. Not only did it require outstanding control over the Lightning Element, he also had to practice diligently. Mo Fan could refine his Lightning into the form he intended in a short period of time, but his lightning would not retain a fixed shape like Nelson’s Lightning Magic.

“If I use the Shadow Element now, it means I’ve accepted my defeat,” Mo Fan clenched his teeth.

Mo Fan had decided to only use a single Element whenever his opponent switched to another Element. However, Mo Fan was still lacking some basic practice in his defenses. It was like a rider who was used to charging into the battlefield headfirst being reassigned to the role of a shield soldier. Mo Fan might be holding a high-quality shield in his hand, but his weaknesses were exposed against an experienced fighter.

The lightning needles kept stabbing Mo Fan after penetrating the Star Dust. It felt like a dozen Rong Momos were torturing him with their deadliest weapon from all angles!

{TL Note: Rong Momo is a fictional character in the TV show “My Fair Princess”. She’s well known for the meme of using a needle.}

Mo Fan had no choice but to switch Elements as he was about to reach his limit. The Shadow Element was perfect for his situation. However, he abruptly noticed the dueling ground was full of shards of the Circle of Crystal Teeth!

The shards had appeared because of the second unique ability of his Heaven-inferior Earth Seed, the Divine Rock. Every spell Cast within a certain distance of him would form a shard. Once the shards reached a certain number, they would form a Circle of Crystal Teeth, which Mo Fan could manipulate as he pleased!

Even though the Star Dust only contained a fixed amount of energy when it was established, the energy gathered by the second unique ability and the Star Dust were able to complement one another. In other words, he could use the shards to replenish the energy of the Star Dust!

Didn’t Nelson only Cast a single spell? Why are there so many shards around me? Does that mean he’s actually Casting spells continuously? Is he Channeling the spell constantly? Or did he hide the Star Patterns? , Mo Fan wondered as he grinned.

Nelson’s attack shared the same principles as a Gatling gun. He was wondering why Nelson’s spell was so powerful when he was not constructing any Star Palaces.

The second unique ability of the Divine Rock was very effective against enemies who were consuming their energy at a high rate. It would steal a portion of the enemy’s energy every time they attacked!

“Accumulate!”

Mo Fan’s Star Dust was being scattered by the lightning needles, but now its energy was replenished by the Circle of Crystal Teeth. The holes in the shell were fixed instantly, providing Mo Fan with a safe environment.

Mo Fan was relieved when the holes of his leaking roof were fixed. The wild storm would still destroy the roof, but Mo Fan’s automatic worker bees fixed the holes right away!

There might be a few leaks at times, but they were within Mo Fan’s tolerance now…

—

Nelson continued to fire his lightning needles at Mo Fan inside his Star Dust shelter. Only Mo Fan could see the Circle of Crystal Teeth, so it looked like Mo Fan was constantly fixing the barrier with his own energy.

Even a Gatling gun would eventually overheat after firing bullets over a certain period of time. Nelson’s attack was like a ferocious tide at first, but it eventually weakened after a while.

A Mage’s mental state was like a reservoir. The tide released when the dam opened would cause massive destruction at first, but once the water level of the reservoir dropped, the following waves were no longer as deadly.

If a Mage consumed too much of their energy within a short period of time, they would enter a brief state of not being able to use their magic, no matter how great the capacity of their energy was. They might even feel light-headed.

Every time Nelson thought Mo Fan’s defense had already reached its limit, it would recover instantly. He had never seen a man who could last longer than him!

Little did Nelson know, Mo Fan was stealing his energy to replenish the barrier!

Mo Fan was using his enemy’s energy to defend himself. He was not even consuming his own energy.

“Lecturer Nelson, you might need to practice more. Your lightning is like a drizzle to me!” Mo Fan smiled widely.

Mo Fan liked his Heaven-inferior Earth Seed even more the more he used it!

Stealing others’ energy to slap them in the face! As expected of a Heaven-grade Seed!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Nelson was about to lose his mind. Was he fighting a thousand-year-old turtle?

There were two kinds of Destructive Mages: the explosive kind and the endurance kind. Nelson’s Lightning Needle Orbs were more of the latter kind. Only a few people in America could defend against it. Many experienced defensive Mages chose to avoid him instead.

Meanwhile, the young Chinese lecturer was not even famous internationally; Nelson had never heard of him before. How did he manage to defend himself from the lightning needles?

“Humph, my Lightning has obviously beaten your Earth Element. It’s not that impressive for you to defend yourself with the Chaos Element!” Nelson snarled.

Nelson assumed Mo Fan was only unharmed because he was using the Chaos Element!

The Chaos Element was too unpredictable. An Advanced Chaos Mage might even be able to make a Super Spell vanish like a magic trick. The Chaos Element was insanely useful if the Mage was good at it!

“I won’t cheat if I’m planning to teach you a lesson. If you argue we won’t be able to decide who’s better because of my Chaos Element, I won’t use it. You shouldn’t judge me just because you are narrow-minded yourself,” Mo Fan chided him right back.

“There’s no way your Domain of the Earth Element can stop my Lightning Needles if you aren’t using the Chaos Element. Even the defense of a Super Mage doesn’t stand a chance against my Lightning! Do you think I’m that stupid?” Nelson argued angrily.

Nelson was very confident in his Lightning Magic. He strongly believed Mo Fan had used the Chaos Element. Otherwise, how did the energy of his Star Dust replenish so endlessly? Wasn’t that one of the Chaos Element abilities?

Nelson was not clueless about the capabilities of the Chaos Element. He knew a powerful Chaos Mage could recover a destroyed object. He was not sure about its principles, but he knew it was something that could be done!

“Then I’m afraid you are an idiot,” Mo Fan responded simply.

Nelson was brimming with anger. He turned to Chief Green instead of continuing on with the duel, “Chief, since you are the witness of the duel, can you please say something. Otherwise, the students may think I’m not as strong as they think.”

“Lecturer Nelson, are you sure about that?” Chief Green asked.

“Yes, there’s no way my Lightning can’t break down his petty defense!” Nelson declared.

“Lecturer Nelson, I’ve been watching the fight closely. I think you have misunderstood Lecturer Mo Yifan. He wasn’t using the Chaos Element.”

“Then he must be relying on other Equipment!” Nelson argued.

“That’s not the case, either,” Chief Green stated.

“Impossible, I didn’t notice him expending his energy either! How is it possible for the barrier to recover continuously on its own? I hope Chief Green isn’t being biased in front of so many students and teachers!” Nelson exclaimed.

Chief Green frowned. Were all Americans like him? Would he only admit he was wrong after smashing his head into the wall? He already answered the man’s question, yet he insisted on getting to the bottom of it. Did he not realize he could have saved himself some face?

Chief Green had no choice if Nelson did not want to save himself some face. He did not want the students to think he was not a fair witness.

“Lecturer Nelson, you shouldn’t just focus on your own lightning. Your Lightning Thorn is indeed one of the strongest Soul-grade Seeds I’ve seen, but did you ever consider that your opponent’s Earth Seed is stronger than yours?” Chief Green went on while fondling his beard.

Nelson did not understand what he meant. As a matter of fact, the students had no clue what he was saying, either.

“You should observe the Earth particles around Lecturer Mo Yifan closely. I believe you can discern the truth right away,” Chief Green added.

Nelson stared at Mo Fan, and even used his senses to observe the magic particles closely. He was so shocked that he took a step back after he saw how closely packed the magic particles were.

“A…a Heaven-grade Seed!”

“It’s a Heaven-grade Earth Seed!”

The pride that Nelson had so strongly protected crumbled instantly. He never thought the young Mage he was fighting would own an extremely rare Heaven-grade Seed.

The difference between a Spirit-grade Seed and a Soul-grade Seed was already remarkable, let alone the difference between a Soul-grade Seed and a Heaven-grade Seed!

Some resourceful Advanced Mages still had a chance to secure a Soul-grade Seed to strengthen their Elements, but only a few lucky Super Mages would own a Heaven-grade Seed!

To think that he was fighting an Earth Mage with a Heaven-grade Seed!

The Earth Element was naturally dominant against the Lightning Element. Nelson thought his Lightning Element was unstoppable, so he did not treat his opponent’s Soul-grade Seed seriously. However, if his opponent had a Heaven-grade Seed… In simpler words, the Heaven-grade Earth Seed was like a king before a Soul-grade Lightning Seed!

“Is it really a Heaven-grade Seed?”

“Lecturer Mo Yifan has a Heaven-grade Earth Seed? No wonder Lecturer Nelson’s Lightning Seed couldn’t hurt him at all.”

“I didn’t expect a lecturer on magic theory to be so strong. One can never judge a book by its cover!”

The students completely lost their minds.

Not many people knew about Heaven-grade Seeds, since the Magic Association had yet to publish the new classification. Everyone thought Soul-grade Seeds were already the ceiling.

The students had only learned about Heaven-grade Seeds a short time ago, let alone seen one in action.

They had finally seen a Mage with a Heaven-grade Seed, and it was during an epic duel between two guest lecturers!

“It seems like Lecturer Nelson has messed with the wrong guy… Speaking of which, Yesemia, why didn’t you mention there’s a strong teacher from China to me before?” the Dean inquired.

“Uh… I think…I think he prefers to keep a low profile,” Yesemia answered awkwardly.

“That means I should thank Lecturer Nelson for punishing his student inappropriately. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had a chance to enjoy such a spectacular duel,” the Dean murmured.

“Yes,” Yesemia nodded quickly, agreeing with everything her superior said.

“Miss Yesemia, you didn’t really get what I mean. Ritchie is only a student, after all. If Lecturer Mo Yifan, who prefers to keep a low profile, has interfered with the public class because of him, it means the student is in very bad shape. Shouldn’t you do something about it?” the Dean went on with a gentle smile.

Yesemia was afraid of the Dean’s gentle smile. She nodded hastily and stated firmly, “I’ll look into it right away!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Nelson flushed. He had been slapped in the face in front of so many students. How was he supposed to teach them in the upcoming classes?

He had to make up for it. He no longer bothered using only one Element at a time in this duel, and began using different Domains and abilities.

He just needed to win the duel!

His Wind Element was nullified by his opponent’s Chaos Element. His Lightning Element was useless against his opponent’s Heaven-grade Earth Seed. However, the outcome of the duel was still undecided, since they were both Super Mages with four Elements!

Nelson backed away slightly after coming up with a plan. He was using the spells of other Elements to buy him some time.

His focus was a little worn out after Channeling the Lightning Orb of Needles for such a long period. He could no longer Cast spells that required Star Constellations and above. He needed to catch his breath while his opponent was not attacking him.

Unfortunately for Nelson, Mo Fan was not Zhao Manyan. Mo Fan was not going to just encourage an enemy to keep attacking!

Nelson had gone all out with the Lightning Orb of Needles a moment ago, yet he had suddenly gone easy on the duel. His energy had obviously been depleted.

It was the perfect time for Mo Fan to beat the crap out of Nelson. Mo Fan was still full of energy!

“Ambush of Rock Fish!” Mo Fan yelled while constructing a Star Constellation of the Earth Element.

A ripple appeared under Mo Fan’s feet. The sturdy ground softened suddenly and surged forward in waves.

A fish made of rock, with a mouth that resembled an axe, burst out of the ground. It made a little arc in the air before falling back into the ground, like a normal fish having fun in the sea.

The softened ground suddenly became restless as more fish with strange shapes flew into the air. The ground splashed wildly, like fierce waves were tearing at it!

There were rock fish with mouths of axes, rock sharks with exposed fangs, and enormous rock whales. The fish were leaping across the ground in a huge migration.

Nelson had backed away to the edge of the stage. His face turned pale when he saw the school of rock fish heading toward him.

He could easily defend himself under normal circumstances. He just needed to construct a Star Palace to destroy half of the fish, yet he could not even construct a single Star Constellation in his current state. His head would spin if he forcibly used his magic. How could he not panic when the school of terrifying rock fish was coming at him?

Mo Fan had a Heaven-grade Earth Seed, which was significantly stronger than normal Soul Seeds!

Nelson was at his limit. It was unlikely he could defend himself, so he had no choice but to rely on his magic Equipment.

It was a piece of dark silver Equipment in the shape of a canopy. A helmet enlarged several times over encapsulated him.

“Why is he using a piece of magic Equipment?”

“Is Nelson at his limit? I thought we aren’t allowed to use magic Equipment in a duel?!” the students wondered aloud.

Nelson was clearly aware of the rule. He was cheating if he used his magic Equipment!

Nelson did not mind at all. The witness of the duel, Green, did not mention that magic Equipment was not allowed. Nelson was only temporarily fatigued. As long as his energy recovered, he could easily turn the tables around. Everything was fine as long as he won the duel, but if he lost, he would be too ashamed to teach at the Aorus Sacred Institute!

“Do you think your magic Equipment is going to make a difference?” Mo Fan called out.

Nelson was the typical kind of fool who stuck their head to the tip of a gun.

If he had used defensive Equipment imbued with the Wind, Light, or Plant Elements, he might have managed to defend himself, but his magic Equipment was a piece of Armor!

The first unique ability of Mo Fan’s Heaven-grade Earth Seed was being most effective against rigid defenses!

Sturdy Strike!

Solid objects were as fragile as glass against Mo Fan’s Earth Element, which was as hard as diamond!

Nelson had such tough luck, making the worst decision twice in a row. The duel that was supposed to last a little longer soon came to an end!

“My rocks are indestructible!”

Mo Fan slammed his palms on the ground. A school of rock fish double the size of the previous school emerged from the ground. It felt like the whole dueling ground had turned into a gathering place for the creatures. It was spectacular when they all jumped out of the ground!

Not only did their numbers increase, their speed had increased too! Nelson’s Armor was soon broken into pieces after the fish kept slamming into it.

It took Nelson by surprise. He tried to run away from the creatures with his Wind Element, but there were just too many of them.

He was soon covered in injuries. A fish’s tail whacked him on the chest, knocking him to the edge of the barrier.

Falling out of the barrier meant he had lost the duel!

Nelson stood behind the barrier and hugged his chest. His clothes were ragged.

He could still fight, but this duel was not a fight of life and death. He had already lost the duel, and could only glare at Mo Fan.

The students around the stage cheered!

Not everyone was cheering for Mo Fan’s victory, mainly because most of the students had bet their gold on Nelson. They had thought the outcome was very obvious.

To their surprise, Nelson had lost the duel. Lecturer Mo Yifan from China had emerged victorious!

If the students were to rank the guest lecturers in terms of their reliability, Mo Fan would definitely have come last. He did not have any knowledge of magic theory, and his classes on merging different Elements were only conceptual.

And yet, such an unreliable lecturer turned out to be such a good fighter!

“I’m rich, I’m rich, Lecturer Mo Yifan is the coolest teacher I ever have. I feel like marrying him!” Boleyn cried out in joy.

Boleyn hated Nelson’s guts after what he did to Ritchie, so she bet almost all her gold on Mo Fan for the duel. She was only venting her frustration, yet Mo Fan had won the duel in the end!

The odds were ten to one!

Boleyn had bet a lot of her gold, meaning that she had earned a fortune from the fight!

“As expected of Mo Fan, that made me feel a lot better… Old Zhao, count how much we have earned from the bet, quick!” Mu Bai nudged Zhao Manyan.

“Ugh…” Zhao Manyan was still lost in thought.

Mu Bai adjusted his glasses and frowned when he saw Zhao Manyan’s reaction. “Don’t tell me you placed your bet on Nelson…”

2

Chapter 2226: Can You Please Work Harder?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan was stammering like a little girl.

“How much did you bet?” Mu Bai asked in a low voice.

“Ugh, well, I’ll handle it,” Zhao Manyan asked awkwardly.

“Old Zhao, if Mo Fan finds out about it, he will definitely throw you off a building so you can keep Ritchie company!”

“I didn’t know that Nelson was so useless, despite his reputation!”

Both Chief Green and the Dean rose to their feet and clapped their hands.

The rest of the teachers immediately gave Mo Fan a round of applause too. The outcome of the duel had surprised them all!

The guest lecturers from China were so impressive, yet they had not even treated them seriously before…

—

“You still think Ritchie is wasting his talents by joining us?” Mo Fan taunted Nelson.

“Your Elements happen to restrain mine. Besides, do you really think you could beat me if it weren’t for the rules? Your cultivation is weaker than mine!” Nelson was unwilling to admit his defeat.

Nelson had three Elements at the Super Level. His Wind and Lightning Elements had even reached the second-tier of the Super Level. Every tier in the Super Level was a huge gap, so Nelson had assumed Mo Fan had no chance of beating him if they were fighting with Super Spells.

“It doesn’t matter, I won the duel,” Mo Fan replied cheerfully.

“Ritchie is the only talented student your team has. Make sure your students are ready to suffer in the tournament. I will ask Herr Casa to show no mercy!” Nelson said in a soft voice that only the two of them could hear.

“So you’re going to get your revenge by hurting my students?” Mo Fan asked for clarity.

“I don’t care. You’ve embarrassed me in front of everyone today. I swear I’ll cripple your students in the tournament. Make sure you have enough stretchers to carry them!” Nelson promised.

“I guess I couldn’t stop you, but make sure you have a stretcher for yourself too. I only taught you a lesson for hurting one of my students, but if you dare hurt all my students, I won’t let you off the hook so easily like today!” Mo Fan was not afraid of Nelson’s threats.

“HAHAHA, are you sure you can make me pay?” Nelson laughed, yet he almost vomited blood because of the pain from his ribs as he was laughing.

Mo Fan was too lazy to answer Nelson’s question. The injuries Nelson had sustained were already answering his question, yet the man still did not realize it!

——

Mo Fan felt extremely pleased with himself as he left under the admiring gaze of the students.

Keeping a low profile was definitely not his ../style. So many arrogant people were waiting for him to step on their faces. He had a hard time turning their offers down!

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, is your team full? I’m interested in joining your team. I’m a high achiever in the school. I’ve won thirteen duels in a row in the past. Can you please accept me?”

“Lecturer, when is your next class?”

“Remember to set the price higher. I’m not short on gold, but if the class is too cheap, everyone can register for it. Only brilliant students like me are fit to be in your class,” one of the students called out.

Mo Fan was left speechless. He had only won a duel. How realistic were these students? They were already asking about his classes, while Nelson’s public class had not yet ended. How ashamed would Nelson be?

“Pay attention to the class. Lecturer Nelson is a good teacher, too. I’m just a teacher of magic theory,” Mo Fan called back.

Mo Fan was talking very loudly. Nelson almost vomited blood when he heard the words.

That son of a b**ch kept emphasizing he was only a teacher of magic theory after winning the duel!

Brianca’s eyes were fixed on Mo Fan as he passed her by.

Mo Fan fondled his chin. He looked a little vulgar.

“Miss Brianca, don’t tell me you have fallen in love with me?” Mo Fan asked with a smile.

“The Chaos Element and Earth Element aren’t your strongest Elements. I’m surprised by how much stronger you’ve become,” Brianca complimented him softly.

“I’m still no match for you!” Mo Fan might have sounded humble, but he was obviously pleased with himself. The only thing he lacked was a banner with I’m the best! on his back!

Brianca was amused by Mo Fan’s reaction, but did not speak to him any further, or people might realize they knew one another.

—

—

Mo Fan remained the focus wherever he went. The students would greet him when they saw him on the campus, even though most had ignored him in the previous weeks… except for Sharjah, who was utterly respectful to him. Even those who had attended his classes were only there for padding the numbers!

“Lecturer, I’m begging you to give me a high distinction. I watched the duel between you and Lecturer Nelson. You were so cool…” The woman who had bullied Lily, Bulma, purposely came to Mo Fan’s office.

Mo Fan was preparing for his next class in the office. He was going to visit Lily in the afternoon.

Apas’ ability to help someone recall their past through a dream put the person under a lot of stress. They had to wait for a good half a month for Lily to recover before they could learn more clues from her. If not, Lily might suffer from schizophrenia from the stress of Apas’ Psychic Magic.

Mo Fan was just on his way when Bulma, who had slapped Lily heavily in the face, came. She was wearing her usual makeup, and her heels were setting off her alluring figure.

“You’re asking for a high distinction when your results aren’t even that good? I’m busy. Get out of my way,” Mo Fan said impatiently.

“Lecturer, I can do anything you want if you’re willing to give me a high distinction,” Bulma lowered her voice. She was giving Mo Fan a strong hint.

Mo Fan observed Bulma carefully. “Whatever I want?” he asked.

“Mm,” Bulma lowered her head.

Bulma’s heart was pounding heavily. She had never done anything like this, but when she recalled how cool Mo Fan was in the duel, she was willing to give it a try.

“Then can you please work harder?”

Mo Fan left the office after saying those words, leaving Bulma alone in the cold wind.

What is wrong with the students nowadays? Do they assume every teacher is a dressed-up animal? Mo Fan sincerely wanted to be an honorable teacher after coming to the Aorus Sacred Institute. He had never studied for his classes when he was a student, yet he was actually working diligently to prepare for his classes now!

Chapter 2227: Zhao Youqian’s Fiancée

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was on his way to the training ground. He had just left his room when he saw Zhao Manyan, who was dressed up fashionably. His bleached-blond hair was nicely groomed, while his eyes were dazzling like the stars in the sky from his contact lenses, or so Zhao Manyan thought.

Zhao Manyan knew how to put on makeup to cover the blemishes on his face. As a pure man, Mo Fan was not fond of that.

“What are you up to now?” Mo Fan asked him.

“I’m on a mission. Didn’t you ask me to keep an eye on the students who might be affiliated with the Black Vatican? He’s going to a ball tonight, so I have to blend in too,” Zhao Manyan said cheerfully.

“I’ll check on Lily and see if she has any new clues for us. Don’t just focus on satisfying your lower body,” Mo Fan warned him.

“Who do you think I am?”

“I don’t see you as a human.”

——

Zhao Manyan ignored Mo Fan, and continued on his way like a true gentleman.

The ball was being held in the Aorus Sacred Institute’s main building. Many students in garish and beautiful clothes were entering the hall. The EDM playing in the hall was loud and clear outside the building. Zhao Manyan was already grooving to the beats before he even reached the hall.

Zhao Manyan shook his head in rhythm and snapped his fingers to the beat as he went inside the hall.

The lights in the hall were mainly purple and red. They were flashing like lightning in the hall, vaguely showing alluring legs and tightly-clad buttocks on the dance floor. Every man there could feel their adrenaline rush just watching them.

Zhao Manyan wove through the heady mist of perfume. It had been a while since he had last enjoyed an atmosphere like this. He subconsciously pulled off his best moves.

As a prince of nightclubs, how could he live up to his reputation if he did not have the necessary skills?

After some energetic dancing, Zhao Manyan found himself in a quiet corner for a quick rest.

A woman was playing on her phone in the same corner. Her hair was tied above her head, with fringes on both sides. It was simple yet delicate.

“I’m guessing that you don’t know how to dance, but the next song is a duet dance. I guess I’ll have to ask someone else,” Zhao Manyan spoke up.

The woman looked up at Zhao Manyan and replied with a smile, “I know how to dance, but I already have a dance partner.”

“He’s not here yet, right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t be playing with your phone,” Zhao Manyan noted.

“Mm, maybe he forgot the time,” the woman said.

“We can’t let such a good song go to waste. It’s my favorite song, listen…” Zhao Manyan started singing as the song’s prelude was playing. His gentle voice was very close to the woman’s ears.

Zhao Manyan had already reached his hand forward before the woman could react.

The woman rose to her feet after only a slight hesitation.

——

The duet was a great success. Zhao Manyan appropriately maintained his distance from the woman throughout the dance. He did not place his hand below the woman’s waist, nor did he stick his chest out to rub her bust.

As an experienced man who had shared intimate contact with many women, he knew when to be straightforward and when to be a gentleman. Many women were willing to have a dance with a stranger in the Americas, including the beautiful ones, but getting them to sleep with you in the same bed was as difficult as hiking a cold mountain. Being handsome alone was not enough to guarantee him a free ticket!

“Apologies for coming late…” Prince Beny happened to see Zhao Manyan helping the woman down the stage as he arrived. He was not displeased by it. He went up to Zhao Manyan and said politely, “Thank you for keeping Miss Sancha entertained before I came. I’ll handle the rest from here.”

Zhao Manyan smiled and left without any hesitation.

Prince Beny squinted while staring at Zhao Manyan’s back. “Do you know him?” Prince Beny asked the woman.

“He looks a little familiar,” Sancha replied.

“He’s a guest lecturer from China. I don’t remember his name. I’m sorry for coming late, but that guy isn’t worth your time. I heard he has a bad reputation. He already had dealings with some of the girls not long after he came to the Aorus Sacred Institute,” Prince Beny said.

“You sound like my fiancée,” Sancha pouted.

“Haha, Zhao Youqian is an old friend of mine, so I’m obliged to keep an eye out for him,” Prince Beny said.

“I don’t like being watched all the time. His values as a Chinese man are quite annoying sometimes. It’s like I’m committing a crime, when I’m only dancing with a stranger,” Sancha huffed.

“He cares about you. Let’s not talk about that. Shall we dance? I have a few things to discuss with you. The Andes Federation isn’t officially established yet, but the Andes International Bank has already secured a foothold in it. I bet many people are fawning after you, since you are the daughter of the bank’s CEO. Just be more cautious for now and try to avoid strangers,” Prince Beny said firmly.

—

Sancha found the ball pretty boring and meaningless, except for the gentle voice that had intrigued her.

Sancha did not let Prince Beny walk her home after the ball.

For some reason, Sancha had a feeling Prince Beny had ulterior motives toward her. Even though he always claimed he was her fiancée’s best friend, Sancha noticed Prince Beny would unintentionally cross the line when he was dancing with her. She felt like the stranger had been more of a gentleman than Prince Beny.

Sancha left the hall and walked away leisurely under the night sky, enjoying the breeze.

She noticed two figures passing by in the distance. She took a closer look and recognized it was the stranger who danced with her at the start of the ball. He was with a girl, who seemed to be a student of the Aorus Sacred Institute.

Sancha happened to know the student too. Her name was Beatrice.

As the Vice Head of the School’s Disciplinary Committee, Sancha was aware that Beatrice was about to be expelled by the school.

Sancha was quite disappointed. It turned out that the man was just as Prince Beny had said; he had certain dealings with the female students in the school.

Sancha was disappointed that Beatrice was trying to use such a shameless way to earn a better score in her classes. She was also disappointed that the stranger who had danced with her was such a shameless guy.

Chapter 2228: The Plan to Approach Someone

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Sancha was about to turn around and leave, her expression cold. Improper dealings were very common in the Aorus Sacred Institute. She did not want to intervene with their ‘enjoyable’ time.

“Thank you. If you hadn’t helped me, the school was definitely going to expel me. My father has always been strict with me. If he finds out the school has expelled me, he’s going to beat me to death!” Beatrice’s voice was very clear in the quiet night.

Sancha was heading in the opposite direction, yet she could still hear Beatrice’s voice. She subconsciously slowed down.

“Don’t do that next time. Do you understand? You must look after yourself. Even if someone like Michelson is threatening you with your score, you should tell the Disciplinary Committee immediately. Do you think Michelson will let you off the hook, knowing the kind of person he is? He’s going to keep doing it to you, since you have no way out. You will only feel more ashamed of yourself,” Zhao Manyan chided her.

“Mm, mm, sir, I’ll study harder. Thank you for saving me from that scum… I thought you were like him. I’m sorry,” Beatrice apologized.

“Being cautious is a must, especially when you are a girl,” Zhao Manyan warned her again.

“But there are bad rumors about you spreading through the school. Do they bother you? I can help clear your name,” Beatrice offered.

“More people are going to believe the rumors if you do that. Why would I be bothered by them when I know they are not true?” Zhao Manyan said airily.

—

Sancha slowed even further. She had a frown on her face.

If teachers were abusing their power to force students into something they were not willing, she, as a member of the Disciplinary Committee, would report them to the Dean immediately.

Sancha knew who Michelson was. He was a pervert who had tried to pick on her once. She did not expect that he was already preying on his students!

A girl like Sancha who was about to be expelled by the school because of her poor results was an easy target for him. She would not dare to say anything, even if Michelson crossed the line.

“It’s you. What a coincidence, out for a walk?” Zhao Manyan’s voice came from behind Sancha.

The voice shocked Sancha. She turned around and saw the man’s handsome face less than a meter away from her.

It was dark in the hall. Sancha could barely see the man’s face there. She knew he was quite handsome based on her first impressions, but she realized he was a lot more handsome than she thought under the bright streetlight. His face was as perfect as a work of art.

“Mm, I was just taking a walk… Was that girl Beatrice?” Sancha asked him.

“Oh, you know her? Yeah, I feel sorry for her. I wonder what the Disciplinary Committee is doing. If they aren’t doing their job properly, many girls like her will be victimized. Beatrice might have a little bad behavior among the students, but it doesn’t mean others can just prey on her,” Zhao Manyan said.

“I’m a member of the Disciplinary Committee. I’m actually the Vice Chair. The name is Sancha,” Sancha introduced herself.

Zhao Manyan pretended to be shocked.

Zhao Manyan knew who she was from the very first day he had set foot into the Aorus Sacred Institute.

As a matter of fact, Zhao Manyan was acting on purpose in front of Sancha. It was not easy to tackle a cautious woman, yet he had to leave her with good first and second impressions.

A woman’s first impression of a man was very important, but the second impression was even more important.

Not every woman would fall for a handsome man right away, so the second impression was the key. He must prove to the woman that he was a kind-hearted person while she was not that interested in his body.

With these two impressions, it was a lot easier for her to fall into his trap.

Zhao Manyan knew she was Sancha. He also knew she was the Vice Chair of the Disciplinary Committee.

Most importantly, he knew she was his future sister-in-law, too, as she was Zhao Youqian’s fiancée!

However, Zhao Manyan was very curious about the reason why Zhao Youqian would choose the Vice Head of the Disciplinary Committee of the Aorus Sacred Institute as his fiancée, knowing how selfish the man was. Zhao Manyan would never believe Zhao Youqian was interested in the academic scene. All he was thinking of was to make more money and gain more power!

Therefore, Zhao Manyan was interested in learning Sancha’s background. However, Sancha was very good at hiding it. He had yet to learn anything useful from his investigation.

Zhao Manyan had no choice but to sacrifice himself in order to dig deeper. No one was better at approaching a woman than him!

“Beatrice doesn’t have solid evidence to report Michelson. I just happened to pass by when he tried to make his move, so I doubt you’re going to find anything, even if you investigate Michelson,” Zhao Manyan replied helplessly.

“Our investigation doesn’t only rely on evidence. The Aorus Sacred Institute has its own laws,” Sancha stated.

“But what if it was just an act? The girl might seem unwilling, yet she was beyond redemption too… She managed to prevent herself from being expelled without letting Michelson get his way,” Zhao Manyan commented.

Sancha was startled. She had not thought of that possibility…

“You are very calm about it all,” Sancha noticed.

“I’ve seen many different kinds of people, so I won’t judge a person so easily. People will also change because of their surroundings, don’t you think?” Zhao Manyan said.

“You are not wrong,” Sancha nodded. If the woman really was a victim, she should seek help from the Disciplinary Committee, instead of through another teacher!

“Forget it, it’s a pleasant night, we shouldn’t waste our time on such annoying stuff. By the way, where’s your little boyfriend? If I remember correctly, isn’t he Prince Beny? An identity whom many respect and are envious of… but it makes total sense as only a prince is worthy of a gorgeous girl like you!” Zhao Manyan quickly switched the topic.

“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just… a friend, a dance partner for the ball,” Sancha sighed.

Zhao Manyan put on a happy face.

He was pretending to be happy in front of Sancha, but he was totally overjoyed inside!

She did not mention her fiancée!

It meant she was not trying to chase him away!

His plan of leaving a good first and second impression had worked perfectly. Otherwise, she would just tell him to leave by saying she already had a fiancée!

Chapter 2229: Going to a Music Concert

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan noticed Sancha was a very talkative woman, and knowledgeable in a variety of fields, whether it was music or traveling. They had a lot of common interests.

Zhao Manyan did not have to fawn over Sancha on purpose. The two walked along the sandy white beach. They knew the pleasant time would end when they reached the place where the lecturers of the Aorus Sacred Institute were staying, but they still enjoyed the process.

She combed her hair and said with a smile, “Nice to have met you. It’s been a long time since I met an interesting guy like you,” while standing in front of her unit’s door.

Normally, Zhao Manyan would definitely request a cup of coffee or borrow the washroom after walking a girl back home. Seriously, everyone had been working so hard on their cultivation. It would be disrespectful if he did not go with her into her bedroom or her living room to have some relaxing moments together.

However, Zhao Manyan did not ask to go to her room. It was not because she might be his future sister-in-law, but he realized the person whom he had approached was far more interesting than he had thought. It was just as Sancha had said; it had been a while since she had last met an interesting guy like him. He had the same thought!

“There’s a concert the day after tomorrow. Why don’t we attend it together, instead of arguing whether the pianist Dale is skillful or not? We’ll be able to tell if we listen to him live. That being said, my opinions still hold,” Zhao Manyan offered.

“How did you know I was planning to go to the concert?” Sancha asked suspiciously.

“Huh? Perhaps I’ve been planning to approach you from the very beginning. Are you afraid?” Zhao Manyan answered easily.

Sancha did not answer the question, turning and going into her apartment.

Zhao Manyan smiled. They both already knew the truth. Either way, he just needed to suit up and wait here three hours before the concert. They would grab dinner together before entering the hall to enjoy the feeling of their souls being cleansed by the pleasant music.

——

Zhao Manyan went back to his own room. Their buildings were only a street apart. Zhao Manyan was humming pleasantly when he stumbled into Mo Fan, who had just came back from the training ground.

“How did it go?” Zhao Manyan asked him.

“Not too bad, Lily recalled another place. I’ll investigate it during the next few days to see if it has any useful clues. What about you?” Mo Fan asked in turn.

“It’s great, I wasn’t exposed yet,” Zhao Manyan answered easily.

“For some reason, I can see a coquettish grin on your face. Are you sure you are following your lead?” Mo Fan was suspicious.

They had been housemates for quite a while. Mo Fan could easily tell what Zhao Manyan was up to as soon as he smelled his cologne, let alone observing his expression.

“I’ll be going to the city the day after tomorrow,” Zhao Manyan said and went back to his room.

“Be careful, don’t poke around too deep. The Black Vatican fights back very fiercely,” Mo Fan warned him.

“I will be fine.”

—

—

Zhao Manyan prepared in advance for the weekend. He was waiting in front of Sancha’s building when it was still early for dinner.

Sancha came out in a beautiful white dress. She was not surprised to see Zhao Manyan, and greeted him with a smile.

Zhao Manyan had already booked their seats in a restaurant. It was in Banlo City, which was around a hundred kilometers away from the Aorus Sacred Institute.

Banlo City was an important city in the Andes Federation. It might become the Andes Federation’s capital once the federation was truly established. The city itself was modern and huge, a central point between many countries and the main junction for railways, sea transportation, roads, and flight paths leading to other cities in the Andes Federation.

Zhao Manyan and Sancha arrived at Banlo City soon enough. The Aorus Sacred Institute was only a school despite its luxurious grounds, incomparable to a modern city. The towering buildings of different heights were glowing magnificently under the orange sky in the evening. It was a familiar sight to Zhao Manyan, who was used to living in Shanghai. He felt a little uneasy living in the more open Aorus Sacred Institute.

The city was congested, but not because there were a lot of vehicles on the road. Many of the roads were sealed because a huge protest was taking place.

Protests were very common in foreign countries. Whenever some organizations’ interests were affected by a new policy, lots of people would hold a protest on the streets, as if it was going to make any difference.

“Has Banlo City always been this lively?” It was Zhao Manyan’s first time here, and they were traveling by road. He felt it would be quicker to just fly to their destination.

“It has been like this since the countries decided to establish the Andes Federations. Two different people will have conflicts and contradicting views, not to mention merging different countries with over a hundred million people,” Sancha said helplessly.

“That’s true, I heard the Andes Federation has a few factions. The competition is quite fierce between them,” Zhao Manyan agreed thoughtfully.

“There are two main parties currently. One is the Greens, which used to be the old government. Their flag is green, hence their name. They are hoping each country will retain their jurisdiction. In simpler words, they are against the idea of forming a federation. They think some of the countries can’t adapt to the new laws, which will also greatly restrict the operations of their own countries.

“The other party is the Yellows. The new flag for the Andes Federation is yellow. They are hoping every country will sign the agreement to establish the federation they can form a superpower country that dominates South America, like the United States does North America…” Sancha said.

“The ideas are good,” Zhao Manyan observed.

“The Andes Mountains have a lot of mines. Many mines have had clear boundaries in the past to decide their ownership, but there was a huge fight over the ownership of a Lightning Pentagons mine on the Sun-Gathering Peak recently. The policymakers have rushed the decision to form the federation because of the invasion of sea monsters, but they need to consider a lot of other aspects, or its society will have a lot of problems.” Sancha was visibly worried about the future of the federation.

Zhao Manyan could not have cared less about other countries’ business. Not every country was as peaceful as his. It was very common for countries in South American and Africa to turn over a new government.

“We went from discussing musicians to policymakers. We are worried about a lot of things,” Zhao Manyan switched the topic adroitly. He did not want to waste too much time on the Andes Federations’ problems. It would only slow his progress of establishing a closer relationship with this woman!

Chapter 2230: The Murderous Conductor

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Banlo Opera House was in the center of the city, to the east of its Central Park. Its backdrop was a few tall mountains.

The two walked past the Central Park. To their relief, the protest parade did not come through the park, or it would have been crowded too. The concert would have been munch less enjoyable if they were soaked in sweat by the time they reached the opera hall.

Even though going to an opera was mainly an audible experience, the process was important too! Dressing up for the concert, putting on some perfume to blend in with the wealthy of the city while being on a date with a woman he admired! It did not matter whether they were just friends or a couple. The sense of art was more important than being fickle, impatient, anxious, and uncivilized.

Zhao Manyan was the son of the richest man in his homeland. He cared about the social details more than anyone else. Sancha was obviously a perfectionist, too. They were standing out among the crowd of finely-dressed people in the Central Park.

The brightly lit concert hall was extravagantly decorated. Golden musical instruments were shining on the stage. The glamorous ladies took their seats first, followed by the gentlemen.

The strange thing was that, Sancha would normally see a few familiar faces around at an important concert like this. They also indulged in the pleasure of enjoying musical concerts, yet she did not see any of her old friends.

Sancha was actually a little relieved for some reason.

She would have no idea how to introduce Lecturer Zhao to her friends. They did not have to be a couple to attend a concert together, but she knew her fiancée was a suspicious person. She did not want those she knew to trouble Lecturer Zhao after the concert.

She also did not want her fiancée to intervene in her personal life, but it was a taboo for someone’s girlfriend to go out with a stranger in China.

Sancha shook her head to clear her thoughts.

The concert hall was built to contain around five hundred people. It was not a huge concert venue, but it was definitely comfortable inside the hall, feeling more like a private hearing. Even the seats were high-quality sofas.

—

The piano started playing. Sancha and Zhao Manyan were ready to enjoy the concert.

However, they both frowned after a while.

Zhao Manyan whispered after exchanging glances with Sancha, “Something doesn’t sound right.”

“You noticed it too? It’s not the piece we are familiar with,” Sancha murmured back.

Sancha purposely observed other people’s reactions as they were talking. The others seemed to be enjoying the music, as if nothing was wrong with it.

However, something was obviously wrong with the piece. The pianist was barely a professional, let alone a master!

“Is there something wrong with our hearing?” Sancha wondered.

There were around five hundred people in the hall. Not everyone was used to first-class music, but it was strange that no one except for them had noticed the pianist’s errors!

“I don’t think so…” Zhao Manyan was confused too.

The pianist soon played a confusing melody. Both Sancha and Zhao Manyan picked up the presence of magic. The notes being played suddenly felt murderous, as if they were lunging at the two!

“It’s the Sound Element!” Zhao Manyan was astounded.

What were the performers doing? They were attacking the audience with the Sound Element. They were going to ruin their careers!

The shockwave created by the piano knocked the musical instruments to the ground. The strings were emitting piercing noises.

Sancha tried to Cast a defensive spell, but the piercing noise broke the links of her Star Pattern.

“Light Protection!”

Zhao Manyan’s Will was a lot stronger than Sancha’s. He managed to complete a Light Star Pattern under the disturbance of the noise.

The Light formed a golden Rampart in front of Zhao Manyan and Sancha. However, the shockwave easily penetrated his first layer of defense.

It was difficult to stop the Sound Element. Zhao Manyan was only trying to weaken the attack.

Their ears were hurting like they were being stabbed with needles, followed by heavy blows to their heads.

“Damn it!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

He had been watching the student who was likely a spy from the Black Vatican closely. He noticed the student kept watching Sancha’s every move. It was possible that the Black Vatican was interested in her, so Zhao Manyan had decided to approach Sancha to see what the Black Vatican was up to.

He thought the Black Vatican would not make their move at such a luxurious concert in the middle of the city, but he was wrong!

“Who are you?” Sancha pointed at the performers angrily.

The conductor in a tuxedo had a wild grin as he played with his silver baton. They had no idea why he looked so pleased with himself.

“Miss Sancha, we have put in a lot of effort just to set up this meeting. Are you enjoying the concert that we’ve specifically prepared for you so far?” the conductor asked smugly.

“You are in the middle of Banlo City. There are so many people here too. Do you think you will get your way? I didn’t expect the Greens would act so shamelessly!” Sancha seemed to recognize the man.

“We just want your father’s vote. We aren’t asking too much. As the CEO of the bank who has control over the economy of a few countries, he can earn money from either the Andes Federation or the Andes Rebellion. You businessmen will always be the winner as long as society is stable,” the conductor said as he left the stage.

Sancha ignored the man. She told Zhao Manyan, “Lecturer Zhao, we must leave this place at once. Don’t worry, there are other people here. That man is competing in the election. He won’t dare harm innocent people!”

“I’m afraid not, these upper-class citizens… I’m afraid they are all actors whom that man has hired,” Zhao Manyan smiled wryly.

Chapter 2231: I’m Not Leaving!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

They might have had a chance to escape if they had realized the audience was not real earlier, but they had now fallen into a trap which their enemies had planned so thoroughly. It was unlikely that their enemies would hesitate to proceed with their plan!

Sancha looked around her and noticed the audience was not surprised by the conductor’s reckless behavior. They all rose to their feet and looked at her instead.

“They bought out every ticket for the concert and waited for you to take the bait. Everyone here is their people… no wonder they didn’t notice the errors. They weren’t here for the concert; they were here for you,” Zhao Manyan stated grimly.

These people had planned a lot to kidnap the daughter of someone who might influence the decision of establishing the Andes Federation.

They had organized a high-class concert and disguised themselves as the guests. Zhao Manyan somehow felt like the hundred thousand he had spent on the ticket was well worth it!

The only problem was that he was just trying to approach Sancha to find out what the Black Vatican wanted from her. On the other hand, he was also trying to take some revenge on Zhao Youqian. He did not expect to be involved in such a mess!

“Miss Sancha, we didn’t have a choice either. We have nowhere to go once the Andes Federation is established,” The conductor stepped closer.

“So you decided to kidnap me to blackmail my father?” Sancha snarled.

“It’s just an option. Just think of yourself as Chile’s goddess. You can lend us a hand and save us all,” the conductor replied evenly.

“Not going to happen. You are trying to hold on to your power out of greed. You can only blame yourself for it,” Sancha said stiffly.

“Then I guess we don’t have a choice. I hope you will like the concert we have prepared for you,” the conductor said coldly. “Do it; leave Miss Sancha alive and kill the other!”

Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened when he heard those words.

What the heck was going on? He was just a passerby. If they felt like he was a nuisance, he could just leave on his own and pretend nothing had happened. Why did they have to silence him?

“I’m sorry for involving you in this mess,” Sancha told Zhao Manyan apologetically.

“Now is not really the time for it, but I think the man is right. They are the martyrs of a revolution. They will be charged with treason if they lose. Why don’t you give them a chance?” Zhao Manyan said.

“They won’t let me leave even if I agreed to their condition. They will continue to blackmail my father as long as I’m alive,” Sancha said.

“Being alive isn’t that bad,” Zhao Manyan had to say.

Sancha shook her head. She did not want to cause more unrest in South America!

“(Sigh), guess I don’t have a choice either,” Zhao Manyan shook his head helplessly when he saw Sancha was unwilling to change her mind. “I can keep them at bay for a while. I bet someone as important as you will have bodyguards nearby. I can hold on until they arrive.”

“There are so many of them. How are you going to last until they arrive?” Sancha asked.

“Stop worrying so much. Just call for backup. We are in the middle of the city. They won’t be able to cover up the presence of their magic even if they have occupied the entire venue,” Zhao Manyan ordered her.

Sancha was hoping Zhao Manyan would run away on his own. These people had come for her. Zhao Manyan should be able to protect himself.

However, Zhao Manyan did not run away, and remained by her side. The people in the hall began Channeling their spells, like hundreds of battle horns pouring at them from all directions. Sancha felt like she was going to suffocate under the pressure.

“Moon Shell!”

It was a piece of magic Equipment which could provide him with the energy to Cast a Super Light Spell. Zhao Manyan knew the conductor would not give him a chance to construct a Star Palace, so he activated the Tool right away.

The magic Equipment immediately supplied Zhao Manyan with an enormous amount of energy so he could Cast a Super Spell!

A bright light burst out of the Moon Shell and enclosed the area Zhao Manyan and Sancha were standing in.

There were sparkles across the place. The luxurious decorations in the concert hall shattered into pieces, and the comfortable sofas were no exception. Even the stairs leading to the seats had collapsed!

“Control your magic!” the conductor instructed his men.

He did not want Sancha to end up dead in the blast. Otherwise, not only would they fail to earn her father’s support, he would do everything to avenge his daughter!

However, the conductor saw that Zhao Manyan and Sancha were perfectly unharmed after the smoke cleared. A silver Light had encapsulated them. The Light had dimmed, with some cracks around it, yet not a single spell had managed to penetrate it.

“Is the Light he Summoned made of steel? Keep attacking!” the conductor commanded anxiously.

More Star Constellations appeared across the hall. Their light was brighter than the lighting in the hall. The whole place began to shake vigorously, yet the people on the Central Plaza were not surprised, since the hall shook whenever the drums were rolling during a concert!

“Control your magic!” the conductor reminded them when he noticed the hall shaking so violently.

They were currently at the center of the city. The Auras of their magic were going to attract the attention of nearby Mages. They would have a hard time leaving if Mages responsible for policing the city arrived.

Around a hundred of the Mages established barriers along the walls of the hall to prevent the building from collapsing.

A huge cloud of smoke rose following the blasts. Many of them thought the man and the woman had evaporated in the middle of the blasts. They might not even find their corpses!

To their surprise, a blue barrier gradually appeared to them. The man and woman were standing close to one another inside it, perfectly unharmed!

The Mages almost lost their minds.

Did they fire their spells into space or something? How did the two not even have a single bruise?

“Damn it, who are you? Why are you interfering with our business?” the conductor snarled.

“I’m a lecturer at the Aorus Sacred Institute!” Zhao Manyan replied forthrightly.

“I don’t care who you are. You should leave at once! Those who oppose us never have a good ending!” the conductor yelled.

“F**k me, weren’t you the one who asked who I am?” Zhao Manyan lost his temper. “You were threatening to silence me permanently just a moment ago, and now you are asking me to leave? Are you treating me like a dog you can ask to come and go as you please? I’ve decided, I’m not leaving! Let’s see what you are going to do to me!” Zhao Manyan shouted right back.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“They only have five minutes at most. I have a device that will send a signal to my nearest bodyguards once in a while. I can turn it off if something goes wrong. They will realize I’m in danger if they don’t receive the signal. However, I’m worried that you can’t fend them off for five minutes, considering their numbers!” Sancha said quietly.

Sancha was extremely touched that Zhao Manyan was willing to stay for her sake. She might look tough, but she was still a woman, after all. She would be troubled if someone was trying to harm her, let alone these martyrs who were willing to do anything to achieve their goals!

There were around five hundred people in the hall who were coming after her!

“Five minutes? It shouldn’t be a problem. These people have to go easy on the building, too. They wouldn’t dare use spells that are too powerful,” Zhao Manyan calculated quickly.

Zhao Manyan activated another piece of magic Equipment as he was talking. A half-transparent blue armor with gold edges fell over them. The armor was not very big, so Zhao Manyan had to carry Sancha in his arms so the Mantle could cover both of them.

“They can’t force you to do something you don’t want as long as I’m around.” Zhao Manyan looked into Sancha’s eyes. He had a mature and firm air about him that was different from his usual handsome appearance.

Sancha did not expect the young and handsome lecturer to be so reliable. She was perfectly safe even while a few hundred Mages were attacking them. It was like a peaceful bird’s nest by the edge of a cliff. It was dry, comfortable, and warm inside, despite the wild storm on the outside.

The conductor almost snapped his silver baton in half. Those two were being lovey-dovey in front of them. Were they seriously treating them like idiots?

“Try defending against my Magic Concerto!” the conductor yelled.

Cook looked like a typical magician in the Americas as he waved his silver baton around. He was still dressed in a black tuxedo, wielding the baton in his hand.

Cook did not need an orchestra. It was like he could play every instrument by himself!

The drum rolls came first, followed by heavy metal and rock, which were the complete opposite of the jazz instruments on the stage.

The beats and melody of the heavy metal and rock poured into Zhao Manyan’s mind, but they were not just plain music. It felt like devils with metal musical instruments were pounding his head non-stop. His skull was about to break because of it!

It felt like a bunch of rascals had just invaded his calm mind and Spiritual World while smashing everything they came upon. Every vein and bone in his mind was being tortured.

It would be surprising if he did not end up in a vegetative state because of the torture, let alone using his magic. Zhao Manyan never liked facing a Sound Mage, as their abilities were totally unreasonable!

“I have a Heart-Calming Talisman!” Sancha exclaimed.

“Quick!” Zhao Manyan gasped.

Sancha attached the talisman to Zhao Manyan’s chest. A soothing chime rang inside his messed-up mind to purge the noise. His mind had never felt so calm. Even the Stars and Galaxies in his Spiritual World began shining brightly.

The talisman was even enhancing his magic. It was the best thing that Zhao Manyan could ask for!

“We won’t last for five minutes as long as the Sound Mage is here. Come with me!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Mm!” Sancha nodded, trusting him.

The Mantle did not last for another half a minute. It was soon filled with cracks as lightning began penetrating it like drills.

The magic of other Elements poured in from all directions as soon as the mantle disappeared. There was no escape from them.

Zhao Manyan hugged Sancha tightly. His eyes were rippling like water.

His body was transforming too. Water was flowing through every part of his body, and pouring at Sancha too.

The Elements mixed with one another and caused rapid explosions, but Zhao Manyan and Sancha merely sank into the ground like water amid all the attacks.

Water was flowing inside the concert hall, that was now beyond recognition as it was immersed. Both Zhao Manyan’s and Sancha’s bodies blended with the water and began flowing away from the blasting spells.

Cook thought his men had overdone it and blasted the two into a pool of blood, but he realized it might be their way of escaping when he noticed the water was not evaporating, even when there were flames around.

Cook had never seen a trick like this. Only Shadow Mages were able to blend into other substances!

—

Water was flowing out of the building toward the fountain. Two faces surfaced on the clear water, which slowly rose into the air and outlined the silhouette of a man.

The water clouded up and slowly gained color. The water began falling off like a coat, revealing Zhao Manyan in his suit.

“Are you alright?” Zhao Manyan reached his hand into the water and pulled Sancha out like a magic trick. The water on her fell off as she was rising, leaving her dress perfectly clean and white.

“I’m fine… you are better than I thought!” Sancha was overjoyed.

She did not expect to escape in one piece. The concert hall had felt like an inescapable dungeon to her. If she had gone on her own, she would never have been able to escape safely.

She was very impressed by Zhao Manyan’s strength. It was rare to find a strong man with great taste nowadays!

“Are they going to chase us?” Zhao Manyan looked at the concert hall worriedly.

“No, they only dared to act recklessly inside the building!” Sancha harrumphed coldly.

“What a concert that was. We should head back to the Aorus Sacred Institute and have a cup of coffee to get over the shock,” Zhao Manyan suggested, as if this happened every day.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Mages under Cook did not leave the concert hall. They knew they were at the center of Banlo City. If they used their magic outside of the concert hall, they would be asking for death. Both the Magic Association and the leaders in Banlo City would execute them right on the spot.

Zhao Manyan looked back at the concert hall. He saw the conductor in a tuxedo, Cook, standing on top of the building. He combed back his disheveled fringe of hair, revealing vicious eyes filled with resentment.

He was staring at Zhao Manyan, who had ruined everything!

“Let’s hope their faction doesn’t win. Otherwise, I might die very soon!” Zhao Manyan rubbed his nose.

“They won’t.”

Sancha heard a strange noise coming from the concert hall after she finished the sentence.

Cook was holding a dagger in his hand, and had stabbed himself in the throat. His blood was pouring down like a spring.

The fresh blood stained Cook’s tuxedo, yet his eyes were still glaring at Zhao Manyan, as if he was about to turn into a vengeful spirit.

His life drained away rapidly. He eventually fell from the building into the fountain outside the hall. He was dead.

“It looks like he doesn’t want to implicate his superiors.” Zhao Manyan was not surprised by Cook’s decision.

Their political parties were known to the public, and they might become leaders of the countries around the Andes Mountains. The Yellows had gone to extreme measures in trying to kidnap the daughter of a bank’s CEO for his vote. The man who controlled the economy of the Andes Federation was surely going to make the Yellows pay in less than a day.

Cook was leading the operation. He had no chance of survival under the pressure of someone so powerful.

Unfortunately for him, his operation had failed. Killing himself meant he was bearing full responsibility for his actions. It had nothing to do with his party.

Either way, he was already a dead man!

“They are like a bunch of lunatics. They will do anything to achieve their goals. I’m not planning to tell my father what happened,” Sancha sighed.

“You are worried that your father might do something reckless?” Zhao Manyan asked.

Sancha shook her head and replied, “The truth is, a kidnapping won’t alter my father’s decision. His eyes are only focused on the Andes Federation. I’m just a tool for him to gather more resources through marriage.” She sighed. “Forget it, you will never understand it, since you don’t have a background like mine. I have no intention to involve you in my mess, either.”

Zhao Manyan smiled.

He would never understand? His family might be richer than hers!

The marriage she had mentioned was obviously an arranged marriage between families that were well-matched in terms of social status.

The Zhao Financial Group was cooperating with the Andes Federation Bank. They were using the marriage between Zhao Youqian and Sancha to build trust on both sides. Zhao Manyan was well aware of Sancha’s situation from the very beginning. He also realized why Zhao Youqian had chosen Sancha as his fiancée.

“Let’s go back to the Aorus Sacred Institute. It’s safer there.” Sancha did not even bother looking at Cook’s corpse.

Sancha knew making the incident public would only cause more conflicts. She had no choice but to keep quiet about it, despite the shock and humiliation she had gone through. It was enough relief that she was unharmed. However, she had no clue if she would be so lucky as to have a reliable Mage by her side the next time!

“Mm, I’ll escort you home,” Zhao Manyan said.

——

Zhao Manyan helped Sancha as they walked through the Central Plaza. A man in a jacket came up to them in a panic.

“Miss Sancha, are you alright? I didn’t receive the signal from you!” the man exclaimed.

“I’m fine, I turned it off by accident. I didn’t want it to disturb me while I was enjoying the concert,” Sancha replied smoothly.

“Oh, that’s great… you must be Lecturer Zhao Yanzu, I was in your patrol class!” the man said with a smile.

“Aren’t you the guy who destroyed the fields of a village?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise.

“Yes, that was my bad. Actually, I’m Miss Sancha’s bodyguard. I know you are a powerful Mage, so I didn’t follow you two very closely. Miss Sancha prefers to have some personal space,” the student said sincerely.

“You are dismissed,” Sancha waved her hand. She did not want to talk too much with the bodyguard.

“Understood, about the concert…”

“I don’t want you to utter nonsense in front of my father,” Sancha glared at him.

“Understood. Either way, I should thank Lecturer Zhao Yanzu for his help,” the student agreed promptly.

——

Zhao Manyan fell into deep thought as he watched the student leave.

He still had no clue what the student was up to. Was he using the identity of a bodyguard to hide his affiliation with the Black Vatican? Or was he pretending to be a bodyguard to approach Sancha?…

After all, Zhao Manyan had yet to see him do anything suspicious, except for destroying the fields that had been planted with Frenzy Poppies to get rid of the evidence.

“If he’s a bodyguard, he should be stronger than he seems if he’s disguising himself as a student. I wonder what level he is in the Black Vatican,” Zhao Manyan mumbled to himself.

“Do you feel like you are being watched? If you are uncomfortable with it…” Sancha said apologetically after she noticed the frown on Zhao Manyan’s face.

“I don’t mind it ,since I enjoyed my time with you. That being said, your bodyguard is a little slow to react. Those people might have turned the concert hall into an enclosed cage, but it took him so long just to arrive. I’m not sure if he’s a capable bodyguard,” Zhao Manyan warned her.

“I should really thank you,” Sancha forced a smile.

“You don’t have to. If you really want to repay my kindness, you may perform a piece for me. I believe your skills are on par with the masters who perform on stage. I might be able to forget the unpleasant stuff today if I can enjoy your performance alone,” Zhao Manyan suggested.

“Where should we go then?”

“Is your place convenient?”

“Mm… sure,” Sancha nodded after a slight hesitation.

Zhao Manyan remained calm on the surface, but the song of victory was already playing in his heart!

He should thank the martyrs for lending him a hand to speed up his progress!

Chapter 2234: Your Two Husbands?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The sunny season suited the Aorus Sacred Institute the most. The sunlight and blossoming flowers were essential to set off the school’s charm, like a sky garden from ancient Babylon.

The scent of the flowers lingered in every corner of the school. When they opened the windows in the morning, the pleasant scent was greeting them like a woman whom they were fond of jumping into their arms.

“You’re an animal!”

“You’re a f**king animal!”

“People like you were locked up with the pigs in ancient times,” Mu Bai went on.

Mo Fan looked at Mu Bai. He could not think of a more suitable term to describe Zhao Manyan. He simply added, “You’re an animal!”

“We were just sharing our interest in music,” Zhao Manyan argued.

“For the whole night?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not really, we also discussed red wine, coffee beans, and culinary arts, things that people like you aren’t fancy about,” Zhao Manyan answered.

“How many times in total?” Mo Fan pressed.

“Just two… our relationship is pure and innocent.”

“Did you wear a condom?”

“It’s her safe time… ” Zhao Manyan sighed, “That’s enough, it’s really not what you are thinking. I might have had ulterior motives when I approached her in the first place. I was trying to get my revenge on my brother through my future sister-in-law, but I realized we have a lot in common, like she’s my soulmate. She can immediately understand me when I briefly touch upon a topic. It’s obvious that she doesn’t like Zhao Youqian, that assh***. Luckily, I met her in time to prevent a brilliant woman like her from falling into the hands of a vicious man with poor tastes. Anyway, it’s true love between us,” Zhao Manyan pontificated.

“Mm, Pan Jinlian and Wu Da-lang said the same thing too,” Mo Fan nodded.

{TL Note: Wu Da-lang was murdered by his adulterous wife, Pan Jinlian.}

Zhao Manyan could no longer keep calm. He snapped, “A man like you who keeps thinking of having two wives has no right to judge me! As for you, you don’t even have a girlfriend. You have no idea what true love is!”

“Fine, we are both animals,” Mo Fan spread his arms. He had nothing else to say if Zhao Manyan insisted on taking him down too.

“Why does it have anything to do with me?” Mu Bai complained. He did not do anything at all!

“You are worse than an animal!” both Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan shouted at the same time.

“…”

————

Humans were very realistic. Ever since Mo Fan had beaten the crap out of Nelson, his classes were always fully booked.

After all, magic theory had to be compatible with practical skills. Most people only believed in what they saw. They did not care about Mo Fan’s advanced ideas.

Mo Fan adjusted his glasses after finishing a class that was now full of students. He was very pleased with himself.

A genius like him could easily dominate every field to which he devoted his time!

He went to the coffeehouse and rested for the afternoon.

He enjoyed coming to the coffeehouse. The reasons were simple. He could lay on the spacious balcony that was covered in white sand and enjoy the view of the blue sea. Most importantly, the female students would come here in their bikinis and sunbathe. They might even untie the strings on their backs to make sure the tan was perfect. Some might even place their bras to the side, so others could tell their cup sizes just by looking at them!

A sunbath was no different from a picnic in the park if the girls were not comparing their cup sizes!

It was one of the good things about foreign women. They were open-minded enough to share their good things with others.

Mo Fan looked around the beach and quickly noticed a pair of adorable peach-colored bras that were roughly the size of an E cup placed beside their owner.

The owner turned her head to the side to grab something and noticed Mo Fan’s gaze.

Mo Fan froze with an awkward expression.

He was a teacher, yet he was caught in his shameless act!

“Hey, aren’t you Lecturer Mo Yifan?” the girl blurted out in surprise. She did not mind Mo Fan’s gaze at all.

“Hello there, your badges are hindering my preparation for my next class,” Mo Fan said.

“My bust size was already a D when I was ten. I’m twenty now, but my breasts haven’t grown a lot more. I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Winnie, a student from Lecturer Brianca’s faction,” Winnie said. She reached out like she was going to shake Mo Fan’s hand.

Mo Fan looked surprised. He quickly said, “Well, it’s a little inconvenient for us to shake hands. Why don’t you give me a hug?”

Winnie realized she had found a worthy opponent.

Meanwhile, a man in a suit and another in casual clothes approached them, going straight up to Winnie. The former shared the exciting things he had encountered during the day, while the other started applying sunscreen to Winnie’s back.

Mo Fan felt extremely awkward, and placed his attention on his book instead.

He caught a glimpse of Winnie kissing the man who was applying sunscreen on her back before kissing the talkative man in a suit.

Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

Holy crap, they are having a threesome in broad daylight!

The student seriously deserved a scolding for doing it in public!

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, these are my two husbands. I bet you won’t remember their names even if I tell you. Why don’t we continue with our conversation?” Winnie asked him.

“Say what?” Mo Fan was stunned. What did she mean by her two husbands? “Did I hear that right?” Mo Fan blurted out.

“What do you mean?”

“Your TWO husbands?” Mo Fan emphasized.

“Yeah, what’s wrong with it?” Winnie asked naturally. She quickly explained after she realized something, “I can tell you are really clueless. The Aorus Sacred Institute does not restrict the number of husbands and wives of its citizens. I’m not a playgirl like you think. They are both my legal husbands.”

Legal husbands…

It sounded oddly thrilling!

Zhao Manyan had mocked his dream earlier today, yet Mo Fan had immediately learned such a shocking piece of information.

“This country doesn’t practice monogamy?” Mo Fan asked softly, with a hint of excitement.

“You can be polygamous if you want. It’s up to you. There’s no such thing as the one and only in this world. The Aorus Sacred Institute doesn’t restrict human nature. Speaking of which, I’m looking for my third husband. My two husbands aren’t bad, but I always feel like I’m taking the lead. As a woman, I’m hoping to find a man who’s stronger than me in many areas. Well, he must at least be a stronger Mage than me,” Winnie said, staring at Mo Fan enticingly.

Chapter 2235: The Skull on Your Shoulder

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan went back to his apartment and told Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai the exciting news.

Mu Bai acted like he already knew about it, but Zhao Manyan had a strange expression.

“She told me she had a fiancée yesterday, but she didn’t really mind. Did she mean…” Zhao Manyan was too scared to think about it.

“It’s very likely she baited you instead,” Mo Fan confirmed.

Zhao Manyan almost lost his mind.

It meant Sancha did not mind having a relationship with both him and his brother!

Zhao Manyan was planning to get some revenge by hooking up with Zhao Youqian’s fiancée, yet it was him who was tricked in the end!

It was like roars of thunder were echoing across the sunny sky. Zhao Manyan went back to his room. He felt like he was not ready to face such an evil world for the time being.

——

Mo Fan went to the Dean’s office that evening. To his surprise, the Dean who rarely stayed in his office was there. The Elemental Chief, Green, was in the office, too. They seemed to be discussing something important.

“The Andes Federation’s decision is really troublesome for us,” Schierling, the Dean of the Aorus Sacred Institute, commented.

“We’ll give them our answer in a few days… I think Lecturer Mo Yifan is outside. It looks like he’s here for something urgent,” Green noticed.

They ended their conversation and invited Mo Fan into the office.

Mo Fan saw them with pleased faces, like two elderly men who enjoyed reading newspapers while enjoying a cup of tea. They seemed to be admiring him a bit.

A talented man will be popular wherever he goes, Mo Fan thought. “Dean, may I apply for a position as a long-term lecturer?” Mo Fan asked.

“Ah, you would like to join the Aorus Sacred Institute. Did our school’s marvelous vision convince you to join us? That’s great, the doors of the Aorus Sacred Institute are always open for a talent like you,” Green said.

“Not really, I just want to have two wives,” Mo Fan said honestly.

“Alright, that’s also part of our school’s vision,” Green managed to say awkwardly.

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, if you join our school, it means you are going to become a citizen of the Aorus Sacred Institute too…” the Dean pointed out.

“Huh?” Mo Fan scratched his head.

His homeland had nurtured him well. He might have to reconsider before changing his citizenship. One was his dream, while the other was his nationality. He was struggling to make a decision!

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, we do accept dual nationality,” Green spoke up.

“But my homeland doesn’t allow it,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Then I guess we can’t help you. You will have to make the call yourself,” Green said helplessly.

Dean knew Mo Fan was not willing to forfeit his Chinese citizenship. He said patiently, “There’s always a way. Lecturer Mo Yifan, do you support multifaith?”

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan was confused.

“The Aorus Sacred Institute has its own religion, too. You can also enjoy the benefits of a citizen by registering yourself as a disciple of our religion. Your country doesn’t restrict your religion, does it?” Dean said.

“You’re right! Thank you for your guidance,” Mo Fan spoke up agreeably.

“There’s always a way indeed!” Green smiled.

The Dean nodded. He looked at Mo Fan’s shoulder and saw something lustrous like a jade, yet it resembled a skull when he took a closer look.

“Lecturer Mo Yifan, that thing on your shoulder…” Dean asked.

“I’m carrying the honorable mission of the Aorus Sacred Institute on my shoulders!” Mo Fan declared firmly.

The Dean coughed and emphasized, “I’m asking about the object on your shoulder.”

“Oh, I thought you were asking me to devote myself. It’s a skull. I found it in the Hillmen’s cave during an excursion. I can’t seem to destroy it with my flames, so I find it quite interesting. I took it as a souvenir,” Mo Fan answered.

Oh, Little Flame Belle, it was already quite spooky that you enjoyed playing with a skull, yet you didn’t put your toy away after you were done playing with it. No wonder the girls were looking at me weirdly on the way here!

“The hillmen have always given our school a huge headache. They are like a bunch of devils preying on our school’s sacred land,” Green sighed.

“Can you give the skull to me?” the Dean requested of him.

“Huh?” Mo Fan did not expect the Dean to ask for the skull.

It was a difficult decision to make. Little Flame Belle had enjoyed matching her strength against the skull lately. She might leave home again if he gave away her favorite toy. His daughter’s temper had worsened after she grew up. It was not easy to trick her as he had in the past.

“I can’t tell you what its uses are, but I sincerely hope you can give it to me. Oh, it’s not part of your request to join our school. How about this? I’ll trade it for something else. It’s a blessing that you are willing to join our school. The skull is just a personal deal between us,” the Dean assured him.

“Well…” Mo Fan was even more troubled.

“I have a piece of amber that I obtained when I held a position in the Holy Judgment Court. It’s as useful as the Lightning Pentagons, which have been a hot topic lately. Do you think it’s a fair trade?” The Dean took out a piece of amber that was emitting white steam.

Mo Fan was going to appraise it when Little Loach Pendant started shaking vigorously. It might even have lunged at the piece of amber right away if there were no outsiders around!

Can’t it behave more like a pendant? Was it so difficult to behave itself? It is acting like it just saw a pretty girl!

Mo Fan withheld the Little Loach Pendant’s urge and said with a troubled face, “If the Dean fancies the skull, I don’t mind agreeing with the trade.”

“Thank you so much!” The Dean was overjoyed.

“You’re welcome.”

——

Mo Fan quickly found a quiet corner after leaving the Dean’s office.

Little Loach only needed a little more energy to upgrade his Lightning Element to the second-tier of the Super Level. He was having trouble finding another Lightning Pentagon after the mine was taken over by the federation.

To his surprise, the Dean had a similar piece that was of the Fire Element!

It did not really matter. It was still beneficial for him if Little Loach ended up improving his Fire Element after refining the amber. His Fire Element was less stable than his Lightning Element. He could use this as a chance to improve his Fire Element!

——

“Ling~,” Little Flame Belle woke up from her nap. She flew back and forth in the room. Her insane speed using the Space Element made it look like there were over a dozen of her moving inside the room.

“Little Flame Belle, I told you to put your toy away whenever you are done playing with it so you won’t lose it. Humph, I have a piece of rock. Little Loach has absorbed its energy. You can play with it instead!”

“Ling!~” Little Flame Belle nodded in joy.

Little did she know, Mo Fan was basically tricking her, the equivalent of saying, I’ll help you keep your money until you have graduated from high school!

Chapter 2236: The Ninth Mound

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Knock knock knock!

Mo Fan was thinking of taking a nap when he heard the loud knocks on his door.

He had been a lot busier ever since he became a teacher, as students with ulterior motives would keep visiting him with whatever excuse they could think of. Sighing, he considered that the way he had been acting was definitely not worthy to be called an animal!

“Lecturer, lecturer, I just recalled something!” Lily blurted out excitedly after the door was opened.

Mo Fan was disappointed. Why did it have to be this ugly chick? “What did you recall?” he asked politely.

“There’s a place where you might find the clues you want!” Lily spoke up.

“Where is it?” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered.

The Black Vatican was done harvesting the Frenzy Poppies. He had no idea how much Frenzy Liquid the Black Vatican could produce from the Frenzy Poppies. There was no way Salan would wash her hands in a gold basin so easily. The incidents she was responsible for in China had raised her reputation as a Goddess of Death across the world. She was already brewing another conspiracy, and it was very likely to take place in the Americas!

The problem was that they had no idea which city was her next target, given the size of the Americas. The clues they had found had yet to lead them to a key person in the Black Vatican.

“A mound in the Andes Mountains!” Lily declared.

Mo Fan immediately called Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan over. Mu Bai filtered out the special places the Aorus Sacred Institute had established in the Andes Mountains, and found thirteen mounds scattered across the mountains.

“What are these mounds used for?” Zhao Manyan asked, looking confused.

“The kingdom of the demon creatures in the Andes Mountains is comparable to Mount Kunlun. The Aorus Sacred Institute is very close to the Andes Mountains, without any cities nearby. Even if the school has a solid defense, there’s a den of demon creatures covering over ten thousand square kilometers outside it. These mounds serve as fire beacon towers between the territory of the school and the Andes Mountains. The school can observe the movement of the demon creatures in the Andes Mountains through these mounds, like whether the demon creatures are gathering or roaming, or if demon creatures above the Commander-level are on the move. The mounds will reflect this information to the school right away so it can react accordingly,” Mu Bai told them all.

“These thirteen mounds are like the school’s alarm system in the wild, but aren’t some of them a little too deep in the mountains? They are located on some of the taller mountains. Does the school assign people to these mounds? Even Super Mages might not survive on those mountains!” Zhao Manyan pointed at a few of the dots on the map.

“These mounds are more like posts the school uses to observe the Andes Kingdom of Demon Creatures. It’s hard to say if they are occupied all the time. The place Lily recalled is the Ninth Mound.” Mu Bai pointed at a location with uneven terrain.

“Aren’t the lecturers responsible for patrolling these mounds? They were also considered the most difficult patrols!” Mo Fan remembered.

Patrolling the mounds was no different from invading the dens of some demon creatures. Most importantly, even though the fire beacon towers were mainly used for observing the demon creatures, there were no reinforcements if anything went wrong!

“I’ll get more information about these mounds from the school,” Mu Bai proposed.

——

Mu Bai went to the school’s Security Department, which was focused on the school’s safety. The mounds were under their management.

Mu Bai found a clerk in the office, who was trimming her nails. She was currently in her thirties, at the point where she was only wasting her money trying to conserve her youthful looks, which she should have done at a younger age.

“Hi, I’m a guest lecturer of the school, Mu Han. My colleagues and I are thinking of earning some extra money. We heard the mount patrols have the highest pay, so we are interested in them,” Mu Bai asked.

If the Black Vatican had spies in the school, they had to stick to their disguises as teachers of the school. Dean Xiao had made the smart choice of suggesting they disguise themselves as guest lecturers. If they were students, they would struggle to get things done!

“What do you want to know?” the clerk answered lazily.

Mu Bai was just about to ask some questions when he caught a pungent smell.

He glanced at the nail polish the clerk was using, yet the smell did not seem to come from it. Could it be the woman had put on enough perfume to marinate her flesh?

“What’s behind there? Is it a storage area?” Mu Bai pointed at a door behind the clerk’s desk.

The smell was coming from there…

“Yeah, resources are stored here before they are transported to the mountains. Is there any problem?” The clerk continued to apply her nail polish.

“May I take a look at them?” Mu Bai asked her.

“Go ahead.”

A strong smell assailed Mu Bai’s nostrils as he approached the door. He almost broke out in tears from it.

Mu Bai was very sensitive to odors as a Poison and Plant Mage. The clerk might think the smell was soothing, yet it felt like a slow poison to Mu Bai!

The storage area was empty when Mu Bai walked inside, but the odor that lingered on the floor and the walls were too strong. Mu Bai had been conducting experiments on the Frenzy Poppies lately, so he was very sensitive to their scent!

“Damn it, it’s the Black Vatican!” Mu Bai had a cold expression as he stared into the empty storage area.

Mu Bai had always thought the Black Vatican had transported the Frenzy Poppies to a secret factory in a hidden place. To his surprise, the Black Vatican was bold enough to store the Frenzy Poppies right inside the school, in the storage area of the Security Department!

The fact that the lingering smell was so strong meant the Frenzy Poppies had been stored here for quite some time.

The Frenzy Poppies looked just like normal poppies on the surface. The Aorus Sacred Institute did not have strict control over poppies. They only treated poppies as medicinal herbs which were commonly used to make painkillers.

It was common for battles to take place at the mounds. The people stationed at the mounds were always injured, so it was not strange to transport poppies to the mounds.

Mo Fan and his group had forgotten something important. The Black Vatican was very good at hiding their crimes under the cover of normal lives. They even let the school, which was the last thing anyone would suspect, hide and transport their goods!

“Where did they move the things in this room to?” Mu Bai asked quickly.

“The Ninth Mound.”

Chapter 2237: If the World isn’t Peaceful

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“So you are saying that the Black Vatican moved the Frenzy Poppies that had been harvested straight to the school and stored them casually in Security. They even let the school transport their stuff to the Ninth Mound?” Mo Fan repeated what Mu Bai had said.

Mu Bai nodded.

“Why do I feel like our minds are being rubbed on the floor again?” Zhao Manyan smiled wryly.

The people leading the Black Vatican had always been very smart. If only they used their intelligence to do proper business!

“What should we do now?” Mu Bai was struggling to make a decision.

They had been searching for the Frenzy Poppies for a long time, and it turned out they had been stored less than a kilometer away from their apartments. They were only sent to the Ninth Mound recently!

“What else can we do? We will tackle the root of the problem!” Mo Fan said.

They would only be played like a fiddle if they kept going in circles with the Black Vatican.

Mu Bai had already mentioned that the trickiest part was planting the Frenzy Poppies. If the Black Vatican had already mastered the skills needed to refine the Frenzy Liquid, it would not take long for them to produce the Frenzy Liquid once they had the raw material.

Salan would have access to a new batch of the Frenzy Liquid. It was up to her if she wanted to repeat the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. The problem was that Salan was an emotionally unstable woman. Perhaps she might think the sandy white beaches around the Andes Mountains were too sunny, so a rain was needed to dampen them down. The area would immediately turn into Hell, where blood was scattered across the place and demons roamed!

“I’ve asked around. The Frenzy Poppies weren’t transported to the Ninth Mound using manual labor. The Ninth Mound is over a hundred kilometers away from the school. It would be tricky to transport the goods safely, even with an elite troop,” Mu Bai said.

“How did they do it, then?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“With Teleportation Portals! The Eighth Mound and the Twelfth Mound each have a Teleportation Portal connected to the Aorus Sacred Institute. It can transport objects over a hundred kilometers away, but the Portals can only transport non-living things. Living things will die instantly if they step into the Portals,” Mu Bai informed him.

“Damn it, why does the school have to be so rich? Otherwise, we might have had a chance to catch up to them!” Mo Fan complained.

“That’s why we must set out as soon as possible. We must stop the Black Vatican before they produce the Frenzy Liquid and stop whatever they are up to. The only problem is… these thirteen mounds aren’t just fire beacon towers in the Andes Mountains. They are also important road signs in the mountains that are basically a maze, like white poplars in a desert. We can only find the way to the Second Mound from the First Mound, and the way to the Third Mound from the Second Mound…” Mu Bai went on.

“Are you serious? They are taking a plane straight to the Eighth Mound and the next mound will be their destination, while we have to go on foot?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“To make matters even worse, the school has lost contact with the Sixth Mound for a few days, whether or not the Black Vatican was behind it. Something must have happened to it. The school is organizing a group to check it out, so even if we are going to the Ninth Mound, we have to resolve the problem that is occurring at the Sixth Mound first!” Mu Bai frowned.

“Holy crap, does that mean we will only retrieve the corpses of innocent people at this rate?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

“Where are the Portals?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mo Fan, what are you trying to do?” Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan asked simultaneously.

“I’ll Teleport to the Eighth Mound right away,” Mo Fan declared.

“You’re going to get yourself killed. Those Portals are meant for non-living things. No one knows what’s going to happen to a living thing. You might be able to reach the Eight Mound, but your body might end up in several segments. We should just follow the Mounds instead. It’s not our fault if we don’t make it in time. We have made a lot more progress than the Magic Association and the Holy Judgment Court, who always notice something is wrong after it’s already too late,” Zhao Manyan yelled at him.

There were many kinds of Teleportation Portals. The principles of a Portal used to transport goods were different from those that could Teleport a person. It did not matter if goods were disintegrated in the spatial rift.

For example, if they were transporting potatoes and jerky, it would still be fine if they ended up as potato chips and mincemeat at the destination.

However, it was not the same for a living thing!

“I’m a Space Mage. I can look after myself in the spatial rift. If everything goes smoothly, I can go straight to the Eighth Mound. It’s even better if I can find the evil herbalist and send him to Heaven with my flames, giving the world its peace back,” Mo Fan replied confidently.

“Mo Fan, you are smashing an Apple against a Nokia. Who knows which one is going to last until the very end!” Zhao Manyan warned him.

“I have to take the bet. I’ve never taken a flight like this before… let’s not waste any more time. You two aren’t Space Mages, so don’t follow me into the Portal, I won’t be able to protect you. Just start from the First Mound and try to back me up. I’ll head to the Eighth Mound first. We are always one step behind the Black Vatican throughout this operation. We almost captured the evil herbalist who is such an important asset for Salan in Greece, yet he ran away right under our noses. If we don’t try harder, we’ll still be a step late. I don’t want a city to end up in a bloodbath because of us,” Mo Fan said.

“The Americas owe you a Nobel Peace Prize!” Zhao Manyan declared.

Mo Fan could not help it. He only had a few hobbies in his life. If the world was not peaceful, how could he read a book on the sandy white shore pretending he was preparing for his classes while enjoying the view of ladies in their bikinis?

If the world was not peaceful, how could he go wild with his lover on a bed inside the Parthenon Temple until the sun rose the next day?

If the world was not peaceful, the delicacies he loved would soon be drowned in the ocean, like his favorite restaurant that served crayfish in Pudong.

Fighting a war was not necessarily scarier than losing the things he loved, so he had no choice but to fight now!

——

The Eighth Mound had a Teleportation Portal that was used to transport goods. No one had ever tried using it to travel through it.

It felt like he was walking toward his reincarnation; the Way of the Animal, to be precise. He had no clue which species he would turn into.

Mu Bai always found Mo Fan’s courage impressive. If Mo Fan made it to the Eighth Mound in one piece, he would only be a dozen kilometers away from the Ninth Mound. He might be able to stop the evil herbalist in time!

“Mo Fan, do you know people who are involved in high-risk work will write their last words every month in case their families can’t take their possessions if they die a sudden death? Can you tell me if you have written a similar entry in your diary lately, before going inside the Portal?” Zhao Manyan inquired of him blithely.

Mo Fan already placed one of his feet inside the Portal. Silver strings began to circle him rapidly, forming a polygon. It was like Mo Fan was standing between two mirrors facing one another. His reflection was being projected in multiple dimensions.

Zhao Manyan saw Mo Fan talking as he entered the spatial rift, but his voice was sucked into the spatial rift. He could only guess what Mo Fan was saying by reading his lips.

It was more like Mo Fan was telling Zhao Manyan to send his regards to Chen Yi, rather than leaving his last words…

Chapter 2238: Bowing Together
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan kept hearing the rustling of leaves. It was familiar yet strange, but it immediately put Mo Fan on alert, as if something terrifying was going to happen whenever he heard the sound.

His vision was as narrow as a crack. He was struggling to open his eyes, as if his eyelids were stuck together.

A while later, he finally realized he was badly wounded when he felt the pain across his body.

As he had expected, a trip with such huge risks was meant to go wrong. It was like he had been in a plane that had crashed.

“Where the hell am I? The Eighth Mound? Why am I seeing… (Sigh), my head is on the ground. No wonder I couldn’t see anything,” Mo Fan finally realized the posture he had landed in after his vision recovered a little.

He must have hit his face on the ground. His eyes were most likely swollen by now, hence the struggle he had opening them.

Something soft landed on him. There were many of them, and they were quick, yet they were not deadly. He felt a sharp pain whenever the things landed on his wounds.

He could not move his body. It felt like he was twisted around like a pretzel.

Mo Fan could not remember what he had been through. He swore he would never enter the spatial rift again. He had almost killed himself!

“Is there anyone here?

“Anyone? Is this the Eighth Mound? I’m Lecturer Mo Yifan, who just crashed my plane. If someone would be kind enough to treat my injuries… the soil here stinks. Why does it smell like dog poop?…”

There was no answer, except for the sound of the drizzling rain.

Mo Fan suddenly heard heavy breathing beside him, and was overjoyed.

Someone finally showed up! What a blessing from the Heavens. Every heroic Martial Artist who fell down a cliff would obtain a peerless Martial Art and encounter a beautiful innocent lady. Mo Fan was only asking for a helping hand!

The person who was approaching Mo Fan let out a deep groan. Its voice was strange, yet familiar for some reason.

Mo Fan worked very hard to turn his head. He saw a pair of hairy legs. The bare feet looked like they were made of rocks. The hair on the legs was like a pair of rugged filthy trousers. A bone axe was dangling beside the owner’s waist. It still had bloodstains on it, which were being washed away as water drops fell from its tip.

Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat. Seriously? He was asking for a living human who was able to help him up, not a Hillman who could kill him with a single swing of its axe!

Was karma at play here? Was this the result after he had wiped out an entire nest of Hillmen?

“Brother Hillman, I might not be able to move for now, but I can still use most of my spells. You should stay away from me if you have the slightest common sense. Otherwise, I’ll skin you and rub you on the ground!” Mo Fan snarled.

The hillman laughed like a squealing pig, as if it could understand Mo Fan.

“You dare laugh at me? Telekinesis Arrows!”

Mo Fan was enraged. He modified his Will to take the shape of an arrow and fired it at the Hillman.

The Telekinesis Arrow flew at the back of the Hiilman’s head rapidly. The Hillman was still laughing, but it suddenly stopped when it saw the arrow between its eyes… after it had pierced its head from behind.

Bang!

The Hillman fell beside Mo Fan. Its brain fluids were flowing out of the hole on its head. Its face happened to be facing Mo Fan’s.

“I might not be able to move, but it doesn’t mean I can’t use my magic. Idiot!” Mo Fan swore at it.

The Hillman was holding its last breath. It glared at Mo Fan with a weird expression.

Mo Fan was utterly confused by the Hillman’s reaction until he heard more footsteps approaching around him. He immediately saw more pairs of bare feet coming closer, followed by heaving breaths.

What the heck is going on!?

Didn’t he teleport to the Eighth Mound? How did he end up in a den of Hillmen? Were they having a meeting here?

“Is it too late for me to apologize? Brother Hillman, hang in there!” Mo Fan yelled at the Hillman lying beside him.

A second later, the Hillman’s head tilted to the side and lay still. It was unlikely to answer Mo Fan’s question…

Mo Fan was left speechless. Why did he never bother fixing his bad temper? Why did he have to blast a hole on the creature’s head with a Telekinesis Arrow for no reason? Couldn’t he leave the Warrior-level creature with some dignity?

Mo Fan shook his head. He promised himself he would try to settle conflicts peacefully from today onward, even when he was facing demon creatures.

Mm? He could now turn his head around!

What a relief, he could now control his Will more freely to lock onto the targets around him!

Screw it, there was no way he would settle a dispute peacefully with these savages! Didn’t they want to kill him? He would let them give him kowtows and apologize to him first!

“Telekinesis: Inextricable Links!”

The same arrows with blurred outlines floated in the air amid the rain. They followed Mo Fan’s gaze and flew at the Hillmen who were eying Mo Fan so covetously.

Mo Fan was a man of his words, and deliberately fired the arrows at the Hillmen’s knees. Blood splattered out of the Hillmen’s legs as they all fell to their knees, like they had just stumbled into their king as he was wandering the mountains!

“Bow!”

The arrows grew longer under Mo Fan’s control. They were more like spears now, diving at the Hillmen’s heads the moment they fell to the ground and nailing their skulls to the ground!

The Hillmen’s bodies shook vigorously as their heads were nailed to the ground. Blood was pouring out from the wounds and soon blended with the rain. The Hillmen were forced to stay in the same posture around Mo Fan, like displayed specimens. The strange thing was, Mo Fan, who was being ‘worshiped’ by the Hillmen, was in a similar posture himself!

He had been in a kneeling posture since he landed!

“Is there anyone? Come give me a hand!”

“Where the Hell am I… any kind demon creatures in these mountains that are willing to lend me a hand? I’m here to save the world. I can’t afford to waste too much time here!”

The scent of blood spread through the air and soon attracted a huge number of demon creatures.

Mo Fan’s bones had yet to recover. He could only bow with the Hillmen who had turned into display specimens.

The demon creatures who were attracted by the scent of blood were well-behaved, and only picked on the corpses of the Hillmen. They left Mo Fan alone, as if they knew they did not want to mess with the human who was stuck in such a weird posture.

Chapter 2239: Fight Until Death

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The demon creatures did not forget to bow to Mo Fan after they were done eating.

Mo Fan felt an urge to break into tears. He regretted taking the cargo flight.

Since he could not move, he decided to Cultivate instead. It had been a while since he had last visited the Demon Element’s Galaxy.

The Demon Element was dark red in color as it spun quietly in his Spiritual World, observing the rest of the Elements like an evil concubine. It remained calm and collected even when the Lightning Queen possessed great power and the Fire Concubine was acting recklessly. It was acting like everything was under its control!

The Demon Element was different from the rest of the Elements. It did not have the system of Star Dust, Nebula, Galaxy, and Star Ocean. It did not even have Stars. It was just a crack that resembled a wormhole, connected to somewhere far away.

The Demon Element did not welcome Mo Fan when he tried to approach it, as if it was not bothered by his presence.

“Being aloof isn’t the trend anymore. I’m currently injured. Can’t you give me some other useful Passives, since you have only provided me with a transformation skill with a cooldown that lasts for half a century?” Mo Fan complained to it.

Communication was the key. It was possible to communicate with everything in the world, including a puff of energy!

The Demon Element started emitting a faint glow. Mo Fan felt a layer of warmth encapsulating his body, like he had fallen into a pool of mud that had been exposed under the sun for an entire afternoon. It was sticky yet comfortable.

“It was that easy to convince it?” Mo Fan was surprised.

He had thought he would need to have a prolonged argument with the Demon Element, with a lot of begging and pleading, yet it was willing to lend him a hand when he was only suggesting it indifferently!

The Demon Element had strengthened his flesh and given him an outstanding ability to self-recover. Mo Fan had sustained great injuries from the crash. He might have been stuck in the same posture for a few days without the help of a Healer, but Mo Fan could already feel his bones after receiving the help from the Demon Element. He was now able to move his arms around!

What a surprise! The Demon Element might seem aloof, but it had failed to withstand the slightest provocation. All Mo Fan did was take a quick tour of its territory, and it immediately poured out its energy to nurture him.

Mo Fan was finally able to stand. He tried moving his stiff joints.

His injuries recovered quicker than he had expected. He was soon as healthy as an ox after applying the whole bag of ointments and medicine Xinxia had given him over his entire body!

—

“Is it possible that the turbulent flow of space has teleported me somewhere else? I was supposed to land on the Eighth Mound, despite my injuries. How did I end up here?” Mo Fan murmured.

Mo Fan took a few steps forward as he was murmuring to himself. The ground suddenly sank and revealed the entrance of an underground structure. Huge banana leaves were blocking Mo Fan’s vision. He was greeted by a shocking sight as he pried the leaves.

He had arrived at the Eighth Mound, but the place was already in ruins.

The walls around the irregular terrain were made of light green rocks. Some of them spread out like a fan, while others were stacked in layers like stairs. They had surrounded the mound like a valley. A few defensive buildings were constructed along the walls. They were most likely connected to some caves, allowing their occupants to escape in an emergency.

Mo Fan could roughly see the outline of the structures, but both the walls and the buildings were now in ruins!

“The mounds are supposed to be the alert system of the school. How come the school is unaware that the Eighth Mound has been destroyed?” Mo Fan was shocked.

The Aorus Sacred Institute was constructed at the edge of the Andes Mountains. In other words, it was located right outside the entrance of a demon creatures’ den. The misbehaving demon creatures often gathered in groups to expand their territories. If the Aorus Sacred Institute was unaware of the movement of demon creatures beforehand, it was possible for the school to be completely surrounded by demon creatures within a night.

The mounds were similar to the outposts, sentry towers, and fortresses around a city!

Mu Bai had mentioned that something was wrong with the Sixth Mound. It turned out that the Eighth Mound had long been destroyed, yet the people of the Aorus Sacred Institute had no idea what was going on! If the demon creatures were on the move, it would be too late for the people to react once the demon creatures reached the fourth, third, and second mounds!

“Was the Black Vatican behind it?” Mo Fan thought grimly.

Destroying the mounds was the same as destroying the alarm system of the Aorus Sacred Institute.

There was something else too. It had been raining for a long time!

It was supposed to be a sunny season, but rain was sweeping across the mountains. Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat.

Damn it, isn’t this a sign that the Black Vatican is on the move!?

The rain, the breakdown of the city’s defenses, followed by a huge tide of demon creatures attacking the city. The disaster came as the people were still preoccupied by their comfortable lives. There was enough blood to flow like rivers, while the land was littered with corpses!

“Their target is the Aorus Sacred Institute!”

The Black Vatican had been hiding in the Aorus Sacred Institute, and had even planted the Frenzy Poppies in its territory. It was even producing the Frenzy Liquid at its facility to wipe out the school itself.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were too focused on the main cities in the Andes Federation. They had assumed Salan was going to target one of the cities, yet she was aiming the cannon at the school instead!

Damn those assh**** of the Black Vatican!

He would never let them get what they wanted!

Where could he look for such a tolerant marriage law in the world once the Aorus Sacred Institute was razed to the ground?

He had always wondered why he was so incompatible with the Black Vatican. It turned out to be his destiny.

Screw the Black Vatican and Salan. He would fight them until his death!

——

Mo Fan looked around, but did not find a single corpse at the Eighth Mound. It was likely that the demon creatures and Hillmen that were roaming nearby had cleaned them up. He was unable to ask anyone about the current situation.

Luckily, Mo Fan had come prepared. He knew how to get to the Ninth Mound from the Eighth Mound.

If Lily said she had been to the Ninth Mound in the past, it meant the evil herbalist had moved his lab to the Ninth Mound. Everything would be straightforward once Mo Fan found his way to the Ninth Mound!

“Come to think of it, how did the Black Vatican make the rain?

“Even if they are relying on Water Mages, the rain would only cover a distance of ten kilometers at most, yet this rain is covering an area of at least a hundred kilometers. Do they worship the Rain of God?”

Chapter 2240: Razing the School to the Ground

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had no idea what the rain might cause. He did not dare waste a single second, and quickly headed to the Ninth Mound.

The Ninth Mound was around a dozen kilometers from the Eighth Mound. The Black Vatican had destroyed the Eighth Mound and planned to bury it with the rain to prevent the people of the Aorus Sacred Institute from finding the Ninth Mound.

Luckily, Mo Fan had decided to take the risky path. The path to the Eighth Mound would have been filled with mud and soil if he took the old-fashioned way. They would never have found its precise location.

The path ahead was undulating, and Mo Fan had a poor sense of direction. It would be surprising if he did not lose his way among the mountains, let alone find the Ninth Mound.

The light green rocks were the only connection between the Eighth Mound and the Ninth Mound. Mo Fan called them Cuckold Rocks.

(Ed. Note: This is a reference to the Green Hatted Man saying)

The Cuckold Rocks were scattered across the mountain. It was unlikely the Black Vatican could clear every single one of them. Mo Fan had no idea where he was currently, and was blindly following the Cuckold Rocks, hoping they would bring him to the Ninth Mound.

“I think I’m in the right way. Is that…” Mo Fan moved his foot and picked up a dirty petal he had just stepped on.

It was a petal from the Frenzy Poppies!

The Black Vatican must have followed the Cuckold Rocks to the Ninth Mound too. They had accidentally dropped the petal along the way!

“The rain should still be clean. Let’s hope they aren’t done refining the Frenzy Liquid,” Mo Fan muttered after sniffing the rain.

——

“Strange, the Cuckold Rocks are gone. They must be destroying the path to prevent people from intervening with the refinement process. This is bad, I’m only a few kilometers away!”

Mo Fan could not find any more Cuckold Rocks, unable to see a single one in the area. They were the only things that would lead him to the Ninth Mound.

A few kilometers in the wilderness was not far, but the terrain in the mountains was too complicated, made up of caves, peaks, canyons, cliffs, and valleys. The Ninth Mound was not like a fortress or a village. It was just a sentry outpost that was well-hidden to enhance its safety. It might be located in a hidden cave with plants covering its entrance, or on top of some dense trees.

“Summoning Gate: Army of Wolves!”

Mo Fan constructed a lunar-white Star Constellation and opened a Gate connected to the Summoned Beast Plane.

The restless wolves rushed out of the Gate and scanned the area for enemies. They were rubbing their claws, preparing for an intense battle!

“Put your claws away. I only need your noses. Come over here and sniff around… holy crap, will you take turns instead? Are you trying to squeeze me to death?”

Mo Fan felt like a shepherd with a pack of white sheep around him! The wolves did look rather adorable when they put their claws and fangs away.

“Old Wolf, bring a troop with you and find those scum of the Black Vatican, even if you have to dig three inches deep into the ground!” Mo Fan commanded the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was in low spirits, as it had been a long time since he was pampered.

Mo Fan could not help it. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s Cultivation was stuck at peak Commander-level. If he could not achieve the Ruler-level, he would have no chance of adapting to the battles Mo Fan was fighting nowadays. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf felt helpless, as there was nothing he could do.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled, asking Mo Fan a question.

“Did everything I feed you go to waste? Does it matter if we are in the Andes Mountains? Are you telling me you don’t dare to cause a scene in other creatures’ territory?” Mo Fan yelled back.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf felt wronged.

“Just screw them all up. I don’t care if there are the hordes living in the Andes Mountains or a little pack within five kilometers of where we are. You aren’t a good dog if you aren’t an ambitious white wolf who wants to be the king of beasts!” Mo Fan scolded him.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf almost burst into tears.

They were currently in the Andes Mountains, which had a kingdom of demon creatures!

This place was not necessarily any friendlier than Mount Kunlun! Even the tribal chiefs in the Summoned Beast Plane would behave themselves when they heard about the Andes Mountains. It was fine if the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was on his own, but he was bringing three hundred wolves with him to scout the mountains. They were obviously trying to compete for territory with the local tyrants. Things were doomed to go south!

“Enough with your nonsense and start looking. If you can find the Black Vatican’s nest, I’ll do everything to help you grow stronger. I’ll also help you to take over the Mountain of Nine Fangs you have been struggling to invade!” Mo Fan promised him.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was instantly motivated.

The other wolves grew restless when they heard Mo Fan was going to help them to claim a new territory. They quickly formed a dozen packs and started searching the area thoroughly. They were more efficient than a well-trained army.

Mo Fan Summoned Apas and ordered the yawning snake lady, “Apas, keep an eye on them. Don’t let the local tyrants kill them!”

“So I’m a wolf keeper now?” Apas retorted unwillingly.

The Andes Mountains had many species of demon creatures. Even a single pine tree might have three species competing for its ownership. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf and the army of white wolves were outsiders here. Their numbers could easily alert the demon creatures in the area.

However, they hesitated to make a move under Apas’ pressure!

—

—

The Sixth Mound…

The mound was like a building lying horizontally across the entrance of a canyon on a barren mountain.

A few people in the uniforms of the Aorus Sacred Institute’s Security Department were busy investigating something when Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan arrived. They seemed to have an emergency.

Mu Bai went up to them and asked, “What happened here?”

The person in charge was an old man. He was wearing the Aorus Sacred Institute’s uniform, but he did not seem reliable enough to assume full responsibility for the place.

“The Sixth Mound and the Seventh Mound are connected by a river, but it’s been raining heavily so suddenly. The strong current has destroyed the bridge along the river. Some of the areas are underwater after the flash flood…” the old man began.

“Why didn’t you tell the Security Department immediately?” Mu Bai demanded.

“There’s an excursion class trapped out there because of the flash flood. I…I didn’t want to lose my job. I was planning to tell the school after we rescued them,” the old man had no choice but to admit.

“Are you f**king out of your mind!? Not only are you putting the lives of the students in danger, you are placing the school in danger too!” Mu Bai swore scathingly.

Mu Bai rarely scolded anyone, but he was so angry that he felt like beating the crap out of the old man when he heard his ridiculous excuse.

It had been a few days since the problem had occurred. They could have resolved it sooner if they had told the school right away!

However, the paths had been destroyed by the flash flood, making it impossible to find the way to the Seventh Mound.

In other words, they could no longer back Mo Fan up. He was going to have to invade the Black Vatican’s nest by himself!

Chapter 2241: Magistrate Schierling

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Awoo!!”

A wolf’s howl came from the distance. It sounded like Fourth Wolf, whose nose was more sensitive than the rest of the wolves.

Mo Fan immediately headed that way. He heard burbling after moving half a kilometer in that direction. It grew louder as he drew closer.

“Is it a waterfall?” Mo Fan followed Fourth Wolf.

Fourth Wolf led the way. They were very close to the waterfall.

It turned out that the Ninth Mound was located at the waterfall. Mo Fan looked around and saw a wide river which was partially cut off by a Mound. The water was falling into a deep lake below like a white dragon.

The Ninth Mound was located above the waterfall, right by the riverbank. It had been established on top of a huge rock, which served as its foundation. The rock was around the size of a basketball court, with the structure atop it.

“So this is the place?” Mo Fan stared at the building above the waterfall.

It did not look like a secret factory that belonged to the Black Vatican. He imagined the factory would have lots of chimneys and be on a spacious ground patrolled by armed guards.

“I don’t see anyone around…” Mo Fan crept closer. It felt like the rapid current of the river could knock the mound to the bottom of the waterfall at any second.

Mo Fan knocked on the wooden door after he reached the mound.

“Is anyone here? I’m a lecturer at the Aorus Sacred Institute. I lost my way while I was hunting in the woods. Can anyone show me the way back to the school? Hello? Is anyone in there?” Mo Fan shouted, but received no answer.

Mo Fan decided to break his way in instead of wasting his time.

Squeak! The door slowly swung open as Mo Fan was about to force his way in.

Mo Fan was greeted by hair dangling in front of a chubby face with a sleepy expression, followed by a pleasant scent.

A young woman?

Why would a young woman be taking a nap inside a Mound that served as an important security checkpoint so deep in the woods?

“It feels great taking a nap when it’s raining. Mister, do you want to take a nap with me?” the woman asked with a smile. Her alluring eyes enticed any man to strip her on the spot.

“(Cough cough), I just happened to lose my way in the woods. I’m not interested in taking a nap right now. I just want to ask if you have seen any strange people around here, like a plump middle-aged man who hides in the sewers and brews cooking oil with dead bodies,” Mo Fan replied blandly.

“Not really, but there’s a little witch that brews Potions in her pajamas. Does that intrigue you?” the woman who had referred to herself as a witch answered.

“What Potions? Can I take a look?” Mo Fan raised his eyebrows.

“Sure, I like to show people my work.” The little witch opened the door and invited Mo Fan in.

Mo Fan went inside without any hesitation. He immediately noticed the dead body on the dining table.

It was not a human corpse, but the dead body of a hairy Hillman. Its organs were exposed. A few spotlights were shining on it, so it was easier to observe it.

“It’s very interesting. It will go berserk when I feed it my Potion. It will attack anything that comes into view,” the witch explained happily.

“There must be a lot of Hillmen in the Andes Mountains,” Mo Fan murmured.

“I think so, so I was wondering whether the Aorus Sacred Institute would survive if I mixed my Potion with the rain,” the witch said with a charming smile.

“I bet it will end up as a burial ground,” Mo Fan judged.

“HAHA, Mo Fan, are you willing to witness that spectacular sight with me?” the witch asked lightly.

“I haven’t introduced myself,” Mo Fan frowned at her.

“You got the better of me… but you still owe me a favor. If I hadn’t killed the woman with the Cold Prince, you wouldn’t have been able to fight him with your full strength. It’s impressive that you were able to find this place. Why don’t you pretend you didn’t see a thing here to repay my favor?” the witch suggested.

“Blue Bat, it’s not the first time we have met. Your boring act isn’t going to work. How about this? If you hand over the Frenzy Liquid, I will go easy on you by leaving your corpse intact,” Mo Fan replied gravely.

“How bad of you, are you really not going to leave my corpse alone?” Blue Bat simpered.

Blue Bat was Salan’s proud student, but she had an unpredictable personality. She had been an expressionless woman when she was working for the Cold Prince. She had even come up with a pitiful background to trick him.

“Where’s your boss?” Mo Fan asked.

“Master has been busy lately, so I’m in charge here,” Blue Bat answered.

“Are you the mastermind behind the plan to raze the Aorus Sacred Institute to the ground?” Mo Fan blurted out in astonishment.

“How could you underestimate me? I’m the one who used you to get rid of the Cold Prince! I might not be comparable to a Red Cardinal after taking out the Cold Prince, but I’m at least at the same level as the Chief Extraditor,” Blue Bat complained to him.

“Who’s the Chief Extraditor?” Mo Fan bantered back.

“I’m not an idiot. I won’t answer your questions. I do like kids, so if you are willing to give me a son so I can raise him into a Red Cardinal to replace the Cold Prince, I’ll tell you who the Chief Extraditor is!” Blue Bat replied cheerfully.

1

“How did the Aorus Sacred Institute step on your tail?” Mo Fan continued, ignoring Blue Bat’s nonsense.

“I can tell you that for free,” Blue Bat sat on the table, completely ignoring the filthy dead body on it. She kicked her legs playfully and explaining to Mo Fan patiently, “Before master takes over the role of the Supreme Pontiff, she would like to settle the debts of her past life. As a result, those who voted with a black stone must die!”

“You mean the Magistrates who judged Wen Tai guilty?” Mo Fan was stunned.

Not too long ago, Schierling had told Mo Fan he used to be a Magistrate of the Holy Judgment Court. He had gotten that fire amber piece when he was still a Magistrate. Mo Fan did not expect him to be one of the Magistrates who were involved in Wen Tai’s case!

“So you weren’t aware of master’s motives even after so long… I mean, master’s path of redemption!” Blue Bat corrected herself.

Mo Fan suddenly noticed something odd. “You mentioned your master is planning to settle the debts of her past life. Is she dead, or is she an undead?”

“Idiot, master has claimed the title of the God of Death, so her identity before she became the God of Death is considered her past life. Wasn’t a son-in-law of master’s aware of her past life?” Blue Bat shot back.

Mo Fan’s face darkened. What the heck!?

Chapter 2242: Underground Factory

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You should just settle it with the person responsible. It was Schierling who voted with the Stone of Guilt. Just take him out. Why do you have to bring a bloodbath to the Aorus Sacred Institute? Won’t it just make your work harder?” Mo Fan protested.

“Killing one is a crime. Killing a bunch is a crime, too. What’s the difference?” Blue Bat answered easily.

Mo Fan scratched his head. He had been a teacher for a while. How could he convince Blue Bat to repent?

Forget it, it was meaningless to waste his time on her!

The look in Mo Fan’s eyes shifted. He was not going to fool around with Blue Bat anymore.

Blue Bat’s status had to be higher than a Blue Deacon. He could stop the operation by taking her out!

“Do you really think a delicate girl like me would stay in the wild by myself?” Blue Bat quickly realized Mo Fan’s intentions.

“It’s fine, I will kill every single one of you!” Mo Fan clenched his hands into claws. His eyes turned purple as sharp lightning flickered between his fingers.

The lightning did not dissipate or lunge at his enemy, remaining around Mo Fan’s fingers. When he swept his hands through a cross, the lightning tore at Blue Bat’s face like the claws of a demon.

Blue Bat remained smiling as her face was shattered by the lightning like a piece of glass. The pieces fell to the ground.

However, Mo Fan could still hear her laughter coming from a corner in the room. The laughter was discontinuous, like she was moving around.

“Are you so impatient, my little man?” Blue Bat was still inside the room, yet Mo Fan was struggling to find her.

“Lightning Rending Claws!”

Mo Fan stuck his fingers into a few spots where the presence of Lightning was the strongest and tore them apart.

Thick Lightning Rending Claws swept across the structure and destroyed it like popping a bubble. The disintegrated walls collapsed and fell into their surroundings.

Even the foundation was left with lots of gouges all over it. The flowing river was temporarily cut off. Mo Fan jumped out from the debris and fixed his eyes on a shadow in the river.

The shadow was like a thin piece of clothing that had fallen into the river accidentally. People would assume it was just a piece of plastic if they were not looking closely. Mo Fan gathered the lightning around him without any hesitation.

He combined the arcs of lightning into a lightning spear and threw it at the shadow in the water.

BANG!

The lightning spear exploded after landing on the top of the river. The lightning arcs surged like wild and sharp blades in the water.

“Seriously, you’ve torn my favorite shirt to pieces…” Blue Bat taunted him. She was weaving through the lightning arcs like a water snake. Mo Fan’s Lightning had failed to restrain her.

Blue Bat suddenly rose from the water as she reached the waterfall. Countless water droplets were circling her.

Blue Bat waved her hands as she was hanging in the air above the waterfall. The water droplets began to fire at Mo Fan like a chain of bullets!

Mo Fan felt like a dozen automatic rifles were firing at him. He did not expect the water droplets to be so terrifying.

The shore and the river’s surface were soon peppered with bulletholes. Mo Fan tried covering himself behind a boulder, but the ten-meter-thick boulder quickly ended up looking like a beehive.

“Don’t you want to save the Aorus Sacred Institute? Try your best to stop me!” Blue Bat stopped floating in the air. She hugged her knees and somersaulted into the lake under the waterfall like a professional diver!

Mo Fan was not going to let her escape. He quickly went to the edge and Summoned an enormous meteorite of Hellish Flames!

He was going to destroy the entire waterfall so Blue Bat had nowhere to escape to!

Sparkles were flickering amid the gray rain. The light was getting brighter.

The meteorite of Hellish Flames fell from the sky with a loud howl. The raindrops nearby evaporated. the meteor’s flames were going to burn the woods to ashes!

The meteorite followed the curtain of water down and slammed heavily into the lake. White steam immediately rose from the lake as its water blew into steam instantly.

The lake turned into a huge pit after it was dried out by the Hellish Flames. The raindrops falling from the sky struggled to put out the remaining Hellish Flames.

Flames were dancing wildly amid the white mist. Even the river above the waterfall had dried up. For the moment, the waterfall had ceased to exist!

Mo Fan searched around him. If Blue Bat was in the lake, she would have sustained serious injuries from the flames. However, he did not see Blue Bat anywhere.

The woman’s ability to hide and run away was unmatched. Mo Fan had no way to predict where she would go next.

Mo Fan soon discovered a cave that had been behind the curtain of water. He only saw it after the waterfall had disappeared. “Damn it, she tricked me!”

As the rain kept pouring down, the river began filling up again. The cave was gradually filling with water.

Mo Fan was a little hesitant, as he was not a good swimmer. If he chased after Blue Bat, he would have a hard time retreating once the water covered the cave.

If Blue Bat ran away, the Aorus Sacred Institute would have no chance of survival. The rain of Frenzy Liquid was going to provoke every Hillman in the Andes Mountains to attack the school. No defense could possibly stop the attack. Not only would the Aorus Sacred Institute be destroyed, the villages and towns that were working for the Aorus Sacred Institute would fall victim to the attack too!

Mo Fan clenched his teeth. He had no choice but to chase after Blue Bat. He had to keep going, whether it was a dragon swamp or a den of tigers!

—

Mo Fan turned into a shadow sparrow and flew into the pitch-black cave behind the waterfall.

There were torches in the cave. It seemed the people of the Black Vatican were active here.

Mo Fan followed the path through the damp cave and discovered a flight of stairs.

Mo Fan’s footsteps were loud and clear on the stairs, but the enemy already knew he was coming. It was meaningless to hide his presence now.

The cave slowly became spacious, with more torches lighting up his surroundings.

Mo Fan found himself in a spacious cavern. He was wondering how the Black Vatican produced the Frenzy Liquid in the small mound. It did not suit these evil people who were planning to destroy the world. He immediately smiled wryly when he saw the cavern ahead.

The place was full of rusted steel plates. There were pipes, hoses, cans, and containers everywhere. The chimneys were lined up in straight rows like stalactites.

The bottom of the stairs was a junkyard!

Chapter 2243: Head Priest Wu Ku

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Flames were burning wildly. The junkyard was piled with the Frenzy Poppies Mo Fan and his group were looking for. It was obvious that the Frenzy Poppies had already been refined into the Frenzy Liquid. They were only burning the remains of the flowers. The strange smell in the air made Mo Fan feel like he had set foot into an opium hall in the eighteen-hundreds. His throat actually felt sticky from the smoke!

Sounds were approaching Mo Fan rapidly from every direction. Mo Fan looked around and noticed six people in brown kasayas [classic Buddhist monk-../style robe] standing not far from him. Their faces were hidden under the hoods of their robes, revealing only painted blue lips and scarred chins.

Standing behind them, Blue Bat had changed into a different outfit. Her dark red and tight-fitting clothing with snake stripes made her look like a venomous snake. Her eyes emitted a toying glow at her prey.

“I wonder how much your Cultivation has improved lately. I can test your skills with a few of my Executioners, who I’m very proud of,” Blue Bat informed him gleefully.

Mo Fan did not answer her question. He was focusing on the other person standing beside Blue Bat.

The person standing there beside her was wearing a kasaya too, but its color had already faded away. His face was covered by a piece of cloth, leaving only his eyes visible.

The man was staring at Mo Fan. Mo Fan’s Dark Vein became restless at that instant. It’s ability to predict danger was active!

The Dark Vein burst out of Mo Fan’s pores and sent a shiver down his spine.

However, Mo Fan found both the man’s eyes and his temperament very familiar, including the alert from the Dark Vein.

“It’s him!”

Mo Fan soon recalled who the man was. He had met him before!

He had seen him in the Sacred City of Lhasa when he and Mu Ningxue were strolling through the streets. It was the worshiper who had given him an uneasy feeling!

Mo Fan thought he was the Heretic the Sacred Palace Mage and Heresy Judgment Court were after. Even though they were looking for Qin Yu’er, Mo Fan somehow had a feeling the man was a Heretic, too.

Why is the man here? He remembered Lily mentioning that they had invited a master from China. Was she referring to this man?

“Let’s hope you enjoy yourself here. Wu Ku, time for us to leave. We have something more important to handle,” Blue Bat told the monk beside her.

Mo Fan pointed at Wu Ku and yelled, “Don’t go yet! Shouldn’t you be delivering all living creatures from suffering as a monk? Why are you taking the side of the evildoers instead?!”

“Seeing the world suffering will deliver me from my own sufferings,” Wu Ku removed the cloth on his face, revealing a sincere yet twisted grin.

“Damn it, another lunatic again!” Mo Fan cursed aloud.

“Mo Fan, how amusing are you, treating Wu Ku as a real monk! He’s the mastermind behind the tragedy that took place in your Bo City!” Blue Bat laughed at him.

Mo Fan’s face darkened. He glared at Wu Ku, who was obviously neither a monk nor a Daoist!

“Blue Bat, are you seriously giving up on your soul too?” Mo Fan said coldly.

“My soul has always belonged to another person… You never really understood us, even though you’ve been on our tail for such a long time, have you?” Blue Bat scoffed.

Mo Fan did not respond, waiting for Blue Bat to finish her performance.

“Master has three reliable right hands: the Chief Extraditor, the Head Priest, and the Evil Herbalist. This bald man here is the Head Priest serving under master. My master was never involved in the incident of Bo City. It was the Head Priest and Great Deacon Hu Jin’s work,” Blue Bat informed him.

“Work?” Mo Fan’s smile turned even icier.

“Yeah, my three seniors each have an impressive portfolio. People know who they are at the mention of their work, unlike me. Even though I killed the Cold Prince, it was you who took all the merits. I have yet to do something where I can make a name for myself, so the Aorus Sacred Institute will be my final project before I graduate. The Aorus Sacred Institute is none of your concern. Why do you have to interfere with my business?” Blue Bat complained plaintively, pausing briefly to observe Mo Fan’s reaction.

She had obviously noticed Mo Fan was about to lose his temper. Bo City was his reverse scale. Most people still had no idea who was responsible for the tragedy of Bo City.

Bo City was only a small city. Destroying it did not bring Salan any benefits, since she was usually responsible for incidents at the scale of a calamity, like the one that had occurred at the Ancient Capital.

Bo City was only a testing ground for the real calamity in the Ancient Capital. However, Salan was not in charge of the test. Head Priest Wu Ku had been!

“Mo Fan, how about this… if you promise me not to interfere with my business with the Aorus Sacred Institute, I can swear an oath with my soul that I won’t trouble your country for the next ten years. My work must be perfect to be approved by master,” Blue Bat teased a negotiation at him.

“You will have plenty of time to negotiate once you are in Hell!” Mo Fan started emitting a black gas. It did not appear like a mist, but more like the steam from an engine!

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe, carrying chains from Hell, slowly appeared from the black steam. It glared at Blue Bat and Wu Ku, as if they were priorities on its wanted list.

“Do you really have to interfere with my business?” Blue Bat’s expression darkened when she saw Mo Fan was not planning to waste any more time.

“Don’t you think you can negotiate with me just because we have talked a little before. Your petty acting is like a centipede which isn’t going to feast on humans for the moment. It’s disgusting!” The black steam Mo Fan was emitting thickened.

Blue Bat’s expression grew even darker. She was a completely different person compared to when she was wearing a smile. The look in her eyes alone was brimming with evil, not to mention the cheerful fake smile she had been wearing most of the time. Only those who had lost their mind would have such a strange expression.

None of the people in the Black Vatican were normal. Blue Bat might disguise herself as an approachable woman at first, but she had the same expression when she was skinning her victims and drinking their blood. Her emotions had already gone haywire!

If she was smiling when she was killing people, she could no longer be considered a human. What was the point of negotiating with a person like her?

“Are you going to fool around with him here?” Wu Ku asked her.

“Just for a while, you may leave first,” Blue Bat replied.

“Just make sure everything is fine.” Wu Ku obviously did not want to stick around.

“He’s going to ruin our plan if we don’t take care of him,” Blue Bat warned him.

“Mm, but make sure you capture him alive. I think the Red Cardinal will like it.”

“I can’t give you my promise.”

Chapter 2244: The Evil Monk Executioners

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Spider Scorpion Formation!” Blue Bat ordered coldly.

The six monks immediately spread out in a strange formation. They were crawling up on the pipes and chimney flues like spiders and scorpions instead of walking on their feet.

They had all four limbs on the surfaces, and were surprisingly quick when they were crawling. Mo Fan might even have assumed they were spiders and scorpions under their kasayas if he could not see their faces.

These people were like Mages, yet their Auras were different from the usual Auras of Mages. If Mo Fan had to describe them as something, he believed Dark Beast Monsters was the most appropriate.

Dark Beast Monsters disguised as humans!

The six monks spread in different directions around Mo Fan, linked by dark green strings. The strings wove rapidly around Mo Fan as they kept changing positions.

Mo Fan tried to relocate himself too, but the six monks followed him as a group. The strange strings soon surrounded him.

Mo Fan tried burning the strings with his flames, but they were surprisingly tough. He could only destroy the strings by refining his flames.

However, even if he spent some time focusing his flames, he was slower at destroying the strings than the monks were at forming them!

The underground factory was soon filled with strings. It looked like the place was crawling with a few hundred enormous spiders that had entrapped their prey!

“A bunch of monsters,” Mo Fan snarled.

The strings were obviously resistant to Elemental Magic. If Mo Fan did not focus on destroying the strings, he would be assaulted by the six monks!

Mo Fan tried attacking the monks to stop them from constructing the Formation, but they were oddly quick as they maintained a safe distance from him. They were like a bunch of annoying flies Mo Fan was struggling to drive away.

“Scorpion Strike!” Blue Bat ordered, acting as the mastermind behind the six monks.

Mo Fan was completely surrounded by the strings now. Some were as thick as pieces of cloth a few hundred meters long. They dangled above the ground and hung horizontally in front of him, covering up the monks’ movements.

The evil monks were able to crawl on the strings without making a sound, and were a lot quicker when crawling on them. Not only was Mo Fan’s vision hindered by the strings, his movements were restricted. It was like he had gone into the Cave of the Silken Web in Journey to the West!

The evil monks’ arms also bore black gauntlets with segments that resembled the tail of a scorpion!

When the first one swung his arms, a terrifying flicker swept at Mo Fan’s throat. The sharp scorpion tails were not showing him any mercy!

Mo Fan quickly jumped away and split into six shadow sparrows flying in different directions inside the surrounding strings.

He was in a very bad position. Not only was his vision hindered, he was surrounded by his enemies. He could not even tell if his enemies were within ten meters of him.

The scorpion tail struck with another icy flash, hitting a shadow sparrow on the back.

The shadow sparrow puffed and dispersed in a cloud of thick black smoke. It was only a decoy.

The same sound came from other directions, as the remaining shadow sparrows were taken down by the other monks. Their movements were in sync even when they were scattered across the area. It was difficult for Mo Fan to do anything.

Mo Fan had not moved at all. All six shadow sparrows were mere decoys. He was only testing if he could escape from the strange formation with his Shadow Element.

However, judging from how quickly the shadow sparrows had fallen, he knew the evil monks would intercept him before he flew two hundred meters.

The venomous scorpion tails were not the biggest problem. Mo Fan could not even figure out where the evil monks were. These things that looked like Mages were more mysterious than the demon creatures he had encountered. He knew they were nearby, yet his magic was having a hard time locating them.

They would just disappear amid the strings with a single step. It was like a fight between Martial Artists in a workshop of dyes where pieces of cloth were hung up to dry. They would suddenly appear from the cloth behind him and ambush him!

“I wonder if this will work,” Mo Fan closed his eyes and established the Domain of his Earth Element.

Star Dust!

He was making sure his enemies could not ambush him by defending himself with the energy of the Domain, but it was not his true goal.

Mo Fan’s defense was nowhere near as sturdy as Zhao Manyan’s. His Star Dust required a continuous intake of energy to replenish the barrier. It was not very effective if the six evil monks were not attacking him with magic.

“Elemental Accumulation!”

Mo Fan dodged a surprise attack from behind. He quickly gathered his magic around the figure that had attacked him.

Elemental Seal!

It was indeed the same technique Nelson had demonstrated in his class. Nelson might be scum, but his technique was oddly useful in certain situations.

Mo Fan closed his eyes, sensing the density of the Earth Magic around him. He noticed the evil monk backing over a hundred meters away after the attack. It silently crawled up to a pipe above him.

Mo Fan was able to detect a glowing outline of his enemies through the density of his Earth Magic. He could roughly see the evil monk hanging above him.

However, the evil monk that was tagged did not attack Mo Fan right away. It was watching Mo Fan as closely as a spider.

It was waiting for the other five monks to attack Mo Fan so it could deliver the killing blow at the right time!

Mo Fan grinned.

I can see you now. Just wait up there. I’ll deal with you after I’ve tagged your friends too!

Mo Fan had to wait for the evil monks to attack him before he could tag them with his Earth Magic. He did not take out the evil monk above him, since he did not want the rest to notice he was able to see them now!

He would lay low for now by pretending he was unable to attack them back. He was roaming around aimlessly like a blind man in the maze of strings.

Second Seal!

Third Seal!

Fourth Seal, and fifth Seal!

There was only one left. He wondered when it was going to attack him…

Chapter 2245: Camper

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Star Dust floated down to Mo Fan’s feet and formed a pair of fine boots.

Mo Fan had stopped using his Magic Boots ages ago. He had never had the chance to upgrade his magic Equipment since he was short on funds, but he recently discovered he could attach the Star Dust to his feet like a pair of high-quality Magic Boots, granting his feet enormous strength!

When he stepped forward with his left foot, a great impact deformed the ground, shattering the wet rocks under his foot before propelling him to the side like an arrow, evading the scorpion tails lashing at him from three different directions.

“How strange, aren’t they at least two hundred meters away from me?” Mo Fan nailed his feet to a chimney, hanging sideways on the wall.

The three attacks were obviously from three different evil monks, but the five evil monks he had tagged were on the other side.

Shouldn’t there only be one evil monk he had yet to tag?

Did they see through my trick?, Mo Fan wondered.

“That’s not possible, they shouldn’t know I’ve Marked them…” he muttered. “Damn it, I almost fell for it. There are more than six of them!”

Mo Fan heard a strange noise from the chimney just as he arrived at that conclusion.

PA! A huge scorpion tail smashed through the inside of the chimney and stabbed straight at Mo Fan’s chest.

Mo Fan could not react in time. He forcibly turned in the air to dodge the attack, but lost his balance and started falling from the chimney because of it.

The chimney was a few dozen meters high. As Mo Fan was falling with the debris, several figures sprang at him simultaneously and attacked him with their spider claws before he could regain his balance!

Their claws were several meters long, another transformation of the gauntlets that the evil monks had. They were oddly sharp, and ordinary Magic Equipment had no chance of stopping them. The gauntlets were a type of Deathstrike Magic Equipment!

Mo Fan’s Star Dust had not accumulated enough energy to defend him from the claws. He quickly constructed a Space Star Constellation.

“Blink!”

It felt like a few spiders were fighting over food in midair. They were going to tear Mo Fan into pieces in the blink of an eye!

Mo Fan fell into a silver polygon before the claws struck him, and disappeared into it.

Mo Fan fell onto some jars a few hundred meters away. The evil monks who were in the air turned around. They did not understand how Mo Fan had moved from one spot to the other.

Mo Fan clambered back to his feet and looked at the chimney. He cursed under his breath while tagging the five evil monks who had attacked him!

“There are eleven of them!”

Mo Fan had only seen six evil monks at first, so he had focused on tracking down the six evil monks after they surrounded him in the formation. He only realized there were more than six of them after he began marking them with his Elemental Magic.

In other words, there were only six evil monks when they were preparing the formation. Once the area was covered with strings, five more evil monks had emerged from cover. They had backed away after their attacks with great speed so Mo Fan would think there were still only six of them!

It turned out Nelson’s technique of marking the enemies with Elemental Magic was more useful than it seemed. Not only was Mo Fan able to track down his enemies in complicated terrain, he could also confirm their numbers to prevent himself from being ambushed.

Mo Fan had marked eleven enemies, yet he was still not sure if there were even more of them.

The evil monks were using magic Equipment, thus the Circle of Crystal Teeth did not have a lot of Shards, and it was unlikely he could rely on the Star Dust to defend himself.

Besides, being defensive was not Mo Fan’s ../style either. He had only taken a defensive stance first so he could study his enemies!

Mo Fan started repositioning himself. When he went back to his initial spot, he noticed the monk that was hanging above him was still in the same spot. It had only moved a little.

“It’s waiting for an opportunity!” Mo Fan grinned.

The evil monk had not moved because it did not want Mo Fan to notice it. It would strike when the evil monks drove Mo Fan back to this spot, trying to take him out with a deadly blow.

“I’ll deal with you first!” Mo Fan threw a punch above himself.

The flames spread like a swamp; a fiery serpent emerged from it and soared into the air!

The evil monk was sporting a sinister grin as it waited for Mo Fan to fall into the trap. To its surprise, it was greeted by a ferocious burning serpent coming right at it. The serpent had already rammed its head into the creature by the time it tried to scuttle away. It was slammed back into the solid ceiling above it!

BANG!

The blast blew a crater open and filled it with flames. The evil monk quickly turned into charcoal after it was smashed into the hole.

It still did not understand how Mo Fan knew where it was as it died. Even if Mo Fan had eyes above its head, the strings would still block his sight!

“F**king camper!” Mo Fan cursed. “And you, do you think I don’t know you are hiding under the ground? If you like the ground so much, you can stay in it forever!”

Mo Fan suddenly slammed his palm on the ground. Rocks erupted in the shape of a circle, followed by strong vibrations deeper in the ground.

The rocks in the area were condensing rapidly. The soil hardened with a higher density and loosened with a lower density. The evil monk was hiding in loose soil, allowing it to move around freely, like a scorpion under the ground.

Mo Fan compressed the soil with Earth Wave, filling up the gaps between the sand to harden the ground.

The evil monk was crushed to death before it had time to burst out of the ground. Its remains were stuck between the rocks. He had even saved it the cost of a funeral!

“Trying to ambush me from behind? Why don’t you look around first?” Mo Fan turned around and saw an icy flicker approaching.

Mo Fan had also spread the Aura of his Dark Vein out as he was Marking his enemies.

The evil monk assumed Mo Fan was trying to trick it, and completely ignored his warning.

However, a black arm wrapped around its neck and clenched tightly even as it approached Mo Fan. The grip was so strong that it suffocated instantly.

The evil monk struggled fiercely to break free from the grip, but an icy dagger stabbed deeply into its right eye!

Chapter 2246: If You’re Really Students…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“AHHHHH!” the evil monk whose right eye had been pierced shrieked in pain. They were specifically trained by the Black Vatican to kill, so they were already numb to pain, but the Shadow Demon’s strike was so brutal and painful that it fainted right away.

The Shadow Demon wrapped its long arm around the monk’s neck and strangled it to death after it lost consciousness.

“Holy crap, who taught you that? Shouldn’t you give it some face?” Mo Fan grumbled after witnessing the monk’s death.

Couldn’t the shade just slice its throat and give it a quick death? Why did it have to strangle the evil monk to death with its arm? The monk struggled so fiercely, but the shade had knocked the monk unconscious first before strangling it to death. Mo Fan had never seen a Shadow Demon with such a twisted personality!

Shadow Demons were Darkness Creatures that appeared after the Dark Material had absorbed a victim’s energy. They were the creatures from the Dark Plane most frequently Summoned by a Black Mage.

Most Shadow Demons had their own ways of killing. Slicing a victim’s throat was the most common way. Stabbing in the heart was quite common too, but a few arrogant Shadow Demons had certain preferences when it came to killing their prey.

However, those arrogant Shadow Demons were usually close to evolving to their next form. Once they mastered different killing techniques, it would not be long until they evolved into an Elder of the Shadow Tribe. So far, Mo Fan had not seen any of the Elders of the Shadow Tribe killing their prey with the same techniques!

—

The rest of the evil monks stopped attacking after Mo Fan took out three of them.

The creatures were obviously intelligent, and realized that Mo Fan was able to sense where they were hiding. They would only end up like their dead comrades if they kept attacking recklessly!

“Do you think I can’t find you after you stop attacking?” Mo Fan had already marked eleven of the monks. He could sense their whereabouts perfectly. “Giant Shadow Spikes!”

Mo Fan waved his hand and fired the upgraded version of the Shadow Spikes at the creature that had tried to ambush him from behind the chimney.

The chimney had smoke coming out of it. Mo Fan simply ignited it and set the chimney on fire.

The evil monk was nailed to the chimney. Flames started rising under its feet, like it was waiting for a death sentence after being nailed to a wooden post. It could only beg the flames to burn a little slower or grant it a quick death!

“Didn’t you guys want to dismember me? I shall give you the same treatment!” Mo Fan stared at the monks that had shown up later.

“Awoo!”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf suddenly lunged forward out of nowhere and bit a monk that was hiding behind the jars.

The Wolf was not in a rush to snap the monk’s neck. He sprinted along while dragging the evil monk with him and stomped onto the back of another monk, knocking it into the junkyard that was now in flames.

The Wolf broke the first monk’s neck and dug his claws into its body. Its blood and flesh soon scattered through the air.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was very excited, as it had been a long time since Mo Fan Summoned him to fight on his behalf. He showed the evil monks no mercy!

The evil monks were taken out one by one. Blue Bat remained at the side throughout the fight. Her subordinates were as worthless as a pack of wild dogs to her. She did not think it was a pity to lose them.

The evil monks were not strong individually, but they were a nuisance when they had the number advantage. Unfortunately, they were not much of a threat to Mo Fan. It was a one-sided fight after Mo Fan saw through their trick.

——

The Sixth Mound…

Zhao Manyan felt like he was a qualified engineer after he managed to fix the path across the river. He managed to find the source of the river through the complicated terrain.

“We have to go, Mo Fan must have come into contact with people of the Black Vatican by now,” Mu Bai said urgently.

Mu Bai had placed a few flea-like insects on Mo Fan before he left. Most of them had died when Mo Fan took the Teleportation Portal, but the last one had died not long ago, conveying the impression that Mo Fan was involved in a fight.

“I know that too, but we have to find our way to the Seventh Mound first, because of the stupid design of these Mounds!” Zhao Manyan swore.

—

They followed the path and found their way to the Seventh Mound.

The Seventh Mound was located near a dam. The water in the dam was about to spill over due to the recent heavy downpours.

They found a group of soaked students on the dam, resting under a little booth. They seemed injured.

“They must be the students who lost their way,” Zhao Manyan murmured.

“Mm, let’s go and ask them,” Mu Bai nodded.

The two ran to the booth. The rain was getting heavier. The mountains were getting chillier too, making them feel uncomfortable.

“Students, have you seen any outsiders in the mountains?” Mu Bai asked them.

“Are you a teacher? Didn’t you come to rescue us? Why are you asking us such a strange question?” one of the students answered.

“We have something more important to attend to. By the way, where is your teacher?” Mu Bai asked.

“We don’t know. We were separated. It’s only us here…”

“Aren’t you the guest lecturers from China? Didn’t you come to bring us back to school?”

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan were getting headaches. These students only wanted to go back to the Aorus Sacred Institute. They were not going to learn anything useful from them.

However, it seemed like they had not encountered the Black Vatican. The Seventh Mound should be safe now, since they had repaired the path. The people of the Aorus Sacred Institute would soon come and escort the students back to school.

“We have to go to the Eighth Mound for something important. Just keep an eye on the surroundings and don’t go around alone,” Mu Bai warned them.

“Don’t go, our teacher is already missing. It’s dangerous for us to stay here!” a tall student spoke up.

“It’s fine, you are safe here. We are really in a hurry…”

“What is more important than our lives? Aren’t you teachers?”

Mu Bai frowned. He was already tired of looking after these students, yet their teacher was not with them?

“So why are you keeping us here?” Zhao Manyan went up to the tall student watching them coldly.

“I was hoping you could protect us,” the student stated uncertainly.

“Is that so? I don’t mind protecting you… if you are really students,” Zhao Manyan said agreeably.

Mu Bai glanced at Zhao Manyan in surprise. They are not students?

What are they, then?

Chapter 2247: Venomous Insect Shamans

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What…what are you talking about?” The tall student began to panic.

“Humph, Hansen is already compromised. He has already given me the names of his associates. There’s no point in putting up a disguise any further!” Zhao Manyan sneered.

The tall student’s expression changed instantly.

Hansen was compromised?

Didn’t he do a good job with his cover? He was staying close to Sancha. He was supposed to be the last person among them to blow his cover!

However, the guy had mentioned Hansen’s name right away. It meant he knew everything!

“We don’t know what you are talking about…” the tall student took a step back with a fake smile. “Perhaps you are tired of living!”

His eyes suddenly emitted a ghastly light, like a ghost.

He had a huge build already, but his body continued to expand after his eyes started glowing. His muscles were wriggling like there were bugs under his skin.

The wriggling bugs were enlarging his body!

Green ooze poured out of the student’s body as ten huge maggots wrapped around him and turned him into a monster!

“Don’t even bother using these petty tricks in front of your Grandpa Zhao!” Zhao Manyan scoffed at him.

The glow in the student’s eyes obviously belonged to Curse or Psychic Magic. It was inflicting fear on Zhao Manyan, trying to make him hallucinate!

There was no way a living human could turn into a monster crawling with bugs in an instant. He was not the f**king Hulk!

The monster let out a cry!

Centipedes, spiders, scorpions, and poisonous maggots came out of his throat and flew at Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai like a sandstorm.

Zhao Manyan chuckled. Trying to trick us with an illusion?

It was just a breath attack at most. Even if the student did turn into a monster, how could there be so many venomous insects in his body?

Zhao Manyan casually cast a defensive spell. He totally assumed the student was tricking them with an illusion.

The centipedes were as long as human arms, the spiders were as big as human heads, and the maggots were half a meter long. They fell upon Zhao Manyan in great numbers.

Zhao Manyan was like a retard standing on a deck. Not only was he soaked from the splashes of the waves, he was soon going to be buried by the rolling waves!

Mu Bai was shocked when he saw what was going on with Zhao Manyan.

Those insects are real!

In other words, the tall student was not using an illusion. He had turned into a monster for real!

Mu Bai had no idea what kind of magic the student was using, but there were indeed ways to turn into a monster. He took a step back cautiously.

The rest of the students did not run after they saw the tall student turning into a monster. They were obviously on its side.

The uniforms that three of the students were wearing burst open as different insects began emerging from their pores.

The tanned body of one of the female students was crawling with beetles. It looked like a bunch of savage beetles were eating her flesh.

The beetles were only thumb-sized, but their numbers were so great that they were crawling on one another’s shells.

They had no idea how many layers the beetles had stacked up into. They seemed to be moving around randomly, yet they were crawling in the same direction as the female student.

“A Wriggling Insect Monster, and a Beetle Monster!”

Mu Bai was sure that these people were using Poison Magic. However, it would take a person’s entire life to raise enough venomous insects to cover them up and turn them into a monster.

They even had to feed the insects with their own flesh, so they would be compatible with them!

That being said, the strange magic was not a symbol of the Black Vatican, but of the Venomous Insects Shamans, which were quite common in the Andes Mountains.

The Andes Mountains had the safest insects in the world. Mages had been using them to turn themselves into Venomous Insect Shamans for several centuries.

The infamous shamans in Peru were of the same tradition as these Venomous Insect Shamans.

Mu Bai glanced at Zhao Manyan as he crawled to his feet after being fed a banquet of seafood. His whole body was swelling up from being stung by the insects.

His eyelids were so swollen that he looked like Ultraman!

Mu Bai let out a sigh.

Zhao Manyan had learned a great lesson from being ignorant.

He should have realized those people were a bunch of Venomous Insects Shamans when he saw their bodies were covered in insects.

Their sweat pores could attract venomous mosquitoes. Their saliva contained the eggs of insects. Their flesh was a breeding ground for the bugs!

“Old Zhao, keep going forward and make your way to the Eighth Mound. I’ll handle these Venomous Insects Shamans,” Mu Bai told him.

Mu Bai had experimented a lot on insects. He always wanted to meet a Venomous Insect Shaman in the Andes Mountains. He was fine with fighting a Venomous Insect Shaman, if he could not befriend one.

“Take care of yourself. Have you been keeping a journal lately? Why don’t you tell me where I can find it before we split up,” Zhao Manyan managed to reply.

“Just go!”

“Oh…”

Zhao Manyan tried his best to keep his eyes open. His eyes were so swollen that he could only see straight ahead.

He wondered if rubbing the stings with a boiled egg was going to help. It would be tricky to look for the Eighth Mound under his circumstances…

Zhao Manyan looked behind him with a worried expression after running a hundred meters away from the dam.

Those students were obviously members of the Black Vatican. They had pretended to go on an excursion to destroy the path between the Sixth and Seventh Mounds. They were guarding the Seventh Mound to stop people from going to the Ninth Mound.

The Black Vatican was clearly up to something!

Luckily, he had been smart enough to trick the students into exposing themselves.

The truth was, he had not known for sure that the students were hiding something. It was impossible to identify a member of the Black Vatican unless they took their masks off themselves.

Zhao Manyan quickly came up with the idea of claiming Hansen, who had disguised himself as Sancha’s bodyguard, was compromised.

Hansen was stronger than most of the students in the school. Zhao Manyan guessed he might be leading the spies in the school.

He just had to give it a try to find out the answer!

Zhao Manyan was quite pleased with himself. He had been getting smarter lately.

A deafening roar shook the woods while Zhao Manyan was still immersed in self-admiration. He saw a giant creature rising from the water.

The creature was an insect too, yet it was as imperious as a dragon and as menacing as a snake!

The bulging wings on its back were made of sharp scales. It looked like a futuristic battleship when it spread its wings!

Its horns, wings, and bones were intimidating to look at. Anyone would feel like they were suffocating under its pressure!

“Holy crap, what a powerful monster! Mu Bai, please don’t die…” Zhao Manyan gasped.

Hang on…

Why is the creature attacking the members of the Black Vatican?

Seriously? Is it Mu Bai’s pet?

That’s f**king insane!

Chapter 2248: It’s All a Misunderstanding

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Since Mu Bai had Summoned the Ruler-level Insect he had raised, Zhao Manyan believed the fight would only last for a few minutes.

Zhao Manyan put on a suit of Concealing Armor as he made his way to the Eighth Mound. It was not very useful in fights, but it could help him avoid demon creatures when he was in their territory.

Most demon creatures were carnivores. They would attack humans at first sight, and those with a sharp sense of smell could pick up a human scent from several kilometers away. It was unlikely that human Mages who ventured too deep into the woods would leave in one piece.

This expensive magic Equipment was useful in situations like this, like an invisible hack. Zhao Manyan did not have to worry about attracting demon creatures as he ventured deep into their territories.

They would only treat him like a common hare in the woods, which they would not bother wasting their time on.

Zhao Manyan kept hearing roars of demon creatures between the Seventh and Eighth Mounds. He was not as strong as Mo Fan, and could not just clear a path with force. He would find himself at a standstill if he was surrounded by demon creatures!

“Strange, where is the Mound?

“It’s supposed to be here, but why is there nothing but a muddy swamp?

“These mud statues look very real, but why are they in such weird postures?

“So it’s here, I was almost buried alive under the mud! Why did they build the Eighth Mound in a pit?”

Zhao Manyan looked around and discovered a structure in the mud pit. It had almost blended in with the surroundings.

He was merely following the guidance of the green stones. He was about to set out for the Ninth Mound when a filthy man crawled out of a half-collapsed structure.

The man was wearing a kasaya. He smelled like mud, too.

“Brother, what happened here? Are you alright?” Zhao Manyan quickly went over and helped the man up.

“I’m fine!” The man was a little alert, yet pretended to be grateful.

“Someone is trying to break through the Seventh Mound, so Hansen told me to deliver a message, but I didn’t find anyone here. I was about to go to the Ninth Mound,” Zhao Manyan told the man.

“I’m not sure what happened here either. I’m just a little Deacon,” the monk answered.

“That’s a little troublesome,” Zhao Manyan wiped off the rain on his face. His expression suddenly changed, “A little Deacon will do!”

Zhao Manyan suddenly slammed his right fist into his left palm. A brown light burst out of his hands and spread rapidly into their surroundings.

The brown light swept across the mud nearby. A huge boulder with jagged edges emerged from the swamp. It was as heavy and thick as a bridge pier!

More bridge piers emerged from the swamp and surrounded the area like a wrestling ring.

The monk was trapped in the ring together with Zhao Manyan, who had a grin on his face.

He really was getting smarter. He was able to expose a Deacon of the Black Vatican so easily!

A Deacon’s status was quite high in the Black Vatican. Even though they were after the Evil Herbalist, it was likely that the Deacon might know where the Evil Herbalist was!

“Brother, what are you doing? I didn’t do anything to you,” the monk protested with a confused face.

“I’m just building a shelter from the rain. Don’t take it seriously,” Zhao Manyan replied lightly.

A shelter from the rain? The monk felt an urge to spit on Zhao Manyan’s face. The ring was completely enclosed. There was no gap for even sunlight to pass through!

On top of that, the ring was slowly shrinking. It was obvious that only one of them could leave the ring alive!

“Brother, you should think twice about this. I’m just a pilgrim. I’m not a fan of killing and fighting. I don’t care which faction you are from. Let’s just treat it as a simple meet and greet,” the monk offered quickly.

“Why are you so oily-mouthed as a monk? Isn’t your job delivering all living creatures from suffering?” Zhao Manyan scolded him.

“Are you saying I don’t have work ethics? After what happened last time, I went to Potala Palace and prayed for every life that was lost. I’ve already prayed thirty-four thousand six hundred and seventy times,” the monk said righteously.

The monk purposely took off his hood to reveal his forehead and face.

He was surprisingly tanned. There were obvious scars on his forehead, which looked like his third eye.

“After what happened? What do you mean?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Bo City! I prayed the same times as the number of casualties. How can you say I have no virtue? It’s rare to find a considerate monk like me!” the monk Wu Ku stated proudly.

“F**k me!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

What the heck? Wasn’t he just a little Deacon? How is he even related to Bo City?

Wasn’t Bo City Mo Fan’s hometown? There were a lot of casualties during the calamity, but Zhao Manyan had no idea of the exact number. How could this monk know the number by heart?

“Who? Who are you!?” Zhao Manyan demanded.

“Why are you trapping me here if you don’t know who I am?” Wu Ku’s eyes widened.

Wu Ku thought the man already knew he was a Head Priest in the Black Vatican, and that was why he had trapped him in the ring.

Wu Ku even panicked a little. He had thought Zhao Manyan was an authority of the Holy Judgment Court, or one of the Angels of the Sacred City.

It turned out to be a false alarm!

“You told me you were only a little Deacon, so I was planning to take you down in return for some prize money!” Zhao Manyan replied quickly.

“I was lying to you when I found out you weren’t telling the truth… it seems there’s a little misunderstanding between us,” Wu Ku answered.

“Yeah, it’s a misunderstanding,” Zhao Manyan felt his head hurting.

The guy was not just a little Deacon! He was actually someone important in the Black Vatican, based on what he knew about Bo City!

Zhao Manyan was well aware of his own strength. It was impossible for him to take on a core member of the Black Vatican, since he was just a defensive Mage!

“Actually, I don’t like killing and fighting either…” Zhao Manyan lost his confidence.

The monk was a little too strong for him. He had no chance of defeating him. He had to drag the fight out until Mo Fan or Mu Bai came along!

“So why don’t we part ways without any hard feelings? I can tell you have a bright future ahead based on your looks. You shouldn’t be risking your life on a petty monk like me, right?” Wu Ku proposed.

Wu Ku was also unsure of Zhao Manyan’s strength, and he was not a great fighter. He just had some tricks to preserve his life.

Mo Fan’s sudden appearance had disrupted their plans. Wu Ku had decided to run away on his own to protect his cover. He did not expect to stumble into a guy and get trapped in a ring as soon as he left the underground.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Sir, it’s not like I don’t want to part ways, but this ring is pretty disgusting. Only one of us is allowed to leave it,” Zhao Manyan admitted in a helpless manner.

Great, the guy doesn’t want to fight either! It was very rare to meet an evil person who did not want to fight him!

If Zhao Manyan did not find the monk incompatible because he was a member of the Black Vatican, he might even consider having a few drinks with him!

Speaking of which, was the monk telling the truth? The things he said about Bo City?

He had never heard of Salan having a monk under her…

“Your ring doesn’t last forever, right?” Wu Ku inquired.

“It will disappear on its own after two hours,” Zhao Manyan apologized.

“Then let’s talk for two hours. It’s been a while…a while since I have had a pleasant conversation with anyone. I find you quite approachable too. I won’t feel bored talking to you for a time,” Wu Ku offered.

“Yeah, sure. I’m not confident enough to beat you, and you aren’t a fan of fighting either. Why don’t we talk nicely? Perhaps I can convince you to do good. After all, there is salvation in repentance. Sir, you should turn yourself in when you still can instead of obstinately persisting in doing things the wrong way. You might be able to accumulate some merit for your next life,” Zhao Manyan nodded.

“(Cough cough), mister, why are you stealing my words? However, you aren’t wrong to say it from your perspective,” Wu Ku agreed.

“You think so, too? We should live with a clear conscience. Look at the lives you have taken. How can you sleep peacefully? If you can, you won’t have to walk all the way to Lhasa and knock your head on the ground until you have those scars on your forehead,” Zhao Manyan leaned back against the wall of the ring.

The Wrestling Ring of Rocks was one of Zhao Manyan’s trump cards. He only used it because he did not want the man to escape, but he did not expect that he would end up fighting a life-and-death duel with the monk.

Zhao Manyan had sensed a powerful Aura from Wu Ku when he was about to make his move previously. The monk seemed to be answering his questions calmly, yet he was on alert and ready to kill Zhao Manyan at all times.

Zhao Manyan knew the monk was stronger than him. If a fight did break out, he would end up dead.

Wu Ku seemed to realize Zhao Manyan was a defensive Mage. Unless Zhao Manyan was reckless enough to attack him, he would have trouble breaking through Zhao Manyan’s defenses, even if he expended all his energy.

Wu Ku was pretty much trapped inside the ring with a turtle! He could just slice the turtle’s head off, but if it insisted on hiding in its shell, he would have no chance of breaking the shell, even if he smashed it until his hand was broken.

If they already knew the outcome of the battle, why would they bother wasting their energy?

Magic was not the only way to defeat an enemy. As the Head Priest of the Black Vatican, his main role was to spread the Black Vatican’s teachings and corrupt people’s minds.

Was this guy seriously trying to convince him to do good?

Does this guy believe he can convince me to join the Black Vatican instead in less than an hour?, Zhao Manyan was thinking in return.

The monk could tell this guy was more of an emotional person. He could start from his close ones!

“Human flesh can only last for a hundred years at most, but a soul exists forever. Have you ever thought of the possibility that humans are actually trapped in their flesh? Billions of people are trapped in their flesh in this world!” Wu Ku began his teachings.

“I can think of this world as a virtual world. The real us are actually playing a game or fighting a dungeon in these bodies. Is that what you are saying?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Exactly, you are very wise. The truth is, Master Salan is only trying to free the people of this world from their cages, so they can achieve real freedom,” Wu Ku preached.

“Is this how you justify yourself?” Zhao Manyan smirked.

“No, it’s real. If you are a sincere believer and devoted to our church, you can see the real you instead of your physical body. Our world is just one cage inside another. The bonds from our family, work, school… Think about it, a prisoner who has forgotten about the outside world might think they belong in the cage, but they will only realize what they want when they are truly free!” Wu Ku pontificated.

“So the people who died should thank you for freeing them?’ Zhao Manyan said.

“They don’t have to thank us, as we are family in the afterworld. Our efforts are worth it if we can free our brothers and sisters from their cages!” Wu Ku said piously.

“Do you have a brochure or something for me to refer to? I’m struggling to understand what you are telling me all at once,” Zhao Manyan went on.

“We don’t have a brochure. It might be hard to digest. I can explain it to you in a different way. Brother, you have a family, right? If I read your face and palm correctly… you must have a brother. Your father… mm, something bad must have happened to him,” Wu Ku said.

“Say, aren’t you a monk? Since when did you become a fortune-teller? And how are you so accurate?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise.

“Monks do fortune-telling too! Since you have a brother, there’s a strong bond by blood between you two, since he’s part of your family. Therefore, you are willing to do a lot of things for him without any reason,” Wu Ku said.

“I had sex with my brother’s fiancée recently,” Zhao Manyan admitted calmly.

Wu Ku was stunned. How reckless were young people nowadays? How could he lay his hands on his sister-in-law…

1

“Let’s talk about your father. I believe your father is the person whom you respect the most…” Wu Ku quickly switched the topic.

“I last met my father in the hospital. He passed away because I removed his oxygen mask,” Zhao Manyan cut him off.

Wu Ku immediately swallowed the words he had just come up with.

Killing his father and hooking up with his sister-in-law! Yet the man was trying to convince him to do good!

He just needed to give the man a form to fill in his name, and he would already be qualified as a member of the Black Vatican in two hours!

“What I was trying to say is, your family is only bound to you by flesh, yet you are obliged to respect and treat them kindly. What about the others in the Black Vatican who will forever be your family after death? Shouldn’t you treat them better? Ugh, your situation is a little unique. You might have crossed the line with your family in your current life, so you shouldn’t treat your brothers and sisters in the next life the same way. It’s not too late for you to repent. There is salvation in repentance, young man!” Wu Ku berated him.

“Speaking of which, I have something to ask you. My brother and I are enemies of life and death now. It’s either he dies, or I die. However, if I kill him, my mother will be overwhelmed by grief. After all, she’s the only family member I have. It doesn’t matter what my brother did to me; if I kill him, I’m responsible for taking his life. My mother might follow my father’s path when she finds out about it. Do you think I should kill my brother or not?” Zhao Manyan asked sincerely.

“Why is your family so complicated? That’s a really tough question.. Please give me some time to think about it,” Wu Ku answered, scratching his bald head.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s not that complicated. My brother did something wrong to me, so I can no longer treat him as my brother. If I don’t kill him, he will do everything to kill me,” Zhao Manyan informed the monk.

“If I was your brother, I’d also do everything to kill you after what you did,” Wu Ku said.

“It’s not what you think it is. It’s true love between my brother’s fiancée and me,” Zhao Manyan stated righteously.

“Do you hear what you are saying? Brother, I can’t really give you good advice considering what I’ve done, but when it comes to the relationship between a man and a woman, as a dedicated believer of Buddhism, I must warn you about the consequences. You should have heard of the phrase ‘three knives and six holes’…” Wu Ku said delicately.

“Monk, you’re surprisingly experienced, but I ain’t Chan Ho-Nam,” Zhao Manyan chided him.

{ TL Note: Chan Ho-Nam is a fictional character in ‘ Young and Dangerous’ .}

“Chan Ho-Nam did it under the influence of drugs, but you weren’t. You didn’t use force on her, either. You have completely abandoned your basic virtue as a family member for your own pleasure. Forget it, I’m not going to convince you to join us. You might lay your hands on our brothers and sisters too!” Wu Ku placed his palms together and murmured “ Amitabha ” repeatedly under his breath.

Zhao Manyan blushed angrily. Why did no one believe in him?

He and Sancha were compatible soulmates. He resonated greatly with her interests, hobbies, and even the tiniest things. Why couldn’t they be together?

“Let’s not stray from the topic. Aren’t you supposed to give me guidance if you are a monk? Tell me, should I kill my brother, or should I spare his life and continue living like a fugitive?” Zhao Manyan demanded.

Wu Ku rubbed his sleeves and answered, “From your perspective, if you insist on stealing your brother’s lover, you should get rid of your brother, too. It’s in line with our teachings in the Black Vatican too, every man for himself.”

“Didn’t you say the Black Vatican’s mission is to free people?” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

“We are discussing your family now. Don’t be distracted,” Wu Ku rebuked him.

“Mm, actually, I’ve never told anyone these things. I’m not sure who I could discuss them with,” Zhao Manyan smiled wryly.

“That’s the nature of it. There are a lot of things we can’t talk about to our close ones, since they might be worried. We can’t tell our friends, either, as they won’t be able to relate what they have been through to your situation. You can only share your vicissitudes of life with strangers. Why do you think people like visiting temples and burning joss sticks so much?” Wu Ku exclaimed.

“Monk, I can tell you are an expert in this field. Why do you insist on sticking to the salvation plan when you don’t even believe it yourself? Why don’t you open a temple? I’ll invest in you. You can just give people advice everyday. It’s better than being a Head Priest in the Black Vatican. You’re not earning much from doing illegal stuff,” Zhao Manyan suggested.

“If I had met you earlier, I might be satisfied being a little monk in a temple. I could do a little fortune-telling and listen to people’s troubles…” Wu Ku admitted.

“It’s not too late now. You can save a lot of lives without doing anything. I can talk to Mo Fan and Mu Bai on your behalf too, so they can forgive what you did and let you be a proper monk,” Zhao Manyan said.

“It’s a little difficult,” Wu Ku sighed and shook his head.

“Why is it difficult? Just listen to my advice and lay down your knife to repent and be absolved of your crimes,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Fate has brought us together. I’ll read some scriptures to help your soul find peace in a moment,” Wu Ku said.

“Help my soul find peace? I’m not dead,” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

The rocks surrounding them turned into sand as soon as Zhao Manyan finished his sentence, blown away by the wind.

Sand drifted in the rain as the ring collapsed. Two men dressed in dark red and blue raincoats stood beside Wu Ku.

The men in raincoats were emitting an icy Aura, and glaring at Zhao Manyan as menacingly as leopards.

“My men are here. I’m afraid you won’t be alive for long. That being said, I’m a man of my word, so I will still read the scriptures for you,” Wu Ku smiled like a wily old fox.

“Bald donkey, how dare you set me up when I’m being honest with you!” Zhao Manyan snarled.

“It’s very simple to resolve your problems. If you die here, your mother won’t be sad, and your brother will never know you have slept with his fiancée. He can still marry her happily and you will be able to serve your father in Hell. Isn’t it perfect?” Wu Ku grinned like a mad monk.

Zhao Manyan backed away nervously.

“Farewell,” Wu Ku called out. He was only talking to Zhao Manyan to buy time until his men arrived to back him up.

He was not that good at fighting. He would let his men handle the killing instead!

“Likewise,” Zhao Manyan replied generously.

Wu Ku did not understand what Zhao Manyan said. He thought Zhao Manyan was only saying that after accepting his fate, when he suddenly sensed something deadly approaching from behind.

Wu Ku quickly dodged to the side and used the man in a dark red raincoat as cover.

The man in the dark red raincoat could not react in time, and the incoming lightning bolt blew a hole through his chest. His blood splattered across the ground.

“Asshole!” the other guy yelled angrily. He turned around and glared at the young Mage who was standing there soaked in the rain.

“You have no right to yell in front of me!” Mo Fan switched to the Shadow Element.

A black chain lunged at the man in the dark blue raincoat and wrapped around his neck. The hook at the end of the chain extended as the chain was pulled!

The front of the chain was covered by black spikes, which penetrated the man’s body without any resistance. His neck, chest, arms, and waist were impaled by the spikes, like a criminal undergoing trial.

The hook was stuck into the man’s body. Mo Fan whipped the chain and tossed the man to the side like he was just a piece of trash.

“I’m afraid you weren’t the only one waiting for backup. I might not be able to kill you, but my brother can!” Zhao Manyan grinned like a wily old fox too!

They were both adults. They were not naïve enough to think they could convince the other to change their beliefs in just a few sentences.

They were also both waiting for backup. Zhao Manyan was extremely confident he could trap the Head Priest of the Black Vatican for two hours!

Wu Ku began to panic. He could sense the demon inside Mo Fan was waking up!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You can try to explain your plan of salvation to my brother and see if he believes it or not,” Zhao Manyan replied loftily.

What kind of bullsh** were their beliefs? Even if people treated their lives as a game, others had no right to kick them out of the game without their permission!

The Black Vatican came up with such lies to justify the actions of criminals and rebels. Humans were not animals. They were superior because they knew how to obey laws, control themselves, and had lines they would never cross. Flesh alone did not make them humans!

No one could stop a human from being an animal, but they had no right to talk about humanity after they turned into animals. Humans could treat them the same way as they treated animals!

It was the exact way Mo Fan was treating the Black Vatican now.

There was no point in someone telling him they were still humans after they joined the Black Vatican. They were just a bunch of greedy and savage animals who were beyond redemption. He just needed to kill them all!

Wu Ku was a Head Priest who had met all kinds of people. He could easily tell sharing his teachings with Mo Fan was as useless as a pig that cried for mercy in front of a butcher. There was nothing he could do to change Mo Fan’s mind!

It was perfectly normal for a butcher to slaughter a pig.

That was Mo Fan’s attitude toward the Black Vatican. It was part of his virtues!

Wu Ku started backing in the opposite direction. He was most likely a Mage, but he had yet to show them his magic.

However, his footprints were oddly light on the mud. They would not have been able to tell he was trying his best to stay on top of some of the puddles if they had not been observing him closely.

He was skittering across the puddles like a water strider, and easily covered a large distance with every step.

Mo Fan immediately went after Wu Ku after taking care of his men.

Wu Ku was picking up speed, like he could skate across a lake with a single step. Mo Fan was switching between his Earth, Shadow, and Space Elements, yet he could barely see Wu Ku’s back.

“How fast can he move?!” Zhao Manyan was trying his best to chase Wu Ku too, but it was very easy to lose him in the woods, especially in a heavy rain.

—

Wu Ku did not turn around, floating around like a phantom.

He had not expected his men to be taken out so easily!

It seemed that the Black Vatican would need to recruit more reliable talents. They had a lot of smart and cunning people, but none of them stood a chance against a barbarian like Mo Fan, who was determined to kill them all.

Speaking of which, Mo Fan had grown a lot stronger in a short period. In the past they had only had to send an Executioner to make Mo Fan a half-cripple, but now, not only did Blue Bat fail to stop him, he had even killed two Executioners in an instant!

“Hey, monk, where do you think you are going?”

A man in a white suit suddenly showed up in front of him just as Wu Ku was feeling proud of his ability to escape. He was so shocked that he immediately came to a stop.

“Who the heck are you?” Wu Ku blurted out anxiously.

The area was supposed to be their territory, so why did he keep stumbling into strangers? How did these people know where to find them? It had to be the Herbalist’s fault for being so careless. He had been leaving a lot of uncleaned tracks lately!

“Mu Bai from Bo City!” Mu Bai declared coldly.

An enormous shadow was looming behind Mu Bai in the rain. Its feelers were like the horns of an ox, while its body was as massive as a dragon.

Its half-opened mouth was full of shark’s teeth, and still had a dead body hanging from it. It was the tall guy who had been pretending to be a student.

The enormous creature was gnawing at the dead body like it was a sugar-coated Chinese hawthorn that had yet to lose its flavor.

However, the creature immediately spat out the dead body when it discovered the fresher prey in front of it.

Wu Ku swallowed hard.

Mu Bai from Bo City…

Mo Fan from Bo City…

These two, who were once kids in Bo City, had become such powerful Mages. One was capable of killing the Executioners of the Black Vatican with ease, while the other had a Ruler-level Insect that was killing their spies like they were dogs!

“Is it too late for me to start doing good now?” Wu Ku asked with a wince, looking back at Zhao Manyan.

“You are the most humorous member of the Black Vatican I’ve ever seen, but being humorous won’t save you from the offenses you have committed. You are responsible for your own deeds. You should have expected it would come down to this after you caused the calamity in Bo City!” Zhao Manyan answered.

“A Head Priest. Humph, what a surprising catch!” Mo Fan had a puff of black smoke on his left hand.

A deadly hook was visible inside the smoke. At the same time, lightning was crackling wildly on his right hand!

A Head Priest of the Black Vatican…

He had to be the highest-ranked person of the Black Vatican they had met so far. Salan was very elusive. It was difficult to catch the right person, but this Head Priest Wu Ku was clearly the real deal.

They had come all the way to the Aorus Sacred Institute. It would be worth their time if they managed to take out the Head Priest under Salan, who herself was handling one of the three main factions in the Black Vatican!

“Amitabha, I won’t give up so easily,” Wu Ku declared calmly.

“Sure, feel free to fight either of my brothers here!” Zhao Manyan proceeded to set up a Barrier to prevent Wu Ku from running away.

“I already told you I’m not a fan of killing,” Wu Ku said.

“Cut the crap, think of the lives you have taken!” Zhao Manyan yelled back.

“I might be responsible for their deaths, but it doesn’t mean I killed them with my own hands. Fellow gentlemen, please spare my life, and we will spare the Aorus Sacred Institute in return,” Wu Ku said.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai frowned. They did not understand what the monk was saying.

Wu Ku was still standing in a puddle. The raindrops started gathering around him as he waved his sleeves.

The raindrops surrounded Wu Ku like pearls and eventually formed a huge beehive made of water.

“Feel free to take me down if you are confident that you can break through my Rain Hive in three hours to avenge your friends and families, but I can’t guarantee what’s going to happen to the Aorus Sacred Institute in those three hours,” Wu Ku had stopped running. He sat down on the ground and started murmuring strange verses.

“The rain… is getting cloudier…” Mu Bai looked into the distance.

A huge cloud of rain was visible in the distance in the direction of the Aorus Sacred Institute.

“Look at this crystal ball. As a Head Priest, my job is to supervise my subordinates. Blue Bat has already mixed the Evil Herbalist’s elixirs with the rain. Once the rain turns yellow, all of the Andes Mountains will turn into Hell, let alone the Aorus Sacred Institute. The nearby cities will fall victim to it too!” Wu Ku stated firmly.

The crystal ball was displaying some images, much like a surveillance camera. He was using the Chaos Element.

“You may take the crystal ball. It will help you find Blue Bat. Spare me, and I’ll spare the Aorus Sacred Institute too,” Wu Ku vowed.

“Are you sacrificing the rook to save the king?” Zhao Manyan snarled.

“It’s not like I have a choice, do I?” Wu Ku replied easily.

Chapter 2252: Claiming Your Petty Life

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was not willing to let the Head Priest go so easily.

However, it would not be easy to break through his defense, since he could turn the raindrops into a Rain Hive around him. Even Little Flame Belle’s Calamity Fire would need some time to burn it down.

Mu Bai caught the crystal orb Wu Ku threw at them.

Blue Bat was currently visible inside of it, standing on top of a mountain surrounded by people in gray outfits.

Blue Bat’s right shoulder was burned by Mo Fan’s flames when she was escaping from the underground. They could see the burn very clearly in the crystal orb, meaning that Wu Ku was indeed betraying Blue Bat so he could run away.

“Mo Fan, Old Zhao and I will stop Blue Bat. You stay here and handle him,” Mu Bai said.

“Blue Bat isn’t an easy opponent either,” Mo Fan reminded him.

“Trust us, none of them are going to get away today!” Mu Bai said firmly.

“Alright, but be quick, I’ll deal with him here!” Mo Fan nodded.

They could not afford to release Wu Ku. If he was a Head Priest of the Black Vatican, he would be more valuable than Blue Bat, whether or not he was the true culprit of the Calamity of Bo City.

However, they could not let Blue Bat drive the demon creatures in the Andes Mountains into a frenzy, either. Their best option was to split up. Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan would deal with Blue Bat, while Mo Fan took care of the Head Priest!

Wu Ku was clearly not to be underestimated. Otherwise, why did Mo Fan’s Dark Vein keep warning him in both encounters?

The Dark Vein would only warn Mo Fan when something threatened his life!

He could not guarantee that he could take down Wu Ku, but he had to try for the sake of the tens of thousands of lives that had been lost in Bo City!

—

Wu Ku was sitting in the Rain Hive he had constructed. He only opened his eyes after Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan vanished in the distance.

His eyes were as cloudy as the rain. In terms of appearance, he was no different from an ascetic monk. Mo Fan did not understand why he would do perform so many evil deeds when he seemed like a person with no desires.

“Mister, if you three go to Blue Bat, she is dead for sure. You will have achieved something at least, but if you are greedy enough to think you can take both of us down, you might go back empty-handedly,” Wu Ku chided him.

“For some reason, I have a feeling what you are up to is even more disgusting than Blue Bat’s conspiracy,” Mo Fan answered flatly.

The members of the Black Vatican were very concerned about their performances. Blue Bat had conspired for such a long time just to destroy the Aorus Sacred Institute. Why would Wu Ku not plan anything if he was a Head Priest?

“You’ve misunderstood me. I’ve never done anything wicked myself. My job as the Head Priest is to supervise people. Think of it as a construction project. The contractors are the ones handling the work. I just need to do a routine checkup and stay updated on their progress. The rest of the work isn’t my responsibility,” Wu Ku replied.

“Tell it to Yama.” Mo Fan did not want to waste his time talking nonsense with the monk.

“I’m telling you the truth. I was only supervising in Bo City without taking part in it… To be honest with you, Bo City wasn’t our true target. It was just an experiment, so it could have happened anywhere. Unfortunately, Great Deacon Hu Jin insisted on conducting the experiment in a place he was familiar with. I couldn’t help it, I wasn’t a Head Priest back then,” Wu Ku continued explaining, whether or not Mo Fan was listening.

Mo Fan’s attitude toward Wu Ku was completely different from how Zhao Manyan had treated him. Mo Fan was basically saying, I’ll only be in the mood to talk to you when you are dead!

Mo Fan used his strongest Spell to attack the Rain Hive. Star Patterns appeared continuously and formed a Star Palace, which fell from the sky like a meteorite. The tremendous energy it was gathering emerged wildly, like fierce waves on a sea.

Wu Ku could sense the powerful Aura of Mo Fan’s Super Spell and his wrath even when hiding inside his Rain Hive!

“What good is this going to give you? I was helpless in Bo City too. I was actually praying for the dead when we first met in Lhasa! I knocked my head on the ground over thirty thousand times. It took me a few years to finish them! Do you think I have the time to hurt people when I’m willing to go to such an extent?” Wu Ku nattered on. He enjoyed talking to himself.

“What you did meant nothing, since those people are already dead. I’ll believe you if you knock your head thirty thousand times on your way to Hell!” Mo Fan completed a Lightning Spell.

Thousands of lightning sparkles appeared, forming spears. It felt like over a thousand soldiers were surrounding Wu Ku and throwing their spears at him!

Wu Ku frowned when he saw the lightning. He placed his palms together and murmured verses under his breath. The raindrops nearby gathered and circled about him.

The raindrops on the outer layer were replenished continuously, preventing the lightning spears from penetrating through their gaps.

The raindrops of the middle layer were spinning as rapidly as a wind wall, blocking the lightning.

The raindrops of the inner layer combined into a Barrier which absorbed the energy of the lightning that had penetrated the first two layers.

It was only a single defensive Spell, but it consisted of three protective layers.

Mo Fan’s lightning weakened significantly whenever it passed through a layer. The lightning that reached Wu Ku could only scratch his itch!

It justified why Zhao Manyan did not bother fighting Wu Ku. If Mo Fan’s destructive spells were unable to harm Wu Ku, it was unlikely Zhao Manyan could do anything to him!

Zhao Manyan had done his job by buying Mo Fan enough time until he arrived. However, Mo Fan was being troubled by Wu Ku’s outstanding defense now.

His strongest move was to merge with the Little Flame Belle and transform into the Flame Emperor.

Unfortunately, Wu Ku was a Water Mage. Mo Fan’s most reliable Fire Element was not effective against him!

“Mister, there’s no point in you wasting your time on me. Hurry up and find Blue Bat. You might be able to save the Aorus Sacred Institute. If you are late because of me…” Wu Ku encouraged him.

“I have seven Elements. I don’t mind trying each of them. I would like to see if you have enough energy to hold on until then!” Mo Fan answered grimly.

Wu Ku’s expression darkened slightly.

Yeah, this guy has seven Elements!

Their situation was like a crocodile biting a turtle’s shell. The crocodile was not willing to let the turtle go, and the turtle did not dare extend its head from the shell.

The turtle told the crocodile that it did not mind hiding in its shell since it could live for a thousand years, but what about the crocodile?

Wu Ku began to panic. He could still talk reason with someone like Zhao Manyan.

Unfortunately, it was Mo Fan who was standing in front of him. This stubborn guy was determined to claim his life!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had seven Elements now. Even though not all of them had reached the Super Level, Mo Fan had enhanced many of his spells.

For example, his Fiery Fist might only consume the energy needed for an Intermediate Spell, but it was stronger than an Advanced Spell. If he constructed a Star Constellation and Summoned the Fiery Dragons from a burning swamp, he could slowly peel away Wu Ku’s defense.

Even dripping water could penetrate a stone over time. Mo Fan had plenty of patience and determination.

Wu Ku was like a sheep trapped in a wooden pen. He could not do anything but watch Mo Fan gnawing at the wooden logs of his pen.

There was no way he could keep his calm, yet he could not afford to expend too much of his energy.

“Shadow Fiend: Army of Shadows!”

Mo Fan stomped the ground and Summoned a black swamp about them. Darkness Creatures rose from the swamp like an army. Wu Ku was greatly outnumbered.

Wu Ku was nervous when the army of Demon Creatures charged at him.

A solid defense was the most effective way to stop a Destructive Mage, yet even the most solid fortress would fall eventually under continuous bombardment!

Mo Fan was firing endlessly at the fortress, attacking with his most destructive spells. He even switched to the Shadow Element at times!

The Shadow Element was similar to the Ice Element in certain ways. The Ice Element was able to accumulate its energy over time, and turn an area into a frozen ground, making it easier to accumulate and control Ice Magic.

The Shadow Element was the same. The darkness spread across the ground and the sky. The woods that had been covered by a heavy rain turned into a black morass. Even the simplest Shadow Spell was greatly enhanced by the darkness!

Mo Fan’s Army of Shadows had only consisted of a bunch of footmen and riders in the past, but he had Summoned the army of the Ancient Capital from the swamp this time. It felt as if they had all traveled back in time to an ancient battlefield where an army was rampaging!

The Rain Hive was only comparable to a little city before them!

The thicker the darkness, the stronger the Shadow Magic Mo Fan was using. Even the Elder of the Shadow Tribe which could only endure for a limited time under normal circumstances was able to stick around without effort in the Swamp of Darkness.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was leading countless Shadow Demons, fresh ones appearing from the swamp over time.

When the Elder of the Shadow Tribe first appeared, three Shadow Demons would come from the Dark Plane every minute, but there were now ten Shadow Demons crawling out of the murk every minute!

The Army of Shadows had just passed Wu Ku when the Elder of the Shadow Tribe gathered the army of Shadow Demons about him. Wu Ku’s heart pounded heavily when he saw the scale of the army.

Could the Rain Hive really stop the invasion of these Darkness Creatures?

Mo Fan was nothing but a monster. Wu Ku did not believe many people could stop Mo Fan if he tried to break into even the Black Vatican’s main headquarters with force!

“Rainbow Tree!” an icy voice uttered in the distance.

A colorful ray plummeted from the dark sky as Mo Fan was about to order the Elder of the Shadow Tribe to break through the Rain Hive.

It was like a fragment of a meteorite had accidentally fallen into the area, landing at the center of the Swamp of Darkness. The ray of light spread rapidly, like a blessed seed, as soon as it touched the Swamp.

The seed sprouted and grew into a sapling before rapidly erupting into a huge tree. The colorful light it was emitting instantly drove the surrounding darkness away.

The rain was still pouring down heavily, but it became colorful in the light. Mountains of colorful rocks emerged from the ground. An enormous tree stood alone between the sky and the ground, bearing a magnificent and sacred Aura!

Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic dispersed instantly. The Elder of the Shadow Tribe and its Shadow Demons dove into the shrinking swamp in a panic, retreating to their plane.

Light!

A Light Spell that greatly outmatched Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic!

Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic had reached an unimaginable level after he had obtained the Dark Vein. He was no longer afraid to face some Super Mages with it.

To his shock, the Light Magic had completely outmatched his darkness. The whole area was filled with the sacred radiance.

Mo Fan was enraged!

He was so close to breaking through Wu Ku’s Rain Hive. There would have been one less Head Priest of the Black Vatican soon.

However, someone had come to stop him in time!

Mo Fan swore to find out who the person was.

“You’re here. I was almost at my limit!” Wu Ku forced a smile onto his pale face. He would have died at Mo Fan’s hands if no one came to help him!

“Time to go!” the person covered in the colorful light on top of a tree in the distance ordered crisply.

“Aren’t you going to take him out too? He might be a great threat to us in the future,” Wu Ku asked.

“We are leaving!” the person replied in a stronger tone.

Wu Ku shrugged obediently, not daring to say a word further, and ran toward the person quickly.

The person had a tall profile. The light was piercing Mo Fan’s eyes, but he could still tell that it was a woman from her figure.

Even though she did not talk much, Mo Fan’s chest was burning with rage as soon as he heard her voice.

“Salan!” Mo Fan yelled angrily.

He was confident that the person who appeared out of nowhere was Salan!

The Black Vatican’s Red Cardinal!

Salan was in such a rush that she did not have time to disguise herself or modify her voice.

Mo Fan clearly remembered her voice. It was very similar to when he had talked to her over the phone on Chongming Island!

Mo Fan felt his eyes were burning because of the blinding light, yet he completely ignored the pain, overwhelmed by the anger blazing in his chest.

He had made the right choice to keep Wu Ku here!

Salan had come. Only an important member of the Black Vatican like Wu Ku could lure Salan out!

—

Wu Ku was very confused. He did not understand why the Red Cardinal did not eliminate such a great threat after showing herself.

Mo Fan’s strength had improved at an insane pace. He was also a sworn enemy who was determined to uproot the Black Vatican. It made more sense to take care of him now, while he was still in the early stages of the Super Level.

1

Most importantly, Mo Fan and his crew were extremely good at tracking them down!

They had come all the way to the Aorus Sacred Institute because of a single mistake that the Herbalist made. They could not afford to underestimate these young Mages’ capabilities!

Wu Ku was hoping that the Red Cardinal would eliminate the three young Mages now.

Unfortunately, he did not see any intention to murder Mo Fan on his superior. He was surprised when he noticed Salan had a grim expression on her face.

What is wrong with the Red Cardinal? Is it because they had no way of killing Mo Fan now?

A strong wind began to blow in the woods. It was so strong that it almost shredded the trees.

The blinding light shattered like glass before the wind.. Wu Ku spun around hastily. He realized why the Red Cardinal insisted on leaving right away when he saw a mysterious red energy taking over Mo Fan’s body!

Chapter 2254: Just a Step Away

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

They had to leave!

They had to leave at once!

The Red Cardinal was actually risking her life to save him!

—

“Salan, DIE!”

A voice sounding like a devil that had just woken up in the deepest Hells rose behind Wu Ku, sending a terrified chill down his spine.

Wu Ku did not dare turn around. He had never seen anyone who was so powerful that the whole area had turned into a realm of darkness and blood, driving the energy of every Element away!

The Red Cardinal had never planned to fight Mo Fan, as she knew there was a demon inside him. Once the demon woke up, he could crush even the strongest member of the Black Vatican to pieces!

“Space Scroll!” Salan had come prepared.

She immediately used the Space Scroll after Wu Ku reached her. Silver strings interwove around her like they were going to slice the two up, but the silver strings were actually slicing through space so they could enter a space rift.

The sky and the ground were dyed red. A figure with exploding lightning, flames, shadows, silver light, and the glow of the moon in a chaotic state flew toward them. He might only have been the size of an average human, but he was like a towering devil in Wu Ku and Salan’s eyes.

“He can tear the space apart!” Salan frowned coldly.

“What should we do then? Are we done for? It’s all my fault!” Wu Ku looked extremely guilty.

The Space Scroll was extremely rare and expensive. Salan might have come prepared, but Mo Fan’s strength in his demon form was comparable to the Black Dragon Emperor!

The Black Dragon Emperor had managed to reach its claws into the turbulence of space that Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya were in. Similarly, Mo Fan was able to chase after Wu Ku and Salan after they escaped into the rift.

The Space Element was one of Mo Fan’s Elements. He could already maneuver through the turbulence of space and leave it in one piece. He had no trouble doing so after he demonized!

“Time to go!” Salan grabbed Wu Ku and flung her sleeves to open another tunnel in the rift. They left the turbulence of space and landed somewhere.

The tunnel closed very quickly. Salan and Wu Ku found themselves in an abandoned church.

Wu Ku recognized the place. It was a small base used as a meeting point for their operation.

“We are safe… oh my!” Wu Ku was about to let out a relieved sigh when he noticed lightning flickering behind them.

A hand reached out from the lightning like it was prying open the door of an elevator. The devil was forcing his way through the turbulence of space!

“This way!” Salan dragged Wu Ku with her like a miserable dog.

Six Magic Formations with silver lights had been activated in the run-down church. Salan dragged Wu Ku into one of them. A bunch of people who were dressed like Salan and Wu Ku appeared in the church. They had even smeared mud over themselves to disguise themselves as Wu Ku.

They entered the rest of the Space Magic Formations to provide Salan and Wu Ku with some cover.

Mo Fan came out of the turbulence of space. His demonic Aura had weakened a little, but his blood-red eyes were just as intimidating as before.

There were six Teleportation Formations. None of them were reversible.

Salan was well aware of Mo Fan’s abilities in his demon form. There was no way she would show herself if she did not have a plan.

Mo Fan was now forced to choose one out of six Teleportation Formations!

Mo Fan did not have time to analyze his options. He knew each of the Teleportation Formations would lead to a major city!

He had to take his chance to stop Wu Ku and Salan right away. Otherwise, things would be unpredictable once he showed up in a city in his demon form.

The odds were six to one.

Salan was forcing Mo Fan to gamble!

The Head Priest was very important to Salan or she would never have taken such a risk!

She was still bold enough to take the gamble.

One out of six. If Mo Fan was blessed by the Heavens, he would end up making the right choice, and it would be Salan’s end. All her ambitions would be in vain because of a single mistake.

If Mo Fan made the wrong choice, she would be able to save Wu Ku’s life. She would not have to look for a new Head Priest.

Wu Ku had to live at all costs. He was the most important part of her plan!

She could afford to lose the Evil Herbalist and the Chief Extraditor, but not Wu Ku!

—

Walking down a crowded street, Salan threw her raincoat away and picked up an ordinary brown umbrella.

Wu Ku draped a half-transparent raincoat over his shoulders to cover his miserable appearance and the smell of mud. It was a normal raincoat sold by every stall along the road.

The two were walking at a steady pace through the rain. There were tall buildings and pedestrians around them.

Wu Ku shivered as he kept walking.

It was his first time being that close to death. He was panicking more than when he had been surrounded by Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan together.

He never knew Mo Fan had such an ability! Even if he had used his Innate Talent, Mo Fan could still kill him with ease!

“Is he coming after us?” Wu Ku asked nervously.

“He made the wrong choice,” Salan replied stiffly.

“It seems like we are still blessed by the Heavens,” Wu Ku smiled weakly.

“The Heavens never bless anyone. It was just a matter of probability. Picking the right Teleportation Portal had nothing to do with the Heavens,” Salan corrected him coldly.

“Either way, we are safe now. It’s good to be alive,” Wu Ku smiled.

“The only reason I saved you is because you didn’t use your Innate Talent,” Salan stated icily.

“My Innate Talent is the only thing that is valuable to you. I’d keep it even if they were going to kill me, but Blue Bat…” Wu Ku said.

“She won’t live,” Salan declared grimly.

“Does that mean our plan to destroy the Aorus Sacred Institute is going to fail?” Wu Ku had to ask.

“It’s the price you pay for making a mistake.”

“You are so optimistic about it.”

Salan glanced at Wu Ku stonily. The man did not dare utter any more nonsense.

“Ask the Chief Extraditor to erase every trace of my false identity, the abandoned church, the Ninth Mound, and Blue Bat. Abandon those we should,” Salan ordered him.

“Yes, I’m on it. The branch we’ve put in so much effort into is gone. We’ve been exposed too much this time. You even gave up the abandoned church to save me, but don’t you worry, I’ll make up for it,” Wu Ku sighed.

Wu Ku bowed to express his resentment and determination.

He did not get a response from Salan after a long time.

He scratched his head and lifted his gaze, only then realizing the Red Cardinal was nowhere to be seen.

She was like an ordinary woman, blending in with the city. It would be difficult to track her down.

Ding dang…

A few coins were thrown in front of Wu Ku.

Wu Ku looked at the pedestrian who had given him the coins helplessly.

Fine, he had disguised himself perfectly as a beggar.

Wu Ku picked up the coins and thanked the fellow sincerely. He even blessed the man for his kind act.

Chapter 2255: The Abandoned Church

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Banlo City…

The sky was cloudy in the evening. The light of the setting sun put a red veil on the buildings in the city.

The pedestrians took out their phones and began to take pictures. They were mesmerized by the rare phenomenon and assumed it to be a good omen. They did not notice a man with blood-red eyes standing at the junction.

“Are you going to move? Do you think you can ignore the traffic rules just because you are a Mage?”

Honk!

Piercing horns sounded around Mo Fan. He had an urge to destroy the vehicles around him because of the annoying noise.

The sunlight slowly faded away. The sinister Aura Mo Fan was emitting slowly dispersed with it.

Mo Fan knew he had taken the wrong Teleportation Portal the moment he showed up in Banlo City.

The whole process of Salan leaving the turbulence of space and walking into a Teleportation Portal had only lasted for half a minute.

The Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican would have died if she had not had half a minute advantage over him.

Mo Fan was fully confident that he could kill Salan in his demon form!

Salan was very familiar with Mo Fan’s abilities. She immediately ran away as soon as she showed herself.

There was no way Mo Fan would not feel anxious about it. That being said, Mo Fan also knew Salan would come prepared. There was no way she would let a single mistake of the Head Priest ruin everything she had done!

—

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and stared at the stormy clouds above the city. He kept hearing horns around him as the vehicles drove past him rapidly. A few bold drivers even wound down their windows and scolded Mo Fan.

Mo Fan ignored the shouts. The blood-red glow in his eyes faded away as he collected his thoughts.

Even though he had made the wrong choice, the whole affair did not take very long, so he had yet to completely transform into his demon form.

If he had turned into a demon in a bustling city without any targets, he had no clue how he would replenish the enormous amount of energy that he expended after using the power of the Demon Element.

He was not far from the abandoned church where the Teleportation Portals were. Mo Fan withdrew the power of the Demon Element and headed for the abandoned church.

——

The abandoned church was around seven kilometers away, on the outskirts of Banlo City.

Wu Ku had been trapped by Zhao Manyan at the Eighth Mound. It had been nothing but a lucky accident. Even Salan did not expect to find the three of them in the Aorus Sacred Institute, and coincidentally end up trapping Wu Ku.

Therefore, Salan must have come in a rush, or she would not have taken such a huge risk by betting her life on six to one odds.

Operation Guillotine in the Ancient City was the Holy Judgment Court and the Enforcement Union’s most successful attempt to hunt Salan down. There had been ten high-ranked officials involved, meaning that the odds were ten to one there!

The Enforcement Union had sacrificed so many spies to finally give themselves a ten percent chance of killing Salan. It was surprising that such a careful person would expose herself.

The only reason she did it was because she did not have a choice!

It was a very close call to Salan at being killed by Mo Fan, but she had exposed a lot of things by her actions!

The abandoned church was one of them!

The place was used as a meeting point by the Black Vatican. The fact that it had six Teleportation Portals meant it was a place Salan used often.

Teleportation Portals were the most extravagant form of transportation in the world. They required a lot of equipment and time to set up. Mo Fan did not believe Salan was only using it as a simple meeting point!

—

On the outskirts…

The place used to be a village, but it was slowly abandoned after the inhabitants moved to Banlo City. Even the roads were covered in weeds.

The church was beside the abandoned road, thick woods behind it. There was a muddy swamp beside it too.

A few dead livestock that the villagers had abandoned were letting out a rotting scent. Some crows that were enjoying their dinner screeched when Mo Fan walked past them.

The crows screeched more fiercely as Mo Fan went closer, as if he was going to steal their food. They were also warning the people inside the church that they had an uninvited guest.

Mo Fan picked up a burning smell when he reached the stairs. He could feel heat coming out from the building too.

“They act pretty quickly,” Mo Fan grinned.

Mo Fan was greeted by fierce flames as soon as he kicked the door open.

The Black Vatican was burning the church down after it was exposed!

However, they did not expect Mo Fan to return here so quickly. Even the old man who was responsible for destroying the evidence could not leave in time.

Mo Fan waved his hand and suppressed the flames burning in the church.

The fierce flames had devoured the benches, shelves, and floors in the church, but they all disappeared in a second, leaving only the burning smell in the air.

The old man inside the church turned around and looked at Mo Fan nervously.

“Who are you?” the old man asked.

“Are you the only one here destroying the evidence?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. The church is on the verge of collapsing. The government asked me to burn it down to prevent it from hurting people if they come in here without any permission,” the old man replied nervously.

“Old man, you better get your eyes checked if you don’t recognize me.” Mo Fan was amused by the old man’s lie.

“You are?…”

“You were still a village chief the last time I saw you. You brought your villagers with you and demanded that I compensate you for your loss. The truth is, you were planting Frenzy Poppies in your village fields. You didn’t have time to get rid of them. The guy who destroyed the fields with a Super Spell was your associate,” Mo Fan smiled darkly.

The village chief was stunned. He took a closer look and realized Mo Fan was the lecturer who had brought the students on a patrol class.

Damn it, why was he here? There was no point in lying to pretend he was innocent!

“Young man, I am the chief in the village, but I used to be a villager here too!” The old man was struggling to come up with an excuse as Mo Fan walked toward him slowly.

Mo Fan glanced around the church and noticed one of the Teleportation Portals was not yet destroyed. They must have been in a rush.

There were also some books on the shelves. It would be rewarding if they contained the names of the Black Vatican’s members.

Mo Fan had withdrawn the Demon Element in time to avoid the penalties. Salan might have gotten away, but he had found a branch of the Black Vatican. The outcome was still in his favor!

“Young man, I really…” the chief was still trying to convince Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s right hand burst into flames. His fist was burning like a tank reloading its shell.

“Give me back my gold!” Mo Fan punched the old man in the stomach.

Chapter 2256: The Remnants

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Not only had the old man colluded with the student called Hansen to destroy the fields of Frenzy Poppies, he had even helped out and scammed a thousand gold from them!

It was time to settle the debts, both old and new!

The punch knocked the old man to the front of the church. He slammed into the wall adorned with a drawing of Jesus.

The old man vomited blood. The flesh on his chest and stomach was scorched and lacerated.

His expression changed instantly, and he glared at Mo Fan viciously.

“Do you think you have won because you found this place? Victory only belongs to Master Salan!” the old man yelled defiantly.

“Your master ran away from me miserably not long ago. You shouldn’t place too much faith in her… By the way, I do understand your belief in paradise after death, but do you really think you will find yourself in the paradise Salan has created for you? You have overthought it.

“However, I have prepared a furnace in Hell for people like you. I don’t know if Salan can send you to paradise like she promised, but there’s no escape from the Hell I’ve prepared for you!” Mo Fan snarled back.

Shadow Demons appeared on both sides of the old man, including the one who had killed its target in a unique way last time. It had stabbed an evil monk in the eyes before strangling him to death.

The Shadow Demon had come up with another new trick. It first put a dark hood over the old man’s head, like he was a criminal who was on his way to a gallows and shielding the crowd from seeing their twisted expression when they were hung to death.

It took a rope of darkness out of nowhere and tied up the old man in a way that resembled Jesus’ pose on the cross.

The Shadow Demon then took out its beloved dagger and started cutting the old man’s soul out like it was using a scalpel.

Mo Fan shook his head helplessly.

The old man had some tough luck. Mo Fan had many Shadow Demons at his command, but they were Summoned to his aid randomly. This time just happened to be the Shadow Demon with great creativity.

The show was not going to end anytime soon. Mo Fan was not mentally twisted enough to find it enjoyable. He left a zone of darkness behind so the artistic Shadow Demon could stay a little longer. He then went looking around the church looking for any clues that Salan might have left behind.

—

“Hello, Zhu Meng, I’m Mo Fan.”

“Mo Fan? What happened this time? Don’t tell me you’ve done something wrong again, so you need my help to clean up your mess,” Zhu Meng spoke up.

“I found the Black Vatican’s branch in the Andes Mountains, with plenty of evidence that they couldn’t destroy in time. You should send someone over to gather clues here. They might help you clean up some of the remnants,” Mo Fan informed him.

Zhu Meng immediately switched to a more serious tone.

Mo Fan had found the Black Vatican’s branch! Most importantly, it was related to Salan’s faction!

Salan’s last branch in China had been Chongming Island. Mo Fan was also the one who had snuck in first there and helped the Enforcement Union take it out.

Mo Fan had found another branch, and it sounded even more important than the one on Chongming Island!

“We have Enforcers standing by in the Americas. I’ll ask someone to contact you. It will take me some time to meet up with you,” Zhu Meng finally replied.

“Sure, just ask them to come straight to me. I’ll give you the location,” Mo Fan agreed.

“I’ll inform Tang Zhong,” Zhu Meng was very excited, and trying his best to keep his calm.

“Not yet,” Mo Fan said.

Zhu Meng was confused, since Tang Zhong was the President of the Lingyin Enforcement Union.

Zhu Meng was only a Councilman. Even though he had a certain influence over the Enforcement Union, the local Presidents were the ones handling operations.

“I’m looking at a list with the names of people who have infiltrated the Enforcement Union, the circles of Councilmen, and the Royal Guards of the Magic Palace in our country. The Lingyin Enforcement Union is in a worse state than we imagined,” Mo Fan informed him.

Leng Qing had almost died at the hands of the Black Vatican. The main reason was not because the Black Vatican had found out her identity themselves, but because there were traitors in the Enforcement Union!

Mo Fan had a rough idea who the traitors were now.

Zhu Meng immediately understood Mo Fan’s intentions. It explained why Mo Fan had contacted him, instead of Tang Zhong, who was the President of the Lingyin Enforcement Union.

There had to be someone suspicious among Tang Zhong’s men!

“I also found something that might explain how Salan managed to flee from our country while it was on lockdown,” Mo Fan told Zhu Meng.

“Mo Fan, you’ve done our country a huge favor once again!” Zhu Meng was overjoyed.

Even though Salan’s faction had been wiped out in their country, they had no intention to spare those who Salan had bribed.

The citizens would be pleased if they could find the rotten apples in their homeland!

“Are the people you are sending to me reliable?” Mo Fan asked after he remembered something.

“I can guarantee that with my life,” Zhu Meng assured him.

“Are there enough people? Apart from this branch, Blue Bat and other remnants are currently hiding in the Aorus Sacred Institute. I need the help of your people to take care of them too. There is a lot of work to be done,” Mo Fan went on.

“I’ll send someone to you first. I will also get Great Councilman Shao Zheng’s approval to grant you the authority to command the Enforcers over there,” Zhu Meng stated.

“It has to be quick, or they might run away,” Mo Fan warned him.

“Mo Fan, the Enforcement Union hadn’t been idle all this time. Our men also infiltrated the Aorus Sacred Institute and the Andes Federation while you were investigating the school. We couldn’t afford to expose them unless it was necessary, so that they wouldn’t fall victim to the Black Vatican. Don’t worry, there are enough resources for you over there as long as we have the Great Councilman’s approval. They will help you take care of the remnants of the Black Vatican right away!” Zhu Meng declared.

Mo Fan nodded to himself.

“One more thing, the trails you and your friends are on are different from the ones our men are on. You might learn something new when you meet with them. HAHAHA, it’s been so many years. We finally won a battle against the Black Vatican!” Zhu Meng exclaimed.

Mo Fan roughly told Zhu Meng of his encounter with Wu Ku and Salan.

“Did you use your power?” Zhu Meng blurted out in surprise.

“Not really, I only used it briefly. I managed to withdraw it in time,” Mo Fan smiled wryly.

“Which means, you didn’t waste it?” Zhu Meng said.

“Mm, I can still use it once,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“That’s good to hear. Be careful, Salan will do everything to force you to use the Demon Element. Once you use it, she will definitely come after you,” Zhu Meng warned him.

“I’m not that weak without it now. Only Salan can force me to use the Demon Element,” Mo Fan acknowledged.

“Listen to me, Salan still has many powerful Mages under her command.. You can’t afford to lower your guard.”

Chapter 2257: Field Enforcers

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhu Meng submitted a request to Shao Zheng quickly.

Everything would be a lot easier with Shao Zheng on their side. He could approve any requests right away with just a quick notice.

Normally, it would take at least a meeting to get some approval, since they were requesting the use of some undercover Field Enforcers.

They would have wasted a lot of time if they had to wait until the Councilmen were done with a meeting. Time was of the essence when it came to dealing with the Black Vatican. Any trails leading to the Black Vatican would be gone far too quickly!

“Mo Fan, you have a green light to proceed with your plan. The Field Enforcers will aid you,” Zhu Meng called back.

“Great, but you should come over as soon as possible too. I heard the Field Enforcers are proud and arrogant,” Mo Fan requested.

“Not a problem!”

——

Mo Fan stood guard outside the church to prevent anyone from destroying the evidence.

At dusk, he saw a dark red sports car heading his way along the abandoned road. It was approaching him like a scorching meteorite.

Mo Fan was startled. He was not sure who the person was.

The person was unlikely to be a thrill-seeker with a wealthy background. The road was in very bad condition. It was the last place for a race.

The magic-imbued sports car was still approaching Mo Fan. The material of its exterior was different from the normal vehicles he saw in cities.

Dried branches, fallen leaves, and stones were swept off to the sides as the car’s bullet-shaped front went right at Mo Fan, before sliding to a stop in front of the church after a dazzling drift maneuver.

The car’s door rose automatically. Mo Fan frowned. He didn’t understand the meaning behind the showy entry.

An attractive woman with curly hair came out of the car. Mo Fan caught a glimpse of a colorful sight the moment she reached her legs out.

“It’s you!” Mo Fan was surprised. He stared at the woman he had met not long ago.

The woman smiled. She passed the name card between her fingers to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan saw a golden flame burst out of the card before he took it. The flame rose into the air and took the shape of the Enforcement Union’s logo!

Mo Fan thought she was Salan’s henchman, who had come to destroy the church. He did not expect her to be a member of the Enforcement Union.

“I’m Winnie, a Field Enforcer of the Enforcement Union. I believe we met at the cafe along the sandy white beach. The truth is, I was approaching you on purpose back then.” Winnie combed back her hair.

She was the woman who had been enjoying a sunbath in front of Mo Fan, the same woman with two legal husbands. She had driven all the way here in her dark red sports car.

“What a surprise, I thought there were only Chinese in the Enforcement Union,” Mo Fan remarked.

The Field Enforcers were an important asset of the Enforcement Union. Their roles were equivalent to the Royal Guards in China. Some might even refer to them as the Holy Court Mages of China.

The Field Enforcers were the elite of the Enforcement Union, as they mainly pursued dangerous criminals who had fled to foreign countries.

Many Field Enforcers were working undercover. They would only reveal their identities if required by a mission.

“My grandfather is Chinese. We’ll discuss it next time. I was assigned to Banlo City and the Aorus Sacred Institute a long time ago. I’ve been collecting information on Salan’s whereabouts with the help of someone called Wolf Chief. I didn’t expect you to find her first,” Winnie admitted to him.

“Is someone else coming too? We won’t be able to take out all the remnants if it’s only you,” Mo Fan looked back down the road to see if a fleet of sports cars was following her.

“I’m more of a lone wolf. I communicate with the Councilman directly. The rest of the Field Enforcers are on their way.” Winnie studied the inside of the church carefully as they walked inside.

“Then I guess you can take care of the evidence here. I must leave for the Tenth Mound right away,” Mo Fan told her.

He had yet to receive any updates from Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai. He was a little worried they might fall into a trap, knowing how cunning Blue Bat was.

“That’s fine, but aren’t we supposed to work with you?” Winnie asked him.

“One of Salan’s disciples, Blue Bat, is at the Tenth Mound. We have to seal off their escape routes if we want to catch her and all of her men,” Mo Fan replied.

“The Tenth Mound is located deep inside the Andes Mountains. If they are determined to run away, we won’t be able to seal off the whole area, even if we sent the whole Enforcement Union here. You should focus on the important clues we currently have. It’s better to exchange information and see if we can track down the high-rank members of the Black Vatican. From what I’ve learned, Blue Bat isn’t the only person in charge of the operation here,” Winnie said.

Winnie knew who Blue Bat was. She also knew the Evil Herbalist’s whereabouts.

Mo Fan fell into deep thought. It was true that heading to the Tenth Mound now was not going to make a difference.

He was currently in Banlo City, a long distance from the Tenth Mound. It would take him half a day just to reach the Tenth Mound, without a Teleportation Portal to shorten the trip.

He could only hope Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan were able to handle Blue Bat on their own!

Mo Fan gave up on the thought of heading to the Tenth Mound. He gave the files he had found in the church to Winnie.

“Is this everything?” Winnie asked. She felt there should be a lot more evidence in the church.

“Yeah, the old man has destroyed some of them… Aren’t we going to exchange information? Where’s yours?” Mo Fan said.

Winnie rolled her eyes at Mo Fan, feeling he was being overly cautious. She flipped her hand and took out a seemingly ordinary book from her Space Bracelet.

“This is the information I have gathered,” Winnie told him. They each handed the information they had found to one another.

The list Mo Fan had obtained in the church was quite long, and he had only skimmed through it.

Ferreting out the members of the Black Vatican who had infiltrated different industries and companies was like looking for vermin in a huge orchard. It was difficult to track them down without their names, occupation, and who their superiors or subordinates were.

The information Winnie was browsing through included the remnants in Mo Fan’s homeland and some members of the Black Vatican in South America.

The remnants were mostly spies, with important roles in government.

The members in South America were most likely involved in the operation that was meant to take out the Aorus Sacred Institute.

There were roughly a thousand names on the list. Most of them were unexposed members of the Black Vatican.

Winnie flipped through the pages quickly.

“Did you take photos of these files as backup?” Winnie asked. She was taking pictures of the files with her phone so she would not lose such an important clue.

“No, I was guarding the church here.. I didn’t have the time,” Mo Fan answered.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Winnie went to the other side of the church after she was done taking pictures.

She looked at Mo Fan and saw him reading the files she had given him.

She grinned and tightened her grip. The important files burst into flames and burned into ashes instantly.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and looked at Winnie. “What are you doing?” he exclaimed.

“I’m burning them. I only need the copy of them on my phone,” Winnie responded calmly.

“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Mo Fan snapped.

“HAHA, so what if I do? Oh, Mo Fan, you’re so naïve. It’s getting dark. You can wait for the rest of the Field Enforcers here. It’s time for me to go,” Winnie laughed and ran out of the church.

Mo Fan stared at Winnie and asked, “Was it worth exposing yourself just for the files?”

Winnie felt something was not right when she heard Mo Fan’s voice.

She quickly turned around and saw Mo Fan holding a few extra files. They were the same files she had just burned away.

“It’s just a simple trick with the Chaos Element. The ones you burned were only clones. Besides, I also took pictures of them. They are stored in my flameproof, shockproof, and magic-proof Nokia,” Mo Fan waved his phone around.

2

“You…” Winnie’s eyes widened.

Why did he suspect her? She had already shown him the badge of a Field Enforcer, which was impossible to forge. Why had he not trusted her?

Where had her plan gone wrong?

In order to get Mo Fan to trust her, the files she had given Mo Fan contained real information. Some of them were related to Wolf Chief!

“I already contacted Tang Zhong, the President of the Lingyin Enforcement Union, before calling Zhu Meng. I told him someone under Zhu Meng’s command was suspicious, but the files didn’t have their exact details, so I thought I could fish them out. I then called Zhu Meng and told him the exact same thing.” Mo Fan gazed at Winnie.

The spy in the Enforcement Union was not one of Tang Zhong’s men. It was one of Councilman Zhu Meng’s men instead!

Mo Fan had only called Zhu Meng so he could pass on a misleading message. He was betting on the spy among the Field Enforcers taking the risk.

As long as the spy found a way to earn Mo Fan’s trust and was the first to meet up with Mo Fan, he or she would have a chance to destroy the evidence and the list. It was very likely the spy among the Field Enforcers would show up to make a big move for the Black Vatican!

Mo Fan was merely gambling. He was betting the spy would lose their calm and expose themselves to intercept the important name list.

It was not like Mo Fan would lose anything if the spy did not show up. He just had to wait for the real Field Enforcers to take out the remaining members of the Black Vatican.

If the spy did show up… It would be a huge catch for free!

The spy among the Field Enforcers had to hold an important role in the Black Vatican. He or she might even be the traitor who almost got Leng Qing killed!

He had finally found the spy. Mo Fan could not help smiling.

Salan had exposed an important branch to save Wu Ku, basically severing her arm. It had given Mo Fan the chance to dig out so many members of the Black Vatican!

“You’re going to die soon. To be honest, I have a question. I wanted to ask you something when you approached me on purpose the other day,” Mo Fan continued calmly.

Winnie stopped talking. She had been a Field Enforcer for some years. Strictly speaking, she was not really a member of the Black Vatican.

A person could have multiple identities. She was willing to help whatever side promised her greater benefits.

Winnie had struggled to make up her mind on whether she was going to get rid of the members of the Black Vatican as a Field Enforcer, or side with the Black Vatican and destroy the important list in Mo Fan’s hands.

When Winnie realized she might have a chance to become one of Salan’s disciples after destroying the name list, she had ended up choosing the Black Vatican.

To her surprise, it was a trap Mo Fan had laid out for her!

“Winnie, since you have two legal husbands, do you have sex with them one at a time each night, or do you have sex with both of them at the same time?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Show me what you’ve got. I’ll kill you before the rest of the Field Enforcers are here. No one will know what happened here!” Winnie was not planning to run away.

1

She had no choice but to devote herself to the Black Vatican now that her identity had been exposed. However, she would suffer great consequences if she failed to complete her goal of destroying the name list.

She could not afford to run away. She had to kill Mo Fan here!

“If you think you can choose either side as you please, you will end up failing. There’s no way you can please both sides at the same time,” Mo Fan chided Winnie mockingly.

Winnie trembled in anger.

She had been undercover for so long. She had not expected to fall into Mo Fan’s hands!

Mo Fan knew Winnie could not afford to run away now. He slowly lifted his phone and said, “There’s no Internet here, so I won’t be able to send the photos. What a pain in the ass… I will now head to Banlo City. If you can kill me before I reach the city, you can still remain undercover and continue being a spy.” Mo Fan put the name list and the files away carelessly.

“You are being too full of yourself. It’s only a matter of time until you die!” Winnie snarled at him.

Winnie’s hair suddenly drifted up. Waves of brown flames quickly surrounded the church.

The woods and the swamp were burning with wild dark brown flames!

“Little Flame Belle, daddy is a little tired. I’m going to take a rest. I’ll let you handle her,” Mo Fan sat down on the stairs in front of the church. He was not planning to fight Winnie himself.

An alluring figure gradually appeared from the flames. She was wearing a bright red dress made up of flames of the purest form. Her sacred Calamity Fire was not affected by the fierce dark brown flames at all.

The Flame Belle Empress hovered above the sea of flames. Her aloof figure resembled an angel as she walked upon the flames.

Her voice was like the sound of a harp, the tone changing completely after she transformed into the Flame Belle Empress. She no longer sounded like a child.

The dark brown flames dancing wildly around the church suddenly flew into the sky. Flame Belle Empress had driven away the flames that had filled the woods and the swamp in mere seconds.

It was as if the dark brown flames were Flame Belle Empress’ own power. She could send them away whenever she pleased!

The dark brown flames were supposed to form Winnie’s Domain, but the Flame Belle Empress had suppressed them with ease. Winnie’s expression changed instantly.

This was a Ruler-level Fire Elemental Creature… but she was only Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Winnie began to regret her decision. Why did she come here so recklessly, without finding out her opponent’s strength first?

Normally, she would only come if she was fully prepared. She would at least have had the confidence to take out her enemy after her identity was exposed!

She had seen the duel between Mo Fan and Nelson, so she was confident in her strength. However, she realized she was in a bad spot after Mo Fan Summoned the Flame Belle Empress.

A Ruler-level creature with a pure lineage!

Most terrifyingly, this Ruler-level creature’s Calamity Fire was comparable to a Heaven-grade Seed. Her Fire Element was greatly suppressed in the creature’s Domain!

Flame Belle Empress unleashed her flames. The dim sky lit up again. The dusk which had dyed the sky red reappeared.

The people in Banlo City were dazzled. They had all witnessed a blood-red sunset just a moment ago. Why did the sky turn such a bright red all of a sudden? Did the sun rise again, after falling below the horizon?

The red light shone upon the city in the distance and overwhelmed the lights in the city.

—

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was reading the files outside the run-down church. He had to make sure the information in the files was valid.

After all, Winnie was exchanging her files with the name list. The information on the files might be fake.

However, there was a great chance that the files were real.

Wolf Chief? He had to be an Executioner too!

His role was similar to Spectre, who had tried to kill Mu Bai; a hitman the Black Vatican normally used to get rid of threats.

Based on the information Winnie had provided, the Wolf Chief’s rank was higher than Spectre’s. He was a Super Mage with three Elements at the Super Level, a Chief Executioner!

The Wolf Chief was hidden in the Aorus Sacred Institute, and rarely showed himself. He only took orders from the Chief Extraditor and Salan.

It was the Wolf Chief who had executed the Red Cardinal, the Cold Prince!

“If I find this Wolf Chief, I might be able to find the Chief Extraditor…” Mo Fan flipped through the pages.

Winnie was a two-faced person. She might have worked for the Black Vatican, but she had also done a great job as a Field Enforcer.

Perhaps she had outperformed the rest of the Field Enforcers because she was working for the Black Vatican. The Chief Wolf was obviously an important breakthrough that might lead him to the Chief Extraditor.

The Chief Extraditor…

The Head Priest Wu Ku...

The Evil Herbalist…

These three were Salan’s most important henchmen!

The Evil Herbalist was an important asset to Salan because of the Frenzy Liquid, but Mo Fan had no idea what the Head Priest’s uses were.

Meanwhile, the Chief Extraditor’s rank was only slightly lower than Salan’s rank as a Red Cardinal.

The Chief Extraditor had information about every member of the Black Vatican, whether they were a Gray Priest, a Black Clergy, a Blue Deacon, an Executioner, a spy, or a Red Cardinal. The Chief Extraditor had it all!

Salan had also mentioned that ‘Salan’ was just a pseudonym. If she died, other people could take over her identity too, as long as they inherited her will.

The Chief Extraditor would be the main reason why Salan could pass on her title. Salan was a leader, while the Chief Extraditor was a commander-in-chief.

The death of a great leader would be a huge blow to the system, but it was not enough to take down the whole Black Vatican. The Chief Extraditor could jsut appoint a new leader to be in charge of the Black Vatican’s plans again.

Therefore, the Chief Extraditor was also Mo Fan’s number-one target, save for Salan!

“It turns out that the Chief Extraditor is someone who can contact the Supreme Pontiff directly,” Mo Fan exclaimed in surprise as he read the information in the files.

The Chief Extraditor did not take orders from a Red Cardinal, but only from the Supreme Pontiff.

“The election of Red Cardinals requires the Chief Extraditor’s approval…” Mo Fan murmured.

“When the Cold Prince was executed, the Chief Extraditor incorporated the Cold Prince’s faction into Salan’s faction…” Mo Fan was able to learn more about how the Black Vatican operated through the information in the files.

It turned out that Blue Bat did not backstab the Cold Prince because he had provoked Salan by targeting Xinxia with his plans, but because Salan was trying to expand her influence!

Salan had also killed another Red Cardinal in Brazil.

The Chief Extraditor had incorporated the Cold Prince’s faction into Salan’s faction after the Prince was executed.

In other words, Salan had taken out two of the twelve Red Cardinals, and it was very likely that she had done so to take over their factions!

2

Salan had established her faction in China, while the other Red Cardinals had been active in foreign countries for many years. However, Salan had managed to grow her influence rapidly in just a few years, likely because she had taken out two other Red Cardinals.

“What is that lunatic planning to achieve?” Mo Fan was getting more confused.

The black Stones of Guilt were one of Salan’s motivations.

She was taking out the Magistrates who had used the Stones of Guilt to sentence Wen Tai to death, one by one.

However, if killing the Magistrates was her only motive, there was no need for her to take out entire cities.

Perhaps it was just as Blue Bat had mentioned; getting revenge on the Magistrates was only part of the grudges Salan held in her past, but she was focused more on growing her influence as the God of Death in her current life.

Perhaps Salan was not just holding a grudge against the Magistrates who had used the Stones of Guilt and killed Wen Tai, but was directing her hatred toward the twisted world.

Wen Tai had died because people in the upper class had seen him as a nuisance. The Magistrates were not the only ones who used the Stones of Guilt. They were only representing the people who wanted Wen Tai dead!

“The nine disciples? So Salan has nine disciples who are learning her skills. They must earn her approval with an impressive graduation project.”

Mo Fan had a headache.

The Blue Deacons were already giving the Enforcement Union a difficult time, but Salan was raising her disciples too!

“I have no clue who the other eight disciples are yet…”

Blue Bat was already done for. Even if Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai failed to stop her, she would never escape the Field Enforcers after her identity was exposed.

Even so, Blue Bat was only one of the nine disciples!

Huge mushroom clouds exploded into the sky behind him, grabbing his attention.

“Leave her alive!” Mo Fan called out lazily.

Flame Belle Empress immediately stopped attacking. Winnie fell from the sky and slammed into the roof of the church.

She was completely exhausted, and even struggled to stand back up.

Her young and unblemished skin was as dry as the skin of a wilted old tree from her burns. Her two husbands might even ask for a divorce if they saw her now.

He could hear the sound of a helicopter’s propellers approaching from the distance. Small things scattered across the place were sent flying by a strong wind.

Mo Fan looked up. He did see a pair of propellers, but it was a Wind Mage instead of a helicopter. His Wind Wings were a little special.

“Who are you?” Mo Fan asked him directly.

“I’m from China’s Enforcement Union!”

Chapter 2260: Miyamoto Shin
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan frowned. Why was everyone who arrived someone he already knew?

Was the world really so small that the people he met were either spies of the Black Vatican or a spy from the Enforcement Union?

“Aren’t you Japanese?” Mo Fan asked the man with the propeller-shaped Wind Wings.

The man landed on the ground and glanced at Winnie, whom the Flame Belle Empress was currently stepping on.

It was important to prove their identities first. The man handed Mo Fan a name card similar to the one Winnie had shown him. However, the man also displayed his right hand to show Mo Fan the Seal on his wrist.

The Seal represented the Oath the man had sworn in front of the Tree of Vows to never betray the Enforcement Union.

Mo Fan believed in the Tree of Vows. However, he did not expect the man to be Miyamoto Shin!

“A Field Enforcer of the Enforcement Union often has multiple identities. My father is also a Field Enforcer, who is mainly active in Japan. I mainly used my Japanese identity so I can travel freely between different countries. I must say it has helped me a lot, as people never connect me to the Chinese Enforcement Union,” Miyamoto Shin explained.

“That’s true, I would never think you were working with Tang Zhong if you hadn’t shown up here, but aren’t you a member of the Student Union’s main party too?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“I joined the Enforcement Union when I was sixteen. I was planning to go back to my homeland after graduating from the Aorus Sacred Institute, but my superiors happened to dig up some information about Salan’s faction in South America, so I chose to stay as an assistant…” Miyamoto Shin smiled wryly.

Miyamoto Shin was only taking his further studies at the Aorus Sacred Institute. He had planned to go back to his homeland after he was done.

Salan happened to be active in South America while he was doing his studies, so he had no choice but to stay behind. The only way he could stay in the school after he graduated was by being an assistant!

“So it wasn’t a coincidence that you were the assistant of the three guest lecturers from China. Did your superior arrange it?” Mo Fan asked.

“That’s right. I didn’t dare tell you the truth, as I know you three are also on a secret mission,” Miyamoto Shin confirmed.

Mo Fan nodded.

Miyamoto Shin had enrolled in the Aorus Sacred Institute as a Japanese, so it was not suspicious when he was assigned to Mo Fan and his friends. His identity as a Japanese had done a great job at covering up his identity as a Field Enforcer.

The Field Enforcers of the Enforcement Union were similar to high-ranking members of the Black Vatican. It would be extremely dangerous once their identities were exposed. They were only valuable while they remained undercover.

“Do you know her?” Mo Fan pointed at Winnie.

“I know she’s a student at the school, but I didn’t know she was a Field Enforcer, let alone a traitor!” Miyamoto Shin harrumphed coldly.

No wonder the people of the Black Vatican were acting so recklessly at the school. The Field Enforcers were struggling to make a breakthrough because there was a traitor among them!

“Look at this list of names and see if you know any of them.” Mo Fan gave the list to Miyamoto Shin.

He still had a copy of the name list on his phone. It did not matter if the Black Vatican tried using the same trick on him twice.

Miyamoto Shin flipped through the pages and skimmed through the huge list.

Meanwhile, there were sounds approaching, hurried footsteps coming from the distance. A group of people soon gathered in front of the church.

“They are our brothers from the Enforcement Union,” Miyamoto Shin told Mo Fan.

“Are they reliable?” Mo Fan asked.

“They all have the latest Seal from the Tree of Vows,” Miyamoto Shin confirmed.

“You will be assigning tasks to them.” Mo Fan was not good at commanding people. He was also unsure of the capabilities of the Field Enforcers in the group.

People in different outfits gradually stepped forward. They had all received orders from their superiors.

“So it’s you, Blue Sparrow. I didn’t expect you to take down a branch of the Black Vatican. It’s making us feel like we are quite useless compared to you,” a middle-aged man with a cigarette between his lips spoke up.

The overweight man was wearing a singlet, like he had just come from a blacksmith job.

“Not really, Mister Mo has done all the work. He even found the traitor among us!” Miyamoto Shin pointed at Winnie, who was now covered in mud on the ground.

“Golden Canary?” the middle-aged man blurted out in surprise after he recognized Winnie.

Mo Fan was speechless. Why were all their nicknames related to birds?

“Sir, Golden Canary has always been loyal to the Enforcement Union. I don’t understand. What did she do?” the man asked with a frown.

“She was working for the Black Vatican,” Mo Fan replied.

“So what exactly did she do?” the man pressed.

“Did your superior send you here to interrogate me?” Mo Fan snarled. Was the middle-aged man accusing him of blaming Winnie wrongly, judging by his tone?

“No, I won’t dare to. I just want to understand things better so it’s easier for us to interrogate her,” the man answered hurriedly.

“Miyamoto Shin, I don’t want him here. The others may stay,” Mo Fan told Miyamoto Shin.

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? I’m a Field Enforcer. I’m fully responsible for this operation after receiving an order from my superior!” He was displeased by Mo Fan’s attitude.

“Iron Bee, go back and wait for further notice,” Miyamoto Shin said. He knew what Mo Fan was up to.

Since Tang Zhong had granted Mo Fan the power to command the Field Enforcers under the Great Councilman’s approval, Mo Fan did not have to explain anything to the Field Enforcers.

In simpler words, Mo Fan had the greatest authority of all those present. Every Field Enforcer had to obey his orders!

Why was it necessary? Because the Black Vatican was hiding among the public. Most of their members looked innocent until they were proven guilty. If the Field Enforcers were doubting Mo Fan’s orders, they might end up giving the important members of the Black Vatican a chance to escape.

The middle-aged man was demanding an explanation from Mo Fan because he did not think Winnie was a traitor.

As for the truth?

It did not matter how close the middle-aged man and Winnie were. If Mo Fan already had the green light to proceed with the plan of exterminating the remnants of the Black Vatican, he would not allow anyone to doubt his decisions.

Miyamoto Shin did not ask a single question, nor did the rest of the Field Enforcers. The middle-aged man was the only exception.

Mo Fan’s phone rang as the middle-aged man was overwhelmed by anger and shame.

Mo Fan took the call, not wanting to waste his time on the arrogant man.

“Mo Fan?” It was Councilman Zhu Meng.

“Mm,” Mo Fan responded.

“Are you suspecting me?” Zhu Meng asked with a deep voice.

It seemed like Zhu Meng had received information that Winnie, whom he had sworn to be reliable, had turned out to be the traitor.

Chapter 2261: Starting from the School

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It was you who promised me with your life that the person you were sending was trustworthy,” Mo Fan echoed back to him.

“I…I didn’t know. Golden Canary was one of the Enforcers I trained myself!” Zhu Meng had no idea how to explain himself.

“Zhu Meng, I’ve always trusted you. I know what kind of a person you are, too. You might be righteous, but that doesn’t mean your men are the same as you. Luckily, I was being extremely careful. Otherwise, we would have lost the important name list,” Mo Fan sighed.

“It’s my mistake. I didn’t think everything through. If you think I’ve neglected my job… you can do whatever you want to me!” Zhu Meng called out in shame.

“There’s a man called Iron Bee here. Is he one of your men too?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes, he is,” Zhu Meng let out a relieved sigh when Mo Fan did not dwell on his mistake.

“You should talk to him about his working attitude,” Mo Fan passed his phone to Iron Bee.

Iron Bee was standing right beside Mo Fan, and was clearly able to hear the conversation between Zhu Meng and Mo Fan.

For some reason, he felt a chill running down his spine the moment he took the phone.

“Iron Bee? Tell me what happened,” Zhu Meng ordered.

“I…I came straight to the gathering point after receiving the order. I saw Golden Canary was badly injured, so I asked what happened to her,” Iron Bee said.

“What was your order?” Zhu Meng demanded.

“To fully comply with the Special Duty Commanding Officer’s orders,” Iron Bee reported.

“Did you see the Special Duty Commanding Officer?” Zhu Meng asked.

“I did…” Iron Bee’s voice was so soft that it was barely audible.

“Have you forgotten the code of conduct of an Enforcer after working in the field for so long? Should I summon you back and teach you everything again?

“Golden Canary is a member of the Black Vatican. I swore to Mo Fan with my life that he could trust her, yet she tried to destroy the list of names. A Chief Enforcer and a Councilman have already proven it to be true. Does he still need to report to you and get your approval? Or perhaps you would like to say something in defense of the traitor? Sure, I will now give you a chance to appeal to the Enforcement Union on her behalf!” Zhu Meng scolded him angrily.

“I…I didn’t mean that, Councilman! I was being arrogant. I will apologize to the Special Duty Commanding Officer right now!” Iron Bee was struggling to stand properly after the scolding.

A Chief Enforcer and a Councilman had already proven that Golden Canary was the traitor…

“Just do your job as a Field Enforcer. Golden Canary has become a disgrace to our Tianbei Enforcement Union. I don’t want you to destroy the remaining pride that we have left!” Zhu Meng rebuked him.

Zhu Meng was in great shock himself. Golden Canary had been an elite Field Enforcer. Zhu Meng had put much faith into her, so he immediately sent her to Mo Fan after he found the important evidence. To his surprise, she was the one helping the Black Vatican to destroy evidence!

Not only did the traitor almost kill Vice Chief Leng Qing last time, she almost helped over a thousand members of the Black Vatican escape!

Chairman Shao Zheng had already scolded Zhu Meng. Zhu Meng had quickly called Mo Fan to explain himself and get his understanding.

Luckily, Zhu Meng had provided Mo Fan with some help during the incident related to the Parthenon Temple, and they were pretty close to one another. Otherwise, not only could he lose his job as a Councilman because of his grave mistake, he might even be placed in custody for investigation!

His life would be over!

Zhu Meng did not even dare to doubt Mo Fan’s decisions now, yet one of his men, Iron Bee, was bold enough to ask unnecessary questions. Zhu Meng had the urge to slap Iron Bee in the face if he had not been an ocean away.

Zhu Meng clearly knew the reason he was not being arrested and interrogated now was because Mo Fan had asked for mercy on his behalf when he reported his findings to Tang Zhong and Shao Zheng.

If Mo Fan had not told Chairman Shao Zheng that he believed Zhu Meng was innocent, what Golden Canary had done could easily drag the person-in-charge of the Tianbei Enforcement Union down with her!

Iron Bee seriously did not know his place. Did he not realize that it was Mo Fan who had just saved the Tianbei Enforcement Union?

—

Iron Bee finally behaved himself after the scolding.

Mo Fan was not unforgiving. After all, he needed all the help he could get.

Mo Fan took his phone back. Zhu Meng said sincerely, “Mo Fan, thank you so much for what you have done. Not only did you prove I’m innocent, you also helped us to find a traitor.”

“We’ve known each other for so many years and been through so many things. It’s fine as long as you don’t blame me for entrapping you,” Mo Fan smiled in reply.

“Of course not, you have made such a huge discovery. I wouldn’t blame you even if you did set me up. Do I still need to go to you?” Zhu Meng asked.

“Yes, I won’t be able to manage the operation well without you being here as a Councilman,” Mo Fan said.

“Alright!”

——

Miyamoto Shin was very efficient at his job, as expected of a high-achiever from the Aorus Sacred Institute. He had managed to break up the thousand members of the Black Vatican in a short time.

Iron Bee and the others were still digging for more clues in the church. Miyamoto Shin was already done with his task by the time the moon had just risen into the sky.

“Sir, I’ve filtered out the people who are from the Aorus Sacred Institute. If they really are plotting against the school, we should take them out first!” Miyamoto Shin called out.

“How many are they?” Mo Fan asked.

“There aren’t a lot at the school, thirteen members in total. Three of them are Blue Deacons, and the rest are Clergymen. However, they have a lot of disciples among the workers in the villages,” Miyamoto Shin reported.

“Sure, we will start from the school,” Mo Fan nodded, agreeing with Miyamoto Shin’s suggestion.

“Sir…” Iron Bee spoke up softly.

Mo Fan looked at him.

Iron Bee was obviously intimidated by Mo Fan now, like a subordinate who had made a mistake. He continued in a humble voice, “The members of the Black Vatican each have a main contact person, but they might also personally know some of the disciples, too. If we take them out one at a time, they might warn the others to run away.”

“You don’t agree with the plan?” Mo Fan asked him.

“No, I’m just saying that if the Black Vatican bribed Golden Canary and decided to abandon the people on this list, we can ask Golden Canary to send out a quarantine command to prevent the members of the Black Vatican from escaping,” Iron Bee suggested carefully.

Mo Fan looked at Miyamoto Shin, who nodded and agreed, “That’s not a bad idea.. It’s very likely the others will run away, since we are taking them out in order.”

Chapter 2262: Chief Executioner, Wolf Chief

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Golden Canary was done for. As a traitor to the Enforcers, she would suffer greater consequences than the members of the Black Vatican.

However, she was a valuable asset, too. She was a high-ranking member in the Black Vatican who had infiltrated the Aorus Sacred Institute! She could stop the other members of the Black Vatican from running away by spreading some rumors.

Mo Fan understood Iron Bee’s intent.

They were currently overseas, so their numbers were limited. These Field Enforcers were all the help Mo Fan could draw on to take out the remnants of the Black Vatican. It was important they did not alert the members of the Black Vatican in other areas when they were exterminating their associates.

“I’ll leave Golden Canary in your hands. You should talk to her,” Mo Fan said.

“Leave it to me!” Iron Bee nodded.

Golden Canary would never make up for her faults by doing good deeds, but Iron Bee still had a chance to make up for his mistake!

Iron Bee would not show her any mercy. Either she cooperated in their plan so she did not have to suffer as much punishment, or she would have to undergo the most brutal punishments of the Enforcement Union!

“Sir, we might face a lot of restrictions since we are in another nation’s territory, especially if we want to use magic in the Andes Federation. I suggest you retain your identity as a lecturer of the Aorus Sacred Institute and ask the Dean for permission to use magic,” Miyamoto Shin proposed.

“Don’t you Field Enforcers have the right to use magic?” Mo Fan asked them.

Miyamoto Shin and Iron Bee put on shamed faces.

“We do, but the local Magic Association will still interrogate us. But if we have permission from the Aorus Sacred Institute…” Miyamoto Shin hinted.

“In the end, the Aorus Sacred Institute’s name is still the most useful, right?”

“It depends. Most of the targets on the list are Deacons and Clergymen. We can handle them ourselves, while you continue to observe the situation behind the scenes to fish out more important clues and members of the Black Vatican,” Miyamoto Shin went on.

Mo Fan immediately understood Miyamoto Shin’s intent.

Miyamoto Shin was hoping he would continue to disguise himself as a lecturer for the Aorus Sacred Institute and pretend like nothing was happening. He would focus on his classes and the competition with the guest lecturers from other countries, preparing for the open tournament.

The Field Enforcers would handle the sweep and update Mo Fan at times.

——

The Aorus Sacred Institute was long soaked in the heavy rain by the time Mo Fan returned.

Luckily, the rainwater looked clear. The school had not been alerted by the Mounds, meaning that Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan had most likely stopped Blue Bat’s plan.

Miyamoto Shin immediately started taking out the spies of the Black Vatican at the school.

Everything was done behind the scenes. The school was the same as usual, and the students were sticking to their usual routines. Even the villages on the outskirts remained the same, except for certain people who went missing.

The Field Enforcers had no trouble sweeping up the clergymen and disciples of the Black Vatican. They were able to apprehend them easily, like it was just a simple conversation.

After all, Salan had shown her tail too. She would not dare to interfere with the sweep if she did not want high-level Mages coming after her!

Salan decisively abandoned the people on the list!

The remnants of the Black Vatican, who only had a main contact person each, were like a bunch of headless flies after the Chief Extraditor stopped contacting them. They had no chance of escaping from the Field Enforcers’ hunt.

—

“How strange, why isn’t that guy on the list?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

“Who are you referring to?” Miyamoto Shin said.

“A guy called Hansen who’s always around Sancha. Zhao Manyan has been watching him all the time. We are sure that he’s from the Black Vatican too, but he wasn’t on the list we found.” Mo Fan flipped through the pages to see if he had missed Hansen’s name.

Miyamoto Shin blurted out with glittering eyes, “He might be an Executioner!”

“Why is that?” Mo Fan asked.

“The Chief Extraditor is in charge of the Executioners. The Red Cardinals know their code names and have the power to order them around, but they don’t know their true identities,” Miyamoto Shin told him.

There was no information on any of the Executioners in Salan’s branch. Therefore, the student called Hansen was not on the list either!

If someone was not assigned to a Red Cardinal despite being a member of the Black Vatican, it was very likely they were Executioners!

“Should we go after him?” Mo Fan asked Miyamoto Shin. Miyamoto Shin was a professional. He surely knew better about some things when it came to fighting the Black Vatican.

“Not now, that guy is our biggest catch. Even if he hears about the sweep, he won’t run away because he knows he is not on the list,” Miyamoto Shin advised him.

“Golden Canary’s files kept mentioning the Chief Executioner with the code name Wolf Chief. Do you think it’s him?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s very likely!” Miyamoto Shin’s heart raced.

They had dug out so much useful information. Even though he was forced to stay undercover in the Aorus Sacred Institute, he had always been waiting for a chance to make worthy contributions to his homeland from the first day he joined the Enforcement Union!

Mo Fan had definitely lived up to his reputation as the Black Vatican’s nemesis. Shin thought he might be able to end his undercover work here earlier than he expected because of Mo Fan’s help.

Normally, Field Enforcers like them were promoted to the Chief Enforcer of an Intermediate Enforcement Union or a Vice Chief of an Advanced Enforcement Union once they were back in their homeland after accomplishing their mission!

The Enforcement Union was classified into local Enforcement Unions, Intermediate Enforcement Unions, Advanced Enforcement Unions, and the Supreme Enforcement Union.

The Lingyin Enforcement Union was only an Advanced Enforcement Union; Miyamoto Shin’s goal was to enter the Supreme Enforcement Union!

If this operation was a success, he might qualify to join the Supreme Enforcement Union by catching a Chief Executioner like Wolf Chief!

—

A tanned Enforcer came up to them while they were discussing Wolf Chief.

“Sir, your friends have returned to the First Mound safely,” the Enforcer reported.

“Great, I’ll be going. Miyamoto Shin, I’ll let you handle the sweep. I’m going to see what else they found out,” Mo Fan said.

“Got it!” Miyamoto Shin seemed very motivated.

To someone like Miyamoto Shin, arresting Deacons alone did not mean much. He had already had his eyes on a few Deacons.

He had left the Deacons alone in order to catch a bigger fish!

Unfortunately, the big fish never showed up, so he had no choice but to wait so he would not alert the enemy.

“Blue Bat…” Miyamoto Shin murmured as he watched Mo Fan leave in a hurry.

Blue Bat was one of Salan’s disciples, and took orders directly from Salan.

Miyamoto Shin felt a little helpless. They were Enforcers, professionals when it came to handling the Black Vatican.

However, Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan had managed to dig deeper than them!

It had to be the difference between treating it as a job, and treating it as an act of revenge…

Chapter 2263: No Chance of Living

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s greatest worry was Blue Bat managing to escape. To his relief, Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan actually took her down!

“She was too focused on her project. Otherwise, we might have had trouble taking her down,” Mu Bai reported.

“She’s dead?” Mo Fan looked at the sack Mu Bai was dragging behind him.

The strange thing was Mu Bai bringing a body bag around. He was transporting Blue Bat’s corpse inside to preserve its condition.

It seemed like the rumors spreading among the Mages were true: Poison Mages and Undead Mages were more excited to see a well-preserved corpse than their long-distance girlfriend.

“She killed herself with poison. I also poisoned her, just in case she was trying to fake her death,” Mu Bai told him.

“That’s very cautious of you. By the way, where’s Old Zhao?” Mo Fan looked around.

Mu Bai pointed to the other body bag.

Mo Fan immediately lost his cool.

Could it be?…

Mo Fan did not believe it. He quickly went over and pulled the zipper down.

He thought Mu Bai was joking with him, but his scalp turned numb when he saw Zhao Manyan lying in the body bag with a pale face!

Did Old Zhao sacrifice himself for the greater good?

If he knew it would end like this, he would never have gone after Wu Ku!

He could still hunt the Head Priest down in the future, but if his brother died because of him…

Zhao Manyan suddenly opened his eyes before Mo Fan was overwhelmed by grief.

He was faking his death! Zhao Manyan must have faked his death so he did not have to sacrifice himself in the fight!

“Mu Bai, you should feed Old Zhao more poison and let him go peacefully too. I feel uncomfortable when he stares at me like that,” Mo Fan said blandly.

“He was injured and lost consciousness. I didn’t have anything else to carry him with, so I put him inside the body bag and dragged them both back,” Mu Bai explained.

“Oh…” Mo Fan finally realized the truth.

He decided to stop calling Mu Bai Green Tea Man from then on, in case Mu Bai used the same treatment on him!

Mu Bai looked like an honest and righteous man on the surface, but there was no limit to his dark side!

“F**king hell!” Zhao Manyan had regained consciousness, but he was struggling to speak properly. Mo Fan could barely tell what he was saying by reading his lips. He wondered if Zhao Manyan was reacting to the suggestion of feeding him poison, or the fact that Mu Bai had dragged him back in a body bag…

“Blue Bat destroyed most of the evidence. We only managed to grab a few samples of the Frenzy Liquid. The rest of them died rather than surrendering, so Old Zhao and I had no choice but to take them all out,” Mu Bai briefly explained what happened at the Tenth Mound.

Mo Fan also told Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan his findings. Mu Bai’s eyes glittered in surprise.

What pleasant news! They had finally settled a score with the Black Vatican!

“The Field Enforcers are sweeping up the remaining members of the Black Vatican. However, there’s someone we should continue to keep an eye on,” Mo Fan said.

“Who?” Mu Bai asked.

“Sancha’s bodyguard, Hansen. His name wasn’t on the list. Miyamoto Shin believes he’s an Executioner, since the Executioners are directly assigned to the Chief Extraditor.” Mo Fan looked at the motionless Zhao Manyan.

“Which means he might bring us to the Chief Extraditor!” Mu Bai clenched his fists.

“Exactly, so he’s very important to us… Old Zhao, we will continue to disguise ourselves as lecturers at the school. You can keep doing your filthy acts while keeping an eye on Hansen!” Mo Fan told him.

Zhao Manyan moved his lips, but it sounded like something was stuck in his mouth.

“But I’m worried that the Black Vatican already knows who we are. It’s meaningless for us to keep pretending to be teachers,” Mu Bai commented.

“It doesn’t matter. The sweep is going to take more than a few days. They might need our help to take out some of the troublesome guys on the list,” Mo Fan replied easily.

“I’ll bring Blue Bat’s corpse to my lab and see if I can learn anything useful,” Mu Bai nodded.

“You’re trying to find clues from a dead body?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

“The clues provided by a dead body are the most reliable. The air particles inside a person’s lungs will tell us where they have been to. I’m planning to dissect her,” Mu Bai declared flatly.

“…” Mo Fan was left speechless.

The old Mu Bai might be a little arrogant, but he was still a normal nasty-tempered man.

He was now sinking deeper into his darkness. It turned out that it was easier for a man to go to extreme measures after being single for too long…

—

—

The splashing waves sounded like beast roars when they struck the reefs at night.

The dim Aloe Vera Village was shrouded by a mist. A few street lamps were flickering, as if they had not been maintained properly. The woods were oddly dark due to the lack of lighting.

A few figures glided above the waves like seagulls and flew over the breakwater that was used to block the waves. The street lamps happened to dim at the same time, allowing them to sneak into the village. Everything was back to normal after the street lamps lit up again.

“I’ll check that area. You may proceed with the plan once you are ready,” Mo Fan told Iron Bee.

Iron Bee nodded, splitting the Field Enforcers into groups with gestures.

The Aloe Vera Village was where the Black Vatican was planting the Frenzy Poppies.

Some of the villagers were just normal farmers, and had no idea what they were planting. It would be inhumane if they killed everyone in the village.

However, they now had an accurate list of names. They just had to catch the people on the list.

Thirteen Field Enforcers were taking part in the operation. Mo Fan had tagged along in case there were powerful Mages among the members of the Black Vatican.

——

The village had a stone wall behind it. The natives were expanding the village along it.

Mo Fan was standing upon the wall, able to see the whole village from his angle.

Two Enforcers were in position at one end of the village. They had captured four Black Clergymen who had tried to escape after noticing the Field Enforcers.

Iron Bee was fighting a member of the Black Vatican at the center of the village. A thick wall had surrounded the area and blocked everyone’s vision.

Mo Fan heard movement below him.

“Damn it, there’s one over here, too!”

“He’s just a young man. We can kill him and run away!”

Two Black Clerics were climbing the wall with their Wind Element.

A spiraling thread of wind was dangling from the highest rock on the wall like a white rope, allowing the Black Clerics to jump their way up the rock like martial artists from a novel.

(Sigh), they could have chosen the entrance, the back, the beach, or the woods…

There were so many options available, yet these two Clerics had to choose the worst one by coming to the wall he was guarding.

They simply had no chance of living!

Chapter 2264: Buy Two, Gift Three

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Inside a stable…

Two eyes were glaring viciously at an Enforcer in their path.

The Enforcer was lighting up their surroundings with a light orb capable of highlighting every living creature nearby. It was like a thermal scope!

The Enforcer was distracted by a few moving figures in a warehouse. He did not notice the three who were hiding in the stable.

“Sir, run to the walls. They only have a young Enforcer guarding it.. We can run away after taking him out!” a voice in the distance whispered.

He was a Sound Mage. Only Sound Mages were able to communicate with others after every transmission signal in the village was intercepted.

1

“Great work, we’ll be there soon,” the Blue Deacon agreed quickly.

Blue Deacon Marcus left the stinky manure pit behind the stable.

He had been panicking after he lost contact with his superior a few days ago. He had thought they were safe after a few days had passed peacefully, yet the Enforcers had still shown up in the end.

Marcus almost vomited when he walked across the manure pit, but he did not dare make any sound. He could only withhold his urge to puke and run for the walls.

Two Black Clergymen were following him. They had been in charge of the plantation of Frenzy Poppies in the village. They were also covered in an overwhelming stench!

“The Wind Cable Rope!”

“Quick, climb up the walls!”

Marcus was excited when he saw the Wind Cable Rope his men had used to escape.

They would enter a huge rainforest after climbing up the rocks. Even the Enforcers would struggle to hunt them all down in the woods.

“Sir, both Banlo City and Lei City are heavily guarded. Our only option is to cross the Andes Mountains!” a Black Cleric murmured.

“We’ll cross it then! The Andes Mountains won’t stop us,” Marcus declared.

He did not care if he had to fight the ferocious demon creatures in the mountains. He would rather live like a savage than fall into the hands of the Enforcement Union!

—

“You guys are really good at planning far ahead. You are already thinking about your escape routes before you even make it through me…” Mo Fan smiled as he greeted the members of the Black Vatican.

Mo Fan thought the two Black Clerics were the only ones trying to escape over the walls, yet they had notified their superior before clearing the path!

How interesting! It was a buy two, gift three promotion!

One of them was even a Blue Deacon!

If he remembered correctly, the Enforcers might even receive a promotion if they could arrest a Blue Deacon.

The Enforcers under Iron Bee’s lead were extremely motivated. Thirteen Enforcers were assigned to take down a village where a good half of the villagers worked for the Black Vatican. They were trying their best to find a Blue Deacon.

Little did they know, the Blue Deacon ended up coming to Mo Fan!

Mo Fan sighed. It was a pity that he was just a volunteer in the operation. He would not receive any bonuses from it.

“He saw us. Quick, take him out, don’t let him alert the rest of the Enforcement Union!” the Black Cleric with the Sound Element shouted.

Mo Fan almost burst into tears of laughter. He had already seen them running toward him for some time!

“Go!” the Blue Deacon ordered. They had to clear a path as soon as possible. They would be free once they went into the rainforest!

The four Black Clergymen surrounded Mo Fan and attacked him simultaneously. The Blue Deacon wiped the stinking mud off his face and joined in the fight too.

He was a little slower than the rest, not because he was the weakest among them, but he was waiting for his men to expose their enemy’s weakness so he could exploit it!

The four Black Clerics were all Advanced Mages.

It seemed like they were very close to Salan’s main base. Even the Black Clerics here were Advanced Mages!

It also meant Salan was getting more powerful. In the past, a Blue Deacon under her command was only an Advanced Mage at most. There were rarely any Super Mages in her faction.

But now, even the Black Clerics were Advanced Mages!

Mo Fan raised a lightning orb with both hands. He kicked the lightning orb at the Black Clergymen like a goalkeeper, after it absorbed a few lightning strikes from the clouds above him.

BANG!

The lightning orb exploded between the four Black Clerics. Lightning arcs surged wildly at them, like steel cables that had suddenly snapped in half.

The four Black Clergies had just completed their Star Constellations, and were just about to fire their Advanced Spells when the sparks of lightning lashed at them and spun them in circles.

The Black Clerics slammed into the walls in succession. Their flesh was lacerated as they twitched wildly from the electric shocks.

Marcus froze in place and stared at his useless men.

They were supposed to expose the enemy’s weakness, not be wiped out within a second!

An Enforcer with the Earth Element ran up the wall vertically.

“Sir, I saw a few figures running toward you…” the Enforcer said as he landed beside Mo Fan.

The slow-reacting Enforcer turned around and saw four spasming bodies and a dumbstruck man covered in horse dung.

“I have taken out four of them. That Blue Deacon is the only one left,” Mo Fan said, pointing at Marcus.

“Si…sir?” Marcus repeated, taking a deep breath and immediately vomiting at his own stench.

How useless were his men? The Enforcers were already too strong for them to handle, let alone the commanding officer of the operation!

The Enforcer’s eyes glittered. “A…a Blue Deacon?” Oh my, it’s the cash cow everyone is looking for!

“Can you take him out?” Mo Fan asked seriously

The Enforcer was only in his twenties. He had only been a Field Enforcer for a short time, but he was very eager to make worthy contributions. Otherwise, he would not have been chosen to be a Field Enforcer, which was considered the most dangerous job in the Enforcement Union.

“I can!” the Enforcer declared confidently.

“I’ll leave him to you then. It’s not like I’m going to get a bonus.” Mo Fan was too lazy to fight the Blue Deacon. He was acting like a real boss.

The Enforcer’s eyes burned with passion.

Normally, a leader would take all the credit for their men’s work. They would even take a portion of their men’s reward!

However, the commanding officer of this operation was willing to let him take all the credit instead!

“Get on with it, but I want him alive,” Mo Fan reminded him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he’s still breathing in the end!” The Enforcer took a few steps forward. His Aura changed instantly.

He had an Earth Domain. The walls under his feet began to crack apart, like they were being sliced by an invisible blade.

“Stone Fissure!” The Enforcer used his strongest spell right away so as not to disappoint his superior!

Chapter 2265: Gravity Bola

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Enforcer was pretty impressive. Mo Fan stood aside and watched him fight.

The rest gradually fired their signals, indicating they were done clearing the areas they were responsible for.

Mo Fan took out the list of names for the Aloe Vera Village.

He remembered Lily had an aunt here, but to his surprise, her aunt was not a member of the Black Vatican. She was just a believer the Black Vatican had brainwashed.

Normally, people like her who had yet to join the Black Vatican officially and had not committed any crimes still had a chance at redemption.

The Black Vatican was just using the villagers to plant the Frenzy Poppies.. They were not capable enough to join the organization itself, and after all, the requirements to join Salan’s faction were even higher.

Mo Fan also knew some members of the Black Vatican would manage to escape the net even though they had an accurate list of names.

Certain people might not have joined the Black Vatican, but might have done a lot of misdeeds regardless. Mo Fan could only catch the people who were on the list.

Mo Fan could not make the decision on whether these farmers who had planted the Frenzy Poppies should be condemned for their actions.

It was like the difference between moral values and the law.

There was a clear boundary between there, but Mo Fan could only target those who had crossed the line. The rest of the village might be involved in planting the Frenzy Poppies, but they were not on the list. Mo Fan could only hand them over to the Aorus Sacred Institute.

The Field Enforcers were very efficient, as expected of the elite agents of the Enforcement Union. The village had around three hundred people, yet it only took the Field Enforcers the time to finish a pot of tea to detain them all. They did not even require the assistance of the others who were standing guard around the perimeter.

There were a lot of villages that had planted drugs in the tropical regions. Those villages were well-populated and had their own armed forces. The local police would not dare to provoke them, and the military would only handle threats to national security, not bothering to waste their time on these villages. Therefore, the villages that planted drugs were like malignant tumors, and a pain to deal with.

Even the special forces in the military would struggle to clean up a village where more than half its villagers were affiliated with the Black Vatican, but the thirteen Enforcers had done it with ease.

“The numbers are right. We are done for the night after the Blue Deacon is taken care of,” Mo Fan put the list away and glanced at the walls.

The fight between the Enforcer and Marcus was reaching its end. It was obvious that the Enforcer was winning the fight.

However, Mo Fan quickly noticed some Curse Magic was circling the Deacon’s right arm.

The Blue Deacon was clearly not a Curse Mage. There was only one reason he would be able to wield Curse Magic.

Mo Fan looked into a corner where the moonlight could not reach and found a sneaky figure lurking there, as he expected.

The creature looked like a demon ape at first sight. It was holding onto the ledge of a cliff and moving horizontally across it. Its cunning eyes were staring at the Enforcer, who was focused on the fight. It was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, just like a spider.

“A Commander-level Dark Beast Monster,” Mo Fan grinned.

It seemed like the Blue Deacon was a standard member of the Black Vatican. Even the Cursed Beast he had raised was a high level one. The Enforcer might have sustained serious injuries from the Cursed Beast’s surprise attack if he was not careful.

The Cursed Beast finally found the perfect opportunity it was waiting for. It scuttled down the cliff and landed behind the Enforcer’s Rock Barrier.

The Enforcer was completely unaware of its presence, busy giving Marcus a final blow.

“Circle of Crystal Teeth: Gravity Bolas!”

Mo Fan reached out his hand and clenched his fist in the Cursed Beast’s direction.

The Shards scattered under the Cursed Beast’s feet gathered rapidly and formed metal balls tied to chains.

The Cursed Beast was about to make its move when chains tied to huge metal balls bound it up. It fell face-down to the ground as soon as it jumped.

The Cursed Beast lost its temper. It tried to shake free of the chains with its powerful back limbs.

Unfortunately, the grip of a Heaven-Inferior Seed was too overwhelming. The Cursed Beast failed to break free from the chains. It would break its joints if it struggled any more.

The Enforcer turned around and snarled when he saw the creature. “Cunning bastard!”

Marcus paled when his scheme failed.

“Rock Fang!” Mo Fan uttered calmly.

A huge Rock Fang punched out of the ground the Cursed Beast was tied to. It was the size of a hill as it went right through the Cursed Beast!

A foul stench lingered in the air as the Cursed Beast’s blood poured onto the ground. It could not be any deader.

Mo Fan had to work a little harder to kill these Cursed Beasts in the past, but it was different now. He just had to wave his hands casually without constructing a Star Constellation to kill a Cursed Beast now!

“Thank you, sir!” The Enforcers were utterly impressed by Mo Fan’s strength.

Even though the Cursed Beast would not be able to kill him, he would have to lay in bed for more than a month if he was bitten by the venomous creature. He might even suffer for years if he could not cleanse away the Curse Magic.

The Enforcer was sincerely grateful and impressed. Mo Fan had to be very familiar with the Black Vatican if he was able to see through their trick so easily!

1

“It’s nothing, but be more careful next time. They can still bite back at you when they are at their limits,” Mo Fan reminded him.

“I’ll keep it in mind!” the Enforcer nodded.

——

Mo Fan let Iron Bee take over the interrogation. Marcus had to know a lot of things as a Blue Deacon. It would be best if they could obtain another list with names that were not on the first list.

The truth was that not every disciple of the Black Vatican was a hard nut to crack. Some had only joined the Black Vatican for their own greed. They would not hesitate to surrender to avoid the harsh punishments of the Enforcement Union.

Blue Deacon Marcus turned out to be a weak and cowardly person. He confessed even before he was brought back to the Enforcement Union to be interrogated.

Marcus was mainly in charge of the Aloe Vera Village. Both he and the chief of the Rock Coral Village were Blue Deacons, and responsible for planting the Frenzy Poppies.

Mo Fan happened to be the person who took out the chief of the Rock Coral Village. Blue Deacon Marcus decided to spill the beans and tell them the whole process of planting and refining the Frenzy Poppies after he realized his superiors had indeed abandoned them.

Chapter 2266: The Huge Gift from Zhu Meng

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Marcus told the Enforcement Union how he had ended up with the Black Vatican throughout the sleepless night.

It turned out that Marcus used to serve the Red Cardinal in Brazil. He and his subordinates had joined Salan’s faction after she arranged for their boss to be thrown into the Holy Judgment Court’s prison.

The life cycle of the Frenzy Poppies was not long, but Salan was able to spread her influence and expand the plantations quickly. She had taken over the outskirts of the Aorus Sacred Institute within just a couple years.

Not only that, Salan also had branches in every country in South America. Banlo City was only one of them. It was impossible to estimate how many followers she had!

“We thought we could sever Salan’s limbs after putting in so much effort, so that she would lay low for a while, yet our sweep was slower than her rate of expansion.” Mo Fan shook his head helplessly after hearing Marcus’ explanation.

In simpler words, as long as Salan was still around, crooks would keep joining the Black Vatican!

“The fat guy you mentioned. Is he the Evil Herbalist?” Marcus exclaimed in surprise.

The Evil Herbalist was one of Salan’s most important henchmen. Even Marcus had no idea the businessman from the olive grove was the Evil Herbalist. He had thought the guy was just a spy from Greece.

Mo Fan smiled wryly when he saw Marcus’ reaction.

The Black Vatican had done a great job of protecting the Evil Herbalist’s true identity. Even the Blue Deacons were unaware of it!

Salan’s faction was growing rapidly. Destroying a branch would only slow her progress slightly. If they were seriously planning to hurt her, they had to take out the Evil Herbalist, the Chief Extraditor, or the Head Priest!

Mo Fan had a feeling even her disciple Blue Bat was nowhere near as valuable as those three.

It was all giving him a headache. He might have found some clues related to them, but it was very challenging to hunt them down.

The Evil Herbalist had once fallen into their hands, but they’d had no clue he was the Evil Herbalist back then.

As for the Head Priest, they had only stumbled into him coincidentally while they were trying to stop Blue Bat’s conspiracy.

It felt like they were only one step away from catching people, yet Mo Fan knew he was far from taking them down.

“Keep interrogating him. If he can’t tell us anything useful, ask an Enforcer with the Curse Element to dump his soul into a furnace in Hell,” Mo Fan said.

“Got it,” the Enforcer nodded.

Marcus’ face was twitching, but the things he knew were very limited since he was only a Blue Deacon under the Evil Herbalist. He quickly recalled every detail that might be helpful to the Enforcement Union.

If he truly believed in Salan’s promise of paradise, he would also believe in the torments of the Curse Element. It was a true torture from Hell!

——-

Mo Fan yawned as he walked out of the interrogation room.

The Aorus Sacred Institute had given the Chinese Enforcement Union their full cooperation. They had even set up a secluded spot for the Enforcement Union to work from.

After all, the school had come very close to being overrun by the Hillmen of the Andes Mountains. The school knew how severe the situation had been.

Mo Fan was starving. It was already morning.

He had not eaten for the whole night, but he did not enjoy the food provided by the Aorus Sacred Institute, except for the fruit.

A helicopter was flying along the sandy white beach toward the Aorus Sacred Institute through the first light of dawn. The sand was blowing into the air like white veils beneath the helicopter.

The Aorus Sacred Institute had a lot of rich students. It was normal to see private jets landing on the beach, let alone helicopters.

A few men in suits came out of the helicopter. Mo Fan did not place any attention on them until his phone rang.

It was Zhu Meng!

“Hello, Mo Fan, I’ve landed.”

“Look behind you, you will see a man shining brightly in a light brown jacket on the street.”

Zhu Meng looked behind him and did see a man in a light brown jacket. He looked as tired as a young man coming out of an Internet cafe after staying up all night playing games. He failed to notice anything shiny about him.

“Come, I’m bringing you somewhere,” Zhu Meng said.

“I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

“I have takeaway meals on the helicopter.”

“…”

Were the Councilmen so poor nowadays?

Shouldn’t he have a bottle of 1982 Lafite and a serving of Argentina’s best steak?

—

Mo Fan followed Zhu Meng into the helicopter. To his surprise, the helicopter stopped using its propellers after rising into the sky, switching to the jet engines on its stern instead.

Its speed multiplied instantly. It was Mo Fan’s first time taking a ride in a plane like this. It felt like he was in a fighter jet.

Unfortunately, the complementary takeout meal was quite ordinary.

The plane flew across a few cities. It even had an invisibility cloak which evaded the eyes of the demon creatures when it was in their territories.

That being said, the plane also bore a powerful Aura, so weaker demon creatures would not dare to attack it.

Mo Fan had no clue where Zhu Meng was bringing him. He desperately needed a rest.

They passed another huge city. Mo Fan noticed the city was on the other side of the Andes Mountains. It was located toward the end in the east, where the tropical rainforests were.

“Why did you bring me here?” Mo Fan asked.

“I have some properties in the Americas. One of them is a company working with the local government to mine the Lightning Pentagons. It happens to be in charge of the Lightning Pentagon mine which has been a hot topic in the Andes Federation, so I have some great stuff related to the Lightning Element!” Zhu Meng smiled.

“Old Meng, that’s corruption!” Mo Fan swore excitedly.

“Our homeland has always worked with countries in South America like Peru, Chile, and Brazil, on projects which frequently end up in shambles. Someone threw a company which had almost gone bankrupt to me. I had to invest my own funds in it. I also got approval from our government. It’s my own foreign asset. How is it corruption?” Zhu Meng asked, raising his brows.

“I never knew you were good at managing businesses too!” Mo Fan defended himself.

“I know nothing about managing businesses. My niece is doing most of the job. She graduated with a Ph.D. in Magical Geology from Harvard. She decided to gift me something to thank me for supporting her financially when she was a student!” Zhu Meng smiled when he mentioned his niece. He was very proud of her achievements.

“Why did you bring me here, then? Are you trying to arrange for your niece to marry me? Please, I already have two wives,” Mo Fan grumbled.

“If that traitor Golden Canary had done something worse and posed a threat to our homeland, I would be in jail right now. You have helped me eliminate a huge threat, so I must thank you. You are also a Lightning Mage too, so I think this gift suits you more,” Zhu Meng said.

Zhu Meng might have sounded sincere, yet it was obvious that he was still reluctant to give the gift away, judging from his expression.

“Are you sure about this?” Mo Fan pretended like he was hesitant to accept the gift, yet he immediately continued before Zhu Meng could respond, “But seeing how sincere you are, I would be disrespectful if I don’t accept it.”

Zhu Meng nodded in tears.

Since when was he being sincere?

If he had not made such a huge mistake, he would never give this thing to Mo Fan! It was something that every Lightning Mage dreamed of gaining!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Lightning Pentagon Mines were located at Half-Ridge Mountain City.

Half-Ridge Mountain City was an important industrial city of the Andes Federation. It was not as dazzling and developed as Banlo City, but the whole city was like a pounding heart, pumping blood through the important arteries of the nation.

Half-Ridge Mountain City was around forty kilometers away from Banlo City, with a huge tropical river as a boundary line between them.

When the plane flew across the river, Mo Fan noticed that the river was as wide as a small strait. It was rare to see a river so wide.

Using the river as a boundary line, the areas toward Banlo City were mostly farms, woods, and green fields.

In contrast, the areas toward Half-Ridge Mountain City were mostly barren.. There was not much vegetation, and some areas were as dry as the Gobi.

Industrial areas were prone to pollution. Even the rain on one side had a different color than the other.

“It might seem like Half-Ridge Mountain City is full of factories, trucks, and ships, but the Andes Federation is planning to develop a port like Shanghai here in South America. They even plan to dig a channel through the Andes Mountain Range to reach the Pacific Ocean,” Zhu Meng claimed.

“That’s a lot of work,” Mo Fan observed.

“The Andes Mountains are a natural barrier that stops the sea monsters. If I’m guessing right, the cities along the coastline in South America will gradually move to the other side of the Andes,” Zhu Meng mused.

Mo Fan thought about that.

It was just as Zhu Meng had mentioned. The Andes Mountains were located along the shoreline, forming a natural dam. It did not matter how high the sea level rose, it would never make it through the Andes Mountains Range, which stretched out like an enormous dragon.

It explained why Chile, Peru, and other countries had decided to form an alliance and potentially move their cities to the other side of the Andes Mountains. It was the perfect plan to hide from the invasion of sea monsters.

China and Japan were on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, but the countries in South America did not have armies of the same size and strength as China and Japan. China was able to build a two-hundred-thousand-kilometers-long dam on its vast shoreline, while Japan was known for being an expert at fighting maritime battles.

The countries in South America did not stand a similar chance against the sea monsters. Seeing that so many cities had been trampled to the ground by the sea monsters, choosing to form a federation and move the cities to the other side of the Andes Mountains was the smartest option!

“We are here, it’s right ahead,” Zhu Meng pointed ahead.

Half-Ridge Mountain City was constructed on a slope. It felt like the buildings in the city were arranged in a star from afar.

The Lightning Pentagon Mine was the biggest mine in Half-Ridge Mountain City. A group of people in khaki military outfits came over as Zhu Meng’s helicopter landed on the helipad.

The pilot took off his helmet and studied the soldiers. “Councilman, something isn’t right…”

“I’m a Councilman from China, Zhu Meng!” Zhu Meng revealed his identity to the incoming soldiers.

A man with a yellow hat came up to Zhu Meng. “We are managing this place now,” the general declared.

“I’m here to see my niece. I have no interest in your business!” Zhu Meng remained fearless despite the pressure from the soldiers.

The general talked to his advisor softly. He nodded in the end, indicating that Zhu Meng was allowed to see his niece under their supervision.

The soldiers followed beside them, keeping stern faces, like they were going to fire their automatic rifles at Mo Fan and the others at any moment.

Mo Fan was utterly confused.

“The country is still politically unstable. This Lightning Pentagon Mine is its greatest asset, so it’s normal for them to be on alert. However, I thought this mine belonged to the Andes Federation,” Zhu Meng informed him helplessly.

The mine used to belong to the Greens, but it now belonged to the Yellows!

It did not matter much to Zhu Meng. His company was still involved in the mining, so the change of ownership did not make any difference. The Yellows just had to sign a new agreement with his company.

“Uncle!” A short-haired woman in a jacket came trotting up to them.

“Why are you so tanned?” Zhu Meng asked her in concern.

“You can tell that the air isn’t great here, and the sun is always up. It’s only a matter of time before my skin condition worsens. Uncle, this Lightning Cultivation Tool is pretty rare. It should be able to strengthen your cultivation further!” the woman exclaimed.

“Zhu Li, allow me to introduce you; this is the famous Mo Fan you always wanted to meet. I brought him with me,” Zhu Meng said formally.

The woman immediately focused on Mo Fan. She blatantly scanned Mo Fan from his head to his feet.

“He isn’t as special as the rumors mentioned,” Zhu Li declared.

“My bad, not only do I not have three heads and six arms, I didn’t even have eyes like Xiang Yu, nor did I dig up a boulder from the Yellow River with a prophecy that I’m ascending to the throne,” Mo Fan answered smoothly.

“HAHAHA, you’re amusing!” Zhu Li laughed. She was more of a masculine woman.

Zhu Meng told Zhu Li his plan to give Mo Fan the Lightning Cultivation Tool.

Zhu Li was confused at first. She did not understand why Zhu Meng would give away something so useful, until she heard Zhu Meng mention there was a traitor among the core members of the Tianbei Enforcement Union.

The Lightning Cultivation Tool was nothing compared to Zhu Meng’s career!

“Besides, I’m getting older. Even if my cultivation improves, it will only provide me with more energy and better control. It won’t make much of a difference. Mo Fan has the Blessing of the God’s Seal. He’s also young, so he needs the Lightning Cultivation Tool more than I do… The truth is, even if Golden Canary wasn’t a traitor, I was planning to give it to Mo Fan anyway. Mo Fan is taking on the Black Vatican. He needs to become stronger as soon as possible,” Zhu Meng told her.

Zhu Meng meant what he said.

He was still hesitating a little before, but he had made up his mind after what had happened recently.

“Old man, I’m not going to take your thing for granted. Just let me know if you need my help,” Mo Fan did not turn down Zhu Meng’s offer.

There was no point in being too courteous with Zhu Meng. They had both sworn to take down the Black Vatican, and now was the time Mo Fan needed strength the most. He had long wanted to get his hands on the Lightning Pentagons, but the Andes Federation military had taken over the mine.

“Very well!” Zhu Meng was a straightforward man too. He did not think twice after making his decisions.

Zhu Li took out a gleaming Pendant. It had a Lightning Pentagon with a slight golden-purple luster, cut very delicately. The edges and vertexes were clean and sharp.

Chapter 2268: Space Rift

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan knew the Pendant was extraordinary at first sight.

As a Lightning Mage, he could sense the overwhelming Lightning Magic inside the tiny Pendant, as if it had stored the energy of a thunderstorm.

Not only was Mo Fan attracted by the pure Lightning Magic in the Lightning Cultivation Tool, Little Loach was struggling to stay calm. It had an urge to swallow the Pendant right away!

“Be patient, can’t you behave yourself in front of others?” Mo Fan slapped the Little Loach Pendant on his chest.

A Lightning Cultivation Tool?

Mo Fan had never needed a Cultivation Tool, as the dark Pendant around his neck was the best Cultivation Tool. It was able to grow continuously.

The Lightning Cultivation Tool happened to be perfect rations for it!

.

He believed Little Loach would upgrade after eating the Lightning Cultivation Tool, which would help his Lightning Element reach the second-tier of the Super Level in return.

Zhu Meng’s Lightning Element was also only in the second-tier of the Super Level. It had only taken Mo Fan a few years to catch up to Zhu Meng’s cultivation since their first encounter!

His cultivation had improved quickly, mainly because he was constantly having breakthroughs under the pressure of death and the constant help from Little Loach as it kept growing.

“Do you want to take a tour around the place?” Zhu Li asked him.

“Sure!” Mo Fan nodded.

—

Zhu Li brought Mo Fan and Zhu Meng on a tour around the mine. A group of soldiers followed them throughout the process.

“May I ask what is this place for?” Mo Fan pointed at a chimney with lots of sparkles in it.

The solitary chimney was as huge as an office building. It was covered by a layer of dark leathery material with clear lines on it.

Normally, a chimney was used to conduct smoke and combustion gases, but this huge chimney was conducting lightning sparks instead. It looked quite dangerous.

“It’s how we deal with the tailings after refining the Lightning Pentagons. Once we refine the pure Lightning Magic in the Lightning Pentagons, the rest is just ordinary ore. We can’t just throw them away, since they still contain Lightning Particles. They might cause an explosion in the junkyards, so we have to build a chimney to release the remaining Lightning Magic in them,” Zhu Li explained.

“So, it’s like the impurities of Lightning Ore?,” Mo Fan asked carefully.

“Yes, it’s possible to generate electricity with them, but they are too unstable, and they aren’t pure enough to make Magic Tools,” Zhu Li admitted.

“I have something precious that can absorb the impurities of Lightning Magic. Does your mine have a lot of waste ore? Why don’t you give them to me instead of wasting them?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Really? Can you tell me what it is?” Zhu Li’s eyes widened.

“I can’t tell you what it is. It’s my heirloom treasure,” Mo Fan rejected her decisively.

Zhu Meng glared at Zhu Li when he saw she was going to pursue the topic further. Zhu Li did not dare to ask further when she realized she might be prying on someone’s secrets.

“I have a pile of tailings at the mine. If you can clear the impurities in them, I might be able to give you a few Lightning Pentagons. You may have a taste of how it feels to have an abundant supply of energy for your Lightning Element,” Zhu Li finally agreed.

They had to find a way to get rid of the tailings, yet getting rid of the dangerous waste ore involved a huge cost, because of the scale of their mine. Many smaller companies in Half-Ridge Mountain City were willing to buy the tailings from the mine, and Zhu Li knew exactly what they were planning to do with them.

The Lightning Pentagons were a perfect material to produce Cultivation Tools. Even the lowest-grade Cultivation Tools had the potential of making huge profits. Many schools and people could not afford to buy a Cultivation Tool. If the market had Cultivation Tools around the price of a few hundred thousand each, some people might spend all their money just to buy a Cultivation Tool for the sake of their descendants.

However, if these Cultivation Tools were made from the tailings that were produced from refining the Lightning Pentagons, there would be a serious problem. The people who were cultivating with those Cultivation Tools would have to endure the pain of being electrocuted every time they cultivated.

It was exactly the same as Ritchie’s situation had been!

Zhu Li was an academic with a conscience. Even though she was currently in a foreign country, she did not want people to abuse the waste ore and harm young Mages.

She had no choice but to spend a fortune on getting rid of the tailings in order to keep a clear conscience.

The company had pressured her to sell the tailings many times, but she managed to withhold the pressure and stand her ground.

“I can get rid of as much waste ore as you have,” Mo Fan declared confidently.

“Come to the mine with me. We have a whole mountain of tailings there,” Zhu Li said.

—

The Lightning Pentagon Mine was not located within the lakeside company’s headquarters. It only had a Teleportation Portal connected to the Sun-Gathering Peak.

There were many kinds of Teleportation Portals. Among them, a Space Rift which allowed people to travel in both directions was the most expensive.

Zhu Meng’s company actually had a Space Rift! Mo Fan gasped when he saw the two enormous silver structures that formed the Space Rift.

The two structures were like huge mountains facing one another. Their surfaces were covered by lines, making them look like beehives. Some people might even mistake them for a demon creatures’ palace from afar.

The silver structures had mysterious dark red lightning arcs flickering between them. They were intimidating to look at.

“So this is a Space Rift!” It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing one. He thought it would have an altar and messy Symbols and Runes all over the ground.

He did not expect a Space Rift to be so magnificent and spectacular. It felt like a gate leading him to another world!

“This is insane. I don’t think any companies in our homeland can afford a Space Rift like this!” Zhu Meng stared at the structures in astonishment.

“Our company currently has the highest earning potential in the Andes Federation. The Lightning Pentagons’ value in the international market will decide whether the federation can survive the invasion of sea monsters,” Zhu Li declared proudly.

A Space Rift was not something any company could build as they wished. The cost of building it had to be insane. Otherwise, why were airline companies that were constantly involved in aviation accidents still allowed to operate?

Not only was the cost to build a Space Rift extremely high, the cost to operate and maintain it was a stunning figure too!

Mo Fan was surprised that the Lightning Pentagon Mine Ritchie had found in the past was currently the key to survival for half of South America!

“We won’t be taking the Space Rift. The tailings are over here. We will see it once we cross the hill,” Zhu Li told them, pointing at a rising hill with a strong magnetic field.

Little Loach started misbehaving again, as Mo Fan expected!

Mo Fan could even imagine it lunging forward like a starving baby flying at their mother’s breast if it was not an Amulet!.

Chapter 2269: Mainstay of the Country

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was about to climb higher, to where the tailings were located, when he suddenly felt a powerful energy behind him.

The space was being distorted with waves spreading from it.

The waves soon formed a vortex, spinning a hundred times both clockwise and counterclockwise in just a few seconds.

It looked like some kind of passcode for the Space Rift. It was verifying the validity of the passcode at an incredible speed!

The distortion eventually calmed down, but for some reason, Mo Fan began to see two different versions of the vacant space in front of him.

The two structures had become four, as if he was looking at a mirage. The mountains in the distance were also stacked on themselves. Silver strings and cracks were everywhere!

.

A few seconds later, the mirage gradually disappeared.

Mo Fan subconsciously rubbed his eyes. He thought something was wrong with his vision.

However, it was unlikely he would see twice the number of structures, even if he had astigmatism.

He realized his eyes were not playing tricks on him when he saw the heavy military trucks appearing out of nowhere in front of the two structures. It was a clear sign that the Space Rift had been used!

Each truck was big enough to transport a tank. Fifty of them, filled with Lightning Pentagon Ore, had suddenly appeared in front of the two silver structures!

The dazzling sparkling light spread across the bottom of the mountain, as if the whole ground was scattered with glittering purple jewels.

How…how spectacular!

He remembered the ore vein in Mount Kunlun’s Sun Ridge, the one the Dongfang Clan and the Mu Clan were excavating together. It only used Space Scrolls when transporting the valuable raw materials.

The real excavation site was stationed with powerful Mages, since they could only transport large amounts of raw material in the most traditional fashion.

Meanwhile, the Lightning Pentagons Mine had teleported over fifty military trucks to the mine, and then teleported them back after they were filled with the Lightning Pentagon Ore.

Mo Fan was dumbfounded by the Space Rift’s capacity!

The Space Element had strict restrictions on the volume of the objects that were being teleported.

When Mo Fan was teleporting a group of people, even having an extra person would reduce the maximum distance his spell could cover.

The same principles applied when he was teleporting objects. Mo Fan’s Space Magic could only transport a military truck some fifty meters away at most!

It was nothing compared to the Space Rift, which had just teleported the trucks several hundred kilometers, clear across the Andes Mountains from an altitude above four thousand meters!

Talk about the boundless potential of magic technology!

Most unexcavated mines were located in demon creatures’ territories. It was not like Mages couldn’t reach the mines to excavate them, but transporting the ore from the mines had always been the biggest problem.

How were they supposed to transport tons of raw material from the demon creatures’ territories to a city?

There were no roads in the wilderness, not to mention the hassles of fending off demon creatures along the way. They could not possibly afford the insane cost of hiring mercenaries to protect cargos over such long distances.

As a result, only countries could afford to own the largest mines. The military would then build a fortress to guard the mines.

Even so, the number of mines every country could excavate was naturally limited. It was also a big reason why many cities outside the safe zones were unwilling to relocate.

If a city relied on excavating a mine as its source of income, the city would grow over time by exporting the raw materials from the mine. It had plenty of resources to provide for tens of thousands of people.

Zhu Meng let out a sigh. “I bet only Forbidden Mages are capable of constructing this Space Rift.”

How was it possible that a poor country in South America had someone who could build a Space Rift, yet they did not have anyone in China who could build such a thing?

If their country had the same technology, they could easily excavate the richest mines, instead of having to worry about the sea monsters!

The greatest advantage of being close to the sea was the ease of transportation!

If the cities along the coastline had to move inland, it would greatly hinder the growth of a country. The plan of setting up the Headquarters Cities in China was their final solution.

“Doesn’t our country have a Forbidden Space Mage?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Information on Forbidden Mages was confidential in every country. Mo Fan was totally clueless about the details of the Forbidden Mages in his homeland.

Zhu Meng would know more than him, since he was a Councilman.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a Forbidden Space Mage. Even Super Space Mages are treated like national treasures in our homeland, let alone Forbidden Space Mages!” Zhu Meng sighed and smiled wryly.

“Our country lacks Space resources. The proportion of Space Mages in our homeland is extremely low, unlike South America. The proportion here is one to a hundred at the Advanced Level,” Zhu Li recalled for them.

“What about China?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“Based on the data we have collected, it’s around one to four hundred,” Zhu Meng said professionally.

“That low?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened.

“You were extremely lucky to Awaken the Space Element without relying on a Guided Awakening. Besides, the Space Element isn’t well-received in our country. Strong Space Mages might be treated like gods, but weak Space Mages are totally useless. Since our country lacks Space Resources, most clans are not willing to waste their efforts on raising Space Mages,” Zhu Meng sighed.

“Every country is different; China is known for its Fire and Ice Mages,” Zhu Li contributed.

“That’s true, the Fire and Ice Mages of our country are symbolic, like Chinese kung fu. Speaking of which, Mo Fan, you are now a Super Mage. Have you heard of the Super Mage Association?” Zhu Meng asked him.

“Super Mage Association?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened. He never heard of anything like that!

“It’s an organization our homeland has established. Only Super Mages chosen by our country can join it. Certain Elements are extremely rare among Super Mages, not to mention the Forbidden Level,” Zhu Meng explained.

“That’s true,” Mo Fan nodded.

“You know that the Lightning and Shadow Elements are rare in our country, since their Awakening Rate is relatively low, but these Elements are crucial in certain operations. Those Elements are very rare among the Super Mages, so if China didn’t establish a Super Mage Association to gather the talents in our country, we wouldn’t be able to carry out difficult missions that require these Elements,” Zhu Meng explained further, as he knew Mo Fan had only reached the Super Level recently.

The Super Level was a whole different level. Even though it was impressive that Mo Fan now had three Elements at the Super Level, he was still nowhere close to the big shots of the Super Level!

“Our country has a lot of Super Fire Mages, but we only have a few Super Shadow Mages. I remember some of my colleagues asking me if I knew a powerful Super Shadow Mage. They are short a Super Shadow Mage for an operation they have been planning for years,” Zhu Meng offered.

“Should I contact them when I’m back in the country?” Mo Fan was intrigued.

“Mm, I had the same idea too… Oh my, such a strong presence of Lightning Magic!”

Zhu Meng halted in his tracks after he stepped past an artificial barrier of stone, wincing like something was stabbing his eyes.

Mo Fan had a different reaction. His eyes were glittering with a strong light of greed, as if he was going to devour the whole tailings yard in front of him in one go!

Chapter 2270: Turning Waste into Valuables
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was about to get rich!

Even a professional like Zhu Li could only get rid of the impurities of the Lightning Pentagons by releasing their energies in a huge furnace.

However, these seemingly uncontrollable energies were like delicacies to Little Loach ever since it had evolved into a dark golden loach.

Little Loach’s appetite and food choices had expanded greatly!

It had only fancied Cultivation Tools and rare energy resources in the past, but it was now willing to feed on many kinds of resources after its appetite improved!

Mo Fan initially thought he would only find a limited number of the Lightning Pentagons on the Sun-Gathering Peak. It would be nowhere enough to feed Little Loach.

However, he now had all the impurities of the Lightning Pentagons Mine to himself. The amount of wasted crystals was absolutely insane since a national company was excavating the mine!

Even though they had refined the essence in the ores to produce Cultivation Tools, leaving only residual energies in the waste rocks, the amount was simply stunning!

It was similar to spent batteries. The energy inside those depleted batteries could no longer support the functioning of electrical appliances, but they still had a small amount of energy in them.

A few spent batteries might be useless, but the combined energy from a hundred tons of waste batteries was equivalent to a small generator!

The Lightning Pentagons Mine was providing countries and federations with countless Cultivation Tools, which were shared between millions of people.

However, Mo Fan was claiming all the waste from the process for himself!

“How are you going to do it?” Zhu Li looked at Mo Fan. She was waiting to see Mo Fan perform his magic trick.

To think that he was able to absorb the residual energy inside the waste rocks…

If they had the same capability and technology, they could easily manufacture the junk rocks into other products. Why would they bother searching for gold in a junkyard?

Zhu Li was extremely curious about what Mo Fan was planning to do with the tailings.

“Is it fine if I absorb them all?” Mo Fan asked, not answering directly.

The khaki-clad soldiers were still following them around. Mo Fan was worried that they might arrest him for stealing their country’s resources.

“It’s fine, I’ve already spoken to them,” Zhu Li assured him.

Mo Fan nodded eagerly, and headed closer to the waste piles.

The tailings had piled up into hills of crushed stone.

The residual energy in the waste rocks was still dangerous. They would still emit lightning flashes randomly, so it was impossible to transport them without special care.

The trucks could only transport the raw material through the Space Rift once in a while, so the tailings kept increasing, as they were unable to clear them in time.

Mo Fan jumped onto a pile of tailings. He could feel his feet going numb, even though he was wearing a pair of sturdy boots. It was obvious that the waste rocks still contained unstable energy.

Mo Fan did not mind that Zhu Meng and Zhu Li were watching him closely, since they could not see how Little Loach was absorbing the energy in the mine tailings. He just needed to put up an act with his Lightning Magic to deceive them.

“It’s time for dinner!”

Little Loach had long lost its patience. It immediately spat out the Nether River as it trembled in excitement.

It took Mo Fan by surprise. Since when did Little Loach turn into a water-spitting serpent? The Nether River rapidly encircled the wasteyard like a tornado.

Mo Fan quickly turned around to see Zhu Li, Zhu Meng, and the soldiers’ reactions.

Thank the Heavens, they could not see Little Loach’s remarkable power. It seemed like only Little Loach’s master, whose soul it was bound to, was able to see the spectacular sight!

The others were unable to see the process of Little Loach absorbing Soul Essences and Soul Remnants, even if they had a Soul Container!

As the Nether River flowed across the yard, glowing purple dots flew toward it like fireflies being Summoned. They followed the Nether River’s flow and streamed toward the Little Loach Pendant thickly.

Mo Fan stood there and pretended like he was controlling the flow of the energy.

The truth was, he was not doing anything at all; Little Loach was fully in charge. It did not require its master’s involvement in the process.

Mo Fan was thinking whether he should spread his arms like he was absorbing nature’s energy, but it might make him look like a retard.

—

Zhu Meng and Zhu Li were watching him from not far away.

The truth was, he already looked like a retard in their eyes. From their perspective, Mo Fan was merely standing there calf-deep in a pile of tailings.

It would not feel too awkward if Mo Fan was standing on an altar or a peak, but he was standing on top of a pile of crushed and useless rocks!

Perhaps it felt like he was sitting on an iron throne as the king of scavengers…

—

“Is it done?” Zhu Li asked after she saw Mo Fan making his way down the pile of tailings a few minutes later.

Mo Fan was a little unsatisfied when he heard Zhu Li’s skeptical tone, but the truth was, he was indeed done absorbing the energy of the tailings.

Little Loach always had the habit of finishing its meals quickly!

“Mm, I’m done,” Mo Fan nodded with a faint smile.

When a person won the jackpot, they would not be overwhelmed with joy right away.

They would withhold their excitement and confirm they were indeed the winner first, then dance in joy when there was no one around.

Mo Fan was in a similar state.

Be calm, he could laugh all he wanted when he went back!

“I thought you were going to establish a Magic Formation or something,” Zhu Li said in disappointment.

“Zhu Meng, let’s head back, we still have a lot of work to do in the Aorus Sacred Institute,” Mo Fan proposed.

“Oh, you’re right,” Zhu Meng nodded.

Zhu Li was still confused, and stepped closer to the tailings. She still had a feeling that Mo Fan had failed to absorb the energy inside them.

No one could possibly absorb the unstable Lightning Energy in the waste rocks just by standing on them, unless he was Magneto!

However, she noticed something unusual as she drew closer to the pile of tailings.

Normally, she would feel a faint electric field from the waste rocks, which would inflict a numbing sensation on her. If she was carrying something metallic, she would feel a sharp shock from it.

But she did not feel anything this time. Everything was oddly stable.

There was just a pile of ordinary rocks in front of her. She did not feel the slightest sense of danger!

Did he really absorb the energy inside the waste rocks?

Did he seriously get rid of the dangerous residue energy of such a huge pile of tailings in a few minutes?

Zhu Li turned around and stared at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was walking at a light pace, like a primary school kid hopping his way out of the school’s entrance on the last day of school before the summer holiday.

“How did he do it?” Zhu Li gaped.

The place might be full of scrap, but according to the Principles of Magic Energy, the residual energy the tailings contained was enough to form a wild thunderstorm a few dozen kilometers across, which would last for at least ten hours!

Where had Mo Fan stored all the Lightning Energy?

What kind of thing could possibly contain such an enormous amount of unstable energy?

How shocking would it be if he released or absorbed all the energy at once?

“By the way, you said you were going to give me a few Lightning Pentagons. Don’t you forget it,” Mo Fan called back to remind Zhu Li.

It was like he was not forgetting to take away a cone of ice cream after he was done enjoying a buffet!

Chapter 2271: One with the Magic

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan found a relatively quiet spot after he returned to the Aorus Sacred Institute.

There was an island some distance away from the sandy white beach, occasionally drowned by the sea when the tide rose close. Mo Fan chose to attempt his breakthrough on the island in case he failed to stop the energy from leaking out of his body.

The walls around the Star Galaxy of his Lightning Element were on the verge of collapsing. He just needed some extra Lightning Energy to break down the walls.

The impurities of the Lightning Pentagons definitely provided him with the required energy!

Mo Fan sat down and inhaled the damp wind that was blowing at him from afar. A few seagulls were circling and screeching in the sky, staring at Mo Fan hostilely.

.

It was obvious that Mo Fan had taken over the place they normally worked from around this time, when schools of fish would show up nearby to feed on microorganisms for dinner.

The schools of fish would end up as these seagulls’ dinner. Unfortunately, someone else had occupied their restaurant!

—

Dense lightning arcs were emerging from Mo Fan’s body. They were kept within two meters of Mo Fan under his outstanding control.

However, the lightning arcs suddenly turned reckless as Little Loach emitted a strong purple light. The lightning started dancing wildly above the sea, like unleashed weapons.

Thousands of fish in the area were frightened. The purple lightning had taken dozens of forms. Some flashed across the sky like dazzling thundering spears, while others dove deep into the sea like enormous eels.

Mo Fan had made the right decision to attempt his breakthrough on the island!

Even though Little Loach had absorbed the impurities of the Lightning Pentagons, they fought back fiercely when Mo Fan tried to subdue them. Mo Fan was controlling the unstable Lightning Magic with his Will.

The unstable Lightning Energy was similar to a group of refugees. Even if Mo Fan provided them with shelter, he still needed some time to comfort them as they were overwhelmed by the grief of losing their homes and uneasiness at being brought to an unfamiliar environment. Mo Fan had to react appropriately, rather than trying to subdue them with force.

The energy that Little Loach had absorbed was of the troublemaking kind, and would trigger an explosion at the slightest conflict. Mo Fan had to convince the energy to become a part of his Lightning Galaxy through both intimidation and pacification.

The Lightning Galaxy had twenty-four hundred and one Stars. After Mo Fan achieved the Super Level, he had to put in much more effort to control the Stars, as he was no longer looking after merely seven Stars.

Leveling up not only expanded the Star Galaxy and increased its energy capacity, but the Stars evolved too!

Mo Fan had to refine more than two thousand Stars at once. He wondered where he would even have found the energy required if he had not stumble into the waste piles of the Lightning Pentagons by coincidence.

There were many kinds of energy sources in the world. Magic Ores were the most common energy source for magic technology.

However, the kind of energy the Lightning Pentagons contained could be absorbed by Mages directly. It was extremely rare to find an energy source like the Lightning Pentagons!

If every energy could be absorbed, wouldn’t it be easier for Mo Fan to put on a steel helmet with a lightning rod and find a thunderstorm so lightning would keep falling on him?

The energy of the lightning falling from the sky was destructive. It would only inflict damage on its target.

The seagulls in the sky suddenly turned into crows. They were swaying in the air like kites with broken strings.

The smell of burnt fish lingered above the sea, with a slight fragrance of cooking food.

Mo Fan opened his eyes. He scratched his head when he saw the scorched dead fish floating in the waters around him.

My bad…

He had accidentally cooked the schools of fish by electrocuting them! Was it his reward for breaking through successfully?

“My Lightning Element has reached the second-tier of the Super Level!” Mo Fan clenched his right fist.

That simple action Summoned a few thick lightning bolts to fall onto the sea full of cooked fish. The lightning was falling so rapidly that it was like a purple thunderstorm!

He moved the fingers on his left hand. Lightning arcs burst out of the tip of his fingers and turned into five lightning blades.

Mo Fan swung the lightning blades across the sea.

The lightning blades sprang forward and sliced the water apart like purple crescents. They tore the sea open until they reached its bottom, leaving five long ravines on the seabed!

“Is this the effect of being one with the magic after reaching the Super Level?” Mo Fan was excited when he saw the damage of the spells he had executed with a few simple actions.

Mo Fan had realized being a Mage was not as cool as he had first thought soon after he Awakened his first Element.

He had thought Mages could Summon a blizzard by waving their hands, or call down a lightning strike by moving their lips.

However, he had to follow a standard routine just to Cast a simple spell. In simpler words, he had to follow certain procedures to use his magic!

He had to connect seven Stars to use a basic Lightning Strike.

He needed to construct more complex Star Orbits and Star Patterns to Cast more advanced spells.

It made him feel like Mages were too mechanical, since they had to Channel for a certain amount of time before they could use their magic.

However, upon reaching the Super Level, the improvement to his control over the Elements, the help from Domains, and the growth of his mental state made him feel like magic had fully combined with his body.

He could now use magic with a single thought.

If he was quick enough, he could even fire spells continuously, like a rocket launcher!

It was not because he was getting more familiar with the standard procedures, but because his body had become one with the magic.

It was like a box of matches. Someone had to swipe the match against the side of the box to create fire. The match was ignited because of the friction.

When Mages were connecting Stars into Star Orbits with their Will, it was like they were swiping a match against the side of a matchbox.

When they reached the Advanced Level and gained a Domain, the matches were replaced with a lighter, which could be ignited with a single click rather than having to swipe the match against the side of the matchbox.

Once they reached the Super Level, they had become fire itself. They could burn whenever they wanted!

This was exactly what Mo Fan felt.

The twenty-four hundred and one stars no longer existed separately in the Spiritual World where he had to control them.

The Lightning Stars now felt like they were a part of his body. They were the acupuncture points on his body!

When the acupuncture points were activated, energy would originate from the body instead.

It was why he was able to call down lightning strikes simply by clenching his fist!

Even the complicated more Star Orbits, Star Patterns, and Star Palaces had become a part of Mo Fan’s body. All he had to do was to stimulate the right acupuncture points!

“No wonder the Shadow Element felt like it had become a vein inside my body after it reached the Super Level. The Shadow Magic is originating from my body, and so is the Lightning Element now. The Stars have become something like acupuncture points on my body. They have truly become a part of me. In the past, there were sayings on how people could be one with the sword. Similarly, I’ve become one with the magic!”

Chapter 2272: The Extraordinary Power of the Super Level

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A question suddenly crossed Mo Fan’s mind. “By the way, if I can also merge the other Elements perfectly with my body, what forms will they take?”

The Dark Vein had greatly increased the strength of his Shadow Element, allowing him to rely solely on his Shadow Magic if he wanted to. Even an existence like the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was willing to fight alongside him now.

He now possessed the Lightning Star Points, too!

He called them Lightning Star Points because the Stars providing him with such an enormous amount of Lightning Energy were spread across his body like acupuncture points.

It made Mo Fan feel like he was able to unleash lightning as he pleased!

If the Dark Vein and Lightning Star Points were signs of him making progress in the Super Level, wouldn’t his Fire Element, Space Element, Earth Element, Chaos Element, and Summoning Element also become a part of his body?

What would the Fire Element turn into?

His Fire Element was not as strong as his Shadow Element and Lighting Element. He wondered what the Fire Element would turn into.

The Little Loach Pendant started vibrating.

The little thing was signaling Mo Fan to enter its world, as if it could read its master’s mind.

Mo Fan entered the world inside the Little Loach Pendant, feeling confused.

The Nether River inside the Little Loach Pendant had turned into an ocean in the vast world. The ocean was split in half in the middle. Mo Fan was able to find the answer to his question based on what he was seeing.

Countless Stars of the Fire Element flew out of the ocean like fireflies. They eventually formed an enormous red heart in the sky.

Mo Fan was startled.

Was Little Loach telling him that once his Fire Element merged with him, it would exist in the form of a Fire Heart?

Dark Vein! Lightning Acupuncture Points!

And… a Fire Heart?

It sounded very plausible!

If his Fire Element took the shape of his heart, it meant his life would always burn passionately, like a raging flame!

Mo Fan was suddenly looking forward to the day he formed the Fire Heart.

His Fire Element was also at the Super Level, but it had yet to become a part of his body like the Shadow and Lightning Elements had. How different would his Fire Element be once his heart became its projection?

“What about the Earth Element?” Mo Fan was overcome by fanciful thoughts.

Little Loach immediately answered Mo Fan’s question, as expected of his beloved assistant.

Mo Fan saw golden-brown light dots combining into a skeletal frame: a skull, vertebrae, ribs, hip bones, and the bones of its legs.

“Earth Bones?”

It was true that bones were the most suitable symbol of the Earth Element!

Once his Earth Element reached the Super Level and became a part of him, his bones would be as sturdy as rocks!

“Little Loach, what about the Space Element?” Mo Fan asked it.

Little Loach started gathering silver lights which gradually took the shape of an enormous eye.

“Space Eyes?”

The Space Element’s projection was his eyes!

His eyes symbolized the Space Element!

Right, he still had the Chaos Element too!

If Little Loach was emotional, it would probably be a little impatient. It Summoned a few light dots from the Nether River and roughly drew another eye.

“Why is it an eye again?” Mo Fan was confused. “Oh, I understand now. I have two eyes, so my right is the Space Element, while my left is the Chaos Element?”

Little Loach wriggled its tail, like it was pleased with Mo Fan’s quick deduction.

“What about the Summoning Element?

“Hey, what about my Summoning Element?

“Don’t pretend to be dead. I still have one last question!”

Little Loach failed to answer Mo Fan’s question. Mo Fan had the impression nothing on his body could represent the Summoning Element.

It did not matter much. The Summoning Element was rather unique when compared to the other Elements. It was not really dependent on a Mage’s power, so it was unlikely that he had a body part that could represent it.

If he insisted on finding a body part that suited it, perhaps the organ between his legs would do. Mm, knowing that it was capable of Summoning millions of his offspring…

Either way, Little Loach did not give Mo Fan a symbol of his Summoning Element.

Mo Fan cleared his thoughts.

He had now learned that when his Elements reached a certain level, they would merge into a part of his body.

Lightning Acupuncture Points!

Fire Heart!

Dark Vein!

Earth Bones!

Eye of Space!

Eye of Chaos!

And the Demon Blood!

When Mo Fan thought about it, he felt like he was about to surpass the limits of a human and become an immortal!

It all sounded like those cultivators in novels who were able to ascend after they cultivated until each strand of their hair turned golden.

If he perfectly merged his Elements with his body and reforged his flesh, would he still be a delicate Mage who could not withstand a single slap or two from the demon creatures?

A Basic Mage’s body was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person, like an athlete.

An Intermediate Mage’s body was stronger, with a certain explosiveness, jumping ability, stamina, and endurance.

An Advanced Mage’s body had obvious differences. Its defense, strength, and vitality were almost equivalent to those of a Servant-class demon creature.

As for a Super Mage…

Once his organs, tendons, bones, veins, and acupuncture points contained the energy of the Stars, would he be able to brawl a demon creature to death?

Mo Fan recalled how the stronger Super Mages he saw were not too concerned about maintaining a safe distance from Ruler-level creatures. The Super Spell of the Space Element, Space Compass: Axis of Death had to be Cast at a close distance, too!

“No wonder people always say that the Super Level is a whole different level. We only have full control of our magic at the Super Level!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

He only had the Dark Vein and the Lightning Acupuncture Points for now, yet those two Elements were already as strong as tigers. Once his other Elements had joined to him, he could easily trample anything in his way. He would no longer have to be afraid of the Black Vatican!

—

—

Mo Fan went back to the school in a great mood. He was about to take out his keys when he saw a rather fatigued figure coming up to him.

“Where have you been?” Mu Bai asked him.

“I was cultivating. Is there a problem?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“No, I can smell burnt fish on you,” Mu Bai pointed out.

“…I had a little breakthrough recently. Care for a duel?” Mo Fan grinned as he came up with a sudden idea.

“Don’t, go ask your students instead. The tournament is around the corner. It’s time to give them some special training,” Mu Bai quickly shook his head. He did not want to fight Mo Fan, who was a battle maniac.

“Makes sense, I can try it on my nine students, hehe,” Mo Fan rubbed his hands as if he had found the perfect punching bags.

Lightning Acupuncture Points! They might give him a little surprise, like how he had first found the Dark Vein.

“By the way, have you become one with any of your Elements?” Mo Fan asked Mu Bai.

“What do you mean, one with my Elements?” Mu Bai asked with a confused look.

“Like your Star Galaxy has become a part of your body,” Mo Fan explained.

Mu Bai frowned. He said after some time, “Maybe it only applies to you. Even the same Element at the Super Level can evolve into something different.”

“Oh, is that so?” Mo Fan looked awkward.

He thought every Super Mage would develop a Dark Vein or Lightning Acupuncture Points like he had.

Mu Bai was about to get some sleep when a sudden thought crossed his mind, prompting him to turn around and ask curiously, “What is it? Do you possess the extraordinary power of the Super Level now?”

“Extraordinary power of the Super Level?” Mo Fan had never heard of the term before.

Chapter 2273: Blue Bat’s Seal of the Enforcement Union

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“May I ask, what do you mean by the extraordinary power of the Super Level?” Mo Fan persisted.

Mu Bai was speechless. He had never seen someone so ignorant, yet so not ashamed to ask the question so loudly. Normally, people would only ask the question softly in shame!

To think that someone could be so impressive at being uncivilized!

“When you reach the Super Level, many Mages develop special abilities, based on factors like their Innate Talents, attributes, experience, and which Elements they normally focus on. These special abilities only appear at the Super Level, and are referred to as the extraordinary powers of the Super Level,” Mu Bai eplied, sighing.

“So it’s like a Superpower? That sounds pretty cool!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“I remember you mentioned that Secretary Richard, who you fought at the military academy. You told me how unique his Ice Magic was. He was able to Summon a huge Ice Boot with a stomp and a huge Ice Fist when he threw a punch. It was a kind of Superpower!” Mu Bai explained.

Mo Fan was shocked.

He had indeed been intrigued by Secretary Richard’s abilities when they were fighting.

Unfortunately, Secretary Richard must have stayed in his comfort zone for too long, and was no longer good at real fighting. Mo Fan had managed to defeat him with a few powerful Spells.

“These Superpowers are like the transformations of your Elements after your control over them reaches a certain level. For example, a defensive Mage like Zhao Manyan will most likely end up with the ability to materialize a turtle shell or something with his magic. As for a brute force Mage like you, your Superpower would lean more toward the destructive and offensive side…” Mu Bai went on.

They heard heavy footsteps as they were talking. They stopped talking and turned around. It was Zhu Meng with his thick brows.

Zhu Meng had brought a cone of ice cream out of nowhere. He was licking it, obviously enjoying himself.

Perhaps he did not expect to stumble into anyone in the corridor at this time. He looked at Mo Fan and Mu Bai in astonishment while holding the ice cream in his hand.

As a matter of fact, if it was like a seventeen-year-old girl holding a strawberry ice cream in her left hand and a Matcha sorbet in her right hand, it would be a pleasant sight watching her licking and biting the ice cream.

The problem was, Zhu Meng could easily cosplay Zhang Fei if he was a little more tanned. It was weird seeing a Councilman enjoying an ice cream.

“Ice cream cones are my favorite!” Zhu Meng coughed, feeling very awkward. He had no idea where to put his hands.

Zhu Meng was not a materialistic guy. He had decided to stay in the same apartment complex as Mo Fan, since it was more convenient for work. His room was the last room on the same floor, facing a park.

“Everyone has an eighteen-year-old heart,” Mu Bai sensibly gave Zhu Meng a way to explain himself.

“But it’s rare to see one with an eight-year-old heart!” Mo Fan showed no mercy.

Zhu Meng felt extremely awkward. He quickly changed the topic, “What were you two discussing?”

“We are talking about Superpowers. Mo Fan had no idea what they were. I used to think if one doesn’t study hard, they could still be a postman after traveling a long distance, but it doesn’t really apply in Mo Fan’s case,” Mu Bai mocked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was Mu Bai’s classmate. He could not imagine how the guy who always came in last in exams would end up becoming a Super Mage, and even had Superpowers now!

The world had never been fair. There were people from grassroots and wealthy families. There were normal players and pay-to-win players. Those who were extremely lucky, like Mo Fan, were the most annoying kind, yet Mu Bai was struggling to get angry with him.

“Oh, Superpowers, I have one too. Should I show you my Superpower?” Zhu Meng proposed.

“I remember you were wearing a Lightning Armor and using a Lightning Spear when you were fighting in Hangzhou. You were like a Lightning Knight back then. Was that your Superpower?” Mo Fan recalled.

Zhu Meng had looked so cool when he was fighting the Silver Skyruler in Hangzhou!

“My Superpower is Elemental Battling Armor. I can put on Lightning Armor when fighting at a close distance, and put on Fire Armor when fighting at long distance,” Zhu Meng said proudly.

Zhu Meng was in charge of eliminating national threats. There was no way someone like him, who was always dealing with national threats, would admit he was weak!

“Mo Fan seems to have Awakened his Superpowers,” Mu Bai pointed at Mo Fan grudgingly.

How was Mo Fan always a step ahead of him? He had also been the first to become a Super Mage among the three of them!

“Seriously?” Zhu Meng almost dropped his ice cream cone.

“My Lightning Element evolved a little after I absorbed the impurities in the tailings. I haven’t tried it out, so I’m not sure if it’s really the Superpower Mu Bai told me about.” Mo Fan scratched his head.

Are Superpowers really that impressive? What is with their reactions?

Does it mean I now have two Superpowers?

“Being able to construct a Star Palace is only the first step at the Super Level. Having Superpowers is the real aim of every Super Mage,” Zhu Meng informed him.

Every Mage had to rely on Star Orbits, Star Patterns, Star Constellations, and Star Palaces at first, but as they grew stronger, they would gradually develop their special abilities.

Domains and Wards originated from external sources, like Soul-grade Seeds and Heaven-grade Seeds.

However, the source of Superpowers was the Mages themselves. It was a fundamental change for Mages!

Now that Mo Fan thought about it, if the Dark Vein was not a kind of Superpower, why was he able to beat the crap out of Super Mages lately?

The Dark Vein was surprisingly strong. It almost made Mo Fan unbeatable, since he could do whatever he pleased when using it!

Did it mean the Lightning Acupuncture Points would be domineering too, especially since his Lightning Element was further strengthened by the Blessing of the God’s Seal?

How would it feel if he could unleash his Lightning Magic from every body part? How crazy would it be if he fully unleashed his Lightning Magic?

“It seems like I’m worrying for no reason. The Black Vatican is going to send Executioners after you, and I was wondering whether you could handle them,” Zhu Meng went on.

One of the reasons Zhu Meng had stayed at the same apartment as Mo Fan was because he was concerned about Mo Fan’s safety.

Mo Fan was completely exposed on the Black Vatican’s radar. If Salan insisted on taking Mo Fan’s life, he would be in great danger while he was overseas. Mo Fan was in Salan’s territory now. No one could stop her from taking extreme measures!

“By the way, Councilman Zhu, Blue Bat was an Enforcer too. Do you know that?” Mu Bai asked him suddenly.

“Blue Bat was an Enforcer? How is that possible?” Zhu Meng was startled.

Was the Enforcement Union that unreliable? How did the Black Vatican manage to infiltrate it so easily?

“I saw a Seal of the Enforcement Union in her body when I was performing an autopsy on her. I guessed she might have joined a local Enforcement Union in the past, but I thought Enforcers were bound for life. I don’t understand how she managed to quit the Enforcement Union!” Mu Bai told them.

Chapter 2274: Enforcer Bee Sting

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan exchanged glances with Zhu Meng.

“Show us,” Zhu Meng ordered Mi Bai.

—

The three went to the autopsy room. Zhu Meng studied Blue Bat’s corpse carefully and discovered the Seal of the Enforcement Union on her back.

The Seal was right between her backbones. Even Zhu Meng had never seen a Seal like it, let alone Mo Fan!

“Most Enforcers have Seals on their wrists or the back of their hands. There’s only one reason why an Enforcer has a Seal on their backbone. She was a spy inside the Black Vatican!” Zhu Meng speculated..

1

“A spy? Blue Bat was an Enforcement Union spy?” Mo Fan blurted out in disbelief.

Seriously? Had they killed an agent from the Enforcement Union?

No way! If she was really a spy from the Enforcement Union, she would have told them her true identity!

Zhu Meng had a grim face

To think that they would find the Seal of the Enforcement Union on the backbone of one of Salan’s nine disciples!

“I think I need to contact the Supreme Enforcement Union,” Zhu Meng said after a prolonged silence.

——-

Zhu Meng left the room to contact the Supreme Enforcement Union in secret.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai remained quiet in the room for a long time.

“If she’s really an agent of the Enforcement Union, doesn’t that mean we lost our best chance at capturing Salan?” Mu Bai finally spoke up.

He was the one who had killed Blue Bat.

Mu Bai did not have trouble killing Blue Bat. He was able to track her down with Wu Ku’s crystal orb, no matter where she fled.

Now that he recalled it, Blue Bat had not fought back that fiercely when he killed her.

1

Blue Bat should have had some extreme last resort as one of Salan’s nine disciples, but Mu Bai did not feel like she had had used any.

“Did she say any last words to you?” Mo Fan asked urgently.

“She said a dead person is more valuable than a living person. It’s why I decided to autopsy her body, to learn some useful information,” Mu Bai said.

Mo Fan’s heart sank instantly.

Blue Bat was obviously telling Mu Bai to dissect her. It turned out that her corpse was extremely valuable to them.

Blue Bat was unable to show her Seal to anyone. In simpler words, only those who autopsied her after she died would be able to find the Seal of the Enforcement Union.

“Mo Fan, try recalling everything that Blue Bat has done,” Mu Bai urged him.

“I thought she was only a normal Blue Deacon serving under the Cold Prince when I first met her. I realized she had another identity when she killed the woman who was the Cold Prince’s important sidekick. The woman had mastered a Curse Magic that could suppress my Demon Element’s power, so in a way, Blue Bat actually did me a favor. Otherwise, I have no clue how things would have ended back then…” Mo Fan muttered.

However, Blue Bat had claimed that she was Salan’s disciple. She was following instructions from Salan to take out the Cold Prince!

Mo Fan did not doubt her words. After all, Salan did show up at the Parthenon Temple. She was displeased by the people who had tried to pick on Xinxia.

However, if he assumed Blue Bat was an agent of the Enforcement Union… what she had done had helped Mo Fan resolve a great danger!

Their second encounter was at the Merchant’s Guild in Crete. She had shown up to protect the Evil Herbalist and take him away.

Mo Fan was quite confused back then. Knowing the Black Vatican’s way of doing things, there was no need for her to expose herself.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan had not known Mr. Lin was the Evil Herbalist. He would not have connected his disappearance to the Black Vatican.

However, Blue Bat had spared Golden Sun Knight Jiang Bin’s life. She had basically told Mo Fan and the others that Mr. Lin was the Evil Herbalist, and she, Blue Bat, was the one who had saved him.

It had basically left Mo Fan a trail to follow!

Their third encounter was at the Ninth Mound. Inside the place had been a Hillman’s dissected corpse.

Mo Fan had chased Blue Bat down to the Black Vatican’s underground factory.

The strange thing was, why had Blue Bat told him the person with her was the Head Priest, Wu Ku?

1

Weren’t the high-ranking members of the Black Vatican more careful at concealing their identities?

Did Blue Bat reveal Wu Ku’s identity to show off the Black Vatican’s strength?

If they had not known Wu Ku was the Head Priest, they would all have focused on Blue Bat instead!

“In other words, she provided you with clues or assistance in all your encounters with her?” Mu Bai summarized.

Mo Fan nodded.

Was Blue Bat too stupid, or too full of herself?

That was impossible. If Blue Bat was stupid, she would never have been chosen as Salan’s disciple.

Salan did not admire those who were merely strong; they had to be extremely smart, too!

Blue Bat had met him three times. Although the things she had done had favored the Black Vatican, she had also given him a lot of information and help.

Was she a spy for the Enforcement Union, or Salan’s disciple?

“Mo Fan, do you think it was possible Wu Ku betrayed Blue Bat? What if the Head Priest Wu Ku noticed something fishy about Blue Bat, so he used us to kill her?” Mu Bai wondered aloud.

Mo Fan was spooked.

Blue Bat had told Mo Fan the Head Priest’s identity. Wu Ku had betrayed Blue Bat in return!

Their mutual actions had been quite unreasonable.

The only explanation was that Blue Bat was from the Enforcement Union and Wu Ku had noticed her true identity, or perhaps he was not too sure yet, but he had still decided to betray her.

“How did you kill Blue Bat?” Mo Fan asked.

“To be honest with you, I feel like she was trying to get herself killed,” Mu Bai admitted.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan did not understand.

“Old Zhao and I were planning to capture her alive. After all, it was more useful to keep her alive, since she was one of Salan’s disciples. However, she went all out and fought recklessly when she faced me, forcing me to kill her,” Mu Bai stated.

Mo Fan was not a stubborn man. After all, the things that Blue Bat did might have favored the Black Vatican, yet she had obviously helped Mo Fan.

They had now discovered the Seal of the Enforcement Union on her.

The kind of Seal she had was not the same kind as Golden Canary’s, who could betray the Enforcement Union as she pleased.

Blue Bat’s Seal was implanted deep in her spine. Even other agents of the Enforcement Union would have no idea she was a member of the Enforcement Union.

No one would find out the truth unless she died and her body was examined forensically!

Most importantly, they were able to make sense of the things she had done after learning her identity as an Enforcer.

Taking out the Cold Prince…

Tracking down the Evil Herbalist…

Chasing the Black Vatican all the way to the Aorus Sacred Institute…

Finding the Head Priest Wu Ku…

Ruining Salan’s plan to raze the school to the ground…

It was possible that Blue Bat was actually a member of the Enforcement Union!

—

“I’ve asked around,” Zhu Meng returned, breathing heavily. He had gone to a secluded corner in the school and used a special method to contact the Supreme Enforcement Union.

“The Seal is called the Bee Sting!” Zhu Meng declared. He looked like he was struggling to stay calm.

Chapter 2275: The Origin of Operation Guillotine

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

When a bee hive was threatened, the bees would attack the enemy with their stingers.

A honeybee attacking with its sting was suicidal, since the sting would tear the bee’s abdomen apart if the sting was stuck in the enemy’s body.

The Enforcement Union had named this Seal Bee Sting. It meant the Enforcer had stuck her stinger into the enemy’s body secretly. However, her life would come to an end the moment she pulled out the stinger!

“She’s an Enforcer with the codename Bee Sting, the only person who would never betray the Enforcement Union,” Zhu Meng declared.

Mo Fan wavered and took a few steps back.

Everything he had discussed with Mu Bai was only mere speculation, but it had been proven true after Zhu Meng verified Blue Bat’s identity with the Supreme Enforcement Union. Mo Fan felt like something was stuck in his throat..

“Bee Sting was one of the earliest Enforcers to infiltrate the Black Vatican. The high-ranking authorities in the Enforcement Union have changed since then, so the Enforcement Union basically had no idea of her existence anymore.” Zhu Meng stared at Blue Bat’s remains.

“Which is why she was able to go so deep into the Black Vatican,” Mo Fan murmured.

“Exactly. Even the Black Vatican believed she was one of them. She even became one of the nine disciples, the closest people to Salan!”

“Mo Fan, Mu Bai, do you still remember Operation Guillotine?” Zhu Meng asked them.

The two nodded.

Operation Guillotine was when Han Ji was informed Salan was among them, yet he was unable to confirm her identity among the ten high-ranking officials.

The government decided to launch Operation Guillotine. They would even sacrifice nine innocent officials, just to kill Salan!

“Do you know who the informer was during Operation Guillotine?” Zhu Meng said.

Mo Fan shook his head. He remembered Asha’ruiya mention that she had provided the Enforcement Union with some information, but Mo Fan had never believed her.

Asha’ruiya would have provided information related to Salan’s past at most, so who was the person who told Han Ji that Salan was among the ten officials?

“If I’m not mistaken, Bee Sting was the one who provided us with the information. The Enforcement Union only found out Bee Sting was still alive and had successfully infiltrated the Black Vatican back then,” Zhu Meng informed them.

Even a Councilman like Zhu Meng, who was in charge of the Tianbei Enforcement Union, was unaware of Bee Sting’s existence!

“Did…did I really kill an honorable Enforcer by mistake?” Mu Bai asked in disbelief.

Mo Fan shook his head and said, “The fact that she is dead meant she had no other option left. She chose to kill herself by provoking you.”

If Bee Sting did not die, no one would ever know her true identity, nor would anyone believe her.

The fact that Blue Bat had chosen to die at Mo Fan and Mu Bai’s hands was because she had only trusted them.

There were traitors in the Enforcement Union! As one of the nine disciples, Blue Bat clearly knew about the existence of the traitors.

Therefore, she could not afford to reveal her true identity. Even if she did, no one would believe her, since she was one of the nine disciples.

Only death could prove her sincerity!

Mo Fan and Mu Bai had fought the Black Vatican for a long time, but they were not from the Enforcement Union. Her true identity would only be revealed to the right people if she died at their hands.

“Wu Ku has long been suspicious of Blue Bat. After all, she was the one who lured us to the Aorus Sacred Institute. Blue Bat not only died to reveal her identity to us, but she was trying to regain the Black Vatican’s trust…” Mo Fan was trying his best to withhold his emotions as he analyzed the things that Blue Bat had done.

“To regain the Black Vatican’s trust?” Mu Bai was confused.

“Normally, if we tried to kill her, she would have revealed her true identity as an Enforcer to prevent us from killing the wrong person,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Bai immediately understood what Mo Fan was saying.

The Black Vatican was already suspicious of Blue Bat. Wu Ku had betrayed Blue Bat by telling Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan how to track her down. He had also made sure she was not going to have any backup.

That way, Blue Bat was forced to fight Mo Fan and his friends to her death!

Blue Bat had to kill Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan to prove she did not lure them to the Aorus Sacred Institute on purpose. Otherwise, she would end up dying to Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan as a glorious sacrifice for the Black Vatican.

As long as Blue Bat was still alive, her only way out was to kill Mo Fan and his friends. Otherwise, if she somehow escaped after their operation failed, the Black Vatican would still execute her!

Mu Bai felt even worse when he recalled the fight between him and Blue Bat.

He had a feeling Blue Bat was acting strangely during their fight. It turned out that she had already decided her ending!

“Now that she’s dead, she could regain the Black Vatican’s trust and reveal her true identity to us. There’s only one reason why she would do so.” Mo Fan stared at Blue Bat as he spread the Dark Material into her body.

If her codename was Bee Sting, she would have dealt a serious blow to the enemy prior to her death.

Her sting must have inflicted serious damage on the Black Vatican!

It was definitely not as simple as the list of names he had found at the abandoned church. Blue Bat was willing to use her death to regain the Black Vatican’s trust because she did not want the Black Vatican to wipe out the information she had left for Mo Fan and his friends.

She had also hinted to Mu Bai to autopsy her before she died, so there must be some important clue on her body, in addition to the Seal of the Enforcement Union!

An important clue that was comparable to the piece of information that Salan was hiding among the ten officials! But where did she hide it?

Mo Fan checked Blue Bat’s organs thoroughly with the Dark Material, but did not discover anything useful.

Mo Fan took his time. He recalled everything that Blue Bat had done in detail.

He suddenly thought of something.

Blue Bat had spared Jiang Bin’s life when she saved the Evil Herbalist, yet she had dug Jiang Bin’s eyes out.

Why did she dig out Jiang Bin’s eyes? Was she only trying to inflict fear on them?

Everything she did had been in accordance with her way of doing things, yet her actions were also according to the Black Vatican’s goals.

If she had done that in accordance with the Enforcement Union’s code, the reason she dug out Jiang Bin’s eyes would be…

Mo Fan placed his attention on Blue Bat’s eyes and asked Mu Bai, “Did you check her eyes?”

“No, her eyes have been closed since she died,” Mu Bai replied slowly.

Mo Fan opened Blue Bat’s eyelids. He stared at the hollow eyes for a long time.

“Don’t you think that eyeball looks like the crystal orb that Wu Ku gave us?” Mo Fan asked Mu Bai.

Mu Bai was startled. He immediately went up to take a closer look.

It really was!

It was the same crystal orb imbued with the Chaos Element that was used for surveillance, but this one was about the same size as a human eyeball!

Chapter 2276: Rain

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

For some reason, Mu Bai had not hesitated to perform the autopsy on Blue Bat, even though she was only one of Salan’s nine disciples in the Black Vatican.

But now, after learning Blue Bat was actually a spy of the Enforcement Union, his hands were trembling as he was removing Blue Bat’s eye.

His heart was full of respect and guilt when he recalled her sacrificial act, just like a bee.

Mo Fan had the same feeling.

Why did he not realize Blue Bat’s true identity earlier? Even if she did a great job disguising herself so she could infiltrate deeper into the Black Vatican, he could still have guessed her true identity from the things she had done!…

.

“It’s indeed a Chaos Element crystal orb. It must contain some important information!” Zhu Meng was struggling to control his voice.

“I’ll take a look at what’s inside,” Mu Bai said, turning to leave the room.

“I’ll go with you,” Zhu Meng followed Mu Bai.

—

Mo Fan did not go with them.

He looked at the operating table in front of him. The table was normally used by the school to dissect Hillmen, yet a woman whom Mo Fan had complicated feelings for was now lying on it.

The crystal orb had to contain some important information. Mo Fan was sure of it.

Yet Mo Fan still had an urge to take a closer look at Blue Bat.

Mo Fan was ashamed that he did not even know her true name. Both Blue Bat and Bee String were only codenames.

Mo Fan sat beside Blue Bat’s corpse and mumbled, “I know it’s no use telling you I’m sorry now, but I’m really grateful for everything you’ve done, and thank you for trusting me.”

He clearly remembered the first time he had seen Blue Bat. He was disguising himself as a dying Blue Deacon in order to infiltrate the Cold Prince’s faction.

The condors were pecking at his face back then.

Perhaps she was long aware of his real identity, and decided to trust him when she saw his determination to take down the Black Vatican.

“I know there are traitors among the high-rank people in the Enforcement Union. Don’t you worry, I’ll find them!”

“The sting you’ve left on the enemy’s body… We’ll find it too!”

Mo Fan did not believe in God, since he only wished to become a devil after the things he had been through, a devil that would send every scum in the Black Vatican to Hell!

It was the first time that Mo Fan wished he was a god, if only to have the ability to send the soul of a departed to Heaven.

He might be able to send the bad guys to Hell. However, he was unable to guide someone whom he respected and was impressed by to Heaven.

Mo Fan stayed behind to talk to Blue Bat, hoping that she would receive his peace, even though it was a little too late. He hoped she could relieve herself from the burdens in this world. She no longer had to drift between the Black Vatican and the Enforcement Union by herself.

At the same time, Blue Bat’s death also proved how ridiculous the Black Vatican’s goal of brainwashing people with their beliefs was.

If someone was determined enough, they would remain pure until the very end!

Blue Bat had even become one of Salan’s disciples, yet her heart was never tainted. Her determination to crush the Black Vatican had never swayed in the slightest!

It was Mo Fan’s first time being so impressed by a woman. He swore he would never let her sacrifice and efforts be in vain!

1

——

The clouds were slowly gathering toward the center of the sky, like a painter putting colors on their work.

A huge waterway called the Scorched River served as a clear boundary line across the vast land. On one side were wilted old trees, dusty roads, and little factories filled with trash.

On the other side were green rainforests with railways and highways weaving through them, leading straight to Banlo City.

The clouds were growing thicker. A man who looked like a tramp stood on the shore overlooking the strong current in the river. He was staring at the flowery world on the other side.

A huge hole appeared in the clouds above him.

The clouds had shrouded the sky above the entire Scorched River. The clear white sky had turned gray.

The gray clouds and haze had driven away the sunlight. Even the river turned dark and cloudy, as if a truck had poured a tank of oil into it.

The hole was now right above the man’s head. The oval hole was the only gap between the sky and the ground, as if a pair of eyes was watching whatever was going to happen soon.

Today was the day of the open tournament in the Americas being held by the Aorus Sacred Institute!

———

The tournament was taking place in Banlo City. The bustling city was a little gloomy and icy because of the sudden change in the weather.

People had gathered outside the arena to enjoy the spectacular magic duels. In addition to people from all over the Andes Federation, people from other cities and countries had come too.

A public Magic Tournament with participants above the Advanced Level. Its scale was almost comparable to the World Cup!

People were rushing into Banlo City excitedly, yet not only did Banlo City fail to welcome these visitors warmly, they were greeted by terrible weather.

Strong winds were blowing in the city, sweeping dust and trash into the air. Many trees and billboards were shaking vigorously.

An empty can hit a sedan that was parked by the road and triggered its alarm. The owner came rushing out yelling angrily, as he thought someone was trying to steal his car.

Meanwhile, a group of high-school students from Brazil was heading for the arena in an orderly fashion under their teacher’s lead.

They were one of the schools invited by the Aorus Sacred Institute as spectators. The strong winds kept blowing up the girls’ skirts. The boys kept turning their heads around in laughter while the girls tried to hold their skirts with their legs while walking on the street.

Someone stuck their head out of a newspaper stand by the road and remarked, “It’s about to rain. I bet it’s coming from the Pacific Ocean. I can’t believe it had made its way through the Andes Mountains.”

“It’ll be troublesome if it rains. People will be looking for shelter while the vehicles keep honking as they make their way to the venue in the middle of a traffic jam.”

——

Cloudy raindrops started falling densely across the sky.

When the first wave of raindrops fell, the sky looked like a kaleidoscope, followed by the rapid taps on the ground, like the sizzling of something being deep-fried.

The smell of moisture spread and lingered in the air.

—

In the arena…

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were leading the nine students who were representing their faction onto the stage. Boleyn, wearing a grand dress, was first in the line with a smile. She was waving a Chinese flag, too.

The heavy rain was knocking on the awnings with reinforced glass like arrows.

The crowd was overwhelmed with excitement. After all, they were watching a public Magic Tournament live, something that recording devices could not capture effectively.

Watching a Magic Tournament on the television or the Internet was no different from watching a bunch of idiots in a sci-fi film without special effects.

Mo Fan had a stern look on his face. He could feel his soul shivering in the rain.

He had the same feeling twice in the past. Every raindrop was equal to a human life!

Chapter 2277: Public Tournament

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Don’t worry, the Aorus Sacred Institute has already repaired the mounds. Even if the Andes Mountains are only a hundred-some kilometers away, they are keeping a close eye on the movements of the demon creatures!” Zhu Meng patted Mo Fan on the shoulder.

They were not unprepared like last time.

The Black Vatican seemed to be targeting Banlo City, the city that would soon be the Andes Federation’s capital and economy hub.

The open tournament was being jointly held by Banlo City’s government and the Aorus Sacred Institute. It not only had teams from the Aorus Sacred Institute, but teams from other schools in the Americas, too!

The nine teams from the Aorus Sacred Institute were only the warm-up matches for the true tournament.

The tournament’s scale was second only to the World College Tournament. It was the most important tournament in the Americas, and the first round was taking place in Banlo City!

.

“Yeah, Half-Ridge Mountain City is the closest to the Andes Mountains. Even if there’s an invasion, Half-Ridge Mountain City will serve as the first line of defense. Banlo City might have a high population, but there’s plenty of time to evacuate the city before the first line of defense falls,” Mu Bai agreed.

1

Banlo City was a central transportation hub with spacious lands about. It was unlikely the city could be surrounded by demon creatures, even if something went wrong in the Andes Mountains.

The Mounds of the Aorus Sacred Institute also served as sentry towers. The Half-Ridge Mountain City was the first line of defense, followed by the Scorching River that served as the second line of defense. There was no reason for them to be worried, even if a strong horde of demon creatures was advancing toward the city.

Mo Fan nodded. However, he still felt uneasy.

Banlo City seemed absolutely safe…

It was not close to the demon creatures’ territory, nor did it have a unique species like the undead close to it. Even if the kingdom of demon creatures in the Andes Mountains was marching toward them, the people could easily flee by sea, the rivers, or the land. Multiple military bases were not far away. They could easily ask them for backup.

Bo City had been built right up against the Nanling Mountains.

The Ancient Capital was located in the Undead Kingdom’s land.

Was Salan really planning to carry out her plan in Banlo City? Was it really just a normal rain coming from the Pacific Ocean?

Was there no conspiracy involved, nor a potential bloodbath?

Mo Fan was still worried. He asked Elemental Green Chief, who was sitting beside him, “What about the Hillmen? Is there any news from the Mounds?”

Green patted Mo Fan on the shoulder, telling him to calm down. “Don’t worry, the mounds are perfectly normal. There’s no sign of demon creatures,” Green assured him.

“It’s easy to detect demon creatures’ movements when they are in a large group. As long as our sentry towers are operating normally, we can fully focus on the tournament. It’s an important tournament, as the Andes Federation is about to be established. I believe every Mage with outstanding performance in the tournament will make a huge name for themselves,” Dean Schierling spoke up.

——

The first match after the opening ceremony was between Brianca and Prince Beny’s factions.

Each team had nine students. It was going to be a spectacular match.

When the match began, many people were still outside the arena and the streets, struggling to make their way inside.

Some decided to sit on the ground. Others were standing on their cars.

The arena was not stacked on a high ground. It was possible to see bits and pieces of the match through the gaps and glass.

The rain was pouring heavily, yet the crowd was so excited that they did not bother using umbrellas or putting on their raincoats. They were cheering loudly in the rain.

There were people with banners written full of words further away. They were trying to get the attention of foreigners by protesting against the new government.

The armed police were keeping an eye on them. It was fine if they were only protesting, but the police were around to make sure they were not stirring up trouble or disturbing the tourists from other countries and cities.

They could not afford to let these protesters ruin the Andes Federation’s reputation!

“If you have the money to hold the tournament, why don’t you provide us with comfortable houses? You were the one who forced us to leave our homes and tricked us by saying that the sea monsters are going to overrun the cities and villages to the west of the Andes Mountains!”

“You have placed us in a city full of slaves and manual laborers. We have to do filthy jobs to feed you assh**** while you enjoy your red wine in the main cities!”

“Give us back our homes!”

“Give us back our homes!”

The group of protesters was not particularly big. It only had around three hundred people.

It was only a small ratio compared to the crowd and the gamblers who were focusing on the tournament. However, their voices would occasionally cover the cheers of the crowd.

—

Mo Fan could hear their angry shouts from inside the arena.

Mo Fan remembered having a conversation with Brianca about how the federation was established in such a rush that they were unable to look after everyone, like the orphans.

If such a complicated and unstable city was invaded by demon creatures, it would lose the fight easily.

“Why are the voices outside getting louder?” The officials of Banlo City were annoyed.

“We can stop them from coming in, but we can’t stop them from talking. After all, we have done some inappropriate things too.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing, just watch the match.”

—

Meanwhile, in the match, a Savage Bear Beast from Prince Beny’s team was charging at the opposing team, trying to break down the opposing team’s formation.

Unfortunately, the Savage Bear Beast’s level was not that high, and it only managed to harass the opponents slightly. It was soon heavily injured by a Fire Mage.

“How dare you bite me? Die!” the Fire Mage yelled angrily after seeing the wound on his arm.

The flames immediately grew fiercer as they surrounded the Summoned Beast and devoured it.

A burned smell lingered in the air. The Savage Bear Beast tried to break free from the flames, but the Fire Mage kept stopping it.

“What are you doing?” A female student standing beside the Fire Mage stared at him.

“I’m burning it to death!” the Fire Mage snarled.

“It’s their Contracted Beast. Can’t you just let it go? It’s no longer a threat to us!” the woman yelled at him.

“It shouldn’t have bitten me in the first place!”

The Savage Bear Beast failed to leave the flames alive. The Summoner on Prince Beny’s team felt the pain his Contracted Beast suffered when it died, and stood there blankly.

He could not believe the opponent team had burned his Contracted Beast to death!

“I’m going to kill you!” the Savage Bear Beast’s master howled.

Chapter 2278: Destroying Indiscriminately

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The crowd was cheering loudly.

Everyone was so excited that many people did not realize that the pain of a Summoner losing a Contracted Beast was like losing a family member.

They only cared about how exciting the match was. It felt even more real after the death of the Savage Bear Beast!

“Stop it, you are going to kill him at this rate! This is supposed to be an exhibition match to warm up the tournament, not a duel of life and death!” the captain of Prince Beny’s team yelled.

The match was chaotic, since each team had nine members. It was difficult to hear what the participants were saying. They only saw the Summoner using a powerful Light Spell to beat the crap out of the arrogant Fire Mage.

However, the participants in the match clearly knew the two were going to fight one another to the death!

“Stop them!” Elemental Chief Green finally realized something was not right. As the referee of the match, he quickly sent his assistants to stop the match.

The outcome of the match had already been decided. The Fire Mage who killed the Savage Bear Beast had lost consciousness.

An assistant carried the Fire Mage to Elemental Chief Green. “Sir, his life is in danger.”

“Damn it, don’t they know when to stop?”

“The crowd didn’t realize what’s going on. We can continue on with the next match.”

“Treat his injuries. Ask the Faculty Leader of the Healing Element to attend to him.”

The first exhibition match was very exciting. The death of the Savage Bear Beast also intensified the match, like it was a real battle!

——

The second match was very exciting too, but it too had a serious conflict between the participants, just like the first match. A student with the Curse Element had inflicted serious damage on his opponent’s soul.

Most of the damage inflicted on a person’s soul was incurable. The victim’s lifespan would decline as a result.

“Do you think you can use the Curse Element as you please just because you are a student of the Aorus Sacred Institute? This is a public tournament. Many international organizations will come after you for what you have done!”

“I…I wasn’t able to control myself. I didn’t want to lose!”

“Do you realize you’ve taken away ten years of his lifespan? You f**king idiot!”

The third match was scheduled to take place in the afternoon.

It was Mo Fan’s team against Nelson’s team. Boleyn, Ritchie, Sunny, and the others were participating.

Herr Casa was leading the opposing team.

Ritchie and Herr Casa clashed right from the start of the match. Even though the participants were not allowed to use Super Spells in the tournament, Ritchie was struggling to beat Herr Casa, since his cultivation level was not as outstanding as Herr Casa’s.

Mo Fan was fully focused on the fight between Ritchie and Herr Casa.

Mo Fan had always been suspicious of Herr Casa, but he had never exposed himself. Even the people on the list had no connection with him.

Herr Casa was obviously stronger than Ritchie. He was very close to matching Mo Fan’s strength.

Ritchie was having a hard time fighting Herr Casa. He was still in a pinch after using everything he had.

“Is this all you have? You should just lie on the bed and pretend you are still injured. There’s no need to embarrass yourself in front of the crowd,” Herr Casa mocked him.

Ritchie kept backing away. He soon found himself at the edge of the barrier.

Ritchie looked behind him. He could see a lot of spectators through the barrier. Not only were they wearing mocking expressions similar to Herr Casa, some of them even pointed their thumbs down at him.

He felt humiliated. He had lost to the same guy twice!

He had given his everything, just so his clan could make a comeback.

In the end, he was still no match against someone with such a formidable background!

What was the meaning of the suffering and pain he had been through all these years? Everyone was going to remember his miserable face after the tournament.

“How did it feel when your bones were broken last time? Why don’t you have a taste of it again?” Herr Casa came closer with a disgusting grin.

Ritchie could no longer withhold the anger inside him. He swore he would make Herr Casa pay too, if he insisted on destroying him!

Ritchie’s skin suddenly turned purple, like scales with purple flickers.

He dashed forward and lunged at Herr Casa.

Herr Casa was startled. He clearly sensed Ritchie was using a Super Spell! Herr Casa did not expect it.

The tournament had strictly forbidden the participants from using Super Spells. Those who broke the rule would face serious consequences.

Herr Casa did not think Ritchie would ruin his life because of a little humiliation. To his surprise, Ritchie actually broke the rule!

He had used a Super Spell and charged at Herr Casa like a lightning beast that had broken free from its chains. He tore through Herr Casa’s defense with ease.

Herr Casa’s defense was only an Advanced Spell. It had no chance of stopping the penetrative Lightning Spell!

Ritchie was only within inches from Herr Casa. The scales on him expanded, turning him into a lightning tank that was going to crush everything to pieces.

“Are you out of your f**king mind?” Herr Casa yelled.

Herr Casa did not have time to back away. He could only stare at the tank as it ran over him. He Summoned his Magic Armor in a panic.

However, he was too close to Ritchie, and his Magic Armor needed a moment to take shape, it could not just appear instantly. Herr Casa began to regret he acting so tough and wondered why he did not realize Ritchie was such a madman at first.

He was going to get himself killed!

“Order Manipulation!” a deep voice uttered behind Herr Casa, just as he thought he was either going to die or turn into a cripple.

Herr Casa’s vision flickered rapidly. Everything was flying around, like how the walls, table, and ceiling were upside down when he woke up from a dream.

Herr Casa realized he was no longer in danger. A man with lightning flashing about him had replaced him. He was standing in front of Ritchie.

He reached his hand out like he was trying to catch something. The wild lightning on Ritchie dissipated instantly, as if it had disappeared into a different dimension.

Ritchie was completely worn out. His fearless charge came to a stop.

Mo Fan wrapped his arms around Ritchie to prevent him from falling to the ground.

Ritchie stared at Mo Fan in disbelief as the energy of his Lightning Element was neutralized. He managed to calm down after he came to his senses. He did not understand why he would do such a stupid thing.

More importantly, he did not understand why his lecturer was able to nullify his strongest attack so easily!

Chapter 2279: The Kamikaze Orchestra, Part One

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The match was forced to end after Mo Fan’s interruption.

Herr Casa collected his thoughts with lingering fear. He glared at Ritchie and pointed at him.

Even though Herr Casa did not say a single word, Ritchie knew he would never resolve the conflict between them.

Herr Casa was a vengeful person. He would never forgive anyone who tried to mess with him. The Casas were known for being vengeful!

“Sir, I’m sorry for letting you down.” Ritchie was overwhelmed by guilt.

He finally had a chance to participate in a grand tournament, yet he had almost made a huge mistake because of his recklessness.

If he ended up crippling Herr Casa, the Casas would not let it go easily. He might end up bringing trouble to his whole clan!

Zhao Manyan came up to them and asked, “What happened? Ritchie, why did you use your Super Magic?”

“I don’t know, I felt very desperate,” Ritchie lowered his head.

Zhao Manyan wanted to ask more questions, but Mo Fan shook his head at him.

—

The officials soon declared Ritchie’s punishment to maintain the fairness of the tournament. They requested the Aorus Sacred Institute place Ritchie under inspection.

The inspection meant Ritchie was only a step away from being expelled. If the Casas applied some pressure to the Aorus Sacred Institute, the school would definitely expel Ritchie.

The punishment was only directed at Ritchie.

However, if something had happened to Herr Casa, Ritchie’s clan would have been in deep trouble. The two families were not on the same level. The Casas would not let the chance go, since their actions were justified.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” Mu Bai noticed.

“Yeah, Ritchie has always been calm. He even endured the shame when he was beaten up so badly last time. Why would he do something so reckless in the tournament?” Zhao Manyan agreed.

“I’m not only referring to Ritchie. The participants in the previous two matches, too… how should I say it…” Mu Bai could not find the right word to describe it.

“It’s like they were in a frenzy,” Mo Fan supplied.

“Exactly!” Mu Bai clapped his hands.

The participants were in a frenzy! They had gone to extreme measures in all three matches!

They had no reason to do so; they were only exhibition matches, not duels of life and death.

Everyone wanted to have a good performance in the matches, yet it was not like they had no idea how grave the consequences of their behavior were.

Mo Fan might still think it was a coincidence that the participants had lost control of their emotions if it happened to the others, but the same thing had happened to Ritchie.

Ritchie had been with them for some time, and Mo Fan had taught him many lessons. They all knew what kind of a person he was.

The Ritchie they knew would never break the rule just to take Herr Casa down with him even if he was in a bad spot.

He had a huge sense of responsibility toward his clan. He knew the consequences of messing with Herr Casa.

“Give us back our homes!”

“Give us back our homes!”

The sound of protests was mixed with the heavy rain.

More people had joined the protests outside the arena. Their voices kept coming in like a siren in the city.

Mo Fan lifted his head and stared at the cloudy rain falling from the gloomy sky.

Why?

Why did he feel like a black tsunami was on its way, when they were standing on tall mountains where the waves could never reach? They had already carried out every preventive measure to handle the Black Vatican’s Frenzy Rain.

Yesemia came over to Mo Fan and said, “Lecturer Mo Yifan, your team has been disqualified from the match.”

It was the last thing that Mo Fan was worried about.

Yesemia was displeased when she saw Mo Fan ignoring her. “Let’s proceed with the fourth match!” Yesemia called out.

A symphony sounded from the southwest of the arena.

There was a relatively big orchestra in the arena. The glowing tubas and cellos started playing first, followed by heavy drum beats. The heavy notes echoed in the arena like a wave.

Zhao Manyan was quite surprised. He did not notice the live orchestra at first. He thought they were playing music through the speakers.

He purposely took a closer look at the orchestra.

To his surprise, the person who was conducting the orchestra with a silver baton on a little rostrum felt a little familiar to him.

The person was wearing a standard tuxedo. His curly hair was split in the middle. He would stand on his toes and shake his head around at times while waving his baton. He was indulging in the music.

“Holy crap, why is he here!?” Zhao Manyan suddenly screamed.

The orchestra would play before every match. Zhao Manyan did not notice it in the previous matches.

However, the orchestra had caught his attention because of the psychological shadow the last symphony he went to had left him with. He was utterly shocked by what he saw!

The conductor! Didn’t he kill himself after his plan to kidnap Sancha fail?

Sancha had even decided not to complicate matters further.

Yet to Zhao Manyan’s disbelief, the conductor was right here in the arena! He was conducting the orchestra!

Was he a ghost? Or was he not dead in the first place?

The heavy drums suddenly became so loud that everyone’s heart was pounding along with its beats.

The beats were so loud that it felt like something was exploding in their bodies.

“What’s happening?” Mo Fan turned around.

“Something isn’t right about that orchestra!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Zhao Manyan was just about to call the orchestra out as the beats got louder when he saw a huge sonic wave surging at the officials.

The beats were not just hyping up the crowd’s emotion. They were part of a deadly sonic wave!

A group of students was seated in front of the officials. They were all wearing the new uniforms set by the Andes Federation. They all vomited blood as they were hit by the sonic wave.

The seats were like stairs. The rows of students fell unconscious as the beats reached them.

“It’s an ambush!”

“It’s an ambush!”

A few Mages were on guard close to the officials, but the prelude played by the cellos had hypnotized them and slowed down their reactions. The powerful beats knocked them flying before they could come to their senses.

The officials were the main targets of the deadly wave. The orchestra was blasting the officials like a magic sonic cannon!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The orchestra was trying to assassinate the officials? Was this a terrorist attack?

“Are they out of their minds?”

“So many people are dead!”

The orchestra turned out to be a magic Formation. No one expected that the live background music would turn into a deadly cannon!

Most terrifyingly, the officials went crazy when they realized they were the targets.

The orchestra could not have cared less about the tourists and spectators. They kept firing their spells at the important officials of the Andes Federation!

The Sound Element had a huge area of effect when it was used destructively. Hundreds of people died after a sonic wave swept across the spectator seats.

The tourists there collapsed to the ground.. Blood splattered like paint everywhere as the enjoyable music turned into a butcher’s knife and slaughtered the crowd!

“Stop them, quick!”

“Protect the people!”

“Run, there’s an ambush. All Councilmen, please follow me!”

“Damn it, why do you even care about them? Didn’t you see so many people have died?”

The officials had many powerful bodyguards, yet they did not attack the assassins right away.

Their priority was to guarantee the officials’ safety!

As the situation worsened, a few assassins who had disguised themselves as spectators lunged at the officials, carrying out kamikaze attacks. They were all using terrifying destructive spells!

The people of the Aorus Sacred Institute were on the other side of the arena. Not only was there a barrier in the way, there were thousands of spectators in between them too!

It was not like they were watching the fire burn across the river, but they did not dare to use powerful spells, as they might harm innocent lives.

The seats collapsed as flames surged wildly across the arena. Sonic waves were crushing the crowd like huge and deadly hammers. Their bones were broken as their ears exploded. The dead and those who had sustained heavy injuries were stacked on top of one another. It was nothing but a slaughterhouse!

“Why is this happening?” Boleyn was struggling to stand properly after witnessing the shocking sight.

Even Sunny, who was a Sound Mage, stood there like a statue. He did not know that a group of Sound Mages could deal such a destructive blow.

The whole place was filled with screams, cries of agony, and shrieking.

The murderous music was still playing and the whole process did not last very long, but the casualties were extremely high.

Most people were unsure of what was going on. They were fleeing for their lives mindlessly.

The Mages who were responsible for maintaining order had surrounded the arena, but the problem was there were ‘kamikaze bombers’ among the crowd. They kept tossing destructive spells at the innocent people after the officials had left.

Even an Intermediate Spell could kill over a dozen people in an instant!

A middle-aged man rose to his feet and started murmuring like he was possessed, “Liars, you liars, you drove us away by threatening us with the invasion of sea monsters, yet you turn our lands into factories for your own greed. I have nothing left! I have nothing left!”

Many people were running for their lives in fear, yet he seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere.

He started emitting an icy aura after muttering to himself for a while. It was spreading in all directions without any clear targets.

The walkways began to freeze while the seats were covered in frost. The people on the walkways slipped and caused even more chaos.

“Die, you filthy new federation!” The man was holding heavy ice chains. He flung them at the people who had slipped on the walkways.

The ice chains could easily kill a healthy adult if they fell from a few meters high, let alone when they were being swung around wildly. They could even leave cracks on the cement.

Mo Fan fixed his eyes on the man and instantly cast a Shadow Spell. “Shadow Spikes Bind!”

A lump of shadows appeared under the man’s feet. They stuck out of the ground like wooden spikes and punctured his shoulders, knees, chest, and neck.

The man was no longer able to move after the Shadow Spikes nailed him to a pitch-black cross, like preserving a moth for collection.

Mo Fan did not kill him. He had only Sealed away his mind and body.

—

Soon enough, the law enforcement Mages finally got the orchestra under control.

They only managed to control the situation after killing more than half of the orchestra. The rest of the orchestra was as good as dead, too.

Unfortunately, the kamikaze orchestra had already finished their job. The whole place was littered with corpses and severed limbs.

—

“Those people are f**king crazy!” Zhao Manyan swore.

“What the heck just happened!?”

Mo Fan looked around the bloody stadium before staring at the cloudy rain in the sky.

Why did it happen again? It just happened out of nowhere!

The thing he was worried about had happened again in a different way!

Did the Black Vatican arrange so many assassins for a mere terrorist attack on the Andes Federation?

Mo Fan was still feeling uneasy, even after the situation was already under control.

Blue Bat was willing to sacrifice her life to regain the Black Vatican’s trust, yet what exactly was she trading her life for?

Was the Black Vatican only planning to attack the public tournament?

Impossible!

It was only a single clap of thunder before a wild thunderstorm. It might have gathered a lot of attention, yet it was far from the end.

“Sir!” Miyamoto Shin weaved through the crowd and made his way to Mo Fan with a panicked expression.

“What is it?” Mo Fan said.

“Councilman Zhu Meng is asking everyone to retreat.”

“Why?” Mo Fan asked. The battle had only just begun!

“Councilman Zhu Meng just received an update from Half-Ridge Mountain City. The Brown Army has just taken over the city! It will soon cross the Scorching River to attack Banlo City!”

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan was unfamiliar with the different factions that were involved in the Federation here. Besides, the situation of the Federation was very confusing, since there were so many countries involved.

Miyamoto Shin stared at the bloody arena.

“The new Federation will soon announce its disintegration. This city will soon turn into a war zone.”

A war zone!

The new Federation had fallen!

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai stared at him with blank faces.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Scorching River had rapid currents which could easily knock a cargo ship over.

In the past, no matter how terrible the weather was, a few dozen huge ships would still be transporting goods to the cities along the Scorching River, but there was not a single cargo ship on the river today. The ships were carrying Mages in the brown outfits that belonged to the rebelling army.

The other side of the Scorching River was like a beach the Brown rebellious army had set foot on to invade Banlo City’s green territory.

The Mages were able to use their magic easily once they set foot on land. The Wind Mages joined hands to summon Wind Warships that could fly rapidly above the ground!

The Wind Warships carried thousands of Mages as they advanced. Even those who did not have any Movement Spells just had to stay within the Wind Magic’s coverage to move along at the speed of a jeep.

.

More Wind Warships appeared in series as more Mages crossed the boundary of the Scorching River. The line of defense that had been established near the Scorching River did not put up any resistance.

That line of defense was made up of thick tropical woods. They could grow rapidly into a rainforest under the control of Plant Mages when needed.

Unfortunately, the Mages who were on duty along the line of defense had put on the brown outfits of the rebels too. Even the resistance had joined the Brown tide which was surging fiercely towards the outskirts of Banlo City.

Banlo City had a lot of swamps on its outskirts. The enemy would reach the city as soon as they crossed the swamps.

—

When the first Wind Warship reached the swamp, a loud siren immediately sounded on the other side.

“Warning, you are entering Banlo City without permission. The Andes Federation will attack you if you enter the swamp!”

The warning kept repeating as if Banlo City had a powerful armed force guarding it.

The Wind Warships completely ignored the warning. They went straight across the swamp and attacked Banlo City before it could respond!

“Connect your Star Orbits and Star Patterns just like a normal spell!” the captain of the first Wind Warship said.

The Wind Mages began using their magic. White Star Orbits surrounded the Wind Warship like a circuit that had been activated, transmitting an enormous amount of energy.

“Wind Gear Wheel!”

“Smash through it!”

“This city is ours!” the commander of the Brown rebels yelled.

“The city is ours!” the rest of the army followed.

—

The Wind Magic that poured into the Wind Warship turned it into a Magic Wind Cannon. Huge tornadoes began to rise above the swamps.

The tornadoes were like giant gear wheels, crushing the roads, hills, and structures in their paths.

The hills turned into ravines, while the roads had huge cracks on them. The outskirts of the city were split into several pieces. The fierce winds lashed at the outskirts like giant whips.

Broken trunks smashed into the buildings, and the galvanized iron sheets on top of them were knocked into the air. Vehicles were falling into the swamps. The minuscule humans were fleeing for their lives, but the deadly Wind Gear Wheels crushed them mercilessly. Their blood splattered across the ground.

“Charge!”

“Charge! We are taking back what’s ours!”

“No one can turn us into slaves while they indulge in their pleasures. Those goddamned capitalists!”

—

The second Wind Warship sailed right into the center of Banlo City.

A group of well-trained riders in heavy armor led the way in front of the Wind Warship.

They were riding the Battle Beasts the army had raised, Pangolin Beasts from the Andes Mountains. The rebel army would have no trouble razing the sturdiest fortresses to the ground with these Pangolin Beasts.

The little fortress to the west of Banlo City was reduced to debris in less than ten minutes.

The Mages of Banlo City were slaughtered thoroughly. More Wind Warships sailed into Banlo City, killing any military personnel in their blue uniforms and anyone else who tried to resist. They could not have cared less about innocent lives.

Half-Ridge Mountain City was now their base, and Banlo City was their first target!

They had to strike and take over the economic hub before the new Federation could react. That way, the Brown Rebel Army would finally have their own city and land!.

“Why do we have to live on the other side of the Andes Mountains? Are they trying to feed us to the sea monsters?”

“We have claimed this city. It’s ours now!”

The soldiers of the Brown Rebellious Army kept repeating their slogans. It was obvious that the army did not consist of real soldiers. Most of them were agitated Mages who held grudges against the new Federation.

These Mages and their families had been assigned to the other side of the Andes Mountains. Perhaps half of them would survive once the invasion of the sea monsters began.

The small cities along the coastline had disappeared one by one, but the government was still keeping the invasion a secret.

The government was waiting until they had settled the nobles and people of their factions into the new Federation. They could not have cared less about the wellbeing of the common folk, since there was only limited space in the few cities.

As for the ore veins, mining towns, and industrial areas, the new Federation had been demanding the laborers work extra hard, like they were slaves. It had promised to let them settle down in the cities, yet it never had any intention to keep that promise.

“Either we end up as food for the sea monsters in the next season, or we fight for our lives today. The Brown Army will emerge victorious!”

“We will emerge victorious!”

Every Wind Warship carried around two thousand rebels. Over half-a-dozen warships had forced their way into the highly populated districts after they destroyed the fortress.

Over ten thousand Mages were casting destructive spells, razing the tall buildings in Banlo City to the ground like toy building blocks.

The Wind Gear Wheel was the strongest weapon of the fleet of Wind Warships. A single Wind Gear Wheel was able to flatten a whole street when it was fired at the right angle.

“The Brown Rebels have taken over Banlo City. We will kill anyone who dares to resist us!”

“The Brown Rebels have taken over Banlo City. We will kill anyone who dares to resist us!”

The heavy rain was washing the blood off the streets, yet more blood was pouring onto the gloomy city over and over again.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS

XephiZ XephiZ

If all that was said about the Federation was true, I’d be cheering for them. Unfortunately, they aren’t acting like people who are morally right…

So, neutral bystander time, I guess…

Chapter 2282: Someone is Controlling the Rain

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Dampness, coldness, and a foul scent…

Everything felt so familiar.

Mo Fan stood on the roof of the stadium like a lightning rod under the stormy clouds.

It looked as if the western district of Banlo City had been devoured by something from his angle. The city looked scarier than a battlefield.

In the end, they had still failed to stop the Black Vatican’s plan.

They thought the Black Vatican intended to use the Frenzy Liquid to provoke the demon creatures into invading the cities of the Andes Federation and turn them into slaughterhouses.

To their surprise, the Black Vatican was not relying on the demon creatures this time.

The Frenzy Liquid…

Why did they assume the Black Vatican would only provoke demon creatures?

Mo Fan had long known that humans were more terrifying than demon creatures. If the Black Vatican’s Frenzy Liquid could drive demon creatures to madness, why couldn’t it drive humans mad, too?

The new Federation had long been swarmed with great threats.

The Federation had abandoned many people to the threat of the sea monsters. Millions of people held strong grudges against the new Federation as a result.

If a Frenzy Rain were to fall in a time like this… those people would completely lose their calm!

“We’ve been keeping an eye on the kingdom of demon creatures in the Andes Mountains and the Hillmen by making sure the Mounds were working properly… yet it turned out the ones we should look out for are the people dressed neatly, the people we are trying to protect!”

Mo Fan recalled what had happened in the Ninth Mound.

When he saw Blue Bat, there was a Hillman’s corpse on the table beside her.

The body composition of a Hillman was close to a human’s. Many Research Unions were willing to pay a huge sum for a Hillman’s corpse in good condition so they could conduct experiments on it.

Blue Bat’s final assignment was to provoke the Hillmen to raze the Aorus Sacred Institute to the ground.

Perhaps the conspiracy to destroy the Aorus Sacred Institute was only a test run for Salan.

Salan was extremely cautious. She liked to carry out a trial first, making sure everything would work according to her plan.

The plan to destroy the Aorus Sacred Institute was just an experiment they had stopped.

However, it did not mean Salan was not going to carry out her plan.

The Undead were the Ancient Capital’s threat. Similarly, the threat to the new Federation was its own people!

The only thing missing was a huge rain which could awaken the madness inside the bones of those who were thinking of revolting!

There were clues everywhere, yet they still did not see through Salan’s plan after chasing the leads here.

Salan had her way again. This time, she did not provoke demon creatures, but humans instead!

“Mo Fan. Mo Fan.” Zhao Manyan stood behind Mo Fan, but Mo Fan did not respond.

Mu Bai climbed to the roof with them and looked to the west of the city with pity.

“In the past, we still had the option to jump down and kill the One-eyed Magic Wolves or the Undead, but what are we supposed to kill now?” Mo Fan said.

Did Blue Bat, one of Salan’s disciples, know about her plan? Or perhaps the reason she did not tell Mo Fan the truth was because they were not against demon creatures this time…

“It’s my fault, I should have realized they had improved the Frenzy Liquid,” Mu Bai sighed.

The Frenzy Liquid…

They kept assuming the Frenzy Liquid was only effective against demon creatures. It had no effect on humans in the past.

However, the Black Vatican had created a new version of the Frenzy Liquid. They had most likely conducted experiments on the Hillmen.

The body composition of a Hillman was very close to a human’s. If the Frenzy Liquid had effects on a Hillman, it would most likely work on humans, too!

There were accidents in each of the exhibition matches. First, a participant had killed his opponent’s Contracted Beast. Second, a student had used the Curse Element to reduce the lifespan of his target. Even Ritchie, who was usually calm and collected, did something ridiculous.

Everyone was under the Frenzy Liquid’s influence. Even Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan could not tell if they were affected by the Frenzy Liquid.

——

The Federation was in utter chaos amid the heavy rain.

The Brown Rebellion Army was born from the Yellows. They had tried to kidnap Sancha to obtain financial support from her father.

The Yellows were gradually losing ground and were about to be replaced by the new Federation, but the rain had given them the courage to commit treason. It had also given the rebels a lot of allies.

It was a revolution; the more people that were involved, the stronger the revolution would be.

Banlo City was only the first city to fall in the war. In a few days, the Brown tide would reach other cities, turning the whole country into a war zone!

Mo Fan believed the biggest conflict lay between the Yellows and the Federation, but the Federation had a lot of problems itself.

How many riots would take place under the influence of the Frenzy Liquid?

The factories, magic organizations, clans, and political factions…

—

“I think we should leave. It’s their country’s business, after all. We have no right to stick our nose into their business,” Zhao Manyan spoke up.

Even though they were not satisfied with the outcome, there was indeed nothing they could do under the circumstances.

Mu Bai pointed at the glowing crystal orb and said, “Mo Fan, take a look at the crystal orb!”

Mo Fan immediately looked at the crystal orb, which was shining suddenly. It seemed to be projecting an image.

“Can you tell where that place is?” Zhao Manyan came closer and asked.

“It seems to be the Scorching River. It’s upstream, close to the Andes Mountains,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan had a faint impression of the Scorching River. He remembered seeing it when Zhu Meng’s plane was passing Half-Ridge Mountain City.

It had been as wide as a sea canal.

Why would the crystal orb they found in Blue Bat’s eye be projecting an image of the Scorching River?

“Look, is that a person?” Mu Bai pointed at a tiny dot.

“It’s Wu Ku!” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered when he recognized Wu Ku’s bald head.

He did not understand why the crystal orb was only working now, yet it was obvious that Blue Bat had used it to track the man, just as he had used the same trick to track Blue Bat!

“That’s right, I did check the weather when we were in the Andes Mountains. It wasn’t supposed to rain so heavily, starting from this month until the next season,” Mu Bai blurted out as he remembered something.

“What do you mean?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Weather has too many uncertainties. How could Salan make sure it was going to rain heavily when she carries out her plan? I was bothered by something else, too. How did they mix the Frenzy Liquid with the rain? How did they make sure the rain will keep falling after they use the Frenzy Liquid?” Mu Bai said.

“Are you saying that someone is controlling the rain?” Mo Fan said.

“Yes, Salan has always been careful with her plan, but the weather of a place has so many uncertainties. Rain is very crucial to her plan, both in Bo City and the Ancient Capital. If it was only a short rain, the Frenzy Liquid wouldn’t be as effective,” Mu Bai said confidently.

Chapter 2283: Weaving Through the Battlefield

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan realized something as they were discussing the topic.

“That’s right, that goddamned monk knows how to control the rain!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Wu Ku had gathered the raindrops and turned them into a three-layered barrier around himself at the Eighth Mound!

Zhao Manyan was also a Water Mage, but his control of the Water Element was nowhere as strong as Wu Ku’s. He’d had a strange feeling about Wu Ku’s Water Magic, too!

“The Evil Herbalist knows how to produce the Frenzy Liquid. If Wu Ku is the Head Priest, he must have his uses to Salan!” Mo Fan stared at the crystal orb.

The image in the crystal orb was extremely small, yet he could still see Wu Ku releasing his Water Magic.

He was like a mist-producing machine. Mo Fan noticed a cloudy gas rising into the sky, like a moving gray mountain!

Is Wu Ku the one controlling the rain?

Mo Fan suddenly remembered something.

When he and Mu Ningxue were having a walk on a sunny day close to the Potala Palace, a rain started falling out of nowhere, just before he stumbled into Wu Ku, who was worshiping on the street!

Lhasa rarely had any rain. If it too was not a coincidence…

Salan had to risk her life just to save Wu Ku, meaning that Wu Ku was playing an irreplaceable role in her plan.

Every calamity had something to do with rain, and Wu Ku was the one controlling it!

Everything made sense now…

Blue Bat used her death to regain the Black Vatican’s trust, just so Wu Ku would not be suspicious of her.

The crystal orb had helped Mo Fan and the others to find out how important Wu Ku’s role was in Salan’s plan. If they could take down Wu Ku, they could stop Salan’s plan too!

“Wu Ku is at the Scorching River. We might not be able to intervene with another country’s business, but we must take him down at all costs!” Mo Fan clenched his fists.

They had to take down Wu Ku, whether it was to make up for Blue Bat’s sacrifice or to avenge those who had died in Bo City!

The list he gave to the Enforcement Union only had the names of people with minor roles in the Black Vatican. As long as Salan, the Chief Extraditor, the Evil Herbalist, and the Head Priest were still around, Salan could keep using the same trick over and over again.

The Frenzy Rain could already influence people’s emotions. It was worse than provoking demon creatures!

Salan could keep causing the same calamity with the Frenzy Rain. It would be difficult to predict where she was going to target next.

Wu Ku was a crucial part of her plan. If they could take him out, it would be a heavy blow to Salan’s assets!

Mu Bai had already experimented and determined the Frenzy Liquid was not water-soluble.

If so, how did Salan mix the Frenzy Liquid with the rain and make sure the rain would keep falling?

Wu Ku had to be the answer they were looking for. It was most likely what Blue Bat was trying to tell them!

“He’s really controlling the rain. Look!” Zhao Manyan pointed at the crystal orb.

Wu Ku was using his magic. A hole had appeared in the clouds right above him, like a well connected to the sky.

A red liquid was rising into the eye of the storm. It split rapidly into tiny droplets after it reached the eye and spread throughout the clouds.

“Is that the Frenzy Liquid?” Mo Fan asked urgently.

“Yes, he’s spreading the Frenzy Liquid through the clouds. This Wu Ku must be a Water Mage with an Innate Soul-grade Seed!” Mu Bai judged.

An Innate Soul-grade Seed!

This person could bring disasters to anywhere he went with an Innate Soul-grade Seed!

He was just like Qin Yu’er, who was not allowed to live in the cities, as the city she stayed in would be covered in snow throughout the year, making it impossible to plant crops. Transportation would be paralyzed, too.

Such people were normally referred to as disaster-bringers. They were so powerful that they could even control the weather.

If Qin Yu’er was able to bring a snowfall, Wu Ku was able to bring a heavy rain!

The Rainbringer had colluded with Salan to cause one calamity after another!

Mo Fan finally realized the truth about Salan’s plan.

The Evil Herbalist’s job was to produce the Frenzy Liquid.

The Chief Extraditor was responsible for recruiting members and planting spies.

When the Frenzy Poppies matured, the spies would be ready to carry out the plan.

Wu Ku would then show up to call up a huge downpour. He would mix the Frenzy Liquid with it to bring destruction upon the place.

It was how Salan had caused the calamities!

In the end, Salan was never the God of Death. She was merely relying on a seemingly complicated trick.

It was like sleight of hand.

If they did not know the truth, they would not understand how the magician pulled off the magic trick. It was like the magician had some kind of supernatural power.

However, after they learned the trick, they would think it was not that impressive.

Salan was not a god. She was just a cunning schemer, patient and cautious when planning her conspiracies.

“We can’t stop the revolution, but we can take down Wu Ku and stop the rain!” Mo Fan declared.

They were finally able to do something this time.

They were no longer swaying aimlessly, like a wooden raft in the middle of the raging sea that had trouble protecting itself.

They would be able to deal a serious blow to Salan’s faction with the help of Blue Bat’s crystal orb.

They would eliminate the Black Vatican’s Head Priest and stop Salan from using the Frenzy Rain again!

——

“Sir, our superior is asking us to retreat,” Miyamoto Shin informed Mo Fan.

“What superior? I’m not from the Enforcement Union,” Mo Fan replied.

“But the situation is already out of control. If you use your magic here, they will think you are trying to put up a fight. Your involvement won’t make any difference in a war like this,” Miyamoto Shin pointed out.

The country was in a total mess. The area between Banlo City and the Scorching River was a complete war zone. Rules, restrictions, and laws were no longer applicable. It was either friendly or enemy.

If Mo Fan wanted to go to the Scorching River, he would have to cross the battlefield!

It was not a match with teams of nine fighting one another, but a battle that involved thousands of Mages. It was no longer about his capabilities!

“You might die at any second,” Miyamoto Shin pressed him.

It was more important to guarantee their own safety in a situation like this. The Enforcement Union was not willing to risk the lives of its Field Enforcers. Why would they bother with such a meaningless struggle?

Chapter 2284: String Puppets

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Most of the people in the stadium had been evacuated. The officials of the Greens were the first to flee from the city after the rebellious army blew their horns.

They knew the city was had little defense. It had no chance of fending off an attack.

However, Banlo City had many tourists from different countries and cities because of the open tournament.

They might be safe if they made it to the bunkers in time, but the battle was happening right in front of them. A single collapsed building would cause massive casualties.

“The rebellious army might be reckless, but our country’s Enforcement Union has its reputation too. They won’t attack our people as long as we don’t attack them,” Miyamoto Shin vowed.

“It’s extremely hard to track Wu Ku down. If we miss out on this chance, it will be harder to kill him next time. Get the Field Enforcers out of here, but the three of us won’t leave until we take Wu Ku down,” Mo Fan stated grimly.

“The three of us? Ugh, fine,” Zhao Manyan said unhappily. He agreed more with Miyamoto Shin.

“Fine, but please be careful. The Enforcement Union is proud of you all,” Miyamoto Shin had no choice but to give up after seeing Mo Fan’s firm attitude.

—

The people of the Aorus Sacred Institute were leaving as well. They were no ordinary people, after all.

None of the factions wanted to mess with the Aorus Sacred Institute due to how powerful and influential it was. Many organizations were willing to protect them as long as they proved they were from the Aorus Sacred Institute.

Unfortunately, not every student was from the Aorus Sacred Institute.

The city had many students who were wearing the uniforms of the new federation.

When the fleet of Wind Warships sailed across the main street, a group of students in their light blue uniforms was stuck behind a building.

Some light beams of light had knocked the building that was over fifty floors high to the ground. The debris scattered in front of the students, blocking their escape route.

One after another, Wind Gear Wheels swept forward, crushing the rows of shops into pieces.

The high-schoolers were so terrified that they all crouched on the ground and burst into tears.

It seemed to be a girls’ school. Most of them were wearing knee-length skirts.

Not long ago, the girls were discussing their favorite male celebrities and the brand of the lipsticks they were using. However, they were no different from the rest of the dead bodies that were scattered on the streets after the battle broke out.

——

The Internet, bereft of clear regulations and restrictions, was filled with violent and inhumane statements.

In reality, when laws were no longer applicable, verbal violence would soon escalate into physical violence.

Laws were subsidiary to a country, but a war was something that would destroy both the laws and the country.

All kinds of crimes would take place in an environment where people would no longer be punished or condemned for their actions, since everyone was only focused on staying alive.

The influence of the Frenzy Liquid was excessive. Humans would easily turn into beasts on their own when they were free from rules.

Mo Fan was amused when he thought about the list of people who were members of the Black Vatican.

Under the current circumstances, every person he saw could tear their shirts off and become a member of the Black Vatican.

The Black Vatican was the whole world’s public enemy, yet they would never go extinct. They would always find a way to come back from the ashes.

Every person who was not disciplined enough to contain the evil in their heart was a potential member of the Black Vatican.

How could they possibly exterminate all of them?

The Black Vatican’s plans always worked because Salan knew everyone had an evil side in their heart, much like a trapped tiger. All she had to do was to unlock the cage, instead of creating the tiger!

——

“We are the Brown Rebels, those who aren’t from the Federation are advised to leave at once. Any person who uses magic will be treated as an enemy of the nation. We have the right to execute them on the spot!” a man in a brown military outfit yelled out.

He sounded righteous, like a heroic commander who was opening up new territory for his country, even though he had a malevolent face!

Mo Fan landed in front of the collapsed building and asked, “I don’t care if you are attacking the city or killing the Greens’ army, what did these high-schoolers even do to hinder your advance?”

“They were wearing the Federation’s uniform. Please don’t get in our way, or we’ll execute you on the spot!” the commander of the fleet of Wind Warships declared.

“So you’re saying that their skirts are hindering your army’s advance?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan took off his jacket and wrapped it around the waist of a high-schooler who was trembling in fear.

These people were clearly out of their minds to do something so wicked in front of him. He despised scum like the commander the most.

Did he really think he could conceal his scummy nature with whatever political motive his brown outfit was displaying? How many people were abusing the chaotic war to commit unforgivable acts just to satisfy their own pleasures?

“Brothers, come over here, there’s a foreigner who’s helping our enemy. Detain him. Kill him if he tries to resist!” the commander snarled.

He was the commander of the fleet of Wind Warships, with more than two thousand people under his leadership. No one would dare to lift a finger at him, even if he toyed with the girls from an entire building, let alone bullying one or two high-schoolers as he was taking a break.

Besides, once he established the new governing body as the pioneer of the Brown Army, many girls would line up just to hook up with him!

The commander’s men came to his aid at a surprising pace. A few dozen Mages gathered around the commander in less than a few seconds.

Mo Fan glanced at the commander. His fingers were already holding a few Shadow Spikes. They were like needles imbued with a dark red magic.

Mo Fan tossed the Shadow Needles forward casually, and they vanished into thin air.

More Shadow Needles appeared between his fingers as he walked forward. He tossed each round of the Shadow Needles into different directions.

“Brothers, take him out!” the commander ordered.

Mo Fan snapped his fingers, and dozens of Shadow Needles appeared beside the Mages of the Brown Army.

The Shadow Needles were insanely fast. They flew around the targets from different angles and zipped past them.

Each Shadow Needle left a black string along its trail. It was like a dozen sewing machines were operating at ten times their normal speed.

The Mages of the Brown Army immediately turned into string puppets. The black strings seemed to be going back and forth around them aimlessly, but they eventually combined into a thick string Mo Fan was holding onto from over a hundred meters away!

Chapter 2285: Infiltrating the City

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

An eerie Shadow Needle flew slowly at the commander of the fleet of Wind Warships.

The commander was unable to move, completely wrapped in the Shadow Strings.

His face turned pale when he noticed the Shadow Needle was approaching the part between his legs!

“Don’t, I’m begging you, don’t do it!” the commander pleaded desperately.

A loud cry of agony rose from the middle of the street. The commander held his crotch and fell rolling to the ground.

His body was twitching in pain. He felt like dying from the overwhelming pain.

“This is a very detailed map of the terrain… huh? Why are you fighting the Brown Army?” Zhao Manyan was holding something like a scroll.

Even though the crystal orb was secretly watching Wu Ku from the sky like a satellite, the upper Scorching River covered an area of dozens of square kilometers. It would not be easy to locate Wu Ku through the crystal orb’s projection.

“Nothing, I just took out some scum while I was waiting for you,” Mo Fan said casually.

Zhao Manyan glanced at the torn skirt on the ground and realized what had happened.

The high-schooler was nowhere to be seen. She had run away instinctively when she had the chance. It was difficult to say what would happen to her next.

“The Aorus Sacred Institute is so selfish. They just ran away like that. They didn’t care about others’ well-being at all,” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

“They are the future leaders of this country, who are favored by the Heavens. There’s no point in them sacrificing their lives in this meaningless war. They will still become high-rank authorities, no matter which side wins the war in the end.” Mu Bai had a bad impression of the Aorus Sacred Institute, too.

“It’s just how it is. There aren’t many heroes like us who are willing to contribute to society… Mo Fan, did you neuter him? Why is he crying so horribly?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Mm, needles suit them better.”

A captain pointed at Mo Fan and yelled, “Our Brown Army will punish you rebels! You will never leave this country in one piece!”

Zhao Manyan went up to the captain and kicked him to the ground.

“Screw you, you dare think you’ve won the battle here? If it weren’t for the rain, you wouldn’t even dare to revolt!” Zhao Manyan yelled down at him.

The Brown Army might seem powerful now, like a rolling snowball. However, a troop of Mages was nothing before a Super Mage, let alone these foxes who were exploiting the tiger’s might!

“Let’s go, we shouldn’t waste our time with these hoodlums,” Mu Bai said thinly.

“True!”

——

Most people were fleeing in the opposite direction of Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai, who were heading straight toward the Brown Army. They might be wearing the outfits of the Aorus Sacred Institute’s lecturers, but everyone who was not wearing the Brown Army’s uniform would be treated as an enemy in such a messy situation.

The Frenzy Liquid was affecting everyone’s minds. Their tempers would only worsen as the rain kept falling, until they became savage beasts who only knew how to kill.

The trio tried their best to avoid direct contact with the Brown Army. As for the commander whom Mo Fan had neutered, he was not important enough to the army for it to send its men after Mo Fan and his crew.

Many civilians were in custody in circles of wire nets in the plazas when they reached the busiest district of the city.

Luckily, the Brown Army did not lose their minds completely. They were not going to massacre the civilians for no reason.

However, if they started treating the civilians as hostages to blackmail the new federation, it was hard to say what would happen to the civilians if the federation did not agree with the Brown Army’s terms!

“Who’s there!?” A soldier on duty had noticed Mo Fan and his crew.

“Ugh, we are lecturers from the Aorus Sacred Institute. We wandered off from the group,” Zhao Manyan calmly identified himself.

The soldier frowned. He spoke into his communication device in a local dialect.

There was a huge checkpoint guarded by the Brown Army ahead. They seemed to have drawn a boundary line at the center of Banlo City. They had even used the debris of the collapsed buildings to form a barricade through the city.

The wall was a defensive measure against the federation’s counterattack. It was also stopping Mo Fan from reaching the Scorching River.

The area between the Scorching Area and Banlo City had become the Brown Army’s camp. It was impossible to reach the Scorching RIver without going through the Brown Army’s territory!

“What are you doing here? We’ve already given out notices that our army has taken over the city. Every unauthorized personnel is to report themselves to the concentration camps or leave the city at once. Every unauthorized personnel who stays in the city will be treated as our enemies after seven hours!” the soldier announced.

“Brother…” Zhao Manyan sneakily took out a small diamond and shoved it into the soldier’s hand. He said, “A few of our students are stuck close to the Scorching River. We are going to escort them back to the school. Is it possible for you to bring us over there?”

The soldier had a tanned face. His eyeballs were oddly white.

It was obvious when he moved his eyeballs. He glanced at the valuable diamond and said righteously, “It’s troublesome to bring someone there now, let alone bringing three people.”

Zhao Manyan immediately took out another two small diamonds.

The soldier quickly took them and looked around him.

“Come with me, and remember not to use any magic or talk to anyone. We are currently in the middle of a war,” the soldier said.

—

They followed the soldier to the other side of the barricade.

They realized half the city was now full of soldiers of the Brown Army, as if they used to be the residents here.

Luckily, they had not forced their way through. Otherwise, they would not have made it to the other side of the city without fighting for several days.

The soldier seemed to have a high status in the army. Many Mages saluted when they saw him. It was a relief to Mo Fan and his crew.

As long as they reached the west of the city safely, they would not be far from the Scorching River after crossing the rainforest.

Taking down Wu Ku might not end the war, but it would at least help the people come to their senses and minimize the casualties and corrupt acts.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

They successfully reached the Furniture District west of the city.

The Furniture District had a river flowing through it. The foul-smelling canals had to be interconnected underground. The polluted water in them was slowly rising because of the storm.

A brigade had taken over the Furniture District. The central plaza in the district had been turned into the brigade’s camp. The streets, which held a lot of building material stores, were crowded with soldiers of the Brown Army.

The first wave of their attack had been a great success, taking over Banlo City with the surprise attack. The soldiers had set up camp in the Furniture District so they could take a rest.

.

They would launch an attack on the next city in seven hours.

By then, the Federation’s army would be prepared. It was most likely on its way already. A real battle would take place in seven hours!

“Why are we taking this way?” Mu Bai asked with a confused look.

“The other districts are occupied by other regiments. I don’t have the authority to bring you through them. I can easily ask my superior to let us pass if we take this route,” the soldier replied.

He went across a bridge. The three had no choice but to follow him.

As they approached a tall building, Mo Fan noticed the building was full of Mages in brown military outfits. They were staring down at them, like archers who had long set up an ambush for their enemy!

“Set up the perimeter!” the soldier suddenly yelled before running to the building.

Mages of the Brown Army rushed out from the residential houses behind the bridge.

They formed a wall at one end of the bridge to stop Mo Fan and his crew from escaping.

There were movements on the tall buildings nearby, each channeling their magic. Their Star Orbits and Star Patterns lit up the streets like bright banners and street lamps.

Troops of Brown Mages poured out of the tallest building and surrounded Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai with the rest of the army, who was approaching from the streets!

“Damn it, it’s an ambush!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

Mo Fan was surprised too.

The Brown Army was treating them like the leaders of their enemy, yet they were not even involved in the war. Why did the Brown Army prepare such a huge trap for them?

The enemy had overwhelming numbers. The soldiers in their range of vision were not everyone. More soldiers of the Brown Army were gathering toward them.

“You set us up!” Zhao Manyan yelled at the soldier. “Luckily, the diamonds I gave you are fake, too!”

The soldier was startled. He quickly took out the diamonds and inspected them.

He could tell the diamonds were indeed fake after he checked them thoroughly. He snarled in frustration.

A skinny man patted the soldier on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, you have led three high-priority targets into our trap. You will be rewarded handsomely!”

Unlike the soldiers of the army, that man was wearing a luxurious tuxedo and a white shirt. His long hair was tidy and smooth. He was holding a silver baton, like the conductor of an orchestra!

“It’s you!” Zhao Manyan instantly recognized the man. The conductor clearly held an important role in the Brown Army if he could summon so many soldiers to trap them!

“I remembered you after you ruined my plan last time. Interestingly, someone also requested that we stop you from leaving Banlo City alive. Our army is about to take over the Andes Mountains, so I didn’t mind doing such a little favor,” the conductor named Cook grinned.

Another man wearing the Aorus Sacred Institute’s uniform came out of the building too. He had a dark grin on his young face.

“The Chief Extraditor wants you three dead. We have prepared a warm welcome for you, because we know how strong you are,” the Wolf Chief said.

The student of the Aorus Sacred Institute was none other than Sancha’s bodyguard. He had gone missing when Mo Fan and Zhu Meng were planning to take him out.

They thought the Wolf Chief had gone into hiding, yet he had been watching them all along. He had even listed them as the Brown Army’s high-priority targets.

“Kill them!” Cook ordered.

A group of Mages with black hats gathered as he waved his little baton. They opened their mouths and uttered deafening shouts together under Cook’s lead.

It sounded like a hot-blooded army song. However, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai’s heads hurt whenever the choir sang a high note. It felt like hundreds of dwarfs were beating gongs and cymbals in their ears!

“I can’t use my Advanced Magic!” Zhao Manyan swore as he covered his ears.

“Me either! What should we do now?” Mu Bai grimaced in worry.

Mo Fan was affected by the choir’s Sound Magic, too.

They would not have difficulties handling the disturbance from one or two Sound Mages. However, the combined attack from a choir was torture for them. It was impressive they were able to remain conscious, let alone use their magic.

“Combination Magic: Wind Warships!” the commander of a different fleet of Wind Warships yelled.

The Wind Mages among the soldiers constructed Star Orbits and Star Patterns simultaneously. The white Star Orbits and Star Patterns gradually combined.

A fleet of magnificent Wind Warships floated above the plaza.

“Wind Gear Wheel!”

The white Wind Warships fired shredding gusts of wind continuously. They had the shapes of enormous white gear wheels.

The first Wind Gear Wheel was heading straight toward Mo Fan and his crew!

The petty defense Zhao Manyan could set up in his current state would not be enough to defend them from the Wind Gear Wheel.

The choir was singing loudly, hindering the three from using their Advanced and Super Magic.

“We have to take out that choir!” Mo Fan swore.

“It’s no use, they have around a thousand people. I can only fend them off temporarily with my magic Equipment, but it won’t last for long!” Zhao Manyan used his magic Equipment right away, taking out a magic Shield and putting on his magic Armor.

A fleet of Wind Warships had over two thousand Mages pouring their magic into the spell. The Wind Gear Wheel was the combined attack of over two thousand Mages. Even if most of them were only Basic and Intermediate Mages, it still posed a huge threat to a Super Mage!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’ll fend them off. You two figure out a plan,” Mo Fan said.

“How are you going to do that? You are as useless as us when you can’t use your Advanced Spells. Shouldn’t we be thinking of a way to run away?” Zhao Manyan shot back.

Zhao Manyan had the habit of uttering nonsense whenever he was nervous.

He had put on a set of Pangolin Beast Armor. A blue light was shining down on them from above, like a glowing pangolin was shielding them with its body.

The Wind Gear Wheel kept grinding at the barrier. It started cracking in no time, making Zhao Manyan even more nervous..

The situation was no joke. They were completely surrounded by a regiment. They were just like the Five Heroes on Langya Mountain, but there were only three of them!

“Lightning Crow!”

Mo Fan stayed inside the cover of Zhao Manyan’s Pangolin Beast Armor. His nervous system gradually became visible, like a circuit when electricity was flowing through it.

More lines surfaced in dense patterns on his arms. They glowed when the lightning flowed past certain points.

Glowing dots scattered across Mo Fan’s arms. If one looked closely, they would notice the lightning dots actually resembled a Star Constellation!

The glowing dots the lightning was flowing toward were his Lightning Acupuncture Points!

Mo Fan was treating the Lightning Acupuncture Points as the Stars needed to construct a Star Constellation. He was replacing the Star Orbits and Star Patterns with his nervous system!

The choir’s disorienting attack had no effect on Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic!

Mo Fan crossed his arms.

A brilliant Lightning Star Pattern appeared in front of him, serving as the backbone of the Star Constellation!

Countless light dots scattered in the air when the Star Constellation exploded.

The rain was dyed purple by the flickering lightning. An overwhelming energy soon filled the sky above the Furniture District.

The cries of crows heralding a bad omen echoed in the sky. They sounded like the cries of condors summoning their comrades after they found an injured creature in the desert.

One Lightning Crow after another appeared above the Wind Warships. Their glowing feathers were made of arcs of lightning. The lightning orbs capable of firing powerful lightning chains had become their eyes!

The Lightning Crows swarmed the Wind Warships and attacked the Mages on them wildly.

Due to the twelvefold damage amplification of the Lightning Tyrant, even the slightest touch from an arc of lightning would inflict serious damage on its target.

Mo Fan had no intention to show the Brown Rebels any mercy. The Lightning Crows were everywhere.

They would unleash deadly lightning chains whenever they beat their wings. They could also cause terrifying lightning explosions whenever they slammed into their targets.

Lightning was mutually attractive. Since it was raining heavily, the rain would also conduct the lightning while gathering all the raw Lightning Magic within a distance of ten kilometers!

Mo Fan’s Lightning Acupuncture Points were like an enormous electromagnetic field. It felt like the lightning strikes in the sky were under their command.

How much energy did the bolts of lightning from a thunderstorm contain?

The lightning bolts that sliced across the sky were visually stunning even when they were a few thousand meters away, let alone the lightning flashing in the clouds. How terrifying would it be when all the lightning had gathered on a single Lightning Mage?

Mo Fan connected all his Lightning Acupuncture Points. He felt like he could control the Lightning Magic in the sky even if he had only activated the Lightning Acupuncture Points on his arms.

Every object that contained Lightning Energy was now his soldier!

In the past, a single Lightning Crow was only comparable to a normal Super Spell, but now the Lightning Crows that he had Summoned with the Lightning Acupuncture Points were a full murderous flock!

Back in the day, Mo Fan had to control a flock of Lightning Crows and order them to attack his enemies, but this time, a few flocks of Lightning Crows appeared on their own to eliminate his enemies whenever he attacked.

They were not part of Mo Fan’s spell, but the Lightning Acupuncture Points had Summoned them to his aid. The Lightning Acupuncture Points had improved the strength of his Advanced Spell significantly!

Mo Fan was dumbfounded when he saw the Lightning Crows crushing the fleet of Wind Warships.

Is this really my power?

—

The extremely troubled Zhao Manyan had calmed down too, and was now staring at Mo Fan like he was looking at a monster. He was behaving like a wife watching her husband taking Viagra. He was in disbelief and excited at the same time.

1

How insane! As expected of the Lord of Lightning!

His knees were going soft after he saw how strong Mo Fan was!

“How come you aren’t affected by the Sound Element?” Mu Bai asked pointedly.

—

Cook and the Wolf Chief shared the same question. Was the choir they had hired with a huge sum just lip-syncing?!

Not only was the guy able to use a Super Spell, it felt like he had Summoned a thunderstorm equivalent to a red-alert disaster. The Lightning Crows were basically the same as kamikaze aircraft during the Second World War!

The Mages who were supposed to attack from the tall buildings were in a mess. Even the fleet of Wind Warships was in disorder. They could not possibly maintain the Wind Gear Wheel.

“Try harder! Follow my instructions and shout at the top of your lungs!” Cook started waving his baton again.

The choir had to be slacking. They must have let their guard down!

They were only going up against a few young lecturers. Their cultivation was nowhere strong enough to ignore the Sound Element!

“Ready, sing!” Cook stood on his toes.

The choir immediately sang as loud as they could. They no longer sounded like elegant tenors, trying their best to suppress Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic.

They had turned into mad dogs that had been locked in cages. They were barking madly at anyone who posed a threat to them.

Their faces reddened. Their voices were hoarse. Their lungs were about to explode!

A few members of the choir were rolling their eyes as they fell short on breath. They were on the verge of fainting from lack of oxygen.

A disadvantage of using the Sound Magic was how easy it was to injure friendlies when the Sound Magic became too powerful.

The Mages who were relatively weaker were now struggling to use their magic due to the deafening song of the choir. Their Star Orbits kept breaking as they were unable to focus.

—

Mo Fan turned around and noticed how hard the choir was trying.

Since Mo Fan had the Lightning Acupuncture Points, he was able to construct the Star Orbits, Star Patterns, Star Constellations, and Star Palaces inside his body. He no longer had to rely on his mental strength.

The choir had no chance of affecting Mo Fan’s Lightning Magic, even if they sang until their deaths!

Chapter 2288: I’m Ridiculously Strong
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Why am I sensing the Aura of a Super Spell?” the soldier who had led Mo Fan and his crew into the trap exclaimed.

“Impossible, no one can use a Super Spell under the influence of my choir!” Cook snarled.

Wolf Chief stared at Mo Fan, like he was trying to open up Mo Fan’s body with a scalpel and dig out his secret of being able to use his Lightning Magic under the Sound Magic’s disturbance.

“It’s most likely his Super Power!” Wolf Chief frowned with a gloomy expression.

To think that the guy was a Super Mage who had Awakened a Super Power. He had really underestimated this trio!

“Super Power?” Cook was startled.

He thought only old Super Mages could possess Super Powers. The young man was in his twenties at most. How did he Awaken a Super Power, not to mention it was related to the naturally strong Lightning Element?

“Humph, so what if he has a Super Power? There’s no way he can take on so many people by himself!” Wolf Chief grinned.

Wolf Chief was jealous, yet he felt a lot better when he thought the young man was going to die soon.

Human wave attacks had always been the most powerful strategy in the world!

Even though only a few Super Mages would possess Super Powers, the Mages of the Brown Army were everywhere. They just had to construct a single Star Orbit to kill a Super Mage by abusing their numbers!

“Don’t be scared of him. He’s almost at his limit!” Wolf Chief called out.

“Commander, it’s all you now!” Cook yelled at a Caucasian woman.

The woman had a pointy nose, yet her face was oddly masculine. The lines on her face were too distinguished for a woman.

She was as tall as most men, and her eyes were cold and firm, like a soldier who had undergone proper training.

“Raise the Fleet Shell!” the commander ordered firmly. She had no interest in the grudge between Wolf Chief, Cook, Mo Fan, and his crew. Her only desire was to end the fight as quickly as possible!

In six hours, the Federation would be launching its counterattack. That was the real battle she was waiting for.

The fight here was like a little brawl. It did not matter how strong the three Mages from the Orient were. They were merely struggling like little porcupines prior to their deaths in front of her regiment.

The Lightning Magic was oddly powerful, however. It was puncturing through the soldiers’ chests with ease.

The commander did not want to lose too many of her men, and ordered her captains to move into defensive positions.

The Wind Warships began moving as a whole. They still possessed enormous strength despite losing several hundred Mages.

The Fleet Shell was not the real armor of a battleship. It was a defensive system made up of many Light Mages.

As soon as the order was given, Advanced Light Mages immediately took command of the Wind Warships. The whole fleet turned into a battle machine with each Mage as a gear.

The gears had varied sizes. The Advanced Mages were big gears while the Intermediate and Basic Mages were smaller gears. They were providing the battle machine with energy!

Wind Magic was its core. Light Magic was its shell!

The Wind Warships were not actual battleships with decks, hulls, and armor, but the whole fleet was made up of the Light and Wind Magic of around two thousand Mages!

The system allowed the Mages to stack their magic very effectively.

It was similar to machinery components. The components were not useful on their own, yet when they were combined into a machine, the power they could unleash was far greater than their individual power output, provided the fuel was sufficient.

Mo Fan’s Lightning Tyrant had made him one of the strongest Lightning Mages in the world. He could defeat a few hundred Mages with ease.

However, the Light Shell the Light Mages had raised for the Wind Warships was surprisingly sturdy. It was comparable to the defense of a Super Mage like Zhao Manyan.

The Brown Army’s formation was not to be underestimated, since they had the strength in numbers!

—

“There are too many of them. They have come prepared,” Mu Bai analyzed.

Zhao Manyan was almost at his limit. Mu Bai had no choice but to use his trump card now.

The Wind Warships were not their only problem. A whole lot more Mages were raining spells at them from the nearby buildings.

Blizzard and fierce winds, scorching flames and burning light, rolling sandstorms and ferocious tides…

Even though the army mainly consisted of Basic and Intermediate Mages, they had no trouble defeating powerful Mages when they kept bombarding their enemies with spells!

“Mo Fan, I can’t hold on for much longer!” Mu Bai exclaimed, his face pale.

The enemy’s numbers were too overwhelming.

The buildings in front of them had several hundred soldiers. The heads that were sticking out of the windows alone were enough to form a few dozen platoons, let alone the men on the roofs!

The whole building had turned into a fortress with countless cannons aimed at them, and the streets on both sides of the plaza were crowded with Mages too!

The number of Mages they could see were several thousand, not to mention those out of their range of vision behind the buildings.

The bridge was behind them, and it was fully crowded with Mages without the slightest gap between them, like they were holding a protest.

The streets had other buildings too. The soldiers of the Brown Army had occupied their balconies, windows, and roofs!

It was obviously a trap Salan and the Chief Extraditor had prepared for Mo Fan and his friends. Otherwise, why would the Brown Rebels go through so much trouble just to welcome three Mages from China?

Zhao Manyan’s magic Equipment started breaking after a few rounds of attacks, and Mu Bai’s defensive moves had only bought them a few extra seconds.

Mo Fan had only used one or two spells to suppress enemy’s fire.

They might have fended off the fleet of Wind Warships, but unfortunately they’d had no time to deal with the rebels on their sides and back.

“Star Dust!”

The Circle of Crystal Teeth did not require Star Patterns and Star Constellations. Mo Fan could activate it with a single thought.

Mo Fan had no choice but to give up his Lightning Magic when Mu Bai’s defense collapsed. He promptly stacked the Shards into a fortress.

The enemy had overwhelming numbers, so every spell they used would provide Mo Fan with a Shard. The abundant Shards immediately filled up any gaps.

The fortress was extremely sturdy. Mo Fan managed to fend off another round of bombardment. But even though the fortress was continuously repaired by the Circle of Crystal Teeth, it would not last forever.

The Circle of Crystal Teeth was merely stealing a portion of the enemy’s energy as they were constructing Star Orbits and Star Patterns. It needed around ten thousand Shards just to withstand a round of bombardment.

The remaining Shards were not enough to withstand the next round of attacks.

—

“That guy is ridiculously strong!” the female commander noticed.

Most Super Mages would be dead by now. Yet, their enemies were still holding their ground!

Chapter 2289: The Magic Palace Constructed with Superpower

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Circle of Crystal Teeth did not hinder Mo Fan from using his magic.

The Lightning Acupuncture Points on Mo Fan’s upper body lit up during the time that the Circle of Crystal Teeth and Star Dust had bought him. More lines intertwined on Mo Fan’s skin.

The Aura alone was utterly terrifying, even before the magic was unleashed!

Previously, when Mo Fan had crossed his arms to construct a Star Pattern with the Lightning Acupuncture Points, the lightning flashing across the sky above Banlo City had been assisting him.

This time, a huge lightning explosion suddenly took place in the city as Mo Fan activated half of his Lightning Acupuncture Points to construct a Star Palace!

Lightning was arcing everywhere in the city. There were quite a lot of Lightning Mages in the city right now.

The moment Mo Fan activated his Lightning Acupuncture Points, every circuit, wire, and electrical appliance in the city exploded simultaneously..

The city fell into darkness following it. The whole area was suddenly as dead silent as if a blackout had occurred.

The plaza of the Furniture District was on the city’s west side, between the residential areas and the commercial areas.

The whole city had lost power, except for the Furniture District. The dark city and the gloomy sky were brightly lit up by the lightning arcs shining down like the sun upon it!

The lightning arcs were the Star Palace Mo Fan’s Lightning Acupuncture Points were constructing!

The Star Palace was not formless or just an energy-transferring medium. It was an actual palace made of lightning!

The magnificent palace was a great calamity that had fallen to the mundane world from the Heavens. The ground of the mundane world had no chance of withstanding its weight.

Every building in its area was destroyed completely.

Every person caught in its lightning was turned into ashes!

The Furniture District was flattened very suddenly. The buildings inside an area over ten thousand meters square turned into ashes. The Mages of the Brown Army were falling to the ground like ants and insects, together with the falling trees they were hanging onto.

Those who were caught by the slightest arc of lightning from the Lightning Palace vanished into thin air with the buildings.

Everyone was struggling to keep their eyes open. They almost fainted upon witnessing the astonishing sight after their vision recovered.

The buildings in the Furniture District were gone. Mages were moaning in pain on the ground. The number of Mages who had gathered at the plaza was clearly a lot higher than the ones who had survived.

“Is…is he still human?”

The choir was dumbfounded. They could not sing even a single note right now.

The Mages on the streets froze as if a blizzard had just swept through the area. Only a few minor spells were still lingering in the air, like little sparrows in front of a huge dragon.

The people were too shocked to notice the dark swamp that was appearing under their feet.

The streets were suddenly covered in a dark ooze, as if the roads had melted. Not only was it emitting a foul smell, it was extremely sticky, and was grabbing firmly at the Mages’ feet.

An icy dark aura slowly penetrated their bodies through their feet. The Mages who had yet to recover from the great shock were soon trembling in fear!

What if the Lightning Palace had targeted them? They would have perished like ashes, regardless of their numbers!

“Attack, attack now, kill them at all costs!” Cook yelled. “What are you waiting for? You bunch of useless pricks! Captains, commander, give your orders at once!”

Cook could not care less about the casualties. His only thought was to stop the monster from getting away!

“The loss is nothing compared to the war we are about to fight. Kill them, and we’re one step closer to victory!” Cook shouted at the Mages overwhelmed by fear.

It was not like Mo Fan’s Superpower had truly frightened them. Anything could happen in a war, even though Mo Fan’s strength was rather ridiculous.

However, Cook, Wolf Chief, and the female commander had not noticed Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic spreading to the other side of the bridge.

The Dark Swamp was an evolved version of the Nyx Regime. It did not have to attack the soldiers. It just needed to enhance the fear and panic in their hearts!

The Brown Army’s numbers might be overwhelming, but its soldiers were mostly low-level Mages. Mo Fan’s powerful Shadow Magic could easily suppress them!

—

Mo Fan had caused massive destruction with the Lightning Palace, and was using the Dark Swamp to pressure thousands of Mages on the other side of the bridge.

He had crushed the enemies in front of them with the Lightning Palace, and kept the enemies behind at bay with the Shadow Element, giving him and his friends the perfect chance to escape!

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai did not hesitate. They forced their way through the debris in the plaza instead of retreating. There were a lot of enemies still behind them, but Mo Fan’s lightning had cleared a huge path ahead!

The choir was overwhelmed by the fear coming from the Dark Swamp. They were not able to interrupt Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan’s magic in time.

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan immediately took over Mo Fan’s role and charged forward recklessly once they were able to use their Advanced and Super Spells.

“Rapid Growth of All Things!”

Mu Bai was in charge of stopping the enemies behind them. He tossed some special magic seeds in all directions.

The seeds would cause the things they came into contact with to grow rapidly, including a human’s body.

A huge forest appeared out of nowhere while the Brown Army was still gaping in shock. It forcibly created a national park in the middle of the warzone!

Thick vines were intertwining like spider webs. The sturdy trunks were as tall as buildings, while the branches were dangling from the trees like curtains.

—

Still, Cook’s shouts were quite effective at helping the soldiers come back to their senses.

However, all they could see were green plants when they began searching for their targets. The twisting vines were like a bunch of snakes woven together!

“F**king useless, you can’t even stop three people from running away, yet you are thinking of seizing control of a country?” Cook was so mad that he felt like tearing his scalp off.

He vented all his anger on the female commander. After all, she was the person in charge of the regiment.

“It was you who underestimated the enemy’s strength, resulting in unnecessary casualties to my regiment,” the commander scoffed. She was coldly amused by Cook’s attempt to put the blame on her.

“It seems like a regiment alone isn’t enough to take them down,” Wolf Chief spoke up calmly, after collecting his thoughts.

“There’s nothing the Brown Army can’t do. We can easily seize control of a country! If a regiment isn’t enough, we’ll send two. If two isn’t enough, we’ll send three or four regiments after them. If a thousand people aren’t enough, we’ll send ten thousand people… the Brown Army is unstoppable!” Cook yelled like a mad man.

Chapter 2290: Militia

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Hope Street of Banlo City…

Black sacks filled with sand were being used to set up a barricade.

The barricade was set along the barricades at the center of the city to prevent the Federation’s army from sneaking around to the Brown Army’s flank.

A few militiamen wearing brown singlets were hiding behind the sandbags. They were drinking beer while discussing the ridiculous incident that had taken place that day.

“Did you hear? Five thousand of our men were sent to take down three enemy generals, yet the three still ran away unharmed. That’s crazy,” a soldier with a big nose said.

“I already told you there are powerful Mages in the Federation. We only won this fight because our enemy couldn’t react in time. (Sigh) I’m such a fool for joining the Brown Army. We won’t have anywhere to call home if we lose this war.”

“The battle will happen in a few hours. Let’s find a place to hide.”

A few militiamen were chatting softly when they suddenly heard the sound of glass cracking.

The soldier with a big nose immediately turned around. “Who’s there?”

“We are tourists from Asia. We just want to cross to the other side to reach our embassy,” Mo Fan answered with an honest smile.

“How long has it been since the war broke out? Why the heck are you still here? If we see you roaming around on the streets in another four hours, you will be dead for sure!” the militia scolded the three.

“We were too scared to leave just now. Brothers, please go easy on us and let us pass,” Mo Fan said.

A bulky militiaman who was drinking beer rose to his feet. He seemed a little drunk and hot-tempered. “Are we seriously letting them pass so easily? What if they are from the Federation?” the man blurted out.

Mu Bai was standing behind Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, who were pretending to be ordinary refugees. He would use his magic if the situation got out of hand.

Mu Bai could not afford to go easy on them to if he wanted to stop them from alerting the army. They were currently in a war zone. Being merciful would only bring them more trouble.

“(Sigh), they are just a bunch of young adults, why are you troubling them? Young man, just go and try not to go on vacation in an unstable country like ours. Isn’t it better to travel around Europe?” The volunteer with a big nose was more approachable.

“It’s not safe in Europe either,” Zhao Manyan shook his head.

“Then just stay in your homeland. Are you Chinese or Japanese? (Sigh), it doesn’t matter. Either one is better than our country. Just go,” the soldier sighed.

He asked his men to move the barricade away so Mo Fan and his crew could pass.

The drunk man was reluctant to let them pass. He stood in front of the trio.

“I hate Asians the most. A rich Japanese hooked up with my woman. She told me she was pregnant when she came back to me, so I sold her as a prostitute instead!” The drunk man grabbed Zhao Manyan’s collar. His breath smelled strongly of alcohol.

“That’s enough!” The other militiaman shoved the drunk man away and said impatiently, “That’s your own business. Why are you putting the blame on others? You have been killing innocent people for no reason, and now you are trying to pick a fight with a few more innocent young men? You are already in your forties, yet you don’t even have a proper job. How could you blame your woman for hooking up with another man?”

The drunk man crawled back to his feet and glared at the leader.

“What now? Are you going to fight me? I’m the sergeant of his militia troop. I’m your superior as long as we haven’t lost the war. You better show some respect!” the sergeant warned him.

“Humph, militia? We are nothing but cannon fodder. You are being too full of yourself,” the drunk man withheld his urge to start a fight. He kept glaring at Zhao Manyan and the others instead.

The sergeant waved his hand and let the three cross the barricade.

Mo Fan immediately expressed his gratitude.

“Be careful, we might be the ones who start the war, but the Federation isn’t your friend either,” the militia warned them.

“Thank you so much, kind sir.”

——

The three immediately found a building and hid in the kitchen of a café after crossing the barricade.

“There are still good people in this world,” Zhao Manyan mused aloud.

He took off the shirt he had wrapped on his arm. Blood immediately poured out from the wound there.

The three had sustained different degrees of injuries. The defenses of Zhao Manyan’s magic Armor and Shield were not perfect. The Wind Gear Wheel had left a huge cut on his arm.

Mu Bai’s back was burned by Light Magic. It looked like he had been scalded by a branding iron.

Mo Fan had more wounds on him, but his flesh was a lot stronger than theirs, and his healing was quicker too. He was still in a good condition, apart from the fatigue of using too much Lightning Magic.

It had taken them a great deal of effort to break free from the regiment’s encirclement. They did not dare to push forward under the circumstances.

They decided to back away from the Brown Army’s territory and went to the other side of the city.

The Brown Army was still searching the streets. They could not afford to kill the soldiers along the way with their magic, as it would alert the army. They had no choice but to disguise themselves as common tourists.

Luckily, they had stumbled into a militia sergeant with some conscience. Otherwise, they would not even have had a chance to catch their breath if they attracted the Brown Army’s attention.

—

“What should we do now? The Brown Army has taken over the city west. There are trenches and barricades even if we take the long way around the city. Their numbers are insane!” Zhao Manyan complained.

“In four hours, the Federation will launch a counterattack. It’s our only chance to reach the Scorching River,” Mo Fan said.

“Are you kidding me? The three of us are nothing but mere ants once the battle breaks out. Tens of thousands of Mages will be involved in the battle!” Zhao Manyan protested.

“It’s almost a hundred thousand if you include the militia,” Mu Bai corrected Zhao Manyan.

Zhu Meng was right, the city would soon turn into a hot war zone. The battle would escalate to a terrifying level.

Super Mages were capable of taking on a hundred people or even a thousand people at once, but were they able to handle an army with more than ten thousand people?

The battle they were just in only had around six thousand Mages, yet they had almost died there!

Chapter 2291: The Federation’s Army is Here

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The rain was still pouring down heavily.

The woods between the Scorching River and Banlo City were about to turn into a swamp from the rain. The water on the flatlands had already reached their knees.

Destructive magic kept appearing across the city. The trash and debris had blocked off the sewers, and the city had flooded.

The streets had turned into water channels, making it difficult for people to walk across them.

There was no sign of civilians in the city. Most of them were hiding in the buildings or sent to the refugee camps by the Brown Army.

.

Those who were still roaming in the city were interrogated by the Brown Army. They were most likely executed in the end since the Brown Army did not want anyone from the Federation to sneak into their territory prior to the battle.

Sirens were going off continuously. The Brown Army was trying to take over the city, they were not planning to massacre every civilian. They were warning the people in the city to hide indoors and stay away from the streets.

Otherwise, they would be treated as an enemy!

As soon as the order was given, the streets were smeared with blood. Not everyone had listened to the instructions and stayed indoors.

—

“Idiot, are you asking for your death?

“Are you deaf? Did you not hear the warnings that kept telling you to stay indoors? You are lucky that you weren’t burned to death by a Fire Burst when you snuck across the street. Find a place to hide now!” the militia sergeant yelled.

A slender woman crawled to her feet on the street. “My brother, his legs were punctured by a steel reinforced bar. I have to find some medicine. Otherwise, he won’t survive the night,” the woman cried.

Her eyes were full of tears. She was soaked in rain too, like she had just crawled out of a pond.

The militia sergeant frowned.

He looked at the drug store across the street. It seemed like the woman was trying to get some medicine from it.

“Hide inside that bakery, and don’t come out!” the militia sergeant ordered her.

“But…”

“There’s no but! Go inside, or I’ll kill you now,” the militia sergeant yelled.

The woman quickly hid inside the bakery. She picked up some bread from the ground and munched on it. She was obviously starving.

She realized her brother had not eaten anything for some time too. She quickly found a filthy bag and took the bread from the shelves, wrapping them carefully with plastic so they would not be soaked in the rain.

Soaked bread was horrible to eat.

The woman suddenly heard footsteps as she finished up.

She subconsciously hid in a corner until she saw the militia sergeant coming inside the bakery with a white plastic bag, which held some medicine he had found in the drug store.

The militia sergeant shoved the plastic bag into the woman’s hands and yelled, “Your brother isn’t going to live if you are dead. Stop coming out on the streets. Do you understand?”

The skinny woman lifted her gaze and revealed her tearful eyes between her disheveled wet hair.

Beautiful Banlo City had turned into Hell on Earth in less than twelve hours. Her slender figure could barely withstand the pressure. She would rather have jumped into flames if she did not have her brother to take care of.

—

The woman grabbed the two bags and ran back to the building she was hiding in previously.

However, just as she reached the building, huge rocks were tossed into the air. They were the size of a large house.

They flew across the sky. One of them happened to target the building the woman was heading towards. It landed on the building and snapped it in half. The floors above the twelfth started falling in front of her.

The woman’s eyes widened and almost fell out of their sockets.

Her brother was on the fourteenth floor, meaning that he was among the debris that was falling to the ground!

The two bags she was holding dropped onto the concrete. She ran at the debris like she had gone insane, but the impact as the debris fell to the ground knocked her into the distance.

The militia sergeant was only two hundred meters away. He turned around and saw the woman being sent flying by the impact.

“The Federation’s army!”

“They are here!”

“They are on the Fourth Avenue with a regiment of Rock Tanks!”

Huge rocks the size of houses went flying into the sky before falling down on Banlo City like meteorites.

They blew up into pieces, firing splinters into every corner of the city. It was soon covered in smoke and cries of pain.

“Those assh****, didn’t they know there are still a lot of civilians in the buildings? Why aren’t they coming straight at us instead?” the militia sergeant snarled.

Even an idiot would know there were still a lot of civilians who had not been evacuated from the city!

The Federation’s army was bombarding the city with rocks, as if they could not care less about innocent civilians.

“Retreat to the trenches.”

“Forget about them, we aren’t a salvation army.”

“Damn it!”

The militia sergeant knew his power was limited. There was nothing he could do to stop the enemy’s advance.

More buildings began to collapse on the street, posing a huge threat to the Brown Army. Blood and flesh were mixed into the debris.

BANG!

A few rocks happened to land on the path the militia were retreating on.

The rocks crushed those they landed on like smashed tomatoes. Several militiamen died instantly.

The militia sergeant was relatively lucky, as the rocks did not land on him. However, he was dazed when he saw his men turning into red tomato sauce on the ground.

A huge rock suddenly swept past the militia sergeant’s head.

Judging by its trail, it was heading toward a nearby refugee camp!

The camps were refugee centers for the civilians. Those who were not involved in the war were gathered in the camps.

Normally, the Federation’s army would avoid the refugee camps since the people in the camps were the Federation’s civilians. Their relationship with the Federation’s army was like hostages and the police.

However, one of the rocks was heading straight toward the nearest camp. There were at least a thousand people in it!

The rock was the size of a cruise liner, and would instantly turn the camp into a burial ground with more than a thousand corpses!

“Those scumbags!” the militia sergeant shouted.

The rock was about to fall on the camp and smash the people into pieces, when a silver light wrapped around the rock.

The rock suddenly froze in the air after the silver light completely enclosed it. It was like watching a paused film.

However, it was happening in real life instead of a film. How could such a huge rock freeze in midair all of a sudden?

The militia sergeant was dumbfounded!

The rock had stopped in an instant. How strong would the person have to be to do such an astonishing feat?

Chapter 2292: The Heavenly Sensei

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The militia sergeant slowly turned around and saw a man in a transparent raincoat standing in the rain.

His eyes were emitting a deep silver light, which was a little bewitching to look at.

“It’s… it’s you?” the militia sergeant stammered in disbelief.

Wasn’t he the young tourist he gave permission to leave out of kindness?

If he was strong enough to stop such a huge rock with his eyes, why would he behave so modestly in front of them?

Mo Fan went up to the militia sergeant and smiled. “Relax.”

The militia sergeant could not relax at all. The Federation’s army had arrived. He was only a Basic Mage. He had been appointed to lead some militia because he had been a Hunter for some time.

However, he was just like the rest of his squad. They could die at any second!

“Fine, we admit we are the three people who are wanted by your army, but I’m grateful for your kindness in letting us go. It gave us some time to treat our injuries and catch our breath,” Mo Fan told him.

The militia sergeant’s face was drenched in the rain. He had a blank expression as he struggled to take in the information.

He was only one of a hundred thousand militiamen. He did not have the clearance to understand what his superiors were up to.

“Y…young man, why did you save the people in the refugee camp?” the militia sergeant asked after some time.

“Why did you let us go?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“I just think that we can’t lose our conscience as humans,” the militia sergeant answered honestly.

“Likewise, you are right that many people in the Federation are scumbags,” Mo Fan sighed.

The militia sergeant sat on the ground with a regretful face. “To be honest with you, I didn’t want to join the revolution, but the sudden thought came into my mind out of nowhere. (Sigh) I can’t back out anymore. I will most likely die soon in an explosion,” the militia sergeant admitted in low spirits.

Mo Fan trusted the militia sergeant’s words.

The purpose of the rain the Black Vatican had conspired to use for so long was to make everyone lose their rationality, so they would tear at one another like primordial beasts with even a little conflict.

It was obvious that many people in the war still had a clear conscience, like this militia sergeant. Unfortunately, the people with their own principles and beliefs were slowly losing their ground to the rain, or they were forced to go with the flow in order to survive.

“I don’t know if you will believe me when I say the Black Vatican is actually pulling the strings behind the scenes. They are using the rain…” Mo Fan briefly explained the Black Vatican’s plan to the militia sergeant.

He was waiting for Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai’s update, so he decided to use the time wisely by learning more information about the Brown Army from the militia sergeant.

The militia sergeant was dumbfounded after learning the truth.

“I believe you, but you won’t be able to make it to the Scorching River’s headwaters,” the militia sergeant told him.

“Why?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

“The main army has set a camp there. As for the Black Vatican’s Head Priest whom you mentioned… he’s referred to as the Rain Sensei in the army. He’s praying to the Heavens for the Rain of Victory,” the militia sergeant said.

“Rain of Victory?” Mo Fan almost burst out laughing, yet he felt sorry for the locals when he thought about the situation.

It was clearly a Rain of Destruction, yet the people were tricked into believing it was a Rain of Victory, which would bring them blessings.

“Perhaps it’s because the people became more united since the rain started falling. Not only is the headwaters of the Scorching River the main camp of our army, the elite soldiers led by our general, Ash, are on standby in the vicinity too. You won’t be able to reach the woods in the outer circle, let alone the Scorching River,” the militia sergeant told.

Mo Fan frowned. It sounded like the Brown Army assumed the Black Vatican’s rain was in their favor.

In other words, the Black Vatican had long colluded with the Brown Army!

Or perhaps the Black Vatican had long planned to use their trick on a politically unstable country so they could take it over!

Wu Ku was serving as the Brown Army’s battle drummer. He was using the heavy rain to turn the Brown Army into ferocious beasts!

In other words, Wu Ku was protected by the whole Brown Army…

“I’ve learned a lot. Thank you for telling me all this,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m not as powerful as you. It’s all I can do,” the militia sergeant sighed.

“I should go. Be careful,” Mo Fan did not want to stay for too long.

“Alright, you guys should be careful too,” the militia sergeant sent him off. He ran to the collapsed building where the slender woman was buried under the debris.

Either way, it was still a human life. The militia sergeant took off his brown jacket and started searching for the woman under the broken cement and steel-reinforced bars.

—

Mo Fan left in a hurry, hearing cries of agony around him. A young man with a broken leg was lying on the street. An old man was trapped in a collapsed house. Women were looking for shelter amid the debris.

The Federation’s army was rapidly pushing forward. The destruction they were causing to the city was on par with the destruction the Brown Army had caused. They were basically tearing the already broken-down city apart.

Mo Fan caught up to Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai. “How is it looking?”

“The Federation’s army will soon reach the barricades. From the looks of it, they will reclaim the city in three hours,” Mu Bai reported.

Zhao Manyan had stolen a few uniforms from the Federation army. He passed them to Mo Fan and Mu Bai.

“Their goal is to drive the Brown Army back to the other side of the Scorching River. They will keep pushing after retaking the city,” Mu Bai went on as he and Mo Fan swiftly put on the uniforms.

They did not want to be involved in the war, but they had to rely on the Federation army’s advancing to make their way to the Scorching River.

The Brown Army had listed them as high-priority targets. It would be extremely difficult to sneak through their defenses. Furthermore, the Brown Army was treating Wu Ku like a heavenly sensei!

“Wu Ku needs an abundant supply of water to control the rain. He turns the water of the Scorching River into water vapor and spreads it into the sky,” Mo Fan told them.

“So he won’t move to another place if he wants the rain to keep falling,” Mu Bai nodded his understanding.

“Mm, we’ll fight alongside the Federation’s army and defeat the Brown Army on this side of the Scorching River,” Mo Fan decided.

Zhao Manyan’s expression darkened gradually as he listened to the conversation between Mu Bai and Mo Fan.

Holy crap, why do they sound like it is just a simple plan?

What do they mean by defeating the Brown Army on this side of the Scorching River?

It meant they had to f**king help the Federation win the war!

Chapter 2293: A Glorious Little Recruit of the Federation’s Army

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Brown Army did not start revolting just because of the rain.

Perhaps the Frenzy Rain had provoked the militia into joining the revolution, destroying the city, and killing innocent civilians.

However, the leaders and the army of the Brown Rebels must have been planning for it for a long time.

Their attempt to kidnap Sancha, the daughter of an important official tied to the Federation’s economy, was obviously part of their preparations for the war.

The Brown Army had come prepared. The Federation’s army might seem huge, but the number of soldiers it could gather in such a short time was limited.

Even if they managed to reclaim Banlo City, could they really defeat the Brown Army at the Scorching River?

The Brown Army had obviously taken Half-Ridge Mountain City as their base. They had crossed the Scorching River to invade Banlo City.

The Federation’s army had arrived too late. It would be difficult for them to drive the Brown Army back now!

———

Mo Fan’s trio was planning to blend into the Federation’s army.

If the Federation’s army could drive the Brown Army back to the other side of the Scorching River, they would be able to take down Wu Ku, who could not afford to relocate himself right now. However, if the Federation’s army lost the battle, Wu Ku would be unreachable.

The rain would then last for at least another half a month!

Mo Fan had thought they could weave through the battlefield by abusing their Super Magic and avoid the battle, then take down Wu Ku.

Unfortunately, things were not as simple as he thought. He still had to involve himself in the terrifying war.

Zhao Manyan had the same worry.

Once they were stuck in the war, even Super Mages might die there, and at a surprisingly high rate.

He was utterly confused why Mo Fan and Mu Bai did not hesitate when they planned to join the Federation’s army!

——

“Do our uniforms have any stars or badges?” Mo Fan suddenly asked.

He was not going to back away once he had decided on his course of action.

“Those with high ranks have records in the system. You should be glad that I managed to find a few uniforms for the Federation’s army. Were you thinking of disguising yourself as a general?” Zhao Manyan snickered.

“Oh.”

Currently, they were three glorious little recruits for the Federation’s army!

“For the Federation!” Mo Fan reached out his hand and played his role.

“I would rather yell ‘For the tribe!’ or something. Let’s agree on something before we go any further. If we are surrounded by another regiment, we should do our best to stay alive. I don’t mind sacrificing my life for my country, but I have no intention of sacrificing my life for this sh**** country and being buried in a foreign land!” Zhao Manyan declared.

“We are going to blend into the Federation’s army. Why would we be surrounded again?” Mo Fan wondered.

“What should we do now?” Mu Bai was confused.

Mo Fan was just about to say something when he heard loud marching on the puddles behind him. It sounded rather intimidating.

“You three dumbwits, are you hiding behind a bus because you are scared like sissies? Go to your positions at once! We will be charging at those scumbags’ barricades in ten minutes! I’ll kill you right now if you are thinking of deserting the war!” a soldier who was built like a chimpanzee yelled at them. His voice echoed across the street like a tyrant.

“We were chasing after a few militiamen, but they disappeared like mice,” Mo Fan quickly replied.

“Militia? Why did you bother wasting your time on them? Go back to your squad. We’ll kill every single one of those scum!” the captain yelled at him.

“Affirmative!” Mo Fan mimicked the soldiers of the Federation’s army and saluted in an awkward manner.

The three quickly ran toward the assault troop in the brigade.

“We’ll just pretend to be soldiers for now and wait until they reclaim Banlo City,” Mo Fan told Mu Bai.

“Alright,” Mu Bai was a little impatient, yet he knew he would only get himself killed if they tried to force their way through the battlefield.

They immediately stood behind the assault troop.

The Black Chimpanzee guy came over and inspected them. “Asians?” Black Chimpanzee asked them.

“Yes.”

“Why have I never seen you before?” Black Chimpanzee demanded with a hostile expression.

“We are students of the Aorus Sacred Institute’s branch in Lei City. We are new recruits!” Zhao Manyan proclaimed. He took out the badge of the Aorus Sacred Institute to prove their identities.

The Aorus Sacred Institute seemed to have sided with the Federation, so it was fine showing their student badges.

“Ah, the branch in Lei City, that good-for-nothing institute that bribes the Aorus Sacred Institute’s recruiting department with money every year? Stop claiming you are from the Aorus Sacred Institute. You are nothing like their students!” a sergeant in the troop snarled.

“You’re right. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be just recruits now,” Zhao Manyan agreed.

“I hate Mages who keep mentioning the name of their school wherever they go. They only know to show off with their fancy yet impractical spells. Stand in your lines and go to the front once you hear the signal. I’ll execute you if you dare take a step back. Do you hear me!?” The apish captain stopped suspecting them and kicked Zhao Manyan’s butt.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai quickly found a spot in the troop so they would not be kicked in the butt.

Zhao Manyan was utterly displeased.

However, he did not dare slap the apish captain and send him flying with a backhand, as he did not want to blow his cover.

——

“Damn it, how did we end up like this? Shouldn’t we at least be captains if we are joining an army?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

“It was you who found these uniforms. Why couldn’t you find better ones?” Mo Fan rebuked him.

“By the way, what rank is Zhang Xiaohou now?” Zhao Manyan asked suddenly.

“He was a Major General the last time I saw him. I’m not sure what his rank is now. He did leave me a message telling me he’s going on a secret mission…” Mo Fan answered.

Zhao Manyan’s face darkened. Why was his situation getting worse even after he had become a Super Mage?

Zhang Xiaohou was a Major General! A little captain like the Black Chimpanzee would have to drop to his knees to clean Zhang Xiaohou’s boots!

And yet, that Black Chimpanzee was ordering Zhao Manyan around like a dog. He had even kicked him in the a**. It f**king hurt!

——

“Pay attention, focus!

“You will see a bridge once you cross the building in front!

“The bridge is the line of boundary between the two armies. You are going to charge at it when the signal is given!

“Do you understand? You can only go forward!”

Black Chimpanzee walked back and forth in front of the troop, giving the soldiers a final speech prior to the battle.

“I’ll kill you if I see the slightest hesitation from you!” the apish captain yelled at them.

“Yes, sir!”

The assault troop had a hundred soldiers. They were all Basic Mages.

They might not be cannon fodder in the war, but they were only useful for blocking bullets for the main forces behind them!

Chapter 2294: Attacking the Barricades

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan kept hearing the sounds of something like long bugle horns. A gray cloud had taken the shape of a bugle horn to the east of Banlo City.

The bugle horn was so huge that it almost pierced through the black clouds in the sky. It was blaring out the signal to advance to the army. All of Banlo City could hear it.

Colorful spells immediately began attacking the barricades. They combined into a magical storm, pouring down at the other side of the barricades.

The third assault troop of the army…

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were like ducks being driven out onto a perch. There were around eighty people behind them who kept pushing them forward.

Everyone knew the first round of attacks at the walls would be the fiercest. The chance of survival was less than ten percent!

They did not have a choice. The captains who were supervising the assault troops would treat them as deserters if they showed the slightest intention to back away.

“Go, take over the walls and you will be a hero to Banlo City!” the apish captain yelled encouragingly.

The assault troop was heading straight toward a barricade across a minor street.

The rest of the assault troops were charging at the walls on the main highway. There were at least a thousand soldiers in total.

The walls were around two kilometers long. The Federation army’s goal was to take over the barricades on Hope Street and take out the enemy in the other half of the city.

Mo Fan did not rely too much on his magic.

This battle was going to last for a long time. They were only waiting for the Federation’s army to launch their counterattack. They did not have to fight for the sake of the Federation.

Besides, he could easily take over the wall on the minor street by himself, let alone with an assault regiment consisting of a thousand soldiers.

“Look out for the Water Guns!” Black Chimpanzee shouted.

A few rows of Water Mages popped up above the walls and began constructing Star Orbits amid the bombardment.

A blue energy was flowing on their arms after they constructed the blue Star Orbits. The militias gathered the energy on their palms.

Water burst out of their palms like a high-pressure pump. It was like a dam had burst when a few hundred Water Mages did it at the same time!

A Basic or Intermediate Mage was only slightly stronger and healthier than an ordinary person physically. They were unable to withstand the pressure of the fierce tide.

Some of the Mages were even knocked flying by the water and slammed into the jagged debris and concrete. Those who were unlucky were punctured by scattered steel-reinforced bars and the sharp edges of the rubble.

The assault troop of a hundred soldiers was indeed cannon fodder. They had lost their ground before they could even cast a single Basic Spell.

Mo Fan palmed his forehead.

What the heck were they doing? He knew these soldiers of the Federation’s army were weak, but how did they all fall in less than half a minute?

The three of them felt completely out of place, as they were the only ones standing!

“Stand up, stand up now and keep going forward!” the apish captain yelled.

The High-Pressure Water Guns were not to be underestimated. Even those used to wash cars were strong enough to hurt people, let alone these spells that were at least five to six times stronger. The pressure could even break a person’s bones!

“Why don’t we join the assault troops on the main street instead?” Zhao Manyan suggested.

“Idiot, we are assigned to target this segment of the walls!” the frantic captain yelled at him.

“We are the only ones left. Do we really have to keep going?” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

The apish captain glanced at his remaining men before looking at the well-trained militia on the walls.

“To the main street. Damn it, come with me if you can still move! You useless pricks, you can’t even handle the militia!” Black Chimpanzee never stopped chewing them out.

——

They ran to the main street, where a chaotic fight was taking place.

The Federation’s army had eleven assault teams, who were charging recklessly at the barricades like cannon fodder. The main force, which mainly consisted of Fire Mages, was further behind the assault troops.

The Fire Mages were like archers and cannons in a battle, protected in the middle by the rest of the army. Their job was to overwhelm the enemy with firepower.

The troops to the sides were mostly Wind and Light Mages. Their job was to occupy the enemy.

A war was more or less a bigger-scale group battle. The groups would have their assault squads, main battalions, side platoons, and a platoon with control magic.

The Brown Army was defending the barricades. Their formation was much simpler.

The walls had provided them with a geographical advantage. They just needed to stay on the high ground and throw their spells down, just like rolling stones from the top of the slopes.

The walls were only occupied by Brown Army militia, but they were still a great hindrance to the Federation Army’s advance.

The Federation Army did not have militia, but the Brown Rebels kept recruiting people who were influenced by the Frenzy Rain into their army to fight as militiamen.

If the rain kept falling, the number of militia would continue to increase. Even kind people like the militia sergeant from before would end up as weapons in the war!

——

“Those a**h****, they keep throwing Water Spells at us. Not only are our Fire Mages weakened by the rain, our assault troops are struggling to climb to the top!” the commander of the assault regiment snarled.

The blond Commander kicked Black Chimpanzee in the stomach as soon as the apish captain came up to him.

The captain was not behaving as arrogantly as when he treated his men. He had a wronged expression, just like an obedient lackey.

“I told you to cause some disturbances by attacking the other side of the trench, yet you’ve crawled back here in defeat. Can’t you see how many soldiers have sacrificed their lives? Go and find a way to climb up the trenches!” the Commander shouted. His temper was even worse than the Black Chimpanzee’s.

The captain did not dare disobey his superior’s order. He quickly led his remaining men and joined the battle.

A troop had managed to clear a path. They quickly took hold of the opportunity to climb to the top of the walls.

“Let’s go! You guys, come with me!”

The apish captain managed to find an opening amid the chaos. The militia of a certain segment of the walls had retreated after they were scared by a huge rock flying in their direction.

The Rock Tanks were further behind the army. They were only firing randomly at the enemy’s territory, but the rocks were still extremely deadly.

“This is our chance, there’s an opening over there!”

“Sir, there’s an opening right in front of us. We don’t have to run so far.”

“Nonsense, there were at least a few dozen people defending the walls here. Why would there be an opening… uhh…?”

Black Chimpanzee lifted his gaze and noticed the Water Mages in the trenches behind the barricades had been taken out.

There was no sign of danger!

It was like a blessing from the Heavens. They were alive!

Chapter 2295: Promotion

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s a blessing from Forneus!” the apish captain cried out excitedly.

The enemies who had been posing a great threat to them had disappeared so suddenly. Some Intermediate Mage must have taken care of them, even though he did not see the spell!

What other reason could he possibly think of to explain his incredible luck, other than saying it was a blessing from the gods?

He was relieved that his parents had forced him to kneel on a huge banana leaf in the garden and pray to their goddess since he was five!

The apish captain led them forward with only eight of his men remaining. He no longer relied solely on his mouth, taking hold of the opportunity to cast an Intermediate Spell of his own.

He was an Intermediate Wind Mage.

He advanced straight into the enemy’s line. The militia, who were only Basic Mages, failed to react in time.

“Wind Disc!” A cloudy tornado appeared above the trench behind the barricade at the apish captain’s shout.

The tornado swept the trench and tossed a few dozen militiamen into the sky. They fell back to the ground after a few seconds.

“There’s an opening! Follow them!” The attacking commander immediately noticed the tornado.

It was surprising that the commander saw the opening amid the rapid flashes of spells from his angle, but still more than three hundred assault troopers raced in the apish captain’s direction!

Most of the enemies on the barricade wall were militia. They were initially abusing their high ground when attacking the Federation Army, but they quickly lost their ground after the Federation Army broke through their lines.

They were not as disciplined as proper soldiers when it came to obeying orders. They lost their cool as soon as the Federation Army broke through the walls.

Two rocks the size of cars fell onto the barricades and wiped out two groups of Brown militia. The militiamen were standing in clusters to maximize the damage of their spells, making them easy targets for the rocks.

The sight was like scoring a strike in bowling, knocking down all the pins perfectly, except for the blood that was splashing everywhere.

The assault troopers climbed up the walls and wiped out another two enemy squads in an instant. The militia on Hope Street were no longer able to hold their ground after the Federation Army broke into the trenches behind their barricades.

“Kill all of these sons of b***hes, HAHAHA!” Black Chimpanzee burst out laughing.

His men let out relieved sighs, not because they were victorious, but because they were still alive!

Mo Fan stood at the side expressionlessly. He casually cast a few Earth Spells to pretend he was contributing.

“These idiots, they probably have no idea we are the ones who created the opening for them,” Zhao Manyan spat on the ground casually.

The Federation Army’s strength was worrisome if it took them so much effort just to break through the enemy’s first line of defense, especially when it was only guarded by militiamen who had been assembled at the very last second. It was likely that they had only undergone some military training in middle school. They were nothing but sheets of loose sand, yet the Federation Army had almost failed to break through their defense.

Mo Fan was clueless about the situation on other streets, yet he could not help but worry after seeing the Federation Army’s strength on Hope Street.

He had created the opening Captain Black Chimpanzee had ‘discovered’.

If he had not lent the Federation Army a hand behind the scenes, he would have found himself once again in the same awkward situation where only the three of them were still standing!

“I wonder if these idiots are going to wet their pants when they encounter the Brown Rebels’ main army!” Mo Fan muttered to no one.

——

The Federation Army had claimed a little victory on Hope Street!

More surprisingly, the battle on Hope Street was the Federation Army’s first breakthrough. The whole army pressed forward through the opening to advance the destructive brigade of Rock Tanks into the other half of the city.

“Well done, I didn’t expect you to be the first one to reach the top, Mason!” the Lt. Colonel complimented his underling.

“I’m your man, after all, Lt. Colonel Blair,” Black Chimpanzee replied humbly.

“My superior is very satisfied with the victory. He says we are the spears of the Federation and the Brown Army’s rippers!” Lt. Colonel Blair exclaimed.

“I’m really honored!” The apish captain’s smile was so wide that his whole face was shining.

Since when had he ever won their superiors’ favor!?

“They have promoted us right on the spot. You are now a Major. I want you to ambush our next target with five hundred men and launch a surprise attack!” the new Colonel Blair went on.

“Huh? Wasn’t I supposed to withdraw to the second line of duty?” The new Major Mason’s smile froze.

“If you succeed, I will introduce you to the general. You should understand that this is the time when our Federation needs warriors like you the most. When there’s peace, soldiers have to work for generations to be promoted from a little captain to a major, but when there’s a war, one can easily rise to the role of a leader through it, even if you’re just a little recruit!” Colonel Blair encouraged him.

The new major straightened his face after hearing the words! Even the eyes of the survivors by his side glittered.

“You are now my assistant, which makes you the second-in-command. Your soldiers are all promoted to senior sergeants, too!

“It’s true that the odds of surviving are low when you are leading the front, but not many people can rise so quickly in the army even if they died a few times. The Federation has only been established recently. I believe you understand how important our ranks are better than anyone else!” Colonel Blaire announced to all of them.

The new major could feel his blood boiling.

Yeah, they were currently fighting a war. Anyone who contributed during a war would rise quickly through the ranks once the country was stable!

The Federation might become the strongest nation in South America. If he managed to stand out in these dangerous times, he no longer had to worry for the rest of his life. Even his descendants would be respected by the people of the nation!

The survivors were already impatient, let alone the new Major Mason!

“We were promoted to senior sergeants?”

“Were we really promoted to senior sergeants?”

“The general is right, we must contribute to the Federation!”

—

Major Mason felt like a different person when he left the command tent. The sky was oddly clear despite the heavy rain.

Second-in-command! He had become a major just because he was the first person to climb up the wall!

The trend of events brings forth the hero! It is all thanks to Forneus!

——

“To be honest, I’m a little excited myself!” Zhao Manyan told Mu Bai softly.

“You’re crazy. The feel-good motivational stories during wartime are specifically written for idiots like you,” Mu Bai scoffed.

Mo Fan looked at his uniform.

It was different now. They were no longer little recruits of the Federation.

They were three glorious senior sergeants now!

Chapter 2296: Cold Storage Fort

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Even though they were promoted to senior sergeants, they were only leading a hundred men each.

Major Mason subconsciously raised his chest as he walked along the wet street. “You guys have gone through Hell with me. I won’t mistreat you!” Major Mason promised them.

“Sir, we are at your service!” a soldier with a nose piercing replied quickly.

The Federation had recruited their soldiers from the ordinary people. Their soldiers were not allowed to have tattoos or other distinguishable markings. The soldier with a nose stud was most likely a street hoodlum before enlisting. He did not even have time to take off his nose piercing.

However, after being promoted to lieutenant after surviving the first battle, the young man had been brainwashed by the convincing Colonel Blair. He could not wait to render meritorious contributions to the army again!

“Alright, we will soon be leading new recruits. You will each take a hundred men and we’ll proceed with our next operation,” Major Mason said.

——

The Federation’s army had claimed the first wall. They would be on the Brown Army’s territory from here onward.

The Furniture District where Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai had been ambushed was in this half of the city, too.

The area had already been ruined by the massive destruction brought by the Wind Gear Wheels. The streets were covered in debris. Only a few buildings were still standing before them.

The structures on this side of the city were strangely lower compared to the other half, like a disastrous earthquake had just taken place.

The soldiers of the Brown Army had already been dispersed across the place. They had built a few temporary forts using the fallen walls and steel-reinforced rubble. The Federation’s army had to destroy those strongpoints to reclaim Banlo City.

As a matter of fact, the plaza of the Furniture District was one of the places where the Brown Army had been planning to build a fort at, but the terrain was no longer suitable after Mo Fan had turned the debris of the collapsed buildings into ashes!

“Do you see those little hills that look like a junkyard? We are going to climb up there and assault that fleet of Wind Warships!” Major Mason told them.

They had five hundred men in total, and were currently just over three hundred meters away from a strongpoint. They were hiding behind the cover of a few residential buildings.

The fort used to be a cold storage marketplace, and was close to a branch of the Scorching River. It was mainly used for transporting supplies.

It had the main storage area for frozen products. Most of the incoming frozen meat and seafood was transported to that marketplace.

The marketplace had once had a few dozen storage buildings made of metal sheets, but the Wind Warships had destroyed them. The frozen meat was scattered across the ground like trash. Those who did not know about the marketplace might even think a bloodbath had occurred here recently.

Metal sheets, trucks, concrete, and thawed poultry were stacked into piles messily. The soldiers referred to it as the Junkyard Fort.

The place was indeed a junkyard, yet it was sturdy enough to withstand Super Magic. The Federation’s army had no idea how the Brown Rebels could stand the foul stench inside there. The Brown Rebels had occupied the high ground to defend the fort.

The structure of the fort had provided the Brown Rebels with advantageous positions to fend off the enemy with their spells, like putting Gatling guns along a castle’s wall.

“There’s no way we can survive against their defense!” Many of the new recruits were intimidated after seeing the strongpoint.

The wall they had previously attacked was only a little hill. All they had needed to do was to climb to the top.

However, the fort they were about to attack was surrounded by junk piles. It might not be made of steel, but the area around the fortress was open and spacious. They would be easy targets for the Brown Rebels on the walls there when they charged at it.

The fort’s walls were tall and had rough terrain around them. How were they supposed to climb up the fort, even if they managed to reach it?

“Charge! Move forward! I’ll execute anyone who dares to take a step back!” Major Mason ordered them coldly.

The Federation’s army had already given its signal. Five thousand men were sent to attack the fort. The five hundred men under Mason’s leadership was only a portion of the assault regiment, which consisted of two thousand men.

The string on the bow had been pulled. They had no choice but to fire the arrow.

The soldiers were forced to charge forward. The quiet frozen food marketplace was soon bustling with noise as the soldiers fired their spells with colorful displays, like a wild meteor shower sweeping across the sky above the city.

These soldiers were no footmen and riders. They were Mages!

The assault troops mainly consisted of Wind and Earth Mages, who were moving forward in Wind Tracks or sliding across the ground with Earth Waves.

The assault troops seemed unstoppable at a first glance. It was Mason’s first time leading five hundred men into battle. He was lost thought when he saw his men charging into the enemy lines recklessly.

“Wind Gear Wheel!”

Gusts of wind like sharp whips and blades appeared above the fort as the assault troops entered the spacious field. They gradually merged in a seemingly disorderly manner.

The wind whips eventually turned into wheels, while the blades started spinning like gears!

A huge Wind Gear Wheel descended from the sky. It swept across the field like the blades of a lawnmower. The Mages of the assault troops were just petty weeds.

Blood splattered across the field, and bodies were shredded into pieces.

Over a hundred Mages had died after being run over by a single Wind Gear Wheel!

“Look out!”

“Don’t retreat!”

Not many people could see the destructive spells clearly amid the splashing blood and flesh, and the chaotic clashes of spells.

Many people were still constructing Star Orbits when they saw their comrades being shredded like mincemeat in front of them. They only realized how terrifying the enemy’s magic was when the Wind Gear Wheel ran over them.

“How many men do we have left?” Major Mason demanded, his face blank.

“Around a hundred,” Mo Fan informed him drily.

“Those sons of b***hes! Charge, go forward!” Mason completely lost his calm.

Mo Fan looked at the cold storage fort.

The destructive fleet of Wind Warships seemed to be their biggest threat. They could not afford to underestimate the ships’ strength. They were a threat even for a Super Mage like Mo Fan.

Mo Fan decided not to muddle along in the assault. He was ready to destroy the fleet of Wind Warships once and for all!

Chapter 2297: Vengeful Seed

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Chaos! Order Manipulation!”

A strange glow appeared in Mo Fan’s eyes. It was the same mysterious silver as the Space Element, but it had a slight hint of a sinister and evil aura!

“That pig, didn’t he see the Wind Warship is targeting us? The next Wind Gear Wheel will be coming right at us!” Zhao Manyan swore.

Not only did Black Chimpanzee Mason have a bad temper, he was brainless, too!

The tornado forming above the cold storage fort was an obvious sign that the Wind Warship was about to fire another Wind Gear Wheel.

They were supposed to spread out and find some cover behind nearby objects or let the Earth Mages set up sand dunes to defend them so their troop would not be wiped out by the Wind Gear Wheel!

Unfortunately, Zhao Manyan was not commanding the troop, and no one dared to disobey Major Mason’s order.

—

The deadly wind descended from above the fort.

The remaining soldiers of the assault troops had almost reached the fort, but their minds went blank when the destructive wind poured down at them.

Humans had trouble reacting when an enormous object was coming their way, since their subconscious was telling them they would not be able to dodge the object no matter which direction they moved in.

They would simply stand still when they were left with no escape, as if they could no longer respond to the situation.

A ferocious wind swept past the soldiers. Even the air it stirred up was as deadly as the shredder of a heavy tractor.

However, the soldiers were surprised when they saw the Wind Gear Wheel going off-track and barely brush them.

—

“We are blessed by Forneus! We are blessed by Forneus!” Mason shouted at the top of his lungs.

It missed! The powerful Wind Gear Wheel missed!

He had thought his men were all going to die, yet he was blessed by his goddess once again!

It was common for a missile to miss its target amid the rain of fire in a chaotic battle.

However, it was rare for them to survive a second round of spells. The soldiers who were shredded into mincemeat in the previous attack clearly did not share their luck.

“Quick, climb up there!”

The soldiers of the Federation’s army who had survived the second round of Wind Gear Wheel started climbing the walls of the fort.

A troop of Brown Rebels was defending the lower section of the fort. The Wind Warship was their main support. It would not allow the Federation’s army to come any closer.

“Mo Fan, we have to destroy the Wind Warship. Otherwise, the Federation’s army will lose a lot of their men here,” Zhao Manyan spoke up.

They had witnessed the strength of the Wind Warships before. The Federation’s army had to destroy the forts in this half of the city to reclaim Banlo City.

The fort only had a single Wind Warship guarding it, but the Brown Rebels had at least a dozen of them!

“I know, they are most likely the Brown Rebels’ trump card, since they allow low-level Mages to cast a spell that is as deadly as a Super Spell,” Mo Fan agreed.

“I’ll go, this fort is like a beehive with many holes. You might struggle to take out the people who are hiding inside it,” Mu Bai volunteered.

“You shouldn’t go alone. We’ll wait for the rest of the army. We can’t afford to be exposed. Otherwise, the Brown Rebels will send powerful Mages after us,” Mo Fan warned him.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

The three did not dare to do anything too reckless. After all, the Brown Rebels might be alerted if the battle suddenly became one-sided in favor of the Federation’s army!

—

“You three… how are you still alive!?” Mason blurted out in astonishment.

“We have no idea, I think they are more focused on our Intermediate Mages,” Mo Fan replied helplessly.

“Damn it, there’s no way we can break into the fort. We have no idea how many enemies there are inside!” Mason cursed.

“Sir, I have some special seeds. You can pass them to the soldiers behind us,” Mu Bai offered patiently.

“What difference are these seeds going to make? We are fighting a war, this isn’t a farm!” the apish man shouted in frustration.

“Just ask them to bring the seeds along with them. I’m a Plant Mage. These seeds will blossom into vengeful flowers when the soldiers die. They will eliminate a lot of enemy soldiers,” Mu Bai told him.

“Are you being serious?” Mason asked carefully.

Mason was desperate enough to try everything they had. He knew his men would eventually be killed by the endless Fire and Lightning that was pouring down from the fort if they were to climb the walls mindlessly.

He passed the seeds to his men and asked them to pass the seeds to the rest of the soldiers who were approaching behind them.

——

Vengeful Seeds!

When the people carrying them died, these seeds would rapidly absorb the energy of their bearers and blossom into a magical flower that shot out spikes in every direction for five seconds.

The inside of the fort was like a maze. The Brown Rebels were hiding in the shadows, preventing their enemies from reaching the Wind Warship at the top.

Even if Mo Fan tried to make his way to the top, he would waste a lot of time trying to locate the soldiers who were hiding in the shadows.

However, things were a lot simpler with the help of the Vengeful Seeds.

Every soldier in the assault troop was carrying a Vengeful Seed with them. If they were unharmed, they would make their way closer to the Wind Warship.

If they were killed by the Brown Rebels in the fort, the Vengeful Seeds would kill the enemies nearby!

Mu Bai was hesitant to use the evil magic, which basically turned the soldiers into suicide bombers. After all, the seeds were only useful when their bearers died!

However, he had no other choice under the circumstances. No one had the right to call themselves innocent after taking part in the war.

The trio already had their hands covered in blood. Even if they ended up being executed by the Brown Army, they had made their own choices!

——

The Vengeful Seeds did not make a difference at first, but as more soldiers invaded the fort, ghastly cries kept echoing down the halls.

The soldiers of the Brown Army were human, too.

They no longer dared to show themselves when they saw the Federation’s army using such a self-destructive method to take them down.

Little did they know, there were a lot of unreliable soldiers in the Federation’s army, too.

They ended up falling into the traps and ambushes inside the fort because of their own stupidity and lack of strength. It was their deaths that had activated the Vengeful Seeds, but the Brown Rebels thought the Federation’s army had sent out a suicide squad to destroy the fort.

It was difficult for an army to win a battle once they lost their morale.

The Brown Rebels who were protecting the Wind Warship retreated. The Wind Warship powered by two thousand Wind Mages was the only thing left protecting the fort!

Chapter 2298: Replicating Seal

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was not like the Federation’s army did not have their trump cards, but they had not sent their Cross Chaos Formation up to the front line earlier, trying to avoid unnecessary casualties.

The Cross Chaos Formation had three thousand Mages, but its core was formed by an Advanced Chaos Mage and ten Intermediate Chaos Mages.

The Formation resembled an enormous cross. When enemies were targeting it with destructive spells, the Formation would start spinning like a windmill.

The Mages were not moving around like a windmill, but the Chaos Magic they cast would combine into a vortex looming above the Formation. It looked like the Mages were moving within the blades of the windmill!

A colorful rain of destructive spells poured down at the Brown Rebel’s Wind Warship.

The Wind Warship immediately activated its shell. The barrier constructed by the Light Mages outlined the Wind Warship with a strong sheen of thick light.

“Seriously? Is this really the Federation Army’s trump card, simply firing their spells at will?” Zhao Manyan looked up and saw a mix of Basic Spells and Intermediate Spells pouring down from the sky.

Their enemy’s trump card was a powerful Wind Warship made up of two thousand soldiers.

The Federation Army’s Formation of three thousand soldiers seemed impressive at the first glance, but why did it feel like its strength was nowhere close to the Brown Rebels’ Wind Warship?

“Be patient, our army isn’t as weak as you think,” the man with a nose-stud spoke up.

Another wave of destructive spells came pouring down from the sky. Thousands of spells landed on the Wind Warship’s Light Shell, generating a series of deafening explosions.

The rainbow of destructive spells did not stop there. The Chaos Vortex above the Federation Army started spinning again, firing the same round of spells as before.

The Basic and Intermediate Spells kept pouring down at the Wind Warship. The Mages in the Cross Chaos Formation were Casting their spells at an impressive rate, as the pause between each round was very brief. A new wave of spells was flying across the sky even as the previous wave just landed on its target.

It was like replacing a row of Gatling guns with the next row after they had fired all their rounds!

However, the Mages of the Cross Chaos Formation were all using their magic simultaneously. They did not take turns Casting their spells.

“What’s going on? How are they able to Cast their spells so rapidly?” Zhao Manyan was astounded as the spells kept pouring down from the sky endlessly.

The problem was that most of the Mages in the army were only Basic and Intermediate Mages. Their cultivation was not strong enough to Cast spells with a single thought.

There would be time discrepancies between the Mages since the times they needed to Channel their magic was different. It was unlikely they could all fire their spells at the enemy in such rapid succession.

“It’s the Chaos Element’s Replicating Seal!” Mu Bai blurted out in astonishment.

Replicating Seal, the Advanced Spell of the Chaos Element!

The Advanced Chaos Mage had constructed a Replicating Seal while the other Chaos Mages enlarged it to cover the whole Formation.

Whenever a Mage inside the Formation cast a Basic or Intermediate Spell, the Replicating Seal would replicate the same spell instantly.

“Wait, the Chaos Element can do that?” Mo Fan’s eyes widened in shock.

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan’s faces darkened.

Aren’t you a f**king Chaos Mage too? How can you not know the Chaos Element’s capabilities?

Is there anyone as magic illiterate as Mo Fan?

“Is the Replicating Seal duplicating the spells?” Zhao Manyan asked, interested.

“Yes, it is, hence why they are able to fire their spells so rapidly. Even if three thousand Mages are casting a Basic Spell, that would be six thousand spells after the spells are replicated!” Mu Bai said.

“That’s insane; we shouldn’t underestimate the Federation’s army either!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Even though Mo Fan was surprised to see the Federation Army’s true strength, he was more interested in the Replicating Seal’s power.

If he was able to replicate his destructive spells…

Imagine the Replicating Seal replicating his Lightning Star Palace… it would have double the flavor!

The Replicating Seal was only an Advanced Spell, thus it would take him less energy to construct it than constructing a Lightning Palace.

It was basically buy one and get the second one at half price!

He had to learn the Replicating Seal!

His Chaos Element had long reached the Advanced Level. If the Federation’s army could learn it, why couldn’t he?

——

A regiment of three thousand Mages was already quite intimidating, but the Replicating Seal had turned it into a regiment of six thousand Mages. Even the Brown Rebels’ Wind Warship was struggling to fend it off.

The assault troops had gradually seized the fort. The fort was the Wind Warship’s foundation. It was on the verge of collapsing after losing its foundation.

The large Wind Warship finally crumbled to the ground after a few more rounds of spells.

A few hundred Wind Mages had already left the Wind Warship and fled for their lives to the west.

The replicated spells circled in the sky and chased after those who were running away.

The Brown Rebels of the Cold Storage Fort ended up running away miserably. The fort they had made eventually collapsed to the ground.

These temporary forts were mostly constructed by Earth Mages who were specialized builders with readily available material nearby. As a matter of fact, it would be quicker to take down the fort by hunting down the builders.

Unfortunately, the builders were important assets to an army. They would rather lose a Wind Warship just to guarantee those men’s safety. They were surely under the Brown Rebels’ heavy protection.

——

The Federation Army quickly built sentry towers in the vicinity after reclaiming the cold storage marketplace, raising their flags around the marketplace.

Those flags were very important. After all, there were other regiments fighting the Brown Rebels in Banlo City. They could retreat to the places where their flags waved when necessary.

Most surprisingly, the regiment at the cold market storage was the first to take down one of the Brown Rebels’ hardpoints. Many soldiers of the Federation Army came to the cold storage marketplace to catch their breaths. The regiment under Colonel Blair’s leadership grew bigger as a result.

—

“HAHA, Major Mason, you are truly talented at leading an assault! If it weren’t for your brave men who were willing to sacrifice their lives to take down the enemies, we wouldn’t have been able to take down the fortress so quickly. Our casualties are a lot lower compared to other regiments,” Colonel Blair exclaimed with great excitement.

“It was a blessing from Forneus. I didn’t expect my men and I to survive the battle.” The apish Major Mason glanced at his surviving senior sergeants.

There were not many survivors among his troops, but the three who claimed to be students from the Aorus Sacred Institute’s branch were perfectly fine.

It was unbelievable!

Besides, judging from Colonel Blair’s tone, it sounded like they were going to be promoted again!

Chapter 2299: Exposed at Last

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A flag was raised on the cold storage marketplace.

The former Colonel Blair had suddenly become the brightest star in the Federation’s army. He even had a seat in the highest meeting among the leaders.

The meeting was held at the command center. The decision that the persons made in the meeting would decide the outcome of the war.

The new Brigadier General Blair never thought he would have the chance to take the same seats as his most respected superiors in his lifetime. They were going to discuss their plans to drive the Brown Rebels out of the tropical woods.

The battle in Banlo City was to reclaim the city. However, the Brown Rebels had occupied the woods between the Scorching River and Banlo City. They had to drive the Brown Rebels back to the other side of the Scorching River at all costs!

They would then worry about reclaiming Half-Ridge Mountain City afterwards.

The first thing Brigadier General Blair did was reward his men based on their contribution in the battles after he was given more authority.

The assault troops had the highest rate of deaths, but the rewards they received were the greatest, too. It was obvious that the new Lt. Colonel Mason was going to receive the highest merit!

The assault troops he led had destroyed the fort’s foundation. Without them, the Cross Chaos Formation would never have gotten in range to take down the Wind Warship.

The Cross Chaos Formation was powerful. However, it had a great weakness: its attack range was limited, and its movement was very slow.

The enemy’s Wind Warship had been located on high ground, making the Cross Chaos Formation an easy target. If the Wind Warship had focused its attack on the Cross Chaos Formation, a Wind Gear Wheel could take out half its Mages before they were close enough to attack the enemy. They would have had no chance of taking down the fort and the Wind Warship.

The assault troops had played an important role in the battle. They had to force their way through the enemy’s lines and go close enough to the Wind Warship to disrupt its attacks so the Cross Chaos Formation was clear to do its job.

“Mason, you must have noticed that many Mages were willing to join our regiment after we raised the flag on the cold storage marketplace. I’ve decided to place you in charge of them. They have just finished the headcount. There’s a total of thirteen hundred Mages!

“Mason, you are now leading a thousand men!”

Brigadier General Blair patted Black Chimpanzee heavily on the shoulder, like he was utterly impressed by him.

Lt. Colonel Mason had yet to recover from the shock. He realized how weak the militia were when he saw how strong the Wind Warship was.

However, he was full of passion after he was promoted again!

He now had a thousand men under his lead!

He had once had a teacher who had scolded him as brainless and claimed he could never climb to the rank of a Lt. Colonel.

It turned out that his teacher was wrong!

He was now a Lt. Colonel, and he was only thirty-three years old!

A Lt. Colonel was basically the local tyrant in a second-tier or third-tier city. He could choose to marry the prettiest woman with the best figure and live in a mansion. Even the authorities of the city had to treat him with utter respect. He could do whatever he pleased!

“We’ll attack the enemy’s base in the woods in our next operation. I hope you will continue to show your heroism in the upcoming battle and aim to spread your name across the whole Federation!” Brigadier General Blaire kept motivating Mason.

“What? Are you saying that I’m famous?” Mason exclaimed.

“Of course, go ask around in our army. Who dares to say they don’t know who the Horn of the Army, Mason, is?” Blaire proclaimed.

Horn of the Army!

It was such an impressive title!

Mason nodded crazily. He felt like he had been possessed by the God of the Military!

“Your men have contributed greatly to the army, too. They are promoted to lieutenants! Keep up the good work, you are all heroes of the Federation, the guardians of our nation!” Blaire patted Mason’s men on the shoulders.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai were perfectly calm, but the young man with a nose stud and the others who had survived almost had an urge to tilt their heads and kiss their shoulders!

They felt honored to be motivated by their superior!

They even felt like their magic had been enhanced by their motivation!

——

Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan were given new uniforms again after leaving the camp.

“You three… come with me,” the new Lt. Colonel Mason ordered Mo Fan and his friends sternly.

Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat.

It seemed like the Black Chimpanzee was not a complete idiot. He had realized something after the two battles.

“Humph, do you think I have no idea what you are up to…” the Black Chimpanzee rolled his eyes.

“Heh, it sounds like you’ve figured it out,” Zhao Manyan said proudly.

They were not supposed to be foot soldiers. They could easily affect the outcome of an entire battle with their strength!

“I’ll make it straight, you three better stick close to me if you want to live. You must protect me when the time comes, do you understand?” Lt. Colonel Mason said protectively.

“What?”

“You will make it straight?”

“Stick close to you?”

The three immediately had question marks all over their heads.

“Are you guys dumb or what? Haven’t you realized something after the two battles? You were only petty foot soldiers when you first joined the army. Do you think you have climbed to the rank of lieutenants by yourselves?” Mason harrumphed coldly.

“Uhh…” Mo Fan was lost for words.

“Forneus, have you heard of the goddess Forneus? She’s the mother of the woods, the gentlest and most dependable Goddess of the Andes Mountains. I’ve been worshiping her by kneeling on banana leaves since I was five. I’ve finally moved her with my sincerity after thirty years!” Mason exclaimed piously.

The three exchanged glances with colorful expressions.

“You are saying that you’ve been winning battles and climbing the ranks because you have been worshiping a tree since you were five?” Mo Fan probed carefully.

“Exactly!” Mason declared confidently.

“Fine, as long as you’re happy.” Mu Bai did not bother explaining further.

“The three of you must have caught some of my blessings since you have been following me from the beginning, but I don’t mind at all, since we have gone through Hell together. As long as I am around, you will all climb the ranks with me. If possible, I’ll let you worship Forneus together with me!” Mason went on reverently.

—

Mason left after finishing the sentence, going off to count his new recruits.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai stared at his back.

“How surprising, I’ve never seen anyone as stupid as him!” Mo Fan exclaimed in admiration.

“I’m extremely touched by his intelligence…” Zhao Manyan agreed quietly.

“I’m fine with it, we can conceal our identities better. The longer it takes the Brown Rebels to find us, the better it is for us!” Mu Bai took a moment to come up with a comfortable excuse in an approving voice.

Chapter 2300: Crossing the Marsh

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The rain had lasted for more than fifteen hours by now.

The terrain around Banlo City was mainly tropical woods and swamps. The shallow wet ground had turned into little ponds covered by algae.

Mud was constantly washing down from the Andes Mountains. The woods were soaked in a lake of mud, leaving little solid ground.

The Brown Rebels had already adapted to the environment. They were using the vines in the woods to create walkable paths.

It was similar to putting a net on the surface of water. Those who were familiar with walking on the vines could move freely around the swamp.

The Federation’s army was obviously not very good at it. A huge army had gathered outside Banlo City, but it stopped moving after it reached the swamps and the woods.

The country was still in chaos after the riot. The Federation would slowly lose its influence and power if it could not stop the negative news from spreading. The people would think the Federation was no longer the only ruler in the country. Other factions who were disloyal to the Federation would rise and revolt against it, and it would have difficulty handling the situation.

It was important to stop the revolt as quickly as possible. They had to drive the Brown Rebels back to the other side of the Scorching River within two days.

The Federation Army’s time was running short, especially since they had to cross the terrible environment that was the swamp and the woods.

The Browns had built walls and forts to stop the Federation Army inside Banlo City, but the Federation Army had still managed to break through them.

However, once they were in the swamps and woods, they might be trapped forever in them before they even saw someone to fight!

The whole army was hindered by the swamp. Having more men was not going to make a difference.

——

The army had no choice but to move forward under the heavy pressure from the leaders of the Federation.

They did not encounter any resistance from the Brown Rebels, at first.

However, when the army reached the swamps, some cunning fighters began using Water and Earth Spells to hinder their movement and split the assault troops off from the main army.

The Brown Rebels’ Wind Warships were able to move freely about the swamp. They began targeting the troops that had been separated from the main army.

Two hours later, the Federation Army realized something was not right. It quickly ordered its men to withdraw.

Even with their quick reaction, the Federation Army ended up losing a third of their men in the swamps. Those who survived did not catch even a glimpse of their enemies.

“Should we ask Ice Mages to freeze the woods?”

“We might need a Forbidden Ice Mage for that.”

“Those cunning Brown moles, they were luring us into the swamps and the woods on purpose!”

“What should we do now? Our superiors already gave the order that militia Mages like us have to cross the swamp to reach the enemy base in the woods, but I doubt we are going to survive if we go in again,” a disheveled Mage protested.

The captains of the volunteer Mages expressed their worries. They all realized the Federation had their necks under the edge of a knife, forcing them to keep pushing forward, yet the enemies ahead were lining up their bows at them!

“Why are you so scared? The woods are our territory. Just follow me, we will destroy their base and show them who’s the owner of the Scorching River!” the Black Chimpanzee shouted firmly, slamming his palm against a table.

“Our territory? Lt. Colonel Mason, do you have an idea how we can overcome the hindrance in the swamps?” the captain with disheveled hair asked.

“Victory will be ours as long as you follow my footsteps!” Mason declared.

Mo Fan was waiting for Mason to come up with a brilliant idea, but had an urge to slap himself on the forehead when he saw the confident look on Mason’s face.

Don’t tell me this idiot really thinks he’s possessed by a god?

“Mo Fan, we can’t put all our hope on this idiot to win the battle in the swamps. We have a thousand men in our regiment. We won’t be able to get too far without their help!” Mu Bai murmured to him.

“I know, but I don’t like fighting in an environment like that, either. Both the rain and the swamps greatly limit my Fire Element. The woods, vines, and algae will hinder my Lightning Magic from spreading too,” Mo Fan replied grimly.

The plants in the woods were too dense, basically providing the Browns with a natural barrier. Mo Fan’s Lightning had to go through all the obstructions to reach them if they stayed close to the plants.

His Lightning Magic would be a lot weaker than when it was used in an open and spacious area.

Zhao Manyan came closer and asked, “What about your Vengeful Seeds? Are they any good?”

“They are, but the problem is, the spikes won’t necessarily kill the enemies if they hide behind the trees or above the canopy,” Mu Bai answered doubtfully.

“You’re right, I bet these soldiers are going to die before they see anyone. The Vengeful Seeds aren’t going to do much,” Mo Fan agreed.

Lt. Colonel Mason came over as they were talking among themselves. “What are you three mumbling about? Don’t tell me you are scared, you are now Lieutenants with a few Intermediate Mages taking orders from you. You must live up to your expectations!” the man encouraged them.

“Sir, even though you are blessed by Forneus, I doubt she’s always free like a housewife who sits on the couch and eats sunflower seeds while enjoying your show. She would have to look at other followers, too. If you are in trouble when she switched stations, wouldn’t it be a pity for you?” Zhao Manyan suggested.

Mason seemed to agree with that. “So?” the apish officer asked.

“So, we can’t step into the traps the enemies have prepared for us. We have to come up with a plan to outsmart them,” Zhao Manyan recommended.

“What stupid ideas do you have?” Mason raised his brows.

Zhao Manyan’s face darkened. How dare you call my ideas stupid?

It was really strenuous talking to an idiot like him!

“The plants are dense in the woods, while the rain and the mist are limiting our vision. If we are having trouble seeing the Browns, how did they know where we are?” Zhao Manyan explained.

“I think I understand what you are saying!” Mason cried out. “We can cut down the plants to clear the mist!”

Zhao Manyan froze immediately.

My gods… even the black chimpanzees in the zoo are smarter than this guy!

How were they supposed to cut down all the trees of such a huge forest?

If cutting down the trees would drive away the rain, why would they go through so much trouble just to take down Wu Ku?

Chapter 2301: Life-Hanging Flies

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

(Cough cough!) “What he meant was, the enemies must have been watching us through some special method. If we can get rid of them, the enemies will be as blind as us,” Mi Bai spoke up.

“Yes, you are right. They must be watching us somehow. Thank you Forneus, for relating such a piece of important information to me through others when you weren’t looking at me all the time!” Mason blurted out excitedly.

Forneus my ass! Zhao Manyan almost lost his temper.

It was hard to predict what was going to happen before going into the swamps and the woods. However, the Browns were obviously spying on them.

The Browns knew where they were, yet they had no idea where the Browns were hiding..

They had to go inside the swamps and the woods to learn what the enemy was relying on. The earlier they figured it out, the lower the casualties on their side!

——

The groups of scouts the army sent out previously had extremely low rates of survival.

In the end, Brigadier General Blaire had to recommend Lt. Colonel Mason, who had managed to outwit their enemy twice.

As a result, Mason’s men had become the army’s vanguard once again.

As long as the fog lamps were lit up, the army would be able to keep going. The rest would follow where the fog lamps were guiding them.

It was the nature of the environment in the swampy woods. The swamps would devour anyone who dared to enter them alone.

Under the swamps lay the bones of their many victims!

——

The swamps smelled strongly of mud and algae.

Whenever the raindrops fell on the rotten plants, the foul smell would rise into the air.

The flies were circling the corpses, whether they belonged to animals, demon creatures, or humans. They were like tiny condors from the deserts, feeding on rotten flesh and preying on dying creatures.

“Those are Life-Hanging Flies. I heard some old people mentioned they are the transformed form of an ancient prophet of dark magic. They roam endlessly in these swamps. If someone is about to die, they will circle above the person. The person will die in less than half a day. No one has ever escaped from the curse!” the man with a nose stud, who was named Cory, informed everyone.

“So you’re saying we are all going to die soon?” Mo Fan looked up and stared at the Life-Hanging Flies circling their heads.

The Life-Hanging Flies had insane numbers. Their regiment had more than a thousand people, yet each of them had a few dozen Life-Hanging Flies circling their heads. It looked like a gray cloud was floating around their heads like their souls were leaving their bodies!

The Life-Hanging Flies had been hanging onto their heads since they entered the swamps.

There were a lot of locals among the Federation forces. They were extremely terrified of the Life-Hanging Flies, considering the Life-Hanging Flies a bad omen.

However, they could not drive the Life-Hanging Flies away. It did not matter if they burned the Life-Hanging Flies into ashes with their magic, since many more would soon come from all directions and gather above their heads.

“Don’t be afraid, we are blessed by the Mother of the Woods. These flies and their curse will never kill us!” Mason proclaimed when he saw his men in low spirits.

“Sir, you have the most Life-Hanging Flies over your head,” a new lieutenant pointed out to him.

“Oh, any Poison Mages here? Can you please figure out what’s going on?” Mason asked after a startled look.

—

The numbers of the Life-Hanging Flies kept increasing. Even if the Brown Rebels were blind, they could easily tell where the Federation Army was from the noise the flies were making.

“Mu Bai, is there anything strange about these flies?” Mo Fan asked quietly.

“I can’t say for sure, there are a lot of tiny organisms in this world. They have better alertness and ability to predict danger, like how some animals are able to predict an avalanche, earthquake, or storm…” Mu Bai said.

“Which means we might be in trouble if we keep going on like this?” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

“More or less, these Life-Hanging Flies are very familiar with the swamps. They know where the dangers and traps are, so they have basically placed a claim on us in case some other creatures come and steal their food,” Mu Bai explained from a scientific angle.

Killing and driving away the Life-Hanging Flies was meaningless. They were not the direct cause of death.

They were merely waiting for the living to die. As for why these people died, there had to be something deadly in the swamps.

The Life-Hanging Flies knew what the thing was, but the Federation Army who had just come into the swamps had no idea what it was. The Life-Hanging Flies were merely following their own instincts, but as rumors started to spread, they suddenly became a curse…

“Help, someone, pull me out!” Someone was shrieking like a crow that had fallen into water.

“There’s quicksand ahead, look out!”

“Damn it, I can’t pull my legs out too…”

The group of people who were leading the way were stuck in quicksand.

The quicksand was holding them tightly. Some had already sunken to their knees.

However, they were unable to pull their legs out no matter how hard they tried. They were only sinking deeper!

“Earth Mages, what are you doing? Use Earth Wave!” Mason yelled.

The Earth Mages quickly constructed Star Orbits. Brown Stars spread rapidly across the swamp.

However, the soil in the swamp was abnormal. The Earth Wave that was supposed to alter the structure of the soil was not working here!

“Pull me up, quick, I’m almost out of breath!” someone yelled, just before his head dropped below the surface of the mud.

The mud had climbed over his chin. It poured into his mouth as he finished the sentence.

The man would soon die of suffocation after his mouth was filled with mud.

“What’s going on? Is this mud some kind of bottomless abyss?” Mason blurted out in shock.

“Sir, check this out!”

Cory was a Summoner. He Summoned a creature that resembled a hippopotamus.

A Plant Mage immediately Summoned some vines. They wrapped around the chin and neck of the suffocating soldier while the other ends of the vines were tied to the Hippopotamus Beast.

1

If humans were not strong enough to drag the soldiers out of the mud, a Summoned Beast might be able to do it.

Cory patted the Summoned Beast on the back.

The Hippopotamus Beast was very strong. It was leaving deep footprints as it gathered its strength.

The Hippopotamus Beast did not let the soldiers down. It soon dragged the soldier who was almost drowned out of the mud.

Unfortunately… his body did not come out with his head!

Blood was pouring out of his neck, which was still stuck under the mud. It was like a little red fountain.

The head tied to the vines fell beside Cory and his Hippopotamus Beast. The terrifying expression on it sent shivers down everyone’s spine!

Chapter 2302: The Thing Under the Mud
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The large swarm of flies got their wish, and eagerly split into two clouds. One of them dove into the mud to feast on the dead body.

The other cloud lunged at the head and circled the stump like a gathering around a bonfire.

The head had retained the soldier’s terrified, wide-eyed expression.

He thought he was saved when the Hippopotamus Beast pulled him out of the mud, but he did not expect it to tear off his neck.

The noise of the flies was utterly annoying, even amid the loud rain.

Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan went over to the dead body. Their hearts sank when they saw what had happened.

“Is there really no way we can save them?” Lt. Colonel Mason asked in disbelief.

The lieutenants shook their heads.

The regiment had over a thousand people, and many of them had fallen into the mud. The same tragedy that happened to the first soldier was happening to other soldiers in the swamps.

The mud only covered the ankles of some of the soldiers, yet they still were struggling to pull their feet out.

They were basically dead once their legs sank into the mud!

More Life-Hanging Flies came over to feast on the corpses. They were able to dive into the mud and fly out of it after they were done eating. They would then look for a tree hole in the woods to lay their eggs.

It was true that the Life-Hanging Flies were able to predict one’s death!

“Old Zhao, even you can’t dig them out?” Mo Fan asked quietly.

Zhao Manyan shook his head.

He was already a Super Earth Mage, yet he was still having trouble altering the structure of the swamp.

Those with half their bodies under the mud felt like their bodies had become one with the swamp. Trying to drag them out of the swamp with force was only going to tear them in half!

“If I freeze the whole swamp, it’s basically telling the Brown Rebels where we are,” Mu Bai said helplessly.

——–

Time gradually passed. The grass patches that were safe to walk on were slowly covered by mud as the water level rose.

The mud was in patches at first, like a wet field with walkable ridges between the sections.

However, the patches joined together as the rain kept falling. The walkable ridges were soon drowned under the mud.

They had no chance of crossing the swamp, and they would be in trouble if they stayed still for too long.

If they moved, they might step into the deadly mud by accident. If they did not move, they were waiting for the mud to devour them!

“Mo Fan, what are you doing? Are you going to bury the head so it can find its peace? I think it would rather want you to dry it out on a tree than be buried under the ground here,” Zhao Manyan scoffed.

Mo Fan lifted the torn head and inspected it carefully, ignoring him.

Mo Fan pointed at the stump of the neck and said, “The head still has a part of its neck under it. There’s some mud here.”

“Damn it, they say those who handle cinnabar are stained red, while those who work with ink are stained black. Don’t you be like Mu Bai!” Zhao Manyan immediately looked away.

“They are struggling to pull their legs out after stepping into the mud, but look at this part of his neck. It was already under the mud, but the Hippopotamus Beast tore him in half because of its outstanding strength,” Mo Fan pointed out.

“Can you please take my feelings into consideration? I have no interest in dead bodies!” Zhao Manyan swore impatiently, not looking.

Mu Bai, however, stuck his face in and inspected the dead body closely.

“The mud is sticky, but it doesn’t make sense that it has such a strong pulling force,” Mu Bai muttered.

“Take a look at this.” Mo Fan turned the head around.

Zhao Manyan went to the side and vomited.

Mu Bai looked closer and noticed something unusual. “Fingerprints?” he exclaimed.

“Claw marks,” Mo Fan corrected. He wiped the mud off the neck and revealed a faint claw mark on it.

“Something is grabbing them from under the mud!” Mu Bai exclaimed.

Mo Fan nodded.

The soil was fine. Mo Fan was also an Earth Mage, and had checked the mud thoroughly.

The mud might be sticky, but there was no way it was strong enough to resist Mo Fan’s Telekinesis or a Summoned Beast’s strength. Therefore, Mo Fan was suspecting that either the Curse Magic was in play, or there was something unusual under the mud.

“Yeah, but I have no clue what it is for now,” Mo Fan said.

“If there’s really something down there, the Life-Hanging Flies might be able to outline it for us,” Mu Bai said.

Mo Fan did not understand.

Mu Bai opened his hand. He was holding a dark blue powder that looked like some Demon-Tracking Powder. It began floating toward the Life-Hanging Flies instead of disappearing in the rain.

“I’ve applied this Blue Fluorescence Bone Powder to the Life-Hanging Flies that are diving into the mud,” Mu Bai told him.

“Smart!” Mo Fan raised his thumb at Mu Bai.

“We should see something soon.” Mu Bai stared at the swamp.

The Blue Fluorescence Bone Powder was a kind of colorful powder that would attach to demon creatures and could not be removed easily. It was an advanced magic powder designed to track down demon creatures. Only skilled herbalists knew how to mix the powder. It was a hot-seller among the Hunters.

Mu Bai was indeed getting better at being a herbalist.

The Blue Fluorescent Bone Powder was effective against spirits, phantoms, and invisible creatures. The powder would make them glow with fluorescence.

They would be able to see the light of the Blue Fluorescent Bone Powder through the mud, unless the creatures were deep in the mud.

“Sir, there’s something in the mud. Ask the soldiers to keep an eye on the dark blue glow,” Mo Fan warned Lt. Colonel Mason.

“What is it?” Mason asked quickly.

“We don’t know, we are still looking for it,” Mo Fan said.

The swamp was as calm as a black lake. There were no strange bubbles or movement on it.

The Black Fluorescent Bone Powder was stuck to the Life-Hanging Flies.

The soldiers could see a faint blue light, which was like glowing sand in the mud. It was the Life-Hanging Flies, feeding on the corpses.

The blue light soon outlined human figures in the mud. The mages above were disgusted by the sight.

However, the soldiers were dumbfounded after seeing the changes made visible by the Blue Fluorescent Bone Powder!

The human figures were moving! They were moving toward the soldiers who had just fallen into the mud!

They had already died of suffocation, yet they were reaching out their arms to grab the ankles of the soldiers who were still alive.

They were like fiends from Hell who were dragging living humans into the mud!

The soldiers were staring at the outlines of the human figures, but their scalps had gone numb just watching them.

It was not some other creatures that were dragging the soldiers into the mud.

It was the dead soldiers, who were dragging down their own friendlies!

Chapter 2303: Skeletal Demon Tree

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Were they holding strong grievances toward the others for not saving them when they died, and so they were dragging the others into the mud like vengeful spirits?

“Undead spirits?” the soldiers blurted out in a panic.

“I don’t think so. Even though humans might turn into Undead spirits when they die, the process normally takes some time. They won’t turn into aggressive Undead spirits so quickly!” Mo Fan shook his head.

These were not zombies in an American film, where the people who died would suddenly open their bloodshot eyes and bite others on the neck.

The relationship between dead bodies and Undead was like rice and wine.

It was necessary to seal the rice in an enclosed environment for fermentation. The swamp might be a perfect enclosed environment for Undead spirits to be born in, but it would take longer than a few seconds!

If the people who were dead for only a few minutes would turn into Undead that attacked nearby people, wouldn’t the world be ruled by the Undead by now?

The Undead could only be born under certain circumstances, given the right conditions and time.

The soldiers who were holding the feet of the others were very odd. Mo Fan had no idea what they were exactly.

Cory pointed at the swamp and shouted, “Look, the dead bodies are moving again!”

The dark blue lights were moving. The Life-Hanging Flies were attached to the dead bodies they were feeding on, clearly outlining the corpses with their overwhelming numbers.

The dead bodies in the swamp started gathering in a certain direction after they could not find any targets nearby.

It was like they were swimming under the mud. Over a hundred drowned soldiers soon gathered around an old tree.

The old tree sat above the swamp. The mud had already reached the middle of its trunk. Its branches had odd shapes, and were spread in the rain with wilted leaves dangling off them. The leaves were dancing like evil spirits as the wind was blowing.

The dead soldiers had gathered close to the tree’s roots. It was obvious that the tree’s roots covered a great area, at least a thousand square meters.

The strange thing was, the corpses did not scatter around the tree messily. They instead resembled the branches of a tree .

If Mo Fan did not think of the blue outlines as dead corpses. The Blue Fluorescent Bone Powder had actually formed the outline of a huge tree under the mud!

It would be an impressive sight if Mo Fan flipped the tree upside down!

“I know what it is!” Mo Fan declared with a frown.

“There’s something wrong with that tree,” Zhao Manyan agreed.

Mo Fan whispered into Mu Bai’s ear. Mu Bai nodded and slowly backed away.

Zhao Manyan seemed quite impatient, yet Mo Fan stopped talking halfway. No one could possibly remain calm after witnessing the deaths of the soldiers.

Lt. Colonel Mason and his men all had pale faces.

Something unknown was reaping the lives of their comrades, yet they could not find any explanation as to what was going on.

No one knew who would be dragged into the mud next. Most important, they would not rest in peace after they died!

“Order!”

Mo Fan’s eyes began to change. They were like black starry skies when he used the Chaos Element. A mysterious cold light was glowing deep inside them.

Mo Fan had yet to awaken the Superpower of the Chaos Element, but his eyes would transform whenever he used the Chaos and Space Elements.

Dimensional Magic mainly relied on a person’s Will. Focusing and paying full attention were the best ways to control it.

“Overturn!”

Mo Fan wrapped the area of the old tree with his Will and gained control of its order.

The swamp was huge, and Mo Fan’s Chaos Element’s area of effect was extremely limited. However, after learning where the enemy was, he just had to focus his magic on the area around the tree. He did not have trouble manipulating the order of that area.

The surroundings of the tree started changing. The rules in the area had been modified by Mo Fan’s Chaos Magic.

The rain was the first to fall in the opposite direction, rising into the sky instead of falling to the ground.

The wind that was blowing changed direction, too. It was blowing in random directions, like headless flies.

As stronger Chaos Magic descended, the swamp under the tree began behaving strangely too.

Water started rising into the sky like the rain. The thick mud followed, and rose into the sky in lumps, as if they were no longer bound by gravity.

The Domain of Order: Overturn!

The soldiers’ eyes widened. They stared at the strange sight with wide eyes. It was like a film being played backward.

“Forneus has blessed us again!” Lt. Colonel Mason almost dropped to his knees.

Mo Fan almost lost control of his Chaos Magic when he heard those words. He took a deep breath and continued to influence the swamp with his Chaos Magic.

More lumps of mud were rising into the sky, revealing the terrifying sight under the mud to the soldiers.

The soldiers gasped when the mud under the tree had been cleared away.

The old tree turned out to be a demon!

Most plants had roots under the ground and soil. The roots would absorb nutrients under the ground to sustain the plants’ life.

However, it was the opposite for the old tree. The branches above the surface were its roots. Its trunk, branches, and leaves were under the mud!

Its trunk was stuck into the mud. When the mud disappeared, its trunk, which was made of white bone, was exposed to the air!

Its branches were made of white bone too. The bones had even connected into joints, allowing them to move around freely.

The branches reached throughout the swamp like complicated tunnels under a city.

The leaves were the worst. At the end of the branches were leaves shaped like claws.

Huge bones as the trunk, joints as the branches, and claws as the leaves!

The tree was basically made up of skeletons!

The claws were cracking like the rustling of leaves while the branches were moving wildly, just like human arms. The soldiers almost fainted from shock after seeing its true appearance.

“What the Hells is that thing!?” Zhao Manyan almost vomited again.

Not only did it have a disgusting appearance, it was intimidating to look at!

Chapter 2304: Necromancer

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A city might be flourishing, but the filth where the rats were swimming in the sewers would still be quite disgusting when the pipes were dug up.

It was the same for the old tree!

It looked just like an environment-friendly old tree in the swamp, yet when Mo Fan revealed its true appearance under the mud with the Chaos Magic, the soldiers either fainted or vomited after seeing it. It was so disgusting that the people felt like their throats were stuck with bones as they breathed!

The dead soldiers were not moving on their own, nor were they turned into Undead.

They were already dead, but their bodies were stuck on the branches, which was controlling them to drag their comrades into the mud, too!

At first, the claws were grabbing at the soldiers to prevent them from breaking free.

The claws then controlled their corpses like string puppets. The dead bodies were stronger and were able to move around more freely.

The Life-Hanging Flies’ job was to decompose the dead so that the Skeleton Demon Tree could absorb their nutrients.

The Skeleton Demon Tree had to control corpses manually, so their movements were as stiff as puppets. After they decomposed into skeletons, they would become part of the Skeleton Demon Tree after their bones were connected to it.

The Life-Hanging Flies were the Skeleton Demon Tree’s digestive system!

They were active in the swamp close to the Skeleton Demon Tree. They would quickly reserve a seat on the Skeleton Demon Tree’s prey as soon as targets entered its territory.

The people only knew they were close to death when they saw the Life-Hanging Flies. They had no idea how they actually died, nor what happened after they fell into the mud.

The locals treated the Life-Hanging Flies like a curse, yet little did they know, the Life-Hanging Flies were actually the culprit’s gastric juices. The soldiers were already inside the culprit’s stomach after setting foot into the swamp!

The soldiers who had died not long ago only had small amounts of flesh left.

The Skeleton Soldiers started moving again under the control of the leaves. They sounded like the annoying clanking of a few hundred metallic shelves knocking into one another.

The tree was turned upside down, revealing its true appearance in front of the soldiers. However, it did not seem embarrassed or panicked, as it was controlling its skeleton puppets to stare back at the soldiers instead!

Killing its enemies with traps would leave them confused, but since its disguise had already been torn apart, it did not mind hunting the soldiers directly!

The old tree was able to turn its trunk around. It started spinning like a machine.

Its branches were flung wildly, carrying the skeleton soldiers who were stuck on them.

White bones, bones that still had rotten flesh on them, claws that were moving around freely, and a few hundred skeletons soon formed a huge tornado!

The sight was rather terrifying, yet for some reason, the skeletons were like enjoying a ride on a carousel in Mo Fan’s eyes.

Mo Fan shook his head.

Perhaps the old ladies had been showing off their wishes when they were young on the Internet lately, so Mo Fan assumed the dead bodies also had a wish to enjoy a ride on a carousel before their deaths.

But not everyone could remain calm and collected like him in a situation like this. Many soldiers of the Federation were vomiting white froth. Their eyes were full of the creature’s ghastly appearance, and they could no longer think of the Magic Orbits. Their minds were filled with the sight of the bones and claws.

“I swear I won’t take another look at the monster again.”

“I swear I won’t turn into a part of that monster even if I die.”

“Use your magic and kill it, then! Otherwise, the things you are worried about are going to happen!”

The soldiers dissolved into chaos. Many even stepped into the swamp by accident amid the chaos.

They were scared, and began running for their lives.

They ended up falling into the swamp as they were fleeing for their lives. They would soon become a family if they did not climb out of the swamp in time!

Mo Fan’s Chaos Magic was not applied to the whole swamp. It was only active close to the tree, which was surrounded by a spacious swamp.

If every tree turned out to be a Skeleton Demon Tree, they would find themselves in the Skeleton Demon Trees’ den. Trying to run away was no different from presenting themselves at the dining table!

Mo Fan’s powerful magic was not going to stop his comrades from getting themselves killed. However, he would have to fight these Skeleton Demon Trees with his true strength.

Lt. Colonel Mason was still grumbling. He always repeated the same sentence, “I’m going to kill anyone who dares to move backward!”

Unfortunately, he would struggle to kill everyone that was running away, even if he had a machine gun. The soldiers had completely lost their minds after seeing the monster in the swamp.

“Why would a creature like this be hiding in a swamp so close to the city?” Zhao Manyan wondered.

“What are we doing now?” Mo Fan asked.

“We are fighting a war.”

“Exactly, it’s part of the enemy’s tricks!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

“A…a trick?” Zhao Manyan said with a weird expression, “I would think it’s more of a trump card than just a trick!”

Lt. Colonel Mason subconsciously drew closer to Mo Fan and his friends. Forneus seemed to have blessed his three stupid men too. He should be safe if he stayed close to them!

“That thing is too scary. Half of the soldiers have run away before the fighting even starts,” Mason spoke up.

“There should be…” Mo Fan was about to say something when he suddenly noticed a dark blue light flickering above the swamp.

Mo Fan grinned. Just as I thought…!

“Come, let’s go over there!” Mo Fan told Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan was stepping on the mud. He used the Earth Magic to form something like a surf board under his feet.

He slid forward along atop the mud in a cool manner, like he was not surrounded by deadly bones. He headed deeper into the swamp, where the water was fully covered with algae.

—

Mu Bai had restrained someone in a black outfit with his Ice Chains.

The man was wearing a brown bandanna; he was a member of the Brown Rebels!

He was holding a staff with a skull on it. The skull’s shape was very similar to the Skeleton Demon Tree. He was the one directing the Skeleton Demon Tree to kill the soldiers of the Federation Army.

Zhao Manyan stared at the man and blurted out in surprise, “A necromancer?”

“Hehehe, it’s a surprise to see someone with a brain from the Federation,” the necromancer grinned maniacally.

“We’ve seen through your tricks!” Mu Bai snapped.

“I’ve already killed forty-five hundred and seventy soldiers! It will soon reach five thousand after I’ve killed you all! A war is indeed like spring for a necromancer!” the necromancer crowed excitedly.

Chapter 2305: Driving the Necromancer Crazy

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Why does it have to reach five thousand?” Mo Fan asked cluelessly.

The necromancer was stunned. Shouldn’t a normal person be angry first?

After all, he was planning to kill everyone here. Shouldn’t this guy be worried about his life?

“Well… it’s part of my power. Do you know how a furnace works? I need a lot of ordinary material to refine metal with a high boiling point and get rid of the impurities. Most materials burn into ashes as they cannot withstand the high temperature, leaving only the real essence behind. Similarly, I can refine an Undead Essence after reaping five thousand souls!” The necromancer oddly did not mind answering Mo Fan’s question.

“What is the Undead Essence for?” Mo Fan pressed curiously.

The necromancer smacked his lips, his fingers constantly moving. He was controlling the Skeleton Demons and bringing them closer.

For some reason, he felt it was inappropriate to kill these soldiers before answering their questions.

“We are in the middle of a war,” Zhao Manyan mentioned to Mo Fan nervously.

“It’s fine, you won’t leave this swamp, either!” the necromancer said confidently.

“Why are you feeling so confident?” Mo Fan pressed.

“It’s very simple…” the necromancer smiled. He slowly lifted his other hand as if it was carrying something.

The swamp shuddered as he lifted his hand higher. The firm ground which comprised the above-ground points in the swamp collapsed into the mud.

The ground the soldiers of the Federation were standing on had collapsed. They could only climb onto the nearby plants and trees.

Little did they know, the trees were the source of the loud movement in the swamp!

Mo Fan did not have to use the Chaos Magic this time. The trees pulled their roots out of the mud themselves. They did not turn upside down, but they still revealed their true appearances to the soldiers.

A single Skeleton Demon Tree was scary enough for the soldiers, let alone a group of them!

The seemingly ordinary trees were like the stem of a carrot. You never knew how big the carrot under the ground was when pulling at the tiny stem!

The Skeleton Demon Trees might be slow, but their branches and leaves could reach hundreds of meters away.

The soldiers of the Federation Army suddenly found themselves in a primitive jungle. The only difference was, the trees were all skeletons. It was a terrifying skeletal forest!

“An Undead Essence is a precious seed used to plant one of these trees!” the necromancer answered Mo Fan’s question excitedly.

Mo Fan nodded. So that was it…

This necromancer might be serving the Brown Rebels, but he had also received a lot of benefits from the war in return. He had collected the dead bodies of the soldiers and buried them under the swamp to strengthen his Undead Magic.

No wonder he claimed a war was like spring for a necromancer…

“You must have taken out the scouts sent here by the Federation Army too, which means you are an important general of the Brown Rebels!” Mo Fan deduced happily.

The necromancer, Bucker, was startled.

Was the young man from the Federation Army blind? Could he not see the nine Skeleton Demon Trees across the swamp?

The number of skeleton soldiers in the swamp had already reached over two thousand, not to mention the actual strength of the Skeleton Demon Trees.

Was he not worried about being dismembered by the Skeleton Demon Trees? How come he was asking questions, instead of begging to spare his life?

The young man was simply uttering nonsense!

With his trees and himself guarding the swamp, the soldiers of the Federation Army were only going to offer themselves as sacrifices by jumping into his furnace!

He was a general of the undead, who did not need a single living man to fight for him!

Most importantly, he was a necromancer!

Every battle would have a lot of casualties, which gave necromancers endless room to grow. He would only become stronger with time.

“Sounds like he isn’t surveilling the Federation Army on behalf of the Brown Rebels. He’s just a rather fierce watchdog,” Mu Bai judged.

Mo Fan nodded. What a pity…

If the guy had been a scout for the Brown Rebels, it would have been a lot easier for them to break through the enemy’s lines after getting rid of him!

“Watchdog?” Bucker blurted out, his face twisting.

“The fierce kind,” Mo Fan added.

Assh***! Who cares if it was the fierce kind or not… A watchdog?!

Did they just say I am the Brown Rebels’ watchdog?!

“I’ve killed forty- five hundred and sixty soldiers of the Federation Army! Look around you, do you think you can leave here in one piece?!” Bucker yelled at them.

“I thought you said it was forty-five hundred and seventy,” Mo Fan corrected him.

Assh***!

Who would remember the exact number? It was not his main concern!

The most important thing was that everyone in the swamp was going to die! He was going to kill every soldier of the Federation Army brutally, regardless of their numbers!

“Perhaps I was focusing too much on explaining what is going to happen to these people…” Bucker took a deep breath.

It was meaningless to be angry at someone who was going to die.

The young man had described him as a watchdog. What about the skeleton soldiers under his command?

“I won’t let the Life-Hanging Flies devour you. I will hang you on the trees while you are still breathing, until your blood dries. I will air-dry your bodies and torture you before turning you into skeletons!” Bucker snarled viciously.

“It’s still raining, and the wind here is too wet to air-dry our bodies. Our bodies would only be crawling with insects and rot if you hang us on the trees. You should know better since you are a necromancer. How disappointing,” Mo Fan chided him again.

The word ‘disappointing’ echoed in Bucker’s ears like a clap of thunder.

He was so mad that he could not breathe properly!

Why had he bothered talking to someone who was going to die soon? He should have just killed them right away so he would not be so angry now!

“Just… die!” Bucker screamed at Mo Fan.

He reached his other hand at Mo Fan like a claw. The Skeleton Demon Trees nearby that were swinging about so wildly immediately whipped their branches at Mo Fan!

Chapter 2306: March of the Mud Crocodiles

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Almost every Skeleton Demon Tree in the swamp was stretching their claws out for Mo Fan. It was obvious how much Bucker hated Mo Fan right now.

“Demon Judgment Sword…” Zhao Manyan was about to construct a Light Star Palace when Mu Bai stopped him.

A Super Light Spell like the Demon Judgment Sword would kill the Skeleton Demon Trees instantly, but it would also alert the Brown Rebels that there were Super Mages in this company of soldiers.

The Brown Rebels had Super Mages, too. Once the trio was exposed, they would immediately attract the attention of strong enemy troops.

It was not like they could not afford to expose their strength in this war, but it was not the time. Their goal was to reach the Scorching River and take down Wu Ku!

The Federation Army had yet to reach the enemy’s base in the woods. Whether they could even make it to the Scorching River was still unknown, but the three of them did not want the Brown Rebels to notice them so soon.

“Rock Fang, Fort Wall!”

Mo Fan used his Earth Magic. Star Patterns kept glowing under his feet.

Rock Fangs jutted out from the mud and crossed in front of Mo Fan, building walls like a fort.

The walls surrounded Mo Fan and even stacked on top of his head to protect him. The skeletal claws had no chance to pry open rock controlled by a Heaven-inferior Seed.

“Rock Fang Thrust!”

Mo Fan Cast more magic extremely quickly. He immediately launched a counterattack after stopping the first round of attacks from the Skeleton Demon Trees.

More sharp rocks rose from the mud, appearing in bundles of ten instead of one by one.

The special effect of Sturdy Strike activated whenever Mo Fan attacked with his Earth Magic. The Rock Fangs had a metallic sheen on them, like they had been refined.

Since the Skeleton Demon Trees were made of bones, they were more or less solid, so the Sturdy Strike was very effective against them!

Mo Fan’s Rock Fangs tore a Skeleton Tree Demon into pieces. Even its trunk was on the verge of collapsing.

The skeleton soldiers stuck on the tree like puppets also fell to the ground. They were charging at Mo Fan angrily, as they could not feel any pain.

Mo Fan’s control of the Earth Magic was outstanding. He decided to stick to the Earth Element when he saw the skeleton soldiers running at him.

“March of the Mud Crocodiles!”

The swamp had plenty of Earth Magic around. The necromancer was not the only person who could abuse the swamp!

Mo Fan poured his Earth Magic into the mud. It suddenly became restless, large black bubbles popping on the surface.

Mud crocodiles of massive size suddenly appeared and surged forward hungrily. Their massive bodies lunged ferociously at the fragile small skeletons!

Their fangs were just as hard as the Rock Fangs Mo Fan had used previously. They were not real crocodiles, being made of mud and stone, but they were just as savage as a real demon crocodile.

Mo Fan had Summoned the Mud Crocodiles, taking control over the swamp with his Earth Magic.

Mo Fan could Summon a school of fish or sharks with a single thought. As for why he chose crocodiles, he believed a group of prehistoric crocodilian wako would look more menacing in the swamp.

The group of wako rushed across the swamp like a marching army. The skeletons might have had an advantage in numbers, but they had no chance of stopping the fierce wako!

Bones scattered through the air as the Mud Crocodiles smashed through the skeletons. The bones fell back into the mud like broken white stones.

“I wonder if you can reassemble your skeletons?” Mo Fan suddenly inquired.

Bucker almost vomited blood when he heard the question.

Reassemble the skeletons?

Those skeletons were not pure Undead creatures. He could not bring them back to life with a spell!

Bucker’s main power was the Skeleton Demon Trees, but the problem was that the Skeleton Demon Tree in front of Mo Fan was close to being destroyed. It would die as soon as the arrogant Mud Crocodiles rammed into it!

“You might have destroyed one of them, but do you think you can destroy them all?” Bucker screamed.

The rest of the Skeleton Demon Trees were moving toward Mo Fan. They kept shaking, dropping the skeleton soldiers off like overripe cherries.

There were skeletons everywhere in the swamp now. They completely ignored the rest of the Federation Army, charging at Mo Fan with a strong grudge, like they were going to tear him to pieces.

“Do you need a hand?” Mu Bai asked when he saw the tide of skeletons. They were crawling under the swamp waters too!

“Are you stupid? Shouldn’t you go and deal with that necromancer while I’m handling these skeletons?” Mo Fan yelled back at him.

“Uh… right.”

Most Mages who relied on Summoned Creatures would stand at the back. The necromancer would likely stay behind his undead, too!

However, Bucker did not seem to care about his position. Mu Bai was unable to tell whether he was stupid or fearless.

Mu Bai moved around a Skeleton Demon Tree. He noticed a shadow moving behind Bucker as he was about to make his move.

Mu Bai attacked right away, without taking a closer look at the shadow.

Bucker grinned coldly.

Mu Bai was using Ice Magic. Bucker cast an Ice Spell as well.

Their Ice Chains clashed loudly in the air as their fragments scattered everywhere.

Mu Bai was quite surprised when he discovered Bucker was a strong Ice Mage.

“Even if you are pretty good, my army of skeletons will soon overwhelm you! But since you want to die so much, I wouldn’t mind taking you out now!” Bucker said viciously.

Mu Bai did not use his Super Magic.

As a matter of fact, Bucker was indeed a strong Mage. He was most likely an important officer of the Brown Rebels, considering how strong his Undead and Ice Magic were.

However, he had decided to take on a regiment of the Federation Army alone, not to mention it was the regiment Mo Fan and his friends were in. He could only blame himself for being unlucky!

A war was indeed like spring for a necromancer, but it was most likely Bucker’s last spring, stumbling into them after the war had only just begun!

“Ice Wings!”

Mu Bai suddenly used a different spell. The ice shattered scattered in the rain turned into sharp ice feathers!

Chapter 2307: Thousand Vines and Magic Ropes

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The ice feathers rose behind Bucker like a bird spreading its wings.

Bucker gaped in shock, surprised that a little officer among the Federation troops had such an outstanding control of Ice Magic.

The ice bird spread its wings and drove its feathers at Bucker’s chest. Bucker immediately activated a Seal in his spirit.

White tibia bones sprang out of the mud. They quickly attached to Bucker’s body, white silk filling the gaps between the bones like spiderwebs.

Bone-Stringed Chest Armor!

Bucker did not expect these petty soldiers of the Federation to force him to use his magic Equipment. He was a little curious and confused.

These young lieutenants were clearly a lot stronger than the rest of the soldiers, yet their ranks were so low!

However, it was not that surprising, on second thought.

There had to be some impressive Mages serving the Federation. They would just be ordinary soldiers before they made any worthy contributions. It was a common thing that happened to students who had graduated from reputable schools.

The Aorus Sacred Institute had already declared its willingness to help the Federation. It was not difficult to guess where these young Mages were from, considering their outstanding strength and how close to Banlo City they were.

“You must be students of the Aorus Sacred Institute?” Bucker called out, dusting the icy shards off his armor.

“Close guess,” Mu Bai said, but he did not continue the conversation with Bucker. “Wild Vine Demon Ropes!”

Mu Bai did not give Bucker any time to react, as he was worried other soldiers from the Brown Rebels would soon arrive to back the man up. He had to finish the battle as quickly as possible, without using Super Magic!

Mu Bai’s fingers were long and slim. He adeptly controlled the magic vines and ropes, like a surgeon sewing up a patient’s wounds.

Bucker stared at Mu Bai’s fingers in confusion.

From his perspective, there was nothing on Mu Bai’s hands except for some thin vines. Was he showing off a magic trick?

Mu Bai suddenly flicked his finger. A vine sprang forward like a needle, forming a long arc in the air.

Bucker immediately backed away, but quickly realized the vine was not as easy to dodge as he imagined.

As the vine drew closer, Mu Bai suddenly spread his fingers. The vine immediately spread like a blossoming lotus!

The vines spread in all directions in front of Bucker, who was shocked by the sight before him. It felt like over a thousand hands were grabbing at him!

The vines were blocking his view. They did not just fill up the space in front of Bucker, but the space behind him too, leaving him with nowhere to escape!

“Bind!” Mu Bai clenched his fingers like a fisherman retrieving his net!

The vines tightened like steel cables, slicing Bucker’s Armor into pieces.

Bucker was stuck inside the net, bleeding from the cuts!

“Die!”

While Bucker was trapped, a shadow suddenly dashed out of the reeds!

Lt. Colonel Mason had been hiding behind the reeds for some time. He came out of cover when he saw Mu Bai had overwhelmed Bucker.

“Leave him alive…” Mu Bai tried to stop Mason, but the guy was hacking at Bucker with a burning Axe mercilessly.

Bucker was astounded by all this, not expecting Mu Bai’s magic to be so strong. Not only did the ordinary-looking vines break through his defenses, but they had also trapped him in a net.

Most importantly, he did not expect someone to be hiding behind him!

Bucker had placed all his attention on Mo Fan and Mu Bai, especially the former, whom he wanted to cut into pieces desperately.

As for Lt. Colonel Mason, Bucker had never thought of the petty and weak man as a threat.

“Die!” Mason yelled angrily, like he was having a final showdown with the enemy after a few hundred rounds.

The burning Axe was Mason’s Deathstrike Magic Equipment. He had also imbued it with his Wind Magic. Even though it could not match Mo Fan or Mu Bai’s spell in terms of strength, it did have an impressive appearance!

The magical vines shredded Bucker as he tried to dodge the burning Axe. He was soon covered in wounds.

He did not have a choice. The magic vines had wrapped him up like a sticky rice dumpling. He had no chance of defending himself!

“This is for killing my men!” Lt. Colonel Mason howled, venting all his fear and frustrations on Bucker.

Bucker was already wounded beyond recognition, yet his eyes were still looking in another direction.

He knew he was going to die, but his Undead would not disappear just because of his death.

His Undead were driven by hatred to get their revenge. If he died, the Undead who were bound to him by a Soul Contract would swiftly devour his soul and go berserk.

He had so many Skeleton Demon Trees and skeleton soldiers. They would destroy every living creature within five kilometers once they went berserk!

A strange lightning strike fell from the sky. It struck a Skeleton Demon Tree and rapidly split into a few dozen lightning chains.

Even the slightest spark from the chains was enough to disintegrate the skeleton soldiers, let alone those who were directly caught by the lightning.

The strange lightning chains killed half of the Undead within seconds. Their bones scattered across the ground like tumbling building blocks.

Bucker was dumbfounded by the last sight he saw before losing his last breath!

Not only was the pale Mage stronger than expected, but the annoying kid seemed to possess extraordinary power, too…

Who exactly are they? Why was my Gear and Undead Magic unable to withstand a single blow from them?

Bucker died in disbelief and confusion. The swamp gradually reclaimed its peace.

Lt. Colonel Mason was still taking out his anger and frustration on Bucker’s corpse. The rest of the soldiers slowly approached him after they saw the enemy had been taken out.

“Sir, you’ve killed an important person of the Brown Rebels!”

“So he’s a Necromancer, we should have guessed it earlier!”

“Will the Undead suddenly climb to their feet again?”

The soldiers had not really been involved in the battle. The skeleton soldiers were only going after Mo Fan. The rest of the soldiers simply ran as far away as they could.

Chapter 2308: Savage Bull Riders

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“An Advanced Necromancer could already use the swamp to kill so many Federation soldiers,” Mo Fan sighed.

He was seriously worried about the Federation.

The Federation Army had reacted too slowly. The army they had gathered within ten hours after the war broke out was lacking in strength and discipline. On the other hand, the Brown Rebels had clearly come prepared. The Frenzy Liquid had also turned them into heartless murderers.

An Advanced Mage could normally only kill a few hundred weaker Mages at most. Only strong Advanced Mages could kill a thousand enemies.

Even if a Necromancer had the advantage of the environment and the element of surprise, it was still impossible for him to kill four thousand people by himself. It meant the Federation’s soldiers were no different from common militia.

They just had to watch how the soldiers reacted to learn the truth. Their first reaction when they saw the Skeleton Demon Trees was to flee for their lives, instead of putting up a fight.

The more they ran, the deeper they sank into the mud. Their only outcome would have been dying of suffocation under the mud and being turned into the Necromancer’s skeletons!

“The Brown Rebels must have a lot more people like him. I wonder how many soldiers the Federation Army will have left after we pass through the woods and the swamp!” Mu Bai rubbed his temples.

The three of them had to use Advanced Magic to take down Bucker.

The enemies surely had scouts in the vicinity. They must have reported to their superiors that the enemy troop had three Advanced Mages.

It was like playing a game of Land Battle Chess. A player would probe the enemy with their expandable pieces when they had no idea what the enemy’s pieces were. However, they would keep an eye on the pieces that ate their Platoon Leaders.

{TL Note: Land Battle Chess is a Chinese board game similar to Stratego.}

The player would send a piece higher than the rank of a Platoon Leader next.

The trio did not want to expose their strength too early, as it would only alert the Brown Rebels that a strong enemy piece was getting closer to their flag, and they would respond by sending out stronger troops and pieces. A few regiments a thousand strong would be enough to wear them out.

Unfortunately, the Federation Army was unreliable. It had already suffered great casualties before the real battle took place!

——

“Are you done with the headcount?” Mo Fan asked Lt. Colonel Mason.

“I did, we only have around two hundred men left… Hang on, shouldn’t you be the one doing the headcount? Shouldn’t I be asking you that question, since I’m the commander?” Mason realized.

“Fine, I won’t ask the question, but you will fend off the skeletons when they come again,” Mo Fan acknowledged.

Lt. Colonel Mason immediately lost his airs. “Our superiors have asked us to cross the swamp. We have to keep going,” Mason sighed.

“Of course, for the better future of the Federation!” Mo Fan nodded cynically.

“But there are obviously a lot of enemy soldiers waiting for us ahead. If these are the only men we have…” Mason said.

“Can’t you request backup? You can send Bucker’s head back. Someone should recognize him. I don’t think he’s just a nobody,” Mo Fan hinted.

“Yeah, I did something impressive! I killed an enemy general who massacred four thousand of our soldiers!” Mason blurted out excitedly.

Mason was immeasurably pleased with himself. It did not matter how it happened, but he had indeed killed the Necromancer with his own hands, so he could claim all the glory!

Mo Fan could not be bothered with claiming the glory. It was more important to protect his cover.

—

As Mo Fan suggested, Lt. Colonel Mason sent Bucker’s head back to the main camp.

A full division around twenty thousand people strong had entered the swamp. It seemed like the main force of the Federation Army had chosen to advance through the swamp after Lt. Colonel Mason eliminated the Necromancer. However, the assault troops no longer had enough Mages to scout the path ahead.

——

As Mo Fan thought, Bucker’s head was surprisingly valuable. In just a few hours, a huge troop of Savage Bull Riders hurried into the swamp!

“Who’s Lt. Colonel Mason?” the captain of the troop demanded haughtily.

“I am!” Lt. Colonel Mason reply.

“Here is your medal. You are now in charge of our troop of Savage Bull Riders. The Division Commander wants you to find the enemy’s base!” the captain of the troop of Savage Bull Riders said arrogantly, like he was giving Mason an order.

1

“A troop of Savage Bull Riders? Does that mean I now have a troop of magic riders under my command?” Mason was surprised by his sudden good fortune.

Tamed Beasts were quite valuable to an army. Few Mages in an army would be granted one.

Most Mages were not good at covering long distances, especially the Elemental Mages without movement spells. Traveling long distances would only wear them out eventually, let alone having to look out for ambushes while they were not protected.

Only Intermediate Mages who had been in the army for some time were qualified to own a Tamed Beast. Riders in an army were the real elites!

Mason had gone from being cannon fodder to leading a regiment of a thousand Mages, and now had a troop of elite Riders. He was rising through the ranks at an incredible pace!

The captain of the Riders glanced at Mo Fan beside Mason and ordered him, “You, do the headcount!”

“Oh. You, do the headcount!” Mo Fan delegated to the man standing beside him.

The man was a squad leader. He had been following Mo Fan since the battle of the Cold Storage Fort. That being said, he was also among the soldiers who had been fleeing for their lives just a short time ago.

“I ordered you to do it! We are Riders! Each of us is stronger than a little soldier like you, do you understand?” the captain of the Riders snapped.

The captain did not dare take over Lt. Colonel Mason’s role right away, but he did not mind teaching Mason’s assistants a lesson.

Normally, only a full bird Colonel or a General was worthy to lead a troop of Riders, yet they were assigned to a Commander who had only risen through the ranks via luck. It was a humiliation to the Riders!

“My rank is the same as yours, isn’t it?” Mo Fan raised his brows. He did not show any respect to the captain as he displayed his newly-issued captain’s bars.

“You!” The captain was about to snap his whip at Mo Fan.

“Calm down, I’ll do it myself. Now that we have a troop of Riders, I believe we can clear the darkness of the swamp ahead and claim our victory before the next dawn!” Lt. Colonel Mason intervened.

Whether Mo Fan was possessed by Forneus or not, Lt. Colonel Mason had witnessed how Mo Fan took on the Skeleton Demon Trees all by himself. He did not dare step on Mo Fan’s tail, and he had even given a battlefield promotion to the three of them!

That being said, he did not want to offend the troop of Riders, either!

Their Captain Benson was currently taking orders from Lt. Colonel Mason, meaning that his rank was merely equivalent to Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan, since the three of them were brevet Captains directly taking orders from Lt. Colonel Mason, too!

As for the rest of the Riders, they were a rank lower than Mo Fan. Mo Fan might not have the right to order them around, but he could just ignore them!

Chapter 2309: Zhao Manyan, the Spotlight

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was dark by the time the army was done setting up tents to rest for the night. Pushing forward at night was no different from killing themselves.

The army would advance in the morning. If they could find the enemy’s camp, they would have to fight the army of the Brown Rebels before night tomorrow.

The influence of the Frenzy Liquid on people’s minds grew stronger as the rain kept pouring down. Even the slightest conflict might provoke Mages into fighting one another to the death, regardless of which side they were on.

The most ideal outcome was to start the battle before it was dark tomorrow!

A kilometer ahead of the swamp was a jungle of Moss-Coated Trees. Their trunks stuck deep into the firm ground, yet their branches spread across the wetland either above the surface or under the water.

These Moss-Coated Trees did not break easily. They were strong enough to be used as stepping stones. The soldiers were resting on them.

The troop of Savage Bull Riders had four hundred men and four hundred and fifty Savage Bulls.

Savage Bulls were a common species in swamps. Their hides looked like pitch-black glass. The sticky mud and soil could not stick to their smooth skin, allowing them to move and swim freely in the swamps.

The Savage Bulls were lying in the mud resting, while their Riders were sitting on the trees in silence.

Meanwhile, Lt. Colonel Mason was greeting every Rider passionately, despite being their new superior. The Riders looked down on him even more.

“Do you have a plan? I wouldn’t want my Riders roaming in the swamp and the woods aimlessly. We will only fall into the enemy’s traps,” Benson said.

“Well…” Mason was lost for words.

What plan could he have? His only plan was to murmur Forneus’ name and charge forward recklessly!

“The enemy has Necromancers. I don’t think Bucker is the only Necromancer they have. I’ve checked the nearby swamps and picked up traces of Undead,” Mu Bai spoke up professionally, looking at his report.

“Which means we might be fighting Undead tomorrow? It doesn’t matter, those Undead are no different from a pile of reeds in front of our Savage Bulls,” Captain Benson scoffed.

“We have discussed this with Lt. Colonel Mason. The enemy clearly has better scouting ability than we do. I’m betting they are using the Undead hiding under the mud to keep an eye on us,” Mu Bai went on, as if Benson had not spoken.

The Undead were able to conceal themselves perfectly under the water. They could sense living creatures’ movements in the swamp without showing themselves.

Bucker had given Mu Bai the clue about how the enemy knew their whereabouts at all times.

“I see, it sounds like not all of you are idiots,” Captain Benson snorted.

“We have to move when the sun rises. Once we deal with the Undead that are watching us, the enemy won’t have any idea which way we entered the woods from,” Mu Bai went on calmly.

——

Mu Bai’s speculation was on point. The Brown Rebels had hidden Undead in the swamp. These particular Undead were only good for scouting.

While everyone else was resting, a man wearing a raincoat and emitting a faint glow walked into the swamp.

He was grumbling while murmuring the Sacred Chant of Light Magic. “Damn it, why do I have to do this filthy work?” Zhao Manyan cursed.

He swept his finger across the air. A cluster of glowing orbs of Light circling his finger turned into tiny fairies before Zhao Manyan fired them into the swamp like bullets.

The little Light Fairies with transparent wings dove into the mud and tracked down the Undead hiding in the swamp. The Light Fairies turned the Undead into sludge in no time.

Zhao Manyan kept moving deeper into the swamp. He did not want to do the same thing again tomorrow, and decided to get rid of all the Undead in the swamp.

He finally realized something after he went deeper He stopped, turned around, and stared at the unfamiliar woods behind him. His expression fell.

“Did I f**king forget to leave markings so I could follow them back to the camp?” Zhao Manyan swore in agitation.

“This is bad!

“Is this the right way?

“Why do these trees look exactly the same!?

“Hello? Are there any Undead that are still alive? I’m not going to kill you. I just want to ask for directions!”

——

It was past midnight. Mo Fan stared in the direction of the swamp sternly, like a father who had no clue where his naughty son had gone for the night.

It was normal for Zhao Manyan not to come home if they were in a city.

However, they were in the middle of a deserted swamp. It was not like the guy was going to sleep with a female lizard, right?

“Did he bump into the Brown Rebels?” Mu Bai asked as he came over. He was obviously confused when Zhao Manyan had yet to return to the camp.

“Unless the Brown Rebels are all women,” Mo Fan answered blithely.

“Do you think he might have encountered an expert of the Brown Rebels? After all, we have shown a little of our strength. The Brown Rebels will no longer think of us as some weak scouts,” Mu Bai commented.

“It’s not like it’s your first day knowing Zhao Manyan. He would have run if he stumbled into a strong enemy,” Mo Fan pointed out.

Zhao Manyan was very good at guaranteeing his safety and running away.

Even Mo Fan was not confident of defeating Zhao Manyan. How strong would an enemy have to be to stop Zhao Manyan from escaping?

——

It was almost dawn, and Mo Fan was dozing off. His eyes sprang open when he heard quiet movements nearby.

A man in a raincoat was heading his way. He glared at Mo Fan angrily.

“I’ve been gone for so long. Shouldn’t you guys be worried about me instead of dozing off here?!” Zhao Manyan yelled at him.

“Mu Bai and I had a long discussion. We both agreed on the possibility that you got lost,” Mo Fan replied.

Zhao Manyan blushed and snarled, “Nonsense, I went to scout the enemy’s base!”

“Since when are you so proactive?” Mo Fan asked in disbelief, eyebrow raised.

“Take a look at this!” Zhao Manyan tossed a torn flag of the Brown Rebels to the ground.

Mo Fan took a quick look and saw that it was indeed the flag of the Brown Rebels’ base!

Did Zhao Manyan really spend the whole night looking for the enemy’s camp? How unbelievable!

“You’re insane! We can go straight to the enemy’s base!” Mo Fan raised his thumb to Zhao Manyan.

“Humph, don’t assume that you know me that well!” Zhao Manyan straightened up proudly.

He turned around and snatched the pack of jerky from Mo Fan’s bag. He drank a mouthful of water before devouring the jerky.

He was starving after being away for the whole night.

He was also too ashamed to tell Mo Fan he had actually lost his way. He had found the enemy’s base by chance!

Chapter 2310: Director of the Cultivation Factory, Mo Fan!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

An unreliable teammate he had fought alongside for a long time, who might still carry a game once in a while, was exactly what Mo Fan thought of Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan had accidentally found the enemy’s camp, which sped up their advance significantly.

The enemy’s base had around fifty thousand soldiers. The Federation Army sent seventy thousand soldiers to take down the enemy’s base and reclaim their side of the Scorching River.

A huge battle would soon occur that day.

The Riders were the main firepower after the first wave of cannon fodder. They would be charging right into the enemy lines after finding the enemy’s base. Enemies would be everywhere when the time came. The trio did not dare lower their guard, even with their outstanding capabilities.

——

“Are you sure it’s this way? We might be walking into a trap!” Captain Benson was very suspicious of Zhao Manyan’s discovery.

“I’ve gotten rid of the enemy’s Undead. They won’t know we are coming. Just stop worrying and follow me. I’ll cut my wrist and kill myself if you don’t see the enemy’s base in the next hour,” Zhao Manyan answered confidently.

“Fine!”

The troop of Savage Bull Riders was advancing faster than their previous troops. They had lower numbers too, so it was easier for the soldiers to keep up with the three.

They did not encounter any resistance along the way after getting rid of the Undead scouts.

After all, the Brown Rebels did not want to fight the Federation Army in the swamps, except for the Necromancers who had a slight edge over other Casters.

The Savage Bull Riders crossed the swamp quickly. They were no longer looking at cattails and reeds, but the lush and dense trees of a tropical forest.

The rainforest close to the Scorching River was divided into several layers. The highest layer was the Wind-Gathering Layer, consisting of the canopy of the trees. The tops of the trees were almost touching the lowly-hanging clouds, and many birds resided on the trees there. They were not affected by the upcoming battle between the two armies.

The middle layer was the Leaf Umbrella Layer, made up of trees with relatively huge leaves. The trees were connected by vines, allowing people to walk over them.

The lower layer consisted of shrubs and flower clusters, but were still taller than humans. Therefore, going into the woods was no different from prying through the reeds in the swamp.

The Leaf Umbrella Layer made it difficult to tell the direction. It was possible to hide a whole city of civilians in the woods, let alone an army of a few tens of thousands of men.

Fire was the most effective weapon when fighting in a forest. They did not have to worry that the fire would spread out of control, since the forest was surrounded by swamps and rivers, as the whole place was soaked wet because of the never-ending rain. The flames would fizzle out in no time.

The Brown Rebels had established their base and defenses in the woods some time ago. The Federation Army did not necessarily have an advantage, even if it had twenty thousand more men than the enemy’s army, if they were charging into the enemy’s territory without a plan.

Either way, Mo Fan and his crew did not really care whether the Brown Rebels or the Federation Army won the battle. They just needed the Federation Army to fight the Brown Rebels and keep them busy so they had a chance to sneak closer to Wu Ku.

——

“Do you see that? They are under the trees. They have surrounded their base with a huge circle of spiky shrubs and some magic Formations,” Zhao Manyan said, pointing ahead of them.

They were currently standing on top of an ancient kapok tree. They could see a corner of the enemy’s base from their angle, but the thorny shrubs had formed a sturdy wall around the base.

“We won’t be exposed easily if only a few of us are crossing the shrubs, but if we are sending Riders in, they would quickly trigger the traps and magic Formations,” Zhao Manyan went on.

“We will lose our direction in the shrubs. If the enemy keeps us in the shrubbery, we are no different from animals in a trap!” Mu Bai was familiar with the uses of the foilage.

Mo Fan scanned the area. It turned out that the highest layer was the only possible way for them to infiltrate the enemy’s base.

They had to use the cover of the canopy and move between the trunks. If they fought the enemy on the ground, they would suffer great casualties!

The information they had was very important. It would decide the Federation Army’s approach in taking down the enemy’s base.

“We can try to cross from above here, but we have no idea if they are expecting us…” Mo Fan pointed out.

“Do you think my Savage Bulls can transform into apes?” Captain Benson scoffed.

“It’s going to be difficult. After all, our soldiers aren’t that strong on average. We’ll lose a lot of firepower if the riders abandon their mounts,” Lt. Colonel Mason said.

“First the Wind Warships, next the Undead in the swamps, and now the walls of thorny shrubs. Why is our enemy’s intelligence and execution always better than ours?” Zhao Manyan swore.

Somehow, the Brown Rebels were more like the well-trained army of a nation, while the Federation Army only consisted of a bunch of useless militia in a revolution!

“It’s common for a Federation to have this problem, since it’s a combination of a few countries. They have yet to finalize many things. On the other hand, the Brown Rebels are also the Yellows, who planned on going independent. They can easily match the strength of a below-average country in South America,” Mu Bai showed off his outstanding knowledge.

Mo Fan frowned.

The enemy had a clear advantage over them. The Federation Army’s numbers did not matter anymore.

If the Brown Rebels beat the crap out of the Federation Army here, how were the three of them supposed to cross the Brown Rebel’s base, which had fifty thousand men in its regular army?

“The Savage Bulls have sturdy and smooth skin. I believe the thorny shrubs won’t hurt them at all, right?” Zhao Manyan inquired.

“Of course, but we are the only Riders here. You’re not thinking of asking us to take the lead as cannon fodder, are you?” Captain Benson spat.

“Can’t you ask for more Savage Bulls?”

“These are everything we have. The other troops with Riders are the Brutal Lizard Riders, and the Damp Bird Skyriders. The Brutal Lizard Riders will only show up when we are fighting the enemy’s main force, while the Damp Bird Skyriders are our army’s trump card. They won’t be able to help us in this assault, since they are more valuable to the army than we are!” Benson stated grimly.

“Doesn’t our army have high-level Summoners? We just need a few of them to Summon a Beast Tide to push forward with your troops and take down their defenses,” Zhao Manyan asked.

“You will have to ask your commander to request for Summoners, but I wouldn’t put too much hope on it if I were you. Every Advanced Summoner and above is at least a general in the army. They won’t want to fight in the front line. If our troop hadn’t made a mistake, do you think you would have the chance to order us around?” Benson replied disdainfully.

“Summoners, summoners, Oh Forneus, please grant us a few powerful Summoners!” Mason prayed.

Zhao Manyan was doing the same thing as Mason, since he did not have a better idea.

However, he quickly turned to Mo Fan after he recalled something.

“That’s right, you’re a Summoner. How many Summoned Beasts can you Summon with your Beast Tide?” Zhao Manyan asked him.

“If they don’t have to be Commander-level creatures, I think I can Summon between five to six hundred of them,” Mo Fan admitted.

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai gasped.

Five to six hundred! Does he own a factory that cultivates Summoned Beasts or something?!

The proud captain only had around four hundred men in his troop, yet Mo Fan could already Summon a couple hundred more creatures than the troop’s size!

Chapter 2311: Frost Mammoths

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

His Magic Medium Ring allowed Mo Fan to keep expanding the capacity of the Summoning Gate with high-level Soul Remnants.

That capacity was very high now!

However, was Summoning the wolves going to make a difference under the circumstances?

Similar wolves were commonly found in the mountains and the wild. They would not be at their best in these wet forests with dense trees.

Their size and skins were different from the Savage Bulls. They would only end up injuring themselves if they tried to force their way through the walls of thorny shrubs.

It would only work if all the wolves were as strong as the Moon-Devouring White Wolves or the Flying Creek Snow Wolf!

“Mo Fan, can you only Summon wolves?” Zhao Manyan asked gingerly.

Mo Fan nodded.

He had learned the spell Summoning Tide a long time ago, yet he had rarely Summoned species other than wolves.

The main reason was that the pack of wolves he usually Summoned was stronger and easier to control. A general preferred to lead the division he had trained personally, instead of taking over someone else’s division!

“Is there any chance you can Summon creatures with hard shells, like the Savage Bulls? It would be more effective against the walls,” Mu Bai suggested.

“I’ll give it a try,” Mo Fan said.

The Summoning Element had many branches. Mo Fan was just a typical Summoner who had progressed from Dimensional Summoning to Contract Summoning, and finally learned the Summoning Tide. Other Summoners might have chosen a different path.

Mo Fan’s Summoning Element was very straightforward.

His Dimensional Summoning was the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

He had two Contracted Beasts, Little Flame Belle and Little Medusa.

For some reason, other Summoners’ Contracted Beasts were usually bulky and intimidating, with the power to destroy mountains and fill up the oceans.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan’s Contracted Beasts acted like spoiled children.

Little Flame Belle was the kind who would not bother fighting enemies that were too weak for her.

Little Medusa was even worse. Mo Fan could count the number of times she had been involved in a fight with a single hand, even though she had been around for so long.

Mo Fan’s Summoning Tide had only Summoned the same pack of wolves since the beginning.

Mo Fan had to admit that he had placed too little attention on the Summoning Element. He had almost forgotten about the old wolf, even though he was already an Advancing Commander-level Creature!

—

Mo Fan was not going to Summon the wolves this time.

He needed huge creatures with sturdy hides. He had to find a quiet spot and visit the Summoned Beast Plane to filter out some suitable candidates.

He had some time to spare, since no one was going to move until they figured out a way to get rid of the walls.

He found a nice spot and sat down.

The Dimensional Summoning and Summoning Tide were able to Summon random creatures from the Summoned Beast Plane. The species that was Summoned solely depended on the Summoner’s luck.

Many Summoners would even take a shower and relax for a while before Summoning a species for the first time. Mo Fan was being quite casual about it.

“Gate of the Summoned Beast Plane, open!”

Mo Fan quickly swept his finger in the air and pretended like he was good at it, yet he had no clue if it was of any use.

Mo Fan’s consciousness drifted into the Summoned Beast Plane. His eyes remained closed, yet he could see mountains and a vast land in his mind.

The Summoned Beast Plane was poor in resources compared to the mortal world. The creatures here often fought one another fiercely, just to claim a tiny area for their territory.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf used to live a precarious life. He had to fight every day and hide inside caves to lick his wounds.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s life had become a lot more stable after he achieved the Commander-level and gained his own great pack. He had basically bought a house in the Summoned Beast Plane.

Strength was the main reason why Summoned Beasts were willing to cooperate with Summoners!

Signing a contract with humans was like a government official signing a contract with their company to secure their employment after their term of service was up!

——

Mo Fan’s consciousness flew swiftly past the mountains and rivers. It was like a divine soul, surfing through this land.

Mo Fan purposely traveled a great distance to find the ideal Summoned Beasts.

After crossing a range of mountains, he finally arrived at a relatively flat valley.

The valley mainly consisted of rocks and sand, but Mo Fan was dazzled by the number of beasts that were running through the valley. He felt like he had arrived at a boundless ranch filled with livestock!

“Heavy-Armored Rhinoceros? Their skin is thick enough, but their legs are too short. The plants can easily trip them.”

Mo Fan did not choose the Heavy-Armored Rhinoceros when he took the soil around the enemy’s base into consideration.

“Sandy Ostrich Beasts?… They might have long legs, but their feathers aren’t tough enough.”

Mo Fan rubbed his chin as he worked through the Beasts in the valley. He only had time to choose the species he wanted to Summon when he was not fighting.

If he was in the middle of a fight, the system would choose the Summoned Beasts itself, and it would all come down to luck.

That being said, he still needed some luck to stumble into the ideal species he was looking for in the Summoned Beast Plane.

The ground started shaking vigorously all of a sudden. Mo Fan heard loud movements and noticed dust rolling behind him, as if a sandstorm had appeared. It had spread across the horizon.

“What kind of creatures could they be?” Mo Fan immediately flew into the wave of dust.

He saw huge figures sweeping past him inside the sandstorm. They rammed straight into the boulders that were in their way and smashed them into pieces!

“Frost Mammoths!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

These mighty mammoths had incredible tusks that were even longer than those of a huge wild boar. Their skin was also covered in frost and as tough as hundred-year-old ice. The thorny shrubs were not going to inflict any damage on them.

Although they were not necessarily good in combat, their massive size and outstanding strength were perfect for the Federation Army. They just needed to clear the barricades away for the Federation Army!

These Frost Mammoths were exactly what Mo Fan was looking for!

“These Frozen Mammoths will do!” Mo Fan declared.

As soon as he finished the sentence, a few bulkier figures dashed out of the sandstorm behind the Frost Mammoths.

They almost shattered Mo Fan’s consciousness into pieces when they nearly ran him over.

Mo Fan caught a glimpse of one of the creatures as they crossed paths. It had a long muzzle, like a huge alligator with intimidating fangs, and its eyes were like a pair of spotlights on a stage.

The creature was a couple of times bigger than the Frost Mammoths. Most terrifyingly, it simply lowered its head and bit down on a Frost Mammoth, then easily tossed it into the sky!

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The creature was an awesome predator who mainly fed on the Frost Mammoths!

Mo Fan initially thought the Frost Mammoths were sprinting across the valley to show off their strength. To his surprise, they were actually fleeing for their lives. They had stirred up a huge cloud of dust to escape the predators hunting them!

“Throat-Ripping Tyrannosauruses!”

1

Mo Fan was shocked. He had no clue what level these ferocious creatures were. He could only see a dozen of them chasing after the huge herd of Frost Mammoths. Mammoth blood had splattered across the ground in the blink of an eye.

“I should give it a try…”

Mo Fan used his Summoning Magic to establish temporary contracts in the form of Binding hoops. They would Summon the creatures that were successfully bound to his side.

Mo Fan was a bold man, and had the urge to Summon the Throat-Ripping Tyrannosauruses as soon as he saw them.

The manual process of the Summoning Tide was similar to the carnival game of throwing hoops at targets.

The player would be given hoops which they would throw from a certain distance to Bind the delicate prizes they were interested in.

Low-level creatures were smaller and closer to the player, thus as long as the hoops were big enough, the player could easily Bind them.

High-level creatures were bigger and further away from the player, so the odds of the player Binding them with hoops were relatively lower.

1

As for even higher-level creatures, it was completely impossible for the hoops to contain them.

The size of the hoops was dependent on the Summoner’s cultivation level.

Mo Fan noticed how small his hoops were as he was about to toss them. His hoops would never contain the ferocious Throat-Ripping Tyrannosauruses!

The Throat-Ripping Tyrannosauruses completely ignored the hoops that were tossed at them and continued to chase after the Frost Mammoths.

Mo Fan’s dignity suffered a huge blow when he saw the creatures completely ignoring his hoops. He almost had the urge to hit his head on a wall.

“I might be a little lazy practicing my Summoning Magic, but shouldn’t you show me a little more respect?…

“Forget it, I should try Summoning the Frost Mammoths to help the Federation Army for now,” Mo Fan comforted himself.

To be honest, if he could Summon the Throat-Ripping Tyrannosauruses, the main army of the Brown Rebels would be shitting their pants. Destroying the walls of thorny shrubs would be a piece of cake for those ferocious creatures.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan was not good enough!

—

“Summoning Gate: Tide of Frost Mammoths!”

Rays of moonlight drew an enormous Gate in the air. The lights projected a faint image of a valley, from which the Frost Mammoths charged out. Each Mammoth was around fifteen meters tall.

The walls of thorny shrubs could barely cover their legs. After the first Frost Mammoth charged forward, the rest of them followed behind it. The whole woods was trembling.

“Oh my, what are these monsters?!” Captain Benson screamed.

The Savage Bulls began to panic when the Frost Mammoths appeared. Their Riders barely managed to pacify them in time to prevent them from running away.

“Don’t just stand there, get ready to attack!” Zhao Manyan reminded him.

“Did our superiors really send a powerful Summoner to our aid?” Captain Benson gawked in disbelief.

The Frost Mammoths came out of the rift like a train, and charged at the thorny shrub line ahead of them.

The thicket was so dense that there was not a single gap in it. It was impossible to walk through it, but the Frost Mammoths trampled the shrubs and broke through instantly.

The thorns did not inflict any damage on the Frost Mammoth’s hides, nor did they slow down the Frost Mammoth’s advance.

The Brown Rebels only realized they were being attacked after a hundred-meter section of the walls was half-destroyed.

Unfortunately for them, the Frost Mammoths were shockingly destructive. The tusks of the Frost Mammoths had already reached the Brown Rebels before they reacted.

The fragile Magic Formations broke into pieces as the Frost Mammoths razed the enemy’s camp to the ground without showing any mercy.

The Brown Rebels were in a complete mess. Horns were blown continuously, yet the Mages were struggling to assemble in their Formations.

“Kill!!!” The Savage Bull Riders followed right behind the Frost Mammoths.

The Savage Bull Riders had clear goals in mind. They were focusing on destroying the sentry towers along the walls to completely take down the enemy base’s defenses.

“It’s the Riders! Run!” an officer of the Brown Rebels shouted. He was overwhelmed by fear after he saw what was happening.

First the Frost Mammoths, then the Savage Bull Riders! The officer simply assumed the Federation Army’s main force had pushed through their defense without alerting them, and he completely lost his calm.

——

“Yes, sir, we have broken through the enemy’s defense. Please send reinforcements right now! Captain Benson has taken down an enemy’s camp on the outskirts!”

“Well done, the rest of the army will push through the gap you’ve created!”

The Federation Army desperately needed a breakthrough. The whole country had put the army under great pressure. More revolutions would take place if they failed to stop the Brown Rebels.

The Federation Army immediately assigned twenty thousand soldiers to take the same route as the Savage Bull Riders when they heard about the victory Captain Benson had secured.

The first battle between the Federation Army’s main force and the Brown Rebels took place close to the woods the Frost Mammoths had razed to the ground.

Lt. Colonel Mason was completely useless. He immediately retreated from the front line and let Brigadier General Blair take over after the assault was a success.

——-

Mo Fan and his friends did not join in the battle. Their goal was to let the Federation Army fight the Brown Rebels.

The Federation Army had twenty thousand men. The Brown Rebels would have to keep sending reinforcements if they did not want to lose their base. The battle would only escalate from here.

All they had to do was wait for the flames to spread further away. They would rest up and infiltrate the enemy lines to go straight after Wu Ku!

Almost forty thousand Mages were involved in the battle, with ninety percent of them using Elemental Magic.

Lightning was flashing across the sky.

Flames were spinning in tornadoes.

Rain and hail were falling from the sky.

The destructive energy of the Elemental Magic brought chaos upon the area.

The rain forest was a perfect barrier for the destructive energy leaking out from the battlefield, yet over five square kilometers of the woods were turned to barren wasteland only a few minutes after the battle broke out.

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Even though Mo Fan and his crew were no longer fighting in the front line, the flames of the war would eventually reach them.

Their superiors did not let them withdraw to the rear right away. As more soldiers joined the battle, the volunteer Mages who were planning to preserve their energy were pushed back into the enemy lines again.

“General Blair wants us to regroup with the Savage Bull Riders and destroy the Brown’s walls and watchtowers,” Lt. Colonel Mason said helplessly.

They had already done the hard work of finding the right path through the swamp. Now they had to risk their lives to take down the enemy’s walls and defenses! The Federation Army was obviously going to work them to death…

“Let’s fight then! It’s important to win the first battle,” Mo Fan nodded.

1

They had no other choice if their superiors did not allow them to withdraw. Luckily, they did not have to fight in the front line as cannon fodder anymore.

The Savage Bull Riders had invaded the enemy’s camps some time ago. Their mission was to destroy the Brown Rebels’ watchtowers.

The Brown Rebels had a watchtower every three to five hundred meters. The towers were built from trunks of thick jungle trees, wrapped with vines.

The watchtowers provided the Brown Rebels with a perfect view of the Federation forces. Each tower had a garrison of between twenty to fifty Intermediate Mages. They were the stronger ranged attack Mages in the Brown forces.

Intermediate Spells had a wider area of effect and range, so those Intermediate Mages were able to inflict serious damage on the soldiers of the Federation Army by Casting the spells from the towers.

In other words, those towers were the main firepower of the enemy’s base. The Federation Army would suffer great casualties over time if the towers remained standing.

——

Captain Benson received the order to destroy the watchtowers reluctantly. They were only able to break through the enemy’s defenses previously because of the Frost Mammoths.

The Frost Mammoths Mo Fan had Summoned were in the middle of being chased by the Throat-Ripping Tyrannosaurs. They were still in a panic when they ran out of the Summoning Gate, so the destruction they had caused was even greater than normal.

The Frost Mammoths had already returned to the Summoned Beast Plane; the Savage Bull Riders had only exploited the Frost Mammoth’s might. Their advance was no longer as effective. They were currently trapped close to a lake by an enemy brigade of nearly a thousand soldiers.

“Damn it, we advanced too far!. We are separated from our main force!” Captain Benson cursed.

“Look out, it’s a combined attack of Wind Discs!” one of the Riders yelled.

The rain was still falling irregularly. The trees ahead of the troop were swaying wildly and splinters of wood were hurling at the Riders. The wind almost knocked the Riders to the ground.

The combined Wind Discs formed a huge tornado that had appeared when the Wind Mages Cast their Wind Discs simultaneously. The Savage Bull Riders were facing a ferocious tornado with a diameter of a hundred and fifty meters, which was now hurtling toward them like a hunting beast!

Even the trees with deep roots along the way were being uprooted, let alone the shrubs and the reeds.

“Lie down and take cover!” Captain Benson yelled desperately.

The Savage Bulls were lifted off the ground one by one. They did not have anything to grab onto.

The Wind Discs were gone in no time, just like they had appeared out of nowhere.

Those who managed to hold their ground only suffered some cuts and bruises, but the rest were hurled into the sky. It was difficult to tell whether they were going to survive the fall.

The tornado was in the shape of a cone, with its tip on the ground and its base in the sky.

The Savage Bulls and their Riders had been thrown to its highest point in the sky. The diameter at the top was a good thousand meters. It was hard to imagine what the people were going through up there.

——

Lt. Colonel Mason and his men arrived after the tornado was dispersed. He was dumbfounded when he saw the miserable state the troop of Savage Bull Rider cavalry was in.

He was relieved that he had come a little late. Otherwise, they would have fallen victim to the tornado, too!

Mo Fan stared at the huge tornado that had drifted into the distance before turning his gaze on at a watchtower around two kilometers away.

The Wind Mages in the watchtower were the ones who had Cast the combination of Wind Discs. It was likely that the watchtower was staffed by a platoon of powerful Wind Mages. The watchtower was even able to increase their damage output!

No wonder the leaders of the Federation Army were so keen to destroy the enemy’s watchtowers first. Their army would lose most of its fighting capacity in just a few rounds of attacks like this!

“How did you lose so many men in such a short time?” Zhao Manyan asked after he found Captain Benson.

“The enemy launched a fierce counterattack as soon as the Frost Mammoths were gone. Damn it, why couldn’t the Summoner last a little longer?” Benson grumbled.

Captain Benson clearly had no idea Mo Fan was the person who had Summoned the Frost Mammoths, since he was cursing Mo Fan right in front of him.

Mo Fan did not have a choice. The Summoning Tide would only last for a limited time. It might have lasted a little longer if he had Summoned his wolves.

However, they were on a battlefield. The wolves would be hit by Elemental Spells falling from the sky every few steps. Mo Fan treated his wolves preciously. He would not risk their lives for the sake of the Federation!

“Hah, I thought the Federation has turned their elites into assault troops, but it turns out to be a bunch of petty Riders. What a waste of my time!” an arrogant voice called out.

The ground was scattered with broken branches and fallen leaves. The man who spoke was wearing heavy metal boots and a yellow-brown military outfit. His hair was shoulder-length and his skin was a little tanned.

He was playing with an airflow in the shape of a rope with his fingers. He was even bold enough to approach the troop of Savage Bull Riders alone!

The Savage Bull Riders only had around two hundred men left. Both the Savage Bulls and their Riders were a lot stronger than a Basic Mage. This general of the Brown Rebels clearly did not treat them seriously if he dared to come alone.

“Who are you? Tell us your name!” Captain Benson challenged him instantly.

“Is Lt. Colonel Mason here?” the Brown general demanded arrogantly, completely ignoring Captain Benson’s question.

Mason was hiding behind the Riders. For some reason, he grinned when he heard the enemy general mention his name!

“If this so-called Mason did kill Bucker the Necromancer, he’s worthy for me to come and take his life. I’m here solely to kill Mason. As for the rest… I have no interest in you,” the general stated.

“I’m Lt. Colonel Mason! Tell me your name! I’m not interested in a nobody, either!” Mason shouted as he stepped forward.

Mo Fan’s face darkened when he saw Mason’s response.

Black chimpanzee, can’t you know your place for once?

Did he really think he was a legend who could take down enemy generals on behalf of his army by himself?!

Chapter 2314: Wildstorm Shaman Zonah!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m Wildstorm Shaman Zonah from Lei City,” the Brown general replied, studying Lt. Colonel Mason carefully.

“Wildstorm Shaman Zonah?” Lt. Colonel Mason’s face paled at the mention of the name.

The man called the Wildstorm Shaman was quite popular in this region. People who were active in Banlo City, Lei City, and Half-Ridge Mountain City had all heard his name!

Lt. Colonel Mason did not think someone like him would join the Brown Rebels!

Lt. Colonel Mason was only a little military instructor of the Federation Army, in charge of training Basic Mages into soldiers. He was a nobody compared to a reputable Mage whose name was known across several major cities.

People in the bars were always discussing the Commander-level creatures that the Windstorm Shaman had killed recently. No one would bother discussing what Lt. Colonel Mason had done!

To think that he was going to fight someone like the Windstorm Shaman in a duel. Lt. Colonel Mason did not believe he could withstand a single attack from his opponent!

“If this guy is in our way, we won’t be able to destroy the watchtowers,” Mu Bai told Mo Fan softly.

“Mm, he’s not weak either,” Mo Fan nodded.

As Mo Fan and Mu Bai were talking softly, Captain Benson suddenly took a few steps forward in a fit of rage.

“You’re being too full of yourself. Your reputation is only built on the exaggerating words of the drunks in the bars. You are no match against me in a real fight!” Captain Benson tightened his legs and ordered his mount to charge at Zonah.

Zonah did not bother moving, his expression disdainful. “That only shows how ignorant you are!” The Wind Rope Zonah was weaving with his fingers grew bigger.

The Savage Bull charged forward with lightning speed. Captain Benson was most likely a Lightning Mage. He had strengthened the Savage Bull’s charge with his Lightning Magic.

The Wind Robe twisted rapidly and grew into a Wind Spinning Top the size of a three-story building.

The ropes tied to the Wind Spinning Top lashed in all directions with extraordinary strength. The Savage Bull was severely injured before it could even reach Zonah.

Captain Benson was in a terrible spot now, caught in the Wind Spinning Top. The winds kept whipping him as he was spinning in the tornado, like a criminal being flogged on a rack.

The Riders gasped.

Captain Benson was the strongest member of their troop, yet he had been defeated by the enemy with a single spell. They were obviously not on the same level!

“I told you I didn’t want to waste my time on a piece of trash like you, yet you insisted on asking for your death!” Zonah said coldly.

The Wind Spinning Top rose into the sky when Zonah waved his hand, bringing both Captain Benson and his Savage Bull with it. The two finally fell to the ground after a few more seconds.

They were badly mutilated and were grasping onto their last breaths.

“Captain!” the Riders panicked. There were two hundred men left, yet they were too scared to make a move against the fierce Wind Mage now.

“Old Zhao, take the Riders with you and destroy the watchtowers!” Mo Fan ordered.

“Alright,” Zhao Manyan nodded.

“Mu Bai, go check on Captain Benson,” Mo Fan directed him.

Mu Bai was already on his way, and quickly helped Captain Benson up. The guy was still alive. His magic Armor had protected him from the fall.

“You won’t die as long as I’m here. Don’t worry,” Mu Bai told Captain Benson, who was looking at him with wide eyes.

Captain Benson’s face was covered in blood. His expression was saying he did not trust Mu Bai.

If the enemy general had inflicted serious injuries on a captain like him so easily, no one here could possibly leave in one piece!

Captain Benson regretted his intention to achieve some meritorious deeds for the army. He knew the Brown Rebels would surely send out their strong Mages after their defenses were broken, but the Windstorm Shaman was a lot stronger than he had thought!

—

Mo Fan turned to Lt. Colonel Mason. “Do you still want to fight him?”

Lt. Colonel Mason was feeling uneasy.

He was even weaker than Captain Benson in terms of strength. Both Captain Benson and his Savage Bull were sent into the sky by the enemy’s Wind Magic. Lt. Colonel Mason would not last for more than a second!

However, he suddenly found his courage when he recalled how strong Mo Fan was in the swamp.

If his men who had received casual blessings from Forneus were already so strong, he must be unstoppable, since he was the true successor of Forneus!

“I’ll handle the Windstorm Shaman myself!” Lt. Colonel Mason stepped forward with an imperious demeanor.

“Sir, you are just an Intermediate Mage who is slightly stronger than normal people,” Lieutenant Cory reminded him quickly, rubbing his nose-stud.

“So what? I’m blessed by Forneus!” Lt. Colonel Mason declared confidently.

Lt. Colonel Mason raised his hands as he stepped forward. The others had a feeling he could actually burn the woods over a few kilometers into ashes after seeing his fearless temperament!

Most surprisingly, even Zonah took a few steps back when he saw Lt. Colonel Mason approaching him.

The Brown Rebels were constantly collecting information. According to their scouts, this Lt. Colonel Mason had been making worthy contributions starting at the battle in Banlo City. Not only did he kill Bucker the Necromancer in the swamp, he even broke through the sturdy defenses of their base with ease!

The guy was a dark horse of the Federation Army, without a doubt!

Even if he only had the Aura of an Intermediate Mage and even lacked a Domain, Zonah did not dare lower his guard around him.

—

Mo Fan was utterly speechless when he saw what was going on.

Enough with your farce, I’m begging you!

This Windstorm Shaman has to be a high-level officer among the Brown Rebels. How should I deal with him?, Mo Fan thought. Perhaps the Flying Creek Snow Wolf can do the favor…

Mo Fan did not want to expose his strength, and secretly tore a Rift open to Summon the Flying Creek Snow Wolf from the Summoned Beast Plane.

“Oh Forneus, give me power!” Lt. Colonel Mason shouted.

Mo Fan immediately ordered the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to dash through the air at the right time.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf jumped across the Savage Bulls’ corpses on the ground and lunged at Zonah like a ray of cold light.

Zonah focused and realized it was a Commander-level Creature. He decisively evaded it with his Wind Magic and dodged the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s consecutive attacks from four different directions.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf could attack five times in a row, leaving an afterimage every time he sped up and executed his next move. Lt. Colonel Mason could only see five afterimages in front of him!

“My goddess, you have transformed into a wolf to help me!” Lt. Colonel Mason dropped to his knees, overcome by religious awe.

Chapter 2315: The Graceful Wolf

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zonah was at a slight disadvantage compared to the Flying Creek Snow Wolf in terms of speed.

His arm was completely exposed in front of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was not greedy, but he would not miss out on the opportunity to tear off his enemy’s arm.

“Rock Flesh!”

Zonah’s arm shuddered. Black mud suddenly surfaced on his tanned skin and quickly solidified, forming a layer of ceramic around his arm.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf failed to bite through the protective cast, as he did not want to break his teeth. He instead flung Zonah into the air with a casual toss of his neck.

Zonah was a little dizzy from the spin. He heard the wolf howling as he was falling to the ground.

An icy stalagmite suddenly emerged from the ground. Its sharp point was stabbing right at Zonah as he was falling from the sky.

Zonah was given a fright. He did not expect the Commander-level Wolf to be good at both close combat and magic. His magic was even stronger than most of the Advanced Ice Mages!

Zonah desperately Summoned his Wind Wings.

His Wind Wings were different from normal Wind Mages’. Most Wind Mages would have wind in the shape of wings attached to their backs, which would beat like a bird’s wings.

Zonah’s Wind Wings instead were made up of a few dozen feathers stacked on top of one another, which turned into Wind Discs under his feet.

He stepped on the Wind Discs like he was hopping between the clouds.

The Wind Discs spun rapidly and delivered fierce gusts toward the ground while sending Zonah higher into the sky, preventing the icicles below from impaling him.

Zonah was well-coordinated once the Wind Discs were under his feet. He could change direction or turn in the air freely.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was unable to fly. He could only Summon ice stalagmites and jump between them like bridges to fight the flying Zonah.

Zonah had a great advantage while in the air. He tried his best to avoid the icicles that were rising from the ground while attacking the Flying Creek Snow Wolf with his Wind Magic and Earth Magic from a safe distance.

“Awooo!”

It had been a while since the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had been Summoned by Mo Fan to fight on his behalf. He finally had a worthy opponent, and was ready to prove to Mo Fan that he had not been slacking. He kept attacking aggressively.

An icicle suddenly collapsed in the direction of Zonah and knocked him off-balance. It almost drove him to the ground.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf immediately jumped with all his strength, leaving five afterimages along his path.

Zonah was temporarily knocked off his Wind Discs, but they returned quickly to his feet, just like boomerangs.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf knew he would lose the perfect opportunity to get close enough to Zonah once the Wind Discs returned to his feet, and continued to pick up his pace.

The five afterimages behind him clearly indicated he had already reached his limit. The ice spear he was running on was almost perpendicular to the ground. Running vertically up the ice was obviously going to slow him down a little.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled a few times. The muscles on his limbs started to crack as he overstrained them.

His skin was cracking like his muscles. His limbs started to bleed. The blood formed a red string behind him from his remarkable speed.

The ice under his feet shattered completely when the sixth afterimage appeared behind the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf reached the top of the ice stalagmite instantly as the afterimages merged into one!

“Did he just have a breakthrough in speed?” Mo Fan exclaimed in surprise, as the wolf launched itself from the icy spear like a missile covered in ice.

The huge force from the sudden boost to the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s speed knocked Zonah off-balance again.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf swung his paws. His power had increased significantly with his overwhelming speed. The swipe unleashed a cross slash across the dim sky, landing right on Zonah!

Zonah stiffened as he was trying to gain more altitude.

Fresh blood poured out from his abdomen as his body slowly split in half.

The Wind Discs kept rising higher, but they were only carrying Zonah’s lower body. His upper body fell heavily onto the field of ice below.

The Wind Discs eventually disappeared into the distance, randomly carrying Zonah’s lower body away.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf landed between the ice spears. He looked at the pile of blood and howled in triumph.

It was the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s habit whenever he won a fight, declaring his victory!

“Well done!” Mo Fan raised his thumb at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf.

Mo Fan had treated the Flying Creek Snow Wolf like his pet dog for quite a long time. He was seriously considering whether or not he should help the Flying Creek Snow Wolf evolve after seeing this impressive performance.

Mo Fan did not ignore the Flying Creek Snow Wolf on purpose. It was simply too difficult for a Commander-level creature to evolve into a Ruler-level creature.

He would need the soul, the bloodline, and the bones of another Ruler-level creature!

Even if he collected all three of them, the chance of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf evolving successfully was still less than twenty percent!

Mo Fan did not have any resources at the moment, let alone something that suited the wolf species.

“Maybe I should check out the Summoned Beast Plane to see if there’s any suitable Ruler-level creature for you, knowing how eager you are to grow stronger,” Mo Fan murmured.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was an Advancing Commander-level creature. It was difficult for him to grow any stronger at his current stage. It was very surprising that he was able to surpass his limit on speed!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf nodded and returned to the Summoned Beast Plane.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had done Mo Fan a huge favor by taking out Zonah. It was very likely Mo Fan would have to fight the upcoming enemies by himself…

—

Lt. Colonel Mason came over with a wide smile. “Why did that wolf go back to you? Didn’t I Summon it by praying to Forneus?”

“Maybe it’s because he’s my Summoned Beast?” Mo Fan hinted strongly.

Lt. Colonel Mason immediately fell into deep thought. “Are you saying that it had nothing to do with Forneus?” he asked carefully.

“It never had anything to do with Forneus from the very beginning!” Mo Fan stated firmly.

“I should have known…” Lt. Colonel Mason was enlightened all of a sudden. He blurted out, “I have been worshiping Cernunnos, the God of Beasts, secretly since I was sixteen!”

“Can you piss off?!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You don’t have to wear a disguise anymore, captain,” Lt. Colonel Mason said, blocking Mo Fan’s path.

Mo Fan frowned and stared grimly at the guy.

“I’m not an idiot. I can tell that you are far stronger than a normal soldier of the Federation Army,” Mason huffed.

“I think everyone can see that as long as they are not blind,” Mo Fan replied.

“Who exactly are you?” Mason demanded nervously.

Mo Fan did not expect Mason to ask him the question right now. He might be a little slow, but he was not a complete retard.

Mason had provided them with a great cover. The conductor and Wolf Chief had yet to find them again.

However, Mason should have realized something by now, after Mo Fan and the others kept revealing their strength.

“I can guess it even if you don’t say. You said that you were students of the Aorus Sacred Institute’s branch. It’s impossible to forge the badge,” Mason finally deduced.

“Just say what’s on your mind,” Mo Fan said impatiently.

“People have been saying that the Federation has obtained the Aorus Sacred Institute’s support, so some of its students must have joined the war,” Mason went on.

Mo Fan was a little surprised. He did not think Mason would figure it out.

It was true that they had joined the army on behalf of the Aorus Sacred Institute, at least on the surface.

“Therefore, you are not from its branch, but the main campus of the Aorus Sacred Institute, am I right?” Mason said confidently.

Only the students of the Aorus Sacred Institute’s main campus would possess such strength!

“I always thought you looked like a black chimpanzee even though your intelligence is nowhere close to one, but it turns out that isn’t the case,” Mo Fan answered.

“HAHAHA! I’ve guessed right!” Mason burst out laughing.

“Take the Windstorm Shaman’s head back to our base. Tell them you killed him,” Mo Fan said.

Since Mason already knew the truth, there was no point for Mo Fan to keep hiding his identity.

“The Brown Rebels will send someone stronger to deal with us,” Mason warned him.

“It’s fine, they are all going to die anyway,” Mo Fan declared grimly.

“That’s exactly what I want to hear!” Mason had a lot of faith in Mo Fan.

Mo Fan looked into the distance and saw the watchtower that had been Summoning the fierce tornadoes had already collapsed.

Zhao Manyan had done a great job leading the remaining two hundred Savage Bull Riders to accomplish his mission.

“By the way, what did you offer to the gods? Do you really tie the Hillmen to trees at the foot of the Andes Mountain Range?” Mason asked Mo Fan.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan was confused.

“I heard the Aorus Sacred Institute has a secret magic that can Summon the spirits of the gods to be Possessed by them. Their famous Shamans can use magic similar to being Possessed by Insect Gods to strengthen their flesh. Didn’t you get your power from Forneus? Otherwise, how could you Summon such a powerful Commander-level Wolf Beast with your Dimensional Summoning?” Mason asked him.

Mason’s voice gradually fell off when he saw the strange expression on Mo Fan’s face.

How should he describe it? It was like Mo Fan had swallowed a bomb, yet it did not explode.

“Screw your gods, can you stop bringing up gods all the time? It’s f**king annoying!” Mo Fan yelled at him, completely fed up now.

——

Mo Fan and Mason left the battlefield. Zhao Manyan and the Savage Bull Riders returned at the same time.

A series of deafening noises suddenly erupted. The woods and the swamps were shaking vigorously.

“The Crusaders are pushing forward. It looks like we’ve won the battle on the outskirts!” Lt. Colonel Mason blurted out in excitement.

Since they had won the battle, he would be rewarded again, especially since he was still holding the head of the Brown’s General Zonah!

Soldiers in blue military uniforms marched past them. They had such great numbers that they were moving past the area like two endless streams.

They were crossing the battlefield, intending to confront the enemy around three kilometers away from the woods.

Lt. Colonel Mason’s regiment of volunteer Mages and Savage Bull Riders had suffered great casualties, but they had accomplished their mission. The assault phase was over. It was time for them to withdraw from the battlefield and treat the wounded.

——-

When they withdrew from the battlefield, the proud regiment of a thousand volunteer Mages and four hundred Savage Bull Riders only had around two hundred Mages and two hundred Riders left. There were less than five hundred people left!

“Did the guy with the nose stud make it?” Mo Fan asked after looking around.

“He died under a watchtower. His remains were too squashed, so we couldn’t bring them back. I do have his nose piercing. Do you want it?” one of the soldiers spoke up.

“Oh, bury it under the ground. I was just asking,” Mo Fan waved it away.

The man with the nose stud, Lieutenant Cory, was not that strong, only a tier-three Basic Mage.

The chances of survival for someone like him was extremely low. Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai might have outstanding strength, but it was impossible for them to look after everyone amid the chaos.

The soldiers’ lives were in the hands of the Heavens!

Captain Benson had survived. He recovered rapidly after Mu Bai treated him with his insects.

“Colonel Mason, remember to share the merits with the captain. He almost died,” Mo Fan reminded him.

“Of course, I won’t hog it!” Lt. Colonel Mason patted his chest.

The two armies were still fighting. It would be stupid to ask for a reward for the time being. Mason had to wait until the battle ended.

——

The sky darkened, but the rain was still pouring down heavily.

The magic blasts in the distance never stopped. Their lights flickered in the sky above the woods like fireworks, colorful and dazzling.

“What are you all doing here? Don’t you know we are short on men at the front line?” a man in a general’s uniform yelled as he stalked past the tents.

Lt. Colonel Mason was shocked. He did not expect to see a general here!

“General, we just came back from the front line after the assault! We are treating the injured and recovering our energy!” Mason declared.

“Assault? Which regiment are you from?” the general asked.

“The regiment with volunteer Mages and the Savage Bull Riders I’m in charge of! I’m Lt. Colonel Mason!” Mason straightened his back.

“Oh, it’s you… Well done!” the general said after a brief pause.

The general went to the next set of tents. They belonged to another assault regiment that had also suffered heavy casualties.

However, the general forced the soldiers who had just returned to go back to the front line immediately!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Is that general out of his mind?” Zhao Manyan asked. Those who had retreated from the front line were either injured or depleted of energy.

The assault troops had sacrificed so much. It was a miracle that some of them were still alive, so why was the general asking them to go to the front line again when they had not fully recovered yet?

“It seems like the main force is in a pinch,” Mo Fan deduced.

“Seriously? That quick? Didn’t they have the number advantage?”

“I just picked up a strange foul smell from the battlefield. I think the Brown Rebels are using another trick again,” Mu Bai spoke up.

They heard rapid footsteps outside the tents as soon as Mu Bai finished speaking.

They picked up the smell of blood and a foul stench before the footsteps arrived. A group of soldiers ran into the camp, carrying a lot of injured with them.

“Those who aren’t injured, come and give us a hand!” a medic yelled loudly.

The Savage Bull Riders immediately went over and helped carry the injured onto the sickbeds.

The camp alone had a thousand injured. Even those who lost their limbs were not being taken care of, let alone those who had sustained minor injuries. They had to treat their wounds themselves.

The camp was extremely packed after the new group of injured arrived. There were not enough beds. They had to put the injured down on the walkways.

“Can’t you see it’s already full here? Why did you bring them here?” the camp leader yelled.

“The other camps are full too,” the medic replied bluntly.

Mo Fan and his crew were resting in the camp. They noticed the strange symptoms of the injured who had just arrived at the camp.

They did not seem to be heavily injured by magic. They were covered in purple pustules and lumps, like they had accidentally gone into a cave of wasps.

Even the color of their blood was abnormal. Their blood was like bottles of watercolors that had been knocked over.

“Sir, you can’t bring them in here,” Mu Bai said sternly to the medic.

“What are you talking about?” The medic lost his temper. He yelled at Mu Bai, “They were risking their lives fighting the enemy on the front line. Did you think they will only fulfill their responsibilities by dying in the battle? They are injured, they have to be treated!”

“That’s not what I meant. You should check their bodies thoroughly and make sure…” Mu Bai began.

“Are you disgusted by the wounds they have sustained for the sake of the Federation?! Seeing how clean and well you are, you probably didn’t even fight in the battle. What right do you have to point your fingers around here? Step aside!” The medic shoved Mu Bai away roughly.

Only someone like Mu Bai could stand the medic’s tantrum. If it was Mo Fan, he would have slapped the man in the face.

“Look at your hand, and look at my skin,” Mu Bai told the medic patiently.

The medic had pushed Mu Bai in the chest, his filthy hands leaving smears there. Mu Bai happened to be half-naked. His skin quickly rose in an angry rash, like an allergic reaction.

The startled medic quickly looked at his hands.

His hands had swollen like pig trotters without him realizing it. They were frightening to look at!

“This…” The medic finally realized how serious the situation was. He looked at Mu Bai in shock.

“As a medic, shouldn’t you know how easy it is for the Shamans to spread their poison? You brought these injured who are poisoned here straight away! You are going to kill everyone in the camp!” Mu Bai berated him.

The medic was stunned. He looked around and saw everyone staring at him.

The medic never thought it would come down to this. He looked at his swollen hands and his assistants. They were also poisoned, even though they were wearing gloves!

“What…what should we do now?” The medic was completely lost.

The injured had to be treated soon. They could not just abandon them outside the camp!

It was raining and cold outside the camp. The injured would soon die if they left them in the rain!

“Assign an area for those who are poisoned. Sterilize them and their belongings at once!” Mu Bai ordered him.

The medic knew he had committed a huge mistake, and did not dare to waste any time. He quickly asked the soldiers to set up a quarantine zone.

“What happened to the main army?” Mu Bai asked.

“The Crusaders have taken over a huge area of the enemy’s territory and driven them back, but a large group of Summoned Beasts suddenly attacked our camps. Everyone who touched their venom and feelers ended up like this,” the medic reported.

“Summoned Beasts?”

“No, they weren’t Summoned Beasts!” one of the injured lying on a stretcher broke in.

The man’s condition was not too bad, even though he was fully covered in rashes, like thousands of ants were crawling on his skin. It was a painful sight.

“What were they?” Mu Bai asked him quickly.

“Insect Shamans, the kind that can control venomous insects. We saw a Brown Rebel tearing his skin apart, revealing something like an insect’s carapace under it with our own eyes!” the man said.

“Yes, I saw it too. It was terrifying. It was like a living person was fully covered in insects and turned into a monster!” another man reported.

Mu Bai immediately turned to Zhao Manyan.

“Seriously? It sounds like those Venomous Insect Shamans we bumped into at the Aorus Sacred Institute’s mounds on the Andes Mountains,” Zhao Manyan confirmed.

“It must be them,” Mu Bai nodded in agreement.

The Venomous Insect Shamans were obeying the Black Vatican’s orders. It was not surprising to find them among the Brown Rebels!

The main force of the Federation Army must have lost because of those Venomous Insect Shamans.

It explained why there were so many injured being brought back to the camps, and why the general was asking the injured to go back to the front line.

The Venomous Insect Shamans had turned the tide of the battle!

“How are those who are poisoned doing?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not great, and…” Mu Bai shook his head. He looked at the poisoned soldiers who were being moved to the quarantine zone and said softly, “Those Venomous Insect Shamans are extremely vicious.”

Mu Bai asked Mo Fan to follow him to the back.

Mo Fan realized there was something they could not discuss in front of other soldiers when he saw Mu Bai’s hard eyes.

“The soldiers who are poisoned won’t live for more than four hours, even if it’s just a little scratch.

“The worst thing is, the Venomous Insect Shamans are planning to wipe out the Federation Army. They purposely spared these soldiers’ lives so they would spread the poison in the camps!”

Chapter 2318: Not Allowed to Exist

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was astounded. They had not killed the soldiers on purpose, so that they would spread the poison in the camps?

How vicious were those Venomous Insects Shamans? They had to be slain at all costs!

“Can you save them?” Mo Fan asked quickly.

“It’s tricky. There are more than a hundred species of insect with deadly venom in the Andes Mountain Range. Even if I were to rule out the species by observing their symptoms, it will take days for me to diagnose them properly,” Mu Bai shook his head.

As a matter of fact, from the moment the brainless medic had brought the poisoned soldiers into the camp, the poison was going to spread wildly among the injured.

“The venomous insects are tinier than normal mosquitoes and flies. They are like a tiny cloud of dust when they gather together. Normal people aren’t vulnerable to them, but the wounds on those who are injured have given them an open path.

“They will leave the wounds of those who are poisoned and look for fresh and uninfected wounds. They can easily penetrate one’s body through the slightest cut…”

Mu Bai kept looking around him as he was explaining.

There were at least a thousand injured in the camp. If their wounds had scabbed, they might be able to avoid being poisoned, but those who were bleeding and had open wounds were most likely going to be infected.

Mu Bai estimated that in less than an hour, the people in the camp would begin to show symptoms. They would be covered in rashes, like they had been bitten by countless ants.

“Even you can’t save them?” Mo Fan asked helplessly.

“Unless there’s someone close by at least as skilled as a Servant from the Parthenon Temple, we have no chance of saving them,” Mu Bai replied grimly.

“There must be at least a few thousand injured in these camps, including ours!” Mo Fan hissed.

“Mm, the Venomous Insect Shamans kept them alive to infect the injured in the Federation Army’s camps, so they wouldn’t be able to return to the front line,” Mu Bai confirmed.

In a war, people would use any means necessary to eliminate their enemies!

The Magic Association had strict restrictions on the usage of the Undead, Poison, and Curse Elements. Mages with those Elements were under supervision at all times.

Unfortunately, they were in a middle of a war, where laws and restrictions no longer existed. Forbidden evil magic had begun to surface as the war continued!

“If all these injured die, I doubt the Federation Army will have the courage to keep pushing forward,” Mo Fan murmured.

Losing between five thousand to six thousand men was not going to make a huge difference. However, the panic caused by the mass deaths in their own territory was going to crush the morale of the entire army!

“I fought a few Venomous Insect Shamans at one of the Mounds. Their capabilities are terrifying if they are involved in a war,” Mu Bai agreed.

——

Mu Bai asked the medical personnel to set up quarantine zones to slow down the spread of the poison, yet the disaster he predicted still happened in the end.

An hour later, many soldiers in the camps had developed rashes.

The rashes were not painful or itchy. Many soldiers who were resting did not notice them at first. However, the rashes continued to enlarge and spread.

When the rashes reached a certain level, they would turn into a purple blister. It was only around the size of a coin at first, but it soon grew to the size of a palm.

The person would start to feel pain then. The itching and the pain would grow continuously, urging the person to scratch the blister or even use a knife to slice their flesh off!

The poison had already spread wildly in the other camps. The spread was a little slower in the third camp Mo Fan was in, yet they still could not stop the poison from spreading.

The camps were soon filled with cries of agony.

The camp only had injured people at first, but after a few hours, it had turned into a detention center for the infected. The smell was so strong that people were struggling to breathe properly, not to mention the terrifying condition of the skin of the infected.

——

An emergency meeting took place.

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai followed Lt. Colonel Mason and Brigadier General Blair into a blue tent.

The general from before, his face all wrinkled, was inside the tent too, his face even paler.

Over a dozen officers were sitting in the tent with their heads lowered. None of them spoke. They had lost their confidence after the main force lost the battle, and the camps had suffered such a serious blow.

“Sir, it’s not our fault. We had less than a day to prepare for the war. We were short on medics from the start, let alone Healers who are capable of curing the poison,” Brigadier General Blair spoke up.

“Are you neglecting your responsibilities now?” the general shot back.

“Who could have expected the Brown Rebels to convince the Venomous Insect Shamans to join them?”

“Thousands of our injured have died in the camps. We won’t be able to stop the news from spreading. No one is willing to fight the Venomous Insect Shamans.”

The gloomy poisonous mist released by the Venomous Insect Shamans was looming over the entire Federation Army. Everyone knew they were going to die if they touched even a tiny drop of the Venomous Insect Shamans’ poison.

Who would dare to fight the Venomous Insect Shamans?

“Find a place and bury the infected. We must stop our men from losing morale,” a merciless colonel spoke up.

“They have already lost their morale. Doing that is only going to make things worse!” Brigadier General Blair countered.

——-

Mo Fan and his friends had no right to speak in the tent. He was quite disappointed when these leaders of the army were unable to come up with a reliable solution after a long meeting.

The Federation’s main army might be stationed in the east, but the army that was sent to deal with the Brown Rebels was too weak!

“We have to get rid of the Venomous Insect Shamans. We must send someone to deal with them, or our men won’t be willing to push forward,” Brigadier General Blair stated.

“Isn’t that obvious? If we had someone who was strong enough to take down those Venomous Insect Shamans, why would we have to retreat all the way back here?” the colonel who suggested burying the infected spat.

Everyone was yelling at the top of their lungs, like a bunch of rascals quarreling on the street.

A group of people walked into the tent. They were wearing bright-colored and luxurious outfits, quite different from military uniforms.

Mo Fan glanced at them, and was surprised to see they were wearing the Aorus Sacred Institute’s uniform!

“Oh, you are finally here. We have a serious problem on hand. We need your assistance,” the general with wrinkles greeted them in relief.

“We are representing the school. We are not allowed to get involved in political conflicts.” The person leading the group was a woman. She had to be a professor, judging from her outfit.

Mo Fan had never seen the professor before, nor the students who were with her.

“However, we won’t allow the Venomous Insect Shamans to continue,” the professor continued coldly.

Chapter 2319: The Intervention

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan harrumphed softly when he heard the professor’s words. “She sounds righteous and all, but she’s just using it as an excuse to justify the school’s intervention with the war,” he muttered.

Mo Fan could not agree with him more.

The Aorus Sacred Institute had already decided to side with the Federation, but they did not want the public to think they were intervening because of politics. It was using the Venomous Insect Shamans as an excuse to join the war.

We suspect the enemy is using biological weapons. We decided to intervene for the sake of mankind!

They could even convince themselves they were doing the right thing if they repeated the slogan a couple of times.

Nevertheless, it was good news for Mo Fan and his friends.

The Venomous Insect Shamans were a group of powerful Poison Mages. According to Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan’s description, they raised insects for many years to turn themselves into monsters, like Insect Men.

These Insect Men were very strong. Ordinary Mages would not stand a chance against them!

“The Venomous Insect Shamans have indeed broken the Magic Laws. If you can help us take them out, the people of the Andes Mountains will be very grateful,” the general went along smoothly.

“We will need a few of your men who are outstanding and familiar with the battlefield to assist us,” the professor said.

After all, they were going to war. The Brown Rebels were not going to show them mercy just because they were from the Aorus Sacred Institute!

“That won’t be a problem. All the colonels and generals are here. They will recommend their best men to you,” the general agreed quickly.

Brigadier General Blair immediately looked at Lt. Colonel Mason. Lt. Colonel Mason quickly glanced at Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai, whom he assumed were blessed by the gods.

“Didn’t you say you are students of the Aorus Sacred Institute? Perfect!” Lt. Colonel Mason exclaimed.

Mo Fan had an urge to kick the idiot to death!

The professor immediately put her attention on them. Every colonel and general in the tent was staring at them now.

The three were clearly wearing uniforms of the military. Why would they be students from the Aorus Sacred Institute?

“Are you from the Aorus Sacred Institute?” the professor asked.

“Mm, sort of,” Mo Fan replied stiffly.

“Show me your badges,” the professor demanded.

It seemed like they could no longer conceal their identities…

The badges of the Aorus Sacred Institute’s branch were clearly not going to work. They only had the badges for teachers; their identities as guest lecturers would be exposed!

They had no idea if the Black Vatican had spies in the Federation Army…

“Oh, it’s you, I didn’t expect to see you here!” one of the female students blurted out. She was looking at Mu Bai in surprise.

“Oh, it’s you. What… what a coincidence!” Mu Bai was surprised too.

The professor looked at her student and asked, “Su Xi, you know him?”

“Yes, professor! Do you remember you once asked me to do research on the rarer species of insects in the Andes Mountains? Mu Bai here was the one who helped me find the Evil Bull Beetle. We often stumbled into one another in the library!” Su Xi had a charming smile. She looked more like a teenage girl around the age of fourteen than an adult.

“Oh,” the professor answered. She no longer needed them to show their badges.

Mo Fan put his badge back into his pocket with relief, a mischievous grin rising on his face.

“Why did you join the Federation Army?” Su Xi asked Mu Bai.

“Ugh… I feel like I should do something instead of wasting my time every day. The Federation Army happened to be recruiting,” Mu Bai explained.

“Aren’t you a Poison Mage, too? That’s great, since we are going after the Venomous Insect Shamans, you might be able to figure out their weaknesses, knowing how knowledgeable you are!” Su Xi was very confident in Mu Bai’s capabilities.

——

Time was of the essence. The general quickly gathered their most reliable men and prepared to face the Venomous Insect Shamans in the next battle.

The raindrops were tapping the tent loudly at night. Mo Fan and his friends were assigned to the specialized troop that was established to deal with the Venomous Insect Shamans. Everyone gathered for a quick briefing. They would set out with the army in the morning.

“Seriously, you always accused me of flirting with the students, but look at you… what a hypocrite!” Zhao Manyan teased Mu Bai.

“I thought you were visiting the library every day to equip yourself with knowledge, but it turns out you were hooking up with someone between the bookshelves!” Mo Fan went along with him.

Hooking up between the shelves? What the actual f**k?

They just happened to be studying in the same section of the library because of the topics they were interested in. They would chat occasionally when they bumped into one another, so why did it sound so filthy when it came out of Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan’s mouths?

“Enough with your wild imaginations,” Mu Bai said coldly.

“You told her your true name, yet you’re asking us not to overthink it?” Mo Fan had already noticed that peculiarity.

“If you didn’t have any ulterior motive, why didn’t you tell her you were a guest lecturer? Tsk tsk tsk, I’m well aware of what you are thinking, since I’m a man just like you. She might be hesitant to approach you if she knew you were a teacher. It would only hinder your progress in getting closer to her!” Zhao Manyan went on with relish

Mu Bai was having a hard time explaining himself.

They’d had a very academic discussion on the species of insects in the Andes Mountain Range when they first met in the library.

Su Xi did not ask who he was at first. She had only asked for his name after they met several times there. Mu Bai told her his true name as he did not want her to feel estranged. He had treated her like a classmate.

“Fine, I admit I was a little interested in her at first… Either way, she did us a huge favor,” Mu Bai forcibly changed the topic.

“That’s true.”

“You’re right. Otherwise, that professor would have insisted on seeing our badges.”

Professors were a level higher than lecturers. Even though they had never seen the professor in the Aorus Sacred Institute before, it was unlikely they would know every professor in the school, especially since many professors were devoted to their research.

She might be someone who did not like attention, or who rarely wasted her time on social events.

“Get some sleep, we are going to war tomorrow,” Mu Bai told both of them.

“I have a question,” Zhao Manyan asked with a serious face.

“If it’s something about Su Xi, you should keep your mouth shut,” Mu Bai said, his eyes narrowed.

“Fine. Mo Fan, why do you think he didn’t take the next step to become closer with Su Xi?” Zhao Manyan turned to the side and spoke to Mo Fan instead.

“Perhaps he assumes he would eventually win the girl’s affection with his knowledge, yet he eventually realized the girl already had a boyfriend?” Mo Fan grinned.

Mo Fan had noticed something during the meeting.

A male student had pulled Su Xi to the side and grumbled after she chatted happily with Mu Bai. The guy was obviously not pleased with Su Xi’s action of befriending a stranger in the library.

As soon as Mo Fan stated his speculation, he heard someone turning away on his bed to face the wall.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The morning rose a little late because of the rain. It was cold as night even after the sun had already risen above the Andes Mountain Range.

The defeat and the spreading poison in the camps had delivered a huge blow to the army’s morale, just like the gloomy sky without the slightest glimpse of sunlight.

Mo Fan was sleeping lightly. He was dreaming about the delicious seafood back in his homeland when a pungent and burning smell assailed his nostrils and woke him up.

“Don’t tell me they are using human fat to cook us breakfast!” Zhao Manyan swore as soon as he was woken up by the terrible smell.

“A fire broke out,” Mu Bai woke up earlier than them. He gave Mo Fan a wet towel and said, “The quarantine zone where the infected are at has caught fire.”

“Bullsh**, why would there be a fire when it’s raining so heavily?” Zhao Manyan ran out of the tent and looked at the quarantine zone.

He did see flickering flames. The horrible smell was coming from the same direction. He bent forward and vomited when the wind swept at him, along with the foul stench.

“That is seriously the worst cover-up I have ever seen,” Mo Fan swore quietly, staring at the fire.

“It’s better than burying them alive,” Mu Bai agreed quietly.

“The Federation Army is going to lose the whole war if we can’t take out the Venomous Insects Shamans after such a stupid act,” Mo Fan swore.

To think that a fire would break out exactly at where the infected were while it was raining heavily, as if it was trying to burn away the negative impact and emotions the poison had brought to the army.

The truth was, it was unlikely the injured in those camps could recover in time for the next battle. The Federation Army would only be short a few thousand men.

However, their idiocy was impacting the morale of the entire army. It was worse than the impact of the Venomous Insects Shamans’ poison!

“I seriously don’t understand why we have to involve ourselves in this mess,” Su Xi’s boyfriend spoke up from nearby.

Su Xi was an Asian and most likely from China too, thus she was amiable toward Mu Bai, Mo Fan, and Zhao Manyan. She had brought them some boiled eggs for breakfast.

Su Xi’s boyfriend was French, with curly ashen-gray hair and a handsome face. His outfit was different from the others, even though they were going to war. He was very concerned about his appearance and ../style.

He was a little displeased when he learned Su Xi was visiting the three Asians again.

“You have joined the military and become murderers and butchers in a war, despite being students of the Aorus Sacred Institute. Don’t you feel it’s going to soil your souls and beliefs? I seriously don’t understand what you are thinking,” Su Xi’s boyfriend Karl went on.

“Uh… is there a difference? Aren’t you the same too?” Mo Fan was dumbstruck.

“We are not the same! We followed Professor Xylan here to stop the Venomous Insect Shamans from harming society in the name of war. We are obeying the Magic Rules and are here to maintain order in South America!” Karl declared righteously.

Zhao Manyan gave Karl a round of applause. If he had a pair of scissors and a red piece of paper, he might have even cut out a red flower and slapped it on Karl’s chest.

Brigadier General Blair came up to them. “Fellow teachers and students of the Aorus Sacred Institute, the army will be setting out soon. Our strongest and deadliest troop of Brutal Lizard Knights will be leading it.”

Lt. Colonel Mason was standing beside him, although Mo Fan had no idea why the man would be here.

“The Brutal Lizard Knights will engage the enemy to disrupt their Magic Formations while the Crusaders bombard the enemy lines with spells. Our Skyriders will ambush the enemy from behind at the same time. The Venomous Insect Shamans could show up at anytime during the battle to stop our attack,” Brigadier General Blair briefly explained to them.

“General Blair, we will only focus on the Venomous Insect Shamans, so I hope you understand we won’t fight the Brown Rebels before they show up,” Professor Xylan said proudly.

Brigadier General Blair was annoyed at first. After all, there were several Super Mages among the teachers from the Aorus Sacred Institute, and Professor Xylan was an excellent Super Mage. The Federation Army could easily break through the enemy’s defenses with their help!

“Don’t you worry, we will try our best to escort you to the Venomous Insect Shamans no matter how chaotic the battle is,” Brigadier General Blair replied modestly.

Even his rank as a Brigadier General was nothing worth mentioning before a Professor of the Aorus Sacred Institute.

“When are we leaving?” Karl sounded impatient.

“Soon. The battle between the Brutal Lizard Knights and the enemy will soon have an outcome,” Brigadier General Blair replied.

—

As the army’s special forces, they were pretentious as they traveled across the battlefield.

They were riding a ferocious creature, called a Fearsome Martial Bear. It was Professor Xylan’s Contracted Beast.

It was so large it was like a landmark in the battlefield.

The Brutal Lizards, which were over four meters tall, were no different from a flock of wild ducks crossing under a bridge when they overtook the massive Fearsome Martial Bear and passed between its legs.

The Fearsome Martial Bear stood on its legs. Its body was not bulky and bloated like most brown bears or black bears. It looked more like an apish beast when standing.

It began walking on two legs. Each step it took would shake the ground vigorously.

The most special part about the creatures were their arms. They had a huge crystal-black bone sticking out of the joint on their elbows, like the shields ancient samurai had on their arms.

The crystalline shields on the Fearsome Martial Bear’s elbows were large enough to reach its knees. It was not obvious when the creature was moving, but one could imagine the two shields combining into a crystalline mountain when the creature held its arms together to defend itself!

——

The Brown Rebels were not blind. It went without saying that their regular troops would not be able to stop the Fearsome Martial Bear. They did not confront the Fearsome Martial Bear and the people standing on them before troops strong enough to take them on arrived.

“Mo Fan, take a look at someone else’s Contracted Beast…” Zhao Manyan mocked him.

Mo Fan could only spread his hands helplessly.

Little Flame Belle was like a clingy little squirrel whenever she was not fighting. She would lie on Mo Fan’s head and act like Mo Fan’s burning hat whenever she felt like it.

Luckily, Little Flame Belle’s fire was red. Mo Fan would feel quite awkward if it were green…

Little Flame Belle bit into a Soul-grade Seed fragment. It was her favorite snack, especially when she was eating it when her father was around.. She felt blissful when the others could hear her munching.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Colonel Mason, why are you here?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Lt. Colonel Mason gave him an ugly smile and beat his chest, as if he was trying to look more like an ape.

“The Lieutenant General acknowledged my strength after I gave him Zonah’s head, so he assigned me to be Brigadier General Blair’s assistant for this operation,” Mason answered confidently.

“Which means, you are the second-in-command of this group?!” Mo Fan palmed his forehead.

“That’s right!”

Not again! He led his troop right toward the enemy’s guns every single time!

Two Fiery Fists with long burning contrails were flying at them from around three hundred meters away.

Mo Fan glanced at the Fiery Fists. He did not take a defensive stance right away.

Based on his experience over the years, the two Fiery Fists were slightly off-angle. They were not going to hit the group.

Mo Fan ignored the Fiery Fists. Besides, it was not like he was the only Mage in the group.

“Water Curtain!” a loud yell sounded nearby. Karl had already stepped forward. He shoved his hand forward and established a standard Water Curtain.

The Water Curtain caught the two Fiery Fists that had appeared out of nowhere and put out the flames in no time.

“It’s common to be hit by spells that go out of control in the middle of a battle. You should focus on controlling your magic instead of trying to put on a show in a situation like this,” Professor Xylan reminded him.

Karl had stepped forward to show off his capabilities, yet he was criticized by Professor Xylan instead. The glow on his face dimmed. “Yes, Professor,” he sighed respectfully.

Several Ice Spears were thrown at them from around four hundred meters away. The spells were more accurate this time, landing right between the people in the group.

Mo Fan watched the spells approach, estimating their paths again. The Ice Spears would be landing right on Mason’s head, if he insisted on standing at the very front like an idiot.

Professor Xylan lifted her eyes. She had also noticed the incoming projectiles, yet she closed her eyes again and remained silent.

She had brought along quite a few high-achiever students from the Aorus Sacred Institute. If they could not handle these random attacks coming in, it was better for them to die to the Ice Spears!

As she expected, another student stepped forward to defend them.

It was Su Xi’s turn. She Cast a Shadow Spell and fired a few Shadow Needles at the Ice Spears, intercepting them in mid-air and shattering them.

Mo Fan watched Su Xi’s method closely. It was a neat trick using the Shadow Needles to intercept the incoming projectiles. Mo Fan had never tried it before!

Su Xi’s Shadow Magic was pretty solid. She did not have to construct Star Patterns as she was Casting the Intermediate Spell, it was like she was carrying the Shadow Needles on her. She was able to fire them off simply by waving her hands.

The broken ice fell to the ground with the raindrops. The Fearsome Martial Bears continued to stride across the battlefield while ignoring the spells that happened to be coming their way.

Mo Fan was not sure whether the Fearsome Martial Bear knew it did not have to worry about these petty spells, or if Professor Xylan had asked it to ignore them so she could test her students’ reaction.

Su Xi glanced at Professor Xylan after intercepting the Ice Spears.

Professor Xylan’s eyes remained closed, and she did not comment on Su Xi’s attempt. Her student was a little disappointed.

A dozen rolling boulders appeared out of nowhere to their left, less than a hundred meters away.

The Fearsome Martial Bear kept moving forward as the boulders were approaching. It fixed its gaze ahead without reacting to the boulders.

Based on Mo Fan’s years of experience in preparing for his Math exams, he calculated that the rolling boulders would collide with the Fearsome Martial Bear’s legs in two seconds if both sides maintained their pace.

Professor Xylan’s students were eager to show off their skills. A young woman with a middle-part hair../style and a high nose stepped forward and Cast the Basic Earth Spell, Earth Wave.

The Earth Wave manipulated the terrain and formed ravines to slow down the rolling boulders.

The Fearsome Martial Bear kept moving forward. The rolling boulders ended up rolling harmlessly past its feet after their speed dropped. It was a close call.

Professor Xylan opened her eyes. “Well done! It’s important to use your brain when using your magic. Magic is like a sword. The higher the level of your magic, the sharper the sword is, but the way you swing your sword will also have different effects!”

Her eyes might be closed, but she was well aware of everything that was going on around her, and had been impressed by how the female student had used her magic.

Karl had used an Advanced Spell to stop two Intermediate Fire Spells.

Su Xi had used an Intermediate Shadow Spell to nullify an Intermediate Ice Spell.

The female student had used a Basic Spell to overcome a spell of a higher level!

It was obvious who was best at using their magic!

Karl did not think his attempt would turn into a negative example, and his face darkened.

Professor Xylan liked to test her students on even the smallest details in the application of magic. She liked smart students who could use their magic wisely. She would compliment them whenever they were able to come up with little tricks to make their magic more efficient. As a result, the competition between the students was fierce.

——

“That carefree Professor is teaching her students a lesson in the middle of a battle.” Zhao Manyan was not fond of how they were treating the operation like an excursion.

“Perhaps she’s confident in her strength. I bet she isn’t that worried about the Venomous Insect Shamans,” Mu Bai deduced.

“What she said is right, too.” Mo Fan agreed with Professor Xylan’s words.

Magic was like a sword if it was used as a weapon. The way one was swinging it was very crucial.

The difference when the person was swinging the sword recklessly and using proper techniques was extremely huge!

Chapter 2322: Pretending to be High and Mighty?

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A fierce flash of lightning swept across the dim sky and the huge raindrops lit up like a cloud of golden dust for a moment.

Mo Fan suddenly felt his Dark Vein rising. He looked up and happened to catch the flash of lightning lighting up the sky like a match. He also caught a glimpse of a pitch-black claw reaching out from the curtain of rain!

“Move forward, flatten the ground ahead!” Lt. Colonel Mason shouted at the same time.

His Savage Bull Riders were in front of the Fearsome Martial Bear. They were clearing a path ahead like bulls plowing a field, mainly because the Fearsome Martial Bear was used to living in a forest and did not like mud staining the bottom of its feet.

The claw was less than a hundred meters away from the Savage Bull Riders. It was not to be underestimated, since it had woken Mo Fan’s Dark Vein.

However, the Fearsome Martial Bear was still ignoring it.

Even Professor Xylan only took a quick look at it and closed her eyes. However, she quickly re-opened them and glanced at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan could not wait any longer, and activated his Earth Domain. “Star Dust: Rock Repeating Crossbow!”

Countless shards emerged from the ground. Mo Fan sharpened their tips with his will and fired them rapidly at the claw in the sky, like the bolts of a repeating crossbow!

The bolts formed a line and drove at the claw that was about to land on Mason. The bolts struck the claw and broke off one of its talons.

Mason realized something was above him after he heard the impacts. Black splinters began falling from the sky.

Another lightning strike happened to flash in the sky, like it had torn the clouds in half, and revealed the black claw reaching down.

The claw was connected to a strange limb that had extended from somewhere on the battlefield. It looked like it belonged to an enormous creature up in the sky.

Mo Fan’s bolts had destroyed the talon in the middle, leaving the claw with only two talons on the left and two on the right. It looked ghastly and twisted with the huge gap in between the toes!

“What…what the Hell is that?” Mason fell to the ground as the claw plunged at him.

Mason was very lucky that he was right in the middle of the claw where the gap was. He looked like an earthworm digging its way out from under a rooster’s claw.

The toes were terrifyingly huge. Mason found himself frightened stiff in between them as the blow landed. He was so close to being smashed into pieces!

The claw rose quickly after missing its attack.

Everyone thought it was going to come down at Mason again, since he was completely frozen on the spot, but it retreated and disappeared up into the clouds.

A few Thunderbolts Cast by Lightning Mages collided in the sky and created illuminating flashes, but there was no sign of the claw.

The claw was gone. It had disappeared as quickly as it came out of nowhere.

—

“What…what exactly was that?”

Mason was dazed with shock. The gouges left by the talons around him were like deep ravines in the ground.

“It seemed to be coming after you,” Captain Benson said.

“But I’m just a nobody…” Lt. Colonel Mason replied softly.

It was clearly beyond what he could possibly handle. He would have had no idea how he died if he was not standing in the gap between the talons.

“Perhaps you caught the attention of the Super Mages of the Brown Rebels after you ruined their plans consecutively,” Captain Benson pointed out.

“But…but don’t we have strong Mages with us, too?” Mason turned and looked at the Fearsome Martial Bear.

“If those nobles of the Aorus Sacred Institute had any respect for us, they wouldn’t ask my men to plow the field. We are warriors, not farmers!” Captain Benson grumbled.

They were plowing the fields just so the Fearsome Martial Bear would not dirty its feet. It was stepping on the tracks of the Savage Bulls as it moved forward.

It was an order their superior had given to the Savage Bull Riders!

They had contributed greatly to the army, yet they were only worthy to be the insoles of Professor Xylan’s Contracted Beast!

Even so, the other troops were jealous of the Savage Bull Riders having the chance to carry out an operation with the people of the Aorus Sacred Institute.

—

“You clearly saw it.” Mo Fan stared at Professor Xylan.

“Didn’t you see it, too?” Professor Xylan opened her eyes. She was not surprised by what had just happened.

Mo Fan was utterly speechless. If it wasn’t for the Dark Vein, he would not have noticed the claw hidden in the clouds!

Professor Xylan had obviously noticed it, yet she was not willing to stop it when it was already above Mason’s head.

Does she treat her magic as precious as gold?

“What if I hadn’t stopped it in time?” Mo Fan challenged her.

“So be it then, you wouldn’t have to feel guilty over his death. This is a war; it’s quite normal for soldiers to die in it,” Professor Xylan replied calmly.

Mo Fan’s face darkened.

Leaving aside Lt. Colonel Mason’s stupidity, the Savage Bull Riders under his leadership were working hard to clear a path for the Fearsome Martial Bear, yet Professor Xylan could not care less about their lives!

“You are pretty strong. You don’t look like a student. The Aorus Sacred Institute will remain the same, whether the Federation wins the war or not. Why are you involving yourself in this mess, if you already have a high status?” Professor Xylan asked him.

Professor Xylan was obviously evaluating him.

Even though Mo Fan had only used an Advanced Spell and an Advanced Domain, Professor Xylan was able to learn something from it.

The claw had appeared out of nowhere, and this man who claimed to be a student of the Sacred Aorus Institute was the only one who had noticed it, except for her.

There was another reason Xylan had not intercepted the claw. She was interested in seeing Mo Fan’s strength!

She was testing Mo Fan, just like she was testing her students!

Mo Fan was too lazy to answer Professor Xylan’s question. He folded his arms and closed his eyes like he was mimicking her.

Did she think she was the only one who knew how to pretend to be high and mighty?

Chapter 2323: Students Going to War

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The group was approaching a rain forest five hundred meters away. It had three layers, just like the rain forest close to the swamps. They would soon be surrounded by shrubs that were taller than them.

It was easy for a group to get split up in the rain forest. Anyone could lose their way while walking in the shrubs if they were not paying attention.

Even a moving landmark like the Fearsome Martial Bear would disappear under the tall canopy of the trees here!

“Brigadier General Blair, ask your men to get rid of the weeds ahead,” Professor Xylan called out.

“Why don’t you ask Brigadier General Blair to build a highway for your Fearsome Martial Bear?” Mo Fan scoffed. He was seriously finding the Professor an eyesore.

“That would be the best,” Professor Xylan agreed.

“…”

—

Mo Fan was only saying it off the top of his head, but Brigadier General Blair actually passed on the request to his soldiers.

A few minutes later, a troop of a hundred Basic Mages arrived and solidified the soil with Earth Wave.

The Savage Bull Riders were razing the plants to the ground, while the troop of Earth Mages was paving a road.

They were clearing a path through the rainforest, just so the Contracted Beast could advance with peace of mind!

A creature of its size could easily walk across a swamp without sinking into it.

It did not feel like they were going to war at all. It felt more like the parade of a royal family!

—

“The Venomous Insect Shamans can use their magic freely in the rainforest. It might seem a waste of effort, but it’s necessary,” Mu Bai told him quietly.

“I’m just afraid it’s going to bring us more trouble. The enemy isn’t going to stick to the rules. They must know we are coming after the Venomous Insect Shamans. They can just send their Wind Warships to attack us. We will have to retreat before we even see the Venomous Insect Shamans!” Mo Fan shook his head. He was quite displeased by Professor Xylan’s carefree attitude.

Even the Federation was not as worried as Mo Fan. The generals were not as eager to win the war as Mo Fan was.

He could easily tell Professor Xylan’s attitude toward the fight, judging by the way she had been testing her students previously.

The cries of Savage Bulls came from the distance. Mo Fan could see a gust of wind sweeping the Savage Bulls into the air from up on the Fearsome Martial Bear. The Savage Bulls were flung out of his sight in the blink of an eye.

The wind grew stronger and knocked more Savage Bulls into the sky. The Savage Bull Riders had no choice but to seek cover behind the Fearsome Martial Bear.

“It’s the enemy’s Wind Warships!” Brigadier General Blair yelled.

“How many of them?”

“Four!”

Strong winds were approaching from four different directions. They collided around a kilometer away from the Fearsome Martial Bear and combined into a ferocious tornado.

The tornado was strong enough to toss the Savage Bulls within a certain distance of it into the sky like mere pieces of paper.

Mo Fan harrumphed coldly when he heard the news. As he thought, the Brown Rebels’ generals were smarter than the Federation Army!

Why would the generals even allow Professor Xylan to put on airs in the middle of a war? Wouldn’t it tell the Brown Rebels that the Federation Army had sent out someone special?

“Xylan… Professor Xylan, I’m afraid my men couldn’t stop the Wind Warships,” Brigadier General Blair said apologetically.

“I’m only after the Venomous Insect Shamans,” Professor Xylan replied.

“But they are hiding behind the Wind Warships!” Brigadier General Blair pointed out.

“My magic will only shed the Venomous Insect Shamans’ blood. If you can’t deal with the Wind Warships and bring us to the Venomous Insect Shamans, we will go back to the city,” Professor Xylan informed him.

She closed her eyes again after finishing the sentence, like an imperious statue.

Brigadier General Blair’s expression shifted when he heard Professor Xylan was thinking of turning back.

He didn’t dare say another word. He turned to Lt. Colonel Mason instead.

“You’ve beaten the Brown Rebels several times. Now that the enemy has sent four Wind Warships to stop our advance, what do you think we should do?” Brigadier General Blair asked him.

Mason was dumbfounded.

Why should a little officer like him have to worry about such a tricky question? Those were four Wind Warships, which meant ten thousand elite soldiers of the Brown Rebels!

Lt. Colonel Mason knew his place. He immediately climbed onto the Fearsome Martial Bear’s shoulder and asked Mo Fan for help.

——

Professor Xylan opened her eyes a little and glanced at Mo Fan and Mason.

Su Xi was standing beside Professor Xylan. She finally asked, “Professor, the Brown Rebels are clearly coming after us. The Federation Army obviously can’t handle them. Are we really going to give up?”

“I won’t use a single spell,” Professor Xylan stated firmly.

Su Xi was familiar with Professor Xylan. She looked at the Professor’s eyes and soon realized something.

“Professor, you mean we can help, right?” Su Xi smiled.

Professor Xylan did not answer the question, but the answer was obvious.

The Professor had no intention to join the battle, nor did her two assistant teachers, but the students were free to do whatever they wanted.

A cruel battlefield was the best training ground for students. How could they not have the urge to fight when they were surrounded by the howls and blasts of spells? Besides, the Brown Rebels were shameless and despicable. They had murdered a lot of innocent people in Banlo City.

The students were only joining the battle so the Andes Mountain Range could regain its peace sooner!

—

Su Xi quickly went up to Mo Fan and his friends.

She brought half of the students with her. They were around Mo Fan’s age, but each of them had a proud look on their face. It was a typical trait of every student of the Aorus Sacred Institute, let alone high-achievers in the school.

Most of the students in a university were studying for their Bachelor’s degrees, but they were a bunch of Master’s and Ph.D. students, and were being taught by a top professor!

“We will lend you a hand!” Su Xi gave Mu Bai a friendly smile.

Mu Bai could feel sadness spreading between his legs when he saw Su Xi wrapping her arm around Karl as they walked over.

1

“That’s great, you are all high-achievers of the Aorus Sacred Institute, but the enemy’s Wind Warships are extremely powerful. I’m afraid the number of people we have here…” Brigadier General Blair began.

The Wind Warships had around ten thousand soldiers. It was a terrifying number, even if they did not take the Wind Warships’ firepower into consideration!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Brigadier General Blair had brought a troop of Advanced Mages numbering about thirty.

The students of the Aorus Sacred Institute were Su Xi, Karl, the woman with a tall nose, and four other people. It would number ten if including Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai.

The forty of them were going to take on four Wind Warships!

The size of the Wind Warships in the forest was slightly bigger, with between two thousand to three thousand people powering each Wind Warship. They had a higher ratio of Light Mages, meaning that the Light Armor protecting the Wind Warships was thicker.

Two of the Wind Warships were hidden in the thick ground foliage, while the other two were above the curtain of rain.

Normally, a Wind Mage would only be able to fly after reaching the Advanced Level, but when a few thousand lower Wind Mages worked together like a machine, it allowed them to levitate in the sky too.

Wind Gear Wheels came down from the sky and created huge ravines and cracks in the woods. The Fearsome Martial Bear had stopped advancing, and stood there like a pitch-black mountain.

Brigadier General Blair was leading the army. The Federation Army had assigned seven hundred Brutal Lizard Knights to him. He had ordered the Brutal Lizard Knights to take the lead.

The Brutal Lizards were a lot faster than the Savage Bulls. They were also at home in the swampy woods, allowing them to weave through the trees freely.

The Wind Gear Wheels suddenly crashed into the Brutal Lizard Knights, shredding those who could not react in time into mincemeat.

The Brutal Lizards dodged to the sides, but a strong tornado knocked them into the distance before they even saw the enemy’s soldiers!

“Stop sending your men to their deaths,” Karl told Brigadier General Blair.

Brigadier General Blair had a wry expression. He did not want to sacrifice his men, either. Training a troop of Brutal Lizard Knights cost the army a fortune!

“Water Curtain!” Karl stood in front of the troops. He was eager to contribute and be recognized by Professor Xylan.

The reason Professor Xylan had allowed them to join the battle was very simple. It was a test!

The Water Curtain drifted wildly, like a blue sail a few dozen meters square.

The Water Curtain turned into countless droplets and scattered in all directions when the Wind Gear Wheels rammed into it.

Karl was a little surprised. He did not expect the Wind Gear Wheels to be so powerful. His Water Curtain did not stand a chance!

“Don’t underestimate the Wind Warships. The Wind Gear Wheels are very close to the strength of a Super Spell,” Mu Bai informed him.

“Humph, are you really comparing them with a Super Spell? I will show them the strength of a real Super Spell!” Karl snarled.

Karl took a step back and stomped his right foot on the ground.

Mud and water splashed into the air, but did not fall back to the ground. They floated in the air in the form of cloudy orbs of water!

The orbs swiftly lined up to construct Star Patterns, which gradually combined into seven Star Constellations.

The twenty-four hundred and one water orbs formed a cloudy Star Palace!

“Catastrophe Wave: Sky-Rolling Mud Sea!”

The Star Palace collapsed as its energy spread across all the soil within half a kilometer of Karl.

The rainforest not only had a layer of mud, but leached soil underneath. The leached soil was extremely loose because of the heavy rain, and Karl’s Super Magic easily turned the loose soil for ten meters deep into mud.

The mud within half a kilometer of Karl rose into the air and formed a huge basin, like it was being lifted up by a giant, before it was thrown down at the woods.

When the mud came pouring down, even the mudslides that usually occurred in the mountains were like tiny streams compared to it.

The sturdy trunks of eighty-meter trees were pillars of the forest, yet they snapped like a match as the wave of mud swept forward.

The huge rainforest was instantly devoured by the black mud, together with the Brown Rebels who were hiding in it.

The force of the mud wave greatly surpassed the waves at sea. The Brown Rebels who were caught by it had zero chance of survival. It was worse than falling into a swamp, as the debris that the wave was carrying could easily shatter their bodies.

So this is the strength of a Super Spell? Lt. Colonel Mason could feel his throat bulging as he witnessed the shocking sight before him!

The other soldiers were also dazzled by the spectacular spell.

A Super Mage was shockingly effective in a war. If the Wind Warship was still in the same spot, half of its crew would be dead. Over a thousand Mages would be buried under the mud!

“Do you still think those guys are comparable to a Super Mage?” Karl said proudly.

“Are you all Super Mages?” Brigadier General Blair asked in disbelief.

If these students were already Super Mages, how much stronger would the two assistant teachers and Professor Xylan be?

No wonder she did not bother involving herself. The four Wind Warships were nothing in her eyes!

“Not all, but most of us are,” Karl said.

“Isn’t it too early to celebrate?” Mu Bai asked.

Karl frowned. How dare the guy pour cold water on him? His Super Spell had clearly dominated the battle!

“The Wind Warship had already backed away. They only lost two hundred people at most. A Wind Warship with two thousand Wind Mages can still operate after losing a tenth of its men,” Mu Bai went on.

An assistant teacher glided down from the back of the Awesome Martial Bear. “The enemy had already retreated before they saw the spell. They have a lot of Wind Mages, so they were able to retreat very quickly.”

The assistant teacher was a bearded middle-aged man with brown hair. He looked like a lion who had just woken up from a nap.

“Mr. Commodore, are you sure? My spell covered a distance of almost two kilometers. How did they?…” Karl blurted out in astonishment.

“My Invisible Eagle saw it clearly.” Commodore lifted his arm. His elbow sank a little as the silhouette of a creature slowly appeared on it.

A few seconds later, an eagle fully appeared on Commodore’s arm.. Its special feathers were able to refract light, allowing it to remain invisible even when it was raining.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Hah, he’s only impressive on the surface!” Zhao Manyan laughed.

Karl’s expression darkened.

He had clearly underestimated the Brown Rebels. The enemy had retreated quickly when they sensed the incredible energy of his Super Spell.

“You should focus more on timing. A heavy cannon isn’t necessarily as useful as a dagger in your hand at times,” Commodore chided Karl.

“The bad news is, the enemy now knows we have a cannon. They will react to it soon,” Mo Fan added in.

Karl glared at Mo Fan.

“Don’t look at me, see for yourself. That guy is probably coming after you!” Mo Fan pointed at a Brown Rebel soaring in the sky with his Wind Wings.

The Wind Mage was maintaining a safe distance from them. He dared not come any closer after seeing the Fearsome Martial Bear.

His eyes were glowing like a cat in the dim sky. He was searching for the person who had Cast the Super Water Spell.

He soon fixed his eyes on Karl. The strange thing was, he was able to pinpoint Karl from such a great height, even though Karl was close to Mo Fan, Commodore, Zhao Manyan, and the others.

“He must be using the Psychic Spell Homing Eyes . It can track down a Caster through the residual energy in the air,” Commodore noticed.

“Does that mean the Brown Rebels have their eyes on me?” Karl asked warily.

“I’m afraid so. A Super Mage can easily destroy a Wind Warship, so the Brown Rebels will try their best to mark every enemy who can Cast a Super Spell to prevent them from disrupting the balance of the battle,” Commodore analyzed professionally.

Zhao Manyan immediately looked at Mo Fan after hearing those words. “Luckily, we didn’t use our Super Magic. Otherwise, those guys with cat eyes could easily track us down!” he said softly.

It turned out they were right for being cautious on the battlefield. A Super Mage’s spells were very destructive. If the Brown Rebels had not had a way to pinpoint where the enemy Super Mages were, a single Super Spell might have turned the tide of the battle.

Mo Fan looked at the sky. “Even though the Wind Warships are fast, Karl didn’t take much time to Channel his Super Spell, either. I believe the guy was keeping watch in the sky from the beginning. He immediately ordered the Wind Warship to retreat when he sensed the Super Spell. As a result, Karl’s Catastrophe Wave wasn’t as effective as he expected it to be.”

The guy with glowing eyes had disappeared. His job was to observe the enemy from the sky on behalf of the Wind Warships, instead of engaging the enemy.

“We have to get rid of him somehow. Otherwise, they will only back away whenever we use our Super Magic. We can’t defeat them like this,” Su Xi spoke up.

“He won’t give us a chance,” Commodore agreed.

——

The Wind Gear Wheels did not stop coming. There were four Wind Warships in total. The Catastrophe Wave might have driven one of them away, but the other three were still operating as normal.

The female student with a tall nose was in charge of defense. Whenever a Wind Gear Wheel was coming at them, she would Summon a huge rock to block its way, just like a sluice gate.

Most of the students who had come with Professor Xylan were Super Mages, similar to Ritchie and Boleyn.

“Aren’t you going to help?” the female student with a tall nose asked Mo Fan coldly.

“Me?” Mo Fan pointed at himself. He subconsciously wanted to call Zhao Manyan over. Zhao Manyan was a lot better than him at defense!

“I remember you were an Earth Mage, too!” the female student pointed out.

“I’m not good at defense. My Earth Element leans more toward offense, but I can’t use it since the Wind Warships are too far away,” Mo Fan replied.

“Then you can lend me a hand by gathering Earth Magic for me!” the female student went on.

“Fine,” Mo Fan shook his head helplessly.

Why do the students of the Aorus Sacred Institute have to be so aloof?

That being said, Mo Fan was surprised by their strength. It felt like the group was stronger than the teams that had taken part in the open tournament.

“They are moving toward the same spot. They are planning to focus fire on us,” the female student noticed.

“I don’t think it’s as simple as that…” Mo Fan looked into the distance.

The wind was sweeping mud and vegetation into the air, making it difficult to see beyond a kilometer.

Mo Fan noticed the four Wind Warships were regrouping at the same location. Thousands of Wind Tracks had been set up white tunnels for the Wind Mages to travel along quickly.

To his surprise, other Mages who did not belong to the Wind Warships were gathering at the same spot too. More Wind Tracks were Cast to expand the Wind Warships and stack them higher.

“What’s happening? Are those Wind Warships able to combine into one?” Zhao Manyan rubbed his eyes and tried his best to gain a clearer view.

Each Wind Warship consisted of two thousand Mages. As the four Wind Warships slowly combined into one, there were almost ten thousand people on its deck!

The Wind Tracks continued to cross paths and establish boundaries with ferocious winds. They looked like enormous shiny white steel plates from afar!

“You are right!” Mo Fan said with a wry smile.

The four Wind Warships had indeed combined into a Wind Destroyer, which was several times bigger!

The Wind Destroyer had ten thousand men: two thousand on the ground, and eight thousand flying in the air!

It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing a Magic Regiment of this scale. Even Super Mages like them took a few steps back after seeing it.

The wind in their surroundings suddenly blew in the opposite direction. It felt like several hands were shoving them closer toward the Wind Destroyer.

The soil cracked and branches began flying forward. Even the curtain of rain was drawn closer to the Wind Destroyer.

“Perishing Dragon Breath!” the Brown Rebel with cat eyes in the sky shouted.

The wind suddenly stopped. Everything was still moving toward the Wind Destroyer from the momentum as a ferocious gust of wind, similar to the breath of a dragon, greeted them!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The whole place fell silent!

Everything within their view ahead had turned into dust particles, crushed thoroughly by the overwhelming force!

It was already dark to begin with, but it felt like the whole world was devoured by terrifying darkness when the Perishing Dragon Breath came at them.

It no longer mattered where the Perishing Dragon Breath had come from. It ruled over everything in an instant. The people caught by it found themselves in a deep abyss of a rock quarry. They were no different from the stones around them.

There were many Advanced Mages among Brigadier General Blair’s men. However, they were knocked into the air like grains and shredded into pieces by the Perishing Dragon Breath before they went any higher.

Even their blood was sucked away by the shredding airflow. They did not stand any chance!

“Old Zhao!” Mo Fan yelled. The overwhelming Wind Magic had clearly exceeded his own limit.

“I can’t protect so many people at once!” Zhao Manyan yelled back.

More people were knocked into the sky before they were shredded like pieces of paper. Their blood spread like dye dropping into a rapid current and dissipated instantly.

Zhao Manyan thrust his hands out and established a Rampart in the shape of an egg. It was imbued with Baxia’s Seals to further strengthen its defense.

Unfortunately, the Rampart could not protect everyone, not to mention that Zhao Manyan was barely holding his ground. His energy was being consumed rapidly as his spell withstood the destructive wind.

“Professor Xylan!” Karl yelled.

The enemy seemed to be treating Karl as their priority target. Several gusts of wind with more vivid colors were heading toward him through the darkness.

The airflows were like ferocious dragons weaving through the darkness, leaving deep and wide ravines in their wake.

Professor Xylan was still on the Fearsome Martial Bear’s head. She gave a strange order after she saw Karl being targeted by the enemy.

The Fearsome Martial Bear finally moved.

The enormous creature jumped, landing in front of Karl and the others to block the Perishing Dragon Breath.

It joined its left and right arms. The dark crystals sticking out from its elbows formed a sturdy wall, like the gate of an ancient city blocking the enemies’ cannons.

The Perishing Dragon Breath unleashed more gusts of wind. They turned into dragons and swarmed across the shallow stream.

The Fearsome Martial Bear was sliding back slowly. Its fur would not be able to withstand the destructive Wind Spell if it lost its balance.

The Fearsome Martial Bear let out a furious roar.

A blue Aura gathered on the Fearsome Martial Bear’s crystalline shields, as if the ancient soul of a great beast had woken up following the creature’s roars. The Aura formed a thick barrier around the shields.

As the Aura thickened, the Fearsome Martial Bear’s shield grew thicker.

The Aura would still dissipate a little every time the Wind Dragons rammed into the shields, but it did not matter how long the shields would last. It had bought some time for the people behind the Fearsome Martial Bear to catch their breaths. Even Super Mages were struggling to withstand the destructive Wind Magic, let alone the soldiers of the Federation Army!

—

The Perishing Dragon Breath soon started to weaken.

The rain for a few kilometers around had stopped for some time because of the wind, but its raindrops were not the first to return. It was the soldiers of the Federation Army, who were free-falling from the sky.

The Perishing Dragon Wind had eliminated the Earth Mages who were paving a path for Professor Xylan. The Savage Bull Riders who were mostly Intermediate Mages did not survive, either.

Their remains were soon scattered in the vicinity.

Those were only the remains that were left. Most of the corpses were already gone after the wind blew them to other places.

“Is everyone alright?” Su Xi asked.

“Those who aren’t won’t be able to answer you,” Mo Fan answered grimly.

Professor Xylan had clearly overdone it. It did not matter how outstanding Professor Xylan and her students’ cultivation was, the enemy could still crush them like sand by abusing its numbers.

The Fearsome Martial Bear might have blocked most of the Wind Magic, but it was also covered in injuries. If the Perishing Dragon Breath had lasted for a little longer, the creature would have been sent flying and shredded into pieces too.

“Did the Brown Rebels use their ace against us?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in shock.

“That brainless Professor is only making it worse,” Mo Fan grumbled. Why couldn’t they send someone more reliable?

If they could put a stop to the Frenzy Rain, they would be able to stop half of the enemy, who were only involved in the war after losing their rationality.

Mo Fan initially thought the Professor and her students would get them to the Scorching River, but the Wind Destroyer had proven him wrong.

“Should we try to break through the enemy’s defense ourselves?” Mu Bai asked quietly.

“No, it’s still too early for that. If we try to push forward now, at least thirty thousand Mages are going to surround us by the time we reach the Scorching River. We might have trouble leaving in one piece, let alone taking down Wu Ku,” Mo Fan shook his head.

Professor Xylan might be a pain in the ass, but she was their only hope to reach their destination!

“It’s obvious that Professor Xylan isn’t going to fight, but I’m afraid her students alone aren’t strong enough to defeat the Wind Destroyer,” Mu Bai pointed out.

“We have no idea how many enemies are blocking our path ahead,” Mo Fan agreed.

“What should we do then?” Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan were lost.

Mo Fan turned to Brigadier General Blair.

The general’s face was extremely pale. It seemed like he had lost all hope of winning the battle.

“Brigadier General Blair, how does the Crusader’s Cross Chaos Formation work? If the enemy has sent out their Wind Warships, why aren’t the Crusaders stopping them?” Mo Fan asked.

“The Crusaders have a very limited range, but the Wind Warships are able to fire their Wind Gear Wheels from two kilometers away. Our Crusaders are only effective when they are within five hundred meters of the enemy,” Brigadier General Blair explained.

The enemy’s Wind Warships were abusing the wide area of effect of the Wind Element.

The Crusaders were made up of many Elemental Mages, but they were mostly Basic and Intermediate Mages. Their effective range was only five hundred meters.

As a result, the Crusaders would only suffer great casualties if they went up against the Wind Warships, unless they were within five hundred meters of them!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“So its effective range is the problem here?” Mo Fan asked for clarification.

“The effective range of an army is critical in a war. If you are using a long-range bow against the enemy’s crossbows, the long-range bow will have the upper hand as long as you keep your distance from the enemy. The army isn’t going to sacrifice the Crusaders, unless they send out riders and assault troops to take the enemy’s attacks at the front, or a huge regiment is around to escort and defend them,” Brigadier General Blair stated grimly.

Mo Fan had rarely fought in a true battle. He was not familiar with the merits and drawbacks of the armies.

“What if I have a way to increase their effective range?” Mo Fan asked while glancing at the Wind Destroyer.

“How are you going to do that? Are you going to construct a Magic Formation? It’s not going to work! Even if you know how to construct a Magic Formation, the Crusaders are already using the Cross Chaos Formation, and their effects won’t stack. Our army isn’t strong enough to use two Magic Formations simultaneously!” Brigadier General Blair shook his head, rejecting Mo Fan’s suggestion.

“I learned a special Space Spell from a university in China. It’s called the Space-Compressing Bridge. I will open a Space Tunnel in front of the Crusaders which they will fire their destructive spells into. The spells will only need to travel a few hundred meters to cover a distance of a few kilometers,” Mo Fan explained.

Brigadier General Blair stared at Mo Fan, reassessing him. “Are you saying that you are an Advanced Space Mage?” he blurted out in surprise.

“Don’t worry about the details. If I can set up the Space-Compressing Bridge, can you convince the general to send out the Crusaders?” Mo Fan said.

“Well…” Brigadier General Blair hesitated.

He only had the clearance to dispatch a single troop of Crusaders at most, but they would need at least three troops of the Crusaders to defeat the enemy’s Wind Destroyer!

He would need to ask the Lieutenant General for his permission!

Lt. Col. Mason stepped forward and stated sincerely, “Sir, he’s the main reason why our troops were able to break through the enemy’s defenses and contribute to the army consecutively. Brigadier General Blair, please have faith in him!”

Mo Fan was a little touched. Mason had finally acted like an intelligent human for once!

Mo Fan’s rank was not high. He would need officers of higher rank to agree with his suggestion for their superiors to even consider it.

“Fine, I’ll give it a try!” Brigadier General Blair nodded.

He could no longer rely on the people from the Aorus Sacred Institute. The merciless Professor Xylan only cared about her students’ safety. She had treated the soldiers and riders who were paving a path for her like mere ants. She did not blink when they died in front of her.

Brigadier General Blair had recruited and trained those men himself. His heart was bleeding after the Perishing Dragon Breath took their lives!

——

“Mu Bai, you need to figure out a way to hinder the cat-eyes guy’s vision. I’m going to need some time to construct the Space-Compressing Bridge. I’ll have to start over again if someone disturbs the process,” Mo Fan told him.

“Alright, I’ll try to distract him.”

——

Brigadier General Blair was very efficient. He soon brought Mo Fan some good news.

The Crusaders were on their way. They would be waiting in the trenches three kilometers behind Mo Fan and the others. Once Mo Fan completed the Space-Compressing Bridge, they would come forward and deliver a huge blow to the Wind Destroyer!

Mo Fan was overjoyed.

He had been searching for a suitable spot to set up the Space-Compressing Bridge. He would need to set it on high ground, similar to how he had done it in Xiamen, to ensure the spells coming out of the Space-Compressing Bridge would reach the enemy.

“This area is completely in ruins because of the Wind Destroyer. The wind has even blown off a few layers of the ground. It’s going to be difficult to find some high ground,” Zhao Manyan commented.

The area used to be part of the rainforest and its three layers of vegetation, but only mud and rocks were left after the Wind Destroyer’s attack. All the trees had been uprooted. It was unlikely Mo Fan would find a suitable high ground at least two hundred meters taller than the Wind Destroyer.

Mo Fan frowned. He would have a hard time following the Wind Destroyer’s location without the high ground!

“You will need a tall structure,” the female student with a tall nose spoke up.

“The problem is, we are in the middle of nowhere, a forest that has been destroyed.” Mo Fan had a feeling the woman was sneering at him.

“I can build it,” the female student stated firmly.

Mo Fan looked at her, a bit surprised.

The woman was very tall and her skin was as pale as snow. She had the figure of a Russian beauty.

Her long peach hair was tied in a ponytail that reached her waist. It almost hit Mo Fan in the face as she turned around.

“Is this the spot? Did you say two hundred meters?” the woman pointed at the spot Mo Fan had chosen.

“Yes, this spot is perfect for following the Wind Destroyer’s movements. It’s also the perfect angle for the Crusaders,” Mo Fan confirmed doubtfully.

Could she really build a two-hundred-meter high structure here?

Even Zhao Manyan would struggle to build a structure that tall with his Earth Magic. After all, it was not as easy as stacking up soil and rocks. She would have to make sure the structure was firm and solid!

It was similar to laying bricks. If she laid them randomly, the structure would collapse eventually after reaching a certain height. However, if the bricks were laid properly, with cement between them, they would form a building many times more solid than the bricks alone.

It was even more complicated to build a two-hundred-meter tall structure. It was almost impossible to build one in a short amount of time, despite the abundant resources nearby.

“Same thing again, you just need to gather the Earth Magic,” the Russian woman told him.

“Oh, alright.”

The woman stepped forward a short distance.

“Eyes of the Rock Demon!”

The color of her eyes shifted. They were dark brown, like pieces of stone without any luster.

The ground began to shake vigorously. The Eyes of the Rock Demon greatly increased an Earth Mage’s control over Earth Magic. Many Builders in cities were skilled at using them.

The sturdy ground started loosening. The Russian was scattering it like sand.

A moment later, several sand dunes emerged and merged swiftly, turning into mud in the heavy rain.

Mo Fan noticed the Russian was combining the rocks, sand, and mud around her and stacking them up!

The mixed substance solidified in mere seconds, like water freezing rapidly after it was poured out from containers in an extremely cold environment.

Chapter 2328: Defeating the Wind Destroyer

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The pillar of mud continued to rise. It soon coalesced into the frame of a tall structure.

More mud rose into the air. It looked like the mud was scattering randomly in the air, but it was being stacked higher on the structure.

A magnificent structure was soon assembled in the middle of the battlefield.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze in shock.

The structure was indeed two hundred meters tall! He did not expect the female student to possess such impressive capabilities!

“Construction is my field of expertise,” the young woman smiled after she saw Mo Fan’s shocked expression, but she soon composed herself.

“Thank you!” Mo Fan believed all the real estate companies would fancy talented Mages like her.

Mo Fan climbed to the top of the structure swiftly, and started building the Space-Compressing Bridge. He could not afford to waste any more time.

——

Mu Bai did a great job distracting the enemy spotter. Mo Fan quickly completed the Space Compression Bridge. Two silver arcs emitting silver light served as a magical tunnel in the air.

“Are you sure it’s going to work?” Brigadier General Blair sounded a little doubtful. He had never heard of any magic like that.

“You may ask the Crusaders to start Channeling their spells,” Mo Fan replied firmly.

Brigadier General Blair nodded.

He was holding a Sound Magic device that looked like a shell. It let out loud clanks after it was tossed into the air.

The clanking lasted for a while, signaling the Crusaders to make their move.

The Crusaders were extremely slow compared to the enemy’s Wind Destroyer. They mainly consisted of Basic and Intermediate Mages, whose physical attributes were only slightly better than ordinary people. Most of them were running on foot!

“Just ask them to fire their spells into the tunnel,” Mo Fan instructed them.

The Crusaders started drawing Star Orbits and Star Patterns after receiving the signal from Brigadier General Blair.

A Star Palace was built with twenty-four hundred and one Stars. Its special structure could multiply the strength of a spell, but when thousands of Mages were using their magic simultaneously, the number of Star Orbits and Star Patterns easily exceeded tens of thousand, or even a hundred thousand!

A hundred thousand Stars appeared and transferred their energy between the Star Orbits and Star Patterns, and would soon bring forth a tsunami of spells!

“Cross Chaos Formation!”

Thousands of spells were replicated by the Magic Formation. Every Fire Burst, Lightning Strike, Ice Spread, and Brilliant Light had doubled.

The enormous amount of magic looked like colorful carp swimming in a fast-flowing river as the spells entered the Space Compression Bridge.

They were heading straight for the ocean at the end of the river!

Sparks, lightning flickers, ice projectiles, and scorching light scattered through the air.

The three troops of Crusaders added up to over seven thousand men. The number of spells they were firing was insane, especially after they were duplicated by the Cross Chaos Formation!

The spells poured down from the sky and spread across the ground. The smoke they created surged above the clouds and spread a few kilometers away with deafening blasts!

The four Wind Warships had been in a loose formation in the beginning, until they gathered in the same spot to combine into the Wind Destroyer. As a result, they were not able to split up in time.

The overwhelming number of spells swallowed the Wind Destroyer. Its Armor of Light had little to no resistance to the attack. Countless soldiers on the deck of the Wind Destroyer were turned into ashes, and the wetlands, swamp, and the woods perished together with them!

“Keep going!” Brigadier General Blair shouted in excitement when he saw the enemy’s Wind Destroyer collapse.

It actually worked!

The Space Compression Bridge was marvelous. Not only did it solve the Crusader’s problem of limited range, it did not give the enemy any time to react either!

As a matter of fact, the Brown Rebels had been amused by the Federation Army’s attempt to attack them with Basic and Intermediate Spells when they were two kilometers apart. It was no different from firing at the enemy soldiers on a fort’s wall with mere hunting bows!

As a result, they had not even bothered setting up a proper defense with their Light Element.

The first round of spells had quickly eliminated a few thousand Brown Rebels, but the second round of spells was already pouring down from the sky!

“Ice Spread!”

The second wave mainly consisted of Ice Magic. More than fifteen hundred Ice Mages were Casting their spells simultaneously.

The Ice Spread grew like horrendously quick white vines. The duplication of the Cross Chaos Formation turned them into an icy white forest in the Space Compression Bridge.

The white forest of vines quickly reached the spot where the Brown Rebels had sustained great casualties. They smashed into the ground and turned the Brown Rebels into snowmen.

The frost spread so quickly that it looked like white dye was being splattered across the area. The Brown Rebels started fleeing for their lives, but many of them were still caught by the white vines of death. The vines entangled them before freezing them and converting them into a part of the whiteness.

“Keep going, kill those sons of b**tches!” Brigadier General Blair yelled like a madman at the top of his lungs.

The Wind Destroyer had killed most of his men. How could he not want to avenge his men, whose remains were nowhere to be found?

The more deaths the Brown Rebels had, the crazier he grew!

The Ice Magic was soon followed by heavy boulders.

The Brown Rebels who had escaped the frost thought they had made it out of a close call, and then the boulders fell on them and crushed them to pieces. Not only did the boulders fall from the sky, but they continued to roll for over a hundred meters afterwards.

The Brown Rebels who had been trapped in the white forest of vines were crushed into white powder. The boulders completely tore the Wind Destroyer to pieces!

1

——

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh when he saw the Wind Destroyer was finally destroyed.

Even if he exposed his true strength, he would struggle to defeat ten thousand Mages by himself!

Luckily, Mo Fan had painstakingly learned how to construct the Space Compression Bridge from Lin Du before he left Xiamen.

The magic was not that useful for him most of the time, since the enemies he now faced could just dodge spells with ease. He rarely had any problem with the effective range of his spells, either.

However, it became extremely useful in a large-scale battle!

“That’s f**king awesome. Officer Mo, you’ve done a great job! What should I say to the Lieutenant General, so you will be rewarded accordingly?” Brigadier General Blair was having trouble calming down.

“That won’t be necessary. I just want to keep a low profile. I’m not trying to rise through the ranks. However, I’m quite curious about the Crusaders’ Cross Chaos Formation. May I learn it after the war?” Mo Fan requested.

The ability to duplicate spells! It was like Casting spells at half-price!

Mo Fan was looking forward to learning it!

Chapter 2329: Demon Fireflies, Mushroom Ticks

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Well… I’ll try my best to help you, but I can’t really say whether the army is going to allow it,” Brigadier General Blair hedged carefully.

“That’s fine!” Mo Fan said.

After all, many Magic Formations were like the recipes of special drugs, and were normally kept confidential.

For example, the Brown Rebels were able to form powerful Wind Warships, not because they had enough Wind Mages, but because they knew a special technique to combine their strength!

——

The Fearsome Martial Bear started moving again. The Brown Rebels were unable to gather enough men to stop their advance in a short time after the Wind Destroyer was defeated.

The group resumed its advance. The Crusaders also took hold of the opportunity to move deeper into the woods.

Raindrops were falling like silk strings, connecting the dense woods and the dark sky. Many flying beasts were soaring through the sky now, belonging to both the Federation Army and the Brown Rebels’ air forces.

The areas where the fighting took place were quickly left barren. No plants would survive after being bombarded with Elemental Magic.

The woods before them were so much denser and thicker that certain creatures were unable to move through them freely.

It was possible that the Brown Rebels had used special spells to give the plants some resistance against Elemental Magic. Even an Intermediate Fire Spell or an Intermediate Lightning Spell were being devoured by the green shrubs, like they had landed in a vast sea.

“Mo Fan!” Mu Bai suddenly pointed to the back of the greenery in the distance.

1

They were currently on a high point. They could see the Scorching River at the edge of their view, beyond the dense woods on a little downslope!

The Scorching River was a lot wider now, due to the continuous rain. It had spread to the woods, flooding part of them. The shorter plants had become water plants on a riverbed.

“We can see the Scorching River!” Mo Fan blurted out in joy.

They had finally made it after going through all kinds of troubles!

They had thought they were only up against the Black Vatican. They had never expected that they would be caught up in a revolution.

Either way, they had finally made their way to the Scorching River!

“Look at the water,” Mu Bai pointed out coolly.

They could faintly see the water of the river flowing into the clouds upstream. The rain was a lot heavier in that area, too.

Instead of describing it as a rain, it looked more like the sky had a huge hole which a sea above the clouds was pouring into. The mist produced from the huge waves alone was like a few dozen dragons swimming around the hole.

“Wu Ku must be there!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

They had seen the exact same sight in the crystal orb that told them where Wu Ku was. Wu Ku must have constructed an advanced Magic Formation there to call down the rain upon the area a few hundred kilometers to the east of the Andes Mountain Range.

——

A few swarms of red Demon Fireflies flew out of the huge leaves in the woods. Not only were they emitting a strange icy glow, their wings were constantly sprinkling some kind of powder.

The rain did not stop the powder from spreading in the air. Similarly, the Demon Fireflies were able to fly swiftly in the heavy rain, despite their size.

The Demon Fireflies’ numbers were not shocking at first, but as the Federation Army approached the forest, they suddenly lit up like a city filled with neon lights in the dark.

“It’s the Venomous Insect Shamans!” Brigadier General Blair blurted out in shock.

The soldiers had witnessed how scary the Venomous Insect Shamans were, so they were naturally intimidated as soon as they saw the infamous Poison Mages of the Andes Mountain Range.

The soldiers did not dare to go any further, yet the Demon Fireflies’ numbers kept increasing. The noise their wings were making was loud enough to hurt one’s ears. The poison powder they were spreading through the air was even more terrifying!

“I’m not sure if you guys are the same… but I’m feeling very uncomfortable right now,” Lt. Col. Mason suddenly spoke up.

He scratched his arm and left red markings on it, as if he had scratched it too hard.

There were a lot of insects in a rainforest. Some were as tiny as sesame seeds, yet could leave blemishes all over a person’s skin.

“It’s been more than a month since you last showered.” Zhao Manyan was disgusted by Mason’s foul smell. Somehow, he stank like horse dung, as if he had been sleeping in a stable every night!

“Maybe I’m just imagining it,” Mason muttered. Anyone would have a tingling scalp after they saw a forest swarming with Demon Fireflies.

“Have you ever seen someone scratching the back of their hand until it bleeds because of their imagination?” Mo Fan pointed at someone close.

A soldier in a simple outfit was scratching the back of his left hand, but his right hand was itching badly too. He had no choice but to scratch his right hand with his left hand. He looked like a filthy wild monkey, yet he did not stop, even when his hands started bleeding.

They looked elsewhere and noticed other soldiers were desperately scratching their exposed body parts, like they had been stung.

“Look under their feet,” Mu Bai pointed out.

The rain had washed the blood of the soldier who was scratching his hands to the ground.

A green mushroom grew rapidly where the blood landed. It went from the size of a thumb to a fist in just a few seconds, and it was not stopping.

The mushroom had a weird color and shape, like a pustule growing out of the ground. It even had some kind of fluid in it which was visible while the mushroom was swaying.

(Thud)!

(Thud)!

The mushroom exploded once it expanded to the size of a soccer ball.

The sticky green fluid inside the mushroom sprayed its surroundings like the gouting of a monster. Tiny black creatures crawled out of the mushroom and slithered inside the soldier’s pants in the blink of an eye.

“Watch out for the Mushroom Ticks!”

The first soldier did not notice the creatures. He was still scratching his hands like he was trying to tear his skin off.

His body trembled for a second, like he was about to lose his mind, and he dropped to the ground.

His skin started to redden from the back of his hands. His flesh and skin were bloating now.

His bloating skin looked exactly like the mushrooms that were growing out of the ground. The pustules went from the size of a thumb to a soccer ball in no time.

BANG!

Two poisonous mushrooms burst out of the soldier’s body, and two more Mushroom Ticks crawled out after they exploded!

Chapter 2330: Oil Lamp Fireflies

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Mushroom Ticks immediately lunged at two other soldiers, as if they were able to smell their infected skin.

They were the size of little scorpions, but every soldier they targeted died quickly!

After their deaths, a few more poisonous mushrooms would grow on their corpses. Some of the bodies even blew up after falling to the ground, allowing more mushrooms to grow out of the ground covered by their blood.

Either way, each poisonous mushroom would explode like a grenade and give birth to a Mushroom Tick, which immediately looked for its next target!

“What’s going on here? Those things are like black-legged ticks carrying Lyme Disease, and every infected has two more ticks coming out of their corpses!” Mo Fan was utterly shocked.

Mo Fan was a high-ranked Hunter who had seen many parasitic demon species, yet most of their eggs would only hatch after some time.

In contrast to them, the eggs of the Mushroom Ticks were hatching so fast it was like they had no incubation period. They could take out a soldier and give birth to a few more Mushroom Ticks in just a few seconds. The Mushroom Ticks that were hatched would then attack new targets and give birth to more Mushroom Ticks!

What a terrifying species!

If these Mushroom Ticks were attacking ordinary people in a city, the whole city would be crawling with them in less than a day!

“Are those bastards planning to destroy mankind and make us livestock for the demon creatures by creating such a vicious species!” Professor Xylan cursed.

“Professor, what species are those? Their rate of infection, fission, and attack is insane!” Su Xi exclaimed, her face pale.

It was tricky to deal with the Mushroom Ticks, since they would look for new targets as soon as they hatched. The students only had a short amount of time to kill them. They had no way of killing the Mushroom Ticks once they dug into a soldier’s body without killing the soldier too!

“Let’s just name the species Mushroom Tick,” Professor Xylan said calmly.

“Huh? Name the species?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded. Wasn’t the Professor supposed to be the expert among them? Shouldn’t she be figuring out a plan to deal with the Venomous Insect Shamans’ evil sorcery? “Should we catch a few of them so you can conduct experiments on them?” he sneered.

“That won’t be necessary. It’s just a little trick the Venomous Insect Shamans are using. It’s not that scary once you learn its secret,” Professor Xylan said. She looked at the Russian student and asked, “Julya, do you know what trick the enemy is using?”

Julya shook her head and said sternly, “Professor, I think you should tell us how we should deal with the insects first. Those things are reproducing rapidly. More people are going to die the longer we wait.”

Mo Fan’s face darkened. Was the Professor seriously still just testing her students at a time like this?

“If these insects are laying eggs and hatching so rapidly, it means they are soulless. As a matter of fact, they aren’t even a living species. They are just puppets granted temporary power to attack their prey. They are receiving energy from a source entity, most likely the Poison Mage who created them,” Professor Xylan informed them.

“So we can stop them by finding and killing the Poison Mage who is controlling them?” Julya asked for clarity.

“Exactly, it’s just a petty trick from a Poison Mage. It’s not worth enough for me to dirty my hands. I’ll let you all handle it.” Professor Xylan closed her eyes after she finished explaining. She could not care less about the soldiers who were dying horrible deaths around her.

“I’m not familiar with Poison and Plant Magic…” Julya turned to Mo Fan.

She basically meant she had done everything she could to help.

“Likewise,” Mo Fan agreed.

The Poison and Plant Elements were complicated and contained a lot of variables, unlike the other Elements that adhered to a certain set of principles. Only people who were interested in becoming a Herbalist would spend their time studying them.

Su Xi walked over to Mu Bai and asked seriously, “Senior, do you think the Mushroom Ticks are similar to one of the species in the Andes Mountain Range that we discussed before?”

“The Ancaman Arachnids.”

“Yes, but they seem different, too. The Ancaman Arachnids can’t reproduce so quickly.”

Mu Bai looked at the Demon Fireflies that had lit up the woods like a city and thought about Professor Xylan’s words.

“The Demon Fireflies reproduce very quickly, and the Ancaman Arachnids are infectious and have a strong ability to fission,” Mu Bai murmured.

Su Xi’s eyes glittered. She blurted out, “These Mushroom Ticks must be a mixed breed between the queen of the Demon Fireflies and a male Ancaman Arachnid!”

Mo Fan did not understand a single word of their conversation. He only hoped they could find a solution as quickly as possible.

The Federation Army had lost the previous battle because it was surprised by unknown species of venomous insects which had taken over the battle in no time. The soldiers were too scared to keep fighting.

Fear was more contagious than the venom of the insects. The number of deaths caused by the Venomous Insect Shamans was not high, but the Federation Army had still lost the battle.

The red Demon Fireflies in the woods stopped hovering in the air. They flew higher into the sky, like they had just received an order.

The light of the Demon Fireflies was surprisingly bright when they gathered together. It was shining upon the battlefield like a red moon.

The Demon Fireflies suddenly dove at the ground!

They tore through the gray curtain of rain and scattered above the battlefield like fire sparks before diving at the soldiers.

Their abdomens bloated like oil lamps. An oil lamp could easily cause a carpet of flames once it was flung to the ground!

It did not matter if the Demon Fireflies landed on the ground or the soldiers. Their kamikaze dive instantly turned the area into a valley shrouded by poisonous mist. Every soldier soon found themselves swallowed by the mist!

The bodies of those caught in the poisonous fog festered immediately. Some of them even melted like ice if the Demon Fireflies’ poison struck the them directly!

“How vicious can those Venomous Insect Shamans be?” Zhao Manyan yelled as he was searching for a safe spot.

Mo Fan was helpless too.

There was nothing he could do to stop the enemy’s attack, unless he could find the Poison Mage controlling the insects.

Mu Bai and Su Xi had just figured out the traits of the Mushroom Ticks, but now the soldiers were being attacked by another species.

There was clearly more than one Venomous Insect Shaman!

Chapter 2331: Eagle Horse Skyriders

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Demon Fireflies’ poison took away the lives of several thousand soldiers in an instant. Meanwhile, the Mushroom Ticks that could kill within seconds were still searching for new targets.

The Federation Army was in utter disorder.

The Federation Army had not stood a chance when it was up against the Venomous Shaman Insects in the previous battle. Even if they sent out Super Mages, the Venomous Insect Shamans could still conquer the battlefield with their venomous insects as long as they remained hidden!.

“Screw these insects, the Andes Mountain Range is full of poisonous species, providing the Venomous Insect Shamans with the best environment to cultivate their venomous insects. The Magic Association forbids them from using the venomous insects against humans. Now that the rules no longer apply to them, they can use the venomous insects recklessly and treat the lives of our soldiers as fodder!” Brigadier General Blair snarled.

The Venomous Insect Shamans were infamous in the Andes Mountain Range. People were more scared of them than Curse Mages.

The Venomous Insect Shamans were unstoppable on a battlefield with lots of dead bodies and living humans, especially since other Elements were not very effective against their magic.

It did not matter how outstanding one’s Cultivation was when the poison kept spreading among the soldiers!

A signaler came down from the sky and informed Brigadier General Blair, “Brigadier General Blair, our Eagle Horse Skyriders have defeated the enemy’s air force. They are moving upstream of the Scorching River, but they will be separated from our ground forces. We have to regroup with them before the enemy sends out more aerial forces to stop them.”

“Eagle Horse Skyriders?” Mo Fan asked, interested.

“They are our army’s main air force. The enemy’s aerial forces are no match for ours. The only units that can tear the enemy’s army apart are the Crusaders and the Eagle Horse Skyriders,” Brigadier General Blair explained.

Mo Fan had earned Brigadier General Blair’s trust. The general felt like they still had a chance to win the war as long as Mo Fan was with them!

“Did they already push deeper into the enemy’s lines?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan had already noticed the riders in the sky. Soldiers wearing the Federation Army’s uniform were sweeping across the sky in batches, dominating the battle above the battlefield.

“Yes, we can’t afford to waste our time on the Brown Rebels in these woods, so the Lieutenant General has led the Eagle Horse Riders and pushed through the enemy’s lines from the sky,” Brigadier General Blair told him.

“They are fighting without any support if the ground army doesn’t push together with them,” Mo Fan noticed.

“We don’t have a choice. If we lose another battle, the Brown Rebels will fight back fiercely. We’ll lose if they reclaim Banlo City. Every officer above the rank of captain is more or less dead, even if we made it back alive,” Brigadier General Blair said stiffly.

Their superiors in the Federation were putting the army under great pressure. They had to seize this side of the Scorching River at all costs.

The army was in a precarious situation!

In simpler words, the Lieutenant General was taking a desperate gamble.

He was leading the Eagle Horse Skyriders to push through the enemy’s lines without support, while the ground army was stuck in the woods because of the Venomous Insect Shamans. If the ground forces failed to push through the enemy’s defense, the Eagle Horse Skyriders would fall to the surrounding Brown Rebels!

Once the Eagle Horse Skyriders lost, the Brown Rebels would launch a counterattack to reclaim Banlo City!

It was the worst possible situation!

——

“Mu Bai, Old Zhao, we don’t have much time left,” Mo Fan called them over with a frown.

The Lieutenant General was betting everything on this battle. If the Federation Army lost, they would have no chance of getting closer to the Scorching River!

“Which means it’s time for us to fight with everything we have too?” Zhao Manyan said.

“Mm, we don’t have a choice. The Eagle Horse Skyriders are heading for where Wu Ku is, and it’s deep into the enemy’s lines. The Federation Army’s air force might be strong, but if the ground army doesn’t push through with them, the Brown Rebels can easily wear the Eagle Horse Skyriders out in an hour,” Mo Fan said.

“Which means we’ll have to get rid of the Venomous Insect Shamans as quickly as possible. If the air force is separated from the ground army, it’s like sending our fed adc to the top lane alone without backup in League of Legends,” Zhao Manyan realized.

1

Mu Bai remained silent.

The poison of the Demon Fireflies was still spreading. It was difficult for the soldiers to get over the fear of death the Venomous Insect Shamans had inflicted on them.

The worst thing was, Professor Xylan was still unwilling to take part in the battle. It sounded like the leader of the Venomous Insect Shamans was her personal nemesis, and was also her only target!

“What are we waiting for, then? You two should infiltrate the enemy lines with the Eagle Horse Skyriders. By the time we are done playing hide-and-seek with these Venomous Insect Shamans, Wu Ku will have ascended as the God of Rain!” Zhao Manyan said.

“Old Zhao and I can’t do much to stop the Venomous Insect Shamans. I think it’s best if Mu Bai stays here to deal with the Venomous Insect Shamans and helps the ground army break through their line of defense,” Mo Fan proposed.

“But what if I can’t figure out a way to deal with the Venomous Insect Shamans? The two of you will be surrounded by enemies, just like the situation in Banlo City’s Furniture District! We were up against a few thousand enemies back then, but you might be going up against tens of thousands of enemies this time!” Mu Bai shook his head firmly. He was not in favor of Mo Fan’s suggestion to split up.

Anything could happen in a battle. If the three of them stuck together, they would have no problem making it out in one piece.

If they split up and were surrounded by the enemies, the consequences were unimaginable. After all, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were not unbeatable. They would struggle to survive if they encountered the choir of Sound Mages again!

“It’s fine, we have faith in you. As long as the ground army can regroup with the riders in time, we won’t be surrounded by the enemy,” Mo Fan said confidently.

“That’s right, we have faith… uh, Mo Fan, what did you mean when you said there’s nothing we can do if we stay here?” Zhao Manyan realized belatedly.

“Mm, we aren’t experts of the Poison Element and the Plant Element, and our magic isn’t effective against the Demon Fireflies and the Mushroom Ticks,” Mo Fan pointed out.

“It’s a little tricky to deal with the Venomous Insect Shamans, but I did do some research on the Poison Element when I was still a student. Why don’t I stay here and help Mu Bai? You should be careful out there. Oh, do you have anything you want to say before you go? I’ll write them down,” Zhao Manyan suggested.

“Isn’t it easier if you ask whether I have any last words to say?” Mo Fan huffed.

“It’s better if I’m not that straightforward, hehe!”

“Huh? What’s the silver glow around you? Is it the enemy’s fireflies? Oh, Mo Fan, it’s your Space Magic. Stop giving me a fright… Hang on, why are you dragging me with you too?!”

—

Zhao Manyan felt so stupid, even though he had graduated from a renowned school and had pretended to be a teacher in one of the top institutes in the world for a few months.

Wasn’t it obvious that the silver glow was the light of the Advanced Space Spell which could teleport several people over a long distance?

If he had noticed it earlier and walked out of the spells’ area, he would have prevented himself from being teleported too!

Chapter 2332: The Perfect Mount

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Bluish-gray feathers were falling slowly through the air, gaining weight after soaking in the rain. They soon plummeted to the ground in perfectly straight lines.

The feathers were no longer clean and shiny. They were as dirty as the feathers of wild ducks after falling into a swamp.

The Eagle Horses were a species of tamed beasts that could cover their whole bodies in feathers whenever they were under attack.

The area between their head and chest were covered in gray-blue feathers, similar to eagles. Their wings did not grow out of their backs like griffins, but on their four ankles instead!

They looked like horses stepping on four eagles while sprinting across the sky at a first glance!

“I wonder how they manage to keep their balance when they are flying with wings on their legs,” Zhao Manyan grumbled while climbing up onto an Eagle Horse.

Mo Fan could not fly. It was likely he was going to spend a long time fighting the Brown Rebels in the sky. He was a little worried about his safety while riding an Eagle Horse, so he had brought along Zhao Manyan, who owned Magical Wings, as a safety precaution.

“Why can’t you buy your own Magical Wings? It’s not like you can’t afford to spend a hundred million or two on some!” Zhao Manyan mocked him.

“Buying my own Wing Magical Equipment was once my ambition, so I worked harder than anyone to become stronger. However, when I suddenly had the money to buy it, I realized I no longer needed it as much as I did in the past!” Mo Fan jumped onto the back of an Eagle Horse.

“What the f**k are you talking about? Just admit you are stingy!”

“A hundred million is still a lot of money. I know a hundred million is nothing for your father.”

“The man you are talking about isn’t my father! Why do you sound like my father was the richest man in the world?” Zhao Manyan yelled at him.

“I would rather spend my money on Magic Armor or a Magic Shield,” Mo Fan continued.

Had Mo Fan ever been rich?

He had nothing but junk. Even the Black Snake Armor, which used to be unstoppable, was struggling to keep up with his growth. It was not like they were risking their lives here to earn money!

They were doing charitable acts for the greater good!

If he focused on being a Hunter, he could easily make a fortune with his current reputation and title. Why did he have to worry about the world being destroyed when he could not even afford to buy himself some reliable Magic Equipment?

Most importantly, the Black Vatican was not the only threat to the world.

Many cities would be destroyed overnight once the season of the sea monsters arrived. Ten Salans were nowhere as destructive as the first invasion of the sea monsters!

Mankind was petty. He wondered how the superheroes in the movies were able to save billions of lives so easily.

Using this war as an example, the total number of soldiers that the Brown Rebels and the Federation Army had was only around a hundred thousand men. It was a mere tenth of a million!

However, he was feeling less capable than he wanted to in this fight!

“Let’s go, we must catch up to the main army, or we’ll have to waste even more time fighting our way through the enemy’s lines,” Mo Fan said.

“I swear if I can make it back in one piece, I must give sextuple fly a try!” Zhao Manyan proclaimed. He sounded like he had made a huge decision in his life. He almost brought out his little notebook with the record of his great ‘achievements’.

{TL Note: Sextuple fly here means a one-man-six-girls sevensome.}

“You are as good as dead if you do that.”

—

It was not easy to control an Eagle Horse. Every Eagle Horse had three pieces of supplementary equipment.

The first one was a whip. Hitting the Eagle Horse on specific spots would give a specific order to the creature. The second was reins, which were mainly used to stop the creature or dodge incoming attacks. The third was a pair of riding boots, used to control the creature’s speed.

Mo Fan was not used to riding the Horse Eagle at first. The creature was shaking and jolting fiercely as it flew through the sky, but he managed to get the hang of it quickly enough.

“I still prefer the griffins. It’s like comparing a Tibetan mastiff to a toy poodle!” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

Zhao Manyan had a feeling his Magic Wings were more reliable than the Eagle Horse. He could relate to Mo Fan’s worries.

Unfortunately, they had to ride an Eagle Horse to disguise themselves as Federation soldiers. If they were flying on their own, the enemy might think they were leading the Eagle Horse Skyriders!

“Fanxue Mountain has three Wind Flame Lightning Vultures. I can give you one if you want,” Mo Fan proposed generously.

He could not help but recall how amusing his encounter with the Wind Flame Lightning Vultures had been. The Wind Flame Lightning Vultures who lost their parents ended up following Kris’ Steel Griffin after the Black Dragon Emperor lost its temper. Apas ended up keeping them as her pets in Yu Shishi’s woods. They spent their days playing with little Moon Moth Phoenix and the little white tiger.

The little white tiger enjoyed stealing the West Ridge’s Demon Eagles’ eggs. He did not understand why the Wind Flame Lightning Vultures were willing to keep an eye out for the little white tiger when it was pulling off its mischief!

“Wind Flame Lightning Vultures? I was interested in them before, but they are no longer qualified to be my mount after I became a Super Mage. You should stop fixing your eyes on the Manta Ray Bird Emperor, too. It’s obvious that she doesn’t want to become your mount. Don’t you know what the perfect mount for a Mage is?” Zhao Manyan was clearly a better rider than Mo Fan.

“What is it?” The Eagle Horse dove from the sky as Mo Fan pulled its reins.

“It’s a dragon, of course!” Zhao Manyan shouted at him.

Dragons!

It did not matter what grade the dragons were. Even an Inferior Dragon was a desirable mount for many Super Mages.

Su Lu had almost sacrificed the lives of half of the Asia Magic Association’s strong Mages just to subdue the Black Dragon Emperor.

Even the griffins the western countries fancied were like little chicks compared to the dragons.

Mo Fan nodded agreement. He recalled the Lieutenant Colonel of the Violet Imperial Battalion owning a Great Lesser Earth Dragon. It had thick skin and flesh, outstanding vitality, and remarkable strength. It was at a disadvantage when it was fighting the Ruler-level Winged Beasts high up in the sky, but if the fight took place on the ground, it could easily beat up the Ruler-level Winged Beasts.

Most importantly, the Great Lesser Earth Dragon had not matured. It still had a lot of room to grow stronger!

“To be honest with you, I’m already in the process of getting a dragon for myself,” Zhao Manyan informed him.

“How? I never heard of a dragon egg being auctioned before!” Mo Fan asked alertly.

“Dragon eggs are extremely rare, but there is an ancient clan that are experts in taming dragons. Sancha and I have discussed this topic before. She also suggested we get ourselves an Inferior Dragon, since we are always getting caught in dangerous situations. If getting an Inferior Dragon is too difficult, we can consider getting ourselves a drake instead.” Zhao Manyan pulled the reins impatiently. He could not help but regard the Eagle Horse with more disdain at the mention of dragons.

Mo Fan rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought.

He still had some money for the time being.

Should he buy himself some Magic Equipment, or listen to Zhao Manyan’s suggestion and get himself a dragon as his mount?

“Speaking of which, you also know someone from the ancient clan I mentioned,” Zhao Manyan pointed out for him.

“I know someone from that clan?” Mo Fan was surprised. Since when had he met someone from an ancient clan of dragon tamers?

“Ayleen, from England’s national team. The World College Tournament has a lot of restrictions, especially on those from formidable clans. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have stood a chance if she had summoned her dragon to fight for her!” Zhao Manyan declared.

Mo Fan dropped his jaw. He never knew Ayleen was from an ancient clan of dragon tamers!

He had even invited Ayleen to eat spicy crayfish on the first day!

People who made a living at sea treated flipping a fish as taboo since it was a metaphor for a ship capsizing. He wondered if Ayleen had a similar taboo of not eating any species with the word ‘dragon’ in it…

{TL Note: Crayfish in Chinese is ‘xiao long xia’, the ‘long’ here means dragon.}

Chapter 2333: The Ace of the Federation Army

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lieutenant General Dutch was patrolling the area. He looked like an old horseman, with aging and inelastic skin around his eyes, but he still had an energetic light in his gaze.

“It’s not too late for you two to change your mind. Once we penetrate deep into the enemy lines, we will either perish as scattering ashes or claim the victory,” he spoke up after seeing Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan again.

“Don’t worry, the places we’ve been to in the past weren’t peaceful either!” Mo Fan replied.

“Fine, if we can make it back to Banlo City in one piece, I’ll stake you two some drinks. I’ve kept a few bottles of twenty-year-old Langi Shiraz in my cellar!” The Lieutenant General pulled the reins and turned the Eagle Horse toward the enemy camp.

Dutch seemed to be an alcoholic. He was carrying a wineskin at his waist. He took off the cap and emptied it, as if he knew he might not have the chance to drink it later.

The alcohol was strong. His face flushed hotly after drinking it.

“Lieutenant General, it’s not wise to drink and ride. Those who ride do not drink,” Mo Fan pointed out.

Dutch turned around and replied, “That mare of a mule you are riding is just like a new recruit. You can’t afford to be too gentle to her. Otherwise, she will not fear you and will not obey your commands!”

Dutch threw the sack of wine at the Eagle Horse Mo Fan was riding.

The Eagle Horse failed to dodge it in time. Its head bled from the impact.

Mo Fan quickly pulled the reins to prevent the Eagle Horse from throwing him to the ground.

“It’s time to head out!” Dutch flew into the sky. He was riding a Ruler-level Eagle Horse covered in blue and golden feathers. They were glowing brightly under the dim and gloomy sky!

“Charge!”

“Charge!”

Mo Fan was struggling to estimate the number of the Eagle Horse Skyriders, but he was sure it was less than a thousand.

The Eagle Horses were several times larger than ordinary horses. The higher-quality ones were around four times the size. They were as majestic as horses and as ferocious as eagles!

The Eagle Horse Skyriders’ numbers might be a lot less than the ground army, but the sight of the Eagle Horses rising into the sky in formation was more awe-striking than a regiment of ten thousand soldiers.

The gray-blue Eagle Horses sprinted into the sky and spread their wings in the heavy rain. The ground army was as tiny as petty insects below.

The Eagle Horses beat their wings steadily, at the same pace as the movement of their hooves.

Mo Fan’s Eagle Horse behaved a lot better after it was hit in the head. The Lieutenant General was indeed experienced, knowing that it was unwise to treat these stubborn creatures too kindly!

1

Mo Fan followed the Eagle Horse Skyriders. The Venomous Insect Shamans were unable to use the same tricks they were abusing the ground army with on the riders in the sky. The Eagle Horse Skyriders soon bypassed the defense line set up by the Venomous Insect Shamans.

The area ahead was still covered densely in plants, with the trees around two hundred meters tall. Their umbrella-shaped canopy was spectacular!

The Horse Eagle Skyriders had won a battle not long ago. They had beaten the enemy’s air force, so there was no resistance as they were flying into the enemy’s camp.

“Over there!” Zhao Manyan pointed at a huge hole in the clouds.

Mo Fan looked in that direction and saw the strange vortex the water of the Scorching River was being drawn into before spiraling up into the sky on the east side of the Andes Mountain Range in an odd manner.

The reverse waterfall was the source of the never-ending rain. Wu Ku had mixed the Frenzy Liquid with the water to influence people’s minds.

The Andes Federation was politically unstable, and many people had been forced to abandon their homes. The new government did not have time to care about the people, as it was busy with other matters.

There was an obvious conflict between the people and the government, which no one had bothered to resolve.

The people’s grudges grew gradually as time passed, and the slightest provocation had been enough for the people to revolt against the government.

Salan did not have a huge army or overwhelming cultivation, but she was familiar with human nature. She just needed to stir up the people’s emotions to get them to start fighting among themselves!

Mo Fan realized that civil war was inevitable, even if the Black Vatican had not been involved, but since he had already made up his mind to send every member of the Black Vatican to Hell, he was not going to stop just because of a little war!

Mo Fan had his war to fight, just like Lieutenant General Dutch and his Eagle Horse Skyriders, who were willing to die for the sake of their country.

Whether it was for the sake of Xinxia, Bo City, the Ancient Capital, or the revolution of the Andes Federation, he had no reason to stop until he claimed his victory. He had to keep moving forward!

“We are entering enemy territory. Look out for enemy Wind Magic and be ready to split up!” Dutch’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

Mo Fan had no idea what magic device imbued with the Sound Element the lieutenant general was using, but it sounded like he was talking to them through a loudspeaker right beside them.

His loud voice was effective, overriding the continuous magic blasts which were causing some fear among the soldiers. His motivating voice completely drove away the anxiety in the soldiers’ hearts.

Huge Wind Discs that resembled blurry dragons swept at the Horse Eagle Skyriders traveling between the sky and the forest.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders immediately split up and avoided the Wind Discs, like a stream flowing through the gap between rocks.

The huge Wind Discs might have been effective against slower mounts, but the agile Eagle Horses had no trouble dodging them. Every Eagle Horse Rider managed to avoid the Wind Magic safely.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders swiftly regrouped into their formation after dodging the Wind Discs as they charged into the enemy’s lines.

A few more Wind Discs appeared, trying to stop the Eagle Horse Skyriders, but the aerial forces were able to dodge them all adeptly.

“The Eagle Horse Skyriders are indeed the Federation Army’s ace,” Zhao Manyan acknowledged.

Zhao Manyan’s confidence grew after he saw the Eagle Horse Skyriders’ capabilities. Previously, the Brown Rebels had constantly had the upper hand over the Federation Army, but it was only because he was always among the weaker troops.

The elite soldiers of the Federation Army were unstoppable!

The Wind Discs were coming from the enemy’s watchtowers. The Brown Rebels had constructed many watchtowers in the woods to stop the Federation Army’s advance, but they were unable to stop the Eagle Horse Skyriders.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders swept past the watchtowers swiftly. The enemy’s main camp was soon in view.

The Scorching River was right behind the enemy’s main camp.. The Brown Rebels had set up their camps along the Scorching River, surrounding the woods in an irregular semicircle. The Federation’s ground army would have to pay a huge price to break through the Brown Rebels’ defenses!

Chapter 2334: Vicious and Merciless

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The infantry was struggling to break through the Venomous Insect Shamans’ line of defense. It had to face the enemy’s watchtowers and sturdy walls of trees next. It was impossible to tell how long it would take the infantry to reach the Scorching River.

Mo Fan was even more worried after seeing the enemy’s defenses from the sky. The Eagle Horse Skyriders had gone deep into the enemy’s territory, but the infantry had to overcome three more layers of the enemy’s defenses to reach them. If the infantry failed to break through the enemy’s defenses, the Eagle Horse Skyriders would be wiped out entirely. It was unlikely they would make it out alive after attacking so deep into the enemy’s territory!

“Use the angelim trees as cover from the enemy’s Elemental Magic!” Dutch’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

Dutch would give an order every time the soldiers were at a loss. The lieutenant general was calm at all times.

He was indeed an experienced commander!

The Brown Rebels had set up a trap using the taller angelim trees. They were planning to trap the Federation’s infantry inside walls of tall and sturdy trees, but they ended up as a temporary cover for the Eagle Horse Skyriders.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders dove from the sky and landed on the canopy.

Elemental Magic spread in the sky above them like watercolor, dyeing the gray clouds with different colors. The energy of the exploding spells turned into strong gusts of wind regardless of their initial forms.

The strong gusts weakened by the time they reached the canopy. The Eagle Horse Skyriders did not even have to set up a defensive barrier, they just had to wait until the blasts of the enemy’s Elemental Magic faded away.

“Fourth squad, bait the enemy’s attack!” Dutch ordered.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders with tattoos of a stalk of grain on their arms took off and charged at the enemy’s camp!

A new wave of destructive spells rose into the sky. It was deadlier than the first wave!

The fourth squad turned around halfway the instant the enemy fired their spells.

Lieutenant General Dutch had ordered them to bait out the enemy’s attacks. As he had expected, the enemy was ready to fire an even deadlier wave of spells at them as soon as they took off from the trees.

Lieutenant General Dutch was an impressive tactician. He had sent the fastest troop of the Eagle Horse Skyriders to bait out the enemy’s attack, while the rest of the troops were on standby.

The fourth squad managed to retreat in time by abusing its speed. The enemy’s second wave of spells completely missed their targets and posed zero threat to the Eagle Horse Skyriders.

“Well done!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The fourth squad had perfectly baited out the attacks of a few thousand enemy Mages.

Basic Mages were extremely slow at constructing their Star Orbits. The Eagle Horses could easily travel a few hundred meters by the time they were ready to fire a new wave of spells.

Lieutenant General Dutch immediately ordered his men to attack after baiting out the enemy’s spells.

“Line formation, Eagle Cries!”

The Eagle Horses stood in lines and opened their mouths!

The Eagle Horses screeched loudly, like the sound made by scratching a piece of glass. The Star Orbits of the Brown Rebels broke after they were disrupted by the Eagle Horses’ screams.

“Shadow Troopers, charge!”

The Eagle Horse Skyriders were split into squads based on their Elements. Most members of the third squad were Shadow Mages.

The Shadow Mages drew a dark curtain in the sky with Nyx Regime, allowing them to cover a great distance using Fleeing Shadow while traveling in the darkness.

The Brown Rebels were shocked to see the Eagle Horse Skyriders already in front of them, as they had no idea what just happened!

“Fear of Shadow!”

The Shadow Mages Cast another Shadow Spell with a huge area of effect. It loomed over the Brown Rebels and fell on them like an enormous hand.

The Brown Rebels were blinded and shivering. The fear in their hearts expanded rapidly, preventing them from using magic.

The Advanced Shadow Spell: Nyx Regime was very effective in a battle. Even though it was not able to threaten the enemy physically, it could suppress a huge number of Basic and Intermediate Mages with its darkness.

Mages who were unable to use their magic due to fear were no different from ordinary people!

“Use Cleanse to drive away the darkness!” a captain of the Brown Rebels yelled.

Light Mages were not afraid of darkness. They immediately drew Star Orbits and Cast Brilliant Light amid the darkness to drive away the fear plaguing the Brown Rebels.

Unfortunately, the Eagle Horse Skyriders had already closed the distance between them!

The Brown Rebels were stunned to see the ferocious Eagle Horses right in front of them after their vision was restored.

These Warrior-level creatures had no trouble killing the Brown Rebels, even when the riders were not using any magic!

The Eagle Horses kicked at the Brown Rebels and trampled them into the ground. Blood splattered across the soil, which was quickly littered with broken corpses!

“Rise into the sky and maintain your distance from the enemy!” Lieutenant General Dutch’s voice sounded in everyone’s ears. “Rise into the sky! Maintain your distance from the enemy!” Dutch repeated after a few more seconds.

The lieutenant general did not want his men to overstay their welcome. They had to rely on the Nyx Regime’s protection to attack the Brown Rebels at will.

The Eagle Horses were able to move swiftly on the ground, too. They picked up their pace while trampling the corpses as they rode the wind into the sky.

As soon as the Eagle Horses took off, a few dozen Advanced Mages came out of the enemy’s camp and headed straight for the area that was covered in darkness!

Zhao Manyan turned around and glanced at the magic explosions behind them. He blurted out, “How ruthless can they be? They are bombarding the areas where their own people are!”

Sky-Flame Funeral, Icebound Coffin, Wind Wings, Flash Strikes, and Plummeting Rays…

The Advanced Spells instantly brought great destruction to the area. The Brown Rebels who were trapped in the darkness quickly perished, scattered to ashes.

Luckily, the Eagle Horse Skyriders had left decisively. Otherwise, they would have suffered great casualties, too!

“It’s obviously worth trading the lives of Basic Mages for us Eagle Horse Skyriders,” the captain of the troop of Shadow Mages spoke up.

Mo Fan had never thought about it.

He had assumed the enemy’s Advanced Mages would hesitate to use their destructive spells after the Eagle Horse Skyriders charged into their camp, but the Advanced Mages had shown little hesitation!

“The leader of the Brown Rebels has already declared that he will reward those who kill an Eagle Horse Skyrider with a piece of land in their new country!” the captain went on.

The Brown Rebels had always found the Eagle Horse Skyriders an eyesore!

Chapter 2335: Harassing on the Outskirts

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“They seem pretty confident, like they are going to rule over the country eventually,” Zhao Manyan noticed.

“The Frenzy Liquid can easily make one lose their mind,” Mo Fan replied.

A huge scattering of gray-blue feathers belonging to the Eagle Horses was falling on the Brown Rebels’ camps along the Scorching River, but not a single Eagle Horse Skyrider had fallen. Lieutenant General Dutch’s ability to command his men was very impressive.

It explained why the Brown Rebels’ air force had suffered such a humiliating defeat!

“Go around them and act according to circumstances. Use your advantage of being able to fly and your speed wisely. Try not to overstay!” Dutch ordered his men.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders constantly circled the outskirts of the enemy’s camp, maintaining a safe distance from the enemy’s Mages while still being close enough to pose a threat to the enemy at the right time.

Their formation had obviously loosened up, allowing them to watch the enemy better and minimize the possibility of being wiped out entirely by Super Spells.

Super Spells had insane area coverage. If they stayed too tight as a group, the enemy’s Super Mages might eliminate them all at once!

It was difficult to estimate how many Super Mages the enemy had. If the Super Mages ended up using their precious energy to attack only one or two Eagle Horse Skyriders with a Super Spell, it would actually benefit the Eagle Horse Skyriders in the long run.

As soon as they spread out, a few Star Palaces that were being constructed in the enemy’s camp were abruptly withdrawn.

It would be a huge waste if a Super Spell failed to kill at least ten Eagle Horse Skyriders!

—

The Eagle Horse Skyriders scattered across the sky. The enemy no longer had an air force, so they could fly over enemy territory and scout the enemy’s camps freely.

Basic and Intermediate Spells had limited range and areas of effect. They also lacked the speed to pose a threat to the Eagle Horse Skyriders, unless an enormous number of them were fired at the Eagle Horse Skyriders like a meteor shower.

Super Mages would not attack easily either, since they wanted to wait for a perfect time.

Even if the enemy was able to take down the nine hundred Eagle Horse Skyriders by Casting nine hundred Super Spells simultaneously, the Federation Army had Super Mages too. What would they have left to stop the Federation’s Super Mages if they consumed all their energy right now?

As a result, the only threat left to the Eagle Horse Skyriders was Advanced Magic.

Every Eagle Horse Skyrider had to watch closely and rely on their experience and reaction time to dodge the Advanced Spells that were fired at them.

If Basic and Intermediate Spells were like bows and crossbows, the Advanced Spells would be rocket launchers and cannons!

Happily, the rocket launchers also had limited ammo. All the Eagle Horse Skyriders had to do was waste the enemy’s ammo so it would be a lot safer for them to charge into the enemy’s camps when the time came.

Most Advanced Spells still adhered to the Magic Index.

The only spells that were effective against airborne targets were Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Light Magic.

Icebound Coffins might be falling from the sky to the ground when they were Cast, but their hundred-meter radius freezing effect would only take place once they landed on the ground. It was unlikely the Eagle Horse Skyriders would be hit by a falling Icebound Coffin, given their speed.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders only suffered minimal losses when the enemy fired their spells into the sky.

It was hard to predict the Eagle Horses’ course since their wings were on their hooves. They were moving through the sky like they were sprinting across the ground. They could change directions by turning their heads, so the only way for the enemy to kill them was by sealing off their escape routes with multiple Advanced Spells and killing them during the brief opportunity they had.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were following the captain of the Shadow Mages.

It was even unlikelier that the Shadow Mages would have any casualties. Each of the Shadow Mages wore a Shadow Mantle that hindered the enemy’s vision as they were moving around, not to mention the extra concealment from the darkness of Nyx Regime and their ability to dodge attacks with Fleeing Shadow when necessary. They did not lose a single man, even after circling the enemy’s camps several times.

The rest of the Riders started to take some minor casualties.

“Lieutenant General asked us to act according to the situation. I’ve discovered an obvious opening in the enemy’s defense to the south of their camps. We can consider invading the enemy camps through there,” the captain of the Shadow Mages pointed out.

“I’ve noticed it too, but we can’t afford to rush it. We can’t let them notice our intentions, either.”

“Tell the others to keep circling the enemy camp while slowly moving closer to those white tents,” the captain of the Shadow Mages ordered.

“Affirmative!”

The captain gathered his men to launch an ambush. They would only get themselves killed if they sent out too few Shadow Mages for the attack.

—

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan soon received the order to join the ambush. They were told to make their way toward the area with white tents.

“Weren’t we supposed to only stay on the outskirts?” Zhao Manyan sounded a little nervous.

He believed it was wise to harass the enemy from a safe distance where the enemy’s magic could not reach them. There were definitely risks if they entered the enemy camps. They might even lose their lives!

The Shadow Mages used the Nyx Regime to cover up their movements. The enemy would be on guard if they noticed the Eagle Horse Skyriders grouping up, and the ambush would not work.

The captain of the Shadow Mages was very patient.

He purposely flew over the area with white tents a few times without staying there for too long, waiting until his men were nearby and ordering them to regroup with him.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders were flying across the sky like black sparrows. They suddenly changed direction and dove at the white tents.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders dragged the veil of darkness along with them, like many horse spirits pulling a dark curtain behind them to end the day in advance!

“Charge!”

The Eagle Horse Skyriders struck the area!

The darkness made it difficult for the people in it to tell directions. Those on the outside could see half of the sky turning dark, but they had no clue what was going on inside the darkness.

Those on the inside could only see massive figures and blood splattering everywhere as Brown Rebels with white bands on their helmets fell to the ground.

The white tents were occupied by troops who were bad at adapting to the sudden attack. The Shadow Mages’ attacks were unpredictable, and only a few Brown Rebels were still alive after a few moments.

“Retreat! Split up as soon as you take off!”

The Shadow Mages ran away as soon as they rampaged through the white tents! They did not want to overstay their welcome!

Several Advanced Spells landed in the area with the white tents as the Eagle Horse Skyriders took off into the sky.

—

The Eagle Horse Skyriders immediately split up after rising into the sky.

Mo Fan happened to see Heavenly Flames surging under his feet as he turned around. Scorching lava rose into the sky like an erupting volcano unleashing its wrath at the Heavens!

“It’s a Super Fire Spell!”

“Back away, split up now!” the captain of the Shadow Mages yelled.

A few Eagle Horse Skyriders who took off a little late tried their best to dodge the flames, but the Super Fire Spell covered an immense area. The pillars of lava rising from the ground immediately devoured them!

The flames turned them into ashes in just a second, leaving no remains of the Eagle Horses or their riders behind.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Super Fire Mage Boris is here. Observer Eagle Eye has spotted him!” Mo Fan heard in his mind.

It belonged to another captain of the Eagle Horse Skyriders with the Psychic Element. He had transmitted his voice into every Eagle Horse Skyrider’s mind, including Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

“How did he know which Super Mage it was?” Mo Fan asked with a confused face.

“Every Super Mage has a certain reputation. The observers know the enemy’s Super Mages by heart. They could easily tell who it is after seeing their Super Magic,” Zhao Manyan told him.

The enemy had sent out the guy with cat eyes to watch them. The Federation Army also had an observer called Eagle Eye, who was mainly focused on the enemy’s Super Mages.

The Super Fire Mage called Boris among the Brown Rebels was obviously enraged by the ambush. He had planned to wipe out the Shadow Mages with his Super Spell, yet he had only eliminated a half-dozen Eagle Horse Skyriders who did not leave in time. The others who took off into the sky were safe.

A Super Spell was as brilliant as Polaris, even when a rain of spells was pouring down on the battlefield, allowing the Federation observer to pick it out with ease.

“Such a close call! I didn’t expect there to be a Super Fire Mage close to those tents. If we had retreated a little later, we would have lost a few dozen men!” The Shadow Mage captain let out a relieved sigh.

He and his men were walking around the opening of a volcano that was on the verge of erupting. They would have been drowned in lava if they had shown any hesitation!

“Super Mages are too much for us to handle. We won’t be able to fly around the enemy camps more than three times if the enemy isn’t wary of our Super Mages too,” one of the Eagle Horse Skyriders pointed out.

His Eagle Horse had lost its tail to the flames, and was struggling to keep its balance. The strange thing was… only a bird would lose its balance after losing its tail. Why would a horse with wings on its hooves hurt its balance after losing its tail?…

The Eagle Horse Skyriders dared not stay any longer. They quickly split up and switched back to their previous formation to harass the enemy.

The dark mist veiling the area with white tents finally dissipated, leaving nothing but charred bodies behind. The Brown Rebels in the white tents turned out to be the rebel army’s logistic crew, who handled the transportation of magic ores for the Wind Warships.

The Wind Warships on the main battlefield would run out of energy after a few rounds now that the logistic crew had been taken out!

It was why Super Fire Mage Boris was so mad. The Wind Warships were the Brown Rebels’ main force. Their army’s strength would fall significantly if the Wind Warships could not replenish their energy!

“Mo Fan, how strong is that guy’s Fire Magic?” Zhao Manyan looked back at the pillars of lava.

“Stronger than mine; my Fire Element is only at the early stage of the Super Level,” Mo Fan replied calmly.

“The Brown Rebels should still have quite a few people like him,” Zhao Manyan muttered.

“Definitely… I wonder what the Federation Army is planning to do with them?”

“Damn it, we are getting closer to Wu Ku, but we still can’t make our way to him! We have to go through several more camps to get to him. The Brown Rebels are really treating him like their Heavenly Sensei!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

Mo Fan nodded.

Wu Ku’s location was also the enemy’s main camp, which was several times larger than the area of white tents. It was very likely that they had elite soldiers of the Brown Rebels stationed there, unlike the logistic crew’s defenders!

The Brown Rebels’ camps were like a heavily-guarded fortress, and Wu Ku was in the main castle with tight security. They could already see the magnificent castle, yet it was extremely difficult to fight their way to it.

The enemy also had the observer with cat eyes, so Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan could not help but worry.

If they used their ultimates right away, the enemy would just back away temporarily. When the enemy returned, their ultimates would still be on cooldown.

“Wind company, cancel your attack. Super Fire Mage Boris has shown up…” the same voice echoed in everyone’s mind.

Around a kilometer and half away, the Wind Mages among the Eagle Horse Skyriders were about to pull the same trick as the Shadow Mages, but the enemy had already noticed their intentions. The angry Super Fire Mage was heading toward the area they were targeting!

Mo Fan saw the Wind Mages quickly splitting up with the help of their Wind Tracks. The Fire Star Palace that was half-constructed on the ground was withdrawn.

An adept Super Mage still needed between five to seven seconds to construct a Star Palace.

The Wind Riders had outstanding speed, and had withdrawn as soon as they received the warning. They were able to speed three hundred meters away in the five seconds after the Star Palace of three hundred and forty-three Stars was spotted.

—

The Shadow Riders had become the Brown Rebels’ biggest problem, while the Wind Riders were constantly kiting their enemy. Several Super Mages of the Brown Rebels were forced to attack, yet their best result was only taking out a dozen-some Eagle Horse Skyriders. The number of casualties among the nine hundred Eagle Horse Skyriders was still below thirty.

The Brown Rebels were starting to feel frustrated and impatient. The damage dealt to the Eagle Horse Skyriders was almost negligible after so long. They were still flying around the Brown Rebels’ camps in circles and harassing them!

Most frustratingly, a troop of Eagle Horse Skyriders kept picking on the Brown Rebels’ logistic crew, signalers, and soldiers with special duties, like a game of eagle and chicks. It patiently waited for the chicks to show themselves, instead of attacking the fierce hens!

—

“Mo Fan, look over there!” Zhao Manyan suddenly pointed at an area on the outskirts of the enemy camps.

Mo Fan followed Zhao Manyan’s finger, and saw a dark demon crawling out of an altar that had been drawn in blood in the sky. It was emitting a ghastly blood-red aura!

The demon caught the Super Fire Mage they had encountered before and tossed him into the sky!

“AHHHHH!”

The Ruler-level Eagle Horse with blue-golden feathers happened to pass by. The horn on its head punctured Boris’ body like the lance of a knight!

Blood poured down from the sky in huge blobs as Boris struggled fiercely on the Eagle Horse’s horn. He was glaring at Lieutenant General Dutch, who was riding the Eagle Horse.

The Ruler-level Eagle Horse shrieked and flung its head, tossing Boris off its horn in a trail of blood. Many Eagle Horses immediately flew at him and kicked at his body.

“Super Fire Mage Boris is dead!” Eagle Eye’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

The fact immediately raised the morale of the Eagle Horse Skyriders. One of the enemy’s Super Mages had been slain; it was like taking down an enemy commander!

“That old general is f**king insane. I didn’t even notice him making his move!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Mo Fan did not notice him, either. He suddenly realized he had not seen Lieutenant General Dutch or received an order from him for some time. Little did he know, the lieutenant general had long had his eyes on the enemy’s Super Mage!

Mo Fan had no idea how he did it. The demon Summoned from the blood-red altar had to be some kind of Curse Magic!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Both the Shadow Riders and Wind Riders launched attacks on different sides of the enemy camp after the enemy lost a Super Mage.

The attacks were a great success. The Shadow Mages invaded the enemy camp from a spot that was difficult to defend.

The enemy reacted swiftly, immediately sending out a huge group of Light Mages.

However, the Wind Riders were on standby in the sky. Their target was none other than the enemy’s Light Mages!

Another bloodbath took place. The Wind Riders and Shadow Riders soon returned to the sky after a pleasing victory. They had completely gotten over their previous loss against the Venomous Insect Shamans.

“General, we are playing the Brown Rebels like a fiddle!” the captain of the Shadow Mages exclaimed.

They were flying in enemy territory and had managed to retreat safely after their first few successful attacks. The Eagle Horse Skyriders were in great spirits!

“General?” the captain called out again.

The Ruler-level Eagle Horse was slightly above the captain of the Shadow Mages. Lieutenant General Dutch should be able to hear him even if he was not using a communication device.

To his surprise, Lieutenant General Dutch did not respond to him.

“I don’t think he’s up there,” Mo Fan said quietly.

“He’s not?” The captain of the Shadow Mages immediately increased his altitude, staring at the back of the Ruler-level Eagle Horse. Lieutenant General Dutch was nowhere to be seen. There was only someone dressed like him atop it!

The captain of the Shadow Mages panicked a little. Where did their general go?

“He must have used the same trick to put a Curse on the enemy’s Super Fire Mage Boris without alerting anyone before,” Mo Fan deduced.

The captain of the Shadow Mages let out a relieved sigh.

The general had let the Ruler-level Eagle Horse fly around in the sky so the enemy would assume he was on it. The real Lieutenant General Dutch had secretly made his way to the ground and set up a trap for his prey with his Curse Magic!

“Fly higher! Everyone, ascend at once!” Eagle Eye’s voice suddenly sounded in everyone’s mind.

The order took everyone by surprise. It sounded like something unexpected had happened. The Psychic Mage was now giving orders in place of Lieutenant General Dutch!

The Eagle Horse Skyriders immediately increased their altitude to around three hundred meters, despite their confusion.

It was unlikely for an enemy to threaten them at their current height. On the other hand, they were no different from scouts, as they were unable to pose a threat to the enemy, either.

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, revealing a pitch-black claw. The riders could clearly see the terrifyingly sharp talons on it!

“What the heck!?” Zhao Manyan screamed.

Mo Fan had a fright too. He quickly pulled the reins to change the direction his Eagle Horse was flying.

Luckily, the black claw that had appeared out of nowhere was not targeting Mo Fan. It barely missed his Eagle Horse.

Mo Fan looked down after dodging the terrifying thing.

A man covered in blood was rising into the sky with a wide grin, like he had successfully done something impressive, despite the risk involved.

The man was none other than Lieutenant General Dutch!

He had killed an important enemy officer once again, but he had paid a great price in return. His chest, neck, and head were bleeding.

“Crap!” Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat. The black claw was not coming after him, but Lieutenant General Dutch beneath him!

Another lightning strike lit up the sky like a flickering street lamp.

The claw had landed right on Lieutenant General Dutch!

The claw was several times larger than the one that had attacked Mason. Dutch had managed to escape from the enemy’s flank, but he did not expect the danger to come from above him.

The lightning dissipated in an instant. As its light was fading, Mo Fan saw the claw rip Lieutenant General Dutch apart. His blood poured out between the gaps of the talons.

Then Mo Fan could no longer see anything in the darkness, despite his ability to see at night.

The black claw had disappeared, too. Only the curtain of rain blocking the hazy and disordered battlefield remained.

Mo Fan’s mind went blank for a long time.

Zhao Manyan kept yelling beside him. His voice eventually entered Mo Fan’s ears.

“What did you see?

“Hey! Mo Fan, you are splitting up from the others!

“Holy crap, you finally came to your senses. I thought that thing had destroyed your brain or something. What was that just then? How did it appear out of nowhere? Was it magic or a monster?” Zhao Manyan blabbered.

Mo Fan took a deep breath. “Dutch is dead,” he told Zhao Manyan.

“Who’s Dutch? We are in enemy territory. It’s normal to lose a few men, it’s not like we’ve lost that old general!” Zhao Manyan called back.

Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened as he realized something after finishing the sentence. The Dutch who Mo Fan had mentioned was the lieutenant general!

The leader of the Eagle Horse Skyriders who was not only experienced at commanding his men, but possessed extraordinary strength, too!

“How…how did he die?” Zhao Manyan could not believe it.

“He killed an enemy officer, but someone else killed him as he was fleeing,” Mo Fan replied.

“But…but it was so sudden!”

Mo Fan felt the same way.

Lieutenant General Dutch had killed Boris without attracting any attention. Even the enemy was completely unaware of how he’d done it.

It meant Lieutenant General Dutch had some other ability to conceal his presence, in addition to his impressive Curse Magic.

But how did the enemy track him down and intercept him this time? Did someone who was stronger than him see through his trick?

Lieutenant General Dutch was commanding the Eagle Horse Skyriders. He was both the leader and the central figure to them. How were the Eagle Horse Skyriders going to function without him?

“The others didn’t seem to notice it,” Zhao Manyan looked at the Eagle Horse Skyriders who were still moving with discipline.

Dutch had disguised himself before he left to take down the enemy officer. The Eagle Horse Skyriders were still totally clueless about that. They still assumed the person on the Ruler-level Eagle Horse was their lieutenant general.

The captain of the Shadow Mages had found out the person on the Ruler-level Eagle Horse was a decoy, but he had not seen Lieutenant General Dutch’s death.

“Maintain your formation and watch the enemy’s movements!” Lieutenant General Dutch’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were stunned. “Isn’t he dead?” Zhao Manyan asked Mo Fan again.

“He should be. I saw it clearly… Hang on, the guy who spoke to us wasn’t Dutch!” Mo Fan noticed.

“Who else could it be?” Zhao Manyan demanded.

“It’s Eagle Eye, the Psychic Mage who’s giving out orders.. He’s mimicking Dutch’s voice… no, he’s using Psychic Magic to make us think we are hearing Dutch’s voice,” Mo Fan realized.

Chapter 2338: Strong Enemy Mage

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was easy to deduce that Eagle Eyes did not want the Eagle Horse Skyriders to know Lieutenant General Dutch was dead. He had purposely used his Psychic Magic on everyone.

However, it was impossible to cover fire with paper. The captains would soon realize that Lieutenant General Dutch was missing.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders did not panic, but the enemy started fighting back fiercely.

The enemy Super Mages no longer had to be wary of the Eagle Horse Skyriders after Lieutenant General Dutch was dead, and began to target the captains among the Eagle Horse Skyriders.

“You two, come closer to the Ruler-level Eagle Horse at once,” Eagle Eyes said with his own voice.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan looked around them. They were unsure who Eagle Eyes was talking to.

“Stop looking around, you two are the only ones who can hear me,” Eagle Eyes clarified.

—

The two flew towards the Ruler-level Eagle Horse in confusion.

The Ruler-level Eagle Horse was three times the size of an ordinary Eagle Horse. Mo Fan’s Eagle Horse could land right on its back, like a sparrow standing on the back of a tercel.

“Did you see it?” the man who was disguised as Lieutenant General Dutch asked them. He sounded just like Eagle Eyes.

He was the eyes of the Eagle Horse Skyriders. He was also the highest ranked officer below Lieutenant General Dutch, acting as his assistant.

“Are you referring to Dutch’s death?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“If you saw it, you should realize how grim our situation is. The ground army has yet to break through the Venomous Insect Shamans’ defense. Retreating is not an option for us,” Eagle Eyes confirmed.

“What do you want us to do? Just tell us, we are running out of time,” Mo Fan said bluntly.

“I can hear the voice of your spirits. If I’m not mistaken, you two are both Super Mages, right?” Eagle Eyes inquired.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan confirmed for him.

“You should know how easy it is to lose a battle when an army loses its commander,” Eagle Eyes went on.

Dutch’s shouts had motivated the Eagle Horse Skyriders after they invaded the enemy territory. He helped the Eagle Horse Skyriders remain calm and motivated when they were in danger.

Mo Fan strongly agreed with Eagle Eyes’ words.

“I know you two didn’t come to win the war, but you are still an ally of the Federation Army as long as our goals align.” Eagle Eyes’ eyes were as sharp as a real eagle. He was able to sense their real motives!

It was difficult to hide one’s thoughts from a Psychic Mage. There was a popular saying in schools and institutes: never have a Psychic Mage girlfriend, as she will see even the deepest secrets in your heart!

“We just want to find a way to the altar at the Scorching River. Can you see the upside-down waterfall over there?” Mo Fan pointed at the vortex.

It was better to tell the guy the truth than let him waste his time and energy reading their minds.

Mo Fan could not care less about who was going to win the war. As a matter of fact, he might have sided with the Brown Rebels if the Federation had colluded with the Black Vatican!

“The Black Vatican?” Eagle Eyes frowned. The war had taken place so suddenly, but everything made sense if someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes! “No wonder the enemy is so resolute,” Eagle Eyes commented.

“I don’t think you called us up here for a casual chat,” Mo Fan prodded him.

“I need your help. It’s in our best interest if someone can pretend to be Lieutenant General Dutch,” Eagle Eyes quickly went on.

“Isn’t that what you’re doing?” Mo Fan said.

“There’s no way I can disguise myself as the general with my strength. He could kill an enemy Super Mage, but I can’t possibly do that. I only play a supporting role in the fight, pinpointing strong enemies in a chaotic situation and providing Lieutenant General Dutch with crucial information which helped him eliminate enemies with high ranks,” Eagle Eyes informed them.

Eagle Eyes kept staring at Mo Fan, as if he could sense there was more to Mo Fan’s strength than met the eye.

“You want me to be the guy?” Mo Fan asked.

“My Innate Talent is Sense of Magic. I can accurately discern a person’s strength with my Psychic Magic. You are a Super Mage with three Elements at the Super Level. Your Lightning Element has reached the second tier, while your Shadow Element and Fire Element are first-tier, am I right?” Eagle Eyes stated confidently.

Mo Fan remained expressionless, but Zhao Manyan looked surprised at the news.

Eagle Eyes turned to Zhao Manyan and said, “You are a Super Mage with two Elements at the Super Level. First-tier Earth Element, and first-tier Light Element… your Water Element is on the verge of leveling up, too.”

The surprise on Zhao Manyan’s face grew. Oh my, this guy is rather impressive!

It was difficult for a Mage to sense another Mage’s strength when the person was not using any magic. Even a Psychic Mage would have trouble sensing a person’s strength so accurately.

“Since you have such a unique ability, were you able to track down the guy who killed Lieutenant General Dutch? What was his cultivation level?” Mo Fan asked quickly.

Dutch was incredibly strong if he could kill an enemy Super Mage without alerting anyone, but Mo Fan was more curious about the person who had killed him in return. All he knew now was the person’s ability to Summon the enormous black claw.

“I hold a great responsibility for Lieutenant General Dutch’s death. Anyone above the Super Level shouldn’t be able to escape my eyes, no matter where they are and what trick they are using to conceal their presence. It’s also why Lieutenant General Dutch went to the enemy camp the second time to kill another enemy Super Mage,” Eagle Eyes sighed sadly.

“Which means an extremely strong Mage has managed to avoid your eyes, so Lieutenant General Dutch died because he didn’t expect an enemy to attack him out of nowhere?” Mo Fan deduced.

Eagle Eyes nodded. He had failed to pick up the enemy’s presence. The guy had appeared beside Lieutenant General Dutch out of nowhere, just like a ghost, and killed him after he killed the second target.

“We haven’t used a single Super Spell before now, but you could still tell our strength in an instant. How did the guy who killed Lieutenant General Dutch avoid your eyes?” Zhao Manyan said.

“That’s exactly what I’m worried the most about,” Eagle Eyes admitted.

“So you want me to lure him out?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s our only option. We do have a few senior captains who aren’t much weaker than Lieutenant General Dutch. I have been giving orders in Lieutenant General Dutch’s place and motivating the riders with my Psychic Magic.. His death is a nightmare, but it’s not enough to take us out. However, if that person continues to take out the captains one by one, the Eagle Horse Skyriders will soon be wiped out!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was a sudden and unexpected disaster that Lieutenant General Dutch had died at the hands of a strong enemy.

Mo Fan was forced to step forward under the dire circumstances. He had no idea exactly how strong Dutch had been, but if their unknown enemy had killed Dutch, he could definitely kill Mo Fan too!

There were other Super Mages among the Eagle Horse Skyriders. Why couldn’t they be the ones to lure the enemy out instead?

“What if the guy is a Super Mage with every Element at the peak Super Level? I’m as good as dead too!” Mo Fan had to say.

“That’s unlikely, as a person like that is under great restrictions implemented by the Magic Association. They would need a valid reason to use their magic. For example, Professor Xylan of the Aorus Sacred Institute is only here for the Venomous Insect Shamans,” Eagle Eyes pointed out.

“Don’t even mention that hag. I thought she was a reliable helper who was going to take out the enemy for us, yet all she did was put on airs. We wouldn’t be in this situation if she could take out the Venomous Insect Shamans!” Zhao Manyan snarled when he heard Professor Xylan’s name.

“It’s not entirely her fault. She has to protect her reputation. Regardless of which side wins the war, the Magic Association will still be here. She doesn’t want to leave a huge stain on her name in the Magic Association’s records,” Eagle Eyes had to say.

“You should ask someone else to do the job. There’s no way I will risk my life for you,” Mo Fan scoffed.

It was necessary to win the war to take down Wu Ku. However, it was more important to ensure their own safety! Mo Fan did not think Eagle Eyes’ suggestion was a good idea.

In simpler words, Eagle Eyes just wanted him to be a sacrifice for their army so they could win the battle!

Mo Fan was not that stupid. He would not consider it, even if the Federation Army promised to give him a city as a reward!

The enemy was currently focusing on the Eagle Horse Skyriders. If everything went south, he could try to sneak his way to Wu Ku’s location while the Brown Rebels were distracted. It was better than trying to stand out and being targeted by a strong enemy Mage!

“The other captains have to lead their men, otherwise the Brown Rebels could easily send a Super Mage with Magic Wings to butcher our riders. The enemy already knows Lieutenant General Dutch is dead, and are expecting us to lose morale. They will soon send their strong Mages after us. We are running out of time!” Eagle Eyes replied.

The enemy knew Lieutenant General Dutch was dead, but the Eagle Horse Skyriders could not afford to tell their men the truth. Otherwise, Eagle Eyes’ motivating words would lose their effectiveness.

“Mo Fan, why don’t I pretend to be Dutch?” Zhao Manyan proposed.

“It’s too risky, the guy who killed Dutch is very strong!” Mo Fan shook his head.

“Not many people in this world can kill me. Besides, I can just run away if I can’t hold on. You know I have a lot of trump cards to guarantee my own safety. Things aren’t looking great for us. If we don’t make a breakthrough and take down Wu Ku in time, the Brown Rebels are going to win the war. We will lose our only chance to get him!” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

They would have to face tens of thousands of enemies without the Eagle Horse Skyriders’ support. Even if Mo Fan managed to sneak up on Wu Ku, Wu Ku just had to hold on for a few minutes until Mo Fan was surrounded by tens of thousands of Brown Rebels.

Mo Fan did not want the Eagle Horse Skyriders to be wiped out, either. On second thought, it was indeed their only option!

Zhao Manyan would disguise himself as Lieutenant General Dutch and work together with the Eagle Horse Skyriders to fend off strong enemy Mages who were able to fly, while he snuck off to the vortex amid the confusion to take down Wu Ku!

“Fine!” Mo Fan snarled.

Not every situation had a safely viable option. Being able to act according to the situation was already impressive. He could only take one step at a time!

“You’ll have to be more careful since I won’t be with you. You are as fragile as a piece of paper!” Zhao Manyan reminded him.

Mo Fan had brought Zhao Manyan along to make sure he had a sturdy meat shield when he was being flanked by enemies, allowing him to unleash his full potential as a pure destructive Mage.

Mo Fan did not feel near as safe when Turtle Zhao was not with him!

“I’ll update you on the situation of the battle constantly, the same way Lieutenant General Dutch was able to kill the enemy’s Super Mages so easily. Besides, if your friend can really keep the unknown enemy busy, it will also do you a huge favor!” Eagle Eyes encouraged them.

—

In the end, Mo Fan had to fight alone.

It was not like he had a choice. On the bright side, he now had a clearer picture of his goal.

They were betting their lives on the Eagle Horse Skyriders to begin with. It was only a matter of time until the Eagle Horse Skyriders were wiped out after losing their commander.

All Mo Fan had to do was take down Wu Ku before the Eagle Horse Skyriders were wiped out!

He had no idea how long it would take the Brown Rebels to kill the remaining Eagle Horse Skyriders.

——

Mo Fan left the Eagle Horse Skyriders.

Eagle Eyes was a man of his word. He immediately gave Mo Fan guidance after Zhao Manyan agreed to be the decoy.

Mo Fan wove through the enemy camp using the Dark Noble Mantle.

Mo Fan was almost undetectable when he was wearing the Dark Noble Mantle if there was no Super Mage around. He was able to move deeper into the enemy camp like a phantom.

“Stop moving forward, there are three Super Mages in your path. One of them is most likely Damon, a Super Light Mage. You are dead if he senses the Aura of your Shadow Magic,” Eagle Eyes transmitted into Mo Fan’s mind.

“Head left, there’s a platoon of Advanced Mages. They shouldn’t be able to notice you.”

“Look out, Damon is heading your way. He must have sensed something. He’s moving toward you without any hesitation!”

“He’s less than three hundred meters from you.”

“He’s very close to you now…”

—

Mo Fan was hiding behind a tall tent with a campfire beside it. A few middle-aged Advanced Mages were observing the battle in the sky.

A man with a thick white beard came over to them, looking around cautiously.

He was the Super Light Mage named Damon.

Mo Fan’s Dark Noble Mantle had left a faint trail of Shadow Magic. Damon was obviously good at tracking down the presence of Shadow Magic. He was most likely a strong fighter, too!

“I’ve followed a faint trail of shadow magic here. Have any of you seen anyone or anything unusual?” Damon asked the Advanced Mages.

The Advanced Mages exchanged confused glances.

What shadow traces? How could they not notice anything if anyone came through here?

—

Mo Fan was extremely close to them. He had no clue his Dark Noble Mantle would leave a trail of shadow magic along its path, but then again, he had never encountered a strong Light Mage like Damon before, either!

Chapter 2340: Savage Nature

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Advanced Mages were confident that they had not seen anyone suspicious, but Damon insisted on entering the camp. He occasionally glanced at the spot where Mo Fan was hiding.

Mo Fan was almost invisible when stationary while wearing the Dark Noble Mantle. The presence of Shadow Magic was almost no different from the air around him.

The area behind the tent was pitch-black, and the light of the campfire served as a distraction when someone was looking at the area behind the tent.

Mo Fan held his breath.

Damon was approaching slowly, taking one step at a time. Mo Fan did not dare move.

He was not confident that he could kill the Super Light Mage instantly. The unpredictability of the Shadow Element was not going to work against a Super Light Mage, either.

“Sir, an enemy Super Shadow Mage has appeared among the Eagle Horse Skyriders!” a voice came from the distance.

Damon turned around and saw a Wind Mage hovering in the air with a pair of Wind Wings. The Mage had come for him from another camp.

“Mm, I’ll be right there!” Damon stopped searching for the shadow footprints and ran for the Wind Mage.

Mo Fan could feel cold sweat running down his face from the shadow behind the tent.

He was right in the center of the enemy camp. He would have had no chance of leaving this place in one piece even if he had ten Zhao Manyans with him!

Mo Fan was about to sneak deeper into the camp when he felt the Dark Vein throbbing and raising goosebumps!

He immediately halted in his tracks and tried his best to remain still.

Wisps of the shadow magic were circling Mo Fan’s feet like the wind. They would spread instantly with the slightest movement.

A few minutes later, Damon returned from another direction and scanned the area with a sharp gaze.

“Sir, you are being too cautious. I swear to you that no one has been here. I believe the shadow traces you saw were left by Robin’s Dark Shadow Horse a few days ago,” an Advanced Mage explained with a smile.

Damon nodded.

“You should hurry to the outskirts. Those Eagle Horse Skyriders are a pain to deal with. They could easily slaughter every Mage below the Advanced Level!” the Advanced Mage encouraged him.

“Stay alert. The Federation Army has a few strong Mages who are good at hiding their presence. We can’t let them sneak into our main camp,” Damon advised them in return.

“Will do!”

Damon finally left the camp. The campfire was still cracking, but the range of its light was limited because of the rain.

—

Damon had left for real this time.

Mo Fan still had lingering fears. Luckily, the Dark Vein had warned him in time!

As he thought, the Brown Rebels had many powerful Mages. He could not afford to lower his guard!

——

The Dark Noble Mantle’s effects would only last for a limited time. Mo Fan had to keep going.

He could already see the main camp. The tents had solid golden-brown roofs set up between them. He had no idea how the Brown Rebels had constructed them so quickly. The connected tents were like an artistic exhibition hall, standing out in the rain and the woods.

Mo Fan avoided the areas with patrols.

Wu Ku was behind the main camp. The upside-down waterfall that resembled a white dragon was serving as the background for the biggest golden tent. It was not a surprise that the leaders of the Brown Rebels had so much respect for someone from the Black Vatican. The spectacular sight he was responsible for did look like he had been granted extraordinary power by the Heavens.

“If they don’t obey their orders, how different are they from the enemy?” Mo Fan heard a bulky man scold coldly as he was passing by a training area.

As soon as he finished speaking, the ground cracked as sharp objects that looked like elephant tusks emerged from it, stabbing into a few Brown Rebels. Their blood sprayed everywhere.

The Brown Rebels died simultaneously. It took the heavy rain quite some time to wash away their blood.

A man in a silver-white robe walked over and glanced at the pool of blood on the ground before saying helplessly, “Ice Tiger, since when did you have such a bad temper?”

“There’s no point for these cowards to stay alive if they aren’t going to be of any use to me!” the hot-tempered man called Ice Tiger snarled.

The man was wearing a mink coat, and his face had stripes like a jaguar. He was brimming with a wild and savage aura.

“Control yourself. Our leader isn’t going to be happy if you keep killing our men,” the Mage in a silver-white robe said.

“I don’t understand, why didn’t he send me to battle? I can easily kill thousands of enemy soldiers myself!” Ice Tiger grumbled.

“There must be a reason he asked you to stay in the main camp. Now, I must deliver the Fundamental Water Crystals to the Heavenly Sensei. This rain is doing us a huge favor. Many people who used to be timid as these cowards have turned into ferocious tigers because of it! They might not have the strength of ferocious tigers, but a mischief of fearless rats can still cause a plague,” the Mage in a silver-white robe said in delight.

Mo Fan was not far away. His eyes glittered when he heard the Mage was heading toward Wu Ku.

The Mage in the silver-white robe was quite powerful. Mo Fan did not dare get too close.

To his relief, the Mage was traveling on foot, and did not seem to be in a rush.

Mo Fan purposely looked at the general called Ice Tiger as he walked past the training ground. He noticed the general was stomping the dead bodies like a devil lusting for blood!

Even though the Frenzy Liquid had no effect on people with a strong will, it had made cold-blooded people behave recklessly and go to extremes to vent their hatred.

But was the Black Vatican actually interested in politics?

They only knew how to destroy lives! They were interested in death and destruction! Even if the Brown Rebels did defeat the Federation Army and establish their kingdom, it would soon turn into Hell if the Frenzy Liquid continued to fall for more than a dozen days. Its people had already lost their outer nature. They would soon massacre one another like wild beasts!

The cities would be in ruins as the streets were littered with dead bodies. Condors would feed on the corpses while crows filled the sky. Such an event was exactly what the Black Vatican was after!

Mo Fan did not have time to feel for the dead, but he was sympathetic toward the Federation’s fate.

The storm of Sea Monsters was on its way. It did not matter which side was going to rule over the country. What would they have left to stop the Sea Monsters’ invasion?

The shore along China’s east coast was already busy building defenses to prepare themselves for the Sea Monsters’ invasion. In contrast to that, the Federation’s coastline was even longer than China’s. The Sea Monsters would be feeding on its people for free when the time came!

They would lose their dignity and end up as a buffet for the Sea Monsters!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Mage in a silver-white robe was humming a strange melody along the way. It sounded like the theme song from the cartoon Peppa Pig .

Mo Fan had no idea why the guy still had the mood to hum such a pleasant melody during such a grim war, as if it was none of his concern.

He tailed the Mage. He had a feeling that the guy was stronger than the Super Light Mage Damon, but he wasn’t sensitive to the presence of Shadow Magic. Mo Fan just had to maintain a safe distance from him.

The sound of the waterfall was deafening, like the roaring of tigers and dragons. Mo Fan’s ears began to hurt as he drew closer.

The pool of water was right ahead. The waters of the river had stopped flowing to a lower altitude. They were instead being drawn into the hole in the sky continuously. It looked like an enormous funnel was hovering above the pool between the riversides!

Wu Ku was on the other side of the Scorching River. Mo Fan could already see him.

There were thousands of people around the altar where Wu Ku was carrying out his sorcery. They remained unmoving, like statues in the thick mist. They were obviously looking for intruders.

“Damn it, that conductor is here too!”

Mo Fan looked around carefully and immediately saw Cook in his tuxedo. His oily long hair was displaying the loose and free nature of an artiste.

Cook was standing on a stage that had been recently constructed. The mist under the waterfall was like the fierce waves of an ocean, but he insisted on staying on the stage like an old farmer who had long prayed for rain after being tortured by a prolonged drought. He was waving his little silver baton in utter excitement!

Below the stage stood his choir, who were dressed in luxurious suits, too. They were kneeling in puddles while singing in high spirits!

The song had a similar melody to the tune the Mage in a silver-white outfit was humming. It was most likely the war song of some tribe in South America, but it really sounded a lot like Peppa Pig’s main theme, one of Little Flame Belle’s favorite shows.

The problem was, he always felt like his head was about to explode whenever he heard it!

He had the same feeling now as he was listening to the Sound Mages’ singing. He could not help but recall the immense pressure he had been under when he was surrounded by enemy soldiers in the Furniture District.

“I have to get rid of them somehow...” Mo Fan had always found Sound Mages annoying.

He seriously wondered what they were singing about. Were they holding a concert to ask the Heavens for rain?

—

The choir was Mo Fan’s biggest obstacle. However, he did not have time to waste. He decided to sneak closer and think of his next step later.

He was taken by surprise last time. The situation might not be any better this time, but at least he could strike first!

The Mages of the choir were not strong, but Mo Fan found it annoying when they kept disrupting his Channeling!

“Go ahead and enjoy yourselves for now, you will wish to be dead soon!” Mo Fan was good at playing dirty, too!

The Dark Noble Mantle’s effects were about to run out. He went around the choir, along the river, and started using his Chaos Magic.

“Chaos Mist!”

Unlike the Nyx Regime, the Chaos Mist had no effect on one’s vision.

The mist was not shrouding or covering anything, but its purpose was to fool its target with illusions, like a magic trick.

It was like a mirror in a changing room. The room was supposed to be dark and small, but the room looked much brighter and more spacious with a mirror in it.

Mo Fan was not using the Chaos Mist just to fool the enemy, but to isolate the enemy’s magic too!

There were a lot of powerful Mages nearby. All of them were extremely sensitive to the presence of magic. Their eyes would spring open as soon as a Basic Fire Spell appeared.

Using a Super Spell was clearly out of the question. The enemy would surround him in no time, long before he could construct a Star Palace.

The Chaos Element worked by manipulating order. This time, it ensured the presence of magic remained in a fixed area, preventing the enemy from being alerted. Mo Fan had also used the Chaos Element to mess with the Super Light Mage’s senses previously, and avoid being exposed.

“Aren’t you having fun singing?” Mo Fan grinned.

Mo Fan was done setting up the Chaos Mist. He was currently wrapped in a thin but safe membrane. Others on the outside would only see illusions projected by the Chaos Mist.

Only experts of the Chaos Element would notice something odd about the projections, like the unnatural twists of the ripples on the puddles, or that the raindrops were falling at a different speeds.

Ordinary people would not be able to discern such tiny details!

“It’s been a while since I last used this move. I guess I can treat it as a huge gift to them.”

Mo Fan quickly drew a pattern in the air with his finger. A Chaos Vortex appeared in front of Mo Fan and started to spin slowly.

“Lightning!”

Mo Fan summoned wild lightning on his palm and poured all of its energy into the Chaos Vortex.

The Chaos Vortex was spinning counter-clockwise. The lightning passed its core and was reflected back at Mo Fan.

After obtaining the Lightning Acupuncture Points, Mo Fan’s Lightning Resistance was now insanely high. His ability to absorb lightning had grown significantly on top of that!

Mo Fan was like an enormous battery. He kept consuming his energy and fired Lightning Spells at the Chaos Vortex, while he stored the energy of the strengthened spells the Chaos Vortex was reflecting back at him.

Keep going!

The energy of Mo Fan’s Star Galaxy had more than doubled after he reached the second tier of the Super Level. He had yet to reach his limit!

Every time he fired a Lightning Spell at the Chaos Vortex, the spell’s damage would increase by around twenty percent.

When Mo Fan fired the reflected spell back at the Chaos Vortex again, its damage would increase by another thirty percent!

It was exactly how a particle accelerator functioned. Mo Fan had invented an Electric Charge Accelerator to transform normal Lightning Magic into high-energy explosive particles!

If a tiny particle of Lightning Magic was able to create a few sparkles, what was going to happen when a Super Spell consisting of millions of the same particles was released?

Mo Fan had never tried this before too, but the choir was going to have a taste of it soon!

—

The Chaos Mist Mo Fan had established finally reached its limit, and Lightning Magic started to leak out of it.

The energy that leaked out of the Chaos Mist transformed into dazzling Lightning Chains that spread wildly through the air.

Lightning bolts descended rapidly from the gray and cloudy sky. They immediately exploded after landing close to the Scorching River, spreading along the ground in spectacular fashion, like countless forking lightning eels and snakes!

Chapter 2342: Purgatory, Lightning Dragon Tail

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What’s going on? Why is the lightning heading our way?” Cook the conductor realized something was not right.

The choir of hundreds of singers could no longer practice their singing with peace of mind.

Was their singing so bad that the Heavens could not stand it anymore, and had sent down lightning strikes at them?

“What’s that?”

Someone finally noticed huge lightning rings on the verge of exploding behind the choir.

The lightning rings looked like lightning coils made up of steel cables. They were thicker than a few ancient pythons put together. It was terrifying to look at!

“Purgatory, Lightning Dragon Tail!”

Mo Fan stood in the center of the lightning rings and unleashed the Lightning Magic around him that had been strengthened countless times.

The lightning flash pierced everyone’s eyes. It felt like the whole pool of water had been dragged into a purgatory filled with the wrath of the God of Lightning. An ancient dragon with a formidable aura soared into the sky amid the blinding flash.

It soared into the clouds and turned around before sweeping its enormous tail down at the ground!

The tail of the dragon was made up of bones, stinger, and skin. It was as poisonous as a scorpion tail and as powerful as a whale.

The Lightning Dragon did not completely reveal its appearance, but the tail that was stirring up chaos in the clouds was shocking enough.

The enormous dragon’s tail fell from the sky. The whole pool almost collapsed from the impact. The river crackled like a beehive from the lightning arcs surging through the water!

The hundreds of choir members only had time to see the tail of the lightning dragon coming down from the sky before they were turned into scattering ashes!

Cook was also smashed directly by the tail of the lightning dragon. He tried defending himself, but the terrifying lightning ended up devouring both him and his tuxedo.

He completely lost his dazzling appearance, and was cooked into a foul-smelling burned corpse.

The area around the altar dissolved into chaos. Many of the mages in South America believed in different deities and gods. They assumed the gods were unleashing their wrath, and had sent a sacred lightning dragon to destroy everything!

A few Mages with higher levels of cultivation were staring in Mo Fan’s direction like they had encountered a formidable foe. They did not dare to move after witnessing the terrifying Lightning Dragon Tail.

The choir of Sound Mages was far more valuable than a Wind Warship. However, they had all turned into scorched corpses in the pool, which itself had instantly evaporated from the insanely powerful lightning strike.

The Mage in the silver-white robe was close to where the Lightning Dragon Tail had landed. He was so shocked that he had brought out his defensive Equipment.

Once everything calmed down, he glared at Mo Fan, who was obviously responsible for the lightning disaster. “Who are you?!” the Mage demanded angrily.

—

Wu Ku had been disturbed by the deafening blast, and looked back to the other side of the river. His expression shifted when he saw Mo Fan.

Why is he here?! How did he find this place?!

His whereabouts had remained a secret, as he was responsible for bringing down the rain for the conspiracy to work. The upside-down waterfall did not necessarily mean they would find him here!

However, Wu Ku knew that Mo Fan was coming after him after seeing the look in his eyes.

“Head Priest!” The Wolf Chief was staring at Mo Fan curiously, too.

Cook and his choir were supposed to be their trump card against Mo Fan and his friends, but now Mo Fan had taken them all out with a single Lightning Spell!

Is this guy Thor’s bastard or something? How did he even control such a powerful Lightning Spell?

“You know the consequences if the rain stops.” Wu Ku’s expression was cold, dropping his fake smile from before.

“The only chance he makes it here to the other side is when I drag him to you and let you decide his fate after I’ve beaten him up,” Wolf Chief declared, before heading to the other side through the dried pool.

Mo Fan did not back away, remaining on the scorched shore of the dried river. He completely ignored the Mage in the silver-white robe.

He had come here for Wu Ku. Anyone who tried to stop him would only share the same ending as Cook!

—

“Brother, what’s going on here? Who’s that guy?” Ice Tiger had ridden a one-horned horse over to the pool area.

“That guy killed Cook and his men,” the Mage in a silver-white robe replied softly.

“So it was him who made such a huge fuss, hehe!” Ice Tiger jumped down from the horse and strode toward Mo Fan, stretching his arms and cracking his knuckles.

Ice Tiger was brimming with a ferocious aura. He was overwhelmed with excitement when someone finally came seeking death!

“Brother, I can deal with him however I want, right?” Ice Tiger grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, looking like he was going to eat his opponent alive.

“Ask him which faction he’s from,” the Mage in a silver-white robe spoke up.

“That won’t be necessary. He’s a stumbling block for our church. Kill him, and the Head Priest will present your leader with a huge gift!” Wolf Chief interrupted.

They had been astonished by the shocking Lightning Spell a moment ago, but now they were amused by Mo Fan’s decision to come here alone after calming down.

So what if Mo Fan had managed to kill Cook and his choir? There were thousands of Brown Rebel elites here, not to mention Ice Tiger and White Jaguar, two great generals of the Brown Rebels. Mo Fan would soon be taken down and dismembered. Wolf Chief did not even have to do anything!

There was no way a single person could take on a whole army, regardless of how outstanding their individual strength was!

1

“Was that your Lightning Spell? Hehe, finally, someone that’s worth my time!” Ice Tiger stood in front of Mo Fan and rubbed his palms. He even took the stance of a boxer and threw a few punches in Mo Fan’s direction.

The person was obviously not a boxer. Everyone here was a Mage. He was only doing it to show how happy he was!

“I’ll give you time to Channel the same spell you used. I would like to see whether your Lightning Dragon Tail is strong enough to kill me!” Ice Tiger kept throwing punches around to provoke Mo Fan.

“You like boxing?” Mo Fan asked after he watched Ice Tiger’s strange behavior.

“Yeah, if there was no magic in this world, I might be a world-ranked boxer by now. My opponents are either dead or have had their faces crushed,” Ice Tiger answered.

“I like boxing too!” Mo Fan exclaimed. He clenched his left fist before the lightning on it dissipated, and threw a punch out as it exploded!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There were more than a dozen Advanced Mages around Mo Fan. They had gathered after hearing the loud noise, just like Ice Tiger.

They were planning to attack Mo Fan, but they lost their courage when they saw Ice Tiger get knocked to the ground by a single punch.

The ground exploded as a bulky figure jumped up from it. Rain fell and slowly washed away the mud on him, revealing bone armor covered by fearsome spikes the color of elephant tusks.

The man was none other than Ice Tiger. He was rubbing his nose.

He was ready to defend himself when Mo Fan threw a punch at him, but the impact of the lightning explosion still broke his nose. His face was numbed by the lightning, too!

“Is it my turn now?” Ice Tiger did not care much about his injuries. He seemed very excited.

More bone-like tusks suddenly stuck out of Ice Tiger’s body. They were growing around Ice Tiger like a kind of sturdy plant.

“Sturdy Bone Armor!”

Ice Tiger was fully armor-clad in just a moment. He looked like a monster covered by a thick carapace. Not only was every part of his body covered by sturdy bones, he was surrounded by dangerous spikes too!

The Sturdy Bone Armor was more like a machine of its own. It brimmed with a sense of power.

Ice Tiger let out a furious roar and unleashed a terrifying might from his leg. It propelled him at Mo Fan, who was standing a few hundred meters away, in less than two seconds!

Many Advanced Mages could not even complete an Advanced Spell in under two seconds. He could crush someone with his explosive power before they had a chance to use their magic!

Similar to Mo Fan, Ice Tiger attacked with his fist. His punch was not to be underestimated, due to the terrifying speed he was traveling at.

His fist was also covered in ghastly spikes. It looked like a morning star around the size of a basketball as it headed right at Mo Fan!

A strong gust of wind was already blowing in the opposite direction when he was still swinging. The sound of bones cracking occurred as soon as the punch landed on Mo Fan.

Ice Tiger slid further ahead. The wind his punch created blew away the mist.

He came to a stop and turned around. He noticed Mo Fan standing still in the same spot like a scarecrow, showing no sense of pain, even though a hole had been blown through his chest!

Ice Tiger frowned.

As he expected, it was just a shadow clone instead of Mo Fan’s true self!

The puppet with a hole began blown in its chest began to drift away like a piece of black paper. It quickly turned into a cloud of black smoke and dispersed into the sky.

“I hate it when people use these silly tricks against me!” Ice Tiger turned to where Mo Fan was hiding.

His leg let out a huge blast once again as he was launched into the air.

Ice Tiger lifted his fists up high like a gorilla, and came down, slamming his fists on the ground.

The ground cracked apart, bones erupting out of it and causing even greater damage to the area.

Mo Fan was hiding in the shadows. He immediately jumped into the sky when he saw the attack.

Mo Fan’s body was a little numb after Ice Tiger slammed his fists on the ground, and he was struggling to move properly.

He could no longer hide once the bones headed toward him. He gathered the remaining Lightning Magic he had accumulated on his arms.

“Lightning Explosion!”

Lightning coiled around Mo Fan’s arms and fired a shocking beam at the wave of bones approaching him.

The bones were not as sturdy as the bones on Ice Tiger. They shattered like aged branches as they collided with the lightning beam, breaking into pieces and scattering on the ground.

“I’m more than happy to grant you your wish if you like it rough!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly. He withdrew his left hand as his right hand burst into flames.

“Heavenly Flames Pattern!”

Mo Fan gathered his focus before the Lightning Explosion dissipated and completed the Star Palace of a Super Fire Spell in the shortest time possible.

“Little Flame Belle, grant me your flames!”

Mo Fan was not naive enough to only use a single flame in his attack.

Little Flame Belle was able to give Mo Fan her flames even when she was in the Contracted Space, hence why Mo Fan was able to switch between the three different Soul-grade Flames as he pleased.

His opponent was not fond of fanciness. Mo Fan had no intention of wasting his time on someone unimportant, either.

“Heavenly Flames Pattern: Lava First River!”

Mo Fan pulled his right arm back like the string of a bow, his whole body leaning backward.

His flames were brimming with power. He gathered all his strength on his fist, like he was accumulating the energy of his Star Galaxy on a single point, and threw out a punch.

There was nothing in front of Mo Fan, yet it felt like his punch had landed on a barrier.

An enormous wall of flames appeared from the collision. Scorching lava burst out of the wall and surged at Ice Tiger like a ferocious horizontal pillar!

It was like Mo Fan had just popped the valve of a volcano. A sea of lava poured out of the hole and swept across the ground in an unstoppable fashion. Its momentum showed no sign of decreasing even after traveling over five hundred meters away.

The Fiery Fist produced by an Intermediate Star Pattern usually appeared in the form of a fiery dragon rising from a lake of flames, but its speed was not that impressive. An enemy could easily dodge it if they were more than three hundred meters away, so Mo Fan normally used it as a counterattack.

On the other hand, these Heavenly Flames unleashed through a Star Palace from Mo Fan’s fist had far surpassed the scale of an Intermediate Fiery Fist. It was a real Super Magic. The Heavenly Flames Pattern contained a vast sea of lava, and the force of the lava bursting out of Mo Fan’s fist was comparable to an erupting volcano.

The lava surged forward like a beam of light!

In addition to that, the hole Mo Fan created had a diameter of fifty meters.

Lava lasted longer than fire. Mo Fan had basically dug a river of lava flowing parallel to the Scorching River with his punch!

—

“Such a close call, I almost failed to dodge it in time…” Ice Tiger crawled back to his feet.

He was forced to dive wildly to the ground just to dodge the punch. Lingering fear rose when he looked at the blazing red river beside him.

“Do you think that’s all I have?” Mo Fan grinned coldly.

Mo Fan bashed another hole into the unseen barrier with a second punch. An imperious burning pattern immediately appeared and unleashed another pillar of lava fifty meters across at the speed of light!

Chapter 2344: Heavenly Flames on a Rampage

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had already changed his position. Ice Tiger did not notice, as he was too busy dodging Mo Fan’s lava blast.

As a result, the angle of the second Lava Fist left Ice Tiger with no room to dodge, since the first lava river was still burning in that direction.

Ice Tiger’s face turned pale when he saw the second Lava Fist. It was obviously too late to dodge. He rolled toward the first lava river in the nick of time.

Flame tongues were still rising occasionally from the river of lava. It would take at least a few hours for the lava to cool down. Ice Tiger had no choice but to dive into the first lava flow to dodge the eruption of the second.

It did not feel great being burned at high temperatures even through his Sturdy Bone Armor. It felt like he was being fried in a pot of oil while he was rolling in the lava!

Ice Tiger cried out in agony. Anything that fell into the lava river caused huge flames to erupt from it. The slowly cooling lava burst into flames again, like the skeleton of a dragon coming back to life after being engulfed in flames.

Ice Tiger thought he could avoid the impact of the new Lava Fist by diving into the first river of lava. To his surprise, the lava river had not weakened by much.

The rain was evaporating rapidly from the heat.

There was only one river of lava at first, but there were now two of them crossing paths at Ice Tiger’s position. Ice Tiger had no clue where he should run. He was stuck between the two lava rivers!

—

“These…these are Fist Scars!”

The watching Advanced Mages totally lost their minds.

The fact that the Fist Scars were able to prevent the lava flowing in them from cooling down for hours was already insane, not to mention the lava erupting like a beam of light from Mo Fan’s fist!

If Mo Fan used it on a crowded spot on a battlefield, it would burn countless people to ashes and even cut the battlefield in half!

“Extreme Frost!”

The Mage in a silver-white robe could not wait any longer, since Ice Tiger had almost been cooked by the flames.

He used an Ice Spell. His silver-white robe seemed to symbolize his identity as an Ice Mage.

The temperature of the surroundings dropped rapidly. The raindrops which had evaporated above the rivers of lava turned into huge blocks of ice falling to the ground.

Mo Fan’s Fist Scars had forced the Brown Rebels to the opposite side and stopped them from coming any closer to him. Advanced Mages without Magic Wings or the ability to fly would not pose any threat to Mo Fan.

The priority of the Ice Mage White Leopard was to get rid of the lava rivers. Unfortunately, even an experienced Super Ice Mage like him was unable to cool off the Fist Scars in a short amount of time.

White Leopard frowned.

In terms of cultivation level, Mo Fan’s Fire Element had not reached the peak of the Super Level. Why was his Ice Magic so ineffective against the Fire Magic? At this rate, it would take at least another half an hour for his Ice Magic to cool down the lava!

The intruder had plenty of time to fight his way to the Heavenly Sensei!

—

White Leopard had no choice but to drag his brother Ice Tiger out of the lava first.

His face darkened when he saw his brother was badly burned by look and smell.

Even Ice Tiger was no match for the young man. The Federation Army had really sent a formidable foe to ambush their rear while the Eagle Horse Skyriders were distracting them.

“Bro..brother, why couldn’t my armor… stop his flames?” Ice Tiger was in a terrible state. He no longer had the guts to hop around and throw fists in front of Mo Fan.

In the past, the Elemental Magic of enemy Super Mages had struggled to break through the defense of his Sturdy Bone Armor, but this time he was almost crippled by his enemy’s flames, even though he had only rolled around in the mage’s Fist Scars.

How were those flames so powerful?

“Could it be a Heaven-grade Flame?” White Leopard suddenly realized, staring at the still-scorching lava.

The Fist Scars were as long and wide as rivers. They might be tiny compared to the Scorching River, but wouldn’t the guy be a god if he could create more of them just by throwing a few punches around?

“Heaven-grade Flame?” Ice Tiger blurted out in surprise, but the scorched skin on his face almost fell off as he screamed. He did not dare say another word due to the immense pain!

“If he has a Heaven-grade Flame, your Sturdy Bone Armor wouldn’t stand a chance against it. I already told you you shouldn’t specialize only in one Element. You placed all your focus on refining your Bone Armor. Even if you did Awaken a Super Power, your chance of winning is slim if you are going up against a Fire Mage with a Heaven-grade Flame,” White Leopard scolded him.

“Brother, weren’t you the one who taught me to focus on one Element and derive my own ../style of fighting? Humph, I don’t think that young man is really that impressive! Brother, you have already Awakened the Super Power of your Ice Element. Your Ice Element has also reached the third tier. You have no reason to be scared of him!” Ice Tiger declared.

White Leopard shook his head.

“My Ice Magic is nowhere close to the power of a Heaven-grade Seed. Even though the Ice Element is effective against the Fire Element, and the heavy rain and the environment here make it difficult to unleash the full potential of the Fire Element, these factors are almost negligible if the enemy has a Heaven-grade Flame,” White Leopard replied.

“Why is that?” Ice Tiger was confused.

“Lava can flow in the sea because of how high its temperature is. Even the water at the bottom of the ocean can’t cool it down. A Heaven-grade Flame is just like lava. Nothing can suppress it unless they have the same level of Ice Magic or Water Magic,” White Leopard answered.

As an Ice Mage who had already reached the third tier of the Super Level, White Leopard was not too afraid of a first-tier Super Fire Mage with a Heaven-grade Flame…

But, he was still jealous!

A Heaven-grade Seed was only something that one could come across by luck!

He had long achieved the Super Level and Awakened a Super Power. He would be admired greatly across all of South America if he owned a Heaven-grade Ice Seed.

Unfortunately, he could not find one!

He only joined the Brown Rebels because of his personal grudge against a leader of the Federation who had competed for a Heaven-grade Ice Seed with him a year ago.

“Brother, you can’t beat him?” Ice Tiger asked in disbelief.

White Leopard burst out laughing. “A Heaven-grade Seed might be strong, but his cultivation level is two tiers lower than mine. He doesn’t have a Super Power for his Fire Element, either. He’s clearly no match for me,” White Leopard declared.

“What are you waiting for, then?” Ice Tiger said.

“Be patient, doesn’t the Heavenly Sensei have strong Mages protecting him too? That young man is clearly going after him.. Why should I waste my energy? Let’s wait until he’s worn out,” White Leopard smiled cunningly.

Chapter 2345: Litter the Wild with Your Corpses

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan glanced at the two brothers talking, and continued on his way to the lake after making sure they were not chasing after him.

He stepped onto the dried riverbed. The Lightning Dragon Tail had already fused the mud at the bottom, leaving nothing but cracked earth behind.

His right hand was still holding the Heavenly Flames Pattern. He threw a punch at the lake instead of attacking the two brothers!

A few captains of the Brown Rebels on the other side of the river opened their eyes in shock.

The ground cracked apart as the lava surged across the river bed and left a shocking Fist Scar on it, intercepting the water flowing from the upper reaches of the Scorching River.

The Scorching River was around four hundred meters across where the lake was. The amount of water that had gathered in the Scorching River from a few hundred streams flowing down the Andes Mountains was quite impressive. The Scorching River was nurturing every living creature in the rainforest for over a hundred kilometers.

Mo Fan’s lava river extended from one end of the lake to the other. The lava stream was over forty meters across, and had completely cut off the river!

The blazing red lava now lay across the river’s path like an ancient serpent.

The lava evaporated every drop of water that came into contact with it. Only a tiny stream was able to make its way through, nowhere enough to fill up the dried lake.

Wu Ku was performing his sorcery five hundred meters downstream of the lava.

Even if Wu Ku had an Innate Soul-grade Seed, there was no way he could Summon a rain that lasted for half a month, even if he consumed all his energy. He needed a source to generate the rains that extended for a few hundred kilometers.

The waters of the Scorching River were just the source he needed, but Mo Fan had dried up the lake with the Lightning Dragon Tail and intercepted the river with his Lava Fist.

Wu Ku’s face darkened when he saw the heavy rain was showing signs of stopping!

“There are always reckless people who think they can take on the world by themselves…” Wu Ku stopped using his magic after losing his source of water.

Even if the rain kept falling, they would not be able to use it to its fullest if they did not get rid of the thorn that had chased them all the way here.

Mo Fan’s action of intercepting the river with his lava was extremely provocative. He was currently standing at the center of three lava scars, a scorching battleground he had specifically drawn right across the lake!

“I don’t have to take on the world. I’m only here to kill you!” Mo Fan announced.

“So what if you kill me? This country will be littered with corpses, too!”

“We can afford to lose the war, but the Black Vatican must die. I’ll litter the wild with your corpses first!”

Wu Ku was annoyed by a stubborn person like Mo Fan, who had his own views on everything.

What kind of idiot would chase someone across the battlefield when a revolution was taking place? Was he a mad dog?

The worst thing was, this mad dog was also an extremely strong Mage. There was no way Salan would show up again, as she was wary of Mo Fan’s mysterious power. Wu Ku had no choice but to deal with this trouble himself!

“Do you think you can kill everyone here? You are in the enemy’s base!” Wu Ku snarled.

Mo Fan looked ahead and saw a group of Mages had appeared on the side of the lake his Lava Fists had not sealed off. The Mages headed right down into the dried lake. He could tell they were an elite group just by looking at their uniforms.

The group had around eight hundred people, each with the logo of a tornado on their shoulder. It had to be a group mainly consisting of Wind Mages.

—

“Wind Warship! Activate!”

White Leopard was giving out orders not far away.

He had sent his men to fight Mo Fan, instead of taking part in the battle himself.

He would most likely end up with serious injuries, just like Ice Tiger, if he fought against a powerful Mage who possessed a Heaven-grade Seed. As one of the leaders of the Brown Rebels, he had over ten thousand soldiers at his disposal. Why would he bother wasting his efforts?

A Wind Warship with only eight hundred people?

The overall strength of these Mages was a lot higher than the ordinary soldiers of the Brown Rebels. The Wind Warship they had formed looked more stunning too. White flows of air had established a solid outline of the vessel, like a real warship surrounded by its own storm!

—

Mo Fan had to treat the battle seriously now, knowing the Brown Rebels were no longer sending inferior soldiers after him.

“Storm of Wind Gear Wheels!” White Leopard commanded from afar.

Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

The Wind Warships had posed a huge threat to the Federation Army on the battlefield, but were they really that much of a threat to him?

Mo Fan could clearly see the elite soldiers’ Star Patterns glowing on their badges. Their Casting speed was not that impressive.

Several Wind Gear Wheels rolled in Mo Fan’s direction as soon as they were Summoned. These Wind Gear Wheels were bigger and more dangerous than those fired by normal Wind Warships. They could easily destroy a few buildings in their paths!

“Chaos Vortex!”

A great void appeared in front of Mo Fan. Chaos Magic was rotating slowly inside it.

The Wind Gear Wheels were sent to another dimension upon entering Mo Fan’s Chaos Vortex. Mo Fan did not receive any damage from the ferocious winds. Not even his sleeves were ruffled.

Mo Fan did not even bother spinning the Chaos Vortex counter-clockwise. He would need an extra step for that.

In Mo Fan’s eyes, the Wind Gear Wheels were weaker than his counterattack, even after they were strengthened by his Chaos Vortex!

Bang! Mo Fan stomped the ground and launched himself into the air.

Burning feathers appeared on his back when he reached the highest point, forming a pair of enormous wings. They beat once as Mo Fan dove back to the ground!

Mo Fan rarely used his Fiery Wings for flying. He was treating them like a rocket, increasing his speed explosively!

A red beam flashed across the sky. Mo Fan had turned himself into a destructive missile after being engulfed with the Heavenly Flames, heading right at the elite soldiers.

The soldiers were relatively close to him due to the range limit of the Wind Warship.

The impact of Mo Fan’s dive had an insane area of effect. Not only did the ground over a great area crack right open, the surging Heavenly Flames also turned the position of the elite soldiers into a lake of fire!

The Heavenly Flames were unstoppable. The Shield of Light protecting the Wind Warship did not stand a chance. Those who failed to escape the lake of flames in time died swiftly. The flames bursting over them burned their flesh, then their organs, and finally their bones.

“Anyone who tries to stop me is going to die!”

Mo Fan quickly locked onto his targets in the lake of fire he created. He just needed to swipe his finger to turn an area a few hundred meters away into a furnace!

The so-called elite soldiers were no different than cannon fodder in his eyes!

Chapter 2346: Absolute Strength

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

In the past, the chance of obtaining Soul Remnants from killing demon creatures was purely based on luck. He would only get a few high-quality Soul Essences if he was lucky.

In comparison, the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences provided by the soldier-mages were generally of high quality. Mo Fan had obtained many Soul Essences from all those who had died with Little Loach’s help. He had plans to strengthen his Summoned Beasts, too. He decided to put the Soul Remnants and Soul Essences of the Brown Rebels and Federation Soldiers to good use.

He could easily see why many evil Mages enjoyed using living humans and fresh blood as sacrifices. It was easier to obtain what they needed from human Mages, as opposed to finding suitable Soul Essences from hunting down all kinds of demon creatures.

Mo Fan did not show any mercy to the elite soldiers of the Brown Rebels.

He was not cruel enough to collect their Soul Remnants and Soul Essences just for that purpose, but it was not like the Brown Rebels would spare his life if he went easy on them!

“I would like to see how many you can kill, I still have more than eight groups of soldiers like the first one!” White Leopard exclaimed.

Ice Tiger was vicious and had a strong urge to kill. White Leopard did not bother wasting his time on the same boring stuff, but it did not necessarily mean he was merciful.

He knew the Wind Mages did not stand a chance against Mo Fan’s Heavenly Flames. In his eyes, the Wind Mages had served their purposes by wasting Mo Fan’s energy.

Every soldier who could block a bullet for him was a good soldier!

Two more groups of elite soldiers appeared on Mo Fan’s flanks after White Leopard signaled them with a whistle.

These soldiers were more than a little scared of Mo Fan after witnessing the deaths of the other Wind Mages.

Even if they had a huge advantage in numbers, they were unable to eliminate the fear in their hearts when they were fighting against a powerful Mage.

“Nightmare Nyx Regime!”

Mo Fan immediately saw the emotions of the soldiers from their eyes. He Summoned a great darkness, like a solar eclipse, engulfing the area in shadows.

The Nightmare Nyx Regime was a stronger version of the Nyx Regime. Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic had transformed under the influence of the Dark Vein.

It was no longer merely trapping the enemy in darkness, making them lose their sense of direction and will to fight. The Nightmare Nyx Regime forced its victims to see their greatest nightmares in the darkness!

It was like the soldiers were stuck to a chair in a pitch-black cinema and forced to keep their eyes open to watch the playback of the scariest things they had experienced in their lives on the screen. They were overwhelmed by fear and covered in cold sweat even if they knew it was fake.

Mo Fan’s Nightmare Nyx Regime took care of one group of elite soldiers. They would no longer pose a threat to him.

One more group of elite soldiers remained. Mo Fan was not going to give them a chance to use their magic on him.

Mo Fan did not have a lot of defensive moves. White Leopard was obviously sending his men to their deaths, forcing him to use all his trump cards. White Leopard would then be able to deal the killing blow without any worries.

Therefore, Mo Fan had to act quicker than his enemy!

Mo Fan had already learned from the previous battles that the elite soldiers of the Brown Rebels could combine their magic into attacks that were almost as strong as Super Spells. The best way to deal with them was to take them out before they could use their magic!

“Don’t let him come any closer, or we’ll suffer the same fate as the first group!” an Advanced-level captain in the company yelled.

The first group of soldiers had served as a great example. The soldiers did not dare use Intermediate Spells, as they needed too much time to construct the Star Patterns. They were trying to stop Mo Fan from closing in with just Basic Spells.

Mo Fan was like a super boss in their eyes. They would die instantly if they allowed Mo Fan to come too close to them!

The truth was, even if Mo Fan did not close in on the soldiers, he could still kill them with his cannon-like destructive power. However, it was unlikely he would have a chance to prepare his most powerful spells when so many enemies were watching him.

“Focus fire, he’s not that quick!” the captain with a long beard exclaimed. “Look out for his Fleeing Shadow! Light Mages, light up the area in front of us!”

The captain was a wise commander. He ordered his men to seal off the paths Mo Fan could take to close in on them with Basic Spells. He also realized Mo Fan was a Shadow Mage when he saw the other group was still crying out in agony, trapped in their nightmares.

“Very good, keep it up, force him to back away so we have enough time to construct Star Patterns!” The captain’s eyes glittered when he saw Mo Fan backing away. “Increase your firepower, don’t let him use his Super Magic!

“Maintain a safe distance and prepare to construct Star Patterns for the Group Spell, Prison of Ice Chains!”

Ice Magic started building up in the air. The soldiers’ Ice Magic was restricted by the scorching lava rivers nearby, but the Group Ice Spell was still their best option.

If they could bind Mo Fan to the ground, they would win the battle once the rest of the groups bombarded him with spells!

“It’s a group of Ice Mages,” Mo Fan murmured.

If he had known the group mainly consisted of Ice Mages, he would have used the Nightmare Nyx Regime on them instead!

However, it did not make much of a difference to him.

The captain leading the group was a brilliant commander. A normal Super Fire Mage might be in great trouble.

The problem was, did Mo Fan only have the Fire Element? Did they assume he was slow because he did not have the Wind Element, or a pair of Magic Boots to increase his speed?

The reason he was ‘slow’ was that the speed increase from the Wind and Shadow Elements was nothing compared to Space Magic!

“Blink!”

A massive amount of icy shards appeared around Mo Fan. However, he had already vanished into thin air by the time the Ice Mages’ conjoined spell landed on his previous location.

Mo Fan normally used Blink to avoid his enemies and dodge their attacks preemptively.

This time, he had purposely waited for the group of Ice Mages to complete their group spell and used Blink at the very last second. Not only did they miss their attack despite planning for it for a long time, it also allowed him to invade their formation!

The group of Ice Mages was less than four hundred meters away. The captain with the long beard was dumbfounded when he saw Mo Fan appearing right in front of them.

All his efforts were in vain. Who would have thought the guy was a Space Mage, too!

Who could possibly stop a Space Mage from moving freely in the middle of a battle? The guy had traveled four hundred meters in an instant!

The group of Ice Mages was in utter despair instantly.

The perfect tactics and great discipline showed by the group of Ice Mages, and even their formation, were worthless against someone with absolute strength!

“Hunt of the Arrows!”

Bolts of solid air came in from every direction. They even had the ability to chase after their targets. The elite soldiers managed to dodge them the first time, but the air bolts soon returned and punctured their targets after circling back through the air.

Under Mo Fan’s control, the air bolts were extremely accurate. The Order Manipulation of the Chaos Element helped to greatly increase their accuracy and track down their targets.

The group of Ice Mages was fleeing in all directions like a startled school of fish, but they continued to fall to the ground.

Chapter 2347: Darkness vs Light

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Lightning Element, Fire Element, Shadow Element, Space Element…” White Leopard kept watching Mo Fan, figuring out the Elements he was using.

Ice Tiger was treating his wounds with an Ice Gem. He was fortunate that his brother owned a valuable magic artifact that was effective at treating injuries inflicted by the Fire Element, or the burns would have kept spreading and torturing him for months. Certain Fire Mages could even leave burns that would slowly kill their enemy, much like poison!

To his relief, the young man’s flames did not possess such an ability…

“Brother, something doesn’t feel right. He was also using the Chaos Element. I clearly saw a Chaos Vortex!” Ice Tiger reminded his brother.

White Leopard was stunned.

That’s right, he did use the Chaos Element!

Five Elements?

Was the guy a Forbidden Mage? Otherwise, how could he have five Elements?

White Leopard shook his head. There was no way he would believe Mo Fan was a Forbidden Mage. A Forbidden Mage could easily turn the tide of the war around!

“He must be using a special piece of magic equipment to grant him the power of the Chaos Element,” White Leopard speculated.

“Brother, I don’t think these people can stop him.”

“Why are you being so impatient? Didn’t you see the Heavenly Sensei’s man is already on the move?” White Leopard pointed out.

There were plenty of soldiers in the camp. They could easily wear out a whole platoon of enemy soldiers with their numbers, let alone a single Mage!

—

Wolf Chief was waiting close to the lava scars. He shared the same thought as White Leopard, planning to let the soldiers serve their purposes as cannon fodder.

Unlike White Leopard, he was also constantly looking for an opportunity to strike at Mo Fan. Mo Fan would eventually expose himself when fighting so many Mages at once. All he needed to do was take Mo Fan’s life with a single blow once he was unable to defend himself.

Unfortunately, he and White Leopard had overestimated their elite soldiers’ strength. The soldiers had failed to force Mo Fan to use any of his trump cards. The battle had become a one-sided slaughter!

“General White Leopard, why haven’t the army sent stronger troops to take him down?” Wolf Chief demanded.

“Aren’t they on their way?” White Leopard pointed at the camp.

A group of Mages in brown armor was swiftly approaching from the camp. They were led by none other than the Super Light Mage with a thick beard, Damon!

Damon chuckled coldly when he saw the area covered in darkness.

He lifted his hand and Summoned a sacred light to drive away the darkness. It instantly removed the darkness that was suppressing the company of elite soldiers.

The elite soldiers who were screaming in agony were finally freed from their horror, like the sunlight had finally pierced through the dark clouds after a heavy rain. It felt great being able to see the sky again!

“Humph, so it’s you!” Damon stared at Mo Fan. He could smell the aura of Shadow Magic on Mo Fan.

His senses were on point. Someone did infiltrate their camp. Damon even felt sorry for the man for invading their main camp!

—

Mo Fan was also looking at Damon.

The guy was obviously a passionate leader of the Brown Rebels. He could not care less about Mo Fan’s identity or goals. In his eyes, anyone who broke into their camp must die for trying to stop them from fulfilling their ambitions!

“The cat will always be the cat in a game of cat and mouse!” Damon drew closer to Mo Fan while tossing out light spheres from his fingers.

The light spheres were bouncy. They flew into the darkness and drove away the Shadow Magic there before bouncing to the other areas with the presence of Shadow Magic.

They were like a group of Light Hunters hunting down Shadow Elves. Damon’s appearance had completely uprooted the seeds of darkness Mo Fan had planted across the area.

“You are overestimating yourself,” Mo Fan grinned when he saw Damon’s arrogant attitude.

Shadow Magic normally needed time to slowly conquer its surroundings, like a flock of bats hiding inside a cave, waiting for the sun to set in the west.

However, that was the old limit of Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic!

After obtaining the Dark Vein, Mo Fan was like a huge carrier of darkness. Even if the darkness had not spread across the area and the place was brimming with light, it would never penetrate and drive away the abyss of darkness inside Mo Fan’s body!

“Dark Execution Ground: Guillotines!” a cold voice spoke in the minds of the elite soldiers who had been freed from their nightmares. Their bodies trembled as they lowered their heads and saw chains around their feet, while they were fixed onto black guillotines.

Merciless sharp blades fell from above their heads at the same time!

The sound of a few hundred crisp cuts combined into a loud and clear blast of sound. Heads scattered across the ground!

Headless bodies tied to dark chains began to struggle fiercely, as if they were finally reacting after losing their heads so quickly.

The sacred light shining upon the area had become a spotlight for a dark opera, merely highlighting the gruesome sight.

It was meant to be a purifying spell of the Light Element, effective against darkness and every presence of evil!

Damon shuddered after he witnessed the deaths of the soldiers.

They were murdered right under his Light Magic!

It was no different from committing a crime in front of an inspector, or inflicting a foul act on one’s wife in front of their husband. It was an utter humiliation!

How bold of the young man!

Mo Fan’s actions had infuriated the Super Light Mage, especially since it took place right in the Brown Rebels’ camp.

The Brown Rebels would have blasted the disrespectful scoundrel into pieces by now if they had not sent most of their strong Mages to the front line!

—

Mo Fan had displayed the true strength of his Shadow Magic. His darkness was competing with Damon’s light like equal rivals, instead of the relationship between a cat and a mouse!

Strong darkness had always been on equal footing with light!

“Brother, why isn’t his Shadow Magic suppressed by Damon’s Light Magic? Is his Shadow Magic Heaven-grade too?” Ice Tiger exclaimed.

Not only was his Fire not weakened by Ice and Water, his Shadow was able to challenge Light, too!

“A Super Power of the Shadow Element, that guy has Awakened a Super Power! No wonder he was able to sneak to the back of our camp without alerting anyone…” White Leopard frowned.

This enemy was a lot stronger than he had imagined.

“Seriously? How many abilities does he have!?” Ice Tiger trembled in fear.

“That’s why you shouldn’t go all out before knowing your enemy’s capabilities, understand?” White Leopard scolded him.

Chapter 2348: Absolute Zero Seal

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Take him down!” Damon ordered.

He had a score of Mages in brown armor with him. They were all Advanced Mages.

Their brown armor had blood stains and gray feathers on them. It seemed like they were fighting the Eagle Horse Skyriders before coming here. They had suddenly turned their attention to Mo Fan at someone’s command.

The group of Advanced Mages had a strong stench of blood about them, especially since the blood of Eagle Horses had a strong sour odor, like vinegar. They must have killed a lot of the Eagle Horse Skyriders. Mo Fan felt like he was being surrounded by pickles as they drew closer to him.

“I wonder where you got your confidence, coming so far into our territory!” an Advanced Mage around Mo Fa’s age snarled at him.

He was one of Damon’s disciples, following the Light Mage to render meritorious contributions on the front line. Every Eagle Horse Skyrider they killed would secure a higher rank for them in the future, yet they were suddenly summoned back to the camp to take on a single enemy!

“You must be blind if you can’t tell,” Mo Fan replied lightly.

“Killing a few soldiers doesn’t mean a thing. They are just higher-level cannon fodder whose job is to charge into the enemy lines for us,” the man claimed disdainfully.

Mo Fan also had no idea where the young man was getting his confidence from.

His eyes emitted a sharp silver flash as he slapped his hand at the young Mage in brown armor!

The power of the Space Element was instantaneous. Even a Basic Space Spell could inflict the same amount of damage as an Advanced Spell, depending on the Space Mage’s Will.

Mo Fan knocked the arrogant young man to the ground with a single slap. It even left a huge print of a hand on the soil.

Damon’s disciple had a bleeding nose after he climbed back to his feet. His nose was broken by the impact!

“Is that all you have? You are an arrogant one!”

Mo Fan activated the Earth Shards nearby. The Brown Rebels had been using a lot of Basic and Intermediate Spells, generating thousands of Shards for him under the surface.

Mo Fan did not consume them all at once. He waved his hand indifferently.

“Rock Crocodile Snap!”

Mo Fan could activate the Shards instantly. The other Mages in brown armor could not react in time, only able to watch as a prehistoric wako rose from the ground with its mouth wide open and chomped down on Damon’s disciple, who was standing directly between its jaws.

Damon’s disciple immediately Summoned out his Magic Armor when he realized he was in danger.

A set of golden Armor swiftly appeared and attached itself to Damon’s disciple. He had put on a full set of Armor before the Rock Crocodile could bite him!

The Magic Armor was quite special. Most Magic Armor would need some time to be Summoned, which should have taken a longer time than Mo Fan’s Earth Magic.

Unfortunately, the golden armor broke into pieces on impact. The Rock Crocodile was holding half of the young man’s body in its mouth, while the other half was left in the huge print of a hand, which soon turned into a pool of blood.

The young man’s upper body twitched fiercely. Damon’s disciple could barely crawl away in the grip of the Rock Crocodile . His face was filled with pain and disbelief!

It was utterly useless. His vaunted Magic Armor had failed to withstand a single attack from his enemy!

—

Killing the elite soldiers was nothing for Mo Fan to be proud of, so neither was killing an arrogant Advanced Mage.

Magic Armor made of golden rock?

The first additional effect of Mo Fan’s Heaven-inferior Earth Seed was Sturdy Strike!

The fangs of the Rock Crocodile were as tough as diamonds. The carapace and shells of most demon creatures or high-density rocks and metals were nothing but pieces of paper to it!

“Don’t underestimate him, be on your guard!” Damon lost his temper when he saw his disciple being killed in an instant.

He was planning to let his disciples distract Mo Fan long enough to buy him enough time to construct a Star Palace, but one of his disciples had died so quickly because he was careless!

The rest of the brown armored Mages were terrified. They did not dare to step into the range of Mo Fan’s Telekinesis.

Mo Fan was not dumb enough to stand there and wait for his enemies to flank him. He would struggle to fend off Advanced Spells coming from different directions too! “Absolute Zero Seal!”

Mo Fan was about to create some distance between him and the Advanced Mages when White Leopard, who had been watching the battle as a bystander, made his move.

White Leopard used a Super Ice Spell. Transparent ice mirrors began emerging from the ground.

The ice mirrors stacked up further, like a barrier of mountains. They were not as thick as mountains, but there were several layers of them, trapping Mo Fan in the middle!

Mo Fan was trapped in a ten-meter magic cube, inside another magic cube twenty meters in size, which was inside another magic cube forty meters in size.

The biggest cube had sides one hundred and sixty meters long, and was as tall as a small mountain.

White Leopard had trapped Mo Fan in a confined area. He did not want Mo Fan moving around freely.

Mo Fan was focusing too much on Damon and his disciples. He did not expect to fall into White Leopard’s trap!

He thought White Leopard would intervene at the very last moment, like the final boss in a movie, showcasing his poise as the main antagonist who had no intention to take advantage of his enemy. Instead he turned out to be a mischievous and cunning crook instead!

“You and your men can attack at will, my Absolute Zero Seal is unidirectional,” White Leopard smiled at Damon.

Mo Fan’s expression sank when he heard the words. A unidirectional barrier!

In other words, his magic would be weakened by the Ice Mirrors, but they would not weaken the magic coming in from the outside.

He would be taking a beating without any chance to fight back!

—

Damon’s disciples quickly attacked to avenge their fallen comrade.

Even if Mo Fan was a ferocious tiger that could easily bite one to death, he was currently trapped in a cage. The people on the outside just needed to stab the tiger with long spears without having to worry that tiger could harm them.

Mo Fan was completely surrounded by Star Constellations, including two Star Palaces constructed by Damon and Wolf Chief.

Damon was using the Super Light Spell, Demon Judgment Sword!

The standard but destructive Super Light Spell took its form of a giant sword of light, emitting a blinding radiance before plunging at Mo Fan from above. Its light spread and scorched the ground before it even landed.

Wolf Chief was also using a Super Spell. It was most likely the Curse Element, as it had summoned a ghastly devil, trying to grab at Mo Fan’s soul!

Chapter 2349: I’ll Gladly Take the Gift

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This will teach him a lesson!” Even though Ice Tiger hated Mo Fan’s guts, he did not join the others in the attack due to his injuries.

White Leopard had Cast a Super Spell imbued with his Super Power. The other two Super Mages were also using their destructive Super Magic, not to mention more than twenty Advanced Mages were attacking Mo Fan at the same time. Even a Ruler-level Creature would sustain serious injuries from this!

Inside the crystal cubes, Mo Fan realized the Demon Judgment Sword was already falling on him. He unleashed the Dark Vein without any hesitation.

The Dark Vein spread across Mo Fan’s body in the form of a dark silvery half-liquid, like a metal that was half-melted.

After Mo Fan was fully covered in the dark silver substance, he turned into a lump of strange liquid floating in the air. The destructive spells falling on him went right through his body.

The light of the Demon Judgment Sword destroyed everything within its range. The area the tip of the Demon Judgment Sword was landing on received three times the damage, as it was covered in three layers of its light!

Mo Fan was currently in the innermost circle of the light. The overwhelming light was slicing at the darkness Mo Fan was hiding in like thousands of swords.

Mo Fan had to admit that the Light Magic was a huge threat to darkness. The realm of darkness Mo Fan had constructed was starting to crack all over. Once the realm of darkness failed to withstand the pressure, he would lose his current state of being able to ignore every attack falling on him.

Mo Fan tried to move. He had to reach the first layer of the light so the realm of darkness would not be overwhelmed. He could not care less about the magic the others were using!

Wolf Chief’s Curse Magic had no chance of touching Mo Fan’s body, let alone grabbing his soul.

The Advanced Spells were just as ineffective. The spirit form was able to ignore any damage inflicted by Elemental Magic, and Mo Fan’s current formless state was even stronger than the spirit form. He could even ignore the Light Magic for the moment!

Mo Fan tried to relocate himself to avoid the area where the Light Magic was the strongest.

However, he soon realized he was stuck inside the walls of the crystal. Unlike the spirit form, he was unable to walk through obstacles while he was in the realm of darkness.

Left with no choice, Mo Fan could only use his Dark Vein to strengthen the darkness, and ended up consuming a lot more Shadow Magic.

—

“Brother, why did you remove the Seal?” Ice Tiger asked with a confused look when he saw the ice crystals collapsing from the outside.

“I have to use a lot of magic to maintain it. Our goal is to win the war. Do you think I should waste all my energy on a young man who appeared out of nowhere?” White Leopard shot back.

“Oh, you’re right,” Ice Tiger nodded.

It would be insane if the one-sided ice cage could last forever. They could easily take on the formidable demon creatures deep in the Andes Mountain Range if it could!

“He will no longer be a threat to us even if he survived. We’ll leave the rest to them,” White Leopard stated. He started walking toward Wu Ku after finishing his sentence.

White Leopard was holding a few water crystals, which his superior had sent someone to collect. They were crucial for Wu Ku if he wanted to keep Summoning a heavy rain across the battlefield and maintain the Brown Rebels’ morale.

Mo Fan had intercepted the Scorching River and taken out their water source. These Fundamental Water Crystals would surely come in handy for Wu Ku.

“Master Wu Ku, thanks for your help!” White Leopard exclaimed before he reached Wu Ku.

“It’s nothing, I’m doing this for the sake of the new government. Your Ice Magic has improved a lot!” Wu Ku smiled.

He was relieved after seeing that Mo Fan had been taken care of. White Leopard’s Absolute Zero Seal had come at the perfect time. Otherwise, he had no idea how long it would take those worthless pieces of trash to defeat Mo Fan!

“These are the Fundamental Water Crystals our leader has collected from different places. Only someone with a superior Innate Talent like you is worthy enough to have them. Please use them wisely to Summon the rain. The soldiers on the front line are starting to lose their motivation after the rain stopped,” White Leopard went on.

“It won’t happen again. May I ask General White Leopard to keep an eye on the vicinity of the altar, and prevent anyone else from interrupting me again,” Wu Ku replied calmly.

“We have no idea who your church has offended, so I can’t guarantee that no one will show up again to stop you, but I can promise you they won’t be able to leave this place alive!” White Leopard declared. He did not sound as friendly as he was at first.

Wu Ku nodded. He did not want to argue with this general of the Brown Rebels.

He held up his hand, signaling White Leopard that there was no need for him to walk over. He could just throw the Fundamental Water Crystals at Wu Ku.

White Leopard stopped in his tracks. The sacrificial altar that Wu Ku had set up was brimming with an evil presence, which White Leopard was not fond of.

He casually tossed the three Fundamental Water Crystals at Wu Ku.

Wu Ku was afraid something might happen to the three valuable gems. He purposely wrapped the Fundamental Water Crystals in spheres of water so they would land accurately on the right spots on the altar.

The space rippled like a playful fish had just jumped out of a perfectly calm lake.

The ripple resolved into a human figure. He had appeared right in front of the three precious Fundamental Water Crystals, and was in range to catch them in his hand.

Wu Ku immediately strengthened the water spheres to protect the Fundamental Water Crystals!

However, Mo Fan’s hands were engulfed in powerful Heavenly Flames. The protective spheres of water evaporated instantly!

Wu Ku’s Water Element was normally dominant over others because of his Innate Soul-grade Seed. He did not panic when Mo Fan suddenly showed up out of nowhere. After all, the Fundamental Water Crystals were protected by his spheres.

He completely forgot that Mo Fan’s flames were Heaven-grade!

Wu Ku’s face twisted in agony, like he had just slammed his face into a wall of reinforced glass, after he saw Mo Fan catching the Fundamental Water Crystals.

The truth was, even if Mo Fan had not intercepted the Scorching River, the water from upstream was starting to run dry. Wu Ku desperately needed the Fundamental Water Crystals to maintain the rain!

White Leopard was dumbfounded. How did the young man survive all those attacks, without a single scratch on him?

“I’ll gladly accept this gift,” Mo Fan grinned.

His hard labor finally had some returns!

The three Fundamental Water Crystals were obviously not a valuable that one could just find during an auction!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Wu Ku was almost out of his mind!

He immediately put the blame on White Leopard. “Why did you withdraw the Absolute Zero Seal?”

If White Leopard was not so full of himself, Mo Fan would never have had the chance to steal the Fundamental Water Crystals.

“You were the one that asked me to throw them at you!” White Leopard was displeased at Wu Ku’s reaction, instantly putting all the blame on him.

He was also speechless at how cunning Mo Fan was.

He had long withdrawn the Absolute Zero Seal. If Mo Fan was unharmed, he could have made his way out earlier and surprised Damon, potentially inflicting serious injuries on him.

However, Mo Fan chose to remain idle and let Damon and his disciples attack him at will, just so he could take away the Fundamental Crystals when they were passed to Wu Ku!

Life had to be a b**ch sometimes. Accidents that should not happen ended up occurring because of the slightest mistake, resulting in unimaginable consequences!

“He can’t destroy the Fundamental Water Crystals with his Heaven-grade Flame, either. Just calm down for now,” Ice Tiger spoke up.

Destroy them? Mo Fan had never planned to destroy the Fundamental Water Crystals.

If he failed to take down Wu Ku, who was under heavy protection, he could just leave with the Fundamental Water Crystals and find another way to intercept the Scorching River and the streams up in the Andes Mountain Range to stop the rain in a few days.

Wu Ku might run away in the end, but the people of this country would come to their senses and realize they should be worrying about the sea monsters and the Black Vatican instead of their own people.

“Then kill him and take back the Fundamental Water Crystals!” Wu Ku snarled.

Wu Ku was seriously going to lose his mind!

He had always heard how his superiors described Mo Fan as a bearer of misfortune for the Black Vatican. He had been causing a lot of trouble for the Black Vatican, and most importantly, he was as tough as a cockroach!

Wu Ku used to shun their words. He had been able to destroy all of Bo City. Wouldn’t it be easy for him to kill a single person, too?

But now, he finally realized how disgusting Mo Fan was!

He could no longer care about the rain. He just wanted Mo Fan to die immediately!

—

“Brother, how did he manage to survive the attacks?” Ice Tiger asked with a confused face.

White Leopard’s face darkened. He initially had the patience to slowly wear out Mo Fan, but he was starting to feel a little annoyed after Wu Ku put all the blame on him!

“If Damon’s Light Element did not have any effect on him, it must be the Super Power of his Shadow Magic!” White Leopard tried his best to remain calm and analyze the situation.

Despite his anger, he could not help but feel that he had underestimated his opponent!

“Is his Super Power that impressive?” Ice Tiger’s eyes widened.

“Didn’t you see how strong my Absolute Zero Seal was?!” White Leopard raged.

The Ice Element naturally had an outstanding ability to trap a target, but the problem was that the Ice Magic would also hinder the offense of other Elements. It would provide the enemy with strong protection even while trapping them in the ice.

White Leopard had managed to find a solution to that after awakening his Super Power. It was also the reason he was chased after by many powerful factions.

“However, just like my Absolute Zero Seal, he couldn’t use the ability over a long period,” White Leopard went on.

Those with a Super Power would be unbeatable if they did not have any time restrictions. Even ten thousand Mages under the Super Level had no chance of beating a Super Mage with a Super Power!

“Brother, I’m feeling a lot better now. I can attack him together with Damon while you suppress him from a distance. We can’t let him keep doing whatever he pleases in our territory,” Ice Tiger waved his arm around.

He had gotten rid of the burns from the Heaven-grade Flame. The lingering pain would not affect his strength.

“Bring Wolf Chief along too; the three of you will keep him busy while I assign more groups of soldiers here to take him down!” White Leopard said sternly.

Their leader would be angry if they did not bring back the rain soon!

Unfortunately, Cook had died right at the beginning. If he was around, the young man would not be able to use his abilities freely. Most of their men with special abilities had been sent out to fend off the Eagle Horse Skyriders or the enemy on the main battlefield. There were not many Psychic Mages or Sound Mages left in their camp!

Even if there were Psychic Mages or Sound Mages, those below the Super Level would soon be targeted and killed by the enemy’s outstanding Shadow Magic!

“Call Wilted Phoenix back!” Wu Ku ordered.

“She’s busy with the Eagle Horse Skyriders’ key figures,” White Leopard said.

Now that Wu Ku mentioned it, Wilted Phoenix usually did not spend such a long time to take down the enemy’s strong Mages, but she seemed to be struggling this time. Did she encounter a formidable opponent too?

“Which one do you think is more important to us? Fending off the Eagle Horses that are nothing but flies to us, or bringing back the rain?” Wu Ku challenged him.

White Leopard frowned in thought.

Wu Ku was right. Without the rain, many people would hesitate to keep fighting. The battle was too important to the Brown Rebels. They would be forced to retreat to the other side of the Scorching River and left with no choice but to defend Half-Ridge Mountain City as their only base. It would only be a matter of time before the Federation Army reclaimed it.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders might be a little annoying, but they were not a threat that would decide the outcome of the battle!

“Fine, I’ll call Wilted Phoenix back,” White Leopard agreed.

White Leopard thought it was overkill to call Wilted Phoenix back to take care of Mo Fan. They would be able to kill Mo Fan given enough time.

However, they desperately needed to resume the rain. The Eagle Horse Skyriders should be relieved they could live another day!

—

—

The sky was in a complete mess. The clouds had reclaimed their grayness after the storm of Elemental Magic dissipated, yet the Lightning Spells soon dyed them white!

The Eagle Horse Skyriders were weaving through the clouds. They had sustained serious casualties, especially the high-ranked officers who were in charge.

Every time they were focusing on other enemies, the pitch-black claw would appear out of nowhere and claim their lives.

They had lost a few captains to the claw, but they still had no idea where it was coming from.

Was it Dark Magic, or did it belong to a terrifying creature?

Zhao Manyan was covered in a cold sweat above a stormy cloud. He took a deep breath, but all he could smell was blood. The captain of the Shadow Mages who had been escorting him and Mo Fan had been smashed into pieces not long ago.

“I can only hold on for one or two more rounds at most!” Zhao Manyan told Eagle Eyes.

“It...it seems to have left,” Eagle Eyes said with a hint of relief.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan had to keep his disguise even though he knew the enemy had the upper hand. He immediately burst out laughing.

Even the unknown enemy was struggling to take him down. He had definitely made the right choice to become a pure defensive Mage.

He might have difficulties beating his opponent, but his opponent had no way of beating him either!

“But, it seems to be heading toward the Scorching River,” Eagle Eyes frowned.

“Seriously!?” Zhao Manyan glanced in the direction of the lake, but the mist had thickened even though the rain had stopped. He could not see what was happening to Mo Fan at the lake.

“What the hell is Mu Bai doing? It’s taking him too long to get rid of the Venomous Insect Shamen!” Zhao Manyan swore despite himself.

They desperately needed backup from the ground army. It was meant to be a battle with over a hundred thousand men on each side, yet it felt like they had been fighting the enemy alone, while their teammates were merely reporters observing like bystanders, instead of backing them up!

Those unreliable pricks!

Zhao Manyan scanned the enemy camp with all the brown flags waving in the air.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders were being hunted down one by one by the enemy. It was only a matter of time until they were wiped out. Zhao Manyan did not want them to suffer such a tragic fate.

“What did you say that area was?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“The command center of the Brown Rebels,” Eagle Eyes stated.

“Let’s take a gamble and clear a path to it!” Zhao Manyan made up his mind.

He did not want to sit still and wait for his death. The Eagle Horse Skyriders were the strongest air force of the Federation Army. It would be a pity for them to be slaughtered by the enemy.

“Are you joking? Didn’t you see there were ten watchtowers imbued with Plant Magic around it? They will take down our Eagle Horse Skyriders before they can land!” Eagle Eyes said.

“If I can protect them as they land, can you take out the watchtowers?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Well, if we can land on the ground, we should be able to destroy them. Our men are strong fighters on the ground too,” Eagle Eyes agreed hesitantly.

“Let’s do it, then! I don’t want to stay in the sky and wait for my death. We must make them realize they don’t want to mess with us!” Zhao Manyan said in a heavier voice, like he was a real commander of the Eagle Horse Skyriders.

Zhao Manyan’s idea was extremely bold.

They were clearly taking a beating, yet they were choosing to invade the enemy camp that was heavily guarded by the Plant Magic towers.

However, it did not mean his suggestion had a zero chance of working. The area did not have a lot of strong Mages, because it was guarded by the Plant Magic towers. If Zhao Manyan could guarantee the Eagle Horse Skyriders safety while they were landing, they could destroy the towers and the command center before the enemy could react!

“Tell the riders exactly what I’m about to say,” Zhao Manyan said.

“Don’t mess it up, remember you are still disguising yourself as Lieutenant General Dutch,” Eagle Eyes shook his head.

“I had enough of your bullshit. If it wasn’t for me, the Eagle Horse Skyriders would be dead by now. Do you think I really care about your lives if we aren’t in the same boat now!?” Zhao Manyan swore impatiently.

Eagle Eyes was left speechless. After all, Zhao Manyan had stopped the enemy’s attacks and reduced the Eagle Horse Skyriders’ casualties by a huge margin.

As a matter of fact, even if Lieutenant General Dutch was still alive, the Eagle Horse Skyriders would not have come so far!

“The Venomous Insect Shamans have been killed. Our army is on its way here. We just need to destroy the enemy’s command center to make it out alive!” Zhao Manyan told Eagle Eyes.

“Are you out of your mind? Our ground army is nowhere close to backing us up. Your lie isn’t going to make a difference!” Eagle Eyes protested.

“Don’t you know how to quench thirst by looking at plums? Don’t you know what people are capable of when they have a strong will to live?”

Eagle Eyes might be experienced at leading an army in a battle, but he did not understand what people sought in desperate straits!

“Charge with me, and I will use my trump card to protect your lives, but if you don’t believe me, there’s no reason for me to stay here. I would rather go to my brother, as he’s more reliable than you all!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Zhao Manyan had finally decided to use the magic artifact. He had no idea why he would bother doing so much. Perhaps it was true that no one could really be a bystander in a war like this.

“Fine, let’s hope you can bring us a miracle,” Eagle Eyes agreed helplessly.

Zhao Manyan’s strength had exceeded Eagle Eyes’ expectations. Dutch was more like an assassin who increased his men’s morale by taking down enemy leaders, but Zhao Manyan’s ability to guarantee the riders’ safety was even more effective!

The Eagle Horse Skyriders were more motivated to push forward when they had a reliable shield protecting them!

“We’ll clear a path for the riders into the enemy camp!”

Zhao Manyan used his Water Magic, and a shocking circle of water appeared around him. Every Eagle Horse Skyrider that flew through the circle was granted a layer of watery scales as extra protection to absorb the enemy’s destructive spells.

It did not apply just to the riders; the Eagle Horses also had a layer of watery scales on them!

The Water Scales Armor had ancient Seals on it with a unique light. They were Baxia Seals that Zhao Manyan had unleashed with the wooden clapper, which would triple the damage absorption of his defensive spells!

Even though the Eagle Horse Skyriders had to share the protection of Zhao Manyan’s Sacred Water Ring, their protection was imbued with the Baxia Seals. The thin layer of protection could still absorb a lot of damage to increase the safety of the riders and their Eagle Horses!

It was difficult to hurt the Eagle Horse Skyriders once they had the protection. After all, not every soldier of the Brown Rebels was an Advanced Mage. The only threat to the Eagle Horse Skyriders was their group spells!

Sacred Water Ring!

Zhao Manyan was protected at the center of the formation. The Eagle Horse Skyriders sensibly spaced themselves out evenly around the Sacred Water Ring to receive its protection.

Zhao Manyan came up with a slogan on top of his mind and shouted it out, “Eagle Horse Skyriders, not even a blade of grass grows wherever we go!”

The Eagle Horse Skyriders seemed to think the slogan was great too. They all mimicked it.

“Not even a blade of grass grows wherever we go!”

The ten watchtowers attacked the Eagle Horse Skyriders as they approached, but the combination of Basic and Intermediate Magic struggled to break through the Sacred Water Ring’s defense!

Chapter 2352: Wilted Phoenix

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Gray-blue feathers scattered in the air before falling from the sky like heavy stones!

Zhao Manyan had used the magic artifact his father left him. It was protecting the Eagle Horse Skyriders from the raging fierce storm like it was their father!

Lieutenant General Dutch’s death was not a surprise, as he had been fighting alone, like an orphan.

Meanwhile, Zhao Manyan had become the core of the Eagle Horse Skyriders, acting as their shield!

The Eagle Horse Skyriders had outstanding mobility, but their greatest weakness was their lack of defense. They would easily take casualties whenever the enemy fought back.

Zhao Manyan had helped the Eagle Horse Skyriders to overcome their weakness. Their strength had increased significantly as a result.

The troops of Brown Rebels which used to be a nuisance could no longer pose a threat to them. The Eagle Horse Skyriders could now slaughter them with ease!

They were too scared to charge too far into the enemy lines previously, but now they had no trouble taking out the enemy when their safety was no longer a concern.

The Eagle Horse Skyriders had been forced to relocate themselves quickly after harassing the enemy because of how vulnerable they were, but they were now able to engage the enemy in a direct magic brawl.

—

They began their massacre close to the enemy’s command center. The sudden attack at the main camp took the Brown Rebels by surprise.

The problem was that the Eagle Horse Skyriders razed the command center to the ground by the time the Brown Rebel reinforcements arrived from the main camp. The Eagle Horse Skyriders had all returned to the sky by then.

“This is incredible!”

“This is incredible!”

Eagle Eyes could not believe his eyes. The Eagle Horse Skyriders had changed completely because of a simple layer of protection.

They were able to fight, withstand enemy spells, and move around swiftly. How dangerous was it to fight a group of riders like them now?

Zhao Manyan did not expect that the effects of his defensive magic would be so outstanding, either.

He just wanted the Eagle Horse Skyriders to put up a last fight and intimidate the enemy, but the Eagle Horse Skyriders had become unstoppable with his protection!

“The enemy’s resistance has weakened significantly,” Eagle Eyes pointed out.

Zhao Manyan was having a great time stomping the enemy. He had not known the defensive magic he specialized in could make so much difference to a powerful army!

Zhao Manyan was only trying to light a match, but the flames had grown beyond his expectation!

“They have lost their will to fight…” Zhao Manyan looked at the sky.

“That’s right, the rain has stopped falling!”

The rain had stopped for some time. Zhao Manyan had not noticed it, as he was preoccupied with the battle.

The Brown Rebels had only come together because the Black Vatican’s Frenzy Liquid had driven them to violence and made them rebellious.

They had started to calm down and were wondering why they had involved themselves in the political conflict after the rain stopped.

Meanwhile, the Eagle Horse Skyriders suddenly charged into their midst and massacred them, making the conflicted thoughts in their minds grow stronger.

They were starting to get afraid, and realize that their lives were more important than winning the war!

All these factors combined made the Eagle Horse Skyriders even more unstoppable!

—

—

The Eagle Horse Skyriders had gotten themselves together again. White Leopard began to regret his decision of calling Wilted Phoenix back to the main camp, since it did not matter if they allowed Mo Fan to live a little longer.

“I knew we couldn’t count on those people we recruited!” White Leopard snarled.

“They will turn into your most loyal hounds again once the rain returns!” Wu Ku promised calmly.

The Frenzy Liquid played an important role in the war.

If the Frenzy Liquid was not involved, the Brown Rebels might end up settling the conflict peacefully by asking the Federation for a piece of land so they could establish their own little kingdom, even if they did plan a coup from the beginning.

The leader of the Brown Rebels thought overthrowing the Federation and claiming its land was his goal, but the truth was, the Brown Rebels would be mindful of leaving a way out for themselves.

Wu Ku could not have cared less about the Brown Rebels’ casualties. Even if the Brown Rebels were wiped out, other areas would have upheavals as long as the Frenzy Rain fell!

“Kill him, there’s no one you can’t kill in this world! Isn’t that right, Wilted Phoenix?” White Leopard blurted out.

“Mm, there’s no one I can’t kill, as long as I want to kill them,” the person called Wilted Phoenix agreed with a cold voice.

Wilted Phoenix was a woman.

She was very young. She had curly hair the color of lavender, which set off her pale and attractive face. If she was not wearing a military outfit, she could easily be a character from an ancient elf kingdom, brimming with a sacred aura!

“He’s a guy you want to kill!” Wu Ku stated with certainty.

Mo Fan stared at the enemy who had been sent here to kill him in disbelief.

She was just a top student indulged in pursuing magic knowledge before the war broke out. Even though she seemed indifferent toward everything most of the time, she was extremely adorable whenever she found something she was interested in.

Who would have thought that she would become the enemy’s most dangerous secret weapon the next time they met!

“Sharjah…” Mo Fan was still doubtful as he looked at the woman with purple hair.

He thought the woman was Sharjah’s identical twin sister at first glance. However, the look in her eyes had revealed her identity.

She was the president of the Aorus Sacred Institute’s student union!

But now, she was with the Brown Rebels. She had helped them to take out many powerful Mages of the Federation Army. She had become the Brown Rebels’ secret weapon, using the codename Wilted Phoenix!

She had now come to take out Mo Fan too!

“Teacher,” Sharjah greeted him in her usual calm voice.

“Sharjah, are you a Brown Rebel too?” Mo Fan took a deep breath.

“One of my brothers started this war,” Sharjah confirmed honestly.

Mo Fan was stunned.

Her brother started the war? In other words, Sharjah is the sister of the Brown Rebels’ leader?

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh after hearing her answer.

As long as she was not related to the Black Vatican. Otherwise, Mo Fan would feel sorry if he had to kill a girl like Sharjah.

“The Black Vatican started the war, not your brother,” Mo Fan pointed at Wu Ku.

“I don’t care,” Sharjah replied.

“Wilted Phoenix, stop wasting our time. You can easily kill him, knowing your strength!” White Leopard urged her.

“I told you, he’s not someone I want to kill,” Sharjah said coldly.

White Leopard’s face darkened.

Why was she treating him like a stranger, while she was talking to this man respectfully? He was a childhood friend of hers!

Chapter 2353: Please Enlighten Me

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was proud of himself. Who said he was the worst candidate to be a teacher?

He had deeply taken root inside of his student’s heart in just a few months!

“Sharjah, please step aside. I’m not after your brother, so it’s not like we have to fight one another here,” Mo Fan said.

Sharjah shook her head.

“Sir, you should leave. I can make sure they won’t hurt you.” Sharjah had no intention to step aside.

“I won’t leave until I have sent Wu Ku to Hell,” Mo Fan insisted.

“Then I should apologize to you,” Sharjah bowed politely.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I’ll knock you out and bring you away from here.”

“You are such an honest and good kid,” Mo Fan let out a wry smile.

Mo Fan was not going to apprehend Sharjah and ask her a naive question like why she was helping the bad guys.

Knowing Sharjah was not related to the Black Vatican was his greatest relief. He just had to defeat her instead of killing her.

Mo Fan understood why Sharjah did not want to back down.

If her brother was the leader of the coup, the Federation would go after him once the Brown Rebels lost the war. He would be in trouble, even if he escaped to another country.

There was no way out from a coup. Either they established their kingdom and forced the Federation to acknowledge them, or they died trying!

The most Sharjah could do was spare Mo Fan’s life as his student, and the most Mo Fan could do was beat her without taking her life!

—

“It’s my pleasure to be able to fight you,” Sharjah said sternly.

Sharjah always had a calm appearance. Her attractive eyes always treated everything indifferently.

But now, the glow in her eyes was full of passion and anticipation, like the day she first heard about the theory of merging different Elements. She seemed nervous and excited, like a little girl who had met a celebrity she admired!

The fact that she was behaving like this meant she had long looked forward to fighting Mo Fan!

Mo Fan had known her for a few months. He knew there were not many people or things that could intrigue her. He was surprised to see her behaving like a battle maniac.

“Didn’t you say you aren’t a fan of fighting and killing?” Mo Fan asked her. Her expression clearly showed how interested she was in fighting him!

“I just don’t like to bully noobs,” Sharjah answered.

The students in the Aorus Sacred Institute are just noobs in her eyes?

Mo Fan was utterly speechless!

No one dared to be more arrogant than him when he was still a student, but Sharjah’s words made him feel like he had finally encountered a female version of the demon king!

“Sharjah, we are in the middle of a war. We don’t have time for you to challenge him to a duel!” Whit Leopard said coldly.

For some reason, White Leopard was being a little impatient despite how calm he always was. It was obviously not because Mo Fan had stolen the three Fundamental Water Crystals!

Sharjah did not even bother to reply to White Leopard. Mo Fan was the only person left in her eyes.

To her, all of the officers of the Federation Army she had killed combined were less valuable than the guy before her.

She finally had a chance to witness Lecturer Mo Yifan’s true strength!

—

White Leopard’s face was twitching with rage when Sharjah ignored him.

Ice Tiger did not dare to even breathe heavily when he saw White Leopard’s reaction.

Ice Tiger knew his brother had held feelings for Sharjah for many years. He might not have made any progress so far, but it did not mean he did not have a chance to win her affection.

However, Ice Tiger thought otherwise today.

The respect Sharjah paid Mo Fan and the passionate look in her eyes clearly indicated White Leopard was no different than a piece of rock by the road!

“Do you really think you can do whatever you want here!?” White Leopard did not dare to vent his anger at Sharjah. He directed all his attention at Mo Fan instead.

He went closer as the icy Aura he was emitting swept at Mo Fan like a fierce hailstorm.

“You finally decided not to hide behind your cannon fodder, you son of a b**ch?” Mo Fan was amused.

“Die!”

White Leopard would not allow Mo Fan and Sharjah to have a duel with one another, as if they were displaying their affections in public!

It was time to end this farce!

He would kill the young man and take the Fundamental Water Crystals back. The young man would only be an unrecognizable corpse in the end, regardless of Sharjah’s interest in him.

White Leopard acted swiftly. He was a Super Mage whose Ice Element had reached the third tier of the Super Level. His speed at constructing a Star Constellation was the same as others Casting an Intermediate Spell.

Hail fell fiercely as soon as he spread his arms. It dove at Mo Fan like thousands of ice moths beating their wings rapidly.

The riverbed had been chewed up, revealing the jagged rocks underneath.

As a matter of fact, the bottom layer of rocks was fully revealed. If a regiment of soldiers was here, they would soon turn into sinister white skeletons after their flesh and blood were sliced off by the ice moths!

Mo Fan did not expect White Leopard to attack first. He glanced at Sharjah and noticed her waiting patiently.

Mo Fan turned into shadow sparrows, flying off in different directions.

White Leopard glared at the shadow sparrows. He could Summon a new flight of ice moths every time he spread his arms.

“The one on the left!” Damon shouted. He was able to see through Mo Fan’s diversion.

White Leopard immediately gathered the ice moths and sent them after Mo Fan’s true self.

The ice moths approached their target without leaving the slightest gap between them.

Mo Fan’s Shadow Sparrow was not overly fast. The army of ice moths soon caught up to him.

He left the shadow and faced them, the back of his hands turned outward. His eyes turned golden-brown!

“Circle of Crystal Teeth: Heavens Gate!”

A huge gate emerged from the ground to stop the army of ice moths.

The deadly ice moths rammed into the sturdy Heavens Gate and shattered into powder.

Even though Mo Fan only had a Heaven-inferior Earth Seed, his Earth Magic was strong enough to defend him when necessary. It allowed Mo Fan to defend himself to a certain degree, even though he was a pure destructive Mage. He no longer had to run for his life or fight back fiercely when he was attacked.

The powerful Heavens Gate consumed less than a quarter of the Shards. White Leopard kept attacking with the Ice Element, which was relatively effective against Mo Fan, but all Mo Fan had to do was activate the Shards nearby. He was using the energy left by the elite soldiers to fend off White Leopard’s fierce attacks.

He did not have to do anything to activate the Shards!

Mo Fan was not in a rush to attack White Leopard. He had to deal with many enemies at once, including Sharjah.

He had to remain calm and observe every enemy that might pose a threat to him, to learn what magic they were using!

Chapter 2354: Magic Sword Tyrfing

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Sharjah finally made her move too.

Her desire was to ask everyone to leave so she could have a one-on-one duel with Mo Fan. Unfortunately, it was not realistic, since they were in the middle of a war.

It might be unfair to Mo Fan, but the world was never fair in the first place.

She did not move or relocate herself for a better angle of attack. Her lips were moving as if she was murmuring an ancient chant.

A book suddenly appeared in front of Sharjah. It had a black cover, and the words on every page had a dark mysterious glow to them as it hovered in front of her.

The conductor Cook had been behaving exactly like a music conductor when he used his magic, like he was performing in a concert hall in front of an audience. Meanwhile, the way Sharjah was reading the book was like she was giving a speech in front of the students on a podium.

She was dressed in neat attire, looking dignified and elegant.

That being said, Sharjah was not merely giving a speech.

It was a magic book imbued with dark power.

She was actually more like a witch from the medieval era. She sounded like she was Summoning a devil.

The young girl bewitched by the evil book was murmuring Curses with a blank expression. By the time she came to her senses, the darkness the book contained was already crawling out of it!

—

Mo Fan was unaware of Sharjah’s strange actions.

He naively thought Sharjah was a perfectionist who would not allow anyone to intervene with their duel, thus she would get rid of the outsiders first before having an epic duel with him!

Unfortunately, Sharjah did not behave like the typical beautiful elf from an anime that she resembled.

She did not care if her opponent was being ganged up on or was alone, or if the opponent had an entire army with them. She would just attack as she pleased!

The book contained the power of the Curse Element. The eerie light of the words was unleashing formidable energy, like the Star Orbits of Elemental Magic after they were connected.

A long pitch-black claw appeared behind Mo Fan out of nowhere. Its fingers almost stabbed Mo Fan in the neck!

Mo Fan reacted swiftly and dodged the claw, but it immediately chased after him, aiming at his throat!

There was no way Sharjah was planning to knock him out and bring him away. The evil being she was controlling was obviously trying to snap his neck in half!

“Flame Sword!”

Mo Fan created some distance between him and the claw and lifted his right hand high. Fierce flames burst out of it and quickly formed into a huge burning hammer.

Mo Fan had no idea why the flames took the shape of a hammer despite what he shouted.

Perhaps a hammer was better at smashing things to pieces? It was not like Mo Fan was an expert at using a sword.

The hammer was not targeting the claw, but Sharjah, who was blatantly reading the wicked book not far away from him.

Mo Fan could not figure out what kind of magic Sharjah was using. It might be the Curse Element or the Summoning Element, or some kind of Forbidden Magic. However, if Sharjah had Summoned the claw from the book, his best option was to attack her directly!

Sharjah lifted her gaze as the burning hammer came down on her. She hopped nimbly backward, like an agile deer, without any sign of panic.

The book had already closed, but it continued to circle around her. After backing away to a safer distance, Sharjah tapped her finger in the air. The book moved in front of her and opened itself again.

Mo Fan did not show any mercy, either. He used Blink to close in on Sharjah as she was about to read from the book again.

Mo Fan was finally holding a sword this time. He lifted the sword that was formed with Heavenly Flames with two hands and swung it down in a full arc!

“I have a sword in my book too. I hope you like it,” Sharjah did not back away this time. She was smiling confidently.

The book flipped open to another page. It no longer had lines of glowing words, but a drawing of a pitch-black sword instead. Its hilt and tip even extended beyond the corners of the page.

“Magic Sword Tyrfing!” Sharjah called out the name of the sword. The drawing on the page flew out of the book with a great billowing of dark flames, like the flames of a furnace.

The sword engulfed in Heavenly Flames sliced down at Sharjah.

At the same time, Magic Sword Tyrfing hovered horizontally above Sharjah before clashing with Mo Fan’s Flame Sword.

A loud clang followed. Magic Sword Tyrfing was clearly made of metal. The magic glow around it was only an additional effect.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan’s Flame Sword was formed with Elemental Magic. It was no match for a real sword!

The flames on Mo Fan’s Flame Sword scattered across the ground following the clash, but the Magic Sword Tyrfing was still hovering above Sharjah. Its body was engulfed in flames, and it shuddered slightly while emitting a screech, like it was giggling with disdain!

Mo Fan’s sword was completely smashed into pieces, leaving him in awe!

The sword he had formed with Heavenly Flames had broken, just like that!

What exactly was the evil sword that Sharjah had Summoned? Most importantly, it was treating him with contempt, like it was intelligent!

“Teacher, it’s one of the most famous magic swords in the world. It has its own soul and is able to fly around the battlefield to take down enemies on its own. You better watch out!” Sharjah was the same polite student. She did not forget to explain the sword’s background to Mo Fan before attacking him.

The sword moved on its own, just as Sharjah had said! The black blade let out brilliant sparkles and flew at Mo Fan without needing her active control!

It gave Mo Fan a huge fright. He quickly jumped into the air to dodge the sword.

The sword suddenly came to a stop. It let out a strange giggle and went after Mo Fan, defying the laws of physics. Mo Fan had no idea how he could defend himself while he was airborne. He could only use his Telekinesis to form a wall!

Mo Fan had used the same trick to stop a Super Spell before, but the Magic Sword Tyrfing was able to slice through steel like mud. The wall of Telekinesis was nothing but air to it. The sword sliced at Mo Fan’s arm without any resistance.

2

The tip of the sword left a long bleeding cut from Mo Fan’s elbow to his wrist.

Blood was dripping wildly. If the cut had been just a little deeper, it would have sliced Mo Fan’s bone off like it was just a match!

Mo Fan took a deep breath. His arm was covered in blood, and he felt like it was burning too.

The truth was, Sharjah had gone easy on him. The slash could have severed his right shoulder and arm if she had wanted!

Chapter 2355: Blood Pact of the Earth, Earth Spine

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Blood was falling from a height of ten meters. Mo Fan’s shirt was soaked in blood, from which drops of blood were falling to the ground.

“Well done, Sharjah!” White Leopard was pleased. He immediately put on a mocking grin.

Sharjah did not attack further with her sword. She looked at Mo Fan hesitantly, as he landed.

“Are you giving me time to stop my bleeding?” Mo Fan was not angry at Sharjah’s reaction.

“Yes…”

“I’m a lot scarier when I’m bleeding,” Mo Fan pointed out helpfully.

Mo Fan did not stop the bleeding. He was not trying to look cool when his blood was dripping as he hung his arm to the side. He just needed some help!

Drip!

Drip!

The drops of blood landed on the soil, but they did not dissipate right away. They were dyeing the area around the Scorching River brown instead.

The drops of blood permeated the land and soon turned the ground around the lake and the ground on the opposite side of the river brown.

“Blood Pact of the Earth!”

The ground shook hard as Mo Fan uttered the words. Huge ravines spread from one side of the river to the other.

An enormous hand covered in runes stuck out of the ravine, followed by a gigantic head poking out from the ground.

The Rock Emperor had been Summoned from its deep slumber. The difference was, Mo Fan had Summoned it with his own blood!

His blood was flowing through the runes on the Rock Emperor’s skin, spreading like scorching lava over a vast black land. Splashes of lava rose from the intersections. Even the slightest drabs turned the ground into red carpets of flames where they landed.

The Earth Vein Rock Emperor was Summoned using Mo Fan’s blood. It was not an independent Summoned Creature. Mo Fan was able to sense a unique connection between the Earth Vein Rock Emperor and his body right now.

He tried to raise his arm.

As he thought, the Earth Vein Rock Emperor also lifted its arm!

He did not have to control the Earth Vein Rock Emperor on purpose. He noticed a pulsating black crystal in front of the Rock Emperor’s chest. The huge amount of energy it contained was spread across the area in a circle of shards.

“Power of the Blood Pact: Earth Spine!”

The Rock Emperor swung its arms forward. It was the incarnation of Mo Fan’s blood. It threw its arms at Sharjah and White Leopard!

A terrifying ridge emerged from the ground, formations of black crystal sprouted around it. The lake, which was several kilometers long, burst open as more of the energy of the Earth Vein surged across its surface.

Shocking chasms scattered across the lake. The creature Summoned by Mo Fan’s Blood Pact of the Earth might only have one chance to attack, but it was surely going to cause massive destruction!

More ridges emerged from the ground. It felt like the surface of the earth was cracking apart and sinking rather than the ridges were rising from below it to reveal the Earth Vein below it!

It was a black vein of huge crystal formation, like the backbone of an ancient beast laying across the ground described in myths. It also resembled the spectacular peak of an ancient mountain as it soared into the clouds!

The Rock Emperor completely changed the terrain which had taken ages to reach its current shape. Even though Mo Fan did not turn mountains into seas and seas into land, it was still incredible how he had Summoned enormous hills out of nowhere to replace the lake!

White Leopard was trapped in between the ridges, surrounded by rocks that were several times stronger than his ice. Every time he Cast an Ice Spell, the jagged edges of the hills shattered his ice into pieces.

Mo Fan was also standing in the ridges. However, the rocks under his feet were moving freely beneath him!

The Blood Pact of the Earth’s power adapted to different terrains. The Scorching River did not exist in primordial times. There was originally a huge ravine here when the Andes Mountain Range was formed after a tectonic shift.

The popular Black Steel Rocks that originated from the Andes Mountain Range were lying at the bottom of the ravine. Mo Fan’s blood had permeated the soil and dove to the deepest part underground, merging with the Earth vein under the Andes Mountain Range.

Mo Fan could sense how destructive the energy of the Andes Mountain Range’s vein was. It was currently in deep slumber, scattered across the swamps, rivers, forests, and cities.

Mo Fan’s blood was able to awaken less than a ten-thousandth of it. However, that was enough to grant Mo Fan control over the jagged hills and ridges!

His enemies would have to escape the interlocked ridgelines, which now covered a few kilometers, to be free of his control.

“It feels… great!”

Mo Fan could clearly feel the crystalline ridges were his territory. The black rocks under his feet were serving as his throne as he reigned over the Earth Vein.

He could summon tons of the Black Rocks to defend himself with a single thought. The rocks would also sprint like ferocious beasts as he waved his hand to crush his enemies!

The Magic Sword Tyrfing had become a meaningless piece of iron. It did not matter which angle it was flying from and how great its momentum was, the rocks close to Mo Fan would protect the throne from anything at all costs!

The Magic Sword Tyrfing was indeed an infamous weapon in ancient myths. Not only was it sharp enough to slice through everything, it could alter its own shape, too!

If a single sword was unable to reach Mo Fan, the Magic Sword Tyrfing could split into thousands of swords. They scattered around Mo Fan’s vicinity rapidly, like he was being watched by thousands of birds.

Stabs, swings, slices; every duplicate of Tyrfing left a trail of black energy in its path. The wisps of energy interwove freely across the air. The Magic Sword which had been laughing at Mo Fan disdainfully was now screeching angrily. It had sworn to not stop until it cut Mo Fan into pieces and splattered his blood across the ground.

On the other hand, the crystalline ridges held their positions like Buddhas who could fire a beam of light from their fingers to destroy any approaching demon!

The rocks took the shape of shells, bones, and shields, defending Mo Fan’s throne from every attack.

It did not matter if the swords were able to slice through the rocks, as the crystals just kept rising as infinitely as the trees in a forest. The swords were eventually blunted before they could reach their target!

The Magic Sword Tyrfing soon shuddered in defeat, before taking off like a headless fly.

In the end, it returned to the book it had come from with a strong grudge.

Chapter 2356: Bearer of the Ice Brush, the Painter

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Sharjah stared at her book.

The page that contained the Magic Sword Tyrfing was now in bad condition.

Sharjah suddenly took a few steps back as a dark light flashed. She held her chest like she was being punished by some kind of Contract she was under.

She began to breathe heavily. Half a minute later, she spat out a mouthful of blood onto the book as she failed to restrain the feedback from her power. Black steam was rising from her blood.

Mo Fan noticed Sharjah was injured.

It seemed like the book was bound to Sharjah’s spirit. If the demon being Summoned by the book was damaged, she would be injured as a result.

Even though Mo Fan felt sorry for Sharjah when he saw her biting her lips to endure the pain, he knew he did not have a choice. He had to defeat Sharjah and kill everyone blocking his path!

“Sharjah, stop using the dangerous magic. You should take a rest and catch your breath. I’ll deal with him!” White Leopard was sincerely concerned about Sharjah.

White Leopard moved forward and set his feet on Mo Fan’s hills. He immediately felt uncomfortable.

The Earth Element was very effective against the Ice Element. This time, Mo Fan had the advantage over White Leopard. He was struggling to gather his Ice Magic while he was surrounded by such a strong presence of Earth Magic, especially since the rocks were unusually hot, with scorching lava occasionally bursting out of them. It was the perfect combination of Mo Fan’s Fire and Earth Elements!

“Fire and Earth…” White Leopard realized the young man had more Elements than he was supposed to.

“My Ice Element has always dominated everything!” White Leopard shouted.

Despite the lack of Ice Energy, Ice Leopard managed to summon a wave of frost across the scorching black ridges. The frost was able to spread by defying the laws of nature with the absence of snowflakes.

The ice spread rapidly across the scorching dry rocks. It did not lower the temperature of the surroundings or the ground. It looked just like a street painter was casually splashing a new color onto their drawing!

It was Mo Fan’s first time encountering an Ice Magic with no sense of ‘pain’. It was completely different from Mu Ningxue’s Ice Magic, which had a strong urge to freeze everything in its path. Mo Fan might even think White Leopard was merely shouting to put on airs if half of the ridges protecting him had not turned blue-white.

A powerful Mage, whose Ice Element had reached the third tier of the Super Level!

Mo Fan could not afford to lower his guard. He had learned his lesson when he was almost trapped inside the Ice Mage’s crystal cubes.

Mo Fan had also learned something new. In the past when he fought against a human Mage, the outcome of the battle solely depended on whose magic was able to overwhelm the other, because their magic was merely following a set of principles. They might have their own special abilities, but their magic still adhered to the standard rules.

However, the battles he had fought recently were completely different. Every Mage’s magic was specifically tailored for themselves after certain factors like Domains, control, additional effects, and Super Powers were involved. Certain abilities could even decide the outcome of a battle, regardless of their strength!

Mo Fan did not feel cold even when everything around him had turned white like snow.

It felt strange to him. The calmer everything was, the uneasier he felt.

“He’s a painter. He draws with his Ice Magic,” Sharjah said. Her advice was just enough for Mo Fan to realize what was going on.

White Leopard turned around angrily.

What kind of teammate was she? How could she reveal the secret of his Super Power to their enemy?

“The Musician, the Preacher, and the Painter. I thought the Federation Army had sent one of their strong Mages who was extremely familiar with us to invade our base, yet you came all the way here without knowing anything about us!” Damon scoffed.

Damon was standing under the ridge Mo Fan was atop. He and his disciples had surrounded Mo Fan.

The Brown Rebels used to be a political party prior to the establishment of the Federation. Mo Fan was not interested in the country’s politics, so he was totally unaware of the three renowned specialists among the Brown Rebels.

The first was the Musician, Cook. He had obviously died an unjust death, perishing instantly to Mo Fan’s patiently accumulated Lightning Magic, mainly because he was not used to fighting his enemy directly.

If he was still alive, Mo Fan could only have used his Lightning and Shadow Elements.

Sharjah was the second specialist, known as the Preacher.

She used the sinister book as a medium to Summon ancient demons to fight for her. She had no idea how many ancient demons the book contained in total, as she could only turn half of its pages and read a limited number of the Curses within it.

The third specialist was White Leopard, known as the Painter. He was able to draw with his Ice Magic and render everything white.

Mo Fan only noticed a tiny brush between White Leopard’s fingers after Sharjah warned him.

White Leopard’s other hand was holding paint board made of ice with white ink on it!

A goose-feather brush in his left hand, and a white paint board in his right!

Taking a closer look, Mo Fan realized the guy did not look like a destructive Mage about to attack his enemy, but a painter who was ready to draw instead.

What about his drawing board? What was he going to draw on it?

The Musician had his choir.

Sharjah had her sinister book.

How was White Leopard going to materialize his magic?

White Leopard tapped the brush on the paint board and drew a huge stroke in the air while Mo Fan was still having doubts. The stroke left a thick line with a thin and sharp tip!

Mo Fan would assume the guy was just being a clown, but he realized the guy’s Ice Magic was able to work this way because of the same trick as he abruptly recalled the Seals that had trapped him like a caged beast!

The ice being drawn did not have any iciness, but it was brimming with murderous intent.

White Leopard had drawn an ice spear with a single stroke. It was thirty meters long. Not only did it appear out of nowhere in front of Mo Fan, it was flying at him at a shocking speed, too!

Rocks rose under Mo Fan’s feet before he even reacted. They quickly formed a wall and blocked the ice spear!

“Ice Bola!” White Leopard drew a new outline.

The ice spear was obviously just to probe Mo Fan’s defenses. Ice Leopard decided not to attack with force when he saw even the Magic Sword Tyrfing was unable to threaten Mo Fan’s throne.

The Ice Bola’s purpose was to suppress Mo Fan. White Leopard’s strength was restricting and controlling his enemy.

He drew a huge ice bola chained to Mo Fan’s feet to bind him to the ground.

The Earth Vein only reacted to magic that would threaten Mo Fan’s life. It did not react as quickly to the ice bola.

Most importantly, White Leopard was not unleashing any energy as he was drawing. There was no presence of Ice Magic around Mo fan, but he was able to draw the ice bola and tie it to Mo Fan’s feet with layers of chains to prevent him from breaking free!

Chapter 2357: Drawing the Judgment in Heart

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan looked down and saw the ice bola was already bound to his feet!

It looked like something was growing out of his feet. White Leopard was able to draw directly onto his body!

Mo Fan’s feet were shockingly heavy. He felt like his bones were about to be crushed by the weight.

He finally knew what the Ice Painter was painting on.

Everything within his vision was his drawing board. Ice Magic would appear when he moved his brush around. He placed his attention on Mo Fan and drew an ice bola around his feet to bind Mo Fan down with its extraordinary weight.

“Art of Killing, Thousand Shredding Chains!”

White Leopard held the brush upside down. He did not draw with the tip of the brush, but he used the tail of the brush to splash a circle of ink before waving his brush frantically, like a mad man venting his frustrations on the drawing board!

Long chains of rings immediately appeared as he waved the brush, each ring around the size of an adult’s palm. They materialized around Mo Fan, some were even rising between the cracks of the crystalline ridge.

More chains appeared and hung on Mo Fan. Their weight alone was on the verge of crushing him.

White Leopard shook the brush and tightened the ice chains, producing loud clanks. From afar, it looked like countless machine pythons were moving rapidly toward their target!

Mo Fan’s feet were bound to the ground by the ice bola while his body was being pulled by countless chains. They were going to rip him in half at his waist if they kept moving at this rate.

Mo Fan panicked.

His enemy did not have to take aim to use his magic, so it was impossible for Mo Fan to defend himself. The things that were binding him had simply appeared out of nowhere. Mo Fan had no clue how he could break free from them.

The ice chains were stretching from one end to the other to dismember his body!

Mo Fan did not have time to destroy the chains, nor was he able to escape from them.

Even if Mo Fan knew the guy was an Ice Painter who drew to Cast his magic, he felt like he was just a tiny figure on the Painter’s paint board which the painter had full control over. The painter was merely drawing off his imagination to make things happen in reality!

—

Sharjah felt an urge to say something when she saw Mo Fan was in great danger.

“Sharjah! Don’t you forget, every word you say now is going to inflict an extra wound on our leader!” White Leopard snapped when he realized Sharjah might betray her team again.

Ice Tiger was already beside Sharjah, preventing the woman who liked to do everything her own way from helping their enemy. He grinned and chuckled.

“Brother can easily take care of him,” Ice Tiger said smugly.

Sharjah fell silent. She fixed her eyes on Mo Fan, who was now completely entangled by the chains.

“Ridges of the Earth Vein... your blood is able to awaken the power of the Andes Mountain Range’s vein. Such an unusual ability. You also have an outstanding Lightning Element, a Heaven-grade Fire Seed, a Super Power of the Shadow Element, extraordinary abilities of the Earth Element, and the utilities of the Space and Shadow Elements…You are truly impressive at such a young age.”

“But, what difference is it going to make?

“No matter how strong you are, everything is just a drawing paper filled with colors. I just need to paint my white ink across it to return everything to normal. I can then draw as I please on it, including your death!” White Leopard proclaimed mockingly.

There was no way Mo Fan could escape death with the little time he had left!

White Leopard was acting like a judge with great authority. He was reading out Mo Fan’s offenses, as if telling him how much of an idiot he was!

—

Mo Fan was deafened by the loud clanking of the chains. He could only see the chains wrapping around his body, as if he had fallen into a nest of ice pythons.

The chains wound closer about him and limited the space he could move in.

The grip on his body tightened gradually, like he was going to be crushed at any second. Mo Fan could feel his death approaching.

“What’s going on?”

He felt like he was having a suffocating nightmare where he had forgotten the ability to run away. He also lost the ability to analyze the situation around him. He had allowed the unreasonable nightmarish things to close in on him and torture him until he finally came to his senses.

The enemy had drawn chains to bind his feet and entangle his body to declare his death sentence. Did White Leopard really possess such an unstoppable power?

Or was there a chance that the chains did not only consist of the Ice Element?

Mo Fan was wondering whether Ice Leopard was placing him under an illusion, but he discarded the possibility when he felt the weight around his feet.

The snow was real, so were the cuffs on his feet and the chains.

However, the feeling of death and the feeling he was being squeezed to his death might have come from the enemy.

A painting could stir a person’s emotions like they were being surrounded by snow because it was surreal and vivid. A person would be dazzled by a painting and recall similar experiences of what was drawn, followed by pain and torture the person had gone through before.

“Humph, it’s the Psychic Element!”

Mo Fan lifted his gaze. His eyes erupted into flames as the strong sense of death threatening brought him back to his feet.

The Psychic Element!

His enemy had mixed the Psychic Element with his Ice Magic!

White Leopard was trying to overwhelm him mentally and bury him in the snow. Death was the only outcome if he lost himself to the terrifying torture.

“Little Flame Belle!”

Mo Fan simply ignored what was going on when he knew he was being influenced by the enemy’s Psychic Element.

A person would forget their ability to think in the middle of a nightmare and play the role of a victim being chased endlessly. However, once the person realized it was not real and calmed down to think properly, it was easy to overcome the grim situation.

Mo Fan had totally forgotten to resist and think after he lost himself in the torture that had been drawn for him!

He began to resist and fight back!

His own flames were not strong enough to destroy the nightmare. He needed Little Flame Belle’s Calamity Fire. He had to burn the chains on him with the strongest flames.

Little Flame Belle came out of the Contracted Space, but she did not fully reveal herself. She turned into a burning cloak that Mo Fan draped over his shoulders.

Mo Fan engulfed his whole body in flames, so that even his dark brown eyes were swaying with blazing red fire!

Mo Fan could not feel the cold of the snow, but he realized he was unable to feel any heat, either.

The enemy had erased his senses and tricked him into believing he was only using the Ice Magic to conceal the presence of the Psychic Element.

At first, Mo Fan did not feel any heat after being Possessed by Little Flame Belle.. However, as Little Flame Belle continued to heat up, he began to feel the heat spreading across his body.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s body went from feeling a slight warmth to scorching hot as he finally regained his senses.

The flames were not just a little sparkle with a dim glow in a cellar of ice, but blazing red flames in the sky that could set the air on fire!

Mo Fan realized he was wrong about the enemy’s ice and snow not having any iciness, but his senses had been shut down by the enemy’s Psychic Element. He slowly reclaimed them as he engulfed himself with Little Flame Belle’s flames!

“Such a cunning trick!” Mo Fan cursed.

It was such a close call. He had almost died in the nightmare after his Will was overwhelmed by fear!

Mo Fan continued to increase the temperature of the flames to burn his body. He had to awaken himself with the sensations he was most familiar with!

The ice chains around him began to melt as the flames grew. Even the ice bola did not feel as heavy as before.

The cage of ice chains began to melt. They were real ice, not something he could not destroy. They did not stand a chance after Mo Fan overcame the chains that were binding his heart.

Flame Belle Empress was fully Summoned after Mo Fan reclaimed his senses.

Blazing sunflowers scattered across the area and blossomed rapidly as Flame Belle Empress revealed her true form.

The blossoming sunflowers were not mere illustrations. They continued to spit out little elf sparrows who danced above Flame Belle Empress in shocking numbers, dyeing the gray sky red!

The sparrows kept emitting scorching lights, burning the vast land.

The snow covering the land had melted, revealing the pitch-black ridges, which started emitting hot steam once again. The throne of the Earth Vein under Mo Fan’s feet had regained its imperious aura!

The scorching flames and the Aura of the Earth Vein were what Mo Fan was familiar with.

He was only entangled by ice chains and tortured by the Psychic Element, yet it felt like he had broken out of a deep cellar after being trapped in it for a dozen years!

His burning eyes were fixed on White Leopard as the Soul Shadow of Flame Belle Empress loomed over him. The fiery sparrows scattered across the sky dove at the ground, each creating a wave of flames that surged hundreds of meters away, combining into a sea of flames.

The blazing red flames, with fiery dragons and phoenixes rolling across them, were dazzling and spectacular!

Mo Fan had become the King of Hell after being Possessed by Flame Belle Empress. His gaze alone could dry up a whole river!

White Leopard took a few steps back subconsciously. Damon, who was prepared to ambush Mo Fan from behind, lost his courage to move forward as well!

Damon knew White Leopard’s ability. White Leopard’s magic was not going to snap Mo Fan in half. It would only knock Mo Fan unconscious after his Will was drowned in the painting. It was Damon’s job to give Mo Fan the final blow with the Demon Judgment Sword.

But now, Damon was struggling to use his Light Magic.

Even though Mo Fan had his back to Damon, Damon was trembling in fear as he sensed the Aura of the flames. Damon immediately recalled his encounter with a Bone God Dragon in the Andes Mountain Range a few years ago. It had inflicted on him the same fear he was feeling now!

“I’ve seen through your tricks!” Mo Fan stode forward. Every step he took left a long-lasting burning footprint on the ground.

“So what? You are just adding some colors to my drawing. A real Ice Artist can paint anything he wants without colors. I’m a third-tier Super Ice Mage. How are you going to defeat me?” White Leopard remained fearless.

He flipped his hand and splashed the ink on the ice palette around him.

The white ink splattered on the ground and soon ate away at the sturdy ridge.

The white ink was like a great acid, and soon corroded half of the ridge. The plants touched by the white ink wilted away almost instantly.

Either the rocks or the plants turned into white powder at the slightest touch of the ink. It looked like snow, but it was nowhere near as pure as snow. It was more like a dangerous chemical instead!

“I might not have a Heaven-grade Seed, but my Soul-grade Ice Seed is still the strongest kind in the world, not to mention my cultivation level! Do you think you stand a chance against me?” White Leopard snarled.

Mo Fan’s side had black ridges and a spectacular forest of flames.

On the other hand, the deadly whiteness that was killing everything was just as terrifying. There was no sign of life in the area of the white powder, as if the only outcome of entering the area was being frozen to death!

Mo Fan could tell White Leopard was the greatest obstacle in his path. The fact that he could neutralize half of Flame Belle Empress’ Domain clearly indicated how outstanding his Ice Magic was.

The third tier of the Super Level, and the apex of the Ice Element!

Mo Fan had no chance of winning such a powerful Mage without relying on Flame Belle Empress!

White Leopard tapped his brush in Mo Fan’s direction and said arrogantly, “I was going to preserve my strength for the strongest Mage of the Federation Army, but I shall grant you your wish, since you are so eager to die to my Ice Magic!”

“The Hell I’ve created for the Black Vatican wouldn’t mind leaving you an extra spot, too!” Mo Fan answered. He purposely glanced below the ridge at Damon, who was leading his disciples and a huge number of soldiers.

Damon was still lost in his fear, but the Brown Rebels were not as insightful as him.

In their eyes, the flames only seemed a little stronger than normal flames. They would have no trouble taking down a Super Mage with the advantage of numbers!

They were the elites of the Brown Rebels. They had all achieved the Intermediate Level!

They had no idea they had entered the King of Hell’s territory after climbing onto Mo Fan’s ridge.

“You should stop sending these people to their deaths!” Mo Fan said coldly.

The black rocks under the ridge began to tremble. If one was taking a closer look, they would notice black rings appearing along the soldiers’ paths!

These useless soldiers would be wiped out before they could climb up the ridge!

Mo Fan suddenly clenched his fist after more black rings appeared under the soldiers’ feet!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Black rings of death rose from the ground and flew around the elite soldiers before forming pieces of black rocks on their bodies.

Their skin turned black, just like the rocks.

Everyone stopped moving. Their skin was now covered in soft, lustrous black rock.

They had all turned into stone!

The black rings were Petrification Rings. They did not give the soldiers any chance to resist. Their skin turned into stone while their blood turned into mud and sand. Even their bones hardened like rock crystals.

The cluster of black statues remained perfectly still. They were all wearing confused faces, as if they did not realize their deaths were near.

The statues soon shattered on their own. The Brown Rebels who were well and alive just a few moments ago turned into black crushed stones rolling into the dried river.

Damon was dumbfounded. He looked at the rest of the soldiers.

Many soldiers had gathered to flank Mo Fan. There were around three thousand of them in total, but the first few hundred soldiers who had moved out were petrified and shattered. Damon no longer dared to send the rest of the soldiers to get themselves killed.

“Stay at a safe distance and attack with group spells!” Damon ordered.

The low-level Mages were indeed useless when Mo Fan was protected by the powerful ridges of the Earth Vein.

White Leopard was now their only hope. How could they not take down a single person with their numbers once White Leopard destroyed the ridges?

—

White Leopard approached Mo Fan. His Wilting Ice Domain was slowly destroying Mo Fan’s Earth Magic.

Mo Fan was engulfed in flames. He was only using the Earth Magic to prevent himself from being flanked by the enemy. It did not matter if White Leopard was turning everything snow-white, as long as the river stopped flowing.

“Sky Glacier!”

After the terrain was converted into a valley of ice, an ice glacier which normally required a few hundred years to form emerged from the ground and dropped everything in the area to a lower altitude.

White Leopard stood on the glacier like an emperor who had control over the vein of ancient icy mountains, looking down at his world of ice!

The glacier was enormous, yet the part that was visible to the crowd was only its tip, similar to an iceberg floating at the Arctic Pole.

White Leopard raised his brush.

The glacier surprisingly rose into the air and moved in an unbelievable way. It was slowly floating toward Mo Fan to crash into him!

One could use movement spells to avoid slow-moving attacks, but the glacier was around the size of a tectonic plate. There was nowhere Mo Fan could run to!

It was the epitome of one’s power after reaching the apex of the Ice Element, being able to Summon a whole glacier!

Even the Scorching River could barely contain the glacier, but Mo Fan stood his ground and faced the glacier that was slowly approaching him.

It did not necessarily mean he had a head of steel, but the best option he had was to accumulate his Fire Magic in the little time he had!

Did it matter if a glacier was floating at him? He could destroy a whole mountain range if needed!

“Little Flame Belle, let’s go up!”

Mo Fan jumped into the air as huge flames erupted under his feet. He did not take off into the sky like he had Wing Magical Equipment, but the flames were propelling him up with chained explosions!

Flames wrapped around Mo Fan like he had put on a sacred burning robe. He did not need any other magic. It was his strongest weapon!

He flew at the glacier while being engulfed in flames, and crashed into it like an unstoppable meteor.

Mo Fan only left a hole on the glacier at first, but as stronger explosions propelled him deeper into the glacier, red cracks began to surface on it.

The red cracks spread wildly, while the inside of the glacier collapsed gradually.

It was only a matter of time before the glacier would crack into pieces after its interior was heavily damaged.

Mo Fan suddenly changed direction after he reached the center of the glacier. He hammered his fists around him, creating bigger holes in the glacier.

The glacier finally shattered in half and fell away to Mo Fan’s sides as he landed on the ground.

The glacier was bigger than some of the hills below. It felt like Mo Fan had just slammed two mountains of snow into a valley, immediately causing a huge avalanche to roll down the Scorching River!

The Brown Rebels who were in the vicinity immediately fled for their lives. They were no different from startled deer, foxes, and rabbits caught by an avalanche!

Damon had no choice but to order his soldiers to back away.

As a matter of fact, White Leopard had gone all out with his Ice Magic, while Mo Fan had transformed into a fiery demon. The destruction they were causing was disastrous. Even Damon’s disciples felt like they were watching a battle between two immortals, let alone the basic soldiers!

“It’s all flowers, but no fruit. Is that all you’ve got?” Mo Fan punched out in White Leopard’s direction.

The punches destroyed the huge ice mounds scattered across the valley between Mo Fan and White Leopard like they were mere bubbles!

Mo Fan’s punches accelerated. Their light formed a meteor shower sweeping across the valley before landing on White Leopard a kilometer away.

White Leopard waved his hand and caught the brush between his fingers. He painted with the brush quickly.

Icy strings were painted in great numbers. They wrapped around White Leopard in an icy cocoon.

The burning light of the punches soon arrived. They could easily break through the sturdy ice blocks, but they completely lost their power when they collided into the flexible icy silk!

After White Leopard nullified Mo Fan’s punches, the enormous glacier and the ridges between him and Mo Fan were almost gone, but the whole area was covered in the debris of ice and rocks. It was like the place had been repaired and destroyed time and time again!

“What is the thing on you?” White Leopard stared at Flame Belle Empress’ Soul Shadow.

His opponent had only achieved the Super Level of the Fire Element recently, but the Soul Shadow possessing him had granted him the strength to fight a peak Super Ice Mage!

In other words, the Heaven-grade Flame Mo Fan was using previously was not his strongest form!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“A Fire Element Sacred Spirit!” White Leopard could not recognize the Soul Shadow on Mo Fan’s back, but Sharjah knew what it was.

Elemental Sacred Spirits were a rare species. They were easily the best choice to be a Summoner’s Contracted Beast, but they were too difficult to find.

Such Summoners not only had to have the Summoning Element. If they had the same Element as their Contracted Beast, and it was an Elemental Spirit, it would significantly strengthen their shared Element.

That was the reason why Mo Fan was able to take on an experienced Super Mage when the cultivation of his Fire Element was not particularly outstanding.

More importantly, Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast was a Sacred Spirit, not just a normal Elemental Spirit. It also explained the source of his Heaven-grade Flame!

His Sacred Spirit Contracted Beast had granted him the Heaven-grade Flame!

White Leopard turned around and asked Sharjah, “It’s a Contracted Beast?”

“Mm, a rare species of Fire Sacred Spirit that can Possess its master, and it’s in the Ruler-level too!” Sharjah said confidently.

Sharjah had been able to tell Mo Fan was a powerful Mage back when they were at the Aorus Sacred Institute. She was curious to find out exactly how strong he was.

She still found herself in disbelief as Mo Fan gradually revealed his strength!

Sharjah could not find a worthy opponent in South America. She could easily beat most of the teachers of the Aorus Sacred Institute, too. She had lost interest in duels for a long time.

However, after witnessing how Mo Fan had caused a massacre in the Brown Rebels’ base, not only did she gain a better understanding of her teacher’s strength, her heart was pounding heavily as she regained her passion for magic battles.

“A Ruler-level creature! He’s a Summoner with a Ruler-level Summoned Beast, too?! How many Elements does he have?!” Ice Tiger exclaimed.

A Ruler-level creature could take on ten Super Mages at once! A Super Mage like Ice Tiger was as weak as a little wild dog in front of a Ruler-level creature. He would have to pay with his life just to bite a small part of the Ruler-level creature’s skin off!

Ice Tiger was starting to feel scared.

Luckily, that guy did not go all out at him, like he had on Cook. Otherwise, he would not be standing now!

White Leopard, on the other hand, was brimming with rage, and his heart was burning with flames of jealousy.

Why!?

Why was the guy blessed with so many extraordinary abilities? He had a Heaven-grade Flame, the Blood Pact of the Earth, destructive Lightning Magic, and a Ruler-level Sacred Spirit as his Contracted Beast!

In comparison, White Leopard’s peak Super Ice Magic and his Super Power to draw with Ice Magic were the only things worthy of being put up for display!

“Die! Die! Die!”

The more White Leopard thought about it, the angrier he became. He swore to erase this man with so many blessings from the world!

A Mage’s cultivation level was supposed to dictate the outcome of a battle!

White Leopard began to attack recklessly instead of taking a defensive stance.

He pointed his brush at the sky like it was the axis of his canvas.

He painted long strokes while gliding a few hundred meters forward. He was obviously trying to draw a bigger object!

A rare sight occurred in the gray sky. The strokes eventually formed the silhouette of an enormous object floating in the air. He had drawn an even bigger glacier.

At first glance, it looked like a cluster of white clouds had appeared out of nowhere in the gray sky, but it was an actual mountain of ice instead of some bodies of air. It was floating in the sky in the shape of an upside down peak.

Mo Fan had been to Tianshan Mountain. He had even gone to the Scar of Tianshan Mountain.

The thing White Leopard drew bore a striking resemblance to the floating icebergs in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain!

It was very likely that White Leopard had been to the Scar of the Tianshan Mountain. He was drawing the exact same scenery in the Scar of the Tianshan Mountain, even though the floating icebergs in the Scar of the Tianshan Mountain were a lot more astonishing. However, it was shocking how White Leopard was able to draw a tiny version of the Scar of the Tianshan Mountain at the Scorching River. How much of the magic and energy of his Star Palaces did he expend?

“Glacier Rupture!” White Leopard yelled.

The floating ice above Mo Fan blew a huge crack in the sky!

The wind between the sky and the ground started blowing in the opposite direction, sweeping everything into the sky!

The floating iceberg descended slowly. The huge crack on it was like a wormhole in the middle of a galaxy. It was sucking in everything while drawing closer to the ground.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze, and glanced into the darkness of the rupture. White Leopard did not try to place him under an illusion this time, as the Brown Rebels were able to see the same thing he was seeing.

Many soldiers had fainted after witnessing the bizarre sight. They were as tiny as ants compared to the floating iceberg and the bottomless chasm above them!

Mo Fan was struggling to stand properly. He was pulled into the sky by the wind cavity like a stalk of grass.

The closer he was to the chasm, the stronger the iciness and the pulling force became!

White Leopard’s specialty was not freezing everything with his Ice Magic, but draining away life force instead.

Ice was able to slow down everything, including blood flow, the functions of organs, and metabolism. White Leopard’s ice was able to stop a creature’s life force until they wilted like a plant.

The iciness Mo Fan was feeling did not come from his senses, it was actually draining away his life force at an insane rate!

White Leopard had gotten the idea of creating a black scar under the floating iceberg when he went to the Tianshan Mountain. It would overwhelm his enemy with fear and make them wilt like some petty plants!

He had once used the ability to take out a tribe of Mages in the Andes Mountain Range who were unwilling to join the Brown Rebels. Thousands of people were sucked into the black scar, including some powerful Mages.

His magic was capable of destroying over a thousand people instantly. How could it not take the life of a single intruder?

The iceberg was crashing down on Mo Fan, and the black scar was hanging right above him!

The flames engulfing Mo Fan began to turn into white substances before scattering in the wind.

“Little Flame Belle…” Mo Fan was under great pressure.

He was struggling to gather his strength to put up a fight. It felt like the whole sky was falling down on him, and all he could do was shiver in fear and await the wrath of the Heavens!

Flame Belle Empress requested that they separate.

If Mo Fan was sucked into the black scar, its iciness would instantly stop his organs from functioning. After all, Mo Fan was just a vulnerable human.

On the other hand, Flame Belle Empress was a Ruler-level creature. Her vitality was several times stronger than a human’s.

Even though even her life force would eventually wilt away inside the black scar, it would not claim her life in a short amount of time.

Flame Belle Empress was confident she could melt the iceberg before her life was in danger!

“Very well, let’s show him how unstoppable we are!” Mo Fan did not move as he separated from Flame Belle Empress.

Mo Fan and Flame Belle Empress were now able to merge and separate anytime. The synergy between them had grown much stronger!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The unstoppable flames separated from Mo Fan, but Flame Belle Empress’ own Aura was just as imperious!

The Brown Rebels finally saw Flame Belle Empress’ true appearance. Her alluring figure had a unique charm even when she was engulfed in sacred flames. The flames were so bright that it was difficult to look at her directly. Furthermore, her naturally aloof Aura was compelling them to remain at a respectful distance. None of them dared to show any disrespect before her!

“A Flame Belle!” Sharjah blurted out. She was finally able to see Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast.

The last Flame Belle in the world!

Sharjah had read a lot of books. She had learned about the discoveries of an explorer related to the Fire Sacred Spirit recently.

Back in a certain era, the Flame Belles were a tribe of Elemental Spirits nurtured with sacred altars across the world.

They had pure hearts, unlike most savage demon creatures, and never took the initiative to attack humans. They were like sacred guardians who passed on their kind by following the laws of nature.

However, the Flame Belles’ numbers gradually declined for some reason. They were now an extremely rare species in the current era. Adventurers of different countries had derived that the last place with signs of a real Flame Belle was in China’s Dunhuang.

As a result, they wrote an article recording the birth of the last Flame Belle.

Many Mages had no idea what a Flame Belle even was. They only cared about their own benefits, but to archeologists, the Flame Belles might be the original source of the Fire Element humans used!

Otherwise, how could a Flame Belle so perfectly Possess a Fire Mage?

Sharjah strongly believed that Flame Belles were the source of the Fire Element because of another reason!

She tapped in the air to Summon the evil book.

The pages flipped rapidly until they reached the final few pages.

One of them was blazing red, as if it was drawn with real flames. The page was shuddering constantly, as if it was going to burn the whole book into ashes at any second.

On the page was a demon creature with the appearance of a woman.

She was spreading her arms around lava and erupting volcanoes.

The flames did not damage her skin. They were setting off her sacred air like a robe.

The dangerous flames were gathering around her respectfully, like her people, ready to obey her commands!

The page with the Magic Sword Tyrfing had an evil presence around its border. The Magic Sword Tyrfing had looked real on the page, like it could fly out of it anytime.

But the page with the Flame Belle only had an illustration, despite its vividness.

Sharjah remembered how her grandfather told her stories of the Flame Belles, but even her grandfather had never seen a real Flame Belle before.

But she had seen one now, and it was an adult Flame Belle, too!

Seeing one in person was much different from hearing rumors and reading the records of one!

Flame Belle Empress left Mo Fan’s body. She was like a bright sun in the world of ice. Not only did she drive the iciness away, her flames flared with a strong presence of life and began sprinkling down to the ground.

White Leopard’s cultivation was outstanding, being able to establish a wilting world by himself, but Flame Belle was a symbol of life and sacred flames. She immediately tore a burning scar in the air, melting away the icy presence of death with her endless flames!

She was like the sunlight of spring as winter ended, resuscitating all living creatures!

The iciness, wilting, and silence had been replaced. The light of the sacred flames not only brought a glimpse of warmth, but it continued to grow stronger!

The Flame Belle Empress’ world did not consist solely of scorched lands, nor would it be ruled over by the cold ice of death!

White Leopard swung his brush wildly, like a painter who had gone mad, scribbling over his drawing board. As a painter, he had to put his soul and boldness into his art, which was the wilting and death he needed now.

However, the Flame Belle Empress’ sacred flames of life had melted them away. The floating iceberg was cracking into pieces, and the black scar devouring the world was filled with flames now.

No matter how hard he painted, even if he splashed all his ink onto the drawing board, he could not cover the light of the flames.

White Leopard’s face paled.

Every stroke he made was consuming his energy. The faster he painted, the quicker he consumed his energy!

The man’s bitter resentment was stressing him out. On the other hand, Flame Belle Empress remained unmoving as she calmly reclaimed her territory.

White Leopard had a twisted expression as a result of the pain from forcibly drawing out his mental energy, like a person who was trying to keep working after not sleeping for several days. His haggard face and green-glowing eyes were ghastly to look at.

“No one can burn my drawing. No one can survive in my world of wilting ice; no light, no temperature, no flame!” White Leopard screamed. White foam was coming out of his mouth.

His eyes rolled upward. It was clear that the final flourish had consumed a part of his life force. His body was reacting badly from the overexertion.

White Leopard’s body convulsed as he started vomiting. He had finally reached his limit. He was sent flying when he tried to paint again. He slammed into the ice mountain behind himself and knocked it to the ground!

“Brother!”

Ice Tiger quickly went over and saw White Leopard forcing himself up. The bones on his back were twisting, but he was forcing himself to stand like a soldier.

“There’s no way I will lose. There’s no way, I’m the strongest Ice Mage in this country! I won’t lose to a nobody like him!” White Leopard yelled. His body was bending in a strange way. “I won’t allow anyone to interfere with the battle! I can kill him. What Flame Belle, what Heaven-grade Flame, they will all end up dead in my drawing!”

White Leopard staggered as he walked forward. His fingers were trembling while holding his brush.

He was struggling to hold his brush properly. How was he able to fight any longer?

The floating iceberg kept falling. Flame Belle Empress slowly descended from the black scar. The flames about her had weakened slightly, but her Aura was still the same.

Mo Fan still had a lot of enemies to fight. The White Leopard was not the only enemy left. Flame Belle Empress Possessed Mo Fan again.

Flame Belle Empress was a little worn out. As she entered Mo Fan’s body, her flames continued to burn around him.

Their strongest fires were not when they were separated. Their strongest form was when they were merged into one!

It was when Flame Belle Empress was burning in Mo Fan’s heart, turning him into the King of Hellish Flames!

Chapter 2362: My Hell

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“That was only a small demonstration of my power,” Mo Fan grinned. His smile widened in the flames.

Mo Fan had defeated a two-hundred meter tall Silver Moon Tyrant Titan when he had full control of Flame Belle Empress’ flames in his current form. The truth was, Mo Fan had yet to use the full power of the King of Hellish Flames!

The flames he had once unleashed in his demon form were actually not much stronger than those of his current form!

Mo Fan had only been an Advanced Mage back then. Little Flame Belle had fully evolved into a Flame Belle Empress long after he demonized, and attached to his back as a Soul Shadow. She was one of the four Soul Shadows Mo Fan had.

Mo Fan knew his current strength was still far from his demon form back then, but the cultivation of his Super Fire Element and Flame Belle Empress combined was very close to the strength of his Fire Demon form!

He no longer had to rely on the demon that was sleeping inside him, nor did he have to pay a huge amount of Soul Essences or suffer from any side effects after borrowing its power. He was fighting with his own power!

—

“Kill him, kill him now!” White Leopard was not in his right mind after he was injured.

“Brother, didn’t you tell us not to interfere with the battle?” Ice Tiger asked carefully.

“Shut up, a troublemaker like him must die!” White Leopard screamed.

White Leopard’s mental energy had depleted. He was suffering the consequences of overstraining himself, but Mo Fan was in his strongest form after Little Flame Belle Possessed him once again. White Leopard knew he was no match for Mo Fan. He had to use the Brown Rebels’ power to beat Mo Fan!

White Leopard was one of the highest commanders, with ten thousand Brown Rebels at his command. Damon had already gathered a few thousand elite soldiers.

White Leopard raised his brush and painted a white flag in the air.

The flag was a signal. The lake was not too far from the Brown Rebels’ main camp. The main army could easily destroy everything as it marched to the lake!

“I have countless soldiers at my command. Do you think you stand the slightest chance against me?” White Leopard shouted at Mo Fan.

“That won’t stop me either!”

The army of Brown Rebels was pressing forward. Mo Fan was soon going to take on an army of more than ten thousand soldiers!

Even though they were unable to fight with Magic Formations like the elite soldiers in the Scorching River, they could still cause massive destruction comparable to Super Magic when they combined their spells!

The army quickly arrived at the Scorching River and filled up the lake.

White Leopard knew Mo Fan was after Wu Ku. He had no intention of letting Mo Fan get his way!

Mo Fan would have to cross the bodies of ten thousand soldiers if he wanted to kill Wu Ku!

—

Mo Fan showed no fear, since he had not tested the true strength of his current form!

“My Hell has enough space for as many people as you have!”

Mo Fan flew forward as he turned into a fiery dragon. Its flames surged ferociously and destroyed everything in their path.

The soldiers were merely minnows in a lake. They were crushed by the fiery dragon’s force and burned into ashes by its flames!

The soldiers tried fighting back with their Wind Warships, but their fleets could not escape the fate of being sunk by the monstrous dragon.

The fiery dragon smashed its way from one side of the Scorching River to the other, purging every life in its path and leaving nothing but scorched corpses and bones behind.

It was as frantic as Mo Fan had intended. His Hell did indeed have enough space for every soldier. It did not matter if he was taking on an army, as the soldiers were nothing but mere ants to him.

“Purgatory: Nine Firefalls!”

Mo Fan hovered above the sea of flames and raised his hands. Nine flashes of flames flickered in the sky, just under the clouds!

There was a huge blast, and scorching lava poured down directly into the lake.

The lake had sunken and dried from the previous fighting. The nine falls of lava pouring down from the sky were utterly spectacular.

However, the soldiers who were stuck in the lake were in total despair as they watched the flames pouring down on them, tossing them all into the deepest abyss of Hell.

The flames were devouring the ground they were standing on like a rising tide. The blazing red liquid was only under their feet at first, but as the flames kept pouring down, it soon covered their ankles, their knees, and their legs.

The flames were as red as blood, with dismembered corpses floating on them. The flesh below the flames was already burned into nothing.

Mo Fan was standing on the high ground. His merciless and savage appearance perfectly resembled the King of Hell.

His emotions were stirred up a little as he witnessed the horrible deaths of the soldiers, but he did not allow himself to have any mercy for his enemies.

When the Brown Rebels took over Banlo City, it was like Hell for the innocent civilians who were killed and sacrificed for the coup. Every soldier who joined the Brown Rebels was responsible for their deaths!

1

Mo Fan had always curbed violence with violence!

An army that was abusing violence to earn their power had no right to ask others for mercy!

—

“You are sending them to their deaths!” Sharjah pointed out.

“They were prepared to sacrifice their lives the day they joined the army!” White Leopard snarled back.

“But do you really think he will waste his time on them?” Sharjah was already backing away as she was talking.

Sharjah knew she had to retreat as soon as she saw Mo Fan’s transformation.

She knew they had no chance of defeating Mo Fan. She was not fighting for the Brown Rebels or the Black Vatican, nor did she want to become a sacrifice of the war. She could come and go as she pleased.

White Leopard did not understand Sharjah at first, but his face turned pale when he saw the King of Hell flying right at him from two kilometers away.

“Ice Tiger, stop him!” White Leopard had yet to catch his breath. He had no chance of stopping the fiery demon.

“I…I…” Ice Tiger had no choice but to step forward.

The truth was, the burns left on him by the Heaven-grade Flame were still hurting.

Ice Tiger stepped forward. He threw his fists on the ground, blue veins surfacing across his body. Huge spikes burst out of the ground in a row , acting as a defensive barrier!

Mo Fan charged forward, leaving a scorched trail behind him.

The air around him suddenly exploded in flames when he reached the spikes. Mo Fan completely turned into a ferocious tiger pouncing forward!

BANG!

The spikes shattered like bubbles. The impact knocked Ice Tiger flying. Several burning projectiles flew after him and stabbed him after he landed on the ground.

“AHHH!” Ice Tiger cried out in agony.

Mo Fan ignored the cry. His target was the arrogant White Leopard.

White Leopard could only see a huge splash of red light coming at him, not a human.

It felt like he was standing on an isolated peak facing the scorching sun. The air was burning the sunlight, which had dyed the whole sky red.

It felt like the scene of the apocalypse!

Chapter 2363: Unrelenting

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Whoever tries to stop me will die, I don’t care if you are a general of whatever regime!” Mo Fan showed no hesitation.

It was acceptable if the soldiers at the bottom level did not truly understand the reasons why the war broke out in the first place, but how could officers like Ice Tiger and White Leopard not be aware of Wu Ku’s identity?

They were taking the side of the evildoer. Even if they did win the war, they would continue to bring disasters to their people!

The flames poured down and burned the woods by the Scorching River. Both sides of the river had turned blazing red.

White Leopard’s body began to melt away in the Calamity Fire.

His skin turned into white steam. His blood evaporated in a red mist. His flesh and bones were burned into ashes.

The people did not hear White Leopard’s cry of agony, but they witnessed how he perished and literally scattered like ashes in Mo Fan’s flames.

The enormous army was like puppets that could not withstand a single blow. They all fled for their lives after their general died.

Even the Frenzy Liquid could no longer influence their minds after they were overwhelmed by absolute terror. The only drive left in their hearts was their will to stay alive by getting as far away as possible!

Ice Tiger climbed to White Leopard’s location and shouted like he was having a mental breakdown, “Brother! Brother!”

Mo Fan was standing right beside him.

Ice Tiger turned to Mo Fan with a twisted expression. He did not look human, but a ghastly demon trying to swallow Mo Fan alive instead!

Mo Fan felt a strong murderous intent from Ice Tiger. “I can grant you your wish too, if you so want to die!”

Some people fled for their lives, others totally lost their minds. Ice Tiger was a perfect example. He had forgotten something important after he was overwhelmed by grief and anger.

Ice Tiger had not Awakened any Super Power, making him as petty as a wild dog in front of the King of Hellish Flames!

BANG!

Ice Tiger enjoyed fistfighting. Mo Fan decided to end his life with his fist!

He threw a punch right on Ice Tiger’s face as the man pounced at Mo Fan with defensive spikes erupting all over his body like a porcupine.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan’s punch was capable of destroying the ground and bringing forth the scorching lava below. His punches had razed woods and camps to the ground before filling the scars with lava.

The blazing lava did not flow silently in the scars, but continued to spread into streams like the roots of a tree, still triggering explosions occasionally!

The punch now was even stronger than the ones he had thrown before!

The lake was already beyond recognition, so was the river. It was more like a vein of black rocks under an ancient volcano, the sight of the apocalypse!

“What about you? You still dare to show up in front of me?” Mo Fan glared at Damon after taking care of the two brothers.

A Shadow Coward. A nobody…

Damon had referred to Mo Fan with these titles previously. He initially thought Mo Fan was just a little scout who snuck into their camp to gather intel, but he had turned out to be an unstoppable demon instead!

Ice Tiger and White Leopard were powerful generals among the Brown Rebel, only second to their leaders, but the young man had killed them without any hesitation!

“Who…who exactly are you!?” Damon’s voice was brimming with shock and fear.

“You have the highest authority here. My target has always been that scum from the Black Vatican. You should really consider if it’s worth sacrificing your life to fight for his sake,” Mo Fan answered in a steely voice.

Mo Fan had never had a good impression of the Brown Rebels. They were treating the Black Vatican’s Frenzy Liquid as something sacred and allowing themselves to be used by the Black Vatican. They were not fighting for the sacred cause they were claiming to!

Mo Fan’s Nether River was more than willing to accept their souls if they were so eager to die!

“Retreat to the camp! Everyone, retreat to the camp now!” Damon finally realized his place. He started ordering the soldiers and elite Mages to retreat from the Scorching River.

White Leopard had ordered the soldiers to block the Scorching River so Mo Fan would have to kill them all to reach Wu Ku.

Mo Fan was not an idiot. Why did he have to kill them all? He just had to destroy White Leopard and set an example. Were these soldiers really going to hold their ground to their deaths?

The soldiers and elite Mages were relieved after receiving Damon’s order. They did not dare leave when White Leopard was still alive, since he would execute them for disobeying his commands.

Damon had taken over now that White Leopard had been killed, meaning that their lives had been spared!

The way humans thought was very strange.

In a time like this, they were actually grateful to the demon who was slaughtering their army just a moment ago. After all, it was only a matter of time and effort for Mo Fan to wipe them all out.

Mo Fan had spared their lives by killing General White Leopard!

No one wanted to die. The motto of the regime was nothing but a slogan when their lives were being threatened. They were not saints who would die for their beliefs. The fact that they had lived after fighting a demon like Mo Fan was already impressive enough!

——

The army took some time to retreat. Mo Fan wove through the Brown Rebels in the Scorching River.

The soldiers quickly cleared a path for Mo Fan as they headed in the opposite direction. The burning footprints along Mo Fan’s trail sparked all of their lingering fears.

“Wolf Chief.”

Mo Fan was less than a hundred meters away from Wu Ku after passing the lake. There was only one person blocking his path. It was none other than Wolf Chief!

He possessed a strong will, unlike the soldiers. The fearless spirit of the Black Vatican was a lot firmer than the Brown Rebels’ slogans.

Wolf Chief did not dare move, yet he was unsure what he should do.

He had not expected that Mo Fan possessed such strength, despite being a chieftain of the Black Vatican. The information he had regarding Mo Fan had great disparities with reality!

“I have something else in mind for you,” Mo Fan told Wolf Chief.

Wolf Chief was confused. He did not understand what Mo Fan was saying. Was Mo Fan not planning to fight him in his current unstoppable form?

Did he have other powers which he had not used?

Wolf Chief was wondering what was going on. He did not notice a black shadow crept out of the spot where he had used his Blood Sacrifice Magic. It attached to Wolf Chief’s back without alerting him.

The black shadow had a surprisingly vivid face. It was grinning like a devil that had caught its prey.

“Do as you wish, Elder of the Shadow Tribe!” Mo Fan continued forward.

The target of the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was already doomed at such a close distance.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe had always behaved strangely. Mo Fan had tried to Summon it to fight for him in the previous battle, yet it seemed uninterested. However, it became restless while Mo Fan was massacring the soldiers.

In the end, it had set its eyes on Wolf Chief, who had the Curse Element.

Mo Fan had no reason to waste his own energy.

Wolf Chief still thought he could keep Mo Fan at bay with the strange and unnatural power of his Curse Element.

Little did he know, he had already been reserved by an even more unnatural existence!

Chapter 2364: God of Fire: Rising Phoenix

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan walked toward Wu Ku.

Wu Ku looked behind Mo Fan and saw a demonic shadow connected to his body moving on its own, like paint sprayed on him.

“AHHHH!!!”

Wolf Chief let out screams of agony. No one knew what had happened to him, but they could sense the despair in his cries!

The cries kept going while the figure of the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was moving.

Damon stood on the other side of the lake. He shuddered when he saw how the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was torturing Wolf Chief.

An elder being of the Darkness Plane had broken its chains and come to their world. He would have died multiple times if Mo Fan had used it on him instead!

Damon was suddenly relieved he had made the right choice. Otherwise, the terrifying Elder of the Shadow Tribe would be torturing him instead!

—

“It looks like Salan isn’t going to risk her life to save you this time.” Mo Fan stared at Wu Ku.

Wu Ku’s expression was constantly shifting. He did not expect Mo Fan to actually clear a path to him. Most importantly, Mo Fan had not used the power of the demon inside him to do so!

It was true that Salan was not going to show up again. She had only wanted the war to break out so she could obtain more evil power as she walked in the kingdom of death.

She had achieved her goal once the war was beyond the point of no return. Wu Ku was no longer as valuable to her as he used to be!

“As expected of the biggest stumbling block of our church, you have always caused trouble whenever we are holding a ceremony. Such a pity, we are always a step ahead of you, just like Bo City. There’s nothing you can do. The things that should happen have already happened!” Wu Ku started attacking Mo Fan’s resolve.

“Humans are meant to improve in little steps. I never expected myself to do anything shocking. I’m satisfied with the improvements I have compared to my previous attempts,” Mo Fan replied.

Did he really fail to do anything?

He was only hoping to survive in Bo City.

He had saved the Ancient Capital from being destroyed.

He had stopped the Black Vatican at Beijiang.

And now, he had restrained the Black Vatican in the Andes Mountain Range!

Every step he took was more convincing than the previous one!

He had even found one of the culprits from the Calamity of Bo City today!

It was good enough for Mo Fan.

“You have no idea how big our church is. What you see is only the tip of the iceberg!” Wu Ku nattered on.

“One has to start digging out a mountain from the inside. As long as the Black Vatican is still around, my gates of Hell will remain open. It’s fine if the results aren’t all flying colors. After all, I’m still young, but your Cardinals aren’t,” Mo Fan pointed out.

It all came down to whoever could live the longest!

Mo Fan had sworn to fight the Black Vatican until the end. He was a man of his word.

Wu Ku tried to destroy Mo Fan’s will to resist the Black Vatican. He did not believe anyone would be willing to sacrifice everything just to take down the Black Vatican.

Even the Holy Judgment Court and the Magic Association were not so diligent, so why would an ordinary person like him bother to go after the Black Vatican by risking his life?

Wu Ku’s face twisted like he had just eaten dog poop after hearing Mo Fan’s words.

His role as the Head Priest was to demoralize unbelievers. In the church, every member from the Gray Priests to the Blue Deacons had the urge to listen to his teachings and gradually fell under his influence, but not only did his usual tricks fail to work, he was doubting himself for once!

In terms of age, Mo Fan would indeed live longer than Salan. Twenty years from now, Mo Fan would be in his prime, while Salan’s drive would slow as she aged.

Wu Ku shook his head. Why was he the one being brainwashed here?!

“I was a monk before I joined the Black Vatican. Can you let me die a peaceful death?” Wu Ku tried to withhold his anger and grudges, and acted like he was negotiating.

“Dying at my hand is the most appropriate way,” Mo Fan answered simply.

“You are being unreasonable!” Wu Ku’s expression changed instantly. He had looked as calm and gentle as an old monk, but his face was as ghastly as a demon in the next second!

There was no room for negotiation between a butcher and a dog!

Mo Fan suddenly sprang forward, leaving sparks on the spot he was previously standing on. A huge chunk of the ground there compressed.

He reached Wu Ku in an instant as he was engulfed in flames. He perfectly resembled the marvelous God of Fire depicted in ancient myths!

Wu Ku slid backward in response.

Orbs of water immediately burst out of his body, each clear and distinctive as they joined together to protect Wu Ku like prayer beads.

Water Prayer Beads!

Wu Ku had Awakened a Super Power of the Water Element, too.

The prayer beads were perfect for his identity as a monk, yet he had sided with the evildoers and destroyed lives, instead of helping them!

“Let’s see how many of these prayer beads you have!”

Mo Fan was like an enraged deity. His heavenly flames instantly unleashed their full potential.

From afar, it looked like a mountain of flames was standing between Mo Fan and Wu Ku.

The mountain of flames was only a precursor. Mo Fan was just starting to unleash its full power!

“God of Fire: Rising Phoenix!”

A pair of fiery wings emerged from the mountain.

It was clearly depicting Phoenix Mountain from the myths, home to a phoenix that could burn everything for a hundred kilometers around from its peak!

The landscape from the upper stream to the middle stream of the Scorching River dried up instantly.

The moist rainforests on both sides of the river erupted into flames. The fire continued to spread wildly and threatened the rebel camps!

The sky was scorched as red as blood. Fire was sweeping across the sky like lightning in the form of shocking red flashes.

The phoenix arose on the top of the mountain and unleashed the flames of destruction from its body.

The prayer beads broke, one by one. Water might be effective against fire, but it had no chance of stopping a phoenix that could regenerate endlessly in cycles. It dove below Mo Fan and flew out the other side of the mountain!

Everything was burned into ashes. The wings of the phoenix only covered a span of fifty meters, but its flames extended over a kilometer beyond them as it glided above the woods.

The flames of its wings were the boundary line of its territory. Everything inside that area was burned into ashes!

Wu Ku had close to a thousand Water Prayer Beads on him.

He and his prayer beads were constantly knocked back. Wu Ku had an Innate Soul-grade Water Seed and an abundant supply of magic, but his Water Prayer Beads continued to evaporate and break in the face of the phoenix’s inextinguishable flames.

Wu Ku’s face filled with fear and despair as his Water Prayer Beads continued to disappear.

He could not stop the flames. The Calamity Fire was capable of destroying the Heavens and Earth.. He was just a human with a special innate talent. He was too tiny to escape his fate of being buried in the sea of flames!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Water Prayer Beads all disappeared.

If Wu Ku had held onto the three Water Fundamental Crystals, he might have been able to survive the phoenix’s flames with the abundant energy inside them.

Unfortunately, the Water Fundamental Crystals were in Mo Fan’s hands!

Some of the most tenacious plants were slowly turning into charcoal. The moist soil was now as dry and hard as stone. It was scorched black with cracks all through it.

The thick woods had vanished in a straight line completely, like they were erased by the stroke of a hand sweeping deeper into the rainforest, leaving behind a barren land in the middle of the rainforest with endless steam rising from it!

A man whose clothes and skin had been destroyed by flames was kneeling miserably at the boundary of the flames, looking like a burned statue.

It was Wu Ku.

He tried to get back to his feet a few times, but could only fall back to the ground.

He struggled to lift his head, but he could only see a two feet walking toward him, leaving burning footprints behind them.

“Kneeling on the ground will not lessen your sins,” Mo Fan advised him.

“I will not kneel in front of a nobody like you…” Wu Ku tried to get up, but he shrieked in agony as the bones of his legs tried to support his weight.

His legs only had bones left!

His flesh had been burned away. The bones were scorched black, too!

Wu Ku was crying madly. His body twitched uncontrollably as more skin and flesh fell from him.

Wu Ku did not expect his body to end up like this.

He looked like a trashed Buddha statue burning inside a furnace, and now it was beginning to fall apart!

“Water, water, water…”

Wu Ku started crawling. The skin on his hands was falling off like dried soil.

However, he was still using all his might to crawl toward the Scorching River.

There was water in the Scorching River. Given water, his unique body could rejuvenate in no time.

The river would replenish the water he had lost. New skin and flesh would slowly grow out.

He could try again as long as he had water!…

He finally made it to the Scorching River. He just needed to use a little magic to Summon the water toward him…

However, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he stared at the river.

The Scorching River was dry!

The Scorching River here had contained the melted ice and collected rainwater from across the Andes Mountain Range, but it had dried up completely for several kilometers!

There was no sign of water, only dry earth cracked from the heat. Flames were still rising from some of the cracks!

“Give me, give me the Water Fundamental Crystals!

“I can tell you, I can tell you everything you want, give me the Water Fundamental Crystals!

“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die!

“Please, I’m begging you, show me mercy…”

Wu Ku grabbed Mo Fan’s feet. His body had only bones left.

“Aren’t you in a pretty good state now? Buddhists always want to become as light as feathers, so they can ascend. Your soul might be going to Hell, but your flesh has ascended. Congratulations on achieving your life goal,” Mo Fan laughed sincerely.

If Wu Ku was a true believer of Buddhism, he would not have performed so many wicked acts!

He had treated the lives of others as a game of blood and gore to relieve his boredom!

“Elder of the Shadow Tribe, I would like you to handle this one here, too. Remember to give him a five-star rating trip before his life force depletes,” Mo Fan called out.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe had had enough of Wolf Chief, and had already thrown Wolf Chief to his underlings. The bored shadow demons might have separated him into countless pieces by now.

A more interesting target was being given to him. Wu Ku suited the Elder of the Shadow Tribe’s tastes even more!

Mo Fan had destroyed Wu Ku’s flesh. His soul would not have much resistance left now.

Little Loach never absorbed the rotten souls of the Black Vatican people, but the Elder of the Shadow Tribe welcomed them!

If Mo Fan was the King of Hell, the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was the officer of punishment Mo Fan had personally appointed!

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was able to torture a soul using hundreds of different methods!

Under his strong influence, the Soldiers of the Shadow Tribe had been reinventing their ways of killing with him!

“I can tell you everything. Don’t you want to know…” Wu Ku begged desperately.

“That won’t be necessary. I just want you to experience the pain of death. My brother told me you knocked your head on the ground thirty-four thousand six hundred and seventy times for the people who died in Bo City. Perhaps I should let you experience thirty-four thousand six hundred and seventy different deaths before you perish!” Mo Fan suggested.

Wu Ku had an urge to shatter his own soul with his magic after hearing those words.

Unfortunately, he no longer had any energy left. He could only watch his soul get dragged out by the Elder of the Shadow Tribe.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was humming a strange tune as he dragged Wu Ku’s soul away.

He was an expert at torturing a soul. Letting a soul experience thirty-four thousand six hundred and seventy different deaths might be a little tricky, but he would never cease trying!

If he could not come up with enough ideas himself, he had gained so many underlings who had some fancy ideas recently. They should be able to complete the immensely difficult project by working together!

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe suddenly realized he had always had pleasant surprises ever since he started following Mo Fan. Wu Ku was an extremely fine catch!

—

Wu Ku really had nothing but bones left.

The bones of his face were contorted from the fear he was experiencing prior to his death, but his death was only the beginning.

The Black Vatican had always believed it, and Wu Ku finally had a chance to experience it, too!

His soul would be around for a long time, as his redemption had only just begun!

Mo Fan packed up Wu Ku’s scorched bones.

Mo Fan had to give the people of Bo City a satisfying answer. The bones might be able to pacify the souls who were not willing to leave the blood-stained land of his home.

Even though Mo Fan had not taken care of the real culprit, as he lost track of Salan, he was confident that the dead would be pleased after he brought back the person who had executed the conspiracy!

—

“How bold, how bold of you!”

An unfriendly voice appeared after Mo Fan was done packing up.

Mo Fan looked at the scorched area and saw a man with a sharp gaze holding a brown staff. He was less than two hundred meters away from Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was surprised he had not noticed the man’s presence earlier.

Most importantly, the man should know he was the cause of the massive destruction all around. The fact that he dared to stand in front of Mo Fan indicated he was not afraid of him!

Mo Fan raised his head and asked, “Who are you?”

“You killed my Heavenly Sensei and behaved atrociously in my camp, and you are asking who I am?” the man with the brown staff laughed coldly.

“You are the leader of the Brown Rebels?” Mo Fan guessed.

“I will give you two options.”

“Why are there always people like you who like to give people options? Just do whatever you want instead of asking so many questions. You want power, go ahead and claim it. Stop relying on such a disgusting method,” Mo Fan interrupted him blithely.

“The first option is to die here.. The second is to join my regime and expand my territory for me! Your strength can barely make up for the loss of the Heavenly Sensei,” the man continued grimly.

2

Chapter 2366: Leader of the Brown Rebels

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The leader of the Brown Rebels was oddly calm, mainly because he was confident in his strength.

He had seen how Mo Fan killed Wu Ku, but he was still confident he could kill Mo Fan on the spot!

“Do you think I’ve used up all my energy?” Mo Fan stepped forward.

“It doesn’t matter, you are no match for me even if you are at your peak! Not many Mages from South America can beat me. Why else do you think I had the guts to plan this coup!?” The leader of the Brown Rebels suddenly unleashed his Aura.

He was not using any magic, but his Aura surged at Mo Fan like a wild storm.

Mo Fan could not step forward any further. The man was obviously stronger than White Leopard.

However, it was not a strong enough reason for Mo Fan to surrender himself. Lightning burst out of his body like purple dragons. The lightning arcs combined and soared to a height of a hundred meters, establishing an Aura that resisted the leader of the Brown Rebels!

Mo Fan retained his form as the King of Hell. His appearance was even more imperious as the lightning dragons danced around him!

“Second-tier Super Lightning Element with a Super Power… Mm? The Blessing of the God’s Seal…” The eyes of the Brown Rebels’ leader glittered.

He was inspecting Mo Fan carefully. To his surprise, the young man’s Lightning Element was no weaker than his extraordinary flames!

A third-tier Super Lightning Mage would not have any advantage over Mo Fan! “Interesting!” the leader of the Brown Rebels exclaimed.

Mo Fan was fearless, wrapped in both lightning and fire! He was more than willing to fight until the very end!

—

Loud roars suddenly came from the east. The leader of the Brown Rebels was already drawing Star Patterns under his feet at insane speed to form Star Constellations and a Star Palace, but he frowned as soon as he heard the roars.

Mo Fan looked in the direction of the sounds and noticed almost half of the Eagle Horse Skyriders had survived. They had broken free from the surrounding troops and were joining a larger army in the distance.

He was overjoyed. Mu Bai had finally taken care of the Venomous Insect Shamans!

The Federation Army was pressing forward to regroup with the Eagle Horse Skyriders. It meant the Brown Rebels now had a grave decision to make!

Either they stayed around to fight the Federation Army to their deaths, or they immediately retreated to the west of the Scorching River to defend Half-Ridge Mountain City!

“I know who you are. Humph, once I establish order in my territory, I will find you! When the time comes, you won’t have a second option!” the leader of the Brown Rebels declared, pointing at Mo Fan.

“I’m not the same. I’ll spare your life because of your sister,” Mo Fan replied lightly.

His name was Nanzo, the leader of the Brown Rebels, who led the army that had attacked Banlo City!

Mo Fan was wary of the guy’s outstanding strength. He was ready to make a run for it if the guy insisted on fighting him.

He was not out of his mind enough to want to fight the leader of the Brown Rebels. He had already taken care of Wu Ku. He could not care less what the other Rebels were up to!

To his pleasant surprise, the Federation Army had arrived right on time!

——

Nanzo returned to his camp. He had once had three generals whom he was close to fighting for him, but now he only had his sister Sharjah left.

Besides, Sharjah was an odd one, too.

If she was fighting for her life, the things she could Summon from her dark book could easily crush White Leopard.

However, she would be fighting at the cost of her lifespan.

“Sharjah, what do you think?” Nanzo asked her.

It sounded more like he was asking himself the question, rather than seeking advice.

“The Heavenly Sensei you invited was acting strangely from the beginning. If he’s really from the Black Vatican, you weren’t planning a coup. You were going against the world,” Sharjah said calmly.

Nanzon exhaled heavily.

He was clinging onto a slight glimpse of hope, but he should have expected someone would come to take out the Black Vatican simply because of how horrid their reputation was. He just did not expect someone to be determined enough to cross the entire battlefield to take Wu Ku down!

“Let’s retreat to Half-Ridge Mountain City. I don’t want you to die here,” Sharjah added.

“We were so close! Perhaps I shouldn’t have taken White Leopard’s suggestion. The Heavenly Sensei might have given many people courage to join the war, but they were still a sheet of loose sand in the end,” Nanzo sighed.

The two siblings fell silent for a moment. The battle outside had already escalated. Nanzo had to decide whether they were going to retreat or keep fighting.

“By the way, where are White Leopard’s brush and palette?” Nanzo suddenly recalled something.

“Teacher took them.”

“Why didn’t you stop him?” Nanzo yelled at her.

Sharjah blinked. It was totally reasonable for her teacher to claim the loot after winning his duel.

Nanzo’s head hurt.

White Leopard’s reputation had mainly came from his brush and palette. Nanzo could easily train another powerful Ice Mage to help him out by using the two valuable artifacts.

Nanzo seriously wondered if his sister would help the enemy count the loot after their camp was raided!

“You should go, you have slain many generals of the Federation Army for me. I don’t want you to be blacklisted,” Nanzo waved his hand.

“I don’t want you to die,” Sharjah persisted.

“Your brother isn’t that weak. I’ll send out the order for our men to retreat to Half-Ridge Mountain City,” Nanzo finally agreed.

Sharjah nodded once he had agreed.

—

—

The Brown Rebels began to retreat. The water in the lake had dried up. Its bottom was full of ravines, but the Brown Rebels were able to retreat swiftly using their Wind Warships.

By the time the Federation Army reached the Scorching River and eliminated or took captive the remaining troops, the Battle of Banlo City came to an end.

However, Half-Ridge Mountain City was still the Brown Rebels’ main base.

Half-Ridge Mountain City had the resources to grow as a country on its own after the discovery of the ore vein of Lightning Pentagons. It would develop and grow rapidly in the near future.

They could no longer threaten the Federation after losing Banlo City, but it would take more than a few expeditions to defeat the Brown Rebels, too!

The woods around the Scorching River were littered with corpses. Swamp crows circling in the sky came down to feed on them before the Federation Army could clean up the mess.

Fresh blood shed in the war had turned brown and black. Dried blood stains were everywhere between Banlo City and the Scorching River.

——

Mo Fan went right back to Banlo City. He fell down along the street as soon as he went into the city, as he was long overwhelmed by fatigue.

Zhao Manyan ran up to Mo Fan and blurted out, “How was it?! Did you kill Wu Ku?!”

Mo Fan was struggling to speak properly. “His remains are in that bag,” he got out.

Zhao Manyan opened the bag and saw the scorched remains inside it. “It’s him!” He was somehow able to recognize Wu Ku.

Mu Bai came a little later, all wrapped up in blood-soaked bandages. He had had a tough battle with the Venomous Insect Shamans.

“Mu Bai, these are for you..” Mo Fan took out two things from his Space Bracelet.

Chapter 2367: Water Bone Prayer Beads

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Bai’s hands were wrapped in bandages. He could not even receive the things from Mo Fan.

“I obtained them from a general of the Brown Rebels; an ice brush and an ice palette. I think you will be better at using them than him,” Mo Fan told him.

Mu Bai could tell they were no ordinary artifacts at first glance. He had an urge to grow a new pair of hands right now to test them out!

Mo Fan had thought the ice brush and ice palette were part of White Leopard’s Super Power. To his surprise, he had found the two valuables on the ground after killing White Leopard.

Mo Fan had witnessed the power of the ice brush and the ice palette. It was a pity he could not use them, but Mu Bai was the perfect new owner for them!

“I also found something useful on the Venomous Insect Shamans. You can try using them on your wolves,” Mu Bai replied.

Mo Fan nodded.

He looked at Zhao Manyan and saw he was still searching through the bag with Wu Ku’s remains.

Zhao Manyan had gone through life and death with him. The three Fundamental Water Crystals were still in his Space Bracelet. He was a little unwilling, but he decided to give them to Zhao Manyan.

“Wow! Mo Fan, you are truly my brother. I’ll be taking this then, if you’ve given Mu Bai something so precious!” Zhao Manyan suddenly yelled.

Mo Fan was just about to hand over the three Water Fundamental Crystals. He was confused by Zhao Manyan’s words.

He turned around and saw Zhao Manyan had almost stuck his whole head into the body bag.

When Zhao Manyan moved his head out of the body bag, he was holding a pile of black ash in his hand. Mo Fan took a closer look and saw some round objects in the ash.

“Bone ash pearls? Did Wu Ku have sariras, too?” Mo Fan blurted out.

“It’s his Water Prayer Beads. I was wondering how he was able to control the water in such a strange manner the last time I saw him. He shouldn’t have been able to control water so freely, even with his Innate Talent. As I thought, he had something precious on him!” Zhao Manyan was overjoyed.

Mo Fan was surprised. He had not checked Wu Ku’s remains thoroughly.

“Are the Water Prayer Beads his Lifetime Vessel?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

“A Lifetime Vessel will disappear after their owner is dead. These things are more like Deathstrike Magic Equipment, but unlike Deathstrike Magic Equipment, they are a kind of proprietary Equipment. Only a Mage with a Super Power would have them!” Zhao Manyan explained.

“Oh,” Mo Fan nodded indifferently.

“I’ll explain the details to you again another time. Anyway, I don’t want anything else. I just want these!” Zhao Manyan acted like he had found something precious.

Mo Fan nodded. He quietly put the Fundamental Water Crystals back into his Space Bracelet.

He happened to be running short on funds, too. There was no reason for him to give the Fundamental Water Crystals to a rich guy like Zhao Manyan.

He was thinking of selling the Fundamental Water Crystals and using the funds to buy some defensive Equipment for himself.

Mason came over and yelled in excitement, “HAHAHA, you’re all here! Without your help, the Federation Army would still be fighting a hard battle now!”

“It’s you, Mason. Don’t forget us if you manage to make a great name for yourself in the Federation,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Of course, I’ll ask someone to build statues of you in the territory I just received right away! No one will dare look down on me again!” Mason exclaimed.

“…”

“By the way, Brigadier General Blair is looking for you. Didn’t you say you were interested in the Crusaders’ magic? He has already gotten approval from his superiors. You have done the Federation Army a huge favor. Since you didn’t want a promotion as your reward, the army is more than willing to let you learn the Crusaders’ magic in return!” Mason informed him grandly.

“That’s great,” Mo Fan smiled. The Cross Chaos Formation was the most practical reward for him!

“General, General Zhao, why are you crouching in the middle of the road? The Eagle Horse Skyriders are waiting to offer you a toast to celebrate our victory!” A few Eagle Horse Skyriders approached Zhao Manyan. They were treating him with great respect.

“You guys can go ahead and celebrate without me. I need a rest,” Zhao Manyan waved his hand.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai looked at Zhao Manyan in surprise.

Zhao Manyan straightened his chest proudly, “What? Can’t I convince a regiment of riders with my strength?”

1

The Eagle Horse Skyriders had great respect for Zhao Manyan. It seemed like he was the main reason why more than three hundred of the Eagle Horse Skyriders had survived to the end.

“We’ve told the women in our army of your heroic achievements. They all said they want to meet you in person. Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” an Eagle Horse Skyrider grinned.

“Lead the way!” Zhao Manyan immediately crawled back to his feet in high spirits.

1

He had promised himself he would have a ‘sixsome’ if he survived the war!

The women soldiers of the Federation Army in their magnificent shirts, tight skirts, and stern-looking berets; he could finally have a taste of friendly South Americans as he pleased!

Zhao Manyan wanted to bring Mo Fan and Mu Bai along with him.

Mu Bai was clearly more interested in the ice brush and the ice palette than the beauties of the Federation Army, and Mo Fan was already at his limit. He just wanted to find a comfortable place to sleep for three days and nights.

——

Mo Fan arrived at the Federation’s Feihai City. The city was one of the greatest foundations of the Federation. It was only inferior to the capital, and was an important strategic city for defending the country from the sea monsters.

Mo Fan was asleep the entire journey. He had private jets, armored tanks, and bodyguards escorting him.

Mo Fan’s achievement of killing Ice Tiger and White Leopard had already spread across the Federation. The soldiers were treating him like their own general.

—

It was dark by the time Mo Fan woke up.

Mo Fan had no clue how many days had passed. He found himself in a military base. He was served with great delicacies by a few nurses who had been appointed to take good care of him.

“General!”

“General!”

A dark-skinned man came up to Mo Fan. He almost thought the man was Mason until he noticed the man had a bulkier build.

“I heard you didn’t want any official rank as a reward, but our army insists on rewarding you. If we can’t give someone who has rendered great contributions to the army like you a satisfying reward, we won’t be able to convince the others who want to serve us,” the general informed him.

“The orphanages set up by the Alps Institute, do you know about them?” Mo Fan asked him.

“I’ve heard of them before, but our country won’t look after people who aren’t going to serve us. They are future flowers of the Alps Institute, not the Federation,” the general replied.

The Federation needed Mages and more power, people like Mo Fan who could defeat their enemies!

Many young Mages did not acknowledge that they were members of the Federation, especially the families of the Brown Rebels. The Federation Army was still having trouble looking after the direct families of their own soldiers. They had no time to waste on orphans who were not going to contribute to the country!

“You may give the land you have allocated to me to them. After all, they are just kids with no one to rely on. They lost their homes to the invasion of the sea monsters and the war,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s fine, we’ve given you the land.. What you do with it is your business,” the general agreed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan stayed in Feihai City for half a month.

He did not indulge in the long legs and huge folds of the South American ladies. He was diligently learning the principles of the Cross Chaos Formation.

The technique was extremely important to Mo Fan. It would allow him to unleash the full potential of his destructive spells!

As a true destructive Mage, it would be a waste to only use the Chaos Element to trick his enemies. He had to figure out a way to use the Chaos Element to strengthen his other Elements.

He was doing all this just so he could trample whoever he found an eyesore to death!

——

Mo Fan boarded the private helicopter Zhu Meng had sent him. He realized being a Councilman was not a bad idea if he had the privilege of riding private jets and helicopters wherever he went!

“Sir, where should we go next?”

“Let’s go back to Shanghai.”

“Shanghai currently has air restrictions. Our helicopter… never mind, I believe the local councils will turn a blind eye to it!”

“Mm, I’ll give you the coordinates of our destination.”

“Yes, sir.”

——

Jing’an District…

The trees by the roads had started to turn yellow. The roofs of a few old houses that were built in the era of the Republic of China stuck out between the branches and the yellow leaves.

The leaves fell on the roofs, sliding to the ground when the winds blew. The fallen leaves continued to roll along the concrete pavement while following the long autumn dresses of the nearby pedestrians.

“This place has a long-established reputation. Trust me, it’s very delicious! You have been forcing me to eat healthy meals with a great balance of nutrition every day. I feel like vomiting when I see fruit salad. I still think crayfish, hot and spicy sea whelk, and charcoal-grilled beef are the best!” Ai Tutu was pulling at Mui Nujiao’s arm.

As a real foodie, her eyes were glittering at the mention of the delicacies!

She would never have eaten those terrible foods to slim down if she had not been provoked by that b**ch from the Lu Clan.

“Tutu, I don’t eat spicy food,” Mui Nujiao reminded her.

She was wearing an appropriate autumn dress. It was just long enough to reveal the slimmest part of her legs. She was also wearing a pair of dark jujube sandals, making her look more approachable than her usual stern appearance. She was like the gentle and pretty big sister next door.

The shop was alongside a street. The customers might have to sit outdoors if the shop was packed, so she was dressed casually for the occasion.

The high-pitched sound of an engine suddenly swept past them, sweeping up the fallen leaves on the street.

A Miami-blue sports car stirred up a round of gasps as it drove past down the street.

The driver seemed to have noticed Mui Nujiao’s alluring figure. He stepped on the brakes and stopped in front of Ai Tutu and Mui Nujiao.

“Hey, beautiful girl… Huh, aren’t you Mui Nujiao, the goddess of the Pearl Institute?” The owner of the car was thinking of flirting with the stranger at first, but it was someone he knew instead!

“Lu Zhengxin, get on with your business and stop bothering us!” Ai Tutu stomped the ground angrily as soon as she saw the man.

It was the brother of the Lu Clan b**ch who claimed she was as fat as a pig!

Lu Zhengxin came out of the car and said shamelessly, “Ai Tutu, I wasn’t talking to you. Nujiao, where are you going? Should I give you a lift? I’ve just got this car from Germany. I’m giving it a test drive today. It would be a pleasant experience if I had a beautiful woman like you with me!”

The car’s scissors doors lifted up. The skirts that were almost sticking to the ground were already dazzling. Many pedestrians quickly took out their phones to take pictures of it when its doors rose.

“That won’t be necessary, we are going to have a meal over there. It’s only a few steps away.” Mui Nujiao politely turned down Lu Zhengxin’s invitation.

“Oh, what a coincidence, I’m going to that shop too! HAHAHA, I love driving my favorite car to grab some stir-fry clams from a street stall! Come, let’s go together. I’ve asked the owner to reserve seats for me!” Lu Zhengxin said.

Ai Tutu and Mui Nujiao were not willing to go with Lu Zhengxin.

However, they realized the shop was already full when they arrived. Only the seats reserved for Lu Zhengxin were left!

“Humph, let’s eat together then. The meal is on you, I’ll eat until you use up all your money!” Ai Tutu sniffed.

“Order anything you want. I’ll ask my sister to come, too. I heard you two are pretty close,” Lu Zhengxin smiled.

“Go ahead, call that b**ch here. If she doesn’t come, I’ll smear the spicy sauce on your eyes!” Ai Tutu stomped her foot again, like she was not afraid of trouble.

Lu Zhengxin made a phone call.

Another red Ferrari showed up before the crayfish were served. A tall woman in crystalline heels with a cold temperament came out of it. She was wearing a pair of stunning sunglasses, and her hair was tied up in a bun, revealing her pale neck.

“I came as soon as I heard the plump chick gave up on her diet. How strange, you’ve spent most of your time with Sister Mui. Even us women are dazzled by her physique. Do you never feel ashamed standing beside her? At this rate…” Lu Qingyao started to mock Ai Tutu before she even sat down.

Ai Tutu had come up with words she wanted to say preemptively, but she swallowed them after she heard Qingyao’s insults.

“What a rare occasion, the goddess also enjoys eating spicy and oily food. I thought you only drank dew every day,” Lu Qingyao went on.

Mui Nujiao did not respond.

She knew the woman had an ulterior motive. She just could not understand why Ai Tutu would compromise and have a meal together with them. She was only asking for trouble!

“Qingyao, take Ai Tutu around in your new car later. Nujiao and I already have another plan. I’ll drive somewhere far for her to enjoy some fresh air in the mountains. I’ve also bought a mansion there. Nujiao, feel free to visit it with me!” Lu Zhengxin was blatantly showing off.

The prices of real estate had risen crazily after the Headquarters Cities were established. Being rich was not the only criteria to buy a mansion nowadays. That being said, his new car was still the focus today, as it was more expensive than a mansion!

A rumbling noise was approaching from the distance.

“Whose piece of junk is that? Its engine sounds like a tractor. How dare they still drive it on the street!” Lu Zhengxin swore.

Many younger men had problems with their taste. They liked to modify their cars to produce loud sounds, but they were only harassing people with the noise. They were pieces of garbage compared to his new ride!

The noise gradually came closer. It was loud enough to hurt people’s ears.

“Holy crap!”

“Who is it? How dare they drive something with that much noise in a busy district!”

“Look, look up in the sky!”

The pedestrians who were taking photos of the luxurious cars immediately switched their attention to the sky.

A huge wind was blowing as the noise came closer. It was coming from right above them.

Lu Zhengxin immediately looked outside the window.

He was almost petrified when he looked up!

A silver helicopter was hovering above the street at a low altitude. Its propellers were almost low enough to slice off the roofs of the houses!

“Boss, three kilograms of your signature crayfish with their heads removed! I’ll be down there in a second!” a man with a loud voice on the helicopter called out. The people could clearly hear his voice despite the loud noises of the rotors.

The middle-aged owner of the shop was dumbfounded.

He was already surprised when two sports cars came to his shop. In all honesty, he had never seen someone ordering food on a helicopter!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The shout echoed in the sky. The pedestrians were screaming and recording the sight of the luxurious silver helicopter with their phones.

The people stopped caring about the two sports cars parked by the street. They were like two ugly ducklings stumbling into a graceful swan.

Lu Zhengxin was so angry that he almost flipped the table!

He had just received his new car today, and was enjoying the attention he was receiving: the pedestrians gasping in awe, the beautiful ladies asking to take photos together with him. He enjoyed eating at a diner by the street, mainly because he could show he was the owner of the car!

In the end, a f**king helicopter took away all the attention.

Why couldn’t the guy just enjoy his helicopter ride? Why did he have to come here to eat crayfish? How dare he take away the limelight!

—

A man jumped off the helicopter. He did not forget to bid farewell to the pilot on the way down.

“Sir, remember to give me a five-star rating!” the pilot shouted.

“Not a problem!” Mo Fan responded with an ‘OK’ gesture.

He did a cool backflip in the air before touchdown and landed perfectly on the Miami blue sports car.

Thud! The landing forced the car’s chassis even lower.

Lu Zhengxin almost exploded on the spot. He ran out of the diner like a shrew and was about to burst out swearing.

“Which idiot parked their car here? Don’t they know they can’t park on this street? I almost broke my leg!” Mo Fan swore first.

Lu Zhengxin blushed angrily, red as a crayfish that was being stir-fried.

Assh***, not only did the man land on his car, he had the audacity to scold him first! Since when did Shanghai have such an arrogant and uncultured swine?

“Do you know how expensive my car is? If you broke it, you wouldn’t be able to afford it even if you sell…” Lu Zhengxin suddenly remembered the man had come there in a helicopter, and immediately swallowed the rest of his sentence.

“Jiaojiao, how did you know I was coming back today? You’ve even reserved a seat for me! As expected of my considerate big padded jacket!” Mo Fan saw Mui Nujiao first, instead of Lu Zhengxin.

2

Mui Nujiao blushed when she heard his words.

What did he mean by considerate big padded jacket? Would someone even use that to describe a person?

The truth was, Ai Tutu and Mui Nujiao had no idea Mo Fan was coming back today, nor did they expect he would visit the shop to eat its signature crayfish as soon as he returned to the country. They did know Mo Fan was a regular here. He always treated his friends to meals here, so it was no surprise to stumble into him here coincidentally. Ai Tutu was also a fan of this place.

Lu Zhengxin chased after Mo Fan and swore at him, “Who are you? How dare you call her Jiaojiao? I’m telling you, you can’t do whatever you want just because you have ties with the military. The Magic City isn’t a place for you to act all high and mighty!”

“Demon king!” Ai Tutu was so shocked that she almost forgot she still had crayfish in her mouth. She stared at Mo Fan, her eyes wide.

“Tutu is here, too? Huh, you look slimmer. That’s great, you look fine, especially with your child-like face, better than your chopsticks friend beside you. Oh, beautiful lady, I’m sorry, I’ve been on the helicopter for two days. I’m a little dizzy, so I couldn’t find the right words. I wasn’t saying your legs were chopsticks. I meant your whole body…” Mo Fan rambled on.

Lu Qingyao’s eyes spit out flames in response to his words. She was a renowned model who had been on the cover of many fashion magazines!

“HAHAHA, demon king, you are damn right!” Ai Tutu’s face blossomed with joy.

“You have ordered food for me, too? I shall have a feast then! By the way, who told you I was coming here today? These dishes have just been served!” Mo Fan sat down beside Mui Nujiao.

It was supposed to be Lu Zhengxin’s seat. The man was still swearing at Mo Fan from behind him. Mo Fan was in a great mood as he assumed the three beautiful ladies had reserved the seat for him to receive him.

The foreign beauties in South America were nowhere as pleasing to his eyes as Oriental ladies!

Mo Fan was starving, and started eating without putting on gloves.

Lu Zhengxin was about to lose his mind.

The man had taken the attention, damaged his car, taken his seat, and was eating his crayfish!

He had never seen anyone more arrogant!

“Take it slow. Here, these ones are peeled.” Mui Nujiao rolled her eyes when she saw Mo Fan feasting on the dishes without caring about his image. She did not forget to pass the serviettes to him.

She even offered Mo Fan the crayfish she had peeled already.

Lu Zhengxin almost vomited foam. Why was Mui Nujiao serving him like a wife? Who exactly was this guy?

“Brother, why are your eyes glittering? Just order some for yourself if you are hungry. Why are you staring at my plate? You have limbs and you are dressed finely, too. Why are you acting like a beggar?” Mo Fan asked with a confused face when he finally noticed Lu Zhengxin’s existence.

Lu Zhengxin was about to go crazy.

The plate Mo Fan was eating on was his! The seat Mo Fan was sitting on was his, too!

It was a table for four. There was never a seat for this guy!

Not only did the man spirit away the woman he cherished, he was stealing his crayfish, too! It was an unforgivable crime!

“He’s Lu Zhengxin, the beloved son of the Lu Clan,” Mui Nujiao supplied helpfully.

“Do you sell chicken cutlets? That’s fine, I’m craving for them, too. Give me an extreme spicy set,” Mo Fan said promptly.

The atmosphere froze instantly. Lu Zhengxin was brimming with a murderous intent that was sending a shiver down the other customers’ spines.

“He’s from the Lu Clan. His grandfather was appointed the Secretary of Defense after the Magic City was turned into a headquarters city.” Mui Nujiao was trying to withhold her urge to laugh.

“He’s the most pampered grandchild of the Lu Clan’s old man… people call him the Little Tyrant of the Magic City. He enjoys driving different luxurious cars across the city every day and bullying people with his lackeys who are powerful Mages!” Ai Tutu went on.

“Oh,” Mo Fan said coolly.

“Could it be that you are Mo Fan?” Lu Qingyao asked curiously. She had roughly guessed the arrogant man’s identity.

“That’s me, I just came back from a dangerous operation. I’m a little tired and dizzy. What about this beautiful lady? Where is she from?” Mo Fan finally took a closer look at Lu Qingyao’s face.

Lu Qingyao was indeed stunning. She was almost on par with Mui Nujiao, but Lu Qingyao looked more seductive. Her eyes glittered like a vixen’s.

Her beauty was different from Mui Nujiao’s polite and cautious attitude. The woman seemed more passionate about everything.

“I’m Lu Qingyao, a little international model. I’ve always heard Mo Fan has his arms around many women and owns a golden house to keep his mistresses. I’m not too bad myself, either. Are you interested in taking me as your mistress, too?” Lu Qingyao asked boldly, an aggressive joke despite it being her first time seeing Mo Fan.

“You are too skinny. I prefer women like Jiaojiao, with a perfect ratio,” Mo Fan directly refused.

“What the Hell are you talking about!?” Mui Nujiao was about to go crazy now.

The woman was obviously trying to mock Mo Fan. Couldn’t he tell? Not only did he not rebuke her, he had basically agreed tacitly with that response.. On top of that, he sounded like he had really seen and touched her body before. How was she supposed to marry another man after word spread?!

Chapter 2370: Huge Job

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What a pity, I was hoping to find a reliable man to get rid of the petty rumors about me,” Lu Qingyao said.

“Don’t worry, there are still a lot of good men in this world. You don’t have to fix your eyes on me. After all, I’m a man with a family and lovers. I won’t be able to take care of everyone. Jiaojiao, have some yourself too. You don’t have to keep peeling them for me,” Mo Fan said. He picked up a tender crayfish with his chopsticks like he was going to feed her.

Mui Nujiao puffed her cheeks.

She only gave Mo Fan the crayfish because they were too spicy for her. It was not like she was serving Mo Fan on purpose!

The woman was throwing mud at Mo Fan, but not only did he not explain himself, he was making it worse!

What did he mean by he was a man with a family and lovers… Was there any man that was more shameless than him?

Lu Qingyao felt like her barbed words had landed on a sponge. Not did she fail to make the man bleed, he had swallowed her spikes, too!

“So you are Mo Fan!” Lu Zhengxin finally realized who Mo Fan was.

“This table is full, you should wait for the next one. You might be a little prince of the Lu Clan, but you should queue up for your turn,” Mo Fan told him.

“This is my table!” Lu Zhengyin yelled.

“Why are you so stubborn? Boss, can you bring a stool for him? You can just sit beside that model. It’s not much of a big deal.”

The boss actually added a stool to the table. Lu Zhengxin pointed at Mo Fan angrily.

“Just you wait, just you wait!” Lu Zhengxin felt like his lungs would explode if he stayed any longer.

He ran out of the shop and back inside his car. He floored the pedal and drew away in a loud howl, but the sound of the engine was not enough to vent his anger!

——

Mo Fan had a satisfying meal before going back to his place.

He prepared a tub of hot water and immersed himself in it. He immediately relaxed as the iciness in his skin and bones disappeared.

He heard soft footsteps as he was relaxing.

Mo Fan ignored the footsteps. He assumed it was Ai Tutu.

The door swung open. Mo Fan had not locked it.

Mo Fan saw a slim figure standing by the door.

She had pitch-black hair with the sheen of a pearl. A clear line was splitting her long fringe in half in the middle, revealing her forehead and giving her an elegant appearance, while setting off her youth.

“It’s only been a few months, but you are no longer using the double ponytail I like,” Mo Fan said in a sorry voice.

“Pervert!” the little beauty shot back.

“Why are you trying to look like the little girls in the horror movies? They also part their hair in the middle. They look angelic at first, but their faces suddenly darken as they turned into devils in the next second,” Mo Fan went on.

“Should I take a selfie with you in the background and post it on the Internet with the caption ‘I’m enjoying a bath with my brother’?” Lingling took out her phone and aimed the camera at herself.

Mo Fan almost jumped out of the tub. “I’m sorry!” Mo Fan lowered his head.

Damn it, the girl had barged into the bathroom while he was having a bath first. How dare she file the suit first? He had never seen a little loli as shameless as her!

“We have a job. Do you want to accept it?” Lingling demanded to know.

“Can you let me rest for a few days? You have no idea who I took care of in South America… Hey, why are you raising your phone again? Are you really typing that caption? Fine, I’ll do it. I’ll take it!” Mo Fan agreed helplessly.

Mo Fan could tell Lingling was being driven crazy by her retarded school. It had been a while since they both went on a job together. She was ready to detonate herself to take him down with her!

“It’s a special job. The Hunter Union received a Double-S rank request. Every Senior Hunter registered in Asia’s Hunter Union is qualified to accept it. In addition to that, every private agency in Asia has also received the request. They are paying a semi-manufactured Universe Vein as the deposit,” Lingling informed him.

“A Universe Vein?” Mo Fan almost jumped out of the tub again.

A Universe Vein was similar to a Galaxy Vein, a thing that could help a Mage overcome their current bottleneck in the simplest manner!

Due to the current grim circumstances, the Galaxy Veins useful for achieving the Advanced Level had already reached a price of around three hundred million each, let alone the Universe Veins which could help people achieve the Super Level!

Mo Fan had many Elements that were stuck at the Advanced Level. He desperately needed a Universe Vein!

In the past, Universe Veins were never spotted in the marketplace and high-level auctions. They were normally used as bargaining chips between reputable organizations and the rich and powerful.

Who was crazy enough to pay a Universe Vein to the private agencies as a deposit? It was extremely valuable, even if it was only semi-complete!

“The Battlehorn Hunter Agency in Asia received one. The Moonhunter Agency in Japan received one. The Sacred Elephant Agency in India received one. Dubai’s Willing Helm Agency has one, too!

“And our Clearsky Hunter Agency also has one!” Lingling finished.

Mo Fan was astounded.

The client had invited the best agencies across Asia. Was he trying to hunt a boss-level demon creature that was threatening the whole Earth?

“Aren’t there agencies with better performances than us in our country? Why were we chosen for the job?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“It’s because of my grandfather,” Lingling conjectured.

“Ugh… fine,” Mo Fan scratched his head. Old Bao used to be the Clergyman of the Holy Judgment Court. Leaders from many countries had great respect for him. “What does Old Bao think?”

“My grandfather was invited to an expedition out to the sea. They must have picked up traces of the Ocean Lord,” Lingling reported.

Mo Fan scratched his head awkwardly again.

Old Bao was the real deal. He had the courage to chase after traces of the Ocean Lord. It sounded like a suicide mission to Mo Fan!

It was likely an order from the government!

“What should we do, then?” Mo Fan asked cluelessly.

“Let’s check it out. Don’t you want a finished Universe Vein? Even though three of your Elements have reached the Super Level, you still have five other Elements at the Advanced Level…” Lingling said.

It was the downside of having too many Elements. Other people with three Super Elements were close to graduating from the mundane world and were about to enter a new map in the Immortal Realm.

“If they are paying a semi-manufactured Universe Vein as the deposit, the reward for completing the job is…”

“Two complete Universe Veins, at least,” Lingling said.

“But a person can only ever use one Universe Vein, right?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, but you can trade the rest for other resources,” Lingling pointed out.

“Fine, let’s check it out!”

Chapter 2371: Your Face isn’t Big Enough

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A semi-manufactured Universe Vein had a ten percent chance of helping a peak Advanced Mage achieve the Super Level.

The chance of success of the finished product depended on its quality. The range was between thirty and sixty percent.

Both countries and formidable factions would compete for resources related to the Super Level at all costs.

Most renowned clans in a country had at least a Super Mage in charge. In other words, a Super Mage was capable of establishing a renowned clan!

The job was in Asia with a semi-manufactured Universe Vein as the deposit, and involved so many reputable Hunter Agencies, not including any Senior Hunters who were interested in taking the job.

The client had to be an extremely rich Asian. The sum of money involved was rare to see even over a period of a few dozen years!

Mo Fan was curious about what exactly had happened that the client would gather so many powerful Mages in Asia for the job. Were they really going to hunt an Emperor-level creature?

“It’s unlikely, the strength of an Emperor-level creature is beyond anyone’s imagination. Even with so many powerful Mages, the creature could easily slaughter us all in a few minutes!” Mo Fan shook his head.

It was impossible for the client to ask them to hunt an Emperor-level creature.

Emperor-level creatures were overwhelmingly strong, be it the Black Dragon Emperor capable of shattering spatial rifts, Zhan Kong, Khufu, or the Head Angel of the Sacred City. Mo Fan knew he was nowhere close to reaching their strength.

Mo Fan thought he had to depart on a long journey even before he could rest for a few days in his country. To his surprise, Lingling told him that the meeting was being held right there in the Magic City of Shanghai.

No wonder Lingling was blackmailing him to take the job. It would be a waste to give up on such a high-rewarding job that was within their grasp!

——-

A place close to Kunshan…

It was a magic marketplace. It was only the size of a small town’s market, but was still bustling with people.

The marketplaces scattered across the country were being gradually relocated closer ever since the Magic City was turned into a Headquarters City. New towns with marketplaces appeared as a result.

The Fire Town, Wind Town, Water Town, and all kinds of marketplaces sold varieties of magic resources.

—

A private residence in the Kunshan Marketplace…

The European-../styled gate covered in mandara flowers was hung with a huge signplate.

Mo Fan did not take a close look at the sign as the car drove into the residence. The tidy green lawn on both sides was pleasing his eyes.

The car went around a standard fountain with a giant statue before arriving in front of a building built in the ../style of a European mansion. Luxurious cars were parked in front of it like an exhibition. A bell boy was taking care of the cars, making sure they were untouched by even a speck of dust in the outdoors.

Mo Fan took a quick glance at the cars and suddenly noticed a familiar Miami blue car!

“Is this the Lu Clan’s property?” Mo Fan asked.

“Have you been here before?” Lingling replied, startled.

A woman in a dazzling dress came down the stairs to welcome them.

She looked a little surprised when she saw Mo Fan, but she smiled it off and brushed past Mo Fan to greet a few well-dressed men behind him.

Mo Fan looked back and saw a black Jaguar. A few bulky men who seemed to be from the Middle Eastern were approaching.

“I’m Lu Qingyao, it’s my honor to welcome you as our guests today. Please, come with me to the main hall. We’ve already prepared a welcoming banquet for you,” Lu Qingyao said with a seductive smile.

The middle-easterners had straight faces at first, but they immediately smiled and lifted their chests when they saw the beautiful woman.

“Take it and treat it cautiously. Don’t damage our equipment,” a man in a white robe with a white headband on his headscarf said.

Mo Fan stood there with a blank face.

What the heck? I’m a guest too. I’m not a bell boy!

“I’m sorry, he’s not a bell boy, he’s also our guest. Xiao Dong, stop cleaning that junk. Didn’t you see our guests have arrived? Come take their luggage!” Lu Qingyao called out.

“Oh, he’s not a bell boy, but he does look like one,” the man with a white headband chuckled. He did not sound sorry for the misunderstanding.

“You look like you deserve a beating,” Mo Fan observed in turn.

“What did you say? Do you know who I am?!” The man glared at Mo Fan.

“Shouldn’t you use your brain and find out who you wouldn’t want to mess with since you’ve come to China and Shanghai?” Mo Fan retorted fearlessly.

“I’m Anzark from Dubai’s Willing Helm Agency. Who do you think you are!?” Anzark snarled.

Lu Qingyao quickly stood between Mo Fan and Anzark with a smile. She kept signaling Mo Fan with her eyes.

“Mo Fan, he’s the cousin of the Prince of Ajman. He’s an heir with a formidable background. It’s unnecessary to have an argument with him. Could you back away and give me some face?” Lu Qingyao said.

“Your vixen-like face is too small. I’d consider it if someone with a regular-sized face was here,” Mo Fan denied her.

The smile on Lu Qingyao’s face faded away, but she could not afford to darken her face right away, resulting in a strange expression.

Mo Fan harrumphed coldly. This Lu Qingyao seriously thought she was a social butterfly. If they had not paid for the crayfish not long ago, Mo Fan would have ignored her after she received the guests behind him first!

And now she was asking him to give her some face? Who did she think she was!?

“Gentlemen, we are all here for the job. It’s a waste of time to have an argument here. We will just let the Hunters of other countries get ahead of us,” a middle-aged man in a Tang suit on the stairs spoke up.

It was strange how he was wearing a Tang suit at a European-../style building. However, it was clear that he was the owner of the place, representing the client.

“Kid, I’ll pluck your kneecaps off after I’m done with my business, so you can only kneel on the ground while you are talking to me!” Anzark pointed at Mo Fan and shoved aside Lu Qingyao, who was in his path.

Lu Qingyao almost fell to the ground from the push. Mo Fan could have lent her a hand, but he did not bother doing so.

Anzark wanted to go up the stairs first, but Mo Fan insisted on walking in front of him, making him feel uncomfortable.

Have the people of China been too friendly and modest toward foreigners nowadays? Who gave them the right to act so arrogantly in our country? Can’t they see whose territory they are in!?, Mo Fan fumed.

“Anzark, this is Mo Fan. Not only is he the strongest young Mage in the world, he’s also a Seven Star Hunter Master representing the Clearsky Hunter Agency. I hope you won’t have a conflict with the others before the job starts,” the middle-aged man spoke up.

“Oh? So he’s Mo Fan?” Anzark was a little surprised.

Mo Fan might not be famous internationally, but most of the young mages in Asia had heard his name. The World College Tournament and the public duel with Zu Xiangtian had made his name a hot topic!

“Yes, only the strong ones were invited here,” the middle-aged man nodded.

“Humph!” Anzark harrumphed and said, “He dares to call himself the strongest young Mage before he has even made it onto the Asia Leaderboard? Is your country too unreceptive to foster his arrogance? Besides, he looks like a bell boy to me!”

Chapter 2372: Senior Hunter Leng

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan had already gone inside the building. He could not care less about the conversation between Anzark and the middle-aged man.

“The Lu Clan is in charge of receiving the guests on behalf of the client,” Lingling told him quietly.

A buffet was already set up in the hall. It mainly consisted of some tea-time snacks, but there were main meals being served, too. A few chefs in gray outfits were bringing out plates of hot delicacies.

“The Lu Clan is doing a great job so far.” Mo Fan turned around and looked at Anzark’s clothes after he saw the chefs’ gray outfits.

Lingling looked around the hall and told Mo Fan softly, “The people from other Hunter Agencies are all here.”

—

The middle-aged man and Lu Qingyao came into the hall a little later. He told Lu Qingyao to entertain Mo Fan to resolve the awkward atmosphere between them.

Lu Qingyao reacted with a cold and unwilling expression.

“Enough with your Miss High and Mighty act. You should know that even your father has to treat these guests with utter respect!” the middle-aged man stated.

“Him too? Humph!” Lu Qingyao finally put away her professional face.

The Lu Clan had already had a conflict with Mo Fan in the past. It had started between Mo Fan and Lu Yilin, but they ended up losing Lu Zhantian, who had been an Enforcer of the Beiyu Enforcement Union.

In Lu Qingyao’s opinion, Mo Fan should be tucking his tail between his legs in their territory, but he was still being arrogant!

“The past is the past, I don’t want anyone to mention a word about it again,” the middle-aged man warned her.

“He was your nephew. The murderer is right in front of you, but you are being so polite to him!” Lu Qingyao snarled.

PA! The middle-aged man slapped Lu Qingyao on the face without any mercy.

He did go easy on Lu Qingyao, but her face went entirely red because of the slap.

“What else can you young people do, except for cause me trouble?! A Councilman was almost involved because of that little farce! Do you have any idea how much damage our clan suffered from it? If you dare stir up any trouble again this time, I won’t show any mercy again!

“Humph, I, Lu Kun, have done everything I could to establish our clan and provide you all with the best resources and connections that other people could never earn for the rest of their lives, but not only did you fail to earn a spot on the national team, none of you have ever done anything impressive so far!” Lu Kun hissed with burning eyes.

Lu Qingyao was so terrified that she was struggling to stand properly.

She had only mentioned the incident related to Lu Yilin and Lu Zhantian because she felt she was mistreated. She did not expect Lu Kun to be so angry!

Lu Qingyao lowered her head and apologized, “I’m sorry.”

“Go take care of him. If I see the slightest hesitation in you, don’t ever come back here,” Lu Kun warned her.

Lu Qingyao knew Lu Kun meant he would arrange for her to marry a wealthy man in Africa if she dared disobey his words. She did not want to live in Africa, even if the man was crazily rich!

—

Mo Fan was surprised to stumble into someone he was familiar with in a place like this.

He was not referring to Lu Qingyao or Lu Zhengxin, but a beautiful Japanese woman he knew, Mochizuki Chihaya. She was wearing a black dress and incarnadine stockings, but her outfit did not alter her gentle temperament.

“I didn’t expect us to meet here,” Mochizuki Chihaya smiled. She was a lot more sincere toward Mo Fan than the others.

“Did you come with your grandfather? Since when did you become a Hunter?” Mo Fan glanced at the old man with perfectly-combed hair.

Mochizuki Chihaya and Mochizuki Ken!

Mochizuki Ken was reminiscing with a few other Senior Hunters. He lifted his glass at Mo Fan, signaling he would be there in a moment.

“The Moonhunter Agency is a property of the Mochizuki Clan. My grandfather was the one they invited, but he said I should visit other countries more often, so I decided to come with him,” Mochizuki Chihaya replied simply.

“That old man is a Senior Hunter too?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, a Third-Generation Senior Hunter.”

“Third-Generation Senior Hunter?” Mo Fan scratched his head. He had no idea what that meant.

Lingling, as expected of a moving encyclopedia, explained, “The grading of Senior Hunters happens every ten years. The first Senior Hunters are referred to as the first generation.”

“I see. So how many generations are there?” Mo Fan asked.

“The latest batch was the Seventh Generation. The Hunter Competition you missed out on recently was the preliminary to select candidates for the title of the next Senior Hunters. The tournament to compete for the title of Senior Hunter is normally held four years after the Hunter Competition. Every Seven Star Hunter can sign up for it,” Lingling told him.

“They will be choosing the Eighth-Generation Senior Hunters. It’s my goal to become one,” Mochizuki Chihaya stated.

“Likewise!” Lingling agreed.

“Wait, what?” Mo Fan failed to react in time. Since when did he say he was competing for the title?

Lingling took out her phone and showed Mo Fan a selfie when she saw his confused look.

Mo Fan was stunned.

She really took the selfie and saved it!

His reputation would be ruined if someone saw the photo. His whole life would be done for!

“Right, we are participating in the tournament too. I’ve been too busy lately, so I only learned about the tournament now,” Mo Fan laughed awkwardly.

“Every country with a branch of the Hunter Union only has two slots,” Mochizuki Chihaya said.

“Only two?” Mo Fan was shocked.

“Do you think Senior Hunters are that common?” Lingling rolled her eyes.

The title of Senior Hunter came with utmost glory, since the selection only took place every ten years. Those who did not participate in the selection but were granted the title of Senior Hunter had been given it because they had accomplished certain jobs that were deemed impossible!

“Does that mean your father was very impressive?” Mo Fan asked her.

Lingling was too lazy to answer the question. China only gained two new Senior Hunters every ten years!

“Your father was a Senior Hunter?” Mochizuki Chihaya asked in surprise. She even countered with her fingers adorably, “Could it be Senior Hunter Leng or Senior Hunter Xiao in the Seventh Generation?”

Mo Fan knew Senior Hunter Xiao, the guy with a huge blue-copper beast who had almost died during Operation Guillotine in the Ancient Capital. His assistant Yao Nan had left Mo Fan with a strong impression.

It had been a long time since Mo Fan had seen Senior Hunter Xiao. He wondered how strong the Senior Hunter had become. Old Bao mentioned he had stumbled into Senior Hunter Xiao once. The guy had trained hard after the Calamity of the Ancient Capital and had grown a lot stronger.

Senior Hunter Xiao was very young. In other words, he was chosen as a Senior Hunter in China during the previous generation.

As for Senior Hunter Leng...

Chapter 2373: A Forbidden Curse Project?

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan could not react in time.

The main reason was that he had no idea what Lingling’s surname actually was. Did she inherit Old Bao’s surname, or did she have the same surname as her sister Leng Qing?

Either way, Mo Fan only knew that Leng Qing and Lingling in the Clearsky Hunter Agency were bound by blood, unlike the others.

It was common for Hunters to lose their lives while doing dangerous jobs, thus there was an unspoken rule between friends who were Hunters: if someone died while doing their job, their friends would take in their kids and treat them like their own.

It was the reason why Lingling always referred to Old Bao as her grandfather, even though they did not have the same surname.

Could Senior Hunter Leng be Lingling’s father?

It turned out that Lingling’s father was a Seventh-Generation Senior Hunter, just like Senior Hunter Xiao!

There were only two slots every ten years, and Lingling’s father had been one of them. Mo Fan knew Lingling’s father was someone reputable among the Hunters, but he did not expect him to be so impressive!

“As a Seven Star Hunter Master, you are surprisingly clueless about the Hunters’ system?” Mochizuki Chihaya giggled at him.

“It’s because she’s mainly in charge of our operation. I just have to focus on doing the dirty work!” Mo Fan pointed at Lingling.

Lingling rolled her eyes. The idiot had no idea how lucky he was to join the Clearsky Hunter Agency right after he became a Hunter!

He even had the knowledgeable daughter of a Senior Hunter as his partner!

“Here, allow me to introduce everyone,” Mochizuki Ken had brought a huge group of people over without them noticing. Everyone was holding a glass of wine in their hands.

Most of the people in the group were from different countries, but they were all Asians with unknown nationalities, except for the Middle-Easterners with their unique outfits.

“This is my granddaughter, Mochizuki Chihaya. She will be competing for the title of Eighth-Generation Senior Hunter. Please take care of her on my behalf when the time comes,” Mochizuki Ken said with a smile.

“Of course!” the old Hunters assured him in a friendly manner.

As a Third-Generation Senior Hunter, Mochizuki Ken had a great reputation in the group. His reputation even overshadowed his clan at the international level.

Mochizuki Ken pointed at Mo Fan and said, “This is Mo Fan, a Seven Stars Hunter, the one who solved the mystery of the Drowning Curse.”

“An impressive young man, the Drowning Curse was a pain to deal with. Some of us tried to tackle it, but we couldn’t figure out an entry point.”

“So he’s the one who solved the Drowning Curse. Well done!”

Everyone was eager to give Mochizuki Ken face, except for Anzark.

He was from Dubai and was a close relative of a royal family. He was brimming with a sense of superiority hat stemmed from his wealth.

“The Drowning Curse was caused by a strange species. People were over-exaggerating because they didn’t know the truth. It was nothing too special,” Anzark sniffed.

“You are saying that because your country wasn’t close to the sea. The difficulty of the Drowning Curse wasn’t an overstatement,” Mochizuki Chihaya calmly corrected him.

Japan was a country surrounded by the sea. The Drowning Curse had impacted it greatly. Certain people still claimed the Drowning Curse was the sea’s way of demanding living sacrifices from them!

Mochizuki Chihaya could not believe it when Mo Fan solved the mystery of the Drowning Curse. She was sincerely grateful to Mo Fan and had been impressed by him ever since.

She always had a good temper, but was quite displeased when she heard Anzark’s words.

Anzark was left speechless, mainly because someone else was rebuking him. He felt like he had stepped on a land mine, and did not argue further.

“Our current job is trickier than the Drowning Curse. It’s true that I didn’t know much about the Drowning Curse, but I won’t allow someone like him to get ahead of us!” Anzark promised.

“Let’s not waste our time arguing with one another. I still have no idea what our job is and who our client is. Why are we all gathered here?” Mo Fan came back to the main topic.

Lu Kun had already walked over to the group. The representatives of the rest of the Hunter Agencies were also facing him.

“Everyone, the truth is, I was hired by the client to organize you here and relay the information on his behalf,” Lu Kun announced.

“Is the client unwilling to see us in person?” Anzark asked narrowly.

“The client wants to remain anonymous due to some special reason, so I’ll be your contact person for the time being,” Lu Kun confirmed.

“Let’s get down to business. I believe Brother Lu Kun knows a lot more than we do,” Mochizuki Ken added in.

It was quite normal for clients to keep their identities hidden. The Hunters were not too bothered by it.

“I’m only here to tell everyone the rules and act as a supervisor on behalf of the client. I have no idea what the job is, either. I’ll only pass the information to each of you in your rooms after dinner. Until then, I have no idea what the client wants,” Lu Kun explained with a smile.

The group was confused. Pass the information to each room?

“So everyone has a different job?” Lingling quickly deduced.

“That’s right, that’s very smart of you, little girl. Every Hunter Agency and Senior Hunter has a different job. The client also says that you aren’t allowed to tell anyone but your team members what your job is. Otherwise, the client will be taking back the deposit,” Lu Kun stated.

The Hunters were even more puzzled.

Weren’t they supposed to be tackling the same job together, if so many experts had been gathered here?

It turned out they each had a different job to do!

“It must be part of a huge operation,” Anzark was the first to speak up. “Perhaps a Forbidden Mage or someone close to that level needs a bunch of experienced Hunters to sort out the trifles for him, but we are separated to handle the jobs to prevent us from leaking the information.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Only a few people or organizations across Asia could afford to hire all of them at once. Even a formidable clan like the Lu Clan had no chance of setting something like this up!

“The deposit is a semi-manufactured Universe Vein. As we have agreed, you will be paid with high-quality Universe Veins once you finish your jobs. In the meantime, you are not allowed to tell anyone what your jobs are, nor can you intervene with other Hunters’ jobs or stalk them,” Lu Kun emphasized.

“It sounds like a big operation. A Forbidden Curse operation, perhaps?” a Hunter asked.

Lu Kun shook his head and said, “I’ve been hired, just like you. I also received the deposit. My job is to organize and supervise you, and my payment is the same as yours. I am also not allowed to ask anyone about the details of their jobs.”

“It seems like it really is a big Forbidden Curse level project, and we are its subcontractors!” Someone fully agreed with Anzark’s speculation.

Chapter 2374: Strange Job Letter

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan went for a walk in the marketplace after dinner to see if he could find something useful for himself.

Lu Kun had told them the time they were meeting. They just needed to be back before then.

The marketplace was well-developed in a retro ../style. The structures of the marketplace were built with glazed tiles, which had gradually transformed the marketplace into an impressive tourist attraction.

There were a lot of foreigners sightseeing, even though they were not here to buy anything.

Mo Fan and Lingling went around the marketplace while enjoying some tanghulu.

“This magic herb is a new invention of the Magic Association. It can help you replenish your energy in the middle of a fight. Does anyone want to try it out?!”

“Selling rare bones, ten yuan for nine pieces, it’s a bargain!”

“Selling all kinds of soul jades. Summoners, please come take a look, we have all kinds of soul jades available, as many as you want!”

The vendors were shouting in the marketplace to grab attention. The bustling scene made the two feel like they had gone back in time. Many vendors were dressed in antique clothes that matched the theme of the marketplace.

Mo Fan went to the guy who was selling soul jades. “Mister, what levels of soul jades are you selling?”

“Any level you want!” the small-eyed owner promised.

“I’m looking for Commander-level soul jades. Do you have them?”

“I do! There’s no soul jade I can’t get. I, Tong Jianhua, have been supplying the Royal Guards with soul jades! Do you know Pang Lai, the chief of the Royal Guards? He’s a reputable Summoner in China! Many of his disciples are my customers. I can get you anything you want, as long as you can afford them!” the owner promised.

“I want souls of the wolf species. The souls of demon wolves would be the best,” Mo Fan told him.

“Let me have a look.” The owner took out his phone to check his inventory. He quickly reported, “I have the soul jade of a Commander-level Darkwing Wolf, and four soul jades of Fierce Mountain Wolves. Are you interested? I also have their lineage and bones. I can sell them to you at a discounted price. Are you sure you can afford them? We are talking about a huge sum.”

Despite the size of the shop, every piece of magic Equipment had a price of several hundred thousand or even millions.

The things Mo Fan was asking for could easily add up to several tens of millions. Most buyers would confirm what they were buying and make the transaction at an official exchange where the transaction could be verified.

“Are those all you have?” Mo Fan asked.

“Are they not enough for you?”

“I have a lot of friends with the Summoning Element. The things you have are only enough for myself.”

“You have found the right guy, then. I can’t guarantee you if you are looking for something else, but I can definitely find enough soul jades, lineages, and bones for you. I also have Hunter Masters specialized in hunting demon wolves. Even if I don’t have enough stock, I can ask the Hunters to gather them for me in less than half a month!” Tong Jianhua promised.

Lingling pulled Mo Fan’s shirt. She knew why Mo Fan was interested in the soul jades.

“If you need resources to evolve your wolves, you can hire Hunters to gather them for you. Many Hunters are specialists in hunting certain species of demon creatures. They know how to track the species and where their lairs are. They also know how to retrieve the resources in perfect condition,” Lingling told him.

“You are right. I can pay them with a deposit first too!” Mo Fan agreed.

Seriously, he had been working for clients for so long. Why couldn’t he be the boss for once, and hire others to work for him?

—

After negotiating the price with Tong Jianhua, Mo Fan asked him to issue the quest on his behalf.

It would mean Tong Jianhua would benefit as a middleman, but it would save Mo Fan time spent issuing the quests and recruiting Hunters himself at the Hunter Union. It was easier to get a professional to do the job for him. He did not mind paying the extra fees.

“Brother, I will have a new supply of Ruler-level bones and blood half a month from now. I can reserve them for you. Do you want them?” Tong Jianhua asked before Mo Fan took his leave.

“I want them all as long as they belong to the wolf species!” Mo Fan declared.

“Sure, leave it to me!”

—

Mo Fan noticed Lu Kun was waiting for him at his door when he went back to the mansion.

“You don’t look nervous at all, that’s great!” Lu Kun smiled after he learned Mo Fan had the mood to go shopping.

“I’m just following the flow, but it’s best if we can take the job.” Mo Fan invited Lu Kun into his room.

Lu Kun was extremely cautious. He had set up magical barriers in everyone’s rooms to prevent Shadow Mages, Space Mages, and Sound Mages from eavesdropping.

“You may use your own resources for the job, but please don’t tell anyone the details of your job. The client might be generous, but he hates it when people try to pry into his secrets,” Lu Kun reminded them.

“Don’t worry, we know the rules,” Mo Fan nodded.

Lu Kun handed a letter imbued with the Chaos Element to Mo Fan.

After Lu Kun left, Lingling grabbed the letter from Mo Fan and read it.

Mo Fan was not in a rush. He brewed himself some tea and awaited Lingling’s instructions.

Lingling skimmed through the letter, but her expression started shifting in an obvious manner.

She went from being excited… to angry!

“We’re leaving, we are not taking the job!” Lingling threw the letter on the ground angrily. She even stomped on it a few times.

Mo Fan was shocked.

He was pretty familiar with Lingling’s character. It was definitely not a normal job if she was so furious about it!

“What is it?” Mo Fan quickly picked up the letter.

“Someone is playing with us!” Lingling said.

Mo Fan had no clue what she was referring to. He read the letter.

“Do you believe I’m still alive somewhere?

“I have been chasing a demon with a red spirit in the past.

“I first thought it was just a weak demon that trespassed into human cities, but as incidents related to it continued to happen, I realized how terrifying the demon is!

“One day, I found traces of it.

“After reading bedtime stories to get my daughter to sleep, I tracked its scent to the harbor.

“It was feeding on something. It was growing and becoming stronger!

“I let it escape.

“I realized I might have let something that would doom mankind go. Its growth sent a shiver down my spine!

“Every life it takes in the future will be adding to my sins.

“It’s all because of my mistake and my arrogance.

“I swear I will find it.

“And exterminate it!

“In my name of China’s Seventh-Generation Senior Hunter!”

2

—

Mo Fan’s face was filled with astonishment when he was done reading.

He turned to Lingling, who had remained silent. She was still brimming with uncontrolled rage.

What was going on?

The letter… Why was it describing Lingling’s father?

It sounded like Senior Hunter Leng’s recounting, but he had been dead for many years!

Chapter 2375: Authentic Letter from Senior Hunter Leng

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Was someone fooling with them?

Senior Hunter Leng’s death had remained a mystery to outsiders. Only the Clearsky Hunter Agency knew the truth of his death.

“Do you think someone is mimicking your father’s way of writing?” Mo Fan asked her.

“The content of the letter is exactly the same as what he wrote in his notebook,” Lingling replied.

“Lingling, I think you should calm down first. If someone is bringing this up, we have to look into it, whether it was a prank or someone does understand what happened to your father,” Mo Fan said.

Lingling had always been searching for clues about her father’s death, but every time she found something, Old Bao tried to stop her from investigating further.

Old Bao did not want Lingling and Mo Fan to get involved, because the thing that had killed Senior Hunter Leng was extremely dangerous. They would only get themselves killed if they tried to look for it if they were not strong enough!

The creature was very perceptive, too. If they tried to track it down, it would also be watching them!

Lingling took a deep breath. She was still the same intelligent girl. She quickly calmed down and analyzed the situation. “I didn’t finish the letter. What does it want us to do?”

“I’ll read it for you,” Mo Fan said.

There was a second half to the letter. It described how Senior Hunter Leng had been searching for the red demon across the world in detail.

One of the key points it mentioned was the red demon’s ability to grow stronger over time. Its influence was growing at a terrifying rate, too!

“I’m going to put an end to it tonight. I can’t let it grow any further. It’s like Pandora’s box. I’m not the one who opened it, but I’ve allowed it to grow stronger because of my mistake. I’m responsible for ending it.

1

“Before I leave, I’ve written down this report and left a finished Universe Vein as a reward. I’ve written this quest letter and handed it to the Hunter Union for them to publish at a later time.

“My friend, I don’t know who you are. But if you are reading this letter, it means I didn’t make it back to cancel the job. It also means I have failed to exterminate the demon.

“Please finish the job for me. I know the job is far too dangerous compared to the reward.

“But, please help me finish it!”

The atmosphere froze as Mo Fan finished reading the second half of the letter.

Lingling had a diary that belonged to her father. She always kept it beside her pillow. She was reluctant to read it, but she always kept it close.

The diary contained the first half of the letter, almost the exact words.

However, Lingling never knew it had a second part. Her eyes were brimming with tears after she heard the second half.

She always thought it was just a diary entry, but it turned out to be a job request left behind by Senior Hunter Leng before he fought the red demon!

Senior Hunter Leng seemed to know things might end terribly for him, so he wrote the job request in advance and asked the Hunter Union to publish it at a later time.

He had planned everything. If he managed to kill the red demon, he would return to the Hunter Union and cancel the job request.

If he died, the letter would tell the others the cause of his death and also serve as a job request for stronger Hunters to hunt down the demon!

—

The letter had now ended up in Mo Fan’s hands.

The outcome of the battle was obvious, but it was hard to swallow the truth.

“So, this letter is real?” Mo Fan asked after a long moment of silence.

The first half of the letter might be fake, but as for the second half… No one in this world could possibly describe everything so accurately, except for Senior Hunter Leng himself.

The red demon. The terrifying red demon!

Lingling did not answer Mo Fan’s question. She dove into his arms and cried like a scared kitten.

So many years had passed. Lingling thought she had grown stronger. Even if she revisited the contents of the diary, she would not cry for the whole night in her blankets like she used to.

However, she was not as strong as she thought when heard the complete letter, especially how hard Senior Hunter Leng had tried to track down the red demon, and had even paid his life for nothing.

Senior Hunter Leng would never expect the job request with his last words would end up in his daughter’s hands, but it served as a huge blow to Lingling’s heart once again!

“Stop crying, Lingling, stop crying…” Mo Fan had no idea how he should comfort her.

Mo Fan was a little regretful after he saw Lingling in tears. If he had known this was their job, he would never have come here, even if he would be despised by the whole world for tricking an underage girl to satisfy his own desires!

It was clear that no one was fooling with them. The letter was real. It was an authentic job request from Senior Hunter Leng!

“Lingling, if you are really that sad… what if we don’t tell your grandfather about the job,” Mo Fan proposed.

Lingling looked up. Her forehead was red, and so was her face, but her eyes were even redder.

“Your grandfather was worried we might get ourselves killed if we looked into the red demon, but I’m not weak anymore. The red demon is indeed a terrifying creature. I still remember the incident in Croatia’s prison like it was yesterday,” Mo Fan went on.

Lingling was still in tears. She looked at Mo Fan seriously without saying a word.

“I say we should put an end to it,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan knew it would remain a scar deep in Lingling’s heart if they did not settle it once and for all. It would continue to influence Lingling, no matter how much time had passed.

It was not normal for a young girl to spend all her time learning about demon creatures at her age.

Mo Fan wanted her to walk out from her shadows. She should be living a joyful and optimistic life, even if she became a Hunter.

Mo Fan wanted to settle this once and for all.

Besides, Senior Hunter Leng’s job request had ended up in his hands!

“Mm.”

“Stop crying, it’s going to affect your intelligence. Without your analysis, I will never find the red demon,” Mo Fan said with a smile.

Lingling nodded and wiped away her tears with the back of her hands.

—

Mo Fan took a deep breath.

He did not expect to be assigned such a special job.

The problem was, Senior Hunter Leng was supposed to be extremely strong, but he had still been killed by the red demon.

After all these years, the red demon must have grown a lot stronger!

Mo Fan subconsciously touched the Essence Orb he always carried with him.

The orb was actually the red demon’s flesh, nurtured inside the tower in Japan, forming a demon capable of controlling a person’s mind.

Mo Fan suddenly thought of something. “That’s right! Mochizuki Chihaya and Mochizuki Ken are here, too!”

They were tied to the first red demon! They were also invited here for this huge operation.

What was their job, then? Were they going after the red demon, too?

The job would not be so dangerous with a powerful Mage like Mochizuki Ken on their side...

Chapter 2376: Supercar Driver

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan immediately went to Mochizuki Chihaya’s room.

Mo Fan snuck into the room with his Shadow Element, knowing Lu Kun was constantly keeping an eye on them. He was able to sneak through the tiniest window with his unique Dark Vein, even if it was sealed by magic.

He heard the sound of water inside the room, followed by soft footsteps.

It was most likely the sound of someone walking barefoot on the carpet. Mo Fan was excited when he picked up the fragrance of shampoo.

He had come right on time!

Mo Fan laid down on the sofa chair and prepared to enjoy the spectacular sight of a beautiful woman coming out of her shower.

(Knock knock knock)!

“Who’s there?” Mochizuki Chihaya asked.

“Miss Mochizuki, someone is trying to break the rules, so I’ve come as a reminder,” Lu Kun said from outside the door.

Mochizuki Chihaya wrapped herself up with a white towel and draped a coat over her shoulder before opening the door.

Lu Kun fixed his eyes on the sofa Mo Fan was lying on as soon as the door opened.

Mochizuki Chihaya turned around and noticed a blurred outline under the light of the table lamp. Mo Fan’s face gradually took shape.

She opened her mouth in shock. Since when had Mo Fan come to her room?

“Why would I break the rules?” Mo Fan said indifferently.

“Why are you here, then?” Lu Kun demanded.

“What else can we do when a man and a woman are alone in a room? Can’t you see I’m waiting for her to clean herself? You can’t stop us from satisfying our mutual cravings, even though we are in your territory!” Mo Fan stated.

Lu Kun harrumphed coldly.

“I have my job to do, so please don’t blame me for being a busybody. This is just a reminder. If you do it again, I’ll have to disqualify you two and take away all the information,” Lu Kun warned them.

“I told you, we are only mutually attracted to one another. It’s that simple, so stop disturbing us. Thank you,” Mo Fan did not want to admit anything.

Mochizuki Chihaya was utterly confused, but she did not rebuke Mo Fan’s words.

Lu Kun turned and left, closing the door with him.

Mo Fan fell into deep thought while lying on the sofa.

How did Lu Kun know he had come to visit Mochizuki Chihaya to ask her about her job? Did he trigger a magic Formation on the way here, or did he have the ability to read one’s mind?

“You are ruining my reputation,” Mochizuki Chihaya grumbled.

“It’s fine, Lu Kun isn’t the blabbering kind,” Mo Fan said awkwardly.

“Are you here to ask me about my job?” Mochizuki Chihaya was smart enough to figure out Mo Fan’s intention.

“Why can’t I be here to do something perverted?” Mo Fan snarled.

What did she think of him as? A righteous man?

Why couldn’t he be here to do something wicked? He was a handsome young man in his prime!

“If you really think that, I will have to see how much stronger you have grown after two years!” Mochizuki Chihaya’s gaze sharpened. She had never seen such a daring pervert before!

“Fine, I’m here to ask you about the job, but Lu Kun seems to have some special power that can sense my intentions,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

How did Lu Kun do it? It was unlikely that anyone could see through his shadow.

“The truth is, even if I want to break the rules, I have nothing to tell you,” Mochizuki Chihaya said.

“Why is that?”

“I didn’t even see the job. My grandfather read the letter and left in a hurry,” Mochizuki Chihaya said helplessly.

“I see…”

Mo Fan’s head hurt. What was the job Mochizuki Ken had received? Judging from Mochizuki Chihaya’s description, it must be something he was deeply concerned about.

—

The letter clearly wrote down the place where Senior Hunter Leng had fought the red demon.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, the place was in the Pudong District, very close to Pudong Airport.

Mo Fan and Lingling decided to investigate the place to look for some clues tonight.

They heard the sound of an engine being gunned as soon as they left the main entrance.

“Why are you in my house?” Lu Zhengxin stared at Mo Fan in shock.

Mo Fan did not answer him. Lu Kun had suddenly appeared behind them like a phantom.

Perhaps he was seriously worried about Mo Fan breaking the rules, which might stop him from receiving the Universe Vein reward for his job.

“Zhengxin, our guests are going out. You should give them a lift,” Lu Kun suggested.

“You’re asking me to be their driver?” Lu Zhengxin asked in disbelief.

“They are in Shanghai. It’s your job to look after our guests,” Lu Kun said sternly.

“Hell no!…”

“Do as I say, if you don’t treat them well, I’ll sell all your cars!” Lu Kun threatened him.

Lu Zhengxin admitted defeat as soon as he heard his cars would be taken away.

“Lu Kun, we are from Shanghai. We won’t need him to look after us. We can go anywhere we want.” Mo Fan shook his hand to turn down the offer.

“I’m acting on behalf of the client, so I have the right to assign someone to follow you. You can choose to leave, but I’ll be taking back the Universe Vein and the letter and passing them to someone else,” Lu Kun said.

Mo Fan was speechless.

It seemed like Lu Kun had realized he was going to break the rules. He decided to assign someone to keep an eye on him when he was going away.

However, Lu Zhengxin looked like a complete idiot. It would be too easy to fool him. Besides, they were planning to visit a few places quickly. Having a supercar driver was not such a bad idea!

“Fine, but can your driver give us a lift anytime we want?” Mo Fan asked.

“Feel free to order him around. If he dares to disobey you, I’ll have someone take one of his cars away every time you complain to me,” Lu Kun promised.

Lu Zhengxin almost lost his temper when he heard the words.

Not only did the guy damage his car, steal his chair, and eat his crayfish, he had to be his driver too?! None of this made sense!

“Lingling, get in,” Mo Fan jumped into the front passenger seat. The door happened to be open.

The seats in the back were smaller, but the space was plenty for a petite girl like Lingling. It did save them trouble having someone as the driver.

—

“Where do you two want to go?” Lu Zhengxin asked with a grim face.

“Pudong Airport,” Mo Fan said.

Lu Zhengxin almost lost control of the vehicle. Luckily, the car had outstanding stability.

“Get a f**king boat if you want to go there!” Lu Zhengxin snarled.

The east of Huangpu River had already become a part of the ocean. The streets, houses, and buildings were long submerged under water.

His heart would ache if he drove it across a small puddle, let alone the sea!

“Your job is to bring us there.. I don’t care if you’re driving a boat or a car,” Mo Fan smiled.

Chapter 2377: Scars from Six Digits

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The car reached the bridge across the Huangpu River.

Mo Fan was surprised to see the water reflecting the moonlight had fallen a little compared to the last time he was here. It had dropped by about half a meter.

The difference of half a meter in the water level involved a huge volume of water. He could now see the outline of the river. It seemed like it was possible to repair some of the buildings and roads.

However, the tides had been inconsistent. The Magic City was treating the river like a dam. It had assigned the army to guard it as a boundary line.

Mo Fan found some high ground and observed the area with his night vision. He noticed that the structures sticking out of the water and the areas where sand had accumulated were crawling with enormous creatures.

Many of them had a mixture of sand and water on them, like a layer of armor.

The creatures had also occupied the relatively short houses that were half-submerged in the water. They were ideal lairs for demon creatures who enjoyed taking sunbaths on the land during the day.

“Are those sea monsters?” Mo Fan asked with a worried face.

The creatures were some distance away, but they were not that far from the city’s boundary.

“Just some lesser sea monsters. They have turned the submerged districts into their territory and the sturdy buildings into their nests,” Lingling said disdainfully.

She had no idea what the officials were thinking. They had not bothered to exterminate the sea monsters, allowing them to occupy the submerged districts and build their nests.

“Lu Zhengxin, drive across the bridge,” Mo Fan said.

Lu Zhengxin’s face paled.

They were about to cross the boundary line. Everyone knew the other side was crawling with sea monsters. Was he trying to deliver fresh takeaway to them?

Mo Fan immediately picked up his phone and dialed Lu Kun’s number.

Lu Zhengxin stopped hesitating. He stepped on the gas and drove onto the bridge.

The soldiers on duty tried to stop the car, but immediately granted them access when Mo Fan showed them his identity as a Seven Star Hunter Master.

The officers on duty believed the high-rank Hunter was going to help them to exterminate the nests of the sea monsters.

The bridge was connected to a highway leading to Pudong Airport.

The highway was surprisingly clear, and they could drive straight across it. The military seemed to have cleared any obstacles, making it easier for them to scout the Pudong District at times.

Lu Zhengxin was a fan of street racing. The highway only had a few barricades on the sides, and there was not a single other car on the road. It was perfect for Lu Zhengxin to fulfill his dream of driving on an empty highway in the middle of the night!

Lu Zhengxin kept accelerating. The car was already traveling at one hundred and twenty miles per hour, but Mo Fan and Lingling were extremely calm even though the car’s top was open.

Mo Fan could easily travel at the same speed on foot. He had no idea why Lu Zhengxin was so excited.

“There’s a gap in front of us.”

“What? I can’t hear you!” Lu Zhengxin said.

“There’s a gap ahead. A section of the highway has collapsed three meters!” Mo Fan shouted.

“F**k me!” Lu Zhengxin cursed as he rammed on the brakes.

The piercing screeches echoed across the silent sky.

Lu Zhengxin had been driving too fast. He had stepped on the brakes a little too late.

“Blink!”

Mo Fan swiftly Cast a Space Spell.

A silver tunnel appeared above the gap as Lu Zhengxin’s car was about to drive right into it.

The car went straight into the silver tunnel. It vanished briefly before reappearing on the other side of the gap, traveling across the gap like there was an invisible tunnel there.

“Can you keep your eyes open while you are driving?” Mo Fan yelled at him.

Lu Zhengxin moved his hands away from his eyes. He was surprised when he saw he was on the other side of the highway instead of falling into the sea.

“Brother, that’s so cool!” Lu Zhengxin exclaimed.

Mo Fan turned around and looked at the gap on the highway.

He was puzzled. The military had obviously cleared the obstacles on the highway. Why had they not fixed the gap, too?

Mo Fan tossed his doubts away as the car drove into the distance.

The sea level was higher as they approached the airport. Half of the office buildings were still under the water. The houses and shops with less than four stories remained underwater, too.

“This is the place,” Lingling pointed at a collapsed structure.

Mo Fan took a quick glance and noticed the buildings close to the airport were mainly government offices, apartments, hotels, and office buildings.

The buildings were dark and submerged. Some of them occasionally emitted the sound of broken glasses and falling objects. They might seem deserted, but they were not necessarily empty.

According to Senior Hunter Leng’s recount, he had fought the red demon in this area.

If the streets and roads were still around, they might be able to find more clues, but they wondered if there were any traces left after they were washed by the water.

“Mo Fan, look at that building,” Lingling suddenly pointed to the side of a structure.

It was an apartment with faint-blue paint on one side. Mo Fan could see long scars on one side after he took a closer look.

“It looks like a claw, heh,” Lu Zhengxin joked.

Mo Fan observed carefully and said, “It doesn’t just look like a claw; it is a claw, with six digits!”

Luckily, the building had not been renovated recently. Not many would notice the scar on the side of the building, thus it had remained in place until now.

“Does this mean the red demon is a creature with six fingers? At least when it shows its true form…” Lingling murmured.

“We have to verify it first.” Mo Fan looked around.

Lingling went to the top of the building and took some samples of the microorganisms from the scar to confirm it was not left by other species of sea monsters.

Mo Fan went around to search for more scars. If the other scars also had six toes, it meant they had confirmed a trait of the red demon.

“Why are we so fussed about the number of toes?” Lu Zhengxin asked curiously. He was following Mo Fan around.

“Every demon creature has a fixed number of toes, no matter how they evolve. We can find out the species of a demon creature from its number of toes,” Mo Fan explained.

Lu Zhengxin nodded like a rookie Hunter.

“Look, were those left by the same creature, too?” Lu Zhengxin pointed at a nearby highway interchange.

Mo Fan followed Lu Zhengxin’s finger and noticed a few scratches on the concrete!

Chapter 2378: Hunter’s Eye

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan went closer to inspect the scar. It also had six fingers, and they were closer to one another.

They had found a second scar. It was up to Lingling to deduce whether they were left by the red demon. It might serve as an important clue for them to locate the creature.

“Hey, look at this!” Lu Zhengxin seemed to have discovered something else.

Mo Fan went over and saw a black metal shard sticking into the water tank of an office building.

The water tank had been out of service for many years. The metal shard was stuck deep inside the tank. It was unlikely ordinary people could pull the shard out. They would have to tear down the water tank first.

The workers of the office building might have ignored the metal shard, since it did not really affect them.

The metal shard was surprisingly large. Mo Fan realized it was the door of a car after taking a closer look at it.

He wondered how fast the door had been traveling to be stuck so deep into the water tank.

“It was imbued with Space Magic,” Lu Zhengxin said confidently.

Mo Fan turned around and stared at Lu Zhengxin.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t you know what my main field of study at university is?” Lu Zhengxin exclaimed.

“Do you specialize in dog’s noses?” Mo Fan asked.

“Magic Substance Theories! Do you think I’d be helping you on this boring task if you hadn’t saved my car?” Lu Zhengxin scolded him.

Magic Substance Theories…

Mo Fan remembered it was a special course at the Pearl Institute. It was the forensics of the magic world!

He had no idea Lu Zhengxin was an alumnus of his university!

“The Aura is extremely weak. It has been here for at least three to four years,” Lu Zhengxin went on.

Mo Fan nodded.

Senior Hunter Leng’s Tertiary Element was the Space Element. If he had fought the red demon in this area, this door imbued with the Space Element must be his doing!

“Can you smell traces of blood here?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m not a dog!” Lu Zhengxin snarled, like his ego was hurting.

“Can you find old traces of blood? They are extremely important to us,” Mo Fan quickly altered his choice of words.

“Let me activate my vision,” Lu Zhengxin replied.

Mo Fan was puzzled.

Lu Zhengxin was Casting a spell. A Star Pattern of the Light Element appeared under his feet. The Star Pattern transformed into a Star Constellation that Mo Fan had never seen before.

The Star Constellation rose above Lu Zhengxin like two brilliant orbs of light.

The blue orbs slowly shrank down, before flying into Lu Zhengxin’s eyes.

Lu Zhengxin’s eyes started glowing, emitting a strange blue light. The objects he was looking at had the same glow now.

“Terra Stone Dog Eyes?” Mo Fan exclaimed. He did not expect Lu Zhengxin to have such a special ability.

{TL Note: Terra Stone is an end-game material in Dungeon Fighter Online.}

It felt like two search lamps with a high chance of finding rare materials had been installed in Lu Zhengxin’s eyes. He was walking around like a cyborg.

The ability was consuming a huge amount of his energy. His expression was changing constantly. He immediately closed his eyes to exit from the special state after they started to hurt.

“It’s called the Hunter’s Eye, a unique ability passed down by the ancestors of the Lu Clan. It allows us to see magical residues, blood, special substances, and lingering Auras,” Lu Zhengxin declared proudly.

No matter how impressive Mo Fan was, he clearly lacked the Lu Clan’s ability. He was like a younger brother when it came to searching for clues!

“That’s very impressive, chicken cutlet brother!” Mo Fan raised his thumb to Lu Zhengxin. “So, did you find any traces of blood?”

“It’s under the water across this street. There was blood everywhere… I feel sorry for your senior,” Lu Zhengxin sighed.

“What do you mean?”

“He lost a lot of blood. The creature must have torn open one of his organs. He left a trail of blood all the way to that warehouse!” Lu Zhengxin pointed at a building in the distance.

Mo Fan’s heart sank.

Luckily, Lingling was not around. She would suffer a mental breakdown again if she had heard his words.

“Did the creature bleed?” Mo Fan asked.

Senior Hunter Leng’s blood was not going to help them. They had to find the red demon’s blood!

“A little, it’s mixed with your senior’s blood,” Lu Zhengxin confirmed.

“Can you collect it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Brother, the street is drowned. If it weren’t for me, you would not have found a single trace of blood. Besides, it’s already been dried, washed, and drowned in seawater for a long time!” Lu Zhengxin answered.

“My friend has a lot of cars. He has a limited edition Koenigsegg Jesko. He keeps bragging about it. I’ll ask him to give it to you,” Mo Fan said.

“Are you serious? There are only three of them in the world! Who is he? How did he get it?” Lu Zhengxin blurted out in surprise.

Lu Zhengxin was a car lover. He was obsessed with rare cars.

“That’s none of your business. Just get your hands dirty and get me the creature’s blood. I promise I’ll deliver the car to you in seven days. It’s as good as new. He didn’t have a chance to drive it due to some special circumstances,” Mo Fan said.

“Are you sure you are not lying to me?” Lu Zhengxin said.

“Who do you think I am? Shouldn’t you know better? Did I lie when I said I was going to kill the Enforcer of the Beiyu Enforcement Union, Lu Zhantian, who was from your clan? Why would I go back on my words about a car?” Mo Fan scoffed.

Lu Zhengxin pulled a long face.

What the f**k is he on about? How can he talk about killing my cousin so blatantly?

That being said, it did convince Lu Zhengxin that Mo Fan was a man of his word.

“Don’t worry, I only hold the debtors responsible when I settle my debts. Your cousin and Lu Yilin tried to kill me, so I didn’t go easy on them, but you and I are alumni of the same school!” Mo Fan patted Lu Zhengxin on the shoulder.

“Fine, I wasn’t close with those two either, but you shouldn’t bring the topic up again. I’ll collect the blood samples for you, but you have three days to bring me the car!” Lu Zhengxin said.

“Deal!” Mo Fan nodded.

The car Mo Fan mentioned obviously belonged to Zhao Manyan.

Lu Zhengxin’s collection was petty compared to Zhao Manyan, who had an entire basement full of luxurious cars.

The limited-edition Jesko was not that expensive, either. The company had produced three limited-edition Jesko after the Zhao Family invested in the company. Zhao Manyan took one of them.

Zhao Manyan did not want Zhao Youqian to know his whereabouts, so he had no intention of driving the car. Zhao Manyan had even offered Mo Fan the car, but he was too busy to claim it.

Mo Fan did not think twice before giving it to Lu Zhengxin.

Zhao Youqian would not be suspicious if Lu Zhengxin was driving the car. After all, everyone in the Magic City knew Lu Zhengxin was a car maniac.

Compared to the reward of a Universe Vein, a car rotting in a garage was just a toy in Mo Fan’s eyes!

Chapter 2379: Strange Collapse

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lu Zhengxin was willing to work diligently for the new car. He took off his shirt and jumped into the filthy water.

Mo Fan was suddenly impressed by Chicken Cutlet Brother.

The water was not only full of trash left by the people who had once lived here, the dirt beneath had a foul stench, too. It would be tough to dig up any traces of blood after the place was soaked in water for so long.

To his surprise, Lu Zhengxin had jumped straight into the water and was digging into the ground!

“Where’s our driver?” Lingling had returned. She asked with a troubled look, “Did the sea monsters take him? Why didn’t you help him out? We have to walk all the way back now.”

“…” Mo Fan had a feeling Lingling was only concerned that they no longer had a lift back.

“He’s looking for traces of blood down there. He studied Magic Substance Theory at the Pearl Institute. We are in luck!” Mo Fan smiled.

“Oh… I just finished testing the samples of the claw. It had a faint trace of skin tissues, but there were also traces of other microorganisms after it had been washed by the rain over a long time. I can’t determine its exact species,” Lingling said with a disappointed face.

The fight had happened too long ago. The clues left on the scene had been damaged.

It was like investigating an old murder case. You were unlikely to find any useful evidence from the scene since it was now mixed with other non-significant clues.

“Let’s see what Lu Zhengxin can find. If we can’t find any useful clues in this area, we’ll have to go elsewhere,” Mo Fan said.

“Yeah.”

—

Lu Zhengxin was down in the water for a long time. The occasional bubbles rising to the surface indicated he had not drowned.

Mo Fan knew Lu Zhengxin would need more time to do his job. He looked around out of boredom.

A building covered in moss around a kilometer away suddenly collapsed.

The building seemed to have lost its supports. The floors collapsed one by one, and smashed into debris on the ground.

The whole building eventually sank into the sea, leaving only a small pile of debris above the surface. People might assume it was just a pile of construction waste if they did not know the building had existed in the first place.

“Are there any demon creatures?” Lingling asked, also seeing it fall.

“I can’t pick up any presences,” Mo Fan shook his head.

Mo Fan could pick up the presence of a demon creature within a few kilometers, unless the creature had a special ability to conceal itself.

A creature would have had to unleash a huge force to destroy the building. No creature could bring down a whole building without unleashing any strength.

Mo Fan was more leaning toward the possibility that the building had collapsed on its own.

Many jerry-built building projects had never considered the possibility of the building being submerged in water. Pudong District had been drowned for a long time. It was normal for the buildings to collapse eventually, as the tide rose and fell on a daily basis.

Luckily, the buildings close to the airport were of higher quality. If the buildings here had collapsed, Lu Zhengxin would not be able to dig up any traces, even if he worked to his death.

Two other buildings over ten floors tall collapsed in the same direction as the first building. The loud noises were oddly spooky in the deadly silent district.

Mo Fan frowned.

“More jerry-built buildings?” Lingling asked skeptically.

“I don’t know, but I still didn’t pick up any presences…” Mo Fan answered, his face grim.

The buildings were quite some distance away. Mo Fan did not feel the need to investigate the area.

Knowing the size of Pudong District, it was normal for strong sea monsters to be hiding in the dark, not to mention lesser creatures that had built their nests in the area.

It was annoying to fight the lesser creatures. Not only did they have overwhelming numbers, they did not have the common sense to stay alive.

These lesser creatures would keep coming, regardless of their casualties, after someone intruded their territory.

As for the higher-level creatures, most of them would flee for their lives when they sensed a powerful Mage nearby.

Another huge collapse took place. This time, it was a huge office building less than five hundred meters away, with sturdy concrete walls and relatively small windows.

The building was like a gray barrel in their eyes, definitely the sturdiest building in the area. It would be fine even if it soaked in the water for another ten years, but it had collapsed too!

It was like a person who had suddenly lost his skeleton, his skin and flesh were sloughing off and turning into mud.

“Is someone trying to demolish the district?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

“You still can’t sense anything?” Lingling asked quickly.

Mo Fan shook his head.

The sea monsters were seriously annoying. What were they up to now?

They should just show themselves if they were asking for trouble. Mo Fan would not mind cooking them all with his furnace!

Huge bubbles suddenly appeared under Mo Fan’s feet.

Mo Fan’s heart skipped a beat.

How impressive! It was around five hundred meters away just a second ago, but it was already under his feet!

He had no reason to wait. He should serve it with a Lightning Explosion first…

“Hey, what the Hell are you doing!?” a wet face screamed after popping out of the water.

“Oh, it’s you, I thought you were a sea monster,” Mo Fan quickly withdrew his Lightning Magic. He was able to unleash and withdraw his Lightning Magic freely with the Lightning Acupuncture Points.

“What have our Lu Clan ever done to you!?”

“Did you get the samples?” Mo Fan asked, ignoring the question.

“I did.”

“Then it’s time to go. Something doesn’t feel right here,” Mo Fan said.

—

They went back to the highway. Lu Zhengxin had already heard the loud collapses in the distance while he was underwater. He started the engine quickly.

He stepped hard on the pedal. The Miami blue sports car swiftly wove through the darkness on the highway.

They suddenly heard a loud rumble inches away, and it kept going!

Lu Zhengxin turned around and immediately shrieked like a terrified crow.

The road behind them was falling off continuously, shattering like flour!

It was less than five meters behind the car, and continued to follow the car as it sped along the highway.

It felt like an invisible pulverizer was following right behind the car. The road continued to fall away. The sections the car was driving on a second ago had already fallen into the sea!

“Holy crap, what the Hell is that thing?” Lu Zhengxin was terrified. He had already slammed the gas pedal to the bottom.

“I don’t know, just drive faster!”

Mo Fan was feeling nervous, too. He would not feel like this if he knew what the creature was.

The problem was that he could not see or sense anything!

There was nothing on the highway, but the bridge was still collapsing behind them. If the car was a little slower, they would have fallen off the bridge by now!

Lu Zhengxin was a street racer, and was able to drive calmly under the shocking circumstances. The car gradually picked up its speed and left the collapsing road behind.

“Well done!” Mo Fan raised his thumb at the driver.

“Holy crap, aren’t you an impressive fighter? Couldn’t you just jump out of the car and get rid of that thing?” Lu Zhengxin yelled at him.

“I would have slapped it to death if only I could see it!” Mo Fan snarled in reply.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

An invisible creature? Mo Fan did not think so.

Even if the creature was invisible, he would still have noticed strange traces of airflow while it was following them, especially if the creature was destroying the highway by force.

The collapses finally stopped after half the highway was gone. The terrifying thing stopped chasing them after them.

Lu Zhengxin had dried himself when he came out of the water, but he was now soaked in cold sweat. He felt like he had been playing Temple Run in real life!

“Seven Star Hunter Master and the strongest young Mage my ass, I feel ashamed for you. You couldn’t even find what was chasing us!” Lu Zhengxin mocked him with a cold harrumph.

“I can’t be bothered arguing with you. Where are the blood samples?” Mo Fan asked.

“Where’s my car? We had a deal!” Lu Zhengxin shot back.

—

The car drove past the Magic City. The sky was already bright by the time they reached Kunshan.

As soon as the car stopped in front of the mansion, a gray car of advanced design arrived. Inside it sat a beautiful woman with pale skin and red lips.

She was wearing a long slip dress that exposed her silky-smooth shoulders. She was brimming with sexiness.

“Mo Fan!” the woman inside the car smiled. She might dress like an enchanting queen, but her expression was like a teenage girl whose heart was pounding heavily at the sight of her crush.

“Is this your ../style now? Mm, it’s not bad. You won’t mind if I give him the car, right?” Mo Fan asked her.

“It doesn’t matter. I can fly quicker than the car,” Liu Ru replied.

Lu Zhengxin was staring at Liu Ru after she came out of the car. “It’s you, what a coincidence!” Lu Zhengxin stammered as he greeted her.

“Oh, it’s you,” Liu Ru responded emotionlessly.

“I really didn’t expect to see you here again. By the way, this is my home. The mansion and these cars are all mine. Aren’t they fancy?” Lu Zhengxin immediately fawned upon Liu Ru.

To his surprise, Liu Ru was already hugging Mo Fan’s arm. She had no interest in the luxurious mansion and cars. She seemed a little annoyed, as if she had many things to say to Mo Fan, but there were others around to disturb them.

“The car is here, where are my blood samples?” Mo Fan asked.

“What blood samples?” Liu Ru asked.

Mo Fan roughly explained their trip to Pudong Airport, but he did not mention they were looking for the red demon.

“Oh, Lu Zhengxin, how insensible are you? Why are you asking for a car in return when you are only doing my boss a small favor?” Liu Ru demanded to know.

“He…he’s your boss?” Lu Zhengxin was shocked.

“Hand over the blood samples. I’ll be keeping the car. I have enjoyed driving it recently,” Liu Ru declared.

“Not a problem, whatever you say, my lady!”

—

Liu Ru did not go inside the mansion. She was a member of the Blood Tribe. Normally, a mansion that belonged to the Lu Clan would have some magic Formations to keep the Blood Tribe away.

Liu Ru was not scared of the magic Formation since she had grown a lot stronger, but she did not like the sacred artifacts from the Western countries. She felt like she was walking into a stinky toilet.

“You can stroll around first, I have something to discuss with you later,” Mo Fan told her.

“Sure, I also have to collect rent from the marketplace,” Liu Ru agreed.

“Since when did you become a landlord?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

“Didn’t you ask me to manage the mutated species in the Magic City? The south of the marketplace belongs to the Blood Tribe, so the vendors there have to pay us rent, don’t you think?” Liu Ru reminded him.

“… So, how did you know Lu Zhengxin?” Mo Fan asked instead.

“Children of renowned clans like him commonly come into contact with mutated races. Lu Zhengxin brought in a young woman of the Blood Tribe from a different country. The woman almost sucked his marrow away. He was lucky that I happened to be around. I saved his life and drove the woman away,” Liu Ru informed him.

Mutated races was a term used to describe certain species with half-human lineage, but who were not truly human.

The Blood Tribe was a typical example.

There were also other species, like the creatures that had been hiding secretly in the Sacred City for thousands of years. Some of them wore suits and owned businesses there, and had managed to perfectly disguise themselves as humans.

The Sacred City had its own circle of mutant species. Bola, the vampire, used to be one of them.

The Magic City had a circle of mutant species too. Liu Ru was currently in charge of the Blood Tribe here.

Liu Ru had already extended her reach to Kunshan. It seemed like her influence was still growing steadily!

——

Lu Zhengxin might have collected the blood samples, but they still had to be filtered and processed.

Mo Fan let Lingling handle the blood samples, since she was the expert. Lu Zhengxin’s attitude toward Mo Fan changed completely after he learned Mo Fan was Liu Ru’s boss. He was willing to give Mo Fan his full assistance.

That being said, Mo Fan still had to wait for the result of the blood samples.

Mo Fan had called Liu Ru over because she was better at tracking down traces of blood. She could easily find the source, even if the blood traces had been around for a long time.

It was already daytime, and Mo Fan was starving. He went to the kitchen to look for some food.

He somehow lost his way in the huge mansion. He had no idea where he was.

“How did you end up here?!” a woman half-shrieked.

“I lost my way looking for the dining hall. Where are the chefs?” Mo Fan asked shamelessly.

“Do you think this is a hotel that operates twenty-four hours a day?” Lu Qingyao snarled at him.

She was in the garden in simple sleepwear. She seemed to be chasing after her Scottish Fold, which had gone outdoors without her permission. She had yet to dress and put on makeup.

Mo Fan had to admit the woman was as beautiful as Mui Nujiao. The way she looked after she just woke up was much different from being all made-up.

“What happened to your face?” Mo Fan saw after seeing Lu Qingyao’s cheek.

Lu Qingyao immediately turned away and snapped, “It’s none of your business!”

Lu Qingyao was angry when she recalled how she had been slapped in the face after arguing with Lu Kun.

The red mark had not faded away yet. She was thinking of covering it with more foundation today, but she did not expect to stumble into someone here so early in the morning!

“Let me see it,” Mo Fan went up to Lu Qingyao.

“What’s there to see!?” Lu Qingyao was holding her cat in one hand while covering her face with the other.

Mo Fan went closer and grabbed Lu Qingyao’s wrist to lift her hand off her face.

“What are you doing? You are in the Lu Clan’s territory. Don’t you dare do anything stupid, I’m warning you!” Lu Qingyao was terrified.

Lu Kun had told her to serve Mo Fan well, but he did not mean she had to offer her body to him, right? Was Mo Fan out of his mind, trying to take advantage of her here?

Lu Qingyao clearly did not have Mo Fan’s strength. She struggled to shake her hand free.

Mo Fan was almost sticking his face right into hers.

“Did someone hit you?” Mo Fan asked her calmly.

“Mm!” Lu Qingyao could not break free, but she did not dare to scream, either. She was nervous, embarrassed, and afraid.

“Who was it?” Mo Fan pressed.

“Ah, no one hit me, it was my cat!” Lu Qingyao shook her head as she came to her senses. She did not want Mo Fan to know she had been slapped by Lu Kun.

“It’s very important. Who hit you?” Mo Fan stared firmly into Lu Qingyao’s eyes.

Lu Qingyao eventually compromised, as she was just a delicate woman after all. She said softly, “It was my uncle.”

“Lu Kun?” Mo Fan clarified.

“Yeah.”

“Lu Qingyao, I’m going to ask you a serious question. Please tell me the truth,” Mo Fan said firmly.

“Hah?” Lu Qingyao panicked even more.

She was joking when she asked Mo Fan to take her as a concubine. Was Mo Fan really considering the offer?

The problem was… would she be Mo Fan’s fourth or fifth lover if she agreed?

“Has your uncle always had six fingers?” Mo Fan asked her carefully.

1

The handprint on Lu Qingyao’s face was very obvious. Her pale face made the handprint stand out, and it didn’t have five fingers…

It had six!

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lu Qingyao was dumbfounded.

She was having the urge to compromise and worry about how she should compete with Mui Nujiao when Mo Fan’s question blindsided her.

It was like a woman had accepted her fate, despite being reluctant at first. Her body was already ready as she was about to close her eyes and enjoy the process, but the man suddenly asked her how many fingers her uncle had.

Anyone would go crazy when they heard the question!

“What six fingers? Are…are you crazy?” Lu Qingyao shoved Mo Fan away.

She was feeling great shame. She was humiliated both physically and mentally!

“Take a look yourself.”

Mo Fan grabbed at the air and pulled a small mirror from her room. It flew accurately into his hand.

Mo Fan held the mirror in front of Lu Qingyao so she could see her face.

Lu Qingyao had gone right to bed after removing her makeup, and did not take a close look at her face. The handprint was not that obvious when she had makeup on.

To her surprise, the handprint was clearer than she had thought. There were clearly five fingers…

No, not five! There were six!

The hand had six fingers!

Normally, the pinky was beside the ring finger, but the hand had an extra finger between the ring finger and the pinky, extending between them!

Since Lu Qingyao’s face was relatively small, the print of the last finger had reached below her ear. It was hard to notice unless someone was looking at it closely!

My Heavens, why would anyone have six fingers?

She never heard anything about her uncle being born with six fingers!

“This…this…” Lu Qingyao was left speechless.

“Does it belong to Lu Kun? It’s his hand, right?” Mo Fan asked her again.

“Yes, but…” Lu Qingyao was confused.

“Was he born with six fingers?” Mo Fan pressed.

Lu Qingyao immediately shook her head. She had never heard anything about it.

Anzark, who was dressed in a white robe, passed by the corridor above them. He glanced at Mo Fan and Lu Qingyao.

“Miss Lu, did something happen?” Anzark asked.

“It’s…it’s nothing!” Lu Qingyao’s mind was in a mess.

“Let’s talk in your room. I’ll set up a Barrier,” Mo Fan said firmly.

Mo Fan suddenly recalled Lu Kun’s ability to be able to read a person’s mind at a close distance. He was worried Lu Kun might be eavesdropping on the conversation between him and Lu Qingyao.

Mo Fan blatantly swept up Lu Qingyao in his arms, like he was going to do something shameless inside her room.

Anzark’s expression darkened when he saw them.

How bold of this Mo Fan to steal away my prey…

“Humph, turns out she’s just a b**ch that sleeps with any man she sees,” Anzark scoffed jealously.

—

Lu Qingyao started struggling before they made it to her room. She was blaming Mo Fan for ruining her reputation.

“Listen, if there’s something fishy about your uncle, your reputation isn’t going to mean anything, since I’m going to kill your whole clan!” Mo Fan promised her grimly.

Lu Qingyao almost burst into tears. He was scolding her even when he was treating her roughly!

“Do you have old pictures of your uncle? At least five years ago, with his hands exposed,” Mo Fan said.

“I think so, but they were taken a long time ago…” Lu Qingyao began searching her laptop.

It took her some time to find the pictures.

—

“I think this was five years ago.” Lu Qingyao slowly realized that their clan had not taken a photo together for a long time.

Mo Fan took a quick look and noticed a tinier version of Lu Qingyao in the first row. She was around the age of fifteen. She looked a lot more adorable then than she was now.

She looked more like an alluring vixen now. He wondered where she had learned it from.

Mo Fan enlarged the photo with the scroll.

Lu Kun was in the middle row beside Lu Yilin and Lu Zhantian. They seemed close in the photograph.

“One, two, three, four, five…” Lu Qingyao counted seriously.

Five.

The hand only had five fingers.

There was no sign of the sixth!

“Do you have any later pictures of him?” Mo Fan asked coolly.

Lu Qingyao quickly found some photographs of Lu Kun taken with some business partners.

She checked the photos and was shocked to see Lu Kun was wearing long-sleeves and Tang suits in all of them. The sleeves were long enough to cover his fingers!

Almost every photo was the same, and he was wearing gloves in some of them, too!

If Mo Fan had not brought it up, Lu Qingyao would never have noticed it.

“Did my uncle grow an extra finger over the years?” Lu Qingyao exclaimed in alarm.

“Humph, it’s difficult to say if he’s still your uncle,” Mo Fan replied coldly.

“What do you mean?!”

“All I can tell you is there’s a demon with six fingers or six toes,” Mo Fan answered her.

“But you can’t assume there’s something wrong with my uncle just because of that!” Lu Qingyao protested.

“It’s too much of a coincidence,” Mo Fan declared.

Normally, Mo Fan would not care how many fingers Lu Kun had.

However, he had found out Lu Kun had six fingers just after they had learned the trait of the red demon through the claw marks it had left behind!

“What kind of a demon is it?” Lu Qingyao was still doubtful.

Her uncle seemed perfectly normal. Could a demon disguise itself as a human? Besides, even if the demon had the ability to transform into a human, how did it mimic Lu Kun’s behaviors, personality, memory, and habits?

Lu Qingyao believed Lu Kun was still the same, even though it was strange how he reacted after Mo Fan had killed Lu Zhantian and Lu Yilin. She could only express her doubts.

After all, Lu Kun was her uncle. Lu Qingyao had no reason to believe Mo Fan so easily!

“It’s a demon that can bewitch a person’s mind. In simpler words, it’s like a soul that can go inside a person’s body to control them, like a spiritual parasite. Don’t you worry, it has a true form, too. After it reveals its true form, you won’t recognize him as the uncle whom you’ve known for twenty years when you see its distorted appearance,” Mo Fan promised confidently.

Mochizuki Chihaya was almost possessed by the new red demon while she was carrying the Essence Orb.

The first red demon had been around for years. Judging by Senior Hunter Leng’s job request, not only was the red demon’s strength and power growing over time, its intelligence was growing, too!

In the past, it would create a bloodbath wherever it went, but it was very likely that it was disguising itself as a human now.

“Therefore, he might look like a normal person in the day, but he will turn into a monster at night!” Mo Fan speculated.

“A man in the day and a monster at night?” Lu Qingyao felt something was off about the description.

Lu Qingyao had met a lot of men with flowery words, but it was her first time seeing someone like Mo Fan come up with such a ridiculous story just to trick her.

Most importantly, Lu Qingyao was starting to believe he was telling the truth!

Chapter 2382: Get Lu Kun’s Blood

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Either way, Lu Kun was the primary suspect on Mo Fan’s list.

Lingling frowned when Mo Fan told her about all this. She was struggling to understand what Lu Kun was up to.

If Lu Kun was the red demon… Why would he pass the letter to them?

Or perhaps Lu Kun truly did not know the content of the letter. He was merely following the client’s instructions.

Who exactly was the client? He was hiring Mo Fan and Lingling through Lu Kun, but their job was to take out Lu Kun instead?

The situation was a lot more complicated than they had thought!

“We can’t be sure he’s the red demon, even if he has six fingers. It’s possible he might be suffering from a mutation. There have been cases of discovering harmful chemicals inside certain food products in our country,” Lingling told Mo Fan.

“Mm, so our only hope is your analysis of the red demon’s blood.”

“I’ve already gotten the blood samples. They should belong to the red demon. If we can somehow obtain Lu Kun’s blood samples and compare the two, we should be able to find our answers!” Lingling stated.

“We need Lu Kun’s blood?” Mo Fan rubbed his jaw.

How was he supposed to get Lu Kun’s blood without alerting him?

Lu Kun should not have any idea what was going on, since he did not know the content of the letter. It sounded simple to get a drop of his blood without arousing his curiosity, but it might be difficult, too.

“Why don’t I go take his blood? I’m an expert at it,” Liu Ru smiled.

The Blood Tribe had ways of drinking a human’s blood without them knowing, whether they were taking a nap or when they were overwhelmed by other emotions.

“It won’t do. If Lu Kun is the red demon, he will definitely notice you. The red demon is full of hatred. He might suck your soul dry in return,” Mo Fan shook his head.

Liu Ru could easily take a Mage’s blood by placing them in a stupor, but that would obviously not work on Lu Kun!

“Let’s ask Lu Zhengxin or Lu Qingyao to do it then, since they are so close to Lu Kun,” Liu Ru proposed.

“We’ll have to convince Lu Qingyao and Lu Zhengxin first.”

—

Lu Zhengxin was willing to help since he had long known of the existence of the mutant races.

He knew there were certain species that could disguise themselves as humans. Besides, he had seen the claw with six digits!

“Sister, I’m telling you, you really have to verify it. If we are wrong, we will feel safer, but if we are right… think about it, a demon has taken over our uncle’s flesh and soul. Who knows what he will do to us once he tears off his disguise?” Lu Zhengxin tried to convince Lu Qingyao.

The truth was, Lu Qingyao was much closer to Lu Kun than Lu Zhengxin was.

Lu Kun did not have any children, but he had great power in the clan. He often chose a few talented children in the clan to train as successors.

Lu Zhantian was one of the children Lu Kun was in favor of, and the other one was Lu Qingyao.

As for Lu Zhengxin, Lu Kun had never bothered to treat him seriously. Lu Zhengxin was nothing but a troublemaker. Lu Kun’s only desire was that Lu Zhengxin stay out of his way.

Therefore, Lu Qingyao was the perfect candidate for the operation. Only she had a chance to obtain Lu Kun’s blood without alerting him.

“But, what am I suppose to do? I can’t just bring a needle and stab uncle in the arm!” Lu Qingyao grumbled.

Lu Qingyao had always been afraid of Lu Kun. She might act arrogantly in front of outsiders, but she had always been obedient to her uncle.

She was afraid of Lu Kun, whether or not he was possessed by some demon!

“You can fawn upon him and say you have a friend who’s a renowned doctor overseas visiting you. You can tell him you are organizing a health checkup for him because you are worried about his health!” Lu Zhengxin was full of ideas.

“Fine, I’ll give it a try.”

—

The other guests were busy with their jobs. None of them were around in the mansion.

As the supervisor, Lu Kun had sent a few powerful Mages of his clan to keep an eye on the Hunters to prevent them from communicating with one another.

Lu Kun was doing his job perfectly. If Mo Fan had not learned of the red demon’s trait of possessing six fingers, he might have assumed Lu Kun was just a normal person who was focusing on getting his reward from the client as well.

“Uncle!” Lu Qingyao always dressed casually when she was at home.

“Didn’t I ask you and Lu Zhengxin to follow Mo Fan around?” Lu Kun was enjoying a cup of tea in the garden.

A few men in suits sat beside him with documents in their hands. They bowed and left, as they had just gotten their new orders from their boss.

“Lu Zhengxin is with him. They are currently resting in their rooms. They don’t have any plans to go anywhere,” Lu Qingyao said.

“Oh, come closer,” Lu Kun said.

Lu Qingyao was startled.

“I asked you to come closer,” Lu Kun said in a commanding tone.

Lu Qingyao did not dare to disobey Lu Kun. She walked up to the man.

Lu Kun reached out his hand and turned Lu Qingyao’s chin to the other side. He looked at her face and said, “Does it still hurt?”

“Oh, no, it doesn’t. It was my fault anyway,” Lu Qingyao responded in a panic.

“You are too skinny. Is the food here not to your liking? I’ll ask them to get new chefs,” Lu Kun said indifferently after letting go of Lu Qingyao’s chin.

“Not at all, Chef Pang’s dishes are very delicious,” Lu Qingyao said quickly.

“Mm, that’s good to hear. Do you have anything else to tell me?” Lu Kun put on a pair of glasses to read the document in his hand. His deep eyes rarely had any glow in them. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking.

“Uncle, I have a friend from overseas, he’s a great doctor. I’m worried about you since you have been working so hard lately. I’m thinking of asking him to do a medical checkup for you,” Lu Qingyao said.

Lu Kun placed the document down and took off his glasses. He stared at Lu Qingyao.

Lu Qingyao had the urge to take off in fear.

“What do you mean?” Lu Kun said in a deep voice.

Lu Qingyao started panicking.

“I…I didn’t mean anything… I just thought about what you said, about how we aren’t living up to your expectations.

“I was thinking about it overnight. You are right that you have been paving a path for us all these years, but we are simply taking it for granted. You are managing everything yourself, so I was worried your health might decline after working so hard. My friend happens to be a doctor…

“I…I was just trying to help. I’ll feel at ease if I know uncle is healthy.”

Lu Qingyao’s back was already soaked in sweat by the time she finished her explanation.

She had never thought Lu Kun’s eyes could be so intimidating when he was suspicious!

Chapter 2383: Kazuaki, the Red Demon

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s exactly what we thought…”

Mo Fan was astounded even though he already had a feeling about it.

Lu Kun was the red demon!

Who was their client, then? Was it just a coincidence Lu Kun was chosen as the supervisor for the job?

Or perhaps the mysterious client already knew something, so they had purposely arranged for Lu Kun to be involved, too?

“Sister, I told you, it wasn’t my imagination, nor was I high on drugs. What I saw was real!” Lu Zhengxin was oddly excited about the result.

Mo Fan and Lingling looked at him in confusion. It sounded like Lu Zhengxin had not told them everything.

“Impossible, no demon creature can…” Lu Qingyao was still struggling to believe it.

“The red demon can devour a human’s soul and take over their body, but to prevent others from noticing their existence, they will carefully mimic the previous owner’s habits and behavior. The red demon is a product of the combined hatred of criminals who were sentenced to death. It’s an embodiment of human hatred!” Mo Fan explained.

It was not difficult for the red demon to disguise itself as a human. Lu Kun looked and acted the same as his old self. If the red demon could control its savage nature, it could completely take over its prey and act like an ordinary human.

It did not matter if Lu Qingyao was reluctant to believe it. The two pieces of evidence had proven Lu Kun was the red demon.

Having six fingers might only be a coincidence, but what about the blood samples? How could their blood samples match so perfectly?

“Mo Fan, do you remember Kazuaki, the old Japanese man Ken told you about? How many years has it been since he left with the Essence Orb?” Lingling asked him.

“How many years? I don’t know, Mochizuki Ken is already so old. It should have been at least thirty years ago?” Mo Fan estimated.

Mo Fan had no idea when it had happened. He would have to ask Mochizuki Chihaya or Mochizuki Ken.

Unfortunately, Mochizuki Chihaya was nowhere to be seen, the same as Mochizuki Ken.

“Lu Zhengxin, I need a favor from you,” Lingling said.

“Sure! I’ll do anything you say!” Lu Zhengxin agreed.

—

Lu Zhengxin left in a hurry, leaving Lu Qingyao behind with a blank face.

“Can you tell me what Lu Zhengxin was referring to just now? Your uncle Lu Kun indeed looks just like a normal human on the surface, but the red demon will never show its true form to the people around it, assuming it’s intelligent enough,” Lingling asked her.

If the red demon already possessed the intelligence of an adult human, it would be aware that Lu Kun’s identity was the best cover for it. It no longer had to live in the dark, nor was it being constantly hunted by Hunters like Senior Hunter Leng.

The Hunters would never allow an existence like the red demon. Every mutant species was a potential target for the Hunters!

“My grandfather is in charge of the Magic City’s safety. My uncle is managing the Prison Mountain that belongs to the Enforcement Union. One night, Lu Zhengxin made a mistake, so my grandfather sent him to the Prison Mountain to work as a prison guard for three months as punishment,” Lu Qingyao said.

“Lu Zhengxin claimed he saw uncle walking into a room on his first day. He immediately followed uncle into the room to tell him grandfather had arranged him to work at the prison, but it was another man inside the room.

“Lu Zhengxin was confident the room did not have another exit. He was right behind uncle before entering the room,” Lu Qingyao finished.

“He can change his face, too?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

“Lu Zhengxin thought he mistook uncle for another man… but he was on a video call with his mother. His mother also said she saw Lu Kun walking into the room,” Lu Qingyao confirmed.

—

Lu Zhengxin came back after a while. Mo Fan asked him about what Lu Qingyao had told them.

Lu Zhengxin said, “I swear I saw him. Even if I mistook him for another man, why would my mother make the same mistake? It’s a pity that I didn’t save the recording. It was another man when I entered the room, but he was wearing the same clothes as uncle!”

In the past, Mo Fan would never have believed a person had the ability to change their appearance, but after discovering the Drowning Curse Maggots and the Eagle Demoness, he knew there were creatures that could modify their appearance.

The world was full of wonders.

They had discovered another important clue. The red demon had the ability to change its appearance!

“Did you ask him what I told you to?” Lingling was more concerned about something else.

“I did, but how did you know my uncle isn’t my grandfather’s biological son?” Lu Zhengxin wondered.

“What now?!” Lu Qingyao was startled.

“Grandfather told me Uncle Lu Kun joined our clan and changed his surname many years ago. He had done a lot of things for our clan, so grandfather gladly adopted him as his son. Most of us in the younger generation don’t know Uncle Lu Kun was a foreigner,” Lu Zhengxin explained.

“A foreigner?”

“Mm, grandfather told me Uncle Lu Kun used to be a Japanese… I think his name was Kazuaki.”

Mo Fan and Lingling immediately exchanged glances after hearing the name.

Lu Kun was Kazuaki, the man who had escaped with the Essence Orb! He came to China and joined the Lu Clan, changing his name to Lu Kun!

“We have to tell old man Ken immediately… Damn it, what is that old man up to? What job did he receive?” Mo Fan said.

“I think we should pay the Prison Mountain a visit,” Lingling said.

The Prison Mountain… Wasn’t that similar to East Guardian Tower in Japan? If Lu Kun was managing it…

The place was full of hate; it was the perfect place for a red demon!

Senior Hunter Leng kept emphasizing how terrifying the red demon was. They had to eliminate it at all costs, for the sake of mankind.

A Senior Hunter would only pursue a target so stubbornly after learning some shocking truth!

“The Prison Mountain must be holding some secret,” Mo Fan agreed.

“Let’s not alert Lu Kun first. I will collect information about the jobs my father did and see if any of them were related to the Prison Mountain,” Lingling said.

“I’ll find out more about the Prison Mountain from the Enforcement Union,” Mo Fan said.

“What about us?” Lu Qingyao and Lu Zhengxin asked.

“You two should act normal so Lu Kun doesn’t notice anything. No, wait, you should come with me.. Lu Kun seems to have some strange ability to foresee things!” Mo Fan recalled how Lu Kun had interfered with his secret meeting with Mochizuki Chihaya.

Chapter 2384: Prison Mountain

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan waited until it was night before heading to Prison Mountain.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, Prison Mountain was very close to the first place he had lived in after he moved to Shanghai. It was a temporary settlement for refugees in Lehuo Town!

What the actual f**k!

How dodgy was the temporary settlement? The huge prison belonging to the Oriental Pearl Magic Association, imprisoning Mages who had committed crimes, was right beside it!

Mo Fan never even knew the place existed back then.

The Enforcement Union mainly went after the Black Vatican, but it had never sent the members of the Black Vatican to this prison.

Mo Fan took a detour and visited the refugee settlement after he passed by Lehuo Town.

The settlement was managed by the government. It had arranged for someone else to live in Mo Fan’s place after he left.

Mo Fan was still waiting for Lingling’s update. He strolled through the area out of boredom.

Lehuo Town was much livelier now. Many villages and towns had been moved to the headquarters city, so no matter how frail the buildings were, it was unlikely they would be empty.

Some of the units were even separated in two to provide shelter for two families, a common thing in extreme times.

After all, no one wanted to be dragged into the deep abyss of the ocean by the sea monsters!

—

(Knock knock). Mo Fan knocked politely on the door, even though he still had the key to his old unit.

“Who is it?” someone sounding like a little girl asked. The door swung open before Mo Fan could respond.

A young boy with a shaved head looked Mo Fan up and down with a confused face.

Fine, it was just a boy who had yet to go through puberty…

“I lived here before. I think I have some old stuff I didn’t manage to take with me. Did your family throw them away?” Mo Fan asked him.

“Ah, so those things were yours! I’ll get them for you, please wait for me here!” The young boy was surprisingly friendly. He immediately ran back inside to get Mo Fan’s belongings.

Mo Fan peeked into the unit and saw a lot of boxes, groceries, clothes, and kitchen supplies.

The young boy soon returned with a box.

Inside it was some random stuff, like the photo he had taken with Xinxia when they were young, the little ornaments he had bought Xinxia, and the handcrafted toys he had once used to trick Mu Ningxue.

Losing them was not a big deal, especially since he had already won their hearts, but it was meaningful to keep them, too!

“Big brother, can you tell me how you made the two girls like you so much?” the young boy asked curiously.

(Cough cough!) “How can you pry into someone else’s belongings!?” Mo Fan protested awkwardly.

“They were so cute when they were young. I bet they must be very beautiful now, too! Did you manage to get hold of them both?” the young boy pressed.

Mo Fan had a feeling his secret was being exposed.

“You don’t have an apple yet. You are just a little boy. Why are you asking so many questions?” Mo Fan pointed out.

“Of course I don’t have an apple. I’m a girl!” the boy blinked.

Mo Fan was stunned.

“Father is not home all the time, and there are a lot of strangers here, so I cut this hair../style and tanned myself. I also wear boys’ T-shirts most of the time… ah, I shouldn’t be telling you this!” the young boy finally realized.

Mo Fan took a closer look and noticed the lines on her face were much softer. No one would assume she was a girl with her tanned skin and the butch cut.

“Impressive, you already have the awareness to protect yourself at such a young age,” Mo Fan smiled.

Mo Fan was impressed by the ‘little boy’. A person should never lower their guard against the world, no matter what their age was.

“Hehe, many of my classmates don’t even know I’m a girl. Some of the girls even wrote me love letters!” the girl smiled, revealing her pearly whites and a cute bucktooth.

She was not wary of Mo Fan, maybe because she had seen many of his belongings and his little diary.

“Girls who are independent are very cool!” Mo Fan raised his thumb.

Mo Fan was about to leave after retrieving his belongings, but the little girl kept staring at Mo Fan, like she had something to say.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Can I ask you for a favor?” the girl said.

“Sure, you’ve helped me keep these precious memories,” Mo Fan agreed without a thought.

“My father hasn’t called me for two days. I’m worried about him,” the girl said.

“Where does your father work?” Mo Fan asked.

“Behind that mountain. I always see strange cars going in and out of it. He doesn’t allow me to visit his workplace, and he never introduces his colleagues to me, so I don’t know who to ask…” the girl told him.

Mo Fan frowned deeply.

The place behind the mountain was his destination tonight, the Prison Mountain!

Huge fences separated the town and the prison, but they were still only a few kilometers apart.

“What’s your name? What’s your father’s name?” Mo Fan asked her.

“I’m Chen Maiya, my father is Chen Feng!”

“Alright, Little Maiya, stay home for now. I’ll help you look for him,” Mo Fan reached out his hand and fondled the girl’s head.

“Thank you!” Little Maiya said.

—

Lingling soon arrived. Mo Fan told her about Little Maiya. Lingling remained silent as she fell into deep thought.

Lu Zhengxin and Lu Qingyao came with Lingling, too. They were eager to find out the truth.

They headed to the Prison Mountain. The area around it was protected by a magic Formation, mainly to prevent the criminals from having any contact with the people of Lehuo Town.

However, the magic Formation was a lot weaker compared to the defenses of the East Guardian Tower in Japan. A high-level Mage could easily break through it.

—

There were a lot of laborers in the Prison Mountain.

The mountain’s composition was special. An Earth Mage could refine it into sturdier concrete and apply it to buildings or walls to make them stronger.

The whole coastline had become a war zone due to the invasion of sea monsters. Normal construction materials were as fragile as bubbles to the sea monsters. The buildings had to be constructed with materials that had been refined with magic.

The Prison Mountain was not just a prison, but a factory managed by the military. There were managers, workers, craftsmen, and laborers.

The prisoners were the laborers!

Chapter 2385: Role-Model Worker Prisoners

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Prison Mountain used special cuffs to force the imprisoned Mages to work as laborers.

The main reason was that the resources spent to train a Mage were huge. It would be a waste if the Mages were locked up to rot or executed because of their crimes.

Prison Mountain had so many people at work that it was like a huge business.

Lehuo Town was established mainly because of Prison Mountain, as many people were making a living off the ‘enterprise’ here!

Mo Fan had lived in Lehuo Town for a year. Even if he was focusing on his cultivation, he should have heard of the prison factory.

It was likely that the government and the workers were keeping it secret from ordinary people.

—

“I’ve looked into it. The place is well-managed and isn’t involved in anything illegal on the surface. It’s like a model of what a business should be,” Lingling told him.

“Mm, it does seem that way on the surface.” Mo Fan was observing Prison Mountain from higher ground.

The workers were doing their jobs in an orderly manner. Even the guard in a remote corner was standing perfectly straight and keeping an eye on his surroundings.

Everyone, including the ordinary workers who were responsible for moving things around and the guards in charge of security, was doing their job perfectly.

Mo Fan did not think he could sneak in without alerting anyone if it weren’t for the Dark Noble Mantle.

A dozen workers were chanting together as they filled up a truck with the special concrete.

The driver started the engine after they were done and drove the truck out of the gates.

The security at the entrance was very tight. There were three checkpoints in total.

Not only were they checking the truck, they were scanning the concrete to make sure no criminal was hiding in it to escape from the prison!

“I doubt any of the prisoners can escape from here,” Mo Fan judged.

Lingling nodded. With such tight security, even Mo Fan might struggle to break out of the prison if he put on the special cuffs.

“There are so many people here,” Lingling noticed.

They had yet to see the tunnels where the laborers were digging. They only saw the workers who were filling the trucks, organizing the loads, and the men on watch duty, but that was already a good two thousand people!

When Mo Fan had been staying in Lehuo Town, he had thought everything was peaceful and calm despite a little haze and pollution. To his surprise, there was such a huge factory behind a hill!

There were nine tunnels in total. Each tunnel had huge machines in operation.

The first tunnel was where the prisoners were working.

The other tunnels and structures mainly provided the workers with residences, canteens, resting grounds, or were used to process the rare material, load the trucks, and garage them.

The place alone was a town itself, but it was more like an assembly line, similar to the factories of a big manufacturing company. The workers were working like machines.

The first tunnel was a different sight. After all, the criminals were working in it.

The situation in the first tunnel was a lot more complicated. It was protected by a stronger magic Formation. Even a Super Shadow Mage like Mo Fan was struggling to find his way in through it.

In addition to the Formation, the place was watched over by many prison guards.

Behind the first tunnel was a huge prison. The prisoners had no contact with the ordinary workers.

They were escorted out from the prison to work as laborers in the tunnel. After they were done, they were escorted back into the prison. The ordinary workers would then transport the raw material out from the tunnel to be processed.

The first tunnel might be off-limits, but Mo Fan was able to see it from the second tunnel and the workshops.

Several hundred prisoners were still digging late at night. They must have been assigned to the night shift.

Their minds would be freed temporarily inside the first tunnel, allowing them to use their magic.

Mo Fan saw a prisoner with the Earth Element standing motionless, but he was using his magic, getting the rare material to eject itself from the ground like bamboo shoots.

A prisoner with the Space Element was controlling a few dozen pickaxes at once, digging up an area.

Some Fire Mages were using their flames to provide digging machines with energy, operating them like steam engines.

These prisoners had likely worked there for many years, and were doing their jobs adeptly. Mo Fan did not notice any dangerous feelings like he expected from criminals. They acted more like diligent workers to him.

“It’s strange,” Lingling commented.

“It’s like a truly ethical company. Are you sure Lu Kun is the red demon? How does he manage this place so well?” Mo Fan wondered.

Even the prisoners had become role-model workers!

Unbelievable. These prisoners used to be arrogant Mages, who were cruel and fierce!

It was difficult enough to make sure ordinary workers did their jobs diligently, even if they were paid. How was it possible to turn Mages into hardworking laborers, too?

Did the red demon have a change of heart? Did he become a successful enterprise manager after laying low for so many years?

“The workers are acting strange, just like the prisoners,” Lingling noticed alertly.

“Something does seem strange, but I can’t say for sure,” Mo Fan agreed.

“They have no sense of life. They are doing their jobs seriously. I can’t see a single person slacking, nor are they talking among themselves. Most importantly, they are not showing any emotions, even when they are doing dirty and tiring work,” Lingling pointed out to him.

Mo Fan had the same feeling after Lingling mentioned it.

It was true that the people were like machines. If the huge factory was operating like a machine, the people were its wheels and screws.

Everything was in perfect order!

It was too formulaic! How could living people not have any emotions?

The drivers and workers did not even exchange glances. The people eating in the canteen did not talk to their colleagues, either.

The prisoners in the first tunnel were doing as they were told without any complaints!

The guards were focused on their jobs, despite everything being calm and in perfect order!

They did not slack. They did not complain. They did not communicate outside work.

They were solely focused on their own jobs.

If a company had a dozen workers like this, it meant the boss did a great job managing it.

However, this was impossible. None of the employees in a huge enterprise made up of several thousand people were showing any emotions like normal people!

“It feels like something has drawn away their emotions.”

“Not only the prisoners, but the workers, guards, and supervisors… they are all the same! Could it be there’s an Essence Orb here, too?” Mo Fan guessed.

Chapter 2386: Fighting the Prisoners

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan strongly believed there was an Essence Orb down there.

As a matter of fact, they knew the red demon needed to absorb a huge amount of hatred to grow.

The workers, employees, and prison guards, and even the cruel prisoners, did not complain, nor show any signs of grudges or anger.

Something must have taken away their emotions, turning them into laboring machines!

“Mo Fan, look,” Lingling pointed at Mo Fan’s hip.

Mo Fan looked down and noticed his Essence Orb was glowing.

He was so focused on observing the people that he did not realize his Essence Orb had been glowing for a while.

It seemed the Essence Orb had detected a source of energy it was interested in. Mo Fan had never seen it glow so brightly!

“It looks like it’s close to the first tunnel, on that watchtower,” Mo Fan said after a moment of looking around.

The first tunnel was located between a huge workshop, some walls, and the prison. A tall watchtower stood right beside the first tunnel. Not only did it provide a good view of the prison, it could also see the entire area!

The glow of the Essence Orb grew brighter as Mo Fan drew closer to the watchtower.

At the top of the tower was a huge dark red Orb. It suddenly lit up like the blood-red eye of a demon.

The prisoners in the first tunnel shuddered when the orb emitted the strange red light. The prisoners who were busy working immediately turned their heads in Mo Fan’s direction.

Their eyes were bloodshot and glowing in the dark. The first tunnel was soon brimming with a murderous feeling!

The factory that was initially operating in perfect order was filled with icy gusts of wind. Mo Fan and Lingling subconsciously took a few steps back!

“What just happened?” Lingling asked quickly.

How were they discovered? Could it be the red Orb on the watchtower was really an eye with powers similar to the Eye of the Golden Dragon?

“It didn’t discover us, it noticed my Essence Orb! I think it wants to devour my Essence Orb!” Mo Fan guessed.

Mo Fan’s Essence Orb was just like the Orb the red demon was born from, but the red demon had developed a consciousness after taking over human bodies.

Mo Fan’s Essence Orb had been modified to only absorb special Evil Energy. It could no longer bewitch humans.

Whether or not the Essence Orb had its consciousness, the energy inside it was exactly what the Evil Red Orb needed. It might ‘ascend as an immortal’ sooner once it devoured the Essence Orb’s energy!

The Evil Red Orb began to control the prisoners. They were coming to take away Mo Fan’s Essence Orb!

The prisoners growled like beasts.

They seemed to have forgotten human speech after their minds had been controlled for so long. Their eyes were bloodshot, as if they had turned into the Evil Red Orb’s soldiers.

The prisoners were Mages of certain levels, or they would not be imprisoned here.

In addition to the prisoners, the guards were being influenced by the Evil Red Orb as well!

People were surrounding Mo Fan and Lingling from every direction, not giving them a chance to escape.

Lingling glanced at the huge Barrier above them. “The Barrier has been removed. They can use their magic!”

The huge Barrier was the prison’s magic Formation, established to restrict the prisoners’ power.

As a matter of fact, the magic Formation was just a decoy, assuming the Evil Orb was controlling everyone’s mind. Not only would the prisoners not escape, they would work endlessly and feed the Evil Red Orb with their grudges and anger.

“Lu Kun has set up a factory to collect human hatred here. I shall destroy it today!” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

Mo Fan had no reason to go easy on the prisoners, since they were attacking him first!

He was able to enter the first tunnel after the magic Formation was deactivated. He went straight at the prisoners, lightning runes circling his fingers.

As he swung his hands, purple lightning crackled through the air and spread wildly.

The lightning arcs immediately exploded when they made contact with the prisoners. Those who were caught by Mo Fan’s lightning went flying and slammed into the wall of the mountain a hundred meters away.

Mo Fan continued to press forward after taking care of a dozen prisoners, heading inside the first tunnel.

There were hundreds of prisoners in the pit there. They were jumping, flying, and climbing up the pit that was over fifty meters deep.

Mo Fan looked down at them fearlessly.

He did not have to wait for the prisoners to put in so much effort just to surround him. He took the initiative to go down into the pit instead!

Mo Fan jumped down over the heads of several dozen prisoners.

He landed heavily in the pit. Not only did the ground crack apart, huge boulders erupted from the ground like shark fangs.

It was like stirring up ripples on the surface of a calm lake, but the ripples were terrifying shark fangs with great penetrating force instead!

The ripples created hundreds of shark fangs, each around four meters high. The further they were from the center, the higher they were!

Mo Fan had landed in the middle of where most of the prisoners had gathered. Fresh blood splashed in the air and splattered on the golden-brown Rock Fangs.

Thirty prisoners were defeated by the impact alone, either dead or crippled.

Mo Fan was getting better at using his abilities!

“Look out above you!” Lingling had already found a safe hiding spot, but she did not forget to warn Mo Fan of the approaching danger.

Mo Fan looked up and saw three clusters of spells flying at him simultaneously.

The watchtower was the only spot that had not been targeted by his spells!

“Humph, you dare to stir up trouble first? I’ll absorb you today since I need to replenish the energy I consumed, too!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

The Evil Red Orb was able to devour the Essence Orb. Likewise, the Essence Orb could also devour the Evil Red Orb!

It was too early to say who was going to evolve in the end!

The Essence Orb was Mo Fan’s backup battery when he transformed into his demon form. He had consumed a portion of its energy when he was chasing after Salan. He could replenish its energy by devouring the Evil Red Orb!

Mo Fan used Blink to dodge the spells coming from three different directions, moving toward the watchtower.

The Evil Red Orb was the mastermind. It made sense to go after it first!

Chapter 2387: More and More Reckless

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Air Projectile!”

Mo Fan quickly moved toward the watchtower while flicking his fingers out.

He seemed to be moving his fingers softly, but he was firing massive projectiles through the air. An obvious shockwave flew at the prisoners who were trying to attack Mo Fan.

The Air Projectile knocked a few prisoners into the air, their ribs collapsing from the impact. Be they fatties over a hundred kilograms or young men who were only around fifty kilograms, they were sent flying before smashing into the ground and walls, breaking their bones.

The prisoners who were charging at Mo Fan did not stand a chance against him. Some prisoners who were Advanced Mages did not have time to complete their Star Constellations before they were sent flying by Mo Fan’s finger-flicks.

“Do you think you have the advantage of numbers?” Mo Fan glanced ahead and noticed many prisoners with bloodshot eyes guarding the watchtower.

The Evil Red Orb seemed to notice Mo Fan’s intention. It began to gather the prisoners around it.

The prison guards joined the battle, flanking in behind Mo Fan

“Shadow Fiend: Army of Shadows!”

Mo Fan waved his hand and turned the first tunnel into a black swamp.

Shadow fiends emerged from the swamp. Some were bulky warriors, while others were riders on phantom horses. There were also shadowy guards with strange appearances!

They were like deceased souls brought back to life from a distant cursed land to refight the war they had once died in.

The shadow fiends charged forward, shouting at the top of their lungs and massacring every person along the way!

More than a hundred prisoners had gathered in front of Mo Fan. Their cultivations were not that weak, but they soon lost ground in the face of Mo Fan’s Super Shadow Magic.

Lingling was observing the battle from higher ground. She opened her mouth in shock after seeing how unstoppable Mo Fan was.

Mo Fan had again grown stronger after they had not seen one another for some time!

The prison was full of serious-offense prisoners arrested by the Enforcement Union. They might not be at their full strength after being held captive for so long, but it was still shocking to see Mo Fan beating them up in a one-sided battle!

The prisoners’ spells poured down on Mo Fan like little sprinkles of colorful rain, while Mo Fan’s counterattacks were like ferocious waves. He was knocking them all to the ground, regardless of their cultivation and strength.

The Evil Red Orb realized the prisoners alone were not enough to stop the intruder. It began to emit another strange light.

The light was shining at the prison. The prison guards opened every cell door and deactivated the Barrier there.

The prisoners inside the building also had bloodshot eyes, like they were possessed by demons. They let out ghastly shrieks and charged at Mo Fan in a great tide, wielding their magic.

Some of the prisoners inside the building had impressive strength. They were Channeling spells and constructing Star Palaces!

“Mo Fan, look out, a lot more prisoners are coming from the building!” Lingling warned him.

The first tunnel only had the prisoners who were allocated for the night shift. The number of prisoners in the building was several times greater than the prisoners who were working.

Mo Fan would have to fight against thousands of criminals once they reached the first tunnel!

It was impossible for Mo Fan to beat them all, especially when the prisoners were lunging at him fearlessly while their minds were being controlled.

“I should make it in time!” Mo Fan did not panic even when he saw the prisoners racing toward him.

Fighting against a thousand prisoners was no longer that exciting to Mo Fan after he had witnessed the scale of a true war in South America.

That being said, these prisoners whom the Enforcement Union had arrested were not as weak as ordinary soldiers. They had to be fairly infamous for the Enforcement Union to make the effort to arrest them.

Mo Fan soon felt the pressure from a few Super Level prisoners.

They were flying in the air and preventing Mo Fan from reaching the Evil Red Orb. One of them was a Super Water Mage.

The Super Water Mage surprisingly managed to Summon a river in the sky. Thousands of tons of water poured down at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan suddenly felt like he was standing under the Niagara Falls, and ferocious and terrifying white serpents were crashing into him.

He was forced to back away just after he finally made it to the watchtower.

“Try putting out my lava, then!” Mo Fan was enraged.

The Calamity Fire engulfed his arms as Mo Fan synchronized his mind with Little Flame Belle and borrowed her flames!

“Lava Fist River!”

If the enemy Summoned a river to stop him, he would evaporate the river with brute force!

He threw a punch into the air, deciding not to back away anymore. Roaring flames burst out of his fist and surged at the water in the sky!

The blazing flames sent a red carpet into the sky and established a path filled with long-lasting lava. The water of the river opposite it began evaporating rapidly, the spell greatly weakened.

“You dare challenge me when you don’t even possess a Soul-grade Seed?” Mo Fan taunted the Super Water Mage.

The Super Water Mage only had a Spirit-grade Soul Seed. It was actually unlikely for a Super Mage to not have a Soul-grade Seed. The only explanation was that the Soul-grade Seed had dropped a level after the Mage’s power was constantly absorbed by the Evil Orb!

The Heavenly-grade and Spirit-grade were two levels apart. The difference in power was huge, even if two Mages were using the same level of spells. The river in the sky failed to overcome Mo Fan’s scorching lava.

Mo Fan threw another fist at the Super Water Mage.

The Water Mage used to be the president of a local Magic Association. He had retained some of his self-awareness, and was in disbelief when the young man was able to nullify his Water Spell with ease.

He had only been in prison for five years. Had the outside world already changed so dramatically that a young man like this could easily overcome his Super Water Spell?

“He’s getting more reckless!”

Lingling finally understood why Mo Fan had the guts to go after the red demon.

He could even trample a Ruler-level creature with his current strength, let alone old Mages whose strength had declined significantly!

—

Mo Fan jumped onto the watchtower after getting rid of the biggest nuisance.

If the Evil Red Orb had been able to transform into a human like Lu Kun, it would be shivering in fear by now.

It only came up with the idea of robbing Mo Fan’s Essence Orb out of greed. It did not expect to stumble into a crazy demon king!

Chapter 2388: The Worst Era of Mankind

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan took a quick glance at the prisoners who were approaching him. “Are they still coming to seek their deaths? Little Flame Belle, teach them a lesson on my behalf!”

As soon as Mo Fan Summoned Little Flame Belle, a blinding light descended from the sky like the rise of a phoenix. The little porcelain doll instantly transformed into an imperious empress.

Her long hair was like a blazing red waterfall. She was also draped in a cloak formed with burning petals. Her smooth skin was brimming with scorching heat.

Flame Belle Empress was able to walk freely in the air. She hovered between two Super Level prisoners.

The two mind-controlled Mages had an urge to betray their master after seeing her terrifying flames.

Flame Belle Empress was a real Ruler-level creature. Mages who had yet to achieve the peak of Super Level were like little kids in front of a Ruler-level creature. They would only stand a chance by attacking as a group, and these prisoners were no longer at their full strength after being in captivity for a long time.

Only two Super Mages? They were not even enough for Flame Belle Empress’ warm-up!

—

Mo Fan knew the huge fuss he created must have gotten Lu Kun’s attention.

The Evil Red Orb must have been in Prison Mountain for some years. It had absorbed a huge amount of soul energy and was close to establishing its own faction.

To the others, it was a devil that could take over a human’s body at anytime, but in Mo Fan’s eyes, it was a mature flat peach that would only be born once every thousand years. It was the best time to eat it!

The Evil Red Orb was embedded at the top of the watchtower. It wanted to grow a pair of legs and run away when it saw the greed in Mo Fan’s eyes.

Don’t come any closer!

I’ll call the cops if you do!

1

Mo Fan could not care less about the Evil Orb’s desires. Lu Kun had been nurturing such a valuable thing in Prison Mountain. He did not mind reaping the harvest!

Others would be wary of being devoured and taken over by the Evil Orb, but Mo Fan was not scared at all.

To be frank, the Essence Orb he was carrying on his waist was actually the Evil Red Orb’s father!

—

The Essence Orb began to devour the Evil Orb.

It was absorbing the energy of the prisoners the Evil Orb had gathered from their hatred, as well as its own energy that it had nurtured after staying in the prison’s environment over a long time.

The Essence Orb was taking huge bites at a time now.

Mo Fan could feel the energy that he had consumed in his demon form was replenished in just a few seconds. He felt even more confident.

The red Aura circling the Evil Orb began to dissipate, and its color was changing gradually.

It eventually reverted to a lifeless and dull gray Orb.

“It looks like there’s some residue left.” Mo Fan noticed his Essence Orb was already full. A few wisps of red energy were still circling the Essence Orb, like a bunch of orphans with nowhere to go.

This was a little troublesome.

First of all, the energy of an Evil Orb would not dissipate on its own. The leaked energy of an Evil Orb had caused a plague in Croatia, resulting in a huge panic.

Second, Little Loach was reluctant to absorb this not-so-pure energy. It was a Soul Container with mysophobia!

Mo Fan was still feeling troubled when the red energy began to flow toward his Space Bracelet.

It felt like something else was absorbing it!

Mo Fan was puzzled. He opened the Space Bracelet and noticed the semi-manufactured Universe Vein he had received as the deposit for this job was absorbing the residual energy!

A semi-manufactured Universe Vein was like a half-filled core. The Universe Vein rapidly evolved after absorbing the energy leaking out from the Essence Orb!

“Oh my, is it going to evolve into a complete Universe Vein?” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

The difference between a semi-manufactured Universe Vein and a complete Universe Vein was incredibly huge. Mo Fan could feel his remaining Elements stuck in the Advanced Level were about to break through their limits as the semi-manufactured Universe Vein was absorbing the energy!

“It is high quality, too!” Mo Fan blurted out in joy.

He had obtained a complete Universe Vein prior to finishing his job!

Mo Fan did not expect the Evil Red Orb to possess so much energy. It had somehow given him a complete Universe Vein. He would soon have a fourth Super Element!

—

—

In an abandoned building on the outskirts of Magic City, a man in a red shirt stood on the edge of its roof with a long list in his hand.

“Are you sure the government won’t notice them if they go missing?” Lu Kun asked.

An old man in a tuxedo behind him smiled. His teeth had an icy glow in the dark.

“There are too many towns and villages around the Magic City after it was promoted to a headquarters city. No matter how careful the officials are, they won’t be able to keep track of everyone and settle them down. Some people might have gone missing after they were relocated to the headquarters city. It’s not so easy to track them down now,” the old man replied in his deep voice.

“Very well… Prison Mountain has almost reached its full capacity. We’ll transfer these people to our new place,” Lu Kun agreed.

“Your fruit is already mature, isn’t it? Once you absorb it, I believe the old Senior Hunters of this country will no longer pose a threat to you,” the old man noted.

“It’s true that I no longer have to be wary of them.”

“Does that mean we can proceed with our plan more blatantly? We have been so cautious over these years. I almost have a feeling I’ve become a human. I so wish we could hunt our prey, drink human blood, and collect hatred freely, turning this city into a capital of sin. Even the air would be rich and mellow, like red wine. The Hunters would be shivering in fear as we rule over them. The living humans will be given to us as offerings and slaves!” The old man was overwhelmed with excitement.

During the Dark Age in Europe, when the land was crawling with darkness and the soil was covered with fresh blood, the vampires were able to live in their castles with thousands of servants.

Hunters? They were just wild animals that could put up a slight resistance!

But now, the mutant races could only live in the sewers. They had to act like thieves just to steal some blood to drink.

Most annoyingly, when the old man was walking in a dark alley, the women always assumed he was a pervert stalker.

Those assh****!

He was planning to bite their necks and drink their flesh blood, which might end up taking their lives. He was not a mere pervert who was lusting over their booties!

He recalled how the pedestrians always carried plenty of crosses on them when they were out on the streets at night in Europe.

Humph, look at the people nowadays… They have lost their basic fear and respect of the Blood Tribe!

It is the worst era of mankind!

“Have some patience, now isn’t the time for it yet.” Lu Kun was being more cautious.

The invasion of sea monsters was going to bring more chaos to human society. It would create a great environment for them to feed in.

They had to take their time.

He was planning to nurture a few more fruits, similar to the one in Prison Mountain.

It was not late to create their own world once they grew stronger!

Chapter 2389: Elder of the Blood Tribe

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Something has been bothering me for a while. Is the glowing vein on your wrist some kind of rare ability?” the old man asked Lu Kun.

Lu Kun glanced at his wrist and noticed the glowing vein had dimmed suddenly.

His expression sank as he stared at the mountains to the north in shock.

“Who dares touch my belongings!?” Lu Kun was enraged, and his eyes turned bloodshot.

He was behaving like a calm businessman just a moment ago, but his entire body turned blood-red, as if something terrifying was about to burst out of his flesh!

It gave the old man a fright. He had noticed the glowing vein for some time, but he had never had the chance to ask what it was until now.

“Someone is going after my fruit!” Lu Kun snarled with a twisted expression. His face seemed to have developed a few different layers.

A few different faces took turns surfacing. They were twisted with anger and hatred.

“The red fruit at Prison Mountain? You have nurtured it for three years…” the old man did not dare finish the sentence. He asked, “Could it be the Hunters?”

“I don’t care who it is. He’s going to regret he was born in the first place!”

“Has it finally begun, my master?” the old man licked his lips with a sinister expression.

“Go and keep him there. I’ll be there soon,” Lu Kun ordered him.

“That’s fine, but you won’t mind if I cross the line a little to replenish my strength, right?” the old man asked.

Lu Kun acknowledged the request with silence.

The old man’s eyes glittered. He could finally take human blood freely!

Even if the Hunters were involved, they were merely asking for their deaths, trying to go against a powerful creature like Lu Kun.

A dark red cape appeared behind the old man out of nowhere. The cape immediately split into two.

The old man’s backbone suddenly erupted from his body and merged with the cape that had split into two.

The spinal column and ribs extended like a pair of wings!

The wings grew out instantly. There was still blood and ooze on them, like an insect that had broken out of its cocoon in fast motion.

The old man took off into the air and told Lu Kun, “Perhaps I’ll have already taken care of the thief before you arrive!”

The dark red wings beat rapidly, with outstanding flexibility. The old man flew across the sky like a mysterious bat, glowing eerily.

—

At Lehuo Town, the clear night sky was shrouded by a thin mist, blurring the moonlight. Even the street lamps were having difficulty lighting up the streets.

There was no sign of pedestrians on the streets. Most people were already fast asleep at this hour, except for the factories still operating in Prison Mountain.

Mo Fan had no intention of overstaying his welcome. He knew something was coming when he picked up a strange scent in the air.

He walked down the street and saw an old man approaching him.

The old man was wearing a fine tuxedo with a dark red cape draped over his shoulders. A street lamp was right above him, but it failed to project the old man’s shadow.

“Mo Fan, take a closer look at the mist,” Lingling whispered.

Mo Fan looked around and noticed faint airflows that looked like tiny red strings. One end was extending to the old man’s nose, the other end connected to the nearby buildings.

“Mo Fan, the balconies…” Lingling pointed at the buildings.

The residents who were supposed to be fast asleep had woken up. They were standing on the balconies, the roofs, and close to the windows with their eyes closed, like they were still asleep.

The red strings of air were being drawn from their eyes, noses, and ears.

More red threads appeared in the mist. The old man was greedily drinking down the blood of the sleepwalking residents, like several thousand tubes were connected to him.

Mo Fan stared at the old man in astonishment. He was clearly a member of the Blood Tribe.

The Blood Tribe Mo Fan knew only dared to sneak around in dark alleyways and climb into someone’s room through the windows after they were put to sleep. Most members of the Blood Tribe did not dare harm a human, as it might expose them.

The Magic City had many members of the Blood Tribe, but the Hunters often turned a blind eye because the Blood Tribe members were no longer behaving like savage creatures. They drank human blood without taking lives.

The Blood Tribe would also refrain from drinking blood from the same person twice in the same month, so they would not harm the person.

However, the old man standing in front of Mo Fan was powerful enough to put the residents of the town into a sleepwalking state while drinking their blood from several streets away.

“He’s an elder of the Blood Tribe,” Lingling judged.

“What do you mean?”

“It means he’s been around for at least a thousand years. He’s among the first batch of the Blood Tribe… similar to Bola,” Lingling clarified.

“Oh, are those people going to be fine?” Mo Fan asked, worried for them.

“For now, but if he keeps drinking their blood, they are all going to die. He’s using their blood to strengthen himself. You must defeat him as soon as possible, or he will gradually become stronger,” Lingling warned him.

Mo Fan nodded.

“Tsk tsk…” the old man chuckled eerily. He stared at Mo Fan and sniffed his scent.

“What fresh and flourishing blood, the blood of a young and powerful Mage like you is supposed to be part of a delicate collection in my cellar. The blood of these mundanes doesn’t really fit my tastes as a high-level member of the Blood Tribe. I seriously wonder why the younger generation is willing to live like street rats, just to drink blood that tastes like piss,” the old man began speaking.

“I’m the Duke of Syam, born in 1029 and died in…”

Mo Fan was already charging at Duke of Syam before he could finish introducing himself.

1

Mo Fan rammed into Duke of Syam like a lightning tank. Electrical arcs crackled along the street as the collision sent the Duke of Syam flying into a car park full of abandoned cars, smashing several rusted trucks to pieces.

The spare parts of the trucks scattered in the air. The lightning arcs ignited huge sparks in the air.

The Duke of Syam was enraged. He climbed to his feet and took a deep breath from the blood strings being drawn to him.

The blood of the residents was still flowing into his nose even after he was knocked flying by Mo Fan!

“Don’t you feel ashamed not knowing whose hands you are soon going to die at!?” the Duke of Syam snarled at him.

Chapter 2390: Weird Movement

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m Mo Fan. Can you please die as you have wished?” Mo Fan suddenly appeared in front of the Duke of Syam.

He had used Blink to instantly appear in front of the vampire.

The air Mo Fan was carrying was being manipulated by Chaos Magic. The Duke of Syam reacted very quickly, dodging to the side swiftly, but was still lifted off the ground by a strange force.

The Duke of Syam was flying upward due to the reversal of gravity.

“Heavenly Flames Pattern!”

A huge burning Pattern appeared under Mo Fan’s feet. The thick flames formed a magic Gate.

The Gate was connected to the Earth’s crust. The lava in the Earth’s crust emerged from the Gate in the form of a terrifying pillar, heading right at the Duke of Syam.

The Duke of Syam was devoured by the pillar of lava, and quickly turned into a burned corpse. His remains slammed heavily into the ground.

Mo Fan took a deep breath. Using a few different spells in a short period of time was like sprinting while not breathing. He needed some time to catch his breath!

To his surprise, the burned corpse on the street crawled back to its feet.

It stood there motionless. The holes under its nose shrank rapidly.

Thick red strings instantly flowed into the corpse, like thousands of streams gathering in the same spot.

The burned corpse was recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye. The flesh that was scorched by the flames began to repair itself as new skin grew over its surface.

The corpse had fully repaired itself before the flames even dissipated. The recovery speed was several times quicker than Healing Magic. It was absolutely shocking to see!

“It has recovered so quickly?” Mo Fan knew the Blood Tribe had the ability to heal their injuries by drinking blood, but the old man’s regeneration was insanely fast. Mo Fan had yet to catch his breath!

“I was asking you to remember my name, you idiot!” the Duke of Syam yelled at him.

He was supposed to be a God of Death. He could not care less about ordinary people’s names, but they should remember the name of the God of Death! Years from now, whenever he revealed his name, mundanes should immediately submit themselves and offer their fresh blood!

“Their blood is so disgusting. The quality of human blood has deteriorated significantly compared to the old times!” The Duke of Syam lifted his arms.

He was drinking the residents’ blood recklessly despite his complaints. It had been a while since Mo Fan had last met a hypocrite like him!

“Back in my time, you didn’t even have the right to kneel before me, let alone have me bury you with my own hands!” the Duke of Syam grumbled. He sounded like being sent here to take care of Mo Fan was just a filthy job.

Mo Fan was done catching his breath.

“You still look like you have lived in the sewers after being around for a thousand years. A sewer bug will forever be a sewer bug, no matter how long it has lived. It will never become a real dragon, don’t you understand?” Mo Fan taunted the talkative vampire.

As he thought, even the slightest disrespect was enough to drive the thousand-year-old vampire crazy, not to mention Mo Fan striking the needle on the head.

“An inferior species like you will never understand the nobility of our lineage. Dragons are just bigger-sized lizards in our eyes!” The Duke of Syam floated up into the air.

Mo Fan’s Dark Vein became restless, sending a shiver down Mo Fan’s spine.

He turned around and saw the Duke of Syam was already behind him with his fangs exposed. The fangs were as long as fingers and as thin as needles!

Mo Fan threw a punch out without any hesitation. The fist ignited huge sparks in the air and fired a burning Fist at the vampire.

The Duke of Syam burst out laughing as he dodged the Flaming Fist with a weird movement pattern. His back was facing Mo Fan like a model on a stage as he delivered his speech.

“I once had a vast territory. I only drank the blood of beautiful young virgins.

“My time will soon return. The darkness will finally conquer the world. The mutant races will rise as your masters!”

Mo Fan was releasing lightning from his hand. He gathered several hundred lightning arcs before hurling them at the Duke of Syam.

The lightning swept forward, leaving behind a burning smell.

The Duke of Syam was still giving his speech in a disdainful tone. However, his voice was coming from a different direction now.

The previous figure with its back facing Mo Fan had turned into black mist, dissipating in the lightning.

The Duke of Syam appeared ten meters away from Mo Fan. He was walking around casually while provoking Mo Fan, as if he was just fooling with him.

Mo Fan was not frustrated after missing his attacks. He was watching the vampire carefully.

The vampire’s movements were unpredictable. Did he have a few shadow clones, or was he relocating himself with a spell similar to Fleeing Shadow?

A Fleeing Shadow would leave traces behind. It was impossible for the vampire to Blink to a different spot.

Mo Fan was struggling to figure out the vampire’s ability. He was not in a rush to attack the vampire, either.

“Who’s there? Why are you Casting destructive spells here? Please show us your permit, or we’ll arrest you according to the law!”

A few people who were dressed as City Hunters arrived while Mo Fan was fighting the Duke of Syam.

A middle-aged man stood at one end of the street. A female Wind Mage was hovering above the roofs.

Three City Hunters were surrounding them from different directions.

“Back away, don’t come any closer!” Mo Fan frowned. He was surprised that a squad of City Hunters had arrived so quickly.

“Is that a joke? We are City Hunters who protect the city. You should be the one backing away!” the Wind Mage hovering above the roofs shot back.

The Wind Mage owned a set of Magic Wings. A pair of blue wings were draped over her shoulders. She was looking down at Mo Fan and the Duke of Syam from above, talking in a proud and arrogant tone!

“Tsk tsk!” A strange chuckle suddenly appeared beside the Wind Mage.

The Wind Mage did not notice a face had appeared beside her neck.

Before she could react, the Duke of Syam had already torn her neck in half. Fresh blood sprayed out of her like watermelon juice.

“Damn it, don’t they have any common sense as Hunters?” Mo Fan cursed loudly.

Mo Fan was obviously scolding the Wind Mage. How foolish was she to fly into a danger zone just because she had Magic Wings?

Mo Fan used to be a City Hunter. The first thing a squad of City Hunters should do was evaluate the danger level of the demon creature they were going up against!

If the demon creatures were far too powerful for them to handle, they should notify the South Wing Platoon and request backup!

Mo Fan had already told them to stay away, but the Wind Mage insisted on delivering her life to the enemy!

“Zhou Li!” a young man on the roofs yelled angrily. He was ready to jump into the sky to save the female Mage called Zhou Li.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed? Stay away if you aren’t a Super Mage!”

Mo Fan was previously on the ground, but he suddenly Blinked over to the young man and held him down.

“Super...Super Mage?” The young man was stunned.

Chapter 2391: The One Who Makes the Rules

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan did not have time to waste on the young man. He used Blink to relocate himself, and reappeared in the air. The silver light of the Space Magic gave him a clear outline in the dark.

“Double Blink!” the captain of the City Hunters at the end of the street exclaimed.

Everything had happened in the wink of an eye. Mo Fan was clearly on the street just a second ago, but he immediately went to the roof to stop the young man, before promptly reappearing in the air beside the Wind Mage and the vampire!

The Duke of Syam was about to stick his fangs through Zhou Li’s neck when Mo Fan grabbed his hair from behind.

Mo Fan pulled the vampire’s hair to prevent him from killing the Wind Mage. He flung his arm with great force and threw the vampire away!

The vampire slammed into the ground, smashing the concrete to pieces. Even the windows of the nearby cars were shattered into pieces. It dramatically displayed how shocking Mo Fan’s strength was after imbuing his arm with Space Magic!

“Every time I want to enjoy something delicious, there’s always someone like you around to disturb me!” the Duke of Syam roared like an enraged lion. His hair and beard were drifting wildly in the air.

A black mist spread from him, countless wings beating wildly inside it.

Sets of sinister green glowing eyes appeared in the mist. Mo Fan wanted to get closer to the vampire, but the black mist drove him back.

The bats in the mist shrieked. They were not only flying at Mo Fan in a huge swarm, but toward the people in the houses too!

They broke in through the windows, the door cracks, and the ventilation. The vampire desperately needed more fresh blood. He was no longer satisfied with the rate of transmission from the threads of blood alone. He had ordered the bats to feed on the people directly!

There were shocking numbers of the bats. Mo Fan only managed to eliminate half of them using a few Fire Spells. The other half broke into a nearby apartment.

Mo Fan was feeling restricted. After all, his Super Magic could easily raze the whole street to the ground, but he would endanger many innocent lives if he used a Super Spell.

The disgusting vampire was using it to his advantage. He was blatantly feeding on the residents!

Mo Fan glanced at the temporary settlement three hundred meters away.

It was exactly where the little girl lived. There were too many bats for Mo Fan to handle by himself.

The greedy bats were not going to spare even a single drop of blood in their prey. They were going to reap all the citizen’s lives!

“What…what kind of monster is that!?” the young man blurted out in astonishment. It felt like the whole town was being swarmed by the dangerous bats!

“It’s a Ruler-level creature,” Mo Fan responded. “Go protect the people!”

“There are too many of them. We won’t be able to handle them all!” the middle-aged captain protested.

The City Hunters had thought it was just a little disturbance. It was not their first day of work, and they thought they could handle the disturbance with ease.

To their surprise, they had stumbled into a Ruler-level member of the Blood Tribe!

The City Hunters were well aware of the existence of the Blood Tribe. The Blood Tribe was responsible for many cases with missing leads, but the City Hunters always had trouble arresting them.

However, they had only encountered the weaker members of the Blood Tribe. The Commander-level Blood Tribesmen that had been around for more than a hundred years were already terrifying to them. They never thought they would encounter a Ruler-level Blood Tribesman who had been around for a thousand years.

If they went too close, they were simply presenting themselves as food, just like Zhou Li!

“Blood Cage!” a pleasant voice uttered imperiously.

The noisy town suddenly fell silent after the words. A huge cage formed from veins of blood emerged in the center of the town.

The bats shrieked in agony as they exploded into pieces.

They were so close to reaching their prey. Most of the residents were standing there in their sleep, just waiting to be fed on!

However, the bats had died in a strange way before they could take a bite.

“Who is it!? Who is it!? Who dares to challenge my authority!?” the Duke of Syam snarled.

That Blood Cage was obviously a power of the Blood Tribe! Another member of the Blood Tribe had appeared and killed all his bats!

An alluring figure slowly descended from the blood-red sky. A pair of wings like those belonging to a dark elf stood upright behind her. Even her ears and eyes were brimming with extraordinary charm.

She did not have the disgusting appearance of a primordial vampire like the Duke of Syam. She had a unique beauty instead!

“It’s you again! Why are you behaving like a slave to the humans, despite having our noble blood?” the Duke of Syam scowled.

“Old monster, this time you won’t have the chance to climb out of your coffin again. I’m going to smash your soul into pieces!” Liu Ru walked down a tall building.

She was not taking the stairs. She was walking casually along the wall of the building!

“You’ve fought him before?” Mo Fan asked in surprise.

“Mm, he’s one of the mutants that doesn’t obey the rules. I only learned about his existence in recent years. He murders people and breeds living humans in captivity. He has also done a lot of disgusting things. I’ve tried asking the Enforcement Union for help, but for some reason, the Enforcement Union isn’t too concerned about him,” Liu Ru spat.

“It seems like the Magic City has a lot of filth and darkness we aren’t aware of,” Mo Fan mused aloud.

An existence like the Duke of Syam would never behave himself as a human and drink only a mouthful of blood without harming his prey. His fangs had torn open countless victims’ necks.

But the Magic City was just too big!

Its population was easily over ten million, not to mention it had been upgraded to a headquarters city. As more people moved to the city, it was difficult to keep track of the missing people. Mo Fan would not be surprised if the Duke of Syam had fed on thousands of people!

“There’s someone even more terrifying behind him,” Liu Ru noted.

“I think we have a rough idea who it is,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“They mainly target people who have recently moved to the Magic City. They use their influence to disguise it as a proper enterprise and hide their crimes,” Liu Ru went on.

Liu Ru had heard rumors from the mutant races, but had never had the chance to find out the truth.

The leaders among the mutant races were similar to the old demons in the Sacred City. They either had minimal differences from humans, or it was almost impossible to track down their whereabouts.

Liu Ru had only confirmed the Duke of Syam’s existence after seeing him today.

“Your control over the mutant races is like child’s play in our eyes. Why would we ever allow ourselves to be controlled?” the Duke of Syam shouted.

“Controlled?” A red demonic figure appeared behind the Duke of Syam. Its aura outlined a ghastly bulky figure, like an emperor’s throne!

“We are the ones who make the rules!” the red figure proclaimed.

Chapter 2392: I’m Looking for a Dog

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The laws of a country were designed to benefit the common people. But those who decided the laws had countless ways to escape punishment even when they were the ones breaking the laws.

“Lu Kun!” Mo Fan stared at the red figure.

Lu Kun had finally shown himself, and seemed completely fearless. He was not worried even though his identity was exposed in a human town. He was acting like the place had always been his kingdom. He had only come to punish the people who had disobeyed his rules!

“It looks like we have found our thief,” Lu Kun went closer and stared at Mo Fan. “Things are simple since you already knew the secret of the evil orb. I’ll treat the half-matured evil orb as a gift to you.”

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan was confused.

“Don’t you desire power? I can give you everything you want. The Magic City is so big. It’s an endless supply of energy. Why would I be fussed over a little Prison Mountain? I can give it to you if you like it,” Lu Kun said generously.

“I bet there are conditions, too,” Mo Fan harrumphed.

“Of course, you can become a person who decides the rules too!” Lu Kun said.

“Are you inviting me to join you?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Either way, you are one of us too, am I right?” Lu Kun stared at the Essence Orb on Mo Fan’s waist with a smile.

“Unfortunately, we are different by nature. Besides, I’m a Hunter, and you are a demon,” Mo Fan shook his head, decisively rejecting Lu Kun’s offer.

Was Lu Kun trying to bribe him? Who did he even think he was?

“I don’t think we are that different.”

“You are just an evil existence that escaped East Guardian Tower by taking over a human’s body. Do you really think of yourself as a human, making rules as you please?” Mo Fan half-laughed.

“Oh, so you know who I am? First, my name is Kazuaki, I escaped to China after my friend set me up. I changed my name and started a new life again after driving the demon in me away. Is there any problem with that?” Lu Kun demurred.

“What about Prison Mountain? Those prisoners are behaving like puppets…” Mo Fan pointed out.

“Have you counted how many people I’ve taken in after they lost their homes because of the headquarters cities?” Lu Kun asked in return. “I’ve also given criminals a new purpose for their lives. I’ve contributed greatly to society. The Prison Mountain you went to has helped build thousands of kilometers worth of dams to prevent people from becoming food to the sea monsters.

“I’ve never hurt them, nor have I taken a single life. They work for me, and in return, I provide them with food and shelter. Even the government has given me an award in recognition of my service. Most importantly, I’m only taking away their negative emotions. Anger, laziness, gambling obsessions…

“If this place is my little kingdom, I bet you won’t find a more benevolent king than me!”

Lu Kun raised his voice as he was speaking. He seemed extremely pleased with the things he had built. He had no reason to fear a Hunter like Mo Fan!

Hunters were the ones breaking the rules most of the time. They often destroyed lives when they were fighting in the city.

On the other hand, he had built a town without crime, pain, and conflict!

“You would know better if you have been to other settlement towns. The rich are selfish, and the poor are lazy. It might seem like everyone has their freedom, but are their lives different from being captive in a prison? Are they really better than Prison Mountain?” Lu Kun pressed confidently.

“A splendid speech, no wonder you can disguise yourself as a successful entrepreneur. It sounds like you have completely merged with your disguise!” Mo Fan gave Lu Kun a round of applause.

How impressive… A man like him should consider being a politician. It was a waste for him to be an entrepreneur!

There had been a great shift among the Councilmen recently. Why didn’t he consider joining the election? The Lu Clan had plenty of resources to support him!

“Have I said anything wrong?” Lu Kun asked confidently.

“Well, I just happen to be looking for a pet dog. I can provide my dog with a safe home and at least a meal of Spam once every three days. The only downside is it will have to wear a collar around its neck whenever it goes outside. Nothing else,” Mo Fan answered.

Lu Kun was struggling to understand what Mo Fan was trying to say.

“What do you think about the conditions?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not bad for a dog, I guess,” Lu Kun said indifferently.

“So, why don’t you be my dog, then?” Mo Fan proposed.

Lu Kun’s expression darkened. It was obvious he was trying his best to withhold his anger!

“Enough with your high-sounding speech, how long are you going to stick to your disguise? I know better than anyone what you really are!” Mo Fan swore at him.

If the people were truly living a peaceful life, why did the little girl not hear from her father for a few days?

If he was truly building a crime-free town, why did he allow the vampire to drink the blood of thousands of people and treat them like his blood bags while they were asleep?

It was wicked to exploit the people and harm them directly. It was even more wicked to enslave the people first, then exploit and harm them so they could not even put up a fight!

“You could have joined us, but you chose death instead!” The red Aura around Lu Kun grew stronger.

“Master, there’s no need to reason with this idiot. He doesn’t understand the brilliance of the dark era. He has no idea of the difference between us who are in power and the mundanes!” the Duke of Syam spoke up.

A terrifying shadow was moving inside the red mist behind Lu Kun.

His skin was turning blood-red, like it was brimming with an evil power. He no longer looked as vulnerable as a human. His flesh was far stronger than the flesh of demon creatures!

A red tail poked out from Lu Kun’s suit. His fingers turned into long claws, and two horns were growing out from his forehead!

1

He had a tail, claws, and horns. Mo Fan had never seen a creature like it.

He wondered how shameless Lu Kun was to claim he was still a human. Why would he transform into such a ghastly creature if he was really a human?

1

The red demon had completely taken over his body. Even his red soul was brimming with violence and greed!

“Another Hunter is going to die at my hands. They keep wanting to pick a fight with me. I wouldn’t mind killing them all!”

Lu Kun slid forward, stirring up a huge wave of soil behind him, and blew the cars on the street into the shops. The glass and shelves shattered into pieces as the supports collapsed to the ground.

Mo Fan and Liu Ru backed away simultaneously. “Liu Ru, can you deal with that vampire?” Mo Fan asked her quickly.

“Got it!” Liu Ru nodded.

Chapter 2393: I Can Control Humans

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Liu Ru stepped aside and spread her arms. The strange mystical wings on her back extended out.

She flew to the abandoned car park, sticking close to the ground.

Lehuo Town was severely polluted, as it was an industrial area. To the west of the town was a huge scrap iron factory. Half of the town was piled up with scrapped cars, motorbikes, and machinery from huge cities like Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou.

In the other direction stood Lu Kun’s property, Prison Mountain.

The scrap factory was relatively normal. A relative of the Zhao Family was probably managing it. Compared to Prison Mountain, it was in utter chaos. The workers were lazy, and it was unlikely that anyone was still at work past midnight.

Liu Ru had chosen it because she was worried the Duke of Syam might endanger the lives of the residents. She was unable to stop the elder of the Blood Tribe from drawing blood from the local residents.

He was able to drink the blood of every person he had hypnotized within two kilometers. The ability’s area of effect was shocking.

It was like installing a tube into everyone to draw their blood, but since the rate was extremely low, the people would not be in danger for the first few hours.

That being said, she could not afford to let the bats do their job. The bats were able to drink human blood rapidly and spread diseases through the wounds they inflicted.

“Liu Ru, is the area with the scrap factory deserted?” Mo Fan asked her.

“There aren’t many people, but you should ask the City Hunters to seal off the area as a safety precaution,” Liu Ru replied.

Mo Fan nodded.

He could not afford to start a fight on the street since it was no different from throwing grenades around in a residential area. It was the only reason Mo Fan had given Lu Kun and the Duke of Syam so much time to speak.

Luckily, Lu Kun had chosen to be a high-level tyrant. He could not care less about the residents’ safety, but if too many lives were lost, it would attract a lot of Mages who were not affiliated with the Enforcement Union.

He had a business to manage. Once he took care of Mo Fan, he had ways to clean up the mess and retain his disguise as a successful entrepreneur. However, if large numbers of the residents were killed, his disguise would quickly be revealed.

It was not yet the time for him to throw away his disguise!

Mo Fan backed away to the area with scrapped cars. Lu Kun went after him. They no longer had to worry about hurting innocent people.

“Telekinesis!” Mo Fan used his Space Magic.

The rusted cars in the junkyard began to vibrate, producing piercing clanks.

Lu Kun had a blood-red shadow behind him as he arrived. Mo Fan’s eyes were already emitting a strong silver light by the time Lu Kun saw him.

Most shockingly, the heavy junked cars, scraps, and spare parts were floating in the air around him.

There was nothing supporting the objects, nor was there heavy machinery to lift the junkers up, but the rusted cars were circling Mo Fan like he was manipulating a magnetic field!

A Chevrolet Enjoy flew at Lu Kun with a loud rumble!

Lu Kun took half a step back. The car dove straight into the ground and snapped in half like a sword, a clear display of the momentum it held!

More scrapped cars were falling down at Lu Kun. The spot he was standing on was enjoying a rain of cars with spare parts scattered in the sky and tires flying around.

Lu Kun crossed his arms in front of him. His demonic red Aura formed a special barrier that tore everything that touched it into pieces. It was impossible to identify the model of the destroyed cars!

“Go!” Mo Fan set his eyes on a crane!

The crane’s hoist swung wildly and hit Lu Kun right through the rain of scraps. It broke the red Barrier in front of Lu Kun and sent him flying.

“Wrecking balls!” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered.

1

There were a few wrecking balls nearby being used to flatten the cars.

The three wrecking balls were lifted off the ground before flying at the spot Lu Kun was falling on in series.

Lu Kun crawled to his feet with bloodshot eyes.

He reached out his claw and swung it around, slicing the three metal wrecking balls apart like they were just meatballs!

“Such a boring trick!” Lu Kun shouted disdainfully. “Acid Fountain!”

Lu Kun opened his mouth and started spitting out a pillar of water like a fountain in a park.

The corrosive blood-red liquid spread in all directions after it reached its highest point.

Some of it fell on a piece of iron, and melted it instantly!

Normally, a corrosive acid could only damage leather products, but Lu Kun’s Acid Fountain could even melt through metal. If it was sprayed on a living human, not even the bones and teeth would survive!

Mo Fan was treating the scrapped cars as his weapons. The abundant supply of scrapped cars in the junkyard could pose a threat to even a Ruler-level creature.

To his surprise, Lu Kun was able to spit out an acid that could melt away metal. There was only soil and the stinky melted metal goo left in no time. The area felt a lot more spacious than before.

“So you can control objects, right?” Lu Kun burst out laughing.

Mo Fan did not know why Lu Kun was feeling so proud of himself. He was only probing Lu Kun’s strength during this first round. It was not like Lu Kun was overwhelmingly stronger than him.

The outcome might be different if Lu Kun had eaten the evil fruit in Prison Mountain.

“Slaughtering Wind Slash!” a Mage suddenly yelled from a thousand meters away.

Mo Fan was overjoyed. He did not expect the South Wing Platoon to arrive so quickly. The man might be able to ease his burdens a little.

However, Mo Fan was startled when he noticed the Slaughtering Wind Slash was coming at him! He quickly dodged to the side.

The Slaughtering Wind Slash was shockingly powerful. It almost sliced the junkyard in half even though it was coming from a thousand meters away.

The junkyard was piled with scrapped cars that had not been melted by Lu Kun’s Acid Fountain. The Slaughtering Wind Slash ended up shoving the cars to the side like two waves of metal!

The strong wind left a few cuts on Mo Fan, even though he managed to dodge the critical hit. His clothes were ragged and stained with blood from his wounds.

“I can control humans!” Lu Kun laughed hysterically.

Mo Fan noticed the Wind Mage was wearing the uniform of a prison guard after taking a close look. It was one of the prison guards whose mind was being controlled in Prison Mountain, a very strong Wind Mage.

“You have committed a serious offense, as you attempted to destroy Prison Mountain and release the criminals in it. I don’t care who you are, but I have the right to execute you on the spot!” the prison guard shouted at him.

Mo Fan frowned.

It sounded like Lu Kun had even sorted everything out. No one would know what happened if he died here!

Chapter 2394: Fossilized Whale Tail

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The prison guard had an impressive cultivation. Mo Fan was constantly on the run dodging his Wind Magic.

Meanwhile, Lu Kun did not stop attacking even though he had the help of a powerful Wind Mage. He was roaming around close to Mo Fan in a strange manner.

He was leaving afterimages all around the place as he was moving. Mo Fan felt like a dozen Lu Kuns were attacking him with their claws.

The sharp claws possessed immense strength. A single swipe could slice a heavy truck into a few pieces. Mo Fan might lose a part of his body if he was careless!

Luckily, Mo Fan had the Dark Vein to warn him of incoming danger. He was able to react quickly, before the dazzling red claws could surprise him. Otherwise, he would only have lasted for a few minutes while being attacked from both sides.

The blood-red claws with six digits swept at Mo Fan like crescent blades, leaving six deep gashes in the concrete.

Mo Fan formed a wall with his Will and barely stopped the claws from tearing through his body, but he was forced backward from the impact.

He felt a little dizzy after taking the hit.

He shook his head and saw the Wind Mage circling rapidly in the sky. He was producing a tornado in the shape of a drill, treating himself as the eye!

Piercing howls echoed in the sky as the Wind Drill came right down at Mo Fan. He did not have any defensive moves left. He could only harden his skin with his Earth Magic!

Mo Fan was knocked flying by the wind. It easily shredded his hardened skin. The scrapped cars were shredded into metal powder which scattered everywhere.

Mo Fan was covered in blood. Wounds spread across his entire body.

The wind drill returned like the pendulum of a clock to give Mo Fan another taste.

“Blood Pact of the Earth: Fossilized Whale Tail!”

The soil began to rise like waves across the ground. A strong movement built up under the ground as Mo Fan’s blood continued to fall on it!

BANG!

A huge wave appeared following a deafening roar. An ancient creature lifted its enormous tail and slammed it down on the ground!

It was the tail of an ancient whale. It was the size of a small mountain when it rose up. The tail was stunning, even without it revealing its actual body.

The tail did not look like it belonged to a living whale. It seemed to be part of a fossil instead.

The tail slammed into the ground after rising into the sky. The Wind Drill had encountered something it could not penetrate for the first time. The heavy blow also knocked the Wind Mage over a thousand meters away.

The ground kept shaking after the Fossil Whale disappeared. Sand poured down from the sky.

Mo Fan took a deep breath. He had finally managed to turn the tables a little. The attack should have broken a few of the Wind Mage’s bones.

Mo Fan turned around and focused his attention on Lu Kun.

Lu Kun was extremely cunning. He had quickly backed away to a safe distance after he noticed the unusual movement under the ground. Otherwise, the Fossilized Whale Tail would have injured him too!

Lu Kun was clapping his hands as he returned.

“Interesting!” Lu Kun was a little surprised by Mo Fan’s ability.

Mo Fan’s Earth Element was only at the Advanced Level, but its strength had even exceeded the Super Level by a small amount. It turned out the man who had dared to throw a tantrum in his kingdom had some tricks up in his sleeves!

It explained why Mo Fan was able to take away his Evil Orb so easily.

Mo Fan was panting heavily. He was similarly shocked by Lu Kun’s strength.

The Blood Pact of the Earth was an instantaneous ability that did not require any actions from him. Most people would have underestimated its power.

Mo Fan had abused it many times to inflict serious injuries on his enemies, but to his surprise, Lu Kun had backed away as soon as he noticed it.

Lu Kun had extremely sharp senses, as if he knew he could not withstand Mo Fan’s Blood Pact of the Earth directly.

As Mo Fan thought, the higher the level of a Red Demon, the more sensitive it was to potential danger. Either the Red Demon had some special ability to foresee danger, or it was a very experienced fighter.

Mo Fan recalled how Lu Kun was able to predict his meeting with Mochizuki Chihaya. He was more leaning toward the first possibility.

The Red Demon was able to sense danger beforehand, similar to his Dark Vein.

It was troublesome to fight an enemy like this!

It was difficult to inflict any critical damage on Lu Kun. Even if Mo Fan pretended he was at his limit, Lu Kun would still be aware of the trump card Mo Fan was holding in his hand.

“Your power to control objects isn’t that effective, but my power to control humans is different!” Lu Kun did not attack Mo Fan right away.

His eyes emitted a red light once again.

A few people dressed like prisoners and prison guards approached rapidly from the direction of Prison Mountain.

Their trails in the air split the clouds into several lines, allowing the light of the stars and the icy moon to sprinkle down on the town, giving it a weird atmosphere.

There were four of them: three prisoners and one prison guard.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, they were all Super Mages!

They seemed to be taking orders from Lu Kun directly. They had not shown up when Mo Fan was at Prison Mountain.

Each of the four Mages were as strong as the previous Wind Mage. Once the Wind Mage recovered from his injuries, Mo Fan would have to face six strong opponents by himself, including Lu Kun!

Mo Fan’s face went grim.

He was initially planning to use his King of Hell form to defeat Lu Kun so he could end the battle as soon as possible.

However, judging from the circumstances, Lu Kun would either flee for his life or summon more prisoners and guards from Prison Mountain to wear him out after learning his true strength.

Mo Fan would not be able to kill Lu Kun!

I can only fight him in my current state. If he has a sharp sense of danger, it’s very likely he will just leave once I merge with Little Flame Belle, Mo Fan thought.

Mo Fan was confident in his strength when he was in the King of Hell form, but would Lu Kun really stay and fight him after he was Possessed by Little Flame Belle?

Lu Kun had extraordinary speed. He could leave a dozen afterimages behind himself.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf could only leave six afterimages at most. Mo Fan also had no idea if Lu Kun had already shown his full speed.

The Red Demon was extremely cunning, not to mention its ability to alter its appearance. It would be even more difficult to track it down once it escaped today!

“Little Flame Belle, you handle the prisoners and guards,” Mo Fan told her.

“Ling~” Little Flame Belle nodded.

Little Flame Belle had no trouble handling four lesser Super Mages herself.

Mo Fan decided to have a battle of life and death with Lu Kun!

Chapter 2395: I Will Live For Eternity!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Little Flame Belle engulfed herself in flames. The pitch-black sky was tinted scarlet as she rose into it, the clouds burning like the braziers of a sacred altar.

The three prisoners and one guard were all capable of flying. They lifted off and took the fight into the sky when they saw Flame Belle Empress flying away.

Flame Belle Empress thoroughly displayed her prowess. Not only was she not struggling to fend off the four Super Mages, her flames rapidly overshadowed their Ice and Water Magic.

“Another Ruler-level creature!?”

The City Hunters in the town were dumbfounded.

Super Mages were already at the peak of human society, but the Ruler-level creature was able to take on four of them at once! It had completely toppled the City Hunters’ understanding of things.

The powerful energy leaking out from such a high-level battle could easily crush them into powder if they came within a kilometer, let alone took part in it!

Zhou Li was extremely lucky to be able to survive the fangs of the Ruler-level vampire!

“What should we do now?” a young City Hunter asked blankly.

The fight between the two members of the Blood Tribe was just as shocking. For half a kilometer around them, pools of blood would erupt from the ground at times.

The Flame Belle Empress was fighting four Super Mages in the sky. The constantly shifting colors of the destructive spells were sprinkling down on the town.

“It’s fine, I’ve already contacted the South Wing Platoon. A South Wing Mage is on his way.”

Not every South Wing Mage was on standby all the time, thus they could not send back-up to the scene right away whenever a high-level fight broke out.

“Just one? Can he really stop them?” the captain asked helplessly.

Multiple Super Mages were currently involved in the battle. If the South Wing Platoon only sent one or two South Wing Mages, they might end up watching the battle from a safe distance, just like the City Hunters!

—

“This is getting interesting, but that’s fine, too. I haven’t been getting much exercise ever since I became Lu Kun,” Lu Kun grinned.

Lu Kun was now completely different from the guy managing the Lu Clan’s mansion. He had put in a lot of effort to disguise himself perfectly as a real human.

However, he must have left a lot of traces while transforming from a savage demon to a cruel tyrant. Otherwise, how had Senior Hunter Leng had his eyes on it?

A demon a Senior Hunter was willing to pay his life to take down was not going to stop at taking away the negative emotions of the workers in a business!

After taking a deep breath, the Red Demon asked with a twisted expression, “You have a unique presence of the Shadow Magic. I’m curious, where did you obtain such a pure dark energy?”

Mo Fan had obtained the Dark Vein in Xiamen.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me. I’ll dissect you slowly and learn it for myself, just like I knew the little girl with you was the daughter of someone I have killed,” Lu Kun went on. The smile on his face twisted even further.

Mo Fan was shocked. Did Lu Kun know Lingling was a Senior Hunter’s daughter from the beginning?

Did he know the contents of the job letter, then? If he knew, he would not have allowed Lu Qingyao to take his blood samples so easily…

“Look at who I am now!” Lu Kun suddenly said in a strange voice.

Mo Fan was distracted by such thoughts. When he refocused, he noticed Lu Kun’s face had changed!

It was a square face with thick brows. It was not necessarily handsome, but it had a unique charm.

Mo Fan had seen the face before in some old photos. It was Senior Hunter Leng!

Lu Kun’s face was exactly the same as Senior Hunter Leng’s! Did the red demon also steal Senior Hunter Leng’s flesh and memories?

“HAHAHA!” the Red Demon burst out laughing.

Mo Fan was withholding his anger.

Even though he had never met Senior Hunter Leng, he knew Senior Hunter Leng was a great man, judging from how well he had taught Lingling.

Not only did the Red Demon kill Senior Hunter Leng, it even stole his memories and put on his face!

“No, you didn’t take over his flesh and his memories,” Mo Fan said after thinking about it further.

“You aren’t wrong about that.” The Red Demon soon returned to Lu Kun’s appearance.

If the Red Demon was able to claim anyone’s body and memories, Mo Fan believed it would have been better for the Red Demon to disguise itself as Senior Hunter Leng!

Senior Hunter Leng had a formidable background and outstanding cultivation, making him the perfect candidate for the Red Demon to disguise itself!

The Red Demon might have killed Senior Hunter Leng, but it did not take over Senior Hunter Leng’s memories and body.

“But it’s true that he died at my hands. He was really stupid,” Lu Kun grinned.

“He might have been reckless for going after you without knowing your true strength, but he wasn’t stupid. He left a job letter,” Mo Fan replied with a cold grin.

“What about it?” Lu Kun sniffed.

“Do you really have no idea what the job you gave to me was?” Mo Fan asked.

Lu Kun seemed confused. It was true that he did not know the contents of the job letter.

“It’s the same job letter Senior Hunter Leng left in the past. I shall put an end to it on his behalf today!” Mo Fan said.

“What was the job letter? What was in it?” Lu Kun suddenly yelled.

“To find you and kill you!” Mo Fan shouted back at him.

Lu Kun went berserk as soon as he heard the words.

He was scraping at the ground with his claws, like he was trying to dig up an ore vein. For some reason, he was throwing a tantrum like an abandoned mad dog after learning the contents of the letter.

“You want to kill me? Everyone wants to kill me! But can you really kill me?!” Lu Kun screamed. His eyes were about to fall out of their sockets. The horns on his forehead extended, almost dangling in front of his face now.

The tail on his back grew further, and was now covered in red scales, like the tail of a mutated crocodile!

His feet had turned into claws now. His six toes sank into the ground.

“I will live for eternity! Wherever there is hatred, there is me!”

The Red Demon had completely lost its mind. Its red Aura surged out at the town like a sandstorm.

Mo Fan was puzzled about why Lu Kun had lost his calm after hearing the contents of the letter, but he did not think it was a bad thing.

It meant Lu Kun was not going to run away!

Mo Fan swore to complete the job that had been left unfinished for so long!

Chapter 2396: Lightning of Hatred, Torture Instrument

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Red Demon walked toward Mo Fan. Every step it took formed a terrifying swamp of blood.

The Red Demon was letting out a strange sound, like the mixed cries of prisoners imprisoned in a pitch-black dungeon. There were even screams of women among them.

Lu Kun’s face was shifting continuously now. It generally resembled Lu Kun, but it was also mixing with a few other faces.

They had all struggled prior to their deaths. They were yelling to vent their frustrations and hatred, taking turns appearing on the Red Demon’s face.

How many vengeful spirits has Lu Kun absorbed?

The lust of the living world and the greed of the deceased who were not willing to part from the world had given birth to the Evil Orb, which had now grown into a red demon!

The two long horns touched one another.

Red lightning burning with flames appeared in loud crackles and whipped into the demon’s surroundings.

The lightning did not have a target at first, but Lu Kun adjusted the horns and pointed them at Mo Fan.

The red lightning suddenly lunged at Mo Fan like an instrument of torture.

Zrrrt!~

A red bolt smashed a rusting truck into pieces.

Mo Fan was standing right behind the truck. He was terrified when he saw the truck being torn to pieces.

A few hundred lightning whips were taking form in the area, and a single one of them had already shown such great power!

Once they had taken shape and lashed out at him aggressively together, wouldn’t he be dead for sure?

Mo Fan had no choice but to run. He escaped to the area storing waste products behind the junkyard.

The red lightning whips turned the scrapped cars and machinery into flying debris. The tires, screws, and metal scraps scattered in the air before pouring down like rusting steel rain.

Mo Fan had already sustained a few injuries. He was greeted with new wounds no matter which direction he fled in.

He reached the pulverizing zone of the junkyard. A few autonomous machines were still operating there.

Huge scraps of metal were being delivered along on conveyor belts. The heavy machines were smashing them in doleful rhythm.

However, the powerful red lightning whips finished the job in less than a minute, turning the metal scraps, including the machines, into yet more debris!

Their impact sent the scraps flying like waves, sending the sharp screws, metal scraps, and glass shards into the air.

It was a terrifying sight!

“Are you a rat from the sewers? Is running away the only thing you can do?” the Red Demon snarled at him. “It’s time to show you my true power!” the Red Demon said murderously.

It was not only directing its murderous intent at Mo Fan, but every living creature who had opposed it!

Lu Kun raised his head. This time, his horns were not just rubbing against one another. The tips of the horns were fused together, like wires igniting a spark.

A red circle appeared above Lu Kun and spread horizontally above the ground.

The red circle ignited blinding sparks across Lehuo Town, and even Prison Mountain in the distance.

Little Flame Belle’s scorching flames had tinted the sky. To supplement them, countless spitting sparks were igniting on the ground like fireworks.

Instead of a dazzling show of colors that would make one’s heart pound heavily in excitement, the deadly sparks were sending shivers down the spines of those watching!

The red sparks turned the whole town into a sea of red!

The sparks did not occur randomly. They were originating from the bodies of the residents in the town!

Every person contained some degree of hatred. Their hatred was the Red Demon’s source of power. The town and its businesses were a miniature version of society. The evil they were nurturing might not be visible on the surface, but that did not prevent its existence.

Lu Kun was transforming the hatred and evil in everyone’s heart into visible sparks of power, which were providing the red demon with more power.

The sparks were able to combine with one another into more shocking red lightning!

Similarly, the lightning could also continue to combine to grow stronger.

The lightning soon took the shape of lightning whips, batons, pitchforks, saws, and other instruments of torture.

The evil inside the people of Prison Mountain and Lehuo Town was providing Lu Kun with energy. Mo Fan was not only fighting the Red Demon, but the combined demon was being nurtured by tens of thousands of people.

“How are you supposed to fight me when you are supplying me with power, too?” Lu Kun burst out laughing.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze.

A red spark had appeared above him too, originating from his heart. It was the same as every other spark around him!

“You are no different from the others. How are you going to beat me? It is you who nurture me and make me stronger!” Lu Kun swung his claws at Mo Fan, followed by several lightning whips.

Mo Fan had nowhere to dodge them. He could only resist them directly.

The whips were not just targeting his flesh, but his soul now. Mo Fan could clearly sense his magic weakening.

“Have a taste of your own hatred!”

Lu Kun raised his hand and absorbed Mo Fan’s red spark. It combined with the other sparks from the town.

An enormous stick slammed down on Mo Fan’s head.

BANG!

A huge lightning explosion left a deep pit in the spot Mo Fan had been standing on.

Fresh blood was running down the side of Mo Fan’s head.

“How did it taste?” Lu Kun laughed. “Look at you, you are feeling angry again, which is going to supply me with energy again,” Lu Kun mocked him.

“You think you are doing everything for these people, but will they even acknowledge your sacrifices?

“They organize protests and complain when you arranged settlements for them. You gave them jobs, but they are too lazy to do them properly.. Humans are destined to be parasites. They will only destroy and nibble away at resources as long as they are alive!”

Chapter 2397: A Single Gold Spark

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“But I’ve turned these parasites into diligent worker bees!

“Even the government has given me the honorable title of the best entrepreneur!

“What right do you have to eliminate me by carrying the Hunters’ flag? Did you forget that you once lived here, too?

“You were one of the parasites too!”

Lu Kun kept attacking Mo Fan with the crimson instruments of torture while provoking him verbally.

“Do you think you are special because you have risen from a parasite to a swap, then to a dragon? Do you think you can step forward to call down the flames of justice?” Lu Kun raised the instruments once again.

He was controlling countless crimson torture devices and lashing out at Mo Fan.

It was like Lu Kun was trying to indoctrinate him!

Lu Kun was able to peek into fragments of Mo Fan’s memory ever since his hatred spark had appeared.

He had learned Mo Fan was set up to live in this settlement. He was one of the refugees who had lost their homes.

Lu Kun was delighted by his discovery, as if he had found the weak spot of his enemy. He kept hitting the man on the same wound.

No one could persevere under such torture. It was not just a physical brawl. Lu Kun was damaging Mo Fan’s soul, too!

“Oh? Did you also visit your old house?” Lu Kun continued to pry into Mo Fan’s past.

It turned out Lu Kun was unable to see Mo Fan’s complete memories. He could only peek into the segments whenever Mo Fan produced a red spark with his negative emotions.

“Let me see… Tsk tsk, such a pitiful little girl.

“She lives in a temporary settlement and even has to share the toilet with a few different households. The lock of the toilet’s door is always broken.

“She’s a smart girl. She tanned herself, put on boys’ clothes, and cut her hair short because her neighbor is a jobless pervert in his fifties.

“Her classmates laugh at her, the women on the streets accused her of being an illegitimate child, even her father thinks of her as a burden and does not bother going home to look after her.

“What a great seedling… How much hatred would she accumulate, growing up in such an environment?

“I bet she wishes to kill the old pervert. She must hate her students and teachers as well! She must be holding a grudge against her father for not being able to rent a proper house and having to rely on the government’s aid.

“I wonder if you can withstand her hatred?

“How amusing, you are trying to save these people, yet they are the ones going to kill you. Do you understand what you are fighting against?”

Lu Kun kept attacking Mo Fan verbally while laughing hysterically.

Lu Kun was able to strengthen the hatred Mo Fan produced to inflict damage on Mo Fan’s soul. No one could possibly defend their soul from their own hatred!

Similarly, if Lu Kun used the hatred of someone Mo Fan admired to attack him, it would severely injure Mo Fan’s soul too!

A human soul was made up of all kinds of willpower.

The Red Demon not only wanted to tear Mo Fan’s flesh into pieces, it was going to break Mo Fan’s Will at the same time!

The two horns were connected once again. Lu Kun was going to release the red wave of energy to stir up the hatred in the residents’ hearts.

This time, he was searching for people who were related to Mo Fan, especially the little girl Mo Fan had met.

He was going to attack Mo Fan with the hatred sparks from those Mo Fan knew. It could not be any crueler or more effective.

Lu Kun was brimming with excitement. He could not help but think of what a genius he was. Why did he not use the same trick to defeat Senior Hunter Leng? It would have saved him a lot of trouble!

Senior Hunter Leng had inflicted serious injuries on Lu Kun, forcing him to disguise himself as a human for many years without daring to expose himself.

It was different now. He had grown a lot stronger!

Lu Kun continued to dig up the evils in the hearts of the residents as the red circle of energy spread throughout the town.

Dark red sparks blossomed like fireworks throughout the town. Hatred was only a temporary emotion in a human heart, but the evil inside a human heart could be deeply rooted there for a long time.

The evil thoughts were hidden in the deepest places of a human heart. Even the kindest person could give birth to evil when they felt they were wronged and treated unfairly, turning them into an evil crook!

How wonderful!, Lu Kun thought. If such a small town can already nurture so much evil, what about all of human society?

The hatred of strangers could only damage Mo Fan’s flesh. Lu Kun was focusing on gathering the hatred that could damage Mo Fan’s soul!

The little girl was his priority. Once Mo Fan saw the evil in the little girl’s heart, he would be extremely disappointed.

The red spark that belonged to the little girl…

Lu Kun was getting impatient.

However, when he was about to absorb the hatred of the little girl, he realized there was nothing hovering above her.

Nothing at all?

The red spark that belonged to the jobless man in his fifties who was only a wall apart from the little girl could almost form a lightning bolt, but there was nothing above the little girl’s head at all!

Lu Kun only noticed some minor red strings above her.

These red strings consisted of the little complaints she had for not being able to answer a few math questions, her disappointment in her father who had not come home for a few days, and her annoyance at having to face her classmates who were going to laugh at her tomorrow.

Those minor emotions were just the pure naïve thoughts of a little girl. They were not even enough to be considered negative emotions!

Her emotions were not strong enough to form a spark, let alone a torture instrument!

“Damn it, is she a retard?” the Red Demon yelled in complaint.

The teenage years were supposed to be the best time for one to give birth to one’s evil thoughts. Those evil thoughts would easily take root in their hearts with only a slight push!

Why was the little girl’s head full of such insignificant stupid things? What about her evil scheme of disguising herself as a little boy?

“Does your face hurt?” Mo Fan was amused when he saw the Red Demon’s flustered reaction.

Real innocence was not referring to being naïve and ignorant, but the ability to maintain a pure and kind heart while being surrounded by the evils of the world.

Mo Fan had not listened to a single word Lu Kun had said.

Greed?

Laziness?

Reluctance to improve?

A bunch of parasites?

A huge river was filled with countless waste, trash, and debris, but as long as he was able to dig up a single gold nugget from it…

Even Mo Fan had enough hatred to form a spark, but the little girl did not.

Mo Fan had never thought of himself as a kind and heroic person, but he had met many of them in his life, and to Mo Fan’s relief, the little girl was also one of them!

It did not matter if others were evil, but as long as there was one pure-hearted person in this town, it was worth it for Mo Fan to take this fight to the very end!

Chapter 2398: It Will Only Grow My Radiance

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Red Demon had directed its energy at a little girl with no hatred spark in order to damage Mo Fan’s soul. In the end, it had failed to collect anything useful.

It had no choice but to use the hatred of the little girl’s neighbor, a jobless man in his fifties, as the core, and wrap it with the sparks of the other residents.

A crimson torture prong soon took shape, floating above the town.

“Aren’t you done with your tricks?” Mo Fan was swaying a little, but it did not prevent him from releasing a pure and dark energy.

The truth was, Mo Fan was grateful to the little girl. She had accidentally stopped the Red Demon from attacking him continuously.

The little time she had bought for Mo Fan was plenty enough for him!

The negative emotions Lu Kun was gathering were dark and evil. They were helping Mo Fan create a perfect environment!

Pure darkness was being born in the dilapidated and filthy swamp!

It could be used to destroy, but it could also be seen as redemption!

The darkness had been spreading silently, and it immediately turned into a fierce sea when Mo Fan Summoned it.

The land was swallowed by the sea of darkness. The waves rolled fiercely with suffocating pressure, like they were stirred up by a huge storm.

The sky was tainted by Flame Belle Empress’ scorching flames, and in the middle between the sky and the ground were crimson sparks and lightning brimming with evil and corruption, providing the Red Demon with his weapons.

A huge poker fell from the sky to attack Mo Fan.

Mo Fan stood on top of a wave of darkness. His confident eyes emitted a sharp light.

“Shadow Fiend: Ghost Destroyer Ship!”

A dark ship rose up from the shadows amid the howls of the waves. Its magnificent appearance stood out on the shadowy sea.

Its sails were broken and its hull was damaged. It did not have the modern and luxurious look of a modern destroyer; its majestic appearance resembled something that had survived countless battles over the centuries!

The Ghost Destroyer Ship sailed with the waves and wove through the dense sparks of hate like a phantom.

Its tall mast was slicing through everything like a black spear. The damaged hull was like a fearless warrior born from the darkness, knocking the filthy evil miasma to the sides with its body.

The Ghost Destroyer Ship rammed its way through the crimson lightning and scarlet instruments of torture. It was snuffing out the red sparks as it sailed through the darkness.

It had consumed all presences of evil!

The Ghost Destroyer Ship eventually broke into pieces. Its debris scattered into the air as it collapsed.

On the other hand, there were no red sparks left behind!

Lu Kun was sent flying by the massive blow as the ship died. The Ghost Destroyer Ship left him with serious injuries.

Mo Fan had endured the hits from the torture instruments not because he did not have an opening to launch his counterattack, but because he needed a power that could destroy the Red Demon’s hatred and shatter its true form!

The anger which had appeared when the Red Demon mocked him was a source of power for Mo Fan as well!

As a Shadow Mage, wasn’t the evil and filth the red demon had gathered a great source of power for Mo Fan?

An untainted soul was able to grow stronger even while being surrounded by more evil and filth. Mo Fan was simply refining his darkness, his own version of a spark amid the anger, greed, jealousy, and hatred!

The Ghost Destroyer Ship was the outcome.

It did not sway as the black tide was carrying it, nor did it tremble amid the storm of crimson lightning. It dared to challenge the terrifying sea, even if it meant crashing into pieces!

It was an embodiment of Mo Fan’s Will!

Hardships, disasters, poverty, and obstacles had never stopped him nor killed him. They had only helped his radiance grow!

“You are just some filth born from evil thoughts. The people you managed to influence just have weak minds, like three-year-olds. You are a pitiful parasite in front of a truly strong person!”

Mo Fan was now walking across the sea of darkness. He could calm the waves and remove the noise if he wanted.

The hatred gathered by the Red Demon was the noise. It was stirring up waves and summoning more crimson lightning, but it was only a part of the darkness. Evil had always been a subset of darkness.

Why would Mo Fan be afraid of a petty parasite if he had control over darkness? A parasite could never grow strong enough to pose a threat to its host if the host was determined to kill it!

If the host was strong enough, the parasites in its body would die on their own!

A host would only help the growth of a parasite if it abandoned itself to despair and allowed the parasites to take over!

“Slashing Shadow Sail!”

Mo Fan waved his hand. The calm sea Mo Fan was stepping on started rolling fiercely as a huge dark sail slashed forward like a sword.

Another sail rose from the sea after he waved his hand again.

Lu Kun was backing away while holding his chest. His red ribs were exposed after the Ghost Destroyer Ship had collided with him. Pure red hatred was leaking out from his body.

That hatred was his essence and his life!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Slaying Shadow Sails swept past him and severed his arms.

His essence immediately poured out from the wounds. He staggered and almost fell to the ground.

Parasite? He was the parasite?

The Red Demon was born of human hatred, an entity made up of spiritual filth that had developed its own consciousness!

It thought it could control everything, that every human was a source of hatred for it to build its own kingdom!

It was wrong. It was unable to control and manipulate every human, including the first human it had preyed on, Kazuaki.

Kazuaki managed to retain his consciousness even while he was providing the Evil Orb with energy.

He sacrificed himself to wake up his friends, who were trapped like him, and ended up leaving with the demon alone.

After Kazuaki lost control, Senior Hunter Leng was willing to risk everything to eliminate the Red Demon. The fact that he had left a job letter prior to his departure showed that he strongly believed there were people who were not afraid of evil in this world.

Only the weak and the petty would be controlled by the Red Demon. They might get their way temporarily with the new power from the Red Demon, but those who had been through Hell had already defeated the evil in their hearts. How could their Will be overwhelmed by the Red Demon’s manipulations?

Mo Fan had once lived here. He had missed the chance to enroll in a magic high school because of the calamity that had struck his hometown.

After he was set up to live in Lehuo Town, he had cultivated diligently for a whole year.

He had discarded the urge to give up on his life, the option to live a lazy and peaceful life with the government’s aid, and his complaints toward the petty environment with a lack of educational resources.

The Red Demon thought it could use Mo Fan’s past of once living here to defeat him. Little did it know, Mo Fan defeated the red demon the moment he enrolled into the Pearl Institute!

Chapter 2399: The Client

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lu Kun was losing his life essence.

Mo Fan had already walked up to him. Lu Kun tried to limp away and escape.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan not only controlled a swamp of darkness, but an entire sea of it!

How could Lu Kun possibly walk out of the vast sea he had already lost his way in while trying to create his own kingdom?

He continued to leak out his life essence, which was absorbed by Mo Fan’s Essence Orb.

The Essence Orb was filtering out the filth in Lu Kun’s life essence. It was a pity that the Orb only served as a container. It could no longer store more life essence, as it had already reached its capacity.

But to Mo Fan’s surprise, Little Loach was finally willing to accept the energy after it was filtered. It began to absorb the life essence of the Red Demon after it was purified by the Essence Orb.

Little Loach’s color brightened. The Nether River inside it had expanded significantly, with no visible ending now.

“A little upgrade?” Mo Fan lowered his gaze and noticed the little Pendant now had a brighter sheen.

“It doesn’t seem like it… but it must have refined a high-quality Soul Essence.”

The Red Demon was still running away, getting weaker as it lost more of its life essence.

It went from limping to crawling on the ground. It was aging rapidly as it lost more of its life essence.

“You have reached your end,” Mo Fan informed it.

“I…I’m indestructible…” the Red Demon protested weakly.

“Some people will always be remembered. Their spirits were passed down over a thousand years and are forever lasting. As for you, you might be able to come back to life again, but you will always be trampled to death by those people!”

Mo Fan slammed his foot on the Red Demon’s back with a wide grin. “Besides, I can already trample you to pieces, when I’m not even one of those guys who have been worshiped for a thousand years!”

The Red Demon stopped struggling. Its life essence was rapidly drawn away, and refined into pure energy.

The Red Demon was about to perish. It could no longer run away this time!

If it was fighting against someone else, it could have split itself into wisps of red energy and fled for its life. Senior Hunter Leng had failed to kill it because it had so many ways to guarantee its escape.

However, Mo Fan had the Essence Orb, which was born from the same source as the Red Demon. The Essence Orb could easily devour the little clones the Red Demon split itself into, leaving it with no chance of escape!

“What difference is killing me going to make!?” the Red Demon shrieked.

“Nothing, I’m just happy about it,” Mo Fan replied lightly.

“You have no idea what you are doing, you are actually helping something that is a hundred times worse than me by killing me!” the Red Demon screamed.

“Oh, since you are going to die anyway, why don’t you tell me something useful before you are gone?” Mo Fan asked the lingering spirit of the Red Demon.

“Do you think I’m the first Red Demon? Do you think it’s all over?”

Mo Fan was surprised by the Red Demon’s words.

Kazuaki was supposed to be the first Red Demon. Mo Fan had already verified it with Mochizuki Ken.

However, it was impossible to figure out how many Red Demons had been formed between Kazuaki and Mo Fan’s harvesting this one.

Was Lu Kun not the first Red Demon? But he was clearly Kazuaki!

“Do you know who the client of your job is? Do you know why that job letter ended up in your hands?” Lu Kun laughed, but it was filled with despair instead of pleasure.

“Just say it if you want. I’ll find out the truth if you don’t. You don’t have much time left,” Mo Fan reminded him.

“HAHAHA, don’t you feel strange why Senior Hunter Leng’s job letter only reappeared after so many years, and happened to fall into your hands?” Lu Kun blurted out.

Mo Fan had long had the same question.

“Do you think I was the one who killed Senior Hunter Leng? It’s true that I took part in it, but I was just his little pet dog.

“It was he who taught me how to disguise myself as a human and how to expand my influence…

“Do you know the other Hunters who were invited here have their own jobs, too?

“All of you are doing him a favor! He’s going to become unprecedentedly stronger!

“Can’t you guess who he is now!?”

Lu Kun turned into a puff of smoke and dissipated in the air after finishing his last sentence.

Mo Fan felt like Lu Kun was behaving like he had joined a strange cult.

That being said, the client he had mentioned was definitely worth investigating!

—

After Lu Kun perished, the residents of the town instantly passed out.

The prisoners and guards also fell unconscious, worn out from overdrawing their energy. Only a deep slumber could maintain the minimum functions for living.

The release of negative emotions was a subconscious means of self-protection. When someone was worn out by fatigue, they would grumble first before adjusting their schedule to get some rest.

The residents of the town had been unable to rest ever since their minds were controlled. It was a form of psychological torture. They would all eventually reach their limits.

Lu Kun was obviously not doing them a favor by motivating them to work diligently. He was merely extracting their life energy. Even machines would overheat after excessive work, let alone humans!

—

Mo Fan stayed behind and waited for the Magic Association to send someone over to clean up the mess.

It was not going to be an easy task, but it was the Magic Association’s responsibility anyway. It was none of Mo Fan’s concern.

“Lingling, you may rest in peace now… I mean, your father can rest in peace now, and you can finally let it go,” Mo Fan patted Lingling’s head.

Lingling’s new hair../style was already an indication that she had grown up. It was time for her to let go of something that she should have done a long time ago.

“That thing wasn’t the first Red Demon,” Lingling declared.

“I know, but you don’t have to take its words seriously,” Mo Fan told her.

“Mm, but it did reveal some important information to us!” Lingling seemed perfectly calm.

“What did you learn?” Mo Fan asked her.

“My father put up the job a long time ago, but it only fell into our hands right now. The only explanation is that the first Red Demon killed my father and took away his memories.

“The first Red Demon went to the Hunter Union disguised as my father to retrieve the job letter that would cause it a lot of trouble.”

Mo Fan felt a shiver running down his spine after hearing Lingling’s analysis.

The Red Demon could indeed take away a person’s memories. If it had killed Senior Hunter Leng, it would surely know about the job letter!

It explained why the job letter had only fallen into his hands after so many years.

Mo Fan was roughly convinced that Lu Kun was only a clone of the first Red Demon, or another Red Demon that was born later.

“I think the client of this job is the first Red Demon, Kazuaki.. After all, he was the only being that had access to my father’s letter,” Lingling said firmly.

Chapter 2400: The Eight Soul Frames of the Temple of Evils

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lingling’s speculation was bold, but fairly reasonable. Otherwise, why had the job letter only appeared after so many years?

If Senior Hunter Leng had opened the job to every Hunter in the world, the job would still be available in the Hunter Union, and would have become a high-ranking job.

The only problem was, if the first Red Demon Kazuaki was indeed their client, why did he want them to kill Lu Kun?

Mo Fan recalled Lu Kun’s strange behavior after he learned the contents of the job letter.

Now that he thought about it, the Red Demon had acted a little crazy after it found out it was betrayed by its superior.

“Why did the first Red Demon Kazuaki want to kill Lu Kun?” Mo Fan could not figure out the answer.

Lingling was also thinking the same question. “I can’t think of an explanation right now. Perhaps Lu Kun has been doing things too recklessly, and might have exposed the first Red Demon’s secrets?” Lingling rubbed her temples.

If she could not find a valid explanation, her speculation would be flawed. She would have to visit the Hunter Union to find out more about the job.

Perhaps the job letter was delayed because of some other reason?

“Eight evil gods are worshiped in the Temple of Evils,” a pleasing voice suddenly spoke up.

Apas’ alluring figure walked out of a silver Rift and stretched out like she had just finished taking a nap.

“Did your hibernation finally end?” Mo Fan rolled his eyes.

“I don’t hibernate, I just sleep a little longer sometimes,” Apas replied with an innocent smile, like she was in a great mood.

“What were you saying, you snake?” Lingling interrupted them.

Apas stuck her face closer to Lingling and noticed her new hair../style. She burst out laughing.

“Lingling, a middle-part hair../style might make you more feminine, but it doesn’t fix the problem of your bust size,” Apas mocked her in return.

“Alright, that’s enough. You shouldn’t be arguing as soon as you see one another. Apas, what do you know?” Mo Fan intervened.

“I wasn’t too sure before, but I was convinced after the Red Demon killed the little Red Demon.” Apas was aware of the existence of the Red Demons now.

Apas did not show Lingling any respect. She deftly snatched up a pen and a notebook from Lingling’s bag.

She drew eight evil temples on a blank page in the notebook, each occupied by a special soul. She quickly wrote the name ‘Kazuaki’ on one of the temples.

She then wrote the name ‘Senior Hunter Leng’ on another temple.

“What does this mean?” Mo Fan and Lingling were confused.

“You two have underestimated the Red Demons, especially the first Red Demon!” Apas drew a question mark on the rest of the temples.

“Don’t keep pausing, just tell us already,” Lingling said.

“The first Red Demon is collecting these eight souls, with Kazuaki as the host.”

“Kazuaki represents the Soul of Justice. Senior Hunter Leng is the Soul of Righteousness.”

Apas wrote the titles ‘Soul of Justice’ and ‘Soul of Righteousness’ on the roofs of Kazuaki and Senior Hunter Leng’s temples.

Mo Fan and Lingling exchanged glances.

Lingling began to recall something. She said, “I read something similar in grandfather’s room, but it wasn’t as detailed as what she’s saying.”

“How is this related to the reason why Kazuaki wanted Lu Kun dead?” Mo Fan asked, totally blank.

“Normally, souls of the dead linger in this world because they still have some wishes that are unfulfilled. They are unwilling to leave until they see the outcome. It’s the same for Senior Hunter Leng. His character represents righteousness, but he died at the hands of evil. He is qualified to be a Soul Frame in the Temple of Evils,” Apas told him.

Mo Fan still did not understand.

Apas rolled her eyes and explained in a simpler way, “Fine, think of it this way. You are right that the first Red Demon Kazuaki is the client of the job. He gave you the job letter so you would kill Lu Kun for him.

“The reason is very simple. The first Red Demon is collecting the eight Soul Frames of the Temple of Evils. Each Soul Frame represents a unique trait of this world. They consist of the four Souls of the Good: the Soul of Justice, the Soul of Righteousness, the Soul of Loyalty, and the Soul of Resolute. They also include the four Souls of the Evil: the Soul of Violence, the Soul of Greed, the Soul of Jealousy, and the Soul of Hatred.”

“Kazuaki is the Soul of Justice. Senior Hunter Leng is the Soul of Righteousness.

“These souls all have unfulfilled wishes that tie them to the world. Only when they are freed from their ties will they be able to enter the Temple of Evils and be upgraded into Soul Frames.

“The way to free them from their ties is very simple too: by fulfilling their last wishes. Senior Hunter Leng’s last wish was to complete his job and kill the Red Demon!

“There’s no way Kazuaki was going to kill himself to fulfill Senior Hunter Leng’s wish, so he took out the job letter and hired you to kill Lu Kun. Lu Kun is also a Red Demon, albeit a little one, but it is enough to fulfill Senior Hunter Leng’s final wish. Once Senior Hunter Leng’s final wish is fulfilled, he will be upgraded to a Soul Frame in the Temple of Evils.

“These Soul Frames are what the Red Demon is after!”

Apas did not really explain it in a simpler way, but Mo Fan was able to understand some of it.

“Does that mean Mochizuki Ken is here because his job is to fulfill Kazuaki’s final wish?” Mo Fan asked hesitantly.

“Mm, I believe you can guess what Kazuaki’s final wish was, too, or perhaps Kazuaki has already fulfilled his final wish. The Red Demon just needs some confirmation. After all, Kazuaki is the Red Demon’s host!” Apas said.

“What about the other Soul Frames?” Mo Fan had to ask.

It basically proved everything Lu Kun said prior to his death was real. They were all working for the first Red Demon, Kazuaki!

Anzark’s speculation was on point, too. The whole thing was a big operation, with every Hunter handling a small branch of the operation. They were not allowed to communicate with one another to ensure the confidentiality of the operation.

“Do you remember the girl called Yuria from the Alps Institute? The girl whose grave was dug up and whose soul went missing?” Apas prodded him.

Mo Fan was stunned. He had even asked the Queen of the Netherworld about it, but she reacted strangely and warned Mo Fan not to investigate the matter any further.

Did the Queen of the Netherworld already sense that the one who stole Yuria’s soul was the first Red Demon?

“Yuria represents the Soul of Loyalty. She was loyal to the Alps Institute, but she was executed because of it.. Her blood tainted the flowers, but the flowers did not blossom, so she allowed herself to bleed to death in order to prove her loyalty.”

Chapter 2401: Both Good and Evil

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A woman standing in the garden while her blood dripped onto the flowers, but the flowers that were supposed to prove her innocence did not blossom. She bled to death in the end.

Mo Fan would never forget that woman. The truth he had dug up was too poignant and heartbreaking!

“Her special character was also qualified as a Soul Frame of the Temple of Evils. It was the Red Demon who took away her soul!” Apas declared.

Mo Fan took a deep breath. It turned out that he had already been that close to the Red Demon’s trail before!

“Does that mean the Red Demon already has three of the four Souls of the Good?” Lingling persisted.

“I believe he has all four of them now. Senior Hunter Leng was the final piece of the puzzle. His soul was upgraded to a Soul Frame after Lu Kun’s death,” Apas conjectured.

“Why is that?” Mo Fan was still confused.

“The Red Demon must be throwing out nets. There are many potential candidates for the Souls of the Good or the Souls of the Evil. He might even be watching and conditioning them, as the odds of being upgraded to a Soul Frame aren’t one hundred percent. It’s all up to the Heavens.”

“For example, in Yuria’s case, if the truth had not been found out, people wouldn’t be aware of her loyalty. The whole Institute might still have despised her, thus there was a great chance her soul might have turned into a vengeful spirit, and an extremely powerful one, too!” Apas pointed out for them.

Every soul had uncertainties regarding its fate.

Senior Hunter Leng was no exception. There was no guarantee his soul would become the Soul of Righteousness. His soul could not be upgraded as long as Lu Kun was alive. If another soul was upgraded before his, he would no longer have been the Red Demon’s choice.

Therefore, it was possible that the Red Demon was observing and conditioning those souls. He had been pulling the strings behind the scenes to upgrade Senior Hunter Leng’s soul into a Soul of Righteousness!

It had disclosed Senior Hunter Leng’s job letter so someone might inherit his spirit and fulfill his final wish, freeing his soul to qualify as the Soul of Righteousness.

“Did we end up helping or harming Senior Hunter Leng?” Mo Fan suddenly asked in dismay.

“What you did was definitely helping Senior Hunter Leng. Whether or not the Red Demon was involved, he would still become a Soul Frame in the Temple of Evils. The Red Demon was only using him as a source of power to evolve into the Sacred Evil God.

“It’s like ascension, but not only does one have to be sacred, they need a lot of disciples who have made great contributions to the world. The souls are basically the Red Demon’s disciples. If they are upgraded to Soul Frames in the Temple of Evils, they are helping the Red Demon with its ascension,” Apas explained.

Mo Fan finally understood the big picture.

The first Red Demon had exceeded the little red Demon’s level, which was just an evil spirit. The first demon’s goal was to ascend as a god!

There were four gods in the Dark Plane: the God of Darkness, the God of the Undead, the God of the Shadow Tribe, and the Sacred Evil God.

Khufu was now the only God of the Undead.

The identity of the God of the Shadow Tribe remained unknown.

The Red Demon was trying to become the Sacred Evil God, one of the four gods of the Dark Plane!

It was the reason why the Queen of the Netherworld had strongly forbidden Mo Fan from investigating the fate of Yuria’s soul.

If Mo Fan kept looking, he would have provoked an existence that was very likely to become the new Sacred Evil God!

Mo Fan took a deep breath.

It was truly a huge operation. If the Red Demon became the Sacred Evil God, it would be an Emperor-level creature!

An Emperor was strong enough to threaten the Sacred City. The previous God of the Undead, Zhan Kong, had infiltrated the Sacred City alone and caused a huge massacre. The Sacred City did have a Pyrrhic victory in the end, but if the two had not willingly ended their lives, the bloodbath would not have been stopped so easily!

“Is it true that the Red Demon has collected all four of the Souls of the Good?” Mo Fan pressed.

“Mm, there’s something else you might have forgotten. There was a fiery bird which kept trying to fly higher into the sky in the Qinling Mountains after sustaining serious injuries over and over again. Its soul dispersed following its death,” Apas reminded him.

“I don’t think that was just a coincidence. Don’t tell me the Red Demon was following us!” Mo Fan blurted out in shock.

Apas shook her head and said, “It’s not following us. It’s just casting its nets wide. The fiery bird represented the Soul of Resolve, but it wasn’t upgraded to a Soul Frame in the Temple of Evils because the Red Demon found a better choice.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that back then?” Mo Fan complained.

“Because I didn’t realize it until now. The legend of the Temple of Evils is something that is passed down to us. We will only learn these things after we have grown to a certain level,” Apas puffed out her cheeks, displeased by Mo Fan’s suspicion.

“Are you saying that you’ve grown stronger after your hibernation?” Mo Fan noticed something important.

Apas turned her head away and ignored Mo Fan.

Couldn’t Mo Fan tell she had grown stronger? She was already a powerful Ruler-level creature. Her power was only suppressed by their unfair Contract, because Mo Fan’s own cultivation was too weak.

Apas had not lied to Mo Fan about the Sacred Evil God. She had unlocked some of the knowledge about the Temple of Evils during her hibernation. She had only learned these things because she was the direct descendant of Medusa. Other lesser demon creatures would not learn these secrets!

As a matter of fact, the birth of a new Sacred Evil God was closely related to the Medusa Tribe. The Medusa Queen was also a candidate to become the Sacred Evil God!

Apas would be quite happy if the Red Demon was reckless enough to take out her two sisters after collecting eight Soul Frames!

“To be frank, I don’t want the Red Demon to become the new Sacred Evil God,” Mo Fan declared firmly.

“You won’t be able to stop it. You didn’t even know you were used,” Apas pointed out to him.

“Even if I know I’m being used, I would still have done the job. I gave my promise to Lingling and Senior Hunter Leng, but it’s a different story if the Red Demon is trying to become the Sacred Evil God. I doubt the Red Demon has collected all four Souls of the Evil too, right?” Mo Fan pressed.

“If it was done collecting them, my two sisters wouldn’t be living peacefully in Africa,” Apas agreed.

“Lingling, what do you think?” Mo Fan asked her.

Lingling had been silent throughout the discussion. She was obviously thinking hard. She was joining the dots between what they had been through and Apas’ explanation of the legend of the Temple of Evils to find important clues.

“Stopping the Red Demon from collecting the four Souls of the Evil isn’t our concern for now. If the Red Demon truly wants to become the Sacred Evil God, the Archangel of the Sacred City will step forward to interfere with its plan,” Lingling deduced.

“So we are not going to investigate it?” Mo Fan was surprised.

Lingling shook her head and said, “This is already the best outcome I could hope for.”

It was the best ending for Senior Hunter Leng and Lingling.

The first Red Demon, Kazuaki, had already reached a greater height. It was both good and evil.

The clone it had left in the form of Lu Kun was a representation of its filth and greed. Senior Hunter Leng’s aim had been to eliminate Lu Kun!

“What Lingling is trying to say is that you might die if you keep investigating the Red Demon while you aren’t strong enough,” Apas interpreted for Mo Fan.

“Apas, you are starting to behave like a bad girl. Is your master being too kind to you?” Mo Fan lifted his hand and smacked Apas’ butt.

The fingerprints would definitely last on Apas’ tender skin until tomorrow!

Chapter 2402: An Imposing Official Post

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan waited in Lehuo Town for a while.

Liu Ru flew back from the direction of Prison Mountain. The other vampire seemed to have fled.

The truth was is that it was easier for Liu Ru to fight the Blood Tribe, since she could suppress the Blood Tribe’s abilities with her own.

Mo Fan was not a specialist in fighting vampires. In fact, there was a branch of the Western Hunters who were regarded as Vampire Hunters. They were able to create sacred Weapons and Potions to fight vampires very effectively.

After all, the vampires were the hardest to kill among the mutant races!

“Will that guy bring us any trouble?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“He’s injured. Knowing his age, he will have to sleep for at least ten years to recover from his injuries. That is more than enough time for me to find his coffin,” Liu Ru smiled.

Being able to swiftly recover from serious injuries was one of the pros of being a young vampire. A thousand-year-old vampire would have to rest for a few years or even a few dozen years after their essence was damaged!

Bola was a perfect example. He stayed asleep most of the time.

“Mm, we should get rid of him. Don’t give him a chance to return from the ashes,” Mo Fan nodded to her.

Mo Fan was not worried after Liu Ru said she could take care of the vampire. Besides, Mo Fan had no clue where to find a thousand-year-old vampire if it insisted on hiding itself.

That being said, Mo Fan was still going to ask Bola to lend Liu Ru a hand.

After all, Liu Ru was still so young. Mo Fan was worried she might fall into the cunning vampire’s trap while she was tracking him down.

With Bola around, the old vampire would not pose any threat to her.

“I should go. The Enforcement Union is here,” Liu Ru said softly.

“Alright, take care of yourself,” Mo Fan replied sincerely.

“You too!” Liu Ru took off. She did not forget to fly around Mo Fan in a circle to leave him with some of her scent.

—

The Enforcement Union arrived. Their uniforms had trim of sacred blue and golden yellow.

They seemed to be members of the Higher Enforcement Union!

The Enforcement Union had different levels. The branches in Beiyu Mountain and Nanxi Mountain were only Basic Enforcement Union members.

The Lingyin Enforcement Union was an Intermediate Enforcement Union.

The Enforcers who had shown up were from the Dongfang Oriental Enforcement Union, an Advanced Enforcement Union!

There were very strict requirements to join an Advanced Enforcement Union. The Enforcers either had to be at least Super Mages, or had made great contributions to the Enforcement Union.

It made perfect sense, since Ruler-level creatures and Super Mages were involved in this incident. Only an Advanced Enforcement Union could handle the case!

Mo Fan was only concerned about doing the dirty work, not cleaning up the mess. He was going to let the Enforcement Union worry about the rest, but to his surprise, he was stopped by the Enforcement Union.

“You have broken the rules of the Magic Constitution. You will have to come with us to the Advanced Enforcement Union!” an Enforcer declared pompously.

The Enforcer had additional golden stripes on his uniform, indicating his rank was higher than the rest of the Enforcers.

“Shouldn’t you find out what happened first?” Mo Fan asked him archly.

“Rules are rules, and every Mage has to obey them, even if you are a Super Mage!” the Enforcer stated firmly.

“I’m a Seven Stars Hunter Master,” Mo Fan pointed out to them.

“I’m sorry, even if you are a Seven Stars Hunter Master, using a destructive Super Spell within the city’s boundaries is still a serious offense, not to mention you used it so close to a residential area. Have you ever considered that your magic might harm innocent lives?!” the Enforcer, Wan Tong, accused him.

“I’m going to make a call.” Mo Fan seriously had no time to waste on someone who insisted on doing his job so mindlessly.

“I’m sorry, you have to come with us. You are not allowed to have any contact with outsiders before we go through the official procedures,” Wan Tong denied him.

Mo Fan had purposely waited for the Enforcement Union to arrive in order to make sure the residents were safe. He did not expect the Advanced Enforcement Union to send someone so rude and unreasonable, who insisted on taking him away even before some simple investigations.

As expected of the Advanced Enforcement Union, they seriously did not treat anyone with respect!

“You can only stop me from making the call if I’m your suspect. Don’t you dare act high and mighty in front of me. Thanks to you, the residents and workers of the whole town were hypnotized for several years. I’m already showing you enough respect by not pointing at your face and calling you useless, do you understand!?” Mo Fan snarled back at him.

Wan Tong was stunned. He did not expect this man to be so stubborn.

Despite his expressionless face, his eyes were briefly filled with shame.

“We won’t take your words seriously until the investigation is done. Besides, how dare you disrespect the Enforcement Union? We have the right to arrest you simply because of what you said!” Wan Tong spoke up.

The other Enforcers gradually surrounded them as they heard the quarrel.

“Then I guess I’ll have to prove to you myself that you guys are a bunch of good-for-nothings!” Mo Fan stated coldly.

He preferred to settle things with a fight rather than arguing with these useless law enforcers!

“Dark Execution Ground!”

A dark glow engulfed Mo Fan as darkness erupted under his feet.

The darkness spread rapidly. The light of dawn had just appeared from the east and was shining on the town, but it immediately disappeared as soon as Mo Fan’s eyes glittered.

The darkness had returned in a strange way, as if it was going to drag the whole place into a deep abyss. Dark spirits appeared behind each of the Enforcers’ backs, perfectly resembling their shadows.

The shadows were holding different weapons as they wrapped around the Enforcers.

The Enforcers, including Wang Tong, were terrified. “You…you dare to murder an Enforcer!?” Wan Tong screamed at him.

The Shadow Guard behind Wan Tong lifted its blade as soon as Wan Tong finished the sentence. Under normal circumstances, it would have slit the man’s throat, but it stuck the blade into Wan Tong’s open mouth instead!

Wan Tong did not dare say a word further with the blade stuck in his mouth. Even the slightest movement would cause the blade to cut him badly!

“What…what are you doing? We are Advanced Enforcers!” some of the Enforcers were stammering in fear.

They were powerful in terms of status and cultivation. They could easily overwhelm most Mages in public.

To their surprise, they had stumbled into someone who had subdued them all with ease!

They were useless, just like the man had described them!

Chapter 2403: Almost Four Elements at the Super Level

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, we should go with them to the Advanced Enforcement Union. We can’t really explain what happened just by giving them a little information and evidence,” Lingling urged him.

Lingling was not asking Mo Fan to go easy on Wan Tong. She also needed to go to the Advanced Enforcement Union to investigate something.

“Sure, we can go, but not under their custody. I’ll drag them with us instead!” Mo Fan declared.

“The four of you, stay here and collect evidence from the scene. The three of you, and Wan Tong, you are going to the Advanced Enforcement Union with us!” Lingling ordered them.

The Enforcers were dumbfounded.

Why was the little girl acting like she was their leader? They were the ones who had attacked the Enforcers first!

—

Mo Fan was not kidding about dragging Wan Tong to the Dongfang Oriental Tower.

He took the lift to the highest level.

The Enforcement Union was the law enforcement body established by the government and the Magic Association. It was mainly there to ensure Mages obeyed the laws of the country and the Magic Association.

As for the Advanced Enforcement Union, Mo Fan had never met anyone from there before, even though it had been stationed in the Magic City all along.

—

“What do you think you are doing? You shoved a knife into his throat like a hoodlum. You came into the Oriental Pearl Tower holding an Advanced Enforcer hostage like a terrorist!” the Vice President of the Enforcement Union snarled at him.

Wan Tong felt relieved after he was escorted to the Vice President. He almost dropped to his knees as he pleaded his case.

“Vice President, this man is nothing but a criminal! My instincts are telling me he’s the culprit behind everything! It is reasonable for us to arrest him since he isn’t willing to cooperate with us and even dared to attack us! He’s disrespecting the Magic Constitution, the country, and the Advanced Enforcement Union!” Wan Tong exclaimed, his eyes red with emotion.

The feeling of the shadow blade being stuck in his throat had been absolutely miserable. Wan Tong had never felt so humiliated in his life!

“President Feng, we can’t forgive him easily regardless of his background!” Wan Tong persisted loudly.

“Go rest outside for now,” President Feng waved his hand impatiently at the enforcer. Wan Tong could only glare at Mo Fan before leaving the room.

President Feng fixed his eyes on Mo Fan after having Wan Tong leave.

Mo Fan had remained smiling throughout the conversation. He did not treat his vile behavior as anything serious.

“You’re pretty full of yourself right now, aren’t you? There’s no place for your advisor in your eyes anymore, is that it?” Feng Li asked him.

“Advisor Feng, if I knew you were the Vice President of the Advanced Enforcement Union, I would have made sure that guy called Wan Tong wouldn’t have made a sound anymore, instead of coming here so politely,” Mo Fan assured him.

Feng Li, one of the five advisors of the national team!

Mo Fan had been quite surprised. Didn’t Feng Li have an official post in the capital? How did he go from being the advisor of the national team to Vice President of an Advanced Enforcement Union?

“I was the chief instructor of every Enforcement Union in the country. I have trained over a thousand Enforcers! Being an advisor of the national team is only my part-time job!” Feng Li blew his beard out with a straight face, the typical way for a middle-aged man to display their pride.

Mo Fan thought about that.

The World College Tournament only took place once every four years. Advisor Song He was the Dean of the Imperial College, and also part-timed as an advisor for the national team.

With that thought in mind, the other advisors obviously had other jobs as well. Mo Fan just had not expected Advisor Feng Li to be the Vice President of an Advanced Enforcement Union!

“That being said, I was just assigned to be the Vice President here not long ago. I was at the Supreme Enforcement Union in the capital before,” Feng Li went on.

“Is this a demotion or a promotion?” Mo Fan teased him.

“A demotion on the surface, but a promotion behind the scenes. After serving as Vice President for two years, I’ll be taking over the Dongfang Oriental Advanced Enforcement Union as its President,” Feng Li stated proudly.

Mo Fan was shocked by the words.

Just how impressive was Advisor Feng Li? It turned out that the organization had assigned him to be in charge of the Advanced Enforcement Union here!

Even if Mo Fan had crippled the arrogant Enforcer Wan Tong today, he would not have had any trouble!

He was a member of the national team Advisor Feng Li had been in charge of. The relationship between them was like master and disciple. How dare the little Enforcer put on airs in front of him?

“You should watch yourself, too. The Advanced Enforcement Union represents the entire Magic Association. We are in the Oriental Pearl Tower. If it was some other officer here, your actions would be treated as challenging the dignity of the Dongfang Oriental Magic Association!” Feng Li warned him.

“I got it, boss!” Mo Fan nodded quickly.

“Speaking of which, are you improving your cultivation just by eating? At this rate, even I won’t stand a chance against you in just a few years!” Despite Feng Li’s complaint, he was actually proud to see that Mo Fan was able to hold an Advanced Enforcer hostage.

Mo Fan used to be his student on the national team. Not only had the team won the championship, Mo Fan had also become a Super Mage!

Wan Tong was not particularly strong as a Super Mage, but the fact that Mo Fan was able to drag him here like a dog was a clear display of Mo Fan’s current strength!

Feng Li had taken the education path to power. He had been the director of a magic high school when he was younger, and climbed his way up to being the instructor to all Enforcement Unions in the country. He was also an advisor of the national team, but he had never seen his job title as his greatest achievement. He was prouder of those students of his who were able to make a name for themselves across the world!

“Boss, how can you say that? I worked very hard to train myself!” Mo Fan said righteously.

The national team had referred to the five strictly impartial and incorruptible advisors as their bosses in secret. Only Mo Fan dared to call them boss in front of them!

“I heard what you did overseas in South America, too. The Head Priest of the Black Vatican…” Feng Li finally could not keep the smile off his face.

The Supreme Enforcement Union in the capital itself had granted Mo Fan permission for his operation overseas. The Advanced Enforcement Union in the Magic City had been unaware of it.

However, Feng Li had been assigned to the Advanced Enforcement Union by the Supreme Enforcement Union. He obviously knew about the operation!

“I’m planning to visit Bo City before handing the Head Priest’s remains over to the Supreme Enforcement Union,” Mo Fan replied calmly.

“Of course,” Feng Li nodded.

Wu Ku!

Red Cardinal Salan had always headed the biggest evil organization in their country, and the Head Priest Wu Ku who Mo Fan had taken down was the highest-ranked member of the Black Vatican that the Enforcement Union had ever eliminated.

On a side note, since the Cold Prince had been handed over to the Holy Judgment Court, the Court instead of China had taken all that glory.

This time, Mo Fan was planning to hand Wu Ku’s remains to the Supreme Enforcement Union in the capital, but only after he was finally able to account for himself to Bo City!

As for the Ancient Capital, he would need Salan’s remains for that!

“Do you have two Elements at the Super Level now?” Feng Li asked.

“I actually have three. Lightning, Fire, and Shadow,” Mo Fan had no reason to lie to Feng Li.

Feng Li took a deep breath.

The young man was even more impressive than he had thought. He already had three Elements at the Super Level!

He was already a cornerstone of the Super Level Mages!

“I’m about to get my fourth Element in the Super Level, too. I have just gotten my hands on a complete Universe Vein,” Mo Fan informed him.

Feng Li had just lifted his cup to take a satisfied sip of tea, but his hand slipped and he almost dropped the cup.

Coughing and exclaiming, “It’s hot!” Feng Li tried to cover his awkwardness, but it was Mo Fan’s words that had scorched him, not the tea!

Four Elements at the Super Level?!, he thought.

Other Super Mages only had four Elements! According to normal standards, Mo Fan was close to reaching the peak of the Super Level!

How crazy could Mo Fan be?!

Chapter 2404: Submitting an S-level Job

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Prison Mountain is under the Enforcement Union’s jurisdiction. I bet someone in the Enforcement Union gave him green lights to set up his ‘enterprise’ there,” Mo Fan informed Feng Li.

“I do pick up something fishy about it recently, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. It’s my mistake,” Feng Li sighed.

“Lu Kun should have other projects, too. I hope you can take care of the rest,” Mo Fan went on.

“Don’t worry, I know what to do. I just need your little huntress’ help,” Feng Li nodded.

Feng Li had collected some evidence, but it only proved a mole in the Enforcement Union had been providing Prison Mountain with special convenience and privileges.

There was only some bribery involved, so Feng Li had no clue what the truth was. He had only learned things were so serious after Mo Fan uprooted the evil.

Feng Li had to admit that Lu Kun’s disguise as a human was perfect, whether it was his role in the Lu Clan or his performance at his job. As a result, the Hunters and Enforcement Union had not been suspicious of him for all these years.

Lu Kun might still be free if it weren’t for the job letter left behind by Senior Hunter Leng!

—

Mo Fan briefly explained the incident to Lu Zhengxin and Lu Qingyao after he returned to the Lu Clan’s mansion.

The two did not react to the news pleasantly, mainly because they had investigated certain places they were always suspicious of while Mo Fan was busy taking out Lu Kun.

They had discovered an underground cellar in Lu Kun’s private mansion and found a man who had died a long time ago.

The man had been badly tortured while he was alive. His face had retained the painful expression frozen on his face when he died.

After doing some comparisons, they realized the man who died in the cellar was their real uncle!

In other words, the Red Demon had not taken over Lu Kun’s flesh. It had held Lu Kun captive and gradually absorbed his memories and behavior over a long time to replace him.

They could imagine the torture their uncle had gone through while a demon was mimicking and learning his behavior just to replace him!

“Either way, thank you for getting rid of the demon for us!” Lu Qingyao was still dealing with some lingering fears.

She was terrified after recalling the whole series of events. The younger generation of the Lu Clan was only safe because the Red Demon had still been relying on its disguise, but once it was strong enough, the whole Lu Clan would definitely have been reduced to ruins!

Mo Fan had seen a few extreme species capable of causing great disasters. The Red Demons were definitely one of them!

Mo Fan was relieved he had been able to take out the Red Demon before it was too late.

“I told you, sister, Lu Yilin was only killed because he tried to set Mo Fan up first, but no one in the whole clan believed me. This time, it was Mo Fan who prevented a huge disaster for us, despite what happened in the past!” Lu Zhengxin now had absolute trust in Mo Fan.

Prison Mountain was the Lu Clan’s property. If something terrible happened there, they had to bear full responsibility.

Lu Kun was cold-blooded, while the Duke of Syam was savage and cruel. Who knew what terrible things they would do if the secrets of Prison Mountain were exposed?

How would the Lu Clan retain its reputation in society?

“It’s true that I was biased toward you at first. I’m sorry,” Lu Qingyao immediately apologized to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan waved his hand. He was not fussed about the little details.

Mo Fan was only willing to help because the two had been behaving well. They were not the kind who would bite him to death just because of some old conflict he had with their clan. Mo Fan was warier of the unreasonable people who insisted he had murdered Lu Yilin. Mo Fan could not have cared less about the Lu Clan’s well-being if that were the case!

“Feel free to let us know if you need any help. Our grandfather is overseas for the time being, but we still have a say in certain things,” Lu Qingyao told him.

“Then I won’t hold back. Does your clan own Kunshan Marketplace?” Mo Fan asked them directly.

Liu Ru was only the landlord of a part of the marketplace, but the Lu Clan was the rightful owner of the area.

“We don’t own just the Kunshan Marketplace. Every marketplace from Guangzhou to Tianjin along the coastline is managed by the Lu Clan and the government!” Lu Qingyao stated proudly.

“Oh my…” Mo Fan took a deep breath.

How insane were rich people!?

“Well, I’m looking for compatible souls, bones, and lineage for my old Wolf Summoned Beast. I’ve already asked an old vendor in the marketplace to collect them for me, but I’m not too confident about his efficiency and sources,” Mo Fan admitted.

“Why don’t you write down whatever you need. I’ll ask the marketplaces across thirty-six cities to collect them for you at a discounted price. Unfortunately, I don’t have much say financially, so the cost…” Lu Qingyao said.

“Sister, we can definitely afford it. Speaking of which, what level is your Summoned Beast?” Lu Zhengxin interrupted her.

“Ruler-level,” Mo Fan informed him.

Lu Zhengxin’s expression shifted unnaturally as soon as he heard that.

“It’s fine, I’ll pay for the goods myself. You are doing me a huge favor by collecting the materials for me,” Mo Fan smiled reassuringly.

Lu Qingyao glared at her brother.

Did he not realize what level Mo Fan was currently? It was obvious Mo Fan would be needing Ruler-level resources! Was he that stupid to think Mo Fan was only after Servant-class hides or Warrior-level bones?!

“Ruler-level resources are extremely rare. It will take us some time to collect them, even with our sources, but I’ll deliver them to Fanxue Mountain once we have them all. Is that fine for you?” Lu Qingyao asked him.

“Sure, thanks a lot!” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan had promised to help his Old Wolf evolve. He had no intention of going back on his words. Now that he could guarantee a fourth Element at the Super Level, he no longer needed a lot of money in the near future, and could use it to improve the Old Wolf’s strength. After all, his second Contracted Beast was just a little snake lady who only knew to act coquettishly all the time…

—

Mo Fan wrote down a lot of resources. Wolf species might be common in the woods and mountains, but Ruler-level Wolves were still relatively scarce.

Considering the difficulty of finding suitable Soul Jades for the Old Wolf, Mo Fan headed to the Hunter Union in Shanghai to submit an S-level quest.

There were three important ingredients for a Summoned Beast to evolve: the soul, the bones, and the lineage.

He might be able to obtain the bones and lineage through the Lu Clan’s help and the vendor’s connections. However, the chance of buying a suitable Soul Jade was almost zero.

The S-level quest Mo Fan submitted was “Hunt for a Ruler-level Wolf and obtain its complete Soul Jade.”

Chapter 2405: Bo City Fortress

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Banks of white clouds were setting off the sapphire-blue sky. The green mountains were at a closer distance, with purple peaks further away. The parabolic line of the mountains breezed past as the train headed south.

Mo Fan could not help but recall the time he first left Bo City.

Now he was coming back to Bo City alone.

Mu Bai was busy familiarizing himself with the white brush Mo Fan had given him. He would have to cultivate in seclusion for some time.

Zhao Manyan had also gotten a new toy and was concentrating all his attention on learning how to use it to improve the defense of his Water Magic.

Tomb Sweeping Day was around the corner. Mo Fan happened to be bringing the culprit responsible for the Calamity of Bo City here, to South Mountain. South Mountain held the cemetery with the tombs of those who had died in the calamity.

The weather was great when Mo Fan arrived back in Bo City. At this time of the year, the mountain and the sky were normally damp and gray.

Many of the residents had moved away from Bo City, leaving only a fifth of its population behind.

Bo City had been transformed into a military fortress in the south of the country. It was no longer a lively city.

——

“Father!” Mo Fan knocked on the door of the old address he used to live at.

The old streets had been rebuilt with standard two-and-a-half-story townhouses. The walls were painted light blue, while the glazed roof tiles were darker. The roof tiles were replicas of the Chinese glazed roof tiles that were common in the past, adding a historical feel to the houses.

“Come in, I’ve just prepared some dumplings. We can eat them soon. Go make some sauce in the kitchen,” Mo Jiaxin greeted him with a smile.

Mo Fan had spent his time overseas or running some dangerous missions lately. Mo Jiaxin had been to Shanghai a few times, but Mo Fan was rarely around. Mo Jiaxin had ended up going around the city on his own.

Since Fanxue Mountain had started providing the old residents of Bo City with special privileges, Mo Jiaxin would occasionally visit there, too. Not only was Fanxue Mountain closer to Bo City, he also had a lot of old friends there.

“It smells nice!” Mo Fan was starving.

—

They had a pleasant meal of dumplings. He looked out of the window while picking his teeth and noticed a new red wall had been built along the mountain around a few kilometers away, setting up a new boundary.

“Did they upgrade the fortress’ defenses again?” Mo Fan asked in surprise.

“Yeah, the demon creatures are more active this time of the year. The military is running short on hands, having to handle both the threat of sea monsters along the coastline and the danger posed by the demon creatures in the mountains. The same guy has been guarding the entrance to the fortress for a week when I deliver goods there. They don’t have enough soldiers to arrange proper shifts,” Mo Jiaxin answered as he was washing the plates.

“It sounds grim,” Mo Fan observed. He felt like there was no place that was perfectly safe and peaceful anymore.

“Old Mo, time to play some Mahjong!” an old man’s voice came from outside.

“My son is back. I won’t be there today!” Mo Jiaxin called back.

“Your son? Which one?”

“Are you serious? Don’t you know I only have one child!?” Mo Jiaxin exclaimed.

“Is it Mo Fan? Where is he? Let me see him!” The old man barged into the house and immediately saw Mo Fan, who was seated at the dining table.

“Old Man Zhang!” Mo Fan greeted him with a smile.

“It really is Mo Fan. You are famous now. I keep telling my relatives in Xiamen I once beat you up when you tried to steal my pumpkins when you were younger, but they didn’t believe me. Here, I’ll send a voice message to them on WeChat!” Old Man Zhang exclaimed.

Mo Fan quickly explained with an awkward face, “It was Zhang Xiaohou provoking me! Otherwise, why would I do something mischievous like that?”

“HAHAHA, the two of you weren’t just artificial leather when you were young, you were real leather!” Old Man Zhang said.

{TL Note: The Chinese word for leather is a slang term to describe someone who is naughty.}

“Ugh…Old Man Zhang, you are familiar with the modern slang…?”

“Of course, one must keep up with the times, right? I have been watching a lot of live streams recently, too. Some of them are quite interesting,” Old Man Zhang answered happily.

“You should go easy on your body and eat more protein then,” Mo Fan advised him.

“What are you talking about? I’m not referring to those kinds of live streams. I’m watching the Hunters’ ones where they go into the wild. They are exciting! A lot of Hunters have come to our city recently. They seem to be doing an S-rank quest. Huge groups are going into the mountains to look for demon wolves!” Old Man Zhang showed his phone to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was astounded. How coincidental was this?

However, on second thought, demon wolves were a common species in the mountains in the south of China. The Bo City Fortress was mainly built to defend the people from the Magic Wolf Horde near here. It made sense for the Hunters to come to Bo City to look for Ruler-level Wolves!

“This group is a bunch of Hunter Masters. They seem to be looking for the footprints of a Ruler-level Wolf. They have even crossed Baoya Mountain,” Old Man Zhang showed him.

“Won’t the demon creatures sense their presence while they are using communication devices?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

Normally, people would stay at the edge of a safe zone when doing live broadcasts of the wild. Doing a live broadcast in the demon creatures’ territory was suicide!

It was similar to sending a text message or making a phone call. Demon creatures could pick up on the signals from communication devices. It was like sending a GPS signal to all the demon creatures within several kilometers!

Even recording in the wild was a risky action, let alone doing a live stream!

“Apparently, it’s a new technology the military has invented, making it possible to conceal the signals of communication devices, so we can now use phones in the wild!” Old Man Zhang explained to him.

Mo Fan browsed through the channels.

In the past, live streams were more related to life../styles. There were almost no live streams related to magic. One reason was the difficulty of recording magic, but the main reason was that they were forbidden by the Magic Association and the government.

However, the situation was totally different now.

There were surprisingly a lot of live streams educating people about magic. Some Hunters were even doing live streams in the wild with professional crews. They even broadcast their fights with demon creatures.

Mo Fan thought about all these changes.

The government might have been less strict recently, but this was also hinting at a bigger problem.

The government was no longer crafting the image of a peaceful world. It was purposely showing the truth to the people.

There was only one reason to do so: letting people learn the cruelty of the world, so they were mentally prepared for disasters that might happen soon!

The situation was grim!

“The older local Mages told us this is Baoya Mountain. We’ll be entering the Magic Wolf Horde’s territory after crossing it. Wolves have a sharp sense of smell. Even after several hours, the high-level Magic Wolves can still pick up the scent of our trail…” a Hunter was saying in the live stream.

“But don’t worry, we have a lot of strong Mages in our group.. They can handle any danger with ease.”

Chapter 2406: Female Wolf Ruler

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was not an expert at tracking down demon creatures.

It would be difficult to track down a Ruler-level Magic Wolf in the mountains. It might take a whole month.

The Hunters doing the live stream were not trying to hunt a Ruler-level wolf. Their job was to track it down.

Normally, an entire Hunter Group would be involved in an S-rank quest. It would have professionals look for traces of their target. It would also have specialized fighters and hire experts on the wolf species.

The reward for the quest was ten figures in size. It made sense to send out a huge group for the job when they did not have a Senior Hunter among them.

The Wizard Bird Hunter Group had accepted the job. The Hunter Group had made a reputation for itself in recent years. It had managed to kill Ruler-level creatures before, and since it was active in the mountains in the south, it was familiar with the demon wolves there.

They were also Lu Qingyao and the vendor’s main source of demon wolf lineages and bones!

—

Mo Fan stayed in Bo City for a few days. He waited until Tomb Sweeping Day before bringing a bag full of body ash over to the cemetery.

He also decided to cultivate in Bo City after he was done.

He now had a Universe Vein, a great resource to break through to the Super Level. His Summoning Element, Space Element, Chaos Element, and Earth Element were still at the Advanced Level. It was time to improve his cultivation!

He went into seclusion to cultivate. His goal was to improve the Space Element to the Super Level!

——

Time passed very quickly. Mo Fan always lost track of time whenever he was cultivating.

His Mental State had already reached the sixth level. It was considered stable and powerful.

The Space Element did not have Soul Seeds, as they were replaced by the Mental State.

Some academics had outlined comparisons between them. The sixth level of the Mental State was comparable to a Soul-grade Seed. The seventh level was comparable to a Lesser Heaven Seed.

A Mage’s cultivation was the foundation, while the level of the Mental State was amplification!

Diligent training was essential to improve one’s Mental State. Improvement in cultivation would also make the Space Element stronger!

——

The Universe Vein was as effective as expected. Mo Fan almost thought he did not have enough luck, as the odds of failing to break through with a Universe Vein were between thirty to forty percent, but he successfully broke through the barrier around his Space Element’s Galaxy in the end.

The silver light spread and expanded into a bigger zone. It contained a glowing liquid that was slowly orbiting around the Stars like celestial rivers.

“It’s a blessing from Bo City,” Mo Fan murmured after opening his eyes.

Perhaps the souls of Bo City had blessed him for giving them peace on this last Tomb Sweeping Day!

Mo Fan’s attempt to improve the Space Element to the Super Level was a great success. Mysterious silver energy filled up his mind. As he shifted his gaze to the objects around him, he could even see a string connecting them.

He could turn them into his weapons with but a single thought!

“My Mental State has improved too, but I’m still some distance away from reaching the seventh level,” he mumbled to himself.

A lot of abilities were different after reaching the Super Level.

Telekinesis still worked the same way, but in the past, Mo Fan had to focus his attention on a specific object to control it.

Now, he felt like he was carrying a magnetic field around with him. Every object within the field was on standby!

——

Mo Fan went for a walk.

Things as tiny as a rolling can on the ground or as big as a commercial building had silver frames around them in Mo Fan’s eyes. They showed that Mo Fan could move them with his Space Element if he wanted to.

“What date is it today?” Mo Fan asked a little kid on the side of the road.

“It’s the third,” the little boy stared at Mo Fan suspiciously.

“Oh, does that mean it has only been two days?” Mo Fan murmured. He had started cultivating in seclusion on the first. “Don’t you have school today?” Mo Fan followed up curiously.

“We have three days of holiday from the first of May. Are you stupid?” the little boy shot back.

The boy’s mother came out of a shop and scolded him, “Xiao Dong, why are you talking like that?”

Mo Fan had an awkward expression. Why were the kids so mean nowadays?

It was already past the first of May? Holy crap, he had been cultivating in seclusion for an entire month!

At his current level, the process of meditation would place his body in stasis, and he would not grow a beard. He would not feel hungry, as his body’s metabolism slowed down. It was like having a long dream. He had no idea how much time had passed after he woke up.

A loud alarm went off.

Mo Fan shuddered when he heard the alarm, especially on Bo City’s streets. Bo City had turned blood-red after the same alarm went off in the past!

“It’s so annoying. Why did it go off again?” the little boy called Xiao Dong yelled out.

“Why aren’t you treating it seriously? It’s a military drill. The alarm is telling us to evacuate to safety. If you hear three consecutive alarms, you must immediately run to the underground shelter. Do you understand?” Xiao Dong’s mother warned him.

As soon as she finished the sentence, the third alarm went off.

It lasted for quite some time. The pedestrians were very calm at first. After all, it was common for military drills to happen after Bo City had turned into a fortress city, but they had never heard the third alarm sounded before.

The military drills only involved the first and second alarms. The third alarm meant it was a real alert!

“Mother?” Xiao Dong pulled at his mother’s shirt.

“Quick, let’s find a place to hide!” Xiao Dong’s mother grabbed her son up in her arms. She looked a little lost, but subconsciously searched for the closest shelter among the signs.

The atmosphere on the street had changed instantly.

Mo Fan remained standing there with a blank face.

What is going on?

The people were obviously used to the drills. They might be in a panic, but they were moving to the shelters in perfect order.

Battlemages appeared on the street to maintain order and guide the people to the emergency shelters. They were well-trained.

The street was emptied in no time, leaving only a few Mages who were searching the buildings and houses to make sure no one was left behind.

The whole process was done very quickly!

If the people of the old Bo City had such awareness when the Red Alert was sounded back then, the casualties would not have reached five figures!

“Sir, I’m a Hunter. May I ask what’s happening? Why was the alarm sounded?” Mo Fan asked a skinny soldier passing by.

“Humph, it’s all the Hunters’ fault! Recently, a Hunter Group killed a male Ruler-level wolf. They did help us eliminate a huge threat, but they didn’t tell us they also took the five pups of the Ruler-level wolf. It drove the female Ruler-level wolf crazy.. It has come to seek revenge!” the soldier huffed at him.

Chapter 2407: Forgive Us

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A strange blood-red mist had engulfed the purple mountains.

A female wolf wrapped in a venomous blood-red shroud was traveling across the peaks rapidly.

As it was sprinting, red lightning strikes fell on the mountains it passed and left behind clouds of poisonous insects.

The insects sucked the life of every living creature in the area dry. The mountains were home to hundreds of bird species. The she-wolf had brought a terrifying plague to the mountains along its trail.

The poisonous insects fed on the living creatures in a frenzy. The plants wilted and the animals were turned into bones. The whole place turned gray, as if it had just gone through a terrifying disaster.

———–

The fortress on Bo City’s Snowy Peak Mountain…

The Battlemages were overwhelmed with fear after witnessing the terrifying sight from the top of the fortress, their eyes wide.

This was a Ruler-level creature!

Just a moment ago, the sky was clear and the mountains were pretty, but every living thing had wilted away as the rivers of the mountains were filled with blood under the dull sky.

They could not imagine what would happen if the she-wolf intruded upon a populated city. How terrifying would that be?

The fortress of Bo City was built between two magnificent mountains. Barbed fences were set up over seven kilometers to prevent demon creatures from entering the safe zone.

Could the barbed fences possibly stop the she-wolf Ruler that was able to jump between mountains?

The blood-red mist and clouds of venomous insects were approaching like a storm. The fortress of Bo City was as sturdy as a mountain wall, but it did not give the Battlemages any sense of security.

“She’s here!” the Lieutenant General stationed at the fortress shouted.

She had come, and she was far scarier than he had expected.

The morale of the Battlemages was crushed when they saw the deadly mist and venomous insects the Ruler-level creature had brought with it.

“General Nan, our Wizard Bird Hunter Group is the cause of this. We will bear full responsibility. Please protect the people at all costs so Bo City won’t suffer another calamity,” the leader of the Wizard Bird Hunter Group, Zhou Yuan, spoke up.

General Nan did not reply, still frowning.

The Ruler-level female wolf was right in front of the fortress!

She did not jump over the artificial barrier, even though it would not be that effective at stopping her. She simply stood on the path leading to the fortress.

She was fearless!

She seemed to think it would not take a long time to destroy the human fortress before continuing on her way.

—

A man in plain clothes was pushed forward from the Wizard Bird Hunter Group on the fortress.

His hands were tied. He was escorted by two Hunters of the Wizard Bird Hunter Group.

Thick vines flew forward and built a bridge to the ground.

The two Hunters escorted the man to the entrance of the fortress where the female wolf could see them clearly.

The female wolf had terrifying eyes. The deadly blood-red mist was leaking out between her fangs as she was breathing. The venomous insects were scattered around her in the sky. It felt like the wolf had brought an army to the fortress, even though she was alone!

“He…he’s the one who stole your pups!”

“Here are your children. We didn’t hurt them. We gave them…the best meat and fed them goat milk…” the two Hunters who were escorting the man spoke up in trembling voices.

The Hunters knew a Ruler-level creature had the same level of intelligence as a human.

Even though their actions were ridiculous, behind the fortress stood a peaceful city that had barely recovered from a great calamity in recent years. They had to do everything they could to pacify the female wolf!

Five wolf pups jumped down from the fortress. Each of them were as large as normal adult wolves.

When the five wolf pups were released and returned to the female wolf, a few of them howled and complained to their mother. Two of them did not forget to turn to the fortress full of Battlemages and howl angrily at them.

A Ruler-level wolf shrouded in a deadly mist and surrounded by venomous insects.

A fortress full of intimidated soldiers.

A man in his thirties kneeling on the ground with his hands tied on his back. The man was also a member of the Wizard Bird Hunter Group!

There was an unwritten rule among Hunters. They were not allowed to kidnap the young of demon creatures while their mother was still alive, nor were they allowed to bring the baby creatures back to a city!

Such deeds would result in unimaginable disasters to the locals, as the mothers of the creatures were typically vengeful, especially the wolf species!

The leader of the Wizard Bird Hunter Group, Zhou Yuan, was a rational man. They had chosen to leave without harming the wolf pups after killing the male Ruler-level wolf.

However, he did not expect someone else in his Hunter Group would lose his mind to greed and kidnap the wolf pups without him knowing!

The wolf pups had to be alive to be valuable, but the female wolf could easily track their scent trail back to the city!

It would be disastrous once she arrived at the city!

“We don’t have a choice. It’s the only option we have. Let’s hope this will pacify the female wolf,” Zhou Yuan muttered under his breath.

They were not abandoning their member and sacrificing him to the she-wolf to ask for her forgiveness because they were merciless. It was because if they failed to calm the anger of the Ruler-level creature, the city behind them would be flowing with blood again!

It had only been a Darkwing Wolf back then, but it had been enough to bring a blood bath to Bo City. The mother wolf was a hundred times stronger than the Darkwing Wolf. Bo City would not stand a chance.

The Wizard Bird Hunter Group had made a huge mistake! They had to ask the Ruler-level creature for forgiveness!

“Please forgive me! Please!”

“Please spare my life!”

The Hunter whose hands were tied was facing the mother wolf alone.

The savage and fierce Ruler-level creature was less than twenty meters from him. He felt like his heart was being torn to pieces. He only had a single thought in his mind: begging for his life!

“Look, they are unharmed… I didn’t do anything to them,” the Hunter begged.

The female wolf went up to the Hunter and sniffed at him. She seemed to be confirming whether the man was the one who had kidnapped her children.

After getting her answer, her eyes glittered coldly as she growled at her children.

The five wolf pups immediately lunged at the Hunter!

They bit his throat!

They tore off his limbs!

They tore his chest open!

They dismembered his body and drank his blood!

The five wolf pups ate the Hunter in front of the thousands of Mages on the fortress!

Many people turned their heads away. Anyone would find the sight unpleasant.

However, they did not dare show any signs of anger. What value was their dignity when they stood in front of the Ruler-level wolf?

“Please forgive us!” Zhou Yuan asked once again.

“Hear me…” a strange voice suddenly came from the mother wolf.

The people on the fortress were astounded. Was the mother wolf able to speak the human language?

Chapter 2408: They Won’t Want to Mess with Bo City

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Certain species of demon creatures were able to speak the human tongue, but most of them were mutant species who already had a human lineage.

Did the mother wolf have a human lineage? That was impossible!

Did the mother wolf evolve into something special?

A hunchbacked man holding a long bone as his walking stick came forward while the people on the fortress were still in shock.

The man was dressed primitively, like he had lived in the mountains for years. Even his voice sounded like the growls of wolves.

“The Wolf Queen wants me to tell you that the Nanling Mountains have always been her territory. Even the city here once belonged to her territory. She kindly gave it up for you, but not only were you not grateful, you are not obeying the rules, either!” the man yelled at them.

The people on the fortress could roughly understand him despite his strange tones. He was obviously a human. He must have lost his way in the Nanling Mountains many years ago and ended up being enslaved by the Ruler Wolf.

He stood beside the mother wolf. His humble attitude toward the female wolf was a huge contrast to the arrogance he had when he was facing the humans.

“The culprit has been eaten alive. Please plead for us and pacify the Wolf Queen,” Zhou Yuan requested of him.

“You think that was enough to pacify the Wolf Queen?” The man burst out laughing.

“She wants all of you to remember this lesson! She’s going to make your city behind the fortress flow with blood!”

The primitive man’s shouts were almost synchronized with the Ruler Wolf’s howls. The people on the fortress might not understand her language, but they could clearly sense her anger and murderous intent!

Giving back the wolf pups was not enough. Sacrificing the life of the culprit was not enough either!

They were not allowed to profane the Wolf Queen’s authority!

Only butchering the city and letting the smell of blood spread over a dozen kilometers would make all living creatures in the Nanling Mountains remember this lesson!

The sky changed as the blood mist darkened. The plague of venomous insects swarmed out of the Ruler Wolf’s fur and instantly filled the canyon in front of the fortress.

The brilliance of the Battlemage’s magic on the fortress was overwhelmed.

The venomous insects began to feed on the humans. The Ruler Wolf’s blood mist was already unstoppable, even after she had only taken a step forward.

The Wizard Bird Hunter Group was immediately on alert, as they were facing a formidable foe. The faces of all of the Battlemages paled at the same time.

This Ruler Wolf was countless times stronger than the male wolf they had killed. Her Aura surged at the fortress wildly. Certain Mages with weaker cultivations fainted instantly, let alone being able to protect themselves with magic!

“Screw it, let’s fight her with everything we have. I won’t let it reach the city even if it means dying here!” Zhou Yuan shouted.

There was no room for negotiation. The Ruler-level Wolf had promised to butcher the city!

They were long aware of the Wolf Queen’s savage nature, hence why they had gathered on the fortress in the first place.

They chose to fight, even though they did not stand a chance. They were prepared to bear the consequences of their mistake!

“The Wizard Bird Hunter Group might be annihilated today, but not a single life in Bo City will be lost!” Zhou Yuan roared defiantly.

“We may die, but we won’t let a single person of Bo City die!” General Nan finally spoke with an iron will.

If atoning for their crime was not enough, they were not afraid to take the fight! Not everyone was willing to end up as a slave to the Wolf Queen, like that primitive man!

A few dozen Advanced Mages jumped down from the fortress following the lead of Zhou Yuan and General Nan, intending to fight the Wolf Queen in the canyon.

The Wolf Queen howled. The air she was releasing gathered into a powerful blood-red tornado and knocked the Mages flying, like a wave released from a broken dam.

The gusts of wind held incredible force. They were able to penetrate the sturdy walls of the fortress like steel cables.

None of the Advanced Mages were unharmed. They were covered in blood as they slammed into the walls of the fortress. Some of them were stuck deeply into the stone.

Only General Nam and Zhou Yuan managed to stand their ground.

The Wolf Queen swiftly lunged forward and swung her front limbs. The two Super Mages were sent flying consecutively. Her claws left deep marks in the walls in the canyon.

The savage man burst out laughing. “And you think you stand a chance against the Wolf Queen? How puny!”

The Wolf Queen was unstoppable. Her claws alone had left bizarre marks on the sturdy rocks.

The Wolf Queen jumped to the top of the fortress and stood atop it aloofly. Her blood-red eyes were staring down at Bo City, which was hidden behind a few mountains in the way. She could barely see a few of its tallest buildings.

A river was flowing down to Bo City from the mountains.

Humans were no different from ants in her eyes. They were small and weak, despite their numbers!

The Wolf Queen howled. The people in Bo City immediately looked at the mountain after the howl reached them.

The Wolf Queen was clearly visible on the top of Snowy Peak Mountain despite its distance from the city. Only her upper body was visible above the mountain in front of the city. Her eyes and the eerily cold moon hung right above the mountain while her Aura was surging at the city like a storm!

The people felt their heads and their limbs going numb. It was like they could smell death, as if the creature was already within inches when it was still a mountain away.

In the past, a Commander-level Darkwing Wolf had been enough to bring a bloodbath to Bo City. Now, the ruler of all the wolves of the Nanling Mountains was coming after them!

“Listen up! Someone has provoked the Wolf Queen! As a result, all of you will atone for his crime with your lives!” the savage man shouted while standing on the Wolf Queen’s claw.

He was speaking on behalf of the Wolf Queen so the people would realize how puny they were.

“She is the Queen of the Nanling Mountains, while you all are her humble servants!” His voice echoed in the mountains and Bo City along with the Wolf Queen’s howl.

“The Wolf Queen, right?” a voice asked from the road at the Wolf Queen’s feet.

It was the highway leading to the relay station on Snowy Peak Mountain. A man stood on the road and stared up at the imperious Wolf Queen.

The Wolf Queen lowered her gaze to look down at the road.

Humans were too tiny for her. She had not even realized a human was standing there.

However, she did not think of the human as a threat, he was just like the other humans on the fortress.

“Can you ask on my behalf if the Darkwing Wolf was her lackey, if she claims herself to be the Ruler of Nanling Mountains?” Mo Fan requested.

“Of course the Darkwing Wolf was the Wolf Queen’s lackey. It was just the leader of a puny tribe!” the man answered smugly.

Mo Fan’s gaze sharpened. His temperament changed completely in an instant!

“Very well then, it’s time to settle both the old and new debts! Humph, how bold of her to threaten to butcher the city in front of me, Mo Fan!

“I shall annihilate the wolf horde of the Nanling Mountains today!”

The Wolf Queen was not the only Ruler of the Nanling Mountains. There were other rulers of different tribes and hordes there.

It was a great opportunity to teach them that they did not want to mess with Bo City!

Chapter 2409: Slaughtering the Wolf Queen

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Wolf Queen looked down at Mo Fan and noticed the deadly silver lights he was emitting. They were stabbing at her fur like thousands of silver swords!

The Wolf Queen was surprised at seeing a human able to unleash such a strong Aura in an instant.

Mo Fan had already moved onto her back before she realized he was a powerful Mage.

A strange force grabbed her tail strongly. Pain shot up from her tail as her body was lifted off the top of the mountain.

Mo Fan was hovering in the air, surrounded in a bright silver light, looking like a sacred silver knight. He had hoisted the Wolf Queen off the ground by grabbing her tail, and now tossed her at a jagged mountain ridge!

The wall of the mountain ridge collapsed, and the Wolf Queen fell into the deep canyon there. Her fur scattered in the air while her blood splattered on the road.

The Battlemages and Hunters on the fortress were dumbfounded.

Was that guy a god? He just threw the Wolf Queen, a Ruler-level creature, around like a wild dog!

The imperious Wolf Queen immediately found herself in a pinch. The mysterious silver light had overshadowed her ferocity.

“Be careful, that creature is extremely fast and cunning!” Zhou Yuan shouted as a warning.

The canyon was full of huge boulders. They had fallen from the ridge-wall and stacked into a pile atop the Wolf Queen.

The Wolf Queen was bleeding now. It seemed like she was unable to move because of the boulders atop her, but a sinister light flashed in her eyes.

The rocks on the Wolf Queen exploded into pieces. The Wolf Queen had pretended she was hurt, but she suddenly jumped into the sky and opened her mouth wide while unleashing her deadly mist.

The canyon was instantly dyed red as thick fangs burst out of the ground and the walls, covering the nearby hills.

Mo Fan was amused by the attack.

The Wolf Queen was just a demon creature, after all. Could she be more cunning than a human?

Mo Fan murmured the name of his Super Lightning Spell, “Lightning Punishment: Seal of the Twelve Laws!”

He had finally improved the Seal of the Nine Laws to the Seal of the Twelve Laws. Its strength and binding power were much greater than the previous version.

The fangs were heading for Mo Fan from below. He swung the giant purple halberd in his hand and created a deep lightning scar in the canyon!

The mighty blow knocked the Wolf Queen out of the canyon as paralyzing lightning arcs attached themselves to her body.

The Wolf Queen fled to the other side of the canyon. She adjusted her stance like she was going to lunge at Mo Fan and attack him with her claws.

Mo Fan’s lightning halberd was quicker. He threw it right at the Wolf Queen!

Lightning powerful enough to inflict waves of dizziness struck the Wolf Queen’s head. The Wolf Queen did not expect the lightning halberd to be so heavy, and the blow forcibly knocked her to the ground!

More lightning halberds appeared, each imbued with powerful lightning. Their lightning arcs swept the canyon and mountains around her like countless writhing serpents!

Twelve lightning halberds now towered among the mountains in a spectacular fashion.

The Wolf Queen was trapped in the Lightning Punishment Magic Formation. Their lightning was whipping at her continuously.

The Wolf Queen was lacerated multiple times. Her back and stomach were soon covered in scorched wounds!

“Such a powerful Mage!”

The people on the fortress stared in disbelief.

They had thousands of people ready to fight the Wolf Queen, but they were like a flock of sheep waiting to be slaughtered. They were defeated easily when they tried to fight back.

To their surprise, this Mage was fiercer than the Wolf Queen. The strong Ruler-level creature was covered in wounds in just a few minutes!

“It looks like I was being ignorant,” Zhou Yuan mocked himself.

He was worried the man would get the worst of it by trying to fight the Wolf Queen directly. He did not expect the man’s Lightning Magic to be so outstanding. It had instantly trapped the Wolf Queen and prevented her from using her speed.

The Wolf Queen was giving off a strong burnt smell after being assaulted by the Lightning Magic. The venomous insects hiding under her fur were slaughtered by the lightning, and her wounds were unable to heal quickly without the venomous insects’ help.

The venomous insects could drain the life force of living creatures and use it to heal the Wolf Queen’s injuries. However, the Lightning Punishment Formation was so strong that it had killed all the venomous insects upon her instead!

The Wolf Queen was angered and humiliated. She had assumed destroying a little human city was going to be an easy task, but she had ended up biting a steel plate as soon as she set foot into human territory.

“Move the mountain!”

Mo Fan immediately followed up on his attack. The Wolf Queen had desperately broken free from the Lightning Formation when a huge mountain nearby suddenly exploded into pieces!

It was shocking to watch the top of a mountain breaking apart. On top of that, the mountain’s peak was somehow floating in the air. It crashed down onto the Wolf Queen with a little push from Mo Fan.

The peak was made up of sturdy rock and was covered in pines and shrubs. It plummeted onto the Wolf Queen with overwhelming force. The Wolf Queen had just climbed to her feet, and the impact broke her backbone right away!

The Wolf Queen shrieked in agony. The mountain began to crack apart under the force of her power and the shockwaves. The ground the broken peak landed on had cracks spreading out for kilometers.

“Aim your spells at my vortex,” Mo Fan instructed the Mages on the fortress.

Zhou Yuan and General Nan did not understand Mo Fan at first, but they quickly gave out the right orders when an expanding Chaos Vortex appeared close to Mo Fan on the road.

There were several thousand Mages atop the fortress. They might not stand a chance against the Wolf Queen, but it did not necessarily mean their magic was useless.

“Everyone, listen up! Fire your spells into the Chaos Vortex!” General Nan ordered loudly.

The Battlemages and Hunters had witnessed the man who kidnapped the wolf pups being eaten alive, but they had not dared make a sound. They had even heard the Wolf Queen threatening to butcher the whole city.

How could they not be angry?

The demon creature had claimed she had control over their lives, just like a cruel tyrant. Were they really that puny?

Their hearts, which had fallen into the abyss of despair, had risen again when they saw Mo Fan beating the crap out of the Wolf Queen.

Now, even their blood was boiling for some reason!

Their magic only had the brilliance of fireflies at first, but their spells suddenly erupted like flames and dove into the Chaos Vortex!

“I shall lead you to slaughter the Wolf Queen today!” Mo Fan’s voice spread across the Snowy Peak Mountain.

The man was demanding that they slaughter a Ruler-level creature, the Ruler of the Nanling Mountains. It sounded so very arrogant, but it definitely made everyone’s hearts pound heavily!

Chapter 2410: Eliminating the Threat Permanently

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Magic was lighting up the place like the stars in the sky.

Mo Fan’s Chaos Vortex was holding the lights of the spells like its own universe.

As the vortex gradually expanded, an enormous Seal of a cross slowly formed inside it, spinning around. The spells that contacted the Seal were duplicated, to the surprise of everyone there.

The Cross Chaos Formation!

It was the important trick Mo Fan had learned from the Andes Federation’s army!

The spells contributed by thousands of Mages were duplicated inside the vortex, meaning the number of destructive spells had doubled!

“Reverse!”

Mo Fan spun the vortex in the opposite direction. He was no longer holding a vortex that was absorbing energy, but a miniature nuclear bomb!

Energy began to flow out of the vortex. Lumps of destructive clouds rose into the air, and the combined Elemental Magic dyed the sky many colors.

The hills were crushed into pieces, while the sky shook with the thunder of the magic.

The Wolf Queen sustained even greater injuries. One of her legs was blasted into mincemeat. She was trying to flee deeper into the mountains now, moving like a crippled dog under the Elemental Storm.

Mo Fan had to admit the Wolf Queen was incredibly fast even after losing a leg and having her back broken. Her red shadow dashed out of the explosion and reached the north of the fortress in the blink of an eye.

The Wolf Queen jumped off a watchtower and into the air.

It was a little unbalanced after losing one leg, but she managed to escape the Elemental Storm chasing after her by jumping between the mountains.

—

“Did she run away?”

“Did we chase her away?”

The Mages on the fortress were struggling to believe it.

A silver light was blinking from one peak to the other between the mountains. The man was traveling between the mountains like walking along stairs in a park, despite the complicated terrain.

Silver dust was still swirling on the mountains, but the man had already disappeared into the distance. The Mages would have had no idea he had chased after the Wolf Queen if they had not noticed the traces of silver light he had left behind.

Mo Fan had given his word to kill the Wolf Queen. How could he let her run away?

“Stay here and protect the people. Your leader and I will go after the Wolf Queen together with the senior!” General Nan exclaimed with a strong fighting spirit.

They were obviously going to chase after the Wolf Queen!

The Ruler-level creature had behaved atrociously in their territory and even threatened to butcher the city. They had to kill her at all costs!

“Yes, sir!”

—

The two Super Mages left the fortress and followed the trail left by Mo Fan.

Zhou Yuan and General Nan were both able to fly. The boundless mountains, canyons, rivers, and forests below them were like parts of a giant green painting.

The injured Wolf Queen had left a trail of blood behind. Her giant feet were causing landslides across the woods.

Her blood was extremely corrosive. A single drop of it could wilt huge areas of trees and plants.

“His cultivation is insane!”

Zhou Yuan and General Nan had traveled over ten kilometers, but they could still see only a faint light in the distance. They were struggling to catch up to Mo Fan and the Wolf Queen even though they were flying.

—

Mo Fan was using Blink continuously. After his Space Element reached the Super Level, the energy required to cast Blink had decreased significantly, and its cooldown had greatly shortened.

In the past, Mo Fan would have already felt lightheaded after using Blink three or four times in a row, but he still did not feel any burden now, even after using it a dozen times!

“Where do you think you are running to?”

Mo Fan’s gaze sharpened. He was covering more distance with each Blink after predicting the direction the Wolf Queen was fleeing in.

Mo Fan consumed more energy to construct a Star Constellation. He ended up staying still for a longer time to construct a Star Constellation more complicated than the one he normally used for the spell.

“Light Transition!”

A white light expanded from a single dot to a straight line in the blink of an eye!

Mo Fan went into the light and appeared five kilometers away, as if the white light was a Space Tunnel!

The Wolf Queen almost broke her legs after crashing into a few mountains as she was running away at full speed. Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she saw Mo Fan standing in front of her.

The Wolf Queen immediately came to a stop, her momentum digging a long ravine through the forest. Birds flew away in a panic as trees were knocked to the ground.

“Do you think you can run away?” Mo Fan snarled at her. “Gravity Space!”

Mo Fan used his Space Magic again. The Wolf Queen was now struggling to move her limbs, as if they were tied to incredibly heavy chains.

The Wolf Queen could no longer abuse her speed. Her eyes had a menacing look now, like she was going to fight Mo Fan to the death.

With a great howl, the Wolf Queen’s red mist began to spread rapidly.

“You still dare to fight back, you bitch?” Mo Fan was utterly fearless. He immediately wrapped himself in flames as the red mist approached him.

He threw a punch out, creating a river of lava which promptly turned the trees in the way to ashes.

The scorching river of flaming rock surged forward. The Wolf Queen had used the red mist to conceal herself, and her speed and strength rose inside the mist.

Mo Fan switched to the Earth Element when he realized his punch wasn’t going to land on the Wolf Queen.

“Sinking Ground!”

The Space Element by itself was unable to restrict the Wolf Queen’s speed when she was in her red mist. Mo Fan decided to slow the creature even further with the Earth Element.

As he expected, the Wolf Queen’s speed quickly declined.

As a matter of fact, the Wolf Queen could still sprint crazily fast, but that would significantly increase the burden to her body. She would be completely exhausted in just a few minutes.

The Wolf Queen realized the gravity in the area was stronger, and decided to relocate herself.

Both the Space Element and Earth Element’s effects applied to chosen areas. Their effects would disappear once the target left the area.

The Wolf Queen might be seriously injured, but she had not lost her ability to think. She had to make every move cautiously now, as she did not want to expose herself to the powerful human again!

“Senior, we are here to help! Senior, I’ll force her back to the area covered by your magic!” Zhou Yuan shouted out.

The two Super Mages had arrived in time!

“Great! Let’s kill it together and eliminate the threat permanently!” Mo Fan agreed with a prompt nod.

The wolves were a vengeful species, and Mo Fan was not going to stay in Bo City forever. He could not afford to let the Wolf Queen get back to her home!

He had to eliminate her threat now!

Chapter 2411: Forcing Me to Use this Move!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Fresh corrosive blood fell to the ground like streams from the Wolf Queen’s sheer size.

At first, the Wolf Queen still had some motivation to fight. She was trying to injure Mo Fan before running away, but the vicious look in her eyes dissipated when she saw the other two Super Mages arrive.

The Wolf Queen was driven back into the Gravity Space. Even though she was still hidden in the red mist, her speed fell rapidly.

She also did not have time to completely heal her injuries. Her physical capabilities significantly declined from her excessive loss of blood.

“Order Manipulation!”

Mo Fan used his Chaos Magic.

Order Manipulation was not only useful for changing things around, but it could also strengthen the effects of his Space Magic!

Under the combined restrictions from the Space, Earth, and Chaos Elements, the Wolf Queen had to exert a great amount of strength just to move her claws, limiting her offensive capabilities.

It also allowed General Nan and Zhou Yuan to use their Super Spells!

A Ruler-level creature was not fearsome because it was not afraid of Super Magic, but because its physical attributes far surpassed those of any human. Human Mages had to work hard to find openings to use their Super Magic.

General Nan was a Super Light Mage. His magic was effective against the Wolf Queen!

“Holy Extermination: Judgment Axe of Light!”

He had modified his Holy Extermination accordingly. A bolt of golden glory flashed across the sky, leaving a golden rift behind it.

A second later, the Judgment Light Axe descended from the rift imperiously. Its golden radiance spread wildly and filled the place with golden strands of light and glowing rifts, a clear display of its power!

As expected of the Element with the strongest single-target ability, the Judgment Light Axe almost chopped her head off when it landed on the Wolf Queen’s neck.

The Axe of Light was stuck halfway into the Wolf Queen’s head. Only her bones had kept her furry gray-red head intact.

The Wolf Queen was surprisingly tenacious. She was one limb short and was covered in injuries inflicted by Mo Fan’s lightning. Now her neck was sliced open, yet she was still fighting back ferociously!

She directed most of her anger at Mo Fan. Countless blood-red insects emerged from her body in a frenzy and combined into a tornado sweeping in Mo Fan’s direction.

“Look out, it’s the Wolf Queen’s Life-Devouring Blood Flies! They can ignore any type of defense and drain your life away!” Zhou Yuan warned Mo Fan.

The Blood Flies could also heal the Wolf Queen after absorbing an enemy’s life force. If the Blood Flies managed to land on one of them, it would give the Wolf Queen a chance to fully recover from her injuries!

Mo Fan had been unaware of the Blood Flies’ capabilities. He quickly used Blink to escape from the buzzing tornado without any hesitation after he heard the warning.

The tornado was unable to catch up to him. They switched their targets to any living creatures in the mountains instead.

The huge whirlwind of bugs split into several gusts of crimson winds.

The bloody gusts took the lives of every living creature in their paths. Fresh blood was flowing on the ground like rivers.

The Blood Flies swiftly returned to the Wolf Queen after receiving her command. The Blood Flies began to heal her injuries, starting with her lightning-inflicted wounds.

The Wolf Queen’s speed suddenly increased. She instantly moved to five hundred meters behind General Nan.

General Nan had no idea what had just happened. He only saw thousands of claws coming at him by the time he could react. There was nowhere for him to run to!

The Wolf Queen swung her claws at General Nan fiercely. The ground he was standing on was covered in dense, deep claw marks.

“General Nan!” Zhou Yuan shouted in dismay.

The Wolf Queen seemed to have recovered her strength. Her claws were so fast that General Nan felt like he was about to be torn into pieces.

“I…I’m not going to die here. Don’t let her get away!” General Nan screamed.

The Wolf Queen was planning to take out General Nan first. She leapt into the air and spun rapidly. Her tail was covered by red thorns and had turned into a terrifying shredding machine!

General Nan had to use his Magic Armor to survive the attack. To his surprise, the Wolf Queen instantly followed up with another attack!

A red crack as deep as an abyss suddenly appeared on the ground before him. It was left behind by the Wolf Queen’s spinning tail, which was once again heading at him unstoppably!

General Nan’s eyes went wide. He was already covered in blood after being severely injured by the claws, and could only try to defend himself from the Wolf Queen.

A pair of burning wings suddenly rammed into the Wolf Queen, leaving a trail of flames behind them.

The Wolf Queen’s tail was capable of slicing up mountains, but the fiery wings were even more insane. They easily knocked the Wolf Queen flying, like a godly bird engulfed in flames had come to the general’s rescue.

The Wolf Queen was set on fire. The flames not only held the Calamity Fire’s scorching heat, but were imbued with the Ardent Sunset, too!

The fires of the Ardent Sunset were the bane of all insects. The Blood Flies hidden in the Wolf Queen’s thick fur started burning!

The flames ignited under the Wolf Queen’s fur kept growing. She was soon covered in wounds again, even though she had just recovered from her injuries!

“I’m… alive…” General Nan gasped in relief.

He immediately looked at Mo Fan, and saw the man’s entire body was engulfed in flames.

The flames did not look ordinary, their colors oddly pure. They were drifting like silk as the wind blew by, setting off an imperious demeanor!

“You have forced me to use this move. Prepare to die!”

The Soul Shadow of Flame Belle Empress hovered behind Mo Fan. She looked like an angry fairy from the Heavens with the flames raging so strongly around her.

Mo Fan no longer had to maintain a safe distance from the Wolf Queen after transforming into the King of Hell.

As a matter of fact, it was the Wolf Queen who had to keep a safe distance from Mo Fan. Otherwise, she would be burned to ashes in minutes!

The fiery wings on Mo Fan’s back let out an explosive rumble, propelling him at the Wolf Queen!

His fist burst into flames from the friction with the air. The trailing tongues of fire splashed over a hundred meters into the air.

Mo Fan had only clenched his fist, but it had turned into a meteorite sweeping across the night sky!

The Wolf Queen took the punch in the face just as she rose to her feet from the previous hit.

The impact was so strong that the Wolf Queen’s head was torn off her neck. The explosion of flames turned the basin into a pool of lava!

Somehow, the Wolf Queen’s body was still moving, even after losing her head, but her body was burning in the flames. She could no longer heal without the Blood Flies!

Chapter 2412: Turning Over a New Leaf

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Wolf Queen’s fallen head howled.

A weird sight followed, as the Wolf Queen’s body reacted like it was being summoned. It suddenly lunged at her head and picked it up.

The Wolf Queen carried her head awkwardly and fled from the basin, even though the flames were still burning her flesh and fur.

A Ruler-level creature was terrifyingly tenacious!

On top of that, the Blood Flies under the Wolf Queen’s fur would soon be reborn. She would heal up in no time if she managed to escape with her head!

“Do you think you can run away? It’s time to end this!”

Mo Fan spread his arms. He took a step forward and slammed his hands into one another.

“Fiery Emperor’s Fan!”

The flames in the basin were swept up by the winds, like they were being fanned. The fiery blaze chased after the fleeing Wolf Queen.

The pyroclasm caught up to the Wolf Queen before she could run very far, and the area was soon covered in flames. It was blazing as red as a blast furnace.

The Wolf Queen failed to escape the flames, although she put up a fierce struggle. She was already at her limit, and no longer had a chance to survive.

Her head was crying out in agony, but her cries were soon covered by the loud roar of the flames. Her body stopped moving and fell to the ground.

Waves of fire swept over the creature numerous times, burning her fur into ashes and scorching her flesh and blood.

General Nan and Zhou Yuan drew closer, the light of the flames dying their faces red. Their eyes kept flickering as they stared.

They were having a hard time believing the Wolf Queen was dead. They had actually killed the powerful creature!

“Do you know how to retrieve its soul?” Mo Fan asked Zhou Yuan.

“Of…of course!” Zhou Yuan replied quickly.

Although the Wizard Bird Hunter Group had managed to kill the male Ruler-level Wolf and obtained its soul, it did not meet the requirements of their job.

The soul needed for a Summoned Beast to evolve had to be complete. If the soul was damaged by Dark Magic, it was difficult for a Summoned Beast to evolve.

“Claim the soul and deliver it to me,” Mo Fan ordered him.

“Does that mean you are…?” Zhou Yuan was stunned.

“I’m your client. I didn’t expect the Wizard Bird Hunter Group to be so unreliable,” Mo Fan harrumphed coldly.

Every Hunter should have known the importance of not leaving any threats behind when they were hunting down demon creatures. Mo Fan was extremely disappointed in the Wizard Bird Hunter Group!

Mo Fan would have taught them a lesson if he had not seen their resolve to risk their lives and keep Bo City safe up on the fortress.

“I’m sorry, we…we did let you down…” Zhou Yuan lowered his head in shame.

The Hunters had their rules. They were obliged to not leave any threats behind when they signed up for a quest.

Their mistake had caused the Wolf Queen to show up. It had almost turned into a huge tragedy!

“Senior, thanks for your help. How can the military ever thank you?” General Nan came limping over with a forced smile.

“That won’t be necessary, Bo City is my hometown,” Mo Fan told him.

“What?” General Nan was puzzled. Since when did Bo City have such a powerful Mage?!

The two Super Mages had really not helped much in the fight, they were merely playing supporting roles. They had the feeling this young man could have slain the Wolf Queen without their help!

“I’m Mo Fan.”

General Nan immediately realized who he was.

So this was Mo Fan! His strength was simply ridiculous! He could easily be the leading expert in many major cities, let alone the tiny Bo City!

“I’m glad that every general who has been in charge of Bo City has had an unyielding spirit!” Mo Fan’s tone was different when he was speaking to General Nan.

“I’m just doing my job. I’m ashamed that I’m not strong enough to fight a real Ruler-level creature,” General Nan answered humbly.

—

—

Several thousand soldiers were staring at the canyon from atop the Bo City fortress as Mo Fan and the two Super Mages returned.

They were left speechless when they saw Mo Fan, General Nan, and Zhou Yuan dragging the enormous burned carcass behind them.

Did they really kill the creature?

It was the Ruler of the Nanling Mountains, yet they had dragged its dead body back!

“The Wolf Queen is dead!”

“The Wolf Queen is dead!”

Someone started yelling after a moment. The whole fortress repeated the same words. Everyone was cheering like they had just won a battle.

If they had not experienced the strength of a Ruler-level creature in person, they would never have understood how precious and motivating this victory was!

Even a creature as strong as the Wolf Queen, who had been acting so arrogantly in front of them, was unable to escape from a true human expert.

Humans were not puny. Their Mages were superior to the demon creatures!

——-

At Fanxue Mountain…

The guards had all gathered at the entrance and had their heads together, just to catch a glimpse of someone’s phone.

“What are you all doing? Aren’t you supposed to be doing your jobs?” Mu Linsheng yelled when he saw the guards were slacking.

“Ah, chief, look at this livestream. It’s f**king awesome, I’m so proud of Fanxue Mountain!” one of the guards exclaimed.

Mu Linsheng was puzzled. He stepped forward to look at the phone with them.

Mu Linsheng was stunned after he saw what was on the livestream. He snatched up the phone and ran to the main building in Fanxue Mountain.

“Hey, chief, don’t you have your own phone? Why are you taking mine!?” the guard yelled after him.

—

Mu Linsheng ignored the guard and ran straight to Mu Ningxue. “Ningxue, Ningxue!…”

He passed the phone to Mu Ningxue. Mu Ningxue had been resting her head on the table, dozing off from feeling tired, but she immediately became energetic after seeing the clip on the phone.

“Our boss is so cool!” Mu Linsheng was excited now too.

The clip was taken from a livestream that a Hunter had broadcast to the whole nation. Not only had it captured the arrogant behavior of the Wolf Queen, it also included the scene where Mo Fan had lifted up a whole mountain and thrown it at the Wolf Queen!

“So you’re the Wolf Queen? I’m going to slaughter you today!” Those words alone were enough to make Mu Linsheng’s blood boil!

The event had taken place not long ago, since the clip was from a recent broadcast.

Even more shockingly, another clip was spreading on the web. It had recorded the scene where Mo Fan, General Nan, and Zhou Yuan had dragged the Wolf Queen’s carcass back to the fortress.

They had actually killed it. Mo Fan had killed a real Ruler-level creature, one which had ruled over the Nanling Mountains for dozens of years!

Mu Ningxue suddenly had trouble recognizing the man.

He had to work so hard just to survive the Calamity of Bo City, but now he had slain the Wolf Queen and protected the city all by himself. He had completely turned over a new leaf!

Chapter 2413: The Boss is Back

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A military base in Beihuang…

A man with a military coat draped over his shoulders was sitting on a branch of an old tree. In front of the tree was a vast yellow land with no visible end. The intimidating cries of wild beasts occasionally came from the distance.

“Didn’t they say this tree has the best reception? Why does the clip keep buffering?” the man grumbled, looking at the cheap smartphone he was holding.

The buffering finally finished after a while. The clip showed the battle between a man shrouded in silver light and the imperious Wolf Queen.

“Brother Fan is as impressive as usual!” the man exclaimed.

“General Zhang, the third squad has discovered some fresh bones without any flesh remaining on them. I believe the Evil Hound Ruler that came from the Cursed Wildland will soon fall into our trap!” a soldier on a Heavenly Eagle flew up to report.

The man on the tree took off his hat, revealing a tanned and handsome face. He looked young, but he was brimming with the confidence of an experienced general who had long been stationed at the border.

“I thought I was a step closer to reaching Brother Fan’s strength, but it looks like I’ll have to work even harder. Otherwise, he’s going to leave me further behind!” Zhang Xiaohou put away his phone and jumped down from the tree.

“General, should we proceed with our plan?” the soldier asked.

“All units are to proceed with the plan. We will teach those scum who’s in charge of Beihuang!” General Zhang Xiaohou confirmed.

“All units, prepare for battle!” the soldier immediately relayed through his communication device.

—

Mo Fan’s influence had grown significantly in a short period of time. Even he was surprised by it.

Had he shown off on TV accidentally again?

It all started because of a Hunter’s livestream. It was strange how the Hunter’s phone was able to record him while he was using magic.

In the past, even the light from Basic Spells would foil a recording, like a camera pointing directly at the sun. Only special military devices were capable of recording magic, and they were usually not available to civilians.

Perhaps the commercial devices had found a solution to tackle the problem, or the military was sharing its technology after the ban was lifted. More clips related to magic battles, demon creatures, and the wild lands had been spreading on the web, including general knowledge about magic, which used to be forbidden.

“I’ve accidentally exposed my strength. How am I supposed to play the pig to eat the tiger now!?” Mo Fan’s head hurt.

Lifting the ban was not really all that great for Mo Fan. People would definitely be recording a public figure like him when he was fighting his battles. It would be a pain in the ass if his enemies examined the clips to familiarize themselves with him!

Well, he would just have to adapt according to the situation before him. On second thought, he had a whopping seven Elements, and each was improving and evolving over time. His enemies would still be helpless even if they did examine films of him.

The Super Level was unlike the other levels of magedom. It was always changing!

—

“This is the Wolf Queen’s Soul Jade that you asked for. It’s preserved perfectly, the best one you could have to evolve a Summoned Beast.” Zhou Yuan handed Mo Fan the container respectfully.

“You may hand in the quest at the Hunter Union. The reward will be transferred to your account,” Mo Fan told him agreeably.

“Senior, you must be kidding. We aren’t shameless enough to claim the reward,” Zhou Yuan replied awkwardly.

“You guys went through a lot, too. Just be more mindful of people’s character before recruiting them.” Mo Fan did not take away the reward he had promised just because of the little mishap.

“Of course!” Zhou Yuan was left speechless.

In the end, it was Mo Fan who had killed the Wolf Queen so he could finish the job. The Soul Jade he had retrieved from killing the male Ruler-level wolf did not meet the job requirements.

It was also the reason why the greedy man had kidnapped the wolf pups. They had only obtained a defective Soul Jade after going through all that trouble!

“Senior, I have something to discuss with you,” Zhou Yuan spoke up after he remembered something.

“Say it.”

“Not long ago, Miss Mu Ningxue invited us to be stationed at Fanxue Mountain. We were considering the offer since we don’t have an actual base. If possible, we can move to Fanxue Mountain without taking the money she offered. What do you think?” Zhou Yuan offered with a smile.

“Aren’t you supposed to pay if you want to be stationed at Fanxue Mountain?” Mo Fan asked him, frowning.

The smile on Zhou Yuan’s face froze.

Coughing once, he replied hastily, “The Wizard Bird Hunter Group does have some reputation, so it’s common for us to ask for some compensation if we are stationed at a private territory. After all, the high completion rate of a Hunter Group is the key to attracting more clients and Hunters to a city. Our members are scattered across the country, and we have a high completion rate,” Zhou Yuan explained proudly.

“I see. So be it, then. I’ll arrange a good location for your Hunter Group and give you a discount on the rental,” Mo Fan agreed.

He had heard from Mu Ningxue that she was indeed looking for more powerful organizations to join Fanxue Mountain. She had offered a lot of benefits to certain reputable organizations, but not many of them had taken her up on the offer.

Mo Fan was quite happy with this man’s personality. It was not a bad idea to recruit them on behalf of Fanxue Mountain!

“Then I guess we are even on the compensation and the reward for the job,” Zhou Yuan confirmed respectfully.

“Sure.”

—

—

When Mo Fan went back to Fanxue Mountain, he noticed both Feiniao Headquarters City and Fanxue Mountain had changed a lot.

If Mo Fan had not visited Feiniao City during the World College Tournament, he would never have believed it used to be just a second-tier city.

Feiniao City was relatively newly built now, with only a few old districts. Everything looked brand new to him.

Silver skyscrapers reaching the blue sky and wide highways intertwining with one another. The bustling city reminded him of the popular areas in the Magic City.

The maritime fortress had been reconstructed after discovering the flaws of the old one. It was around four kilometers from the main city, and looked like a spectacular mirage floating on the sea from afar.

The sea around the maritime fortress was emerald green. Cao Qinqin must have successfully planted the Blue Ocean Trees in its vicinity as a foundation.

——

Mo Fan noticed the guards were staring at him passionately after he reached Fanxue Mountain. Was he really that handsome that he could bewitch people, regardless of their gender?

“Boss, you’re back!”

“Boss, you’re so cool! When can I be as impressive as you?”

Many people gathered around him, including Mu Linsheng, Bai Hongfei, Cao Qinqin, and Shao Yu. Mu Ningxue was there, dressed in a plain white T-shirt and a pair of silken long pants. Her alluring figure encouraged Mo Fan to totally ignore the noisy people around him.

Instead, he promptly went up and gave Mu Ningxue a huge hug.

Mu Ningxue immediately blushed.. She was a little embarrassed acting intimately in front of so many people.

Chapter 2414: Put an End to It
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Boss, can you stop feeding us dog food?” Mu Linsheng asked with a wry smile.

{TL Note: ‘Feeding dog food’ is Chinese slang used for describing someone with a public display of affection.}

Mo Fan could not care less about the others’ opinions. His slimy hand slid to Mu Ningxue’s waist and casually rubbed against her back dimples.

Mo Fan found the spot very arousing. He was unable to control himself every time he saw the two sacred dimples. He had the urge to put his finger on them to satisfy his desire even when he was in the public.

“It’s nothing to be proud of. I only killed the Wolf Queen,” Mo Fan replied with false indifference.

“Not many Mages can kill a Ruler-level creature on their own!” Bai Hongfei corrected him.

The Bai Clan had almost gone bankrupt financially supporting Bai Hongfei so he could achieve the Super Level. He was quite proud of himself, until he learned the shocking thing Mo Fan had done as soon as he came back into the country.

It was stupid to compare himself with Mo Fan. He now had an urge to draw his sword out and cut his own throat!

“Linsheng, have you heard of the Wizard Bird Hunter Group?” Mo Fan asked him.

“Of course I did, we offered them a hundred million every year to move to our Fanxue Mountain so we could boost our Hunters’ records, but they seemed a little reluctant because our holdings are a little too small for them,” Mu Linsheng answered promptly.

“Oh, they will move here in a few days. Make sure you sort everything out. I’ve already paid them. They will be stationed in Fanxue Mountain for five years and are obligated to complete a certain number of quests for us,” Mo Fan informed him.

“Are you serious?”

“That’s right, wasn’t the Wizard Bird Hunter Group fighting the Wolf Queen when he showed up? Did our boss impress them with his personal charm?”

“Something like that. If you don’t have anything else, please stop disturbing us from having a little intimacy,” Mo Fan said.

—

The others had no reason to stay after Mo Fan had asked them to go . Mu Ningxue blushed as the others took their leaves.

Why was he being so impatient?

“Can’t you just skip the ‘intimacy’ part?” Mu Ningxue grumbled.

“If I did, they wouldn’t leave us alone. Let’s go, we’ll do it at home… oh, I mean we’ll talk at home,” Mo Fan accidentally exposed his intentions.

What the heck!?

Even though Mu Ningxue was not so conservative as to insist Mo Fan be respectful to her until they were married, she was not the kind to act shamelessly right at the start of their reunion!

“Let’s take a walk in the city,” Mu Ningxue insisted on not going back home with Mo Fan immediately.

“Fine, we’ll go to the hotel. The one with a sea view. It’s indeed a little boring if we keep doing it at home,” Mo Fan proposed excitedly.

“If you don’t behave yourself, I’m going to cultivate in seclusion right away!” Mu Ningxue sounded a little angry.

“I was just kidding. Come, I’ll bring you shopping, watch a movie, and enjoy some delicious food. It’s been a long time since I went on a date with you like this,” Mo Fan instantly shifted course.

Mu Ningxue finally allowed Mo Fan to place his hand back on her waist after a sensible response.

——

It was just another day with a clear blue sky. The sea was tainted with a slight hint of gray, especially the line between the water and the sky on the horizon.

The sea breeze blew the petals of the newly blossomed flowers onto the streets. A strong fragrance greeted the couple.

It went without saying that the flowers’ fragrance was far inferior to the body fragrance of the woman beside him, or so Mo Fan thought.

Mo Fan admitted he had long been attracted by Mu Ningxue’s beauty when he was young, but he was even more infatuated with her body now. It felt like a mischievous devil kept tempting him to have a taste of a delicious little lamb whenever he was with her!

“This weather isn’t going to last for long,” Mu Ningxue said softly.

“Just do your best to prepare for it,” Mo Fan was more open-minded.

There was no point worrying about it. Whatever was supposed to happen was going to happen eventually.

Mo Fan had focused all his attention on trying to stay alive for a long time. Was there anything worse that could surprise him?

“I’ll go buy two gelato!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mu Ningxue was just about to shake her head when she saw Mo Fan forcing his way through a bunch of kids in a queue.

He soon returned with two cones of gelato after avoiding the noisy kids.

Mu Ningxue recalled her youth. The same thing had happened in a bustling night market when she was younger. She reached her hand out to receive the gelato.

To her surprise, Mo Fan took a bite off the gelato on his left and took a bigger bite from the gelato on his right. He looked puzzled when he saw Mu Ningxue’s hand freezing in the air.

“I thought you weren’t a fan of these?” Mo Fan continued feasting on the gelato, as if he had bought them both for himself.

Mu Ningxue’s expression sank slightly. Her eyes even had a murderous look in them.

Mo Fan did not dare to keep up his act. He quickly handed the gelato he had taken a smaller bite of to Mu Ningxue.

“You already licked it.”

“It’s fine, it’s sweeter after I licked it.”

“…I don’t want it anymore.”

The two walked past the street with administrative buildings in Feiniao City and reached the entrance of a pedestrian walkway. It was full of shops with antique clothes, each unique in its own way.

Mu Ningxue was a fan of them. She took the initiative to enter the shops and browse the clothes.

Mo Fan finished eating the two gelato with great satisfaction. He placed his hands behind his head and followed Mu Ningxue into the shops.

As they reached the end of the walkway, they saw some delicate cafés and bars with a relaxing atmosphere.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue did not go inside any of them, merely slowly past them.

They eventually reached a less crowded spot. The sea breeze started to feel a little chilly. Mo Fan tightened his grip around Mu Ningxue’s waist as they passed by a few old streets.

“I’m planning to visit the Mu Clan soon,” Mu Ningxue informed them.

“Time to settle the debt with them?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll go with you. Oh, here we go!”

It was difficult to resolve certain things just by keeping them in one’s heart. Mu Ningxue had never considered compromising or suffering in silence regarding her fight against the Mu Clan.

The Mu Clan was getting more ever ridiculous. Not only did it step in her way several times, it had also troubled Fanxue Mountain.

It would only bring Fanxue Mountain more trouble if she let the problem drag on any longer. Fanxue Mountain no longer belonged to just her. Everyone was working hard and putting in efforts to make it a better place!

She would not allow the Mu Clan to pick on the others because of the personal conflict between them. It was time to end it!

“That being said, you are not allowed to intervene,” Mu Ningxue reminded Mo Fan. “I want to deal with it myself.”

“Fine, I’ll just stay by your side,” Mo Fan nodded in agreement promptly.

The Mu Clan had tried to take everything away from Mu Ningxue by force in Venice.

The Snow Mistress was not going to cry for nothing.

Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng! They were going to pay for their despicable acts!

Chapter 2415: Building Bones and Changing Blood
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The people of the Lu Clan kept their promises. They had delivered the things Mo Fan asked for while he was cultivating in Bo City.

“I’m a poor man once again!” Mo Fan sighed as he paid the sum.

He had been busy going places lately, yet he had still ended up with almost zero savings.

The only valuable possessions he had remaining were the three Water Fundamental Crystals.

“I will soon be going to Mu Clan Mountain. There’s an epic battle ahead. I should help the old wolf evolve first,” Mo Fan murmured to himself.

Even though Mo Fan had improved his Space Element to the Super Level, he did not have time to practice its complicated Star Palace. He would have trouble using the Super Space Spell.

As for the old wolf, he had gathered all the necessary resources. The old wolf was almost covered in rust after being stuck at the Advancing Period of the Commander Level for too long.

Once he became a Ruler-level creature, he would directly increase Mo Fan’s fighting capacity, as a Ruler-level creature could hold off a group of Super Mages.

A formidable renowned clan like the Mu Clan clearly had a lot of Super Mages. They needed all the help they could get if they were trying to stir up trouble!

—

Mo Fan sat in the cultivation room. The special stone palettes completely blocked off the noise on the outside. The room reminded him of the underground room below one of Bo City’s silver skyscrapers, where the Underground Holy Spring had been hidden away.

Mu Zhuoyun had managed to build a little stream beside the seat. The gentle sound of the stream was relaxing to listen to. He had put in some effort into designing the room.

“Old wolf, let’s begin!” Mo Fan called out, Summoning the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. The snow-white furry wolf was brimming with excitement.

The day he waited so long for had finally arrived!

“We’ll reconstruct the bones first. Are you ready?” Mo Fan asked him.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf nodded without any hesitation.

As Mo Fan gradually took on stronger enemies, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had had enough of his slow and fragile bones. He needed stronger bones, greater speed, more explosive strength, and more durable flesh!

“Here we go!”

Reconstructing bones was an extremely painful process.

Mo Fan had not chosen the cultivation room because he was worried the noise outside would disturb him. He was afraid the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s cries of agony would attract the World Animal Protection Society’s attention!

The pain when bones exploded was much more unbearable than when bones were being broken.

The growing bones would also pierce his flesh and organs.

Huge risks were involved whenever a demon creature was evolving, since they were abandoning their old flesh to develop stronger new flesh. They might die from the torturous pain if anything went wrong.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s bones changed him dramatically. His size was rapidly increasing. His bones were thickening, causing him to grow several times bigger. Mo Fan could not even reach the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s knee with his hand now when he stood beside the creature.

White bone spikes thrust out of the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s flesh, like sharp spears were growing out of his body.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf fell to the ground in agony, but the growth of his bones continued! More craggy white bones appeared.

“Can you bear with it?” Mo Fan looked at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf with pity.

“Awoo!!” The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled that he was going to walk the path he had chosen to the end!

“I’ll keep going then,” Mo Fan nodded slowly.

Mo Fan could see the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s huge transformations, but he could also sense the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s life force was depleting rapidly.

No one could help him under the circumstances. If the Flying Creek Snow Wolf failed to last until the end, his old flesh would be torn apart by the new bones, ending his life!

The only relief was that the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was born a natural fighter. He had been fighting for survival since he was only a Servant-class creature. He did not accept Mo Fan’s energy to treat his injuries, and chose to let his wounds heal on their own.

In other words, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s flesh was well-refined. It was tenacious and was also good at healing from injuries.

His tenacity and self-recovery ability were what allowed the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to get through the most difficult part of the process!

—

His bones finally stopped growing. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf lay on the ground, but his eyes were burning passionately, like refined metal inside a furnace.

“The next step is the lineage!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf nodded.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had lost a lot of blood as his bones were reconstructed. The modification of his lineage was extremely important to him!

He had evolved from the Servant Class to the Commander Level, from a lowly creature to a noble one.

Not every wolf demon was born to be a king. Every wolf was expelled by their parents, forcing them to survive under harsh conditions.

Only the strong managed to survive in the end. A real king had to defeat all his enemies!

Even those with an outstanding lineage could keep fighting and keep being injured in order to grow continuously and awaken the power of their bloodline!

Changing lineage was a test for the Flying Creek Snow Wolf. All the experiences he had were bonus points for this test.

If he had enough points, it meant the new lineage would merge with the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and acknowledged his right to become a Ruler-level creature!

The process did not involve any pain. All he had to do was to wait for the result to be made apparent.

Mo Fan was a little worried. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was hardworking and belligerent in the past, but he had so many attractive female wolves in his den after he became the boss.

He was still a loyal wolf, but Mo Fan had no idea if he was still a decent wolf. If he had spent most of his time indulging in his desires, he would most likely fail the test!

The lineage started flowing inside the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s body. It was rapidly draining the energy of Mo Fan’s Summoning Element.

It was challenging for an Advanced Summoner to evolve their Summoned Beast into a Ruler-level creature.

Mo Fan’s energy was almost depleted after helping to reconstruct the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s bones. Luckily, Mu Ningxue had obtained a useful item for him, which could provide Mo Fan’s Summoning Element with energy continuously. Otherwise, Mo Fan might have ended up holding the Flying Creek Snow Wolf back.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf suddenly raised his head and howled. His body was covered in blood, but his fur was growing out again after flashes of red light.

“It looks like his bloodline has been modified successfully!”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was recovering. His flesh was regrowing after obtaining the new lineage.

His new fur was completely different now. A layer of curly fur covered his skin, followed by another layer of long dark blue fur extending above the first layer.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was recovering and evolving swiftly!

He was at the brink of death just a moment ago, but he was now standing in a majestic stance. His presence alone was completely different. It was noble and imperious, unlike the usual cunning and despicable temperament of a wolf. It felt more like a tiger’s, a sense of pure brute force and savagery!

“Only the final part is left! This is the Wolf Queen’s soul. Let’s see if you can devour it!” Mo Fan shouted.

Chapter 2416: Destructive Luminous Stripes
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan released the Wolf Queen’s soul.

He sensed a ferocious Aura surging across the room as soon as he opened the container. The smell of the Wolf Queen also filled the small area.

The Wolf Queen had undoubtedly been the Ruler of the Nanling Mountains. Her dominance over the wolf species of the Nanling Mountains did not dissipate even after only her soul was left.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was extremely confident as he proceeded to the final phase, but he was overwhelmed by the Wolf Queen’s Aura as soon as the soul was released. He had an urge to fall to his knees and remain prone!

It was a trait of the wolf species, their natural obedience toward those with a superior lineage.

The Wolf Queen was superior, while the Flying Creek Snow Wolf was only qualified to be her subordinate.

“Old wolf?” Why was he being slammed to the ground right at the beginning of the fight? Couldn’t he try a little harder?

If the Flying Creek Snow Wolf failed to devour the Wolf Queen’s soul, he would never complete the final phase and become a true Ruler-level creature!

However, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf did not resist the fear flowing in his blood and his bones. It was his nature!

He would have to obliterate his nature first before he could stand up!

Mo Fan realized failure was inevitable at this rate. He had to awaken the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s unyielding spirit. He did not want the Flying Creek Snow Wolf to act like the Wolf Queen was his grandmother!

“Old wolf, let me ask you, are you afraid of me?” Mo Fan demanded of him.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf lay on the floor. He shifted his head slightly to look at Mo Fan.

“The Wolf Queen might be strong, but I still killed her! If there’s anyone you should be afraid of in this world, it can only be me, your master!

“Stand up, it’s just a soul! I order you to tear it into pieces right now!” Mo Fan snarled at him.

“That is an order! Destroy it right now!

“Did you forget you were only a Servant-class Spirit Wolf hiding in a cave and licking your wounds? You had to run away from powerful creatures in humiliation, but you never ran away from enemies of the same level as you!

“Nothing is born powerful and noble. All it takes is defeating your fear and cowardice to overcome the obstacles before you!

“Destroy it, and YOU ARE THE WOLF KING!”

Mo Fan’s words were effective.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s eyes burst into passionate flames again, carrying an extra hint of menace.

His claws stuck out from his toes and almost dug into the concrete.

The Wolf Queen’s soul remained aloof and proud. It roared at the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, demanding he go down on his knees!

“Tear it into pieces!” Mo Fan ordered again.

The command was absolute, and the words were great motivation!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He might have been lost for a moment, but that did not necessarily mean he would stay in a slump and lose his will to fight!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf had encountered stronger creatures than the Wolf Queen. The natural restriction from the superiority of the Wolf Queen’s lineage was not enough to stop his unyielding spirit. His soul would only yield to his master!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf took the initiative to lunge forward and crash into the Wolf Queen’s soul.

He did not use any move or technique. He was merely tearing at the soul with brute force!

If it was a true showdown of strength, the Flying Creek Snow Wolf and the Wolf Queen would be covered in blood by now!

“Good one, strike while the metal is hot!”

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf was a living creature who was going to become a Wolf King. He would continue to challenge stronger enemies and expand his territory. On the other side, the Wolf Queen’s era had already come to an end!

The Wolf Queen was dead, but the Flying Creek Snow Wolf still had a long way to go. His journey had only just begun!

The soul was the embodiment of one’s will. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s will was to keep growing stronger and become a King with thousands of tribes under his leadership. The Wolf Queen’s will only consisted of remnant hatred, like a vengeful spirit.

How could the Flying Creek Snow Wolf lose against her? He bit the Wolf Queen’s soul on its neck!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf, brimming with fighting will, finally claimed the victory. The Wolf Queen’s soul was torn into pieces. The Flying Creek Snow Wolf, who now possessed the flesh and the lineage of a Ruler-level creature, was considered qualified to claim a Ruler-level soul!

The Wolf Queen was gone, but a new Wolf King was born!

The Wolf King’s long dark blue fur had a mysterious and powerful radiance now. That fur rose as the Flying Creek Snow Wolf let out a howl. Countless red insects billowed out from his special coat like steam, looking quite spectacular!

The wings and tails of the insects were burning like flames. They scattered in the air, seemingly searching for targets or protecting something.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf howled and Summoned the insects back into his fur.

Bright red stripes suddenly appeared on the dark blue fur, tracing the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s bones and veins. It felt like he could cause massive destruction with just a swipe of its claw!

“Starry insects under the coat?” Mo Fan was astounded.

Didn’t the Wolf Queen have insects hiding under her fur? The Wolf Queen had venomous insects that could drain life and help her recover from injuries rapidly after returning to her.

The Wolf Queen had used the ability to almost kill General Nan and run away.

It seemed like the Flying Creek Snow Wolf had inherited the Wolf Queen’s ability after evolving with her soul!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf told Mo Fan they were called the Destructive Luminous Stripes, and they significantly increased his power.

Destructive Luminous Stripes!

Mo Fan had to admit the Flying Creek Snow Wolf’s new appearance was very imposing. Every stripe on him was formed by the burning insects he had seen. The stripes were bright and obvious despite his thick fur. It was like looking at arteries full of boiling blood through his fur!

“Not bad, not bad, the Destructive Luminous Stripes seem impressive, but can you heal yourself like the Wolf Queen?” Mo Fan asked him.

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf responded with a howl.

The insects under his fur suddenly bloated a little and started emitting a sapphire blue light.

The fur rose again as the bright red stripes faded away. The insects turned sapphire blue before flying out of the fur like a cloud of steam.

They flew in the air for a while and returned to the Flying Creek Snow Wolf as if they could not find any prey nearby.

Bright blue stripes immediately appeared on the Flying Creek Snow Wolf, like an armor made of some crystalline metal.

The previous Destructive Luminous Stripes had given the Flying Creek Snow Wolf a dangerous aura, but now, he was giving off a sacred and tough feeling instead!

The Flying Creek Snow Wolf told Mo Fan these were the Resolute Crystal Stripes!

Chapter 2417: Crawling up on Knees
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The uses of the two different types of stripes were very obvious. They would significantly boost the wolf’s offense and defense.

Mo Fan was very satisfied with the outcome.

Even without the Wolf Queen’s ability to rapidly heal her wounds and regrow lost body parts, the two types of stripes would still allow the wolf to crush every creature below the Ruler Level!

However, he was sure his wolf would be getting some other new abilities too. Evolving to the Ruler Level involved remarkable changes. It was likely that the wolf was still unsure what other new abilities he had obtained, and needed some time to discover them.

“You can go back to the Summoned Beast Plane for now. Be ready, you will soon make an entry,” Mo Fan told the wolf.

“Awoo!” The wolf was thrilled.

He had never thought he would be a Ruler-level creature one day!

There were many powerful creatures in the Summoned Beast Plane. Even Commander-level creatures had to frequently tuck their tails between their legs. They would not dare to attract too much attention in foreign territories, as they might be eaten up by their owners if they were even slightly unreasonable.

However, after becoming a Ruler-level creature, even the apex predators would not dare to provoke and compete for territory with him easily!

He could finally live with dignity and truly claim his own territory. He no longer had to live in fear, nor did he have to run away with his people if their territory was taken away.

Mo Fan knew the old wolf was trying to claim his own territory to give his people homes. He did not forget to remind the wolf not to engage in any serious battles in the near future.

A tough fight was surely awaiting them at the Mu Clan. Mo Fan needed the old wolf to be in his top form!

The old wolf was aware of Mo Fan’s concerns. He just had to lay low for some time. He had already waited for so long.

However, he had a lot of enemies in the Summoned Beast Plane. Most of them were still in the Advancing Period of the Commander-level. They kept picking on him just because their lineage was superior. It would not be his fault if they happened to come looking for their deaths!

—

Mo Fan left the cultivation room.

He initially thought Mu Ningxue would be waiting for him. To his surprise, she had already left for Mu Clan Mountain.

——–

The Mu Clan had long been based in the capital. Not only did it have a long and powerful history of reputable Ice Mages, it also had a Forbidden Ice Mage, too.

A Super Mage was enough to support a renowned clan, but a Forbidden Mage could guarantee several generations’ worth of prosperity for a clan!

According to the Constitution of Forbidden Magic established by the Magic Association, Forbidden Mages were not allowed to participate in ordinary affairs.

Therefore, Mu Ningxue’s enemy was not the Forbidden Ice Mage who came from the Mu Clan, but the overwhelming number of cruel and rotten members of the complicated clan who relied heavily on the fame and reputation of the Forbidden Ice Mage.

They were in charge of everything in the clan, including a person’s fate!

——

It was supposed to be a warm season, as the Tomb Sweeping Day had only passed recently, but the Mu Clan Mountain was totally different from the capital. It looked as if a huge snowstorm had taken place last night.

A few ancient buildings with only tips of their roofs revealed stood high on the mountain. Silver-white ice crystals hanging down gave them a sacred and austere appearance.

Mu Ningxue was taking the loose footbridges up the mountain. She had never taken a car along the winding roads to the Mu Clan before. She always took the stairs and the footbridges instead.

Every time she took this path, she could always enjoy the spectacular scenery consisting of snow-covered lands. She would feel relaxed, as the scenery took away the fatigue from cultivating for the entire day.

It was similar to people who enjoyed taking a hot bath after a busy day.

Mu Ningxue enjoyed taking the deserted stairs. She had been doing it throughout her youth after she had moved to the capital.

This place used to be Mu Ningxue’s second home.

She abandoned her youthful heart when she was thirteen and dove straight into cultivation. It did not matter how boring her life was and how exciting the outside world seemed, her heart remained as firm and determined as ice.

She thought she could earn her family’s respect and honor through her hard work. Little did she know, she was only a puppet controlled by the Mu Clan.

They had thrown her away like a piece of trash after she lost her value.

Almost ten years! For almost ten years, she was blindly following the Mu Clan’s will!

She had sacrificed her everything, including her soul, for the greater good of the clan.

In the end, she was still worthless in their eyes!

They had raised her up, but they had tried to destroy her, too. Did they really think they would get their way so easily?!

—

The path going up the mountain was empty.

No one bothered to use the stairs that had been built by their ancestors any longer, thanks to the great invention of modern cars.

In the past, Mu Ningxue always let her mind go blank as she took the stairs. Now, every step she took brought back memories, a past that kept adding to her anger!

“Hehe, I knew you were going to come this way!” a mocking voice called out.

An entrance covered in frozen vines stood at the top of the stairs ahead of her. A woman in a luxurious long dress was standing close to it. The bottom of the dress was close to touching the ground. Its white mink collar was wrapped around the woman’s neck.

“I wonder why you always pretend like you are independent and strong, but you still have to rely on a savage in the end?

“Such a pity, the man you are relying on is just an untamed wild dog compared to the Mu Clan. Our existence is like a dragon. We can easily strangle him to death!”

Mu Tingying was leaning against a pillar, staring down at Mu Ningxue as Ningxue was coming up the stairs.

Mu Ningxue had already tied up her silver hair, which matched the scenery perfectly.

She was wearing an umber-black leather outfit and a simple windbreaker with a girdle. The red scarf around her neck was the only color that stood out, but it was enough to set off her outstanding beauty.

Mu Tingying always felt a fit of strange anger whenever she saw Mu Ningxue. She could not figure out the reason for a long time, but she was starting to realize it now.

It did not matter how rare, expensive, and luxurious the jewelries, clothes, and makeup she had received from the people around her were; if she stood beside Mu Ningxue, even if she was only dressed in simple clothes with no makeup on, the men would still be fixing their eyes on Mu Ningxue!

Normally, physical appearance was not necessarily the most important thing, as there were plenty of women who were just as gorgeous as Mu Ningxue. However, Mu Tingying could not accept that Mu Ningxue’s cultivation was superior to hers, too!

She just wanted to be better than Mu Ningxue at one thing. The harsh reality was… there was not a single thing she was better at than Mu Ningxue!

Most importantly, the root of Mu Tingying’s jealousy was how Mu Ningxue had never treated her seriously!

As a result, whenever Mu Tingying saw Mu Ningxue’s calm eyes, she would start burning with anger. She simply had the urge to tear the other woman into pieces!

“Where’s my father?” Mu Ningxue’s voice was as cold as her eyes.

“You really want to know? Walk the rest of the stairs on your knees, then!” Mu Tingying sneered.

Walk on her knees? In other words, she was asking Mu Ningxue to kneel before her!

When a person was kneeling, it was impossible for them to lift their legs. They would have to place their hands on the next stair and lift their body up.

Mu Tingying would be gobsmacked if Mu Ningxue began crawling up the stairs in such a humble manner!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue continued to walk up the stairs. The footprints on the higher stairs were a lot deeper than the ones below.

“It seems like you no longer want to know your father’s whereabouts?” Mu Tingying grinned coldly.

“You just came to humiliate me.” Mu Ningxue knew that even if she had followed the instructions, she was not going to get her wish.

In the past, she was fully obedient, without the slightest desire to oppose the Mu Clan’s will. It had been no different from kneeling in front of them.

How could she possibly bend her knees again now?

“So what if it’s true? You still have to listen to me! You are sure you are not going to kneel? Fine, someone else is going to do it. You there, go chop off Mu Zhuoyun’s legs!” Mu Tingying ordered.

Mu Ningxue’s eyes turned icy!

Ice branches were growing out of the trees on the mountain. They turned into icy spikes scattered across the mountain in the blink of an eye, stunning but brimming with murderous intent!

Mu Ningxue had no intention to waste her time on the woman. She had not come to the Mu Clan to negotiate!

“You dare attack me?!” Mu Tingying snarled.

Mu Ningxue waved her hand. The icy spikes grew and combined rapidly.

“Spike Pythons!”

The icy spikes gathered into a long snake stretching all the way up from the waist of the mountain. The whole area was covered in spikes!

The spikes were like spears of ice. It was horrifying to see the snake covered in icy spears sliding around. Mu Tingying was so shocked that she almost failed to set up her defense.

The snake rammed into Mu Tingying and sent her flying.

Her clothes were punctured. Blood was leaking out from the tiny holes.

Mu Tingying was struggling with disbelief. She saw the Spike Python rising into the air while spinning as she was struggling to her feet.

The snake slammed its tail on the ground while spinning, before whipping it at Mu Tingying’s face.

The Spike Python’s tail was initially at the mountain’s waist. It was as large as a giant hammer covered with spikes. Mu Tingying managed to Summon her magic Equipment to defend herself, but she was sent flying like a missile once again.

There was a structure built with stones nearby. It was magnificent and sturdy, a landmark symbolizing the entrance to the Mu Clan’s mansion.

The structure collapsed like a popping bubble after the Spike Python’s tail hit it. The whole woods trembled about it!

—

Mu Ningxue continued forward. She stepped over the debris of the structure and headed in the direction Mu Tingying had been sent flying to.

She finally saw the badly mangled Mu Tingying after walking for some time.

Tingying’s arms and shoulders were dislocated. Her heavily made-up face had a cut reaching down to the bone. She was unbearably ugly.

Mu Tingying could no longer climb to her feet. Her eyes were about to pop out from their sockets.

She had become the youngest Super Mage of the Mu Clan recently. She even thought she would soon beat Mu Ningxue and trample her.

She had never thought she would fail to withstand a single attack from Ningxue!

What exactly was Mu Ningxue’s cultivation level now?

“You always liked to pick on me.

“You always wanted to compete with me in everything.

“You finally got your wish. How does it feel now?”

Mu Ningxue stood beside Mu Tingying. Her calm and cold expression sent a chill down Mu Tingying’s spine.

How amusing! Mu Tingying was naïve to think Mu Ningxue was still the same after the World College Tournament.

Did she really think there was not much difference between their strength? Did she assume she would have a chance to beat Ningxue after she achieved the Super Level?

Mu Tingying was incomparable to her in the past. She was just as weak now!

Mu Ningxue walked over a pile of debris without casting another glance at Mu Tingying. She felt sorry for the incompetent and ignorant woman.

Mu Ningxue had never treated Mu Tingying as her opponent. Her targets were the people who had seats in the clan meeting!

They were the representatives of the Mu Clan. They were the ones who had agreed with the decision to execute her in Venice!

—

A bald middle-aged man with sharp brows appeared. “Mu Ningxue, how bold of you to perform such an outrageous act on the Mu Clan’s sacred mountain!”

Mu Ningxue could tell who it was just by hearing his voice.

The Mu Clan had a Disciplinary Hall responsible for punishing disciples who committed offenses. The Disciplinary Hall had a unique status. The Mu Clan’s Disciplinary Mages had the right to execute their disciples without seeking permission from the Magic Association or the government!

As a result, even though Mu Ningxue was a member of the national team, the advisors were not allowed to intervene when the Disciplinary Mages had tried to cripple her cultivation in Venice.

According to them, the Mu Clan had given her everything, so it was reasonable for the Mu Clan to take it all back!

Pan Xi had brought a few Disciplinary Mages of the Mu Clan along back then to discipline Mu Ningxue by crippling her cultivation.

The man who was rebuking Mu Ningxue was the leader of the Disciplinary Hall, Ge Xiong. It went without saying that the Disciplinary Mages would never have shown up in Venice if he had not nodded his approval!

Not everyone in the Mu Clan had the surname Mu. Like other clans, it would sometimes recruit strong Mages of other Elements.

Ge Xiong was one example. He was not an Ice Mage, but a strong Super Earth Mage.

Despite having a different surname, the disciples of Mu Clan treated him with great respect. No one dared to say the slightest rebellious word in front of him, let alone commit an offense within the clan’s territory!

“We only invited your father to discuss some matters with him. So what if he’s a little troubled?” Ge Xiong shouted angrily after inspecting Mu Tingying’s injuries.

“Get someone who’s more worthy to speak to me,” Mu Ningxue replied icily.

Ge Xiong’s face was so tense that his cheekbones were visible after he heard the words.

Even when Mu Ningxue was at her peak when she was still a member of the clan, she was still considered a junior. She was never comparable to someone with actual authority in the Mu Clan like him! Not to mention she was now a wanted criminal of the Disciplinary Hall, and yet she claimed he was not worthy enough?

“Do you think you can do whatever you want here just because you are now a Super Mage? You are unaware of the true essence of the Super Level!

“You are as weak as an insect in front of my Super Power!”

Ge Xiong knew the normal Disciplinary Mages, who were mostly Advanced Mages, were no match for Mu Ningxue, so he had come in person to deal with her.

It was time to settle a job that was long overdue!

Not a single disciple of the Mu Clan could escape the Disciplinary Hall’s punishment. The sentence to cripple Mu Ningxue’s cultivation was already final. He would make sure it was carried out as planned!

The Earth Element was very effective against the Ice Element, too!

Ge Xiong immediately made his move. He did not want the mountain of the clan to be troubled by a single Mu Ningxue. His superiors would think the Disciplinary Hall was unreliable!

“Horn Flash Rock: Thousand Jin Clench!”

Ge Xiong half-clenched his right hand at first and slowly curled his fingers.

The ground started shaking vigorously. A black rock emerged where Mu Ningxue was standing.. It formed a giant hand with half-clenched fingers. The fingers were curling slowly, meant to wrap around Mu Ningxue with great force!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The clenching hand was extremely powerful. It could crush a full-metal tank into pieces, let alone a human.

Unlike most destructive magic, it had appeared very quickly. Ge Xiong had Cast the spell with a very simple gesture!

Mu Ningxue reacted quickly. Her Wind Element was impressive, too.

Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan did not have anywhere near the same fighting ../style. Mo Fan was strong because of the support of his extra Elements, which made him unpredictable and flexible. On the other hand, Mu Ningxue had put most of her focus on her Ice and Wind Elements.

Her Wind Element was not necessarily weaker than her Ice Element. She floated backward as the rocky fist appeared, leaving a faint Wind Trail behind.

“Wind Trace!”

Mu Ningxue moved agilely, sliding elegantly across the snow at lightning speed.

She did not remain in the same stance all the time. She only used it when Ge Xiong was attacking with his special Earth Spell.

She was like a dragonfly hovering in the wind. Whenever someone tried to grab the dragonfly, it would agilely dodge the hand and hover in a different spot. It was almost impossible to catch it.

Ge Xiong was enraged. His Horn Flash Rock was still too slow. He was struggling to hit Mu Ningxue, regardless of the magic’s form.

“Wind Trace Bow!”

Mu Ningxue appeared behind Ge Xiong and pulled her finger back!

A taut white string as thin as a steel wire took shape in front of Mu Ningxue. It was already extended to its full limit.

It produced a piercing sound like a string being plucked, and fired a white wind arrow at Ge Xiong. Despite its thinness, it stirred up a huge wave of energy along its path!

The force knocked Ge Xiong a dozen meters back. His body was shaking slightly, and several of his bones might have been broken if he had not shielded himself with the Horn Flash Rock.

How did she produce such a strong gust of wind by just pulling her finger?

“You won’t stand a chance against me, even if you are using the Wind Element!” Ge Xiong shouted defiantly, something that contradicted his thoughts.

He was not going to show his emotions. The truth was, he did not have to worry too much about Mu Ningxue’s little tricks. Her Ice and Wind Elements were nothing compared to his Earth Super Power!

“Super Power: Rolling Sand River!”

Ge Xiong stood in the open and raised his arms.

Loud rumbles echoed out first, followed by tiny rivulets of sand rolling down the mountainside.

The rumbles kept getting louder as more sand appeared. A river of sand suddenly poured through the snow-covered woods like a landslide!

The sparkling black sand looked like a sand dune from a few kilometers of a desert was pouring down from the mountain’s heights.

No matter how quick Mu Ningxue was, she could not escape an Earth Spell with such a huge area of coverage. Ge Xiong’s Super Power had transported an entire river of sand to fill the area. It was even going to swallow and drown the stairs Mu Ningxue had taken to get up here.

The sand river surged at Mu Ningxue with loud rumblings. She was like a tiny leaf that would be shredded at any second.

White gusts of wind intertwined and set up a howling barrier around Mu Ningxue like a nest.

The wind was constantly moving with incredible force, it was not just a simple Wind Wall. The sand particles were deflected as the sand river reached the barrier, creating sparks similar to when a bullet bounced off a sheet of metal.

Ge Xiong had been planning to knock Mu Ningxue down the mountain. In his opinion, the woman had no right to set foot on the sacred mountain. She could only be brought up like a criminal, and was not permitted to force her way up aloofly!

However, Mu Ningxue had only slid a hundred meters back at the first impact. She was able to hold her ground close to the pillars covered in icy vines. The sand was flowing down the mountain on both sides of her, but she remained as unmoving as a planted stone.

1

“Down you go!” Ge Xiong snarled. How dare a little junior who was expelled by the clan act atrociously on Mu Clan Mountain?!

It was not exaggerating to describe the Mu Clan as the country’s royal family. Every decision made in the clan meetings was like a decree to the disciples. No one could disobey them, nor challenge the authority of the clan!

The density of the sand increased. It felt like an entire black desert had fallen on the mountain. Ge Xiong unleashed the full potential of his Super Power to control the black sand of death.

“Wind Super Power, Swastika Scar!”

4

Swirling wind blades made up of compressed air swept in from the distance.

The swastika symbol they formed covered half the plain. As the enlarged river of black sand returned, strong winds rose from the deep marks and formed a shocking white curtain in the shape of the swastika. Mu Ningxue was standing gracefully in the center of it.

The area had become her sacred ground. She remained unmoved, no matter how strong the current of sand was.

The Rolling Sand River was as deadly as an avalanche occurring on a huge mountain. The black sand river extended from the waist of the mountain to its foot, breaking and shredding countless trees and covering their remains.

Even so, it had failed to knock Mu Ningxue from her feet. Both the woman and the symbol on the ground were untainted.

“Impossible…this is impossible…” Ge Xiong was struggling to believe it.

Wasn’t a Super Power an indicator of Super Mages who had long achieved the Super Level?

It had to be difficult for Mu Ningxue to achieve the Super Level without the Mu Clan’s support. How could she possibly Awaken a Wind Super Power, too?

It has only been how many years? How did her cultivation improve so much?!

“I told you, you aren’t worthy enough!” Mu Ningxue’s gaze sharpened.

She stomped the ground, and the symbol expanded further.. The wind curtain retained the shape of the swastika, but it was no longer a barrier protecting Mu Ningxue. It had now turned into a deadly weapon, bringing utter destruction upon the mountain!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“AH!” Ge Xiong cried out in pain as his chest was sliced open. Blood sprayed out of the wound.

He immediately lost all his strength, and fell to his knees after his muscles gave way. His blood quickly formed a pool underneath him.

A few other Disciplinary Mages were helping Mu Tingying up from the ground not far away.

Mu Tingying had insisted on staying, despite enduring enormous pain. She had wanted to see Mu Ningxue end up just like her, but it had not happened.

Ge Xiong had lost!

As the leader of the Disciplinary Hall, he was already one of the stronger Mages in the Mu Clan, but he had still lost to Mu Ningxue?

—

Mu Ningxue could not have cared less about Ge Xiong. She continued on her way through the field.

In front of her was a landscaped garden of bamboo given delicate care. The garden remained in bloom throughout all four seasons. The green branches and leaves were now covered in snow, making the garden look like a scene from a poem.

The main buildings of the Clan were visible from the bamboo woods. The buildings looked like ancient palaces, as the Mu Clan had been around for a long time.

Tall walls, blue slabs, red roof tiles with a slight golden tint, and a clear stream from the mountain running through the area. The road leading to the main buildings was built alongside and over the stream. People walking on the pavement could enjoy the sight of fish playing around in the stream right through the icy glass panels under their feet.

Mu Ningxue was now walking on that icy glass. The tall bamboo trees nearby were swaying in the wind. The canopy was swaying fifty meters above her head.

More Disciplinary Mages showed up around her.

Unfortunately, their leader Ge Xiong was still lying on the ground unconscious after he was defeated by Mi Ningxue, and the Disciplinary Mages did not dare take any bold actions. They simply gathered around Mu Ningxue like a flock of crows.

Mu Ningxue was close to reaching the magnificent buildings when she saw a man in a blue collarless shirt standing in her path.

The Disciplinary Mages did not dare stand in her way. They were only tailing her or sticking to the sides. Everyone who tried to stop her was quickly left with serious injuries.

The man was obviously a strong Mage sent by the Mu Clan to stop Mu Ningxue. He looked very young. His handsome face had a faint confident smile. His expression remained the same even when he saw the murderous look on Mu Ningxue’s face.

“Impressive. You have defeated Ge Xiong in such a short time. The Disciplinary Hall has been in a slump in recent years. Perhaps it’s because a useless piece of trash like Ge Xiong was in charge. It’s time to give it some new blood!” the man proclaimed, addressing the Disciplinary Mages.

“Mu Ningxue, you have always been outstanding. If the things that brought shame to our clan had never happened, I believe you had a high chance of becoming the next me!” the man said calmly.

“There’s no reason for you to hold a grudge against the Mu Clan. The Mu Clan has retained its status for so many years because we are willing to put in resources and efforts on every disciple with a bright future. We also have the determination to abandon those we should when the clan is being threatened!” the man explained.

“Hou Ze.” Mu Ningxue recognized the man.

The Mu Clan was scattered across many cities throughout the country. Every four years, the Mu Clan would send representatives to the different branches to filter out the disciples.

Those who were chosen would be sent to Mu Clan Mountain and compete with thousands of other disciples.

Hou Ze was a Senior Brother in the same batch as Mu Ningxue and Mu Tingying. He had been considered a role model among them. The trainers had often mentioned his name.

When Mu Ningxue stood out in her batch, she was described as the female counterpart to Hou Ze.

Hou Ze was also not a disciple of the main clan. He had caught the main clan’s attention with his talents and climbed his way to the top.

However, Hou Ze was luckier than Mu Ningxue. Not only was he not abandoned by the Mu Clan, he had rendered meritorious contributions time and time again, and become a star of the Mu Clan.

Hou Ze now had a seat in the clan meeting, and was an important member of the Mu Clan’s committee. His power was almost comparable to an authority like Mu Feiluan!

In fact, Hou Ze was just like Mu Ningxue had been four years ago. He was able to crush his peers and climb his way up. The Mu Clan had given him plenty of resources. Even if many of the talented disciples in the same batch as him had also achieved the Super Level, they still had no chance of catching up to him!

“I’ve always kept an eye on you. To be honest, I was often impressed by your courage. It’s not unreasonable for an outsider to boldly declare war against the Mu Clan, since they have no idea how massive the Mu Clan is…” Hou Ze went on.

Hou Ze was well aware of the Mu Clan’s strength. Despite standing out among his peers, he only realized how powerful the Mu Clan was after he earned a spot in the clan meeting! It had been only the beginning.

Many members of the Mu Clan were stronger than him, but there were still other people who were controlling their fate beyond them.

Mu Ningxue was trying to do the impossible!

Hou Ze’s tone changed. “Even I have to bow and bend my knees in front of the leaders. What right do you have to think you can throw a tantrum in the Mu Clan’s territory? You have injured two important members of the Mu Clan. Do you really think you are only going to be crippled after you lose? You have seriously underestimated the Mu Clan!”

Hou Ze and Mu Ningxue used to refer to one another as Senior Brother and Junior Sister. Hou Ze was attracted by Mu Ningxue’s beauty and potential. He had tried to approach her in the past.

However, Mu Ningxue did not respond. Improving her cultivation was all she had cared about.

Hou Ze was not a patient man. He believed there were lots of beautiful women other than Mu Ningxue, and he had no reason to waste too much of his time on an ice belle.

The two were almost close acquaintances, but when the clan decided to cripple Mu Ningxue’s cultivation, Hou Ze did not oppose it.

His opinion might actually have made a difference. It would at least have delayed the execution until after the World College Tournament ended, but Hou Ze did not do so.

Even he did not know the actual reason.

Perhaps he thought Mu Ningxue would be easier prey after she became an ordinary human, or perhaps he was worried the woman with the outstanding Innate Talent of the Ice Element would pose a threat to his status after she was given more resources to grow.

“I always saw you as a role model when I first came to the Mu Clan. I always hoped to compete with you one day,” Mu Ningxue replied coolly.. “But now, you are nothing to me.”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I… am nothing to you?” Hou Ze had a weird expression after hearing those words. He was both amused and angry. “If I’m nothing, what about you, who were expelled by the Mu Clan? Do you think you are still at the top after losing the Mu Clan’s support?

“Defeating Ge Xiong, who’s good for nothing, doesn’t mean anything!”

Hou Ze had come to convince Mu Ningxue to accept her punishment willingly after revealing the difficulties to her. She might have a chance to come back to the Mu Clan.

However, she was being too arrogant!

“Show me your strongest move. I’ve only said so much because I still see you as my Junior Sister, but I won’t show you any mercy from now on!” Hou Ze declared.

My strongest move?

Mu Ningxue did not think she needed to use her bow against him. She understood the importance of continuing to improve if she wanted to climb to the top.

Every step she took had been difficult, but it was also a type of trial for her. It was tough for her at first, but she was slowly getting used to it.

Every new power she obtained had not come easily. It had also helped her to realize what she was lacking, thus giving her a chance to improve herself more in her upcoming attempts.

It was common to see strong Mages in a renowned clan. However, those who were at the top were mostly grassroots members in the past!

When Mu Ningxue was still in the Mu Clan, she had met a lot of bottlenecks. She often wondered if she was really talented, or if she only grew in power because of the Mu Clan’s support.

Mu Ningxue had visited Tianshan Mountain twice after leaving the Mu Clan, and had finally found her direction. She was able to climb the mountain with her gaze fixed on the prize, as every return was closely related to her changes and hard work!

Only the power she had earned by herself truly belonged to her. It did not matter if the mountain she had to climb was taller than the previous one. The hardship she had faced in the past would only give her more confidence in conquering the next mountain!

It was Mo Fan who had helped her find her own path. He was strong for a reason!

Hou Ze was merely following the path the Mu Clan had planned out for him. He represented Mu Ningxue’s old self, when she was still on the same old path.

The enemy she was facing was what she would have become if the incident had not happened!

It was time to see which version of her was stronger!

“It’s meaningless to compete with other Elements. Let’s settle it with the Ice Element!

“Ice Super Power, Ice Mountain Coral!”

Hou Ze was extremely confident in himself. He did not bother hiding the traits of his Super Power.

A colorful icy swirl appeared above the woods. The temperature nearby dropped rapidly.

Ice crystals began appearing like clusters of crystals on the ground. They were growing and spreading in irregular shapes. The bamboo woods were soon filled with ice corals.

The corals were enormous. Some grew taller than the bamboo trees, just like emerging boulders.

It looked like a spectacular view under the ocean had been relocated onto the mountain. The corals were mixed with the bamboo trees, as if an ocean had combined with the mountain forest.

“Show me your strongest ability!” Hou Ze demanded loudly.

Only by crushing Mu Ningxue’s strongest ability, the one she was most proud of, would teach her how idiotic her actions today were!

She was supposed to offer the Mu Clan a humble apology. That way, she might convince the clan to be more lenient toward her. She should never have forced her way up the mountain and challenged the Mu Clan’s authority!

“Is this your Ice Super Power?” Mu Ningxue resumed her pace forward she had paused after Hou Ze had appeared.

She continued to walk toward the main building. Everything before it was only part of the entrance. It was normal for intruders to force their way through the entrance. It had happened to many renowned clans when arrogant intruders thought they could challenge a clan’s authority.

However, the intruder making it to the main buildings would show how incompetent the faction really was.

Ge Xiong of the Disciplinary Hall had failed to stop Mu Ningxue, thus the clan had sent Hou Ze after her.

Hou Ze was not going to let Mu Ningxue advance any further. He was extremely displeased by Mu Ningxue’s arrogance. Who did she think she was?

Even he had never raised his voice against the Mu Clan. Where did she, someone who was expelled by the clan, find the confidence and arrogance to force her way up the Mu Clan Mountain and challenge him?

“Another step forward, and you won’t have a chance to beg for mercy!” Hou Ze snarled.

“I didn’t come to beg, I came to settle the debt!” Mu Ningxue followed her path with a determined face.

She had sworn to destroy the Mu Clan’s empire after she burst into tears in Venice. The day had arrived earlier than she had expected, but she had no reason to back away now.

“Do you think you stand a chance against my Super Power? Ice Coral Shift!” Hou Ze yelled from where was standing on top of an enormous ice coral.

More ice coral emerged from the ground, while those on the surface began to move around. The destruction they were causing could easily wipe out an entire tribe of demon creatures!

The world of ice corals began to collapse. The path Mu Ningxue was treading was in grave danger too, as the debris of the corals fell from above and cracked the ground. It felt like the mountain was sinking due to a tectonic shift.

“Ward: Defiance of the Snow God!”

Mu Ningxue’s eyes glowed like brilliant stars. She continued forward at a steady pace right through the collapsing world of ice coral.

A ring of silver light swept forward, and the apocalyptic sight ahead of her suddenly froze.

It felt like time had frozen at that instant. The spectacular world of ice corals turned completely to dust after that brief pause.

The giant coral mountains, the irregular coral reefs, and the falling debris that was cracking the ground apart had all turned into powder.

How was mere dust and powder going to threaten her life? They would only be lifted into the sky and swept into the distance as the wind blew!

Mu Ningxue had overwhelmed Hou Ze’s Ice Super Power with a single glance, not to mention it was the ability Hou Ze was most proud of!

“A Ward, an Absolute Ward…”

Hou Ze’s pride sank to the bottom of his heart together with the corals that had turned into dust.

An Ice Ward!

Mu Ningxue has a Heaven Seed!

A real Heaven Seed would grant its bearer the power to establish an Absolute Ward. Even the strongest Mage had to obey the rules of the Absolute Ward once inside it.

Absolute Ward: Defile of the Snow God!

The rules of Mu Ningxue’s Absolute Ward were able to restrict every other magic within it!

Whether it was an enemy Domain, a spell, or the special effects of an Element, they would all turn into dust inside Mu Ningxue’s Absolute Ward!

Hou Ze’s Super Power was the ability to expand and strengthen his Ice Magic like a Domain, but even it had to obey the rules of Mu Ningxue’s Absolute Ward.

As a result, everything in its influence had turned into dust!

It was the Absolute Ward of a Heaven Seed!

Mu Ningxue had once only had a Domain because of her Innate Soul Seed. But now, she had mastered the much stronger Absolute Ward.

She now owned a real Heaven Seed!

Chapter 2422: She is the Master

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Hou Ze clenched his teeth. His face was full of anger and discontent.

His handsome face was gone, now ugly and twisted.

He was the star among the disciples of the Mu Clan. He had earned himself a seat in the clan meeting after Awakening his Super Power. He had worked harder than anyone else. He had even fawned upon the leaders of the clan!

How did Mu Ningxue manage to acquire a Heaven Seed before me?!

If one was given the option to choose between a Super Power or a Heaven Seed, anyone would choose the Heaven Seed without any hesitation!

A Heaven Seed was from the outside world, a godly object that was incredibly difficult to find. It would significantly increase the strength of a Mage. Even if it did not have an Absolute Ward, its power could still overwhelm most of the Mage’s enemies!

A Super Power was only a Mage’s specialty, Awakened after cultivating diligently. Certain Super Powers might be incredibly powerful, but only a few managed to Awaken them.

An Ice Super Power against a Heaven Ice Seed… the odds of him winning were extremely low! Even so, Hou Ze was not going to surrender!

He finally understood why he had not stepped forward when the clan decided to cripple Mu Ningxue’s cultivation.

He was worried that she might overtake him one day!

“Ice Islet!” Hou Ze snarled.

A huge mountainous chunk of ice suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was like a monstrous living thing had emerged from the abyss of the ocean.

A gargantuan wall of ice charged at Mu Ningxue at high speed. The bamboo trees were around fifty meters tall, but they were like weeds compared to the oncoming wave of ice. It even blocked the view of the mountain’s peak.

Hou Ze’s attack was a manifestation of his anger and jealousy!

The erupting ice crashed onto the ground. Mu Ningxue took a few steps back to avoid the debris that was flying at her.

She suddenly came to a stop. Crystalline frost spread from her wrist to her palm before rising into the air.

The frost instantly took the shape of a long blade. Mu Ningxue tossed the blade into the sky.

With a loud chime of power, the icy blade suddenly straightened and emitted an icy glow from its tip! It had combined with Mu Ningxue’s wrist and hand, allowing her to control it with ease!

The oncoming ice was already inches from Mu Ningxue. She quickly jumped backward with the help of Wind Trail.

She did a backflip in mid-air while swinging the blade. The blade let loose an arc-shaped light filled with remarkable force!

The slash was oddly powerful. Mu Ningxue slid a great distance back after releasing the enormous force, allowing her to escape the impact zone of the ice river. The splinters of ice that had fallen to the ground previously were swept into the air.

Meanwhile, the slash had sliced the towering wall of ice in half. The ice river split into two, and its trajectory changed.

Mu Ningxue eventually came to a stop after doing another backflip and landing on a bamboo. Its half-frozen stem bent like an arc-shaped bridge to support her weight.

Mu Ningxue remained on the bamboo stem for a moment. The oncoming ice might have been sliced in half, but it was still sliding toward her with great momentum. Mu Ningxue stared at it, her face calm.

The bamboo tree began to bend beneath her. It abruptly snapped forward, and threw Mu Ningxue ahead like it was launching a white sword!

Mu Ningxue flew through the gap in the middle as the two halves of the bisected glacier continued forward, looking like a sparrow flying through a canyon.

She lost her hairpin in the strong rush of the wind. Her hair immediately fell to her shoulders like a shining waterfall, further setting off her dazzling figure.

In contrast, the blade in her hand was brimming with a murderous aura. The arrogant Hou Ze was standing right at the end of the crack split into his massive attack of ice.

Hou Ze had already said he was not going to show any mercy. Therefore, Mu Ningxue had no reason to show him any mercy, either. No person with a seat in the clan meeting would escape her vengeful blade!

The great blade was as thin as a willow, but it was surprisingly sharp and firm.

Her slash extended from Hou Ze’s left shoulder to the right side of his waist. Since the blade was made of frost, Hou Ze did not shed a single drop of blood, but the shocking cut had split open to reveal his bones. The cold was also spreading throughout his body.

Hou Ze was standing there like an ice statue. The frost pouring into his body through the cut was freezing his blood and organs.

His face was not frozen yet, but had stiffened in confusion and shock.

“Did…did I lose?” Hou Ze uttered the words with great effort.

He had gone from scorning Mu Ningxue for not knowing her place to losing the fight miserably. He felt humiliated and terrified.

How is she so strong?

How did she manage to overtake me without the Mu Clan’s resources after she was expelled?

Did I not work hard enough over the years? Did I not act lowly enough in front of the leaders?

“How…how…how did you do it…” Hou Ze grabbed Mu Ningxue’s blade, allowing the frost to spread freely. However, he did not let go of the blade. He simply watched it freeze his hand.

Mu Ningxue did not say a single word, and calmly raised the blade instead.

The blade did not slide out of Hou Ze’s hand; it broke his frozen hand into pieces instead.

“AHHHH!!!” Hou Ze screamed in pain. His hand had broken off, just like that! Its clotted blood and bones fell to the ground.

Hou Ze knelt on the ground with a twisted expression, smearing his tears on the snow.

He only caught a glimpse of Mu Ningxue’s heels as she continued along the path.

His job was to stop Mu Ningxue from reaching the main building, but he had failed.

He remembered the time when Mu Ningxue was just a beautiful Junior Sister to him. She had a cold personality, but he had assumed he could still get his way with her.

Today, he had learned the true face of his Junior Sister. She was strong and brutal, just like her personality!

If the Mu Clan had not expelled her, she would eventually have stood at the highest level of the Mu Clan’s hierarchy. Her cruel, merciless, and tough personality was just like the leaders of the Mu Clan!

Hou Ze fell to the ground. The Disciplinary Mages did not dare to carry him away to be treated for some time. Outsiders might treat the Disciplinary Mages with great respect, but they were so irrelevant right now that they only dared to be bystanders, like shrimp soldiers.

Mu Ningxue’s overwhelming strength had given them the impression that she was the master, while they were the ignorant intruders!

Chapter 2423: Mu Yinfeng

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Every Mu Clan meeting was very strict and serious. Every member of the clan had to obey the rituals and ceremonies that were planned. Even those who had no right to take part in the meeting had to wait outside the room if they did not have any urgent business.

While a meeting took place, the members of the clan were forbidden to contact outsiders. They also had to make sure no one interfered with the meeting.

The monthly meeting was scheduled to last from one to five in the afternoon.

When the door of the room opened at the end of the meeting, the people who were closely related to the clan would gather around their representatives and ask whether they had managed to convince the clan to allocate more resources for them, if the clan had assigned them the positions they had striven to gain for years, or if they were being punished for the mistakes they had committed in the previous month.

Many people called the Mu Clan the Ice Element Dynasty of the country, as their clan meeting was similar to the morning assembly of the officials before the emperor during the era of ancient dynasties. The people involved in the meeting would dress nicely and prepare their speeches for the meeting. They would be mindful of their actions and words while competing for the resources allocated during the meeting.

The meeting today had not started yet. The participants were having lunch in the Clan Hall to prepare for the meeting in the afternoon.

—

“What did you just say? Mu Ningxue has already forced her way to the main buildings?!” Mu Feiluan lost his temper after hearing the update from his men.

Mu Feiluan was one of the elders of the clan, in charge of the clan’s internal affairs. He was solely responsible for the arrangement, discipline, training, and punishment of the young disciples.

The Mu Clan had too many branches and vassal clans. Not every elder was familiar with the details of what had happened to Mu Ningxue. It was Mu Feiluan who had the most say in how the clan dealt with Mu Ningxue.

Thus, it was Mu Feiluan who had decided to cripple Mu Ningxue’s cultivation and expel her from the clan!

Pan Xi was Mu Feiluan’s subordinate. He had chosen Mu Ningxue when she was still in Bo City and recommended her to Mu Feiluan. Mu Feiluan used to think Mu Ningxue had the potential to lead the new batch of disciples, and had treated Mu Ningxue like a pearl in the palm. Many young disciples had been jealous of her.

If Mu Feiluan decided Mu Ningxue had to go and have her cultivation taken away, Mu Ningxue was not allowed to resist. Everyone had to obey his orders!

It was also Mu Feiluan who had brought Mu Zhuoyun to Mu Clan Mountain.

However, the situation had now exceeded Mu Feiluan’s expectations.

First, Mu Ningxue had managed to retain her cultivation. Second, Mu Ningxue had never surrendered herself and asked for the appropriate punishment so she could return to the clan. Lastly, Mu Ningxue was not defeated at the entrance to the clan. She had reached the main buildings instead!

She would soon be at the Clan Hall if she went only a little deeper!

If Mu Ningxue reached the Clan Hall, the Patriarch was obviously going to scold Mu Feiluan and hold him responsible. He would lose a lot of influence in the clan meeting!

Most importantly, Mu Feiluan had many powerful Mages under his command. How had they failed to stop the petty woman?

Were they trying to make him the laughing stock of the clan and ruin his reputation?!

“Why did I even bother taking care of Hou Ze? He can’t even bite the person I want him to!” Mu Feiluan cursed.

“Mu Ningxue has really gone crazy. She dares to stir up trouble in the Mu Clan Mountain. Humph, I can’t wait to see who’s going to protect her this time!” Mu Yinfeng spoke up.

They had gone easy on Mu Ningxue in recent years because she had won the World College Tournament.

Mu Ningxue had been a member of the national team. On the other hand, the Mu Clan was closely affiliated with the country’s powerful organizations. Some of the seniors in the clan were very concerned about the clan’s reputation. They were worried that the public might condemn them if their Disciplinary Mages were too harsh on Mu Ningxue.

As a result, Mu Ningxue’s punishment had been put on hold over the years. Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng had used other ways to keep Mu Ningxue in check, instead of threatening her directly.

A few years had passed since the last World College Tournament, and the next World College Tournament was already around the corner. People’s attention on Mu Ningxue had diminished over the years. It was time for the Mu Clan to settle their debt with Mu Ningxue!

“Don’t worry, if she keeps behaving unscrupulously, we will have an excuse to cripple her cultivation on the spot. I will be able to justify myself in the meeting too,” Mu Feiluan said reassuringly.

It turned out that he would have to take care of the threat that Pan Xi had left behind!

“What a pity. Even if we crippled her cultivation, she still has a pretty face. Some stupid men are fond of her aloof personality,” Mu Yinfeng commented coldly.

“Sister, the clan meeting is extremely important to me. She must have come today to interfere with the meeting. You have to take care of her in the main garden for my sake… you can deal with her however you like,” Mu Feiluan told her.

“Humph, are you asking me to do your dirty jobs again, while you enjoy your flourishing fame in the clan?” Mu Yinfeng grumbled.

“Didn’t you have high hopes for Nanrong Ni? If you help me take care of Mu Ningxue, I will try to secure Nanrong Ni a spot in the clan meeting,” Mu Feiluan proposed.

“That sounds more like it!” Mu Yinfeng nodded in satisfaction.

As a matter of fact, even without Mu Feiluan’s promise, Mu Yinfeng had still been planning to take care of Mu Ningxue.

Some women would turn the clan into a mess if they stayed around, as if they were the only women in the whole clan.

Mu Yinfeng was annoyed when she heard Mu Ningxue’s name. She was as troublesome as her mother!

That being said, Mu Yinfeng had managed to banish her mother to the wilds, so she would have no trouble getting rid of Mu Ningxue either!

“Nanrong Ni, do you want to go with me to the main buildings?” Mu Yinfeng asked her.

“Sure, I heard Tingying was seriously injured. Her face is covered in blood,” Nanrong Ni mentioned.

“It won’t be as simple as crippling her cultivation if I am told to deal with her…” Mu Yinfeng grinned.

She had been troubled for not having a legitimate excuse to get rid of Mu Ningxue, but the woman had come looking for trouble and broken the Mu Clan’s rules. She felt more comfortable now that the conservative elders of the clan no longer had a say in the matter!

—

The main buildings numbered over twenty palatial structures. They looked like the residences of ancient emperors, generals, or officials on the outside, but inside they had elevators, French windows, and marbled floors. All of the lighting and decorations were extremely expensive. Even the paintings and rhyming couplets on the walls were no ordinary works.

Dueling grounds for the disciples were built close to the main buildings. They were planted with grass, and maintained in great condition, with little snow adorning them.

When Mu Ningxue reached the main buildings, a different path had been opened. It was guiding her to take it, sparkling like diamonds before her.

The special path was only opened when the Mu Clan had organized an important duel. The path would lead the guests straight to a big dueling ground, the Battleground at the Peak.

It was obviously not open to receive any guests. It was directing Mu Ningxue to the Battleground at the Peak. Someone was waiting for her there!

The Battleground at the Peak was very close to the main buildings. People would see the duel from inside them.

Mu Ningxue followed the path to the dueling ground without any hesitation. She did not care who was waiting ahead for her.

She would beat anyone who tried to stop her!

Chapter 2424: Ice Phoenix, One of the Strongest Talents

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The dueling ground’s altitude was high enough for snow to be falling on it. The sky was gray and free of clouds, tiny snow particles falling from it like white sand.

A woman was already standing in the dueling ground. She was wearing a luxurious emerald green long robe with a mink-hooded windbreaker draped over her shoulders.

The woman was Mu Yinfeng. She was waiting for Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue’s hair was already silver-white. The traces of snow on her hair did not look out of place, and were sparkling like crystals.

“The disciples of the Mu Clan are scattered across the country. The clan will never run short of great talents or rising stars.” Mu Yinfeng was pacing back and forth. Her antique embroidered shoes left faint footprints on the ground as she gradually raised her voice. “Why do you think of yourself as someone unique and special? Do you really think your Innate Talent is that powerful?”

Mages with Innate Talents were the minority, but there was still a difference in strength between their Innate Talents.

“The Ice Phoenix, second on the Innate Talents Ranking,” Mu Ningxue answered calmly, calling out Yinfeng’s Talent.

Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng both had extraordinary Ice Innate Talents. That fact alone made them irreplaceably powerful Mages.

It was the reason why the two of them had retained their superior status in the Mu Clan, even when their cultivation had not reached the peak of the Super Level.

The Mu Clan had high hopes in their Innate Talents, the Ice Luan and the Ice Phoenix. Mages opposing them of the same level might lose the fight before they could make their moves!

Not only did they grow up with golden spoons in their mouths, they also possessed extraordinary Ice Innate Talents that many people wanted.

As a result, Mu Yinfeng had not lost a fight against any Ice Mage in recent years. Even the Ice Mages of some ancient clans from foreign countries did not stand a chance against her.

Mu Yinfeng was not too surprised that Mu Ningxue was able to defeat Hou Ze.

Mu Ningxue’s Innate Soul Seed was unmatchable on its own, while Hou Ze had nothing.

However, the situation was different if Mu Yinfeng were to fight Mu Ningxue.

Mu Yinfeng’s Innate Talent could easily be regarded as the strongest, if the late Qin Yu’er was excluded from the comparison.

The outcome of the duel was too obvious.

“I believe you still aren’t sure about the details of everything that happened in the past. I have some time to spare today. I can explain them all to you, especially things about your mother…” Mu Yinfeng grinned coldly.

“Such a similar event, your arrogant mother also challenged me here, but after suffering a humiliating defeat, I exiled her to the mountain in the south for her to die in grief and sorrow, and today, it’s your turn…”

Mu Yinfeng was still walking back and forth, not even looking at Mu Ningxue. She kept talking to herself.

“Sometimes, I feel sorry for you for having such a useless mother. I can imagine how wronged she felt and how much she wanted to come back here, but sadly, she was just a cripple. She could only place all her hopes on you. She was strict on you so you could be stronger and reclaim the things she had lost… the things she couldn’t take back herself.

“And neither will you! No woman dares to stand opposite me in the Mu Clan!”

“I went too easy on you and your mother in the past. This time, I’ll make sure I kill you over and over again!”

Silver wings made of ice feathers erupted from Mu Yinfeng’s back.

She went from a delicate woman to an imperious empress by just changing the look in her eyes.

Her eyes were full of disdain and murderous intent. A cold chime exploded in Mu Ningxue’s head.

She felt dizzy, as if an icicle was stabbing her bones!

Mu Yinfeng did not feel like a human. She was more like a phoenix about to take off into the Nine Heavens, and bring a bloodbath upon the land!

Mu Ningxue rubbed her temples. The screeching cry was still echoing in her mind, leaving her in great pain.

However, Mu Yinfeng was already diving at her!

The phoenix was a greater ruler of the sky than eagles, but Mu Ningxue was as vulnerable as a rabbit. The dive was deadly!

“Ice Wing Crystals!”

Mu Yinfeng picked up her speed and flew at Mu Ningxue like a silver ray.

She flung the sharp-feathered ice wings forward. The wind they produced was chilly and bone-piercing, and instantly covered a distance of half a kilometer!

Mu Ningxue’s mind was still in a mess. She had no choice but to back away, but the area covered by the powerful wind was utterly shocking. She failed to escape from Mu Yinfeng’s ability, even with Wind Trace.

“Heavenly Phoenix Scattering Feathers!”

Mu Yinfeng soared into the sky. Her figure looked tiny, but her magnificent phoenix wings were extremely clear.

She fully extended her wings, and the sharp silver feathers started falling from the sky. The dense feathers even left silver trails in the gray sky, like they were tiny white raindrops.

Mu Ningxue did not have any chance to catch her breath. The feathers falling from the sky were deadly. Not only could they puncture the rocks, they landed around her like ice needles.

Mu Ningxue did not have a spot to step on because of the ice needles. She had no choice but to fly into the sky.

Her Wind Wings provided Mu Ningxue with a layer of protection. The feathers were bouncing off them with metallic chimes.

“Down you go, you only have the right to crawl on the floor!” Mu Yinfeng opened her mouth and let out a piercing screech.

It was the same Wind Cry. It entered Mu Ningxue’s head and attacked her mind.

Her Wind Wings disappeared under the influence of the Wind Cry. Mu Ningxue started falling from a hundred meters in the sky.

The bed of needles formed by the sharp feathers was right beneath her. It would hurt her badly if she fell right on top of the needles.

In the nick of time, the ring on Mu Ningxue’s hand emitted a blue light. A special barrier wrapped around Mu Ningxue like a bubble. Not only did it absorb the impact of her falling to the ground, it also kept the needles away.

—

“Nice one, aunt, she had to use the Ring of Venice so quickly!” Nanrong Ni blurted out with a smile. She was standing a great distance away from the battle.

Mu Ningxue had obtained the Ring of Venice from the World College Tournament. It was like a one-time protective talisman that would be activated when her life was in danger. Nanrong Ni naturally knew about it all along.

Mu Ningxue had to use the Ring of Venice when the fight had only just begun. She would no longer stay unharmed if the same sequence happened again!

“Ningxue, you say you don’t like red, but I’m afraid you will have to wear a bright red outfit today. Didn’t people always say you are beautiful regardless of what you wear? I bet you can handle a red outfit too!” Nanrong Ni mocked her.

Chapter 2425: Valkyrie

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Nanrong Ni was smarter than Mu Tingying. She had never thought she was stronger than Mu Ningxue just because of her high self-esteem.

Mu Tingying was narrow-minded, but she was also naive in some ways. She was stupid to think she could take on Mu Ningxue directly. As a result, she ended up in a miserable state with serious injuries.

Nanrong Ni would never do something like that!

She was well aware of Mu Ningxue’s strength. She had easily achieved the Super Level with Fanxue Mountain’s resources.

It was important to pick the right side and hide behind stronger people when the time was right.

It did not matter how good Mu Ningxue was, Nanrong Ni just had to say a few pleasing words to provoke Mu Yinfeng to take out Mu Ningxue.

There were many powerful Mages in the world. So what if Mu Ningxue had defeated Mu Tingying with ease and surprisingly beat both Ge Xiong and Hou Ze? Could she be stronger than Mu Yinfeng, one of the strongest Mages in the Mu Clan?

Mu Feiluan had promised to make Nanrong Ni the successor of the Ice Crystal Bow, but Mu Ningxue had managed to escape in Venice.

But now, Mu Ningxue had presented herself. Once Mu Yinfeng took down Mu Ningxue, she would claim everything that was supposed to be hers. She would be the final winner!

It did not matter how outstanding Mu Ningxue was, and how brilliant her achievements were in the World College Tournament.

Nanrong Ni had already set a death trap for Mu Ningxue. Ningxue’s clothes would soon be covered in blood as she fell miserably to the ground before Nanrong Ni!

—

The Ring of Venice was impressive. Even Mu Yinfeng had failed to overwhelm its protection in advance.

It had bought Mu Ningxue some time to catch her breath.

Her face was a little pale. Even with her Innate Talent, Mu Yinfeng’s Ice was freezing her. She felt like her whole body was being stabbed with sharp thorns.

Mu Ningxue took a deep breath. It soon turned into a white mist.

“Absolute Ward: Defiance of the Snow God!”

Mu Ningxue’s eyes started glowing dazzlingly. A lunar-white light sprang into the sky and spread across the area in the shape of a ring.

The sharp feathers and frost had all turned into white dust, like they had just received a tremendous blow!

Even Mu Yinfeng’s Ice Phoenix had to obey the rules of the Absolute Ward.

—

Mu Ningxue’s Absolute Ward quickly nullified all of Mu Yinfeng’s attacks. The strong wind swept the white dust into the air like a beautiful veil.

“I was wondering why Hou Ze lost to you. No matter how weak he was, it was impossible for you to overtake him so quickly. So it turns out that you have a Heaven Seed with an Absolute Ward…” Mu Yinfeng was a little surprised when her attacks were no longer effective.

If Mu Ningxue had an Absolute Ward, Hou Ze’s power would surely be suppressed, even if his cultivation was a level higher than Mu Ningxue’s.

“Not bad, you have an Absolute Ward at such a young age… but do you know, it’s difficult to win a fight in the end if you reveal your trump card too early?” Mu Yinfeng was very patient.

She even stopped using her Ice Magic. She merely circled in the air while beating her wings.

Mu Yinfeng was not just a normal Super Mage that was getting by. She was more experienced at fighting other Super Mages than Mu Ningxue.

The Absolute Ward was referred to as the user’s Period of Absolute Power. Unless their opponent was a lot stronger than the person using the Absolute Ward, no one would be stupid enough to confront a person directly while the Absolute Ward was still in effect.

Mu Yinfeng did not mind giving Mu Ningxue more room to breathe. She was using other Elements to harass Mu Ningxue and make her feel uncomfortable.

She just had to wait until the Absolute Ward reached the end of its duration!

An Absolute Ward would not last forever, as it cost a huge amount of mental energy. Once a Mage’s mental state was overburdened, even a Super Mage could no longer construct Star Orbits and Star Patterns. What was there to be afraid of?

The only downside was that Mu Yinfeng was out of range to use her Wind Cry. Otherwise, she could make sure Mu Ningxue did not have an edge even with her Absolute Ward!

—

Mu Ningxue raised her head and looked at Mu Yinfeng, who was flying a great distance away.

She had to admit that the Ice Phoenix was far too powerful.

In the past, Mu Ningxue could abuse her Innate Talent and purposely drag the fight out for a longer time when she was against a powerful enemy. She would gradually grow stronger as the ice continued to spread. Once an area was covered in ice, no one would stand a chance against her.

However, the situation was completely different when she was fighting Mu Yinfeng.

Mu Yinfeng was the one controlling the time. Even Mu Ningxue’s Heaven Seed was weaker than the Ice Phoenix. If Mu Ningxue allowed Mu Yinfeng to keep spreading her ice, she would be the one being frozen instead!

In terms of cultivation, Mu Yinfeng was also stronger than her. Mu Ningxue did not have any edges over Mu Yinfeng!

The Ring of Venice had bought her some time, and she had managed to chase Mu Yinfeng away with the Absolute Ward, but there was still a huge difference between their strength!

“It’s the only option I have,” Mu Ningxue murmured.

Mu Ningxue had not listened to a single word of Mu Yinfeng’s speech. Her mother was not as bad as Mu Yinfeng had described.

Mu Ningxue did hold a grudge against her mother when she was younger. She did not understand why her mother had to put all the grudges she had on her. She had a tough time cultivating, especially with her Innate Talent and the thing inside her body.

However, Mu Ningxue had learned something important after she grew up.

In the environment she grew up in, she would become a slave if she was weak!

Her mother did not want Mu Ningxue to avenge her, nor did she want Mu Ningxue to take back the things she had lost. She was more familiar with the Mu Clan than anyone else. One day, they would come and take everything from her daughter, just like they had to her.

Her mother did not want the same thing to happen to her. She understood the humiliation, the helplessness, the pain, and the despair.

She wanted Mu Ningxue to train hard and inherit the Ice Crystal Bow because she wanted her daughter to be strong; strong enough to make her own decisions, and strong enough to fight back when she was treated unfairly, instead of letting others take advantage of her!

Perhaps her mother had long known that her daughter would be opposing the Mu Clan one day.

Compared to kneeling on the ground and bursting into tears after losing all her pride, the hardship and pain she had gone through until now meant nothing at all!

Mu Ningxue could no longer remember her mother’s face. She only remembered her strict teachings, her anxiety, and her yells.

She had not done all of that because she did not love her daughter. She was willing to become someone her daughter hated, in exchange for her daughter’s freedom and power!

“Ice Crystal Bow!”

Mu Ningxue’s hair drifted in the wind after a loud chime sounded.

The phoenix was a noble creature. Her brilliance when extending her wings and soaring into the sky overshadowed the light of the sun.

As for Mu Ningxue, when she raised the magic bow made of ice crystal, she had completely turned into a valkyrie who dared to challenge the authority of the sacred gods.

She looked as fragile as a willow, but her temperament was magnificent!

Chapter 2426: Mu Ningxue’s Ice Bow

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Silver powder sprinkled around Mu Ningxue like the particles produced when diamonds were being ground. The particles floated in the air and gathered on Mu Ningxue’s fingertips as she wrapped her fingers around the bow.

The crystalline particles spread rapidly across the sky and the mountain. When they were all being absorbed into the bow like a vortex, it made the area around Mu Ningxue as dazzling as the inside of a kaleidoscope.

The sky and the ground were sliced into thousands of stacks and shuffled with the mountain and the falling snow. In the end, countless slices of them were combined and assembled to project a fascinating world of snow.

Mu Yinfeng felt like she was looking into a kaleidoscope when she looked down from the sky. She could see thousands of the same figure holding an icy bow.

There was no place she could run to!

It had all happened because of an arrow constructed from ice crystals.

Mu Ningxue extended her arm, her index and middle fingers holding the arrow nocked until the string formed a full arc.

The white sky and the magnificent mountain fell silent. It felt like the restless world was also holding its breath, together with the woman who was holding the bow and arrow.

The arrow flew out from the bow!

Unlike the perfect silence from before, the peak of the mountain collapsed as soon as the arrow left the bow, but the sound of the arrow was significantly slower than the arrow.

If the sky was a vast gray mirror, it would have been covered in cracks as soon as the arrow was fired.

It felt like the Heavens were about to be destroyed!

Mu Yinfeng was soaring proudly in the sky, but the proud look on her face disappeared when she noticed the annihilating arrow coming at her. It was replaced by the fear of death!

The ice wings on her back shattered into pieces. She started falling from the sky and fell into a deep abyss full of sharp spikes. Her windbreaker and emerald green robe were full of bloody holes. The colorful cloth on the inside was also damaged.

Fresh blood was scattered across the ground. Mu Yinfeng had fallen into the crack of the collapsed peak. She was lying perfectly still, as if she had broken all her bones.

—

Nanrong Ni stared at Mu Ningxue in gaping disbelief.

She had expected Mu Ningxue to end up covered in blood, but it was her aunt who was lying in her own blood. If Mu Yinfeng had not shuddered a little, Nanrong Ni would even have assumed she was dead!

That arrow had been too terrifying. It was pointing at the sky, but it had caused the peak of the mountain to disappear!

If the arrow had landed on her, she would die for sure, even if she had hundreds of pieces of magical Equipment protecting her!

The Ice Crystal Bow… It was indeed a sacred artifact of the Ice Element. She had tried everything to claim it from Mu Ningxue. It seemed like Mu Ningxue was slowly gaining full control of it!

—

Mu Yinfeng’s body was a little distorted. She endured tremendous pain to reconfigure the broken bones of her arms and waist.

“Reincarnation of the Ice Phoenix!”

Blue flames engulfed Mu Yinfeng after she used a great effort to utter the words.

The cold flames set her whole body on fire, but surprisingly began reconstructing her flesh and bones, not harming her.

Her spilled blood had disappeared. Her broken bones were repaired. Her flesh had fully recovered.

She was holding onto her final breath just a moment ago, but now had recovered from the injuries in the blink of an eye. It would look like the arrow had never hit her if her clothes were not so ragged.

Nanrong Ni smiled. As expected of her aunt, she was able to recover from such serious injuries. The Ice Phoenix did live up to her name!

Mu Yinfeng touched her face to make sure she had fully recovered. Her eyes were on the verge of spitting out flames!

Mu Ningxue had wasted her Reincarnation!

Reincarnation meant Mu Yinfeng’s ability to swiftly recover from injury when she was at the brink of death.

It was Mu Yinfeng’s Super Power. She had to consume massive resources of the Ice Element to replenish the energy required for her innate ability, Ice Phoenix’s Reincarnation!

Mu Yinfeng finally understood why Mu Ningxue had dared to force her way up Mu Clan Mountain. Even if she had achieved the Super Level and obtained a Heaven Ice Seed, she would only be asking for her death, knowing how many powerful Mages the Mu Clan had.

But the Ice Crystal Bow…

She had cracked the Seal on the Forbidden Bow that the Mu Clan had forgotten to retrieve from her!

Mu Yinfeng would be half-dead by now if it weren’t for her Ice Phoenix’s Reincarnation!

“You won’t be leaving this mountain alive today!” Mu Yinfeng screamed at Ningxue.

The Ice Crystal Bow in Mu Ningxue’s hand did not disappear.

In the past, she had to deplete her energy and overburden her soul just to fire a single arrow from the Ice Crystal Bow.

However, the special Bow was no longer consuming her like a devil. Mu Ningxue had gradually controlled it and made it hers!

Mu Yinfeng was significantly stronger than Mu Ningxue, it was true. Mu Ningxue would only add more burdens to herself if she kept fighting with her own strength.

Therefore, she had decided to use the Ice Crystal Bow instead.

She had sworn to set foot on the mountain today!

Mu Ningxue would step over the bodies of the people who wanted her to fall without any mercy!

Mu Yinfeng was threatening to kill Mu Ningxue, even though the remains of the peak were lying between them.

The mountain was huge, but everyone would easily notice the disappearance of the mountaintop!

———–

The main buildings had almost collapsed from the enormous impact. The leaders of the clan in the Clan Hall immediately looked in the direction of the loud impact.

“Who dares to damage our clan’s mountain?” Elder Mu Dao demanded angrily.

Mu Dao could sense the strong vibrations in the distance. He thought some Super Mage was fooling around with a Super Spell, but when he turned around again, the peak of the mountain was gone!

Mu Feiluan had to step forward. “I’ll take care of it. Please continue on with the meeting, I’ll be back soon!”

“Feiluan, why haven’t you sorted it out even now? You have seriously let me down,” an old man with his eyes closed said.

“I’ll deal with it right now!” Mu Feiluan repeated firmly. He had no choice but to leave the meeting early, even if it meant breaking the rules!

—

—

Rocks which had once belonged to the peak of the mountain were still rolling, and had almost razed the main buildings to the ground. Luckily, a group of Disciplinary Mages was around to stop them.

If the main buildings had been brought down like the peak of the mountain, they too would soon disappear from the world!

Even though Mu Yinfeng had just put on a tough front, her face paled when she noticed Mu Ningxue was still holding the Ice Crystal Bow.

Without the Ice Phoenix’s Reincarnation, she might actually die to the bow!

Mu Yinfeng decisively summoned her ice feathers once more and headed for the Clan Hall, despite her unwillingness.

She could sense Mu Ningxue’s strong murderous intent. The next arrow would surely claim her life once Mu Ningxue caught her breath after firing the first one!

“Aunt, wait for me!”

Nanrong Ni was terrified when she saw Mu Yinfeng running away without her!

Chapter 2427: The Luan and the Phoenix join Hands

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue knew a little about Mu Yinfeng’s ability.

Unfortunately, her arrow had not killed Mu Yinfeng instantly. Otherwise, she would not have had the chance to complete her Reincarnation.

Mu Ningxue took a deep breath. She was not too worried about it.

There was still a long way to go. The Mu Clan would not be taken down so easily. However, it was time for her to settle the debt with certain people!

Nanrong Ni had come to watch Mu Ningxue bleed. She had forgotten she was currently standing in front of Mu Ningxue.

Without Mu Yinfeng’s protection, she was no different from Mu Tingying!

“Since you like the Ice Crystal Bow so much, as a friend for many years, I shall gift it to you myself,” Mu Ningxue offered with a wicked smile.

She pulled back the string of the bow again, but this time, she did not pour all her energy into it.

An ordinary arrow flew through the air like a cold meteorite after Mu Ningxue let go of the string. It looked spectacular from afar, but it was absolutely terrifying when it came closer!

The arrow struck Nanrong Ni’s stomach and sent her flying toward a cliff that was a part of the broken peak.

Blood sprayed over Nanrong Ni’s body, including her seemingly innocent face.

The arrow stuck in Nanrong Ni’s stomach nailed her to the cliff.

She hung on the cliff like a pinned butterfly, unable to move at all. Huge cracks spread across the cliff behind her like a giant spiderweb.

Nanrong Ni’s face contorted in pain. She eventually let out a loud cry of agony, which echoed across the mountain.

—

Nanrong Ni did not die. Mu Ningxue had simply nailed her to the cliff with an arrow.

The cliff was facing the main buildings. Every member of the Mu Clan in the main buildings could see her. The unnerving sight sent a great chill down their spines!

It was unlikely that anyone in the Mu Clan did not know who Mu Ningxue was by now.

However, most people only remembered her captivating beauty. They had never seen her behaving like this, cruel and merciless as she vented her anger on the woman who had betrayed her.

She was the real goddess of the ice mountain!

Mu Ningxue did not chase after Mu Yinfeng. She knew clearly who Mu Yinfeng was looking for: the man who was responsible for sending her to the abyss!

As for Nanrong Ni, Ningxue could just hang her on the cliff for now.

The brother and sister could come and take her down if they wanted!

—

The wound on Nanrong Ni’s stomach started freezing, and she had stopped bleeding.

The pain was fading away, but when she noticed the people in the main buildings watching her, the pain in her heart was a hundred times worse than the pain she felt from the wound.

She would rather have been killed by the arrow, instead of being hung on the cliff and humiliated.

No one had dared to call her a traitor in the past, but she could now hear some of the people laughing at her.

Why did Mu Ningxue leave Mu Tingying behind after leaving her with serious injuries, but nailed her to the cliff for everyone to see?

It was the punishment for being a traitor!

—

A Super Mage did not need a lot of time to cross one or two mountains.

Mu Yinfeng did not dare fight Mu Ningxue and her Ice Crystal Bow alone. She soon returned with her backup.

Mu Feiluan was the overseer of every disciple in the Mu Clan. His face twisted in rage when he saw the person he had chosen as a candidate for the clan meeting nailed to the cliff.

“Mu Ningxue!” Mu Feiluan did not expect Mu Ningxue to go so far!

Mu Yinfeng had also clenched her teeth.

Mu Ningxue was not merely humiliating Nanrong Ni. She was giving both of them a huge slap in the face!

“I was considering sparing your life at first, but after seeing what you have done, I believe even dismembering your corpse isn’t being too harsh on you!” Mu Feiluan snarled.

Mu Ningxue did not come to negotiate with Mu Feiluan.

They had kidnapped her father Mu Zhuoyun brazenly. Mu Ningxue did not even know if her father was still alive.

She was not naïve enough to assume Mu Feiluan would let Mu Zhuoyun and her go, even if she were to ask humbly.

The two sides were already irreconcilable adversaries. Why would Mu Ningxue show mercy to her enemy?

“Do you seriously think you can challenge the entire Mu Clan because you have control over the Ice Crystal Bow? I, Mu Feiluan, have never been scared of it. A shitty magic bow is nothing compared to my Ice Luan!” Mu Feiluan declared.

Mu Feiluan’s cultivation was even higher than Mu Yinfeng’s. Otherwise, why would he have such great power in the clan, and be trained as a potential candidate to become the next Patriarch?

Most importantly, their Innate Talents of the Ice Luan and the Ice Phoenix were already overwhelming, let alone when the brother and sister joined hands and combined the power of the Ice Luan and the Ice Phoenix!

It was the reason why the Heresy Judgment Court had invited them both to hunt down Qin Yu’er, who was considered a Heretic.

Mu Feiluan was not afraid of the Ice Crystal Bow.

As a matter of fact, Mu Ningxue had helped him by repairing the Ice Crystal Bow.

If he could take away the Ice Crystal Bow and find a suitable successor to inherit it, he would have another reliable subordinate under his command!

“Brother, you have to look out for her Bow. It almost killed me just now. If I didn’t have the Ice Phoenix’s Reincarnation, I would definitely be the person nailed to the cliff right now… Why don’t we ask the elders to take her down, since she has crossed the line first? She won’t be able to escape this time,” Mu Yinfeng advised him.

That arrow had planted great fear in her heart. She was a little afraid now, as her Ice Phoenix’s Reincarnation was no longer available.

“If we involve them, wouldn’t they point at my nose and scold me for being useless in the upcoming meetings?” Mu Feiluan harrumphed coldly.

The Ice Crystal Bow might be powerful, but it was not strong enough to dominate at the Super Level. Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng were almost unbeatable whenever they joined hands.

It was already embarrassing for Mu Feiluan that he had to deal with Mu Ningxue himself!

After thinking about it, Mu Yinfeng realized there was no reason for her to be afraid of the Ice Crystal Bow.

It was just a corrupted piece of magic Equipment that had been abandoned by them. So what if Mu Ningxue was able to control it?

With her brother Mu Feiluan around, her strength would increase significantly. It was unlikely she would be hurt by the Bow again!

In addition, Mu Ningxue had managed to outsmart her in the previous battle. She used the Absolute Ward to force her back so she was not in range to use her Wind Cry.

Her Wind Cry would greatly hinder Mu Ningxue’s control over the Ice Crystal Bow.

The Absolute Ward was obviously still on cooldown. Mu Yinfeng was confident she could prevent Mu Ningxue from firing another arrow with the Bow.

“Let’s stop her together!” Mu Yinfeng declared.

Mu Feiluan nodded. It went without saying that they would be joining hands against Mu Ningxue!

—

“People always say how shameless the Mu Clan is, but I’ve finally witnessed it with my own eyes!”

The voice arose from close to the main buildings. A confident figure was approaching them.

“A middle-aged man obsessed with cleanliness, with the face of someone suffering from kidney failure, and an ugly woman in the middle of menopause… The scummy brother and sister are picking on a beautiful young woman… Can the Mu Clan be any more shameless?”

The man was wearing a white shirt. It was supposed to be a fashionable shirt, but he looked like a thug because several buttons at the top of it were undone.

Mo Fan did not seem to be bothered about it.

A fight was about to break out. Why wouldn’t he undo some of the buttons?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Who do you think you are? A nobody like you has no right to be on this sacred mountain!” Mu Feiluan immediately recalled the stone covered in the little cub’s saliva after he saw Mo Fan.

“Mu Feiluan, is there something wrong with you? It’s obvious that I forced my way up the mountain. Did you think I would be holding an invitation from you?” Mo Fan was amused, and flagrantly looked behind himself as he was speaking.

Mu Feiluan was startled. He looked at the main buildings and the mountain path in that direction, and saw many disciples of the Mu Clan on the ground. They were either unconscious or rolling around in pain.

“Useless pricks!” Mu Feiluan was enraged.

The main buildings and the mountain path were supposed to be heavily guarded by the disciples, yet no one had managed to stop either Mo Fan or Mu Ningxue. Did the clan feed all its resources to pigs?!

“Brother, Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow is our only threat. Mo Fan is simply asking for his death if he dares to interfere with the battle!” Mu Yinfeng declared.

“Let’s take them out!” Mu Feiluan agreed.

—

Mo Fan exchanged glances with Mu Ningxue. “It’s been a while since we last joined hands,” he said.

“Mm, be careful, they are strong.” Mu Ningxue was extremely focused.

Mo Fan did not talk any further, and now was not the time to display public affection. The Ice Luan and Ice Phoenix were the best Ice Mages in China. Even the Ice Painter White Leopard was not as impressive as they were!

“Give me some cover, my Fire and Lightning Elements are also effective against…”

“You should cover me, and watch out for Mu Ningxue’s Wind Cry,” Mu Ningxue interrupted Mo Fan, and raised her Bow.

2

Mo Fan swallowed his words when he saw Mu Ningxue’s Bow. He subconsciously stepped behind her.

In terms of destruction, Mo Fan’s destructive Spells would not necessarily be stronger than Mu Ningxue if she had the time to accumulate her magic. After all, Mu Ningxue also had the Blessing of the God’s Seal.

Demon King Mo Fan believed it was better if he played a little supportive role while Mu Ningxue had the Ice Crystal Bow. He should let the valkyrie worry about defeating their enemies!

“How many arrows do you have left?” Mo Fan asked her.

Every arrow fired with the Ice Crystal Bow would draw on the energy of Mu Ningxue’s soul. Mu Ningxue was only using it as a last resort.

The Ice Luan and Ice Phoenix started to apply pressure on them before Mu Ningxue could answer.

—

“Sky-Freezing Heavenly Luan!” Mu Feiluan shouted.

The gray sky immediately turned icy blue.

Mo Fan looked up and realized it was not the sky that had changed, but a blue godly bird with its wings extended was looming over them!

Its sapphire eyes were more brilliant than the sun of the hottest summer. It was staring down at the tiny humans on the ground!

Mo Fan initially thought it was some kind of illusion created by the enemy’s Aura, but the others could obviously see the blue Luan in the sky, too.

Even the snow falling from the sky had turned blue!

The huge snowfall was covering a dozens of kilometers. It was like tiny fluffs of down the blue Luan was shedding in anger, yet capable of freezing mountains and rivers!

Not only was Mo Fan feeling a strong chill, he also felt like the magical bird of death was looming over him, and he would die a tragic death if he dared to act impudently.

Mo Fan was under strong mental pressure. He could barely stand when the Wind Cry exploded in his mind. He fell to his knees below the enormous creature, panting heavily.

Mo Fan had to adjust himself. The enemy’s Aura was just too strong. If he had not been a Space Mage with a high Will, he would have lost before the fight even took place!

“Can you do it?” Mu Ningxue stared at Mo Fan.

Mu Ningxue was also under great pressure when she faced Mu Yinfeng. She could barely use her magic!

“It seems like I’ll have to fight with everything I have right from the start,” Mo Fan answered grimly.

Both Mu Yinfeng and Mu Feiluan had obviously achieved the third tier of the Super Ice Element. Mo Fan could hardly rely on his other Elements.

Their enemies were not going to give him any openings. If he failed to hold off the pressure, he would lose the fight!

“Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan called out, his face turning grim. A pure flame sprouted on the frozen ground under his feet.

The tongue of flame grew rapidly and immediately spread across Mo Fan’s body. Even his hair turned into swaying flames!

A spectacular Soul Shadow appeared on Mo Fan’s back and protected him like a godly envoy of the Heavenly Flames.

The whole area was currently full of chilling blue ice crystals, ice branches, and drifting snow. Normally, a small fire like this could not have come alive in such a cold environment, but Mo Fan’s Calamity Fire and Heavenly Flames surged wildly, like they were ready to set the whole place on fire!

Mo Fan transformed into the King of Hell without any hesitation. He would not last for more than a minute if he tried to preserve his strength in front of powerful Mages like Mu Yinfeng and Mu Feiluan. He would not allow the enemy to suppress him with their Aura!

“Soul Formation Arrow!”

Mu Ningxue pinched the air. A crystalline silver arrow appeared in her hand.

She did not set the arrow on her Bow. She poured her magic into the arrow and stuck it into the ground!

The arrowhead sank into the ground. A dark blue ripple spread outward from the jutting shaft.

Ice magic lingered in the air like blue flashes of lightning. It established a magical boundary between the shaft and the rippling energy outside.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue stood in the barrier set up by the Soul Formation Arrow. The pressure from the terrifying Luan finally eased up a little.

Mu Yinfeng’s Wind Cry was no longer effective on them, and the Soul Formation Arrow had suppressed the other disturbances.

“There should be red wherever I go!” Mo Fan dashed forward after his mind was freed, stirring up a shocking red wave along his wake.

Mu Feiluan’s location was covered by rapidly spreading blue crystals. The frozen branches surrounding him made him look like the king of a frozen jungle.

Those ice branches broke into pieces and melted as Mo Fan’s flames devoured them!

His red wake was not made up of mere water, but scorching lava! Mo Fan was the only non-Ice Mage in the battle, but he was fearless in the form of the King of Hell. The icy environment could not prevent his Calamity Fire from devouring the area!

Even the Ice Luan would taste a piece of his flames!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Feiluan initially thought Mo Fan was retarded. How different was using Fire Magic in his world of ice than trying to start a fire on a wetland?

However, the disdain on Mu Feiluan’s face dissipated when the Calamity Fire surged at him!

The flames continued to grow stronger. Mu Feiluan suddenly found himself alone on a vast beach as a catastrophic scarlet tsunami was pouring down on him, ready to devour everything!

Mu Feiluan was stunned. How did Mo Fan possess such overwhelming power? Mu Ningxue had to rely on the Ice Crystal Bow just to stand a chance against them!

“Still as a Mountain!”

Mu Feiluan might have been shocked, but he was not afraid and remained unmoved. The enormous Luan above him was like his shadow, reflected in the sky like an ice mirror.

A thick wall of crystals took shape in front of Mu Feiluan as the flames surged at him. The blue crystals quickly formed a giant hill!

The rolling wave of flames was hot enough to melt steel and metal, but it only melted the outer layer of the hill. Mu Feiluan did not feel any of the heat while inside it.

He grinned coldly. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue’s abilities would indeed overwhelm Super Mages like Hou Ze and Ge Xiong, but the Super Level itself was a boundless range of mountains. When one climbed to the top of a mountain, they would discover a taller mountain above the clouds, and those two had not even reached its waist!

Mu Feiluan was smiling because he knew exactly where he, Mo Fan, and Mu Ningxue were standing on the range of mountains.

The two would never cross the gap between them!

“Lava Fist River!”

Mo Fan sent four Lava Fist Rivers at Mu Feiluan’s mountain, but even the scorching lava struggled to break through Mu Feiluan’s defense.

The Lava Fist Rivers that were supposed to last for a long time were even cooling down rapidly!

“Little Flame Belle, our fire isn’t strong enough,” Mo Fan told her.

Flame Belle Empress was displeased by the outcome. She began to refine her flames.

The Calamity Fire had different levels too, like the difference between a normal flame and a welding flame.

It was just a mountain of ice. She would melt it into a pool of water!

“Mo Fan!”

Mo Fan heard Mu Ningxue calling him as he was about to press forward.

He looked behind him and noticed Mu Yinfeng was hovering above Mu Ningxue.

She was circling in the sky while spreading sharp ice feathers in the air and on the ground while stirring up two vortexes.

The vortex on the ground was made up of sharp feathers. They were spinning rapidly and shredding everything in their path.

The vortex in the air consisted of ice fangs. They were spinning and coming together at times, like a ferocious beast tearing at its prey.

Mu Ningxue was stuck between the two vortexes. Her Soul Formation Arrow was only protecting her mind. It did not provide her with any physical defenses.

“I forgot I’m just a support!” Mo Fan palmed his head.

Mo Fan always broke into the enemy’s territory like a missile, but the situation was obviously different today.

Mo Fan had already had a go at it, but it would require a lot of effort just to break through Mu Feiluan’s defense. He quickly used his Space Magic to return to Mu Ningxue’s side.

Mu Feiluan was preparing his counterattack, and could not stop Mo Fan from Blinking away. It was difficult to restrain a Space Mage unless someone had established certain magic Formations to hinder the Space Element ahead of time.

White Wind Trails rose under Mu Ningxue’s feet, resisting Mu Yinfeng’s powerful attacks.

Mu Ningxue thought Mo Fan would be unable to make it in time to defend her, but she soon saw a white beam of light flickering toward her.

Each Blink was covering a distance of four hundred meters. Mo Fan was literally traveling at the speed of light as he managed to travel three kilometers in an instant.

“I’ll defend you, just draw the arrow!”

Mo Fan stood in front of Mu Ningxue. The ice crystals nearby melted as soon as he landed on the ground. They were replaced with scorching flames, which gradually grew into a forest!

“Fire God Pillars!”

Mo Fan slammed his fist on the ground as if he had connected the punch with the lava under the earth’s crust. Hundreds of cracks appeared, blazing red lava jetting out of them.

The rising lava formed an enormous pillar of flames in front of Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. It had the width of a mountain as it connected the ground and the sky.

Mu Yinfeng’s ice feathers and fangs melted almost instantly, nullifying her attacks. She thought that would be all there was to it, but Mo Fan’s Fire God Pillar was obviously not that simple!

The flames under Mo Fan’s feet expanded into a fiery sea, with hundreds of serpents rising from it!

The serpents seemed to have found the gate to the Heavens. They were gathering toward Mo Fan from every direction. A moment later, the serpents followed Mo Fan, who was now flying into the sky and charging at Mu Yinfeng!

Mu Yinfeng was shocked. The long and enormous fiery serpents were interweaving with one another as they faced her. Even the Ice Phoenix felt her scalp turning numb upon witnessing the terrifying sight.

She was the one who had claimed Mo Fan was not a threat to them, but she no longer thought the same when she saw his shocking Fire Magic.

“Still as a Mountain!”

A blue mountain formed rapidly in front of Mu Yinfeng. Its sturdy surface prevented the fiery serpents from getting any closer.

Mu Yinfeng let out a relieved sigh.

Luckily, her brother had lent her a hand in time. Otherwise, the Heavenly Flames would surely have burned her!

“Sister, don’t let your guard down. The Soul Shadow behind him is most likely a Ruler-level Flame Belle,” Mu Feiluan warned her.

“Ruler…Ruler-level?” Mu Yinfeng glanced at Mo Fan in shock.

A Ruler-level Elemental Spirit had the ability to Possess their Summoner and greatly enhance the power of their respective Element.

It explained why Mo Fan was able to cause so much destruction when his cultivation was weaker than theirs. He was relying on a Ruler-level Flame Belle!

The Flame Belles were the sacred spirits of the Heavens and Earth. Their primordial flames were not afraid of other Elements!

Even if the Ice Luan and Ice Phoenix had the strongest talents of the Ice Magic, even they could not suppress a Flame Belle’s flames.

“Brother, look out!”

Mu Yinfeng suddenly remembered something after catching her breath!

Chapter 2430: Forming a Valley with a Single Arrow

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Ice Crystal Bow!

Mu Ningxue had placed an arrow on the Ice Crystal Bow with the time Mo Fan had bought her.

Mu Yinfeng and Mu Feiluan did not sense its presence at first, but a strong chill struck their souls as soon as the crystalline arrow touched the bow.

Mu Ningxue pulled the string back.

The siblings felt their hearts pounding heavily, as if the God of Death was staring at them. Their pupils dilated as a strong chill spread from their heads to their feet.

Mu Ningxue was standing in the middle of fierce flames. The aura of the arrow swept the red Element into the air. She looked like an absolute beauty with her silver-white hair surrounded by falling maple leaves of fire!

Mu Ningxue took a deep breath. The fiery maple leaves drifted wildly as a silver arrow wrapped in wind strings flew straight at Mu Feiluan.

Mu Feiluan’s expression shifted instantly.

Not long ago, he had mentioned the Ice Crystal Bow was not a threat to him, and that the magic Bow was a mere trick compared to his Innate Talent!

However, his reaction said otherwise.

He quickly withdrew the Ice Magic around Mu Yinfeng, forming a giant mountain to be his shield while he was backing away.

The icy arrow swept forward and left a tiny hole in the mountain.

A second later, cracks started spreading from the hole. They were as tiny as the lines on a leaf, but they quickly grew as thick as the trunks of aged trees!

The whole mountain collapsed into pieces!

Mu Feiluan was hiding behind the mountain and given a massive fright. His defenses were able to stop Mo Fan’s Heavenly Flames, yet they could not stop a single arrow. How much power did the magic Bow give that arrow?

“Tungsten Clam Shield!”

Mu Feiluan held his arms and braced himself for impact. The backs of his arms had the pattern of a clam emblazoned on them. When the two patterns combined, a dark light burst out of them and formed a giant black shield in front of Mu Feiluan, which sank into the ground.

The ice arrow, still wrapped in white winds, struck the shield with a piercing clank.

Mu Feiluan and his shield were driven backward as the shield was covered in frost.

“Damn it!” He initially thought his incredibly expensive Magic Shield could stop the arrow, but he saw the frost was penetrating it regardless!

The Black Tungsten was not the same as ordinary rocks, which had a loose composition the frost could pass through easily. But the chill of the ice arrow still penetrated it without effort, making its internal structure as fragile as ice!

The Tungsten Clam Shield shattered into pieces as Mu Feiluan was knocked into an indoor training area by the impact.

A strong wind swept across Mu Feiluan’s face.

He was standing on the remains of the Tungsten Clam Shield. He turned around and saw an icy rift valley had replaced the training ground. He only let out a deep breath after a long moment!

Luckily for him, the Tungsten Clam Shield had deflected the ice arrow slightly before it shattered into pieces. Otherwise, the arrow would have split Mu Feiluan in half while he was defenseless.

It was too terrifying!

No wonder Mu Yinfeng was forced to use the Ice Phoenix’s Reincarnation after Mu Ningxue fired an arrow at her. Mu Feiluan’s defenses were stronger than Mu Yinfeng’s, but he had still barely survived the arrow!

“Sister, we can’t let her use the Bow again,” Mu Feiluan wheezed.

The Tungsten Clam Shield was Mu Feiluan’s best defensive Item. He would die for sure if he was unprepared for the next arrow!

The battle was happening behind the main buildings, back where the training grounds were located. There were over thirty such areas of varied sizes. Even the smaller ones were the size of a soccer field.

The vast opening had been replaced by an ice rift valley. It extended from where Mu Ningxue stood to the furthest training area, somehow creating a rift valley which would normally be found on a wild and ancient ice mountain.

The disciples of the Mu Clan did not dare get involved in the battle, and were watching the battle from a great distance. They subconsciously moved even further away after seeing the damage caused by Mu Ningxue’s arrow!

The arrow was strong enough to shake the Heavens and leave ghosts in tears. Even the threads of wind wrapping the arrow would shred anyone under the Super Level to pieces!

Mu Feiluan was soaked in cold sweat. He was now considering whether he should accept Mu Yinfeng’s suggestion of asking the elders for help!

“Stay in the air and keep them busy!” Mu Feiluan snarled. He did not want the others to see he was afraid.

Mu Yinfeng remained flying at a great altitude. She was a little relieved that the arrow had not been fired at her.

“There’s no way you are using that Bow again!” Mu Yinfeng screamed. Her voice echoed in the sky, stabbing at Mo Fan’s mind like a needle.

Mo Fan frowned. He found Mu Yinfeng’s ability annoying.

She was acting rampantly again after the Soul Formation Arrow’s duration had ended. Sharp ice feathers had started falling again.

Mu Feiluan’s multi-layered wings loomed over Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue like clouds, firing their icy feathers at Mo Fan and Mu Feiluan with every beat. The sharp feathers did not disappear after reaching the ground, and were spreading across the place like a carpet of needles.

Mo Fan did not immediately understand why Mu Yinfeng kept using the same move. He immediately set up a barrier with his Will to protect Mu Ningxue and himself when he saw Mu Feiluan approaching from the other direction.

“Ice Feathers Explosion!”

The new wave of feathers struck the feathers on the ground and created strong explosions. Mo Fan’s barrier struggled to fend off the combination of sharp feathers and the splinters from the explosions.

“Eyes of the Rock Demon: Heavens Gate!”

Mo Fan realized his Space Magic was at its limit. He immediately added an extra layer of protection with his Earth Element.

He activated the Circle of Crystal Teeth with a Star Constellation. A huge gate emerged from the ground, but it was covered in holes in just a few seconds!

Mu Ningxue immediately gathered more Ice Magic to strengthen Mo Fan’s defense.

However, Mo Fan shook his head and said, “I’m fine. You should gather your breath and take them out with your next arrow!” Mo Fan held his wrist after finishing his words. “Hand of Silent Thunder!”

He activated the Magic Tool that would transform all incoming destructive energy into Lightning Magic!

The powerful Ice Magic did not weaken when it passed the special Magic Tool. After all, it was not a defensive Item. It was just a Magic Tool capable of transforming other Elements into lightning!

The sharp feathers turned into lightning drills after passing through the vortex created by the Hand of Silent Thunder!

Chapter 2431: Blood Release, the Strongest Stance

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You will still be injured!” Mu Ningxue protested.

“I won’t die so easily. Stop being distracted and prepare to fire the next arrow!” Mo Fan answered her.

The lightning spikes tore Mo Fan’s shirt to pieces, leaving scorched marks on his tanned skin, like countless whips were lashing at him.

Mo Fan took a deep breath. It hurt much more than he had expected!

He had weakened the enemy’s attack with his Will and the Heavens Gate. He had also transformed it into Lightning Magic, which he was very resistant to, but he was still in great pain, like he had been sentenced to flagellation.

Their two enemies were ridiculously strong. He found it difficult to resist them with his current strength!

However, he had already stood his ground. The two of them could cut through metal when their minds were one!

Mo Fan was well aware of his duty!

“Lightning Meridian Points, give me your strength!”

Mo Fan switched his approach as the burden on his body increased, asserting control over the Lightning Magic that was whipping at him.

His eyes darkened and started flickering like wild lightning. He looked up and saw two white flashes slicing through the clouds. The wild lightning surged down at the world of ice like serpents!

“Lightning Dragon Tail!”

Mo Fan’s meridian points glowed like lightning. He had constructed a Star Palace merely by connecting the Lightning Meridian Points.

Mu Yinfeng tried to interrupt Mo Fan’s Channeling with her Wind Cry. To her surprise, Mo Fan was not using his mental strength to construct the Star Palace. He was using his meridians instead!

Huge lightning bolts appeared in the thick clouds, flickering with destructive red flashes of light.

More lightning bolts intertwined and formed a dragon’s tail, slamming down towards the ground. It instantly blew Mu Feiluan’s icy mountain straight into powder!

—

The Lightning Dragon Tail was heading straight at Mu Yinfeng. She tried to dodge it with her speed, but the dragon tail was too massive, consisting of hundreds of huge lightning bolts. Mu Yinfeng couldn’t fly out of its range!

The sky and the ground shook violently. The people on Mu Clan Mountain could not see a thing in the face of the blinding light.

The wings on Mu Yinfeng’s back almost snapped in half as the dragon tail sent her spiraling to the ground. Its lightning wrapped around Mu Yinfeng like snakes as she fell into the rift valley Mu Ningxue had created.

A deep pit the size of a lake appeared in the long rift valley. The disciples of the Mu Clan could see it clearly from a great distance away!

They had thought the battle involving Mu Feiluan, Mu Yinfeng, and Mu Ningxue was a showdown between supernatural entities. Little did they know, Mo Fan’s strength was not lacking to any of them. His Lightning Magic could easily slaughter thousands of demon creatures in an instant!

—

Mu Feiluan was stunned when he saw Mu Yinfeng crash into the pit.

He thought Mo Fan would sustain great injuries from Mu Yinfeng’s attack. To his surprise, Mo Fan was able to counter it with a single strong move. The Lightning Dragon Tail was almost as strong as a tier-three Super Spell!

Most importantly, the guy’s Lightning did not even have a Heaven Seed!

If Mo Fan was lucky enough to acquire a Lightning Heaven Seed one day, the spell would be even more terrifying!

How are these two so strong? It has not been that long since the World College Tournament!

If they had not kidnapped Mu Zhuoyun to force Mu Ningxue to come to Mu Clan Mountain, these two might have ended up strong enough to challenge them without relying on the Ice Crystal Bow, given enough time!

—

“Heh, I did it again,” Mo Fan grinned, revealing his white teeth.

His teeth were oddly white, because his whole face was scorched black by lightning.

Mu Ningxue had no idea why Mo Fan was still able to smile in such a grim situation. Her heart was tingling when she saw Mo Fan covered in wounds after withstanding the combined attack from Mu Yinfeng and Mu Feiluan.

Mo Fan had remained at her side regardless of what happened over the years. He was always on her side when she was humiliated and challenging unbeatable opponents.

Meanwhile, she had only done everything for her own sake. She had never done anything for Mo Fan.

1

When she was young, she chose to run away when she could not handle the hardship, as she did not understand her mother’s motives. She had asked Mo Fan to run away with her.

“You knew we couldn’t run away back then, right?” Mu Ningxue asked him.

Mo Fan did not understand what Mu Ningxue was referring to. After all, Mu Ningxue had never discussed their naïve elopement in the past.

A poor kid eloping with the rich daughter of a wealthy family?

Mo Fan’s thoughts had matured when he was still young. He knew how stupid his action was. He knew Mu Ningxue was not really going to run away with him.

She would eventually return to her castle. She would only receive a scolding from her family, but the consequences were far worse for him. If it had happened in ancient times, they would have beaten him to death. As for the modern era, he might not die as a consequence, but he would lose all his dignity. After all, the poor were always working for the rich!

“Of course I knew,” Mo Fan replied. He did not understand why she would bring it up now. Nevertheless, talking would not disturb them from gathering their breath.

“Why did you have to destroy your future then?” Mu Ningxue wanted to know. Her arrogance had almost cost Mo Fan his chance to enroll in a magic school.

“If I hadn’t done it, how would I have learned the difference between us?

“If I hadn’t done it, would I have clenched my teeth and worked so hard to earn what I want?

“After all, your heart is already mine. I just lack the strength to claim it… Now that you mention it, I’m still not strong enough. Otherwise, I would have long beaten those two assh**** to the ground and rubbed the soles of my shoes on them!” Mo Fan said.

1

“They aren’t the only ones in the Mu Clan. It has many more strong Mages,” Mu Ningxue warned him.

“That’s fine, it’s not like I have come unprepared. I can teach them what a real demon is if necessary!” Mo Fan poured a sacred Potion from the Parthenon Temple into his mouth.

The sacred Potion was imbued with many Blessings. It would heal his injuries like a Healer’s Healing Spirit.

Mo Fan had great resistance to any Lightning Magic. He also had outstanding physical attributes from the Demon Element. The wounds would not affect him much.

Mu Ningxue picked up the arrow stuck in the ground that had long lost its effects as Mo Fan finished drinking the Potion.

It seemed like she had gathered her breath, too.

She put the arrow on her hand and sliced her palm. Fresh blood immediately oozed out of the cut.

Mo Fan was stunned. He had no idea what Mu Ningxue was doing.

Mu Ningxue grasped the arrow firmly with her bleeding hand. The blood spread down its shaft to its feathers.

The Soul Formation Arrow erupted into flames after absorbing Mu Ningxue’s blood!

It was supposed to be an ice arrow, but the Runes on it were burning like an ancient power had been awakened!

“Blood Release is the final Seal of this Bow.

“Even though removing the final Seal is pushing myself a little too far, I don’t want you to be hurt again because of me.”

1

Mu Ningxue’s whole body turned red. The ancient Bow also pulsed with a sinister red light, blazing with jagged edges, as if it was burning her soul.

The red flame was not releasing any heat. An evil chill spread across the whole area instead, as if it had been placed into the depths of a freezing bottomless abyss!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A strong chill engulfed Mu Feiluan.

His surroundings had turned pitch-black. He could only see Mu Ningxue and her wicked red light. The ancient Bow in her hand was emitting a formidable Aura, and Mu Feiluan was struggling to stand properly. He felt like he was going to drop to his knees.

“I won’t let you use the Ice Bow again!”

Mu Feiluan was enraged, angry that Mu Ningxue and her Bow were putting so much pressure on him that he had an urge to surrender.

His Ice Luan was the strongest ability of the Ice Element in the world. He would only allow others to kneel before him!

1

The Ice Luan’s armored wings appeared on Mu Feiluan’s back. An icy material as firm as steel wrapped around his body, making him look like he was wearing some metallic heavy armor.

The Ice Luan had finally shown itself!

It was not as agile as Mu Yinfeng’s Ice Phoenix. Its whole body was made of icy metal; it looked sturdy, magnificent, and was brimming with power!

Mu Feiluan stepped towards Mu Ningxue. He knew how serious the threat of Mu Ningxue’s arrow was. He could not afford to let her finish the Blood Release and set the arrow on the glowing Bow!

His sister Mu Yinfeng also flew out of the pit smashed into the rift valley after Mu Feiluan transformed into the Ice Luan. Ice feathers circled her as she took off into the sky.

Her face turned pale when she saw the glowing red Bow in Mu Ningxue’s hand.

They were already having trouble withstanding the Ice Crystal Bow’s normal arrows, let alone when the Ice Crystal Bow’s full power was unlocked through Blood Release.

Its power could instantly kill them!

Mu Ningxue was really determined to kill them at all costs!

Mu Yinfeng had no time to worry about the wounds inflicted on her by Mo Fan’s lightning. She summoned even more ice feathers around her.

The ice feathers were not as hard as they were before. They attached to one another and took the shape of ice sparrows with sharp feathers and icy beaks.

More ice sparrows appeared, scattering above Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. They let out piercing screeches and dove at Mu Ningxue at Mu Yinfeng’s command.

—

Mu Ningxue stuck the burning magic Bow into the ground, and plucked the string like she was playing a harp!

The Bow did not fire anything, but the string started emitting glowing ripples. There was a loud chime, and the ice sparrows scattered across the sky dissipated like the distracting thoughts in her mind!

The ice sparrows were Mu Yinfeng’s strongest attack when combined with her Super Power. However, it was nullified so easily!

Most amusingly, Mu Yinfeng thought Mu Ningxue was going to fire an arrow at her. She subconsciously flew a great distance away, like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow.

She was embarrassed and angry, but could only fling the Ice Phoenix’s tail, trying to trap Mu Ningxue.

Meanwhile, Mu Feiluan’s heavy-armored Luan was diving from the sky. A piercing blue light sliced at Mu Ningxue.

The Ice Phoenix’s tail was incredibly long, extending clear from the clouds down to Mu Ningxue. The tail was very odd, and impossible to dodge.

The tail wrapped itself firmly around Mu Ningxue’s Bow.

Mu Feiluan was diving at her like a meteorite. Mu Ningxue had to either abandon the Ice Crystal Bow, or receive the direct impact of Mu Feiluan’s dive.

Abandon the bow? Mu Ningxue had no intention of doing that.

She held the crimson Bow tightly. More blood oozed out of the cut on her palm, and the bow’s Aura grew stronger!

She suddenly let go with her right hand, taking a step back and placing her bleeding hand on the invisible string.

The Ice Phoenix’s tail was tied to the Bow. It was dragging the Bow up with an enormous force.

Mu Ningxue placed both her hands on the string, standing her ground as firmly as a rock.

As the Bow was dragged higher, Mu Ningxue leaned backward. Her figure was as thin and tender as a willow. Her silver-white hair spread out like a muslin gown.

The string suddenly released a terrifying energy.

The Bow fired a bright red arrow brimming with murderous intent. It soared into the clouds.

Mu Feiluan thought Mu Ningxue was aiming at him, but to his surprise, the arrow brushed past him as he was diving from the sky.

Mu Feiluan glanced after the arrow in shock. The arrow had already flown into the distance like a red star, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Mu Feiluan did not overthink it as he slammed into Mu Ningxue. The ground immediately cracked open.

However, Mu Ningxue remained in place despite the strong collision, maintaining the same stance of an archer with an upraised bow.

How is she not hurt?, Mu Feiluan thought anxiously.

Mu Feiluan did not give up. He was about to attack Mu Ningxue again when he heard Mu Yinfeng’s scream, as if something had given her a fright.

Mu Ningxue lifted her gaze then. She was no longer holding the Bow. A red Arrow hovered beside her like a guardian spirit.

She was staring at the sky, which had turned pitch-black all of a sudden.

There was not a single hint of light from the stars, moon, and sun. The darkness had devoured all the light, turning the sky into a bottomless abyss. People could feel their souls trembling as they looked deep into the sky.

A strange sound occurred. A burning red bow slowly appeared in the sky.

The bow extended from one end of the sky to the other, like it was at the bottom of the abyss. It looked like the grin on a devil’s face.

It was covering the entire horizon!

Mu Yinfeng was screaming because the burning red bow had appeared above them!

An arrow soon appeared. It was as red as blood, with an evil and icy Aura!

The arrow was terrifyingly huge, as if it was joining the top and the bottom of the abyss. It had split the heavens and earth apart!

The whole place fell silent. The magic bow hung in the sky. Its arrow was not pointing at a specific target. It was going to slaughter every creature in the world!

“Ice Abyss: Soul Slaughtering Arrow!” Mu Ningxue uttered clearly and remorselessly.

The magnificent bow trembled as it fired the arrow. It destroyed the peaks on Mu Clan Mountain before it even landed on them!

Mu Yinfeng was still up in the sky.

She considered herself the invincible Ice Phoenix, but she was no different from a tiny bird compared to the Soul Slaughtering Arrow!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Feiluan was standing close to Mu Ningxue.

He was so angry that he wanted to tear her into pieces on the spot.

However, he could not move at all. The body of the Ice Luan and the royal blood of the Mu Clan flowing through him, the things he was the most proud of, had stiffened in fear. He could not take even half a step forward.

It was Mu Feiluan’s first time feeling the threat of imminent death, like his head was under a black guillotine.

There was nowhere he could run to, despite the vast opening!

This was the strongest form of the Ice Crystal Bow.

Many people had tried everything they could to repair the magic Bow. Mu Feiluan had simply shunned their attempts, as he had more faith in his outstanding Innate Talent.

In the end, he was the one being treated with disdain!

The peaks on the mountain were destroyed. The Mu Clan Mountain was a huge mountain. It was a luxurious clanhold, where each peak was considered a historical site, while also serving as a scenic spot. The disciples of the Mu Clan often cultivated in seclusion atop them.

However, the peaks had now disappeared. The red arrow did not touch anything, but nothing in the same plane as its altitude remained intact.

The Soul Slaughtering Arrow only lasted for a brief while, but it felt scarily long to Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng.

It was like the God of Destruction had frozen time. All lives were going to perish, and it would soon be their turn. There was nothing they could do except watch it happen!

—

The disciples of the Mu Clan were crawling on the ground. They shared the same feelings as Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng.

Mu Ningxue did not come here merely to start a bloodbath.

The mountains had collapsed while the buildings were razed to the ground, and even the gardens were destroyed. The people who fell to the ground in fear were physically unharmed, but their hearts were almost shattered by the arrow’s destructive Aura!

Mo Fan stood beside Mu Ningxue with a blank face.

He looked around himself, and saw nothing but destruction!

He had always been proud of his destructive magic. He always called himself the Demon King of Destruction, but when he compared himself to Mu Ningxue’s arrow, he was just a little shrimp stirring up some ripples, while Mu Ningxue was the daughter of the Sea Dragon King who could summon waves and stir up the oceans!

—

Everything calmed down after a long time. A gentle breeze on everyone’s faces brought them back to reality.

Mu Ningxue’s face was extremely pale, whether it was caused by the excessive loss of blood, or because her soul was in a delicate state.

She did not ask Mo Fan to lend her a hand, and walked toward Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng instead.

The Soul Slaughtering Arrow had targeted Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng, instead of the disciples of the Mu Clan!

There was no way they would be unharmed. She was not just trying to scare them!

“If you kill me… you will only find your father’s dead body…”

Mu Feiluan’s head was covered in blood, and he looked quite miserable compared to his previous appearance. He no longer had the strength to stand, so he was crawling away from Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue was a little surprised that he was still alive. He must have had some special protection to survive the arrow.

As for Mu Yinfeng, Mu Ningxue saw she was buried under a pile of mud. She could not have cared less whether Mu Yinfeng was still alive. Even if the Mu Clan tried to save her with magical herbs and pills, she would never recover from her injuries.

“Mu Ningxue, that’s enough!” an aged voice demanded.

Mu Ningxue was already standing in front of Mu Feiluan.

Mu Feiluan somehow found the strength to rise to his feet, and ran toward the old man. “Great Elder, save me!” he screamed.

Mu Ningxue waved her hand. Several chains with sharp tips sprang out of her fingers and stabbed into Mu Feiluan’s limbs.

She pulled the chains that were hooked onto Mu Feiluan’s limbs with great force, dragging him back like a dog.

“Mu Ningxue, if you dare to kill him…” the Great Elder threatened her

Before he could finish, the glowing red bow hovering beside Mu Ningxue flew into her hands.

She raised the Ice Crystal Bow and aimed it at the Great Elder, even though there was no arrow on it.

“One more word, and you will die with him!” Mu Ningxue pulled the string back, her face colder than ice.

1

The Great Elder froze. His face flushed with anger, but he did not dare say another word.

The Great Elder was sure that Mu Ningxue would kill herself if she fired another Soul Slaughtering Arrow. However, under the circumstances, Mu Ningxue might not hesitate to take the entire Mu Clan Mountain down with her!

The Great Elder was a peak Super Mage, but he still was not confident he could stop Mu Ningxue’s Soul Slaughtering Arrow!

The ancient Bow had once been the Mu Clan’s strongest Weapon, but it was now under Mu Ningxue’s control. It was a great nightmare for the clan, especially since Mu Ningxue was now standing on the opposite side from them.

Mo Fan came forward and glanced at the Great Elder, who was trying his best to swallow his words.

The other members of the clan meeting had arrived now. Mo Fan was disgusted by the smug looks on their faces.

The battle had been going on for some time, yet none of them had bothered to show up. They had only intervened when Mu Feiluan was close to death!

“Old man, shouldn’t you bring Mu Zhuoyun out by now? You better hope he’s unharmed, or this place is going to turn into a cemetery holding the graves of thousands of your disciples. As for you old pricks, we’ll do our best to kill as many of you as possible!” Mo Fan swore while pointing at the Great Elder.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan… Can’t we just sit down and talk properly? Why do we have to complicate things further?” Mu Dao spoke up.

“You old punk, you asked me to give Wu Ku’s remains to the Highest Enforcement Union, but you asked your men to kidnap my father-in-law? You’re such an assh***!” Mo Fan retorted.

Did he think he could just show up at the end to settle the dispute?

“What do you want, then? Are you seriously trying to take on the whole clan? Do you think the Ice Crystal Bow is unstoppable?” a skinny tall man in a blue outfit harrumphed coldly.

“Mu Fangzhou, you be quiet. Go and bring Mu Zhuoyun here,” Mu Dao ordered him.

—

Mu Zhuoyun was soon brought over.

The people had obviously changed him into some clean clothes in a rush. He looked haggard and worn out, but he was not in any danger.

Mu Ningxue’s emotions finally calmed down a little after she saw her father was fine.

“Ningxue, I’m fine, let’s just go.” Mu Zhuoyun seemed nervous and uncomfortable.

1

Mu Ningxue might have the Ice Crystal Bow, but Mu Zhuoyun knew she could not take on the entire clan.

Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng were not even ranked in the top ten in the clan, not to mention the Mu Clan also had a Forbidden Mage!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“You’re leaving? Do you really think our clan is someone else’s farm, that you can just barge in, destroy everything, and leave after saying sorry?” Mu Fangzhou snarled.

“Even the most respected Mages in the world would not dare to be so insolent in front of us, let alone some young Mages who are just a little outstanding!” another middle-aged man in a Chinese tunic suit declared.

These people were the elders of the Mu Clan. Not only did they have a formidable status in the country, they were far stronger than Mu Yinfeng and Mu Feiluan!

Mu Fangzhou and the middle-aged man were both peak Super Mages!

“You might have misunderstood. We have no intention to apologize,” Mo Fan replied airily.

Mu Fangzhou almost lost his temper when he heard the words. Mu Dao quickly stopped him.

“Everyone, Mu Feiluan has already messed up. Why don’t I take over from here?” Mu Dao suggested.

“Letting you take over will only bring shame to our name. We’ll take them down and decide what we should do with them later!” Mu Fangzhou was not in the mood to talk peacefully.

There was no need to negotiate when they were absolutely stronger!

—

Mu Ningxue had never planned to talk nonsense with these people from the beginning. Mu Feiluan might be responsible for the decision to cripple her cultivation, but without the clan meeting’s consent, he would not have dared to come up with such a bold decision himself.

The Ice Crystal Bow was still emitting a red light. Mu Ningxue fixed her eyes on Mu Fangzhou, who had the urge to start a fight.

Her pupils dilated as the Bow released its power again. A strong chill spread over the people of the Clan, especially the hostile Mu Fangzhou.

Mu Fangzhou was enraged. Mu Ningxue was seriously not treating the elders of the clan with any respect!

The rest of the elders were obviously not going to let Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue do whatever they pleased, and quickly unleashed their abilities. Their Auras were as formidable as enormous glaciers. The pressure alone could crush a person’s heart!

They were all using Ice Magic, constructing Star Palaces at a shocking speed, as if they were doing something casual. Their Auras were comparable to the Ice Crystal Bow’s Aura.

“Guys, guys, shouldn’t you look behind you first before you do anything…” Mu Dao said helplessly.

Had they been living a comfortable life for too long? Couldn’t they sense the terrifying presence behind them? If the creature ambushed them from behind, it might kill several peak Super Mages with a single move!

In the end, humans were still inferior to demon creatures!

The elders who were planning to start a fight, including Mu Fangzhou, finally looked behind themselves.

Their bodies stiffened after just a quick glance. They were immediately overwhelmed by fear and despair, as if they were falling into the mouth of an enormous snake!

How long had the enormous snake been watching them from back there?

The peaks of the nearby mountains were destroyed, but the remains of the mountains were still around. A gigantic body had filled up the gaps between them.

Its black scales were clear and terrifying to behold.

Its head was the size of a skyscraper as it moved forward and hovered above a valley. It was not very far from the group of elders.

Its eyes were fixed on the backs of the elders, but it did not make even the slightest sound despite its size. It was simply staring at the elders who were about to make their moves.

The elders were given a huge fright as soon as they turned their heads around.

It was rare for them to break out in a cold sweat at their age and cultivation, let alone almost suffocating from the sense of death.

They immediately realized why Mu Dao had insisted they should calm down and talk things out peacefully.

What the heck!?

They were at their capital! They were at Mu Clan Mountain!

Why did he release the Totem Beast, who was supposed to be the guardian of Hangzhou!?

The enormous snake had grown even stronger after shedding its skin. It had an overwhelming Aura now. It might be close to achieving the Emperor Level!

“Mo Fan, what do you mean by this!?”

“You brought the national beast and stirred up chaos in Greece when you threw a tantrum at the Parthenon Temple. Are you trying to do the same thing on Mu Clan Mountain? Do you really think you can do anything you want because you have the Black Totem Snake’s support?” Mu Fangzhou snarled. He had managed to stay the calmest among the elders.

“Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng have you old punks supporting them. Why can’t I ask for the Black Totem Snake’s support, too? You shameless pricks even agreed with Mu Feiluan’s decision to cripple someone. I’m telling you, I won’t forgive anyone who dares to harm my Xuexue! I might not be able to take down the whole clan, but I will kill as many of you as I can!” Mo Fan shot right back.

Mo Fan turned to Mu Ningxue after he was done scolding them. “Xuexue, why don’t you cripple Mu Feiluan, since he wanted to cripple you first? Let’s see who dares to bully you again!”

Mu Ningxue had the same thought. The frost of the ice chains that were hooked onto Mu Feiluan’s limbs were penetrating his soul continuously. In just a few minutes, he would lose all his cultivation and turn into a cripple.

It was not a common skill, but Mu Ningxue had spent some time learning it to get even with the Mu Clan. Her mother Mu Xumian had been the one who had taught her how to cripple one’s cultivation with the Ice Element. Mu Xumian was once a member of the Disciplinary Hall!

Mu Fangzhou had quickly realized Mu Ningxue was using the Soul Crippling Chains of the Disciplinary Hall.

It was why he had insisted on starting a fight, even when Mu Ningxue was pointing the Ice Crystal Bow at him. He wanted to stop Mu Ningxue from turning Mu Feiluan into a cripple, as the clan had invested a lot of resources in training Mu Feiluan.

However, the others were too afraid to make a move.

The Black Totem Snake was watching them. He had not made a single sound, nor did he release his poison mist. He was simply staring at the elders.

As soon as anyone moved, he would tear them to pieces!

“So, can I take over now?” Mu Dao inquired calmly.

“Just pay for the damage, they can settle their personal conflicts between themselves. I have no time for disputes of the young ones,” an elder with a white beard spoke up.

In his eyes, Mu Yinfeng and Mu Feiluan were still young members of the clan.

“It turns out Mu Feiluan has indeed made a terrible mistake. He has proven it with his tragic defeat.”

Mu Feiluan had convinced the clan to abandon Mu Ningxue by claiming Nanrong Ni and Mu Tingying had more potential than her. Mu Ningxue was replaceable, and they would retrieve the Ice Crystal Bow from her.

But now, how old was Mu Ningxue? How old were Mu Yinfeng and Mu Feiluan?

The outcome of the battle had proven Mu Ningxue was a lot more talented than either of them!

—

Mo Fan grinned coldly. These old pricks had only changed their attitude after the Black Totem Snake showed up.

In the end, only whoever was stronger had the right to say anything!

Luckily, Mo Fan had long been aware of that.. He had brought the Black Totem Snake along as just such a precaution.

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The elders stopped troubling Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue in front of the Black Totem Snake after Mu Dao convinced them to let him handle the rest of the matter.

Not only did they hold prestigious roles in the clan, they also had countless people under their command. It was not worth risking their lives for Mu Feiluan, who was almost crippled.

The Black Totem Snake might be the Hangzhou’s Guardian Beast, but it was still a ruthless animal. It could escape back to West Lake after killing them. The authorities and people of Hangzhou would certainly take its side, and the matter would remain unresolved.

The Black Totem Snake would not suffer any consequences, but the elders of the Mu Clan might die for their recklessness. Who would be willing to take a risk for something so meaningless?

Mu Fangzhou and the Great Elder eventually calmed down after Mu Dao whispered something into their ears.

After a while, Mu Dao approached Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. He held his hands in front of him and bowed insincerely to Ningxue’s father Mu Zhuoyun to express his apology.

He then turned to Mu Ningxue, “You are indeed a rare talent, being able to control the Ice Crystal Bow. You were in the Mu Clan for some time, so you should know Mu Feiluan has been managing everything related to the disciples. Mu Feiluan is mainly responsible for everything that you have gone through. He might have a little say in the clan meeting, but he still had a long way to go before he could rule the Mu Clan. If the other members and elders weren’t restricting him, do you think you could have lived a peaceful life on Fanxue Mountain during these recent years?”

Mu Dao was telling the truth. At least he had disagreed with the clan’s decision to cripple Mu Ningxue during the World College Tournament.

Unfortunately, Mu Feiluan had the most say when something involved the Mu Clan’s disciples. Mu Dao had no reason to question Mu Feiluan’s authority regarding the matter.

However, the situation was different now. Mu Ningxue was currently holding Mu Feiluan hostage like a dying dog. She could decide his fate in an instant!

“Xuexue, brother Mu Dao is right. The rest of the elders didn’t know Mu Feiluan brought me here.” Mu Zhuoyun was more worried about starting another fight with the Mu Clan.

Going against Mu Feiluan and going against the whole Mu Clan were two very different things!

“You should put the Bow away. If it continues to overdraw your energy, you will only have several years left to live. Even if you don’t want to admit it, your surname is still Mu. We have already lost Mu Feiluan and Mu Yinfeng, two great talents, and we wouldn’t want you to die so quickly. It would be another great loss to our clan,” Mu Dao added.

Mu Dao looked at Mu Feiluan after he finished the sentence.

Mu Feiluan’s face was extremely pale. It twisted further when he saw no one was willing to help him. “Mu Dao, you f**king hypocrite!” he screamed.

“She retaliated because of what you did to her, and you lost. What else can you say?” Mu Dao mocked him back.

“Great Elder, Mu Fangzhou, are you really going to let those two act so atrociously in our territory? Is our clan so cowardly? It’s just the Black Totem Snake. Just kill it!” Mu Feiluan screamed.

He could already feel his body failing as the frost continued to spread inside him.

The Great Elder and Mu Fangzhou did not react to his words. If they did, the Black Totem Snake would most likely move too!

“You can’t cripple me, you can’t turn me into a cripple, Mu Ningxue!” Mu Feiluan shrieked.

Mu Dao ignored the shouts and walked toward Mo Fan. “Mo Fan, you should know our reputation matters more than anything. The Black Totem Snake might hold the elders back for now, since fighting that thing won’t bring them any good, especially at their age. But they won’t let the matter go so easily. If the Mu Clan starts pulling strings, there won’t be any peace left for Fanxue Mountain!”

“Just spill the beans, enough with the twists and turns,” Mo Fan replied irritably.

“Can’t you show the elderly some respect? I have been friends with Feng Li for a long time. If he’s your mentor, that makes me your senior, too. Do you understand?” Mu Dao hinted at him.

Mo Fan dug into his ear and pretended he did not hear a thing.

Mu Dao went closer and said with a softer voice, “The Mu Clan needs to protect its reputation, but what you two did is a huge slap to their face. They will definitely try to get their revenge. If you want my help to settle it, hand over Wu Ku’s remains.”

Mu Dao was currently a Councilman of the Highest Enforcement Union. He needed Wu Ku’s remains to earn back the Highest Enforcement Union’s reputation after the series of troubles the Black Vatican had caused in the country.

After all, the people would question the Highest Enforcement Union’s reliability as long as Salan was still on the run.

Wu Ku’s remains might be able to pacify those people a little. If the Highest Enforcement Union did not have any results, its formidable status would be threatened by people’s complaints!

“Deal,” Mo Fan agreed promptly.

Mu Dao’s face darkened.

This little jerk was acting like he was going to fight the whole clan until the end, but he did not hesitate to agree with the condition! Wasn’t he reluctant to yield just a moment ago?

The old guys were already shameless at times, but Mo Fan was a cut above them!

“You may cripple Mu Feiluan, but you must spare his life. This is very important, or the Great Elder and Mu Fangzhou won’t let you leave unharmed,” Mu Dao warned them.

“What did you tell them just now? Why are they willing to let us go?” Mo Fan was curious.

“You are asking too many questions. Just take your snake and go. If those old men lose their temper again, you won’t be able to leave, and they will peel off that snake’s skin, too!” Mu Dao replied stiffly.

“So be it, but I’m not going to pay for the damages. I’m broke,” Mo Fan shrugged.

Mo Fan left without any hesitation. There was no point in starting a fight with the elders of the Mu Clan, but it was important to let them know he was not someone to mess with!

“I would like to ask you for another person’s remains, too.” Mu Dao’s tone had changed.

Mo Fan frowned. He was still not sure which side Mu Dao was on.

“Blue Bat,” Mu Dao whispered to him.

Mo Fan was startled, and looked at Mu Dao in disbelief.

Only a few people knew about Blue Bat’s existence. Why would Mu Dao mention her name?

“What? Do you think a cunning old politician like me has never done any good deeds?” Mu Dao sniffed.

“She was one of yours?”

Mu Dao did not answer the question. He waved his hand, indicating Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue could leave now.

After they walked a few steps away, Mu Dao bent his knees and helped Mu Feiluan up.

Mu Feiluan’s face was blank. He never thought this day would come after he had arrogantly decided to cripple Mu Ningxue’s cultivation.

Despite his extraordinary Innate Talent and status in the Mu Clan, he was turned into a cripple in front of everyone!

How had something so bizarre happened to him?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Black Totem Snake turned into a thick mist after Mo Fan left.

The mist did not dissipate for a long time. The elders were a little displeased, as they could not tell if the snake was still on the mountain…

—

The Great Elder, Fang Ning, was sitting inside a secret chamber with walls made of jade stones, half-lying on a chair. A dim light was hanging above him, giving him a sinister and cold appearance.

“How is Yinfeng?” Fang Ning asked.

“She’s done for. She can only lie on a bed for the rest of her life, unless we send her to Parthenon Temple and a Great Muse or someone with a higher rank heals her,” Mu Fangzhou said.

“Then just send her somewhere random with a scenic view,” Fang Ning said indifferently.

“What about him?” Mu Fangzhou pointed at Mu Feiluan, who was lying on a bed.

Mu Feiluan was awake, and glaring at the Great Elder with great resentment.

“Don’t look at me like that, you should be relieved that you are still alive,” Fang Ning chided him.

“Great Elder, since when is our clan so petty that we would allow two little jerks to bully us? Humph, once I find a way to recover my cultivation, I’ll kill everyone on Fanxue Mountain!” Mu Feiluan swore.

Since the Mu Clan had a way to cripple one’s cultivation, it would also have a way to recover one’s cultivation. The only problem was finding a thousand-year-old Tianshan Sacred Lotus!

Luckily, the Mu Clan was resourceful enough to find something even as rare as a Tianshan Sacred Lotus.

“Don’t you worry about it,” Fang Ning waved his hand.

“Are you going to avenge me?” Mu Feiluan’s eyes glittered with excitement.

The Great Elder was unable to do anything because of the Black Totem Snake. He was not necessarily afraid of the Black Totem Snake, but if a fight broke out between him and the Black Totem Snake, it would surely cause massive destruction to the Mu Clan Mountain.

Besides, Fang Ning’s greatest ability was not his impressive cultivation, but his cunning and cruelty. Even the old foxes of other clans were no match for him!

“Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow is close to being perfect. We can’t afford to leave it in the hands of someone we can’t control,” Fang Ning declared.

Everyone had witnessed the power of the Ice Crystal Bow. It had made Mu Ningxue extremely powerful even though her cultivation was weaker than Mu Yinfeng and Mu Feiluan. Even Fang Ning was wary of her.

“HAHAHA, it’s only a matter of time until Mu Ningxue ends up dead if the Great Elder is involved. All these sufferings I endured are nothing!”

“Oh Feiluan, I’m sorry to tell you that you might have to suffer a little more. After all, you have brought our clan such a troublesome enemy. Many clans are constantly watching us, so we can’t really do anything that would damage the clan’s reputation. They will surely make a huge fuss if we try to do anything to Mu Ningxue,” Fang Ning told him.

“I’ll do everything I can to help if Great Elder is planning to teach those two assh**** a lesson. Unfortunately, I’ve lost my cultivation, so I would need elders’ help to recover first,” Mu Feiluan said sincerely.

“I just want to make sure you understand. Don’t worry, I promise I will avenge you. For now, you just need to give Mu Fangzhou your full cooperation. It’s very simple,” Fang Ning said.

Mu Feiluan was confused.

What did he need his cooperation for? Did they want him to hand over his spot temporarily?

It was not a big problem. After all, he needed time to recover his cultivation. No one was going to listen to a cripple.

The people of the Mu Clan might look civilized on the surface, but everyone was vicious and greedy inside. The clan strongly followed the law of the jungle.

“Well, Feiluan, we have established a private military camp in the north and conducted some research on some forbidden magic. Unfortunately, none of them have succeeded. The magic to cripple one’s cultivation is only a by-product of our research. The actual thing is stronger and more impressive…” Mu Fangzhou said.

“What is it?” Mu Feiluan had a bad feeling about this.

A black Aura suddenly rose from Mu Feiluan’s body. Something similar to tentacles flew out of the Aura and attached themselves to Mu Feiluan’s forehead, wrists, ankles, stomach, and heart!

Mu Feiluan’s eyes widened in shock. He wanted to scream, but Fang Ning casually stuck his staff into Mu Feiluan’s mouth.

Mu Feiluan started shrinking, as if the tentacles were sucking his life away. His delicate body continued to wither.

A noble Ice Luan with its wings spread appeared behind Mu Fangzhou. Its feathers were delicate and gorgeous, each with a mythical Rune that contained strong Ice Magic.

The feathers of the Ice Luan gradually became clearer. Mu Feiluan could not believe his eyes.

My Innate Talent…

The Ice Innate Talent that he was the proudest of was being transferred into Mu Fangzhou’s body!

Impossible!

Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow was transferable because it was a piece of magic Equipment bound to her soul. They could retrieve the bow by destroying her soul and passing it on to the next successor.

However, the Ice Luan was his Innate Talent! How was it possible to take away one’s Innate Talent and transfer it to another person?!

“Oh Feiluan, you should know by now that the Mu Clan has always followed the basic rules of survival. If you had won, you would still be Mu Feiluan. Unfortunately, you lost…

“Mu Ningxue is stronger than you. The Ice Crystal Bow is more valuable than you.”

“As for you, we should not waste your outstanding Innate Talent. Consider it a bargaining chip so Mu Fangzhou will avenge you!”

“I believe you can accept the offer for our clan’s glory, right? Don’t worry, it won’t kill you. You can keep your sister company. The clan can still afford to take care of two people in a vegetative state.”

Fang Ning pulled out his staff from Mu Feiluan’s mouth and rubbed it clean on the carpet.

Mu Feiluan was covered in blue veins. His shrunken body greatly contrasted with his usual handsome appearance. He was almost beyond recognition.

“Shouldn’t you have the resolve, since you were born into the Mu Clan? You only have yourself to blame!

“We will avenge you, but you should also sacrifice yourself when the Mu Clan needs it.”

The Mu Clan had always been cruel and cold. It was only interested in growing stronger.

Those cruel rules had applied to both Mu Ningxue and Hou Ze. Mu Feiluan was no exception to them!

The Mu Clan had never had any compassion for losers. However, the clan had a different punishment for traitors!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The mountain woods were covered in green maple leaves. Several young adults with earphones on were taking a morning run on the quiet paths.

Higher on the mountain stood a pavilion with a view of Fanxue City. Two middle-aged men were playing chess inside it, each with a pot of tea on their side. People who walked by would give them a quick glance. Even the squirrels on the branches were eating nuts and watching the match in silence.

“Brother, you always went easy on me when we played chess back in the old days. Why did you checkmate me so quickly?” Mu Zhuoyun asked helplessly.

“Why don’t you say my skills have improved over the years?” Mo Jiaxin laughed and poured tea into Mu Zhuoyun’s cup.

Mu Zhuoyun immediately stopped him and said, “I can do it myself.”

“It’s fine,” Mo Jiaxin insisted on pouring half a cup of tea for Mu Zhuoyun. He added, “Forgive my son for his immature acts. Either way, you have taken good care of me over the years.”

The two had known one another for almost thirty years. They enjoyed each other’s congenial company.

“To be honest, I’ve wasted so many years pursuing fame and power. I should really learn from you by enjoying my life and fulfilling my responsibilities as a father,” Mu Zhuoyun murmured.

“I’m just a good-for-nothing. How can I compare myself to you? Speaking of which, how come you called me here to play chess today? Oh, I remember now,” Mo Jiaxin took a sip of his tea. He drank the tea without noticing the tiny branch that had fallen into the cup.

“I’m really grateful for what you did. Otherwise, I would have been late back then. Your driving skills are unmatched,” Mu Zhuoyun recalled.

“It all happened when we were still young. I must say, Mu Ningxue always reminds me of her whenever I see her. She was really like a phoenix in our little city back then. Every man our age was fond of her. You had a lot of competitors too,” Mu Jiaxin recalled the past. It somehow added some extra taste to the bitter tea he was drinking.

“Speaking of which, you were the final winner in the end. Your son has taken my daughter,” Mu Zhuoyun said.

“HAHAHA, so the father is unwilling to let go of his daughter?”

“I used to think it was good to have a daughter. She’s just as gorgeous as her mother. I treated her like a pearl in the palm, but now that I think about it, having a son seems better,” Mu Zhuoyun remarked.

“We are already family. Why are you saying that now? If Mo Fan dares to be disrespectful to you, just beat the crap out of him. He won’t dare to fight back,” Mo Jiaxin said.

“By the way, brother, didn’t you always want to go around the world when you were young? You should do it before the sea monsters show up. Who knows what the world will become in the next two or three years? I remember you were collecting stamps from different countries. Perhaps the cities on the stamps might be gone by then,” Mu Zhuoyun mentioned.

“That was a long time ago. Do you think I still have the mood to go traveling?” Mo Jiaxin shook his head.

“Think of it as fulfilling your dream. I will be visiting a few countries soon, to find buyers for the Golden Reefs. You can come with me, but I won’t have much time to accompany you. Perhaps I can ask my nephew to bring you around?” Mu Zhuoyun inquired.

“Well…” Mo Jiaxin was a little hesitant. He had not gone to many places in China, let alone going overseas!

“I’ll help you with the visas,” Mu Zhuoyun smiled.

“Fine, I’ll go, but there’s no need to ask your nephew to accompany me. I can go around myself. If I can’t speak their language, I’ll just use hand gestures. If it’s not enough, I’ll just download a translation app with my phone!” Mo Jiaxin nodded.

“It’s decided then. Let us play one more match. I don’t believe I can’t win a single match today!”

—

—

Mo Fan was deeper in the mountains.

Yu Shishi was still living like a woman in a hidden land of peace and prosperity. She spent her days drying red beans and living a peaceful life that was nothing like the life../style of a city.

“Have some red bean soup.” Yu Shishi handed Mo Fan a bowl of soup and asked him, “How is Ningxue doing?”

“She needs more time to rest. She was consuming her life span when she overdrew the power of her soul. Perhaps she thinks she isn’t aging quickly enough!” Mo Fan grumbled.

Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow had several Seals on it. She only had control over a small portion of the Seals. She could barely control the Ice Crystal Bow’s full power.

She was already forcing it when she fired the arrow that had forced Mu Yinfeng to use the Ice Phoenix’s Reincarnation. She could only fire two of the same arrows at most.

As for Blood Release, she was firing the arrow at the cost of her own lifespan. She might have crippled Mu Feiluan, but she had paid a huge price for it.

It was difficult to heal damage inflicted on a person’s soul. Mo Fan was worried that her body might deteriorate greatly after she reached thirty.

“I still have a tiny petal of the Tianshan Sacred Lotus. I’ll mix it with some herbs for her. She’ll be fine,” Yu Shishi said.

“That’s great. Hang on, why do you still have the Tianshan Sacred Lotus? Didn’t you use it to refine my Heaven Seed? Did you take some of it as your commission?” Mo Fan inquired bluntly.

“Do you still want me to heal Ningxue?”

“I’ll only believe half of your words from now on!” Mo Fan sniffed.

“Your Lesser Heaven Earth Seed is almost ready. You should really thank Ningxue, she has been using Fanxue Mountain’s resources to find the ingredients for you. She even went out to the sea to look for some of them. You know how dangerous the sea monsters are now…” Yu Shishi sniffed.

The words filled Mo Fan’s heart with warmth. He had finally conquered Mu Ningxue’s body and heart after so many years. She was acting more like his wife now!

“You should hurry up and improve your Earth Element. A Heaven Seed is powerful, but without the support of your cultivation, it’s no different from a rock on the side of the road!” Yu Shishi went on.

“Do you think it’s easy? Try looking after so many Elements on your own! I’m already a genius, being able to improve four of my Elements to the Super Level! What else do you want me to do? How many Universe Veins will I need?” Mo Fan grumbled.

“How uneducated are you? Even a woman who barely goes outside knows a Mage can only use a Universe Vein once. Its effects are only a tenth as strong when you use a second one!” Yu Shishi told him.

“Huh?” Mo Fan was lost for words. A Mage can only use one Universe Vein?

Did that mean he had to look for another way to improve the rest of his Elements to the Super Level?

Mo Fan’s head started to spin. How am I supposed to improve the Summoning Element to the Super Level now?

His Earth Element and Chaos Element were still lacking some maturity, too!

“By the way, did you know the little cub went home with her mother?” Yu Shishi continued.

“I was wondering where she was. I only saw the little moth playing on her own.”

“Mm, the ice on Tianshan Mountain has melted, so the mountain is accessible again. One night, I heard a howl in the distance.. Not long after, the little cub came up and licked me to say goodbye,” Yu Shishi told him.

Chapter 2438: The Contradictory Totem Beast

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The hut was not as lively after the naughty little cub departed.

Little Moon Moth Phoenix was motionless on the ground. She was obviously a little unhappy after her friend had left.

Little Flame Belle was comforting Little Moon Moth Phoenix like a big sister.

“Why didn’t you figure out a way to convince Mu Ningxue to sign a Contract with the little cub? As a matter of fact, Mu Ningxue would benefit greatly if she took the little cub as her Contracted Beast. After all, her Innate Talent makes her body abnormal. If she doesn’t find a way to condition it…” Yu Shishi prodded him.

“I’ll try, but Mu Ningxue seriously didn’t like the little cub.”

Once Mu Ningxue signed a Contract with the little cub, it would be a lot easier for the little cub to escape from Tianshan Mountain. The Contract Summoning would not teleport the little cub to Mu Ningxue right away, but the little cub’s mother would not worry too much if her child had a valid agreement.

“Does that mean you agree with me?” Yu Shishi asked. “Are you willing to convince Mu Ningxue to sign a Contract with the little cub?” Yu Shishi asked in a strange voice.

Mo Fan did not understand what Yu Shishi meant, and he just nodded. However, he immediately smelled some conspiracy after he agreed.

“You can come out now!” Yu Shishi smiled.

A creature like a round white potato rolled out from the shadow. She had a cunning grin on her face, exposing her fangs.

Mo Fan was left speechless. The little cub was still here!

Mo Fan immediately looked at the Moon Moth Phoenix, who was pretending to be down just a moment ago. She quickly turned around, like she was ashamed of doing something wrong.

These guys were putting on an act to trick him!

“Well, her mother did come here from Tianshan Mountain. She was howling from a few thousand kilometers away, asking the little cub to come home with her, but the little cub did not want to go. She says her mother won’t force her to go back anymore if she forms a Contract with a human,” Yu Shishi explained.

Mo Fan was lost for words.

Had the little cub already turned into a human? She had already learned how to deceive people by playing the emotional card!

“Ling!~”

Little Flame Belle seemed very happy, and flew around the little cub in circles. They were having a great time, despite the incompatibility of their Elements.

Little Flame Belle soon flew back to Mo Fan and hovered in front of him like she was saying, “Daddy, if you don’t agree, I’ll leave home right now!”

He sighed. “The little creature has bribed everyone,” Mo Fan caved helplessly.

The little cub rolled her eyes. She looked both cunning and adorable. The mountain was indeed livelier when the little cub was around!

“By the way, if Ningxue signs a Contract with the little cub, it might help with her injury. The little cub eats more Tianshan Sacred Lotuses than we eat vegetables. Her powerful soul should be able to help Ningxue condition her body,” Yu Shishi encouraged him.

The little cub nodded like she was beating garlic, telling them how impressive she was!

“Can’t you behave more like a Totem Beast? Do you know Baxia? He always regards his Guardian with disdain, but you are doing everything you can to offer yourself,” Mo Fan said, pointing at the little cub.

The little cub just lifted her head defiantly.

If the little cub could heal Mu Ningxue’s soul, Mo Fan was more than willing to let her sign a Contract with the little cub. The Ice Crystal Bow was too damaging for her soul. The side effects would slowly become apparent as time went by.

Mo Fan did not want Mu Ningxue to die at a young age like her mother had!

Mo Fan decided to try his best to convince Mu Ningxue, even though she was not too fond of the little cub.

Mu Ningxue was not interested in little animals. She also mentioned she did not like the little cub. She would rather leave her Summoning Element empty than have a Contracted Beast she did not like.

The little cub was the Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain, with the lineage of one of the four Sacred Totem Beasts, but her situation was the worst. She had finally found a potential Guardian she was fond of, but the person did not want her!

To think that a Totem Beast would be so desperate to offer herself to a human. Luckily, there were not many Totem Beasts left. Otherwise, she would be treated as a laughingstock by the others!

—

“Xuexue, I’m doing this because I’m worried about your well-being. If you don’t want her to annoy you, you can just leave her at Yu Shishi’s place. She enjoys staying there, too!” Mo Fan was sitting in front of Mu Ningxue.

The little cub was sitting beside him. She was parked upright with her little ears dangling to the sides, like she did not have any confidence.

She did not know why Mu Ningxue disliked her.

She had purposely washed her fur very clean in case Mu Ningxue was avoiding her because she was dirty. She wanted to make sure she was compatible with Mu Ningxue’s untouchable temperament.

Even though the little cub was from the Scar of Tianshan Mountain and had grown up eating Tianshan Sacred Lotuses, she had a feeling Mu Ningxue’s Aura resembled Tianshan Mountain more than her own. In comparison, the little cub felt like she had spent her days rolling in mud!

“Fine, but we’ll only sign a Contract,” Mu Ningxue finally agreed. She sounded reluctant and unwilling.

It sounded like she was saying, “I don’t mind having children, but you will have to take care of them!”

Mu Ningxue still disliked the little cub. She had only considered this because Mo Fan was worried about her.

It was not like Mu Ningxue did not find the little cub adorable to look upon, but the thing was too naughty. Mu Ningxue did not like her personality. If Mo Fan had not been so exceptional, Mu Ningxue would rather have spent the rest of her life alone in peace.

Mu Ningxue was fond of the Moon Moth Phoenix, rather than the little cub.

As for Little Flame Belle… she did not prefer Mu Ningxue, and Mu Ningxue did not like Little Flame Belle overmuch. It had nothing to do with their personalities. They were just incompatible because of their opposing Elements.

“Fine, I’ll deal with her. You just need to sign the Contract,” Mo Fan sighed.

I’ll take care of the naughty kid.

As a matter of fact, the little cub had always liked messing around with Mo Fan. She would show up whenever Mo Fan came back. They were just giving the little cub a valid identity and reason to be outside the Sacred Mountain. Nothing else would change.

—

Mu Ningxue successfully signed a Contract with the little cub.

Mo Fan noticed an immediate improvement in her complexion. It turned out Yu Shishi and the little cub were not lying to him. The little cub’s soul could indeed heal Mu Ningxue!

Mu Ningxue needed more rest, so Mo Fan left with the little cub. Ningxue looked relieved.

The little cub was normally fearless. She even dared lie to her mother, but she was like a well-behaved kid in front of Mu Ningxue.

She felt like she had lost her dignity as a Totem Beast, but she was happy now. She no longer had to go back to the boring Tianshan Mountain!

Chapter 2439: Crossbreed Dragon or Pseudo-Dragon?

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The little cub suddenly remembered something. She bit Mo Fan’s pants and tried to pull him in another direction.

“What now? Are you regretting it?” Mo Fan asked helplessly.

The little cub had a thick coat of fur. Things started falling to the ground and clanking loudly as she shook herself. It was surprising how many things she was hiding under her fur!

The little cub growled and waved her paws around.

“Little Flame Belle, can you translate for me? What surprise is she trying to give me?”

The little cub lowered her head and picked up a small jade bracelet, before running into Mu Ningxue’s room. She cautiously placed the special bracelet in front of Mu Ningxue’s door before running back to Mo Fan.

“What? You followed us to Mu Clan Mountain?” Mo Fan opened his eyes wide. “You took all of this from their treasure vault?”

The little cub put on an embarrassed face.

She told Mo Fan she was secretly following Mu Ningxue so she could lend her a hand if anything went wrong. She could at least help Mu Ningxue escape!

However, Mu Ningxue was unstoppable after she took out the Ice Crystal Bow. The little cub had decided to sneak into the Clan Hall and take some valuables since she had nothing else to do.

If the Mage there at the doorstep of the Forbidden Level had not sensed her presence, she would have robbed the entire treasure vault!

Mo Fan was left speechless.

Aren’t you supposed to be the Sacred Tiger of Tianshan Mountain? Why do you keep stealing other people’s stuff?

“I bet that Ice Jade Bracelet will be useful for her recovery. Are you giving the rest of the loot to me to thank me?” Mo Fan said.

The little cub nodded. She finally had a valid purpose to stay on Fanxue Mountain thanks to Mo Fan. She was willing to offer up her possessions!

“No wonder your mother keeps asking you to come home. She’s likely worried that you might be beaten to death if you were caught!” Mo Fan had to say.

The little cub had unique tastes. She would only take things that were extremely valuable!

The other four items might not be as valuable as the Ice Jade Bracelet, but each of them was worth a decent ongoing business.

Mo Fan just so happened to be running short on funds, too!

The little cub told Mo Fan that there was a rare Sacred Lotus in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. It would be a thousand years old after the next winter. She promised to pluck it and give it to Mu Ningxue to extend her lifespan and help her retain her youth!

Mo Fan was greatly pleased. The little cub had been a huge help in solving his biggest problems!

——-

Mo Fan headed back to the Magic City after staying at Fanxue Mountain for a few days.

The Clearsky Hunter Agency was in the Magic City. He was planning to accept a few jobs to fill up the black hole that had sucked away all his money.

He had always thought he would be rich after becoming a Mage, but he later realized that he still needed money for everything after reaching the Super Level, and it was huge sums every single time!

“Mo Fan, I found something great. Are you interested?” Zhao Manyan called him as soon as Mo Fan reached the Magic City.

He had finally come out of seclusion. It seemed he had almost mastered Wu Ku’s Water Praying Beads!

Mu Bai was in the Magic City, too, acting as a member of the South Wing Platoon. He had spent most of his time at its headquarters in the Magic City lately, but Mo Fan was not sure what he was busy with.

“Don’t tell me it’s some special show of human body art again?” Mo Fan asked righteously.

“Of course not!” Zhao Manyan replied forthrightly.

“Then I’m not interested,” Mo Fan immediately switched tacts.

“…” Zhao Manyan just shook his head. “Just call Mu Bai and come with me.”

Zhao Manyan had a lot of connections in the Magic City. Whenever he said he found something, he usually meant women, but Mo Fan was quite surprised when it was not the case this time.

—

The pedestrians shouted out in glee when a group of Heavenly Eagles swept past the sky. After all, unlike helicopters, the Mages who were permitted to fly their Heavenly Eagles in the city were not only well-respected, but had high statuses in the military.

The magnificent Heavenly Eagles’ feathers were white as snow. The silver feathers on their crowns were long enough to reach their backs, giving them a sleek dignity.

The Eagles flew across the Magic City in an orderly fashion and landed on a nearby island. A few men and women in suits and formal attire greeted them on the landing pad.

“You must be General Zhang! This way, please,” the tuxedo-wearing man in front said respectfully to a middle-aged man, the oldest of the soldiers there.

“You’ve misunderstood. This is our general!” the middle-aged soldier smiled and pointed at a younger tanned man.

The man did not have a handsome face, but he gave off a heroic temperament. His tanned skin further set off his demeanor.

The man in a tuxedo was shocked. This general looked so young!

Based on the information he had reviewed, this general had been in charge of the safety of along the Qinling Mountains and Beijiang for a long time. Both places were infamously dangerous, but the demon creatures had not invaded their territory even once after this general was placed in charge.

“General Zhang, we have heard that you are very interested in our tamed beasts. I’m here to receive you on behalf of the Bai Clan. May I know if you are representing the military, or you’ve come in your own interest?” the man asked him courteously.

“We will soon join the Violet Imperial Battalion. Every member needs a mount more powerful than the Heavenly Eagles, so we are interested in what your exhibition has to offer,” General Zhang answered with a friendly smile. He was not as aloof and expressionless as were most generals.

“The Violet Imperial Battalion…” The Bai clansman was surprised. They were a special force that was only sent out for important missions, even though it did not have many members.

“Please come with me, a few of our honorable guests haven’t arrived yet. I hope you won’t mind waiting a little longer. After all, our exhibition isn’t just a small project. It’s open to famous people from across the world,” the representative of the Bai Clan told him.

“That’s fine, we have not rested for a long time. Please arrange a few rooms for my men and myself.”

“Of course!” The man immediately signaled a woman in a cheongsam.

The woman greeted them with a smile and asked the other women present to lead the way.

“General, please feel free to tell us if you need anything. It’s rare to have a reputable guest like you,” the woman in a cheongsam told him. Her eyes were very attractive, reminding him of a flowing stream.

“Oh, I heard dragons will be auctioned this time. Is that true?” General Zhang asked her.

The woman blinked. It turned out that the general was not that experienced, and did not notice her obvious hint.

“Yes, we are working together with a renowned clan of dragon tamers in England. They have new tamed dragons to offer.”

“Are they crossbreeds or Pseudo-Dragons?” General Zhang inquired.

The woman smiled.. She placed her finger in front of her sexy lips and answered after a brief pause, “That is confidential.”

Chapter 2440: Dragon Mounts

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

(Knock knock knock)

A woman with a military belt around her waist entered the room and saluted General Zhang after knocking on the door.

The woman in a cheongsam picked up the hint from her sharp gaze. She smiled graciously and left the room.

The attendant took a quick assessing glance at the female soldier before leaving the room, noticing the female soldier had a slim waist. Her belt had almost gone two circles around her waist. It was very likely that she had an alluring figure under the military uniform!

“I shall excuse myself.” The woman closed the door as she took her leave.

The female soldier did not turn around. However, she harrumphed after the woman left the room.

Was every woman so shameless nowadays? Weren’t they ashamed of staying in a man’s room for so long in the middle of the night?

“Is there a problem?” General Zhang asked her.

“No, sir,” the woman answered.

“Why did you come here then? You should get some rest in your room. We are all worn out from our last mission,” General Zhang chided her.

“Why didn’t you ask that woman to leave sooner, sir?” the woman, Hua Yuezhu, asked him.

“I was asking her about the dragons,” Zhang Xiaohou replied.

“Do they really have dragons?” Hua Yuezhu could barely believe it.

Many merchants liked to boast and exaggerate as part of their marketing strategy, but the real products were often terrible.

“I think so, but they might cost a lot,” Zhang Xiaohou had a slight headache.

Many factions would bid for the dragons, which would surely drive the prices up. Even if they were representing the military, they also had to compete fairly in the bidding. Most importantly, their superiors would not reimburse them too much for it!

“If we had dragons, we wouldn’t have lost to the Evil Hound Ruler last time. The Heavenly Eagles are too weak against a creature like that. They were too scared to fly once they picked up a Ruler-level creature’s presence,” Hua Yuezhu commented.

The military and Hunters had different approaches when they were in the wild.

The Hunters had fewer people, so they could move around more freely. Even if they were in danger, they could split up and regroup again.

The military was different, as their numbers were greater. If they had to avoid demon creatures’ dens all the time, they would waste all their time doing so!

Troops with mounts and tamed beasts were able to roam freely in the wild, as long as they did not encounter brainless species like the Undead. Most demon creatures would back away and avoid contact with troops accompanied by strong beasts.

The tamed beasts were thus crucial to guarantee a smooth journey in the wild for the military’s forces.

Their tamed beasts were able to intimidate the roaming demon creatures with their Auras. When the military did not want to waste time on irrelevant demon creatures, the tamed beasts came in very handy. It saved a lot of their time and energy.

Tamed beasts had stronger physical attributes, too. If the military was tracking down demon creatures, a Wind Mage would often deplete their energy after flying for only one or two hours non-stop, much less than a flying creature.

If the soldiers were in danger, the tamed beasts would react swiftly and escape in the safest directions. The soldiers would not lose their way in the demon creatures’ territory.

Most importantly, their tamed beasts were capable of fighting!

They might lack synergy with the soldiers compared to truly Summoned Beasts, but these tamed beasts were very useful after they were trained properly. They could serve as powerful shields when fighting demon creatures at close distance, and keep stronger enemies busy.

The Heavenly Eagles were the standard tamed beasts for higher-ranked troops. Certain Heavenly Eagles had better lineages, but they were extremely rare.

England had the lead when it came to tamed beasts, especially the renowned clans of dragon tamers. Duchess Ayleen’s clan was a perfect example. They had recently released a piece of shocking news to the world. They had tamed a certain kind of dragon beast and were able to mass-breed it for the militaries and other formidable factions.

Many Advanced Psychic Mages were able to tame one or two draconic beasts, but breeding them and setting up a supply chain to do so on scale involved shockingly advanced magic technology!

The dragon tamer clans of England had set up an exhibition in China. Zhang Xiaohou had come on behalf of the Violet Imperial Battalion as soon as he received the news. If the tamed dragons were suitable for them, he would want to buy some of them to help make his troops stronger!

“I’m just worried these so-called dragons are just lizards mixed with the lineage of some petty dragons. They are exaggerating things to grab the world’s attention. If they are real dragons, wouldn’t it make those clans unbeatable, sir?” Hua Yuezhu spoke up.

“Let’s take a look first. Even if the dragons are crossbreeds with a weak lineage, they are still useful to us,” Zhang Xiaohou answered calmly.

If the soldiers that were often undertaking missions in the wild did not have reliable mounts, they would struggle greatly, regardless of how outstanding their cultivation and numbers were. The cunning demon creatures just had to dig into the mountains and caves. The soldiers would never find them, even if they broke their legs from running around!

“Our mission is so dangerous, but they only gave us such a small amount of funds,” Hua Yuezhu grumbled.

“That’s enough, we are here to rest for several days. We’ll buy the dragons if they are suitable for us, but if we can’t afford them, there’s nothing we can do. We must focus on our mission,” Zhang Xiaohou told her.

“Got it, sir!”

“You may go back now,” Zhang Xiaohou directed her.

Hua Yuezhu saluted with a straight back.

She was a very tall woman, almost Zhang Xiaohou’s height as she leaned forward a little as she was saluting.

—

Hua Yuezhu left the room and closed the door.

She stumbled into a handsome blond man in the red carpeted corridor. The man was looking her up and down with a mischievous grin.

“Tsk tsk, why didn’t they tell me they were offering special services here?” the man murmured before approaching Hua Yuezhu and asking with a serious face, “How much? Name your price.”

“What do you mean?” Hua Yuezhu did not understand him at first, but she realized something when she saw the perverted look in the man’s eyes. Her face instantly went cold as she snarled, “Prick, you’re asking for your death!”

“Wow, what are you doing!?” the man yelled.

Hua Yuezhu was furious. She had heard some men were looking for all kinds of fantasies. Some of them had a fetish for military outfits, so their prostitutes would dress up like soldiers to fulfill their fantasies.

However, Hua Yuezhu was a real soldier. She would not allow anyone to violate her sacred duty!

She did not care if using spells was forbidden here. She just wanted to blast the perverted man to pieces!

“Holy crap, a Star Constellation right away!?” The man was shocked. He did not expect the woman to complete an Advanced Spell so quickly.

Luckily, the man was a powerful Mage. He waved his hand and Summoned a pond of water to resist the woman’s Advanced Fire Spell!

1

Chapter 2441: Imperial Bodyguard Assigned by the Government

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Girl, why can’t we talk properly? Why did you have to greet me with powerful spells!?” The blond man was soaked in cold sweat.

Hua Yuezhu was surprised. She did not expect the hoodlums nowadays to know magic and be so good at it!

“Die!” Hua Yuezhu did not stop attacking despite her surprise. If an Advanced Spell was not going to do the job, she would use a Super Spell, then!

Zhao Manyan was initially pleased with himself, but his jaw almost fell onto the carpet when he saw a brilliant Star Palace taking shape beside the woman.

What did I even do to her?

“Yuezhu, what are you doing!?” The door swung open behind her, and a tanned face poked out.

“General, this pervert dares to take liberties with a soldier! I have the right to execute him on the spot!” Hua Yuezhu exclaimed.

1

“Do you think we are still in Beijiang? Not only is your Super Spell going to kill him, it will kill everyone in this building too!” Zhang Xiaohou shouted at her.

Hua Yuezhu did not dare disobey her superior. She canceled the Super Fire Spell, but her chest was heaving with rage, like it was about to burst open.

Zhao Manyan was stunned. Were the prostitutes all Super Mages nowadays?

“Huh? Brother Zhao?” Zhang Xiaohou instantly recognized the man from his eye-catching blond hair and handsome face.

“Zhang Xiaohou!” Zhao Manyan recognized the tanned face too.

(Cough cough!) “Brother Zhao, you never change do you?” Zhang Xiaohou looked at Hua Yuezhu before looking at Zhao Manyan. He immediately realized what had just happened.

“She…” Zhao Manyan pointed at the fierce woman.

“My imperial bodyguard, Hua Yuezhu,” Zhang Xiaohou smiled, and invited Zhao Manyan into his room.

“Goddamn! You’re doing fine! Does our country assign generals such heroic and dashing female bodyguards? I’m joining the army!” Zhao Manyan was so jealous that his drool was about to pour out of his mouth.

Hua Yuezhu’s skin was not as pale as the women living in the city, but her bearing was too unique!

Zhao Manyan remembered Nanyu being a relatively gorgeous soldier, but her beauty was more on the neutral side. Hua Yuezhu might have had an imperious bearing, but it did not affect her charm as a woman. She was taller than many men, too! Not only would it not destroy men’s self-esteem, it would wake up their desire to conquer her.

Zhao Manyan was not the kind to ask every woman he saw on the street to name their price. He had extremely high standards, indicating Hua Yuezhu was a true beauty. Her beauty did not come from the luxurious cosmetics available in a city. She was more like an unyielding flower blossoming in the middle of the wild!

“Yuezhu, he’s my brother. He was just joking with you. Don’t mind it,” Zhang Xiaohou told her.

“Humph!” Hua Yuezhu did not believe it was a joke, and left with her chin in the air.

Zhao Manyan felt awkward. Was his eyesight getting worse, or was he driven by the sperm in his brain?

“Why didn’t you tell us you were in Shanghai?” Zhao Manyan asked him.

“We are only stopping by for two days. We have to leave for our next mission soon, so I was thinking of finding you guys next time. I didn’t expect us to meet here!” Zhang Xiaohou was very excited.

After they had parted ways in the Qinling Mountains, Zhang Xiaohou had been sent to Beijiang. His phone reception in Beijiang was not great, and he had not contacted Mo Fan for a long time.

“Mo Fan even mentioned you to me not long ago,” Zhao Manyan patted Zhang Xiaohou’s shoulder.

“It sounds like Brother Fan has missed me.” Zhang Xiaohou was ashamed. He had not told told Mo Fan how he was doing after he went to Beijiang because of the poor phone service there.

“Yeah, he said that we might hear about your death one day after we woke up. He told me to retrieve your remains if I received the news.”

The feeling of shame in Zhang Xiaohou’s heart vanished.

Beijiang was indeed more dangerous than Qinling Mountains.

Zhang Xiaohou had volunteered to go to Beijiang after eliminating the threat from the Qinling Mountains. He was literally associating with demon creatures and sleeping with them. It was a miracle he had survived his term there!

Mo Fan was not necessarily wrong to say that.

“Are you still a Major General, or a full General now?” Zhao Manyan asked curiously after he recalled Hua Yuezhu’s words.

“Beijiang’s General was slain by a Ruler Hound that had trespassed into the safe zone. I was the acting General for some time. They officially promoted me to a full General after I killed the Hound,” Zhang Xiaohou confirmed.

“Does that mean you have eliminated the threats from both the Qinling Mountains and Beijiang?” Zhao Manyan knew a lot of confidential information, and was familiar with the troubles the military was having. Zhang Xiaohou had relieved some huge pressure from the military’s back by maintaining security at the two infamous places.

“Hehe!” Zhang Xiaohou laughed.

“Impressive! You sure deserve to have an imperial bodyguard like her.”

“Brother Zhao, you should stop having weird thoughts. Hua Yuezhu is the daughter of a famous general. She’s not necessarily weaker than me, she just lacks experience and achievements. She has a lot more potential than me. She’s only been assigned to me so she can climb the ranks quicker,” Zhang Xiaohou said humbly.

“Then you have even more reason to take her down. Oh, I got carried away from talking to you. Come with me, Mo Fan and Mu Bai are up on the rooftop!” Zhao Manyan told him.

“Did they invest in stocks?”

“What are you talking about? They are drinking on the rooftop. The air is fresher there for us to enjoy our drinks. Don’t tell me you can’t drink because you are leaving for a mission soon?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“It’s fine, we are here to buy some tamed beasts and rest for a few days.”

“Oh? Is the military interested in the dragon beasts?” Zhao Manyan raised his brows.

Zhang Xiaohou shook his head.

Heavenly Eagles were the standard tamed beasts for China’s military. The system of breeding Heavenly Eagles was mature. Only those at Zhang Xiaohou’s rank needed a higher-level tamed beast, as the Heavenly Eagles were no longer useful for them.

“I heard several rich countries in the Middle Eastern have already ordered the dragon beasts in huge quantities. The supply isn’t going to meet the demand,” Zhao Manyan told him.

“Brother Zhao, is Brother Fan interested in the dragon beasts, too?”

“We are just looking around. I might consider bidding if they have a nice Inferior Dragon. As for Mo Fan, he used to fancy the thought of having a dragon as a mount, but he hasn’t been that interested lately. He only came to broaden his knowledge,” Zhao Manyan answered.

—

The two had reached the rooftop while they were talking.

The area was open. There was a bar on one side, closer to other buildings. The other side was closer to the sea and had plenty of seats. It was relaxing to have a few drinks while enjoying the sea breeze.

However, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan had always been free and unconstrained.

They were suddenly in the mood to have a barbecue, so they moved the wooden chairs to the beach and set up a barbecue stand. The smoke had filled the bar, and the number of people had dropped significantly. It was now more like a barbecue stall beside the road.

“Look who I brought!” Zhao Manyan called out.

Mo Fan was fanning the charcoal with a flyer promoting the dragon beasts.. His mouth dropped wide enough to fit a whole chicken wing when he saw Zhang Xiaohou.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Brother Fan, aren’t you a Fire Mage? Why are you going through so much trouble to start a fire?” Zhang Xiaohou laughed.

“Don’t you know that the fish you catch yourself always taste more delicious? Otherwise, why wouldn’t I just buy them from the market?” Mo Fan explained.

1

Zhao Manyan suddenly put on a deep grin and added, “I like eating fish, too. I usually fish myself, but I occasionally buy from the market because it offers a lot more options!”

“Is that why you always hook up with prostitutes?” Mu Bai mocked him.

“Shut up, you don’t even know what a fish tastes like. Why are you acting so proud?” Zhao Manyan retorted.

Zhang Xiaohou chuckled, as Mu Bai was not wrong. Zhao Manyan had asked his imperial bodyguard to name a price not long ago!

“Stop arguing, have a taste of the chicken wings. It’s my secret recipe!” Mo Fan served everyone two chicken wings. The four of them immediately feasted on them.

Their lips were covered in oil. It did not matter if the hot chicken wings had burned their tongues, as they just had to take a sip of their cold beer. Words could not describe how satisfying it was.

It was getting late, but the fire on the beach was burning even brighter.

The four had a lot of drinks, lying on the sand instead of going back to their rooms. They all eventually fell asleep.

——

The sunlight sprinkled on the beach early in the morning and painted the calm surface of the sea with a hint of scorching red. The whole sea was soon blazing red, with waves rolling across its surface.

The four hungover men crawled to their feet and went back into the hotel to have breakfast.

The exhibition was happening at eight. They had almost overslept!

Luckily, the exhibition had just begun by the time they reached the venue.

Mo Fan initially did not have much interest in the dragon beasts, mainly because he was too poor to afford them.

However, he had already sold the booty the little cub had offered to him, and had received the full sum while he was drinking last night. He now had some funds to bid for a dragon beast that pleased his eyes.

—

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are now showing you a Groundfang Dragon!

“Even though it’s only a Pseudo-dragon, its body is covered in sturdy bone armor. Its bones are as strong as an Inferior Dragon! It does not know any magic, but it’s an adept fighter. It’s the perfect beast for charging into enemy lines and fighting in close combat.”

The Groundfang Dragon had a fierce appearance. Sharp bony spikes covered it from its horns to its tail. The Pseudo-dragon could easily crush any Commander-level creatures!

Many of the Mages who were present would have no trouble defeating the Groundfang Dragon, but it was extremely difficult to tame it so it would take orders from a human, especially after it was sold to a buyer.

Taming demon creatures had always been the specialty of Psychic Mages!

“What do you think?” Zhao Manyan asked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan shook his head. The Groundfang Dragon seemed to be a powerful creature, but he didn’t think it could withstand a single Lightning Spell from him.

Even if he only used it as a mount to travel long distances and pursue an enemy, he did not think he would feel comfortable while riding it.

Zhang Xiaohou shook his head as well. He would be disappointed if the exhibition was only auctioning Pseudo-dragons.

He was more concerned about the mobility of the dragon beasts. The Groundfang Dragon could not fly!

“The Groundfang Dragon is unstoppable if it’s used as the vanguard of an army…” Hua Yuezhu mentioned for them.

As she had expected, many factions were interested in the Groundfang Dragon. They ended up submitting some huge orders for it.

The exhibition was not selling the dragons in small numbers, but in bulk. The buyers could even reserve the amount they wanted every year!

For example, a renowned clan in the north bought thirty of the Groundfang Dragons in stock, and it had ordered another thirty Groundfang Dragons for next year!

The dragon taming clans in England were supplying dragons in huge numbers. Their dragon taming skills were worth more than gold and silver mines!

“This is the Triumphant Eagle Dragon.

“It’s Tamed Level has reached six stars. Not only has it inherited the powerful wings of the dragons, it has also inherited the bravery of the eagle species.”

The Triumphant Eagle Dragon had an eagle’s crest instead of draconic horns. Its claws were similar to those of demon eagles, but its chest, back, and wings resembled a Western dragon.

It was also a Pseudo-dragon, but the soldiers with Zhang Xiaohou opened their eyes wide.

“Six stars? Isn’t that the same level as our Heavenly Eagles?” the middle-aged imperial bodyguard escort to Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“How did the English do it? How are they able to tame these creatures with a draconic lineage?”

The stronger the lineage of a demon creature, the harder it was to tame them!

Western dragons were the hardest creatures to tame, being naturally aloof and fierce. The real dragons saw themselves as superior to humans. The crossbreeds that had inherited a dragons’ lineage would also inherit the dragons’ unruliness and disdain toward other species.

“General, that Triumphant Eagle Dragon is a lot stronger than our Heavenly Eagles. Should we make an order?”

“Let’s wait for now,” Zhang Xiaohou demurred.

——

“The next one is the highlight of our exhibition. Have a look!”

The crowd immediately focused their attention on the stage.

The attendees thought the tamed beasts would be tied in magic chains as a safety precaution. However, the dragon that appeared next did not have any chains on it. Its saliva was even dripping from its exposed fangs. The guests in the front row almost fainted in shock!

The creature was the size of a small hill. Its scales were like well-refined armor plates, expanding and contracting as the creature was moving. The sturdy scales did not hinder its movements at all.

Its wings were wrapped in draconic skin, its visible bones brimming with power. The wings attached to the creature’s back were also connected to its front claws!

Its lower limbs were thick, like the limbs of a huge lizard, but their bright scales made them look more impressive than the rough skin of a clumsy and ugly reptile.

The audience held their breaths as the creature was brought onto the stage.

Was that just a dragon beast? It was more like a real dragon!

Its body, wings, claws, and scales were similar to those of a drake. Most importantly, its imperious Aura made it feel like the owner of the exhibition, instead of just a tamed beast that was being displayed!

“Holy crap, is Ayleen’s clan selling drakes now?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The creature was a lot smaller than a drake, but it had clearly exceeded the level of a Pseudo-dragon. It was a lot closer to the level of a true drake than most Inferior Dragons!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This is a Flying Dragon. Its Tamed Level is six stars too, so there’s no need to be afraid of it. It’s even more obedient than some of the Summoned Beasts.

“Of course, it might be stronger than some Contracted Beasts when it fights. It’s the greatest work of the master of England’s dragon taming clans!

“The Flying Dragon is going to make history once we reveal it to the world!

The emcee did not reveal the details of the Flying Dragon’s strength, physical attributes, defense, and fighting capacity. The people just needed to know it was a tamed Flying Dragon!

The Flying Dragon would be a hot-seller if it was to be offered for a Contracted Beast, but it was currently being sold as a tamed beast. It had overturned everyone’s understanding of the tamed beasts!

Tamed beasts could establish a master-servant relationship with anyone, allowing Mages who were not Summoners to control them. In other words, anyone could take the Flying Dragon and ride it, just as long as they could afford it!

Even a Summoner had difficulties making a dragon-blood a Contracted Beast. If Mages who were not Summoners had a chance to own a Flying Dragon, it would have a huge impact on the Summoning Element, and the whole field of magic!

“The world is about to change. Ayleen’s clan is going to evolve into a dragon clan and rule over the world!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Mo Fan took a deep breath too.

He remembered when he was still at the Aorus Sacred Institute, and a student had asked Sharjah why she was interested in Mo Fan’s Theory of Combination Magic.

If Combination Magic was put into practice and became common, it would allow mankind to take a huge leap forward. Combination Magic would significantly increase the average strength of human Mages by giving their magic more flexibility.

Perhaps Mages would be able to modify their magic when they were only at the Basic and Intermediate Levels. Their spells would be more modular!

Similarly, the ability to tame dragons would give all Mages a chance to own a dragon!

Having a mount was no longer exclusive to Summoners. Anyone could now have a powerful creature as their mount, to protect them and fly everywhere they wanted. Would they have trouble destroying the demon creatures’ kingdoms once they had enough tamed dragon beasts?

A man in a Chinese military outfit stood up and asked, “Is it just a prototype, or can we really buy the dragons now? Can you guarantee you can meet our demands if we place orders for the Flying Dragons?”

The man was most likely from a different division. He had to be highly ranked, too!

“If you are the highest bidder, the Flying Dragon is yours once you contract as its master with your blood. We will also disclose the price of the Flying Dragons soon and accept preorders across the world,” the representative of the Bai Clan replied with a confident smile.

“Can you guarantee you will have the supply for all the orders?”

“As long as you can afford the price, we will deliver the goods within a promised period. The quantities are of course limited, but the Duchess ensured she has more than just a few Flying Dragons, and her clan will provide a certain number of Flying Dragons for the powerful factions around the world every year!”

“Unbelievable!”

—

The Bai Clan brought everyone to an open patio close to the ocean to showcase the Flying Dragon’s strength. A few Super Mages volunteered to challenge the Flying Dragon.

After a few rounds, the guests were convinced that the Flying Dragon’s strength was on par with an adult Inferior Dragon. It would be extremely useful when fighting against certain Ruler-level creatures.

Its ability to fly made it an absolute king of the sky, but most importantly, its scales had inherited the greatest ability of the dragons, immunity to magic!

The Flying Dragon was immune to all Elemental Spells below the Super Level!

It was a crazy ability. It meant the Flying Dragon could ignore the spells of a regiment of a thousand soldiers. The Flying Dragon would have been a nightmare to both the Wind Fleet Warships of the Brown Rebels or the Federation Army’s Cross Chaos Formation if it had appeared in the battles in the Andes Mountain Range!

Everyone thought the Flying Dragon was the finale of the exhibition. Countless factions would be bidding insane amounts of money to buy a single Flying Dragon!

To everyone’s astonishment, the host of the exhibition had provided seven Flying Dragons in total!

The first Flying Dragon was bought by the officer who had been the first to voice his concerns.

The second Flying Dragon went to to a core member of the Mu Clan.

The third and fourth were secured by the Zhao Clan.

Only three Flying Dragons were left. Hua Yuezhu clenched her teeth and bought one of them.

Zhang Xiaohou was a little hesitant because the price had been raised too high, but Hua Yuezhu insisted on bidding for it.

Mo Fan tried bidding for the sixth Flying Dragon, but he eventually gave up when he checked the balance in his account.

These people were too crazy, raising the prices as if they had robbed banks ahead of time. Each bid went up by at least a hundred million. Mo Fan would rather travel on foot or ask someone with magical Wings to give him a convenient ride!

“Only the last one left. Should we try and get it?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“We might be able to if we combine our money,” Mu Bai said with a wry smile.

These Flying Dragons were priceless. Zhao Manyan knew he had no chance of awakening the Summoning Element. He believed it was necessary to secure himself a suitable mount.

Unfortunately, Zhao Youqian had taken all his possessions, or he might have dared to bid for all seven of the Flying Dragons!

“I can consider it if we want to combine our money to buy it. After all, it has plenty of space to carry the three of us,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Mo Fan, aren’t you close with Ayleen? These dragons are imported from England and the Bai Clan is their dealer. There must be a lot of taxes involved. Why don’t we ask Ayleen and buy one from her ‘factory’? Surely it’s a lot cheaper,” Zhao Manyan proposed.

Mo Fan scratched his head.

If he had known Ayleen had such a formidable background, he would have fawned upon her more when he had the chance!

He might be close with Ayleen, but they were not close enough for Ayleen to sell the dragons at a crazily cheap price. The cost of taming these dragons had to be extremely high.

“Xinxia is closer to her. I’ll ask Xinxia to ask on our behalf,” Mo Fan offered.

“Zhang Xiaohou is richer than us. He bought the dragon right away,” Mu Bai reported.

Mu Bai had only finished the sentence when he heard Hua Yuezhu ask, “General, are we taking all the Triumphant Eagle Dragons, too?”

“Mm, all of them.”

“…”

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai’s expressions complicated further.

In the end, working on their own had led them to live poor lives, while serving the country would give them riches that would last for their entire lives!

Only a setting that needed a lot of money like this would show who was the real povo!

“Say, how much do you think a Totem Beast would be worth? If we kidnap the Moon Moth Phoenix, can we get ourselves a nest of Flying Dragons?” Zhao Manyan wondered aloud.

3

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan would have been lying if he said he was not interested after seeing the exhibition, but the Flying Dragons were too expensive.

Not everyone’s family owned a gold mine and could afford to buy the Flying Dragons!

Zhao Manyan was obsessed with the dragons. He kept asking Mo Fan to contact Ayleen or Xinxia.

Mu Bai was also interested in the Flying Dragons.

Mu Bai was not a Summoner, but he was raising insects. Zhao Manyan had seen Mu Bai Summoning a creature that looked like a dragon. If he could mix a dragon’s lineage into the creature, its strength would increase significantly!

“Look, Zhang Xiaohou now has a Flying Dragon, while his men have the Triumphant Eagle Dragons. How cool will they look when they are flying on their mounts!?” Zhao Manyan said jealously.

“Are you really that obsessed with dragons?” Mo Fan asked him.

“Of course, women, cars, tamed dragons… I like everything that I can ride on, especially the luxurious ones!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“…” Mo Fan sighed. “I’ll make a call. Mm, I think she is still up at this time.”

Mo Fan counted the time difference with his fingers. Xinxia should be preparing for bed now. If he called at a different time, he would most likely reach the old woman Tata instead.

——

“Xinxia.”

“Brother Mo Fan,” Xinxia always sounded energetic, but she sounded a little bitter this time.

Mo Fan had an awkward face.

He had just seen the logs on his phone. He had not called Xinxia for a long time. It sounded like Xinxia was about to turn into a resentful wife!

Mo Fan was not the kind who enjoyed long phone calls. He would visit Greece if he really missed Xinxia. He found a quiet corner to comfort Xinxia first.

The call went on for half an hour. Zhao Manyan came three times to check on him. He was starting to run out of patience.

“Enough chitchat, hurry up and tell her about the Flying Dragons!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Xinxia heard Zhao Manyan’s outburst on the other end.

Mo Fan sighed and finally told her about the exhibition.

The exhibition was clearly going to influence the whole world greatly. Mo Fan was still struggling to believe it. How had they obtained so many Flying Dragons and tamed them to be as obedient as the Heavenly Eagles?

The difference between the Flying Dragons and the Heavenly Eagles was quite vast. The Flying Dragons had a proud lineage, and it was extremely difficult to make them Contracted Beasts. How did they possibly tame the dragons with the Psychic Element?

The Black Vatican was powerful because they had mastered Cursed magic to control the Dark Beast Monsters, allowing everyone who joined the Black Vatican to become a Mage. Every member would be given a Dark Beast Monster to help them with their evil deeds.

However, the Dark Beast Monsters were incomparable to the Flying Dragons.

There were also the crossbreeds and Pseudo-dragons, too! Would the militaries across the world abandon their unique tamed beasts and make every soldier a dragon rider?

“Brother Mo Fan, if you really want a mount, the Parthenon Temple has a Half-Blood Crimson Dragon. Its Tamed Level has already reached four stars. Do you want me to send it to you after its Tamed Level reaches five stars?” Xinxia offered to him.

Mo Fan opened his mouth wide, having trouble thinking.

Why did he feel like a gigolo?

“What level is the dragon?” he asked despite himself.

“It’s a Drake,” Xinxia informed him.

Mo Fan coughed in shock. “Does the name Half-Blood Crimson Dragon mean it has half the lineage of a Crimson Drake? Is it stronger than a Flying Dragon?” he had to ask.

“Mm, half of its lineage is Drake, and the other half is Inferior Dragon. It’s in the Lesser Ruler Level now, but its Tamed Level isn’t that high,” Xinxia flipped through a file to confirm the information.

The Tamed Levels of a beast had a max of seven stars.

A Tamed Level of five stars was the lowest requirement for a Tamed Beast, but it was not allowed to come into cities. A Five-Star Tamed Beast might rebel or attack people if it was frightened.

Six stars was the safest level for a Tamed Beast. The Heavenly Eagles had a Tamed Level of six stars.

The revolt of the Heavenly Eagles in Hangzhou was a special case, and unprecedented.

Six stars was the international standard for a Tamed Beast. Such Tamed Beasts were allowed to enter a city after requesting certain permissions.

Seven stars usually referred to a Summoner’s beasts. Those Summoned Beasts were summoned with Dimensional Summoning, like Mo Fan’s old wolf. The Summoners had full control over them.

Contracted Beasts did not have a Tamed Level, as they were one with the Summoners. Their problems were their Summoner’s problems.

Six stars was already perfect for a Tamed Beast. People rarely went for seven stars.

Five stars was a qualified tamed beast. Four stars meant they would not take orders from humans. Three stars did not take the initiative to attack humans.

As for one and two stars, they were only pacified and could regain their savage nature at any time.

The Half-Blood Crimson Dragon was only four stars, meaning that its master had to expect the creature would simply ignore him.

“Brother Mo Fan, if you want, I can tame it for you, but I’ll need some time,” Xinxia went on.

Xinxia was indeed a Psychic Mage. She had to make sure nothing went wrong, thus she would tame the Half-Blood Crimson Dragon herself.

The Half-Blood Crimson Dragon was almost a direct descendant of a drake, so it had to be proud and aloof. Even the Great Muses of the Parthenon Temple would struggle to tame a creature to five stars. Xinxia would have to rely on the Soul of the Parthenon Temple to tame the Half-Blood Crimson Dragon.

“Forget it, you already don’t have enough time to rest,” Mo Fan shook his head.

He did not want Xinxia to waste her effort on a creature he was only going to use as a mount, not to mention Xinxia would have to use the Soul of the Parthenon Temple.

Xinxia had already given up her heart to bring Little Flame Belle back to life, and now shared a heart with Little Flame Belle. Mo Fan immediately turned down the offer when he heard she had to use the Soul of the Parthenon Temple.

It did not make sense to let her wife sell her blood for money just so he could drive a BMW!

“What about the Radiance Unicorn? Do you want that? Dragons aren’t the friendliest creatures. The Parthenon Temple’s Radiance Unicorn isn’t any weaker than dragons!” Xinxia asked him.

“Radiance Unicorns?” Mo Fan had never heard of the creature before, but Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai’s lips were twitching.

The Radiance Unicorns! They were the most sacred beasts in Europe. Most clans could not secure one, even if they spent all their fortunes!

Having a gold mine was no longer enough. They would have to own a country!

Speaking of which, the Parthenon Temple was one of the top three factions when it came to taming beasts. Why did they have to ask Ayleen?

“What about the Apollo Divine Bird?”

“…” Mo Fan didn’t know what to say.

“You don’t like that? What about the Lion Scorpion King?”

“…” Mo Fan still couldn’t say anything.

“I just took a quick look. We also have the Silver Moon Tyrant Titan, Five-Colored Zeus Peafowl, Poseidon Nine-Headed Snake, Shadow Unicorn, Athena Dragon Deer, and Quartz Wing Tiger…

“Brother Mo Fan, why aren’t you saying anything? Do you not like them?

“I should ask Ayleen then. I guess all men like dragons!”

Luckily, Mo Fan did not repeat the names of the creatures, or Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai would have been foaming at the mouth right now…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan believed it was fine being a gigolo at times. He just had to pick a random creature and ride it. No one would dare to look at him provokingly!

“Brother Mo Fan, I’ll think of a way,” Xinxia told him.

“No, it’s fine, the three of us are only looking for mounts. The Flying Dragon suits us best. We can switch to a stronger mount once we are stronger,” Mo Fan said quickly.

Tamed Beasts were not as reliable as Summoned Beasts. Even a Five-Star Tamed Beast might revolt if their master was not significantly stronger than them.

The stronger a Tamed Beast, the higher its intelligence. The chains binding their hearts would loosen up gradually as they spent more time with their master. They would eventually betray their master and escape one day.

Tamed Beasts could also not be stored in another dimension like Summoned Beasts and Contracted Beasts could, and they were not allowed in the cities if their levels were too high. If Mo Fan received a Five-Star Tamed Beast from Xinxia, he would have nowhere to keep it!

It would be easier if it was a Six-Star Tamed Beast, which he could just keep at Fanxue Mountain. He would have to live in the mountains away from the cities if he had a Five-Star Tamed Beast!

“Mm, it’s important to reach a Tamed Level of six stars,” Xinxia agreed on the phone.

It was important for a Tamed Beast to be obedient. The Parthenon Temple had few outstanding Six-Star Tamed Beasts. The Radiance Unicorns were the only Six-Star Tamed Beasts it had at present.

Unfortunately, the Radiance Unicorns were only willing to be mounts to those with the unique Blessing Aura of the Parthenon Temple’s Muses. Ordinary people had difficulties approaching Radiance Unicorns.

Xinxia had one to ride. Mo Fan had tried touching it, but the creature had regarded him with disdain.

—

Zhao Manyan quickly asked about the outcome after Mo Fan hung up the call.

It was inconvenient not having a reliable mount after reaching the Super Level. Mo Fan might be a Summoner, but the old wolf was from a different dimension. He was not on standby twenty-four hours a day. He had his own battles to fight in the Summoned Beast Plane.

Besides, the old wolf was more of a fighter. He was not good at rapid travel over land and water. He also lacked endurance compared to Tamed Beasts who were specifically trained to be mounts.

Mo Fan was starting to regret using his second Contract on Apas!

Not only was he unable to ride her, she kept playing mind games with him and only knew to act coquettishly around him. All his problems would be solved if he had a strong and reliable Contracted Beast instead!

“Ayleen invited us to her place,” Mo Fan relayed to them.

“Huh? Are we going overseas again? I haven’t even enjoyed myself after coming back,” Zhao Manyan half-protested.

“I’m a Summoner, so I don’t really need a Tamed Beast. If anything, I can just find a flying creature with my Dimensional Summoning to make up for it,” Mo Fan said indifferently.

“Damn it, what do you mean? Fine, we’ll go! It’s just a renowned clan in England who’s even richer than my family! Do you think I’m scared of them?!” Zhao Manyan was desperate to get his hands on a Flying Dragon.

Mu Bai was more interested in the technology Ayleen’s clan had used to tame the Flying Dragons. He knew the technology would be confidential, but he might learn something when they visited Ayleen and in doing so expand his knowledge on raising his insects.

“I feel like Ayleen will need a favor from us,” Mo Fan commented.

“Well, we don’t have the money to afford the Flying Dragons, so we can only work for them. It’s nothing,” Zhao Manyan had to agree.

“Does that mean we might get ourselves a Flying Dragon each?” Mu Bai’s eyes glittered.

“She said she has another species that is better than the Flying Dragons that are being sold on the market…”

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai immediately became more energetic.

“By the way, the government has canceled a lot of flights. We won’t be able to leave the country easily,” Mu Bai said after recalling the latest news.

“We’ll just ask Ayleen to arrange a private jet for us. Besides, we no longer have to worry about that once we have the Flying Dragons. We can fly wherever we want and visit any country!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed enthusiastically.

——

Ayleen was a true heroine. She immediately made the arrangements when she heard about the strict restrictions on international flights.

A Flying Dragon landed on a helipad at Fangxue Mountain the next morning. A middle-aged man in a butler’s outfit was waiting for them.

“Are you three Duchess Ayleen’s honorable guests?” the butler asked with a smile.

“Ugh… this private jet isn’t bad, either!” Mo Fan had to admit.

“Come, let’s pay England a visit!”

“We’ll be crossing a few infamous mountain ranges, so the journey might be a little dangerous, but don’t you worry, the Flying Dragon’s presence will stop ordinary demon creatures from troubling us,” the butler informed them.

“Sure, let’s go!”

—

—

The land was spreading before them like a giant painting. Some gray-blue areas were occasionally visible meandering to the east.

Thick white clouds like a sea of bubbles were floating under them. It felt like they could just walk on the clouds while the bright sunlight was shining on them from above.

The air was slightly chilly, but it was fresh and clean compared to the air below the clouds.

The Flying Dragons were able to fly above the clouds. Even though they were covered in sturdy scales, their scales were almost combined with their skin. The strong cold wind could not inflict any damage on their skin, making it useful when flying at great altitude. They could also avoid the brainless demon creatures and prevent unwanted troubles.

“General Zhang, these dragon beasts are so much better than our Heavenly Eagles. The Heavenly Eagles have to rest and eat after flying for two to three hours. It was a waste of time and effort just to find a safe landing spot, but now, we can fly for a whole day after buying these Flying Dragons. We will arrive at our destination soon!” Advisor Tan Feng spoke up.

“Isn’t that right? A bunch of Predator Demon Hawks just flew right past us. I was ready for a fight, but they ran away as soon as they saw the dragon beasts. It feels good to have green lights throughout the journey!” a soldier exclaimed excitedly.

“General Zhang, why are you so quiet?” another soldier asked.

Zhang Xiaohou collected his thoughts and looked behind him.

Even though the Triumphant Eagle Dragons were only Pseudo-dragons, they were covered in sturdy scales and had powerful eagle’s claws. They were strong enough to lift an armored Commander-level creature a thousand meters into the sky!

The soldiers behind him were each riding a Triumphant Eagle Dragon. It was impressive when over fifty Triumphant Eagle Dragons were beating their wings and flying in pattern.

Zhang Xiaohou was quiet because he was recalling the dream he had a long time ago.

When he had first joined the army, his greatest dream was to become an officer, even if it was only the lowest rank. He just wanted to have a Heavenly Eagle as his mount!

He formed the dream when he saw Zhan Kong and his men leaving on their Heavenly Eagles to hunt the Darkwing Wolf.

But now, he was riding Flying Dragons and dragon beasts!

He was riding a Flying Dragon and leading his men on their dragon beasts!

Chapter 2446: The Bohai Dragon King

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The terrain of northern China largely consisted of vast valleys. Zhang Xiaohou and his men were flying to the north along the coastline of the East China Sea. A meandering black line of mountain ranges was splitting the boundless land and the majestic sea apart.

White waves were splashing on the cliffs between the land and the sea. The waves gradually dissipated in ripples at the gentler spots, but rose over seven meters high at the stormier locations.

“The coastline is extending further to the east,” Hua Yuezhu pointed out.

“It means we are close to the Bohai Sea. We will soon arrive at Qinhuangdao.”

The dragon beasts had only stopped for a rest once between the journey from the Magic City to Qinhuangdao located to the north of Bohai Sea. Their endurance was significantly better than the Heavenly Eagles.

If their country had a dragon tamer clan like England, the whole military could turn over a new leaf!

“I can see the towns and villages. It’s strange how they still haven’t built dams along the coastline. I can still see people living there. Aren’t they afraid of the sea monsters?” a scout asked, puzzled by what he was seeing.

“The south is prone to typhoons, huge storms, and even tsunamis throughout summer. Most of the sea monsters have gathered in the East China Sea. The Bohai Sea is much less dangerous in comparison,” Tan Feng told him.

“But it’s still too dangerous. The coastlines across the world are currently under Orange Alert. Certain countries have even placed their coastlines under Blue or Red Alerts.

“Human territory is shrinking rapidly, and our agriculture is heavily impacted. Once the Headquarters Cities are finished, each of them will have tens of million people. What are we going to eat without land to plant food?” Tan Feng asked rhetorically.

The situation was looking grim for the country. The truth was, whenever the condition of the sea roughened, the sea harvest for the whole country would diminish. Every place would start running short on food, let alone when farmlands were also abandoned.

Therefore, certain agricultural areas were not evacuated, in order to stock up on as much food as possible.

—

“What’s down there?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“That should be Luning County. It mainly supplies seafood to the whole country. It’s managed by a conglomerate,” Tan Feng told his boss. He had done some research before coming here. He was quite familiar with Qinhuangdao.

“I wonder if it was my imagination,” Zhang Xiaohou murmured.

“What did you see?” Hua Yuezhu asked quickly.

Zhang Xiaohou pointed at a misty area close to the sea and said, “I thought I saw a residential building facing the sea over there. It was the wide and long kind, but…”

Zhang Xiaohou purposely ordered the Flying Dragon to reduce its altitude so he could take a closer look.

The buildings were like small building blocks from so high above. The streets were like tiny lines crossing paths with one another, so Zhang Xiaohou wondered if he was imagining things.

The Flying Dragon started descending from the sky. It held its wings straight and glided down. It was perfectly stable despite the strong air resistance.

“I think the building collapsed. There’s only debris left. Perhaps an Earth Mage has demolished it?” Tan Feng ventured.

“This area is currently under Orange Alert. Even if the buildings are abandoned, they are advantageous platforms for the Mages to fight sea monsters on. Why would they bother wasting their time and effort demolishing the buildings?” Hua Yuezhu spoke up, concerned by the fact.

Zhang Xiaohou shared the same thought. Every building close to the sea was a useful assembling spot for the Mages when they were fending off the sea monsters.

“General, look!” The head scout pointed in another direction.

It was some old gray buildings, but there were still clothes being dried on the balconies. The buildings were obviously occupied.

From their angle, they could see people, who looked like tiny sand particles from this height, running into the open outside the building.

The people were escaping from the building. It looked like they were moving very slowly because Zhang Xiaohou and his men were watching from such a great altitude.

The buildings started collapsing as huge clouds of dust were swept into the air. The buildings in the whole area had collapsed in just several minutes!

The buildings did not break or crumble, but the floors, walls, and pillars had all turned into powder. The dust being swept into the air looked like a giant ball from above.

“Is there an attack!?” Hua Yuezhu immediately exclaimed in alarm.

The buildings clearly did not collapse because they were being demolished. There were residents still fleeing from the buildings.

To their relief, the buildings had turned into powder as they were collapsing. Otherwise, the falling debris would have resulted in great casualties.

“Captain Tian, go check it out,” Zhang Xiaohou ordered.

“Affirmative!”

The head scout dove down with his Triumphant Eagle Dragon, leaving a spectacular spiraling flow of air along its trail.

—

The head scout returned after some time. He saluted and said, “General, I didn’t discover any demon creatures.”

Zhang Xiaohou was constantly observing the ground and the area. He also had not picked up any presence of sea monsters.

“What did the people say?” Hua Yuezhu asked sharply.

Tan Feng immediately glared at Hua Yuezhu. Hua Yuezhu realized she been too eager, and lowered her head like she had made a mistake.

“What did the people say?” Zhang Xiaohou repeated helplessly.

“The people said the same thing has happened in the past. The people would build wooden huts with coniferous trees on the beach and let the waves carry them away. Apparently, the Bohai Sea has a Dragon King that is fond of them. It would take away the huts to repair its undersea palace,” the head scout said.

“What Dragon King? There are only sea monsters in the sea!” Hua Yuezhu protested.

“Rumors of the Dragon King are common in the East and South China Seas, and the Bohai Sea. They each have a different version of the legend,” Tan Feng corrected her.

“So you are saying it’s a common phenomenon around here?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Yes, according to the residents. They say a lot of people have forgotten about the old legend, so the Dragon King is angry at them. It has destroyed the buildings without hurting anyone as a warning,” the head scout said.

Zhang Xiaohou was completely puzzled at this point.

On the other hand, there were too many unexplainable phenomena in the world.. If the same thing had happened in the past, they would not have worried too much about it, as long as there were no casualties.

Chapter 2447: The Dragon King Culprit

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou was on a mission, and could not afford to stay for too long. He asked the head scout to regroup with the rest of the troop so they could continue on their journey.

The Flying Dragon beat its wings and flew higher into the sky.

The Flying Dragons usually flew at an altitude of over ten thousand meters, similar to most commercial flights, but not every creature could withstand the cold when flying at such an extreme altitude.

Zhang Xiaohou took a final worried glance at the ground as his mount was soaring into the clouds.

He could only see half of the land below because the thick clouds were obscuring things.

The gray buildings, as tiny as lego blocks, were scattered close to some gentle hills in the vast terrain. The area close to the mountains was most likely the main district of the county. The buildings were denser there than those close to the sea.

When the buildings were almost blocked off by the clouds, Zhang Xiaohou noticed round gray clouds engulfing some of those buildings.

The sky was silent as the strange phenomenon occurred on the ground. Zhang Xiaohou thought he was imagining things again.

“Dive down!” Zhang Xiaohou suddenly ordered.

His men had no idea what was going on. They only saw Zhang Xiaohou pulling the lead reins on the Flying Dragon. The majestic creature immediately dove from the sky!

The Flying Dragon did not fold its wings. It pulled its wings toward its tail, making its head and body into a long triangle. Its dive left two visible lines on both sides as its wings sliced through the air. It soon passed through the layer of clouds.

The others immediately followed and dove for the ground too, but the Triumphant Eagle Dragons were slower than the Flying Dragon. They were quickly left some distance behind.

—

Zhang Xiaohou gradually approached the ground. He could see the intertwining roads, patches of farmlands and wetlands, and people fleeing in panic.

However, he felt a shiver running down his spine when he noticed the buildings had all disappeared!

All the buildings were razed to the ground, as if they were destroyed by a celestial being. Their remains, now in the form of dust clouds, loomed over the district. Thousands of people were standing on the streets and staring at their surroundings like they were having a nightmare in total disbelief and fear!

Not a single building was left, including those with only a single story.

Even the strongest earthquake would not turn all the buildings into powder in just an instant. Most importantly, an earthquake would cause strong quakes and leave cracks in the ground everywhere.

However, the ground was perfectly fine without any sign of damage, yet the buildings of an entire county had all collapsed and turned into dust!

Zhang Xiaohou could not believe his eyes.

It would take a huge amount of power to cause such a terrifying phenomenon. Even a Great Ruler could not destroy the buildings so cleanly and silently!

However, Zhang Xiaohou did not notice anything strange as he searched the ‘bald’ county.

There was no sign of a powerful demon creature’s presence and no trails had been left behind by the culprit. The whole county had effectively disappeared, but its residents were all unharmed.

Some of the people were living in taller buildings, but the hills of dust the buildings had turned into cushioned their falls and saved their lives.

“What…what exactly just happened? Don’t tell me the Dragon King is real?” Hua Yuezhu blurted out after a prolonged silence.

If Hua Yuezhu had linked the phenomenon to the Bohai Dragon King, the residents who had been around for a long time would arrive at the same conclusion too.

The survivors soon dropped to their knees while facing the sea. They either lost their minds after being overwhelmed by fear, or were sincerely grateful toward the Dragon King for sparing their lives. Many were knocking their heads on the ground. It was quite a shocking sight!

—

The shocking incident in Luning County soon spread on the Internet.

There was no sign of demon creatures, and it did not seem to be caused by a Mage, either. It was like the work of a god, so more people started to believe the Bohai Dragon King was responsible for it.

Zhang Xiaohou could not stay in Luning County. There was nothing he could do since there was no sign of any demon creatures. He could not find any explanation for the incident, either.

However, Zhang Xiaohou could sense a strange atmosphere looming over Qinhuangdao.

The buildings were destroyed in virtually no time at all. What if the target was the people, who were far more fragile? Was it really a warning from the Bohai Dragon King? What would he do next to vent his wrath?

Zhang Xiaohou quickly reached Qinghuangdao City.

He was still lost in his thoughts. For some reason, he had a feeling the mission he had been assigned had something to do with the rumors of the Bohai Dragon King.

——-

Beidaihe District…

Beidaihe was a coastal resort town, but not many people were visible enjoying their day on the beach, most likely due to the incident that shocked the whole country.

A black-bearded middle-aged man in a brown military coat was walking slowly along a scenic path. The sea breeze was caressing his beard.

“I heard about Beijiang. You did well,” the man spoke.

“Chief, is the incident in Luning County related to our current mission?” Zhang Xiaohou asked attentively.

“Pretty sharp, aren’t you? The wrath of the dragon king, huh? People always like to believe in rumors,” the man sighed. “Xiaohou, what do you think?”

“I think it’s terrifying. The cities are our foundation. The safe zones are established with relay stations, sentry towers, keeps, fortresses, and maritime battlefields on their perimeters. The coastlines are even guarded by dams, otherwise the sea monsters would be able to come and go freely. If something out there has the ability to turn them all into dust, the cities will soon turn into hunting grounds for the sea monsters and demon creatures!” Zhang Xiaohou judged.

“It seems like you are more alert than some of the old generals,” the man smiled grimly.

The two kept walking along the beach. The man suddenly stopped and pointed at the sea and the islands within their range of vision. “How far can you see?” the man asked.

“Around a dozen kilometers.”

“The water you can see now and the water further away are full of the culprits who destroyed Luning County. These things have always been in our territory. They are trying to destroy every defensive structure, dam, and building along our coastlines. Bohai is their nest. They are multiplying now, growing until they are strong enough to devour the Bohai, East, and South China Seas,” the man declared with a slight hint of anger.

Zhang Xiaohou could sense his chief’s Aura. The waves were rolling in the opposite direction, and the tide was retreating from him, too!

The man continued before Zhang Xiaohou could say a word, “The old clock tower in Shanghaiguan District has started its countdown.”

Zhang Xiaohou was puzzled. He looked at the huge clock tower on top of a mountain in Shanhaiguan District. “Chief, what is the countdown for?” he asked.

“The arrival of a Forbidden Curse!”

Chapter 2448: Looking for Traces

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou had several guesses on what the mission was about. He also knew it was confidential and urgent.

However, he did not expect it would involve a Forbidden Curse!

The countdown for a Forbidden Curse. Wouldn’t that mean the culprits in the Bohai Sea were so strong that they had to rely on a Forbidden Curse?

Forbidden Curses and ordinary magic were completely different. A Forbidden Curse was at least a hundred times stronger than a Super Spell, and that was only describing the initial damage a Forbidden Curse would cause. Most terrifyingly, a Forbidden Curse would often inflict irrecoverable damage on the surrounding areas and environment.

The power of Forbidden Curses had to be treated with extreme caution. They were usually treated as a last resort when mankind was at stake. The Magic Associations across the five continents and many countries had forbidden every organization, faction, country, and Forbidden Mages to use Forbidden Curses.

“Chief, will you be handling it?” Zhang Xiaohou could not withhold the shock in his heart.

They were going to use the strongest magic in the world! It did not matter what creature they were up against. It was going to perish for sure!

“The Ice Emperor will handle the Forbidden Curse. The Induction has already begun. We now need the coordinates for the Seal,” the man said.

“Coordinates for the Seal?” Zhang Xiaohou soon realized why he had been called here.

The Induction of a Forbidden Curse was a massive process. Most Forbidden Mages were unable to complete a Forbidden Curse by themselves.

Forbidden Mages were usually the main Inductors. They needed other Inductors and magic Formations to provide the Forbidden Curse with an enormous amount of energy.

The Forbidden Curse did not involve a mere Star Palace made up of twenty-four hundred and one Stars. They would have to construct an imperial city full of shiny Star Palaces, meaning a lot of Super Mages would be involved!

Zhang Xiaohou was not an Ice Mage. None of his men were outstanding Ice Mages either, which meant his troop was called here for a different job.

“The trickiest part of a Forbidden Curse is its Induction. The whole Bohai Sea will be alerted during the Induction, but we have already made the necessary preparations. We will not allow the sea monsters to interrupt the process.

“After the Induction, the Forbidden Curse will need specific coordinates for its landing point.”

The destructive might of a Forbidden Curse was immeasurable. Its power was just too overwhelming due to the Induction performed by a Forbidden Mage with the help of countless Super Mages, Advanced Mages, and Elemental Formations.

The Forbidden Curse had an insane coverage area, too. It might even trigger disastrous events like tsunami, landslides, earthquakes, hail, and volcanic eruptions.

It was difficult to tell how long the Forbidden Curse would last, and what level of Elemental Storm it would trigger and where it would go to.

A Forbidden Curse would also disrupt the stability of space and create a Black Hole. Even as the space was repairing itself, the Black Hole would devour everything within a certain range as it was shrinking.

They had to consider a lot of factors before using a Forbidden Curse, especially since every area of land was utterly precious to mankind. Once a Forbidden Curse was used, the whole place would be cursed and become uninhabitable!

Therefore, the coordinates of the Forbidden Curse’s first impact point were crucial due to the uncertainties involved.

The Dragon King Culprits posed a huge threat to the entire coastline of their country. If the coordinates missed the Dragon King Culprits’ nest, many of them would survive the Forbidden Curse.

However, if the nest of the Dragon King Culprits was too close to human territory, they would have to compromise and find the coordinates with the perfect balance between the safety of human territory and the damage the Forbidden Curse would inflict on the enemy!

The landing point of the Forbidden Curse! It was a tough mission for Zhang Xiaohou’s platoon of Violet Imperial Mages!

“Xiaohou, even the main Inductor couldn’t estimate the damage of the Forbidden Curse. Once the countdown ends, the Forbidden Curse will be released. Therefore, you must flee as soon as you find the coordinates.”

“I promise I’ll finish my mission!”

“I want you to complete the mission and come back safely!” the man ordered him.

“Affirmative, sir!”

—

—

Zhang Xiaohou was excited and a little uneasy when he returned to his troop.

It was the highest order he had been given since he joined the army. The safety of all of China was at stake, not to mention they were going to use the strongest magic in the world to resolve it.

He looked at the sea now covered in darkness. Many powerful creatures were hiding in the shadows and under the waves.

Even though Zhang Xiaohou had no idea what they were going up against, the fear in his heart gradually diminished after learning they were backed by a Forbidden Curse.

The stars were still glowing brightly in the sky. People always said the brightest star was the eye of a person who remained at the bottom of one’s heart after they had left during one’s childhood.

They would see the person’s gaze when their heart was as calm as the night sky.

Zhang Xiaohou could only hug his head and cry in the past, but he now had the power to protect an entire sea!

“You should worry more about your own safety first next time,” Zhang Xiaohou murmured. He pulled his cap lower and headed for the brightly-lit camp.

—

—

The sun had just risen. The cold of the dawn mixed with the sea breeze greeted Zhang Xiaohou.

He washed his face to quickly get rid of his sleepiness and looked at the clock tower on the mountain.

The clock was adjusted to indicate days, meaning a complete cycle of the minute hand was equivalent to a day. A complete cycle of the hour hand would mean twelve days. The Forbidden Curse would take place when all three hands were pointing at twelve.

Only twelve days left until the deadline.

They did not have much time. They could not afford to waste a single second!

“General, we’ve received the information on the Dragon King Culprits. Should I read it out to everyone?” the Head of the Royal Guards inquired of him.

“Yes!”

—

—

The Flying Dragon beat its wings and took off into the sky, stirring up huge waves and strong gusts of wind. A group of dragon beasts followed the Flying Dragon and soared into the clouds.

The Bohai Sea’s coastline was extremely long. They had to keep searching along it all the way to Dalian.

Their information stated the Dragon King Culprits were residing close to the coastline. They might also be staying on the islands that were close to the mainland.

They could not exclude the swamps and wetlands, either. After all, the Dragon King Culprits were active in other areas than the Bohai Sea. Buildings were collapsing mysteriously in the East China Sea and South China Sea too, including the Magic City!

“Let’s go to Luning County first,” Zhang Xiaohou said after reading the information.

“Are we finally going after the creatures that are keeping the people around the Bohai Sea in constant fear? Humph, we’ll soon learn their secrets!” Captain Tian declared.

The Dragon King Culprits would definitely have left some clues behind after destroying so many buildings in Luning County. That being said, it was not going to be easy to look for the clues!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The people in Luning County had started to move, but most residents were willing to build simple houses and stay behind out of fear and respect to the Bohai Dragon King.

According to their beliefs, they were asking forgiveness from the Bohai Dragon King!

When Zhang Xiaohou and his men returned to Luning County, they could see a lot of wooden huts had been built from coniferous trees along the beach.

The wooden huts were facing the sea. Some of them even had delicate carvings, bright paint, and blue lines on them so they would resemble the Dragon King’s palace.

Most importantly, there were some wooden huts in a town close to Luning County. These huts were perfectly unharmed.

As a result, more people now believed in the practice of offering wooden huts to the Dragon King!

“What year is it already? Why are they so superstitious?” Hua Yuezhu scoffed.

“It’s not really about being superstitious. Everyone was under great pressure after the terrifying incident. They are just trying to look for comfort through simple rituals. Not everyone truly believes the Dragon King is real,” Tan Feng explained in a reasonable voice.

The land of the Linhai District in Luning County was around a hundred meters higher than the sea level. The dust the buildings had turned into was still covering its streets.

“General, you haven’t told us what our mission is,” Captain Tian inquired.

The rest of the troops were extremely curious, too. Zhang Xiaohou had met the chief in person. The mission given by the chief had to be unusual!

“The truth is, the military knows what is responsible for the incident,” Zhang Xiaohou told them.

“So, are we going to look for its traces and take it out?”

Zhang Xiaohou shook his head, as he took out a confidential file. “We are going after a unique species. The military calls them the Dragon King Krill,” Zhang Xiaohou informed them.

“Dragon King Krill?!” Everyone was astounded.

Did that mean Luning County had been invaded by demon creatures? Why didn’t they see anything? What form did the Dragon King Krill take?

Zhang Xiaohou knew everyone was puzzled. He asked Tan Feng to collect a lot of seawater from the nearby beach.

Tan Feng was a Water Mage. He controlled the seawater and poured it into a pit surrounded by rocks.

“The Dragon King Krill are inside there,” Zhang Xiaohou told them.

The others immediately went closer and stared at the water in the pit, but they did not notice anything unusual.

Was it possible that the Dragon King Krill were plankton, which were so small they were invisible to the naked eye?

Zhang Xiaohou took out a bottle of purple liquid and poured it into the pit. The liquid spread rapidly and dyed the water inside the pit purple.

However, a small portion of the seawater did not turn purple, retaining its initial color. It looked like a pillar of ant-sized creatures swimming around inside the purple liquid!

“What…what are those?” Hua Yuezhu blurted out in shock.

“These are the Dragon King Krill. Their bodies are transparent, like the water. They are almost invisible when they are moving along the ground, too,” Zhang Xiaohou answered, pointing at the creatures swimming in the purple liquid.

It was also Zhang Xiaohou’s first time seeing the Dragon King Krill. The military had given him information on the Dragon King Krill and shown him how to reveal them. Zhang Xiaohou was also surprised when he finally saw the strange transparent creatures with his own eyes.

In other words, the Dragon King Krill had already followed the waves and invaded human territory without alerting anyone!

The only relief was that these Dragon King Krill did not feed on humans. They were more interested in concrete and steel!

“They are vermin born in the oceans. They can severely damage our defenses and any buildings that are built with steel and concrete along the coastline. The Dragon King Krill in this pit can take down a ten-story building within a single day!

“There are countless numbers of these Dragon King Krill in the sea. We have also learned something terrifying. A huge army of Dragon King Krill will soon emerge from the Bohai Sea and destroy all our defenses and cities along the coastline in several months. The country will then be defenseless against the sea monsters.”

Zhang Xiaohou understood why the government had to use a Forbidden Curse after learning all the information about the Dragon King Krill.

The Bohai Sea was vast. Just ten tons of seawater alone would have one to three Dragon King Krill. According to the intel they had, there were dozens or even hundreds of Dragon King Krill in every ten tons of water close to their nest!

They were like an omnipresent army of ants eating away the final line of defenses that the humans were clinging to!

“This is insane. I just had a swim at the beach yesterday. I feel extremely uncomfortable now!” Captain Tian murmured.

“The information also says these creatures aren’t interested in living things… at least for now. However, ever since the sea level started to rise, a lot of sea monsters across the world have mutated. The white clouds of demon creatures which have been a huge threat in the Pacific Ocean are one example. I believe the military has decided to use a Forbidden Curse because the authorities are worried the Dragon King Krill might mutate, too,” Zhang Xiaohou went on.

Everyone was listening carefully and nodding, but their eyes widened when they heard the words ‘Forbidden Curse’!

“General Zhang, did you just mention a Forbidden Curse?!”

“Mm, I did!” Zhang Xiaohou nodded. He informed his men about the Forbidden Curse after telling them about the Dragon King Krill.

Their mission was extremely challenging. Even though they were not the only troop of the Violet Imperial Battalion charged with searching for the right coordinates, they would constantly be on their toes after learning there was a countdown.

“If we don’t leave in time, will we perish together with the Dragon King Krill?” Hua Yuezhu asked.

“Yes, so we have to plan our escape wisely as we are carrying out the mission,” Zhang Xiaohou told them.

The soldiers fell silent.

They were basically walking on the edge when they were advancing before a Forbidden Curse!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The dragon beasts only ate raw meat. They might be powerful mounts, but it was troublesome to feed them.

A few soldiers brought back some demon creatures’ meat from a nearby marketplace to feed them.

Tian Cheng came back with good news after the Flying Dragon and Triumphant Eagle Dragons were fed.

Not only was Tian Cheng a scout, he also specialized in tracking down demon creatures. He could locate the feathers, scales, skin crumbs, and worms that fell off demon creatures and analyze them to determine the species.

When they were in Beijiang, the Evil Hound Ruler kept moving around in the wilderness. If Captain Tian had not traced it down through its saliva, they would have had no chance of finding the Ruler-level creature.

Their mission was to look for the Dragon King Krill nest, but these creatures were as transparent as the water they lived in.

Their transparency was not the same as pure water. They could modify their transparency based on the cloudiness of the water, and since they were crustaceans, they could hide inside rocks too, making it difficult to track them down.

Zhang Xiaohou thought they would spend some time in Luning County to look for clues, but Tian Cheng came back with a piece of useful information.

“General Zhang, I’ve found some colored salt in the wetlands. The weather happened to be sunny and clear for the past few days, so the seawater had dried into salt.” Tian Cheng opened his palm.

Hua Yuezhu went closer to take a look, but she had no idea what she was looking at.

“Is there something special about this salt?” Zhang Xiaohou asked calmly.

“Yes, this colored salt is formed when waves are splashing on Salt Flower Rocks. The water erodes the rocks and turns into this seaweed-blue salt after it has dried,” Tian Cheng explained.

“But what does that have to do with the Dragon King Krill?” Hua Yuezhu had to ask.

“I’ve analyzed the Dragon King Krill and found the salt content in their body liquid to be several times higher than the salt level of ordinary seawater. It has even passed the highest soluble level, so I’m guessing the liquid is serving as their blood and providing them with energy,” Tian Cheng deduced.

Tian Cheng was a smart soldier. He immediately grabbed a few Dragon King Krill from the sea after having a thought. He discovered the Dragon King Krill could not live in freshwater after a quick experiment.

The Dragon King Krill would suffocate in ten minutes in water without salt, drowning as if they had no access to oxygen.

Most importantly, when Tian Cheng threw a few bricks, clay, and rocks into the water, the Dragon King Krill would eat them and turn them into a liquid with a higher salt level, allowing them to move freely and act more aggressively in freshwater.

Tian Cheng concluded the Dragon King Krill required a high level of salt. The oceans were the perfect cultivation factories for them, as they were rich in salt!

However, the salt level there was still not high enough for them. They continued to feed on rocks, concrete, and steel, and turned them all into salt.

“If these creatures can eat rocks, won’t they be unstoppable? This world will never run out of rocks and seawater!” Hua Yuezhu exclaimed.

“So they must have a great weakness, or they are selective eaters. Either way, salt is the Dragon King Krill’s vitality and energy. We can narrow down the search to islands and cliffs with Salt Flower Rocks. We should be able to find a lot of these Dragon King Krill,” Tian Cheng declared confidently.

The salt level of normal seawater was not enough to support the Dragon King Krill. They would most likely gather at places with a higher concentration of salt, and even build their nests there!

“We can try asking the locals and see if they know where to find Salt Flower Rocks,” Zhang Xiaohou agreed.

“I already did!” Tian Cheng took out a map of the Bohai Sea and its coasts. It had a few red circles on it already. “There’s a peninsula with a lot of Salt Flower Rocks seventy kilometers from here. There are many villages and factories nearby, too!”

“Great, let’s go!”

——

The Salt Flower Peninsula was almost fully separated from the mainland. It was only connected to the mainland by a damp path. It did not even have a bridge for cars to access it.

The path was submerged under seawater most of the time after the rise of the sea level. Only part of it was exposed when the tide fell.

The peninsula was huge, with around thirty villages scattered across it. It also had five factories of various sizes. The biggest one had over a thousand workers.

There was no main road, highway, or rail connected to Salt Flower Island. There was only a damaged road leading to the damp path, so most people had no idea there were still so many people living on the peninsula.

“We would never have found this place if we hadn’t learned of its existence from the locals,” Tan Feng commented.

The peninsula was less developed than the coasts. It only had a wind farm as a source of electricity.

The white windmills were the most advanced structures on the peninsula. Mobile signals were extremely weak, let alone Internet coverage.

However, the people on the peninsula did not live a primitive life, having their own standard of living. Even though it was inconvenient to contact the outside world, the peninsula was not completely sealed off. It was just a little behind.

—

Zhang Xiaohou and his men waited until it was dark before flying to the peninsula so they would not alarm the people. They found a small hidden canyon and left a few soldiers behind to look after the Flying Dragon and Triumphant Eagle Dragons. The rest of his soldiers followed Zhang Xiaohou to the peninsula.

“If they could build a bridge to this place, it might become a scenic tourist spot,” a young female officer observed.

“Are you seriously thinking about developing tourism now?”

“Such a disgusting odor! Do you guys smell that?” a soldier with a sharper nose spoke up sharply.

Zhang Xiaohou took a deep breath and picked up a pungent smell. “Maybe it’s the waste produced by the factories.”

The group continued deeper. They could already see some lights.

The residents were a little scattered. There were a few households on top of a hill and several others at the waist of a hill. Some were located beside a road, while some were further away, hidden in the dense woods.

“I think there’s a factory there.”

“Captian Tian, bring some men with you and analyze the seawater. Tang Feng, bring a squad with you to investigate the factory,” Zhang Xiaohou ordered.

The group quickly split up to do their jobs, leaving only Zhang Xiaohou and Hua Yuezhu behind.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The others had left to carry out their tasks. Hua Yuezhu remained beside Zhang Xiaohou, standing there elegantly.

Hua Yuezhu was an imperial bodyguard, and her job was to protect Zhang Xiaohou. She did not take part in other jobs.

“I’m thinking of visiting the villages to learn more about this place, but if we wear our uniforms, the villages might be afraid of us. I think we should change into some casual clothes,” Zhang Xiaohou suggested.

“Afraid of us? Why would the villages be afraid of soldiers? Are they doing something fishy?” Hua Yuezhu asked quickly.

“Not necessarily. Most civilians are respectful but cautious towards the police and the military. If we talk to them in our uniforms, they will only give simple responses to our questions, and we won’t find the answers we are looking for. If we are dressed casually, they will treat us as passersby. They will act more normal around us, but we will have to distinguish whether what they say is the truth or something they made up,” Zhang Xiaohou answered.

Zhang Xiaohou had investigated many incidents happening in villages and towns when he was in Qinling Mountains. The Magic Association had passed the incidents they could not handle to the government and the military.

Zhang Xiaohou was thus experienced in dealing with locals. He had problems in the past discovering any useful information when he visited the villages and towns in uniform.

—

The two changed into some casual clothes and pretended to be young travelers.

The village had electricity, but most households had already gone to bed. It was only a little past eight, but there were not many people outdoors.

Zhang Xiaohou was wearing a windbreaker and a warm shirt underneath. The coasts were cold at night, especially in the colder seasons. It was important to wear some warm clothes.

Hua Yuezhu had changed into a pair of jeans and a jacket with open slits. She was wearing a close-fitting sweatshirt underneath.

Zhang Xiaohou had not known Hua Yuezhu for long, and he always saw her in her uniform. She always wore a pair of loose military trousers instead of a skirt.

Her appearance changed as soon as she changed her clothes. She no longer had the heroic and sharp bearing of a soldier; she looked far more sweet-tempered and charming, like a beautiful woman from the city.

“What is it?” Hua Yuezhu was puzzled. She did not understand why General Zhang was looking at her differently.

“It’s my first time seeing you outside of uniform. I think it suits our disguise perfectly,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Hua Yuezhu thought Zhang Xiaohou would compliment her on her looks. She pulled a long face after hearing his neutral words.

—

The peninsula must have rarely had any tourists. They did not see an inn or hotel where they could stay for the night.

They found only a house with a stone fence. They went closer to the door.

The house was very old, as its wooden walls had already darkened. It must have been built a long time ago.

“Can I help you?” An old man was smoking cigarettes and drinking tea in the yard.

A dog started barking there. The old man snapped at the dog to stop before looking at Zhang Xiaohou and Hua Yuezhu again.

Zhang Xiaohou scratched his head and said with an awkward smile, “Mister, my friend and I were cycling when we saw this beautiful place. We crossed the wetland and came to take a look, but we couldn’t get back after the tide rose and drowned the trail.”

“Oh, no wonder I have never seen you around before. Are you having a hard time finding a place to stay for the night?” the man asked.

“Yes, we couldn’t find any inn,” Zhang Xiaohou confirmed.

“That’s normal, we rarely have any outsiders. You can stay here for the night if you don’t mind. I’ll ask my son to prepare a room for you. Ugh, do you mind sleeping on the floor? I’ll give you a mattress.” The old man shook off the ashes on his cigarette.

“That will do, thank you.”

“Thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing. Come and have some tea. I can tell you two are tired. Have a seat… my goodness, young man, you have a beautiful girlfriend. Lucky you,” the old man said.

Hua Yuezhu was happy to hear the compliment, and purposely looked at Zhang Xiaohou. She believed Zhang Xiaohou should have said something similar to her before.

“Mister, we saw a lot of factories and fields on our way here. What are they for?” Zhang Xiaohou asked casually.

“They are used to dry salt. What else can they be used for? Most of the villagers here either plant sugar cane or are salt farmers. We manage our own fields and dry the salt. The factories send someone to collect them. They will tell us the price depending on the salt’s quality,” the old man poured them a few cups of tea.

“Is the salt used for food?” Hua Yuezhu asked brightly.

The old man burst out laughing and said, “It sounds like you two are students. There’s a huge difference between edible salt and industrial salt. We are producing sea salt. It is only edible after it’s processed through some complicated methods. The salt we produce is for other uses.”

“Other uses?” Zhang Xiaohou had a feeling he was on the right track.

The old man stopped talking. He obviously did not want to say too much to outsiders.

Hua Yuezhu was impatient. She wanted to ask more, but Zhang Xiaohou stopped her with a look.

The old man was obviously going to be suspicious if they kept asking questions. There must be a reason why he did not answer the question.

Zhang Xiaohou was growing more suspicious of the factories.

Salt might have a lot of other uses, but there were no logistics in place to transport the salt from the peninsula. Were the farmers producing so much salt just for themselves?

—

“Father, I’ve prepared the room,” a tanned man around the age of twenty-seven spoke up.

“Go get some rest. You two can go around the towns tomorrow. The path you took will only return after several days,” the old man told them.

“Alright.”

Zhang Xiaohou brought Hua Yuezhu to the second floor. The old man’s son was staring at Hua Yuezhu, as if he had never seen such a beautiful woman before.

The old man hit his son on the head and scolded, “What are you looking at? That’s someone else’s girlfriend. You can get your own wife. You say you don’t fancy the girls in our village. Go and look in the cities then, but how are you going to make a living there? You only know how to dry salt!”

“Father, didn’t I stay because I wanted to take care of you? You would be alone if I moved to the cities. I’ve given up a potentially great life just to stay with you,” the young man protested.

The father and son were talking so loudly that Hua Yuezhu could hear them on the second floor. She giggled when she heard them argue.

“They are pretty funny.”

“The old man must know a lot of things,” Zhang Xiaohou said softly.

“How can you tell? I feel like he’s just an ordinary old man.”

“He’s a Mage.”

“What?” Hua Yuezhu was confused. She had not been able to tell that the ordinary-looking old man was a Mage!

Chapter 2452: Catching Dragon King Krill
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How did you know?” Hua Yuezhu was confused.

Zhang Xiaohou smiled, but he did not explain to Hua Yuezhu.

They obviously were not going to go to bed so early. Zhang Xiaohou asked Hua Yuezhu to stay in the room, and left through the back door.

They did not have any reliable leads, and could only collect as much information as they could. He was waiting for Tian Cheng and Tan Feng to report back to him before deciding on their next step.

The information the military had on the Dragon King Ants clearly stated these creatures liked to live close to islands and the land. They did not even have to consider searching the deeper ocean for their nests.

“General, we detected lots of Dragon King Krill around the peninsula, but they seem to have come from other places. Their nests aren’t here,” Tian Cheng said.

Tan Feng shared his findings from the factory. “The factories are rather special. First of all, they are not manufacturing any products with their salt. They have stored all the salt in the factories. Many workers are processing the salt into blocks at night!”

“What are they really up to?” Zhang Xiaohou was even more curious.

Zhang Xiaohou decided to visit the factory Tan Feng had investigated while it was still dark.

The factory was brightly lit, as many people were still working in it. The old man did mention most people were working night shifts in the factories.

“Why are they tossing the salt crystals into the sea?” Zhang Xiaohou observed carefully.

The workers were throwing the salt they had received from the salt farmers into the sea. Their actions made no sense at all. Why would they throw the salt back into the sea after producing it?

“Someone is operating the machinery. I think that’s a crane!” Tian Feng said softly.

Two cranes appeared on the surface of the sea. Thick steel cables were tied to the cranes, their other ends submerged in the water.

The cranes were loud and efficient. The surface of the sea started splashing.

Something was soon dragged out of the water. It was a closely-fit wire net. The salt-heavy water was pouring out of the net as it was dragged out of the sea.

However, a portion of the water looked strange. It was trapped in the wire net’s tiny holes, and was being dragged ashore.

Zhang Xiaohou and his men were stunned.

Are they catching seawater?

Hang on, they were catching the Dragon King Krill!

They were aware of the Dragon King Krill’s existence in the sea and knew the creatures liked salt, so they had collected a huge amount of salt produced by the salt farmers and spread it into a certain area.

They were basically throwing bait into the sea and catching all the fish with a net when they reached a certain number!

The water that was wriggling in the wire net was hundreds of Dragon King Krill!

“The wire net is made of Scorched Silver, a special substance that the Dragon King Krill cannot bite through. The residents on this peninsula are more familiar with the Dragon King Krill than the military is!” Tian Cheng blurted out in surprise.

Scorched Silver was one of the rare substances that the Dragon King Krill could not devour. Only the top scholars working for the military knew about it. No one had expected these isolated villages to know such a rare piece of information.

Furthermore, judging from their devices and how adept they were at catching the Dragon King Krill, they were obviously more familiar with the special species than the military!

True masters were indeed found among ordinary folks.

The whole world was terrified after the incident in Luning County was reported, but these villagers already had their own way of dealing with the Dragon King Krill.

“Why are these villagers catching the Dragon King Krill? Don’t tell me they are breeding them!”

“So these villagers are up to no good. We’ll report them to the military so they can send soldiers here to arrest them!”

Zhang Xiaohou frowned. He rolled his eyes at the two young soldiers who were talking and said, “Don’t come to a conclusion so easily before we find out the truth!”

“General, what should we do next?” Tian Cheng said.

“Keep watching them and find out why they are catching the Dragon King Krill,” Zhang Xiaohou ordered.

“Affirmative!”

—

Zhang Xiaohou was full of doubts when he went back to the old man’s house.

The peninsula was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. The old man told him the factories had been buying salt from the villages for many years, meaning they had been catching the Dragon King Krill for quite some time.

The Dragon King Krill had reproduced in plague proportions, and were now threatening the safety of the country’s coastline. Zhang Xiaohou had no idea if the villages were responsible for it.

The villages seemed normal. Were they unaware of how dangerous the Dragon King Krill were, or did they really have something to do with the threat posed by the Dragon King Krill?

—

Hua Yuezhu was waiting in the room, quite bored. Her eyes glittered as soon as she saw Zhang Xiaohou, and she greeted him with a smile.

“General, I just learned something interesting. You won’t believe why the factories are collecting the salt,” Hua Yuezhu blurted out in joy.

“They are catching the Dragon King Krill,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Hua Yuezhu gaped at him. Her rare reaction was rather amusing.

Zhang Xiaohou told Hua Yuezhu everything he had seen.

“I see, but I know why they are catching the Dragon King Krill,” Hua Yuezhu regained her smile.

“Where did you learn that from?” Zhang Xiaohou asked curiously.

“I stumbled into the old man’s son as he was sewing a silver fishing net when I went downstairs to get some water. He’s much more simple-minded than his father. I was able to trick him and get some useful information out of him,” Hua Yuezhu said.

“Are you sure you didn’t do anything else?”

“Of course not!”

Zhang Xiaohou could only smile wryly.

He was making steady progress incrementally uncovering the peninsula’s secrets, but Hua Yuezhu had beaten him to it by just abusing her beauty.

“He told me the things they are catching are rich in Sea Silver Granules. These Sea Silver Granules are even smaller than Sponge Granules. They can refine the Sea Silver Granules into Deep Sea Scorched Silver, which is several times more valuable than diamonds on the market. The whole Salt Flower Peninsula is making a fortune from it! They might be living on this island, but many of them own big houses in the cities!” Hua Yuezhu informed him.

Zhang Xiaohou considered her words soberly.

He had no idea if the old man’s son was telling the truth. He would have to wait for his men to finish their investigation.

He just hoped everything was as simple as it sounded. Otherwise, this peninsula might be the culprit placing the whole country in danger!

Chapter 2453: The Marine Trench
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The next day, Zhang Xiaohou and Hua Yuezhu told the old man they were going to look around the island as an excuse to leave his house.

They regrouped with Tan Feng, who was keeping a close watch on the factory. He told Zhang Xiaohou the same thing Hua Yuezhu had told him last night.

The workers were indeed catching the Dragon King Krill, but they were merely after the Sea Silver Granules in their blood.

What they were doing was not necessarily illegal. They would just have to pay some fines to the Environment Protection Department.

“It seems like the residents on this island have no clue as to how dangerous the Dragon King Krill are. They don’t seem to know the details of the Luning County incident because of their lack of communication with the outside world, nor did they link the Dragon King Krill with any other incidents,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“The villagers and factories are actually doing the country a favor, but the number of Dragon King Krill they have caught is nowhere close to our target,” Tian Cheng added.

It was impossible to estimate the number of Dragon King Krill in the Bohai Se; they could only estimate the number of Dragon King Krill in every thousand liters of seawater. It was like counting sand, even if they were using the number of Dragon King Krill every thousand liters of seawater as the unit of capacity!

“Tian Cheng, where did the Deep Sea Scorched Silver the villagers are refining come from?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

The Deep Sea Scorched Silver was a rare substance that the Dragon King Krill could not digest. If the peninsula was only a little canteen for the Dragon King Krill instead of their nest, they might be able to find the Dragon King Krill’s’ nests if they could find the Deep Sea Scorched Silver.

“It will take a long time for us to track down the exact coordinates. We only have around ten days left,” Tian Cheng had to reply.

The Dragon King Krill ranged widely across the Bohai Sea. Not only would it take a long time for them to learn the places the Dragon King Krill had been to by examining the residue in their bodies, they would also have to cross-analyze a lot of information.

The Deep Sea Scorched Silver could only be found on the seabed of deep oceans. It was definitely not an easy task!

“General, I think we can tell the old man the truth. The old man’s son also mentioned he only knew a little information. His father knew a lot more than him. If we tell him the threat of the Dragon King Krill, he won’t ignore the country’s safety, even if he has some concerns,” Hua Yuezhu spoke up.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded. Their only choice was to be honest with the old man and hope he could provide them with more valuable information!

Nevertheless, they had come to the right place, as the residents on the peninsula were more familiar with the Dragon King Krill and had been catching them for years.

——

Zhang Xiaohou brought Tian Cheng, Tan Feng, and Hua Yuezhu with him. They all changed into their uniforms.

The old man was sitting in the yard. He was surprisingly calm when he saw them.

“Have a seat.” The old man shook off his cigarette ashes, completely unruffled by their appearance.

“Old man, I am sorry for not being honest with you,” Zhang Xiaohou said as he sat down.

“A general at such a young age. It’s been years since I last set foot out of this place. I didn’t expect our country to have such great talents now!” the old man exclaimed.

The others remained standing behind Zhang Xiaohou, instead of taking seats themselves.

The old man’s son ran out of the kitchen and yelled, “Father, what do they want? My father has nothing to do with it. Take me instead!”

“Please don’t misunderstand. We are from the military, not the Environment Protection Department.”

“What are you yelling for? Sit down, they are soldiers. Why are you holding a knife? Do you want to pick a fight with the government?” the old man shouted at his son.

The old man’s son finally calmed down, and crouched down beside the table with a regretful look. He did not even get himself a stool.

He knew what he was doing was not right. He would be in trouble one day, but the day had come earlier than he had thought.

“Old man, do you know about the creatures the factories are catching?” Zhang Xiaohou asked directly.

“Are they related to the recent incident?” the old man asked slowly.

“Mm, they destroyed Luning County. Their numbers are many times greater than what you are catching. Based on our investigations, the Bohai Sea has several thousand times the number of Dragon King Krill found here. Once they gather together and charge at our coasts, they will destroy hundreds of our cities in just a few hours,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

The old man’s wrinkled face filled with astonishment.

The old man definitely did not expect the Dragon King Krill to be such a huge threat!

“I told the people of the factories years ago that those things were dangerous. I was hoping they would report them to the authorities, but everyone was too poor back then. They could finally escape poverty by catching the creatures, yet it still became such a huge problem!” the old man said regretfully.

“It’s not entirely your fault. After all, even the Research Union couldn’t fully examine these creatures, which are so invisible in the sea. We just have to find their nests as soon as possible, and annihilate them before they invade our coasts!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“How are you going to eliminate them?” the old man asked.

Zhang Xiaohou did not answer the question. The Forbidden Curse was confidential. The military had no plans to disclose it to the public.

The old man understood silently. As Zhang Xiaohou had deduced, he was a Mage. He knew it would be a confidential operation if they had sent a general on the mission!

“It’s indeed difficult to detect these creatures. It was a coincidence when we caught them at first. We didn’t believe there was something in the water at first since they don’t bite wood, living creatures, or the fruits we had planted. We eventually discovered they could eat steel and rocks, and then we thought of making nets with Scorched Silver to deal with them,” the old man explained.

They had only started to fish for the Dragon King Krill five years ago.

They had discovered the Dragon King Krill when all the coincidences came together. Otherwise, they would never have known there were tens of thousands of Dragon King Krill roaming around the peninsula.

“These Dragon King Krill are probably coming from a marine trench nearby. The deepest part of the marine trench has lots of Scorched Silver that we humans would struggle to mine. The strange thing is, even though the Dragon King Krill can’t digest the Scorched Silver, they will still eat it,” the old man went on.

Zhang Xiaohou took out a detailed map of the Bohai Sea and put it on the table. “Old man, can you help us mark the location of the trench?” Zhang Xiaohou asked him.

“I’m afraid it’s difficult to find it on the map.” The old man rolled up the map and gave it back to Zhang Xiaohou.

As Zhang Xiaohou was feeling a little dismayed, the old man stood up and declared, “I’ll bring you there. If I’m not too old to recognize the way, we should be able to find the trench!”

Chapter 2454: Seaweed Forest
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The sky was clear and blue, but the sea was dark and muddy. The seawater close to the land was not very clean, especially since there were many factories and sandy cliffs along the coastline.

The color of the sea slowly turned dark green after they traveled a certain distance.

“We should look for a huge area filled with seaweed first,” the old man said. “If I remember it correctly, it should be ahead of us…”

Tian Cheng regrouped with the troop not long after the old man finished his sentence. The Triumphant Eagle Dragon’s feathers glimmered under the sunlight.

“General, I’ve discovered a huge amount of floating seaweed ahead. There might be dangerous creatures hiding in it. We should maintain our current altitude,” Tian Cheng said.

Zhang Xiaohou looked at the old man. It was extremely difficult to pinpoint a specific location in the vast sea. Even if they had accurate coordinates on the map, finding it was a different story. After all, there were not many reference objects in the sea.

The old man had brought them to the right place without relying on any devices. He was very familiar with the sea.

Zhang Xiaohou was relieved.

Only nine days left until the Forbidden Curse was launched. If the marine trench was indeed the Dragon King Ants’ nest, they would be able to accomplish their mission!

“Head thirty nautical miles east after passing the floating seaweed, and you should see an underwater plain,” the old man said.

—

Zhang Xiaohou did not understand what the old man meant by an underwater plain at first, but he was shocked when he saw a huge field of swaying green plants appear on the horizon.

It was hard to imagine finding a green field in the middle of the ocean. The green grasses were obviously not weeds growing out of soil, but green seaweed.

Most algae would grow on rocks, coral reefs, and close to the bottom of the sea, but for some reason, this seaweed was on the surface of the water.

Some of them had even grown out of the water. One might even mistake them for a damp field of grasses at first glance.

“The trench is down there. Many people have no idea there’s a deep trench under here because of the thick seaweed. It’s even scarier than many trenches in the Pacific Ocean,” the old man declared.

The old man also had no idea how deep the trench was. He had only discovered it during a mission when he was younger.

“Mister, is there any place for us to land our mounts? It would be better if we could set a camp there,” Tan Feng asked.

“I can’t tell for sure. There should be submerged reefs around here, but we’ll have to look for them,” the old man said.

“Captain Tong, bring some Shadow and Water Mages and do a quick scout of the area to locate the exact coordinates of the Dragon King Trench and estimate the density and level of demon creatures in it,” Zhang Xiaohou ordered.

“Affirmative!”

“Tian Cheng, look for a suitable spot to set up a camp.”

“Affirmative!”

The troop immediately split up to carry out their tasks.

It was important to set up a camp first. The trench was full of unknown forces. Even if there were no powerful demon creatures in it, They would have to explore it first before going deep into it.

Otherwise, if something happened and they were not prepared for it, the whole troop might die!

—

“General, there aren’t any reefs that we can set up a camp on around here. We now have three options.”

“First, we can use an Ice Formation and freeze the surface of the water about the size of a soccer field for our camp.”

“Second, we can use the dragon beasts to set up a camp in the air. The Triumphant Eagle Dragons will take turns holding the vines and build a network of them in the air.”

“Third, we’ll set up a camp under the water. The Water Mages will build a barrier to maintain the oxygen supply. The water isn’t very deep, so we won’t need a high-level barrier.”

Tian Cheng gave a few suggestions and let Zhang Xiaohou make the decision.

Zhang Xiaohou looked at the old man. He was the most familiar with the Bohai Sea. It was wiser to consider his opinions on the suggestions.

“It’s better to set up a camp at the bottom of the sea. The forest of seaweed is like a maze with lots of demon creatures living in it. Building a camp on the surface isn’t safe,” the old man said.

“The bottom of the sea is clearer as there isn’t as much seaweed down there. It’s also easier to react if anything happens, but can these dragon beasts go underwater?”

The Flying Dragon was able to swim, but it could not fight freely in the water.

The Triumphant Eagle Dragons insisted on staying above the surface. It would be suicide to ask them to go into the water, since they had feathers.

“General, the Triumphant Eagle Dragons have a Tame Level of six stars. They can hunt for food themselves on the islands. I believe no demon creatures would dare to provoke them, especially with the Flying Dragon around,” Tan Feng added.

“I almost forgot, they don’t need us to look after them,” Zhang Xiaohou remembered.

It was fine letting Six-Stars Tamed Beasts roam around freely. They could summon the Tamed Beasts back whenever they wanted.

Therefore, there would be no problem setting up a camp under the water!

“Very well, we are setting up a camp in the water.”

——

The area was not in the deep sea. They did not have to go too deep to reach the seabed.

After they set up a barrier, an enclosed area separated from the water appeared at the bottom of the sea. Military devices were set up rapidly.

“Build sensor towers,” Zhang Xiaohou told his men.

Sensor Towers were extremely important magic devices. They would release energy ripples over a wide range that could detect nearby demon creatures.

When they were in the wild, particularly in the Red Zones or Purple Zones, they would encounter countless demon creatures if they were unaware of their whereabouts.

“General, the Sensor Towers are functional. Their range has been set to two and a half kilometers. Do you want us to increase them?” a captain asked.

“How far are we from the trench?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Two kilometers,” the captain declared.

“Does that mean we can detect the demon creatures a kilometer deep into the trench?”

“General, it doesn’t work that way. The energy ripples are emitted in a sphere. It can reach one and a half kilometers into the trench!” The captain showed a diagram to Zhang Xiaohou.

Zhang Xiaohou looked awkward for a moment. “So has it reached the bottom?” he quickly switched topics.

“No, the trench is deeper than we thought,” the captain answered.

“Then we’ll evaluate the demon creatures at a depth of one and a half kilometers into the trench,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“General, from our first scans, there are few creatures in the trench. However, the seaweed forest above us is over ten kilometers long and three hundred meters wide. It has an insane number of demon creatures within it. It has already reached the level of a Red Zone!” the captain informed him.

Chapter 2455: Gloomy Trench
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A Red Zone. That was definitely not good news!

The density of the demon creatures was almost at the level of a horde.

Their decision to set up their camp below the seaweed forest was not much different from organizing a disco in a graveyard!

“We’ve concealed the camp. Low-level demon creatures won’t attack us in huge numbers, but we do have a serious problem. If we send out stronger signals with the beacons, the demon creatures will pick up the energy ripples. Every creature in the seaweed forest will learn our location,” the captain informed his general.

The forest of seaweed was above them. Their sensory devices were very advanced, but the beacons were similar to an Element Sensor. It would also be sending their coordinates to the nearby demon creatures if the signal was too strong.

The demon creatures hated those signals. They would show up in huge numbers and kill every human they saw. They would only stop after they destroyed the source of the signals!

“Let’s hope we can find the answer at a depth of one and a half kilometers,” Zhang Xiaohou answered calmly.

——

Captain Tong brought some Water and Shadow Mages with him to scout the trench.

They maintained communication with the camp. Even though they could not use communication devices directly, they had other ways to relay information to the camp.

A day later, Captain Tong had finished exploring a kilometer into the trench. His group had encountered creatures that were several times stronger than the sea monsters above at the bottom of the sea.

On the second day, several soldiers were injured. They only managed to reach a depth of fourteen hundred meters.

On the third day, Captain Tong and his men returned with grim and regretful faces.

“Yang Xiajie was carried away into a crack in the trench. We were attacked by sea monsters, too. We had no choice but to retreat,” Captain Tong reported.

“What was the depth?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Sixteen hundred meters. I’ve marked the coordinates of the crack,” Captain Tong answered.

Old Jia, who was in charge of logistics, interrupted after hearing Captain Tong’s report, “General, the sea monsters at the depth of sixteen hundred meters are most likely species of the deep sea. However, we couldn’t explain the strong force that carried Yang Xiajie away at the crack.”

“How much time do we have if we extend the range of our sensor beacon?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Two days at most.”

Zhang Xiaohou frowned.

They only had seven days left. Zhang Xiaohou was still unsure whether the trench was the Dragon King Krill’s nest. They could not afford to waste any more time!

“Tian Cheng, Hua Yuezhu, you two stay behind and look after the camp. Tan Feng, Captain Tong, bring the rest of our men and come with me!” Zhang Xiaohou ordered.

The sensor beacon was extremely important to their mission. They would be going blindly into a forest full of tigers if they did not learn the demon creatures’ whereabouts in advance.

They now had to explore beyond a depth of fifteen hundred meters in the trench.

“We can fend off the sea monsters, but we won’t be able to support you if you go any deeper into the trench!” Tan Feng warned him.

Without any support, their general would die if he was in any trouble. It was too risky!

“General, I’m your Imperial Bodyguard. I have to go with you,” Hua Yuezhu reminded him.

“Protecting the camp and updating us with the sea monsters’ whereabouts is important to guaranteeing our safety,” Zhang Xiaohou told her.

Hua Yuezhu was lost for words.

—

They did not waste any time. Zhang Xiaohou led the two captains and the rest of the soldiers into the trench.

Old Man Zhen was worried about their safety, and decided to go with them. Not only was he familiar with the Bohai Sea, he was also an Advanced Mage!

He was one of the founders of the factories that were fishing the Dragon King Krill. However, he had retired after he had a conflict with his partners.

“General Zhang, I was a soldier too. I might have quit being a Mage after some serious injuries, but I should be able to help,” Old Man Zhen said sincerely.

“You guys, take good care of the old man.”

“Affirmative!”

The group headed into the trench. There was still some faint light when they were several hundred meters deep. They were able to see the walls on both sides.

A marine trench was gloomier and scarier than a chasm in the mountains, not to mention how deep it was.

The deeper they went, the greater the pressure they were under. It felt like they were entering a different world.

Humans revered forests, mountains, glaciers, and deserts, as they had explored most of them.

What about a deep marine trench?

There might be unknown species in the trench. The fear in their hearts kept growing because of their imagination and the sense of unknown.

Their hearts would soon be filled with darkness, fear, and cold.

When Zhang Xiaohou and his men were in Beijiang, they believed their mentality had grown significantly after witnessing the primitive wilderness.

However, he realized the trench was much scarier than the primordial wilderness as he was going deeper into it.

If death was the scariest thing to humans, the feeling of going into a deep marine trench was almost the same as the fear of death. There was nothing but darkness around them.

It felt like they had been abandoned by the whole of mankind!

—

“General, Old Jia has extended the range of the sensor beacon. It now can reach twenty-five hundred meters into the trench,” Tan Feng signaled Zhang Xiaohou with a series of gestures.

There was no longer any light at their current depth.

A Light Mage was using magic to light up a limited area, but it had only illuminated a tiny circle, with total darkness outside of it.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded as Captain Tong came over and pointed at a nearby wall.

“This is the marking I left. Yang Xiajie was sucked into a crack around two hundred meters below,” Captain Tong signaled with a worried expression.

Zhang Xiaohou asked everyone to stay on alert as they continued deeper.

The strange thing was, they did not sense any force from the crack this time. This left them feeling even more uneasy.

“I’ll go inside. Wait outside here,” Zhang Xiaohou signaled to his men.

The others immediately spoke up against the idea. Captain Tong said, “Yang Xiajie is already dead. If anything happens to you inside it…”

“Did you confirm he’s dead in person?” Zhang Xiaohou asked sternly.

Captain Tong hesitated. Yang Xiajie was still alive when he was sucked into the crack!

However, how could he possibly be alive still after he was separated from the group?

“We can’t abandon him if we haven’t confirmed he’s dead. We can retreat temporarily, but we can’t give up on saving him.”

Zhang Xiaohou’s crisp gestures reminded Captain Tong of the code of conduct of his troop!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The crack was very narrow. Zhang Xiahou had to turn his body sideways to fit inside it.

The strange thing was, the bone-piercing cold disappeared after he swam into the crack. He no longer felt the strong water pressure, either. He felt like he was floating in the air.

He could still feel the buoyancy from the water. It felt like he was flying through a rift.

The inside of the crack was pitch-black. Zhang Xiaohou could only rely on a magic ring to light up the path ahead.

Zhang Xiaohou felt like he was currently at the bottom of an abyss. A strange sense of suffocation was pressuring him from all directions.

(Tap tap!)

Zhang Xiaohou was constantly tapping on the wall, sending out a military code.

He was tapping at a certain rhythm. Only those who were with him in Beijiang knew the code. He could not make any sounds with his mouth, and could only use the code to tell Yang Xiajie that help was on the way.

(Tap tap tap, tap tap-tap!)

Zhang Xiaohou soon received a similar response from the distance!

He was overjoyed. Yang Xiajie was still alive and was responding to him!

Zhang Xiaohou immediately picked up his pace. He wriggled his body like a fish, dodging the sharp rocks in the crack.

The space finally broadened a little, but the seawater still felt non-existent. Zhang Xiaohou felt like he was on a planet that lacked gravity.

He shone the magic ring around his surroundings to light up the area.

However, he felt like his skin was stabbed with countless ice needles when he could see the things around him. He felt a shiver in all his muscles!

This… Impossible!

Zhang Xiaohou was dumbfounded.

He saw Yang Xiajie, but his body was already dismembered. His remains were floating about, scattered in the little cave.

If Zhang Xiaohou had not seen Yang Xiajie’s head spinning slowly in front of him, he might even have thought it was someone else’s remains.

Something else sent a chill down Zhang Xiaohou’s spine.

He was hearing the taps again!

(Tap tap tap, tap tap-tap)

The unique code that belonged to his troop in Beijiang was extremely clear in the enclosed space!

Zhang Xiaohou’s lost his last hope when he heard the taps. He thought Yang Xiajie had just been killed a moment ago after responding to his taps. He had come a little late!

Zhang Xiaohou could not feel the water pressure and cold from the seawater.

However, his body was shivering!

The code he had sent meant ‘help is on the way’.

The response he received was ‘help, I’m right here’, which only Yang Xiajie would know!

It was not like something was mimicking Zhang Xiaohou’s taps!

He had no idea what he was up against. Yang Xiajie had already been dead for some time!

—

—

A figure swam out of the crack around one and a half kilometers inside the trench.

Tan Feng, Captain Tong, and the others were relieved when they saw Zhang Xiaohou was back unharmed.

“General, where’s Yang Xiajie?” Tang Feng asked.

“He’s dead. I brought his remains back,” Zhang Xiaohou shook his head.

“Are you injured?”

“No, but… forget it, we should keep going,” Zhang Xiaohou did not mention what he had seen in the crack.

He could not explain what had happened. He also had a clearer understanding of why people were afraid of the deep sea. It was not the kind of ugly, sinister, and hideous fear that struck one’s heart directly. It was slowly permeating his bones like something cold. It would slowly take away his senses and cause him to lose himself. When the fear thoroughly engulfed him, he would feel suffocated and be overwhelmed by despair!

Zhang Xiaohou could already feel his body trembling in fear. He did not want to tell the others because it would not do them any good.

“It might be a powerful creature. Stay on alert at all times and prepared for battle,” Zhang Xiaohou reminded them.

“Affirmative!”

Death was not really unacceptable for the troop. However, their will would be crushed if they knew how they were going to die…

——

“General, we are picking up traces of demon creatures at a depth of twenty-five hundred meters. Most of them are Commander-level creatures,” Tan Feng informed him.

“No wonder the sea monsters in the seaweed forest are avoiding the trench. It turns out to be the territory of powerful creatures!” an old captain murmured.

“Avoid them,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Affirmative!”

The troop continued to dive deeper. They did not dare use any Light Magic. They could sense huge shadows moving not far from them, even though everything was pitch-black. The ripples and waves from their movements were making everyone feel uneasy.

Luckily, the creatures did not have an outstanding vision, either. They were mainly relying on unusual movements of the water to sense any intruders. The troop just had to control their movements to remain undetected.

“General is a lot more experienced than us.”

“We didn’t alert any of the creatures even after going five hundred meters deeper.”

“General Zhang was a scout, too! He’s better at avoiding demon creatures than Captain Tian.”

Tian Cheng was an expert at tracking down demon creatures and searching for their traces through analyzing the clues they left behind, but Zhang Xiaohou was better at penetrating enemy territory, concealing his presence, and avoiding demon creatures.

Captain Tong was a scout, too. He had played the same role as Zhang Xiaohou had when he was still working in the field, but Captain Tong had been attacked by sea monsters after reaching a depth of fifteen hundred meters.

Captain Tong could not help but blame himself. If only he was better at avoiding the demon creatures, Yang Xiajie would still be alive now!

—

“General, we’ve reached a depth of two thousand meters.”

“General! The camp has picked up the heartbeats of a Ruler-level creature!”

“Where is it?” Zhang Xiaohou frowned.

“It’s moving very quickly. It’s heading right at us!” Tan Feng signaled urgently.

The rest of the troop was astounded. This trench was indeed a terrifying place. It had a Ruler-level creature in it!

Normally, Ruler-level creatures avoided the shallow seas. Even though the troop was inside a trench, it was not that far from the land.

A Ruler-level creature could easily inflict massive destruction on the land!

“Stay calm, and fire a bait to lure it away!” Zhang Xiaohou ordered.

Sea monsters were generally stronger than equivalent demon creatures on land. The creatures in the sea were roughly three times stronger in the water!

Even though the troop had killed Ruler-level creatures in Beijiang before, it was a different story stumbling into a Ruler-level sea monster in its territory!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The cold water in the trench was surging around them. The troop stuck close to the wall of the trench. Their hearts were pounding so heavily it felt like they were about to jump out of their throats.

It was the Ruler-level creature!

The creature was not all that huge, but it was emitting cold lights resembling swords in the dark, as if countless swords without hilts were sticking out of it. The strange light added an extra hint of spookiness to the world at the bottom of the sea.

The bait had already been released. It contained pure Soul Energy, a rare material of the Undead Element. Most high-level demon creatures were interested in the energy, as it could help their souls grow stronger.

The Cold Ray Ruler’s gills released something like ink, which spread rapidly through the water.

However, the water started freezing before the ink could spread far away. The black ice spread like vines through the trench, forming different shapes similar to coral and seaweed.

It continued to grow through the water and was within inches of an old captain with a scarred face.

The captain stayed still on the wall. He would expose himself if moved now, and he would also place the others in danger.

A sharp black icy branch stabbed the old captain in the leg. He clenched his teeth and his face contorted in pain, but he remained unmoving.

Tan Feng was extremely worried. The black ink was obviously permeating the old man’s body. His whole leg had turned black and its flesh was corroding now!

The old captain’s lower leg soon only had bones left. Tan Feng wanted to help the old captain, but the man shook his head slightly. He did not want the whole troop to be slaughtered by the Ruler-level creature because of him!

“It’s going after the bait!” Captain Tong signed.

Tan Feng and the old captain both let out a relieved sigh.

Tan Feng swam to the old captain and sliced his rotted leg off, immediately using Light Magic to scorch the wound and stop the bleeding.

“I can’t heal you right now. How do you feel? Can you move?” Tan Feng asked.

The old captain forced a smile. “It’s fine, losing a leg won’t affect my movement since I’m a Shadow Mage, don’t worry.”

Luckily, the poison had not spread very quickly. The poison of certain Ruler-level creatures could spread throughout a victim’s body in mere seconds!

——

The troop continued to dive deeper. To their surprise, the bottom of the trench was incredibly spacious.

It was not the same as falling down a well into the cave at the bottom. It felt more like they had just passed through a dark tunnel and entered into a world at the bottom of the sea.

There was no sand or sediment on the ground, only a hard crust. Some of the spots were as smooth and glossy as metal.

“General, the water around here seems to be flowing,” Tan Feng signed, looking around.

Zhang Xiaohou could also feel it. Normally, the water at a great depth would have very little movement. The water down here should feel very still and unmoving.

Unexpectedly, the water at the bottom of the trench was flowing.

In contrast, the water in the trench was still when they were descending it.

“A river at the bottom of the sea?” Old Man Zhen, who had been quiet for some time, suddenly transmitted his voice to everyone with the Psychic Element.

A river at the bottom of the sea…

The phrase alone was conflicting. After all, the sea was a body of water itself.

However, Old Man Zhen’s description suited the situation perfectly.

The water in the trench was placid with strong water pressure, but the bottom of it was like a spacious river flowing rapidly in a certain direction.

“Where is it going?”

“If the water here is flowing, it means it’s connected to somewhere else.”

“General, should we keep going? The current here is stronger than normal rivers. We have no idea where it’s going to bring us,” Tang Feng signed.

Zhang Xiaohou had a grim face.

They had come here to look for the Dragon King Krill nest, but after a few scans, the numbers of Dragon King Krill were lower than they had expected.

Most importantly, the strange things that happened so far had nothing to do with the Dragon King Krill!

It was hard to tell what was going to happen if they went any further.

“Old Man Zhen, we haven’t found the Scorched Silver you mentioned,” Zhang Xiaohou messaged.

“It’s definitely from around here, take a look at this!” Old Man Zhen answered.

Old Man Zhen pointed at the rapid current under them and fired a white ray into it. Tiny crystals immediately sparkled in the current.

The undercurrent had a mystical silver glow, like a ribbon covered in silver crystals flowing in the darkness.

“The current is full of Scorched Silver. It might not be the Dragon King Krill’s nest, but the river is clearly connected to another area of the sea. We should be able to find the answer if we head up-current and look!” Old Man Zhen told them.

“The force of the current could grind a mountain to the ground. How are we supposed to swim against it?” Tan Feng protested.

“Captain Tong, test it with the purple liquid,” Zhang Xiaohou ordered.

They were looking for Dragon King Krill. They should confirm the local density of the Dragon King Krill first.

Captain Tong released the purple liquid used to identify the Dragon King Krill. It spread slowly through the water. However, the rapid current of the undersea river immediately diluted the purple liquid that reached it.

The water in the trench had completely changed color.

As they shone a light into their surroundings, the outlines of the Dragon King Krill nearby were revealed. They were carrying hints of silver crystals inside their bodies. They had thought the silver crystals were being carried by the river, but it was the Dragon King Krill that had been carrying them!

“General, look at the river!” Old Man Zhen pointed out.

Zhang Xiaohou shifted his gaze and saw countless Dragon King Krill flowing past them inside the river!

If they had not used the purple liquid, they would have had no idea the river held so many Dragon King Krill.

Some of the Dragon King Krill had ended up in the trench. They had to be the Dragon King Krill that had made it out of the trench and were attracted by the Salt Flower Island fishermen.

However, most of the Dragon King Krill in the river had Scorched Silver in their bodies!

The sparkles Old Man Zhen had noticed were actually the Dragon King Krill, but their bodies were transparent.

Chapter 2458: The Demons at the Bottom of the Sea
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Wait here, I’ll take a look in the river,” Zhang Xiaohou ordered the others.

The river might have a huge amount of Dragon King Krill, but they were obviously swimming to another area within it. It did not mean their nest was nearby.

“Isn’t that too dangerous? The Cold Ray Ruler might return any time,” Tan Feng signed, protesting the move.

“So I need you all to lure it away.”

They were running short on time. Zhang Xiaohou had no time to hesitate.

He activated his bracelet, which encapsulated him with a mysterious light. It attached to him like glowing Armor, and significantly reduced the force of the current.

Zhang Xiaohou dove into the river. It was obvious the water there somehow had a higher density. He felt like he was being hit by enormous objects. His bones might have broken if he had not had the glowing Armor protecting him.

The Dragon King Krill were obviously not interested in living humans. They followed the current and swam past Zhang Xiaohou. Some of them even avoided Zhang Xiaohou on purpose when they swam by.

The Dragon King Krill soon became invisible once more. Zhang Xiaohou knew he was surrounded by the strange creatures, but he felt no difference when swimming against the current.

The glow of his Armor could barely light up the path ahead. The Scorched Silver was also sparking under the light. Zhang Xiaohou felt like he was traveling through a starry tunnel. The path ahead was pitch-black, while his surroundings were filled with stars. He could not see the end of the path.

“Where are these Dragon King Krill coming from? And where are they swimming to?” Zhang Xiaohou murmured to himself.

It was a long path. The current did not weaken in the slightest. Zhang Xiaohou had no idea how far he had swum, and he had lost contact with his men. What lay ahead and where it was leading to were still unknown.

He was merely holding on with his will as a soldier. He had totally lost track of time.

“Don’t tell me I’ve swum to the deep sea. How is the river so long?” Zhang Xiaohou began to doubt if the river had an end. He was thinking of turning back.

He decided to clench his teeth and kept going a little longer.

The silver sparkles suddenly grew denser. Zhang Xiaohou quickly took out a glowing orb from his Space Bracelet.

He threw the orb ahead. It released light rays in all directions, lighting up his surroundings, and giving Zhang Xiaohou a sense of warmth at last.

He was still surrounded by the glossy black rocks of the river, but he noticed something huge with a bright sheen around three hundred meters ahead.

Zhang Xiaohou thought he had encountered an enormous creature of the deep sea. He was getting spooked when he realized the thing was not alive.

It was a huge silver vein, stuck between the black rocks in the river!

The silver vein was extremely large. It not only extended into the distance, but it was also hidden deep into the wall, like a silver valve in the middle of a tunnel.

The silver vein was obviously natural, but it was unlikely humans could mine it at such a great depth. It was a shame, as the Scorched Silver could be used to forge a lot of magic Equipment.

The vein had a hole in it. The strong current was coming out from the hole and forming a spiraling vortex between the hole and the river.

“Could the hole lead me to the Dragon King Krill nest? If that’s the case, the Forbidden Curse won’t be able to kill them all. The vein is a natural shelter for them…

“No, that’s not right. The water is still flowing, meaning the cave is connected to somewhere else…”

Zhang Xiaohou had no intention of giving up after coming so far.

The number of the Dragon King Krill was obviously increasing. Zhang Xiaohou had a feeling he was getting closer to what he was looking for.

He swam into the hole decisively.

At the same time, a strange shadow with wriggling tentacles was reflected on the smooth surface of the Scorched Silver. Zhang Xiaohou would not have noticed there was something behind him if he had not seen the reflection.

The long tentacles whipped at Zhang Xiaohou like the tails of a serpent.

Zhang Xiaohou immediately rolled away and completed a Water Spell to construct a barrier in front of him. The Water Curtain compressed the nearby water into a tough wall.

However, the tentacles repeatedly slammed on the barrier and destroyed it in no time.

Left with no choice, Zhang Xiaohou could only stick closely to the rocks and slam his hand on them. The rocks began to move strangely, and turned into pillars slamming into the creature.

The creature let out a piercing screech. It was unlike anything Zhang Xiaohou had heard on land.

Zhang Xiaohou could finally take a closer look at the creature after the pillars knocked it away.

The tentacles were like seaweed, each as thick as the trunk of a ten-year-old tree. They were flexible and strong.

The creature was hiding behind its tentacles. Zhang Xiaohou could not see it clearly.

Zhang Xiaohou initially thought it was something like a squid, but the creature gradually withdrew the tentacles to its side.

A tall and aloof figure stood before him. It resembled a female titan with blue skin and a tiny head.

He could only see the upper half of its body.

The lower half was made of strong and hideous tentacles. They were growing out of the female’s waist, moving around like a dress flapping under the water.

It was definitely not an elegant sight. The creature was ugly and hideous. Even though its body resembled a woman, it felt more like a ghost deep in the sea. Its appearance was unacceptable to a human!

The monster suddenly reached out one of its tentacles and tapped on the wall with a pattern that only Zhang Xiaohou understood.

(Tap tap, tap!)

Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes widened in disbelief!

Chapter 2459: It’s a Trap!
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was the monster that had killed Yang Xiajie!

Not only that, it was also mocking Zhang Xiaohou with his troop’s special code!

Zhang Xiaohou was brimming with anger, but he did not dare act recklessly.

There was no record about this species on the land, nor had the Shoreline Alliance ever published any information about a human-resembling demon creature with tentacles.

What strange ability had allowed it to learn his code from Yang Xiajie?

Its tentacles were extremely powerful. Yang Xiajie must have been torn to pieces by the tentacles!

The monster from the deep sea was obviously trying to stop him from entering the silver vein. It was something that the monster wanted to keep hidden from humans.

Zhang Xiaohou was extremely nervous, able to sense the creature’s powerful Aura. It was like an icy abyss. He already had goosebumps before the fight even started.

(Tap, tap, tap!)

The hideous monster was still tapping the rocks with a tentacle. However, the code was different this time!

Zhang Xiaohou obviously knew what the code was. To his surprise, the terrifying creature was signaling him, ‘General, run!’

Run? Is the monster asking me to run away?

Zhang Xiaohou was shocked.

The monster was enraged, and its ugly face contorted all of a sudden. It was expanding and contracting simultaneously.

Its other tentacles wrapped around the tentacle that was tapping out the code on the wall, as if they were punishing a betrayer among them!

The tentacle bled after being whipped, and green blood began oozing out of it.

Zhang Xiaohou was puzzled when he saw the monster hitting itself, but he soon came up with a possibility.

The monster must have devoured Yang Xiajie’s soul and memory if it knew the secret code!

Yang Xiajie’s soul and memory were fighting back fiercely, even as they were being converted. The tentacle that embodied Yang Xiajie’s lingering will was signaling him to run away!

The monster was extremely dangerous!

The monster let out a fierce roar. The tentacle that was warning Zhang Xiaohou was torn into pieces by the other tentacles, similar to Yang Xiajie’s body.

The sight shocked Zhang Xiaohou and filled him with rage!

Not only had the monster killed Yang Xiajie, it had even trapped and tortured Yang Xiajie’s soul.

The monster spread its tentacles!

The tentacles moved past Zhang Xiaohou and continued to spread further away. They swept past his head and body, but did not attack him. They continued to extend to their maximum range.

Zhang Xiaohou was soon surrounded by the tentacles. He could no longer see the silver vein and the rocks.

It felt like he was stuck in the intestines of an enormous creature!

Zhang Xiaohou tried using some destructive magic, but he could not break through the tentacles.

The cage of tentacles soon changed into different colors. Zhang Xiaohou saw the ground under his feet turning into a green field full of flowers.

Above him was a forest with colorful trees dangling upside down. Its leaves were scattered in the air like a magical scene!

The monster’s stomach had turned dazzling and colorful. Zhang Xiaohou knew the sea monster had the ability to trap their target in an illusion.

The poisons of many species in the sea made humans hallucinate. The vivid colors in the illusions were one of the obvious signs. People who were trapped in the illusions would have doubts about the simplicity and ugliness of the real world.

Zhang Xiaohou’s heart sank.

The monster turned out to be a creature that was good at attacking one’s spirit and mind. It would place its prey in a beautiful illusion and tear them to pieces while they were lost in it, just like what it had done to Yang Xiajie!

“General! General!” a voice echoed in Zhang Xiaohou’s ears.

Zhang Xiaohou turned around and saw Yang Xiajie standing behind him. He no longer had his old body. He was now made up of colorful leaves.

“General, you have to stop the Forbidden Curse. Stop the Forbidden Curse!” Yang Xiajie kept repeating the same sentence.

Zhang Xiaohou stared at the man who had appeared in his illusion. He was clueless about what to do.

Was it Yang Xiajie’s lingering soul, or was the monster purposely using it to trick him?

“Please believe me, the monster might have devoured my soul, but it still needs some time to convert it. You came just in time to hear my last words.

“You must stop the Forbidden Curse at all costs. It’s a trap!

“We can’t underestimate the sea monsters’ intelligence! General, you have to trust me!

“It’s a trap!”

Yang Xiajie kept repeating the warning. He knelt in front of Zhang Xiaohou. Zhang Xiaohou could even see the begging expression on the face made up of leaves of different colors.

Zhang Xiaohou looked at Yang Xiajie.

He believed everything he saw was not real. It was an illusion the monster had placed him in, but his man who was living his final moments in the form of a soul… was he part of the illusion to trick him, too?

A huge tentacle suddenly struck Yang Xiajie heavily, and Yang Xiajie broke into pieces once again. The lifeless leaves scattered in the surroundings.

Zhang Xiaohou’s face was blank.

A trap? It was a trap? What is Yang Xiajie trying to tell me?

“Xiajie, I can feel your pain. I want you to rest in peace. I promise I’ll kill the monster to free your soul!” Zhang Xiaohou swore.

“No, I’m not in pain. I don’t have any regrets. The sea monsters are extremely intelligent. You should not underestimate them. I’ll use everything I have to stop this monster from attacking you. You will learn everything once you go inside the silver vein!” Yang Xiajie shouted. This time, his face had appeared on another tentacle.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou stared at the face on the tentacle.

The colors around him suddenly disappeared, as if someone was using a giant eraser to rub away the colors. It felt strange and unreal.

The tentacles surrounding Zhang Xiaohou soon returned to the monster.

The monster’s face kept switching. Yang Xiajie’s face even appeared several more times.

The monster started fighting itself. The tentacles were tearing one another apart, and green blood was spraying everywhere.

Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes glittered. He was confirming whether he was still stuck in an illusion.

A demon creature that was good at fooling one’s mind would purposely create a surreal illusion to trick their prey into believing they were freed from the first illusion. It was like waking up from a dream, but in reality, they were still in the middle of a dream.

Zhang Xiaohou was not a weak Mage who could be tricked easily. He had his own way to identify whether he was in an illusion.

It was real! Everything he saw was real!

The monster had indeed devoured Yang Xiajie’s soul and memory. It was trying to understand human constitutions, plans, and abilities, but the owners of the souls and memories would fight back during the process.

As a result, Yang Xiajie kept interfering with the monster’s actions. He even sent a signal back to Zhang Xiaohou while he was in control.

Zhang Xiaohou knew Yang Xiajie’s body was already torn into pieces. The remnants of his soul were fighting back, but he was not going to last for long.

Yang Xiajie would soon be converted. However, he was still fighting with the last parts of his soul.

Zhang Xiaohou saluted Yang Xiajie. He rushed into the silver vein with the limited time Yang Xiajie had bought him.

What was the monster hiding in the silver vein? He was told not to underestimate the sea monsters’ intelligence. What were they up to?

—

—

The camp at the bottom of the sea…

Countless Wild Lightning Gulpers had formed a deadly lightning web outside the barrier, surrounding the camp.

“There are too many of them. We can’t hold on for much longer!”

“Call them back. We have to retreat to the surface…”

“I’m calling the dragon beasts. We have to go now!”

The scales of the Wild Lightning Gulpers were releasing strong arcs of lightning. When their entire bodies were flickering, they would fire a lightning bolt strong enough to penetrate rocks.

They had come from the forest of seaweed above the camp. Hua Yuezhu had asked Old Jia to increase the range of the signals by a dozen kilometers to look for Zhang Xiaohou.

Unfortunately, not only did they fail to locate Zhang Xiaohou, they ended up attracting the sea monsters for dozens of kilometers around the camp.

“Triumphant Eagle Dragons!”

The group cleared a path to the surface. The Triumphant Eagle Dragons flew close to the water and snatched everyone into the sky!

The Triumphant Eagle Horses quickly soared into the sky. Several seconds later, a terrifying thunderstorm burst out of the sea and created a huge wave several hundred meters high. It almost swallowed the soldiers and dragged them back into the water.

“The General’s Flying Dragon…”

The rest of the Triumphant Eagle Horses had regrouped with them.

The imperious Flying Dragon also flew toward them, but it did not stay for long. It beat its wings and flew into the distance!

“Is…is it leaving the Bohai Sea?”

“It’s heading toward the Pacific Ocean!”

“Does that mean the General is really dead, which sets the Flying Dragon free?”

The soldiers circled in the sky with grim looks on their faces.

Tan Feng and the others were initially waiting at the bottom of the sea, but Zhang Xiaohou’s life signal was lost not long afterwards.

Tan Feng immediately asked the people in the camp to expand their search range, but they still failed to locate Zhang Xiaohou’s signal after increasing the range of the search by several dozen kilometers.

The Cold Ray Ruler appeared just as Tan Feng and the others were about to go after Zhang Xiaohou. They had almost died in the trench.

The camp Hua Yuezhu was guarding was also attacked by the sea monsters from the seaweed forest after the strong signals attracted them there. They regrouped with Tan Feng and the others and were forced to retreat.

“We have to ask for backup. We must find the General dead or alive!” Hua Yuezhu shouted.

“The Flying Dragon has been set free. I’m afraid it proves that…”

“What does it prove? It’s just an animal that has betrayed its master!” Tan Feng snarled. “Remember, we can retreat temporarily, but we can’t give up on our men!”

—

—

On a stranded island surrounded by reefs, a man whose skin was swollen after soaking in water for too long was lying on a rock. Half of his body was still in the water, but he was too tired to move.

He crawled with all his might and rolled over to move out of the water.

—

The sun rose and fell. The man’s body had already dried out under the sun.

A strong wind suddenly came from above. Zhang Xiaohou opened his eyes and saw a huge pair of wings blocking the sunlight. The figure slowly landed beside him.

The little island did not have enough space for the creature. Zhang Xiaohou put on an ugly smile when he saw the creature.

“Are you so fond of me, even though we have only spent a few days together?” Zhang Xiaohou had to ask.

The Flying Dragon opened its mouth and dripped some of its saliva onto Zhang Xiaohou. His wounds began to heal slowly.

“How long did it take you to find me?” Zhang Xiaohou asked it.

The Flying Dragon scratched two lines on the rock.

“Two days? And you didn’t rest throughout the journey?” Zhang Xiaohou asked in surprise.

Considering the Flying Dragon’s endurance and speed, it would have no trouble flying a circle around the world’s equator if it flew for two days without taking any rest.

“Can you bring me to a nearby city as soon as possible?”

The Flying Dragon lowered its head so Zhang Xiaohou could climb onto it.

After Zhang Xiaohou sat properly on the Flying Dragon, it spread its wings and headed east swiftly.

—

Zhang Xiaohou could only smile wryly when he realized Hawaii was the closest city!

It was out in the middle of the Pacific. He had somehow ended up in the center of the Pacific Ocean!

It was roughly nine thousand kilometers from the Bohai Sea to the center of the Pacific Ocean!

Zhang Xiaohou would never have believed it if he had not experienced them in person. The things that Yang Xiajie had told him were absolutely ridiculous.

——

Zhang Xiaohou found a telephone booth.

Zhang Xiaohou had no time to treat his wounds, nor did he have time to organize his thoughts. He could only think of one person under the circumstances.

The call was picked up.

Zhang Xiaohou took a deep breath.

“Brother Fan.”

“Are you still alive?”

“Barely,” Zhang Xiaohou wore a wry smile and said, “Brother Fan, I need your help.”

“Say it.”

“It might be a little crazy,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“I like the sound of that,” Mo Fan said.

“In three days, our military will cast an Ice Forbidden Curse on the Bohai Sea to eliminate a huge threat, but we have to interrupt the Induction and stop the Forbidden Curse!” Even Zhang Xiaohou could not believe what he was saying.

The other end fell silent. Zhang Xiaohou knew how ridiculous he sounded. He also knew no one else could help him.

“I like the sound of that even more!,” the man on the other end finally said!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

England, a castle close to a cliff…

A magnificent corridor led to a luxurious suite at the end. A man was lying tiredly on the couch in the living room.

Another man was also lying on the carpet in front of the couch. Only Mu Bai, clad in a sharp gray suit, was resting on a chair.

The man on the carpet had a phone beside him. When he heard what the other end was saying, he immediately sat upright with a stern face.

“We have to go back to China now!” Mo Fan said.

“Are you kidding me? We just finished a job for that little witch Ayleen. I’m worn out!” protested Zhao Manyan, who had just sunk into the couch.

Mu Bai opened his eyes. “Mo Fan, tell us what happened.” He had heard a little of the conversation on the phone.

“We’ll hear it from Houzi in detail on the way!” Mo Fan answered.

—

They put on helmets and asked for the fastest Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon. Soon they were soaring into the stormy clouds above England and heading west.

“Are we going in the wrong direction?” Zhao Manyan asked. The Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon was heading to the Pacific Ocean!

“The Earth is round, dumbass!” Mo Fan finally found a chance to mock others despite being completely clueless about geography.

“Is Zhang Xiaohou in Hawaii?” Mu Bai asked, noting their course.

“Mm, we’ll meet him there first. How long will it take this Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon to reach Hawaii?” Mo Fan asked.

“Around twenty hours,” Mu Bai calculated.

The Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon was Ayleen’s reward for their job. It had Wind Magic comparable to the Flying Dragon. It was also faster than a Flying Dragon, and its Tamed Level was Six Stars.

However, Ayleen was extremely stingy. She only gave them one Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon. She was unwilling to give them two Flying Dragons.

Luckily, even though the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon was slightly smaller than a Flying Dragon, it had enough strength to carry the three men.

Flying over the oceans was a lot safer than flying on land. After all, most sea monsters were deep in the sea. They were not interested in trespassers in the sky above.

The land had species and tribes that ruled the skies. They would not allow low-level creatures to fly over their territory.

That being said, the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon would have no trouble flying over most places. Most demon creatures would avoid it after sensing the huge dragon’s presence!

——

A flight of twenty hours was enough for the three to get some rest.

When they arrived in Hawaii, Mo Fan could not help but wonder how the Americans were able to guarantee the safety of these islands that were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

“Apparently, the Hawaiian Islands have a natural mineral around them that releases a special magic Aura. The sea monsters hate it, so they aren’t interested in these islands,” Mu Bai explained to him, as expected of the top student!

“Wouldn’t our coasts be safe if we placed the mineral along the coastline?” Mo Fan asked eagerly.

“Do you think that’s possible? It has to be natural and unmined.”

——

They found Zhang Xiaohou in a park. Mo Fan could not help but chide him, “Do you really have to hide in the park like a homeless guy, even though you are a Super Mage?”

“I don’t have anything to identify myself, nor did I bring any money,” Zhang Xiaohou coughed awkwardly.

Mo Fan was speechless. They were about to do something shocking, but he still cared if he was to do a little stealing?

“I’m actually very tired. I have the urge to enjoy my vacation here. I’ve always wanted to come here,” Zhao Manyan went on tiredly.

The four sat down on the grass.

Zhao Manyan even went to a vending machine to buy some cold beer. However, he dropped the bottles on the ground when he heard that their operation that was related to a Forbidden Curse.

“Are you out of your minds?” Zhao Manyan shrieked.

They were planning to stop a Forbidden Curse by destroying its Induction!

Zhao Manyan had a feeling they were going to do something crazy when the four of them had come all the way here to work together. Knowing their strength, it had to be something insane if the four of them had to cooperate.

However, he never thought it would be stopping a Forbidden Curse!

They were talking about a Forbidden Curse. Every human was equal before a Forbidden Curse!

Everyone was going to perish, whether they were a Super Mage, an Advanced Mage, an Intermediate Mage, or a Basic Mage!

“What exactly is going on? Isn’t the Forbidden Curse supposed to eliminate the threat? Shouldn’t the military be giving its full support?” Mu Bai asked quickly.

“I only know there is something scarier than we all have imagined among the sea monsters. Not only is their intelligence on par with humans, but they have also been using all kinds of ways to understand us, and learn our strategies and abilities. They are also using certain people to set a trap for us,” Zhang Xiaohou told them.

Even though humans were generally weaker than demon creatures, they had relied on their intelligence and unity to fend off the demon creatures that had invaded their territory.

Therefore, they subconsciously thought they could fend off the sea monsters with their intelligence too, but this time, they were wrong!

“Well… some academics did mention the possibility of the sea monsters having their own civilization in the deep sea, but we know too little about the sea,” Mu Bai nodded, agreeing with Zhang Xiaohou.

“It’s likely that the sea monsters already know about our plan of using a Forbidden Curse. They are planning to use it to their advantage!” Zhang Xiaohou continued.

“Xiaohou, aren’t you a general? You can just show your superiors the evidence. I believe we can solve the matter peacefully. Why do we have to do it the hard way?” Zhao Manyan complained.

Zhang Xiaohou shook his head with a wry smile, “The problem is, I don’t have any evidence.”

“…”

“So you’re saying it is all your speculation?” Even Mu Bai was stunned.

He thought Zhang Xiaohou had discovered a shocking secret, but he did not have any evidence to back his statement?

Were they going to stop a Forbidden Curse because of mere speculation?

If it had happened in the old times, it would be treason, and their whole family for nine generations would be sentenced to death!

“Don’t worry, I won’t ask everyone to risk their lives for something that is just speculation. It’s a little sloppy. We might have to split into two groups,” Zhang Xiaohou went on.

“Why are we splitting up?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’ll look for the evidence.. It’s in the area another troop is surveying as an option for the Induction. If it also has the Crust’s Axle like the silver vein I found, the Dragon King Krill might end up being a trap!”

Chapter 2462: They will Die after Finishing the Job

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“If you are looking for evidence, what about the other group?” Zhao Manyan pressed.

“The other group is going to stop the Induction. Isn’t it obvious?” Mu Bai cast a disdainful look at Zhao Manyan. He had noticed the man’s intelligence would drop rapidly whenever he was involved in something risky and challenging.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded and added, “I need more convincing evidence, and it will only appear when the Induction is happening.”

“So we are splitting into two groups. You are going to verify if your speculation is right while we will be waiting at Qinghuangdao. Once you confirm it’s true, we’ll have to stop the Induction immediately. Am I right?” Mo Fan asked for clarity.

“Yes!” Zhang Xiaohou nodded firmly.

Zhao Manyan disagreed with their plan. “But, can’t we just sit this one out? If it’s only a fifty percent chance of it being a trap, we’ll just let it be. Why do we have to insist on getting ourselves killed?”

It was ridiculous! They had finally made it to the Super Level. It was time for them to shine!

They were planning to stop a Forbidden Curse when they had yet to enjoy the benefits of being Super Mages! Was it their job to worry about a Forbidden Curse?

What were the Magic Association of the Five Continents doing? What about the mysterious organizations of their country and the powerful organizations across the world?

“I would like to try my best if possible,” Zhang Xiaohou looked at the others sternly.

“Brother Fan, Brother Zhao, Mu Bai, I…I’m not good with logic and reasoning, nor am I good at organizing information. I can’t even tell if the sea monster was playing with my mind or if it’s actually what I want to do.

“However, I couldn’t allow myself to just stand on the side and watch it happen. I have to find out the truth, whether it’s a trap or not!

“I also believe you guys are the only people with the same thoughts as me.”

Zhang Xiaohou’s thoughts were still in chaos.

The sea monsters were capable of playing with their minds. Yang Xiajie’s lingering soul might also have been fake. The sea monster could be trying to trick him into stopping the Forbidden Curse so the Dragon King Krill could survive.

He had no idea if he was being tricked, or if he was told the truth. He had to find out the truth himself!

“Brother Fan, I don’t know if you can understand me, but… it’s what I’m going to do,” Zhang Xiaohou lowered his head. It was obvious that he felt sorry for involving them.

It was an extremely risky operation. He was basically asking the three to jump into a burning sea with him!

“I understand,” Mo Fan patted Zhang Xiaohou’s shoulder.

“Are you sure you understand? Why can’t I make sense of it!?” Zhao Manyan protested.

“Old Zhao, let me explain it to you in a simpler way. Don’t the criminals in the movies always run away whenever they hear police sirens?” Mo Fan said.

“Why are you bringing that up now?” Zhao Manyan was confused.

“Many people feel confused and scold the police for being stupid. Why do they have to turn on the loud sirens to warn the criminals they are coming? Isn’t that just giving the criminals time to run away?” Mo Fan went on.

Mu Bai and Zhang Xiaohou were looking at Mo Fan with puzzled expressions too. What did this have to do with their situation?

On second thought, the sirens in the movies were indeed unnecessary. The criminals were long gone by the time the police arrived!

“But think about it… the sirens are meant to prevent crimes. If the sirens reach the scene a minute earlier than the police cars do, it might save a victim’s life.

“Although it’s unlikely that the criminals will happen to be killing the victims a minute before the police arrive, the sirens still have a slim chance of scaring the criminals away and saving lives. Therefore, it’s worth it to turn on the sirens.

“After all, they can still catch the criminals again after they escape, but a lost life is gone forever. It’s the best way to preserve human lives.”

Mo Fan patted Zhang Xiaohou on the shoulder again and smiled, “Even if the odds are only a hundred to one instead of a fifty percent chance, you will still try to find out the truth. It’s your way of treasuring human lives.”

As long as they still had a chance, it was worth the try!

Mo Fan was too familiar with Zhang Xiaohou. He had never changed. If Zhang Xiaohou had decided NOT to do anything, Mo Fan might think he had been influenced by the sea monster.

“Let’s do it. From now on, I am your soldier ready to follow any orders from you!” Mo Fan might not be a soldier, but he gave Zhang Xiaohou a proper salute.

Zhang Xiaohou bit his lips and took a deep breath.

When he woke up on the deserted island in despair, Mo Fan was the first person that came to his mind.

There was no need to say anything. They just had to do it. Zhang Xiaohou had no regrets knowing he had a brother like Mo Fan!

“If something goes wrong, we’ll just tell the military tribunal that you were the mastermind,” Mo Fan added firmly.

“…”

———–

“So how are we going to split up? Is Zhang Xiaohou going by himself, while the three of us wait for his news?” Mu Bai asked.

“He’s still injured. He won’t be able to do it himself. We will have two people in each group,” Mo Fan declared.

“Coward Zhao, I’ll let you pick first.” Mu Bai glanced at Zhao Manyan, who was pretending he had nothing to do with all this.

“I’ll go with Mo Fan!” Zhao Manyan immediately picked Mo Fan. After all, Mo Fan still had a chance if he turned on his hacks.

“Mm, fine, we’ll be forcing our way up the Giant Clock Mountain at Qinghuangdao to stop the Induction in front of thousands of Mages and a Forbidden Mage. We should plan the details first. The place will be heavily guarded,” Mo Fan informed him.

Zhao Manyan’s face paled. “Well, after second thought, I think I should go with Zhang Xiaohou. I feel like I’m not good enough for that. I’m just a defensive Mage. I’m not good at destroying things!” He had immediately changed his mind and decided to go with Zhang Xiaohou.

Mu Bai laughed while Zhang Xiaohou looked grim, as if his impression of Zhao Manyan had changed. “It’s decided, then. Mu Bai and I will ambush the Giant Clock Mountain. We’ll wait for your news!”

Zhao Manyan twisted his lips. He still felt like neither of them were a good option. It was like a criminal who had been sentenced to death got to choose between a lever-../style guillotine or a falling-../style guillotine.

Most people planned to retire after pulling off a huge job.. As for their job, if they did it right, they would find themselves at a dead end. If they failed, they would die horrible deaths!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Zhang Xiaohou was waiting.

The phone booth in the garden where Zhang Xiaohou was waiting started ringing after the sky turned colors as the sun was on the horizon.

Zhang Xiaohou took the call and nodded. He quickly wrote down some numbers on the ground with his Wind Magic.

“I’ve confirmed the location of the Induction. Let’s go!” Zhang Xiaohou told Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai were already riding the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon to Qinghuangdao.

Zhang Xiaohou had to wait until a place was chosen for the Induction. He had just received the information he needed.

Zhang Xiaohou rode the Flying Dragon with Zhao Manyan. They soared directly into the sky and flew toward the Bohai Sea, even though the Flying Dragon might cause some panic in Hawaii.

——

The Flying Dragon was well-rested. It flew to its destination at its quickest speed.

The sun that was falling below the horizon was directly ahead of them. The Flying Dragon was shockingly fast, and almost caught up to the setting sun’s speed. They had been flying for several hours, but the sun was still hanging on the horizon!

(Ed. Note: It’s traveling almost 1000 mph)

They finally reached the Bohai Sea. The sun had completely disappeared under the horizon, allowing the darkness to fall across the sea.

“Brother Zhao, I must say you have a high notion of your duty when it really matters, even though you normally treasure your life!” Zhang Xiaohou complimented him.

“What do you mean?” Zhang Xiaohou was confused. Why was Zhang Xiaohou looking at him like that?

“Weren’t you listening when we were discussing our plan?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“What are you referring to?” Zhao Manyan was clueless.

“Once the Induction Seal appears, it means the Forbidden Curse is close to being completed. It covers a truly massive area, and it might even trigger a Gravitational Vortex to prevent living creatures within the Forbidden Curse’s coverage from escaping to safety…” Zhang Xiaohou explained.

Zhao Manyan reacted like a startled cat after hearing those words. If he was covered in fur, it would instantly have stood on its end.

“Holy crap, are you saying if Mo Fan and Mu Bai fail to stop the Induction, the Forbidden Curse is going to land on us!?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded. It was the reason why he had chosen to check the Forbidden Curse’s target point. He had to do the dangerous job himself!

To Zhang Xiaohou’s surprise, Zhao Manyan had the courage to come with him. Zhang Xiaohou was very impressed!

Zhao Manyan dropped his jaw! He never thought he was going to the area where the Forbidden Curse was targeting.

He was not naïve enough to think he could survive the Forbidden Curse, even with his defenses. In other words, if Mo Fan and Mu Bai failed their mission, he and Zhang Xiaohou would have to face the Forbidden Curse!

For God’s sake, did he lose his mind? Why did he choose to go with Zhang Xiaohou? It was worse than trying to interrupt the Forbidden Curse!

“Is it too late to change groups now?” As soon as Zhao Manyan finished the sentence, thin yet visible rays of light descended from the sky.

They split up the sea and the sky into different parts, like geometrical lines.

It was already dark, but a strange light was shining upon the area, like a thin illusion. The surroundings turned a little blurry, like they were heading into a mirage.

“What’s happening now!?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in shock.

Zhang Xiaohou said with a wry smile, “Didn’t I mention it? The Forbidden Curse might trigger a Gravitational Vortex.”

“I’m not good with my studies. Can you please explain what a Gravitational Vortex is?” Zhao Manyan was starting to feel uneasy.

The sight was too shocking. It was not exaggerating to say the world was changing. Zhao Manyan might have believed that everything within view would be dragged into a deep abyss in the next second!

“It’s similar to the gravity of the Earth, which we can only escape by traveling at a certain speed. Otherwise, we won’t be able to reach other planets.

“The Forbidden Curse has a gravitational field, so unless our speed and momentum is enough to exceed its force, we won’t be able to escape to safety!

“It takes a long time to Cast a Forbidden Curse, but it obviously won’t allow its target to escape easily. The Gravitational Vortex is the first sign of a Forbidden Curse!” Zhang Xiaohou patiently explained to Zhao Manyan.

“You don’t have to explain the details. Just tell me, is it too late for me to make a run?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Yes, the Gravitational Vortex covers dozens of kilometers. If the Forbidden Curse is the God of Death, every creature within its area now has their names written in the Book of Life and Death,” Zhang Xiaohou informed him.

Different Forbidden Curses had different levels of Gravitational Vortexes. Zhang Xiaohou had only learned about some of the Forbidden Curses’ powers from the military.

If using the Earth’s gravity to describe the Gravitational Vortex was not clear enough, one could treat the Gravitational Vortex as invisible chains.

Creatures as small as flies to as large as Ruler-level sea monsters within the area covered by the rays of light were tied to the chains.

They would need to exceed the restraining force of the chains to break free from them, or the chains would eventually drag them back!

Zhang Xiaohou could not reach the required speed needed to escape a Forbidden Curse.

Most Super Mages could not reach it, either. Even the Flying Dragon, Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon, and the powerful sea monsters could not reach it.

The only thing they could do was to look up at the lights and wait for the Forbidden Curse to be stopped prior to its Induction, or watch it fall on them!

Zhang Xiaohou knew there was no backing away from his decision. He had placed his life in Mo Fan and Mu Bai’s hands.

“So if we want to live, first, it must be a trap the sea monsters have set, and second, Mo Fan and Mu Bai must stop the Forbidden Curse successfully?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Yes.”

“But what if it isn’t a trap? Mo Fan and Mu Bai won’t stop the Forbidden Curse, which means it will happen according to the plan. As for the two of us who are stuck in the Gravitational Vortex…”

“That’s why I’m impressed by your resolve,” Zhang Xiaohou smiled, like he was not going to feel lonely even if he died here.

Zhao Manyan’s face paled.. He had completely lost the will to live.

Chapter 2464: Forbidden Curse Mountain

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sea under the brilliant rays of light had turned restless. Countless species in the sea were fleeing for their lives.

Several fish, their scales gleaming like delicate blades, flew out of the water and spread fins that resembled wings.

They were traveling at insane speeds, having sped up in the water. Their fins were short and small, but they allowed the fish to fly through the air.

It looked like the fish would soon fly into the distance, but when they reached the boundary of the Gravitational Vortex, they were dragged back by a great force in mid-air, and flung back whence they came!

Most importantly, the speed they had when flying out of the water to escape the Gravitational Vortex was the same speed they were traveling at when they were pulled back by the force.

Zhao Manyan felt like he was watching a weird rewinding clip!

“Perhaps they tried to run away in the water, but they couldn’t swim to safety, so they were trying to leave the field above the surface. These Flying Swordfish Beasts are smart, but unfortunately, the Forbidden Curse is covering the sky, the surface, the deep sea, and even under the ground. There’s no escape,” Zhang Xiaohou mentioned.

“Can you please stop?!” Zhao Manyan was about to burst into tears.

—

—

The Giant Clock Mountain at Qinghuangdao…

The mountain was facing the vast sea. A huge clock tower as tall as a skyscraper stood on the top. It was around a hundred and thirty meters tall, including the clock at the top.

The people in Qinghuangdao City and the fishing boats in the nearby waters were able to see the clock clearly.

When the countdown on the clock started, the nearby islands and peninsulas were told to evacuate.

The hour hand on the clock was close to finishing a circle. Only one and a half days were left.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai were at the bottom of the mountain. They could see the magnificent tower past the woods that were swaying in the sea breeze.

The clock would chime every hour. It was a special warning to the people on Qinghuangdao to seek shelter against a calamity, instead of telling them what time it was!

The loud chime of the clock placed Mo Fan and Mu Bai under huge pressure. It continued to spread throughout Qinghuangdao and the nearby waters.

“You two finally arrived?” a woman’s voice rose from the bushes.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai followed the voice and saw a woman with an alluring figure. She had a stern and fierce face, like an untamable deer!

“Are you… oh,” Mo Fan did not state the obvious after noticing something.

“Please don’t misunderstand. I just happened to lose an important map after you crooks beat me up,” Hua Yuezhu said as she approached Mo Fan. She passed a map to Mo Fan and Mu Bai as she spoke.

Mo Fan opened the map. Mu Bai immediately went closer to look at it.

The two looked at the map for a while, but they could not understand a single thing on it.

“Can you please explain to us… oh, what I am trying to say is, we’re going to force you to tell us what the map is about,” Mo Fan played along with Hua Yuezhu’s acting.

“The markings on the map are the junctures of the Magic Formation. The Forbidden Curse has three hundred and sixty-five Elemental Points. Each juncture is defended by at least a Super Mage. Theoretically, every juncture is guarding fifteen Elemental Points, but the junctures are also connected with one another. The juncture you attack will alert the other two junctures it’s connected to,” Hua Yuezhu said.

“How many Energy Points do we have to destroy to stop the Formation from operating?” Mo Fan asked.

“More than forty.”

“…”

Mo Fan recalled asking the Hunter from America what Elemental Diamonds were for when he had gone to Tianshan Mountain. He now knew the Elemental Diamonds were used as a source of energy.

When a Mage used Magic, they had to rely on the energy in their Stars, except for some special Magic Tools.

Only a limited number of Magic Tools could transform the energy inside objects into Magic.

Elemental Diamonds were the purest Magic Ores. They were not used to supply magic technology and machinery with energy, but to support the Induction of a Forbidden Curse!

The amount of energy required by a Forbidden Curse was crazy.

People who were called Forbidden Mages did not necessarily have the capability to construct the whole Star Complex to Cast a Forbidden Curse. Those Forbidden Mages were only opening the door of the Forbidden Curse. They needed external energy supplies to support the Forbidden Curse itself.

This huge operation on Qinghuangdao was a perfect example. Magic Formations with a huge number of junctures and countless magic devices had been established throughout the mountain. More than three thousand Mages were involved!

The military had even prepared a canteen and a residential building on the mountain to satisfy the needs of the people involved in the operation.

When Hua Yuezhu gave the map to Mo Fan and Mu Bai, the two were dumbfounded by its scale, even though they did not understand the details on it!

All this just to cast a spell? So many people had been kept here like workers for almost half a month!

“Can we really do it? With a scale like this, I’m pretty sure the military is expecting someone to try to disrupt it,” Mu Bai said.

He had always been a well-behaved student and citizen throughout his life. He was struggling to adapt to the special circumstances.

On the other hand, Mo Fan had already long gotten used to this.

“Do we have enough time to destroy forty Elemental Points? Is there a simpler way?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Mo Fan looked extremely confident, but he was internally panicking when he asked for another plan. The scale of the Forbidden Curse was far greater than he had thought!

“A simpler plan?” Hua Yuezhu harrumphed coldly before answering Mo Fan’s question, “You can try and knock out the Forbidden Mage, but keep in mind that the Forbidden Mage can use his magic freely even while he’s preparing the Forbidden Curse.”

“Mu Bai, you take care of twenty Elemental Points to the north, while I handle twenty Elemental Points to the south.. Is that fine with you?” Mo Fan said promptly.

Chapter 2465: Challenging to Retrieve their Remains

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Someone is coming!” Mu Bai’s gaze sharpened as he looked at the woods.

Mo Fan and Hua Yuezhu followed his gaze. To their surprise, two Mages wearing patrol uniforms came out of the woods before they could hide.

“Who are you?” one of the patrol Mages demanded. He could sense a strong presence from Mo Fan and Mu Bai.

“They are my men. They are reporting to me,” Hua Yuezhu told the high-ranked officer, reacting quickly.

The officer came closer and noticed Hua Yuezhu had a badge on her shoulder. Her rank was also higher than his. He saluted quickly.

“What is this about?” the officer was obviously treating everyone in the mountain with great caution.

Hua Yuezhu frowned.

The officer seemed to be suspicious of them. He had to be a Psychic Mage. Their acting was not going to trick him.

Hua Yuezhu had no choice but to say in a stern voice, “Our General was searching for a suitable spot for the Forbidden Curse. Our superior has already sent out a rescue team, but I was hoping to find people who are familiar with the Bohai Sea to join the rescue operation, so I found them.”

Since their cultivation was not low either, the Psychic Mage would not be able to tell they had other plans in mind just by looking at them.

The officer nodded and said, “Are you referring to General Zhang Xiaohou of the Violet Imperial Battalion? I met him a few days ago. I did hear he was missing. Did you find anything?”

The officer looked at Mo Fan like he was interrogating him. He was indeed suspicious, or he would not be talking to another person.

Hua Yuezhu was going to speak, but she knew it would only make the officer more suspicious if she answered too quickly.

“He’s dead,” Mo Fan replied calmly.

Hua Yuezhu opened her mouth in silence.

“We found his body, but it’s a little difficult to retrieve it,” Mu Bai added.

The officer had a surprised expression. He soon said with a sorry face, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

He shook his head and let out a sigh. He briefly explained how he had met Zhang Xiaohou the first time.

“You two have done well. Please retrieve General Zhang’s remains and give him a proper burial,” the officer patted Mo Fan and Mu Bai’s shoulders apologetically.

“It’s our duty. Don’t you worry,” Mo Fan said firmly.

“It’s getting late. You should all get some rest,” the man sighed. “Even though the military has decided to Cast the Forbidden Curse on the Sea Cliff Peak, General Zhang’s contributions cannot go unnoticed. His sacrifice is honorable, just like Advisor Zheng Wu, who failed to retreat in time,” the officer said.

The three did not say another word, as the officer had already let them go. They were in a hurry.

The Giant Clock Mountain had strict security and was using magic Barriers. Someone had already come to question them as they were having a secret discussion at the bottom of the mountain. It was likely there were more security measures they did not know about on the mountain.

Luckily, they had managed to trick the officer, or the plan would have failed before it even began. After all, the officer was a Psychic Mage. If they messed up even a little, the officer would easily see through their lie!

—

Hua Yuezhu let out a relieved sigh. She was already soaked in cold sweat.

Mu Bai raised his thumb at Mo Fan. It was brilliant that he had used Zhang Xiaohou’s shocking ‘death’ to end the interrogation.

He wondered what Zhang Xiaohou would think when he heard about it. It was probably like a grandfather going looking for his grandson at a school, but the class teacher told the grandfather his grandson was absent because he was attending his grandfather’s funeral!

“Who was the other guy that the officer mentioned?” Mo Fan asked.

“You mean Zheng Wu? He was stuck in the Forbidden Curse’s Gravitational Vortex after he helped his team escape. The Forbidden Curse is unstoppable, so even though he’s still alive, he will still most likely die to the Forbidden Curse,” Hua Yuezhu said.

“Oh,” Mo Fan nodded. He suddenly asked, “What is the Gravitational Vortex?”

Hua Yuezhu looked at Mo Fan. She did not understand why General Zhang Xiaohou had assigned an ignorant man to do such an important job. They might get themselves killed considering what they were going to do!

Not only were their lives in danger, it would also affect their standing. They might be sentenced to treason!

The knowledgeable Mu Bai knew a little about the Gravitational Vortex. He briefly explained what it was to Mo Fan along the way.

“I see. Does it mean the other two are dead for sure if we don’t stop the Forbidden Curse?” Mo Fan asked slowly.

“Mm, and it’s going to be tricky to retrieve their remains,” Mu Bai nodded.

Hua Yuezhu brought them to a crossroad and pointed at one of the paths.

She was about to say something, but visibly changed her mind, as if she had made a sudden decision. She said, “Forget it, that officer has already seen us together. If you two are caught, they will hold me responsible too. I’ll go with you!”

“You don’t trust us?” Mo Fan asked her directly.

“That’s right!”

Mo Fan was left speechless.

On the other hand, they would have higher odds of achieving their goals if Hua Yuezhu joined them.

Mo Fan sincerely did not want Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan to die to the Forbidden Curse. It would be too difficult to retrieve their corpses!

—

—

A place with several cliffs facing the sea had been chosen as the target for the Forbidden Curse.

The sea stacks rose from the sea a great distance above the surface. Some of them were hundreds of feet high.

Night had already fallen, and a thin mist covered the area. The sea stacks looked like the buildings of a dark city from afar.

“Those cliffs must be very sturdy, being able to withstand the waves,” Zhao Manyan observed.

Several other troops had been given the same mission as Zhang Xiaohou’s troop. They were all from different special forces.

Zhang Xiaohou’s Violet Imperial Battalion had failed its mission, thus the military had set the target for the Forbidden Curse as a nest of the Dragon King Krill another troop had discovered.

“The cliffs are made of Hardened Salt Rocks. Not only are they not corroded by the tide, they will absorb the salt of the sea and grow out of the surface like bamboo shoots,” Zhang Xiaohou explained.

Places with these special Hardened Salt Rocks were most likely crawling with an enormous number of Dragon King Krill!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s too dark now. Should we wait until morning?” Zhao Manyan suggested.

“Brother Zhao, if we wait until morning, we will have less than twenty hours left. We have to inform Brother Fan and Mu Bai of what we have discovered so they have enough time to stop the Forbidden Curse,” Zhang Xiaohou answered.

Zhao Manyan knocked his head on a Salt Rock nearby. He wished he could just knock himself to death. Why did these guys always drag him into life-and-death situations?

“So what exactly are you looking for that will prove it’s a trap set up by the sea monsters?” Zhao Manyan asked him.

He was clueless about the entire situation, especially the reason why Zhang Xiaohou was so confident that the Forbidden Curse was a trap. Where did he learn it was a part of a conspiracy by the sea monsters?

“I encountered an unusual creature in a trench. We’ll refer it to as the Trench Demon for now. Its intelligence is on par with humans, and it also has abilities similar to the Curse and Psychic Elements. It can consume human souls to obtain their knowledge after killing them,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Yang Xiajie was definitely not the first victim of the Trench Demon. It must have killed a high-ranking military officer and obtained lots of information from him, including the operation of the Forbidden Curses!

“The sea monsters already know we are using a Forbidden Curse?!” Zhao Manyan blurted out in surprise.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded. The sea monsters had long learned their secrets. They even knew about the Forbidden Curse before Zhang Xiaohou did!

Zhang Xiaohou’s troop was given the mission to find a suitable target for the Forbidden Curse. The operation involving a Forbidden Curse would obviously take the military a long time to plan and discuss after being proposed.

Zhang Xiaohou’s troop had only learned about the Forbidden Curse at a later phase in the operation, after the countdown started.

Zhang Xiaohou was spooked when he learned the Trench Demon had already known about the Forbidden Curse before the countdown even started!

The operation was kept confidential. Outsiders might be able to tell a huge operation was taking place on the Giant Clock Mountain, but no one would ever link it to a Forbidden Curse. The people had been evacuated for ‘other reasons’.

Even Super Mages did not know much about Forbidden Curses, let alone other people and Mages!

The Trench Demon obviously did not learn about the Forbidden Curse by stealing the information from a nobody.

The sea monsters were prepared for it!

“I have to go to the bottom of the sea to look for a silver vein.”

“A silver vein at the bottom of the sea? Are we trying to make a fortune?”

“Brother Zhao, can we focus on the Forbidden Curse? We might die if we don’t do our job properly. What’s the point of being rich if we won’t survive it?”

The two snuck into the area of the cliffs while they were talking.

The isolated sea stacks were some distance apart from one another. Each stack was like a dark mysterious tower rooted to the bottom of the sea.

Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan were both Water Mages. They were able to move freely in the water without worrying about oxygen or water resistance.

They dove into the sea rapidly, but it was too dark at the bottom of the sea. They could only see a limited range, even with night vision.

Zhang Xiaohou was having doubts as they reached the bottom of the sea. Everything looked perfectly normal. There was no sign of a deep trench, nor did they see any special creatures.

Zhang Xiaohou had done a quick scan on the surface. The Dragon King Krill had gathered in a specific area like fish in a pond, but the sea was a lot bigger than a pond. The number of the Dragon King Krill there could easily take out a county without alerting anyone!

However, Zhang Xiaohou did not find the clues he was looking for, except for the Dragon King Krill.

“Perhaps I was wrong?” Zhang Xiaohou murmured to himself regretfully.

“Houzi, over here!” Zhao Manyan suddenly yelled.

Zhang Xiaohou swam toward Zhao Manyan. He was close to a thick undersea cliff, and pointed at a hole in it.

“It’s empty inside, but I noticed unusual flows of the water inside it,” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“How can you tell?” Zhang Xiaohou was shocked.

“I’m a Super Water Mage. Do you think you can compare yourself with me when you only just Awakened the Water Element as your Fourth Element?” Zhao Manyan replied.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded and said, “It seems like we have made a wise decision to assign you to my group.”

“Bullsh**, it will not happen again!” Zhao Manyan instantly refuted.

Zhang Xiaohou smiled. He was familiar with Zhao Manyan’s personality. He might say no with his mouth, but he could not stop himself from diving into dangerous and exciting situations!

——-

The base of the cliff at the bottom of the sea was the size of a building. The two went inside the hole and quickly noticed they were able to dive deeper than the bottom of the sea!

Another well at the bottom of the sea!

It had been hidden under the thick and hollow cliff. Zhang Xiaohou realized why he had not been able to find anything. The nest of the Dragon King Krill was truly well hidden!

The two continued down the well. They roughly estimated the well was around a thousand meters deep.

They eventually discovered an underwater river in the well. The water was flowing rapidly across the bottom of the well.

The underwater river was bigger than the one Zhang Xiaohou had discovered in the sea trench, easily wide enough to support a city. It could fit the biggest cargo ship!

“Such an incredible sight! There are rocks at the bottom of the sea, and a river under the rocks! Its current is ten times stronger than normal rivers!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

He would never have believed it if he had not seen it in person!

“There are many hordes and kingdoms in the sea. Not every species is planning to invade our land. Our leaders have already told us that the sea monsters which are eying our shores covetously are from an ancient and powerful kingdom. They have yet to launch a full-scale attack on our shores because they are waiting for the sea level to rise again. They need the help of the tides to boost their momentum. They also have to construct a convenient shortcut so the powerful creatures of their dynasty can arrive at the battlefield in the shortest time possible,” Zhang Xiaohou explained.

“So you’re saying this river under the bottom of the sea is…”

“It’s a river that allows the sea monsters to travel between the middle of the Pacific Ocean and the Bohai Sea in a short amount of time!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Holy crap, so the kingdom of sea monsters has built a highway… No, it’s an express high-speed rail!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Their shores had always been safe because the most powerful sea monsters resided in the deep sea.

However, this underwater river would allow powerful sea monsters to sneak right into human territory without losing their way or trespassing on other territories. How could the savage Rulers in the deep sea behave themselves, knowing they finally had the chance to conquer the land?

Could anyone resist the temptation of the teeming world when the ride had already arrived in front of their home?

Even if only some of the Rulers were tempted to invade their shores, the destruction they could unleash would be unimaginable!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The Dragon King Krill can digest most rocks and stones, including iron and copper, but the silver deep in the sea is an exclusion. If they swallow the silver, they will die in no time,” Zhang Xiaohou mentioned.

The silver veins in the deep sea went all the way into the Earth’s crust. The silver veins had followed the underground rivers like huge dams.

The Dragon King Krill had made holes in the silver veins, but they had to get rid of most of the entire silver veins to make the Underground Rivers accessible to the sea monsters. The larger sea monsters were too massive to swim through the little holes of the silver veins.

“The silver veins are indeed giving the sea monsters a headache. Are you saying the sea monsters are trying to use our Forbidden Curse to destroy the silver veins?” Zhao Manyan asked. He understood the situation better after hearing Zhang Xiaohou’s explanation.

In the past, humans had always used their intelligence to keep demon creatures at bay. They had also used the demon creatures’ power against them by outsmarting them. Who would have thought the sea monsters would do the same in return?

Zhang Xiaohou now understood why Yang Xiajie’s soul kept warning him not to underestimate the sea monsters’ intelligence!

Humans had spent a long time fending off demon creatures on land, yet they were still stuck in the safe zone in the form of cities. The oceans were a lot bigger than the land. More than half of the oceans remained unexplored.

The sea monsters they had encountered were only the tip of the iceberg.

These unknown species would bring forth a different war. Being alert along the coastline was no longer enough!

The sea monsters were able to conspire against the humans now. Everything might seem calm on the surface, but the sea monsters’ invasion had already begun!

——

Zhang Xiaohou thought he would have to swim in the opposite direction of the Underwater River for some time to locate the silver vein.

To his surprise, the silver vein was right there at the bottom of the ‘well’. It was bigger than the one he had found before. The Dragon King Krill were biting at the silver ore and moving it to other places.

The Dragon King Krill were like slaves without their own will, but they were great in number. Even though they were going to die because they could not digest the silver ore, they were still eating the silver ore recklessly.

“There really is a silver vein here!…” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The silver vein was right in the middle of the underground river. As a Water Mage, Zhao Manyan could sense a stronger current on the other side of the silver vein.

Once the silver vein was cleared, not only would the underground river enlarge by tenfold, the water would flow at a quicker rate, too!

“The demon creatures of Mount Kunlun are unable to pose a threat to our coasts because there are countless hordes, kingdoms, and powerful species between Mount Kunlun and our coasts. They would have to pay a huge price just to reach our coasts. Similarly, there are many hordes between the middle of the Pacific Ocean and the Bohai Sea, making it difficult for this kingdom of sea monsters to travel to our coasts. However, things will be different once the underwater rivers are cleared,” Zhang Xiaohou pointed out.

Zhang Xiaohou insisted on finding out the truth. He realized he had made the right decision after seeing the huge silver vein and the underwater river!

“Damn it, the Forbidden Curse is going to land right on the silver vein. It will obviously destroy the silver vein. The sea monsters are trying to trick us!” Zhao Manyan cursed.

Zhao Manyan was now utterly convinced the sea monsters were using them. It was impossible to have so many coincidences in a row.

Deep Sea Silver was an extremely scarce resource, and the Forbidden Curse happened to be targeting the silver vein that was intercepting the underwater river.

In addition, a crazy number of Dragon King Krill were clearing the silver ore. Wasn’t their goal obvious?

The Forbidden Curse might eliminate most of the Dragon King Krill and resolve the danger they were posing to the coasts’ defenses, but once the Forbidden Curse destroyed the silver vein, it would open a door which would result in a war with the sea monsters of the Pacific Ocean.

The kingdom of sea monsters in the middle of the Pacific Ocean would keep coming to the Bohai Sea. The coasts were not the only places they would lose!

The kingdom of sea monsters was targeting the whole continent!

The thought alone was terrifying. Everyone knew the sea monsters were around three times stronger than the demon creatures on land. They were not only stronger physically, but they were smarter, too!

“We must let Mo Fan and Mu Bai know as soon as possible. Holy crap, these sea monsters are going to take over our country!” Zhao Manyan shouted.

They did not dare to stay any longer, and immediately left the water.

——

The sky was already lighting up by the time they reached the surface. The silver-white dawn light sprayed across the calm surface of the sea like a land covered in silver tiles.

“Only eighteen hours left,” Zhang Xiaohou murmured.

“Let’s hope they can make it in time. They better not let us down. Not only is our country in danger, our lives are in their hands too…” Zhao Manyan muttered.

“Brother Zhao, did you get the order wrong?” Zhang Xiaohou asked with a wry smile.

“I didn’t.”

Zhang Xiaohou took out a golden device. It was the military’s communication device that allowed soldiers to fire a signal into the sky when there was no Light Mage around.

“Brother Zhao, the Gravitational Vortex might weaken the signal, so you will have to boost it a little,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“Not a problem!” Zhao Manyan immediately summoned a special light which almost turned his body transparent. His heart was shining as brightly as the sun!

“Brother Zhao, your Light Element…” Zhang Xiaohou was surprised. Zhao Manyan’s Light Element had changed significantly!

However, a black figure suddenly approached them before he could finish the sentence.

The figure was closing in from behind, moving close to the surface of the sea. It was aiming straight at the back of Zhao Manyan’s neck, like it was delivering a deadly blow.

Zhao Manyan was busy Channeling his Light Spell. After all, he had to construct a Star Palace so the signal could overwhelm the restriction of the Gravitational Vortex.

Most importantly, the enemy was almost undetectable. They did not notice it until it was extremely close to them!

“Brother Zhao!” Zhang Xiaohou quickly stood behind Zhao Manyan and Cast a spell.

A Water Curtain the size of a shield formed in front of him.

However, the black figure was very quick.. An object resembling a sharp spear stabbed at them at a terrifying angle. Not only was it trying to stab through Zhang Xiaohou’s heart, it was going to pierce through Zhang Xiaohou’s neck!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The attack was totally unexpected. The enemy had been hiding nearby a long time. It had waited until they lowered their guard when they were busy firing the signal.

Feathers of the Wind Spirits circled Zhang Xiaohou as the spear sliced through the Water Curtain. They gathered in front of Zhang Xiaohou’s chest to protect him.

The protection knocked the spear off its initial angle, causing it to miss Zhang Xiaohou’s heart!

However, the spear went through his chest and headed right at the defenseless Zhao Manyan.

Luckily, it only scratched Zhao Manyan’s neck a little after it was knocked off its initial angle. Zhao Manyan barely survived the attack.

“Damn it!” Zhao Manyan was enraged. His heart, glowing like a new sun, pounded heavily and released waves of light at the black figure.

The black figure immediately backed away. The bright light revealed its identity.

To Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan’s surprise, it was not a sea monster, but a man!

The man was wearing a military uniform. His disheveled hair and the vicious look in his eyes no longer resembled a human, but a demon from the deep sea!

“Advisor Zheng Wu!” Zhang Xiaohou recognized the man, but blood was pouring out from his chest as he was shouting. The spear was still stuck in his chest.

“Zhang Xiaohou, you should treat your injuries first… don’t you die on me!” Zhao Manyan yelled.

Zhao Manyan was relieved to see Zhang Xiaohou was still alive. He would have felt guilty for the rest of his life knowing Zhang Xiaohou had died to save him.

Zhao Manyan glared at the soldier, whose eyes were brimming with hostility.

“Brother Zhao, I’m fine. We don’t have much time left. You have to send the signal out of the Gravitational Vortex to tell Brother Fan and Mu Bai…” Zhang Xiaohou did not back down.

Blood was pouring out of his chest and his back. The Feathers of the Wind Spirits transformed into a pair of hands and pulled the spear out of his body.

Blood jetted out like a fountain after the spear was pulled out from Zhang Xiaohou’s body, but his body did not sway, nor was he showing any pain on his face.

“Brother Zhao, I won’t let anything come close to you, including that man! You just have to fire the signal!” Zhang Xiaohou declared.

The Gravitational Vortex had complicated the process of firing off a signal. Zhao Manyan wanted to fight the enemy with Zhang Xiaohou, but he realized Mo Fan and Mu Bai needed time to stop the Forbidden Curse. He understood why Zhang Xiaohou insisted on standing in front of him, even though he was in great pain!

“Fine, I’ll do it! The Gravitational Vortex won’t stop my light!” Zhao Manyan promised.

The enemy did not have to kill them both, he just had to stop them from firing the signal. If they decided to focus on him, he would just kite them instead.

He just had to waste their time to win the battle!

Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan were well aware of the situation. Their first priority was to fire the signal out of the Gravitational Vortex!

“Feather of the Wind Spirits, grant me your protection!”

Zhang Xiaohou opened his palm and blew the feathers at Zhao Manyan like petals

A gust of wind wrapped around Zhao Manyan. He could feel its protection, even though he could not see it.

Zhao Manyan had learned during the battle in Xiamen that the Feathers of the Wind Spirits was Zhang Xiaohou’s strongest ability of the Wind Element. He was extremely touched when Zhang Xiaohou gave him the Feathers of the Wind Spirits.

Zhang Xiaohou had a bleeding hole in him. He had suffered serious injuries, even if the spear had missed his heart.

But he had no time to stop the bleeding. Their enemy had already found an opening through the waves of lights. The man was flying at him like a black fang.

He thought their enemy was aiming at his heart again, but he realized the man was targeting his eyes instead once he was close enough!

It was extremely difficult to defend against a stab. A destructive spell with a wide area would spread its power over the area, but an attack was a lot deadlier when the force was gathered on a single point. Therefore, Zhang Xiaohou had to gather his defense on a single point as well. If he defended his whole body, the enemy’s attack would break through his blocking with ease.

If Zhang Xiaohou still had the Feathers of the Wind Spirits, he could use them to protect his eyes, but now he had to figure out another way to defend himself.

“Intercepting Claw!”

A cold light flickered like lightning down Zhang Xiaohou’s arm, from his shoulder to his fingertips. Sharp blades poked out of his fingers like claws!

He did not have a better way to defend himself. The enemy was attacking him at a close distance. He decided to give the enemy a taste of its own medicine. He swung his claws at the enemy’s throat!

If the enemy was going to stab his eyes, he would pierce the enemy’s throat! Zhang Xiaohou made his move decisively, even though he might die to the man’s attack.

Zheng Wu hesitated in the nick of time. He might stab Zhang Xiaohou in the eyes and puncture his brain to kill him, but he would also be killed by Zhang Xiaohou’s attack.

It meant he would not be able to stop the other guy from firing the signal!

Zheng Wu quickly canceled his attack and backed away. He dodged the claw and moved away to prevent Zhang Xiaohou from following up with another attack.

“Damn it, do you really have to risk your life like that!?” Zhao Manyan was soaked in cold sweat after seeing what had happened.

Zhang Xiaohou was too reckless. The traitor was most likely going to die after being stuck in the Gravitational Vortex. What if their enemy was not afraid of dying?

“I know what I’m doing!” Zhang Xiaohou grinned.

“Nonsense, you should treasure your life more. Dying for a greater cause is just a child’s ideology of heroes. Not only should we fight for a greater cause, we should try our best to stay alive too! That’s what a real man would do!” Zhao Manyan proclaimed.

Why did their options have to be sad? Were they only limited to dying for the greater cause, or living like a coward?

They had to save the world, but they had to live too!

Zhang Xiaohou was stunned by Zhao Manyan’s words. He did not expect to hear that from someone like Zhao Manyan.

His impression of Zhao Manyan had changed once again.

Dying was very simple. All he had to do was to give up!

It was more difficult to stay alive in difficult and deadly situations. Wasn’t it more impressive to survive after giving his everything?

Zhao Manyan was absolutely right!

Not only did they have to fight for a greater cause, they had to stay alive, too! It was what a strong real man would do!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou was able to buy some time with his recklessness, but he still briefly treated his injuries. His life would be in danger if he kept bleeding.

Advisor Zheng Wu glared at Zhang Xiaohou, and suddenly raised his hand. Pitch-black cracks tore through the rift. They looked like branches of an old tree lit up by the light of the moon. They seemed sharp and deadly in the dark.

Zhang Xiaohou focused himself. His enemy was like an assassin, with outstanding speed. Every move he used relied on his speed. His attacks were deadly and quick, not giving his target any time to react and prepare a defense.

Even the slightest mistake might cost Zhang Xiahou’s life against an enemy like Advisor Zheng Wu!

Chaos Cracks was an ability that could ignore every defense of its target. It could slice space itself and everything it contained in half. The cracks even lasted for some time and only slowly dissipated.

Another crack sliced across space like a giant axe, splitting reality around Zhang Xiaohou in half.

Zhang Xiaohou nimbly dodged the axe, but more cracks suddenly appeared under his feet. They did not cover a large area, but it was enough to cover his landing spot.

The defense of the Earth Element would be ineffective, as the Chaos Cracks would intercept any form of magic.

Zhang Xiaohou had once fought a flying beast with the Chaos Element in the Qinling Mountains. Its abilities were strange and unpredictable, and its every attack was deadly. He had lost many of his men to the Chaos Cracks!

Zhang Xiaohou was extremely cautious against the Chaos Element after his experience fighting the creature with the Chaos Element. He knew the Chaos Magic could appear out of nowhere. He left other options open with every step he took.

Zhang Xiaohou did not land on the Chaos Cracks, instead swinging his right arm at a nearby cliff-face.

A rope of white wind wrapped around the stone, and Zhang Xiaohou pulled himself toward the cliff, gliding across the sky.

The Chaos Cracks were still growing in size. Zhang Xiaohou let go of the wind rope and landed on another area on the surface of the sea. He swore when he saw the Chaos Cracks at the spot where he was supposed to land initially.

The cracks could easily slice through an enormous beast, let alone a human!

Zhang Xiaohou withheld his anger and demanded, “Advisor Zheng Wu, what are you doing?”

Every move from Zheng Wu was deadly enough to kill Zhang Xiaohou. Why was he working for the sea monsters?

“Die, die, die!” Advisor Zheng Wu shouted madly.

His voice was extremely strange. It not only carried his angry scream, but another vicious screech was also coming out of his throat.

Zhang Xiaohou immediately recalled the demon in the trench. It sounded similar to the demon’s shrieking!

Zhang Xiaohou finally noticed Advisor Zheng Wu’s eyes. They were dark and green, and a strange flower was swaying in his pupils.

Zhang Xiaohou was stunned. His eyes were the same as the demon in the trench!

Wasn’t it hiding in the trench? How did it take over Advisor Zheng Wu’s body to attack them on the surface?

Hang on, something is not right!

The man in front of him was clearly Advisor Zheng Wu. Even the spells he was using were a human’s abilities.

In other words, the demon in the trench was controlling Advisor Zheng Wu’s mind. He had been turned into a puppet.

Controlling humans’ minds!

Apparently, many sea monsters had the ability to do this trick. It explained why the Operation of the Forbidden Curse had been compromised, and the reason why Zheng Wu had stayed behind after the coordinates were set.

The military thought Advisor Zheng Wu had sacrificed himself so his troop could escape from the Forbidden Curse’s Gravitational Vortex, but the demon in the trench had long been controlling him. He had stayed behind to guard the place, in case someone like Zhang Xiaohou showed up to ruin its plan!

These sea monsters are truly cunning!

Most importantly, humans were unaware of the sea monsters’ intelligence. They never thought humans, whose greatest power was their intelligence, would become the sea monsters’ puppets and spy on them!

“It seems like you have lost your heart. I won’t show you any mercy. Advisor Zheng Wu, I’ll free your soul!” Zhang Xiaohou declared.

Yang Xiajie had died a painful death. Advisor Zheng Wu had been trapped for an even longer time. He had completely lost his will and become a puppet. He must have been tortured greatly.

Zhang Xiaohou had decided to use his deadly moves. It was unlikely Advisor Zheng Wu would survive them.

Advisor Zheng Wu did not react even in the slightest after hearing the words, having totally lost his mind. Zhang Xiaohou did not notice any sign of his lingering spirit from his eyes, like he had Yang Xiajie.

What a pity…

It was like a free man who had been turned into a mindless slave after being whipped for several days. He had completely lost his true nature!

“Wind Ultimate: Nine-Headed Serpents!”

Zhang Xiaohou suddenly flew at Advisor Zheng Wu, like a fierce gust of wind.

Advisor Zheng Wu immediately summoned branches from the Chaos Cracks to defend himself, but Zhang Xiaohou was faster. He had already flown past Advisor Zheng Wu before the branches even appeared.

A trail remained in Zhang Xiahou’s flight path. It resembled a savage serpent surrounded by strong winds. Its body was as thick as a dragon, and it had a giant head.

Advisor Zheng Wu quickly turned around in case Zhang Xiaohou was readying to strike him from behind.

As soon as Advisor Zheng Wu fixed his eyes on Zhang Xiaohou, he turned into a gust of wind again and flashed past him, leaving another trail resembling a ferocious serpent.

Zhang Xiaohou began moving even faster. Advisor Zheng Wu could not even see him properly as he flew back and forth again several times, he could only see the trails Zhang Xiaohou was leaving behind himself.

Zhang Xiaohou suddenly stopped, his back facing Advisor Zheng Wu. He pulled the wind rope in his right hand with great strength.

The wind trails tightened as strong winds started surging. Advisor Zheng Wu began struggling to maintain his balance.

Most terrifyingly, nine enormous figures rose from the winds. There were nine wind serpents there, all sharing a body. They spread apart like a blossoming flower.

The nine serpents arched back and lunged at Advisor Zheng Wu, who was right above their backs. The serpents began to tear at him.

Advisor Zheng Wu was knocked into the air by one of the heads. The rest of them immediately went after him.

Fresh blood sprayed in the air as his body was savagely torn to pieces.

Even the demon in the trench who was controlling Advisor Zheng Wu had not expected the human who had escaped from it to possess such terrifying strength!

Chapter 2470: It’s a Forbidden Mage

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhang Xiaohou did not feel like looking at Zheng Wu’s remains, but his face was firmly set.

He could not allow himself to be merciful in the middle of a war!

He believed Advisor Zheng Wu would understand him if he had retained a little of his will.

“That was… awesome!” Zhao Manyan was impressed by Zhang Xiaohou’s strength after he saw the ferocious Nine-Headed Wind Dragon.

No wonder Zhang Xiaohou was promoted to General at such a young age. His strength was worthy of the rank!

“Brother Zhao, how did it go?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

“Of course I’m fine, look at the sky,” Zhao Manyan pointed.

Zhang Xiaohou looked up and saw a bright light shining in the sky. It was obviously outside the Gravitational Vortex.

Zhao Manyan had done it. The people on the outside would have no trouble seeing it.

Zhang Xiaohou let out a relieved sigh. Blood was leaking out from his lips. He looked at his chest and noticed the hole in it was bleeding again.

Luckily, his vital organs had not been damaged. He would not die once he treated the wounds.

“We’ll leave the rest to Brother Fan and Mu Bai.” Zhang Xiaohou laid down, breathing deeply.

“Damn it, it’s my first time being in a situation where I still have to wait quietly for my death after beating the enemy with everything I have,” Zhao Manyan cursed quietly.

The two were standing on sea stack and staring into the distance. The Gravitational Vortex had visibly separated the inside and the outside, like there were two different worlds.

The water suddenly became restless. It went from small splashes to huge waves.

Zhao Manyan immediately rose to his feet on alert. Something dangerous was coming out of the sea!

Some time passed, but nothing appeared from the water. The surface of the sea was moving vigorously, like creatures were dancing around in it, but Zhao Manyan could not see a thing.

“It’s the Dragon King Krill,” Zhang Xiaohou murmured.

“What are they doing?”

“They must be afraid. The Forbidden Curse is coming,” Zhang Xiaohou guessed.

The Dragon King Krill was finally going to show their true numbers across the vast sea.

They were strange creatures with the whiskers of a dragon, the body of a krill, and the tails of a fish. The small ones were as tiny as tadpoles. They gathered in groups and headed for the cliffs and the sea stacks.

The cliffs started collapsing. The scale of destruction was no weaker than an Advanced Spell.

There were bigger Dragon King Krill, too. They were crawling on the paths established by the smaller Dragon King Krill, stacking on top of one another. Several of them could eat a boulder and turn it into dust in just a few seconds.

A barren island further away suddenly sank into the sea. Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan watched it happen, and it took them a while to collect their thoughts.

The waves grew taller, like moving hills. They soon noticed a shocking figure.

Its dragon whiskers split the waves in half. Its body was like the size of a ship. Countless small Dragon King Krill were attached to it. A single wave of its tail would kill thousands of them easily.

The Dragon King Krill in the area had completely panicked as the Forbidden Curse was approaching. They no longer had the same color as the water, spots forming on their smooth bodies. They would look like giant wriggling tongues if they did not have whiskers.

“F**king disgusting!” Zhao Manyan almost vomited when he saw the enormous King of the Dragon Krill. He had goosebumps when he imagined the Dragon King Krill swimming around him when he was in the water not long ago.

“Brother Zhao, if the Forbidden Curse stops, the Dragon King Krill will live,” Zhang Xiaohou pointed out.

“That thing must be their leader. Let’s kill it!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“Sure!”

They were half-dead anyway. What was there to be scared of?

—

—

A special light was shining in the night sky. It stood out in the stars and moon.

“Mo Fan, look at the sky!” Mu Bai pointed at the display.

“What’s the point? I was going to do it even without the signal. Otherwise, what were we doing here?” Mo Fan replied.

Mu Bai was startled. He did not understand Mo Fan at first, but he soon realized what he meant.

Mo Fan would do anything for his brothers!

“The situation has changed,” Hua Yuezhu came over with a grim look, like she had just attended a funeral.

“We don’t have much time. Spill it,” Mo Fan said.

“Initially, we just had to destroy the forty Energy Points to stop the Forbidden Curse, but I just learned the Forbidden Curse has saved up enough energy. Even if we destroyed the Energy Points, the Forbidden Curse will still fall. It will only weaken it slightly,” Hua Yuezhu told them.

“Ugh… does that mean Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan are dead for sure?” Mu Bai blurted out.

There was no stopping the Forbidden Curse. Even if it was weakened, it would still kill everything!

Their only chace was if Zhao Manyan could Summon Baxia to his side instantly and use all his defense to have a slim chance of survival!

The problem was, the Gravitational Vortex was still around. Even if Baxia could make it in time, he would not be able to enter it!

There was no chance of living!

Hua Yuezhu lowered her head. Her face was twisted, and her eyes were tearing.

She was not able to stop it in the end!

“Does the Forbidden Curse not have a blind spot or a weak point?” Mo Fan asked grimly.

“There is, but only the Forbidden Mage knows where they are. However, even the weakest points and blind spots can kill Ruler-level creatures and Super Mages. A Forbidden Curse is stronger than you can imagine. It’s not the same as the difference between the Basic Level and the Intermediate Level, or the Intermediate Level and the Advanced Level. It’s a disaster!” Hua Yuezhu said.

Mu Bai opened his mouth, but he could not find any words.

It seemed like they really had no way of stopping it!

Zhang Xiaohou was already dead the moment he decided to go to the coordinates. The three of them would never stop the Forbidden Curse!

“There’s one more option,” Mo Fan declared.

“What option? We didn’t even have time to come up with a plan, nor do we have the manpower or information. Most importantly, we don’t have the necessary strength. Even if we attack the Energy Points, there’s a great chance we will be arrested!” Hua Yuezhu cried out.

“Who’s the Forbidden Mage?” Mo Fan asked with a serious face. He did not care about Hua Yuezhu’s attitude.

Mu Bai stared at Mo Fan with wide eyes. He asked, “Mo Fan, what are you thinking?”

“I’m going to beat him,” Mo Fan stated firmly.

Hua Yuezhu and Mu Bai stared at Mo Fan.

Was Mo Fan crazy? That was a Forbidden Mage!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Induction of a Forbidden Curse was different from the Casting of other, lesser spells.

Even though the Forbidden Curse was focusing on constructing the Star Complex, it would not prevent him from using other magic.

Becoming a Forbidden Mage also granted the Mage capabilities beyond Super Powers, Domains, and Wards. The fact that he had maxed out five of his Elements already made him unbeatable, even if he was to face a group of powerful Mages.

It was impossible! They had no chance of beating the Forbidden Mage!

Mo Fan was out of his mind!

“Mo Fan, are you planning to rely on the power you used in the Ancient Capital?” Mu Bai asked.

“Mm, there’s no other option, but I’m not sure if I can take on a Forbidden Mage in my demon form, either,” Mo Fan replied.

The Demon Element was a powerful ability, especially since Mo Fan’s cultivation had improved significantly since the last time he had used the Demon Element. He now had seven Elements, too. He had no idea how strong he would be in his demon form!

“If you use it against the people here, it might end terribly,” Mu Bai told him.

“That’s why I have to control it,” Mo Fan did not sound too confident.

Hua Yuezhu did not understand them. She did not believe they had the ability to beat a Forbidden Mage at all.

“There’s only one person who can help us,” Hua Yuezhu offered.

“You have another idea?” Mu Bai’s expression immediately shifted.

Having Mo Fan use the Demon Element was the last resort. It was better to reserve it for the Black Vatican and powerful demon creatures. If he used it against the military and human Mages, he would be sentenced for committing a serious crime.

Besides, was Mo Fan really able to take on a Forbidden Mage in his demon form? Mu Bai did not think so!

The demon form might be powerful, but a Forbidden Mage was countless times stronger than a Super Mage. Otherwise, why would they place Forbidden Mages under so many restrictions?

“We’ll look for the chief. He’s the Commander of the operation. If we can convince him to stop the Forbidden Curse, we might be able to save them!” Hua Yuezhu said.

“The chief?” Mo Fan and Mu Bai exchanged glances. They had no idea who it was.

“He’s a Forbidden Mage, too,” Hua Yuezhu told him.

Mo Fan was astounded. There were two Forbidden Mages on this mountain?!

——

The clock was still moving. Alarms were being sounded at an increasing frequency.

The area shrouded by a mist in the distance was where the Forbidden Curse was about to fall. It extended from the sky to the bottom of the sea, a seemingly boundless area!

Mo Fan had never seen a Forbidden Curse before, but he could already sense how terrifying it was just by looking at its Gravitational Vortex. The place no longer belonged to this world, even before the Forbidden Curse was executed.

A wooden hut stood under the clock. Half of it was leaning against the mountain, while the other half was open, as if it had been sliced in half by something.

—

Time gradually passed. Hua Yuezhu still could not convince the chief to meet them.

Mo Fan had long fixed his eyes on the opening at the top of the mountain. Icy white energy was forming a majestic Magic Formation, like a purgatory consisting of thousands of chains.

A Mage dressed in a snowy-white robe stood in the center. He was wearing a fluffy hat, but remained as still as a statue.

However, his eyes were observing everything around him.

The Gravitational Vortex in the distance and the scattering leaves on the mountain could not escape his sharp gaze. They were aged but brimming with wisdom!

“That guy should be the Forbidden Mage. He’s most likely the ancestor of the Mu Clan,” Mo Fan said.

“Can you stop sounding like that old man is our target? I feel like the two of us are nothing but little hamsters in front of him. He can see through us easily,” Mu Bai muttered.

“You are imagining it. Don’t overestimate the Forbidden Curse. Perhaps the Magic Association has been bluffing about it in order to protect their power. Look at that old man, he needs the help of so many people just to complete the Forbidden Curse. I too could bring massive destruction with their help,” Mo Fan said.

“You are very optimistic,” Mu Bai said with a wry smile.

“We’ll go when the minute hand strikes twelve.” Mo Fan had made up his mind.

As soon as Mo Fan finished the sentence, the old man who stood in the Magic Formation like an ancient emperor glanced in their direction.

His eyes were fixed on them.

Mo Fan could even see his pupils over the distance. They suddenly enlarged until they were covering the sun and the sky!

Mo Fan panicked. How did he know what they were up to?

Did he read their minds with the Psychic Element? Or did he have some way to predict the future?

What should they do now?

Forget it, he had already read their minds. There was no going back now!

Mo Fan was about to make his move when the eyes that were covering the sun and the sky vanished. The old Ice Emperor remained still, with a slight grin on his face.

It was like the grin of a cat which was chasing a rat, the grin of an old man who had seen through a young man’s lie. He did not expose Mo Fan, nor did he take any action. He remained standing there, with a grin that was making Mo Fan feel uncomfortable.

It was like he was saying, ‘Do whatever you want. I would like to see how petty you are.’

“The chief asked you to come inside,” a voice came from inside the hut.

Hua Yuezhu smiled. She ran into the hut without waiting for Mo Fan and Mu Bai.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai exchanged glances.

“Why don’t we try talking to the chief first? If we can’t convince him… either way, that old man already knows what we are up to,” Mu Bai suggested.

“Damn it, either that old prick is playing us, or he isn’t treating us seriously!” Mo Fan cursed helplessly.

——

The chief was a middle-aged man with black hair and a beard. Even his clothes were black. He had a gentle aura, like a scholar who had a great passion for art.

He had his back to the three. There was no one else in the hut.

“Uncle,” Hua Yuezhu said.

“Call me Supreme Commander,” the man said coldly.

“Supreme Commander,” Hua Yuezhu looked wronged, but she had no choice but to address the man differently.

“You are no longer worthy to be a soldier,” the man said.

“I just…”

“I’ll listen to what you have to say, but I won’t change my mind,” the man declared firmly.

Chapter 2472: Eye of Deceit

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Hua Yuezhu did not know what to say after hearing the man’s firm tone. After all, she was unfamiliar with the details. She had only acted against her duty out of trust in Zhang Xiaohou.

“Mu Bai, you have more eloquence, you tell him,” Mo Fan said.

“Me? Fine,” Mu Bai did not know where to start, either.

Mu Bai arranged his thoughts and explained Zhang Xiaohou’s speculation to the man. He also added some reasonable explanations of his own.

“The underwater river is a shortcut for the sea monsters in the Pacific Ocean to travel to our waters. The sea monsters are planning to use the Forbidden Curse to destroy the silver veins that intercept the river.”

The man turned sideways and looked at Mu Bai.

“Keep going,” the man said.

“We are running out of time. Supreme Commander, there’s a huge chance this is all part of the sea monsters’ conspiracy,” Mu Bai went on.

Mu Bai was panicking now. He was trying his best to come up with the best way to convince the Supreme Commander.

However, they did not have any convincing evidence. The Light signal alone was not enough to prove it was a trap.

They might have absolute trust in Zhang Xiaohou, but the military was not going to stop the operation for mere speculation.

If they were wrong, the Dragon King Krill would invade the coasts and destroy the dams and buildings. They were unable to assume responsibility for the potential disaster.

“There is a kind of highly-intelligent sea monster. They are able to entice humans and make them fully obey their orders. Are you sure the Zhang Xiaohou you met in Hawaii is really him? Have you ever considered the possibility that he’s no longer himself?” the man harrumphed coldly.

“Well…” Mu Bai was lost for words.

“The sea monsters are afraid of the Forbidden Curse, so they are inciting us to turn against one another. They will win if we stop the Forbidden Curse,” the Supreme Commander stated firmly.

Mu Bai was lost for words again. He subconsciously looked at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not say a single word. To Mu Bai’s surprise, Mo Fan had already left the hut.

Mu Bai had been talking to the man for some time. He had a feeling Mo Fan was asking him to keep the man busy to stop him so he could leave the hut.

Mu Bai could roughly guess his motive.

But was it really going to work?

Mo Fan had asked him to keep the Supreme Commander busy while he left to take out the Ice Emperor. However, the Supreme Commander could just leave as soon as a fight broke out outside the hut. Did Mo Fan think he could take on two Forbidden Mages with the Demon Element?

“Sir, the sea monsters might be turning us against one another, but shouldn’t you have faith in your men? Zhang Xiaohou is still himself. He was the first to step forward during the Calamity of the Ancient Capital when millions of people were stuck inside the wall waiting to be killed by the Dark Abyss. He went into the Dark Abyss to stop the Ancient King’s awakening. I can remember what he said even now.

“He could have chosen to be a bystander and wait for the outcome, but he chose to risk his life by going into the Gravitational Vortex to look for the truth. The sea monsters are cunning and vicious, and they are turning us against one another. That’s why we need people like Zhang Xiaohou, people who have passionate, firm, and loyal hearts. If the truth he risked everything to dig out isn’t reliable, what else can we believe? He’s your man, and we are only telling you what we have learned. You are going to make the final decision,” Mu Bai admitted after a brief silence.

The Supreme Commander finally turned around and looked at Mu Bai directly.

“Uncle…Supreme Commander, please believe General Zhang!” Hua Yuezhu almost burst into tears.

“What part of it is the truth, and what part of it is a lie?” the man murmured and fell into deep thoughts.

In the end, he shook his head. His decision would not change because of a few words.

Zhang Xiaohou was sincere and devoted. However, things were not going to change because of how sincere he was.

Whether it was a conspiracy or a trick the sea monsters used to turn them against one another, the eyes that could see through the mist could also be tricked by other things!

—

The minute hand was almost stacked on top of the hour hand. The area shrouded by a mist would soon perish.

The old man was still there in the middle of the Magic Formation. He had yet to move his feet.

A man with black hair and a black beard, and dressed in a black outfit was approaching the old man.

“We must stop the Forbidden Curse,” the man said.

“Oh? the Forbidden Mage raised his brows.

He was holding a staff. Both of his hands were holding the staff to support himself.

“The Forbidden Curse has to stop. It’s a conspiracy by the sea monsters,” the man said.

“Kid, I might believe you if you talked to me with your true appearance. Don’t you know it’s a serious crime to pretend to be the Supreme Commander?” the old Mage said with the same grin on his face.

The man subconsciously took a few steps back.

He might look exactly like the Supreme Commander, but he was a fake.

He was Mo Fan! He had used the Eye of Deceit, the special artifact he obtained from the Queen of Eagle Demoness to perfectly disguise himself as someone else.

It was the reason why Mo Fan had asked Mu Bai to keep the Supreme Commander busy. He was going to disguise himself as the Supreme Commander and order the Forbidden Mage to stop the Forbidden Curse.

Unfortunately, the old man had seen right through his trick.

As he thought, the disguise was flawed. If he could knock the Supreme Commander unconscious and copy his traits with the Eye of Deceit, the Forbidden Curse would not have seen through the disguise so easily!

In the end, he still found himself at a dead end.

“It seems like I have no other choice.” Mo Fan removed the Eye of Deceit and reclaimed his appearance.

“Are you going to stop the Forbidden Curse?” the Ice Emperor said.

“Yes!”

“It’s too late,” the Ice Emperor said calmly.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan frowned. The demon blood was flowing inside his body.

The Ice Emperor did not answer him. Another voice came from the wooden hut behind him.

“Mo Fan, the clock is only a guise. We never said we were going to be punctual!” The Supreme Commander slowly walked toward Mo Fan. He had draped a coat over his shoulders.

He was walking at a slow pace, but he soon arrived close to Mo Fan.

The old Ice Emperor stood in front of him, while the Supreme Commander was behind him.

Two Forbidden Mages had their eyes on Mo Fan simultaneously!

Chapter 2473: Setting the Trap for Who?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The golden sunlight after noon sprinkled on the Bohai Sea, dyeing the restless Dragon King Krill golden.

Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan were a little worn out. It took them a great effort just to kill a lord of the Dragon King Krill.

The whole surface of the sea was crawling with angry Dragon King Krill. They were clustered together and wrapped around one another, forming a giant beast made up of thousands of Dragon King Krill. It looked like a golden dragon under the sunlight!

The two were hiding on a sea stack that was on the verge of collapsing, their backs against one another. Their scalps turned numb upon witnessing the scene before them, but they had nowhere to escape because of the Gravitational Vortex. They could only fight endlessly.

“Zhang Xiaohou, there’s something I don’t understand. If the Forbidden Curse has such a huge coverage area, aren’t the sea monsters worried it would destroy the Underwater River too?” Zhao Manyan thought suddenly while he was surrounded by the danger.

“I have the same doubt too, but…” Zhang Xiaohou shook his head, like he wanted to say something that sounded unlikely.

“The silver veins are intercepting the Underwater River. If the Forbidden Curse focuses on a specific part of the Underwater River, it can easily destroy the silver veins. Even if the sea monsters did control the troop that had chosen the coordinates of the Forbidden Curse, how could they guarantee the Forbidden Curse wouldn’t destroy the Underwater River they have dug out with such great effort?” Zhao Manyan persisted.

He had no idea why he was pondering the question at a time like this, but he felt like he had to find out the truth, even if his death was approaching.

“In order to destroy the silver veins without damaging the Underwater River, the Forbidden Mage has to be familiar with the situation at the bottom of the sea and the locations of the silver veins to control the damage of the Forbidden Curse,” Zhang Xiaohou replied.

Zhao Manyan turned around and stared at Zhang Xiaohou.

The Forbidden Curse was being used to destroy the silver veins, which would allow the sea monsters to travel freely along the Underwater River.

However, the Forbidden Curse was too powerful. Not only would it destroy the silver veins, it would destroy the Underwater River, too!

If the sea monsters wanted to get their way, not only did they have to set the coordinates of the Forbidden Curse on the silver veins, the Forbidden Mage had to control the damage of the Forbidden Curse precisely!

“The requirements are very strict. It comes down to the Forbidden Mage’s will,” Zhao Manyan hinted strongly.

If Zhang Xiaohou was wrong, the Forbidden Mage was innocent.

If Zhang Xiaohou was right, it meant the Forbidden Mage was…

Zhang Xiaohou did not respond further to Zhao Manyan. He just smiled wryly. Zhao Manyan stopped thinking about it, too.

Zhao Manyan finally understood. The truth was like the glimpse of icy light deep into an abyss, which they did not have the courage to pursue.

Unfortunately, Zhao Manyan did not have a choice. He could only trust Zhang Xiaohou unconditionally.

Zhang Xiaohou did not say anything because nothing he said was going to make a difference. Perhaps he was being tricked by the sea monsters and did not have a clear mind. There was no turning back for him, either!

—

—

The Giant Clock Mountain…

There were only six hours until the Forbidden Curse took place.

However, Chief Hua already mentioned the clock was just a ruse. The real Forbidden Curse was already happening. There was no stopping it!

The two Forbidden Mages were staring at Mo Fan, but Mo Fan was looking at the Gravitational Vortex in the distance.

There were no destructive lights or power that was going to destroy the world. Mo Fan was confused about who to believe all of a sudden.

Is it falling or not? “What exactly is going on!?” Mo Fan snapped.

The chief’s eyes had a dark light to them. He was looking in Mo Fan’s direction.

On closer inspection, Mo Fan noticed his gaze was actually fixed on the old Ice Emperor standing in the Magic Formation!

“Mo Fan, stand back!” The chief suddenly unleashed a fierce aura.

He was just standing there, but Mo Fan could sense the sky behind the man turning into a black tsunami, devouring everything within its reach.

“Hehehe, ordinary humans shouldn’t be involved in the war between gods. I should have noticed this operation on the Giant Clock Mountain was a trap. The Energy Points were filled earlier than expected, and another Forbidden Mage remained here throughout the operation,” the Ice Emperor laughed.

Mo Fan was completely puzzled when a loud blast suddenly echoed on the Giant Clock Mountain. The huge clock suddenly released a sacred light. It covered the land and the surface of the sea with a golden sheen!

“A few Forbidden Mages went to the Land of Ice at the South Pole and died. After that, the sea level began to rise as the sea monsters went on rampages, invading the land.

“Mo Fan, the Ice Emperor standing in front of you was one of the survivors who went to the South Pole.

“Look at his eyes.”

The chief’s voice rumbled like thunder and echoed in Mo Fan’s ears.

Mo Fan turned around to look at the Ice Emperor’s eyes. The sacred light shining down from above was suddenly directed at the Ice Emperor like a mirror covering the land, focusing the heavenly light on a specific point.

A dark shadow emerged from behind the Ice Emperor and replaced his inviolable temperament. It was a demonic figure, capable of shrouding the light of the sun and the moon!

Strange lines had filled his eyes. His emotions were no longer those of a human. There was no sign of joy, anger, or sorrow, but an innate belief that treated all living creatures with disdain!

“In the end, I’ve underestimated the strong ones among you humans,” the Ice Emperor said coldly.

The Ice Emperor had just realized what was happening. The Forbidden Curse was meant for him, instead of the Dragon King Krill!

“Leader of the humans, you have intrigued me.

“You have won this time. But it’s just like chess, you have only moved a little pawn across the midline.

“This proud old man came to my kingdom and berated me, claiming he had come as the strongest representative of the humans to take me, the South Pole Emperor, down. In the end, he was begging me not to kill him. He was willing to sacrifice everything just to stay alive.

“So he became my puppet.

The Ice Emperor’s eyes changed again. He now looked like a mere puppet. His face twisted in pain despite how he was talking.

Chapter 2474: Unfair Chessmatch

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Thousands of light rays were focused on the demonic shadow behind the Ice Emperor.

The shadow was the size of a mountain. The light rays were piercing it and leaving it full of holes. Its evil Aura was dissipating rapidly after being scorched by the sacred lights.

The Ice Emperor screamed at the sky. His eyes, ears, face, and throat had the same sacred light bursting out of them now, all attacking the demonic shadow.

The old man was in tremendous pain. He was a Forbidden Mage, and was extremely strong. However, the Giant Clock Mountain had set a perfect trap for him!

The Magic Formations established with Elemental Diamonds and the Ice Formation he stood on were not providing him the energy to open a gate at the bottom of the sea with a Forbidden Curse. They were supporting the chief’s Forbidden Curse instead!

The Forbidden Curse did fall, but it did not land on the coordinates the sea monsters had planned, but on the Ice Forbidden Mage who had long lost his will and mind.

The sunlight at noon was extremely bright. When the Forbidden Curse of Light finally fell, it felt like the whole sea, city, and the Giant Clock Mountain was going to melt.

If Chief Hua had not controlled its damage, Qinhuangdao and the surrounding waters would have had a very different fate!

—

A burned smell lingered in the air. Something had obviously perished and turned into scattering ashes.

Mo Fan’s vision recovered after a long time. The demonic shadow which had claimed to be the South Pole Emperor was gone by the time he could see clearly.

The old man in a white robe fell on the ground feebly. He no longer had an imperious demeanor. He looked like a dying old man.

“So that’s why there were two Forbidden Mages here…” Hua Yuezhu finally realized.

Chief Hua slowly walked through the curtain of light which remained. He had a holy look to him, despite his black hair, beard, and clothes. His temperament was completely different from his previous gentle demeanor. He was walking in the light like a child of the sun, spreading light by waving his hands and eliminating evil with his gaze.

“The truth is always difficult to find. The light you see in an abyss isn’t necessarily the exit, but the eye of the devil!” Chief Hua approached the aged Forbidden Mage.

“Can a Forbidden Mage be turned into a puppet?” Mo Fan asked Chief Hua in disbelief.

“The sea monsters’ conspiracy was only possible with the Ice Emperor’s full assistance. Didn’t you always believe Zhang Xiaohou was right?” Chief Hua asked in return.

Either Zhang Xiaohou was enticed, or the Ice Forbidden Mage was being controlled.

The truth had proven that Zhang Xiaohou was right. He had learned the truth, but only the tip of the iceberg.

“Do not underestimate the sea monsters’ intelligence, and do not underestimate humanity’s intelligence, either.”

It was the reason why Chief Hua had not changed his decision after hearing what these young Mages had to say.

He was relieved. These young Mages had not allowed the mists of the sea to fool their eyes. They had tried their best to learn the truth. They had done a great job, even though they had only learned a part of the truth.

As for the bigger iceberg, it was his responsibility as the military chief and the Guardian of China to handle it!

“Can you please explain the whole situation to me? I’m still a little lost,” Mo Fan stared at Chief Hua.

“That’s understandable. You are not a Forbidden Mage, so there are many things you still don’t know,” Chief Hua replied.

“Please enlighten me… after all, if you hadn’t stepped forward, I would have had to fight that old man,” Mo Fan said.

Chief Hua burst out laughing. Mo Fan was not wrong, either!

“You should hide your power as best as you can. There are many powerful existences in the world. The Emperor controlling this old man was one of them. Its strength is at the very top of the world. It’s also one of the main culprits causing the rise of the sea level.

“It might have looked easy when I destroyed its body just now, but that thing is currently at the South Pole. If I fought its true self, I wouldn’t live for more than five minutes!” Chief Hua patted Mo Fan on the shoulder, as if he was good friends with him.

A powerful Emperor, who was strong enough to control a Forbidden Mage, was stirring up chaos in the Bohai Sea all the way from the South Pole!

Mo Fan realized he had stepped into a domain he had never realized existed before.

The news of the deaths of the Forbidden Mages who had gone to the South Pole was mentioned briefly, but no one knew exactly what had happened!

“You already knew about the sea monsters’ conspiracy and that the Ice Emperor was being controlled. You also knew about the Underwater River?” Mo Fan had to ask.

Chief Hua shook his head and said, “The Ice Kingdom is at the South Pole. The Sea Monsters Kingdom is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The Emperor at the South Pole didn’t just pick on our homeland. It is challenging hundreds of countries across the five continents, but the Sea Monsters Kingdom is the enemy our nation is facing.

“If we were describing it with Chinese Chess, the South Pole Emperor is controlling the pieces.

“The enemies invading our lands are the Chariots, Horses, Cannons, and Pawns. They each represent a different kingdom, horde, and species in the Pacific Ocean.

“We are the Advisors and the Elephants. We can only protect our territory.

“It’s an unfair chess match, since we only have the Advisors and Elephants, while their countless Chariots, Horses, Cannons, and Pawns will keep crossing the middle line to invade our territory.”

The shoreline between the land and the sea was like the middle line of Chinese chess.

Humans only had a few pieces available, but the demon creatures had all of them!

There was no victory in an unfair chess match. All that mattered was how many rounds they could survive, or whether they could reach a draw by trying their best.

“We had no idea about the Underwater River in the Bohai Sea, so your efforts weren’t in vain. At least we prevented the sea monsters from invading through the Bohai Sea,” Chief Hua went on.

“Prevented the sea monsters from invading through the Bohai Sea… Why does that sound like the other seas are in danger?!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Their homeland bordered the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea. Of them, the East China Sea and South China Sea were most likely being invaded by the sea monsters. They would also end up being the main battlefield!

“Mm, while you were busy with the Forbidden Curse in the Bohai Sea, we have received news from the East China Sea and South China Sea. Our people have discovered gates connected to the Pacific Ocean. The sea monsters are advancing through the gates as we speak!” Chief Hua confirmed.

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped.

It was just a random thought he had, but to his surprise, there were shortcuts between the Pacific Ocean to the waters of the East China Sea and South China Sea, too!

Were the sea monsters finally here?!

“If our country had more soldiers like Zhang Xiaohou, perhaps we could have delayed the war by another month or two,” Chief Hua sighed.

Mo Fan could only look helpless.

In the end, the truth they had discovered by risking their lives was only the tip of the iceberg.

They had only learned a small part of the sea monsters’ conspiracy!

Chapter 2475: Full Invasion

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The South China Sea, Fuxi City…

The temperature constantly remained around twenty Celsius. It was warm and humid.

The constant temperature and humidity had given Fuxi City a famous place which attracted many tourists, the Sea of Jasmine.

It was the blossoming season for the jasmine. Tourists were traveling to the mountains to enjoy the warmth and smell of nature.

The light blue sea was not far away. The petals of the jasmines danced elegantly whenever the sea breeze swept at them.

A little boy pointed at the sea and exclaimed in excitement, “Mother, look, there are flowers in the sea, too! It’s beautiful!”

“Nonsense, why would there be flowers in the sea?” The little boy’s mother was a little angry. It was not wrong to have some wild imagination, but it did not give the kid a reason to lie just to get someone else’s attention.

The crowd was suddenly clamoring. The little boy’s mother soon noticed the people around her had stopped enjoying the scenic view of the flowers. They were looking at the sea while recording and taking pictures on their phones.

The mother quickly put on her glasses, and could finally see into the distance clearly. The colorful splashes on the sea immediately caught her eyes.

It was rare to see such colors on the sea. She wondered why they were blossoming like flowers on the sea. It was as surreal as a dream.

The people were gasping and screaming in shock. Many were overjoyed by the sight. Young couples were hugging and kissing to remember the bizarre moment.

It was so wonderful!

The unknowns of the world were part of its beauty. A sight like this was unforgettable, even with only a quick glance.

A loud siren suddenly echoed in the sky above Fuxi City.

A strange purple light shone down at the beach, like a half-transparent purple curtain.

“Mother, it’s the alarm when something disastrous happens. My teacher taught me when we were doing a drill at school!” the little boy exclaimed.

His mother had her eyes fixed on the dazzling sea. She noticed something rising to its feet amid the splashes of color.

Each splash on the sea was the size of a small ferry…

The things under the colors finally revealed their true appearances after rising above the surface of the sea.

The creatures had ghastly bodies. The red membrane on the outside was more like organs exposed to the air instead of skin. Veins covered in layers of sticky substance interwove across their bodies, resulting in monsters with flower-like backs and the bodies of a meaty jellyfish!

As a matter of fact, if the people looked closely, they would realize the flower-like backs of the creatures were far from beautiful, especially if they were close enough to notice the tentacles that were wriggling on them. They were clustered together, making them look like a blossoming sunflower as they rose to the surface of the water.

The sight had gone from dazzling to spooky. The people on the mountains realized why the alarm had gone off.

They were overwhelmed by fear, and only started running away belatedly.

Many people fell to the ground screaming after bumping into one another. The “sea sunflowers” were ugly and massive. They were approaching the land, somewhat like giant snails without shells on their back. Their tentacles kept spitting out colorful liquids at the crowds close to the shore.

The colorful liquids poured down on the city like rain. Many of the tourists who came to enjoy the scenic view of the flowers would have quickly turned into puddles of blood without the purple barrier’s protection.

Even so, thousands of people died in the sea monsters’ ambush!

The ghastly Sea Flower Demons were unstoppable. The City Hunters who came at a short notice attacked the Sea Flower Demons, but their magic could only scratch the sea monsters’ itch.

The beach was soon covered in blood. Even the rising tide was unable to dilute it!

Further away from the chaotic beach, a gigantic Sea Flower Demon was floating on the sea.

It was the size of an island!

Its body, hidden under the water, would turn out to be the scariest thing the people had ever seen!

—

—

The Pudong District of the Magic City…

Unlike other places that were involved in the emergency broadcasts, there was no sign of a giant army of sea monsters rising from the submerged Pudong District. The only thing the people could see were huge waves around the height of tall buildings.

The waves eventually combined into a giant skeleton.

The roof of the Dongfang Oriental Tower was the only high place left in the Pudong District.

Many Advanced Mages were standing at the top of the Dongfang Oriental Tower. Their faces filled with astonishment.

It was a Sea Emperor Skeleton!

The Sea Emperor Skeleton had almost reached the height of the Dongfang Oriental Tower. It was slowly walking toward the modern city.

The people in the city at places with a wider view could easily see the Sea Emperor Skeleton. It was tall enough to look like a clear landmark, similar to the Dongfang Oriental Tower.

Every lightning bolt that flashed across the dark sky would reveal the enormous skeleton made of seawater, placing the people of the city under suffocating pressure!

——

Zhuhai City…

Every night, the dazzling lights of the city would be reflected on the sea. The calm waves on the sea would make the reflection look like a piece of art.

However, Zhuhai City was completely dark tonight.

There was not a single star in the sky, nor was there any light on the land and the city, as if the coastal city had been devoured by darkness.

A long eel-like figure with flickering scales was approaching from the vast sea. The whole area was pitch-black, except for the wild lightning that was flickering about like a thunderstorm.

The only lights left in Zhuhai City were the reflection of the lightning flashes in the widened eyes of the residents.

The eyes were portraying the shock and fear in the people’s hearts!

——

Feiniao Headquarters City…

There was nothing but silence.

A faint mist shrouded the city, which was as quiet as a fast asleep baby.

There was no noise or clamor in the city, only the soft rustling of the gentle sea breeze, like a faint melody produced by a conch or the elegant voice of a songstress.

Everything was still as the pleasant melody continued, like the Heavens at night.

However, it was the Feiniao Headquarters City, a busy metropolis.

Normally, there would be trucks on the roads late at night. Young adults would be drinking, singing karaoke, and having supper in the busy districts.

But there was no sign of them tonight.

The city was fast asleep.

It was fast asleep amid the mist and the melody.

Chapter 2476: Being Looked After by a Big Shot
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

New posts were swarming the Internet. If the bullet chat was turned on, every comment would be a shocking headline.

However, the posts were soon replaced by new updates, like some brief and quick emergency announcements.

The sea monsters had launched a full invasion on the shorelines, each one covering a distance of twenty kilometers, including the deserted shores, cliffs, peninsulas, and the famous coastal cities!

Blue Alerts.

Red Alerts.

Purple Alerts.

Certain areas could not even sound the alarm in time. Maybe they were under Black Alert, as no one had seen the disasters coming, nor had anyone survived them.

The world had changed all of a sudden, just like how the rise of sea level had devoured the land. People knew the sea monsters would come one day, but no one had expected it to happen today.

The invasion was also more terrifying than anyone had imagined.

The number of the sea monsters was as overwhelming as the stars in the sky. High-level sea monsters could be seen everywhere, and gigantic monsters were everywhere too!

——

Qinhuangdao Island…

Mo Fan, Mu Bai, Zhang Xiaohou, and Zhao Manyan had just regrouped after their close call.

However, they did not have time to celebrate their close escape. Disastrous reports were swarming the Internet, together with terrifying pictures of the ghastly sea monsters. People were uploading live recordings of the invasion. Most of the information was presented with texts, but just reading the words alone was sending chills down their spines. They did not dare to imagine how terrible the situation was!

“I thought we could save the people, just like the heroes in the movies!” Zhang Xiaohou’s eyes were red.

They had done everything they could and risked their lives to stop the sea monsters’ conspiracy in the Bohai Sea, but it did not really make any difference.

They were helpless and afraid.

“There’s no need to blame yourself. Our efforts aren’t in vain. At least the Bohai Sea isn’t under a huge threat. There aren’t many sea monsters from the deep sea in this area,” Hua Yuezhu said.

Everyone fell silent. They were worn out. They tried to convince themselves to get some sleep as they had to be well-rested to be of any use.

However, not many people could really fall asleep in this situation, including Mo Fan and his friends.

“Mo Fan, what should we do next? Where should we go after we wake up?” Mu Bai asked. He was finding it hard to make a decision.

“I have a great suggestion. Why don’t we head west? I heard Li Man had built a large city with the Earth Pistil in the west. It should be able to hold a lot of refugees. We should probably go there,” Zhao Manyan recommended.

“Good idea, Dingcheng is a great option too,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Brother Fan, Brother Zhao, are we really going to give up on the coasts?” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“What else can we do? We should consider ourselves lucky that the government was suspicious of the Forbidden Mage. Otherwise, we would have long perished to the Forbidden Curse. Look at the Sea Emperor Skeleton that is attacking the Magic City. I bet even the Black Totem Snake will have a hard time against it. Look at the coasts of Ningbo, they are crawling with sea monsters, and the Raging Sea Island Beast in Quanzhou… Do we stand a chance against any of them?” Zhao Manyan had to say.

When the sea levels first rose, countless people were unwilling to leave their homes. They insisted on staying in the east that was so rich in resources.

Now, everyone was hoping to flee west to the inland.

The sea monsters were unstoppable. Those who stayed on the eastern coasts were going to die for certain!

A huge city would be overrun by sea monsters soon, let alone ordinary families and people.

Trying to stop the invasion with Mages?

The number of the sea monsters was several times that of the Mages, not to mention human Mages lacked the strength of the sea monsters. It was going to be a terrible war. They would have to pay huge prices just to defend their land!

“Brother Fan, are we really going to the west?” Zhang Xiaohou had no idea what to say, but he was unwilling to give up so easily.

“Heading west is our last resort. We’ll go if we really can’t stop the invasion,” Mo Fan stated.

Heading west was an option, but Mages like them would not be the first to leave. They had to make the sea monsters pay some price for taking their territory!

Zhang Xiaohou smiled after hearing Mo Fan’s response. Running away now did not suit their personalities! “Where are we going first?” he asked.

“The headquarters cities are the only places that are still holding on. The Beast Capital, Feiniao Headquarters City, the Magic City, and the capital are our only bets…” Mu Bai said.

Mo Fan was struggling to make up his mind.

After some hesitation, Mo Fan decided to give someone a call.

He took out his phone and dialed a number. He was not sure whether the person was going to pick up his call, considering the situation of the coasts.

“Hello, are you Mo Fan?” the other end asked as soon as the call was picked up.

“Yes…”

“Councilman Shao Zheng is currently at the South China Sea. He’s fighting the sea monsters, so I’m afraid he won’t be free to take your call. I’m sure you are aware of the situation now,” the man said.

“I am, I don’t have any important matters to attend to at the moment. I’m feeling a little lost,” Mo Fan said.

“Aren’t you at Qinghuangdao? Have you met Chief Hua?” the secretary said.

“I did,” Mo Fan said.

“You can ask him for some advice. After all, he was the one that constantly had his eyes on you. You should ask him about matters regarding the Totem Beasts,” the secretary told him.

Mo Fan was confused. What did he mean by constantly having his eyes on him?

He was never close with the man. He had only met him once at Lingyin by coincidence!

—

Mo Fan went to the hut. Its door was still open.

Chief Hua was sitting on the ground facing the howling sea. It wasn’t clear if he was resting after using a Forbidden Curse or if he was in deep thought.

He did not have any guards, but it was not like he needed one.

“Are you feeling lost?” Chief Hua pointed at a futon nearby, signaling Mo Fan to take a seat.

“A little. I suddenly feel helpless,” Mo Fan said.

“Mankind has gone through disasters like this before, throughout the long history of fighting demon creatures, but we have survived until now. There are times of peace and times of darkness. Everything will be fine once we get over it,” Chief Hua told me.

“I just talked to the Councilman’s secretary on the phone. He asked me to see you. I don’t understand what he meant,” Mo Fan had to say.

“I’ve been watching you ever since the Calamity of the Ancient Capital. I was the one that arranged for you to join the national team. I also arranged for you to meet Shao Zheng and look for the Totem Beasts. After you killed Lu Yilin and provoked the Lu Clan, it was I who called the Lu Clan’s old man,” Chief Hua informed him.

Mo Fan opened his mouth in surprise.

Someone did mention that a big shot was looking after him. He had always thought it was Shao Zheng.

To his surprise, it was the man in front of him!

Chapter 2477: Ancient Sea Gods
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m sorry to tell you that I also gave General Lu Nian the permission to conduct experiments on the Demon Element in the north,” Chief Hua told Mo Fan.

Mo Fan stared at the man in shock.

“Of course, I had already asked Lu Nian to stop the experiment after the Magic Association banned it. I never thought he would set up a camp and continue experimenting on the Demon Element. He was so obsessed with the experiments it was like he had gone mad, treating human lives as nothing,” Chief Hua went on.

Mo Fan remained silent. There were a lot of things he did not understand about the man.

“I know everything you did in the Ancient Capital. I thought you would turn into a real demon, like the rest of the test subjects, but you managed to control it.”

“In other words, it was you who set me up?” Mo Fan protested, an edge to his voice.

“Didn’t I make up for it, too?” Chief Hua raised his brows.

“Fine, we shouldn’t discuss it now,” Mo Fan snapped.

General Lu Nian had almost killed them all, but Mo Fan had also obtained a unique power as a result. If he used it wisely, he would be able to take on the strongest creatures in the world.

“You saw what happened. Even though Forbidden Mages are like gods among humans, they are just puppets used by the ancient Emperors to stir up havoc. Humans are too weak, after all,” Chief Hua stared at the sea. The moonlight was reflected on his face.

“Indeed, the Forbidden Curse revised my understanding of the world,” Mo Fan had to agree.

How strong was the South Pole Emperor if it was responsible for the rise of the sea and the calamity they were in, not to mention having the ability to control a human Forbidden Mage?

“Shao Zheng asked you to look for the Totem Beasts. How is it going so far?” Chief Hua inquired.

“I’ve found a few of them, but I’m still far from learning their secrets,” Mo Fan admitted.

“Then tell me your understanding of the Totem Beasts,” Chief Hua said.

“The ancient Totem Beasts were once the first guardians of the human race in our homeland, but they gradually disappeared from our land after the Magic Civilization. I’m guessing the Magic Association killed them in one of the eras,” Mo Fan said.

Chief Hua turned to Mo Fan with a surprised face. “Why would you think that? Isn’t the Magic Association supreme and sacred?” Chief Hua asked him.

“I don’t have any evidence to prove it, but we can notice certain patterns through history. Humans obtained the power to fight demon creatures after the Awakening of Magic. On the other hand, the Totem Beasts were worshiped as gods. Most importantly, many ancient species are the descendants of the Totem Beasts.

“The Magic Association has its current authoritative status and influence across the world because it has overthrown the Totem Beasts. In simpler words, humans used to worship Totem Beasts, but they are now relying on themselves. The Totem Beasts might be powerful creatures that are friendly with humans, but to us, they are still demon creatures. In order to promote magic, it was necessary to overthrow the old gods.”

Mo Fan was sharing his speculation that humans were the ones who had killed the Totem Beasts.

The Parthenon Temple had also killed the Tyrant Titans. The Tyrant Titans were ancient gods, similar to the Totem Beasts. They were once close with humans, protecting humans and ruling over them.

It was true that most Tyrant Titans were savage. They had taken a lot of innocent lives, but there were kind Tyrant Titans, too. The Parthenon Temple had tried to kill them all to establish its dynasty.

The histories of many countries were very similar. Most Totem Beasts in China were described as friendly and kind, but there had to be those that were evil and cruel, as well.

After humans obtained power, the Totem Beasts would eventually be killed, regardless of their nature. The kind and friendly Totem Beasts could not escape their fates. They would be abandoned by humans and lured into deadly traps.

As a result, most Totem Beasts that had once ruled humans in their country had died off. The remainder hid in deep mountains and woods to stay away from humans.

“So do you think our ancestors were wrong?” Chief Hua asked him.

Mo Fan shook his head. Every species would rise and fall as time went by. “Am I wrong?” Mo Fan asked in turn.

Surely, the man knew a lot more about the Totem Beasts. Otherwise, he would not ask Mo Fan about them.

“You are not wrong. It’s a valid reasoning. The Totem Beasts were slain less than a hundred years after humans Awakened our Magic. The alliance that killed the Totem Beasts eventually established the Magic Association. They now have a superior status among mankind,” Hua Zhanhong confirmed.

Hua Zhanhong paused and poured a glass of water for Mo Fan. “But, you are only half-right.”

Mo Fan drank a mouthful of water. He could tell Chief Hua had a long story to tell him. He sat upright and waited for the Forbidden Mage to share his understanding of the Totem Beasts with them.

“Didn’t I tell you we humans have been through darker times, and made it through?” Hua Zhanhong said.

Mo Fan nodded.

“During that time, we had just obtained our own power. The old Magic Association was expelling and hunting the Totem Beasts,” Hua Zhanhong informed him.

“Did we have a tough battle with the Totem Beasts?” Mo Fan asked.

Hua Zhanhong shook his head and said, “The Totem Beasts weren’t fighting back fiercely, but lots of sea monsters resided along the coasts of our country. A kingdom referring to itself as the Sea Gods invaded our lands and slaughtered our people. The human Mages suffered a huge blow and were almost wiped out during that time.”

Mo Fan’s face filled with astonishment.

The sea monsters had once launched a full-scale invasion at them, and almost taken out all the Mages?

If humans did not have Mages, most people would end up as slaves to the demon creatures, or livestock!

“We paid a huge price for our pride back then. We were fighting the Totem Beasts while fending off the sea monsters. We were attacked from the front and the rear, but… we survived,” Hua Zhanhong recalled the tough times of mankind.

“How did we make it?” Mo Fan asked, almost in disbelief.

“I had thought we made it because of magic. Perhaps we made a breakthrough in one of the Elements that allowed us to survive the dark times, but someone came to me and told me that the Mages only survived and did not end up as the demon creatures’ slaves because of the Totem Beasts!” Hua Zhanhong said.

The Totem Beasts? Weren’t humans fighting with the Totem Beasts?

Mo Fan was confused!

Chapter 2478: More than One Emperor

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“We were fighting the Totem Beasts, but it was the Totem Beasts who drove away the sea monsters.

“During that battle, the four Sacred Totem Beasts were killed. The direct descendants of the Totem Beasts were wiped out, too.

“Humans survived, but the Totem Beasts fought the Sea Gods over the course of several dozen years. Both sides suffered great casualties.

“After the war, the old Totem Beasts died off and the Sea Gods started to decline. Humanity took hold of the opportunity to grow and build our own cities. We began to have our own lands and civilization.”

Mo Fan was lost in thought.

The sea monsters had invaded their land thousands of years ago, and almost killed all their Mages.

The sea monsters were also the reason why the old Totem Beasts had died. The old Totem Beasts had fought a prolonged war with the Sea Gods, and dyed the seas red!

“The kingdom of sea monsters that is invading our coasts is led by the Sea Gods. They have recovered their strength after resting for several thousand years. They have reclaimed their thrones in the Pacific Ocean and have returned to our seas…” Hua Zhanhong went on.

Mo Fan kept wondering how the Totem Beasts had died, but he had never expected that the kingdoms of sea monsters were the culprit!

The kingdoms of the sea monsters were made up of the descendants of the ancient Sea Gods!

“The Sea Gods have reclaimed their glory after resting for a long time, but not only are the Totem Beasts unable to rise again, they are on the verge of extinction, too!” Hua Zhanhong let out a sigh.

Mo Fan was unable to calm down.

Was this the truth behind the Totem Beasts’ decline?

Humanity had declared war against the Totem Beasts after Awakening Magic. At the same time, the Sea Gods came to invade their land. Humans did not stand a chance against them. The Totem Beasts paid a great price to protect their homes!

The Sea Gods had returned once again, but the Totem Beasts were no longer around.

Mo Fan immediately thought of the Black Totem Snake.

It had worked extremely hard just to stay alive in the face of humanity’s distrust, but when the White Magic Falcons attacked Hangzhou, it had still stepped forward to protect the city.

“There are too many powerful creatures among the sea monsters. They are not afraid of our magic. Even though we have to rely on ourselves in the war against the sea monsters, we still need the Totem Beasts’ help. Only their ancient and mysterious power can defeat the sea monsters,” Hua Zhanhong admitted.

“So that’s why Shao Zheng wants me to talk to you,” Mo Fan mused.

“Exactly. I know you young ones must feel extremely lost and helpless against the waves that are destroying our coasts, but you have an important duty, too. Every ancient Totem Beast you find will increase our odds of winning the war!” Hua Zhanhong declared.

Chairman Shao Zheng kept emphasizing the importance of finding the Totem Beasts.

Mo Fan finally understood why he was so desperately looking for the Totem Beasts after hearing the truth from Chief Hua.

Their army, Mages, and Hunters did not stand a chance against the sea monsters’ invasion. They desperately needed the ancient Totem Beasts to fend off the sea monsters!

“I thought you were going to send us to the cities that are needing some help, but I’m more than willing to take the job you offered,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan had close ties with the Totem Beasts. If their leaders were so keen to look for the Totem Beasts, he would do his best to find them!

“I never said you wouldn’t be going to battle,” Hua Zhanhong warned him.

Mo Fan raised his brows. He did not understand what the man was implying.

“Not every Totem Beast stays on land. The old Totem Beasts fought the Sea Gods in the Bohai Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea. Many of their descendants have moved to these places, or to nearby lands and mountains,” Hua Zhanhong told him.

“Do you have any clues?” Mo Fan’s eyes glittered.

It was difficult to find the Totem Beasts. There were no traces, no records, and no clues. It was challenging to locate them using just the notes of Jiang Shaoxu’s brother.

It was not like they had not worked hard, but they did not have any leads, even after finding Aofu’s remains!

“The Sea Skeleton King in the Magic City should have a Totem Seal,” Hua Zhanhong informed him.

“Do you mean?…” Mo Fan gasped.

Mo Fan could sense the Sea Skeleton King’s terrifying Aura just by looking at it through a recording.

“I bet it’s one of the strongest Rulers out there!” Mo Fan cursed.

“It’s up to you how you are going to acquire the Totem Seal,” Hua Zhanhong said.

“Can you handle that thing?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course, but I have my own duty,” Hua Zhanhong said firmly.

Mo Fan was left speechless.

On second thought, a Forbidden Mage like him should indeed have important work to do…

If Mo Fan had not been accidentally caught up in this mess, he would never have thought there was a traitor among the Forbidden Mages.

A Forbidden Mage could cause massive destruction. Who knew how much damage the traitor might have caused if they had not gotten rid of him?

“Are there Emperors among the sea monsters?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes, and more than one of them,” Hua Zhanhong said.

“Oh, I will handle the Totem Beasts. You big shots just worry about the Emperors. Promise me not to let them show up in front of me,” Mo Fan said proudly.

Mo Fan had witnessed how strong an Emperor was. He believed it was far more appropriate for him to handle Ruler-level creatures instead of Emperors!

“So are you still lost?” Hua Zhanhong asked.

“Not anymore. It’s normal for people to feel helpless in a war, but once we find our places and stick to our roles, we can make significant changes too!” Mo Fan answered.

“Oh, I think you have misunderstood the main reason why I’ve spent so much time discussing these things with you today!” Hua Zhanhong raised his brows. He had a mischievous look on his face.

“I will only focus on my job,” Mo Fan said firmly.

“Just do your best to look for the Totem Beasts. Otherwise, I’ll suggest that we forcibly include you in our operations to fight the Emperors. I have yet to witness the Demon Element’s strength in person. No one knows the potential of the Demon Element better than I do,” Hua Zhanhong said with a knowing smile.

—

Mo Fan excused himself by saying he drank too much water.

He was not crazy enough to challenge any Emperors.

His Demon Element was only available for a limited time, but the Emperors and Forbidden Mages possessed extraordinary strength all the time. He was nothing but cannon fodder in a battle between them, even with the Demon Element!

Chapter 2479: River Crossing Demons

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhangze Town…

The farmlands were scattered on both sides of the Huangpu River. The vegetable fields were being drowned after the water level rose.

The air was cool in the morning. A few old men were feeling self-pity, looking over their crops.

After the Headquarters Cities were established, there was not much land left for agriculture. The price of food and vegetables had increased significantly. The old men had been planning to earn more money so their family could live a better life in the Headquarters City.

“Old Tang, why does the water keep rising?” an old man who was carrying a loaded pole on his shoulders asked his neighbor.

“We must hurry. If the vegetables are all destroyed, we will have nothing to feed ourselves!” the old farmer said.

The two had their backs to the Huangpu River as they were harvesting as many vegetables as they could.

In less than a few minutes, the cold river had already reached their ankles.

The two old farmers turned around and noticed the river was flowing into their farms. They would have assumed they were beside a lake if they did not see the buildings on the higher ground.

“There’s something in the water!” one of the old men screamed. He dropped his pole in shock.

The other old man looked at the water and saw a black shadow moving around!

The black shadow was extremely large. The water of the river was being pushed into the farms due to its sheer size!

A huge wave rose from the river after they heard a huge blast. A beast with a black carapace charged into the farm.

The soil was dug up, forming a huge pit. The sheds in the farms were shredded into pieces.

The beast roared fiercely.

Zhangze Town instantly experienced a level twelve windstorm. Not only were the buildings blown into the air, even the concrete of the roads, cable poles, and factories were destroyed!

The whole town fell into panic.

The people assumed the sea monsters would only appear along the coasts. To their surprise, they had followed the Huangpu River inland. The Mages in the town would not stand a chance against thus!

“Run to the shelter, quick!”

“Everyone, stay calm. We are students of the Pearl Institute. We’ll keep the monster busy. Just find your families and get to safety.

“Do they still have time to look for their family? Just run if they can.”

“Yeah, the Mages who tried to stop the monster are all dead!”

A few students were helping the villagers. Some had formed squads to eliminate the sea monsters that had infiltrated inland.

A group of students had tried to stop the huge creature from entering Zhangze Town, but they were all killed in less than a minute.

Most Mages had little understanding of the sea monsters. Even experienced Hunters were unable to evaluate the strength of a sea monster that had appeared out of nowhere, let alone these inexperienced students.

The difference in strength between the Black Carapace Sea Monster and the students was too huge!

Pools of blood spread across the ground. The students who were helping the villagers to escape were overwhelmed by despair.

The sea monsters were different from the demon creatures on land. Even the sea monsters who had snuck into their towns through the Huangpu River had the absolute advantage in strength!

——

“The Huangpu River, Red Alert, a huge number of high-level sea monsters have appeared between the sea and Dianshan Lake. They are attacking the towns along the Huangpu River!”

Mo Fan received an emergency message on his phone. He had just arrived in the Magic City. He was surprised to see the sender was the Pearl Institute.

“I got it, too! The government and military are fighting the Sea Skeleton King. They don’t have men to spare for the sea monsters in the Huangpu River. Dean Xiao is leading students and teachers to fend off the sea monsters, but they are suffering heavy casualties,” Zhao Manyan confirmed.

“We can’t let our juniors lose their lives to the sea monsters. Come, let’s kill them all!” Mo Fan said.

“Mo Fan, the South Winged Platoon is sending out an SOS signal. I must go to Dianshan Lake. The people in the surrounding areas and a huge shelter are in danger,” Mu Bai sighed..

“I thought the Headquarters Cities were safe with the dams in place. I didn’t expect the sea monsters to invade our territory so quickly! Go, take the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon with you,” Mo Fan replied.

There had to be more than five thousand people hiding in the shelter. The SOS signal indicated the shelter might fall in just a few minutes.

The Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon was their only hope. Mu Bai prayed he would make it to the shelter in time as the dragon took off into the sky.

——

“Mo Fan, isn’t that Lecturer Wei Rong of the Fire School? The first teacher you fought with after you came to the main campus?” Zhao Manyan was circling in the sky with his golden wings.

Mo Fan followed Zhao Manyan’s finger. A middle-aged man with a messy beard was charging at the river whose waves were rising.

A black shadow was moving in the water. The man Cast Sky-Flame Funeral and fired hundreds of fireballs at the creature in the water.

“Let go, let go of them!” Wei Rong yelled.

He collided with the creature together with his fireballs. He was doing everything to break the creature’s hands.

The creature’s hands were like a lizard’s. Luckily, they were soft. Otherwise, the students it had grabbed would have been broken into pieces the moment they were grabbed by the creature.

Four students were freed after the creature’s hands were broken. They immediately ran to safety.

However, Wei Rong was now in danger. He had angered the creature.

The creature knocked Wei Rong into the air before leaping out of the water. It opened its mouth wide.

Cone-shaped fangs gaped out of its mouth. Wei Rong could see the thick blood on the fangs clearly as he was falling to the ground!

“Did you ask the demon king of the Pearl Institute for permission before eating humans here!?”

Mo Fan Blinked to the scene from seven hundred meters away, leaving bright sparkles behind him as he raced to the attack!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan threw a punch down!

Scorching flames poured down like a waterfall, forming a burning red swamp on the river!

The enormous creature melted instantly in the flames, its sturdy flesh along with the carapace that could withstand Advanced Spells. It completely was turned into ashes in the burning swamp.

Wei Rong fell to the ground, staring at the flames with wide eyes.

The creature was stronger than Wei Rong had imagined. He was prepared to sacrifice himself to save his students, but a powerful Mage had arrived in time to kill the creature with a single blow!

Wei Rong immediately brought his hands together when he saw Mo Fan landing on the ground.

“Thank you for your help… holy crap!” Wei Rong was spooked after he took a closer look at Mo Fan’s face.

“Mr. Wei, you don’t have to be so polite to me. Are my juniors doing well?” Mo Fan smiled. He looked to the other side of the river.

There were around fifty students dressed in the same uniforms on the other side of the river. They were obviously students of Fire School.

The students on the other side of the river were dumbstruck.

Was the creature really gone so quickly, even though it had been unharmed after taking so many hits from them?

How strong was that young man!?

“Students, this is your senior of the Fire School, Mo Fan!” Wei Rong quickly called out to his students.

Wei Rong turned around and saw Mo Fan lifting his hand.

He thought Mo Fan was greeting the students, but he noticed Mo Fan clenching his hand with lightning flickers around it!

“Mo Fan, what are you doing?” Wei Rong yelled.

The students were terrified too. Even though there was a river between them, the clouds instantly twisted together. The pressure was suffocating even before the lightning appeared.

“Lightning Scissors!”

Mo Fan continued to attack. He swung his hand at lightning speed. Two bolts of lightning appeared behind the students and flew at the mist there like a pair of scissors!

The lightning flickered wildly and revealed the true appearance of a creature there. It was a Poisonous Loach Demon, stained the same color as the mud. Its size was equal to that of a prehistoric crocodile. It was hiding in the wetlands and had covered itself in mud to hide from the students!

However, the Lightning Scissors cut the Poisonous Loach Demon in half before the students had time to be scared. Lightning arcs wrapped around its remains, preventing the poison mist from harming the students after its death.

“What…” Wei Rong gasped. He was lost for words.

He thought he could sacrifice himself to save his students, but he was unaware of the existence of another sea monster at the farms!

If Mo Fan had not been around, they would all be dead! The thought alone sent chills down his spine!

“These sea monsters aren’t easy to deal with. Why are you the only teacher with these students?” Mo Fan asked him.

Wei Rong let out a sigh and answered, “Dean Xiao and the other directors are at the opening of the Huangpu River. They have to guard the place to stop more sea monsters from reaching inland, but the river is over a hundred kilometers long and is already crawling with countless sea monsters. We can only hold them back until the people are evacuated to safety.”

The students stood around them. They seemed extremely demoralized.

These young students thought they could finally put their skills to use, but they could not even take on the weakest sea monsters. They were starting to have lingering fears toward the invading creatures.

“Mr. Wei, the school didn’t assign the students into groups appropriately. Students with the Fire Element are naturally at a disadvantage when fighting sea monsters. You should assign them into groups with other Elements,” Mo Fan pointed out.

“It all happened too quickly, so we didn’t put much thought into it,” Wei Rong answered numbly.

“You all are strong enough to handle these creatures, but the sea monsters are different from the demon creatures on land. You must probe them with the Shadow and Wind Element first and suppress them with Light and Water Element. You can’t engage the sea monsters recklessly until you have learned their strength and abilities. The more impatient you are, the greater the casualties will be,” Mo Fan told the students to encourage them.

“Mo Fan is right. If we keep fighting recklessly, not only will we fail to rescue the civilians, we will also die for nothing. I’ll gather the rest of the students and assign them into groups properly. We must handle the situation calmly,” Wei Rong nodded in agreement.

They had to evaluate the sea monsters differently, especially when they were close to water. They had to be smarter and better at working together. They also had to treasure their lives more.

“Mo Fan, there’s a huge one ten kilometers from here!” Zhao Manyan had continued to circle in the sky like a golden eagle.

“What level is it?” Mo Fan asked him.

“I’m afraid it’s a Ruler-level creature. I can see many teachers fighting it,” Zhao Manyan called down.

“We’ll head over now!” Mo Fan stated.

A Ruler-level creature… a creature like that would result in heavy casualties in the area!

Commander-level creatures were already deadly for most people. They had to keep Ruler-level creatures at bay as quickly as possible and drive them away, or kill them before they could cause irreversible destruction!

“It’s the creature that is summoning the red tides! It stopped the people in the new district from leaving…” Wei Rong winced in sympathy.

The first place Wei Rong had gone to was not Zhanghe Town, but the new district of the Headquarters City. He had witnessed a terrible disaster from the top of a hill.

The Red Tide Demon had immediately hidden in the water and looked for a new target after destroying the new district.

“Why would a Ruler-level creature show up here? Shouldn’t they be out at the sea?”

“How scary, we can’t even handle Commander-level creatures. We are no different from the ordinary people when we stumble into Ruler-level creatures!”

“Senior Mo Fan probably won’t make it back alive if he fights the Ruler-level creature.”

1

The students had just regained a little confidence, but they panicked as soon as they heard about the Ruler-level creature.

“Don’t give up yet. We’ll surely purge the sea monsters in the river. Don’t forget, we are from the Pearl Institute.. Your Senior Mo Fan is our alumni!” Wei Rong proclaimed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The water of the river continued to overflow, turning the towns along it into lakes.

The water was constantly rising, much like a flood, allowing the sea monsters to invade inland and reach out their claws for the towns and the cities.

Humans normally established their habitats close to water sources, so most cities and towns were built along rivers. The Huangpu River wound for a hundred and ten kilometers from the sea to the land. The overall population along it easily exceeded a hundred thousand people!

1

It was not easy to evacuate all the residents to safety. Even with the help of many of the country’s powerful organizations, they were struggling to take care of everyone.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan followed the river and saw an intersection of rivers around seven hundred meters wide. The water had widened the river by another four hundred meters after overflowing onto and drowning the roads and streets.

Sea monsters could be seen everywhere, whether they were riding huge waves or moving under the floating debris. They were swallowing great mouthfuls of pigs and cattle, causing pools of blood to surface on the water.

A huge red wave was heading toward a factory built close to the river. Its dock was stacked up with containers. The workers had not had the time to drive the trucks away.

The wave knocked over the containers and the trucks, and swept away the factory in an instant. It carried the debris and rolled further into the distance.

A few Mages were caught by the wave, failing to escape it even after using everything they had. They were all devoured by the wave.

“I knew it was a powerful creature. I saw dozens of Mages fighting here, but they all died in such a short amount of time!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Mo Fan knew there were many teachers from the Pearl Institute among the Mages who were fighting the creature.

Most of them were Advanced Mages, but a Ruler-level creature was too strong for them. Many of them had died or sustained serious injuries. There were barely any survivors!

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan…”

Wei Rong’s voice came from behind them. Mo Fan turned around and saw Wei Rong catching up to him. It seemed the man was worried about him.

“The Ruler-level creature has killed everyone here,” Mo Fan told him.

“Stay calm, don’t do anything reckless. I’ve already notified the Hunter Union. A Super Mage is on his way here,” Wei Rong said.

1

“It might escape by the time help arrives,” Mo Fan replied.

The Red-Eyed Ruler was extremely brutal. The destructive red waves were formed with the blood of the people it had slaughtered. It was not going to stop!

“Didn’t you say it yourself? We should observe and probe our enemy first, and only make our move after learning its strength. We won’t stand a chance against it!” Wei Rong said.

The Red-Eyed Ruler’s lower jaw was bloated, something like a frog’s. Its eyes stuck out of their sockets and were able to rotate in full circles.

The Red-Eyed Ruler suddenly fixed its gaze on Wei Rong, Mo Fan, and Zhao Manyan, who were watching it from the other side of the river.

Its head and body resembled that of a catfish, but it had four muscular limbs to go with them. It looked like a snake with legs, and was able to move freely in water for a distance.

1

The Red-Eyed Ruler suddenly spread its limbs and ran at them.

The creature charged recklessly and slammed right through a steel bridge. The steel cables did not leave a single scar on the Ruler-level creature!

“Crap, it found us!” Wei Rong was startled.

“It seems to be able to identify between ordinary people and Mages,” Zhao Manyan commented.

The Ruler-level creature was shockingly quick, traveling a thousand meters in the blink of an eye. It was charging at them, its bloody mouth gaping wide open.

Its mouth seemed the same as a catfish, but it split into six petals when it was fully open.

Its throat extended deep inside its body, and it was able to open its mouth to a crazy degree. Its sharp teeth filled all the gaps between its mouth parts. It was a horrifying sight!

Wei Rong forgot to use his magic when he saw the terrifying sight. It looked to him that the Red-Eye Ruler’s mouth was big enough to swallow the entire width of the river. It was like six monsters were leaping at him simultaneously!

A howl rose up as the ghastly mouth seemingly came within inches of them.

A lunar-white rift appeared in front of Mo Fan. A wolf with destructive stripes all over its body dashed out of the rift, leaving twelve afterimages behind it.

BOOM!

The stripes on the Ruler-level wolf erupted into flames. It gathered their power on its limbs!

The wolf spread its limbs like deadly swords that had been refined in scorching lava. It swung its claws with such great force that the river was split in two.

The Red-Eyed Ruler was unable to close its mouth in time.

Dark blue ichor jetted out of the Red-Eyed Ruler’s head and mouth. Two petals of its mouth were sliced right off!

The Red-Eyed Ruler halted in its tracks in mid-river and grabbed its mouth in pain. Blue blood sprayed out wildly between its claws.

Its bulging eyes glared at the glowing wolf!

“A Royal Striped Gray Wolf!”

Wei Rong could not believe his eyes. The fear paralyzing him was completely replaced by shock.

The creature that appeared out of nowhere and inflicted serious injuries on the Red-Eyed Ruler was a Royal Striped Gray Wolf!

Most importantly, the Ruler-level wolf had come out of the Dimensional Summoning that Mo Fan had used so casually…

“So it’s a Royal Striped Gray Wolf. I still don’t know what I should name him!” Mo Fan looked at Wei Rong curiously.

1

“Is that your Summoned Beast?” Wei Rong’s mind was spinning.

It was a Ruler-level creature! A Ruler-level Royal Striped Gray Wolf!

The Gray Wolves were the nobles of the wolves, and those with the Royal Stripes were the kings among them!

Wei Rong was not just a teacher in the Fire School, he was an expert on demon creatures, too! He instantly recognized the creature after he saw its stripes.

“Old Wolf, tear it into pieces!” Mo Fan ordered him.

The Royal Striped Gray Wolf had been waiting so long for a worthy opponent!

A Ruler-level sea monster, was it? Let’s see who is the real deal here!

Chapter 2482: Leave Your Life Here!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The wolf’s hair stood upright like spikes, giving it a ferocious demeanor. Its red stripes began to dance around like stars with burning trails, and were fired at the Red-Eyed Ruler, .

The Red-Eyed Ruler stirred up a wave to defend itself, but the Stargray Insects easily avoided the wave and attached themselves to the Red-Eyed Ruler.

The Red-Eyed Ruler started panicking. It kept moving in the water, trying to knock the strange insects off, but the burning red Stargray Insects seemed to have combined with its body, forming red patches on it.

The Royal Striped Gray Wolf suddenly sprang forward, splitting the river with his claws. He charged into the river and fought the Red-Eyed Ruler at close-range before the water could come back again.

The Red-Eyed Ruler did not have time to worry about the red Stargray Insects upon it. It quickly gathered the water nearby to defend itself.

Sharp claws swung forward, firing several gusts of wind and slicing the tall wave into pieces.

The Red-Eyed Ruler backed away rapidly. It was no match for the Royal Striped Gray Wolf with such a noble lineage in close combat. More cuts oozing blue blood had appeared on its body.

However, it was a sea monster, after all. Its ability to control water easily outmatched that of land-born demon creatures.

The Red-Eyed Ruler suddenly spun about in the water. The whole river eerily turned red and thickened up like blood. It rose fiercely under the Red-Eyed Ruler’s control.

The Royal Striped Gray Wolf could not break through the red wave, and was knocked flying. The red liquid stuck to his fur and was impairing his movements like glue.

Another red wave rolled right at the Royal Striped Gray Wolf. He braced for the upcoming wave, but for some reason, he was unable to use his Stacked Shadows. He could only run physically.

The red wave had obviously slowed the Royal Striped Gray Wolf down after sticking to his body like crimson taffy.

The wave had also sent the Royal Striped Gray Wolf away from the river. Mo Fan was about to make a move, but the Royal Striped Gray Wolf howled defiantly.

“Fine, I won’t interfere,” Mo Fan nodded.

It was the old wolf’s first battle after achieving the Ruler Level. He would not yield, even if he was fighting a sea monster who was a lot stronger than land-bound demon creatures.

Besides, the old wolf had yet to use his true power!

The Royal Striped Gray Wolf howled again.

The Stargray Insects that had entered Red-Eyed Ruler’s body flew out from the spots on it!

The wings of the Stargray Insects were red at first, but they were now glowing with heat, like they would burst into scorching flames at the slightest touch!

The Stargray Insects returned to the Royal Striped Gray Wolf and reattached themselves to his fur.

The Royal Striped Gray Wolf erupted into flames. The destructive stripes extending from its head to its claws were now several times brighter. Their heat boiled away the thick red liquid on him instantly!

The wolf’s Aura skyrocketed. The heat had dried its wet fur out, and the ancient stripes brimming with power were bright enough to reveal his bones through his flesh!

The Royal Striped Gray Wolf dashed forward. Not only did he leave twelve afterimages behind, he even left a scorching trail of flames!

Two thousand meters gave the Royal Striped Gray Wolf the chance to gain a lot of momentum. The Red-Eyed Ruler did not have time to gather the waters before the old Wolf arrived in front of it!

The Wolf’s attacks were imbued with Seals of Destruction, and his attacks were fierce and rapid. Wei Rong could only watch as he saw the old Wolf change position over a hundred times, attacking the Red-Eyed Ruler from different directions.

Every Seal of Destruction left a deep wound on the Red-Eyed Ruler after making contact with it. Blue blood sprayed into the air.

The Red-Eyed Ruler cried out in agony. It tried to summon more red waves to knock the Royal Striped Gray Wolf back several times, but somehow the waves were not as strong as before. The Royal Striped Gray Wolf was able to dodge them with ease.

“How did your wolf grow so much stronger all of a sudden?” Zhao Manyan asked after seeing that.

“The Stargray Insects can steal the power of an enemy to strengthen his Stripes. They will immediately boost the Gray Wolf’s power after returning to it!” Wei Rong spoke up for Mo Fan.

“I see!” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

“Isn’t he your Contracted Beast? How come you don’t know his abilities?” Wei Rong had to ask.

Mo Fan scratched his head awkwardly, “He has only evolved recently, and he’s my Dimensional Beast, not a Contracted Beast.”

“Dimensional Beast… your Dimensional Beast is at the Ruler Level!?” Wei Rong looked at Mo Fan like he was a monster.

How many years had it been? This guy already had a Ruler-level Dimensional Beast, a feat that none of the teachers at the university had achieved throughout their whole lives!

“It looks like the Red-Eyed Ruler is running away,” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

The Royal Striped Gray Wolf was currently at its peak, while the Red-Eyed Demon had lost its strength and was severely injured.

It was planning to withdraw from the fight temporarily by escaping into the river. It would return to get its revenge after recovering from its injuries.

The Royal Striped Gray Wolf wanted to chase after the Red-Eyed Ruler, but the water was slowing him down. The distance between them gradually widened.

Mo Fan chuckled coldly when he saw the Red-Eyed Ruler trying to escape into the river. He was already prepared for that.

“Trying to run away after killing so many people? Leave your life here!

“Lightning Punishment: Seal of the Twelve Laws!”

The Super Lightning Spell was perfect for single targets. Not only did it possess outstanding damage, it was also effective at trapping the enemy!

Twelve enormous pillars fell onto the river, as if the God of Thunder had descended to the mundane world to capture a devil.

The Red-Eyed Ruler dove to the bottom of the lake, trying to sneak away using the cover of the mud, but the Lightning Pillars had trapped it inside a Formation. Thousands of lightning arcs were flowing through it, delivering immense pain as they did!

“Old Wolf, tear it into pieces!” Mo Fan ordered.

“Awoo!” The Royal Strip

Chapter 2483: Wiping the River

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

A man riding a red-horned horse approached along the submerged road of the town.

He happened to pass by Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Wei Rong, and came to a stop with a frown.

“Wei Rong, why are you and your students still here? Hurry up and seek shelter! I’ll lure the Ruler-level sea monster away!” the man shouted impatiently.

Wei Rong pointed at a pool of dark blue goo and replied, “Elder Yao Xin, the sea monster is dead. That was its body.”

“It’s dead?” the elder of the Hunter Union asked suspiciously. He did not believe Wei Rong’s words.

“Elder, many teachers of our school were killed by the sea monster, but we still did our best to buy the people time to evacuate to safety. Why did it take so long for the Hunters to come here?” Wei Rong asked, ignoring his tone.

Wei Rong’s words somehow poked a sore spot on Elder Yao Xin. He frowned as he demanded grimly, “Are you blaming me for your teachers’ deaths because I’m late?”

Wei Rong did not reply.

The Hunter Union was supposed to step forward and drive back the Ruler-level sea monster, but it was the teachers of the Pearl Institute who had sacrificed themselves. Not one of them had survived in the end!

Many of the teachers had been Wei Rong’s colleagues for a long time. How could Wei Rong not feel angry or hold a grudge against the Hunter Union? However, he did not have the confidence to rebuke an elder of the Hunter Union.

After all, he was only an Advanced Mage!

“If the sea monster has left, I have other business to attend to. I shall excuse myself!” Yao Xin harrumphed coldly.

Wei Rong did not dare rebuke him, and could only watch the Super Mage leave on his horse. He could not help but wonder why the elder of the Hunter Union was heading back toward the Magic City instead of the coasts.

“What an assh***! He was acting so full of himself when he was too scared to fight the sea monster by himself,” Zhao Manyan cursed before spitting on the ground.

“Forget it. There are always people who are scared of dying when disasters happen. However, it’s truly disgusting that an elder of the Hunter Union is one of them, too!” Wei Rong sighed and shook his head.

Wei Rong had immediately notified the Hunter Union after he saw the Red Eyed Ruler. The Hunter Union had told him they would send one of their elders to help them.

However, the teachers of the Pearl Institute were forced to fight the creature because the help they were waiting for had never arrived. They were planning to buy some time at first until backup arrived, but the elder of the Hunter Union was still nowhere to be seen even after all the teachers had been killed.

If Mo Fan had not shown up in time, the Red-Eyed Ruler would have long advanced into the town and grown its red waves further!

The worst thing was, the man did not even believe the Red-Eyed Ruler was dead!

“Mo Fan, many sea monsters have snuck in using the Huangpu River. Our school is carrying a huge burden, but at this rate, not many teachers and students are going to survive in the end…” Wei Rong blurted out. He could not control his tears.

How was life so vulnerable? His colleagues he had set out with not long ago had all been slaughtered by a single Ruler-level sea monster! The sea monsters were so formidable that Mages like them who had worked so diligently to improve their cultivation, were feeling helpless and afraid!

“Mr. Wei, I don’t have much to tell you, but Zhao Manyan and I are both graduates of the Pearl Institute. Without its support and protection when we were young and naïve, we wouldn’t be here today. I won’t let a single one of these sea monsters escape!” Mo Fan swore.

Mo Fan was sad to see the man in tears.

The Pearl Institute was just a school. It had the option of retreating to safety to protect its students and teachers.

However, the school was willing to gather volunteers to help the people in need. Teachers and students had sacrificed their lives to help evacuate the towns and cities. Mo Fan was extremely proud of his school!

“Yeah, how can we let our beloved juniors die at the hands of those vicious sea monsters?” Zhao Manyan was enraged as well!

“Old Wolf, follow the river and tear every sea monster you see into pieces!”

The Royal Striped Gray Wolf had yet to fully enjoy himself. There happened to be countless powerful sea monsters along the Huangpu River. He definitely would take advantage of the chance to enjoy killing the sea monsters to the fullest!

“Old Zhao, you aren’t good at fighting. Dean Xiao and the others are defending the river’s mouth. Go give them a hand,” Mo Fan told him.

“Sure, I won’t let a single sea monster sneak past the river,” Zhao Manyan nodded.

“I want you to set up a barricade to prevent the sea monsters from retreating!” Mo Fan corrected him.

He wanted to make sure every sea monster that had invaded their lands via the river was not going anywhere!

“I like the sound of that. Leave it to me, we’ll close the door and beat the dogs!” Zhao Manyan raised his thumb to Mo Fan.

The river was connected to the sea. The sea monsters would surely retreat to the sea after they encountered stronger Mages.

Mo Fan was planning to wipe the whole river clean!

——

After the Royal Striped Gray Wolf left, Mo Fan summoned Apas.

“Go with the Old Wolf to clean up the sea monsters along the river, until you meet up with Mu Bai at Dianshan Lake,” Mo Fan told her.

Apas was still a little sleepy, but she did not turn down the job after she saw the grimly angry expression on Mo Fan’s face.

“Can I Summon your wolf army?” Apas asked.

“You can Summon them?” Mo Fan was startled.

“I can open a Dimensional Gate and Summon them using the Seal you marked them with. There are a lot of sea monsters. It will be more efficient with their help,” Apas answered.

“It’s for the best, then. I’ll leave it to you,” Mo Fan agreed.

Mo Fan had not used his Beast Tide because of its time limit. It would take some time to clear up the sea monsters. If he and the Old Wolf were going separate ways, he would be unable to Summon his wolf army to help the Old Wolf.

“I might use a little of the Medusa Queen’s power. Big brother, you have to protect me if I end up attracting the old people of the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court,” Apas told him before Blinking away.

She turned into a streak of light and jumped a few thousand meters away before waiting for Mo Fan’s response. She had no trouble catching up with the Royal Striped Gray Wolf with her speed.

Mo Fan shook his head as he watched Apas disappearing into the distance.

If only the little Medusa was as obedient as this all the time…

Her strength had to be very close to the time he had first caught her in Cairo, but she was unwilling to show it. Perhaps she was still thinking that she could regain her freedom one day…

Chapter 2484: Organizing the Graduates
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Pieces of trash, plastic, broken trees, and wood were floating on the river. They eventually built up at a bend in the river.

It seemed there was a leather factory and a chicken farm upstream. Pieces of black leather were scattered on the surface, dirty feathers sticking to them. There were even chickens struggling to get out of the water.

“Dean Fu, are you sure it’s going to show up here?” A few Mages wearing the badges of the Pearl Institute were waiting atop a signal tower on the top of a hill.

They were relatively old, and were obviously not students.

“Look over there!” Dean Fu suddenly pointed at the objects scattered messily atop the river.

The chickens suddenly shrieked and beat their wings even more rapidly, but they were too heavy to fly even on land, let alone when their feathers were soaked in water.

It was hard to tell whether their claws were stuck, or there was something under the water. The chickens were continuously dragged into the water.

A while later, their feathers were spat back to the surface.

“A sea monster that fancies chickens?” exclaimed Wang Fang, one of the Elemental Directors, his eyes wide.

“I poisoned the chickens. The more it ate, the stronger the poison!” Dean Fu replied.

“HAHA, a smart move indeed! I’ll tell the other directors and professors to gather around here!” Wang Fang blurted out in joy.

—

—

Mo Fan traveled a dozen kilometers along the river, cleaning up every sea monster he encountered.

Mo Fan had no time to waste on the weaker ones hiding deeper in the water. He was mainly focused on the Commander-level sea monsters.

The Commander-level sea monsters were only average among the sea monsters. The ratio of Commander-level sea monsters here was very high, but only a minority of the human Mages were strong enough to face them.

Mo Fan had no idea if there were Commander-level sea monsters that could move freely on the land. He could only stick to the river and get rid of the sea monsters he bumped into.

“You there, don’t go any further!” shouted a man wearing thick glasses, who seemed to be leading a group of students.

“What’s ahead?” Mo Fan asked promptly.

Most of the students were covered in blood. They were fleeing from a little sandbank to safety, crying and screaming loudly.

“A group of high-level sea monsters. They are…”

“Can anyone save Senior Sister Ding? She’s trapped on the sandbank!”

“What? Didn’t she escape?” The man with glasses turned his head angrily.

He was clenching his fists. Senior Sister Ding must have an important place in his heart judging by his reaction.

However, he soon lost his courage when he thought about the sea monsters.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” The man with glasses did not turn around in the end. He remained there weeping tears of remorse.

This group of students was obviously from the main campus. They were close to graduation, meaning that they were Advanced Mages.

However, they seemed terrified of something.

“Stay calm and follow me,” Mo Fan told them.

“Is following you going to keep us alive? You have no idea what’s ahead, you idiot!” the student leader snarled.

He had accumulated a lot of hatred in his heart. Mo Fan did not expect the man to vent all his frustrations on him.

He must have assumed Mo Fan was from the same class as them.

Every Mage at the Advanced Level would graduate from the Pearl Institute with excellence. They were supposed to have a bright future ahead of them, but they had ended up being butchered by the sea monsters instead!

Did the students of the Pearl Institute come to hunt the sea monsters, or be hunted by them?

“Stick together. The faster you split up, the quicker you are going to die!” Mo Fan yelled at the panicking students. He completely ignored the student leader who was having a mental breakdown.

His words were very effective.

Mages were as weak as chicks in front of demon creatures of the same level, but if they could utilize their Elements wisely and stay calm, they had a great chance of killing the demon creatures!

Mo Fan was sure there were no Ruler-level sea monsters ahead. However, Commander-level sea monsters were a great challenge for these students, who had only achieved the Advanced Level recently. He could tell from their reactions that they had lost a lot of people before he arrived.

There were around thirty students, but if they were just a sheet of loose sand, they could not even kill a single Commander-level sea monster.

However, if he could convince them to work together, they might be stronger than an incompetent Super Mage!

Mo Fan knew there was no way he could wipe out all the sea monsters by himself. He could never end the war, even if he used up all his energy, without getting these students together.

“Stay behind me. I’ll stop the sea monsters from coming close to you. Just focus on Casting your Advanced Spells. Do you understand?” Mo Fan told them.

“Why…why are you giving orders? I’m the leader!” the student leader shouted anxiously. “You have no idea how scary the sea monsters are! You are just a coward who hides at the back!”

Mo Fan chuckled. He did not argue with the unreliable man.

The water suddenly split apart as a sea monster with a long tail jumped onto the shore.

It had extremely muscular front limbs. They were almost bigger than its body.

The students immediately lost their minds. They had witnessed a talented Light Mage being smashed into mincemeat by this thing when they had first arrived. The guy had died a horrible death before he had a chance to use his magic!

“You asked for it!” Mo Fan shouted. His eyes flickered like sharp silver blades.

A huge echoing rumble went off like thunder. The sea monster went flying like it had just taken a heavy blow. Its body was broken and contorted as it hurtled through the air.

It flew a few hundred meters along the road. Its blood and remains splattered on the ground spectacularly.

Air Cannon!

Mo Fan had learned that trick from Heidi. It was indeed a powerful move! The Commander-level sea monster was not going to rise to its feet again!

The students were fleeing for their lives in fear just a moment ago, like chicks that had seen an eagle diving at them. However, they all froze when they saw Mo Fan take out the sea monster with just a single glance. They even forgot why they were running!

Chapter 2485: Another Goddess of the Pearl Institute
Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s…it’s dead?” A graduate who happened to be close to the road stared at the creature’s remains in shock.

The road was destroyed, the cracks had spread several hundred meters away. The sea monster’s blood and smashed organs were splattered for a fair distance.

The sea monster had struggled a little before dying in disbelief. Its wide eyes showed that it was even more puzzled and shocked than the graduates!

It was able to slaughter the students like mere shrimps just a while ago, but someone had killed it with a single blow without giving it any chance to fight back, like a godly soldier had descended from the sky!

Mo Fan turned around and asked confidently, “Now, does anyone still have any doubts?”

The graduates nodded like little kids in a kindergarten.

Why would they worry about their safety with such a strong Mage with them?

——

Mo Fan was not afraid of Commander-level sea monsters.

However, the intelligence of Commander-level sea monsters was on par with that of humans. They also lived in a competitive environment deep in the ocean. They had learned to be cunning and outsmart their enemies.

It was rare for sea monsters like the one that Mo Fan had killed to show themselves directly, which was why Mo Fan needed the graduates’ help.

Commander-level sea monsters had a variety of abilities. It was not easy for Mo Fan to kill them as he was following the river. Some were able to stir up huge waves and spit poison at him. Others were as hard to catch as loaches. He could not guarantee he could kill them, even if he used Super Spells.

“It’s just ahead. Senior, many Commander-level sea monsters have gathered on that sandbank,” a rather simple-minded student spoke up.

Mo Fan could see an average-sized sandbank from his position. It was around the size of four soccer fields.

Huge crocodile-skinned sea monsters were throwing a tantrum on it. They were charging in the same direction, their tails facing Mo Fan like they were having a feast.

Fresh blood covered the whole sandbank, and pieces of meat were being tossed into the water. Mo Fan initially thought they were residents of the nearby towns and cities, and that these sea monsters had captured them and brought them here so the other sea monsters could feed on them.

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh when he discovered they were just pigs from a nearby farm.

Luckily, the sea monsters were more interested in pork. Otherwise, these high-level sea monsters could easily have feasted on thousands of humans in a single meal. The gory sight would suffocate anyone.

“Senior Sister, she’s still alive… Senior Sister, we have come to save you!” the student leader in glasses suddenly yelled excitedly.

Mo Fan followed his gaze and saw four sea monsters chasing after a woman on a bridge.

The woman was dodging the sea monsters’ attacks nimbly by using the steel pillars of the bridge as cover, handling the situation calmly.

However, the bridge was obviously on the verge of collapsing, as the sea monsters were constantly ramming into its pillars.

The woman was also injured. If the rest of the sea monsters had not been busy feeding on the pigs on the sandbank, she would not have lasted until they came.

Mo Fan decided to help the woman who was in a pinch. “Stay here and maintain your formation. Understood?”

“Understood… huh? Where did he go?”

“He’s on the bridge! How impressive! He just Blinked over six hundred meters away!”

—

Mo Fan appeared on the bridge.

He realized why the student leader was so concerned about his senior. He could tell she was a beauty, despite her injuries.

Senior Sister Ding’s pale skin stood out from the parts that were covered in blood. The blood from the wound on her forehead had covered half her face, adding a hint of exquisite charm to her noble air!

The four sea monsters snorted heavily. They seemed to have had enough of chasing the woman, and charged at her simultaneously from four different angles.

Senior Sister Ding had nowhere to go. She surprisingly froze in place and closed her eyes.

“Will of Steel.”

Mo Fan dove from above and landed on the bridge.

The bridge let out a loud buzz, followed by four heavy thuds. The bones and fangs of the four sea monsters were shattered!

The four sea monsters had slammed into an invisible wall and injured themselves severely, crying out in agony.

Senior Sister Ding opened her eyes and saw Mo Fan, whose hair and shirt were drifting in the grip of the Space Element. She used her hand to cover her mouth, which dropped wide in shock. “It’s you?”

“I was wondering which Senior Sister Ding it was that enchanted my juniors. It turns out to be an old friend,” Mo Fan smiled.

The student was from the same grade as Mo Fan in the Fire School. They were not close, but Mo Fan had a strong impression of her.

After the rumors that Mui Nujiao, the goddess of the Pearl Institute, was taken by the demon king Mo Fan, another student in the Fire School was voted in as the new goddess. Her name was Ding Yumian.

She never had any relationships with other men and had remained single. Many male students had hidden her close-ups under their pillows to comfort themselves late at night.

Mo Fan remembered the duel between them when they were competing for the ranking in the Fire School. She was not any weaker than he was in Fire magic, but he had not expected to bump into her here!

Most of the students from the same class as him had all graduated, with only a few exceptions.

“Let’s talk after getting rid of those things.” Mo Fan knew now was not the time to catch up with an old friend. He fired his Dark Substance at the four sea monsters that had just broken their fangs.

“Just take care of those four,” Ding Yumian told him.

“They are already dead.” Mo Fan did not bother looking at them.

Ding Yumian did not understand Mo Fan at first, but when she looked ahead, she noticed a huge mouth emerging from each of the sea monsters’ backs!

She heard four bites go off simultaneously. The sea monsters never thought their own shadows would bite them and tear off their heads. A dark gas began rising from their bodies.

They were executed by the Shadow Fiends. Mo Fan had wasted none of his time on them.

The group of sea monsters on the sandbank were clearly larger in size than the four sea monsters on the bridge. They were the ones that had spooked the students, as each of them was emanating the Aura of a Commander-level creature!

There were level separations between Commander-level creatures. The four sea monsters on the bridge were only Commander-inferior creatures at most. Mo Fan had taken them out with ease.

However, many of the sea monsters on the sandbank were Great Commanders. He counted at least twenty of them!

Twenty Commander-level creatures had gathered to enjoy a feast. Not only were the sea monsters stronger than the demon creatures on land, many Commander-level sea monsters remained in their groups. In comparison, Commander-level creatures on land were normally only found in deep woods and mountains.

“It’s not going to be an easy fight!” Mo Fan had no idea how he should handle the twenty cruel and savage sea monsters.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“They are already dead, too?” Ding Yumian replied to him.

“You mean them?” Mo Fan pointed at the sea monsters that were feasting on the sandbank.

The Crocodile Sea Demons were as bulky as dragons, with spiked tails. Their skin was as dense as concrete. It would take him some time and effort to kill them.

“Mm,” Ding Yumian nodded confidently.

Mo Fan did not believe it. The sea monsters were clearly enjoying their meal. They would surely be on the move again after eating all the pigs on the sandbank.

It was fine if they were all targeting him, but it would be troublesome if they split into several groups and attacked other places. Mo Fan would be unable to take care of them all by himself.

Wait a second! Why aren’t they attacking me?

Are they too preoccupied by the delicious pork?

He had killed four of their comrades. How were they not alerted?

The biggest members of the Crocodile Sea Demons suddenly let out a furious roar and slammed a small one beside it into the ground.

Half of the small Crocodile Sea Demon’s head was sliced off. Its body was writhing at the brink of death.

The small Crocodile Sea Demon was trying to steal the big Crocodile Sea Demon’s food. It instead almost got itself killed.

A big female Crocodile Sea Demon was enraged. The small Crocodile Sea Demon was her child. She pounced at the first Crocodile Sea Demon. The two ended up starting a savage brawl!

The first Crocodile Sea Demon had several brothers around it. They quickly joined the fight.

The female Crocodile Sea Demon also had some male Crocodile Sea Demons with her. They also rapidly became involved in the fight.

A messy fight had erupted on the sandbank with great speed. The sea monsters were tearing and stomping at one another. Mo Fan watched them swing their tails savagely at one another, slicing off huge chunks of meat.

Huge waves rose into the air. The sea monsters went from fighting for the food to a brawl between two sides, turning against one another. Their dead bodies were soon soaking in the wide river.

The graduates cheered happily. They were no longer afraid after they saw the sea monsters killing one another. They were hoping the sea monsters would all die in the fight!

Mo Fan’s face was blank with disbelief. He eventually turned to Ding Yumian and asked, “You did that?”

“Did you forget I’m a Psychic Mage?” Ding Yumian reminded him.

Mo Fan had forgotten that, but on second thought, it was impossible for the sea monsters to fight one another just for the sake of one or two pigs, even if they lacked intelligence. There had to be some special magic involved that had bewitched the sea monsters to turn against their own!

The Crocodile Sea Demons were Commander-level creatures. Mo Fan was wondering what he should do to get rid of them, but Ding Yumian’s powerful Psychic Element had provoked them to start infighting and killed half of them!

The remaining sea monsters were covered in injuries. Mo Fan just had to trap them on the sandbank with the Shadow Element and let the graduates take care of them.

The graduates had just regained their confidence too. It would be best to let them kill the rest of the Crocodile Sea Demons!

—

Mo Fan was impressed by Ding Yumian’s strength. He told her, “Your juniors were so desperate to save you, but it seems like their worries were not necessary.”

“It was a close call just then. I had to focus my attention on the bigger ones, so I wasn’t able to deal with the ones on the bridge,” Ding Yumian had a soft and pleasant voice. “Either way, thank you for saving me.”

“Haven’t you graduated?” Mo Fan asked her.

Ding Yumian shook her head and replied, “I didn’t sign up for it.”

The Pearl Institute had a fairly loose system. Students were allowed to keep studying if they were not qualified to graduate.

Mo Fan knew Ding Yumian’s strength was more than qualified to graduate, but she seemed reluctant to leave the Pearl Institute. He had no idea exactly why she had chosen to stay.

Perhaps she loved the environment of the school. There was nothing wrong with that!

“Ok, got it,” Ding Yumian was wearing earphones. She seemed to have received some information.

Mo Fan waited patiently at the side.

Ding Yumian was strong. Her Psychic Element was even stronger than her Fire Element.

Mo Fan needed a Psychic Mage who could lure the sea monsters out if he planned to wipe out all the sea monsters. It would be even better if the Psychic Mage could provoke the sea monsters and stop them from running away.

It would take much less time and effort to clean up the sea monsters if that was so.

Ding Yumian hung up the call. She raised her dark blue eyes and looked up at Mo Fan from her petite height.

“Dean Fu is in trouble. He’s at the bay five kilometers from here. I might not be of any use to him. Can you help?” Ding Yumian asked him.

“Is it a strong creature?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm,” Ding Yumian nodded.

“Tell the students to clean up the sea monsters around here. We’ll be going first,” Mo Fan said.

“Sure!”

The whole river had to be purged. The students should not have any trouble handling the rest of the sea monsters after getting rid of the Crocodile Sea Monsters on the sandbank.

“We are going to Dean Fu. It’s about five kilometers from here to Jiangming Bay. You must eliminate every sea monster from here to the bay. Every sea monster that sneaks into the residential areas and shelters will cause great casualties,” Mo Fan told the students.

The student leader grumbled when he saw Mo Fan and Ding Yumian together. “Why aren’t we going with you? Isn’t it better to have more people together?”

“If I’m not mistaken, we are going after a Ruler-level sea monster that can control people’s minds,” Ding Yumian said.

“Senior Sister Ding, look after yourself. We promise we will take care of the sea monsters here!”

“We’ll do it!”

“The Pearl Institute is the best!”

The students stopped complaining at the mention of a Ruler-level sea monster.

The Commander-level sea monsters were already bullying them. They might be dead before they even saw a Ruler-level sea monster attack!

It was best not to be involved in a fight that was beyond their level!

—

Mo Fan and Ding Yumian hurried to Jiangming Bay. Mo Fan did not ask for the details. He would learn them once he arrived at the bay.

He could not help but wonder why there were so many Ruler-level sea monsters.. These sea monsters were only a small portion of the main army that had snuck into the Huangpu river. How many Ruler-level sea monsters would there be at the main battlefields?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Jiangming Bay…

When Mo Fan and Ding Yumian arrived, a monster with the body of a Camphor tree and a lizard’s head was chasing after a Wind instructor.

The teacher did not escape the Camphor Tree Demon Lizard’s pursuit. He was swallowed by the creature in a single bite.

Mo Fan frowned. He could not tell what the monster was or evaluate its level at first glance. It did not look like a sea monster at all. It was like some creature from the deep mountains.

“It’s a Summoned Beast!” Ding Yumian quickly identified the Camphor Tree Demon Lizard.

“The sea monsters can use the Summoning Element too?” Mo Fan was shocked.

“It’s been Summoned by a human!” Ding Yumian pointed at an old man on the other side.

The old man stood beside the Camphor Tree Demon Lizard. Not only did the creature not attack him, it was shielding him from the magic flying in his direction.

The Camphor Tree Demon Lizard was obviously the old man’s Summoned Beast!

“Strange, isn’t he the old professor of the Summoning School?” Mo Fan frowned.

Mo Fan had enrolled in the Summoning School when he was at the Azure Pearl Campus. He remembered the old professor had given them a lecture.

He took a closer look and confirmed it the same old man was commanding the Camphor Tree Lizard Demon!

However, why was he ordering his Summoned Beast to attack other teachers instead of killing the sea monsters?

“He’s being controlled!” Ding Yumian stared at the old professor.

Even though the old professor was standing beside the river, something like a tentacle was wrapped around his neck. The inner side of the tentacle had tiny meat tendrils that looked like little needles. They were stuck inside the old man’s neck. The old professor was already as pale as a corpse.

“He looks dead.” Mo Fan could not sense the old professor’s life force.

“Mm, but the thing controlling him…” Ding Yumian stopped halfway and suddenly looked at the signal tower.

The signal tower had a lot of space at the top. Tentacles that looked like they were covered in wax had filled the openings.

The intertwining tentacles were extending out around the waist of a woman who looked like an icy-blue wax statue. Her chest, arms, and necks were covered in bright oily scales. Her hair was like seaweed draped over her shoulders like worms.

If someone was looking at her from afar, they might assume her to be a woman in a lovely dress with nice permed hair, but after seeing her true appearance, they would be disgusted.

“Why does that thing look like the Trench Demon Houzi described?” Mo Fan murmured.

Zhang Xiaohou’s description had sounded a little exaggerated. Mo Fan assumed Zhang Xiaohou had spent too much time in the water, causing him to hallucinate a little, and so the creature he described was twisted and ugly.

However, when he saw the sea monster that Zhang Xiaohou had described, he realized Zhang Xiaohou just lacked the necessary vocabulary. The creature was even spookier and weirder than he had described!

Did the creatures in the deep sea not care about their appearances, just because there was no light?

“If it’s really the monster Houzi saw, it’s good at controlling people’s minds!” Mo Fan immediately realized why the old professor was attacking other teachers.

A Trench Demon! It was not the same creature Zhang Xiaohou had met in Bohai Sea, but the same species was extremely dangerous and good at controlling someone’s mind!

“Ding Yumian, hurry up and free Professor Zhou!” Dean Fu said.

Dean Fu seemed to know Ding Yumian’s capabilities. He had purposely called her here to help them.

“Mo Fan, you handle the Camphor Tree monster,” Ding Yumian said.

“Shouldn’t we deal with that thing first?” Mo Fan pointed at the creature on the signal tower.

The Trench Demon seemed relaxed on the signal tower. It would occasionally lift its tentacles to clean the meaty whiskers on them, like an elegant woman straightening the corners of her dress. It acted like it had nothing to do with the mess going on below.

Ding Yumian had provoked the Crocodile Sea Demons to kill one another out of greed, but it turned out the sea monsters also had powerful creatures with the ability to control human minds, making the professors and teachers of the Pearl Institute fight one another!

“Let me worry about it, you will find yourself at a great disadvantage!” Ding Yumian replied grimly.

She had most likely become aware of the sea monster’s strength. She knew she had to use everything she had to fight it!

Mo Fan did not force himself. He would be unable to fight with his full strength against a sea monster with Psychic Magic.

If Apas were around, she would be able to teach the sea monster a lesson. However, Apas must have reached Dianshan Lake by now. She was too far from here.

Mo Fan glanced at the old professor with a white beard.

The old professor was standing there, his face all blue. Although his body was still moving, Mo Fan could not sense any life from him. He was dead.

Not only was the sea monster able to control one’s mind, it could also use the Undead Element!

It made the old professor look like he was still alive, and used his will to give orders to the Camphor Tree Lizard Demon.

The Camphor Tree Lizard Demon was very strong. Half of the lecturers, professors, and directors had been severely injured by it.

They did not have any choice but to stop the infighting. They had to get rid of the old professor’s Summoned Beast!

“Ding Yumian, can’t you free Professor Zhou’s mind?” Dean Fu was covered in sweat. He was fighting another professor.

The professor was also a powerful Super Mage. Dean Fu had already defeated the rest of his enemies, but he was struggling against the professor with the Shadow Element.

Nevertheless, the Camphor Tree Demon Lizard was still the greatest threat. It was the strongest of Professor Zhou’s Summoned Beasts. It could take on ten of them at a time!

Ding Yumian shook her head and said confidently, “It won’t work. Professor Zhou is already dead. He’s more like an Undead under the sea monster’s control. The Psychic Element isn’t effective against him!”

“You can’t get another student killed by it. How would he stand a chance against the Camphor Tree Lizard Demon…”

Before Dean Fu finished, he saw the young student creating a river of lava several meters wide to cross the river.

The Camphor Tree Lizard Demon glided across the ground into the shocking spell. Scorching flames surged at the powerful Ruler-level creature!

Chapter 2488: Kill Me!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Dean Fu was dumbfounded.

Directors from many of the Pearl Institute’s schools had joined hands against the Camphor Tree Lizard Demon, but they could not even break its skin.

How did the young student manage to knock the Camphor Tree monster flying with a single punch?

Many of the old professors had stronger cultivations than the old Summoner, but the Camphor Tree Lizard Demon’s sturdy hide was able to nullify everyone’s destructive spells.

The Camphor Tree Lizard Demon stood in front of the Trench Demon and prevented the teachers from reaching it. The teaching staff had also suffered some casualties. Left with no choice, Dean Fu had eventually thought of the student with the Psychic Element who was unwilling to graduate from the school.

She was not necessarily weaker than the teachers and professors, especially her Psychic Element, so Dean Fu had immediately contacted Ding Yumian.

To his surprise, Ding Yumian had brought a young student whose Fire Element had once impressed the directors and professors who were Fire Mages with her!

“Old professor, I’m sorry,” Mo Fan said to the dead professor.

Mo Fan could feel the Camphor Tree Demon Lizard was treating them as if they were its master’s killer.

It was attacking recklessly. Mo Fan had to kill it to prevent further casualties.

The Camphor Tree Lizard Demon was unable to move around so easily. Its thick roots were plunged deep into the ground, allowing its upper body to spin and swing its sharp branches around like claws.

Mo Fan was using the Fire Element. He had borrowed Little Flame Belle’s Heavenly Flames to put an end to the battle as soon as possible. The Camphor Tree Lizard Demon was struggling to put out the refined flames.

The Camphor Tree Lizard Demon was a creature of the Plant Element. It was vulnerable to strong flames.

The Camphor Tree Lizard Demon could only struggle even more when Mo Fan started using the Heavenly Flames. Its branches were soon burned into ashes. Its thick body had shrunk significantly.

Most plant demons had great vitality. Mo Fan kept constructing Star Palaces continuously. Flames poured down from the sky like a waterfall and finally set the Camphor Tree Lizard Demon on fire.

The Trench Demon looked at Mo Fan with a strange expression, as if it was intrigued by Mo Fan’s outstanding Fire Element.

Ding Yumian was closing in on the Trench Demon. The color of her eyes was changing rapidly. The cloth tied to her hair was drifting despite the absence of wind.

The Trench Demon put on a disdainful expression. It began to entice other older professors to fight Ding Yumian.

Ding Yumian’s eyes glittered. An invisible energy ripple spread out from her and knocked the teachers who were being controlled back.

The teachers crawled awkwardly back to their feet. They were unharmed, but they looked confused, as if they were unaware of where they were and what they were doing.

“That evil creature was controlling your minds. Stay away from it!” Dean Fu told the old Mages who had regained self-awareness.

The old Mages immediately backed away. It was difficult to defend themselves against the Psychic Element. If they fell into the sea monster’s trap again, they might not be lucky enough to survive!

The Trench Demon fixed its eyes on Ding Yumian. It stuck its long tongue out, like it was eying some delicious food greedily.

“Can you handle it?” Mo Fan asked her.

“I’ll suppress part of its power, or you will have no chance of hurting it,” Ding Yumian said sternly.

“Alright!” Mo Fan was not in a rush.

Zhang Xiaohou had mentioned the Trench Demon was good at controlling human minds. It was the worst kind of creature for Mo Fan to fight, so he chose to follow Ding Yumian’s lead.

Ding Yumian’s demeanor had changed. She normally looked like a delicate woman whose eyes were as clear as a sacred lake on Tianshan Mountain.

She was now displaying an Aura that was strong and cold, like an inviolable goddess standing on top of a palace on a mountain. Her eyes had turned into a scorching sun people were unable to look at directly. The vegetation along both sides of the Huangpu River burned into ashes!

“Fiery Heart Phantom Eye!”

Golden rays sprinkled down following Ding Yumian’s cry, each outlined clearly.

The Trench Demon was extremely relaxed at first, but it immediately jumped down from the signal tower after feeling the scorching rays, like it had finally gone into serious mode.

The eyes of the Trench Demon were shifting now. Strange fires with three petals were swaying in its pupils.

Colorful seawater rose suddenly to clash with the scorching rays Ding Yumian was Summoning. The light began to spread in all directions.

The colorful water and golden rays were supposed to be different forms, but they were able to clash and fight one another inside the Spiritual Worlds of the Trench Demon and Ding Yumian, like two Elemental armies fighting an intense battle upon a spacious land.

“Is she going to be alright?” Mo Fan asked Dean Fu when he saw Ding Yumian standing there like a statue.

Similarly, the Trench Demon was as motionless as if it had turned into stone, staring there at Ding Yumian. The others were unable to see the battle of the minds between them, only the golden rays and the colorful water!

“Don’t worry, Yumian is one of the best Psychic Mages in our school. She can defeat the sea monster,” Dean Fu declared.

Mo Fan had no chance to interfere with the battle. The clash between the Psychic Magic only lasted for an instant. All he could do was help Dean Fu suppress the other teachers who were still being controlled.

“Mo Fan, kill me, now!” Ding Yumian suddenly yelled.

Mo Fan was going to help the others. He immediately Blinked to Ding Yumian when he heard her voice.

“Quick!” Ding Yumian screeched, like she had made up her mind after some struggle.

“Kill you?” Mo Fan thought he had misheard her.

“It has abandoned its body to devour me. My Heart Eyes are going to kill you all!” Ding Yumian said.

Mo Fan frowned.

Did Ding Yumian lose to the Trench Demon? Is the Trench Demon controlling her?

Ding Yumian was panicking.. She seemed to possess an extraordinary power. Everyone was going to die if the Trench Demon got its way!

Chapter 2489: Double Trap

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Mo Fan, just do as Ding Yumian says! If she uses the Heart Eyes, not only will she kill herself, it will also cause all of us to have strong suicidal thoughts. It is irresistible!” Dean Fu blurted out. He seemed to know how scary Ding Yumian’s Heart Eyes were.

Ding Yumian was a special student. Ever since Dean Fu was placed in charge of her, he had been instructing her carefully. He did not dare let Ding Yumian get too emotional.

Her emotions not only influenced her own actions, but they would spread to others too!

When she was angry, the people around her would feel angry. If she radiated strong hatred to the world, the people around her would begin to have suicidal thoughts!

Before Dean Fu brought Ding Yumian to the Pearl Institute, she had almost caused everyone in an entire school to stop breathing and suffocate themselves during an incident that had happened while she was overwhelmed by grief!

Normal people were unable to kill themselves by stopping their breathing. Their bodies would subconsciously breathe when they were about to suffocate, regardless of how determined they were to kill themselves.

However, Ding Yumian was able to influence people to do it with her emotions. It had been a serious incident. Luckily, a powerful Mage had noticed it in time and stopped the disaster. Unfortunately, a teacher with a weak heart had still died.

Dean Fu knew everything about Ding Yumian. She enjoyed staying at the Pearl Institute and chose not to graduate. Dean Fu was very pleased with her. On one hand, her emotions were much stabler now compared to when she was younger. On the other hand, Dean Fu could also constantly keep an eye on her to prevent similar incidents from happening.

“Mo Fan, do as she says, or more people are going to die. We can’t let that sea monster control her. Her disastrous Innate Talent is far worse than the damage the sea monster could cause!” Dean Fu yelled when he saw Mo Fan hesitating.

Mo Fan looked at Ding Yumian and saw the pleading look in her eyes, begging him to kill her. It felt like she was afraid of the power that she had no control of.

“Fine!” Mo Fan nodded.

There was no better way. It was his only option!

The Lightning Acupuncture Points surfaced on Mo Fan’s body. Mo Fan gathered the energy of the Lightning Acupuncture Points at his fingertip!

“Lightning Finger!”

He pointed forward indifferently, but the power it contained was enough to destroy a mountain. A shocking lightning beam burst out of Mo Fan’s finger, leaving spectacular lightning arcs across the sky.

The lightning flew at Dean Fu and went through his chest. The lightning tails following it knocked the man into the air. Dense lightning bolts flew at Dean Fu and disintegrated his body.

Dean Fu cried out in agony. His scream did not sound like that of a human, but the painful screech of a ghastly demon from the abyss.

“Are…are you out of your mind?” the teachers who had reclaimed their self-awareness screamed at him.

“Do you think a human would sound like that?” Mo Fan retorted instantly.

The lightning continued to disintegrate Dean Fu’s body. His flesh turned into blood, but to the teachers’ surprise, it was blue!

Why would Dean Fu’s blood be blue?

The Trench Demon suddenly screeched and started moving again as soon as Dean Fu died. Its face was even more twisted!

Ding Yumian had also reclaimed her self-awareness. Her eyes were clear and calm.

“Trying to pull such a petty trick on me? Die!” Mo Fan turned and ran at the Trench Demon behind Ding Yumian.

He clenched his fingers into claws and swung them in a cross. His claws unleashed sharp lightning blades.

The Trench Demon tried to defend itself with its tentacles, but its durability was nowhere close to the Ruler-level sea monsters, despite its outstanding Psychic abilities.

The lightning slashes sliced off its tentacles and tore them to pieces. Its body was also sliced in half, with blue blood spraying out of the cuts!

The Trench Demon’s head was sliced into pieces. It let out a strange cry right before it died.

How was the seemingly reckless man able to see through its mind-controlling ability?

Mo Fan glanced at the Trench Demon’s remains disdainfully. He noticed the tentacles were wrapping one another, like they were trying to protect something important.

Mo Fan stomped the ground and unleashed a web of lightning to destroy the tentacles, then walked over and picked up a blue crystal.

Mo Fan had already learned how valuable the sea monsters’ Organ Crystals were. Considering the Trench Demon’s strength, its blue Organ Crystal had to be worth a ton!

He put the crystal away and turned around. The directors and professors who were with Dean Fu were lying on the ground, like they had lost all their energy.

Only Ding Yumian and the teachers she had woken up were still standing.

Ding Yumian slowly walked toward the pool of blue blood. She picked up an ordinary necklace from it.

The necklace had remained intact after being struck by Mo Fan’s lightning. It was obviously something special.

Ding Yumian cleaned the blood on it off in the river and dried it before putting it away.

Mo Fan went up to her and felt sorry for her, especially when he was looking at Ding Yumian’s back.

Could he have figured out a way to save Dean Fu’s life? Why did he have to kill him?

Was he worried being merciful might lead to a greater mistake, but wouldn’t that imply he was not capable enough, and did not have the courage to bear the consequences?

“I’m sorry, my emotions will influence the people around me. You shouldn’t feel guilty, you made the right choice!” Ding Yumian spoke up abruptly.

Mo Fan was shocked as he was jolted out of his guilt. It turned out Dean Fu was telling the truth about Ding Yumian’s terrifying ability!

“The day my grandmother passed away, I went to school as usual, but I almost caused the whole school to suffocate themselves. It was Dean Fu who arrived in time to stop me. I’m very grateful to him for taking care of me all these years,” Ding Yumian turned around with teary eyes.

“I’m sorry, I really lack compassion sometimes,” Mo Fan said helplessly.

Ding Yumian shook her head and said, “I made the wrong call because I was grateful to him.. I’m not a qualified Psychic Mage. Any other Psychic Mage would have noticed everyone here was being manipulated after setting foot here!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ding Yumian believed she was to blame.

She should have been on alert. After all, she was going up against a sea monster that could control human minds.

The Trench Demon had controlled Dean Fu to call her here.

It had controlled everyone and made it look like some of them were being controlled, while others still had clear minds. It kept using Dean Fu and the others to call for backup and lure them into its trap!

If they had not seen through the Trench Demon’s trick, they would have ended up as one of the dead bodies, too.

It was a clear display of the sea monsters’ intelligence. They were vicious and brutal beyond the imagination of their human foes!

If Mo Fan had not killed Dean Fu, Dean Fu would have ambushed him and killed him in the end, too!

“How did you figure it out?” Ding Yumian asked Mo Fan curiously.

The Trench Demon must have realized Mo Fan’s extraordinary strength, so it tried to confuse Mo Fan while it was fighting Ding Yumian, so that he would have no idea who his enemy was.

The Trench Demon had been planning to take out Ding Yumian before dealing with Mo Fan. To its surprise, Mo Fan had seen through its plan!

“One of my friends encountered its species before. He told me these creatures are good at playing with our minds, so I was cautious from the beginning. Besides, Dean Fu sounded very confident when he asked me to kill you. Normally, he should be hesitant and puzzled too, so I used something special to see through the creature’s tricks,” Mo Fan explained.

Mo Fan was referring to the Eye of Deceit!

Mo Fan realized the Eye of Deceit was able to determine whether a person’s mind was being controlled, but since the old Forbidden Mage and the South Pole Emperor were stronger than him, the Eye of Deceit did not have a clear answer back then.

The Trench Demon was not as strong as them, so it was easier for the Eye of Deceit to see its treachery.

Unfortunately, despite the Eye of Deceit’s usefulness, he was telling Apas’ vicious sister his location every time he used it. If he had not been on alert right from the beginning, he would have avoided using it in normal situations. He was still surprised that Dean Fu who had called them over was being controlled!

“They…they are buried behind there,” a director who regained his consciousness pointed behind the signal tower.

Mo Fan and Ding Yumian were puzzled. They went closer to the signal tower.

They blew the feathers on the swamp away and revealed countless distorted bodies there. There were over a hundred corpses behind the signal tower. They all belonged to the teachers and students of the Pearl Institute.

They were like dead poultry abandoned in the drains and covered in filthy feathers. Mo Fan and Ding Yumian felt their hearts squeezing in pain.

“You two aren’t the first backup that came. They were tricked here by us. We could only watch them die, before the next batch was tricked here again…” The director covered his face, stammering to speak.

Mo Fan and Ding Yumian both felt like something was clenching their throats. They were struggling to breathe.

How many people had died?

The Trench Demon had set a trap here and kept using Dean Fu and the others to call for backup, luring them all into the trap.

Mo Fan and Ding Yumian were only two of them. There were a lot more victims before them!

Ding Yumian turned away from the corpses. She had not used her Psychic Element on Dean Fu because she trusted him.

She had almost made a terrible mistake!

If Mo Fan had not been decisive enough, the two of them might have fallen into the trap, and more people would have died after them!

Ding Yumian was trembling.

“Look on the bright side, at least no one will fall for the trap again.” Mo Fan patted Ding Yumian’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Mm,” Ding Yumian took a deep breath, getting control of her anger and grief!

It was a relief that the Trench Demon was dead!

The Pearl Institute had many teachers and students. If they had not killed the Trench Demon, there would be more corpses buried in the swamp.

Ding Yumian tried her best to control her emotions. She did not want them to influence the others, as the consequences were far worse than what the Trench Demon had done.

“Screw these sea monsters!” Mo Fan was enraged.

“We have no idea what’s happening out there,” Ding Yumian said.

The Huangpu River covered a large area. Mo Fan was cleaning up the sea monsters as quickly as he could, but he still could not save the people of the Pearl Institute in time.

Many students and teachers of the Pearl Institute were like moths diving into a huge fire. They were no match for the sea monsters, but they had to sacrifice themselves to save the residents close to the river.

“Ding Yumian, how do your emotions influence the people around you?” Mo Fan asked her directly.

“It must be my Innate Talent, but I can’t control it most of the time. It’s almost like a disaster to others. It has brought nothing but misfortune to the people around me,” Ding Yumian said helplessly.

She was unwilling to leave the Pearl Institute because it was a great shelter for her, helping her to stay calm at all times.

She was afraid the same incident that had happened when she was younger might occur again if she left the school.

Mo Fan fell into deep thought.

Ding Yumian’s Innate Talent was similar to Qin Yu’er’s. Qin Yu’er had an Innate Soul-grade Seed. Wherever she went would soon be covered in snow and ice.

Ding Yumian’s Innate Talent was able to influence people’s minds and emotions, causing them to overreact when her emotions were stirred up.

It was a powerful Innate Talent that she could not control. She was considered a Disaster-bringer because of it.

“Can you use it to influence the sea monsters?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Well…” Ding Yumian had never thought of using it against the sea monsters.

“It’s a powerful ability. Even a Super Mage like me can feel your anger and grief, but it’s a waste if you just have to suppress it. I’m wondering if you could spread your emotions to the sea monsters. It might help us get rid of the sea monsters and avenge the teachers and students!” Mo Fan said.

Ding Yumian stared at Mo Fan in surprise.

Most of the people here were still overwhelmed by grief and the cruelty of the sea monsters, but Mo Fan was already thinking of resolving the situation and avenging the dead.

Ding Yumian was shocked by Mo Fan’s unyielding spirit.

Losing themselves in pain was meaningless. They had to get their revenge on the sea monsters and protect those who were still alive!

Chapter 2491: Super Power, Mountain-Sweeping Lightning Curtain

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I was able to obtain the sea monsters’ information and thoughts while I was fighting the Trench Demon,” Ding Yumian told Mo Fan.

The Trench Demon was prying into Ding Yumian’s memories, trying to dig up her greatest fears to crush her will.

As the Trench Demon was prying into Ding Yumian’s mind, she could also obtain information from the sea monster’s thoughts while their minds were touching!

Other people might struggle to process the complicated thoughts of a species like the Trench Demon. After all, the darkness and evil of a species from the deep sea could easily overwhelm a normal human’s will.

But Ding Yumian was different. Her extraordinary talent for the Psychic Element had allowed her to process the Trench Demon’s thoughts!

“That’s great. We are unfamiliar with the creatures of the deep sea. Many Mages have died because they don’t understand the enemy,” Mo Fan replied eagerly.

“I could feel the Trench Demon’s sense of superiority. They are viewing themselves as supreme beings and prophets that control everything,” Ding Yumian sneered.

“Can you mimic it?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Mimic it?” Ding Yumian was confused.

“Like mimicking their sense of superiority, or their aura. The Trench Demon was controlling us to lure more people into its trap, so I was thinking of using the same trick back on them. You can mimic the Trench Demon’s means of communication and send an SOS signal to gather the sea monsters here,” Mo Fan urged her.

If the Trench Demon could use its powers to lure them into a trap, why couldn’t they use the same trick to lure the sea monsters into their trap?

The Trench Demon was obviously wise among the sea monsters if it called itself a prophet. The other species were not as intelligent. They might easily fall for the trap!

“I can give it a try, but… how are we going to deal with so many sea monsters at once?” Ding Yumian asked him.

Baiting the sea monsters here was not a problem, but how were they going to kill them? Ding Yumian was not sure if she could influence the sea monsters with her emotions and provoke them to kill themselves…

“It’s fine. Just gather them here and leave the rest to me!” Mo Fan declared confidently.

“Alright, I’ll do it!” Ding Yumian nodded.

—

—

The water was flowing upstream from the sea. The waves from the sea were causing half of the Huangpu River to flow in the opposite direction. As a result, the water was clashing halfway through Jiangming Bay and forming into a new lake!

Mo Fan and Ding Yumian had returned to Jiangming Bay. The area was spacious and the residents had already been evacuated.

The sandbank was already underwater, but the bridge still remained.

Ding Yumian stood on the bridge. Her hair drifted elegantly in the wind.

She was analyzing the Trench Demon’s memories. She noticed the Trench Demon was indeed considered superior among the sea monsters. Most of the sea monsters had to obey its orders.

Was it because of this species’ brainpower? Was it the reason the monsters were smart enough to invade inland using the river?

“How did it go?” Mo Fan asked her.

“I have only analyzed a part of its memories. I still need time to understand their complicated thought processes, but it shouldn’t be a problem to lure the sea monsters here,” Ding Yumian replied to him.

“Alright, it’s time to get our revenge, and let those sea monsters taste the Pearl Institute’s wrath!” Mo Fan proclaimed.

Ding Yumian felt a lot more relaxed after seeing Mo Fan’s reaction.

This time, Ding Yumian truly felt how influential the man in front of her was. He did not rely on the Psychic Element or some fancy speech, but his actions!

“Shall I begin?” Ding Yumian asked.

“Do it!”

The waves surging in from the sea were clashing fiercely with the waters coming from upstream. They could hear loud collisions of waves every half a minute.

The waves would explode after colliding with one another, fountaining in all directions!

At first, the waves were the only sound, but a faint rumble soon started coming from other directions. Dark creatures were approaching from along the branches of the river!

The river was almost filled with the creatures. Not only were they moving along the water’s surface, many of them were swimming underneath as well.

The debris in the river was either crushed into pieces or knocked into the air. Ding Yumian was spooked by the terrifying sight.

There were too many of them!

If she had not lured the sea monsters here, she would never have believed so many sea monsters were hiding in the river. It was far more than they had expected!

“Don’t be scared, this place will soon become a scorched ground covered in their graves!” Mo Fan was still standing beside Ding Yumian. He was calm and confident, with some anticipation of the upcoming battle!

He had been through many battles of a similar scale. This was nothing compared to when the army of Undead was released from the Great Pyramid of Giza!

“Mm,” Ding Yumian nodded, reassured.

She had to stay calm, as not only would her emotions influence others, they would also make the sea monsters suspicious while she was mimicking the Trench Demon’s summoning.

“It’s a lot simpler when I don’t have to look for them one-by-one,” Mo Fan grinned.

He looked at the waves coming from the sea.

Let’s start from there…

Mo Fan had activated his Lightning Acupuncture Points while the sea monsters were still in the distance. He kept building up Lightning Magic into a Chaos Vortex.

The timing was perfect!

“Super Spell: Mountain-Sweeping Lightning Curtain!”

Mo Fan shoved his hands forward. The wind started howling and the clouds darkened.

Thick pillars of lightning appeared and stuck all the way to the bottom of the river. Lightning chains interwove like spider webs, with hundreds of lightning arcs scattered in the sky!

The lightning pillars were massive and spectacular, like mountains standing imperiously between the Heavens and Earth!

But they did not remain still. The pillars of lightning were moving along the river, filling its entire width.

Each lightning pillar was brimming with destructive power. The pillars combined were like a lightning curtain splitting two worlds apart. Even the mountains and the land were tiny compared to the moving wall of lightning!

The sea monsters were heading toward Mo Fan in huge numbers, but they found themselves greeted by the lightning curtain, which was sweeping toward them at a shocking pace.

The sea monsters tried to escape, but it was too late.. The lightning curtain covered a massive area. The lightning chains spreading along the bottom of the pillars had filled the whole river!

Chapter 2492: We came to Hunt!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The bodies of the sea monsters were shredded into pieces, even the meat eventually being reduced to bloody droplets!

Hundreds of sea monsters coming from the river had died. Red and blue blood was mixed together.

The remains of the sea monsters were scattered on the surface of the water, including broken skulls, burned scales, fallen fangs, and bodies savaged beyond recognition.

Ding Yumian’s eyes flickered with astonishment.

How strong is he!?

Even though the Lightning Element was the most destructive among the Elements, Mo Fan’s Lightning was much stronger than other Lightning Mages she knew of!

Ding Yumian did not understand why Mo Fan kept tossing his Lightning Magic into his Chaos Vortex at first, but after seeing the sea monsters being reaped like hay, she realized Mo Fan was trying to maximize the damage of his Lightning!

The Mountain-Sweeping Lightning Curtain pushed forward for another kilometer. Not a single sea monster survived behind its trail of destruction. The lightning arcs leaving the lightning curtain surged wildly, like purple serpents striking at an incredible speed.

Some sea monsters that were not caught directly by the lightning curtain still sustained great damage. Their bodies were punctured by the lightning serpents, leaving scorched holes on multiple parts of them.

“This is crazy!” Ding Yumian smiled wolvishly.

The students were no match for the sea monsters, while the directors, professors, and teachers were taken out by more cunning and stronger sea monsters. She kept feeling like something had stuck in her throat throughout the battle.

She was now feeling extremely pleased after seeing Mo Fan’s unreasonably strong Lightning Magic. The conspiracies and cunning of the sea monsters had all perished amid the lightning. He was truly a Lightning Mage!

“There’s still the other side,” Mo Fan did not take the time to admire his gory work, merely going to the other side of the bridge.

The sea monsters were coming from two directions at the same time. Most of them were Great Commander-level creatures. They could easily reach Mo Fan in an instant with their speed.

Ding Yumian had the same worries. She did not expect the Trench Demon to have such a high status among the sea monsters. The signal she had sent had gathered a shocking number of sea monsters!

It felt like the sea monsters did not dare disobey her order!

“Aren’t there too many of them?” Ding Yumian realized she might have overdone it when she looked to the other side.

More sea monsters were coming from the other side. The ones leading at the front were riding the waves. Their bulky bodies could easily smash a small island into pieces!

Mo Fan had to accumulate his magic to Cast the Mountain-Sweeping Lightning Curtain over a long period to deal such a devastating blow to the sea monsters. How was he going to eliminate the rest of the sea monsters without it?

“Stay calm, just make sure they are not able to run away,” Mo Fan reassured her.

Somehow, Ding Yumian had a lot of trust in Mo Fan. She had no intention to retreat even when the sea monsters were only two hundred meters away.

“Do you think you can leave after entering my darkness?!” Mo Fan suddenly clenched his left hand.

The area in front of Mo Fan and Ding Yumian fell into darkness within all of a second.

It was like it had gone from noon to night time all of a sudden. The sky was dark and shrouded by a gloomy mist, but the place Mo Fan and Ding Yumian were standing at was perfectly normal.

“Rotate!”

Mo Fan bumped his fist on the ground softly. The area of darkness changed shockingly.

The sea monsters that were lunging at Mo Fan suddenly changed directions. They were charging into the sea monsters behind them instead.

Mo Fan and Ding Yumian had ended up behind the sea monsters!

Ding Yumian was astounded. She felt like she was standing on the same spot, but the entire space had spun. The sea monsters had suddenly switched to the other side of the bridge.

“Chaos Magic?” Ding Yumian recognized the Magic Mo Fan was using.

Mo Fan did not answer her. He was only using the Chaos Element to trap the sea monsters in the area. It was not the real deal.

The sea monsters were tricked like a bull in a bullfighting. They ran past the bullfighter’s red cloth and found themselves on the other side.

They finally turned around and charged at Mo Fan again.

As a matter of fact, the sea monsters were already trapped in Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic. Even without the Chaos Magic, it would be difficult for them to escape the Cage of Darkness.

The Chaos Magic was only wasting the sea monsters’ time and preventing certain powerful creatures among them from breaking free of the Cage.

This was the strength of the Chaos Magic. Whether there was only one enemy or a thousand, every creature inside its confines had to obey its rules!

Mo Fan was the adept bullfighter in the middle of the arena, while the Chaos Magic was his red cloth. He stepped aside swiftly and switched places with the sea monsters again.

“They are starting to get suspicious,” Ding Yumian warned him.

The low-level sea monsters were still blinded by Ding Yumian’s magic, but the higher-level ones were beginning to doubt it.

“It’s fine, they are already dead,” Mo Fan told.

Ding Yumian stared in disbelief.

Not a single one of the sea monsters had died yet. Could Mo Fan really make them all vanish like a magic trick?

“Sea of Darkness!”

A thick black aura was flowing around like inky liquid. It descended upon the river like a benighted swamp.

The darkness was already trapping the sea monsters in the area. The Chaos Magic was causing the sea monsters to run in circles inside it, while the darkness was slowly manipulating the substance nearby.

The river had turned into a boundless dark ocean. The sea monsters were struggling to tell which direction was what and to see around themselves.

A thick mist lingered in the air, carrying the smell of death. Every creature fallen into the darkness could feel fear rising from deep within their soul.

The sky had turned into a pitch-black hole that was devouring everything!

Darkness ruled over the area, including the deepest parts of the river. Everything was covered in a strong Dark Aura.

“Elder of the Shadow Tribe, let the feast begin!” Mo Fan called out.

The noble from the Dark Plane did not fancy the human world. Even when it was dark, the strong sense of life from the human world would make it feel uncomfortable.

However, whenever Mo Fan filled an area with his Dark Material, creating a spacious land of death, the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was more than willing to come and hunt some prey!

Chapter 2493: The Shadow Triad

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was wearing a cloak with sawtooth designs upon it, which covered its legs. Only its strange and bulky figure was visible.

It stood on the black sea, perfectly portraying the temperament of a God of Death. Its deep eyes had tagged every living creature in sight with the time of their death.

Its one hand was dangling naturally to the side, while the other was propped up on the hilt of a long object it was carrying on its shoulder.

The object was obviously a scythe. The Elder of the Shadow Tribe often used it to slice open a creature’s chest and hook their soul out.

“Tsk tsk tsk!” the Elder of the Shadow Tribe’s laugh was oddly sinister.

It turned to Mo Fan.

It was extremely pleased with the Swamp of Darkness Mo Fan had prepared. It was showing Mo Fan its appreciation.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe flew across the river and faced the army of sea monsters alone.

Just as Mo Fan thought the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was about to massacre the sea monsters with its scythe, he realized the object it was carrying was actually a hammer covered in spikes.

The hammer was shockingly large. The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was constantly shrouded by a dark mist, so Mo Fan had assumed the object it was carrying was just a scythe.

To his surprise, the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was instead carrying a giant hammer that could smash any creature into mincemeat!

The whole area covered in darkness shook hard when the hammer slammed on the water.

The sea monsters leading the way were covered in scales and had menacing horns, but the Elder of the Shadow Tribe violently smashed them into pieces, including their scales, fins, and horns!

A brutal hammer!

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was nearly as strong right now in the field of darkness Mo Fan had prepared for it as it was at home in the Dark Plane. Every swing of its hammer resulted in flying carcasses.

The dead bodies of the sea monsters were completely mixed together, it was impossible to identify their species. The water under the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was littered with the remains of the sea monsters in just a few minutes.

A hammer was more straightforward and violent than a scythe. The sea monsters had lost their courage to charge forward recklessly after only several swings.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was enjoying the slaughter. It turned around after smashing the sea monsters until they were beyond recognition, dragging its hammer across the remains of the Great Commander-level sea monsters. It was a terrifying sight.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe slowly walked toward the rest of the sea monsters with its hammer.

A black cloud of gas spiraled up beside the Elder of the Shadow Tribe’s foot with every step it took, transforming into a Shadow Guard walking alongside it.

The Shadow Guards were influenced by their Elder. They were also carrying hammers on their shoulders, instead of assassination weapons like daggers.

More Shadow Guards appeared, each carrying a weapon stained with blood. They followed the Elder and approached the sea monsters fearlessly.

Even Mo Fan was dumbfounded by the sight, let alone Ding Yumian!

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was supposed to be a respected noble in the Dark Plane. It had control over the Shadow Tribe’s right to kill. Even if it did not have the temperament of a king, it was supposed to behave like a feudal vassal. Why did it feel like it was leading a criminal gang during the era of the Republic of China instead?

The members of the triad were all wearing black cloaks and carrying blunt weapons like hammers. They were marching forward with overbearing arrogance, looking just like street thugs.

Mo Fan finally understood why the lower beam would be crooked when the upper beam was not straight.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was an unrestrained butcher, and so all of its men were mimicking it!

However, they were not just trying to put up a front like street gangsters, but were actually planning to kill the sea monsters sadistically!

They were like serial killers who had already corralled their targets. They just had to choose how they were going to kill their prey!

Whether it was using a scythe, an axe, or a hammer, whatever was more effective at intimidating their prey, the only fate awaiting the sea monsters was a horrible death.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe led the way. Every swing of its hammer shattered the bones and scales of the sea monsters without fail.

The Shadow Guards were strengthened by the Elder of the Shadow Tribe’s Aura and the darkness. They lined up in rows and purged the sea monsters in an orderly fashion, without sparing any of them.

It was effective to curb violence with violence when dealing with the vicious sea monsters. The creatures of the Dark Plane were true experts when it came to the art of killing!

Mo Fan approved the approach of the Elder of the Shadow Tribe. It was necessary to make the sea monsters afraid. He had to inject fear into their bones, so they would understand they had to pay a huge price for invading their cities and territories, and killing their people so brutally!

Dead sea monsters were piling up in the river. The river had stopped flowing. The bodies were floating on the water and forming a new sandbank in front of the bridge.

There used to be a sandbank full of the remains of pigs and the Crocodile Sea Demons. It had now resurfaced, but it was formed from the dead bodies of the sea monsters instead of earth.

It was Ding Yumian’s first time seeing a nightmarish sight like this. However, she did not move her gaze away, nor allow herself to show any weak emotions.

She knew if the bodies piling up had not belonged to the sea monsters, the corpses scattered along the river would instead be humans. She would feel true despair if that happened.

Ding Yumian tried her best to remain calm, despite the shock she was experiencing.

Every time she was shaken, she would glance at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan’s were calm and unmoved. He was obviously used to situations like this.

However, Ding Yumian knew the man had a fiery heart, despite his merciless expression. Anything that crossed his line would have to suffer his wrath.

They could not be hesitant and show their enemy mercy at a time like this. They had to be decisive. They had to fight back fiercely!

It was the only way to defend the river that stretched for over a hundred kilometers!

As a Psychic Mage, if she was not mentally strong enough, how was she going to beat the cunning sea monsters and their lust for blood?

Ding Yumian felt she had learned an important lesson today.

Humans were often unable to resolve certain things, like the pain they had suffered and the guilt they bore, but if she had a firm heart like the man beside her, she would be able to protect her people instead of bringing disaster to them!

Chapter 2494: The Town that Survived

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The Shadow Triad was surprisingly civilized. They conveniently cleaned up the dead bodies by degrading them, as if they were concerned about public hygiene and environmental protection. The whole bay soon looked like nothing had ever happened.

Ding Yumian’s mental energy was depleted. Mo Fan had also consumed all the energy in his Shadow and Lightning Elements.

Mo Fan had prepared the two spells over a long time. He had only used a single spell with each Element, but the energy he had consumed was greater than the amount of energy required to construct a dozen Star Palaces.

Mo Fan was worn out mentally, but he was relieved after taking out so many sea monsters at once.

The number of the sea monsters was beyond their estimates. The Pearl Institute would lose a lot more students and teachers if they did not come up with a better plan to wipe out the sea monsters!

“I’ve collected a lot of Soul Remnants. I should use them to improve my Earth Element…”

Mo Fan had ended up making a fortune. He had collected almost a whole bag of intact Soul Essences, not to mention the Organ Crystals of the sea monsters!

He could sell these intact Soul Essences directly for money. Since he now had a Heaven-inferior Seed for his Earth Element, his Earth Spells would be significantly stronger as he improved his Earth Element.

Ever since his Earth Element had gained a Heaven-inferior Seed, he had been using his Soul Remnants and Soul Essences to strengthen the Earth Element instead of expanding his wolf army. Even if his Earth Element had yet to reach the Super Level, it was still on par with other people’s Super-Level Earth Elements due to the help of the Heaven-inferior Seed!

—

Although Mo Fan and Ding Yumian had to recover their energy, they did not leave the dangerous river.

It was unlikely they had wiped out the sea monsters after just a single attempt. They had to sweep the other branches of the river now. Mo Fan was still quite powerful, even if he could not use Advanced or Super Spells that required a lot of mental energy.

——

“Mo Fan, Mr. Wei Rong is asking us to head to Bing Town,” Ding Yumian told him.

“Alright,” Mo Fan agreed.

Bing Town was located at a perfect river bay. If it weren’t for the incident, it would be the most unique town to the south of the Yangtze River.

The town had been attacked by the sea monsters long ago, but it seemed like no one had survived the invasion.

The invasion had been going on for quite some time. The town was surrounded by water and surely unlikely to survive the attack.

——

Mo Fan and Ding Yumian soon reached Bing Town. “Are there survivors?” he asked.

There were rows of cypress trees at the entrance of the town up on slightly higher terrain. They could see the farmlands that had turned into lakes, and houses soaking in the water.

“I first thought there were no survivors here, but the Hunter Union received a call for help, saying that the people of the entire town are still alive,” Wei Rong relayed to him.

“How is that possible? Bing Town was the first to be drowned and attacked. Other towns with similar terrain to this barely have any survivors. How are the people still alive?” the student representative asked.

“I’m not sure, either. It’s most likely misinformation,” Wei Rong sighed.

It was a relief to hear a piece of news like that, but when they arrived at the town, the whole place was soaked in mud and water. They could not see a single person, but they could still see sea monsters passing by occasionally.

“It must be some kind of a trap again. The sea monsters are good at playing with our minds. We should leave this place as soon as possible. We still have many things to do, and there are other places that need our help,” the student representative spoke up.

Ding Yumian lifted her gaze and looked at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not agree with the student representative’s words. He shook his head and pointed out, “There are no corpses or bloodstains in the town.”

“Could it be some gigantic sea monster swallowed up all the people, like the beasts in the myths that can swallow thousands of people with a single bite?” the student representative guessed.

“Have you played too many retarded games? If a gigantic sea monster does show up, it would obviously cause a lot of destruction, but the buildings in the town are still in good condition. The only damage was caused by little sea monsters,” Mo Fan went on.

“Well… either way, we don’t see a single person here, so we’d have to search the whole town,” the student representative groused.

“How about this? Senior, you should rest here with Senior Sister. Let us handle the search,” a student with the Shadow Element called out.

“Sure, be careful.”

Wei Rong had already organized the students based on their Elements and capabilities. It was much more effective than their previous approach. They were no longer like a plate of loose sand.

Mo Fan and Ding Yumian had to get some rest, and did not force themselves to look for the survivors.

It was a great chance to train the students, too.

It was not like the sea monsters had significantly outmatched human Mages, but they had a stronger will to fight, as they were used to the dangerous environment of the deep sea. They were born in an environment that obeyed the law of the jungle, while many human Mages had already forgotten how to fight after relying too much on the protection of the cities.

“I’m a little hungry,” Mo Fan rubbed his stomach. He had not had time to eat anything.

“You still have an appetite?” Ding Yumian asked, staring at him with wide eyes.

“For some reason, I’m feeling a bigger appetite now!” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan searched in his Space Bracelet, but he only found some dried food like jerky. He always felt like vomiting if he ate too many of them, but they were incredibly useful for replenishing energy.

He had no choice but to eat some jerky and sit down on the ground to meditate.

Mo Fan was soon fully focused on meditating. Wei Rong, Ding Yumian, and the graduates were impressed. Anyone who was able to close their eyes and meditate in a situation like this was very confident.

Most Mages needed a quiet, comfortable, and safe environment to meditate. Otherwise, they would have trouble focusing.

Even though they were up on the high ground, they were still surrounded by water. The sea monsters might show up at any second.

Mo Fan was basically taking a nap in the middle of a battlefield!

The others could never do the same thing.

——

The student with the Shadow Element eventually returned. Mo Fan could sense his magic from afar.

“Mr. Wei Rong, Senior Mo Fan, and Senior Sister Ding, the people of this town are indeed alive!” the student called out happily.

“Huh? But where are they?” Wei Rong quickly looked around them.

Were they hiding in the buildings? Why didn’t the sea monsters drag them out?

Chapter 2495: Wise Decision

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Shadow Mage roughly explained the situation. Mo Fan asked him to bring him to the survivors. He wanted to see them.

It was getting dark, perfect for them to move around with the Shadow Element. Mo Fan followed the student across the flooded city and arrived at a school at the back of the town.

“Are they inside?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes, but not in the buildings,” the student said.

Mo Fan and the student went inside the school. The buildings were a little old and damaged. Most kids were sent to study in bigger cities. There were not many students left in the towns.

There was a little hill behind the buildings, all covered in weed.

“There’s a bunker here,” the student pointed at an entrance that was half-submerged in the water.

Mo Fan took a closer look and noticed the hill was not just made of soil. It was stacked with sturdy rocks, too!

The bunker was serving as an emergency shelter. The water had already covered the entrance, and the hill was only around the size of a house. There was no way it had enough room to contain the people of a town.

Were the people hiding underground? It would have to be deeper than the river!

“It’s sealed off to stop the water from flowing into it. I wouldn’t have found it if I hadn’t discovered an air vent hidden under the grass,” the student said proudly, taking hold of the opportunity to show off in front of his senior.

“Well done, we’ll go inside through the air vent,” Mo Fan directed him.

“There’s a magic Barrier stopping me from going inside,” the student admitted awkwardly.

“It’s fine, come with me.”

—

Normal magic barriers were unable to stop Mo Fan’s Fleeing Shadow.

They flowed inside the well-hidden air vent. It was extremely deep and long. Even if the sea monsters noticed some unusual airflow in the area, they would most likely give up on exploring it, as it was disguised to look like a rat’s burrow or a snake’s hole.

They followed the meandering tunnel through some junctions, and finally reached the magic Barrier.

“Chaos Magic?” Mo Fan was surprised. The vent was disguised with a smokescreen that would trick most creatures into believing they had reached the end of the tunnel.

It explained why the sea monsters that were roaming through the town had failed to discover the tunnel.

Mo Fan and the student headed deeper and soon discovered the fan for the vent.

They went past the fan and arrived in a spacious area. Mo Fan and the student could hear soft voices.

“Someone’s here!” a nervous voice suddenly shouted.

A few Mages quickly gathered at the vent, staring at the strange shadows in front of them.

“Calm down, I’m a student of the Pearl Institute. We have come to save you!” The student revealed himself.

The Mages looked at him in surprise. Someone had finally responded to their call for help!

“Are all the folks of the town here?” Mo Fan asked directly.

The Mages had a fright. They turned around as if they had just seen a ghost.

A woman with a ponytail, standing the closest to Mo Fan, was spooked. She had no idea when the guy had appeared.

Cough cough! “He’s my senior… his cultivation is higher than mine, so none of you noticed him,” the student quickly explained.

“Oh!” The Mages were the City Hunters in charge of the area. They had organized the people of the town to take shelter in the bunker.

To Mo Fan’s surprise, the bunker was actually about the size of a sports stadium. It was filled with people, including the young and the aged.

There were a lot of people, but everything was in order.

The families each had their own areas to drink and rest. Some people were chatting, but their voices were very soft.

Normally, a stadium with a capacity of over ten thousand people would be bustling with noise that would reach the streets outside.

However, it was rather quiet in the bunker. No one was panicking, crying, or screaming. Everyone was calm and quiet.

Usually, a group of people would argue and fight under dire circumstances, let alone a group of ten thousand people in an enclosed environment with no way of knowing what was happening outside. The enclosed space and the sense of uneasiness could easily cause the whole group to suffer a mental breakdown.

“Who’s in charge here?” Mo Fan asked.

A man in his thirties among the Mages stepped forward. “There’s no one in charge. We just gathered the people and stuck together to increase our odds of survival.”

The man was younger than he looked. He had an unkempt beard, but a handsome face.

“This is the captain of our Fangjiang’s City Hunters, Ma Yong. He was once a military advisor for the northwest military district,” the woman with a ponytail introduced him proudly.

Captain Ma Yong was the reason why the people of Bing Town were unharmed. He had taken note of every shelter, bunker, evacuation point, and relay station after he was assigned here, including the routes, bridges, and the paths that led to them.

Ma Yong did not ask the people to flee for their lives when the sea monsters were invading through the river. The town was surrounded by water. Even if they traveled far away from the town, there were still many paddy fields, ponds, and lakes that would increase the sea monsters’ activity range, not to mention the sea monsters were faster than humans.

The area would devolve into a hunting ground for the sea monsters if they tried to run away. Their chance of survival would solely depend on how quickly the sea monsters were able to hunt them down.

The other towns served as perfect examples. The number of survivors from each town were less than three digits!

Less than a hundred survivors for every ten thousand people. It showed how savage the sea monsters were and their intimidating numbers.

Therefore, Ma Yong had not evacuated the people from the town. He had decisively brought them to the bunker instead.

The bunker was located underground, with rocks and heavy gates protecting the entrance.

They might have a chance if they hid the air vent and tried their best not to make any noises!

“You made a wise decision. The other towns close to the river are…” The student trailed off tellingly.

“I’m just using the experience I received from when I was in the army. Our numbers would make us an easy target for the sea monsters,” Ma Yong smiled wryly.

A middle-aged man with a worried face came up to them and asked, “Does this mean the army is here? Have they wiped out the sea monsters out there? Can we finally get out of here? My son is having trouble breathing. The air vent is too small. Everyone is distressed!”

“Are our rescuers here?”

“Awesome, we made it!”

“The army is here for us!”

The others seemed to have finally noticed Mo Fan and the student, and were growing excited.

The student and Mo Fan exchanged awkward glances.. They did not know what to say to the people.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I’m sorry to tell you all that the military is still busy at the coasts and the estuary. We are only people of the Pearl Institute,” the student explained.

“The Pearl Institute will do. It has a lot of talented Mages. How many did you bring?” the middle-aged man said.

“Six.”

“…”

Only six?

The people of the town were disappointed, and started complaining anxiously.

The middle-aged man lost his calm. “We were stuck here for so long. Why is it taking so long for help to arrive? Why aren’t they taking our lives seriously?”

“Yeah, we didn’t bring any resources with us. Everyone is starving. We have been drinking unfiltered water. If help doesn’t arrive soon, we are going to starve to death, even if we aren’t eaten by the sea monsters!”

“Did the government give up on us?”

The people inside the bunker started panicking. They had persevered through the situation because they had hope, but there was no hope for them right now after all.

“Everyone, please stay calm and listen to me!” Captain Ma Yong stood on a higher spot and shouted.

Fear and panic were contagious in an enclosed space with over ten thousand people. It was not easy to pacify them.

However, Ma Yong stubbornly repeated the same words even though his voice was drowned out by the noises. He kept shouting to calm the people down.

His voice started to go hoarse, but his shouts were effective, and the people eventually calmed down. Even though they were desperate and crying, they tried their best to lower their voices.

“My friends, it’s too early to give up now. The government hasn’t given up on us. Think about it, the people of other towns were all eaten by the sea monsters, but we are still alive. It’s a blessing from the Heavens, so that is all the more the reason for us to stay calm and figure out a way to leave this place in one piece. We should cooperate with the people who came here to save us!” Ma Yong said.

“Captain Ma, you have done a lot for us. Without you and your men…” The people were ashamed of themselves after seeing the captain’s willingness to fulfill his job to the end.

“At least we are safe for now. The sea monsters won’t find us here. The whole river is crawling with sea monsters, and the Pearl Institute is sacrificing itself to annihilate them. We should wait patiently. We can leave once the sea monsters are dealt with,” Ma Yong went on.

“It’s true, Senior Mo Fan here is a Super Mage! He and Senior Sister Ding killed a Ruler-level sea monster recently. The dead bodies of the sea monsters are piled up at the river bay! Just give us more time, and we’ll make sure you leave here safely!” the student exclaimed.

The rest of the City Hunters looked at Mo Fan curiously. The man was equivalent to an army if he was capable of killing a Ruler-level sea monster!

“We have a Super Mage with us!”

“A Super Mage who can kill thousands of sea monsters…”

“That’s such a relief.”

The people immediately calmed down. Was there anything more comforting than knowing there was a Super Mage with them?

“Everyone, there’s no need to be nervous. This bunker is extremely safe. The sea monsters will never find you. As a matter of fact, even if the government sent an army to rescue you, the sea monsters are hiding around this area. The army would only attract the attention of more sea monsters, resulting in huge casualties. The army won’t guarantee everyone’s safety, so the best option for you is to stay here and wait until the sea monsters are exterminated. You will all be able to leave here safely,” Mo Fan told them.

The words of a Super Mage were extremely reliable. The people stopped complaining. They knew how well-hidden the bunker was.

No one was willing to face the brutal sea monsters. They were satisfied with staying in the safe bunker!

Captain Ma Yong and his men had a discussion with Mo Fan after they calmed the people down.

“Our greatest worry is the shortage of food. Otherwise, we are fine by ourselves,” Ma Yong said.

“That should be easy to solve,” Mo Fan said.

“The air vent is too small, and we can’t open the door. I’m afraid it’s going to be difficult to bring in enough food to feed ten thousand people,” Ma Yong frowned.

“Don’t worry, that’s easy to solve, too!”

——

Mo Fan and the student returned to the woods after leaving the bunker.

They roughly explained the situation to the others. Wei Rong looked relieved. He immediately contacted the Hunter Union to request food supplies.

“It’s good to hear so many people are still alive,” Ding Yumian smiled.

She knew how miraculous it was for an entire town to survive in their current situation, especially after seeing the river littered with corpses.

Mo Fan continued to meditate as he waited.

It was important to save up energy. He had to recover his energy and wipe out every sea monster in the river. Mo Fan could not afford to waste a single second.

Mo Fan was startled by Wei Rong’s angry voice.

“Unacceptable, that Elder Yao didn’t show up to kill the sea monsters. He was late to save the people, and when I asked them to send us some food, he rejected it because he claimed they would be feeding the sea monsters instead!” Wei Rong cursed loudly.

He had never met anyone worse than the elder of the Hunter Union, who acted like such a scumbag when the people of China were in a pinch.

“We don’t have enough people to transport the food. How are we going to gather enough food for the bunker in a limited time?” the student with the Shadow Element, named Zhang Zhuo, spoke up angrily.

Mo Fan opened his eyes and asked Wei Rong for the reason why the Hunter Union was reluctant to help.

“A group of Deep Sea Bass Demons have occupied a sector of the river. The Hunters do not dare cross paths with them,” Wei Rong informed him.

“Oh, Deep Sea Bass Monsters? So they are the same as normal bass?” Mo Fan asked him.

“More or less, but their average length is roughly seven meters, and their scales are as thick as armor. They are like heavy trucks at full speed when they are swimming in the water. Nothing can stop them,” Wei Rong said.

“Perfect… it’s time to treat the people to a buffet!” Mo Fan seemed to have an idea.

The others did not understand what he meant.

They had no way of transporting enough food to feed ten thousand people.. It was difficult just to satisfy their hunger. How were they going to prepare a buffet for the people in the bunker?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ding Yumian, Wei Rong, and Zhang Zhuo were confused. Mo Fan only told them he would be back in a while.

The others had no choice but to wait for him in the woods.

Ding Yumian and Wei Rong wanted to check out the people, and headed into the bunker.

They were sea monsters roaming in the area. They decisively took out all of the sea monsters in the town, preventing them from finding the bunker.

The sea monsters had to have a special way of summoning others of their kind. If a little sea monster somehow found the bunker and discovered the humans hiding in it, it would call a huge number of sea monsters over to feed on them!

As a safety precaution, they thus decided to take out every sea monster in the area!

——

Mo Fan finally returned after two hours.

Zhang Zhuo was waiting in the woods. He noticed Mo Fan did not return empty-handedly; he was dragging some huge fishing boats behind him!

When Mo Fan came closer, Zhang Zhuo realized they were not fishing boats, but huge sea monsters tied in a line.

Swallowing Sea Bass Demons!

Zhang Zhuo and the student representative were dumbfounded.

How insane was Mo Fan? These Swallowing Bass Beasts were Great Commander-level creatures among the sea monsters, but they were tied up like grass carp as they were being dragged through the water.

It was like an old man had returned in the evening with his catch of fish tied around his waist!

“You there, go get a few sacks of seasonings from the city,” Mo Fan pointed at the student representative.

“What do you need seasonings for?”

“Are you really asking that? Haven’t you had grilled fish before?”

Grill fish?

Grill the Swallowing Sea Bass?

Those were powerful and brutal Commander-level sea monsters that would eat every living creature they saw, not the usual grilled fish at a supper stall!

“Senior, are we going to eat sea monsters?” Zhang Zhuo asked him uncertainly.

“Is there a problem with that? I’ve tried them in Japan. You just need to get rid of its scales and skin. These sea monsters from the deep sea have delicious flesh! There’s even a Sea Monster Seafood Street in Japan. They will buy fresh sea monsters for good money!” Mo Fan replied energetically.

Little Flame Belle had already flown out of her Contracted Space as they were talking.

Little Flame Belle was excited when she heard Mo Fan was going to grill something. She reached out her little hands and spat two sparkles on them, rubbing them together like she was about to fight a great battle, but she looked adorable instead!

“Be patient, I’ll remove the scales and skin first. I have to clean their insides, too,” Mo Fan told her.

“Senior, I’m not really good at this,” Zhang Zhuo said hesitantly.

“It’s fine, I can do it, just organize the Swallowing Sea Bass at the back. I think there are about ten of them. I hope they are enough to feed everyone,” Mo Fan answered.

Mo Fan went to the first Swallowing Sea Bass and waved his hand. Spinning blades appeared in the air.

He controlled the spinning blades perfectly. He was once unable to control them so precisely, but he was now a Super Space Mage. It was not difficult for him to use the Space Element for his knife!

Mo Fan was controlling hundreds of Space Blades at the same time. A Swallowing Bass Beast around the size of a truck could be skinned and scaled in just a few minutes. Even its insides were gutted and cleaned away.

Zhang Zhuo’s secondary Element happened to be the Water Element. Mo Fan asked him to clean the Swallowing Sea Bass.

“Little Flame Belle, let’s begin. Make sure they are well done!” Mo Fan told his chef.

“Ling!” Little Flame Belle was overjoyed. She set up an illusionary stove and tossed the first Swallowing Sea Bass onto it.

It did not matter how thick the flesh was. The Heavenly Flames were still able to cook it!

“The fire is too big. Don’t burn it.”

“Ling!”

“Little Flame Belle, use a smaller fire so it’s crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.”

“Ling!”

Zhang Zhuo was cleaning the Swallowing Sea Bass on the other side. He was lost for words to describe the special pair.

Everyone was nervous due to the dire circumstances. How could a scene like an old father teaching his daughter how to grill fish even happen here?

A pleasant smell was lingering in the air. The first Swallowing Sea Bass was already golden. Mo Fan was preparing the other Swallowing Sea Bass with his air blades as he was seasoning them.

Mo Fan had always stored some seasonings inside his Space Bracelet. As a foodie, he would feel more insecure having no salt, cooking oil, soy sauce, or vinegar than running out of energy while he was in the wild.

The seasonings and aroma would surely have attracted all the sea monsters within ten kilometers if Mo Fan had not set up a Barrier, too!

“Here, Zhang Zhuo, have a taste as your reward,” Mo Fan cut off a piece of the Swallowing Sea Bass’ flesh.

It was only a tiny piece of flesh from the Swallowing Sea Bass, but it was bigger than a man’s palm. A Swallowing Sea Bass was enough to feed a lot of people!

“Thank you, senior!” Zhang Zhuo was surprised that he got to have the first taste.

He was starving after fighting the sea monsters over a long period, but he did not have the appetite to eat after seeing many gory scenes.

However, the grilled Swallowing Bass Beast had such a nice aroma that Zhao Zhuo felt like he was about to drool.

Zhang Zhuo took a bite. His expression shifted instantly.

It was absolutely delicious!

Even if it was a little overcooked and lacked seasoning, the flesh was extremely tender. It was completely different from the cultivated seafood and normal catches, as expected of the flesh of a sea monster!

“It’s so delicious. I’ve never eaten anything like it!” Zhang Zhuo took a huge bite. His mouth was now covered in grease. He had an urge to pounce on the golden Swallowing Sea Bass and munch on it!

“Mm, do you feel sick or anything?” Mo Fan asked him.

“Sick? Do you mean does it taste fishy? Not really, it’s very fresh,” Zhang Zhuo said.

“No, not that. Many sea monsters have high-quality flesh, but their flesh is usually poisonous, helping prevent them from being eaten by other creatures. If you don’t feel sick, it should be fine for the others to eat them. Great, we’ve sorted out the food shortage!” Mo Fan nodded at him.

Zhang Zhuo almost dislocated his jaw.

Senior, you shouldn’t treat your junior like that!

Zhang Zhuo almost burst into tears. He finally realized why Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle had not taken the first bites. They were worried it might be poisonous!

“Senior, how are we going to move them inside the bunker?” Zhang Zhuo asked.

“I’ve set up a teleport point inside the bunker. I’ll teleport them into the bunker!” Mo Fan replied casually.

“Then… I should work harder to clean the rest.. I wouldn’t want the people to starve!” Zhang Zhuo sighed.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Ding Yumian and Wei Rong had already gone into the bunker. They were relieved to see the people were safe and sound.

However, they soon noticed many of the elderly giving the young ones their shares of the dried food, leaving the elders dispirited and starving. They felt helpless and sorry for the people.

“I swear I’m going to make Elder Yao Xin pay for this. This is unacceptable!” Wei Rong snarled.

Everyone was enduring the hardships, waiting for help to arrive. They were trying their best to suppress their fear and despair, but the elder of the Hunter Union did not dare send food because he was too scared of dying!

“Sir, we should let other places know the situation here. Perhaps some people might be willing to help us,” Ding Yumian suggested.

Wei Rong let out a sigh. He realized that even if he were to confront Elder Yao Xin, he would never change the man’s selfish personality.

“Excuse me, please give me some space in the center!” Mo Fan’s voice appeared out of nowhere. It gave the people nearby a huge fright.

Mo Fan had suddenly appeared. Even if he were using the Shadow Element, the way he showed up out of nowhere was unbelievable.

The others looked at Mo Fan and noticed the ripples of the Space Element. He seemed to have Blinked into the bunker. No wonder he did not alert anyone!

“What is it for?” the woman with a ponytail asked.

“Don’t we need a place to put the food?” Mo Fan asked.

“Is there something to eat?!” a member of the Hunter Group exclaimed excitedly, his eyes glittering.

They were all starving!

Space Bracelets were extremely rare. They could not possibly afford to buy them with their wages. Mo Fan’s Space Bracelet did not have a huge capacity, either. The food he carried was only enough for himself.

“Mm, please move away from this area. Yes, a little more please. You over there, if you don’t move from that spot, you will be smacked to death by a tail… alright, that should do!”

Mo Fan told the people to clear a huge space before he suddenly snapped his fingers.

Pa!

Silver lights appeared in front of Mo Fan and drew special connected planes.

The silver planes eventually turned into an enclosed blurred area. Something huge was taking shape in it.

“Teleportation?” The people were astounded.

Wei Rong and Ding Yumian did not expect Mo Fan’s Space Element to be so powerful that he could teleport objects into the bunker.

A pleasant aroma was spreading through the air before the object even took shape. The people were excited.

They thought they were able to resist the urge, but they could not help but drool after smelling the pleasant aroma.

“It smells so good. Mother, someone is grilling food!”

“I’m so hungry…”

“It’s the smell of grilled fish!”

The people of Bing Town were restless. It was irresistible smelling something nice when they were all starving.

Wei Rong, Ding Yumian, Ma Yong, and the woman with a ponytail were stunned. They watched the open space being filled with a huge grilled fish with a strong aroma!

Is it a whale? How is it so big?

“Why does it look a little familiar?” Wei Rong stared at the fish carefully.

When he saw where the fish’s bones were, his eyes widened in disbelief!

Holy crap! Isn’t this a Swallowing Sea Bass?

Isn’t this the reason why the Hunter Union is afraid to transport food to us?

Why is it cooked?

Why is its outside crisp and its insides tender?

“Mo Fan, why…why did you cook a sea monster?” Wei Rong was so shocked that he was stammering.

“Don’t worry, its flesh is very tasty. Even the elderly can eat it. Zhang Zhuo already tried it. It’s not poisonous,” Mo Fan assured him.

“That’s not the problem… they…they are sea monsters!” Wei Rong yelled at him.

Ma Yong and the rest of the City Hunters looked at Mo Fan like he was a monster!

He was not human.

Most people did not even have time to run when they saw a sea monster.

However, this man had grilled a sea monster, and it even gave off such a nice aroma!

The people completely forgot how terrifying the sea monsters were. They only had a single thought now: eat the sea monster!

“Let’s not waste any time. Get everyone to line up and get their share of food!” Mo Fan just smiled.

“So this is the buffet you mentioned?”

“Mm, the people have had a hard time. They are understanding in such a grim situation, too. They deserve to have a seafood buffet,” Mo Fan grinned.

“That’s true…” Wei Rong agreed.

The people do deserve a treat, but aren’t you overdoing it?

What about the sea monsters’ dignity? You have grilled their brave warriors. Have you ever considered their feelings?

——

One of the perks of China was the people were rarely picky about what they ate, nor did they have a lot of taboos. They had gone through a lot of hardships to be satisfied with the food they had, unlike many foreigners.

Little Flame Belle’s grilling skills had rapidly improved, too.

The truck-sized Swallowing Sea Bass soon only had its bones left.

Even the bones were crispy. Some people who did not get to eat its flesh were hoping they could get the bones.

“That won’t be necessary. I have prepared more than one. It’s supposed to be a buffet! Everyone is going to be fed!” Mo Fan proclaimed.

Mo Fan snapped his fingers, signaling Little Flame Belle to serve the second Devouring Sea Bass. Hot air was still rising from its golden crispy surface. The City Hunters, Wei Rong, and Ding Yumian were still starving.

“Eat it, what are you all waiting for? There are still eight of them outside! If that isn’t enough, I can just hunt a few more of them. Just give me some time!” Mo Fan urged them.

The aroma of the grilled fish filled the bunker. The people were overjoyed to be able to enjoy great food in the enclosed environment. They were no longer afraid after they solved the problem of the food!

“Uh, sir, I can help with the seasoning. The quality of its flesh is great. We shouldn’t waste such a high-quality ingredient. I used to own a grilled fish shop. I may be able to improve its taste!” a middle-aged man volunteered to help.

“That’s great. I’m far from a professional. I’m not good at seasoning them!” Mo Fan nodded.

“Just send the grilled fish over and I’ll season them!” the man said.

“Sure!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

One after another, the Swallowing Sea Bass were moved into the bunker. With a reliable chef seasoning the Swallowing Sea Bass, the people quickly ate the sea monsters clean. Their skeletons were perfect, like specimens in a museum.

All ten Swallowing Sea Bass were eaten, and not just because the people in the bunker had finished them all to satisfy their hunger. Most of the people were so full they could not eat anything else.

The flesh of the Swallowing Sea Bass was of extremely high quality. After all, they were Commander-level creatures. Even a small piece of their meat was enough to supply an ordinary human enough energy, not to mention the Swallowing Sea Bass’ extraordinary size!

The meal was enough to satisfy the hunger of all of the people in the bunker. By the time they grew hungry again, the Mages would hopefully have thoroughly cleansed the river. The people were able to wait inside the bunker with peace of mind.

“Mr. Wei Rong, are the students of the Pearl Institute always so resourceful?” Ma Yong asked after a loud burp.

“Not all of them. This young man is just… a little special,” Wei Rong admitted carefully.

Everyone in the Pearl Institute knew who Mo Fan was. He was the young man who had challenged everyone when he first enrolled in the school and forcibly claimed the resources allocated to the new students of his batch.

When he moved to the Fire School at the main campus, he had even challenged two hundred students of the Fire School with high profiles!

He had made a name for the Pearl Institute by defeating the great talents of other countries in the World College Tournament and made his country proud, albeit he got himself into a lot of trouble.

Wei Rong had not heard a lot about Mo Fan since the World College Tournament. Either he had kept a low profile, or everything he was involved in was kept confidential. He was walking a different path than other Mages!

If only the Pearl Institute had more students like him…

Mo Fan had been able to use his unreasonable strength to protect them from the strong waves of calamity, while everyone else was at a loss. He could think of a way outside the box when the people grew uneasy. He had hunted sea monsters and grilled them to feed the refugees in the bunker. He had thoroughly displayed the unyielding spirit of the Chinese in tough situations!

——

Mo Fan rested in the bunker after he was done eating. Zhao Manyan called him after he had almost recovered his energy.

“The entrance of the river has been sealed off. No sea monsters are going to sneak in again,” Zhao Manyan informed him.

Mo Fan soon received some news from Mu Bai, too. He had worked with Apas and the Royal Striped Grey Wolf to kill off the powerful sea monsters in the Dianshan Lake.

There should not be any Ruler-level creatures left in the Huangpu River. The remaining sea monsters were just sheets of loose sand. That should be enough to return peace to the shorelines.

Mo Fan relayed the information to Ma Yong, who immediately informed the residents of Bing Town.

They all cheered happily. They could leave the bunker soon!

Mo Fan continued with the purge after he had rested up. The Organ Crystals, Soul Remnants, and Soul Essences of the sea monsters were quite valuable.

Ding Yumian gave Mo Fan with her full assistance. Mo Fan no longer had to go wandering around in circles chasing the sea monsters with a powerful Psychic Mage helping him. He could just kill the sea monsters wherever he went!

——

The slaughter continued for two days and two nights. Mo Fan’s energy was depleted again.

If someone had the Blessing Element, he would have been able to recover his energy quickly and continue on with the purge. However, the Blessing Element was exclusive to the Parthenon Temple.

“Senior Mo Fan, Senior Ding, you should go back and get some rest. Leave it to us!” Zhang Zhuo told them. “We now have at least thirty people in our group. We can run away if we are no match for the Commander-level sea monsters. Most of the bigger sea monsters are dead. Only Warrior-level sea monsters are left!”

Mo Fan nodded. His energy was already spent, so it was meaningless for him to stay there. He had to recover his energy again if he wanted to help.

——

Mo Fan realized he was sleeping on the rug by his couch after he woke up.

He somehow picked up a pleasant smell. He immediately saw someone’s disheveled hair and the side of a fast-asleep face, which made his heart race.

Mo Fan still had a splitting headache as a consequence of using all his energy. He shook his head, trying to recall what had happened, when the door suddenly swung open.

A pair of spectacular E-cup breasts entered the room, followed by an adorable face.

The woman dropped the takoyaki in her hands. She was holding a pair of disposable chopsticks and carrying several bags in her arms. She stared at Mo Fan and Ding Yumian, who were lying beside the couch in disbelief.

“Can’t…can’t you two do it in the room? The living room isn’t where you are allowed to do your filthy acts!” Ai Tutu snarled.

—

Mo Fan finally recalled what happened after his mind cleared.

Ding Yumian fainted on their way back from exhaustion. She must have never used so much of her energy before, and was deeply asleep.

Mo Fan had no clue where she lived. He had no choice but to bring her back to his place after returning to the Pearl Institute.

Mo Fan had also felt light-headed as soon as he reached home.

He was suffering the side effects of energy depletion, and could not withstand the urge to sleep. He had ended up fainting, too. What a pity, he initially thought he could have done something with the girl.

1

—

Ai Tutu was the kind who could not keep any secrets. Rumors soon spread through the school.

Many people also saw Mo Fan and Ding Yumian working closely together during the battle with the sea monsters, resulting in rumors that the demon king had successfully taken two goddesses of the school as his mistresses!

Mo Fan was lost for words to explain himself. Why did he bear the bad reputation, even though he had yet to do anything to either of them?

Mo Fan had a feeling the reputation he had earned through his recent contributions was completely ruined.

However, there were many people who were supporting Mo Fan on the forum.

“Why are you all being jealous if he’s capable of keeping the goddesses as his mistresses? I’ll be honest, if Mo Fan is willing, I can be his fifth, sixth, or seventh concubine!” someone commented.

Mo Fan was surfing the forum while he was resting. He immediately clicked on the person’s profile after seeing the comment.

Mo Fan immediately felt refreshed after seeing the person’s profile picture. He had never seen such a tanned otonoko before, not to mention the extremely red lipstick the man had put on.

He should be relieved that Mo Fan did not assume he was a sea monster, let alone take him as a concubine!

“Stop trying to get other people’s attention. Our demon king is a man with high standards. I even took the initiative to ask if he was willing to take me as his mistress, but he told me in person that he’s already a man with a family and lovers, that I’m not worthy of him,” a woman called Lu Qingyao commented.

Lu Qingyao’s comment soon attracted plenty of replies.

“I want to be a man with a family and lovers too!

“+1, I want to be a man with a family and lovers!”

“…”

Mo Fan’s expression darkened.

That b**ch Lu Qingyao was trying to set him up! Was she still holding a grudge against him because he had not accepted her?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Humans were a very strange species.

Mo Fan had contributed greatly towards purging the sea monsters in the Huangpu River. Some of his juniors even combined the recordings into a clip and posted it on the Internet to showcase Mo Fan’s outstanding feats.

He had massacred the sea monsters with overwhelming strength. He had even fainted after his energy was depleted.

But in the end, the people were more concerned about Ding Yumian becoming Mo Fan’s mistress.

An anonymous guy claimed he knew a lot of insider news. He even put down a list of women who had ties with Mo Fan, and uploaded their photos too.

“Holy, every woman is a different ../style, but they are all natural beauties! Normally, a man would struggle to make a choice between them, but our demon king Mo Fan is no ordinary man. He chose to have them all. It’s the difference between ordinary people like us and a god like him!”

“It sounds like the editor is very familiar with the demon king. He or she even has pictures of the demon king in other countries. Mo Fan has over half a dozen mistresses. It happens to be the same as the number of his Elements. Does it mean he always finds a new woman every time he Awakens a new Element? That means he has to become a Forbidden Mage to have another breakthrough! Keep it up!”

“God Mo, you are the role model of all men!”

The anonymous man put Mo Fan in an even worse spot after Lu Qingyao’s comment, listing out seven women in total.

Mo Fan’s head was spinning. Shouldn’t people worry about the serious matters at hand? Why were they focusing on his personal life instead?

Most importantly, it was just some ambiguous rumors. It was not like every woman he worked with was his concubine!

Besides, which asshole exactly was the anonymous guy? How did he have photos of him at the Alps Institute?

“F**k, it must be Zhao Manyan, that son of a b**ch!”

Zhao Manyan was a playboy, but he was defaming Mo Fan so people would think Mo Fan was a playboy, too! How wicked!

—

It took a long time for someone’s magic to fully recover. After the new recording devices had been invented, Mo Fan was able to learn the latest information while he stayed at home.

Most of the sea monsters were considered new species, as humans had rarely come across them. They needed a lot of information to understand the sea monsters’ traits, levels, attacks, and fighting ../styles.

Mo Fan felt like the world was a lot quieter after filtering out the rumors about him.

A piercing screech came from the recording Mo Fan was watching.

Even though Mo Fan’s phone’s screen was very tiny, he could still see the terrifying waves reaching above the clouds.

A skeleton king made of water stood amid the waves. Only half of its body was showing in the recording.

The person recording the clip had stayed a great distance away, So it was difficult to see the Sea Skeleton King’s face clearly.

“That thing must be at least at the same level as the Black Totem Snake and Baxia. The alliance of Super Mages of the Magic City has failed with multiple attempts to kill it,” Mo Fan murmured to himself.

The Sea Skeleton King suddenly threw a punch in the recorder’s direction. A giant fist of water flew at the screen.

Its outstanding speed and power made it feel like the fist was coming out of the screen. Mo Fan almost dropped his phone in shock. “He’s broadcasting with his life!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Chief Hua Zhanhong had asked him to find clues of the next Totem Beast through the Sea Skeleton King, but Mo Fan had only learned about how formidable the creature was after watching many clips of the Sea Skeleton King. He did not notice anything related to the Totem Beasts.

“Perhaps I should ask Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu for help, since they are the professionals,” Mo Fan muttered.

Mo Fan picked up his phone and went to the balcony.

Mo Fan could see the dark sky to the southeast from his balcony. The horizon was dyed with a special red mist.

The clouds were moving strangely. He wondered which sea monster was responsible for it this time.

He could hear loud winds howling occasionally, blowing at the tall buildings in the city that were shrouded by the mist. It felt like everyone’s heart was covered by a gloomy fog.

On one side was the developed city, and on the other was the cold sea, crawling with sea monsters like it was the Apocalypse.

The calm and peaceful era had ended. Humans were enduring a difficult time. It was cold and dark, but they had no choice but to coexist with it.

Everyone was granted a heart to change the world when they were young, but the world would never change because of anyone. It would continue to advance in broken pieces and be healed. No living creature could truly make a difference.

Living things could only adapt to the environment. When the world was peaceful, humans’ quality of life improved. When it fell into ruins, they could only try their best to survive.

The world had started breaking into pieces.

It was like a trial. Those who failed were disqualified forever!

On one side, the world was collapsing. On the other side was a modern city. Even though the city might fall into a deep abyss at any second, the people still continued on with their lives.

The crayfish shops were still open, and so were the nightclubs. The price of real estate continued to rise. The approaching crisis did not stop the couples who could not afford to get a room to enjoy themselves out in the woods.

People had their unique ways of handling crises.

His phone call was not picked up for some time. Mo Fan’s thoughts were drifting away.

“Assh***, you finally remembered to call me!” an alluring voice suddenly shouted from the other side.

Someone had finally picked up the call, but Jiang Shaoxu’s words immediately made Mo Fan’s heart race.

Why did it sound like he finally had time to do something naughty with his concubine?

“We have a new mission, but the target is a little challenging,” Mo Fan coughed awkwardly.

“We have some new discoveries too, but I think it’s not the same as yours. That’s great, we have discovered clues about two new Totem Beasts. Let’s see which one we should pursue first. By the way, what’s our target?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“The Sea Skeleton King that is stirring up troubles in Pudong,” Mo Fan told her.

“That exciting?” Jiang Shaoxu’s tone changed.

“Mm, I’m still estimating its strength, but Hangzhou isn’t safe, either. Otherwise, I could have asked the Black Totem Snake for some help,” Mo Fan admitted.

“Don’t even think about it. He’s very busy right now. Apparently, a new poisonous species has shown up that is not afraid of the Black Totem Snake’s Poison Mist Domain. The sea monsters are trying to take over West Lake and turn it into an outpost,” Jiang Shaoxu informed him.

“Fine, you and Lingling should look into which Totem Beast the Sea Skeleton King is related to so we can come up with a plan,” Mo Fan said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan continued to watch the clips. He soon realized that the things he could learn from them were fairly limited.

He needed more time to recover his energy, but he could still study the Sea Skeleton King from far away without being involved in a fight. It would be more effective than surfing clips on Tiktok at home.

He left his apartment and headed out to meet up with Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu.

Zhao Manyan was injured while he was stopping more sea monsters from entering the Huangpu River. He would have to rest for a while.

Clips of Zhao Manyan’s brave actions were spreading among the students now. The jerk had managed to grab a lot of attention. Countless girls were smitten with him.

The more Mo Fan thought about it, the stronger he believed Zhao Manyan was the writer of the post about him. Once he defamed Mo Fan, he would be able to lay his hands on the beautiful juniors of the Pearl Institute as he pleased!

“Mu Bai isn’t coming either?” Jiang Shaoxu asked him, concerned.

“He’s one of the leaders of the South Wing Platoon. He’s currently busy going to different places helping the people. It’s better being a free man. I can rest when I want and help when I feel like it without any burden,” Mo Fan replied glibly.

Since he had not joined any organizations, he could just take some time off when he wanted, without being restricted by duty or obligations.

“When are you going earn the title of Senior Hunter? Otherwise, it will be hard for us to obtain the insider information we need!” Lingling berated him.

“Great idea, assuming the Magic City’s Hunter Union is still standing!” Mo Fan answered.

—

The battlefield and the city were only a dam apart. Streets full of pedestrians were located right below the dam.

It was not like the city was not evacuating the people to safety, but not many places were truly safe at the moment. Humanity’s safe zones had shrunk significantly. The cities were the safest places left!

Once the cities fell, they would find monster dens everywhere they went.

The dam was heavily guarded by soldiers. The Mages had lined up like a wall slightly higher than the dam. The Magic Barrier’s arc of protection ended just a little in front of the dam. It did not waste the slightest amount of space.

Flying creatures were occasionally spotted roving between the clouds and the sea. Most of them were creatures like vultures, who did not involve themselves in fights directly. They had their eyes fixed on the dead and the dying creatures, both humans and sea monsters.

The residents of the Magic City staying on higher floors could easily watch the battlefield. It was likely the successful people who liked to stay above everyone would be enjoying the scenic view with a glass of red wine in their hands.

“Have you fully recovered?” Jiang Shaoxu asked curiously.

“We are just taking a look on the outskirts. We aren’t going into it,” Mo Fan reminded. He was as useless without energy as any other mage.

“It won’t feel great just watching without getting into the action,” Jiang Shaoxu complained.

Lingling rolled her eyes at the two shameless people and shunned, “There’s still an underage here!”

“Lingling, you know too much.”

“The young girls are like this nowadays. They know a lot of stuff at a young age, unlike me. I still thought holding hands would make me pregnant when I was around the age of fifteen,” Jiang Shaoxu remarked.

“…”

Lingling activated the proper mode of ignoring everything around her, putting on an expressionless face. Whether the person was a human or a dog, she would just treat them like crying crows.

They left the Barrier and crossed the dam. A strong smell of blood promptly assailed their noses.

Mo Fan had long gotten used to the smell, but Jiang Shaoxu was irritated by the odor. Meanwhile, Lingling, who was brave enough to dissect any creature’s corpse, was walking calmly down the street.

“You guys are pretty bold. Do you really want to keep going that way?” a Battlemage asked them.

They were from the Magic Association, and had just retreated from the front line. They were sitting on the balcony of a damaged building instead of resting back in the city.

There were many buildings in the area. The balconies of the buildings were the main platforms the Mages used to move around after the area was submerged. Summoned vines had been tied between the buildings to use as bridges.

As for places without many buildings, wood and stone was piled up for the Mages to walk on.

Many Mages were non-swimmers, so they needed places to stand, similar to the maritime battlefields in Japan.

The trio followed the bridges as they headed toward the sea. Almost every platform and tower was stationed with Mages. They were either awaiting orders or resting. Most of them were treating injuries.

Those who were covered by blankets or clothes and lying still on the ground were most likely people who had sacrificed their lives.

The fighting was intense. The force exerted by the Sea Skeleton King when it swung its arms around casually could easily destroy the body of any Intermediate or Advanced Mages. The Basic Mages had to stick close together, or they were going to die crazily fast.

“Hey, you three, if you go further, you will be entering the battlefield where the Sea Skeleton King is. You shouldn’t be here just to get some attention on the Internet. You won’t even know how you died!” a seemingly strict Mage of the Magic Association warned them.

The man had thick brows. His frown gave him the appearance of an unreasonable fellow.

“We are Mages too. We only came to learn more about the situation. Don’t worry, if anything happens, we will run quicker than anyone here!” Mo Fan called back.

“What an idiot!” the man snarled with a strong bias.

As the group went further ahead, they stumbled into ever more soldiers.

The military was holding the front line. The other organizations were mainly playing a support role, providing the army with backup.

—

“Brother Fan, over here!…” Zhang Xiaohou yelled when he saw them approaching.

Many platforms and bridges had been connected to a wasteland battlefield made up of concrete, cars, and debris.

The place was spacious, looking like a huge junkyard from afar. Sturdy objects were compressed and piled up to form a battlefield that could withstand the strong waves coming from the sea.

The place had become the military’s main camp. Tents had even been set up on top of the area.

“Are you involved in the battle, too?” Mo Fan exclaimed in surprise.

Zhang Xiaohou shook his head and said, “I’m currently on standby. I didn’t receive any orders from my superiors, but I’m not allowed to go anywhere on my own, either.”

“Just in time, then! Tell us about the situation…” Mo Fan grinned.

Zhang Xiaohou looked at the clouds and replied with a wry smile, “I don’t think that’s necessary. You will soon be able to see it yourself!”

Mo Fan followed his gaze and noticed some unusual movement in the waters ahead.

The waves were moving wildly, but they were not splashing and rolling. It looked more like a formidable existence was grabbing the waves and swinging them around!

The sea was free from the restraints of gravity. It was a thrilling sight!

Chapter 2502: The Lord of the Sea Shakes the Ocean

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Wasteland Battlefield was falling into the sea as the platforms and bridges collapsed into the water.

Strong waves swept across the place with deafening roars. The water was pouring down like a storm, the strong winds blowing the heavy stones and material into the air. The Battlemages had to stick together and set up huge Barriers with their defensive spells to stand their ground.

Mo Fan, Lingling, and Jiang Shaoxu were watching far away from the battlefield. The Battlemages had pretty much formed a sturdy wall in front of them, but they could still sense how terrifying the storm was.

For a moment, Mo Fan thought the Sea Skeleton King was right under the Wasteland Battlefield. He had assumed it was less than a kilometer away.

However, he realized the creature was actually still far away as it rose from the water, but its Aura was already causing massive destruction.

He had only seen recordings and images of the Sea Skeleton King, but he could hear its roar and feel the trembling of the sea and the sky now. The Aura alone had even blasted some of the Battlemages with weaker defenses into pieces!

It seemed like he had to reevaluate the Sea Skeleton King’s strength. It was definitely stronger than the Disaster Duo he had encountered in Xiamen!

The creature was extremely dangerous. The Sea Skeleton King would easily kill him if there were no powerful Mages around to share the burden.

Mo Fan was struggling to calm down right now.

The Sea Skeleton King was easily the strongest sea monster he had encountered so far. The fact explained why no one in the Magic City had managed to defeat it so far. It was like the king of the apocalypse, ruling over every living creature. It could trample a human city to dust by itself!

“Why do I feel like Chief Hua is setting us up? I’m afraid only Forbidden Mages would stand a chance against it,” Mo Fan muttered.

Jiang Shaoxu nodded in agreement with him.

There were different levels of strength between Ruler-level creatures. The Ruler-level creatures they had fought so far were only Lesser Rulers. Some of them were even Inferior Rulers, and Mo Fan had not had any trouble taking them on. However, after seeing how massive the Sea Skeleton King was, Mo Fan was starting to doubt if the Creator had granted the sea monsters too much physical strength and power, while He had only given humans a little extra intelligence.

The difference in strength between the sea monsters and humans was too great. The wall that the Battlemages had established was taken down in an instant, countless Battlemages dying as it fell.

“Almost half of the Mages from the sphere of the Dongfang Oriental Tower came here, but they still could not fend off the Sea Skeleton King,” Zhang Xiaohou said sadly.

The membership of the Dongfang Oriental Tower was mainly made up of Advanced and Super Mages. They were working together with the military to kill the Supreme Ruler, but it did not seem to be effective.

Mo Fan was feeling helpless now. The sea monsters that invaded the Huangpu River were only weaklings. The Sea Skeleton King was the real deal!

The Sea Skeleton King was forcing its way forward.

Every step it took would cause the destructive Aura to grow stronger. More people were dying suddenly to the Aura, their blood washed away by the fierce waves.

The pressure kept growing. Mo Fan was already feeling uncomfortable, even though he was already a Super Mage. He felt sorry for the Battlemages who were clenching their teeth and holding their ground.

They were not using their magic to fend off the Sea Skeleton King. They were using their bodies instead!

“That thing is playing with us like a fiddle. We can’t ignore it any longer!” a general yelled furiously.

Was holding their position really going to stop the Sea Skeleton King’s advance? Why weren’t they going after it? Were they going to watch the lower-level Mages die one by one?

“General, if we gather the rest of the generals and the High Seaters of the Dongfang Oriental Tower, we should be able to inflict serious injuries on it, even if we can’t kill it!” the commander shouted.

The people who were talking were in charge of the Wasteland Battlefield. Their eyes were reddened with anger at the Sea Skeleton King.

“Just kill it! If we keep probing it, more of our men are going to die while the Sea Skeleton King remains unharmed!” the general said.

“We better wait for Chief Hua’s orders.”

“Chief Hua is currently busy fending off the sea monsters in the South China Sea. He doesn’t know what’s going on here. We can’t be too passive in a battle. Sometimes, attacking is the best solution!” the general countered.

The commanding officer seemed a little hesitant.

Chief Hua did order them to stand their ground, but the officer also had the right to act according to the situation at hand.

They were familiar with the Sea Skeleton King’s abilities after probing it for the past few days. They had also estimated how many Super Mages they might need to kill the Sea Skeleton King.

It was time to proceed with the plan. Everyone was on standby. If the Sea Skeleton King continued to push forward greedily, they would launch the operation to eliminate the creature.

“Let’s wait a little longer until it steps into the Formation of Heaven-Rupturing Swords to make sure we can inflict serious injuries on it,” the commander ordered.

“But what about my men…”

“Just wait!” the commander insisted.

The general took a deep breath and swallowed his words.

—

The pale-faced commander signaled everyone to prepare for battle.

Zhang Xiaohou was going to join the others, but the commander glared at him coldly, not saying a word. Zhang Xiaohou had no choice but to step back.

Mo Fan took a quick glance and discovered many powerful Mages had gathered on the Wasteland Battlefield. He could also see the Top Seaters from the Dongfang Oriental Tower gathering on the other side.

They were all Super Mages! They were here to kill the Sea Skeleton King!

They had waited for so long while probing the Sea Skeleton King’s strength. They were going to strike after they had evaluated the Sea Skeleton King’s strength.

They could not afford to fight the strong sea monster without evaluating its strength first.

Every Super Mage was a precious asset. If they made a mistake evaluating their enemy’s strength, they might end up losing many Super Mages.

If they lost too many Super Mages, they would find it difficult to fend off other Ruler-level creatures that were as strong as the Sea Skeleton King, or some other creatures with special abilities similar to the Black Totem Snake’s poisonous mist.

Holding the enemy back, resisting the enemy, driving the enemy away, and killing the enemy were four very different things

The firepower required to fend off the enemy was lower, as they could just rely on magic Barriers and Formations to suppress the enemy.

They had to have at least the same strength as an enemy to resist it.

Driving the enemy away meant they had to be stronger than the enemy!

As for killing the enemy, they needed even more people to overpower the enemy completely. They also had to come up with a flawless plan to prevent the enemy from escaping!

The Sea Skeleton King was made of water. If they did not figure out its traits and abilities, sending too many powerful Mages to hunt it would only alert it, yet if they focused too much manpower on taking down the Sea Skeleton King, the sea monsters might be able to break through their defenses elsewhere!

Chapter 2503: Killing the Sea Skeleton King

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Is the army planning to kill it?” Mo Fan asked his lifelong buddy.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded, “Yes! I want to take part in it, but the army has already finalized the list of people taking part in the operation. The military has to preserve its strength in case of an emergency, so I have to be on standby here.”

“The personnel on standby are a part of the operation too. An operation doesn’t include just those taking part in it; it also needs others to stand guard. Otherwise, if the operation fails, the whole city will be exposed to the sea monsters!” Jiang Shaoxu had a military background. She was familiar with the planning of military operations.

People like Zhang Xiaohou who were on standby were not included in the operation because they had other obligations to fulfill!

The military had considered everything. A city with a population of over ten million people was behind them. They could not afford to stake everything on one throw of the dice!

—

Roars echoed across the sky like heavenly drums. The Sea Skeleton King was on the move.

It seemed to be familiar with the humans’ defenses, but it simply ignored them.

It reached the waters that were glowing golden. The clouds in the sky suddenly turned golden, too.

Shocking cracks spread from the clouds, followed by a sacred sword diving down from them. Its light spread several kilometers away, like the space was cracking apart.

Heaven-Rupturing Sword!

It was the third-tier Super Spell of the Light Element. It was rumored that it could take out Ruler-level creatures with a single blow.

Mo Fan immediately looked around. He wanted to know which Super Mage was Casting the spell.

He soon discovered a group of Mages emanating the same golden light. They were dressed in golden robes bearing the badges of the Dongfang Oriental Tower. They were obviously the leaders of the Magic City!

It was a whole group of them, instead of just one!

Their golden robes were glowing brightly. It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing the powerful Mages of the Oriental Pearl Tower working together. They were like a golden symbol of the Magic City!

The Sea Skeleton King had obviously anticipated the attack. Its body drifted backward, together with the falling tide.

However, the Heaven-Rupturing Sword had locked on to its target. It tilted slightly and pointed directly at the Sea Skeleton King.

The level of the spell was extremely close to the limit of human Mages. The people watching were relieved as the light of the sword fell down upon them. Humanity had the power to fight for their survival!

The Sea Skeleton King did not dodge the sword. The scorching light spread across its body, reaching from its head to its legs. It bellowed in pain.

The roar had awakened its power too. The water around it quickly gathered to repair its body as it was breaking apart.

The water was its life!

The shallow sea had almost been dried up by the Light Magic. The submerged Pudong District had almost reclaimed its initial appearance, but the Sea Skeleton King had still drawn water from the sea to repair its broken body.

“Seal off the water!” the aged commander yelled.

A group of Mages in golden-blue robes moved forward. They were scattered across the sea instead of being in a Formation. Every one of them was using their magic to control the water that was flowing into the Sea Skeleton King.

The Mages were obviously testing the Sea Skeleton King’s ability to repair itself with the seawater. They did not want to give the Sea Skeleton King a chance to recover!

“It’s up to the Water Mages as to whether we can kill the Sea Skeleton King or not,” Zhang Xiaohou told him.

“So many Super Mages!…” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mo Fan had met many Super Mages, because he was now a Super Mage himself. The incidents he was involved in and the places he had visited had many Super Mages.

However, he had not met many Super Mages before he reached the Super Level. They were all boss-level Mages who rarely showed themselves.

It was even rarer to see the Super Mages in groups. Something like that would only happen when their homes were in danger.

It was exciting to see so many powerful Mages joining hands to take on the enemy!

People were working together to fend off a powerful enemy. It was the greatest rule of survival for mankind!

“Advanced Platoons!”

The commander waved a flag in the air. It lit up the surroundings like a scorching flame.

Platoons numbering hundreds of people each gathered together quickly. Mo Fan did not notice them until he saw the Star Constellations flaring up across the place!

They were all Advanced Mages!

The division was split into over twenty platoons, using a fan-shaped Formation. The light of the Star Constellations was so unprecedentedly dense that it felt like a galaxy had spread across the sea and was shining down upon the Pudong Sea.

The light of the Star Constellations was only the beginning. The real destruction would only occur after the Star Constellations were fully constructed!

If the Star Constellations were stacking up like a galaxy, the combination of Plummeting Rays, Sky-Flame Funerals, Icebound Coffins, and Wind Wing Slashes would symbolize the collapse of the galaxy.

Howls, screeches, blasts, and energy waves surged across the place.

Using Group Spells at the Advanced Level was a whole new level compared to the Intermediate Level. Nothing could possibly withstand the destruction, except for the boundless sky and sea.

The seawater for a dozen kilometers evaporated while the sky was filled with destructive clouds. The Sea Skeleton King’s body parts were crumbling amid the spells.

It opened its mouth and shrieked in fury.

Cloudy mists gathered out of nowhere and circled its body like shields, constantly repairing themselves after they were broken.

The Advanced Spells poured down continuously on the Sea Skeleton King. However, the creature boldly jumped directly into the rain of Advanced Spells.

Knocks, punches, slams…

The Sea Skeleton King was like an unstoppable deity enduring a rain of bullets, shattering countless Advanced Spells.

It had no intention of backing away. It charged straight at a platoon of Advanced Mages.

Blood sprayed in the area where the Star Constellations were. The feet of the Sea Skeleton King were dyed red.

Even though Mo Fan was far away, he knew the platoon of Advanced Mages had been wiped out!

A platoon with over a hundred Advanced Mages, all killed by a single stomp!

“Advanced Platoons, fall back!”

“Generals, prepare for battle!”

The commander threw another flag into the sky. Everyone could see the special flag amid the chaos.

The generals were finally on the move.

It was extremely dangerous to fight the Sea Skeleton King head-on. Even the generals might be the next ones to sacrifice their lives!

However, they did not have a choice. They had to pay the price to take down a powerful creature.

The Sea Skeleton King would be able to go everywhere it pleased if no one was willing to step forward!

Chapter 2504: Tsunami of Bones

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The generals appeared from different directions, each constructing brilliant Star Palaces as they did.

The generals appeared in time to stop the Sea Skeleton King’s punches while it was massacring the platoons of Advanced Mages.

The huge fists of water could easily smash a deep hole into the ground.

The Advanced Mages had gathered in groups to stack up their spells. They would end up as huge sprays of blood if they did not have a Space Mage around to teleport them away.

The Advanced Platoons in their fan-shaped Formation were retreating. Their faces were filled with fear.

The army had so many powerful Mages, yet they were unable to stop the Sea Skeleton King’s reckless attacks. It was absolutely terrifying.

The Sea Skeleton King was highly intelligent. It knew many Super Mages had surrounded it, but it simply ignored the Star Palaces.

It continued to chase after the Advanced Platoons by abusing its unstoppable size. It could easily litter the surface of the sea with the corpses of the Advanced Mages.

A bright golden light spread in the clouds again. Another sacred sword dove from the cracks in the sky.

The Heaven-Rupturing Sword struck the Sea Skeleton King directly. The Light Formation finally forced the Sea Skeleton King back after leaving it with injuries.

The break allowed the rest of the Advanced Platoons to withdraw from the fight.

“It’s a Sacred Light Formation that will send down a huge Heaven-Rupturing Sword periodically to deal tremendous damage to the creatures inside it. No wonder the commander waited until the Sea Skeleton King had stepped into it. Even though every Heaven-Rupturing Sword can only inflict minor damage on the Sea Skeleton King, it might be the greatest threat to the Sea Skeleton King as the fight goes on for a long time,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

Mo Fan had already forgotten how to speak.

Both the powerful Formation of the humans and the outstanding strength the Sea Skeleton King had displayed were beyond his comprehension.

If he was involved in the fight, he would just be a tiny entity!

“Mo Fan, I’m afraid that thing is stronger than the Black Totem Snake,” Lingling said softly.

“Yeah,” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan was used to using the Black Totem Snake to evaluate the strength of Ruler-level creatures. Mo Fan had treated the Sphinx, Baxia, Mountain Zombie, and other creatures as being at the same level as the Black Totem Snake. He referred to them as Supreme Rulers.

They were easily among the strongest creatures at the Ruler-level. They had no worthy opponents below the Emperor Level.

However, Mo Fan had to revise his way of evaluating the Ruler-level creatures’ strength after seeing the Sea Skeleton King.

The Black Totem Snake might lose to the Sea Skeleton King in a fair match!

After some time, Mo Fan believed only the Greek God of Death, Hayla, the strongest beast under the command of the God of Darkness, could match the Sea Skeleton King’s strength.

Not only was the Sea Skeleton King able to kill a high number of Advanced Mages in an instant, it could also take out weaker Super Mages with a single move.

When the generals were flanking the Sea Skeleton King, Mo Fan saw an Ice Super Mage being smashed into pieces by the Sea Skeleton King’s punch after failing to maintain a safe distance from it.

The Advanced Mages had to wait for their chance to attack further away.

The Super Mages were split into two groups. The first group was fighting the Sea Skeleton King head-on, while the other was suppressing it from the sides.

As for the soldiers at the Intermediate and Basic Levels, they could only form a wall to stop the Sea Skeleton King’s formidable Aura from reaching the city. They were far from qualified to participate in the battle.

Intermediate and Basic Spells had far more limited ranges. They were unable to survive in the battle without relying on special magic Formations. The slightest force that leaked out from the battle would crush them instantly.

The Sea Skeleton King suddenly sank and merged with the sea.

“Water Mages, don’t let it escape!” the commander said.

The Super Mages with the Water Element had long anticipated the Sea Skeleton King’s move. They immediately formed a barrier in the sea with their magic to intercept the water. A majestic wall emerged from the spacious sea like an ancient dragon.

The Sea Skeleton King roared. To everyone’s surprise, it had never planned to run away.

It only sank into the sea to activate its power. Countless bones were erupting from the cloudy water. The white bones were rolling across the surface like waves.

More bones emerged on the surface and piled up into a mountain around the Sea Skeleton King!

The mountain of bones continued to move forward. It had turned into a tsunami full of bones heading straight for the coasts!

Everyone was dumbfounded.

The area fell dark as the tsunami of bones loomed over it.

Countless bones had spread across the area. Many of them were knocked into the sky by the overwhelming force of the waves.

In the end, it felt like the world had been dragged into the deepest abyss of Hell with bones stacking up like mountains and sea. The people felt like they were about to suffocate in despair.

The generals were struggling to escape from the waves. Even experienced Super Mages like them were having trouble protecting themselves. The Mages who were suppressing the enemy from a safe distance were all caught up by the waves of bones. Some were vomiting blood after being knocked flying. Others disappeared after the waves devoured them. Several had died instantly on the spot, and their remains were mixed with the waves.

“Mo Fan… we better leave,” Jiang Shaoxu was already trembling in fear.

It was her first time seeing Super Mages so vulnerable. Many of the Mages involved in the battle were stronger than her, but so many of them had not survived it.

The outcome of the battle was terrible. The battle ended fairly quickly. The strongest Mages of their city had died consecutively!

“Let’s back away,” Mo Fan did not stay behind stubbornly.

Even if his energy had recovered, he would have died to the tsunami of bones, let alone when his energy was depleted.

The waves had reached a great distance away, crushing countless Mages in the wasteland. In addition to the generals and the powerful Mages, the Advanced Platoons had suffered heavy casualties too!

They were just like more cannon fodder in the battle.

Dead bodies were scattered all over the area. The humans had no choice but to move their line of defense another five kilometers back.

The Sea Skeleton King remained standing out in the sea. It was moving closer to the city.

How many more bones would be added to the sea once it set foot in the human city?

Chapter 2505: Top Seaters

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A man in a black-golden robe was standing on top of the Dongfang Oriental Tower, four hundred and sixty meters above the ground.

The modern district was right under his feet, with several dozen other skyscrapers soaring into the sky. He was looking down at the spacious highways and busy streets.

The man lifted his gaze and looked into the distance.

The dam was not high enough to block the skyscrapers. The barrier was looming over Lujiazui District, which had yet to become a part of the sea.

The shadow of the sea monster was extremely clear in the distance. Strong winds were blowing in the sky and across the surface of the cloudy water. Magical lights were flickering occasionally in the distance, like stars being devoured by darkness.

“We must act at once. If we wait any longer, we might lose something precious to us,” the man stated.

“Indeed, we are constantly losing our men to the sea monster. We used to be able to slay every level of demon creatures that invaded our territory, but now, the creature is about to reach the city,” replied another man hiding in the shadows. His hovering outline was barely visible.

“Let’s do it then, we must show that arrogant creature our strength!” Another figure took shape in the sky.

The three of them were at the top of Dongfang Oriental Tower, which was nearly within reach of the clouds. At the same time, they were able to view the city and the coasts!

The man in a black-golden robe, the man hovering in the air, and the blurry figure in the clouds disappeared as soon as they reached an agreement. Only the man in the black-golden robe was visible. He turned into a black-golden ray and swept across the dark sky, leaving a visible crack in the air behind him!

—

The pale-faced commander looked up, and only then could he see the three figures in the sky. They were joining the battle without announcement, but they held tremendous Auras!

“The Top Seaters!” The commander finally showed a hint of an expression on his face.

The High Seaters were the mages holding power in the Dongfang Oriental Tower, but there was a smaller group of people who stood at the top.

They had yet to become Forbidden Mages, but their titles were comparable to that of a Forbidden Mage. The only difference was they were not able to use Forbidden Curses.

The Forbidden Mages were powerful not only because they could use Forbidden Curses capable of destroying the world, but because their magic had also reached an incomparable level. Even Super Mages with four Elements at the peak of the Super Level would feel helpless against them.

Three half-Forbidden Mages, the Top Seaters of the Dongfang Oriental Tower!

They were the only ones capable of exterminating the Sea Skeleton King.

In order to exterminate their target, their strength had to exceed their target by a huge margin. If the three half-Forbidden Mages had been involved in the battle at the beginning, there would have been only one outcome: the enemy would have run away instantly.

The Sea Skeleton King was very cautious. They had to lure it deeper into their territory and draw it in by making it angry from inflicting damage on it in order to kill it!

Any sacrifice was worth it as long as they could kill the Sea Skeleton King!

—

“The Top Seaters are on the move. They are all half-Forbidden Mages!” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed.

Before Mo Fan had gone to Qinhuangdao, the strongest Mage he had ever met was the last Totem Guardian of the Moon Moth Phoenix, Yan Shi. Her Earth Magic had left him in awe. The battle between her and the Giant Purple Linden Tree had been mesmerizing!

The Sea Skeleton King was stronger than the Giant Purple Linden Tree, without a doubt. The Magic City had to send out three Top Seaters whose strength was on par with Yan Shi to kill it!

The battle was too spectacular. The war Mo Fan had fought on the Andes Mountain Range was just a little brawl in comparison.

Mo Fan had witnessed a crazier war when the two kings of the Undead clashed in Beijiang. The epic battle between the eight Undead Rulers and the Sphinx, the Medusa Queen, and the Mummy King…

However, it was definitely Mo Fan’s first time seeing so many powerful human Mages in a battle.

Every Top Seater was strong enough to take on a Supreme Ruler alone.

The three Top Seaters instantly dominated the battle. Their use of magic had completely surpassed the need to construct Star Orbits. They were also able to use Super Powers casually.

The formidable power they unleashed originated from their bodies. It was like a Martial Artist who had fully mastered a technique. He had trained the basic movements of his limbs into unstoppable moves!

The Sea Skeleton King had been butchering the Mages after Summoning its Waves of Bones. Even the Formation of Heaven-Rupturing Swords had failed to keep it at bay.

However, the Sea Skeleton King was constantly backing away after the three Top Seaters joined the battle. Its injuries had worsened while its Aura was suppressed by the Top Seaters’ sacred light. It could no longer pose a threat to the Mages on the wasteland.

“It looks like we no longer have to move,” Mo Fan noticed.

The other Mages did not stay on the side after the Top Seaters got involved. They cooperated with the High Seaters, generals, and the Advanced Platoons who had regained their morale to pin down the Sea Skeleton King.

The Sea Skeleton King suddenly received a Vast Blade as it was backing away. It was a spell from the man in a golden robe.

The Vast Blade was a Chaos Spell. The Sea Skeleton King’s arm had vanished after the slash hit it. It was unable to regenerate it from the seawater.

The Sea Skeleton King’s arm was gone, brought to another dimension. The creature kept shrieking in agony.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

Everyone followed the three Top Seaters and hunted the Sea Skeleton King.

The Sea Skeleton King finally lost its unstoppable demeanor. It was losing its vitality!

“It’s trying to escape!” the commander shouted.

A general shouted furiously and stood in the direction the Sea Skeleton King was escaping into. His body had turned into a scorching furnace from the Super Power he had. The tide falling back to the sea evaporated rapidly. The whole area turned into dry land!

“Die!” the man in a black-golden robe uttered.

His Chaos Magic did not bring death, nor was it used to trick his enemy, but it was made things disappear without a trace. There was no body or soul left behind.

The other two Top Seaters were obviously treating the man in the black-golden robe as their leader, suppressing the Sea Skeleton King’s movement and power on its sides.

“You will soon be sent to a dimension that even Hell will shiver before!” the man in a golden-black robe swore.

Chapter 2506: Gigantic Claw

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Space was distorting

Previously, the man in the black-golden robe had Cast his spells easily, and they had been significantly stronger than the spells Cast by Mages with four Elements at the peak Super Level.

This time, he took some time to Channel his spell. It was obviously going to be a deadly attack that was going to claim the Sea Skeleton King’s life.

Not far away, the general had dried up the area, evaporating the water to stop the Sea Skeleton King from retreating with the tide.

He grinned when he saw the man in a black-golden robe accumulating magic, and let out a relieved sigh.

It did not matter if the Sea Skeleton King was one of the strongest Ruler-level creatures. It was still going to die at their hands!

The general was standing three kilometers behind the Sea Skeleton King. He suddenly heard a strange noise from further in the distance.

He turned around with a confused face and almost fainted after seeing the sight before him.

It was a claw. It felt like the whole sea had come alive and was stretching its claw forward!

The general had been completely unaware of its existence.

The claw was hovering above the three Top Seaters. Most importantly, they were unaware of it!

Was it an illusion?

It was not!

The sea had indeed turned into a gigantic claw. The claw fell!

The world fell silent. The three Top Seaters had turned into red fine powder amid the huge deafening blast.

The general looked at the shattered sky, and his soul almost perished.

The God of Death had just brushed past him. It did not see him as a threat, despite him being a powerful Mage with four Elements at the peak Super Level.

Its target was the three Top Seaters!

—

The sound was so loud that people could not hear anything.

Their eardrums had burst not because of the loud noise, but because the silence was causing them to feel like their heads were about to explode!

A moment ago, the people were in high spirits, as they were about to slay the Sea Skeleton King under the lead of the three Top Seaters. However, the trio had just been smashed into dust by a giant claw!

The people recovered their hearing after a long time.

The tides were back to normal, and the shattered sky was recovering, too. Everyone was gradually gathering their thoughts after being on the brink of death, but the three Top Seaters were nowhere to be seen.

They had been killed. They were the strongest representatives of human Mages, people who were one step away from becoming Forbidden Mages.

However, they had turned into red powder in front of everyone!

What was that attack? It had killed three Top Seaters in an instant!

What was their place in this world? Even those who had reached the peak had died to a single blow!

“An…an Emperor…” Fear rose deep within Mo Fan’s soul. His demon blood was surging as a means of self-protection.

However, the demon blood gradually calmed down.

The hand had already left after achieving its goal. It could not care less about the rest of those remaining.

“Brother…brother Fan,” Zhang Xiaohou was sitting on the ground. His legs were unable to support him at the moment.

Jiang Shaoxu and Lingling were also struggling to stand properly. Countless other people were exhausted, lost control of their bladders, or fainted.

The High Seaters and generals were stunned, with frightened expressions.

—

The sea had returned to normal, and the wind started blowing once again.

No one talked for a long time. The claw not only crushed the three Top Seaters, but everyone’s souls, too!

It felt like their struggle was meaningless in the end!

“It had been waiting all along…

“The Sea Skeleton King was just bait…

“It lured out the Top Seaters and killed them to take out our greatest weapons!…”

The commander stood there, murmuring with a blank face.

Not only had they failed to kill the Sea Skeleton King according to plan, they had even lost three Top Seaters, men who were going to become Forbidden Mages!

They had underestimated the sea monsters’ intelligence, patience, and strength!

Losing the three Top Seaters would only put them in a more difficult position. Most terrifyingly, they had no clue what the creature was.

They did not learn any information about the creature. They only knew it could control the sea and turn it into a claw.

Or perhaps the claw was part of its body?

The creature had never shown itself, even when they were searching and probing the sea monsters. It had not shown up when they started the operation to kill the Sea Skeleton King.

Its claw had descended only after the humans had sent out three Top Seaters. It was hiding behind the Sea Skeleton King all along, waiting like a hunter. It had waited until the most valuable prey had stepped into its trap!

“Chief, we failed,” the commander reported through his communication device.

The other end remained silent.

“We have lost three Top Seaters without obtaining any information about its strength, appearance, traits, and species,” the commander admitted in a helpless voice.

The chief had ordered him to hold the line. However, the commander could adjust the plan based on circumstances.

The commander had been too careless. He had underestimated the sea monsters, resulting in this tragedy.

How were they going to recover from this and find the resolve to face the sea monsters again?

“At least we confirmed there’s an Emperor in the East China Sea,” Chief Hua replied.

The commander’s face contorted. They had paid a huge price just to obtain such a useless piece of information.

It was a total failure!

—

—

Mo Fan, Jiang Shaoxu, and Lingling went back to the city.

They did not speak, sitting quietly in the living room. Everything felt so unreal to them.

The tall buildings, busy roads, and the flourishing city did not feel real to them anymore. They knew everything could be destroyed in an instant after witnessing the horrifying sight.

“Actually, we didn’t have to feel so dispirited. The creature was hiding for so long and left so quickly after making its move because it was wary of our Forbidden Mages,” Lingling spoke up.

Mo Fan twisted his lips. Her words were reasonable…

Humans still had Forbidden Mages. They did not show themselves because they were wary of the Emperors among the sea monsters.

They would not show themselves until they learned the numbers, species, and strength of the sea monsters’ Emperors.

Just like today. If it had been a Forbidden Mage who had tried to kill the Sea Skeleton King, he or she would have died with the others!

A Forbidden Mage could not take on an Emperor alone. If the creature had managed to lure out a Forbidden Mage, it would do everything it could to kill the Forbidden Mage, even if it meant exposing itself to take out the human leaders.

Without Forbidden Mages, how were the humans going to stop the sea monsters?

Chapter 2507: Mo Fan, You are our Only Hope

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The people grieved over the deaths of the Top Seaters for three days. The generals and soldiers at the front line no longer had to face the Sea Skeleton King, but none of them were relieved.

They were constantly looking at the horizon with gray skies. They had a strong feeling of suffocation.

Mo Fan had fully recovered during these past three days.

The sea monsters that invaded the Huangpu River had been purged. The remaining survivors were being evacuated from their towns.

As the safe zone kept shrinking, the farmlands, fruit farms, and seafood production were abandoned. The places available for living were shrinking. The demon creatures on land were profiting from humanity’s misfortune too, making the outskirts unsafe. The cities were the only safe places for them.

However, as more people moved to the cities, their resources were depleting faster. They would not have any problem for a few years, but as time went by, they would be troubled by the shortage of food.

The riversides were the best agricultural land for providing the cities with rice and vegetation, but they were now in ruins, resulting in great losses for the humans.

The Huangpu River was not necessarily their country’s lifeline. That was the Yangtze River.

The Yangtze River was also crawling with sea monsters right now. Their goal was to reduce the humans’ territories and take out their supplies. Once the humans lost the Yangtze River, even if they managed to hold the sea monsters off, the people might end up rioting from food shortages.

Human cities were never far from bodies of water.

In fact, the scale of a city was often directly proportional to the size of the river flowing through it, as it was used for transportation, agriculture, drinking water, and a source of food.

Some people were asking why they could not abandon the coasts if the sea monsters were so unstoppable.

If they gave up on the coasts, they were basically giving up the resources needed to sustain their own lives. Without the resources along the coasts, even if they were to move everyone inland, their population would only shrink rapidly. They might even end up as food to the demon creatures on land.

They had finally secured a foothold for themselves and developed their civilization to a certain level. Giving up on the cities along the coasts was the same as going back to the insecure era!

The cities were their safe zones. The cities had to stand for the humans to have a place they could call home. Otherwise, they would only become prey to the demon creatures in the wild!

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan…” Lingling called out.

Mo Fan turned around and saw the little beauty handing him his ringing phone, as if it was an important call.

Mo Fan was puzzled. He took his phone and realized the call was from Chairman Shao Zheng!

The country was in a terrible state. A man like Chairman Shao Zheng had to be preoccupied with many matters. He would not have time to rest. Mo Fan was surprised to receive a call from him.

“Mo Fan, I need your help,” Shao Zheng cut straight to the main topic.

“I’m listening,” Mo Fan nodded.

The favor Chairman Shao Zheng was asking must be extraordinary if he was calling personally. How could Mo Fan not contribute to the war as the next-generation leader of the country after seeing how the generals had sacrificed themselves to stop the Sea Skeleton King?

“I want you to kill the Sea Skeleton King,” Shao Zheng said.

Mo Fan was lost for words.

The Sea Skeleton King was forced to flee for its life under pressure from the Super Mages after that gigantic claw took out the three Top Seaters.

However, no one dared to mention a word about going after the Sea Skeleton King again.

“According to our intel, the Sea Skeleton King is treating its injuries on an island in the East China Sea. It has sustained serious injuries. It won’t recover in a short time. Our plan to kill it in the Magic City has failed. Not only did we lose three Top Seaters, we let the Sea Skeleton King escape too…” Shao Zheng went on.

“Councilman, I was there when it happened, but I wasn’t involved,” Mo Fan told him.

“Oh, did you get to see the creature behind the Sea Skeleton King?” Shao Zheng asked hm quickly.

“No, everything happened too quickly,” Mo Fan said regretfully.

“You don’t have to worry about the creature behind it. I’ll be frank with you since you were at the scene. The Super Mages no longer have the courage to go after the Sea Skeleton King after the recent events. The Sea Skeleton King is currently at its weakest state. If we don’t take it out now, it will return and pose a threat to the Magic City again. I’m afraid no one will dare to face it by then,” Shao Zheng said.

Shao Zheng was also helpless. He knew the Sea Skeleton King was seriously injured, but he could not afford to go after it. Everyone knew there was an Emperor behind the Sea Skeleton King. It had taken out three Top Seaters with a single swipe of its claw.

Who would dare to chase after the Sea Skeleton King after learning about the tragic death of the half-Forbidden Mages?

In addition, the generals and High Seaters had suffered great casualties during the operation. Even if they left the Emperor aside, Shao Zheng had trouble finding someone who was capable of killing the Sea Skeleton King.

“It should only have ten or twenty percent of its strength left. It’s our best shot,” Shao Zheng told him.

“Ten to twenty percent…” Mo Fan fell into deep thought.

He had a feeling he was no match against the Sea Skeleton King even if it only had a fraction of its strength left. Not only had they sent out three Top Seaters to take out the Sea Skeleton King, they had also sent out a lot of Super Mages!

“Mo Fan, the battle close to the Magic City wasn’t our only defeat, but the people know what happened there. We can cover up the truth about the situation in other places to prevent the people from losing hope, but we lost horribly in the battle close to the Magic City. We must do something and make the enemy pay… You are the only person I can think of,” Shao Zheng’s tone changed.

Mo Fan was touched by his words.

The fact that the Chairman of the Magic Association had uttered these words meant the situation was far worse than the people knew.

The people could feel desperate and hopeless, but a leader like him could never show emotions like that!

“Chairman, you don’t have to say anything further. I understand,” Mo Fan said.

No one dared to go after the seriously injured Sea Skeleton King even though they knew its location. There was only one reason: they were afraid of the Emperor behind it!

They had no way of telling whether the Emperor was still with the Sea Skeleton King.

If it was, no matter how many people they sent after the Sea Skeleton King, none of them would come back alive.

Although there were fearless people in the army, the leaders could not afford to lose any more of their powerful Mages again after the recent events.

Mo Fan was their only option, because of his outstanding Demon Element!

Even if it was a trap, Mo Fan could protect himself with the Demon Element. He would not die so easily without learning more information about the Emperor!

Chapter 2508: He has gone Mad Again!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

On the surface, Chairman Shao Zheng was asking Mo Fan to go after the Sea Skeleton King to take revenge after losing horribly in the battle.

The truth was, it was a battle of wits between them and the Emperor!

If the Emperor had shown itself to kill their powerful Mages, the Forbidden Mages would be watching over Mo Fan as he went after the Sea Skeleton King, too.

If the Emperor dared to show itself again, it would have to pay a great price.

Shao Zheng had selected Mo Fan because he was special.

If he was able to kill the Sea Skeleton King without using the Demon Element, the outcome was still acceptable for the Magic City.

If the Emperor tried to save the Sea Skeleton King, Mo Fan could use the Demon Element to keep it busy, and the Emperor would totally expose itself. The Forbidden Mages would be able to trap it and even kill it if it was too aggressive.

Everyone knew an Emperor was watching over the Sea Skeleton King. Therefore, they needed someone who could take on the Sea Skeleton King and hold on against the Emperor until help arrived.

Mo Fan was the only person Shao Zheng could think of.

Mo Fan now had four Elements at the Super Level. The Demon Element had grown a lot stronger together with the number and levels of his Elements. Mo Fan already had the strength to fight Supreme Rulers in the Ancient Capital and Beijiang, so he would not die so easily to an Emperor, even if he was no match against it.

“Mo Fan, I’m begging you,” Shao Zheng said sincerely.

“Chairman, you don’t have to go so far. I know my responsibilities,” Mo Fan said.

“What do you need to hunt down the Sea Skeleton King? Just say it,” Sea Skeleton King said.

“I just need a few people’s help.”

“Sure!”

——

The Wasteland Battlefield…

Countless mage artisans were rebuilding the towers and platforms. The place was smaller than it used to be. The people were rebuilding the place, but they had no idea when it would be smashed into debris once again.

“Zhang Xiaohou.”

“I’m here!”

The commander walked up to Zhang Xiaohou with an order.

“Here is an order from the chairman. You will head to Chongming Island at once to take part in a secret mission.”

Zhang Xiaohou was puzzled.

Wasn’t he stationed here? Other powerful Rulers among the sea monsters were on the move, in addition to the Sea Skeleton King. Was the chief trying to protect him by sending him somewhere else?

That was against Zhang Xiaohou’s wishes. The other soldiers were defending the Magic City with their lives. As a member of the Violet Imperial Battalion, he should be stepping forward when the others were overwhelmed by despair.

“Commander…”

“Aren’t you talking a little too much now? Off you go, or you will be punished according to military law. The mission is being delayed because of you!” the commander warned him.

Zhang Xiaohou took the order and let out a sigh.

—

The Yangtze River…

Mu Bai was usually untainted by even a speck of dust, but for now was leaning against the trunk of a huge tree. He was dressed like a beggar, but he had a sharp look in his eyes.

The water was rolling fiercely. The river here was over a thousand meters wide, and a perfect hiding place for the sea monsters.

The Huangpu River was nowhere close to the size of the Yangtze River, which was wider than some bays and lakes.

Mu Bai had followed the South Wing Platoon from the Dingshan Lake to the Yangtze River. He had not had any time to rest.

“Sir, it’s an order from the highest Magic Association!”

Mu Bai read the letter with a frown.

Its contents were very simple, but the seal on it belonged to someone with a high rank. It had to be a secret mission.

He had no idea who the other members were when being assigned to a secret mission all of a sudden.

“What about our work here?” Mu Bai asked.

“The order comes first,” the South Wing Mage replied.

“You’re right.” Mu Bai knew what his priorities were.

—

Chongming Island…

The land had shrunk significantly due to the rise of the sea level.

Chongming Island was close to the estuary of the Yangtze River. Mu Bai was not too far away.

In order to stop more sea monsters from invading through the Yangtze River and causing massive destruction to the cities, the military had built a tall dam and assigned a troop to guard it.

“Mu Bai?” Zhang Xiaohou said curiously when he saw Mu Bai.

“Why are you here?” Mu Bai looked at Zhang Xiaohou. Wasn’t it supposed to be a secret mission? Mu Bai had thought he was assigned to a random group.

“I didn’t expect us to be assigned to the same group!” Zhang Xiaohou saw the same letter he had received in Mu Bai’s hand.

Mu Bai forced a smile. It seemed like the secret operation was not as terrible as he thought. At least he had a reliable teammate with him.

“Isn’t that guy a little familiar?” Mu Bai pointed at a man with blond hair who was talking to a nurse inside a tent.

“It’s Brother Zhao!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

They were about to walk up to Zhao Manyan when they saw a gorgeous woman with long hair approaching them. Her silver-white hair was unique and elegant. She had a dazzling temperament as she was walking over to them while the wind blew.

“Mu Ningxue?” Mu Bai and Zhang Xiaohou blurted out simultaneously.

Why was Mu Ningxue here as well? She seemed to be holding a letter, too!

Mu Ningxue looked at them and the letters they were holding.

“There’s only one person that would gather us here,” Mu Ningxue said knowingly.

“Mo Fan!” they exclaimed together.

——

The four waited at the designated spot. Mo Fan finally arrived after half an hour.

He was with two other people, a High Seater in a golden robe and a general.

“Is everyone here?” the High Seater asked.

“Yes,” Mo Fan said.

“I thought it was going to be a strong group, but it’s just a bunch of young Mages!” the general spoke up.

“Give them a briefing on the mission, Old Dong and I will arrange the people from the Magic Association and the army,” the High Seater said. He seemed a little disappointed.

He thought Chairman Shao Zheng had organized a special squad to complete the difficult mission, but it turned out to be some young Mages. They might as well go on a vacation. None of them seemed like they had gone through real hardships.

Only five people remained after the two left.

“Mo Fan, what are you up to this time?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“This is the strongest team I can think of. The country is sending us after the Sea Skeleton King!” Mo Fan said.

“HAHAHA, I thought you were referring to the unbeatable Sea Skeleton King that was trying to destroy the Magic City,” Zhao Manyan burst out laughing.

He noticed the others did not have the same reaction as him as he was laughing.

He soon realized Mo Fan was actually referring to the unbeatable Sea Skeleton King. He almost lost his mind, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Is Mo Fan going nuts again!?

Chapter 2509: Strange Mist

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“The Sea Skeleton King is severely injured. Our experts believe it only has a fifth of its strength left. We should be able to kill it if we work together,” Mo Fan told them.

“Even if that’s the case… forget it, it’s an order from our country. We just have to obey it,” Mu Bai sighed.

The others knew what Mu Bai was trying to say.

It was not like the Magic City did not have any powerful Mages left to go after the Sea Skeleton King. The city still had strong Mages after losing the three Top Seaters, but they were all wary of the Emperor behind the Sea Skeleton King.

“As a matter of fact, I don’t think the Emperor is going to show up if we go after the Sea Skeleton King, considering our number and strength,” a voice added in.

The group turned around and saw Lingling, Jiang Shaoxu, and Apas.

“In simpler words, the Emperor will not risk exposing itself to a potential trap just to take out little shrimps like us,” Lingling added.

“Lingling, do you know the rule that says vehicles must give way to pedestrians? Even though there’s a rule like that, sometimes, the pedestrians should give way to the vehicles too, because you never know what the drivers are thinking. What if they just ran you over? You can’t risk your life just to challenge their ethics. Similarly, we don’t know whether the Emperor is a reckless maniac. What if it did show up? We will end up as bait and cannon fodder. None of us is going to survive!” Zhao Manyan complained.

“Zhao Manyan is right, too,” Jiang Shaoxu nodded.

“Yeah, he can be quite convincing when his life is at stake, but it won’t change anything. I’ve already asked General Dong. The Sea Skeleton King has yet to escape to the deep sea. It’s currently resting on Mist Island around fifty kilometers from here. Its injuries must be very serious since it did not dare enter other sea monsters’ territory. We must go after it at once, before it recovers from the injuries,” Mo Fan said.

“What about those people who were with you?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“They are just going to provide us with assistance. We will have to do the mission ourselves,” Mo Fan replied.

Mo Fan purposely called Mu Ningxue here because he was unable to fight with his full strength when he was away from land. Mu Ningxue’s fighting capacity was on par with his. It would increase the odds of them accomplishing the mission!

——

Everyone in the group often went on adventures. They had everything they needed in their Space Bracelets at all times.

They were now waiting for General Dong to provide them with the route they should take.

The sea monsters from the Pacific Ocean had taken over the East China Sea. Not only were they invading the humans’ territory, they were wiping out the native species in the East China Sea. They had occupied the islands, coral reefs, and caves.

As a result, the group needed a safe route to bypass the sea monsters and reach Mist Island. Otherwise, the sea monsters were going to wear them out before they even found the Sea Skeleton King.

“General Dong, haven’t your men finished surveying the routes?” Mo Fan was starting to feel impatient.

“Even if the mission has a low chance of success, we can’t let you guys die for nothing! We must figure out the best route!” General Dong shot back.

“From what we know, the Sea Skeleton King is able to heal itself with seawater. Even if it’s severely injured, it only needs ten days to fully recover!” Lingling had analyzed the recent battle thoroughly.

“Damn it, every day we waste is letting it recover ten percent of its strength!” Zhao Manyan whined.

Mo Fan nodded. They could not drag it on any longer. The earlier they moved out, the greater their chance!

“General Dong, where are your men now? We’ll continue from there. We can’t wait any longer!” Mo Fan said.

“Our target is the Sea Skeleton King, one of the strongest Ruler-level creatures. How can we afford to be so reckless?” General Dong protested.

“Chairman Shao Zheng has ordered you to support us, not order us around. Enough with your conservative ways. I have my own standards!” Mo Fan snapped back.

General Dong’s face darkened. He wanted to say something, but Zhang Xiaohou came up to him and pulled him aside.

“General Dong, trust us. Besides, he did catch a Red Cardinal alive,” Zhang Xiaohou told him softly.

——

The group set out without wasting any more time.

The sea monsters who claimed to be the Ancient Sea Gods did have some extraordinary capabilities.

They had surrounded the waters they were controlling with a strange mist. It looked like thick clouds hovering above the water. Not only would people lose their sense of direction when traveling on the surface, the creatures in the sky were struggling to tell what direction it was, too!

They either had to go into the mist or fly above it at a great height. Traveling into the mist was like trying to find the way out from the center of a maze. There were no points of reference available.

“The sea monsters are so annoying. We just got ourselves a Flying Dragon that can travel to all places and fly over other demon creatures’ territory, but we have to probe the way carefully because of this mist,” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

They had to enter the mist and follow the markings along the way to find the Mist Island’s exact location. The military only knew the island was somewhere inside the maze.

“I already told you we would be wasting more time if we didn’t figure out the route first!” General Dong commented.

The strange thing was, the mist was no longer that thick after they went inside. They could even see the blue sea and the clear sky in the distance, even though there was white gas floating above the sea occasionally. It did not look like a maze.

However, they began to fly in circles halfway into the maze.

General Dong had only discovered the route up until a certain point. The sea ahead was like a calm lake. There were no signs of reefs, sunlight, and currents that would help them identify directions. They had no idea where to look for Mist Island.

“Someone is floating over there,” Apas pointed into the distance.

Everyone was puzzled. They did discover a man floating on the calm sea after going closer. They were confused. How did Apas see him from so far away?

Why would a man be floating on the water here? Was he involved in a misfortune while he was searching for the island?.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s a relief he’s still alive. General Dong, do you know him? Is he involved in this operation?” Zhang Xiaohou asked.

Only Mu Bai knew how to heal a person, but he relied on the strange bugs he had kept.

Mu Bai managed to wake the man up. He had been floating in the water for some time. His lips were extremely dry, and kept asking for drinking water.

“He’s not one of ours,” General Dong said.

“Friend, how did you end up here?” Mo Fan asked.

“Where am I? Have I reached the land?” the man asked nervously. He was behaving strangely as if he had experienced something terrible.

“We are in the mist. We are far from the land,” Mo Fan said.

“Bring me back, please bring me back,” the man pleaded.

Mo Fan explained the situation to the man briefly. The group was not going back until they had killed the Sea Skeleton King, but the man was not in the right mind. He would let out strange cries occasionally. It was difficult to communicate with him.

Mo Fan let out a sigh and looked at Apas.

Apas nodded. She put the man to sleep with a quick look.

The man stopped struggling. Apas placed her hand on the man’s forehead.

“His thoughts are in a mess. I can only read limited information from his mind…” Apas told Mo Fan.

“It’s fine, if he’s just a passerby, we’ll throw him back to the sea,” Mo Fan said.

Mu Ningxue glared at Mo Fan, and he just chuckled.

—

“This way, there are memories of the Mist Island in his mind,” Apas suddenly pointed behind them.

“Isn’t that the way back? Are we really that lost in this mist?”

The group started traveling in the opposite direction. A few minutes later, they finally spotted a black outline on the calm sea.

It was an island!

The island was surprisingly small, but it was a sign they were no longer going around in circles.

“HAHA, we’ve found it…” Zhao Manyan was about to laugh, but it was replaced with a grim face when he recalled the Sea Skeleton King was resting on the island.

There was no reason for him to celebrate!

“Don’t go there, please don’t go there. You are going to die, so am I!” The man suddenly screamed like a maniac.

Apas raised her hand. Everyone thought she was going to hypnotize the man, but she swung her hand down at the back of the man’s head and knocked him out.

“Couldn’t you do it gently?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m trying to preserve as much energy as I can!” Apas replied.

They were about to fight the Sea Skeleton King. Apas did not want to waste her energy on hypnotizing the man, even though it would not consume much of her energy.

——

The group entered the island. They did not have a special plan in mind.

General Dong frowned when he saw piles of blood scattered across the island.

“Isn’t…isn’t that Mr. Ge!?” General Dong suddenly exclaimed when he saw something.

The group went closer and found the badge of the Dongfang Oriental Tower in a messy pile. It was a badge that identified a High Seater!

“There’s another one over here. It seems like they did find the island, but they all died here after failing to find the way out.” Lingling pointed at the dead bodies scattered close to the reefs.

Most of the corpses were mangled beyond recognition. They only recognized them through their uniforms.

Some of them were following the High Seater, while the rest were General Dong’s men. They were supposed to find the safest route to the island for Mo Fan’s group.

In the end, they had all been killed. General Dong had thought that they had yet to find the way to the island!

“This can’t be, the Sea Skeleton King is severely injured. Even if they couldn’t beat it, they should have no trouble running away. How did this happen?” General Dong was struggling to accept the outcome.

He immediately thought of another possibility. Did the Emperor show up again and kill everyone here? Wouldn’t that mean we are all as good as dead?

“Brother Fan, it’s right ahead!” Zhang Xiaohou had returned from scouting the island. He had explored the island and found the Sea Skeleton King!

“The six of us will go while the rest of you stay here. Apas, you’re staying here too,” Mo Fan did not let Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu go any closer.

Apas nodded.

It was meaningless for her to go any further. The Sea Skeleton King was an Elemental Creature with the traits of an Undead. A creature like it was immune to any spiritual and psychological magic.

——

Zhang Xiaohou led the way. He was controlling the wind to form a curtain and conceal their presence.

They noticed a huge cliff as they reached a certain height.

The waves were splashing against the cliff. It was around a hundred meters tall.

The Sea Skeleton King was right below the cliff, sitting in the water. Even so, its head was almost the same height as the cliff.

It was giving off huge pressure, even though it was sitting still like a huge statue.

“It seems to be fast asleep, but it’s going to wake up as soon as we make our move. Look over there,” Zhang Xiaohou pointed down the cliff.

There was a small beach under the cliff. It was covered in black rocks.

They assumed everyone on the island had died brutally to the Sea Skeleton King. To their surprise, the tiny figures close to the Sea Skeleton King were human Mages.

“Why are they Casting spells on the Sea Skeleton King? Are they hypnotizing the Sea Skeleton King to make it fall asleep?” Mo Fan asked, puzzled by their behavior.

“I think they are using the Healing Element, judging from the light,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Yes, they are using Healing Magic. I was able to sneak closer. I noticed they are all Healers. Something is controlling them. They are using Healing Magic on the Sea Skeleton King continuously,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Mo Fan slapped Zhang Xiaohou on the head.

“Are you stupid? Why didn’t you stop them? No wonder everyone on the island is dead. The Sea Skeleton King has recovered more than twenty percent of its strength!” Mo Fan spat.

Those people were healing the Sea Skeleton King!

Their minds were obviously being controlled. The sea monsters had enslaved their Healers! With the Healers’ help, the Sea Skeleton King was going to fully recover in several days!

It was likely that both Chairman Shao Zheng and General Dong did not expect this!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What should we do now? We still have time to leave as long as we don’t wake up the Sea Skeleton King…” Mo Fan was a little hesitant.

However, an alluring figure took off like a gust of wind before Mo Fan could finish his sentence. The wind turned into a long and thin sword in her hand. She thrust the sword at the Sea Skeleton King’s head.

The gust of wind was ferocious when it reached the rocks, knocking the Healers whose minds were being controlled away from the Sea Skeleton King.

The others were shocked!

Normally, Mo Fan would be the first to charge at the enemy. He had seven Elements, thus he could take on most Ruler-level creatures directly, but Mu Ningxue was also the kind who did not stick to the usual routine most of the time!

She slashed at the Sea Skeleton King without any hesitation. She was a heroine who dared to challenge her enemies directly too!

The Willow Leaf Sword was imbued with strong Ice Magic. The water across the sea was already freezing before the edge of the sword touched the Sea Skeleton King’s head.

The Sea Skeleton King’s body was made of water. The sword immediately split the Sea Skeleton King’s head in half.

Mu Ningxue had obviously done her homework. She knew the Sea Skeleton King’s body was able to recover as swiftly as water. She quickly unleashed her Ice Magic with her other hand after the slash.

The Ice Magic sprinkled on the cut on the Sea Skeleton King’s head like powder. The frost prevented the Sea Skeleton King’s head from recovering.

The Sea Skeleton King woke up with a furious roar.

As an Undead, slicing its head apart was not a deadly injury. It was one of the reasons why the Sea Skeleton King was such a formidable enemy. It completely ignored the cut on its head, and its eyes fixed on Mu Ningxue like spotlights.

Mu Ningxue was as petty as a little white moth to it.

The Sea Skeleton King was a little puzzled on top of its anger. How dare the puny human challenge it?

Many ancient beasts and demon creatures in the deep sea had to avoid its territory. Many powerful hordes had submitted themselves to it!

The Sea Skeleton King swung its arm and threw a fist at Mu Ningxue.

The punch shattered the frozen sea and Summoned the seawater within several kilometers. It turned into a vortex that was devouring everything with overwhelming force!

Mu Ningxue was too tiny. She was no longer visible in the vortex.

However, she was not as weak as she seemed. Mu Ningxue sliced the vortex in half as it approached her.

The crack was full of ice crystals, as if an icy canyon had suddenly appeared in the middle of the ferocious sea.

The slash and the ice crystals established an impenetrable zone in the canyon, allowing Mu Ningxue to stand her ground.

Mu Ningxue pointed the Willow Leaf Sword forward. A strange-shaped wind burst out of its tip and grew to a width of several hundred meters!

The wind turned into a terrifying shredder. It pierced through the waves the Sea Skeleton King had Summoned and tore into the enormous creature again.

The Sea Skeleton King was the size of a mountain, but the wind still knocked it a few steps back. It slammed heavily into the cliff, which almost collapsed into pieces.

“Such a brave and strong woman!” General Dong exclaimed.

He had thought these young Mages were here for a tour because Mu Ningxue was too pretty. Women like her could easily make a name by being actresses. Why would she be involved in a battle where she might be injured and killed at any time?

His impression of her changed when he saw her injure the Sea Skeleton King by herself and manage to hold her ground against the Sea Skeleton King’s attack. Most generals would feel ashamed of themselves.

“Mo Fan, you should really ask your woman to behave herself. Can’t she wait until we came up with a plan?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

“Perhaps she’s tired of waiting for sissies like you,” Jiang Shaoxu mocked as she came from behind.

“Didn’t I ask you to stay?” Mo Fan said glaring at Lingling.

“It’s safe around here. The Sea Skeleton King is the only threat,” Lingling replied.

“What are you all waiting for? Mu Ningxue has already fought the Sea Skeleton King for several rounds!” Jiang Shaoxu scolded them.

—

Mo Fan had realized how comforting it was to have a valkyrie like Mu Ningxue on the team back when they were competing in the World College Tournament.

Mo Fan was a destructive Mage. Others filling the same role as him usually had to stay at the back and Channel their spells to deal destructive blows to the enemy when the time came.

However, Mo Fan had to take the lead to charge into the enemy line most of the time. Not only did he have to face the enemy’s attacks, he was responsible for dealing damage to the enemy, too. He was forced to be an all-arounder!

This time, he could Channel his spells with peace of mind while Mu Ningxue was keeping the enemy busy at the front!

He needed time to prepare either the ultimate of his Lightning Element or the flames of his Fire Element. Mo Fan just finished Channeling his Destructive Dragon Tail while the Sea Skeleton King was fully occupied with Mu Ningxue!

“Lightning Dragon Tail!”

Lightning was intertwining in the sky as if a lightning dragon was poking its tail out from the stormy clouds. It unleashed its wrath on the sea and the land!

Powerful blasts knocked the water into the sky as lightning strikes destroyed the black island. The Dragon Lightning Tail knocked the Sea Skeleton King to its knees.

Tons of seawater were falling off its disintegrating body, together with a thick and strange liquid which was likely to be the Sea Skeleton King’s blood.

Thick lightning was surging inside the Sea Skeleton King’s body like chains, revealing its internal structure.

The furious Sea Skeleton King had its back against the cliff. Lingling purposely went closer and stared at its backbone as it was highlighted by the lightning.

The flashes of lightning had revealed a strange shape on the Sea Skeleton King’s backbone. The observant Lingling had immediately realized it was an ancient Totem Seal!

“It’s a Totem Bone Seal!” Lingling blurted out in joy.

She subconsciously leaned closer. The destructive Aura of the Sea Skeleton King almost swept the little girl away. Apas pulled her back in the nick of time.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Apas snarled at her

“Tell Mo Fan there’s a Totem Seal on the Sea Skeleton King’s neck!” Lingling said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

On the back of its neck?

Mo Fan had not noticed the special Seal on the back of the Sea Skeleton King.

Is this thing really a Totem Beast?

Its appearance was not even close to one. Mo Fan had never heard of an Undead Totem Beast.

—

The Sea Skeleton King was enraged. It could easily take care of these humans if it had its full strength, but its strength had declined significantly after losing such a huge portion of its life.

However, the Supreme Ruler was still a formidable opponent. It suddenly sank into the swaying sea. The sky darkened as sinister white bones emerged continuously from the black sea!

The bones rose like waves and reached the sky. The whole sea was full of bones. Terrifying waves of them were rolling at the island after the Sea Skeleton King roared!

It was a hellish sight. Mo Fan could sense how terrifying the tsunami of bones was, even from a great distance away. He could feel a suffocating pressure as he was caught in the middle of it, feeling like the bones were about to crush him into pieces. He was struggling to use his magic.

Even though the Ruler-level creature was already injured, its presence was still putting its enemies under great pressure!

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue barely escaped the waves of bones, getting knocked away. They were both injured by the impact.

The Sea Skeleton King was no longer at its peak, but the bones kept piling up before collapsing on the tiny humans like a huge mountain.

Mo Fan tried to defend himself with the Heavens Gate. He vomited a mouthful of blood after taking the hit.

Mu Ningxue was taking cover behind Mo Fan. She knew Mo Fan had taken the blow for her, but her Wind Super Power had been unable to weaken the waves of bones.

“Stand behind me!” Zhao Manyan suddenly appeared. Golden orbs of water were circling around him.

“I doubt you can stop the attack…” Mo Fan hissed, grabbing his chest.

“Enough talk, there’s nothing I can’t stop!” More water orbs were circling Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue backed away. Mo Fan had just noticed the water orbs were similar to Head Priest Wu Ku’s prayer beads!

It seemed like Zhao Manyan was done refining Wu Ku’s Water Prayer Beads and had improved his defenses!

“I’ll admit my defeat if you can knock me even a step back!” Zhao Manyan said proudly.

He was holding the wooden clapper in his left hand. The ancient Seals of Baxia were suddenly imprinted on the water orbs in glowing golden outlines!

The Water Praying Beads were forming on his right hand. Their sacred light enveloped the area like a kasaya, while the water droplets were like fancy jewels embroidered on it!

Golden lights flickered before firming up like a curtain, bestowing upon Zhao Manyan the imperious aura of a golden Buddha statue. The waves of bones were struggling to move an inch further!

“Nicely done, Brother Zhao!”

Zhang Xiaohou was roaming on the edge. He was more of an assassin-type Mage. He would usually stay hidden in the vicinity and look for an opening to deal a deadly blow to the enemy.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were panting heavily. They did not have a Healer with them. Otherwise, they could recover from their injuries in no time.

“Are you hurt?” Mo Fan asked.

Mu Ningxue shook her head.

Mo Fan had taken most of the force until Zhao Manyan came. Mu Ningxue was barely injured.

The Sea Skeleton King emerged from the waves. Its eyes sharpened when it saw the bones melting away in the golden light.

It jumped into the air, like it was trying to crush Zhao Manyan by abusing its size.

Zhao Manyan was not to be outdone. He spread his arms and used the Titan Hug. He was unharmed even though the titan he formed was smashed apart like a bubble!

“Old Zhao, move away!” he heard Mu Bai call from the cliff.

Mu Bai had been waving an ice brush at the vast sea for a long time, like he was using the sky and the sea as his canvas!

Zhao Manyan quickly stepped aside when he saw Mu Bai about to make his move.

A huge glacier was hanging upside down in the sky. The Sea Skeleton King looked up and saw the glacier falling right on top of it.

It almost felt like a portion of the blue sky was collapsing onto the water at the first glance. That was just how spectacular the glacier Mu Bai had drawn was!

The Sea Skeleton King waved its arms around at the glacier like it had gone into a frenzy. The massively thick glacier broke into pieces.

However, the glacier was almost like a mountain range of ice formed over ten thousand years. Despite its outstanding strength, the Ruler had no chance of breaking the whole glacier in a short amount of time. It finally forced the unstoppable Sea Skeleton King to bow down under its weight!

Mu Bai’s Skyfall Glacier had come in handy. It had bought the rest enough time to Channel their spells.

Mo Fan immediately Summoned a giant lightning claw.

Mu Ningxue drew out an Ice Crystal Arrow.

Zhang Xiaohou was flying around in the sky creating a tornado.

The three simultaneously used destructive Super Spells and combined their magic to turn the island into debris.

The Sea Skeleton King’s body was disintegrated again, including its chest, its head, and its legs. If its initial shape was a skeleton, it was now just some bones with cracks and holes on them.

The waves in the distance turned black after the Sea Skeleton King let out another roar. It looked like thousands of dragons were charging at the island.

The black water surged into the Sea Skeleton King’s body. Its broken parts were recovering rapidly.

It took them great effort just to inflict damage on the Sea Skeleton King, but it had all vanished quickly.

The Sea Skeleton King was even fiercer after it was healed by the black seawater.

A strong wind started blowing and knocked the five of them back. The Sea Skeleton King’s Aura skyrocketed like its strength would continue to grow the more damage it received.

“Is this thing unkillable?”

Both Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Arrow and Mo Fan’s Sky Lightning Giant Claw were incredibly strong. Normal Ruler-level creatures might not be able to withstand them.

The Sea Skeleton King had already sustained serious injuries.. Their attacks were supposed to leave it grasping for its last breath, but it had recovered its strength after receiving the black seawater.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“This isn’t going to work. That thing has the black seawater to heal it. The Magic City sent out three Top Seaters so they could kill the Sea Skeleton King in a single blow!” Zhang Xiaohou said.

They realized the importance of understanding their enemy’s abilities. They thought the Sea Skeleton King had lost its ability to heal with the black seawater after it was severely injured, but it could still Summon the stuff to repair itself.

Mo Fan had kept a very close eye on the creature.

The Sea Skeleton King’s previous injuries were still around.

Its arm was still missing. Its chest and abdomen had many holes that were left from the previous round. It had only healed the new injuries they had caused it!

It was an interesting find. If the black seawater was really that useful, why didn’t it heal the rest of its body parts? It could easily crush them after recovering its strength!

“Lingling mentioned there’s a Totem Seal on its backbone.”

Mo Fan purposely moved around behind the Sea Skeleton King. It was a little challenging to find the Totem Seal because of the Sea Skeleton King’s size.

“Is it a Totem Beast?” Mo Fan wondered to himself.

No matter how he looked at the Sea Skeleton King, it did not bear any resemblance to the Totem Beasts. They had not found any records about it, either.

What about the Totem Seal on its back?…

“Lingling, can you find out which Totem Beast the seal belongs to?” Mo Fan asked her.

Lingling had been searching for clues through her memories and notes before Mo Fan had even asked.

Totem Seals were able to combine into bigger Seals. The problem was, Lingling had to find out if the Totem Seal was a smaller one or a bigger one, or whether it was a Sacred Totem Seal first!

The ancient Totem Beasts had been able to devour weaker Totem Beasts to claim their bodies and power. It was not easy to find a compatible Totem Seal among so many of them!

“If it isn’t the Seal of a Great Totem Beast, it should belong to a Sacred Totem Beast!” Lingling was hiding far away from the Sea Skeleton King. She was focusing all her attention on finding the right Totem Seal.

She was like a little girl playing with puzzles. She kept scrambling the pieces and reassembling them to find the right seal. After all, the Totem Seals of certain Totem Beasts were stackable!

“A Totem Beast with mysterious feathers…”

Lingling finally found a matching Seal in one of the groups.

The Totem Beast with mysterious feathers and the Moon Moth Phoenix belonged to the same branch of a Sacred Totem Beast. Lingling had filtered them out at first because she assumed the Sea Skeleton King had nothing to do with the two flying Totem Beasts.

To her surprise, the Sea Skeleton King’s Totem Seal actually belonged to the same group as the mysterious Totem Beast and the Moon Moth Phoenix. However, she had no idea which ancient Totem Beast the full combination of their Totem Seals would lead them to.

“Sister Jiang, can you check if your brother’s notes have anything related to this group of Totem Beasts?” Lingling showed Jiang Shaoxu the combination she had come up with.

Jiang Shaoxu knew the information was critical to the fight the rest were fighting. She tried her best to recall the Seal.

Jiang Shaoxu entered a dream. Whenever she tried to recall her past, she would enter a dream she had created for herself to recall her deepest memories and remind her about the information on Totem Beasts Jiang Shaojun had shared with her.

It sounded a little abstract, but it had helped her find many Totem Beasts!

“There was once a Four-Eyed Bird which was also called the Undying Bird in the myths. It could heal itself with fire and be reborn with flames. It was the Guardian God of the tribes in the west, a natural enemy of the demon wolves and tigers.”

“Brother, why do you always lie to me? If the Undying Bird did exist, why did it disappear?”

Jiang Shaoxu’s parents were not around most of the time when she was young, busy with matters of state. It was her brother Jiang Shaojun who had looked after her, but Jiang Shaojun often went off on adventures too.

Whenever he came back home, he would share his discoveries with his little sister passionately.

Jiang Shaoxu always treated them as stories. She had forgotten most of them.

Luckily, she was a Psychic Mage. A person’s memories would never disappear, they were merely hidden deep in their mind. They just needed something symbolic to make them remember.

The Totem Seal was the best symbol she could ask for!

“No one can kill it, unless it has lost the will to live.”

“It can heal with fire. Even the warmth of sunlight was enough for it to be reborn.”

“So if it chooses to end its own life, the only way is to hide in the dark and cold deep sea and bury itself there to die completely.”

“However, it was just a temporary Seal of time. If the ocean dried up one day, allowing sunlight to reach the bottom of the sea, or lava happened to flow across its remains, it would return and soar into the sky in flames!”

Jiang Shaoxu woke up from the dream right after Jiang Shaojun finished the sentence.

“It’s the Four-Eyed Bird!” Jiang Shaoxu opened her eyes and told Lingling.

“The Four-Eyed Bird that heals with fire and is reborn through flames. The Sea Skeleton King’s ability is similar to it!”

“But…it’s healing with water!”

Jiang Shaoxu fell into deep thought. She smacked her head after she realized something!

She immediately transmitted her voice to everyone with her Psychic Magic.

“That thing has the traits of an Undead. I believe it must have refined the Four-Eyed Bird’s remains in the deep sea, thus allowing it to heal and be reborn with water!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“What difference is knowing that going to make? We just want to know how we can kill it!” Zhao Manyan smiled wryly.

Even a scrawny camel was bigger than a horse. The Sea Skeleton King was a formidable enemy. The group had failed to inflict any serious injuries on the creature. On the other hand, they were being gradually worn down, and were almost at their limit.

“The Four-Eyed Bird can be reborn in flames, even if only its remains are left. You can try having the bone with the Totem Seal on the Sea Skeleton King come into contact with fire!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

The Sea Skeleton King had to possess the bones of the Undying Bird, which granted it outstanding capabilities. They were also the reason why it was able to heal its injuries so quickly!

Chapter 2514: Red Bone Nirvana

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Are you sure?” Zhao Manyan was doubting Jiang Shaoxu’s words.

Even if they assumed the legend of the Four-Eyed Bird was real and its remains were buried in the deep sea for several thousand years, it would be almost impossible to burn the Sea Skeleton King’s backbone when its entire body was covered in a thick layer of black seawater.

Its spine was perfectly intact. It had remained standing after being blasted by so many Super Mages, proving how outstanding and durable it was.

Mo Fan chose to believe Jiang Shaoxu. “You guys figure out a way to expose its back. I’ll blast open its shell and pour lava into it!”

“I’ll freeze its legs!” Mu Ningxue stated, backing away slightly and hovering above the sea. Her body looked as weightless as a feather.

She summoned the Ice Crystal Bow. Its brilliance instantly lit up the dim sky.

Her hair drifted wildly in the wind and brushed the side of her dazzling face and her pale neck, further setting off her elegant curves!

“Heavens Ice and Earth Crystals!”

The arrow was launched with a loud howl, stirring up ripples of icy dust between the sea and the sky. The ice completely surrounded the arrow which was flying straight at the Sea Skeleton King.

The sea and the rocks froze. The damp breeze looked like streams of white silk.

The Sea Skeleton King reacted quickly. It tried to jump away from the area that was freezing solid, but Zhang Xiaohou created a huge net made up of wind strings to foil the Sea Skeleton King in the nick of time.

The wind net could not match the Sea Skeleton King in strength, but it only had to slow the creature down enough. Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow would quickly freeze the Sea Skeleton King’s lower body.

Mu Ningxue’s Ice Magic was close to the peak of the Ice Element with the help of a unique magic artifact like the Ice Crystal Bow. The arrow also consumed a huge amount of Mu Ningxue’s mental energy.

The Sea Skeleton King’s lower body was frozen solid. It was not just covered in a layer of frost, but icy crystals that were as sturdy as steel. Even powerful spells would struggle to leave scratches on them.

Mo Fan immediately circled around to the Sea Skeleton King’s back after Mu Ningxue successfully trapped the Sea Skeleton King, creeping closer with Fleeing Shadow.

The Sea Skeleton King was extremely cautious. It began twisting its body vigorously when it noticed Mo Fan closing on its backbone.

It swung its hand at the sky. Mo Fan instantly felt an enormous force rushing at him, forcing him to back away and reveal himself!

The force had formed a spreading barrier around the Sea Skeleton King to keep Mo Fan away from its back. He was unable to touch the Sea Skeleton King’s skin, let alone its backbone!

“Brother Fan, I’ll keep it busy!” Zhang Xiaohou declared.

“How are you going to do that?…”

Mo Fan saw Zhang Xiaohou turn into a wind drill and start digging into the Sea Skeleton King’s chest.

The Sea Skeleton King was the size of a mountain. The holes in its body left from the previous battle were like caves punched into it. Zhang Xiaohou boldly went right inside the Sea Skeleton King’s chest like a parasite.

The Sea Skeleton King was still afraid of other creatures going inside its body. Its backbone might be its first priority, but it also had organs in its chest!

Its destructive Aura began to shift inwards. It was trying to drive Zhang Xiaohou out from its torso.

Zhang Xiaohou was utterly reckless. Not only was he reluctant to leave, he drove deeper into the Sea Skeleton King’s chest and took cover behind its ribs.

The Sea Skeleton King started to panic. A human Mage had run inside its own chest. If the human’s spells were as powerful as Mo Fan’s lightning, it was no different from planting a bomb inside its chest!

It could not allow Zhang Xiaohou to go any deeper. It released all of the destructive Aura into its body, even if it might end up damaging itself!

Zhang Xiaohou’s actions worked as intended. Mo Fan was able to see the bone with the Totem Seal!

“Little Flame Belle!” Mo Fan shouted.

Little Flame Belle had long been on standby and immediately appeared. She was as dazzling as the sun as she hovered above Mo Fan. Mo Fan erupted into blazing flames as he was bathed in the scorching light coming from her.

His blood vessels, bones, muscles, and skin were made of scorching lava, like a child of the sun. He was radiating imperious flames!

As Mo Fan transformed into the King of Hell, the Totem Seal on the Sea Skeleton King’s backbone started glowing and heating up.

The Sea Skeleton King was made of water and possessed a demonic Aura. Even its bones were brimming with the presence of the Undead Magic.

However, a particular bone on its back was blazing red, like a piece of metal that had just been taken out of a furnace.

It proved Jiang Shaoxu was telling the truth!

Mo Fan did not hesitate any longer. He dove into the Sea Skeleton King’s body just like Zhang Xiaohou had!

The Heavenly Flames would normally be unable to melt through the Sea Skeleton King, but Mo Fan had transformed into a scorching spear, forcing his way into the Sea Skeleton King’s body. The creature was unable to resist the heat in its weakened state.

The Sea Skeleton King could feel its back burning. It tried to grab Mo Fan.

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan decisively made their moves and blocked the Sea Skeleton King’s arm, buying Mo Fan more time.

Mo Fan finally broke through the thick black seawater. He felt like his own Heavenly Flames were going to burn him into ashes. He had rarely engulfed himself in such hot flames in the past.

“Lava Fist River!”

Mo Fan threw a punch at the bone with the Totem Seal. Thick black water swirled to block the flames.

Mo Fan did not give up. He threw another punch at the same location.

A third punch!

A fourth punch! The lava was splashing everywhere and had set the whole place on fire.

Mo Fan failed to blast open a hole after throwing four punches. He took a deep breath and kept attacking.

The bone with the Totem Seal was getting hotter. It had been just a normal bone before, without any sense of life.

However, as its temperature rose, the reddened bone started releasing its own burning heat!

The massive Sea Skeleton King had over a thousand bones, but only the bone with the Totem Seal was burning. It was about to separate itself from the cold and undead creature, and be reborn!

Chapter 2515: The Little White Tiger’s Power

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The lava splashing in the air was burning like bundles of fiery vines.

The red-hot bone was absorbing the flames. The bone with the Totem Seal had turned into a fiery cocoon!

The burning cocoon expanded and was on the edge of breaking free from the Sea Skeleton King’s backbone.

The dim sky had reddened now. The thick clouds had turned the color of burning lava in Hell.

A crimson bird with purple feathers on its crown, tail, and wings burst out of the cocoon, flying right out of the Sea Skeleton King’s backbone. It was only the size of an eagle, but the light it was emitting was comparable to the light of nine suns!

The Sea Skeleton King spun around. It forcibly broke free from Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai’s spells and lunged at the Four-Eyed Bird.

The bird was the main source of its incredible power. It had labored in the deep sea for over a thousand years just to claim the Totem Seal. It had taken the creature a very long time just to refine the bone!

The bone had now turned into a bird and was flying away. Even the Sea Skeleton King had no idea that the Totem Beast that had died several thousand years ago could be reborn after coming into contact with fire!

Being reborn and being able to heal itself were two very different things!

The Sea Skeleton King was shocked and overjoyed. If it could steal the Four-Eyed Bird’s ability to be reborn by using water, nothing in the world could possibly beat it!

The Sea Skeleton King pounced at the Four-Eyed Bird recklessly.

The Four-Eyed Bird was still tiny. It was obviously not what it used to look like. It was absorbing the Fire Magic around it, trying to recover its strength!

The Sea Skeleton King opened its chest and wrapped it around the Four-Eyed Bird to stop it from flying away.

“Is it trying to shove the Four-Eyed Bird back inside its backbone?” Mo Fan could feel the Sea Skeleton King’s crazed fervor.

The Sea Skeleton King had not known the bone Totem Seal had the ability to resurrect the bird. It would definitely steal the ability if given more time.

How could the Sea Skeleton King not lose its mind? Not every place had scorching flames, but there was water almost everywhere!

As long as it remained in the sea, it would easily have access to ice-cold water. It could rule over the ocean with the Four-Eyed Bird’s ability. Even the Emperors would be wary of it!

Being unkillable was the greatest trait of the Undead!

“It has gone crazy! Don’t let it devour the Four-Eyed Bird!” Mo Fan shouted.

The black seawater suddenly reached several hundred meters high. The red sky was instantly replaced by an evil, dark Aura. The waters further away had turned cloudy and dark.

The Sea Skeleton King’s Aura was overwhelming. It had surpassed Mo Fan and the Four-Eyed Bird’s flames and dragged the whole area into a dark abyss filled with water. The waves were pouring down from the holes in the sky, like the world was falling apart.

Mo Fan was constantly being knocked back and forth by the waves. The Fire Domain he established was rapidly devoured by the black tsunami falling from the sky. He was struggling to get out of the sticky water.

Little Flame Belle’s Heavenly Flames were useless. The Sea Skeleton King was a Supreme Ruler. Its black seawater and destructive sea breeze were not any weaker than the Heavenly Flames, not to mention the natural restraint of water over fire. Mo Fan was at a disadvantage even in his Hell of King form.

“Damn it, how is it still so strong?” Mo Fan cursed as he fell into the black sea. It did not feel like water, but a pool of demons and devils dragging him deeper into the sea to drown him.

Mo Fan was unable to use any of his abilities. He truly felt how strong the Sea Skeleton King was right now. He felt like he was suffocating even when the creature only had around twenty percent of its strength left!

Mo Fan could not stop the Sea Skeleton King, and he was having trouble breaking free from the water. The gate of life was right above his head, but it was slowly closing. He would be stuck forever in the water until he died!

“Brother Fan, I’ll handle it. You should focus on breaking out of the water!” Zhang Xiaohou exclaimed.

Mo Fan realized he had sunk to the bottom of the sea. A gate of death was sucking him towards it.

Mo Fan was fighting his lingering fears. The Sea Skeleton King had yet to go all out on them, and was preoccupied with trying to capture the Four-Eyed Bird. Otherwise, Mo Fan would have been dead by now.

I will really think twice before challenging such a strong creature in the future!

Mo Fan was having trouble defending himself. Meanwhile, the Four-Eyed Bird had just been reborn. It was only a little bird, and it had not recovered its strength.

Zhang Xiaohou was the closest to the Four-Eyed Bird, since he was causing trouble inside the Sea Skeleton King’s chest.

He immediately flew out of the Sea Skeleton King’s chest when he saw the creature trying to capture the Four-Eyed Bird.

Zhang Xiaohou was extremely fast. He reached the Four-Eyed Bird before the Sea Skeleton King could catch it.

The waves rolled fiercely. Zhang Xiaohou stood on a gust of wind in the shape of a sword and glided across the sea like a surfer challenging a huge wave!

The Sea Skeleton King was enraged. It raised its hand high and covered the sky!

The hand was like a black tsunami that had poured down from the sky. Its mass and strength could easily shake the Heavens and Earth. The Sea Skeleton King was using everything it had to take out the annoying humans!

Zhang Xiaohou was extremely tiny compared to the Sea Skeleton King’s hand, which was falling at a shocking speed. He was struggling to escape the Sea Skeleton King’s palm no matter which direction he flew in.

The Four-Eyed Bird was in Zhang Xiaohou’s arms. Its eyes were filled with despair when it saw the giant hand looming over it.

The Sea Skeleton King was much stronger than it used to be when they first arrived. It was not slow and simple-minded, like most creatures of massive size. The group was caught unprepared by the cunning creature!

A tiger’s howl suddenly came as a creature with fur like snow appeared out of nowhere. It jumped straight onto the Sea Skeleton King’s head and scratched at it.

The Sea Skeleton King had been unaware of the little creature’s existence. An icy mountain emerged from the bottom of the sea with stalactites hanging on its edges or icy spears pointing at the sky, like a scene from the last ice age!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Little White Tiger!”

Mu Ningxue was surprised. Since when was the little creature following them? She had clearly left him at Fanxue Mountain!

The little cub had been left at the mountain after signing a Contract with Mu Ningxue.

He enjoyed keeping the Moon Moth Phoenix company and stirring up trouble on the mountain. Mu Ningxue did not even bother asking how he was doing. Whenever the patrols caught him on Fanxue Mountain, she would let him play in her backyard for a while.

Mu Ningxue had clearly told the little cub to stay behind, but he had been following her instead!

It was not the time to scold the little cub, as they happened to be in a pinch right now. Mo Fan and Zhang Xiaohou were in danger, while Mu Ningxue was finding it difficult to fire another arrow.

The little cub was behaving differently than his usual naughty self. He had dug his claws into the Sea Skeleton King’s head and split its face in half!

The glacier emerging from the bottom of the sea was stabbing at the Sea Skeleton King like a spear the little cub had Summoned!

The Sea Skeleton King had suddenly sustained a serious blow. The giant hand that was going to crush Zhang Xiaohou at any second was shattered.

Zhang Xiaohou took hold of the opportunity to break free from the Sea Skeleton King’s grasp. He flew into the distance while coddling the Four-Eyed Bird, trying to distance himself from the Sea Skeleton King.

The Sea Skeleton King let out thunderous cries. It shook its body to smash the glacier binding it and directed its destructive Aura at the little cub.

The little cub decisively backed away after the attack. He was both cunning and agile, and the little creature was also surprisingly fast. He fell on the cage of black seawater like a beam of white light.

The angry Sea Skeleton King did not chase after the little cub, racing after Zhang Xiaohou instead.

The sea was surging madly, but Zhang Xiaohou had the advantage of speed. If he insisted on running away, even a Supreme Ruler would find it hard to stop him!

The little cub went to Mo Fan and raised his front limbs, stomping the water.

The water froze rapidly, from the surface all the way to the bottom of the sea. The black seawater that was trapping Mo Fan finally stopped moving, giving him a moment to catch his breath.

The little cub stood at the opening and looked down at Mo Fan like he was saying, “Do you need a hand?”

Mo Fan swam back to the surface and returned to the warm and bright world. His Heavenly Flames erupted once again.

The little cub raised his head proudly, like a savior waiting to be worshiped by the people.

“Why are you so proud of yourself? Go ahead and kill that thing if you can! You are a direct descendant of a Sacred Totem Beast! You are supposed to be the Ancient Sea Gods’ nemesis, but you only came to reap the harvest after we did the hard work!” Mo Fan complained.

The little cub’s whiskers quivered to show his anger.

“We have been taking care of you for free while you do nothing. Why aren’t you chasing after that creature and killing it?” Mo Fan pinched the little cub’s face.

The little cub shook its head like he was saying, “I’m not going to step forward to be struck down first! We’ll go together!”

“You are embarrassing the name of the Sacred Totem Beasts. Other Sacred Totem Beasts would have fought it alone!” Mo Fan scolded it.

The shameless little cub simply ignored Mo Fan’s mockery.

He was just a little cub. He did not have to bear the responsibilities that were not applicable to his age!

“Then hurry up and give me a ride instead!” Mo Fan said.

Why did he always have to deal with these selfish creatures? Both Apas and the little cub were the same!

The little cub finally agreed when he heard he would not have to fight the enemy himself. He transformed into his true form of an imperious Sacred Tiger of the Scar. He revealed the true appearance of a Sacred Totem Beast, even though his stripes were still not as stunning as the mature Sacred Tiger of the Scar Mo Fan had encountered.

While the little cub was chasing the Sea Skeleton King, he earnestly explained to Mo Fan that the Sacred Tigers of the Scar would only give birth to one child in every generation. His life was more precious than China’s national treasures, and he had to treat his life preciously. Otherwise, he would be the last of his kind!

Mo Fan was seriously not in the mood to listen to the little cub’s excuses to justify his cowardice. He suddenly realized Zhao Manyan was a more suitable master for the cub!

“You are an odd one among the Totem Beasts. Are you sure you possess the lineage of the Sacred Tigers? Are you sure you are not a weasel instead?” Mo Fan pinched the little cub’s ear.

The little cub was unperturbed. He could not have cared less about being humiliated by humans.

The little cub could easily catch up to the Sea Skeleton King with his speed, but it maintained a safe distance from it. Mo Fan was unable to do anything.

“Mo Fan, the Sea Skeleton King no longer has the Four-Eyed Bird’s power. It’s our best chance at killing it!” Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan had caught up to Mo Fan by riding the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon.

Mu Ningxue eventually regrouped with them, too. She did not need a ride from the little cub, since she had her Wind Wings. It was a big reason why she felt it was unnecessary to sign a Contract with the little cub.

“Why does Zhang Xiaohou keep running? We have gone so far away from the island!” Zhao Manyan complained.

“At least he can still run. If the Sea Skeleton King captures the Four-Eyed Bird, all our efforts are in vain. Let the chase continue, we’ll attack the Sea Skeleton King from behind while it chases after the Four-Eyed Bird!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“It’s too dangerous for us to fight the Sea Skeleton King. If it focuses on killing us, we won’t stand a chance!” Zhao Manyan sounded a little afraid.

Mo Fan was troubled, too. His strongest form of the King of Hell was not very effective against the Water Element creature. He needed to figure out another way to kill the Sea Skeleton King.

He felt the sudden need to improve his other Elements. Otherwise, he would always find himself at a disadvantage when fighting sea monsters!

“Lure it to the land. Its strength should weaken by half!” Mu Bai pointed out.

Mo Fan smacked himself on the head.

That’s right, his magic was no longer restrained if he was back on land. On the other hand, the Sea Skeleton King’s power would drop significantly.

“Houzi, lure it to the land!” Mo Fan told Zhang Xiaohou with the communication device.

Zhang Xiaohou was in a tough position. He did not dare reduce his speed or change his direction. The Sea Skeleton King was like an ocean, reaching out its fierce claws for him, its enormous figure covering the entire sky. He would be swallowed if he slowed down even a little!

“I don’t know where the land is!”

“Lingling, we need your guidance now!” Mo Fan yelled.

Luckily, the communication device was still working. Lingling’s voice soon came out of the device.

“Don’t stop. Keep going forward for a hundred kilometers. You should reach Xixiong City!” Lingling replied.

Jiang Shaoxu immediately spoke up before Lingling could finish the sentence, “Mo Fan, isn’t Xixiong City where we spent the night in a temple? There’s a volcanic island to its north! The Four-Eyed Bird needs the purest fire to regain its strength, a Mage’s Fire Magic isn’t enough. Put the Four-Eyed Bird inside the volcano, and it will transform into a real Totem Beast!” Jiang Shaoxu told them.

“Xixiong City… isn’t that in Japan?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

“We have already traveled some distance from China. The closest land is Japan, and there’s a volcano nearby!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was utterly shocked.

The strange mist they had entered had only seemed to cover several dozen kilometers. They should only be fifty kilometers away from China’s coasts. How did they end up so close to Japan?

Was the strange mist imbued with Space and Chaos Magic? Did they travel a great distance into the sea, even though it only felt like several dozen kilometers?

Jiang Shaoxu and Lingling obviously would not lie to them. They would reach land by heading east, regardless of what country it was!

“Half of Xixiong City was drowned after the sea level rose. The residents were evacuated to somewhere higher in altitude, so you don’t have to worry about their safety!” Lingling assured them.

——

Mo Fan, Jiang Shaoxu, Mu Ningxue, and Zhao Manyan were all familiar with Xixiong City. It was the first city in Japan they had visited when they were traveling around the world to train themselves for the World College Tournament.

The sea was vast, but the group was traveling at an insane speed, and the chase went on for a long time. The Sea Skeleton King was obsessed with the Four-Eyed Bird, and it would not allow humans to take away the power that belonged to it!

The Sea Skeleton King’s injuries were obvious during the chase. It was using all its power, but it still struggled to catch up to Zhang Xiaohou. Zhang Xiaohou was very good at dodging attacks, too. He had evaded every attack launched by the Sea Skeleton King.

Even if it was impossible to dodge some of the attacks, the rest of the group would lend him a hand from behind to buy him time!

The group had no choice but to bite their lips and endure the prolonged chase, even though they were injured. They had to stop the Sea Skeleton King from reaching the Four-Eyed Bird at all costs!

“Brother Zhao, catch!”

Zhang Xiaohou noticed the Sea Skeleton King’s destructive wind had blocked his path. He decisively threw the Four-Eyed Bird at Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan’s expression changed as soon as he caught the hot potato. The Sea Skeleton King immediately turned after him!

“Are you seriously thinking this is a relay? Don’t give it to me!” Zhao Manyan threw the Four-Eyed Bird at Mu Bai without any hesitation.

“Are you f**king stupid?” Mu Bai swore at him.

The Sea Skeleton King suddenly raised its hand. The limb enlarged significantly while the Four-Eyed Bird was flying across the sky. The Ruler was trying to intercept it!

“Blink!”

Mo Fan instantly Cast a Space Spell. A Space Rift opened up at the Four-Eyed Bird’s position.

The Sea Skeleton King missed its grab. The Four-Eyed Bird ended up in Mo Fan’s arms.

The Four-Eyed Bird was just like a little bird, and did not have a clear mind. The sacred flames around it were the only thing that indicated it was special.

“Little cub, full speed ahead!”

The little cub was a free-willed beast, and was not going to obey every command from Mo Fan. However, he had no choice but to run at full speed when he saw the Sea Skeleton King lunging at him!

1

The tiger cub was racing across the surface of the sea. The water his feet touched turned into ice. The frost continued to spread like ripples, freezing the water behind him.

The little cub looked like a godly beast running across the sea from above. Frost was spreading across the sea behind him, like curtains being drawn.

The frozen water was perfect for hindering the Sea Skeleton King’s pursuit. It could no longer control the water freely, easing the pressure the group was under.

The little cub sprinted across the sea like a ray of white light. His endurance was shocking. Mo Fan even had time to throw several Sky Lightning Claws at the Sea Skeleton King while riding the little cub.

The Sky Lightning Claws could only inflict minor injuries on the Sea Skeleton King, but they were still effective, as the Sea Skeleton King could no longer heal itself!

“How much farther do we have to go?” Mo Fan looked ahead. He could still see nothing but waves.

There was no sign of land. Mo Fan’s head began to hurt. They could not afford to underestimate the Sea Skeleton King. They might die if they made a careless mistake.

“Thirty kilometers left. We should see it pretty soon!”

Zhang Xiaohou was keeping the Sea Skeleton King busy from the side, preventing it from moving closer to the little cub.

The Sea Skeleton King was still very powerful. It swung its arm at Zhang Xiaohou and knocked him several kilometers away!

Zhang Xiaohou fell into the sea with a huge splash.

His magic Armor was broken, and he could no longer raise his arms. Even the slightest movement was causing him great pain.

“Houzi, are you still alive?” Mo Fan asked through the communication device.

“I…I’m alive, but my arms are broken. Keep going, don’t worry about me,” Zhang Xiaohou answered through clenched teeth.

The Sea Skeleton King made its move again, this time targeting Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, and Mu Ningxue. It realized it would never catch up to Mo Fan and the little cub before getting rid of the annoying flies around it.

Mu Bai was the next to sustain serious injuries. His defensive capabilities were not particularly outstanding.

Zhao Manyan was the toughest to beat. He managed to withstand several heavy blows from the Sea Skeleton King.

However, the Sea Skeleton King was extremely cunning. It focused on taking down the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon when it realized it would take a longer time to take out Zhao Manyan directly.

Even though the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon was at the Ruler Level, its strength was on a different level when compared to the Sea Skeleton King.

The Sea Skeleton King broke the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon’s wings and smashed it deep into the sea.

Zhao Manyan could no longer match the Sea Skeleton King’s speed without the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon.

The Sea Skeleton King Summoned a curtain of waves to block Zhao Manyan and Mu Ningxue. It then went after Mo Fan and the little cub at full speed.

“Keep going, I’m afraid I can’t go any further,” Zhao Manyan told Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue had eight Wind Wings on her back. She had no choice but to increase her altitude to fly over the waves.

However, she soon realized the curtain of waves had a special power. The higher she flew, the taller the curtain of waves felt to her, like she could never reach the top.

Mu Ningxue was puzzled.

When she looked down, she realized she was still very close to the surface, even though she had ascended over a thousand meters!

It felt like the curtain of waves was constantly growing taller, making it impossible to fly over it.

Left with no choice, Mu Ningxue could only break through the waves by force.

She could not let Mo Fan take on the Sea Skeleton King alone. He would have trouble facing a Water Element creature by himself!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan was pretty anxious right now. He’d had a full team not long ago, but he was the only one left now!

The Sea Skeleton King did not stop chasing them. It had completely lost its mind as it tried to obtain the Four-Eyed Bird’s immortality.

It was glaring after Mo Fan. It so wished it could crush Mo Fan to pieces right now!

“Little cub, do you see that mountain?” Mo Fan pointed.

The little cub had finally found the land after following Mo Fan’s guidance. However, most of the island was already underwater. The tallest trees were swaying in the waves, as the area used to be a forest. The little cub agilely ran along on their leaves.

The Sea Skeleton King was enraged. It suddenly gathered the water around it into a huge arm, uprooting the trees and throwing them at Mo Fan and the little cub.

Fierce waves rose and collapsed onto the forest, tearing the soil and roots away.

The little cub dodged the waves nimbly, and was able to find the gaps between the countless trees that were being thrown at him.

It felt like everything was moving in slow motion in his eyes. He was always able to find the perfect path to dodge the incoming projectiles.

Mo Fan realized the little cub had been hiding his strength all along. The Sea Skeleton King would have struck him down like it did to Zhang Xiaohou, Mu Bai, and Mu Ningxue without the little cub’s help!

“We are almost there!”

The terrain was rising after they passed the woods. A mountain in the shape of a chimney was rising only five kilometers away. It really stood out after the mist dissipated.

The mountain was bathed in sunlight just as Mo Fan arrived. Only the distance was a little misty.

However, the Sea Skeleton King let out a roar and made the sky of Xixiong City darken with a strange ability.

Dark clouds approached Mo Fan. They loomed over him like huge waves, weighing him down with suffocating pressure.

Lightning fell from the clouds and flickered wildly in the sky, like dancing dragons with gleaming scales.

Rain started pouring down after the lightning. The area in front of Mo Fan darkened right before the storm occurred. He felt like he had walked into a huge waterfall instead of a volcano. The light coming down from the sky was covered, while the sound of the collapsing water was deafening. He was struggling to keep his back straight under the heavy rain.

The Sea Skeleton King had turned the clear sky into the heaviest storm. The Supreme Ruler was able to control Xixiong City’s weather completely!

Luckily, the people of Xixiong City had already evacuated, or it would have been a terrifying disaster.

“Can you freeze the rain?” Mo Fan asked. The rain was so heavy that Mo Fan could not see where the volcano was.

The little cub turned around and growled, looking at Mo Fan in a strange way.

“What did you call me?” Mo Fan snapped. However, Mo Fan realized how stupid he sounded on second thought.

If the little cub froze the rain, it would be hailing instead. The hails would be as big as fishballs. He found the rain preferable!

Mo Fan turned around and looked at the Sea Skeleton King.

It immediately gave him a fright. He thought the Sea Skeleton King was using the rain to slow him down, but the rain had allowed it to take off into the sky!

Its body was no longer made of seawater, but the rainwater! Mo Fan could no longer see the sky and earth behind him, only the enormous demon chasing after him.

Mo Fan took a deep breath. The Supreme Ruler of the sea was indeed terrifying!

The lightning flashes highlighted its silhouette. Both the little cub and Mo Fan were like tiny flies before it.

Mo Fan could feel the little cub’s speed decreasing in the rain. The Sea Skeleton King was getting closer. Its giant shadow was looming over Mo Fan and had crushed down on him multiple times.

“It’s going crazy!” Mo Fan was shocked.

The Sea Skeleton King did not act like it was heavily injured. It was just as terrifying as it was when it first appeared.

The little cub also knew he could not afford to mess with the Sea Skeleton King. He was running away with all his might.

Fighting the Sea Skeleton King was a death wish. Mo Fan even had the feeling the Sea Skeleton King had been faking its injuries. They did not stand a chance against it.

“There, right ahead, we are almost there!” Mo Fan blurted out.

Mo Fan was spooked after a few close calls. He could finally see the volcano. It was time to go all out!

Mo Fan kept using the Space Element to open Portals in front of the little cub. They barely escaped the Sea Skeleton King’s rain.

BANG!

A massive hand fell from the sky and smashed Mo Fan’s Portal into pieces.

The little cub let out a furious growl. A scorching light burst out of his body as he tore through the hand and broke free from the Sea Skeleton King’s grasp.

Mo Fan was overjoyed. The little cub was pretty impressive. He thought he was dead for sure!

The little cub ran along the steep wall of the volcano. He was originally from Tianshan Mountain, and was no longer restrained by the rain after he reached a higher altitude. The light coming from the Totem Beast gave him an imperious aura and demeanor.

“It’s coming!” Mo Fan was already injured. It was not ideal for him to fight the Sea Skeleton King right now.

The little cub was angry. He faced the Sea Skeleton King like he was going to fight it.

“Sure, keep it busy for a while. I’m heading inside!” Mo Fan did not hesitate.

He pointed at the mountain and built a slide from the rocks. He stepped on it and dove into the volcano.

Fists of rain were falling rapidly, each leaving a deadly hole in the ground. Mo Fan was using his Will to block some of them while dodging the rest.

The Four-Eyed Bird in Mo Fan’s arms cried excitedly, sensing a pure source of fire ahead!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan arrived at the opening of the volcano.

He looked down and frowned in disappointment.

There was no sign of blazing lava, he only saw a pitch-black hole. There were volcanic rocks everywhere, but they had been left here many years ago. They were ice cold, not giving off any heat.

Don’t tell me it’s an inactive volcano?, Mo Fan thought.

He did not have any backup left. If he did not awaken the true Four-Eyed Bird, he had no idea how he could fight the Sea Skeleton King.

“Let’s hope the little cub can hold the Sea Skeleton King off a little longer…” Mo Fan mumbled after catching a glimpse of a white figure disappearing into the distance.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and saw the Sea Skeleton King was less than several kilometers from him. He felt like a giant demon was looking down at him.

That shameless little cub, wasn’t he giving off an emperor’s Aura? How could he run away as soon as the Sea Skeleton King arrived!?

The Sacred White Tiger of Tianshan Mountain was seriously as timid as a donkey!

Even his final backup had run away. Mo Fan looked down at the dead volcano. He felt like he was being forced to the edge of a cliff.

There was no way he could beat the Sea Skeleton King. The creature was just as strong now as it was when it first showed up at the coast of the Magic City. It might not be able to maintain its strength for a long time, but that was already plenty enough for it to kill Mo Fan!

A huge blast came from the sky. The Sea Skeleton King was worried that the Four-Eyed Bird might find lava inside the volcano. It tore the stormy clouds apart, pouring a huge waterfall into the volcano!

Other volcanoes released lava and huge clouds of ashes, and all living creatures that could not escape in time would perish. However, the volcano in Xixiong City was being filled with a waterfall instead!

There was no way the volcano would have any fire in it!

“Screw it, it’s not like I have a better choice!” Mo Fan decisively hugged the Four-Eyed Bird to him and jumped into the pitch-black hole as he saw the waterfall approaching the volcano.

—

Mo Fan was falling rapidly in the dark.

Most importantly, the falling water was only inches from his ankles. Mo Fan began to regret his action. He was just going to be stuck inside the hole. The Sea Skeleton King had ten thousand different ways to kill him!

The Four-Eyed Bird was growing more excited. It even had the urge to beat its wings and fly out of Mo Fan’s arms, but it looked at Mo Fan and realized it would be faster if it stayed with Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was feeling a great chill and an overwhelming force behind him. He realized the water was going to crush him to pieces no matter what he found inside the hole.

The hole was extremely deep. The volcano was only around two thousand meters tall from the outside, but Mo Fan felt like he had fallen more than two thousand meters into the mouth of the pit.

The volcano was surrounded by the sea. Mo Fan realized he had already fallen below the water level.

The Four-Eyed Bird could not wait any longer. It broke free of Mo Fan’s arms and dove deeper into the darkness.

Mo Fan tried to grab the Four-Eyed Bird, but he suddenly slammed into the ground. He broke his nose and bones as he failed to stop in time.

To make matters worse, the terrifying waterfall smashed right down on him, leaving him in great pain. It almost broke every bone in his body.

Normally, a ferocious blow would only hit him once, but the waterfall was constantly hitting him with great force. Even with his demon flesh, he was struggling to withstand the pressure.

His consciousness started fading away as he lost control over his body. Even the pain he was under was turning numb.

He could hear the faint cries of the Four-Eyed Bird, and the waterfall finally came to an end.

The Four-Eyed Bird beat its wings and landed on Mo Fan’s flattened chest.

Water had filled up the inside of the volcano and formed a lake. Mo Fan was floating motionlessly on the water. Some of his body parts looked like they only had a single layer of skin left.

The Four-Eyed Bird turned around and saw scorching lava leaking out of a nearby fissure. It even set the cold water on fire after touching it.

The lava was enticing the Four-Eyed Bird. If it flew over and pried open the wall, it would immediately be bathed in pure lava and be reborn!

However, it was hesitating, sitting there like a little sparrow.

It eventually moved its gaze away from the lava and looked at Mo Fan’s crushed chest.

It jumped several times on the spot and then dove into Mo Fan’s heart.

Mo Fan’s body was already mashed beyond recognition. The Sea Skeleton King was determined to kill him.

His chest was broken, and his heart was crushed. He was already a dead man who had died a horrible death.

Thud!

However, his broken heart suddenly beat once after the Four-Eyed Bird dived into it. The sound was oddly clear inside the cave.

Thud!

Mo Fan’s heart beat again. His body shuddered with it.

The body started moving after some time, but in a weird manner. It was more like a walking corpse.

Something was dragging his incomplete body toward the wall with lava leaking out of it.

It was moving slowly. If anyone was watching it, they would be spooked, as they might assume it was a zombie looking for food inside the cave, especially when the body was already damaged beyond recognition.

It continued to move across the water, and finally reached the wall.

It had lost many of its fingers. Its arm was so pulped that only its skin remained whole.

However, it was reaching out its hand like a thirsting man trying to reach the water that was flowing out of a rock. The only difference was it was trying to reach lava instead!

The scorching lava flowed across its hand. Most of it had dropped to the ground, where the tattered hand scooped the lava up.

The body lowered its head and drank the lava.

The scorching lava flowed down Mo Fan’s throat and set him on fire.

Ordinary people would have burned into ashes. However, the lava was like fresh blood to Mo Fan.

His heart was recovering amid the scorching flames. It was soon pounding heavily in a steady beat!

The blazing lava solidified and reforged his bones, ribs, arms, and legs.

Chapter 2520: Phoenix Flame

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was like metal pieces being melted into liquid in a furnace and then poured into a mold.

The result was a human figure brimming with power. It looked like a sculpted metallic statue under the brilliance of sacred sunlight.

The lava turned into blood and flesh inside Mo Fan’s body after it cooled. The flames had refined his body and now filled it with life!

His hollow and empty eyes were now glowing like fiery orbs. They had a refined charm after the tempering and were brimming with confidence.

His skin was scorching red, showing his transparent veins and arteries. Blood from his heart was pumping out through his whole body.

Every inch of his skin was covered in erupting pores. Flames burst out of them when he tensed, forming a blazing red armor above his skin.

Perhaps the scorching red lava was his new skin. It was giving off the strong Aura of an untouchable god of fire!

Mo Fan had just regained consciousness. The overwhelming power he felt from the flames was strange and surreal.

A skeleton head made from black water was hanging a thousand meters above him. It suddenly let out a furious roar down into the hole.

Mo Fan finally remembered how he had ended up here.

The last thing he remembered was how his body had been crushed by the waterfall. It had even shattered his soul, so how did he wake up unharmed in the cave, like it was all just a dream?

A sudden thought crossed his mind. “Where’s the Four-Eyed Bird?”

He felt a strong beat from his heart after having the thought, like it was responding to his call.

Mo Fan vaguely heard a crisp cry echoing in his ears.

He clenched his heart and felt it giving off a strong heat, like a sacred furnace. It was burning fiercely in his chest.

The power he had felt was not from his imagination. It was coming from his heart!

The Four-Eyed Bird had transformed into his heart!

Mo Fan found himself shocked with disbelief. He looked at the gap between the wall where lava was pouring out like a spring.

It could have dove into the lava and reclaimed its power and form of a Totem Beast, but it had chosen to save him by giving up its own life instead.

Mo Fan immediately recalled the past about the Totem Beasts he had heard from Hua Zhanhong.

Humanity had tried to kill the Totem Beasts, but the Totem Beasts paid a huge price to drive away the Ancient Sea Gods to save them in return.

The Black Totem Snake had fallen victim to the Threat-Elimination Strategy, but he returned to protecting Hangzhou as soon as he was done shedding his old skin.

The Moon Moth Phoenix was betrayed by her guardian, but she had saved the young Yu Shishi after she was tortured by other humans.

The Four-Eyed Bird had given up the perfect opportunity to reclaim its life when the lava was within inches of it. It had rebuilt Mo Fan’s bones, flesh, soul, and life, even if it meant giving up its life.

Mo Fan lowered his head and saw a red feather stuck to his chest.

He took the feather and placed it on his palm. He could not find the words to express his gratitude to the Four-Eyed Bird.

Humans were so petty. Their lives would only last for a hundred years at most, but the Four-Eyed Bird was able to live for eternity. It had the power to be reborn with flames, yet it had used its power to save a human.

Perhaps it was the reason why humans would always remain humans, while the gods would always be gods.

That being said, Mo Fan was clearly aware that the Four-Eyed Bird did not just give up its life to save a random human. It was trying to save the man who had the courage to fight the Sea Skeleton King in exchange for the Magic City’s peace!

Mo Fan was going to fulfill its final wish at all costs!

Mo Fan raised his head and looked up at the hideous skeleton head.

The sea monster was cruel, greedy, and cold-blooded. Mo Fan could not care less about the Ancient Sea Gods’ conspiracy. His priority was to slay the Supreme Ruler, and avenge the Totem Beasts and brave warriors who had died at the hands of the sea monsters!

“Phoenix Flame!”

It was the first time Mo Fan had obtained a Heaven-grade Flame without refining it, but he could clearly sense how powerful it was!

His heart was like a majestic furnace. As long as it was still beating, it would continue to deliver the mighty flames to his hands.

It was similar to the power he had obtained after achieving the Super Level. He no longer had to rely on a medium or the magic around him, nor did he have to offer sacrifices to an otherworldly existence. The power was originating from his own body.

The flame was coming from his body. Even the smallest spark could set a field ablaze!

Mo Fan slammed his fist on the wall. BANG!

Cracks spread wildly throughout the volcano.

The volcano suddenly came alive, just like a breaking dam, similar to the emotions that were pouring out of Mo Fan’s heart.

The whole place was rumbling like a million drums, white steam rising hotly from the volcano. It already had the shape of a chimney. As the flue erupted into flames, the heat instantly evaporated the rain within a dozen kilometers radius!

The inner walls of the volcano collapsed, causing lava to rise like pillars under Mo Fan’s feet. Their force pushed up Mo Fan toward the opening, right toward the Sea Skeleton King!

Mo Fan had not forgotten the pain he had suffered when his body was crushed by the waterfall.

It was Mo Fan’s turn to let the Sea Skeleton King have a taste of its own medicine. He was going to bathe it in flames until it burned into ashes!

“Die!” Mo Fan shouted.

The volcano erupted at the same time. The lava blossomed like a dazzling flower, the red lava lighting up the gray sky, all of it focused on the man who was soaring into the sky murderously!

Chapter 2521: Blood calls for Blood!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lava sprayed in all directions and burned away the clouds. It flowed across the sky spectacularly in the strong winds!

Several local reporters stared at the sky and the volcano in astonishment.

“What a marvelous sight! The volcano that was inactive for several dozen years has reclaimed its fury! The sea monsters must have enraged the gods!” the Japanese reporter blurted out excitedly into the camera.

His cameraman raised the military video camera to capture the spectacular sight live.

Local reporters were broadcasting the situations of areas that were heavily affected by the disaster to the rest of the country. Most of them were Mages capable of protecting themselves, or they would not have dared to involve themselves in such dangerous jobs.

The volcano had been inactive for almost forty years. The people who were evacuated from Xixiong City were watching the live broadcast in disbelief. They almost had the urge to knock their heads on the ground to thank the gods!

“Honorable god of Xixiong Mountain, please look after the Heavenly Sovereign’s people!”

Many people commented on the live broadcast on the Internet.

“Hey, did anyone notice a shadow resembling a skeleton close to the volcano?”

Some people soon noticed the Sea Skeleton King from the live broadcast. “You are right, the clouds… it’s a skeleton! It’s a huge skeleton! What kind of monster is that?!”

The reporter was too far away from the volcano, so the Japanese had not noticed the ferocious creature at first. The people who were praying to the mountain god soon trembled in fear.

“Look, is that a man over there?”

“Closer, please go closer, we saw a man! He must be the incarnation of the god of Xixiong Mountain!”

Lava was erupting out of the volcano continuously. The flames were clashing fiercely with the rain. The sky and the ground were shaking vigorously.

One was evil, while the other was righteous!

One was water, and the other was fire!

The man and the skeleton were having an epic showdown in the sky!

The reporter continued to broadcast the scene to the Internet. Some people eventually recognized it was the Sea Skeleton King that had gone on a rampage close to the Magic City.

1

A Supreme Ruler!

The creature had defeated the Magic City’s army, resulting in the loss of three Top Seaters. Japan had its disasters, too, but many people had watched the horrific battle in the Huangpu District of the Magic City on the Internet.

The sea was dyed red with blood while corpses were piled up like mountains, and the unbeatable Sea Skeleton King was responsible for everything!

Now someone dared to fight the Sea Skeleton King alone after it had trampled the confidence and courage of humanity.

The Sea Skeleton King was in the East China Sea not long ago, but it was now at Japan’s Xixiong City!

“Apparently, the Magic Association has sent out a mysterious powerful Mage after the Sea Skeleton King to avenge their fallen!”

“Did that guy chase the Sea Skeleton King all the way from the East China Sea to Japan’s Xixiong City?”

The live broadcast in Japan soon reached China. The title ‘A man taking on the Sea Skeleton King alone!’ soon exploded across the forums.

It was a live broadcast instead of a recording, which meant the man was currently fighting the Sea Skeleton King!.

“Who exactly is it?”

“I can’t tell for sure. He’s completely wrapped in flames…”

“Someone can actually fight the Sea Skeleton King alone? Please accept my knee!”

Mui Nujiao and Ai Tutu were sitting on the couch at home. They had paused the broadcast multiple times to take a closer look at the man.

Ai Tutu closed her mouth after some time. She asked Mui Nujiao doubtfully, “You must be familiar with the demon king’s physique. Is that really him?”

1

“It’s definitely him!” Mui Nujiao declared confidently.

She suddenly realized Ai Tutu meant something else. Her face blushed as she rolled her eyes at Ai Tutu in embarrassment.

There had never been anything between her and Mo Fan, but she had to say the man was really attractive when he was engulfed in flames!

——

“Councilman!”

“What is it?”

“Take a look at this…” The secretary handed Chairman Shao Zheng a tablet computer.

Chairman Shao Zheng frowned, but his expression shifted after he took a closer look. His eyes glittered with excitement!

“It’s him. It’s Mo Fan!” Chairman Shao Zheng shouted.

“Since when was his Fire Element so powerful?” the secretary exclaimed.

“He has never let us down!” Chairman Shao Zheng smiled.

However, Chairman Shao Zheng was a little worried, too. He could tell the Sea Skeleton King was not as seriously injured as they had expected. They had direly underestimated its strength!

However, Mo Fan was strong enough to fight it head-on. What exactly had Mo Fan found to grant him such extraordinary strength?

——

“All hail Senior Mo Fan, make the Sea Skeleton King pay with his blood!”

“All hail Senior Mo Fan, make the Sea Skeleton King pay with his blood!”

Countless students were commenting on Pearl Institute’s forum.

They were unable to cheer for Mo Fan at the scene, but they could easily cheer for him online.

Obviously, it was Ai Tutu who had clarified that Mo Fan was the man who was fighting the Sea Skeleton King in Japan!

Ai Tutu immediately spread the news after getting Mui Nujiao’s confirmation. Many students of the Pearl Institute had also seen Mo Fan in his King of Hell form, so they were easily convinced the man was Mo Fan from his silhouette, even though they could not see his face.

“That’s how the Fire Element should be. It can evaporate anything, including the sea!” Wei Rong burst into tears.

As Mo Fan’s teacher in the Fire School, Wei Rong had never felt so proud of himself. No matter the outcome, he could boast for the rest of his life how his student had fought the Sea Skeleton King head-on!

——

Blood called for blood!

Mo Fan had resolved to fulfill his duty and bring the Sea Skeleton King’s dead body back to the Magic City. He would hang its head on the top of the Dongfang Oriental Tower so the sea monsters and the Emperor hiding in the mist could see it from hundreds of kilometers away!

It was a reminder from Mo Fan that the Magic City was not their grazing land!

They had to pay the price for what they had done, whether it was a Supreme Ruler or an Emperor from the deep sea!

Chapter 2522: Declaring War with Pride

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s skin burst open and bled rapidly after he collided with the Sea Skeleton King three times. His forehead, his fists, and his chest were covered in blood.

The Sea Skeleton King was a formidable enemy; it was called a Supreme Ruler for a reason! It had regained its strength even after being worn out by Mo Fan and his friends previously. It even felt to Mo Fan like its strength had continued to grow the longer the fight went on.

Mo Fan was all by himself. He constantly found himself at a disadvantage despite obtaining the Phoenix Flame.

However, there was no sign of fear in his eyes. He might be covered in blood, but his will to fight was as brilliant as the flames engulfing him.

The sky and the ground were shaking constantly from the eruptions of the volcano above Xixiong City. Lava jetted even higher into the sky, and then fireballs poured down like meteor showers, soaring past the mountains and sea with thick trails of smoke behind them.

Mo Fan was standing in the middle of the meteor shower. A drop of lava that had yet to burst into flames happened to touch his forehead.

The cuts on his forehead began healing at a visible speed after touching the lava.

Mo Fan’s heart was pounding heavily at the same time. It was transferring vigorous life force to his head!

As the rain of fire poured down on Mo Fan, the blood on his arms was like mere dye. His arms and bones healed rapidly as the flames around him grew even brighter.

His chest erupted into flames as a bright armor took shape on it, yet Mo Fan himself was surprisingly calm.

The heavy rain could never put out his flames!

“I can heal with fire, while you have lost the ability to heal with water! Do you still think you can beat me?!”

Mo Fan had fully recovered from his injuries, but the Sea Skeleton King was unable to fill the new hole in its chest with water.

He stomped the air and flew across the mist like a ray, heading straight at the Sea Skeleton King’s heart!

The Sea Skeleton King raised the water and formed a thick curtain in front of itself.

The Sea Skeleton King lost its mind when it saw Mo Fan healing himself with fire. It had never thought its precious ability would end up in a petty human’s hands!

That was supposed to be its power. The tiny human had no right to steal it!

The curtain of water had almost split the world in half. On one side was the curtain of flames bursting out of the volcano and falling onto the land and the sea. Scorching lava was flowing down from the volcano like red veins, forming a spectacular basin of fire by the sea.

On the other side were the Sea Skeleton King’s destructive winds and sinister rain. The sky and the sea were dark. The Sea Skeleton King’s outline was barely visible amid the storm as it stirred up ferocious waves.

Mo Fan broke through the curtain of water recklessly. The curtain of flames behind him was serving as his army.

Mo Fan’s reckless move was surprisingly effective. The curtain of water failed to withstand the barrage of flames.

Mo Fan tore down the Sea Skeleton King’s strongest defense. He noticed the Sea Skeleton King was already covered in holes!

“Blood calls for blood!”

Mo Fan turned into a godly axe seemingly drawn out of the sun. Its blazing edge swiped at the Sea Skeleton King’s stomach with unbelievable force.

The hole on the Sea Skeleton King’s stomach was its weakest point.

Mo Fan landed a deadly hit. Not only did the hole on its stomach widen, the cracks on its other body parts were spreading now!

Sparkles of fire erupted across the Sea Skeleton King’s body. Its black water was trying to fend off Mo Fan’s Phoenix Flame, but it failed to resist Mo Fan’s attack this time.

If Mo Fan had not had the ability to heal with fire, the Sea Skeleton King would have killed him several times by now, even if he had obtained a stronger flame. This was the strength of the Phoenix Flame!

Dripping water could penetrate a stone. Even the tiny bites of ants could tear down a dam, let alone the Phoenix Flame, which was on par with the Sea Skeleton King’s sorcery.

Mo Fan was determined to kill the Sea Skeleton King. The creature had only crushed him once. He had no reason to be afraid of it anymore.

The Four-Eyed Bird had remained at the bottom of the cold sea for thousands of years just waiting for its rebirth. His hardship and determination were nothing in comparison.

The burning axe hewed at the Sea Skeleton King once again. The knockback caused Mo Fan great pain every time it struck the Sea Skeleton King’s bones, but he was treating it as simply another form of tempering.

He was like a piece of metal. He needed more than heat to be refined further. He had to be tempered over and over again!

The near-death experience had taught Mo Fan that he needed to be stronger!

The rain of lava was following behind Mo Fan like his own personal army. Every time Mo Fan slashed at the Sea Skeleton King, the flames would take the shape of the Four-Eyed Bird and its blazing feathers.

The Japanese reporter happened to capture Mo Fan’s impressive appearance.

Thousands of Four-Eyed Birds were diving from the volcanic ashes that had covered the sky. They surged across the land, mountain, and sea angrily under the command of the man who was engulfed in armor made out of flames.

The Sea Skeleton King was severely injured by the burning axe, and its water-formed body evaporated quickly in the flames of the Four-Eyed Birds. Its shattered bones were soon scattered across Xixiong City, like the debris of a collapsing mountain.

The Supreme Ruler that had acted as the vanguard of the kingdom of sea monsters and given the Magic City a miserable defeat had finally fallen!

The people were not relieved yet, as they knew the Sea Skeleton King had the ability to come back alive. It would rise again when the waves of black seawater returned. The waves would reform its bones and body.

To their surprise, the Sea Skeleton King did not rise again. The black water had vanished. The huge and hideous skeleton was lying there perfectly still.

It was as still as the land. The godly birds had even melted its Undead soul!

The reporters held their breath as they continued broadcasting the scene.

Only those who were familiar with the recent battle in the Magic City were aware of how formidable the Sea Skeleton King was, but the mysterious man had slain it in Xixiong City!

Japan was under heavy attack from the sea monsters because it was an island. Its people bore a strong hatred for the sea monsters, but there was nothing they could do to get back at them.

They were finally able to vent some of their anger at the sea monsters after witnessing the death of the Sea Skeleton King. It gave them confidence, courage, and excitement.

The sea monsters were not unbeatable!

If they dared to mess with humans, humans would make them pay with their lives!

——

A huge uproar exploded in the Magic City, like the countdown of a new year.

It was dead! The Sea Skeleton King was finally dead!

It had been like a demonic shadow looming over the city. The people had to breathe carefully, while the soldiers could feel a tingling sourness in their throats at the mention of its name.

But now, someone had slain it!

The man had chased the Sea Skeleton King all the way from the East China Sea to Japan. Everyone was touched by his determination!

Most importantly. he had avenged their fallen comrades of the Magic City!

They were no longer holding their ground helplessly. They were declaring a war against the sea monsters with pride, claiming they would hunt down every single one of the sea monsters’ elites for the pain they had inflicted on their soldiers!

Chapter 2523: Ruler of the Sharkmen

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Flames continued to pour down from the sky.

Mo Fan stood in front of the Sea Skeleton King’s remains. The flames had become a burning red forest after landing on the sea, let alone upon the land.

The ruby-red Phoenix Flames lasted for a long time. The volcano was still roaring angrily at the sky. The sea kept shaking around the island before its fury.

Mo Fan had turned over a new leaf while he was bathing in the flames.

In the past, Mo Fan had to rely on Little Flame Belle to control stronger flames, but he now had access to a powerful flame directly from his heart, burning like a furnace and providing him with a continuous supply of scorching flame.

Every inch of his skin was tempered by the flame.

He was brimming with an inviolate and imperious aura, especially while he was standing in front of the huge corpse of the Sea Skeleton King.

Mo Fan touched his chest over his heart again.

Mo Fan had learned the Super Power of his Fire Element would be a Fiery Heart after he started to Awaken the Super Powers of his different Elements, but he never thought he would obtain a Fiery Heart like this!

It was not just a Fiery Heart made from his Super Power. It was an inextinguishable heart that burned like a furnace, a heart that the Four-Eyed Bird had transformed into!

It was obvious that the Four-Eyed Bird did not have the ability to Possess humans like Little Flame Belle. It had completely replaced Mo Fan’s heart instead.

Mo Fan could no longer sense its presence, nor could he communicate with it. All that remained was the Phoenix Flame he was wrapped in.

The Four-Eyed Bird was gone.

However, Mo Fan knew the Four-Eyed Bird had achieved immortality. Perhaps it would fly out of his chest and soar into the sky again after his life ended, but its spirit would remain in Mo Fan’s flame as long as Mo Fan was alive.

Wherever Mo Fan went in his King of Hell form, the Phoenix Flame would show its brilliance!

Mo Fan would treat his new power preciously. He would continue to improve it!

—

—

The operation to eliminate the Sea Skeleton King was tougher than anyone could have imagined. He had finally fulfilled his duty to avenge the dead of the Magic City.

Mo Fan rested with his eyes closed on the back of the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon on his way back to the Magic City.

The Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon was flying at an outstanding pace. They were able to see the Dongfang Oriental Tower, the landmark of the Magic City, after flying for only a couple hours.

Mo Fan kept his promise. He hung the head of the Sea Skeleton King at the top of the Dongfang Oriental Tower!

In a disastrous time like this, the government could not have cared less if the gory sight was going to influence little kids in a bad way. It was a stance they had to take.

They had to let the sea monsters know fear!

People were crowding the beach and cheering. Many of them were keen to witness the marvelous sight.

The head of the Supreme Ruler was hung at the highest point of the city like a spoil of war. Humanity was showing its stance. They were not a species at the bottom of the food pyramid, waiting to be slaughtered and fed upon!

“Mo Fan, you are always so impressive!” Chairman Shao Zheng said with a proud smile from atop the Dongfang Oriental Tower.

“I know clearly how tough the fight was. I’m still far from being able to take on the Sea Skeleton King by myself if it was at the peak of its strength,” Mo Fan replied with surprising modesty.

The Sea Skeleton King had sustained serious injuries only after killing countless Mages in the Magic City. It was the main reason why Mo Fan had been able to kill it.

He might have won the final glory by killing the Sea Skeleton King, but he knew there was no way he could have defeated the Sea Skeleton King without the sacrifices in the Magic City; the help from Mu Ningxue, Zhao Manyan, Zhang Xiaohou, and Mu Ningxue; and the sacrifice of the Four-Eyed Bird!

“It’s great that you have learned your shortcomings, but we all believed in you. One day, you will be standing at the top of this tower having surpassed the High Seaters, the three Top Seaters who were killed. You might even achieve the Forbidden Level and be strong enough to fight the Emperor hiding in the mist!” Chairman Shao Zheng said excitedly.

A strong Mage required great determination and courage. Mo Fan had an unyielding spirit and the courage that many powerful Mages lacked.

Not every powerful Mage had the courage to go after the Sea Skeleton King, despite their outstanding strength.

Mo Fan was definitely worthy to accept the glory!

Shao Zheng was further convinced that he had chosen the right man for the job. Mo Fan did not let him down, nor did he let the Magic City down!

——

Sometimes, earning glory would not necessarily bring joy and excitement to a person.

The people of the Magic City were showing Mo Fan the utmost respect after he killed the Sea Skeleton King, but he was surprisingly calm.

After all, it was not easy to earn glory, nor would it fall on someone randomly. Only the person involved knew the hardships they had to overcome for the astonishing feat.

Mo Fan was basically standing on a giant’s shoulders when he severed the Sea Skeleton King’s head.

He had to grow even stronger, until he was capable of killing the Sea Skeleton King at the peak of its strength.

For some reason, Mo Fan had a feeling he was not far from his goal after obtaining the Phoenix Flame!

——

The head of the Sea Skeleton King actually did intimidate the army of sea monsters.

The sea monsters in the Yangtze River no longer dared to cause any trouble. The advancing army of sea monsters had gradually slowed down, too.

It seemed like the Sea Skeleton King had been a powerful general of the sea monsters. However, based on the information they had received from the Shoreline Alliance, there were at least two other creatures with the same status as the Sea Skeleton King who had invaded the East China Sea.

One of the Supreme Rulers was heading toward the Yellow Sea. The other Supreme Ruler was causing trouble in Hangzhou. It was trying to turn the West Lake into a colony.

The Black Totem Snake was obviously fighting the Supreme Ruler, but unlike the Sea Skeleton King that had fought alone, the Supreme Ruler that was trying to take over the West Lake had thousands of soldiers under its command. They were said to be the tribe of Sharkmen!

The Sharkmen…

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had once encountered the species at Japan’s East Maritime Fortress. It was a tribe with a strong lineage, as even the lowest-ranked lackey was in the Warrior or Commander-level.

Most importantly, a dozen Sharkmen Rulers had shown up in Hangzhou. The Black Totem Snake had been injured before he even had the chance to fight the Supreme Ruler leading the Sharkmen.

The Sharkman Ruler was on par with the Sea Skeleton King in terms of strength. It had already killed a peak Super Mage from the Lingyin Enforcement Union.

The West Lake was right beside Hangzhou City. There was nothing between them to defend the city.

If the West Lake was taken over, Hangzhou City would soon turn into a Hell on Earth!

Chapter 2524: The Sacred Totem Series

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Everyone in Mo Fan’s group realized they still lacked the strength to truly fight the sea monsters after the battle against the Sea Skeleton King.

In such difficult times, they had to be incredibly strong just to protect themselves, let alone step forward to help others. Even the lazy Zhao Manyan started to cultivate diligently and look for other ways to grow stronger.

Mu Ningxue did not stay in the Magic City for too long.

The situation did not look good for either Feiniao Headquarters City or Fanxue Mountain.

“Should I go back to Fanxue Mountain with you?” Mo Fan was worried that Mu Ningxue and the others would be unable to fend off the sea monsters.

Mu Ningxue shook her head.

A species of the sea monsters with Sound Magic had appeared at Feiniao Headquarters City, but no one had been able to take a close look at them. They had yet to launch an attack on the city, except for putting the whole city to sleep after they first arrived.

It was likely that the sea monsters were still probing the shores and waiting for the perfect time to make their move.

Fanxue Mountain had the Moon Moth Phoenix. Its power was very effective against any sea monsters with the ability to hypnotize humans. They should have no trouble defending their territory.

Mu Ningxue had never thought to keep Mo Fan at Fanxue Mountain. He never liked to be restrained, and other places along the coastline might need his help more.

Mo Fan needed a vast world to provide him with a perfect environment to grow!

“Little cub, you were a deserter in the previous battle. I know you are still young, so it’s too early for you to join in the action, but if you dare run away when my Xuexue is in danger…” Mo Fan cracked his fists.

The Phoenix Flame erupted vigorously. It greatly opposed an Ice Totem Beast like the little cub, so the cub was a little afraid of Mo Fan now.

The little cub lowered his head and growled softly. He had realized his mistake.

“You better visit Tianshan Mountain more often and bring back more Tianshan Sacred Lotuses for Xuexue. Do you understand!?” Mo Fan pinched the little cub’s whiskers.

The little cub’s face twisted in pain, but he did not dare fight back. He was too scared to even look at Mu Ningxue.

The little cub waved his paws around like he had made up his mind. Little Flame Belle happily interpreted what the little cub was saying.

The little cub was utterly disappointed in himself because he was too weak to even face the Sea Skeleton King. He was too ashamed to face Mu Ningxue now.

Mu Ningxue did not even bother to look at him.

She even wondered why she had signed a Contract with the little cub. He had abandoned Mo Fan when it mattered the most!

Mu Ningxue already had the urge to terminate the Contract with the little cub, even if it meant damaging her soul, but Mo Fan was still quite fond of the little tiger.

“You will go back to Tianshan Mountain and train there for two months?

“You will become stronger and bring back a cart of valuables from Tianshan Mountain to apologize for what you did?

“Fine, we all know you are still young. It’s normal for the Sea Skeleton King to scare you away. There’s no need to…”

The little cub cried out seriously, his pride stung deeply.

The little cub indicated he was too scared to face the Sea Skeleton King because he had yet to overcome a trial in the Scar of Tianshan Mountain. Once he passed the trial, he would be able to beat the Sea Skeleton King!

“Fine, I’ll await your return!” Mo Fan finally gave his permission.

The little cub was indeed weaker than a real Sacred Totem Beast. Mo Fan could easily tell that.

The little cub must have run away from the trial to enjoy himself in the human cities because of his playful and lazy nature.

But this time, the little cub had volunteered to go back to Tianshan Mountain to face the trial. If he managed to pass the trial, he would obtain the true power of a Sacred Totem Beast!

He would gain the power to defeat the sea monsters, the power that belonged to a Sacred Totem Beast.

Mo Fan did not actually think the little cub was wrong for running away.

He was like a playful boy who never liked to study and who had been skipping classes. He did not want to study, no matter how many times his parents scolded him.

However, his pride was hurt after something happened. He realized he could not afford to waste his time doing nothing anymore. The self-realization was far more effective than the scoldings, advice, and punishment from his parents.

A boy did not grow into a man after having sex for the first time. A boy would grow into a man when he had the desire to study and become better!

Mo Fan finally had the feeling that the little cub would become a real Tianshan Sacred Tiger one day!

—

—

Mo Fan had found it strange that when they had found the Deer God, Little Loach was able to absorb the power stored in the Horn of the Deer God and give him huge benefits.

However, the same thing did not happen after Mo Fan found the Four-Eyed Bird.

It was not like the Four-Eyed Bird did not have the power of a Totem Beast, but Little Loach was reluctant to absorb it.

“It did not suit his tastes?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

Little Loach did not answer Mo Fan’s doubts. It was busy figuring out a way to digest the Sea Skeleton King’s soul!

It was a pity that the Sea Skeleton King did not drop a Soul Essence. Its Soul Remnant was not as valuable as Mo Fan had expected, either. Its soul was damaged, perhaps because it was already severely injured before their fight.

In the end, Mo Fan had to take out the enemy by himself.

The chance of dropping a Soul Essence was very low if he took out an enemy who was already dying.

—

Mo Fan asked Lingling for her thoughts.

The best way of improving the rest of his Elements to the Super Level was by finding new sources of the Totem Beasts’ power, similar to the Horn of the Deer God.

His Earth Element, Chaos Element, and Summoning Element still had yet to achieve the Super Level.

“I think it’s because of the Sacred Totem Beast’s lineage,” Lingling conjectured. “We have derived a few series of the Sacred Totem Beasts…

“The first series includes Baxia, the Black Totem Snake, and Aofu… thus Zhao Manyan obtained the power of Totem Beasts from Aofu, but you didn’t.

“The second series includes the Moon Moth Phoenix, the Totem Beast with the mysterious feathers, and the Four-Eyed Bird. Your lifetime vessel couldn’t absorb their power to open up the Seal on it. The only way you can obtain their power is when they directly merge with your body, like how the Four-Eyed Bird has replaced your heart.

“The third series includes the Sacred White Tigers and Kunlun Ancestor Tigers.

“The fourth series is the series of the Deer God.

“It’s obvious that your Lifetime Vessel belongs to the fourth series,” Lingling said, staring at Mo Fan’s chest and Little Loach.

Throughout the time Lingling had spent with Mo Fan, she had roughly guessed Mo Fan had a mysterious Lifetime Vessel. It explained how Mo Fan was able to keep up with the others, despite having so many Elements!

“So there are Totem Beasts from different series…” Mo Fan fell into deep thought. His eyes glittered all of a sudden. “If I can find another Totem Beast from the same series as the Deer God, I should be able to obtain its power, right?”

“As a matter of fact, it’s almost guaranteed that you will grow stronger once you obtain the power of Totem Beasts, but we still haven’t fully utilized that,” Lingling corrected him.

Chapter 2525: Magic Fusion

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s eyes lit up. “How can we fully utilize the power of the Totem Beasts?”

“I have no idea. We have to find more Totem Beasts and understand the connections between them,” Lingling answered.

Mo Fan reached out his hand and pinched Lingling’s face. He snarled, “Why did you bother bringing it up, then?”

Lingling slapped Mo Fan’s face and shot back with puffed cheeks, “We must come up with ideas first before putting them into practice! I’m quite confident we are on the right track!”

“Did you find the next Totem Beast after putting the Four-Eyed Bird’s Totem Seal into the big picture?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not yet, but it’s a lot easier after the recent innovations of recording devices. I found this after searching for similar patterns on the Internet…” Lingling took out her phone and showed Mo Fan a photo.

In the photo was a destroyed tower. Half of it had collapsed into the sea, so only part of it remained.

A clear claw mark could be seen on the tower. Some powerful creature had smashed the round tables in the dining hall into pieces with its claw.

“It’s a very big claw, and?” Mo Fan asked, seeing nothing important.

“I’ve found a mysterious Totem Beast. Its Totem Seal is very similar to the shape of the claw, especially this part over here!” Lingling enlarged the photo as she explained to Mo Fan in more detail.

Mo Fan would not have treated the claw mark seriously without listening to Lingling’s explanation.

“Are you sure it belongs to a Totem Beast?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“Mm, but for some reason, it has sided with the sea monsters and is causing a lot of destruction in Zhuhai,” Lingling declared.

“Let’s go to Zhuhai, then. Nothing is more reliable than inspecting the scene in person,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s what I think, too.”

—

—

Mo Fan did not want to waste his time. He went straight to Guangzhou and planned to go to Zhuhai City after a quick rest.

A lightning serpent was causing troubles in Zhuhai City. Even Shenzhen had been heavily impacted. The electricity had gone out, putting the whole city in a blackout.

In the current era, a city without electricity was pretty much paralyzed, as many facilities would no longer function. It was not as simple as taking out the electricity. Many military devices had stopped functioning as a result, so the military was unable to determine the number and whereabouts of the sea monsters.

Feng Zhoulong kept calling Mo Fan after he heard Mo Fan was in Guangzhou.

Mo Fan insisted he was on an important mission. He did not have time to waste on being the lab rat of his experiments. To his surprise, Feng Zhoulong went straight to Mo Fan’s place and forced him to come to Canton Tower with him!

——–

Mo Fan had a bad feeling as soon as he arrived at Canton Tower.

Feng Zhoulong brought Mo Fan straight to the Research Union’s lab. The sight of workers in white lab coats and gas masks sent shivers down Mo Fan’s spine.

“Here, let me introduce you to a brilliant student we’ve recently recruited!” Feng Zhoulong exclaimed.

Whenever Feng Zhoulong looked at Mo Fan, he did not react like he was happy to see a friend. It was more like he was proud of his invention. It was the main reason why Mo Fan was reluctant to come here.

Mo Fan yawned impatiently.

However, he froze when the woman with curly purple hair took off her mask. The impatient look on his face was replaced with shock!

“Sharjah!” Mo Fan stared at the woman, who was still as elegant as an elf. It took him some time to collect his thoughts in the face of her charm.

“Sir, it’s been a while.” Sharjah was speaking fluently in Chinese. She even followed the Chinese customs.

She was dressed just like a Chinese woman, save for the color of her eyes.

“Why did you come here?” Mo Fan asked.

“My brother was worried I would be charged with treason, so he forced me to leave the Andes Mountain Range. I had enough of the Aorus Sacred Institute, and I had nowhere else to go, so I applied for a position here. It was Mr. Feng who took me in,” Sharjah said with a faint smile.

Mo Fan was left speechless. Why is she acting just like a foreign exchange student after she was threatened with treason?

Forget it, he could never understand Sharjah’s personality…

“It seems like you two already knew one another. That’s perfect,” Feng Zhoulong said cheerfully.

“I did introduce her here, I only brought it up randomly. I didn’t think she would really consider it.” Mo Fan reached out his hand and rubbed Sharjah’s head.

Sharjah did not avoid him. She was very obedient, but the intelligence in her eyes did not belong to a normal student.

“I see, I should be thanking you, then. Mo Fan, do you know? The Heavens have gifted me two precious things. The first one is Sharjah’s intelligence, and the second one was the invasion of the sea monsters!” Feng Zhoulong blurted out in excitement.

Mo Fan’s face was full of question marks as he coughed in embarrassment. “I can understand the first one. After all, Sharjah is truly a genius. She’s smarter than many of the professors at the Aorus Sacred Institute, but I don’t quite understand the second one,” Mo Fan replied.

“Of course! I’m talking about resources. We’ve been stuck on land for so long. We have already dug up every resource on land, but we’ve only come so far. The invasion of sea monsters might be a disaster, but it also opens a new door for the Magic Civilization by bringing us rare resources of the deep sea. We can finally conduct many of our experiments!” Feng Zhoulong explained enthusiastically.

Mo Fan nodded in agreement. He said, “Sure, go ahead and discuss it. I’m just a fighter. I’m more concerned about how I can improve my strength. I have other things to worry about. I shall excuse myself. Sharjah, make sure you learn from Feng Zhoulong.”

“Hey, can you wait until I’ve finished!?” Feng Zhoulong snarled, like he could not wait to vent all the grudges he was carrying.

“I’m really busy. I have to take care of the lightning serpent,” Mo Fan replied.

“But can you defeat it?”

“I’ll know once I’ve tried,” Mo Fan answered.

“I have ways to make you stronger!” Feng Zhoulong proclaimed.

Mo Fan immediately halted in his tracks, but he did not turn around.

“Sir, after some collaboration, our theory of merging different Elements is no longer just a theory. We just need a volunteer to test them,” Sharjah said.

“What?!” Mo Fan turned around.

“We’ve finished researching Magic Fusion. Don’t you want to be the first to try it out?” Feng Zhoulong smiled.. His smile was more seductive than a demoness in a cave.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan instantly walked back to Feng Zhoulong and Sharjah.

Did they really figure out how to put Magic Fusion into practice?

Wouldn’t that mean altering the current structure of human magic?

“The tougher the environment, the easier it is for a species to evolve. Our enemy was once a species on land, but they have evolved into a stronger species in the sea. We can’t allow ourselves to be stuck in a rut if we are to fight them!” Feng Zhoulong declared.

He was absolutely right. The Light Element, Shadow Element, and Dimensional Magic had been discovered while mankind was in great danger.

Powerful enemies had washed the cities along the coastline with blood, but humans were gradually improving and innovating while defending their territory!

Feng Zhoulong had devoted his whole life to discovering new power, but it had been extremely difficult to find something that was achievable by everyone.

He had only made progress after he found a special organ crystal and learned the secrets of Magic Fusion through it!

“This belonged to a rare species of sea monsters with four colors. It has the attributes of the Water, Ice, Earth, and Shadow Elements. It can also fuse the Water and Shadow Elements, and the Ice and Earth Elements. It took us great effort just to secure an organ crystal of the Four-Colored Demons, the key we have been searching for to open up a new gate!” Feng Zhoulong was extremely excited.

As a matter of fact, he had yet to disclose his discovery to the public.

Finishing the research was one thing, but putting it into practice was another thing. It was like writing a program. They had to run the program to find out the bugs!

Mo Fan was the first person to come to Feng Zhoulong’s mind. It was very important to keep such a valuable discovery confidential to avoid theft or sabotage. Feng Zhoulong had to carefully choose who he tested it on.

Most importantly, Mo Fan had double the number of Elements of normal Mages. The Magic Fusion involved combining different Elements, so Mo Fan, who possessed the Lightning, Fire, Earth, Shadow, Summoning, Space, and Chaos Elements, was the perfect candidate to be the lab rat.

As for Mo Fan, his first priority was to become stronger!

The Dark Material he currently possessed was already mixed with substances of the Chaos Element. The combination of the Chaos and Shadow Elements was extremely powerful. The assassin Bei Jiang was the perfect example.

Bei Jiang had merged the Shadow and Chaos Elements, but that was only possible because of his Innate Talent.

Feng Zhoulong’s goal was to give every Mage the special ability to combine different Elements, allowing Mages with two or more Elements to use the new power.

It would increase the overall strength of human Mages by diversifying their magic!

“We’ll try it on you first, and if it’s suitable, we will spread it through the whole country!” Feng Zhoulong exclaimed.

“Sure, I’ll be the beta tester!” Mo Fan agreed.

Mo Fan decided to stay in Guangzhou for a few more days. It would also give Lingling, Jiang Shaoxu, and Zhao Manyan more time to collect information about the lightning serpent!

—

Magic Fusion was a very difficult thing to achieve, as every spell had to follow a fixed structure.

The general procedure was focusing one’s attention, connecting the Stars, completing the Star Orbits, and Casting after releasing the spell.

It was like a standard formula. If any of the steps were missing or manipulated, the process would fail.

Most people could only focus on one thing at a time. It was like when a person was drawing a circle with one hand. It would be difficult to draw another shape with the other hand.

The biggest challenge of Magic Fusion was mastering the ability to focus on two things at the same time. Not many people could draw a Star Constellation of the Fire Element while drawing a Star Constellation of the Ice Element.

Secondly, different Elements would often clash and trigger an Elemental explosion. The energy became extremely unstable when two different Elements were combined. Not only would they go out of control, the explosion might also injure the Caster!

Feng Zhoulong claimed Sharjah was a blessing for him because of her Innate Talent that gave her the ability to multitask.

She had given Feng Zhoulong the chance to experiment on his speculation. It was no longer just a plausible idea he was thinking about!

With Sharjah’s help, Feng Zhoulong was able to determine the challenges of Magic Fusion. They eventually solved the challenges and had a desirable outcome!

“So I’ll have to practice multitasking first, right?” Mo Fan clarified.

“That won’t be necessary. Not everyone can do that. Just construct the simplest Star Orbit,” Feng Zhoulong told him.

Mo Fan followed Feng Zhoulong’s instructions.

He constructed a Star Orbit of the Fire Element by connecting the seven Stars. He was extremely familiar with the process, and could even do it subconsciously. He remembered how he had practiced it until his head hurt when he first learned magic.

“I’m done. What now?” A bright sprout of fire was burning on Mo Fan’s palm.

The small Fire Burst was still giving off great heat because of his Phoenix Flame. Feng Zhoulong and Sharjah were astounded.

“A Heaven-grade Flame? Mo Fan, you are going to drive the old Fire Mages of the Magic Association mad!” Feng Zhoulong chuckled.

“What’s next? I must tell you, I won’t be able to Channel a different spell before I toss this somewhere,” Mo Fan warned him.

“Take this!” Feng Zhoulong quickly handed a short rod to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan took the rod. He noticed the thing was like the magic wands from Harry Potter. It was thin and silvery, like the baton that conductors used. He immediately looked at it strangely.

Mages had never needed weapons. The staves that some old Mages used were just some Equipment with special effects.

He had to say that he did not want to wave a little wand around in a fight. It would make him look like an idiot if it had no special effects.

“Don’t mind the Wand. It could be a ring, a bracelet, or a necklace. It’s just a medium. Try it again, but this time, focus the magic on the Wand instead of your hand,” Feng Zhoulong told him.

Mo Fan was doubtful, but he still followed Feng Zhoulong’s instructions.

He constructed a Star Orbit and Cast Fire Burst.

The Phoenix Flame should have set the Wand on fire. To his surprise, the Phoenix Flame instead erupted from his palm a second later.

It was delayed by a second of time?

“See that? The Wand can store the Fire Burst for a second. You are free to use other Elements during that time!” Feng Zhoulong said excitedly.

Mo Fan immediately gave it a try. He Cast Lightning Strike during the delay.

Lightning flickered between the fingers on his left hand after he constructed the Star Orbit.

The lightning had appeared at the exact same time as the Fire Burst on the Wand!

In the past, Mo Fan was able to hold lightning in his left hand and fire on his right hand because he was switching between spells rapidly, but he still had to cast the spells in order. He had to finish the first spell and release it before using the second spell.

But now, the two spells were coexisting!

After all, he had yet to release the Fire Burst. He was basically holding it with his hand!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Now, transfer your Lightning Strike to the wand and merge it with the Fire Burst,” Feng Zhoulong smiled and told Mo Fan. He could not wait to see Mo Fan’s reaction.

Mo Fan followed the instructions.

The Fire and Lightning Elements were both unwavering and unstable, and were quite destructive, too. It was normally impossible to combine them.

If they could merge different Elements, they could just ask two Mages with different Elements to combine their spells to achieve Magic Fusion.

When Mages of different Elements Cast their spells simultaneously, the spells would either trigger an Elemental explosion or nullify one another.

Mo Fan cautiously transferred the Lightning Strike to the Fire Burst on the wand. He felt like he was throwing a match into a house that had been filled with combustible gas.

He was prepared that he might injure himself, but the process was surprisingly smooth.

The lightning wrapped around the Phoenix Flame like strings. The red and purple intertwined like two different liquids that had been poured together. They were not rejecting nor clashing with one another!

Mo Fan’s eyes glittered, overwhelmed by excitement.

They combined!

The Fire Burst and Lightning Strike merged into one!

“Go!” Mo Fan fired the Fusioned spell at the dummy target in front of him!

The spell traveled as a strange projectile and landed on the dummy target. Flames and lightning spiraled up and devoured the target.

Mo Fan was overjoyed.

Even though Mo Fan was only using the spell on a dummy target, he could sense both the burning effect of the Fire Burst and the paralyzing effect of the Lightning Strike. In addition to that, the lightning had sped up the flames to burn the target even faster!

“See that? The spell has inherited the effects of both spells and even produces a new effect. The effects are different when different Elements are combined!” Feng Zhoulong declared proudly.

“It retained the damage of the two spells and gave it an additional effect!” Mo Fan smiled.

“No, no, no; once you get the hang of it, combining the Lightning and Fire Elements should make the spell stronger. You just aren’t familiar with it, you need to practice it more,” Feng Zhoulong chided him.

It will make the spell stronger? This is the gospel mankind needs!

Without special factors like Soul Seeds, the strength of every Mage’s spell was fixed. The problem was that not every Mage in the world could own a Soul Seed.

Once the technique of Magic Fusion was popularized, every Mage at the Intermediate Level would be stronger without needing lots of resources!

It was very impressive research! No wonder Feng Zhoulong said it was a huge step forward for the Magic Civilization!

“I know you don’t like the wand, so I’ll change it to a glove for you,” Feng Zhoulong said. The look of a scientist watching his lab rat appeared in his eyes again.

“Make it cooler. By the way, is it going to be expensive? It will be difficult to popularize it if it’s not affordable,” Mo Fan suddenly realized.

Every Mage wanted a Cultivation Tool since it could speed up their cultivation speed, but Cultivation Tools were very expensive as rare Soul Essences, perfect containers, and advanced technology were needed to produce them!

“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to make a fortune from this, I’m just helping mankind. Give me some time and every Mage have access to the technique without having to spend a cent!” Feng Zhoulong declared, putting his hands on his waist.

“Mo Fan, the Magic Fusion only requires a medium, whether it be a pair of gloves, a wand, or a ring. Any Mage can simply work hard and practice it. In the past, we assumed different Elements couldn’t combine with other Elements, but we just hadn’t find the right way of doing so. You saw that even two unstable Elements like the Fire and Lightning can combine into one,” Sharjah spoke up.

Mo Fan nodded. It was a great breakthrough!

“As a matter of fact, every Element is like a child. It’s easy for children to have a fight, but as long as you balance and control them, they are just Stars in your Spiritual World. It’s possible for Mages to combine their Elements without relying on a medium,” Feng Zhoulong added firmly.

Mo Fan had never thought about it, thus he never gave it a try.

After all, every Mage was taught that different Elements were unable to merge with one another. Trying to combine them was like committing suicide.

That had turned out to be wrong!

The Magic Civilization was improving slowly, through learning and exploring. Mo Fan had great respect for academics like Feng Zhoulong.

A powerful Mage could only fend off demon creatures for a short period of their lifetime, but if they could discover a new domain, it would bring everlasting benefits to their descendants!

Mo Fan was proud to be the first person to try out Magic Fusion. He believed many people would have access to the ability in the near future!

——

Feng Zhoulong kept his promise. He worked overnight and modified the wand into a pair of gloves.

Sharjah was also involved and made sure the ../style of the gloves was not outdated. It was a pair of fashionable gloves made from a comfortable material. Mo Fan did not feel uncomfortable wearing them.

1

“Old Feng, do you have more of these so I can give them to my friends?” Mo Fan smiled.

He was feeling more confident in his strength after obtaining the Phoenix Flame. He felt unstoppable now that he had learned Magic Fusion, too!

“It’s the only one I have. We never planned to rely on the mediums. Once we finalize the process, we will popularize the technique to use Magic Fusion. The gloves were given to you so you could try Magic Fusion. I doubt anything will go wrong, but since we are going to popularize it, we need someone to find out all the bugs first,” Feng Zhoulong told him.

Mo Fan was left speechless. In the end, he was just a lab rat. It was not a privilege for the beta testers like him!

“By the way, now that you can use Magic Fusion, you must keep it confidential in case scum like the Black Vatican abuse it. You shouldn’t tell anyone for now. If someone asks about it, just tell them it’s a special effect of a Heaven Seed,” Feng Zhoulong warned him.

“Got it!” Mo Fan nodded in agreement.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

—

Saint Paul’s Cathedral…

The bell rang continuously. The sound was piercing and sharp, instead of the usual dull and sacred chime.

Countless Mages in white robes were surrounding the church with stern faces, searching for something around the church.

“Outside, she must have blended into the crowd!”

The Mages went to the streets of a crowded district. There were several thousand tourists there. How were they going to find the invader among them?

The Mages had no choice but to give up after a quick search.

A middle-aged man in an old jacket was heading toward the church.

“What do you want!?” one of the Mages demanded of him.

“I’m a tourist. I’m just looking around,” the middle-aged man said with a smile.

“Can’t you see this area is off-limits? Another more step and I’ll arrest you on the spot!” the Mage snarled.

The middle-aged man had no choice but to back away.

He shook his head in disappointment. He thought the English were polite and well-mannered, but that did not seem to be the case.

Mo Jiaxin took out his phone and went into a small alley. He was going to look for the next tourist attraction.

He had taken Mu Zhuoyun’s advice to go travel to foreign countries. However, in just a few days, all flights to China were canceled after the recent incidents. Mo Jiaxin had no choice but to stay in England and wait until the flights resumed.

Luckily, Mu Zhuoyun had a small business in England. It was mainly used to export materials from the Gold Reefs. It was an important asset of Fanxue Mountain.

Mo Jiaxin was not good at doing business. There was nothing he could do to help, so he decided to go around the city alone.

He heard heels approaching from behind. He did not think much of it, until the woman in heels came up to him.

He picked up a strong smell of blood from the woman. He noticed she was bleeding heavily under her coat.

“What happened to you?” Mo Jiaxin quickly helped her.

“Someone…someone is trying to kill me. I managed to run away, but I was stabbed,” the woman said softly.

“I’ll call the police,” Mo Jiaxin said.

“No, the guy is from the police. Please…please bring me away from here,” the woman said.

Mo Jiaxin had no reason to leave the woman there, as she was talking to him in Chinese.

Mo Jiaxin took her out of the alley. The woman straightened her back to pretend she was casually walking down the street, and was hugging Mo Jiaxin’s arm.

Mo Jiaxin felt uneasy. He was about to say something when the woman pulled her hat down and said, “Keep going and help me avoid those guards’ attention.”

Mo Jiaxin realized many Mages in white robes had blended into the crowd on the streets, setting up a perimeter.

However, they were focusing their attention on women who were walking alone on the street. The Mages completely ignored them.

—

Mo Jiaxin was going to say something after they moved away from the street.

To his surprise, the woman’s eyes were closed, like she had fainted. Most importantly, she was still walking even though she was unconscious.

He wondered what was keeping her going.

Mo Jiaxin was troubled. He had no choice but to bring her back to Mu Zhuoyun’s office.

—

Mo Jiaxin asked a woman at the office to treat the mysterious woman’s injuries. However, the mysterious woman did not wake up for a long time.

The next morning, Mo Jiaxin heard the mysterious woman was awake, and so he went up to her room.

The woman had taken off her hat. She had also removed the strange makeup on her face. Mo Jiaxin was shocked when he took a closer look at her face.

“Ye Chang?!” Mo Jiaxin’s heart pounded heavily.

Mo Jiaxin did not recognize the woman because she had pulled her hat low and covered her face with strange makeup. He did not expect her to be someone he had been unwilling to talk about for many years.

The woman called Ye Chang had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She was not as young as she appeared to be at first.

She stared at Mo Jiaxin blankly, then pointed at herself and asked, “You know me?”

“Of course, you are my…oh, it’s all in the past now. I don’t blame you since I wasn’t able to give you anything. By the way, Xinxia has grown up now. You two look very alike. A lot of things happened to Bo City after you left. I have no clue where I should start. It’s been so many years. (Sigh), I didn’t expect to stumble into you here. Oh, how have you been?” Mo Jiaxin had no idea what to say. He was stammering a little as he spoke.

1

He clearly did not know how to face the woman before him.

“I don’t remember anything,” Ye Chang wore a confused look, as if she did not even remember who she was. “I only remember I saw you on the street, so I was following you. You look familiar to me, but I can’t remember who you are.”

Mo Jiaxin looked at the woman in shock. Was she suffering from amnesia? Did she really not remember anything, or was she reluctant to see him?

“Maybe…maybe you haven’t fully recovered from your injuries. You should get more rest,” Mo Jiaxin observed the woman closely, but she did not seem to be putting up an act.

“Maybe,” Ye Chang nodded.

“I’ll find someone to treat your injuries so you can get well soon,” Mo Jiaxin said.

“Don’t!” Ye Chang stopped him.

“But you are very weak now.”

“I…I don’t want to have contact with anyone except for you. Please don’t tell others I’m here,” Ye Chang said.

Mo Jiaxin looked at the woman. She seemed to be panicking a little.

She could not remember a single thing, but her subconscious was telling her the man was the only person she could trust. She was afraid that Mo Jiaxin would not listen to her.

“You are still the same after all these years,” Mo Jiaxin sighed.

“Is that so? I don’t remember,” Ye Chang said.

“Fine, get some rest. Let me know if you need anything,” Mo Jiaxin told her.

“Thank you.”

Mo Jiaxin was still emotionally stirred up after seeing her. “Are you sure you don’t remember me?” Mo Jiaxin asked.

“You look familiar, but I’m sorry I don’t remember who you are.”

“You have a daughter. Her name is Xinxia,” Mo Jiaxin said softly..

“Oh,” Ye Chang reacted calmly. Mo Jiaxin could not tell if she could not remember her daughter, or if she was acting like this because of some other reason.

“It’s the same as the past.. You couldn’t remember anything back then, either,” Mo Jiaxin smiled wryly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The rising sea level had not impacted London much. The sea monsters were not as active in countries with colder temperatures as they were closer to the equator.

Pink roses blossomed like stars on the streets and alleys, showcasing the delicate gardens. A pleasant scent lingered in the air, soothing the minds of the pedestrians as they were strolling around.

“Let’s take a walk and get some fresh air. It’s good for your injuries,” Mo Jiaxin suggested.

It was rare for London to be sunny. The flowers were bright spots of color under the sun. Mo Jiaxin subconsciously took out his phone to take a photo of Ye Chang, but for some reason, he had a feeling Ye Chang was not a pure Asian, especially when she was wearing a knit hat. She looked more like a local woman from England.

“Don’t!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot that you didn’t like taking photos,” Mo Jiaxin quickly put his phone away.

They continued up the stairs and reached a kiosk with reinforced glass and a great view. They could see the busy streets from here.

“I’m feeling a little tired. Why don’t we rest for a while?” Ye Chang asked.

“Sure, what would you like to drink?”

“Tea.”

—

Mo Jiaxin sat opposite Ye Chang after making the order. His phone rang as soon as he sat down.

Mo Jiaxin was overjoyed to see the call was from Mo Fan.

The look in Ye Chang’s eyes changed. She stared at Mo Jiaxin coldly.

Mo Jiaxin smiled and said, “I know what you are thinking, but it’s my son, so I have to take it.”

“Dad, where are you enjoying yourself now?” Mo Fan asked over the phone.

“I’m having afternoon tea. Are you alright? I heard what is happening in our homeland,” Mo Jiaxin replied.

“Of course I’m fine, but you should enjoy your vacation in England for now since it’s free of sea monsters… By the way, I heard there are plenty of aged beauties in England. When are you going to find a partner? I don’t mind having a stepmother!” Mo Fan urged him.

“Nonsense! I’m perfectly fine here. I’m hanging up!” Mo Jiaxin moved to end the call.

“I can hear a woman laughing on your end. Dad, there’s no need to hide it!”

“It’s from the other table. I’m hanging up!”

—

Mo Jiaxin ended the call and looked at Ye Chang.

Ye Chang seemed normal again, with her usual gloomy face.

Mo Jiaxin knew she had lots of strange aversions. He also knew she did not want others to mention her.

She always hid herself under a huge coat. Whenever he broke her rules, she would suddenly go missing without a trace.

Therefore, Mo Jiaxin had not mentioned her in the call. He was afraid that she might disappear again!

“This tea is pretty bad,” Ye Chang was having trouble swallowing the tea after taking a sip. “I can remember the jasmine tea you always served me. It was nice.”

“Huh? You remember that? Give me a second,” Mo Jiaxin smiled. He had not expected Ye Chang to remember such a minor detail.

As a matter of fact, the jasmine tea used to be Mo Fan’s mother’s favorite, but she had passed away at a relatively young age. Mo Jiaxin would occasionally make the tea for himself. To his surprise, Ye Chang had liked drinking it, too.

It had been so many years. Even Mo Jiaxin had forgotten that detail

—

A shadow appeared among the flowers.

A man stood in the shadows there, blending perfectly with the background. The people who were enjoying their tea time did not notice him.

“Did you call me?” the shadow uttered softly.

“Spread the news about the Supreme Pontiff’s death,” Ye Chang said.

“Got it.”

The shadow quickly disappeared. A cup of hot jasmine tea was placed in front of Ye Chang.

“Who were you talking to?” Mo Jiaxin asked.

“A stray cat. She ran away,” Ye Chang pointed at the flowers.

“It seems like you are starting to recall a lot of things, unlike the first day. You couldn’t even remember who you were,” Mo Jiaxin smiled.

“Many people are looking for me, but sometimes, I don’t even know who I am,” Ye Chang told him.

“You always say strange things. Even though I don’t know anything about your past since you never mentioned it to me, we shouldn’t dwell on the past. You should enjoy the great view and tea while fixing your eyes on the happy times. It’s a better way to spend your life,” Mo Jiaxin shared his optimistic way of living.

“I like the sound of that, too, but if I don’t finish certain things before enjoying my life, it feels like devils are clenching my heart and my throat to make me suffer,” Ye Chang took a sip of her tea. Her gaze sharpened.

“When are you going to finish them? Can I help?” Mo Jiaxin asked.

Ye Chang shook her head. As a matter of fact, Mo Jiaxin had been more of a hindrance than a help.

“I should be going. Thank you for your tea,” Ye Chang rose to her feet.

“Oh, sure, let’s head back. The wind is getting stronger. It’s easy to get a cold,” Mo Jiaxin nodded.

“I meant I’m leaving,” Ye Chang explained.

“Huh?”

“I have some unfinished business,” Ye Chang told him.

“But…we just met, and Xinxia has already grown up. I was going to bring you to her. She’s currently in Greece!” Mo Jiaxin said urgently.

“I have already seen her,” Ye Chang informed him.

Mo Jiaxin panicked. He was looking for any excuse to make the woman stay.

He thought he would never see her again, but he had miraculously stumbled into her in a foreign country. He thought they could finally be together after being apart for so long, but she was leaving again after it had been less than half a month.

He might not be able to wait for another dozen years to see her again!

“I know I’m just an ordinary man. I will never be a part of your world or understand it, but… I just want to say I won’t disturb you or go to places I shouldn’t be. If someday, you have nowhere to go, or when you forget things again, feel free to find me. I’ll always be waiting,” Mo Jiaxin offered quietly as Ye Chang left.

“Sure, I always have nowhere to go.”

Chapter 2530: Superior of the Black Totem Snake

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The air turned chilly as the sunlight disappeared.

Ye Chang realized a man’s old jacket was draped over her shoulders. It still had some heat lingering on it.

As she approached a dark church, she casually took off the jacket and threw it into a bin.

The door of the church was tightly shut. The sun had set for the day. Strange candles suddenly lit up in the church, but they only managed to illuminate a small area.

There were no residents or tourists around. The church sat silently beside the busy street, like it belonged to a different world.

Rows of wooden chairs filled the empty church. She walked down the path in the middle of the hall toward a statue of Jesus.

“Tell me everything that happened while I was away,” she said to nobody.

“On the Disciples’ Day, Su Lengyi killed Tina and claimed the role of the Head Priestess.

“Seven days ago, a bloodbath occurred at Dubai’s Asia Magic Association. A group of scholars was murdered with obvious evidence left at the scene,” a strange voice sounding like a phantom spoke in the church.

“What evidence?” Salan asked.

“Evidence that points to us. The personnel of the Magic Association are already looking for us. It’s likely a conspiracy the authorities of the Asia Magic Association have planned. They are setting us up to distract the Holy Judgment Court and the Sacred City,” the voice went on.

“Such a lame conspiracy. Who were the victims?” Salan grinned coldly.

“A bunch of deceitful old men who claimed they had innovated new human magic,” the voice related.

“If they were just a bunch of liars, why would anyone bother to kill them? The Magic Association needs quacks like them to convince the world they are working hard to invent magic, when all they did was control the world,” Salan scoffed.

“I’m afraid I have no idea.”

“Give me a list of the victims and tell the deacon who has infiltrated the Dubai Magician Tower. Prepare a new identity for me to enter the Asia Magic Association freely.”

“Got it, but there’s one thing I don’t understand,” the voice asked curiously.

“Say it.”

“Is the Supreme Pontiff really dead?” the voice questioned.

“No one knows who the Supreme Pontiff is after the person in Saint Paul Cathedral died, so I say the Supreme Pontiff is dead.”

“What if the Supreme Pontiff shows up?”

“Isn’t he as good as dead?” Salan replied.

“Brilliant!” the voice agreed.

A strange breeze swept across the church. It soon fell silent again.

Salan looked up and stared at the statue of Jesus on the cross.

A while later, she left the church and locked the door.

She caught a glimpse of the old jacket in the bin. The jacket did not fall into the bin, as the opening was quite narrow.

A moment later, Salan walked toward the bin.

—

—

Zhuhai City…

The waves were rolling fiercely. A man was riding the waves across the gray sea, like a cultivator returning from his journey around the world.

Mages were cheering on the beach. They were too scared to even look at the sea for a long time, let alone receive a warrior who had returned from his quest at the beach.

“Senior, did you kill the lightning serpent?”

“Mm, raise a fire, I’m going to shout you all some grilled unagi. Who’s a chef here?” Mo Fan smiled.

The crowd was astounded. They looked behind Mo Fan.

A wolf with dazzling hair was running across the waves. He was dragging something toward the coast by its long tail.

The owner of the tail was of a shocking size. It was stirring up huge waves as it moved through the water. The carcass was covered in wounds, but it still gave the people on the beach a fright.

“Huh? Are you really going to cook that?!”

“Of course, it’s a waste not to use such a high-quality ingredient. It’s a great source of nutrients for both women and men!” Mo Fan replied loftily.

“Senior, you are really something. You have slain the lightning serpent by yourself!” the leader of the Mages in Zhuhai exclaimed.

“It’s not a serpent, just a relatively big eel. A real serpent doesn’t have claws. Besides, it’s not worthy to be called a serpent, considering its strength,” Mo Fan sniffed disdainfully.

“That thing doesn’t have claws, either!”

“Well, who cares what it is. I can only promise you it has a nice texture. Let’s try it out,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s right, senior, I heard that the meat of high-level sea monsters is good for children’s growth after it has been processed with a special method,” the leader mentioned.

“Oh, I have heard similar things too. Not only will children’s strength increase significantly after eating the meat, their muscles will be as hard as rocks, too!” another old Mage spoke up.

“Oh? It sounds like the meat has a lot of benefits. I shouldn’t waste them. Let’s try it out first and give the rest to the schools. Perhaps we will soon have some Hercules among us!” Mo Fan smiled.

Humans’ flesh was too weak. Even Mages could not match the physical attributes of demon creatures.

If humans had the strength to brawl with evil serpents and monsters in the mountains, their golden age might arrive soon!

——

“How was it? Did you find the Totem Seal?” Lingling asked excitedly.

Mo Fan shook his head and said, “It was just a demon eel, but its claws were indeed a little strange.”

“The information you have collected should do it. I’ll analyze it now. By the way, the Canton Tower left a message for you. They were asking you to pay them a visit. It sounds like an emergency,” Lingling said.

Lingling studied the claws closely.

A serpent did not have claws, at least according to myths and legends. However, these claws bore some similarities to a certain Totem Seal.

Seeing the actual thing and seeing it in photos were different. The claws had lines and scales that were worth investigating.

——

Lingling put all her attention on analyzing the claws to match them with the Totem Seals after returning to Guangzhou.

To Lingling’s surprise, even though the creature was not a Totem Beast, it was somehow related to the Totem Beasts. Its claws provided Lingling with some useful clues.

Most importantly, Lingling had found the Totem Beast related to the claws!

The drawings on the small island at the center of the lake in Hangzhou had a snake that was the superior to the Black Totem Snake. The lines and scales on the claws were similar to the pattern of the scales on the snake!

Lingling was extremely excited. She had finally made a huge discovery! They did not have any information on the snake that was several times bigger than the Black Totem Snake before now.

It had to be one of the strongest Totem Beasts in the ancient times.. It was the superior to the Black Totem Snake, and often hid itself in the clouds and the mists.

Chapter 2531: The Gate to Enlightenment for All Living Things

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Lingling picked up her phone and gave Mo Fan a call.

She only realized her phone was out of charge when she saw the black screen.

She stood in front of the window of her room and noticed the Canton Tower was not far from the hotel. She hurried over to the Canton Tower without even changing her clothes.

The receptionist told Lingling Mo Fan was on the highest floor, so Lingling took the lift to the top floor. Strong winds were blowing on the observation deck.

The bustling city was right under her feet. It felt like the clouds were within the touch of her hands. Lingling saw Mo Fan leaning against the rails in deep thought.

Lingling ran up to Mo Fan to tell him her great discovery, but she realized something bad had happened when Mo Fan lifted his face.

Lingling was suddenly lost for words.

“What…what happened?” Lingling was a little nervous. She rarely saw such an expression on Mo Fan’s face over the long time she had spent with him.

Flames of fury were erupting in his eyes, but he was as cold as a piece of ice.

“Old Feng is dead,” Mo Fan said. His heart ached as he uttered the words.

The man had shared his results proudly with Mo Fan, like an overjoyed kid. He had stood in front of the French window and claimed he was about to change the world.

Mo Fan could never change the world by killing demon creatures. Only people like Feng Zhoulong, who had devoted their lives to research for the sake of mankind, had a chance to change the world.

However, he was murdered before he could disclose his discovery to the world.

He did not die in his house, nor did he die at his workplace. He had died at the Asia Magic Association, the place he had visited to submit his work!

Every new technology and advance was considered forbidden until it was evaluated by the Highest Magic Association.

Therefore, Feng Zhoulong had visited the headquarters of the Asia Magic Association to submit his work and show their results to the Highest Magic Association.

However, he had died an unnatural death in the safest and most powerful place in the world, just as he was about to change the world with his innovation.

The fact that it did not make any sense to Mo Fan had driven him mad!

He could not wait to tear the useless and corrupt organization into pieces!

A stronger wind suddenly blew across the observation deck.

A creature with long wings appeared came out of the mist and hovered less than ten meters away from the tower. Its appearance had startled the people on the tower and the plaza in front of it.

It was an Inferior Dragon. It had appeared out of nowhere in Guangzhou and was hovering above the tower!

Mo Fan rose to his feet. The Inferior Dragon slightly lowered its body so Mo Fan could climb its tail to its back.

“Where are you going?” Lingling said.

“I haven’t heard any news about Sharjah’s death,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m going with you…” Lingling was going to climb up the dragon’s back, too.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Mo Fan said in a heavy voice.

Lingling stopped moving. She was feeling helpless and scared.

The cold look on Mo Fan’s face eased a little when he saw Lingling’s reaction. He reached out his hand and fondled the girl’s head.

“Didn’t you look into the mirror before you left your room? Why did you come here with a messy face?” Mo Fan asked gently.

“I have a terrible feeling about this. Mo Fan, you shouldn’t be involved in it…” Tears were rolling in Lingling’s eyes.

They were places worse than the demon creatures’ nests, and the place Mo Fan was going was one of them.

Humans had always been greedier and crueler than the demon creatures. They enjoyed living together, but they also liked to kill their own kind more than any other species!

No matter what had caused Feng Zhoulong’s death, it sent a great chill down Lingling’s spine.

What was going to happen to Mo Fan if he visited a place with people whose hearts were darker than the demon creatures?

Lingling preferred Mo Fan to go after the Black Vatican rather than visiting that place!

Every person who wanted to change the world was no longer alive.

The Holy Saint had died for the same reason. He was dragged into the abyss of darkness where he could no longer be brought back alive.

Mo Fan was nowhere near as strong as the Holy Saint, nor was his influence anywhere close to the Holy Saint. He was just a minor character in the eyes of the Asia Magic Association’s authorities.

Feng Zhoulong had already lost his life. If Mo Fan went, he would suffer the same fate!

“Don’t go, Mo Fan… the shoreline is still being threatened by the sea monsters. We need you,” Lingling pleaded. No one was going to help Mo Fan if he was stuck in the abyss.

“We can never kill all the sea monsters. My strength is limited, but Old Feng’s discovery is the hope for all Mages. I can’t let it fall into other people’s hands,” Mo Fan hugged Lingling and comforted her.

Mo Fan knew Feng Zhoulong’s Magic Fusion was superior to several Forbidden Mages combined, let alone him.

Mo Fan might be able to save one or two cities if he stayed behind to fight the sea monsters. However, there were thousands of cities along the coastline!

The coastline covering over twenty thousand kilometers did not need Mo Fan’s help the most, but a way to make every Mage in the cities stronger.

Mo Fan had to go, even if he was going up against the Asia Magic Association, the most powerful organization in the world.

“Eat your meals, get some sleep, and take care of yourself. Even if you are born a natural beauty, you shouldn’t be unkempt just because you are focusing on your experiments. Don’t tell anyone where I’m going, either” Mo Fan ordered, rubbing Lingling’s head.

“If you die, I’m going to starve myself and tattoo my face and body. I’ll give up on studying, have an early relationship, go for an abortion, and become the kind of girl you despise so you will never rest in peace!” Lingling declared.

1

“…”

Mo Fan climbed onto the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon’s back. He subconsciously grabbed onto the dragon’s back firmly in case he slipped and fell off the dragon if his magic was jammed.

For some reason, Mo Fan kept hearing Lingling’s voice. Every time he was going to do something reckless, Lingling’s words would slap him in the face and remind him to be calm and not get himself killed. It would all be meaningless if he ended up killing himself!

—

“Remember to fly slower and don’t speed. Just fly steadily,” Mo Fan told the dragon. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t drink any alcohol. I have only drunk a glass of cola.. I shouldn’t drink and fly.”

Chapter 2532: Breaking Through with Force

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The brown desert was vast and boundless, with dry and scorching heat, but it was chilly and biting cold at night.

It was rare to find an oasis in the desert, let alone modern, shiny, and luxurious cities!

The cities did not need any green, as there was gold everywhere. It had always been like this for the ancient caliphates. Tiny gold particles were piled up like sand dunes and flowing like rivers. They were vivid and prosperous without the decoration of green plants!

It was a silver city in a world of gold.

The Asia Magic Association was located in the city. The tall silver tower was like a fine ancient sword piercing through the blue clouds. A wing of Black Sand Eagles was patrolling in the sky and circling the tower in orderly formation.

Dubai was a city with lots of rules, but not many restrictions.

Unlike most cities of other countries, flying was permitted inside the city. Mages could freely fly around Dubai on their astonishing mounts while enjoying the admiration of the people below them.

People of high status enjoyed great privileges. They did not have to put up fake fronts and act modestly in front of others. They could show their disdain to anyone they pleased.

After the clans of dragon tamers in England popularized the flying dragons, Dubai was the first city to have an army of flying dragons.

Not only did they sign a contract to secure ninety percent of the production, they were also buying flying dragons off other people’s hands at high prices. It was common to see a troop of Mages circling the city on their flying dragons. These people dressed in black armor were the dedicated Dragon Rider Mages of the royal family.

“HAHA, my Chesnaught can easily shake off the rest of you within several thousand meters with his speed. Let’s return to the tower from the city’s outskirts. The first one to arrive will take everyone’s pay for the week. What do you all think?” a man with a mustache with a smile proposed.

“Captain, we shouldn’t neglect our duties.”

“Why are you so worried? Does anyone dare to cause trouble right under the nose of the Asia Magic Association? Besides, did you forget who I am? I’ll take full responsibility if anything happens. Let’s race, on the count of three…”

The man whipped the back of his flying dragon after he only counted two. The flying dragon cried and beat its wings, flying straight at the tower. The strong winds left along its trail disrupted the formation of the rest of the flying dragons.

“That’s cheating. Quick, chase after him. I don’t want to spend my next week holed up in the alleys!”

The alleys were nowhere as exciting as staying in a five-star hotel with a beautiful woman and enjoying a bottle of wine together on a perfectly white bed in front of delicate French windows.

Several flying dragons sprang forward. The people who were unaware of what was going on thought the Mages were conducting a special drill.

The captain was sneering cunningly in front of his men.

No flying dragon could be quicker than his Chesnaught. He was going to take all their pay for the week. A famous singer with slender, gorgeous legs happened to be waiting for him, as long as he could pay the huge sum to spend a night with her.

The wind started blowing fiercely. A creature with white air flowing around it appeared out of nowhere in the blue sky.

It was beating its wings elegantly as it overtook the troop of flying dragons with ease, gradually catching up to the captain at the front.

The captain was dumbfounded. He immediately whipped his flying dragon with even greater force.

“Go, speed up, beat your wings!” the captain scolded it.

Chesnaught was already flying at full speed. His skin was starting to crack from the effort he was putting forth, but the other creature still overtook him with ease.

Chesnaught could only stare at the creature’s tail. Most importantly, the trail of wind it left behind was sweeping right in his face. It was the same as eating the smoke coming out of another car’s exhaust.

It was a flying dragon too, but how was it faster than his own? It was even smaller than his flying dragon!

“Damn it, just you wait!” the captain yelled after it in frustration.

No matter how angry he was, he had no chance of catching up to the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon. It was like trying to catch up to a motorbike on a bicycle. It was no use, even if he stepped on the pedals until the chain broke!

Mo Fan looked back at the man who was clenching his teeth with a puzzled face.

“Are they from the Dubai Magician Tower?” Mo Fan murmured. He did not pay too much attention to the dragon riders.

Dubai Mages were similar to the Mages from the Sacred Hall of Liberty. They directly took orders from the Continental Magic Associations, giving them a superior status.

However, Mo Fan had already learned Dubai had no restrictions on riding mounts and or Summoned Beasts in the city. He flew straight into the silver city.

—

Mo Fan did not go anywhere else, heading straight to the tower.

He went straight to the hundred-and-twentieth floor. There was a pristine white meeting hall meeting. A round table with Asians seated about it was inside the meeting hall. An old man with a white beard sat in the leading spot.

Mo Fan recognized the man. He was Zu Huanyao, Zhan Kong’s grandfather.

He was working at the Dubai Magician Tower, one of the few Councilmen who had the right to speak in the meeting hall of the Asia Magic Association.

The Councilmen of the Asia Magic Association had extraordinary statuses!

Mo Fan barged straight into the room. Zu Huanyao had never seen Mo Fan before, but he recognized him at first glance.

“What do you want, Mo Fan? Do you have any idea what place this is?” Zu Huanyao snarled.

He was having a meeting with his peers, but Mo Fan had barged into the room without telling them. Who gave him the guts to run amok outside of China?

“I have something to ask you, you old prick!” Mo Fan headed straight toward Zu Huanyao.

“What…what did you say?” Zu Huanyao rose to his feet. A powerful Aura burst out of his body, feeling like it was going to destroy everything around him.

“You can’t even protect our own people! Aren’t you the Minister of Foreign Affairs for China? Do you keep making mistakes because you are too old for the job? You should retire and let someone who is more competent replace you!” Mo Fan pointed at Zu Huanyao, swearing at him.

The people in the room were dumbfounded. Even Chairman Shao Zheng would not dare to speak like that to the man!

Was this young man out of his mind?

“What the Hell do you know? Leave at once, or I’m going to arrest you on the spot!” Zu Huanyao roared.

“Go ahead and try it. I should have kicked your ass into a coffin in the Sacred City!” Mo Fan spat.

It was time to settle both the old and the new debts!

If the old man had not willfully stuck to his decision, the Chief Military Instructor and Qin Yu’er would not have died in the Sacred City.

Such a stubborn, ignorant, and stupid old man!

Chapter 2533: A Lone Warrior

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zu Huanyao’s expression changed at the mention of the Sacred City. His face went from red to black.

The strange thing was, his overwhelming Aura was fading away. It was still bone-chilling, but it was not as strong as before.

Zu Huanyao took a deep breath and told the others, “The rest of you, give us the room!”

“We can execute him on the spot! If the government asks about it, considering how he scolded you in front of everyone…”

“Leave the room, do I have to repeat myself?!” Zu Huanyao snarled.

The others had no choice but to pack up their stuff and leave the meeting room before Zu Huanyao lost his temper.

Mo Fan and Zu Huanyao were the only ones left in the room. The old man’s face was full of wrinkles, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle circling above the desert.

Mo Fan was already burning with anger. He had no intention to treat the man politely. There was no reason to be fearless after he was able to see beyond the facade!

“I know why you are here. Take a seat and listen to me instead of barging into the room like a terrorist. Are you trying to blow up the whole place?” Zu Huanyao pointed at the chair in front of Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was surprised by the old man’s calm after the scolding.

On second thought, the old man must have been through a lot, too…

“I just want to know who did it, and whether you colluded with those assh****!” Mo Fan snarled back.

He just needed to know if the old man was a friend or an enemy. He was not in the mood to play mind games and politics.

He had a list of people who had to die, regardless of their background and status!

Mo Fan did not come here to investigate a murder, nor was he here to mess with the enemy’s conspiracies or plots. There were certain things he could not stand. If he could get over a person like Feng Zhoulong’s death just by saying that it was just how the world was, he would be no different from Feng Zhoulong’s murderers!

If someone was on their knees for too long, they would not be able to stand again after their knees were rooted to the ground.

The first conflict he had shared with the Asia Magic Association was during their operation on that mountain in Europe. Mo Fan had no choice but to leave when he was going up against a group of authorities who had taken the lives of countless children.

He also could only stand at the side and watch the incident happen in the Sacred City.

This time, Feng Zhoulong had died a meaningless death!

Mo Fan was not going to compromise again. He wanted justice to be served for Feng Zhoulong’s death, even if the Holy Judgment Court was going to blacklist him.

He had come here to execute the murderers, every person that was involved in Feng Zhoulong’s death!

“The Magic Association in Guangzhou isn’t under my jurisdiction. Feng Zhoulong did not tell me about his request beforehand either, maybe because he thought I don’t really have a good reputation. Therefore, you shouldn’t vent your anger on me. However, I must say that I’m responsible for the loss of such an impressive man of our country,” Zu Huanyao said.

“Who was the mastermind?!” Mo Fan demanded.

“Rumors say it’s Salan. Most people assumed the Black Vatican was behind it to stop the innovation, but I believe it’s more complicated than that,” Zu Huanyao answered quickly.

Zu Huanyao knew a lot of things, including the mentor and student relationship between Mo Fan and Zhan Kong. He actually felt sorry for Mo Fan.

“I’m not an idiot, I know the way Salan does things better than any organization,” Mo Fan scoffed.

“Feng Zhoulong brought a woman with him when he came to Dubai,” Zu Huanyao showed Mo Fan a photograph.

It was exactly the reason why Mo Fan had come to Zu Huanyao.

Zu Huanyao was a Councilman here. He had to have informers in the Asia Magic Association. Mo Fan was unfamiliar with the situation here, so he needed to ask Zu Huanyao for information about Sharjah’s whereabouts.

“I want every piece of information about her,” Mo Fan demanded.

Zu Huanyao took a deep breath and snarled, “Who are you treating me as? Don’t forget you have committed the offense of scolding a leader of the Magic Association!”

“Cut the crap! Chairman Shao Zheng asked me to look for you because you have never been biased in serious matters like this. I know you all have your concerns and worries of the bigger picture, so you can’t just lay your cards on the table and fall out with the Magic Association! That is why I’m here!” Mo Fan hurled right back at him.

“It’s true that I’ve been looking for the woman with Feng Zhoulong, but these are all I have. The trail stops at some noble families in United Arabia!” Zu Huanyao handed the information to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan took the files.

“Everything you do has nothing to do with us,” Zu Huanyao reminded him.

“I know!”

“And don’t think we are going to save you if you find yourself in trouble. You are going up against the most powerful people at the top of the pyramid,” Zu Huanyao warned him again.

“I never expected to receive any help from you,” Mo Fan answered coldly.

——

Zu Huanyao sat down in his chair and looked out of the window blankly for a long time after Mo Fan left.

“Am I really getting too old for this? Why am I thinking of how to mediate between the two sides after what happened?” Zu Huanyao murmured. “The enemy is already on a rampage, but I’m still sitting here like nothing happened…”

If Mo Fan was aware of the significance of Feng Zhoulong, there was no way Zu Huanyao could not have been aware of the changes that Feng Zhoulong might have brought to their country.

Zu Huanyao was not particularly surprised when he heard about the man’s death. He was more surprised at how calm he was after hearing the news.

Even Zu Huanyao was starting to hate himself for it!

However, he had no choice but to keep blending in while being disgusted by himself.

——

As soon as Mo Fan left the tower, a woman whose face was covered with a veil approached him.

Mo Fan stepped aside to make way for her, but the woman stepped to the same side too.

Mo Fan went to the other side, but the woman kept blocking him.

“I’m not in the mood,” Mo Fan said impatiently.

“I am, though,” the woman blinked at Mo Fan. Her green eyes were quite dazzling.

Mo Fan recognized her voice as she pulled Mo Fan to a corner and removed her veil.

She was exactly the woman who had come to Mo Fan’s mind.

The devastatingly beautiful woman was both sacred and alluring. She had the sanctified aura of a goddess, but she was brimming with seductive charm at the same time.

“Fighting on your own again?” Asha’ruiya asked him.

“Mm,” Mo Fan nodded. He was indeed fighting all by himself!

“Then I guess you have a reliable and beautiful partner from today onward!” Asha’ruiya grinned, as if charmed by the idea that she was about to cause massive destruction together with Mo Fan.

Chapter 2534: Kill the Bad Guys!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Asha’ruiya had informers across the world. Mo Fan was not surprised she knew about the tragedy in Dubai.

Zu Huanyao was representing both a country and the Magic Association. It was unlikely Mo Fan would get any reliable information from him. The man could only guide him along the right track.

Mo Fan would have to fight out the truth himself!

However, the information Asha’ruiya could provide him with was different. She had always given him the most reliable and straightforward information.

It was exactly what Mo Fan needed! She had shown up at the perfect time…

“Come with me. I know the people who have what you are looking for, if you trust me,” Asha’ruiya told him.

Asha’ruiya was already leading the way. She did not wait for Mo Fan’s answer, already confident that Mo Fan would go with her.

Mo Fan asked the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon to roam freely about the city before he left with Asha’ruiya.

They both had the Shadow Element and excelled at using it. They wove through the outskirts of Dubai City like two elves playing around in the shadows as they danced in the cool breeze.

They soon came upon several golden tents. Several creatures that resembled huge elephants and camels were lying close to them, and a group of people was sitting around a campfire. They were drinking booze while cracking dirty jokes.

Mo Fan counted seven of them.

“Do you see the ornaments on their waists? I’m pretty sure you know what they are,” Asha’ruiya pointed out for him.

Mo Fan had noticed the ornaments. He snuck around like a ghost and approached a man with a bandanna.

He curled his thumb like a short dagger, emitting a dark aura. He softly touched the man’s neck with his finger.

“Leader!”

The other six immediately rose to their feet and stared at Mo Fan who had come out of the shadows behind the bandanna-man in surprise.

Mo Fan looked at them. At the same time, six wisps of dark aura split out of his body and turned into silhouettes that resembled Mo Fan, but who did not have a face.

The six shadows followed Mo Fan’s movements and pointed their thumbs at each of the men’s throats.

“Where is your president?” Mo Fan demanded coldly.

“There’s no need to ask them. I know where he is,” Asha’ruiya stated.

The seven men’s throats were slit open promptly, their fresh blood spraying out toward the campfire in their midst like fountains. The flames swayed slightly and burned vigorously.

The seven men fell to the ground simultaneously. There was no sign of struggle, but each of their faces was frozen in surprise and shock at their deaths.

The seven knights of the Guild of the Wicked were strong enough to be in charge of a small city, but they had all died in an instant.

“That was… very decisive of you. Aren’t you worried you might alert the enemy?” Asha’ruiya could see Mo Fan was in a bad mood, yet she still wore a faint smile.

Asha’ruiya had witnessed a lot of killing, and was able to remain perfectly calm while being surrounded by dead bodies. Every member in the Guild of the Wicked was detestable and had earned their fate. They either preyed on the weak in America or murdered people and burned down places in Europe.

“Is the Guild of the Wicked behind everything?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Of course not. Every extreme action has a reason behind it, whether it’s self-interest or revenge. The Guild of the Wicked has no ties with the scholars, but they were the perfect candidates to do the dirty job,” Asha’ruiya answered.

Mo Fan nodded.

They had found the murder weapon. They could easily track down the murderer through it!

—

Things were a lot simpler since Asha’ruiya knew where to find the president of the Guild of the Wicked.

They continued forward. Mo Fan soon noticed many more golden tents.

If he was not mistaken, everyone in the tents was a member of the Guild of the Wicked, as they all carried Guild ornaments that symbolized their identities.

It seemed like the whole incident had happened very quickly. Even the mastermind behind it was not fully prepared. He was using the Guild of the Wicked to distract them and clean up the scene, but they were leaving a lot of clues behind at the same time.

Asha’ruiya told Mo Fan he would find the answers he was looking for by following the trail left by the Guild of the Wicked.

Mo Fan did not show any mercy. He killed every member of the Guild of the Wicked he stumbled into.

He was driven by rage, and needed a way to vent his anger. The people of the Guild of the Wicked had asked for it!

——

Mo Fan soon saw a herd of Camel Elephants camped in some old ruins. They were used for carrying resources, water, wine, food, fruits, rugs, and beautiful women.

It seemed like the Guild of the Wicked was planning to hide in the desert for some time!

“This old relay station belongs to the Guild of the Wicked. They have been robbing travelers and kidnapping their families for ransom. Someone in power is protecting them, so the righteous organizations never have the chance to uproot them,” Asha’ruiya supplied helpfully.

“So it doesn’t matter if I kill them all, right? Are there innocent people among them?” Mo Fan asked.

“The members of the Guild of the Wicked all wear an ornament. It’s their pride and a symbol to intimidate others. You can execute them as you please. I’m not a fan of killing, so I’ll wait for you over there,” Asha’ruiya blinked at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had a strong desire for blood, and was not in the mood to flirt with Asha’ruiya. Asha’ruiya pouted her lips when Mo Fan stayed as cold as an ice cube. She took out a pear and began slicing it into small bites with a fruit knife.

Darkness loomed over the place. Mo Fan’s Dark Material rolled like waves and instantly devoured the whole area.

The old relay station was dragged into a deep abyss by a devil in the desert. Every living human was forced to play a game of how many seconds they could survive with the devil.

Not a single cry was heard as the whole relay station was shrouded in a dark mist. It was as if the old building was drowned in a mysterious black liquid from afar. It stayed eerily quiet.

—

Asha’ruiya placed one leg atop the other in an alluring posture.

She had just finished slicing the pear when Mo Fan walked out of the darkness. She gently handed the pear to Mo Fan and said, “Try it, it must be sweet since I’ve cut it for you.”

Mo Fan received the pear and took a bite out of it. It was indeed very sweet.

“Are they all dead?” Asha’ruiya asked him.

“I’ve kept one alive. I’ll let you handle the interrogation,” Mo Fan answered.

“How can you ask a Saintess to do something so terrible?” Asha’ruiya grumbled.

“That guy is a little tough,” Mo Fan replied, while eating the pear. It was his turn to sit on the chair.

“I like tough guys!” Asha’ruiya immediately rose to her feet.

Mo Fan shook his head helplessly. Women!

Her eyes were giving off an enthusiastic glow, even though she had said no!

Chapter 2535: Blue and Red Lightning

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan had just finished the pear, and before he could wipe his mouth Asha’ruiya walked out of the darkness. He had to say, the woman’s alluring curves were oddly charming as she was walking out of the dark mist.

Asha’ruiya never bothered to conceal her charms. She would shake her hips more than normal women as she was walking. It was a great contrast to her sacred image as a Saintess of the Parthenon Temple.

“They are looking for someone who has escaped into the desert. They were trying to silence everyone at the scene, but they failed to hunt down the last survivor. We might be able to learn the truth from the last person who is still alive. We must find her before them,” Asha’ruiya told him.

“Is it her?” Mo Fan took out Sharjah’s photo.

Asha’ruiya took a close look at the photo before asking with a stern look, “Do you have ties with her, too?”

“…” Mo Fan was speechless. Why did everyone assume he was a playboy?

The word ‘too’ was quite saddening…

“Is it her?” Mo Fan was not in the mood to joke around with Asha’ruiya.

“Most likely. The man did say it was a woman before he died. In addition, the Guild of the Wicked and us aren’t the only ones looking for her. The Asia Magic Association, the Sacred Hall of Liberty, Liden Royal Family, Hunter Union, Assassin Palace, Black Vatican, and certain mysterious people are all looking for her, too!” Asha’ruiya went on.

“Did you learn all of that from interrogating the man?” Mo Fan asked, surprised

“Of course not, I have my own sources. I came to join in on the fun since so many people are looking for her. Unfortunately, I’m just a delicate woman, so I need a strong ally,” Asha’ruiya replied smoothly.

“You have some other goals in mind,” Mo Fan said firmly.

“Yeah, but I’m not going to hurt you, don’t you think?” Asha’ruiya agreed.

“I can’t say for sure,” Mo Fan shrugged.

“Then why did you eat the pear I sliced? What if it was poisoned?”

“I was hungry.”

“Alright, we have already probed one another. Don’t worry, we weren’t enemies in the past, and we aren’t enemies now, either. I can’t say for sure for in the future, but let’s worry about it when it happens.” Asha’ruiya stretched out, displaying her alluring physique. A normal man would not be able to withstand the temptation for more than a second.

The people of the Guild of the Wicked were fully prepared to spend a long time in the desert, considering the amount of food and water they had brought. It was likely that Sharjah had escaped deep into the desert or was hiding in a maze somewhere.

Their first priority was to find Sharjah. If so many people were desperately looking for Sharjah, the incident had to be more complicated than something minor that the Black Vatican was responsible for!

——

“Their president Tyker is in the oasis ahead. He’s waiting for his men to bring him the supplies,” Asha’ruiya informed Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nodded. He was using Blinks continuously just to reach their destination quicker. He was not trying to preserve his energy.

He had to find Sharjah before others did!

They crossed a cold land of sand and encountered some sand dunes. It was a sign they were venturing deeper into the desert. There were fewer plants and even fewer sources of water.

The moon was hanging high in the sky, curved like a silver scimitar.

Its light shone down upon an oasis full of succulents. Most of them were cacti as tall as trees. They had grown out of the sand in the middle of the desert.

The oasis was a good shelter from the winds and sandstorms. Many travelers would use it to get some rest.

Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya knew the oasis was occupied. They went straight into it like a couple who were traveling in the desert.

There were quite a lot of people in the oasis, including a group of merchants traveling in their jeeps, a group of merchants with Camel Elephants, and several wanderers who were getting some rest.

“Are you two here to enjoy the strange sight of the moon?” a man with a huge belly asked.

“Yes, we are astronomy enthusiasts!” Asha’ruiya answered cheerfully.

“Then I wonder if you are interested in enjoying the view of a red land of sand too,” the man smiled, revealing his golden teeth.

“It depends on what the sand is made of. If it’s the blood of wicked people, I wouldn’t mind having a dance on it!” Asha’ruiya retained her smile, but her gaze sharpened.

The man with golden teeth gradually withdrew his friendly smile. It was replaced by a menacing grin.

“I’m pretty sure your blood is a better choice,” the man said coldly.

The black-robed man suddenly faded into the darkness. It was surprising that such a plump man could move as nimbly as a ghost.

The man swung a golden Blade over his head. Wild lightning was flickering on it, and split into shocking numbers of lightning arcs scattering across the area.

“Die!” Golden Teeth chopped the Blade at the ground. He had lifted the weapon with both hands, but he was swinging it down with one hand.

The lightning arcs that were moving aimlessly surged at Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya as if they had found their target. They were strong enough to raze a hill to the ground.

Asha’ruiya was a little surprised. One could never judge a book by its cover. She did not expect the plump man to possess such strength. A single swing of the Blade had unleashed countless bolts of lightning!

Mo Fan stepped forward. His eyes were fixed on Golden Teeth and the lightning bolts that were heading his way.

His eyes suddenly glittered, and the wild lightning strikes that were surging wildly and destroying everything in their path all vanished in an instant!

The man chopped into the ground with his Blade like an idiot, without any special effects. His Blade was too far away from his target.

Golden Teeth was stunned. However, as the third-in-command of the Guild of the Wicked, he had experienced many bizarre encounters. He quickly raised his Blade again to summon the lightning forth once more.

“I’ll admit my defeat if you can use a single Lightning spell in front of me!” Mo Fan stared at Golden Teeth. He was giving off the Aura of a mountain without a visible top as he walked slowly toward the plump man.

Golden Teeth waved his Blade around vigorously, but every lightning bolt he unleashed would almost instantly be extinguished after barely a little sparkle.

“What the Hell did you do!?” Golden Teeth blurted out in a panic.

“Have a taste of it yourself.. I bet you have never experienced the feeling of being tortured by your own magic!” Mo Fan flipped his palm.

Chapter 2536: Fiery Sandstorm

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The lightning suddenly vanished, scattered across the area after Mo Fan flipped his palm. The curtain of night was suddenly filled with dense lightning bolts resembling horned dragons!

They dove from the sky and combined into a terrifying funnel above Golden Teeth.

An overwhelming energy poured into the funnel, leaving Golden Teeth in utter fear and shock as the lightning disintegrated his body.

His flesh, bones, muscles, and organs were completely broken down, and a strong burnt smell lingered in the air. The man who had suddenly become hostile was turned into a pool of filth and blood in an instant. The only remaining parts were the golden teeth that were invulnerable to the lightning.

Asha’ruiya glanced at Mo Fan. Mo Fan looked back at her.

“It’s been a while since we last met, and you have become more like a monster,” Asha’ruiya informed him.

Mo Fan had no idea if Asha’ruiya was scolding or complimenting him. He was not surprised that Golden Teeth had attacked him so suddenly.

He had already killed dozens of members of the Guild of the Wicked. As the people who were assigned to handle the assassination of the scholars, someone would have noticed him by now.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Someone was clapping slowly in an obviously mocking rhythm.

It was a person who dressed in bright silk clothing. Mo Fan could not tell the person’s gender.

The person was giving off both a bewitching and manly temperament at the same time. He or she had almost drawn his or her eyebrows to the back of his or her head.

“I was wondering how I was going to split the pay evenly among three people. It’s a lot simpler now,” the person blatantly indicated her disdain for Golden Teeth.

A short man was standing behind the strange-looking woman. He looked like a kid around the age of twelve who still had not gone through puberty, but his wrinkled face and vicious eyes said otherwise.

“No wonder the two leaders of the Guild of the Wicked never showed up together. The two of you look like the typical mother and son who go around the streets and scam people when you two are standing together!” Asha’ruiya laughed so hard that she could barely stand straight.

The way she bent her alluring body would immediately make the blood of every male creature in the vicinity boil. Her words instantly ignited the anger and hatred in the hearts of the duo!

No one had dared to mock their appearance for many years. After all, the weeds on the graves of the people who had laughed at them had already grown taller than the tombstones.

“I’ll let you handle these two. Leave the rest to me,” Asha’ruiya backed away after she successfully angered their enemies.

Mo Fan could not have cared less about her mischievous act. He just cracked his neck.

The Guild of the Wicked!

He had long wanted to uproot this wicked organization. Leaving the malignant tumor around would only pollute the fresh air of the world.

“Be careful, those two aren’t the same as the fatty you just took care of,” Asha’ruiya warned Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was already walking toward the ‘mother and son’ as if he could not hear Asha’ruiya’s warning.

Asha’ruiya had no idea where Mo Fan had gained his confidence from.

The Guild of the Wicked had been around for many years. It had great power in Palestine, Somalia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Greece, and other places close to the Red Sea. Its branches, the Red Ornaments Guild, Blue Ornaments Guild, and Black Ornaments Guild were rampant in many small countries.

The shorty was the leader of the Black Ornaments Guild. He was vicious and cruel, but he always cleaned up his trail. He had been accused of many crimes, but he remained a free man.

The woman was the leader of the Red Ornaments Guild. She was hard to track and always pulled off her wicked acts in strange ways. She once cut off a certain body part of an entire village after a man from the village laughed at her. She did not like to kill, but she enjoyed sparing people so they could live the rest of their lives in humiliation.

Asha’ruiya knew a little about them. They were above average among the Super Mages in the whole world in terms of strength, so they should not be underestimated.

The sky had a mix of red and blue as the lightning continued to flicker across it, like stars hanging up in bundles, similar to grapes.

The area was spacious, with undulating sand dunes all about. The cacti-filled oasis was suddenly hosting a strong murderous aura.

Mo Fan’s hand was moving.

Even though his hands were not moving in sync, he was Casting spells with both hands. Special lights were flickering on his fingertips.

Mo Fan suddenly held his hands together.

It seemed like he was bringing his palms together as he combined two different energies on his hands. A strange energy ripple surged outward and shook the oasis and the nearby area.

The sand was floating in the air like there was no gravity.

Clouds of sand and dust were rising like ashes produced by a blazing fire. The two leaders of the Guild of the Wicked subconsciously took several steps back.

What kind of ability is this? They had no clue at all!

It felt like the Earth Element, but why did they feel like the air was burning? Even the night sky was blazing red!

“Fiery Sandstorm!”

Fire and Earth Elements! Mo Fan was controlling the Calamity Fire with one hand and his Heavenly Red Sand with the other!

As Mo Fan moved his palms apart, the sky and the ground started buzzing and shaking violently. Blazing red particles that were both ashes and sand scattered through the air before surging forward!

Heavenly flames were falling from the sky, ready to burn every living creature into ashes. Strong waves of sand were rolling toward the horizon.

The two different energies had created a terrifying natural disaster. It felt like the spirits of the Earth were unleashing their wrath and had even called the spirits of flames to lend them a hand, resulting in a destructive Fiery Sandstorm!

The oasis was supposed to protect travelers from strong winds and sandstorms, but it did not stand a chance against the burning sandstorm. It was like a deity with two different powers was trampling the little oasis to display its capabilities!

The two leaders of the Guild of the Wicked were shocked.

What kind of magic was this?! Was it the Fire Element, or the Earth Element?!

How were the two Elements combining into a destructive power far stronger than any of the Elements, even placing Super Mages like them under suffocating pressure?

Mo Fan stood between the two different Elements. The Fiery Sandstorm was enough to destroy everything he wanted to destroy without him lifting another finger.

The land of sand, the sand dunes, the oasis, and the members of the Guild of the Wicked!

The more he tasted how powerful Magic Fusion was, the greater his admiration for its inventor grew.

Mo Fan had relied on this same power to kill the Lightning Eel Ruler by himself. He had been filled with the intention to kill when he heard the bad news after he returned.

Feng Zhoulong, I’m going to leave behind a trail of blood with the power you have given me!

Chapter 2537: Are You Still Looking for Concubines?

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The two leaders of the Guild of the Wicked did not expect Mo Fan to possess such an extraordinary power.

The Fiery Sandstorm devoured them. They were tortured by the bone-piercing sand and scorching flames. Their reliable defenses were completely useless against the overwhelming combination of the Fire and Earth Elements, and they were soon buried inside the burning sandstorm.

The oasis had disappeared. The spectacular sand dunes further away were razed flat. Nothing but burning red sand was left. The area was perfectly flat, colored a spectacular blood-red. It was like a realm of the demons, full of life-threatening danger despite its calm appearance.

Asha’ruiya stood beside Mo Fan. Her eyes were filled with shock.

She could not find the words to describe Mo Fan’s power!

Leaving aside the fact that Mo Fan’s enemies were above average among the Super Mages of the world, the sight of the Fiery Sandstorm alone was terrifying.

It had clearly surpassed the level of ordinary Super Spells. Most importantly, Mo Fan had not prepared and Channeled the spell for very long, yet the spell was so powerful!

It was so powerful that Asha’ruiya could still feel her head spinning.

She put on a fake expression most of the time to prevent others from reading her, but her expression was totally real this time.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a tough fight?

She had been planning to evaluate Mo Fan’s current strength through it.

However, she realized it was going to be much harder to judge Mo Fan’s true strength, as the Fiery Sandstorm was clearly not his strongest move.

“I’ll leave the rest to you,” Mo Fan told Asha’ruiya, who had yet to collect her thoughts.

I’ve dealt with the people. It’s your job to do the interrogation.

Asha’ruiya finally closed her mouth. For some reason, she was a little enchanted when she came to her senses, especially how the man was as calm as an icy mountain while he was focused on avenging his friend.

“Mo Fan, are you still looking for concubines?” the Saintess from the Parthenon Temple asked him coquettishly.

Mo Fan was sitting on the ground, and looked up at the woman.

He had an expressionless face, yet he was already cursing in his heart!

How did the rumors of him having a lot of women even spread to other countries?

The word ‘still’ had hurt him the most…

—

Asha’ruiya enjoyed teasing Mo Fan, so he never took her words seriously.

They might seem close, but they did not have an intimate relationship. Mo Fan was not a kid. He was not overwhelmed with joy whenever a beautiful woman approached him.

Some women would approach a man to probe him. Asha’ruiya wanted to know whether she could kidnap his heart.

Once she captured your heart, she would turn and leave on her heels while shaking her hips. She would soon be out of reach.

Mo Fan was not in the mood to play the flirting game with Asha’ruiya. He would either treat her like a brother, or get straight down to business and have fun on the bed with her. He was a busy man.

—

The shorty and the woman were not dead.

However, they were severely injured. Asha’ruiya easily subdued them with her Shadow Element, not needing Mo Fan’s help.

Asha’ruiya was a capable woman, too. Mo Fan had no reason to worry about her being tricked by their enemies.

She bound them up first to wear them out. She used her magic to torture their souls and slowly increased the intensity until they reached their limits.

She would then break down their psychological defenses by inflicting fear and despair on them. They would eventually turn into slaves whose only thoughts were to obey or be left alone.

Asha’ruiya knew the wicked people had strong minds, thus she purposely tortured them a little longer.

A beautiful woman was charming, regardless of what she was doing. Mo Fan did not feel bored while watching her work.

Mo Fan knew there was no use rushing the torture and interrogation. If they pushed too hard, it might cause the prisoners to resist fiercely. It would be more difficult to determine whether the information they got out of the prisoners was reliable or not.

“Alright, back to the first question, who gave you the order?” Asha’ruiya asked with a gentle smile, like a little girl asking a stranger where she could buy ice cream.

“We only deal with a single person and follow his instructions,” the woman said. She was the first to break down.

“I want a name.”

“It’s Anzark,” the woman said.

“Alright, next question: why did you kill the scholars?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“It wasn’t us. We weren’t that capable… we were just following the orders to distract anyone who’s looking for the girl!” It was Tyker’s turn to speak. He was as scared as a little kid, even though he was already in his fifties.

Asha’ruiya had overwhelmed him with fear and despair. The man currently smelled strange, so Asha’ruiya did not even want to get close to him.

Mo Fan immediately rose to his feet.

“Distract anyone who’s looking for the girl… So you aren’t looking for her in the desert?” Mo Fan asked.

“We weren’t told to look for anyone. We were just told to lure people of powerful organizations to a meaningless place. The person you are looking for isn’t in the desert,” Tyker confirmed.

“Damn it!” Asha’ruiya cursed.

They had been tricked!

She had led Mo Fan in the wrong direction. The mastermind had already expected the incident to attract a lot of attention, so he purposely let the Guild of the Wicked take the blame and sent them off into the desert so he would have more time to clean up his trail!

Mo Fan frowned.

The information he received from Zu Huanyao had also pointed to the Guild of the Wicked. It seemed like he had fallen right into the enemy’s trap!

“Is there anyone who knows where the girl is? Does that Anzark know? Speak!” Asha’ruiya snarled.

She did not expect to be fooled as well!

“I’m afraid Anzark has no clue either,” the woman said. She had a pleading look in her eyes, like she had something else to say that would serve as her final trump card.

Asha’ruiya noticed it. She declared, “Say it, and I’ll set you free.”

“According to…to our own experiences and understanding, the girl is still in Dubai. She has either gone into hiding, or she is already in custody,” the woman gasped in relief.

The Guild of the Wicked had its own network and sources of information. They could roughly infer where the girl was, even if they were not told by Anzark.

They were told to lure the organizations to the desert so those investigating would stay away from the city!

If there were no clues left in the city or the trail had already been cleaned, why would they need the Guild of the Wicked’s help so desperately?

The Guild of the Wicked did not kill the scholars. They had no idea where the girl was, either.

Their job was to put up an act to distract people who had paid attention to the incident. It was a lot of effort, since the Guild of the Wicked was not made up of just some ordinary hoodlums.

“In the city. That’s right, she’s still in the city!” Asha’ruiya exclaimed.

The woman’s guess had to be right. Asha’ruiya just had to check on certain people to find out the truth.

The Wicked did have their own type of cunning…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Asha’ruiya kept contacting her men to collect information in Dubai City on their way back.

They soon returned to the enormous silver city. The light of dawn just happened to be sprinkling across Burj Khalifa. The light reflecting from it added a hint of sacredness to the modern city.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and stared at the top of Burj Khalifa, rising more than eight hundred meters high.

He recalled a speech Dean Xiao had given when he first enrolled into the Pearl Institute.

We are never short of money and fame. It is the heart to pursue stronger magic that we lack!

Those words had greatly influenced Mo Fan.

Every headquarters of the Magic Association was established in the highest building of the important cities of every country. The lofty heights served as a reminder to every Mage that the path of cultivation was never-ending, as they could never reach the top!

The Asia Magic Association was more powerful than the Magic Association of the Dongfang Oriental Tower. Not only were the strongest Mages standing at the top of the tower, they were also human leaders who could shake the whole of Asia with a single stomp of their feet!

So why did a man who was serious about popularizing a new discovery to the general public die such a horrible death in a place like this? Every organization was trying to hide its motives and was cautiously on the move.

Did they really have the heart to pursue stronger magic?

Mo Fan believed he had never lost his passion, but that did not mean the others were the same as him.

How much longer did mankind have to suffer until everyone realized the truth?

Perhaps they had gotten the procedures wrong. Blood had to be shed and sacrifices had to be made to change the world.

Everyone had to challenge the world first in order to change it!

The top of the tower that the light of dawn was shining the brightest on was exactly what Mo Fan had to overcome!

If he continued to blend in with the crowd and wander the streets and wilderness, he would only be distracted by people like the Guild of the Wicked. The scapegoats would take all the blame while the real culprits were still on the loose.

The more time they wasted, the further away they were from discovering the truth.

Mo Fan did not want to be a sand particle carried away by the conspiracies. He was going to stir up a tsunami and force the currents to flow in his direction!

“Asha’ruiya, do me a favor,” Mo Fan asked her.

“Sure… but first, tell me what you want to do.”

“Have you heard of the story of two metal balls reaching the ground at the same time?” Mo Fan asked.

“Of course, but you might be treated as a heretic and burned to death like Giordano Bruno.”

“The man who was our Giordano Bruno is already dead.”

It was meaningless to keep searching for clues. Mo Fan had come up with a plan!

—

A young man stood at the top of the tower amid the strong winds. The waking city was below his feet. Many people were still fast asleep, but the streets were already crowded.

He had to find a high spot if he was going to show the experiment of the two metal balls falling to the ground at the same time, so everyone could see it.

Many people would be able to see the two metal balls reaching the ground at the same time.

The authorities might be able to suppress certain news and information, but the truth would eventually find its way out!

“Good morning, my name is Mo Fan.”

Mo Fan’s voice echoed above the city like a morning broadcast. There was a live broadcast of him going on, too.

The invention of new recording devices allowed magic to be filmed, making it much more convenient for Mo Fan’s experiment to reach a lot more people.

The people below the tower could see him. Every country in Asia, or across the world with the Internet, could see him too.

It might not be morning in other countries. Mo Fan was aware of the different time zones, but he was not too fussed with it. It was just a greeting. Most importantly, he had to introduce himself to those who did not know him.

Mo Fan was hovering in the air instead of standing on the tower.

He was walking in the air like there was a platform of transparent reinforced glass under his feet. He was strolling casually, not acting cautiously like he was on a tightrope.

“Today, I’m going to demonstrate to you a simple experiment concerning Magic Fusion.

“In the past, we were taught that we should never combine different magics, as that might cause undesirable outcomes. Today, my experiment is going to prove to you that it is not the case. It is possible to merge different Elements. A magic scholar called Feng Zhoulong taught me how to do this. He called it the Gate to Enlightenment of Magic!

“He called it that because every one of you with two Elements and above can learn it to greatly increase the strength of your spells!”

Mo Fan walked back and forth in the air, a thousand meters above the ground.

He was like a magician standing out in his surroundings. He was showing a magic trick to the world, claiming he was going to present a new truth to the people.

A magic trick was considered magical because only a limited number of people knew how it worked. That was why people marveled at the magic tricks they did not understand.

In the case of a truth, only a few people might know it at first, but it was applicable to everyone.

Magic Fusion was not just a magic trick, it was the truth!

It was going to bring forth a revolution!

However, history would always repeat itself. A revolution was never in the favor of the current rulers!

“Even though the airspace above Dubai City is open to every member of the Magic Association, you are not allowed to cause a scene by uttering nonsense to the people. We will arrest you if you keep doing this!” The mustachioed captain of the patrols had arrived.

The patrols of the city were all riding flying dragons.

The flying dragons had faint green skin and muscles like rocks. They spread their wings and circled the area. Everyone could hear the captain’s voice clearly.

“I’m not using a destructive spell, nor am I causing any damage to the buildings. Under which clause of the laws are you going to arrest me? Or does telling the people about a new discovery constitute a crime under the Magic Association?” Mo Fan asked the captain of the patrols in return.

The captain was lost for words.

He had been ordered to chase Mo Fan away. It was normal for a local government law enforcement officer to chase away street vendors who were disturbing the appearance of a city.

However, Mo Fan was not selling anything restricted nor breaking any law in a public area. The captain had no right to arrest him!

“It has nothing to do with what you are doing. You just don’t have the right to be here!” the captain snarled.

“I’m a Super Mage, an honorable High Seater of the Dongfang Oriental Tower, and a member of the Alliance of Super Mages. Are you saying I don’t have the right to be at the Asia Magic Association?” Mo Fan rebutted firmly.

The captain finally noticed the badge on Mo Fan’s shirt. It was a high-level badge too!

As a matter of fact, even the patrols had to salute anyone bearing the badge of a High Seater from the Magic Association!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The captain could not think of any appropriate reason to arrest Mo Fan.

“The concept of Magic Fusion is very simple. Everyone can make a storing vortex in their Spiritual World to keep their first spell. I know you all are afraid that different Elements might clash and explode, but it’s perfectly fine. I shall demonstrate with the most unstable Elements, Lightning and Fire!”

There Lightning and Fire Elements.

There was no doubt that the two Elements were going to clash and trigger a huge explosion!

Mo Fan might not be a qualified broadcaster, but he used to teach in the Aorus Sacred Institute. He just had to treat it like a class.

—

Zu Huanyao was watching Mo Fan through the window from inside the tower.

The representatives of other countries were staring at the person outside who was presenting a class to the whole world in disbelief.

“That’s bullshit!”

“We must get rid of him at once. If some young and immature Mages mimic him, they might hurt themselves. He will have to take full responsibility!”

Angry voices continued sounding from within the tower, but no one was willing to take charge. They were just grumbling impatiently.

—

The dragon riders had troubled looks on their faces. They had just received a scolding from their superior.

“You are under arrest for imparting false information to young Mages. You are not qualified for teaching, even if you are a Super Mage!” the captain declared.

“This is my identification as a professor. I’m sorry, I do have the right to teach!” Mo Fan negligently tossed a card to the captain.

An honorable professor of the Aorus Sacred Institute!

Anyone could easily verify his identity. It just so happened that Mo Fan did have the right to teach!

The captain was on the verge of losing his mind. The man was a Super Mage, an honorable High Seater, and an honorable professor of the Aorus Sacred Institute. All of them were valid identities, registered under the Magic Associations. Why did he have to stir up trouble here?

“Stop him, it’s an order from a Councilman of the Asia Magic Association!”

The captain suddenly received an order. He shivered as soon as he heard the voice.

A Councilman of the Asia Magic Association…

He also recognized the voice. The man was the scariest one among the Councilmen!

The captain immediately found his courage. After all, he had received the order from the highest authority of the Asia Magic Association. He no longer needed a valid reason to arrest the man.

No one would question his question, or even dare to challenge him. The man had a superior status in the Asia Magic Association!

“We are arresting you under Chairman Su Lu’s name!” The captain was relieved.

“So Chairman Su Lu is behind everything, as I thought!” Mo Fan let out a long sigh with a smile.

Wasn’t that simple? He had just found out who the mastermind was. He just had to pay the price of becoming a criminal!

But how was he going to escape from the man who was in charge of the Asia Magic Association?

“I’m a Super Mage and an honorable High Seater. I didn’t receive any information about the arrest. How would I know if you are lying to me and framing Chairman Su Lu?” Mo Fan demanded calmly.

“Damn it, I’m done wasting my time on you! Chairman Su Lu is right inside that tower beside you! Why would I dare to frame him?” the captain snarled.

“If he’s in the tower, why don’t you invite him out here? I won’t resist if I hear it from him. After all, everything I learned and every honor I received has come from the Magic Association,” Mo Fan replied smoothly.

The captain was utterly dumbfounded. Even though the captain had a powerful position in the Dubai Magician Tower, they had no right to use violence on a High Seater without a warrant.

The captain had also recognized Mo Fan. He was the guy who had overtaken him on the Wind Gauze Inferior Dragon!

He did not think he would stand a chance against Mo Fan!

A man in a silver robe came out from the tower, as if he knew the dragon riders were no match for Mo Fan. He was also walking in the air. His long hair was tied up with a bandanna, and he was giving off a noble and inviolate aura.

“The Chairman would like to see you,” the man stated.

“Sure, but please wait until I’m done with my demonstration,” Mo Fan answered.

“Nonsense! You have committed a great crime for disdaining the Asia Magic Association and leading young Mages across the world astray. Not only were you using forbidden magic, you are spreading it without permission, too!” the man in a silver robe snarled.

How dare he not treat Chairman Su Lu with any respect? Was he asking for his death?

“Is that why Feng Zhoulong died? Did you accuse him of scorning the Asia Magic Association, leading the world astray, and inventing forbidden magic?” Mo Fan repeated the accusations with cold eyes.

Despising the Asia Magic Association.

Inventing forbidden magic.

Spreading forbidden magic.

These accusations were exactly what they heaped upon the Black Vatican!

The Black Vatican’s Dark Beast Monsters were described as evil. They cursed the souls of living humans and refined them into greedy and vicious demons which were basically walking corpses filled with hatred.

They were treating Magic Fusion the same as the Black Vatican’s Curse Magic!

Mo Fan felt like his heart was being clenched.

“What are you talking about? The Magic Association has nothing to do with Feng Zhoulong’s death!” the man yelled.

“He died inside your tower, and you’re telling me it has nothing to do with you? Does that mean I’m not responsible if I kill you right here? Are you going to blame it on the Magic Association since it invented magic!?” Mo Fan instantly rebuked him.

“How dare you talk to me like that? I’m Longmu, the President of the Asia Magic Association’s Enforcement Union! I have the right to execute you on the spot if you threaten to kill me! You should realize what place this is, who I am, and who you are!” the man exclaimed angrily.

No one had dared to speak to him like that, including the leaders of many countries!

“I’m the only successor of Magic Fusion,” Mo Fan said in a deep voice.

“What Magic Fusion? It’s just a fancy trick!” Longmu’s Aura grew. A crimson-red spiderweb suddenly appeared above the city.

Mo Fan laughed grimly.

A fancy trick?

It was time to let the Head of the Asia Magic Association’s Enforcement Union have a taste of his fancy trick!

Chapter 2540: Weaving Lightning and Fire

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The people could not see the potential of Magic Fusion if Mo Fan was merely demonstrating it in mid-air.

Someone happened to be interested in getting a taste of a Fusioned spell. It was not just a fancy trick. It could make Mages significantly stronger. Magic Fusion was the path everyone had been looking for to utilize the maximum potential of their magic.

Lightning surged wildly from Mo Fan’s left hand into the air. It soared into the clouds like a lightning dragon, fierce lightning flickering around it like it was going to disintegrate Mo Fan’s body.

Half of his body was glowing with his Lightning Acupuncture Points. His veins and bones turned purple and constructed something like a Star Palace, but only brighter and more astonishing!

At the same time, Mo Fan’s heart was blazing like a furnace ready to set an entire city on fire. Strong fiery energy surged out of the heart and accumulated on Mo Fan’s right side.

His eyes were purple and red. Dense lightning filled up the sky, its rapid flashes projecting terrifying lightning strokes across the city, as if a city made of lightning had been established above the clouds with interconnected streets in the form of lightning arcs.

Meanwhile, sacred flames were spreading under Mo Fan’s feet.

It was a boundless fiery vortex capable of devouring the sea. Flames surged forth as both the Phoenix Flame and Calamity Fire appeared. It was a massive calamity of fire spreading across the land, greater and more majestic than the sea.

The sky was covered in destructive lightning, the kingdom of the lightning dragon.

The flames under Mo Fan’s feet had grown from a vortex to a sea. The whole city was blazing red beneath the light of the flames.

It looked as if the silver city in the desert was burning in great flames, while fierce lightning was surging in the sky.

“This is the ‘fancy trick’ you are referring to!” Mo Fan glared at Longmu.

Longmu’s expression shifted in disbelief.

The man’s cultivation was nowhere close to his, as he had almost reached the peak of the Super Level, so how were his Lightning and Fire placing him under such a suffocating pressure? Was this really the power of a mere Super Mage?

“Yarn of Lightning and Fire!”

Mo Fan had merged the two most destructive and violent Elements into one!

It was an extremely dangerous move. No one had dared to combine the two Elements before!

Mo Fan’s eyes remained expressionless. He was recklessly bringing forth massive destruction. Only the violent Lightning and Fire could vent his anger!

The curtain of lightning and sea of flames echoed as Mo Fan placed his hands together. Blue veins surfaced on his fingers, the back of his hands, and his face!

Pillars of flames rose into the sky, as if a volcano had just erupted.

The lightning dove into the sea of flames. The two Elements interwove and produced rampant energy, causing space to collapse and disrupting the dimensions.

Mo Fan’s target was Longmu. He could have spread the flames through the city and made the lightning fall on the buildings, not to mention the interwoven Lightning and Fire would destroy all the buildings and turn them into mere sand, like the desert in the distance!

Longmu was trapped in the middle of this destructive world of lightning and fire. He was indeed a powerful Mage. He was using various spells, Super Powers, and special magic Equipment to protect himself, like a ship trying to recover its balance in a storm.

He could easily withstand either the flames or the lightning, but not only did their combined power possess an overwhelming strength, it also had a strange ability to penetrate his defenses and nullify his spells. The continuous lightning and flame were like an unpredictable black hole trying to devour him.

It was crushing him and burning him!

It felt like he was falling into a burning planet with lightning flickering around it. He was surrounded by overwhelming forces that were ramming him, crushing him, and paralyzing him, all at the same time. How could he possibly handle them all?

His silver robe was ripped apart, and he was covered in multiple wounds as he flew around, looking for gaps between the lightning and fire.

He was supposed to be the one punishing Mo Fan, but he was the one who was in danger now. His face was not only burned, but frozen with astonishment!

“Sir!” the captain yelled.

The dragon riders had already fled like spooked birds in the woods, staying away from the calamity of lightning and fire. The Head of the Enforcement Union was eventually forced to flee several thousand meters away, out of the city’s airspace.

“Is that Magic Fusion?”

“Such great power, yet that guy is clearly weaker than President Longmu in terms of cultivation!”

“To think that someone can actually merge two of the most unstable Elements!”

Longmu was not the only person in shock. There were thousands of people who were watching the lightning and flames from down in the city!

Was this the little demonstration the man mentioned? It was a power that could destroy the Heavens and Earth!

Even the destruction caused by the strongest Mages was incomparable to it!

“What are you all waiting for? Take him down! This is the Asia Magic Association, an organization that is only second to the Holy Judgment Court. We can’t allow him to behave atrociously in our territory!” Longmu yelled between his coughing.

He thought he could easily take out the young man who was looking for death, but he was severely injured by the man’s mysterious magic instead.

Longmu felt humiliated, but he could not afford to discard his aloof attitude!

The captain was in shock after seeing Mo Fan’s strength, yet he had no choice but to join the fight.

A group of Dubai Mages surrounded Mo Fan on their flying dragons. A new power had appeared as the lightning and fire were dissipating. It was a black candlelight, swaying in the distance, but it soon grew to the size of a mountain.

It was a combination of the Phoenix Flame and Dark Fountain!

Mo Fan had used Magic Fusion again. The cold flames were applying huge pressure to the dragon riders. They felt like their bodies were being burned while their souls were being tortured by the icy darkness.

The dragon riders were nowhere as strong as Longmu.. Even Longmu had sustained serious injuries, let alone petty Mages like them. They did not stand a chance against Mo Fan as he wielded the Magic Fusion!

Chapter 2541: Declaring War against the Asia Magic Association

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The flying dragons were terrified. They were suffering greatly under the darkness that was eating at their souls.

The Mages riding them were being crushed by the flames, too. Even if they knew how to defend against the scorching flames, they had no idea how to resist the darkness that was tearing through their hearts at the same time. Those who could stop the darkness in their hearts were struggling to resist the flames on the outside!

“You…you are challenging the authority of the Asia Magic Association!” Longmu snarled after he fled to safety.

Mo Fan could not have cared less about what he said. He did not mind whatever accusations they were heaping on him.

He had already made up his mind to put up a fight. Why would he be bothered by their regulations and restrictions? These regulations were exactly what they had abused to gain their power.

He was trying to bring down their authority!

The dragon riders were no match for Mo Fan. The darkness was further imbued with the Chaos Element, and the dragon riders felt like they had fallen into an endless swamp. They just managed to crawl out of a swamp of darkness when they found themselves at the bottom of another swamp.

Mo Fan was trampling them under his feet like little kids. They could not move or resist!

——

Dubai was a huge city, but the people on every street and in every corner could see the battle in the sky.

A person in a ragged coat, their hair disheveled and dirty, was leaning against a bin on a deserted street behind a tall building.

“It’s my teacher…” The person’s eyes suddenly glittered. She was staring into the sky above the building.

“Is he trying to protect us? Is he making a distraction so we can leave the city?” The voice was coming out of a book that the woman was holding in her arms.

The book was opening and closing on its own. The voice was indeed coming out of the book.

“That’s great, I didn’t expect a kind man would step forward at a time like this. We should take hold of the opportunity to leave the city. We can get back at those pricks later!” the book said.

“I can’t abandon teacher. He’s doing it for Feng Zhoulong, and to tell the world about Magic Fusion,” Sharjah said with a soft but firm voice.

“Are you out of your mind? Don’t forget who you are! Everyone can die, but you can’t. Don’t you understand, Sharjah!?” The book started shaking like it was trying to break free from Sharjah’s hands.

“He’s the only person who has mastered Magic Fusion. If he dies, it will forever be lost.” Sharjah rose to her feet, never taking her eyes away from the sky.

The book was shaking harder. If it had hands, it would have dragged Sharjah away by force.

“Idiot, Magic Fusion is nowhere as valuable as you are!” the book screamed.

“How am I more valuable than Magic Fusion?” Sharjah grabbed the book.

The book seemed to know what Sharjah was thinking. It was desperately trying to escape, but Sharjah was holding onto it firmly!

“You must not open that page!” The book struggled fiercely.

“It was my mistake for not protecting Mr. Feng Zhoulong. I can’t let Mo Fan take the responsibility. I’m supposed to be the one who sacrifices my life. I should be the one declaring war against the Asia Magic Association!”

Sharjah tapped the book softly. Black vines immediately grew out of it.

The vines eventually turned into a bird. It was beating its wings, waiting for Sharjah to mount it.

Sharjah climbed onto it, holding the book tightly with one hand.

She flew higher into the sky, approaching the battle. Her coat fell off as she was weaving through the flames that were dissipating in the air, revealing her true appearance.

Her curly purple hair looked like Mandara vines. Her pale skin was covered in wounds. Her face was covered in filth, but it did not cover up how beautiful she was. Her purple and glittering eyes had a determined light, instead of delicateness and sorrow!

Mo Fan was not supposed to carry the burden alone. It was her fight!

The black color on the book slowly faded away, revealing the golden color beneath it. It was shining as brightly as the sun.

Sharjah finally reached Mo Fan’s altitude. The book in her hand had transformed into a heavenly book that was giving off a sacred light, further setting off her dazzling and sacred appearance!

“Sharjah?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

He knew she was in the city. He knew she was still alive.

He was overjoyed to see her!

Sharjah was familiar with Magic Fusion, while Mo Fan was not a qualified scholar. As long as Sharjah was still alive, so was Magic Fusion!

Mo Fan could only use Magic Fusion with the help of the gloves. Only Sharjah and Feng Zhoulong knew how to use Magic Fusion without relying on a medium!

“You shouldn’t call her that,” a man dressed in a silver and golden robe on the tower called out.

Mo Fan was not familiar with the voice, but he could not ignore it. The voice was calm and aloof, as if the man was naturally superior to the others.

“Chairman, there’s no need for you to show yourself. He’s just an extremist who is trying to lure you out,” Longmu said humbly.

“He’s not worthy for me to show myself, but it’s different now that she’s here…” Su Lu was walking in the air, but it was difficult to tell what magic he was using.

The magic Mo Fan had accumulated suddenly dissipated after Su Lu showed up.

The airflow had stabilized. The lightning and fire scattered across the sky had vanished. Even the distorted space was recovering rapidly.

The sky above the city was clear and blue, while the bright sun was hanging right above the city. The people were unable to see what was going on clearly because of its blinding light.

“However, I must thank you for luring her out,” Su Lu smiled at Mo Fan. He soon added in the same disdainful tone, “Unfortunately, a man like you will never understand the fight that is happening at the higher level.”

Mo Fan looked at Sharjah.

Sharjah slowly stepped forward and stood in front of Mo Fan. It seemed like she was trying to stop Su Lu from hurting him.

However, why would Sharjah dare to stand in front of the Asia Magic Association’s chairman with a murderous look in her eyes?

“Gabriel, you are too merciful. That is the reason why you have lost!” Su Lu smiled.

It was rare for Su Lu to smile so sincerely with his power and position. He was happy because he could finally trample someone as mysterious and powerful as him under his feet!

Gabriel? One of the Seven Great Angels of the Sacred City?

The Seven Great Angels were traveling around the world to maintain its order.

They would not show themselves easily. They had disguised themselves as ordinary people by living normal lives.

However, when the world was in danger, they would discard their disguises and take up their roles as the Great Angels!

Mo Fan stared at Sharjah in astonishment.

Sharjah… She was a Great Angel!

She was a protector of the world!

Chapter 2542: Hunting the Great Angel

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Sir, I’m sorry. I failed to protect Mr. Feng Zhoulong,” Sharjah lowered her head. Her face was filled with guilt and pain.

Mo Fan was puzzled. Did Feng Zhoulong somehow become a sacrifice in an unrelated fight?

No, that should not be the case. If Sharjah was an Archangel of the Sacred City, no one would have known her real identity, including Su Lu.

“There’s nothing to feel guilty about. Gabriel! You aren’t leaving here in one piece, nor are you going back to the Sacred City. This is the real Sacred City! You are truly an unexpected catch for me!” Su Lu burst out laughing.

Su Lu no longer had to put up a disguise.

What was this place? Dubai City, the headquarters of the Asia Magic Association!

It was his kingdom. He had control of every life that set foot into it!

Su Lu had only been planning to kill a bunch of magic scholars who might cause a commotion, especially Feng Zhoulong, who had invented Magic Fusion.

He was surprised when he found an Archangel disguised as an ordinary human among the scholars.

That person was Sharjah!

It was an unexpected discovery. The Archangels enforced laws across the world. Su Lu was doomed if she returned to the Sacred City with the information that he had killed the scholars who were capable of changing the world. He would have to fall out with the Sacred City earlier than he had expected.

Luckily, they were in Dubai.

Luckily, Su Lu had made sure he had a clean trail.

It was Su Lu who had killed the scholars. He did not want to leave any trail behind!

His direct involvement had prevented Sharjah from escaping. Otherwise, Sharjah could have easily escaped with Feng Zhoulong!

He might have risked his position as the Chairman of the Asia Magic Association if he exposed himself after failing to kill Feng Zhoulong and got on the wrong side of an Archangel who managed to return to the Sacred City, so he had shown himself once again.

He could easily cover up everything, since they were still in Dubai. Certain images might have spread on the Internet, but once he was done here, he could just find some excuses to cover up the truth. It did not matter if the people doubted him.

No matter what the people said, the only ones that could pose him a threat were the other four Continental Magic Associations and the Sacred City.

He did not have to explain himself to the general public. He had a superior status and unmatched strength.

He was no longer just a Councilman of the Asia Magic Association with many concerns and restraints. He was now the Chairman of it!

He was basically the king of Dubai City!

So what if he killed an Archangel of the Sacred City? Who would dare to fight him?

Once Su Lu was dead, Su Lu could even accuse the Sacred City that its Archangel had colluded with Mages who practiced evil arts!

Only the living could speak!

—

Mo Fan’s heart sank as he looked at the arrogant Su Lu.

The man was blatantly picking on them in broad daylight. He was a true dictator!

Perhaps the whole tower had already been corrupted from the base to the top. How could Feng Zhoulong possibly walk out of the place alive?

“Teacher, this is my fight. You should leave,” Sharjah said.

There was no escape. The possibility of her leaving Dubai City was extremely low. Most importantly, the various organizations that were searching for her were just as bad as Su Lu.

Their goal was to kill the Archangel inside Dubai City!

People had great respect for the Archangels because they maintained the order of the world, but the people in power wanted the Archangels to be gone, as no one at the top of the world wanted a pair of eyes watching them at all times.

A black tide was flowing into Dubai City from all directions after the Archangel’s identity was exposed.

They pretended they were clueless about what was going on, but they had completely surrounded the city.

They did not dare challenge the Archangel’s dignity, but they were holding her by the elbow and forcing her to fight alone.

Mo Fan was the only person willing to fight for her. He had gone as far as declaring war against the Asia Magic Association.

He was willing to risk his life. If she ran away and returned to the Sacred City, would she still be able to take down the corrupted tower?

Would she have enough power to overthrow them after she became a deserter?

It was better to put up a fight now! She would make them bleed, and break through the darkness!

If they wanted to kill her in Dubai City, she would make them pay the price for it!

Her book had completely turned golden. It was flipping through the pages until the last page.

Rose-gold feathers flew out of the book and circled Sharjah rapidly. Their oscillation gradually widened as the radius increased.

The rose-gold feathers finally formed a tornado covering half the sky of Dubai City. It was like the gate of Heavens had suddenly opened, allowing the people to witness the wonders within.

Golden ripples across in the sky like the surface of a lake, each emitting a stronger Aura than the previous one.

Sharjah was bathed in the sacred light. The rose-gold feathers gathered on her back.

The wings spread slowly, countless feathers stacking up, granting her a noble and dazzling appearance.

Mo Fan had a great impression of Sharjah when he saw her the first time. She had a mystical temperament, something like an elf. It was even stronger after she revealed her true appearance, giving people the urge to kneel down and worship her.

It was not exaggerating to describe her as a goddess!

While Mo Fan was dazzled by Sharjah’s transformation, dark clouds suddenly appeared above the sky that was covered in golden ripples. A pair of enormous claws reached out from the clouds.

It was like a predator reaching its claws into the pond to catch a golden carp in it before taking off into the sky!

“Look out!”

The rose-golden angel was dragged into the clouds before Mo Fan could react, leaving Mo Fan and the people of the whole city trembling in fear!

Black claws the size of mountains! Its size was huge enough to cover the whole center of the city!

It had appeared out of nowhere and taken off higher into the sky like a bird of prey. Its Aura was as overwhelming as a black sandstorm in the desert.

“A…black dragon…”

“It’s the Black Dragon Emperor!”

Mo Fan felt like his soul was about to perish.

Even though it was not his first encounter with the creature at the apex, its claws had barely missed Mo Fan.

He was only alive because the Black Dragon Emperor was targeting Sharjah!

Chapter 2543: Not One of You Will Live!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“HAHAHAHA!” Su Lu burst out laughing like a madman. His voice hoarsened, “Do you seriously think you can fight me alone? Were you not treating all the Mages in Dubai seriously, just because you are an Archangel? You are still too young! If every Angel of the Sacred City is brainless and naive like you, I believe the Sacred City will soon fall under my feet!”

When the Black Dragon Emperor beat its wings, the clouds, airflow, and dust were stirred up, disrupting their regular patterns!

“Activate the Magic Formation. I’ve tamed the dragon, and now, I’m going to slay an Angel!” Su Lu lifted his hands.

A beam of light burst out of the top of Dubai Tower and loomed over the place like a curtain. It was establishing a different world in the air above the tower.

The thick clouds scattered over ten kilometers above the city were like a land that people could walk on.

The clouds rose and took the shape of mountains. Some that extended down were like glaciers. The whole scene was as spectacular as a drawing.

Cliffs of clouds emerged from the city and the streets toward the sky.

“This Skybound Cloud Battlefield will be your grave!” Su Lu had been preparing for this battle over the past few days.

He was quite sure Sharjah was unable to escape Dubai. All he had to do now was to break her wings and sever her head to spray the city with her scorching blood.

No one would dare to challenge him after this!

If there was a revolution, his domination of her was the real revolution, and it would start with taking Gabriel’s head!

The tall buildings in the city had disappeared among the clouds. Mo Fan knew it did not mean the city and its people had vanished, but the Dimensional Magic had moved the area above Dubai Tower to an even greater altitude.

The city was still thousands of meters below them. The air here was thin and cold. The energy leaking out of the battle was not going to destroy the city.

After all, Dubai was Su Lu’s greatest cornerstone and foundation!

Several figures appeared in the clouds. They were clearly people who shared the same thoughts as Su Lu.

Perhaps they were interested in seeing the fall of one of the seven Archangels, who were considered the strongest mages among humans.

The black dragon’s claws were giving off a scorching, sacred light.

Sharjah broke free from the claw, but a thick black gas was still surrounding her. It was the Black Dragon Emperor’s black magic, suppressing Sharjah’s power.

“What is this? You still don’t have the courage to face off Archangel Gabriel, even with the Black Dragon Emperor on our side?” Su Lu looked at the people who appeared in the clouds disdainfully.

Anzark in his white robe was already standing close to him, along with several authorities of the Asia Magic Association. Longmu, who had recovered from his injuries, was one of them.

“That’s right, none of you have reached my level. You will die if you go any higher. How about this? I’ll let you all take care of that kid, and make sure it’s clean. Do you understand?” Su Lu pointed at Mo Fan casually.

Magic Fusion? Didn’t he say he was the only successor?

It seemed like Magic Fusion would cease to exist from today onward!

Magic Fusion might have its strengths, but the difference between their cultivations was still too much of a gap to cross.

A raft made of clouds appeared under Su Lu’s feet, and slowly lifted higher into the sky.

He might not be strong enough to kill Archangel Gabriel himself, but with the Black Dragon Emperor’s help, he was going to spray Dubai with Gabriel’s blood!

—

An Asian man approached Mo Fan. He was dressed in simple clothes, and his hair was shiny and combed.

He was the Vice President of the Dubai Mages, Ming Shang.

Mo Fan recalled seeing him in the meeting room where he had found Zu Huanyao. He was supposed to be on Zu Huanyao’s side, but the fact that he had shown up here meant he was one of Su Lu’s men.

“Did you think Zu Huanyao would tell you the truth? He showed you a path to stay alive so you won’t be involved in this mess, yet you’ve found your way back. Even Zu Huanyao won’t be able to save you now!” Ming Shang snorted.

Did Zu Huanyao purposely mislead him so he would go after the Guild of the Wicked?

It was true that if he had continued to chase after the Guild of the Wicked into the desert, he would never have been involved in this battle. After all, it did not end with Feng Zhoulong’s death, as an Archangel was now involved!

Su Lu had killed Feng Zhoulong, but he did not expect to find an Archangel with him.

Sharjah had tried her best to keep Feng Zhoulong alive, but not only did she fail, she had exposed her identity as an Archangel. She had been trapped alone in Dubai City.

The whole thing was very clear now.

“Was it you who brought Feng Zhoulong to Su Lu?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yeah, actually, I wanted him to cooperate with Mr. Su Lu and help the Magic Association improve through his Magic Fusion. Unfortunately, he was too stubborn. He insisted on popularizing Magic Fusion instead. It was clearly an unlimited gold mine, but he wanted to share it with stupid commoners. We couldn’t help it. He asked for his death!” Ming Shang declared.

Ming Shang was well aware of how the authorities did things. Those who posed a threat to them had to be taken out!

Those who were useless to them had to be taken out, too!

Feng Zhoulong was absolutely brilliant. He was comparable to those who had invented new spells and Elements.

However, he was also too stupid!

He thought he could make the world a better place, but he did not understand that most leaders were merely hoping to retain their power instead. They could not have cared less about mankind’s well-being!

“You deserve to die, then!” Mo Fan snarled with a murderous face.

“It’s just the way of survival. The ones who die are always people like you and Feng Zhoulong, who are driven by their passion! Don’t you know that it’s we who reward people with the titles of a warrior? Why don’t I give you that title after you die? Perhaps it will be easier for our country to accept your death. I wouldn’t want to complicate matters further!” Ming Shang smiled like he was looking at a little kid.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was giving off a murderous aura. Even his eyes were emitting a blood-red light!

Very well!

The battlefield was white as snow. It was perfect for him to dye it red.

He could use the blood of those who had killed Feng Zhoulong and were trying to kill the Archangel as paint!

Not a single one of the people who were involved was going to live!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Purple light, blazing red, strange darkness, moonlight, silver flickers, chaos, brown gleams…

Seven different lights took turns appearing, before combining into a strange dark crimson!

A formidable dark crimson Aura spread out wildly, as if it had finally broken free from the chains restraining it after it was buried deep in a person’s soul for a long time. It went from a tiny vortex to a dark hole big enough to contain a mountain range and a vast land!

Blue veins and demonic Runes surfaced on Mo Fan’s face, giving him a wild and strange appearance. His hair was standing on its end with lightning flickering through it, and he looked like an imperious lord of thunder!

His skin was blazing red. His arteries and veins filled with scorching blood were almost visible. In his demon form, his Fire Magic had evolved after he acquired the Phoenix Flame. His blood was flowing at an unusual rate, his heart was like a furnace!

His furnace heart was pounding rapidly, like a machine that had gone into overdrive, continuously producing a huge amount of heat and energy!

The lightning was his Aura while the fire was his body. However, the strongest power of the Demon Element had always been the Soul Shadows that were attached to his back. They were the power of his Summoning Element.

The Soul Shadows were drawn from the Wolf Emperor, the Flame Belle Goddess, and the Medusa Queen!

Mo Fan had only had two Soul Shadows he could switch between freely before, but that was no longer the case this time.

The three Soul Shadows were now stacked on top of one another. They stood firmly behind Mo Fan, like a huge statue the size of a mountain.

The statue had an astonishing tail from the Medusa Queen. The half-transparent tail was wrapped around the area in a radius of several hundred meters around Mo Fan, covered in burning scales.

The tail went all the way up to the Soul Shadow’s waist, resembling a God of Flame covered in the same fiery scales.

The God of Flame did not resemble the Flame Belle Goddess, nor did it look like the Medusa Queen or Apas. It had an imperious appearance similar to Mo Fan when he was in the King of Hell form. The only difference were the vivid burning stripes of a wolf’s head on his chest.

It was a Soul Shadow of a Fiery Snake God…

Mo Fan’s Demon Element was capable of combining the power of different Elements inside his body and unleashing their maximum potential. However, he never expected his Soul Shadow to turn into something that possessed the traits of both gods and demons after he signed a Contract with Apas!

Anzark, Longmu, Ming Shang, and the others felt their scalps turning numb after they saw the demonic shadow.

What kind of creature was that? Why were they overwhelmed by despair, like they were setting foot into the Gate of Hell? Why would a little Super Mage possess such a terrifying power?

Mo Fan remained unmoving, surrounded by burning ashes. He stared at the three men with a cold and aloof face.

“I shall offer you three as sacrifices to the Heavens first!” Mo Fan declared coldly.

Mo Fan did not even need to attack. The Fiery Snake God behind him pounced forward and rammed into the three men as if its body was made of diamond. Wild flames spread from it and established a terrifying purgatory, trapping the three men.

The half-transparent snake tail also formed a wall around the area, pinning the three men inside the flames. They had no choice but to suffer the burning of the demonic flames!

The demonic flames could burn everything into ashes, whether it was a sturdy defense from the Water Element, some extraordinary magic Equipment, or the spells trying to nullify their magic. The absolutely imperious flames were not giving the three men any chance of survival.

The Fiery Snake God had left Mo Fan’s back. It continued to seal off the area with its tail to ensure the three men would die in the flames.

“Damn it, this is the Asia Magic Association. It’s not a place for a monster like you to behave atrociously!” a Top Seater in the clouds snarled.

The Top Seater was wearing the badge of an elder. He was clearly someone of high position in the Asia Magic Association.

He was also present when Su Lu had murdered the scholars.

It was he who had done the dirty work on behalf of Su Lu. Su Lu was only there to watch him do the work.

It was too easy for Karun to murder a group of scholars who only had knowledge, not any formidable strength. However, he was severely injured by the young woman with Feng Zhoulong after he targeted the man.

If Su Lu had not lent a hand in time, the young woman might have killed him in an instant!

Karun only realized the young woman was Archangel Gabriel after Su Lu said so.

As a man who was extremely close to the level of Forbidden Mages, he might not be strong enough to take on Archangel Gabriel, but he would have no trouble killing a heretic who had relied on some forbidden arts to strengthen himself.

The young man was fighting back fiercely and behaving atrociously in front of Dubai Tower. Even the strongest Mages of the Holy Judgment Court would not dare to do such things!

Karun moved toward Mo Fan.

Karun was a smart man, and did not reveal his strength right away. He was aware of how strong Mo Fan’s Soul Shadow was. He only made his move when the Soul Shadow had left to take out Longmu, Ming Shang, and Anzark!

The young man was just an ordinary Super Mage without his Soul Shadow. Magic Fusion was not going to help him!

“Are you going to let those three burn to death?” Mo Fan turned around to face Karun before he arrived.

“Some sacrifices are necessary…” Karun scoffed.

The three men might have ended up as sacrifices in their attempt to hunt down an Archangel. Once the Archangel’s blood was sprayed on Dubai Tower, the Sacred City would tremble in fear. No one would ever dare to challenge Su Lu and his men!

Su Lu’s goal was not just to conquer Asia. He was planning to cut off the Sacred City’s wings, take over the Parthenon Temple, and rule over the other four Continental Magic Associations.

He would become the undeniable king of all humans!

The invasion of sea monsters had given Su Lu a great opportunity, as every country was busy fending off the sea monsters. They were too busy to mind the infighting in the Magic Association, giving Su Lu the perfect opportunity to make his move!

Taking down the Black Dragon Emperor was a brilliant move. They were able to abuse the strength of one of the strongest creatures in the world. So what if they were up against an Archangel of the Sacred City? The world was about to change from today onward!

Karun had a Windstorm Spear. His attacks were as fast as the wind. Mo Fan could barely see Karun moving around in the strong winds. He could only see the long spear swiping at him through the tornadoes!

He was a formidable enemy!

He was hurling a storm at Mo Fan with his spear. At the same time, he had gathered the power of the winds on the tip of the spear before releasing it like a breaking dam!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Windstorm Spear was heading right at Mo Fan’s heart, the heart that was burning like a furnace. Karun assumed it was the demon’s critical weakness.

He was going to kill the demon with a single blow!

Karun’s Windstorm Spear went right through Mo Fan’s heart, followed by fierce winds that were tearing everything in their wake to pieces.

Karun had practiced the move countless times. He could shred even the sturdiest mountains like bubbles. It always started from a tiny hole left by the spear, but the hole would soon spread at great speed as the object was shredded into dust.

The spear could destroy a sturdy mountain, let alone the flesh of a human!

“I enjoy stabbing my enemy with a spear, too. I also hang their bodies high up so they can sway like a flag in a cold wind until they dry!” an eerie voice spoke into Karun’s ear.

The Windstorm Spear had only hit a shadow. Its body did not crumble into pieces like Karun had expected, nor did the heart break into pieces!

Karun was shocked. He had no idea how his opponent had dodged the attack. He quickly backed away, his survival instincts warning him to distance himself from the strange man.

Little did he know, he was greeted by more surprises.

Karun suddenly felt a strong pain from his heart, like a terrifying power had frozen his entire body, including his energy and magic.

His blood had solidified into sand while his muscles had turned into rocks. His skin was covered in a layer of concrete. Most importantly, a long rock spear was impaled through his heart!

It had gone through his chest and out of his back!

Karun felt like a wild hare stuck to a hunter’s spear. The hunter slowly lifted the spear up.

Karun’s face was full of fear and shock when he lowered his gaze.

It was the face of a young man, covered by mysterious lines. He only realized how dangerous the young man was when he saw his face at a close distance. It was like the face of a devil who had broken out of Hell, instead of something from his world!

Why did he bother going up close to his enemy? How did he not realize he was not even on the same level as his enemy?

The stone spear had gone through Karun’s chest.

Even when Karun died, he still did not understand how his enemy had dodged his Windstorm Spear, caught up to him so quickly and stabbed him with a stone spear.

He only knew he had made the stupid mistake of not probing his enemy first, which had cost him his life.

Who would possibly know such a terrifying devil was hiding inside the body of a mere Super Mage?

It was just like how he had not expected the young woman with Feng Zhoulong to actually be Archangel Gabriel when he tried to kill Feng Zhoulong.

Su Lu was fighting Gabriel above them. He would not be able to save Karun this time.

Demon Mo Fan threw the spear away.

The spear dragged the petrified Karun away, flying at the top of Dubai Tower that had poked out of the clouds.

The spear stuck fiercely to the top of the tower, nailing Karun’s corpse to it. The magic that petrified him slowly faded away, blood spraying out of Karun’s chest like a fountain. It flowed down the tower and painted the windows a striking red!

Dubai Tower had a Barrier protecting it, and was as sturdy as a diamond. Many powerful Mages of the Magic Association were still on standby in the tower, but they were all dumbfounded when they saw Karun’s dead body.

He’s… dead?

A Top Seater was killed, just like that?

The ordinary spear nailed Karun’s corpse at a perfect spot. Not only could the people in the tower see it, the people down in the city could see it, too!

No one knew what was going on above the clouds. Su Lu was blatantly trying to kill an Archangel, but he had no intention of broadcasting it to the whole world. The clouds were not only trapping Sharjah, but blocking off the people’s view, too!

The battle was happening right in front of the headquarters of the Asia Magic Association. It was no surprise for even the strongest enemy to end up a cold corpse, but to their surprise, the first body did not belong to the enemy, but to a Top Seater of the Magic Association, Karun!

Karun had an outstanding reputation and position in Asia. Many renowned clans wanted to recruit him. They would no longer be afraid of anyone but Forbidden Mages if they had a Top Seater with them!

The powerful Mage, renowned for his Windstorm Spear, had died just like that. His body hung on Dubai Tower, swaying in the wind. His blood was still spraying at the windows.

He was well-respected when he was alive, but he had died a horrible death. His colleagues in the tower did not even have the courage to take his corpse down, since they had no idea who had killed him.

Was it Archangel Gabriel, or someone else!?

Zu Huanyao glanced at Karun’s body and said sternly, “Protect the tower and the people. It’s not your battle, so there’s no need to put yourself in danger!”

Zu Huanyao was the person in charge, since Su Lu was not around.

Zu Huanyao knew Su Lu had completely lost his mind. His intention to kill the Archangel was the same as declaring war against the whole world.

However, the others had not lost their minds.

If Su Lu managed to kill Archangel Gabriel, everyone would endorse him.

If he failed to kill Gabriel, the Asia Magic Association would have to face the wrath of the Sacred City and the other Continental Magic Associations. They would be asking for their deaths if they stayed with Su Lu!

Su Lu was well aware of that, too.

Killing Feng Zhoulong was crucial, as the man might actually start a revolution, but they had ended up poking a beehive by luring out Archangel Gabriel.

There was no backing away for Su Lu. He had no choice but to stick with his plan to the end!

As long as he had the Black Dragon Emperor’s help, Gabriel would not be alive for long!

—

The Asia Magic Association had a lot of factions, and Su Lu had many loyal men under him.

There were four other Top Seaters and more than twenty High Seaters above the clouds.

They were going to help Su Lu by keeping Sharjah at bay, but none of them had expected the young man would suddenly display such unusual strength.

He had killed a Top Seater with ease. Didn’t that mean the demon-like man had the strength of a Forbidden Mage?

Luckily, they had not done anything reckless. Otherwise, they would be the ones who would have died instead!

“Use the Illusion Clouds Formation!” Top Seater Nido shouted.

The High Seaters had already spread out across the sky. They were in position to activate the Illusion Clouds Formation, which they had initially planned to be used on Sharjah.

Mo Fan raised his hand.. The Soul Shadow of the Fiery Snake God swiftly returned to his back, like a living cape.

Chapter 2546: I cannot be like You

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Realm of the Demon Eyes!”

Mo Fan already knew what the High Seaters and Top Seaters were up to.

The thick clouds could easily trap an Archangel. The Magic Formation clearly relied strongly on the Dubai Tower.

As a demon with the Chaos, Shadow, and Space Elements, how could Mo Fan possibly give his enemy a chance to trap him?

His eyes turned blood red. The white clouds were dyed the same hue. The eerie color permeated the clouds and filled the air with a strong burning Aura!

Mo Fan dragged the Top Seaters and High Seaters into a strange world of blood and darkness before they could activate the Magic Formation. It was a primordial world, where lightning was whipping the ground and grinding the sharp edges from the mountains. There was no sign of life, but it was brimming with a strong smell of blood. The whole place was deserted and desolate!

“Welcome to my playground,” Mo Fan grinned wickedly.

It was a demon’s playground, a slaughterhouse for his enemies.

There was no escape!

The only thing the Top Seaters and High Seaters could do was to find a relatively safe hiding spot. Once the demon with a bloody whip in his hand found them, the echoes of their cries would last for a long time!

Mo Fan had not just come here to seek the truth.

He did not believe any of the people who had sided with Su Lu and insisted on killing Sharjah, the only survivor among the scholars, were innocent!

No one was truly innocent in the fully corrupted Asia Magic Association. Feng Zhoulong would not have died if they had not colluded with Su Lu in their incompetence.

He never expected these vermin to contribute to the world when mankind was in danger. He only wished they had not murdered a man who was about to bring real changes to the world and help it advance.

They all deserved to die!

Whenever Mo Fan recalled Feng Zhoulong sharing Magic Fusion with him in utter excitement, he would feel an even stronger urge to kill.

Mo Fan had already learned the true face of the powers-that-be when he saw how the world had cruelly abandoned Zhan Kong and Qin Yu’er.

The authorities never cared about people’s well-being. They only cared about their own power and status.

It had always been like that!

Mo Fan would rather trample the Asia Magic Association to pieces and kill every one of them!

He did not have the slightest shred of mercy for them.

He could only vent a little of his hatred and anger with every High Seater he killed. Ever since he had learned about Feng Zhoulong’s death, his heart had been hurting every second, like something was clenching it.

Whenever one of the people who were involved in Feng Zhoulong’s death died to his claws, he would feel slightly better. The air he breathed in was no longer so sour.

Zhan Kong had chosen not to fight back. He chose to leave with Qin Yu’er and let the world continue to rot.

However, Mo Fan could not stand it. It was time for him to finish the battle in the Sacred City on behalf of Zhan Kong!

Mo Fan could not stand watching people like Zhan Kong and Feng Zhoulong die for nothing!

Their righteousness had stopped them from causing a bloodbath, so he would do it for them instead!

Mo Fan was not afraid of falling into darkness. He was not scared of being despised by the world, nor was he afraid of being treated as a heretic.

Every righteous person was a heretic in an evil world!

Holy Saint Wen Tai had failed to wake the world up. The King of the Undead Zhan Kong had failed to wake it up. Scholar Feng Zhoulong had failed to wake it up.

If all those righteous people had failed to wake the world up, perhaps he should try it as a demon!

It was their wickedness that had awakened the demon. It was their corruption that had roused its fury.

Mo Fan had fought many battles and become a hero to many people, but he never treated himself as a righteous person.

He had met a lot of righteous people who had sacrificed themselves for the greater good. Mo Fan was ashamed to even compare himself to them.

Mo Fan finally understood why he had never agreed with their values.

The righteous ones would always be righteous. They chose to remain silent when the world picked on them.

They endured the torture the world had given them. They rejoiced when the world wanted to tear them into pieces and behead them.

Mo Fan could not get himself to do that.

The blood of destruction was flowing in his bones. The Demon Element was tailored for an unrighteous man like him!

“Chief Military Instructor, Feng Zhoulong… I’m sorry. I can never be like you.”

Mo Fan suddenly understood Salan’s crazed mindset.

Not a single person was innocent about Wen Tai’s death, including the common people.

She was trying to get her revenge by burying both the people in charge and the witless common people.

Mo Fan was not insane like her, however. He would only set his eyes on those who deserved to die!

—

Su Lu’s influence was surprisingly broad.

A middle-aged man with silver-gray hair appeared in front of Mo Fan just after he had left his bloody playground, having turned over a score of High Seaters and Top Seaters into corpses.

He rose from the top of the Dubai Tower. He was wearing the badge of a Vice Chairman.

Mo Fan had met the man before. This was the man who had crowned him the champion of the World College Tournament!

Mo Fan did not remember his name. He only knew the man was like a brilliant sun he could not look at directly in the past.

“I remember you,” the Forbidden Mage said in a deep voice.

The Forbidden Mage had recognized Mo Fan when he was demonstrating Magic Fusion. The young man was the champion of the World College Tournament, a young and talented Mage with a bright future ahead of him.

He was there on Mount Tyrant when Su Lu was going after the Black Dragon Emperor. Su Lu had insisted on killing Mo Fan and his friends, but the Forbidden Mage had prevented it to stop Su Lu from picking on them.

The Forbidden Mage stared at Mo Fan.

He was shocked, as he never thought a young man he had such high hopes for would possess such an evil and extraordinary power.

The Demon Element…

Even though only the Elements that were accessible for every Mage were accepted, Mo Fan had clearly awakened a special Element that only belonged to him.

It could be considered forbidden and evil!

“You have already become a heretic. Why must you go so far?” the Forbidden Mage said sadly.

“Why didn’t you stop it?” Mo Fan asked in return.

“If you are referring to the scholars, things aren’t as simple as you think. Su Lu has done something wrong, but…” the Forbidden Mage paused and looked up at the Black Dragon Emperor and Su Lu.

“Even emperors make mistakes.”

Chapter 2547: Starsteel Burning Stripes

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Emperors…

So everyone was treating Su Lu as the Asia Magic Association’s emperor.

It was ridiculous, yet real. Otherwise, why would Su Lu dare to kill an Archangel in front of the whole city?

Even emperors made mistakes…

Mo Fan did not expect a Forbidden Mage to be enslaved by his own thoughts!

“It’s meaningless for me to say anything more. If you take another step forward, I have no choice but to erase you from this world!” The sorry look in the Forbidden Mage’s eyes was replaced with coldness.

Mo Fan retained his cold grin. He stood there, waiting for the Forbidden Mage to make his move.

Not every Forbidden Mage had the power to complete a Forbidden Curse by themselves. Besides, was a Forbidden Curse enough to kill him?

The Forbidden Mage did not bother probing Mo Fan. If Mo Fan was able to kill so many High Seaters and Top Seaters of the Dubai Tower so easily, it was obvious that his strength was no longer at the Super Level.

“Xi Zhe, is that kid still alive? Why can I still hear his voice? Why are Karun, Nido, and so many others dead?” the would-be emperor’s voice came from above.

The thick clouds had split the area into zones. The magnificent cliffs had grown from the bottom layer to an even greater height.

“There’s been a little accident. The young man is hiding an evil power inside him. The others underestimated him, but don’t you worry, I’ll take care of him,” Xi Zhe answered Su Lu’s question calmly.

“I was never worried about how you do things. Take care of him and come to the highest layer. We can’t let Gabriel drag the fight out any longer,” Su Lu called back.

“Understood.”

The Forbidden Mage deeply respected Su Lu, judging by how serious he was when he answered Su Lu’s questions.

To Mo Fan, the man had completely become Su Lu’s pet dog, but he was stronger than the Top Seaters and High Seaters.

The Star Palace around Xi Zhe had several layers of light. They looked like stars setting off a majestic palace.

A normal Star Palace consisted of twenty-four hundred and one Stars.

However, Xi Zhe’s Stars had reached over ten thousand! Each Star contained a different energy from the Stars of ordinary Mages. Every Star was connected to three or more Star Orbits. The Stars were connecting with the Star Patterns and Star Constellations.

It was Mo Fan’s first time seeing anything like it. The Stars had a complicated but symmetrical pattern, allowing Xi Zhe to unleash their maximum potential.

The Stars were like a circuit board, magnified to the size of a skyscraper. They contained a remarkable level of energy!

Even without relying on a Forbidden Curse, a Forbidden Mage’s power could easily crush every opponent below their level. It was like a normal human who had ascended as an immortal. How could a human being possibly stand a chance against an immortal?

Magnificent mountains brimming with the light of stars emerged from the ground. The light of the stars had filled the mountains. The Forbidden Mage only need to fling his sleeves to trap Mo Fan inside a universe. Strong forces were pulling Mo Fan from all directions, trying to tear him apart.

Each of the mountains was like an independent magnetic field. There were lots of Stars at first, but they had attached to one of the mountains to prevent themselves from dispersing like dust particle.

Mo Fan was trapped in the middle of the force fields. His head, arms, legs, back, and chest were being pulled by different forces. The forces did not cancel one another out. They were like devils, each trying to drag him into their own Hell. They would rather tear their target into pieces, instead of letting other mountains claim their prize.

Each of Mo Fan’s body parts was heading in a different direction.

Mo Fan could feel the forces growing stronger. If he did not break free from the forces, even the sturdiest body would be torn into pieces!

However, Mo Fan was struggling to use his power after being trapped in the universe.

He could not sense any magic particles around him, as if the mountains had already sucked them away and converted them into a part of the mountains.

The spell of a Forbidden Mage was unlike anything Mo Fan had encountered before. It was strange, powerful, and uncrackable.

Mo Fan’s bones were starting to dislocate. His demon flesh was unusually strong, but it still could not withstand the force of his magic.

The Forbidden Mage knew Mo Fan was not normal. Only the special spell was effective against him. It did not matter how sturdy his body was and how many capabilities he had, he was doomed as long as he could not break free from the Universe of Death!

“All of you want a piece of me?! Why don’t you come to me then!?” Mo Fan roared furiously. His body that was bending out of shape from the pulls started to draw back in.

Just come at me if you want a piece of my body!

The will of the demon! Mo Fan had materialized his will into chains!

Mo Fan tossed the chains at the Starlight Mountains and exerted a stronger pulling force himself. “Come to me!!!”

The burning stripes of a wolf’s-head on Mo Fan’s chest brightened.

The burning stripes replaced the tone of Mo Fan’s body and spread across his muscles, setting his body on fire. He was pulling the mountains to him with brute force!

His demonic flesh remained intact despite the strong pulling forces that were trying to tear it apart, like it had been refined into titanium.

Meanwhile, the mountains that Mo Fan was pulling with the chains were collapsing as they were moving. Countless layers of debris were falling off them!

The rocks scattered across the place were all from the mountains.

The eight mountains were slowly hauled Mo Fan’s way. They were like eight wild horses being dragged back to a warrior with brute force, and were starting to tip.

BANG!

The Starlight Mountains began to clash with one another as they drew too close. Some of the mountains even collapsed into rubble.

Mo Fan’s stripes were burning vigorously. Even his eyes had swaying flames in them.. His body was emitting a scorching heat, yet did not have a single crack on it. It had become oddly sturdy!

Chapter 2548: Universe of Evil Flames

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Once everything shattered into pieces, Mo Fan broke free from the Forbidden Mage’s Starlight Death Universe. Everything around him was still the same, including the clouds above him.

However, what he had just experienced was not a mere illusion. The Forbidden Mage had indeed established a Universe of Death with his outstanding magic to kill him.

Xi Zhe was astounded when he saw the unusual burning stripes on Mo Fan.

Even the strangest art would not be able to boost up a Super Mage to be as strong as a Forbidden Mage in an instant. Many people who had set foot into the Forbidden Level had begged Xi Zhe for mercy when he used the Universe of Death on them.

It was not impossible to break free from his spell, but it had taken the young man only a very short time to regain his freedom!

A Forbidden Curse required a long induction period. However, the process would not stop the Forbidden Mage from using other spells.

Xi Zhe was an experienced Forbidden Mage. He did not think he could take out Mo Fan with a single spell, so he had been preparing a Forbidden Curse from the beginning.

He still needed at least ten more inductions to finish the Light Forbidden Curse.

In other words, Xi Zhe had to Cast at least ten more spells that were on par with the Starlight Death Universe in order to finish a Forbidden Curse.

The problem was, the Starlight Death Universe was already Xi Zhe’s strongest attack, except for his Forbidden Curse.

“If you are so fond of the universe, you should have a taste of mine!” Mo Fan sneered.

Mo Fan’s universe did not consist of starlights or starry mountains. His universe was made of scorching flames!

It was a black sun dominating a solar system. It did not have the strong pulling forces or the majestic mountains he had just experienced.

It only had black flames that poured out rapidly from the sun and spread across the solar system from the center, followed by countless meteorites engulfed in icy black flames that could burn everything to ashes!

Xi Zhe did not realize the young man had mastered the Space Element, too!

The Starlight Death Universe looked like a Light Spell, but it was actually a spell of the Space Element.

The problem was, the Forbidden Mage had sensed something different from Mo Fan’s universe, as the energy was not following the usual laws of the Space Element.

Flames were continuously bursting out of the sun, but even the motes of light as tiny as dust particles would suddenly cause massive explosions. The flames would then gather and form strange celestial objects!

Flames of the sun, explosions across the rift, rules that were bent out of shape…

Was it the Fire Element, the Space Element, or the Chaos Element?

How was Xi Zhe supposed to nullify the young man’s spell if he could not figure out its nature?

Xi Zhe was shaken. Not only did he have to avoid the flames and explosions, he also had to adapt to the sudden changes of gravity.

He suddenly felt the force of gravity coming from his heart.

His heart had eerily turned into a star, exerting a strong pulling force. It was dragging his organs toward it like it was trying to crush them all.

Xi Zhe was hugely frightened. This had happened out of nowhere!

His enemy had mimicked his Starlight Death Universe and replicated it inside his body to target his organs!

Xi Zhe’s face turned pale, and focused desperately

His organs were being pulled toward his heart. He had to cancel out the pulling force by matching it. Otherwise, he would end up crushing his own organs!

It was like a surgeon who was performing surgery on himself. He had to be extremely cautious with every step. If he made one mistake, he would never wake up again!

Xi Zhe let out a relieved sigh after he finally got rid of the replicated universe in his body.

However, when he looked up, he noticed the black flames had filled his vision. He was like a tiny living creature who had been brought to a planet that was unlike anything he knew.

The planet was covered in black flames. Waves of flames greater than tsunamis on earth were surging wildly, as if the whole continent was a scorching furnace. He could sense death approaching every second.

Xi Zhe was so focused on his body that he had completely forgotten he was still stuck in the Universe of Evil Flames. He was slowly being devoured without any resistance!

Xi Zhe suddenly realized something. “Magic Fusion, it’s Magic Fusion…”

The young Mage had demonstrated Magic Fusion to the world not long ago. If Magic Fusion was valid, he must have applied it to the Universe of Evil Flames!

It was not the Fire Element, the Space Element, or the Chaos Element.

It was the combination of the Fire, Space, and Chaos Elements. He had further improved the Elements to establish a powerful Space Universe that only belonged to him.

How terrifying!

Xi Zhe finally realized Magic Fusion was not just a forbidden art or magic. It was a principle that could absolutely strengthen every Mage’s abilities!

Knowing the truth was one thing, but being able to escape from it was a different thing.

The textbooks would only teach students the formulas, but the questions they had to solve were complicated and full of variables.

—

Xi Zhe was exhausted when he finally escaped from Mo Fan’s Fusioned Universe. The confident look in his eyes was replaced with fear and wariness.

His enemy was mimicking his ability, Xi Zhe was sure of it!

Mo Fan had completely replicated his Space Universe!

Most importantly, the replicated Universe was even scarier than his own version. His Starlight Death Universe was way too simple!

The enemy was switching freely between three Elements, making it a pain to deal with. Xi Zhe felt like he had returned from an exhausting journey by the time he finally broke out of it.

Magic Fusion was incredibly powerful!

Xi Zhe was jealous when he recalled the young man was the only successor of Magic Fusion.

After reaching the Forbidden Level, it was incredibly difficult to improve one’s strength.

However, even Forbidden Mages would be able to learn and master Magic Fusion.

If they combined two Forbidden Curses by applying Magic Fusion, wouldn’t they be able to kill even Emperor-level creatures?

Chapter 2549: Forbidden Curse: Grieving Rainbow of the Kingdom of Heaven

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Forbidden Mages were still no match for Emperor-level creatures.

In the thousands of years since the rise of Magic Civilization, humans had always been unequal to demon creatures in strength.

It would usually take seven to ten Basic Mages to defeat a Servant-level creature.

Similarly, humans needed seven to ten Forbidden Mages just to stand a chance against an Emperor-level creature.

Why had such inequality been around for so long?

Were humans too reserved?

Or perhaps humans were so busy playing a game of thrones after building their cities and claiming their territories that they had completely forgotten to discover new magic principles!

Xi Zhe had watched the duel between Mo Fan and Longmu.

Mo Fan’s strongest Element was only at the second tier of the Super Level. Even if he had more Elements than Longmu, he would not be able to beat Longmu, who had already reached the peak of the Super Level.

In the end, Mo Fan had severely injured Longmu with Magic Fusion.

If Xi Zhe were to make a comparison, he felt like Mo Fan’s strength was currently at the level of an average Ruler-level creature!

It was all because of Magic Fusion!

It seemed like humans were truly able to match the strength of demon creatures. Magic Fusion had allowed them to take a huge step toward the goal!

Experiencing it and watching it from afar were totally different.

Su Lu had murdered a man who might help mankind to take a huge step forward. He was guilty of the man’s murder.

Everyone was guilty!

Unfortunately, there was no longer a way back!

No one had mastered the magic to manipulate time, nor could they go back in time. The man was already dead.

Feng Zhoulong was not the first person to die for the greater good, nor would he be the last.

As for his killers, they would never admit their wrongs to the world. They would continue to stand on the apex and give out orders that benefitted themselves.

No one was allowed to threaten their status!

The best way to hide their crime was to silence everyone that might expose them. They just had to kill the man who had mastered Magic Fusion and Archangel Gabriel, and then pretend nothing had ever happened.

It was enough to ensure that their civilization was not declining. Why must they insist on improving it?

“You are strong. Magic Fusion is very impressive too, but it ends now. The Forbidden Curses are still the strongest spells in this world, which I have access to!” Xi Zhe had gone from a calm and collected authority to a madman.

He already had the greatest power known in his hand. Why did he have to worry so much?

Everyone made mistakes!

However, without Forbidden Mages like him, humans would not even have a safe place to call home!

It was easy to decide between embracing Magic Fusion or becoming slaves and food to demon creatures like they used to!

The dignity of Forbidden Mages was inviolable! Whether it was a demon or an angel, they would all perish in a Forbidden Curse!

Xi Zhe grinned. He had completed the induction of his Light Forbidden Curse.

The Starlight Death Universe was nothing compared to it!

“Light Forbidden Curse: Grieving Rainbow of the Kingdom of Heaven!”

Colorful lights sprinkled down from the sky like silk.

More lights were pouring down from a majestic Gate of Heavens, forming hundreds of sacred altars.

Each altar was established with thousands of rays of light, which had piled up like waterfalls. The sole rainbow that usually appeared after a rain was setting off the sacred altars like a mere decoration.

Hundreds of altars were brimming with more sacred lights, which further poured down like a curtain. Mo Fan was currently standing under the altars, like an ordinary man who had accidentally entered the sacred realm of the gods. The evil blood and rage flowing in him would soon turn into dust after judgment fell upon him!

The sacred altars were barely visible in the sky, even with the clouds in the way. The lights they were emitting resembled a sacred palace that had suddenly emerged in the middle of a city, cleansing every demon and evil presence within it.

The lights poured down on Mo Fan. Even the tiniest ray was torturing the demon’s soul inside Mo Fan, let alone the countless rays emitted by the sacred altars.

The lights had torn a huge hole in the sky. The colorful lights were hotter than scorching lava and fiercer than huge waves, diving straight at Mo Fan below them.

Mo Fan had no chance of escaping from the bottom of the pit.

He had turned into a sinful man detested by the kingdom of heaven. He was tied in chains as the sacred water was continuously poured on him as a punishment.

Even time was being bent and twisted under the power of a Forbidden Curse!

It had only just begun, but Mo Fan was overwhelmed by fatigue and numbness, as if he had been trapped under the altars for several hundred years.

His skin was corroded. His face of burning stripes was beyond recognition. Even the bones on his face were exposed.

The unstoppable demon had finally received a judgment from the kingdom of heaven. His body was perishing while he was being tortured!

“Your trip to Dubai is worth it, since you are going to die to my Forbidden Curse!” Xi Zhe grinned.

Let Magic Fusion disappear forever. Let the demon who came out of nowhere perish too!

There were countless mysterious powers in the world. Xi Zhe was not too surprised by Mo Fan’s ability to transform into a demon, but it was nothing but a crooked practice.

The Forbidden Curses would reign forever. The monsters who had gained their power through evil magic would never stand a chance.

It was the end for the demon. The Light Forbidden Curse was the perfect judgment for evil beings like him!

The young man was naive to think that his evil power was enough to beat a Forbidden Mage who could Cast a Forbidden Curse with his own magic!

Xi Zhe might have taken a little beating previously, but it would all end once the Forbidden Curse fell!

Look at the poor guy…

Soul Shadow of the Fiery Snake God? Starsteel Body?

Either way, he would end up a skeleton under the altars!

Who would recognize him if a skeleton was all that remained?

Once Archangel Gabriel was beyond recognition, they would have the final victory. Their influence would continue to spread across the world. Those who dared to disobey them could look to the consequences that had befallen the Archangel and the demon!

—

The ashes from Mo Fan drifted higher into the sky as the wind blew.

They were the remains of his wilting life. Xi Zhe was acting like an almighty deity. He was pacing between the altars while enjoying his power. He spread his arms like a closure of his performance as Mo Fan’s ashes scattered in the wind.

All that was left was a skeleton.

It was kneeling on the ground. Its skeleton arms were hugging its face.

It looked like it was trying to protect its face, but Xi Zhe was pretty sure that its face only had bones left too.

It was a meaningless struggle. Who would ever think they could withstand a flash flood with such a petty stance?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

Mo Fan’s blood and flesh had turned into ashes.

His soul was about to perish soon.

Mo Fan had imagined his own death. It was fancier than what he was going through now.

Did he regret it?

Not at all!

It was the path he had chosen. Even if every step he took was one step closer to doom, where his skin would turn into ashes and his bones would break into pieces, he would not stop as long as his heart was still burning.

So what if he had turned into a skeleton?

As long as the flames of his heart were not put out, the flames of the demon would soon return!

A heart was still pounding inside his skeleton. Its light had dyed his white bones red!

Blood was pumping to the body parts every time the heart beat.

First the head, then the neck, the chest, and the limbs.

The bright-red blood was burning the skeleton, but it somehow turned into Mo Fan’s flesh and soul!

Healing with fire, reborn through flames!

As long as the fire remained, he would still be alive!

The powerful Light Forbidden Curse had turned Mo Fan into a skeleton, but his Soul Shadow still had the essence of the Phoenix Flame!

He had preserved a drop of lava on his forehead and used everything he had to protect it.

When everything was gone, the drop of lava fell into his heart!

The demon was about to be resurrected!

Mo Fan never expected to survive the Light Forbidden Curse. The destructive Grieving Rainbow was beyond what a living creature could withstand. Mo Fan immediately gathered the Fire Magic from across the desert when the Light Forbidden Curse took effect.

Mo Fan was betting everything he had by drawing in the Fire Magic from hundreds of kilometers away. He was not focusing on defending himself from the Light Forbidden Curse. He put all his bets on the desert around Dubai City!

He strongly believed he would find a source of heavenly flames in the desert!

As he thought, there was an undiscovered Fire Seed to the south of an oasis.

The Fire Seed was Mo Fan’s key to rebirth. Mo Fan was not protecting his face with his hands when his body perished. He was protecting the Fire Seed!

The demon flames surged wildly. The Soul Shadow of the Fiery Snake God remained magnificent. It did not take long for Mo Fan to fully recover from being a skeleton.

If Mo Fan had not gone after the Sea Skeleton King, he believed he would have had trouble surviving from Xi Zhe’s Light Forbidden Curse, even with the help of the Demon Element.

The Four-Eyed Bird’s hope for him had granted him the extraordinary ability to be reborn through flames. The ability was even stronger after he turned into a demon. As long as there was a Fire Seed within several hundred kilometers of him, he could be reborn as long as his heart was still beating!

The rebirth of the demon! He was truly an undying demon!

“He’s not dead…he’s still alive! My Heavens, is his flesh on par with the body of an Emperor?” the Mages in Dubai Tower screamed.

Zu Huanyao was dumbfounded when he saw Mo Fan coming back to life amid the wild flames.

The Light Forbidden Curse was capable of destroying the Heavens and Earth, yet it had failed to kill Mo Fan!

1

Did Su Lu infuriate the Heavens? Otherwise, why would an Archangel join hands with a demon?

“To think that someone could ever survive a Light Forbidden Curse.”

Everyone assumed the fight had ended when the Light Forbidden Curse took effect.

To their amazement, the demon had returned with the same overwhelming Aura!

On the other hand, it felt like Xi Zhe had suddenly aged when he saw Mo Fan recovering his body as easily as if time had reversed!

His hands, which had just Cast a Forbidden Curse, were trembling.

His aloof face was filled with despair.

He looked up and searched for Su Lu, his greatest support.

Su Lu and Sharjah had gone too far into the sky. Even the Black Dragon Emperor was nowhere to be seen.

He had promised Su Lu he would take out Mo Fan as soon as possible so he could lend Su Lu a hand taking down the Archangel.

But now, not only was he unable to help Su Lu, he even needed Su Lu to save him!

Xi Zhe started running.

The Fiery Snake God on Mo Fan’s back suddenly flared with brown light. Enormous sand dunes appeared in the sky and swirled around like fierce living waves.

1

Xi Zhe was trapped between the sand dunes. He tried escaping with the Space Element, but Mo Fan was able to see through his tricks, and Xi Zhe no longer had a chance to escape.

A gigantic sand snake rose from the sand dunes. It was large enough to wrap around half of Dubai City!

Mo Fan went up to Xi Zhe, as if the two of them were currently inside the tomb of an ancient sand god.

Xi Zhe was overwhelmed by fear.

He recognized it as the power of the Medusa Queen’s eyes, an absolute power that could dominate a person’s soul. Everything he saw was an illusion inflicted by the Medusa Queen’s eyes.

However, there was nothing he could do. He could not overcome it, nor could he escape!

Mo Fan was determined to kill him. It was not just the grave of an ancient sand god, but the burial ground of a Forbidden Mage, too!

Dark red lightning tore the sky apart while evil flames set the ground ablaze. Ancient fiery snakes crawled forth, glaring at Xi Zhe.

Not only did Xi Zhe have to keep an eye on the Fiery Snake God, he had to watch out for Mo Fan’s attacks, too!

The Fiery Snake God could separate itself and fight on its own. It could also reattach to Mo Fan’s back to fight alongside him.

When the Fiery Snake God was detached, Mo Fan’s main power was the Lightning, Shadow, and Space Elements!

Dark red lightning struck the ground like chains from the Realm of Demons. Mo Fan and the Fiery Snake God made their moves simultaneously. Xi Zhe had no room to escape. He could only use everything he had to defend himself.

Demon Mo Fan sprinted around like a dark red lightning bolt. His punches could easily smash Xi Zhe’s chest open.

Xi Zhe Summoned his magic Armor, but it could only withstand a single blow.

The Fiery Snake God pounced at him from behind with scorching flames. It spread its jaws and tore at Xi Zhe, splitting the ground in half.

Xi Zhe sustained serious injuries on his back. Blood was spraying out of the wounds.

Demon Mo Fan used a different approach. This time, he faded into the darkness and moved rapidly, leaving a demonic shadow on every spot he briefly stopped at.

Hundreds of evil shadows with claws of lightning switched positions swiftly, all of them lunging at Xi Zhe at the same time!

Xi Zhe’s cries of agony easily reached the powerful mages in the Dubai Tower.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Not a single part of Xi Zhe’s skin or flesh was intact. Black gas was rising from his corrupted wounds.

Xi Zhe staggered as he tried to stand. He looked like a walking corpse, beyond recognition. Even his cries were only painful moans.

“I’m Xi Zhe, a Light Forbidden Mage of the Asia Magic Association. You can’t kill me! You won’t dare kill me! You are provoking the Asia Magic Association and all the rest of the Magic Associations in the world!” Xi Zhe screamed blindly.

Mo Fan’s Soul Shadow returned to his back. He walked toward Xi Zhe with an eerie grin that sent a chill down Xi Zhe’s spine.

Xi Zhe suddenly realized how stupid he was.

The man had dared to transform into a demon right at the Asia Magic Association. It basically meant he was looking down on the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgment Court. He had never treated the Asia Magic Association’s authority seriously if he dared to declare war against the Dubai Magician’s Tower.

Didn’t he already trample a Forbidden Mage? Was there anything he did not dare to do?

The demon claw swept across the air.

Xi Zhe’s head flew off his body.

1

Xi Zhe had gone from feeling proud and aloof to being overwhelmed by despair. He had imagined that he would be injured by Archangel Gabriel, but he never thought he would die at the hands of the young man.

The young man did not hesitate to kill him, even if he was a Forbidden Mage. The demon claws would be stained with the blood of Forbidden Mages as long as scum like them were ruling the world!

—

Loud rumbles were occurring in the sky. They had spread across Dubai City and the desert.

However, no one knew exactly what was going on above the clouds.

Many people in Dubai knew who was going to win the battle in the end. Not many people in Asia had the guts to challenge Su Lu since he had subdued the Black Dragon Emperor.

Even the powerful authorities across the world had to treat Su Lu with great respect. The Black Dragon Emperor was a real dragon. Few people could match its strength alone.

They were not waiting for the outcome. They just hoped everything would come to an end soon.

The city shook vigorously as strong winds blew. The people felt uneasy even though the clouds above the city were protecting them.

“Look, someone is falling from the sky…”

A shadow fell straight onto a busy street in Dubai.

The crossroad cracked apart. The vehicles were soon in a helpless jam.

Many people left their vehicles to take a closer look at the man who had fallen from the sky.

His body and head were separated, but they were not too far apart. A bold man had put the head and the body back together.

The people were dumbfounded when they realized it was Forbidden Mage Xi Zhe after taking a closer look.

“Forbidden Mage Xi Zhe!”

“Forbidden Mage Xi Zhe!”

The busy streets were soon filled with cries of despair, as if the Apocalypse had come.

Almost everyone in Dubai knew who Xi Zhe was. He was a reputable man and the honorable Dean of many famous institutions.

People rarely saw him in action, but those who were even slightly familiar with magic knew he was a Forbidden Mage!

There were obvious differences between the strength of Forbidden Mages. A Forbidden Mage in the early stage had to rely on a huge group of Mages and devices to Cast a Forbidden Curse. It was like operating a huge enterprise, which required an insane amount of resources.

Even so, every country still treated them as a national treasure, let alone someone like Xi Zhe, who was able to complete a Forbidden Curse alone!

The Grieving Rainbow of the Kingdom of Heaven!

Many people had just witnessed the Forbidden Curse, but the Forbidden Mage who Cast it was lying dead before them!

The whole city was in a panic.

——-

The authorities on Dubai Tower were panicking, too!

Even a Forbidden Mage had died. An Archangel was still the strongest human!

“What happened? Chairman Su Lu and the Black Dragon Emperor are clearly fighting the Archangel higher up in the skies! How did Xi Zhe die?!”

The Mages in the Dubai Tower could see a little of the situation above the clouds. They were confident that Xi Zhe was not involved in the battle between Su Lu and the Archangel.

Who killed him, then? Who would be strong enough to kill a Forbidden Mage, except for an Archangel?

Su Lu was the god of the Asia Magic Association. Many people in the Asia Magic Association followed and worshiped him.

They were blindly and passionately following Su Lu. They had given Su Lu their full cooperation by sealing off the news and establishing the Skybound Cloud Battlefield to trap the Archangel.

But now, the God of the Light Element of Asia, Xi Zhe, was dead!

How many people in Dubai Tower had reached the Forbidden Level? How many of them could match Xi Zhe’s strength?

If even Xi Zhe failed to survive, it meant all of them were going to die if they lost the battle!

Were they too naive to start a fight against the Archangel?

Even if they won the battle, they had only killed an Archangel. How were they going to survive the wrath of the Sacred City after losing many of the powerful Mages among them?

Xi Zhe’s dead body had poured a bucket of cold water on the authorities of the Dubai Magician Tower. They started to reassess the situation with new eyes.

—

—

The wings of the black dragon were blocking the sunlight. It beat its wings and stopped on a cliff.

Its chest was covered in thick black scales, which were immune to magic below the Forbidden Level. However, the scales were damaged, with scorching lava flowing between them.

Archangel Sharjah’s attacks were powerful enough to injure the Black Dragon Emperor.

However… Sharjah’s injuries were more serious when compared to the Black Dragon Emperor. She had fourteen wings in total, each granting her remarkable power, but she only had eight wings left. Blood was spraying out of her back where the missing wings had been.

“HAHAHA, did you think I came unprepared?

“Even though this day has come earlier than I thought, I’ve always planned to use the Black Dragon Emperor against the Seven Archangels. Your magic is just the same as ordinary Forbidden Curses after it’s been weakened by the Black Dragon Emperor’s scales!” Su Lu burst out laughing. He had been behaving like a madman throughout the battle.

When he went after the Black Dragon Emperor, he was challenging the strongest creature in the world on behalf of humans.

After subduing the Black Dragon Emperor, his next step was to conquer the world. The Seven Archangels were Su Lu’s next target, but the day had arrived earlier than he had expected.

It was not necessarily a bad thing. Archangel Michael should be aware of his ambitions by now.

It was better if he made the first move, rather than being flanked by the Seven Angels!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Xi Zhe, just in time, I need your Light Forbidden Curse! We have laid low for so many years and contributed greatly to the world. However, people only think of us as a bunch of useless politicians while they forever praise the Seven Angels, who don’t even contribute a lot to the world.

1

“Let the era of the angels end here!

“I, Su Lu, Master of the Black Dragon, shall mark the start of the new era!”

Su Lu acted imperiously, as if no one else was worthy in his eyes.

Not only was he planning to rule over the world, he was going to leave his name for future generations. Thousands of years from now, scholars would be reading his biography as it recorded how he had conquered the strongest creature in the world, the Black Dragon Emperor, and overthrown the meaningless Angels!

“Open your dog eyes and see carefully who I am!” Mo Fan soared through the clouds. His strange eyes were fixed on Su Lu as he grinned coldly.

The maniac who was indulging in his own fantasies thought he was Xi Zhe. Unfortunately for him, his lackey Xi Zhe was already dead!

The Black Dragon Emperor and Xi Zhe were like Su Lu’s arms, and he had already lost one of them!

He had asked for it! His actions had infuriated the gods and the people!

Su Lu looked surprised, and stared at Mo Fan in disbelief.

This demon had come to him, instead of Xi Zhe?

“Where is Xi Zhe?” Su Lu demanded.

“Dead,” Mo Fan replied.

Su Lu suddenly burst out laughing. “HAHAHA, what a wonderful world, a Forbidden Mage has died at the hands of a nobody. How amusing, it’s boring if everything goes according to plan!”

Su Lu was not saddened by Xi Zhe’s death. His thoughts had long departed from those of a normal human, and he no longer had emotions. All he could think of was conquering and ruling over others.

“Teacher!” Sharjah smiled miserably when she saw Mo Fan.

She had a pale face. Her condition had clearly deteriorated after losing some of her wings.

Sharjah had no idea how long she would last. She would not have been afraid of Su Lu if the Black Dragon Emperor was not around.

The Black Dragon Emperor had a natural advantage over the Angels, as its scales could significantly weaken the power of the Angels. The effects of Sharjah’s Curses were merely the same as normal Forbidden Curses or weaker.

The Black Dragon Emperor was an Emperor-level creature. It was immune to all magic below the Forbidden Level.

Forbidden Curses were no different to it than normal spells. It was almost impossible to defeat the Black Dragon Emperor!

Su Lu had expended lots of resources and used the most effective method just to subdue the Black Dragon Emperor, and now, he had sent the Black Dragon Emperor to take down Sharjah.

Sharjah believed Su Lu had captured the Black Dragon Emperor just so he could take down the Angels!

She thought she was like a beast trapped in a cage, without any backup, but to her surprise, Mo Fan had come to her aid.

Mo Fan’s accusation and challenge were not enough to win the battle. He would have to cleanse the tumors in Dubai Tower through real sacrifices of blood to exchange them for a better future.

Sharjah thought Mo Fan was only trying to make an example, but she was wrong.

No wonder Feng Zhoulong had taught Mo Fan Magic Fusion first, and only given it to Mo Fan!

Archangel Sharjah stood with Demon Mo Fan. They briefly exchanged glances.

They had both assumed they had to fight the battle alone, but they realized they had an ally.

They had joined hands because they strongly believed Feng Zhoulong was a real saint, unlike this warmonger and dictator Su Lu whose thoughts were merely full of conspiracies to rule over others!

“You’re injured. Is it serious?” Mo Fan looked at Sharjah. He noticed her rose-golden armor was covered in blood, mostly from her broken wings.

The Angelic Wings were Sharjah’s source of power. She was only a Super Mage. Mo Fan had fought her multiple times, but once her Angel Soul awakened, her power would be greater than a Forbidden Mage.

It was not exaggerating to describe her as the strongest human in the world.

However, both Su Lu and the Black Dragon Emperor were formidable opponents. Sharjah was struggling to take them on by herself.

“The Black Dragon Emperor is restraining my power. Su Lu is constantly hiding behind it to stop me from getting close to him,” Sharjah answered.

“If I keep the Black Dragon Emperor busy, will you be able to kill Su Lu?” Mo Fan asked her.

“I can!” Sharjah said confidently.

Su Lu was no match for Sharjah without the Black Dragon Emperor’s help.

“Let’s do it! We’ll offer his blood as a sacrifice to Feng Zhoulong!” Mo Fan proclaimed.

Offering the blood of Asia Magic Association’s Chairman to Feng Zhoulong!

Everyone else would only feel sorry for Feng Zhoulong becoming a victim of the Asia Magic Association’s corruption.

However, Mo Fan did not want to feel sorry or angry. He wanted them to pay with their blood, even if the culprit was the Chairman of the Asia Magic Association!

The dragon’s deafening cry shattered the skies.

The Black Dragon Emperor stood at the top of a cloudy mountain. Its magnificent body was like a heavenly black mountain range. Anyone would feel enormous pressure just standing in front of it.

Sharjah’s power was absorbed and weakened when standing in the presence of the Black Dragon Emperor.

The Black Dragon Emperor was not a Darkness Creature.

Its blackness was a combination of seven different colors. It only looked black because it had absorbed every color.

The Black Dragon Emperor was powerful because the seven main Elements were ineffective against it. Those Elements were the main sources of power for the Angels.

“Black Dragon Emperor…”

Mo Fan stood on a cloud and stared at the Black Dragon Emperor’s massive body.

He and Asha’ruiya had been like petty insects when they first encountered the creature. They were almost caught before they escaped with a Scroll of Space.

Now, he was about to fight the creature!

It felt like a dream to him, but for some reason, he could feel a strong fire burning in his chest!

How strong was he now? He might find the answer after fighting the Black Dragon Emperor!

Su Lu had been forced to gather many Forbidden Mages to subdue the Black Dragon Emperor.

Killing a Forbidden Mage was nothing!

Su Lu was nothing, either!

Today, on the clouds above Dubai City, Mo Fan was going to fight an ancient black dragon, the strongest species in the world, with his bare hands!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Black Dragon Emperor was as enormous as a small mountain. Its presence was utterly terrifying. It could unleash a terrifying black Aura, which burst out of it like a plague of locusts whenever it beat its wings!

The dark Aura shrouded the sky and blinded Mo Fan. The Black Dragon Emperor’s head suddenly appeared above him.

It was still around five hundred meters away, yet Mo Fan felt like he was right beside its mouth.

Dragon Breath!

A dark Aura burst out of the dragon’s mouth and surged at Mo Fan.

It was highly corrosive. It could turn living creatures within dozens of kilometers into rotten bodies in an instant.

The dark Aura was only going after a single target. No matter how fast Mo Fan was flying or how many times he Blinked away, the dark Aura kept following him, like a living army. It would not stop until it had torn him into pieces!

“Demon Blazing Ardent!”

Mo Fan flew into the clouds and set them ablaze with his flames.

The dark Aura pursued him relentlessly, but it burned vigorously when it hit the blazing clouds. The plague of locusts was only a transfiguration of the dragon’s Aura, but the flames still burned them to ashes.

Mo Fan’s Ardent Sunset was very effective against enemies in great numbers, especially bugs. Even though he had acquired the Phoenix Flame, his flames still retained the effects of the Ardent Sunset.

It was perfect against the black dragon’s Dragon Breath Locusts!

The Black Dragon Emperor continued to chase after Mo Fan. Its smallest scale was already the same size as he was. Whenever it showed up, it felt like an enormous mountain was about to collapse on him.

The black dragon’s claws were terrifyingly quick and strong!

It accurately tracked Mo Fan through the burning clouds and swung its claws at him.

Mo Fan crossed his arms. The Soul Shadow of the Fiery Snake God on his back moved simultaneously. A burning Shield with snake Runes appeared in front of Mo Fan.

The dragon claws struck the burning Shield, producing a piercing clank, like they had just hit a mine.

The impact sent Mo Fan flying. The unyielding man stabilized himself and sprang forward to throw a heavy punch at the black dragon’s chest.

Mo Fan had noticed some cracks on the black dragon’s chest, which were obviously wounds Sharjah had inflicted on the black dragon.

Mo Fan’s punch was imbued with the shattering force of the Space Element and the explosiveness of the Fire Element. It also contained the brute force of his demon flesh, which was comparable to a Ruler-level creature!

The force alone was strong enough to dry up an ocean.

The combination of the three different Elements actually managed to knock the black dragon back. Unfortunately, it was difficult to injure the black dragon, even if Mo Fan was aiming his punch at its broken scales. The impact was nowhere strong enough!

The Black Dragon Emperor was incredibly strong. Its broken scales might even fully heal as the battle went on.

The Black Dragon Emperor spread its wings. It was crazy fast, too. The air around it immediately formed a huge cavity that was sucking everything into it.

Normally, the size of a creature was proportional to its clumsiness, but that rule did not apply to the Black Dragon Emperor. It was almost impossible to resist its brute force, even when it was not using any special abilities.

Mo Fan was about to fly higher into the sky to distance himself from the Black Dragon Emperor, but the Black Dragon Emperor’s horns were already within inches of them. Mo Fan was unable to dodge them in time.

He was sent flying across the sky like a meteor.

The impact sent him almost to the edge of the Skybound Cloud Battlefield. The thick clouds were undulating like a mountain range, separating the sky from the city.

The Black Dragon Emperor was unstoppable. Mo Fan did not even have time to recover his balance before the ancient dragon had already closed in on to him. It curled its body as its horns suddenly emitted a dark glow.

Sky-Smashing Dragon Horns!

The dark light smashed the clouds into different segments. The clouds were actually rupturing on a closer look.

Mo Fan was right in the middle of the impact. His Soul Shadow suddenly lost its flames. It had turned into a snake god emitting a golden light.

It was like a golden statue, trying to protect Mo Fan from the Sky-Smashing Dragon Horns.

Even so, Mo Fan’s body started to crack. Fresh blood poured out from the wounds.

The pressure from the Black Dragon Emperor was significantly stronger than the pressure he had felt when he was fighting Xi Zhe.

Xi Zhe needed time to prepare his Forbidden Curse, but the Black Dragon Emperor was a true Emperor. Its normal attacks at full strength were already equivalent to a human’s Forbidden Curse. The black dragon would have already torn Mo Fan into pieces multiple times without the protection of his Soul Shadow.

The black dragon was just incredibly powerful. Mo Fan would end up as a pile of mincemeat in just a few rounds if he kept crashing directly into it.

He had to figure out a different way. Even if he could not beat the black dragon, he had to find a way to suppress its overwhelming presence.

The Black Dragon Emperor suddenly opened its mouth. Its breath sprayed across the sky in the form of a rain of black lava. It was scorching and corrosive!

Mo Fan nimbly wove through the lava and hid in the clouds at the edge of the battlefield.

The dragon breath easily destroyed the mountains and left holes across the battlefield.

The desert further below was visible through the holes.

The clouds did not have any magic that was useful for Mo Fan, but the desert was full of the magic of the Earth Element, not to mention the pure sources of the Fire Element deep in the sands. These two Elements were exactly what Mo Fan needed the most!

Most importantly, Mo Fan was already covered in injuries after just a few rounds. He desperately needed to heal himself with the Fire Magic in the desert.

Mo Fan changed his direction. He flew at the holes in the clouds like a ray of white light.

He broke through the edge and left the Skybound Cloud Battlefield. He was not crazy enough to fight the Black Dragon Emperor inside the city. It might kill thousands of innocent people.

He flew toward the barren desert, and the black dragon chased after him.. It easily matched Mo Fan’s speed, even though he was using both the Space Element and Shadow Element.

Chapter 2554: Heavy Armored Stance

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Dragon Breath kept pouring down.

Every burst was like the size of a fireball flying out of a volcano, leaving a thick trail of black smoke behind it as they dove into the desert.

Some of the fireballs formed patches of black scorching lava after hitting the ground.

Mo Fan traveled across the irregular terrain of the desert. He transformed into a black wolf and sprinted across the dunes with occasional starry flickers and silver strings from the trails of his Space Element.

He soon drew away from the sand dunes, rocks, ravines, and walls. The silver city had also sunk below the horizon.

He slowed down a little after he arrived at a spacious area.

The Black Dragon Emperor remained on Mo Fan’s trail like a dark cloud, maintaining a distance of less than a thousand meters from Mo Fan.

It looked down at Mo Fan sprinting across the desert like an eagle preying on a wild hare.

Dragon Shockwave!

The Dragon Shockwave surging down from the sky was incredibly destructive. The desert Mo Fan was standing in began to crack apart.

The cracks soon reached the size of ravines. They spread across the sturdy ground as if a great calamity had just taken place.

Mo Fan’s head was buzzing with pain after being caught by the Dragon Shockwave. He fell into a ravine that had opened up under his feet.

The Black Dragon Emperor withdrew its wings and dove to the ground.

Its body was as sturdy as black metal. It smashed through the rocks like they were mere bubbles.

Mo Fan immediately sensed the Black Dragon Emperor’s overwhelming presence. The shockwave had spread across a dozen kilometers and connected the ravines, turning the place into a deep valley under the horizon!

Mo Fan was severely injured. His blood sprayed on the ground.

For some reason, the whole desert started turning red, like the Ardent Sunlight was spraying on it.

“Blood Pact: Devil of the Earth!”

Mo Fan stood in the valley the black dragon had created. His eerie eyes went from dark red to the color of the desert.

The glowing desert was answering his call. Huge runes surfaced across it, in a shape similar to the Runes on Mo Fan’s forehead and his face.

More Runes gradually appeared around him. They started appearing scarcely further away, but the closer they were to Mo Fan, the denser they were. They eventually formed a magic Formation as they reached Mo Fan’s feet!

If someone was looking at it from a great height, they would notice the seemingly irregular Runes were actually in the shape of an eye. The dense Runes close to Mo Fan were part of the sympathetic nervous system inside an eye!

The ground was transmitting energy to him like a nervous system, responding to Mo Fan’s will in the center of the eye!

His whole body had turned dark brown. Glowing crusts floated into the air and established a frame. The red flowing sand had turned into its veins and arteries. Mo Fan’s body was expanding now.

Components from the ground were gathering to make a new body. His muscles were made of rocks and his bones were made of crystals, while the sand was his blood. He had transformed into an enormous devil of the desert, the same size as the black dragon!

Its feet were on the ground, while its head had reached the sky!

The Black Dragon Emperor wanted to use its Sky-Smashing Dragon Horns again, but this time, the Devil of the Desert grabbed its horns firmly and unleashed tremendous strength to raise the Black Dragon Emperor above its head!

Mo Fan let out a heavy cry after transforming into an ancient titan. He threw the Black Dragon Emperor at the highest mountain nearby.

Over five kilometers of the mountain collapsed, burying the Black Dragon Emperor under rocks and debris.

Mo Fan leaned forward and moved his hands like he was trying to tear the place open.

A rift opened in the desert, extending from Mo Fan’s feet to the back of the mountain. It was bottomless, seemingly leading straight to Hell.

The scales on the Black Dragon Emperor’s chest had truly broken after the enormous impact. Its blood sprayed across the desert, forming a small pond of corrosive liquid.

The Black Dragon Emperor was enraged. It knocked the rocks atop it away and flew straight at the rock titan.

Mo Fan had full control over his surroundings. A mountain emerged from the ground and blocked the Black Dragon Emperor. It managed to slow down the Black Dragon Emperor, even though the dragon was smashing everything in its path into pieces.

As the Black Dragon Emperor was approaching, Mo Fan half-knelt on the ground and drew up a shield. Not only was it covered in a sturdy mineral that resembled black diamonds, it was engulfed in rings of demon flames!

The Black Dragon Emperor did not use its horns this time. It spread its wings and swung its claws at Mo Fan.

The force was greater than its horns. Mo Fan’s rock muscles shattered into pieces as he was sent flying by the impact.

However, the demon flames on the shield came into play.

They were the Evil Flames of Vengeance. The stronger the attack Mo Fan received, the stronger the flames would be!

The Black Dragon Emperor was initially going to chase after Mo Fan, but it was burned by the flames on the shield, its claws and legs badly scorched.

Mo Fan quickly rose to his feet. His back was against a sand dune, currently dyed brown-red by his demon blood.

He reached his right hand into the sand dune and pulled out a sword.

The sword would be taller than many skyscrapers in Dubai if it was stuck in the ground, but Mo Fan was able to hold it with one hand.

He clenched his other hand. The flames that were burning the black dragon immediately returned to Mo Fan and formed a new shield on his hand.

A brown-red sword of sand, a burning shield of stone!

Mo Fan was like an ancient gladiator taking on a tyrannical Black Dragon Emperor in the middle of the desert!

It was not the first time Mo Fan had fought in this form.

Mo Fan had once transformed into a Rock Demon, but he was not aware that his demon soul had absorbed the ability.

Now it had given Mo Fan the ability to transform into a titan gladiator with the energy he had acquired through the Blood Pact.

His form resembled an ancient titan. The Tyrant Titans used to slaughter dragons when they were still gods in ancient times!

Chapter 2555: Kingdom of Sand and Kingdom of Dragons

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sand of sword stirred up sand waves several hundred meters high whenever it was swung. The red-brown sand shrouded the sky and the sun. From afar, it looked like a kingdom of sand was rising in the desert. It was a remarkable and spectacular sight!

The black dragon was stuck inside the kingdom of sand, its scales constantly damaged by the sand.

It could not knock the sands around it away, even when it beat its wings. They were like endless soldiers of the kingdom of sand. Even the strongest force would only smash them into tinier pieces, instead of taking them out.

The black dragon’s speed was greatly restricted by the sand. Mo Fan’s enormous figure appeared beside the black dragon. He slammed the burning shield into the black dragon’s head while thrusting his sword at the black dragon’s wings!

He left a huge wound on the black dragon’s wings. Blood sprayed from the cut.

The black dragon was not afraid of a brawl. It opened its mouth and bit Mo Fan’s shoulder.

The black dragon was incredibly strong. It lifted Mo Fan up with brute force and threw him into the sky.

Dragon Flame!

A huge black fireball flew out of the black dragon’s mouth. It continued to expand in mid-flight and reached a radius of roughly six hundred meters by the time it hit Mo Fan. It was like a tiny sun hanging high up in the sky.

It was one of the strongest attacks of a real dragon. The fireball would have blasted Mo Fan into pieces if the dragon had not been weakened by the sand!

The rocks attached to Mo Fan fell off in huge chunks. He had instantly lost half of his chest and arms.

He fell on the ground with the remaining parts he had left. The desert suddenly trembled as the sand gathered around Mo Fan, like citizens surrounding their king.

In just a few seconds, the broken chest and missing arms were recovered. The sand even had a scorching glow, like it had been refined with underground fires. Mo Fan’s chest and arms were burning like he had just put on a blazing chest plate and platings!

“Sword of Sand!”

Mo Fan raised his sword. A reddish-brown light spread in all directions.

A strong magnetic field appeared around Mo Fan. Fine sand particles started accumulating on the sword to sharpen it.

The sword did not grow bigger, but it was giving off a powerful Aura, like it was able to command every living creature in the desert!

Mo Fan swung the sword down with the simplest form. The sword only glowed dimly, yet its Aura was like the cries of thousands of ghosts in the desert.

The deserts were often called the lands of the dead. Many powerful creatures had failed to endure the challenges in the desert. Their skin and flesh had dried up while their blood permeated the sand when the desert buried their bones and remains. Their souls continued to wander aimlessly in the desert!

Mo Fan’s sword had Summoned the spirits of the deceased in the desert to execute a powerful slash imbued with their rage and hatred!

The Black Dragon Emperor felt like thousands of devils were trying to tear it apart. It flew to the top of the kingdom of sand, but the sand demons dragged it down mercilessly and trampled it back to the ground. It tried to dig into the ground, but the sand demons were constantly following it around.

The black dragon surprisingly cried out in agony. Its scales finally started to break and fall off as more blood poured out of the wounds and sprayed across the sand, gradually forming a swamp of black dragon blood.

The sands were melting in the dragon blood.

The dragon’s Aura evolved further. The locusts had matured, growing stronger and fiercer.

The locusts had returned and formed a unique Domain within the swamp of dragon’s blood. The sand could no longer get so close to the black dragon and restrict its movements.

The Black Dragon Emperor stood in the swamp of its own blood. A ghastly dark Aura was released from its body. Its evilly glowing eyes were staring coldly at Mo Fan!

It let out a deafening cry.

The Dragon Locusts pounced at Mo Fan together with the ghastly Aura. The Black Dragon Emperor’s presence suddenly skyrocketed. Mo Fan’s vision blurred as he felt a sharp pain in his head.

Mo Fan was knocked back.

Somehow, he could feel the Black Dragon Emperor was completely different from before, whether it was its presence or its Aura. They were so strong that even Mo Fan was overwhelmed by fear when close to it.

The kingdom of sand was starting to disappear, replaced by countless dragon locusts. They had almost covered the entire sky and formed a black swamp on the ground. The rising steam from the dragon’s blood made the place look like Hell.

“What’s going on?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

How is the black dragon even stronger after it is injured?

The increase in its strength was not the same as a temporary outburst of rage, but an obvious evolution, like it could finally unleash the true power of dragons after breaking free of some chains!

The dragon kept roaring.

Mo Fan continued to back away. He was no longer a king ruling over the desert, but a tiger that had fallen into a deep abyss and was about to be swallowed by a huge dragon at any second.

Mo Fan could feel the black dragon’s anger. It was brimming with hatred, too!

It needed a way to vent its anger and hatred to stop them from hurting it.

However, Mo Fan had a feeling its emotion did not originate from the ongoing battle.

Something was coming. It was not an attack or an aura.

It was a God of Death, coming to take his life!

Mo Fan’s rock muscles, crystal bones, and sand blood started disintegrating under an enormous pressure, as if they were being intimidated by the black dragon’s Aura.

The Black Dragon Emperor… Perhaps this was the true power of the unbeatable creature!

Mo Fan’s heavy armor had fallen off, and he had been reduced to his original appearance. The Soul Shadow of the Fiery Snake God was unimpressive beneath the black dragon’s shadow.

What could possibly have the strength to fight the black dragon? It was Mo Fan’s first time feeling the strength of the creature ranked at the top of the world!

“Austin, Austin!” a woman suddenly screamed. “He is not your enemy. Austin, wake up, he is not your enemy!!!”

The woman’s voice gradually became clearer. Mo Fan turned around and saw Asha’ruiya had come into the battlefield without him realizing it.. She seemed to be calling the Black Dragon Emperor’s name.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Even Super Mages would be torn to pieces if they went too close to the battle between Mo Fan and the Black Dragon Emperor.

The Black Dragon Emperor had established its kingdom of death with the Dragon Locusts and the burning swamp of its blood. Asha’ruiya had endured great pain just to break into the battlefield.

Her face was extremely pale when she finally reached Mo Fan. However, her eyes were fixed on the Black Dragon Emperor. She was looking straight into its terrifying eyes!

“Austin, no one in this world can possibly control you, nor can they turn you into a soulless killing machine! You are Austin, the Emperor of the Kingdom of Clouds on Mount Tyrant. You are the noblest, strongest, and sincerest black dragon, the King of the Dragons. No one can ever bind you! You are the creator of magic, how could you be enslaved by magic instead!?” Asha’ruiya yelled at him.

It sounded like an ancient curse, but Mo Fan knew Asha’ruiya was merely voicing her beliefs.

The Black Dragon Emperor had been Wen Tai’s protector. It was her father’s guardian!

The Black Dragon Emperor had always been a senior to Asha’ruiya. She had flown across the world and enjoyed great views of the world under the starry sky with him when she was younger.

He might have been Wen Tai’s guardian, but he had always been free!

Even Wen Tai could not Bind his soul. How could a filthy and despicable man like Su Lu control him?

Their Contract was not intact!

Mo Fan had injured the black dragon, and his scales were covered in his blood. The dragon had gone berserk, but he had regained his self-awareness at the same time. The battle had awakened the black dragon’s true power, and a real black dragon could never be restricted by a flawed Contract!

Asha’ruiya stood in front of Mo Fan.

She was tiny compared to the Black Dragon Emperor. It was impossible to tell whether the black dragon could see her or hear her.

However, Mo Fan could sense the black dragon’s confusion. He was struggling internally!

The black dragon let out a furious roar, and soared into the clouds.

The overwhelming pressure faded away. It was not because the black dragon had withdrawn his murderous intent, but now he was no longer focusing on Mo Fan.

He had recognized Asha’ruiya. Perhaps he had remembered who Asha’ruiya was.

He had heard her screaming exhortation, too.

The black dragon would never be bound by a Contract. No one could ever control him!

The dragon had gone berserk because the man had given him a target to vent his anger on. That did not necessarily mean he had become the man’s slave!

His Contract was never solid in the first place. As the creator of magic, he had no trouble breaking the rules and restraints of the Contract!

The black dragon tore at himself with his claws, covering his scales with more blood, as if that was the only way to break free from the chains restricting him.

He was in great pain, but he was determined!

Mo Fan grabbed Asha’ruiya and threw them both into a different dimension when he saw the black dragon causing massive destruction in the area.

The storm stirred up by the black dragon’s blood spread over ten kilometers away. Mo Fan had no choice but to escape in the direction of Dubai City, which was protected by the Skybound Cloud Battlefield.

“Don’t do something so dangerous again next time,” Mo Fan looked at Asha’ruiya, who was already at her limit.

“Either way, I must thank you. If you hadn’t wakened Austin’s soul, he would have remained a slave to Su Lu,” Asha’ruiya replied feebly, smiling sincerely.

She had finally accomplished something she had long wanted to do!

Mo Fan could relate to it.

Asha’ruiya had brought him to Mount Tyrant to see the Black Dragon Emperor during the World College Tournament. She had tried to stop Su Lu from capturing the black dragon, too.

This time, she had come to him because she was planning to help the Black Dragon Emperor.

The others had called him the Black Dragon Emperor, but Asha’ruiya had called him by his name!

It was fine. Mo Fan was not the black dragon’s enemy. Su Lu was!

The black dragon was also not Mo Fan’s enemy. Su Lu was!

——

The Black Dragon Emperor’s roar echoed throughout the dark world outside the city.

He beat his wings and flew across the sky like a mountain, heading toward Dubai City!

Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya were astounded.

The Black Dragon Emperor flew over their heads like a dark cloud. He smashed through the Cloud Formation and entered the city.

“Is he awake, or is he still out of his mind?” Mo Fan asked.

“I…I don’t know either,” Asha’ruiya admitted.

The black dragon tore a hole in the clouds, revealing a huge portion of the city that had been protected by the huge Barrier.

He flew into the Barrier. Thousands of people screamed in terror.

The black dragon was covered in his own blood. He was like a floating volcano, bloody steam rising from his scales.

The people on the streets and in the buildings were terrified. Many fainted on the spot. Vehicles crashed into one another. The crowd fled for their lives.

The Black Dragon Emperor ignored them. He passed over the busy streets and headed for the tower that rose like a huge silver sword before him!

He continued on its way, gradually picking up speed!

The Black Dragon Emperor was going to crash into Dubai Tower. He seemed to have found the right target to vent his anger and hatred!

The tower had sent out more than half of the Asia Magic Association to set up a trap on Mount Tyrant. They had tortured his soul cruelly to subdue him!

It was time for them to feel the wrath of the black dragon!

The black dragon spread his wings and lunged at the upper half of the tower with its powerful claws.

The tower was protected by a powerful magic Formation, but it could not withstand the force of those claws.

The tower was pushed over as chunks of its upper half shattered into pieces. The floor cracked while the main pillars were damaged.

Glass, steel plates, concrete, and walls were smashed into pieces. The Black Dragon Emperor beat his wings and rose into the sky after causing massive destruction to the tower. The tower was not his only target.

Su Lu!

The Black Dragon Emperor was going after Su Lu!

The Black Dragon Emperor did not care how many casualties or survivors there were in the tower. His true focus was Su Lu!

Perhaps Su Lu and the Asia Magic Association should have known that this day would come eventually after they captured the Black Dragon Emperor. They should have known that they would have to suffer his wrath!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Magic above the clouds was sparse.

However, a Forbidden Mage like Su Lu could easily obtain an abundant supply of magic by himself, even if the area within a thousand kilometers was placed inside a vacuum.

The magic originating from his body was easier to control, as well.

When a Mage achieved the Advanced Level and then the Super Level, they would slowly gain perception of sources of magic. Their bodies would also transform into sources of magic. Advanced Mages were able to use this to manipulate their magic. It was referred to as their improved control over magic.

Upon reaching the Super Level, a Mage’s body structure would start to change in order to grant them specialized abilities, like the Super Powers. They were no longer just following fixed standards.

As for a Forbidden Mage, their bodies alone were an endless fountain of energy. They could bend the rules of magic at will. Stars would no longer appear around them, nor were their Star Patterns, Star Constellations, and Star Palaces visible whenever they were Casting spells.

They could release energy stronger than Advanced Spells just by moving their fingers.

They could manipulate their spells by raising their hands and altering the spells that others were familiar with into different forms. A simple thrust could trigger an explosion, a restraining spell could crush its target with gravity. Even defensive spells could be used offensively!

Su Lu was obviously an expert at all of that. A small magic orb hovering in the air with a little purple lightning about it somehow triggered a lightning explosion covering several hundred square kilometers after it reached Sharjah. Each lightning strike was as deadly as a Forbidden Curse.

Every spell he Cast was oddly dangerous. Every sparkle in the sky could be Sharjah’s death and might suddenly pierce her soul. She had to be extremely cautious around Su Lu.

You never knew if a deadly spike would suddenly emerge from a massive explosion, or perhaps a tiny magic particle would erupt like a black hole. Perhaps the enemy had already set up a Curse trap, despite being in a defensive stance.

Su Lu was definitely one of the strongest Forbidden Mages in the world. He was not just a mere politician!

Sharjah’s power was bright, straightforward, and spectacular. Her magic was mostly in the form of divine weapons, which could slice through Hell and tear space apart.

Sharjah’s defense resembled a metallic city in the sky. It was spectacular and indestructible. Every wall, castle, and building was strictly built according to precise standards. They were so tightly packed that not even the slightest destructive Aura could penetrate the golden city.

Attack and defend!

They were the only two moves Sharjah had, but every time a golden feather she plucked from her wings transformed into a divine weapon, the whole sky would be filled by its rose-golden brilliance, exposing even the tiniest insect.

An arrow swept across the blue sky, leaving a shocking trail behind as it emitted a deafening chime. That trail was imbued with the Chaos Element.

Su Lu’s Curse Magic could be applied to objects. He used the Curse he had prepared for Sharjah on the arrow as soon as he saw it.

The arrow that could tear the sky apart slowly wilted, and its magnificent force slowly faded away. Even the sacred feather was wilting and slowly losing its sacred brilliance.

Su Lu chuckled. He flipped his hand and absorbed the wilted energy, swiftly transforming it into crimson lightning.

The crimson energy formed a magic drum above Sharjah, which Su Lu beat with his hand. Crimson lightning strikes fell from the sky with a loud rumbling.

Sharjah was knocked flying by the lightning. Thousands of lightning arcs spread from the lightning strikes and wrapped around Sharjah, trying to tear down her defenses.

The Black Dragon Emperor had also destroyed a portion of Sharjah’s golden city. Su Lu seemed to have found a weakness in her defense, and was trying to break it down.

“HAHAHA, the power of the Angels is passed on like an old tradition. It’s incomparable to the power we have acquired by climbing our way to the top with hard work and dedication!” Su Lu burst out laughing.

He had found the Archangel’s weakness.

Their defense was like a piece of carefully designed machinery. Their power came from a delicate wheel inside the machine, but it was still a machine in the end. It was nowhere close to the power of a Forbidden Mage who had gone through all kinds of hardships to reach their height.

The Archangels were born at the top of the world. They were granted the power to rule over the world.

However, did they ever see the massive world clearly? They had yet to fully understand the apex they were standing on.

Su Lu was different. He had climbed up the mountain one step at a time from the very bottom. He had been through every level and process.

He had reached the same height as the Angels!

The Angels might be standing at the top, but if the middle or the bottom of the mountain started collapsing, the whole mountain would collapse too!

The apex Su Lu stood on was part of a mountain range stacked up with different layers of mountains. It was sturdy enough to withstand all kinds of weather and hardships.

Even if the Archangel’s apex was slightly higher than Su Lu’s apex, who would stand until the very last?

1

Su Lu had discovered the Angels’ flaw!

Their apex was tall but delicate. It was unnecessary to compare their heights. He just had to crash his mountain into hers, and her slender mountain would collapse first.

Su Lu possessed a variety of strange abilities.

Some of them were Forbidden Spells, but as the Chairman of the Asia Magic Association, he could justify his use of Forbidden Magic. If he claimed he was not using any Forbidden Spells, who would dare to ask questions?

The abilities of the seven Archangels from the Sacred City were from the official magic index. They were too proud to use any evil arts or forbidden magic.

Meanwhile, not only was Su Lu good at using standard magic, he was also an expert at Forbidden Arts. The lightning drum that summoned thousands of lightning attacks was an example of a Forbidden Spell.. It could break down even the strongest defenses and find their weak points. It would then shatter the soul of its target with lightning from the Seven Heavens!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Lightning Claw!”

A figure riding a flash of dark purple lightning appeared while Sharjah was being attacked by the crimson lightning.

The crimson lightning arcs wrapped around Sharjah like vines, but the man with the dark purple lightning about him was tearing the lightning vines apart with his bare hands.

The crimson lightning and dark purple lightning collided, resulting in endless terrifying sparks crashing across the place!

“Teacher!” Sharjah blurted out in surprise.

“I’m here to help,” Mo Fan rose into the air and turned into a ray of light flying straight at the strange lightning drum above Sharjah.

The lightning drum dispersed after Mo Fan crashed into it. His dark purple lightning soon ruled the area and quickly drove Su Lu’s crimson lightning away.

Su Lu inspected Mo Fan with squinted eyes. He did not say a word, retaining his confident expression.

It seemed like he had made a new enemy whose strength was quite remarkable, since Mo Fan was able to kill Xi Zhe and survive the Black Dragon Emperor’s attacks.

He might have panicked a little if he was flanked by a demon and an angel, but he remained fearless for now.

Their strength was almost the same in nature. They had obtained their power by inheriting something special, but they both lacked experience.

They were just two vulnerable towers. They were the ones who would be smashed to pieces after colliding with his sturdy mountain range!

“Do you know? Even with my status and power, I don’t necessarily have control over the entire world. Everything I see that isn’t under my feet is my enemy! You might feel like you are going against the Asia Magic Association and me, but for me, you two are just some obstacles in my path to conquer the five Continental Magic Associations! I will soon forget about you, since you two aren’t truly powerful!” Su Lu declared.

Mo Fan stood beside Sharjah, amused by the man’s arrogant words.

“Then I guess another guy will give you an unforgettable experience. Look behind you,” Mo Fan replied cheerfully.

Su Lu turned around and immediately saw an enormous black figure.

If there was anything that had remained unbeatable by staying at the top of the world despite being surrounded by hundreds of mountain ranges, it would be none other than the Black Dragon Emperor!

Su Lu had only become the Chairman of the Asia Magic Association because of the black dragon!

Even though he had to rely on all kinds of potions and magic Formations to force the disobedient black dragon to follow his orders, that was enough for him!

The black dragon was now glaring at Su Lu coldly.

Su Lu had to raise his head to meet the black dragon’s eyes. He felt like his soul was about to perish as soon as their gazes crossed.

He could no longer see the same submission from the black dragon’s eyes, nor were they brimming with rage. They were calm but angry, with a strong hatred directed at Su Lu alone!

Su Lu pointed at the black dragon and screamed, “You and I have a Contract!”

The Contract had bound both of their souls, making the black dragon Su Lu’s Contracted Beast.

But was the Contract ever valid?

Su Lu had merely used a Forbidden Spell to enslave the black dragon. It was like a chain with spikes wrapped about the black dragon’s soul.

The Black Dragon Emperor was fully capable of terminating a proper Contract with pure force. After all, humans had learned most of their magic from the ancient dragons. It was difficult to Bind the dragons with their own magic!

Su Lu was merely talking nonsense. Its only effect was adding to the black dragon’s anger!

The black dragon’s blood spread in the air as a mist, which further transformed into savage draconic locusts.

The draconic locusts were extraordinary in number, filling up the sky and the clouds in no time. The whole place fell dark, as if Su Lu had fallen into a nest or a forest of Dragon Locusts.

The Dragon Locusts only had one eye, glowing an eerie red.. They dove at Su Lu at the black dragon’s roared command.

Su Lu was instantly under endless attack in the middle of the Dragon Locusts’ assault.

Every Dragon Locust represented the black dragon’s anger, which had accumulated over a long time. They rammed into Su Lu, tore at him, and sprayed him with the dragon’s blood.

Su Lu was constantly switching his Elements and magic Equipment. Every piece of magic Equipment he used was incredibly valuable. Lights of different colors encapsulated him in the form of barriers and armor until he was covered in a golden light!

The Dragon Locusts were only a transfiguration of the black dragon’s Aura. The black dragon also launched his attack.

His speed and strength were at least three times higher than before. He was finally able to unleash his true power after his soul had broken free from the chains!

He tore the sky apart with his claw and broke through Su Lu’s defenses, allowing the dragon’s locusts to get in closer.

The draconic locusts tore down Su Lu’s armor in no time.

They dove at the golden light around Su Lu like moths flying into a fire, spraying the dragon’s blood onto Su Lu’s armor. The golden light soon dissipated.

“You are not going to hurt me!” Su Lu yelled. He raised his arms, Summoning a heavy white mountain of clouds above him.

The mountain of clouds flew at the black dragon, but he simply smashed through them with his horns.

Dragon Horn Cannon!

A tremendous beam fired at Su Lu like a cannon as the black dragon charged forward. The beam destroyed Su Lu’s golden light and sent him flying.

Sharjah decisively drew out a fiery blade and thrust at Su Lu. Different lights were stacked on its tip, brimming with a strong murderous intent.

Su Lu struggled to defend himself from both his enemies. He was frustrated when he saw Mo Fan was also charging at him, the Soul Shadow of the Fiery Snake God at his back!

The black dragon, the angel, and the demon. Three different powers that were equally destructive and had surpassed the level of Forbidden Curses. Su Lu was all by himself. He did not stand a chance against the three formidable enemies.

He would have to be extremely cautious if he was fighting even one of them!

Su Lu could not withstand their combined attacks. He could only flee miserably from them.

When he came to a stop, he was standing on a cloud cliff.. His body was swaying as blood was flowing down his arms.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Su Lu looked at his arms. He could barely lift them, as his joints were broken. His face twisted in pain and madness!

He was no longer so aloof. He knew he was in deep trouble when he discovered the black dragon had turned against him.

The Black Dragon Emperor let out a furious roar, driving his claw toward his own forehead.

He stuck his sharp claw into his forehead and the bone there. Fresh blood immediately poured out.

Su Lu’s expression sank when he saw the black dragon’s action.

The dragon was trying to terminate the Contract!

The problem was, the Contract was bound to their souls. Terminating it with force would inflict serious damage on their souls, and might even kill them!

The black dragon would rather kill himself than be enslaved by Su Lu!

The claw reached a bone with a burning Seal impressed onto it. It was the symbol of a Contract of the Summoning Element, connecting the souls of the Summoner and the Contracted Beast.

The Black Dragon Emperor tore out the bone, blood and flesh still stuck on it. He was in tremendous pain, but he was not willing to submit himself to anyone, nor would he allow his soul to be bound.

The Bond was shattered!

The Contract was terminated!

It was never an official Contract. The Black Dragon Emperor did not want to have any ties with Su Lu’s filthy soul, even if this deed would severely damage his own soul.

Su Lu’s soul suffered a great blow after the Seal was torn off. His soul was bound to the black dragon’s soul through the Contract. It was obvious that he would also sustain serious injuries when the Bond broke.

Su Lu’s face went extremely pale, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. His hands and legs were trembling, even though it seemed like he was standing still on the cliff.

He looked fragile and hideous. His eyes resembled those of a fiend, filled with hatred.

His soul had sustained serious damage!

Su Lu had already been struggling to stand his ground against the black dragon, Sharjah, and Mo Fan. He was even more vulnerable after the black dragon terminated the Contract forcibly.

Every Contract of the Forbidden Level was supported by an enormous amount of energy. Su Lu’s mind was heavily impacted by the injury inflicted on his soul, weakening his strength.

Sharjah finally smiled. She pointed her sword at Su Lu and said, “You were blinded by your ambition, trying to take over everything, but you never realized that not everyone was willing to collude with you, nor were you able to kill everyone that stood in your way!”

“HAHAHAHA, do you think you have won? You Angels might stand at the top of the world, but have you truly understood this world? The deserts of death, the Southernmost Land, the Underworld, the Dark Plane, the Summoned Beast Plane…” Su Lu chuckled.

He barely raised his arms and said in a cold voice, “Not only will you fail to kill me, you will soon be erased from this world. Let’s see who’s going to be the last one standing in the tide of darkness!”

Su Lu suddenly lifted his arms above his head. His disheveled hair swayed wildly in the wind.

He slowly spread his arms, dark lightning leaping between his hands!

The dark lightning gradually expanded into a river of darkness flowing above the clouds and Dubai City.

Su Lu was using some unknown Forbidden Spell. The river of darkness was not giving off a strong aura, yet when it flowed at the black dragon, it grasped him firmly. The black dragon was unable to break free from it.

The black river soon reached Mo Fan and Sharjah and swallowed them, too! They failed to break free from the darkness before it carried them away.

The river of darkness poured down through the clouds. It soon reached Dubai City. The scariest thing about the spell was that it was completely out of control.

As a matter of fact, Su Lu was also dragged away by the river of darkness that had swallowed the black dragon, Mo Fan, and Sharjah.

Even the Caster was caught by his own spell. How could he possibly have any control over where it was flowing?

The river of darkness poured through the streets. Thousands of people were caught up in it.

The river flowed through the crossroads and filled up the alleys. It was not liquid, nor was it causing any destruction. It was simply dragging every living creature along with it.

There were countless people in the city’s center, but the river of darkness was incredibly large. It was like a black heavenly river was pouring down on the city. Cries and screams rose and mixed together.

No one had the slightest idea about what kind of magic it was. The river of darkness was unstoppable. It continued to drag the people to an unknown destination.

Su Lu had obviously lost his mind. He knew the Forbidden Spell was beyond his control. He also knew it would drown the busiest district of the city, but he did not care at all.

He was like a destroyer who had opened the dam of darkness, exposing himself and the village in the lower stream to a raging tide of darkness!

More and more people were caught by the river.

A short time later, the river of darkness suddenly headed in a specific direction, dragging everyone that it had caught along with it.

The black river suddenly fell into a bottomless chasm. The crowds on the streets were falling into it with everyone else.

It was like the magical sight of a waterfall with an endless bottom. The trapped people were gradually falling faster into the bottomless hole.

The fall alone lasted for a long time. How did such a deep chasm appear out of nowhere in the city?

It was not just an illusion. The strange river was bringing the people to another dimension. A pitch-black door with a faint red glow had opened up at the bottom of the hole for them.

Thousands of people were falling into the door, but they were like tiny little shrimps compared to the size of the door.

Only Su Lu knew where the river was bringing them!

Chapter 2560: Journey to Hell

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The door had a twisted pattern, displaying a long centipede. It resembled a unique creature with a single horn on its head.

When the door opened, the creature on it opened its mouth like it was going to swallow everyone into its throat.

The people soon found themselves inside a bright red esophagus after passing through the sticky dark throat.

The esophagus was spacious, like a confined world. If anyone was to take a close look at the walls, they would have noticed the walls were made up of countless bugs. Some of them were bright red, while others were black. One could not help but wonder how many insects there were, considering the size of the esophagus.

The black tide had swept thousands of people here like it was delivering fresh food into a creature’s stomach. The wriggling black insects pounced at the living humans and tore at them like ghastly demons!

Mo Fan had a familiar feeling when he saw the insects.

Mo Fan clearly remembered the despair and fear of being surrounded by those black insects. If Little Flame Belle had not sacrificed herself and unleashed the Calamity Fire, there would be nothing left of him.

3

“That son of a b**ch has dragged everyone into Hell!”

Su Lu was a complete maniac. He had cast a Forbidden Spell to sweep away everyone with a black tide when he knew he did not stand a chance against the black dragon, Sharjah, and Mo Fan.

The black tide had brought them to the Dark Plane called Hell by the Europeans!

They were currently at the entrance of the Dark Plane. The wriggling black insects surrounding them were the most convincing proof. Mo Fan and Xinxia had almost been dragged into it once.

“AHHHHH!”

“Help, don’t eat me, don’t eat me!”

“Leave me alone, you filthy things!”

Thousands of people was a large number, but the numbers of the wriggling black insects were even crazier. It was like the humans were being sent through quality control in a meat factory. Some of them reached a hole at the bottom, while others were eaten by the black insects, leaving not even a single bone behind.

Their struggles were meaningless. These people were safe from the battle under the protection of a luxurious city just a few seconds ago, but they had somehow ended up as food to some kind of filthy insects in Hell. The people who were lucky enough to reach the hole at the bottom were utterly relieved after witnessing the terrifying scenes happening around them.

They had no clue where they were, nor did they know how they had ended up here. Su Lu’s Forbidden Spell was not targeting anyone specifically. He was merely killing and destroying for no reason!

“You filthy insects think you can hurt me?” a Super Mage of Dubai Magician Tower snarled.

He was a Wind Mage. The Slaughtering Wind Slash swept at the black insects and sliced them into mincemeat.

The black insects were not particularly strong, but their numbers were overwhelming. They just kept coming.

However, an enormous shadow rose from the insects and lunged at the Wind Super Mage before he could even feel good about himself.

The shadow scooped out with its claw and caught the Wind Super Mage in its hand like a puppet.

Blood oozed out between the gaps of its claw as it tightened its grip. It even extended its head forward and licked the red juice on its hand.

Many people witnessed the scene. Most of them were just ordinary people, and fainted in great fear.

The ghastly creature was picking on the human Mages who were trying to resist. It killed every single one of them with a single swipe. Its laughter was sinister and eerie, like it was indulging in the pleasure of killing humans.

It had plenty of time to enjoy itself since there were so many Mages around!

The monster soon appeared close to Mo Fan. It seemed to have fixated on Mo Fan’s Aura.

It closed in on Mo Fan, dragging its long tail behind it. It flung the unworthy humans in its path away and fixed its eyes on Mo Fan.

However, the monster suddenly lost its balance, like it had just seen a ghost. It turned about and surprisingly fled for its life.

The black insects had stacked up like a soft layer of sand. The monster was fleeing wildly through their mass. It no longer dared to go after the remaining humans.

Mo Fan was amused when he saw the creature run away from the scene.

He had not expected to stumble into an ‘old friend’ here. The creature that was massacring the human Mages was none other than Hayla, the Greek God of Death!

Hayla was once involved in the final judgments of the Holy Judgment Court. He would drag sinful humans into Hell and torture their souls in the cruelest manner to stop them from being reincarnated.

However, Hayla was severely injured by Mo Fan during the incident of the Parthenon Temple and was beaten half to death. The black insects that were part of his body were almost wiped out by the Calamity Fire.

It was a great lesson for Hayla. He had only recovered a little after resting for a long time.

Even Hayla did not expect to stumble into the demon again. He fled as soon as he realized it was Mo Fan, utterly spooked by Mo Fan’s appearance.

Hayla had sharp senses. He could feel Mo Fan had grown stronger. He was no longer a match for Mo Fan!

“Is the Dark Plane really down there?” Mo Fan was still unable to escape the black tide.

As a matter of fact, Sharjah, the black dragon, and Su Lu were also stuck in the black tide. They were all on a train of death and could not get off halfway.

“Are all these people going to be dragged into the Dark Plane, too?” Mo Fan looked around him. Su Lu’s evil spell had caught up many innocent people in the city.

Those who were unlucky were eaten by the black insects, while the rest were dragged into the Dark Plane like him.

Su Lu was completely out of his mind!

Not only was he dragging Mo Fan, the black dragon, and Sharjah to death with him, he was also trying to bury thousands of innocent people with him!

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan!” Someone was calling him from behind.

Mo Fan turned around and was surprised to see Asha’ruiya less than a few hundred meters away from him. However, huge black insects were between them.

Asha’ruiya was also a Shadow Mage. She was trying her best to glide over to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was speechless. He did not expect Asha’ruiya to be caught up by the Dark Plane!

He would not feel lonely during the journey to Hell. However, he was going to miss his world!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Who would survive in the end?

1

Su Lu was the Chairman of the Asia Magic Association. He had dragged everyone into Hell as he lost the fight. No one knew what was going to happen, and not many people would be able to leave the place alive.

——

They were first greeted by a vast sea of blood, followed by a boundless desert of ashes and bones, holding mountains of rotting corpses giving off a foul odor!

Mo Fan felt like his soul was traveling rapidly across the place just so he could witness the scariest sights in the Dark Plane, but everything faded away like a dream.

Mo Fan’s head was spinning a little. He came to his senses after a brief moment of unconsciousness.

The energy in the Essence Orb had depleted. Mo Fan subconsciously touched his chest.

The power of the Demon Element was gone!

The side effects were not serious because of the Essence Orb. He just felt a slight headache, like having a hangover.

Mo Fan looked around him. He had a feeling that he had yet to fully wake up from a nightmare when he saw an ocean of blood right in front of him.

The thick blood had come from countless creatures. Its hideous Aura was suffocating.

The area was wide-open. The land of ashes and bones was dark, but Mo Fan was able to see a black forest in one direction when he looked into the distance.

Mo Fan did not know how big the forest was, but it seemed to be surrounding the land of ashes and bones.

A sea of blood, a land of ashes and bones, and a black forest. Each of the places was brimming with the sense of death, sending chills down his spine.

“Is this really the Dark Plane?” Mo Fan murmured.

He discovered a few bodies nearby. Something must have bitten them to pieces while they were falling to this place. They were beyond recognition.

Several people were walking further away. They were dressed in ordinary clothes, which were quite incompatible with their dark and sinister surroundings.

“Asha’ruiya?” Mo Fan suddenly noticed a woman lying on the ground close to him.

Mo Fan quickly ran over to her. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw she was unharmed.

They had not encountered just the low-level black insects in enormous numbers on their way here. There were Undead Rulers like Hayla, too. The power of the Demon Element had slowly faded away during the fall. He had also lost consciousness briefly, so he had no clue what had happened.

Asha’ruiya was still unconscious.

Mo Fan wanted to splash some water on her face to wake her up, but he decided against it when he saw the water was as red as tomato soup.

(Smack) “Hey, wake up.” (Smack)

Asha’ruiya quickly regained consciousness. She shoved Mo Fan away angrily when she saw him slapping her face.

“Couldn’t you do that more gently?” Asha’ruiya snarled like an angry kitten.

“Should I kiss you, then? First, we aren’t in a romantic forest. There are dead bodies around us instead of little dwarves. Second, you are lying on ashes and bones instead of a crystal bed,” Mo Fan informed her.

“No way. You woke up first. Did you do anything vulgar, on top of slapping a Saintess’ face without her permission?” Asha’ruiya asked with a serious expression.

“I didn’t,” Mo Fan answered righteously.

“And you call yourself a man?”

“…” Mo Fan wondered if Asha’ruiya had landed on her head first. How was she still in the mood to tease him? Did she not realize the shocking sea of blood and desert of ashes and bones was so close to her?

“You seem very calm,” Mo Fan noticed.

Asha’ruiya was tidying up her appearance, starting from her hair to the corners of her trousers. What was the point of keeping up her appearance in a nightmarish place like this?

“This is the Dark Plane,” Asha’ruiya informed him.

“I know. Su Lu went mad and dragged a lot of people into here,” Mo Fan confirmed.

He did not think it would end up like this, that he was back in Hell again. He wondered if he could still be all mighty and powerful here.

“Screw that prick, but he’s going to pay for this, too. Let’s see who’s going to leave this place alive!” Asha’ruiya snarled.

“We can leave this place?” Mo Fan raised his brows.

“I’m pretty sure someone here once opened the gate to the Underworld. Khufu opens a gate to the Dark Plane when he points his compass at the Red Sea. The Underworld is also a part of the Dark Plane. Why would you think you can’t leave this place if you’ve already opened the door here before?” Asha’ruiya reminded him.

Mo Fan nodded. That’s right, he had opened the gate to the Underworld once before!

If he could find the Underworld and the door connected to the pyramids in Egypt, he could find his way back to the Red Sea!

He had thought he was dead for sure. Little did he know, the door he had opened before was his path to resurrection!

“So, where’s the Underworld?” Mo Fan looked around him. He had no idea where to go.

Did he have to cross the sea of blood, the land of ashes and bones, or the black forest? There was no sense of direction!

“The Dark Plane only has one way you can go. Just wait patiently. Outsiders like us must follow the King of the Dark Plane’s rules if we don’t want to be eaten until nothing is left!” Asha’ruiya sat down on the ground like she was having a vacation on a sandy shore.

“You’ve been here before?” Mo Fan asked, having a sudden thought.

Asha’ruiya was just too calm. She seemed familiar with this place, since she did not look worried at all.

“No,” Asha’ruiya smiled. She said, “But I have had a lot of contact with Darkness Creatures before. Besides, did you forget? I have a special knight.”

Asha’ruiya looked into the distance.

The ashes suddenly rose as a knight on a black mount in heavy armor approached them!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan found the imperious figure with a slight hint of an evil Aura quite familiar. He remembered the same type of cold-blooded Undead Ruler riding a dark horse and holding a greatsword when he encountered the mirages in Egypt.

“A Dark Swordmaster!” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

The Dark Swordmaster was not holding its greatsword, it was still in its sheath on its back. Its steed was leaving a dark icy trail behind it.

The horse it was riding was unusual. It was fully covered in dark icy armor, including its hooves. The ashes and bones it stepped on were covered in frost.

It was obvious that the Dark Swordmaster was a loyal servant of the Lord of Darkness, with great status and strength. The Dark Swordmasters had lofty stations in the Dark Plane.

The Dark Swordmasters that had appeared in Egypt and the Great Pyramid of Giza were roughly as strong as Lesser Rulers or Ruler-inferior creatures, but Dark Swordmasters were stronger in the Dark Plane. There were different levels between the Dark Swordmasters, too!

Mo Fan did not dare lower his guard. After all, he no longer had the Demon Element active or available, and he was extremely tired, too. The Dark Plane was not a friendly place at all. They had even stumbled into such a powerful creature after they had just arrived!

“What are you doing!?” Asha’ruiya asked when she saw Mo Fan’s reaction.

“I’m going to beat him. I can’t let him hurt you,” Mo Fan replied.

Asha’ruiya was amused. She looked quite adorable when she giggled. Her reactions were always more expressive than Asian women, as she always showed her true feelings instead of acting reservedly.

“He’s my servant, don’t you remember?” Asha’ruiya reminded him.

“Your servant?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

The Dark Swordmaster stopped fifty meters away and came down off his horse. He walked up to Asha’ruiya slowly.

He approached Asha’ruiya and knelt on the ground. He took off his helmet… head, and put it on his waist as he bowed!

Mo Fan almost dropped his jaw.

Normally, a knight would take his helmet off. Was he trying to spook them by taking his head off instead?!

“Put your head back on,” Asha’ruiya directed the Dark Swordmaster.

“Yes, master.” The Dark Ice Swordmaster respectfully put his head back, but he accidentally put it on in the wrong direction. His helm was looking backward, while his body was facing forward.

Mo Fan almost burst out laughing.

It was that Dark Knight!

Mo Fan remembered Asha’ruiya did indeed have a Dark Knight she Summoned from the Dark Plane, but she was using some ancient Contract instead of the Summoning Element. It had given her a guardian from the Dark Plane.

The Dark Knight had been quite reliable when they were visiting the villages around the Ancient Capital, back when they were not very strong.

To his surprise, the Dark Knight had ranked up to a Dark Swordmaster, but he was just as clumsy as he used to be.

“Does that mean we have a local to guide us around?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

“Mm, Hamura is familiar with this place. We could avoid some traps with him guiding us. However, we still have to follow rules of the Lord of Darkness’ game,” Asha’ruiya nodded.

“Game rules? What kind of rules?!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“The Lord of Darkness is a weird Emperor. He’s as generous as a heavenly deity sometimes, but he can also be as cruel and merciless as a devil. However, he’s more like a playful kid most of the time. He establishes strange rules for outsiders and grants them special powers in exchange for their souls,” Asha’ruiya informed him.

Mo Fan immediately recalled he had made a deal with the Lord of Darkness before, but it was only one of the being’s little clones back then.

They had gone to Tianshan Mountain to find the Night Amethyst to trade to get Mu Bai’s soul back from the Lord of Darkness. Apparently, the Night Amethyst was one of the Lord of Darkness’ favorite gems.

Was the Night Amethyst of any use to the Lord of Darkness? Mo Fan doubted it. He could easily obtain plenty of them with his power, but the rumors of the ability to trade a soul from the Lord of Darkness with a Night Amethyst continued to spread out from Greece.

“The Dark Plane is powerful and rich in resources, thus many creatures from other planes want to borrow its power, including the Shadow Mages of our world. We are offering our energy in exchange for the Dark Plane’s power. Meanwhile, the Dark Plane is closely connected to many planes, thus living creatures occasionally end up here, including living humans like us. These creatures are referred to as travelers.

“The Lord of Darkness could trap travelers in the Dark Plane forever, but he enjoys playing games with travelers and giving them a chance to return to their own worlds on the condition that we must obey the rules he comes up with for the game. If the travelers win, they can leave the Dark Plane freely. If they lose, they will be stuck here forever, their flesh and souls will belong to the Lord of Darkness. They won’t be alive, but they can still have a colorful life here,” Asha’ruiya said.

She was more familiar with the Dark Plane than most people. Greece had conducted a great deal of research on the Dark Plane. Many ancient records had information about it, and the Greeks could also communicate directly with Darkness Creatures.

The Dark Plane was not just a kingdom of a different world. As a matter of fact, the Dark Plane might be bigger than the human world!

The Dark Magic of humanity, such as the Curse, Shadow, Undead, and Poison Elements, had all originated from the Lord of Darkness.

In simple words, if one day the Lord of Darkness was in a bad mood and decided to sever his connection with humans, they would lose access to four Elements!

The Lord of Darkness was easily the strongest existence anyone had come upon. So far, humans had yet to find anything that was superior to the Lord of Darkness.

“What are the rules, then? Will all the travelers be playing the game?” Mo Fan asked.

Many of the surviving civilians of Dubai City were wandering hopelessly nearby. They were dressed in professional attire and beautiful clothes. However, their lives were now in the hands of the mysterious ruler of the Dark Plane after they were forcibly dragged here.

“They are travelers too, so they have to follow the rules,” Asha’ruiya sighed.

“Su Lu is such an assh****.. I wonder how many of them are going to make it back alive…” Mo Fan wondered helplessly.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The land of ashes and bones started shaking. Tiny particles were being knocked into the air.

The sand under them began moving. The people on it were moving forward uncontrollably, as if someone was pulling the corner of a carpet they were standing on.

Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya exchanged glances. They had no idea whether a terrifying creature was responsible for this, or it was just how the Dark Plane worked.

They tried walking in the opposite direction, but a strange power stopped them.

Whenever they tried to move in the opposite direction, their bodies would freeze, but they did not feel any resistance when they were moving with the flow.

“The game has begun. The restriction we felt is part of the rules,” Asha’ruiya deduced.

They were not allowed to move backward or leave the place with Fleeing Shadow or Blink. The strange force had restricted them from using their magic despite their current cultivation levels, a clear indication that the one who was in full control of the land was involved.

“It seems like we can only go toward wherever it’s bringing us to,” Mo Fan agreed with a wry smile.

The land of ashes and bones was not moving straight forward. It was like a horizontal funnel, forcing the people there to gather in a specific direction.

The further they went, the bigger the crowd became. Most people had fear on their faces, but they could only follow their survival instincts and obey the will of the Lord of Darkness.

Mo Fan could not help but feel helpless when he saw more people gathering around them.

He was having trouble explaining a lot of things after coming here, especially the strange restriction that was stopping them from going anywhere else. Everyone was under the same restriction, regardless of their strength. They had no choice but to follow the rules here!

“Our Parthenon Temple has a similar restriction. Didn’t you have a taste of it when you broke your way in? That being said, only the Lord of Darkness could establish one strong enough to restrict several tens of thousands of people,” Asha’ruiya remarked softly.

A Magic Formation that could target everyone inside it was the strongest form of magic, but the Lord of Darkness was using it to set up a game!

“The people are being split into three groups,” Asha’ruiya observed.

She was watching everything carefully. She had read a lot of ancient records and learned about the Lord of Darkness’ strange nature. He would set up the travelers and lead them toward despair, but he would also provide them with interesting clues along the way, which could help them escape.

Asha’ruiya had called it a game since they had ended up here. Travelers had to use all kinds of methods to pass and the game, but the main problem was that there was no second chance after losing the game, their souls would be trapped here forever! Winning the game did not necessarily mean they had earned their escape. They might have to play a more intense game next. The Lord of Darkness had plenty of time to spare, after all!

“I bet the three groups are going to end up in three different places,” Mo Fan guessed.

Mo Fan was quite intrigued by the strange power. How did the Lord of Darkness make sure everything was done according to his will?

The ability to move the land of ashes and bones and the Magic Formation that was preventing them from escaping. How strong exactly was the Lord of Darkness that the black dragon, Sharjah, Su Lu, the possessor of the Demon Element, and the others were forced to be his test subjects?

How powerful was the Lord of Darkness that he could create a space that was completely unreasonable compared to the outside world?

“Mo Fan!” Asha’ruiya suddenly pointed ahead.

Mo Fan was lost in thought. He immediately came back to his senses and looked ahead after hearing Asha’ruiya’s shout.

There was a rotating wheel around the height of a skyscraper, rising from the land of ashes and bones!

The wheel had rings of various-sized blades on it. The blades on the outermost circle were like towering trees, while the smaller ones in the center were like the fangs of some monsters!

The blades made up three different layers on the wheel. Mo Fan saw the people ahead were being dragged into the wheel. Their blood was oozing out of the gaps between the blades.

It was like an enormous juicer, but it was not making juice out of fruits, but the travelers who had ended up in the Dark Plane!

Mo Fan gasped.

Everything was calm and peaceful just a second ago, but a huge killing machine had appeared all of a sudden. Cries and screams filled up the place. The people who were being dragged toward the wheel were bursting into tears!

“Damn it, I can’t sense any magic,” Mo Fan cursed.

There was no presence of magic around him!

Mo Fan had not noticed it at first, since he was completely worn out. He subconsciously tried to accumulate magic when he sensed he was in danger, but the whole place was like a vacuum.

He could not Cast even a Basic Spell without magic!

Mo Fan wanted to destroy the spinning wheel, but quickly realized it was impossible.

The Lord of Darkness… he was not allowing the travelers to use magic!

“Mo Fan, I think we are fine…” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan frowned. He immediately followed Asha’ruiya’s gaze.

The crowd was being split into three groups and brought along three parallel paths. They were all heading in the same direction.

The rotating wheel had appeared on the leftmost path. Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya were in the middle.

The two paths were around three hundred meters apart. The people on the path in the middle could just barely squeeze past the blades!

In other words, two-thirds of the crowd was safe, while the remainder had to suffer the tortures of the spinning blades!

—

A strong smell of blood lingered in the air. As the blood permeated the ground, the ocean of blood behind them seemed to glow a little brighter.

Mo Fan turned around. If he had been on the leftmost path, would he have been shredded by the blades too, since he was unable to use his magic?

“Was that part of the rules too?” Mo Fan had to ask.

“I think the rules of the game have something to do with our luck.”

The crowd was randomly split into three groups without any specific order.

No one knew where the wheel was going to show up. Therefore, those who were unlucky had to die in the first stage.

Mo Fan was scared to even imagine what was going to happen next!

The God of Death had already claimed the lives of one-third of the travelers in such a casual manner!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan felt a great chill running down his spine whenever he thought about the things that were waiting ahead for them.

He finally understood why the Dark Plane was often referred to as Hell. It did not matter how strong and powerful they used to be in their world. They were nothing but wandering souls here!

They were walking feebly through the land of death with respect, fear, and only a little hope.

There were a lot of wanderers, but not many of them were willing to speak. This new world had surprised them so much that it had rendered them speechless. They could only follow the black tide toward the next abyss with their heads lowered.

The land of ashes and bones was left behind.

They were approaching a dark and gloomy forest. For some reason, the trees looked like huge deities and demons stuck in the ground, with only their curly or straight hair exposed above the surface.

The people subconsciously stuck closer together as they moved into the forest.

People were more united when they were in despair, but the first round had already made it clear that their numbers were not going to change the outcome of the game. The outcome would remain the same regardless of their numbers.

They had entered the Lord of Darkness’ territory. He had full control here. Their only chance to leave the place alive was to follow his rules.

1

The people were only looking for comfort from one another.

After all, they were still enjoying their fortunes and lives in a luxurious city a few moments ago, but they had suddenly become criminals on their way to their executions.

They were allowed to move freely after entering the forest. Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya did not stay with the crowd.

Mo Fan was already having trouble looking after himself. The others would have to rely on themselves to make it out alive. After all, the man who they worshiped was the one who had brought them here!

“I wonder how Sharjah is doing,” Mo Fan remarked.

“I doubt she’s having a good time. Even the Archangel is just a three-year-old kid to the Lord of Darkness,” Asha’ruiya replied.

“Do we have to find the way out from the forest? I can’t tell where I’m going.” Mo Fan looked around them.

They were surrounded by gray twisted trunks and roots that had intertwined like snake nests. Vines were dangling off the trees like hanging ropes. The rest of the area was filled with a thick dark substance.

The dark substance here was a hundred times stronger than the presence of dark magic from the Land of Darkness in their world. The darkness had a natural ability to suppress other Elements, thus it was unlikely for other Elements to exist here.

“Don’t worry, Hamora will bring us out of here,” Asha’ruiya said confidently.

“That’s good to know…” Mo Fan was utterly helpless in the unknown territory.

Speaking of which, Asha’ruiya had a loyal Dark Swordmaster bound to her by a Contract. He had come to her immediately after she was brought to the Dark Plane.

Didn’t Mo Fan also have someone in the Dark Plane?

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe!

Didn’t he have a superior status in the Dark Plane, too? He was like a general under the command of the Lord of Darkness. Why didn’t he show himself and come greet Mo Fan after Mo Fan came to his territory?

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe also had a Contract with Mo Fan, so his absence was an utter disappointment to Mo Fan!

The Dark Swordmaster was familiar with the woods. He led Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya in what seemed to be circles, but the plants around them had somehow lessened. They were obviously going the right way.

Mo Fan also noticed an aggressive dark substance trying to penetrate his body and alter his traits while he was in the forest.

He voiced his concerns to Asha’ruiya, who communicated briefly with her knight.

After leaving the forest, Asha’ruiya turned around and sighed, “I’m afraid only twenty percent of the people will make it out alive.”

“Is the forest really that dangerous?” Mo Fan asked.

“Doesn’t your country like to marinate meat before cooking it?” Asha’ruiya asked him.

“Do you really have to bring that up now? I’m starving,” Mo Fan grunted.

“You felt the dark substance trying to corrupt your body inside the forest. It changes the qualities of our flesh to suit the taste of the locals inside the dark forest,” Asha’ruiya informed him.

“Ugh…” Mo Fan no longer felt hungry.

“We didn’t encounter any dangers in the forest. We also managed to leave the forest without encountering anything terrifying, but the people who are still in there are being slowly ‘marinated’ by the dark substance. Terrifying creatures will soon crawl out of their nests to enjoy a feast,” Asha’ruiya went on.

Mo Fan looked at the Dark Swordmaster gratefully. Luckily, they had a local as their guide. Otherwise…

“AHHHH!!!”

Loud cries of agony soon rang out of the forest from different directions.

Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya continued forward as the screams continued. They did not look back.

Every traveler had their own destiny. There was no place for mercy or redemption here. Mo Fan’s only focus was to leave this place as soon as possible.

It had been a while since he felt so uneasy, like a petty little shrimp in a river, especially after he became a Super Mage.

The Lord of Darkness was utterly terrifying!

If he could leave this place alive, he would focus on learning more Dark Magic to offer his insignificant energy to the Lord of Darkness.

——

Asha’ruiya and Mo Fan reached a flat and barren land after leaving the forest.

The land had a layer of sturdy perfectly cut crystals spread out upon it.

If Mo Fan could not see the sky above him and the forest behind him, he might even have assumed he had walked into a vast palace.

There was something strange about the place. The crystals were set up like tiles of two different contrasting colors, black and white.

The tiles were lined up in perfect squares, but every tile was the size of ten soccer fields!

Asha’ruiya’s face paled as soon as she saw the place. She had realized what it was, but she was too shocked to say anything.

Mo Fan glanced at Asha’ruiya. He could see her eyes were filled with anxiety and fear!

“This...this is the Lord of Darkness’ chessboard!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A chessboard?

Mo Fan immediately looked around as far as he could see.

The huge tiles did resemble a chessboard laid into the ground.

If it is a chessboard, where are the pieces?

An eerie red light shone down on Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya while he was confused.

Mo Fan exchanged glances with Asha’ruiya. Asha’ruiya seemed to know what Mo Fan was going to ask. She announced with a grim smile, “We…we are the pieces!”

—

“This is the Chessboard of Slaughter. I now understand why we are not allowed to move backward.” Asha’ruiya’s face remained pale.

“What does it have anything to do with the chessboard?” Mo Fan asked her.

“Pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, queen, and king. These are the pieces in a game of chess. Pawns are like soldiers in your Chinese chess. I’m pretty sure you are aware of their movements,” Asha’ruiya told him.

Mo Fan nodded.

Soldiers were the pieces that could only move forward in Chinese chess!

Thus, they were pawns, and could only move forward!

A strange power had been restricting them since they set foot in the land of ashes and bones, forcing them to only move forward!

“Then… what’s the black forest about?” Mo Fan asked.

“If I’m not mistaken, it’s a selection point. We are going to be some chess pieces of the game. It’s assigning us as pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, the queen, or the king,” Asha’ruiya guessed.

The red light slowly expanded. Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya remained unmoving, but the chess tiles under their feet were moving on their own!

They were shuffling around like a puzzle. Mo Fan, Asha’ruiya, and the Dark Swordmaster were being relocated.

Mo Fan was moved a little to the left from the center at the border of the chessboard. He was the only one in the tile.

Asha’ruiya and the Dark Swordmaster were moved to other places!

Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya ended up two tiles apart. She was not too far away from him.

The Dark Swordmaster was on the other end, around six kilometers away. He had turned into a tiny dot.

Mo Fan was able to move around, but he was unable to leave the tile. When he tested the edge, the red light would force him back.

“Mo Fan, you are a bishop!” Asha’ruiya yelled at him.

Mo Fan was puzzled. Ever since he had come to the Dark Plane, nothing had been logical to him. His brain was having trouble reacting.

“What bishop?” Mo Fan yelled back.

“You are a bishop piece in a game of chess. Look above you!” Asha’ruiya pointed.

Mo Fan looked up and saw a faint light forming a symbol above him. It bore some resemblance to the symbol of a bishop from a chess game!

Mo Fan looked above Asha’ruiya and saw the symbol of a knight taking shape.

“You are a knight?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, my Dark Swordmaster is a knight too, but he’s on the other side. There is one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns in total!” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan frowned.

The chessboard was quite empty for now. Only he, Asha’ruiya, and the Dark Swordmaster were on it.

If the black forest was indeed a selection place that would assign the people who found their way out as different chess pieces, he should see other chess pieces soon.

The selection was still happening. They had left the black forest too early, so they were the only ones on the chessboard.

“Mo Fan, you should get some rest and recover your strength. It’s going to be a tough battle after the rest of the chess pieces are here!” Asha’ruiya said.

“Alright, I can’t go to you, so you should be careful too,” Mo Fan said.

“Don’t worry, I’m not as weak as you think!” Asha’ruiya’s gaze sharpened.

——-

The selection process was taking a long time. They were still the only pieces on the board after some time.

They suddenly heard a terrifying cry.

Mo Fan opened his eyes and saw a creature with three heads and hot steam rising from its body in front of him. It was roughly six tiles away.

“It’s a Dreadful Curse Cerberus!” Mo Fan had read about the creature from some ancient records in Greece. It was a high-level species with insane numbers in the Dark Plane.

Was the creature the enemy bishop?

Hang on, something did not seem right. Their strength was not equally matched.

The Dreadful Curse Cerberus was nowhere close to Mo Fan’s current strength. He could easily beat a bunch of them by himself!

“It’s a pawn!” Asha’ruiya was startled by the Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ cry too.

The same red light appeared multiple times and teleported one Dreadful Curse Cerberus after another onto the chessboard.

“So they are the enemy pawns? If the enemy has eight pawns too…” Mo Fan was doing some calculations.

He assumed a tile would only hold a Dreadful Curse Cerberus, similar to his side. Asha’ruiya, the Dark Swordmaster, and he were occupying one tile each. However, he was shocked to see a group of Dreadful Curse Cerberi occupying the same tile!

More Dreadful Curse Cerberi appeared. Their numbers were like an army.

A group of Dreadful Curse Cerberi was equivalent to a single pawn?! The pawns were the weakest piece in chess!

The Dreadful Curse Cerberi were not allowed to leave their tiles either, so they were only glaring at Mo Fan angrily.

They looked like they were going to lunge straight at Mo Fan once the chains broke.

“New pieces are coming,” Asha’ruiya called out.

Mo Fan looked past the Dreadful Curse Cerberi and noticed several strange huge creatures on the same tiles as Asha’ruiya and the Dark Swordmaster on the opposite side.

Black armor, heavy swords, and battle horses with dark blue flames on them.

They were Dark Swordmasters! The enemy knights were Ruler-level Dark Swordmasters!

Four Dark Swordmasters were a knight piece!

Two knight pieces meant eight Dark Swordmasters in total!

Eight Dark Swordmasters… How terrifying was that?

There were still bishops, rooks, the queen, and the king left.

If the knights were already eight Dark Swordmasters, how terrifying would the rest of the pieces be?

Chapter 2566: The Queens!
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
Time gradually passed. Mo Fan was doing his best to recover his strength, especially after he saw how strong the enemy pieces were. He realized the game was not as simple as he had thought.
People were now walking out of the black forest behind him.
They also stepped onto the chessboard, but their situation was different from Mo Fan. Most of them were being moved to the tiles where the pawns were.
It seemed like the new people were all Mages.
Su Lu had summoned the river of darkness close to the Asia Magic Association, so there was a higher ratio of Mages than would be normal.
It was also obvious that the people who were not Mages had almost zero chance of walking out of the black forest, unless they were extremely lucky.
The black forest was a filter for travelers who were fit for battle. Those travelers all became pawns in the game of chess.
Each pawn was made up of over a thousand people.
Eight pawns meant there were nearly ten thousand travelers altogether, forming a wall of humans across the chessboard, facing more than a hundred Dreadful Curse Cerberi.
Even though the humans had the numbers advantage, it did not convince Mo Fan that the two sides were equally matched.
The travelers were not equally strong. Mo Fan did notice something unusual. The travelers were not only the residents in Dubai City who were caught up in Su Lu’s river of darkness. There were people from other places across the world. They had somehow ended up in the Dark Plane, too!
There were knowledgeable people among those who had become pawns. They immediately told the rules of chess to the others so they could make it out alive together.
The people were confused at first, but they soon began discussing their tactics against the Dreadful Curse Cerberi. They were all strangers who had fallen into Hell, but they were oddly united.
Someone eventually noticed Mo Fan. “Why is that man alone on a tile?”
The tiles were extremely huge, around the size of ten soccer fields, so the fact that Mo Fan was alone on a tile had caught the others’ attention.
“There’s no one else?”
“It’s real, he’s alone!”
“He’s the bishop?”
“This is unfair. We need a thousand people just to be assigned as a pawn. Why was he assigned to be a bishop all by himself? Is he reliable?”
The people started talking about Mo Fan, but they were respectful to him, too.
If a single man had been made the bishop, he must have the strength to fight thousands of enemies by himself!
A single-eyed old man walked to the edge of his tile and told Mo Fan, “Kid, do you know that different pieces have different types of movement? We are the pawns, so we can only move forward and fight the Dreadful Curse Cerberi!”
“I know, but who’s going to control us?” Mo Fan asked.
“The Lord of Darkness, obviously,” the old man said.
“Something still doesn’t make sense,” Mo Fan shook his head.
“Let’s try our best in order to make it out alive,” the old man could only sigh.
Mo Fan did not respond. He pointed at the enemy side instead.
A new piece had appeared on the enemy side, corresponding to Mo Fan’s tile. In other words, it was an enemy bishop!
It had a red body with smooth scales. The Dreadful Curse Cerberi only reached its legs, which were as sharp as scythes.
A Crimson Scorpion Medusa! It was the strongest species in Egypt!
The travelers gasped when they saw the enemy bishop was a Crimson Scorpion Medusa.
The Crimson Scorpion Medusae were only a level lower than the Scorpion Lord Medusae. They were capable of destroying an entire city in Egypt!
The old man looked at the hideous Crimson Scorpion Medusa. His legs were trembling after he sensed its cruel and ferocious Aura. Meanwhile, the bishop on his side was only a young man!
How could the strength of the two sides differ by so much if they were playing a game of chess?
The old man let out a sigh. The rest of the people who were pawns were crying in despair too.
Hundreds of Dreadful Curse Cerberi, and Eight Dark Swordmasters!
A Crimson Scorpion Medusa from the Evil Temple!
It felt like they were heading straight to death before the board was even filled with pieces.
“Almighty Lord of Darkness, please give us some powerful pieces too!” many people started begging.
No one assumed they could take it easy after coming here. They did not mind fighting their way to survival. All they asked for was a little glimpse of hope.
The difference in strength between the two sides was simply too huge!
However, it might be acceptable if their rooks, queen, and king were something stronger.
The other enemy bishop soon appeared. It was a white spider with huge poisonous glands and slender legs!
There were rumors about these White Widows in places that were marked as black zones, but people were not familiar with them, as most people who encountered them ended up as lunch in dark caves full of spider silk.
A Medusa and a White Widow. They were the two bishops on the enemy side!
Mo Fan subconsciously looked to his right. He wanted to know who the other bishop on his side was.
It was most likely a powerful human Mage. The person had either been caught by the river of darkness, or he had long been stuck in the Dark Plane.
It was indeed a man. He was dressed in a ragged shirt, and his hair was long enough to be tied up. He had a European face and a pointy nose.
“It seems like my only way out is to take part in this game…” The long-haired European seemed a little haggard. He turned to Mo Fan after noticing his gaze.
There were several tiles between them, but they had no trouble talking to one another.
“Hey, kid, can you tell me why the Dark Plane is lively all of a sudden? Did they steal something that belonged to an Elder of the Shadow Tribe, like me?” the man asked.
“The Chairman of Asia Magic Association committed a suicidal act and dragged everyone here with an evil spell,” Mo Fan explained.
“Is that possible?… but it’s fine. The Lord of Darkness will have an enjoyable time with so many people here. We have a chance to leave this place as long as he’s happy,” the European answered.
Another red light appeared between Mo Fan and the European, catching both of their attention. They were looking at the tile that belonged to the queen!

Chapter 2567: Saintess of Darkness
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
It was a cluster of red spider lilies. Their petals were blossoming like little umbrellas. Their stems started growing and filled the tile with a sea of flowers in just a few seconds.
The red flowers would have continued to spread if it weren’t for the restrictions of the tile.
The red spider lilies spread across the tile. People would not have eye fatigue looking at them for a long time. It was like a drawing invoking countless thoughts. The longer they stared at the flowers, the harder it was for them to come to their senses.
The flowers were not just for admiration. As their petals swayed, these flowers that were known as the blossoms of the realm of death were giving off a strange icy Aura that resembled death!
A breeze swept across the tile and raised a black veil among the flowers. A figure slowly took form inside it.
It was wearing a black dress. It remained unmoving, like a red spider lily that was upside down, elegant and slender.
“It’s the Red Spider Lily Queen!”
The European was the first to break the silence. He had a complicated expression on his face. It went from respectful and scared to joyful and excited.
The red spider lilies scattered across the tile like a sea, the Red Spider Lily Queen’s black dress standing out among them.
She was tall, with a cold and noble Aura. Most importantly, her body was not solid. The hair that was spreading down her shoulders was part of a shadowy Aura that was accumulating and dissipating on its own.
Mo Fan was greatly shocked. He was not familiar with Darkness Creatures, but he had read about the Shadow Tribe to a certain degree.
He also had ties with the Shadow Tribe, as the Shadow Guards and Shadow Elders were part of the Shadow Tribe.
The Red Spider Lily Queen was the Queen of the Shadow Tribe! She was superior to the Elders of the Shadow Tribe, a true empress ruling over the Shadow Tribe!
Why would such a powerful and mysterious royal of the Shadow Tribe be on the chessboard?
Most importantly, she was supposed to be representing the Lord of Darkness. Why was she on their side, instead of their enemy’s side?
“This is great. We might make it out alive!” the European blurted out in excitement.
He had lingered in the Dark Plane for some time. He only became aware of how powerful the Darkness Creatures were after coming into contact with them. The things he had learned during his stay here had completely undermined his understanding of the world.
An existence like the Red Spider Lily Queen controlled the right to exist of many creatures of the Dark Plane. If the Red Spider Lily Queen was on their side, she could easily slaughter the Dreadful Curse Cerberi and Dark Swordmasters.
Even the Crimson Scorpion Medusa and White Widow were no match for the Red Spider Lily Queen.
“Mo Fan, look at the enemy’s queen!” Asha’ruiya called out. She was not too far from Mo Fan. She had also focused on the Red Spider Lily Queen at first.
Mo Fan immediately looked to the other side. To his surprise, the enemy’s queen was also a human!
It was a woman dressed in a silver-gray robe. Mo Fan had a feeling he had seen a similar outfit before.
The sincere disciples in the Parthenon Temple’s Hall of Faith dressed in the same type of robe. Their hair was wrapped in a wimple, while part of their faces was covered with a veil.
The Parthenon Temple was a feminist kingdom. It did not necessarily forbid women from wearing revealing clothes, but it was respectful to wear plain clothes when praying for blessings on the Mountain of the Goddess. 1
A disciple of the Parthenon Temple had turned out to be the enemy queen. She was giving off a strong Aura from the Parthenon Temple.
Mo Fan looked at Asha’ruiya with a puzzled expression. He wondered if she knew who the woman was.
Why would a disciple of the Parthenon Temple be assigned the enemy’s queen, a position higher than the Crimson Scorpion Medusa and the White Widow?
“She’s indeed from the Parthenon Temple, but I don’t remember her at all.” Asha’ruiya was puzzled, too.
The enemy queen was obviously human. She was not a living dead, nor was she an Undead. She was a living woman!
In other words, the game was not about humans versus Darkness Creatures. The Lord of Darkness was assigning different species to both sides randomly.
They had Darkness Creatures on their side, while the enemy had humans, too!
“Isn’t that the Saintess of Darkness?” an old woman screamed.
The voice had come from the crowd of pawns. Asha’ruiya and the long-haired European had not recognized who the enemy queen was.
However, if the enemy queen was human, someone would know her, since the enemy queen would not be an ordinary person. She had to be on par with the Red Spider Lily Queen!
“Saintess of Darkness!” Asha’ruiya finally realized who the enemy queen was.
Mo Fan and the European both looked at Asha’ruiya, waiting for her explanation.
The important pieces were already placed on the board. The game of chess was about to begin. They had to learn every piece of information about their enemy.
“She’s from the same time as my father. She was a Saintess like Izisha, but there aren’t any records of her name in the Parthenon Temple. I only know she was called the Saintess of Darkness. She had a fierce competition with Izisha, and even managed to outwit her at one time. She used a Forbidden Art in order to gain more power.
“I believe you are familiar with the Cold Prince. The Saintess is the one who invented the Evil Faith that the Cold Prince abused. She broke her Contract with the Lord of Darkness to steal his power, so the Lord of Darkness sent his clone to drag her into Hell.”
Evil Faith?
If a god became more powerful when more people worshiped them and swore their loyalty to them, an evil existence could also obtain more evil power from people’s hatred and negative emotions and grow stronger!
The Cold Prince had become a ghastly monster because of the Evil Faith.. Mo Fan would not have stood a chance against him without being able to rely on the Demon Element.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Saintess of Darkness was the one who had invented the Evil Faith that the Cold Prince was relying on?

Did that mean she was a Red Cardinal, too?

“She killed many people when she was involved in the election, it was a huge scandal for the Parthenon Temple. She’s also the reason why the Soul of the Parthenon Temple despised the Saintesses and was reluctant to fall on anyone, and why the Spell of Resurrection was lost for almost twenty years,” Asha’ruiya went on.

“Is she strong?” the European asked directly.

“At least I think she won’t be weaker than the Red Spider Lily Queen. Her own strength is on par with a captain of the Golden Sun Knights. If she uses the Evil Faith, she could kill us all by herself,” Asha’ruiya replied shortly.

It was a dark time for the Parthenon Temple, where blood was shed and betrayals happened often. If it wasn’t for Holy Saint Wen Tai, the Parthenon Temple would have fallen. The Saintess of Darkness would have been responsible for the Parthenon Temple’s fall. Even Izisha was inferior to her!

“Both queens are pretty strong!”

“The queen has always been the most important piece in chess. Usually the king isn’t as useful as the queen,” Asha’ruiya reminded them.

The king had a lot of restrictions. It could only move one tile at a time.

Meanwhile, the queen was able to move the furthest, with the only restriction of not being able to go past another piece. It was also the strongest piece for offense. The king was only a piece of decoration most of the time, that the players had to protect.

The rooks on both sides soon appeared.

The rooks were very powerful, too. To Mo Fan’s relief, one of the rooks on his side was Sharjah.

Sharjah was severely injured. Her angelic armor had disappeared.

The Sacred City was also called the City of Light, and it opposed darkness, thus Sharjah was not able to use her power as an Angel in the Dark Plane.

Her purple eyes were filled with fatigue. She put on a faint smile when she saw Mo Fan.

“I’m sorry, I’ve dragged you into this,” Sharjah said guiltily.

“We are lucky to have you on our side. Don’t worry, we’ll make it out alive,” Mo Fan answered calmly.

“But… my power is limited,” Sharjah said helplessly.

Without the power of the Angel, she could only rely on the evil book in her hand. She was as strong as the Preacher, but the creatures in the Dark Plane were not weak, either!

The other rook on Mo Fan’s side was a Wind Dragon. It was strong enough to tear the enemy to pieces with brute force.

The enemy’s rooks had appeared. They were surprisingly more humans.

“Two groups of High Seaters?”

Mo Fan noticed the enemy rooks were dressed in similar outfits. They were obviously from Dubai Tower.

“It’s the Mages who were maintaining the Skybound Cloud Battlefield. They must have been caught by Su Lu’s spell,” Asha’ruiya deduced.

They were dressed in white clothes with thin stripes, resembling clouds.

If they were High Seaters from Dubai Tower, their combined strength should be equivalent to a Top Seater.

The High Seaters were split into two groups and assigned as the enemy’s rooks.

Sharjah and the Wind Dragon were the rooks on Mo Fan’s side.

They were matched against two groups of Skycloud Mages selected from the High Seaters of Dubai Tower. They were one of the strongest groups in Asia Magic Association, with even greater power than the Dubai Mages!

Only the kings were left.

Mo Fan was feeling a little nervous.

—

The kings on both sides appeared simultaneously.

There were humans on both sides.

The Lord of Darkness was unpredictable, but there was one thing everyone was sure about him: he did not have any mercy for anything. He was purely treating this as a game. The winners were spared, while the losers would be trapped forever in Hell!

Everyone’s life was at stake!

Most importantly, their deaths were not going to be the end, but the beginning of a painful and torturous stay in the Dark Plane.

Even though there were humans on both sides, no one was going to show any mercy to the enemy. They were in Hell now!

The kings were most likely the strongest piece in the game. Both sides were hoping their kings to be something powerful enough to crush their enemy!

The king finally appeared. Mo Fan had a guess of who it was going to be, but he was still surprised to see the Black Dragon Emperor.

The Black Dragon Emperor’s roar stunned the crowd and almost knocked the people and Darkness Creatures on the other side to the ground.

Mo Fan, Asha’ruiya, and Sharjah were overjoyed when they saw the Black Dragon Emperor was on their side.

Mo Fan was not afraid of the upcoming battle. He was only worried that he had to fight the familiar people he was trying to protect, like Sharjah and the black dragon.

He let out a relieved sigh, glad that all his friends were on his side.

They were going to join hands to defeat the enemy!

The Black Dragon Emperor was injured, and nowhere as strong as his peak. His soul had also sustained serious damage, which meant his strength had dropped significantly.

Even so, he was still the Black Dragon Emperor. He could easily crush every enemy piece, including the Saintess of Darkness!

“It’s Su Lu!”

The enemy king had finally appeared. It was Chairman Su Lu.

Su Lu’s face was extremely pale. He was standing on the king’s tile, emanating a ghastly Aura. He did not even look human.

“How dare you treat me as a chess piece! How dare you!?” Su Lu yelled angrily.

2

He was supposed to be the real king. Anyone that disobeyed his will had to perish. He did not expect to end up as a mere chess piece to the ruler of the Dark Plane!

Even the Black Dragon Emperor and one of the strongest human Mages in the world could not escape the control of the God of Death.

Su Lu was like a trapped beast. He growled fiercely at the others outside the tile he was on before observing the other creatures that were trapped, just like him.

Su Lu soon grinned after he saw Mo Fan, Sharjah, and the Black Dragon Emperor!

“You all are going to die. I’ll be the one who walks out of here alive. Lord of Darkness, I’m going to challenge you one day!” Su Lu did not show the Lord of Darkness any respect.

The Lord of Darkness did not need his respect. He only cared if he was going to enjoy the game!

He could not care less about what Su Lu had said. The outcome of the game would decide who was going to leave this place alive!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The chessboard was now set up, but Mo Fan suddenly had a question.

If it was a game of chess, who was the Lord of Darkness going to play it with?

Was he going to play with himself? Play with (ahem!) his clone?

A dark figure soon appeared behind the enemy pieces. He had a cloak the size of a mountain draped over his shoulders. His half-transparent body was drifting in the wind.

Mo Fan could not see his face, but his glowing blue eyes were looking at the chessboard with excitement.

Is that the Lord of Darkness?

The chess pieces were in place. It was time for the players to take their seats.

Mo Fan did not feel any pressure from the figure. It was more like a phantom. Although he felt spooked, as if the figure could see right through him, he did not sense any hostility from it.

It felt like he was only here to play the game of chess, nothing else.

“That should be one of the Lord of Darkness’ clones,” Asha’ruiya remarked.

“Does anyone ever see his actual self?” Mo Fan asked her.

Asha’ruiya shook her head.

The Lord of Darkness had plenty of clones, and some of them could even visit the living world. He had always behaved strangely. He was not greedy, invasive, or ambitious, yet all Dark Magic was related to him.

He would occasionally grant people that were pleasing to his eyes some powerful Forbidden magic. He would also accept the offerings of Dark Mages. Sometimes he would cause some disasters, plagues, and wars in smaller countries.

He was totally unpredictable. People both respected and feared him.

The Lord of Darkness’ clone stood behind the enemy forces. He was a serious and focused player.

His eyes were fixed on the pieces, as if he was analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of his pieces, trying to figure out how he was going to play the game.

“The Lord of Darkness is on our side. What a relief!” The Skycloud Mages were overjoyed.

If the Lord of Darkness was controlling them, it meant he would do anything to win the match.

“Lucky, we are blessed by the Lord of Darkness!” The others smiled, too.

“But who is his opponent? Let’s hope he’s an idiot so we can all make it out alive.”

—

Mo Fan was keeping a close eye on the player on his side.

The chess pieces mattered because of their strength, but the player would play the most important role, as he would be controlling the pieces. If the player happened to be retarded and sent their king to the enemy, it would not matter if their king was the Black Dragon Emperor.

Mo Fan turned around, waiting for the player to show up.

Finally, dark blue light dots gathered behind the chessboard. It was another enormous half-transparent figure. Judging from its outline, it was most likely a human.

Mo Fan could only tell that the Chaos Element was involved, making the figure look quite massive. It was like he was projected to be the opposite of the Lord of Darkness.

However, Mo Fan almost dropped his jaw when he took a closer look at the player’s face.

How is he the player? Why would he be playing a game of chess with the Lord of Darkness? What’s going on?

Mo Fan was dumbfounded. His eyes were fixed on the player for a long time.

The player seemed to notice Mo Fan’s gaze. He waved his hand at Mo Fan with a wry smile and said, “I tried my best to group you all on the same side, but it’s up to us now whether we will all live.”

—

The Magic City…

A little garden close to the apartment that was allocated for the South Wing Platoon.

A path covered in pebbles led to a little kiosk. A man with a pale face was seated on a stone stool, staring at the stone table in front of him.

The stone table was oddly smooth, like the surface of a mirror. However, he was not looking at his own reflection, but a chessboard. The chessboard was crowded with people and Darkness Creatures that had shrunk down to a tithe of their size.

It was like a board game with humans, monsters, and demons, but the pieces were alive instead of some models. They had all shrunk to the size of little pieces.

The man coughed. He seemed a little feeble.

“Mu Bai, what are you doing? Shouldn’t you be resting so you can recover from your injuries?” a member of the South Wing Platoon who happened to pass by the garden asked him.

“Nothing, I’m just playing chess!” Mu Bai waved his hand and sent the man away.

A half-transparent shadow was sitting opposite Mu Bai. He looked like an old man in his sixties who was obsessed with chess, staring at the chessboard sternly.

“You have picked your pieces, so I’ll be taking the first move. Are you fine with that?” the half-transparent figure asked.

Mu Bai agreed with a gesture.

—

The Dark Plane…

Mo Fan’s head was spinning.

The person playing a game of chess with the lord of Darkness was Mu Bai!

What is going on? Why would Mu Bai have ties with the Lord of Darkness?

“You should explain yourself before the game starts,” Mo Fan said.

“Didn’t I already die once? The Lord of Darkness took my soul. He asked me to play chess with him. If he wins, he will keep my soul, but if I win, he will release my soul,” Mu Bai replied.

“Hang on! Didn’t we trade your soul with the Night Amethyst?” Mo Fan protested.

“I lost,” Mu Bai said. He added after a brief pause, “The Lord of Darkness didn’t want to release me, since I lost the match. However, he was happy when you gave him the Night Amethyst, so I told him we didn’t set the rules clearly before we played the game, whether it was a best of one or a best of three. We Chinese prefer it to be best of three, in case the players lose their edge because they are nervous.”

“I won the last two matches. That’s why I came back to life,” Mu Bai explained.

Mo Fan opened his mouth. He never knew Mu Bai’s soul had been through something so thrilling while his body was lying in a coffin.

“What’s happening now, then?” Mo Fan asked.

“Obviously, he has found a bargaining chip to challenge me again. He wants to take some revenge after losing to me last time!” Mu Bai declared.

“What bargaining chip?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

However, he soon realized what the answer was.

What bargaining chip? It was his life!

He had ended up in the Dark Plane. The Lord of Darkness was all-knowing. He had obviously told Mu Bai what had happened and asked if Mu Bai was willing to have a rematch with him.

The Lord of Darkness did not like to bargain. He preferred exchanging his chips for the things he wanted. It had always been his standard of conduct!

“Hehehe, I’m delighted by your friendship. However, if you lose the game, all your souls will be mine!” the Lord of Darkness proclaimed.. His voice sounded strange, like a synthesizer.

Chapter 2570: The Scuffle on the Chessboard

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Did you use your soul as another bargaining chip?” Mo Fan asked Mi Bai.

“Mm, I convinced him to let me choose the pieces so you, Sharjah, the Black Dragon Emperor, and Asha’ruiya were on the same side. Asha’ruiya and the Black Dragon Emperor were supposed to be on the other side, while Su Lu was on yours,” Mu Bai said.

In other words, Mu Bai had risked his soul just to make sure Mo Fan’s friends were on his side. If he lost, he would also be going to Hell!

Mo Fan did not know what to say. After a long silence, he finally said, “Sorry for dragging you into this mess.”

Mu Bai had used his soul as a bargaining chip!

It would not be just a simple death. If Mu Bai lost, he would be tortured in Hell too. He had already been to the Dark Plane once. He knew how terrifying it was.

Even death was better than giving his soul to the Lord of Darkness!

Even though Mu Bai was describing the best of three matches calmly, Mo Fan could imagine how difficult it was for him to escape from the Lord of Darkness.

It was like playing chess under a guillotine. A wrong step meant his head would be chopped off. The process was already a torture, not to mention having to win two matches after losing the first.

Mu Bai had agreed to play chess with the Lord of Darkness again in order to save Mo Fan’s life. He had even offered his soul to prevent Mo Fan from having to fight his friends.

Mu Bai had bet everything he had. How could Mo Fan not feel touched or sorry?

“Don’t even feel sorry for me. Old Zhao and you found the Night Amethyst on Tianshan Mountain, giving me a second chance. It’s just a game of chess. If I could beat him twice, I can beat him again this time. Besides, even if there’s only a ten percent chance you are going to win, I’d still stand on your side and put you, Sharjah, the Black Dragon Emperor, and Asha’ruiya together. You went to Dubai alone. Everything you did has earned our respect… don’t worry, you are not fighting this battle alone,” Mu Bai replied.

Mu Bai was unable to go to Dubai with Mo Fan, but he would do everything to save Mo Fan when he was in trouble!

It was not just Mo Fan’s battle. They were obliged to overthrow a dictator like Su Lu!

Mu Bai did not feel like he had been dragged into the mess out of nowhere. He was honored to be involved.

He was able to help by playing chess with the Lord of Darkness. Mo Fan was willing to give his everything to serve justice for his country. Why would Mu Bai not dare to accept the Lord of Darkness’ challenge?

The game of chess would decide the fate of almost ten thousand travelers. It would decide the fates of Mo Fan, Sharjah, the Black Dragon Emperor, and Mi Bai, too.

It was tied to a corrupted kingdom ruled over by Su Lu, something even filthier than the Dark Plane.

He was honored to be the player who had a say in the outcome. If he did not step forward now, when would he ever become a reliable man?

—

Mo Fan nodded grimly. He understood Mu Bai’s feelings.

Everyone who played chess knew the pawns were just as important as the king, as they might decide the outcome of the game if they were used properly.

Mu Bai was good at studying and a fan of strategy games. Mo Fan had faith in him.

The chess pieces and players had to give their best. They would be sharing the glory of winning and the humiliation of defeat together!

——

The game had begun.

The Lord of Darkness’ rules were strictly applied to every creature on the chessboard.

Mu Bai breathed calmly. Not only was his soul at stake, the souls of many people who were important to him were in danger here.

Su Lu had so much power. If Mo Fan, Sharjah, and the Black Dragon Emperor all ended up in Hell after challenging him, who would ever go up against the Asia Magic Association again?

Su Lu would continue with his rampage and pose a threat to many countries!

“It’s your turn, Mu Bai. You better think carefully before making every move. Those who die in a battle will not be revived,” the Lord of Darkness reminded him in a mocking tone.

Mu Bai was not bothered by it. He looked at the pawns.

The Lord of Darkness was very aggressive. He had sent the Dreadful Curse Cerberi forward. He clearly wanted to kill all of Mu Bai’s pieces.

“Sawtooth Formation!”

Mu Bai aligned the pawns diagonally and moved the knights and rooks to protect his pawns.

His intention was clear. If the enemy pieces ate his pawns, he would eat the pieces in return.

The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!

Mu Bai was not going to waste any of his pieces. He even added an extra layer of safety to his pawns with the rooks and the knights.

“Unfortunately, I do not want the game to last for too long,” the Lord of Darkness remarked.

He suddenly ordered the Dreadful Curse Cerberi to attack Mu Bai’s pawns.

The game of chess was strictly following the rules, but the clash between the humans and the Dreadful Curse Cerberi was like a real battle!

“Focus, we are in this together. Even if there’s only a slim chance of making it out alive, we shouldn’t give up. The terrifying rumors you have heard about Hell are true, and the real thing is definitely scarier than the rumors you have heard!” the single-eyed old man yelled.

He had been motivating the people ever since they were placed on the chessboard.

He was most likely an old general from some country. The way he was motivating others to fight with everything they had showed he was determined to make it out alive!

“The Dreadful Curse Cerberi are coming.

“Stay in position and don’t panic. They are pawns just like us, so we should be able to match their strength. We can still survive, even if they are the attackers!” the old man yelled.

Each pawn was made up of around a thousand people. They immediately lined up in a Formation under the old man’s command.

Plants emerged from the ground and formed a thick wall with their trunks. The outer layer was covered in thorns too, turning the wall into a special trench.

“Oh, I forgot to mention a rule…” the Lord of Darkness grinned coldly.

A huge black cloth appeared above the tile as the Dreadful Curse Cerberi stepped into it.

Illusionary strings fell from the black cloth and attached to the human Mages. Every Mage in the tile was tied to the strings like a puppet.

The people were confused. They had no idea what the strings were.

“The strength of the piece that is being attacked will be reduced by thirty percent, but the strings will disappear over time,” the Lord of Darkness informed them.

The strength of the chess pieces would decide the outcome of the clash.

However, the skill of the players still mattered a lot!

The thirty percent strength reduction was critical to the outcome of every battle!

Chapter 2571: Counterattack of the Knights

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

There was plenty of magic on the chessboard, allowing everyone to use their spells.

However, those whom the black strings were attached to were weakened. Their spells, both for offensive and defensive purposes were affected. Even their Casting speed had slowed down too.

Normally, a thousand Mages would still stand a chance against a dozen Dreadful Curse Cerberi, but the restraints had made it easier for the Dreadful Curse Cerberi to tear through the wall of humans and break through their defense.

Blood, broken limbs, and organs were scattered across the tile. The Dreadful Curse Cerberi were extremely savage. They had a natural drive to tear their prey into pieces. Their three heads fought fiercely to claim their targets.

Some people’s heads were on one side while their bodies were stuck under the Dreadful Curse Cerberi’s claws. The heads of the Dreadful Curse Cerberi were munching the broken limbs. It was a terrifying sight.

The one-eyed old man’s face turned pale. He had done everything he could to motivate the people. They were doing their best to fend off the Dreadful Curse Cerberi, but their defense was overwhelmed so easily.

It had turned into a one-sided massacre!

The mentality of humans was inferior to the Darkness Creatures, not to mention the restraint that had weakened the humans by thirty percent. The Dreadful Curse Cerberi could easily break through their defense and crush their morale by charging at them fiercely.

The restraint basically meant the defender was going to lose the battle. It was terrible.

The pawn did not have many people left, but only three Dreadful Curse Cerberi had died.

The other pawns began to lose their confidence. The Dreadful Curse Cerberi seemed a lot stronger than them!

In just a few rounds, Mu Bai lost two pawns. Both battles were close to a slaughter.

Two thousand corpses were littered across the ground. The strong smell of blood further set off the hellish sight.

“Knights, attack!” Mu Bai yelled. He was using his knights.

His knights were Asha’ruiya and her Dark Swordmaster.

The knights were the attackers. Asha’ruiya entered the tile that was littered with dead bodies.

The black strings soon stuck to the Dreadful Curse Cerberi. Their ferocious Aura after the bloodbath was weakened.

Counterattack!

Asha’ruiya drew out a black sword. A dark light wrapped around her alluring body and formed a suit of tight-fitting armor!

“One-Word Slash!”

Asha’ruiya was like an elegant but fierce sword empress. An icy flicker swept at a Dreadful Curse Cerberus as she took a step forward.

The arrogant Dreadful Curse Cerberus pounced at Asha’ruiya.

The slash went right through the creature’s forehead.

It went from the Dreadful Curse Cerberus’ neck to its tail and split it perfectly in half.

“That’s…that’s incredible, she killed it with a single slash!” The watching Mages were dumbfounded.

The Mages only realized how terrifying the Dreadful Curse Cerberi were after fighting them. A single Dreadful Curse Cerberus could easily slaughter a hundred Mages. Even the Advanced Mages among them had failed to survive.

However, the woman who was chosen to be a knight had killed a Dreadful Curse Cerberus with a single move!

“Shadow Moon Sword!”

The sword Asha’ruiya was using was no ordinary weapon. Mo Fan had already had a taste of it during the World College Tournament.

However, her skills had improved significantly over the years. It felt like her attacks were stronger than her Dark Swordmaster’s.

She sliced off the heads of three Dreadful Curse Cerberi with ease. Nine heads rolled to the edge of the tile, close to another pawn.

The Mages were excited.

It turned out they had strong allies on their side, too! A dozen Dreadful Curse Cerberi did not live for more than a few minutes against Asha’ruiya’s sword.

The Dark Ice Swordmaster was also slaughtering the Dreadful Curse Cerberi on the other side. He had also overwhelmed the Dreadful Curse Cerberi. His sword was not as elegant and thin as Asha’ruiya’s, as he was using a heavy broadsword.

The broadsword slammed on the ground. It cracked open as a dark Aura surged at the Dreadful Curse Cerberi in ferocious waves.

The dark Aura soon turned into a tornado and blew six of the Dreadful Curse Cerberi into the air. The strong winds shredded them to pieces. Blood poured down from the sky like rain.

Both Asha’ruiya and the Dark Ice Swordmaster brutally slaughtered the Dreadful Curse Cerberi.

After all, knights were supposed to be stronger than pawns, especially when the Dreadful Curse Cerberi’s strength was weakened by thirty percent while they were under attack.

The knights had a bigger range of movement, and were not limited to only moving forward.

Mu Bai had not sacrificed the two pawns so Asha’ruiya and the Dark Ice Swordmaster could take out the enemy pawns. He had already moved his pieces to the best spots, where they were protected by other pieces.

However, the unpredictable Lord of Darkness had insisted on attacking with the Dreadful Curse Cerberi, even though he already knew the risks. Both sides had suffered casualties as a result.

“I might need to use you aggressively for us to win the game,” Mu Bai told his knights.

“Just move me as you please. You don’t have to worry too much,” Asha’ruiya responded.

“Alright, keep attacking. I want you to take out an enemy knight,” Mu Bai said.

Knights were special among the pieces because of their special movement pattern. They were more useful than rooks and queens in certain situations, if they were used properly.

Mu Bai knew the Lord of Darkness would continue to trade pieces with him if he kept playing defense. It would be meaningless if he won the game while losing too many of the pieces.

It was not a fair game of chess. Not only did Mu Bai have to win the match, he also had to preserve as many pieces as he could!

He had to dominate the game, and outsmart his opponent.

Asha’ruiya and the Dark Ice Swordmaster might be orioles to the enemy pawns, but Mu Bai had also calculated his next move. He had moved the knights to advantageous positions after killing the enemy pawns.

Asha’ruiya and the Dark Swordmaster were out of range of the enemy’s pieces, but they were still able to attack the enemy.

The Lord of Darkness was going to suffer the consequences of his reckless play../style!

“I’m right behind you!” Sharjah told Asha’ruiya.

“Mm, I’ll clear a path for you all,” Asha’ruiya said.

She had regrouped with the Dark Swordmaster on the left side of the board. The two knights were taking care of one another with Sharjah, a rook, protecting their rear.

Mu Bai had to think carefully before making a move, and he had to predict the enemy’s moves as well...

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Lord of Darkness regretted his approach.

He was trying to apply more mental pressure to Mu Bai by making him feel guilty over the deaths of the pawns, but it had cost him the initiative during the match.

Asha’ruiya had already reached the left side of his territory. She was posing a threat to three pawns, a knight, and a bishop.

The only piece that could kill Asha’ruiya instantly was his queen.

However, if he sent out the queen to kill Asha’ruiya, the enemy’s rook Sharjah would be able to attack his queen.

The Saintess of Darkness was stronger than Sharjah when she no longer had the Power of Angel, but the outcome would be undecided if her strength was reduced by thirty percent while she was being attacked.

If Sharjah killed his queen, he would basically lose the match. The Lord of Darkness had only claimed the souls of the pawns. It was not his desired outcome.

The Lord of Darkness stopped his unconventional approach, and became more careful with his moves.

The Lord of Darkness enjoyed chess, but he was not that good at it!

“Red Spider Lily Queen, forward!”

After securing the initiative, Mu Bai immediately sent his crucial piece to the right side of the board.

As a matter of fact, Mu Bai was using Asha’ruiya to distract his opponent. If his opponent was being cautious and decided to take a more defensive approach, Mu Bai could flank the enemy from the right with his queen.

There were two pawns of the Dreadful Curse Cerberi on the right side. The Red Spider Lily Queen had no trouble killing them off.

Nobody even saw the Red Spider Lily Queen’s actions clearly. The two Dreadful Curse Cerberi pawns quickly turned into dried bodies, wilted up like plants.

Mu Bai did not mind moving the Red Spider Lily Queen to a dangerous position. His opponent would not dare to challenge his queen with a knight or a bishop.

The Queen was still a Queen, even if her strength was reduced by thirty percent. Challenging her was suicidal!

This game of chess was not really the same as normal chess. The players had to take the strength of their pieces into consideration. Not all pieces were able to eat any enemy piece as they pleased!

Mu Bai had understood those rules very quickly. He had used his knights to distract the enemy’s king and queen, allowing the Red Spider Lily Queen to take out the enemy pieces freely on the right side of the board.

“Nice move!” Sharjah complimented him.

The pieces on Mo Fan’s side were mostly humans who had been dragged into Hell by the mad Su Lu. They managed to smile when they saw Mu Bai had secured a huge advantage in just a few rounds.

“Lord of Darkness, you still have the edge because of the rules. If you want someone dead, you can just sacrifice some of your pieces, while my goal is to save as many travelers as I can,” Mu Bai pointed out.

“What do you suggest then? You have the advantage now. Aren’t you satisfied with it?” the Lord of Darkness asked.

“Even if I win the match, those who died in the match still belong to you…” Mu Bai observed.

“I like a fair game. If a game isn’t fair, there’s no fun playing it. I will kill whoever offends me and claim their souls, but when I’m playing a game, I have always been a fair player. I will never break the rules or go back on my promises. What you said makes sense, but I can’t revive those who have died,” the Lord of Darkness said calmly.

Dying in the match would mean eternal death. The Lord of Darkness only knew how to kill, not bring someone back to life. Was he supposed to stick a dead person back together?

“Can we not overdo it?” Mu Bai asked.

“The game will be pretty boring without deaths,” the Lord of Darkness sniffed.

Mu Bai tried different suggestions, but he could not convince the Lord of Darkness to compensate.

“How about this? If you win, I will release the travelers who are still alive in the Black Forest,” the Lord of Darkness suggested.

The people who were chosen as chess pieces were all Mages. There were still a lot of ordinary people who did not know magic in the Dark Plane. Their only ending would be eternal death.

The Lord of Darkness had offered the lives of those innocent people as compensation. They now had a chance to leave this place. Their numbers included those travelers who had fallen into the Dark Plane from across the world and who had desperately been looking for a way out.

The Lord of Darkness had agreed to set them free as a reward.

It was unlikely Mu Bai could change the Lord of Darkness’ mind further after he made his decision. If he could save the innocent people, he could make up for the pawns who had died. After all, many of their friends, families, and relatives had been dragged into this mess.

“My son is still in the forest. If he can make it out alive, I’m willing to fight a stronger piece just so we can win this match!” a middle-aged Mage burst into tears.

He did not have to save himself. He just wanted his seventeen-year-old son to make it out alive.

His boy was still so young. He had yet to see how wonderful the world was. How could he allow his son to be stuck forever in Hell?

His son had a bright future ahead. He had always admired the residents of the Dubai Magician Tower, but Su Lu’s inhumane actions had destroyed his life.

“Don’t worry, I’ll try my best to save everyone. I’m also asking everyone not to give up when you are facing the enemy. The piece being attacked isn’t necessarily going to die!” Mu Bai told the pawns.

“He’s right. We shouldn’t give up until the very end!”

—

Mu Bai had no idea if his motivations were of any use.

Each of his pawns was made up of around a thousand Mages. Would all of them be willing to fight with everything they had?

Mu Bai did not think so, but he was satisfied if his words could motivate some of them who had a strong will to live.

People were inclined to conform slavishly to orders. However, if they lost their morale, they were nothing but lambs waiting to be slaughtered by a wolf!

—

“Mu Bai, do you want me to stay here?” Mo Fan asked suddenly.

“For now…” Mu Bai replied.

“But if I’m right, either Sharjah or Asha’ruiya will have to face the enemy’s queen after three rounds, and they will be the ones under attack!” Mo Fan said grimly.

Mo Fan had been observing the situation throughout the game. He knew how to play chess.

He was only too lazy to use his brain most of the time. However, his mind was currently spinning rapidly!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Bai did not say a word, since Mo Fan’s speculation was right on point. Asha’ruiya and Sharjah might end up fighting the enemy queen.

The Lord of Darkness’ goal was obvious, too. If the Red Spider Lily Queen was already massacring his pieces on the right side, he had to take care of Mu Bai’s pieces on the left!

He was pressing forward so Asha’ruiya and Sharjah did not have a chance to retreat. His pieces were surrounding them and limiting their movements, like a pack of starving wolves.

“Is there a way to help them?” Mo Fan asked.

He did not want either of them to die. He had to try everything he could to save them, even if he was up against the Lord of Darkness.

Mu Bai was a little hesitant.

He had to make the decisions of who to save and who to abandon himself. As a matter of fact, he had already made up his mind.

The match was very straightforward. If everything went according to his plan, he could even secure the victory.

The most he could do was preserve half of his pieces.

“It’s too difficult to save all the pieces,” Mu Bai sighed.

“It’s difficult, but there’s a way, right?” Mo Fan asked.

Mo Fan always hated choosing one life over the other. He would not abandon anyone until he tried his best!

Sharjah must not die, the same with Asha’ruiya!

“If we choose that approach, we might lose more pieces than we have to,” Mu Bai warned him.

“Don’t think about failing. If it succeeds, everyone’s going to live. That’s good enough for me!” Mo Fan said.

Mu Bai looked at Mo Fan.

He was a little hesitant, but when he saw the look in Mo Fan’s eyes, he felt like he was back in Bo City. Mo Fan was the same back then. Even after they made it to safety, Mo Fan was willing to risk his life just to look for Xinxia.

Perhaps he had never conceded to his fate or destiny. It was something Mu Bai had always lacked.

Mu Bai would choose a safer approach most of the time, trying to minimize losses.

Being cautious and safe was a good thing, but it might be a bad thing to overthink sometimes.

Mo Fan was not willing to choose between the lives of his friends. Why would Mu Bai be willing to choose to save only one person between Asha’ruiya and Sharjah?

“Alright!” Mu Bai let out a deep breath.

He was not going to choose one life over the other anymore. It might be a game of chess, but no one could ever control their fate.

“I’m going to use an extreme measure. Either we kill every piece of the Lord of Darkness, or we will be wiped out!” Mu Bai said.

Mu Bai had lots of ways to win the match.

He had chosen the way with the highest possibility of winning the match and preserving the most pieces.

Mu Bai believed it was the best he could do. It was not the most desirable outcome, but it was good enough for him.

However, when he thought about the sacrifices some of the pieces had to make, he realized it felt worse than if he was going to die himself!

He would rather look for a way that could save all the pieces, even though their chance of winning was extremely low.

“King and rook, switch places!”

Mu Bai activated a special move called castling. A king and their rooks were able to switch positions.

The Black Dragon Emperor switched positions with Sharjah. The creatures nearby were startled by his overwhelming presence. Emperors were terrifying, after all. Even the Saintess of Darkness would not dare to challenge him!

The king’s movement was very limited, as it could only move one tile at a time. Therefore, despite the Black Dragon Emperor’s outstanding strength, he was unable to move around and kill the enemy like the Red Spider Lily Queen.

Due to his restricted movements, if Mi Bai played the king too aggressively, he might be taken out by the enemy.

Su Lu’s eyes glittered when he saw the Black Dragon Emperor going into the front line.

If the Black Dragon Emperor’s strength was reduced by thirty percent, Su Lu would have a good chance of killing him!

Once the Black Dragon Emperor died, no one could possibly stand a chance against Su Lu.

Su Lu did not care about other people. His only concern was leaving this place alive so he could make a comeback.

The Lord of Darkness laughed.

His opponent had finally run out of patience, making such a huge mistake!

“I’m sorry, It’s easy for me to forget important things. I haven’t explained another rule clearly…” the Lord of Darkness suddenly spoke.

“Shouldn’t we agree on the rules before the match?” Mu Bai asked.

“That’s how it is in your world, but in my world, I will alter the rules according to the situation. After all, many games have exploits and bugs that the game designers overlooked when they were released. They will fix the game with patches to balance the game. Am I right?” the Lord of Darkness said.

The Lord of Darkness wanted to add more rules. There was nothing they could do to change his mind.

He only claimed he was not going to destroy the balance of the game, but he never said he was not going to add more rules. After all, he had arranged the game itself. He still had control over everyone’s life.

“Say it then, but I hope you are not doing it for your own advantage,” Mu Bai was familiar with the Lord of Darkness. He knew the Lord of Darkness was a man of his word, at least toward people who did not pose a threat to him.

“The queen, the king, rooks, and bishops are powerful pieces. If the king was sent into the enemy’s lines, even a three-year-old kid could win the match by using it to kill all the other pieces while avoiding the enemy king,” the Lord of Darkness fondled his chin.

The Lord of Darkness had ignored something important because he was too focused on the other pieces’ strengths while he was assigning the pieces.

Both the Black Dragon Emperor and Su Lu were too strong compared to the others. Even if their strength was reduced by thirty percent, the Red Spider Lily Queen and the Saintess of Darkness were still no match for them.

It would destroy the balance of the game, thus he had to add a rule to fix it!

“You are thinking of restraining the kings?” Mu Bai asked him quickly.

“No, the rule won’t be targeting a certain piece. How about this? Whenever a piece kills an enemy piece, its strength will be increased by fifty percent. With that, if we use the pawns wisely and eliminate a few pieces, they will be strong enough to challenge the stronger pieces,” the Lord of Darkness said.

Mu Bai shook his head and replied, “Lord of Darkness, that still isn’t fair. The high-level pieces could just eliminate the low-level pieces to keep growing stronger. The game would lose its meaning.”

“Oh, you are right. Do you have a better idea on top of my suggestion?” the Lord of Darkness asked.

Mu Bai quickly came up with a more reliable rule. “The low-level pieces need a fair rule, otherwise, they are basically useless in the game. I suggest that when a piece fights a piece of the same level, the piece that survives will have its strength increase by fifty percent.. If a piece takes out another piece that is higher level than it, the piece would obtain a two hundred percent increase in strength. However, when a piece takes out a piece with a lower level, nothing would change!”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Lord of Darkness thought about it.

It was true that the low-level pieces were not that useful. They did not have any real influence in the outcome of the match.

However, a real game of chess was different. Every piece had its uses, including the pawns. They could eat the king if they were in the right positions!

However, a normal game of chess was boring. It was more interesting when real fighting was involved!

“Sure, I like your suggestion. It will make the game more interesting,” the Lord of Darkness agreed with a nod.

Mu Bai smiled faintly.

He had been taken by surprise when the Lord of Darkness said he wanted to add more rules. He thought the Ruler of the Dark Plane was going to add a rule that would benefit himself. Either way, no one could stop him from doing what he wanted.

To Mu Bai’s relief, the Lord of Darkness was an honorable player. He did not act shamelessly or regret his moves, nor did he add some unfair rules.

Mo Fan and Mu Bai exchanged glances.

Even if Mu Bai did not say anything, Mo Fan knew the new rule had greatly improved Mu Bai’s odds of winning the match.

The new rule had also added a lot of flexibility to the pieces. There were more unpredictable possibilities about how the match was going to turn out. Mu Bai was also suddenly unable to rely on his old strategies.

Staying on defense was meaningless, and the odds of winning with a defensive approach were even lower with the new rule. It was time for them to give it their all!

“Mo Fan, follow the Red Spider Lily Queen to the right side of the board. I want you to grow stronger,” Mu Bai told Mo Fan after he roughly figured out a new plan.

“Got it!” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan had only voiced his concerns to Mu Bai because he had a feeling Mu Bai was trying to protect him.

Mo Fan was grateful for that, but even if he did survive in the end, he would never get over the pain of losing his friends.

He could not use the excuse of having tried his best to justify the undesirable outcome. Not only was he going to try his best, he would risk his life and soul to achieve his goal!

Hiding behind the others just to survive was never Mo Fan’s way!

—

“Asha’ruiya, the enemy queen has her eyes on you. She’s going to attack you within two rounds. I can only send Sharjah to protect you, but she will end up as a defender, meaning that she has to fight the Saintess of Darkness under a restriction that will reduce her strength by thirty percent,” Mu Bai explained the current situation of the match.

The Lord of Darkness was not terrible at chess. He was not going to let Asha’ruiya and her Dark Swordmaster kill all his pawns in his territory!

Either Sharjah or Asha’ruiya had to pay for their actions. They were both irreplaceable.

“Send me to B6,” Asha’ruiya told him.

“B6?” Mu Bai was stunned.

Mu Bai was well aware of the positions of every piece on the board. He already knew the White Widow was on B6 without having to look at the board.

That was the enemy bishop! The Lord of Darkness believed her strength was on par with Mo Fan’s!

Even though the Lord of Darkness’ assignments were not perfectly balanced, the difference in strength between the bishops was not going to be huge!

“Does that affect your plan?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“It does,” Mu Bai said.

“In a good or bad way?”

“Good, it’s perfect, but if you die…” Mu Bai was hesitant to finish the sentence.

“Is my death worse than Sharjah dying to the enemy queen?” Asha’ruiya asked him.

“Of course not,” Mu Bai replied quickly.

Even with Mu Bai’s change of plan, there was a high chance that either Asha’ruiya or Sharjah was going to die. The Lord of Darkness was pretty good at the game. He would not let both of them escape to safety.

Even if Asha’ruiya died on B6, Mu Bai would still have the advantage since she had cleared a path for Sharjah to charge right into the enemy’s territory.

Mu Bai had castled and exchanged the Black Dragon Emperor and Sharjah’s positions. It was a valid move by the Lord of Darkness’ rules.

Sharjah was a rook, and could move across the board with ease. If she could swiftly regroup with the Black Dragon Emperor, the two of them could inflict a lot of damage on the enemy.

If the enemy queen took out Asha’ruiya, she would be blocking Sharjah’s path. Mu Bai would have to waste an extra turn to relocate Sharjah.

Once Sharjah left the piece she was currently on, Mu Bai’s plan would fail. The Black Dragon Emperor would be left alone with zero backup. The Lord of Darkness could easily use the rules of the extra boost of strength to the winning pieces and the thirty percent strength reduction to take out the Black Dragon Emperor.

Once the Black Dragon Emperor was taken out, it meant Mu Bai had lost the match!

Asha’ruiya’s next step was crucial to the outcome. Mu Bai even wished he could take Asha’ruiya’s spot and let her be the player, but he was unable to break the rules.

“Asha’ruiya…” Mo Fan was going to say something.

Asha’ruiya put on a calm smile and said, “I’m happy that you two are doing everything to protect me. I’ve not felt this way in a very long time, but I don’t understand why you think you have to protect me. As a matter of fact, I’m going to protect you two. I, Asha’ruiya, will bring you both out of here alive!”

Asha’ruiya carried a sword on her back. She was imposing, yet alluring. Her eyes were brimming with determination.

The Asha’ruiya Mo Fan knew always had two sides to her. She was cold but seductive, attractive but sacred, casual but elegant.

She was like a white Persian cat. She had a natural noble aura, but she still retained her savagery.

Attack!

Asha’ruiya glided into the White Widow’s tile.

The White Widow was being attacked, thus her strength had been reduced by thirty percent. However, the White Widow was a bishop!

“I forgot to mention another thing, too. Since the Dark Swordmaster was trying to help some travelers escape, I have removed the power Asha’ruiya received from the Dark Swordmaster as punishment,” the Lord of Darkness proclaimed.

In other words, Asha’ruiya had already been punished by the Lord of Darkness before she even set foot on the board.

“It’s true that nothing can ever escape your eyes, but don’t you worry. It’s better to spend my youth somewhere else than being stuck in the Dark Plane forever. I’m sorry that my soul won’t belong to you for now, Your Highness Lord of Darkness,” Asha’ruiya exclaimed, grinning faintly.

The Lord of Darkness did not respond, remaining unmoved with a playful look in his eyes. He was looking forward to the upcoming duel.

The White Widow!

It was a ghastly Ruler-level creature in the Dark Plane.. It had the body of a spider, and was able to move nimbly in the air or even hang upside down behind its prey and stare at it for a long time without alerting it.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Lord of Darkness suddenly exhaled when Asha’ruiya set foot on the White Widow’s tile.

The tile that was covered in grass started shaking. Cracks began to appear in the air above the tile.

A light hint of blue was added to the green field. It was not obvious at first sight. It was like applying a filter to an image, but Asha’ruiya felt a strange coldness and humidity as she was walking on it.

Asha’ruiya looked down and realized she had walked onto a lake. The clear water was almost unnoticeable. She could even see pebbles, seaweed, and colorful sand at the bottom of the waters.

She looked up and noticed a few hills rising up from the lake.

Asha’ruiya had been to many places in China. Among them, Guilin had left her with a strong impression. The lake and the islands that had appeared out of nowhere were reminding her of Guilin. She felt like she had walked into a dazzling painting.

“A dazzling woman like you deserves a dazzling battlefield, even if you are going to end up bloody, don’t you think?” the Lord of Darkness chuckled.

He was not just referring to Asha’ruiya. It sounded like the White Widow was a dazzling woman to him, too!

The White Widow was walking on the surface of the lake. She was light enough to remain above the surface of the lake. Small ripples were spreading across the lake from the tiny vibrations of the hairs on her legs.

Certain creatures had poor vision. They mainly relied on their hearing.

A spider normally ‘listened’ with its legs. The Widow’s legs were vibrating rapidly while she was moving across the water. The ripples were so tiny that they were barely visible.

Asha’ruiya advanced while the White Widow remained still. She was eerily quiet.

“Thunderclap Shadow!”

Asha’ruiya had mainly focused on improving her Shadow Element. She had perfectly merged her magic and her sword mastery. She had further improved it after she Awakened her Super Power after becoming a Super Mage.

She pointed her sword forward, and a dark bolt of lightning sliced at the White Widow.

The White Widow did not show any intention to move away at first, but just as the lightning was about to reach her, she moved sideways and dodged the unexpected lightning bolt!

“Shadow Weave Sword!”

Shadows in the shape of swords swept across the lake, leaving gaps that took an unnaturally long time to be filled by the water.

The White Widow moved nimbly between the slashes. She covered just enough distance to dodge the slashes, despite their numbers and speed. Somehow, she managed to evade them all perfectly.

The others were dumbfounded by the sight.

Asha’ruiya’s attacks were quite powerful. Most enemies would have been shredded by them, yet the White Widow had dodged them perfectly even after her strength was reduced by thirty percent. It felt like her limbs were able to predict where Asha’ruiya’s attacks were coming from in advance.

Asha’ruiya was soon covered in sweat. Her attacks were not just for display. Every slash could easily tear through the defense of a Ruler-level creature. She had once killed a Dark Swordmaster with the same slash when she was fighting the enemy knight.

The White Widow’s body was still perfectly white. Her skin did not look sturdy, but the outcome of the battle was pretty obvious if Asha’ruiya could not land a single blow on her.

The White Widow continued to move agilely across the water, but soon took to the air. Asha’ruiya assumed the creature was walking on invisible spider silk, but her slashes did not hit anything when she aimed them at the air. The White Widow continued to walk toward Asha’ruiya ‘elegantly’.

The spider’s pale head was covered in strange runes. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she had a long tongue.

Her human face was on its spider-like body.

The White Widow was not very large, her body sized similarly to a human’s. Her eyes had remained fixed on Asha’ruiya, even when she was dodging the slashes, never shifting her gaze away.

“I have to endure terrible pain every time I change my skin. It feels like a scalpel is cutting through my skin, but I don’t mind going through the pain if I can have your pretty face. Don’t you worry, I won’t damage your face. After all, who would want to leave scars on their own face?” The White Widow surprisingly spoke a human language. She sounded arrogant and crazy.

When she burst out laughing, her spooky voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

She was planning to claim Asha’ruiya’s face!

No wonder the Lord of Darkness had referred to her as a dazzling woman. The White Widow was crazy about her beauty, but her way of making herself prettier was by taking someone else’s face!

There were women among the pawns. They shivered when they heard the White Widow’s words.

They would rather destroy their own face and body than let a monster claim them!

“~~~~~~~~~~~”

The White Widow’s piercing laughter was hurting everyone’s ears and making their scalps turn numb.

There was no prior warning before she began attacking.

Most creatures would slightly lean backward or bend their knees when they were attacking, but there was no sign of that when the White Widow began her attack.

However, her speed and power were ridiculous. Her movement was followed by a huge blast of wind. Asha’ruiya backed away instinctively, but the White Widow’s deadly claws were already within inches of her!

Her throat, heart, eyes, and stomach were her vital parts!

The people could barely see the White Widow’s movement and attacks. Similarly, Asha’ruiya was also moving so quickly that they could only see her shadows as she was dodging the White Widow’s claws.

The two exchanged countless blows in just a few seconds. Sparks and slashes were flying across the place. In the end, Asha’ruiya distanced herself from the White Widow with Blink and withdrew to a hill in the distance.

Her shoulders, legs, elbows, and back were covered in wounds. Mo Fan was relieved when he saw the cuts were shallow.

Asha’ruiya knew the White Widow’s claws were poisonous. She had taken the necessary precautions.

“It seems like I must take this more seriously,” Asha’ruiya murmured as she checked her wounds.

She could still tolerate the minor injuries. It was better than being stabbed and torn apart.

Asha’ruiya closed her eyes, as if she did not need to rely on her eyes to see the enemy.

The Aura of darkness around her suddenly enlarged and spread like a storm while she was standing still!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The White Widow did not want to give Asha’ruiya the chance to catch her breath. She rose into the sky and suddenly vanished into thin air.

The surface of the lake was as calm as a mirror, but a strange white shadow suddenly appeared from the water. It was sneaking up to Asha’ruiya from behind like a vengeful spirit, her glittering eyes staring at the human above it.

The shadow under the water turned out to be the White Widow’s reflection. She was falling from the sky out of nowhere. She hung upside down behind Asha’ruiya and swung her claws ferociously at the human.

The whole sequence happened very quickly. It only took the White Widow a second to appear out of nowhere and launch her attacks. It was unlikely anyone would see her coming under normal circumstances.

Asha’ruiya’s body was shredded by the claws.

Her body did not scatter across the place in a spray of blood and flesh. It dispersed like a cloud of smoke into the water!

The White Widow was shocked. She immediately turned around and fired the poisonous spikes on her back in all directions!

Poisonous spikes poured down as rapidly as rain. The whole lake was stirred up by the spikes. Some of the islands were even knocked to pieces.

Asha’ruiya was gone like a cloud of dust. The spikes failed to hurt her.

The dark smoke floated above the White Widow. A black sword suddenly extended out of it and slashed at the White Widow.

The White Widow quickly moved away, but the sword still hit one of her legs. The severed leg sank slowly into the water.

The White Widow let out a furious screech. She raised her other front limb.

A piercing wind sliced across the lake like an enormous scythe, like it was going to cut Asha’ruiya in half.

Asha’ruiya’s body did split in half. However, her body was replaced with two black petals as it was falling toward the water. The petals were carried away by the ripples on the lake.

A dazzling rose bearing many sharp thorns blossomed under the White Widow’s legs.

The petals of the rose were all made up of black swords. They were packed together like a gorgeous piece of art, but they were also giving off a menacing Aura!

Sword Rose!

The thrusting swords poked several holes into the White Widow’s stomach. Blue blood began pouring out of the wounds.

The injured White Widow quickly climbed a hundred meters into the air.

The hairs on her legs were vibrating madly. It was the Widow’s way of sensing her surroundings. Even the slightest breeze could not escape her senses.

She was searching for Asha’ruiya. The Widow could no longer predict Asha’ruiya’s movements after her Aura had grown stronger.

Asha’ruiya’s movements and attacks had become unpredictable. The White Widow felt humiliated after being hit twice by Asha’ruiya’s attacks.

She was no longer in the mood to preserve Asha’ruiya’s appearance. She had decided to take a more brutal approach.

The White Widow closed her eyes, pausing in mid-air.

She was surrounded by stationary droplets in the air all about her. Her enemy’s movements would turn the droplets into ripples, allowing the White Widow to track her enemy’s position. She would also learn the enemy’s intentions faster than using the naked eye.

That was the reason why Asha’ruiya had so much trouble hitting the White Widow previously.

The ripples had shown the White Widow the angles Asha’ruiya’s attacks were coming from as she was swinging her sword, hence the White Widow was able to dodge all her attacks perfectly.

“I’m going to find you… Nothing can escape from my hearing.

“Flaws are a part of life sometimes, like Venus, who lost her limbs. She was still considered the prettiest woman in the world, even after she lost her limbs.

“Therefore, people should be able to accept a woman with a huge hole and a missing heart in her chest, even if her body is a white spider.”

The White Widow was verbally provoking Asha’ruiya, while conveying her greed for the woman’s beauty.

The White Widow did not necessarily have to hear Asha’ruiya’s movements. Every living creature had a deadly weakness: their heartbeat!

The White Widow could pick up the change of a mouse’s heartbeat within five kilometers!

It was easy to miss a creature’s heartbeat when it was stable, but the change in its frequency was very obvious. The White Widow just needed to pick up the change of her enemy’s heartbeats to track them down.

No one had ever escaped from her hearing!

No one!

There is no way…

The White Widow grew anxious.

She could not find Asha’ruiya. Somehow, Asha’ruiya was the only exception!

A human could remain still and hold their breath, but how could they possibly stop their heart from beating?

Where exactly did she go?

The White Widow started panicking. She even opened her eyes to search for Asha’ruiya.

Her surroundings were empty. The lake was so calm that she could see her reflection perfectly, but there was still no sign of Asha’ruiya.

She wondered if her enemy had left the tile. However, no one could possibly break the Lord of Darkness’ rules. If the human could leave the tile, why would she bother fighting for so long?

The White Widow continued searching for Asha’ruiya. She slowly glided down from the sky. Somehow, she no longer felt safe in the air.

There was nothing around her, except for her reflection in the water…

The White Widow suddenly realized something when she saw her reflection. She desperately swung her front limb along her back.

A petite figure nimbly dodged the claw.

Asha’ruiya did a backflip before thrusting out. A dazzling shower of swords punched through the White Widow, leaving countless holes in her body!

The White Widow cried out in pain, her body shredded by the swords. She finally realized why she had failed to track down Asha’ruiya.. The woman was hiding on her back all along. She had been mimicking the Widow’s heartbeat by tapping her sword!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The White Widow could sense her surroundings through ripples, but that did not include her own body.

The White Widow’s body was a perfect blind spot. Asha’ruiya hid on her back and waited for the perfect opportunity to stab the spider with her rain of swords!

The creature’s body fell into the lake. Her human face and half of its body were still intact.

She swam to the shore and gave the Lord of Darkness a pleading look.

The Lord of Darkness was her only hope. She was hoping the Lord of Darkness would give her another chance, since she had served him for so many years.

“Either way, it’s just a game,” the Lord of Darkness spoke up.

A smile blossomed on the White Widow’s ugly face.

“Therefore, the characters in the game don’t deserve any pity,” the Lord of Darkness added.

The White Widow’s expression immediately shifted.

It would have been better if the Lord of Darkness had kept a cold face.

The Lord of Darkness had to humiliate the White Widow right before her death. She completely lost her mind in despair. She was going to take Asha’ruiya down with her!

Asha’ruiya abruptly stabbed the White Widow through her forehead. The Widow’s body twitched while her face was full of hatred. However, she still could not escape her death.

Asha’ruiya drew out her sword and took a deep breath before looking at the Lord of Darkness.

The Lord of Darkness laughed.

“It seems like I evaluated your strength wrongly. You are more than just a knight,” the Lord of Darkness conceded.

Asha’ruiya bowed deeply to the Lord of Darkness. She said, “You can’t be right all the time!”

“I’ve always made mistakes. I often regret it as soon as I lift my hand off a piece, but I enjoy the game. Every mistake is helping me realize my shortcomings,” the Lord of Darkness said. It was strange to hear a philosophical statement from the Lord of Darkness.

The White Widow was dead!

Asha’ruiya had taken it down!

Mo Fan suddenly recalled the mysterious dark power bursting out of Asha’ruiya’s body during the World College Tournament when she had faced Mu Ningxue.

In the end, she conceded instead of lifting the Seal on her terrifying power.

Mo Fan had no idea what her secret power was, but he was sure that her abilities and her strength had improved significantly after she became a Super Mage and Awakened her Super Power. She was no longer just a Mage. She was more like an unpredictable assassin!

Asha’ruiya stood beside the Black Dragon Emperor. She turned around and looked at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan could see the smug look on her face. Even though she did not open her mouth, he could imagine her saying, “Do you now realize how strong I am?”

Mo Fan generously raised his thumb to Asha’ruiya.

As expected of the woman who had fought Mu Ningxue to a draw! Mu Ningxue had become a powerful Mage, but Asha’ruiya was not to be underestimated, either!

“Lord of Darkness, a lower-level piece has won. I hope you didn’t forget the rule,” Mu Bai reminded him.

“Of course, I shall grant her the Spring of Darkness that will temporarily boost her strength,” the Lord of Darkness agreed.

It would increase Asha’ruiya’s strength by fifty percent, which would give Asha’ruiya a better chance of winning against the enemy knights and bishops.

Most importantly, Asha’ruiya had gone from being in a dangerous position to becoming a sharp sword stabbing at the enemy’s backline by the Black Dragon Emperor’s side. If Mu Bai could move Sharjah deeper into the enemy’s territory, he might be able to take down the enemy queen!

The queen was an important piece in a game of chess. The king’s movements were extremely limited, but the queen could move freely across the board.

While the pieces on the left side of the board were in a stare-down, the Red Spider Lily Queen had taken out three enemy pieces.

“Bishop, cross the border and attack the enemy bishop!” Mu Bai ordered the European man.

The man was a bishop, like Mo Fan. He was on the right side of the board, close to the Red Spider Lily Queen.

Mu Bai was a better player than the Lord of Darkness. He was not going to waste any of his pieces, nor was he going to send others to death just to save himself.

His goal was to save every piece!

Mo Fan was still on standby, but he had a feeling Mu Bai was planning to send him after an important enemy piece soon.

The European was soon fighting the Crimson Scorpion Medusa. As the defender, the Crimson Scorpion Medusa’s strength was reduced by thirty percent, giving the European an advantage.

Unfortunately, the outcome was undesirable.

The Lord of Darkness’ restraints on the defending piece slowly wore away over time. The Crimson Scorpion Medusa managed to buy itself enough time with its Petrifying magic and its hypnotizing eyes.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa won the fight in the end. It also grew stronger from the Spring of Darkness.

The Lord of Darkness immediately launched his counterattack. He ended up taking out a few of Mu Bai’s pieces, including Asha’ruiya’s Dark Swordmaster.

Asha’ruiya stared at her Dark Swordmaster’s dead body expressionlessly.

Sacrifices were inevitable in the match. Asha’ruiya did not blame Mu Bai for using her Dark Swordmaster to stop the enemy queen’s attack. She directed all her hatred at Su Lu.

The crazy man was the one that had dragged all of them into this mess. He deserved to die the most in this battle!

“Mo Fan, Su Lu is targeting you,” Mu Bai told him.

“Let me fight him fair and square, since running away isn’t an option,” Mo Fan said.

“I’m very sorry that not everything goes according to plan…” Mu Bai said.

Mu Bai moved the only pawn he had left to the tile in front of Mo Fan to block Su Lu’s path.

The group of a thousand Mages was forced to face Su Lu!

“Are you crazy?”

“You son of a b**ch!”

“Why did you send us to die!?”

The Mages immediately cursed Mu Bai.

Su Lu was able to move diagonally. He was amused when he saw Mu Bai using his pawn to protect Mo Fan.

It was part of human nature. The Mages had completely forgotten who was responsible for dragging them into Hell in the first place. However, they would surely remember the person who had taken away their hope!

“Mu Bai, I never wanted to be a Saint. I can choose to run away myself!” Mo Fan watched the Mages being massacred by Su Lu helplessly.

“Where there is light, there are always shadows.. I always thought I was the light and you were the shadow, but I now realize you are more suitable to be the light,” Mu Bai answered.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Bai did not regret his move. He accepted being hated by the people who had died.

The middle-aged man who claimed he wanted to save his son in the black forest was cursing Mu Bai now. Mu Bai understood his change of heart.

“Go left diagonally!” Mu Bai immediately moved Mo Fan to run away from Su Lu.

The tile was empty. There were only the remains of several pieces that had fought there, including the European man who had been a bishop.

It was far from a safe place. It would also take away Mu Bai’s initiative.

However, it was the only way to shake off Su Lu. Su Lu could not wait to tear Mo Fan into pieces. If Su Lu cornered Mo Fan, he would have no chance of escaping, nor was he going to receive any help.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa hissed and slowly approached Mo Fan. It was obvious that the Lord of Darkness was persisting in trying to kill Mo Fan.

“He’s still going to die no matter how hard you are trying to protect him,” the Lord of Darkness promised.

Mu Bai did not say a word back.

The tile Mo Fan stood on began to change. It was covered by brown-yellow soil and lots of sharp rocks jutting out. Huge boulders were rising like mountains around him.

Sand and dust lingered in the air and occasionally took the shape of yellow dragons soaring into the sky with formidable auras.

It was a barren land. Even the things that resembled plants were all made of rocks, sand, and soil, as if everything was made of the same elements.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa crawled across the barren land. Her scorpion body was surprisingly flexible, allowing her to glide forward like a snake even though her body was a scorpion. It looked very strange.

“I’m sorry that I must forbid one of your Contracted Summonings. Too bad,” the Lord of Darkness looked at Mo Fan thoughtfully and waved his hand. A dark ray of light flew at Mo Fan’s forehead like an insect.

Mo Fan did not try to dodge it. Even the Black Dragon Emperor and Su Lu were treated like mere chess pieces by the Lord of Darkness. It was meaningless for Mo Fan to even struggle against him.

“It doesn’t matter to me. It’s true that the fight would be meaningless if I used the Contracted Summoning,” Mo Fan said honestly.

“Let’s begin. Since you are the defender, your strength will be reduced by thirty percent,” the Lord of Darkness said.

A black illusionary string fell from the sky and attached to Mo Fan. It did not affect his actions or movements, but it would reduce the strength of every spell he used.

“Lord of Darkness, do you think I’m no match for him? Did you forget I’ve already killed a bishop, causing my strength to grow by fifty percent? Besides, his strength is reduced thirty percent too,” The Crimson Scorpion Medusa was able to speak in a human language. Her face was like a human’s, but around five times bigger.

Mo Fan was in a terrible spot.

The European man had died to the Crimson Scorpion Medusa, and since he had been a bishop, the Crimson Scorpion Medusa’s strength had increased by fifty percent.

It was as the Crimson Scorpion Medusa said. The battle was already to her favor, especially when she was the attacker!

Why was it necessary for the Lord of Darkness to forbid the enemy’s Contracted Summoning? How could his Contracted Summoning possibly stand a chance against her?

The Lord of Darkness smiled.

Mo Fan smiled, too. The Crimson Scorpion Medusa was seriously asking for trouble!

“You may Summon your little maid then,” the Lord of Darkness conceded.

Mo Fan opened the rift of the Contract Summoning.

A gorgeous young woman walked out of the rift. She was dressed in ordinary clothes, but they were enough to highlight her outstanding beauty.

Her eyes were sparkling and golden, unlike normal human eyes.

She was petite when she stood in front of Mo Fan, but when she lifted her gaze to look at the Crimson Scorpion Medusa, an overwhelming Aura froze the barren land in a terrifying manner.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa instantly turned from a proud tyrant to a petty little scorpion. She was trembling in fear. She almost slammed into a rock when she turned around and ran for her life.

A Medusa Queen!

The creatures in the Evil Temples greatly respected one another’s lineage. The ones with a purer lineage would possess the great power of the Evil Temple. The Evil Temple was a part of the Dark Plane, but it existed in the human world.

The Medusa Queens were obviously the highest rulers of the Evil Temple. The Crimson Scorpion Medusa could never have guessed that the Contracted Summoning was going to bring forth a Medusa Queen!

“Third…Third Highness!” The Crimson Scorpion Medusa fell to her knees. There was no sign of her proud and aloof manner. She almost buried her head into the sand.

“You win, you die. You lose, you die, too!” Apas stated coldly.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa was left speechless.

Just a moment ago, she was relieved that she had another chance to take out an enemy bishop. Her strength would soon be increased by another fifty percent, thus she might stand a chance against pieces that were higher-level than her.

She did not expect the situation to turn out like this! The Crimson Scorpion Medusa had an urge to kill herself!

If the Medusa Queen had a Contract with the young man, the Medusa Queen would definitely kill her for killing the young man!

If she lost the battle, she was going to die, too. The Lord of Darkness would never spare the life of a loser in his game of chess. The outcome of the battle would decide their fate!

“Are you satisfied now?” the Lord of Darkness asked.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa felt like crying. Why couldn’t she control her own mouth?

“However, there’s no need to worry. Since there’s a Contract between them, once you kill the man, the Medusa Queen will sustain a serious blow to her soul. You have plenty of time to look for a place to hide and enjoy how good it is to be alive until she recovers from her injuries,” the Lord of Darkness went on.

“Please… say no more…” The Crimson Scorpion Medusa felt like she had been stabbed in the heart.

She had thought the Lord of Darkness would provide her protection, but instead, he was just pointing out the obvious.

What difference was it going to make? She was still going to die either way!

The Lord of Darkness did not care about the fate of his pieces. His only goal was to win the game. He just needed to give the Crimson Scorpion Medusa a glimpse of hope, and she would know what she was supposed to do.

Mo Fan sent the Medusa Queen back to her Contracted Space. He knew the Lord of Darkness would not allow Apas to be involved in the fight.

The Lord of Darkness’ rules were actually quite simple. He would remove the factors that would severely affect the balance of a battle.

However, Mo Fan did not think the Lord of Darkness was omnipotent.. At least his evaluation of the strengths of different pieces had not been very accurate so far.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa glared at Mo Fan. She had reclaimed her initial savage and vicious appearance as soon as Apas was gone.

She had an idea. She would be free once she won the fight!

She would immediately run to the Evil Temple. She had heard that Euryale and Apas had long fallen out with one another. She would submit herself to Euryale while Apas was still recovering from her injuries. She would be safe once Euryale killed Apas in the end!

She did not have to die. She still had a chance to live!

The first step was to kill the man before her!

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa had an advantage, even though they were both bishops.

The more she found herself in a pinch, the fiercer she was. The Crimson Scorpion Medusa threw herself at Mo Fan and stabbed at him with the stinger she had been hiding under her body.

The sting flew horizontally like a flickering star. It did not make any noise, nor did it shake the Heavens and Earth. It was heading straight for Mo Fan’s throat from several kilometers away.

Mo Fan had been on his guard all along. He had encountered several creatures of her species, and he knew what they were capable of.

A silver light wrapped around Mo Fan. It shrank into a tiny dot as the stinger was thrown at him.

The point of light vanished, together with Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had to use Blink. A Mage’s speed was nowhere enough to dodge the scorpion’s tail.

Mo Fan moved seven hundred meters away. He saw a hole punched through the rocks behind his initial location.

A dark flicker suddenly swept at Mo Fan’s head.

It was targeting the spot where Mo Fan had landed with Blink. The Crimson Scorpion Medusa had already seen through his intentions. She was able to attack twice with her stinger after her strength had temporarily increased by fifty percent with the Spring of Darkness.

Mo Fan leaned backward.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa was grinning confidently, but her expression froze when she noticed Mo Fan’s body turning into a black mantle as he fell to the ground.

Such a cunning human!

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa had stronger senses than a human. Even her reactions were faster.

She quickly turned around and swung her claws at a lightning claw that was approaching her.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa did not sustain any damage from the clash. Her claws tore through Mo Fan’s Lightning Spell with ease. The lightning claw turned into a bunch of lightning arcs and scattered across the ground.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa’s speed was insane.

It felt like her scorpion legs were driven by powerful engines while her body was gliding around like a snake. She was moving around like a shadow.

BANG!

She pounced at Mo Fan and swung her claws at his head.

Mo Fan jumped several dozen meters back. His body slammed into the ground like a javelin falling from a great height.

“Hillock Whale!”

He slammed his fist on the ground. It immediately cracked apart, and enormous whales emerged from the ground and rammed into the Crimson Scorpion Medusa.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa glided nimbly about and dodged their attacks with unexpected movements.

She suddenly jumped onto the stomach of one of the whales and skittered across it.

Mo Fan did not expect his enemy to weave through the whales. He stopped running away when he saw the Crimson Scorpion Medusa closing in, and raised his right hand.

A puff of liquid red fire appeared on his hand. The fire poured down and ignited across his body.

Mo Fan was rapidly engulfed in flames, like he had put on burning armor.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa obviously had the advantage in the battle. She was putting Mo Fan under enormous pressure, so he had no choice but to transform into the King of Hell and take out the Crimson Scorpion Medusa with his Fiery Dragon Breath.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa was blasted into the sky by the flames. She had barely recovered her footing when she noticed fiery birds diving at her in great numbers.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa was set ablaze, even with the thick snake scales protecting her. She did not overstay her welcome in the fiery birds’ territory, and quickly propelled herself into the distance by rocketing off a jutting stony hill.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa tugged on her hair, which was as stiff and gnarled as the roots of an old tree, dragging it in front of her and fixing it to the ground with one of her legs.

After tightening her hair, the Crimson Scorpion Medusa suddenly reached out two hands with eerily long fingers that had appeared out of nowhere, and adeptly plucked at her hair.

Treating her hair like the strings of a harp?

Mo Fan had never seen this before. He did not press forward recklessly in case his opponent was using the Sound Element, which was his greatest weakness.

There was no sound. Every time the Crimson Scorpion Medusa plucked her hair, tiny black lice-like insects crawled out of the hair and dug into the ground.

Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

She was not playing a harp. She was shaking out the lice in the hair!

The problem was, were the lice even a threat?

Did the Crimson Scorpion Medusa not wash her hair for several hundred years? How are so many lice coming out of her hair?

If Mo Fan was going to die, he believed he would die of disgust.

“Earth Flame!”

Mo Fan slowly opened his right hand. Lava was flowing out of the gaps between his fingers. The scorching red liquid permeated the ground under his feet.

The ground swiftly reddened.

The others might not see it, but Mo Fan could feel the ground being filled up by the lice. The soil and rocks under his feet were crawling with lice. Only the thin layer of the surface remained intact.

The Crimson Scorpion Lice were able to multiply on their own, and were doing so at a shocking rate under the ground. If Mo Fan did not use the Earth Flame to establish a boundary, he would soon find himself inside a nest of lice!

The Crimson Scorpion Lice were oddly terrifying, and eventually even infested the surface. Even the rocky hills around them had turned into mountains of lice.

Mo Fan’s Ardent Sunset was supposed to be effective against enemies in great numbers, but the lice were highly resistant to fire after the Crimson Scorpion Medusa was strengthened by the Spring of Darkness. They were multiplying quicker than Mo Fan’s flames could devour them.

Mo Fan had established a fiery swamp, but it was soon devoured by a black tide in the form of the lice. Mo Fan no longer had a place to stand.

The army of Crimson Scorpion Lice was following the Crimson Scorpion Medusa’s orders. They continued to pile up into a Crimson Scorpion Louse King the size of a mountain!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Black lice were falling off the Crimson Scorpion Louse King’s body like dead skin. More of them fell out of its mouth whenever it was opened. Mo Fan’s scalp tingled when he saw the lice.

The waves of lice kept knocking Mo Fan into the air. He could not afford to fight the Crimson Scorpion Louse King directly.

He had to admit that the combination of the thirty percent reduction of his strength and the fifty percent increase to the Crimson Scorpion Medusa’s strength after she killed the European had made the battle extremely difficult.

He had to avoid the territory she’d taken over.

Mo Fan moved toward the edge of the tile. The barren land that had previously been covered in rocks and sand had turned into a nest of lice.

Mo Fan frowned when he noticed the space getting smaller.

How did the Crimson Scorpion Medusa store so many lice in her hair? If the lice were able to multiply endlessly through fragmentation, wouldn’t the Crimson Scorpion Medusa be carrying an army with her?

Mo Fan tried to recall the battle in Bejiang. There was a Crimson Scorpion Medusa in the battle between the armies of Undead there, but Mo Fan had never seen it use such a powerful ability.

Mo Fan used his Will to form a defensive wall, but the Crimson Scorpion Louse King simply broke through it with brute force.

The Ardent Sunset was supposed to be effective against swarming insects, too, but it was not proving that useful against the lice.

Is the Crimson Scorpion Medusa really this powerful?

Mo Fan was forced to the edge of the tile. The army of lice was everywhere. Mo Fan could not even see his surroundings.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa stood above the waves of lice, like she was surfing on them. Her eyes were constantly fixed on Mo Fan, as if she was keen to see Mo Fan being smashed into mincemeat by the Crimson Scorpion Louse King.

“That monster, she could have stayed behind the lice in safety… Her eyes, that’s right, she’s a Medusa!” Mo Fan felt an urge to hit himself on the head.

Apas was worried sick in the Contracted Space.

Mo Fan was pretty smart most of the time. How could he screw up in a situation like this?

He was going up against a Medusa!

Wasn’t a Medusa’s eyes their strongest ability? Not only were they able to petrify their enemy, they were also good at tricking their enemies with illusions!

The Lord of Darkness had forbidden Apas from taking part in the battle. He had also blocked the connection between her and Mo Fan, thus she was unable to warn him of this.

Luckily, Mo Fan had realized the truth before it was too late!

The Crimson Scorpion Louse King and the fireproof lice that were multiplying endlessly… They were only part of the Crimson Scorpion Medusa’s illusion!

Her eyes had never left Mo Fan.

She was indeed releasing black lice from her hair, but their numbers were nowhere close to what Mo Fan was seeing.

The Crimson Scorpion Louse King was only scary when Mo Fan was being tricked by the Crimson Scorpion Medusa’s eyes.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa was targeting Mo Fan’s mind while sending out her lice. She was going to break down Mo Fan’s mind and then take him out with the lice.

Mo Fan eventually calmed down.

He had already strengthened his Will after fighting several Medusae in the past. He did not have trouble waking himself up from the illusion. He just had to find its weak point!

Mo Fan stopped moving backward.

The Ardent Sunset was spiraling under his feet, but the lice quickly lunged at the flames to put them out.

However, Mo Fan did not stop gathering the flames this time. After all, it was just an illusion!

The Ardent Sunset was not put out. The enemy had only been stamping out the will to fight in his heart.

Mo Fan kept releasing the flames. The furnace burning in his body was receiving endless fuel, filling the area with scorching flames.

The Ardent Sunset grew rapidly and swiftly burned the black lice to ashes.

It was like a little spark carried by a gust of wind to a dry paddy field. The whole field would be consumed by fire, as long as the wind did not put out the embers!

The Medusa’s eyes were the strong wind that had made Mo Fan believe his fire could not ignite the paddy field!

The Ardent Sunset was naturally still effective after Mo Fan broke free from the illusion. The flames were spreading even quicker than he thought. They had already reached the Crimson Scorpion Louse King.

The hill-sized Crimson Scorpion Louse King was set aflame. It burned into ashes before it even had a chance to attack Mo Fan.

The fire was unstoppable, the lice had now become its fuel. The Ardent Sunset soon spread to the Crimson Scorpion Medusa.

Not only did the Crimson Scorpion Medusa’s plan fail, it had even provided Mo Fan with a perfect environment!

The stronger the fire was, the stronger Mo Fan was in his King of Hell form. On top of that, Mo Fan was basically unkillable in the fire because of the Phoenix Flame. His wounds had healed in mere seconds.

He was grateful to the Crimson Scorpion Medusa for providing his flames with the cleanest fuel. Otherwise, he would not have been able to recover from his injuries!

Not only did he recover his strength, the fire had made him stronger! On the other hand, the Crimson Scorpion Medusa was now fleeing for her life. She was searching for a spot where the fire was weaker, but Mo Fan had already caught up to her.

“There’s no way you can beat me!” The Crimson Scorpion Medusa lunged at Mo Fan after she realized she had nowhere to go.

She had turned herself into a stinger. It was the deadliest attack that she would only use as a last resort. The stinger hidden between her stomach and tail was actually part of her organs!

Mo Fan was fearless. He dove at his enemy like a blazing sun and burned everything into ashes!

Whoosh!

The stinger went right through Mo Fan’s chest.

At the same time, blazing lava burst out of Mo Fan’s chest and sprayed over the Crimson Scorpion Medusa.

“Ahhhhh!” the Crimson Scorpion Medusa screamed in agony as the lava covered her. Her scales, body, blood, and organs were melting rapidly in the merciless flames.

The King of Hell’s flames were incredibly powerful. Even the Crimson Scorpion Medusa could not survive them!

Su Lu burst out laughing. “HAHAHA, well done, she has taken him down with her! It’s a satisfactory outcome!”

It was a pity that he could not kill Mo Fan himself, but he was pleased to see Mo Fan was dead.

He would not be here in the first place if Mo Fan had not ruined his plans. Su Lu wanted Mo Fan to die the most!

Mo Fan’s fire had burned the Crimson Scorpion Medusa to death, but the Crimson Scorpion Medusa had also stabbed Mo Fan through the chest with her deadliest move!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan’s chest had a hole blown through it.

It was unlikely anyone could survive the wound, let alone the deadly poison on the stinger.

Su Lu was glad Mo Fan was dead.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa was supposed to be stronger with the advantages she had over Mo Fan, who was also a bishop, but Su Lu knew the man who had mastered Magic Fusion was not going to be simple, either. Everything was worth it as long as he was dead!

The flames were still burning. The lice were indeed the perfect fuel. The fire had not stopped burning across the tile. It was blazing red, just like a volcanic crater.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa’s stinger fell to the ground. It had surprisingly remained intact in the flames.

Mo Fan chest was blown open, but he was still alive. He bent forward and picked up the stinger like it was something valuable.

Su Lu was baffled. He could not help but think there was something wrong with the man. Why did he still care about the loot when he was about to die?

The flames suddenly swayed as a special golden light appeared amid them.

The light grew stronger and changed the color of the flames around it.

Mo Fan stood in the golden Phoenix Flame like he was bathing in a healing light. His chest was closing up rapidly.

The self-rejuvenating ability of the Phoenix Flame!

Mo Fan had to thank the Crimson Scorpion Medusa’s lice for providing him with a perfect ‘bath’. He could not have healed up his wounds and come back alive with his own flames.

The burning lice were strong enough to activate the Phoenix Flame’s ability!

The power of the Phoenix Flame!

—

Mo Fan put the Medusa’s stinger away and smiled at Su Lu.

Su Lu watched Mo Fan’s resurrection with wide eyes. He so wished he could go over and kill him right now!

“The Four-Eyed Bird!…” Su Lu snarled, realizing something.

Su Lu was familiar with the Totem Beasts too, so he recognized the Four-Eyed Bird’s power in no time.

Why would Mo Fan have a Totem Beast’s ability?

Can humans inherit a Totem Beast’s power?

How did he do it?

The Four-Eyed Bird’s ability was definitely one of the strongest among the Totem Beasts. If a Forbidden Mage had the ability to be revived, would they even be afraid of the Emperors?

Disaster! That man is a true disaster!

Double Innate Elements, the Demon Element, the Magic Fusion, and the undying flesh of the Four-Eyed Bird. He could already slay a powerful Ruler like the Crimson Scorpion Medusa, even though he was only a Super Mage. If he became a Forbidden Mage, even the Angels would struggle to take him down!

The thought gave Su Lu a huge fright.

He initially thought the Archangel was his greatest enemy. Once he killed Sharjah, he would be able to rule over the world, yet it turned out there were even more threats to his ambitions.

Su Lu had not known the Demon Element existed before the battle in Dubai City. He had never witnessed Mo Fan’s extraordinary strength before, either.

The Crimson Scorpion Medusa had died, despite the advantages she had.

If the guy reached the peak of the Super Level with all his Elements, he could easily wipe out an army of Super Mages by himself, without even relying on a Forbidden Curse!

—

“Well done!” Mu Bai raised his thumb at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was as strong as usual. Even the Lord of Darkness had underestimated his strength!

The Lord of Darkness had already removed one of Mo Fan’s Contracted Beasts. If Apas was allowed to participate in the fights, he might even be able to take on the enemy queen!

“Lord of Darkness, are you going to give me the Spring of Darkness too?” Mo Fan had fully recovered from his injuries. His smile was oddly wild in the dancing flames.

“Of course!” the Lord of Darkness nodded. His face looked calm, but the Lord of Darkness was actually panicking inside.

He seemed to have made a terrible mistake! However, he still had to try his best to take out as many enemy pieces as possible.

The Spring of Darkness blessing increased Mo Fan’s strength by fifty percent.

The Spring of Darkness could strengthen every ability, except for White Magic. It was like a booster that would awaken a person’s full potential, similar to the Blessing Element.

Naturally enough, the Lord of Darkness’s Spring of Darkness was a lot more effective here than the Blessing Element. After all, the Lord of Darkness was the origin of Dark Magic!

It did not matter which generation the current Lord of Darkness was. He was still the primogenitor of Dark Magic, ruling over the Dark Plane whose existence was comparable to the living world.

If gods existed, then the Lord of Darkness would be one of them!

“I feel pretty good!” Mo Fan felt energized after being blessed by the Spring of Darkness.

“It’s our turn now!” Mu Bai agreed.

Mo Fan’s strength had already increased by fifty percent, and he was also the attacker now. He could easily take on anyone as he pleased!

“I’ll leave Su Lu’s accomplices to you,” Mu Bai said to Mo Fan, pointing at the nearest enemy rook.

“My pleasure,” Mo Fan grinned when he saw the Skybound Mages.

Hadn’t they tried to hide their filthy crimes by using the Skybound Cloud Battlefield?

They were dressed in white robes, had stayed in the Dubai Magician Tower, and were praised and respected by countless people throughout Asia, yet they could no longer distinguish between good and evil.

Mo Fan would be amused if any among them dared to claim they were innocent.

The Skybound Mages were merely Su Lu’s pawns. Mo Fan had not had the chance to purge them in Dubai City. It was time to finish his business from there!

“Stay calm, we have the numbers advantage. We are the elites among Super Mages. There’s no reason for us to be afraid of one guy,” the leader of the Skybound Mages spoke up.

He was the chief of the Skybound Mages. He had the face of an Asian, but the color of his eyes was not common for an Asian. He was most likely a mixed-blood.

The chief of the Skybound Mages was trying his best to motivate the Skybound Mages. The only problem was that the other Skybound Mages were not blind. They had seen Mo Fan taking out the experts of the Magic Association, and the Crimson Scorpion Medusa just now.

Could they really think of him as just a normal Mage?

“Don’t panic, his ability to self-rejuvenate requires a natural source of fire, or an extremely strong fire. You won’t have any problem killing him by restricting his flames!” Su Lu called out to them.

“Thank you for your warning!” the chief of the Skybound Mages replied quickly.

“Rest assured, you all have been with me for a long time. I, Su Lu, will lead you and trample everything in our path. Nothing can stop us!” Su Lu proclaimed.

The Lord of Darkness coughed.

Su Lu immediately felt anxious. How did something like the Lord of Darkness even exist in the world?!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The chief of the Skybound Mages led the way. He bore a bright golden flower broach on his chest. The item represented nobility in Dubai City. It was not an exaggeration to think of him as a noble of the desert.

He walked slowly toward Mo Fan, and the rest of the Skybound Mages followed him.

They were walking in a certain pattern, obviously preparing a Magic Formation to face him with.

The Skybound Mages were a team. Unlike most Dubai Mages, they had been trained and carried out missions together like a military force. They were usually responsible for missions assigned by the authorities of the Dubai Tower.

They were well-trained and had impressive teamwork. They had taken out many powerful Ruler-level creatures in the desert!

They were also all Super Mages, and were stronger than most High Seaters. Most of them had Awakened their Super Powers, too!

The chief was giving orders. Several Wind Mages had already taken off, and were lining themselves up like a Star Constellation.

“Wind Kite Buckle!”

Seven Skybound Mages with the Wind Element were hovering in the sky, each with a wind string tied to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan tried to break free from the strings.

However, the seven Wind Mages followed him around constantly. Mo Fan’s movements were greatly limited, like a huge kite was hanging on his back. He needed to spend great efforts to overcome the resistance with every step he took.

The Skybound Mages soon returned to the ground.

However, the wind strings were still around. They were constantly tugging on Mo Fan to restrain and restrict him.

Mo Fan tried many ways, but he could not destroy the kite strings. The Skybound Mages had some strange abilities, managing to restrain Mo Fan with a strange magic before the fight even began.

“Crush!”

The Wind Mages suddenly sprinted in different directions.

Mo Fan looked up and saw the kite strings being pulled in different directions with great force!

He had heard of a body being dismembered by five horses, but he had never heard of it being done with seven kites!

Mo Fan realized his body could not withstand the great force. He quickly catalyzed the sprouting of the Seeds of Darkness under his feet.

Mo Fan had buried the Seeds of Darkness as soon as he set foot into the tile. He was planning to let the Seeds permeate through the ground longer and establish a Zone that he could move freely through, but he could not wait any longer.

“Walk in the Darkness!”

Mo Fan’s body faded away like a phantom. All Elemental Magic was useless against him in that form.

The strings of the kites snapped as the spell tugged at Mo Fan, but he had already broken free from their grasp with his Shadow magic. He was now sneaking toward the chief of the Skybound Mages.

The chief of the Skybound Mages was very quick at completing Star Palaces. He Cast a powerful Super Spell merely by waving his hand.

Catastrophe Wave!

The waves were ice cold. They could freeze a person’s body and smash it into pieces.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan’s Walk in the Darkness was still in effect. The Catastrophe Wave failed to hurt him.

Mo Fan split into several shadows as he arrived before the chief of the Skybound Mages. Each shadow had the same outline as he did.

The chief realized he was surrounded. He quickly shouted to the others for help.

An ancient bell made of sacred light landed on the chief before the shadows could do anything.

“Well done!” the chief exclaimed, smiling faintly.

However, his smile froze as soon as he finished the sentence.

There was a shadow behind the Light Mage who had Cast the defensive spell. It instantly sliced the Light Mage’s throat open with its claw!

Fresh blood sprayed out from the Light Mage’s throat. He was dying quickly.

He fell to the ground while turning around, clutching at his neck. He was trying hard to look behind him and see how the enemy had closed in without alerting him.

He saw Mo Fan standing behind him, an eerie shadow hovering above him. The man’s eyes bulged with fear.

Mo Fan had been targeting him instead of the chief all along! The shadows around the chief were only decoys!

Mo Fan knew the enemy force had to have a powerful defensive Mage, since he was fighting a proper team of Mages.

The chief was confident enough to stand at the front. Even without protection from the others, Mo Fan knew he could not guarantee he could kill the chief with a single blow.

So, Mo Fan had decided to target the Light Super Mage!

To Mo Fan’s surprise, a strong power of darkness wrapped around him as he made his move, allowing him to kill the target with a single strike.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe was hovering behind him as his shadow!

It had merged with Mo Fan when he attacked, making his attack unpredictable. The Light Mage had died without even realizing what had just happened.

“That’s right, I’ve obtained the Spring of Darkness!” Mo Fan was initially confused as to why the Elder of the Shadow Tribe had appeared so suddenly, but he realized what was going on when he saw the Sea of Darkness under his feet.

Even though he had not had much time to spread the darkness, it was still thick enough to summon the Elder of the Shadow Tribe because of the power of the Spring of Darkness!

Furthermore, the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was able to use its full strength in the Dark Plane. It was several times stronger than when Mo Fan had Summoned it in the past!

“You have come just in time!” Mo Fan smiled.

He had thought the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was not going to show up, because it was afraid of the Lord of Darkness!

“Tsk tsk tsk…” the Elder of the Shadow Tribe chuckled.

If it had shown up early on, it would have broken the Lord of Darkness’ rules and been punished like Asha’ruiya’s Dark Ice Swordmaster.

The Dark Ice Swordmaster was not a high-level Darkness Creature, so it was unfamiliar with the Lord of Darkness and his nature!

“Hmm, you did a great job hiding. It seems like my odds of winning have dropped even more.” The Lord of Darkness had already seen the Elder of the Shadow Tribe, even if it was fighting in the form of Mo Fan’s shadow.

“I won’t fight with my full strength,” the Elder of the Shadow Tribe promised. It sounded like a small child in front of its lord.

“It’s fine, you shouldn’t underestimate these human Mages if I assigned them as a rook,” the Lord of Darkness waved it off.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe let out a relieved sigh.

It turned out that it did not break the Lord of Darkness’ rules, since he did not blame it for its actions.

It could kill its enemies as it pleased!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What benefits did you receive from the human?” the Red Spider Lily Queen suddenly asked the Shadow Tribe Elder.

She was standing in shrubs made of red spider lilies. She would only move when she was attacking an enemy. She had remained unmoving and remained silent most of the time, so it was quite a surprise to hear her speak.

She was obviously talking to the Elder of the Shadow Tribe, who had a considerable status in the Dark Plane, judging from the Lord of Darkness and the Red Spider Lily Queen’s reactions.

It was reluctant to intervene with the battle in front of its superior, but it could not afford to be a bystander, either. After all, Mo Fan was going up against a team of Super Mages. The Elder was the core of Mo Fan’s Shadow Magic. If it did not lend Mo Fan a hand, he would struggle to beat his opponents!

“I could have a lot of fun!” the Elder of the Shadow Tribe answered. It sounded like an old man this time.

“Then… I guess it’s worth it.” The Red Spider Lily Queen fell silent again, like the statue of an empress.

—

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe also stopped talking, as if it was worried that its intervention might displease the Lord of Darkness. It did not fight at its own will. It had turned into Mo Fan’s shadow to lend him a hand, instead!

The Aura of Darkness continued to spread, making Mo Fan’s movements even more unpredictable. He sank into the Sea of Darkness again when he saw the Wind Mages trying to bind him with the Wind Kites.

“They enjoy hanging the kites on me. I should give them a piece of that, too!” Mo Fan grinned when he sensed the power of the Elder of the Shadow Tribe.

A dark mist boiled across the entire area. A pitch-black tower emerged from beneath the Dark Swamp.

The tower had a dozen floors. Sinister chains reached out from the ledges of each floor.

The chains had long scythes on their ends, which the Elder of the Shadow Tribe often used.

The scythes flew out of the tower and chased after the seven Wind Mages who were trying to pull the same trick on Mo Fan again.

The Skybound Mages were very agile. They were trying to evade the scythes, but the tower suddenly grew even larger. They found themselves still under the ledges, no matter how quickly they flew away.

The chains hooked onto their chests. They stuck to the Mages’ shadows instead of slicing their chests open. The Mages could not leave the reach of the tower!

“Should we kill them first?” Mo Fan spoke to his own shadow.

The Wind Mages among the Skybound Mages were as slimy as loaches. Even if Mo Fan transformed into the King of Hell, they just had to stay a safe distance away from him. Fighting demon creatures and fighting humans were two different things.

However, the Wind Mages were currently bound to the tower. Their souls would sustain a serious blow if they tried to break free from the chains by force.

It was up to them to decide their fate, but they had no choice but to fight Mo Fan while the tower was around!

Mo Fan was able to control the tower freely. He could even tighten the chains to drag the Wind Mages closer!

The seven Wind Mages began to panic. They had tried everything they could, but they still could not break free from the chains.

They would not last for more than five minutes if they had to fight Mo Fan head-on!

“Lightning Dragon Tail!”

Dense lightning intertwined up in the sky and turned into a lightning dragon. The lightning dragon vanished and hid above the clouds. Only its long tail was poking through them.

The Lightning Dragon Tail slammed down on the ground and split it in half. The huge ravine was more spectacular than the Loess Plateau. The Lightning Dragon Tail was terrifying after Mo Fan’s strength had been increased by fifty percent!

The Skybound Mage targeted by the Lightning Dragon Tail used everything he could to defend himself. He had even Summoned his Magic Armor.

The Skybound Mage struggled back to his feet in the scorched area.

His clothes were ragged and his body was covered in wounds, but the Lightning Dragon Tail had not killed him. He lifted his gaze and glared at Mo Fan, “Is that all you got?” he shouted defiantly.

“Aren’t you celebrating a little too early?” Mo Fan was amused.

When were these people going to learn? Were they still not treating him seriously after he had demonstrated Magic Fusion at the Dubai Tower?

“Chaos Cross Formation! Nine Lightning Dragon Tails!”

Mo Fan waved his other hand and established the Chaos Cross Formation in the sky.

Another destructive Lightning Dragon Tail appeared before the lightning flickers that had been left by the first one had even dissipated.

BANG!

The Lightning Dragon Tail slammed into the ground and deepened the ravine. Lightning arcs spread dazzlingly across the ground, like brilliant writhing snakes!

BANG!

The third Lightning Dragon Tail landed on the same spot, slamming the proud Skybound Mage to the ground.

BANG!

The Skybound Mage’s body was beyond recognition.

BANG!

His body was already smashed into several segments, but the Lightning Dragon Tails kept going!

The rest of the Lightning Dragon Tails were literally lashing a dead body!

The Spring of Darkness had boosted Mo Fan’s strength by fifty percent. His Lightning and Chaos Elements were also stronger with Magic Fusion.

Mo Fan had no idea where the Skybound Mage had gotten his attitude from. Was he proud of himself just because he had survived the first Lightning Dragon Tail?

Only the Skybound Mage’s skin was left on the ground. The other six Wind Mages who were locked down by the tower were terrified!

Were any of them able to survive all nine Lightning Dragon Tails?

“Don’t panic! If we lose, our souls will be stuck forever in the Dark Plane! Do you think dying is worse than having your souls tortured endlessly in this place? We can beat him if we work together!” the chief of the Skybound Mages cried out.

“We can’t go inside the tower!” the Wind Mages said.

“Focus on driving the Sea of Darkness away. It will stop him from using his Shadow Magic,” the chief said after thinking quickly.

The thought of being tortured for eternity was scarier than death. They were not willing to give up their freedom after they died!

“Transform the Dark Magic into some other Elements!” the chief ordered.

“What Element should we turn it into?” a Skybound Mage behind him promptly asked.

“Something that will give us an edge.”

“Many of us are Fire Mages!” a Skybound Mage with a fiery brooch on his chest spoke up.

“Are you retarded?” the chief cursed him instantly.

The Fire Element? They would be pushing themselves toward a furnace if they allowed their enemy to be reborn in fire! Besides, their enemy’s Fire Element was crazy strong, too!

“The Wind Element would be our best choice, but our Wind Mages are currently trapped by the tower. What about the Light Element?” the Fire Mage asked.

The chief shook his head. None of those left were particularly strong with the Light Element.

The Water Element was their best option, but few of them were Water Mages, since Dubai was a country of sand!

“The Earth Element. Change it into the Earth Element.”

Their country had a lot of Earth Mages since the desert had always been their battlefield.

However, Mo Fan also had the Earth Element…

They were aware of that, but they did not have a choice.. They had to transform the energy of the Dark Swamp into something that was beneficial for them. They did not have many options left if they tried to avoid all seven of Mo Fan’s Elements!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Energy conversion!

Mo Fan had a similar piece of magic Equipment that he had received from Dean Xiao. He did not use it often, but it had always come in handy when it mattered the most.

The Skybound Mages were establishing a magic Formation with similar effects, but they were not transforming the energy of the spells that were attacking them. The Formation was transforming all the energy within its coverage area.

The darkness, flames, and the lightning all turned into rocks after the magic Formation was established.

The rocks were as dense as certain minerals. Many metals might even break after colliding with them.

The magic Formation was accumulating and compressing the Earth Magic. It was not just normal sand and rocks!

Mo Fan’s Sea of Darkness was swiftly transformed into a sea of rocks and sand. The rolling sand was as loud as several hundred waterfalls combined.

The waves of sand swept forward.

The Skybound Mages were targeting Mo Fan’s tower, trying to rescue their comrades who were trapped beneath it.

However, Mo Fan and the Elder of the Shadow Tribe decisively killed four of the Wind Mages before the tower was knocked to the ground.

The waves of sand swept the remaining three Wind Mages away, but it did not matter much, as their souls had sustained severe injuries after the chains were forcibly broken. They were no longer a threat to Mo Fan.

The sand made noises of grass cracking into pieces whenever someone stepped on it.

The sand particles were gritty and sharp. They could easily turn into deadly weapons if a strong wind started spinning them around like a sandstorm.

Mo Fan suddenly felt a strong chill running down his spine. His Dark Vein was throbbing!

Mo Fan turned around and saw a huge hand made of sand heading his way!

Mo Fan turned into a ray of black light and bounced several times to escape the hand.

The strange hand was oddly powerful. It had appeared out of nowhere. Mo Fan would have had a hard time dodging it if the Dark Vein had not warned him in time.

Mo Fan was constantly forced backward. He realized the Skybound Mages were not as weak as he thought. Their mastery of magic Formations was higher than that of most Super Mages.

“Tsk tsk!” the Elder of the Shadow Tribe chuckled.

Mo Fan was relieved. It seemed like the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was about to do something. Mo Fan looked at his shadow.

He noticed the Elder of the Shadow Tribe was holding a dagger in its hand. To his surprise, it suddenly stabbed Mo Fan’s palm with the dagger!

Mo Fan immediately felt a burning pain from his hand!

He was anxious. Was the Elder of the Shadow Tribe trying to show its loyalty to the Lord of Darkness? Why was it attacking him for no reason?

“Stop wasting time and use your strongest ability… are you only going to use it after the enemy beats you up badly? You should use it as soon as possible!” the Elder of the Shadow Tribe said cunningly.

Mo Fan looked at his palm.

Blood was oozing out of the cut. It dripped down onto the sea of sand like a thin red string.

Damn it, couldn’t it let me do it myself?

Other people’s servants from the Shadow Tribe could instantly tear the enemy into pieces, like ferocious tigers. Meanwhile, his Elder of the Shadow Tribe had a problem with its mind.

The blood continued to drip onto the sand. The whole sea of sand reddened when the blood touched it, as if Mo Fan’s Demon Blood had not faded away completely.

The sand started to give off a strong heat.

It felt like a blazing red desert. The Earth Magic seemed to have found its king, and was gathering rapidly toward Mo Fan’s position.

Blood Pact of the Earth!

It was the strongest ability of Mo Fan’s Heaven-grade Earth Seed. Mo Fan had used the same ability to injure the Black Dragon Emperor and wake up his soul!

“It’s stronger than usual, too!” Mo Fan was excited when he saw the blood-red sand.

The sand wrapped around Mo Fan and formed a layer of red armor. Even though Mo Fan did not grow into a giant like he did in his demon form, it was more than enough for him to take out the Skybound Mages.

1

Blood Pact of the Earth: Heavy Armored Stance!

Mo Fan raised his right hand. The sea of sand became restless again, and formed into a sword in Mo Fan’s hand. He pointed the sword at the sky.

The rest of the sand hovered above the tip of the sword like a huge sandstorm. Most importantly, the sandstorm was imbued with fire and lightning!

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The Sandstorm Sword was now mixed with Mo Fan’s lightning and fire. He looked like a destructive deity in red armor when he stood atop the red sea of sand. The ground and mountains were already cracking apart, while the sky became dark and gloomy even before he swung the sword!

“Great Land Slash!”

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The sandstorm had gathered all the sand up. The fine sand particles had become Mo Fan’s deadly weapon, instead of the Skybound Mages’ tool. The ground ruptured into segments as Mo Fan slashed forward. The sandstorm shredded the Skybound Mages who had escaped from the tower in passing. The lightning and fire dealt a serious blow to the rest of the Skybound Mages who were maintaining the magic Formation.

1

The damage was greater than Mo Fan’s expectations. He felt like he was still in his demon form. The power of the destructive sword could even match the Black Dragon Emperor’s strength!

The Skybound Mages suffered a humiliating defeat beneath Mo Fan’s Great Land Slash. The battle would not have ended so quickly if they had not turned the Sea of Darkness into the sea of sand in the first place.

Mo Fan was almost unbeatable in his Heavy Armored Stance. He was also holding the same shield with fiery lines on it, so he was not afraid of his enemies’ attacks.

He bashed the shield down upon the chief of the Skybound Mages. The sand immediately sank several dozen meters deep in the shape of the shield. The chief was right in the middle of the sunken ground. His face was covered in blood, and his eyes were filled with fear.

1

It felt like they were doomed to be sacrifices of the battle right from the beginning. The chief of the Skybound Mages turned around and looked at Su Lu in despair.

Su Lu remained silent.

If they were truly able to do anything they pleased just by following Su Lu’s orders, why was Su Lu currently a prisoner of the Lord of Darkness, turned into a mere chess piece for the Lord’s little game?

Even the most powerful kingdom would be taken out for its arrogance, let alone Su Lu, who was nowhere powerful enough to challenge the entire world!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan retained his Heavy Armored Stance, while the Elder of the Shadow Tribe remained as his shadow. He further abused his destructive fire and lightning, taking out the Skybound Mages one by one!

In the end, the chief of the Skybound Mages fell to the ground, trembling in fear.

He hugely regretted his decision of choosing the path of destruction. Why did they not think about the consequences when they decided to follow Su Lu?

Wouldn’t they have ended up in Hell, if Hell did exist?

They had killed everyone who stood against them and might have posed a threat to them. They were supposed to maintain order as the highest Magic Association in Asia, but they had completely neglected their duties and the law in exchange for personal power.

They had now ended up in Hell. They had followed Su Lu right into Hell.

Su Lu was just another prisoner in Hell!

The chief of the Skybound Mages grabbed a handful of sand and swallowed it before Mo Fan could kill him.

The sand was sharper than metallic weapons. He was trying to kill himself, without a doubt. He was paying the price for his own decisions!

Mo Fan did not feel sorry for the chief of the Skybound Mages, even when he saw that extreme act of repentance.

Hadn’t he only realized his sins after he lost to a greater power? That simply meant they would have continued their evil deeds as long as Su Lu was in charge of the Asia Magic Association!

Only they knew how many people they had killed. Feng Zhoulong and the scholars were only a small portion of the victims!

Mo Fan turned his attention to Su Lu.

He was the source of all this evil!

He had dragged all of them into the Dark Plane. He thought he could escape using the Tide of Darkness, but Mo Fan had no intention of letting him leave the Dark Plane alive. The only ending he was interested in was keeping Su Lu forever in the Dark Plane.

“You are granted the Spring of Darkness once again!” the Lord of Darkness proclaimed.

Mo Fan’s strength increased by fifty percent once again. The only pieces that could threaten Mo Fan now were the enemy queen and king!

Mu Bai had more options now that Mo Fan had grown a lot stronger.

Mu Bai began to press forward. He sent his rook deep into the enemy lines to take out the remaining Hellish Curse Cerberi that were blocking Mo Fan and the Red Spider Lily Queen’s paths.

The Lord of Darkness’ important pieces were killed before they could make a difference. He was slowly losing all his pieces, except for Su Lu, his king, and the Saintess of Darkness, his queen.

“Mo Fan, we have to take out the enemy queen to give the Black Dragon Emperor an opening to attack Su Lu,” Mu Bai told him.

The Black Dragon Emperor was equal to Su Lu in strength, so the key to winning the game was to make sure the Black Dragon Emperor was the attacker.

If they could get rid of the enemy queen, Mu Bai could set things up for the Black Dragon Emperor to challenge Su Lu to a duel. It would greatly increase his odds of winning the game!

They had to leave Su Lu dead in the Dark Plane, while all of them made it out alive.

Only one step was left until they achieved their goal. They had to take out the enemy queen!

The Saintess of Darkness was stronger than the Red Spider Lily Queen, from what Mu Bai had observed. Even if the Red Spider Lily Queen was the attacker and challenged the Saintess of Darkness, the odds of her winning the battle were slim.

If the Red Spider Lily Queen lost the battle, the enemy queen’s strength would increase by fifty percent. No one could possibly stand a chance against her. All his efforts and plans would be in vain.

But Mu Bai still had the advantage with the pieces he had left.

However, it was not a normal game of chess. Every piece was an important life. If Mu Bai had the option to sacrifice some of his pieces, he would have long since won the game. The problem was that Mu Bai was trying to preserve his pieces. He had to at least make sure Asha’ruiya, Sharjah, Mo Fan, and the Black Dragon Emperor were alive at the end of the match.

The little advantage he currently had in the match was not enough to guarantee his victory with the extra winning conditions he had set for himself.

“There’s no point moving the pawns anymore. Mu Bai, you should force the other group of Skybound Mages into a corner.” Mo Fan also knew the match had reached a critical phase.

“I understand what you are trying to achieve, but isn’t it a little risky? The Saintess of Darkness is most likely the strongest piece, if we exclude Su Lu and the Black Dragon Emperor. I have a feeling she’s already reached the peak of the Super Level. She also has the unpredictable power of Evil Faith,” Mu Bai replied.

The safest option for him was to force the enemy queen to move closer to the Black Dragon Emperor, and let the Black Dragon Emperor take out the enemy queen.

However, it was extremely difficult to make happen. Su Lu would be able to take out his pieces if the Black Dragon Emperor did not keep him at bay.

The other option was sending the Red Spider Lily Queen after the Saintess of Darkness.

If the Red Spider Lily Queen was the attacker, the Saintess of Darkness could only fight with seventy percent of her strength. If the Red Spider Lily Queen won the fight, Su Lu would be at the end of his wits.

However, if the Red Spider Lily Queen lost to the enemy queen, the Saintess of Darkness would take out all of Mu Bai’s pieces on behalf of Su Lu. No one would be able to stop her!

It was a risky move. Mu Bai was not willing to bet everything on the Red Spider Lily Queen.

“I would rather trust myself than believe in others,” Mo Fan said.

“I know. Just be patient. Let’s see what their move is,” Mu Bai said.

“Fine!”

—

Mo Fan was told to stand by for the time being. The Red Spider Lily Queen started moving closer to the enemy queen, while the Black Dragon Emperor also closed in on the enemy queen by giving up the chance of taking out an enemy piece.

The pawns had blocked the Saintess of Darkness’ possible escape routes. The Saintess of Darkness was soon surrounded by enemy pieces on three sides.

The Lord of Darkness immediately moved the Saintess of Darkness toward his rook.

The Red Spider Lily Queen pressed forward and moved to a spot where the enemy rook was within her reach.

The Lord of Darkness activated castling, switching the position of the king and the rook.

His king and rook had exchanged positions. Mu Bai’s pieces that were surrounding the enemy rook were suddenly walking into a trap!

Mu Bai did not panic when he saw the Lord of Darkness’ move.

He grinned and moved his pieces away swiftly. Not only did they move away from Su Lu and the Saintess of Darkness, they proceeded to surround the enemy rook, too! “Sharjah, Mo Fan, it’s your turn!”

It was a diversion!

Mu Bai’s target was never the Saintess of Darkness. He was targeting the other group of Skybound Mages!

He had to make sure Mo Fan was the one who took out the Skybound Mages, so that his strength would increase by another fifty percent!

The Lord of Darkness assumed Mu Bai was going to sacrifice the Red Spider Lily Queen so he could send the Black Dragon Emperor after the Saintess of Darkness, but the truth was, Mu Bai was planning to send the man who had never let him down after the Saintess of Darkness instead and guarantee his victory.

“You are feeding my rooks and bishops to Mo Fan until he’s strong enough to fight my queen?” The Lord of Darkness finally realized Mu Bai’s intentions.

Such a brilliant move! His opponent was creating a diversion so Mo Fan would continue to grow stronger by taking out enemy pieces!

“I would like to recommend you a book, the Art of War, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist, Sun Tzu,” Mu Bai replied formally.

“…”

The Lord of Darkness might rule the Dark Plane, but he was nowhere as educated as Mu Bai!

2

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The other group of Skybound Mages all had pale faces.

The previous group of Skybound Mages had fought Mo Fan after he had received only a single Spring of Darkness. He had now obtained another Spring of Darkness after defeating the first group.

Mo Fan stepped into the tile.

He was still the attacker. However, he did not think these Skybound Mages would have stood a chance against him as a defender, when he could only fight with seventy percent of his strength.

The low-level pieces had the advantage of growing stronger by defeating other pieces.

It did not matter if the Red Spider Lily Queen was weaker than the Saintess of Darkness. They could just raise a piece until it was strong enough to beat the Saintess of Darkness!

—

The battle did not last very long. Mo Fan had eight Elements and Magic Fusion. The increase in his strength was rather terrifying.

After all, The Spring of Darkness had increased his overall strength, not just one Element!

The Skybound Mages lost without any surprises. They did last for a longer time than the first group, as they had learned about Mo Fan’s Elements and abilities after watching the first battle, but it did not make any difference. It only helped them live a little longer.

In the end, they were still food for Mo Fan!

“You have obtained the Spring of Darkness for the third time,” the Lord of Darkness declared.

“Then I guess I should thank you for it,” Mo Fan replied.

The Lord of Darkness was the origin of the Dark Magic, thus Mo Fan was simply speaking the truth.

The Lord of Darkness grinned.

Even though his opponent had set him up multiple times during the game, he was not too fussed about it.

As a matter of fact, he was pleased to see different races and species trying their best to survive in the Dark Plane, when all odds were against them.

It was the law of survival in the Dark Plane. The key was not trying to please the Lord of Darkness, but to beat the other participants in the games!

Next target: The Saintess of Darkness!

Su Lu would be in deep trouble after they took out the Saintess of Darkness!

They would win the match after killing Su Lu. It was time to finish it once and for all.

Mo Fan had not thought he would have a chance to leave the Dark Plane alive at first, but he could not hope for a better ending if they managed to kill Su Lu in the Dark Plane.

The other factions would take over the Asia Magic Association after Su Lu died.

1

Shao Zheng had encountered a lot of resistance when he proposed his strategy of setting up defenses along the coastlines to the Asia Magic Association. Once Su Lu was dead, the Asia Magic Association would have to reevaluate its relationship with the Chinese.

Su Lu might have dragged them all into Hell, but Mo Fan could not wait to kill him here!

He just had to defeat the Saintess of Darkness. There was no way Su Lu could be allowed to go back to the Asia Magic Association and continue to make trouble!

Mo Fan took a deep breath.

The Saintess of Darkness drifted across the ground in her fluffy dress. Half of her face was hidden under her cape. Only her tall nose and sharp chin, typical traits of a Westerner, were revealed under the hood.

The Lord of Darkness was not stupid. He used his remaining pieces to make sure the Saintess of Darkness was the attacker. That meant Mo Fan’s strength would be reduced by thirty percent!

The Saintess of Darkness was the strongest piece in the match, save for the two kings. She also had the advantage as the attacker. Mo Fan might have received the Spring of Darkness three times, but was it going to make a difference?

It was similar to the case of a Top Seater. Even though a Top Seater was ‘just’ a Super Mage, they normally had set half a foot into the Forbidden Level. Even a group of normal Super Mages was no match for them.

Mo Fan’s strength had increased tremendously after receiving the Spring of Darkness three times, but was he really strong enough to fight the Saintess of Darkness?

The Saintess of Darkness calmly clasped her arms in front of her, like a devout disciple. She did not look as scary as the rumors mentioned.

“Do you know what I’m doing?” the Saintess of Darkness asked of him. Her voice was special, like she had received special education from a young age in manners and decorum.

“Are you praying?” Mo Fan guessed.

“Mm, I’m praying for you,” the Saintess of Darkness, whose name was Yucay, replied.

“Do we know each other?” Mo Fan asked.

“Nope, but I heard you are the one who killed my fourth child. My first three children were like lions in a zoo. The whips and cages have rubbed their natures away. Only he retained his nature, no matter how thick the cages and how sharp the whips were. He was the only one who inherited my will…” Yucay answered.

“The Cold Prince?” Mo Fan was astounded.

The European man had mentioned the Saintess of Darkness was the creator of Evil Faith. That discovery had greatly broken the Lord of Darkness’ rules, so he had sent out an army of Hellish Curse Cerberi to drag her into the Dark Plane.

She had mentioned her ‘fourth child’ out of nowhere. The Cold Prince also had the power of Evil Faith, so it was easy to relate the two.

“What wrong did he do, when everything he did was trying to rescue his mother from this place?” Yucay exclaimed with an eerie and spooky smile.

She was dressed like a Saintess. Her face and temperament were fitting too, but she was giving off an Aura of great evil.

The Cold Prince had colluded with Khufu to open a gate to the Dark Plane. Did he do that to rescue his mother?

It sounded like the myth of the daughter named Shen Xiang, trying to slice Huashan Mountain in half just to save her mother.

Mo Fan thought the Red Cardinals were a bunch of lunatics whose only goal was to destroy the world, but it seemed they too had things they treasured…

“I didn’t kill him. I would like to know how he died too,” Mo Fan admitted.

“I guess some bitch had him killed to lure out the Supreme Pontiff. She treated my child as her pawn, but you were the one who made it possible,” Yucay declared coldly.

“Are you talking about Salan?” Mo Fan was surprised. It sounded like the Saintess of Darkness knew a lot of things, even though she had been imprisoned in the Dark Plane for so many years.

“Do you think I hate that pitiful woman? The Spell of Resurrection is unable to bring people who are dragged into the Dark Plane back to life, so how did she rise from her coffin like nothing even happened…” the Saintess of Darkness said. She seemed to be talking about a different topic.

The Saintess of Darkness was familiar with the things that had happened in the living world, including how Izisha had come back to life!

“Why was I trapped here, while Izisha was allowed to leave?…” the Saintess of Darkness mumbled.

She was no longer talking to Mo Fan.. She was simply murmuring to herself, like she was putting the blame on someone else.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Yucay, you have talked too much today,” the Lord of Darkness interrupted Yucay.

The Saintess of Darkness suddenly turned around and looked at the Lord of Darkness. “Do you feel scared, too?”

“I have no fear,” the Lord of Darkness refuted her.

“But you don’t want me to tell these people who are about to leave the Dark Plane certain things. You never want the world to know your ambitions, even when countless people are still praying to you and grieving over your death,” the Saintess of Darkness said. She seemed to be accusing the Lord of Darkness.

“Your words won’t reach my inner being. I’m just a chess player,” the Lord of Darkness said calmly.

“You have countless clones, each representing a part of your nature. You might be able to control your clones in the living world, but the rest of them are galloping everywhere in the Dark Plane like wild horses!” the Saintess of Darkness rebuked him.

Mo Fan was utterly confused. The Saintess of Darkness was probably not in her right mind.

1

She had been treating Mo Fan like an enemy because of what had happened to the Cold Prince just a moment ago, but she was now accusing the Lord of Darkness, as if she was familiar with him.

The Saintess of Darkness suddenly pointed at Su Lu. “That guy is an ambitious zealot who thinks he can rule over everything!”

Su Lu frowned.

What is the mad woman doing? Just hurry up and kill Mo Fan so I can leave the Dark Plane. Why is she talking nonsense?

“But compared to you, he’s just like a three-year-old. His ambition, conspiracy, and wisdom are nothing compared to you,” the Saintess of Darkness went on.

Su Lu’s face darkened.

Did she just say he was like a three-year-old? He was the Chairman of the Asia Magic Association. He had even subdued the Black Dragon Emperor!

Once he left this place, he would defeat the Sacred City and its Angels to take over the world!

“Madam, can you please give me a name?” Mo Fan asked impatiently.

The woman had said so much to accuse the Lord of Darkness. She even claimed Su Lu’s ambition was naive. Who exactly was she comparing Su Lu to?

The Supreme Pontiff?

Izisha?

Salan?

Or was it someone who had remained in the dark while controlling their world, like the Lord of Darkness who was controlling the match while staying hidden under his robe?

She should just give them a name!

“Wen Tai.

“Wen Tai!

“His name is Weeeen Taaaai!”

The Saintess of Darkness surprisingly agreed to his request and gave Mo Fan a name.

She even repeated the name thrice, each louder than the previous time. She even dragged her tone during the third time, uttering it in a trembling voice!

Wen Tai? Holy Saint Wen Tai?

What about him? Wasn’t he already dead and dragged to the deepest part of the Dark Plane where no one could ever see him? He was exiled to a vast and empty dark cage!

Su Lu burst out laughing. “Why do you bother comparing me with a man who couldn’t even save himself?”

He thought the woman was going to say a name that would baffle him. He thought she was going to reveal a great secret, but she was merely referring to Wen Tai in the end.

Wen Tai could not even outsmart his own sister Izisha. He was dragged into Hell in the end.

His wife went mad and was killing innocent people while searching for his murderers.

His daughter almost became a sacrifice to Izisha’s resurrection. She was almost sent to Hell too!

How could a failure like him be comparable to the Chairman of the Asia Magic Association? He only had an undeserved reputation!

It was hilarious that the woman had compared him to Wen Tai!

“What are you laughing at?” the Saintess of Darkness asked Su Lu coldly.

“I’m still alive at least. What about him? You should just die. I can kill them all by myself,” Su Lu said.

“HAHAHAHAHA,” Yucay burst out laughing. Her body even leaned backward because she was laughing too hard.

“I thought you were impressive, but you are just a mad woman,” Su Lu scoffed.

“You idiots. In the end, you still have no idea who’s trying to take away your freedom, even after you are dead. How stupid can you all be…” the Saintess of Darkness said.

Asha’ruiya seemed to realize something. She stared at the Lord of Darkness.

The Lord of Darkness stayed as silent as a dark icy mountain. She could not sense any emotions from him.

“The one who’s controlling your lives and trying to trap your souls is the same person who’s worshiped as a saint in your world! The old Lord of Darkness has already retired from the scene. A man who tricked the whole world has come to the Dark Plane to rule over it!

“You all thought he was willing to accept the terrible punishment, like Jesus who died willingly just to awaken the world’s conscience, but do you really know his real ambition?

“He did not even bother to rule over the living world. His ambition was to rule over the Dark Plane, which is countless times stronger than the living world!”

“People’s mourning and worship have given him the power to rule over the Dark Plane. He was not dragged into the Dark Plane by force. He opened the gate to the Dark Plane himself!

“The fight between me and Izisha was only part of his conspiracy.

“The more heartless and cold-blooded Izisha became, the more she set off his nobility.

“He resurrected Izisha so she would continue to mess up the living world.

“He has earned the respect of the whole world, but it was not enough to satisfy him. Now, he has achieved his goal of ruling over the Dark Plane. He has made you idiots into chess pieces to entertain himself!

“Think about it! If he can make you travelers into his chess pieces, why couldn’t he control the demon creatures of your world, too? Why couldn’t he turn your world into Hell, too?”

“Wouldn’t he become the ruler of both planes?”

“How stupid are all of you!

“How stupid are all of you!!

“How stupid are all of you!!!”

Yucay yelled frantically, like she was venting all the hatred and grudges in her heart.

When she was still a Saintess and had the upper hand over Izisha, Wen Tai had been hiding and watching them fight. He had ended up becoming the Holy Saint.

After coming to the Dark Plane, she had done everything to gain power through the Evil Faith.

In the end, all her efforts had benefited someone else.

She could not escape the man’s control, no matter where she went. She had even ended up as a mere chess piece, just to entertain one of his clones!

Why would she be afraid of being tortured endlessly after everything she had been through?

Mo Fan and Asha’ruiya were stunned.

Was the Lord of Darkness Wen Tai?

Wen Tai was the Lord of Darkness?

Was the Saintess of Darkness telling the truth?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Some things did not make any sense.

The Lord of Darkness was able to set up the game of chess, so he could just kill them with a single thought. However, the Saintess of Darkness was hoping someone could make it out alive and tell the world the truth.

If the Lord of Darkness wanted her to be silent, would she be able to speak?

Unless the Lord of Darkness did not really care what she was saying, or perhaps what she said was not the truth.

Mo Fan looked at Asha’ruiya. She obviously had the strongest reaction.

Wen Tai was her father! If the Saintess of Darkness was telling the truth, wouldn’t that mean the Lord of Darkness was…

Asha’ruiya looked at the Lord of Darkness and asked in disbelief, “Is what she said real?”

“For now, I’m just a chess player,” the Lord of Darkness answered simply.

Su Lu pointed at the Lord of Darkness and asked fiercely, “You want to rule over both planes? Is it true that you want to rule over both worlds?”

He kept repeating the sentence, as if it was an unrealistic ambition.

Ruling over two planes!

Su Lu was the Chairman of the Asia Magic Association. His ambition was to rule over the Magic Association of the other four continents and their countries.

However, it would only make him the King of Humans. There were many powerful kingdoms of demon creatures. A single kingdom in the Pacific Ocean could already destroy multiple human cities with tsunamis and take away seventy percent of their land.

The sea monsters in the Pacific Ocean were not even the strongest threat. The South Pole Emperor, Sahara Desert Emperor, Kunlun Emperor, and the other Emperors in the Amazon, the Atlantic Ocean, the Alps, and many other places could also wipe out the human race with their kingdoms.

It was almost impossible to rule over the living world.

On the other hand, the Dark Plane was bigger and more complicated than the living world, and yet the Lord of Darkness was its one and only king.

It was exactly what Archangel Michael of the Sacred City was wary of.

Several thousand years from now, darkness would infiltrate their world and devour all light. There would be darkness everywhere. The Darkness Creatures would invade their land and claim their world.

He was obliged to kill the King of the Undead Zhan Kong to protect his world.

It was not just an unfounded story. It was a prophecy that had spread among the authorities of the Magic Association.

There was also a prophecy related to the rise of the sea level.

Thousands of years from now, darkness would linger in their world. Multitudes of Darkness Creatures would appear, reproduce, and evolve to spread across their world like vegetation. When that happened, even the last territory of the humans would be taken away.

Therefore, it was possible for the Lord of Darkness to rule over the two planes!

Su Lu acted like he had just been struck by lightning.

Imagine the Lord of Darkness conspiring to rule over the living world!

If the Saintess of Darkness was telling the truth, Wen Tai was definitely the scariest conspirator in the world. No one was aware of his ambition. The people even thought of him as a saint!

He had become the god of the Dark Plane and asserted control over everything!

A human life was brief, since they would only live for around a hundred years. However, there was endless time for those who had died. The Lord of Darkness would rule over both the living and the dead. It was obvious whose achievement was more impressive between Su Lu and the Lord of Darkness!

Wen Tai could have easily waged a war to justify himself, but he had chosen to accept his fate instead. It was the reason why he was victorious, even though he had chosen not to put up a fight!

Su Lu believed the Saintess of Darkness. He trusted what she had said. It was the only way to explain Wen Tai’s decision!

The Black Dragon Emperor was once Holy Saint Wen Tai’s guardian. If Wen Tai did not want to die, who could possibly have hurt him?

He had chosen death to pursue greater power in the Dark Plane. It was his true ambition, conspiracy, and plot!

The Saintess of Darkness was right that Su Lu was like a three-year-old in comparison!

“What a letdown,” the Lord of Darkness sighed.

They should have just focused on the match.

No one wanted their opponent going easy on them because of who they were. It would only make the game boring and dull.

The Lord of Darkness was enjoying the game, but someone had to ruin his fun.

However, he could not help it. After all, it was only a game of chess. They were not fighting a real war.

“So, Yucay, are you going to forfeit? Your enemy has obtained the Spring of Darkness thrice. He’s the one who took your son to the Holy Judgment Court. Are you seriously going to let him win and help him escape the Dark Plane, just so he brings back the secret that Wen Tai has become the Lord of Darkness to the world, and reveal my true identity?” the Lord of Darkness asked.

“I can pretend I didn’t hear a single word, nor am I going to spread the news to the public. After all, I would rather stay alive if it means keeping some secrets with me forever,” Mo Fan shrugged.

He was surprised, but his current priority was to stay alive. As for the question of whether Wen Tai was the Lord of Darkness or not…

Even if he was, Mo Fan could easily tell from how much he was enjoying the brutal game of chess now that he was no longer the Holy Saint.

The Lord of Darkness pointed at Mo Fan and smiled. “Very well, I like your thinking. You just have to stick to your role and do what you are supposed to do.”

“So, are you Wen Tai?” Mo Fan asked.

“Your country believes there are ten kings in Hell, but when it comes to the one who controls life and death, people would only mention Yama. Why is that?” the Lord of Darkness asked him.

“Maybe Yama is the most reputable among them?”

“The Dark Plane is the same. There might be more than one king. People only call him the Lord of Darkness because he’s the strongest and the most reputable among the kings. Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not Wen Tai. If Wen Tai has the ambition to rule over two planes, why would he have time to waste on playing chess here?” The Lord of Darkness slowly revealed his face.

Asha’ruiya was staring closely at the Lord of Darkness, but soon calmed her thoughts and feelings.

He was not Wen Tai, nor was he her father.

He was one of the gods in the Dark Plane. Apparently, there was more than one king in the Dark Plane!

Perhaps there was only one Lord of Darkness with countless clones, each representing a personality of the Lord of Darkness, yet that still did not make him Wen Tai!

“Alright, the time for chitchat has ended. Can you show me an exciting match with your life at stake?” the Lord of Darkness asked.

“As you wish!” Mo Fan smiled.

Whether it was a conspiracy, politics, or Wen Tai was truly the greatest conspirer in the world, it had nothing to do with him. His only goal was to make it out alive.

If Mo Fan managed to leave the Dark Plane in one piece, he would not mind burning incense sticks for his father-in-law and thanking him for sparing his life!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“If you don’t want to say it, I will say it. Some people don’t deserve their reputation, and some people don’t deserve to be forgotten!” the Saintess of Darkness exclaimed coldly.

Mo Fan could feel the Saintess of Darkness’ murderous intent. It was strong, like a shark eying its prey. It would soon dash out of the waves and bite him in half.

Mo Fan knew the battle was not going to end with just a few sentences.

Some people might justify their actions proudly, but in the end everything they did was only for their own interest and benefits. Greed was like a seal that had been forever imprinted on the Saintess of Darkness’ soul. Otherwise, why would she have ended up in the Dark Plane, even if she lost the election?

Mo Fan had grown stronger after receiving the third Spring of Darkness. He could establish a thick wall with his Will with a single stare. It blocked the Saintess of Darkness’ icy tsunami.

The Saintess of Darkness began to transform. She still had the power of Evil Faith. The disdain, hatred, and grudges that others held against her were a source of power!

She took off the sacred robe and revealed her skin, which was now covered in tattoos. A pair of horns emerged from her forehead and extended above her head.

A dark red tail burst out of her dress. A strange darkness spread like pollen as the tail waved back and forth, making her look like a filthy lizard spreading its poison across the area.

The horns and tail had turned the woman into a monster with very thick dark skin. The Saintess of Darkness’ transformation was similar to the Cold Prince, but her horns and tails were obviously bigger and stronger.

Her horns were surprisingly massive. They almost reached the dark clouds hanging above her.

Red sparks were flickering in the clouds. The Saintess of Darkness suddenly swung her head and smashed her horns at Mo Fan, dealing a destructive blow to the ground.

The sparkles of red light had scattered across the ground like thorns and chains in order to limit Mo Fan’s movements and prevent him from dodging the horns!

Even though Mo Fan had received the Spring of Darkness thrice, he was still under enormous pressure against the Saintess of Darkness’ evil power. She was almost as strong as a Supreme Ruler like the Sea Skeleton King.

Mo Fan glanced at the black string on his head, noting that it was slowly fading away.

The Saintess of Darkness had not only told everyone a huge secret, she had also brought Mo Fan a lot of time.

The Saintess of Darkness was the attacker, meaning that Mo Fan’s strength was reduced by thirty percent. That was crucial to the outcome of the battle.

But, the restriction to his strength would be reduced over time! The string that was fading away was clear proof. After a certain amount of time, Mo Fan would be able to fight with his full strength!

It was unnecessary for Mo Fan to fight the Saintess of Darkness head-on for now, especially after seeing how strong she was. He decided to drag the battle out until the restriction was gone.

—

Mo Fan snapped his fingers several times. Each snap produced a ripple that spread out like a silver net, catching the red sparks and relocating them.

Mo Fan’s movements were no longer limited after getting rid of the red sparks. He began moving from one spot to the other like a ray of light.

The tile was bigger than it looked. Mo Fan quickly left the Saintess of Darkness’ sight after Casting only a few Blinks.

The massive horns left huge gashes on the ground, but Mo Fan was no longer there.

The Spring of Darkness had also improved Mo Fan’s Space Magic. He could even set up a few Space Star Constellations and quickly step into the next Space Tunnel after leaving the previous one.

He felt like he had become an experienced Mage who had mastered Space Magic, now able to move across the tile freely. His opponent had no way of telling where he was going to appear next!

“Space Compass: Axis of Death!”

Mo Fan was not just running all the time. He was also looking for a chance to attack.

He connected the portals he used to travel around the tile rapidly into a compass. Its red axis slashed at the Saintess of Darkness’ neck fiercely.

The Saintess of Darkness had remained in one place throughout the process. The Axis of Death sliced through her neck in the blink of an eye.

It was the Super Spell of the Space Element, the Axis of Death!

Mo Fan had never had the time to practice it after his Space Element had reached the Super Level. However, the boost from the Spring of Darkness had allowed him to Cast the difficult spell with ease.

The Axis of Death was even stronger than the Holy Essence spells of the Light Element. However, the damage of a Space Spell was based on the Mage’s mental strength.

Mo Fan’s mental state was quite strong right now. The Axis of Death successfully penetrated the Saintess of Darkness’ neck.

Yet, there was no blood pouring out of the Saintess of Darkness’ throat!

The Saintess of Darkness was still able to turn her head, and simply glared at Mo Fan.

She was not dead. Her neck was not her weakness.

Mo Fan had never thought that a single Super Space Spell would be enough to defeat the monster. He continued to keep a safe distance from his enemy and probe her.

He was also waiting for the black string to vanish completely!

“Mo Fan, the Evil Faith is continuously supplying her with energy, like the red strings you encountered before. You must sever the connection between her and her believers,” Mu Bai informed him.

“Are the red strings similar to the Red Demon’s power?” Mo Fan asked quickly.

“Sort of, but they are different. Look closely and find the red strings around her. They should be floating about her like spirits,” Mu Bai told him.

Mo Fan had no idea where Mu Bai had learned all of that, but he followed Mu Bai’s instructions and studied the Saintess of Darkness closely.

Mo Fan soon discovered strange flickers dancing around the Saintess of Darkness every time she used her power. They were supplying her with energy, just as Mu Bai had mentioned.

The red strings had to be connected to something. What would it be?

Mo Fan looked up as he followed the strings. He soon discovered a huge group of spirits hovering above the Saintess of Darkness like a dark cloud. Their faces were filled with anger and hatred!

The Saintess of Darkness looked like a woman who was selling balloons at a festival. She was tugging at strings which were attached to a huge bundle of balloons.

However, the strings extending up to the heads and faces on one end were actually attached to her back!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“I see them!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Mo Fan was not in a rush. After all, the restraint from the Lord of Darkness’s rules was still around. He just needed to drag the battle on for a little longer to unleash his full strength.

The Saintess of Darkness had a twisted face. Not only was she showing her strong hatred for Mo Fan, she also bore a strong hatred toward the entire world.

It was not exaggerating to call her a madwoman. It was completely unnecessary for Mo Fan to face her while she was recklessly destroying everything.

The black string attached to Mo Fan finally disappeared.

The Lord of Darkness sneered. He felt sorry for the Saintess of Darkness’ idiocy. He had held a chance to win the match. He could have made a comeback with just his queen and king.

However, the chance o that was even slimmer now, by the looks of it!

“I’m going to cut off the strings first!” Mo Fan was ridiculously fast. He could now Cast Blink four times in one second!

Each Blink would send him around eight hundred meters away. If he had more time to Channel the spells, he could easily have traveled over two kilometers with each Blink.

He zipped around swiftly, like a beam of irregular light.

The Elder of the Shadow Tribe’s aura grew stronger, too. It took the shape of a massive mace behind Mo Fan.

The mace slammed heavily into the red faces in the sky. They shattered into pieces, like masks made out of clay.

The Saintess of Darkness lost a portion of her power every time a face was smashed to pieces. Her body began shrinking, gradually losing the armor, claws, and horns the Evil Faith had granted her.

Mo Fan took his time.

The Saintess of Darkness had completely lost her mind. He could not afford to rush it when fighting an enemy like her.

Mo Fan eventually destroyed all the faces, but the Saintess of Darkness found an opportunity to lunge at Mo Fan. She swung her claws at Mo Fan’s belly.

She was going to pull his intestines out!

Lightning Seals suddenly surfaced on Mo Fan’s body, like armor made out of lightning, standing between Mo Fan and the Saintess of Darkness.

The lightning exploded, knocking both Mo Fan and the Saintess of Darkness away and sending them flying.

Mo Fan rose to his feet after dodging the attack. He stared at the Saintess of Darkness coldly.

“Hell is the best place for a lunatic like you, who thinks the whole world is as filthy as yourself!” Lightning and fire appeared simultaneously between Mo Fan’s fingers.

The purple lightning and red fire fell off Mo Fan’s fingers like leaves of two different colors. They triggered a huge explosion as flames forming the feathers of a giant phoenix surged wildly. The lightning coiled into huge pillars, forming the bodies of dragons!

The lightning dragons and fiery phoenix dived forward. The purple lightning and red fire clashed and triggered a mighty explosion!

The explosion turned everything within its radius into ashes. The Saintess of Darkness struggled fiercely as her skin melted away. The bright light lit up her face, which was now looking quite pained.

“Shadow Fiends: Thousand Spears!”

Dark spears emerged from the ground even before the lightning and fire had dissipated. They stabbed the Saintess of Darkness in her soul, torturing her with the worst pain.

The Saintess of Darkness’ body burned into a dried corpse, even as her soul was tortured by the shadowy spears. She gradually turned from an evil monster to a hunchbacked old woman.

Mo Fan did not feel sorry for her.

He Cast another spell of the Chaos Element. It ignored the Saintess of Darkness’ defenses and rent her into two halves.

The Saintess of Darkness did not cry out in pain. She was crawling on the ground like a vengeful spirit.

“Phoenix Flame!”

Mo Fan summoned a huge fireball from the sky and burned the Saintess of Darkness into ashes.

Evil Faith?

That evil magic was even worse than the Black Vatican sorcery that turned humans into Dark Beast Monsters.

The Saintess of Darkness kept claiming she was being used like a pawn. However, she was the one who had invented the Evil Faith.

She had also raised the Cold Prince!

The Evil Faith was not supposed to exist in the world. It was better for the Saintess of Darkness to perish, preventing her from seducing more people into learning the Evil Faith and abusing its power while she was serving her sentence in the Dark Plane!

—

“It’s getting boring.” The Lord of Darkness was clearly unsatisfied with the outcome.

However, the Lord of Darkness had to admit that he did not expect his opponent’s move of having Mo Fan grow strong enough with the Spring of Darkness to take out the Lord of Darkness’ queen.

After all, if Mo Fan had not received the Spring of Darkness, there was no way he could have beaten the Saintess of Darkness!

“Only one more step left!” Mu Bai smiled.

“You have won. You and your friends may leave now,” the Lord of Darkness said.

Su Lu was enraged when he heard the words.

What did he mean?

The battle between him and the Black Dragon Emperor had not even taken place. How could the Lord of Darkness forfeit the match?!

“Are you looking down on me?” Su Lu asked.

“I don’t think you are that stupid to realize you have little chance of beating the Black Dragon Emperor,” the Lord of Darkness said.

“I will dig out its heart, liver, and lungs!” Su Lu swore fervently.

“Then I look forward to your performance.”

—

The Lord of Darkness did not have high hopes for Su Lu.

The Black Dragon Emperor was covered in scorching blood, looking like a black mountain. Its burning blood was flowing down its body like streams of lava. It was almost felt like an erupting black volcano.

Su Lu was the defender, so his strength was reduced by thirty percent.

The Black Tide had dragged a lot of people into the Dark Plane. The spell had consumed a huge portion of Su Lu’s mental strength. He was also severely injured after the Contract between him and the Black Dragon Emperor was forcibly terminated.

The Black Dragon Emperor did not care if Su Lu was ready to use some other strange magic. The Lord of Darkness’ game had given him the perfect opportunity to take his revenge!

Su Lu could no longer escape, nor did he have any backup!

In order to defeat the Black Dragon Emperor, Su Lu had used an evil spell to destroy the Black Dragon Emperor’s throat, preventing him from using his dragon breath.

The flame the Black Dragon Emperor had spat out when he was fighting Mo Fan was only a small fireball he had stored inside his stomach. It was not the real breath of a dragon!

The Black Dragon Emperor lifted his head.

The real dragon breath was burning in his throat. The heat almost broke through the barrier around the tile and burned the others nearby.

The poison in the Black Dragon Emperor’s throat spread rapidly.

However, the Black Dragon Emperor insisted on giving Su Lu a taste of his dragon breath, despite the risk of destroying his throat!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The true dragon breath was countless times stronger than the Black Dragon Emperor’s saliva. It was not corrosive, nor was it breathing out fire. It was a destructive energy that only a real dragon possessed!

It was like fire, but it could freeze everything within a thousand miles. It was like poison, but it was clean and pure!

The dragon’s neck burst open, as if the dragon breath was going to burn right through it.

However, the Black Dragon Emperor still persisted in using his dragon breath. Everything caught by his breath would perish into nothingness!

Su Lu could feel the Black Dragon Emperor’s wrath from that breath.

He had made a smart move by disabling the Black Dragon Emperor’s strongest ability. He was overwhelmed by fear when he saw the Black Dragon Emperor trying to use the dragon breath, even though the dragon might end up killing himself too!

Did Su Lu really think he could subdue a real dragon? When would humans ever obtain a power on par with a real dragon’s breath?

—

Su Lu almost died to the first dragon breath.

A green light was circling him. It seemed to be an outstanding magical artifact that was healing him from the spring of life.

However, the power of the dragon breath continued to burn him.

A real dragon’s breath would never dissipate. The Black Dragon Emperor was also struggling to put out the flame in his throat after using his dragon breath.

The dragon breath was killing Su Lu, but it was also slowly taking away the Black Dragon Emperor’s life!

It seemed like the Black Dragon Emperor did not want to give Su Lu any chance of living. He was trying to kill Su Lu at all costs.

He was about to use his dragon breath again!

The Black Dragon Emperor’s neck had already split open. Both the dragon breath and the poison that had filled his throat were leaking out of the gash.

Asha’ruiya’s eyes reddened when she saw the Black Dragon Emperor’s crazy move.

The Black Dragon Emperor was going to kill himself. However, the Black Dragon Emperor did not regret it if he could destroy Su Lu!

“Stop, stop it! You stupid dragon!”

Su Lu was enraged. His body had just healed a little, but he would surely die to the next wave of dragon breath.

Su Lu was already at the brink of death. The dragon breath was far scarier than a Forbidden Curse. The deadly flames lingering in the area were slowly taking away his life!

Su Lu had prepared some tricks to drag on the battle. Once the restraint was gone, he had a chance to win the duel.

He did not expect the Black Dragon Emperor to be so reckless. The Black Dragon Emperor was not going to stop, even if he was going to kill himself!

—

The Black Dragon Emperor unleashed his third dragon breath. The whole tile was already on the verge of collapsing.

The dragon breath spread out like a black sea of flames. The Black Dragon Emperor’s power had already surpassed the limit of the barrier.

Su Lu stood in the sea of flames. He was struggling fiercely while cursing at the top of his lungs, but he stopped making sounds as time went by. His body also stopped moving.

The green-glowing magical Artifact that had been healing him was destroyed by the dragon breath. Su Lu had turned into a charred corpse.

He was not willing to fall to the ground, and remained standing after he died.

His eyes were gone. Only a black skull with a terrified expression on it remained.

—

The Black Dragon Emperor had also reached his limit after using the dragon breath three times.

The dragon breath surged into his throat uncontrollably. It was burning his stomach and organs. His body swayed like he was going to collapse at any second.

Asha’ruiya looked at the Black Dragon Emperor. Her eyes were full of tears, but she could not say a word.

The Black Dragon Emperor had managed to kill Su Lu, but he was also on the brink of death too.

The last black dragon in the world would soon be gone!

“Go, you no longer have to suffer. Go to the Thousand Cliff Dragon Mausoleum and find your people. You don’t have to wait anymore. You won’t be alone anymore. It will bring you happiness,” Asha’ruiya murmured, like she was bidding farewell to the Black Dragon Emperor.

The Black Dragon Emperor did not put up any struggle. He laid down as his own dragon breath slowly burned him into ashes.

He died a peaceful death, as if he had gone back to his den to sleep.

The Black Dragon Emperor was covered in wounds, and his soul was damaged. He stared at Mo Fan, Asha’ruiya, Mu Bai, and Sharjah as he was consumed by the black flames.

He seemed to be conveying his gratitude to them for giving him a chance to die a noble death. He was no longer an evil dragon who had lost his mind and pride after he was enslaved by Su Lu.

The Black Dragon Emperor was gradually reduced to a huge skeleton. Those bones soon crumbled and scattered across the ground, still covered in the inextinguishable dragon breath.

—

The Lord of Darkness had already left. He was not very satisfied with the outcome.

However, the Lord of Darkness kept his promise. A corridor had appeared at the end of the chessboard. It was the way out of the Dark Plane!

Mo Fan gave Asha’ruiya a hand while she was still grieving, helping her towards the corridor.

The others followed them. Mo Fan, Asha’ruiya, and Sharjah were soon lost in the crowd.

Some of the people were pawns who had survived. Some were the prisoners who had been trapped in the black forest. The Lord of Darkness had indeed released them.

The corridor was quite crowded, but everyone’s face was filled with joy, as they were able to see the light again.

——

Mo Fan was completely worn out after the battle.

He found himself on the shore of the Red Sea after he reached the end of the spatial corridor.

The light of the setting sun was shining upon the sea. The sea breeze was cool and relaxing. Mo Fan took a deep breath, trying to cleanse the filth from his lungs.

“It was a long and dark journey,” Mo Fan found himself saying.

“We did stay in the Dark Plane for a long time,” Sharjah said with a serious face, looking at the sunset.

“It was just a metaphor,” Mo Fan half-laughed.

Some dreams felt like centuries had passed after one woke up. They had only spent around eight days in the Dark Plane!

“It does feel like we were gone for a long time,” Asha’ruiya said after noticing something.

“It has been a year.”

“Yeah, roughly a year.”

The two women sounded quite confident.

Mo Fan was utterly confused. He looked at the sunset, but the sun had already sunk below the horizon.

“You’re kidding. It’s only been a few days. There’s no way it has been a year,” Mo Fan protested softly.

“There’s a theory about the timestreams of different dimensions. Even though time is flowing at the same rate in two different planes, when we cross from one dimension to the other, time will flow at a different rate...” Sharjah went on.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was getting dark. The three of them, overwhelmed by fatigue, decided to find a peaceful village close to the Red Sea to stay for the night.

Asha’ruiya was going back to Greece. Mo Fan most likely had to go with her too, to comfort Xinxia after he had gone missing for a year. He had to tell her about his adventure.

Sharjah was going back to the Sacred City.

She had to return after her identity was exposed. She was no longer a student of the Aorus Sacred Institute, an intern at the Canton Tower, or the sister of the leader of a rebellion.

She could not escape her fate after she was chosen to be an Angel.

—

The village had a lot of coconut trees, as if it had just been through a rainy season. It was surrounded by trees, like an unexploited and beautiful tropical island.

Mo Fan lay behind a wooden hut by the white sandy beach. He could see the sea through the trees. He felt relaxed as he sniffed the soothing scents of the nearby plants.

It felt good to be alive. The Dark Plane was like a nightmare. The air was foul and brimming with death. His organs would slowly deteriorate and decay there, even if he was not killed by the ghastly creatures inside it.

“Here, have a taste!” The Saintess had prepared a plate of roasted chicken sprinkled with spices. Its pleasant aroma made Mo Fan drool even before it was served.

Every piece was cut evenly. The plate also had some raw vegetables to balance the oily main dish.

Mo Fan wrapped the meat with the raw vegetables and took a huge bite. He immediately cast away his thoughts of the terrible experience in the Dark Plane, overwhelmed by the joy of eating delicious food once again.

“Here, a toast for making out of Hell alive and taking out a malignant tumor in Asia!” Mo Fan raised his cup of fruit wine. It was a little strong, but Mo Fan emptied his cup in one go.

There was no refrigerator in the village. The wine was cooled with water collected from the river. It gave the wine a perfect taste, and was a great way to relieve their boredom.

“Cheers!”

The two women did not waste the wine either, and emptied their cups after Mo Fan. Their faces soon flushed redly. They regained their charm, their pale faces finally regaining some colors. It was an enjoyable sight for Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was soon a little drunk. He subconsciously wrapped his hands around Asha’ruiya and Sharjah’s shoulders.

Asha’ruiya and Sharjah both looked at him.

He had finally shown his true nature!

“Say, we have been through life and death together. Since there are three of us, why don’t we become sworn brothers and sisters?” Mo Fan proposed.

“…”

“What does that mean?” Sharjah was unfamiliar with the term, since she was a foreigner.

“Basically, we will kneel on our knees and… no that’s not it. Have you not heard about the Oath of the Peach Garden? Asha’ruiya, didn’t you read a lot of books? Explain what it is to her,” Mo Fan said.

“It’s similar to the oath sworn by a bride and a groom. No matter what he becomes, we will treat him like our husband, except we don’t have to sleep with him,” Asha’ruiya explained.

“There’s a ritual like that in your country? That’s interesting. Sure, I swear in the name of the Angel that from today onward, we will be sworn sisters,” Sharjah said.

“Brothers.”

“There are two women here,” Asha’ruiya smiled.

Sharjah nodded.

Mo Fan’s face darkened. He felt like he had just dug a hole for himself.

—

The majority won!

Mo Fan became one of the sworn sisters. He initially thought he could boast to the others that Archangel Gabriel of the Sacred City and a Saintess of the Parthenon Temple were his sworn brothers, but he somehow felt like a toyboy. It no longer sounded as impressive as what he had imagined.

1

Mo Fan felt a little dizzy as he crawled onto his bed.

The room had a simple layout. It had a wooden bed with blankets, but it was comfortable. The bed was surprisingly soft despite its looks.

——

Early next morning, Mo Fan was woken up by two screams and two slaps to his face.

He went outside to wash his face. He looked in the mirror and turned his face. He realized he could not wash the handprints on his face away.

No wonder the bed was softer than he had imagined. How could he not have a comfortable rest on their sexy bodies and their soft chests?

Unfortunately, he had been too drunk to do anything. Otherwise, the trip had definitely been worth it!

—

“I should head back to the Sacred City,” Sharjah sighed in disappointment.

She did not want to be the Archangel Gabriel. She just wanted to be Sharjah, a student of the Aorus Sacred Institute, who just had to focus on the things she was interested in.

Unfortunately, she had her duties. She had returned to the Sacred City and fulfill her responsibilities as a guardian of the world.

“About Su Lu…” Mo Fan said.

“I’ll take care of it. You don’t have to worry about it anymore,” Sharjah assured him.

“That’s great. My country is in deep trouble. My people need me. My country needs me, too. I must go back as soon as possible,” Mo Fan told them.

“Aren’t you going to the Parthenon Temple with me?” Asha’ruiya asked him.

“Ye Xinxia has gone back to our homeland. Is there any reason for me to visit the Parthenon Temple?” Mo Fan said.

“Who knows. Maybe you are a responsible man who won’t disappoint any of his mistresses,” Asha’ruiya hinted at him.

Mo Fan reached out his hand and fondled Asha’ruiya’s head. He smiled, “Don’t worry, you are my only mistress in the Parthenon Temple. We have only spent a year in the Dark Plane together. It’s time for us to part ways.”

Asha’ruiya moved Mo Fan’s hand away and sniffed, “I have a lot of paramours waiting for me!”

“So I’ve heard,” Mo Fan nodded.

Asha’ruiya frowned. “You should go with me to the Parthenon Temple first. I have something to give you,” Asha’ruiya smiled. It was impressive how she managed to change her expression so quickly every time.

“Can’t you tell me what it is?” Mo Fan said.

“You have already been away for a year. A few days won’t hurt you!” Asha’ruiya replied.

“Fine.”

“Then I will be going this way to the Sacred City.” Sharjah pointed at a path leading to a mountain range covered in snow.

The mountain range was white, like something out of a drawing, with a meandering path that lead to the Sacred City.

“Alright, goodbye, Sharjah,” Mo Fan waved his hand.

“Goodbye teacher; goodbye Asha’ruiya!” Sharjah was a little unwilling to leave.. She stood there for a long time.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

It was obvious that Sharjah did not desire to be one of the Archangels.

The role of an Archangel was like a golden cage to her. She could not fly away, even though she had fourteen wings.

The golden cage was not part of an evil scheme or government. It was the sacred duty that had taken her freedom away.

From now on, every word and action from her would affect the whole world. Mo Fan had thought of her as an untainted elf when he met her the first time. She was supposed to live in a mystical forest, one without war and pain.

But now, she was trapped in a seemingly sacred city full of infighting and scheming!

The Sacred City was a lot more complicated than any Magic Association. Were the Archangels really united? Most importantly, it was impossible to tell if the Archangels were righteous or evil when they were executing their duties.

When Sharjah said goodbye to Asha’ruiya and Mo Fan, it felt like she was also saying goodbye to a part of herself who wished to be free and go on adventures as she pleased.

“If you want to be Sharjah, you can come with us!” Mo Fan felt sorry for Sharjah when he saw her struggling.

Sharjah slowly shook her head.

Su Lu was the Chairman of the Asia Magic Association, and had started such a terrifying war. If no one was around to clean up the mess, the Asia Magic Association would have fallen into chaos and destroyed the order of the Sacred City.

“Teacher, I’m just recalling our fond memories, but I already have an answer.” Sharjah looked up with a pure and sincere smile.

She already had an answer…

She admired her mentor Feng Zhoulong, but he had died at the hands of the corrupted Magic Association and the Sacred City.

Without proper systems and supervision, every Magic Association would give birth to someone like Su Lu. Humans could never control their greed and desires, everyone was seeking power and influence. Other ambitious Councilmen might end up as the next Su Lu.

Sharjah had to go back to the Sacred City so the sacrifices of the scholars were not in vain.

She was unwilling to give up her freedom, but she would not run away from her fate. It was her obligation and duty!

—

Mo Fan was feeling upset as he watched Sharjah leave.

He waited until Sharjah had disappeared into the distance before he told Asha’ruiya, “Let’s go.”

“You are pretty impressive!” Asha’ruiya giggled at him like a seductive little vixen.

“Why so?”

“You have slept with an Archangel!”

“…”

——

The two headed for Greece and soon arrived in Athens.

The Mediterranean Sea was not being invaded by the sea monsters. Only the Pacific Ocean was in danger.

The greater the crisis, the higher the status of the Parthenon Temple. Every Servant of the Parthenon Temple was treated like a goddess across the world because of their outstanding Healing and Blessing Elements.

The Parthenon Temple was unusually quiet when Mo Fan arrived. Half of its members had gone outstation.

“It seems like no one is home!” Mo Fan had not seen any familiar faces.

Even Izisha was not around. She had most likely gone to the Sacred Hall of Liberty. The Sacred Hall of Liberty’s support was crucial if she wanted to become the Goddess.

“Isn’t it perfect? We can do whatever we want!” Asha’ruiya seemed very happy.

“What are you so happy about? Your competitors are working hard to increase their performance, while you are wasting time doing nothing,” Mo Fan pointed out.

“I never had a chance in the election. I’m just taking part to make up the numbers. Besides, even if I lose the election, I’m still a Saintess!” Asha’ruiya was very optimistic.

“Izisha has long seen you as an eyesore. If she becomes the Goddess, the first person going to jail will be you,” Mo Fan warned her.

Asha’ruiya rolled her eyes, harrumphed, and said, “She will only put me under house arrest at most. She will still feed me properly, like a pet cat. It’s Xinxia who’s going to send me to jail instead. She has long suspected we are having an affair. I should support Izisha for my own sake. Besides, did you already forget? Izisha is only a pawn to my father.”

“HAHAHA, do you really believe that madwoman’s words?” Mo Fan laughed.

“I would rather think she’s telling the truth,” Asha’ruiya said gloomily.

“So what are you going to give me?” Mo Fan asked, switching the topic.

“I noticed your Equipment is too low-level. How can an unstoppable demon king like you not have any reliable Equipment? I have already asked our best forgemaster to make you a set of Equipment,” Asha’ruiya said.

“I’m surprised. Why are you giving me such a huge gift all of a sudden?” Mo Fan wondered aloud.

Mo Fan had been troubled by the problem of not having reliable Equipment for a long time. His strength had improved too fast, thus much of his Equipment had become useless to him.

Mu Ningxue wanted to craft a set of magic Equipment for him, but she had ended up giving them away to other people on Fanxue Mountain. In the end, the Equipment was no longer useful for him.

“Actually, I have two things to give you. I need your help for the second thing,” Asha’ruiya answered.

“Judging by the look in your eyes, I don’t think we are doing something legal,” Mo Fan judged from experience.

“The Spring of Darkness. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten the thing that can increase your strength by fifty percent?” Asha’ruiya reminded him.

“How could I forget it? It’s a pity that its effects only last temporarily,” Mo Fan sighed.

Asha’ruiya stuck her face close to Mo Fan and whispered into his ear, “Do you want it to be permanent?”

Mo Fan popped his eyes open as wide as a weasel. “Do you have an idea?” Mo Fan blurted out excitedly.

“I can modify the Blessing of the God’s Seal slightly and mix it with the Spring of Darkness to make its effects permanent,” Asha’ruiya confirmed.

“Don’t tell me you stole something from the Dark Plane?” Mo Fan realized something.

“What do you think?” Asha’ruiya put on a cunning grin.

Why would the Lord of Darkness punish Asha’ruiya? Just because her Dark Swordmaster was helping her?

The Lord of Darkness was punishing Asha’ruiya because she had stolen something!

However, the Lord of Darkness did not want to expose what she had done, thus he came up with another excuse to punish her.

“The Dark Blessing… will it permanently increase my strength by fifty percent?” Mo Fan asked with great anticipation.

“Mm, it works with all Elements except for White Magic.. Since you have seven Elements, you are going to benefit the most from it!” Asha’ruiya agreed.

1

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was quite excited as they arrived on the Mountain of the God’s Seal.

The Blessing of the God’s Seal was the strongest Blessing Magic in the world, but it also had a restriction: any soul could only receive it once!

Every person could only receive the Blessing of the God’s Seal once. Xinxia was now a Saintess of the Parthenon Temple. Even if she became the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple, Mo Fan still could not receive the Blessing of the God’s Seal again.

However, someone had found a way to make him stronger permanently with the Spring of Darkness!

“I need your help to cleanse the evil presence in the Spring of Darkness first. Otherwise, we might injure our souls permanently if we received it now,” Asha’ruiya told him.

“What should I do?” Mo Fan asked readily.

“I’ll transfer the Spring of Darkness to you. Once you eliminate the vengeful spirits in it, you will transfer it back to me, so I can modify it with the Blessing Magic and share it with you equally,” Asha’ruiya told him.

“Doesn’t that mean I have to open my soul to you, and you the same for me?” Mo Fan realized.

“Which is why I can only do this with someone I can trust. We are sworn sisters after all,” Asha’ruiya pointed out.

“…”

—

Mo Fan followed Asha’ruiya’s instructions and accepted the Spring of Darkness she had stolen into his soul.

The Spring of Darkness was full of vengeful spirits. They had only one goal: to devour his soul and take over his body! Mo Fan’s job was to cleanse them all away.

Luckily, Mo Fan’s soul had already been through a lot. He was not easily influenced by the hatred and negative emotions of the vengeful spirits.

“Get ready,” Asha’ruiya said, her face serious, after she received the Spring of Darkness back from Mo Fan.

“Isn’t this like a joint cultivation?” Mo Fan asked.

It was a pity that they did not have to be naked in front of one another. They just had to open their souls to one another.

The latter might indicate they had a solid relationship, but Mo Fan was looking forward to some extra benefits.

The interaction between their souls was just as boring as showing affection with mere words on the Internet.

“Be serious!” Asha’ruiya scolded him.

Mo Fan chuckled, and did not dare say any more nonsense. After all, it was a chance for him to raise his strength permanently by fifty percent. He did not want to waste it!

Mo Fan soon felt the Blessing Magic flowing through his body like a cold stream. It was fondling his face, just like Asha’ruiya’s soft hair.

It was a nice feeling. He did not have to try hard to capture it, nor did he have to focus on the process. He just had to put his hands behind his head and enjoy it.

“What are you doing?” Asha’ruiya snarled. Why am I doing all the work while you are lying in such a comfortable position?

“Don’t rush, the Spring of Darkness needs time to adapt. You are being a little impatient. Asha’ruiya, be more gentle,” Mo Fan replied benignly.

Asha’ruiya slowed down. It was her first time doing this.

The Blessing Element was a type of White Magic, the opposite of Dark Magic. It would take some time for them to absorb the Spring of Darkness.

She had to take it slow. Even if she was eager to claim it, she still had to take things slow.

—

—

A servant with a garland was standing at a kiosk under some stairs. The kiosk had white veils covering all sides of it. The veils lifted up slightly when the wind blew.

“Are you sure?” Tuis was wearing a pair of sunglasses.

“I am. I saw Saintess Asha’ruiya and a man in the Flying Spring Chamber. They were inside for a long time,” the servant said softly.

“Humph, what a b**ch. How dare she do something ungraceful with a man on the Mountain of the God’s Seal!” Tuis spat coldly, anger in his eyes.

That shameless woman. How dare she act high and mighty when she is having affairs with so many men?

He could finally catch her in the act!

Tuis immediately summoned several priests from the Hall of Faith. It was time for him to get his revenge!

He brought some priests and servants and surrounded the Flying Spring Chamber. He would be very happy if he could ruin Asha’ruiya’s reputation.

It would be best if they could capture some explicit content. It would easily make the headlines on the Internet!

However, Tuis was more hoping he could use it to blackmail Asha’ruiya.

“This is it,” the servant pointed at the Flying Spring Chamber.

“It’s a cultivation room. We are not allowed to break into it without the Great Muse’s permission,” an old priest said.

“So we are just going to let them do something shameless inside it? What do they think this place is? It’s the Mountain of the God’s Seal, the most sacred place of the Parthenon Temple. If we let this happen, the gods are going to destroy the Altar of the God’s Seal with lightning!” Tuis argued.

“I…”

“I’ll take full responsibility for the consequences!” Tuis declared.

The priests were relieved after hearing Tuis’ words. They used their magic to open the door.

The Flying Spring Chamber did not have walls. There was only an altar made of marble, surrounded by a thick water barrier.

A crystalline bottle was placed high in the middle. The water coming out of the bottle covered the altar in a stream, making it a perfect place to cultivate in seclusion.

That being said, many thrill-seekers of the Parthenon Temple liked to use it for their secret dates. It was a great place with privacy and a pleasant view.

Tuis knew Asha’ruiya was a dishonorable woman, like a snake who was ruled by her desires. She liked to coil her body around a man. Tuis finally had the chance to catch her in action!

They were pretty bold, having a wild time while enjoying the dazzling view of the water around them.

I can’t wait to see their shameless acts in person!

The curtain of water opened slowly. A man and a woman were up on the altar. The woman had attractive curves. The skin under her half-transparent silk robe was oddly alluring.

The man was handsome, too. His body was giving off a dark aura. His face was half-hidden in the shadows.

Tuis was extremely excited!

Such a shameless pair! He quickly took out his phone and took several shots.

However, Tuis’ expression suddenly froze.

Why…

Why were they wearing clothes while they were doing it?

Why are their clothes so clean and tidy?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“What are you two doing?” the old priest asked subconsciously.

“I should be the one asking questions!. What are you all doing here?” Asha’ruiya snarled. The look in her eyes had changed.

Mo Fan rarely saw Asha’ruiya lose her temper. However, when he noticed this group of people was looking forward to seeing something, he immediately guessed why they were here.

Unfortunately, Asha’ruiya and he were not in the middle of something like they had imagined.

Not only were they not having intimate physical contact with one another, they were standing two meters apart!

“Did we miss it?” Tuis could not believe it.

“Woolf, who gave you the permission to break into the chamber? Who gave you the right to interfere with my business and disturb me?” Asha’ruiya snarled.

The old priest’s expression changed. He immediately pointed at Tuis and said, “It was Tuis. He said he will take full responsibility for this.”

The Mountain of the God’s Seal had many cultivation chambers. They were strictly forbidden from breaking into the occupied chambers, let alone when a Saintess was using it. It did not matter what she was doing inside, these people had no right to be here!

“I heard that a man with ulterior motives had followed you into the chamber from a Servant. I was worried someone was trying to harm you, so I quickly called Priest Woolf here. Asha’ruiya, as a Saintess, you should really mind your behavior. It might result in some rumors unfavorable to the Parthenon Temple!” Tuis declared fearlessly.

The Servant fell to the ground and trembled in fear.

How could Tuis betray her like that? Wasn’t he the one who had asked her to spy on Asha’ruiya?

“Drag her out and cripple her cultivation!” Asha’ruiya did not show the Servant any mercy.

Servants had a reputable status in the Parthenon Temple. Normally, the punishment to a Servant had to go through the Great Muse or the Hall Mother first, but they had crossed Asha’ruiya’s line today. She immediately summoned a member of the Hall of Judgment!

The Adjudicator was wearing golden armor and riding a Royal Griffin. He took the Servant away immediately. They could hear the Servant screaming as she was forcibly taken away.

She had worked so hard to become a Servant. Crippling her cultivation was no different from killing her!

“Since it’s just a misunderstanding, I shall excuse myself,” Tuis waved his hand. He did not think much of his misconduct.

“Take Tuis down!” Asha’ruiya ordered.

More Adjudicators had gathered in the chamber. Something serious was about to happen.

The people of the Hall of Knights soon arrived. They had just received the news, but they were obviously on the Saintess’ side.

“Asha’ruiya, I have already apologized to you. Besides, don’t you think your action might damage the Parthenon Temple’s reputation? I’m just a little too sensitive. I didn’t want someone to ruin a Saintess’ reputation!” Tuis stared at Asha’ruiya.

He was not afraid. Everyone in the Parthenon Temple knew about Tuis’ family. Who would dare to touch him?

Asha’ruiya might have the power to punish a Servant directly, but she did not have the right to punish him unless she was elected as the Goddess. No one, except for the Hall Mother, would dare to do anything to him!

Even if the Hall Mother learned what happened, Tuis was not afraid, either. What would others think when they heard a Saintess was alone with a man inside a secret chamber?

Asha’ruiya frowned.

Neither the Hall of Judgment nor the Hall of Knights dared to touch Tuis. However, Asha’ruiya did not want to let this go so easily.

In the end, her power was still too weak. If Ye Xinxia was the victim, the Hall of Judgment and Hall of Knights would have done something immediately, let alone if it was Izisha!

“Why don’t you try me?” Mo Fan said to the angry Asha’ruiya. “I’m an expert at dealing with scum like him.”

“Go hard on him. I’ll take full responsibility if anything happens!” Asha’ruiya had had enough of Tuis.

“No way, I can be responsible too! Of course, I will take full responsibility too, after I’m done with him,” Mo Fan declared righteously.

Asha’ruiya giggled.

“That’s right, you shouldn’t be angry because of a retard like him. You look prettier when you smile,” Mo Fan reached out his hand and fondled Asha’ruiya’s chin with affection.

Didn’t they want to catch the two of them in action?

Mo Fan did not mind showing them that there was really something between him and Asha’ruiya. What could they do about it?

Mo Fan glanced at the Adjudicators and the Knights. He scoffed, “It’s hopeless to rely on you guys to protect a Saintess’ dignity. Even scum like Tuis dares to bark in front of you all.”

“Who are you calling a dog? You son of a!…” Tuis blurted out in humiliation.

However, Mo Fan suddenly appeared in front of Tuis before he could finish his sentence.

Mo Fan was currently wearing a suit, which set off his solid build. A strange mysterious Aura was swaying behind him like dark flames.

A hand engulfed in the same Aura grabbed Tuis’ throat firmly.

Tuis was lifted off the ground. The magic he was gathering dissipated as Mo Fan waved his hand. Tuis immediately turned into a defenseless victim in Mo Fan’s grasp.

“You…you…” Tuis was shocked and terrified.

Since when did this guy become so terrifying?

Even though Tuis had never beaten Mo Fan in the past, he would not have lost to him so easily!

The Adjudicators and the Golden Sun Knights were about to make their moves. “Who dares to interfere!?” Asha’ruiya yelled at them.

She might not be able to order them to punish Tuis, but she could definitely stop them from interrupting Mo Fan!

If she could not even do such a simple thing, it was meaningless to hold the title of a Saintess!

Asha’ruiya’s hot temper froze everyone, and they dared not move. They could tell Asha’ruiya was really angry this time!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“AHHH!!!”

Mo Fan had tossed Tuis on the ground and stepped on his arm.

The step not only had brute force, but the dark flames around Mo Fan had also left a black footprint on Tui’s arm. He could not break free from it, no matter how hard he struggled.

His bone cracked as Mo Fan applied greater force.

Tuis’ arm was soon badly distorted. It looked like someone had installed the arm of a puppet wrongly.

The torture did not stop there.

Mo Fan’s behavior had changed a little, most likely because he had visited the Dark Plane. His temperament was cruel and evil.

After crippling Tuis’ arm, he immediately slammed his fist into Tuis’ kneecaps.

The pain when one’s knees were broken was the worst!

Tuis’ cries spread throughout the Mountain of the God’s Seal. His twisted face was covered in sweat and tears as he was begging for mercy.

“I’ll let you keep one arm. If you dare to trouble her again, I’ll cripple that, too!” Smiling sinisterly, Mo Fan stared at Tuis as he was writhing on the ground.

The Adjudicators, the Knights, and the priests who had come with Tuis were terrified.

How cruel was this Mo Fan? He had actually crippled Tuis!

He had even used Dark Magic on him!

Unless they found the perfect treatment, Tuis would most likely spend the rest of his life in a sickbed!

They thought Mo Fan was only going to beat him up and teach him a lesson. The people of the Parthenon Temple knew Mo Fan was the only person who dared to hurt Tuis, but they had never expected him to cripple Tuis because of what had happened!

In the end, he had only spared one of Tuis’ arms!

Mo Fan was not going easy on Tuis. He wanted Tuis to be sure that he would turn into a full cripple if he dared to disrespect Asha’ruiya again!

“Take him away. If anyone dares to treat his injuries or relieve him of his pain, I will consider them my enemy!” Asha’ruiya declared.

She had to make sure Tuis remembered the pain.

Asha’ruiya did not think Mo Fan had overdone it. Tuis’ intention to ruin her reputation was far more shameless in comparison!

The incident soon spread throughout the Parthenon Temple. Several elders came and scolded Asha’ruiya for crossing the line.

Asha’ruiya immediately rebuked them. She had already been to the Dark Plane, so why would she be afraid of them?

Asha’ruiya had been too lenient with the people of the Parthenon Temple!

——

The Dark Blessing increased Mo Fan’s strength by fifty percent. In the past, the Blessing of the God’s Seal had multiplied only his Lightning Element’s base damage, but this time, the Dark Blessing had strengthened all his Elements!

Magic Fusion had already given Mo Fan the strength to take on strong Ruler-level creatures. He would soon be the strongest Super Mage with this improvement to his strength.

That being said, his first priority now was to improve his cultivation. Most of his Elements had only reached the first-tier of the Super Level, yet his strength was already so scary. Once he reached the peak of the Super Level for all his Elements, he might be able to challenge the Forbidden Mages.

Mo Fan was overwhelmed by excitement when the thought crossed his mind.

Mo Fan was a diligent man. He did not waste his days doing nothing in the Parthenon Temple. He spent most of the time cultivating on the Mountain of the God’s Seal.

Asha’ruiya also realized strength was everything in this world. She decided to focus on improving her cultivation too, to avoid being harassed by the elders of the Parthenon Temple again.

She had lost the Dark Ice Swordmaster in the Dark Plane, but she had also acquired something she had always desired in return.

Certain rare resources in the Dark Plane were not available in their world. Asha’ruiya might have to visit the Dark Plane several times if she wanted to improve her Sword of Darkness!

——

“My Earth Element has improved a lot. Should I attempt a breakthrough?”

While Mo Fan was cultivating, he noticed the Galaxy of the Earth Element had become restless. He already had four Elements in the Super Level. He clearly knew what that meant.

Since Mo Fan obtained the Heaven Earth Seed, he had spent a lot of time and focus on the Earth Element.

His Earth Element was going to have a breakthrough earlier than the Summoning Element!

It was not necessarily a bad thing. Mo Fan’s rate of cultivation had improved after Little Loach’s evolution. If he just focused on a single Element, there was a great chance he could break through the bottleneck with the energy he had received from Little Loach!

“Little Loach, it’s all you now!”

Mo Fan’s mental strength was already quite impressive. The Little Loach Pendant was also one of the best cultivation tools in existence. He did not have to rely on external resources to achieve the Super Level!

—

Time gradually passed. Ever since Mo Fan went to the Dark Plane, his sense of time was a little off track.

He was initially planning to spend only a few days in the Parthenon Temple to fix the shortcomings of his cultivation, but he ended up staying for a whole month.

Luckily, Mo Fan had already told his close ones about his return. He also told them he would be cultivating in the Parthenon Temple. Otherwise, they might think he was in some kind of danger again.

Mo Fan stretched out and left the Flying Spring Chamber.

It was a pleasant morning. When he walked out, a girl around the age of sixteen bowed to Mo Fan with a shy expression.

“The Saintess has asked me to bring you to her,” the girl said softly.

“Alright, lead the way,” Mo Fan responded quietly.

The girl was amused, and no longer felt so nervous. She happily told Mo Fan a lot of weird things on the way.

“Did Tuis trouble Asha’ruiya again?” Mo Fan asked her.

Asha’ruiya had left the Flying Spring Chamber before he had.

They were obviously using different chambers. Mo Fan was only asking for more trouble if they were to cultivate in the same chamber again!

“I think so.” The girl was not too sure. She added after a moment, “But he was only using some despicable tricks to ruin the Saintess’ reputation.”

Mo Fan realized the girl was well-informed about many things through their conversation.. She must be on Asha’ruiya’s side. He asked playfully, “Does the Saintess really have a lot of lovers?”

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The girl immediately stopped in her tracks. She turned around and looked at Mo Fan with wide eyes.

She was not trying to be cute. She was actually displeased by Mo Fan’s words.

“I thought you would understand her since you had stepped forward bravely to help her.” The girl’s tone had changed.

Mo Fan scratched his head with an awkward smile. It seemed like he had said something wrong.

“What are you two talking about outside? Come in,” Asha’ruiya’s voice came from inside the room.

The two went inside. The girl sensibly excused herself. However, she did not forget to give Mo Fan a strange look, as if she was trying to tell Mo Fan he had said something disrespectful.

“Are you instructing that girl? It’s shocking how fast her mood changes,” Mo Fan said glibly.

Mo Fan found himself inside a library. It was a round hall with books piled up high around the center. He could only see walls filled with books when he looked up.

There was a spinning staircase in the center. Asha’ruiya was walking down from it. She was wearing a simple dress and a pair of wedge heels.

She was also wearing a pair of cute silver-framed glasses which suited her small and attractive face.

“Aren’t the girls of her age the same? The Parthenon Temple is strict with its education, but everyone has their own beliefs and ideas,” Asha’ruiya replied.

“Did you hear it?” Mo Fan asked.

“What do you mean?” Asha’ruiya handed Mo Fan a pile of books.

Mo Fan kindly took the books from her. He was going to place them on a nearby couch, but he saw Asha’ruiya looking at him with a puzzled face.

Mo Fan was confused. What did he do wrong now?

“They are for you!” Asha’ruiya pointed at the books.

“So they are the gift you mentioned?” Mo Fan was surprised.

“Of course not, but shouldn’t you at least familiarize yourself with the characteristics of your magic Equipment?” Asha’ruiya said.

“What magic Equipment? Why would it have so many manuals?” Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

“You will soon find out. The forgemaster is on the way,” Asha’ruiya smiled. Her eyes were basically telling Mo Fan that he better finish reading all the books.

Mo Fan realized Asha’ruiya was really giving him something unusual, if even the manuals were already so thick!

He put the books away in his Space Bracelet. He was still bothered by the girl’s reaction. He could not help but ask, “Are you mad at me?”

“Why would I be?” Asha’ruiya knew what Mo Fan was asking.

“Just think of it as me trying to understand my competitors,” Mo Fan said.

“Can I assume you have some ulterior motives then?” Asha’ruiya asked.

Mo Fan was left speechless.

Any man would have ulterior motives toward a beautiful woman. In simple words, every man was the same as Tuis, but their approaches were different!

“Do you really mind the answer?” Asha’ruiya took off her glasses and asked when she did not hear a response from Mo Fan. “Is that why you don’t want to cross the line after so long?”

Mo Fan was about to explain himself when a knight came into the room.

The knight was wearing white armor. That was uncommon, especially for a place like the Parthenon Temple, which clearly distinguished the ranks and roles of its people.

He was holding a set of dark armor with a unique glow.

Several Silver Moon Knights were following him. They were holding pieces of armor, gauntlets, a helmet, a pair of magic wings, and a pair of boots.

They were all black. For some reason, Mo Fan found their material familiar.

“What do you think? Do they suit you?” Asha’ruiya asked.

“You made a full set of magic Equipment for me?” Mo Fan was shocked.

“No, I’m taking a piece of it, but the rest is yours,” Asha’ruiya said.

The knights put the magic Equipment down and left.

Mo Fan felt pampered. He had long heard Asha’ruiya was extremely rich. Her wealth easily exceeded the other two Saintesses.

Was she trying to provide for him?

The thought of being provided for by a wealthy, intelligent, and gorgeous Saintess was irresistible. Damn this evil society!

“Did you not notice?” Asha’ruiya asked when she saw Mo Fan’s reaction.

“I did. I gladly accept it,” Mo Fan nodded.

Asha’ruiya frowned. She did not understand what Mo Fan was saying.

“You really didn’t notice. These are a Black Dragon Helmet, Black Dragon Armor, Black Dragon Boots, Black Dragon Gauntlets, and Black Dragon Wings! Austin gave them to us,” Asha’ruiya declared loftily.

Mo Fan dropped his jaw.

A set of Black Dragon Armor?

Mo Fan clearly saw the Black Dragon Emperor being burned into nothing by his own breath!

Did the Black Dragon Emperor give Asha’ruiya his essence before he died?

Asha’ruiya pointed at the armor. “This armor is made of Black Dragon Scales and is immune to Elemental Magic to a certain degree. It’s immune to Elemental Spells below the level of a Forbidden Curse. It can also reduce the damage from Forbidden Curses!”

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped even more!

Immune to magic!

Immune to spells below the level of a Forbidden Curse!

Partially immune to Forbidden Curses!

Holy crap! Won’t that make me unbeatable?

Mo Fan finally understood why Asha’ruiya was looking at him like that.

He did not look as surprised at first as Asha’ruiya had expected. Asha’ruiya finally nodded with satisfaction when she saw his belated reaction.

“I’ll let you figure out the rest yourself. I won’t explain everything to you. I think you men find it more fun that way.” Asha’ruiya handed Mo Fan the magic Equipment. Her smile was gorgeous, like a goddess who had come to the mundane world with her blessing.

“Are you really giving them to me?” Mo Fan pointed at himself.

“I took Austin’s fangs and made myself a sword,” Asha’ruiya replied.

“So you have basically given me everything,” Mo Fan murmured.

Mo Fan was not stupid. The Black Dragon Emperor’s skin was not the only material needed to craft these top-grade equipment. The most important material was his soul!

The Black Dragon Emperor might be massive, but his remains were only enough to craft a single set of magic Equipment, since they had to inject the Black Dragon Emperor’s soul into the magic Equipment.

Even though they could make another set of magic Equipment with his remaining bones, scales, and fangs, it would not have the godly effect of being immune to magic!

There was only one real set of Black Dragon Magic Equipment, and it was not replicable.

It also meant Asha’ruiya had only taken the dragon fangs.

She had given the dragon horns, dragon scales, dragon claws, dragon wings, and dragon bones to him.

She had done a lot more than just provide for him!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Asha’ruiya noticed Mo Fan’s passionate gaze on her. Normally, she would not think much of it, but Mo Fan was staring at her longer than usual, like he was unwilling to shift his gaze away.

Asha’ruiya moved her gaze away and asked him pointedly, “Why are you looking at me? Isn’t this Equipment more attractive than me?”

“Come, as long as you don’t have any weird fetishes, I can do everything for you!” Mo Fan sounded like he had no regard for his life anymore.

He had worked hard for the things he had wanted for so many years. He finally found a rich gorgeous woman who was willing to provide for him. He no longer had to work so hard!

“I think you have misunderstood. I’m only thanking you for helping the Black Dragon Emperor,” Asha’ruiya blinked at him.

“That simple? You sure you don’t have any other thoughts?” Mo Fan asked regretfully.

He was hesitant at first, but when he thought about the perfect set of Black Dragon Magic Equipment and Asha’ruiya’s alluring body, he immediately sent the little imp that was trying to change his mind away with a slap.

“Mmm,” Asha’ruiya nodded. She giggled when she saw the look on Mo Fan’s face, “We are purely sworn sisters.”

“…”

—

Mo Fan cut his thumb and used his blood to claim ownership of the magic Equipment as part of the usual procedure. Every piece of magic Equipment needed to be bound to their owner’s soul. Other people would not be able to steal and store them away in their Spiritual Worlds.

The Black Dragon Helmet was forged from the Black Dragon’s horns. The lines on it were spectacular. When Mo Fan put on the helmet, the vivid lines made him look like a real dragon with impressive horns.

“The Black Dragon Helmet can improve your mental strength. Try it out,” Asha’ruiya informed him when she saw Mo Fan trying on his new Equipment.

Mo Fan nodded, and gathered his Will.

He suddenly felt his eyes turning into some incredible devices, like he was able to analyze and see through everything.

He could immediately picture the library’s layout in his mind, including some details that were usually unnoticeable by the naked eye.

He was also able to see every single detail of the woman in front of him.

Normally, Mo Fan would focus his attention on a woman’s face and body, but he now noticed Asha’ruiya’s hair was not perfectly straight. There was a tiny braid on the back of her head, tied up in a bow.

Her earrings were made of pearls, and were giving off an unusual reflection. When Mo Fan focused on them, he realized the earrings were giving off a special mist that encapsulated Asha’ruiya.

They were a cultivation tool!

That explained why Asha’ruiya always wore the same earrings. They were a high-level cultivation Tool, one that was almost on par with the Little Loach Pendant!

No wonder her cultivation had improved so fast!

Asha’ruiya had put on a slight amount of makeup. Her eyebrows were delicately drawn. She had also put on a little mascara. To Mo Fan’s surprise, she did not wear any lipstick. He always found the color of her lips attractive, but it was actually the original color of her lips!

He finally knew why he always thought Asha’ruiya was seductive. Her red lips gave her a naturally sexy look.

Mo Fan was even more surprised when he noticed something else.

There was no padding! She was not wearing any falsies!

Her cup size was real! Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

Nowadays, a lot of women looked completely different when they were naked. Mo Fan was even more excited when he realized Asha’ruiya’s bust was natural.

Maybe he should ask Asha’ruiya to consider again? He would not mind if she had some weird fetishes!

“Can’t you look at something further away?” Asha’ruiya snarled.

Couldn’t this man be a little more reliable for once?

The Black Dragon Helmet had the ability to increase a Mage’s mental strength significantly. In simple words, it would greatly improve Mo Fan’s Dimensional Magic. Shouldn’t he focus on feeling out his new power?

The first thing he did was to examine a woman’s bust. Asha’ruiya almost had an urge to slice the pervert in half with her sword!

“It’s fine, it’s not like I can see through you. I’m just doing an experiment. Asha’ruiya, it turns out that the Shadow Element isn’t your strongest Element! You sure have a lot of secrets,” Mo Fan said with a mocking grin.

Asha’ruiya rolled her eyes and replied, “I can still take them back!”

“If you become the Goddess one day, please go easy on my woman Xinxia,” Mo Fan answered cheerfully.

“I can’t give you my promise. Women who are close in age can never treat one another peacefully. It has nothing to do with their personality. Besides, the thoughts of a Saintess who aims to become the Goddess will change over time. Do you really think she’s still the same Ye Xinxia whose only goal is to learn magic?” Asha’ruiya grinned like a noble white vixen.

“People change,” Mo Fan agreed.

For some reason, Mo Fan still felt Asha’ruiya acted extremely cautious around Xinxia.

He thought Asha’ruiya should be worried about Izisha instead, since she had the highest chance of becoming the Goddess.

Did Xinxia already have the upper hand in the election? Mo Fan had deduced this through his interactions with Asha’ruiya lately.

People change…

Mo Fan was not too bothered by Asha’ruiya’s obvious intention to incite disharmony between him and Xinxia. He knew that if Asha’ruiya truly wanted to separate him and Xinxia, she would not use such an ineffective method.

Zhang Xiaohou was a good example of change. He used to be timid and hesitant, and had always lacked the resolve to do things. But he was different now, decisive and stubborn. He would do anything to achieve his goals once his mind was set.

However, Mo Fan could also feel that the old pure and simple-minded Zhang Xiaohou had not vanished completely.

People always changed, but there was nothing to worry about as long as they did not lose themselves in an abyss, where even their family and friends could not convince them to turn around.

The people who did not change were somewhat lost, too, since they could not find the way forward.

Mo Fan respected Xinxia’s decision to stay at the Parthenon Temple. It also meant Mo Fan needed to accept the changes that were necessary for her to adapt to her role.

Mo Fan was supportive of Xinxia, but he did hope she would lose the election.

Every couple was selfish. They wanted their other halves to be forever by their sides.

However, even while they were still at school, Xinxia had never bound Mo Fan to her side, despite her inconvenience.. She had allowed Mo Fan to go on his adventures, and had respected Mo Fan’s passion. Why couldn’t Mo Fan respect her decisions, too?

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“It’s called the Dragon Sense,” Asha’ruiya returned to the main topic and continued, “It’s a permanent ability that the helmet grants to you. Even if you don’t put on the Black Dragon Helmet, you can still use the Dragon Sense, but it will consume a lot of your mental strength, so you should only use it briefly until your mental state improves further.”

“Dragon Sense!” Mo Fan repeated happily.

“It also has an Awakening ability. You can try it out in the future,” Asha’ruiya pointed out for him.

“Sure, I can already feel it’s something extraordinary,” Mo Fan agreed with anticipation.

Asha’ruiya pointed at Mo Fan’s hands. “The next is your Dragon Claw Gauntlets. They can directly improve your close combat power. I remember you enjoy fighting at close distances. With your Demon Flesh, even if your energy has depleted, you can still brawl with an enemy using the gauntlets.”

The long sleeves covered Mo Fan’s arms from his shoulders to his fingers, without affecting the movement of his arms. They also wrapped over the back of Mo Fan’s hands in the form of claws.

The sleeves were surprisingly flexible, and Mo Fan was still able to move his arms and hands freely. The gauntlets proper not only extended like claws, they could also take the shape of fists.

It seemed like Asha’ruiya had told the forgemaster to add the option of turning the claws into fists so Mo Fan could enjoy using them.

Claws were suitable for assassinating targets. Fists were useful for inflicting explosive impacts!

Mo Fan had once been quite jealous when he saw Guan Yu’s special gauntlet when he was on the national team. He now owned a rare piece of equippable magic Equipment similar to it!

An equippable magic Item was not one-off, like Deathstrike Magic Equipment was. It was a weapon that Mo Fan could wield constantly!

A common shortcoming of most magic Equipment was its duration. Most of them could only be used once in a while, but equippable magic Gear could easily cover a Mage’s weakness when fighting at close quarters, or while their spells were on cooldown.

Mo Fan could finally forget about his dream of taking out Guan Yu on a random night, as he now owned an equippable magic Gauntlet too!

“Thank you,” Mo Fan could feel the Black Dragon Magic Equipment was forged according to his fighting ../style. Asha’ruiya had clearly put a lot of effort into it.

“Marry me then.”

“No problem.”

“…” Asha’ruiya realized she should not joke around with a shameless man like Mo Fan…

“The Wings of Dawn and Dusk. The Black Dragon represents both the dawn and the dusk. It was neither light nor darkness, but it could represent both. That sounds just like you, who are neither righteous nor evil,” Asha’ruiya went on.

“Mmm, I like the sound of that. The Wings of Dawn and Dusk! May I ask if you are interested in experiencing the fresh air ninety thousand meters above Athens with me?” Mo Fan reached out his hand like a gentleman inviting a lady for a dance.

“Thank you.” Asha’ruiya was natural and unrestrained, just like many Western women.

She leaned forward while holding Mo Fan’s hand and wrapped her other arm around Mo Fan’s shoulder. Her posture slightly raised her chest and her hip, setting off her perfect curves.

—

Mo Fan soared into the sky through the invisible barrier around the Parthenon Temple. He soon saw the mystical buildings and mountains far below him.

The speed he took off with was shocking, pushing through the clouds in an instant. The whole of Athens was soon visible beneath him.

The streets, buildings, parks, and churches had turned into a painting on the ground. Mo Fan had a feeling he was looking down at a model of the city. The clouds drifting past him were adorning the spectacular land.

He flew all the way to a height of ninety thousand meters.

It was the height the Emperor of Feathers had reached during the Ceremony of the Winged Beasts, but the Ceremony had been held in a different region.

The air was chilly. As the clouds shrank under Mo Fan’s feet, the two began to feel cold.

Mo Fan was holding Asha’ruiya’s waist. He did not move his hand down or stick his face closer, as if he was actually having a dance. He must admit he was impressed by Western men’s ability to remain calm while maintaining this posture.

“Dragons have the best endurance in the world. You should be able to fly across the breadth of the Pacific Ocean with the Wings of Dawn and Dusk,” Asha’ruiya said.

The Black Dragon Set had many special attributes. Asha’ruiya had only explained the main functions to Mo Fan.

“I think I know how I’m getting back to my homeland,” Mo Fan nodded.

He finally had his own Wings Magical Equipment! The life of a non-swimmer and non-flier had come to an end. He no longer had to rely on Zhao Manyan’s fancy golden Wings Magical Equipment.

“It’s getting cold…” Asha’ruiya’s lips had lost their usual bright red. They were the normal color of a young woman’s lips.

“Let’s head back down,” Mo Fan said.

Asha’ruiya rolled her eyes. Was he really a straight man of steel!?

{TL Note: A Chinese slang used to describe men who can’t read the mood when it comes to women.}

“I don’t want to miss out on such a great chance. You can hug me closer,” Asha’ruiya said.

Asha’ruiya had never enjoyed the view of Athens from ninety thousand meters above the ground, either. It had to be a spectacular sight!

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mo Fan said awkwardly.

“The Wings of Dawn and Dusk will grant you the Realm of Dawn and Dusk, which will reverse the restraints between Elements. Normally, Water and Ice restrain Fire, but in the Realm of Dawn and Dusk, it will be reversed. Your Fire can restrain Ice and Water. Your Darkness can restrain Light. Your Earth can restrain Plants,” Asha’ruiya said.

Mo Fan dropped his jaw wide.

Every effect of the Black Dragon Set was ridiculous. Every piece of it could be sold at an insane price on the market!

“I will let you find out the uses of the last piece yourself,” Asha’ruiya smiled.

The Black Dragon Boots were the final piece.

The Dragon Horns, Dragon Claws, Dragon Scales, and Dragon Bones had all been used to forge the Black Dragon Set.

Asha’ruiya had only held onto the Dragon Fangs, which were not as valuable in comparison.

Mo Fan still did not understand why Asha’ruiya was giving all this to him. If she was trying to thank him, she could have just split them evenly. If she had not woken up the Black Dragon Emperor’s soul, he would have been torn to pieces.

“An inch away makes you a gentleman, but an inch closer makes you a pervert.”

“Oh, I’m not really familiar with the boundaries.”

“You assh***, put me down!”

“We are here. It’s so pretty. Such a beautiful planet.”

Being sincere to a woman had always failed to win her heart. One had to use some tricks to win a woman’s affection.

They were literally in a place where calls and screams would not be heard, a place where they could cleanse their souls, but at the same time, it was difficult for a woman to put up any resistance if a man were to do some bad things to her…

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The next day…

The Wings of Dawn and Dusk could attain a height that was unreachable for most living creatures. It meant Mo Fan could just fly over the territory of most demon creatures safely. There was nothing the demon creatures could do. They might not even notice a human had just flown over their territory.

Mo Fan flew past several mountain ranges, following the Silk Road to Dunhuang.

Mo Fan did not stop throughout the flight, flying all the way from Greece to China under his own power. As Asha’ruiya had mentioned, the Wings might have the highest endurance in the world!

Mo Fan did not stop after reaching Dunhuang. He Summoned the Royal Stripe Gray Wolf and continued on his journey.

Dunhuang was close to Beijiang Province. It was a place full of spacious plateaus and vast barren lands, a perfect terrain for the Royal Stripe Gray Wolf to sprint at his full speed. His stripes constantly changed magically, like they could absorb the strong winds to increase his speed.

The mountains, rifts, and rivers of sand were blurs going by. The Royal Stripe Gray Wolf could even run in the air when there were no obstacles.

Night soon came, and the moon hung above the mountains. A handsome wolf was dashing across the land, like a trail of wind on a peaceful and dazzling painting. The wolf had already reached the horizon before the disturbed winds had returned to their calm…

——

Mo Fan had no idea what season it was. However, he noticed the vegetation, swamps, and ponds had a layer of frost on them when he passed by Dongting Lake. It was like an artist had added hints of white to the greenery in a painting.

The white mist thickened late at night. The air around Dongting Lake was humid. The wind was bone-chilling as the temperature continued to drop.

Mo Fan had stayed in Dongting Lake for a while in the past. He did not remember it being this cold.

Mo Fan felt a little cold when he finally arrived in Dunhuang.

The lands from Dongting Lake to Hangzhou were mainly covered in dense vegetation. The places he visited had abundant rain. They had formed a complete ecosystem made up of wetlands, forests, mountains, and rivers.

However, the mountain streams, rivers, and ponds had already frozen because of the low temperature. The ice on them had turned quite thick in just one night.

Mo Fan thought the strange sight would disappear as he approached the east coast. However, he could not help but wonder if he was still in Beijiang as he was about to reach Hangzhou.

—

Even the West Ridge, the territory of the White Magic Falcons, was fully white. The city in the distance was also covered in snow. Hangzhou was even more stunning than usual.

Mo Fan had already noticed Hangzhou was different. The safe zone had shrunk. The towns and villages on its outskirts were gone. An artificial river had set up a clear boundary between the city and the wild.

The river was natural on one end, and artificial on the other.

Mo Fan drew closer to the river and saw tight security around it. Walls were built along every segment of the river.

Battlemages were on duty on the walls. They were alerted when they saw the Royal Stripe Gray Wolf coming at them, and almost sounded the alarm.

A group of Battlemages atop their Heavenly Eagles approached Mo Fan. They circled above Mo Fan as the captain swooped down and called out, “Summoned Beasts aren’t allowed in the city!”

“I know the rules, but what are you guarding the city against? Aren’t the sea monsters coming from the other side?” Mo Fan asked, while pointing to the east.

“You should have encountered something if you came from the West Ridge. Oh, they must have avoided you because of your Summoned Beast,” the captain mentioned.

The captain did not chat further with Mo Fan. He only asked Mo Fan to withdraw his Summoned Beast before he was allowed to enter the city.

—

Mo Fan sent away the Royal Stripe Gray Wolf and headed into the city.

The river was roughly five hundred meters away from the city. Mo Fan was too lazy to walk. A silver light erupted under his feet before he vanished into thin air.

Mo Fan appeared on the other side of the river. He was using Blink with every step he took, traveling five hundred meters with each step.

“He’s damn strong!” a young man among the Battlemages exclaimed when he saw Mo Fan disappearing into the distance.

“Of course he is, if he has a Ruler-level Summoned Beast. I bet he purposely suppressed his Summoned Beast’s Aura. Otherwise, our Heavenly Eagles would have been forced to stand as still as statues.”

“Who is he? He looks a little familiar…”

——

Normally, a populated city would be slightly warmer, but Mo Fan did not feel any warmth as he reached the city.

Mo Fan went to West Lake. Xinxia was probably at her alma mater.

“Why does it feel like West Lake is freezing, too?” Mo Fan looked at the calm surface of the lake.

Mo Fan went to the school and headed straight for Xinxia’s apartment.

Xinxia had not brought her guards with her as usual. She had only brought a female knight and Tata, who was always by her side.

She was staying at her old apartment complex, but had switched to a bigger unit.

Mo Fan heard from Asha’ruiya that every Saintess was obliged to take a month off, also known as the Peace Month, in the year prior to the election. The Saintesses would pick the month themselves. They did not have to handle any matters related to the Parthenon Temple. They could go travel or cultivate in seclusion.

The election to the role of the Goddess was extremely competitive. The closer it was to the election, the greater the competition. Bloodsheds and sacrifices were common during the election. The purpose of the Peace Month was to relieve the Saintesses of their duties so they could review their goals and recall their initial intentions.

It could also be thought of as a winter holiday.

Xinxia had already used up half of the Peace Month. It was a pity that Mo Fan was fooling around with another woman just a few days ago!

—

Mo Fan had told Xinxia to meet him at her place.

However, Mo Fan noticed a delicate woman standing on a path with white olive trees on both sides. It was the only path to the apartment.

Somehow, Mo Fan found the woman’s posture unusually elegant. Either he rarely saw Xinxia standing still, or she had to put in extra effort just to stand on her own.

“Why didn’t you wait for me inside?” Mo Fan went up to Xinxia and wrapped his arm around her waist.

The position of his hand was very important.. Not only could he feel his woman’s slim waist, he could also touch the side of her fleshy buttocks.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

—

“Brother Mo Fan, isn’t that a little inappropriate?” Xinxia blushed instantly. She could feel the people around staring at them occasionally.

“It’s fine, I don’t feel tired.”

Mo Fan was carrying Xinxia in her arms and walking casually through the school. Somehow, Mo Fan seemed natural and carefree, while Xinxia had to dig her head into Mo Fan’s arms so people would not recognize her.

They finally found a deserted corner. The bench had plenty of space, but Mo Fan insisted she sit on his lap, claiming the bench was too cold for her.

Xinxia had been paying the price for being too obedient to Mo Fan since a long time ago. She could not find any words to rebuke Mo Fan’s illogical reasons.

“The city has changed so much,” Xinxia said in a worried tone.

Their homeland’s situation was quite worrying. Xinxia had already done everything she could to send disciples of the Parthenon Temple to China. She had even established branches of the Parthenon Temple in the five Headquarters Cities.

Unfortunately, they did not have enough Healers to treat the injured. After all, it was a disastrous war!

“Did we already lose the coastal cities?” Mo Fan asked her

“Mm, we have a serious problem,” Xinxia plucked a frozen leaf off a nearby tree and continued, “The weather has been like this since the people along the coast started moving inland. It has been snowing even in summer. It’s snowing even in the subtropical cities, like Guangdong.”

The temperatures along the coast were supposed to be fairly constant throughout all the seasons. Even a city like Dalian in the north was warmer than other cities inland because of its geographical location.

The further a city was from the sea, the greater the change of temperature. The coastal areas barely got any snow since the temperatures were not low enough.

However, the whole country had entered a strange cold season. Even the coasts, from Hainan to Qinhuangdao, were starting to get snow.

The inland cities were even worse if the coastal areas were already snowing. Mo Fan had noticed a lot of frozen ponds and lakes when he passed Dongting Lake.

Cold weather was worse than hot weather. Crops would not survive if the land was covered in snow. It would also severely impact transportation, thus slowing down the migration of the people from the coastal cities. A huge snowfall was enough to cripple the roads, the railways, and even seal off crucial routes to and from certain cities in the mountains.

Mo Fan had been gone for a year. A lot had changed to the coasts in that time.

Many cities and towns had disappeared. Only five cities and regions were available for human activities now. They were the five Headquarters Cities!

Even though the five Headquarters Cities had more space and bigger safe zones than other cities, the space for human activities had reduced significantly compared to what it was before.

Migrating inland was a better way to counter the sea monsters’ invasion. People had started to abandon the coasts, but the cold weather had taken the country by surprise!

A lot of vegetation in the mountains, forests, and valleys had died from the extreme weather. Greenery had reduced by seventy percent. The inland regions and the west were just as inhabitable as the coasts.

To the east was the sea, where the sea monsters were invading from like a red tide. They had devoured most of the coasts, leaving only five Headquarters Cities that were stranded like islands.

The west of China was facing harsh weather. The forests were covered in snow, while the rivers had frozen. There was a serious shortage of food and water. The crippled transportation system had only made things worse. The cities to the west were already struggling to look after themselves. How were they going to take care of the migrants from the coasts?

People used to believe China had a lot of land available. Even if their cities were taken by the sea monsters, they could just move inland and preserve their strength until they were ready for a counterattack.

But now, the people had found themselves in a pinch, caught between the natural disaster and the invasion of the sea monsters. Everything was different when Mo Fan returned.

It felt like the era of human cities had already passed. They were greeted by an Apocalypse, being castigated by the sea and ice.

Mo Fan had been gone for a year. He did not expect to return to such a different world.

However, Mo Fan knew it was the reality of the current situation.

The battles in the past were only the sea monsters’ moves to sound out the humans’ response. A real clash had yet to occur. The real fighting had obviously begun, and humans had lost miserably, without a doubt.

Their biggest problem was not to beat the sea monsters. It was how they were going to survive!

“Every country in the Pacific Ocean is in the same situation as our country,” Xinxia informed him.

Mo Fan was struggling to calm down. He wondered if everything had happened all of a sudden, or he had been gone for too long. He was having trouble adapting to the situation.

“Is everyone alright?” Mo Fan asked. That was his biggest concern.

“Mm, for now. They are doing their best, too,” Xinxia reassured him.

“Xinxia, you must know something about the direction the world is heading from your role as a Saintess. Are the sea monsters really unstoppable? What’s causing the cold weather that is sealing off the people’s escape?” Mo Fan asked her.

Mo Fan rarely asked Xinxia about her domain, but he could not turn a blind eye anymore after learning the current situation of the world.

She had to know something about the truth as a Saintess of the Parthenon Temple.

Many truths were kept hidden from the general public. What the public knew and the truths that the people at the apex of society knew were often completely different.

“I don’t know much about the sea monsters, but there’s only one thing that can cause the temperature across the world to lower at this scale: the South Pole Emperor,” Xinxia declared.

The South Pole Emperor!

He was the reason why the sea level had risen. The sea monsters were able to invade human cities blatantly because the South Pole Emperor had melted the icebergs that were initially blocking the sea monsters’ paths.

The South Pole Emperor had now chilled the entire world to further compress human territory.

Not a single drop of the blood that was shed so far had leaked out between the gaps of his claws, but he was responsible for so many deaths!

Most importantly, the human leaders already knew what was going to happen, yet they were still busy fighting among themselves!

“Shao Zheng was forced to resign,” Xinxia went on coolly.

Mo Fan dropped his jaw, lost for words.

Chairman Shao Zheng was an impressive man. Any leader would be helpless to stop such a disaster. In contrast, Chairman Shao Zheng was the one who had proposed to the Magic Association ot set up a defensive perimeter along the coastline before anything happened.

Chairman Shao Zheng deserved all the credit when China had sustained the lowest casualties after the invasion of the sea monsters began.

And yet, he was forced to resign?!

Were the authorities of their homeland no longer united?

“Brother Mo Fan…” Xinxia felt lost too.

She had once considered whether she should continue to compete in the election. She had to make a lot of sacrifices in order to win the election.

However, she realized she could not give up after seeing her homeland’s state.

Compared to the Goddess of the Parthenon Temple, a Saintess did not have a lot of say and power.

Even if she could not change what had already happened, she could at least minimize the suffering!

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Let’s visit the Magic City,” Mo Fan proposed.

“Sure, I have to see someone from the Mui Clan, too,” Xinxia nodded in agreement.

Mo Fan was a little lost after hearing about the sudden changes. For now, he just wanted to meet his friends and let them know he was still alive.

1

Hangzhou and the Magic City had been connected as a Headquarters City. The railways between the two cities greatly shortened the journey between them.

Mo Fan could reach the Pearl Institute quickly with his Space Magic, but he was going to take a look around the city after hearing what Xinxia had said.

——

The city was still standing. It seemed like the plan of establishing Headquarters Cities was a success. The tall dam guarded by the military and Mages was preventing the sea monsters from invading their territory.

Mo Fan was a little relieved. The food stalls and restaurants he fancied were still operating!

“It’s very close to the battlefield,” Mo Fan said after checking out the dam.

“Mm, the sea monsters have brought us resources that are scarce on land, helping the Research Union invent stronger barriers and magic Formations. It’s a relief that more innocent people did not have to die in the war,” Xinxia sighed.

“Your Grace, someone has recognized you,” the female knight with a straight face whispered to her.

Mo Fan looked around the cabin and saw a few women looking in their direction occasionally. They were also searching for information on their phones. They seemed shocked and excited.

“Perhaps they recognized me. I’m quite popular in the country too…” Mo Fan smiled.

A tall woman in the group came over to their seats nervously before Mo Fan could finish his sentence.

“Excuse me, are you… Ye Xinxia?” the woman stared at Xinxia.

Mo Fan was left speechless.

Did he have a common face or something? The things he had done had shocked the whole world, yet most people that came up to him were only looking for trouble instead of asking for his signature!

“Mm, can I help you?” Xinxia nodded calmly.

“I… my friends and I are thinking of enrolling in the Parthenon Temple.”

“You will have to work hard, then. You have a solid foundation. You should be able to pass the test if you are able to handle it calmly.”

“Thank you, can I take a picture with you?”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that for now.”

“Then…”

The female knight, Waris, took a step forward like a bodyguard stopping fans from disturbing a celebrity’s privacy.

The woman smiled apologetically. She asked for a signature instead and went back to her seat to share her achievement with her friends.

“Have you ever met some fans whose faces would change instantly?” Mo Fan asked her.

“She hates me, even though she seemed quite friendly,” Xinxia sighed.

“Huh? Oh!”

Mo Fan had almost forgotten Xinxia was a talented Psychic Mage. She could easily read someone’s mind through their fake expressions, even when she was not using magic.

“She mentioned she wants to enroll in the Parthenon Temple. Is the Parthenon Temple Institute open to the public? How come I never heard of that before?” Mo Fan asked quietly.

Xinxia was able to join the Parthenon Temple because someone had planned it on purpose. In reality, the conditions to enroll in the Parthenon Temple were stricter than most institutes in Europe. It recruited most of its members among the locals in Greece. It never opened the registration to other countries!

“The Parthenon Temple Institute is indeed restructuring. We referred to the Alps Institute’s structure and decided to take in brilliant students from different countries through our branches across the world,” answered Tata, who’d had her eyes closed throughout the ride. She added arrogantly, “But a lot of people are too narrow-minded. Her Grace has put in a lot of work to open the door of the Parthenon Temple Institute to people of other nationalities, but some people still complain that the spots are too limited.”

“You can never please everyone,” Xinxia could only agree.

“It seems like the relationship between the Parthenon Temple and the Alps Institute has improved while I was away!” Mo Fan was pleased to hear that.

The Alps Institute and the Parthenon Temple shared the same purpose. They both aimed to deliver the world from suffering. It was unnecessary for them to remain hostile to one another.

——

After arriving at the Pearl Institute, Mo Fan was glad that his apartment was still in perfect condition. It had been his first home in the Magic City, and he had purposely chosen an area he liked. It was away from the busy streets, but close to the bustling Jing’An District.

Since the apartment was located on the school grounds, it was common to see young students in fashionable and exposing clothes. Mo Fan enjoyed meditating on the balcony. He would look around to see if he could find any surprises whenever he was taking a break.

“The Mui Clan has a wedding tonight. Brother Mo Fan, are you going? I’m invited,” Xinxia asked.

“Huh? She’s getting married?” Mo Fan exclaimed in surprise.

No wonder the two golden sparrows in his unit were gone. They had taken all their belongings, so they must have moved out.

Mo Fan had to admit he was a little sad about it.

Mo Fan had preserved his integrity and avoided being devoured by the two women’s charms, but he was feeling a little down when he realized he would no longer hear their voices.

In the end, she was going to marry someone else!

“It’s Mui Nuxin’s wedding,” Xinxia pouted when she saw Mo Fan’s reaction.

“It doesn’t matter whose wedding it is. The Mui Clan has been working together with Fanxue Mountain for a long time. I should congratulate them,” Mo Fan regained his smile.

“Ningxue is going too. Does she know you are back?” Xinxia inquired.

“I…I didn’t dare to tell her,” Mo Fan replied awkwardly.

Mo Fan had not let Lingling tell anyone about his trip to Dubai.

Xinxia and Little Flame Belle were sharing a heart, thus she was able to learn how Mo Fan was doing through her, but Mu Ningxue was completely clueless about his whereabouts.

Mu Ningxue must have learned he had left the Dark Plane from Mu Bai. He was wondering how he should explain why he had left without saying a word. He did not think he could explain it clearly on the phone.

“But I already told Ningxue!” Xinxia waved her phone.

Mo Fan’s face twisted.

Great, he had committed another serious offense in not giving Mu Ningxue a call as soon as he came back!

“When will she be there?” Mo Fan asked, resigned.

“She’s already at the Mui Clan.”

“Fine, we should be going now.”

“The others should be there, too.. Brother Mo Fan, it’s the perfect time for you to reunite with them,” Xinxia said.

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The sea breeze was chilly at night. Certain parts of the streets were frozen due to the humid weather of the Magic City.

It was rare to see the Magic City covered in frost. It was a dazzling sight under the colorful lights.

The Mui Clan was bustling with noises. The car park was already full, and it even had four people directing the traffic. The Mui Clan had planned a grand wedding, and had invited almost every big shot in the Magic City. It also invited its business partners from other cities.

The Mui Clan had been doing well over the years, gradually securing its place in the Magic City. Even its sworn enemy, the Mu Clan, had sent some representatives to attend the wedding.

Mui Nuxin was a businesswoman, the one controlling the Mui Clan’s finances. She had been the first to adapt to the modern world. She had greatly expanded the Mui Clan’s businesses in a short period of time.

Mo Fan was not too familiar with the details. He had only heard bits and pieces about Mui Nuxin from Mu Ningxue at times.

“Is the Parthenon Temple doing business with Mui Nuxin, too?” Mo Fan asked curiously. It was strange that Xinxia was invited to the wedding.

Not everyone could write the name of a Parthenon Temple’s Saintess in the list of guests for a wedding!

“Brother Mo Fan, you have known Mui Nujiao for so long. Don’t you know what her job is?” Xinxia smiled.

Mo Fan knew the younger sister, Mui Nuxin, was a businesswoman.

As for the elder sister, Mui Nujiao… Right, she had focused on education.

“Does that mean the Parthenon Temple Institute…” Mo Fan suddenly realized the answer.

“Yes, she’s a very determined woman,” Xinxia confirmed.

Xinxia rarely came back to her homeland. She was keen to establish a branch of the Parthenon Temple Institute in her country, so she needed someone to handle that matter.

To Xinxia’s surprise, Mui Nujiao was close with the Alps Institute, too!

It was impossible for the Alps Institute to let go of its grudge toward the Parthenon Temple right away. Mui Nujiao happened to be the mediator between them!

——

Mui Nujiao was receiving guests at the entrance when Mo Fan arrived at the Mui Clan. She was wearing a light red qipao.

Mui Nujiao saw Xinxia first, and greeted her with a smile.

She was stunned when she saw the man behind Xinxia.

Many people had assumed Mo Fan was dead. Mui Nujiao was speechless when she saw Mo Fan well and alive in front of her.

“AHHHH, it’s the demon king! He faked his death!” Ai Tutu’s voice immediately arose behind her. Mui Nujiao quickly covered her mouth.

“The Lord of Darkness didn’t want to keep me, so I had no choice but to come back. I wonder if I’m welcome here?” Mo Fan smiled in greeting.

It seemed like they had moved out because they thought he was dead. Mo Fan felt a lot better!

Hang on, that did not sound right…

“Come on in, it’s cold outside!” Mui Nujiao led the way.

Ai Tutu ran around Mo Fan in circles while touching him and pinching his face. She soon looked at Xinxia, as if she had realized something.

“The Spell of Resurrection. I understand now!” Ai Tutu exclaimed.

“The Spell of Resurrection doesn’t work on those who are targeted by the Lord of Darkness,” Xinxia denied immediately.

“Huh? How did he come back, then? I watched a lot of clips on the Internet. The Black Tide dragged almost the whole city into Hell. I was getting goosebumps just from watching the clips!” Ai Tutu could not stop talking.

“It’s a long story. I heard Old Zhao, Mu Bai, and everyone else are here, too. I’ll tell you my great achievements in the Dark Plane once everyone is here. You cannot imagine how scary the other side is!” Mo Fan proclaimed proudly.

The fact that he had made it out of the Dark Plane alive meant he was perfectly fine after meeting the King of Hell!

“They are already here. I’ll bring you to them,” Mui Nujiao said.

—

—

The huge hall was decorated with fancy lights and decorations. Mo Fan walked past a few tables and saw some familiar faces.

“Humph, when Zhang Xiaohou and I were trapped in the Forbidden Curse, we thought we were going to sacrifice our lives for the country. I also slew the Dragon King Krill by myself. They have not been a threat to our coasts since then!

“You all should really thank me. If it weren’t for me, you won’t be able to enjoy your dinner in peace tonight, since the dam would have fallen!”

Zhao Manyan was standing behind a chair, leaning forward while boasting about his past deeds.

1

“Impressive,” Mu Bai agreed indifferently.

“Huh, you think you are so good just because you played chess with the Lord of Darkness? I’ve spent a productive year, too. Have you ever been to the southernmost waters of the Pacific Ocean? I did. I was with Baxia!” Zhao Manyan declared proudly.

Mo Fan’s expression froze.

Damn it, that son of a b**ch Mu Bai! How could he already have told them about the game of chess?

What else could Mo Fan tell them? He had already prepared his speech on the way here!

He could not possibly tell them he had slept in the same bed with an Archangel and a Saintess after they were drunk. He could not even remember if something happened that night between them.

Ai Tutu ran to the table and yelled, “Guess who’s alive?”

Mo Fan was planning to surprise them, but Ai Tutu promptly ruined it. Everyone looked at him.

Mo Fan was dressed in simple clothes, but somehow he was giving off an unusual temperament under the spotlight with his unique dark aura.

“Holy crap!” Zhao Manyan was the first to react. He immediately went toward Mo Fan.

Mo Fan thought the guy was going to give him a hug. To his surprise, he went up to Xinxia and exclaimed, “Our goddess from the Parthenon Temple, Ye Xinxia is here!”

“Old Zhao, since when did you become blind?” Mo Fan asked.

Zhao Manyan patted Mo Fan on the shoulder and burst out laughing, “HAHAHA, it looks like you and Mu Bai stink wherever you go. Even the Lord of Darkness is unwilling to keep you!”

A young woman came out of nowhere and kicked Mo Fan in the shin before he could join the laughter.

Mo Fan turned around and saw Lingling standing there with puffed cheeks. “Oh my, you have grown so tall!”

Mo Fan was surprised when he saw Lingling had already reached his nose!

He seriously wondered if he had been gone for several years instead of just one year. The little girl he knew had already grown into a beautiful young woman!

Chapter 2604: Just In Time
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by Xephiz Edited by Aelryinth

Lingling did not say a word. She kept staring at Mo Fan. Mo Fan felt uneasy. He could only smile at her.

In the end, Lingling stomped on Mo Fan’s foot and sat beside him like she had finally vented her anger. She folded her arms in front of her with a cold harrumph at him.

“Here, let’s give Mo Fan a toast for making it back alive!” Zhao Manyan raised his cup and did Mo Fan a favor by alleviating the awkward atmosphere.

Everyone raised their cups for the toast.

“Sir, it’s great to see you here!” Bai Hongfei’s voice came from behind Mo fan.

Bai Hongfei was dressed in a suit with a red bow tie. Mo Fan blurted out as soon as he saw Bai Hongfei, “Bai Hongfei, are you here to snatch the bride? Why are you dressed like the groom? Won’t Dongfang Lie have anything to say about it?”

Mo Fan’s words left Bai Hongfei speechless. Everyone else looked at Mo Fan like he was retarded.

Mo Fan was puzzled. Did he say something wrong?

“Mo Fan, do you seriously not find out who the groom is before coming to the wedding?” Zhao Manyan raised his thumb at Mo Fan. Mo Fan was such a genius!

What did he mean by saying the man was dressed like a groom? Bai Hongfei was the groom!

“Hehe, he has always been so humorous,” Bai Hongfei smiled wryly.

Mo Fan looked at the screen in front of the hall. He finally noticed the groom’s name was Bai Hongfei!

Bai Hongfei and Mui Nuxin are getting married?

Hang on, didn’t the Mui Clan plan to set up a marriage with the Dongfang Clan? Mui Nuxin was supposed to be engaged to Dongfang Lie!

Did I miss out on something interesting?

“Mui Nuxin has long broken up with Dongfang Lie. Initially, the planned marriage was meant to help the two clans fend off the Mu Clan together. The Mui Clan now has great power and reputation. It’s the second wealthiest clan, after my family, in the Magic City. Mui Nuxin was quickly no longer interested in Dongfang Lie, Zhao Manyan whispered into Mo Fan’s ear.

“Is she that pragmatic? Mo Fan raised his eyebrows.

“Sir, don’t you worry, Mui Nuxin is still devoted to her career,” Bai Hongfei said confidently

It seemed like Bai Hongfei had done a good job taming his wife, or he would not have brought the topic up so casually.

“I’m not worried about you. I’m happy for you. Mui Nuxin is a nice woman. It would have been a pity if she had ended up with Dongfang Lie. You two are the perfect match!” Mo Fan patted Bai Hongfei on the shoulder reassuringly. He was being very honest. Young people could change very quickly. Many who got married had even gotten a divorce the very next day. Mo Fan was not too fussed about it. At first, Mui Nuxin was only engaged to Dongfang Lie to help her clan. Now that the Mui Clan had gone on ahead of them, the verbal promise and agreement of the elders did not count anymore.

“Mo Fan… I’m still here,” a voice spoke up from a nearby table.

Mo Fan looked in the direction of the voice and realized the person was Dongfang Lie. The atmosphere suddenly felt weird.

Dongfang Lie’s face was twisted. It was all in the past, and he had even come to give Bai Hongfei and Mui Nuxin his blessing, yet Mo Fan who had lagged a year behind had to bring it up and apply salt to his wounds.

“My bad, I’m sorry for pointing out the truth,” Mo Fan said.

The engagement was terminated before Dongfang Lie even had the chance to hold Mui Nuxin’s hands. However, the Dongfang Clan, Mui Clan, and Bai Clan had maintained good relationships between them.

Mo Fan looked around the hall again. No wonder there were so many people from Fanxue Mountain!

It turned out to be a marriage between a member of Fanxue Mountain and the Mui Clan, yet he acted like he was just a normal guest of the wedding, when he was actually the host!

“Sir, you should say a few words later. I thought you were going to be absent, but you came back just in time. You are truly the role model of every man!” Bai Hongfei kept complimenting Mo Fan. The groom was obviously in a great mood.

“Congratulations, I just came back, so I had no idea it was your great day. I didn’t even get to prepare a gift for you..”Mo Fan scratched his head. Mo Fan was not particularly close with Mui Nuxin, so he had only prepared a red packet for her. He basically came to see his friends. However, it was different now that he realized Bai Hongfei was the groom!

He was one of the students Mo Fan had mentored. He had also helped Fanxue Mountain a great deal for many years. Mo Fan felt bad for not preparing a gift for him.

However, Mo Fan did not really have anything suitable for Bai Hongfei with him. He felt quite embarrassed.

“T’ll let you all talk first. I’ll be back later,” Bai Hongfei heard someone calling for him. He filled Mo Fan’s cup with wine before taking his leave.

Mo Fan exclaimed, “Who would have thought they would end up together… So, did I miss any other important events while I was away?”

Mo Fan was gone for a whole year. A lot of things had changed in that year. Mo Fan immediately looked at the others. He wanted to know who else had married while he was away,

“Does my dog giving birth for the second time count? Zhao Manyan asked.

“It only counts if the child is yours.”

“Go to Hell.”

Mo Fan looked around the hall, but he did not see Mu Ningxue. He had missed her a lot, but she did not seem to be around

Xinxia pointed at a closed door and said, “She’s in that room. Should we go see her?

“Sure.” Several elders of the Bai Clan were seated at the table in the room. They had grim looks on their faces.

Mui Shan and Mui Ye were furious. Mui Ye’s hand was red after he slammed it on the table.

Mu Ningxue was also sitting there quietly.

Shao Yu was standing beside her. She looked across the table and snarled, “The Mu Clan is purposely messing with the wedding. Why don’t I take a few strong Mages of Fanxue Mountain with me and get rid of them?”

“Mu Fangzhou and Fan Ning came with them. I doubt any of us could threaten them,” Mui Shan sighed in defeat.

It was supposed to be a day of celebration. The Mui Clan, Bai Clan, and Fanxue Mountain were officially forming an alliance today so they could help one another out in this disastrous time.

To their surprise, the Mu Clan and Zhao Clan were trying to mess with the wedding! “It seems like I’ve come just in time!” Mo Fan greeted everyone with a smile.

Chapter 2605: Doing it the Primitive Way
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by Xephiz Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Ningxue’s eyes glittered. She was about to stand up when Mo Fan suddenly appeared beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. Mu Ningxue put her hand on the back of Mo Fan’s hand.

She could feel his body heat. Mmm, he was not an Undead…

“Mo Fan!” “Mo Fan!” everyone in the room yelled.

“I bet none of you have told the newlyweds?” Mo Fan asked them calmly. “Not yet, we wouldn’t want to ruin their day,” Mui Shan acknowledged. “Well, I didn’t bring a gift, so I’ll deal with Mu Fangzhou and Fan Ning for them,” Mo Fan declared.

“I’ll go with you,” Mu Ningxue lifted her head.

Mu Fangzhou and Fan Ning were two of the strongest Mages of the Mu Clan. Mo Fan would have trouble taking them on by himself. Besides, Mo Fan had just come back. He had yet to even catch his breath. “I can handle it myself. All of you are the VIPs of this wedding. None of you should be absent, since it’s going to affect how the others will see you. As for me, I just happened to make it back in time. It’s fine if I’m a little late,” Mo Fan stated.

“Boss, we now have many strong Mages with us. I’ll ask them to go with you. We must teach those bastards that they shouldn’t mess with us! Mu Linsheng exclaimed.

“That won’t be necessary, I’ll be back soon,” Mo Fan said airily.

Mu Ningxue wanted to stand up, but Mo Fan held her down and kissed her forehead in front of everyone. “Just wait for me here,” he reassured her.

“Mm…”Mu Ningxue blushed.

Mui Shan, Mui Ye, and the elders of the Bai Clan were speechless. Did they have to display their affection in front of everyone? Why couldn’t young people be more mindful of others?

Mo Fan no longer had any trouble traveling great distances now that he had the Wings of Dawn and Dusk.

He crossed the mountains and arrived close to Beiyu Mountain

The Beiyu Enforcement Union no longer existed. The area was no longer a part of the Safe Zone, either. Mo Fan could hear the cries of demon creatures nearby.

Mo Fan did not alert the demon creatures while he was flying across their territory.

The competition between renowned clans had intensified after the Safe Zone shrank. The little clans had either joined the bigger clans, or were taken out. Only the powerful clans remained!

Fanxue Mountain was lucky enough to survive during the restructuring. Even though it was considered a powerhouse in Feiniao Headquarters City, it was still incomparable to renowned clans that had been around for a long time, like the Mu Clan and Zhao Clan.

The more limited human territory became the fiercer the competition would be. It was easy for conflicts to escalate into full-scale battles.

It was common for the clans to fight one another in order to survive, completely disregarding the laws. The Magic Association, Enforcement Union, government, and military were busy fending off the sea monsters. They had no time to mind the renowned clans’ business!

“What a pity, the clans you have sworn loyalty to are so ruthless. They weren’t even willing to negotiate with us. They have abandoned you in the cold wilderness!” Mu Fangzhou stood in front of a group of people dressed in gray outfits.

The people were restrained by a Plant Spell. Sharp thoms had stabbed into their skin. Their faces were brimming with anger and fear.

“Bury them, but don’t make it too bloody. Otherwise, people will say our clan is full of lunatics,” Fan Ning waved his hand to signal his men.

“This Luquan Mountain is now ours. We should be able to train many Super Water Mages with the resources here,” Mu Fangzhou agreed.

“You scum, you are going to pay for this! Bai Zangfeng yelled.

“Hah, it’s not our fault. The weak are always prey to the strong. It’s just how the world is. We might have gone on you before the sea monsters show up, but it’s either you being eaten by demon creatures or by humans in a time like this,” Mu Fangzhou pulled Bai Zangfeng’s hair and smashed his head into the mud

Bai Zangfeng’s face was soon covered in blood.

Mu Fangzhou was pressing Bai Zangfeng hard into the ground, making it difficult for him to breathe.

Bai Zangfeng struggled fiercely, but his cultivation was no match for Mu Fangzhou. He was being stepped on like a young puppy. “Clean it up. We’ll cut off their thumbs and send them to the Mui Clan as a gift for the wedding. HAHAHA, that b**ch Mui Nuxin deserves it for targeting our properties,” Mu Fangzhou snarled.

“It’s a pity that we didn’t get to take out Mu Ningxue, too. Otherwise, we could slowly take control of Feiniao Headquarters City!” Fan Ning nodded along.

“All of them will soon become our prey in a time like this. To be honest, I actually like the situation now. I no longer have to avoid the Enforcement Union and government and make sure no one knows the Mu Clan is responsible for the things I do!” “Everyone who dares to oppose us is going to die!” Fan Ning agreed heartily

They no longer needed to worry about reputation and humanism. Only the strong had the right to survive!

When there was a serious shortage of food, the deaths of the weak would make space for the others,

They had gone back to their primitive ways after they were no longer restrained by morality.

The Mu Clan could finally take out every faction that was opposing it. They would either surrender or die!

“As a matter of fact, I like the situation now too,” a voice suddenly came out of nowhere.

“Who is it!?

“Who’s there!?”

Mu Fangzhou and Fan Ning both looked in the same direction.

They were able to pinpoint the uninvited guest’s position right away with their outstanding cultivation. The others were still looking around searching for Mo Fan, who was hiding in the dark.

Mo Fan walked out of the darkness. His eyes were as cold as the moon!

“Mo Fan?” Mu Fangzhou was surprised when he recognized Mo Fan.

“It’s you! Shouldn’t you be dead? Fan Ning chuckled.

“I thought it was some formidable enemy, yet it’s just a petty clown. If this time had come earlier, you and Mu Ningxue would have died on Mu Clan Mountain!” Mu Fangzhou declared.

“Fangzhou, he has Double Innate Elements,” Fan Ning quickly reminded him.

Mu Fangzhou’s eyes immediately glittered like a weasel.

Chapter 2606: Perfect Immunity

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Ice Luan’s Innate Talent was powerful, but his Double Innate Elements’

advantage was much more obvious after Mo Fan achieved the Super Level.

After enjoying the Ice Luan’s Innate Talent, Mu Fangzhou was treating Mo Fan

as the most wonderful thing in the world. His desire to claim Mo Fan’s Innate

Talent as his own was all over his face!

He did not expect to lure out such a big catch when he was only planning to

take care of some small fish from the Bai Clan!

Wouldn’t he be unmatched if he could claim Mo Fan’s Double Innate Elements?

“Keep an eye on him. Don’t let him escape!” Mu Fangzhou ordered his men.

Fan Ning also closed in on Mo Fan. It seemed like he had made up his mind.

They were currently in a plundering era. They could just rob anyone as they

pleased, as long as they were not doing it in the Headquarters Cities. They just

needed to throw the corpses of the people they killed to the demon creatures.

Who would know what they had done?

That being said, Mo Fan was extremely precious to them. They would kidnap

him and slowly experiment on the way to transfer his Innate Talent to them!

“Ice Luan Staredown!”

Mu Fangzhou immediately made his move without wasting any time.

He began by using Mu Feiluan’s innate ability. Pillars of ice appeared in the

night sky and transformed into an enormous bird. It was white and crystalline,

bearing a formidable aura!

“His Fire Element is pretty strong. Use the Ice Cedarvvood Forest to render his

Fire Magic useless!” Fan Ning did not underestimate Mo Fan’s strength.

The Mu Clan had brought ten strong men. They were all Ice Mages.

The Mu Clan was known for their Ice Mages. Their expertise in Ice Magic was

significantly higher than normal Ice Mages.

Huge cedar trees soon emerged around Mo Fan. Their trunks were thick and

hard, and soon surrounded the area with an icy aura. Mo Fan felt like his throat

was freezing, making it difficult to breathe!

“HAHAHA, do you think we have sent the invitation because we really wanted

to negotiate with you? Do you seriously think we don’t dare to hurt you? The

weak deserve to die. You idiots!” Mu Fangzhou burst out laughing when he saw

Mo Fan being trapped in the Ice Cedarvvood Forest.

Mu Fangzhou stood on the Ice Luan and stared down at Mo Fan from a great

height, acting like an emperor.

“Learn to adapt. It’s the way of survival in a time like this!” Mu Fangzhou dove

from the sky.

It felt like the sky was collapsing while he was diving from the sky. The shadow

of the Ice Luan was huge enough to cover several mountains. Its momentum

was strong enough to flatten the whole mountain range!

Mu Fangzhou’s laughter echoed throughout the mountains. Mo Fan had to

admit Mu Fangzhou had grown a lot stronger after claiming Mu Feiluan’s

Innate Talent. Not many people could match his strength in the Ice Element.

Mo Fan lifted his gaze and looked at the enormous bird.

“Realm of Dawn and Dusk!”

The Wings of Dawn and Dusk suddenly spread apart on Mo Fan’s back. They

Summoned forth the enormous shadow of a black dragon hovering in the sky.

The shadow of the black dragon was several times larger than the Ice Luan. It

looked like a little sparrow in comparison.

The Ice Luan immediately shattered into pieces, breaking apart before it could

even reach Mo Fan. Mu Fangzhou also plummeted to the ground after losing

his stability and his ride.

“Phoenix Flame!”

Mo Fan established his Domain.

Fire Magic was scarce in the Ice Cedarwood Forest, but for some reason, Mo

Fan’s Phoenix Flame was still able to set the huge chunks of ice on fire.

The people of the Mu Clan were bewildered by the sudden change. The icy

forest turned into a blazing forest in an instant. The dazzling crimson flames

spread several kilometers in seconds!

The mountain was scorched red. The Ice Mages of the Mu Clan and Fan Ning

were working hard together, trying to suppress Mo Fan’s Fire Element.

In the end, their ice simply became fuel to the fire. Not only did they fail to

suppress their enemy’s Fire Magic, they were struggling to use their Ice Magic!

“Mu Fangzhou, look out, something isn’t right!” Fan Ning yelled in warning.

Mu Fangzhou realized he was surrounded by scorching flames after he got up

from the ground.

Mo Fan was walking confidently toward him through the fire, as if he was the

real emperor.

“Die!”

The Ice Magic was somehow restrained by the flames. Even Mu Fangzhou was

struggling to use high-level Ice Spells despite his Innate Talent, let alone the

others!

An enormous sword pierced through the sky and dove at Mo Fan with a

destructive aura.

Mu Fangzhou was indeed a powerful Mage, having Cast a third-tier Super

Light Spell. His Heaven-grade Light Seed had the power of slicing everything

in half!

His Heaven-grade Light Seed was the Light of Destruction. It was capable of

increasing the damage of his Light Magic.

His Casting speed was surprisingly fast, as he had managed to finish a

complicated Star Palace in only a second!

However, he could only use the ability once. He mainly used it as a surprise

attack.

The Heaven Glow Sword was the strongest single-target spell. An enemy had

no chance of preparing their defense. It would surely inflict serious damage on

an enemy if they somehow survived.

The Heaven Glow Sword sliced the mountain in half. It broke through the

surface and left cracks all over the ground within five kilometers!

Mo Fan was standing right in the middle of the impact area, but he had put on

a dark glowing Armor at some time. The lines on it were emitting a mysterious

energy, nullifying the damage from the sword!

Mo Fan was unharmed, even though he did not do anything, yet everything

around him was destroyed by the impact of the Sword.

The dragon’s scales were covered by a thin layer of light that was immune to

magic. It was like a blessing from the Heavens that humans had no chance of

breaking through!

Mo Fan grinned as he looked at the Armor he was wearing.

Magic immunity! It was immune to all Elemental Magic under the level of a

Forbidden Curse!

The third-tier Super Light Spell, even strengthened by a Heaven-grade Seed,

was nowhere as strong as a Forbidden Curse!

The magic immunity had also nullified every other force that was applied to

him. He was completely immune to his enemy’s attack!

“Are…are you even human!?” Mu Fangzhou screamed in disbelief..

Chapter 2607: Black Dragon Magic Equipment

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Realm of Dawn and Dusk had manipulated the order of the Elements,

allowing Mo Fan to suppress the Ice Mages with his Phoenix Flame.

Mu Feiluan backed away in fear. How had his Light Spell not inflicted any

damage on Mo Fan? There was no way he was human!

O

Mo Fan threw a punch forward. The flames around him took the shape of a

dragon, which spread its wings and spat out a fiery breath at Mu Fangzhou.

Mu Fangzhou panicked. He used everything he had to avoid the dragon breath,

but he was still caught by the flames. He was soon screaming in agony.

“Damn it, I won’t allow you to behave atrociously in front of me!” Fan Ning

snarled.

Fan Ning was an experienced Mage. He had noticed Mo Fan’s armor was

immune to Elemental Magic. He decisively switched to the Curse Element.

The sky suddenly turned red. An eerie shadow was moving around.

Mo Fan looked up and saw a Heaven Curse Scorpion glaring down at him. Its

stinger was slamming down at him like a red lightning strike.

The Heaven Curse Scorpion’s tail stuck into the ground Mo Fan was standing

The whole area began to wilt and rot away under the influence of the Curse

Magic.

Mo Fan felt a sharp pain from his head, as if the Heaven Curse Scorpion had

stabbed his head with its stinger, instead of the ground.

He tried to use magic, but he immediately felt the pain spreading throughout

his body when he tried to control the Stars!

“You won’t be able to use your magic!” Fan Ning landed beside Mo Fan, right

where the Heaven Curse Scorpion’s stinger had landed.

It felt like he was the Heaven Curse Scorpion’s stinger. His gaze was torturing

Mo Fan’s mind.

Mo Fan took a few steps forward. He felt like his mind was about to explode.

Fan Ning harrumphed coldly. His eyes were fixed on Mo Fan’s chest.

Only a limited number of materials were immune to Elemental Magic. The

black Armor Mo Fan was wearing was obviously the reason why he was

unharmed.

Is that Armor made from the scales ofa real dragon? , crossed Fan Ning’s mind

suddenly.

The scales of certain Inferior Dragons were also immune to magic, but most of

them were only immune to spells below the Super Level. Only the scales of a

real dragon would be immune to a Super Light Spell!

If it was really made of a real dragon’s scales, Fan Ning swore to steal it, even if

he had to kill Mo Fan!

They had already figured out a way to steal someone’s Innate Talent. Surely

there was a way to steal someone’s magic Equipment, too!

Fan Ning’s eyes flickered with greed. This young man was full of valuables!

Mo Fan suddenly turned into a black ray of light, and instantly appeared in

front of Fan Ning.

Fan Ning remained calm, several layers of colorful Barriers appearing in front

of him.

Shockingly, Mo Fan was even faster. He managed to cross the Barriers before

they were established!

Fan Ning began to panic, but he soon calmed down.

The land was Cursed by the Heaven Curse Scorpion. Mo Fan would not be able

to use any spells, unless his mental state had reached the level of a Forbidden

Curse!

There was no reason to be scared!

It did not matter how fast Mo Fan was. As long as he could not use any magic,

he would not be able to hurt anyone!

However, Fan Ning still Summoned his magic Armor as a safety precaution. It

was a flexible Armor made from the skin of a blue sea monster. It was more

than enough to protect him from Mo Fan’s strange attacks!

Mo Fan’s right hand was suddenly engulfed by a black energy, and a gleaming

claw burst out from his gauntlet.

The Black Dragon Claw was the sturdiest material in the world. The sharp Claw

instantly tore through Fan Ning’s Armor!

The Claw sliced off a huge chunk of Fan Ning’s flesh. He subconsciously backed

away.

He felt a great burning pain in his chest and neck. He tried to feel them with his

hand, and was horrified to realize there was a huge cut extending from his

neck to his clavicle!

Fan Ning could not believe it. He looked at his hand, now covered in blood,

before looking at Mo Fan’s arm in shock.

Fresh blood was pouring out of the gaping slash. Fan Ning had to cover his

wound with both hands, but more blood was pouring out between his fingers.

“You…” Fan Ning could feel his life draining away!

He had already been very careful. He had even put on his magic Armor to

protect himself from any of Mo Fan’s attacks that he could use without magic.

Unfortunately, he did not expect Mo Fan to have some special magic

Equipment that could form a claw. It could easily tear through an enemy’s

defense at close quarters!

“Dragon…dragon claw…” Fan Ning tried hard to say something, but he did not

even have the strength to speak.

The scales and claws ofa real dragon!

Mo Fan’s magic Equipment was definitely made from the body parts of a real

dragon!

There were only a few real dragons in the world. How could anyone possibly

kill a real dragon and claim its dragon soul?

Mo Fan raised his arm and looked at the claw after Fan Ning collapsed to the

ground.

He could easily kill a peak Super Mage at close range now!

The Curse was lifted after Fan Ning’s death.

Mo Fan looked to the other side and saw Mu Fangzhou had risen to his feet

amid the flames.

Ice -crystal feathers were surrounding Mu Fangzhou. Their numbers were

constantly increasing. They were sharp, long, and flexible, like the leaves of an

ice forest.

“Die!” Mu Fangzhou’s Ice Element was oddly powerful. He was most likely the

strongest Ice Mage in the country!

The ice feathers poured down like a deadly rain.

Mo Fan did not bother defending himself. He simply stood there and withstood

the rain of feathers with his magic Armor.

Even without the magic immunity, the scales of a real dragon were extremely

tough. It was a great opportunity for Mo Fan to test out his new set of magic

Equipment. He did not bother defending himself with magic.

Mu Fangzhou continued to Summon ice spirits. He was using several secret

arts that only the elders of the Mu Clan had access to.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan stood there like he was watching a three-year-old

swmgmg his fists around..

Chapter 2608: One Dead, One Surrendered

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor:

Wuxiaworld.site Copyright, Please visit Wuxiaworld.site to support our website.

Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mung Fangzhou looked behind him. The hills there had tured into broken pieces of ice.

He looked at the sky that resembled an ice cave tunnel. Mo Fan was right at the bottom of the cave.

‘Mu Fangzhou was one of the strongest Ice Mages in the world. A year ago, Mo Fan would not have stood even a chance against him. The man could have beaten him easily!
But now, Mu Fangzhou could not even hurt Mo Fan. His face was filled with despair!

“Impossible. This is not happening!” Mu Fangzhou yelled. Blue veins were covering his face and neck.

Mu Fangzhou was soon worn out, and fell to the ground feebly. He still had burns left by the dragon’s breath fist Mo Fan had used on him.

Mo Fan was already standing in front of him. He did not use any magic. He simply lifted his foot and stomped on Mu Fangzhou, forcing him into the soil.

‘Mu Fangzhou’s face was broken, but the sense of humiliation was hurting him more!

“Tm going to spare your worthless life.

“Go back and tell the Mu Clan, if anyone dares to trouble the people around me, including the people of the Mui Clan, Bai Clan, and Fanxue Mountain, I’m going to visit them again. When that happens, you will regret how a time like this has given the strong the right to kill as they please!”
Mo Fan did not end Mu Fangzhou’s life. He only slammed his face into the dirt so he could reflect on his actions!

‘Mo Fan was no longer a minor character that the renowned clans could bully. He had even left the Chairman of the Asia Magic Association in the Dark Plane forever. Most importantly, he had never been a nice guy. He would pay back tenfold what his enemies had done to him!

Mui Clan, the Magic City…
Delicious food was being served at every table. Most people were enjoying themselves. It was quite difficult to feel so relaxed in the current times, as there had been fewer joyful occasions ever since the sea monsters had started invading their territory.

However, no matter how bad the situation was, they could not give up on pursuing good times. The wedding had to be grand and romantic, leaving everyone with some fond memories!

“Where did mentor go? Why haven’t I seen him around?” Bai Hongfei had gone around the tables, but he still could not find Mo Fan.

“Well, he might be busy with some business. Hongfei, don’t worry about him. We will make sure everything is alright,” Mui Shan patted Bai Hongfei’s shoulder with a smile.

However, he realized he had accidentally spilled the beans.

Mui Nuxin was right beside them. Her thoughts were very sharp, and she immediately looked at the elders.

“It seems like they are hiding something from us,” Mui Nuxin noticed.

“I’s not anything serious…”

“I’s indeed nothing worth mentioning. I just came back from another plane to attend your wedding. I must say that fate brought me back in time. I haven’t had the chance to congratulate you two officially. Here, I’ve brought you two a gift!” Mo Fan had suddenly appeared!
Aman in ragged clothes was standing beside Mo Fan. His hair was disheveled, and even his face was bent out of shape.

The man quickly put on an ugly smile with the remaining muscles that were still functional on his face… after Mo Fan nudged him with his elbow.

The older man brought his hands together and mumbled, “I have come on behalf of the Mu Clan to congratulate you.”

“Mu Fangzhou!” Mui Shan and the elders of the Bai Clan stood up with surprised faces.

“It’s me, it seems like there was a misunderstanding between us. After listening to Mo Fan’s advice, I sincerely realize I was too arrogant and ruthless before. I have made a lot of mistakes, so I have come here to apologize. Please accept my apology!” Mu Fangzhou kept glancing nervously at Mo Fan to
judge his reaction while speaking.

Mui Nuxin and Bai Hongfei were left speechless.
‘Mu Fangzhou was an established elder of the Mu Clan. He had threatened to take out every other clan that dared to oppose him not long ago. How come he was apologizing to them now out of nowhere?
“Uh… please have a seat. Either way, you have come as a guest. We are glad to accept your apology!” Bai Hongfei said politely. The truth was, he had no idea what to say.

‘The man was already asking forgiveness on his knees. It was inappropriate to punch a smiling man. It would not look good if Bai Hongfei threw out someone who had come to apologize.

“It’s fine, I have other things to attend to. I won’t disturb your wedding, nor would I dare to ask the rest of you to treat me as your guest,” Mu Fangzhou turned down the offer.

“Then…” Bai Hongfei looked at Mo Fan. He could roughly guess how Mo Fan had ‘advised’ Mu Fangzhou, judging by his swollen face.

‘Mu Fangzhou looked at Mo Fan pleadingly.

He had completely embarrassed himself. However, it was necessary if he wanted to stay alive. He was a flexible man!

“Fine, you may leave now. After all, some of the guests might see you as their enemy. I wouldn’t want you to ruin their fun…” Mo Fan patted Mu Fangzhou on the shoulder.

‘Mu Fangzhou immediately rose to his feet and ran away like a stray dog being released.

Everyone looked at Mo Fan as soon as Mu Fangzhou had left.

“Lreally like your gift. Thank you very much,” Mui Nuxin said with a beaming smile.

‘The gift would affect the fate of her clan. Mu Fangzhou definitely had the power to destroy a renowned clan. If Mo Fan had not lent them a hand, they might not have been able to finish the wedding!
‘Mui Nuxin was sincerely grateful. Bai Hongfei was utterly impressed, too!

‘Mo Fan was only away for a little over an hour, and the dinner was about to end. It was ridiculous how he had beaten Mu Fangzhou up and dragged him here to apologize to them in such a short period.
Just how strong is Mo Fan now?

Mui Shan, Mui Ye, and the elders of the Bai Clan were also thinking the same question.

‘Mui Shan drew closer to Mo Fan and asked, “So, what happened?”

Did Mo Fan somehow reach a deal with the Mu Clan and convince them to let their people go, rebuilding the relationship with their clans?

“Lkilled Fan Ning and his men, and spared Mu Fangzhou’s life,” Mo Fan answered succinctly.

“You killed Fan Ning, the Great Elder of the Mu Clan?” Mui Shan almost dropped his jaw on the table.

‘They were supposed to be several hundred kilometers away. Mo Fan had fought Mu Fangzhou and Fan Ning by himself!

However, he had killed one and forced the other to surrender before the dinner came to an end!

Was Mo Fan still human!?

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.
No big deal. Congratulations on your wedding!

Also, note it didn’t cost Mo Fan any money… and he probably milked the dead Mu’s of any valuables…

Chapter 2609: Securing Benefits with Trickery

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor:

Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Eat something,” Mu Ningxue had considerately kept some of the delicious banquet food for Mo Fan. She asked a waitress to reheat the food.

Mo Fan had not been able to eat before he left. He sat down and enjoyed the food while drinking with everyone.

One must never waste delicious food!

The world had changed a lot after Mo Fan returned from the Dark Plane. The situation of their homeland had worsened too, but Mo Fan was very pleased that he was back. Perhaps he was treasuring his life more after paying a visit to Hell.
“Wow, there are so many people here. A lot of them are from the Magic City,” a loud voice interrupted.

‘The man’s tone and volume had captured everyone’s attention.

“It’s Councilman Zhuang, I didn’t think you would come here in person. We are honored to have you here!” Mui Shan immediately greeted the man.

Councilman Zhuang did not bother looking at Mui Shan. He went straight to Bai Hongfei and Mui Nuxin.

“Thappened to pass by and saw the decorations, so I came without an invitation. I hope you won’t mind,” Councilman Zhuang told Mui Nuxin.

“Of course not, it’s a privilege to have you here,” Mui Nuxin said courteously.

“Please have a seat,” Bai Hongfei said.

“It’s fine, I’ll be going soon. I just came to say a few words. I wouldn’t want to disturb the grand occasion. Well, I just want to tell you there’s currently still a gap of seventy kilometers in the dam at the southern coast… Oh, the Master of Fanxue Mountain, Mu Ningxue is here too. It will save me a trip to
visit you, too!” Councilman Zhuang was surprised to see Mu Ningxue there.

Mo Fan gave Mui Shan a puzzled look after this man who was acting like an official came out of nowhere.

“He’s a Councilman of the Magic City, the city’s current Maritime Defense Minister.
City. Most importantly, he’s a strong Mage, too. He’s most likely a peak Super Mage.

Mui Shan explained. He then whispered into Mo Fan’s ear, “Many officials of the Magic City were replaced after Chairman Shao Zheng was dismissed. This Zhuang Yue’s influence is on par with the mayor of the Magic

‘The man was a peak Super Mage. It explained why he was acting so confidently!

“You all should help your country and city more instead of focusing on your own people. You have occupied many resources and lands without giving back to society. You should do your best to help the country at a time like this. The Mui Clan and Bai Clan are reputable in the Magic City. It’s time for you
to step forward to be a role model to others, and that includes Fanxue Mountain, too! Even though the Feiniao Headquarters City isn’t a part of my jurisdiction, we should all work together now that our country is in trouble,” Zhuang Yue went on loftily.

“Councilman Zhuang, you already took many elites of our clans with you a month ago. Most of them are now either dead or were injured in the battle. How can you say we are not doing our part? We really can’t afford to help you anymore!” Mui Ye protested.
“What do you mean by that? Do you think the military and government have fewer casualties? If it weren’t for us, do you think you can still hold a grand wedding like this for the guests to enjoy their evening?” Councilman Zhuang frowned in reply.
Mui Ye did not dare refute his words.

Mui Nuxin and Bai Hongfei seemed perfectly calm, but they were obviously feeling uncomfortable.

Some people had done their best to serve the country. Chairman Shao Zheng was a great example. On the other hand, some people were doing everything to squeeze benefits out of others!

They were squeezing the people, the clans, and the factions. Most importantly, Zhuang Yue had never dared to act so self-righteously in front of other formidable factions like the Mu Clan, Zhao Clan, Hunter Union, Magic Association, and the Shoreline Alliance.
He was bullying the weak, while being afraid of the strong!

Mui Nuxin had long found this Councilman an eyesore. It was not his first time trying to trick them for his own benefit. She was even angrier at Zhuang Yue for doing it at her wedding, It was the most important day for a woman!

The Bai Clan and Mui Clan had sent their men to the frontline to fight the sea monsters a month ago. They were treated as meat shields. Only a few of them had made it back alive.

Meanwhile, Zhuang Yue had not lost many of his own men, but he had happily claimed all the glory!

It was supposed to be an enjoyable wedding, but a shameless Councilman had come and ruined everyone’s mood!

Mui Shan kept whispering into Mo Fan’s ear, explaining Zhuang Yue’s personality.

As a matter of fact, Mo Fan did not have a good impression of Zhuang Yue the moment Mui Shan told him he was involved in the scheme to dismiss Chairman Shao Zheng.

‘Mo Fan did not want to play the games of these dirty scum. He could not care less about their identity.

‘Mo Fan rose to his feet. He was just about to criticize the hypocrite when Xinxia’s knight Waris approached them, leading Xinxia over.

Xinxia looked at Mo Fan, and her gentle voice echoed in his mind.

Mo Fan thought about it and decided not to involve himself.

“Councilman Zhuang,” Xinxia said with a gentle voice. It was difficult to guess her emotions from her voice. She had learned how to hide her feelings after all her years at the Parthenon Temple.

Zhuang Yue turned around. He was impatient at being bothered first, but he immediately donned a smile when he saw Xinxia.

“Ah, the future Goddess, I didn’t think I would stumble into you here,” Zhuang Yue greeted her.

“Twas going to give the newlyweds my blessing, but you have come so urgently. Perhaps you have a better blessing for them. I’m more than willing to let you take over,” Xinxia proposed.

Zhuang Yue was stunned.

‘What blessing? He was here to demand resources from their two clans. He had no blessing to give away!

“Of course not, I just didn’t expect you to be here. I’m sorry for interrupting your blessing, I’m only here to enjoy some free drinks. Please, don’t mind me. You may continue,” Zhuang Yue laughed, as if everything he had said was just a joke.

“Please step aside,” Xinxia encouraged him.

Zhuang Yue could not find any words to say, and he did not dare disrespect Xinxia. He could only look at Mui Nuxin and Bai Hongfei grudgingly.

Councilman Zhuang retreated so that Xinxia to take over. He awkwardly moved to the side to find himself a seat.

“Can’t you see the seat is occupied? Move away!” Mo Fan rolled his eyes and scolded him.

Zhuang Yue’s face darkened. He looked at Mo Fan closely, as if he wanted to remember his face.

‘Where did this guy come from? He did not dare to say a word when the Saintess of the Parthenon Temple asked him to step aside, but who did this young man think he was?

The young man was unworthy to even be his footrest. How dare he scold his elder!?

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.

I sense a bad death in some scumbag’s future.

Chapter 2610: The Trio

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhuang Yue was about to lose his temper when a short-haired woman in a suit

came over and whispered into the Councilman’s ear.

Zhuang Yue’s expression sank. He rose to his feet, glancing at Mo Fan before

leaving the hall.

It seemed something had happened that required the presence of the Maritime

Defense Minister.

Mo Fan simply ignored it now that the annoying man had left, and continued

to enjoy his food. The meat of the creatures in the Dark Plane had been bad and

rotten..

Xinxia gave her blessing to the newlyweds. Mo Fan did not hear the details, but

Mui Nuxin seemed overjoyed. She kept thanking Xinxia repeatedly and

sincerely.

The dinner was coming to an end. The guests gradually took their leaves.

Mo Fan was not in a rush to go back after he was done eating. He tooka stroll

along the Huangpu River.

The dazzling lights were reflected on the rapid currents. In the past, the

riverside was full of tourists. People would be taking photos of the magnificent

buildings and leaning against the rail to admire the river. There had also been

small cruise ships with fancy lights sailing the river.

However, the area was now deserted. It was now a luxury to admire the view

when mankind was in danger.

Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and Xinxia were the only people walking on the

promenade by the river.

The cold and stern knight Waris maintaineda distance of around a hundred

meters from them, looking around constantly.

Mo Fan was a few steps ahead while Mu Ningxue was pushing Xinxia’s

wheelchair. They were walking at a slow pace.

It had been like this since they were younger. Mo Fan always rushed ahead as

he was eager to show his new discoveries to them. It was a peaceful and scenic

place with a river and an old tree. The leaves were falling slowly onto the water

before they were carried away by the current.

Mu Ningxue would keep up with Mo Fan at her own pace while havinga private

talk with Xinxia. She was not particularly interested in Mo Fan’s discovery, but

she was not necessarily disappointed, either.

Meanwhile, Xinxia was very curious about nature. The butterflies and fallen

flowers would occasionally fall on her clothes. She would not sweep them away

like most people would.

It felt like they had gone back in time, to when they were still in Bo City. There

were endless paths to walk, views to enjoy, and stories to tell.

Unfortunately, everything was constantly changing. They could no longer go

back to certain places and times. Mo Fan could accept the changes in other

things, but he could not accept all the changes in people.

As the world continued to fall into a bottomless pit and eternal darkness, it was

Mo Fan’s greatest relief to see Mu Ningxue and Xinxia just a few steps behind

him.

He would never lose the motivation to keep going forward, even when huge

waves and the Apocalypse were in his way.

Nothing was permanent in this world.

In the end, Mo Fan still could not fulfill the wish that was constantly in his

mind.

Not only did he fail to fulfill it, he did not expect that he would even go back to

his deserted apartment alone!

Mo Fan heard voices behind the door when he reached home.

His heart began to race. It seemed like he did not have to sleep alone in the cold

night!

Mo Fan opened the door and saw the two men sitting on the couch with beer

bottles scattered across the floor. The two drunken men were drinking like two

warriors having a duel.

The two looked at Mo Fan with wide eyes when they saw him coming back

alone.

“How useless!” Zhao Manyan mocked him.

Mu Bai burst out laughing, too. He pointed at Mo Fan and scoffed, “That’s what

you get for mocking me all the time. I thought you were impressive, but you

still came back here alone! Here, I have left you a seat.

Mu Bai must have drank a lot. He was surprisingly bold and unrestrained.

Mo Fan felt so embarrassed. He had the urge to kill the two idiots right on the

spot!

Mo Fan had left the wedding with two beautiful women. He was planning to

take a romantic stroll so the three of them could enjoy the rest of the night

together in the same bed.

Unfortunately, the two women were too smart to give Mo Fan a chance to

fulfill his shameless ambitions. They managed to get away and destroy Mo

Fan’s dream!

“You are really hopeless. You should seek some advice from me. I might not be

good at other things, but I have plenty of experience having a wonderful time

with two women at once. How could you bring the two of them out for a walk

together? You were only going to alert them..” Zhao Manyan started giving

him a lecture.

“Piss off, if you are so good, why are you drinking with Mu Bai here?” Mo Fan

scolded.

He was so angry! Why did he have to be caught red-handed by these two pricks

after his plan failed?

Most importantly, why were these two assh**** treating his place like theirs?

He had used it to keep his mistresses, but the two assh**** had made his

nice-smeling apartment foul!

Mu Bai pointed at Zhao Manyan’s bottle and said, “Are you keeping the beer to

keep some pet fish? What did you say at the wedding? If you don’t make me

drunk until I’m on the floor, you will call me your grandfather. I’m very much

awake still!

“What are you so proud of? I’m just feeling sorry for Mo Fan. I’m waiting for

him to finish a bottle first,” Zhao Manyan immediately redirected Mu Baï’s

attention to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was in a bad mood. He grabbed a bottle and emptied it in one go.

Mo Fan’s face reddened after he drank the bottle of beer. The same question

kept appearing in his mind, Where did my plan even go wrong?

Could it be that he was being too impatient, just like Zhao Manyan had said?

Life never goes according to plan!

“old Zhao, where is your true love?” Mo Fan suddenly recalled the exciting

relationship Zhao Manyan once had.

Mu Bai immediately slammed his fist on the table and burst out laughing

“It turned out Zhao Manyan was the one being conned. The woman already

knew who he was. She was planning to take both the brothers. The Aorus

Sacred Institute allows women to have two husbands!” Mu Bai informed Mo

Fan.

“It was a mutual relationship. What do you mean I was being charmed? How

could a man like you who has never touched a woman’s hand understand?

Zhao Manyan rebuked Mi Bai instantly.

“Mu Bai, you’re still single? It’s been a year!” Mo Fan was surprised.

“I’m good at being alone. Look at you two! One hooks up with every woman he

sees, the other has a lot of paramours, but you are both drinking with me here.

What difference does it make?” Mu Bai shot back.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were left speechless.

Mu Bai was not wrong, either!

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan clanked their bottles awkwardly and emptied them.

Zhao Manyan coughed and asked Mu Bai, “T’m going to ask you seriously. Isn’t

e woman you met during the battle at the Yangtze River pretty níce? Why are

you keeping your distance from her?”

“You never know what’s going to happen in a precarious time like this. I don’t

want to grieve over someone’s death, so I think it’s better to be alone,” Mu Bai

replied.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan raised their thumbs at Mu Bai. The three of them

continued to enjoy their drinks.

Chapter 2611: Prayer Lanterns

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by Kephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

The lake in front of the apartment complex was starting to freeze. A woman

with hair as soft as silk was seated on a bench in front of the lake.

She stared at the lake for a long time, deep in thought. Her delicate figure

blended perfectly into the cold night.

After some time, she looked at one of the units in the apartment that still had

its lights on.

She hesitated for a moment, then rose to her feet. She walked away from the

school, across the frozen grass.

The cold sea breeze lashed the woman like a whip. Even the mink coat she was

wearing could not keep her warm.

“She’s here, Councilman Zhuang,” Dean Lee reported.

Zhuang Yue was standing upright with an expressionless face. His lips curled

upward when he saw the beautiful young woman approaching him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Zhuang Yue reached out his hand in a friendly

manner.

The woman did not respond. She only stared at Dean Lee with cold, attractive

eyes.

“He’s Councilman Zhuang Yue, the person in charge of the operation,” Dean

Lee introduced him.

“I’m only doing this for the Pearl Institute,” the woman replied.

“That’s fine. The Pearl Institute represents the Magic City, which represents

the country, just like the soldiers who are fighting hard just to make sure their

families can live peacefully in the walls of the city,” Zhuang Yue replied.

“The Pearl institute will remember you. All of us will remember you!”

Mo Fan went to the balcony with messy hair after he woke up. He was trying to

clear his head with the cold wind.

It was almost evening. They had drank until dawn, celebrating how much of a

failure their lives were, then they had slept through the day.

It had been some time since the Magic City had any sunlight. The evening

remained dull, as if the mist in the sky would not disappear for another several

dozen years.

Mo Fan could see the artificial lake from his balcony. The surface that had

frozen at night would melt in the day.

Lanterns were floating on the lake like tiny rafts.

“Is there a festival today?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

He did not put much attention on the lanterns, since he was starving. He

quickly took a shower and headed downstairs. He had not eaten at the canteen

downstairs for a long time.

The canteen was very dark.

Mo Fan was confused when he walked into the canteen. Were Lightning

Element resources scarce, too? Why were they not willing to turn on the lights?

The canteen was also decorated with little lanterns. The dim light they were

giving off made the canteen look like a mourning hall.

Mo Fan felt uneasy. He happened to see a familiar man walking toward him.

The man’s face was visible, as he was also holding a lanterm. He was grieving!

“Zhang Zhuo!” Mo Fan called out to the man.

Mo Fan still had a slight impression of the man. He was the Shadow Mage who

had found the survivors hiding inside a bunker at Bing Town when he was

fighting the sea monsters that had invaded the river.

Zhang Zhuo was shocked when he saw Mo Fan. He almost dropped the lantern

in his hand.

“Senior Mo Fan!” Zhang Zhuo yelled.

“Shhh!” Mo Fan signaled him to lower his voice.

He pulled Zhang Zhuo to the side. He looked at the lantern in his hand and

asked, “What are you doing? Who are you mourning for?”

“Didn’t you hear what happened? Didn’t you see the news? The media has been

reporting the incident for the whole day!” Zhang Zhuo exclaimed woefully.

“I was cultivating in seclusion. I just came out,” Mo Fan replied without

blinking an eye.

Then… you should pretend you didn’t hear anything. Otherwise, you will be

saddened by it,” Zhang Zhuo said slowly.

Mo Fan was utterly confused. He looked at the words written on the lantern.

It was a short blessing for someone who had died. Mo Fan was dumbfounded

when he saw the name on it.

Ding Yumian!

The deceased was Ding Yumian!

The lake, the school, and many places were full of lanterns that had been made

to mourn Ding Yumian!

She had left this world!

“When did it happen?” Mo Fan asked grimly.

“Early this morning. Senior, I’m so depressed. She was such a young and

beautiful girl. I stumbled into her a month ago in the library. She told me her

greatest wish was to visit the renowned institutes across the world. She wanted

to see the cold and beautiful Alps Institute, the noble and royal institutes in

Europe, and the romantic and luxurious Aorus Sacred Institute… but she no

longer has a chance to fulfill her wish,” Zhang Zhuo sobbed.

“What happened? Did the sea monsters kill her?” Mo Fan demanded.

“No, no, Councilman Zhuang Yue announced it this morning…” Zhang Zhuo

shook his head.

Ding Yumian’s death was made public through an official announcement

Even if Ding Yumian was a Super Mage, her death would not be announced bya

Councilman, nor was it going to shock the Magic City and the whole country.

Mo Fan had a strong feeling it was something that would infuriate and sadden

him.

He took out his phone and browsed the news.

Zhang Zhuo did not dare say a word. He could feel Mo Fan’s breathing

intensifying.

“Did she make the decision herself?” Mo Fan asked after a prolonged silence.

“Yes, Dean Lee has her last words, which she wrote for the school. It was her

handwriting,” Zhang Zhuo answered.

Mo Fan took Zhang Zhuo’s phone and looked at the photo closely. It read: Even

though I can’t leave the Pearl Institute, I love it very much. Ihope my soul can

return here.

Ding Yumian was a known Disaster-bringer.

She had been protected by the Pearl Institute. She was not allowed to leave the

school because she might endanger other people.

Unfortunately, someone had found her. They had treated her Innate Talent as a

secret weapon to eliminate the sea monsters!

Mo Fan had the same idea briefly when he learned Ding Yumian’s Innate

Talent, but he did not expect it would really happen!

Ding Yumian’s mental strength was stronger than ordinary people’s. Her

negative emotions could influence the people around her.

The truth was, her emotions were able to influence every living creature with

intelligence!

She had found out that the sea monster’s minds were connected like a giant

net. That net covered most of the sea monsters who were invading their

country.

Ding Yumian was able to influence the sea monsters with her emotions. Thus,

she had become a secret weapon.

She had ended her own life on an unknown island in the middle of the sea.

Her strong urge to kill herself had spread throughout the army of sea monsters

that was preparing its next attack.

The sea monsters had ended up killing themselves.

Since that morning, the vast sea had been covered by the tloating dead bodies

of the sea monsters and their foul stench!

Chapter 2612: Members of the Tribe of Sea Gods

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A group of the Pearl Institute’s students, dressed in black outfits, was standing close to the dam.

Each of them held a lantern decorated with a white flower. The warm light was shining on the petals, making them transparent.

The reflection of the lanterns on the surface of the sea resembled blossoming lotuses as they were dropped onto the waters.

The strong waves easily swallowed some of the lanterns and their lights, but many of them drifted into the distance like little rafts, disappearing into the mist.

“Senior, I’ll give you one!” Zhang Zhuo held out a lantern to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan shook his head and tuned down the offer. He did not want to remember someone like this.

“Look, the sea monster’s dead bodies have sunk to the bottom of the sea. Our lanterns should be able to reach that island!” a female student exclaimed happily.

Not long ago, the surface of the sea was covered by the dead bodies of countless sea monsters. They were all facing the sky with wide eyes, like they were complaining to the Heavens indignantly.
However, as the lanterns drifted into the distance, the dead bodies sank to the bottom of the sea. They would soon decompose into nutrients for the microorganisms along the seabed.
“Tt seems like even the Heavens are hoping we can guide senior’s soul back,” Zhang Zhuo said with a wry smile. He then turned to Mo Fan.

However, Mo Fan had already left. Zhang Zhuo quickly went after him, but he only saw Mo Fan vanishing with a few silver flickers of light.

“He must be depressed too, but it was senior sister’s decision…” Zhang Zhuo mumbled to himself.

A lantern hung with a white flower drifted aimlessly on the sea.
The sea was perfectly calm, like a lake on the mountains that was reflecting the blue sky and the white clouds.

If the lantern had not ended up here, it was impossible to tell which side was the sea and the sky.

The lantern suddenly touched the back of someone’s hand.

The person was sitting on the water, but her legs were soaking. It looked like she was sitting on a mirror of ice.

Her hands were extremely pale and still. She turned around slowly after the lantern reached her, and stared at the floating light for a long time.

She picked up the lantern and put it on her palm, then opened the cover and blew out the candle inside it. She then opened the white letter inside it.

The letter was rolled up. She slowly opened it and read the words, “Let the soul return.”

“Tt seems like everyone is praying for my return.

“shall grant them their wish.”

The woman started laughing. Her hollow voice echoed across the calm sea eerily.

She slowly rose from the sea. However, her lower body no longer had human legs. An elegant dress made up of colorful corals was covering a long lower body that resembled a fish.

Her long hair drifted in the wind. The calm sea suddenly became restless as dark figures approached the surface. They were ghastly and hideous. They were either covered in bloody spikes and had fangs like sharks, or their flesh was rotten and covered in pus, with swollen poisonous glands and venomous
tails or stings.

The sea was quiet and still just a moment ago, but now a huge number of demon creatures had gathered around the woman at their center!

‘A few workers were preparing the battlefields on the other side of the dam.

The first was the Wasteland Battlefield, which was stacked up with waste steel, concrete, junked vehicles, aluminum alloy scrap, and other things. It was one of the main battlefields, where the humans had once fought the Sea Skeleton King.

Further to the south was another artificial land with an abandoned city, which several expert Earth Mages had constructed using an Earth Pistil. It was a copy of Japan’s East Maritime Fortress.

‘There were a great number of tall brown buildings without windows and doors, looking like a half-completed residential project. The people could easily see the gray sky on the other side between the buildings.

Councilman Zhuang was in charge of the project, so the people had named it Zhuang City. It was less than four kilometers from the Pearl Institute. The members of the Magic Association could watch the place clearly from the Dongfang Oriental Tower.
That evening, Zhuang City was suddenly surrounded by dark red seawater. The sturdy buildings that were designed to withstand the attacks of Commander-level creatures all collapsed and sank into the water.

The Mages guarding the city all died before night had even arrived. Their miserable cries reached the Magic City.

The Councilmen and generals on the Dongfang Oriental Tower were shocked. They had no idea what had just happened. The sturdy maritime fortress had been taken out in such a short amount of time!

Most importantly, the fallen fortress had exposed the dam, the last line of defense for the Magic City!

“Did anyone find out which horde of the sea monsters was responsible for the attack?”

“It might be a new species. We have no information on them.”

“Damn it, none of them managed to take a close look at the enemy? How useless!”

“Didn’t they say we would have a long time of peace after our recent victory? Why are the sea monsters attacking so soon? Was there a higher-level existence, in addition to the powerful creature we took out?”

The trench demons were a kind of intelligent sea monster, and had the power to control many hordes of the sea monsters. They proclaimed themselves as prophets of the sea monsters. Even the imperious Rulers leading the sea monsters had to obey their orders!
However, hadn’t they already killed the prophet?

It should have died with the Rulers and the rest of the sea monsters a week ago, after the Disaster-bringer ended her own life. How did the tribe of the Sea Gods recover so quickly?

“Was the information the Shoreline Alliance gave us inaccurate? They didn’t even realize there’s another high-level Sea God!” Zhuang Yue snarled.

The Shoreline Alliance referred to the intelligent sea monsters who could command the sea monsters to attack their city recklessly as members of the Tribe of Sea Gods.

The Trench Demons that served as the prophets of the sea monsters were one of the Tribes.

The sea monsters did indeed have their own civilization!

Chapter 2613: Undead from the Bottom of the Sea

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Edited by Aelryinth

“Councilman Zhuang, the sea level is falling,” a Battlemage circling up in the sky reported.

“The tide is falling?”

“The sea level has only risen for so many years. When has the tide ever fallen?”

The tide was indeed falling back slowly. The dark red seawater that had destroyed Zhuang City had disappeared with it.

The land that had been drowned by the water was gradually exposed. It was covered in sand and filth. Trash had piled up on the downhills and slopes.

Late at night, the falling tide had revealed a huge strip of land leading to the east. The people were able to see the New Pudong once again.

The seawaters had continuously taken up more human territory. Who would have thought the tide would fall rapidly one day, like it was not going to return again? The people could no longer see any water in the areas that had once been a part of the ocean.
It felt like the seawater had been drawn away. Not only did it give the drowned areas back, it even gave them extra space!

The sand, seaweed, rocks, and dead bodies that were still decomposing for a hundred square kilometers of the seabed were now visible.

The Shoreline Alliance soon assembled a few teams and sent them out to explore the dried land and find out the reason behind the falling tide.

The Tribe of Sea Gods had already won the battle against them by forcing them to hide in the five Headquarters Cities. There was no reason for the sea rulers to retreat!

“Is it a natural phenomenon, or a trick of the sea monsters?” an explorer of the Shoreline Alliance picked up a smelly rock and inspected it.

The seabed was covered in thick mud. Their boots would sink halfway into the mud as they were walking on it.

The team of explorers was made up of elite members of the Shoreline Alliance. The Shoreline Alliance had been exploring the oceans and learning about sea creatures and their evolutions. They had to understand the world under the sea so they could figure out how to stop the sea monsters’ invasion.

After the sea level had fallen, they had quickly explored places they had not dared to go to before, especially the cliffs and the trenches, as most high-level sea monsters enjoyed staying in the darkness of the deep sea, and they were more accustomed to the water pressure of the deep waters. The Shoreline
Alliance could identify the species, number, and level of the sea monsters through the scales, skin tissues, fangs, and body waste left by the sea monsters.

“Don’t you think that’s strange?” Dean Lee asked.

Lee Xu was the Dean of the Pearl Institute’s School of White Magic. He was also the Vice Chairman of the Magic City’s Shoreline Alliance. He had personally led teams in exploring the dangerous zones so they could understand the reason behind the unusual phenomena.
This time, he had to find out where the dark red seawater had come from!

A mysterious scholar had detected a new member of the Tribe of Sea Gods having appeared in the East China Sea. Therefore, they had to find out its ability, its power, and how many sea monsters it was leading before their first encounter with the creature.
“Is something wrong, Dean Lee?” Elder Yue Qing asked, sensing something off.

“Shouldn’t there be a lot of dead sea monsters around?” Dean Lee quickly looked around.

The whole place was covered in the filth of the seabed, but the dead bodies that were floating on the surface several days ago had all vanished.

Dean Lee clearly remembered the dead bodies had sunk to the bottom of the sea. It had only been a week. They would not decompose so quickly, yet the only remains he could see had obviously been around for ages.

Where did the dead bodies of the army of sea monsters go? Did the strange tide carry them away?

Why would they bother to retrieve their corpses?

“Elder Yue, take a look at this!” a member of the team called out.

Dean Lee and Elder Yue immediately looked in the direction of the voice. They saw a red tide approaching them fiercely from the horizon.

“Run, quick!” Dean Lee immediately told everyone to retreat when he realized something was not right.

‘The dark red tide came on suddenly, like a terrifying storm. Its bloody Aura soon reached the team.

Dean Lee realized the dark red tide was not made up of water, but a huge number of ghastly sea monsters!

Their rotten flesh and poisonous pus were giving off a foul stench. They were sprinting across the dried seabed, as if they were replacing the seawater.

“Un…undead!”

“It’s the Sea Undead!”

The oceans covered massive areas, thus the presence of death that the oceans had accumulated was stronger. In the past, the scholars of the Shoreline Alliance had conjectured the existence of an Undead Kingdom at the bottom of the sea. It was formed by the countless dead bodies of sea creatures that
had accumulated over a long time, resulting in insane numbers of undead.

To their surprise, the Sea Undead had charged at their city as soon as the sea level had fallen, as if they had long planned it.
“Dean Lee, aren’t these the sea monsters that died recently? They have all turned into Undead!”

“L..I’m not sure,” Dean Lee’s expression fell sharply. He was starting to have a bad feeling about this.

Dean Lee kept looking at the tide of Undead while he was retreating, His scalp turned numb when he saw an aloof figure standing above the army of Undead!
She was looking down at them like the empress of darkness and death. Her eyes were brimming with hatred.

She was the new member of the Tribe of Sea Gods!

She was capable of commanding this army of sea monsters which had died and turned into undead!

More importantly, Dean Lee found the outline and the pale face of the creature extremely familiar.

The dark red tide closed in on them.

Dean Lee and his men were still around ten kilometers away from the safe zone. They obviously could not make it in time.

‘The Sea Undead crashed into the team. The members of the team could not escape the fate of being annihilated by the Sea Undead.

Dean Lee also gave up.

He was surrounded by the Sea Undead, but for some reason, they were ignoring him. They had simply swept on past him.

It felt like an invisible barrier was protecting Dean Lee from the Sea Undead. However, Dean Lee knew he was not under any protection.

As he thought, the Sea Undead cleared a path for the figure with a colorful dress, pale face, hollow eyes, and long hair brimming with the presence of death.

“Ding…Ding Yumian!” Dean Lee could not believe his eyes when he saw the woman..

Chapter 2614: The Apocalypse

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by Xephiz :Edited by Aelryinth

The tide of Undead immediately broke through the weakest spot of the dam in

the south. The slain sea monsters that had attacked a week ago had been

turned into fearless Undead.

The Undead were scarier than the living sea monsters, as they could blatantly

abuse their power without needing the unstoppable waves.

The Undead had taken the humans by surprise. They did not have enough Light

Mages at the dam.

The Undead soon invaded the safe zone through a new hole in the dam around

two hundred meters wide. A dark Aura poured into the industrial area.

The south of the city was an industrial district. The factories were crucial to the

city’s operation. They were processing Magic Ores and turning them into

sources of power and water to keep the city functioning.

However, the Undead destroyed the factories in an instant, rapidly closing in on the busy districts of the city.

The soldiers had no chance of stopping them.

Most sea monsters would back away from fierce resistance and loolk for other

openings, giving the humans time to adjust and control the situation, but the

Undead were fearless.

They were only focused on their target. They would not stop even if there were only empty shells!

They were more terrifying than a huge wave of sea monsters. They were charging forward recklessly, bearing an overwhelming presence of death. After destroying the factories, the Undead all headed in the same direction: the Dongfang Oriental Tower! The army and Magic Alliance failed to stop the Undead’s advance. Countless buildings and Mages were swallowed by the tide, which was moving inexorably toward the Dongfang Oriental Tower, close to the headquarters of the Shoreline Alliance and the Hunter Union. Many people on the veranda close to the beach were spooked.

The buildings on the other side of Huangpu River were swarming with Undead.

They were climbing the buildings and covered the outer layer of the buildings with their hideous bodies.

The sky was dark, and the sun was absent. The busiest district of the Magic

City had suddenly fallen into a deep abyss of destruction. The High Seaters and Top Seaters were no longer in charge. The buildings were taken over by the

Undead. They were greedily eying the streets, houses, parks, and plazas. The shallow river there was not going to stop them!

A blue light burst out of the top of Dongfang Oriental Tower. Several other buildings quickly followed up and emitted the same light from their tops.

The lights combined in the sky, forming a sacred altar hovering above the buildings.

Liquid light poured out of the altar like silver curtains and swiftly encapsulated the Lujiazui District, trapping the Undead that were trying to cross the river.

The silver liquid was half-transparent, and the people could still see the

Undead through it. They were climbing the silver curtains, trying to find a hole in them.

More Undead were approaching. They had completely taken the other side of the river. The silver curtains and the sacred altar had merely kept them on the

other shore. The Magic Barrier established by the silver curtains temporarily prevented the

Undead from crossing the river to the residential areas, but the Undead were only several meters away from the people!

None of them believed the Magic Barrier was enough to stop the Undead.

Once the Undead reached the residential areas, they would cause a bloodbath in the Headquarters City!

Half of the Dongfang Oriental Tower was covered by the Undead. The streets, alleys, plazas, and parks were already covered by the Undead.

They had used their bodies to flood the city. If the buildings had not been not protected by magic, the whole district would be destroyed in an instant.

“Kill them all!l” Councilman Zhuang Yue snarled from a platform above Dongfang Oriental Tower.

“We have activated the Formations on every building, but these Undead do not

have any sense of self-preservation. Their only goal is to destroy and kill.

There’s no way our men can take them all out!”

“My men are dying at an insane rate, too. What’s going on? Why are they

attacking this place?

“The Tribe of Sea Gods surely knows this tower is a symbol for human Mages.

If it’s destroyed, it’s like taking down the enemy’s flag. They are demonstrating

their power to us. They are trying to crush our will to fight!”

Several students on the balcony were struck as dumb as wooden chickens. They

could see the skyscrapers clearly from their angle.

In the past, the skyscrapers and Dongfang Oriental Tower had stood firmly,

pointed at the unreachable sky. Everyone would feel proud looking at them, as

they symbolized humanity’s power and status.

But today, the skyscrapers had been taken over by other species. The Undead

were not large, but their front limbs were strong and deadly. Their eyes were

sticking out of their sockets while their heads were like the skulls of dead fish,

and their bodies were covered in venomous spikes. The people who had faint

hearts would often collapse after seeing the hideous creatures.

The sea monsters were no longer held on the other side of the dam. The

creatures were visible from their balconies. They were witnessing the

terrifying sight through their own windows!

They were told that the Apocalypse was coming. It was now happening right in

front of them!

“Are we all going to die?” A young man with curly hair was holding a book. He

had been reviewing for an exam.

The eyes on his handsome face were hollow.

He had been going to officially become a Mage tomorrow, but he was now

unsure if tomorrow would even arrive! Even if he became a Mage, could he really do anything to stop what was

happening in front of him?

He felt like a huge black wave was coming at his raft. The wave could easily

crush him and the raft. Was there any meaning to becoming a Mage?

“How long can the altar last? I heard it’s a Forbidden Curse Magic Formation,”

another skinny young man asked hollowly.

Meanwhile, tiny cracks surfaced on the silver curtains as if they were

responding to the skinny man’s question. They were proving that the magic

barrier was not unbreakable. The tide of Undead could break through the

curtains at any second!

Chapter 2615: The Buried Army of Sea Monsters

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

—

The young men heard some footsteps on the stairs.

A man in his sleepwear walked over to the balcony with a toothbrush in his

mouth anda brushing mug in his hand.

The others were looking at the apocalyptic sight. He followed their gazes.

le took the toothbrush out of his mouth and poured the cold

ater in the mug

into his mouth.

Gargle gargle…spit!

“Bro, why are you spitting from your balcony? Don’t you know that’s

unhygienic?”

“That’s right, do you think you no longer have to behave yourself because we

are all going to die?”

Mo Fan casually put the toothbrush and the mug down and replied, “I have

never behaved myself.”

Mo Fan looked at the altar and estimated its durability.

It was indeed a Forbidden Curse Magic Formation, but Mo Fan did not believe

it would last for more than a day.

The Undead numbers were too overwhelming. Even if the people were

stronger, it would take some time to eliminate all the Undead. It would take the

military and Magic Association at least half a month to kill them all, without

taking into consideration the casualties.

If the altar was the last line of defense for the Magic City, the army of Undead

would break through the defense after twenty-four hours and massacre the

civilians!

However, it seemed like the Undead were targeting Dongfang Oriental Tower.

They were doing everything to climb to its top, like there was something they

were after on it.

The tower had plenty of Mages. Their destructive spells could kill hundreds of

the Undead in an instant, but the attacks were nothing compared to the

numbers of Undead.

“Aren’t you Mo Fan!?” The curly-haired young man recognized Mo Fan.

“I am,” Mo Fan confirmed.

“You live here, too?” The young man could not recall seeing Mo Fan here

before.

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you strong’ Can you take care of them” the young man asked

hopefully.

“Hold your hand straight,” Mo Fan told him.

The young man was puzzled, but he followed the instruction.

“Raise your pinkie and cover any part of Lujiazhui District. The area that your

pinkie covers is the most I can kill,” Mo Fan informed him.

The other young men came over and reached out their hands with the

questioner.

Their pinkies could only cover a tiny area of the district. It was nothing

compared to the massive army of Undead!

“You are so strong, yet you can only kill that much?” The curly-haired young

man looked at his pinkie in disbelief. “Doesn’t that mean we are all going to

die?

“More or less,” Mo Fan nodded.

“Bro, do something, you are a Mage! We don’t want to die.”

“T’m more curious about where these Undead came from and why they are

attacking the tower. Are they really trying to crush our will to fight? If so, they could just target the city,” Mo Fan rubbed his chin and thought aloud.

Military force was not the key to resolving the situation. If the Tribe of Sea

Gods could regroup s0 easily after losing so many sea monsters, it was

meaningless to put up any fight. It was wiser to abandon the city and move

into the mountains.

“Mo Fan!” an aged voice called out.

Mo Fan turned around and saw Dean Xiao standing behind him.

Silver sparkles were flickering around him, while his clothes and beard were

still. They showed that Dean Xiao was an impressive Space Mage.

“Dean Xiao, the Undead can only rise with a strong presence of death. Even

though countless dead bodies accumulated at the bottom of the sea, the

presence of death should have gradually faded away with the waves. I don’t

understand how these sea monsters that Ding Yumian kiled could turn into

Undead so quickly,” Mo Fan said. “We have gathered some people, but I hope you can come with us too,” Dean

Xiao answered.

Dean Xiao had come to him in person. Mo Fan felt obligated to go with him.

Time was of the essence. Mo Fan was surprised that Dean Xiao did not even

bother holding an emergency meeting. He simply gathered several people and

explained the situation while they were heading east.

Wei Rong, the head of the Fire School, was in the group with them. The others

included a teacher with white brows, Professor Shi, and a professor of the

Undead Element.

Mo Fan knew all of them, except for the professor of the Undead Element.

The teacher with white brows was a Healer. He was known as Prince Charming

at the infirmary. He was the idol of many female students and teachers in the school. He was reserved and only focused on doing his job, but no one knew

how strong he was.

If Dean Xiao had invited him here, it meant he was also a strong Mage with a

secret identity at the school.

Mo Fan had met Professor Shi in the early days of his studies. He had stumbled

into the man on the train to the Magic City when he first moved from Bo City.

Mo Fan had also learned the information related to the Totem Beast with

mysterious feathers from the professor.

These people were obviously authorities of virtue and prestige from the Pearl

Institute. Mo Fan was flattered to be invited along by Dean Xiao, since he had

only graduated from the school not many years ago.

Professor Shi stroked his beard and asked, “Mo Fan, I heard you have been to

the Dark Plane. What did you learn there?”

“Should I write a review of my adventure there?” Mo Fan replied with a wry

smile. You two can discuss it later,” Dean Xiao interrupted their conversation and

said with a stern face, “Take a look at this!”

The photo was printed on paper. Everyone put on a straight face after looking

at it.

“Is that her?” Dean Xiao asked Wei Rong.

Wei Rong looked at the teacher with white brows, who looked at Professor Shi

and the professor of the Undead Element.

“That is Ding Yumian,” Mo Fan declared confidently.

Someone had managed to capture a photo of Ding Yumian being escorted by

the Undead like an empress. Not only was her face extremely pale, even her

skin was completely white.

However, her lower body was no longer human. Her legs were replaced by

colorful scales that resembled a mermaid wrapped in a colorful dress,. Her

unique posture while she was standing bore some similarities to the Sea

Monster Prophets! “Professor Luo, do you think Ding Yumian’s corpse was being controlled by an

evil spirit or..” Dean Xiao asked the professor of the Undead Element.

“Ding Yumian’s Fourth Element is the Undead Element,” Professor Luo replied

dourly.

“Why is she doing this? The whole country has mourned for her and thanked

her for her sacrifice.. Why did she become an Undead and send the sea

monsters that were buried with her to attack us?”

Chapter 2616: Lingering Soul

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by Kephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

“Should we approach her right away? I feel she’s no longer the Ding Yumian we

know,” the teacher with white brows spoke up.

“Her evil tendencies are too strong. If I’m not mistaken, she must have killed

Dean Lee and the others,” Dean Xiao judged.

“Dean Xiao, I still don’t understand. Not many people kanew about Ding

Yumian’s power. How did she become Councilman Zhuang’s weapon against

the sea monsters?” Wei Rong asked him.

“Dean Lee must have told Councilman Zhuang about Ding Yumian’s power,”

Dean Xiao sighed. He added, “Dean Fu had been keeping Ding Yumian’s

information confidential, despite the pressure he was under. After he died

during the battle at Huangpu River, the school struggled to decide on how to deal with Ding Yumian.”

Disaster-bringers like Qin Yu’er and Ding Yumian were constantly on the

Heresy Judgment Court’s radar.

Dean Fu used to be Ding Yumian’s protectOr. He had made sure she could stay

in the Pearl Institute without being harassed.

After Dean Fu died, Dean Lee took over his role, including the arrangements

for special students like Ding Yumian.

“This is a forged document. The other schools never gave their permission, but

Dean Lee somehow prepared an official document that said Ding Yumian has

been expelled!” Dean Xiao took out a copy of a document.

“It looks just like a real one,” the teacher with white brows observed.

“Exactly. Dean Lee is in charge of the recruitment and expulsion of students

with special circumstances. Even if we voted against his decision, he could still

forge this document,” Dean Xiao agreed.

“Does that mean Ding Yumian was given the document before she became a

weapon? Wouldn’t that make her homeless?” Mo Fan blurted out in surprise.

Ding Yumian had always treated the Pearl Institute as her home. It was the

protection she needed from the biased world.

To their surprise, someone had taken it away from her!

“It’s not hard to guess that Dean Lee forced Ding Yumian into a corner and

suggested a plausible way to save the city on behalf of the school. He was

pressuring her to sacrifice herself for the greater good.”

“Isn’t that the same as how the people in the past sacrificed innocent women to

the Sea of God?!”

“It made a lot of sense. The primary condition to become an Undead was

hatred. If Ding Yumian willingly sacrificed herself, she would not have any

resentment. Even if the place she died at had a strong aura of death, she

wouldn’t become an Undead,” the professor of the Undead Element agreed.

‘Dean Xiao, what are we supposed to do now?”

“We must find out the truth. We should visit the place where Ding Yumian

killed herself,” Dean Xiao declared.

Dean Xiao seemed to have a solid plan on how to deal with the situation.

“What about the tower..” Wei Rong turned around and looked at the sea of

Undead that had swarmed into the Lujiazhui District.

“There’s nothing we can do!” Dean Xiao said decisively.

The sea had fallen a great distance away. The group could walk across the area

that used to be underwater. Even the sand of the shallow areas was exposed,

and they could even see the slopes that used to lead to the water.

The bottom of the slope had dried up too. Professor Shi was intrigued by the

sight of it.

“Did Ding Yumian do this, too?” Professor Shi looked into the distance.

He could see the water had retreated several dozen kilometers away. The white Waves continued to retreat like an army that had given up on invading human

territory.

“I’m not sure. Professor Luo, can you find the place where Ding Yumian turned

into an Undead?” Dean Xiao was not concerned about unrelated matters.

“It’s not far from here,” Professor Luo’s eyes glittered.

They soon arrived at an area where the sea breeze was absent. The water was

perfectly calm, as if it had frozen.

They found an island of coral reefs. The part that was exposed above the

surface was only ordinary rocks, but the part under the water formed huge

colorful coral reefs. It was like a colorful tree hanging upside down in the

water, dyeing the surrounding waters with colors.

“This is it,” Professor Luo stated.

The group went onto the island and immediately sensed a strong presence of

death circling the place like a wind. It did not fit the tranquil scenery on the

island.

“Spirit Communication!”

Professor Luo suddenly raised a hand as his eyes glowed brightly, allowing him

to see the tiniest details around him.

A faint blue light appeared on Professor Luo’s palm. It gradually spread out and

revealed a wandering spirit.

The spirit was glowing weakly. It was a wandering soul that had yet to evolve.

It was like a timid creature that did not dare to leave its habitat, nor did it dare

approach the group of human Mages.

“Dean Xiao, it’s a fragment of her soul,” Professor Luo said softly, as if he was

afraid of startling the spirit.

The others quickly withdrew their Auras after seeing Professor Luo’s reaction,

making themselves look friendly.

The spirit was like a little girl whose mind had not matured. She was observing

them timidly, like she was going to run away at any second.

“You guys were close to her when she was still alive. She will remember you if

you talk to her, but make sure you don’t scare her,” Professor Luo said.

“How should we address her?”

“Just call her name.”

Wei Rong was the first to approach the spirit. The tough and bulky bloke had

suddenly become a gentle and compassionate man.

He recalled the time when Ding Yumian was first enrolled at the school. He

also mentioned the interesting things that had happened at the Fire School.

Wei Rong was Ding Yumian’s mentor, and he had taught her most of the spells

and abilities of the Fire Element.

Wei Rong was fondly recalling the memories at first to convince the spirit he

was friendly, but he teared up halfway.

Wei Rong had watched Ding Yumian grow up as her mentor. She was quiet and

shy at first, but she gradually became optimistic and was willing to join more

group activities. She eventually became a Super Mage the school was very

proud of.

How did she end up like this all of a sudden?

She was now a lingering soul, the soul that had remained in the world after she

died.

She could have shone as brightly as a blossoming flower at the Pearl Institute!

Chapter 2617: Multiple Soul Frames

Translator: Exodus Tales| Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

Wei Rong could no longer talk properly after he began sobbing. He sensibly

backed away.

The teacher with white brows stared at Ding Yumian. He could not find any

words, even after a long time.

He was simply staring at the spirit who was staring back at him.

“Can you tell us what happened?” the teacher with white brows asked softly.

“L.I can’t remember..” the spirit spoke in a soft and gentle whisper. It was Ding

Yumian’s voice.

“Don’t let her recall the scene prior to her death. It will only add to her pain.

The harmless fragment of her soul might turn into an evil spirit too,” Professor

Luo reminded everyone.

The teacher with white brows let out a sigh and stepped away.

Ding Yumian was a kind student who would volunteer to help the school. The

teacher with white brows often had patients and traumatized students whom

he did not have time to attend to. Ding Yumian had worked as his assistant for

time.

The teacher with white browS was not a talkative man. He had only discussed

the treatments of the patients with Ding Yumian.

However, not only did he feel sorry for Ding Yumian after seeing what she had

become, he was very angry, too!

How could Dean Lee do such a wicked thing behind their backs? Shouldn’t he

take care of every student as a Dean of the school? How could he take away the

Woman’s right to live so cruelly?

Magic was human’s proudest discovery. Magic schools were treated like sacred

places!

And yet, Dean Lee had forced a student to sacrifice herself in exchange for

temporary peace, instead of using what he had learned for many years to fend

off the sea monsters!

Mo Fan went forward and inspected the spirit

The spirit instantly recognized Mo Fan. She smiled, turning the dark presence

of death around her into a warm light.

“It’s good to see you made it back alive!” The spirit seemed pleased.

“Sorry for worrying you.” Mo Fan was ashamed. He did not expect so many

people were caring about him while he was in the Dark Plane.

“I told myself I could be like you and do something for the Pearl Institute and

the Magic City, but I ran away like a coward in the end. I’m so useless,” the

spirit admitted.

“Then I must have left you with a terrible impression. The truth is, I would

consider the odds of my own survival first before I do something.

If l’m surely going to die, I wouldn’t bother with it. Many people are wrong about one thing

They think they can die a worthy death by sacrificing themselves to help the

others, but how can you guarantee that you couldn’t make a bigger difference if

you were alive instead?

“You have only seen my good deeds, but you have no idea how many times I’ve

watched others die just to stay alive. If I’m only trying to enjoy my life in peace,

but the whole world wants me to die just so they could live in peace, you can

bet that I would choose to let everyone die with me, too

There were good and bad in the world. When the bad were in charge, it was not

necessarily evil to let the world destroy itself.

Ding Yumian was too kind!

If Mo Fan was in her place, he would make sure everyone was going to suffer if

they were forcing him to die.

Ding Yumian’s eyes glittered, as if Mo Fan’s words had untied a knot in her

heart that had troubled her for a long time.

“Mo Fan, won’t you make her think her intention to get her revenge is right?

The other half of her soul that has turned into an Undead can already comer

the Magic Association,” Professor Shi said urgently.

“Mo Fan, you should be more positive,” Dean Xiao coughed out. Mo Fan’s words

would seriously lead a lot of good students astray!

“I’m not a teacher. I’m just telling her as a friend what she should have done

when she was being threatened,” Mo Fan shrugged indifferently. He added, “I

should have told her earlier.”

Mo Fan’s words stabbed everyone in the heart.

Yes, why didn’t we tell her earlier?

If anyone among them had realized what was happening and found out she

was feeling hopeless because she had nowhere to go, none of this would have

happened!

They could still admire her beautiful hair as she was walking happily through

the school. They would not be talking to her while she was in the state of a

wandering spirit who had nowhere to go.

What was the meaning of this war? Wasn’t it to let a kind and beautiful woman

like her live peacefully in her beloved school?

“Yumian, do you know your spirit has turned into an Undead?” Professor Luo

asked her quietly.

“I…I do, but I’m not willing to go with them,” the spirit said.

“Them? thee others were puzzled.

“It means she has multiple Soul Frames. The one that is left here is her Soul of

Kindness,” Professor Luo explained.

Soul Frames. Mo Fan had heard the term before when he was going after the

Red Demon, but in the case of the Red Demon, each its clones represented a

Soul Frame, but Ding Yumian alone had multiple Soul Frames!

“Ding Yumian’s metal strength was unusually high. It was already on par with

the mental state of a Forbidden Mage, so it is normal for her to develop

multiple Soul Frames,” Professor Luo went on.

Her mental state was already comparable to a Forbidden Mage, when she was

only a Super Mage?

Councilman Zhuang and Dean Lee were seriously retarded! With more time

and training, Ding Yumian could easily have taken out an army of sea monsters

on her own, without having to sacrifice herself!

Every Disaster-bringer Mo Fan had learned of so far had unlimited potential if

they used their talents wisely.

Unfortunately, not one of them was treated fairly. The Heresy Judgment Court

accused them of being Heretics who would bring disasters to the people around

them. Most people chose to believe in the Heresy Judgment Court. Were they

afraid of the disasters they might bring, or were they afraid they would become

too strong and grow out of their control?

If only they were given proper treatment and training…

Ding Yumian’s unique power could even have been the most effective weapon

against the Tribe of Sea Gods, since she could sever the connection between

them and the sea monsters. That way, the sea monsters would never be able to

threaten the Magic City!

“Can you come with us to Dongfang Oriental Tower? Your other Soul Frames

have sided with the Tribe of Sea Gods and invaded the city,” Dean Xiao said.

“Min, but I don’t think I can convince them. They are in great pain and are

driven by anger. They..” Ding Yumian said.

“It’s fine, just do your best,” Dean Xiao said.

If they could not find a resolution, the Magic City would have to face a new

enemy.

She was the new empress of the Undead who had risen from the bottom of the

sea. She would continue to grow stronger over time!

Chapter 2618: The Skyscraper Fortress

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

No matter how many layers of magic barriers were covering the buildings, it still felt like the buildings would collapse at any second.

On one side of the river stood the modem city, but the other side was like Hell. Tens of thousands of Undead were crawling around it. Their greedy eyes were glowing like red stars in the sky.
Half of Dongfang Oriental Tower was covered with the ghastly dark-red-skinned creatures. They were using the tower like a pillar to build a black fortress.

It was obvious they were eying the city greedily. Their terrifying gazes had already paralyzed the city, let alone what would happen the moment they broke through the barrier.

‘Troops of Battlemages had gathered along the river. They stood along the river like a wall, but each of their faces were filled with fear.

Could they really stop so many Undead that were at least as strong as Warrior-level creatures? Even a Forbidden Mage would be devoured by the tide of Undead in no time!

“Stay calm, the sacred altar won’t be destroyed so easily!”

“The people on Dongfang Oriental Tower and other buildings will have taken out half of them by the time they crossed the river. Our job is to stop them from reaching the streets!”

The voices trying to motivate the Battlemages never ceased. When the war against the sea monsters first started, the Battlemages were fearlessly charging into the battle.

However, many people realized the motivating words were not going to make a difference. They were now familiar with how strong the sea monsters were. Otherwise, why would they only have five Headquarters Cities left along the coastline?
And now, even the Headquarters Cities were being threatened!

The silver curtains falling from the altar burned with a strong flame. Every time the silver liquid splashed out when the curtains were being attacked, it would burn the Undead that it touched to death.
‘Twenty thousand Undead had already been bumed into ashes. They could no longer revive, but twenty thousand was only a small portion of the army of Undead.

The Shoreline Alliance’s headquarters finally reached its limit and collapsed to the ground in a loud blast.

It was like an exploding ant nest. The creatures inside it began pouring out of the building and headed straight to the rest of the buildings.

Many Mages up on the altar were Casting spells continuously. Bright lights were falling from the altar like a storm, but they were like mere raindrops falling into a lake.

They could not even kill the Undead on the outermost layer!

“They are filling the gaps as soon as we break a hole in them. These things are trickier to kill than the sea monsters!”

“There must be a way to leave this place. We have to hurry!” Councilman Zhuang had completely lost his will to fight.

Could they possibly kill all of the Undead?

Of course not!

Most terrifyingly, more Undead was pouring in through the crack on the dam! They could not kill all of the Undead, even if they kept fighting for several days and nights.

“Councilman Zhuang, how can we run away? The city is across the river. Many people are going to die if we abandon our posts,” an elder of the Hunter Union protested.

“We should avoid unnecessary sacrifices. We are well aware of the situation.”

“But there’s no escape! Our only option is to take them out!”

Would other places be safe once the sea monsters took over the Headquarter City?

“Are we going to wait until those monsters climb up the altar and eat us all alive?” Zhuang Yue snarled back at them.

‘The Undead were stronger than anyone could imagine. The altar was soon like a stranded island surrounded by black water.

Many powerful Mages were trapped up on the altar. They were able to hold the Undead off temporarily with the special Magic Formation, but they could not possibly escape unless several Forbidden Mages showed up right now.
‘The Magic City did have a Forbidden Mage, but his priority was to protect the other side of the river!

Dongfang Oriental Tower and the other buildings there were the last line of defense for the Magic City. It was like a magic fortress made up of several buildings which combined into an ancient Magic Formation.
The fortress was still under construction, but the Undead were already attacking it.

The fearless Undead were the most effective vanguards for the sea monsters. It took them less than half a day to break the dam and swarm the magic fortress!

“How did the buildings fall so quickly?” Dean Xiao, Mo Fan, and the others had just returned from the island. They gasped when they saw the Undead had piled up like a huge living fortress.
“Can you find her?”

“Leave it to me.”

Professor Luo used his special power again. In his vision, different Undead were depicted in different colors. The weakest ones were gray, while the stronger ones were red.

Professor Luo soon discovered a bright crimson red figure among the Undead.

She was standing on an overhead walkway. The Undead had piled up over four meters high under the walkway.

‘The buildings nearby were hung with strong Undead bearing long sharp claws. They were mostly Commander-level and Ruler-level creatures. Their numbers were simply terrifying.

‘The woman’s face was as pale as a blank paper. There was not the slightest color of blood on it.

Her eyes were dark and hollow. Her red eye bags and black wrinkles further set off her devilish eyes.

“She’s over there. Are we going down?” Professor Luo asked worriedly.

‘The Headquarters of several had been were taken by the Undead. Human Mages were no longer standing on them. They were occupied by the Rulers of the sea monsters instead.

‘These Rulers were strong enough to destroy a city when they were alive. They had grown stronger under the influence of a mysterious power after they turned into Undead, as if their power was enhanced by a dark energy!
“Let’s go down,” Dean Xiao said.

“They are watching us. I’ll cast a spell to prevent the Undead from hurting us temporarily, but it won’t last for long,” Professor Luo could feel the Rulers of the sea monsters glaring at them.

“Sure!”

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.

‘Yeah, getting that triple strength boost from being sea monsters all that time, and the undead stuff on top… pretty damn strong, I’d say.

Chapter 2619: Pouring Oil on a Fire

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Professor Luo Cast a special spell on everyone in the group. It attached to them like a thin raincoat made from crystals.

‘An Undead Ruler whose backbone was covered under a shell was standing on the roof of a building. It generally resembled a huge crab, but its mouth and throat made up its entire body.

It felt like its back and its stomach were its upper and lower jaws, while its stomach was its throat!

‘The monster could swallow a twenty-story building with a single bite!

‘An Undead Cuttlefish was on top of another building. Its strange-looking soft body and its eerily long tentacles were made up of white bones. The magnificent building was struggling to support its weight.

Its head was at the top of the building, but its tentacles were dangling halfway down the sides. The building was around three hundred meters tall. If the buildings had not been protected by the magic barrier, the creatures could knock them down as easily as toy blocks!
‘The two Undead Rulers were obviously the strongest among the Undead. There were other Rulers too, but they were looking at the other side of the river restlessly. They were waiting for the altar to be taken down, and the order of their leader on the overhead walkway!
Mo Fan’s group approached the overhead bridge. It was built in the shape of a ring. They could see the flowers that had been planted under the bridge.

The strange thing was, even though the place was brimming with the presence of death, the flowers under the bridge did not wilt, nor were they destroyed by the Undead. They were purposely avoiding the flowers so the person on the bridge could admire them.
“Ding Yumian.”

Dean Xiao, Professor Shi, Professor Luo, the teacher with white brows, Wei Rong, and Mo Fan all landed on the bridge.

The Undead woman had obviously seen them too. She put on a weird smile.

She had inherited Ding Yumian’s memories, but her heart was filled with hatred and vengeance. If the spirit they had found on the island was Ding Yumian’s Soul of Kindness, the monster in front of them had Ding Yumian’s Soul of Vengeance in control!

“You’re not dead? How did you survive!?” the Undead asked Mo Fan directly.

She sounded eager to learn the answer. It seemed like the vengeful spirit had a strong urge to live, even though she had turned into an Undead!

Mo Fan’s head hurt.

The Soul of Kindness and Soul of Vengeance were completely different. The Soul of Kindness was relieved to see him alive.

On the other hand, the Soul of Vengeance wanted to tear his head open and learn the secrets of how he had come back to life.

Mo Fan looked at the Undead around him and asked, “I’m curious, too. How did you turn the sea monsters that had died with you into your soldiers?”

‘These Undead were the elite soldiers of the Sea Gods. They were the assault troops that were assigned to break through the Magic City’s defense, but they had turned into Ding Yumian’s soldiers.

“We’ve already found out the truth about your death. Dean Lee has paid the price for his actions…” Dean Xiao said.

“Did you come to change my mind?” Ding Yumian smiled eerily. She looked at the Soul of Kindness and asked, “Do you think you have leamed the truth because you found her? Do you think you can comfort me?”

Ding Yumian pointed at the Soul of Kindness and said, “When people are alive, they are used to presenting their fake sides to everyone. The truth is, my heart was already full of hatred for a long time. Otherwise, why is she only a spirit, while I became an Undead?”
Ding Yumian was mocking their ignorance.

The Soul of Kindness and Soul of Vengeance. Ding Yumian’s kindness was only a disguise! The truth was, she had long accumulated anger and hatred in her heart, which had turned her into an Undead. Her death had provided her with the conditions she needed!
How could she never think of opposing the detestable and filthy humans after being abandoned, hunted, and trapped in the Pearl Institute for so many years?

She was not trying to avenge her death. She did not have the thoughts to destroy the city and everything with it after she turned into an Undead!

Dean Xiao was too naive if he thought he could stop her revenge so easily.

“You are in control, so you can say whatever you want.” Mo Fan did not agree with Ding Yumian’s Soul of Vengeance.

It did not matter if a person was only acting kind as a disguise. If she managed to suppress her hatred and anger when she was still alive, she was already a kind person!

Everyone would have some degree of hatred in their hearts. However, they were still innocent before they took any action.

They could not accuse someone of being a murderer because they had an urge to kill another person in a heated argument. Only those who put the thought into action were truly guilty!

Even if Ding Yumian was faking her kindness, she had done good things for the people around her, including her willingness to take Zhuang Yue and Dean Lee’s advice to sacrifice herself for the city. It meant she was not controlled by her hatred.

If she had truly wanted to destroy the city, she would not have killed herself on the island. She would have done it in the city and killed everyone in it, too!

“I like these flowers, the Pearl Institute, and the magic city. I wouldn’t mind accepting my death if the whole city could be buried with me!” Ding Yumian looked at the other side of the river and smiled.

“There are at least two Forbidden Curse Mages on that side. You will perish as soon as you cross the river,” Mo Fan warned her.

Ding Yumian’s expression turned sinister as soon as she heard his words.

Cough cough! “Mo Fan, we are here to resolve the conflict, not to make it worse. Don’t you agree?” Ding Yumian turned to the Soul of Kindness.

The Soul of Kindness immediately nodded. She stood behind the Undead woman, but she was not emitting the same aura.

However, it seemed like the Soul of Vengeance wanted to swallow the Soul of Kindness and make herself whole. Without the Soul of Kindness, she could not have turned the sea monsters that had died earlier in the war into her soldiers.

Professor Shi rolled his eyes at Mo Fan, too.

Mo Fan was supposed to be the mediator, not pour more oil on the fire!

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.

‘Mo Fan, Master Negotiator and Diplomat!

Chapter 2620: A Tooth for a Tooth!

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“How about this?” The revenant came up with an idea. She looked at the Soul of Kindness that was unwilling to surrender to her and then at the officials on the altar, “If you convince Zhuang Yue to kill himself on the top of the tower, I’ll leave with all the Undead!”
“That’s a brilliant idea!” Mo Fan immediately agreed.

For every debt, there was a debtor. It was obvious that the Undead’s goal was to take revenge on Councilman Zhuang Yue. Otherwise, why would the Undead surround the Dongfang Oriental Tower, instead of sending them to the other side of the river?
“That won’t do, he’s a Councilman, after all!” Professor Luo said with a frown.

“You can use the same words he used on me against him. If an ordinary student like me can sacrifice myself in exchange for temporary peace, why can’t a Councilman like him sacrifice himself to save the city?” the Undead laughed.

“Lagree!” Mo Fan nodded.

“Lagree too!” Wei Rong added.

“But how can we trust you? What if you continue to attack the city after he dies?” Dean Xiao asked.

“It’s simple, you can ask her to merge with me. You might not trust me, but you can trust that hypocrite. She has been suppressing her power. It’s the reason why we ended up like this. I don’t like my current lifeless body!” the revenant declared.
Everyone looked at Ding Yumian’s Soul of Kindness. The little spirit seemed timid. She was scared to bear the consequences of what was going to happen.

“Can you make sure she keeps her promise?” Dean Xiao asked.

“Little girl, you won’t be able to survive on your own in this world. The Tribe of Sea Gods is incredibly powerful. How can you be sure they don’t have a way to bring us back to life? Don’t you want the man who killed us to pay for what he did to us?” the revenant demanded to know.
Ding Yumian was a Psychic Mage. Her Psychic Element had grown even stronger after she was turned into an Undead.

She did not have to wait for Mo Fan and the others to agree with her suggestion. She had spread her words via telepathy to everyone in the city!

The city became restless.

Ding Yumian’s death a week ago had shocked the city. Countless people had made lanterns to mourn her death and guide her wandering spirit.

To their surprise, Ding Yumian’s spirit had returned in the form of the terrifying tide of Undead currently devouring the Skyscraper Fortress.

Most importantly, they had learned the truth behind her death!

She had been cornered by the cunning Councilman and Dean. She had been forced to sacrifice herself so they could win the battle without losing a single soldier!

Human minds were very strange.

When a robber was holding an innocent passerby as a hostage, many people would accuse the owner of the shop of not giving the robber what he demanded, instead of directing their anger at the robber.
Their minds were not necessarily twisted. It was just their nature of not daring to confront someone who had absolute power and was willing to bring everyone down with them.

She was telling the truth, and singing a melody to earn the people’s compassion.

While she was earning their empathy, they directed their hatred at Zhuang Yue!

Many people were suddenly wishing for Zhuang Yue’s death.

Huge banners rose like they had been prepared in advance. They had Zhuang Yue’s name and the word ‘die’ drawn in red ink!

Zhuang Yue almost fainted in anger when he saw the banners waving in the air.

“Didn’t I do everything for the sake of these pitiful parasites!? And now they are demanding that I sacrifice myself to that ugly monster?

“You filthy animals, what right do you have to offer me as a sacrifice?! Why would you believe the despicable monster’s words? I’m your leader! Without me, all of you would have ended up as food to the sea monsters!”
Zhuang Yue was infuriated. Even though he knew the tide of Undead was Ding Yumian’s way of taking her revenge, he still despised everyone who was wishing for his death.

“Interesting, there are so many Zhuang Yues in this city!” the Undead giggled eerily.

The people who wanted Zhuang Yue dead were doing the same thing as Zhuang Yue had done to Ding Yumian. She was amused by their shameful behavior.

“Every human is selfish,” Dean Xiao could only sigh.

Ding Yumian started floating in the air. The air around her turned liquid.

She floated above the buildings and reached the altar.

The silver curtains pouring down from the altar had cracks all over them. They were obviously reaching their limit.

There were Forbidden Mages on the other side of the river. If Ding Yumian tried to break through with force, their Forbidden Curses would cause massive damage to the city. Not only would the city fall into ruins, there was no guarantee the Forbidden Curses would take out all the Undead. Some of them
might still sneak their way past!

“You two can play with them for now,” Ding Yumian ordered the two Rulers who were on standby on the buildings.
The White Skeleton Cuttlefish and the Devilish Giant Crab immediately blocked the group’s path and glared at them.

“My spell is no longer working,” Professor Luo informed everyone else softly.

Mo Fan looked at himself and saw the transparent Aura that had helped him avoid the Undead was fading away. The Undead nearby suddenly turned on him with strong hatred.
“Let’s clear a path and get out of here,” Dean Xiao ordered them. “She is determined to kill Zhuang Yue!”

“Mo Fan, you are a Shadow Mage. We’ll hold the Undead off and clear a path for you. You have to stop her!” Professor Shi said.

The Spring of Darkness not only made Mo Fan stronger, but it also gave him a strong Aura of darkness, especially when he was using Black Magic.

He wove through the Undead. They were not interested in him.

Dean Xiao and Professor Shi had both noticed that, thus they had asked Mo Fan to leave first to stop Ding Yumian.

‘Mo Fan broke free from the surrounding Undead and saw Ding Yumian had already reached the altar. She was working to break through the altar’s defenses, but she seemed quite patient. It was the same as when she and Zhuang Yue were on the island, but this time, it was her turn to slowly force Zhuang
Yue to his death.

It was her revenge.. A tooth for a tooth!

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.
Base Undead ignore him?! Wow, that’s. a pretty nice passive power, right?

Cuttlefish = a variety of squid, if you are not aware. For some reason, the ruler ones have skeletons… in their tentacles?.

Chapter 2621: Crossing the River

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Where did this monster come from? How dare she try to hurt our Councilman? I shall kill her now!” A Mage wearing Ice Armor stepped forward and engaged the vengeful Undead woman.

spiraling tornadoes made up of hard pieces of ice circled around the Ice Mage. When he sent the tornadoes after the revenge-seeking Undead, she floated to the other side perpendicular to the Ice Mage.
Her movements were unpredictable. It felt like the revenant was being reborn again on a different spot after she was shattered to pieces by the tornadoes.

Her eyes had a vicious look to them, Green flames erupted deep inside them.

The loyal Ice Mage’s mind was influenced. His eyes tuned green as blue veins surfaced on his face, which was now brimming with pain, hatred, and anger!

The Ice Mage eventually wilted like a plant as his skin darkened and dried up.

‘The rest of the Mages on the altar fell into a panic.

‘They had no idea what magic Ding Yumian was using. The Ice Mage was one of the strongest officials in the Dongfang Oriental Tower, but he was as weak as a child to Ding Yumian. He had died so quickly!
“My patience is running out. However, I do hope he will do it himself by stabbing himself with this dagger!” Ding Yumian slowly lifted her shirt and pulled a red dagger out from her heart.

Many people felt their scalps turning numb when they saw the dagger.

‘The dagger floated to the altar under Ding Yumian’s control and hovered in front of Councilman Zhuang Yue.

Councilman Zhuang Yue pointed at Ding Yumian and cursed angrily, accusing her of being a hypocrite. “People treat you as their savior, but you have come to get your revenge! Have I slandered you after you died? I complimented your sacrificial act in front of the whole nation! Many schools are
worshiping you like their mother goddess! I did not mention a single word about you trying to run away because you were afraid! I made you a hero! You should be thankful to me instead! Otherwise, everyone is only going to treat you like a disaster and avoid you in fear. No one will remember you after
you died of old age in this city!” Zhuang Yue shricked at her.

‘The red dagger covered in Ding Yumian’s burning blood was still hanging in front of Zhuang Yue.
He glanced around himself while he was cursing.

He soon realized something was not right. Not only were the people whom Ding Yumian had seduced demanding his death, even the Mages of the Magic Association were unintentionally pushing the dagger toward him!
“How could you believe her? How could you believe her nonsense!” Zhuang Yue yelled frantically when he realized no one was on his side.

The danger was already on the doorstep. They just had to sacrifice a single Councilman to drive the Undead back!

Besides, Zhuang Yue had forced Ding Yumian to kill herself first. The people could just assume it was a personal conflict between them. They should just resolve the conflict without involving others!

“Tm losing patience. Cross the river!” Ding Yumian pointed to the other side of the waters.

‘The tide of Undead broke through the silver curtains and instantly filled up the river before ramming into the wall of humans along the river.

The Fire Mages set the whole river on fire, like a burning canyon. Many of the Undead were burned to ashes.

However, the Undead could not feel pain nor feared death, and they continued to sprint across the river. They could still reach the other side of the river and the streets there before their bodies were burned into ashes.
“Do you have any idea how many Undead there are at the bottom of the sea? The warm seabed is nurturing their shells while the deep sea is away from sunlight… My army is unlimited!” Ding Yumian laughed at them.
‘Mo Fan was standing a hundred meters away from Ding Yumian in the air. He was looking for a chance to kill Ding Yumian in the shortest time possible.

“Dragon Sense!”

He was able to observe everything around him. He fixed his eyes on Ding Yumian, trying to find her weakness.

The colorful coral dress was most likely granted to her by the Sea Monster Prophets. Ding Yumian must have merged with a powerful Sea Monster Prophet after she killed herself, which gave her access to the Psychic Element, Undead Element, and the Sea Monster Prophet’s ability to command the sea
monsters.

How much power would he need to guarantee he could destroy her in an instant?

Her mental strength was overwhelming. She would immediately sense him before he could make his move, let alone kill her.

“Apas, can your mental strength match hers?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s tricky. She’s stronger than the Queen of the Netherworld right now,” Apas replied cautiously.

Mo Fan withdrew his Dragon Sense. He realized it was impossible to take Ding Yumian down with a surprise attack. The red dagger was his only option.

‘The red dagger was suddenly wrapped in a silver light. The floating dagger suddenly thrust forward and drive itself through Councilman Zhuang Yue’s chest!
Crimson blood sprayed in the air. The dagger was so quick that Zhuang Yue did not have time to react.

Zhuang Yue was a Top Seater. He was obviously on his guard and was ready to fight Ding Yumian, but he did not expect the dagger to turn into a deadly weapon!
Ding Yumian was also startled by the sudden turn of events. She obviously had not controlled the dagger. She immediately turned to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was the only one nearby. He was also a Space Mage.

She did sense a strong mental energy from Mo Fan. It was very likely he was the one who had controlled the dagger!

He had helped Councilman Zhuang Yue make the wisest decision. After all, even if he was not willing to end his own life, Ding Yumian would do everything to kill him. She had prepared the army of Undead just to kill him!
Zhuang Yue’s eyes widened. He also assumed Mo Fan was the culprit.

However, another figure quickly appeared behind Mo Fan..

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.

Just desserts is served, but who was the chef?

Chapter 2622: Execution

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan turned around and saw a familiar face.

Dean Xiao!

‘The Space Element…

Mo Fan had only found out Dean Xiao was a Space Mage today, and Dean Xiao’s Space Element was even stronger than his!

However, Mo Fan did not expect Dean Xiao’s Space Element to be so strong that he could instantly kill a Top Seater with a dagger!

Exactly how strong is Dean Xiao?

“He’s not going to live. You may ask your Undead to stop attacking,” Dean Xiao said, his face cold.

Mo Fan had never seen an expression like that on Dean Xiao’s face. Even though he rarely smiled, the Dean was basically an easygoing person.
Ding Yumian did not expect Dean Xiao to be the one who killed the Councilman in the end. She was a little guilty to face Dean Xiao, or at least that was what her Soul of Kindness was feeling.
She had not expected things to turn out this way.

The green flames in the revenant’s eyes gradually dissipated. She surprisingly kept her promise by telling the Undead to stop.

‘The Undead stopped crossing the river. They remained close to Ding Yumian, awaiting her order.

“Such a pity that he didn’t do it himself…” Ding Yumian looked at Councilman Zhuang.

She slowly glided closer to Councilman Zhuang and watched his blood as it poured across the ground.

Zhuang Yue was crawling toward the Healer behind him.

He still had a chance to live if the Healer treated his wound in time. After all, the Healer was a Super Mage. He could heal anyone that was still breathing!
Unfortunately, the Healer did not lend him a hand.

No one was feeling sorry for Zhuang Yue. Not only did he fail to resolve the danger the city was facing, he had even murdered an innocent student of the Pearl Institute.
A aacrifice could only be made if the person volunteered. Forcing someone to sacrifice themselves was no different from murdering them!

“Tl tell the others that you willingly sacrificed yourself to settle the dispute,” the Healer said cynically.

Zhuang Yue’s body spasmed after hearing the words. He did not want to be remembered as a hero. He wanted to live!

In the end, Zhuang Yue died from excessive blood loss. Ding Yumian smiled in satisfaction.

“aren’t you going with me? If you don’t, I won’t mind letting the Undead stay here a little longer,” the revenant said to the kind spirit.

The spirit nodded after taking one final look at the city she loved.

Amoment later, she flew toward the revenant and became one with her.

The revenant seemed pleased to obtain the other half of her soul, as if she had waited a long time for it.

She was finally whole, a complete Disaster-bringer! A girl who had regained her extraordinary talent for bringing death to the world!

Not only would she be able to control every Undead in the sea, she could also turn living creatures into Undead!

She might even turn the whole world into Undead.

She was the real Goddess of Death!

Ding Yumian suddenly looked pained, as if something was stuck in her throat. She grabbed her neck like she was trying to cough something out.
“You!” Ding Yumian pointed at Dean Xiao. Her eyes turned vicious and angry.

She pounced at Dean Xiao. Her pale hands suddenly grew extremely long.

Dean Xiao backed away nimbly. He did not want to fight Ding Yumian.

Ding Yumian tried to chase after him, but she had already curled up on the ground, as if something was breaking out of her body.

Meanwhile, the nearby Undead started shrieking. They were tearing at their own bodies with their claws, starting to dismember themselves!
The presence of death spread rapidly. It was like watching fiends in Hell being tortured.

“You…you tricked me. You tricked me!” the revenant cried out in pain. Her face was replaced by the face of the Trench Demon. Her voice was piercing.

“Dean Xia

.” Mo Fan was confused. He had no idea what was happening.
“We asked Professor Luo to modify Ding Yumian’s Soul of Kindness and turn her into a double-edged sword,” Dean Xiao informed him.

Mo Fan was in shock.

That explained why the revenant acted like she had just eaten something poisonous after merging with the Soul of Kindness.

Mo Fan realized Dean Xiao had never planned to settle the dispute peacefully. He was planning to kill the revenant all along!

He was neither biased nor compassionate. Dean Xiao had killed Zhuang Yue so the revenant would feel guilty in front of him. After all, Zhuang Yue was surely going to die in the end, but the person who did it would have to take the blame.
However, Dean Xiao had executed Ding Yumian right after he had killed Zhuang Yue!

He had used the Soul of Kindness which she would not suspect to kill her!

Both Zhuang Yue and Ding Yumian were dead. For a moment, Mo Fan wondered who was right, and who was wrong.

However, the moment Dean Xiao executed them both, Mo Fan understood what had to be done, instead of being surprised by Dean Xiao’s cold-bloodedness.

Dean Xiao was only protecting the city and the Pearl Institute in his way.

Zhuang Yue’s death would stop the Undead from attacking the city. Ding Yumian’s death would prevent the Undead from returning again!

Every Undead that Ding Yumian had brought back to life died with her. The whole area was filled with black gas and shiny black liquid.

The gas rose into the air and dissipated into the clouds, while the liquid flowed into the drains and returned to the sea.

Perhaps Dean Xiao was strong enough to kill the revenant, but he had no chance of defeating the army of Undead. His only choice was to use the Soul of Kindness to make sure the Undead would perish with Ding Yumian.

Mo Fan watched the horrible sight fading away, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare. He eventually looked at Ding Yumian’s pale corpse. She was truly dead now. Her soul was gone, leaving only a cold body behind.

Perhaps the Soul of Kindness’ final decision was the real sacrifice, without any regrets!

“Take her body back with us,” Dean Xiao told the teacher with white brows.

“What are we going to tell the students?” the teacher asked, stooping to do so.

“The truth!” Dean Xiao replied simply.

Some people might respect her, while others would despise her, but the truth would remain!

Chapter 2623: Cold Plague

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

After the Undead were gone, the Water Mages and Light Mages of a high school volunteered to clean up the mess and filth left by the Undead in the area of the Skyscraper Fortress.

‘The Undead were truly gone. They had broken through the dam in the form of a Crimson Tide and attacked the headquarters of the Magic Alliance, but they were gone in no time after the revenant leading them died.
It was like a nightmare, leaving the people who had seen it with lingering fears.

“By the way, is the tide still falling?” Mo Fan pointed at the dried-up sea in the east.

“I don’t think Ding Yumian’s revenge has anything to do with that,” Dean Xiao guessed.

“The Shoreline Alliance is already investigating it. They should find something soon,” Professor Shi said.

“Maybe we are finally going to see that thing…” Dean Xiao seemed to know something, but he did not explain the details.

‘The Undead and the army of sea monsters were gone, but everyone knew there were more Sea Gods leading the sea monsters. The Sea God who had hosted Ding Yumian was not the strongest one, either.

The sea monster tribes were several times the size of the tribes of the demon creatures on land. Many species were still a threat to humanity’s survival. They could only enjoy a temporary peace for now.

The land was colder after the tide had fallen away, and the dried areas began to freeze. There were even icebergs floating close to the shores that were facing the Antarctic Ocean.

No matter how dazzling the lights in the city were, everything felt dim and cold. Households kept their doors and windows shut. The houses in the Magic City did not have heaters like the cities in the north. The people felt like they were walking on needles when they were walking around in their bare
feet.

Many shops closed up. It was the last thing Mo Fan wanted to see, as it meant he would not be able to enjoy delicious food. Life in the city became boring and dull. It was no longer about enjoying life, but a grim survival in a cold season, hoping that winter would pass soon.
“Many people are sick. Their body temperatures remain lower than the normal temperature. Their bodies are unable to stay warm. Many elderly and kids have died in their sleep,” Xinxia reported anxiously.

Many people had failed to adapt to the humid weather and the prolonged cold season.

Many people were suffering from the cold in the five Headquarters Cities. Even if the environment was warm, their bodies had failed to stay warm.

They would feel tired and sleepy. Many had failed to wake up again after losing consciousness.

Xinxia was busy looking for a cure. More people had fallen sick to the strange disease. Its symptoms were similar to a normal cold.

Only a tenth of the people had died in their sleep, but that would significantly reduce the population of the five Headquarters Cities!

“Is it caused by some virus or parasites?” Mo Fan asked her.

Xinxia shook her head. The Parthenon Temple was experienced in dealing with plagues and viruses. She would not have struggled to find the source and the cure if it were that simple.

However, the situation was quite unusual. The people’s body temperature had fallen because of the weather.

Their bodies were finding it hard to endure the cold. Even if they brought the people who were sick to a warm place, their body temperature would still struggle to return to normal.

It was dangerous for a person’s body temperature to drop by even a degree for a short time, let alone for a few weeks or a month!

“Mages are no exceptions,” Xinxia told him.

“What about Fire Mages?” Mo Fan asked.

“They too have fallen ill!”

It was Mo Fan’s first time hearing Fire Mages having a problem keeping warm.

It was a tricky disease. If it was a normal disease, Xinxia could easily stop it from spreading!

“I’ve asked Lingling to collect data about the patients to find those with immunity or those who are prone to it so they could take precautions against it.” Xinxia was so troubled by the matter that she did not have any appetite. She only took a few bites. The dishes had already tumed cold.
“Let’s go together, I’ll help,” Mo Fan said.

“Mmm!” Xinxia nodded.

Xinxia was supposed to enjoy her holiday, but she still had to work. She was not expecting to get any rest considering the precarious situation the five Headquarter Cities were in.

The two headed to the Clearsky Hunter Agency. Jing’an District’s Longtang was oddly cold and quiet right now. The old men who enjoyed smoking outdoors were all tucked in their beds. They no longer had the freedom to go outdoors.

After all, the cold plague had spread through every Headquarter City. No one wanted to catch the disease and die in their sleep!

The Clearsky Hunter Agency was still open. Hunters who could survive in the wild were in high demand in the current situation!

The city was running low on supplies, so the people who were able to collect resources outside the safe zone and retum safely could still make a living.

“Are you guys having a hotpot? We haven’t eaten either!” Mo Fan exclaimed. The Clearsky Hunter Agency was surprisingly lively when they arrived. A large pot was being heated on an induction cooker, and a pleasant aroma had filled the place.
“It’s Mo Fan and Xinxia, here, take a seat. You came just in time!” Old Bao greeted them with a smile.

Lingling was sitting beside Leng Qing. The two looked even more alike after Lingling had grown up. It was hard to differentiate them without taking a close look.

Leng Qing smiled politely. She was still not the talkative type. Lingling was happy to see Xinxia, and quickly got her a chair.

Mo Fan awkwardly discovered there was no seat for him. His three seniors of the Clearsky Hunter Agency were present. He had no choice but to share a seat with Old Bao.

“Sister Xinxia, you should eat more. I’l tell you my latest discovery after we are done.” Lingling was in a great mood, most likely because she had made some discoveries from her experiments. Lingling also blinked at Mo Fan, “Mo Fan, I have some interesting information to tell you, too.”
It was rare to see Lingling so excited about something.

Mo Fan roughly had an idea what she was going to say, but his focus was on the delicious food on the table. It was less appealing when only the two of them were eating. It was better when everyone was sharing a hotpot together, especially in a cold season like this!

Chapter 2624: Mysterious Feather

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was picking his teeth, waiting for Lingling to share her new discovery.

Xinxia sat down beside him and looked at Lingling.

Lingling was drinking a glass of iced cola as a refreshment after eating her share of the hotpot. She brought her laptop over and showed the information she had organized to Mo Fan and Xinxia.
“The disease can happen to anyone, and it isn’t contagious. It’s more about a person’s body constitution. I didn’t find a common pattern between the patients for two days.”

“Therefore, I tried analyzing the data of the people who didn’t catch the disease, and I found this!”

A huge list of names appeared on the screen.

The size of the list was nearly that of a city’s population. Lingling had already compressed the data. The list would have been much longer if she had expanded it.

“Why are you showing their names to us?” Mo Fan asked with a confused face. He did not see any pattern from the names.

“Ever since the plan of establishing Headquarters Cities was carried out, the five Headquarters Cities currently have lots of people that have moved over from the cities along the coast. The people of certain cities end up moving to different Headquarters Cities.”
“Every name on this list is from the same city, Lanyang.”

“I think that’s a big city between Magic City and Feiniao Headquarters City?” Xinxia had a slight impression of the city.

There was an institute in Lanyang that was renowned for its expertise in the Psychic Element. It was ranked top three in the country. Xinxia once saw it as one of the options to pursue her studies.
“A third of the people of Lanyang have moved to Magic City, another third have moved to Feiniao Headquarters City, and the rest have moved to the capital and Beast Capital.

“The strange thing is, not a single person who is from Lanyang has caught the disease. The city has a huge population, and judging by the ratio of the people who have caught the disease, more than ten thousand of the people from Lanyang should have caught it, but none of them has caught it so far. It
looks like they are naturally immune to it.”

Lingling tapped on the screen to reveal the city of origin of the people on the list.
They were all from Lanyang!

“The people from Lanyang are immune?” Mo Fan repeated in surprise.

“Mm, I believe so, but a disease doesn’t select its prey according to their city of origin, so I believe it has something to do with Lanyang’s environment,” Lingling said.

Xinxia raised her thumb to Lingling. Lingling was a true genius to find a pattern among the people who had not caught the disease.

“We should go to Lanyang right away!” Mo Fan rose to his feet.

Lingling rolled her eyes and said while tapping on the screen, “You don’t have to do everything yourself, including the early process of collecting information.

“I’ve already hired a group of Hunters to collect data on Lanyang. Guess what I found?”

Mo Fan saw the adorable smirk on Lingling’s face. He pinched her face and said, “Stop keeping me ona tenterhook.”

Lingling slapped Mo Fan’s hand away and snorted, “Take a look yourself!”

The screen switched to a photo.

The photo had a modern city in the background, but it looked deserted. There was a factory close up in the image with complicated pipes.

“A drinking water factory?” Mo Fan asked.

“Mm, it’s a drinking water plant. It supplies the whole city with drinking water. The water is clean, so the locals can drink directly from the tap,” Lingling pointed out.

“So the water is the reason why they are immune?” Xinxia’s eyes glittered.

“Yes, but they have to drink it for a long period. A normal person will have to drink the water for three years to be immune, so it’s not the solution we are looking for, but the thing that makes the water special should have a better effect on curing the patients,” Lingling said.
Lingling switched to another image. The photo showed the same factory, but it was a photo of the main entrance. “Mo Fan, take a look at the company’s logo,” Lingling pointed.

The main entrance had a huge logo on it, drawn with light green paint.

“What about the logo? It’s some kind of delicate artwork?” Mo Fan did not notice anything special about the logo.

“Don’t you find it familiar?” Lingling hinted to the dullard.

Mo Fan tried hard to recall, and abruptly realized its outline was similar to a pattern he had looked at for a long time.

The mysterious feather! The Totem Seal he had received from Professor Shi!

It was the same as the company’s logo!

Mo Fan was shocked. He gasped, “Did the Totem Beast open a drinking water plant?!”

Lingling just looked at Mo Fan like he was retarded.

Xinxia giggled. She had long been brainwashed by Mo Fan’s idiot humor since they were younger.

“The company provided the whole city with drinking water and made its people immune to the Low Body Temperature disease. It must be somehow related to the Totem Beast with the mysterious feather. Otherwise, it wouldn’t use the Totem Beast’s feather as its logo!” Lingling declared.
That was the big reason why Lingling was so excited.

She was initially helping Xinxia find a pattern of the disease, but she had discovered an important clue related to a Totem Beast during the process!

They had been looking around, trying to find the Totem Beast with the mysterious feather, but they were clueless about where to start. Even Jiang Shaoxu’s brother had only mentioned it several times, but it had branched off to many other Totem Beasts, which hinted it was a powerful and ancient Totem
Beast!

Mo Fan did not expect they would discover a clue to an ancient Totem Beast out of nowhere!
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Mo Fan blurted out.
The Four-Eyed Bird was also one of the branches of the mysterious Totem Beast. The Four-Eyed Bird had granted Mo Fan a powerful ability. How could Mo Fan not look forward to the ancient Totem Beast’s power, now that they had discovered a clue about it?

“The Sharkmen had taken over Lanyang, The Hunters I hired could only collect some basic information, as they don’t dare to dig any deeper. We can now assemble our team. Lanyang is worth investigating!” Lingling smiled triumphantly..

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.

Lingling, so efficient. Can we elect her President?

Chapter 2625: Huge Sharkman Beast

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The world had changed.

The Hunters had to be more prepared to leave the safe zones, especially if they were going to places along the coast.

The cold season was not the only thing compressing human territory. The habitats of the demon creatures on land were also affected.

The demon creatures had spied on humans for a long time, trying to take their resources. They attacked humans more regularly now their own habitats were being threatened by the cold weather.

The cities were not only facing a threat from the sea, but they also had to keep an eye out for the desperate demon creatures on land.

Lanyang was no longer a safe place for its people. The sea monsters were invading from the east, while the demon creatures on land were attacking from the west. The people had no choice but to abandon the city.

It had only been half a year since the city was abandoned.

It had retained most of its appearance. The tall buildings, developed transportation system, stadiums, businesses, and factories were visible from afar.

However, there was no trace of humans. The city was deserted.

The roads were full of abandoned vehicles, while the streets were covered in litter and stagnant groundwater. Many luxurious buildings were only empty shells left behind.

The shops were in a mess, their shelves all over the floors. The windows were broken, and the advertisement boards were hanging loosely in the air.

Dark shadows were moving quickly in the darker alleys. It was difficult to tell what they were.

The train station was at the north end of Lanyang City. Mo Fan and his crew had followed the train tracks into the city.

The train depot was some distance away from the center of the city. The group was currently in Fenghexiang District of the city.

Fenghexiang District was not highly populated, so there were fewer buildings and houses. It was the same for many big cities. They would usually build the train station at a remote place, hoping it would help with the economy of the district.
The station in Fenghexiang District was new, having been built quite recently. The white building was shaped like a bird’s nest and was located on a small hill. It did look somewhat impressive.

There were several new stadiums close to the station, but the people were forced to move after they had not used the stadiums that many times.

“would think this city was still functioning if there wasn’t anyone around,” Mo Fan commented.

It was a great city with plenty of buildings and facilities. It was a pity that its people had to flee it.

“The Lanyang Drinking Water plant is on the other side of the city. Based on the information the Hunters have collected, the woods around here have been taken over by a group of Lance Spine Bears. It’s not ideal to go around the city through the woods,” Lingling informed them.
“Then we’ll have to cut through the city.”

“Didn’t the Sharkmen take over the city? I feel like the Sharkmen are stronger than some wild bears or boars,” Zhao Manyan mentioned.

“That’s hard to say…”

The group left the station and headed west, following the roads in the city.

They could see several impressive-looking stadiums nearby. The biggest one was a soccer field shaped like a basket.

They could hear loud snores coming from the stadium. They saw a huge creature whose body was covered in hard crystals lying across the stadium.

It was fast asleep, treating the stadium as its bed!

Its long tail was hanging off the side of the stadium, like it was part of an extension of the building!

The walls of the stadium had cracks on them. The stadium was obviously on the verge of collapsing, as it could not support the creature’s weight.

Mo Fan, Lingling, Xinxia, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Shaoxu, and Mu Bai walked on their toes as they were passing by the stadium. They were scared they might wake up the huge creature.

Thud!

The Sharkman Beast suddenly moved. Its tail almost smashed the stadium into pieces.

“They have very sharp senses,” Lingling noted quietly.

“It’s awake…” Zhao Manyan hissed.

“Sleep Curse!” Xinxia quietly uttered some ancient curse. An unusual melody floated toward the Sharkman Beast that was about to wake up.

The Sharkman Beast almost opened its eyes, but it suddenly had a strong urge to sleep. Its head slanted to the side, its mouth gaping open, and it started snoring again.

Zhao Manyan let out a relieved sigh. “That almost scared me to death…”
They did not want to mess with the Sharkmen Beast. The fact that it dared to fall asleep in an exposed area meant it was fearless.

“That thing must be the Sharkman general who’s guarding this area,” Lingling deduced.

“Xinxia, if only you could hypnotize every single one of them in the city!” Zhao Manyan had long heard about how savage the Sharkmen were.

Xinxia was riding a unicom, its sacred Aura carefully concealed. The unicorn walked gracefully in front of the group while watching their surroundings cautiously.
Xinxia had not brought her bodyguard knight Waris and the old woman Tata with her.

‘Whether or not she became the Goddess, she needed more opportunities to train herself. She knew Tata would never let her go with Mo Fan to the Sharkmen’s territory. So, she simply came up with an excuse and snuck away!
“The Sharkmen are savage and vicious. Normal pacifying spells wouldn’t work on them. It’s also difficult to hypnotize them, unless they are asleep like that big guy,” Xinxia explained quietly.
“Look, there’s a Sharkman Beast around the same size as the one before, but it hasn’t spotted us,” Jiang Shaoxu pointed into the distance.

“They seem to be guarding the city.”

“Lwonder what it’s like in the city. Is the whole city crawling with Sharkmen?” Zhao Manyan wondered aloud.

The Sharkmen were a ferocious race in the armies of the sea monsters. Not only did they have outstanding physical strength, they also had high intelligence.

As a result, Lanyang was a lot more dangerous than most of the territories of demon creatures..

Chapter 2626: Hunted by the Sharkmen

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“We better split up,” Lingling suggested.

“Aren’t we going straight to the drinking water plant? It has the clue we are looking for!” Mo Fan asked, surprised at the suggestion.

Lingling shook her head and said, “I’ve learned something from the information I bought from freelancing Hunters. That logo doesn’t belong to just the drinking water plant. It’s the logo of a bigger company.” She opened her laptop as she was speaking. “The company has an office building in the city’s
center. It has the same logo as the drinking water plant on it.” She opened a photo on her laptop.

As she had mentioned, the logo on the tallest office building in the city looked similar to the logo of the drinking water plant, only the colors were a little different.
“In addition to that, the logo of this school is similar, too!” Lingling opened another photo.

It was a university downstream on the Fenghe River, the Lanyang University. Its feathery logo was red.

The logo of the drinking water plant was green. The logo of the office building was blue, while the logo of the university was red!

“To think there were several of them…” Mo Fan’s head hurt. He thought all clues were pointing to a single location, so he would definitely find something useful after visiting there. However, there were other places pointing to the same clue!

“There isn’t much information to be found about this city, so I couldn’t find the people related to these places. We have no choice but to search them all to see if we can find any files or documents in these abandoned buildings that will tell us why they are using the Mysterious Feather Totem Beast’s
feather as their logo!” Lingling stated.

“alright, let’s split up, then. I’m going to Lanyang University.”
“By the way, I also accepted a quest!” Lingling took out some papers and handed them out to everyone.
Mo Fan’s face darkened.

Weren’t they here to look for a Totem Beast? Why would they bother doing side quests?

“Our Hunter Contribution Points are too low. Since it isn’t worth it for us to do the menial tasks ourselves, I’ve accepted a quest related to this city so we can accumulate some points…” Lingling informed him.
Lingling needed a lot of information to look for the Totem Beasts. If she had to collect the information herself, she would never find all the Totem Beasts, even if she kept going places until her legs were broken.

There were many, many Hunters scattered across the country. High-level Hunters could be more efficient than the military at times. The clue of the logo of Lanyang’s drinking water plant was discovered by a reliable Hunter Group that Lingling had hired.
Without it, they would still have no clue about where to start!

It was expensive to hire a Hunter Master. Lingling did not want to pay with money since Mo Fan had always been poor.

The Contribution Points were appealing to every Hunter. Mo Fan had not done any work for a year since he had been gone. Therefore, Lingling had to accept some quests to start accumulating the Contribution Points so she could hire others to work for her.

“I’s your fault that we are running short on the Contribution Points, which hindered us from realizing there were two other places with the same logo before we came here. Otherwise, I could have hired other Hunters to collect information about these places, instead of doing it ourselves!” Lingling
grumbled.

Mo Fan could only look awkward.
It was true that his Hunter Rank was on the verge of dropping. Luckily, Lingling had been maintaining it for him!

“If you want clues about the Totem Beasts, we have to accept some quests and stay active. The quest isn’t hard. A disciple of an internationally renowned clan was taken away by a Sharkman when he went off on an adventure. They are confident their disciple is still alive here in Lanyang!” Lingling
explained.

“How about this? The girls will form a group. Lingling, Jiang Shaoxu, and I will go to the drinking water plant. It’s the first place that has the logo of the Totem Beast and is tied to the Low Body Temp Disease, we might spend quite some time there,” Xinxia proposed.
“Sure, but you have to be careful.”

“I’s fine, Xinxia and I are both Psychic Mages. As long as we aren’t with someone who stinks like you, those creatures aren’t going to hurt us!” Jiang Shaoxu declared confidently.

The drinking water plant was not located in the city center, thus it was not particularly dangerous. It was fine for the girls to explore it themselves.

The group split up. Mo Fan was heading to the office building in the city center, where the blue logo was.

Zhao Manyan went to Lanyang University to look for the red logo.

Mu Bai would explore other areas of the city to see if the same logo existed elsewhere.

The Sharkmen were called Sharkmen because their legs were similar to most bipeds, allowing them to move while keeping their bodies upright.

Obviously, their legs were stronger than human legs. Their toes were longer and had hidden claws.

Lanyang was not fully submerged. The main streets in the city’s center were completely dry. Mo Fan would occasionally see a few Sharkmen walking along the littered streets.

The Sharkmen had sensitive noses, especially attuned to the smell of blood. If an enemy sustained even a tiny cut, they could track their enemy down no matter how far they had run!

The Sharkmen would not give up on a chase easily, either! To the Sharkmen, letting their prey get away was extremely humiliating. They would be disgraced before their tribe!

“These sea monsters are really treating the city as their own. They are strolling along the streets!” Mo Fan jumped between the roofs and balconies like Spiderman.

The Sharkmen enjoyed walking on the ground, as it was flat and solid. They actually looked like humans from afar when they were walking upright.

A Sharkman with fins on its head cried out, as if it had discovered something.

Three Sharkmen immediately ran toward an alley. They were sprinting so quickly that it looked like they were swimming in water, rings of water spreading from their feet. They reached the alley in the blink of an eye.
A Lance Spine Bear shrieked and ran out of the garbage truck it was hiding in. It was bashing sideways and ramming into every obstacle in its path.

‘The three Sharkmen chased after the Lance Spine Bear and soon caught it. They happily began feasting on the bear..

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.

Ugh! Don’t split the party! And Lingling made the suggestion!

‘Also, how did an internet search for the image not find the matches?!

Oh, right, plot armor. On we go.

Chapter 2627: The Kingdom of Sharkmen

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was utterly confused.

Lanyang had only been abandoned for half a year. How did it turn into a paradise for the demon creatures? A Lance Spine Bear that was supposed to be in the woods had appeared out of nowhere and was discovered by the Sharkmen that had taken over the city!
‘The Sharkmen clearly enjoyed fresh meat. They immediately started feeding on it without killing it first. The Lance Spine Bear had no chance of fighting back.

Mo Fan looked at the pitiful creature.

It was just how the world was for now. The demon creatures on land were no match for the sea monsters. The Sharkmen could move freely on land, thus many species of demon creatures on land ended up as their food.
While Mo Fan was pondering how the ecosystem had been so disrupted by the sea monsters’ invasion, a Sharkmen Beast suddenly approached his location from the sky!

Its skin glittered, covered by the hard crystalline shell upon it. Mo Fan might even have mistook it for a spaceship if he had not seen its huge head and teeth!

‘The Sharkman Beast’s stomach expanded. It opened a mouth the size of a cabin and spat out a dozen Lance Spine Bears!

‘The Lance Spine Bears landed in the city, smashing shops, crushing vehicles, and making holes in the roads.

The hides of the Lance Spine Bears were tough, and they were not hurt after falling the great height. They immediately scattered in panic and ran wildly through the city that was only a maze to them.
‘The Sharkmen nearby cried out in celebration after the Sharkman Beast left. They soon set out to search for the Lance Spine Bears that had just been delivered to them by airdrop.

Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

It’s a hunting game! The Sharkmen are having hunts in the city!

‘The woods nearby were the territory of the Lance Spine Bears. The Sharkmen could easily wipe out the Lance Spine Bears with their outstanding strength and ability to move freely on land.

However, they did not attack the Lance Spine Bears. They simply caught them alive and threw them into the city so the rest of the Sharkmen could have fun hunting them!

These Sharkmen were not hungry. They were just entertaining themselves!

It was like the hunt would make the Lance Spine Bears’ meat taste better.

The Sharkmen were indeed ruthless to be playing hunting games inside human territory,

Mo Fan soon found the office building, avoiding the ground on his way there. He did not have trouble avoiding the Sharkmen as long as he did not stumble into their leaders.

‘The Kingdom of Sharkmen had two groups.

‘The first group was the Sharkmen. Their general outline was similar to human’s, but their skin, eyes, fingers, face, and head were different. They also had a spiked tail, were intelligent, and adept at magic.
The other group was the Sharkmen Beasts. Their intelligence was not as high, but their size and physical strength were crazy.

‘The Trench Demons were only a branch of the Sea Gods. They had proclaimed themselves as the Sea Monster Prophets and were leading many species in the sea.

The Sharkmen were a powerful tribe of the Sea Gods too. They were known as the Sea God Warriors. They had their own king, chieftains, and elders.

Sometimes, a reputable elder of the Sharkmen would ride a Sharkman Beast into battle.

The Sharkman Elders were the leaders of a clan. Multiple clans would gather to form a tribe, and the leader of a tribe would be a Sharkman Chieftain.

Many tribes had formed a kingdom, the Sharkman Kingdom.

The Sharkman that had tried to take over Hangzhou’s West Lake was not the king, it was only a Sharkman Chieftain. Human’s knowledge of the oceans was too limited.

‘The Shoreline Alliance had finally declared the existence of the Sharkman Kingdom. The people of Lanyang were evacuated as soon as they confirmed the king of the Sharkman Kingdom was an Emperor!
The city would not stand a chance against a kingdom of sea monsters!

Mo Fan would never have known these things if he had not come to Lanyang and seen the city that had been taken over by the Sharkmen.

He was extremely cautious as he was walking around the city, since he had no idea how many Sharkmen there were or what level they were. He did not want to alert them to his presence.

‘The office building was tall and wide. It was as big as a few shopping malls combined.

‘A Sharkman Beast was patrolling up in the air. Mo Fan did not dare stay exposed. He followed an overhead bridge into the huge building.

Ayoung Sharkman was sprinting across the road below the bridge like a silver race car. The sound it was making was like a roaring engine.

Mo Fan took a quick look around and saw a Lance Spike Bear running toward a crossroad five hundred meters away. It slammed into the window of a shop right before the young Sharkman caught up to it and ran away through the back alley.
Mo Fan had a feeling the Sharkmen and the Lance Spike Bears were filming a sequel to The Fast and Furious!

The overhead bridge had a roof. It was unlikely the Sharkmen could see what was on the bridge from below. Mo Fan moved out of the shadows and took the stairs down.

‘Mo Fan was shocked when he discovered a figure curling up in a corner close to the stairs.

Mo Fan first thought it was a young Sharkman. He tightened the grip on his dagger and was going to kill the creature with a quick blow.

However, Mo Fan realized it was a skinny young man in his twenties. He had curled his body up as much as possible, like he was trying to hide from something on the bridge.

‘The man was trembling, and no longer had a brave temperament. He was more like a woman who had been abused: uneasy and scared!

‘The man was facing the other way. He did not notice Mo Fan.

He eventually turned around and saw Mo Fan. His eyes were bloodshot and dull, like something had taken out the light in them!

“L..1 tried to protect her, but…but I couldn’t control my legs. I heard her scream. It felt like I was being stabbed in the heart.”

“Wasn’t the city evacuated half a year ago?” Mo Fan asked the man, who was obviously hiding from the Sharkmen.

Mo Fan suddenly thought of something. A strong chill ran down his spine and penetrated his soul!

The Lance Spine Bears were not the only prey in the hunting games!

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.

So, we’ve got gargantuan flying sharks patrolling the city. I can see that such a thing might be hard to defend against.

Chapter 2628: Special Way of Survival

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

‘The sound of teeth grinding like metallic gears was everywhere.

‘The Sharkmen liked grinding their teeth, as if it would sharpen them. Most importantly, their prey would start to panic when they heard the sound.

‘When their prey was panicking, they would lose the ability to think calmly and run for their lives, making a lot of noise.

As the teeth-grinding noise grew closer, the skinny man began to feel uneasy.

He was not injured. His hiding spot was also concealed. The Sharkmen would only notice him if they came up to the overhead bridge. It was unlikely they knew he was hiding on it.

However, he started moving as if he was recalling the friend whose cries of agony were still echoing in his head. He had an irresistible urge to flee when he imagined the same thing happening to him.

“Don’t be scared, they don’t know you are here,” Mo Fan whispered.

“But what if they do? What if they are just toying with me?” the skinny man nearly screeched.

‘The Sharkmen were sensitive to sounds caused by knocks, like a rolling can, breaking glass, and tapping on a piece of wood, but they were not sensitive to speech and shouting.

“Don’t move,” Mo Fan warned him.

‘The man slowly rose to his feet, placing his hand on the rail to support himself.

The grinding teeth sound was getting closer. It was coming from right under the bridge!

“I told you not to move!” Mo Fan told him.

“What right do you have to order me around?! The others are dead, but I’m still alive! I know how to survive!” the skinny man snarled.

He ran toward Mo Fan.

Mo Fan thought the man was going to escape in the direction Mo Fan had come from. It was not a bad choice, as behind Mo Fan was an alley covered with trash. The pungent smell of the trash would cover the smell of his sweat while he was running away.
However, the fellow suddenly took out a sharp tool as he was brushing past Mo Fan. He sliced at Mo Fan’s arm with it.

A tiny cut was left on Mo Fan’s arm, along with a moment of burning pain.

By the time Mo Fan realized what was happening, the skinny man had already reached the bottom of the stairs and disappeared into the trash-covered alley beyond.

The cut on Mo Fan’s arm was very shallow. The box knife was not covered in poison, either.

However, Mo Fan immediately heard the teeth-grinding sound coming from all directions. He had no idea how many Sharkmen were coming toward him!

‘The cut was so shallow that he was only bleeding slightly, but the smell of his blood had spread through the air with great speed. The Sharkmen were extremely sensitive to blood. The little cut was like a bright light in the gray world they were seeing. They could sense it from half a district away!
‘The man was long gone, leaving Mo Fan alone on the bridge.

Mo Fan had to admit he had been well-played by the man!

Judging from how unhesitant he was, it was surely not his first time using the same trick. Was it the secret to how he was still alive after so long?

Mo Fan took out a jar of sacred ointment and applied it to the small cut. It immediately stopped the bleeding.

However, it would take half an hour for the smell of blood to disperse completely. Mo Fan would now have to play hide-and-seek with the Sharkmen.

Sharkman Beasts were patrolling in the air above the city, and there were countless Sharkmen in the city, too. Mo Fan could not afford to start a fight before he investigated the clue about the mysterious feather. It would only attract more Sharkmen from other places.
Both stairs of the overhead bridge were now blocked by Sharkmen. The brutes were around three meters tall. Their heads were shaped like polygons, with tiny round eyes and the bone of their large noses sticking out.
They grinned toothily when they saw Mo Fan.

One of the Sharkmen let out a shriek, as if it was extremely pleased with himself. It felt like it was saying, “Little kid, why were you so careless as to cut yourself?”

‘The Dark Material had spread out from under Mo Fan’s feet across the bridge. He had not run away, since the overhead bridge was the perfect cover from the Sharkman Beasts!

The four Sharkmen came closer. Their teeth were still making the same annoying noise.

‘They opened their mouths and exposed their sharp teeth, tightly packed together in circles from their lips to their throats. Their teeth could easily shred every piece of meat they consumed.

Mo Fan waited for them to come closer.

‘Three of the Sharkmen suddenly lunged at Mo Fan. They were incredibly fast, like some of the demon leopards.

‘They were adept hunters. They attacked him from tricky angles, preventing their prey from escaping.

Mo Fan stood there, and finally snapped his fingers.

The floor of the bridge suddenly turned black. Sharp spikes thrust out of the wriggling dark swamp and plunged precisely through the Sharkmen’s mouths.

The spikes went through the Sharkmen’s throats and heads, killing the three Sharkmen instantly. Their dead bodies hung thre, impaled on the spikes, like three pieces of shark skin that had been left to dry. 2
The last Sharkman was stunned. Just as it was about to call for backup, Mo Fan stomped the black floor and fired sharp needles at the Sharkman.

The needles manipulated by the Chaos Element drove into the Sharkman’s head, preventing it from making any sounds by killing it instantly.

‘These Sharkman Elders were experienced in hunting in the city, whether their prey was humans or the Lance Spine Bears. Even though their prey could fight back, they did not expect to encounter a strong human who could kill them in an instant.
Mo Fan used the Darkness to corrode away the four Sharkmen bodies. However, he could not prevent the smell of blood from spreading.

1

Mo Fan decided to find somewhere to hide, which should prevent the Sharkmen from trapping him. He did not want them to ruin his investigation!

The Sharkmen’s roars immediately filled the city. A Sharkman Beast also picked up the fast-moving scent.

The smell of blood would constantly be emitted from its owner for half an hour, even if the bleeding stopped. The Sharkmen could follow the scent no matter where the owner went.

1

Over a hundred Sharkmen and a Sharkman Beast were chasing Mo Fan after his scent drew their attention..

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.

Well, that’s definitely the tactic of a smart rat, you gotta admit.

Chapter 2629: Huge Silver Egg

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Fenghe was a huge river connected to the sea. The harbors along it had long become the Sharkmen’s breeding grounds.

‘The sea had a great number of demon creatures who were as strong as the Sharkmen. The Sharkmen usually had to pay a huge price to obtain the resources needed to increase their population.
However, it was different on land!

‘The creatures on land were not as savage as the creatures in the sea. The resources on land were abundant, too. The nearby hills alone had seemingly unlimited supplies of food!
The human city had stored a huge amount of magic ores, too. Those magic ores could be used to make them stronger.

‘Wasn’t living on land better than having to compete with other ferocious species in the sea? A single tribe of the Sharkmen could easily take over a city!

“It looks like the Sharkmen aren’t here. I knew it was smart to choose this place!” Zhao Manyan climbed over a fence and entered a building close to Fenghe.

He snuck in through a window and realized it was a student’s room. There were clothes left on the beds, the kind that were thin, soft, and light-colored.

“It’s the girls’ dorm!” Zhao Manyan’s eyes glittered.

1

It was an easy drive on a familiar path. Zhao Manyan had often snuck into the girls’ dorms when he was still a student, and was quite at ease doing so again.

He took a quick look around. Many of the books, clothes, and necessities left in the dorm were covered in dust. He occasionally saw insects and demon rats with glowing eyes scuttling around the building. The rats were around the size of dogs, most likely Servant-class creatures.
The city had been abandoned. Certain timid demon creatures that had enjoyed living in the sewers had come to the surface afterwards.

The Sharkmen were only interested in the juicy meat of the Lance Spine Bears and delicious human blood for now. They had no interest in these filthy demon rats.

‘These demon rats were usually followed by a cluster of mice, which looked like a moving rug from afar. It was quite disgusting to see them at a close distance.

The Sharkmen were not hygienic. They would not finish their prey after tearing them to pieces, leaving their organs and remains scattered across the ground, which the low-level creatures fed on in turn.
The girls’ dorm had turned into a demon rat nest. Zhao Manyan did not want to stay there. He quickly made his way to the administration building.

He had to look for information that would tell him the origin of the school’s logo.

“This building is so disgusting. Why is it covered in a layer of sticky substance?” Zhao Manyan had quickly discovered the main building.

The main building had also turned into a nest for some demon species. The windows, floors, and ceilings were full of slimy pods of stuff.

One of the pods on the ceiling suddenly ruptured, blue ooze pouring out of it.

A fleshy blue insect crawled out of the pod. It was the size of a mature crocodile. It crawled down the wall and headed for the library.

The ground was already covered by trails of some dried substance. The insect was refreshing the trails it was following.

Zhao Manyan noticed the trails had dried up multiple times, meaning that more of these insects had been born in the building. They had all headed to the library.

“are these insects the studious type?” Zhao Manyan was curious. He quickly followed the clumsy insect to the library.1

The doors to the library were already destroyed. The library beyond them was extremely large. The ground floor was quite spacious, with a huge hall in the center and stairs leading to the higher floors around it.
Zhao Manyan followed the insect through the main entrance. He was shocked to discover a giant silver egg inside the hall.

“Oh my, how big is this egg!?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed. He had to tilt his head back to see the top of the egg.

It was seven stories tall!

It had to be the egg of a Sharkman Beast with a pure lineage. Zhao Manyan’s eyes glittered with shock.

The insect crawled up to the egg and dug into the egg through one of its cracks.

“Holy crap, it’s eating the yolk!” Zhao Manyan snarled.

If he could move the huge egg, he would be able to sell it for a high price. It was an ideal Contracted Beast for every Summoner, but the insects had been eating it.

What a waste!

Why didn’t the insects eat the offal instead? Why did they have to eat the egg?

Zhao Manyan felt it was a pity. If so many insects had come here to eat the egg, there was no way the creature in it could still be alive.

Zhao Manyan was about to leave, and stepped on a book that was related to animals.

Zhao Manyan glanced at the book and immediately thought of something.

Hang on!

If it was a Sharkman Beasts’ egg, why weren’t they guarding it? Why would they let these petty insects from the sewers eat their egg?

Zhao Manyan decided not to give up, and quickly climbed up the giant egg.

He poked his head into the crack that the insect had gone inside, trying to see what was left inside.

He almost wet his pants after looking within.

Inside the egg was a huge infant of the Sharkman Beasts. It was eating the insect!

The infant had a tough silver skin. The Servant-class insect had no way of hurting it!

Zhao Manyan thought the insects had ruined the egg, but the infant Sharkman Beast was so savage. It was feeding on the Servant-class insects before its egg had even hatched!
Incredible! It would at least become a Great Ruler after it grew up!

“Lwonder if this Contract Ring is going to work. It won’t hurt to try it out now, right?” Zhao Manyan murmured.

A Contract Ring was a unique magic tool. It would allow a Mage who did not have the Summoning Element to have a Contracted Beast. The Ring not only established a link between the Mage and the creature’s souls, but it would also provide the creature with a Contracted Space. It was a valuable magic
tool.

Zhao Manyan’s father did not leave him lots of money, but he had left his son a treasure vault full of his collected items. His father had even applied layers of powerful Seals on the vault to prevent it from falling into the hands of Zhao Yougian and any others. Zhao Manyan had been forced to slowly dig
out the treasures inside the vault alone..

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.
That… is a pretty sweet toy,

Also, seven stories tall is a pretty massive egg.

Chapter 2630: Sharkman Beast Infant

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan crawled inside the huge slime-filled egg and saw the huge Sharkman Beast Infant was staring at him.

‘The Sharkmen and Sharkman Beast were supposed to have tiny eyes, but the infant’s eyes were surprisingly big.

It was licking its lips, as if someone had delivered food to it again!

“Tm not your food!” Zhao Manyan told it firmly. He took out a colorful crystal ball and tossed it to the infant.

‘The infant was intrigued by the round object it had never seen before. It played around with the crystal ball with its clumsy flipper-claws.

Its fins were huge, like a pair of wings in front of its stomach, and looked like they had bones. It used the fins to hold the crystal ball with lightning sparkles and grinned like a human. Drool was falling out of its mouth.
Zhao Manyan used the opportunity to scuttle closer to the Sharkman Beast Infant and put the Contract Ring on its forehead.

‘The creature continued to play with the beautiful crystal orb.

Aminute later, Zhao Manyan looked at the creature and the Contract Ring with a puzzled face.

Has the Ring lost its power?, Zhao Manyan wondered. He was trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

After watching and waiting for a while longer, Zhao Manyan was disappointed when nothing happened.

It seemed like the Ring was no longer effective. He did not think his father had stored any useless junk or antiques in his vault…

He thought he could gain a Contracted Beast even though he was not a Summoner, but it was only a useless piece of jewelry!

“Forget it, I won’t kill it since it’s only an infant. I’l spare your life and hopefully you can tell what’s right and wrong and not hurt humans for no reason. If you really have to eat, you should give your prey a quick death instead of learning from your cruel people who enjoy eating their food alive. It’s very
disrespectful to a living creature. I hope you remember my words. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to kill you if we meet again. Do you understand?” Zhao Manyan told the Sharkman Beast Infant.

The Sharkmen Beast Infant’s attention was on the crystal ball. It completely ignored Zhao Manyan.
Zhao Manyan let out a sigh and climbed back out of the egg.

He still had a mission to focus on.

He wondered why he had been distracted by the filthy insect and followed it to the library out of curiosity, leading him to the giant egg.

Zhao Manyan left the library and went to the archives room in the main building.

He felt strange when he realized he had only seen demon creatures from the sewers around. He had not seen a single Sharkman.

Even the Sharkman Beasts were nowhere to be seen. It did not make any sense to leave an infant behind without any protection?…

Was the infant abandoned? Was it being discriminated against because it had big eyes, while the rest of the Sharkmen had tiny eyes?

Zhao Manyan arrived at the archives as he was thinking such random thoughts.

The archives had a lot of records, including the design of the school’s logo. Zhao Manyan was overjoyed. He did not expect to find it so easily.
“Twonder if Mo Fan is doing fine. I should regroup with him,” Zhao Manyan murmured as he took the most important files.

He left the school and was about to head to the city center when he heard noises from the library.

Zhao Manyan turned around and saw a huge amount of slimy liquid was pouring out of the library, destroying what was left of the entrance and flowing down the stairs.
A creature with a silver-blue glow to it slid all the way to the entrance of the school and stopped in front of Zhao Manyan.

Its dexterous fins were still holding a colorful crystal ball.

It threw the crystal ball up and hit it toward Zhao Manyan with its head.

Zhao Manyan almost dropped his jaw when he saw the creature, even as he subconsciously caught the crystal ball.

‘The Sharkman Beast Infant clapped with its fins like a dolphin. It used its tail to support itself so it could reach Zhao Manyan’s height.

Zhao Manyan was bewildered. Why did this little creature come to him? Was it a coincidence?

“Go, fetch it!” Zhao Manyan threw the crystal ball into the air.

The crystal ball flew over the library and went further away.

The creature clapped excitedly with its fins to give Zhao Manyan applause, but it did not seem to have any intention to fetch the crystal ball.
Zhao Manyan’s face darkened. Was the creature treating him as its pet and clapping to cheer him up?

“That’s the factory producing your food. Go and feed yourself!” Zhao Manyan pointed at the main building that was swarming with insects.

‘The creature slid across the dried grass quickly, like it was swimming in water.

It went to the main building Zhao Manyan had pointed at and began feeding on the bugs. Zhao Manyan could occasionally hear the squeals of the insects from inside the building.
Zhao Manyan quickly left while he had the chance.

If the creature’s mother came back, she would surely tear him into pieces and make him into a bow! of human porridge for her kid!

Zhao Manyan scanned the skies above him as he arrived at an intersection.

Luckily, nothing strange or ferocious was chasing after him. His first priority was to regroup with Mo Fan.

A huge figure suddenly appeared in the window of a shop behind Zhao Manyan, its fangs jutting out. It looked like the mix of a bear and a boar.
It smashed through the window and charged at Zhao Manyan as he was walking along the street.

Zhao Manyan reacted quickly and was about to protect himself with a shield when he spotted another figure approaching him rapidly.

He was being flanked!

Zhao Manyan did not expect to walk into an ambush, but he was shocked by what happened next.

‘The second creature opened its mouth and bit down on the Lance Spine Bear’s neck. It pushed the creature down and forced it to the ground.
Zhao Manyan’s eyes widened when he took a closer look at the creature with such insane strength.

Isn’t this the Sharkman Beast Infant?

Chapter 2631: Are You Hungry?

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Wasn’t it just hatched from an egg recently? How did it kill a Warrior-level Lance Spine Bear?

Most importantly… How is it already so much bigger after I was gone for just a short while?

‘The Sharkman Beast Infant feasted on the Lance Spine Bear and devoured it in practically an instant.

Zhao Manyan had a strange face. Was the infant a monster? It was only around the size of an adult man. How did it fit the whole Lance Spine Bear, which was the size of a bulldozer, into its stomach?
Shouldn’t it burst its own body? How did it digest the Lance Spine Bear in such a short time?

“What did I say? You ate too much… holy crap!” Zhao Manyan was about to tease the creature when he saw it growing at a visible speed!

It was not bloated. It was growing!

Its bones, muscles, and skin were expanding. Even its head was bigger. The creature that had just hatched from its egg was now the size of a full-grown shark!

How incredible! It was true that most creatures had to take in a lot of food to grow, but they also needed some time to digest the food. He had never heard of a creature growing on the spot after it was done eating!
On second thought, it was not that unbelievable…

Perhaps it was normal for Sharkman Beasts to grow whenever they ate after they were born. Otherwise, how could they grow to the size of a stadium? Their size was not that out-of-place in the ocean. Baxia, who was now the size of an island, might also grow whenever it ate.
“Where are your parents?” Zhao Manyan asked it.

The creature did not understand him, but it did not leave, either.

“Don’t tell me you are thinking of eating me? I’m not that fleshy, so you won’t grow much even if you ate me,” Zhao Manyan reminded it.

The creature had no intention to eat Zhao Manyan. It stuck its head closer and sniffed Zhao Manyan, before rubbing its head on his hand.

Zhao Manyan was confused, but then he quickly took out the Contract Ring he had almost thrown away.

The Ring had turned bright red without him realizing it. He remembered it was dark red before.

Zhao Manyan put the Ring on the creature’s forehead again and discovered a similar mark was there.

“Holy crap, did it really work? Was it that easy?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

He had not seen any hints from the Ring, nor did he feel any change from his soul. Zhao Manyan had no idea what the Ring had done to establish a Contract with the Sharkman Beast Infant!

Don’t tell me…

Did I catch an insanely strong creature of the ocean, just like that? Shouldn’t the sea monsters have some pride? Did I really trick the sea monster with a colorful crystal ball?

Zhao Manyan was both happy and worried. He still had no idea about the creature’s situation.

After all, it was rare to find an unguarded egg, especially when it was about to hatch. Zhao Manyan did not have high expectations for the Contract Ring, either. To his surprise, it had worked!

It had successfully signed a Contract with the Sharkman Beast Infant!

Everything had gone so smoothly that Zhao Manyan could not help but be suspicious of it.

‘The Sharkman Beast Infant kept biting at the air and grinding its teeth. It also pointed at its mouth with its fins.

“are you hungry?” Zhao Manyan asked it.

‘The Sharkman Beast Infant waved its tail happily.

“You just ate a bear!” Zhao Manyan yelled at it.

The Lance Spine Bear had been five times the size of the Sharkman Beast Infant. Its remains were still lying to the side in its own blood. Some of its meat might still be stuck between the creature’s teeth, but it was already telling him it was hungry!
A disturbing noise came from above. Zhao Manyan looked up and immediately saw a Sharkman with muscles as thick as metal plates looking down at Zhao Manyan and the Sharkman Beast Infant.
Zhao Manyan’s head began to hurt.

It seemed like the infant’s parents were here. They were surely going to kill him to terminate the Contract!

The Dark Iron Sharkman jumped down from the building and landed heavily on the ground. Its knee slammed into the concrete and crushed a hole in it.

The Dark Iron Sharkman looked at the remains of the Lance Spine Bear and Zhao Manyan.

It walked toward Zhao Manyan while its jaws were opening and closing, making the sound of a grinder.

The Sharkman Beast Infant suddenly pounced at the Sharkman and bit at it. Judging by its excited expression, it was treating the Sharkman as food, not like a parent!

‘The Dark Iron Sharkman stepped aside suddenly to dodge the Sharkman Beast Infant’s attack. It grabbed the Sharkman Beast Infant’s tail and flung it to the ground!

The Sharkman Beast Infant cried out as its body twitched in pain.

Zhao Manyan was startled. He did not expect the two creatures to fight one another so fiercely. It had looked like they were of the same species!

The Dark Iron Sharkman was obviously a Commander-level creature, and a lot stronger than the Lance Spine Bear. Zhao Manyan flicked a golden bead at the Dark Iron Sharkman as it was about to slice into the Sharkman Beast Infant!
The golden bead contained great power. It hit the Dark Iron Sharkman like a truck.

‘The building behind the Dark Iron Sharkman collapsed. Its tough body was also broken in many places, its blood splattering all over the place.

It did not die. It let out an angry cry, like it was calling for help. However, the Sharkman Beast Infant crawled back to its feet. It lunged at the Dark Iron Sharkman fearlessly and bit its head off!

The Sharkman Beast Infant was having trouble biting into the Dark Iron Sharkman, but it kept munching and swallowing its flesh regardless.

“How did you even bite it?” Zhao Manyan asked helplessly.
The Dark Iron Sharkman’s skin was as tough as metal. Even an Advanced Spell could not break it, but the Sharkman Beast Infant was biting the thing into pieces and swallowing them.
The Sharkman Beast Infant seemed very hungry. It had eaten the whole Sharkman!

A magical sight took place once again. The Sharkman Beast Infant started growing once more.

It had grown to the size of a car, obviously having received a lot of energy from eating the Commander-level creature!

Chapter 2632: How Did You Survive?

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Constant growth after eating! Isn’t the efficiency a little ridiculous?

‘The Sharkman Beast Infant was angry just a moment ago after the Dark Iron Sharkman knocked it to the ground, but it was now in a great mood after eating the creature.

It was able to swim around in the air, emitting ripples that gradually dissipated as it did so.

Zhao Manyan looked at the remains of the Lance Spine Bear and rubbed his nose. “Perhaps the smell of blood has attracted the Sharkman here. I should leave this place now.”

Zhao Manyan left the street, and the Sharkman Beast Infant followed him.

‘The Sharkman Beast Infant suddenly let out a strange noise as it opened its mouth. It felt like something was vibrating at a high frequency in its throat, like a device transmitting a signal.
Zhao Manyan had no idea what the creature was doing. He recalled its reckless behavior a moment ago and scolded, “You are just a baby. Don’t just rush at everything you see. You should estimate your enemy’s strength first. Do you understand?”
‘The creature acted like it understood Zhao Manyan’s words. It clapped with its fins in response.

“Speaking of which, those Sharkmen are everywhere. Why don’t you go take a nap in the Contract Ring? The outside world is a lot more dangerous than you think,” Zhao Manyan said.

The reckless creature was going to attract the attention of many sea monsters in the city!

‘The creature placed its fins on its stomach and let out a cry in response to the chiding.

“Holy crap, you still want to eat?”

It’s hungry again!?

It had only been the duration of smoking a cigarette at most. The Dark Iron Sharkman was a Commander-level creature, its meat full of magical energy and calories. Normal Magical Beasts that had just been born would have slept for several days after taking in so many calories, but this thing was hungry
again!

A Sharkman Beast was flying over the buildings. Its body looked like it was made of some metal alloy. The sunlight pouring down on the city suddenly disappeared when it was passing by underneath its huge dark shadow.
‘The infant pointed its fins at the sky with great anticipation on its face.

“What? You want to eat that?” Zhao Manyan’s head hurt.

Was this thing really a Sharkman Beast? Why was it drooling when it saw a Sharkman Beast, instead of feeling a sense of belonging?

How much can it eat? It is actually thinking of eating such an enormous creature!

“Tl see if I can find any Lance Spine Bears or Sharkmen that are on their own,” Zhao Manyan said in return.

‘The creature insisted on not going into the Ring until it was fed. Zhao Manyan did not have a choice. He could only find a way to fill the creature’s stomach!

What kind of creature is this?

Ahuman figure was reflected on the river underneath a bridge.

‘The man was extremely skinny, and had a yellow face. He was eating a pack of moldy jerky. The look in his eyes was no longer that of a normal human. It belonged to the filthy creatures from the sewers.
Tap tap!

Clear footsteps were audible on the bridge above him.

‘The man stopped eating and looked up.

An eerie shadow suddenly hung upside-down along the railing of the bridge. It slowly took the shape of a human!

“You… It’s you!” The skinny man was terrified. He almost slipped and fell into the water.

A lot of Sharkmen were patrolling underneath the bridge. He held firmly onto the edge and stared at Mo Fan like he had just seen a ghost.

“Have you seen this man before?” Mo Fan took out a photograph and showed it to the cunning man.

The skinny man was spooked when he saw the smile on Mo Fan’s face. How had he survived?

Any creature that was bleeding would not be able to escape from the Sharkmen’s pursuit, especially when the chase was going to last for at least half an hour. There were countless Sharkmen in the city!
“Tm asking you a question, so you should answer it. Do you understand? I don’t mind feeding scum like you to the fish in the river!” Mo Fan grabbed the man and lifted him up with one hand.

The skinny man’s feet were dangling in the air. Mo Fan slowly extended his hand out beyond the edge.

‘The bridge was extremely high. The fall could easily kill someone, not to mention the sharks that were waiting to be fed in the water. They would instantly tear the man to pieces!

“I did! I’ve seen him before!” the skinny man yelled.

“Where was the last time you saw him?” Mo Fan asked calmly.

Mo Fan had to let the man live for just a little longer so he could complete his quest.

The disciple of the renowned clan must have been caught alive and thrown into the city by the Sharkmen as prey for their hunting game. If the client was confident their target was still alive, Mo Fan just had to ask the man for information. He had obviously met other people and had used them as bait to
save himself.

Even though he had to do it for his own survival, it still did not change the fact that he was an assh***.

‘Mo Fan had never had any compassion for jerks.

Mo Fan was going to let go once he got his answer. Perhaps he might survive if he was a great swimmer.

“Hurry up, I’m running out of patience,” Mo Fan snarled.

The skinny man felt like he was going to suffocate. It was hard to lie in his situation, as his brain was lacking oxygen to think properly.

“Lam… That’s…that’s me!” the man exclaimed desperately.

Mo Fan chuckled.

He loosened his grip and dropped the skinny man into the water. He purposely attached a gravity chain to the man, preventing him from escaping with some strange magic. He wanted to make sure the man would fall into the water!
Mo Fan dusted off his hands. He was about to leave when he remembered something.

“Hang on, even though his face isn’t as chubby as the photo our client showed to us, his facial features…”

As Mo Fan was mumbling to himself, he heard a loud splash below. “Should I give him a chance?”

Mo Fan first thought the guy was lying to him, but he realized the man would definitely look a lot different if he had become so skinny after not eating for so long.

If he really was the guy their client had asked them to save… It would be a great loss for Mo Fan!

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.
It’s probably NOT a Sharkman Beast… we shall have to see.

Someone getting comeuppance… oh, drat!

Chapter 2633: It Can Still Grow

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The man was already unconscious by the time Mo Fan scooped him out of the water.

‘Mo Fan carefully compared the man’s facial features with the photo of the man they were looking for, and unfortunately did find some level of resemblance.

How annoying!

Mo Fan was more than willing to feed an assh*** like him to the sharks, yet he happened to have quite a powerful background. The people behind him had spent a lot of money hiring Hunters to rescue him.
Forget it, I should keep him alive for now. It was not unlikely the man would die a sudden death after Mo Fan was done with the quest.

“If you don’t open your eyes, I’m going to slit your wrist,” Mo Fan stated coldly.

“No, don’t!” The skinny man instantly ‘woke up’.

“Don’t even think about fooling me. I only took the quest to bring you out of here alive because I’m looking for something else in this city. However, if you mess with me, I don’t really care about the money or the Contribution Points. Do you understand?” Mo Fan did not go easy on the man.
Normally, he would just save a desperate man’s life after finding him in such a cruel situation, but to his surprise, the man had tried to set him up just to save himself!

“Twon’t. You have my word. I was ignorant. I didn’t know you were here to save me… please believe me. I only did it because I didn’t have a choice.”

“What’s your name?” Mo Fan asked coolly.

“My Chinese name is Guan Songdi, my English…”

“That’s enough, I’m not interested in it,” Mo Fan waved his hand to cut him off.

“Are we leaving now? But there are Sharkmen with sharp noses in every corner of the city. No living creature could escape their eyes… Wait, how did you get in here? You can stay undetected from them!” Guan Songdi blurted out in joy.
Mo Fan had not been captured and brought here by the Sharkmen. He was a Hunter who had come to rescue him, which meant he was able to get into the city and avoid the Sharkman Beasts.

There was a chance for them to leave the city alive if they could avoid the Sharkman Beasts!

He had been trapped in the city for more than a month. There had been hundreds of people brought to the city around the same time as him. Many had been Mages like him.

However, only a few of them were still alive. New prey had constantly been brought to the city over the past month. It was like a battle royale-../style game!

Guan Songdi had been teetering on the edge of sanity for more than a month.

He never had a chance to rest properly. He was constantly on edge whenever he imagined the Sharkmen would find him and eat him alive while he was sleeping.

Anyone would lose their mind after being stuck here for a long time. He desperately wanted to leave this city!

“If you bring me out of here now, I can pay you five times, no, ten, twenty times the reward!” Guan Songdi exclaimed urgently.

“You cut my arm. You can think about how you are going to make up for it. I have something more important than your life to do, so you can keep hiding. I’l find you and bring you out of the city once I’m done.” Mo Fan dug into his ear like he did not care about money, even though he had always been
poor.

“Don’t, I can’t even handle a single Sharkman!” Guan Songdi squealed in fear.
Lingling had repeatedly reminded Mo Fan that the man was a cash cow. In the end, Mo Fan had no choice but to bring the assh*** with him.

He returned to the headquarters of the company and searched the building, but he did not find anything useful.

It was just a business logo. It was unlikely he would find any clues unless he could find records about its founding.

Left with no choice, Mo Fan could only regroup with the others to see if they had found anything useful.

Luckily, he did not end up empty-handed. He had somehow found the person they were looking for!

“Old Zhao is around here, I should meet up with him,” Mo Fan said to himself.

It was inconvenient bringing a person with him. Mo Fan had to use the buildings and walls as cover. If he was alone, he could easily move between buildings through their shadows.

Pools of blood were scattered across the road.

Zhao Manyan was sitting inside an abandoned bus. He was staring dumbfounded at the creature he had claimed as his Contracted Beast.

Other people would bring their Contracted Beast home and take good care of them so they could grow quickly. They would be a great help once they matured.

However, Zhao Manyan’s Contracted Beast was a little ‘special’.

It had only been a little more than three hours since it had hatched.

Zhao Manyan had lost count of how many Sharkmen it had eaten, whether they were ordinary Sharkmen or Commander-level Dark Iron Sharkmen. It was sending out a strange cry which lured the nearby Sharkmen to it.
The Sharkmen thought they would find a juicy Lance Spine Bear. To their surprise, after turning a corner and venturing inside a hotel, a little monster that could never be full was waiting for them.
The hotel had a large entryway and was surrounded by three-storied old buildings. It also had a spacious car park beside it.

Mo Fan headed into the hotel with Guan Songdi tagging along. He immediately saw Zhao Manyan, who was sitting atop a bus.

The truth was, Mo Fan was following the trail of a Sharkman, but it had been eaten in front of him by a strange creature that was floating in the air.

“What’s going on here?” Mo Fan looked around and saw piles of fresh bloody bones.

It was like a mountain of empty plates that had been stacked up during a buffet. The whole place was full of the remains of Sharkmen and Lance Spine Bears!

“Thave no idea. It can eat so much. I feel like it’s trying to eat every Sharkman in the city,” Zhao Manyan replied with a wry smile.

The creature was constantly growing while eating. It was no longer just an infant; it had turned into a giant floating silver-blue whale!

The Sharkman Beasts in the sky would have noticed it if Zhao Manyan had not hidden it with a Light Element Barrier.

Zhao Manyan was now sure of one thing. That creature was definitely not a child of the Sharkman Beasts!

It was a different species, and the Sharkman Beasts were its favorite food, as if it would only be full and evolve after eating lots of them!

“You managed to establish a Contract with it? Your father sure left a lot of precious things for you,” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Please stop eating, we really have other serious things to do…” Zhao Manyan said to the creature helplessly.

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.
Cachalot? Orca? Inquiring minds want to know! Wait, i’s an egg. I have no clue. Whales do put on mass faster than any other species, however.

It also had some smart parents. They snuck into the city and put the egg right in the middle of a feeding zone for it!

Chapter 2634: Lanyang Earth Core

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Lanyang Drinking Water Plant.

Many places in the city were covered by the frost overnight.

However, the Lanyang Drinking Water Plant did not have any sign of frost. Xinxia, Lingling, and Jiang Shaoxu searched the plant thoroughly, and discovered some pipes extending to the sea.

The pipes crossed a hill and plunged into the sea. A huge machine was close to the sea. It was pumping the seawater into a huge underground reservoir before the water was delivered to the plant.

‘The underground reservoir was very deep, like an underground cave connected with the ocean. Below the cave was even an underwater world, right under the city’s foundations!

It was difficult to imagine a completely different world had existed under such a big city.

“We’ll figure out a way to go down after they get here,” Lingling said.

After finding the source of the drinking water for the plant, Lingling speculated that the underground sea had the answers to why the people of Lanyang did not catch the Low Body Temperature Disease.
“Should we head down first? We aren’t sure how long they will take to come back here. I can do some basic exploration to see what’s down there,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Tll go with you,” Xinxia said.

“Mm, we can support one another. Lingling, you’ll stay here and guide us,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Well…”

“It’s fine, we aren’t some weak and delicate women. I can even make a Ruler-level creature obey me!” Jiang Shaoxu declared confidently.

“Fine…”

Cypress Moon Hotel.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan looked into the sky. It was already dark, but Zhao Manyan’s Contract Beast was still searching for food. It was giving them a huge headache.

Left with no choice, Mo Fan could only take a little risk to capture a Great Commander-level Sharkman Beast.

The Sharkman Beasts were also classified into different levels. Those whose bodies were fully wrapped in metal alloy were Ruler-level creatures. Their size was close to that of a stadium. Mo Fan would surely end up attracting the attention of other Sharkmen if he fought them.
‘Mo Fan ended up choosing a Black-Skinned Sharkman Beast. He asked Apas to control its mind and lure it into the Cypress Moon Hotel to feed Zhao Manyan’s new Contracted Beast.

Mo Fan had now seen how special the creature was. It was growing while eating! It was around the size of a whale before eating the Sharkman Beast, but it had already grown to the size of a tour boat after it was done eating!

“Go take a sleep in the Contract Ring. I have something serious to take care of,” Zhao Manyan pleaded.

‘The creature finally nodded. It went into the Contract Ring with great satisfaction.

Zhao Manyan let out a relieved sigh when the creature finally disappeared.

Why couldn’t he control his own hands? Why did he try to see if he could make it his Contract Beast?

In the end… The creature that could eat so much was depending on him to feed it!

“You will have to prepare food measured in tons just to feed it.” Mo Fan was rather speechless.
Zhao Manyan was a true genius to find himself such a unique Contracted Beast!

‘The creature had already eaten so much on the first day it was born. Once it grew more, Zhao Manyan would go bankrupt just from feeding it!

“Don’t bring it up again, I’m tired. I found some information in the Lanyang Institute. Their logo originates from a place called the Lanyang Earth Core. It’s an ancient underground temple that has been around for more than a thousand years,” Zhao Manyan reported.
“An ancient temple. Do you know where it is?” Mo Fan asked him.

“It’s right under our feet,” a voice suddenly interjected.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan turned to the voice and saw a man in a white outfit approaching them. His hair was gelled to look stylish.

‘The man was none other than Mu Bai. Judging from the proud grin on his face, he must have made the biggest discovery among them!

Mu Bai walked through the entrance that had been sealed off by a magic Barrier. He was stunned when he saw all the bloody remains in the area.

“Why did you two kill so many Sharkmen?” Mu Bai had to ask.

“They were eaten.”

“Eaten?”

“Can we not talk about something that isn’t important for now? Do you know where the Lanyang Earth Core is?” Zhao Manyan interrupted impatiently.

“Yes, this city also has a lot of people who are being hunted. I was wondering where I could bring them to. This place is quite hidden. Can I bring them here?” Mu Bai asked.

‘Mu Bai was actually a kind man. He had discovered many survivors who were abandoned while he was moving around the city. He gathered them and offered them protection.

“Bring them here then,” Mo Fan glanced at Guan Songdi.

Guan Songdi immediately panicked.

After all, they could not just turn a blind eye to the survivors. They put the topic of the Lanyang Earth Core aside and settled the survivors in the hotel, protecting them with a hidden Barrier of the Light Element.

‘There were around fifteen survivors, all the same as Guan Songdi. They were all worn out from being chased by the Sharkmen. They were relieved after finally finding a safe place to hide in.

“Didn’t our Bo City have an Underground Holy Spring? It provided Mages with a special place to meditate in. The Lanyang Earth Core is similar to the Underground Holy Spring. It provides Mages with a special pond which they could meditate in. Their cultivation would improve greatly,” Mu Bai finally
explained what he knew about the Lanyang Earth Core.

“It must be related to the Mysterious Feather Totem Beast. Let’s go check it out!” Mo Fan urged them.

“The Lanyang Earth Core has been around for a thousand years, just like the Underground Holy Spring. Only a few people know how to access it. Even those who meditated in it before had no idea how to find it. We only know it’s under the city,” Mu Bai sighed, shaking his head.
Lanyang was a huge city with six districts, each district around the size of a single Bo City. It was not going to be easy to find the hidden entrance to the Lanyang Earth Core!

Many people in Bo City knew of the existence of the Underground Holy Spring, but they would never expect it to be right under the Silver Commerce Tower.

Similarly, many people knew about the existence of Lanyang’s special place, but its exact location was kept confidential!

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.

Ho ho! A lead to a big secret. Certainly they can’t exploit a cultivation resource, right?

Chapter 2635: Forbidden Lightning Underground Altar

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Guan Songdi came over and said softly, “I might know where the place you are looking for is…”
“Tdon’t think I want to trust you.” Mo Fan was well aware of what kind of person Guan Songdi was.

“Twon’tt lie to you. I just want to leave this place, but you won’t leave if you don’t find the Lanyang Earth Core. It’s in my interest to help you finish your mission as quickly as possible!” Guan Songdi said quickly.

“Tell us what you know, then,” Mo Fan replied coolly.

“Imet a bunch of survivors before. We stayed together to hide from the Sharkmen. One of them was a Mage. He mentioned that if the city had fallen, there’s only one place that is absolutely safe, the Lanyang Earth Core. He said the same thing as your friend. The Lanyang Earth Core has raised many
brilliant Mages for the city,” Guan Songdi explained.

“What happened next?” Mo Fan asked.

Guan Songdi shook his head and said, “We headed to the place, but it was surrounded by Sharkmen who blocked our path. I managed to escape, but the rest of the group died.”
“Your law of survival has saved you many times,” Mo Fan scoffed.

Guan Songdi blushed, but he added, “I can bring you to the place, but you must bring me with you. I don’t want to stay with these people.”

“It’s more dangerous to go with us. Why don’t you want to hide here?” Mo Fan asked with a confused look.

“Humph, most survivors who are still alive in this city have most likely abandoned their friends, too! The Sharkmen are vicious and have sensitive noses. The only way to escape from their pursuit is for other living creatures to bleed and distract them. They are oddly passionate about the scent of blood!”
Guan Songdi conveyed his distrust of the other survivors.

“Fine, let’s move out while it’s still dark.” Mo Fan did not want to talk to the guy anymore.

Mo Fan had already searched the headquarters of the larger business not long ago. He had not found anything useful.
To his surprise, the entrance of the Lanyang Earth Core was close to the same building. It was located in a basement that looked like an underground car park.

If Guan Songdi had not brought them here and pried open the elevator shaft, they would have had no idea the shaft would lead them to a deeper level under the ground!

“There are a few corpses over there. It seems like he was telling the truth,” Mu Bai mentioned after he noticed them in the basement.

“Mn, let’s head down. The other survivors are well-protected at the hotel. The Sharkmen won’t find them as long as they stay indoors,” Mo Fan nodded.

Mo Fan led the way and jumped into the shaft.

The elevator had fallen to the bottom of the shaft after losing power. Mo Fan had jumped into the shaft from basement level two, but he was surprised when he had not reached the bottom after falling for more than thirty levels.
‘The Lanyang Earth Core was hidden so deep underground! It made a lot of sense to hide the city’s heirloom treasure in a place that no one would find easily

Mo Fan blended into the darkness as he reached the bottom. He was hovering above the elevator like a phantom.

“Come down here, I’m at the bottom!” Mo Fan shouted up, before prying open the elevator door.

The group left the elevator and saw an altar built from all kinds of magic ores and crystals. The altar area was not dark, the whole place being illuminated by crystal lamps that could last for several dozen years.
The center of the altar was empty. They found a spiraling staircase imbued with Lightning Element crystals hovering magically in the air.

‘The staircase was floating. One had to be extremely cautious around it.

“It looks like some kind of protection. If anyone doesn’t take the right steps, the altar will unleash a strong Lightning Magic to kill the intruder,” Mu Bai warned them.

Zhao Manyan glanced at Mu Bai and exclaimed, “How did you know all of that from just observing the strange staircase?”

“Didn’t you see the huge red warning sign over there? Can’t you read?” Mo Fan pointed.

Zhao Manyan followed Mo Fan’s finger and saw a huge warning sign, like something above a circuit box.

How awkward!, he coughed to himself.

“It looks like it’s the only way down,” Mu Bai went on.

“The altar is supported by the energy of the magic ores. We might be in trouble if we don’t go down the stairs in the right order,” Guan Songdi said.

“Why don’t you go first?” Mo Fan asked.

“Please don’t. I’m just a weak Mage. You can just treat me like I’m transparent,” Guan Songdi answered stiffly.

“If only Lingling is here, things would be much simpler,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Humph!”

‘The sound of a woman came from another entrance. The four turned that way and saw Jiang Shaoxu and Xinxia approaching them.

“It looks like it’s a draw between us. We have all found this place!” Jiang Shaoxu smiled.

Jiang Shaoxu and Xinxia had followed the pipes of the drinking water plant to the underground. They broke down a wall to reach the altar the pipes were connected to.

Mo Fan went over and noticed Xinxia’s hair was still wet. She must have swum through the canals to come here.

“Ican solve this,” Xinxia declared firmly.

Xinxia’s mental strength was outstanding. She closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she could see the flow of magic around her. Even if the pipes and crystals were blocked by walls and obstacles, she could still see their colorful energy in her eyes.
“Follow me,” Xinxia led the way. She landed on the left side of the first platform. It began to fall like it had lost its support.

It gave Mo Fan a huge fright. He quickly went over to help Xinxia, but the platform came to a stop after falling for thirty centimeters.

Xinxia continued forward and jumped to the third platform. The first platform quickly bounced up to its original position.

“Remember to stay on the left side of the platform so you won’t fall to the area where you will be attacked by lightning,” Xinxia warned them all.

“This altar has an interesting design. It’s like jumping to the right tiles while memorizing the order…” Mo Fan murmured.

Chapter 2636: Maple Leaf Blazing Feathers in the Deep Lake

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

A strong heat rose from below after they crossed the Magic Lightning Formation.

“There’s a lake below us, and it’s boiling,” Mu Bai pointed out for everyone.

“Great, it’s been tiring since we came to this city. We can enjoy ourselves a bath in a natural hot spring,” Zhao Manyan smiled back.

‘The temperature of the water was extremely high. Just as Jiang Shaoxu, Xinxia, and Lingling had guessed, the underground lake was the source of the water for the drinking water plant. The water of the underground lake was delivered up through clean pipes.
“The water is clearly from the bottom of the sea. There must be a crack at the bottom of the sea that causes the water to leak into here and form a lake under the city. However, there must be something in the lake that is heating up the water,” Jiang Shaoxu deduced.
“We’ll soon find out!” Mo Fan jumped into the water.

The others followed him. The water was hot, just like a hot spring, explaining why Lanyang was known for its hot springs. There was a natural hot spring underneath it!

The lake was surprisingly deep. The group had been diving deeply for some time, but they still could not see the bottom.

‘The world under the water was a lot bigger than they had imagined. The subterranean lake they had seen was only a narrow entrance!

‘The group eventually found themselves in an open area. Even the walls around the waters were nowhere to be seen.

“Do you see those round things like rocks floating in the water? Are they pebbles from the bottom of the sea?” Zhao Manyan asked, pointing at them.

“Maybe.”

The heat grew stronger as they dove deeper.

‘The strange thing was that the heat was not coming from the boiling water. It felt more like the heat of some light shining on them.

“Look below, something is glowing.”

‘The walls started to close in and formed the shape of an underwater pond. A lump of scorching red liquid was rolling around inside it.

The scorching light was coming from the pond, including the heat that had warmed up the whole lake!

“Is that lava?”

“Tm not sure. Mo Fan, go check it out,” Zhao Manyan suggested.

‘Mo Fan swam closer and saw a large number of the same rocks they had seen drifting around the pond.

If the pond was a burning red planet, the rocks were like a ring of asteroids around it!

Mo Fan had no idea what they were. When he slowly swam into the hot pond, he realized the thing rolling around in the pond was not lava, but bundles of feathers blazing as red as maple leaves!

The pond was full of feathers as dazzling crimson as autumnal leaves. They were also glowing as brightly as lava, and so they looked like a lump of strange scarlet liquid from afar.

‘The feathers had been soaked under the water for a long time, but they were still releasing a special energy that not only created a cultivation ground under the city, but made the people of Lanyang immune to the cold plague.
Most importantly, even though the lines on the Runes were not the same, they all resembled the shape of a Totem Seal!

The Mysterious Feather Totem Beast! Its feathers had filled up the pond!

Had it been dead for several centuries? How strong was it when it was alive, if its feathers were still burning endlessly even today!?

‘Mo Fan went closer and scooped up the feathers with both hands.

The feathers were huge. Even the tiniest quill was the size of Mo Fan’s palm. The feathers at the center of the pond were the size of banana leaves and emitting different kinds of red light.

‘The feathers in Mo Fan’s hands suddenly erupted into flames. At the same time, Mo Fan could feel his heart pounding heavily and his blood boiling, like he was going to erupt into flames just like the feathers!

Mo Fan could feel that the flames were scorching but gentle!

The heat rising in his body from the burning feathers were not trying to hurt him. Most flames would spread as they burned, but the flames on his hands remained in a certain area.

For some reason, Mo Fan could see the ancient Totem Beast through the flames. It was as calm and noble as a glamorous woman, just like the Maple Leaf Blazing Feathers in the pond. It continued to shine and display its unique brilliance while being surrounded by disturbances and noises.
“They are indeed from the same branch!” Mo Fan felt his heart responding to the feathers. The Four-Eyed Bird and the Mysterious Feather Totem Beast were from the same ancestry!

No, the Four-Eyed Bird was most likely a descendant of the Mysterious Feather Totem Beast!

Only the ardent-hued feathers burst into flames when he touched them. There were feathers of other colors in the pond, but the Four-Eyed Bird only stirred up the ardent feathers!

The feathers started moving as if a wind was blowing into the pond, but how could there be wind under the water?

Some of the feathers rose from the deep pond and spun about in the water. Their tips were pointing at Mo Fan, as if something was attracting them.

The feathers flew at Mo Fan before he could react. They all burst into flames in the middle of their flights.

‘Mo Fan’s heart and blood were already burning. As the feathers rammed into his body, they slowly melted into the flames of the Four-Eyed Bird.

The pool had a large number of dawn-hued feathers. Mo Fan was soon surrounded by several layers of feathers. They were merging with Mo Fan’s Phoenix Flame in an orderly manner, strengthening his Furnace Heart and its flames!

‘Mo Fan was caught off-guard by the actions of the feathers. However, he felt extremely comfortable as the strong energy of the Fire Element wrapped around him and poured into his body!

Chapter 2637: Stamping the World with the Fire Element

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Phoenix Flame was comparable to a Heaven-grade Flame. It had granted Mo Fan the ability to be reborn in the presence of pure flames.

It was also incredibly powerful, allowing Mo Fan to crush Super Mages of the same level as him. Little did Mo Fan know, the Phoenix Flame had not reached its maximum potential!

After the feathers of the same color as the Phoenix Flame merged with it, Mo Fan had a feeling the furnace in his heart was filled with feathers constantly releasing heat, just like logs in a hearth. The flames were stronger as a result, but they were still under his control!
They seemed to have granted the flames the unique temperament of the Mysterious Feather Totem Beast, powerful yet gentle!

“Did the Phoenix Flame level up to a Greater Heaven Seed?!” Mo Fan could not withhold the joy rising inside him.

The Phoenix Flame was already incredibly strong, but Yu Shishi had only ranked it as a Lesser Heaven Seed. In other words, the Phoenix Flame had only been completed now, and was now equivalent to the level of a Greater Heaven Seed!
Another gust of ‘wind’ blew at the remaining feathers. They were also set on fire as they flew at Mo Fan in an orderly manner.

Mo Fan was astounded.

He only had the Phoenix Flame. Why would the feathers that represented other Totem Beasts fly at him, too?

As Mo Fan was thinking he was the Chosen One, he abruptly noticed Little Flame Belle had come out of her Contract Space. She was now standing in the center of the feathers.

It turned out the rest of the feathers were not flying toward him. They were circling Little Flame Belle instead!

It looked like Little Flame Belle was being reborn again as she was surrounded by the feathers. She was emitting the purest light of the Calamity Fire!

She was also growing!

The feathers, save for those that had merged with Mo Fan’s Phoenix Flame, were unusually friendly to Little Flame Belle, now unleashing a strange light upon her.

Little Flame Belle was like a small sapling being nurtured by the rain and sunlight simultaneously, slowly growing into a huge tree.

Little Flame Belle was evolving!

She had already reached her Adult phase, which was called the Flame Belle Empress. However, Mo Fan knew the Flame Belle Empress had a stronger phase after it, which Little Flame Belle was currently growing into!
“The Completion Phase! Little Flame Belle is about to reach the Completion Phase!”

Most Contracted Beasts had several phases in their life cycles. The Adult Phase was the usual limit for most creatures, but if Contracted Beasts stayed healthy and had access to plenty of resources throughout their growth, they had a chance to reach the final phase, the Completion Phase.
The Completion Phase would not occur to every Contracted Beast, as it required certain strict conditions.

‘Mo Fan was overjoyed. His Phoenix Flame had just evolved. To his surprise, Little Flame Belle was evolving toward the Completion Phase, too!

The Flame Belle’s Completion Phase was none other than the Soul Shadow resembling a fiery goddess who had been attached to Mo Fan’s back whenever he Demonized.

Little Flame Belle had finally reached her strongest phase and become a real goddess of fire, the ruler of all flames!

Little Flame Belle was not a Totem Beast, but she had earned the affection and favor of the ancient Totem Beast.

Perhaps the ardent-hued feathers would have circled Little Flame Belle and aided her growth along with the others if the Four-Eyed Bird had not replaced his heart.

“What’s happening? Why does it feel like those mysterious feathers are giving him all the benefits as soon as he approached them?” Zhao Manyan grumbled jealously.

How lucky could Mo Fan be?

“It seems like the Mysterious Feather Totem Beast died a long time ago. It only left its feathers, which are endlessly releasing heat. Mo Fan had the Phoenix Flame, allowing him to absorb the feathers that were of the same branch as the Four-Eyed Bird. Meanwhile, Little Flame Belle is a Sacred Fire Spirit,
so the rest of the feathers have given her the energy to evolve into the final phase. Speaking of which, Mo Fan absorbed the feathers, but Little Flame Belle did not absorb them. It looks like the feathers have retained their future uses,” Jiang Shaoxu said after watching carefully.

The ardent feathers had merged with Mo Fan’s body and become fuel to the Phoenix Flame. They were burning permanently inside Mo Fan’s heart.
On the other hand, the feathers that surrounded Little Flame Belle had returned to the pond and continued to release their heat.

“Little Flame Belle is not a Totem Beast, so she can only obtain a portion of their power, instead of absorbing them,” Xinxia deduced.

That being said, Little Flame Belle had benefited greatly from the portion of power she had received. After all, her Calamity Fire was already the strongest flame in the world. She just needed to improve the Calamity Fire, it was unnecessary for her to replace it!

“The ardent feathers of the mysterious Totem Beast have allowed Mo Fan’s Phoenix Flame to evolve to the level of a Greater Heaven Seed, while the rest of the feathers have helped Little Flame Belle to reach her final phase. It means there is more than one strongest flame in the world!” Mu Bai exclaimed.
Each of the mysterious Totem Beasts’ flames were unmatched. If the Mysterious Feather Totem Beast was still alive, it would obviously be stronger than the Black Totem Snake or Baxia!

“By the way, the logos of the Drinking Water Plant, the enterprise, and the school have different colors, just like the feathers!” Zhao Manyan recalled suddenly.

“Yeah, we have found an ancient Totem Beast, but it’s no longer around. However, its feathers have given Mo Fan insane benefits!” Jiang Shaoxu agreed with a sincere smile. She had achieved an important goal!

“Mo Fan is seriously becoming a demon king. Meanwhile, I didn’t receive any benefits from it,” Zhao Manyan sighed gloomily.

Mo Fan’s Fire Element was already outstanding. He could easily crush Fire Mages of the same level now that his Phoenix Flame had reached the level of a Greater Heaven Seed!

Furthermore, Little Flame Belle had also reached the Completion Phase. She was already a Fire Empress. Many Ruler-level Creatures would have to kneel before her and regard her as their queen.

Most importantly, Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle could also transform into the combined King of Hell form. The two of them could conquer the world with the Fire Element alone!

“Didn’t you find yourself a strange beast with an insane growth speed?” Mu Bai teased Zhao Manyan back.

“Tdon’t even know what it is… huh? When did it come out of the Ring? Holy crap! It’s eating those rocks!” Zhao Manyan yelled..

Chapter 2638: Seabed Breeding Ground

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Zhao Manyan had a terrible headache.

It was normal for his Contract Beast to eat the fleshy insects, Lance Spine Bears, and Sharkmen since they were full of protein and nutrients that were useful for its growth.

But how was it going to digest the stones that it had just swallowed?

And yet, the silver-blue creature was enjoying itself. The floating pebbles were arranged in a perfectly straight line. The creature was swallowing the pebbles one at a time, like the video game Snake, without even having to change its direction.
Zhao Manyan was wondering what the pebbles were when a bigger pebble close to him suddenly cracked open.

A claw reached out of the crack and swiftly broke the hard shell open!

An ugly head with deep wrinkles poked out of the crack after the claw made it bigger. It opened its mouth and used its sharp teeth to bite the shell into pieces.

Zhao Manyan, Jiang Shaoxu, Mu Bai, and Xinxia were left in awe.

“Did an ugly fish just pop out of the rock?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“Those aren’t rocks. They are Sharkmen’s eggs!” Mu Bai blurted out.

“The Sharkmen have laid their eggs here and are using the heat of the mysterious feathers to incubate them. No wonder their numbers have suddenly increased. They are treating the Lanyang Earth Core as their reproduction factory!” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed.
‘The eggs were hard as stone. No one would expect the floating rocks to be the Sharkmen’s eggs. Their numbers were as great as the stones on a mountain, How terrifying would it be if every stone hatched into a Sharkman or a Sharkman Beast?

‘The Sharkmen had treated the city’s sacred cultivation ground as their breeding ground. It had to be why the Sharkmen had insisted on taking over Lanyang. It was rare to find such a perfect and suitable environment in the dark and cold sea. The Sharkmen might be cold-blooded, but they also needed a
source of heat to incubate their eggs!

“Normally, a Sharkman will only grow its teeth after three days, but not only did that Sharkman Infant already grow out its teeth, it is also bigger than normal Sharkman Infants. However, judging by its fins and its head, its lineage isn’t that impressive,” Jiang Shaoxu said as she observed the little
Sharkman.

“These eggs are absorbing the Lanyang Earth Core’s energy!” Xinxia hissed in alarm.
‘The Lanyang Earth Core was ideal for nourishing young creatures. Humans had used it to increase their rate of cultivation, while the Sharkmen were using it as their hotbed to incubate their eggs and make the newborns stronger than usual.

It was the most likely reason why the mysterious feathers had taken the initiative to merge with Mo Fan’s flames and granted their energy to Little Flame Belle. They did not want the power of the Totem Beast to be abused by the Sharkmen!

A crisp sound came from the spacious area of the lake above the group. More sounds followed, like the heavy clanking of a harvester’s blades!

Zhao Manyan looked up and saw hideous figures approaching from the darkness above. They had long gathered to surround the pond where the mysterious feathers had gathered.

The figures moved closer like a net that was slowly contracting, leaving their prey with no escape!

“We are done for. We are going to die!” Guang Songdi screamed as shrilly as a woman. If he had known so many Sharkmen and Sharkman Beasts would appear out of nowhere, he would rather have stayed with the survivors on the surface.

1

“We have poked the beehive. A battle is inevitable,” Mu Bai said calmly.

He reached out his hand and grabbed at the water in front of him. The water around his hand froze rapidly, turning into an Ice Brush in less than a second.

He swung his other hand around, and the water within his reach began to thicken!

He dipped the Ice Brush into the thickened water and drew a long stroke above him. A white sheet immediately spread outward, taking the shape of a magnificent mountain!

The mountain blocked the Sharkmen who were closing in on them. They tried to ram through the mountain with their strong bodies, but the mountain Mu Bai had drawn was made up of Silver Marrow Ice Amber. Mu Bai’s strength had greatly improved over the last year when Mo Fan was not around!

Guan Songdi was stunned when he saw the mountain suddenly appear in the water. These people were only around his age, yet they were as powerful as gods. The mountain had stopped hundreds of Sharkmen instantly. He had thought the Sharkmen were going to tear all of them into pieces in mere
seconds!

A huge rumble came from the mountain. The group saw two enormous Sharkman Beasts slamming into the mountain Mu Bai had drawn.
The sturdy mountain began to crack. The Sharkmen and Sharkman Beasts were attacking the mountain madly!

After all, the Sharkman Beasts were Ruler-level creatures, not to mention adding in the combined attacks from around a thousand Sharkmen. The mountain began to fracture.

“Mo Fan, you have stolen the source of energy of their breeding ground and driven them crazy. You should lure them away so we can escape through the pipes!” Zhao Manyan called out.

They could not be trapped down here. They were deep in the Sharkmen’s territory. Only a small portion of the Sharkmen had gathered here. If they were pinned down here, more Sharkmen would come soon. They would have no chance of leaving this place alive!

“Sure, T’l go this way,” Mo Fan nodded. He was a Super Space Mage. If he wanted to run away, the Sharkmen would not be able to stop him!

‘Mo Fan purposely unleashed the Phoenix Flame to attract the Sharkmen’s attention.

However, Mo Fan soon noticed the Sharkmen that had broken through the mountain were completely ignoring him. They were heading toward Zhao Manyan instead!

“Holy crap, why are they coming after me? I didn’t steal…” Zhao Manyan abruptly realized that the silver-blue creature had grown round and plump after enjoying a delicious meal was right beside him. It was still carrying several dozen eggs that were about to hatch on its fins.
For Heavens’ sake!

This thing is taking away the food since it didn’t have time to finish them all!

Is taking away even allowed during a buffet?

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.

Just admit that the thing is made for you, silkpants

Chapter 2639: Battle of Wits

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Old Zhao, I’ll bring them to safety first. You should find a way out yourself!” Mo Fan immediately passed his difficult role off to Zhao Manyan.

“Don’t…” Zhao Manyan was about to tun it down when Jiang Shaoxu, Mu Bai, Xinxia, and Guan Songdi quickly swam toward Mo Fan, leaving Zhao Manyan, the silver-blue creature, and the Sharkmen that were approaching him rapidly behind!
Zhao Manyan was left speechless. He glanced at his Contract Beast, which had a blissful look on its face.

“It’s all your fault, I don’t care about you anymore!” Zhao Manyan snarled.

He turned into an arrow and propelled himself toward a hole below him. He could sense a vague current in the hole leading toward some pipes. They might bring him to another exit.

His teammates had abandoned him. He had to figure out a way to escape by himself!

Zhao Manyan could not help but turn around after he swam five hundred meters away. Either way, the creature was still his first Contracted Beast. It might be a little gluttonous, but he could not just abandon it and let the Sharkmen slaughter it!
Zhao Manyan touched his Ring. He was not actually going to abandon it. He was only using it to distract the Sharkmen. He would Summon his Contracted Beast back into the Ring at the maximum distance.
However, as soon as Zhao Manyan turned around, he felt a strong current flowing at him.

It felt like he was driving his Lamborghini along the road when a Ferrari suddenly passed him with an arrogantly loud how! and left him eating its dust!

“Holy crap, it’s fleeing faster than me!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The silver-blue creature was like a torpedo. Zhao Manyan could see its mystical glow in the dark water.

Zhao Manyan’s pride was hurt. As a Super Water Mage, normal sea monsters would have no chance of matching his speed in the water.

On the first day he became a Mage, his father had immediately told him it was fine to lose a fight, but he must run faster than others if he did!

For some reason, his Contracted Beast had already figured out the truth itself, before he even had the chance to pass down the teachings of his ancestors!

The silver-blue creature swam in front of Zhao Manyan and stuck out its tail within his reach.

Zhao Manyan was extremely touched. It still knew enough to lend him a hand. He did not raise it for nothing!

A strange gas suddenly erupted under the silver-blue creature’s tail and propelled it over a thousand meters away. On the other hand, Zhao Manyan was knocked two hundred meters in the opposite direction.
Zhao Manyan was unsure what the gas was made of, but it smelled like the rotten corpses of the Lance Spine Bears and the Sharkmen. He almost vomited!

“You little piece of sh**, I’m going to cook you in a stew!” Zhao Manyan’s face flushed with anger.

“You dare run ahead of me? Come back here!” Zhao Manyan pinched the Contract Ring.

The Ring started glowing, The silver-blue creature was suddenly bound by a blue light. Its huge body shrank into a ray of light, which was quickly absorbed by Zhao Manyan’s Ring.

The Contract Ring was initially transparent, but it now had a little tadpole swimming around in it. It had plenty of space in the Ring to swim around.

“Come out now!” Zhao Manyan was a vengeful man. He immediately Summoned the creature back from the Ring.

Zhao Manyan grabbed a puff of light that was wrapped around his Contracted Beast and tossed the creature at the Sharkmen chasing behind him like it was a Pokeball!

The silver-blue creature cried pitifully, as if it had realized its wrongdoings.

Its speed was crazy. Even though Zhao Manyan had tossed it a few hundred meters back, it only used half a second to catch back up to Zhao Manyan.

“Hurry up and give me a ride if you have already realized your mistake!” Zhao Manyan snarled.

The creature immediately swam over to Zhao Manyan. It did not reach its stinky tail for him this time, angling its back to him instead.

Zhao Manyan jumped onto the creature’s back. There were two soft fins sticking out of its back close to his hands. It felt like he was controlling the creature when he placed his hands on the fins.

“Listen to me. If I pull this fin to the right, you will go right. If I pull them forward, you will increase your speed. If I pull them back, you will reduce your speed. If I pull them upward…” Zhao Manyan went on.
The silver-blue creature might be fast, but it only knew to move forward. The Sharkmen were slowly surrounding it from different angles. If the pair wanted to break through the surrounding Sharkmen, they would have to trick them first, so they had no idea where the two wanted to go.
The silver-blue creature was very obedient this time. Even though it was only born a few days ago, it was quite intelligent, roughly understanding Zhao Manyan’s words.

Zhao Manyan was treating the creature’s fins as joysticks and using them to avoid the Sharkmen. He pretended to swim right into the Sharkmen’s envelopment, but he suddenly broke free through an opening. His experience at street racing and video games allowed him to control the silver-blue creature
adeptly.

“Do you have any attack moves? I need to study our surroundings and figure out the right path. Using magic is going to distract me,” Zhao Manyan asked it.
Chirp!

“Clear a path for us,” Zhao Manyan told it.

The silver-blue creature waved its tail in response. It sped up and opened its huge mouth.

Zhao Manyan thought the creature was going to spit out flames, gusts of wind, icicles, or a destructive ray like most demon creatures, but it simply kept its mouth open. A strange shadow came out of its mouth and expanded rapidly.
The shadow instantly devoured the Sharkman Beasts in their path!

The creature had swallowed the Sharkman Beasts that were bigger than its mouth with a single bite! The thing was… the silver-blue creature’s body did not expand, even after it had swallowed several Sharkman Beasts at once.

It was like the Sharkman Beasts it had just swallowed were just several tiny shrimps…

Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded.

Does this creature only know how to eat and swallow its enemy?

He had asked it to clear a path for them, but it had eaten the obstacles instead!

Chapter 2640: Earth Flame Pistil

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Did I find myself a Kun? It does look like one…” Zhao Manyan suddenly suspected.

{TL Note: A Kun Peng is a mythical sea monster. }

Getting a Kun right at the start of the game; it only needs to eat to evolve!

Asa matter of fact, the creature ate a lot, and it would grow whenever it ate.

While Mo Fan was retrieving the mysterious feathers, this creature had eaten countless boiled Sharkmen eggs, and had grown significantly in size. Sharp bone spikes were starting to emerge across its body now.

Zhao Manyan recalled how the creature had been knocked flying by a single slap from the Dark Iron Sharkman. The Dark-Skinned Sharkman Beast and the Dark Iron Sharkman were of the same level, but it had just eaten the Dark-Skinned Sharkman Beast in an eyeblink!
It could now eat Commander-level creatures in mere seconds!

Most importantly, it had only been born recently. Its rate of growth was insane!

Zhao Manyan was now even more curious about its species.

He had first thought it was the infant of a high-level Sharkman, but it had been acting like the Sharkmen were the most delicious food in the world. It treated them like meat buns!

Zhao Manyan decided to name the creature. “Forget it, you no longer look like an infant now. I’ll call you Little Blue Kun!” 2

He remembered how a dazzling advertisement for a web game had once gotten his attention by saying he would be given an ancient Kun as soon as he registered an account. It also claimed the beast would only have to eat to grow stronger!
But in the end, Zhao Manyan had to constantly pay up throughout the game to make any progress. The beast did not grow through eating; it had grown through paying more money. The more money he spent, the stronger it became!

For some reason, when he saw how gluttonous Little Blue Kun was, Zhao Manyan had a feeling he was being tricked by that shameless video game publisher again.

On second thought, he realized it actually was not a big deal.

If Mo Fan were to take care of Little Blue Kun, he might end up a little worm in the end. On the other hand, he was the son of the richest man in the country. Once he reclaimed the power in his family, why would he have trouble raising a little Kun?
No matter how much he ate, could he possibly eat up all the money that the Zhao Family had?

Ihave plenty of money. Eat whatever you want, as long as you will become stronger!

The pipes were quite large, and the filters and pumps inside them had long stopped operating, Mo Fan and his crew swam into the pipes, escaping from the Sharkmen.
‘They swam up to the surface of the lake after most of the Sharkmen headed after Zhao Manyan.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan!” Lingling’s voice reached them through their communication devices.

There was no signal deeper in the lake. Their coms only started working again when they were closer to the surface. The devices had been improved, so low-level demon creatures would not detect the signal.

“What is it? We found the things left by the Mysterious Feathers Totem Beast. We are on the way out. The Sharkmen are treating this place as a breeding ground to raise their army,” Mo Fan reported to Lingling.

“You can’t leave yet. I’ve just done a geographical analysis of the area. If I’m not mistaken, there’s an Earth Pistil close to where you are, and it’s of the Fire Element!” Lingling informed him eagerly.

“An Earth Pistil!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

The Earth Pistils were the single most valuable treasure nature had given to humans. Without the support of Earth Pistils, it was impossible to establish a Barrier that protected against demon creatures around a city.

Mo Fan recalled how international organizations, renowned clans, local governments, and many associations had competed fiercely in Taklamakan Desert just for an Earth Pistil that was close to depletion. Countless people had died because of it!
On top of that, many hordes of demon creatures had a great desire for Earth Pistils, too. Every Earth Pistil that was discovered would result in a terrifying war between the hordes and tribes!

“Was the Earth Pistil used to protect the city?” Jiang Shaoxu asked sharply.

“No, the Earth Pistil guarding the city has already been taken away. This Earth Flame Pistil was never discovered. The feathers might have retained their energy despite being left in the water for so long because they absorbed a portion of the Earth Pistil’s energy!” Lingling conjectured.
“Lingling, are the people of Lanyang immune to the Low Body Temperature Disease because the water they normally drank was cooked by the Earth Flame Pistil over a long time?” Xinxia asked quickly.

Mo Fan had discovered the mysterious feathers, but they were not the cure for the Low Body Temperature Disease, nor had they found the reason why the people of Lanyang were immune to the disease.

“Yes, the Earth Flame Pistil is extremely important. The Sharkmen have sharper senses than we do. They discovered the Earth Flame Pistil first, which is why they took over the city!” Lingling confirmed.

“No wonder they didn’t seem to hate me after I took the Feathers. There’s something more important down there!” Mo Fan muttered aloud.

‘There was an Earth Pistil hidden down below!

An Earth Flame Pistil could maintain the temperature of an entire city, even in the current extreme weather. The people there would not catch the Low Body Temperature Disease if they stayed within its Barrier!

“Lingling, do you know its rough location?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“Ican’t confirm its location, but you might be able to use the Feathers of the Totem Beast as a clue,” Lingling proposed.

“Alright, we are no longer in a rush to leave, but the Sharkmen have already seen us. We have to be more careful,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Alot more Sharkmen are coming to this city now. I’l update you when I know more. I’l let you know if the Sharkman Chieftains are here. You must leave at once if they arrive!” Lingling said.

“Got it, we’ll be careful,” Mo Fan agreed quickly.

‘The water pressure was very strong deeper in the lake. Zhao Manyan had to use higher-level spells just to protect himself.
Little Blue Kun was a sea creature. It was able to move freely in the water without being affected by the harsh conditions.
Speaking of which, where the Hell are we now? Wasn’t there a current down here? Why have I not seen the exit?, Zhao Manyan thought.

The strange thing was, it was supposed to be dark in the underwater cave, but his surroundings were being lit up by an unknown light source. It was rather dazzling, like it was currently dusk.. On the other hand, it was also eerily quiet.

Chapter 2641: How to Bring It Away?

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Little Blue Kun suddenly wriggled his body and reminded Zhao Manyan of their situation.

Zhao Manyan looked around him and saw countless black figures moving freely. Their sinister fangs were glowing in the dark.

“There’s nowhere to run!” Zhao Manyan’s face darkened.

He had not found an exit. They had arrived at a dead end.

“That way!” Zhao Manyan had no choice but to ask Little Blue Kun to go deeper.

There was only stone below them, but there were irregular cracks cutting across it. Some were as tiny as alleys, while others were as large as canyons.

Zhao Manyan had nowhere else to go. He could only hide in the cracks!

Zhao Manyan was surprised when he saw the cracks were interconnected. It was like a complicated maze, and allowed him and Little Blue Kun to shake off the Sharkmen.
Certain parts were extremely narrow, leaving the bigger Sharkman Beasts stuck outside. Zhao Manyan was under much less pressure after the Sharkman Beasts stopped chasing them.
“Strange, why is it so bright down there? Shouldn’t it be dark?” Zhao Manyan was puzzled.

‘They swam deeper into the cracks and felt a strong heat in front of them.

Zhao Manyan looked below him and saw a red light spreading from the bottom, like the light of the sun as it was setting on the horizon.

‘The lake bottom was a huge pit nearly the size of the city far above. The spectacular light was wrapped around it like an oval curtain.

Zhao Manyan came down from the crack in the stone above and was shocked to see there was no water around them!

‘Asa matter of fact, the cracks above the opening were more like a floating lake flying above them. Its waters were pouring through the cracks. They looked like brown flying dragons diving to the ground.
However, the waterfalls turned into colorful mists and soon returned to the cracks above. The light Zhao Manyan had seen at first was produced by refraction from those mists.
“Holy crap, did I fall into a wormhole which sent me into space?” Zhao Manyan blurted out in shock.

The sight was utterly shocking. It was like stumbling into a scorching sun while floating around in a dark universe. Even the biggest creature was as tiny as a speck of dust when compared to it!
“Old Zhao, stop running. Come back to us, we have something important to do,” Mo Fan’s voice suddenly came from his com.

Zhao Manyan eventually collected his thoughts and looked at the device with a puzzled face.

The communication device had not worked in the lake. Why would it be working now? Was it because of the magnetic field? It did not make any sense!

“I think I’m lost. Can you come and pick me up?” Zhao Manyan had to ask.

“What can you see around you?”

“Asun.”

“sun my f**king ass, enough with your lame jokes!” Mo Fan scolded him.

“Tm not joking. There’s really a huge sun here. It’s enormous. It’s spitting out fire too!” Zhao Manyan insisted.

“Holy crap, you found the Earth Pistil!” Mo Fan yelled.

“What Earth Pistil? How is it so big?”

“Don’t move, we’ll be there right away!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

“Hurry up, I’m scared.”

‘The strange thing was, Zhao Manyan’s device did not have any signal before he found the Earth Pistil. His badge had been completely dark.
But now, the signal was strong and clear. Mo Fan could even pinpoint Zhao Manyan’s location through the badge.

They could not explain why there was a signal underground. Mo Fan could not be bothered finding out the truth, either. He simply followed the signal into the cracks.

Many Sharkmen were roaming through the cracks. The rocks, holes, and ravines were perfect for hiding. The group was able to avoid the Sharkmen with Xinxia’s Psychic Element and sneak past them.

The signal was gone by the time they reached the cracks. They simply followed what Zhao Manyan told them and ventured deeper.

They finally reached the depth where the water was being held back by the red light. Mo Fan could see a tiny blue dot floating there, completely clueless about what to do, on the other side.

“There’s Old Zhao!” Mo Fan pointed toward the dot.

The location of the Earth Pistil was quite astounding. The whole place felt unreal, as everything was blazing red. They also felt minuscule, as if they were going to melt at any second.

“You guys are finally here. I almost thought I was in Hell!” Zhao Manyan felt like crying in relief.

The place had completely overturned their understanding of the world. They had an urge to simply deny what they were seeing. It felt like everything they knew was being devoured by the sight before them!
“It’s very different from the Earth Pistil we saw in the desert,” Mo Fan told Lingling over the com.

“The Earth Pistil in the desert was depleting, but this one is still full of energy; of course they are different! The Sharkmen are cold-blooded, and they can’t endure the heat of the Earth Pistil. They can only stay in the cracks above it

“That’s true. I don’t see a single Sharkman here,” Mo Fan confirmed.
“Can we even bring this thing back?” Mu Bai asked wryly.

“I’s going to be tricky. We didn’t bring any equipment. We can only mark down the location and let the military take over,” Mo Fan sighed.

They clearly could not move the Earth Flame Pistil. It would take a group of professionals to get rid of the flames on its surface, lower its temperature, and retrieve its core.

“The Sharkmen already know we are here, and they are eying the Earth Flame Pistil, too. By the time the military arrives, this place will be heavily guarded by the Sharkmen. They would have to fight the Sharkmen for the Earth Pistil. I don’t think it’s worth the risk,” Jiang Shaoxu shook her head.
“She’s right. Either way, you won’t be taking the Earth Pistil…” Guan Songdi, who had been a coward throughout the journey, suddenly spoke up. He had been following them around like he was transparent, but his expression had now changed. He was sporting an eerie grin.

Mo Fan looked at the man calmly.

“My men are in position. On behalf of the Northern Sacred Bears, I thank you for finding the Earth Flame Pistil for us!” Guan Songdi said..

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.
Wovw, didn’t he grow something. Doesn’t he know Mo Fan can pinch him to death?

Original translation was Norther European Scandanavian Sacred Bears, FYI. Which should tell you who is coming.

Chapter 2642: Northern Sacred Bears

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

“Northern Sacred Bears? What are those?” Mo Fan asked blandly.

Jiang Shaoxu and Zhao Manyan were wearing grim faces now. It was obvious by their expressions that the Northern Sacred Bears were a bunch of troublesome people.

“They are a group of mercenaries from northern Europe. Their influence is strong enough to affect some countries. Many countries hire them to do their dirty work.” Xinxia explained, having also heard of the organization before.
The Northern Sacred Bears were mainly active in northern Europe. It was strange for them to travel so far to the east. It seemed like they had long been aware of the Lanyang Earth Core’s existence.

“Mo Fan, the client that hired us to rescue Guan Songdi is from the Northern Sacred Bears,” Lingling relayed after hearing the situation through their communication devices.

It seemed like the Northern Sacred Bears had been looking for the Lanyang Earth Core. However, Guan Songdi, who had been sent here to scout the city, had used up his energy and been trapped in the Sharkmen’s hunting game.
Guan Songdi had found the entrance to the Lanyang Earth Core, but he had not found the Earth Flame Pistil. Mo Fan and his crew happened to be going deeper into the Lanyang Earth Core, so he conveniently tagged along and constantly updated his group about the situation.
“No wonder our communication devices are working now. He must have a military-grade device with him!” Jiang Shaoxu pointed at a watch on Guan Songdi’s wrist that was glowing dimly.

Guan Songdi had transmitted a message to the Northern Sacred Bears after they had discovered the mysterious Feathers. The people of the Northern Sacred Bears had to be on their way. They would be here very soon.

“Mo Fan, how dare he set us up? Let’s feed him to the sharks!” Zhao Manyan snarled.

1

Mo Fan shook his head. He did not seem angry at all.

“We have no means to transport the Earth Flame Pistil, either. It doesn’t matter if they take it. Guan Songdi, our job is done once you leave with your men. You still have to pay us. Do you understand?” Mo Fan said calmly.

Guan Songdi was startled.

Why were they giving up on the Earth Flame Pistil so easily? He had already prepared himself to fight these people after his peers arrived!

“They are the ones who hired you. You can ask your client for the money. You have done your job as long as I’m alive, but are you really going to leave the Earth Flame Pistil to us?” Guan Songdi was having trouble believing Mo Fan.
Guan Songdi knew how strong Mo Fan and his crew were. The Northern Sacred Bears only stood a chance with their advantage in numbers!

“We only came here for the Totem Beast. The Earth Flame Pistil is an unexpected discovery. I wouldn’t mind if you are willing to share a portion of the profit with us. We can cooperate with you and help you take out the Sharkmen outside,” Mo Fan proposed.

“Wel

Guan Songdi did not know what to say.
He was surprised by Mo Fan’s change of attitude. He had waited for this moment to get back at Mo Fan, yet he no longer had any reason to do so.

While they were talking, several figures came in through the cracks above them. Their cultivation was obviously impressive, displaying why they were able to take on difficult jobs given by other countries. They were a powerful organization!

The people were dressed in light armor with the emblem of a vivid golden bear on their chests. It felt like the bear was going to lunge out from their chests at any second under the bright light of the Earth Flame Pistil.

Abulky man with auburn hair was leading the group. His hair and beard were thick and shaggy, hiding his facial features. His nose was twice the size of a normal person, with lots of blackheads on it.

If he draped a brown coat over his shoulders, he would have looked like a ferocious bear standing on its hind legs.

Another man whose hair was like Santa Claus was standing right beside him. His hair was dirty blond. He perfectly resembled a golden bear in the shiny golden armor he was wearing.

The two of them were clearly brothers, looking and feeling very similar.

“They are the Sacred Bear Brothers. They founded the Northern Sacred Bears when they were younger. The organization grew very quickly in northern Europe. It easily took over the Hunter Groups in the region.” Xinxia had heard of the brothers before, and easily guessed who they were after seeing them.
“What a surprise, I didn’t expect we would be robbed one day. These two are very strong, not to mention the others with them,” Zhao Manyan sighed openly.

It took them great effort to find the treasure, but they could not claim it in the end. It could not be any worse!

“We aren’t far from Fanxue Mountain. We can still call for backup,” Jiang Shaoxu whispered.

The Northern Sacred Bears had sent a lot of men. Even though they were more renowned than Fanxue Mountain, Fanxue Mountain had many strong Mages, too. They had a good chance to win if Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were able to handle the two brothers.
Besides, they did not necessarily have to win. They were in Chinese territory. They just had to hold on until the military arrived. The Northern Sacred Bears would be executed for trying to steal the country’s resources!

“There’s no need for unnecessary sacrifices. These people aren’t easy to deal with,” Mo Fan shook his head, disagreeing with Jiang Shaoxu’s suggestion.

Jiang Shaoxu wanted to say something, but Xinxia shook her head, telling her to stay silent.

They did not want to mess with the Northern Sacred Bears. The Parthenon Temple had once had a conflict with them. In the end, the troop that the Hall of Judgment sent out had suffered heavy casualties.

The Parthenon Temple demanded an explanation from some of the countries in Northern Europe that were involved, but the nations had completely turned a blind eye to the incident.

The insiders in northern Europe knew the Northern Sacred Bears were more or less the army for several nations there. They were not as vile as bandits and mercenaries, but they were cruel and merciless when huge interests were involved.

The military tribunals of the countries there had naturally overlooked their actions as a result!

‘Mo Fan’s crew was short on numbers, and they were currently in the Sharkmen’s territory. It was meaningless to fight the Northern Sacred Bears.

“You want a share of it?” the man with brown-red hair repeated.

“We won’t take it for nothing. We’ll help you with the Sharkmen,” Mo Fan proposed.

“HAHAHAHA, we are confident that we can deal with the Sharkmen ourselves. Thank you for finding the Earth Flame Pistil for us. I will sincerely express my gratitude to you,” the man said, bowing to them.

“What the heck? What’s the meaning of that? Can I kill you and then burn joss paper in front of your grave, then?” Zhao Manyan snarled. He was not willing to give up on the loot so easily!

“Then I guess we have to do it the hard way,” the man with dirty blond hair said, his eyes cold..

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.

Do I detect that specific air of someones asking for an arse-whooping? I think I do!

Chapter 2643: Robbery?

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth

Mu Bai stepped forward and stopped Zhao Manyan. “Old Zhao, forget it, these people came prepared. They even brought the necessary equipment to retrieve the Earth Flame Pistil. We won’t stand a chance against them. We have already found what we came for. Let’s pretend we didn’t see the Earth Flame
Pistil.”

“If you have any other ideas, we are right here to play with you. However, you should think twice before doing anything. We don’t mind getting our hands dirty!” the man with aubum hair proclaimed.

“Do you think I’m going to give it up so easily?” Mo Fan glared at the man.

“You seem pretty strong. You are worthy to be my opponent!” The man with auburn hair was ready to fight.

“You are the client. You should pay me first, now that I’ve brought him back to you alive. Don’t you forget about that!” Mo Fan threw the job letter at the man.

‘The man was ready to use his magic. He did not expect the guy to be asking for the reward instead!

“HAHAHA! Don’t you worry, the Northern Sacred Bears keep their promises! It does say bring the man back to me alive, instead of bringing him out of the city. You have finished the job, so I’ll pay you as soon as I get back,” the man laughed. He was amused by Mo Fan’s actions.
The leader of the Northern Sacred Bears was willing to play along with Mo Fan. He carefully put the letter away.

Mo Fan immediately took his leave after he saw the man put the letter away.

The leader of the Northern Sacred Bears grinned. He thought they were serious about challenging the Northern Sacred Bears, but they were only cowards in the end!

Mo Fan and his crew did not stay any longer, turning around and leaving.

The Northern Sacred Bears did not lower their guard, making sure Mo Fan and the others left. They then set up a magic Barrier and went to work.

They had a team of professionals who were skilled at the job to handle the Earth Flame Pistil. They knew how to get rid of the flames on its surface and take out the core of the Earth Flame Pistil without damaging it. Even the Chinese military could not have matched their skills.
They clearly had the skill and technology advantage in retrieving Earth Pistils!

Their boss quietly observed his men as they put the Earth Flame Pistil into a box made from Fundamental Crystals. He could not help but express his joy.

“I don’t think it was appropriate to let them leave. Once they spread the news, we will have trouble leaving the country,” vice leader Yangel said quietly.

“Tve already sent a signal to our men outside to jam every signal coming out of the city. They won’t be able to contact anyone for the time being. Once they get somewhere that is out of the jammer’s range, we will long be gone with the Earth Flame Pistil. We will stick to our escape route. Even if their
whole military came to intercept us, they won’t be able to stop us,” snickered the leader, Kunoy.

“You’re right. If we wasted too much time on them, the Sharkmen would seal off the entire city, making it difficult for us to leave. How long is it going to take? I don’t want to be trapped by those vicious creatures,” Yangel nodded after a moment.
The person in charge of the professionals was an Asian, but judging from the way he spoke and acted, he had long gotten used to the life../style in northern Europe.

He glanced at Guan Songdi.

Guan Songdi was his nephew. He was sent here to look for clues and almost got himself killed. To everyone’s surprise, he was able to discover an Earth Flame Pistil!

“Five minutes at most. Boss, you should clear a safe passage first!” Guan Mingzhong said.

“Very well! Once the objective is brought back to our territory safely, the two of you will earn your reward!” Yangel agreed heartily.

Mo Fan and his crew left through the pipes.
‘The underground lake was full of Sharkmen, so it was impossible to go back the way they had come. However, they could just take the drinking water pipes back to the drinking water plant.

Once they regrouped with Lingling, they were told their communication devices had stopped working. They would have to move at least a hundred kilometers away to get a signal.

“Mo Fan, it’s not too late to ask Fanxue Mountain for backup!” Jiang Shaoxu said urgently.

‘An Earth Pistil was extremely valuable to a nation, not to mention that many Headquarters Cities were struggling against the Low Body Temperature Disease. Jiang Shaoxu was unwilling to let the Europeans get away with the Earth Pistil!

“Yeah, since when are we able to swallow our anger?” Zhao Manyan grumbled.

‘They were not afraid of the Northern Sacred Bears. It was hard to tell which side was going to win in the end. Those people had no clue how strong Mo Fan’s team was!

“If we fought them close to the Earth Pistil, even if we beat them, we would still be surrounded by the Sharkmen. What good was that going to do to us?” Mo Fan replied.

“But anything is better than giving them the Earth Pistil for free! If we can’t take it, they aren’t getting it, either!” Zhao Manyan insisted.

“Why bother? Isn’t it better to rob them once they are done retrieving the Earth Pistil?” Mo Fan grinned.

“You’re planning to rob the Northern Sacred Bears?!”

“Exactly!…” Mo Fan nodded sagely.

They did not have the equipment to harvest the Earth Pistil. If the Northern Sacred Bears had not shown up, the Earth Pistil would most likely have ended up in the Sharkmen’s hands.

‘The Northern Sacred Bears were doing them a huge favor instead!

“Mo Fan, I don’t agree with your words,” Lingling interjected sternly. “This is our homeland. Every resource that we have discovered belongs to our people. We are stopping thieves from stealing what is ours. We are not robbing them. We are protecting the country!”
“Ugh?…” Mo Fan was left speechless.

The others stared at the young woman. They did not see any cunning in her eyes. It was impressive how she had justified their motives when they were clearly trying to rob someone!

“The Northern Sacred Bears aren’t stupid, either. They will surely keep an eye out for us and stop us from learning their whereabouts. We have no clue if they have already retrieved the Earth Pistil or how they are going to leave the city,” Jiang Shaoxu reminded them all..1

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
|e | Xephiz.
Well, everyone saw that Mo Fan was acting strange, right? Right?

He wasn’t acting strange at all, it tums out.

Chapter 2644: Treasure Hunter Special Force

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated byXephiZ

Edited byAelryinth

The Northern Sacred Bears naturally sent two men to follow MO Fan’s group for some distance in case they suddenly changed their minds. They returned only after MO Fan and his crew had gone far away.

It was too late to go after the Northern Sacred Bears now. The underground lake had too many tunnels. It was impossible to tell which way they had gone!

‘They are now to the east of Lanyang,” Lingling informed them all after referring to her laptop.

“Huh? How are you tracking them?” Zhao Manyan stuck his face closer to the

“l might have done something to the job letter,” MO Fan said, grinning cunningly.

Everyone raised their thumbs to MO Fan

They initially thought MO Fan had given the job letter back to demand payment for the job, but he was actually setting up the Northern Sacred Bears!

They had seen the leader of the Northern Sacred Bears put the letter away. Lingling just had to track the letter to discover the Northern Sacred Bears’ position.

“But didn’t they jam our signal?” Mu Bai remembered.

‘That’s where they are being overconfident. They are not jamming our signal, they are stopping signals from being transmitted. Otherwise, how would they communicate with their men outside? They are clearly a balanced team of explorers, executors, technicians, commanders, and lookouts. The Sharkmen are coming in huge numbers, but they did not seem worried at all. It means the whole team is constantly communicating. I’ve done some tests and confirmed the signals of our coms aren’t being jammed. They only work uñthin a certain area, ” Lingling corrected him.

Lingling showed the map that was tracking MO Fan’s Dark Material to everyone.

MO Fan’s Dark Material had the ability to track its target. After his Dark Material received its full upgrade , it was able to mark anything that MO Fan could touch.

Lingling had made a device some time ago specialized for tracking down the Dark Material in order to make their jobs easier.

MO Fan had never planned to give up on the Earth Flame Pistil. He was only using the Northern Sacred Bears to take the Earth Flame Pistil out from underground!

‘The signals only work vvThin forty kilometers of where they are, so we have to follow them closely. If they have a Teleportation Portal as part of their escape route, they might shake us off in an instant. It be impossible to track them dowm again,” Lingling warned everyone.

“Which means we don’t have time to call for backup. We’ll have to go after them ourselves!” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed.

The Northern Sacred Bears were a disciplined organizatiom Guan Songdi had only contacted them and told them about the Earth Flame Pistil a short time ago, but they had already planned out the extraction and the escape.

The surface was swarming with Sharkmen. Normal people would have struggled to evade their overwhelming numbers.

And yet, the Northern Sacred Bears were already east of the city, having avoided the Sharkman Beasts. They had no trouble evading the Ruler-level Sharkman Beasts’ outstanding senses, either!

‘They are moving very quickly. No they let us go so easily. They are already gone by the time we move our eyes away from them!” Jiang Shaoxu exclaimed.

Even the specially-trained military troops could not match the Northern Sacred Bears’ efficiency. They were like a breeze sweeping through Lanyang before quickly heading to the mountains on the other side.

‘They headed east after leaving the city and immediately turned southwest. They have reached Fenghe Mountain City, which was taken over by the Lance Spine Bears,” Lingling said.

“How are they moving so quickly? We have to be extremely cautious throughout the journey to avoid the demon creatures!” Zhao Manyan had to wonder.

The Sharkman Beasts were patrolling the area heavily. The number of Sharkman Beasts flying above the city had multiplied. The Sharkmen must have found out that someone had stolen the energy source of their breeding ground. They were searching for the thieves frantically.

MO Fan and his crew were still around twenty kilometers away from the Northern Sacred Bears , but the distance was gradually increasing because they were struggling to avoid the Sharkman Beasts.

The Northern Sacred Bears had more people. It did not make any sense that they were moving faster than MO Fan and his crew.

‘They stopped moving at Fenghe Mountain City,” Lingling said nervously.

“Isn’t it better if they stopped moving? We can catch up to them!” Zhao Manyan pointed out.

Lingling shook her head and explained, “Judging by how they have been acting, they are very decisive and adaptive. They had no reason to slow dovvll at Fenghe Mountain City after they left Lanyang so quickly, unless they have set up a Magic Formation in Fenghe Mountain City.”

“A Teleportation Portal!” Everyone immediately had the same thought.

The Northern Sacred Bears would have no trouble setting up a Teleportation Portal with the resources they had, especially since they had retrieved the valuable Earth Flame Pistil. The cost of using the Teleportation Portal was worth it!

The Teleportation Portal would send them extremely far away, easily a hundred or even a thousand kilometers. Once they stepped into the Portal, MO Fan and his crew would completely lose track of them. The Northern Sacred Bears would then be able to leave the country.

“We can’t let them escape!’ Everyone immediately felt a sense of urgency.

MO Fan could easily catch up to the Northern Sacred Bears with the Wings of

Dawn and Dusk, but the airspace around Lanyang was occupied by the Sharkman Beasts. If he flew high enough to avoid them, he would have trouble finding the right location. It would be meaningless to fly so high up. “MO Fan, you are faster than us. You should go ahead,” Lingling judged.

“Alright!”

MO Fan left using the Space Element. Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, Xinxia, Jiang Shaoxu, and Lingling would reach Fenghe Mountain a little later.

Fenghe Mountain City was set up at a high altitude. There were many abandoned villages and towms scattered about it.

Most of the villages had been destroyed by the Lance Spine Bears. The bodies of livestock were rotting everywhere.

MO Fan could see the Fenghe Mountain City after passing the village at the mountain’s waist.

Fenghe Mountain City had been managed by Lanyang. Its size was similar to Bo City. Its main river meandered down the mountain toward Lanyang River Port.

Mu Bai suddenly turned around and asked, “Look, did the river expand?” They could see the river that was flowing down into Lanyang from their point of view. The water of the river was rising. It had started overflowing the streets, making the river even wider!

Chapter 2645 Wall of Fear

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

A white mist, like a thick boat made of clouds, was approaching rapidly from the east. A sea monster covered in a heavy purple-red shell was riding the mist as it swept across the sky above Lanyang. The river had turned into a raging dragon under the sea monster’s control. It was overflowing and destroying the villages, hills, and forests along its path.

The raging dragon turned out to be countless Sharkmen. They were riding up against the rapid currents, which gradually grew into a ferocious wave as it cleared a path on the ground!

They had obviously sensed the Earth Pistil and were heading toward the mountain city. They would soon surround the city completely with their numbers and speed.

“The whole horde of Sharkmen is coming. The creature in the sky is most likely a Sharkman Chieftain!” Lingling pointed at the huge beast in the sky.

“What should we do now? If we don’t leave now, we will be trapped here. We can’t afford to fight the Sharkmen. That huge beast in the sky is at least as strong as the Sea Skeleton King!” Zhao Manyan gasped. The Sharkmen were well aware of the mischief happening in their territory. The group had no time to go after the Northern Sacred Bears.

“We have to reconsider our plan. Even if we take back the Earth Flame Pistil from the Northern Sacred Bears, it’s unlikely we will leave Lanyang alive,” Mu Bai said somberly.

“There’s only one way out for us.” Xinxia looked at the mountain city and said, “We’ll wait for the Northern Sacred Bears to prepare the Teleportation Portal. We’ll take the Earth Flame Pistil and escape through their Teleportation Portal!”

Zhao Manyan looked at Xinxia with a gaping mouth.

Did everyone enjoy dancing on the tip of a blade and having a disco in front of their graves after hanging out with Mo Fan for too long?

What if they could not beat the Northern Sacred Bears?

What if the Magic Formation was destroyed?

What if the Sharkmen arrived before the Magic Formation was completed? Why must it be so exciting!?

“Good idea!” Lingling nodded, agreeing it was a viable plan.

“Can I be your backup, then?” Zhao Manyan suggested gloomily.

The others rolled their eyes at Zhao Manyan. He shrugged and followed them.

Fine, these guys never had a Plan B. They preferred to go all the way!

The city on the mountain was split in half by the river, with smaller towns scattered in its vicinity.

The towns and villages had been taken over by the Lance Spine Bears within the past year. The spike-covered creatures were frequently seen running amok and smashing walls down across the place.

The Lance Spine Bears had a natural urge to destroy things. Woods, rocks, vegetation; everything that blocked their path was like a waving piece of red cloth, urging them to smash it into pieces.

The abandoned city was now covered in debris. The farms nearby were also in ruins and covered in old blood.

The Northern Sacred Bears were treating the desolated city as their temporary base. They had set up a Wall of Fear. The Lance Spine Bears that accidentally stumbled into the Wall would be overwhelmed by fear and run away.

There was a nursing home located up on a hill. Its walls were used as a convenient barrier for the Wall of Fear. The demon creatures would only roam around outside its walls.

The Sharkmen were not active in the area. Even though they were able to walk on land, they preferred to stay close to water. The icy river running through the city was too small for them.

Mo Fan frowned as he drew close to the Wall of Fear.

It seemed like there was someone good at White Magic with the Northern Sacred Bears. Mo Fan did not like fighting enemies with the Psychic Element or the Sound Element, as they could greatly suppress his abilities. “Dragon Sense!”

Mo Fan closed his eyes and scanned the surroundings with the special ability of the Black Dragon Helm.

The Wall of Fear looked like trees full of thorns from the Dragon Sense’s perspective. Their branches and leaves wrapped around the hill perfectly. It was unlikely Mo Fan could go over them. He had to look for an opening elsewhere…

—

The two brothers crossed their arms in front of their chests, safe inside the nursing home. They were standing beside some fitness racks in the garden that had been painted pink. They looked like two ferocious bears who could tear anyone into pieces with their shaggy hair and beards.

Behind the two brothers was an old man with a goatee. He was dressed in a tight suit with a red bow tie. The handkerchief in his chest pocket, the golden watch on his wrist, and the silver staff he was holding were showing his older ../style.

The old man suddenly moved his lips.

“What is it, Santel?” Kunoy asked.

“Nothing, a Lance Spine Bear just accidentally broke through my Wall of Fear,” Santel sniffed.

“Oh, is it going to be a problem?” Kunoy asked.

“Even though I know a cunning guinea pig has used a Lance Spine Bear to break a hole in the wall, it’s nothing serious,” Old Santel declared confidently. He had seen through the intruder’s trick with ease.

“I’ll go take a look with you,” Yangel said.

“That won’t be necessary,” Old Santel replied.

“It’s fine, you can handle it yourself. I’ll just watch,” Yangel persisted.

–

–

–

The two jumped down from the hill and quickly reached the middle of the area.

Old Santel had sharp eyes, and was scanning the trees and shrubs like an eagle. Even a worm could not escape his eyes.

“Some guinea pigs enjoy pulling off some smart tricks in front of their predators, but they can never hide from the eagles that are looking down from the sky!” Old Santel stared at the shadows with a smug expression. Yangel followed his gaze. He was confused. Was there really someone over there?

A figure walked out of the shadow. It was an Asian man with a handsome face.

“In the end, you still didn’t want to give up. Don’t you know it’s going to cost you your life? As a strong young Mage, you might be less wary of the consequences of your actions, but you should really use this thing of yours to balance whether you are being reckless or simply asking for death!” Yangel shouted, pointing at his head.

Chapter 2646: Mind Maze

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Old Santel took a step forward. His eyes were stabbing at Mo Fan’s heart, like a scalpel dissecting the complicated emotions within it.

Old Santel was good at attacking a person’s mind. Understanding his enemy’s strengths and weaknesses, what they were confident in and afraid of, would make him unbeatable.

People often called him the Spirit Surgeon, as he was too familiar with a person’s inner thoughts, allowing him to land his scalpel at the perfect spot to take out an enemy.

To Old Shantel’s surprise, the mental strength of the young man before him was higher than anyone he had ever met.

Even when his sharp scalpel was closing in on MO Fan’s heart, it was still beating at the same frequency, as if he knew the scalpel could never penetrate its hard shell!

“Every person has a weakness. The only difference is how good you are at hiding it. Some people expose their weaknesses quite easily with a little probing, while others wrap themselves up tightly without any gaps. However, the place you are protecting the most is often the weakest spot!” Old Santel continued to dissect MO Fan’s heart.

He could sense a lot of emotions from MO Fan. The young man was not an assassin who had undergone special training, so he could not control his emotions perfectly.

It was quite the opposite. The young man was brimming with emotions. In Old Santel’s view, he was like a huge castle with sturdy walls!

“Interesting, you are afraid of the Psychic Element and the Sound Element, but your mind is stronger than ordinary Mages. However, I have still found a way to take you down,” Old Santel proclaimed with a cunning smile.

Yangel remained at the side, with no intention of intervening in the fight.

Their goal was not to take out their enemies, but to finish constructing the Teleportation Portal and leave this place!

The Sharkmen would soon surround the mountain city. The Teleportation Portal was the only way out of here!

MO Fan looked up the mountainside and saw a dim silver light behind the trees. It was exactly what Lingling had guessed. They were trying to escape with a Teleportation Portal!

A strange mist was coming from behind them. It was cold and moist, as if a huge storm was approaching. MO Fan knew the Sharkmen’s army was on their way. The mist was merely preceding them!.

“We are running out of time. Let’s make it quick, but I have to say that we have the upper hand since we have the Earth Flame Pistil. You will have to defeat us to get it, while we just need to hold on for a little longer,” Old Santel went on confidently.

He was telling the truth. Old Santel knew the young man was not a normal Mage through his observations. It would not be wise to fight him head-on, so his best option was to drag out the fight.

“I’ve constructed a Mind Maze in front of you. I wonder if you can find the way out in time,” Old Santel smirked at his opponent.

He had constructed an illusionary maze after peering into his enemy’s heart. The maze would feel extremely real to his opponent. MO Fan had to obey the rules of the maze, regardless of how strong his cultivation was.

Old Santel’s Mind Maze was an Absolute Domain from a Heaven-grade Seed. An enemy trapped inside it would have to fight themselves!

The scenery in front of MO Fan changed like a spinning vortex. Even though MO Fan knew it was just an illusion, he had no idea how to stop it.

Why were his emotions behaving wildly, when he knew it was just an illusion?

It was like watching a horror film. Everyone knew the horror elements and the story were fake, yet they were still terrified as they were watching the film.

The illusion MO Fan was seeing worked the same way.

MO Fan’s mental state was strong, so Old Santel was not hoping he could trick MO Fan into believing the illusion was real. He did not mind telling MO Fan it was just an illusion, nor was he hoping the illusion would break him down. He just had to waste MO Fan’s time!

Old Santel’s winning condition was not defeating MO Fan. He just needed to buy some time!

As time went by, an enemy would feel anxious and worried. Their fear would be their biggest weakness!

“Why don’t you take him out straight away?” Yangel asked Old Santel.

Old Santel shook his head and said, “That young man is a monster. I can sense more than one Heaven-grade Seed and powerful abilities on him. It might even take you a long time to beat him.”

“He’s that strong? I can’t even tell!” Yangel blurted out in surprise.

Back in northern Europe, not many people could last for more than a few hundred rounds when fighting him. He did not expect the young man to be so strong!

“I know you enjoy pinning your enemy down on the ground, but today isn’t the time for it,” Old Santel warned him.

“I see. I’m indeed curious about that young man, but I can’t risk blowing the operation for it,” Yangel nodded.

“Santel, get back here at once. Some goddamn woman has taken over one of our Space Mages and disrupted the Magic Formation!” Kunoy suddenly yelled from the communication device.

Old Santel frowned. 14 woman?

The young man was the only one who snuck in. How did a woman appear out of nowhere? It sounded like she was an expert of the Psychic Element, too!

“Yangel, I have to head back. I’ll leave him to you. Try not to waste too much time on him,” Old Santel said.

“Got it, I hope so too!” Yangel smiled.

He stretched his arms and raised his hand, forming a fist before throwing a punch at MO Fan.

An enormous fist swept across the air with incredible force. It erupted into flames in the air, leaving a scorching trail behind it before splitting into several rays of light!

MO Fan was trapped in the Mind Maze, and had found himselfin a city that looked just like Bo City. A huge meteorite suddenly fell from the sky and destroyed the buildings and the One-eyed Magic Wolves that were swarming it. MO Fan abruptly found himself back in the woods, facing a deadly punch!

The burning fist had lit up the whole area!

MO Fan thought it was a Fire Spell at first, but he immediately realized it was a Light Spell after he sensed the destructive light rays capable of penetrating everything in their path!.

Chapter 2647: Master of Pen and Sword

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

The Mind Maze had crumbled on its own after being struck by an external force. It was like a fast asleep man waking up from a dream because of a loud noise.

By the time Mo Fan came to his senses, the Exploding Star Fist was right in front of his face.

He immediately faded into the shadows like a phantom, entering another dimension and making him invulnerable to the attack.

It was a waste to use the Phantom Slink like this, but he did not have a better choice as his enemy had the upper hand at first.

Most importantly, Apas had successfully disrupted the enemy’s Space Magic Formation!

Old Santel knew time was of the essence. Why would Mo Fan not realize it, too?

MO Fan knew there was a strong Psychic Mage on the mountain after he saw the Wall of Fear. Since he knew he would not be able to avoid the Psychic Mage’s detecting him, he blatantly exposed himself while letting Apas do her thing.

If Old Santel had remained close to the Magic Formation, Apas might have struggled to find an opening.

“I don’t like being fancy, either. I would rather settle it the easy way, by using my fists instead of my brain!” MO Fan swung his arms around after dodging the enemy’s punch.

“Old Santel says you are very strong, but perhaps he’s losing confidence because he’s getting too old. Doctors like to make a patient’s condition sound worse than it is so the patient will pay more attention to them!” The pattern of a bear in front of Yangel’s chest erupted into flames.

MO Fan could not help but fix his eyes on the golden flames of the burning pattern.

A golden bear suddenly sprang out of the flames and pounced at MO Fan. It pinned him hard to the ground.

His arms, face, and necks were rapidly covered in burns. He quickly turned into shadow birds and scattered across the place, just like a vampire turning into a swarm of bats.

The bear seemed to know which bird was the real MO Fan. It immediately chased after one of the shadow birds and lunged at it.

“Order Manipulation!”

MO Fan swiftly manipulated the natural order and replaced himself with a fake shadow bird.

The enraged bear bit at the shadow bird, but it dissipated in the form of a black mist. The bear immediately turned around with burning eyes!

MO Fan created some space between him and the bear. He realized the bear was actually Yangel covered in golden flames after he took a

closer look at it. The man had transformed into a bear, and his fists had turned into claws. Not only did his speed rise significantly, he was as powerful as a beast now!

“How does it taste? My Sacred Bear Blood is better than those boring tricks!” Yangel grinned wildly.

MO Fan checked his wounds. They were not deep, but he could feel them burning.

The blood on his wounds had clotted. MO Fan hesitated briefly, deciding on the approach he was going to take.

MO Fan had three ways of fighting at close quarters. The first one was to let his blood spread on the ground to transform into the Heavy Armored Stance with his Heaven-grade Earth Seed. It would grant him incredible power in its Absolute Domain, the Kingdom of Sand.

The second way was transforming into the King of Hell. Both his Fire Seed and Little Flame Belle had grown a lot stronger recently. Even MO Fan had no idea how strong the King of Hell form was. MO Fan would excel at both close combat and ranged battle in that form.

The third way was by equipping the Black Dragon Set, which he had never had the chance to use.

The Black Dragon Sleeves made with the Black Dragon Claws could be used as fists and claws. Together with his Space Element, Shadow Element, Chaos Element, and Earth Element, he would turn into a deadly assassin capable of taking out the enemy’s commander even while being surrounded by the enemy.

The Heavy Armored Stance, Judgment; he had not bled a lot, and the environment was not suitable either.

As for the King of Hell form, it might be overkill.

He decided to try out the Black Dragon Set to test its strength.

“Black Dragon Set!”

MO Fan Summoned every piece of the Black Dragon Set, except for the Wings of Dawn and Dusk. The imperious Black Dragon Helmet, Black Dragon Sleeves, and Black Dragon Boots immediately covered him. He had put on a full set of black armor with a unique sheen.

Yangel’s transformation into a Sacred Flame Bear was quite impressive. MO Fan had looked like a deer waiting to be slaughtered in front of him.

However, the Black Dragon Emperor’s Aura easily overwhelmed Yangel’s flames as its dragon soul circled MO Fan. The smirk on Yangel’s face immediately disappeared!

The Black Dragon Set was even more impressive than the Sacred Armor Yangel had seen his enemies wearing in northern Europe. The Aura of Death the dragon soul was giving off made the bear look like a cowardly dog playing in a pool of mud!

“There’s no way your magic Equipment is comparable to my Golden Bear Lineage. I’m going to tear your Armor into pieces!” Yangel snarled.

Bears were noble animals of strength and beauty in northern Europe. Yangel was extremely proud of his ability to transform into a bear.

He enjoyed competing with other ancient clans with the metamorphosis ability, too. The Sacred Bears were the best in terms of strength and aesthetics!

But… Yangel had to admit the black Armor attached to his opponent like an ancient black dragon looked even more impressive!

Its sheen, its material, its lines, and its delicate horns and decorations… He had to smash the Armor into pieces!

It was nothing but show to him!

“Sacred Bear Explosive Claws!”

Yangel was hot-tempered just like a bear. He did not have to use any magic to increase his speed. The blood burning inside him was the source of his power. The golden flames engulfed him like a full set of Armor.

The Sacred Bear charged at MO Fan like a golden flame. He did not swing his claws around wildly. It was a simple hit using brute force!

The claw struck MO Fan’s chest and sent him sliding, gouging a huge ravine across the ground.

“Break!” Yangel ordered, and the Claw Mark on MO Fan’s chest immediately exploded.

The explosion knocked MO Fan flying a great distance.

The Black Dragon Scales were immune to magic, but it was still vulnerable to physical damage. The explosion of the Golden Claw Mark was imbued with the power of an ancient beast, so the Black Dragon Scales were not immune to it.

However, the immunity was only an additional effect from the Black Dragon Soul. The Armor alone possessed outstanding durability. It had fully absorbed the shock and force MO Fan had received, leaving him unharmed!.

Chapter 2648 Beating Up the Sacred

Bear

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth “I’m afraid you have underestimated my strength. There’s nothing in this world that my Golden Bear Claws can’t tear apart…” Yangel scoffed while staring at Mo Fan’s Armor.

However, he was stunned when he saw Mo Fan was perfectly fine. Mo Fan’s Armor had not broken and have blood pouring out like he had expected. There was not even a single scratch on it!

It was still lustrous and metallic, like it had just been taken out of a forge!

Yangel tried hard to recall whether this young man had nullified his attack with some kind of magic, but he clearly remembered he had landed the attack and left the Claw Mark on his chest.

How did it not have any effect at all?

Yangel’s eyes were protruding like a goldfish. He was trying to find the tiniest scratch on Mo Fan’s Armor. He felt like he had lost his pride!

“What kind of Armor is that!?” Yangel snarled after giving up on looking for a scratch.

Mo Fan did not bother answering the question. Either way, Yangel would soon feel the pressure from the Black Dragon Armor!

Mo Fan stomped the ground and sprang forward like a serpent flying out of the water, charging at Yangel fiercely. His speed was comparable to a Wind Mage, even though he was not using any magic! Mo Fan clenched his fists. The Black Dragon Sleeves absorbed the air around them and gathered the energy in Mo Fan’s fists.

The Sleeves were imbued with Dragon Wind. As Mo Fan threw a punch forward, fierce gusts of wind burst forth and sent the Golden Sacred Bear spinning

Yangel was using his golden flames as a shield. His defense could break the bones of a Ruler-level creature that collided with him, but the Dragon Fists were even stronger than a Ruler-level creature. The Golden Flames Shield struggled hard to absorb the impact. Yangel was smashed to the ground, surrounded by debris. It looked like a huge dragon had just flown past him.

His muscles were aching badly. His legs were trembling as he climbed back to his feet.

The golden flames in the shape of a Sacred Bear were no longer intact. Yangel clenched his teeth to unleash more power from his Sacred Bear Lineage to restore their appearance. Was the enemy’s Armor just for looks? Yangel no longer thought so. He was a little scared to face Mo Fan after being injured. He had underestimated his enemy. Old Santel was right. He was a strong opponent! “It’s a dragon, I can’t think of other creatures that can match my Sacred Bear!” Yangel shouted confidently.

“Well done,” Mo Fan smiled.

However, it was not just any dragon. It was a Black Dragon, the species with the purest lineage among the dragons! The Red Dragons, Green Dragons, Flying Dragons, and Crimson Dragons were no match for the Black Dragons. Yangel would only stand a chance if he could transform into a Golden Dragon. A petty bear was nowhere enough!

“Dragon Bones Trample!”

Mo Fan jumped into the air and hovered above Yangel. Mo Fan was around a hundred meters above the ground, but his Armor was projecting the shadow of a huge dragon down on the ground. Yangel was under great pressure, as if a real dragon was hovering above him!

BANG!

The impact razed every building in the vicinity to the ground. It was like a real dragon had slammed into the ground, cutting off rivers and destroying woods on the mountainside. Yangel could not move, as his body was forced deep into the ground. It felt like his organs were smashed into pieces and his bones were shattered when he reached the bottom of the hole.

He would have ended up as mincemeat if it weren’t for the Golden Sacred Bear’s defense. Such an extraordinary power meant a half-beast like Yangel was no longer considered a normal Mage.

Normal Mages in northern Europe were like mere mosquitoes he could smack to death with a casual swing of his arm. Even those with impressive cultivation could not withstand a single blow from him.

However, Yangel now realized there was someone in the East whose physical strength was more impressive than the Northern Sacred Bears. Every move Mo Fan made was deadly enough to kill Yangel!

Yangel could not leave a single scratch on the enemy’s Armor. Meanwhile, every hit he took was close to breaking his bones!

How was he supposed to fight this enemy?

—

Mo Fan jumped into the hole. He was planning to give Yangel a final blow.

As a matter of fact, the Black Dragon Set had exceeded Mo Fan’s expectations. After all, he had yet to use a single spell. It felt like he was possessed by a real dragon. He could destroy hills with just his punches and kicks.

A golden flame was swaying in the cracks. Mo Fan closed in on it, turning his hands into claws. The Black Dragon Boots also transformed rapidly, allowing Mo Fan to move around like he was floating. “Did he run away?” Mo Fan realized the flame was not Yangel after taking a close look. He had left the bear’s flaming image behind and run away.

“It turns out the Northern Sacred Bears are the real cowards. I could never master the skill of digging holes and running away!” Mo Fan chuckled when he saw a hole nearby.

Mo Fan was not going to chase after him. Yangel was obviously going back to the top of the mountain to regroup with his men.

Mo Fan just had to go to the top, too!

vicinity. He blushed angrily when he heard Mo Fan’s words.

The fiercest organization in northern Europe was being called cowards, yet Yangel could not find any words to refute him.

“I’ll show you the true strength of the Northern Sacred Bears if you dare come up here!” Yangel yelled down.

“You know my magic Equipment isn’t going to last. You already admitted defeat when you tried to drag on the fight!” Mo Fan retorted with a laugh.

“It proves your tricks are incomparable to my Sacred Bear Blood. Besides, the Sacred Bear Brothers have always fought side-by-side!” Yangel yelled back.

Chapter 2649 Maple Blaze

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

Yangel returned to the nursery home hastily, surveying the people who were setting up the Teleportation Portal. They would be done very soon, and the team could finally leave the Sharkmen’s territory. “How did you end up like this?” Kunoy asked him.

“I underestimated him. He will be here soon. We should figure out a way to take him out,” Yangel replied, ashamed of his failure.

“A demoness who came out of nowhere has messed up our Magic Formation. It will take us a little longer to set it up,” Kunoy snarled impatiently.

Anyone who was not deaf could hear the loud rumbling approaching from the lower mountain. The horde of Sharkmen would arrive very soon!

If the Magic Formation was disrupted again, they would surely end up as food to the Sharkmen! “We’ll settle the score with them after we leave this place!” Yangel nodded. “Why wait? We can settle the score here now,” Mo Fan contributed. Yangel turned around and saw Mo Fan standing there in his black Armor. He immediately burst into a fit of anger. “Brother, he’s a formidable enemy! We should take him out as quickly as possible to prevent him from messing with the Magic Formation!” Yangel snarled.

“No one can last for more than three minutes against the two of us!” Kunoy was even more confident in himself than Yangel.

“His Armor is a little special,” Yangel warned his brother.

“There’s no need to be afraid of him. Let’s go!”

Kunoy did not waste any time. The young man’s intention to destroy the Magic Formation was no different from trying to feed them to the Sharkmen!

Kunoy could not care less about the ethics of being a mercenary. His only concern was to take out his enemy!

ce

Auburn flames emerged from Kunoy’s body. They did not look sacred like Yangel’s flames, but they were clearly stronger in comparison. Yangel engulfed himself in golden flames once again. The two brothers transformed into Sacred Bears, standing side-by-side. Their bulky and muscular physiques could easily intimidate Great Rulers!

For some reason, Mo Fan noticed Yangel’s power had grown when his brother was around. His eyes had grown fiercer, too!

The red-brown flames and the golden flames were complementing one another. Mo Fan immediately felt a strong Aura coming from them, like two suns.

It seemed like Yangel was not lying about how the brothers had always fought alongside one another. They were stronger when they were together! “Little Flame Belle!”

In that case, Mo Fan had no reason to fight them alone!

Mo Fan Summoned Little Flame Belle. She appeared beside Mo Fan in her Flame Belle Goddess form. Burning maple leaves were now circling her slender figure.

New burning leaves rose continuously under Little Flame Belle’s feet. They dissipated in the air after drifting around her in circles a few times.

Mo Fan also unleashed the Phoenix Flame. It was brighter after its full power had been Awakened by the Mysterious Feathers. Its color was changing constantly.

The Ardent Flames were not as elegant. They were more like lingering flames, with a strong embodiment of darkness. Under their calm surface lay a fierce nature!

The Sacred Bear Brothers’ main Element was Fire.

Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle were like a fire demon and a fire demoness standing side-by-side. Their Auras were not necessarily weaker than the two half-beasts. Four different flames were clashing fiercely in the air before the battle even took place.

“I’ll handle the elder brother while you fight the younger brother,” Mo Fan told Little Flame Belle.

Little Flame Belle nodded. Her unseen face had a noble temperament under her new burning veil, as if the Mysterious Feathers had granted her a Totem Beast’s pride.

Kunoy and Yangel were stomping the ground simultaneously. Mo Fan initially thought the two clumsy bears were just playing around, as the soil was splashing around like mud.

However, the ‘mud’ turned out to be scorching flames. Their temperature was even higher than lava. The scorching mud began to spread across the ground.

The scorching mud was spreading slowly, but it posed a huge threat to Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle, as they had no idea what it was. The tarry stuff suddenly splashed into the air, and a blazing creature jumped out from it and lunged at Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle!

The muddy creature opened its mouth and engulfed Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle in fire. Its insides were full of boiling oil! The bubbles on the surface of the oil were exploding like bubbles on a pool of lava. The creature’s throat was somehow as large as a canyon. The whole place was filled with boiling

oil!

“I think we are stuck in some kind of Domain,” Mo Fan remarked.

It was unlikely for the creature’s insides to be so huge. The two brothers were clearly using their true strength.

The boiling oil was flowing like a landslide, and the whole place was now sealed up by the boiling pitch. There was no escape for Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle. They could only watch the tarry stuff closing in on them. “Ling!” Little Flame Belle cried softly as burning leaves appeared under her feet.

The leaves scattered across the canyon as if a strong wind had just swept across a forest of maple trees. The leaves drifted dazzlingly in the wind.

The leaves flew at the approaching oily muck. The creature’s throat was filled up by explosions as the two clashed fiercely.

The boiling oil had covered the entire ground, while the leaves were scattering to fill the air!

Chapter 2650 Fire Sorcery Bear

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

The mud-like creature with an enormous space inside its body soon exploded into piles of mud and tar amid the burning flames. The burning pitch set the nearby buildings and trees on fire as soon as it touched them.

Kunoy and Yangel suddenly appeared as the mud was splashing across the place. The flame that looked like red oil was Kunoy. His fire was sticky and long-lasting. The red oil was oozing out of the ground even after Little Flame Belle had just scattered it.

In addition to that, the trees that were on fire did not burn into ashes. They gradually turned into the same red oil and spread across the mountain. It was flowing down the mountain in a viscous tide.

“Sacred Bear Burning Throat!” Yangel yelled, spitting out golden flames from his mouth.

The red oil that had spread across the area burst into flames, like it had just been ignited. The flames resembled thousands of fire bears roaring in the same direction as Yangel. The flames merged continuously, growing bigger as they did so.

Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle were blown apart by a pillar of flame. Mo Fan ended up at the middle of the hill after being knocked back by the explosions. The red oil immediately poured down on him, and it felt like he had fallen into a boiling pot. He almost felt like his skin was cracking from the heat, even though he had a Greater Heaven Fire Seed.

The flames also devoured Little Flame Belle. She was no longer visible through the dark smoke. The Maple Blaze Leaves she had gathered were concealed beyond the smoke in no time.

They are a lot stronger when they are fighting alongside one another, Mo Fan thought.

Mo Fan was indeed a little surprised by Yangel’s strength, and the way one of them was spreading oil about while the other was igniting it. The combo had made their Fire Seeds deadlier than they were.

Mo Fan’s skin was suffering from severe burns. He knew he would not heal or be reborn in the enemy’s fire, and the boiling oil had made the pain worse than a normal burn. Those who offended the two brothers must have suffered greatly under their combo move if they failed to beat the two brothers.

The Black Dragon Set had disappeared. Mo Fan could only rely on his flames!.

“Phoenix Flame!”

Countless brightly glowing burning feathers appeared. They formed the image of a godly bird slowly descending onto Mo Fan.

A glowing mantle draped over Mo Fan’s shoulders and wrapped around him protectively. The red oil pouring onto the mantle did set it on fire, but the mantle was keeping the fire away from Mo Fan’s body, which felt a lot better.

The feathers on the mantle were absorbing the energy of the fire around them. The feathers grew brighter every time the red oil was poured on them.

The mantle soon erupted into flames of its own, giving off a blazingly strong heat.

“Blink!”

A polygon made of silver lights appeared around Mo Fan. It shrank into a tiny dot before vanishing into thin air.

Mo Fan had disappeared with the polygon. A second later, he reappeared in front of Kunoy, and immediately threw an uppercut at the man.

The spectacular mantle drifted in the wind as Mo Fan gathered all the force on his fist. It gradually turned into a godly bird soaring into the sky amid fierce flames.

The godly bird soared higher. The force of the punch seemed to have awakened a godly beast. Every living creature was trembling in fear as the godly beast broke free from the chains that it had been tied down by.

Kunoy reacted a little too late. He did not expect Mo Fan to be able to launch such a strong counterattack under the circumstances. However, Yangel was standing beside Kunoy and stepped forward in time, blocking the punch with his Golden Bear Flesh.

Yangel was engulfed in golden flames as the punch knocked him a hundred meters into the sky. The golden flames protecting him were falling off like broken pieces of armor.

By the time Yangel fell back to the ground, his chest had already sunken in. He was in a worse condition now than when he had been fighting Mo Fan alone.

Yangel’s Golden Bear Flesh gave him an impressive level of tenacity. He was almost on par with certain Ruler-level creatures. He was still able to climb to his feet while grimacing in pain.

Kunoy and Yangel’s abilities differed greatly.

Yangel’s ability allowed him to transform into a golden bear engulfed in golden flames, granting him outstanding physical strength.

Kunoy was more like a Mage. Even though he could also transform into a bear, his main ability was abusing his strange Fire Sorcery in the form of the red oil, burning his enemies to death.

As the red oil spread continuously, Yangel’s golden flames and metamorphosis would grow stronger with it. Yangel could also use his Golden Bear Flesh as Kunoy’s shield!

“You’re asking for your death!” Kunoy’s eyes burst into flames of anger when he saw his younger brother’s condition.

His body was engulfed in dark red flames, as if he had transformed into a Fire Sorcery Bear.

A long burning staff appeared in his hand. A huge burning forest appeared behind Kunoy after he swung the weapon at Mo Fan.

The dense forest of tall trees was devoured by fierce flames. Countless animals that had been badly burned ran howling out of it. This was Kunoy’s Fire Sorcery!

In northern Europe, the bears were the king of all beasts, ruling over the forests.

In order to master his Fire Sorcery, Kunoy had often turned wild forests into a sea of flames and trapped all the living creatures inside the burning land.

Every life that was sacrificed in the fire would become his warrior!

Mo Fan saw strange-looking beasts that had appeared out of nowhere like a mirage charging out of the burning forest.

Among them were wolves that only had half of their bodies left, bulls with only bones remaining, deer with faces that were burned beyond recognition, and tigers with charred flesh.

They were all charging out of the burning forest under Kunoy’s command. They were neither in a panic nor spooked, as they were not escaping from the fire.

They were also emitting a strong evil Aura. Their eyes were filled with hatred and the urge to spread the suffering to every living creature they came across!

Chapter 2651 Tranquil Imagery

Translated by Xephiz

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was convinced that the two brothers were not good people after witnessing the scene before him. The animals that were running out of the burning forest were not even true Undead. They were like living specimens being tortured constantly in a sea of flame. They were bound until they were needed to release their hatred!

“Burning a mountain is serious enough to imprison the person responsible for life. Your country really doesn’t have any basic decency if it doesn’t control scum like you!” Mo Fan took a step back.

The animals that had been sacrificed to the fire were scarier than the Undead. Even the Undead did not possess such a strong hatred. Even a look into the animals’ eyes made Mo Fan feel like he was going to burn to ashes! “Your people grill animals alive to make the texture of their meat better. What right do you have to rebuke us? Besides, the forests were my property. I have the right to let the animals live or turn them into sacrifices,” Kunoy replied disdainfully.

Fire Sorcery Beasts!

They used to be ordinary animals instead of demon creatures, but the evil sorcery had turned them into a terrifying army after they were sacrificed to the flames and became the Sacred Bears’ slave warriors.

They fixed their eyes on Mo Fan and charged at him at Kunoy’s command.

The wolf that only had half of its body left pounced at Mo Fan. The strength of its claws was utterly shocking. The Circle of Crystal Teeth protecting Mo Fan failed to withstand a single blow from the Fire Sorcery Wolf Beast!

Red oil suddenly emerged under Mo Fan’s feet while he was backing away. A filthy rat monster dug out of the ground and snapped at Mo Fan’s knee.

Mo Fan swiftly gathered the Circle of Crystal Teeth to wrap around his legs and protect them. He raised his foot and stomped on the rat monster, smashing its skull.

A burning bull cried and charged at Mo Fan from another direction. Its hateful stare was strong enough to freeze a person in place.

It was like a creature in a frenzy trying to pin someone down and set them both on fire!

The bull was not going to ram into Mo Fan. It was trying to spread the fire on it over to Mo Fan so he could also experience the pain of being burned by the fire!

The pain was not something an ordinary human could withstand. The flames could even burn a person’s mind and soul.

Mo Fan knew it was not about how high the fire’s temperature was. This was an ancient Sorcery from northern Europe. It was abusing the sacrificed animals to spread their hatred and fear.

Mo Fan could not break free from the bull’s stare. The fires of even a little fox could easily hurt Mo Fan, even though he had a Greater Heaven Fire Seed.

Mo Fan was just like a normal human in the burning forest. In contrast, the animals that had died in the fire were like demons with strange abilities.

“No one has ever made it out of the forest alive. Have a taste of the pain, as it will last longer than you can imagine!” Kunoy burst out laughing like a madman.

Mo Fan was surrounded by the burning beasts. This was most likely Kunoy’s Absolute Domain. The difference in strength between Kunoy and Mo Fan no longer mattered. Once the Absolute Domain was established, an enemy had to obey the rules in it.

However, an Absolute Domain was not necessarily invulnerable. There were ways to break it down. Mo Fan could not rely on his brute force this time. He had to calmly figure out the weakness of the Absolute Domain.

“Tranquil Imagery!” a voice echoed in Mo Fan’s mind as he was trying to calm down.

The voice was extremely familiar to Mo Fan. It was Xinxia!

Mo Fan was surrounded by raging flames and fiery beasts charred beyond recognition, but he suddenly felt a soothing breeze wrapping around him after he heard Xinxia’s voice.

The terrifying scene was changing rapidly, like a magical stroke had just turned a painting of death and destruction into a calm and peaceful drawing

The ferocious beasts, the scorching flames, and the cries of agony were gone.

Mo Fan was able to calm down. The evil beasts had disappeared, together with their pain.

“I’m afraid your little trick has stopped working,” Mo Fan grinned as he looked at Kunoy.

Kunoy was apoplectic.

What kind of magic could possibly turn his Fire Sorcery into bubbles? The Fire Sorcery was not just an illusion, it was actually similar to a Summoning Spell. It was powerful enough to torture even the strongest Super Mages!

Kunoy looked to the other side and saw a beautiful woman riding a unicorn. Her straight dark brown hair hung down to her waist. Her fringes were combed to the side of her ears, revealing her beautiful face.

“Old Santel, take her out!” Kunoy snarled, pointing at Xinxia. The woman was obviously a Psychic Mage who had mastered some secret art that had easily nullified his Absolute Domain!

“Don’t worry, it’s just a young woman!” Old Santel stepped forward. He was startled when he took a closer look at the Radiance Unicorn Xinxia was riding. It was a rare sacred beast from Europe. Most importantly, the Radiance Unicorn was merely her mount, instead of her Contracted Beast!

“You must be from a renowned clan. The Northern Sacred Bears do not like to offend people for no reason, but that doesn’t mean you can just do whatever you want to us. Show me what a young woman like you has!” Old Santel said with a confident smile, as if he was going to teach the young woman how to behave herself.

The Radiance Unicorn approached Old Santel, its hooves tapping the ground rhythmically.

Xinxia was also looking at Old Santel. The old man immediately felt like a huge mountain was collapsing onto him.

The closer she came, the stronger the pressure became.

Finally, Old Santel fell to his knees in a huge sweat as Xinxia arrived in front of him. He could not climb to his feet, no matter how hard he tried!

Chapter 2652: Wall of Despair

“Santel, what are you doing!?” Yangel shouted at him.

Why was Santel kneeling in front of the woman? Since when did he become so retarded? Why did it have to happen at a crucial time like this?

“Help…help me!” Old Santel was sweating badly, his face and clothes soaked clean through. He was trying his best to open his mouth and ask the others for help.

Guan Songdi and his uncle were the closest to Old Santel. They had no idea what had happened.

Three Sacred Bear Elites behind them immediately ran toward Old Santel to assist him.

They were all Super Mages. Several dazzling Star Palaces appeared around them as the Elites continuously poured their energy into them. Their Auras grew significantly as the last Star of their Star Palaces lit up.

“Vacuum Storm!”

It was a Super Wind Spell. A terrifying Eye of the Storm appeared above them and sucked away the air to form a huge tornado. The wind was sharp and powerful.

The Vacuum Storm moved directly above Xinxia.

The Psychic Element was effective at suppressing an enemy’s magic, but most Psychic Mages would struggle to suppress two or more people simultaneously.

It was like trying to do several things at once. It was difficult to focus on all of them.

Old Santel realized the woman was a stronger Psychic Mage than him. He was not confident the others helping him could beat her. However, he just needed their help to distract her.

Once the woman was distracted, the huge pressure she had applied to him would greatly weaken, allowing Old Santel to break free from her control.

Unfortunately, Old Santel had forgotten that the Radiance Unicorn was a Sacred Beast, and stronger than certain Ruler-level creatures!

The Radiance Unicorn lifted its head and fired a strong beam from its horn. The beam flew into the sky and hit the Eye of the Storm.

The tornado vanished, starting from its base. The strong wind dissipated when it was less than fifty meters away from Xinxia.

In addition to that, the Radiance Unicorn raised its front legs and stomped the ground. Dense silver Runes appeared close to it and its rider.

Two other Super Spells were heading toward Xinxia. The Runes that had spread across the ground like cracks had formed circles of protection, rising like walls around her.

The Runic Walls defended Xinxia from every powerful Spell that was targeting her. The Runes dimmed slightly every time they stopped a Spell.

However, the three Super Mages were overwhelmed by despair when they noticed their three Super Spells did not even cancel out the first circle of Runes, only making several of the Runes stop glowing.

They attacked Xinxia and the Radiance Unicorn again, unwilling to admit defeat, but after attacking with several strong Super Spells, including the Demon Judgment Sword, they had only taken out the Runes of the first Wall!

The problem was, there were at least a dozen Circles under the woman’s feet! How long was it going to take them to break through her defense?

Old Santel could only remain kneeling on the ground. He had finally realized how strong the woman was. She was completely out of his league!

Mo Fan turned to Xinxia. He was going to protect her when he saw Old Santel moving toward her, but it turned out Old Santel was the one at a disadvantage!

Mo Fan was relieved to see it. Xinxia no longer needed his protection like she used to!

Mo Fan closed in on Kunoy, who was still using the Fire Sorcery. He noticed Kunoy was constantly backing away after his Fire Sorcery was nullified, obviously planning to hide behind Yangel.

However, Yangel had been badly beaten up by Little Flame Belle in her Complete Phase. He did not have time to protect his brother. He had already been injured when he fought Mo Fan previously, otherwise he could have lasted longer in the fight against Little Flame Belle.

“Shadow Thistles!”

Mo Fan waved his hand. Dark thistles crawled up under Kunoy’s feet like huge snakes and wrapped around his legs before dragging him toward Mo Fan.

Kunoy was surprisingly nimble. He was able to cut through the thistles that were binding him down and avoid them at impressive speed.

“Do you think I only know Sorcery?” Kunoy’s speed kept increasing, gradually leaving more afterimages behind him. The thistles were struggling to catch up to him.

He suddenly turned toward Mo Fan instead of backing away. He broke free from the cordon of thistles and launched a counterattack!

His speed was so high that Mo Fan could only see an auburn blur. His hands had also transformed into sharp claws, which he was now sweeping at Mo Fan’s face!

“Demon Judgment Sword: Sword Frame!”

Two heavy swords made up of blinding rays of light clanged together in front of Mo Fan, as if two ancient deities had crossed their swords in front of Mo Fan to defend him.

Kunoy struck the Demon Judgment Swords with his claws. The swords broke into pieces, but Kunoy was forced to back away by the burning light.

Mo Fan glanced over at Zhao Manyan, who had arrived just in time.

Zhao Manyan studied Kunoy in surprise. As a pure defensive Mage, it was rare for someone to break his defense with a single blow. The Demon Judgment Sword Frame was not just a normal defensive Spell!

“You are lucky that I came in time, or that slap was going to make your face bloody,” Zhao Manyan noted.

Mo Fan nodded. He had underestimated Kunoy. The man had pretended he was not good at close combat in order to surprise him with a deadly counterattack. Most Super Mages would have died if they were being so careless!

“Mo Fan, we have to use their Magic Formation to leave this place. The whole of Fenghe Mountain City is surrounded by the Sharkmen now!” Zhao Manyan informed him.

“Their Magic Formation can only hold eight people,” Mo Fan replied.

“What? Their group clearly has more than eight people!” Zhao Manyan swore.

He immediately realized the truth after finishing the sentence, and could not help looking disdainful.

He had thought the Northern Sacred Bears were a renowned organization that would respect basic ethics, but it turned out these people were no different from bandits!

Chapter 2653: Strange Deception

It was pretty obvious what the Northern Sacred Bears had been planning. They were going to have eight of the core members take the ride and leave the others behind to be eaten by the Sharkmen.

Unfortunately, the Northern Sacred Brothers would no longer get their wish, thanks to Mo Fan’s intervention!

Mo Fan’s group had six people, including Apas. They could only take two people of the Northern Sacred Bears with them, who would then be handed over to the authorities.

Did they think they could take a comfortable ride out of China after stealing something so valuable? They should just clean themselves and prepare to be sent to prison!

“Some sharp claws you have there. I wonder if they are better than mine!” Mo Fan smiled.

He swiftly brought out the Black Dragon Sleeves, the sharp claws sticking out of his fingers. The claws were obsidian, and flickered intimidatingly

“A piece of wearable Magic Equipment?” Kunoy’s eyes glittered with greed when he saw Mo Fan’s Sleeves.

They were a rare kind of Magic Equipment. Not only could they greatly increase a person’s odds of survival, they could also be used to give the enemy a deadly blow when they least expected it!

Kunoy did not expect the young man to have so many valuables on him. It certainly explained why he had the guts to challenge them!

A dark Aura lingered in the air like a mist and reduced the visibility in the area.

Dark cold water was rising under Kunoy’s feet, the viscous water rippling below him. It felt like he had fallen into a dark swamp. The eerie and confusing environment made it impossible to tell what direction was what.

A black puff of smoke suddenly turned into a slender figure behind Kunoy. It raised its claws high grinning eerily.

“Trying to ambush me?” Kunoy whirled around and drove his claws into Mo Fan’s ribs!

Kunoy lifted the slender figure up. Its feet were dangling above the ground, and it was slowly revealing its true appearance.

“This is nothing but a useless trick. The Northern Sacred Bears are stronger than you think!” Kunoy snarled. He jammed the claws deeper into Mo Fan’s ribs to make sure he was dead.

Kunoy looked at Mo Fan. He was expecting to see a twisted expression of pain on Mo Fan’s face. The Sacred Bear Claws were the deadliest weapon of the Bear Sorcery Tribe. Many defenses were just like pieces of paper before them!

However, Mo Fan was still wearing the same smile. He was impaled through the chest and had been lifted into the air, but the smile remained unchanged.

Kunoy was stunned.

Mo Fan’s body suddenly dispersed into black smoke, like black ink blending into a lake after touching the water.

“How is this possible? It was clearly solid!” Kunoy yelled.

He was not an inexperienced Mage who was easily deceived by an enemy, nor would he mistake a decoy for the real enemy.

The figure he stabbed was clearly Mo Fan’s true self. How did it disperse like a puff of smoke? What kind of magic could turn a person into smoke?

A cold flicker swept across the lake.

Mo Fan reappeared at the edge of the light. His back was cold and dark, like a blood elf hovering in the darkness.

Five claw marks had been slashed down Kunoy’s back. His defense was outstanding in his half-beast form, yet it was like a piece of paper against Mo Fan’s claws.

“Die!” Kunoy snarled.

He crossed his claws and fired rings of flame at Mo Fan. He had turned into a fiery bear tyrant after losing his temper, trying to establish his kingdom of hellish flames!

Mo Fan’s figure dispersed into the air once more as the rings of flames approached him. It looked like he could instantly appear from the black mist and be everywhere, as if he had full control of the order in the mist.

The black mist remained despite the strength of the flames. Its area of effect was greater than Kunoy had imagined, and his flames were only burning a small portion of it. They were insignificant, like a firefly in complete darkness!

“Is this the Shadow Element? The Space Element?

“No, it’s the Chaos Element!

“You prick, how dare you use these boring tricks to make fun of me!?” Kunoy was infuriated. He finally realized what his enemy was doing.

He had deduced the nature of the phenomenon that was occurring and cracked it with the appropriate move, but the outcome was completely the opposite!

It was just the nature of the Chaos Element. It was like a clown pulling off a magic trick. People would marvel at it at first, but in the end, it was just a deceptive trick. It could never be compared with the real deal!

The Northern Sacred Bears’ metamorphing ability was the real deal!

Kunoy calmed down. He did not attack the shadows without reason. He knew his enemy was constantly throwing smoke grenades at him. All he had to do was identify the nature of the enemy’s trick.

The secret was… the mirror on the surface of the swamp!

The muddy swamp did not seem reflective, but it was in fact a huge mirror without a smooth surface. Every time he attacked the decoy that looked real to him, the real enemy was actually on the other side of the mirror.

Therefore, the real enemy’s location was…

Kunoy stared down at his feet.

He indeed saw a silhouette under the swamp. Its movements were in sync with the dispersing smoke. In other words, his enemy had been hiding in the swamp all along. He was deceiving Kunoy by projecting his shadows!

It was the reason why he could disperse so strangely, just like a puff of smoke!

Kunoy was laughing grimly in his heart, but he pretended he was still clueless about the situation.

He pretended to prepare his defense, but he was curling his other claw, ready to deliver a deadly blow to his enemy the next time Mo Fan came close to him!

Chapter 2654: Way of Survival

“Die!”

Kunoy had finally found his opportunity. He aimed at Mo Fan’s ribs when Mo Fan repeated the same attack. However, this time, Kunoy was going to stab right through Mo Fan’s chest and rip him apart!

The man had wasted their time and humiliated them. He would have died multiple times over if they were in northern Europe. Whole countries had to respect the Northern Sacred Bears. Who did this yellow monkey think he was?

Kunoy burst out laughing when he heard and felt his claws piercing through flesh and bones.

He had to admit that it had been a long time since he last encountered a troublesome enemy like Mo Fan. The young man did have some tricks up in his sleeves, but in the end, he had lost because of his arrogance. Not every person could be deceptive. They would only get themselves killed without proper skills and wisdom!

Kunoy lifted Mo Fan up like a warrior showing off his spoils of war. He let the enemy’s blood pour onto him, making him look terrifying and unmatchable!

“HAHAHAHA!”

Kunoy walked out of the Swamp of Darkness. He was going to throw Mo Fan to the ground in front of his friends so they would see the consequences of going against the Northern Sacred Bears.

The dilapidated nursery home slowly became visible, including the main buildings, the garden, the activity center, and the woods with walking paths.

However, Kunoy realized everything was upside-down as he drew closer to the nursery home.

The main buildings, the garden, the activity center, and the woods were all upside down?…

Kunoy frowned, and abruptly realized something.

He looked up and saw the dead body he was carrying above his head was not showing any signs of pain on its face. It had the same confident grin as before!

Kunoy immediately shivered in fear. As he continued forward, everything looked extremely real at a close distance…

It turned out he was the one hanging upside down, instead of the things around him!

He had not come out of the Swamp of Darkness carrying the spoils of war. It was his enemy carrying him instead!

The blood pouring down was not flowing out of Mo Fan’s body. It was originating from a shocking wound on his own body. His blood was pouring out continuously.

What is going on!? What exactly happened!?

Kunoy could not feel any pain. He was greatly shocked.

Why is everything upside down? Could it be…

He had guessed it wrong?!

“You were very observant, but you were only watching your surroundings and me, instead of yourself. You failed to realize you were inside the reflection, too!” Mo Fan explained, well aware of how puzzled Kunoy was.

Kunoy felt a strong chill running down his spine. Even his soul was freezing!

He finally realized his grave mistake after hearing Mo Fan’s words!

He had not failed to kill Mo Fan because he was not attacking the right target, but because all his attacks were fake after he was trapped inside the reflection!

It was an interesting fact about human nature. When a person was trapped, they would try everything to break free from their restraints and kill the culprit who had trapped them.

However, if you trapped someone but made them feel like they could still move freely, they would completely forget they were still inside a cage. They would only direct their focus and anger to the things around them.

It was the exact trick that Mo Fan had used!

However, the most important thing was that Kunoy did not realize the nature of the trap because he had underestimated Mo Fan’s capabilities.

The Space Element?

The Shadow Element?

The Chaos Element?

Mo Fan’s ability to turn into an unpredictable black smoke was indeed the Shadow Element. The way he manipulated the order of magic to project a decoy from the swamp was the power of the Chaos Element.

He had used the Space and Chaos Elements to clone the area and make Kunoy think it was real.

He did not use ‘only’ the Space, Shadow, or Chaos Elements. He was using Magic Fusion!

It was a combination of the Space, Shadow, and Chaos Elements! Bei Jiang had been able to turn into smoke by combining the Chaos and Shadow Elements through the Dark Material. Mo Fan had completely mastered that ability and was even better at it. He could also combine it with the Space Element using Magic Fusion!

Therefore, no one could possibly see through Mo Fan’s trick!

—

The remaining members of the Northern Sacred Bears were soaked in a cold sweat when they saw Mo Fan carrying the bleeding Kunoy.

Their leader had lost?

Before they could recover from the shock, a burned body fell from the sky and slammed into the ground.

Everyone looked at it and realized it was Yangel, who was gasping out his last breaths.

A bright fire surrounded by beautiful maple leaves scattering in the air shone down. A slender figure stood in the middle of them like a noble empress!

Yangel had lost, even though his enemy was also using the Fire Element.

The two Sacred Bear Brothers had lost terribly. The other members felt like the sky was falling down on them.

The remaining people subconsciously ran toward the Teleportation Portal to secure themselves a place.

Mo Fan walked up to Guan Songdi and asked with a smile, “Where is it?”

“If I give it to you, will you bring my uncle and I with you? We are Chinese too…” Guan Songdi asked in a trembling voice.

Mo Fan did not answer him, and continued to stare at him.

Guan Songdi’s uncle sensibly handed Mo Fan the case that contained the Earth Flame Pistil.

“Don’t you have your special way of survival? Good luck!” Mo Fan patted Guan Songdi’s shoulder and waved for him to look at Fenghe Mountain City.

It was no longer a city. The city, the river, and the woods were full of Sharkmen!

His special way of survival…

Guan Songdi fell to the ground as his strength drained away. There was no way he could survive what was coming unless he was a Forbidden Mage!

—

Mo Fan and his crew could not afford to waste any more time. The Sharkmen Chieftain was incredibly strong. It had once injured the Black Totem Snake with a single bite. If it wasn’t for Hangzhou’s impressive resources, the city would have ended up just like Lanyang!

The six people stepped into the Teleportation Portal after securing the Earth Flame Pistil to leave the place.

—

There were two available slots left for the Teleportation Portal. The members of the Northern Sacred Bears glared at one another as they suddenly found themselves in a game of battle royale.

Their leader had only planned to let eight people leave the place alive. As a result, the members of the Northern Sacred Bears could not care less about the comradeship between them.

Desperate measures were necessary in desperate times!

Chapter 2655: Doing the Dirty on Another Villain

The Magic Formation teleported Mo Fan and his crew sixty kilometers away. They were quite some distance away from Lanyang.

They left Lanyang behind in a terrible state. Ruler-level Sharkman Beasts were roaming close to the city. A Sharkman Chieftain was hovering above the city like a giant mountain. Their bodies were all as sturdy as high-density metal. Their flesh was tough enough to smash through mountains.

They were angrily looking for the humans who had stolen the Earth Flame Pistil. It was easy to predict what the members of the Northern Sacred Bears would go through when the Sharkmen finally surrounded the nursery home by Fenghe Mountain City!

“I wonder if the other survivors have managed to escape,” Mu Bai wondered aloud, looking worried.

There were some survivors left in a hotel in Lanyang. He did not know if they had escaped when the Sharkmen were surging over to Fenghe Mountain City. If they had not left at the right time, their chances of surviving in the city were extremely slim.

There was nothing Mo Fan and his crew could do to help the survivors now.

“We are now closer to Fanxue Mountain, we should head there first,” Lingling said after checking their location.

It was late at night. The group could see irregular mountains and thick trees around them.

Lingling did a quick check. If they were to go back to the Magic City, they would have to travel a great distance. However, if they headed south, they would reach the outskirts of Fanxue Mountain after traveling around four hundred kilometers.

The Earth Flame Pistil was extremely valuable. They had to hand it over to the government and the military. Their best move was to go to Feiniao City first and look for help.

“Sure, let’s go to Fanxue Mountain!” Mo Fan nodded.

They could not afford to overstay their welcome in this area. The Sharkmen were not to be underestimated. There were creatures on par with the Black Totem Snake among their ranks. The little Space Magic Formation was clearly not enough for them to truly shake off the Sharkmen.

A distance of sixty kilometers was not considered that far for the Sharkman Chieftain. The powerful existences among the Sharkmen would be following the trail left by the Space Magic Formation by now.

Huge bolts of lightning suddenly appeared in the dark sky as they were about to leave.

The lightning bolts soared into the clouds and scattered around Mo Fan and his crew, like the God of Thunder had just stuck a lightning flag into the mountain.

“A Super Lightning Spell!” Mo Fan gasped. He quickly looked around.

It was obviously not an ordinary Lightning Spell. It had been enlarged several times with a special method, making it stronger than normal Lightning Punishment Formations!

The question was, why would such a shocking Super Lightning spell appear out of nowhere? It felt like a troop of Lightning Mages had been waiting to ambush them for a long time!

“What’s happening?” Zhao Manyan yelled.

A burned smell lingered in the air. The lightning bolts were incredibly strong. The group tried to leave the Lightning Punishment Formation, but they ended up running into impenetrable walls of lightning.

“It’s a powerful Magic Formation. It’s an ambush!” Mo Fan warned them grimly.

Mo Fan was a Lightning Mage. He knew it was impossible for a Lightning Mage to have set up such a powerful Magic Formation without external help.

The Magic Formation was already stronger than the one Zhu Meng had used on the Black Totem Snake in the past!

A man with purple-red hair walked out of the shadows. “HAHAHA, Kunoy, Yangel, thank you for finding the treasure for me. I, Zhao Jing, have waited a long time for you… huh? Who are you guys?”

The man’s hair was as upright as a broom, and he had a skinny, pale face. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle, and flickering coldly as he sported a cold grin.

“You are not the Northern Sacred Bears?” The man was startled for a second, before he burst out laughing.

His laughter sounded strange, like the sound of someone coughing. It was sharp and annoying, with a strong hint of mockery.

“So you were the silkworms! Interesting, how interesting, I thought I was going after those Northern Sacred Bear kids, but if you managed to take them out, it means you should be more interesting than them!” the man exclaimed.

Mo Fan’s face darkened.

It turned out there was really an oriole waiting for them behind…

They thought they were already dirty by robbing the Northern Sacred Bears, but a dirtier guy had set up a Magic Formation and waited for them at the other end of the Teleportation Portal!

Mo Fan felt sorry for the Northern Sacred Bears. Even if they had managed to escape with the Teleportation Portal, they would still have died in the end.

It only showed how valuable the Earth Flame Pistil was. Everyone wanted to get their hands on it!

“A spy in the Northern Sacred Bears must have leaked their escape plan, allowing this guy to set up a trap at the other side of the Teleportation Portal…” Lingling deduced.

“It’s no surprise, considering how their organization lacks discipline and ethics. It was only a matter of time before it fell apart from personal interests,” Mu Bai agreed dryly. He was quite familiar with human nature.

“Now isn’t the time for discussion, this guy is a strong enemy. We have to be careful,” Zhao Manyan interrupted them, looking grim.

“Old Zhao, you know him?” Mo Fan noticed something.

“He’s from the Zhao Clan. I have never met him before, but I have long heard about his infamous reputation. Many renowned organizations are afraid of him. My father mentioned him before. He said that if this Zhao Jing was willing to devote himself to the right path, he would have easily become a Forbidden Mage,” Zhao Manyan informed them all.

The Zhao Clan was mainly famous for its wealth. However, there were still some powerful Mages in the family that many organizations across the world were wary of. This Zhao Jing was one of them.

He had been traveling between countries after all four of his Elements had reached the peak of the Super Level. He would kill anyone that he found an eyesore. He had been challenging powerful Mages who had great reputations, but if he was not satisfied with the fight, he would torture his opponents instead!

The Zhao Family had spent a fortune just to settle the messes Zhao Jing had left behind.

“All four of his Elements have reached the peak of the Super Level?” Mo Fan repeated.

“Mm, I believe it has been several years.”

“No wonder he was planning to take on the Northern Sacred Bears by himself. He’s pretty confident!” Jiang Shaoxu nodded slowly.

“I’ll find a way to get rid of the Lightning Punishment Formation. You all should preserve your energy and don’t let the Super Lightning Spell wear you out,” Mo Fan reminded them.

Chapter 2656: Soldiers of Snow

Thunder kept rolling through the Lightning Punishment Formation that had covered the whole mountain. It felt like a drum was constantly pounding above them. Each drumroll made them feel like they were being electrocuted.

The sound and shocks were constantly inflicting damage on their bodies. The constant electrocution could damage the internal structure of a sturdy rock. It would gradually loosen their bones, tear their muscles, and shatter their organs!

To stop the lightning from damaging their bodies, they had to constantly focus their energy and resist the rolling thunder!

Mo Fan had rapidly gotten used to the thunder’s pattern. He was going to use the Lightning Acupuncture Points to absorb the Lightning Magic when Zhao Jing suddenly jumped into the Magic Formation and headed straight at Lingling, who was holding the Earth Flame Pistil.

Lingling had put the Earth Flame Pistil’s container inside her Space Bracelet, but Zhao Jing somehow knew where it was. His eyes were brimming with excitement.

“Little girl, don’t force me to cut off your little arm!” Zhao Jing threatened her.

Lingling quickly backed away. Mu Bai and Jiang Shaoxu stepped in front of her.

Zhao Jing shoved his hands forward. Lightning bolts flickered densely in the sky and formed a ghost ship flying across the sky. The entire ship was made of lightning, moving across the dark mist in a spectacular display!

“A Ghost Ship!?” Mo Fan was flabbergasted by Zhao Jing’s unusual Lightning Magic.

The Ghost Ship made from lightning eventually dove to the ground and smashed over a dozen hills in the vicinity into pieces.

There were mountains and woods everywhere just a moment ago, but the whole area was flattened when the Lightning Ghost Ship fell to the ground. Dust lingered in the air, as if even nature’s order had been disrupted by the terrifying Lightning Magic.

The group was utterly shocked by Zhao Jing’s strength. The powerful Ghost Ship had left them in misery.

Zhao Manyan was the group’s shield. He had immediately taken out the Water Praying Beads and imbued them with Baxia’s Seal. He had used everything to strengthen his defenses, but his hands still burst out bleeding in the end.

There were not many people in this world who could hurt Zhao Manyan. His eyes burned with anger when he saw the horrible condition of his hands.

This Zhao Jing had clearly crossed the line. He was only after the Earth Flame Pistil. There was no need for him to kill them for it, but he clearly had no intention to spare their lives, judging from the spells he was using!

“Tsk tsk, I’m impressed, as expected of the group that took out the Northern Sacred Bears!” Zhao Jing mocked them.

He retreated to the edge of the Magic Formation, without taking his gaze off Zhao Manyan. He said, “Unfortunately, the world is never fair. You have used everything you had and assumed you have escaped death, but it’s only the beginning!”

Zhao Jing continued to target Zhao Manyan with powerful spells.

Thick and flexible vines wriggling out from the cloud of dust formed when everything was razed to the ground a moment ago.

If anyone was looking down from above, they would see the vines emerging from the ground and growing upward rapidly. They kept intertwining together, growing thicker and taller.

The vines eventually grew to the size of a hill. A huge claw reached out from its top and slammed down at Zhao Manyan and the others.

The evil vines had emerged from the ground like a mountain and turned into huge claws that could unleash devastating destruction!

Zhao Manyan had thirteen Water Praying Beads in total. Every Water Praying Bead he refined had strengthened the defenses of his Water Magic.

Thirteen beads had been Wu Ku’s limit. The thirteen Water Praying Beads had granted the dead man a solid defense.

However, when the huge claw collapsed onto Zhao Manyan, the thirteen Water Praying Beads all broke into pieces, while the impact knocked him deep into the ground.

“Old Zhao!” Mu Bai quickly jumped into the hole to inspect Zhao Manyan’s condition.

Zhao Manyan lay on the ground. He was struggling to rise back to his feet.

Mu Bai helped him up and saw Zhao Manyan’s mouth was full of blood, but nevertheless, his face was brimming with anger, too!

“That guy is ridiculously strong!” Zhao Manyan coughed.

“Don’t worry, once Mo Fan takes care of the Lightning Punishment Formation, there’s no way so many of us would lose to him!” Mu Bai carried Zhao Manyan out of the pit.

Jiang Shaoxu gasped when she saw how serious Zhao Manyan’s injuries were. Even a defensive Mage like Zhao Manyan could not withstand the enemy’s spells?

“I’ll hold him back for a while. Look after him for me,” Mu Bai stepped forward. He was holding the Ice Brush tightly, and his Ice Palette was floating above his right hand.

The air started freezing. The fierce lightning strikes that were flashing through the air like evil dragons diminished a little as snow started pouring from the sky. The whole area had turned white. The moonlight also added a hint of chilliness to it.

“Impressive Ice Magic, it has weakened my Lightning Spells,” Zhao Jing observed, unconcerned.

“Soldiers of Snow!” Mu Bai’s Aura had changed significantly. He was holding the Ice Brush like a sword used by a general commanding three thousand elite soldiers!

The frost danced wildly in the air. The white snow falling to the ground was somehow giving off a deathly aura!

Soldiers in ice armor rose from the ground like an army that had fought to their deaths at the borders of the snow-covered country. They had returned to life again to fight the enemy!

The snow was turning into soldiers and horses. Mu Bai had drawn a whole army with the Ice Brush.

He gave his order to the soldiers. They charged ahead fearlessly as Mu Bai pointed the Ice Brush at Zhao Jing!

Chapter 2657: The Sharkman Chieftain

Zhao Jing lifted his chin slightly as he faced the army that was heading his way. He calmly stepped toward the menacing army.

There were so many ice soldiers that it looked like an avalanche was rolling down the mountain, swallowing the villages, woods, and roads before them.

Zhao Jing continued forward. Every step he took projected dark red light around him, which gradually turned into countless sabers, swords, axes, and spears.

The curved sabers were over a dozen meters long, and could easily slice a building in half.

The axes were crazily sharp, like the weapons of giants.

The size of the swords and spears was normal, but their numbers seemed boundless. They were spinning rapidly and circling the huge sabers and axes to fill up the gaps.

More weapons appeared as Zhao Jing was walking forward. Thousands of blades of light soon hovered behind Zhao Jing. They flew at the army Mu Bai had drawn into existence after Zhao Jing waved his hand, screeching sharply.

The ice soldiers Mu Bai had drawn up had outstanding defenses, but the blades of light sliced through them easily.

It looked like the ice soldiers were as soft as tofu. Even the weakest slash was able to sever their limbs. Not a single soldier remained intact after the combined weapons swept past the army.

It was like a strong gust of wind had just swept past a paddy field, leaving nothing behind.

The same had happened to Mu Bai’s soldiers. All that was left were chunks of snow after the blades swept past them. His army had fallen dead to the ground.

Mu Bai frowned. The Soldiers of Snow was the strongest move he had mastered recently. It could be considered among the strongest Ice Spells, but it had not stood a chance against his enemy’s Light Magic!

This Zhao Jing was incredibly strong!

No wonder he was bold enough to set up an ambush for the Northern Sacred Bears here by himself. The Northern Sacred Bears would have been wiped out in less than ten minutes!

“Mu Bai, just a little longer!” Mo Fan called out.

Mu Bai nodded. He tossed the Ice Palette into the air. It expanded to the size of a mountain after it reached its highest point.

The ice mountain fell to the ground with a strong Seal that froze the area for a dozen kilometers around.

Zhao Jing was pinned down, right under the mountain. His body was also stuck in the ice, like he had been frozen for centuries. The ice was thicker than normal mountains!

—

While Mu Bai was doing his thing, Mo Fan finally asserted some control over the Lightning Magic Formation. A strong presence of Lightning Magic had gathered in the area. As Mo Fan activated his Lightning Acupuncture Points, the Lightning Magic was sucked into him like an abyss at the bottom of the sea.

It quickly relieved the others of the constant pain they were experiencing.

The rolling thunder of the Lightning Punishment Formation was terrible. It had felt like their own energy was rebelling against them whenever they were using their magic.

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai had been severely impacted, too. Their bodies were already being weakened by the Lightning Magic Formation, resulting in a great burden when they were using powerful spells. It was like a Martial Artist with internal injuries. Every time he tried to use his inner force, it would worsen his injuries further.

Mu Bai had spat out a mouthful of blood after he used the Ice Palette Mountain. The Lightning Magic Formation was making it difficult for them to fight back!

Mo Fan did not engage the enemy right away, because he knew getting rid of the Lightning Magic Formation was the key to winning the fight. If he did not take it out first, the situation would keep worsening as the fight went on.

His Lightning Acupuncture Points continued to absorb the Lightning Magic lingering in the air and leaking out of the Lightning Magic Formation. The magic was drawn into his Lightning Acupuncture Points as he gradually converted it into his own power!

It was Mo Fan’s Lightning Super Power. All energy related to the Lightning Element would become his energy supply. He could also absorb his enemy’s Magic Formation, given enough time!

“Break!”

Mo Fan gathered his energy and threw a punch at the Lightning Punishment Drums in the sky.

The punch soared into the clouds and caused a massive explosion when it smashed through the drums. A huge blast shook the sky. The purple lightning orb imploded before releasing a huge surge of Lightning Magic in all directions.

The night sky immediately lit up. The blast spread a great distance away and lit up the rest of the sky in the distance.

“Look!” Lingling pointed in Lanyang’s direction, where the clouds were still white.

A massive figure was swimming across the sky through the clouds, like they were a vast gray sea. It was heading straight at them!

The light of the explosion lit up its tough shell and made it look even more intimidating. It looked more like a spaceship instead of a creature residing in the sea. It had come to wage a war against human civilization!

“It’s…the Sharkman Chieftain!” Jiang Shaoxu screamed.

The Sharkman Chieftain had caught up to them while they were playing a game of ‘the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind’ here. They thought they already secured the Earth Flame Pistil after leaving Lanyang, but the Sharkman Chieftain had no intention of letting them leave.

It had no trouble intercepting Mo Fan and his crew before they could reach Fanxue Mountain!

“This is troublesome. These sea monsters never know when to give up. It’s your fault for wasting too much of my time here. Wouldn’t we be fine if you just handed over the Earth Flame Pistil?” Zhao Jing’s irritated voice came from the ice mountain.

He had somehow broken free from the ice. He was standing on the mountain unharmed, his expression darker than before.

Chapter 2658: Flying Thunder Sunken Ground

“Hand it over and you can at least leave this place alive!” Zhao Jing demanded of Mo Fan.

The Sharkman Chieftain was a Supreme Ruler, on par with the Black Totem Snake. Even Zhao Jing was no match for such a powerful creature.

His uneasy tone hinted that he did not want to confront the Sharkman Chieftain. He might die in an instant fighting a creature of its level!

Mo Fan stepped forward and stared at Zhao Jing. “Let’s all die together. It’s up to the Heavens who’s going to get the Earth Flame Pistil in the end!”

Mo Fan was not wearing any expression, as if he had the situation under control. But the truth was that he was extremely nervous!

The Sharkman Chieftain had even bitten the Black Totem Snake. Not many of them would escape from the creature once it came close to them.

Mo Fan was still not strong enough to take on a Supreme Ruler. The problem was that Zhao Jing was obviously not going to let them leave so easily!

They would never hand over the Earth Flame Pistil. Zhao Jing was not the kind to contribute to the country. Even Zhao Manyan had said he was nothing but a jerk!

“Do you think I can’t take you out before the Sharkman Chieftain arrives? I’ll kill you first and wring that young woman’s neck!” Zhao Jing snarled.

The arrival of the Sharkman Chieftain was putting everyone under tremendous pressure. Even though it was still several dozen kilometers away, everyone felt like they were about to suffocate, as if a huge shadow was looming over them.

Zhao Jing did not expect these people to be so tenacious, either. He glanced at Zhao Manyan, whom he had injured.

To his surprise, Zhao Manyan had already recovered from his injuries. Zhao Jing grew even more anxious when he saw Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan standing together with determined faces.

“The Parthenon Temple’s Blessing Element?” Zhao Jing instantly realized the woman who was riding the unicorn had healed Zhao Manyan with the Blessing Element.

Xinxia had used the Healing and Blessing Elements to heal Zhao Manyan while Mu Bai was fighting Zhao Jing. She had also healed the internal injuries Zhao Manyan had sustained from the Lightning Magic Formation. He looked perfectly fine now!

Xinxia had also cast a Praying Light on everyone after treating Zhao Manyan’s injuries, quickly healing the injuries they had sustained from the Lightning Magic Formation. Mu Bai’s condition was supposed to be the worst, but he was perfectly fine now. He was glaring at Zhao Jing, as if he could still fight several dozen rounds with him!

Zhao Jing’s expression darkened.

He did not expect the group to have someone who was so good at the Healing and Blessing Elements. It meant the Lightning Magic Formation he had prepared and the powerful spells he had unleashed were all for nothing. These people had already fully recovered from their injuries!

Zhao Jing would not have been so angry if the woman only had the Healing Element. The Healing Element could not heal certain injuries, including internal damage inflicted on a person’s mind and soul.

However, the Blessing Element was different. It could replenish the energy of a Mage and heal internal injuries of the mind and soul!

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai had also fully replenished their mana, as if they had never been involved in a fight.

On the other hand, Zhao Jing had already expended some of his energy. The Lightning Magic Formation had consumed most of his Lightning Magic. He would be panting heavily if he used another Lightning Spell.

“Swift Thinking!”

Xinxia Cast another Blessing Spell, and a lively melody played in Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan’s ears. The special melody was able to change the tempo of their Spiritual World. They were able to connect their Stars much more swiftly!

On top of that, the Stars seemed to have their own consciousness. The trio no longer had to control their Stars. They would connect on their own to form the necessary patterns and structures.

A brilliant Star Palace emerged from the ground, filled with the strong presence of magic!

“Holy crap, it’s so fast!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

They were able to Cast Super Spells as casually as Advanced Spells. However, even though they no longer had to construct the standard Star Palaces, they still had to inject lots of energy into their spells. The Star Palaces were providing the spells with energy, like huge steam engines.

If they were able to construct Star Palaces at the speed of constructing Star Constellations without compromising their energy, they no longer had to be afraid of Mages with higher cultivation than them! They could even take on Ruler-level creatures of the same level as them!

The need to Channel a spell had always been a huge weakness of Mages. If they could shorten the time needed to Channel a spell, they would be a lot more powerful, as long as they had enough energy!

“Come, see if you can break my defense again! I don’t mind replacing my surname with yours!” Zhao Manyan said confidently.

If two layers of defense were not enough, he would make three or even four layers! He had plenty of defensive spells. If they were still not enough, he did not mind taking some hits since Xinxia was with them. Even if he died, Xinxia could just bring him back to life with the Spell of Resurrection!

“You two already have the same surname,” Mu Bai whispered.

Zhao Manyan rolled his eyes at Mu Bai. Why the Hell is he talking so much? “Mo Fan, go do your thing. I’ll take care of you!” Zhao Manyan shouted.

“Alright!” Mo Fan was now fully covered in arcs of lightning, which had attached to his body like bright scales. It looked like he had draped a lightning cloak over his shoulders as he sprinted across the mountainside.

Since his Lightning Acupuncture Points were activated, every step he took unleashed thousands of lightning arcs in all directions, filling up the entire area!

“Flying Thunder Sunken Ground!”

Mo Fan ran toward Zhao Jing at literally lightning speed, then leapt into the air and came stomping down on the ground heavily.

Mo Fan was already unleashing thousands of lightning arcs with every step, let alone when he now crashed to the ground after accumulating his strength. He had gathered all the Lightning Magic he had absorbed into his feet!

The impact sent out several lightning dragons. They swept over the land like enraged oxen, soared into the clouds, and released lightning arcs into the sky.

Zhao Jing was dumbfounded.

Those lightning dragons were not to be underestimated. He might be able to take them on under normal circumstances. He would never admit someone’s Lightning Magic was stronger than his, but he had used up most of his Lightning Magic to establish the Lightning Punishment Formation to trap the Northern Sacred Bears!

Chapter 2659: Escape at Will

Zhao Jing was backing away. He had no choice but to withdraw from the fight, even though he was unwilling to do so.

Every Lightning Mage was irritable to a certain degree. Zhao Jing glared at Mo Fan viciously while backing away.

Not only did that assh*** absorb my energy, he even used it against me! He had really underestimated these young Mages!

Zhao Jing had outstanding Lightning Resistance. The passing whiskers of the lightning dragons had merely damaged his clothes.

Strange scars were visible through the holes in Zhao Jing’s clothes, but they had not been caused by Mo Fan’s attacks. The scars were irregular and odd, and looked like wriggling worms upon his skin.

Mu Bai was astounded when he saw the scars on Zhao Jing’s body.

Zhao Jing’s expression sank, as if he did not want others to see his ugly scars.

“I’ll give you all some time…” Zhao Jing stared at the group and added, “to think how you are going to beg me for mercy the next time you see me!…”

His body began to blur and fade away.

It was like a mist was wrapping around him. The mist soon vanished into thin air, taking him with it as it left a strange red sprouting plant on the ground. It was rooted into the land that had been scorched by lightning. However, the sky began to turn the same red color as the plant, including the moon and the stars!

As the strange plant swayed, the red stars in the night sky started falling like some strange seeds that an evil god was sprinkling onto the mundane world. Every seed that struck the ground would trigger a huge quake!

The ground began to crack apart as more stars fell onto it. However, the plant was somehow receiving nutrients from the destruction. It slowly grew to the size of a towering tree!

The strange tree started swaying again. Its fruits continued to fall to the ground like asteroids. Mo Fan and the others felt like they were currently in a small world that was about to be destroyed. They would sink into the abyss and turn into mere dust at any second.

“Holy crap, what kind of sorcery is this!?” Zhao Manyan cursed. His defensive barriers were collapsing. It was his first time witnessing the strength of the highest tier of magic!

“Walls of Inscriptions!”

Xinxia immediately ordered the Radiance Unicorn to lend Zhao Manyan a hand.

Mysterious Runes floated around the Radiance Unicorn and formed circles of Runic Walls around the group.

Every glowing Rune could withstand a Super Spell. The Walls could even withstand the continuous attacks of a group of Super Mages!

However, as the strange tree continued to grow, the destruction its fruits were causing was worsening. Some hills in the distance were flattened by the relatively tiny meteorites that crashed into them.

“We have to chop down the tree!” Jiang Shaoxu yelled as she realized what to do.

“I’ll do it!” Mo Fan happened to be on the outside. He was using the Space Element to dodge the falling meteorites.

The number of meteorites gradually increased. The collisions were stirring up huge shockwaves that were spreading over a dozen kilometers away. Mo Fan was weaving through the shockwaves like a boat trying to make its way through a storm in the middle of the sea.

The tree was still growing, and had already reached a height of several hundred meters. It looked like a demonic ancient tree. Mo Fan wondered if it was going to Summon even bigger meteorites if it kept growing.

Mo Fan had not taken Zhao Manyan’s advice seriously when he warned them of how strong their enemy was, but he now realized how ridiculously strong Zhao Jing was. Every spell he used was world-shaking!

“Little Flame Belle, give me an axe!”

Mo Fan finally made it through the shockwaves and raised his hands.

Burning maple leaves circled above Mo Fan’s palms and swiftly took on the shape of an enormous sword after a huge pillar of flame rose into the sky!

Mo Fan looked up and saw he was holding a sword instead of an axe. He wondered how Little Flame Belle had failed to differentiate between a sword and an axe. An axe was obviously more fitting to chop down an evil tree, but it was too late to change it now!

“Two segments with a single cut, Ruyi God Sword!”

{TL Note: Ruyi God Sword is a weapon in an Anime.}

Mo Fan had no idea where the words had come from. He just felt like saying it while he was cutting down the tree. It obviously would not make any difference, but it was similar to how tennis players would yell as they were hitting the ball to boost their strength!

The fiery slash went all the way from the top of the evil tree to its trunk and roots. Its remaining force struck the ground with a huge impact.

The evil tree was sliced in half. The burning sword also set the tree on fire and burned it into ashes.

The weather cleared up as soon as the tree was dead. The stars remained hanging in the night sky together with the bright moon. They no longer had an eerie red glow, but the landscape had changed tremendously. Many of the surrounding hills and small mountains were replaced with canyons and ravines. Even the deeper layers under the ground were exposed.

“Where’s Zhao Jing?” Jiang Shaoxu could not find Zhao Jing with her Psychic Element.

“He ran away. He was going to feed us to the Sharkmen,” Lingling said.

Mu Bai turned around and noticed the Sharkman Chieftain was less than a dozen kilometers from them. It was flying extremely close to the surface right now. The mountains it flew past were turning into dust under its overwhelming power, even though it did not touch them.

Everything was as fragile as bubbles to a Supreme Ruler. The group felt uneasy after witnessing how strong it was.

“We should go!” Xinxia exclaimed.

Xinxia pulled Jiang Shaoxu and Lingling onto the Radiance Unicorn. It sprang into the air and ran along a rainbow bridge that was suddenly extending across the night sky.

Mo Fan Summoned his Wings of Dawn and Dusk. He was even faster than the Radiance Unicorn. He soon caught up to the creature and led the way.

Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai were the only ones left. They looked at one another.

Mu Bai painted an ice raft out of nothing and jumped onto it.

The ice raft coasted forward while turning the ground ahead of it into ice. It continued to speed up and rapidly faded into the distance.

Zhao Manyan was lost for words as he watched the others disappear.

What the heck? Was this what they meant by seeing one’s true sentiments in hard times? They were all running away with their own means!

Chapter 2660: Suppressing Fanxue Mountain

—

North of Feiniao Headquarters City…

Fainiao Headquarters City had taken in most of the people to the south of Lanyang who had been forced to leave their homes. The North City was specifically assigned those refugees, and its population had already reached several million. It was now around the size of a provincial capital.

The town hall of North City was located on Blue Wings Street. It looked like a sturdy huge fortress from afar. Not only was it tall enough to look over the whole city, it could also see the shoreline beyond Twin Gate Mountain and the new harbor at Fanxue Mountain.

Fanxue Mountain was part of North City. Feiniao Headquarters City had expanded rapidly and continuously over the years. North City alone was five times larger than the old Feiniao City. However, Fanxue Mountain did not expand beyond its lands, as the government of Feiniao Headquarters City had not allowed private lands to expand any further.

Fanxue Mountain was around the size of Bo City. Its land might have been limited, but it was well-organized and full of facilities. Astute investment and management since its early days had turned Fanxue Mountain into a well-made small city close to the mountains in the west.

The city hall of North City was around four kilometers away from Fanxue Mountain. They were both located on top of a hill in the same district of North City. Zhao Jing had headed for the city hall before Mo Fan and his crew reached Fanxue Mountain.

The city hall was now militarized. Its Mages were called the North City Mages. They served under the mayor of North City, Lin Kang.

The authorities of the Feiniao Headquarters City had been dismissed and replaced, the same thing that happened to Chairman Shao Zheng after the Threat-Elimination Strategy was canceled. Lin Kang had only been appointed the mayor of North City this year. He was completely in charge of North City.

Zhao Jing entered an office occupied by a long table made of black wood. The room was decorated with antiques and some wall drawings. A man in a long-sleeved shirt was drawing something in the room.

Zhao Jing came into the room and after taking a quick look at the man’s work, announced mockingly, “That’s a terrible drawing!”

“Men, put a nail in the guy’s tongue!” the man replied without turning his head.

“Is that how petty the mayor sees me now? I should really give my uncle a little suggestion and see if he can assign you to a barren land in the west as its mayor there!” Zhao Jing went over and sat down on Lin Kang’s executive leather chair.

Lin Kang was surprised when he realized his guest was Zhao Jing. He smiled and said, “Ah, it’s Mr. Zhao. I’ve always hated it when people say my drawings are ugly, but Mr. Zhao is an exception!”

“Interesting, I just met a Mage who draws just like you, but his cultivation was weaker,” Zhao Jing mentioned.

“Oh? I should meet him if I have the chance. It’s been a while since I last drew with my magic… So, to what do I owe the pleasure? I believe I’m quite familiar with you. I don’t think you ever waste your time on things that won’t benefit you,” Lin Kang pointed out.

“Something I want has fallen into Fanxue Mountain’s hands,” Zhao Jing stated.

“You mean the Fanxue Mountain that never knows its place?” Lin Kang asked.

“They have taken an Earth Flame Pistil. I’m pretty sure you are aware of just how important an Earth Flame Pistil is in the current harsh cold season considering how knowledgeable you are, let alone a high-grade one. Its energy is more than sufficient to build another city.” Zhao Jing clenched his fist.

He had made a huge mistake by failing to claim the Earth Flame Pistil. It was priceless, regardless of the era they were in. Some countries in Europe and Africa might treat it as a national treasure!

He had to find a way to get it at all costs!

“Is it really an Earth Pistil of the Fire Element?” Lin Kang asked, a passionate look in his eyes.

The higher one’s status, the more familiar they were with an Earth Pistil’s value.

If he could get the Earth Flame Pistil and use it as a source of heat for North City, it would soon become the true capital of Feiniao Headquarters City. He might even be selected as the highest leader of Feiniao Headquarters City in the upcoming election!

“Fanxue Mountain isn’t really a threat to me, but since it’s legally part of Feiniao Headquarters City, I need an appropriate reason to lay my hands on them. Do you understand what I’m saying, my honorable mayor?” Zhao Jing asked with a vicious expression.

How dare a little Fanxue Mountain go against the renowned Zhao Clan? Perhaps the Zhao Clan had been focusing too much on making money over the years that the people had forgotten the Zhao Clan used to be equally matched with the Mu Clan in the past!

“Fanxue Mountain is trying to claim a national treasure for itself. It’s reasonable for us to take it back.” Lin Kang obviously knew about Zhao Jing’s intentions.

“Do it quick. We have to secure the Earth Flame Pistil before your superiors make their move. Once we get our hands on it, we can easily control the situation,” Zhao Jing said quickly.

“I know some people of the Mu Clan. I believe they will be very happy to witness Fanxue Mountain come to ruins. I’ll contact them immediately. HAHAHA, Fanxue Mountain, holding onto something so valuable is going to bring you trouble. I can finally take its rich lands for myself!” Lin Kang burst out laughing.

Speaking of killing two birds with one stone!

Fanxue Mountain occupied an important part of North City as its own private lands. What were the mayors before him even doing? Why would they allow Fanxue Mountain to stay and grow?

The whole of North City was supposed to belong to the North City Fortress. Fanxue New City was supposed to belong to him, too!

The other leaders and Councilmen of Feiniao Headquarters City might respect Fanxue Mountain since it had been around since the beginning, but Lin Kang had never been afraid of trouble.

He had long wanted to take down Fanxue Mountain. He just needed someone to start the fire first!

Zhao Jing just so happened to be plotting against Fanxue Mountain, using the Earth Flame Pistil as a fuse!

“Gather the men and seal off Fanxue Mountain’s perimeter. No one is allowed to go in or out of the place. Arrest everyone who doesn’t comply with them. Violence is permitted against those who try to fight back!” Lin Kang ordered his aide-de-camp.

Lin Kang was never hesitant about making a move, and he had always been ruthless. He desperately needed to take control of Fanxue New City!

“I’ll gather some reliable helpers. We must get it done as quickly as possible,” Zhao Jing added eagerly.

Chapter 2661: Not One will be Spared!

—

Snow was flying around like goose feathers on Fanxue Mountain. The whole mountain was white. The trees were covered in white, setting off the sacred feel of the Fanxue Villa.

Normally, Fanxue Mountain was extremely peaceful, unlike other renowned clans with tight security and clear classification of ranks and status. However, the whole mountain was full of guards today.

Over the years, Fanxue Mountain had established its own group of Mages to protect Fanxue New City. It was almost like an army, and so it had a certain level of influence in Feiniao Headquarters City.

Fanxue Mountain had helped Feiniao Headquarters City many times over the years, be it sending their Mages to defend the coastline, taking over resource-rich territories of the sea monsters, or sending out their people to help construct the maritime battlefields. To its surprise, the authorities of Feiniao Headquarters City had now sent out its army to confine them!

Not many people believed it when they first heard the news. Fanxue Mountain was the main reason why Feiniao Headquarters City was able to grow to its current size, yet its leaders were suddenly pointing their swords at Fanxue Mountain, instead of being grateful to them!

—

“Those shameless pricks!”

“In the end, they still want to claim our Fanxue Mountain. We have put so much effort into this place and developing the city. They are no different from bandits!” Mu Linsheng snarled in the meeting hall.

How unacceptable, they had helped build Feiniao Headquarters City. How could the authorities do this to them?

They had sent out an army to suppress them. They were also not allowed to fight back!

“Let’s calm down. We should find out who made the call,” Mu Ningxue said firmly.

“Is there any difference? It was the decision of Feiniao Headquarters City’s government. They clearly want us dead!” Mu Linsheng snarled.

“It was the mayor, Lin Kang,” Shao Yu informed them.

She had received the news from her men. They had learned about the situation in advance, but they did not have time to ask for backup. Mayor Lin Kang had already surrounded Fanxue City. They would soon reach Fanxue Mountain!

“What right does he have to pick a fight with us? We have already reached the level of a renowned clan. Let’s all calm down. I’ve already asked my clan for help. They will be here very soon,” Bai Hongfei said.

“They are clearly trying to take us out in a single blow, without giving us any chances!”

“It seems like the Mu Clan and Zhao Clan have sent some of their strong Mages too.”

“The Dali Clan, Southern Mercenary Alliance, and Nanrong Clan are here, too!”

“They are organizing a crusade against us!”

No one had expected this to happen so quickly. It was true that many smaller families and clans had been annexed by larger clans recently. The country and Magic Association had been turning a blind eye to it, but it was shocking how those clans were now blatantly teaming up against Fanxue Mountain.

“Someone must be pushing this.” Mu Linsheng started analyzing the facts after he calmed himself.

“There’s nothing to think about. They are obviously here for the Earth Flame Pistil. Someone leaked out the news that we have the Earth Flame Pistil, so everyone wants a share of it. They are also using it as an excuse to take us out, so all our enemies have gathered at the foot of the mountain,” Mo Fan said.

“We have caught ourselves a hot potato. I didn’t think the Earth Flame Pistil would lure so many wolves to us. We are in a terrible spot. They are clearly trying to end us before we can pass the Earth Flame Pistil to Chief Hua,” Jiang Shaoxu frowned.

“It’s not like we were planning to embezzle it. We were going to hand it to the country and the military. Won’t they be going against the country instead?”

“As long as it’s still on our hands, they can accuse us of trying to embezzle it, giving them a valid excuse to send out the army against us…”

“I didn’t think Zhao Jing would be able to convince Lin Kang!”

“Humph, Lin Kang is obviously not on the same side as us. He has been eying us covetously since he was appointed mayor. When they were building the new city hall, they told us to move to another mountain because they were planning to build the city hall in our territory. Was he out of his mind? We have been here since Feiniao City was just a small city. Not only did he come and reap everything, he’s trying to take away our territory, too!” Mu Linsheng had lost his temper at the mention of Lin Kang.

The whole world was struggling to survive the sea monsters’ invasion, but some officials were putting all their attention on their personal interests, instead of protecting the people and the cities. Feiniao Headquarters City had fought countless battles with the sea monsters, and Fanxue Mountain had helped in every one of them!

To their surprise, the authorities of Feiniao Headquarters City had agreed with Lin Kang’s plan, despite such a ridiculous excuse!

The current officials of Feiniao Headquarters City were truly disappointing!

“Boss, what do we do now? We will be breaking the law if we try to fight back!” Mu Linsheng, despite being Fanxue Mountain’s strategist, had no clue how to approach the situation.

“They are officers just because they claim they are? I’m the hero of the country. If they are coming after me, won’t they be going against the country?” Mo Fan scoffed angrily.

Mo Fan had never planned to embezzle the Earth Flame Pistil.

The five Headquarters Cities were troubled by harsh weather and the strange disease. The Earth Flame Pistil was their only hope. They had risked their lives when they went to Lanyang and found the Earth Flame Pistil, and had gone through all the troubles of taking it back from the Northern Sacred Bears.

In the end, a group of ambitious pricks had colluded with one another to accuse them of a serious crime before they could even hand the Earth Flame Pistil over to the country. They were coming after both the Earth Flame Pistil and Fanxue Mountain!

The question was, wouldn’t their stomachs burst for being too greedy?

Many people were jealous of Fanxue Mountain because of its rapid growth over the years. Fanxue Mountain had unintentionally made a lot of enemies as a result, and Lin Kang and Zhao Jing had gathered them all today.

They had formed an alliance of robbers to divide up the profits!

It was a wonderful idea, but did they ever wonder if they could take out Fanxue Mountain so easily?

“If they dare to come, we won’t spare a single one of them!” Mo Fan declared with a vicious expression.

To think that someone was bold enough to pick on him. Perhaps he had been too kind to this world that was full of assh**** and scum!

Chapter 2662: A Disaster

Fanxue City…

The vehicles were jammed on the streets as troops of uniformed Mages headed toward Fanxue Mountain.

The peaceful city started panicking at the sudden moves. Its people had no clue what was happening. After all, the sudden appearance of the local army might mean some powerful demon creatures had appeared.

However, the people soon noticed the army had surrounded Fanxue Mountain and sealed off the entire area. Even communication signals were being jammed. It was obvious they were going to attack Fanxue Mountain.

“What’s happening? Hasn’t Fanxue Mountain always been close to the local government? Why are they being treated like traitors?” Many people discussed while observing Fanxue Mountain from a safe distance.

“(Sigh), the misfortunes just keep coming. Not only are the powerful clans picking on the smaller clans, but some officials and Councilmen in the government are also robbing people of their resources and valuables like bandits. If you don’t give them what they want, they will accuse you of treason, but once you handed it over, they will just ask for more. Fanxue Mountain isn’t as powerful as the Mu Clan, Zhao Clan, and Zu Clan, yet it’s rich in resources. It was only a matter of time until they were targeted!”

“This is unreasonable! We moved to Fanxue City a long time ago. The people of Fanxue Mountain have contributed greatly to turning this barren land into a developed city. The city has also taken in many refugees after the Headquarters Cities were established. Either way, Fanxue Mountain’s contributions should be recognized. How could the government of Feiniao Headquarters City destroy the bridge after crossing the river!?”

“Yeah, they have sent out so many soldiers, too! They were never this proactive when they were fighting the sea monsters. This is insane!”

The people started complaining angrily. After all, everyone knew Fanxue City was a private territory. Mu Zhuoyun and Mu Linsheng had given its residents a lot of help through welfare policies. The safe environment Fanxue City had provided its people was a luxury in a time like this, when a city could be taken out by the sea monsters within a single night.

“Fanxue Mountain is planning to embezzle a national treasure! You will be accused of treason if you don’t hand it over! Unauthorized personnel should leave at once to guarantee your safety!”

Some officials were blatantly announcing the false accusations. They needed a valid excuse to start the battle, or they would only get themselves in trouble. They needed something to say if their superiors started asking questions. They also needed to explain themselves to the locals.

“I’m the mayor of Feiniao Headquarters City’s North City. Fanxue Mountain has taken our country’s important asset and colluded with foreigners to smuggle it out of the country. The military is here to intercept this treasonous act! All people who are irrelevant should move behind the perimeter to avoid unnecessary danger. From now on, I am in charge of Fanxue City!” Lin Kang’s voice echoed above the city.

The broadcast was playing throughout the city with the help of two Sound Mages. They kept repeating the same words, trying to convince the people that Fanxue Mountain was responsible for a treasonous crime.

However, the people were not idiots, and they would not be manipulated so easily.

Over the past year, the local government had not done anything to help the people. In contrast, it had been stripping money and resources from its citizens. Many clans and organizations were displeased by it.

The people soon organized a protest against the lockdown. The tourists, Hunters, and businessmen who were only in Fanxue City temporarily were angry at the government, too!

However, these ordinary people did not have the strength and courage to stop the government. They could only express their anger behind the perimeter. Not many were willing to step forward for Fanxue Mountain’s sake.

——

A thick mist had covered the city’s harbor. A ship with white and blue paint was slowly coming into the harbor.

The harbor had a special zone assigned for Fanxue Mountain. When the ship reached the zone, the people on it were surprised to see a luxurious silver cruiser had already taken its spot. A woman in a cheongsam was leaving the cruise ship, surrounded by a huge group at attendants.

“It’s the Nanrong Clan’s ship. What are they doing parking their ship in our spot? This is Fanxue City, Lord Mu Ningxue’s territory. Are they trying to provoke Fanxue Mountain?” a member of the Foehn Hunter Squad exclaimed.

The Foehn Hunter Squad’s leader Gu Ying, the shorty Zhong Li, Xie Hao, and its other members had joined Fanxue Mountain and became one of the elite patrol squads.

They had been doing well and had reached the Advanced Level. They mainly took orders from Shao Yu.

They had just come back from Gold Coral Island. They were looking forward to getting some rest, but they noticed something serious had happened after they arrived at the harbor.

Zhong Li suddenly ran back to them and yelled, “This is bad, our supporter is in big trouble!”

Gu Ying’s expression sank. “Are the sea monsters attacking?” he asked quickly

“It’s worse than that! The mayor of North City, Lin Kang has organized a crusade against Fanxue Mountain. It’s now being surrounded by an army. The powerful Mages of many renowned clans are also on their way. They are going to wipe out the whole mountain!” Zhong Li yelled.

“That is a disaster. We are considered unauthorized personnel too, right? Should we run?” a new member asked cautiously.

“Why are we running? We are members of Fanxue Mountain. We should be helping when it’s in trouble. If it weren’t for Fanxue Mountain’s support, we wouldn’t have been able to reach the Advanced Level! We would still be working pettily and risking our lives for Hunter Masters. How can we be so ungrateful?!” Gu Ying scolded the members who were thinking about running away.

“But…”

“Boss, look, isn’t that Nanrong Xu, who is known as the New King of the South China Sea? He’s the first seed to win the upcoming title of Senior Hunter!”

“First seed? It’s already decided he’s going to earn the title. He could have long acquired the title if it weren’t for the rule that they can only give out the Senior Hunter Title to two people every ten years. I heard that many elders in the Hunter Union can’t match his strength!”

“Seriously? Even Nanrong Xu is here? Fanxue Mountain is really in deep trouble!” Xie Hao cried out.

Nanrong Xu was once a Hunter, and had made a huge name for himself in the south. The Hunter Union had acknowledged his strength. How was Fanxue Mountain going to survive?

“It must be Nanrong Ni, that b**ch. She cannot wait to destroy Fanxue Mountain and kill Mu Ningxue!” Gu Ying snarled.

Chapter 2663: The Nanrong Clan

A year ago, Gu Ying had attended a gathering of renowned clans with Mu Ningxue, and had witnessed how malevolent Nanrong Ni was back then. She had been furious after hearing what had happened in Venice from the others.

As soon as Fanxue Mountain was in trouble, Nanrong Ni had shown up. She had even brought a powerful Mage of the Nanrong Clan here!

“Sister Gu, Nanrong Xu is a strong Super Mage. We are like cannon fodder in his eyes. Are we really going to the mountain?” Zhong Li asked softly.

“Of course we are going! If we can’t beat a Super Mage, we can still beat the others. We have to help Fanxue Mountain in some way. Even if Fanxue Mountain is done for, we can still keep our heads and chests up if we go back to our old Hunters’ life. The others won’t scold us for biting the hand that fed us. The Foehn Hunter Squad isn’t just a bunch of cowards, but a group of unyielding men!… Seriously, you men are so useless. Even a woman like me knows the right thing to do, while the rest of you are thinking of running away!” Gu Ying scolded them all.

The others were ashamed of themselves.

Most of them had wandered between many places, but after joining Fanxue Mountain, they had fought alongside the new establishment and grown together for a long time. They would be lying if they said they did not have any feelings for Fanxue Mountain.

“Screw it, let’s kill those bastards and protect Fanxue Mountain!”

“Sister Gu, the rest of our men are waiting at the Twin Mountains. Let’s regroup with them!” Zhong Li told her quickly.

“Let’s go, we must stick together!” Gu Ying ordered.

——

The Foehn Hunter Squad headed to the base of the Twin Mountains, where the headquarters of the patrol squads was located.

Before the Foehn Hunter Squad had even arrived, someone had already organized the squads. There were around a thousand Intermediate and Advanced Mages. Several Super Mages were organizing them into groups.

“I thought everyone had run away, but they are still here!” Zhong Li exclaimed when he saw the crowd.

The members of the Foehn Hunter Squad were relieved, too. Luckily, they had not run away when they had the chance, or else they would not be able to handle the shame!

“If Fanxue Mountain is gone, where else can we find a place to call home?” exclaimed a middle-aged man was leading the group.

Most people could relate to his words.

It was extremely difficult to find a safe place for their families at the current time. Fanxue Mountain was the safest place in North City. There had not been a single incident where a resident was killed by the sea monsters.

Many Mages who had joined Fanxue Mountain had already brought their families to Fanxue City. It was their new home!

They had always thought the vicious sea monsters were the only threat that would endanger the city, but the real threat had turned out to be their own kind. Heaven knew what would happen to the city once those shameless and despicable officials were in charge!

They would not allow those scum to destroy Fanxue Mountain!

“Come with me! We can go around Magic Moth Mountain to the west of Fanxue Villa to reinforce our lord and her people!” the middle-aged man proclaimed.

The people protecting the city and Fanxue Mountain were no longer disorganized, having proper management. Gu Ying and her men soon saw more squads like theirs joining the group as the resistance!

—

The harbor of Fanxue City…

Nanrong Ni, dressed in a beautiful cheongsam, was walking along briskly, a faint grin on her face.

She was barely withholding the joy in her heart. After all, Fanxue Mountain was on the brink of destruction, meaning that Mu Ningxue was very close to her fall!

“I’ve waited so long for this day. Who do they think Zhao Jing is? That Mo Fan thought he was the infamous troublemaker and mad hound in the country, but he has no idea that Zhao Jing’s reputation easily exceeds his. Not only does no one dare to pick a fight with him in China, reputable Mages across the world try their best to avoid him, too!” Nanrong Ni told the members of her clan.

The news about Zhao Jing’s crusade against Fanxue Mountain had spread very quickly. The Nanrong Clan had taken over some of the districts in Feiniao Headquarters City, so it immediately gathered its people when it heard Lin Kang was going after Fanxue Mountain.

The Nanrong Clan’s main power was in the south of China, but most cities there had been destroyed. Only the Headquarters Cities were left.

Feiniao Headquarters City was currently the Nanrong Clan’s focus, but Fanxue Mountain had long taken root in Feiniao Headquarters City. Nanrong Ni was fine when she was not in the same city as Mu Ningxue, but after moving to Feiniao Headquarters City, she was extremely annoyed after she kept seeing Mu Ningxue’s unmatched status and reputation.

Mu Ningxue was like a shining jewel in Feiniao Headquarters City. The authorities here discussed her at every opportunity. On the other hand, no one seemed to care who Nanrong Ni was. They only respected her because of her position.

“She’s a bright moon in the sky, while you are just a firefly in the bushes. How can you even compare yourself to her?”

Nanrong Ni would never forget those words. An elder of the Mu Clan had told her those words on the first day she went to the Mu Clan.

Because of them, Nanrong Ni had insisted on becoming better than Mu Ningxue.

However, until now, the difference between her and Mu Ningxue had remained the same as the contrast between the moon and a firefly!

“Mu Ningxue isn’t the only woman in this world!” Nanrong Ni scoffed.

“Sister, you are overestimating Fanxue Mountain. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue used to have Chairman Shao Zheng’s support in the past, so no one dared to touch them, but it’s different now. Shao Zheng has been sent to the barren west. All we needed is a valid reason to go after them!” Nanrong Xu grinned.

The Nanrong Clan had a lot of ties with the government and many Councilmen. They did not want to be scolded and despised by the whole country for taking out Fanxue Mountain without a valid reason, as it might ruin the reputation their clan had built up over many years.

They now had the madman Zhao Jing leading at the front and Lin Kang pulling the strings behind the scenes. The Nanrong Clan was eager to see Fanxue Mountain’s fall, but they were not willing to be the culprit!

They just had to follow Zhao Jing and Lin Kang and get a share of the profits in the end.

As for the resistance from the people of Fanxue Mountain, Nanrong Xu had not thought much about it. He alone could take care of Fanxue Mountain’s shrimp soldiers and crab generals, not to mention they had Zhao Jing and Lin Kang, two extremely strong Mages on their side, too.

He wondered why Fanxue Mountain had dared to call itself a renowned clan.

A real renowned clan like the Nanrong Clan had been around for a long time, allowing them to pass on their resources and giving their people an unmatchable power!

It was time to show these arrogant people the true power of a renowned clan!

Chapter 2664: Soldiers at the Mountain’s Foot

“Isn’t this a little overkill against a third-rate renowned clan?” asked the leader of the Southern Mercenary Alliance, a fellow by name of Du Tongfei.

Du Tongfei was an old friend of Zhao Jing. The two of them had colluded together and committed a lot of evil crimes together back in the day.

Zhao Jing might be a madman, but he had his considerations, too!

Either way, Fanxue Mountain was now an official renowned clan. Going after it without a valid reason would only attract unwanted attention from the Enforcement Union and the people.

Since they were trying to take over the Mountain, there would surely be casualties. They had to do it quickly in order to have the only say in the matter!

The plan was to take out Fanxue Mountain swiftly and use their connections in the government to control the media. It did not matter who was supporting Fanxue Mountain behind the scenes. The whole thing would be done and Zhao Jing would have gotten what he wanted.

The whole operation mainly relied on the speed of execution!

They could not afford to give the Enforcement Union and Fanxue Mountain’s allies any time to react. They had to destroy the Mountain or at least secure the Earth Flame Pistil and run away. Zhao Jing would just stay discrete and use money to settle the loose ends. No one would remember what he had done after a few years.

Zhao Jing wondered where Fanxue Mountain had found the courage to compete with him. Did they think they could take on the renowned clans just because they had made a little name for themselves in recent years? Fanxue Mountain was just a stray dog compared to the real powerful organizations. How would it stand a chance against the tigers and the dragons?

The big names could destroy it as easily they pleased!

“We shouldn’t waste any more time. Fanxue Mountain has accumulated some power and resources in Feiniao Headquarters City over the recent years. We must act quickly,” Lin Kang stated.

“Fellow leaders, can I go and negotiate with Fanxue Mountain? I believe they are at a loss too. They might have regretted their action for crossing the wrong people and taking something they shouldn’t. Perhaps we can settle it peacefully if I talk to them,” Li Dong of the Dali Clan suggested cautiously.

He was surrounded by some powerful people, each with an unmatched reputation in the south. Li Dong did not understand what Fanxue Mountain was thinking, poking such a huge beehive.

“Why would we bother negotiating with them? Do you think a tiger would bother negotiating with a little pup?” Nanrong Xu replied, amused by Li Dong’s suggestion.

“Little pup? You are overestimating Fanxue Mountain. They are just some petty earthworms rolling around in the mud who think they have everything,” Nanrong Ni scoffed.

“Go, I would like to know what their attitude is. I already said I’m going to give them some time to think how they are going to beg me for mercy,” Zhao Jing grinned. He was relieved after having gathered so many reliable helpers.

It was still the same, after all. He could take out a renowned clan with a few words if he wanted!

Unfortunately, he had long grown tired of being able to do anything he wanted in China. It was more exciting to fight the stronger organizations in other countries now.

That being said, Zhao Jing was very excited right now.

After all, he had been out of the country for some years. Some young Mages thought they were unstoppable and dared to offend anyone who crossed them. It was time to teach these young Mages who the real king was!

———

Li Dong headed off to Fanxue Villa as a mediator after obtaining permission from his superiors.

Lin Kang was a little displeased by that. He said with a dark expression, “Zhao Jing, I’m not asking a lot in return, but you did promise me you were letting me take over Fanxue Mountain. I’m under a lot of pressure, as many leaders of Feiniao Headquarters City have already warned me harshly, but I insist on taking full responsibility for it.”

“Oh Lin Kang, do you think I’m the kind that is satisfied with just taking back what is mine?” Zhao Jing asked with a smile.

“What do you mean? Didn’t you send that kid from the Dali Clan to negotiate with them?” Lin Kang asked.

“Negotiating is one thing. Securing the Earth Flame Pistil is important so they won’t destroy it out of spite. If they are scared, they will hand it over. We can then make our move without any worries. Don’t worry, I already said Fanxue Mountain is going down, and I will keep my word!” Zhao Jing laughed.

“HAHAHA! I see, there’s no problem then! We can also let them know what they have signed up for. They are just a new faction, after all. They have yet to learn their place. If it was a few years ago, they could continue to grow under the protection of the Magic Association and the government, but the times have changed. They can only be our lackeys if they aren’t strong enough!” Lin Kang burst out laughing.

“You are absolutely right! There is only one rule for clans to survive: either fawn upon us, or be eliminated!” Zhao Jing knew the situation of the clans now, as he was one of the leaders of the Zhao Clan.

“I don’t really care, I just want Fanxue Mountain to be gone,” Nanrong Ni smiled.

“Oh right, it’s almost Sister Nanrong Ni’s birthday, isn’t it?” Zhao Jing squinted at her.

“I didn’t think Brother Zhao Jing would remember my birthday. It’s nothing important,” Nanrong Ni lowered her head with a hint of surprise in her voice.

“It is important for me. I know the conflict between you and Mu Ningxue, so her misery will be my gift to you,” Zhao Jing declared with a confident smile.

“Actually, it’s just a little misunderstanding between us, but that narrow-minded woman keeps holding a grudge against me and even threatened to cripple my cultivation. I didn’t have a choice, since I was just trying to protect myself,” Nanrong Ni grumbled and sighed.

“How vicious is that Mu Ningxue?” Zhao Jing wondered aloud.

Nanrong Ni lowered her head to look helpless and looked down.

Zhao Jing grinned when he saw Nanrong Ni’s expression. He did not say anything else to her.

—

—

Fanxue Villa…

Li Dong strode through a garden with bamboo trees and arrived at the main hall.

Li Dong saw Mo Fan as soon as he reached the hall. He was sitting in the hall with Mu Ningxue in a Mage robe on one side and another woman with a unique temperament on the other side.

“Seriously? How are you able to sit here so calmly!?” Li Dong felt like crying when he thought about Fanxue Mountain’s situation.

“Opportunist, why are you here?” Mo Fan was surprised to see Li Dong.

Li Dong’s expression darkened.

Did Mo Fan really have to call me that!?

Chapter 2665: I’ll Teach You to Lower Your Head

“Don’t you know what’s happening down there? Do you seriously think you can take on so many powerful Mages? Fanxue Mountain hasn’t really encountered any serious problems so far, but today isn’t going to be the same!

“This place is a piece of juicy meat. You have attracted the carnivores of the whole jungle here. They are either going to split the meat evenly, or eat until there aren’t even bones left!” Li Dong told Mo Fan and the others grimly.

“Did they send you here to negotiate with us?” Mo Fan asked.

“I requested that I be allowed to come here myself. Mo Fan, you have always been reckless. You never treated the powerful factions and people seriously, but that was before. You have made the country proud by winning the World College Tournament and you captured Shao Zheng’s attention, so most people didn’t want to touch you, but it’s different now. Your supporter has been overthrown, and you have messed with someone you shouldn’t have messed with. Who do you think Zhao Jing is? He can basically call the wind and summon the rain in the south of China. Eight out of ten Councilmen have to call him Young Master Zhao…

“Luckily, Zhao Jing only wants the thing you took from him. He won’t complicate the situation any further if you hand it over. No one wants to be caught in trouble at a time like this.”

Li Dong talked very fast and clearly. He was doing his job as a negotiator properly.

However, a negotiation only worked when both sides were offering bargaining chips. It was more like a threat instead of a negotiation!

They had to hand over the Earth Flame Pistil, no matter what!

“Tell me who’s down there,” Mo Fan inquired calmly.

“Zhao Jing and Lin Kang are in charge. I don’t think I need to say anything more about them to you. One is the emperor of the Zhao Clan, while the other is the leader of the most ruthless division of the military in the south. The leader of the Southern Mercenary Alliance, Du Tongfei, is here, too. He’s an old friend of Zhao Jing, an extremely powerful Mage. Apparently, three of his Elements have reached the peak of the Super Level.

“The Nanrong Clan has also sent a boat here, led by Nanrong Xu and Nanrong Ni. Nanrong Xu’s strength is immeasurable. Many people believe he is comparable to Zhao Jing, but no one has seen him fight at his full strength.

“There are four others with great reputations, but even if I leave them out, there are more than a dozen Super Mages, including the father and son who are in charge of the Zhao Clan’s Sulfur Island, three elders of the Mu Clan, the Qishan Hunter Group, and the Vice Captain of the South Wing Platoon…”

Li Dong mentioned everyone with a certain reputation that he could remember, but there were many whom he found familiar, but he could not recall their names right now.

It was not because they were not famous or strong enough, but he was too ignorant to know all of them.

The reason they had not attacked right away was because they were still waiting for more people, and for Lin Kang’s men to evacuate the residents in the area.

Once the area was evacuated, making sure the attack would not result in too many innocent deaths, they would immediately make their move!

Either way, Lin Kang had accused Fanxue Mountain of committing a treasonous act. He was not going to cause a bloodbath if he could avoid it.

Even though it was a time that strictly obeyed the law of the jungle, it was still necessary to disguise their intentions!

“If you hand the thing over, Lin Kang no longer has a valid reason to attack you. I don’t understand what you are hesitating for. You don’t have much time left!” Li Dong was seriously worried about Mo Fan, but he did not know the exact reason why.

“Li Dong, who did your clan send here?” Mo Fan asked him.

Fanxue Mountain and the Dali Clan had always been on bad terms, but the Dali Clan had declined over the years. The Nanrong Clan had been taking advantage of them.

“Only two, they just achieved the Super Level not long ago. They are the two seniors of my clan.” Li Dong did not understand why Mo Fan had asked the question. The Dali Clan was only here to fill the numbers!

“Fine, since you have provided me with some useful information, I will consider sparing their lives if I see them,” Mo Fan nodded.

Li Dong almost lost his temper.

“What the heck? Are you in your right mind? Who do you think you are, a god? Are you seriously going to fight them? You are only going to get yourself killed! Your people have worked so hard to establish Fanxue Mountain. Can’t you just suck it in for once? What’s wrong with adapting to circumstances and being an opportunist? Only those who are alive in the end have the right to talk!” Li Dong scolded him.”I’ve already told you who are you up against! Do you think it’s worth everything for something so ridiculous?”

The entire hall fell silent after hearing Li Dong’s shout. Everyone was looking at him with wide eyes.

Mo Fan was surprised by Li Dong’s reaction, too.

Shouldn’t he be happy to see Fanxue Mountain’s destruction as a member of the Dali Clan? Why was he so angry about Fanxue Mountain’s decision to fight back?

“Why are you looking at me like that? Am I wrong? I’ve been in this city for many years! Don’t you think I know how this world is? Fanxue Mountain consists of a group of young and energetic people with the same goals. It’s a new faction that managed to secure a foothold with limited resources that were left after the rest were taken by all the powerful factions. Everyone with some common sense knows you are just trying to build a city that strives to provide its people with a safe place to live in.

“Unfortunately, in this rotten society, every new faction that isn’t willing to collude with the old factions will be isolated and despised until it’s gone!

“I was just as ambitious and hot-blooded as you are when I was young. I criticized and bit at anyone that said I was wrong and ended up injuring myself. Back then, I so wished there was a faction like Fanxue Mountain, where its people are working hard for the same goals instead of fighting one another for power, but I’ve already ended up like this after you showed up as the Dali Clan’s enemy.

“Fanxue Mountain is many people’s hope. Some of my friends even told me after having some drinks that if they were ten years younger, they would have moved to Fanxue Mountain to start all over again and protect their pride.

“I share the same thoughts as them. Even though people always call me an opportunist… I sincerely hope you all survive and continue to bring hope to people like us. It’s time for you to put your pride aside.

“Nothing is more important than staying alive!

“If you really don’t know how to lower your head, I can teach you…” Li Dong stared at Mo Fan as he was speaking.

In Li Dong’s eyes, Mo Fan was a demon king that had dared to provoke the Heavens.

However, he should learn to lower his head sometimes, because a greater demon king had appeared, and it was none other than Zhao Jing!

Chapter 2666: Retaining one’s Original Aspirations!

There was nothing that a person could not learn. Li Dong had gone from a proud young man to someone who would subconsciously force a smile and fawn upon anyone who was stronger and had a more formidable background than him.

If the old Li Dong knew he would become the kind of person he was now, he would have choked himself to death, but it was actually not that hard to do. The old him just had not really understood the world.

Mo Fan was indeed a blessed Mage. Not only had he won the World College Tournament, he had made some impressive achievements in recent years, too. Li Dong believed Mo Fan did not really have to lower his head in front of anyone if he had not stumbled into Zhao Jing. He could have continued to climb to the highest level with his head upright.

Unfortunately, no one’s life would ever be perfectly smooth sailing. When you finally climbed to the apex and looked up, you would discover a taller mountain in front of you. You had only reached the bottom of someone else’s mountain, and finally realized you had never known how immense the world was!

Li Dong sincerely hoped Fanxue Mountain did not get taken out. The Dali Clan was already corrupted from the inside, and so it had declined and lost its dignity over the years despite how it used to be the most powerful clan in Feiniao City. More and more people were shunning the Dali Clan and looking down at them.

Fanxue Mountain was a great hope for many people. He could not let it be destroyed just like this!

“I have a lot of impressive friends who have taught me many things, but you are the first one that wants to teach me how to lower my head,” Mo Fan told Li Dong.

Li Dong’s words were quite touching. At least they had moved Mo Fan’s heart a bit.

Mo Fan also realized now just how strong of an impact Fanxue Mountain had had on the city under Mu Ningxue’s management. Li Dong’s reaction was a great example.

Accepting a compromise to guarantee their safety was a reasonable way to survive, but it did not necessarily work in every situation, such as when they were against demon creatures, or when the enemy never planned to spare their lives!

“I might ask you for advice if I have the chance next time, but unfortunately, things aren’t that simple. If Zhao Jing had come alone for the Earth Flame Pistil, he might leave without stirring up any trouble once we gave it to him. But if Lin Kang, and the people of Nanrong, Mu, and Zhao Clans are here too, there’s no way they are going to leave with empty hands. We were already at the edge of the cliff. They aren’t going to let us go. If we lower our heads, we are only going to embarrass ourselves,” Mo Fan told him.

Li Dong was startled. He replied after some thought, “Aren’t Zhao Jing and Lin Kang afraid of the authorities of the Enforcement Union? They wouldn’t dare to cross the line!”

“That might have been true in the past, but it’s not the same now. Fanxue Mountain isn’t powerful enough for the Enforcement Union and the country to be angry at the people who destroy it, which is why we have to work harder. We are still too weak if someone can just come up with a random excuse in order to take us down,” Mo Fan replied.

As soon as Mo Fan finished the sentence, a group of people came into the hall in a hurry.

Mo Fan took a quick look at the group and noticed he did not know most of them. After all, he did not spend much time at Fanxue Mountain, so he was not familiar with its systems.

Mo Fan did recognize one of the women. She was the Foehn Hunter Squad’s leader, who he had met before.

She seemed to have reached the Advanced Level, as Mo Fan could sense her Aura had grown stronger. He also noticed the badge of a Hunter Master on her chest.

A middle-aged man came into the hall and exclaimed loudly, “That’s right! If we aren’t so weak, how could someone just come after us with some random excuse?”

Mo Fan looked at the man. He did not recognize him.

“I’m Mu Jiang. It’s nice to meet you, boss!” Mu Jiang’s face had a lot of scars, including one on his neck. He had obviously been through dangerous times.

“Mu Jiang has been with us for a long time. He used to help us with repairs and improving our defense. He has never shown his true strength, but one time a pack of sea monsters with the power to hypnotize people showed up in Feiniao Headquarters City. If he hadn’t helped us, Shao Yu and the other patrolling squads would have died in their sleep,” Mu Ningxue introduced him quietly.

Mu Ningxue did not talk much. She normally introduced others to Mo Fan with just a short sentence. Mu Jiang had to be a very impressive person if she introduced him so thoroughly.

Mo Fan could not read Mu Jiang’s cultivation. His mental strength and senses had grown significantly after he acquired the Black Dragon Set. He could even use the Dragon Sense without wearing the Black Dragon Helmet.

Even with the Dragon Sense, he was unable to see the man’s cultivation. There was only one possibility: the man’s cultivation was higher than his!

It was surprising to learn Fanxue Mountain had such a powerful Mage!

“How many people do we have left?” Mo Fan asked.

“You should ask how many have left instead!” Mu Jiang replied proudly.

Zhong Li stepped out of the crowd and shouted, “Boss, everyone is waiting at the back of the mountain! We are ready to charge out there and kill those bastards as soon as we receive the order!”

“No one left?” Mu Ningxue was shocked.

Fanxue Mountain was in deep trouble, especially since the mayor of North City, Lin Kang, a representative of the government, had accused them of committing treason. It was shocking that none of the people had left!

“Several hundred have left, but they were useless to us anyway. Our main troops have stayed!” Mu Jiang declared.

“What a surprise, I thought the whole place was empty… Mo Fan, your wife has done a great job managing this place. It’s impressive how united the people here are!” Zhao Manyan raised his thumb at Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue.

Mo Fan was very proud of her, too.

He remembered when Fanxue Mountain was just a barren land. Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue had witnessed how the Earth Pistil had cleansed the place and driven out the demon creatures.

Fanxue Mountain was still growing, but everyone had treated it as their home.

It had become exactly what Mu Ningxue’s initial aspiration was. She and the people of Bo City had missed and loved Bo City. They had established Fanxue Mountain so they could have a safe and peaceful place to call home!

Chapter 2667: The Curtains of the Battle

Fanxue Mountain was in deep trouble, but its people had stayed behind nonetheless. It was enough to prove that the efforts of Mu Ningxue and the others had put in over the years were not in vain.

Humans would be afraid when they did not know what to do. When you saw someone else running away like they already had an escape plan, while you yourself did not know where to go or what to do, you would eventually feel at a loss.

However, when you saw many people were unwilling to run away and were thinking of picking up weapons to put up a fight, your fear would vanish, too. There was no point in thinking too much about what to do, since the only thing they had to do was to defend their home until the very end. Humans were a lot simpler and stubborn when something they treasured deeply was being threatened!

They had chosen to stay and defend Fanxue Mountain because they did not want to become homeless again. Why would they even consider running away as an option?

Their heart already belonged to this place. They were able to share in its growth and stand together in difficult times!

When Mu Ningxue saw Mu Jiang, Gu Ying, and the other captains, she had assumed they were the only ones left, but thousands of members that Fanxue Mountain had recruited were preparing for battle at the back of the mountain.

Even if Mu Ningxue’s heart was a mountain of ice, it had still melted after seeing how united the people were. Her eyes started to tear up.

This was exactly the Fanxue Mountain she had planned to build. It was supposed to have a soul, instead of being just a city with a pretty but empty shell!

“All of you are going to put up a fight?” Li Dong could not believe what he was hearing.

He already knew Mo Fan was too arrogant to surrender, but why were Fanxue Mountain’s people just like him? Did they not realize how bad the situation was for them? Were they not aware of how strong the enemy waiting down the mountain was? They would be taken out in mere minutes!

“Do any of us look like we are going to surrender?” Shao Yu retorted.

“But… you didn’t do anything wrong! You are a renowned clan, protected by the laws of the country! As long as you hand over the Earth Flame Pistil, they no longer have a valid reason to attack you. Some of them might consider staying out of the mess. That way, Fanxue Mountain will still exist. Perhaps you might have to compromise a little more, but anything is better than ending up dead!” Li Dong tried to change their minds.

“Li Dong, Fanxue Mountain’s situation isn’t as simple as you think. Ever since Feiniao City was made a Headquarters City, many officials have come up with all kinds of excuses and dirty tricks to try and take this land from us. You are truly underestimating those people if you think they are only here for the Earth Flame Pistil. It was only a matter of time before this happened. Zhao Jing just happens to be taking the lead!” Bai Hongfei knew exactly why they were in their current pinch. After all, he had grown up in a renowned clan, too. How could he not know what those other renowned clans were thinking?

Li Dong took a deep breath. He calmed himself down and reassessed the situation.

Fanxue Mountain was indeed a piece of juicy meat in the eyes of many officials and Councilmen. Even the Dali Clan had always wanted to claim it as its own.

It was only a matter of time before this day arrived. The Earth Flame Pistil was indeed just an excuse.

If Zhao Jing was not involved, someone else would be forcing the issue. Either Fanxue Mountain evolved into a powerful clan that no one could easily threaten, or it would eventually face its destruction in the never-ending game of power between the renowned clans.

Li Dong was lost for words.

A magical moth with a special glow about it flew into the hall and stopped in front of Yu Shishi. Yu Shishi reached out so the moth could land on the back of her hand.

“They are coming,” Yu Shishi informed everyone grimly.

“Let’s go. We should find a better place to fight them,” Mo Fan said.

“The Stepped Fields at the front of the mountain should do,” Mu Ningxue agreed.

Fanxue Mountain had constructed a lot of battlefields and training grounds. Mu Ningxue had always emphasized the importance of becoming stronger. Fanxue Mountain did not have a lot of facilities, but there were training grounds and dueling arenas everywhere.

The Stepped Fields were not actually terraced fields. It was a battleground with slopes and fields of different sizes. The smaller ones, around the size of a soccer field, were used by Mages to practice their spells. The bigger ones were like luxurious golf courses.

Zhao Jing and Lin Kang’s men claimed they were representing the government in retrieving the country’s possession. They were obviously not going to fight Fanxue Mountain in the city. The Stepped Fields had plenty of space available. They were not suitable for residential purposes, but they were a perfect battlefield!

“We won’t spare any single one who dares to step into our territory!” Mo Fan stated bombastically.

“Ugh… it sounds a little exaggerated, but that’s the spirit we need.”

—

The group walked out of Fanxue Villa. The buildings of Fanxue Villa were protected by a magical Barrier, but they chose to walk out of the Barrier and face their enemy at the Stepped Fields instead of hiding behind their defenses.

It was quite a large group. The two mountains with a great contrast to one another, like a volcano and an icy mountain, were Fanxue Mountain’s trademark. When the group made up of two thousand people appeared at the top of the hills like they were ready to fight, the people who were going up the hills froze.

“Why are there so many people? I thought someone said they had already run away?” the Vice Captain of the North City’s regiment exclaimed.

“I’m afraid only the non-essential personnel have left. Those people are the official recruits of Fanxue Mountain. No wonder people always say Fanxue Mountain is a bunch of reckless lunatics! They weren’t lying at all! These people don’t even know their place. They are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot with its arms!” Nanrong Xu laughed.

Nanrong Ni’s expression sank. She had hoped that Fanxue Mountain would be empty, leaving only the stubborn Mu Ningxue behind.

Mu Ningxue was truly a b**ch. No one was better at enticing people than her!

“We have met again. Have you figured out how you are going to beg me for mercy? I’m not cruel and evil. As long as you hand over the stuff and surrender Fanxue Mountain to Lin Kang, you may go anywhere you want,” Zhao Jing grinned at those opposite him.

They might not know who he was when they first met, but it was too late to undo their mistake now!

“I thought you were a strong Mage who relied on his own strength to rob other people of their belongings, but you are just a useless scum who’s good at conspiring. It doesn’t matter. I’m too naïve to think everyone is willing to fight fair and square like myself!” retorted Mo Fan, shaking his head in disappointment.

Zhao Jing’s smile vanished.

The stronger and prouder a person was, the angrier they would feel when someone doubted their strength.

Zhao Jing had not managed to come so far by relying on the Zhao Clan’s wealth. He had mostly relied on his own talents and ambitions!

Even though Zhao Jing was not pleased with Mo Fan’s comment, he was not naïve enough to point his finger at Mo Fan and yelled something stupid like “Let’s have a duel, then! If I lose, I’ll call off the attack!”

He was a proud man, but his arrogance would not stop him from achieving his goals by any means needed!

Chapter 2668: The Father and Son from Sulfur Island

Mo Fan was not hoping his prodding words would give him an advantage in the upcoming battle. He was just trying to annoy Zhao Jing.

“Oh, she’s so gorgeous!” a young man among the attackers suddenly exclaimed.

The young man’s skin was tanned and dry. He was wearing an old cotton jacket, but somehow it felt like it was the best outfit he had.

His smile was sincere and innocent, like a young man from the countryside who had just seen a beautiful woman in the city. He was overwhelmed with excitement.

“Father, I want that woman!” The young man pointed at Mu Ningxue like a little kid asking his parents to buy him toys.

Mo Fan glanced at the young man, who looked like someone who had lived away from human civilization for a long time.

“How did I teach you? You must earn everything with your own hands. It’s the same in the city. Didn’t you hear she’s the lord of Fanxue Mountain?” a middle-aged man with thick brows beside the young man answered.

The middle-aged man was wearing rugged clothes, too. His shirt and pants were obviously many years old. Only his hat, made of some animal’s fur, was presentable.

“Boss, they are the Father and Son of Sulfur Island, Cao Linfeng and Cao Xiaohan. Cao Linfeng was a reputable Mage of the Mu Clan a long time ago, before he moved to the Sulfur Island and lived there in seclusion to focus on raising his son, Cao Xiaohan. They did not leave the Sulfur Island for twenty years. They only left the island a little more than a month ago. Cao Xiaohan made a name for himself after he killed a Blood Sea Demon Ruler alone,” Mu Linsheng relayed quickly.

Mo Fan did not put a lot of attention on things that had not concerned him in the past. The Father and Son of Sulfur Island had lived in seclusion for a long time. He had never heard of Cao Xiaohan before, but it seemed like he was incredibly strong!

“Father, what do you mean she’s a lord? Does that mean she’s the strongest person in this city?” Cao Xiaohan asked. He sounded like there were a lot of things he did not understand.

“Something like that. It means she’s in charge of the city,” Cao Linfeng nodded.

“Father, you always use Er Niu in our village to motivate me. You say I can marry her once I become a Super Mage, but she’s so ugly compared to this one. I want her instead! I want to hug her when I sleep every night!” Cao Xiaohan pointed at Mu Ningxue with glittering eyes.

Cao Linfeng was not even embarrassed by his son’s words. The others felt an urge to laugh, despite the solemn situation.

How many years had the father and son lived in seclusion on that island? How were they so ignorant? The way they were speaking reminded everyone of people who had lived in the mountains for many years!

“If that’s the case, we should let the Father and Son of Sulfur Island take the first fight,” Lin Kang agreed with a smile.

“Well…” Cao Linfeng was a little hesitant.

“Father, didn’t you say women in the city like men who are strong? It’s very simple, then. I just have to beat the strongest guy among them. When Er Niu said she didn’t like me, I helped her beat the hoodlum in the village. Didn’t she come and play with me after that?” Cao Xiaohan said. He completely ignored the people who were laughing at him.

“Mm, that’s true,” Cao Linfeng nodded.

Even though Er Niu had ended up marrying Uncle Jin, who was the richest man in the village, Cao Linfeng told Cao Xiaohan that he would have a lot of money once he became strong enough, and with money, he could take Er Niu back.

However, Xiaohan no longer had any interest in Er Niu.

His son had great taste. The woman that had caught his eyes was truly very gorgeous. Her silver-white hair and her icy temperament were flawless.

Cao Xiaohan went forward alone.

Even though Lin Kang had an entire army and others from powerful factions behind him, Cao Xiaohan would be the first to fight Fanxue Mountain!

However, his reason to fight was a little amusing.

“You, over there, come fight me!” Cao Xiaohan suddenly pointed at Mo Fan.

“Me?” Mo Fan pointed at himself and shrugged, “How do you know I’m the strongest here?”

“Nonsense, I’m the strongest. I just dislike you because you are standing too close to her. I feel like beating you up!” Cao Xiaohan was like an ox that had been driven mad by Mo Fan, who was like a piece of red cloth in his eyes.

“What an idiot, boss. I’ll teach him a lesson on behalf of you,” a captain of a patrolling squad said.

“Who do you think you are? The Shark Dogs I raised on my island are stronger than you!” Cao Xiaohan scoffed.

The captain could not stand it anymore. He jumped into the air and faded into the shadows in mid-air.

The sunlight was so bright that people had to cover their eyes with their hands when they looked up. However, something huge suddenly blocked the sunlight. After they moved their hands away, everyone realized the captain had turned into a huge brown mountain giving off thick smoke as it collapsed onto Cao Xiaohan.

The smoking mountain slammed into the ground like a meteorite. The trees in the woods burst into flames before the massive rock even landed. The temperature in the surroundings rose rapidly.

Cao Xiaohan remained unmoved, the same smile on his face.

His eyes suddenly shifted, flickering like a sharp blade.

“Tiger Leap!”

Cao Xiaohan’s body started glowing like a bright sun, and he threw a punch at the sky. A blinding light in the shape of a tiger pounced at the smoking mountain!

The scorching light shook the woods and shocked every Mage on the mountain, as if an ancient beast had come from a different realm to destroy their world!

The smoking mountain was initially impressive, but the glowing tiger had instantly turned it into a pile of sand with a single blow. Its remains were scattered across the Stepped Fields.

The captain who had transformed into the smoking mountain was a Super Mage. He fell back to the ground while vomiting blood, and fainted.

Zhong Li and Gu Ying were beside him. They quickly went over to help him up, but his whole body was soft and flabby, as if all his bones had been broken.

“What…” Gu Ying and Zhong Li were dumbfounded.

The idiot who had lived on an island all his life possessed such remarkable strength!

Chapter 2669: Exceptional Beauty

Edited by Aelryinth

Cao Linfeng was satisfied when he saw the shock on everyone’s face.

It felt like he was the one who had beaten the enemy with a single move. He was extremely proud and pleased.

Didn’t he live in seclusion on the Sulfur Island for so many years just for today? He had been teaching his son for twenty-five years to raise him into a prodigy.

His efforts were not in vain. It was time to show the world he had raised a genius son. Many factions would invite the father and his son to join them!

“I don’t have a good temper. If anyone else other than him is looking for trouble, it won’t be just broken bones!” Cao Xiaohan grinned, revealing his untidy yellow teeth.

He was also looking around him, as if he was enjoying the attention everyone was giving him. He no longer had to train alone on Sulfur Island.

He was the definition of a genius who had just entered the scene!

Cao Xiaohan saw the beautiful woman approaching him while he was still feeling proud of himself.

Shouldn’t the annoying guy be his next opponent? What should he do now? He could not possibly break the bones of the woman whom he was going to hug in his sleep every night, even though her body did look very soft.

“It seems like the women in a city are easier to get!” Cao Xiaohan exclaimed.

Mu Ningxue did not say a word. Her silver-white hair drifted in the air as the wind blew. She was still wearing a set of red heels, which further set off her curves.

Cao Xiaohan was stunned. He already thought the woman was very good-looking when he was far away, but he felt like his soul was being hooked away as she drew closer.

Cao Xiaohan certainly did not know his place. He reached out his hand to grab Mu Ningxue.

A strong wind suddenly appeared in front of Mu Ningxue, flowing like a deafeningly strong tide. The people watching could even see some white lines from the wind.

Cao Xiaohan reacted immediately. A golden tiger appeared in front of him to block the wind.

Cao Xiaohan quickly backed away while retaining his smile, as if he already knew Mu Ningxue was going to attack him.

“Heh, it looks like it’s not that simple. The women in the city are like tigers. I can’t just touch them whenever I want!” Cao Xiaohan withdrew to the woods.

The trees in the woods had been destroyed in the previous fight. The ground was covered in branches, pieces of wood, and fallen leaves. The golden light wrapping around Cao Xiaohan grew stronger and eventually stopped the wind from advancing any further.

“Xiaohan, look out, she’s pretty strong!” Cao Linfeng warned his son.

“Father, don’t you worry, I like the feeling of being conquered!” Cao Xiaohan said with the same grin on his face.

However, Cao Xiaohan’s grin soon vanished after he sensed an icy Aura rising below his feet.

A strong chill rose from his feet and spread across his body. It was like walking on a frozen lake and seeing an enormous black shadow below you coming to the surface. There was nowhere to run to as the shadow continued to enlarge!

With a heavy thud, the ground Cao Xiaohan was standing on started cracking. The cracks eventually formed a Yin-Yang symbol: the Yang side was filled with white Ice Magic, while the Yin side was filled with eerie Chaos Magic.

Cao Xiaohan had no clue what was going on. His body was suddenly subjected to an overwhelming force emanating from the Yin-Yang symbol.

A steel tiger emerged from Cao Xiaohan’s body. Its light shielded Cao Xiaohan from the strong impact.

However, the force of the Yin-Yang symbol was beyond what Cao Xiaohan had imagined. The light shielding him dimmed gradually. The overwhelming force was forcing Cao Xiaohan to his knees.

Cao Xiaohan was dumbfounded, and covered in a cold sweat. He felt like he was at the bottom of a waterfall that was originating from the Heavens. Its force was stronger than meteors falling, and it only continued to increase over time!

Cao Xiaohan’s light was soon swallowed. His legs could no longer support his weight. His knees slammed heavily to the frozen ground.

The force did not stop pouring down on him. It smashed Cao Xiaohan flat to the ground like it was going to crush him.

“AHHHH!!!” His cry echoed through the woods as Cao Xiaohan screamed in pain.

His body was sturdier than normal Mages, so it was not crushed into mincemeat by the overwhelming force.

He managed to endure the pressure until it was gone. He tried his best to crawl back to his feet, as it was extremely humiliating to keep his face on the ground.

Cao Xiaohan was indeed a strong Mage, and was still able to move after taking the huge blow. He slowly began rising to his feet and tried to stand up straight.

However, four sharp ice swords fell on Cao Xiaohan and landed on his arms and knees, nailing him to the ground!

The four slender swords were surprisingly flexible. Their hilts bounced back and forth rapidly as soon as they nailed Cao Xiaohan to the ground, as if they were some mystical weapons made of special materials that only existed in cultivation novels.

“AHHHH!!!” Cao Xiaohan screamed out loudly in agony.

When he looked up, an even longer sword fell from the sky with a formidable aura. The others could feel their souls shivering when they saw the sword.

A woman was dancing on the sword with one leg as it plunged from the sky.

The sword was falling straight at Cao Xiaohan’s head. He could not move at all, as his limbs were nailed to the ground.

Mu Ningxue was clearly trying to execute Cao Xiaohan, but the way she was doing it was breathtaking.

She was riding a sword that was dangling above her enemy’s head. She had sent out the four swords first to nail the enemy to the ground before stabbing the enemy’s head with the last sword.

She had shown no hesitation to kill, but it was in such a mesmerizing and beautiful way!

Many people were starting to have some lewd thoughts about Mu Ningxue when they heard Cao Xiaohan’s remarks about her, but those thoughts were all gone now, and all that was left deep in their souls was fear and respect!

“Noooo!” Cao Linfeng screamed with bloodshot eyes.

Chapter 2670: Living Off Women

The sword went through the Son’s head. Blood was flowing up along with the sword, the same as the swords that had pierced the young man’s limbs. It flowed into the Yin-Yang symbol and clarified it further!

It was like a delicately-arranged sacrifice. Cao Xiaohan lay in the pool of blood, still trying to lift his head.

Cao Xiaohan was extremely tenacious, and did not die instantly. He insisted on taking one last glance at Mu Ningxue.

Some butchers in his home village would also nail down the limbs of dogs before slaughtering them, as the dogs were lowly and tenacious. They might bite back at the butchers as they were delivering the killing blow.

Cao Xiaohan did not expect that he would end up like one of the dogs. Most importantly, Cao Xiaohan could only admire Mu Ningxue’s beauty and imagine how pleasant it would be to hug her in his sleep from the very beginning. In the final moment of his life, he could only see the sword that had gone through his head and the heels that were stepping on it.

They were elegant feet, yet…

The mountain was already cold before, but it was even colder now!

A silver-haired woman was stepping on a sword that was fixed into the corpse of a powerful Mage impaled on a Yin-Yang symbol. It was a strange and eerie sight that perfectly complemented Mu Ningxue’s alluring figure and outstanding icy temperament.

Below her, the dead Cao Xiaohan was a powerful Mage who had cultivated in seclusion for twenty-five years. He was a talented young Mage who had once killed a Blood Sea Demon Ruler by himself.

He had forcibly twisted his head up after a sword had gone through it. His face had contorted from the immense pain. The others could only see the side of his face that was bent out of shape.

He had died a miserable and lowly death, just like a stray dog on the side of the road.

“How…how vicious!” exclaimed Nanrong Xu, taking a deep breath.

“How cruel. Even her heart is like a poisonous scorpion, despite her beautiful looks!” the three elders of the Zhao Clan murmured together.

The Father and Son of Sulfur Island had made a name for themselves after leaving the island, but now only the father Cao Linfeng was left, and he was on the verge of losing his mind. He had suddenly aged after his son’s death, but his eyes had a vicious light in them.

Twenty-five years! He had spent twenty-five years raising his son Cao Xiaohan into a genius. He had given up on the temptations of the big cities and moved to a remote island, all for his son!

To his shock, his son had died a horrible and humiliating death under a woman’s sword. He had simply been slaughtered like a stray dog!

How vicious and cold-blooded! How can a woman like her exist in this world!?

Cao Linfeng had lost his mind. A faint-brown light burst out of his body as he ran closer to the Yin-Yang symbol. He turned into a ferocious leopard and pounced at Mu Ningxue as soon as the power of the Yin-Yang symbol weakened.

However, Cao Linfeng might have been a brilliant teacher, but he was not a great fighter. Many soccer coaches were nowhere near as skillful as their players, but they were good at coaching and helping players improve.

Cao Linfeng was weaker than his son Cao Xiaohan, and so the light he was emitting was dimmer. The leopard the light had transformed into did not pose any threat to Mu Ningxue, either.

The Yin-Yang symbol under Mu Ningxue’s feet started spinning. A huge storm erupted and dragged Cao Linfeng inside.

Cao Linfeng’s light dissipated rapidly as his body was shredded by the winds. He was covered in wounds in mere seconds.

A while later, Cao Linfeng was thrown back to the ground. His body was damaged beyond recognition.

Mu Ningxue did not show any mercy to Cao Linfeng, either. His death was just as horrible as his son’s!

“Mu Ningxue, you are a detestable murderer!” Nanrong Ni swore at her.

A murderer!

A demoness!

Her hair happened to be silver, too!

The death of the father and son had left everyone in awe. The military, mercenaries, and other factions were anxious.

Mu Ningxue’s face remained expressionless in the face of the enemy’s scorn and accusations.

She looked at the crowd and used what she had just done to warn them, “Fanxue Mountain is a private territory. We have the right to execute trespassers. It has been a part of our jurisdiction since this city was built.”

Every renowned clan had a sacred place built under the protection of the country and the Magic Association. Anyone who stepped into it without permission ran the risk of being executed on the spot. Besides, Cao Xiaohan was the one who had attacked first, and injured a member of Fanxue Mountain’s patrol squads!

Even if it was a few years ago during peaceful times, the Enforcement Union would have deemed Mu Ningxue innocent, let alone in the current time of chaos as the world was heading toward the apocalypse. Real peace could only be earned through horrible battles!

They had abandoned their ethics and morality to attack Fanxue Mountain, but they were accusing the owner of Fanxue Mountain of murder when they were being punished for their trespassing. How amusing!

They were all adults. They should already have considered the consequences of their own actions instead of behaving recklessly by abusing their strength and power. The father and son had disrespected her with vile words and actions. If they had only trespassed into Fanxue Mountain by accident, Mu Ningxue might have considered sparing their lives. However, the pair had made themselves Fanxue Mountain’s enemy!

—

“Our lord is so strong. The father and son were above average among the Super Mages, but they were killed, just like that!” The members of Fanxue Mountain were astounded.

They all knew about Mu Ningxue’s extraordinary talent and cultivation, but they did not expect her to be able to slay two powerful enemies without breaking a sweat!

Everyone was pleased to see the disrespectful Cao Xiaohan dying to the Yin-Yang symbol.

Their lord Mu Ningxue was an inviolable goddess. These scum were asking for their deaths for disrespecting her!

“Serves them right. They chose to act like attack dogs being released from their cages, instead of humans. That is the best possible way to handle wild dogs!” Zhao Manyan mocked them.

Cao Xiaohan had made everyone uncomfortable as soon as he showed up. Luckily, Mu Ningxue had settled it in the cleanest and most effective way. She had killed the dogs without having to waste her time on them!

“Mo Fan, I seriously think you are living off women sometimes,” Zhao Manyan told Mo Fan with a disdainful face.

Mo Fan was still lost in thought.

Normally, when a woman was harassed, it should be their man who should lose their temper and beat the crap out of the harasser. However, it was different in Mo Fan’s case. Mu Ningxue had acted first and was even harsher toward the offender!

There was nothing he had to do. He just had to cheer for her on the side.

“Well, to be honest, I also imagined hugging her to sleep every night when I first saw her,” Mo Fan replied softly with an awkward expression.

Chapter 2671: Iron Ink Spear Brush

Intimidation!

Mo Fan knew why Mu Ningxue had not shown any mercy to the Father and Son of Sulfur Island.

If she went easy on their enemies, would they be merciful toward the members of Fanxue Mountain?

They had come to take out Fanxue Mountain, not have a tea party. Being merciful to the enemy was being cruel to themselves. Mu Ningxue had always been decisive when it came to dealing with her enemies!

Mu Ningxue’s plan worked like a charm. The Mages in Lin Kang’s army felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured on them after witnessing the two Super Mages’ deaths.

The excuse they were using to justify their crusade against Fanxue Mountain was very far-fetched. If they did not have a clear advantage in strength, their alliance would crumble at the slightest blow!

Zhao Jing and Lin Kang had also noticed the Mages’ hesitance and indecision. If they continued to send out unreliable people like the Father and Son of Sulfur Island to represent them, it would only make it more difficult to take down Fanxue Mountain!

“Let’s attack together. Dragging it out won’t do us any good,” Zhao Jing recommended.

Zhao Jing was a madman, but he was not stupid enough to send out his men one by one. It was not a tournament or a tag-team duel. Their only goal was to destroy Fanxue Mountain!

Zhao Jing and Lin Kang flew out of the alliance.

Lin Kang was wielding a black brush. He drew a huge stroke across Mu Ningxue’s Yin-Yang Chaos Ice Diagram with it. Black ink poured out from the brush and sprayed through the air.

The black ink solidified in the air and took the shape of a sharp black blade!

The black blade slashed at the Yin-Yang Chaos Ice Diagram and destroyed Mu Ningxue’s Domain.

Lin Kang had been in North City for some time, and was well aware of Mu Ningxue’s strength. He was not as careless as Cao Xiaohan had been. Every spell he used was deadly. However, it was difficult to tell what Element he was using, as if he had perfectly merged his Super Powers with the brush in his hand!

Every move of his wrist stirred up huge black waves, like landslides rushing down a huge mountain and destroying the woods and buildings in their path.

Mu Ningxue moved backward, but the waves were shockingly fast. She was struggling to shake them off with Wind Trails.

As the black waves were about to swallow Mu Ningxue like an enormous monster, Mu Ningxue spun in the air and fired a silver arc-shaped slash at the waves.

The slash was covered in frost. It sliced through the air and built a huge wall along its path!

The wall was made of transparent ice crystals. A tower had emerged at its center, turning it into a fortress. Mu Ningxue stood behind the Ice Crescent Wall as it was shielding her from the black landslide.

Lin Kang was riding the black waves. He grinned when he saw the wall.

“Iron Brush Flying Spear, Thousand Spears Puncturing the Heart!”

Lin Kang threw the black brush at the wall. It trembled in the air and split rapidly into countless spears. Thousands of spears appeared right before it reached the wall!

It looked like an ancient battlefield, where thousands of catapults had fired their heavy bolts at the wall of a fortress. The bolts pouring down densely from the sky were a spectacular sight!

The wall was soon left with countless holes like a white beehive. Some of the spears punched through the holes and flew at Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue quickly dodged the spears with her Wind Trails, but she was forced to keep backing away from the assault of the deadly spears.

Lin Kang was riding one of the spears. He flew over the wall and looked down at Mu Ningxue with a grin.

He clenched his right fist. An eerie brush covered in blood appeared in his hand. He threw the brush down like a javelin as a sneak attack.

The brush looked the same as the rest of the bolts, but it had a spiraling gust of wind at its tip. Ghastly faces with vicious eyes were floating in the wind about it as if it was cursed!

Mu Ningxue was dodging the rain of bolts. She instantly noticed the unusual gust of wind that was approaching her with a chilling Aura.

However, Mu Ningxue did not know where it was coming from or how to defend herself from it.

Her Elemental Magic would not be able to weaken the Curse Magic by much!

As Mu Ningxue was overwhelmed, a white brush landed less than ten meters in front of her. The tail of the brush waved back and forth like a flexible sword.

A calming breeze swept past like a lake breeze, and a ripple of energy spread in all directions, forcing the ink of the spears to break down in mid-air and spray everywhere.

The brush imbued with Curse Magic was the only one left after all the others were taken care of. It was very close to Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue reacted quickly. She leaned backward and slid back along her trail of ice.

“Damn it!”

Lin Kang’s expression sank when he saw someone had shattered his spell. He glared at the other side, eager to see who had ruined his plan.

The Cursed Brush had been hidden among the spears. Mu Ningxue had had no chance of dodging it, despite her outstanding cultivation. It might not have killed her with a single blow, but it could have inflicted serious injuries on her with its Curse Magic!

“I have always heard the mayor of North City was called the Iron Ink Magistrate, and his Brush of Judgment is unbeatable. I, Mu Bai of Fanxue Mountain, am honored to fight you!” Mu Bai appeared in front of Mu Ningxue out of nowhere.

He stepped forward and picked up the white brush that was stuck in the ground and put it behind his back.

He looked like a scholar in a white robe as he stood there with his hands behind him and a calm expression. He could draw a spectacular world with his brush!

“Chief of the South Wing Platoon. It’s amusing how you have given up a bright future just to be buried together with Fanxue Mountain!” Lin Kang naturally recognized Mu Bai at first glance. He had also heard of Mu Bai’s name.

Chapter 2672: Undead Soldiers and Snow Warriors

Mu Bai was the Chief of the South Wing Platoon. He was a member of the North City’s armed forces and the strongest Mage of the elite soldiers in the South Wing Platoon.

Unfortunately, the Chief was not the one in charge of the platoon. The officials and Councilmen had full control of it.

Several South Wing Mages had joined the crusade against Fanxue Mountain. Their expressions sank when they saw Mu Bai was on their enemy’s side.

“The White Magistrate and the Black Magistrate. They are the two Super Mages that use brushes as a part of their Super Power. There were a lot of rumors about them recently in the south!” several old mercenaries from the Southern Mercenary Alliance blurted out in shock.

The White Magistrate was the nickname others had given to Mu Bai while he was driving back the sea monsters who had invaded inland through the rivers.

Mo Fan had only taken part at the beginning of the battle, but the sea monsters that had shown up later in the battle were even tougher. Mu Bai had fought the whole battle as the Chief of the South Wing Platoon. He had made a great name for himself in the battle, thus many who had seen him in action called him the White Magistrate.

He had fought with an Ice Brush and a Snow Palette equipped, and had killed many Ruler-level sea monsters. He had a handsome face and often wore a white outfit, hence those watching gave him the nickname the White Magistrate.

As for the Black Magistrate, that was the nickname of North City’s mayor, Lin Kang!

Lin Kang always used a long Black Brush, similar to a magic staff imbued with his Super Power. It had become his trademark.

Lin Kang had been a general and had fought countless battles. Many people were afraid of him after he was assigned to Feiniao Headquarters City because of how ruthless he was. His Black Brush further set off an image of being a Magistrate of Hell from the ancient myths. Countless enemies had died to his brush. He was a true cold-blooded magistrate with control over many people’s lives and deaths!

Even though he had not made a name for himself in the south, rumors about him had been spreading rapidly in recent years. He was eventually given the nickname the Black Magistrate.

Many people often compared the two Magistrates, including their unique Super Powers. To their surprise, the two Magistrates were about to have a showdown today!

The people on both sides immediately focused their attention on the two. They would soon find out who was the real Magistrate between the two!

“I happen to be short of a rare material to upgrade my brush. Your brush is perfect for it. I don’t mind sparing your life for your kindness, HAHAHA!” Lin Kang burst out laughing while staring at Mu Bai’s Ice Brush.

Lin Kang’s brush was a Lifetime Vessel that could be used like a staff to strengthen his magic. Most importantly, it was perfectly compatible with his Super Power.

Every Super Mage had their unique ways of using their magic. Those with outstanding strength like Lin Kang no longer had to construct Star Constellations or Star Palaces. He could just draw out spells with his brush.

The Iron Brush was a magical artifact serving as a Casting medium. It needed to be refined with special materials over a long time. Every improvement at Lin Kang’s current level required a lot of hard work. After all, he had come up with an unprecedented way of wielding magic, and could not seek advice from others.

Lin Kang was excited to meet someone who also fought with a brush. His opponent’s Ice Brush might be the breakthrough that he was looking for!

“This word is a gift for you from the mayor of North City!” Lin Kang wrote a kanji in the air.

His writing included a huge Star Palace and contained a huge amount of energy. The air nearby became unstable because of the overwhelming energy.

The blank ink formed the Word ‘death’ in the end.

The Word ‘death’ floated above the Stepped Fields and placed everyone under enormous pressure.

Mu Bai lifted his head to look at the Word. The clear sky was suddenly filled with dark clouds that completely blocked off the sunlight. The whole mountain was covered in gloomy darkness.

Terrifying wails and howls arose all around. The land under Mu Bai’s feet had turned into a battlefield covered in black blood, broken spears, rusted swords, damaged armor, and corpses.

The ground under the Word had transformed into an ancient battlefield, filled by the wandering souls of those that had died.

“Brush of the Commander of Death, bringing the dead back to life!”

Lin Kang was summoning the spirits of the dead to fight for him!

Lin Kang was obviously an Undead Mage. His Lifetime Vessel was already imbued with the Undead Magic.

The battlefield Mu Bai was standing on was not just an illusion. Lin Kang had used his powerful Undead Magic to turn the place into a real Land of the Undead. The ancient soldiers rising from the ground were as bulky and strong as Commander-level creatures.

Mu Bai’s Ice Brush and Snow Palette could only draw Ice Paintings, but Lin Kang’s Iron Brush was a lot more capable. He had merged the Curse Element, Undead Element, Water Element, and Rock Element into his brush!

Mu Bai had to admit that Lin Kang was more adept at fighting with a brush. However, hewas not going to admit defeat so easily. He was not so obsessed with the usage of a medium. His own strength was more important!

Lin Kang had Summoned soldiers of the dead to fight for him. Mu Bai could also draw soldiers to fight for him!

The cold season had given Ice Mages an advantage, as the low temperatures made it easier to produce frost. The presence of Ice Magic was also stronger than it would be otherwise.

The Undead Soldiers and Ice Warriors clashed fiercely in a spectacular manner. The others quickly withdrew from the battlefield.

“River of Ink!”

Lin Kang’s expression darkened when he saw the two armies were at a standstill. He quickly drew a huge stroke with his brush.

The black ink spread like a wave, and a black dragon flew out of it.

It turned out to be a black river instead of a dragon after a closer look. Its rapid current surged across the battlefield and split it in half as it continued to flow toward the people of Fanxue Mountain.

Chapter 2673: There can only be One Magistrate!

Mu Bai could not stop the fierce black river in time. He quickly turned around and yelled, “Old Zhao, stop the river. It can turn people into Undead!”

The water of the black river was filled with the strong presence of death. An ordinary person would rot at the slightest touch, and their flesh would harden like a corpse. If they were soaked in the water for a little longer, they would immediately turn into an Undead!

Not every member of Fanxue Mountain had reached the Advanced Level or the Super Level. Many of the younger Mages were only at the Intermediate Level. They would not survive if they were caught by the river!

Zhao Manyan reacted a little too slow, mainly because he did not expect Lin Kang would target the members of Fanxue Mountain while he was clearly fighting Mu Bai.

However, a defensive Mage would always have some precautions in case of an emergency.

“The Flood-Suppressing Boulder is the perfect choice to handle a flood!”

Zhao Manyan swiftly constructed an Earth Star Palace at an insane speed. It was obvious he had spent a lot of effort on mastering this spell.

A boulder glowing brown appeared in front of the members of Fanxue Mountain. It was the size of a billboard on the street, but that was only the size of a pebble compared to the black river!

However, the ancient Runes on the boulder, similar to the lines on a tortoiseshell, possessed godly power. The black river changed direction as soon as it collided with the boulder.

It was like a sharp turn of a river. The fierce tide suddenly changed direction under the influence of a mysterious energy.

“Well done, how does it work?” Bai Hongfei asked in surprise.

“Every racer knows how to do it. It’s just physics,” Zhao Manyan said with a knowing smirk.

Zhao Manyan had changed the direction of the river. The river was initially heading up the mountain, but Zhao Manyan had reversed it and made it flow toward the North City’s army instead!

The North City’s army was terrified when they saw the black river surging at them.

Lin Kang’s face paled. He turned around and cursed, “What are you all afraid of? That’s my spell! It’s not going to hurt you!”

Lin Kang pulled his brush back. A funnel appeared from the clouds and absorbed the black river.

The tip of his brush was white at first, but it swiftly turned black after reabsorbing the black river.

The dark clouds disappeared, together with the Undead Soldiers and the ancient battlefield. Everything had faded away like a mirage.

“It seems like you aren’t as impressive as you were in the past. You can’t even handle a young Mage,” Zhao Jing mocked him.

Lin Kang’s face turned cold. He had thought it was ridiculous when someone was given the nickname the White Magistrate. Young people nowadays liked to exaggerate things just to attract people’s attention, so Lin Kang had never treated the so-called White Magistrate seriously.

However, he realized he was wrong after he fought him. The White Magistrate did have some tricks up in his sleeves!

It was better that way. It simply meant the Ice Brush possessed great power, making it the perfect material to upgrade his own Brush!

“Didn’t you see that blond monkey intervening in our battle? If you are that capable, you could have taken care of them in Lanyang. You wouldn’t need our help,” Lin Kang retorted.

“Humph, if it weren’t for the Sharkman Chieftain, I wouldn’t have let them leave alive!” Zhao Jing snarled.

It was the Sharkman Chieftain who had saved them!

“I can temporarily strengthen you all with a spell. We should focus on defeating these bandits of Fanxue Mountain as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will be a little complicated once other factions are involved,” Nanrong Ni said grimly.

Fanxue Mountain had its backers. The Bai Clan, Dongfang Clan, and Mui Clan were already on their way from the Magic City. Most importantly, the seniors of the Nanrong Clan already told her another regiment was on its way to reinforce Fanxue Mountain. They only had half a day left to finish their job!

Zhao Jing was well aware of the situation. The regiment was just like the Sharkman Chieftain. He would no longer be able to achieve his goal once the military arrived!

“I have long heard the Nanrong Clan is talented in the Blessing Element. The Chief of the South Wing Platoon isn’t necessarily as strong as me, but he’s just trying to drag on the fight. I think it’s in our best interest to end the battle as quickly as possible!” Lin Kang could not afford to lose face in front of his men.

“We should focus on the big picture,” Nanrong Ni agreed.

Lin Kang obviously had the upper hand in the fight, but it would take him some time to beat Mu Bai. Nanrong Ni just had to lend him a hand with the Blessing Element. Mu Bai would not be able to hold on any longer.

“I’ve Cast a Double Blessing that can strengthen two of your main Elements by fifty percent, but it will only last for a short time,” Nanrong Ni waved her hand. A milky-white light burst out of her fingers and sprinkled down on Lin Kang.

“Fifty percent!” Even Zhao Jing was astounded. The Blessing Magic was indeed useful, being able to strengthen two main Elements of a Mage by fifty percent! Zhao Jing might have the guts to explore some of the more dangerous places in the wild if he could bring her along.

Zhao Jing’s eyes flickered with desire for that power.

Lin Kang also felt a lot more confident after receiving the effects of Nanrong Ni’s Blessing Magic.

“White Magistrate?! Hah, I’m the only Magistrate in the south!” Lin Kang pressed forward again.

His clothes drifted in the wind as he pointed his Brush at Mu Bai, and a strong wind started blowing. The sky darkened once again, even though he did not write the ‘death’ Word. The Undead soldiers were willing to fight for him without receiving any sacrifices from him.

Lin Kang burst out laughing as he felt an unprecedented power rising inside him.

Undead Soldiers? He was summoning Undead Generals!

Lin Kang had opened the Gate of Hell after his Curse Element and Undead Element were strengthened by the Blessing Magic!

Chapter 2674: Shamanic Mountain Dragon

Lin Kang’s Iron Brush was covered in the fresh blood of countless creatures, granting it a stronger Aura of evil.

He stepped forward and glanced at Zhao Manyan, who was behind Mu Bai. He told the members of Qishan Hunter Group, “You, keep an eye on that man and don’t let him protect the others!”

The Qishan Hunter Group had five members. They were dressed in purple, red, black, blue, and yellow outfits respectively. The woman in a purple outfit stood out among them. She was holding a Bow, a magical weapon that was imbued with her Super Power.

1

Magic Artifacts were only useful after a Super Mage had Awakened their Super Powers. Those who had Awakened Super Powers were not necessarily superior, but those who owned a Magical Artifact were definitely strong!

“All of us against one?” the woman said aloofly. She glanced at Zhao Manyan and his eye-catching blond hair. She did not really have any interest in him. She glanced at Mu Ningxue and said, “There’s only one person I want to fight today!”

Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow was no longer a secret, even though she had rarely used the powerful Lifetime Vessel. The truth was that not many people could threaten Mu Ningxue enough that she had to use the Ice Crystal Bow!

The woman was also a bow user from Qishan. She had a unique fighting ../style even before the Headquarters Cities were established.

“Just do what you want, but don’t let them intervene in my fight!” Lin Kang snapped impatiently.

The woman looked at her comrades and said, “The four of you will handle that blond guy. I’ll take care of Mu Ningxue.”

“Us four?” the man in a black outfit smirked.

“Won’t that be an overkill? I would like to fight Mo Fan. Didn’t he say he was open to anyone’s challenge after he beat Zu Xiangtian? Zu Xiangtian isn’t even that impressive. He’s just a useless Super Mage who relied on his clan’s resources. Those renowned clans like to boast to attract people’s attention. The real strong Mages wouldn’t expose themselves so easily,” the Hunter in a yellow outfit piped up.

“Our Qishan Hunter Group has never promoted ourselves or shown our faces in public. Otherwise, those nobodies wouldn’t be able to make a name for themselves!” the Hunter in a black outfit exclaimed.

Their Hunter Group was different from other Hunters. They would only hunt demon creatures that were strong and deadly. They had never failed to hunt down targets that even the military, Hunter Alliance, and formidable factions had struggled against.

The Hunters only cared about actual strength, instead of bragging about themselves like the renowned clans. The vases that hid in the cities most of the time were nowhere close to the Hunters who often went to dangerous places to mess with demon creatures!

“Enough talk, his cultivation isn’t any weaker than yours! Time to do some work!” the woman with the bow ordered.

The other four swiftly made their moves and circled around behind Mu Bai.

Lin Kang had already said he would take care of Mu Bai himself. They were not going to interfere with his fight if they could help it

The truth was, the four of them would struggle to interfere in the fight even if they wanted to. The Black Magistrate was already using an even stronger spell. The ground and the sky he and Mu Bai were standing on had turned black and red respectively.

Several palaces covered in bones and blood were emerging from the ground, the enormous bones pointing at the crimson sky. More bones were revealed every time the wind blew across the land and swept them up like sand.

It looked just like Hell!

Sinister demons were crawling out of the palaces, carrying weapons on their shoulders. Eerie green flames were flickering in their eyes. Their ghastly Auras were visibly drifting in the wind like cloaks.

Those Slaughtering Ghost Generals were most likely responsible for the skeletons and dead bodies that had piled up like mountains!

Mu Bai felt like he had accidentally fallen into Hell. His tiny figure could only reach the Slaughtering Ghost Generals’ toes. Hundreds of these giant creatures had surrounded him. They were grinding their weapons, empty skulls grinning eerily.

“There’s no way you are going to survive this time! A real Magistrate has control over purgatory and can do anything he wants in it! How could you possibly fight me when you can only draw some snow!?” Lin Kang burst out laughing.

The Slaughtering Demon Generals’ sinister chuckles were actually from Lin Kang.

The undead swung their deadly weapons wildly. They could slice an enormous creature into mincemeat in mere seconds.

Mu Bai tried his best to dodge the slashes. His Ice Magic could not withstand the deadly blows. Lin Kang had grown significantly stronger after receiving Nanrong Ni’s Blessing, and his attacks had placed Mu Bai under enormous pressure.

However, Mu Bai did not lose his calm.

He had learned a useful trick from the Venomous Insect Shamans in the Andes Mountain Range. He could inject any Undead and strange creature with a huge supply of energy in their bodies with a kind of insect!

These insects would absorb their energy and grow rapidly like parasites inside them. All Mu Bai had to do was wait, and the Slaughtering Demon Generals would gradually weaken. Mu Bai just had to dodge their attacks while the insects fed on them!

“Break out of your shells!” Mu Bai snapped his fingers when it was time.

The head of a Slaughtering Demon General exploded. A strange insect with ten legs dug its way out of the Slaughtering Demon General and stabbed another Slaughtering Demon General with its claws!

The Mountain Sting Insect had holes on its claws that could absorb a creature’s energy. The insect grew swiftly as its muscles and shell hardened. Its tail was covered in spikes, and it seemed it would evolve and grow stronger every time it took out a strong enemy.

However, the Mountain Sting Insect had an extremely short lifespan. It would die at the end of a battle.

The Slaughtering Demon Generals were fierce and dangerous, but they had walked right into Mu Bai’s trap. These Undead that Lin Kang summoned eventually ended up as nutrients for Mu Bai’s insects!

Ten Mountain Sting Insects had evolved into Shamanic Mountain Dragons with eighteen pairs of claws and spikes all over their bodies after they took out all the Slaughtering Demon Generals. Their tails were brimming with power and deadly poison!

“It’s just some petty insects. They are all going to die!” Lin Kang yelled scornfully.

Chapter 2675: Book of Death

“Book of Death, Soul Extraction!”

Lin Kang was also a Curse Mage. He had already come up with a plan after he saw the first insect feeding on his Slaughtering Demon Generals.

He held his brush firmly and wrote a Curse in the air.

The ten Shamanic Mountain Dragons were about to make their moves when something suddenly bound them. At a closer look, it turned out that the Curse Lin Kang had written had pinned them down. The strange lines of words were binding the Shamanic Mountain Dragons to the ground like unbreakable chains.

More words appeared under the Shamanic Mountain Dragons’ feet. The glowing words under their feet were enough to fill a whole page in the Book of Death!

Once the page was filled, the words started dimming. The Shamanic Mountain Dragons were dying as the words were fading.

Their carapaces were falling off. Their flesh dried up and their bones loosened. Their souls had wilted away rapidly.

The fierce Shamanic Mountain Dragons were dying to the Curse Magic before they could even attack Lin Kang.

In the end, the Shamanic Mountain Dragons collapsed to the ground like helpless bugs, turning into pools of filth after they died.

“Hah, what else do you have?” Lin Kang laughed.

Normally, it would take Lin Kang a lot of effort to use the Book of Death, but he was able to use it with ease after his Curse Element and Undead Element were strengthened! “This page is for you. My Book of Death has never recorded the names of nobodies!” Lin Kang pointed his brush at Mu Bai.

Lin Kang had written eleven pages in the Book of Death. The page with the deadliest Curse was on the next page, and it now had Mu Bai’s name on it!

Every name in the Book of Death belonged to a person now dead. Lin Kang would not use it under normal circumstances, but this was necessary for him to claim the greatest power in North City. He would not mind even if the Magic Association was going to question him afterwards!

Mu Bai did not have time to back away. Lines of glowing Words written with blood appeared around him. Not only did they pin Mu Bai down, they were also wrapping around him in several layers!

“AHHH!!!” Mu Bai cried out loudly. The glowing Words were floating in the air at first, but they soon carved themselves into Mu Bai’s skin.

Every stroke was reaching deep into his flesh and bones. The blood that was pouring out made the Words look even scarier.

“It’s more comfortable dying to my Undead. Why did you insist on dying to the Book of Death?” Lin Kang laughed when he saw Mu Bai covered in blood.

Mu Bai’s face was covered by bloody Words, but his eyes were not filled with despair because of the unbearable pain.

He stared at Lin Kang with a fire in his chest. His eyes were also burning with the will to fight.

“Have you ever met the real God of Death?” Mu Bai asked coldly.

Lin Kang was startled. The God of Death?

Who would ever meet an existence like that? Only those that were about to die would see him!

The so-called gods were just some powerful creatures. Anything could be called a god as long as they were strong enough.

Lin Kang could also consider himself a God of Death, since he could easily decide the fate of a person with a single stroke of his brush!

“Do you think that’s all there is to my Book of Death? It’s going to kill you, but it’s going to make you taste the sufferings of Hell first!” Lin Kang proclaimed.

“Some people like to act tough. The Book of Death is just a kind of Super Power disguised with the Curse Magic. Are you that naïve to call it the Book of Death, which can control anyone’s death?” Mu Bai laughed. He was laughing even though his body was covered in Curses and blood. It was a weird sight to see.

“I was once a prison guard in charge of executing criminals that were sentenced to death. It’s strange how the criminals always pretended they had already accepted their fate, but when they were tied to the chair and put on the helmet, they would always lose control of their bladders and scream something ridiculous, just like children!” Lin Kang was not surprised by Mu Bai’s reaction. “You are just like them now. To be honest, I do miss the old days. I was disgusted at first, but I began quite looking forward to going to work as time went by!”

Mu Bai was still bleeding, but the torture of the Curse Magic was no longer targeting just his flesh. He could feel the Curse digging into his bones. He felt like screaming from the enormous pain.

Even so, Mu Bai continued to laugh at certain times. His soul would be next, after the pain was inflicted on his bones.

It was the usual trilogy of the Curse Magic: first the flesh, then the bones, and finally the soul!

The spell’s damage could no longer be undone once it was inflicted on the soul. Mu Bai was extremely close to dying, but he did not act like someone who was dying. It felt more like he was about to be set free once the Curse targeted his soul!

—

The wind had formed a barrier around the area, preventing others from interfering in the battle between the two Magistrates.

Many people had heard Mu Bai’s screams.

Zhao Manyan was busy handling the four strong Hunters, and did not have a chance to help Mu Bai. Only a few people from Fanxue Mountain were strong enough to face Lin Kang.

“Xinxia, Mu Bai might need your help,” Jiang Shaoxu said worriedly.

Lin Kang’s strength had grown significantly, while Mu Bai’s strength remained the same. Lin Kang was a lot stronger in terms of cultivation and strength. It was too difficult for Mu Bai to fight Lin Kang alone.

“I think he’s fine,” Xinxia replied.

“How so? I can feel his pain!” Jiang Shaoxu was even more worried. She did not understand why Xinxia did not help Mu Bai.

“My magic will only hinder him. His body has a Godhood that rejects the power of the Parthenon Temple,” Xinxia explained calmly.

“God…Godhood?” Jiang Shaoxu thought she had heard it wrong.

“Jiang Shaoxu, don’t worry about him. Lin Kang might be able to kill him with other Elements, but the Curse Element?” Mo Fan was not worried about Mu Bai at all.

How could someone who played chess with the Lord of Darkness die to the Curse Element that had been created by Him?

Mu Bai had explained what he went through in simple words, but Mo Fan knew he had lived a different life during the time he was lying in the coffin. It might have been longer than the years he had lived in this world.

“But…but his cries are so frightening!”

“Don’t you also scream when you are taking a cold shower?” Mo Fan asked lightly.

Chapter 2676: Power of the Moon

“It seems like we have overestimated our enemy. Fanxue Mountain is about to lose, even though I wasn’t involved in any of the fights!” Nanrong Xu put his hands inside the warm sleeves of his mink coat smugly.

“It’s better to settle it confidently than to be surprised,” Zhao Jing replied.

He was not talking to Nanrong Xu. His eyes were on Nanrong Ni instead.

“What spell did you use on Lin Kang? I had a brief fight with that man who’s using a brush. He’s not weak at all, but he’s about to die under Lin Kang’s Curse. Your magic is surprisingly effective!” Zhao Jing complimented him.

Nanrong Ni was flattered. Being able to play an important role in such a crucial battle was something to be proud of, especially since most of the renowned clans did not treat women seriously.

However, Nanrong Ni was not going to show her thoughts on her face. She knew what Zhao Jing was trying to imply.

“Mayor Lin is about to take out his opponent, but his men are still a little hesitant due to the lack of morale on our side. I have a Moon Talisman that can grant a Super Mage the Power of the Moon.”

Zhao Jing was delighted to hear that. He had thought Nanrong Ni’s Blessing Magic could only strengthen a single person at a time. To his delight, she could strengthen other people simultaneously!

They actually did not have to ask other people for help. The three of them could easily take out Fanxue Mountain!

“What does this Moon Talisman do?” Zhao Jing asked curiously.

“It will increase the basic damage of all destructive spells by roughly fifty percent,” Nanrong Ni told him.

Nanrong Ni had spent all her efforts on improving specific Elements with the help of the Mu Clan and Nanrong Clan’s resources. She was now one step closer to becoming a member of the Mu Clan Committee, not because of her cultivation or her fighting capacity, but because she was able to do what others could not!

The Moon Talisman had the same effect, be it on a Super Mage with a single Element in the Super Level or a Super Mage with all four Elements at the peak of the Super Level, but the difference in strength was shocking.

It was a huge reason as to why the Blessing Element was so highly regarded!

“She has spent almost a year just refining the Moon Talisman. You are most likely the best person that she can give the Moon Talisman to. Not only will it decide whether you can take back the country’s treasure, it would also help her reputation, since this is the first operation she has been involved in after coming out of seclusion,” Nanrong Xu said when he saw Nanrong Ni give Zhao Jing the Moon Talisman.

“So you haven’t tried the Moon Talisman before?” Zhao Jing asked her.

Nanrong Xu shook his head.

“I’m extremely honored then! Don’t worry, you have clearly made the wisest choice by giving it to me!” Zhao Jing declared with a confident smile.

The effect of the Moon Talisman wrapped around its wearer like faint moonlight fairies. They looked like some ancient Runes related to the creation of the universe.

Zhao Jing could feel the effect he was receiving every time the Moon Talisman magic flickered. It felt like all of the Lightning Magic within a hundred kilometers was responding to it.

A destructive aura from his Lightning Magic was already lingering in the air, even before any spell was used. It felt wonderful being filled with such energy!

“Sister Nanrong, can you please give me a Moon Talisman Blessing, too? I also want to massacre the enemy!” Du Tongfei, the leader of the Southern Mercenary Alliance, requested eagerly.

Nanrong Ni pointed at the sky and answered, “It only works on a single target, and it only refreshes after the moon rises above the horizon again.”

Even though it was currently day, the moon was still in the sky. The Moon Talisman could only be used once a day on a single person. The Blessing Element was extremely useful, but it also had a lot of restrictions. It was not always the same as other Elements, which were available at all times.

“I see, but it doesn’t matter. I have no intention to continue wasting my time. Brothers, come with me, let’s avenge our fallen comrades!” Du Tongfei shouted at his men.

The Southern Mercenary Alliance had a huge conflict with Fanxue Mountain during a battle against the sea monsters in the past. They had blamed Fanxue Mountain for the death of their people.

Du Tongfei headed to the Stepped Fields. His target was Bai Hongfei. He grinned coldly, his face murderous.

—

Bai Hongfei was not afraid to take the fight, but Shao Yu stepped in front of him instead. “Let me handle him,” Shao Yu stated.

Bai Hongfei’s cultivation was not high enough. The difference in cultivation would give him a disadvantage. Shao Yu did not allow Bai Hongfei to lose his calm after being provoked.

“But you won’t be able to face him alone, either!” Bai Hongfei protested to her.

Du Tongfei was a Super Mage with three Elements at the Super Level. He had also Awakened his Super Powers!

Du Tongfei would be one of the toughest people to fight among their enemies, but Fanxue Mountain did not have anyone else who could take him on! Zhao Jing was obviously going after Mo Fan after he had received the boost from the Moon Talisman.

“Boss, Shao Yu is going to struggle against Du Tongfei. Should I fight him instead?” Mu Jiang asked Mo Fan, since Mu Ningxue was currently occupied.

“There’s no rush,” Mo Fan shook his head and then looked at Xinxia.

Xinxia understood Mo Fan’s intention. She flipped her hand and revealed a moonlit Seal. It was shining as brightly as a full moon.

“A Moon Talisman!” Mu Jiang, Bai Hongfei, and Shao Yu were shocked.

Zhao Jing and his men were not far away from them. They had all seen Nanrong Ni using her Moon Talisman.

Most people had never seen Blessing Magic above the Advanced Level, hence why the Moon Talisman was so surprising to them.

“This Moon Talisman Blessing is for you!” Xinxia gently pushed her hand forward. The glowing talisman floated toward Shao Yu.

Shao Yu could not react in time even as she subconsciously tried to dodge it.

She was dodging it because she knew how powerful the Moon Talisman was. It was better to give it to Mu Ningxue or Mo Fan to maximize its potential.

Unfortunately, Shao Yu could not escape it. The moonlight wrapped around her with a sacred and powerful Aura.

Chapter 2677: Protection of the Star Talismans

“Uh…” Shao Yu was lost for words. The others were also puzzled by Xinxia’s decision!

If they had a Moon Talisman, why weren’t they giving its Blessing to their strongest Mages? Shao Yu’s cultivation was indeed stronger than most people of Fanxue Mountain, but wasn’t it better to give it to Mu Bai, Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, Zhao Manyan, or Mu Jiang? They did not have to care about their dignity in a situation of life and death!

“Go and settle your debt with that scum,” Mo Fan told her.

Mo Fan had already heard about the conflict Shao Yu had with the Southern Mercenary Alliance from Mu Ningxue. It was the reason why Zhao Jing was able to convince them to join the crusade so easily. Bai Hongfei had also offended the Southern Mercenary Alliance when he had stepped forward to protect Shao Yu!

“But Zhao Jing is the strongest among them. How are we going to stop him if he comes?” Shao Yu asked with a puzzled expression.

“The Moon Talisman is only one of my Blessing Spells,” Xinxia said. She looked down the mountain and encouraged Shao Yu, “Your opponent is here!”

Shao Yu saw the mercenaries, who had already reached the Hundred Pines Battlefield. All the mercenaries were elites, led by Du Tongfei. He had a menacing face on, displaying that he had come prepared to kill!

Shao Yu looked at her men behind her.

The elites of the Foehn Hunter Squad were already in position. They had no intention of letting the outsiders reach Fanxue Villa. They had set up a line of defense before charging at the mercenaries.

“We shall dye the Pine Woods with the blood of the intruders!” Shao Yu shouted.

The Moon Talisman Blessing made Shao Yu look like a knight showered by the moonlight, especially since she always wore a leather outfit. The roots of the trees emerged from the ground under the effects of her magic. They interwove and grew into a huge snake before charging at the Southern Mercenary Alliance.

Gu Ying, Zhong Li, Xie Hao, and the rest followed the lead of the snake. Countless Advanced Spells of different Elements began pouring down the mountain like a huge waterfall.

“Guidance of the Stars, Spirits of the Heart!”

Starry lights appeared as the spells clashed fiercely. Spirits in the form of glimmering lights landed unerringly on Fanxue Mountain’s people.

“Power of the Stars!” Shao Yu had just obtained the Moon Talisman Blesing. To her surprise, the lights that followed granted her a different power!

“The spirits of the Stars will look after you on my behalf,” Xinxia’s voice echoed gently in their minds. It felt like a powerful goddess had blessed them with her protection!

Shao Yu and Bai Hongfei looked behind them and saw everyone being surrounded by the special lights. The lights flared brighter when the enemy’s spells landed on them.

The lights would appear just in time and turned into glowing shields, absorbing the damage from the hostile spells!

“Holy crap, it’s giving each of us a shield that can withstand the damage of Advanced Spells!” Zhong Li exclaimed excitedly.

The Star Talisman Blessing was given to every member of Fanxue Mountain. They had no idea that such a powerful spell existed, one strong enough to completely absorb the damage of Advanced Spells!

Countless spells were fired in the first wave. Some of the people were caught by the massive forces unleashed. Casualties were inevitable.

However, the people of Fanxue Mountain were completely unharmed. The Southern Mercenary Alliance was the first to lose some of its men!

“What’s going on? What spell is that!?” Du Tongfei yelled when he saw the strange sight.

He did not recognize the Star Talisman Blessing. He could only see that every member of Fanxue Mountain had put on some kind of sturdy armor that did not restrict their movements.

It felt like two armies had crashed into one another. Their enemies were wearing heavy armor, while his men were fighting with bare fists. The difference was extremely obvious!

“The Star Talismans are still brimming with power. Such an impressive spell!” Bai Hongfei noticed the Star Talisman Blessing had remained around his men without showing any signs of dissipating.

“We are unstoppable!” Zhong Li burst out laughing.

“These scum dare to loot a burning house? They are all going to pay for it!” Gu Ying was even more fearless after receiving the Star Talismans’ protection. She Cast a Sky-Flame Funeral at the front line.

Her third-tier Sky-Flame Funeral could easily kill a bunch of the invading mercenaries!

—

The clash between Fanxue Mountain’s people and the mercenaries was the first big-scale fight between the two sides, but both sides were surprised by how one-sided it was.

The alliance consisting of the Nanrong Clan, Zhao Clan, Mu Clan, and North City’s soldiers watched in disbelief.

The Southern Mercenary Alliance had sent out their elites, all of which were at least at the Advanced Level. They were supposed to break down the enemy’s defense with ease and give the others an advantageous opening.

To their surprise, the outcome was decided right at the start of the battle. It was only a matter of time until the mercenaries were defeated!

How was the difference in their strength so huge? Was the outcome of the battle decided by a single person’s spell?

“Star Talismans, the protection of the Stars… Humph, she has given all her Blessing Magic to that useless troop!” Nanrong Ni’s expression darkened when she saw the light of the Stars.

“What’s going on? Does Fanxue Mountain have a Blessing Mage, too?” Nanrong Xu demanded to know.

“I don’t know, but it’s clearly a stupid act. The Star Talismans consume a lot of energy, especially when they are used on more than a hundred people. The person is basically giving all their energy to that troop,” Nanrong Ni smirked.

“They are trying to preserve their men,” Nanrong Xu deduced.

“Mm, but they are still going to die once Mo Fan, Mu Ningxue, and the others are taken out,” Nanrong Ni nodded.

Zhao Jing could easily take out the entire troop of Fanxue Mountain by himself. Nanrong Ni was not going to waste her precious magic on the mercenaries!

Their lives had nothing to do with her!

Chapter 2678: The Undying Mu Bai

Morale was extremely important. If someone did not have a great reputation and could not overwhelm an enemy with brute force, the others who had joined their cause and were thinking of looting a burning house would hesitate to get further involved.

The people who came had sound minds. They did not join the crusade for glory, dignity, or life and death. They were after Fanxue Mountain’s rich resources and wanted a share of the loot.

A single faction had no chance of taking down the piece of juicy meat alone, hence why the alliance had been formed.

They were weak of will and lacked determination. They were also afraid of being punished by the country and the Enforcement Union. If they could not beat the enemy with a single push, their alliance that was established based on personal interests might collapse at any second!

“What the heck is Lin Kang doing?” Zhao Jing demanded coldly, glaring ahead.

The battle between Lin Kang and Mu Bai inside the mist still had not ended!

They had already heard Mu Bai’s screams. The battle between the two renowned Magistrates should have ended by now. Killing a key member of the enemy’s leadership was crucial to the battle! The rest of the factions were still waiting, instead of pushing up the mountain.

They were waiting for the people in charge to take out Fanxue Mountain’s Super Mages!

“The Moon Talisman Blessing is only used up while you are using destructive spells. Brother Zhao Jing, there’s no need to feel anxious,” Nanrong Ni said when she saw Zhao Jing was getting agitated.

Zhao Jing nodded. It would not hurt him to wait a little longer. Lin Kang had to win the fight for the North City soldiers to press forward.

Lin Kang’s army was their main force. If they had not been worried about being accused by the leaders of Feiniao Headquarters City, they would have attacked Fanxue Mountain ruthlessly.

After all, the people of Fanxue Mountain were not sea monsters, nor were they real traitors. Lin Kang and certain people behind him had falsely accused them of treason. It was just common infighting, as everyone was running short on resources in a desperate time like this. They would have to take out their enemy in a single blow, or they would have no choice but to retreat. Even if neither side won in the end, the officials and Councilmen would not be able to explain themselves to their superiors and the people.

Why were they fighting their own kind when the sea monsters were clearly a greater threat to mankind?

—

“Boss, the later you are involved in the battle, the more advantageous it is to us. Everyone knows you are the strongest among us. As long as you are still around, all of us will feel secure. It doesn’t matter how the battle is turning out, none of us will think we have lost,” Mu Jiang said to Mo Fan quietly.

“I understand, but we have already seen Zhao Jing’s strength. He also has the Moon Talisman Blessing now. If he makes his move, I can’t afford to wait any longer,” Mo Fan replied calmly.

“If you trust me, I can hold him off for a while. You just have to wait a little longer to give our men some confidence,” Mu Jiang said.

Zhao Jing was about to make his move. He had fixed his eyes on Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was Fanxue Mountain’s boss. Once Mo Fan was taken out, Fanxue Mountain would be a thunder of dragons without a head!

Mo Fan shook his head.

Zhao Jing had dared to challenge their whole group in Lanyang. Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan had been severely injured in the fight. Even though he had set up the Lightning Drum Formation in advance, he was still a formidable enemy!

Mo Fan had not seen Mu Jiang’s strength yet, but his instincts were telling him Mu Jiang was not strong enough to fight Zhao Jing.

However, Mo Fan was not in a rush, and indeed was calmer than Zhao Jing. He knew what their plan was, and he knew the longer the battle went on, the worse the enemy’s situation was.

The North City army had organized the crusade against Fanxue Mountain. Even if they won, they would have to bear the ill-fame for their wicked acts. The soldiers would not benefit a lot from the battle.

However, if the army lost, they would just retreat. They knew Fanxue Mountain was not going to hunt them down. They would lose Lin Kang and some captains at most!

Most importantly, the outcome of the battle between the Black and White Magistrates had not been decided yet!

—

“Can anyone see what’s going on inside the mist?” a North Army general asked.

“We don’t know! I believe the mayor has won, but I’m not sure how the chief is now. I hope he’s still alive,” a captain who was once a member of the South Wing Platoon answered.

“Why is this happening?” the general sighed.

Lin Kang’s aide-de-camp Zhou Yi came over with a dark expression. He glanced at those who seemed hesitant and scolded them, “Are you all tired of living? How could you lose your morale now?”

The general was amused by his words. “General Zhou, don’t even bother, we all have a brain. It’s not like we should just blindly follow our superiors. Mayor Lin has only been here for a year. We have done everything he asked since he came. We wouldn’t bat an eye if we were to die fighting sea monsters, but fighting Fanxue Mountain…”

“What do you mean? Wasn’t Fanxue Mountain accused of treason?” Zhou Yi snarled at him.

“Even if Fanxue Mountain has committed treason, there should be official documents approved by both the Enforcement Union and Councilmen. North City is only allowed to send the army out after Fanxue Mountain with an imperial order from the capital. The seals of the mayor and some Councilmen alone are not enough,” the general scoffed at him.

“You… I can execute you right now for not following your orders!” Zhou Yi snarled.

“I don’t doubt it, but we have eyes and brains. We can follow the mayor’s orders since he’s our superior, but you have to understand, Mu Bai is the chief of the South Wing Platoon, with the same status as you. If…If the mayor dies in this battle, you and Mu Bai will be in charge of the North City army,” the Major General said calmly.

“Even though the chief of the South Wing Platoon doesn’t give us orders directly, he has the right to negate your decisions. If we kill him and his close ones, wouldn’t that be a mutiny?” another captain spoke up.

“General, you shouldn’t make things difficult for us anymore. When I was guarding the Magic City, the rest of my family was here in North City. Once, the whole city was hypnotized by the sea monsters. If it weren’t for Fanxue Mountain, all of them would be dead by now. How can I go against them?” another captain said.

Most of the people of Feiniao Headquarters City had moved here from other places. On the other hand, Fanxue Mountain was their host, and its people had helped them a lot, not to mention those whose families were directly under Fanxue Mountain’s protection!

Chapter 2679: Forbidden Secret Treasure

“During the battle with the Hunter Dirty Demons, a group of us were trapped on Blood Island, and we were surrounded by many Hunter Dirty Demons. We were waiting for them to take turns digging our intestines out. Our superiors had given up on us, but the South Wing Mage Group came to rescue us. I thought it was dozens of South Wing Mages, but it turned out to be just one person. But he alone made way for us despite being surrounded by many Hunter Dirty Demons. That person was Chief Mu Bai.”

“The Fourth Group was sunk to the bottom of the sea by the Ocean Demons. We survived only with the help of the Fanxue Mountain Elite Patrol Team.”

“Yeah. More than a month ago, I was on guard on the Isolated Island. I would be long dead if not for the patrol boats of Fanxue Mountain.” The words of the major general resonated with many people.

It had been a year since Lin Kang arrived at the North City. He had not contributed at all in the early stages of development of the Flying Bird Base City. Despite that, he was dispatched to the North City, possibly to enjoy the fruits of labor of other people. Many people did not like him.

Now, he wanted to overthrow Fanxue Mountain. Fanxue Mountain was one of the earliest forces in Flying Bird Base City. Their purpose was to fight against the ocean demons and protect the residents of the city. It had saved many people and they had built quite an honest reputation for themselves. Members of the North City Legion were also chosen from different Magic Domains. Most of them had served as members of the Fanxue Mountain before being recruited by the North City Legion. In this case, how were they going to manage to overthrow something like this?

“Deputy Head, you don’t need to use military order to pressure us. We know the cost of disobedience. However, we must look at the consequences of everything. Mu Bai is one of the leaders of the North City Legion. While he is alive, we simply cannot disobey him. If he dies, we’ll follow the dispatch. It’s that simple,” said the major general bluntly.

“Yeah, there should be a way out for us. If something happens to Mr. Lin, granted that the probability is very small, all of us will be shot to death if we kill the chief’s tribesmen.”

“Do you guys really think he is still alive?” sneered Zhou Yi, the Deputy Head.

“As long as he is alive, we dare not do anything.”

“Alright! You just wait and watch! When the City Lord returns with his head, I will report to him your brazen words that you uttered just now!” said Zhou Yi.

The major general and other military leaders of the North City did not care for the threat.

Lin Kang wanted to destroy Fanxue Mountain. He had ordered military leaders such as themselves to do the deed. He had no one to rely on when faced with the threat of the ocean demons. If he was that dangerous, why not do it himself?

Deputy Head Zhou Yi ran to Zhao Jing. As Zhao Jing saw him approach, he understood the worthless role Zhou Yi played in front of the North City Legion.

“They don’t want to take any action until and unless Mu Bai is dead,” whispered Zhou Yi to Zhao Jing.

“After being cursed by Lin Kang, he suffers a fate worse than death. It seems that Lin Kang has regressed in power. In the past, when he took over, everyone was willing to work for him. But now, no one seems to want to get involved,” said Zhao Jing with disdain.

This was expected. Zhao Jing did not really presume for one moment that the legion would act while the most important personnel of Fanxue Mountain was still alive.

The situation was different from a battle against some enemy country. The outcome of the battle then would have been determined by the leaders and their authority. Almost everyone would have willingly jumped on the bandwagon if that was the case.

“Isn’t it time for the Nanrong family to take action?”

“Could it be that you think I’m not actually observing the battle?” asked Nanrong Ni unhappily.

“Hahaha, I didn’t mean that. I have heard stories about Nanrong Xu, leader in the south, of unfathomable strength. I sort of want to see it today.” Zhao Jing smiled.

“Brother Zhao, you can say it outright if you want to test what other cards the Fanxue Mountain holds. I am not a petty person. But I don’t mind being your pawn as long as the Fanxue Mountain can be destroyed,” said Nanrong Xu.

“You worry too much. I’m just waiting for Lin Kang. After Lin Kang kills Mu Bai, I will join forces with him immediately to eliminate all the main figures of Fanxue Mountain, and I won’t let the Nanrong family work like dogs during the fight,” said Zhao Jing.

“You make it sound like we don’t want to join the fight. We came for Fanxue Mountain, so we want to contribute.” Nanrong Xu bowed respectfully to the two old men behind him. “Second Uncle and Fifth Uncle, I need your help.”

The two old men were the elders of the Nanrong family. One was a fat man in a robe and the other a thin one in a Chinese tunic suit. They had black hair and their faces were old.

Their eyes were closed as though resting. It appeared, at a glance, that they did not care about any dispute at all.

“I don’t like being used as a cat’s paw,” said the old thin man.

“The resources and private land of Fanxue Mountain will belong to the Nanrong family,” said Zhao Jing.

The thin old man then nodded. “Let’s go,” he said to the old fat man next to him.

“Okay.” The old fat man walked forward.

Nanrong Xu was full of admiration for them. They were experienced. They had helped the Nanrong family gain a huge share of resources with just a few words.

Zhao Jing looked at the backs of the trio and smiled for a different reason. A lot of manpower and money was required to acquire private land and resources. Even so, how could those be comparable to the Earth Fire Pistil?

Not many people were aware of the fact that there was only one thing that could even scratch the surface of Forbidden Curses. That sole thing was the Earth Pistil. It was supposedly full of energy. Zhao Jing had reached the peak of the Super Level. Granted he hadn’t reached the Perfect Realm like the old mages, but the goal would not be so far fetched after accumulating a little more power for a few more years.

The old mages probably had no intention of dabbling into the realm of the Forbidden Curses. The criteria for becoming a Forbidden Mage were too harsh, after all.

Zhao Jing was different. He was still young. He had the willingness and infinite room for improvement. Besides, he was supported by a rich sponsor like the Zhao family. He could certainly get the Zhao family to contribute for him to kickstart his road down the realm of Forbidden Curses. Aside from getting them to collect the Earth Fire Pistil, of course. That was difficult. What he wanted the most was the Forbidden Curse.

Meanwhile, these people only thought about the riches of Fanxue Mountain, or the power to dominate the North City, their personal grudges, and private lands and resources. These puny rats only cared about the pleasure they obtained from the rotten stench of worldly materials. How could they even fathom the satisfaction of being a lion of the jungle who could feast upon whatever it wanted after conquering the entire plain?

‘What a bunch of ignorant fools! Soon, all of you will be unworthy of even wiping my shoes with your faces,’ thought Zhao Jing to himself.

…

The bloody fog gradually dissipated. The Undead Purgatory that Lin Kang cast on the battlefield was undeniably terrifying. The ancient battlefield was shrouded in layers of thick bloody fog. When one stepped in it, it felt like walking into a Ghost World.

Zhao Jing’s face lit up in joy. Although it had taken a while, the battle was finally over on Lin Kang’s side.

It was finally time to take action. He had not quite experienced the effect of the Moon Charm, but he was sure that there was no need for him to be overly cautious at the moment. The important thing was that he had the Moon Charm, and if he fought with it, nobody would possibly be able to stand against him as he made his way to Fanxue Mountain.

Chapter 2680: Abyss Behind the Back

In the bloody fog, a man in brown clothes appeared and the people of the North City Legion unwittingly followed.

Deputy Head, Zhou Yi, stepped forward. “It’s time to send the troops. If any of you show any disloyalty, do not blame the City Lord for being hostile.”

He was the first to follow. Those who had voiced their grievances before did not dare speak. In front of the City Lord, Lin Kang, nobody dared utter anything. Lin Kang was a man of the military through and through. If someone tried to shake the morale of the army in front of him, he would kill that person without a word.

Although some of the North City Legion might not respect Lin Kang entirely from their hearts, it was known that they unanimously feared him.

The man in the brown clothes strode forward. A strange melancholy blood energy emanated from his body. The same blood energy condensed into an outline of Lin Kang’s face that looked stern and in pain.

When Zhou Yi approached the man in brown clothes, the gloomy blood energy faded along with the vague outline of Lin Kang’s face. The face that now appeared was pale and cold. His eyes were cloudy as though he was a creature from a different world.

He was slender and surprisingly ordinary in appearance. But as he walked towards the people, he looked like he was dragging a huge abyss behind him. As he walked by, the sight, thoughts, and memories of the people were sucked into the abyss along with the objects around them. Everything was pulled into the deep abyss dragged by this figure that walked unknowing and lifeless in silence.

The people finally saw the man clearly. This was not Lin Kang at all.

The blood energy created a layer of Lin Kang’s skin which was worn by this person who walked on. When the blood energy dissipated, the skin of Lin kang disappeared, and what was left was revealed to be none other than Mu Bai.

Mu Bai looked completely different from what he was like in the past. He used to dress in white. He was graceful, pure, and noble. He looked like a wise scholar or magistrate in charge of everything in the universe holding his ice pen and snow inkstone.

But now, he was this lifeless creature with a layer of blood energy around him dragging a bottomless abyss behind him. He had turned into a dark devil imprisoned for ten thousand years and spit back onto the earth. In the deafening silence, there was no blood, no roars or cries, there was only palpable fear of all living beings before a catastrophe.

“Mu… Mu Bai?”

“Chief!”

Zhou Yi and the generals of the North City Legion were stunned. They almost didn’t recognize Mu Bai. The atmosphere was different. Mu Bai looked a thousand times more horrifying than even Lin Kang when he was angry. The silence was terrible.

“Where is the City Lord Lin?” Zhou Yi could not believe his eyes.

Nobody understood why Mu Bai had come out of the fog instead of Lin Kang. Mu bai looked as though he was in the thrall of some sort of evil spell. Despite that he looked very much alive. He looked almost immortal at that moment.

“Here.” Mu Bai’s hand was still dragging something behind him. It was a dead weight. It was drooping and had soft skin. The flesh was rotten. Mu Bai flung it in front of Deputy Head, Zhou Yi, and the people of the North City Legion.

Lin Kang’s eyes were dull. His eyeballs were still intact, but they were empty as though someone had directly dug them out. Generally, the body of a dead person slowly stiffened but Lin Kang looked paralyzed. His body looked boneless and exuded a strong aura of death…

1

It was a sign that not only his body but also his soul had been wiped out!

Lin Kang’s face that condensed with the blood energy before was the remnant of his soul which had not completely dissipated. Even several generations of goddesses from the Parthenon Temple had been unable to save him. He died without a soul.

Zhou Yi’s shock was replaced by a chilling fear. He felt cold and his body trembled. He couldn’t believe that Lin Kang was dead.

A formidable person in the Super Level, the most powerful Lin Kang was slaughtered by Mu Bai just like that. Mu Bai’s cultivation was not even as deep as Lin Kang’s. Lin Kang had gained two series of boosts at that. How did Lin Kang die so tragically?

When Mu Bai walked by, there was an abyss behind him visible to the naked eye. Nobody understood what the abyss represented. Moreover, what did Mu bai represent now?

“Zhou Yi, you are now the commander-in-chief of the North City Legion.”

“I came from Bo City and have experienced a demon battle that slaughtered everyone in the city. I have lived in the Ancient Capital and experienced the catastrophe there. My relatives and friends died in these two disasters, and I parted ways with them as well. Fanxue Mountain is the only thing that I am concerned about in this world. If you destroy this place, I’ll drag all of you to the depths of hell with me!”

The moment Mu Bai uttered those words, the dark abyss behind him expanded. It looked terrifying and majestic. It swallowed the whole sky and earth!

The black wind swept across the people of the North City Legion like sharp claws. The four thousand elites of the North City Legion, regardless of their level, stood on the edge of the vast abyss. If they took even one step forward, they would die without leaving anything behind to be buried.

Zhou Yi was standing closest to Mu Bai. His legs trembled and his knees almost gave out. He was like an insignificant pebble before the force of a master of the Fourth Element of the Super Level like Mu Bai. Mu Bai himself was the boundless abyss, vast and deep. Who knew what terrifying and unknown things lurked in the dark depths that were invisible to the naked eye? Zhou Yi’s mind went blank.

Everyone was a practitioner of magic. Why was it that he was like an ape while others had the powers of gods and demons? Where had it all gone wrong?

Neither Zhou Yi nor the entire army of the North City Legion could understand it. People had respected Mu Bai for his righteous and sincere personality. He was a person who would dive headfirst to rescue a small group of people even in the midst of ten thousand demons.

Meanwhile, Lin Kang had been fierce and brutal. People were afraid of him. He was strong, formidable, and had a strict military temperament. If someone dared disobey him, he wouldn’t hesitate to execute them in public.

The North City Legion respected Mu Bai and feared Lin Kang. But if it came to an ultimatum, they would obey Lin Kang. Most people obeyed the person they feared. But who would have ever thought that the respectable Mu Bai had a more horrifying side to him than the dreaded Lin Kang?

If anyone even put their toe out of line, they would be dragged into the frightening abyss. The abyss looked more menacing than hell itself. If anyone fell into it, they would be tormented forever!

“Chief Mu… we were forced. We had no choice. Please...” The major general pleaded.

“You were forced? You had no choice?” Mu Bai ignored Deputy Head, Zhou Yi, and walked straight towards the North City Legion. “While you are alive, you indeed make many wrong choices. But if you make a mistake against me once more, I will give you enough time to repent painfully only after death.”

Chapter 2681: Repel the North City Legion

The real Magistrate did not care about the living but only the dead. Mu Bai’s words made everyone tremble in fear. They had just witnessed Lin Kang’s soul being scattered by Mu Bai into the bottomless abyss. The abyss itself looked endless.

Everybody was afraid of death, the unknown and the afterlife. But this person before them suddenly seemed to be in charge of everything they feared. He was clothed in darkness and carried the abyss with him. He wandered the world like the living while putting those who belonged in hell to their place in the bottomless chasm. He would torture them for their greed and their betrayal.

Regardless of the terrifying aura that Mu bai emitted, the fact remained that he had killed the black judge, Lin Kang. There was only one other judge in the world now. That person was declared the commander-in-chief of the North City Legion a while ago. Deputy Head, Zhou Yi, almost fell to the ground. How will he command the entire North City Legion?

“I will take everyone back to the city and report this matter to the high-level officials. Lin Kang disobeyed the law and ordered the army as he pleased. He was rightly punished,” the major general blurted out in panic making it clear where he stood.

He jumped on the bandwagon hurriedly. He would be on the side of whoever won. He was someone who watched from the side and offered his alliance only after the outcome was clear.

Mu Bai did not need such a person. He wanted people to be able to think for themselves and stand by their principles. They needed to ask themselves clearly whether they made decisions with their conscience or their greed, otherwise, the decision would be made for them by someone who would torture their souls long after their deaths.

As the main force behind the attack on Fanxue Mountain, the North City Legion was receiving that torture and interrogation right now. Mu bai hoped that this would be enough to help them make better decisions in the future. He could not make an example of killing someone like Lin Kang all the time. He hoped they had a scale in their hearts to gauge the good and the bad otherwise all his hard work and sacrifice for the North City Legion would have been in vain.

The legion was banished. They left Fanxue Mountain. When they went up the mountain on their way, they were chastised by the residents of the North City. When they descended the mountain, their hearts grew heavy.

“We must have immensely disappointed him.”

The battlemage, who once was rescued from the island by Mu bai, sighed. “I have been very ungrateful. If there is hell, I deserve it.”

They felt miserable. They had sinned by abandoning their beliefs, which they had been taught to uphold and maintain from the beginning. They had already fallen into the abyss of sin with every step they had taken. They had already turned to the dark and couldn’t bear to face the light.

The North City Legion left.Fanxue Mountain lost nearly half of its alliance forces. But Fanxue Mountain Villa felt relieved of the pressure. The people shouted happily. They had never realized that Mu bai alone could shake the entire North City Legion. For so long, they had mistreated everyone under the guise of important officials. Mu Bai had defeated their leader and forced thousands of elites to retreat. He was suddenly an invincible figure representing the Fanxue Mountain. People screamed with excitement.

“Don’t leave! Fanxue Mountain is exhausted. Let’s attack together!” When several other forces watched the North City legion withdraw their troops, they were perplexed.

They felt that they could not go back now. They had arrived with the goal of getting rid of Fanxue Mountain Villa. If they retreated now, they would not be able to attack the Fanxue Mountain after the opponent had enough time to rest and fight back.

The North City Legion belonged to the North City, but they were inextricably linked to Fanxue Mountain, too. If they retreated now. This battle would only end up becoming a fight between the civil and family forces. This battle was provoked, and it needed to pass its course. They could not withdraw!

“What a group of worthless people! There is no need to panic. Even if there is no North City Legion on our side, we don’t need to be afraid of Fanxue Mountain. We have so many great forces on our side. I will be the Zhao family’s representative. We will get rid of Fanxue Mountain today as planned!” Zhao Jing declared.

Zhao Jing had not expected much help from the official forces right from the beginning. All he wanted was a reason to inspire other forces to join in. The outcome would be the same with or without Lin Kang or the North City Legion.

He could not believe that so many people who had received magical education believed in something like hell and the abyss. Even if it existed, it would be in control of none other than the person with the highest magical power in the Dark Domain. How could an insignificant person like Mu Bai carry an abyss on his back? Could no one see that this was Dark Magic?

As a person who was walking down the path towards Forbidden Domain, Zhao Jing did not believe in Mu Bai’s ability to pull something like this. To Zhao Jing, Mu Bai pretended to be holy and mysterious while using some strange spells to kill Lin Kang. In the eyes of Supreme Magic, those were forbidden spells which weren’t allowed or accepted by the Magic Sanctuary.

“I’ll kill you first for pretending to be able to use Dark Magic.” Zhao Jing flew over on a Red Electric dragon. He was full of cackling energy like the son of thunder.

Mu Bai’s eyes turned cloudy again. The abyss behind him expanded. The edges of the abyss had blood-red scars. It grew into something three-dimensional.

Someone tapped on Mu Bai’s shoulder. He turned around, surprised. Who could pass through the abyss and stand so silently behind him?

“Mo Fan?”

“Don’t get too caught up in it. Let me take care of Zhao Jing. It is not a bad thing to live a few more years and enjoy life. Why should you push yourself for that guy so early?”

Mu Bai’s eyes and complexion slowly returned to their normal state. “He is very strong. Be careful,” Mu Bai warned.

Mu Bai himself would have had a difficult time with Zhao Jing even with the abyss on his back. Zhao Jing was not the same as Lin Kang. He was much stronger.

“Don’t worry,” assured Mo Fan. “I kept something back when I dealt with the Chief Shark last time. I don’t intend to hold back today.”

Mu Bai nodded. “That’s good. Call me if something happens. I will take a break for now.” He had used a lot of his Soul Power when dealing with Lin Kang who had been stronger than him.

“Don’t worry, Old Zhao is here.”

Mu Bai glanced at Zhao Manyan who was still fighting those losers from the Divine Hunter group. With his strength and power, it would only take him a few seconds to defeat them. It seemed like Zhao Manyan did not want to take charge of the situation and dallied with the Divine Hunter Group in the hopes that he could stall for time.

Chapter 2682: Thunder of Heaven Seed

Although Mu bai had not said anything, Asha’ruiya had told Mo Fan about Mu Bai’s situation.

That time when Mu Bai was killed by the curse, his soul had entered the Dark Plane and fell into the hands of the King of Darkness. There were many Kings of Darkness in that plane, each in charge of different abilities and realms. Each King of Darkness chose a noble from countless souls falling into the Dark Plane to manage the land on behalf of him.

Mu Bai was in the coffin at the time when he was chosen. If everything went well, he would enter the dark territory to govern. That was why Xinxia’s resurrection technique had not been able to pull Mu Bai back from the gates of hell. The King of Darkness held his soul and wanted him to become a Dark Noble.

It was not clear whether the Dark Plane was where every human went after death. It was only one of the doors. There was no doubt that it was still full of pain.

Mu Bai knew that he could not get rid of the fact that he would enter the Dark Plane after his death, but he bargained with the King of Darkness. He hoped that the king would wait until he died before making him work for him.

With Si Quartz as a gift, the King of Darkness reluctantly agreed to return Mu Bai’s soul to him and agreed to let him work in the Dark Territory only after his death. Mu bai had been marked by the King of Darkness. When facing Dark Magic, the mark set him apart as divine. He was no less than a prince in that realm especially when facing Dark Magic. He was a judge with official certification from the Dark Plane.

However, Mo Fan knew that the more he used such power, the closer Mu Bai’s soul would be to the darkness. Eventually, Mu Bai will be swallowed up by the abyss he carried behind him. He would never be able to escape from that abyss.

Mo Fan did not want him to die so young and be pulled into the Dark Plane. But he understood that Mu Bai could not have just sat and watched when Zhao Jing targeted him and Fanxue Mountain. As the leader of Fanxue Mountain, he could not just stay back when everyone tried their best to defend their home.

If Mu Linsheng and Uncle Carpenter had not held him back, Mo Fan would have rushed forward and killed all those bastards in his anger. He was not the most apt person to take the lead because of his temper. There were too many things to consider.

…

Nanrong Xu, Elder Shou, and Elder Pang had arrived at the villa. The three of them had joined forces to fight Uncle Carpenter. It would have been difficult for Uncle Carpenter to fight all of them alone. Bola, the Vampire, had joined the fight despite the sun. He had kept Elder Pang occupied

and relieved Uncle Carpenter’s burden.

Yu Shishi and Moon Moth Phoenix also joined in. Yu Shishi controlled the Moon Moth Phoenix and maintained Fanxue Mountain’s Patrol Team to ensure that the wounded were protected and given the time to recover.

Moon Moth Phoenix faced Elder pang from Nanrong family. Elder Pang’s Wind Element Magic had flattened several terraced fields and mountains. Moon Moth Phoenix did not directly attack but stalled for time and prevented him from getting close to the Fanxue Mountain Villa.

Mo Fan glanced at them and decided that Uncle Carpenter, Bola and Moon Moth Phoenix could temporarily hold back the three masters from the Nanrong family. He turned to focus all his attention on Zhao Jing.

Zhao Jing had been holding back to see what other cards Fanxue Mountain was holding up its sleeves. When he noticed the appearance of Bola and Moon Moth Phoenix, he frowned. Fanxue Mountain did have some secret weapons.

Lin Kang was dead and the North City Legion was no longer here. Zhao Jing could not wait any longer. If he wanted to subdue and take over Fanxue Mountain, he had to rally all those who were on his side and attack Fanxue Mountain now when it was still vulnerable!

If he tarried, he would fail miserably. The Red Electric Dragons flew in a circle. Each of them was serpentine and enormous. They could coil around mountain tops. They weren’t real dragons of flesh and blood but made of red lightning. Red, cackling electric energy ran through their bodies. They were huge and terrifying, and there were thousands of them.

Wherever they flew, the sky turned red. Their lighting shot off like branches from a tree and covered the sky above Fanxue Mountain Villa. The barrier around the villa began to crack. It wasn’t comparable to high-level protection as Fanxue Mountain had directed most of their magic and energy towards the coast. Once the barrier was completely broken, the Fanxue Mountain Villa would be destroyed forever.

“Eagle Capture!”

The lightning of Mo Fan was transmogrifying. What he had was a black Lightning Tyrant. The increase in the blessing of the God’s Seal and Thunder Hole made the Lightning Tyrant form a thundering vortex on top of his head!

1

The thundering whirls turned, and goshawks covered with bright electric feathers flew out of the whirlpool. Their bodies were large enough to cover a gymnasium. The most amazing sight was their claws. They were so huge and sharp that they could tear the sky apart.

Black Thunder Eagles and Red Electric Dragons fought. Thunder-magnetized feathers against red-electric scales. Bodies made up of lightning scattered sparks in the air.

Mo Fan and Zhao Jing’s lightning transmogrifying were very vivid. The aura and power of the ancient beasts of electricity reflected off the mountain turning the land into a tragic field where demons could have fought. Blood dripped and limbs were torn apart.

“Moon Charm Force! Thousand Dragons!” Zhao Jing yelled. As he raised his arms, there was a red print on his palm that turned the red lightning chaotic and even more terrifying. It was not clear whether it was the Heaven Seed or just his supernatural power. Mo Fan could not make up his mind.

As the red print on Zhao Jing’s palms lit up, Mo Fan realized that the number of red dragons in the air multiplied exponentially. Their size increased and their lightning amplified!

“Heaven Seed and Moon Charm Force?” Mo Fan mumbled in surprise. Thunder of Heaven Seed.

That clarified everything. It was no wonder that Zhao Jing’s Thunder Element magic had such horrifying destructive power. It could not only trap them but it had the potential to damage even Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai.

Zhao Jing was on the third level of the Electric Element Super Level. He had the top cultivation of Electric Element. He had the Heaven Seed of Thunder Element, so the terrifying Thunder God Drum that could shatter the internal vital organs of several of them could be his Absolute Forbidden Realm. If anyone used any magic within his Forbidden Realm, they would suffer disastrous internal attacks.

Zhao Jing did not use the Absolute Forbidden System at the moment, but the pure power of the Heaven Seed of Thunder Element with the effect of Moon Charm Force was definitely beyond the scope of destruction of Super Level’s magic. It could swallow everyone in.

Chapter 2683: Flame Demon King

“How dare you use Lightning Element when I am using Crimson Mountain Thunder?” Zhao Jing laughed.

Even without the Moon Charm, his Lightning Element could still crush Mo Fan. Under the Forbidden Curse, few people ever dared compete with his Lightning Element. He wondered if something was wrong with the man before him.

There was a ranking for Elemental Seeds in the world. Among them, the most famous on the list of Lightning Elements was Zhao Jing’s Crimson Mountain Thunder. He would have been even more famous for it if not for the Pentagon Thunder vein that appeared out of the blue a few years ago that gave rise to a more powerful Andes Lightning Element Mage.

As soon as his palm print lit up, thousands of Red Electric Dragons jumped over the gate and turned into Wandering Dragons in the sky. These creatures ravaged everything they saw on the ground. The appearance of Red Wandering Dragons shocked everyone. The people of Fanxue Mountain were overwhelmed by the sight of the creatures. They feared that they would be torn apart by the monsters that circled the air.

Mo Fan’s lightning goshawks appeared to be comparatively smaller now.Originally, his supernatural power, the Thunder Hole, could absorb all the Thunder Elements in a radius of ten kilometers and turn them into his own. However, when facing Zhao Jing’s turbulent thunder, Mo Fan did not dare absorb it.

The Thunder Hole was not an infinite thunder bag, and its absorption had a limit. If Mo Fan opened the Thunder Hole at this time, it was very likely that he would be directly hit by the explosion caused by the red lightning. It could kill him.

Mo Fan grudgingly acknowledged that in terms of cultivation, Elemental Seed, including some Lightning Element magic, Zhao Jing was many levels ahead of his current Thunder Element ability.

Mo Fan shook his head. There was no need to force it anymore. There were so many masters in the world. The opponent’s Thunder Element was his strength, so why should he bother to compete against it?

“Little Flame Belle, the opponent is very strong. We need to attack directly,” Mo Fan said.

“Ring...” Little Flame Belle responded.

The moon-white crack flashed, and there was a dazzling scene of a large flaming molten pool inside. Little Flame Belle, who already had a complete body, appeared directly in the form of the Goddess of Flame Belle.

The graceful flame dress draped over her body fluttered, and the maple leaves and fire feathers spread out. It dyed the clouds red, burned the air and spread across the earth.

The sky ignited to the most exquisite shade of fiery red. The maple leaves rained down over the mountains and formed a splendid carpet of fire on the ground.

Flame Calamity was the fire that had destroyed the world. With the singing of Goddess of Flame Belle, the Flame Calamity rolled and fell from the sky. The world-annihilating flame collided with thousands of red dragons. They were both red, but of different shades with distinct layers.

Countless Lotus Petals of Destruction bloomed in Fanxue Mountain and the sky above Xuexin City. The air was mingled with flames and lightning. They slammed into each other, burst, and dimmed continuously.

Zhao Jing’s face darkened. The opponent still had hidden cards up their sleeves. The strength of Goddess of Flame Belle was probably close to the Great Ruler Level, and the Fire Element Heaven Seed was rare in the world. It was fiery and majestic, not inferior to his Lightning Element Heaven Seed at all.

Zhao Jing should have gotten more masters to his side and stripped off the opponent’s strength layer by layer. It would have been easier for him to end this.

Zhao Jing did not panic. He was confident that he could defeat this even if it were an Orthodox Great Ruler, let alone a Great Ruler. He had cards of his own other than the Lightning Element.

He tried to figure out how to deal with the Goddess of Flame Belle. He was surprised that she did not furl the maple fire to kill him instantly. The flames merged into Mo Fan instead.

An exuberant and roaring divine fire appeared around Mo Fan. The brightness of the flames lit up the sky adding a fiery red layer to the whole world. It was magical and dazzling to the eye.

“Heaven Fire!” yelled Mo Fan.

Zhao Jing was astonished. The Flame Calamity Heaven Fire was not from the Goddess of Flame Belle but belonged to Mo Fan himself!

Mo Fan’s Lightning Element was Soul-grade Seed but his Fire Element was Heaven Seed. Zhao Jing could not believe that the Fire Element Heaven Seed was even more terrifying and it almost overwhelmed his Crimson Mountain Thunder!

“It’s the Fire Element Great Heaven Seed!” Nanrong Ni shouted. She noticed that something was wrong.

Heaven Seed was already a rare power. The Great Heaven Seed was ever rarer. It was a legendary power. Some old Super Level mages had not even been able to obtain a Heaven Seed in their lifetime, much less a Great Heaven Seed. Mo Fan had not been in the Super Level for quite a while, but he already had a Great Heaven Seed! He was probably considered invincible in the Fire Element domain of the country.

“His cultivation is not that high...” Zhao Jing reminded himself with relief.

The cultivation of Mo Fan was not as high as him. He was at most at the second level of the Fire Element Super Level. If he had been at the third level like Zhao Jing himself, this fight would have been difficult.

Moon Charm Force already increased the destructive power of Zhao Jing’s Thunder Element, but it still seemed like he couldn’t compete with Mo Fan’s Great Heaven Seed for now.

“Fortunately, I’m cautious,” Zhao Jing muttered. If he had gone all out right from the beginning, powerful mages like Mu Ningxue and Mu bai would have attacked and hurt him severely. However, there was still danger. If Mo Fan used the Great Heaven Seed and Great Ruler together, Zhao Jing might not be able to handle it. He had underestimated him. Zhao Jing could easily win if they fought one-on-one.

“Zhao Jing, that is Mo Fan’s Contracted Beast, Flame Belle! It is a type of Fire Element Holy Spirit that can bestow fire-type abilities. When they merge, their abilities will increase radically,” Nanrong Ni reminded him.

Mo Fan’s ability to merge with Little Flame Belle was nothing new. He had done that many times in college battles. At that time, Little Flame Belle was still growing. Mo Fan’s cultivation and Fire Seed weren’t that strong either.

But now, Little Flame Belle had fully grown into the Goddess of Flame Belle who was close to the Great Ruler Level. Meanwhile, Mo Fan had obtained Fire Element Great Heaven Seed. He had reached the pinnacle of the Fire Element domain.

If both of them merged, what would they become collectively?

“What do you mean?” asked Zhao Jing. He was puzzled as the Goddess of Flame Belle disappeared suddenly. There was a person where she had been moments before.

The man’s robe was encased in flames which made him look majestic as well as terrifying. On the ground in front of him, surging volcanoes rose and fell. Mountains, ridges, trees, and foothills were covered in flame and magma. The plants turned to ashes, which in turn flew into the air with the heat of destruction.

Yama, the King of Flames.

If Mu Bai had looked like a judge in charge of the book of life and death holding a pen when he was shrouded in dark energy, Mo Fan, with flames of hell around his body, was the King of Flame. He could turn the entire world into a melting pot of boiling mess in an instant.

The form of the King of Flame himself was extremely powerful. As Little Flame Belle grew, her strength increased, and so did Mo Fan’s Great Heaven Seed’s power. With their abilities merged into one, Mo Fan’s King of Flame would be enhanced to a terrifying level: the Flame Demon King himself!

Chapter 2684: Fire Demon

The sky was red, and a string of double flames like wings soared up in the air unceasingly. They were wrapped into themselves at the beginning and slowly spread out until they became as huge as a goose. These geese were red and they could cover the earth like clouds.

The haphazard emergence of these flame-winged fireworks was the result of the collision of restless flames in the sky. Each of them was comparable to some Advanced and Super Level Fire Element magic.

Mo Fan was suspended between these flame-wings, and the red light from his personage illuminated even the distant mountain and sea in bright red color. The Crimson Mountain Thunders that were moving around the Fanxue Mountain Villa quickly disappeared, to be replaced by the blistering and divine fire.

“Master… The God of Fire has descended on the world!” Everyone in Fanxue Mountain Villa exclaimed.

Mu Ningxue managed Fanxue Mountain for now. It was often seen as cold and noble— as clean and clear as snow. The name Fanxue Mountain itself was associated with snow.

People often overlooked the fact that besides the word ‘snow’, Fanxue Mountain contained a ‘Fan’, which represented Mo Fan. Fanxue Mountain managed by Mo Fan was completely different. It was hot, holy, and exuded passion. Whenever they faced a crisis, Fanxue Mountain turned fiery. It not only gave an assurance of safety and security but also served to make the people of Fanxue Mountain excited and frenzied.

People had not seen this side of Fanxue Mountain before. Fanxue Mountain turned more powerful and domineering than everyone had ever expected.

“That’s my master! He rarely is so upfront and most of the time we don’t even see him. But when it is a time of crisis, he makes everyone proud. Everyone! There is nothing to be afraid of! Let’s fight with them and defend our Fanxue Mountain!”

“I don’t know where the rumors of our master being useless come from. Master has proven them wrong every time over the years! He is the man who killed the Sea King Skeleton. Master is invincible!”

“Master is invincible!”

When his magic rose to such a great extent, people felt his power even if Mo Fan did not yet attack anyone. He indeed looked like a Demon King who moved freely through the vast sea. Even from tens of kilometers away, people knew the city was in jeopardy when such power was palpable from so far away.

The Red Electric Dragons that Zhao Jing controlled did look amazingly powerful in the beginning. However, with the Flame Demon King suspended midair in front of Fanxue Mountain, they looked insignificant. No one could touch Fanxue Mountain with him protecting it.

Mo Fan clenched his fists. After obtaining the Divine Great Heaven Seed fire in Lan Yang City, he had not used it to experience the power firsthand. Little Flame Belle had also received a perfect gift. When it merged with the Flame Demon King, it radiated a familiar feeling…

Mo Fan clearly remembered falling into the Doors of Death in the Ancient Capital. The power of the devil hidden in the depths of his soul awakened, and it pushed his flame magic and contract summoning to its peak. The Goddess Soul Shadow had been the most distinct.

Little Flame Belle was in the strongest state of the Goddess of Flame Belle. It perfectly combined with his Fire Element body. Mo Fan could feel that the Fire Demon who once competed with the Mountain Zombie had finally arrived!

The devil was extreme and was generally prohibited. The surreal feeling that the power brought him had Mo Fan worried. The power was real. As long as the magic energy remained, he could use this power without associated side effects.

“Although the Fire Demon was able to transform into a Wolf Shadow Demon and a Thunder Demon freely at that time, the fact that this is close to the level of a Fire Demon in the Ancient Capital is already amazing.” Mo Fan admired the divine fire encasing his body.

The Fire Demon in the Ancient Capital had burned the Mountain Zombie.

Mountain Zombie was the Supreme Ruler. In the past, the masters of the Ancient Capital had joined forces to defeat it. Mo Fan had played a key role in overthrowing it. He hadn’t reached the level of being able to fight it one-on-one but he still had been extremely powerful at that time.

Of course, if his cultivation of Fire Element reached the third level of the Super Level, he would be able to obtain the same strength as the Fire Demon. Demon Element had pushed Mo Fan’s Magic Element to its peak.

Little Flame Belle was in perfect form, and Mo Fan had obtained the third level of the Super Level and the Great Heaven Seed. This was perfection! Even if he wasn’t in total peak, he could still win in the realm of Humans.

Why did they want to besiege Fanxue Mountain so badly? Mo Fan was worried about that. He could not find any strong reason for the opponents to push this hard. But his confidence soared with his power. Zhao Jing was not the only one who desperately wanted Fanxue Mountain.

“Everyone, retreat! I will take care of them.”

Mo Fan flew towards Nanrong Xu, Elder Shou and Elder Pang. The flames on his body fluttered like a red cloth that left trails in the sky. He waved his hands and the three opponents were encased in the flames. The divine fire ate through their defensive barriers and burned them. He heard their screams.

Zhao Jing was enraged that Mo Fan underestimated him. As a person who was going to step into the realm of Forbidden Curses, how could Mo Fan just brush him aside like this?

He chased Mo Fan. The red thunder print expanded, covering his entire palm. A palm as huge as a cloud covered the sky. It was dense and crowded with red thunderbolts.

The lightning palm print fell from the sky and flattened several mountains into deep ridges. Mo Fan had been in one of these mountains that was now scorched black. But Mo Fan’s body was shielded with huge fire wings and he suffered no damage at all.

Mo Fan had expected Zhao Jing to come after him. He had intended it.

He could not fight in front of the Fanxue Mountain Villa. The barrier around Fanxue Mountain was not strong. If they fought there, the whole of Fanxue Mountain would be destroyed. He could not risk that.

This fruit forest was more suitable for battle. There were no residences here. Agriculture could always be recovered.

“Brother Zhao Jing! What kind of sorcery is Mo Fan using?” Nanrong Xu was shocked. If the two elders hadn’t used the Water Element magic to block the attack at the right time, he would have been burned to a crisp.

“He must have absorbed some of the energy from the Earth Fire Pistil.” Zhao Jing concluded.

“I didn’t know Earth Fire Pistil could be used for cultivation,” said Nanrong Xu in surprise.

“He borrows it temporarily. He can use it to become strong for a while, but he will die if he uses it too much. You go and invite the three guests of the Zhao family. Let us first subdue him. After he exhausts all his energy, we can attack Fanxue Mountain with ease,” said Zhao Jing solemnly.

“Even you are not so…” Nanrong Xu trailed off.

“I can defeat him! It’s just too time consuming!” Zhao Jing said in justification.

Chapter 2685: The Five Elders Work Hand-in-hand

“What kind of miracle pill did he take to gain such supernatural power?!” Elder Shou’s voice was full of awe and puzzlement. He was jealous of Mo Fan.

The world was scarce in resources. Whenever a valuable gemstone was uncovered, the upper class of the city would fight amongst themselves and take it. Gemstones that had not been mined yet in the primitive lands belonged to the demon king. It was close to impossible to grab the resources from large hordes and great empires through a fight.

“He does not have anyone powerful supporting him. Neither does he have significant networks or financial resources. Even so, he is already at this level! We must get rid of people like him. He is a potential threat that could cause us huge trouble in the future,” Elder Pang said fiercely.

Nanrong Xu did not want to confront Mo Fan head-on while he was at his strongest. He resolved to retreat for now and instead seek the three guests of the Zhao family.

The three guests were helping the Divine Hunter Group to deal with Mu Ningxue. The woman with the Bronze Bow from the Divine Hunter Group showed promise and strength and everyone thought she was a match even against Mu Ningxue. However, it did not take long for her stamina to run out. Mu Ningxue, on the other hand, grew ever so strong with her ice magic as the battle progressed.

The trio frowned. They glanced at Mu Ningxue before turning to look at Mo Fan. These two people were outrageously powerful. They did not fight like new mages. Instead, they were like seasoned mages who had fully mastered Fire and Ice Element already. They proved to be capable of fighting an entire army of mages by themselves!

“If we join the fight, what should we do with Mu Ningxue? We can’t possibly let her slaughter our men,” said one of the guests of the Zhao family.

He was Master Bai Song. He was the one who tested most talents of the Zhao family and chose them based on their potential to achieve great things. Master Bai Song was highly regarded in the Zhao family. In fact, Zhao Manyan’s father wanted his son to be Master Bai Song’s disciple. But Master Bai Song had disliked the boy on account of his laziness and his laid-back attitude that he expelled the boy from his tutelage.

Zhao Manyan’s father had sent him to Pearl Institute in desperation, hoping that the boy could study on his own.

Master Bai Song was the strongest among all. He had even managed to minimize the area of effect of Mu Ningxue’s Heavenly Ice and Earth Crystal magic. If not for him, the entire area would have been covered in glacier half an hour ago.With one side covered in glacier, and the other reduced to a boiling pot of magma, the disciples would have been long dead.

“I can take on Mu Ningxue for now. Please help Zhao Jing,” Nanrong Xu said.

Mo Fan was much stronger than even Mu Ningxue. He fought like a giant trampling on puny ants. The other forces had formed groups of mages to take on the experts from Fanxue Mountain but it was of no use. If anyone even tried to get close, Mo Fan’s divine fire burned them to ashes.

“Alright,” said Master Bai Song. “Do not underestimate your enemy. I believe she has stronger spells at her disposal.”

Master Bai Song was very close to the Nanrong family. He did not want anything to happen to Nanrong Xu.

“Don’t worry, Master,” said Nanrong Xu. “I have my younger sister by my side. Also, Mu Ningxue might not really be a match for me. ‘

Master Bai Song glanced at Nangrong Ni. Without him noticing, she had already drawn close to her brother. She fixed her unwavering gaze on Mu Ningxue, already ready for a fight, as if she had a long-standing feud with her that needed to be settled.

“We have some secret spells with us. We can’t really show our power in Mu Ningxue’s territory. Her inborn talent is too powerful,” Master Bai Song said.

“Hehe… why don’t we prepare ourselves with some secret spells to handle Mu Ningxue?” Nanrong Xu smiled.

The three guests moved from the freezing place to the scorching hot side which would be their new battleground. The Flame Demon King was still floating in midair, like a dazzling sun with an intent to set the whole earth on fire. Those who tried to get closer to him were reduced to ashes.

“These two are monsters,” Master Lan Zhu mumbled.

In the realm of ice and fire, those without Super Level cultivation could not stay long in the battle, let alone fight with the duo. The elites they had brought from the clans could only fight with the members of Fanxue Mountain. They could not really join in and fight people like Mu Ningxue and Mo Fan.

“Judging from Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue’s level of cultivation at such a young age, they must have followed the problematic path. The world is huge and the Holy Judgment Court and Heresy Judgement Court might not have been able to eliminate all demonic and evil magic. When I was cultivating in Africa, I heard about the cruel sacrifices that Egyptian mages made by stealing human souls to improve their cultivation by leaps and bounds!” said Elder Shou from the Nanrong family.

“I used to work in the Holy Judgment Court a few decades ago. I think something is wrong with Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. I wonder how many people they have killed for such power!” said a woman from among the three guests of the Zhao family. She was Master Qing Lan.

“We have to get rid of such demonic and disastrous magic. We should stop holding back and unleash our power to end this catastrophe before they hurt someone else!” said Eder Pang with righteous rage.

The five elders were already in their fifties and yet they spoke with such heroic spirit of preparing to contribute and sacrifice themselves for the sake of the people. Zhao Jing was amused that they had come here to seek comfort from him when they had subjected him to so much abuse and mistreatment.

No wonder he could not dabble into the realm of Forbidden Curses in this life. Zhao Jing paid no mind to their shallow declaration. He came here to rob this place and take what he wanted. He did not care about his dignity or reputation.Once he entered the realm of Forbidden Curses, even the most heinous devil could become a saint!

Elder Pang, Elder Shou, Master Bai Song, Master Lan Zhu, and Master Qing Lan were notable Super Level experts. They resisted using their spells and magic because of their own reputation. They only wanted to get rid of Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue. But their power had threatened the elders and the masters so they no longer wanted to hold themselves back.

They had not expected a full-blown battle. They had thought this was just a silly skirmish between the youngsters and came to serve as an audience. But now the five respectable mages realized how powerful their opponents were. They panicked a bit and wanted to act before the situation got out of their control.

“Zhao Jing, you’ve been too reckless. Luckily, Elder Shou and the rest of us are here.” Master Bai Song chastised Zhao Jing.

“Is there anyone else here who is powerful enough to… scare us?”

“Obviously no. Even though Mo Fan is at his strongest right now, we can tire him out and destroy him!” Master Bai Song’s face lit up with determination.

They were the key people in this battle. With them here, there was no way Fanxue Mountain couldn’t be taken down.

Chapter 2686: Galaxy Falls

Six of them would strike together. Five were elders of the family, and Zhao Jing was much stronger than them.

Zhao Jing was still the one with the most destructive power. Ever since he acquired Moon Charm Force, he could inflict extreme destruction compared to the others. He was confident that he could raze the entire Fanxue Mountain to the ground.

Elder Shou and Elder Pang from the Nanrong family primarily targeted Mo Fan. They did not have the magical power to destroy the world like Zhao Jing, but they were like poisonous scorpions, lurking in places where Mo Fan could not see, then ruthlessly attacking his weakest spot when he least expected it. Mo Fan had to watch out for those two!

On the other hand, the three masters of the Zhao family were the pinnacle of orthodox magic. When they demonstrated their skills, the dazzling flash of Star Constellation and Star Palace was seen. The three of them possessed a certain secret spell.

When the trio stood in the magical array where the halos intertwined and cast their spells, magic flew in rapid succession like a three-barrel magic turret with incredible power and high firing frequency.

Zhao Jing confronted Mo Fan directly. He had fully mastered the four elements. Besides the Lightning Element and Light Element, he was also an expert in Plant Element and Wind Element.

A strange seed was buried into the charred land and blasted by Zhao Jing’s lightning. The sky turned crimson. It was demonic red as if the distant Blood Galaxy had been torn apart. It emitted a bizarre light that would be reflected in the infinite universe for many years to come.

“The Fall of Calamity!”

Zhao Jing was truly like Thanos the Destroyer. He possessed an exaggerated ability of control. The strange but spectacular galaxy in the sky was ripped open, and meteors smashed down on the earth, destroying everything in its path.

Fanxue Mountain shook as if it was going to fall into the cliff the moment the mountain terrain collapsed. Fanxue Mountain elites and the mercenary union fought on the terrace when they sensed the terrifying force of the meteors. Some of them were thrown into the air.

The strange young plant on the charred land continued growing despite the impact. After a rain of meteors, the young plant grew into a gigantic tree and still continued its ascent.

Zhao Jing used to cast a similar spell at Lan Yang City. At that time, he had cast it for evacuation purposes. This time, the situation was different. He remained rooted next to the gigantic plant, as if guarding it from being destroyed by others.

Mo Fan was puzzled. When the strange plant swayed, it shook even more meteors from the sky to rain down on Earth. Normally, such a plant would wither after a while because of high magical energy consumption. What caused the plant to stand strong despite the heavy meteor rain? It was truly a strange plant.

Mo Fan had to destroy the plant. It could prove to be disastrous. Just as he inched forward towards it, Master Bai Song appeared suddenly above him and drew his Ancient Divine Monument Stone Sword against him.

Mo Fan evaded him in the blink of an eye and flew a thousand miles away just as circles of sand vortex appeared at the tip of the sword. The sand vortex circled and sucked everything around it. Mo Fan was slowly dragged towards the sword as the vortex sucked all the air in front of it.

Mo Fan looked surprised. That old coot was actually quite capable.

“Sequential!” shouted Mo Fan. He might be in the form of the Flame Demon King, but that did not mean he could not use other magical elements.

The quicksand from the sword created a suction power which was derived from the Earth Element. Mo fan could use it to create an outward push force in the chaotic zone. When the sequential seal struck the Ancient Divine Monument Stone Sword, Mo Fan forcibly reversed its rules.

He got it right. The circles of sand patterns resembling quicksand began to move outward creating a pushing force and sending Mo fan directly towards Zhao Jing’s evil tree.

Mo Fan summoned his Tiandi Flame Sword. An Open Heaven Flame Hatchet resembling a mountain ridge appeared in his hand. He raised his hands and swung the blade downward. A waterfall of fiery red flame intertwined with fire and lightning fell on the earth.

“Let me help you!” Elder Pang appeared near Zhao Jing.

He spread his arms and sea water flowed from his body. The water surged and churned transforming Elder Pang into a towering ocean giant!

“Statue of Ocean God!”

Elder Pang’s body turned into a gigantic ocean demon. He stood in front of the strange demonic tree. Mo Fan swung his Open Heaven Flame Hatchet at him. The raging fire and seawater split in two strands. They rushed in opposite directions, creating a panorama of fire and water.

Elder Pang, who was in the form of the Statue of Ocean God, collapsed. He was sent flying backwards by the force of the hatchet. A flaming axe-shaped scar appeared on his chest. He wailed in agony.

When Elder Pang offered his help, he had not expected the Flame Demon King to be this powerful. The Flame Demon King restrained Elder Pang’s Water Element magic and overcame Elder Pang’s Status of Ocean form. Elder Pang was severely wounded.

“Help me stall him for a while longer. Once my Star Tree is planted, the entire Fanxue Mountain will turn into a corpse pit!” Zhao Jing shouted.

Under the power of Moon Charm Force, his star-shaking Evil Tree had reached a higher realm. Once the Evil Tree grew to its zenith, Blood Galaxy would collapse. The whole heaven would collapse, and the destruction will be immense compared to that inflicted by a few falling meteors.

“Let us do this!” Master Lan Zhu and Master Bai Song gave up on the unique magical array. They stood on either side of Zhao Jing, guarding him.

The five elders seemed to realize now that Zhao Jing’s magic was capable of destroying heaven and earth. They came to his aid. Some protected him while others stalled Mo Fan.

Mo Fan looked up and saw the peculiar Blood Galaxy. As the gigantic Evil Tree swayed, the Blood Galaxy flaked off as if it could lose its spatial floating power at any time and collapse on everything down below.

Fanxue Mountain was not very huge. It had already become unrecognizable as a result of such a high-level magical battle. Zhao Jing’s magic would not only wipe out everyone on Fanxue Mountain, but it would also wipe the mountain itself from this world!

The thought was frightening. The occasional fall of the meteors had already caused much damage.

“Old Zhao!” Mu Bai’s expression darkened. He gestured towards Zhao Manyan.

Everyone finally sensed that something was seriously wrong. Even Mo Fan as the Flame Demon King found the situation difficult to overcome.

Chapter 2687: Buddha Zhao

“I can’t stop the Blood Galaxy from collapsing even if I drain all of my energy!” Zhao Manyan said despairingly.

There was a huge gap between his and Zhao Jing’s cultivation, after all. Besides, Zhao Jing’s Plant Element magic was extremely weird. Zhao Manyan had no idea how Zhao Jing got hold of a demonic seed. The seed was so powerful that it could shake the entire plane of stardust. If that happened, no one would be able to withstand a stardust avalanche.

“I will help you,” said Xinxia.

“Are you able to stop it?” asked Zhao Manyan.

Xinxia shook her head. “I have a strong magical amplification power, but I lack magical defense power. This is the Golden Brilliant Charm. It will triple your magical defense. I can also grant you four other blessings so that your four elements of magical power can increase radically at least by half.”

Zhao Manyan’s jaw dropped at the offer. “I am not very good at math. Can anyone tell me by how much my powers will increase if she does that?”

“Cut the f*cking crap and go up there now!” said Mu Bai and pushed Zhao Manyan forward.

When Zhao Manyan saw the Golden Brilliant Charm, it looked like a small sunflower gleaming in the light. It exuded a feeling of fulfillment. He possessed a lot of magical defense power. The increase in the level of power of the Seal of Hegemony and Water Christ Beads would enhance his magical defenses to a certain extent. Zhao Manyan drew a long breath as he looked up at the destructive Blood Galaxy above him.

“It’s time for all of you to witness my power!” Zhao Manyan cried out trying to convince himself more than anyone else present. He had used those lines while flirting with ladies from foreign lands. He thought it was appropriate for such an occasion as this, too.

The five elders blocked Mo Fan. Mo Fan was getting increasingly worried at the growth of the demonic tree. He was not afraid of Zhao Jing. He would only suffer some minor injury and scratches if he had to fight Zhao Jing. But he was worried that Zhao Jing intended to target not only him but the whole mountain.

Zhao Jing’s magical power encompassed the entire Fanxue Mountain, including the members of the mountain. Once the galaxy fell, at least half of the Fanxue Mountain elites would be killed. The disappearing Star Charm that Xinxia had cast on the members to protect them won’t be able to withstand the fall of the galaxy.

The five elders realized this. No matter how aggressively Mo Fan launched his flames, they diffused his attacks. The elder mages had their unique spells which they used now.

It did not take long for the Evil Tree to grow into Tiandi Demonic Star Tree. The small branches on the crown of the tree touched the Blood Galaxy. As it did, the tree began to shake. The earth shook and a layer of rocks began to shatter.

The destruction was just beginning. Soon, the Blood Galaxy would collapse. The galaxy itself was made up of large destructive meteors from an unknown plane. Zhao Jing had the ability to transport them to this world through the demonic tree.

Swarms of meteors fell once again. These had flaming tails and illuminated fronts. The flames on their tail faded and were replaced by a Star Line that hung as densely as the rain over Fanxue Mountain.

The people in the mountain were already trying hard to survive the impact of the meteors from a while back. They couldn’t make it if the entire Blood Galaxy collapsed! Fanxue Mountain at that moment appeared as small as a grain of sand.

Mo Fan looked up. He felt helpless. He did not have any magical power that could prevent the Blood Galaxy from falling on their heads. He could not even stop the destructive meteors. Fanxue Mountain will be covered with corpses at this rate.

Buzz…

A golden sculpture-like body charged to the peak of Fanxue Mountain. His entire body glowed like Christ. He looked divine and extraordinary!

“Old Zhao?” Mo Man was puzzled.

Mo Fan knew the bitter truth that Zhao Manyan could not stop the Blood Galaxy from collapsing. Nobody could. However, at the moment he looked different from his laid-back self. He charged forward and raised his hands as if he was going to hold the sky with his bare hands. The golden light shone even more brightly. A massive golden armor that resembled a tortoise shell appeared hundreds of feet above him.

What had looked like an illusion, now turned into solid gold. Zhao Manyan’s magical defense looked like a gigantic tortoise arching its back providing a thick layer of protection to those below.

The collapse of the Blood Galaxy and the falling meteors would have destroyed even the Xuexin City. But the golden tortoise shell was like a huge umbrella that deflected the meteors and protected the entirety of Fanxue Mountain. They were safe as long as they were under the huge ‘umbrella’.

“It’s the Golden Christ!” one of the Fanxue Mountain elites, Zhong Li, cried out. He wanted to kneel on the ground and worship the Golden Christ.

Everyone had almost given up and had been ready to leave it up to their fates to face the imminent disaster. No one had expected a figure to stand Christ-like and provide them protection with the golden tortoise shell-like armor and save them. For a moment, the Blood Galaxy reflecting off the armor looked like fireworks. They were gorgeous and, thankfully, harmless.

“It’s Zhao Manyan…” Bai Hongfei, Shao Yu, and the rest of their group looked in disbelief as they recognized the elderly monk glowing in golden light.

“It’s Buddha Zhao!”

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“Buddha Zhao!”

He saved them from mass destruction. They had been so sure that death was imminent at the fall of the Blood Galaxy.But this person with a calm and compassionate face had appeared, glowing golden, and saved them all from their demise. He truly was a living Christ!

“I’m Zhao Manyan!” Zhao Manyan was puzzled at the crowd calling him Christ all of a sudden. “Fine! I’m Buddha Zhao!” He began to be known as Buddha Zhao after that. He acknowledged that there was nothing wrong with the name. He wore a cross and saved them all, after all.Just like Jesus Christ.

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“Everyone, don’t worry! As long as I’m here, I won’t let the fall of the Blood Galaxy hurt you. Now, kill them all! Let them be aware that Fanxue Mountain is a ghost gate that can only be entered after death. It’s a one-way ticket!” Zhao Manyan shouted at them hoping to boost their morale.

“One-way ticket. Kill them all!”

“One-way ticket!”

Now that they were provided with protection against death for the time being, the elites gathered their courage and charged. They formed a framework of Star Pattern and Star Constellation, and launched another wave of magical attack at the opposing mage group.

Chapter 2688: Eight Fire Pattern

“F*ck! What is that thing?!” Zhao Jing shrieked.

The Blood Galaxy was Zhao Jing’s trump card. If they wanted to take down Fanxue Mountain successfully, they had to rely on the fall of the Blood Galaxy. But who would have expected that it would only cause a little bit of an earthquake without much damage to Fanxue Mountain?

Zhao Jing begrudgingly fixed his gaze on Zhao Manyan. He wanted to charge at him and strangle him to death.

When one is in danger, one always focuses on using all their cultivation to save themselves. Zhao Jing watched Zhao Manyan’s layer upon layer of protective magic and lost the desire to attack momentarily.

“Zhao Jing, focus on Mo Fan. It’s crucial to take him down,” said Master Bai Song.

Zhao Jing began to lose his patience. If he attacked Mo Fan with the Blood Galaxy, he could injure him severely. Maybe he could still kill Mo Fan.

“I can’t make the Blood Galaxy fall on a specific place only,” Zhao Jing said despairingly.

Master Bai Song looked at the fading Blood Galaxy in the sky and glanced at the demonic tree, which was withering fast. It made sense. If one could target only a certain place for the Blood Galaxy to fall onto, that would almost be taken as a semi-forbidden curse.

“The one with the golden tortoise shell-like armor is quite strong. We have to be careful of him.” Master Bai Song frowned.

There were quite a number of experts hidden in the Fanxue Mountain. They had miscalculated and acted too recklessly. Despite the difficulties, they had to take Fanxue Mountain down!

“Hmph! I know who he is. I never would have thought he was still alive. I thought it was a rumor to confuse Zhao Youqian. I didn’t think it would have been true.” Zhao Jing stared at Zhao Manyan with eyes full of malice.

“Who is he?” asked Master Bai Song.

“Zhao Manyan.”

Master Bai Song, Master Lan Zhu, and Master Qing Lan looked shocked. All of them now stared at Zhao Manyan.

Judging from Zhao Manyan’s divine power at the moment, the masters had thought that he was someone on their level. No one had expected that the person was Zhao Manyan who was known for being a rich man’s worthless son. Master Bai Song had despised him and refused to continue Zhao Manyan’s education under him.

It had only taken Zhao Manyan a few years to develop his strength to be comparable to the masters. Zhao Jing had been the one who had suggested to Zhao Youqian to kill Zhao Manyan.

Among the successors in the Zhao family, Zhao Manyan had been the most eccentric.Zhao Manyan had managed to win the first place in the World College Tournament and was most likely to be in control of the funds of the Zhao lineage.

Zhao Jing and Zhao Youqian hung out together all year round. He had convinced Zhao Youqian to get rid of his elder brother. The family favored the younger one anyway and yet hesitated. Zhao Jing had finally persuaded Zhao Youqian and introduced him to the Hall of Assassins.

Zhao Jing hadn’t expected Zhao Youqian to be an idiot. He had failed to eliminate Zhao Manyan and this worthless person had appeared today and foiled all his plans!

“Let’s put that aside for now. We need to finish this battle quickly,” decided Zhao Jing.

“Okay.” The masters nodded.

What choice did they have? The Flame Demon King charged at them ruthlessly at that moment. Elder Pang, who possessed Water Element magical power, was already wounded. Mo Fan took advantage of that and charged at him.

Elder Pang’s chest bore a burnt wound. He was in excruciating pain. He could not even cast simple spells because of the pain. When he saw the Flame Demon King charge at him, he screamed and fled.

“Inferno Air Rift!”

Mo Fan ripped the air a few thousand miles ahead of him. Hot magma spilled through the crack forming a long rift in the valley with molten hot magma. The rift valley floated in midair and blocked Elder Pang’s way.

Mo Fan ripped it even more. The magma rushed straight at Elder Pang from the rift valley. The blinding fire was so intense that Elder Pang did not know how to evade it.

“Don’t just keep running!” Master Lan Zhu shouted at him.

Elder Pang looked troubled and panicked. He summoned all his strength to make a lightning-fast flip and evaded the incoming lava in the nick of time.

“Call Nanrong Ni over. I need her to cure my wound before it rips open!” yelled Elder Pang.

“She and Nanrong Xu are taking on Mu Ningxue,” responded Elder Shou. “Be careful!”

Elder Pang whipped around at Elder Shou’s warning. Mo Fan had appeared undiscovered from the magma rift. He was ablaze with the heavenly fire. Elder Pang wondered how Mo Fan had traveled thousands of miles in the blink of an eye.

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“Eight Fire Patterns!”

Mo Fan stretched out his right palm. He pressed on it with his other hand and the flaming hair stood on its roots.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Magma from eight heavenly flame patterns targeted Elder Pang simultaneously.

Elder Pang summoned his magical armor, shield and guardian weapon. In an instant, three protective lights surrounded him: sea blue, light green, and ice white.

However, his three defenses melted away. Elder pang was forced to confront the Eight Fire Pattern on his own. He screamed in agony.

Before he even found his voice to scream, his face was already burning. Flames furled out of his eyes, nose and mouth. The flames spread to his entire body and burned him. When the flames from the Eight Fire Pattern died down, Elder Pang collapsed to the ground, entirely burnt black. He was barely alive. He crawled on the ground in pain. His eyes were full of agony and desire to survive.

He crawled towards Nanrong Ni. Only she could save him now.

“B*stard, I’ll kill you!” Elder Shou screamed in rage.

Elder Shou was very close with Elder Pang. Seeing Elder Pang suffering like this, Elder Shou could not control his wrath.

The three guests from the Zhao family were horrified. The had never expected Elder Pang, a Super Level expert who had fully mastered double elements, to almost die at the hands of Mo Fan’s Eight Fire Pattern.

Chapter 2689: Ice Ring Execution Equipment

“Wait! I’ll start with a round of Thorn Ice Ring!” Master Bai Song stopped Elder Shou from rushing into the fight.

Master Bai Song had already prepared the magic spell. He drew a standard circle in the air and the next moment, a freezing cold Thorn Ice Ring appeared on Mo Fan’s ankles.

Mo Fan looked down and noticed the ice around his ankles. There were no chains but the Thorn Ice Ring was covered in sharp, thorny barbs.

‘What is this? Why am I unable to get rid of it?’ thought Mo Fan. He was puzzled. He didn’t know what kind of strange spell Master Bai Song had used to lock him in the Thorn Ice Ring.

Mo Fan attempted to get rid of it when he suddenly saw a figure to his left. There were silver spots of light around this figure. He also noticed traces of water waves vibrating in the air. It was a Space Element magical power!

Mo Fan turned to the figure when it suddenly vanished before his eyes, leaving countless silver spots of light in the air.

If it had been anyone else, they would not have been able to figure out what the disappearing figure intended. But Mo Fan himself was a Space Element mage. He was aware of the type of spell that figure was about to cast.

“Axis of Death!”

The spell allowed a magician to travel through Space Nodes within a second and carve an unbreakable space axis on the enemy’s body. When the Space Nodes formed a Star Constellation-like compass, a dark crimson Axis of Death would penetrate one’s heart or between one’s brows brutally.

Mo Fan could care less about the Thorn Ice Ring surrounding his legs right now. He quickly located the Space Element magician in order to set himself free from the Space Seal. But the mage kept disappearing from his sight. Mo Fan could only occasionally see silver dots and traces of light as the figure used Space Jump.

“Go to hell!” Elder Shou’s voice boomed behind Mo Fan.

Mo Fan spun around, but Elder Shou had already disappeared. Mo Fan was running out of time. If he was unable to find the Space Node, the unavoidable Axis of Death would penetrate him. He did not slow down. He instead used the Black Horn Helmet to activate his dragon senses to its peak.

Mo Fan’s mental state and senses elevated to the eighth realm. He no longer needed to rely on his eyes to locate Elder Shou. He could rely completely on the vibration of the space and sketch a pattern in his mind. He was able to predict Elder Shou’s next Space Node in advance.

“Divine Bird Fist!” Mo Fan sped up. He ran up to where he assumed would be Elder Shou’s next Space Node and swung at him.

Mo Fan adjusted his power by injecting a bit of Little Belle’s Tiandi Flame Calamity. His magical power rose to a terrifying level. It was even stronger than a Super Level Star Palace. Mo Fan’s entire body was ablaze once again with dancing flames. His swing made a whooshing sound in the air like a phoenix’s cry. The flames from his body transferred to his fists and unleashed all impact on Elder Shou.

‘How did he see through that?’ wondered Elder Shou in shock. When he tried to change his position, he crashed with Mo Fan’s Divine Bird Fist. Elder Shou had intended to move to the middle because it was the core of the Space Compass. The Axis of Death would only be complete if Elder Shou managed to light up that part.

Elder Shou was struck by Mo Fan’s powerful Divine Bird Fist. He immediately collapsed and careened into the forest like an airplane with its engine on fire.

Elder Shou screamed in agony as he crashed down to the ground. He was still stunned by Mo Fan being able to predict his magical moves.

Both of them were Space Element magicians. The opponent would have understood the type of magic he was using. But how was he able to gain insight into his magic details?Elder Shou climbed up from the remnants of an ash ravine.

Mo Fan’s Divine Bird Fist had not only defeated Elder Shou, but had also left a long phoenix trail on the mountain range. Elder Shou’s wound was ripped open as a result of the burning flames. He was now in excruciating pain.

To Elder Shou, it was a disgrace to be beaten up by a junior!

Master Bai Song landed next to Elder Shou. “We can’t go after him in this state. Mo Fan is possessed by the divine fire and flaming pet. We must figure out a sensible way.”

Master Bai Song cast a spell that put out the fire raging across the land. He helped ease Elder Shou’s inflamed wound. Elder Shou gritted his teeth in frustration but did not fight back.

“Look at his legs, Mo Fan’s arrogance will only make the Thorn Ice Ring pierce his ankles.” Master Bai Song said.

Elder Shou stared at the Thorn Ice Ring. He realized that the ring surrounding Mo Fan’s ankles was releasing coldness slowly. He also noticed that Mo Fan was in pain.

“Thorn Ice Ring will steal his energy whenever he performs his magic. It will then turn into sharp thorns and pierce his ankles. Not everyone can put up with that kind of pain.” Master Bai Song looked smug.

There were great magicians in this world. Only a few were truly invincible. Magic was ever-changing, but Supernatural Force, Forbidden Realm, Grim Magic, Secret Spell, and Forbidden Law could always be restrained in one way or another.

Mo Fan could have pursued and delivered Elder Shou a crushing blow. However, he felt thousands of ice needles piercing his ankles. He shivered in cold and in pain.

The blazing flames on his body dissipated. His divine flame and Tiandi Flame Calamity were both suppressed.

“Little Flame Belle, can you shatter the Thorn Ice Ring?” Mo Fan asked.

“Purr!” Little Flame Belle began to mobilize the Tiandi Flame Calamity. She centralized the purest and strongest of Tiandi Fire on Mo Fan’s ankles. She intended to burn away the bizarre Thorn Ice Ring.

“Stop! Stop!” cried Mo Fan. The stabbing pain grew in intensity. He felt like his ankles were being sawed through. He was in so much pain that he could barely breathe.

“Purr…” Little Flame Belle purred mournfully.

“It seems the Thorn Ice Ring can absorb energy, just like my Stone-stealing Seal,” Mo Fan said to Little Flame Belle.

Mo Fan had a Stone-stealing Seal with a one-mile radius. When a magic spell was cast on it, the Stone-stealing Seal would absorb all the power and transform it into a stone seal that Mo Fan could use.

The Thorn Ice Ring surrounding Mo Fan’s legs served a similar purpose. Whenever he adjusted his magical power, the Thorn Ice Ring stole some of his energy and rapidly turned it into ice spikes to torture him!

Mo Fan had to admit that the Thorn Ice Ring was much more powerful than his Stone-stealing Seal. Every time he cast a spell, the thorns grew and caused him unimaginable pain. Every movement was torture!

“Damn it! I can’t even summon my magical equipment!” shouted Mo Fan in dismay.

Chapter 2690: Twilight Fire Line

Mo Fan regretted his choices. He should have summoned Black Dragon Suit. The elderly mages would not have been able to harm him if he was in the form of Flame Demon King in the Black Dragon Suit.

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The Thorn Ice Ring was much stronger than he expected. It could even restrain the magician from summoning his magic equipment. The Thorn Ice Ring was very rare and fatal indeed!

Mo fan wondered if there was a way to shatter it. He found himself in a difficult situation. If he could not use his fire power to suppress the elders, they might use the Super Level Third Grade Destructive Magic to hurt him. Zhao Jing was most likely to do that. In fact, Zhao Jing’s destructive power was greater than that of the elderly mages.

Master Lan Zhu and Master Qing Lan had completed the Star Palace. It was ten times larger than an ordinary one. The magical energy surged and rolled like a vast ocean. The powerful Wind and Earth Elements consumed both heaven and Earth.

Although the elderly mages had not cultivated all the four elements, they had reached the pinnacle for at least one of them. They had had sufficient time to brew and cast the spell while Mo Fan had been busy fighting. It was enough to inflict heavy damage on Mo Fan.

Despite Mo Fan possessing the Goddess of Flame Belle, he could not withstand the Super Level pinnacle power if it was directed at him. It was best to avoid them entirely.

The Thorn Ice Ring only restrained Mo Fan from using his own power, it did not restrict him from using the power from the Stone-stealing Seal. He activated its power to create a Mighty Earth Gigantic Python. The Gigantic Python moved quickly through the mountains, taking Mo Fan away from the Wind and Earth Element destructive atmospheric zone.

“Stop him!” Master Qing Lan narrowed her eyes. Her gaze was angry and vicious.

She summoned an enormous ship from strong wind. The Wind of Gigantic Ship moved quickly through the air. It swept across the mountain and forest before charging at the retreating Mo Fan.

The Wind of Gigantic Ship was extremely powerful. It was far larger than the Rebel Alliance which Mo Fan had seen at Andeas. Master Qing Lan’s level of cultivation was so supreme that she was able to form the Wind of Gigantic Ship all by herself when it usually took tens of thousands of Wind Element mage groups to form one.

Wind of Gigantic Ship was faster than Mo Fan’s Mighty Earth Gigantic Python. Master Lan Zhu had completed Earth Element Super Level Pinnacle Magic too. Mo Fan’s Mighty Earth Gigantic Python was slammed into pieces by the Wind of Gigantic Ship.

Mo Fan frowned. He wondered what type of Earth Element magic Master Qing Lan had cast that destroyed the magic from his Stone-stealing seal so easily. Just then, he saw a gigantic spider slowly rise up on top of the mountain range!

Mo Fan’s eyes widened. The spider had legs longer than the mountain range. It took only one step for the spider to reach Mo Fan. The legs weren’t just long, they were sharper than the pointed peak of the towering mountain.

The gigantic spider was made of brown and black rocks. It was heinous and terrifying. Its legs glowed with a chilling metallic luster. Mo Fan questioned what kind of magic he could use to destroy something as enormous and lethal as this creature.

“What’s that thing?!” Mo Fan cursed.

Mo Fan could not tell if it was a Summoning Element or Earth Element. The Rock Cliff Demon Spider moved extremely fast. It crawled with its eight legs and created many potholes in the mountain range.

“Big Brother Mo Fan,” rang Xinxia’s voice in his mind. “Go over to the Bright Unicorn.”

Mo Fan looked up to see the Bright Unicorn which was coming for him on multi-colored clouds. Its perfectly proportioned figure and the grace with which it moved amazed him.

Bright Unicorn turned its head. It drew the shape of a corona with its long, brightly-patterned spiral horn. The corona glowed and smashed against the Rock Cliff Demon Spider which had been about to bite Mo Fan.

The Rock Cliff Demon Spider began flaking off and it wobbled as though it was going to collapse any second. The Bright Unicorn’s glowing corona had delivered a fatal blow. The enormous spider charged aggressively at Mo Fan as a last resort before coming to an abrupt halt.

“There’s still another one at the Heaven Mountain,” Mo Fan said to the Bright Unicorn.

The frightening Wind of Gigantic Ship was still moving through Heaven Mountain. Its destructive power was shockingly powerful. The surface of the Fruit Mountain was almost destroyed and it was heading for Fanxue Mountain.

The Bright Unicorn landed beside Mo Fan. It lowered its head and aimed its long and sharp horn at Mon Fan. Mo Fan was temporarily frozen in fear before realizing that it was actually aiming at the Thorn Ice Ring around his ankles.

The moment its horn touched the Thorn Ice Ring, the ring shattered and solidified on the ground.

“Thank you!” Mo Fan was over the moon with relief. He finally felt calm. The chilling, cold spikes had been digging so deep into his ankles that the pain had almost blinded him.

Mo Fan hated Master Bai Song more than anyone else. He was truly evil. Master Bai Song would rather become someone else’s lapdog and incite them instead of directly fighting!

The Wind of Gigantic Ship struck. Mo Fan charged up to the sky. A dazzling red light penetrated the Wind of Gigantic Ship and came out of its other end.

Mo Fan flew higher and higher until he could locate Master Bai Song on the ground. He then stopped midair.

“Twilight Fire Line!” Mo Fan let out a long howl and spread his arms. He floated in midair. His body straightened into a vertical line, like a living cross hanging in the sky. Suddenly, a change came upon heaven and earth.

1

The Twilight Fire Line stretched into the sky indefinitely. The sky above the Twilight Fire Line was gloomy and cloudy, while the sky below the line turned crimson, as if the world had split in two. Mo Fan’s ferocious fire would engulf everything below the Twilight Fire Line!

Mo Fan stood in the middle of the Twilight Fire Line, like a God in charge of the day and night cycle. He unleashed raging fire from the line which smashed onto the Earth one after another. It was a terrifying sight to behold.

The three masters of the Zhao family were perplexed. They did not know how to evade such destructive fire. Despite reaching the pinnacle of Super Level, the power of Mo Fan’s Twilight Fire Line exceeded the realm, it was almost considered a semi-forbidden Curse.

“Hurry, let us stand on the same line and withstand the force!” Master Bai Song shouted.

The other two joined in to help Master Bai Song. They cast their magical defenses in the hopes of surviving the Twilight Fire Line. They would perish if they separated from each other.

The trio gave it everything they had. They summoned their magical equipment and tools. They glowed in a protective luster under the fiery light. At that moment, they appeared as tiny as a grain of sand in the vast universe as the Twilight Fire Line crashed at them from the crimson sky.

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Chapter 2691: The Five Elders Perish in Fire

As the fire whooshed from the sky, the trio of masters were almost crushed by Mo Fan’s Twilight Fire Line. Colorful sparks flew everywhere. Master Bai Song and others were consumed by a vortex formed by layers upon layers of flames. Their souls were devoured by the ferocious twilight flame!

It was visible to everyone on Fanxue Mountain, including Fan Xuexin City. The twilight sky collapsed, spreading blazing flames everywhere. Heaven and Earth were set on fire entirely until everything was devoid of the sign of life.

The magical defenses of the three masters slowly turned from illuminating luster to something pale and grayish. They held each other tightly as they reached their limit of withstanding the destructive power. They passed out from the force and collapsed on the ground.

Master Bai Song looked like black charcoal. Among the trio who had collapsed, Master Bai Song was the first to gain consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of blood twilight. He assumed that Mo Fan had not finished using his Twilight Fire Line. Master Bai Song gathered his last bit of energy to cast a protective spell on himself to avoid getting reduced to ashes.

Much later, when he awoke again, he found himself staring up at Mo Fan. He looked mad. Mo Fan directed a radiant smile at Master Bai Song. His face was still ablaze. His eyes were as sharp as a demon’s.

“You are a heretic! A heretic!” shouted Master Bai Song. As he cried out, a part of his face flaked off revealing something skinless underneath.

“I am powerful, so by your logic I MUST be a heretic, huh?” Mo Fan let out a laugh.

Master Bai Song had always assumed that those with a supreme level of cultivation had cultivated demonic and evil magic that was harmful to others. He branded everyone powerful than him as a heretic and a troublemaker.

Master Bai Song was truly ignorant. Those with Demon Element magical powers would have been arrested by the Heresy Judgment Court long ago. Mo Fan possessed orthodox magical power. Unfortunately, the stubborn elderly mages refused to acknowledge it and accused him of being a heretic.

“You call yourself the elders of our society and yet you abuse your power for your own personal gain. You refuse to acknowledge right and wrong and instead use your powers to rob the poor.” Mo Fan walked towards Master Bai Song. His eyes were full of anger.

“What are you doing? Are you going to kill me? It’s just a family dispute. I’m the head of the Ice Element Association, General of the Southern Area, and one of the most respectable guests of the Zhao family!” Master Bai Song blurted out his titles in a single breath.

“Do you know Su Lu?” Mo Fan asked.

“Chairman of Asia?” Master Bai Song looked puzzled. ‘Could this be Su Lu’s relative? But Su Lu was dead!” Master Bai Song reasoned.

“Who the hell do you think you are when I have slaughtered the Chairman of Asia himself?” thundered Mo Fan. He stamped his foot on the ground. Thirty-six volcanoes erupted simultaneously and an enormous Flame Dragon flew into the sky.

The Flame Dragon formed a majestic Flame Palace. Master Bai Song, Master Lan Zhu, and Master Qing Lan appeared as small as volcanic ash as they burned inside the Flame Palace.

The trio lacked the strength to fight back. They screamed in agony. Their voices even reached Fanxue Mountain, reminding everyone of the consequences of fighting against Fanxue Mountain. Mo Fan deliberately slowed down the fire of the Flame Palace so that everyone could witness the majestic and splendid Flame Palace devouring the three masters of the Zhao family.

“You’ll be meeting him soon!”

Mo Fan’s flaming supernatural power was so crushing that it was several levels stronger than Super Level Pinnacle Magic. Everyone panicked when they witnessed the state of the three masters.

The Flame Palace did not disappear. It burned in the middle of the Fruit Mountain. Without the restraint of the Thorn Ice Ring, the Flame Demon King was unstoppable.

Soon, Mo Fan also caught Elder Shou and Elder Pang of the Nanrong family. He crippled them.

“Think of this as your grand funeral!” Mo Fan said coldly to Elder Shou and Elder Pang.

“Don’t kill us! Please don’t kill us! It’s just a family dispute. The winner gets everything. You don’t have to drive us to death. We will compensate you. We will even sign treaties to ensure Fanxue Mountain becomes the first greatest force in Flying Bird Base City. Please spare us!” Elder Pang cried bitterly.

1

The broken and wounded Elder Pang was nothing like his previous arrogant self. Mo Fan wondered if this was the same Elder Pang. Only when he saw the flame scar on Elder Pang’s chest did he realize that this was the same person.

“You’re fighting against everyone. If you kill us now, Fanxue Mountain and its people will die!” Elder Shou yelled desperately. He looked so pitiful like a stray dog scorched by boiling water. He was a wreck, but still fierce.

Regardless, Mo Fan decided to kill them all. He could not take their words seriously.

“I will definitely pay a visit to the Nanrong family in the near future. The decision to exterminate the family will entirely depend on the Chief of the family.” Mo Fan did not waste any more time and tossed Elder Shou into the fiery depths of the Flame Palace. He was reduced to ashes.

“Spare me! Spare me, please! I have been greedy. But I can certainly be of use to you. Please, I beg you. I do not want to die. We only came here as guests. We did not even mean to join the fight and turn this into a bloodbath. Please...” Elder pang begged at Mo Fan’s feet.

“Look at your hideous appearance. What’s the point of staying alive?” Mo Fan threw Elder Pang, who looked like a roasted pig, into the Flame Palace.

As Elder pang died, he was full of regret. He lamented the day when he heeded Nanrong Ni’s words. Why had he come to Fanxue Mountain at all? Why did he have to face this demon?

Mo Fan was true to his words. He had said that he would spare no one and he remained by his vow. He knew that the elders had launched this attack on Fanxue Mountain with the intention of sparing nobody if they had won.

There were over a thousand members in Fanxue Mountain who stayed on to fight the battle. Mo Fan witnessed many of them die a tragic death in the middle of the chaos. Elder Pang and his group had never shown any mercy to them in the first place.

“All hail Flame Demon King!”

“All hail Flame Demon King!”

Nothing was more remarkable than the fact that the five Super Level masters and elders had been defeated. The crowd cheered. Victory was theirs. Almost.

“I never expected this...” Uncle Carpenter was astonished.

His strength was so great that it was comparable to the five elders who had died. He had reached the third level for two elements. He had thought that he could hold the opponents back by himself until reinforcement for Fanxue Mountain arrived.

He now saw that the true leader of Fanxue Mountain was a demon-like mage capable of defeating five Super Level experts all by himself. With that, his heart soared because he felt confident that Fanxue Mountain will prosper in the future.

Chapter 2692: You Can’t Run After All That Posturing

Zhao Jing’s face turned pale. With his ability and background, he had been so sure that he could certainly defeat the rising power of Fanxue Mountain after enlisting some help from Lin Kang, the Nanrong family elders, the three masters from the Zhao family, and the Mercenary Alliance.

He now had a situation where his men were being slaughtered one after another.

Zhao Jing was upset with himself for underestimating the enemy. He had dismissed the Fanxue Mountain members as a useless bunch. Zhao Jing was even angrier with Mo Fan. Mo Fan was extremely arrogant and unrestrained. How did Mo Fan become so powerful? Zhao Jing had considered only himself to be unbeatable in this realm.

Zhao Jing took a deep breath and stared at Mo Fan who was still in the form of the Flame Demon King. He suppressed his own jealousy. Most of his manpower had been eliminated, he now had only himself to rely on.

Mo Fan was capable of killing all the five elders all by himself. Zhao Jing did not have the confidence to take on Mo Fan.

‘I’ll try to drag him out. I suppose Mo Fan won’t be able to keep his current form for a long time,’ Zhao Jing thought.

Zhao Jing retreated into the forest towards the northwest. The mountain ridge connected to the west ridge, which was considered the White Magic Falcons’ and a few other Mountain Demons’ territories. Fanxue Mountain’s biggest weakness was that it faced northwest, which was at a very close proximity to the Mountain Demon.

Fanxue Mountain had always been wary not only of the Sea Monsters but also of the Mountain Demon in the northwest. Since the winter season had arrived, the supply of food, water, and other basic necessities had been significantly reduced. A large number of demon creatures’ lives were affected. They intended to attack human territory.

Zhao Jing decided to take a detour. He did not want to confront the Flame Demon King at his strongest. Zhao Jing was a Plant Element magician. The situation would be favorable for him if he headed to the north side of the West Ridge where it was densely forested.

“Mo Fan, we can’t let him go!” said Zhao Manyan as he watched Zhao Jing escaping.

“I don’t have the intention of letting him go. I want to slaughter him,” Mo Fan said.

“We must! If he escapes today, he will join forces with Zhao Youqian. They’ll do all they can to bring down Fanxue Mountain. The Zhao family has an abundance of financial resources, and they can even hire magicians from the realm of Forbidden Curse. Without the protection from Chairman Shao Zheng, we can’t fight the unscrupulous magicians from the realm of Forbidden Curse,” Zhao Manyan said despairingly.

Furthermore, the Zhao family’s power extended to an international level. Zhao Jing and Zhao Youqian were the ones who held the most power in that family.

If Zhao Youqian found out that Mo Fan was still alive and hiding in Fanxue Mountain, Zhao Youqian and his men would try to destroy him and Fanxue Mountain. Not even the Mu family would be able to stop them.

1

Zhao Jing must die today!

Mo Fan understood this. It had only taken Zhao Jing a day’s time to gather so many mage groups in the south to take on Fanxue Mountain. If Zhao Jing returned to the Zhao family and was given sufficient time to mobilize forces from the local and international countries to besiege Fanxue Mountain, Fanxue Mountain and its people would all perish.

Besides, Mo Fan could not spare anyone who had caused such a huge damage to Fanxue Mountain. Zhao Jing’s crematorium was ready for him.

Zhao Jing must have summoned some sort of Transport Magical Equipment. An extremely strong push force formed in the air as Zhao Jing floated at a speed away from the mountain. Each step took him more than a mile away. It would only take a little while for Zhao Jing to disappear behind the mountain.

Without a second thought, Mo Fan summoned his Black Dragon Wings.

Even though Zhao Jing’s Air Fly Sneakers was already considered one of the fastest, nothing matched the speed of Mo Fan’s Black Dragon Wings.

Zhao Jing crossed mountain after mountain with ease before leaping over a pine mountain. Moments before he had been at Fanxue Mountain, but now he was already at the depths of the northwest mountain where the Mountain Demon roamed.

The Air Fly Sneakers was Zhao Jing’s life-saving magical equipment. A villain like him often faced life-threatening situations. Whenever he encountered a powerful enemy, he relied on this Transport Magical Equipment to flee for his life.

‘Mo Fan has yet to catch up with me,’ thought Zhao Jing as he turned his head to glance back the way he had come. Fanxue Mountain and Xuexin City were already far behind, almost blocked from view by the towering mountains.

Zhao Jing felt disappointed in himself. He had no intention of fleeing. He wanted to lure Mo Fan into the thick woods so that he stood a chance of defeating him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zhao Jing felt strange gusts of wind blowing above his head. The violent force almost scraped the top of the lush, enormous pine mountain.

Pine leaves flew in the sky. Several vortexes spun in the middle of the mountain. Needle-shaped pine leaves were sucked into these vortexes. The thorny mess then transformed into a dragon and soared up to the sky.

Trees swayed and rocks rolled away. Zhao Jing looked up to see the enormous Black Dragon Wings covering the sky. One could not help but shudder with fear when one saw the sky turn pitch black as the Black Dragon Wings covered it.

For a moment, Zhao Jing feared that an enormous dragon might crush him from above. When the ancient true dragon’s imposing aura came in contact with the mountains and the Earth, they almost crumbled. Zhao Jing gathered his courage.

It was not a Black Dragon; it was Mo Fan. Mo Fan’s Wing Magical Equipment was rare and unique. Not only could Mo Fan trail him and fly above him, but he also had an extremely powerful Dragon Soul Force!

“Life-sucking Light!

“Mad Growth!”

Zhao Jing suppressed his agitation and lifted his hands.

Thousands of giant pines in the mountain were uprooted from the ground. They grew rapidly to hundreds of meters in height. The ordinary pine forest transformed into an ancient elf forest. The Skypine Trees opened up their crowns, forming a sea of green with their branches, trunks, vines, and leaves. They blocked the sun and the sky from sight.

It was like a miniature version of Feathered Demon Heaven. Zhao Jing was regarded as an outstanding magician for being able to create such a magnificent world using his Plant Element magic power.

The giant trees with their divine veins prevented Mo Fan’s Black Dragon Wings from fluttering, thus, bringing down Mo Fan’s aura successfully. There was an enormous trap laid out below Mo Fan. If he flew down there, he would be devoured by the terrifying Giant Wood World!

1

Mo Fan was surprised to find that Zhao Jing still had many powerful and mysterious spells at his disposal. Mo Fan reminded himself not to take him lightly. After all, Zhao Jing was an expert who had fully mastered the four elements. Even Pang Lai, the Royal magician, could not defeat Zhao Jing easily.

Chapter 2693: Divine Wood Well

“D*mn it! Such a cunning dog!” Mo Fan cussed at Zhao Jing.

He located Zhao Jing with his Black Substance. He sensed that Zhao Jing had deliberately lured him into the giant wood trap. Mo Fan hovered high in the air and waited for Zhao Jing to appear. Zhao Jing, on the other hand, was well-prepared. As long as Mo Fan hovered in the sky, Zhao Jing could hide under the shade of the Giant Wood World.

Zhao Jing was also a Light Element magician. He was not afraid of Mo Fan’s dark magic. Zhao Jing would remove the Black Substance on his body soon enough.

If Mo Fan did not land on the ground, Zhao Jing decided to flee. But if Mo Fan did intend to land and fight him, Zhao Jing was all too willing to strike!

Mo Fan was exasperated as he stared at the Giant Wood World.

‘Old Zhao is right. No matter what comes to pass, I must kill Zhao Jing today. If he manages to escape, he’ll get us into more trouble in the future, and the entire Fanxue Mountain will never be at peace,’ thought Mo Fan.

“D*mn it! Zhao Manyan is a jerk. He has not only lost his throne, but he also troubles me by seeking my protection!” Mo Fan could not help but curse the entire Zhao family.

Zhao Manyan was the youngest master of the Zhao family. He had been very close to Mo Fan for many years. Mo Fan did not mind that Zhao Manyan did not take him along to show off and poke fun at the other rich kids, or to flirt with socialites and young ladies from prominent families. But Mo Fan had driven himself to exhaustion in helping Zhao Manyan when his throne was being usurped.

“Fine. If I don’t go down there, all of us are going to die anyway. What do I even have to fear with the Black Dragon’s protection?!”

Mo Fan maintained the form of Flame Demon King and flew down to the Giant Wood World. When he drew closer to it, he sensed that the Giant Wood World was similar to the demonic Giant Purple Linden. It seemed like it was laughing at him as it opened its maw to devour him.

“Hehe! Do you actually think that you are immune to my Divine Wood Well just because you’re ablaze with your flame?” Zhao Jing smiled.

The trick had worked!

Zhao Jing had dreaded returning to the Zhao family with his troops defeated. It would have been a disgrace, especially since he was the heir to the family. He had many other competitors in the Zhao family. Therefore, he preferred emerging victorious and solving problems on his own.

Zhao Jing was confident because he knew that the Divine Wood Well was scarier than a bottomless pit. Once, he had accidentally entered a Black Forbidden Realm where not even demon kings dared to go. Each year, the forbidden realm devoured a lot of powerful creatures. If it wasn’t for Master Yong, an expert of the Wood Element Forbidden Curse, Zhao Jing would be dead.

Even Master Yong himself had almost died inside the Divine Wood Well.

Zhao Jing dared not explore the Divine Wood Well in depth. But he had something Master Yong had given: the Divine Wood Well seedling.

Zhao Jing had returned from the Black Forbidden Realm with two treasures. One was the demonic seed that could cause the fall of the Blood Galaxy. And the other was the Divine Wood Well seedling.

Zhao Jing was still nurturing the demonic seed so that it would grow into a true evil plant and grant him more terrifying destructive power. He did not use it on every occasion. He was afraid that if he fell into the Divine Wood Well, he would not be able to come out of it.

The Divine Wood Well was just a seedling. It was incomparable to the mature Divine Wood Well in the Black Forbidden Realm. Even so, it was almost impossible to come out alive from this miniature world.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

Something drew nearer to Zaho Jing. He realized that it was the sound of the tree being pushed aside. Zhao Jing knew something was very wrong.

“B*stard! How dare you try to swallow me?!” said Zhao Jing in anger.

The shrubs that had been extending towards him relaxed slightly. However, the strange shrubs surrounding the Divine Wood Well were growing rapidly. The shrubs soon covered all the plants in the northwest mountain ridge.

There were demons at the mountain ridge in the northwest. Most of them were Mountain Beasts and Forest Demons. Both of them were likely hungry like wolves, waiting for their prey from the human territory.

They gathered at the mountain ridge in the northwest and roamed looking for food. As the Divine Wood Well grew, the Mountain Beasts and Forest Demons fled to other places in a frenzy.

While the continuous growth of thicker woods was usually good for living creatures, they sensed the danger of the Divine Wood Well. Divine Wood Well was a graveyard of corpses. It had a demonic aura and the smell of death.

Unfortunately, none of them managed to escape from the Divine Wood Well. The Woods did not strike at them at once but waited and devoured them slowly at nightfall. If one ran fast enough to escape its ground and found other land, one could possibly survive it.

Most of the living creatures trembled in fear and attempted to flee. Mo Fan, on the other hand, dove right in.

Mo Fan was ablaze with divine fire. He had turned flaming red and blazing hot. He took pride in his hot flames. However, the moment he fell into the Divine Wood Well, his flames vanished without a trace.

The Divine Wood Well had mysterious veins which overlapped densely. It was hard to say whether it was God’s relics or the demon’s grave.

The Divine Wood Well was eerie and deep. Mo Fan felt like he was being watched. It was as though the branches and leaves had grown eyes and they stared at him with malice. He felt uneasy.

His dark veins were more active than usual. It sent a warning to every part of his body. This was truly strange. His dark vein, when it detected a crisis, would send a warning signal to only a specific part of his body alerting him of danger. This was the first time Mo Fan’s dark vein sent so many warning impulses that covered every inch of his skin.

Mo Fan’s pores expanded throughout his entire skin. He possessed a dragon sense which enabled him to be aware of subtleties in the air which were usually invisible or unfeeling to the normal human body. It usually helped him see through magically concealed things, someone in disguise or to overcome barriers.

As Mo Fan’s dark vein popped electrically, he concentrated and used his dragon sense to scan his surroundings closely.

Those malevolent eyes were apparently there. Whenever he focused on a specific branch carefully, it looked normal. Aside from the twisted shape of it, nothing was out of the ordinary. But the moment he turned away; his dragon sense felt the wicked gaze on the branches looking at him.

Mo Fan caught the strange gaze through his peripheral vision. He had his back turned to it but his dragon sense was not fooled.

His dark vein popped visibly on his skin whenever his dragon sense missed out on a wicked gaze in a specific area. It sent a chill down his spine. His veins seemed to be on high alert, as though saying, “Be careful of this side, watch out for that side. It’s coming to you! It’s just right beside you! Turn around now!”

Chapter 2694: Tree Barks That Show Human Faces

Aside from the bizarre plants surrounding him, Mo Fan could not see anything else. Yet, he felt that he had fallen into a demon’s lair with thousands of eyes staring at him from every direction.

It was so quiet that he could hear his own heartbeat. It was difficult to put his feelings into words. There was danger everywhere, and his sensory nerves were on high alert. It made his heart beat faster and sent chills down his spine.

However, try as he might, Mo Fan did not detect anything tangible with his ordinary five senses. His ordinary senses did not detect any crisis.

‘I must leave this place…,” Mo Fan said to himself. The longer he spent here, his desire to leave strengthened. ‘I must flee this place at once!’

Mo Fan was aware that this was a trap from the beginning. He had been careful while flowing down to this place. He had deliberately slowed down when entering Divine Wood Well. He explored the place but kept an eye on the spot where he had entered so he could leave when he needed to.

Mo Fan saw the exit. Sunlight shone through the cracks of the densely-forested Divine Wood Well. The sunbeam was clearly visible, and the light had become Mo Fan’s only solace at that moment. He believed he could get out of there by following the light.

Mo Fan patted his Black Dragon Wings and flew swiftly through the branches that were so shriveled, they looked like the back of an old man’s hand. He flew higher.

The branches were shriveled and long. There were remnants of human blood and flesh on their tip as if human beings had been torn apart by them. The branches that looked like hands stretched towards Mo Fan, attempting to strangle him, poke his eyes and pull his tongue out…

Mo Fan was stunned. He was once again ablaze with divine fire and formed a fiery vortex to protect himself.

As soon as he transformed into the Flame Demon King, the surrounding branches swayed lightly. There was no sight of any claws or shriveled hands anymore. They just looked like trees.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

An eerie laughter rang through the woods. The twisted textures on the tree barks looked like smiling faces, as if they were mocking Mo Fan’s fear.

Mo Fan studied the tree barks more carefully. He had thought that the smiling faces on the tree barks would disappear. To his horror, the faces became even more visible. More faces were formed on other tree barks in varying stages.Mo Fan felt as if many heads were hovering around him!

His heart skipped a beat. If they were only the souls of the undead, Mo Fan was not afraid of them. But each of the faces looked bizarre and wicked, as if they meant him harm.

Apart from the scary faces, the entire place was densely packed with heads. It was frightening.

Mo Fan had once entered the realm of dark Hell and witnessed many terrifying things. If he hadn’t had an experience, he would have been paralyzed in fear and frozen on the spot.

Mo Fan bit his tongue to calm himself. ‘Forget about everything! I am leaving!’ he resolved.

Mo Fan flew towards the sunlight. He ignored the twisted things around him and focused on escaping.

‘Damn it! Why is the forest getting denser?!’ Mo Fan cussed.

The sunlight was slowly disappearing. The plants grew rapidly and tried to cover the one spot of sunlight that shone in the forest. Mo Fan felt as though he was heading back into the woods, away from the sunlight. He felt lost.

‘How is this possible? I was flying towards the sunlight. Could there be any Chaos Formation here? It’s impossible!’ Mo Fan grew even more frightened.

He thought he was flying toward the sunlight, but he was actually flying away from it! The Chaos Element magic power was capable of reversing the order of things.

Mo Fan was a Chaos Elemental mage. Based on his level of cultivation in Chaos Element, he believed that the Divine Wood Well was not a supreme Chaos Element Mystery Realm. In fact, it was clear that this was not from Chaos Element at all, there was no involvement of any chaotic magic.

Mo Fan was convinced that there was neither Chaos Element magic power in the Divine Wood Well. He didn’t believe that he was mistaken about this.

‘Can it be…?!’ questioned Mo Fan inwardly.

Mo Fan was enlightened. He closed his eyes and focused on using his dragon sense to observe the subtle changes in the Divine Wood Well.

Indeed…

His mind was not playing any tricks on him, and there was no Chaos Element magic in these woods. The reason he found himself flying into the depths of the dense forest despite following the direction of the sunlight was because the Divine Wood Well was expanding indefinitely!

It was growing. And its speed of growth exceeded Mo Fan’s speed of flight.

It had nothing to do with its weirdness or Barrier Magic, it was because the Divine Wood Well was expanding madly!

That was hard to believe. How could Zhao Jing be in possession of such scary seedlings? Was this his true power?

Mo Fan took a deep breath. There was a strange odor in the Divine Wood Well. He wondered if the smell could harm his internal organs. But he could not possibly hold his breath forever.

Since he could not fly out of this place, he could only go deeper into it.

If the Divine Wood Well continued to expand forever, he would soon find himself hopelessly lost in it. It would be pointless even if he transformed into the Light Chaser because the sunlight had completely vanished from his sight.

The inside of the Divine Wood Well was not entirely pitch-black. The atmosphere was enveloped by a thin layer of hazy night light, like the cold moon. After spending some time in the dim moonlight, Mo Fan could gradually see things around him.

‘Damn it! I’ve been to the dark plane before, so why should I be afraid of this forest? I’d like to see what’s hidden inside,’ thought Mo Fan, gathering his courage.

He was aware that he could not escape from the Divine Wood Well. But if he lost his courage and gave in to fear, he would die here.

“F*ck! D*mn it! How dare you even want to swallow me? You should disappear into thin air! You should get out of my sight!”

Mo Fan heard a voice shouting somewhere. He recognized it to be Zhao Jing’s voice. He gathered that Zhao Jing had lost control of the Divine Wood Well and had fallen into it.

To Mo Fan, this was good news. But not for long, if Zhao Jing managed to escape these woods, Mo Fan would be trapped here forever.

Mo Fan tried to see where Zhao Jing was. Mo Fan felt that Zhao Jing was not as close to him as he sounded. It would be a waste if Mo Fan summoned his magical equipment now.

Mo Fan called back his Black Dragon Wings and Black Dragon Horn Helmet so that he could use them again if needed.

Mo Fan headed to the direction of the sound of Zhao Jing’s voice. His goal was to kill Zhao Jing no matter what. It would be even better if he could kill him inside the Divine Wood Well so that the Zhao family would not pester Mo Fan about his death.

Chapter 2695: Thunder Flag

Mo Fan went deeper into the forest using his Shadow Elemental magic. He moved swiftly like a Night Demon Raven. The strange plants surrounding him came to a halt. They no longer laughed eerily or formed frightening faces.

But the chill from Mo Fan’s dark vein lingered, keeping his nerves tense. He must not let down his guard.

The surrounding creatures were not illusions. If he revealed his weakness, they would immediately devour him. He did not want to die at the hands of these creatures.

As he went into the depths of the Divine Wood Well, he saw a bright light. He pulled the ghostly ‘hands’ of the branches away and walked on the fallen leaves which resembled rotting flesh and bones. Mo Fan saw the Cold Lake.

The Cold Lake emitted a chilly air. There were no water ripples on its surface. In fact, there was not even the slightest bit of air ventilation in the Divine Wood Well, let alone wind. The Cold Lake remained flat and undisturbed.

‘Is this…,’ speculated Mo Fan as he saw some animals drinking water from the lake.

There were no ripples even when the animals lapped up the water from the lake. The weird thing was that the animals couldn’t seem to stop. They crouched down and kept lapping up the water as if they were under some spell.

Mo Fan walked to the edge of the lake. Although he was aware that there was something inexplicable regarding the lake and the animals behaved eerily, he could not stop himself from approaching it.

The water on the surface was calm. Mo Fan saw his reflection in it. When he looked down, there was nothing else on the surface except his reflection. He looked pale but something was wrong with his face.

In the reflection, he was grinning, revealing that unnerving smile that he had seen on the faces that formed on the tree bark!

Mo Fan took a few steps back in shock. He wondered if his subconscious was playing a trick on him. The reflection in the water wasn’t his. It couldn’t be!

If the reflection was not his, what else could it be?

Mo Fan took another deep breath to steady himself. He found the Divine Wood Well hard to understand.

“What exactly is that thing?” Mo Fan was annoyed.

Mo Fan was an atheist. He did not believe in the existence of devils.

He went to the edge of the lake again. He fixed his gaze at his own pale face reflecting from the surface of the water. This time, his reflection was not grinning. Instead, he saw himself drown in the Cold Lake. Mo Fan shivered.

Mo Fan saw himself dead. A corpse. Drowned in the Cold Lake.

His reflection opened its eyes. The corpse was in a state of fright as though he had seen something terrifying before his death. He must have faced something that crushed his perseverance and damaged his mind, he had become a child who died a tragic death, he had wailed and begged for others, yet he had never fought back…

Was the Cold Lake trying to warn Mo Fan about his future in the Divine Wood Well? Cold sweat broke out on Mo Fan’s neck.

Mo Fan was terrified. He shivered. But he decided that he would fight till the last breath to survive.

Even though he knew he was going to die, he refused to cry. Even if he died here, he would never beg for help. He would not give in so easily. He would fight till the end!

He wondered what he would encounter in the Divine Wood Well that would lead him to end up like this.

Was it too late to figure out a way and escape from all this now?

“Impossible! I can’t possibly die here. I can’t die in this place. I will get the Earth Fire Pistil. I will become the heir of the Zhao family business. I will become the Forbidden Curse mage. I will trample Gojakasa and make him regret all that he has done to me!” Zhao Jing’s scream rang out once again.

Mo Fan saw Zhao Jing by the lake, too. He must have seen his own reflection in the water and gone berserk. Mo Fan brushed away his own disturbing thoughts and approached Zhao Jing.

“You! Do you think you can kill me all by yourself?” shouted Zhao Jing.

“What did you see?” Mo Fan asked.

“Go to hell!” yelled Zhao Jing. He charged at Mo Fan like a beast as if he did not care about anything anymore. That suited Mo Fan just fine.

But Mo Fan was actually worried. Zhao Jing had grown this Divine Wood Well. Mo Fan felt unsettled by his reflection. It had seemed so real and vivid as though this was his actual future.

Seeing Zhao Jing in this state frightened Mo Fan even more. Zhao Jing must have seen his own death, too…

Zhao Jing was charging at him as though it was Mo Fan who he had seen as his death. Was it possible that the Cold Lake showed them the future?

Zhao Jing lunged at Mo Fan like a beast. Zhao Jing no longer hid his power. He charged at Mo Fan with a Thunder Flag.

The Thunder Flag expanded. Zhao Jing raised the Thunder Flag like the God of Thunder. He swung it and the Earth was reduced to a Thunder Pool laced with lightning!

The Thunder Pool was struck by lightning as thick as a pillar of sky. Mo Fan appeared as small as a grain of sand in the middle of such chaos.

“Go to hell!” Zhao Jing shouted madly. He then smashed the earth with the Thunder Flag once again.

The Thunder Pool turned into a catastrophic purgatory which could destroy all living things in the world.

Mo Fan realized that this was Zhao Jing’s strongest magic power: the Lightning Element. It would be almost impossible to withstand such destructive power.

Mo Fan summoned his Black Dragon Armor and covered himself in dragon scales. The patterns on dragon scales shone brightly in the dim moonlight. The Black Dragon Armor was possessed by a Black Dragon Soul and completed with Black Dragon Scales. Mo Fan was covered in a unique layer of glowing Immune Dragon Soul.

“Magic Immunity!”

Zhao Jing’s expression changed when he saw the glow.

Magic Immunity was a dragon’s trait. Only a certain supreme dragon scale was immune to all elements below Forbidden Curse. When one was covered in dragon scales, one was protected from physical injury. It also minimized the power of the shock wave to its lowest level.

Zhao Jing used the Thunder Flag to destroy the world. He transformed the Earth into a Thunder Pool and pierced the sky until it was filled with holes. He was using a Semi-forbidden Curse. Zhao Jing intended to kill Mo Fan with the Thunder Flag.

Chapter 2696: Sink into the Lake

Zhao Jing’s face turned ashen the moment Mo Fan summoned his Dragon Soul Magic Immunity. Everyone in this world cultivated magic for the rest of their lives because magic played a very important role in this world. Only those who could master the highest level of magic were seen as undefeatable.

If that was true, why did Magic Immunity exist in the first place? Could Dragon be the ruler of this world? Could Dragon be the only one with absolute supreme magic? Shouldn’t they be extinct by now? How did Mo Fan obtain a Dragon Soul item?

When was the last time a true Dragon bowed down to a human? Why would a Dragon grant its essence of Dragon Soul to a human?

Magic Immunity… It was Magic Immunity!

The intertwine of lightning in the sky inflicted no harm on Mo Fan. When Zhao Jing saw this, his bloodshot eyes were filled with anger, resentment, and above all, despair.

Zhao Jing had seen his reflection in the Cold Lake. He was engulfed in Mo Fan’s divine fire and burnt to ashes. That was how he was going to end up!

Zhao Jing refused to believe that the Divine Wood Well had the ability to foresee everyone’s death, unless it possessed the Creator’s power.

The sky was ablaze with flames. The enormous flaming celestial object arched across the sky. Countless claw-like branches swayed in the Divine Wood Well. The fire brushed against the dim sky and illuminated them. It illuminated the plants surrounding the Cold Lake, as well.

The Flame Calamity Heaven Fire was the combination of Divine Fire and Tiandi Flame Calamity that set the Burning Valley on fire.

Mo Fan glowed in Magic Immunity power. He transformed into a furious Flame Holy Spirit. When he exhaled, his breath turned into fiery Heaven Clouds. The Heaven Clouds produced flaming Star Objects that arched across the sky. Each of the flaming Star Objects had bright tails. The vast sky turned red and was split into half by these rays of light!

Death was approaching Zhao Jing. His refusal to give up had turned into fear, the fear of death. His dread intensified especially now knowing how he would die.

Humans were fragile. After they see their loved ones die, they try to do everything in their own power to protect themselves in the hopes that they won’t turn out to be like their dead ones.

Zhao Jing had witnessed his companions’ deaths. He had also witnessed his own. He quivered and grimaced under the blazing sky.

Zhao Jing was engulfed in a hail of flames. When the flaming Star Objects fell on the ground, they spread into fire and built layer upon layer of flames.

The intensified fire burned Zhao Jing’s body slowly. He had a lot of life-saving magical power upon his personage. Most mages would be reduced into ashes immediately after they came in contact with Mo Fan and Little Flame Belle’s firepower. Zhao Jing, on the other hand, was burning slowly.

He was burned from his hair to his skin, then to his muscles, and finally his marrows. Zhao Jing struggled throughout the process. He charged at the Cold Lake, hoping to extinguish the divine fire on him.

However, the water in the lake was peculiar. It wasn’t water at all but something gel-like. The animals who were at the edge drinking the water actually had their tongue stuck in it. They could not pull their tongues out. They eventually became frozen in time in that way.

The Cold Lake water could not extinguish the fire at all. Zhao Jing walked on the water surface. He screamed in agony and ran around the lake. He then abruptly came to a halt.

He slowly knelt on the surface of the Cold Lake. The ghost flames surrounded him and gradually engulfed his remaining tissues. He stumbled forward and collapsed.

The flame dissipated. There was nothing left to burn anymore. His bones turned into charcoal rather than ash. It meant that Zhao Jing must have consumed some spiritual fruits and miracle pills that strengthened his bones more than an ordinary human.

The five elders had been reduced to ashes, and their ashes had been scattered in the Fanxue Mountain orchards. There will be a golden orchard in the future. Meanwhile, Zhao Jing’s ashes sank to the cold depths of the Cold Lake.

It was a strange phenomenon to foresee. When Zhao Jing had looked for water, the Cold Lake had provided none. Its surface had turned solid. But now that he was dead, the surface mysteriously melted and sank Zhao Jing’s remains to its depth.

After his remains were submerged, the surface became solid once more. The water flowed underneath the surface. Even if Zhao Jing had survived the fire, he would have drowned in this water.

Whenever Mo Fan cast such powerful fire magic, the remnant of his fire power would burn the ground until it turned to charred land. However, the plants in the Divine Wood Well remained dense, and the air was humid. There was no sign of a catastrophic fire from moments ago.

Mo Fan’s fire power was capable of burning down the entire Burning Valley and all living things. He believed the magic power that he had cast just moments before was comparable to the Flame Calamity Heaven Fire which had burned down the Burning Valley. However, even that fire did not last long in the Divine Wood Well.

The Divine Wood Well was like a Forest Demon with supernatural power. When someone attempted to light a fire to illuminate the surroundings, it would suddenly appear and blow out the flames.

The woods and the Cold Lake were similar. Mo Fan felt as if the whole wood was one living creature.

Mo Fan walked on the surface of the Cold Lake. He wanted to confirm Zhao Jing was really dead. Some mages had a strange magic capable of transferring one’s soul into another body in order to continue living.

The lake surface had turned to glass. Mo Fan felt the surface was solid and smooth when he walked on it. The water beneath was odd. It looked hazy. Everything was obscured.

Mo Fan arrived at the spot where Zhao Jing had sunk into the water. He looked down and saw Zhao Jing. This spot was as transparent as the Ice Lake at Tianshan Mountain. Zhao Jing’s body was blackened with burns. He was firmly sealed.

He had not sunk to the very bottom. The Cold Lake was odd. It suspended the dead body between the surface and the bottom like a specimen.

Mo Fan confirmed with satisfaction that Zhao Jing was really dead.

Just as he was about to turn away, the hazy layer on the surface cleared away. Thankfully, the surface remained solid but he could not see water flowing under his feet.

Mo Fan looked down and a chill spread from the soles of his feet to his chest up to his scalp.

Chapter 2697: Ruthless Slaughter

The chill was not because of Zhao Jing’s death or the strange way in which he was pulled down, it was because the Cold Lake was full of corpses!

Just below the surface, the lake was densely covered with all kinds of the dead. Some were cut. Some were burned. Some were struck down by lightning. Some beheaded. Some simply drowned and others had their hearts crushed.

These corpses were on display just below the transparent surface of the Cold Lake. There was only a thin solid layer of hard, cold water between the bodies and Mo Fan’s feet. From a distance, they looked frozen and floated freely between the surface and the bottom.

To Mo Fan, who had seen mountains of corpses before, this was not very terrifying. In the spaces between the corpses were even more corpses. They were caught between the water surface and the depths of the lake. They floated there, suspended in between, like specimens.

Zhao Jing’s corpse was also caught at this level with endless human dead bodies around him. They had all died strangely but none in the same way. They had died in all sorts of ways!

It looked as though some supernatural entities had searched the world for all the different ways to kill a person and decided to put them on display.

The dead themselves were not terrifying. They were just corpses. What was horrifying was the way in which the piles of dead bodies sank into the lake and were suspended for eternity. Mo Fan’s knees trembled and he fell to the ground.

How exactly did this happen? How many dead people would it take to fill the entire lake?

It was awfully petrifying!

Mo Fan took deep breaths to calm himself. He finally understood why his dark vein had become so sensitive the moment he had stepped into this place. This Divine Wood Well was a well of corpses.

The Red Demon collected Eight Souls in the world in order to evolve into a Wicked God. He then would become a real emperor and wander around this world.

This lake full of corpses was from the human world. What kind of magical power did it take to be able to accumulate all these people here? Most corpses inside the lake were not just ordinary people. Most had a high level of cultivation.

Mo Fan did not dare to look down again. But the Cold Lake kept calling out to him. Mo Fan could not take his eyes off the lake, nor could he make himself leave. It felt as though something rooted him to the spot. It was as if something held his head in place and forcefully opened his eye to this dreadful reality.

Mo Fan could only stare at it. It was the same as walking into a wax museum. The lunatic who had turned these people into something akin to wax statues was threatening him and showing off his masterpieces. Mo Fan could not show even the slightest impatience, otherwise he knew that he would suffer the same fate. Thus, to live, Mo Fan looked on with fright.

There were more corpses under the layer where Zhao Jing’s body was suspended. This layer was deeper and closer to the bottom of the lake. The layer was less dense than the ones above with only a few bodies floating there.

Mo Fan suddenly saw a very familiar figure. He wanted to tear the lake apart and dig out the person he saw.

“Chief Military Instructor!” Mo Fan shouted. He yelled as though the cold corpse could somehow hear him.

Everything was silent.

The Divine Wood Well was silent too. Only his voice reverberated.

It was Zhan Kong! The one in the lake was Zhan Kong!

Beside Zhan Kong, Mo Fan saw a fair hand. It was blocked from sight by the other corpses over it but he knew who it was.

Qin Yu’Er!

It was Zhan Kong and Qin Yu’Er! They were near the bottom of the lake.

Mo Fan remembered the day Zhan Kong and Qin Yu’Er had left the Holy City. They had not left anything back except Zhan Kong’s soul that was taken in by the Little Loach.They disappeared after that.

But they were here!

When they left their world, they were peaceful and resolute. He could see so many emotions on the faces of the other corpses: fear, astonishment, resentment, and confusion. But Zhang Kong and Qin Yu’Er looked peaceful as ever, even in death.

Mo Fan’s heart was in a tumult. He did not know what exactly this place represented.

Could it be that this was the cemetery of Devil God? From a dome that nobody not see, a Devil God might be peeping at the changes of the world and the rise and fall of races. And perhaps he brought some important dead to the Divine Wood Well.

He had seen himself not too long ago. He had seen his reflection cold and dead. Did that mean some day in the future, he would join these specimens and be sunk into this lake?

Mo Fan tried to recall what he had seen. He wanted to remember if he had looked older than the present or the same.

However, the more he tried to remember, the fuzzier it became. It would slowly disappear from his conscience like a picture from a distant dream. No matter how hard he tried to recall, the memory would be erased little by little.

“Creak! Creak! Creak!”

There were noises coming from the surrounding forest. Mo Fan looked to the side vigilantly. He did not want to sink into the lake.

The Ghost Trees began to shrink, and the long twigs began to grow in reverse. The branches as thick as buildings degraded gradually, and the thick roots all over the ground burrowed back into the soil.

The Cold Lake was getting smaller by the minute. When Mo Fan had arrived here, the Divine Wood Well had grown radically, but now it was all shrinking. Everything started returning to its original state.

Mo Fan stood on the Cold Lake. The corpses on display slowly blurred once again. Mo fan stared at Chief Military Instructor, Zhan Kong. He looked so peaceful in the lake that Mo Fan was reluctant to tear the lake and disturb his sleep.

Zhan Kong’s eyes were open, and he seemed to be staring at Mo Fan.

In the Holy City, they did not have time to bid farewell. He got to see him for the last time in this weird Divine Wood Well instead. He held a fair hand, as if that was all he had wished for in this life. The good and the evil did not matter anymore, nor did the gods’ ruthless slaughters. He looked content to be floating there, he did not have to care for the bottom of the lake nor the waves hitting him on the surface.

…

Divine Wood Well had disappeared. It wasn’t clear whether it was because of Zhao Jing’s death or because the Divine Wood Well did not want to accept Mo Fan yet.

Everything was back to normal.

Mo Fan returned to Fanxue Mountain, worried but not as scared as before. Everything in Divine Wood Well had been akin to a nightmare. It would solely fade away from his mind. Maybe if he was lucky, he would think of it as a dream and wake up to find it absurd.

Even if it was real, people in it had died in different ways, but not all of them had been in pain.

Mo Fan recalled his reflection. He didn’t look like he was in pain.

It was complicated, anyway. He did now know how to put it. If an overindulgent man had died in the midst of making love, he would have looked that way.

Mo Fan felt much better to think of it like that. He did have two wives, after all. He was young and strong and enjoyed making love. Maybe it wouldn’t be as true in a few years.

Chapter 2698: It Is Hard to Die

The cold air covered the sea, and a ship was escaping from the port of Fan Xuexin City at a hurtling speed.

The order of Fan Xuexin City was also affected by the battle of Fanxue Mountain. The streets were congested with vehicles, and many people ran to open areas to avoid vibrations from being transferred to the buildings.

Ocean Demons were a huge threat as well. But people usually got used to calamities fast enough. Many sat on the ground chatting with each other, waiting for the tremors to abate.

“The Nanrong Family has escaped. That’s their ship,” someone shouted with excitement, pointing at the port.

“When they came here, they were so domineering. They even docked at the special berth in Fanxue Mountain as if that was their territory. Now, they flee in fear!”

“The Nanrong Family used to be a small royal family in the south. Every member of the family was approachable, and respected. It’s a pity the Nanrong family has turned to this!” An old man sighed.

“Fanxue Mountain leaders are amazing, though! They even killed the City Lord, Lin Kang!”

“Lin Kang deserved what he got!”

…

The ship was driven by a magic machine. There were countless water arrows shot from under the ship. Dozens of water patterns cut the sea apart and spread into a larger size. The ship was indeed special. It could be compared to galloping warships. The Nanrong family dealt with the ocean. So, all the combat ships in the south were from their factories. They were also considered the most famous shipowners in the south.

Nanrong Ni stood on the deck. Her hair loose, and one of her hands covering her ear. Her right ear, neck and shoulder was covered in blood. Mu Ningxue’s arrows had been fast and brutal. It had hit her though her right ear.

Mu Ningxue had shot it at her forehead siming for the spot between her eyebrows. Nanrong Ni was not someone who had cultivated for nothing. She managed to get out of the powerful lock to dodge it, but had lost an ear.

Nan Rong Ni was a healing mage. Usually, this kind of injury was easy to heal. Even the pain would not last long. Her ear could be made whole again but no amount of healing spells would help with the ice wounds. Her face was grave. She glared in the direction of the Fanxue Mountain like a ghost.

At the port, countless people cheered. She heard those people mocking her and her family.

If it were not for this ship, all the members of the Nanrong family might have died. She barely escaped herself. Although she survived, she felt worse than ever.

Mu Ningxue should have been left with nothing. No talent, no respect, not even her extraordinary cultivation. She should have died alone with no people by her side. Instead, she had everything in addition to a fertile city to lead.

Her reputation preceded her even in the south. Almost every cultivator knew Mu Ningxue as one of the strongest female mages.

Nanrong Ni felt an overwhelming sense of shame. She wanted to tear herself apart. “Useless! Everyone is worthless! No matter who it is, nobody is reliable in the end. I will have to deal with her myself!” Nanrong Ni, usually calm and gentle, appeared fierce and cold at that moment.

…

In the rubbles of Fanxue Mountain, a man lay dying. Half his body was paralyzed and blood was splattered all over his face. He was no longer recognizable.

A pair of long, delicate, noble boots appeared in sight. Its owner stood regally on the rubbles. The gentle wind coiled around her slender waist. She appeared beautiful. But that beauty should never be mistaken for gentleness. Her beauty hid murderous intent which should never be triggered.

The person who couldn’t move half his body was Nanrong Xu. He stared at Mu Ningxue with pain and hatred in his eyes.

However, his hatred was not entirely directed at her. He knew the outcome of the battle. He had helped Nanrong Ni escape from Mu Ningxue’s killing shot, but Nanrong Ni had turned tail and fled on the ship leaving him behind.

People were so complicated. If Nanrong Xu turned into a ghost, he wanted to kill his sister first and foremost. Even as he lay dying, he could not believe that his sister had betrayed him.

Mu Ningxue did not say a word. She stared at the miserable Nanrong Xu, but there was no sympathy in her eyes. Mu Ningxue sympathized with her former self instead. She used to treat someone well even when she knew they would betray her. She would treat the people she cared about so harshly.

“Just… kill me.” Nanrong Xu did not beg for his life. He knew it was worthless to live without the lower part of his body functioning anyway.

Mu Ningxue did not have anything against Nanrong Xu. It was just a matter of which side they stood on. She raised her hand and an ice pick appeared. She pushed it towards Nanrong Xu’s heart.

“Wait!” said Xinxia.

Mu Ningxue turned around and saw Xinxia on her Bright Unicorn. Xinxia stopped next to Nanrong Xu and cast a healing spell on him. She then walked towards Mu Ningxue.

Xinxia still had difficulty walking. She was struggling to walk because she was so tired. She sweated like she had undergone some intense exercise. Mu Ningxue supported her.

Xinxia glanced at Nanrong Xu. “Nanrong Ni has been pretending to be sweet and kind in front of others. I know you don’t care about your reputation but Nanrong Ni has been spreading malice to damage your reputation,” she whispered to Mu Ningxue. “I need to save him so that Nanrong Ni’s true character can be revealed.”

Mu Ningxue nodded. “I will do as you say.”

A few people from the periphery of Fanxue Mountain arrived. They weren’t those who fought the battle but were the first to run around to declare their victory.

Mu Ningxue did not care about them. She already knew the real fighters of Fanxue Mountain. They wanted to please her by helping to clean the battlefield, so she just let them be.

Mu Ningxue beckoned to a few of them and instructed them to carry Nanrong Xu. He would not die if the candidates of the Goddess of Parthenon Temple were present.

Chapter 2699: Negotiation

After the battle, the busiest person was Ye Xinxia.

The members of the Fanxue mountain and the elite teams had both fought very bravely. Most of them had been severely wounded in the battle. Many suffered so much that they wished to end their lives to be rid of the pain.

Xinxia had been to many battlefields and knew of the hardships after it was over. She asked the outsiders of Fanxue Mountain to gather all the wounded together and cast the Song of Tranquility on them. It relieved their pain and stimulated their consciousness so that they would not give up easily.

The battle had lasted for over a few hours but the aftereffects would be felt for years. Fortunately, some Folk Mages from Flying Bird Base City arrived and volunteered their services.

1

The high-level executives of Flying Bird Base City only stood by and watched. After Fanxue Mountain had won, they jumped up and sent some Healing mages to show that they were friendly.

The status of Fanxue Mountain in Flying Bird Base City might possibly change after this war. Those organizations that fawned upon the rich and powerful would no longer cause trouble on Fanxue Mountain. Fanxue Mountain had shown today that there was mercy for those who sought to harm them, after all.

Fanxue Mountain was a private territory which existed even before the Flying Bird Base City was established. Even if they came from the law or the Mage Convention, intruders would not be speared. The leaders would execute them.

1

Many had sought to go against Fanxue Mountain. They had joined forces and attacked. In the end, most had died. Even if they managed to escape, they disbanded. Even those people who had not watched the battle knew the strength of Fanxue Mountain once and for all.

This was no longer a small family. They were far stronger than anyone had ever imagined, and they were definitely not the pushovers that people thought they were.

Fanxue Mountain was destined to be different from the past after this battle.

…

After the battle, there were simply too many things to handle. Mu Ningxue especially wanted to appease the members of Fanxue Mountain.

Before Mo Fan had a chance to catch a breath, she gave him a difficult task to handle. It was to have tea with the high-level executives of the Flying Bird Base City.

In the past, Fanxue Mountain had often been invited to tea by the leaders of the Flying Bird Base City. It was mostly when they needed their help.

It was different this time. It was Fanxue Mountain who invited the leaders to have tea with them.

Mo Fan made an appointment at Bo City Street. This was the place where Mu Zhuoyun and Mu Linsheng had settled the residents of Bo City. It was a very prosperous neighborhood. Bo City had an atmosphere of the little Mountain City it used to be back then.

The appointment was for nine in the morning, but Mo Fan arrived sharply at eight. It was not that he needed to prepare for the meeting but he wanted to discuss with Zhao Manyan and Mu bai about how to initiate the talk of compensation peacefully.

The Deputy Head, Zhou Yi, was also present. Before anyone else showed up, he shivered as though he was already cold.

Zhou Yi used to be Lin Kang’s subordinate. Not only was he the head of the South Wing Mage Group, but he was also the Deputy Head of the North City Legion. Lin Kang had died. It didn’t matter whether it was because of the anger of Fanxue Mountain or the dissatisfaction of the leaders, everything was vented on him.

1

“Sirs, I must have been greatly confused to have followed Lin Kang in committing such a crime. But I beg you to be merciful to the leaders when they arrive. I have been in the North City for some years and deal with Fanxue Mountain frequently. After Lin Kang came to power, I was forced to do something against my will. Please forgive me,” said Zhou Yi, the Deputy Head, apologetically. The status of the Deputy Head was considered high but he was no more than an errand boy for the powerful.

“You don’t even sound grateful to the Fanxue Mountain for sparing your life, and here you are, making demands,” Mo Fan said, with his eyebrows raised.

Deputy Head Zhou Yi was in charge of many mage organizations in the North City, and he also held a significant position in the Magic Association. He was part of the crusade against the Fanxue Mountain.

Zhou Yi seemed to have gone cold at Mo Fan’s words.

Mo Fan was a devil. He had even killed Zhao Jing.

He had returned saying that Zhao Jing had escaped from him. But Zhou Yi knew! Only Mo Fan had returned alive from that fight.

“I must obey the military order no matter what. I will be killed if I disobey. When Lin Kang came to the North City, he was too autocratic. It would have been so easy for him to get rid of me. Fortunately, you, as leaders of Fanxue Mountain, got rid of him. Otherwise, North City would still have been in chaos,” said Zhou Yi.

Mo Fan did not bother with his flattery. He turned to Zhao Manyan and Mu Linsheng to discuss how to negotiate with the Flying Bird Base City officials.

Mu Bai stood at one side. After killing Lin Kang, his mental state had turned a little strange. He was still affected by the abyss but would be fine in a few days.

Zhou Yi did not dare take a breath in fear of these hot-blooded leaders. He had never thought Mu Bai was capable of getting rid of Lin Kang. How strong was he actually?

“Chief Mu,” said Zhou Yi. “I… um… for the sake of me evacuating the North City Legion from the battlefield…”

“You and I both know what kind of a person Lin Kang was,” said Mu Bai. “When the leaders arrive in a while, you can tell them about what Lin Kang had done and give justice to Fanxue Mountain. Of course, if you remain truthful, we won’t embarrass you.”

“Of course. That is my duty,” said Zhou Yi and let out a relieved sigh. “Lin Kang has committed many crimes. This time, I will expose him.”

…

The door opened and five majestic people walked in. They seemed to have met just before reaching this place and decided to enter the tearoom together.

These people were of very high importance. Some of them had long been in charge of Fanxue Mountain before, and some had been recruited just recently. But to Mo Fan, they were all unfamiliar. After Shao Zheng resigned, the bureaucratic system and the parliamentary system had undergone drastic change.

“Who are they?” Mo Fan asked Mu Linsheng.

Mu Linsheng was humbled by the presence of the five leaders. “This is the Great General of the Flying Bird Base City, General Li Shou. This is Councilman Tang. This is the president of the Flying Bird Magic Association, President Jiang Shuihan. This one is Old He from Clan Alliance. And this is the Deputy Mayor Nanrong Xishan,” introduced Mu Linsheng.

“As the head of Fanxue Mountain, how do you not know us?” Councilman Tang asked indifferently.

“I only remember some of the leaders from the past.” Mo Fan couldn’t care less of the tone he used. Not after what they had done.

Councilman Tang frowned with dissatisfaction. He did not say anything further. He pulled out a chair and sat across from Mo Fan, facing him.

It was the first time in his life that Councilman Tang had been called for tea by a junior. Unfortunately, this time he had to oblige. But it did not mean they had come to be accused and held accountable by the Fanxue Mountain. Fanxue Mountain wasn’t as qualified to do that yet.

Even bigwigs, who weren’t from the capital, knew about that. They had to come to this tea just to diffuse the situation.

Chapter 2700: Scolding

“Lord Mo, just ask if you’re curious about anything. The Half-Moon Tide is coming soon. We’re busy with official affairs. It’s not convenient for us to spend so much time here.” Great General Li Shou looked a little impatient.

“Why didn’t Mu Ningxue come? Who is this new person?” Nanrong Xishan said rudely.

“You’re from the Nanrong Family?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes,” Nanrong Xishan said proudly.

“Oh! Please wait a moment. I need to make a quick call.” Mo Fan took out his phone and dialed Xinxia. “Xinxia, you don’t need to treat Nanrong Xu anymore. Just let him die.”

Nanrong Xishan’s face turned ashen at Mo Fan’s words. “How dare you?” he thundered.

“Old man, don’t act so pretentious here after what your family has done. If it was up to me, I would slaughter every member of the Nanrong family!” said Mo Fan.

“Did you hear that?!” exclaimed Nanrong Xishan. “This devil just said something so vile…”

Nanrong Xishan was Deputy Mayor of the Flying Bird Base City and Mo Fan had threatened his whole family! Mo Fan was lawless.

“Xishan, let’s put the grievances aside for now,” Old He interrupted. “Since Lord Mo is in charge today and he invited us all for tea, it means that he is sincere about resolving this dispute. Don’t stir up more trouble. Winter is approaching soon in the Flying Bird Base City. If this battle prolongs, everyone will be prey to the Ocean Demons.”

“The way I see it, the Nanrong family is at fault for inciting a battle on other people’s land. You should make an apology,” Jiang Shuihan said.

“Make an apology?!” Nanrong Xishan and Mo Fan exclaimed at the same time.

Nanrong Xishan stared at Jiang Shuihan in disbelief. He couldn’t be expected to apologize to this kid who had just threatened his whole family! If the other officials hadn’t been present, he would have slapped Mo Fan right there.

Mo Fan felt even more skeptical. This old man had been involved in ordering the Nanrong family to slaughter everyone on the Fanxue Mountain. If an apology was expected to solve everything, Mo Fan would definitely kill everyone in the Nanrong family. If the Nanrong Family was not destroyed, Fanxue Mountain would never have peace in Flying Bird Base City.

“It seems that you are not sincere about this talk. Since you are all busy, you can just get lost.” Mo Fan gestured to Mu Linsheng to show the guests the door.

“You brat! You’re so rude. Do you even know who we are?” Great General Li Shou said angrily.

“Who do you think you are? What right do you have to yell in front of us? The one who should get lost is you!” Councilman Tang could no longer bear it.

Mu Linshen sweated profusely at the whole debacle. He wondered if Mo Fan was really here to negotiate. It seemed as if he just wanted to scold these officials. They were all bigwigs from the Flying Bird Base City. Even if they weren’t the most powerful, they still held the lifeline of the whole of Flying Bird Base City. If he offended them, it would be a disaster.

“When I first came to Flying Bird Base City, it was just a small town that was harassed by a monster called Scarlet Demon. Many children were stolen by the sea monkeys and offered to the Scarlet Demon as food,” said Mo Fan. “I later learned that someone had bribed the officials of Flying Bird Base City to cover up the crime. One of them was the Deputy Mayor at that time.”

“When I arrived at the Flying Bird Base City again, I vowed to make it a bit more peaceful. I got a piece of wasteland in the north of this city. There were no residents there. Many demons rampaged the area. I borrowed the Earth Pistil from the west and drew a safe zone there. I named this place Fanxue Mountain and built Fan Xuexin City. It was only then that Flying Bird Base City along with North City were officially established. The whole North City was almost built around the boundaries of Fan Xuexin City. There was a free line of defense, transportation, and open land that could be used. Without Fanxue Mountain, North City would not exist. It would still be a wasteland,” continued Mo Fan.

“I’m the Honorary Councilor of Ding City. Due to respect for me, the seller sold those elemental stones at original price, and the Ding City Army escorted them here for free. We built the seawall of Fanxue Mountain, as well as a dam on one third of Flying Bird Base City’s coastline.”

“I was there when the Flying Bird Base City was born. You officials dispatched here from other places are not even worthy of talking to me, much less of expecting me to grovel at your feet. I have given you more than enough honor by inviting you and personally joining you today.”

“You united to destroy Fanxue Mountain! You stood by and watched while Fanxue Mountain was being torn apart so that you could feast on the remnants. If that b*stard Lin Kang didn’t have your consent, he wouldn’t have dared to send troops to Fanxue Mountain.” Mo Fan addressed each of the five officials and chastised them.

The face of these officials was flushed. They were angry and annoyed. They wanted to refute but didn’t know how.

Mu Linsheng, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai sat there dumbfounded.

They had been discussing how to entrap the leaders to offer compensation for the damage just a moment ago. But now, all they could do was stand by and watch as Mo Fan scolded the officials like children. Mo Fan couldn’t care less.

“Clap! Clap! Clap!” A few crisp applause sounded from the door.

A middle-aged man with black hair, glossy black beard, and even blacker eyes entered. His angular face looked majestic. It was not the kind of magnificence that came from the arrogance of being in an authoritative position, but the kind that was earned by leading and struggling with his army on the battlefield.

“Commander Hua…” The five officials stared wide-eyed at the figure. It was none other than Commander Hua Zhanhong.

He was a person who was feared even among the Forbidden Saints. His existence was formidable. Thanks to him, their area wasn’t as fragmented as South America by the Ocean Demons.

“Please sit down,” said Commander Hua, pointing to the chairs. “The talk has just started. Why are you in a hurry to leave?”

Councilman Tang, Great General Li Shou, Jiang Shuihan, Nanrong Xishan, and Old He’s faces darkened. If they sat down now, they would have to hear more of Mo Fan’s insolent scolding.

The five of them certainly would have taught Mo Fan and Fanxue Mountain a lesson the moment they stepped out of the door. But they had never expected Commander Hua to arrive here on his own.

The situation at the shoreline was grave. There were more than one emperor-level Ocean Demon to deal with. Commander Hua Zhanhong was in charge of fighting these demons. If he was present here personally, it meant that the situation was serious.

Although the battle of Fanxue Mountain had alerted the whole capital, it was not worth it for him to travel all this way for the talks.

“Commander Hua, you must have heard the arrogant words just now. The head of Fanxue Mountain places himself above all. He doesn’t show any respect for the important personnel of the city at all. I think someone like him should be punished!” said Great General Li Shou.

2

Chapter 2701: The Commander is Furious

“Yes!” said Nanrong Xishan. “He also threatened to destroy all the Nanrong family. How can he say such things? Such an arrogant hot-headed devil rules over the Fan Xuexin City and the port in the North City! It is good that you are here, Commander Hua. I hope you take back the territory so that this devil doesn’t harm the local residents!”

“Commander Hua,” said Jiang Shuihan calmly. “We also want to mediate this dispute and end the battle. Many excellent mages lost their lives. Unfortunately, Lord Mo Fan seems too angry to come to a negotiation.”

“Old woman,” said Mo Fan, addressing Jiang Shuihan. “If someone tries to break into your house and then intends to kick you out of your own home, will you talk with the attackers very politely or try to defend your home?”

Jiang Shuihan’s face twitched. ‘Old Woman?!’

Granted she was over forty years of age, but Jiang Shuihan was still called beautiful by many. Some young mages in the Magic Association who did not know her position would sometimes treat her as their peer. Jiang Shuihan wanted to tear Mo Fan’s mouth when he called her an old woman!

“Since the Magic Association in our country allows the clan to own its own territory, run its own business, and cultivate its own mages, the territory becomes sacred and inviolable. Old He should be very clear about this.” Hua Zhanhong glanced at the old man.

Old He of the Clan Alliance nodded. “I haven’t seen you for such a long time, but you’re still the same as before, Commander Hua.”

“You flatter me. If I were younger, I would have arrived an hour ago.” Commander Hua turned to Mo Fan. “By the way, Mo Fan, I happened to encounter a rampant Chief Shark when I was passing by Lan Yang City, so I killed it. The body is still intact and fresh, and I want to give it to you as a gift. Let your subordinates use it for its valuable materials. I hope you accept it as my apology to you.”

The five officials were stunned. Commander Hua was apologizing to this brat?! Moreover, he had killed a Chief Shark which was threatening the Lan Yang City and was offering it to Mo Fan!

“Well, protecting the national treasure is my duty,” said Mo Fan. “Thank you.” He did not really want Commander Hua to apologize to him. He respected him very much.

Instead, he wanted the five old b*stards in front of him to apologize. They had only stood by and watched as Lin Kang strode to slaughter Fanxue Mountain. They didn’t even try to stop him. They let it happen so that Lin Kang could tear Fanxue Mountain apart and they could share it among themselves.

They never intended to take accountability of their actions. They could always blame Lin Kang if he failed, and escape the consequences. How did they expect Mo Fan to not know about what was going on in their minds?

They wanted to destroy Fanxue Mountain, and expected Mo Fan to be polite about it.

“You’re as cool as always, Commander.” Zhao Manyan gave Commander Hua a thumbs up.

Mu Bai also looked at Commander Hua in disbelief.

The chief of the Shark Kingdom was as powerful as the Black Totem Snake. It was the ‘king’ who tried to occupy the West Lake in Hangzhou. Many masters in Hangzhou could do nothing about it, but it was killed by Hua Zhanhong who was just passing by. What realm was Hua Zhanhong at?

“It ran around like it lost a treasure, and other shark monsters were escorting it. It was… unlucky to meet me. Unfortunately, it was not the King of the Shark Kingdom. The coastline of 1,000 kilometers from north to south of Lan Yang City is safe now. A fortress city can be built there for the migrants to live in,” said Commander Hua.

1

Mo Fan nodded. “Since Commander Hua is here in person, I’d better hand it over. I’m not comfortable handing it to people I can’t trust.” Mo Fan took out the Earth Fire Pistil and reluctantly put it on the table.

Earth Fire Pistil. This had been the sole reason for Fanxue Mountain’s catastrophe.

No matter how many enemies Fanxue Mountain had, they wouldn’t have dared to attack if it hadn’t for the coveted Earth Fire Pistil.

Fortunately, they had been able to hold the enemies off until Commander Hua arrived.

Hua Zhanhong had a very high status and an extraordinary position. If Zhao Jing had gotten the Earth Fire Pistil, he would have digested it in a day or two along with the Zhao family. It would then be too late to question them.

The Earth Fire Pistil was an important item needed to step into the Forbidden Curse. According to the International Mage Convention, whoever got to it first could own it.

If Zhao Jing had gotten it and ran abroad to seek protection from the International Mage Convention, even Commander Hua would not have been able to violate the law and snatch it back.

“Is this the national treasure that was hidden in Fanxue Mountain?” Nanrong Xishan said in awe.

Great General Li Shou glared at Nanrong Xishan.

“The Earth Fire Pistil. This is the biggest one. In the past, it could be used even by first-tier cities!” Jiang Shuihan exclaimed.

When Commander Hua saw the Earth Fire Pistil, even he couldn’t help getting excited. This was indeed a treasure. It had almost fallen into the hands of someone as greedy as Zhao Jing.

“You have worked very hard.” Commander Hua knew that Fanxue Mountain had suffered great losses to protect this treasure. He felt guilty and apologetic.

Fanxue Mountain could have handed over the Earth Fire Pistil and ended the war to save itself. Lin Kang wouldn’t have dared to attack Fanxue Mountain without a good enough reason after that.

To Commander Hua, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai and Mu Ningxue were still children but their resolve hadn’t shaken even in the face of such danger.

Commander Hua looked at the five officials of the Flying Bird Base City and sighed. Some of them were not even comparable to the righteousness and passion of these young people from Fanxue Mountain.

“When the people of Fanxue Mountain got hold of the Earth Fire Pistil, they notified me immediately. The Earth Fire Pistil is important, so I instructed them to protect it and not to reveal it to anybody,” said Commander Hua.

“Li Shou, Lin Kang was your subordinate,” said Commander Hua, turning to the Great General. “I would like to ask who represented my authority when Lin Kang invaded Fanxue Mountain for the Earth Fire Pistil? Or, did you represent my authority to snatch it for yourself?”

Commander Hua was not as calm as he had been when he arrived. His eyes flashed dangerously as he glared at the Great General.

Great General Li Shou felt his whole body go numb. He fell to the floor on his knees. The ground beneath him began to crack.

“I… I was deceived by Lin Kang,” stammered the Great General. “I couldn’t tell right from wrong. I deserve your punishment, General Hua.” The Great General Li Shou couldn’t even raise his head. His clothes were soaked in cold sweat.

The other four officials did not even dare to squeak. It was no wonder Commander Hua had arrived in person. The Earth Fire Pistil was a national treasure that brought vitality to the city.

Chapter 2702: The Forbidden Curse Is Cancer

“You are all stupid!” thundered Commander Hua. “You are all stuck between the peak cultivation base and the semi-forbidden curse. With your lack of knowledge, you will never step into the Forbidden Curse your whole life.” He glanced at the five officials.

“Commander Hua, you are correct! But the threshold of the Forbidden Curse is not something we can simply touch,” Councilman Tang said.

“Do you know why there are so few Forbidden Mages in this world?” asked Commander Hua coldly.

The five of them were at a loss for words. They were top rankers, but they were still some distance away from the semi-forbidden curse, much less at the level of a real Forbidden Curse. Countless predecessors had claimed that the top positions were just one step away from the Forbidden Curse, but no one knew how to cross this step.

The five of them wanted to step into the Forbidden Curse. That was the pinnacle of magic. But even after many years, their cultivation did not improve further as if they had reached their limits.

Commander Hua Zhanhong was a real Forbidden Mage, and he was also one of the best among the Forbidden Mages. It was rare to hear a Forbidden Mage talk about this gap that they could not overcome.

“People have limits. The highest level of cultivation of any person is the peak of Super Level, and it is impossible to improve any further. The Forbidden Curse should never exist as it violates the laws of nature and destroys the vitality of everything. This is why it is a forbidden curse and not a magic curse,” said Commander Hua.

When he talked, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai sat up straighter. Someone was actually openly talking about the Forbidden Curse. In the book, the Forbidden Curse was akin to a legend. It was very rare to meet someone who had actually achieved it. They could not even mention the names of the Forbidden Curse of some elements.

“Forbidden Mages exist because some people use something or other to break through the laws of nature and become the kind of existence that can bring natural destruction. Forbidden Mages are equivalent to cancer cells. When there are enough of them, the world faces the danger of collapse,” continued Commander Hua.

Every country was not allowed to use the Forbidden Curse without authorization.

Su Lu, who used the Forbidden Curse in Dubai, brought terrible destruction to the city. Tens of thousands of people fell into the Darkness Plane, and not many of them escaped.

“It is the Earth Pistil that can help people break through the laws of nature and become Forbidden Mages,” said Commander Hua pointing to the Earth Fire Pistil on the table.

Councilman Tang, Old He, Li Shou, Jiang Shuihan, and Nanrong Xishan stared at the Earth Fire Pistil in surprise. Even Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan seemed perplexed.

“It is the key to unlock the door of the Forbidden Curse. There are not many Forbidden Mages in our country because we used the Earth Pistil we obtained to build cities instead. Although Chairman Shao Zheng has resigned, he was a good leader. It is true that our country needs Forbidden Mages to guard important areas, but the Earth Pistil is needed more importantly to build cities so that more people can have their own homes,” said Commander Hua.

The Earth Pistil was a choice. It could be used to master the Forbidden Curse at the expense of people’s homes.

“So, the Forbidden Mage in our country doesn’t represent power. They represent responsibility! Zhao Jing didn’t want the responsibility. He was greedy for power. He wanted to take away the vitality of a city and use the Earth Fire Pistil for his selfish needs,” explained Commander Hua. “For that matter, I would like to thank the Fanxue Mountain and everything they have sacrificed to protect the Earth Fire Pistil on behalf of the National Army. For everyone from the Fanxue Mountain who fell in the battle, I will personally request for the National Warrior burial ceremony.” Commander Hua directed a military salute.

When the five officials saw the commander expressing gratitude to the Fanxue Mountain, they bowed down respectfully to show their stand as well. If they appeared ungrateful now, they were not far from being made to resign from their posts.

Mu Linsheng stood at the side and watched the six great officials bow in gratitude. He did not know how to react. It was the first time he had received such gratitude and respect from none other than Commander Hua, for that matter. It felt sacred. He could boast about it for a lifetime.

“Commander, you don’t have to do that. We all hope that the country will get through this catastrophe by making concerted efforts,” Mo Fan said.

Commander Hua approached Mo Fan. The other five officials still had their heads lowered in a bow. They didn’t want to anger Commander Hua so they were desperate to prove that they felt sincerely apologetic and grateful.

“Mo Fan, could we talk in private?” asked Commander Hua.

“Of course,” said Mo Fan and turned to the others. “Mu Linsheng, you can continue with the negotiations. I don’t think here will be any more problems.”

“Of course.” Mu Linsheng nodded.

Commander Hua was almost at the door when he turned back and glanced at Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan. “You two can join us, too. I almost underestimated your cultivation.”

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan followed behind. They were surprised to be noticed and curious to find out what the Commander was going to say to them. Although it was not their first time meeting him, they still felt nervous.

…

On the street, Commander Hua talked to them very casually. Although he was still in his military attire, he did not don his badges. He looked like an ordinary soldier who had returned home to rest and relax.

“What I said inside wasn’t meant for those old dogs,” said Commander Hua. Hearing that made Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan happy. It was satisfying to see them scolded like that.

“They won’t be able to step into the Forbidden Curse even if they tried for a lifetime. Even if they had ten Earth Fire Pistil s, they still won’t be able to reach that level,” said Commander Hua. “Those words were meant for you.”

“Commander, you are indeed very wise and considerate. We thought we accidentally fell upon some great secret of cultivation,” said Mo Fan. “Oh… do you want grilled squids? You can get some tasty squids here. I always try some when I have time to visit.”

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan were embarrassed. How could Mo Fan so casually offer the commander grilled squid?

“Really? Well… I will try some non-spicy ones. I guess a little spicy would be okay, too.” Commander Hua seemed to be torn between the two choices.

Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan were speechless.

The squid was grilled quickly. The owner of the shop actually recognized Mo Fan. He offered an extra skewer to Mo Fan for free. They all sat down by a small coffee shop.

The coffee table was really small. It barely had room for four grown men to sit together.

“Some people are consumed by greed and thirst for power when they become a Forbidden Mage, but some give it their all to protect their country and their people,” explained Commander Hua. “We need the Earth Fire Pistil urgently for now. If everything goes well, it will be used to establish the Forbidden Curse cultivation base for a Fire Mage. Soon, I will be fighting against the Monstrous Claw Emperor that has appeared in the Magic City, so I need a Fire Element Forbidden Mage by my side.”

1

Chapter 2703: At the Stage of Being Ripped Apart

The Monstrous Claw Emperor was the mastermind who controlled the ocean King Skeleton and took three apex-grade mages from the Oriental Pearl Tower. Mo Fan still remembered that powerful strike. If the Monstrous Claw Emperor appeared again, it would wipe out everyone in the Pudong ocean area.

Mo Fan was terrified as he remembered there were creatures in this world which could easily kill him. However, his terror was also his source of motivation to keep moving forward. The world, the country, and the city were not as peaceful as they appeared to be. His greatest source of comfort would always come from his own strength.

“Are you ready to take down the monster?” Zhao Manyan asked excitedly.

“Take down? I’m not strong enough to do that yet. I want to force it to reveal itself and gauge its strength. Taking on the emperor is not the same as taking on other demons. It requires a meticulous plan. The emperor is extremely cautious. It sends the prophets of the Godly Horde to hide among humans in order to acquire the mages’ reserves and find out the number of Forbidden Mages that are present. Meanwhile, it uses Ruler-level Ocean Demons as vanguards to lure out all the powerful mages and wipe them out. It slowly kills all powerful mages…

“Once they learn that we are no longer capable of defeating the Ocean Demons and Godly Horde, they will take the initiative to launch their attack.”

“They’re like a school of sharks; they will not swarm toward their prey when they see it. The ocean contains a variety of venomous creatures, stingers, and electric monsters. Although their victory is certain, their prey will fight back ferociously. The prey then deals a fatal blow to the sharks in its struggle.”

“Therefore, the sharks will opt for the most secure method. They surround and wander around their prey. They look for opportunities to take a bite before swimming away. They exhaust their prey and then swarm up to attack.”

“We’re at that stage now. We are surrounded and ripped apart one by one.”

Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan, and Mu Bai ate the squid skewers while listening attentively.

“So that means, the Ocean Demons’ real attack hasn’t started yet?” asked Mo Fan.

Base City was the only livable city within 20,000 km. The Ocean Demons had forced the humans into a corner, but it seemed as if that wasn’t their strongest offense yet. How long had the Ocean Demons been plotting this for? How much strength did they keep hidden?

“We have to drag this stage out,” said Commander Hua.

“How do we do that?”

“By killing one of the emperors of the Ocean Demons so that the Ocean Godly Horde is aware of the humans’ power in launching counterattacks,” explained Commander Hua.

“So, you have to kill Eastern Ocean’s Monstrous Claw Emperor?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not exactly. If we go out into the ocean and find the demon stronger than expected, we will need to find another target. Unfortunately, we haven’t received any information about the Emperor of the South Ocean. The Ocean Demons are highly intelligent. I suspect that there is a hidden civilization under the ocean that is comparable to humans. I’ve never been this frustrated when fighting other emperors in the past.” Commander Hua nibbled on a squid, as if venting his dissatisfaction out on this poor delicacy.

“Ha… if only all ocean creatures were as harmless as squids, crayfishes, and hairy crabs, we’d be able to eat them all to extinction, considering the large population in our country.” Mo Fan heaved a sigh.

The situation was dire. According to Commander Hua’s description, people were forced into a corner in those areas. Some had to migrate to the west.

But the west was freezing cold. The supply of food and heat was a serious issue. The South King of Ocean was actually cutting off the humans’ last resort and forcing them to fight the Ocean Demons.

“I believe we won’t be of any help, will we, Commander Hua?” asked Zhao Manyan cautiously. “What made you reveal such information to us today?”

Zhao Manyan had a hunch that Commander Hua was going to ask them to fulfill a secret mission related to testing the waters for the emperor of the Ocean Demons. If that was true, Zhao Manyan was reluctant to join in. He did not even have children! He didn’t want to die so soon!

“Based on your progress in your respective cultivations, I believe all will fully master your powers in a couple of years. By then, you will be facing Forbidden Curse Tianhong. The Earth Fire Pistil is the key to unlock the Forbidden Curse Tianhong, and you are the ones who stand a chance to enter the realm of the Forbidden Curse. When you need this key, the Forbidden Curse Association will figure out how to get it for you, just like how I acquired the Earth Fire Pistil for the Fire Element mage who assisted me. You will also be given a Tianhong certificate,” Commander Hua said.

“Do you mean that if we donate an Earth Fire Pistil, our country will help us collect the Earth Fire Pistil when we need it to advance to the level of Forbidden Curse? The Tianhong certificate is equivalent to a blood donation certificate, if I am not mistaken. It is the sacred oath that if we help others, we will be given priority when we need help in the suture. Am I right?” asked Mo Fan.

“That’s right. The Forbidden Curse involves many parties. The government won’t disappoint you.” Commander Hua nodded.

“What a relief! In fact, I used to think of plundering it.” Mo Fan breathed out a sigh of relief.

“The squid skewers taste really good. I will definitely try this again if I visit here.”

“Commander Hua, people who say that don’t actually get to eat the squids from here again! There’s a possibility that we might have to grill the squid skewer before your tomb,” said Mo Fan.

Commander Hua smiled. “There’s no way I’m going to die that soon. Don’t worry.”

3

“You can’t be so sure about it.”

Commander Hua kept smiling. He stood up.

The trio quickly rose to their feet, too.No matter how easy-going Commander Hua was, he was still the most respectable soldier in the country. And he was going to face the most terrifying enemy in the Ocean Godly Horde. If he fell, the coastal defense would collapse…

After the trio bid farewell to Commander Hua, they finally heaved a sigh of relief. There was always a feeling of pressure especially when talking to such an infamous superior, especially when talking about life and death situations.

Commander Hua’s strength and support was the reason everyone lived a life of peace in the city, after all.

…

When they returned to Fanxue Mountain, they were greeted by a corpse as big as a mountain. The body hadn’t decayed yet so there was no stench. It looked so majestic that it would wake up any minute and devour the Xuexin City.

It was the Chief Shark!

Its zircon shark skin was exceptional. It was as solid and tough as alloy. It contained indefinite power to overturn the vast ocean itself.

Zhao Jing was afraid of the Chief Shark. Mo Fan and the rest of his group were no match for it either.

The huge body of the Chief Shark sank behind Fanxue Mountain. It was dead. Commander Hua had killed it alone.

It was unimaginable how powerful he must be! Yet, someone as powerful as him had an enemy that he felt he could not subdue alone.

Chapter 2704: Grill the Shark

That night when everyone worked, Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan took a little time off. They rarely ever stayed at Fanxue Mountain so they did not have a very good understanding of where they could offer their assistance.

Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan discussed among themselves, instead. They decided to summon Little Blae Belle, Moon Moth Phoenix, Royal Pattern Wolf, Wind Flame Lightning Vulture, and Little Green Kraken to handle Chief Shark’s huge carcass.

1

Little Flame Belle was an expert on roasting meat. Nobody could beat her at roasting in the whole of Fanxue Mountain.

“Moon Moth Phoenix, you’ll sprinkle the spices. Make sure to sprinkle evenly. The body is too big,” Mo Fan instructed them.

“Royal Pattern Wolf, summon your eldest, second, and third brothers. Before roasting the wings, we have to slice several areas with a knife to roast the flesh inside. What? You can’t rip Chief Shark’s flesh apart? Useless bunch! Chief Shark is dead! Fine, get a plate and wait for the food.”

Some of Chief Shark’s valuable parts had been taken away by the professionals of Fanxue Mountain to study. Considering that Fanxue Mountain had suffered many losses, Mo Fan offered them Chief Shark’s treasures to auction them off for some gold. He distributed them among the Fanxue Mountain elites. Even though Commander Hua would take care of those who fell in the battle field, Fanxue Mountain made certain that their families were provided for.

Still, a large carcass of flesh was left. If the flesh was left as it was, it would rot and pollute the Fanxue Mountain’s clean air. They didn’t know if it would release toxins. They had grilled various types of Ocean Demons before but this was their first time grilling a Chief Shark.

“Little Green Kraken, enough of eating raw flesh! Eat something cooked, okay?” Zhao Manyan smacked Little Green Kraken’s head with a large iron spoon.

Little Green Kraken came from Lan Yang City. It had stopped growing uncontrollably but the amount of food it ate remained the same. Chief Shark’s flesh was barely sufficient to satiate its appetite. Little Green Kraken drooled all over the ground.

“Shrink yourself, will you? Look at you, you’re so huge, do you want to drown us in your saliva?!” Zhao Manyan scolded.

Little Green Kraken wriggled its round body reluctantly. Its enormous body gradually shrank and soon it transformed into a palm-sized green fish that surrounded Zhao Manyan.

“We’re done! Call everyone so we can begin eating!” Mo Fan shouted.

Little Flame Belle flew out of the hearth and stretched out its tiny flaming hand to high five with Mo Fan’s. They looked like a pair of merry five-star chef and his assistant.

“Let’s eat now!”

Zhao Manyan was the first to use his large iron spoon to dig up a hefty scoop of the roasted meat.

A dozen of staggering light and shadow appeared before Little Green Kraken, and Zhao Manyan’s large scoop of shark meat fell into ‘a pool of piranhas’. It was gone in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Manyan’s face turned dark. He swore to throw Little Green Kraken into the wilderness someday. ‘It has such a huge appetite!’ thought Zhao Manyan. ‘When it eats, it could care less about its father even!’

Zhao Manyan was prepared. He prepared another plate with piles of shark meat and sat down to eat. He placed the plate on his knees, and opened a bottle of beer.

He took a bite of the meat. He found it delicious in the beginning, but as he continued chewing, his face changed slowly.

“Mo Fan, isn’t the taste of this meat a little strange?” he asked.

“What? Are you sure? Maybe you got a bad batch. I mean look at them. They are practically devouring every bit,” said Mo Fan as he gestured to Old Wolf, Eldest Wolf Second Wolf, and the others.

Zhao Manyan took a few more bites. The meat and its aroma were different. He felt that the shark meat wasn’t as good as the sea fishes. Could the Chief Shark’s meat be poorer in quality than the sea bass?

“What are you doing?” Mu Bai returned late at night. He looked tired. He must have been solving the issues with North City and the South Wing Mage Group. He had been very preoccupied lately. He even stayed in Fanxue Mountain most times. He had far less time to relax when compared to Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan.

“We’re eating grilled shark meat. Do you want to give it a try? Get a beer and join us. It tastes better with ice-cold beer,” said Zhao Manyan.

Mu Bai frowned. He looked repulsed. Zhao Manyan was confused.

“Since you are all so free, maybe read a book or two?” said Mu Bai. “Sharks urinate through their skin. Hence, their flesh is filled with urea. Those who live near the sea are aware that shark meat is neither edible nor tasty.” Mu Bai sighed and continued walking up the mountain.

Mo Fan had been holding his own plate of meat. He had almost taken a bite. Zhao Manyan and Little Green Kraken headed into the woods, as did the others. The air was filled with the sound of people gagging.

1

Mo Fan then turned to Old Wolf, Eldest Wolf, Second Wolf, Wind Flame Lightning Vulture, and the rest of their group. They ate the meat happily. They even fought for extra shares.

“Fine. I’ll just drink the beer. Let’s drink!” Mo Fan raised the bottle and gulped the beer down. He tossed the shark meat towards the wolf pack.

Old Wolf, Second Wolf, Eldest Wolf, and other wolves jumped at the food and devoured it. Their eyes shone in excitement. They regarded Mo Fan as their master for life.

“Why hasn’t Little White Tiger returned? I miss it,” Mo Fan lamented.

It had been quite a while since Little White Tiger had returned to Tian Sheng. The last time he had met Little White Tiger was in Japan. Little White Tiger had grown up and accepted Heaven Scar’s challenge. It had not returned to Fanxue Mountain since.

Since the Little White Tiger had left, the atmosphere in Yu Shishi’s kindergarten had been a little less lively. Little Flame Belle and Moon Moth Phoenix were ladies. They were far more well-behaved than Little White Tiger.

However, Little Green Kraken was the latest member at Yu Shishi’s kindergarten. Little Green Kraken was fearless, and its presence brought a lot of fun to Maple Mountain and Fanxue Mountain.

“We have once again dragged the issue surrounding the totem,” Mo Fan said, staring at Totem Kindergarten.

“Jiang Shaoxu and Lingling have found some clues. Didn’t you notice they’ve been disappearing occasionally for a couple days now?” Zhao Manyan said. He had finally gotten rid of that awful taste.

He had rinsed his mouth and now was chewing two gums to get rid of the aftertaste. As a flirt, he felt that it was okay if he did not often carry condoms, but he had to always keep his breath fresh.

1

Meanwhile, Little Green Kraken swung its large tail to request a gum from Zhao Manyan.

“Take it, take it… chew, don’t swallow,” said Zhao Manyan as he threw two chewing gums at Little Green Kraken.

Even before he had finished his words, Little Green Kraken had already caught the gums in its mouth and swallowed.

Zhao Manyan sighed and patted its head. Why bother to tell the truth? There was nothing that the Little Green Kraken wouldn’t eat.

Chapter 2705: Legend of Purple Feather

Ye Xinxia’s holiday was over. Mo Fan wanted to escort her back to Greece, but Ye Xinxia shook her head. The domestic situation was dire. Fanxue Mountain had recently been through a major war. Mo Fan was there for leisure but he played a significant role in protecting it. Even now, his presence was enough even if he wasn’t able to actively contribute in the aftereffects of war.

A private plane landed on Fanxue Mountain which had almost been raved to the ground. A group of people in golden knights walked out of the plane. When the time came, the Parthenon Temple required the goddess nominees to return. The way the people at Parthenon Temple functioned was extravagant and high-profile even if they were poor and underdeveloped. They did this because they wanted more people to notice and visit the Parthenon Temple.

“It’s the Goddess of Parthenon Temple!” The Fanxue Mountain elites were shocked. But it made sense. Because of Xinxia, Fanxue Mountain did not suffer as much in the battle. Otherwise, more than a thousand people would have died.

Many Super Level Healing Mages who were on the verge of death were saved and regained their health in only a couple of days. While most people had forgotten how Mo Fan had looked, they still remembered Xinxia.

“The election day is around the corner. When that day comes, I will visit.” Mo Fan stroked Ye Xinxia’s soft hair.

The goddess election sounded like a grand event. In truth, it would be another round of bloodbath.

But Ye Xinxia could not retreat from it, especially after she found out she was Salan’s daughter. Because of that identity, she was destined to be a sinner from birth. She was also the Holy Saint, Wen Tai’s daughter. The souls which played a significant part at the Parthenon Temple were within her. It was her destiny that she would never be able to live a normal life. So, she thought she might as well fight for it.

“Thank you, Big Brother Mo Fan. I would like that. Don’t worry. I can take good care of myself.” Ye Xinxia nodded.

The present Xinxia was not the frail and meek highschool girl from Bo City who could do nothing but sit and suffer while gangsters robbed her of her wheelchair.

Mo Fan placed a kiss on Ye Xinxia’s cheek, bidding her farewell. Ye Xinxia also gave him a peck on his cheek. The knights then formed a human shield around her. It was time to leave.

…

The airplane took off. The rest of the golden knights patrolled around the airport. A female knight, Hua Lisi, stayed in the cabin.

The sky was overcast. The airplane flew further into the sky and appeared smaller and smaller, until it vanished from sight completely.

The approaching election day made Mo Fan anxious. Only a mage with the power as high as the Forbidden Curse would be able to make changes during the competition. It made him wonder when he would reach the Forbidden Curse level.

“Are you worried that Ye Xinxia will be mistreated?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“I used to worry about her. But now, not so much,” Mo Fan said.

“What do you mean?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“In the past, whenever we got close, the arrogant knights would berate us to maintain decorum. This time, they didn’t...” Mo Fan noticed the knights who watched them but dared not disrespect her.

“Does that make a difference?”

“It does. It tells a lot about how they see her now.”

When Jiang Shaoxu had arrived, he had seen Mo Fan bidding farewell to Xinxia. He had come to talk about the totem’s issue with Mo Fan. As a person from a military family, he understood what Mo Fan meant when he said the knights hadn’t dared to disrespect Xinxia this time.

1

“Have you found the new totem?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes. Lan Yang City’s feathers gave us a lot of clues. The feathers are colorful. After Lingling and I made an analysis from the feathers, we realized that Chongming Divine Bird represents one color, Moon Moth Phoenix represents another color, and purple represents something else entirely. Therefore, we began our search with the purple phantom color. We found out about some ancient legends.”

“There’s a legend about Lightning Forbidden Place from Mingwu Ancient City. It’s a place where the sea meets the cliff. It is also the habitat for a certain purple divine bird. When it flies, its old feather falls as the sea breeze blows. Whenever its feather touches humid air, rain, or fog, it produces powerful lightning. A lightning storm will appear in that particular area.”

“The legend seems to be real. So, Lingling and I plan to take a trip down there. There’s a possibility that it could be one of the totems that we’re looking for.”

“If it is a Lightning Element, it will be very helpful to me.” Mo Fan said happily.

Since Chongming Divine Bird turned into the heart divine furnace, Mo Fan was bonded with this mysteriously feathered holy totem. Totem was the world’s Holy Spirit, endowed with powerful attributes.

Zhao Jing was the first mage Mo Fan encountered who had a much higher level of Lightning Element than him. Mo Fan wanted to improve his own Lightning Element, otherwise, he would waste the special effect from the Blessing of the God’s Seal.

Of course, he had to ensure that the rest of the elements were able to keep up with one another. But first, he had to enrich his Lightning Element and Fire Element further.

“That’s right. If you could absorb the totem’s power, you won’t need to find any Heaven Seed. You can fully master the Heaven Seed by just relying on the totem and advance to Super Level!” Jiang Shaoxu said.

1

“We cannot waste any time, then. Call the others!” said Mo Fan in excitement.

“I believe Mu Bai would prefer to cultivate. He took Lin Kang’s iron ink pen and plans to refine his snow pen,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Call Zhao Manyan then,” Mo Fan said.

“He can’t go with us either. Zhao Jing’s dead. There is certainly a lot going on with the Zhao family for now. He plans to take a trip to the Zhao family house. He wants to calm them and he doesn’t want to hide from them anymore.”

“So, I suppose I’m the only one left in this totem search team who’s capable of fighting the totem?” Mo Fan asked.

“Lingling and I can’t go with you either. The mysterious totem feather is closely related to the enormous snake. We have to crack our heads to research it these days. I came here to tell you that you might have to take the trip down to Mingwu Ancient City by yourself,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

‘So, he wants me to be his errand boy…’ thought Mo Fan.

1

“It’s fine even if you don’t want to go. You can spend some money and hire a hunter. There are a lot of things going on at Mingwu Ancient City lately, so there are quite a number of forces there. Furthermore, there is a fortress stationed nearby. You can gain some information there,” Jiang Shaoxu continued.

“Forget it. I don’t have a lot of contribution points left. I’ll go myself,” Mo Fan said. Everyone seemed busy with their own work.

He decided to take the trip by himself. It was not as though he couldn’t do anything without their help, anyway. He didn’t need them to go with him.

Chapter 2706: A Seductress in the Temple

Mo Fan had to admit something. He did not have a sense of direction at all!

The coastal landscape had vastly changed in the years because of rising sea levels. It would be difficult to find lost cities in the way he did before.

“Tencent map will continue to navigate for you. The speed limit ahead is 70km/h, and your current speed is 680km/h. You’ve exceeded the speed limit! You’ve exceeded the speed limit!”

The highway into the city had been abandoned for some years now. Mo Fan rode the Royal Pattern Wolf while navigating the map on his phone. The Royal Pattern Wolf sped up, and the notification from his phone repeated its warnings.

“Do not go uphill. Stick to your left and continue moving forward. You’ve exceeded the speed limit! The speed limit for this highway is 70km/h.”

Mo Fan looked up and saw the road ahead of him sinking into the sea. He then looked at the map on his phone again.

‘Sigh, smart technology is not really reliably smart. It’s best to just rely on myself,’ decided Mo Fan.

“Old Wolf, you go back first. I believe it should be somewhere here. I’ll fly to the sky and take a look.” Mo Fan called the Royal Pattern Wolf back to a different dimension.

The Royal Pattern Wolf howled, looking majestic.

“You want to walk around and take back some fresh to the horde?” said Mo Fan. “Suit yourself. I will go to the fortress over there for now.”

The Royal Pattern Wolf spread its limbs as if it had finally regained its freedom before running toward the barren coastal plain. Mo Fan wondered what it had smelled that had gotten it so excited.

Mo Fan had achieved a decent level of Summoning Element cultivation. So, the Royal Pattern Wolf could take its own sweet time for now. After all, there were not many people staying in the city. It had basically become a hotspot for the Ocean Demons and other demon hordes. The Royal Pattern Wolf could roam around and help the remaining citizens get rid of some of the demons.

Mo Fan switched off his phone. He summoned his Black Dragon Wings and flew to the sky.

Ocean Demons liked to cast fog spells to obscure human vision. Sometimes, it would be so foggy that anyone flying into the sky would lose track of the intended destination. But this time, when Mo Fan flew up into the sky to conduct his investigation, it was clear. The weather was good.

When he flew higher, he saw purple ripples in the sky. The purple aurora folded, twisted and spiraled continuously. It was breathtaking.

Boom! Boom!

There was a distant lightning strike. The weather did improve but the lightning grew even louder as though a team of soldiers from heaven had gathered on a cloud and played the lightning drums.

Dots of lightning flashed in purple. It looked like a purple crack across the sky. More snake-like electric cracks spread over the clear sky. Powerful lightning boomed, illuminating the earth and the sky entirely in purple. Mo Fan now stood on a vast coastal plain, watching the dirt and mud splattered all over the land and the plants and trees simply destroyed.

Bam! Suddenly a lightning bolt appeared in the sky and hit the dirt on the flat highway. The sparks were astonishing. The bolt struck in Mo Fan’s direction. He crossed his fists and took up a defensive stance. The moment the lightning hit him, it sent him flying a hundred miles away. The impact was just too powerful.

Mo Fan’s clothes were in tatters. His hair was singed. When he looked down at his arm, he could see a fresh wound open up. Mo Fan was truly at a loss for words. He was stunned.

He was amazed that these lightning bolts were powerful enough to cause him damage. He could see that there were thousands of lightning bolts snaking down from the sky, each equally, if not more powerful, than the lightning bolt which had struck him.

The sky was clear and yet lightning struck. It was an incredible sight. For a while, Mo Fan felt as though he had fallen into another ethereal and surreal world.

But the scene did not last long. The lightning disappeared from the sky before Mo Fan had the time to find the source of this heavenly electrifying phenomenon.

The sky began to turn dark. The ground was in shambles. The surrounding area had grown extremely quiet.

“It’s incredible!” Mo Fan used his senses to scan his surroundings. The Lightning Element in the surrounding had already begun to thin out as though that one powerful incident had exhausted all resources.

He continued to travel some distance away.That phenomenon did not occur again. The Lightning Element resumed its normalcy. But the air was filled with burnt smell and the aroma of meat. Perhaps some living creatures nearby were struck and burnt.

Mo Fan took out a Great Return Pill from the divine temple. He generously applied the medicine to his wound. He recovered fast, thanks to his demonically powerful physique and to the miracle pill. His wounds had completely healed within half an hour.

‘Why is there a temple in the middle of this wilderness?’ wondered Mo Fan. He had passed an overgrown forest and come across a sacrificial temple. It was deserted. There was nothing else except overgrown thorns and bushes. No sign of any houses, or buildings.

‘I think I smell a person.’ Mo Fan walked over to where the smell came from. He was glad that he had finally found somebody in this abandoned place, outside the fortress and the city. Finally, someone who could give him directions.

…

“Who’s there?” came a nervous female voice from within the temple. Her voice sounded cold.

Mo Fan was puzzled. He wondered why a lady was alone in this dilapidated temple in the middle of this vast wilderness. He thought that she might be a fox or a snake hiding in the temple to entice a passing man.

Mo Fan felt a little excited. He strode inside the temple. “Fairy Sister, I was just passing by and saw this temple. I have suffered a minor injury from the lightning. Could I stay inside this temple to avoid another lightning strike?” asked Mo Fan courteously.

“Fairy Sister? What even is that? I am here to worship my ancestors.” The woman was draped in a colorful headscarf. He wore a delicate conical hat. She was in a slanted-waist blouse and wide-legged pants.

1

Her attire was unique to say the least. Her headscarf covered her cheeks, revealing only thin, curved eyebrows and a pair of beautiful eyes. Her nose and lips looked delicate. He was stunningly beautiful.

1

From her attire, she looked reserved and introverted. Despite being mostly covered, her demure beauty stood out.

Mo Fan was a practical man. There was this common saying that a demon would be present whenever something unusual happens in a place. Otherwise, there was no reason for a temple to appear in this kind of wilderness. Why was it that it was always a woman who appeared in this kind of situation? The lightning was so powerful, every demon within the vicinity was fried by it, so how was it that someone who looked demure and meek like her was still alive in this temple?

‘She must be a seductress intending to find her next victim,’ thought Mo Fan. ‘And I happened to bump into her!’

Chapter 2707: Came to the Right Place

The woman stared at Mo Fan. She found him suspicious. She remained on her guard.

“There’s no lightning storm outside anymore. You can continue your journey,” she said politely.

“Continue my journey?” Mo Fan was stunned.

He wondered why the seductress was letting him go. As far as Mo Fan knew, a seductress usually invited a passing man into the temple. She would then proceed to tell him of her woes so that the man would feel protective towards her. And as she seduced him, her distorted demon form would flash in the lightning.

“Yes. The lightning storm will not appear again for quite a while. You can continue with your journey.” She did not really want to invite him into the temple.

“Oh… The last lightning strike was truly severe. I got injured. I don’t want to die in this wilderness, The temple seems to be safest for now. It is still intact even in the middle of such fierce lightning. God must have really blessed this place. Please allow me to stay for a while.” Mo Fan was determined to enter the temple.

The woman with the colorful headscarf stood at the door of the temple. She turned her head and gave the altar inside the temple one last look before she walked out of the temple giving Mo Fan a wary look. She refused to share the temple with Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was speechless. Did he really look like a thug that this woman felt so unsafe that she couldn’t stand being in the same temple as him?

“Miss!” he called. “Aren’t you afraid of the wilderness and demons that might be roaming about? Do you need me to escort you?”

“No need,” she said. “Please use the temple. Do not follow me.” The woman deliberately kept a distance between them as she walked past.

“Okay. If you aren’t afraid of the lightning, fine by me. May I ask for directions to Mingwu Ancient City before you leave?” Mo Fan asked.

“Why are you going there?” She looked alarmed.

“I’m a hunter. I received a bounty and want to earn money to pay for my house deposit at Mingwu Ancient City. I believe you’re aware that the coast has only a few base cities and fortresses left. As a result, land and house prices are high. So, I have to frequently travel without a roof over my head…”

“Please stop,” she said. “It’s in that direction.” She pointed her slender finger at the road ahead of him where Mo Fan’s navigation system had warned not to go. She didn’t bother to listen to any more of his story.

“Oh, thank you. Where are you going, if I may ask?” asked Mo Fan, as she turned in the opposite direction.

She ignored his question. She did not entertain him any further. She turned around and walked away.

Mo Fan let out a weary sigh as he saw her receding back. He wondered why she had appeared so alarmed when he mentioned the Mingwu Ancient City. He also wondered what he had done for her to be so suspicious and afraid of him.

…

Mo Fan walked in the direction the woman had pointed at. Soon, he reached a fortress.

It turned out that the fortress was located on the west of the city and was obscured by a cloud of fog.

The south area always looked like this in this season. It was drizzling, and the moisture in the air had condensed into water drops. The city was enveloped in a fog-like haze. It was so humid that it felt like the place was a large steamer without heat.

The fortress was huge. This was one of the largest fortresses between Flying Bird Base City and Yaodu Base City. A large army was stationed at the fortress, and there were very few residents. Most of them were mages.

When he entered the fortress, rows of stalls lined both sides of the street, like a crowded bazaar.

Of course, the stalls in the fortress did not sell the usual food, drinks, etc. Instead, they sold magical items. Magical defense equipment was the most common among them. Owning a magical defense equipment could actually save one’s life more times that expected. So, it was every traveler’s first choice. Those who had money to spare usually bought one for themselves.

Pharmaceutical products were the next most common selling item. They provided both branded and non-branded products. Some people who studied pharmacology sold the drugs they were still refining. Mo Fan noticed a stall that was similar to those selling fried dough sticks and kompyang.

Most of them offered pharmaceutical refinement and blending on the spot. These sellers were knowledgeable individuals. They did not look like drug dealers, or con men who had no knowledge about botany or toxicology yet lied about their medicine’s ability to bring the dead back to life.

There were many travelers in the fortress. Most of them came in groups such as mages and hunters. Others were students, herbalists, miners, treasure diggers, exorcists, etc. There were people from various professions and backgrounds.

The fortress was more prosperous than Mo Fan expected. Since the fall of most cities on the coast, only base cities could afford such a scale of business. Mo Fan never thought there was a fortress this famous near Mingwu Ancient City.

A fortress and a base city were different. Aside from those assigned to ensure basic necessities, this fortress was inhabited mostly by mages. If anything were to happen in the fortress, the mages had no obligation to protect the commoners who lacked magical power.

Those who traveled outside for training purposes did not want to stay in the city and let the peace dull their senses. But if they did not want to roam around without a roof over their heads, they stayed in fortresses like these.

Mo Fan was relieved to find a fortress like this. At the very least, he could find some clues. Otherwise, he might go crazy wandering around the wilderness by himself.

There was a large square in front of the entrance. A scrolling LCD screen in the middle of the square gleamed and showed four directions in golden color. The message included information on bounty, recruitment and sale of expensive magical tools.

Zhao Manyan told him that the majority of the treasure came from fortresses like these. Most times individuals and groups purchased from places like these and sold them at auctions.

…

Mo Fan had no idea where Mingwu Ancient City was. It had taken him a lot of time to find the city. With his sense of direction, it was akin to finding an elusive demon in its lair. He remained at the fortress for a while to see if anyone had come here with the same goal as him. If he could join them, it would save a lot of his time.

Mo Fan had dropped by the Hunter Union in Flying Bird Base City, but he did not receive any information about Mingwu Ancient City.

He realized that there were a lot of people in this fortress who were heading in the same direction. There were at least two out of ten people who were going to the Mingwu Ancient City. He had arrived at exactly the right place!

Chapter 2708: The Most Powerful Mage in The Fortress

[Recruiting: Pharmacists needed to solve Fengyi Centipede’s venom issue at Mingwu Ancient City.]

“Well, I can’t choose this because I don’t know anything about pharmacology,” mumbled Mo Fan.

[Recruiting: Pathfinder for route planning. Best at luring the ruthless demons away. Veteran scouts are preferred.]

Mo Fan stroked his chin and considered the job posting. On second thoughts, he had no sense of direction. So, he could not choose this either.

[Recruiting: Water Element mage. The mage has to be at the Super Level for at least two elements. Those who are interested may schedule an interview. Commissions will be paid first.]

“Seriously? I’ve worked very hard to get here. Why don’t they give me a chance?” muttered Mo Fan. He was at a loss. Most recruitments were for those with special and specific talents. He was a combatant but it did not seem to put him in any advantageous positions.

He wondered if most mages here were combat mages, otherwise it would have been super difficult to open up a wasteland for trade. Mo Fan read the messages on the screen only to find out that he didn’t meet the requirements and had a very difficult time getting a job despite being a famous Super Level powerful mage.

“Forget it,” he muttered. “Instead of looking for others, might as well let them come and find me.”

…

The square was very crowded. Most of the people were in groups.Some were having a great time. They often chatted leisurely among themselves. But everyone paid attention to the notification and messages on the screen in the center of the square.

Most hunters and mercenaries preferred lucrative jobs. But these jobs were gone very soon. The employers rarely cared about selecting a good team. The hunters would be well-prepared after all.

Some bounties were distributed to other groups because there were so many of them. A person was even assigned to take charge of acquiring information from these groups. Not every hunter and group had the financial resources to assign such a person. So, they went to Hunter Hall to get the jobs. Usually for one-time service they went to the Hunter Hall to hire female hunters who were rather good at finding things.

[The most powerful combat mage in the fortress. Seeking a team to head to Mingwu Ancient City in order to gain a deeper understanding about the city…]

“Wow! Look at this fledgling idiot! Even if he wants to bluff, how could he claim to be the most powerful combat mage? Who published the message? I want to challenge him!”

“How dare he say such a thing? He’s truly an idiot. It’s a miracle that he can find a team.” A tanned man with sunglasses snorted.

“Big Brother, we lack a fighter in our team. That man seemed to be quite strong. Shall we ask him to join us?”

“Are you stupid? There’s a good chance he won’t be able to find a team at all. He’s unwanted. That’s why he used such lame marketing strategy to market himself.”

“That makes sense…”

…

Mo Fan sat on a long bench. He looked solemn. As an expert, he had to look the part. He could not be seen to cross his legs and smoke a cigarette casually. He noticed mages who were women from the corner of his eyes.

Mo Fan was the one who published the message about being the most powerful mage in the fortress. He had kept himself humble by claiming to be the most powerful mage in the fortress. He was, in fact, the most powerful man in the Flying Bird Base City. A Forbidden Mage was bound by magic convention. As a mage below the level of Forbidden Curse, Mo Fan believed not many could defeat him. Even if there were people who could defeat him, he would not let it be an easy fight.

‘That’s weird. I’ve sent out the message, but none have approached me yet,’ thought Mo Fan looking up at the screen.

He waited for a while longer. Nobody came. He wondered if the people in this fortress were idiots. He had offered his aid at a cheap rate, still no one had come to group up with him.

“Big Sister Ying, we’ve been in the fortress for some days now. Why aren’t we starting our journey yet? The lightning rainbow will appear tomorrow morning. It’s a rare chance to miss,” said a girl of sixteen or seventeen.

The young girl was a few miles away from Mo Fan. He could smell the flowery fragrance wafting through the air.

1

“Don’t act recklessly. Our mentor warned us to prioritize our safety. Before we find a strong hunter union to be our guardian, we cannot enter Mingwu Ancient City.” The woman who had been addressed as Big Sister Ying was equally young. She was beautiful and elegant. However, she pretended as if she had more experience about the ways of the world.

Although Mo Fan was not particularly observant, he guessed that Big Sister Ying, too, did not often venture outside the fortress. She pretended to act coolly and kept her distance from strangers.

“But we can’t possibly find a hunter union composed entirely of ladies. If we continue to stay, I don’t think we’ll be leaving for another month.” The young girl pouted her lips sulkily.

“Alternatively, we can look for a powerful independent female hunter. Our mentor cautioned us to look for only a female as our guardian.”

“Ha… That’s annoying. This is not our first time traveling. We are able to discern between a good and a bad person.”

“Then tell me, who are the good and the bad people in this square?” Big Sister Ying asked impatiently.

The young girl’s eyes lit up. She immediately pointed at a man with a scar on his face approaching from a mile away. “He’s a bad guy. Look at his scar, he looks fierce and wicked!”

The young girl saw a gentleman. A young man of fair face. He was handsome and had long, unruly hair. However, it was neat. He wore a standard huntsman uniform and exuded an aristocratic aura.

“Look, he has to be a good man,” said the young girl. She blushed and looked at the young man.

Big Sister Ying was angry. She raised her hand and struck the young girl across her forehead with a flick of her fingers. “You are hopeless!”

Mo Fan had been observing the two young women. Their attire was the same as the woman he had met before at the temple. It made him curious.

The two ladies wore colorful head scarves and delicate conical hats. Their cheeks were covered by draping headscarves, thus revealing only their eyes, lips, and noses. It was difficult to see them clearly. He realized that they might have dressed in such a way to avoid creepy men.

Men acted like creeps almost all the time. They made women the subject of their dirty fantasies if they showed a little skin. But sometimes, despicable men became titillated even when they were covered with headscarves and conical hats.

Chapter 2709: Young Gullible Women

Mo Fan fell into the category of those despicable men. He was deceitful and he needed to get to the Mingwu Ancient City. He pondered for a while and returned to the office to post another message.

Within half an hour, the two girls, who had previously chatted beside him, walked in his direction. Mo fan crossed his arms and pretended to look cool and unaffected in every way.

“Why is the person a man?” Big Sister Ying immediately expressed her dissatisfaction when she saw Mo Fan. She turned around, ready to walk away.

But the active young girl looked happy. “Are you really the Seven-star Hunter Master? I heard from my Big Sister that the Seven-star Hunter Master is very powerful. He can slaughter Commander-level Ocean Demons by himself.”

“Perhaps there’s some error in the message. But trust me, I’m the Seven-star Hunter Master. Look at my badge.” Mo Fan showed a seemingly genuine badge.

The young girl must have never seen a Seven-star Hunter Master badge before. She took it from Mo Fan excitedly and flipped it over to study it. She even took her phone out and snapped a photo of it.

“Shu Xiaohua, what are you doing? Why aren’t you following the things that our mentor had warned us about?” Big Sister Ying pulled the young girl away.

“Big Sister Ying, he’s a genuine Seven-star Hunter Master. He’s been verified. If we continue to drag this out, I don’t know how much longer we will have to wait,” Shu Xiaohua said.

“We need a female hunter,” Big Sister Ying replied.

“He’s a Seven-star Hunter Master. How can he possibly harm us? His badge is worth a trunk of ladies like us,” Shu Xiaohua insisted.

“Shu Xiaohua, what are you talking about?! Why are you comparing us to the commercial items that can be traded off?!” Big Sister Ying was so angry that her entire body trembled in rage.

“Are you going to Mingwu Ancient City, too? I’m heading there to look for some clues about an ancient living creature. But I’m not familiar with that place, so I’m hoping I can join a team which can guide me. It’s best if the team has a good understanding about that place. As a reward, I can ensure your safety throughout the journey.” Mo Fan gave them a gentle smile.

“So, that’s how it is! Big Sister Ying, we’ve found a winner!” Shu Xiaohua said in excitement.

“Don’t trust a stranger so readily!” Big Sister Ying rebuked her.

“The World’s Hunter Association has verified my message. If you think I’m an imposter, you may seek verification from Hunter Hall. But if you insist on a female hunter, I regret to say that I have to search for another team soon,” Mo Fan said.

“Big Sister Ying, it’s him! Time waits for no man. If we miss the lightning storm once again, we don’t know how much longer we have to wait for the next trip. I heard that a large group of Ocean Demons are already in the sea. We don’t know how much longer the fortress can hold them back, and who knows how soon Mingwu Ancient City will become the Ocean Demons’ habitat. By that time, we will never find it…” Shu Xiaohua rambled. She trailed off as Big Sister Ying glared at her.

Big Sister Ying hesitated. They had stayed in the fortress for many days now. There were not many independent female hunters present. Besides, even if there were, the female hunters rarely accepted the job to be someone else’s guardian, unless the pay was high.

Big Sister Ying looked up at the humid and foggy sky. “I will have to discuss it with others.”

“I’m sorry. I received invitations from other teams as well. After all, with my strength and cultivation, it’s fairly simple for me to follow a team to Mingwu Ancient City. If not for the fact that the person at office registered my gender wrongly, we wouldn’t even be taking up each other’s time. If you’re willing, I’ll tag along with you because you seem to understand Mingwu Ancient City well. If not, I can accept another team’s invitation.” Mo Fan smiled at them politely as he relayed his decision to them.

Big Sister Ying was reluctant. But Shu Xiaohua was anxious. They didn’t dare say anything more for fear of forcing the expert away.

“We have some special requests. If you’re willing to obey our team’s instructions, perhaps we can come to an agreement,” said Big Sister Ying. She was not very good at negotiation. She felt like she would give in any minute.

“Of course,” said Mo Fan. “I am a hunter, after all. Once I receive a mission, I strictly execute it. Don’t worry about it.”

“Good. We’ll see you at the fortress entrance tomorrow morning,” Big Sister Ying nodded her approval. She still felt doubtful letting this man join their team.

“Great. The Hunter Hall will take over the procedure in a while. I have other things to take care of for now. See you tomorrow.” Mo Fan bid them farewell.

As he turned around, his smile turned into a smirk. He thought that these young women were truly gullible. If not for him, some other cunning hunter would have taken advantage of them…

…

Mo Fan had nothing to take care of. He was idle. He had said that to appear profound and busy. Since he was going to depart tomorrow, he settled in a decent hunter’s inn and stayed there for the night.

After Mo Fan cultivated through the night, he felt his Summoning Element was about to break through the barrier of cultivation. He concentrated Little Loach’s special pushing force on his Summoning Element.

“Eh, it’s a breakthrough! I’m not used to being so relaxed.” Mo Fan opened his eyes in the middle of the night, delighted, as if he had bumped into a fair aristocratic lady in the middle of the wilderness.

“Why is my head filled with these weird thoughts whenever I am alone?” Mo Fan reflected on his thoughts and actions and recalled the vision he had seen in the Divine Wood Well last time.

Mo Fan’s Summoning Element had achieved a breakthrough. His Galaxia had transformed into Star Sea. He wondered how much his magical energy had increased.

Mo Fan remembered breaking through Advanced Level and Super Level for the first time with the help of a rare totem power. As his overall realm was advanced, his Summoning Element became unequal to the rest of the elements, hence a strong urge to break through without expending much energy.

Of course, Mo Fan was aware that most of the credit went to Little Loach.

Little Loach’s standard continued to improve and cast a significant warming effect on his Star Sea and of course, Galaxia, too. It felt like the flow of a mountain stream that continued to converge and expand. Even if it met the dam, it could still rush through it and continue to run wild…

Chapter 2710: Truly An Expert

Little Loach always guaranteed Mo Fan’s improvement in his cultivation. Mo Fan hadn’t inspected Little Loach’s small world for a while now. He decided to enter Little Loach’s Pendant though his mind before dawn. As he did, a whole new world appeared in front of him.

The Nether River was no longer how it used to be. Ever since Mo Fan absorbed the Ancient King’s soul essences, the Nether River within Little Loach’s world had grown madly. It had gradually transformed into a vast ocean.

Beneath the ink-colored Nether Ocean, different grades of soul essences and soul remnants wandered about like plankton in water. They glowed faintly.

‘The number of soul essences and soul remnants has reduced. Could I have used some of them to help me to upgrade my cultivation realm?’ Mo Fan thought, as he made his round of inspection into Little Loach’s world.

Mo Fan had accumulated a lot of soul essences and soul remnants. He intended to use them to strengthen Old Wolf and the rest of its wolf pack so that they could form an elite wolf gang to rob the rich and save the poor. But he had exhausted his resources in such little time.

1

“The accumulation of soul essences and soul remnants contribute to breaking through the barrier of cultivation. Little Loach, you’ve upgraded a lot this time!” Mo Fan said happily.

The soul essences and soul remnants served as Little Loach’s daily food. Meanwhile, the rare resources and totem’s energy would be a feast. Little Loach had upgraded to a level where it could convert the soul essences and soul remnants into cultivated pushing energy for Mo Fan.

But his Chaos Element and Earth Element had not reached Super Level yet. Mo Fan had to increase his power by leaps and bounds if he was to bring these two elements up to par with the rest. Mo Fan possessed fusion magic, thus he had to ensure each of the elements were equally powerful in order to push his fusion magic to an ultimate level.

During the Fanxue Mountain battle, Mo Fan had not used fusion magic. Truth was, his Black Dragon Suit, Flame Demon King, and the fusion magic were three of his greatest powers. If not for the fact that the elders kept a close eye on him from the shadows, Mo Fan would have ended the battle earlier with the use of fusion magic.

Mo Fan did not have the intention to hide his power. Zhao Jing, after all, had been the heir to the Zhao family. But if Mo Fan had used his fusion power, Fanxue Mountain would have been destroyed. Besides, it was always best to keep one power hidden from enemies until truly needed.

Mo Fan had continuously cultivated his Earth and Chaos Elements for some time now. These two elements were almost at the stage of a breakthrough. Little Loach had advanced to the level where it could use the soul essences and soul remnants to help Mo Fan to break through the barrier. As long as the amount of soul essences and soul remnants were sufficient, the two elements could advance to Super Level soon.

While the rest of the mages had fully cultivated the four elements, Mo Fan had Super Level in all eight. That should be considered another type of greatness in itself.

A small team happened to enter the fortress these few days. He might get a chance to summon his Earth and Chaos Elements. After that, he would try out his Summoning Element so that he could take turns to improve other elements.

1

In order to improve magic power, one had to cultivate it internally, as well as to exercise it externally.

“I suppose Mingwu Ancient City is not an extremely dangerous place. If nothing special happens, I believe I can temporarily forgo Fire Element, Shadow Element, Lightning Element, and Space Element. The summoning of Super Level Earth and Chaos Elements should be sufficient to take on the demons.”

Mo Fan treated each of the elements as his children. So, he had to take turns training them equally. If he only relied on the Fire and Lightning elements, the growth of other elements would be stunted.

Mo Fan had too many magic elements. Whenever he confronted powerful enemies, the other elements played auxiliary roles. It was not a good thing. He should be able to summon all elements if he wanted them to grow equally powerful.

‘I must stop myself from using Fire, Lightning, Shadow, and Space Elements!’ Mo Fan reminded himself.

He had no other choice. If he wanted to fully cultivate all eight elements and become the world’s greatest mage, he needed to grow all of them. The same theory applied to the martial arts experts where they had to often train themselves in multiple moves.

…

The roosters crowed. When Mo Fan opened his eyes, he saw that the sky was bright. He fixed his drowsy gaze outside the window. After a while, the drowsiness left and he felt fresh again.

Mo Fan stretched. He had to admit that the outside air was different from big and bustling cities. The air here was more refreshing and cooling.

The base city required huge expansion. Most of the time, the views were blocked by the large frames of industrial megalopolis. The sky in base cities was always dusty and hazy. It was a rare sight to behold a clear sky.

The tidal fog had vanished, as if it had been sucked away by God. The sky was clear and windy, the dark purple hue from dawn gradually faded and turned bright blue as the sun began to rise and illuminate the sky.

Mo Fan enjoyed the weather. He imagined Bo City entering the rainy season which would then turn warm for the spring season. The place would be filled with women in mini dresses and light clothing. Mo Fan remained in these happy thoughts.

‘D*mn the accursed Ocean Demons, evil and wicked Emperor of the South Ocean. They had covered all the beauty with a layer of cloud, like a claw choking a human’s throat!’ Mo Fan cursed.

As Mo Fan headed toward the city entrance, he realized most of the mages had risen early, and the morning market was already crowded.

“Brother, I notice that your temple has darkened and your eyes are dull. I’m afraid this trip will end in bloodshed. I have an Eight Treasure Armor that I can give you because I have faith in you. Please feel free to contribute some joss stick money.” A scruffy man in a monk’s robe smiled as he approached Mo Fan.

Mo Fan ignored him. People spewed all kinds of nonsense, including omens from Buddhism and fate and destiny, just to sell their wares.

If they were paid less money, they would say fate was against whoever was buying. If one happened to pay a lot, then fate would suddenly be by their side. Mo Fan wasn’t a fool, he knew about these silly tricks.

When he arrived at the entrance, it was very crowded. The people were already in groups at the square. They were well-equipped and ready to depart. Groups of people walked out of the fortress one after another.

Demons roamed around the fortress. Once they left the fortress, danger awaited them. The veterans talked and laughed along the way, as if they were on a vacation. The novices, on the other hand, looked like they were about to face their deaths.

When Mo Fan reached the entrance, he saw the two girls from yesterday. Big Sister Ying dressed up the same. She was mostly dressed in sky blue with hints of orange and red. She looked slightly more mature.

Meanwhile, Shu Xiaohua wore a headscarf and conical hat. She dressed vibrantly, mainly in bright yellow. She had a silvery voice and looked adorable like an Oriole bird, lively and full of vigor.

“Expert, you’ve arrived! Come, I’ve gotten some treasures. If it hadn’t been for my destiny with a monk, I wouldn’t be able to obtain so much stuff. I’ve bought one for each of my sisters and one for you. Put it on.” Shu Xiaohua was all smiles.

“Is this Eight Treasure Armor?” Mo Fan raised one of his eyebrows.

“Yes. What a good sense of judgment you have! You’re truly an expert!” Shu Xiaohua smiled radiantly.

2

Chapter 2711: Black Phoenix Garment

“Shu Xiaohua, why did you buy so many things?!” Big Sister Ying asked angrily. She had gone to the washroom for just a minute and Shu Xiaohua had been duped by the sellers!

“The world outside the fortress is dangerous. This armored magical equipment can ensure our safety. Besides, he offered at a dirt-cheap rate. It cost only five thousand dollars each,” Shu Xiaohua said.

Big Sister Ying slapped her forehead in frustration. Shu Xiaohua was hopeless. There was no way an armored magical equipment could be bought for five thousand dollars. Even the cheapest armored magical equipment that could resist Servant-class attackers cost at least thirty thousand dollars!

Magical equipment price was only second to housing price. Everyone in this wilderness felt like they were on the verge of death so they all wanted to own the equipment for a sense of security.

Mo Fan examined the Eight Treasure Armor. Meanwhile, Big Sister Ying wanted to look for the marketplace manager to arrest the fraudster.

Mo Fan shook his head. “Shu Xiaohua was not entirely cheated. The armor’s market price is five thousand dollars. So, technically he did not cheat her.”

The truth was, the ‘monk’ was very cunning and experienced at this stuff. He had indeed sold the items at market price but the quality of the product was so poor that it wouldn’t be of any use to anybody.

“Is everyone here?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes. Everyone has arrived. The rest are waiting for us at the entrance,” Big Sister Ying said.

“Let’s go. We can finally depart for our destination.” Shu Xiaohua was unconcerned about the money spent. She seemed to come from a rich family.

Mo Fan shook his head in resignation. Buying those things was not entirely a waste. They could always be recycled. They were, after all, made of common armored magical equipment materials.

…

When the trio arrived at the entrance of the fortress, Mo Fan saw a line of women with headscarves and conical hats similar to the two young women with him. He had to admit that their attire was indeed… unique. They stood out like sore thumbs in the crowd.

There were about thirteen or fourteen of them. All of them wore headscarves that covered their cheeks, with matching cropped blouses and long pants. They were tall and slim.

‘As expected, I’ve hit a jackpot!’ thought Mo Fan.

He had a hunch that the group was composed entirely of women. It now made sense why they had wanted only a female hunter to protect them. They prioritized a female hunter so that they could be comfortable about certain things in the wilderness.

When Mo Fan saw them, he was proud of his ability to make simple deductions. He believed himself to be a man capable of predicting the future through details. His loneliness and boredom were gone. He was no longer alone!

“Are you sure he’s a Seven-star Hunter Master?” One of the tallest ladies in the middle asked.

“This is the contract from the World’s Hunter Association. We have signed the contract with the hunter already. So, there won’t be any trouble,” Big Sister Ying assured her group.

The contract served as a form of security.After the verification from Hunter Hall of Mo Fan’s Seven-star Hunter Master status, Big Sister Ying and her group could turn to the Hunter Union for their rights if Mo Fan violated the law. The Hunter Union would impose severe punishment on hunters who violated the contract.

“But he looks only a few years older than us. Most of the Seven-star Hunter Masters have reached Super Level. Is he one of them?” The tallest young woman from the group asked suspiciously.

“He let me go through his profile. The information stated that he has achieved Super Level not very long ago.” Big Sister took out a photocopy document imprinted with Mo Fan’s brief information.

“Is he seriously so great? Most of our mentors who reached Super Level are at least forty or fifty years old. I think he is a fraudster.”

‘Forget it. Even if he’s a fraudster, there are so many of us here so there’s no need to be scared of him.”

“That’s right. We’re quite powerful, too!”

The group chatted among themselves. Mo Fan’s powerful mental states enabled him to hear their conversations clearly. He did not take their word to heart. He understood their insecurities. He let them converse and pretended to not have heard them. He observed them instead…

Although both Parthenon Temple and Alps Mountain were formed entirely of ladies, Parthenon Temple gave off an extremely solemn impression, as if it was a stand-alone queen of flowers exuding a high sense of dignified aura, and was so holy that no one could pollute it. Alps Mountain, on the other hand, despised people outside their organization. They were as sacred as Mount Sinai yet difficult to reach…

These two organizations scared men. They would either end up with low-esteem or dead.

In contrast, this group of ladies had an ancient aura about them. Despite their unique outfit, they were vibrant and full of life. They looked elegant and yet at ease with themselves. They seemed very friendly and approachable.

Foreign ladies were indeed beautiful.

…

“Let us depart now. Hunter Master, we have our own rules. We hope you will heed our instructions throughout the journey.” The tall lady walked over to Mo Fan calmly.

“Of course. You’re my employer now.” Mo Fan nodded.

“There’s another thing which we’ve not explained to you. The reason we venture outside is because we would like to provide our members with more training opportunities. However, Ocean Demons roam around and we sometimes encounter some powerful demons which we can’t subdue. We request you to act only if our lives are endangered.”

“When I was assigned a guardian to your group, I figured it must be something like that. I understand.” Mo Fan smiled.

“Great! Let’s head to Mingwu Ancient City. Mister, if you have any inquiries about Mingwu Ancient City, don’t hesitate to ask us.” The tall lady gave him a friendly smile.

“Alright. I will do so. Let’s be off.” Mo Fan directed his most friendly smile at her.

His smile froze on his face. In the middle of another group, that was heading outside the fortress, was a person he knew. She was dressed in all black this time, even her headscarf and the conical hat. Her blouse, her pants and even the umbrella she carried were all black.

Although Mo Fan had only seen her for a very short time, he recognized her. ‘She is that woman from the temple!’ he thought. He had never expected to bump into her in a place like this.

She traveled alone. Even though her outfit was similar to those from the group he was with, she didn’t look over. She exuded an assertive aura. She was alone and appeared regal. She stood out from the crowd.

“It’s the Black Phoenix Garment!” exclaimed Shu Xiaohua as she noticed the woman in black.

Chapter 2712: Dimensional Ring Toss Game

‘Black Phoenix Garment?’ wondered Mo Fan. He recalled her from the previous day in the temple, but she was dressed more colorfully then. ‘Is there a special meaning to her attire?’

He had to admit that the lady gave off a very confident and regal aura as though she was shrouded in nobility and mystery in her black outfit.

“Let’s go!” The rest of the group hadn’t heard Shu Xiaohua because the surrounding was already noisy.

They had not noticed the woman in black. Shu Xiaohua seemed to want to tell everyone, but Big Sister Ying glared at her.

The sky was clear, but it was cold. Ferns and grasses covering the coastal plain were shorter than before, and white frost clung to them.

The area was part of the South China Sea. The climate was warm, and the trees were always green. Even during the coldest solar term of winter, the mountains were covered in greenery without snow. They had never seen frost throughout the four seasons all year round. There were only one or two months of cold weather. The rest was summer.

The Emperor of the South Ocean’s cold calamity invaded the area and severely affected the warm south coast. Plants which could not resist the chill began to wither, and the plain gradually turned barren. Weeds were scarce even in the slightly moist soil.

“It’s been a long time since I ate a longan. I remembered there used to be a large longan plantation over here. One of my relatives planted it. Even though we’re not very close, I wonder where they have moved now,” Shu Xiaohua said sadly.

“You’re only good at one thing: eating. We’re almost running out of food, and yet you only think about eating longan!” Big Sister Ying rebuked her.

Shu Xiaohua stared at Mo Fan with large, sorrowful eyes. She slowed down deliberately to match his step. “Big Brother, what’s your expertise?” she whispered.

“Fire— Oh, it’s Summoning Element.” Mo Fan decided to correct himself.

2

“What is your summoned beast, then? All Summoning Element mages are unique. They often summon their beasts to show off. Why do you have to walk on your feet? Can’t you even summon a mount?” Shu Xiaohua asked.

Mo Fan scratched his head. He had released the Old Wolf and let it go hunting. He had no idea when it would return to him.

“Walking is tiring. Could you summon a soft and comfortable beast mount to carry us on the journey?” Shu Xiaohua asked again.

Mo Fan pondered over her words. It was certainly possible…

Dimensional summoning was not entirely fixed. With Mo Fan at his current level of cultivation, even though the Old Wolf had an activity outside, he could open the dimensional door once again.

“Don’t summon a fierce one. Demons are roaming somewhere nearby. It’s best that we keep a low profile as we move forward.” Big Sister Ying warned them.

The Summoning Element’s most basic skill was dimensional summoning. If one mastered it, one could be more powerful than the Intermediate mage or Super Level mage. After all, there were a lot of powerful beasts within the Summoned Beast Plane that could be summoned. So, Mo Fan had no idea what kind of beast would come out of it.

Mo Fan entered the Summoned Beast Plane. The higher his cultivation level, the clearer his state of soul travel would be. Even the summoning beasts within the Summoned Beast Plane sensed Mo Fan’s presence.

When they were young, Mo Fan took Mu Ningxue and Ye Xinxia to the night market. There was a stall where they played ring toss.

The rule of the ring toss game was fairly simple. The stall owner would provide the player with a standard wire ring, then he would ask the player to stand at a specific spot and toss the wire ring at a display of delicate, small crafts. If the player could get the ring to land on any of these things, they could take it for their own.

Before the arrival of a claw crane, Mo Fan had practiced hard in the ring toss game to win something for the ladies. He had not wasted his effort. He could use that talent in the dimensional summoning plane.

“Copper-horned Yak, maybe. It looks right for now.” Mo Fan located his target.

In fact, a variety of summoned beasts appeared before Mo Fan such as Fire Savage Scorpion, Unifying-eyed Evil beast, Magic Sonic Tyrant Antelope, Nine-star Sting, and other powerful living creatures. Nine-star Sting and Magic Sonic Tyrant Antelope were Commander Level beasts.

Certain Commander Level beasts were aggressive. If they accidentally dabbled into another horde’s territory, the demon horde would do everything to kill them in order to protect their territory. There was no need to get oneself into unnecessary trouble.

Mo Fan’s Super Level cultivation set him apart from the other levels. He could sense the Copper-horned Yak’s aggressiveness and its reluctance to become his mount in this world. However, Mo Fan had a large wire ring. So long his hand was not shaky, or he did not throw the ring blindly, he could tame the beast.

The moon rift gradually appeared, and a majestic Copper-horned Yak covered in extremely thick, brown fur walked out of it.

Its copper horns were surprisingly large, taking up a third of its body size. It looked magnificent! If a group of Copper-horned Yaks were used as vanguards during a war, they could easily pierce the enemy’s shield and trample them.

“Wow, it’s enormous! It’s very cute!” Shu Xiaohua could not wait to climb on it.

The Copper-horned Yak glared at Mo Fan. It had already learned how powerful Mo Fan was so it dared not go against him and obediently let the others ride on it.

“Big Sister Ying, come up here. Du Mei, you too! This big bull is nice to sit on and comfortably. It’s like sitting on a furry couch,” said Shu Xiaohua.

The tall lady was the leader among the group. When she saw the rest surrounding the Copper-horned Yak, she looked at Mo Fan helplessly.

The women seldom ventured out so they were wary of strangers and naïve. They could be duped easily. Their leader figured as much.

“He needs to conserve his magic energy if he has to protect us!” she said. “Shu Xiaohua, keep those wicked ideas to yourself!”

“Big Sister Ruan, we haven’t gone too far yet. There won’t be any dangers around us.”

Big Sister Ruan was about to rebuke her again but she frowned as if she had noticed unusual movements. She wore mini wind chime bamboo earrings.

Mo Fan fixed his gaze on her. She focused on listening to her surroundings.

‘Sound Element?’ Mo Fan speculated. He remembered Nanyu looked the same when focusing on sound. Sound Element Mages often heard sounds that normal humans were not aware of.

Despite having a dragon sense and being extremely sensitive to his surroundings, he was slightly inferior to Sound Element Mages. Sound Element Mages could capture the sound of movement, loud noises, breath, and heartbeat, and many other things.

“Hurry up, something is following us.” Big Sister Ruan sounded aggravated.

Mo Fan sensed it, too. The small demons must have used some special tricks to hide themselves. Even though Mo Fan sensed their presence, he could not locate their exact location or find out how many of them were there.

Chapter 2713: Claw Spirit Attacks the Women’s Team

They walked faster. Big Sister Ruan seemed to notice something amiss. She told the group to assemble and prepare for a fight.

“They purposely did that to drive you away so that you’ll be trapped in their meticulously designed trap,” Mo Fan blurted out.

Big Sister Ruan looked troubled. She realized that this was a trap. The ancient demons intentionally played with the group to cause them to panic so that they could not fight with a sound mind. The group was in the middle of Fengyi Centipede Herb field.

“We can handle them,” said Big Sister Ruan.

“Alright.” Mo Fan nodded. He had no intention of making a move unless he was needed.

Fengyi Centipede Herb was shaped like a green and black centipede. Its grass stems on both of its sides were covered in feet-like grass velvet. When one took a closer look, it looked like a centipede standing. Its soft body swung along with the breeze.

The herb was beloved to many pharmacists. The drug dealers collected and acquired the herbs in large quantities. It was extremely effective in detoxification and wound scabbing. Also, it served as raw material for blood energy supplements.

Fengyi Centipede Herb was affected by time and its surroundings. It provided a wide variety of usefulness. Most of the herbs grew at places where demons roamed about. After all, wounded demons needed Fengyi Centipede Herb to heal!

Beasts usually appeared next to a clean supply of water. Likewise, ferocious demons usually roamed nearby this type of healing herb.

The demons were smart. They usually lurked by the Fengyi Centipede Herbs to await their prey.

Just like the venomous living creatures found nearby the supply of water. Nature thrived, and so did the danger that surrounded it. Deadly traps were set everywhere.

Mo Fan frequently ventured outside. Although he was unsure which mysterious demon horde lurked around the Fengyi Centipede Herb field, he saw through its preying tricks.

Mo Fan could have warned the ladies to take a different path and get around the field. But the ladies were supposed to go out for training. They needed the experience to train themselves and Mo Fan respected that.

The demon who had been plotting the attack wheezed. Fengyi Centipede Herbs swayed around. The next moment, the dense grass split into half like waves, and an arching, black jagged Claw Spirit scurried out. Its green eyes glowed with some kind of dazzling light that could make one’s eyes grow weak. Within the blink of an eye, it lunged at Du Mei’s shoulders.

It extended its sharp claws and pierced the back of her shoulders. Next, it bared its sharp fangs and bit Du Mei’s face.

Mo Fan was shocked to witness such a thing. The Claw Spirit was wicked. It occasionally disguised itself as a mink collar and devoured the humans as they slept at night.

Fortunately, there was a Light Element mage next to Du Mei. She seemed more experienced compared to the others. When faced with sudden attack, she did not use complicated skills. Instead, she cast a simple blinding light spell to hurt the Claw Spirit’s eyes.

It was only then that Du Mei recovered her senses. She screamed while attempting to free herself from its claws. However, the claw stuck fast to her as if it was a part of her flesh.

“Rip it off! Otherwise, you’ll lose your face!” Big Sister Ying shouted.

Du Mei had no choice. She endured the pain and ripped its claw from her skin. A fair layer of skin tore and blood spewed out. She screamed in agony.

“Be careful of its eyes. It can daze us. Don’t let it crawl on you!” Big Sister Ying instructed.

The girls lacked experience. They panicked in the face of chaos and screamed. They could not even hear their leader’s instruction through the noise. Big Sister Ruan had no choice but to send her voice wave into their minds. Even so, not all of them paid attention to her.

Mo Fan shook his head in resignation when he saw their state. He had used his dragon sense to scan them. The ladies had a decent level of cultivation. Unfortunately, their actual combat experience was extremely poor. A warrior-level small demon alone was sufficient to wreak havoc on them.

Nonetheless, Mo Fan did not offer his help. As long as they weren’t in life-threatening danger, he would abide by his words. He would not act. Technically, even if the Claw Spirit killed them, it wouldn’t be his fault anyway.

As a guardian, Mo Fan’s responsibility was to take on the bigger demons that were much more powerful. Claw Spirit wasn’t very dangerous. The reason they looked in such a mess was due to lack of experience which they had to gain by learning and doing.

The Light Element lady was the key woman in this combat. Her light shone on the Claw Spirit, causing it to slow down.

In fact, the Claw Spirit was not really that fast. The main danger was the Fengyi Centipede Herb. The Claw Spirit could use the herb’s hypnotic effect to enhance the magical power of its green eyes.

The women saw the Claw Spirit scurry towards them in a flash. To Mo Fan, the women had been stupid to stay on the same spot allowing the creature to target them. Only when the demon crawled toward them did they regain their senses.

“It’s a fuzzy mental strike!”

The team leader had already informed them about the key technique for spring from the beginning. Unfortunately, they were too panicked to listen. It took them a long time to master the skill.

…

There were about twenty Claw Spirits in total. Thankfully, the Claw Spirits were of smaller horde. Not as huge as the Ocean Demon horde.

They were in a dire situation, too. Over the past twenty years, there were about twenty types of warrior-level living creatures that were alarmed of the increasingly harsh survival environment. As a result, the demons decided to come in hordes and band together in order to hunt for food.

“Please excuse us. I need to administer medication to my group members.” Big Sister Ruan approached Mo Fan.

This was why they had specifically looked for a female hunter. Mo Fan nodded and walked away. “I will patrol the area. You can take your time.”

When Big Sister Ruan saw Mo Fan far away, she instructed the group of girls to remove their clothes so that they could be treated. They did not have time to set up tents. The quickest way would be to request Mo Fan to stay away.

Unbeknownst to them, Mo Fan was a creep who had Shadow Element Magic. The first thing he did was to peep on them.

1

…

“So, it looks like this was once a safe zone on the outskirts where there are around three or five servant-class demons wandering about. It has now become a haven for warrior-level demons.” Mo Fan shook his head in resignation.

These days, basic-level mages could not possibly leave the city. Intermediate mages had to go out in groups. Even advanced mages could not go out by themselves…

‘I never expected her b*obs to be so massive considering her height… Tsk! Tsk!’ thought Mo Fan. ‘Even though she’s the youngest, she has the most… Eh, that tattoo…’

2

Chapter 2714: Licheng Afterglow Island

It was a colorful butterfly tattooed on a curvaceous part of her body. The butterfly’s wings spread out and it looked like it was about to fly off. It was very lifelike. Mo Fan had no other intention except to be indecent through and through.

Mo Fan had always been a creepy person since childhood. He used to be a peeping tom and took pleasure in it. Eventually, Mo Jiaxin had educated and reprimanded Mo Fan on his behavior. He had come to understand that peeping on others wasn’t a very decent thing to do, that it was even considered a crime.

When it was time, Mo Fan returned to the group and pretended like nothing happened. The young women had all changed into new clothes. When they saw Mo Fan, they stepped aside shyly. Maybe recalling their fight from a while back.

“Master!” Shu Xiaohua was the most enthusiastic. She did not seem to be on guard against anyone, and she always had a big smile on her face.

“Aren’t you afraid?” Mo Fan asked curiously.

“From what? Those law Spirits? I was scared, of course but I am okay now,” she said.

“Then your mental state is pretty good. Speaking of which, your friends clearly have high cultivation realms. So, why is it that you all only rarely go out of the fortress? Are you in some kind of boarding school?” asked Mo Fan.

“We’re not from any school. We’re from Licheng Afterglow Island, which is a little far away from the mainland. It’s not really convenient to go out, so most of the people in Licheng Afterglow Island will concentrate on their training wherever they are,” Shu Xiaohua said.

“Oh, do all the girls in Licheng Afterglow Island dress like you?” asked Mo Fan.

The type of clothes they wore were rare but no one at the Northguard Fortress seemed to find it strange so Mo Fan guessed that it must be a local tradition here.

“Yeah, we live on the big island and the coast. The sandstorm there is very fierce. The humidity is usually high and the sun is scorching! If we don’t cover ourselves, we easily get burnt.” Shu Xiaohua was not particularly concerned about anything, so she said what was on her mind.

“I see. I thought it had some special meaning.”

“It’s a tradition. We’re reserved so we won’t really wear modern clothing like jeans and T-shirt unless necessary. They look ugly anyway. Those things the fashion models wear look every strange and ugly,” complained Shu Xiaohua.

Mo Fan agreed with her. He had thought that they were perhaps isolated from the world and stuck to their traditional customs. He now understood it wasn’t like that at all.

“Licheng Afterglow Island sounds great. I must visit your place if I have the opportunity. I might meet many outstanding people there…” Mo Fan said.

“Sure. We used to see some tourists there from time to time. But now Licheng Afterglow Island treats itself as though it is on lockdown now because of the Ocean Demons. No outsiders visit anymore. When we traveled out of the island this time, people kept looking at us strangely. Since we dress a certain way, they think we are weird. They are the weird ones if you ask me. So ignorant and narrow minded! When the city was still intact, we were on the cover of the brochures!” said Shu Xiaohua in frustration.

Mo Fan was quiet. He felt attacked because that was how he had treated them too. He was flustered.

Mo Fan was now curious. If the Lichen Afterglow Island was closed and not many people entered or left from there, how did they defend themselves from the Ocean Demons?

There were a few cities outside of the Flying Bird Base City that were still preserved, but they were basically on the verge of collapse. Could it be that Licheng Afterglow Island had some special ability that allowed it to continue to prosper and survive even as Ocean Demons flocked to their lands?

“Won’t Licheng Afterglow Island be attacked by the Ocean Demons? The Ocean Demons are patrolling the coast. When they see occupied cities, they will destroy them,” Mo Fan said.

“That’s what is special about Afterglow Island. We have to thank our…”

Big Sister Ruan walked over to them and glared sternly at Shu Xiaohua. Shu Xiaohua had just realized that she had been about to blurt out something that was supposed to be a secret. She stopped talking and looked at Mo Fan sheepishly.

“Is it something you aren’t supposed to talk about?” asked Mo Fan.

“Mr. Mo Fan, your questions seem to be unrelated to the Mingwu Ancient City. I thought you wanted to know more about that city on this journey?” Big Sister Ruan was really very tall. She came to Mo Fan’s level and looked unwaveringly at him while she talked.

“I… uh… just asked out of concern. I want to remind you that the Ocean Godly Horde is still testing the waters, and their army will soon attack. At that time, there will be no place safe enough except for the Flying Bird Base City, so I hope that you can migrate to a safer place as soon as possible. If unique traditions and customs like yours were to be lost from this world, it would be a shame,” said Mo Fan.

“Well, thank you for your concern, Mr. Mo Fan. But you don’t need to worry about us. We have our own way to protect ourselves,” said Big Sister Ruan calmly.

Mo Fan did not press them further. He was still curious about the secret of Licheng Afterglow Island which helped them survive even when Ocean Demons infested the area. According to Shu Xiaohua, Licheng Afterglow Island seemed quite far from the mainland.

If it was discovered by the Ocean Demons, the entire island would be surrounded in half a day. The people on the island would be trapped.

“Let’s continue our journey. We still have a long way to go before reaching Mingwu Ancient City. By the way, have you heard that the Hunter Dirty Demons are gradually appearing near the Mingwu Ancient City? They seem to be looking for something. They have killed many mages who visited to the Mingwu Ancient City,” said Big Sister Ruan

“Hunter Dirty Demons again.” Mo Fan frowned.

Hunter Dirty Demons were some of the most difficult races to deal with among the Ocean Demons. They could often be seen in the Eastern Ocean, especially outside the Flying Bird Base City. Hunter Dirty Demons were Scoutlike Assassins of the Ocean Godly Horde. They were secretive, good at sneaking and had extremely terrifying assassination skills. They were vicious.

Fanxue Mountain’s Shao Yu and Elite Patrol Team had dealt with them more than once, but they were still wary of them.

Mo Fan remembered Mu Ningxue mentioning once that wherever the Hunter Dirty Demons appeared, there was often a larger Ocean Demon or a powerful Ocean Demon Army nearby. Hunter Dirty Demons were often used to collect information about the area and clear the scene before the arrival of the main army.

Chapter 2715: Refund!

The group of young women from Licheng Afterglow Island were obviously familiar with Mingwu Ancient City. Even if the topography had changed a lot due to the rise of sea level, they could easily find their way to the Mingwu Ancient City.

“There is a wetland park in front, and it seems to be occupied by a group of Mud Dragon Seals. I heard about it from others when I was in the Northguard Fortress,” Big Sister Ruan said to the girls behind her.

“Is the Mud Dragon Seal powerful? I heard from the elders that creatures with dragon blood are especially ferocious and terrifying,” said one of the girls.

She must be about the same age as Shu Xiaohua, but she was obviously more shy than her. During the journey, she hardly looked at Mo Fan, let alone speak with him.

Mo Fan recalled that others called her Le Nan. Her cultivation was actually the highest among the group.

Mo Fan had always prided himself on his talent for achieving the Super Level at a young age. But Le Nan was only in her twenties and already an Advanced Mage.

‘Not only can Licheng Afterglow Island defend itself from Ocean Demons, but it can also raise such a group of young female Mages with high cultivation. I must visit this island if I can!’ Mo Fan said to himself.

Raising such a group of people with a high level of cultivation meant that they had a wise and powerful teacher in Licheng Afterglow Island. It also meant that the island might have a precious treasure.

Mo Fan had cultivated serially. He knew very well that the path of cultivation was far from simple as people usually imagined. It was hard work. Additionally, one needed to train in a dangerous environment to stimulate the full potential of one’s cultivation.

These girls had almost zero actual combat experience, but still had high cultivation. Mo Fan was curious. There must be some kind of treasure on that island that nourished the local Mages.

“Can anyone smell anything? To me, it smells like the stench comes out of the butcher’s house,” said Du Mei.

The smell got stronger as they drew closer to the wetlands covered with reed. They were all terrified. Some even vomited because of the strong smell. They no longer looked calm. Mo Fan shook his head.

He could understand that corpses were hardly appealing, but did they really need to react to this extremely? They were very careless. The corpses were still fresh. The intestines, liver, bile, and blood had not even had time to change color. It could attract wild animals and vultures. It also meant that the predator which had done this was nearby. Mo fan thought they needed to learn to be more vigilant.

“The Viscera Hunters did it. A large group of Mud Dragon Seals died.” Big Sister Ruan said calmly. He was among the few who were still maintaining their composure.

2

The method of killing was smooth. Most of them were disemboweled, and their intestines were pulled out. The scratches all over the ground meant that the Mud Dragon Seals were alive for a few minutes after the attack. They had tried to escape the Viscera Hunters. Unfortunately, they had lost a lot of blood and died eventually.

Viscera Hunters were indeed the most vicious and cruel among the Ocean Demons.

They particularly enjoyed their prey struggling to death after being disemboweled. They were described perfectly as hook-claw devils in the ocean.

“Aren’t the ones with the word ‘dragon’ in their names particularly powerful? Why did they die so miserably?” Le Nan said in a low voice.

“When the Ocean Demons come, humans aren’t the only ones in danger. These indigenous monsters and tribes are also facing the fate of being slaughtered,” sighed Mo Fan.

The Ocean Demons were so powerful that even monsters became their food. The Mud Dragon Seals were related to the Ocean Demons, but they still ended up tragically. This wetland had become their slaughterhouse.

Unfortunately, it was impossible for the Mud Dragon Seals to migrate. They could only survive in the wetlands. If they migrated to the plains or forests, they could not win against more ferocious and stronger monsters. If they went to the sea, they would be attacked by Ocean Demons. Their plight was pitiful.

In the face of such disaster, many species that could not adapt to change were destined to go extinct. The Mud Dragon Seals were the most obvious of examples. It was unknown how long humans could last if this happened to them.

“The Mud Dragon Seals have a forehead similar to the western giant dragon. They don’t share any bloodline with actual dragons. Mud Dragon Seals aren’t very powerful. They just become food for other monsters in the wetlands…,” explained Mo Fan.

“They are so pitiful,” said Shu Xiaohua sadly.

“Lucky for you to pity them. If you don’t prepare yourselves, the wild animals and vultures will pray before us soon.”

“Pray?”

“In some cultures, they pray before their meals.”

“What! I don’t want to be eaten! I don’t want to die so horribly.”

Mo Fan was speechless. After a while, a group of vultures did fly over them. They all had white feathers and long bodies, which made them look beautiful from afar. However, they were expert at eating carrion, corpses, mice in the fields, dead fishes in the ditch, and fat worms in the ground.

Vultures were Servant-class Demons, and they had a certain aggressiveness about them. Sometimes when they found any animal or human on the verge of death, they would try to help. But mostly, they would wait for them to die.

“The predator must have left by now,” said Big Sister Ruan.

She glanced at Mo Fan questioningly as though waiting for him to confirm. Seven-star Hunter Master had much more experience in this area than her. Mo Fan nodded to her.

Her judgment was correct. The predator had indeed left.

“We haven’t reached Mingwu Ancient City, and the Viscera Hunters already appeared. In the wetlands no less…,” said Big Sister Ruan worriedly.

Viscera Hunters were the real deal. Claw Spirit and Hunter Dirty Demons were nothing compared to them. Big Sister Ruan did not know how many of these girls she could save if they happened to meet the Viscera Hunters.

“Don’t worry,” assured Mo Fan. “If Viscera Hunters appear, I’ll take care of them.” He meant it.

“But you alone can’t protect all of us!” said Big Sister Ruan nervously.

“Nothing to worry about. There are many things you can’t take care of. It’s normal in a fight for a few people to perish,” said Mo Fan.

Big Sister Ruan’s eyes widened. She was so angry that the scarf covering her cheeks on both sides slipped off. She was angry, but she restrained herself. She could not believe that an expert would say something so abhorrent.

‘What a repulsive man! I want a refund!’

Chapter 2716: Mutant Sea Anemone

1

The wetlands covered a vast expanse of land. At first glance, only reeds covered the area but there were some bright dandelions too! At night, they glowed like some deep-sea creatures.

“The dandelions are so beautiful.” Shu Xiaohua found everything interesting. She leaned over to blow on a dandelion.

“This kind of dandelion especially grows on soil nourished by corpses. It absorbs nutrients from the decaying flesh and also takes away their souls. When the sea breeze blows at night, the souls on the dandelions turn into ghosts. They will enter eaves and window sills and suck on other people’s souls. When you feel so tired in the morning without a reason as though you had participated in some strenuous physical activity, then it means a ghost had probably sucked some essence of your soul at night,” explained Mo Fan.

Shu Xiaohua froze. She was still leaning over but had stopped blowing on the dandelion.

The other girls from the group had also liked the dandelion. But after listening to Mo Fan, they did not want to get near them.

Mo Fan told them about a sinister and cunning dandelion he had encountered in Penglai. That dandelion was the real devil. It used its pure, natural, and beautiful appearance to confuse other creatures. When the creatures got close, it trapped them into the Heavenly Crown Purple Satin Sacred Tree. It was really cruel and vicious!

From the looks on their faces, the girls probably would never have a fondness for another dandelion in their entire lives ever again.

There were other similar traps in nature. They looked beautiful and pure but were very harmful and poisonous. People should not be fooled by their appearance if they want to survive. Mo Fan wanted the girls to learn that early.

“Isn’t this a sea anemone? Why is it growing in such a place?”

“It looks like a dandelion and a sea anemone at the same time. I wonder what kind of weird creature this is.” Le Nan walked over and observed it carefully.

“Be careful!” Mo Fan rushed in front of Le Nan.

The Anemone Dandelion suddenly opened its petals to reveal a hideous tongue with barbed, poisonous thorns.

The huge fangs were ready to strike at Le Nan. It aimed for her head. If she was caught, it would bite her entire head off!

The sudden attack caught Le Nan by surprise. She tripped over by the reeds behind her and fell. A simple defensive spell that was cast over her lost its effect.

The fangs of the Anemone Dandelion attacked but Mo Fan was faster. He grabbed the stem and pulled it out with brute force. There was a loud ripping sound. The fangs got more aggressive, striking at Mo Fan. But he dodged it quickly.

Its body hidden under the wetlands was like a sea earthworm. It sucked the wetland and grew like Tengen. When Mo Fan uprooted it, the worm-like body squirmed and writhed leaving deep gash in the ground.

The young women Island retreated in shock and fear. There were many such Sea Anemone Dandelions around them. They were stunned. How could these aquatic plants be even more ferocious than some beasts?

Mo Fan flung the Anemone Dandelion with force. It smashed against a big rock and splattered it with blood. It was as shiny as fresh paint.

“Let’s go. Let’s go!” said Mo Fan glancing around to see that many Anemone Dandelions were now crawling close to them. “Don’t stop. Let’s keep moving.”

“Run!” Big Sister Ruan also realized that the Anemone Dandelions were definitely not easy to deal with.

Fortunately, their cultivation was relatively high. Several Wind Element female Mages of Licheng Afterglow Island evoked the wind wheel. A strong airflow spread under the feet of everyone and formed a curved surface a few meters in front. The airflow curved and pushed them forward making it easier and faster to leave.

The curved surface of the airflow also had a strong protective effect. Those strange Anemone Dandelions surrounded them and t spread their terrifying fangs wide to form a Fang Formation. The wind wheel ran over them allowing the girls a safe path forward.

In the wetlands, more Anemone Dandelions seemed to notice the disturbance and opened up their hideous petals. They had no faces but when they opened, it felt that they were looking directly at the humans who were trying to escape.

The girls also looked back. When they saw the Anemone Dandelions converging, they were terrified.

It had been a beautiful wetland with pretty dandelions, reeds and sea anemones. Why did it have to turn lethal so suddenly? If their cultivation wasn’t high enough to be able to create a wind wheel, they would have been dead.

“What the hell are those? I’ve never seen them before. They are so scary. They don’t look like they’re just Servant-class.” Le Nan whimpered. Cold sweat beaded her forehead.

As an Advanced Mage, Le Nan wasn’t stupid. She had used her hidden sense to explore and examine the Anemone Dandelions before approaching them. She had sensed nothing until they opened their maw at the last minute.

“It must be a mutant. After the land waters overlapped with the ocean waters, some marine species might have combined with land species to give birth to hybrid creatures. The Anemone Dandelions might be something of that sort. These hybrids are stronger than their parent species. Their toxicity, concealment, raiding methods, reproduction speed, and growth can’t be measured in the usual way,” Mo Fan said.

Mutant monsters were a relatively difficult and almost intractable problem encountered by coastal and inland lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. The Salamander was a typical example of such hybrids.

The aggressiveness of the Anemone Dandelions was far more extreme than the Salamander, though. They survived in a pack and hunted demons and humans alike.Their group had been lucky enough to spot it, otherwise it would have been almost impossible to escape had they gone deeper into the wetlands.

“Mr. Mo Fan, you said you are a Super Level Mage. Didn’t you sense those demons?” asked Big Sister Ruan. She was shaken by the incident.

Mo Fan shook his head. That was what was so terrifying. Mo Fan was indeed a Super Level Mage and even he had been unable to sense them. He felt that even his dragon sense wouldn’t be enough to see through them.

Chapter 2717: Dangerous Water Forest

“About thirty kilometers ahead is the Mingwu Ancient City. However, I didn’t expect this area to be almost submerged in seawater,” said Big Sister Ruan, pointing to the muddy ground in front.

On the ground, the tall and lush reeds, cattails, and lotus flowers all grew tall and sturdy. The tape grass and algae covered the whole pond, and the silt was almost invisible. Before they knew it, everyone was surrounded by the dampness and the plants. The mud beneath their feet made it difficult to move freely.The road ahead was covered by the numerous reeds and cattails. It looked like a sea of grass. They could not see anything even half a meter in front of them.

There were faint noises, and roars, all around which was followed by dense silence. It made them uncomfortable. Pushing the reeds aside every time was always followed by alert and bated breath. They were scared of what they might find there.

“This place should have only been abandoned for a year or two, how could it become so primitive all of a sudden?” Mo Fan also felt something was wrong.

The more complex and denser the ecology, the more dangerous it was. Even Mo Fan could not guarantee his group’s safety. It was a worrisome revelation that even his dragon sense could not see through the disguises of some of these hybrid monsters. Being blocked in this way was disadvantageous, especially if one of them fell behind.

“Can’t we just use magic to cut them all?” Big Sister Ying said impatiently.

“There are still so many kilometers to go. The plants are so thick, and their leaves and rhizomes seem to be stronger than before. It is impossible for us to cut all of them off even if we use up all our magic energy.” Big Sister Ruan shook her head.

It was indeed like a deep ocean of plants. Even if they had excellent magic skills, it wasn’t enough to cut all of the plants and dry the land to clear a path.

“You go to the front and trample on them to create a path.” Mo Fan let Copper-horned Yak venture ahead of them.

The reeds and rushes were covered with small thorns. They were no longer from the original species. The seeds had probably mixed with poisonous plants to make up these hybrids. Thorns grew everywhere on the rhizomes. Their toughness was equal to bamboo strips. If they were swept aside with too much force, they snapped back sharply.

When traveling, the Mages could not use magic endlessly. It was even more difficult for the girls to walk in this forest with dense aquatic grass. Several of them already had cuts and bruises on their skin.

Copper-horned Yak’s skin was rough and thick. Mo Fan sent it forward so that it could clear a way. It could withstand the cuts from the reeds. But that meant the girls won’t get to take tums and rest on it. Mo Fan had thought of summoning Copper-horned Yaks to flatten these reeds, but he gave up on the idea.

In the eyes of Viscera Hunters and other ferocious Ocean Demons, Copper-horned Yaks were also delicious food. It was better not to summon too many Copper-horned Yaks and attract these demons.

“We didn’t lose the way, did we?” Mo Fan said with concern.

The expanse of wetlands around the Mingwu Ancient City were surrounded by dense aquatic plants. Maybe the whole city was submerged in the sea of ​​these aquatic plants. If they lost their way, Mo Fan was worried that they might get trapped here for months.

“This is the right direction,” assured Big Sister Yuan. “But it still seems too dangerous for us. If a monster suddenly appears out of the reeds, we will be caught off guard. It will be difficult to defend ourselves.”

She had not expected the journey this time to be far more difficult than before. This place wasn’t like this a year or two before.

“Can you hear that sound?” Mo Fan asked.

“I can hear it. When these giant reeds sway, they produce that sound. It’s a very strange rhythm, it almost sounds like a chime. It stops when there is no wind. Whenever a strong gust of wind blows, that sound interferes with my hearing.” Big Sister Ruan said to Mo Fan.

There was helplessness and hope in her eyes. She felt helpless in saving her girls if a stronger monster attacked but hoped Mo Fan would help them.

“You instruct them to walk hand in hand. No matter what we encounter, tell them not to panic and wander off. I will try all I can but if they lose their way in these reeds, there is nothing much I can do,” he said.

“Alright,” said Big Sister Ruan with a curt nod.

…

There were many other plants in the damp mud. Whenever they stepped on it, it wrapped around their ankles. The more they walked towards the Mingwu Ancient City, the denser the plants became.

“My feet are entangled again! Can someone help me?”

“Hey, Bing Tong, don’t walk so fast. We can’t keep up.”

“Big Sister, I want to pee… I can’t hold it back anymore.”

“Ah! Something is swimming around my feet! It is a water snake!”

Mo Fan frowned. This place was far from silent. His dragon sense had detected creatures with strong aura. They seemed to sense his aura too, so they kept their distance.

But these girls from Licheng Afterglow Island were too young. They were inexperienced. He wondered why their teacher would send them for practice in such a dangerous place full of monsters.

“I think it’s better for us to fly over directly. It’s not safe here anymore,” said Mo Fan to Big Sister Ruan. He felt like something bad was going to happen if they don’t leave fast enough.

“But what about their practice?” asked Big Sister Ruan.

“It’s too dangerous here for practice. The risk factor exceeds even some red zones. If we go a little further, we might be able to find other people heading that way,” said Mo Fan.

“Ah… it’s better to leave then. Is there a way you can transport us all at once?” asked Big Sister Ruan. She was not going to leave any of her girls behind.

“I can summon some flying beasts,” Mo Fan said.

“Okay. I, too, think this place is getting stranger by the minute.”

…

Mo Fan was searching the summoned beast plane for some flying beasts for the journey when he heard screaming. He stopped immediately and switched to Chaos Element.

The palm of his hand had a knife-print. A muddled dark aura exuded from the back of his hand. He narrowed his eyes and flicked his palm. The Chaos Element blade swept over the giant reeds and cut them off. A half-moon grass sinkhole appeared in the sea of giant reeds.

The girls of Licheng Afterglow Island exclaimed. They had never expected that Mo Fan’s wave could actually clear such a large area in one sweep.

“Moo… Moo…”

At the end of the grass sinkhole, the Copper-horned Yak lay in the muddy water. Its body was covered with blood, and its abdomen slashed. Its intestines spilled out. It was on the verge of death.

The predator which had struck the Copper-horned Yak fled into the dense reed startled by Mo Fan’s attack. Mo Fan only had time enough to apply a Darkness Seal to it, but he was unable to kill it at that instant!

Chapter 2718: Flying Plants

“D*mn! It attacked the Copper-horned Yak less than fifty meters away from me!” Mo Fan cursed angrily.

Although the Copper-horned Yak was only a Dimensional Summoning Creature, he was fond of it after spending time with it. In an unguarded moment, it was suddenly attacked. Judging by its wound, it was impossible to save it even if he wanted to.

If Mo Fan had been alone, he would have rushed to kill the predator to avenge its death. However, Mo Fan couldn’t leave the group of girls unattended. Although they had high cultivation, they lacked experience to defend themselves if attacked.

Mo Fan walked to the Copper-horned Yak. He wrapped it with Shadow Substances and ended its life to prevent it from suffering unnecessary pain.

“Is it dead?” Shu Xiaohua ran over. There were tears in her eyes.

“Yeah.” Mo Fan rubbed his temples.

Not every Dimensional Summoning Creature was as lucky as Old Wolf. In fact, many Summoning Mages used summoned beasts from Dimensional Summoning as cannon fodder most of the time.

“Can you still summon flying beasts?” Big Sister Ruan was frightened after watching the Copper-horned Yak die painfully.

Mo Fan shook his head. “I’m afraid we won’t be able to fly. Look up.”

Big Sister Ruan, Shu Xiaohua, Big Sister Ying, Le Nan, Du Mei, and others raised their heads to the sky. There seemed to be some small clusters of weird clouds floating in the sky. They looked soft and fluffy.

They were horrified when they realized that those weren’t clouds at all. They looked like the Dandelion ghosts they had seen before. The most shocking thing was that the Dandelion had a sort of flower receptacle under it. The flower receptacle was covered with sharp fangs. They receded in a spherical layer with more fangs towards the center. These were not stamens, but bloody mouths of Mutated Beasts about to choose which people to devour!

“It’s the mutated Sea Anemone Dandelion! They’re flying in the sky!” Du Mei exclaimed.

The girls were frightened after seeing them. They thought they were plants at first but now they saw they were not that simple. They clustered around in the sky and surrounded them.

Dandelions waved with the wind. It seemed the hybrid versions had kept that ability. They could fly gracefully in the sky and then land on their food!

The demons descended from the sky. Even Mo Fan felt a little creeped out.

The biggest flaw of plant creatures was their hunting method. In most cases, they would let their prey fall into the rooted territory using camouflages, lures, and patience. But if the prey failed to stumble into their territory, it was impossible for them to catch their prey. They could not actively hunt for themselves.

Aside from that one flaw, the demons were actually very strong. They were even stronger than the animal demons. Once they had their prey in their territory, they would almost never let them escape.

These mutated Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons could move on a large scale with the strong winds blowing from nearby. Not only did they move quickly, but they could also strike and snatch whatever they found nearby. Creatures around them had no way to survive.

“I’ll cut the giant reeds. When you fight, stay together,” said Mo Fan.

It would be impossible to escape, the best way to survive was to face them all.

Mo Fan’s hands changed to knives, and he swung them on either side. Two Chaos Rift Blades sung and cut the grassland clearing a spec on either side. It would be easier to see and move now.

The Anemone Dandelions fell one by one. As soon as they touched the ground, they released their rhizomes, which were like earthworms, and plunged deeper into the muddy water.

“You deal with them,” Mo Fan said to Big Sister Ruan.

“What? Why? Aren’t you going to fight too? We might not be able to handle them all,” said Big Sister Ruan.

“It is likely that there is a more powerful and higher-level Sea Anemone Dandelion nearby which controls the rest. If it appears, I will need my hands free,” said Mo Fan.

The thing that had killed the Copper-horned Yak had returned. Mo Fan could sense the Darkness Seal that he had cast on it. He had expected the creature to flee, but it had the guts to appear in the same place again.

The Copper-horned Yak summoned by Mo Fan was a creature that was almost on the Commander-level. It could never have been killed by a common demon. Mo Fan realized that whatever the creature was, it was very powerful indeed.

This wetland was full of dangers. This creature which competed with the Sea Anemone Dandelions was not weak.

Mo Fan wanted to find out whether it was hunting alone or in a pack. If it was alone, he would use this as an opportunity to hone his Three-Elements Magic, but if it hunted in a pack, he had no choice but to use his real strength.

Mutated Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons were of Warlord-level. It had the characteristics of the Ocean Demons, and its combat power was about three times stronger than terrestrial demons.

2

Besides, plant monsters were generally much stronger than animal monsters. Some of the female Mages of Licheng Afterglow Island had completed Advanced Magic. The brilliant light they cast did not melt the Sea Anemone Dandelions directly but it did aggravate them. The Sea Anemone Dandelions began to twist and turn frantically. Some of them set off a barbed stem wave and others grew quickly to fill the empty space Mo Fan had just cleared.

“Fire Element! Plants are afraid of Fire Element magic!” Big Sister Ruan shouted.

The flames were raging. Both Du Mei and Big Sister Ying practiced Fire Element magic, and Big Sister Ying was an Advanced Fire Element Mage. Sky-Flame Funeral rushed down, and layers of fire and smoke covered the Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons.

The Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons turned their stamens and threw out a lot of water whips. These water whips swirled together to form a vortex water whip shield, which tried to extinguish and absorb the fire raining down from the sky.

Mo Fan, who was guarding them, glanced quickly at them and realized that the Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons were not afraid of flames at all.

‘This is bad!’ thought Mo Fan. Even Fire Element, the nemesis of the Plant Element, became useless in front of these mutated hybrids.

Although it would be easy for Mo Fan’s Fire Element magic to get rid of them, he wanted to keep his hands free if a larger scale Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons army appeared.

Chapter 2719: Something Scarier

The stamens flew around. There were thorns on the stamens and the poison on them had a paralytic effect.

“I can’t lift my arms,” said Big Sister Ying anxiously.

If she could not swing her arm to cast a Fiery Fist, how was she going to attack her target?

Shu Xiaohua went to help her but the worm-like rhizomes entangled on her feet. There were very small thorns on the ends of the rhizomes. They were invisible to the naked eye, but when they came into contact with human skin, they could pierce into human flesh as easily as a mosquito.

Shu Xiaohua did not notice it. Her ankle only felt a little itchy. The itchiness turned to numbness after a while. Her legs felt as though there were a million ants biting on it. She felt little pin-pricks all over and was horrified to find out that he couldn’t move her legs.

“They have paralytic poison. Don’t let them pierce your skin!!” Shu Xiaohua warned.

The warning came a little too late. Most of them were already paralyzed. They fought slower than before, and Sea Anemone Dandelions rushed in.

“Be careful!” Big Sister Ying screamed.

A Sea Anemone Dandelion Demon came out of the soil and bit Pu Ling on her thigh. A part of the flesh fell off and her bones were almost broken. Her leg seemed as though it was barely held together by what remained of her skin.

Pu Ling almost fainted because of the pain. Her face became as pale as a paper.

“Please help!” Du Mei cried out to Mo Fan. She thought that as a Seven-star Hunter mage, it won’t be difficult for him to get rid of these demons.

Pu Ling was dying. If he didn’t do something, everyone here would die painfully.

But Mo Fan appeared indifferent. He was being vigilant towards another powerful creature which was much more dangerous than what they had encountered so far.

Du Mei mistook his wariness for fear. “Liar! He is a liar! He has no ability to protect us all. He lied to us!” shouted Du Mei angrily.

Mo Fan did not help them even then.Big Sister Ying could only move one of her arms. She had tried to buy Pu Ling some more time for her to escape and in the process, had gotten injured. But her effort had bought Le Nan enough time to draw a Three-level Star Constellation.

“Seven-Color Water Curtain!” The Seven-Color Water Curtain passed by like neon light. It shrouded and protected Du Mei, Shu Xiaohua, Big Sister Ying, Pu Ling, and several other female Mages. It had been a close call!

Big Sister Ying, who was the most powerful in combat, had her arms paralyzed. Shu Xiaohua could not move her lower body. Du Mei’s cultivation was not as high, and Pu Ling was severely injured. If the four of them did not get any help, the Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons that had trapped them would be able to kill them all in the next second.

Du Mei was furious. She saw that the b*stard wasn’t making a move at all. The one who saved them was Le Nan, who had done so at the risk of her own death.

“Why did you hire this male hunter? He is useless! If we die here, it will be your fault!” shouted Du Mei.

When they had fought in the Fengyi Centipede Herb Forest, Du Mei had been injured because of Mo Fan’s slow action. She had doubted him from that moment on. She was now certain that this man had lied. He did not possess the strength and power of a Seven-star Hunter Mage.

“Are you all okay?” asked Le Nan panting with the effort of having cast her magic.

“Pu Ling has lost too much blood,” Big Sister Ying said worriedly. “She is unconscious.”

“We are too tied up to nurse her right now.”

“Will she die?”

“No one will die. Hang in there!” Le Nan tried to encourage the others.

“You can’t hold on for too long with your Water Curtain Barrier. Big Sister Ruan is injured as well.”

Outside the Seven-Color Water Curtain Barrier, the fangs of Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons were ferocious and terrifying. The worm-like rhizomes under them squirmed. They sprayed a corrosive venom toward the Water Curtain Barrier!

They usually used this venom to degrade corpses so that the dead could be used as nourishment. It was very corrosive. It could even corrode through many magical protections.

There were a lot of Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons. Several demons sprayed the venom and the Seven-Color Water Curtain Barrier dissolved.

Le Nan was dumbfounded. She had not prepared for this. She had at least expected to buy some time till the other girls could remove the poison from their bodies. She had not known that these Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons had so many abilities.

Were these Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons really Warlord-level? While their combat power and physical strength were not at Commander-level, they had so many other abilities and methods that clearly exceeded the Warlord-level!

Le Nan looked at Mo Fan pleadingly, hoping he would finally do something. But Mo Fan still stared in the opposite direction.

Le Nan bit her lip in frustration. The Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons had already entered the barrier. They had exhausted their magical skills and abilities. This time, it really felt like they would die... ‘Are we really that weak?’ wondered Le Nan miserably.

After leaving Licheng Afterglow Island and Northguard Fortress, they had come here only to be food for the demons.

“Why did they stop moving?” Shu Xiaohua suddenly asked.

Le Nan also noticed that Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons did not pounce on them. They looked like they were wary, too. Something more dangerous was nearby.

Suddenly, the Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons twisted their fangs and moved worm-like rhizomes and left. They slowly retreated.

The Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons had torn their barrier and injured them severely. They were about to devour them. So, what happened? This was unbelievable!

It did not take long for the Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons to retreat outside the giant reed bushes. The noises subsided as they retreated further.

Their crisis was over. The girls of Licheng Afterglow Island felt disbelief and relief as they looked at the now empty sinkhole.

“Are we safe?” Big Sister Ying asked in confusion.

“Don’t let your guard down!” Big Sister Ruan said sharply in everyone’s mind.

Big Sister Ruan never used that sharp tone of voice if it wasn’t urgent. Could it be that something scarier was approaching them? The girls were confused.

Those Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons had fled because they had sensed something far more dangerous.

What could scare away so many Sea Anemone Dandelion Demons with just its aura?

Chapter 2720: This Man Is Very Powerful

The rustling sound was coming from the reeds. Everyone turned to the giant swaying reeds.

Something was approaching. It moved at a very slow pace as if it knew that there was no way for the group to get away from its clutches.

What was it?!

It finally appeared!

The reeds split in half, and what came into view was an imposing and majestic head. Its gaze was razor-sharp, and its eyes flashed with a dazzling light. It had long patterns on its body like a tiger. It bared its saber-toothed fangs ominously.

The ladies from Licheng Afterglow Island held their breaths. Their backs drenched in cold sweat.

It walked out of the grove and came in full view. There were ancient beast patterns on its limbs and body. It exuded a certain feeling of nobility. Certain ancient powerful holy creatures had similar patterns on their bodies, too. It symbolized the purity of their bloodline and their dignity.

This was undoubtedly an ancient demon from an old bloodline which might have existed for centuries. It had effortlessly scared off the Sea Anemone Dandelion with its aura. It was not just a commander-level demon because the Sea Anemone Dandelion would never have run off if it was.

“It’s a r-ruler-level demon!” cried out Big Sister Ruan and Le Nan unanimously. They were the only ones with the highest level of cultivation in the group.

They had done some research in the fortress before their departure. The hunters had warned them about the dangers en route to Mingwu Ancient City. The hunters hadn’t talked about the presence of ruler-level demons!

It was just their luck to encounter a ruler-level demon on their path when most people had rarely seen them here. The road to Mingwu Ancient City was big and densely forested.

If they had instead fought the Sea Anemone Dandelions to the best of their capabilities, they would still have lost two or three of their members. But it sounded better than being killed by a ruler-level demon because none of them would likely survive it.

Just a while before, they thought Sea Anemone Dandelions were the most ferocious and dangerous creature they had ever met. Compared to this ruler-level demon, the Sea Anemone Dandelions looked rather cute.

“Don’t panic!”

Most of them didn’t even dare to breathe.

Shu Xiaohua was happy that the one who told them not to panic was the expert they had with them. Du Mai looked perplexed. Had he sensed the ruler-level demon? Was that why she had not fought before? She felt like she had doubted him wrongly.

When he confidently told them not to panic, they thought he was going to take It on. Mo Fan walked to the ruler-level demon.

“Oh no, he is walking over to it!” The young ladies from Licheng Afterglow Island were amazed.

He was truly a Seven-star Hunter Master! When they saw him walk to the demon with courage, they felt that he was truly worthy of the money they had paid to hire him.

“Be careful!” said Big Sister Ruan to Mo Fan. “We will soon find a way to escape. Keep it occupied while the rest of us find a way. Don’t provoke it. If it goes berserk, we can’t possibly defeat or outrun it.”

They were uncertain of the situation. As a Super Level Mage, even Mo Fan would only be able to dance around it and stall it for a little while. Big Sister Ruan felt that if they worked hand in hand, they might be able to retreat somehow.

“It’s okay,” Mo Fan assured them and kept walking towards the demon.

Big Sister Ruan frowned. “Don’t take it lightly! It’s a ruler-level demon! If you die, none of us can leave here safely.”

Mo Fan ignored her and approached the demon. The majestic and imposing ruler-level demon walked toward him calmly.

Mo Fan reached out and touched it on the head.

‘Has he lost his mind?!’ the young women wondered in alarm.

The next moment they saw the ruler-level demon lower its head and nuzzle against Mo Fan. The ladies were stunned. They couldn’t believe their eyes. Ruler-level demons were supposed to be terrifying. They had never seen one nuzzled against someone like a friendly puppy!

“Um…” Big Sister Ruan was lost for words.

“It’s my summoned beast. It’s a Royal Pattern Wolf,” said Mo Fan as he patted Old Wolf’s head. “Old Wolf, say hi to the ladies.”

The Royal Pattern Wolf looked up and howled. Some of the Sea Anemone Dandelions floating in the sky fell and smashed into the surrounding reeds.

There was a commotion. The reeds swayed violently as countless other monsters hiding in the reeds fled in fear. Some of them ran out of their hiding places, some migrated to another area, some played dead, and some even dug a hole and hid in the ground!

The young women were all shocked. Their faces had turned pale.

“Why are you howling uselessly, you beast!” rebuked Mo Fan. “If not for you, I would have found that treacherous creature which killed the Copper-horned Yak!”

The Royal Pattern Wolf stuck out its tongue, panting. It rolled on the ground and revealed the underside of its belly allowing Mo Fan to scratch it. It behaved like a friendly pet. It did not look so lethal now.

“Is it really your summoned beast?” Big Sister Ruan walked over to it. Her knees were still weak with fear.

“Yes. I told you. I have a Super Level Summoning Element. This is my dimensional… um… contracted beast,” Mo Fan corrected himself.

He knew that they would find it hard to believe if he said Royal Pattern Wolf was his dimensional beast. Besides, by now he knew Shu Xiaohua was very curious. If he told her that this was his dimensional beast then she would insist on seeing his contracted beast.

Little Flame Belle was too powerful. It was pointless to summon her here. Her power was comparable to great ruler-level. Besides, if he summoned her here, it would attract other powerful Ocean Demons.

As for Apas, it was even stronger. It was also disobedient. It liked to hibernate all the way through spring. It was only active during the autumn. Summer was too hot for it so it wouldn’t even stir from its sleep if summoned then.

1

“Can I touch it?” asked Shu Xiaohua.

“Sure.”

The Royal Pattern Wolf was furry. It was large and fluffy. It looked pretty friendly while tame. The young girls from the Licheng Afterglow Island seemed to love it.

“It’s a ruler-level summoned beast!”

“That’s so cool! I’ve never seen a ruler-level beast before.”

“Mr. Mo Fan, I never knew you’re actually so powerful. A ruler-level summoned beast is much more powerful than a super level mage, isn’t it?”

“Of course! Even a team of super level mages might not be capable of taking on a ruler-level beast.”

The ladies looked at him with respect and admiration. Their doubts and wariness towards him had vanished all because Old Wolf had appeared out of nowhere.

Du Mei looked embarrassed. She helped Pu Ling treat her wound while sneaking glances at Mo Fan.

‘This man indeed is very powerful! He might be as good as my elder cousin!’

Chapter 2721: Ancient City

While the young women took their time bandaging their wounds and treating their injuries, Mo Fan patrolled their surroundings,

He was sure that the creature he had sensed wasn’t Royal Pattern Wolf. There had been something else. He could tell the difference between his own beast and other creatures.

Sea Anemone Dandelions had fled because they had sensed Royal Pattern Wolf. The predator which slaughtered Copper-horned Yak had run away as well. It knew Mo Fan had been waiting for it. It hid its aura and used the Sea Anemone Dandelions to test the group’s strength. Mo Fan had refused to make any kind of move because he did not want to alert it.

But Royal Pattern Wolf had appeared right at that moment and scared everything away. That predator had run away too. MO Fan was unhappy because he was unable to avenge Copper-horned Yak.

Mo Fan assured himself that his Darkness Seal could last a very long time. As long as the creature lived around here, he definitely would get a chance to catch it.

‘You killed my yak! I’ll roast you alive!’ vowed Mo Fan. ‘I challenge you to kill my wolf if you are so powerful!’

“Howl!” The Royal Pattern wolf howled. It knew that Mo Fan had lost the yak he had summoned. It lamented its misfortune at what Mo Fan would make it do.

Mo Fan glared at it. Both of them were dimensional beasts. So, why had the Copper-horned Yak experienced such a tragedy? Copper-horned Yak wasn’t really weak.

“Did you run into that creature before?” Mo Fan asked the Royal Pattern Wolf.

Mo Fan was then told that it had bumped into a strong opponent while it was hunting. After a brief spar, they went in separate ways.

The Royal Pattern Wolf communicated with him then that it had sensed the predator’s aura. The predator had been lying in wait to ambush Mo Fan and his group. So Old Wolf had rushed to their rescue.

“Are you stupid?” asked Mo Fan. “If that creature even dares to show itself, I can kill it myself. You ruined my plan! Do you really think I would need to be rescued?”

Mo Fan raged. His current level of power was so high that he could kill several ruler-level demons with a snap of his fingers.

Mo Fan had deliberately held back even though some of the young women were severely wounded. He waited for the creature to show itself because it would pose all of them even more danger than anything else in the reeds. He had also wanted to avenge the Copper-horned Yak.

The predator must be killed. If it was capable of killing the Copper-horned Yak, Mo Fan couldn’t let his guard down. It could easily slaughter them all.

Mo Fan could not use his dragon sense around the clock. It would exhaust his mental ability.

Many creatures on the coast had evolved into hybrids. As a result, these creatures were more skillful in concealing and disguising themselves. Mo Fan believed it was time to improve his own spiritual realm. Otherwise, he might not really be able to detect them no matter how much he increased his dragon sense.

If he wanted to improve his spiritual realm, he could no longer neglect the other elements.

“My mental state is currently in the seventh realm under the impetus of the darkness source.That night during the advancement of my summoning element, it was clear that my spiritual realm had improved slightly. If my Chaos and Earth elements reach Super Level, I can achieve the eighth realm. If I use my dragon sense along with it, then it will easily reach the ninth realm,” Mo Fan muttered to himself.

‘With a ninth realm dragon sense, nothing can hide from me!’ Mo Fan thought.

This was how Mages worked things around to be more efficient. Unless they possessed Psychic and Sound elements, it would be very difficult to sense the movements in their surroundings to detect creatures lying in ambush.

Mo Fan disliked being passive and helpless. He did not like waiting for the creature to make its move. With a ninth realm dragon sense, he was confident that he could see through most of the ruler-level creatures’ concealment ability!

A ninth realm dragon sense was not limited to sensing things only. If Mo Fan achieved the ninth realm, his Chaos, Space and Summoning elements would become powerful, too.

Cultivation was not the only important aspect of dimensional magic; the spiritual realm played a very predominant role as well.The ninth realm was the strongest realm in dimensional magic. Reaching it meant that one possessed the Great Heaven Seed Elemental element. If anyone continued strengthening their spiritual cultivation, they could also complete their dimensional cultivation.

…

“The Mingwu Ancient City is right in front of us. Did you see the ancient green wall?” Big Sister Ruan said happily as she pointed at the building before them.

Mo Fan went up to it and saw that the green wall was covered with lush vines and moss. If he wasn’t looking carefully, he would have been unable to tell that bulging plants and vines covered the ancient green wall.

The green wall was not very tall. The city’s entrance was covered in green spider webs. It looked like a cave. It was hard to believe that this city used to be an ancient city of scenic beauty and powerful people.

Fist-sized spiders crawled on the webs. When it saw the people approach, it hid within the vines. The spiders observed them through the cracks in the veins with their blood-red eyes.

“The spider webs have sealed the entrance. Does this mean no one else has visited here for a long time?” asked Le Nan.

“Maybe or may not be. Some spiders produce webs so rapidly in a small period of time. The webs could have been woven after someone went through. Some spiders can weave many webs to cover an entire entrance in half an hour,” said Mo Fan. “There are some traces of burned plants over there. Maybe other hunters are ahead of us.”

“Let’s go then. They might get it before we do,” said Big Sister Ying hurriedly.

Mo Fan was surprised and curious. “Is there something very important inside?”

“This is something related to Licheng Afterglow Island. We cannot really talk about it. I hope you understand,” said Big Sister Ruan.

“That’s alright. I am not looking to pry, after all. But I think I should mention that when I first arrived here, I experienced a bizarre phenomenon. I saw a purple lightning strike from the sky and hit the ground,” said Mo Fan honestly. “It was terrifying, to say the least. I don’t think even ruler-level creatures would survive a direct strike of lightning like that. Could I ask if the lightning is related to the Mingwu Ancient City in any way?”

He had come to find the totem. Jiang Shaoxu had told him about the bizarre lightning storm and the legend.

Mo Fan vividly remembered that the area where the lightning had struck hadn’t been the center. There was even thicker and harsher lightning in Mingwu Ancient City.

“There are several explanations for this. Mr. Mo Fan,” said Big Sister Ruan as she led the way to the road. “This way, please.” She seemed very familiar with the place.

After they entered through the city entrance, they saw even more of the vines. They were growing wildly everywhere. As they walked closer, they realized that these heaps of vines covered small houses.

The houses were almost entirely covered with vines and ivy. The streets were overgrown with bushes. The place had changed entirely.

“My grandma lived in the ancient city. When I was young, I often came to the city. I seldom wore shoes. I used to run around barefoot,” Big Sister Ruan said to Le Nan softly.

Chapter 2722: Thundercat Statue

Big Sister Ruan talked to Le Nan quietly but Mo Fan overheard their conversation.

“The road ahead is the walkway. The ancient wall looked like it was overgrown with vines and ivies. I only hope that the ancient statues are still around,” Bis Sister Ruan said sadly.

Mingwu Ancient City was strangely quiet. The outside had turned into a hunting ground infested with monsters. The tribes, hordes, and Ocean Demons fought for territories. Corpses and carcasses were strewn everywhere…

When they entered the Mingwu Ancient City, it had gone deafeningly silent. There were screams or roars of ferocious beasts. Apart from the spiders who wove their webs, nothing really jumped out.

Even though the Mingwu Ancient City was abandoned and overgrown, there was this strange sense of peace and tranquility almost as if some ancient mysterious power was still protecting this city from the ferocious demons outside.

As they followed the walkway, they came across an opening where there were many ancient statues. All around those statues, the ground was overgrown with weeds but there was a clear demarcation where the weeds ended and the statues arose, without any sign of impairment or damage.

Mo Fan and young women made their way to the ancient statues. He sensed that something was strange here. He studied his surroundings closely. He realized that the ancient statues were unusual. There were no vines, no ivies, not even the spiders on these statues.

He saw that the veins and ivies had merely grown along the periphery and avoided the statues. The statues themselves looked regal and solemn as if the passage of time and change of environment were of no significant consequence to it.

They were just made out of stones, but how was it possible for them to be so untouched and full of ancient wonder?

He now knew the reason for the absence of demons in this city. They were scared away by the holy aura exuded by these statues.

“This is the Thundercat statue.” Big Sister Ruan walked towards a big statue that looked like a cat.

Mo Fan looked at it. The statue looked very lifelike. The sculpted cat appeared to be smiling like an elder who knew of many secrets.

“Is this the one that caused the lightning storm?” Mo Fan asked.

No matter how long he looked at it, he couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. ‘Could the stone material be some sort of natural stone that attracted lightning elements, and that it could trigger a more powerful lightning storm during cloudy, rainy, or lightning days?’ wondered Mo Fan. ‘Or was it a totem?’

He studied it very carefully. He noticed some strange patterns on the Thundercat’s paw. The pattern was mismatched with the totem seal which Jiang Shaoxu had previously shown to him…

“What are you looking for?” Du Mei asked him.

Mo Fan had never expected Du Mei to be so polite to him suddenly. She had always been suspicious of him from the time they left the fortress. It seemed being powerful was the key to resolving many things in life.

“Nothing in particular,” he said with a smile. “Have you lived here before?”

Du Mei shook her head. Mo Fan did not continue their conversation. Instead, he walked to Big Sister Ruan and showed her the totem pattern picture that Jiang Shaoxu had given him.

“You seem to know so much about this place. Have you seen something like this anywhere here?” he asked.

Du Mei turned her head away sulkily when he ignored her. Big Sister Ruan looked at the picture. “No.”

Mo Fan was a little disappointed. “Are there any other ancient statues here?” Mo Fan asked.

“All of them are here.”

Mo Fan studied each and every one of them. The ancient statues exuded some holy aura but not one matched the totem pattern in the picture.

“Are you sure all of them are here? I’m looking for an ancient creature. My friend passed me this picture and said I can certainly find some clues at the Mingwu Ancient City,” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was sure that the totem was here, in this city.

In ancient times, totems played the role of guardian angels who protected certain lands. Each totem guarded a human tribe. If the Mingwu Ancient City started as an ancient tribal land, it would have a totem. In fact, he believed that this totem was what was preventing the demon hordes from marching into the city and devouring everything.

Jiang Shaoxu and Lingling’s analysis was correct. There was a totem in this city. But the totem couldn’t really be these statues despite them exuding a certain magical aura.

“Move it! Move it now! Quick! What are you waiting for?!”

They heard a man’s voice from the woods. They had been resting, but now many of them walked out of the woods and into the clearing where the statues were.

A man in dark green armor led the way. Others followed behind him. There was commotion in the woods. It sounded as though trees were being felled.

“Who are you…?” asked the man. “Ah, forget about it. I have no interest in knowing about you. Could you step aside? We want to move stuff.”

“What are you moving?” Mo Fan asked the man.

“That cat statue, of course!” said the man and smirked repulsively. “Kid, traveling with a group of ladies, eh? Aren’t you physically exhausted?” The man looked inappropriately at the group of women from Licheng Afterglow Island before his gaze rested on the Thundercat statue. His eyes lit up.

“Heixiu! Heixiu! Heixiu! Heixiu!” A group of men chanted, followed by the sound of a large tree being felled. They walked out of the woods dragging an enormous golden-armored beast.

The enormous golden armored beast was almost five-stories tall. Its limbs were thick, and its body was as large as a mammoth. It was the culprit that had crushed the trees.

On the back of the golden mammoth sat an ancient statue. The ancient statue was grayish white in color. It was a lifelike Flute Heron.

The Flute Heron was an ancient and rare species. It usually made flute-like sounds, hence, the name. It was once native to the Mingwu Ancient City. But it had soon gone extinct like other ancient creatures.

Mo Fan looked at the Flute Heron statue before turning to Big Sister Ruan. “I thought you said there weren’t any more of the ancient statues?”

Mo Fan had never seen the Flute Heron statue before. But he realized that these men had moved the statue from another part of the Mingwu Ancient City. They planned to move it out of the city entirely.

Their next target was the Thundercat statue. The men headed towards the ancient statue. The statue itself was not very big. It was only about as tall as a human. But the weight of it was shocking. Even the mighty golden mammoth-like beast struggled to the Flute Herron statue alone.

The hunter group came together to try to help. There were cracks at the back of the golden armor of the huge beast, and each step sunk in the ground at the weight.

“Boss Jin, the beast looks strained by just carrying one statue. The Thundercat statue looks to be about the same size as the Flute Heron statue, how do we move it?” One of the hunters said.

“The Thundercat statue looks more valuable. We’ll leave the Flute Heron here and move the Thundercat statue first!” said the man called Boss Jin.

Chapter 2723: I’m Not Short of Money

“You! How can you move these ancient statues away?!” said Big Sister Ruan angrily.

When she was young, her grandmother had told her about the importance of the ancient statues in Mingwu Ancient City. The ancient statues were the ancient protectors that guarded the city all day and night.

As long as the statues remained in the city, it didn’t matter whether it was invaded by ferocious demons on the land or brutal Ocean Demons from the sea, none of them could break the peace in Mingwu Ancient City. The people in the city had enjoyed peace and safety because of these statues, and they considered them as gods and worshiped them during festivals. At least, they used to.

Big Sister Ruan had never expected someone from outside would even think of stealing them away!

“Lady, do you know how many rich men offer to buy these broken old stone statues of the ancient city?” said Boss Jin, holding out a finger.

“Why would the rich men spend so much money on these statues?” asked Mo Fan, genuinely curious.

“Kid, haven’t you noticed these statues have some sort of magical power that prevents the demons from invading the city? These ancient statues protect this territory,” explained Boss Jin. “They are more powerful than the patrolling mages. The demons have been roaming around outside for years. Even in Base Cities, there is always a danger of being attacked by the monsters. Rich men want to live in peace and they’ve got the money for it.”

“These ancient statues don’t belong to you!” Big Sister Ruan shouted.

Boss Jin turned to Big Sister Ruan and grinned mockingly. “Then tell me, Madam. Who do they belong to? Do enlighten me about the owners of these statues. Is it the people of the Mingwu Ancient City? I don’t see anyone here! They have all fled. The city is abandoned. No one owns these anymore. Finders keepers, you know.”

Big Sister Run was rendered speechless. He was not wrong. Mingwu Ancient City was abandoned. Not one soul lived here. Everything inside it was without an owner.

“I am doing these statues a favor,” said Boss Jin. “Can’t let them go to waste. So, I risked my life with my men to come here and take these statues to a new home. They will find a purpose; I will get my money. Everybody will be happy.I mean, look at these statues! They are left outside, rain or shine. No one cleans them. No one takes care of them. They look pitiful! We are doing good work here.”

Mo Fan admired the hunter. Sure, he stole things but at least he had the decency to defend himself honestly and openly.

“But the statues have been guarding the city for more than a thousand years. If you move them away, you will be condemned by God,” said Big Sister Ruan, frantic now to stop them somehow.

“You are from Licheng Afterglow Island, aren’t you?” Boss Jin asked.

“Yes.” Big Sister Ruan nodded.

“Aren’t you afraid of being condemned by God as well?” sneered Boss Jin.

Big Sister Ruan was at a loss for words. The other young girls from Lichen Afterglow Island looked stunned as well. They could not find any words to refute him at that moment.

Boss Jin laughed heartily. He turned to his hunters and instructed them to remove the Flute Heron statue from the back of the beast and load the Thundercat statue first.

Mo Fan looked at Big Sister Ruan. Apparently, Boss Jin knew more about the Lichen Afterglow Island than he did. ‘Did Boss Jin just imply that Licheng Afterglow Island owned a powerful statue?’ wondered Mo Fan.

Mo Fan remembered Shu Xiaohua had almost accidentally blurted out the reason for their island being safe from demons…

…

Mo Fan understood that this group of young women had hidden a lot of things from him. He felt cheated. He had made sure they arrived at the Mingwu Ancient City safely under his watch. But they had refused to even entertain his questions with honesty.

The young women all looked very anxious. They couldn’t stop Boss Jin and his hunters from taking the statue. The only ones with high cultivation were Big Sister Ruan and Le Nan but they were outnumbered. Besides, Boss Jin might have even higher cultivation than them combined.

…

“Mr. Mo Fan, please do us a favor,” said Big Sister Ruan, turning to him. “Please stop them from taking away the statues!”

“I’m afraid it’s time to nullify our contract,” said Mo Fan. He did not want to cooperate with them anymore.

Both parties had signed a contract on mutual understanding. Mo Fan’s side of the deal was to protect them and make sure they reached Mingwu Ancient City safely, while they would answer some of his queries related to his own journey.

Big Sister Ruan had withheld information about the ancient statues from him. It was clear that there might be other statues in other parts of the Mingwu Ancient City but she had lied to him when she told him that the present statues were the only ones in the city.

She had lied to him. Besides, Boss Jin wasn’t wrong. No one lived here anymore. So, no one owned these statues. He wasn’t breaking a law by taking things from an abandoned city. Mo Fan had no strong reason to confront Boss Jin. It wasn’t in this contract and he did not need to care about it.

He had no beef with Boss Jin or his hunters. They weren’t actually hurting anyone by doing what they had come to do. In contrast, these young women from Licheng Afterglow Island had deceived him.

“Please. You can raise those questions again and I will answer them honestly this time,” Big Sister Ruan pleaded. “These ancient statues must not leave the Mingwu Ancient City.”

“I am not interested in that anymore,” said Mo Fan. “You won’t help me find the ancient creature I am looking for, so why should I help you?”

Boss Jin had allowed Mo Fan to study the patterns on the statue when he had asked, so he didn’t really feel like offending him. But the patterns on the Flute Heron statue hadn’t matched the picture.

Mo Fan realized that the ancient statues might have nothing to do with the totem he looked for. He could not find any clues. And since these women appeared to know more than they let on, he was sure they had some information on it. Mo Fan could find the clues himself. He felt that there was no need for him to journey with them any longer.

“Our elders instructed us to come here to ensure the safety of these ancient statues,” said Big Sister Ruan. “We’ll have to report to them through a magic paper boat. Our elders will arrive here. I hope you can help us stall Boss Jin and his hunters. We can pay you more.”

“I’m not short of money,” Mo Fan said straightforwardly.

He felt very pleased with himself saying that. He had never imagined there would come a day when he could say that honestly. The expenses for the eight elements had cost him an arm and a leg.

…

“We… we will help you find the ancient creature that you are looking for,” Big Sister Ruan said reluctantly. “I… I have seen the pattern that you showed me.”

“You lied to me,” said Mo Fan. “The clause of the contract was clear. You should have told me this when I asked you.”

Mo Fan had followed the terms of the contract. He had kept them alive through the journey. Otherwise, they would all have died fighting the monsters they had met while coming here.

Chapter 2724: God’s Condemnation

“I’m sorry… I’m very sorry, Mr. Mo Fan,” Big Sister Ruan said earnestly. “I was being elusive for a reason. We promise to fulfill our end of the contract. Additionally, we promise to tell you about… another thing related to Licheng Afterglow Island’s spiritual land, too.”

“Licheng Afterglow Island’s spiritual land?” Mo Fan asked. He had noticed that these female mages from the island had a surprisingly high level of cultivation when compared to their lack of combat experience. He had guessed as much that their island might have some heavenly spirits or treasures which made this possible.

With my Super Level cultivation, do you really think I will bother with Licheng Afterglow Island’s spiritual land?” said Mo Fan, pretending to be uninterested.

“Mr. Mo Fan, you’ve no idea how unique our spiritual land is. As long as you’re willing to swear with your soul curse that you will not leak the secrets of our spiritual land, I can assure you that even a Super Level mage like yourself will benefit from it,” Big Sister Ruan said sincerely.

Mo Fan did believe them. Their cultivation was high enough that it certainly made him wonder about their spiritual land. Mo Fan had visited the Three Step Tower of Pearl Institute and Godly Seal Mountain of Parthenon Temple many times before. There was not much left for him to absorb the power at these two places.

His Little Loach had reached Star Sea Level. If he could find a place as holy as the Three Step Tower and Godly Seal Mountain, his Earth and Chaos elements would achieve Super Level!

The soul cultivation holy place that increased these young women’s cultivation to such a high level must certainly contain a very high nutritional value. Mo Fan considered their offer.

“What did you mean when you warned Boss Jin of God’s condemnation? Asked Mo Fan. “I doubt it was supposed to be only some superstitious rambling.”

“The lightning storms. Whenever someone attempts to steal an ancient statue from this place, a lightning storm ensues,” said Big Sister Ruan, answering honestly this time.

“You mean to say the lightning storm from a few days ago was not some natural disaster?”

“Before Boss Jin and his hunters, someone stole one of the statues from this area. That is why we had to come here in a hurry. The Thundercat statue must not be removed. Once it leaves the Mingwu Ancient City territory, the lightning storms that will strike will be ten times more devastating than the one we saw a few days ago. The fortress might be destroyed,” Big Sister Ruan said solemnly.

Mo Fan vividly remembered the lightning storm he had encountered. It hadn’t struck very far from the fortress. If the next lightning storm was ten times stronger, the fortress wasn’t the only one that would be destroyed. A powerful strike of lightning could wipe out all living creatures in the coastal area.

“Is it truly that terrifying?” Mo Fan asked suspiciously.

“Yes, it is. We might have hidden things from you before but Big Sister Ruan is telling the truth this time. God’s condemnation is real!” said Shu Xiaohua running over to him. She looked at him piteously, pleading for him to believe them.

“Well, I would like to see how this ‘God’s condemnation’ actually works. Perhaps I might find some clue about the ancient creature which I’m looking for,” Mo Fan said.

“I saw the picture you showed Big Sister Ruan,” said Shu Xiaohua anxiously. “She didn’t lie to you about that. That ancient creature can’t be found here at the Mingwu Ancient City. Because… it is at Licheng Afterglow Island!”

“Shu Xiaohua!” Big Sister Ruan rebuked her.

Mo Fan could not trust Big Sister Ruan anymore but he did trust Shu Xiaohua. She never lied.

“Big Sister Ruan, he is not a bad guy. He’s been so attentive in protecting us along the way,” said Shu Xiaohua. “If we are on our guards the entire time and treat him like a stranger, then we can’t blame him for being unwilling to help us.”

Big Sister Ruan was at a loss for words momentarily. There was no definite way to determine who was good and who was bad but they needed his help right now.

There were many secrets in Licheng Afterglow Island. People with malicious intentions laid their eyes on them like hungry wolves. No one could guarantee someone’s sincerity. Anyone could become corrupt and greedy once they saw the wealth and treasures of Licheng Afterglow Island.

“Thank you for trusting me,” said Mo Fan to Shu Xiaohua. “But I can no longer trust Big Sister Ruan. Instead, I am willing to make a deal with you. To be entirely honest, I am interested in your island. My Chaos and Earth elements have hit their bottleneck and I do need a holy place to achieve a breakthrough. I am willing to help you if you are willing to help me.” He passed the picture to Shu Xiaohua. “Have you seen this ancient creature before?”

Shu Xiaohua nodded. She glanced at Big Sister Ruan. Big Sister Ruan did not stop her.

“Our elders did something stupid a few decades ago. They moved one of the ancient statues from Mingwu Ancient City to Licheng Afterglow Island.” Shu Xiaohua glanced at Big Sister Ruan again.

Big Sister Ruan sighed. “At that time, the ones who lived in the Licheng Afterglow Island had to suffer God’s condemnation. An era of continuous lightning storms befell us. The lightning storms lasted for more than a month. The lightning struck from south to north, and from the sky to the sea and land. As a result, the city, agricultural lands, sea, and forests were severely damaged. Many people died because God had condemned us.”

“That was why Boss Jin said that to you,” said Mo Fan, finally understanding everything.

Big Sister Ruan nodded. “Boss Jin wasn’t aware of it back then. Nobody knew. Our elders and ancestors were ashamed of such an incident. They shifted the blame to an ancient creature which possessed a similar lightning ability,” explained Big Sister Ruan.

Mo Fan was stunned. He had guessed that the creature might be on their island but this…

“I believe it is the same creature that you came looking for,” said Big Sister Ruan. “Our ancestors knew that they had committed a sin. They were wrecked with guilt and ashamed to stay in Licheng Afterglow Island. They lived in seclusion from the world. They vowed to protect the ancient statues in the Mingwu Ancient City to atone for their sin.” Big Sister Ruan lowered her head.

She still remembered the look of guilt and remorse her grandmother had worn even at the end of her life. The tribe had refused to face the truth and shifted the blame to the totem inhabiting the Licheng Afterglow Island. The lightning had caused too many deaths. They had surrounded the ancient lightning creature and attacked it brutally.

“Your ancestors have killed a totem!” Mo Fan cried in shock.

Shu Xiaohua and Big Sister Ruan both lowered their heads and remained silent. Not all of the young women from the group knew about this by the look of surprise and shock in their faces. If not for Big Sister Ruan’s grandmother screaming hysterically in the ancestral hall before her death, Big Sister Ruan and Shu Xiaohua would never have known about it as well.

“Some people say it’s still alive,” Shu Xiaohua whispered.

“Can you find it?” Mo Fan asked.

“Our elders might be able to find it. There is a reason for all this. I had no intention to deceive you…,” said Big Sister Ruan.

Mo Fan sighed. “Alright. I will help you. I will stop Boss Jin and his men. But you have to promise to take me to your island.”

Big Sister Ruan nodded. Mo Fan understood that it must have been very difficult to confide about such a violent past with a stranger. If he could find the totem, even just a carcass of it, this would all be still a worthwhile journey for him.

Chapter 2725: Mighty Cliff Demon King

At the walkway next to the woods, the Thundercat statue had already been loaded on the back of the huge, golden mammoth-like beast. Boss Jin and his men were about four or five hundred meters ahead of them.

But the golden mammoth-like beast had reached its limit. After walking a distance of four or five hundred meters, it slumped down on the ground with all the force of a crashing mountain.

“Boss Jin, the Thundercat statue is too heavy. It cannot carry the statue anymore,” said one of the hunters.

“It has to! Do you even know how much the statue is worth? It has taken us so much effort and energy to find the route to this city! Many of our men have perished! We can’t give up and return empty-handed now,” Boss Jin said in anger.

Boss Jin took out a long flaming whip and lashed at the golden mammoth-like beast’s head. It screamed in pain, struggling to get up.

It managed to barely stand when it fell down on the ground again. It fell down with such a force that its kneecaps shattered and blood gushed out. It was impossible for the golden mammoth-like beast to carry the statue.

“Worthless trash! Who can summon a stronger beast?” Boss Jin shouted at his men. “I will reward him with a tenth of the honorarium.”

“Let me try.” Mo Fan smiled and walked up to them.

“Are you a Summoning Element mage?” Boss Jin raised one of his eyebrows at Mo Fan.

“Yes. I’ve achieved Super Level,” said Mo Fan.

“Great! There is no point in working for those ladies. Come and work for me! I can make sure you get your share of ladies all year round,” said Boss Jin, roaring with laughter.

“This is my first time using the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower since I advanced to the Super Level. I am not sure what kind of beast might appear,” said Mo Fan, squaring his shoulders.

The Thousand Tribe Elf Tower was one of the summoning ancient magic portals in Super Level. A Super Level Summoning Element mage could summon from a pick of the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower, Wan Dragon Valley, and Mound of the Dead Beast.

There were many summoning vessels sold in the market. These vessels contained magical medium power and could be used to open special summoning ancient magic portals which helped to summon any ruler-level beasts from the ancient magic portal.

Regardless of whether the creatures were from the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower, Wan Dragon Valley, or Mound of the Dead Beast, they were all ruler-level. They would be different in temperament to Old wolf who came from a humble background and experienced so many hardships.

Mo Fan focused on opening the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower. He established a spiritual connection with the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower before deciding on summoning a ruler-level beast to fight for him.

“Kid, stop teasing me. I’ve seen many powerful mages before. How can you open an ancient magic portal without relying on any auxiliary means?” Boss Jin’s lips twitched.

“If you never try, you will never know,” said Mo Fan.

“Fine,” said Boss Jin, not really taking him seriously. “Go to that corner and try as much as you can.” He looked at another of his hunters. “Hey, you there! You are a Chaos Elemental mage, aren’t you? Find a way to make that damned statue lighter, will you?”

Boss Jin turned to yet another man. “Hey you! You are a Plant Element mage, aren’t you? Use some vines to hang the…”

While Boss Jin instructed his men, Mo Fan went to the side and began to experiment. Super-level Summoning Element Star Palace was not complicated. The most complicated part was to use his own spiritual force to open the ancient magic portal through the summoning beast plane.

Fortunately, Mo Fan had a black dragon horn helmet which increased his dragon senses in the spiritual realm by leaps and bounds. Otherwise, it would be a fool’s errand to open the ancient magic portal through the seven realms without experience.

…

The ancient magic portal – The Thousand Tribe Elf Tower!

Mo Fan took his own sweet time with the process. Star Palace itself was an extremely complicated casting process. If it had not been for the fact that he was a Super Level mage and had mastered many Super Level profound elements, it would have been extremely difficult for him to accurately articulate two thousand four hundred one star sons through ordinary mental faculty.

2

The process of controlling the star son itself was like arranging dominoes which required extremely powerful mental strength and long-term experience.

The methods of articulating, tracing, framing, and constructing Star Palace were not same every time. However, once the person strengthened his mental state, he would not be so helpless when creating the Star Palace from different elements. When advancing to Super Level, the first element Star Palace was the hardest to build. Skill came with practice.

The spirit summoning beast plane soon appeared before Mo Fan. The green mountains unfolded

before him layer by layer. The mountains stood in a vast expanse of primeval ancient forest. They were not scattered, but clustered together.

The outermost layer was surrounded by green mountains. The mountains joined together to form a ring that stood in the plain of dense forest.

Within the ring of green mountain range were purple-green mountains which were taller than the mountains at the outermost layer. These mountains joined together in a ring once more.

Within the inner ring, stood another batch of green mountains higher than the layer before them. The purple mountains were tall and rose above the clouds. The purple giant mountains were a thousand meters taller compared to the outermost layer of green mountains and purple-green mountain ranges.

On top of the purple giant mountain was a black-purple godly mountain. The godly mountain

consisted of many towering peaks. The cliff ridges blocked the view of the sky. Many formidable creatures hovered at the peaks.

The Thousand Tribe Elf Tower was made up of thousands of mountain peaks that joined together and formed a breathtaking view. The majestic and magnificent view was incomparable to anything found in the human world.

When Mo Fan opened the portal to the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower, he saw a dancing small dot on the cliff of the black-purple godly mountain with the help of his dragon sense. That small dot was a ruler-level creature.

Thousands of meters tall vines drooped on the cliff. The vines swayed in the strong breeze. When the clouds drifted by, a few elves with crystal wings glowed in the holy light. They flew with incredible speed. The jumping light faded from Mo Fan’s eyes.

‘I have to look for a beast with a sturdy body to move the Thundercat statue,’ thought Mo Fan.

Suddenly, a pair of eyes opened on the cliff. It seemed to notice Mo Fan and recognized him to be from another world. It fixed its gaze on him.

Mo Fan was taken aback. He looked carefully to find a Mighty Cliff Demon King with skin the color of the cliff looking back at him. It looked like a bare-handed rock-climbing extreme sportsman climbing higher towards the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower!

‘It is the king of the cliff, the elf of the rock! Perfect!’ thought Mo Fan.

“It’s you! Go, elfball!” he said.

1

Chapter 2726: Retreated by Force

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The ground shook violently. The dense forest was crumbling because of a powerful force. Branches, leaves, and roots flew in the air.

A black majestic creature with a faint purple ore luster split the soil open. The Mighty Cliff Demon King slowly uncurled itself out of the cracks. With its cliff boulder-like head, it looked down at the humans.

“Oh my god!” One of the hunters screamed. He fled into the woods.

Others were equally dumbfounded. Boss Jin was stunned as he stared at the Mighty Cliff Demon King. However, he held himself together better than the others. He noticed the fading white moonlight Star Palace pattern from the Mighty Cliff Demon King’

“Kid!” he turned to Mo Fan. “Never expected you to be such an expert!”

“It’s my first time,” Mo Fan said modestly. “I am still not very used to it.” He smiled.

“I will give you two-tenth of the honorarium to carry the Thundercat statue,” Boss Jin offered.

The Mighty Cliff Demon King was on an entirely different level compared to the golden mammoth-like beast. Boss Jin was aware that Mo Fan had summoned a ruler-level beast. The beast was of a high-class bloodline elemental elf creature!

Mo Fan pointed at the Thundercat statue. The Mighty Cliff Demon King obeyed without hesitation. It walked to the statue and picked it up with one hand. The Might Cliff Demon King had underestimated the weight of the Thundercat statue. The statue tiled to one side. The demon raised its other huge, rock hands and caught the statue.

Boss Jin smiled in satisfaction.

The Mighty Cliff Demon King placed the Thundercat statue on its shoulder and walked in the direction of the walkway. It carried the Thundercat statue like a pole. Even if it looked small, it seemed to be a bit heavy even for the Mighty Cliff Demon King

When the Mighty Cliff Demon King went back through the way the hunters had come, the smile on Boss Jin’s face disappeared. His face darkened. He looked angry. It had taken a lot of effort and a better part of their day to carry the Thundercat statue all the way from the small forest. They were close to the city entrance! But the Mighty Cliff Demon King had walked only a few steps and placed the statue where it had been before.

“Kid, what is the meaning of this?” thundered Boss Jin.

“Nothing. Someone offered me a higher pay to carry the statue back to its original place,” Mo Fan said bluntly.

“Oh, if I didn’t know better, I would have thought you had some beef to pick with me,” said Boss Jin, trying to keep his cool. “Just a change of employer then, is that it?”

“Yes. If you feel confident enough to fight the Mighty Cliff Demon King to get the statue back, be my guest,” said Mo Fan. “But if you feel like you can’t take it on, you can proceed on your way and find some other treasure to make up for the statue.”

The hunter group glanced at Boss Jin. They did not want to retreat but the enemy was too strong.

“Boss, this kid is trying to make a fool of us! Let’s not waste any more time and strike him!” said a buff man with red hair.

“Hmph! It’s not like we’ve never slaughtered a ruler-level beast before!” said another hunter.

Boss Jin raised his hand, signaling them to be quiet. Recklessness won’t help the situation.

“We want to carry the Flute Heron statue that we found before. Kid, do you have any qualms about that one?” asked Boss Jin.

Mo Fan smiled. “You can’t have any of the ancient statues, as a matter of fact.”

“Kid, who do you think you are?” said another hunter. “Just wait and…”

Boss Jin stopped him. “I wonder what those ladies have offered you. How about this? I will split fifty percent of the honorarium with you. It’s a very lucrative sum. It is certainly higher than what you have been offered.”

Mo Fan did not respond. The Mighty Cliff Demon King returned rumbling through the forest and stood by Mo Fan’s side like an enormous mountain with an imposing aura. The hunter group took a few steps back.

Mo Fan noticed that Boss Jin and a few of the hunters weren’t daunted by the Might Cliff Demon King. They must be Super Level mages themselves. The fact that they had made it to the Mingwu Ancient City safely proved that they were capable enough to fight demons.

Boss Jin shook his head. “Let’s go,” he said to his hunters.

“But why, Boss? If we all work together, I am sure we can take on that beast. It won’t be able to stop all of us at once!” said the red-haired, buff man.

“I said let’s go,” said Boss Jin. “We will survey the city and see what other treasures we can find.”

The rest did not go against Boss Jin’s words. They looked reluctant to give up the statues. They had been so close!

Mo Fan stood there and smiled as they left. Boss Jin turned back to Mo Fan and smiled.

“Kid, those ladies from Licheng Afterglow Island are not as simple and harmless as they look. If they are paying you well for it, I have no qualms about it. But if they have promised something else, be very wary. Don’t trust them,” said Boss Jin with an oily smile.

“Thank you so much for the warning.” Mo Fan smiled sweetly.

…

Boss Jin and the rest of his men, half-soaked in the sea water, walked despondently to the other side of the forest. They were displeased with Mo Fan’s intervention. But they had no intention of leaving Mingwu Ancient City yet.

“Boss Jin, why did we leave without a fight?” asked the red-haired, buff man. “The kid cannot possibly fight us all by himself!”

Boss Jin sneered. “What’s the hurry? I have been in this field of work for years now. No one has dared to rob me of my wares yet.”

“Boss Jin, does that mean you have a plan in mind?” asked one of the hunters. “Are you going to kill the kid once the Mighty Cliff Demon King disappears?”

“You all are fools! If you were in this business alone, you would have died many times by now,” said Boss Jin. “If that kid only had the Mighty Cliff Demon King, I would have slaughtered him right there.”

“Do you think he has other skills?” a hunter asked.

“The chances of a Summoning Element mage, who has just reached Super Level, successfully opening an ancient magic portal are one in a thousand. He succeeded on his first try. This means that he is not majoring in the Summoning Element alone. He has a relatively high level of spiritual realm,” Boss Jin said, his tone serious.

The rest understood Boss Jin’s implication.

“Are we going to just leave?” asked the red-haired, buff man.

“That kid is strong. We’ll wait for Boss Hai and his group. Once they are here, we’ll think of a hundred ways to get rid of him!” Boss Jin said.

Chapter 2727: Brother, You’re a Dragon Among Men

Mo Fan was a little disappointed. He had expected a fight. In fact, a fight would have given him an opportunity to understand and make use of the Mighty Cliff Demon King’s ability. Who would have thought Boss Jin would be so self-conscious?

Mo Fan knew he had exposed himself. He usually kept a very low profile. But he had revealed something from his words. He acted like an ordinary Super Level young mage. But he exuded an imposing aura even then and Boss Jin had taken the hint.

Mo Fan knew that it wouldn’t always work. He couldn’t choose to flee whenever he encountered somebody like Boss Jin every time.

But sometimes, Mo Fan had no choice.

He was like a rich man who chose to act like a common man when courting a common girl so that his wealth would not come between their true love. He would tell her that he only had a 140-square-foot house in the city. In the end, he would look like any ordinary poor man.

As a Super Level Summoning Element mage, Mo Fan had summoned the Mighty Cliff Demon King but he had yet to demonstrate his strongest ability. But it was still a bonus to have scared off people with his present power.

“I never expected you to be so powerful. You can even summon ruler-level beasts! Are all seven-star hunter masters this strong?” Shu Xiaohua stared at the Mighty Cliff Demon King in awe. She looked eager to play with it.

“Not all. I am the strongest among them,” Mo Fan said. He felt refreshed and happy at that moment so he blurted out the words.

“They haven’t left Mingwu Ancient City yet. Maybe they have other plans. We still have to be very careful,” said Big Sister Ruan in worry.

“How long will it take for your elders to arrive?” Mo Fan asked.

“They are already on their way. They will be here very soon.”

…

Mo Fan sat next to the Thundercat statue and relaxed. He felt very bored after a while. He decided to try fusion magic.

Fusion magic enabled different magic to fuse together. He wondered if he could fuse other elements with the Summoning element.

‘Which element is the best to fuse with the Summoning element?’ Mo Fan speculated.

If the Summoning element was fused with the Fire element, would the summoning creature be directional? Could he summon a certain ancient flaming elf from the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower?

If, instead, he fused it with the Lightning element, would he be able to summon a powerful creature with lightning power?

1

The Thousand Tribe Elf Tower embraced randomness. There was always a possibility of failing to summon the beasts. The beasts with the greatest strength remained on top of the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower, while the Mighty Cliff Demon King was regarded as a creature with the lowest strength among them. The higher the beasts were on the tower, the more difficult it was to summon them.

Mo Fan was not particularly powerful in his summoning element. A high level of spiritual force could increase Mo Fan’s success rate in summoning a beast. If he wanted to summon a stronger ancient beast from the ancient magic portal, he would have to continue to upgrade his Super Level Summoning element.

His level of cultivation was the determining factor in summoning any kind of beasts. He wondered

what would happen if he fused Fire with Lightning elements?

He had many questions. If he fused, would the summoning verdict randomly select ancient beast based on the Summoning element? Or, would it summon Lightning or Fire elemental beasts? Or, would the beast be a combination of both the elements?

Mo Fan decided to just give it a try. He crouched down. He put on his fusion gloves and began to use the Lightning element with his left hand, while he used his other hand to open a dimensional ancient magic portal.

Mo Fan was a little excited. No one had ever mastered fusion magic therefore there was no one he could look up to. If he succeeded, this would mean that he could summon stronger and unique ancient beasts from the Wan Dragon Valley or Mound of the Dead Beast as a Super Level Summoning element novice mage!

…

Inside the banana grove, several blue-clad men approached the Golden Sea Hunter Group. They looked solemn but their gazes were razor-sharp.

“Brother, that’s the kid. He is a Summoning element mage. He summoned an ancient rock elf – Mighty Cliff Demon King,” said Boss Jin as he pushed the banana leaves aside and pointed at Mo Fan, who was sitting on the ground.

“How dare the young man act so arrogantly?!” said Hai Huodao.

Most hunter groups who were active in the Fujian area were aware of the Golden Sea Hunter Group. Boss Jin was especially notorious for his sneaky plots and tricks. Meanwhile, Hai Huodao was a man who believed in solving issues by brute force. He was known for his ruthlessness.

Hai Huodao had a few men with him. They weren’t inferior to Boss Jin in strength.

“He must have been bewitched by the ladies from Licheng Afterglow Island. He suddenly became arrogant.” Boss Jin snorted.

“The ladies from Licheng Afterglow Island?” Hai Huodao frowned.

“Don’t worry about them. It seems they were just here for their training. We haven’t seen their elders here,” said Boss Jin.

“Even if

they are here, we have no reason to be afraid of them.”

“Let’s go

and take down that kid!”

…

Hai Huodao led the way. The blue-clad hunters were quiet. In contrast, Boss Jin’s men were very talkative. Some of them passed inappropriate remarks against the ladies from Licheng Afterglow Island and laughed.

“Kid, we meet again…” Boss Jin approached Mo Fan with a spiteful look.

However, before Boss Jin could complete his words, he saw a ferocious creature made up of lightning just behind Mo Fan.

The violent lightning element creature was about as large as the Mighty Cliff Demon King. But it was only half a meter taller than an average human.

Its head constantly flashed with a purple lightning crown. Its lightning-like face revealed unemotional eyes. It was draped with a cloak from shoulders to ankle, looking like a European pope standing upright.

“It’s R-Raiju!”

The Thousand Tribe Elf Tower was an ancient tower that towered to the highest point of the vault of heaven. The air in the highest point of the vault of heaven was extremely turbulent, and that the lightning of the vault of heaven was the most turbulent of all.

Raiju was an ancient element created in the highest point of the vault of heaven. Its lightning served as a forbidden warning that killed those creatures which had no right to join the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower. Its lightning struck any wandering creature onto the cliff, and the creature died because of a fatal blow.

Hai Huodao was also a Summoning element mage. He had some understanding of how the ancient magic portal worked.

The pope-like Raiju stood beside the young man, giving off an intimidating aura than even most ancestor-level creatures!

1

“Boss Jin, why are you here again? Are you still annoyed by what happened then?” asked Mo Fan with a sweet smile.

He had been so focused on opening the ancient magical portal that he had missed the arrival of Boss Jin and his men. This time, Boss Jin did not have a large group of hunters with him. Instead, he had fewer men with very high level of cultivation.

Boss Jin was at a loss for words. He glanced at Hai Huodao.

Before this, Hai Huodao intended to confront Mo Fan without any mercy. But after seeing this, he had a sudden change in attitude.

“Why would we be annoyed at you over such a trivial matter?” he said with a radiant smile. “I heard from Brother Jin that you are an outstanding Summoning element mage. So, I had to meet you personally. Brother, you look very spirited for someone so young. You are a dragon among men!”

Chapter 2728: Ancient Raiju

The Golden Sea Hunter Group looked strangely at Hai Huodao. He had made such a sudden change in his approach. Didn’t he say that he wanted to shred Mo Fan from limb to limb and throw him in the sea for the sharks?

Hai Huodao had called this kid ‘spirited’ and called him a dragon among men. Everyone wondered how Hai Huodao, a cold-blooded executioner, had become so cunning. Wasn’t Boss Jin the shrewd and calculative one?

Hai Huodao’s hunters forced an amiable smile when they saw Mo Fan. The same kind of polite and embarrassed smile that appeared on someone’s face when their parents forced them to get acquainted with a distant relative.

“Oh? If I didn’t know better, I would have assumed you gathered your men to take me on. A little disappointing. I wanted to test the ability of this ancient elf.” Mo Fan sighed.

“Brother, I am also a Summoning element mage! I know I am not in a position to advise you but I must say that I understand the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower very well indeed. If Raiju is placed in a superior environment, its strength is not inferior to an average ruler. Hehe!” Hai Huodao smiled.

Boss Jin’s expression changed after hearing Hai Huodao’s words as did the hunters who came with them. They tried to appear sheepish and innocent.

“I always thought that lightning storms were common in this area. There should be a very strong Lightning element around here. Are you saying that Raiju can demonstrate the power of an average ruler?” Mo Fan asked.

Hai Huodao had broken out in cold sweat which slid down all the way to his spine. “That’s right, that’s right. It’s our pleasure to meet with such a young, handsome, and talented man like you. Brother, should you need any help in the future, just let me know. If there’s nothing else, we’ll leave now…”

Mo Fan glanced at Hai Huodao and then at Boss Jin. He sighed. ‘Since they are being so polite and well-mannered, I can’t possibly insist on fighting them,’ thought Mo Fan. ‘Such a waste.’

“Of course,” said Mo Fan. “Go on, then. It’s very nice to meet you all.” He waved at them.

The Golden Sea Hunter Group was relieved. They smiled and waved as they neared the woods. They were relieved and they never wanted to show their faces here again.

After they left, Shu Xiaohua walked to Mo Fan. “So, the hunters are actually nice people,” she said. “I thought they were here to cause trouble. Big Sister Ying is right. You should never judge a book by its cover. Boss Jin and Boss Hai looked so intimidating, but they were so nice and polite.”

Mo Fan nodded. “Indeed,” he said, “There are many nice people in the world.”

Mo Fan glanced at the pope-like elf flashing with lightning from its head to toe. He felt mixed emotions looking at it. He wanted to keep a low profile and yet he wasn’t able to control himself.

Mo Fan sighed. If this went on, he would never get around to perfecting his other elements. He rubbed his temple. Maybe it was time to return to Dean Xiao for another round of intense training. Dean Xiao could seal his major elements leaving him with no choice but to improve the ones which weren’t sealed.

“Howl! Howl!”

The Royal Pattern Wolf returned to Mo Fan and howled incessantly.

“Have you found the creature that killed the Copper-horned Yak?” Mo Fan’s eyes lit up.

“Howl!” The Royal Pattern Wolf howled in affirmation.

“Go after it! I’m going to slaughter it and offer its head to the Copper-horned Yak!” Mo Fan said furiously.

Mo Fan was irritated that he could not find a suitable enemy to test Raiju’s abilities. He thought the Royal Pattern Wolf had returned to its mother. But here he was! It hadn’t forgotten the murder of Copper-horned Yak.

…

Mo Fan followed Old Wolf and chased after the predator. Raiju floated after them.

The Royal Pattern Wolf led Mo Fan to the seaside. It was actually half of the ancient city which had become submerged. The houses and streets were visible below the water, covered with seaweed and water ferns.

The Royal Pattern Wolf became more cautious. Mo Fan also became more vigilant. Their opponent was extremely evasive so they must take care not to alert it. It would be very difficult to find it again if they scared it away.

As the water receded in waves, the roof of some of the houses came into view. The roof was covered in green muck. Mo Fan wondered about their past inhabitants.

A sea-lion was lying on the roof. Its claws were long like a leopard’s. Its tail curved into a weapon which looked very sharp. It moved its tail back and forth leisurely.

1

Mo Fan recalled the slash on Copper-horned Yak’s stomach. He thought that it had been gnashed by claws. But he now realized that Copper-horned Yak’s stomach was sliced open by that anchor-like sharp tail.

“That accursed creature is sunbathing and enjoying itself!” Mo Fan scowled.

A sea beast’s carcass lay near the creature. Fresh blood gushed out of it. The creature faced the sea. It occasionally leaned down to take a fresh bite out of the carcass.

“Buzz!” The air vibrated with heavy electromagnetism as Raiju floated behind Mo Fan. Apparently, the creature could not disguise itself or remain quiet, for that matter.

Raiju sensed Mo Fan’s murderous intent. The lightning cloak, draped from its shoulder to toe, opened slightly, as if the pope was enlightened by God’s words.

Its impassive eyes flashed. The clear sky turned cloudy. Raiju’s ancient elf magical cloak shaded the afternoon sun. The light dimmed.

A crack of lightning arched across the dim sky and lit it up with a thunderous roar.

The anchor-tailed sea lion raised its head. It often came to this place and lightning in this place was common. It didn’t pay much attention to the crackling lightning. But when the lightning struck the sea and snaked towards it, the anchor-tailed sea lion finally realized that the lightning was after him. It fled so fast that it was almost a blur.

“Stop it!” Mo Fan hissed at Raiju.

Raiju did not stop. It manipulated the lightning into a fence which blocked the anchor-tailed sea lion’s escape, forcing it to retreat to where it had run from.

Whenever it tried to turn and escape from the other side, the lightning stopped it in its tracks.

Chapter 2729: Absolute Loyalty

Raiju was truly powerful. The lightning struck the anchor-tailed sea causing its flesh to sear and burn. The smell of cooked meat filled the air.

The anchor-tailed sea lion groaned in agony. It rolled and attempted to escape into the sea water. The lightning had struck the sea and heated it up to its boiling point. The blazing white lightning intertwined and erupted blocking every route of escape.

The anchor-tailed sea lion could not endure the blazing white lightning storm, so it jumped out of the sea water again. It moved extremely fast, manifesting hundreds of afterimages. Its razor-sharp anchor-like blade was distinct.

The anchor-tailed sea lion knew it could not escape so it made its way towards Raiju. It decided to kill Raiju before it died.

Raiju’s face was hidden in the middle of the haze created by the flashing lightning. Only its impassive eyes were visible. Its eyes shone with arrogance and disdain.

Bam!

Raiju lifted its hand. A string of lightning with ancient inscriptions darted out of its cloak. It uncurled from the robe like a white python and lunged at the creature.

Raiju was tremendously powerful. Mo Fan sensed the vibration because he stood near Raiju. He felt that the space was being ripped apart.

Bam!

Although the anchor-tailed sea lion had countless afterimages, Raiju was able to locate its true form. A white python-like lightning struck the anchor-tailed sea lion and sent it flying.

The anchor-tailed sea lion’s head smashed open and blood gushed out. It fell in the shallow seawater. It squirmed and struggled as if it wasn’t ready for its own death.

Mo Fan was perplexed. Royal Pattern Wolf’s mouth was open in awe. It glanced at Mo Fan. It had taken such pain to rise to ruler-level. Watching Raiju, it felt anxious that Mo Fan would abandon it and choose this powerful creature to be by his side.

Despite being a high-class bloodline wolf, the Royal Pattern Wolf accepted the fact that Little Flame Belle was stronger than it and was often in the lead. But it was hard to accept that a random elemental summoning beast was this powerful!

The Royal Pattern Wolf was sure that if Raiju’s python-like lightning struck it, it wouldn’t survive at all.

Royal Pattern Wolf had secretly gloated at Copper-horned yak’s death. After witnessing Raiju’s strength, it felt that an inevitable doom was creeping its way.

“Uh… Well done! You’re very powerful. You can go back and rest.” Mo Fan tried to regain his composure.

The proud Raiju did not respond. It casually opened the ancient magic portal and flashed through it to the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower exuding nobility and elegance.

Riaju, before leaving, had told Mo Fan about such anchor-tailed sea lions appearing frequently at the peak of the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower which it guarded, and how it had to execute them annually.

The air was filled with a burnt smell. The anchor-tailed sea lion was not an ordinary demon. Even Mo Fan had no idea what kind of species it belonged to. But one thing was clear, the anchor-tailed sea lion was at least a low ruler.

To Raiju, the anchor-tailed sea lion was no different from a fat little sea lion. Raiju had effortlessly killed it with a chain lightning strike.

…

Nonetheless, the anchor-tailed sea lion was a ruler-level demon. Its skin would certainly fetch some money. Besides, its anchor-like tail was very unique. Mo Fan could take it back to create higher level deathstrike magic equipment and armored blade magic equipment.

Anchor-tailed sea lion was an Ocean Demon, too. So, its dirty crystal was also very valuable. Mo Fan walked up to its carcass and instructed Old Wolf to dissect valuable parts of the creature’s body.

As Old Wolf went close to the anchor-tailed sea lion, it raised its claws. Mo Fan had instructed Old Wolf to get him its tail first. But now, that same tail swung into an arch towards Mo Fan.

It swung towards Mo Fan’s neck. He was unprepared to defend himself. Royal Pattern Wolf charged towards Mo Fan before the tail could behead him and blocked the strike with its back.

Blood spurted all over Mo Fan. In the middle of the chaos, Mo Fan saw the anchor-tailed sea lion, with the smashed head, staggered and fled. Its skin changed into the color of sea water. Mo Fan blinked. The creature had gone under water and was no longer visible.

Mo Fan was furious. He wanted to chase after it but he heard Royal Pattern Wolf groaning in pain. It was more important to tend to it right now.

“Why did you have to defend me?! Didn’t you think I could have handled it?” shouted Mo fan, more worried than annoyed. He treated Old Wolf’s wounds.

Fortunately, Mo Fan always carried plenty of miracle substances with him. He took out a potion that Xinxia had personally created, adding Life Blessing to it. He poured the potion on Old Wolf’s back.

The creature’s tail was very sharp. The Royal Pattern Wolf was a ruler-level beast. The star pattern fur on its body came with a natural fortitude that could withstand many powerful magic and sharp weapons. Still, the creature had slashed and cut Royal Pattern Wolf’s coat with ease, exposing its bones.

The Royal Pattern Wolf wailed in agony. “Shh… don’t move. Otherwise, you will die,” said Mo Fan as he pressed it down.

Mo Fan chastised the Royal Pattern Wolf but he was very touched that it had defended him by risking its own life.

When he was at the freshman meeting at Pearl Institute, Old Wolf had used its body to fend off Mu Nujiao’s wind disc. It had gotten severely injured but it had bought Mo Fan enough time to cast a counterspell. Mo Fan was grateful that Old Wolf was very loyal to him even after all these years.

Even if Mo Fan had been caught off guard, he would not have died by the attack. His current spiritual realm was so high that he could have solidified or slowed down an attack just from focusing his mind on it.

Old Wolf’s sacrifice was very moving yet unnecessary. But the fact remained that the Ocean Demons were ferocious and wicked. They possessed a variety of strange abilities. Mo Fan might really might be harmed someday if he wasn’t careful. Having a loyal dimensional beast like Old Wolf definitely made him feel more safe and secure.

When Royal Pattern Wolf was finally in a stable condition, countless green star bugs rose from its fur in a swarm and flew to the surrounding bushes and plants.

When these green star bugs settled on these plants, they sucked the life force out of them. They then returned to Royal Pattern Wolf. As they settled in its fur, Royal pattern Wolf’s flesh grew back. The wound began to heal.

Chapter 2730: Mo Fan, The Hardworking Bee

As more and more green star bugs returned, Royal Pattern Wolf’s wound healed faster. Mo Fan was delighted.

“It looks like you have finally inherited the ability of that female wolf king!” Mo Fan exclaimed in disbelief.

The Royal Pattern Wolf nodded.

Unfortunately, there were only plants in the surroundings. There was too little life force that could be sucked from the plants. If there were any demons present, Royal Pattern Wolf would have recovered sooner.

1

“I don’t think there are any demons in Mingwu Ancient City. I’ll send you back to the summoning beast plane. I remember when I summoned the Copper-horned Yak, its companions were gnawed by a group of Evil Rat Demon. It’s time for you to eat the Evil Rat Demons as nourishment,” Mo Fan said.

Evil Rat Demons lived in groups. They basically had ten thousand creatures in a pack. When they attacked, they moved like a violent tide and wiped out everything on the plains, leaving not even a single blade of grass behind.

When Mo Fan summoned the Copper-horned Yak, he had seen them. The Copper-horned Yak which he had summoned had avoided the Evil Rat Demons by sheer luck. However, the Copper-horned Yak’s other family members had been devoured by the Evil Rat Demons. It was time for the Old Wolf to return and destroy them.

“Howl!” Old Wolf howled. It sounded like it had some of its energy back.

“Don’t worry, I won’t spare that son of b*tch!” Mo Fan was infuriated.

One of his dimensional beasts had died. The other one had barely survived. Although it wasn’t Mo Fan’s fault for not being able to guess that that creature could still attack after its head was smashed, he still felt responsible. He was peeved that it had gotten away!

‘Was that creature truly a sea lion?’ wondered Mo Fan.

“I underestimated a low ruler.” Mo Fan took a deep breath.

Regardless of whether the demons were classified as low ruler, average ruler, great ruler, or supreme ruler class, most of the ruler-level creatures stood out from others. They were very powerful in terms of their strength alone.

Some dark, wicked ruler-level creatures had their own means of survival. They always surprised their opponents with unexpected comebacks or attacks unless they were beheaded.

‘A ruler-level demon is already this powerful. I wonder how much more powerful an emperor-level demon might be,’ thought Mo Fan. He recalled a conversation with Commander Hua about the mastermind behind the Monstrous Claw Emperor. Mo Fan was worried about him.

…

The anchor-tailed sea lion had fled. But it was severely wounded. It decided to hide within Mingwu Ancient City since it had lost its head.

The area outside of Mingwu Ancient City was even more dangerous, especially because of the ocean demons that roamed on dry lands. If the wounded anchor-tailed sea lion stepped outside the city, the other creatures would smell it, and the anchor-tailed sea lion would end up being chased and eaten.

It was a severely wounded ruler demon. A ruler was considered valuable to peak commanders, demon hordes, and ocean demons alike. Unless the anchor-tailed sea lion was confident of killing its way to safety from the surrounding predators, it could only hide in Mingwu Ancient City until it healed or at least for the time it took for its head to grow back.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan wondered if an anchor-tailed sea lion was capable of regrowing its head.

…

As Mo Fan walked back through the streets of Mingwu Ancient City, he pondered on the issue of fusion summoning. He had tried the impossible and found out that fusion summoning existed! He might be the first person to ever succeed!

He had learnt that fusion summoning did not just fuse with a particular element to choose a direction of summoning. But both elements had fused and selected a beast of the highest level.

Mo Fan had fused the Summoning element with the Lightning element.

He had reached Super Level second grade bottleneck for his Lightning element cultivation. After he fused his lightning element with his summoning element first grade, his power was determined as Super Level third grade.

Not just anybody could summon Raiju. Only a Super Level third grade mage was able to summon it. Mo Fan had succeeded!

Level of cultivation determined the elf’s ranking in the ancient magic portal. And one’s spiritual realm determined the success rate of summoning.

Luckily, Mo Fan’s dragon sense and his own spiritual realm had enabled him to achieve the eighth realm. Achieving the eighth realm granted Mo Fan a higher success rate in summoning a powerful elemental creature such as Raiju.

‘But I must achieve the Summoning element second grade to open Wan Dragon Valley. Or I can use the loophole... I can use fusion summoning to summon a higher level of ancient giant dragon.’

Raiju from the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower was not the highest grade. There were many elf kings above Raiju. Raiju was just a powerful guardian keeping the peace of the elf kings.

If Mo Fan’s Lightning, Fire, Earth, and his other elements achieved Super Level peak, he could summon the elf kings!

It was best if his spiritual level could reach the ninth realm by then. The chance of summoning elf kings with an eighth realm was very low. He had to continue upgrading his summoning element if he wanted to open portals to Wan Dragon Valley and Mound of the Dead Beast.

If there came a time where he had to confront people like Zhao Jing and his army, he could summon an ancient ruler-level dragon, or a sphinx, skeletal crannies, mountain peak corpse from Mound of Dead Beast which are all at ruler-level. He could summon all of them and let them fight his enemies to death while he enjoyed steamboats and singsongs.

He felt like he needed to increase his level of cultivation no matter what. He had to work harder. Mo Fan had achieved Super Level on all his eight elements. Mo Fan felt like a hardworking bee buried in a flowerbed working hard to evenly distribute the dews.

He sometimes compared himself to an ox standing on a vast expanse of land and plowing it diligently. The harder he worked, the more bountiful the harvest would be.

Mo Fan was like a vast agricultural land filled with plenty of flowers. Even though he needed to work harder than others, his harvest was more plentiful than the rest.

As he compared himself to many things, he felt that visiting Licheng Afterglow Island had become a matter of utmost importance. Mo Fan felt the need to improve his cultivation regardless of the totem or Lichen Afterglow Island.

…

Mo Fan returned to the place where the ancient statues were expecting to reunite with the young women from Licheng Afterglow Island.

He hadn’t left them alone for long. He supposed that the Golden Sea Hunter group would not return to cause trouble. Besides, the Thundercat and Flute Heron statues were too heavy for them to carry.

1

When Mo Fan arrived at the grove, there was no one there. He frowned. ‘Where are the ladies?’ he thought as he looked around. He had informed them to wait for him right here. He hadn’t drawn a circle of protection around them thinking the statues would protect them from demons.

He turned to the statues. The Thundercat and Flute Heron statues were nowhere. The ladies had disappeared too. Mo Fan was offended. Those b*stards had stolen the statues and kidnapped the ladies!

“D*mn it!” he cursed. He should have remembered that there were other forces in Mingwu Ancient City besides the demons. Those b*stards had taken advantage of his absence and pilfered the statues and abducted the ladies.

Chapter 2731: Bewitching Female Spider

Fortunately, Mo Fan was always prepared. He had deliberately left Darkness Seals on several girls from Licheng Afterglow Island.

Bei Jiang’s Black Substance was indeed an incomparably powerful ability, and it was very practical, too. It was basically another eye he could use to track creatures or even people. His target couldn’t evade him easily as long as the Darkness Seal held.

Mo Fan closed his eyes, and the whole world turned gray-black. The dark vein surged. It could strengthen Mo Fan’s ability to search for the Darkness Seals. Sometimes if the target was too far away, the Darkness Seals would weaken and scatter. Mo Fan had to carefully look for the faint Black Substances if that was the case.

“That’s weird… why can’t I find them anywhere?” muttered Mo Fan. “It’s impossible for them to travel very far in such a short time. It is unlikely that they have left Mingwu Ancient City.”

‘Could there be a Light Element Mage with them who noticed the Black Substances and removed my Darkness Seals?’ He thought. ‘They must be masters at this!’

Mo Fan was deep in thought. Mo Fan’s Black Substance was of very high quality. Although all his other elements were enhanced by fifty percent after he obtained the darkness source, the Black Substance had benefited even more from it.

The Darkness seals were usually hidden very deeply, so not everyone could notice it. If a Light Element Mage had managed to detect and remove the seals, then they must indeed be of very high cultivation realm!

Mo Fan walked around the walkway. He noticed that several other statues were missing, too.

Although the other statues had much weaker aura than the Thundercat and Flute Heron statues, they were still keeping the demons away. Those statues were invaluable.

Mo Fan wondered who in that hunter group was so powerful to take away several heavy statues in such a short period of time.

“Squeak. Squeak. Squeak.”

Yellowish-green vines slithered out slowly like poisonous snakes in the grass by his feet. The coconut tree in front of him was covered in thick spider webs. The thickness of them was so much that Mo Fan couldn’t even see the road ahead. More than a dozen fist-sized spiders were hard at work weaving thick webs. Mo Fan felt sick to his stomach watching them.

The air was filled with strange, sinister sounds. Mo Fan glanced down at his feet. The vines had almost reached his ankles. If he remained there, the vines looked as if they would soon climb up along his feet!

Weeds grew wildly, vines slithered and intertwined, and trees seemed to thicken. Mingwu Ancient City was so tranquil just moments ago, but now it suddenly began to change. It was as if ten years had passed in this place. It looked wild and primitive and continued to grow.

Mo Fan was shocked. He realized that this city would be no different from the overgrown and horrifying ecosystem he had seen outside now that the statues were gone. The statues had kept everything at bay. Without their protection, the plants and trees grew with a vengeance. It was as if a powerful Mage had cursed the city.

Mo Fan tried not to think about it. He left the city. Both the statue and the ladies from Lichen Afterglow Island were gone, he saw no reason to stay here any longer.

When he arrived at the city gate, he found it covered densely in spider webs. They glowed with a silver light. The webs looked like a giant chrysalis covering the entirety of Mingwu Ancient City. It did not even look like an exit anymore. It looked like a threatening and terrifying ancient magic nest.

Some Crimson Cloud-Eyed Spiders crawled on the silver web watching for those who would wander into their trap.

“Hiss,” came a soft sound from behind Mo Fan.

A female demon with claws, which looked like a spider from the waist down, approached him. It had three tongues. They lashed out like snakes. The sounds it made were so soft that average humans would have been caught by surprise. As it approached, the demonic face cracked into a smile.

Mo Fan turned around right on time and smiled back. His dark-brown eyes became cloudy. The Bewitching Female Spider was startled. It was about to turn around and escape, but all its claws were pinned down by several Giant Shadow Spikes that appeared from behind Mo Fan’s shoulders.

The Bewitching Female Spider lay on the silver spider web like a specimen. It struggled but was unable to escape.

“In the entire Mingwu Ancient City, only your little spiders are active. They are crawling everywhere…” Mo Fan stepped forward.

“Hiss!” The Bewitching Female Spider continued to struggle. It opened its mouth to spray venom at Mo Fan.

“You better think carefully about that. If you answer my question honestly, I may let you go. If you spray venom at me, I’ll cut you into pieces!” Mo Fan raised his hand, poised to throw a spinning blade from his sleeve.

It was the power of the Chaos, an attack method produced by tearing the dimension apart. It pierced through everything, even protection equipment. The Bewitching Female Spider had poisonous and outrageously strong armor, but it would be easy for Mo Fan to slice through it with his Chaos Element magic.

Commander -level creatures had some form of intelligence. This spider was peak Commander-level at that. It was a female demon with human lineage. It was more vicious, but Mo Fan knew that it could understand him very well.

The Bewitching Female Spider became obedient. It knew it could not win against Mo Fan. To him, killing this spider was not any different from stepping on a small pesky spider in the forest.

“Did you see me pass through here with a group of women?” Mo Fan asked.

“Hiss. Hiss. Hiss.”

“Apas, wake up. Translate for me.” Mo Fan called.

Apas curled up her soft little body and made herself comfortable in her nest in the Contracted Space. She did not have any intention of waking up at his summons.

“I am going to come there and spank you, you know,” said Mo Fan.

“It says that it saw them with you,” said Apas softly, still drowsy with sleep.

“Did it see them again?” Mo Fan asked.

When Mo Fan talked to Apas through a gap in the Contracted Space, the Bewitching Female Spider could smell the female demon. It was so frightening that the female spider almost fainted.

“They left towards the Coconut Sea,” Apas said impatiently. She really wanted to go back to sleep.

“I didn’t even … how do you know? Don’t you fool me.” Mo Fan raised his hand prepared to barge into Apas’ nest.

“There’s no need to interrogate such a weak demon. You can just search its memory!” said Apas sharply. She looked at Mo Fan in displeasure with a pair of bright eyes with a tinge of gold.

“Oh, you’re right. Since you’re awake, you should go out and take a walk. Don’t sleep all day. Look at your slender waist. You’re about to get love handles,” Mo Fan said.

1

Chapter 2732: Green East Sea God

Apas listened to Mo Fan. She jumped out and turned around. Mo Fan had casually told her that her waist was fattening but Apas was horrified. She lifted her clothes and looked at her waist.

Her slender waist was obviously still slender. She was perfect enough to make other women jealous and men obsessed. But Apas wouldn’t have any of it. She disliked flaws in her appearance.

Mo Fan cleared his throat at Apas. “We still have things to take care of,” he said, stopping her from raising her clothes any higher.

Apas was very energetic now. She was determined to move around and abandon her hibernation.

With Apas there, the Bewitching Female Spider became more forthcoming. It told them everything it had seen and even instructed its little spiders to scan the perimeter inside and outside of Mingwu Ancient City to help Mo Fan track the statues and the young women from Lichen Afterglow Island.

Those Crimson Cloud-Eyed Spiders were the informers of the Bewitching Female Spider. They were very good at finding things out.

“You don’t have to follow us,” said Apas in disgust. “Just instruct your little spiders to lead the way.”

“Hiss…”

“By the way, tell your little spiders to keep an eye out for a sea lion.”

…

The Bewitching Female Spider had instructed the Cloud-Eyed Spiders to fan out and scan the area. When Mo Fan and Apas made their way towards the Coconut Forest Sea, a few spiders appeared occasionally to point the way.

“They took the statues and the girls. How are they able to move so fast? Don’t tell me…” Mo Fan realized something was wrong.

…

Even after they walked for quite a while, they could see so many spiders in every direction. Mo Fan admired the Bewitching Female Spider for covering a wide area with her spiders.

“Do you think that’s them?” Apas had good eyesight. She saw a group of people standing on top of a sea cliff that looked like a long tongue.

“I think so.”

Mo Fan and Apas speeded up and reached the sea cliff. The people looked at him with hostility.

‘I knew it…’Mo Fan’s face was stiff. He looked at the people gathered there.

He easily recognized the girls from Lichen Afterglow Island. Big Sister Ruan, Le Nan, Shu Xiaohua, Big Sister Ying, Du Mei, and Pu Ling were all here.

He had been worried about them. He had expected the girls to be tied up. He could have beaten the bad guys, rescued them and restored the statues so that Mingwu Ancient City could enjoy the tranquility it had enjoyed before all this. Besides, he had

Most of the time, Mo Fan wanted to think about everything positively from the bottom of his heart.

He also hoped the girls from Licheng Afterglow Island would be tied up and coerced when he arrived on this sea cliff. It allowed him to beat the bad guys who bullied them, rescue them, and return the ancient statues to restore the tranquility Mingwu Ancient City once had. Besides, he had hoped that this would allow him entry to the Lichen Afterglow island to find the totem and to improve his cultivation.

Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out the way he wanted.

He was glad that they were safe and there wasn’t anyone around who could harm them. He saw two unfamiliar people with the same unique attire standing by the girls. One of them was clad in dark-green clothes and the other in dark-blue.

The woman in dark-green was donned in a hat, turban, necklace, and trousers that were all the same color. Even the jewelry on her chest and waist was dark-green in color.

Another woman was donned entirely in dark-blue. He looked regal and cold. Her turban did not cover her forehead, the bridge of her nose and her chin. She wasn’t as young as the others.

“Who is he?” the elder in dark-green asked sternly.

“H-He is the hunter we hired.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to have contact with outsiders?” The elder in dark-green looked very strict. The girls from Licheng Afterglow Island were scared of her.

“Let’s leave quickly and not cause any more trouble,” said the elder in dark-blue.

She uttered a long chant while facing the turbulent ocean. In the thick dark clouds, a black shadow appeared with flashing lightning. It hovered over the women from Licheng Afterglow Island.

The figure in the was East Sea God. It was a huge black figure with white head and a white tail. The silver chains shone on its body. Those chains constantly flashed with electric light.

The silver chains seemed as if it had all the lightning of the earth. The light generated a violent flash of electricity, which hit the surrounding rocks. The rocks were pulverized with the force.

The silver chains were dazzling. It made the majestic Green East Sea God appear more formidable. It hovered over their heads and the aura it exuded evoked a fear of the divine.

Apas turned pale. She didn’t look as energetic as before. She grabbed Mo Fan’s arm and hid behind him like a scared little girl.

Mo Fan knew that the Green East Sea God was not an ordinary creature. But something was suppressing its power. It was a beast locked in a cage.

“Can you fight it?” asked Mo Fan in a low voice.

Apas shook her head. Her eyes were fearful. Mo Fan glanced at Apas and then at the Green East Sea God.

Mo Fan came to realize that Apas wasn’t just scared of it because of the East Sea God’s power. Apas was a snake woman. She was Medusa. The Green East Sea God was an eagle. Her natural predator.

Besides, the Green East Sea God was not an ordinary eagle. It was the god of eagles. It had a sacred aura and the power of lightning which might even surpass Apas’ demonic nature.

“Boom! Boom!”

Thick clouds covered the sky. The clouds were so thick that they seemed to ooze down and touch the sea.

Not long ago, this sky was so clear. Now, the pressure and humidity from the clouds made it hard to even breathe. It seemed as if oxygen was running out.

“Let’s go,” the elder in dark-blue said to the girls from Lichen Afterglow Island who had traveled with Mo Fan some time ago.

The girls from Licheng Afterglow Island jumped on the back of the Green East Sea God one after the other. Shu Xiaohua, who was still on the cliff, turned to Mo Fan.

“Master, thank you for helping us,” she said. “If Boss Jin and the others had stolen even one of the ancient statues, we would not have been able to take them back to Licheng Afterglow Island.”

“So, you lied to me again?” said Mo Fan with a bitter laugh.

“We didn’t lie to you,” said Shu Xiaohua. “We just made sure that other people wouldn’t steal the ancient statues, but we didn’t say we wouldn’t take them.”

“What about God’s condemnation?” Mo Fan asked.

He looked up at the sky and saw that the dense cloud had begun to shimmer and crackle with lightning. Although they looked weak and far away for now, he still could feel their intent and their terrifying aura.

God’s condemnation did exist.

He had never seen a Lightning Element this strong. It was as if a demonic dragon imprisoned in the sea for tens of thousands of years had awakened and occupied this vast wetland.

“That’s why we’re running away…,” said Shu Xiaohua.

“There are still many living people in the Northguard Fortress.”

“It’s up to you, Master. Will you go back and inform them to defend themselves, or will you come after us to get your revenge? Hahaha…” Shu Xiaohua’s laughter became weaker and weaker until it trailed off.

Mo Fan looked at the Green East Sea God that still hovered in the sky. Those silver chains protected them from being attacked by the flying lightning bolts.

Mo Fan did not chase after them. If he did not return to the Northguard Fortress to warn the people there, God’s condemnation would kill them all.

Mo Fan remembered getting injured by those lightning bolts a little while back. If it could hurt him that badly, many people at the Fortress did not have a chance to survive.

These girls from Licheng Afterglow Island were evil!

…

“Little Loach, I have delicious food for you,” Mo Fan said.

The spiritual land of cultivation of Licheng Afterglow Island definitely existed, and Mo Fan could not stop thinking about it.

Mayne he would not get to cultivate on that island to have a profound effect on his abilities, but Mo Fan could not let this go.

If they were going to be this heartless, they should not expect him to stay loyal, either.

Chapter 2733: Femme Fatale

The elders from Licheng Afterglow Island had stolen a statue before in their selfishness and risked many lives. They had then blamed the totem and moved to the island that now was called Licheng Afterglow Island.

Mo Fan had believed them when Big Sister Ruan and Shu Xiaohua had told him the story. But now when he thought about it, he should not have. Mo Fan shouldn’t have believed their story about their attempt at redemption.

They had shown regret and led Mo Fan to believe that they did not want to make the same mistake. They even pretended to advise the hunters not to covet these statues and sought his help to stop them from stealing and jeopardizing Mingwu Ancient City.

Their story had been so convincing that anyone, even Mo Fan, would be swayed by it. Mo Fan thought back and realized he had overlooked something important.

They were greedy, vicious, and sinful. Their elders had stolen before and lived on an island which was isolated and remote from the outside world. How could he have even believed for a second that the young girls raised by selfish elders could ever be pure and kind?

Most people judged others in that way. When they saw something, they couldn’t understand, they would form their own biases until they made an effort to understand that thing and come to a reasonable conclusion.

The girls of Licheng Afterglow Island had been very clever. They had not forced Mo Fan to come to one conclusion. They had given him an incomplete truth and allowed him to form his own judgment while subtly steering him to judge in their favor.

…

At this time, Mo Fan couldn’t chase them. He needed to rush to the Northguard Fortress and warn them.

He summoned the Wings of Dusk and Dawn. A pair of black dragon wings full of ancient and noble aura stretched out from his back. With a light flap, the winds blew up, and waves surged.

“You go back,” said Mo Fan, opening a gap into the Contract Space.

Apas did not go back. She reached out and climbed on Mo Fan’s back between the space where the wings grew. She stretched her long, slender arms and held onto him. She wanted Mo Fan to fly with her on his back.

“You disturbed my nice, long sleep, so you have to keep me with you,” Apas said in his ear.

Apas’ figure was small so she would not interrupt when Mo Fan flapped his Black Dragon Wings.

How could such a slender body still have such a big, soft chest? Was it because of European blood, or was it a unique racial talent of Medusa? It was a pity that his not-so-sensitive back and shoulders got to touch them. He wondered how wonderful it would feel if it were his palms and head instead?

“You weren’t that easy to fool in the past, Big Brother Mo Fan.” Apas smiled. The bright sly smile was so in contrast to the fearful Apas from a while ago.

A Similar situation had happened in Egypt. Apas had almost deceived Mo Fan that time when she transformed from Medusa into a woman. In the end, Mo Fan had seen through it anyway. Apas had been so surprised at the time. She had not shown any flaws.

She glanced at the receding figures of those girls from Licheng Afterglow Island. Although some of them were very charming and beautiful, she did not think their beauty could compare to hers. So, how had they fooled Mo Fan?

‘Could it be that the women in foreign lands were more attractive than women at home for Mo Fan?’ she wondered. But that would still not be enough to fool him so easily.

Mo Fan was a sly person. It might be easy to deceive him if he had less experience or knowledge in certain matters. But it was hard to deceive him with just beautiful women and other legends. Otherwise, Apas would have fooled him long ago.

“Do you find it hard to accept that a group of women who are not as beautiful as you won against me?” asked Mo Fan.

Apas grumbled. All men were playboys anyway. They were fooled by beautiful faces and sweet words. She was too lazy to answer his question.

“People always change. Many things might change my views and judgment,” said Mo Fan.

“So, then what made you stupid?” asked Apas.

Mo fan slapped Apas’ little b*ttocks tightly. She was too slow to avoid it. She groaned softly. She was so embarrassed that she wanted to sink her snake teeth into his shoulders and poison the pervert.

Mo Fan was not stupid. He had felt that he was doing the right thing by helping them.

It was Zhang Xiaohou who influenced Mo Fan. He always insisted on confirming a bias before assuming things. In the process of verifying, he had hoped his bias would be wrong.But even while thinking positively, one needs to prepare oneself for other consequences.

“Apas, I would have risked anything to go to the military base in Egypt to save you. I helped those girls from Licheng Afterglow Island for the same reason. You are not so different from them. I tried to save you and them because I believe that good things exist. Even if evidence was glaring me right in the face, I hoped I could do the right thing,” explained Mo Fan.

“You always keep an ace up your sleeve toward me, huh?” Apas smiled coldly.

“I have no choice, femme fatale. You don’t have to feel uneasy. I did the same for those girls,” Mo Fan replied.

“You keep an ace up your sleeve toward them as well. Do you even know how to find Licheng Afterglow Island?”

…

A pitch-black wing shadow swept across the wetlands full of reeds. The sea of ​​reeds separated,and two grasslands that faced in opposite directions formed behind the trajectory.

God’s condemnation was too powerful. To avoid it, Mo Fan deliberately flew at a low altitude. The clouds above his head almost turned to pure black, and the terrifying thickness of the clouds seemed impossible to disperse. It might even take months.

Those lightning bolts often penetrate a hole in the black cloud. Less than five kilometers away from Mo Fan, one such hole looked like an abyss hanging upside down. The dense lightning appeared and disappeared simultaneously. Sometimes they were dark red, sometimes, white, and other times they looked like fireworks that illuminated the entire sky. They also reflected the small figure of Mo Fan flying parallel to the grass.

God’s condemnation was getting frantic. The ancient statues in Mingwu Ancient City might have been treasures left behind by ancient gods on that peaceful land. When someone stole them, everyone faced God’s wrath.

He had to reach the Northguard Fortress as soon as possible. If the lightning bolts penetrated the Northguard Fortress, they would wipe out the entire Northguard Fortress along with the people in the city!

Chapter 2734: The Strongest Man in Northguard Fortress

“Be on guard!” shouted a middle-aged man in a brown military uniform from the defensive wall of the Northguard Fortress. His beard shook with the effort.

“What happened? Is a large group of Ocean Demons approaching?”

“This is the land. The Ocean Demons may not be able to take advantage of it.”

“If the Ocean Demons seize the Northguard Fortress, Licheng Island won’t have a single piece of land for us to live in anymore. We stay here because we don’t want to live in a random resettlement house in a certain base city in degradation.”

There was an army stationed in Northguard Fortress. This army was originally stationed to guard Licheng City. But Licheng City was submerged in sea water. So, they built the Northguard Fortress on slightly higher ground. It was one of the remaining few habitable cities in the Fujian area. Only the mages were left here.

Licheng City had submerged about twenty kilometers away. If the Ocean Demons were to seize the last Northguard Fortress, the soldiers, who were unwilling to leave their homes, would fight with the Ocean Demons to their deaths.

“A thunderstorm is approaching us, and it’s a hundred times stronger than before!” the veteran general said.

Right then, a lightning bolt struck down from the sky. The lightning had hit the corner of the defensive wall. The wall which was built with hard rocks shattered into pieces. The gray-white dust spiraled in air and blew towards the Northguard Fortress

The Battlemages were stunned. They had been in Licheng City for many years now but had never seen such a fierce and damaging lightning bolt.

The people in the square panicked. Some people were peeved. They thought some Lightning Element Mage had broken the rules and was causing this havoc.

“It’s an emergency! We need to evacuate!” The veteran general realized that this was not an ordinary thunderstorm.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The sounds of the lightning bolts cracking overpowered the veteran general’s shout. Soil and stones scattered in the wasteland outside Northguard Fortress, and the Pale Wandering Dragon entered the jungle in the wasteland. Sparks from the lightning bolts ignited several hundred meters of plants and trees within seconds.

Outside the Northguard Fortress, more and more lightning bolts appeared. They struck the land in continuation. Plants, trees and rocks were struck down and burnt. The beasts ran away in panic. The lightning bolts were unrelenting and soon the beasts were reduced to ashes.

People in the Northguard Fortress shuddered when they saw it. Although Licheng City used to have a lot of thunderstorms, they had never struck this ferociously, especially where people lived.

The lightning bolts destroyed hundreds of kilometers of flat coastal soil. The bolts that struck left a large, black hole. If hundreds of lightning bolts struck together, they would heavily damage the mountains and forests.

Northguard Fortress had at least tens of thousands of people. Even though ninety percent of the residents were Mages, they were shocked when they saw such a scene.

The military had set up the Great Barrier Formation. It was a light purple cover. There was golden light rippling on it. In the past, such a barrier covering the Northguard Fortress gave people a sense of security when the Ocean Demons attacked.

But when facing God’s condemnation, the barrier looked too thin to withstand an attack.

“Boom!”

A lightning pillar like a beam in heaven fell to the earth unintentionally. Its incredible size made people feel like it could even support the sky.

It hit the center of the Northguard Fortress. The thin barrier was pierced through. The destructive lightning bolt seemed to crush everything and made the Northguard Fortress tremble. Some Mages who were close to it turned into ashes!

“Move away!” Someone shouted.

Amid the dazzling sparkles, people caught a glimpse of a black-winged figure. It was covered in black scales and looked majestic. It rushed towards the destructive lightning pillar.

The crowd moved away, but it was the force of the terrifying magnetic explosion that lifted them. The buildings, streets, and crowds in the city were flung aside. They were powerless.

…

The veteran general was stunned. He was one of the few people who was not blown away by this lightning pillar.

Facing the lingering thunderstorm energy, he bravely walked toward the city center.

In the center of the Northguard Fortress was a large hole of more than one kilometer in diameter. Its cracks extended even farther. They spread all over the Northguard Fortress, including the defensive wall. Through the cracks on the defensive wall, they could see the devastated wilderness outside.

The energy that had blown everything was because of the thunderstorm energy generated by the powerful lightning bolt. This energy was enough to overturn the Northguard Fortress, so the full power of the destructive lightning pillar must be even more powerful.

However, the veteran general was appalled that someone had managed to block such destructive energy. They had stopped the energy from wiping out Northguard Fortress. He wondered if the person was still alive.

The veteran general walked to the hole in the center. Behind him, some Battlemages and hunters followed. They all wanted to know who had rescued them.

The strong wind blew away the smoke of the bolt and dust to every corner of the Northguard Fortress. Things became clearer.

There was a black figure in the big hole He hunched over and slowly climbed up from the debris on the ground. It certainly seemed like he was having great difficulty in moving but he was still alive!

“Oh my god! Is he the son of the lightning god?” someone exclaimed.

As the dark figure had rushed to the lightning pillar, they were sure this was the person who had blocked the lightning and saved them. That lightning pillar was powerful enough to kill thousands of people and wipe out the entire land. The person who had blocked it couldn’t really be ordinary.

“Cough. Cough. Is there any water?” The man staggered.

“I-Isn’t he the person who blocked the…?” a burly man said. He was still wearing a pair of sunglasses shattered by the thunderstorm. His sunglasses did not have any lenses anymore.

The strongest in the Northguard Fortress! Fang Xiong remembered that a young man had arrogantly published a message about being the strongest hunter in the Northguard Fortress who was looking for a team. At that time, Fang Xiong had laughed it off. But…

When Fang Xiong saw that person staggering out of the hole, he rushed forward to take a good look at him. It was him!

“There’s no doubt that you are, indeed, the strongest man in the Northguard Fortress.Master, you weren’t bragging, after all!” Fan Xiong hurriedly went over.

He helped Mo Fan out of the crater and shouted at the others. “Water, quick! Where is the water? Didn’t you hear him ask for it?”

Someone handed a glass of clean water to Mo Fan. He gratefully accepted it and poured half of it on his body and drank the rest.

Chapter 2735: Punch the Sky

‘Thank you, Black Dragon Emperor,’ Mo Fan said his thanks. ‘Thank you, Asha’ruiya.’

Without the Black Dragon Armor, Mo Fan would be long dead.

Mo Fan’s supernatural power was Thunder Hole. It made his lightning resistance and absorption capabilities several times stronger than ordinary Lightning Element Mages. With a demonic physique and Lightning Tyrant, even a third-level Super Level Lightning Element Mage could not kill him.

1

But the destructive lightning pillar…

The magic immunity of the Black Dragon Armor was invincible. It could save Mo Fan even if the Forbidden Curse attacked him. Unfortunately, he could only use the magic immunity once until a period.

“General, God’s condemnation will last for a while. The next one will be even more severe. We must gather all the Mages in the Northguard Fortress to resist it together,” Mo Fan said to the middle-aged man in the brown military uniform.

“Of course. I have given the order, but if something like this happens again, we probably can’t resist it,” said the veteran general.

“I’ll help you guys. It was an emergency, so I rushed. If I have time to prepare, I don’t need to directly block it with my body. Whoever is authoritative in the hunter groups, please gather as many hunters as possible,” said Mo Fan.

“I will do it,” said Fang Xiong, thumping his chest.

“Okay. Please help me choose some Lightning Element Mages with high cultivation. I need to recharge my lightning energy,” said Mo Fan.

“Recharge your lightning energy?” Fang Xiong was confused. There was lightning everywhere. Why would he need to recharge from other mages?

“I’m going to attack lightning with lightning.”

…

Although Fang Xiong did not know what Mo Fan was going to do, he did as he was instructed and gathered the hunters.

The thunderstorm attacked in random intervals. The thunder pillar from moments before would not attack at the same place for a while.

The veteran general wanted everyone to evacuate, but the thunderstorm covered hundreds of kilometers of land, so outside Northguard Fortress would be even more dangerous. The mages weren’t at the same place. If they were scattered, the area affected by the thunderstorm would be larger, but their ability to withstand it would be weaker. If they joined forces, they would have a higher chance of survival in the Northguard Fortress.

“Master, the Lightning Element mages are all here. Do tell me if you need anything else. They have become your admirers in any case.” Fang Xiong smiled.

Mo Fan saw that there were fewer Lightning Element Mages than he had expected. The probability of finding a lightning mage was lesser than other elemental mages. Despite the guiding stones increasing the likelihood of Intermediate and Advanced Mages, Lightning Element Mages were fewer than Water Element, Light Element, Wind Element, and Earth Element Mages.

“It seems like I have no choice but to use Hands of Tingmo. Fang Xiong, please help me find some Mages with high cultivation and strong destructive power,” Mo Fan said.

“Leave it to me.”

The Lightning Element Mages, standing beside Fang Xiong, formed a circle. They did not know what Mo Fan wanted to do, but they were obedient and willing to help. Anyone who had seen Mo Fan withstand the lightning pillar respected him.

“Use your most powerful destructive Lightning Element magic and attack me,” said Mo Fan.

The Lightning Element Mages looked at each other in confusion. Had the master lost his sense after being struck by the lightning bolt?

“What if we end up hurting you…,” said a fair-skinned man.

“Even the destructive lightning pillar could not kill him. Let’s just do as he says.”

“Yeah, he must have a plan.”

Fang Xiong arrived again with several Mages who had high cultivation. When they saw that Mo Fan was unharmed even after the incident a little while ago, they were impressed.

“You all can attack me together with them. I want to absorb your destructive energy,” said Mo Fan.

“Do we need to use different magic?”

“Yes, it’s fine as long as you use elemental magic. However, you can’t use it very frequently. I’m afraid that my Magic Tool can’t sustain it. It doesn’t apply to Lightning Element magic, though. You can attack me with Lightning Element magic as much as you want.” Mo Fan opened his shirt buttons and accepted all the attacks of Lightning Element Mages.

Most of them hesitated but when they saw Mo Fan absorb the terrifying lightning bolts, they did as they were told.

“Boom! Boom!”

Several streaks of lightning struck the Northguard Fortress, causing the city to shake. The attack lasted for quite some time. The veteran general had gathered the army to resist such lightning bolts, but some Defense Mages fainted and others were sent flying. They screamed in pain.

“Wait a minute. I’ll summon a helper.” Mo Fan opened the ancient magic portal. The Mages paused and looked at Mo Fan.

Everyone was terrified by the impending death and destruction, but they couldn’t pin all their hopes on Mo Fan alone. He was but one man.

“Ancient Raiju!” Mo Fan opened the ancient magic portal and let Raiju out again.

Everyone exclaimed in awe as Raiju appeared. It was an ancient elemental spirit that was also at the Cadre Level of the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower.

The lightning bolts were intertwined, and the Lightning Element was very intense. Currently, Raiju was an out-and-out average ruler. It stood beside Mo Fan like a mysterious ancient bishop. It looked noble and solemn.

“The lightning energy should be enough for now.” Mo Fan looked at everyone.

…

Those Lightning Element Mages and Raiju generated destructive energy, and c attacked Mo Fan together.

The magic lightning formed an extremely dazzling Purple Light Formation. It looked like a Lightning Element Magic Machine. Those non-Lightning Element colorful elemental magic became lightning energy after passing through the Hands of Tingmo. They were all absorbed through the Thunder Holes around his body.

Thunder Hole was not infinite. It also had a limit. However, as long as Mo Fan controlled the amount of energy he absorbed, he could still withstand and store the captured lightning energy in his body.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

In the black clouds, a white claw appeared. It transformed from a thin and long eagle claw to a giant one. Northguard Fortress looked like a child’s toy in front of this claw.

“Oh no, we’re doomed!”

“I don’t want to die yet!”

“Ah Mo, there was something I wanted to tell you for a long time. Actually…”

The people in Northguard Fortress panicked. Everyone realized that this giant claw lightning could destroy everything they held dear. A few minutes ago, a big mountain nearby had turned into powdered dust after the giant claw of lightning struck it.

“Roar!”

Right then, a person in the big hole in the city’s center roared. They saw a man in a majestic Black Dragon Armor throwing a punch at the sky.

The Purple Light Formation surrounded him. The sparks were dazzling. The punch itself looked formidable. It was made out of thousands of purple dragons. The punch soared up in the sky and hit the giant claw of lightning.

Suddenly, sparks filled the sky and illuminated it. It was the world’s largest firework. The lightning scattered and fell in every direction around Northguard Fortress like an umbrella.

Lightning continued to flicker. Those who lived in the Northguard Fortress would never forget this in their lifetimes. When God’s condemnation had almost destroyed their home, a lightning punch hit the sky and countered it.

And the person who managed this. How strong was he exactly?

Chapter 2736: You Are Poisonous

Mo Fan shook his sore arm. He did not leave the Purple Light Formation yet. He knew God’s condemnation would continue. Northguard Fortress still wasn’t safe.

Mo Fan continued to attack the sky. Purple punches rose one after another and violently attacked the thick clouds above Northguard Fortress. A large string of extremely bright lightning sparks flickered in the sky. It was the dead of night and yet, the scattered lightning lit up the sky into daylight.

Mo Fan was detonating the lightning elements continuously. Many lightning elements were in the clouds. They were like giant lightning bombs that waited explode at any time. Even if there was a small lightning bolt passing by, it would cause a terrifying explosion in this area!

Mo Fan wanted to detonate all the lightning elements above Northguard Fortress at once. He let them vent their wrath in the sky and the surrounding areas but didn’t allow it to destroy Nothguard Fortress.

He needed to guide the lightning bolts in another direction. Mo Fan attacked the lightning bolts with lightning bolts. It was not to increase the lightning elements but to use up the lightning elements in the surrounding to avoid it from attacking the fortress.

This method was indeed practical. After a while, the clouds above Northguard Fortress thinned. The lightning bolts continued to strike the wasteland hundreds of kilometers away, and the sparks illuminated the sky.

Only Northguard Fortress was spared. There were some lightning bolts in the sky still, but they were ordinary ones which were not very destructive. The people of the Northguard Fortress were relieved.

Suddenly Mo Fan didn’t look like a lone man. It seemed as though he alone could support the entire sky and the Northguard Fortress. He was indeed the strongest man in Northguard Fortress.

The people in Northguard Fortress cheered. They were happy to have survived God’s condemnation. They respected and admired the stranger in Black Dragon Armor. He had saved them. They would have all died if not for him.

“Master Mo Fan, you should take a rest. Leave the rest to us. We are not entirely useless. We can ensure the safety of the fortress from here on out.” Fang Xiong handed Mo Fan some water and a wet towel.

“Alright then. I will leave Raiju here just in case some lightning bolts jump over.”

“Liu He, come here and take Master Mo Fan somewhere where he can rest. You must serve him well and make sure gets to relax.” Fang Xiong said to a female mage.

The female mage approached Mo Fan. She flirted with him and said she was happy to take care of him. However, just then another willowy woman appeared and supported Mo Fan.

“I will take care of him, so you don’t need to worry,” said Apas coldly.

Liu He and Fang Xiong looked embarrassed. Fang Xiong glanced at Apas as he had never seen such a beautiful woman anywhere before. He realized that she arrived here along with Mo Fan.

Fang Xiong watched Apas support the tired Mo Fan and walk him away from the scene. Fang Xiong approved. He thought that a hero should indeed have a beauty by his side.

He turned to Liu He. “Well… you can always take care of me.”

Liu He rolled her eyes at him. “Come find me when you become the strongest man in the Northguard Fortress,” she said in disgust.

1

…

Apas guided Mo Fan to a simple house made up of stones. He lay on the bamboo bed. Apas helped him lie down. She glared at him. She neither offered him water nor comfort. Mo Fan wished Liu he was here instead to take care of him.

“Am I really uglier than her?” Apas sensed Mo Fan’s thoughts. She was angry.

Aps was beautiful. Nobody could beat her in terms of her appearance. She knew so many women seduced Mo Fan and he obliged. But never her. That made Apas unhappy.

‘Mo Fan’s seductress should only be me!’ she thought.

“You’re poisonous,” Mo Fan smiled.

That aggravated Apas. She rushed to him and bit him on his arm. A row of teeth marks with little lipstick stains graced Mo Fan’s forearm. Apas had not used her poisonous teeth.

Mo Fan just laughed. How could he give in? He knew she liked him, but he also knew that she was a snake-woman. Snakes were the most cold-blooded among animals. No matter how much affection they felt for someone, they would still not hesitate to eat them if needed.

Women from snake lineage weren’t very loyal to their lovers. In western countries, Medusa was very promiscuous. Men were just tools for reproduction and pleasure. They only loved themselves.

“Ah!” Apas exclaimed and retreated. “Why are you electrifying me?” Apas threw the wet towel she was using to clean him on his face angrily.

“What? I didn’t!” Mo Fan looked at his body. Little purple balls of lightning hovered on his skin where Apas had wiped him with the wet towel. They jumped on his skin, he was unable to control them. “Sh*t! My Lightning Element Star Sea is out of control.”

“Your body is overwrought. If you don’t expand your Star Sea, you are going to explode, and hopefully, drop dead,” said Apas.

“It may also be that the barrier of the second level of Super Level is about to break!” Mo Fan was nervous and excited.

God’s condemnation did not seem entirely useless. When he absorbed its boundless energy, it made a breakthrough in the limit of his Thunder Hole. When his Thunder Hole expanded, his meridians seemed to have opened. His strength increased as more meridians opened.

Mo Fan did not realize that the Thunder Holes in his body had once again opened. Apparently, the number of Thunder Holes connected was the same as the number of his blood vessels. Countless lightning energy was flowing through every part of his body.

Mo Fan looked at his internal body and discovered that the Thunder Holes were everywhere. His body seemed to have changed completely and turned into a human circuit board. With some tweaking, it could turn into a mechanical beast!

The transformation of his supernatural power, Thunder Holes, was breaking through his second-level Star Sea. Mo fan was ecstatic. Allowing the lightning strike him thoroughly hadn’t been for nothing. The sturdy barrier was finally loosening.

Although the loosening of the barrier did not mean that he would advance to the third level immediately, it was certainly a step forward.

Chapter 2737: Onwards to Licheng Afterglow Island

Apas decided to stay away from Mo Fan. He was like a faulty, high-voltage electric box that could occasionally cause an electric leakage and shock anyone near him. But she didn’t leave him. She needed to keep an eye on him so that he didn’t hurt others with his lightning.

It had not been easy to save the people in the fortress from the lightning disaster. She did not want these people to be wiped out just because Mo Fan could not control his lightning magic.

Apas sat at the edge of the bamboo bed. Mo Fan was motionless. Apart from the occasional flash of white lightning on his skin, he slept like the dead.

Apas was bored. She found a pen and drew on Mo Fan’s face. The European Three-eyed Snake King had an eye on its forehead. So Apas drew an eye on Mo Fan’s forehead. She thought he possessed a similar temperament to the Three-eyed Snake King.

Apas then painted Mo Fan’s lips black-purple. Now he looked like those evil and wild but charming male concubines found in snake temples.

The sky was dark, and flaming-red lightning arched across it. The light occasionally reflected on the stone courtyard. The front door was open, and the bamboo bed was visible.

On the bamboo bed, an enchanting snake woman knelt over the figure on the bed. She appeared bold and yet shy, like how she used to be when she spent the night with her husband in the past.

The snake woman was thrilled. She was very pleased that she could do whatever she wanted to the motionless man before her. After all, Medusas were dominant women.

The young Medusa enjoyed her freedom. She could finally release all of her pent-up frustrations. After drawing on Mo Fan’s face to her satisfaction, Apas took out her phone and took a picture of his face. It would act as leverage in the future.

…

Mo Fan was famished when he woke up. He rushed out for some food. Fortunately, the fortress had plenty of food. There were elderly men at their stalls selling noodles and bread in the morning.

“Master Mo Fan, you’ve woken —Oh my!” Fang Xiong patted Mo Fan’s shoulder. When Mo Fan turned around, Fang Xiong was shocked. Fang Xiong soon understood the situation.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Master Mo Fan, you are masculine and dominant on the outside. But things are completely different behind shut doors, huh? I used to be forced to submit to my woman, too. No shame in that, of course. But I always resisted although I enjoyed it very much… physically.”

Mo Fan was puzzled. He ate his noodles while listening to Fang Xiong tell him about his dilemma of balancing his own bizarre hidden desire and acting macho.

“Since a great man like you don’t mind showing it to the public, there’s no reason for me to suppress my desires either. I’ll try it out next time. I’ll ask my woman to tie me up, or better yet, chain me. Eh, Master Fan, don’t go! Since you have no qualms showing this side to the public, I think it’s fine for me to share with you my side of the story. Eh, you’re my idol now! We relate to each other so much!”

Mo Fan ignored the lunatic. Others, who were having their breakfast, kept glancing at him and giggling. Who would have expected a tough and rough man like Fang Xiong to have such a hidden side?

Mo Fan realized that the people around him still glanced at him and giggled as if he was no better than Fang Xiong.

‘Are they laughing at me?’ wondered Mo Fan. He looked at his reflection in a mirror. Mo Fan was red in anger. ‘That snake woman is asking for trouble!’

Mo Fan would spare her no more. If he did, she might make him walk on his hands next!

Soon, a loud, crisp sound spread throughout the stone courtyard followed by a woman’s reluctant grunts. The noise was out of place in the morning.

“He really has good stamina. Last night, they were already going at it. And in the morning again?” muttered Liu He, who stayed next door. She sat by the window resentfully.

…

The fortress was not very big. The day before, Mo Fan had entered this city with the majesty of a god. He had gained the respect of the citizens. The next day, it had all fallen apart. Although the people did respect him, they seemed to be trying to maintain a kind front towards him.

He couldn’t believe it! Apas had single-handedly smeared his reputation he had tried so hard to build! Fortunately, no one knew who he actually was. Otherwise, he would find the remaining statues and destroy them so that the entire place was wiped away.

He could not stay at the fortress for long. He was relieved that the barrier had loosened but he still would need an auxiliary means to break through that layer.

Little Loach had transferred a new energy supply to his Summoning Element a while ago, allowing his Summoning Element to advance to Super Level. If he did not acquire another set of auxiliary means, he would have to entirely rely on Licheng Afterglow Island or the totem.

The fortress was safe. So, it was time for Mo Fan to find Licheng Afterglow Island and settle some things with the b*tches who had fooled him by taking advantage of his sincerity and kindness.

“Let’s go to Licheng Afterglow Island!” Mo Fan summoned an Elf Moon Dragon and prepared to leave the fortress with Apas.

Elf Moon Dragon was from the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower. It had part of the Moon Dragon bloodline. Its wings were transparent, and its body looked as if it was made entirely of crystal. It looked more like a creature straight out of a fairytale.

Aside from its aesthetic appearance, it had no other useful purpose. It couldn’t even be used in battle. Mo Fan had summoned it because it was a master of camouflage. He needed to make sure he wasn’t discovered as he dove towards Licheng Afterglow Island.

After reaching Super Level and opening the ancient magic portal, Mo Fan realized that he could use his Summoning Element to open wider portals. If he encountered anything that was too powerful, he could always summon creatures to fight for him.

“How did you locate Licheng Afterglow Island?” Apas asked in confusion.

“Look into the water.” Mo Fan pointed at the surface of the sea.

The surface of the sea was light gray. The lightning had not entirely disappeared. It caused the tides to become very turbulent. The waves crashed against each other and continued to rise higher.

Apas’ golden-pink snake pupils lit up. It was only then that she noticed an almost invisible creature swimming in the sea water.

That creature was a long and slender sea lion. It had an anchor-like tail. It looked like a servant-class or warrior-level creature. In the eyes of a high-class bloodline like Medusa, Apas did not find that creature to be of any worth to her. However, when she studied the creature carefully, she noticed that the anchor-tailed sea lion was strange. It was making a huge effort to hide itself.

“Didn’t I ask the Bewitching Female Spider to watch out for a headless sea lion? This is it,” Mo Fan said.

“I was sleeping, so I have no idea what happened,” Apas said.

“It killed one of my dimensional beasts, and it nearly killed Old Wolf. While we’re chasing after the b*tches from Licheng Afterglow Island, I’ve asked Little Flame Belle and Old Wolf to settle an account with it at Mingwu Ancient City. The anchor-tailed sea lion was aware that it was no match for Little Flame Belle, so it begged her to let it go and that it would help her find a certain spiritual land,” Mo Fan said.

“And that spiritual land is Licheng Afterglow Island? Are you sure?” asked Apas.

Mo Fan nodded.

Never in their wildest dream would the women from Lincheng Afterglow Island expect the anchor-tailed lion sea to expose their sacred land.

‘Running away from me, huh?’ thought Mo Fan. ‘I will see where else you can run and hide. Even without the pathetic sea lion, I will still move heaven and earth to dig you all out!’

Chapter 2738: Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Licheng Afterglow Island was a very secluded place. Anyone who traveled by boat or coastline would think they hit a dead end when they reached there because it was built like that.

The sea water hit the stone wall, and the force of the waves pushed away some rocks on the beach. This gave the impression that there was no more land beyond. But if one was to cross the end of the mountain, one found an unexpectedly peaceful bay.

The water by the bay was far clear and still while the sea on the other side of the mountain was very tumultuous. The bay did not face the sea, instead it was more like a lake that appeared by the sea. There was no sign of waves. The sea surface was of a clear blue color which reflected the entire blue sky.

At the end of the lake by the bay was an island covered with lush greenery and brightly colored rocks. The exotic vines and dense forest covered most of the area.

Mo Fan was shocked. Licheng Afterglow Island was amazing. It was a paradise on earth and the residents were indeed lucky to be able to live in such a place.

Licheng City was located by the sea. Hence, the tsunami from the south and the typhoon from the east during summer took their turn to strike the city. As a result, fishing, animal husbandry, agriculture, and farming were all affected. People’s livelihood was destroyed.

But this island was a paradise in the middle of a turbulent sea but unaffected by the brutal cold sea breeze. The breeze blew gently from the middle of the forest without a hint of saltiness. The breeze was refreshing with a tinge of fragrance from the flowers by the sea.

A fishing boat drifted to Licheng Afterglow Island, like a leaf floating quietly on the lake surface. A young man in black and brown straw cape sat in the boat. He was very tan. He looked dazed.

The rain poured on the other side of the world. Lightning danced like demon’s claws. The fisherman had been only looking for a place to escape. He had never expected to stumble upon a place like this.

The fisherman took off his straw cape and got out of the boat. The sea water was so calm that he was certain that his boat would not drift away even without tethering it. But he tethered it with a rope anyway.

He turned around and saw a group of young women and two elderly ladies walking out of the grove. They stared warily at him.

“Ladies, may I know where I am now? I’m a bit lost.” The fisherman smiled awkwardly.

“You’re at Licheng Afterglow Island.”

“Huh?! I-I didn’t mean to barge in… I…” The fisherman panicked as though this was the last place he wanted to be in. He untied his boat hurriedly and got on it.

“We’re not man-eating monsters, you know. Why do you look so frightened?” asked one of the young women walking up to him.

“Kid, don’t leave in such a hurry. You look tired. Take a rest in our town. Please don’t worry. Don’t believe the rumors. A few years ago, I accidentally stumbled onto this island. Look at me now, I am still alive and well,” said an old man smoking a pipe. “That lass next to you is my daughter. So are the rest of them.”

“I heard about a man who stumbled onto this island and spent the night here. He was forced to marry the ladies on the island,” said the young fisherman. “I am a married man. It was very stormy outside. My wife must be worried sick. I have to go back. She is waiting for me.”

The young lady from Licheng Afterglow Island removed her head scarf and conical hat. She stared at the tanned fisherman seductively. “Am I not looking as good as your wife?” she asked.

“You look very beautiful. But I must go home. She’s very worried about me.”

“There’s no strong wind and turbulent waves all year round. There’s plenty of food over here. People at Licheng Afterglow Island don’t have to worry about their basic needs. Besides, the ladies are beautiful and graceful,” said the old man.

“Even if you dislike her, you have many other choices. They practice a free love culture here. If you go back, you have to continue living in poverty with your unattractive wife. You have to work very hard just to earn a living. Your life out there is no match compared to what you could have on this island. You stumbled onto this island by mistake, it means you have a destiny with us. Many people attempted to come here but always failed. But you discovered it.”

The young fisherman glanced at the pretty woman standing near him and then looked at the old man who was smoking his pipe in leisure. The young fisherman hesitated. He did not hop out of his boat.

“Please, I must go back. If I stay here, my wife will be worried sick. I can’t disappoint her. I promised to take care of her.” The young fisherman rowed his boat and returned to the turbulent sea.

The people of the Licheng Afterglow Island watched him leave. The fisherman’s boat drifted away until it disappeared.

One of the elder women raised her hand with a snort.

Bam!

A blood red snake-like bolt appeared out of the cloud and struck the fisherman’s boat. The boat was torn apart. And the young fisherman died. There was a smudge of red on the holy, blue lake.

The old man sighed. “We gave him a very nice offer and he still turned it down, It’s not our fault.”

The elderly woman who had struck the boat with her magic was dressed all in dark-green. She looked menacing and cold. Her eyes only showed a murderous intent.

…

“What is this?! Is this some kind of seaside theater?” Mo Fan was puzzled when saw a reflection in the sea below him.

The conversations were silent. But Mo Fan could figure out their speech through their lip movements.

“It’s like a mirage, but it happened sometime in the past. The sea water over here is extremely calm, and it has learnt to preserve certain events.” Apas stared at the bizarre spectacle reflected in the sea.

“The probability of such a thing happening is extremely low, close to impossible! I wonder how many corpses are buried under the sea of this ‘paradise’.” Mo Fan heaved a long, sad sigh.

There were not many cities around the area. There were no more fishermen who dared to go to the sea to fish. The image that they had seen was from the past. The tranquil water reflected it. It was disturbing.

Those who drifted to this island either lived here or drowned.

The women from the island would never allow any outsider to leave the Licheng Afterglow Island and risk exposing their location. Only the women were allowed to venture out. The men who chose to stay flocked to the ladies like birds of the same feather.

Unfortunately, not many people knew the truth.

Chapter 2739: Hit the Jackpot

People in Licheng Afterglow Island would never leave the island. Their thoughts and opinions were deeply rooted in their minds like a tree whose roots were thousands of years old. It was impossible to change their thinking. They could only be destroyed.

Since the arrival of Ocean Demons, numerous cities had moved to the fortresses, except for the people from Licheng Afterglow Island. They did not have a need to move from their surreal home. Besides, no one could find them to reprimand them.

The people from Licheng Afterglow Island were aware that Ocean Demons were about to destroy the coast. They decided to visit the Mingwu Ancient City to find a means to preserve their home and land.

Licheng Afterglow Island’s origin was related to Mingwu Ancient City. They had transferred the most important ancient statues from Mingwu Ancient City to this island. The once holy and sacred Mingwu Ancient City was slowly abandoned but Licheng Afterglow Island continued to shine brightly in the holy light.

The ladies grabbed all the ancient statues for themselves and their island. They did not care if the Ocean Demons devoured and destroyed everything outside. They did not even care if people were slaughtered because of it as long as they could enjoy the beauty of Licheng Afterglow Island in peace.

They repeated their mistake and allowed disaster to slaughter and destroy those in the fortresses. The people outside were insignificant and unworthy of their attention.

Even when the fisherman had promised never to reveal their location, they mercilessly killed him.

A holy, sacred, and peaceful land could not purify a human’s mind. Instead, it only caused the people living there to commit atrocious deeds just to preserve their sacred land.

Even if the ancestors of Licheng Afterglow Island had started out by hiding in this untouched island for the sake of atoning their sins, they had fallen into depravity the moment they had killed an innocent fisherman. They inched towards heresy. They no longer felt any remorse if they had to kill other people for their own selfishness.

“The island is a perfect greenhouse. And I’m going to invade your comfort zone like an alien virus!” Mo Fan’s lips twitched into a smile.

…

The anchor-tailed sea lion was an experienced and cunning demon. It was very skillful. It guided Mo Fan and easily avoided the security line. It crawled up from a dead end wall and showed Mo Fan the safest way. Mo Fan finally landed on the island.

Licheng Afterglow Island was big. He realized that it was capable of providing all its citizens with their needs.

There were agricultural lands, orchards, ponds, and vegetable gardens. The island was similar to the majority of towns outside. The town itself was not very big, it only had two streets and the citizens were scattered all over it.

Women outnumbered men by a wide margin. They regarded women highly on this island. The women were the ones who learned magic, managed, and held important positions. Men, on the other hand, were in charge of agriculture, construction and collection. The elders drove a big cargo ship out to Licheng City weekly to purchase resources that they could not produce on their own.

Women ventured outside for training. Men were not allowed to leave. The women on the island did not imprison the men. Instead, they dominated them.

…

There were many citizens on the island. Mo Fan walked openly, and no one even identified him as an intruder. The town was serene and beautiful. The atmosphere was tranquil. There were many gorgeous ladies. Although all women might not be as wicked and cruel, they did share the same ideology. This place was heaven to them.

If they had not committed atrocities which provoked God’s wrath, this island would actually be a heaven for men as well. Young men would never have to worry about not finding a beautiful wife.

“It’s only a mini version of an evil temple. Hmph!” Apas was disdainful.

The island was typically an evil temple. In fact, the island was far more hypocritical than an evil temple. Mo Fan understood the situation of this island.

Mo Fan hated killing innocents. He wanted to destroy Licheng Afterglow Island, but he had no intention of slaughtering everyone. He only intended to overturn the current rulers.

“Okay, get ready to start work!” Mo Fan craned his neck and pressed his knuckles.

“Wait, the anchor-tailed sea lion said it’s best to visit the spiritual land first. The spiritual land is vacant right now,” said Apas.

“Once I take on the rulers on this island, everything including the ladies will be mine… Ahem… on second thought, they might rather destroy themselves. We’ll take away all the good stuff in case they choose that.”

…

When Mo Fan first encountered the anchor-tailed sea lion, he had thought it to be a little strange. Even though the anchor-tailed sea lion was not of a high-class bloodline, it had reached ruler-level. Mo Fan wondered how it managed that. Does it rely solely on ambushing its prey? But it could put its own life at stake every time. It could not possibly always win. It didn’t even look powerful enough to regrow a head.

It was only when Mo Fan saw how skillfully the anchor-tailed sea lion entered Licheng Afterglow Island that he understood.

“That’s how amazing you are, huh?” said Mo Fan. “The reason you became so powerful is because you often sneak into the island’s spiritual land to replenish your energy!”

The anchor-tailed sea lion was familiar with the place. It took advantage of the island’s weakness and cultivated in the island’s spiritual land. That was how it became ruler-level.

“The island’s spiritual land is indeed marvelous! Even an ordinary anchor-tailed sea lion can become a ruler-level demon!” Mo Fan exclaimed.

Licheng Afterglow Island exceeded his expectations. He could already sense the warmth of the place despite being blocked by huge boulders. It was majestic!

“Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!” Little Loach trembled with excitement.

Little Loach once ate a small star dust magical equipment. Its happiness had lasted for a month. Since then, Little Loach had transformed into an ancient squid that was no longer easily tempted, not even by a sacred peach.

However, this time, Little Loach swung aggressively as if it was pulling Mo Fan’s neck to rush into the spiritual land. Judging from its reaction, Mo Fan couldtell that the spiritual land was indeed special.

He had hit a jackpot! Only rare spiritual treasure in this world could make the sea star-level Little Loach so thrilled. Mo Fan expected to advance to the third grade of his Lightning Element. His Chaos and Earth elements would soon advance to super-level!

1

Mo Fan used his Shadow element and traveled through the cavernous cracks following the anchor-tailed sea lion.

The cracks were so intricate it would have been impossible to find the spiritual land if not for the anchor-tailed sea lion who knew the place so perfectly. Mo Fan was excited they got closer.

He was glad that he had not slaughtered the creature. It had done him a huge favor!

“Big Brother, I’m almost done with my cultivation. I’ve been cultivating inside for almost a week. I feel bored. It’s still early, shall we take a stroll on the street?” A silvery voice said.

“Okay. But are you sure you only want to take a stroll on the street?”

“Don’t be so naughty!”

The voice of the couple grew fainter.

The anchor-tailed sea lion told Mo Fan that those who had been acknowledged by Licheng Afterglow Island’s elders would have a chance to cultivate for six days in the spiritual land. On the seventh day, the spiritual land would be left vacant to restore itself.

And the anchor-tailed sea lion took advantage of the seventh day to sneak inside and cultivate itself.

Mo Fan came across an enormous stone door which was closed. The aura it exuded felt familiar.

Chapter 2740: By Means of Torture

Mo Fan vividly remembered the sweet scent even after all these years. Despite the passing of so many years, Mo Fan vividly remembered the inexplicably sweet scent.It was precisely because of this almost dried up thing that the Black Vatican dived into the Pearl Institute and killed Xu Zhaoting! But why would such a thing appear in such a place?

Mo Fan could never be mistaken about this. He was certain that he was right! It was the Underground Holy Spring!

The Underground Holy Spring was the heavenly treasure found in Licheng Afterglow Island’s spiritual land. Mo Fan used to cultivate for a week at the Underground Holy Spring. He had taken away the remaining holy spring essence in order to prevent the people from Black Vaticans from snatching it. In the end, Mo Fan had fed his Little Loach with the remaining essence.

Even if, by some reason, he was wrong, he knew Little Loach would never be mistaken about it. It loved the holy spring essence too much.

How was it that the Underground Holy Spring was the spiritual treasure of Licheng Afterglow Island? The Underground Holy Spring was a protected treasure of the ancient kings. The last Underground Holy Spring had disappeared together with the destruction of Bo City. Why did Licheng Afterglow Island have an identical Underground Holy Spring?

In fact, the Underground Holy Spring at Licheng Afterglow Island was multiple times bigger than Bo City’s. It contained a special warm pool that was rich with essence. If the Underground Holy Spring at the Bo City was considered analogous to a dying elderly man, the one at Licheng Afterglow Island was a giant in its youth!

Could the people from Licheng Afterglow Island be the descendants of ancient kings? Was it their mission to protect the Underground Holy Spring, too?

Mo Fan’s mind was full of questions. He wished he had mastered some sort of psychic technique so that he could summon Zhan Kong’s soul to answer all his queries.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Suddenly, the closed stone door slowly opened. Someone was about to enter. Mo Fan glared at the anchor-tailed sea lion. The anchor-tailed sea lion looked innocent and naïve.

They heard someone talking outside.

“Big Sister Feiyan, no one is allowed to cultivate at the sacred pool today. The other junior just left.” said the distant voice of a woman guarding the entrance.

The sound of the footsteps paused at the stone doorway, followed by a voice which Mo Fan recognized.

“I just came back from training outside. Seventh Granny allowed me to use the sacred pool. She hoped that I could advance to Super Level soon so that I am well-prepared for unexpected situations in the future.” It was Ruan Feiyan.

Mo Fan turned into a cloud of shadows and hid behind the stone pier.The anchor-tailed sea lion became invisible and blended with the rocks next to it. It stared at Mo Fan warily, as if it was very scared of him.

“Big Sister Feiyan, you’re truly awesome! I’ve not improved much even after so many years. It sure is a thing of envy that that Seventh Granny has chosen you for training outside.” The lady guarding the door said meekly.

“It’s fine. All of us will get a chance. Anyway, there is nothing impressive about the world outside. It’s inferior to Licheng Afterglow Island.” Ruan Feiyan said and walked through the stone door.

The stone door slowly closed behind her. Ruan Feiyan surveyed her surroundings. She then wrinkled her nose as though he could smell something she didn’t like very much.She casually fanned out the previous cultivator’s thick rogue aroma.

“I should work on my strength as soon as possible. Otherwise, that b*tchy Le Nan’s cultivation will soon surpass mine. And Seventh Granny backed her up! She could even become a leader next year! Hmph!” Ruan Feiyan grumbled to herself.

“So, Le Nan is just your toxic friend? I thought the two of you were very close.” Mo Fan’s voice rang out.

Ruan Feiyan’s eyes went wide. For a moment, she thought she was hallucinating. But when she noticed a dark shadow standing before her. The dark shadow was tall and radiated an imposing aura. She lunged at a mechanism next to the stone door.

Mo Fan sneered. He raised his hand and several shadow thorns materialized. It tied Ruan Feiyan within a blink of an eye. Ruan Feiyan’s blue eyes were filled with terror and confusion.

She had never expected him to appear here. How did Mo Fan locate the Licheng Afterglow Island? No one knew the entrance to the island, much less the sacred pool!

There was a mechanism next to the stone door. She was only a step away from it. If she pressed the mechanism, it could alert the grannies. However, she was nailed by hundreds of magical thorns. She could not even move her knuckles.

Shadow element…

‘This kid is an expert in shadow element. He can defeat me easily.’

“Never expected to see me so soon?” said Mo Fan with a radiant smile. “I am usually in the business of taking revenge on those who do me wrong.”

Mo Fan noticed Ruan’s curve especially when she was tied up. ‘Ahem… I’m a robber, not a rapist,’ he reminded himself.

Mo Fan decided to interrogate her here in this perfectly enclosed space where no one could enter. Mo Fan was puzzled by the existence of the Underground Holy Spring in a place like this.

Even Black Vaticans had no idea about any existing Underground Holy Springs…

Were the people from Bo City, Weiju clan from Ancient Capital, and the ladies from Licheng Afterglow Island descendants of the same ancestors?

Certain things seemed to fall into place. No wonder the ladies from Licheng Afterglow Island had such a high level of cultivation. The mages from the Bo City used Underground Holy Spring to improve their level of cultivation by leaps and bounds. They could only provide one spot to an outstanding mage in the city annually due to the depletion of the spring.

But the giant Underground Holy Spring at Licheng Afterglow Island had an unlimited supply of power. According to the anchor-tailed sea lion, people walked in to cultivate all the time for six days, except on the seventh day. There was a huge gap in energy as well as efficiency.

The Underground Holy Spring at Bo City enabled mages from basic-level to advance to intermediate-level. Cultivating in the Underground Holy Spring did not show a drastic effect on intermediate mages.

The Underground Holy Spring at Licheng Afterglow Island, on the other hand, had produced so many ladies with high levels of cultivation. It had even produced a ruler-level demon like the anchor-tailed sea lion. The anchor-tailed sea lion had only sneakingly entered the Underground Holy Spring on certain days at that.

“I’ve some questions to ask you. If you answer me truthfully, I won’t interrogate you by… means of torture,” Mo Fan said with a smile.

Ruan Feiyan was enraged. She had never expected to fall into Mo Fan’s hands like this. She was left up the creek without a paddle in this holy pool.

Swish!

Before Mo Fan even laid his hands on Ruan Feiyan, he heard a loud sucking sound from his chest.

1

Chapter 2741: Stop It, Little Loach

The noise certainly sounded hungry. The holy spring essence from the Underground Holy Spring surged, transforming into a thick vortex and flowed into Little Loach’s mouth.

“Little Loach, stop it!” Mo Fan cried out in shock.

Unfortunately, his cries were of no use. Of course, Little Loach was a gloat and would want to suck the essence. But what surprised Mo Fan the most was that the holy spring essence willingly flowed into Little Loach’s mouth as it had been waiting for it all this time.

While Little Loach waited to devour the essences, the holy spring seemed like it wanted to be devoured. So, nobody could stop it from happening.

Little Loach consumed the holy spring essence. This was a sign of a growing soul cultivation magical equipment. Little Loach must have confirmed the place to be safe and before sucking the spring water with eagerness!

Little Loach was definitely more decisive than Mo Fan. It decided to take the things it found beneficial regardless of external factors.

It would then rely on its endless pit of a stomach to digest the food. If Little Loach had not taken the initiative to suck the holy spring essence, things might have gone wrong sooner or later.

The anchor-tailed sea lion’s eyes almost popped out when it saw this.

The anchor-tailed sea lion had sneaked into the Underground Holy Spring to suck only a few mouthfuls of the holy spring essence every now and then. It acted very carefully for fear of being discovered by the demons from Licheng Afterglow Island. It had never even once thought of drinking the holy spring essence in a single gulp.

But the human it saw gulped the holy spring essence as soon as he arrived at the Underground Holy Spring, as if he did not intend to leave a single drop for the people on this island!

The anchor-tailed sea lion was sad. If it had known that the holy spring essence was going to get devoured like this, it would have drunk a little more of it.

The anchor-tailed sea lion drooled yet it dared not act recklessly. It had recently regrown its head, it did not want its head to be smashed again, especially after it had witnessed Little Flame Belle’s power. It realized that Mo Fan might even be stronger than Little Flame belle. He did not dare to go against him.

As for Ruan Feiyan, her eyes were wide open in shock. If she was a demon, she would have lunged at Mo Fan and killed him. The sacred pool meant everything to Licheng Afterglow Island! This wicked man had sucked the holy spring essence dry,

Ruan Feiyan felt like she would go insane. Anyone from Licheng Afterglow Island would go insane if they saw this!

Mo Fan sighed. “To be honest, I…”

Ruan Feiyan had passed out. But she remained upright. Mo Fan had tied her very tight. She looked as though her soul had been sucked away. “You can’t blame me. If you had only fulfilled your contract, I might have stopped Little Loach from doing something like this.”

Even though Little Loach was only the size of a pendant, it was no different from any ordinary creature. After gulping the holy spring essence, its abdomen bulged.It had transformed into a round ball-shaped pendant from a slim and curvy ring. It had become so round that Mo Fan could hardly recognize it.

Little Loach had no intention of leaving even a drop behind. It was like Mo Fan who spared no one when he fought his enemies.

Little Loach burped. Mo Fan was already used to it. He sat down and began to cultivate.He was only a step away from achieving third grade for his Lightning Element. Whenever Little Loach absorbed spiritual treasures, it would provide Mo Fan with immense power, allowing him to break through solid barriers.

Mo Fan had a total of eight elements. He had to depend on Little Loach to reach the peak of magic.

Mo Fan was excited. But he was also solemn as he abrobed himself in his star sea world. The star sea world had transformed into a vast and dazzling world of star signs. The stars flashed and illuminated everything.

However, it was clear that the 2401 star sons refused to be let alone in such a narrow space. They were eager to explore a wider and mysterious world. They were filled with a desire to explore, like humans when they first learned of civilization. The pitch-black and empty zones were illuminated by the star sons’ bright light.

Little Loach transported a cloud of stardust energy mist. The stardust energy mist enabled the star sons to break through the barrier and were fired to the unknown zones.

The stars kept flashing, and the star sea continued to expand. The previously dark and cold zones had been absorbed into the purple star kingdom. Even though the distance between the star sons were far, they were closely connected to one another. A gorgeous purple light flashed and rotated among the 2401 star sons. A magnificent star palace loomed above the star seas.

Mo Fan had achieved Super Level third grade!

Mo Fan had assumed that he had a lot to do before he was able to achieve peak cultivation. He had not expected to achieve peak realm in his lightning element without even realizing it.

According to international standards, they achieved their cultivation once they achieved third grade, except for forbidden curse which was impossible to improve further.

A forbidden mage had to abide by international conventions. They must not interfere in secular fights. Even after they cast a forbidden curse, they had to write a divine sentiment to the Magic Association.

The forbidden curse was beyond ordinary magic cultivation. Commander Hua had once said that the forbidden curse was against the nature of all laws.

Anyhow, Mo Fan had achieved the peak in one of his elements. He didn’t have anyone to fear now. Anyone who did not address him with the respect he deserved would be sent flying.

Mo Fan opened his eyes and relaxed. He looked at Little Loach. It never used to look full no matter what it devoured. Even when it swallowed spiritual treasures, it would wriggle and squirm as though it was still dissatisfied. But now, it was quiet. It looked comfortable and content and slept soundly on Mo Fan’s chest.

Mo Fan, seeing it so full and satisfied, smiled to himself. It looked like Little Loach was about to advance to the next level once again. He wondered which realm it would achieve next. He also wondered if he would no longer require any auxiliary means for his awakened element.

Without the barriers, Mo Fan’s cultivation was like a convergence of streams and rivers. The water flowed vigorously. It would not stop and dry up. Instead, it would continue to accumulate and transform into a big river that gushed out into the sea.

Once Little Loach digested all the energy it had devoured, Mo Fan’s Chaos and Earth elements would surge up with the rest of the elements. It was only a matter of time before all his eight elements were completed, or at their peaks. By then, everyone, including the beasts would be intimidated by his aura!

Chapter 2742: Exposing One’s Malicious Intention

“Ahhh!” Ruan Feiyan awoke screaming. She was drenched in sweat. It felt like she had had a nightmare.

When she saw Mo Fan and the pool that was now dried up, she wished she was back in her nightmare.

And Ruan Feiyan almost passed out again.

“Given that you’ve provided me with the information about the precious Underground Holy Spring, I’ll be quick when executing you, lest you suffer,” said Mo fan calmly.

Ruan Feiyan could not breathe. She fainted once more. She became slack but remained upright bound by Mo Fan’s thorns of shadows.

Mo Fan sighed. “She had such a low level of resilience.”

People should frequently venture out and fight through setbacks to toughen themselves. Otherwise, they would end up like Ruan Faiyan, who fainted so easily at minor inconveniences.

Ruan Feiyan had wanted to stall Mo Fan for at least a time until she could alert the others. She had wanted to charm him and slow him down. But Mo Fan had dried up the pool at once.

“Let’s go. We’ve had enough of the holy spring essence. It’s time to settle accounts with the people on this island.” Mo Fan patted his chest as he walked out of the big stone door.

Mo Fan had taken away the most precious thing on the island. There was no need to continue to stay. As for Ruan Feiyan, she was going to go crazy. He left her in the Underground Holy Spring to fend for herself.

As soon as he stepped out of the door, the guard outside had changed shifts. The previous lady with a silvery voice was replaced by a man in a diagonally buttoned brocade coat.

The stone door closed, and the man had no idea that Ruan Feiyan was still inside.

“W-Who are you? Where did you come from? You can’t come here without permission. Aren’t you afraid of being punished by the grannies?” The man in the brocade coat questioned Mo Fan.

The man was more surprised than angry. Outsiders did not pay a visit to Lichen Afterglow Island. As a result, people were very laid back. People would only grow weaker if they continued to stay within their comfort zone!

Mo Fan recognized him to be the same man who had previously invited his female junior to stroll on the streets or to “work out” with him. Mo Fan raised his eyebrow and looked at the man.

“How long have you been “strolling on the street” with your junior?” Mo Fan asked.

It had taken Mo Fan thirty minutes since he had entered the Underground Holy Spring, sucked the spring dry, imprisoned Ruan Feiyan, cultivated a breakthrough through the barrier and achieved third grade in his Lightning Element.

“Half an hour… Who exactly are you? Why are you here? I’ve never seen you before. Are you new here? Or…” The man in the brocade coat finally sensed something was wrong. It certainly took him a while to realize that Mo Fan was an intruder.

“You appear just in time. You will lead me to those who rule this island,” Mo Fan said.

“Who do you think you are?!” The man in the brocade coat shouted angrily!

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The stone door behind them opened. Ruan Feiyan staggered out supporting herself on the wall. She looked pale and exhausted.

When the man in the brocade coat saw Ruan Feiyan in that state, he was enraged. She was his goddess!

“Scum! You scum! I’m going to slaughter you!” The man in the brocade coat then came up with a wind element star constellation.

The man in the brocade coat cast an advance-level wind element magic—Wind Wings. Countless silver-bladed wings-like wind appeared behind his back. He then pointed them at Mo Fan, and the silver blades flew forwards.

Mo Fan took a step and vanished, leaving a film of bright diamond star dust on the ground. He then appeared behind the man and patted his shoulder. Lightning flashed through the man’s body as though tiny electrified snakes were crawling over his body. The man in the brocade coat twitched violently, foaming at his mouth.

“Y-You… I’m going to kill you! I’m going to kill you!” Ruan Feiyan was furious. Her scarf and conical hat come off. She charged at Mo Fan with hair flying.

“It’s best if you show me the way. After all, I’m not close to this guy. By the way, do you know him? I saw him sleeping with your junior who previously cultivated at the Underground Holy Spring. I suppose they only spent about five minutes or so…” Mo Fan said to Ruan Feiyan.

Ruan Feiyan was no match for Mo Fan. Mo Fan played tricks on her using his Chaos element, and she nearly went insane. He insulted her verbally to provoke her even more. The paralyzed man on the ground was now spitting blood.

“Don’t ever think that you can leave Licheng Afterglow Island in one piece! You have no idea how powerful our grannies are. You are an idiotic invader! You’ll be torn to shreds! Grannies will tear your stomach open and redeem the holy spring essence!” Ruan Feiyan screamed at him.

“To my ancestors, please forgive me for running into such a filthy and despicable man. Never, ever spare him, even if he dies!” Ruan Feiyan cursed him.

Mo Fan scratched his ears. He sighed. Even her curses were weak and annoying.

“Obtaining the holy spring essence is just the first step, and you’re already hysterical. What will you do when I defeat your grannies, destroy the ancient statues and sink your island?”

Ruan Feiyan fainted again. Mo Fan sighed. ‘I spit out my first sentence and you are already on the ground…’

1

…

After leaving the Licheng Afterglow Island spiritual realm, Mo Fan took to the streets. Meanwhile, Ruan Feiyan awoke once again as a soft breeze blew on her.

A sweet-looking young woman was walking the street eating her tanghulu happily. The moment she noticed the man walking in front of her, the tanghulu tasted repulsive.

Chapter 2743: Taking Instead of Robbing

“Hi cutie, we meet again,” said Mo Fan as he placed Ruan Feiyan’s weak form on the street in front of Shu Xiaohua. “Look, your Big Sister Ruan fainted. Could you help her out?”

Shu Xiaohua spit out her tanghulu, looking disgusted at Mo Fan.

“Be good and show me the way. I would like to meet up with your grannies. After all, you’re nothing to me. I don’t want to waste my time killing you in my wasted fit of anger.” The corners of Mo Fan’s mouth curled up into an annoying smile.

Shu Xiaohua was a scheming and cunning woman. But she wasn’t stupid. She knew she was no match for Mo Fan. She did what Mo Fan told her to. She led him to Granny’s Mountain villa.

“I used to enjoy devouring b*tches like you.” Unbeknownst to them, Apas had sneaked out from her Contracted Space. She glared at Shu Xiaohua.

Apas was Medusa, and most Medusas were of demonic bloodline. They ate young ladies to maintain their youthfulness. When Mo Fan first saw her at the ruins, some corpses and bones were scattered around the pitiful Apas.

Apas herself had half human bloodline so she did not consume young women, but she did not stop her handmaiden, who was also a Medusa, from having her fill.

Shu Xiaohua was definitely the handmaiden’s cup of tea. Those who were b*tchy, fragrant and wicked but pretended to be naïve and sweet tasted delicious.

“Hiss! Hiss!” Apas flicked her tongue out, revealing her fangs and forked tongue. She bared her fangs as she sized Shu Xiaohua up.

1

Shu Xiaohua had assumed Apas was just an ordinary woman. She was shocked and scared to see that Apas was actually a snake-haired creature. Shu Xiaohua feared snakes. She had been plotting how to drive Mo Fan to death, but when Apas appeared, her mind went blank.

“Are you aware that Medusas are a type of marrow-sucking snakes? Our fangs are like syringes. We can suck a creature’s blood, fats, and bone marrows without hurting their skins. It’s similar to you humans drinking coconut water. Once you finish the coconut water, you coat the outer layer with antiseptic herbs and hang it inside the wardrobe, don’t you? Likewise, my older sister loves to do that. She has endless young lady skins to change throughout the year,” Apas whispered in Shu Xiaohua’s ear.

Shu Xiaohua seldom ventured outside. So, she did not have the slightest knowledge about skinning. But listening to Apas made it seem too painful and real that she almost fainted.

Mo Fan was very satisfied with Apas’s intervention.

In the past, Apas used to do this to scare Lingling. However, Shu Xiaohua wasn’t as intelligent and experienced as Lingling. Lingling wasn’t unaware of morbid and bizarre things. Lingling had read many books on ancient curses and rituals. Whenever Apas used to whisper something gory to Lingling, she would turn right back and narrate something macabre at Apas without flinching.

…

Mo Fan threatened the two ladies and headed towards Licheng Afterglow Mountain villa. He saw some men and women in strange clothes along the way. He did not care. Mo Fan ignored them if they did not ask for trouble.

“Have you heard of the Underground Holy Spring?” Mo Fan asked.

Shu Xiaohua lowered her head. Her face darkened. She remained silent.

Mo Fan chuckled. He then signaled Apas to apply soul-searching technique. Apas’s snake pupils flashed. Shu Xiaohua became petrified and stood frozen in her place.

“Suit yourself,” Apas said bewitchingly while tidying her elegant long hair.

Mo Fan asked Shu Xiaohua about the island. It turned out that she understood Licheng Afterglow Island’s past quite well.

A hundred years ago, there were two famous hidden clans in Licheng City who had inherited powerful ancient magic. They were called Afterglow Island and Mingwu Ancient City. Those who came from the two greatest hidden clans were basically dragons among men.

However, the hidden clan from Afterglow Island had offended the ruler of that time. As a result, the ruler lured out the people from Afterglow Island and killed all of them, leaving not even a single soul behind. Since then, no one knew how to find the ruins of the Afterglow Island.

In order to stay out of trouble, people from Mingwu Ancient City began to recruit outsiders, transforming Mingwu Ancient City into a normal city in Licheng City instead of a place purely for hidden clans.

After the ruler died, the foreign population had assimilated with the people from Mingwu Ancient City. The minority hidden clan in Mingwu Ancient City refused to let the two greatest hidden clans from their past to just disappear. They decided to look for Afterglow Island and get out of the Mingwu Ancient City.

They were aware that Afterglow Island contained the Underground Holy Spring. If they managed to discover that blessed land, they could revive the glory of the two hidden clans.

The ancient statues had the most value in Mingwu Ancient City. Moving the statues to the secretive Afterglow Island was tantamount to combining the two greatest hidden clans. By doing so, they could protect themselves in the middle of chaos while nurturing experts!

They soon discovered the Underground Holy Spring at the Afterglow Island. The hidden clan from Mingwu Ancient City migrated to the Afterglow Island. They carried the most important ancient statue away from Mingwu Ancient City when they went to settle down on the island.

Little did they expect that carrying the ancient statue would lead to an immense lightning disaster. The lightning storm struck Licheng City rampantly, causing the people in Licheng City to suffer tremendously.

They were afraid that the destructive disaster would befall them once more. Hence, they shifted all the blame to the totem, and wiped them all out before escaping to the Afterglow Island.

An enormous ancient statue from Mingwu Ancient City alone was sufficient to ensure their safety at Afterglow Island, after all. They lived there for many years and did not bother with the other statues in the Mingwu Ancient City for others

However, when they noticed a rise of sea levels and an increasing number of ferocious and powerful Ocean Godly Horde and Hunter Dirty Demons lurking near the Afterglow Island, they knew that the powerful Ocean Demons had laid their eyes on the land.

In order to gain wider protection, they decided to take the remaining ancient statues from Mingwu Ancient City back to Licheng Afterglow Island. By doing so, they could ensure their safety regardless of how long the war with the demons lasted.

‘So, it looks like the two hidden clans are connected to the Weiju clan from Ancient Capital. The descendants of the Ancient King are scattered in many places, keeping an eye on an ancient holy relic. But most of them have assimilated with other commoners. No one knows who owns the ancient holy relics. The sacred Underground Holy Spring is considered to be in good hands at Licheng Afterglow Island.’ Mo Fan now understood the entire story.

Well, he was at least half of the Ancient King’s disciples, so he had not actually robbed the holy spring essence.

Chapter 2744: Living Under the Rock

“H–How did you find us here?” stammered Du Mei, as she pointed at Mo Fan. “Big Sister Ruan! Shu Xiaohua!” she exclaimed.

There was a long green bamboo road that went to the mountain villa. It snaked and twisted and led all the way up. Many men and women carrying bamboo baskets were walking along it. Some went up while others were descending. Most looked numb.

Du Mei walked with a tall and handsome man. They had been talking happily like a couple in love.

“Who is he?” The tall and handsome man frowned.

At Licheng Afterglow Island, men and women had a pretty straightforward relationship. When they encountered their lover’s rival, they beat them up without hesitation. Only the strongest had the right to stay with their significant other.

Unlike those foreign guys that ended up marrying ladies from Licheng Afterglow Island, Du Wanjun was an authentic descendant from the hidden clan. He was one of the few powerful men among the female-dominated Licheng Afterglow Island.

Men from Licheng Afterglow Island were highly sought after. They were free to choose any woman they preferred in Licheng Afterglow Island. Du Wanjun had his eyes on Du Mei. This was because he was envious. She had told him of her adventure from outside the island. She had mentioned a certain Seven-star Hunter Master whose strength was as good as Du Wanjun. Du Wanjun felt his position was threatened and put in more effort to court Du Mei. He was about to succeed when…

“He’s the Seven-star Hunter Master that I told you about. He’s really great! But…” Du Mei was confused when she saw Ruan Feiyan and Shu Xiaohua.

‘So, Ruan Feiyan and Shu Xiao did not lie to him. They really brought him here,’ thought Du Mei.

Even though this was against the rules, Du Mei felt that it was the right thing to do. If they didn’t fulfill their promise, it made her feel guilty as part of the team.

“Eh, I heard Granny say that the outsiders’ strength is only average.It’s a chance hard to come by to have a visitor in Licheng Afterglow Island. I can’t wait to spar with you. None of the young men on the island are a match for me,” said Du Wanjun proudly.

“Wanjun, he’s truly very powerful. He can summon a ruler-level beast…” Du Mei was naive. She still had not figured out what Mo Fan was doing on the island.

Du Wanjun frowned. Was Du Mei stupid? Or did she have feelings for this man from outside the island? Was she aware how insensitive it was to praise an outsider before him?!

“Then I have all the more reason to get to know you!” Du Wanjun walked up to Mo Fan.

“So, is this your cousin?” Mo Fan asked Du Mei.

“Yes, he is. He’s the strongest man in Licheng Afterglow Island,” Du Mei said.

Du Mei sensed something was strange. Ruan Feiyan looked exhausted while Shu Xiaohua looked terrified. Du Mei was alarmed as she finally understood. “You barged into our island?!”

“We should frequently venture outside to see the world. Otherwise, we will end up living under the rock. Du Mei, there are plenty of men like him out there.” Mo Fan ignored Du Mei. He continued towards Licheng Afterglow Island Mountain villa.

There was no need to be calculative with Du Mei. After all, Du Mei was not so cunning. She was the most gullible out of the group. Her expression revealed all of her thoughts.

“What do you mean? Stop!” Du Wanjun screamed at him.

Mo Fan ignored him and continued heading towards the mountain villa with Ruan Feiyan and Shu Xiaohua. Apas had applied the soul-searching technique on both. They were in a daze and walked beside Apas in a daze.

“Bastard! I said stop ! Didn’t you hear what I said?!” Du Wanjun flew into a rage.

A silver glow appeared around Du Wanjun. He coalesced mercury particles in his hand. He took a step forward and fired. Strong breeze shook the bamboo trees on both sides of the road, causing even the hardest of bamboos to bend to the ground.

Du Wanjun held a Silver Sea Water long blade. When he swung his blade, the tip of the blade arched across the sky. He slashed at Mo Fan’s back.

“Wanjun, don’t…!” Du Mei shouted.

“This proud bastard is the one who started it!” Du Wanjun said angrily.

Mo Fan turned around, and his eyes sparkled with silver light. His pupils lit up, sparkling with special divine energy, as if declaring his sovereignty over everything around him!

Du Wanjun’s Silver Sea Water long blade stopped in mid-air. It was only less than half a meter from Mo Fan’s forehead. No matter how hard Du Wanjun tried, he could not slash at Mo Fan.

“Get lost!” Mo Fan shouted furiously.

The thick bamboo smashed onto the ground. It was a terrifying sight to behold.

Du Wanjun was sent flying backward, as if a running beast had run into his chest ruthlessly. He fell from the mountain side.

There were more than ten hectares of green bamboo and mountain pines along the mountainside. Du Wanjun crashed into them as he fell.

Du Wanjun spit out blood. His chest bones were shattered. He glared at the tiny black dot with wrathful eyes. He hated Mo Fan.

“W-Wanjun!” Du Mei was so shocked that she turned very pale. She rushed down the hill.

Bam!

Suddenly, lightning struck the Licheng Afterglow Island. It was a straight bolt of lightning that hit straight on the land.

A scorched, bottomless pit appeared. The lightning happened in a flash. It was so fast that the people had not even had the time to react. But when they came to their senses and saw the dim lightning still crackling, they were filled with terror.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Dozens of identical lightning bolts rained down. appeared. The lightning bolts were like purple heavenly swords. Each lightning was as powerful as the first. Du Wanjun stayed paralyzed at the foot of the mountain, watching each of the fatal lightning bolts brush past him. Fear overcame him.

“Wanjun! Wanjun!” Du Mei rushed to him anxiously.

The lightning had been terrifying, like God’s condemnation. Luckily, none had struck Du Wanjun.

When Du Mei drew close to Du Wanjun, she smelled something strange. She saw that Du Wanjun’s crotch was wet and straw-yellow colored urine was gushing out on his thighs and knees.

Chapter 2745: I’ve Besieged Licheng Afterglow Island

“Space element, Lightning element. He once mentioned that the Summoning Element wasn’t his strongest power yet. But the hunter;s information from the hall has stated that he was still a Super Level novice! How could this be...” Du Mei stared at Mo Fan in awe and fear as he disappeared into the grove again.

Right then, Shu Xiaohua and Ruan Feiyan awoke from their state, and they saw Mo Fan walking towards the mountain villa.

The Licheng Afterglow Island Mountain villa was situated at the highest point of the island. Seven grannies and two grandpas lived in the villa. The nine of them were powerful elders from the hidden clan. Each of them was of unfathomable strength.

Their biggest advantage compared to the younger generation was they had absorbed the holy spring essence for at least one or two decades. The people on the island could focus their cultivation without worrying about being disturbed. If they trained their talented young people in this way, they could nurture forbidden mages!

There were lychee trees in front of the mountain villa. The yellow lychee gave out a rich fragrance, adding a tinge of gracefulness and beauty to the light-peach colored mountain villa.

“Someone down the hill has applied a Lightning element magical power. Could that bitch have returned?! Hmph! How dare she come back to cause a fuss?! We’ve gone through great lengths to nurture her to become the greatest mage in Licheng Afterglow Island. We expected her to become a forbidden mage soon and lead us to redeem hidden clan’s glory once again. She betrayed us! Damn that girl!Did she truly think that she is invincible?! We will show her mercy no more. We will kill her and offer her as a tribute to our ancestors!” The woman, dressed all in dark green, shouted furiously.

“We should not have told Song Feiyao about the Green East Sea God,” said a short-sleeved old man smoking a cigarette.

“Who told her? Damn it! If only she focused her cultivation in the sacred pool, a talented lady like her would have become a forbidden mage soon. How can she wipe away our years of effort in nurturing her because of something that was long forgotten? Are we going to stay here for generations and allow the outsiders to mistreat us?!” said the woman, in dark green, angrily.

The elders of Licheng Afterglow Island had placed such high hopes on Song Feiyao. Even though Le Nan was talented and worked very hard just like Song Feiyao, Le Nan was too young. She would have to train for at least seven or eight years before she could become an expert and take on the responsibility on her own.

Ocean Demons and other demons had already laid their eyes on the people of Licheng Afterglow Island like hungry wolves. Even the ancient statues would not ensure the island’s complete safety. At the end of the day, the island’s fate would still depend on the experts. Having a forbidden mage and not having one made a significant difference!

“Granny! Granny! Something bad happened!” Le Nan rushed over to them anxiously.

“Why are you so panicked? Nothing can be worse than the b*tchy Song Feiyao coming home! Did she seriously think that she has the right to go against us after training for only two years outside?! She’s all by herself now!” Seventh Granny said

“It’s not her, it’s an outsider. I don’t know how he discovered Licheng Afterglow Island. He’s holding Shu Xiaohua and Ruan Feiyan hostage to settle an account with us!” Le Nan said.

“Hmph! Nonsense! We’ve never done anything to him. How dare he come to make a fuss on this island?! Does he really think he can simply invade our island?!” Seventh Granny stormed.

“Is he alone or are there other outsiders with him?” asked the old man with cigarettes.

“He came alone!”

“There’s nothing to fear, then.”

Seventh Granny walked outside. When she reached the lychee orchard, she saw Mo Fan standing on the long cobblestone path. A group of young people besieged him, but none of them dared to lay their hands on him.

“You’re the first in decades to come to the island to ask for trouble! I hope you have other requests other than asking for a death wish!” said Seventh Granny, pointing at Mo Fan.

“I’m not really in a hurry though. I’ll give you a day to enjoy all you want. By dusk tomorrow, the Licheng Afterglow Island will disappear from this world.” Mo Fan scratched his ear.

Mo Fan spoke with such confidence that the crowd around him cursed him.

“Let go of Ruan Feiyan and Shu Xiaohua. If you lose, I’ll at the very least spare your life. Then, I’ll cut your limbs, hang you as a punching bag in front of the courtyard. I’ll let go of you after a year of beating,” Seventh Granny said ruthlessly.

Mo Fan studied her carefully. He realized that Seventh Granny was the same woman he had seen in his vision. She had tried to seduce the young fisherman. She looked so much older. More than a decade must have passed after the incident. But she was as wicked as always.

Mo Fan glared at Shu Xiaohua and Ruan Feiyan.

‘This old coot assumes I’m holding these two as hostages,’ Mo Fan thought, amused. ‘What a joke!’ Mo Fan was strong enough to ravage this island to the ground. He had no need for hostages.

Mo Fan ignored her, but he let Shu Xiaohua and Ruan Feiyan go. These two could do nothing to threaten him, after all.

“Granny! Granny! He has drained the holy spring essence from our sacred pool. There’s not even a single drop left!” Ruan Feiyan told the grannies in tears.

The crowd boiled with anger. The young men and women had dared not to confront Mo Fan. But now they wanted to kill him, or at least try.

“Get out of the way. You’re no match for him. I’ll skin him alive, tear his stomach open, and filter his blood in the sacred pool!” Seventh Granny’s expression was frightening to behold.

“I’ve also broken through the barrier and advanced by one grade. The holy spring essence is a jewel in the crown. It’s pure and holy. Filthy and evil-hearted people like you shouldn’t pollute such a holy spring. So, it’s best for me to keep it,” said Mo Fan.

Seventh Granny could not find any words to express her endless fury. She flashed, leaving black and silver dust in the place. She then made several leaps before appearing before Mo Fan.

She was a Space element mage!

She was very skillful. She must have a high level of cultivation.

When she drew close to Mo Fan, her gaze transformed into thousands of silver needles and pierced Mo Fan from every direction. If Mo Fan failed to withstand her attack, his body would be riddled with holes!

A handsome creature covered in star-patterned fur lunged and shattered Seventh Granny’s silver needles with its glowing star patterns. It then charged at Seventh Granny and bit her. The effect was so strong that even the grove shook.

Chapter 2746: Let Raiju Take Over

Seventh Granny’s dark green pant legs tore open. Several drops of blood spilled out.

She reacted fast and moved backwards in a flash. Otherwise, the Royal Pattern Wolf would have ripped her stomach open.

“Savage beast! How dare you hurt me?!” Seventh Granny cried in rage. She laced her hands together. Countless thick roots erupted upwards from the lychee orchard surrounding them.

The lychee roots grew rapidly and covered the entire courtyard. It was now a fortress made up of roots entirely trapping Royal Pattern Wolf inside.

“Howl!” The Royal Pattern Wolf howled. Its hackles rose. Countless blazing star bugs flew everywhere from under its smooth fur.

The blazing star bugs stuck on the lychee roots. The crimson star bugs then released a blazing-hot light energy. The red-light energy surrounded the lychee roots and devoured them.

The thick and sturdy roots withered easily. They were turned to ash as the crimson star bugs sucked out their vitality instantly.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

After the crimson star bugs sucked all the vitality, they became blazing hot, and returned under the Royal Pattern Wolf’s fur. The Royal Pattern Wolf’s fur glowed. The Royal Pattern Wolf looked as if it was armored with scorching patterns. Its limbs grew stronger.

Swish! Swish!

The Royal Pattern Wolf slashed the roots with its claws as if they were just weeds. The lychee roots were sent flying in the air. The Royal Pattern Wolf then split into nine afterimage and moved at a breakneck speed.

Nine Shadow Slitting Throat!

Nine Shadow Slitting Throat was the Royal Pattern Wolf’s killing move. It could only perform such explosive power and aggression under the reinforcement of destructive scorching patterns.

Seventh Granny was so terrified that her face turned pale.

The Royal Pattern Wolf was an orthodox ruler-level beast. When its star bugs performed at their best and all its wolf patterns revealed themselves, the Royal Pattern Wolf’s combat power improved by multiple folds. Even though Seventh Granny had a high level of cultivation, she found it difficult to take on the ever-changing Royal Pattern Wolf on her own.

Seventh Granny tried to keep as far away as possible from the Royal Pattern Wolf. It was necessary to keep a distance when confronting a ruler-level beast as dangerous as this. However, the Royal Pattern Wolf moved as quickly as lightning under the nine afterimages. It slashed at Seventh Granny’s throat with its terrifying claws.

Seventh Granny hurriedly summoned her magical shield mountain equipment. Although the magical shield mountain equipment was huge and strong, the Royal Pattern shattered it in a single swipe. Seventh Granny spat blood and fell onto the ground with her shattered pieces of magical shield mountain equipment.

“Granny!” Le Nan cried out in shock. She quickly dashed forward to stop the Royal Pattern Wolf from biting Seventh Granny. A wolf shadow light appeared surrounding the Royal Pattern Wolf and Le Nan was sent flying.

“Savage beast!” An icy cold voice thundered.

A dark blue figure flashed by. It was the middle-aged woman who was always clad in dark blue. She glowed with a bronze liquid. The liquid transformed into a heavy bell.

The bronze water bell flashed. When the Royal Pattern Wolf banged against it, it made a loud resounding noise. A small part of the Royal Pattern Wolf’s sharp claws broke.

Even though the woman in dark blue clothes was just using Water element magical power, the bell was as hard as bronze. Her power was rare. Mo Fan’s mouth twitched. He stood at the side and watched the match.

Although the Royal Pattern Wolf’s claws broke, it had not lost its combat power.The star bugs danced around once again. The star bugs flew to the surrounding pine grove and bamboo. The plants instantly withered. Even the animals around were reduced to their bones.

The Royal Pattern Wolf’s bleeding claws fell off and regrew at an impossible speed. The bruises and scratches on its body healed. After sucking the life force, the Royal Pattern Wolf’s combat efficiency increased once again.

The Royal Pattern Wolf was in a situation where it would only grow stronger as the battle progressed. This would grant him sufficient time to accumulate destructive scorching patterns, unyielding star patterns, and vitality-sucking patterns before advancing from ruler-level category.

Of course, the Royal Pattern Wolf’s biggest weakness was ambush and direct destructive power.

“Get behind me and treat your wounds. I’ll fight it,” said Granny Lan to Seventh Granny.

“You have to rip him apart. Redeem our holy spring essence!” Seventh Granny screamed.

“Don’t worry. No one can leave this island alive with our holy spring essence,” said Granny Lan.

Her body was still covered with bronze liquid, like an invertebrate creature that had thousands of lives. The liquid could transform into whatever shape Granny Lan wanted.

It was Granny Lan’s turn to counterattack the Royal Pattern Wolf. The bronze liquid transformed into a long whip covered with thorns.

“Howl! Howl! Howl!”

Granny Lan swung her bronze water whip skillfully.She sometimes made it spin above her head and swung it like a snake. She turned the whip on Royal Pattern Wolf and struck it.

‘Her supernatural power looks interesting.’ Mo Fan watched her attentively.

The bronze liquid was part of the Water element supernatural power. It had several special effects including transformation power, solidification, and the ability to become as hard as bronze and stone. If the power was fully mastered and combined with other elements, it would have a strong effect.

It was clear that Granny Lan was an expert. She was a Wind element mage, too. With such powerful magical equipment in her hand, she wasn’t concerned even if something as strong as Royal Pattern Wolf was near her.

Granny Lan used her bronze water whip to attack and defend herself. Regardless of how fast the Royal Pattern Wolf was, it could not escape her ubiquitous ruthless whip.

Snap!

A loud snapping sound cut across the air. It was louder than firecrackers. Granny Lan stored her power before she struck. Her bronze water whip unwound with tremendous force, causing an explosive blast in the air.

The Royal Pattern Wolf was sent flying a few hundred meters away and fell next to Mo Fan. Its forehead was injured. The blood flowed down to its ears and eyes.

“You’re no match for her. Let Raiju take over it,” said Mo Fan to Royal Pattern Wolf.

Granny Lan’s strength was many times stronger than Seventh Granny. Mo Fan could not underestimate her.

Chapter 2747: Overthrowing All of You

Mo Fan applied Fusion magic and fused Summoning magic with his Lightning magic. The ancient magic portal opened. The portal led him to the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower. Mo Fan summoned the mighty lightning general below the Elf King’s throne, Raiju. It was standing on top of clouds.

“Granny Lan, stop him from summoning his elf. He can summon Raiju!” Ruan Feiyan shouted.

Raiju was more powerful than the Royal Pattern Wolf. Although the Royal Pattern Wolf could become stronger as the battle progressed, it required sufficient time to collect various royal patterns. Raiju, on the other hand, could inflict direct damage with its average ruler-level power. In fact, Raiju could kill a Super Level mage with ease!

“He won’t have a chance.”

While Mo Fan was focusing on opening the ancient magic portal, an old man appeared suddenly from the tangled pine grove. The old man held a flaming red spear. He used bizarre Wind element power and appeared behind Mo Fan.

His flaming red spear was imbued with the power of a whirlwind electric drill. When Mo Fan turned around, the old man’s flaming red spear transformed into a life-threatening fire dragon. The fire dragon lunged at Mo Fan ferociously.

“It’s Grandpa Ye!”

“Kill him! Kill him!”

The crowd, just moments ago, had wondered why Grandpa Ye wasn’t joining the fight. Grandpa Ye was very close to Seventh Granny. He had been waiting…

A Summoning element mage not only had to pay full attention when casting the spell, but he also had to act swiftly in finding his targeted summoning creature. While the Summoning element mage was under these circumstances, he certainly could not observe his surroundings.

Grandpa Ye took advantage of this opportunity to attack Mo Fan!

Grandpa Ye was one of the oldest elders. The organization structure in Licheng Afterglow Island was straightforward. The seven grannies and two grandpas had the final say in everything.

They determined “Grannies” and “Grandpas” based on an annual competition instead of the level of seniority. The strongest nine would be given the title Grannies and Grandpas.

Apart from Song Feiyao being the youngest among the Grannies and Grandpas, the rest of them were from the older generation. After all, they had cultivated in the Underground Holy Spring for many years.

Grandpa Ye had a high respect among them. He was very strong. No outsiders on this island were a match for Grandpa Ye.

Grandpa Ye appeared with his flaming red spear. He stabbed Mo Fan through the chest. Grandpa Ye sneered.

‘So, you think Licheng Afterglow Island is a cheap fortress where you can just hop on and make a fuss, huh?’ thought Grandpa Ye.

But to his surprise, Mo Fan met his gaze unwaveringly. Most of the time, when Grandpa Ye used his power, he moved at such breakneck speed that nobody could see him. But Mo Fan met his gaze and smirked.

Grandpa Ye was stunned. ‘What’s so funny? I just penetrated your body with my spear!’

Mo Fan’s grin vanished and so did he. There was only a wisp of smoke where he had stood moments before. Grandpa Ye’s spear only hit smoke. There was no flesh, no blood, and definitely no human body being ripped apart.

…

The smoke skirted around Grandpa Ye’s powerful flaming red spear before converging once again. The smoky Mo Fan became solid again and smiled mockingly at him.

Grandpa Ye was shocked. He had never expected Mo Fan to be a Shadow Element expert. Mo Fan had reacted extremely fast. His ability to transform was inexplicable. If Mo Fan continued to turn into smoke every time they attacked him, how are they supposed to kill him?

“Lightning, Summoning, Space, and Shadow elements,” Shu Xiaohua blurted out, noticing the types of magic he had used.

“You’ve already shown us four elements of yours. You don’t have much elemental magic power left. And we haven’t shown you all our experts yet! You’re going to die! You’ll die!” Ruan Feiyan said angrily.

“Kid, you’re quite strong indeed. Although we might not be a match for you in this one-on-one combat, we haven’t started a war of attrition with you yet!” Grandpa Ye said.

He casually took out a cigarette from the pocket on his shirt and smoked it in leisure. Several figures appeared on the mountain path at the other end of the villa. Their outfits were different from others who were younger. They dressed in the same hue from head to toe as if representing a special identity in the Licheng Afterglow Island.

“Grandma!”

When Shu Xiaohua saw an old woman in purple, she looked as though she had found her pillar of strength. She cried and pointed at Mo Fan.

“Grandma, save him just a single breath, I want to make him regret offending me!”

Eldest Granny was quite old. Her skin was parched and wrinkled. She held a walking stick made of lychee wood, adorned with a brilliant pearl. One would have thought Eldest Granny was a frail old woman at a glance, but she exuded the most intimidating aura than all of the others combined.Her powerful aura was much stronger than Grandma Lan and Grandpa Ye!

“Young man, do we have any bad blood between us?” Eldest Granny approached Mo Fan with her walking stick. Her gaze was razor sharp.

“Ask your girl.” Mo Fan chuckled.

“Tell me the truth.” Eldest Granny looked at Shu Xiaohua.

Shu Xiaohua told her everything that had happened when they met Mo Fan. She told him how they had fooled him and broke their contract.

“I see,” said Eldest Granny. “Young man, if you return the holy spring essence to us, I’ll allow you to cultivate it for a month. After a month, you can leave the island freely. But you must swear with your spiritual soul that you will never reveal the secret of this island.” Eldest Granny raised her hand, gesturing for others to be quiet.

“I’m very sorry. I do not have room for negotiation with the people of this island anymore. I prefer to keep the essence for myself, thank you very much. I am not proud of being so greedy but seeing that everyone here is selfish trash, I don’t feel much bad about it,” said Mo Fan.

“Did he lose his mind?!”

“Rip him apart!”

“Eldest Granny, don’t let him defile our ancestral land. We should behead him and use it for our ancestral ritual this year!” The crowd intoned.

Eldest Granny raised her hand once more and the crowd fell silent. Eldest Granny was patient. She did not act recklessly.

“You can’t possibly expect to defeat us all. The Green East Sea God is an apex among the ruler-level beasts. I could have summoned it to kill you, but I didn’t because the fact remains that our young ladies have cheated and offended you. However, we cannot really give the essence to you. Therefore, we cannot give in. Look at the sea level. you still have time before dusk.” Eldest Granny pointed at the sea.

The sea surface reflected the sunset beautifully. The reddish sunset had sunk beneath the water’s surface.

“Are you aware that the lightning disaster almost destroyed the fortress?” asked Mo Fan.

“Yes, I am. But we’re just protecting ourselves in the middle of this chaotic world. If you are here to enforce your version of justice, then I don’t think there’s room for discussion,” Eldest Granny said in an icy cold tone.

“I came to overthrow scumbags like you!” Mo Fan craned his neck and stretched it to relieve the tension on his neck. He stared at the old rulers of the island.

“Old people shouldn’t get out of touch with things in the outside world. Otherwise, you won’t even know that you’ve offended people whom you can’t afford to offend. Everyone in the south is aware of my bad temper, EVERYONE except the Ocean Demons and, of course, you people on this island.”

Chapter 2748: Silver Thunder Titan

To say such things with arrogance, a person either had to be powerful or massively ignorant.

The magic novices of Licheng Afterglow Island were here. Although many of these people had never stepped into the outside world, the nine elderly seniors always told them that they were superior to the outsiders.

Those who had a chance to go outside to train had come back with great confidence. They always said that the strength and cultivation of people in the outside world could not compare with those in Licheng Afterglow Island.

However, what made an outsider to be so audacious as to stand here and boast without shame? It was as if he wanted to humiliate all of Licheng Afterglow Island.

“You’re asking for trouble. I have nothing else to say to you.” Eldest Granny held her special lychee cane tightly in both hands.

She drilled the end of the cane into the soil. With a slight twist, a warped soil pattern appeared on the ground and expanded towards Mo Fan’s feet.

Splat!

The soil and stones flew everywhere, and a plant-like thing slithered out with green stripes all over its body. The antlers on its raised head looked as if a dozen elks’ antlers were meshed together.

Its head resembled that of a python. When it opened its maw, it only showed a deep hole with numerous sharp wooden teeth. It had a long and thick body, and as many legs as a centipede. They weren’t just legs; they were razor-sharp claws.

The Wooden Centipede Python was terrifying. If it stood up, it was as high as a skyscraper. The wild aura emanating from the Wooden Centipede Python was more powerful than that of the Centipede Dragon at Cult Fiction.

Strange lights appeared when it moved its claws. It was as if the evening sky behind the Wooden Centipede Python was full of strange and terrifying evil spells that were cast to oppress Mo Fan’s soul!

Mo Fan took a few steps back, and quickly completed the final part of the ancient magic portal.

He knew that Raiju was far smaller compared to this creature and it would have a difficult time fighting something as huge as that. So, Mo Fan changed his mind at the last minute and summoned another creature from the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower.

He still combined it with the Lightning Element. The apex of the third level of the Lightning Element allowed Mo Fan to summon a higher-level creature than Raiju.

Above the clouds was the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower, and still above it were some magnificent palaces. The place was snow-white, and those palaces were shining with silver light. Compared to the common spirits under the Summoned Beast Plane, the creatures that lived here were as mighty and sacred as gods.

“Silver Thunder Titan!”

A giant figure stepped out of the ancient magic portal, and the whole mountain village trembled. It aimed a giant sword made of lightning bolts at the evening sky. The sky was brightly illuminated due to the sword’s light. Even the clouds gained a silver lining.

The Silver Thunder Titan had Silverstone Skin, and it was glowing. It was wearing a huge trench coat and holding a terrifying Giant Lightning Curved Sword. Its strong and domineering aura, and giant body spread fear.

“How does he manage to summon a stronger creature each time?” Ruan Feiyan and Shu Xiaohua were speechless.

Raiju was already a powerful creature in the Door of Summoning. Grandpa Ye had tried his best to distract Mo Fan to stop him from summoning Raiju, an ancient Lightning Element spirit and yet…

Mo Fan’s strength once again surpassed the limit of their knowledge.

Did he really just become a Super Level Mage in the Summoning Element? Why did the ancient spirits, that even some top-level summoners might not be able to summon, submit to him?

The Silver Thunder Titan had the same temper as Mo Fan. It did not like to see that terrifying thing moving in front of it.

The Silver Thunder Titan found its target right after Mo Fan summoned it. It threw its Giant Lightning Curved Sword. The sword slowly fell, appearing solemn and mighty. The people of the island were afraid that it would destroy everything.

With its free hands, it immediately grabbed the bottom half of the Wooden Centipede Python, and the Silver Thunder Titan threw it on the ground with force, just like how Granny Lan had lashed her Bronze Water Whip.

Boom!

Its attack immediately split the mountain village in half. The top of the mountain cracked, and a terrifying ravine appeared.

The Wooden Centipede Python became dizzy after the attack, but it still managed to break free from the Silver Thunder Titan with its flexible body.

The Wooden Centipede Python flew to the sky. Its long body could fly freely in the air. After a few swings of its tail, it had already flown hundreds of meters into the air. It did not fly very high, but at least it did not need to be engaged in melee combat with the Silver Thunder Titan.

The Silver Thunder Titan seemed to have seen through the Wooden Centipede Python’s strategy. Although its body was big and powerful, it wasn’t slow. It jumped to the top of the mountain.

The Giant Lightning Curved Sword he threw in the air was absorbing the Lightning Element of the earth. It had recharged its energy, and the Silver Thunder Titan jumped and took back its sword.

Clank!

It skillfully held the sword above its head and swung it without hesitation. Suddenly, dense lightning chains became a large white canopy.

The Giant Lightning Curved Sword slashed at the Wooden Centipede Python. The bottom half of the creature exploded, and lightning chains wrapped itself on the remaining parts of its body. When they returned to the n area of the mountain villa, the Wooden Centipede Python was burnt.

The Silver Thunder Titan did not plan to let the Wooden Centipede Python live. With its ancient wisdom, it knew the creature could regrow if it was allowed to burrow back into the ground and devour dirt and minerals.

The Silver Thunder Titan chased after the Wooden Centipede Python to the forest, and it used the uncharged Giant Lightning Curved Sword to pierce through the long body of the Wooden Centipede Python. Then, the Silver Thunder Titan sat on its head and beat it violently.

The Wooden Centipede Python resisted by spraying concentrated corrosive venom. It waved its sharp claws and tried to strangle the Silver Thunder Titan’s neck using its body.

The Silver Thunder Titan had Silverstone Skin, so it was not afraid of the concentrated corrosive venom and claws. However, the Wooden Centipede Python’s body trying to strangle its neck was troublesome. It not only hindered Silver Thunder Titan’s beating, but it also rendered the Silver Thunder Titan unable to use its spells.

But it was clear that the Wooden Centipede Python was struggling. Eldest Granny watched indifferently.

She was surprised at how easily the Silver Thunder Titan had beaten her Wooden Centipede Python. The Wooden Centipede Python did not even have the chance to hurt the arrogant Mo Fan.

Chapter 2749: A Crazy Move

“Sh*t!”Grandpa Ye cursed. He drew a Flaming Cogwheel with the Flaming Red Spear. The cogwheel grew big and spun with impossible speed. It then dashed against the Silver Thunder Titan.

The Silver Thunder Titan tilted to one side after being hit by the Flaming Cogwheel. The Wooden Centipede Python suddenly sprayed venom as thick as tar. It was sticky and slippery.

The Wooden Centipede Python was mad now. It did not care for the part of its body that it might lose. It forcibly pulled its body out of the Giant Lightning Curved Sword. The Wooden Centipede Python swayed its bloody waist and used its body to attract the surrounding fires.

The weird venom that was like tar quickly ignited. It had sprayed the venom on the Silver Thunder Titan when it was fighting. The raging fire devoured both Wooden Centipede Python and Silver Thunder Titan. The spectacular flaming oil balls even rolled towards the mountains and forests!

The Silverstone Skin of the Silver Thunder Titan cracked after being burned. The Wooden Centipede Python was not a fire-resistant creature, either. The fact that it was made of wood made it even more flammable.

The Wooden Centipede Python let the fire burn its body, and it entangled itself with the Silver Thunder Titan. It would not let the Silver Thunder Titan break free.

Mo Fan was surprised by its crazy move. It knew it could not win against the Silver Thunder Titan, so it decided to die together with it.

The Silver Thunder Titan screamed. It also did not expect the Wooden Centipede Python would use such a cruel method. The Wooden Centipede Python would die first, but the Silver Thunder Titan would also be severely injured.

Mo Fan stared at the old woman in purple clothes. She looked indifferent and seemed to admire the Wooden Centipede Python’s self-sacrificing action. It seemed like she was satisfied to see a summoned beast who could not win against the opponent use such a method to kill the enemy even if it meant that it would also die. She almost looked proud of it.

“Come back.” Mo Fan suddenly opened the ancient magic portal and returned the Silver Thunder Titan to the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower.

The flame ignited by the weird oil was still following through its body. After it went to the Forbidden Realm of the ancient magic portal, the flames were blocked outside. The Silver Thunder Titan, whose body cracked after being burned, was extremely angry.

As an ancient god of war, it hated such a vicious creature. Even if he had to die together with the Wooden Centipede Python, it would not give in. However, Mo Fan couldn’t watch it burn to death. Many summoners did not care about the creatures they summoned from the Dimensional Summoning, but Mo Fan did..

The Summoned Beast Plane was a world in another dimension. The lives of creatures there were precious. Since the beasts and Mo Fan had reached a consensus to help each other out, they were his employees in a manner of speaking. He could not let them die so brutally. He refused to use them as cannon fodders.

“Hahaha, you aren’t even able to maintain the ancient magic portal for a short period. How do you expect to fight us?” Seventh Granny in dark-green clothes laughed.

Mo Fan opened his Door of Contract. The blazing fire illuminated his face and showed his confident smile.

“Little Flame Belle,” he called. “It seems like they love using fire. Could you show them what a real fire looks like?”

The Door of Contract opened, and palm-sized fire maple leaves fluttered out from inside. They covered the entire mountain in a few seconds like a fiery carpet.

At a glance, they looked bright and beautiful. But when a willowy and noble flame-witch stepped out of the Contracted Space, the fiery blanket began burning ferociously.

The sun had just set, and darkness fell. But the Goddess of Flame Belle fell on the island like a rising sun. The fire clouds and fire maple leaves on the ground made the Licheng Afterglow Island burn brighter than the sun. The vast sky and the boundless sea were dyed fiery red.

“C-Contract Summoning?” Le Nan, Du Mei, Shu Xiaohua, and the others were all flabbergasted.

They had never seen Mo Fan use Contract Summoning. Everyone had assumed that the Royal Pattern Wolf was his Contracted Beast. They realized now that his actual Contracted Beast was the Goddess of Flame Belle herself.

She was the strongest Heaven Fire in the world. There were many kings of elemental elves in the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower. One of them was the Fire Elf King. The strength of the Goddess of Flame Belle was not far behind the Fire Elf King. Mo Fan did not need to summon her through the ancient magic portal.

“Your Wooden Centipede Python seems to like fire, so let my Little Flame Belle help it.” Mo Fan smiled.

The Wooden Centipede Python had stopped secreting the weird oil venom after the Silver Thunder Titan returned to the ancient magic portal and was using the soil to extinguish the fire around its body.

However, Mo Fan did not plan to let it go that easily. Goddess of Flame Belle extended her slender arm and pointed at the flames on the Wooden Centipede Python that had not extinguished yet.

Suddenly, the fire maple leaves all over the mountain flew up into the sky like butterflies. They whooshed towards the Wooden Centipede Python and wrapped around it.

The fire ignited and burned. The fire maple leaves glowed with an even hotter Heaven Fire, and they devoured the Wooden Centipede Python’s body.

The Wooden Centipede Python was tortured by the fire just moments ago. But that was nothing compared to what it went through now.

The screams of the Wooden Centipede Python reverberated around Licheng Afterglow Island’s Mountain villa. It turned into a large flaming thing and rolled from the top of the mountain to the bottom. Eventually, it reached the valley.

There was a river in the valley, and the water there was icy. The Wooden Centipede Python lived in this cold and humid place. It wanted to use the icy water to put out flames on its body. However, the Heaven Fire did not give in to the icy water.

The fire was unyielding. The fire burrowed through the Wooden Centipede Python’s cracked, festering armor and began to burn its vital organs. It did not take long for the fire to fill its body. The Wooden Centipede Python could no longer scream in agony. It began to curl up into a ball instinctively.

The fire was unrelenting. Even the river dried up with the heat. There was a charred wooden screw thread at the source of the river. It was what was left of the Wooden Centipede Python. After being burned, it was no different from charcoal.

Eldest Granny’s face twitched. She thought the Wooden Centipede Python’s ruthlessness could kill Mo Fan’s summoned beast. However, she had not expected him to summon a stronger creature to burn the Wooden Centipede Python to a crisp.

The Wooden Centipede Python was Eldest Granny’s Contracted Beast. Its death also had an impact on her soul. Eldest Granny had felt the pain the Wooden Centipede Python experienced before it died. She had experienced the feeling of being burned by fire, too.

Chapter 2750: Invincible Little Flame Belle

“All of you are so weak.” Mo Fan shook his head with a look of contempt.

The residents of the Licheng Afterglow Island including the grannies, and the grandpas looked very angry.

Although they were angry, most of them were not powerful enough to approach Little Flame Belle. Everyone could see that Little Flame Belle had the ability of the Great Ruler. However, they wondered why such a powerful creature was the Contracted Beast of a young mage.

“Where are the others? Why are they not here yet?” Eldest Granny asked Granny Lan angrily.

“They seem to have encountered some trouble.”

“What trouble is more important than being attacked by the enemy at the front gate?” Eldest Granny was furious.

Mo Fan was in no hurry. They could call all the masters of the Licheng Afterglow Island if they wanted to. Today, he intended to beat up the elders in front of those ungrateful girls who had lied to him.

There were only five grandpas and grannies here, which meant that the other four hadn’t arrived yet. Mo Fan waited patiently.

He did not think these people had the strength to force him to use abilities other than the Summoning Element. If he could get rid of Licheng Afterglow Island with just his Summoning Element, then he would actually be disappointed. They had the Underground Holy Spring for all these years and couldn’t produce a decently powerful mage?

They expected to survive the Ocean Demons with this lackluster strength. People in the Licheng Afterglow Island must have vastly underestimated the destruction the Ocean Demons could cause.

“You guys are so weak. Someone like me has to keep a low profile in the outside world, and still, I can bully you so easily. I wonder where you got your sense of superiority from. You think your hidden clan is so brilliant,” Mo Fan sighed. “The world is constantly changing. People need to open their minds. The thing that will destroy you will be your closed-mindedness.”

The residents of the Licheng Afterglow Island gathered near the mountain villa. When facing Mo Fan’s overpowering strength, they could do nothing but watch.

The Underground Holy Spring was still in his hands. He had made it clear that he did not intend to give it back unless they could defeat him. He didn’t use trickery and deceit. His capabilities spoke for him.

The Licheng Afterglow Island was famous for being powerful. But in reality, it was weak and powerless like an infant in front of him.

The residents doubted everything. Could it be that what grandpas and grannies had told them was untrue?

Maybe the outside world was not as terrible and ignorant as they had made it out to be. Maybe they were the ones who were weak, so they lived in seclusion. Otherwise, how could this young mage challenge the entire Licheng Afterglow Island on his own? He did not seem daunted by the grandpas and grannies at all.

“Hmph, do you think we’re just a group of country bumpkins who are inexperienced and ignorant? Granted that you aren’t an ordinary mage because you can summon a Great Ruler-level creature. We have to admit we are meeting a master this time. But that doesn’t mean you can sashay in and taint the Licheng Afterglow Island,” Eldest Granny snapped.

Her cane hit the ground hard, and an intimidating aura raged like a storm. Most of the maple leaves all over the mountain suddenly extinguished. Eldest Granny had other skills other than the Summoning Element. She had another more powerful magic, but she only wanted to use that when other masters arrived at the scene.

Mo Fan was not surprised. But he wasn’t daunted either. With Little Flame Belle by his side, he could easily fight the five of them alone

The grandpas and grannies were powerful and had high cultivation levels. However, their actual combat skills were not as good as most people with similar cultivation levels. One of the grannies who dressed in red did not even cultivate supernatural power.

As a third-grade Super Level mage who did not have any supernatural power, she did not practice and use the various skills she had mastered.

The grandpas and grannies did not have the strength to defeat Little Flame Belle. The extinguished fire maple leaves ignited again, and Granny Lan and Seventh Granny suffered varying degrees of burn.

The Goddess of Flame Belle was as strong as the sun. It shocked everyone on Licheng Afterglow Island. They witnessed how weak the grandpas and grannies were. It shook their faith in the elders.

The group of girls who had traveled with Mo Fan were the ones shaken the most. Mo Fan constantly surprised them. If they knew about his strength, they would have never mentioned Licheng Afterglow Island.

“Bang!”

With a loud bang, Grandpa Ye fell from the air directly into the mountain villa that split in half.

Another burst of flames bloomed in the sky, and the incomparably splendid sparks fell on the tranquil sea outside Licheng Afterglow Island in an arc. Suddenly, clumps of fire burned on the surface of the calm sea water without a sign of going out.

Granny Lan fell into the sea. The flame would have burnt her to ashes if she had not coated herself with the special bronze liquid. She was severely injured but still endured it and returned to the mountain villa. It seemed that she would fight till the end.

The Goddess of Flame Belle flowed down. She was as proud and noble as a queen. She stood beside Mo Fan, making him look all formidable and regal.

The corners of Mo Fan’s mouth curled up. He looked at the grandpas and grannies who had failed miserably. “It seems like you people do not have other powerful skills. I have something to ask you. If you answer me honestly, I may not destroy Licheng Afterglow Island.”

He wondered when he had taken control of Lingchen’s Afterglow Islands survival. The grandpas and grannies trembled in rage, but they knew they couldn’t go against the Goddess of Flame Belle.

“Do you think this is the only thing we are capable of? Young man, don’t be too full of yourself.” Eldest Granny had not made a move till now. She whispered something occasionally in a language no one understood as though she was trying to wake something sinister.

She stared at Mo Fan sternly, and her aura increased. Mo Fan watched her and noticed that her pupils were changing. Her round pupils slowly turned vertical. They glowed eerily. They had the indispensable power of capturing the soul.

“She has a lot of demonic energy on her body. Something is possessing her,” Apas whispered to him. She did not join in the fight.

If this group could not even win against Little Flame Belle, there was no need for Apas to join in.

“Her eyes look like…” Mo Fan tried to recall where he had seen it before.

“Meow!”

Suddenly, Eldest Granny let out an evil cry. It was as though a wild cat had suddenly come out of a shadow at night with a strange foreshadowing of death!

Chapter 2751: Rats, Cats, and Snakes

Mo Fan had stood in front of the Thundercat statue many times. He recognized the face and posture of the Eldest Granny.It seemed as though the ancient statue had come to life. It was like a guardian of the moonless night that was vigilant and hostile to all foreign things. When it looked down at people, its majestic warning sounded in their minds even though it did not open its mouth.

The cry that Mo Fan heard was the same as well. The cry sounded in his mind clearly, and it touched the deepest part of his soul. He got goosebumps all over. The cat’s meow had frightened his very soul.

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Mo Fan took a few steps back.

“Meow!”

Eldest Granny’s appearance changed. She was a woman, but she was growing a silver beard. Her chin became pointy, and her ears grew longer.

‘Could this be the secret about how the ancient statues protected Mingwu Ancient City?’ thought Mo Fan.

However, he was not a rat or an insect. So, why did he feel such fear in front of the Thundercat statue? He didn’t even know he feared cats! He felt a terror in the depths of his soul. Was this his natural enemy?

“Mo Fan.” Apas’s voice sounded distant.

Mo Fan felt cold, and he woke up from that terrible feeling. When he focused his mind again, he realized that the Eldest Granny was standing right there. She looked normal. No white beard, her chin was the same, her ears were the normal length…

Was it a hallucination? Or a trick to capture souls?

Mo Fan looked at Apas beside him. She frowned. Her eyes were razor-sharp, and she was leaning forwards, almost baring her fangs. Most snake demons were in this posture when they were in danger.

“What happened?” Mo Fan asked.

“It was not a hallucination. I can’t explain it to you clearly. Let me handle this,” Apas said with a solemn look.

Mo Fan’s overall strength had increased, so Apas’s cultivation should be very close to the level she used to have in Egypt. She was the Medusa Queen that could compete with the Queen of Nine Serenities. If she was flustered, then Eldest Granny wasn’t just using parlor tricks.

Mo Fan recalled the fear he felt. He had felt trapped like a rat facing a lethal cat. He shook his head again to dislodge the feeling.

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Mingwu Ancient City’s ancient statues seemed to possess a divine power that transcended racial boundaries. Even if he had the protection of Black Dragon Horn Helmet and Dragon Deterrence, he still could not break the suppression caused by his natural enemy.

Apas and Eldest Granny looked at each other, and their pupils changed. Apas’s golden pink snake eyes showed aggression. It showed the ferocity of a snake which was about to attack.

Eldest Granny’s vertical cat eyes were constantly deterring. Sometimes she concentrated on finding flaws, and other times, she slyly and calmly dealt with Apas.

The people of Licheng Afterglow Island were confused. When Eldest Granny and Apas stared at each other, everyone could feel the confrontation of their spiritual power even though they both appeared motionless.

There was no wind at all. Beasts and mountain birds did not make any sound. The mountain villa was inexplicably silent.

Mo Fan and Apas had a telepathic connection. He could feel the intense fight between them. A cat had met a snake.The cat’s movements were sly and swift, while the snake was lithe and ruthless. Both refused to back down.

Suddenly, Eldest Granny doubled over and spat a lot of blood. Other people were shocked. They supported Eldest Granny.

Eldest Granny’s pupils began to dim, and fear appeared in her eyes. She held the wooden cane in one hand and pointed at Apas with the other.

Apas’ golden pink pupils slowly returned to normal. She smiled radiantly but it appeared very cold at the same time.

“What happened?” Mo Fan asked Apas.

“Fortunately, you brought me with you. Otherwise, you would have been ambushed by the group while being suppressed by your natural enemy: the cat. You would have been restricted. It is the power and deterrence of the Thundercat statue, which makes the monsters and demons in the wetlands around the Mingwu Ancient City dare not step into the city itself,” Apas explained to Mo Fan.

“I thought with my Dragon Sense and Dragon Deterrence, there would be very few people who could suppress me mentally.” Mo Fan let out a long sigh. He had almost failed. The Thundercat statue was so powerful.

“This world is big. The dragons are not the only ones of ancient and powerful bloodline. Otherwise, Wan Dragon Valley wouldn’t have the Mound of Dead Beast,” Apas said.

Dragons were ancient and powerful, but the real Medusa might not be afraid of them. Dragons were the most prestigious of races, but only when compared with average spirits.

Tiandi Holy Spirit, the descendant of a supernatural entity, the ancestor of the ancient beast, the thousand-year-old demon vein, the Epic Human King… Which one of them was inferior to the western dragons?

“You’re right. They were known as the two great hidden clans with the Underground Holy Spring, so they must obviously have their trump card,” said Mo Fan, coming to a new understanding.

“You should be careful. Don’t expose too much of your abilities. Don’t forget the Green East Sea God we saw at the cliff edge that day. It is probably the earliest ancient statue the people of Licheng Afterglow Island brought to this island, which has a higher ability than the Thundercat statue. If we fight with it, I might not be able to help you,” Apas said earnestly.

“I push them step-by-step because I want to see the Green East Sea God,” Mo Fan said.

Although Mo Fan was not entirely sure, it probably was the Totem he had been looking for.

If what Apas said was correct, the Green East Sea God was the first ancient statue the people of Licheng Afterglow Island brought back, which caused God’s condemnation. Apas had suppressed the Thundercat statue. It was likely that the Green East Sea God would appear soon.

However, Mo Fan was still very confused. He had thought that despite their holy power the ancient statues were just statues. It was strange that the Thundercat statue had to rely on Eldest Granny through possession. But the last he had seen the Green East Sea God, it had looked very much alive with its own body.

He could only expose Licheng Afterglow Island’s secrets by attacking them.

“Little Flame Belle, you don’t have to hold back anymore,” Mo Fan raised his head and said to the Goddess of Flame Belle that was blazing in the sky.

“Do you think you alone can overturn the entire Licheng Afterglow Island? Having a Great Ruler-level Flame Holy Spirit doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want.” A man in bird-like clothes appeared behind Eldest Granny.

The man was cold and dignified. He looked like an imposing man. He seemed to be in his thirties, but his hair was entirely white. His age didn’t match his body.

“Eldest Grandpa!”

The men and women of Licheng Afterglow Island cried out excitedly, as if he was the savior and hero of Licheng Afterglow Island.

Chapter 2752: I Will Punish You Instead of God’s Condemnation

The cultivation of the man in bird-like clothes was much higher than other grandpas and grannies. Mo Fan wondered why he was only appearing now.

Grandpa Queyi walked over and checked Eldest Granny’s injuries. After confirming that it wasn’t fatal, he walked forwards.

The mountain villa was a mess. The fight had broken the lychee trees planted in front of the courtyard. Lychees were all over the ground, and the people had squashed some of them.

Grandpa Queyi did not step on these fruits. He picked up one of the plump ones and gently peeled off its skin.

“Look at this lychee. It has ugly skin. Its skin is not as smooth as an apple or as bright as a pear. But when you peel it off, it’s sweeter and juicier than any other fruit.” Grandpa Queyi did not show any hostility.

He put the lychee in his mouth, tasted it slowly, and chewed it while savoring the taste.

“I’ll let you have as many as you want.” Mo Fan’s expression changed suddenly. His pupils suddenly became deep and vast, like an endless night sky with countless stars.

The lychees all over the ground shook and flew up under the control of Mo Fan’s mind. The skin peeled off by itself, revealing the delicious white lychee flesh. When Mo Fan waved his hand, all the white lychees flew toward Grandpa Queyi like bullets.

Grandpa Queyi frowned. Mo Fan attacked.

The white lychees had soft fleshed but hard seeds. If they were propelled at an impossible speed, it could shoot through a mountain.

They had built the mountain villa on a cliff. The mountain villa barely looked as clean and regal as it had when he arrived. When Mo Fan let the lychees fly, the cliff and villa collapsed.

Grandpa Queyi looked angry. He had spent years taking care of the mountain villa and the lychee trees.

“You wanted to compare Licheng Afterglow Island to lychees. Oh please! These lychees are honest, they hide nothing. In my opinion, you people are like fruit flies that pesticides cannot kill. When you climb into the flesh of lychees, you feel that you have become superior. The entire Licheng Afterglow Island is a dirty, disgusting, and greedy parasite. You didn’t encounter God’s condemnation for your actions, but I’ll punish you instead!” Mo Fan sneered at Grandpa Queyi.

“Little Flame Belle, set fire to the mountain villa.”

Little Flame Belle loved setting fire to things. She was delighted at the prospect. She flew into the sky and came to a stop at the highest place. Suddenly, a fire gauze covered the entirety of the Licheng Afterglow Island.

“Little Flame Belle,” called Mo Fan. “We don’t have to involve the innocent people of the island yet.”

The Goddess of Flame Belle reduced her Heaven Fire and gradually narrowed the scope to the mountain villa and the mountains around them.

“Ring!”

With a long groan, the Heavenly Tribulation Flame rolled down from the clouds and fell onto the mountain villa.

Grandpa Queyi and the people of Licheng Afterglow Island were furious. They wanted to kill Mo Fan.

“We’ll never forgive you!” said Grandpa Queyi angrily.

On the mountains were many stone statues of ancestors worshiped by Licheng Afterglow Island’s hidden clan. They regarded these statues as godly. It was a great sin if even dust fell on them. However, Mo Fan burned all of them.

Ruan Feiyan felt dizzy, and she almost fainted again.

‘I’ll take away the Underground Holy Spring, defeat the grandpas and grannies, destroy your ancestors’ statues, and drown the Licheng Afterglow Island.’ Ruan Feiyan recalled Mo Fan’s words.

He had already completed three of those things. ‘Will he really drown all of the Licheng Afterglow Island? Oh my god! Why did it turn out like this? Why had they not abided by their agreement? It’s all my fault,’ thought Ruan Feiyan.

…

Grandpa Queyi wanted to extinguish the fire, but Mo Fan had attacked him again.Something must be preventing the Green East Sea God from appearing. Mo Fan was too lazy to bother about anything else. He decided to defeat Grandpa Queyi first.

“Hurry up and stop the fire. We must protect the statues!” Grandpa Queyi shouted.

Grandpa Queyi had been driven crazy by Mo Fan, and he did not have the calm and elegant look he had when he arrived. He wished to strangle Mo Fan to death.

“Eldest Grandpa, if he doesn’t have the summoned beast, his other magic may not be that strong. We’ll keep the Flame Holy Spirit busy. You can deal with him,” Seventh Granny said with hatred.

“What are his two other elements?” Grandpa Queyi asked.

“It’s Lightning Element and Shadow Element,” Shu Xiaohua said hurriedly.

“He used Lightning Element when he came up the mountain, and his ability is stronger than Du Wanjun. Eldest Grandpa, you must be careful,” Du Mei warned.

“His Shadow Element is a little strange,” said Grandpa Ye.

Grandpa Queyi nodded. Although other people could not defend themselves from the powerful creature summoned by this outsider, at least they forced him to show his other abilities.

“I’ll cut your corpse into pieces and use them as fertilizer for the new lychee trees in the coming year,” Grandpa Queyi said furiously.

He raised his hands, and the chaotic ground suddenly had many big cracks. Some powerful clay monsters moved beneath the ground.The rocks broke and the soil was displaced.

The thick and long arms waved under the soil. The ground where Mo Fan stood collapsed, and he fell to the foothills.

There was a landslide on the mountain, and a big, long root that looked like an earth dragon and giant earthworm slashed the mountain fiercely. Mo Fan jumped from the landslide to another mountain to find his footing.

When he looked down, giant greenish-black vines were coiling up like a thousand-year-old python at the bottom of the peak. The forked part of its end was sharp and lashed like a devil’s fork.

Mo Fan hurriedly jumped onto the rock wall of the mountain. But the mountain suddenly cracked. A giant long tail cut through the mountain like an electric drill. Mo Fan used the rocks as a wave and ran along like a surfer. The terrifying long tail that could cut through the mountain was chasing behind him.

He did not know what kind of magic this was, but it made Mo Fan feel that places with mountains and soil were dangerous.

Chapter 2753: The Fifth Element

He used his mind to fly into the sky quickly. Mo Fan could see the mountains and forests below him. It was a frightening scene. A giant monster broke out of those mountains and smashed everything into pieces.

This monster had dozens of tails. Each of them were different. Some were like evil earthworms that could move freely through the rock mountains; some were full of sharp teeth and had hard scales covering them; some were like octopus tentacles that could wriggle, shrink, and embalm things with mucus; some were like poisonous tail of a scorpion…

When Mo Fan thought Grandpa Queyi had summoned a powerful and evil beast. But when he looked closely, he saw that it was Grandpa Queyi who had risen from the ground in this form. The tails grew from his back!

An ancient wooden armor wrapped Grandpa Queyi. The wooden armor puffed, intertwined, and piled up to form a shocking Wooden Armored Tree Man. The Wooden Armored Tree Man was as tall as a mountain. Grandpa Queyi was in the middle of the chest of the Wooden Armored Tree Man. The hollowed-out skin of the Wooden Armored Tree Man showed that Grandpa Queyi’s arms and legs almost integrated with the creature. .com

Grandpa Queyi sat in the body of the majestic wooden armored giant. He inserted the dozens of tails behind his back into the Wooden Armored Tree Man’s body like blood vessels. This manifested into different types of giant tails from the creature’s back and moved viciously.

“You’re just an insignificant insect in front of me. The Licheng Afterglow Island belongs to me, and my descendants will become famous powerhouses of the world. For thousands of years, many of my clan members have made history. You’re just a little firefly that radiates a little light for a while in the jungle. Do you think that people care about you?” Grandpa Queyi had a ferocious look on his face. He looked like a servant possessed by the devil. .com

“You people are a small clan who barely survive by killing other people. How shameless of you to wish to be immortal! The only people similar to you in history are probably traitors who betray their country for their own greed. You caused the death of countless people from Licheng City for your own selfishness.” Mo Fan scoffed at the words of Grandpa Queyi.

“You have no right to judge us. You won’t survive today. It’s up to us who survived to decide what happened at Licheng City,” Grandpa Queyi shouted angrily.

Those strange, lethal tails rushed toward the sky as the Wooden Armored Tree Man rotated.

One of the tails was like an ancient tree that grew at an impossible speed. It had no crown but only trunks and sharp branches. It kept forking and growing around Mo Fan. After dodging it a few times, he noticed that a large tree branch had grown around him. It was as though he was in a strange, diseased forest.

The sharp branches prevented Mo Fan from moving freely. He heard a sound of fierce collision and realized that other tails had come his way to kill him.

“Don’t let the spirit that can blow fire get close,” shouted Grandpa Queyi to the others. He seemed confident about getting rid of Mo Fan. He did not want the Flame Holy Spirit to make trouble.

Mo Fan shuttled through the forests. Suddenly, the scorpion-like tail attacked. As Mo Fan turned his head, all he saw was the scorpion-like tail’s cold poisonous light. The tail would have smashed his face if his dark vein hadn’t warned him.

Mo Fan cared about his appearance a lot. He was a vain person, after all. Always trying to win the favor of beautiful women by his appearance. He clenched his fists in anger when he realized that Grandpa Queyi was trying to disfigure him.

“Divine Bird Fist!”

There was the sound of a phoenix flying.

Mo Fan’s fist became a flame in the form of a Divine Phoenix. Its whole body was burning with fire.

The Divine Phoenix flew to the mountain and forests. When it spread its wings, the fire extended to several kilometers. It fell down slowly. Everything ignited, and the forests vanished. It did not take long for the mountain to turn into ashes.

The flame burned all the sharp branches to ashes, and the space around Mo Fan suddenly cleared up. The Divine Phoenix hit a mountain and razed it to the ground. This terrifying power was already flying next to Grandpa Queyi’s Wooden Armored Tree Man.

Although the Wooden Armored Tree Man was as tall as a mountain, the Divine Phoenix could destroy it in seconds. If the Divine Phoenix hit the Wooden Armored Tree Man, it would burn it to a crisp.

“Didn’t I tell you guys not to let the Flame Holy Spirit get close?” Grandpa Queyi shouted at the others angrily.

When he turned to look at them, he realized that the others were still fighting near the sea of the Lichen Afterglow Island. They did not want the Goddess of Flame Belle to interfere in his fight with Mo Fan, so Eldest Granny deliberately led the Goddess of Flame Belle to Ninghai Lake.

‘Then where did the strong and intimidating flame come from?’ wondered Grandpa Queyi.

“Swish. Swish. Swish.”

Suddenly, many lavas fell like waterfalls from the sky. They were red-hot. This lava waterfall terrified the people of the mountain villa. The speed of the Divine Phoenix had been too fast for them to notice that it was only his punch. But they realized that the red-hot lava in the sky that Mo Fan used was Super Level Fire Elemental magic.

The lava waterfall was magnificent and terrifying. The magma poured into the mountain and forests of Licheng Afterglow Island destroying everything in its path. The pristine mountain streams, valleys and forests were all reduced to ashes. Ruan Feiyan, Le Nan, Shu Xiaohua, and others were stunned as they watched their homes turn into a sea of fire around the villa.

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Grandpa Queyi’s shout came from the nearby forest. “Why can he use Fire Element magic?”

Fire Element!

Shu Xiaohua and Du Mei recalled the magic elements used by Mo Fan. They had Lightning Element, Shadow Element, Space Element, and Summoning Element so far. Where did the Fire Element come from, if they had already identified the four elements?

They wanted to know why Mo Fan could use Fire Element magic. No one could use five elements of magic, besides Forbidden Mages.

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Wood was afraid of fire. Grandpa Queyi’s Wooden Armored Tree Man was his trump card. He had held back because of the appearance of Little Flame Belle’s Heavenly Tribulation Flame.

However, Mo Fan’s attack had been equally strong! His cultivation of Fire Element was not inferior to his powerful Contracted Beast!

Chapter 2754: The Green East Sea God And The Black Phoenix

“Most dazzling star ever in Historical Long River, my foot! I’ll burn the Licheng Afterglow Island for three days and three nights consecutively so that your future generations will always remember this.”

“You don’t bother to help each other in times of crisis. This will only make you a bunch of dirty rats even if you stay alive. You’re expecting your future generations to bring glory to you, huh? You must be kidding me! You’re all a bunch of wicked people who refuse to repent from your ways. Your future generation will end up as rotten as you anyway.”

Mo Fan was floating above the lava waterfall. His Chongming Divine Fire was a great Heaven Seed that could burn everything in its path, even make liquids evaporate.

The Wooden Armor Tree Man stood in the middle of the flying lava and burned quickly. The seemingly strong wooden armor soon turned into ordinary black charcoal.

The bizarre tails protected the Wooden Armor Tree Man’s chest area where Grandpa Queyi was seated. But the hot lava was gradually burning those tails, too.

“Taste my lightning fire!” Mo Fan said viciously.

The fusion gloves appeared on Mo Fan’s hand. On the first half of the punching gloves were two distinctly different Elements. When Mo Fan held these two in his hand, his Lightning and Fire Elements fused together. The power grew as Mo Fan continued rubbing his palms.

“Now I shall deliver God’s condemnation on you!”

Mo Fan fused his Lightning and Fire Elements together. There was a change of color in heaven and earth. Mo Fan set a clear boundary with his figure. Half of the sky behind him had transformed into a purple color, while the other half turned red.

The purple and red sky gradually fused to form an enormous celestial diagram, covering the sky above Licheng Afterglow Island.

Mo Fan’s Fire Element had a great Heaven Seed, and the level of cultivation was at the second grade of the Super Level.

Even though his Lightning Element did not have a Heaven Seed, the Blessing of the God’s Seal and Darkness Source had pushed the power of the Lightning Tyrant to the level of a Heaven Seed, multiplying the effect of mortal lightning by a massive amount!

The increase in power of a Heaven Seed was more than tenfold than that of a Mortal Seed.

The Lightning Tyrant was a Soul Seed. Although it did not have the additional effects of the heaven-level or the Absolute Forbidden Realm and other strengthening fields, its direct destructive power was equivalent to that of heaven-level lightning. Moreover, Mo Fan had achieved the third grade of the Super Level in his Lightning Element.

Right then, he fused his Lightning Element with the Chongming Divine Fire all while possessing the Darkness Source. He wondered what kind of destructive power would come out of the fusion of the two.

It was not an exaggeration for Mo Fan to call it God’s condemnation. He believed his super destructive power was almost on par with the lightning pillar that had nearly destroyed the entire city.

Mo Fan roared. He had finished accumulating power for the Tyrant Divine Fire Diagram. Thousands of purple-red lightning and firestorms befell the island. The sight was terrifyingly beautiful and destructive.

Meanwhile, even though Grandpa Queyi was covered in wooden armor, he could not evade the lightning firestorm. Mo Fan’s Tyrant Divine Fire Diagram was enormous. If not for Grandpa Queyi blocking the lightning firestorm, it would have crushed the entire mountain villa!

But Grandpa Queyi could not hold back the lightning firestorm forever. The soil, mountains, and rocks surrounding him were evaporating. Although his Magical Wooden Armor was as broad as a mountain, it was burning in the lightning firestorm.His bizarre tails had turned into ash before he could use their power.

Grandpa Queyi fell in a cloud of ash and dust. He looked up in disbelief at the tiny figure in the sky.

The tiny figure was glowing as bright as a sun and exuded an imposing aura. Grandpa Queyi, on the other hand, had been an ignorant fly who struggled up the sky because he thought he could fight against Mo Fan.

Grandpa Queyi suffered in agony and was humiliated. He even found it hard to help himself up. He had never expected such a young outsider to overthrow the entire Licheng Licheng Afterglow Island in an instant. He felt it had been worthless to guard the Underground Holy Spring for generations if they couldn’t even fight against one outsider. What was the point of treating the Underground Holy Spring as the most supreme of all spiritual treasures if they were so easily defeated by a lone man?

“God’s condemnation…”

“Is it true that God is condemning the island?”

“He is God’s condemnation. He defeated all the elders by himself…”

The islanders stared at the once beautiful forest that had been burnt beyond recognition.

Not long ago, Licheng Afterglow Island had been as gorgeous and holy as a paradise. But the island was now devoured by a blazing fire and the earth was filled with charcoal. They were aware that Mo Fan had no intention of slaughtering all the people on the island. Otherwise, Mo Fan would have cast his terrifying spells to wipe them out long ago.

Licheng Afterglow Island was gone. The hidden clan on the island had perished. Ruan Feiyan, Shu Xiaohua, Du Mei, Pu Ling, and the rest were in tears. Their pride had been crushed.

They grew up on the island and rarely interacted with anyone from outside. They had lived here their whole lives. They had never even thought that perhaps they were the ignorant ones.

What they had been told was fake. Licheng Afterglow Island was not superior. Even when they had owned and used the Underground Holy Spring for so long and lived in such lush land, they were weak when compared to the outsiders.

…

Soon, Little Flame Belle finished her war with the other elders. Although seven elders worked hand-in-hand to fight Little Flame Belle, they were no match for her. They were all burned and bruised.

Just like Mo Fan, Little Flame Belle had shown mercy and spared their lives.

“Don’t worry, we still have the Green East Sea God. He can’t possibly defeat it,” Seventh Granny said ruthlessly.

The moment she brought up the Green East Sea God, the elders felt a gleam of home where there was only despair.

Licheng Afterglow Island was not a place where Mo Fan could do as he pleased! Even if what he said was true and this was just a bubble, they preferred to live inside their own dream bubble, unbothered by anyone else!

“Green East Sea God! Green East Sea God!” Grandpa Queyi shouted at the top of his lungs. He lay paralyzed on the ground.

A domineering eagle’s cry rang throughout the sky in the direction of Licheng Afterglow Island. Its voice echoed across the island, reigniting the islanders’ hope and fighting spirit.

“Mo Fan, call Little Flame Belle back,” Apas’s expression changed.

She then quickly returned to Mo Fan’s side. Mo Fan had to face the Green East Sea God in the form of Flame Demon King.

Even so, Mo Fan might not win the fight. Even if the Green East Sea God was not a supreme ruler, it was at the same level as Black Totem Snake and Mountain Zombie. Mo Fan sucked in a deep breath. He cast a glance at the people whose confidence had been completely crushed.

He noticed something. There were only eight elders in front of him. One granny was missing.

Strong wind blew. The Green East Sea God with lightning chains appeared. Mo Fan stood on top of the bare mountain and watched it appar. A woman was standing on the Green East Sea God’s massive wing bow.

She wore black conical hat, black slanted placket crop top, black headscarf, and black long pants. She radiated an icy-cold aura in elegance.

“Black Phoenix Garment…”

“It’s her!”

Chapter 2755: True Atonement

“It’s Song Feiyao! When did she return?!” Grandpa Queyi and the rest were shocked.

Song Feiyao was the traitor who had left the island. She wore black phoenix garment and was standing on the Green East Sea God’s back. She could clearly see the entire Licheng Afterglow Island below her. The lightning chains which were used to imprison the Green East Sea God kept unraveling and falling. The heavy lightning chains smashed onto the island’s street, and lightning flashed terrifyingly.

After the Green East Sea God broke itself free of these chains, it regained its imposing aura that belonged to the totem beast. It flew in the sky and looked down at the islanders like an ancient holy beast staring down at a weak and small horde. The bone-chilling light in its gaze thunderstruck the islanders.

Mo Fan fixed his gaze at the woman in the black phoenix garment. He found her familiar. She was the woman he had met in the temple.

‘Could this woman be the final elder that had been missing?’ Mo Fan had never expected an elder of the island to be so young and beautiful. She was completely different from the wicked and old elders he had fought till now.

The woman was dressed in all black. Black color usually suggested death, silence, and seriousness. Mo Fan wondered about the meaning behind her attire.

“In this case, black doesn’t represent an elder’s identity. All the ladies on the island, including some ladies in Licheng City inherited the custom of wearing black. However, they usually wear black garments on specific days, such as worship festivals,” Apas explained to Mo Fan. She had learnt about the black garment from Feiyan’s memory.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan had no interest in customs. He was staring at his formidable enemies—The Green East Sea God and the woman in black phoenix garment.

Mo Fan expected these two to avenge Licheng Afterglow Island. When the Green East Sea God flew by, a strong gust of wind blew against him. It then flew toward the lake and away from Licheng Afterglow Island.

Mo Fan was puzzled. ‘So, she wasn’t here to fight me?’

He wondered why they had just flown away even seeing that he had turned the island upside down. As an elder and a very strong one at that who could even command the Green east Sea God, shouldn’t she be fighting to save her home? Mo fan had even thought of fleeing if things got out of hand, but he had not expected her to just… leave.

“It’s over! We’re finished! The Green East Sea God left us. Song Feiyao took the Green East Sea God away…” Seventh Granny cried out at her wits’ end.

The rest of them felt the same as the Seventh Granny. The Green East Sea God had been their last hope. But the Green East Sea God had not helped them during the great disaster, instead it left the island with Song Feiyao.

Without the Green East Sea God, Licheng Afterglow Island’s tranquil boundary would weaken by half. Even with the combination of the Thundercat statue and other ancient statues, their powers were inferior to the Green East Sea God. Sooner or later, the Ocean Demons would discover Licheng Afterglow Island and launch a massive attack on the islanders.

Grandpa Queyi and the rest were in a daze, as if their souls had been sucked away. Even if their fury drove them to push Mo Fan out of the island, they could not ensure the island’s safety anymore.

While they had been fighting to save their island, Song Feiyao had taken advantage of the opportunity. She unlocked the chains of atonement on the Green East Sea God. She had achieved her purpose.

“Black phoenix garment suggests atonement of sin. When the islander’s ancestors first triggered the God’s condemnation of the lightning disaster, they shifted all the blame to the Green East Sea God. In order to atone for their sin, they wore black phoenix garments. At that time, many experts from Licheng City came to seek revenge on the Green East Sea God, and it was severely wounded. When they were about to kill it, a woman in black phoenix garment told them that she would find a way to control the Green East Sea God.”

“The ancestors of the island used lightning chains to imprison the Green East Sea God. It inhabited a place somewhere near the island. They assigned a lady from the hidden clan to look after the Green East Sea God every year. Those who were chosen wore black phoenix garment. The islanders hold a traditional atonement festival every year on the day when the lightning disaster happened in order to atone for their sins,” Apas explained.

They held the annual Black Phoenix Garment festival for atonement. While the outsiders had thought they did this to seek God’s forgiveness on behalf of the Green East Sea God, they were, in fact, seeking some comfort for the despicable, greedy, and ugly deeds their ancestors had committed. Moreover, they even attempted to control the Green East Sea God against its will.

The last elder did not share the same mentality as the other islanders. Mo Fan wondered if she had found out about the truth while looking after the Green East Sea God hence deciding to turn against her own people in the end.

There was at least someone with some common sense on Licheng Afterglow Island, after all.

“Both of you are in this together! Both of you have worked together! When did that b*tch hook up with you?!” Eldest Granny charged at Mo Fan and screamed at him.

Mo Fan swung a punch at the old bat without hesitation. She then saw a frightening lava river flowing past her less than half a meter away. Eldest Granny stood there motionlessly.

“I don’t mind fulfilling your death wish, if you’re asking for one. But I find that the punishment is too light if I just kill you here for all the things you have done,” Mo Fan said disdainfully.

“What exactly do you want?!”

Without the Underground Holy Spring and the Green East Sea God, the ideology of the dream island had been crushed to pieces. Licheng Afterglow Island would never be the same again. The islanders had never thought they would usher in an endless darkness at the end of dusk instead of greeting a gorgeous and beautiful sunset.

“I’ll inform the people at the fortress that the actual residents and nobles of Licheng City are those who rather fight with the Ocean Demons instead of migrating to the safest base city. Then I’ll leave them to deal with you. Here’s a friendly reminder for you. Before the people from the fortress come to raise the charge, you’d better take the initiative to return the Mingwu Ancient City’s statues. Tell them the truth about God’s condemnation that happened today and in the past. Return the Green East Sea God where it belongs,” said Mo Fan to the elders.

Mo Fan left with the holy spring essence in his hand. The Green East Sea God was a totem beast. It was an orthodox totem beast that the ancestors of Licheng Afterglow Island had imprisoned for many years in order to take all the blame for their misdeeds. Mo Fan had to find Song Feiyao to end the search for this totem beast.

As for the people of Licheng Afterglow Island, regardless of whether they wanted to continue staying on the island or go to the fortress to atone for their sins, it was entirely up to them. Mo Fan had crushed their ideology. Even though the islanders were safe, their arrogance had been crushed.

Besides, not everyone on the island was aware of the truth. They were shown that their elders weren’t as virtuous and powerful as they had imagined but were greedy and heinous. Could Licheng Afterglow Island still survive?

Chapter 2756: Licheng’s Divine Eagle

The Green East Sea God flew thousand meters away from Licheng Afterglow Island in the clear blue sky, as if it was its first taste of freedom in forever. It flew swiftly past unknown small islands, remote sea bays, and sea cliffs. The sight of islands, bays, and cliffs soon looked like tiny dots and lines between the land and the sea.

“You’ve finally regained your freedom. I promised you that I would help you break free of them. I finally did it!” Song Feiyao smiled.

She had been protesting against the elders for some time. But there was no progress… until now. Little did they know that Ruan Feiyan and Shu Xiaohua’s cunning scheming had caused Licheng Afterglow Island such a huge trouble.

Song Feiyao had never expected the guy to be so strong. She had underestimated him at the temple back then.

She recalled him with only a small injury when the lightning had struck. He was indeed strong! He had done her a huge favor!

If it had not been for him crushing the Licheng Afterglow Island so completely, she would have had a hard time doing away with the chains on the Green East Sea God because Grandpa Queyi always kept a close eye on it.

Suddenly, the Green East Sea God made a sound, as if it sensed an incoming threat behind it.

Song Feiyao turned her around and saw a winged figure following behind them. That figure flew at a breakneck speed and almost caught up with the Green East Sea God.

‘How did he do that?’ Song Feiyao was puzzled.

There was hardly any creature in this world whose speed was comparable to the Green East Sea God, let alone a mage. Song Feiyao had never expected the man who had overthrown Licheng Afterglow Island to catch up with them.

“Stop at the sea area over there. We’ll see what he’s up to,” Song Feiyao said to the Green East Sea God.

The Green East Sea God dove toward the sea area. It spread its wings as it approached a lone sea rock, then dove at full speed toward it before landing on it gracefully.

Soon, Mo Fan caught up with them. His Black Dragon Wing had a unique layer of dragon shadow that covered the sky of the sea area. The sea creatures were so terrified that they quickly swam away.

“Why are you hunting us down? Can’t you understand? If not for me taking the Green East Sea God away, you couldn’t possibly have won against the Licheng Afterglow Island,” Song Feiyao questioned Mo Fan.

“The reason I came to Licheng City is to look for that,” Mo Fan said solemnly while pointing at the Green East Sea God

“If it’s your target, forget it! It has just regained its freedom, and it won’t be enslaved to anyone anymore!” Song Feiyao said.

“Do you know what that is?” asked Mo Fan.

“It’s the Green East Sea God, Licheng City’s Divine Eagle,” said Song Feiyao.

“Are you aware of what it truly was before Licheng City was even built?” Mo Fan asked again.

Song Feiyao frowned. She did not understand what Mo Fan was trying to tell her. She remained alerted. She stared at Mo Fan with hostility.

Mo Fan sensed that Song Feiyao had a high level of cultivation. To his surprise, her cultivation was even stronger than the eight elders at Licheng Afterglow Island. Besides, she radiated a familiar aura. He realized that she was a mage who often cultivated at the Underground Holy Spring.

If that was the case, Licheng Afterglow Island had indeed brought up an expert with its Underground Holy Spring. When Song Feiyao discovered the Green East Sea God’s truth, as well as her ancestors’ stupidity and greed, she decided to leave them. As a result, the islanders branded her a traitor.

Song Feiyao had betrayed the islanders and broken the lightning chains on the Green East Sea God. Otherwise, the islanders would not have given in easily. She had done Mo Fan a huge favor.

“Hmph! You stole the holy spring essence, and I haven’t settled the account with you. How dare you come after us?! Do you really think I’ll be afraid of you?!” Song Feiyao glared at him.

For a moment, the sea below the rock began to swirl. As Song Feiyao’s imposing aura grew stronger, the sea formed an enormous whirlpool. The whirlpool contained layers of turbulent waves. Even the giant whales would have difficulty swimming out of it once they got sucked into the whirlpool.

“I’m not afraid of you either. The Green East Sea God neither belongs to Licheng Afterglow Island, nor does it belong to you. It is an ancient totem beast. My friends and I are looking for totem beasts…” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan took out the sketches of the mysterious Sacred Totem Beast’s feather, Moon Moth Phoenix, and Chongming Divine Bird, then rolled them into a shaft before tossing it to Song Feiyao.

Song Feiyao caught it and unrolled them in puzzlement.

“Study carefully and see if the Green East Sea God’s feather pattern under its wing has a missing piece. It is one of the four Sacred Totem Beasts as well as one of the feathered totem beasts. I need its complete feather pattern and incredible totem beast power,” said Mo Fan to Song Feiyao.

“You are laying your eyes on the Green East Sea God’s power!” It was clear that Song Feiyao was sensitive toward everything related to the Green East Sea God.

The Green East Sea God had regained its freedom after a long time. It was no longer chained with the heavy lightning chains. Song Feiyao was its most trusted person.

Song Feiyao showed hostility toward Mo Fan. Likewise, the Green East Sea God stared at Mo Fan with its razor-sharp gaze.

“I hope you won’t be as stubborn as the people at Licheng Afterglow Island. You can come with me to meet other totem beasts to determine if I am speaking the truth. The Ocean Demons are strong and powerful. We are still unaware of many of their abilities. Thousand years ago, the Ocean Godly Horde invaded the eastern coast, and many totem beasts had fallen fighting them. As a result, the surviving totem beasts are fewer than they used to be. Before Licheng Afterglow Island shifted all the blame and enslaved the Green East Sea God, it was a part of the feathered totem beasts. Without the totem beasts protecting Licheng City, our ancestors would have long been killed by the Ocean Godly Horde in the last battle.”

“Totem beasts are independent. They continued generations after generations. When the older totem beasts died, the new generation of totem beasts that received the inheritance were born in this world. If the Green East Sea God died because of bearing the fault of your people, there will be no more Green East Sea God in this world. The hidden clan of Licheng Afterglow Island will have committed a sin they can never wash off!”

“You know nothing about the Green East Sea God,” said Mo Fan. “If you insist on taking it away, I believe we will never find the remaining long-lost totem beasts in this world ever again.”

Totem beasts were connected to one another. Like missing jigsaw puzzles, each totem beast represented one of the pieces.

Even though they found the mysterious totem beast feather at Lan Yang City and had made up a large part of the blank space on the totem beast scroll, they required other totem beasts’ sketches in order to look for clues for the next totem beast.

The sketches they had were still insufficient to deduce other totem beasts. They needed more totem beasts, especially those that were still alive so that they could communicate with other totem beasts to find them out.

Chapter 2757: The Moon Moth Phoenix And The Green East Sea God

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“I’m different from them,” Song Feiyao emphasized her words.

“Then, try to act like it. Let the Green East Sea God come with me. We need to find other totem beasts through it,” said Mo Fan.

Song Feiyao hesitated. She was unsure if she could trust the man before her. But he did sound like he had a better understanding about the Green East Sea God than her.

“Show me the way,” said Song Feiyao. “I am not handing the Green East Sea God to you until you can prove that I can trust you with it.”

“Of course, I’ll prove to you that you can trust me.”

…

Mo Fan led the way. With the help of the magical tool—Black Dragon Wings, Mo Fan flew several thousands of kilometers within a short period of time.

It was midnight. Bone-chilling breeze continued to blow from the sea area to the dry land. Regardless of whether it was summer or spring, it always seemed like winter was around the corner. They felt freezingly cold. Ice began to form even in the warmest part of the abandoned city.

Mo Fan noticed on his way that most of the city was in such a state. The situation was dire. He wondered if Commander Hua had made any substantial progress and inflicted severe damage to the Ocean Godly Horde. He believed the end of the days on the east was the day the Ocean Godly Horde army surged to the east coast.

Mo Fan led Song Feiyao toward Flying Bird Base City. By midnight, they reached Yu Shishi’s Spirit Moth Mountain Forest. The mountain forest still hadn’t regenerated from the damage it had taken in the war not so long ago. Some areas were still bare.

The Green East Sea God made a sound. Some dim light glowed visibly in the middle of the dark blue mountain forest under the reflection of moonlight. The dim light was everywhere, like the mountain forest leaves. The light gradually appeared from the trees and jungles, forming a dimly lit Galaxia in the middle of the dark sea of mountain forest. It was serene and beautiful, like a fairyland night view.

Song Feiyao, on the other hand, frowned. She felt that it was more like a trap set up to besiege her. However, the Green East Sea God did not show any hints of suspicion. It continued to make sounds toward the gorgeous Spirit Moths.

A soft response rang out in return. The dazzling Moon Moth Phoenix gradually flew up to the sky from the Galaxia. Moon Moth Phoenix was responding to the Green East Sea God. It fluttered its illuminating wings and flew toward the Green East Sea God with surprise and curiosity.

“Mo Fan, what’s happening?” Just then, a woman with a pair of moth wings flew to the sky like a night elf. She saw both the Green East Sea God and Mo Fan.

“It’s a totem beast, the Green East Sea God. It belongs to the same lineage as the Moon Moth Phoenix,” explained Mo Fan to Yu Shishi.

Yu Shishi’s eyes lit up. She jumped onto the Moon Moth Phoenix’s back and flew up to the sky.

The Green East Sea God was majestic and magnificent. Each of its feathers gave off a striking lightning power. It contradicted greatly with the Moon Moth Phoenix’s gentleness. However, when these two totem beasts appeared in the night sky, the Green East Sea God’s majesty and Moon Moth Phoenix’s holiness matched perfectly. There was no sign of discrepancies in their bloodlines.

The Moon Moth Phoenix had grown up. It was no longer as frail and tiny as it was a few years ago. If all of its totem beast power was awakened, it could draw closer to other totem beasts.

“Are you a Totem Guardian, too?” asked Yu Shishi after she noticed Song Feiyao.

“I-I…,” Song Feiyao was at a loss for words.

“Yu Shishi, let’s go to the West Lake. I’ve informed the rest to gather there,” Mo Fan said.

“Okay.” Yu Shishi nodded. She believed Mo Fan and trusted him in his endeavor to find the rest of the totem beasts.

The Moon Moth Phoenix was a friendly totem beast. Its gentleness soon made the Green East Sea God let down its guard.

The Green East Sea God had been enslaved and chained for many years. Even though it had regained its freedom, it was filled with anger and hatred. If not for the fact that Song Feiyao had come from Licheng Afterglow Island with it, it would have crushed the entire island in its resentment.

The Green East Sea God met with the Moon Moth Phoenix. The Moon Moth Phoenix’s serene aura gradually dissolved the Green East Sea God’s resentment. Most of the totem beasts were spiritual creatures. They understood one another.

When Song Feiyao noticed the Moon Moth Phoenix’s unique spirit rhyme, she also began to let down her guard. After all, the fact that the Moon Moth Phoenix could relieve the Green East Sea God’s hatred showed that the Moon Moth Phoenix was trustworthy.

Moreover, the Green East Sea God and the Moon Moth Phoenix communicated in a very special way. They whispered to each other. Even though they had never seen each other, they communicated like close friends.

The Moon Moth Phoenix was happy. It flipped its crystal-clear wings and flew around the Green East Sea God. It left shiny frost with its tail over the area it brushed past. It took several seconds for the shiny frosts to disappear from the air.

The Little Spirit Moths sensed the Moon Moth Phoenix’s happiness. They flipped their wings and flew out of the jungles. The Little Spirit Moths flew gracefully like glowing leaves. They flew around the Moon Moth Phoenix and the Green East Sea God in the night sky, as if putting on a starry night veil for the night sky. The view was simply breathtaking.

“We’re leaving soon. Go to rest now… Oh, I forgot! You are night creatures. Go on, then.” Mo Fan waved his hand and bade farewell to the Little Spirit Moths.

Mo Fan continued to lead the way while the Green East Sea God and the Moon Moth Phoenix flew together side by side. The two totem beasts were practically entwined with each other, as if they had known each other since birth. Whenever Mo Fan turned his head around, he felt a sense of discomfort while being reminded that he was still single.

3

“Don’t get too close with each other. Based on the analysis of the sacred totem beasts, there’s a high probability that both of you are siblings,” Mo Fan said to the Moon Moth Phoenix and the Green East Sea God.

Yu Shishi rolled her eyes at him.

…

When they arrived at Hang Zhou, Mo Fan asked the Green East Sea God and the Moon Moth Phoenix to suppress their imposing totem beast aura to prevent disturbing the citizens. They carefully flew past Hang Zhou. Still, Mo Fan sensed someone was watching him from the city.

They were in the war era. The existence of two powerful creatures in the sky above Hang Zhou would certainly alarm some old mages. There was a chance that some of these old mages might be Forbidden Mages, and the Magic Association kept their identities a secret.

The Forbidden Mages were present in every base city in case the Ocean Demons launched sudden attacks. There were many common citizens around, hence the Forbidden Mages tried not to reveal too much of themselves. They would not simply show up and fight unless it was an emergency.

Chapter 2758: The Three Greatest Totem Beasts Reunited

When they arrived at the sky of the West Lake, Mo Fan asked the Green East Sea God if it had any transformational skills. It would be eye-catching if such an enormous creature appeared in the West Lake suddenly.

Unfortunately, the Green East Sea God did not have any. Moon Moth Phoenix transformed into a small moth and stood on Mo Fan’s shoulder.

Mo Fan was out of solutions. So, he let the Green East Sea God land tentatively on the Su Causeway.

The Green East Sea God’s claws were as big as the willow at the Su Causeway. Having it land on the Su Causeway was like having a whale swim in a pond.

Splash!

The lake water shook. An enormous black figure from the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon was swimming toward them at a breakneck speed. The water splashed out of the lake and sprayed all over the Su Causeway. Even the toughest willow almost broke with the force.

The Su Causeway was almost submerged. The Green East Sea God’s claws were soaked in the water. It did not fly away. Instead, its eyes flashed with lightning and focused on the lake water.

Song Feiyao sucked in a deep breath. There was something huge inside that lake. It radiated a frightening and threatening aura by swimming towards them alone.

Its aura was not inferior to that of the Green East Sea God. In fact, it felt even more imposing than the Green East Sea God. Green East Sea God had been chained with lightning chains for many years, and its soul energy was still weak.

“Big guy don’t scare them. This is the Green East Sea God, it shares the same lineage as the Moon Moth Phoenix,” Mo Fan said, facing the moving lake water.

The huge ripples in the lake water gradually spread on both sides. The creature that had been moving aggressively under the water slowed down and swam toward the Su Causeway much more gently.

An enormous snake head appeared from the lake water and slowly rose to the Green East Sea God’s eye level.

Unlike Apas, the Black Totem Snake was not afraid of the Green East Sea God at all. The Black Totem Snake had only shown its head and neck, and it was already the same height as the Green East Sea God. The Black Totem Snake was still half submerged under water. Its body was long and curled terrifyingly in the reflection.

“What is it…?”

A bird’s shadow slid across the water surface before landing on the Black Totem Snake’s head. A black figure revealed itself.

It was a woman in a rose trench coat. She looked elegant and dignified. She wore the Enforcement Union’s leather uniform under her trench coat.

“Ms. Ms. Tangyue, it’s been a while. I’ve brought you a living totem beast. Its Totem Guardian seldom ventures outside, and she doesn’t quite trust my words,” said Mo Fan with a smile.”Besides, I hope we can discuss the current totem beasts in order to search for the next Sacred Totem Beast.”

“I-I’m not a Totem Guardian.” Song Feiyao said quickly.

“Regardless, the Green East Sea God trusts you alone. You have formed a bond with it,” said Mo Fan. “I don’t think it will follow anyone else except you. You can get to know Ms. Tangyue. She’s nice.”

Since ancient times, women’s holiness and compassion easily attracted totem beasts. The Moon Moth Phoenix, the Green East Sea God, and the Black Totem Snake’s guardians were all women.

Of course, not all totem beasts chose women as their guardians. For instance, Zhao Manyan was the Totem Guardian for the Black Totem Turtle.

The three women introduced themselves to one another. Song Feiyao seemed to be less suspicious of everything now. She turned to Mo Fan. “Are you also a Totem Guardian?”

“I am not very sure,” said Mo Fan. “My totem beast lives here.” He pointed to his chest.

The Chongming Divine Bird could be reborn from ashes. It was a rare immortal totem beast in this world. However, it turned into Mo Fan’s heart in order to save his life.

The totem beast lived within Mo Fan’s heart. Perhaps the Chongming Divine Bird would transform into a red stone and wait for its next rebirth after he died.

“When the King Skeleton attacked Shanghai Base City, Mo Fan killed the King Skeleton with the help of the Chongming Divine Bird…” Ms. Tangyue explained to Song Feiyao.

Song Feiyao had left Licheng Afterglow Island a long time ago. But she only wandered around the Licheng City area and was unaware of the happenings of the world.

‘So, he is the one who killed the King Skeleton?’ thought Song Feiyao, looking at Mo Fan in a completely new way. No wonder he could overthrow the whole of Licheng Afterglow Island alone.

“The Chongming Divine Bird…” Song Feiyao mumbled to herself. She had never seen other totem beasts in her life until now. She realized that Mo Fan was telling the truth.

She knew nothing about the totem beasts. She felt fortunate to have saved the Green East Sea God. He had been nearly destroyed by her elders.

“The Black Totem Snake, Black Totem Turtle, Moon Moth Phoenix, Green East Sea God, Chongming Divine Bird, Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger, Aofu, Divine Deer… Also, Jiang Shaojun has collected the remnants of extinct totem beasts—The Seal of Totem Beast. I wonder if all these are sufficient to fill up the entire totem beast blueprint to find the next one,” Mo Fan said.

How many totem beasts were still alive in this world? How did the totem beasts defeat the powerful Ocean Godly Horde back then? They still had a very long way to go to find out.

Even though the Black Totem Snake, Black Totem Turtle, and Green East Sea God were of the level of the Supreme Ruler and were able to face the war by themselves, the Emperor-level Ocean Demons were the ones that caused the whole country on the East Coastline to struggle.

Mo Fan had once witnessed the mastermind behind the war—The Black Claw Emperor. Even the Black Snake Totem, Black Totem Turtle, Green East Sea God, and other similar totem beasts were no match for it.

They had to find one of the Sacred Totem Beasts. Otherwise, they could not possibly improve their current desperate situation.

Even Aofu, one of the Dark Tortoise lineage totem beasts, had its remains left under the sea. It would be difficult to expect the appearance of another Dark Tortoise totem beast this soon.

White Tiger totem beast was the rarest. Mo Fan and his group dared not enter Kunlun Ancestor Tiger. Finding a complete White Tiger totem beast was a major concern for them.

If the mysterious feather belonged to a Sacred Totem Beast, did that mean that the Maple Leave Divine Feather scattered at Lan Yang City suggested that it had died long ago, or did it mean it was still alive in some other way in some part of the world? They were still missing a piece related to the mysterious sacred totem beast feather of this lineage.

There was also the Cloud Ancestor Snake that overrode the Black Totem Snake. What were the other totem beasts that were related to the Cloud Ancestor Snake?

1

“Mo Fan, do you plan to find one of the Sacred Totem Beasts?” Ms. Tangyue was aware of Mo Fan’s purpose of gathering the totem beasts together.

“Without the Sacred Totem Beasts, we can’t change anything in the war against the Ocean Godly Horde,” said Mo Fan.

Chapter 2759: Rescue Commander Hua

“If we can find a living Sacred Holy Totem, we still stand a chance in the fight against the Ocean Godly Horde,” Ms. Ms. Tangyue said.

1

Song Feiyao stared at Mo Fan. She finally understood his true intention. He wanted to improve the East Coastline’s dire situation. The Ocean Demons were too powerful. Even a common Ruler-level demon was capable of threatening mages of the same level. Meanwhile, the totem beasts were far more powerful than the common demons on the dry land. If they wanted to fight the Ocean Demons, the totem beasts played key roles in the battle.

Whenever Song Feiyao recalled how the Licheng Afterglow Islanders sacrificed the people in the fortress for the sake of protecting themselves in the middle of the war against the Ocean Demons, she hated the islanders even more. She was ashamed to be a part of Licheng Afterglow Island. In the middle of such a disaster, everyone should have been contributing to help each other.

“If you need any help from me, please don’t hesitate to let me know,” Song Feiyao said solemnly to Mo Fan. She felt like she could trust him now.

“It’s fine as long as you know where you stand and understand the truth and importance of the Green East Sea God,” said Mo Fan.

Ms. Tangyue smiled. She was going to ask some questions to know more about the Green East Sea God, but her phone rang.

Ms. Tangyue answered the call. The person on the other end of the line talked briefly, but Ms. Tangyue had a serious look on her face.

“Mo Fan, the Elder of the Magic Court summons me back. It must be something urgent,” said Ms. Tangyue.

“Is it from the Lingyin Enforcement Union?” Mo Fan looked up at Lingyin Mountain.

“The Elder of the Magic Court asked me to bring you with me,” said Ms. Ms. Tangyue.

“Tang Zhong asked me to come along with you?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

…

They let the three greatest totem beasts play in the West Lake while Mo Fan, Ms. Tangyue, and Song Feiyao headed toward Lingyin Mountain.

The bamboo grove inside the Lingyin Mountain was the entrance to the Lingyin Enforcement Union. When the trio arrived at the destination, Tang Zhong stood in the grove waiting for them. It was clear that he did not intend to let them enter the Lingyin Enforcement Union any further.

Tang Zhong pointed at one corner of the grove. “Let’s go over there.”

He looked depressed and worried. As an experienced Elder of the Magic Court, he seldom looked so restless. Something big must have happened.

“Who is she?” Tang Zhong was alarmed when he saw Song Feiyao.

“She’s the Totem Guardian of the Green East Sea God. She came from Licheng Afterglow Island,” explained Mo Fan. “Mr. Tang, what’s the matter? Tell us. Are we still not worthy of your trust?”

“It’s my own problem. I’m a bit too nervous. I intended to ask Ms. Ms. Tangyue and her Black Totem Snake to help me with something. But since you’re around, I think it’s best to let you handle it,” said Tang Zhong.

“What exactly is going on?” Mo Fan frowned.

“A VIP has been paying attention to you since you were in Pearl Institution. He looked after you well…” said Tang Zhong.

“Has something happened to Commander Hua?” Mo Fan cried out in shock.

When they were at Emperor Qin Island, Commander Hua had admitted that he was the “VIP” who had been looking after Mo Fan. After the great disaster at the Ancient Capital, he allowed Mo Fan to join the Ancient Capital Institute through his own connections.

Commander Hua was the one who had highly recommended Shao Zheng to be the Totem Emissary.

The moment Tang Zhong mentioned a VIP who had looked after him, Mo Fan knew it was Commander Hua.

Tang Zhong coughed. His face reddened. “It’s not as bad as that. But he has most likely fallen.”

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped. Mo Fan remembered Commander Hua calmly eating squid skewers and talking with them. He didn’t want to lose him.

“I thought Commander Hua was just gauging the Emperor’s strength?” asked Mo Fan. “How did he die?”

“Commander Hua is not dead yet!” Ms. Tangyue rolled her eyes.

“I’m not very clear about his exact situation. Commander Hua’s nature is somewhat… elusive,” said Tang Zhong. “All I know is that he is in a complicated state. I guessed he is trapped somewhere near Hawaii and is severely wounded.”

“That is no different than waiting for death,” said Mo Fan.

Hawaii had long become one of the army’s fortresses. It served as one of the important strategic war zones for the Americans to gain a deeper understanding of their enemy lines.

The Ocean Demons had harmed the Americans, especially at San Francisco. All of their blockbuster movies about monsters and disasters had come to fruition.

Not long ago, Mo Fan learned that the Americans had basically retreated from Hawaii. Hawaii was located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The situation there was dire. It was no different than being like a lone island in the middle of the Ocean Demons’ nest.

If Commander Hua was trapped inside and severely wounded, the mastermind behind the war—The Black Claw Emperor— would certainly summon powerful creatures and besiege Hawaii. It would go to any length to get rid of the person who had continuously got in its way of attacking the East Chinese Coastline.

“Shut up, Mo Fan!” Tang Zhong glared at Mo Fan. “The situation is extremely urgent. But there’s still hope that we can rescue him.”

“I’m all ears,” said Mo Fan.

“The Black Claw Emperor is severely injured, too. Commander Hua and the Black Claw Emperor are recuperating somewhere nearby the Pacific Ocean. We must rescue Commander Hua before the Black Claw Emperor gathers its subordinates to kill him,” said Tang Zhong.

“Reaching the center of the Pacific Ocean is an arduous task,” said Mo Fan.

“Yes. Our army has had great difficulty even to cross half of the Pacific Ocean. According to the Enforcement Union’s investigation, other forces have interfered in Commander Hua’s mission against the Black Claw Emperor,” Tang Zhong said solemnly.

“Other forces?” Mo Fan noticed something else in Tang Zhong’s face.

“For now, we won’t inform the public, the government, the army, Magic Association, Hunter Union, and Family Union. We need to undertake our rescue mission in secret,” said Tang Zhong.

“Is it because of the Godly Horde Prophets?” Mo Fan asked gravely.

It was clear that Tang Zhong did not want everyone to learn about Commander Hua’s injury. Mo Fan didn’t understand why the information needed to be hidden.

Commander Hua’s exact location was critical. Once the Ocean Godly Horde found out his location, Commander Hua would be isolated in the Pacific Ocean.

The Godly Horde Prophet could manipulate humans’ minds. There was a high possibility that the Godly Horde Prophet’s puppets were hiding among the army, government, Magic Association, and other organizations. Once, the South Emperor manipulated an Ice Element Forbidden Mage’s mind and learnt about major plans.

In the past, the demons on the dry land would fight on a large scale instead of planning their move. But the demons had evolved…

Chapter 2760: Bring Along The Three Greatest Totem Beasts

“The Godly Horde Prophets must have known about Commander Hua’s plan. It’s no surprise that they are now using their puppets—humans— to look frantically for Commander Hua,” said Tang Zhong.

Commander Hua was the most important man in the East Coastline battle. The Ocean Godly Horde had targeted him and would attempt to kill him as much as possible.

He was severely wounded and weakened. If the Black Claw Emperor used the Godly Horde Prophet’s ability to manipulate humans’ minds and search for him, Commander Hua would be in serious trouble.

The army could not possibly cross half of the Pacific Ocean to reach Hawaii. The Godly Horde Prophets kept a close watch on humans. If humans made a large scale of movement, Commander Hua’s exact location would be exposed. Once the Ocean Demons learned about it, they would find Commander Hua ahead of any of them and kill him.

This was why Tang Zhong had been so vigilant. He did not exercise his power in the Enforcement Union and had instead summoned Ms. Tangyue and Mo Fan. Tang Zhong was wary that some of his men within the Enforcement Union had become the Godly Horde Prophet’s puppets. It was a very serious issue. Even though the Enforcement Union was known for its strictness, there was the Black Vatican before this. The Godly Horde Prophet’s power in manipulating the puppets was unrivaled.

“I’ll go to Hawaii.” Mo Fan said quickly.

This was a matter of national crisis. If Commander Hua was killed in the Pacific Ocean, the East Coastline would practically collapse. Many people would die unless they could evacuate the coastline and move to safety very quickly. Even if the people were to retreat to the central and western region, the weather there was cold, and resources were scarce.

Besides, the path from east to central and western regions were fraught with demons and monsters. It would be a bloodbath.

“We’ll find Commander Hua.” Ms. Tangyue said with determination.

“No, Ms. Tangyue, you must stay here,” said Tang Zhong. “Mo Fan will go alone.”

Mo Fan was puzzled. But he nodded. “No problem. I can go alone but I will need to take the Black Totem Snake with me. My power will not be enough.”

Ms. Tangyue was stunned. “How can you ask Mo Fan to make the journey alone?!” she said. “He can’t risk his life…”

Mo Fan patted her shoulders. “Ms. Tangyue, don’t worry. You can stay at Hang Zhou. Mr. Tang might need your help.”

“What else is more critical than Commander Hua’s life?” said Ms. Tangyue. “Mo Fan, do you think I will slow you down if I go with you?”

Ms. Tangyue had three Super Level elements. Her cultivation was even higher than Mo Fan’s. In fact, she was the one who had taught him the Fire and Shadow elements! He would not dare to look down on her.

“Of course not, Ms. Tangyue! Your presence would be enough to win this. But right now, I think you have greater matters to attend to,” said Mo Fan with a smile. “I will talk to the totem beasts before departing.”

The matter was very urgent. He could not waste his time talking. Ms. Tangyue watched Mo Fan leave with disappointment. But she knew Mo Fan. He had become very strong and could handle it.

As Mo Fan vanished out of sight, Ms. Tangyue recalled the day Mo Fan had first sought her out to teach him Fire element magical power at Tianlan Magic High School. She remembered his desire to learn the Shadow element magical power. He had grown from an innocent high school student to an expert within the blink of an eye. Ms. Tangyue could not help but feel very proud of him. After all, she was his teacher.

“Ms. Tangyue, the reason I didn’t allow you to go with him is not because of your lack of ability. I know there is no one here who can surpass you.” Tang Zhong interrupted Ms. Tangyue’s train of thought.

“I understand. I won’t take it personally,” said Ms. Tangyue.

“I thought you would have figured out what I needed for you to do next,” Tang Zhong said solemnly.

Ms. Tangyue looked at him in surprise. Realization hit her suddenly. “So, you want me to…”

“The Godly Horde Prophet’s puppets within the East Coastline fortress are like cancerous tumors. They will continue to expand and affect us. Mo Fan is not a member of the union, so he is least likely to be manipulated. Therefore, he is the most suitable person to go on this rescue mission,” said Tang Zhong. “Regardless of whether he can accomplish his mission or not, he is the most trustworthy person to be given this mission. As for you...” Tang Zhong’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent. “I would like you to take care of the traitors here.”

Tang Zhong really lived up to his reputation as an experienced Elder of the Magic Court. Ms. Tangyue realized there was more to Tang Zhong than met the eye. Apart from being powerful, strategy mattered the most.

There was no need for her to go along with Mo Fan. Mo Fan would likely succeed with her Black Totem Snake with him.

She, on the other hand, could take advantage of the opportunity to find out and get rid of the puppets. If she succeeded, she could blind the Ocean Godly Horde’s prying eyes on humans momentarily.

This was going to be a long war. Regardless of whether Commander Hua could survive the calamity or not, the war would continue. It was of utmost importance to get rid of the Godly Horde Prophet.

“I’ll do my best.” Ms. Tangyue was firm. Her heart filled with resolve.

“I know you won’t disappoint.” Tang Zhong nodded. His creased brows smoothed a little.

…

Mo Fan and Song Feiyao returned to the West Lake. The three totem beasts were still there.

As usual, the Moon Moth Phoenix was very close with the Green East Sea God. They whispered to each other.

Meanwhile, the Black Totem Snake was laid-back. It laid its enormous head on the Su Causeway, as if it was going to sleep until the next morning.

Yu Shishi strolled on the Su Causeway. She was not interested in matters surrounding the Enforcement Union. Besides, she hated the Magic Association’s members who used to bully her.

The Black Totem Snake opened its eyes when Mo Fan and Song Feiyao approached.

“Big guy, do you want to take a walk with me in the Pacific Ocean?” said Mo Fan to the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake’s yellowish eyes lit up. It was bored of staying at West Lake. It raised its head and was ready to depart at a moment’s notice.

“Yu Shishi, stay at Hang Zhou with the Moon Moth Phoenix for a few days. We’ll discuss the Sacred Totem Beast issue after I come back,” said Mo Fan.

They needed help from Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu in finding clues for the Sacred Totem Beast, now that the Green East Sea God was around to provide them with further clues. Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu would arrive soon.

“Do you plan to go alone?” Song Feiyao stared at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan pointed at the Black Totem Snake. “Well… I have that.”

“Maybe I can come along,” said Song Feiyao. “The Green East Sea God never misses a target.”

“Um…” Mo Fan hesitated.

“If she’s going, take the Moon Moth Phoenix with you as well. It looks like you’re heading to a dangerous place,” said Yu Shishi.

The three greatest totem beasts together on this journey? Mo Fan’s army was complete. Besides, Commander Hua was in danger, he would need every help he could get.After all, they might most likely face demons of the King Skeleton’s level.

Chapter 2761: Hawaii Has Grown Taller

Song Feiyao came from Licheng Afterglow Island, and Mo Fan had run into her by accident. Her knowledge of the Godly Horde Prophet’s puppets was close to zero.

Most of the Godly Horde Prophet’s puppets were in major organizations such as the army, the government, Magic Association, and other big organizations. It was only by joining these systems that the Godly Horde Prophet could obtain their desired information.

Mo Fan and his group had a high chance of victory if the Green East Sea God went along with them to the Pacific Ocean.

Mo Fan nodded. There was not much time left for preparation. They could not wait for Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan’s arrival. They had to immediately depart.

“Mo Fan, take this with you.”

Just when Mo Fan was about to jump onto the Green East Sea God’s back, Ms. Tangyue ran over to him and passed him a tiny bead.

“Totem Orb?” Mo Fan said in surprise.

“Yes. The guy is too big. It’s inconvenient if it moves around in that size,” said Ms. Tangyue.

When the Black Totem Snake molted, the Totem Orb remained the same except the Black Totem Snake grew small and burrowed its head into the tiny bead.

The Moon Moth Phoenix transformed into an exquisite and delicate Moon Elf, then sat on Mo Fan’s shoulder. It was convenient to bring it along. If the Black Totem Snake had not burrowed into the Totem Orb, it would have caused a commotion everywhere.

“Big guy, I think it’s best to travel by air. The Ocean Demons can easily detect us if we travel by sea,” said Mo Fan to the Black Totem Snake.

After the Black Totem Snake burrowed into the Totem Orb, Mo Fan and Song Feiyao got onto the Green East Sea God and headed to Hawaii.

The Green East Sea God flew at a breakneck speed. If not for the old injuries caused by the lightning chains, Mo Fan and his Black Dragon Wings may not have been able to catch up with it.

In terms of its stamina only, the Green East Sea God was capable of flying to the Pacific Ocean in a single breath.

…

The Green East Sea God was very smart. It strove to fly higher, away from land and sea at first. But when the higher altitude got colder and hampered its progress, it glided a little lower.

It slowly descended from the sky, then glided for several meters above the sea surface. By the time they saw the sea veering up to them, the Green East Sea God flew suddenly up and away.

It repeatedly flew in this manner. It was a long journey and they ascended to the highest point and descended almost to the sea all the time.

Flying in this manner would not speed up a short-distance flight. But it was obviously much faster if they flew from the East Coastline to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which was otherwise a very long distance to travel. After all, it was only natural for all flying creatures to take their physical strength into consideration when traveling long distances.

…

Mo Fan had been to Hawaii once. It was a romantic vacation island once upon a time. Later, it became an army fortress for scouting and fighting the Ocean Demons. After that, it was practically abandoned.

It was not because the Americans and people from the Sacred Hall of Liberty had refused to bear responsibility for Hawaii that it was abandoned. It was because regardless of how strong the army was, it was extremely difficult to face the Ocean Giant Beasts and Ocean Demon army’s repeated attacks on this lone island in the Pacific Ocean. Even if the elite American mage team were sent over to guard Hawaii, they would all be wiped out.

But the people from the Sacred Hall of Liberty were obviously reluctant to give up their precious island. Even though the army could not defend the island, they occasionally assigned some squads to do some surveys and gather information.

The powerful Ocean Demons basically came from the center of the Pacific Ocean. Therefore, Hawaii was the most strategic stage station for scouting the Ocean Godly Horde and its underwater country. If humans lost Hawaii, it would be close to impossible to gather any understanding about the Ocean Demons.

The Ocean Demons knew this. So, they would not let an island like this exist. They would attempt to destroy it by any means so that humans could lose their strategic advantage.

However, when Mo Fan and Song Feiyao reached Hawaii, they were surprised to see that the island hadn’t been destroyed. Instead, it expanded and became larger than the original. Even the hills were higher than before.

“What’s going on? Could it be that the sea level has dropped?” Mo Fan asked in confusion.

Song Feiyao gave him a funny look. Mo Fan sensed that he must have blurted out something stupid. He instinctively touched his nose. ‘Was my question that stupid?’

“The island is floating,” said Song Feiyao.

1

Indeed, Mo Fan had asked a stupid question. The sea level did not rise or drop so easily. Otherwise, why would zero altitude be taken as a benchmark? The four greatest oceans were connected, and the sea water flowed in constantly. The South and North Glaciers were the only possible factor that would cause a rise in sea level.

The tide rose and fell. Some islands looked much bigger when the tide fell, revealing the areas that were submerged. This was a phenomenon of low tide, revealing much of Hawaii’s surface area.

Mo Fan had the impression that Hawaii had expanded five to six times compared to its original size. Even the highest mountain seemed to have grown much taller.

“Will the island continue to grow taller?” asked Mo Fan.

“I remember our ancestors once told us about some people using a forbidden system to seal an island under the sea in order to avoid conflicts. The islanders continue to live their normal lives. But the sea water above the island will never pour into the island. The fact that Licheng Afterglow Island was not discovered in the past was because someone had cast a similar spell,” said Song Feiyao.

1

“That’s pretty amazing,” said Mo Fan.

“They can move the sea mountain and detach it from the sea surface with another kind of spell. The island will then grow enormous. Look! There are many cracks, broken rocks, and some molten lava around its edges. If I’m not mistaken, some powerful force must have squeezed the island before dragging it up.” Song Feiyao had a deeper knowledge about islands than Mo Fan.

If the sea flooded the world and the sea level reached 8,000 meters, then Mount Everest and other mountains above 8,000 meters would become islands in the middle of the Earth filled with sea around them.

The island was like a mountain that was taller than the level of the sea. Only the movement of the Earth’s plates would show such significant changes. It would also take a long period of time for something like this to happen.

But Hawaii seemed to have undergone a change that would otherwise require thousands of years to manifest. How powerful would one have to be to make something like this happen?

Chapter 2762: Squid King

Hawaii was an archipelago that consisted of eight large islands and more than one hundred small islands. The surface area of the Hawaiian Islands increased as it rose in altitude.

The islands had old-growth forests, mountains, valleys, coastal wetlands, ponds with algae, and volcanic rocks.

Although Commander Hua was in Hawaii, Hawaii was not a small island. The plane under the island had risen. Its surface area was close to half a small province in China!

Mo Fan had no way to contact Commander Hua. It would be difficult to find his location in this vast archipelago.

Many Hunter Dirty Demons were wandering around the archipelago. They crawled out of the sea to the land in groups to search thoroughly for prey.

Green East Sea God hovered over Honolulu. It did not rashly decide to land on the island.

Many Ocean Demons were looking for Commander Hua. The army of Ocean Demons had occupied several important islands and cities, so it felt like they were in the nest of Ocean Demons.

“Mo Fan, a large group of Hunter Dirty Demons is rushing towards a county. Should we follow them?” Song Feiyao asked.

“Let’s go and take a look.” Mo Fan nodded.

Green East Sea God was in the air, and flew faster than the Hunter Dirty Demons could move.

When they looked down from the sky, they could see many Hunter Dirty Demons crawling between the valleys and forests, and they seemed to have a clear target. There were so many of them that it looked like they were a turbid river flowing in waves.

The Green East Sea God made a sound. The sound it made was such that it could clear up the fog and clouds blocking the way. The sight became clearer.

Mo Fan looked and saw an island city surrounded by mountains. The island looked like a ring. On the inner side of the ring were houses, streets, and beaches. At the center was a blue bay that looked like a deep blue eye when he looked at it from above.

The Hunter Dirty Demons gathered in Ring Island City. Most of the people in the city had migrated to America. However, the Hunter Dirty Demons seemed to have sensed the presence of some humans who still remained, so they were chasing after them.

“Let’s fly lower. We can’t see clearly at this height,” Mo Fan said to Song Feiyao.

“If we fly too low, some of the chiefs of Hunter Dirty Demons will spot us,” Song Feiyao said.

“Then we’ll go down, and Green East Sea God can stay here,” Mo Fan said.

There were thousands of members in the army of Hunter Dirty Demons. When they looked down from a high place, the scene made their hair stand on end. Song Feiyao admired Mo Fan. He jumped without frowning in the face of such a terrifying scene. Was he not afraid of being killed by the army of Hunter Dirty Demons?

1

…

They landed in Ring Island City. The island city was just a street around the bay. Most buildings and shops had three or four stories at most, and they were all unique. Honestly, if people lived in such a romantic and quiet place, their personalities and moods would be better too.

However, the ugly appearances of the Hunter Dirty Demons had ruined the scenery. There were Hunter Dirty Demons crawling through most parts of Ring Island, which made things even more frightening.

There were too many of them. In the past, Mo Fan often faced countless enemies on some battlefields, but he had never faced as many enemies as this. There were so many of them that some Hunter Dirty Demons needed to crawl on their companions’ backs to move forward.

After the army of Hunter Dirty Demons surrounded the city, Ring Island City looked like a layer of blood-colored quicksand that kept moving.

“They’re Americans. Are they from the Sacred Hall of Liberty?” Mo Fan soon discovered the people who were trapped. There were more than a dozen, and they all had a high level of cultivation.

With the help of the street and city, they formed the Cross Wind Formation. A layer of heavy wind protected people standing in this Cross Wind Formation. It could sweep away the Hunter Dirty Demons that attacked them and killed these demons in mid-air.

“It seems that they don’t really need help. Are they the last guardians of the Sacred Hall of Liberty, or are they international rescuers?” Mo Fan could not quite tell which side they belonged to.

These people were strong. Well, they would have to be if they dared to stay back in Hawaii in these circumstances.

Mo Fan did not want to waste time on them since they were doing alright. He decided to leave and continue his search for Commander Hua.

Among the Hunter Dirty Demons, some Hunter Dirty Demon Queens sensed Mo Fan’s presence. Their eyes were turning strangely, trying to find Mo Fan, who was hiding in the shadow of a cloud.

Mo Fan frowned. These Ocean Demons had powerful senses. Fortunately, he did not make a move. Otherwise, the army of Hunter Dirty Demons would not let him go.

“Mo Fan, Mo Fan, come up quickly!” Song Feiyan said to Mo Fan anxiously.

Mo Fan transformed into a Shadow Bird and flew to the sky along the giant shadow of dark clouds. The Green East Sea God flew a little lower. After Mo Fan got on its back, it quickly flapped its wings and rose higher.

A roar came from the ring-shaped blue ‘eye’ of the island. All the seawater in the bay drained and turned into a bottomless pit. A squid tentacle covered with strange lumps all over its body came out of the bottomless pit.

The Strange Lump Squid King attacked blindly, and the island city instantly turned into bubbles. The Cross Wind Formation that the Mages of the Sacred Hall of Liberty relied on also disappeared because of the attack.

The people who were supposedly members of the Sacred Hall of Liberty stared at the Squid King in horror when they saw its pointed head sticking out of the bottomless pit.

The Strange Lump Squid King roared again. The things that came out of its mouth were rocks, shipwrecks, and the bones of other giant sea monsters with countless acid and squid venom. The Squid King poured all these on the members of the Sacred Hall of Liberty.

Suddenly, they were screaming. The squid venom reduced several people into disgusting pools of liquid. Those who only had some venom on their skin wailed in agony.

This group of people were doing alright with their protection magic under the siege of the Hunter Dirty Demons, but the appearance of the Strange Lump Squid King made them helpless.

Mo Fan looked at this terrifying scene from the sky. Hawaii right now was too dangerous. Ocean Demons and top ruler-level monsters were everywhere. The mastermind behind this – Black Claw Emperor – really wanted Commander Hua to die in Hawaii.

Chapter 2763: The Provocation of the Squid King

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan and Song Fei Yao both had lingering fears, but fortunately, the Green East Sea God flew up in time. They went to a place where the Strange Lump Squid King could not attack.

The Strange Lump Squid King’s vicious aura made it clear that it would not allow any humans within ten kilometers of it to survive.

“Let’s go. There’s no need to waste time with this demon,” Mo Fan hurriedly said to Green East Sea God.

The Strange Lump Squid King kept raising its pointed head, and its fully protruding eyes stared at Green East Sea God in the sky. It seemed to be able to sense the presence of Mo Fan and Song Feiyao.

Suddenly, the Strange Lump Squid King opened its maw, which seemed like a small crack in a huge cave. Mo Fan and Song Feiyao thought it would spray deadly venom toward the Green East Sea God but it only spat out a few white bones towards them.

These bones did not harm the Green East Sea God, but the action was full of contempt and provocation.

Those bones belonged to the Mages of the Sacred Hall of Liberty, whom the Strange Lump Squid King had swallowed just now. The Strange Lump Squid King was mocking Green East Sea God and provoking Mo Fan and Song Feiyao by spitting out the bones towards them.

The Green East Sea God did have a temper. The Strange Lump Squid King was just a squid in the sea, which only dared to move at the bottom of the ocean. And yet it acted like it was so formidable on land and looked down on the eagle king that flew above the sea.

“Damn it! If this mission wasn’t urgent, I would jump down there and slaughter it! Then, I will bake it and make a nice squid omelet for myself,” said Mo Fan angrily. How dare the creature mock him?

“Forget it. There are many Hunter Dirty Demons around it. We can’t kill all of them in one go,” Song Feiyao said.

The Moon Moth Phoenix which stood on Mo Fan’s shoulders was afraid of the Strange Lump Squid King. It was even more scared that Mo Fan would let his anger get the better of him and fight it. So, the Moon Moth Phoenix cast a calming magic around Mo Fan.Mo Fan took a deep breath and stood at the tail of Green East Sea God. Then, he made a beheading gesture toward the Strange Lump Squid King.

However, the Strange Lump Squid King also was unrelenting. It chased after the direction of flying Green East Sea God through the land below.

When Green East Sea God flew over a mountain, the Strange Lump Squid King climbed it as well. The mountain almost shattered under its rigid body, and the rocks rolled down in all directions.

The Strange Lump Squid King chased after Green East Sea God for more than ten kilometers and then they finally lost it. But on a hill, they could still see the Strange Lump Squid King at the highest point, making threatening gestures towards them.

The Green East Sea God stared icily at the creature for a while and ignored it.

…

The Green East Sea God’s eyes were sharp. At an altitude of thousands of meters, it could still see those tiny creatures on the road even if countless clouds were blocking its vision.

It was indeed convenient for Mo Fan. He could observe the entire Hawaiian Islands from a relatively safe area. Otherwise, he might have been dragged by a group of Ocean demons if he was on land.

“Mo Fan, a group of people is in the north of Honolulu. They walk carefully and covertly,” Song Feiyao said.

The Green East Sea God had good eyesight. From the current height, all Mo Fan could see was just a bumpy green plate even if no clouds were blocking the entire thousands of square kilometers of the island. Even the towering mountain range seemed to be indistinct folds in his eyes.

“Let’s get in touch with them. Maybe those people came on a rescue mission like us. I wonder if they have any news about Commander Hua,” said Mo Fan.

…

When flying down, the closer Mo Fan got to the ground, the more shocked he got. A group of Ocean Demons had occupied Honolulu. It was common to see a Blue Haired Ocean Demon holding a strange coral cane. It had silver scales covering its whole body. It looked like a thin woman in a silver leather coat with fluttering blue hair from a distance.

When he took a closer look, he realized that this blue-haired humanoid Ocean Demon had an ugly salamander face, and its webbed feet were as large as Bigfoot’s.

These Blue-Haired Female Demons often rode on a Deep-Sea Lizard Dragon Demon that could gallop on land while holding the coral cane. A large group of undersea monsters surrounded them.

From time to time, several commanders of Hunter Dirty Demons with strange silver-blue lights all over their bodies came from a distance, making strange sounds. The Blue-Haired Female Demons ordered all the undersea monsters to move towards the commanders of Hunter Dirty Demons.

There were quite a few such Blue-Haired Female Demons and undersea monster corps. They were in the surroundings of Honolulu, and they considered this Hawaiian City an important investigative target. Everywhere they passed was destroyed, leaving a mess behind.

The group of people that the Green East Sea God discovered seemed to be avoiding these Blue-Haired Female Demons. They planned to retreat deeper into the forests along a valley north of Honolulu.

Mo Fan realized that no matter how powerful the human group was, they had to keep a low profile after entering Hawaii. They were very quiet and careful. The number of the army of Ocean Demons in Hawaii exceeded anybody’s expectations. It was as if the Ocean Demons had made this their home.

‘Fortunately, Zhang Xiaohou had destroyed the Underwater Underground River Tunnel leading to the Bo Sea. Otherwise, the army of Ocean Demons would constantly enter China’s Bo Sea from the Underwater Underground River Tunnel. Maybe we can escape through the Underground River Tunnel and return to Bo Sea, if need be,’ thought Mo Fan.

When Zhang Xiaohou was looking for the Dragon King Ant, he accidentally discovered the Underwater Underground River that could lead to the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The large Ocean Demons could not pass through the underground river after the silver mines destroyed it, but humans might be able to go through the gap.

Besides, Mo Fan was a Space Element Mage. As long as there were some cracks where the underground river had collapsed, Mo Fan could teleport people to the other end by jumping in these spaces.

Mo Fan had heard Zhang Xiaohou mention that some Ocean Demons were still gushing out of the Underground River Tunnel. However, there were not many of them, and they were only small Ocean Demons.

After the Underwater Underground River Tunnel collapsed, the Ocean Godly Horde had given up that route.

“Let’s hurry and find Commander Hua,” said Mo Fan.

…

Mo Fan approached the valley. Song Feiyao and Green East Sea God remained in the air. He did not want to be targeted by Ocean Demons on land but he thought this arrangement was the safest. Song Feiyao and the Green East Sea God could investigate the situation around Honolulu from the air.

Among the Ocean Demons, many could fly. The Giant Shark Beasts were constantly patrolling like hot air balloons.

Chapter 2764: Stingray Legion

Low altitudes, especially below five thousand meters, were out of the question for the Green East Sea God. It was where the Green East Sea God patrolled.

From time to time, they could see stingrays with very long tails in the air. At first, Mo Fan thought Honolulu was holding a stingray kite competition. The stingrays were in the air all disorderly. The scene was almost spectacular.

After landing in the valley, Mo Fan turned into a Shadow Bird and was about to approach the group of people who were walking quietly.

Suddenly, the stingrays below the clouds moved toward him, and their eyes, which emitted red light, stared in his direction.

‘Are they after the people in the valley?’ thought Mo Fan. ‘No! They found me instead’. Mo Fan was shocked. Could these stingrays see through the concealment of Shadow Element?

Mo Fan started to move away from the valley, and the stingrays followed. Suddenly, the forest where Mo Fan was at began to dim. The stingrays had blocked the light!

They were indeed a group of Ocean Demons that were used to find Forbidden Mages. They were sensitive to all hidden methods. No wonder the group of people in the valley were so careful.

Mo Fan opened the ancient magic portal and summoned a Dark Night Dream Beast. ‘Think of a way and help me divert them.’

The Dark Night Dream Beast was a night elf creature which looked like a deer. It had antlers like a dreamy tree and black hair, and it was an elf creature on the same level as Mighty Cliff Demon King.

Mo Fan did not need to combine with the Shadow Element. He just summoned it from the ancient magic portal and let it divert those stingrays.

He could summon the Dark Night Dream Beast back through the ancient magic portal, so he did not have to worry even if those stingrays surrounded the Dark Night Dream Beast. It could safely return to the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower.

This Summoned Beast was quite reliable. It first appeared and pretended to panic. Then, it escaped into the shadows and fled to the south through the trees. Those stingrays were sensitive to motion. They chased in the direction where the Dark Night Dream Beast ran.

Mo Fan stayed where he was and did not dare to move. The Shadow Element could still give his location away. If he stayed still, he might be able to conceal himself completely. A Light Element Mage with high cultivation might not be able to locate a Shadow Element user who stayed still.

Mo Fan was very patient. He waited until all the stingrays followed the Dark Night Dream Beast. He then tried walking very slowly.

‘I mustn’t underestimate these Ocean Demons. Most of them who came here are the elites under the Black Claw Emperor.’ Mo Fan let out a sigh of relief.

Only after entering the valley did he move freely. The valley would provide cover. The Dark Night Dream Beast had completed its mission. Mo Fan opened the ancient magic portal and recalled it to the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower.

“Who is it?

“Who is approaching?”

A voice rang out. Mo Fan was stunned. How had they discovered him? Was his concealment really this poor?

Mo Fan did away with the concealment and walked towards the group of people.He saw an old acquaintance with a long beard and old wrinkles on his face. However, he still looked energetic.

“Mo Fan, it’s you!” Pang Lai said in surprise.

“What a pleasant surprise!” Mo Fan smiled.

“Oh my, Mo Fan, it’s been a long time!” Jiang Yu squeezed through the crowd and ran to him. He gave Mo Fan a big hug.

Mo Fan was surprised to see him here as well. However, it wasn’t so unusual.Jiang Yu was Pang Lai’s direct disciple. If Pang Lai was here, it was not uncommon for him to be on the team.

“What are you doing here?” Mo Fan asked in confusion.

“We are here to rescue a Forbidden Mage. He is trapped…”

“Jiang Yu!” A mature woman said sternly.

Mo Fan saw a woman in her thirties. She was tall, thin, and had a stern face. She gave people the impression that she was in charge.

“What a coincidence. I’m here to rescue a Forbidden Mage as well,” Mo Fan said a smile.

The stern woman walked over and stood in front of Jiang Yu. Her eyes were sharp. “Do you think we will believe that a rescue team only has one person?”

“Ye Mei, this is Mo Fan, the winner of the World College Tournament. He is a trustworthy person, so you don’t have to be so nervous,” Pang Lai said.

“The rescue is not a game or a trial for young people. The Stingray Legion was leaning toward us just now. They probably noticed when he entered the valley. Hmph.” Ye Mei was still wary of Mo Fan.

“All right, I promise that there won’t be any more problems. Mo Fan, why are you here?” Pang Lai was still very gentle and friendly to Mo Fan. It was just like way back when he used to be his student.

“Well, I received a mission at a critical and difficult moment,” Mo Fan replied.

“I’m happy that you came.” Pang Lai pulled Mo Fan aside. He lowered his voice. “This matter is urgent. Our country’s Forbidden Mages have to supervise in the key base cities, so it is difficult to transfer them. I thought there was little hope this time, but I forgot about your existence. What do you think of turning into a demon?”

“Old Pang, to tell the truth, my Essence Orb is almost empty now, and I haven’t recovered from the sequelae of the last time yet,” Mo Fan replied with a bitter smile.

It was no wonder that Pang Lai was so excited when he saw Mo Fan. It turned out that he was hoping that Mo Fan could turn into a demon.

Pang Lai was speechless. The expectation and joy were fading from his face.

“What are you doing here then?”asked Pang Lai.

Mo Fan did not know how to answer. He thought carefully about it. ‘Was Tang Zhong also hoping that I could turn into a demon and complete the mission?’

“To tell you the truth, it doesn’t matter. I am here now, and Jiang Yu is here as well. And you! It’s so nice to meet you all.”

Pang Lai glared at Mo Fan. “His Night Rakshasa can find Commander Hua. The life of Commander Hua is more important than Jiang Yu’s life, after all.”

“Master…” Jiang Yu said.

“Shut up. I said I only wanted the Night Rakshasa to come, and you didn’t have to follow.”

“How could I let Night Rakshasa come to take risks alone? It is my Contracted Beast,” Jiang Yu said.

“You are worried about your cat, and you don’t care about me at all, right?” Pang Lai said angrily.

Chapter 2765: Big Snakes in the Volcano

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Meow.”

The familiar voice of Night Rakshasa came from a deeper part of the valley.

Mo Fan followed the sound and saw Night Rakshasa in black boots and gloves running toward them. Its movement was as light and agile as ever.

“Meow?” Night Rakshasa landed on Jiang Yu’s shoulder and stared at Mo Fan with moonstone eyes. Its eyes were questioning Mo Fan’s presence.

Mo Fan extended his hand and touched Night Rakshasa. This little dark elf cat was still so adorable. The dark hair on its whole body made it appear noble and ancient.

Mo Fan felt that Jiang Yu, instead, was the servant and Night Rakshasa was a laid-back but noble queen.

“Are there any clues yet? We’re counting on you to find Commander Hua,” said Pang Lai.

“Meow,” Night Rakshasa responded.

Jiang Yu’s eyes lit up. “Hurry up and take us there. We must find our National Commander as soon as possible!” he said to Night Rakshasa.

…

They followed Night Rakshasa to the deeper part of the valley. It turned out there was a dark path. It was probably a small tourist attraction in the past. The demons could not find it, but there were obvious signs along the way.

They passed through this path and walked about a dozen kilometers in a tropical jungle before a mountain appeared in front of them. When they arrived at a place where the view was clear and not blocked by mountains and trees, they found they were very close to a cone-shaped volcano.

Some active volcanoes were easy to identify. They could identify it by looking around and making sure if there were lush plants around it. If there were only bare rocks around then they needed to be careful. The volcano still might erupt.

It was the case with the cone-shaped volcano in front of them. At first glance, there was a little white smoke on the volcanic rocks. It had probably just spewed out red and hot magma not long ago. However, it seemed to be a small eruption.

Their destination was not the cone-shaped volcano, but a mountain separated by it. The cone-shaped volcano was much higher than the mountain ridge they were on. They felt as if a giant creature watched them as they walked up the ridge.

The cone-shaped volcano suddenly made a strange sound like a muffled thunder. Something red-hot condensed and flowed little by little along the crater of the cone-shaped volcano halfway up the mountain like a snake. Several lavas overflowed down the steep mountain like a stream.

“Find cover. There’s something inside!” Pang Lai’s expression suddenly changed.

Everyone rushed down the ridge and hid at a place facing back to the cone-shaped volcano. The cone-shaped volcano suddenly burst out countless fireballs.

When the fireballs were in the crater, they looked like candle fire. However, when it rolled in mid-air and fell to the ridge where Mo Fan and others were, they found that the fireballs were as large as a house. The fireballs could create pits and cracks on the surface of the ridge.

There were quite a lot of such fireballs that flew out from different directions of the cone-shaped volcano. Several heads raised up from the crater, and their long necks moved in the flames. They were huge and terrifying.

Mo Fan glanced at it. Although it was dozens of kilometers apart, Mo Fan could not help but take a deep breath in concern.

Those heads belonged to volcanic snakes with molten fire scales all over their bodies, and there were many of them. Some snakes had their heads in the mid-air, some hung halfway up the mountainside, and some swayed back and forth. The ones protruding from the cone-shaped crater were all snakeheads. Only a small part of the snakes were exposed. Their long bodies were still hidden in the volcano.

“There seems to be five snakes in total. Is there a nest of volcanic snakes there?” Mo Fan asked.

Each of their heads was different. Some had a terrifying eye on their forehead; some had a single horn on their heads; some had huge fan-like gills; some had a poisonous crown. These volcanic snakes were not ordinary ruler-level. The intimidating aura they radiated seemed much stronger than that of the Strange Lump Squid King.

A strange sound wave came from mid-air. Above the thick smoke, a stingray with a dark metallic body slowly flew to the volcanic snakes. It was so big that it looked like a dark cloud over the volcano.

Under its open wings were all flat fan-like air holes, and some smaller stingrays flowed in and out of those holes.

The metallic black stingray king seemed to be communicating with the big snakes in the volcano. After a while, the metallic black stingray king flew again, and the five big snakes in the volcano also slowly returned to the cone-shaped volcano.

Mo Fan frowned. The level of the stingray king would not be lower than that of Green East Sea God. Fortunately, he had always been careful and left the Green East Sea God in the sky. It would be difficult to escape if they ran into this stingray king.

All of them were high-level creatures. Hawaii was about to become the den of Ocean Demons.The Black Claw Emperor had gone to great lengths to get rid of Commander Hua.

“The most important thing to be careful of is that thing in the sky. It has strong detection capabilities, and its strength is formidable,” Pang Lai said to everyone.

Even the small stingrays could detect Mo Fan’s shadow ability, so the stingray king could undoubtedly do it too. It was no wonder everyone was careful not to use magic along the way. They were afraid of being detected if they used even a bit of magic

“What about the five big snakes in the volcano?” Mo Fan asked.

“We better not let that one target us. Otherwise, we will end up dead,” Pang Lai said.

Mo Fan was puzzled. Pan Lai had said “that one” but there were five snakes.

1

Pang Lai did not explain further. Night Rakshasa led the way, followed by the masters of the Forbidden City. Everyone’s faces showed that they were still a little nervous and uneasy.

As people from the Forbidden City, they were already the top among the Mages in China. Even if they faced some fierce demons in the country, they would not be afraid.

But after they came to Hawaii, they had been very cautious. In front of the tyrannical Ocean Demons, they could only hide, tremble, and pray that Ocean Demons would not detect them.

Chapter 2766: Silver-Blue Valley Trap

Night Rakshasa had been leading everyone forward. They could not use magic at will, so their progress was slow.

After passing through the mountains near the cone-shaped volcano, they entered a valley with a long silver-blue river. The terrain in the valley was vast, and there was a town with gray and silver buildings.

The town had not been damaged and was relatively well preserved. It was probably because the residents here had completely migrated not long ago. The whole town seemed alive, and the streets looked very clean.

‘Could it be that Commander Hua was hiding in the Silver-Blue Valley City to recover from his injuries?’ wondered Mo Fan.

Mo Fan used his dragon sense to observe the surroundings, including the distant mountain, to ensure there were no traces of Ocean Demons or Hunter Dirty Demons.

“You all go to the hilltops and keep an eye out for the enemy. If there is any news about the Ocean Demons, you must send us a signal immediately. Understand?” Pang Lai instructed several Royal Mages.

These Royal Mages were all middle-aged. Some of them looked very familiar. They had probably attended the Magic Association or some important events since they were the experts of the Forbidden City. Their cultivations had all reached the top, but they were still careful.

According to Pang Lai’s instructions, the three Royal Mages occupied three mountains which overlooked the Silver-Blue Valley City.

“Let’s go. The Scroll of Dawn that we brought should be able to make Commander Hua recover faster,” said Pang Lai.

The mission of the Royal Mages was not to rescue Commander Hua. It was impossible to save a Forbidden Mage from the pursuit of an orthodox emperor in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with their cultivation. What they had to do was get the Scroll of Dawn to Commander Hua.

It was a magic scroll engraved with a great healing method. By reading the forbidden language on it, they could apply pure great healing magic to one of them. Even a Forbidden Mage could restore life functions, mental state, and repair damaged souls in a short period of time.

“Night Rakshasa, are you sure that Commander Hua is here?” Ye Mei was somewhat skeptical.

Night Rakshasa was running along the street. It only stopped when it reached Hexagon Fountain Square in the center. Tall buildings surrounded the fountain square.

The floor of the fountain square was not flat tiles but countless pieces of transparent semi-blue tempered glass. When they looked at the glass floor, they saw the water in the hexagonal fountain flowing outward in a beautiful vortex.

Many buildings around the square had glass walls, which made the entire Hexagon Fountain Square look very modern and artistic. It could be a symbol of Silver-Blue Valley City.

Night Rakshasa ran a few laps along the hexagonal fountain. After a while, it picked up a military glove from the clean water in the fountain. The glove was very thin, and there was blood on it. It was unknown how long it had been soaking in this fountain.

“Where’s Commander Hua?” Ye Mei became a little anxious when she saw the military glove.

Night Rakshasa found a military glove, but there was no trace of Commander Hua.

“Is that Commander Hua’s blood?” whispered Jiang Yu.

Night Rakshasa nodded.

“Why would Commander Hua throw the bloody military glove here? Is it to confuse theOcean Demons?” Pang Lai said.

“In my opinion, we might have fallen into a trap.” Said Mo Fan.

Right then, signals appeared on several mountains in different directions. The Forbidden Mages, who were on the lookout, had sent these signals.

1

Pang Lai’s face darkened. Could it be that this was a trap set by the siren?

They knew that humans would send experts to rescue Commander Hua, so they deliberately dropped a bloody military glove left by Commander Hua when he fought against the Black Claw Emperor to lead the human reinforcements into this trap.

“These bloody Ocean Demons! Let’s go!” Pang Lai shouted.

Ye Mei glared at Night Rakshasa. Night Rakshasa was innocent. How could it have known this was a trap? It had only followed the scent.

“Night Rakshasa?” Jiang Yu hugged Night Rakshasa. He touched its small head and comforted it. “It’s okay. I believe you will find Commander Hua.”

“Meow.” It seemed to be telling Jiang Yu something else.

Jiang Yu listened carefully. Then, he began to search around. It wasn’t clear what he was looking for.

The Great Mages who were assigned to keep a lookout for the enemy in the mountains returned with solemn faces.

“Chief, we’re surrounded. There’s an army of Hunter Dirty Demons in the west.”

“The Stingray Legion is coming from the south.”

“There are a few big monsters in the north, and they are coming.”

The three Great Mages reported.

Pang Lai’s face became serious. He observed the terrains around the Silver-Blue Valley City.

“Chief, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and choose a place to attack right away!” Ye Mei said.

“Don’t panic. Instead of rushing and attacking randomly, it’s better to set up Heavenly Bottle Magic Formation here. Then, we can look for an opportunity to escape. Did you three do what I specifically told you before?” Pang Lai asked the three Royal Great Mages.

The three Royal Great Mages nodded.

“Great!” Pang Lai’s face softened a little. “Ye Mei, you go get some water from the river. Make sure that the water source is not interrupted.”

“Guards of Four Directions, you guys immediately go to the entrance of Valley City, which is the intersection point. Make sure you defend it.”

“The rest of the people attack the city!”

Pang Lai appeared formidable when giving commands. He instantly transformed from an old and gentle man to a battle-worn veteran. His steady commands and razor-sharp focus inspired others.

Mo Fan had never seen Pang Lai like this. Most of the time, Pang Lai was an old, gentle professor in a big hat. He was full of knowledge but had no power, until now. Mo Fan had admired the chief Royal Great Mage.

Pang Lai stood in the middle of the square street and cast some spells. He was a well-known Formation Mage in the country, and Mo Fan had always been weak in the profound meaning of formation. He knew nothing about formation.

“What is the Heavenly Bottle Magic Formation?” Mo Fan asked Jiang Yu next to him.

Jiang Yu was absent-minded. He was still looking around.

“What are you looking for?” Mo Fan asked again.

“Night Rakshasa said that the bloody glove was not the only thing it smelled. There should be something else,” Jiang Yu replied.

2

Chapter 2767: Aquarius Magic Formation

Strange sounds came from the mountains. At first, they were not so loud but the sound built on itself and rose to a crescendo.

Hunter Dirty Demons were coming from the direction of the mountain.

Hunter Dirty Demons were a special species among Ocean Demons. The smaller they were, the more vicious they appeared to be.

In the vast army of Hunter Dirty Demons, they could see some thin and fierce shadows moving at an impossible speed. They were only equivalent to large voles, but the aura they emitted was terrifying.

They surrounded the Silver-Blue Valley City, and many of them had already circled behind to attack directly from the heights of the valley and the steep terrain.

For Ocean Demons like Hunter Dirty Demons, even the lowest-level Hunter Dirty Demons had the strength of warlord-level creatures. Such terrain could not hinder their attacks as they could climb vertical rock walls with sharp claws like insects!

1

Mo Fan stared at the back and found that a group of Ice Claw Hunter Dirty Demons was getting closer. However, all the Royal Mages, including Pang Lai, did not seem to care much about the enemies coming from behind, and they all stared at Silver-Blue Valley City’s narrow entrance.

“What about the enemies coming from the back?” Mo Fan asked.

“Ignore them. They can’t come over,” Jiang Yu said.

‘Why could they not come over?’ Mo Fan felt the Ice Claw Hunter Dirty Demons had stepped into the city streets.

“Start the formation!” Pang Lai shouted.

A large group of dreamy and beautiful light like stardust suddenly shone from the three mountains where the mages had been moments before. If they looked closely, they could find countless zero crystals of different shapes embedded in the light. Their edges and corners refracted so many colors, and these visible lights shrouded the Silver-Blue Valley City entirely.

The lights were vivid. They were not transparent. They were constantly absorbing energy and gradually condensing into a solid porcelain form.

There were more and more zero crystals. They were arranged in a very tight structure in the light. The lights they released had also changed. From Mo Fan’s direction, it looked like huge translucent-colored porcelain that wrapped the entire second half of the Silver-Blue Valley City.

At the same time, the lights in the other two positions also refracted similar solid porcelain light. The two side lights formed were just hyperboloids that were asymptotically inward. Eventually, a huge ceramic bottle mouth formed at the narrow entrance of the Silver-Blue Valley City!

Song Feiyao anxiously looked down at the situation on the ground from the sky. It was too late for her to fly down to support them. The black stingrays formed a terrifying cloud over the city making it impossible for the Green East Sea God to fly down.

Before Song Feiyao’s vision was blocked, she saw a scene that surprised her. The entire Silver-Blue Valley City suddenly dazzled as thought seen inside a huge porcelain light bottle.

A bottle that could hold an entire city!

Song Fei Yao had never seen such magic before, but it made her feel a little more at ease. At least the Ocean Demons would not besiege Mo Fan and the others from all sides.

She had to think of other ways to rescue the group of people trapped inside instead of impulsively attacking the monsters.

…

Silver-Blue Valley City was in the bottle. The bottle was lying on the ground. The mouth overlapped with the entrance of the city and the bottom of the bottle covered the back of the city.

The bottom of the bottle was generally the thickest and most sturdy part. Mo Fan saw the Ice Claw Hunter Dirty Demons slamming into the colorful bottom of the huge bottle. Their claws broke but they couldn’t even scratch the surface of the bottle. Mo Fan understood why Pang Lai had told him to ignore the enemies at the back. With such an incomparably powerful Aquarius Magic Formation, they did not need to concern themselves with the enemies attacking from behind.

The curved surface of the bottle was the weakest part of the entire formation, but the Ocean Demons also needed to recuperate to smash the curved surface.

They seem to be in a solid bottle. No matter how large the number of enemies was and where they came from, they must pass through the narrow mouth of the bottle if they wanted to attack them.

What a good formation!Mo Fan could not help but admire Pang Lai even more.

He lamented his lack of knowledge. If he had learned this formation earlier, he would not have to worry about facing a large number of enemies.

The three Great Mages were already guarding the bottle mouth.

Aquarius Magic Formation was a tactical magic formation, not a protective barrier. Its purpose was to prevent a small team of Mages from being besieged from all sides. In this way, they could concentrate on dealing with enemies from only one direction.

The enemy could still come in through the mouth of the bottle, so fighting was inevitable.

The Ocean Demons would not retreat. They tried to break the bottle many times, but they could not even scratch it. They slowly found an opening at the entrance. But the entrance was small so not many Ocean Demons could enter at a time.

Bang!

Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the side. Many tentacles with strange lumps wrapped around the side of the bottle.

The strength of the tentacles was astonishing. Every attack of it would cause the surrounding mountains to tremble. The Silver-Blue Valley City also trembled slightly.

“It’s that creature again.” Mo Fan recognized the Strange Lump Squid King.

Strange Lump Squid King began to climb on the wall of the bottle. Its long and soft body quickly covered the top of the Hexagon Fountain Square. When it climbed to the top, many of its tentacles spread and tightly stuck to the lower half of the bottle.

Strange Lump Squid King began to use all its strength to crush the bottle!

“It’s wasting its energy.” Jiang Yu looked very calm and was not frightened by the monster above his head that was several times larger than a building.

Mo Fan had been paying attention to the lights of the bottle, and he found no cracks on the bottle yet.

Strange Lump Squid King used various means, including the venom that could melt steel, to attack the bottle but it could not even scratch the surface.

Strange Lump Squid King was furious. It stared at Mo Fan abgily.

“Puny human, do you think it’s safe to hide inside? I’ll strangle you when I climb in!”

A strange voice rang in Mo Fan’s mind. The voice was female and shrill. It sounded vicious and mad.

Chapter 2768: Arguing with the Ocean Demon

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan was shocked. ‘T-The Squid King can talk?! What the hell?! Can it understand human language?!’

‘Not. That’s not it.’

It was a kind of psychic communication. Even though Mo Fan did not hear any voices, the Squid King with the strange lump transmitted its messages to his mind through telepathic means.

‘Come in and I’ll kill you! We have a type of food called squid skewers that are seasoned with salad and BBQ sauce! It tastes even better if it’s fresh. Come in and I’ll roast you alive!’ Mo Fan cussed at the Squid King.

‘That’s very daring of you, puny human! Come out now! I’ll ask my men to get out of the way and personally kill you!’ the Squid King said angrily.

‘Do you think I’m an idiot? Come inside if you dare! I’ll ask my comrades to stand aside and slaughter you by myself. Do you really think you’re a ruler among the Ocean Demons just because you have so much power?! I thought you and your horde proclaimed yourselves as the supreme rulers of Earth! You call yourselves the Ocean Godly Horde and that you’re better than every other race, right?! Hah! Are the rest of the Godly Hordes as stupid as you? Do you know what it means to fight one-on-one? When humans are in conflict with each other, it’s an unwritten rule that they fight each other one-on-one, and the others are not allowed to interfere. It’s a fair fight. Otherwise, it is a thing of shame to interfere and cheat. And do the filthy and despicable Ocean Demons fight in this civilized and noble manner? You’re just lowly creatures in this world and don’t know how to fight in the right way. Do you know what art is?! Are you aware of the code of a mage?!’ Mo Fan continued to cuss at the Squid King.

The Squid King flew into a fit of rage and smacked the Aquarius frantically with its tentacles. The Aquarius was extremely hard, and it could even scratch it. It would have certainly ripped Mo Fan with its teeth if it could.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yu stared at Mo Fan in shock. Night Rakshasa was equally stunned. Its jaw dropped, revealing its little cat teeth and tongue. Both Jiang Yu and Night Rakshasa were impressed.

Mo Fan was already impressive since he had argued with the entire national team while he was still in school. But they never expected him to argue with the Squid King.

The Squid King was enraged. It charged at the bottleneck of the Aquarius violently.

The bottleneck of the Aquarius was narrow. It was equivalent to the entrance of a valley with limited areas, and the entrance was crowded with Hunter Dirty Demons and the Stingray Legion. They had blocked the bottleneck of the Aquarius with their numbers, and not a single gap was left. It was not an exaggeration to say that the Ocean Demons had piled up into a mountain at the entrance.

The Squid King removed the Hunter Dirty Demons and Stingray Legion with its tentacles. It flung the Ocean Demons away with its terrifying tentacles in order to pave a path for itself. After that, it burrowed into the Aquarius through the bottleneck in fury.

Since the Aquarius could take in all of Blue River Silver Valley, its bottleneck was not actually too narrow. When the Squid King made its way through the bottleneck, it ignored the three Royal Great Mages and charged at Mo Fan.

“Be careful! It’s an Overlord!” Pang Lai screamed.

Usually, mages worked hand in hand to defeat such a formidable foe. The four Guardian Mages were well-prepared to fight it.

The four Guardian Mages under Pang Lai’s lead were outstanding. They were top-notched Super Level mages who had completed their cultivation in the four elements. Therefore, they could face even the strongest among the Ruler-level Ocean Demons.

However, the Squid King had no interest in any of the mages. It just charged toward the city center.

“Stop it! Don’t let it get behind us!” said one of the four Guardian Mages.

“The Blue-Haired Female Demon and the Deep-Sea Lizard Dragon Demon troops are coming!”

“Be careful of the Ruler-level Hunter Dirty Demon! That one with a red-blue head!”

Pang Lai frowned. It was clear that the four Guardian Mages could not cope with so many Ocean Demons at once. Pang Lai had to personally confront the Squid King.

“Old Pang, leave it to me. It’s coming for me,” said Mo Fan.

“Why are you still joking around at a time like this?! You youngsters should escape while you can!” Ye Mei’s voice came from the bottom of the Aquarius.

Mo Fan turned to her, only to realize the not-so-friendly female mage was standing at the river waterfall. The river flowed from the city center to the sea through the mountain valley. The blue silver river was the axis that connected the city and the Aquarius.

It was clear that the river was a key position in the magic formation. Ye Mei’s strength was second only to Pang Lai. Hence, she could not leave her position.

“Ye Mei, trust him. He’s not one to brag,” Pang Lai said to Ye Mei.

“Pang Lai, it’s a very powerful Ruler-level demon that even the four Guardian Mages might not be able to take on. Yet you allow the young mage to take it on alone, are you mad?! We can’t let him die!” Ye Mei shouted. She was anxious. The situation was dire.

“You hold on to your position and leave the rest to me,” Pang Lai said firmly.

Ye Mei was annoyed.

If Ye Mei insisted on helping, the sturdiness of the Aquarius would drop significantly, and the lives of her teammates would be at stake. Even Commander Hua would be affected adversely. She closed her eyes imagining the horrible things that were bound to happen.

…

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was facing the square avenue at the central hexagonal fountain square.

The square avenue was spacious and magnificent. There were many tall buildings and malls along the street. The buildings were built in American architectural ../style.

However, when the Squid King made its way here. The buildings along the street collapsed. They smashed onto the ground. The buildings along the streets looked as if they had been blasted by bombs. It was terrifying to behold.

Jiang Yu looked pale. He did not want to confront such a monster!

‘Arsehole! If not for the fact that there’s no light under the sea, an ugly monster like you would never find a mate to produce an offspring. Go back and produce a bastard with a Sea Monkey! I don’t want to slaughter you and lead your species to extinction. We like having delicious squid dishes!”

Jiang Yu almost fainted seeing Mo Fan provoke the creature.

‘It’s coming in a fit of rage. Can you stop cursing so that it will at least show some mercy to you?!’

‘I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!’ The Squid King was furious. It slammed its tentacles across the buildings like slamming toy blocks.

As Mo Fan kept provoking it, he slowly reached out for the Totem Orb on his waist. The Totem Orb glowed in dim light. A wisp of eerie fog spread out from it and gradually enveloped the fountain square area.

The Squid King burst into anger. It was not afraid of its enemy despite being inside the Aquarius. Humans were too weak to kill a powerful Ruler-level demon!

The fog grew thicker, and the bottom of the Aquarius was barely visible. They barely saw an enormous and lengthy figure appear in the middle of the fog. Jiang Yu stepped forward to be able to see it. He saw part of a snake body on the glass wall of a tall building. When he looked back, he noticed there was a long body of snake slithering behind him between the buildings…

How could this snake be so gigantic?!

“Black Totem Snake, destroy it!” Mo Fan sneered.

Chapter 2769: The Descending of the God of Sword

The poisonous fog enveloped the area. It was only after the Squid King barged into the Black Totem Snake’s territory that it realized it had fallen into Mo Fan’s trap.

However, the Squid King did not panic because of its invincible strength. It stared at Mo Fan begrudgingly and slammed its powerful tentacles at the square avenue. It wanted to smash Mo Fan into pieces.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan remained motionless in his place.

The Black Totem Snake attacked. It swung its tail at the Squid King’s tentacles before its tentacles reached Mo Fan. Then, the Black Totem Snake slammed at the Squid King, creating a loud thwack.

The Squid King crashed onto the buildings. The buildings were reduced to dust. The Black Totem Snake’s strength was comparable to the Squid King’s. The Black Totem Snake was larger than the Squid King. The Black Totem Snake moved between the buildings and approached the Squid King. It wrapped itself around the Squid King and squeezed.

The Squid King found it hard to move its tentacles. The Squid King was a little dizzy after the Black Totem Snake had slammed it with its tail. It took a while for it to realize that the Black Totem Snake in the middle of the fog was a Supreme Ruler.

The Black Totem Snake decided to use the most primitive method of attack: biting.

The Black Totem Snake bit a large part of the Squid King’s monstrous flesh. The Squid King’s ink blue blood gushed out and splattered on the buildings. When the blood hit the buildings and the pavement, they started melting.

The Squid King’s blood got onto the Black Totem Snake’s skin. But its scales were too tough and impervious to any kind of poison. In fact, The Black Totem Snake’s poison was more lethal that The Squid King’s which was why it had decided to bite the monstrous beast.

The Squid King struggled. Its tentacles had often been of advantage in fights because enemies usually found it very difficult to fight the multiple tentacles.

However, the Black Totem Snake had bound its head, body and tentacles with its snake spell. The Squid King could not break itself free of the Black Totem Snake.

The poisonous snake gas permeated in the air. If the Squid King was trapped within the Black Totem Snake’s territory filled with poisonous gas for a very long time, the Squid King would turn stiff and die of necrosis.

“Well done! Big guy, don’t let it get a chance to catch its breath. Kill it!” said Mo Fan.

The Squid King grew more furious when it heard Mo Fan’s voice. It had fallen into the despicable and shameless human’s trap! Single combat, civilized fight, and the code of a mage had been all nonsense!

The Black Totem Snake’s kept constricting. The Squid King was squeezed so hard that some of its blood vessels began to explode.

“Be careful of the Squid King’s Lump Thorns!” Jiang Yu warned them.

The Squid King was covered in strange lumps. The lumps exploded as the Black Totem Snake’s constricted, revealing tiny poisonous thorns. As the lumps exploded, the Squid King became smaller and attacked the Black Totem Snake with its tentacles.

The Squid King was the strongest among the Ruler-level Ocean Demons. It was not an easy feat to kill it. The Squid King shrunk, and its Lump Thorns grew drastically. It soon transformed into a sea urchin covered in thorns.

It was hard to imagine a soft-bodied creature transforming into a sea urchin to defend itself in times of crisis. Perhaps, the Squid King and its kind were often prey to other enormous sea creatures. They had evolved and adapted to shrinking itself, exploding its lumps, and growing thorns.

Usually, the Black Totem Snake’s scales were indestructible. However, the Squid King’s Lump Thorns were bizarre. The endpoints were so sharp that it could easily pierce any hard object.

The Black Totem Snake was no exception. It stopped squeezing the Squid Sea Urchin monster.

The Black Totem Snake began to relax its long body, and the Squid Sea Urchin Monster took advantage of the opportunity to break itself free from it. The Squid King quickly slipped out through the gap. Its hard Lump Thorns softened and slipped through the gap.

The streets were filled with its remnants. A ball of soft object was wriggling. It looked like a chewed bubble gum rolling on the floor. Its color was strange, and its body was enormous.

The Black Totem Snake glided along the buildings to chase after the deformed Squid King. Whenever the Black Totem Snake launched an attack, the Squid King became fully armed and hardened its soft Lump Thorns. No matter what the Black Totem Snake spat at it, the Squid King was immune to its poison.

The Squid King wanted to escape. It was aware that it was no match for the Black Totem Snake. It had been too careless and fallen into the despicable human’s trap.

Mo Fan chased after the Squid King. He attacked it with several powerful magical powers. However, the Squid King was immune to most of his power. For a moment, Mo Fan and the Black Totem Snake did not know how to defeat it.

If they let it escape, the Squid King would return and kill them. By then, the Squid King would bring along its Ocean Demon army as reinforcement, and its army would overwhelm them. It would become too difficult to kill it.

“Mo Fan, you can’t kill the Squid King with a rod. You have to cut it!” Jiang Yu warned him.

“I don’t have a large blade to cut it!” said Mo Fan.

“Use slashing type magical power. You can cast Chaos elemental magic spells, can’t you? Use Chaos Slashing Blade,” suggested Jiang Yu.

“But my level of cultivation for the Chaos element is too low. I don’t think I can slash the Squid King,” Mo Fan said with a little embarrassment.

“Then…”

Before Jiang Yu finished speaking, a bone-chilling light glowed outside the city. The light was much brighter than the usual sharp slashing magical power. It was like a Titan’s heavenly sword. The sword surface was so thin that it could split anything in a single slash!

Before Mo Fan and Jiang Yu recovered their senses, the Squid King’s soft body had been slashed into several pieces. It was cut so neatly that one would have thought the slasher was a highly skilled chef.

Mo Fan was puzzled. He turned around, only to see that more than half of the city behind him had been split in three cuts.

Mo Fan looked at the person who had cast the spell. He saw Pang Lai in a grayish white robe and his beard was fluttering. He radiated a murderous intent. Pang Lai was the one who had slashed the Squid King.

He was a Super Level Light element saint…

Pang Lai had slashed the Squid King like the God of Sword!

Chapter 2770: A Jerk

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Squid King had been split into four. It was still a Ruler-level Ocean Demon and refused to die easily. Mo Fan asked the Black Totem Snake to continue to attack it.

After the Squid King had been cut into pieces, it could not harden its Lump Thorns. The Black Totem Snake opened its ferocious mouth and devoured the part of the Squid King with its eyeballs.

After the Squid King’s strange lumps exploded, its flesh remained juicy and fresh. Its nerve senses were still active. When the Black Totem Snake swallowed it, it still struggled and groaned.

“There are three of its parts left.” Jiang Yu summoned an Ice Elf. One of the Squid King’s split parts attempted to escape through the sewer under the city. But the Ice Elf froze it.

Freezing inflicted great damage to the already mutilated Squid King. It would die of the cold.

“Little Flame Belle, roast its tentacles!” Mo Fan summoned his Little Flame Belle.

Little Flame Belle could not be happier. It was about time to demonstrate her great roasting skill. The burnt smell wafted all over.

As for the Squid King’s last part, Mo Fan decided to personally take on it. He soaked its last part in the dark quagmire, allowing the darkness and very low temperature to slowly destroy the Squid King’s vitality.

One had to admit that the Squid King was extremely tough. Even though they had used four different methods to kill its split parts, they could still sense its struggle. The tentacles still moved in fury. When the Little Flame Belle roasted it, its tentacles lashed out and destroyed many buildings and streets

The Black Totem Snake was a great helper. It swallowed the Squid King’s tentacles raw. The Black Totem Snake’s stomach was truly bottomless.

The tentacles still wriggled inside the Black Totem Snake’s stomach. It let out a flood of gastric juice to finally digest them. Snakes usually devoured its food alive. The Black Totem Snake could digest anything. The Squid King was no exception.

The Black Totem Snake was used to eating fresh lobsters, prawns and other seafood with Mo Fan. It was extremely picky with its food. After it swallowed the Squid King, the Black Totem Snake found it to be tasteless. It looked disappointed.

Mo Fan could not eat the Squid King, even if it was roasted, because the creature was poisonous. But the Black Totem Snake had no such qualms. No poison could harm it.

“There’s still a large piece of the Squid Kingover here. Do you want to save it for your Black Totem Snake?” asked Jiang Yu.

The Black Totem Snake was a guardian at Hang Zhou. This was Jiang Yu’s first time seeing it. No matter how many times he had seen it from the photographs or videos, he was awed to finally see it in front of his eyes. The photographs and videos did not do justice to the majestic beast that stood before him.

“It dislikes frozen seafood,” said Mo Fan.

The Black Totem Snake was not interested in frozen squid, as well as the flesh soaked in dark mud.

“I didn’t expect you to have such a totem beast with you. You nearly scared the hell out of me! But it was very cool of you to bring along the Black Totem Snake from Hang Zhou!” Jiang Yu gave Mo Fan a thumbs up. It was no wonder Mo Fan had dared to come to Hawaii alone.

“We won’t disperse the poisonous fog yet. We will use the fog as a weapon to deceive as many Ruler-level Ocean Demons as possible,” said Mo Fan.

The poisonous fog lingered in the air throughout the process of killing the Squid King. Ocean Demons basically had no idea what was going on. Even Ye Mei might not necessarily have seen the Black Totem Snake at the bottom of the Aquarius.

Usually, the Squid King would not be so stupid as to confront the Black Totem Snake. If not for the fact that Mo Fan’s strategy had successfully blinded the Squid King to some extent, they might not have been able to kill it.

“Meow!”

The poisonous fog began to disperse. Night Rakshasa meowed.

Night Rakshasa flashed and climbed up a vintage tower. The next moment, a huge splash of blood spilled on the clock tower and trickled down the brass hands on the clock.

Mo Fan and Jiang Yu turned towards it.They saw a mouse-like carcass fall down and smashed on the ground.

“A Hunter Dirty Demon?!” Jiang Yu cried out.

They had to be extra careful with the smaller size Hunter Dirty Demons. A crimson Hunter Dirty Demon with the size of a rat had achieved Ruler level. Even though the Hunter Dirty Demon’s size was tiny compared to the giant ocean beasts, they were vicious and strong.

Night Rakshasa was also small. However, not many could match its combat skills. It had killed an advanced Commander-level Hunter Dirty Beast in the blink of an eye…

“Meow!”

Night Rakshasa stood on top of the clock tower. Its eyeballs moved, scanning the city. Jiang Yu instinctively understood what it meant.

“There were many high grade and Ruler Level Ocean Demons here,” he said to Mo Fan. “However, we’ve yet to discover their exact location. They are coming for us and Aunt Ye Mei.”

“It looks like the Ocean Demons know how to destroy the key to magic formation,” said Mo Fan.

“They must have smelled the Black Totem Snake. So, they are acting cautiously. They didn’t swarm up to us at a time. They are taking advantage of the opportunity to get rid of one of us,” said Jiang Yu.

“You handle them, I am sure. Meanwhile, I’ll take on the Ruler level Ocean Demons,” said Mo Fan.

Jiang Yu refused to give in. “Don’t underestimate me. Do you know what level Night Rakshasa is now?”

“I didn’t stop Night Rakshasa from taking on the Ruler level Ocean Demons. I’m referring to you,” said Mo Fan.

Jiang Yu was speechless. Without Night Rakshasa, Jiang Yu was just a jerk.

Wasn’t most of the Summoning level mages the same? They all had to rely on their certain powerful Contracted Beasts.

Jiang Yu had put in a lot of effort in training Night Rakshasa. Night Rakshasa had achieved Great Ruler level. If Jiang Yu was too weak, he would become a burden to the team. Thus, Pang Lai had come with him to Hawaii.

Night Rakshasa was a Dark Holy Spirit that was as powerful as Little Flame Belle.

Mo Fan possessed eight elements of magical power, but Jiang Yu was different from him. Jiang Yu only had to put in all effort in his Summoning element magical power. He had spent most of his resources on Night Rakshasa.

Night Rakshasa had advanced to Perfect form earlier than Little Flame Belle.

Chapter 2771: Deputy Royal Guard

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The silver river flowed to the center of the city through steep mountain rocks. The water flowed gently down. It was so clean that one could clearly see the bottom of the bank that had been scrubbed smooth by the flow of water.

Ye Mei stood at the top of the waterfall. The fog had dispersed. There was less movement now in the city below her.

Even though Pang Lai had given his order, Ye Mei could not stop herself from heading toward the city.

The Squid King was a powerful Ruler-level Ocean Demon. Even the powerful Night Rakshasa was no match for it. Ye Mei did not want any of her team members to die, including the young mage whom they had met halfway through.

Two crimson figures flashed by the jagged edges of the waterfall. Ye Mei noticed some movement from the corner of her eye, including the moving vines after the breeze blew past, the splashing of water, the falling of leaves…

Ye Mei saw that everything was back to normal. She wondered if her mind had been playing tricks on her.

As an Apex-grade mage, Ye Mei would not overlook even a single misconception.

She fixed her gaze at the area where the leaves had fallen. A piece of shell-like rock was stuck between the steep slope, as if it could roll down with the slow flow of the waterfall at any moment.

“Splash!”

Suddenly, a crimson rat-like figure sprang up from the area where the waterfall met the ground. The figure looked as if it had become invisible under the shade.

Most people could not detect its presence with their usual sensory organs. They would have mistaken it for a splash of water. They could not identify it because there was no sound or vibration in the air. They could not see it with their naked eyes. They only became aware of it when they felt the dampness and the coldness.

Ye Mei turned around and stared at the Ocean Demon. She held a flower vine and flung it at the crimson figure. The flower vine produced more thorns as it darted at the crimson figure and fired its thorns like a rainstorm.

The crimson figure reversed its direction in the mid-air to escape. However, the flower vines densely covered with thorns struck it. The thorns pierced its body. It looked like a rotten persimmon before falling to the ground.

Ye Mei heard another strange cry. She looked up and saw a crimson Hunter Dirty Demon appear at the position of the Aquarius Magic Formation.

She frowned. She was about to return to the bottom of the Aquarius Magic Formation when several crimson Hunter Dirty Demons appeared on both sides of the trees. They were aware that they were no match for Ye Mei, hence they swarmed at her to stall for time.

“Shifting flowers for wood!” Ye Mei shouted.

When the crimson Hunter Dirty Demons charged at Ye Mei, her tall and slim figure transformed into a slender flower vine. When she came in contact with the Hunter Dirty Demons, the flower vine encircled them and produced flower blades, forming a razor-sharp storm.

The four Hunter Dirty Demons were killed in the blink of an eye. Their blood splashed in the blue-silver river.

The flower vine on top of the waterfall transformed into a human again. Then, she began to walk towards the waterfall.

“Go to hell!” Ye Mei returned to the highest point of the waterfall. Her palm had transformed into a blade and she stabbed at the Ruler-level Hunter Dirty Demon that attempted to destroy the Aquarius Magic Formation.

Countless vines entwined her arms as they extended from her palm and transformed into a long spear.

She pierced the Ruler-level Hunter Dirty Demon’s head with her sharp spear. The cunning Hunter Dirty Demon was terrifying. Even though its head had been penetrated by Ye Mei’s spear, it kept attacking her. It spread its claws and tried to attack her chest, going for her heart!

Ye Mei remained indifferent. She moved her finger slightly. Many long and sharp thorns grew rapidly from other parts of the spear and pierced the Ruler-level Hunter Dirty Demon…

Even so, the Hunter Dirty Demon still approached her with its claws. Ye Mei glowed in white light, and she was protected in a pure white Ice Armor. A piercing sound was heard before Ye Mei retreated dozens of meters away, making a big splash in the river above the waterfall.

The Ruler-level Hunter Dirty Demon was terrifying. Even though its head and body had been severely injured, it continued to attack brutally. It decided to perish together with its enemy. Ye Mei had never expected to confront such a pesky Ruler-level Hunter Dirty Demon where she was forced to use her magical equipment to defend herself.

Even a low-level Ruler Hunter Dirty Demon was that wicked, let alone the strongest Ruler-level Hunter Dirty Demon. Ye Mei had used her power—Shifting flowers for wood. Even if she rushed to the city center, she would not be able to return on time if another Hunter Dirty Demon tried to destroy the Aquarius Magic Formation.

‘That’s weird, where’s the Squid King?’ Ye Mei noticed there was not much movement in the city below her. The Squid King was enormous, it could not possibly be so quiet.

Ye Mei carefully scanned her surroundings, still she did not see the Squid King. Instead, she saw Night Rakshasa leaping on top of the buildings. Whenever there was a flash of bone-chilling light, a gush of blood splashed on the building walls.

Ye Mei was puzzled. She noticed a figure moving quickly and soon appeared before her from the slope of the waterfall.

“Why did you come here?” Ye Mei asked coolly.

“I saw a bunch of Hunter Dirty Demons heading here. I’m afraid you can’t take on them alone. After all, you’re the key in this Aquarius Magic Formation and the Ocean Demons seemed to have noticed this,” Mo Fan said calmly as he stared at the strict and not-so-friendly older sister before him.

He noticed many Hunter Dirty Demons carcasses on the ground. One of them wasRuler level. Mo Fan was surprised.

He had taken only a short time to reach here. Even though there was no Commander-level Hunter Dirty Demon, the fact that Ye Mei could slaughter all the Hunter Dirty Demons including a low-level Ruler meant that she was very powerful.

Ye Mei found Mo Fan’s words hilarious. ‘I can’t take them on alone?’

She was a Deputy Royal Guard, as well as a top-notch mage at the Imperial Capital. Why would she need a young mage’s help?

“Ask Jiang Yu and Night Rakshasa to remain on their guards,” said Ye Mei as she walked away.

“Where are you going?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’m going to kill the Squid King,” said Ye Mei.

“It’s dead,” said Mo Fan.

“Nonsense! Do you really think the Squid King is a useless Ocean Demon that simply bluffs about its strength?” said Ye Mei.

“Look! It’s freshly roasted and it’s still hot. Do you want to take a bite?” said Mo Fan as he extended a huge roasted piece of meat towards her.

He had saved that piece for the Green East Sea God.

Chapter 2772: Not Because the Royal Mages Are Weak

Ye Mei had assumed Mo Fan was just another bratty young mage who was full of himself. But now, she carefully looked at the large piece of squid meat he held out to her. Her face looked slightly less strict, even surprised.

It was truly the Squid King! ‘How did the powerful Ruler-level Ocean Demon die?’

Even if Pang Lai were the one who fought it, he could not possibly kill it in such a short period of time.

‘What exactly happened in that bizarre fog?’ she wondered. She had heard a commotion and was worried that Mo Fan and Jiang Yu were going to die. So, she had rushed into the city.

“Ye Mei, the Stingray King flew into the magic formation and it’s charging towards you. We’ve been caught up with the Blue-Haired Female Demon Legion.” A voice rang out.

It must have come from a certain Sound element magical equipment.

Mo Fan looked up at the entrance of the valley. The Stingray King covered in metallic black filled with an evil aura flew past the valley sky. It flew lower as it charged toward them aggressively.

He noticed the glow of demonic eyes surrounding them. They were staring at him and Ye Mei.

The number of crimson figures grew. The Hunter Dirty Demons were creatures with a strange type of movement. They and the other Ocean Demons had skirted around the fortress defended by the mages to reach the back.

The Hunter Dirty Demons were of higher levels. They were at least at Commander level. Also, there were many Ruler levels among them.

Among the vast Ocean Demon hordes, the Commander-level Ocean Demons were the elite. However, they were not the rulers. In fact, the mastermind behind the army—The Black Claw Emperor— was the one that ruled the kingdom. Therefore, it was not surprising to find thousands of Commander-level Ocean Demons among them.

The Pacific Ocean was a vast ocean. When the powerful Ocean Demons gathered together, they could inflict severe damage to any cities on the dry lands.

“You take on the Hunter Dirty Demons while I’ll take on the Stingray King,” both of them said together. They stared at each other.

Ye Mei scoffed. “The Stingray King could be more powerful than the Squid King. Mages like you can’t even get close to it!”

“I believe you’ve misunderstood me. You are aware that the country assigned several rescue teams, and your team represents the Royal Mages. Meanwhile, I represented the Enforcement Union. I alone represent the team, and there must surely be a reason for it,” Mo Fan blurted out.

Jiang Yu rushed over as he overheard Mo Fan’s words. He sighed. ‘Mo Fan’s skills have definitely improved a great deal, but can’t he be a little humble?’

Ye Mei was so angry at his arrogance that she almost wanted to strike him across his cheeky little face. ‘Does he mean he is stronger than the Royal Mages combined?’

“Please don’t misunderstand me,” said Mo Fan, thinking it was not such a good idea to offend Ye Mei. “I do not mean you are weak. I wouldn’t dare. All I am saying is… I… um…”

Ye Mei’s anger did not subside. Jiang Yu wanted to cry. ‘Mo Fan, stop being dumb.’

The Black Totem Snake was very powerful. But the Stingray King was not as stupid as the Squid King to fall into Mo Fan’s trap. Apart from the Stingray King, there were several other high-level Rulers outside the magic formation. The Royal Mages and Pang Lai had stopped them outside for now. However, if the Royal Mages and Pang Lai collapsed, a single Black Totem Snake could not do much to stop the Ocean Demon elite from devouring the humans.

“Fine. I’ll just stay here!” Ye Mei said indifferently. She had better use her time and energy elsewhere than to argue with a brat.

“Ms. Ye, don’t worry. He hasn’t revealed his trump card yet. He won’t die easily,” Jiang Yu said.

Ye Mei thought about the Squid King and looked at Mo Fan carefully. She did not say anything. She merely stared at Mo Fan as if he was a specimen at her dissecting table. Her stare seemed to be saying, “fine then, prove yourself.”

The Stingray King had arrived in the city. Its enormous body floated at less than a hundred meters above them.

The Stingray King’s wings had silver inner surfaces with flat air holes. There were plenty of tiny stingrays burrowing out of its wings. The massive number of the tiny stingrays covered half of the Silver-Blue Valley City. They flew low and swarmed into the city like locusts.

Mo Fan returned to the city area. The city was the Aquarius’s body. It was more spacious. Thus, it would serve as the magical array battlefield. The waterfall was at the very bottom of the magic formation.

The entrance of the Aquarius was narrow; hence the other Ocean Demon hordes were unable to barge in. The Stingray King was extremely cunning. It had sucked its Stingray Legion into its air holes. If the Stingray King squeezed its way into the Aquarius entrance, it could bring along its Stingray Legion…

There were plenty of tiny stingrays. Some of them were as tiny as bats, while some of them were as big as a small airplane. Meanwhile, the Stringray King was as massive as a gigantic cargo ship. The moment the Stingray King arrived at its destination; it released all its tiny stingrays for battle.

…

Ye Mei was worried when she saw the large number of stingrays filling the magic formation. The Stingray King was as powerful as the Squid King. Moreover, it took advantage of its strength by bringing in its Stingray Legion.

If this type of Ocean Demon appeared in the cities, she wondered how humans would fight them. The appearance of the Ocean Demons thus far had only been the tip of an iceberg.

“You stay here,” she said to Jiang Yu. Ye Mei could not bear to watch this anymore.

Night Rakshasa was a Great Ruler level, and Jiang Yu possessed other elements of magical power. With that, Ye Mei believed they could guard the axis of the magic formation and take on the Hunter Dirty Demons.

“Ms. Ye, to be frank, Mo Fan brought along the guardian of Hang Zhou with him. The Black Totem Snake is the one that severely wounded the Squid King before Master Pang killed it with a single slash,” said Jiang Yu.

“Guardian of Hang Zhou?”

“Yes, the Black Totem Snake is a totem beast. Even the Stingray King is no match for the Black Totem Snake…” Before Jiang Yu finished speaking, he noticed something above the Silver-Blue Valley City. Mo Fan had summoned a creature with the Holy Spirit, and it glowed in the moonlight.

“Is the guardian of Hang Zhou a… moth?” Ye Mei pointed at the sacred Moon Moth Phoenix that appeared beside Mo Fan.

The Moon Moth Phoenix glowed radiantly. It looked mysterious and divine. It shone brightly over the Silver-Blue Valley City and overwhelmed the black Stingray Legion.

“W-What is this…?” Jiang Yu was dumbfounded.

‘Where’s the snake? Why is there another totem beast?!’

Chapter 2773: Moon Moth Phoenix vs Stingray King

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The glow of Moon Moth Phoenix slowly spread to the surroundings. Soon, it lit up the top of Silver-Blue Valley City and changed. A pair of wings, a slender body, and an antenna appeared.

Stingrays had occupied the city and caused it to have a foul atmosphere. With the increasing number of flying, shapeshifting spirits, the stingray army that occupied the sky above the city began to retreat.

Those spirits were the Little Spirit Moths that always accompanied the Moon Moth Phoenix. These Spirit Moths were significantly more massive than the Guardian Spirit Moths in Fanxue Mountain. Their wings were thin and soft, but at the critical moment, they would turn into blades that could cut through the enemy. The glow on their bodies was like an armor made by moonlight that fully protected them. They were Combat Spirit Moths.

The Spirit Moths reproduced quickly. With the blessing of the Queen—Moon Moth Phoenix—Spirit Moths had grown significantly in Fanxue Mountain. There were spirit moths of various abilities. Some spread pollen; some collected information; some worked hard; and some nourished plants.

They were like a mini country of their own. When a country owned land and had workers, it naturally possessed an army.

Compared with those black stingrays, Armed Spirit Moths looked much weaker. However, Armed Spirit Moths were skilled at using spells. They could fight against the arrogant and powerful stingrays with their special skills.

The glow from the Armed Spirit Moths grew stronger and brighter. From the ground, it looked like a giant butterfly bursting with divine energy. It covered Silver-Blue Valley City with its body and blocked the invasion of the Stingray Legion.

It became difficult for the Stingray Legion to go further. Right then, the Stingray King sent out a vibration like a sound wave from its position up high in the sky. The stingrays which were flying everywhere then formed an orderly queue.

The shape they made together looked like a huge diamond. When they flew in mid-air in such a uniform formation, they were comparable to a large and spectacular honor guard. They flew under the Stingray King like a military parade.

There was a buzzing sound. The stingrays flew densely and built a black fortress in the air. The fins of all stingrays produced a strange tremor which culminated into a terrifying shock wave.

The shock wave produced by the fins continued to build. It changed from a tremor to a terrifying sweep of destruction toward Armed Spirit Moths and Silver-Blue Valley City.

The buildings of Silver-Blue Valley City were of different heights. Although the buildings were not in order, they were still organized. The streets were also planned to be laid out in an orderly fashion. It was rare to have such a resort town where modernity and tranquility coexisted. After the shock wave produced by the fins attacked the well-preserved Silver-Blue Valley City, those buildings turned into powder in an instant.

The sound waves of the stingrays’ fins rose above everything. The moths who heard it felt a tingling pain in their heads and could not hear any other sound. The place turned into dust.

The shock wave also attacked the Armed Moth Army of the Moon Moth Phoenix. They wore the Sacred Moonlight Armor, which made them impregnable. Many of them together looked very majestic. But after the shock wave produced by the fins struck, the Sacred Moonlight Armor on the Armed Spirit Moths shattered. Their bodies became as thin as paper scattered.

The Stingray King proudly circled above the Moon Moth Phoenix as if amused.

The Moon Moth Phoenix was indifferent. Its bright and light body flew in the air and left many afterimages.

The Stingray Legion did not care about the afterimages at first, but when the Moon Moth Phoenix flapped its wings, all the afterimages of the Moon Moth Phoenix flew fiercely to the Stingray Legion that formed the fortress.

The fortress formed by stingrays was sturdy. If these afterimages focused on attacking a small area, it would do no damage at all. If they spread out and attacked the entire fortress, they would not be able to injure and kill every stingray. However, the Moon Moth Phoenix did not want to kill the stingrays that formed a fortress. Its target was the tails of these stingrays. A stingray’s tail was long and looked like a curved kite string.

The afterimages flew past and cut many of the stingrays’ tails. These tails fell from the sky like rain.

The tailless stingrays could not balance themselves in the air. They had been able to produce such a terrifying wave of destruction because they matched the frequency of the vibration of their tail and their wings. To maintain such a consistent frequency, they flew orderly and densely to transmit the vibration to ensure that all the stingrays were at the same pace. Without the tails, the stingrays could not fly in balance, so they could not receive the frequency of the vibration of other companions’ wings.

So, the terrifying shock wave weakened. It was so weak that it could not even destroy the greenbelt of Silver-Blue Valley City.

The Stingray King was no longer proudly hovering in the sky. It looked down at the Moon Moth Phoenix. Although it was impossible to see its face clearly, its metallic black body exuded a cold and angry aura.

Moon Moth Phoenix was not afraid at all. Its scattering Armed Spirit Moths quickly returned to make a Star Formation. The Moon Moth Phoenix was like the bright moon in the midsummer night sky. Stars all over the sky surrounded it, and the bright and holy light illuminated the whole sky and earth.

The Stingray King was like thick, dark, and dense clouds. The clouds tried to completely cover the stars and moonlight, plunging the entire world into darkness as cold and silent as the bottom of an abyss.

Finally, the Armed Spirit Moth and Stingray Legion were mixed. The white Spirit Moths and black stingrays were distinctively different in colors. The only common color between them was the color of blood, a shockingly bright red.

The Moon Moth Phoenix and the Stingray King fought. Moon Moth Phoenix’s strength had become as equal as its previous generations. When it fully matured, it could easily fight a demon like Black Totem Snake.

…

Ye Mei looked in awe as she saw the Moon Moth Phoenix intercept the terrifying army of Stingray King above the Silver-Blue Valley City. If it were an army of mages, it would be difficult to resist the power of the Stingray King.

She remembered what Mo Fan had said. One person was equivalent to a rescue team. It seemed like he was not bragging.

Chapter 2774: Eight-Headed Serpent

There was a rumble.

The earth trembled violently and caused the whole Aquarius to shake. Ye Mei stood on the waterfall and almost slipped down the slope. As she gained her footing, she turned to see what was causing it. A chill went down her back.

Behind her was an undulating mountain range. Several heads higher than the mountain were swaying in the light blue sky. All she could see were their necks. The mountain had blocked the rest of their bodies.

More heads stuck out from under the mountains, and each of them was ferocious and mighty as the other. They possessed the wildness and arrogance of ancient demons and a bit of the divinity among monsters. They came from an unknown world, and it was enough to make a land tremble. Those were the heads of a snake.

There were eight of them in total. Those heads swayed in the air. Huge beasts and demonic evil spirits were nothing in front of its demonic aura. It slithered slowly. The choice for them was to either surrender or let it tear them into pieces.

‘It’s the big snake in that volcano!’ Ye Mei’s back was drenched with cold sweat as she looked at the creature.

Even when she had seen that snake before, she had felt terrified of it. But now it had crossed the mountain and slithered to the Silver-Blue Valley City like a cruel tyrant. It had only one goal: to kill as many people as possible.

Mo Fan also felt the intense aura. When he found the source, the big snake in the volcano had already reached the bottom of the bottle.

Across the Aquarius’ wall, its eight heads stretched out at the same time. Sixteen fierce eyes of different colors looked down at Mo Fan, Ye Mei, and Jiang Yu at the bottom of the bottle!

Jiang Yu was the first to fall on the ground, his legs trembling. Ye Mei and Mo Fan remained standing, but they could feel goosebumps all over their bodies.

When facing the vast army of Ocean Demons, the sturdiness of Aquarius had provided them with hope and relief. However, when they faced this eight-headed snake, they felt as though the Aquarius was fragile and this snake could easily break it and tear them apart.

“T-This…” Mo Fan looked at the body of the demon. All eight heads grew from one body!

They had thought that it slithered across the mountain towards them, but the body was in the mountain. Its body was big enough to fill eight hills and eight valleys. Some areas on its back had large brown armor; some areas had moss and trees; some areas had cooled magma with white smoke on them.

It also had eight tails. When it dragged its tails, the mountains and valleys rumbled. Mo Fan understood what Pang Lai had meant.

It was not a few volcanic snakes as Mo Fan had assumed but all of them grew from a single body.This demon had eight giant heads and tails!

“Eight-Headed Serpent!” Pang Lai was in the center of Aquarius. When he saw the demon nearby, horror filled his eyes.

The Royal Great Mages panicked. No matter how many Ocean Demons there were, they were better than such a terrifying demon. It was worrying to think just how long Aquarius could hold under the attacks of such a mighty creature.

…

“It’s going to destroy the Aquarius Magic Formation!” Ye Mei shouted.

The three heads of the Eight-Headed Serpent with the smell of magma opened their mouths, and dense blood vessels appeared on their necks. Red-hot magma filled the blood vessels and gathered at their throats.

Boom!

It was like three volcanoes had erupted at the same time. The Eight-Headed Serpent attacked the side of the Aquarius. The three heads spat magma continuously. Their attacks were so strong that even the bottom and mouth of the bottle were affected.

Silver-Blue Valley City appeared to be submerged in magma within ten seconds. If it were not for the protection of the Aquarius, it would have melted into a puddle.

Hot air came drifted in from outside the Aquarius Magic Formation. Many areas could not withstand such a high temperature and began to burn.

In the city, the Stingray King saw the Eight-Headed Serpent spitting fire, so it decisively sucked all the Stingray Legion back into its gills and left the Aquarius.

The Moon Moth Phoenix did not want its Armed Spirit Moths to die in the sea of fire. It shook its body and turned all the Armed Spirit Moths into the shining lights around which fused with it. It returned to Mo Fan’s side.

“Can the Aquarius withstand the attacks?” Mo Fan asked with an uneasiness.

“For the time being, yes,” Ye Mei replied.

A raging flame turned the Silver-Blue Valley City into a red mess. Even though the Aquarius Magic Formation had blocked most of the fire spewed by the Eight-Headed Serpent, they still felt hot and uncomfortable, as if they were in a furnace. If they faced the fire directly, most of them would not be able to withstand it.

After the Eight-Headed Serpent finished spraying the magma, everyone thought they would have a little time to prepare. However, another head raised again. The body connected to this head was like an iceberg.

As the Eight-Headed Serpent’s icy head began to attack, an ice storm appeared.

“Wow!”

The icy head sprayed a terrifying white ice tide. It was as though the Eight-Headed Serpent had eaten an iceberg and spat it violently.

The magma had just scorched the Aquarius, and the ice tide was beating it again. A crack immediately appeared on the bottle wall.

The cold air entered Silver-Blue Valley City through the cracks. The valley changed from a warm summer to severe winter. Rivers, cities, mountains, forests, and even the low-level Ocean Demons were frozen!

“Oh no!” Ye Mei grimaced as she watched the water in the Silver-Blue River.

The flow of the river was important to maintain the Aquarius Magic Formation. It would deliver the energy of the barrier to every position of the Aquarius. If the river turned stagnant, other parts of the Aquarius would also become rigid and could not receive energy. Frozen things lost their toughness and broke easily on impact.

Silver-Blue River was frozen, which meant that the entire Aquarius Magic Formation was frozen!

“Get together! The Aquarius is breaking!” Ye Mei shouted.

The bottom of the bottle was already cracked, let alone the fragile bottleneck. The Eight-Headed Serpent smashed the Aquarius with its huge body.

Chapter 2775: Lizard Demon Dragon Troop

The big Aquarius Magic Formation shattered under the trampling of the Eight-Headed Serpent. Even the mountain valley almost sank to the deeper ground under its terrifying power.

Boom!

It was another full-blown stomping. The body of the Eight-Headed Serpent was like a giant mountain. It was not slender like its heads and necks. Its destructive power was comparable to that of the ancient demons. It could make the earth sink, as if the Eight-Headed Serpent was born for destruction!

The crowd gathered together. They looked so small in front of the Eight-Headed Serpent.

Pang Lai looked solemn. He was trying to think of a solution which would let all of them escape to safety. He doubted they could win against the creature. They would have died without the Aquarius Magic Formation, but this was even worse.

There were countless enemies in all directions, and everyone seemed to be on a fragile reef. Tides of demons came from every direction.

“Chief, Deputy Chief, you bring the others out from the valley entrance. The four of us will start the Wind Tribulation!” Bei Shou, one of the Guards of the Four Directions, said firmly.

“You all go. I’ll start the Wind Tribulation.” Pang Lai made his decision.

“Chief, if we work together…” a middle-aged Great Mage said.

“I have decided. The Eight-Headed Serpent is an ancient demon. no one here can compete with it. While there is still a little residual energy in the Aquarius, you guys get out through the valley entrance. I’ll hold the Eight-Headed Serpent off and open the way for you,” said Pang Lai.

“How about I hold the Eight-Headed Serpent off, and you all escape?” Mo Fan hesitated.

Mo Fan did not want Pang Lai to die. He respected Pang Lai and he couldn’t bear to see him in danger.

“Just because I stay back doesn’t mean I might die, Mo Fan,” said Pang Lai with a smile. “You don’t have to think so much. Listen to me. I know you still have some cards in your hand, but we haven’t even found Commander Hua. If we use it for our safety and escape, what is the point of us coming here?”

“But that creature is scary.” Mo Fan glanced at the Eight-Headed Serpent above his head.

The Eight-Headed Serpent had already crushed the valley and the city. All of them gathered together and used the remaining position of the bottle mouth to protect themselves.

“Mo Fan, let the Totem out. We’ll escape first,” Pang Lai said again.

“Chief, even with that Moon Moth Phoenix Totem, it would be difficult for us to get rid of the Ocean Demons army. Everyone should work together…” Ye Mei said.

“Stop talking nonsense. Do it!” Pang Lai ordered.

Pang Lai had made up his mind, so the others could not disobey. They all focused on the entrance of the valley positioned at the mouth of the bottle.

The Ocean Demons seemed to know that the Aquarius Magic Formation was about to break, so they approached from all directions of the valley. The Eight-Headed Serpent did not trample recklessly anymore in fear that the Ocean Demons’ army dared not approach this group of humans.

If the Aquarius Magic Formation broke, these humans were no different from the dead.

…

Finally, the mouth of the Aquarius broke. Mo Fan also knew this was not the time for doubts. He touched the Totem Orb and released the Black Totem Snake.

The poisonous fog filled the air first. In less than a minute, the green poisonous fog of the Black Totem Snake had filled the valley entrance.

After eating the highly poisonous Squid King, the Black Totem Snake seemed to have become even more poisonous. The color of the poisonous fog was so intense that it almost looked black. As the poisonous fog spread, groups of Ocean Demons became numb and fell to the ground, paralyzed.

Ye Mei, Guards of Four Directions, three Great Mages in similar attire, and other Royal Mages were happy. The poisonous fog seemed to be very effective against Ocean Demons. Even Commander-Level creatures were avoiding the fog.

“Hey, help us open a way,” Mo Fan said to the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake was powerful. It stretched out its body and almost occupied half of the valley entrance. It was very fast, too. When it moved, its contact shattered the rocks and mountain walls.

The army blocking the valley entrance was the Seaweed-Haired Female Demon and the Deep-Sea Lizard Demon Dragon Troop. The ordinary Lizard Demon Dragon were hybrid dragons. They inherited the terrifying reproduction ability of the deep-sea lizards. Every spring, some isolated Pacific islands would have countless eggs of deep-sea lizards.

The number of creatures with dragon blood would gradually decrease due to the massive reproduction. The purer the bloodline, the greater the influence.

The Lizard Demon Dragon had made up for the shortcomings of most of the Hybrid Dragons, Pseudo-Dragons, and Sub-Dragons. Due to the strong physical advantage of dragon blood, the Lizard Demon Dragon Empire was formed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!

The IQ of the Lizard Demon Dragon was not high, but there was a creature that formed a mutually beneficial symbiosis with them. It was the Seaweed-Haired Female Demons. Many marine countries hated these sinister and vicious women in the deep sea. Not only were they cruel, but they were also obsessed with attacking things and places.

Every Seaweed-Haired Female Demon was equivalent to the leader of a Lizard Demon Dragon Troop. The Seaweed-Haired Female Demons would endlessly wage war against every creature other than their race, and they particularly liked cities with humans. Most of the coastal cities in foreign countries vanished overnight, thanks to these Seaweed-Haired Female demons and Deep-Sea Lizard Demon Dragon.

They seemed to be created for war. They even relied on war to reduce their terrifying ability of over-breeding and gave other Deep-Sea Lizard Demon Dragons a stable living space.

Seaweed-Haired Female Demon led the Deep-Sea Lizard Demon Dragon Troop of their own level of strength and power.

A Purple-Haired Female Demon blocked the valley entrance. It led a thousand Lizard Demon Dragon Troop of ten Blue-Haired Female Demons. It also had an elite Lizard Demon Dragon Troop composed entirely of Commander-level Tyrant Lizard Demon Dragons and ruler-level Giant Lizard Dragons.

Tens and thousands of large Lizard Demon Dragons filled the valley and the area outside. It was terrifying to see.

The greenish-black poisonous fog spread along the narrow valley, and the Black Totem Snake remained in the fog. It did not reveal all of itself at once.

It carried a poisonous fog and shrouded the valley entrance that had tens and thousands of Deep-Sea Lizard Demon Dragon Troops. Groups of Lizard Demon Dragon fell and almost filled the lake with corpses.

The Lizard Demon Dragon Troop was going forward bravely, but they had to retreat in the face of sudden mass death.

Chapter 2776: Divine Wind Sickle

A Blue-Haired Female Demon’s Thousand Lizard Demon Dragon Troop blocked the Black Totem Snake from moving forward. The Black Totem Snake suddenly flipped forward and slapped its huge tail on the Thousand Lizard Demon Dragon Troop.

The Lizard Demon Dragons died. The strength of the tail was something these low-level Ocean Demons could not bear at all. Even if they had hard skin with dragon blood, they still could not withstand the attack.

The Black Totem Snake took a deep breath, and its abdomen and neck expanded slightly. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and spat. A giant green light shot out in a straight line. The spitting of Green Snake Light had no destructive power on rocks and plants, and it looked like a light that swept across harmlessly. However, the Lizard Demon Dragons melted.

Their bodies, including their bones, melted and turned into puddles. All that remained was the skin of the Lizard Demon Dragons.

The Green Snake Light spread over a wide area, and the Lizard Demon Dragon Troop suffered heavy casualties. The mighty army was dying.

Ye Mei, Guards of Four Directions, Great Mages, and the Royal Mages were shocked when they saw the Black Totem Snake clear the way.

Ye Mei thought Mo Fan would summon the Moon Moth Phoenix that blocked the stingrays previously to assist everyone in the fight. She had expected that to help them clear a way. However, Mo Fan had summoned a Supreme Ruler. The destructive power of the Black Totem Snake was many times higher than the power of the Moon Moth Phoenix. The Black Totem Snake used the poisonous fog and powerful strength to kill most of the Lizard Demon Dragon Troop.

The Black Totem Snake was powerful. The Lizard Demon Dragon Troop was a relatively powerful and ferocious combat troop, too. However, it still could not withstand the attack of the Black Totem Snake.

The Eight-Headed Serpent at the back of the valley turned all its heads toward the valley’s entrance because of the destructive aura. Some of its necks had gills, and they were all open, as if they had encountered something that could threaten the powerful existence of a demon like itself. The Eight-Headed Serpent seemed to be getting serious in this fight now!

The Black Totem Snake turned around. It used its tail to sweep away the small obstacles in front and raised its head to stare at the Eight-Headed Serpent.

The eight heads of the Eight-Headed Serpent made a sound like thunder and rushed toward the Black Totem Snake. When its huge body moved, it looked as if eight terrifying and ferocious heads were dragging one mountain behind it. The small city could not stand such devastation.

“Nine Realms of Wind Tribulation.”

After the Eight-Headed Serpent broke into Silver-Blue Valley City, Pang Lai’s solemn voice suddenly overwhelmed everything.

Pang Lai in white robes was suspended in the middle of the valley. The light on his body was bright enough to illuminate the entire place. He looked like a god!

The wind from different dimensions raged in the sky and filled up the vast world at a stretch. Their silhouettes were clear. They were Divine Wind Sickles and were cutting this plane!

The power of the Divine Wind Sickles was infinite. Even the destroyer, the Eight-Headed Serpent, dared not easily step into the nine realms cut by the Divine Wind Sickles. In the Nine Realms of Wind Tribulation, all creatures would be cut by the terrifying wind sickle continuously.

The Eight-Headed Serpent was not afraid of the Black Totem Snake and rushed to it fiercely. However, it was scary when facing Pang Lai’s Nine Realms of Wind Tribulation.

It tried to use some relatively solid parts to break away the Nine Realms of Wind Tribulation, but the Divine Wind Sickles cut them off easily. A large piece of its body fell to the ground!

It made the Eight-Headed Serpent even angrier. It wanted to shred the Black Totem Snake, but a mere human’s powerful Nine Realms of Wind Tribulation blocked its way.

Suddenly, the Eight-Headed Serpent transferred all his anger to Pang Lai in the middle of the valley. Pang Lai was alone. Even if his cultivation was extremely high, standing in front of the demon was the same as courting death.

The Eight-Headed Serpent was hovering at a place the Divine Wind Sickles could not reach. It knew that the old human man would not dare to swing the Divine Wind Sickles too much as it would only expose the Divine Wind Sickles to the attacks of all demons.

Pang Lai used the Nine Realms of Wind Tribulation to block the attacks. He also used the killing trajectory of the Divine Wind Sickles to protect himself and prevent the powerful demons from approaching.

…

“Hey, ignore that demon. Help us out first,” Mo Fan said to the Black Totem Snake.

Not many creatures in this world dared to provoke the Black Totem Snake. The Eight-Headed Serpent was an ancient demon and a natural destroyer, but the Black Totem Snake was not an ordinary creature. For thousands of years, the black snake had always been the ancestor of snakes. The Eight-Headed Serpent was not as pure in its bloodline as the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake was rational. It did not rush into a fight. They were in Hawaii. Sooner or later, the fight would come to it, anyway.

The Seaweed-Haired Female Demon and Lizard Demon Dragon Troop realized that there was a Supreme Ruler snake in the poisonous fog, so they immediately summoned the commander-level Lizard Demon Dragons and Giant Lizard Dragons.

There were seven Giant Lizard Dragons, all of which were ruler-level creatures. They lined up in a row and stood in front of the Lizard Demon Dragon Troop. Around the Giant Lizard Dragons, there was a circle of commander-level Tyrant Lizard Demon Dragons with equally robust and ferocious bodies. There were more than a hundred of them. They were a lot taller than the Lizard Demon Dragons.

However, they were just lizards to the Black Totem Snake.

The seven ruler-level Giant Lizard Dragons were larger lizards, while more than a hundred commander-level Tyrant Lizard Demon Dragons were smaller lizards. The vast Lizard Demon Dragon Troop behind them was nothing but small fleas.

When the Black Totem Snake was quiet, it was a lazy and noble water snake in the West Lake. It was harmless to humans and animals and as docile as a pet. However, it showed a completely different temperament when it was killing and fighting. Its terrifying and cold aura was strong enough to traumatize anyone.

The seven ruler-level Giant Lizard Dragons stood closely together, but none of them dared to attack first. The Black Totem Snake opened its mouth to bite a ruler-level Giant Lizard Dragon. Then, it threw it to slam against several other Giant Lizard Dragons.

Other Giant Lizard Dragons roared. A Purple-Haired Female Demon sang a strange song, they all glowed with red light and rushed to the Black Totem Snake together.

Chapter 2777: Jiang Yu’s Summons

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Black Totem Snake would not wait for these timid large Lizard Demon Dragon to make a move. It straightened its body, and the scales all over its body shone bright green.

It crashed into the seven Giant Lizard Dragons, and its scales bloomed intensely. It was like wearing invincible armor. When it hit those Giant Lizard Dragons, they could hear the ruler-level Giant Lizard Dragons’ bones cracking.

The Royal Mages wanted to join the battle as there were too many enemies. But they didn’t need to.The seven powerful ruler-level Giant Lizard Dragons could not win against the Black Totem Snake. After they fought for a few rounds, every Giant Lizard Dragon was severely injured after the Black Totem Snake bit them.

“We’ll take care of the ones behind and fight them in the poisonous fog of the Black Totem Snake so that they won’t besiege us,” Mo Fan suggested.

“O-Okay.” Ye Mei and the other Royal Mages came back to their senses.

The strength of the Royal Great Mages was equally astonishing. Each of them had reached the peak of cultivation. The differences were just the magic control, evolution, supernatural power, and Elemental Seed. It was no exaggeration to say that they represented the most powerful mages in the human realm.

The Guards of Four Directions cooperated quite tactfully. They used the four abilities of wind, lightning, plants, and space to form a standard Quadrilateral Formation and tore apart the defense wall of the Lizard Demon Dragon Troop.

“Take care of them!” Ye Mei rushed to Lizard Demon Dragon Troop. It turned out she was a fighting machine.

Mo Fan nodded and glanced at the three Royal Mages beside him. He did not know why Ye Mei wanted him to take care of the three of them. Perhaps they were important people. They could be useful to Commander Hua. He stood up and went to the front.

“The two of you come nearer to me. The Tyrant Lizard Demon Dragon is strong and has the armor of the Skeleton Dragon all over its body. If we scatter, it will be difficult for us to ensure your safety,” said Wang Ping, the Royal Mage.

“We’ll follow the Guards of the Four Directions’ Dash Formation,” said the Royal Mage Li Que.

The other person was stern and looked like someone who didn’t enjoy small conversations. He inadvertently stood beside Mo Fan and Jiang Yu and watched vigilantly in a protective posture.

Although these three people had not yet reached the level of Royal Great Mage, they were first-class masters in the big city. Their attention was on the commander-level Tyrant Lizard Demon Dragon. A group of Tyrant Lizard Demon Dragons secretly bypassed the battlefield of the Black Totem Snake and attacked them.

Mo Fan was astonished. He found that the three Royal Mages were in their respective positions and just realized Ye Mei had been referring to Mo Fan and Jiang Yu to be taken care of.

After all, Mo Fan and Jiang Yu were not even thirty years old, and their appearances were not much different from those of fresh graduates of magic. In a magical force like the Forbidden City, it would recruit some of the most outstanding magicians from colleges and universities across the country to intern in their department.

However, very few interns could stay put. A star-level mage from the National Institute like Jiang Yu was a special case.

“I didn’t expect you to be the Totem Guardian. There are too few ancient creatures like Totems living in this world, so it’s lucky to have a Totem. No wonder you can stand out from the World College Tournament,” Li Que, the Royal Mage, said to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan felt uncomfortable. Was it possible that someone in China was deliberately messing with him? Otherwise, how was it possible that him defeating Zhao Jing was known to nobody? Everybody thought he couldn’t match up to their strengths.

Having Totem beasts was special, but Mo Fan thought he himself wasn’t weak either. Was it possible that Li Que did not like him, so he intentionally attributed all his abilities to the Totem Guardian?

Mo Fan thought the latter was more likely.

“Brother Li, I have Night Rakshasa by my side, so nothing will happen. Besides, I think I can help you,” Jiang Yu said.

Jiang Yu was a mage who was addicted to the Summoning Element. He mostly used his skills in other elements for self-protection, and they were not very effective.

He put one hand on the bracelet of his right hand and turned it gently. “It’s all a bunch of hybrid dragons and pseudo-dragons. Hmph, I’ll summon a Sub-Dragon to kill them!” Jiang Yu’s voice was serious and confident.

“Can you open Wan Dragon Valley?” Mo Fan asked in surprise.

Jiang Yu smiled. His white bracelet appeared to have a significant effect on his spiritual power. His aura changed, and his eyes became bright. He stared at an ancient magic portal slowly opening in the air.

It was slightly different from Mo Fan’s ancient magic portal. His ancient magic portal was full of ancient dragon patterns in claw-shaped, horn-shaped, wing-shaped, and eye-shaped. It seemed that each dragon pattern represented a different dragon race, and there were hundreds and thousands of such dragon patterns on the ancient magic portal.

Wan Dragon Valley!

The portal was an ancient magic portal that Mo Fan had not been able to open. Many giant dragons have long since disappeared from this plane, and there were even demon dragons and divine dragons in the portal which didn’t exist in their world. Only the ability of the Summoning Element could make them come to this world for a short period of time.

Jiang Yu seemed to know the Wan Dragon Valley very well. He slowly turned the white bracelet. Mo Fan noticed many hollows on his bracelet fused and formed into dragon patterns. Light shot out from the bracelet, and the reflected dragon pattern corresponded to the dragon pattern on the ancient magic portal.

“Skeleton Dragon!”

Jiang Yu shouted. A lot of death aura spread around the ancient magic portal. Although they were not pure gas, they could quickly fade everything around them.

A giant dragon with bones suddenly appeared. Its wings stretched out, and countless bones fell like spears. They were sharp and terrifying. Its back was full of huge bones. When it moved, it made a sound like a giant clockwork machine!

For a moment, Mo Fan thought it was the Skeleton Dragon, one of the Dead King of Eight Directions. However, it was clear that they belonged to the same species.

This Skeleton Dragon’s physique and aura were slightly inferior to that of the Dead King of Eight Directions. However, it was unique among the group of Hybrid Dragons and Pseudo-Dragons. It stood out from the crowd.

Chapter 2778: Open Another Magic Portal

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

During the fight between Skeleton Dragon and those commander-level Tyrant Lizard Demon Dragons, it was clear that the difference in their strength was that of heaven and earth.

Its sharp bone could easily pierce the hard skin of Tyrant Lizard Demon Dragons. Their hard skin was their most strong aspect, but they didn’t stand a chance against the Skeleton Dragon.

Although more than a dozen Tyrant Lizard Demon Dragons bypassed the Black Totem Snake, they ended up just as miserable. The Skeleton Dragon’s killing breath could even corrupt their corpses and turn them into a bunch of Pseudo-Dragons’ bones.

The Skeleton Dragon attacked like a war machine. During the attack, it would continuously drop some broken bones and attract the fresh Pseudo-Dragons’ bones to its body like a magnet to fill the fallen and broken ‘components’.

“Amazing!” Mo Fan gave Jiang Yu a thumbs up.

Li Que, Wang Ping, and Su Guangyu were also impressed. It was what one would expect from a disciple of Pang Lai. He already possessed such strength at a young age.

The Skeleton Dragon should have the strength of an average ruler. Some of the Royal Mages had reached the third level of the Super Level, but none of them could fight against an average ruler alone, let alone a Great Ruler.

Night Rakshasa was resting in the Contract Space. If Jiang Yu summoned it after it got enough rest, it would be difficult to say who needed the protection.

Jiang Yu did not much respond to the admiring gazes of the three Royal Mages, but Mo Fan’s compliment made him particularly happy.

‘Damn it! I finally got Mo Fan to compliment me,’ Jiang Yu thought. It had never happened in the past.

The road of cultivation was long, and he had to endure boredom and loneliness. He worked hard for change and improvement. If he could get the recognition and praise of his old classmate, everything would be worth it!

“Although my Skeleton Dragon is incomparable with your Totem, it is practical at critical times. I have been a little lazy this year. If I work harder, I may be able to open the Kingdom of the Fallen Beasts or Flame Dragon,” Jiang Yu said.

The Skeleton Dragon had cleared the surrounding threats, so they were safe for the time being. It was the perk of being a Summoning Mage. If they were bold enough to summon a dangerous creature, they could buy time to recuperate even on the battlefield.

“I can only open the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower.” Mo Fan saw that the three Royal Mages had already dealt with the Hunter Dirty Demons on their right, so he did not rush to fight.

Mo Fan was still looking forward to Wan Dragon Valley. The dragon pattern he had just seen should be the key to locking a dragon in Wan Dragon Valley. He would ask for Jiang Yu’s advice in the future.

“Has your Summoning Element advanced to Super Level? That’s amazing! After all, you have so many elements. Can you open the ancient magic portal? Such Summoned Beasts are much fiercer than us. What kind of spirit can you summon? You should summon it now. Otherwise, you won’t have time to cast spells if the Lizard Demon Dragons surround us,” said Jiang Yu.

Mo Fan nodded. He was right. There was no use saving so much Summoning Element’s magic energy. Contracted beasts and dimensional beasts did not consume any magic energy. It was the Summoned Beasts and the ancient magic portal that consumed the most energy.

Mo Fan began to integrate the Lightning Element. His Lightning Element had the highest cultivation. If there was no accident, he could continue to summon the Silver Thunder Titan. Its strength would not be inferior to that of the Skeleton Dragon, so it would have no trouble dealing with the Tyrant Lizard Demon Dragons.

‘Huh? Did I fail?’ Mo Fan wondered. He opened his eyes to find that the Silver Thunder Titan in the ancient magic portal was unwilling to fight.

Summoning a beast was not always successful. It depended on the mage’s spiritual realm and the beast’s mood.

“You don’t know the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower well enough. Many elemental elves have their preferences and lives. If you didn’t find the right time to summon them, you would fail to summon lower level elves. If you ask them to fight too much in this period, they will have psychological repellency. After all, they only work for you, unlike the semi-enslavement of dimensional beasts.” Jiang Yu explained.

A similar situation happened in some of Mo Fan’s previous attempts. He had to ask those average ruler elves to fight, and the success rate was less than thirty percent. At that time, he successfully summoned those Contracted Beasts because Little Loach had obtained the Holy Spring. It gave him some boost.

The opening of the ancient magic portal consumed one-third of the summoning magic energy, so Mo Fan felt a headache incoming.

He might not have been able to summon every elf even after consuming all the summoning magic energy. He needed more practice. Success was not easy.

“You should summon Little Flame Belle.” Jiang Yu suggested.

In other words, he meant Mo Fan was bad at it. The construction of the ancient magic portal was too slow, the timing of spiritual penetration was not right, and the communication was not good. It was no wonder he failed.

Mo Fan was not intentionally hiding it. His level of Summoning Element was supposed to have advanced to Super Level.

“I’ll try again. You protect me,” Mo Fan said with disbelief.

“Make sure to concentrate. The construction of the ancient magic portal is too slow. You have to practice those 2401 stars… When you release the ability of Summoning Element, can you stop other elements’ magic? How can you use two elements at the same time?” Jiang Yu continued to scold Mo Fan.

If Mo Fan did not integrate other elements, the level of elves that Mo Fan could summon would be too low. Under the same consumption, the higher the level of summoning, the better creatures he could summon. If he failed, he could do nothing.

This time, Mo Fan did not integrate the Lightning Element. He added the Shadow Element to his fusion magic. The Shadow Element was not weaker than his Lightning Element and Fire Element.

When the Shadow Element merged with the ancient magic portal, terrifying death patterns emerged. Inscriptions and smears like blood covered the ancient portal.

“Oh my god, Mo Fan, what kind of door are you opening? It is not the ancient magic portal. Don’t take the wrong path. It might pull you into an unknown world and then you will become a Summoned Beast for other species. There is a high probability you can’t ever come back.” Jiang Yu was taken aback. He hurried to stop Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not stop. At first, he was a little scared. After integrating a lot of Shadow Element energy, he opened a door filled with a lot of darkness and death. It was not leading to the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower.

Mo Fan understood Jiang Yu’s warning. He would have closed it immediately but he sensed a familiar atmosphere behind the new magic portal.

He had stayed in it for a whole year. The dullness and depression were the most common feelings in the Dark Land. At first, he was a little uncomfortable, but soon it became familiar.

Mo Fan had no idea that he had opened a Dark Plane instead of a Summoned Beast Plane!

Chapter 2779: Summoning The Lycoris Sorceress Queen

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

To Mo Fan’s amazement, he entered the Dark Plane in spirit form. The demon cave, ghost mountain, corpse valley, dark forest, and dead land were like a part of a scroll. The scroll unfolded swiftly and revealed the sprawling world. Mo Fan saw various creatures inhabiting the Dark Plane.

‘Does this mean I can summon creatures from the Dark Plane?’ Mo Fan asked himself with delight.

“Mo Fan, hurry up. Sh*t! Our team is scattered. D*mn it! Night Rakshasa, come out now!” Mo Fan heard Jiang Yu’s voice.

Mo Fan ignored him. He believed Jiang Yu could protect himself. It had not been easy to open a new ancient magic portal. Mo Fan did not want to return to his world empty-handed.

The scroll of the world was still being unfolded. There were plenty of Dark Creatures roaming in the Dark Plane. Mo Fan noticed a familiar creature. He saw the guard of the King of Darkness—Dark Sword Master.

Dark Sword Master was within Mo Fan’s list of summoning creatures. He was tempted to summon it. But Dark Sword Master was a low-level Ruler. Thus, it might have difficulty coping with the battle.

Mo Fan continued his search. He crossed a tall, dark mountain and found a palace with a dozen Dark Sword Masters standing guard. The palace was pale white, and it looked eerie and scary. The isolated palace on top of the mountain gave off a mysterious feel.

Mo Fan’s spirit stayed at this place. He wondered who owned the black palace and who the Dark Sword Masters were guarding. A woman walked out of the palace from between its majestic pillars.

The woman’s black mermaid dress covered her long legs. Mo Fan could not figure out how she actually walked. However, beautiful flowers bloomed under her feet as she moved, but withered rapidly as she passed.

Those flowers were lycoris! They were stunning and left an unforgettable impression. Mo Fan stared at the woman in the black mermaid dress in the middle of the lycoris. He was awed by her elegance and beauty. But he found her to be familiar.

She was the Lycoris Sorceress Queen!

She was the same powerful sorceress queen who had become the King of Darkness’s pawn in the past, just like Mo Fan. She had survived the game and had slightly transformed. Her appearance was no longer just a cloud of black mist. Instead, she was three-dimensional now.

The Lycoris Sorceress Queen stood in front of the palace. She raised her head and stared at Mo Fan’s spirit. She recognized him. However, she was puzzled to see him in such a form. He looked like a spirit shadow reflected from another plane. She saw him but could not touch him. He lacked the life force of the creatures in this realm.

…

“Mo Fan, you scum! I might not be able to cover for you much longer!” Jiang Yu shouted.

A large group of Lizard Demon Dragons had surrounded him. Besides, the Hunter Dirty Demon and Blue-scaled Skin Beasts were swarming them. There were many high-level Ocean Demons among them, and the Ocean Demons had broken his and the other Royal Mages’ formation.

Two of the three Royal Mages had reunited with the Guards of the Four Directions. However, Li Que was trapped in a basin five hundred meters away from them. Jiang Yu and Mo Fan were surrounded by Ocean Demons. Night Rakshasa and the Skeleton Dragon were slaughtering the Ocean Demons, but they could not keep up with the growing number of the creatures that charged towards them.

Jiang Yu cussed at Mo Fan. However, he did not leave him. With Night Rakshasa around, he could hold out for a little longer. But if they did not move and catch up with the rest, they could die trapped within the Ocean Demon troop. Regardless of how strong Night Rakshasa was, it could not possibly kill all the Ocean Demons by itself.

“Help me! Save me! Hurry up!”

Jiang Yu heard Li Que’s cry for help among the chaos. Jiang Yu wanted to help him, but he was powerless.

“Big Brother Li, hold on for a while longer. Hold on!” Jiang Yu shouted back at him.

“I’ve broken my leg. I don’t think I can hold much longer. You have to help me!” Li Que sobbed. He was terrified.

The Lycoris Sorceress Queen flattened the mountain. She wiped out everything whenever she passed by. There was nothing that she could not destroy.

2

When Jiang Yu realized that Li Que could die, he gritted his teeth. He gave his all to pave a path to him and saved Li Que from the basin.

“Night Rakshasa, hurry up!”

Night Rakshasa killed the Ocean Demons to pave a path towards Li Que. However, the Ocean Demons soon swarmed and covered the path.

The Skeleton Dragon stood between Mo Fan and Jiang Yu. It was covered with Lizard Demon Dragons. Whenever the Skeleton Dragon shook its body, it flung most of the Lizard Demon Dragons away from it. However, a dozen skeletal bones dropped simultaneously from its body.

The Skeleton Dragon was no longer as domineering as it had been in the beginning under the endless Ocean Demons’ siege. It could disintegrate anytime if it continued to exhaust its energy.

Jiang Yu bit the bullet to protect Mo Fan. He assigned Night Rakshasa to save Li Que. They were caught up in a desperate situation…

Mo Fan finally opened his eyes. His eyes looked a little eccentric.

“D*mn it! You finally awaken. We are so dead!” Jiang Yu cried out.

The Black Totem Snake had left them far behind. Even though the Supreme Ruler could wipe out everything, it could not possibly get back to them past the vast Ocean Demons army at such a short notice. Besides, the Purple-haired Female Demon kept it busy.

The Guards of the Four Direction, Deputy Royal Guard, and the Royal Great Mages were ahead of them. They almost found a way out as they brutally fought the Ocean Demons.

Mo Fan opened the ancient magic portal. A group of Blue-scaled Skin Beasts charged at them and trapped them in place. All of them were now scattered. Mo Fan had taken much longer time in summoning his creature.

“Don’t panic. I’ve summoned a great helper.” Mo Fan gave Jiang Yu a smile.

Jiang Yu was a loyal friend. He had refused to abandon Mo Fan even in such a desperate situation.

“Yeah right! Not unless you can come up with another totem beast!” said Jiang Yu.

Mo Fan just smiled. The ancient magic portal opened once again. Instead of various strange, dark characters on top of the portal, it was covered with slender dark vines. Lycoris bloomed radiantly in red as the vines spread, radiating a dark and ice-cold beauty.

The flowers spread like a red carpet to welcome the queen.

The Lycoris Sorceress Queen entered regally. Her legs were hidden from view. However, she glided on the lycoris petals like a spirit with an air of elegance and nobility suited to a Dark Creature. The Lycoris Sorceress Queen’s terrifying aura flooded the chaotic battlefield like a rainstorm!

Chapter 2780: Mo Fan, This Is Just The Tip of An Iceberg

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

She was consuming the lives of the Ocean Demons!

After the swirling of the black rainstorm, hundreds and thousands of the Lizard Demon Dragons began to wither like flowers. They aged rapidly, and their bodies dried up. Even their bones were hardening.

Soon, the Lizard Demon Dragons became dried up carcasses on the ground and looked as though their life was sucked out of them. Their death was frightening to behold.

After the Lizard Demon Dragons died, the lycoris spread radiantly on the ground. They glowed red and were bewitching.

The Lycoris Sorceress Queen continued to march forward. The beguiling lycoris bloomed at the arrival of the queen. Meanwhile, the Lizard Demon Dragons that had surrounded the area dried up as the Lycoris Sorceress Queen passed them.

“S-She was the sorceress queen of the Dark Plane!” Jiang Yu watched in disbelief.

The Lycoris Sorceress Queen was close to being a Supreme Ruler. ‘Was Mo Fan her illegitimate child from the past? How did he summon the aloof demonic woman from the Dark Plane?!’ wondered Jiang Yu. ‘It’s remarkable!’

The Lycoris Sorceress Queen showed no mercy. She was like Anubis that came from the underworld to take their lives away.

Soon, several thousands of the Lizard Demon Dragon were killed. Jiang Yu had no time to catch his breath since he was surrounded by the Lizard Demon Dragon Legion. When the Lycoris Sorceress Queen passed by and the demons shriveled up, he heaved a sigh of relief.

Jiang Yu turned to Mo Fan and looked at him strangely. ‘How did he do that?’

He couldn’t believe it. How could Mo Fan summon someone as strong as the Lycoris Sorceress Queen? She was not an ordinary elf; she was the Dark Elf Queen!

Jiang Yu had not been able to see an elf queen, let alone summon one! So, how did Mo Fan do that?

Jiang Yu had been very proud of himself after summoning the Skeleton Dragon. He thought his Summoning element’s magical power exceeded Mo Fan’s. However, after witnessing the Lycoris Sorceress Queen, Jiang Yu felt as if he was drying up like the rest of the Ocean Demons…

“I’m barely acquainted with her. She reluctantly agreed to help me this time,” Mo Fan comforted Jiang Yu and patted his shoulder after he noticed him getting upset.

“I won’t show off my ability before you anymore in the future, lest I feel even more disappointed.” Jiang Yu smiled bitterly.

While they talked, Mo Fan saw Night Rakshasa leap agilely over the Lizard Demon Dragons’ head. Whenever it stepped on any of the Lizard Demon Dragons’ heads, it crushed their skulls.

Even though Night Rakshasa was powerful, it could not inflict direct damage to its enemy. The Lizard Demon Dragon could not harm it easily, but Night Rakshasa could not kill all the Lizard Demon Dragons at once. Meanwhile, the Lycoris Sorceress Queen was different from Night Rakshasa. She was born to fight in battle.

She used the Lizard Demon Dragons’ lives to sustain her flowers while her flowers ate away at them. What seemed like a bloody and chaotic battle turned out to be a simple art of death to her.

“Meow!”

Night Rakshasa moved as fast as lightning. It snapped dozens of the Lizard Demon Dragon’s tendons with its claws. It pulled their tendons like threading needles and landed before Mo Fan and Jiang Yu.

“Where’s Li Que?” Jiang Yu asked nervously.

Night Rakshasa pulled the lengthy strings of the Lizard Demon Dragons’ tendons. The person at the end of the string of tendons was yanked. He fell to the ground next to Night Rakshasa.

It was Li Que. His leg was heavily wounded. His kneecap was exposed, and he was in agony.

“Take this medicine.” Mo Fan handed him healing miracle pills from Parthenon Temple.

“What’s the point of curing my wound? We can’t leave this place alive, anyway.” Li Que was gloomy and furious at his agonizing pain.

“I’ll leave it here, anyway,” said Mo Fan.

“Big Brother Li, don’t give up! Look at the sorceress queen ahead of us. Mo Fan summoned her and she’s a great help. She has paved a path for us,” Jiang Yu pointed at the Lycoris Sorceress Queen.

Li Que looked in the direction he pointed and saw thousands of dead Lizard Demon Dragons. The ground was filled with their carcasses. The piled-up carcasses looked like a massive cemetery. Even so, there was still an abundance of Lizard Demon Dragons which continued to drop dead, including the more powerful Blue-scaled Skin Beasts. These Ocean Demons were no match for the Lycoris Sorceress Queen.

“You summoned her?” Li Que looked in disbelief.

The Black Totem Snake could wipe out its enemy on a large scale. Li Que thought Mo Fan only had the Black Totem Snake to rely on…

“Say no more. Jiang Yu, take him to safety and catch him up with the recent developments,” said Mo Fan.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you coming with us? The Deputy Royal Mage and the Guard of the Four Directions are very powerful. They can pave a path for us. Don’t act alone! Even though you have a powerful Summoning beast and a totem beast, the number of our enemies is still growing…” said Jiang Yu.

“Don’t be silly! I’m going back to help Pang Lai.” Mo Fan turned around and glanced at the mountain valley.

Although they had come out of the mountain valley and were still surrounded by the Ocean Demons, Pang Lai’s situation was far worse. Pang Lai could die fighting the Nine-headed Serpent alone!

“I want to go back and help Master Pang Lai, too. But I’m afraid I will only be a burden for him. He might get distracted just to take care of me,” said Jiang Yu sadly. He was still weak, so he could not do anything to help Pang Lai.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let Pang Lai die here. You have the Lycoris Sorceress Queen to pave the path for you. Hurry and leave this place. The Black Totem Snake and I will go and help Pang Lai,” said Mo Fan.

“Mo Fan, I am so sorry to trouble you. Thank you for your help.”

“Don’t mention it. You protected me from the demons, didn’t you? Thank you for that.”

That was Mo Fan’s first time opening the Dark Plane. The summoning process was complicated. If it had not been Jiang Yu covering up for him, he would have died. Jiang Yu was left behind because of him.

“You have to be careful,” warnd Jiang Yu.

Mo Fan nodded. He then charged toward the mountain valley. As he rushed to his destination, his body gradually burned in flames. It did not take long before he glowed in two types of powerful flames, and a powerful divine flaming soul shadow appeared…

Jiang Yu stared at Mo Fan. He could not help but feel a little disappointed and envious when he saw Mo Fan easily pave a path for himself past the Hunter Dirty Demon troops.

Mo Fan had no fear in battle even without the help of the Lycoris Sorceress Queen and the Black Totem Snake.

Jiang Yu had been working hard in his cultivation over the years. He thought he had achieved some massive results. However, Hawaii was reminding him of how weak he still was.

Mo Fan, on the other hand, had become stronger.

He was so powerful that all the magic he had just displayed was only the tip of the iceberg!

Chapter 2781: The Goddess of Death—The Black Beauty

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Guards of the Four Directions were drenched in both dried and freshly spilled blood. When the four paved the path by killing the Ocean Demons, they kept their quadrilateral formation. If the other three mates held onto the formation, they would be okay.

Finally, the number of Lizard Demon Dragons ahead of them reduced significantly. They were in a dense tropical rainforest that had not been damaged or developed by humans. Its thick canopy and vines spread toward the sky.

“Where are the others?” The four turned their heads. Even though they had paved a path, most of their teammates had fallen behind.

“Go back and find them!” Bei Shou said as he wiped off the blood stains from his face.

The other three were already on to it. They were severely wounded and had exhausted tremendous mental energy. They thought of catching some breath once they arrived at the rainforest. But before they could celebrate their success, they had to return to the vast Ocean Demon troops once more and find their teammates. They might not come back alive if they went back.

The four briefly made some arrangements. Bei Shou led the team. He held two different colors of Frost Breath. When he fired the blue Frost Breath, it quickly froze a large number of Lizard Demon Dragons. When he fired the white Frost Breath, it crushed the frozen demons.

The other three followed him. They returned to fight the Lizard Demon Dragons Legion.

They did not realize most of the Lizard Demon Dragons had reduced in numbers and were exhausted so soon.

The Lizard Demon Dragons’ cried miserably.There were many Dark Demon Spirits dancing in the sky above the Lizard Demon Dragon Legion.

The Dark Demon Spirits navigated through the Lizard Demon Dragon Legion like a breeze. Whenever the Dark Demon Spirits pierced the Ocean Demons with their claws, the Lizard Demon Dragons’ skins turned pale.

They were sea creatures that lived under the sea. However, their skins turned pale, flaccid, and lost their elasticity as if they could not stand soaking in the water.

There were thousands of Dark Demon Spirits. They shrieked like banshees and swarmed the Ocean Demons like hungry wolves. They were ferocious predators.

Another batch of Lizard Demon Dragons dropped dead. Thousands of carcasses were strewn on the cold ground before strange vines burrowed into their carcasses and sucked them dry.

The ground seemed to have received nourishment from the carcasses as it turned more radiantly red.

“What’s going on?” The Guards of the Four Direction were shocked. They wondered what kind of powerful creature could use the Lizard Demon Dragons as nourishment like this.

A woman in a cloud of dark mist slowly moved on the bewitching land. The areas she passed by were covered with flowers of death. The land lacked life force, and the Dark Demon Spirits had taken over. The land was filled with an air of death. Even so, the Lycoris Sorceress Queen appeared as gorgeous and radiant as ever.

“Deputy Chief!” When Bei Shou saw Ye Mei and the rest of the team, he was delighted.

“Go get them,” said Nan Shou.

No one could stop the Lycoris Sorceress Queen. She killed more Lizard Demon Dragons than the Black Totem Snake. She was born to fight in the war. Her strength continued to advance as the battle progressed, and she enjoyed the sight of the blood-splattered place.

Ye Mei, Jiang Yu, Li Que, Wang Ping, and the rest of the Royal Mages followed behind the Lycoris Sorceress Queen. The Guards of the Four Directions were joyous to see their teammates all safe and sound.

All of them were not dead yet. They had assumed they were going to die here and would never return to the palace.

“Go to the tropical rainforest and hide,” Ye Mei said to the crowd as she turned to look behind her. She noticed that the Lizard Demon Dragon Legion no longer had the guts to chase after them.

The Lycoris Sorceress Queen did not follow them. She was like a standalone black beauty in the middle of the radiant red sea flower. The Dark Demon Spirits danced around her like moths.

The Lizard Demon Dragon Legion combined with several Blue-haired Female Demons once again. They worked together to form a strong tidal wave of destruction against the humans. However, they lost the courage to chase after them in the face of the Lycoris Sorceress Queen whose crimson flowers blossomed endlessly.

The Ocean Demons watched wide-eyed as the humans disappeared into the tropical rainforest.

…

When they entered the rainforest, the lush greenery was so dense that it provided them with a natural coverage. Several of them were Plant Element experts, hence they were very familiar with the floras. The moment they escaped into the rainforest; they had entered into a natural kingdom devoid of demons. Even if the Ocean Demons caught up with them, they could use the natural force to counterattack the Ocean Demons.

“Ming Zhu, Guan Dong, and Tang Liqing haven’t come yet,” said Ye Mei.

“Even while the Chief battles the Eight-headed Serpent, he finds time to summon a Dark Elf Queen to pave the path for us. I wonder if the Chief…” Bei Shou heaved a long sigh. His eyes were filled with sadness.

“We have to find Commander Hua. We can’t let the Chief down…” Ye Mei clenched her fists.

Everyone was silent, as if they were mourning for Pang Lai. The atmosphere was heavy.

Jiang Yu looked at the crowd. “Master Pang Lai isn’t dead yet. Besides, he’s not the one who summoned the Lycoris Sorceress Queen.”

The crowd turned to Jiang Yu.

“How is that possible?”

“That’s right. The Chief is the most powerful Summoning Element mage in this country. Who else can summon the Lycoris Sorceress Queen from the Dark Plane, if not him?” Ye Mei was puzzled.

Ye Mei had been following the Guard of the Four Directions. When she noticed someone had fallen behind the team, she returned to them to help. They had separated from the Guard of the Four Directions, unfortunately.

By the time she reunited with Jiang Yu, Wang Ping, Li Que, and the rest of the Royal Mages, the Lycoris Sorceress Queen was on a killing spree. Ye Mei had assumed that Pang Lai had summoned the powerful creature.

Pang Lai was the Chief Royal Guard, and he was known for his powerful Summoning Element magical power. Only Pang Lai and a few Apex-grade mages could summon the Lycoris Sorceress Queen in the country.

“Mo Fan is the one who summoned it,” said Li Que. He was severely wounded and was in agony. He never wanted to burden his teammates. He had expected that he would end up dead and yet, he had survived.

It hadn’t been luck. It was Mo Fan. He had granted him a chance at survival.

“Mo Fan is the one who summoned her?”

“How did he summon the Lycoris Sorceress Queen?”

The crowd was shocked. They stared at Li Que and Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu nodded. “Yes, he’s the one who summoned her.”

“Where is he now?” Ye Mei asked anxiously.

Chapter 2782: The Forbidden Curse Dream of an Old Man

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“He asked the Lycoris Sorceress Queen to clear a path for us, then he returned to the Silver-Blue Valley City to save Master Pang Lai,” said Jiang Yu.

The crowd was at a loss of words. They found it unbelievable.

The Black Totem Snake had given them hope. But they had never expected Mo Fan to be able to summon a creature as powerful as the Lycoris Sorceress Queen.

The Black Totem Snake could wipe up low-level and high-level Rulers effortlessly. However, the Lycoris Sorceress Queen could summon more domineering force against the vast army of Ocean Demons.

Without the Lycoris Sorceress Queen, they would have died fighting the endless Ocean Demon troops.

“He should come with us. What do we do now? The Eight-headed Serpent, the Stingray King, and the Fury Sea Demon Dragons will not spare them,” Bei Shou said miserably.

They all knew Pang Lai was prepared to sacrifice himself to protect them but they refused to accept it.

The moment they fell into the cunning Ocean Demon’s trap, they were destined to pay a heavy price. They still needed to find Commander Hua, no matter what. They had to get him out of here.

Most of them were exhausted. They did not have much magic energy left.

Whenever they heard the roars coming from the mountain valley, the Royal Mages and the rest of their groups were anxious and frightened. But they weren’t going to abandon their teammates. They would rush back and perish with their Chief, if need be. But they had their duty to fulfill. They needed to complete their mission.

“Let’s go,” said Ye Mei.

Nan Shou sighed. “If only we had known about Mo Fan’s capabilities, we could have stayed back. We are all in our mid-fifties. We don’t have much to contribute to the country, at least not as much as Mo Fan. It’s a shame to lose such a young but talented mage.”

“Don’t talk about it anymore. We…” Ye Mei could not finish her words. She had never expected to be in debt to the young mage for their lives whom she had despised.

Jiang Yu was regretful. He hated himself for failing to return to the mountain valley with Mo Fan. He hated the fact that he was weak and had to rely on others for protection.

If Mo Fan had taken the Lycoris Sorceress Queen with him to take on the Eight-headed Serpent, perhaps he and Master Pang Lai would stand a chance to survive the fight.

Jiang Yu swore to improve himself and focus on increasing his cultivation if he survived this mission.Not only did he want to strengthen his Summoning element, but he also wanted to strengthen his other elements to grow stronger.

They found it difficult to breathe. The number of the Stingray Legion was shocking. A Sword Fish with the special hooks covered in aluminum alloy covered the sky.

The Sword Fish was more ferocious than the Stingray Legion. The armed Sword Fish’s upper lip was extended, with a hook at its tip. It had a crown fin that looked like a flag sail. When they appeared in groups in the sky, they looked like a full expeditionary force.

“Roar! Roar!”

The Eight-headed Serpent’s roar was deafening. One of its heads was stuck between two mountains that fell from the sky. It could not break itself free.

Mo Fan and Pang Lai took advantage of the opportunity and soared up to the sky. However, the Stingray Legion and the Sword Fish were already alert, not giving the duo a chance to escape.

Meanwhile, the Moon Moth Phoenix’s Armed Spirit Moths were powerless in facing the two Ocean Demons in the sky.

“Mo Fan, why did you come back to save me?” Pang Lai said in annoyance.

There was a reason for him to be so frustrated. Pang Lai had reached the Forbidden Curse threshold long ago. However, if he re-entered the realm of the Forbidden Curse at his age, it would only be a waste.

While the Forbidden City was capable of training a Forbidden Mage, Pang Lai had turned down the offer.

“I told them that I’ll receive the baptism of the Forbidden Curse only if I’m able to return alive. The Forbidden Curse is more than a power; it carries enormous responsibility,” Pang Lai said to Mo Fan.

Pang Lai confided in Mo Fan maybe because he knew the outcome of this fight.

“Old Pang, save your words to yourself. We can leave this place. We will survive. Trust me,” Mo Fan assured him.

“Mo Fan, don’t force yourself. I will be relieved if you can escape from here. Are you aware that your strength is our only hope? You are as important as Commander Hua! Just leave me and go. I’ve rejected the Forbidden Curse because I wanted to save it for someone better. I came here not because of my own righteousness, but because I’m old. My magical power dwindles over time…” Pang Lai said. He had no intention of stopping, as if he thought he would not have a chance of saying everything ever again.

Mo Fan stared at Pang Lai, his chest was covered with blood. Pang Lai had confronted the Eight-headed Serpent and his chest was wounded. Most of his inner organs were crushed, and he looked weak. Pang Lai was earnest in his words.

As the Chief Royal Guard, Pang Lai could not show any sign of weakness. He had to always appear courageous and strong. However, no one could stop time. Pang Lai was old. He had fought many enemies in his life, but age was something he couldn’t fight.

Pang Lai had never been concerned about his age. However, as time passed he realized that the signs of aging were more noticeable and Pang Lai panicked.

Like most people, Pang Lai accepted that he could not ignore it any longer. He had to accept that his time was up. As the Chief Royal Guard, he felt defeated.

When he was eventually trying to accept and move on, an opportunity to step into the Forbidden Curse had arrived. The Imperial City required a Summoning element Forbidden Mage. They hoped Pang Lai could become a Forbidden Mage. They had obtained the rare Dimensional Pistil.

Pang Lai was over the moon the moment he learned that he had been chosen for it. After all, he had been pursuing the path of the Forbidden Curse all his life…

A few days later, he suppressed his excitement and gave it another thought.

He was aware that the Forbidden Curse would weaken as one grew old. Even if he became a Forbidden Mage, there was no stopping his advancing age and that would only mean that it was all a waste…

However, the Imperial City hoped Pang Lai would accept the offer. They instructed him to become a Forbidden Mage. Pang Lai felt lost and helpless so he decided to come to Hawaii to stall for time and to think things through.

He decided that if he was able to rescue Commander Hua, then becoming a Summoning Element Forbidden Mage in his age wasn’t such a waste.

But now, he wasn’t so sure. Pang Lai didn’t mind dying here, giving the rest of his team a chance to save Commander Hua. As for the Forbidden Curse offer, he would feel more at ease if someone younger but capable mage took his place.

Pang Lai wasn’t trying to prove he was humble or courageous. He wasn’t even trying to show that death meant nothing to him. He just knew he was old and would keep aging.

Chapter 2783: The Three Greatest Totem Beasts vs The Eight-headed Serpent

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A high-pitched sound rang out from the sky, and lightning struck like dense purple vines. Pang Lai looked up to see a powerful Supreme Ruler approaching them. They were trapped!

“Mo Fan, leave me and go. You still can escape to safety. If you die here, it will make me feel even more guilty,” Pang Lai said firmly.

“Old Pang, don’t be silly. It’s on our side,” said Mo Fan, pointing at the Green East Sea God charging down from the sky.

Pang Lai stared at the Green East Sea God. “So, that eagle-like creature is not our enemy?”

The Green East Sea God dominated the sky. When it flipped its wings, it fired powerful lightning. Its lightning power was as powerful as the Heavenly Lightning and Divine Lightning Pillar. The Stingray King and Sword Fish Legions were crushed.

The Green East Sea God was so powerful that it was unstoppable. It destroyed everything that got in its way. The sky was covered with the Stingray Legion and Sword Fish Legion. The Green East Sea God tore a path through them, allowing the sunlight to shine on the vast Ocean Demons below.

When Pang Lai felt the warmth from the sunlight, he felt refreshed. He watched the Black Totem Snake fighting multiple Ruler-level Ocean Demons on the ground, then at the Moon Moth Phoenix surrounded by its Armed Spirit Moths in mid-air. He then turned to the Green East Sea God…

‘The three greatest totem beasts! They were the three greatest totem beasts!’

Mo Fan had brought with him the three greatest totem beasts. Even when the Ocean Demon troops covered a vast expanse of the ground and sky, the three greatest totem beasts’ holy light glowed brightly in the middle of those filthy monsters.

“Big guy, stop the Eight-headed Serpent!”

“Green East Sea God, take us away from here please!”

Mo Fan shouted at two of the three greatest totem beasts.

The Eight-headed Serpent finally broke its head free from Pang Lai’s magic. It looked furious. Humans were tiny ants in its eyes. As an Ancient Demon, it felt humiliated for falling into a human’s trap!

The Black Totem Snake killed a gigantic Ruler-level Lizard Demon Dragon. It bit the gigantic Lizard Demon Dragon to death. The gigantic Lizard Demon Dragon’s head was the size of a small mountain. The Black Totem Snake coiled its head and flung it at the Eight-headed Serpent.

The Eight-headed Serpent was about to soar to the sky to attack Mo Fan and Pang Lai but the Lizard Demon Dragon’s filthy and bloody head struck it. One of its heads, with the horn, swelled.

The eight heads were bound together. When the other seven heads felt the fury of the head with the horn, they turned to the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake was an ancient snake. It represented China’s totem beast. Meanwhile, the Eight-headed Serpent was a demonic serpent beast from Japan. Japanese emperors in ancient times used to worship it.

…

When the two great national beasts clashed and fought in the narrow mountain valley, the Earth shook. The sight was majestic yet terrifying to behold.

Mo Fan wanted the Green East Sea God to use its hegemonic ability in the sky to find a way out. But he realized that it was not a wise idea. The Sword Fish Legion did not seem to feel any pain. They didn’t even seem to fear death. They pierced their hook onto one another to form an aluminum wall in the sky to block Green East Sea God’s path.

They would even die to make sure Mo Fan and Pang Lai stayed in the sky. There were many other Sword Fish and Stingray Legions swarming them. It was clear that these legions were under the lead of other two powerful Overlord Ocean Demons. Mo Fan and Pang Lai had two more enemies they needed to fight.

“These Ocean Demons…” Mo Fan noticed there were very few Ocean Demon troops at the Silver-Blue Valley City waterfall.

The Ocean Demons had no intention of letting them out. The Eight-headed Serpent stood guard in that direction. The other Ocean Demons would not dare to get in the way of the Eight-headed Serpent. When it attacked, it neither cared for friend or foe. The Eight-Headed Serpent was a destroyer and it killed Ocean Demons as well as the Royal Great Mages in equal measure.

“Hmph! Even though it has eight heads, it’s still an idiot! Moon Moth Phoenix, Green East Sea God, we’ll go down there and destroy it with the Black Totem Snake!” said Mo Fan.

The Green East Sea God observed from the sky. It was thrilled when it saw the Eight-headed Serpent.

Mo Fan wondered why the Black Totem Snake didn’t react as much as the Green East Sea God. He remembered when the Green East Sea God had arrived at Hang Zhou. The Green East Sea God was different.

There was a gleam in its eyes as if it desired the flesh of an Ancient Demon. It was always ready for combat.

The Eight-headed Serpent took advantage of its multiple heads and launched various attacks at the Black Totem Snake. It soon found out that the Black Totem Snake’s weakness was fire.

The Black Totem Snake disliked fire. It usually inhabited the bottom of the West Lake at Hang Zhou during winter and summer. It had no fear of even the sharpest claws on Earth, the most venomous poison, or extreme cold. But it was threatened by flames.

The Black Totem Snake was not fully encased in scales. Its abdomen, chin, and neck were exposed. If the fire burned its keratin beneath its skin, it would cause too much harm. It would feel intense pain when it slithered on the ground.

The Eight-headed Serpent was also a snake. It knew that the Black Totem Snake’s weakness would be fire. It spewed magma at the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake coiled itself up to protect its abdominal skin. It used its scales to resist the fire.

The disadvantage was that it couldn’t move when it was coiled up. The Eight-headed Serpent had other heads it could attack with. It used its sharp horn to attack the Black Totem Snake repeatedly.

…

The Green East Sea God flew low and witnessed the Eight-headed Serpent attacking the Black Totem Snake with its horn. The Green East Sea God aimed at the creature with its lightning claws.

The Green East Sea God’s claws were as strong as steel pincers. It grabbed the Eight-headed Serpent’s head before spreading its wings and flying upwards. It flew up with its powerful wings and snapped one of the serpent’s heads.

Blood spurted everywhere. The Eight-headed Serpent retreated a few steps in agony. The severed neck became lifeless.

Chapter 2784: Not Everyone

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Big guy, let me handle the fire.” Mo Fan charged into the blazing flames.

He stood above the Black Totem Snake’s head and spread his arms. He moved his arms above his head. The soul shadow of the Divine Bird Wings appeared over his head. Mo Fan was ablaze, as if he would transform into a Divine Phoenix at any time and soar up into the sky.

The moment Mo Fan clasped his hands, the Chongming Divine Bird’s luminous flame spread through the entire mountain valley. The Eight-headed Serpent spat out black-brown lava flame and ash blue venomous flame. But the Chongming Divine Bird’s luminous flame extinguished them.

Even though both were fighting with Fire element, the two magic were in contrast to each other. If Mo Fan had not achieved the Great Heaven Seed along with Little Flame Belle who had obtained the Heavenly Tribulation Holy Flame, it would not have been possible for him to fight the Eight-headed Serpent’s Lava Flame and Venomous Flame.

Mo Fan’s Chongming Divine Fire and Little Flame Belle’s Heavenly Tribulation Holy Flame were the strongest flames on Earth. Mo Fan pushed his glorious Fire element magical power to the point that it wounded the Eight-Headed Serpent.

The Black Totem Snake was within Mo Fan’s and Little Flame Belle’s flames. However, it did not feel any heat. Mo Fan had deliberately controlled his Fire element power so that it was immune to his flames.

The Black Totem Snake relaxed its enormous body. When it saw the Eight-headed Serpent retreat, the Black Totem Snake lunged at it.

The snake patterns on its scales glowed green. When the snake patterns connected in mysterious light traces, the Black Totem Snake’s aura transformed. It glowed in green holy light and its body became transparent like an emerald jade immortal stone. It no longer looked like a primitive ancient beast. Instead, it looked like a holy snake—the protector of the pure land after absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon.

The Black Totem Snake was different from the Eight-headed Serpent.

When the Black Totem Snake unleashed its true totem power, it was filled with holiness. Even the surrounding venomous gas glowed slightly like fairy mist.

The Eight-headed Serpent, on the other hand, was filled with primitive devilish violence. It was born to be brutal. Its nature was to hate all living things on the Earth. The Eight-headed Serpent destroyed all living beings if allowed to roam free. The reason the Japanese emperors worshiped in the old days was because the emperor himself appreciated such destruction for power.

When the emperor was overthrown, the Eight-headed Serpent vanished from the Pacific Ocean. It then joined with the Ocean Demons. Its ambition of killing all the living things on this Earth remained intact. The Eight-headed Serpent appeared whenever there was a war.

The Black Totem Snake approached the Eight-headed Serpent for one-on-one combat.

The Eight-headed Serpent had an upper hand because it had done much damage to the Black Totem Snake in its last attack.

The Black Totem Snake glided along the mountain range outside the valley. It sometimes glided on the ground, sometimes clung onto the mountain wall, sometimes roamed in the air…

Whenever it passed by, it left a terrifying green trace, as if God was painting a huge portrait with a brush dipped in divine green paint. The painting possessed endless power that was capable of annihilating demons in this world.

“Bam! Bam!”

The Black Totem Snake’s formation trapped the Eight-headed Serpent within the mountain valley. The terrifying Green Totem Divine formation dissolved the Eight-headed Serpent’s strange skin and scales.

When the Eight-headed Serpent’s skin was exposed, it ulcerated layer by layer and evaporated. It was now covered in blood. The sight was frightening to behold.

The Eight-headed Serpent roared in agony. It was terrified of the Black Totem Snake’s ancient holy power. Under the green light of the Black Totem Snake’s formation, the Eight-headed Serpent’s throat and the eight evil breaths at its abdominal pelvis were destroyed, leaving an ulcerated body filled with fury.

Countless glowing Spirit Moths flew to the wounded Eight-headed Serpent. The glowing Spirit Moths had self-destructive power. When they charged at the Eight-headed serpent, they exploded.

Even though a single explosive Spirit Moth was tiny and could only inflict average damage, a large number of them covering the sky formed a cloud and thousands of explosions occurred in an instant. The Eight-headed Serpent could have resisted their explosiveness but because its skin was already compromised, it began to rot and fester as more explosions ensued.

Many parts of the Eight-headed Serpent’s body were crushed. Its flesh fell from its body, and it reduced in size. It no longer looked as intimidating and horrifying as before. It had lost two of its heads. The Ancient Demon weakened and bled.

The Self-explosive Spirit Moths detonated like stunning fireworks. Meanwhile, the Moon Moth Phoenix continued to flip its wings in mid-air. There seemed to be endless Self-explosive Spirit Moths. They swarmed the Eight-headed Serpent continuously. They sacrificed themselves to injure the demon while creating a breathtaking view.

Pang Lai was touched when he was greeted by such a sight. It took him a long time to recover his composure. Mo Fan was also in awe.

The Self-explosive Spirit Moths had paid a heavy price in order to severely wound the Eight-headed Serpent. They were living creatures.

Mo Fan was aware that the Moon Moth Phoenix was not brutal. It had no brutal weapons at its disposal. It had sacrificed many of its moths willingly.

There were Messenger Spirit Moths, Armed Spirit Moths, Reproductive Spirit Moths, and Guardian Spirit Moths among the Moon Moth Phoenix horde.

If the Moon Moth Phoenix was around and the moths were given a peaceful forest to stay in, they could reproduce rapidly. However, their greatest weakness was that they had a relatively short lifespan.

The Moon Moth Phoenix’s lifespan was short compared to the Black Totem Snake that lived for almost thousands of years. The Moon Moth Phoenix shared a similar lifespan to humans. It had the shortest lifespan among all the totem beasts.

When the Spirit Moths continuously flew and exploded, the other moths transformed into fluffy white cocoons and hid beneath the Moon Moth Phoenix’s wings. When they encountered a powerful enemy, they would be the first to transform into Self-explosive Spirit Moths and charge at their enemy, using up the last bit of their lives.

The Self-explosive Spirit Moths sacrificed themselves by detonating on their enemies. Instead of dying in a damp jungle, they would rather use up their last bit of flame to destroy their enemies and pave a brighter future for the coming generation.

The flame from the explosion rose to the sky. The force of the blasts was so tremendous that they had severely wounded the Eight-headed Serpent. However, not all Spirit Moths were willing to transform into self-explosive Spirit Moths.

Similarly, not everyone was like Pang Lai…

Chapter 2785: Kingdom of the Fallen Beasts

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Certain lives might look insignificant but are respectable.

Some people might not stand out among the crowd, but they shine brighter than a meteor star in times of darkness.

Pang Lai’s admirable personality was the reason Mo Fan decided not to leave him here alone.

“Old Pang, it’s your choice not to accept the Forbidden Curse and risk your life at an old age in order to ensure the younger generation’s survival. But since I’m here, I’ll ensure that you survive this ordeal to live a decent life,” said Mo Fan to the sad Pang Lai.

Pang Lai noticed that after the destruction of the Eight-headed Serpent the totem beasts had made a way on the mountain valley for them. The path had not existed before. Pang Lai was moved. His gratitude overwhelmed him. This was the first time in thirty or forty years that he felt such fire in his heart.

He was old and had made up his mind to sacrifice himself. But Mo Fan’s words had awoken something in him. His words made Pang Lai feel like he was back to his old self: an enthusiastic young man who gave his all without compromise!

“I-I am the Chief Royal Guard, the strongest Summoning Element mage in China. Why do I even need a young mage to ensure I can live peacefully in my twilight years?” said Pang Lai.

He did not require Mo Fan’s help to help him live his life peacefully. He wanted to earn that life on his own.

“It has replied to me. Mo Fan, cover up for me. You’ll get to witness the majesty of the Semi-forbidden Summoning element magical power!” Pang Lai took a deep breath and radiated a solemnity as befit a Chief Royal Guard.

Mo Fan looked behind and saw the Stingray King and Purple-haired Female Demon army standing in the way to the mountain valley.

“Good!” Mo Fan nodded. ‘Let’s fight them together!’

Mo Fan turned around and confronted the vast Ocean Demon troop that charged toward them. He was ablaze. He grinned with a little bit of madness encased in the flames.

The flame-soul shadow behind him was like an indistinguishable throne. Mo Fan allowed his Divine Flame to fuse with Little Flame Belle’s power. The blazing flame spread like a crimson army and wiped out the Ocean Demons at the mountain valley.

Although Mo Fan was tiny and incomparable to tidal waves, his blazing flame was as tough as the wall under the ocean that wouldn’t collapse no matter how strong the wind and waves hit!

Meanwhile, Pang Lai focused on casting his spell. Three greatest totem beasts fought before him while Mo Fan covered his back. Pang Lai was no longer depressed. He had the calm and the courage of an old mage with forty or fifty years of magical experience.

“Each Summoning beast has its own thoughts. Regardless of whether they were as big as a dragon or as small as a rat, sincere communication and power suppression are the keys to the Summoning Element. You must let your Summoning beast sense your majesty and sincerity simultaneously,” explained Pang Lai as he opened a portal. Mo Fan realized that the portal was so complicated that he could never ever imitate something like this without experience.

“Each land inhabits a legendary creature. Some of them are long forgotten, some are buried beneath the earth, and some have earned enough respect to be recorded in the books.”

“The book is called the “Kingdom of the Fallen Beasts! Over a decade ago, I tried to summon a Fallen Beast that had sunk into deep sleep. It remained quiet like a statue and ignored my request. But I never gave up communicating with it.”

“Perhaps my sincerity moved its heart, or it was tired of my nagging, it decided to fight for me.”

Pang Lai described all this to Mo Fan in high spirits. At that moment, Pang Lai did not look like an old man. Instead, he looked like a man with indomitable will. A man who could summon even a Fallen Beast.

Pang Lai had only summoned the Fallen Beast in his middle age. He had not given up improving his Summoning element magical power. Perhaps this was the day he was preparing himself for.

“Fight for me once!” Pang Lai said proudly.

Pang Lai was the only man in the country who was able to summon a Fallen Beast from the Kingdom of the Fallen Beast. Although Mo Fan was the only audience to witness his power, Pang Lai still felt incredibly proud.

“It calls to me!” said Pang Lai in joy. “Mo Fan, thank you for reminding me of my own passion. How I wish I was forty years younger and fighting side-by-side with you. Nonetheless, it’s an honor to fight alongside you.”

Pang Lai was like a mentor teaching Mo Fan the true art of casting the Summoning Element spell in all its glory. As a friend, he also shared his cultivation difficulties over the years.

…

He hated growing old. He cursed at it. He felt powerless and hopeless as he aged. But it seemed that aging was not something that was absolute.

While age took its toll on his body, it could never extinguish the unending passion in his heart!

He was like a mentor, a friend, and a student. Mo Fan had taught him not to be afraid of growing old.

“Ancient Magic Portal—National Beast!”

Pang Lai’s beard fluttered. His body glowed with vitality. He looked majestic. He looked like a God standing guard over his country!

A black abyss swallowed the surroundings. Soon, the Silver-Blue Valley City became a part of the black abyss. Humans could easily be sucked into the depth of the black abyss.

A pair of eyes slowly opened from the bottom of the black abyss. It was staring at the Eight-headed Serpent from another Dimensional Plane. It was also staring at the vast Ocean Demon troop covering the mountain valley.

An ancient godly profile appeared in the night sky. The view of its profile was hazy, but it godly eyes were visible. The eyes grew bigger until it filled the entire abyss.

The entire Silver-Blue Valley City became dead silent as if time had frozen and not even sound could travel.

“Buzz!”

By the time everything resumed its order of motion, Mo Fan was shocked to realize that the severely wounded Eight-headed Serpent was being sliced.

The Eight-headed Serpent was so terrified that it attempted to escape the deadly gaze with its remaining body. However, the three greatest totem beasts blocked its way.

“Roar!”

The Eight-headed Snake roared in fear and agony. Before this, it was still fighting without any intention of retreating but now, it tried to escape as though it could see its own inevitable death. It tried to flee but its multiple heads had different opinions. They all tried escaping in different directions…

Chapter 2786: The True Features of the National Beast

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The vainglorious Eight-Headed Serpent with supreme demonic aura was terrified and restless, like a mouse being chased with a rod. The National Beast from the Kingdom of the Fallen Beasts had not only crushed it, but it had also trampled its willpower.

Mo Fan looked up at it. But the National Beast was in a mysterious kingdom and still wasn’t clearly visible.

According to Pang Lai, the National Beast had once appeared in China. It was at a higher level than the Black Totem Snake.

Although the Eight-headed Serpent was severely wounded and the three totem beasts had laid the groundwork, there was still a long way to go to actually kill it. But the National Beast had slayed it effortlessly!

The Eight-headed Serpent could not escape. Mo Fan was both shocked and curious about this majestic creature.

The National Beast did not really show itself. Instead, it merely used its ancient dimensional force through its eyes to kill the Eight-headed Serpent. If they managed to summon the National Beast to this world fully, wouldn’t it be strong enough to kill the mastermind villain, the Black Claw Emperor itself?

It was an Emperor. Even Pang Lai had never expected it to be an Emperor-level creature.

Over the years, Pang Lai had been searching for a Supreme Holy Spirit in the Kingdom of the Fallen Beasts. With his piety and perseverance, he finally reached a mutual consent with the National Beast, and it had agreed to fight for him.

…

Pang Lai felt as though all his dreams had come true.

The National Beast was high and mighty. It was mysterious and unpredictable. It had granted his wish and destroyed the enemy before him.

If they really wanted to make it descend to the world and fight the war, decades of sincerity, perseverance, and hard work were far from enough.

The Eight-headed Serpent was dead. And it could not be resurrected. Its heads were scattered in different directions. It still looked as ferocious and hideous as ever, even in death.

Its body, sliced to pieces, was strewn upon the mountain valley. Everything was covered in blood. The blood flowed in rivulets down to the ground and soaked the earth.

The Ocean Demon troop was terrified. The powerful Eight-headed Serpent was killed, and they did not have the courage to enter the valley.

With the help of the National Beast’s majesty, Mo Fan carried the frail Pang Lai and hopped onto the back of the Black Totem Snake.

“Hurry up, let’s go now!”

The Silver-Blue Valley City had turned to ruins. The Black Totem Snake glided through the city and escaped along the waterfall. Without the Eight-headed Serpent, the Ocean Demons could not stop the powerful Black Totem Snake.

The Ocean Demons did not expect the least likely penetrable direction to become an escape route for the two humans. The scattered Hunter Dirty Demons smelled Mo Fan and Pang Lai and chased after them.

However, these sneaky demons could not escape from the Green East Sea God’s eyes. The Green East Sea God choked them to death as they chased after Mo Fan and Pang Lai.

The Ocean Demons lost track of Mo Fan and Pang Lai. Hawaii was densely forested and surrounded by plenty of islands and canyons. As its archipelago rose, the island was estimated to be 20,000 square kilometers. Even though there were many Ocean Demons, they could not possibly cover entire Hawaii.

…

“I have some knowledge about healing. Let me take care of him,” Song Feiyao suggested.

“Okay. Please save him.” Mo Fan sighed. “This old man… What’s the point of showing off? He could have gotten himself killed by his own Summoning Element magical power.”

Pang Lai had fainted. He had exhausted all his energy. Fortunately, the National Beast had not really shown up. Otherwise, he could have died even before he successfully cast the spell.

Regardless, what mattered most right now was Pang Lai to live.

“Meow!”

Mo Fan was about to ask Little Loach to absorb the Eight-headed Serpent’s Soul Essence or Soul Remnant when he heard a familiar sound.

He turned around to see Night Rakshasa standing behind him. It tried to pull Mo Fan’s sleeve with its claws. Unfortunately, it was not tall enough to reach him even on its tiptoes.

Mo Fan crouched down and picked it up. “We’re fine and alive. Where’s your master?”

“Meow!”

Night Rakshasa broke itself free from Mo Fan’s arms. It made some gestures with its claws. Its silver whiskers moved.

Mo Fan did not understand what it was trying to say. He summoned Apas.

Apas liked Night Rakshasa. But when Night Rakshasa saw her, it raised its hackles.

“Don’t tease it. It’s urgent!” said Mo Fan.

“It said its master asked it to leave the team to come and find you,” said Apas.

“Jiang Yu must have been worried about us. Don’t worry. Pang Lai is exhausted and wounded. But I think he will live. Lead us to the rest of the team,” said Mo Fan.

Night Rakshasa shook its head. It did not want Mo Fan and Pang Lai to return to the team. Mo Fan was puzzled. ‘Did something happen to Jiang Yu and the team?’

Night Rakshasa rolled its eyes and drew on the soil with one of its claws. It drew several stick figures that looked like humans with hats. Those were the Royal Mages.

Night Rakshasa made one particularly hideous. It even added fangs. It poked it with its claws.

Mo Fan understood what Night Rakshasa was trying to express even without Apas’ help. The hideous man that it had drawn was a spy!

“Did Jiang Yu discover this?” Mo Fan asked.

Night Rakshasa nodded.

“He doesn’t know who the spy is, so he asked you to come and look for us?”

Night Rakshasa nodded again.

“Have you found the location of Commander Hua?” Mo Fan asked again.

Night Rakshasa nodded yet again.

Mo Fan was shocked. So, the Ocean Demons were not the ones who trapped them with the blood-stained glove…

The reason the Ocean Demons surrounded the entire mountain valley as soon as they found the glove was because someone inside their team had informed them!

‘Who is the Ocean Demon’s puppet? Are they being controlled by the Godly Horde Prophet? Even the Royal Mages could be infiltrated by the Godly Horde Prophet?’

Night Rakshasa drew a scroll on the ground.

“The scroll that can cure Commander Hua is still with the Guards of the Four Directions?” asked Mo Fan.

Chapter 2787: Leaving No Way Out

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Night Rakshasa knew where Commander Hua might be. But the main thing right now was not the reunion with Commander Hua but to find the Healing Scroll.

They had to heal Commander Hua. After all, Hawaii was full of the Ocean Demons spies, including humans who might have become their puppets. If they acted recklessly, Commander Hua may die even if they found him.

“That’s impossible…” Pang Lai awakened. He coughed and choked. He was too anxious to stay calm.

Song Feiyao handed him some herbs to chew on. It helped with his coughing. He disagreed with Night Rakshasa and Jiang Yu.

“Do you think Jiang Yu is just worrying for nothing?” asked Mo Fan.

“Yes! A Forbidden Mage performed spiritual cleansing on each and every one of us before departure. If any of us were being used as a puppet, he would have found out.Although he cannot use his magic power on a large scale, he can accurately identify the culprit within a small team. None of us are under the Godly Horde Prophet’s manipulation,” Pang Lai said firmly.

1

Mo Fan inevitably turned to Apas. Apas knew what Mo Fan was going to ask.

“It’s true that humans can find out the puppets who are under the Godly Horde Prophet’s manipulation using the Forbidden Curse. It’s like how I can identify the puppets if you let me interrogate them spiritually.”

Mo Fan did not have a good understanding about spiritual magical power. If what Apas said was true, then what had gone wrong?

Pang Lai confirmed that there were no puppets among them. But Jiang Yu seemed to think otherwise.

‘Was there anything wrong with either Pang Lai or Jiang Yu?’ Mo Fan shook his head to dismiss the thought.

The probability of either of them becoming a suspicious target was low. Jiang Yu and Night Rakshasa had found Commander Hua. If Jiang Yu was a puppet, he could have just delivered the message to the Ocean Demons. There was no need for him to go to extra lengths to inform them and take precautions like this.

As for Pang Lai, if he was a puppet, he would have stopped the Eight-headed Serpent from killing them. If Mo Fan had not returned for him, Pang Lai would have sacrificed himself to save the others.Besides, Jiang Yu had specially asked Night Rakshasa to inform them about the truth. Jiang Yu trusted Pang Lai. Both had proven themselves to be loyal.

“Are there any puppets within us?” Mo Fan did not know how to make a decision.

Song Feiyao looked at Pang Lai and then at Mo Fan. “Why must you assume there are puppets among us?”

“Do you also think that Jiang Yu is just worried about nothing?” asked Mo Fan.

“Jiang Yu is usually an idiot. I wonder why he is spewing nonsense at this time. But it was good of him to inform us secretly through Night Rakshasa. Otherwise, our team spirit would be affected. If that happens, how will we ever save Commander Hua?” Pang Lai said sulkily.

Pang Lai was not an idiot. He was the Chief Royal Guard. He had witnessed a lot of deceit in his time,

There was a strict requirement in the selection of a Royal Mage. After someone was selected to hold the position, that person had a very low probability of being manipulated by the Godly Horde Prophet.

Also, Pang Lai had taken into consideration whether there were any Godly Horde Prophet’s puppets within his team even before they began their journey. He had baptized their spirits before departure.

The Forbidden Mage could not possibly be the one who had been manipulated by the Godly Horde Prophet. If there were so many of the authorities under the Godly Horde Prophet’s manipulation, Ocean Demons would have defeated humans long ago, and humans could not have fought and held out for so long.

“Old Pang, let us listen to what Song Feiyao has to say. She is an outsider. She might have a more unbiased perspective and actually know something that we might have overlooked,” said Mo Fan.

Pang Lai nodded.

“Not everyone stays the same forever. While it may be true that none of your teammates are under the Godly Horde Prophet’s manipulation, this doesn’t mean one cannot collude with the Ocean Demons of one’s own free will. People always betray each other for various reasons like fear, greed, and so on.”

Mo Fan and Pang Lai were speechless. She was right. Why must they assume that someone in their team was Godly Horde Prophet’s puppets? Maybe that person had willingly sided with the Ocean Demons to betray them. That was even worse…

After all, the puppets were under theGodly Horde Prophet’s control and carried out things without their own willingness. Traitors, on the other hand, were not under anyone’s control. They did it willingly. It could be even more damaging.

Pang Lai was silent for a long time. He had overlooked such detail due to his own stubbornness.

“If I were that person who willingly turned a spy, I would first use my teammates to find Commander Hua’s location. I would then inform the Ocean Demons about it. Secondly, I would try to sabotage the team’s mission so that Commander Hua is isolated and can be killed,” said Song Feiyao.

“So, the Ocean Demons weren’t the ones who set us up with that glove,” said Pang Lai, realization finally dawning in his face.

“Right. It’s true that the glove belonged to Commander Hua. There’s a high possibility that he left behind his glove to confuse the Ocean Demons,” said Mo Fan.

“So, the traitor was disappointed when Night Rakshasa found Commander Hua’s glove. And he or she informed the Ocean Demons and let them surround the mountain valley to destroy our team, correct?” Pang Lai continued.

“If that’s the case, they are constantly under the Ocean Demons’ control. Night Rakshasa, Jiang Yu…” Mo Fan said.

Night Rakshasa sensed something and immediately rushed back to where it came from. Jiang Yu and the team were in danger!

Even though they had escaped into the dense tropical rainforest, if the traitor was around, the Ocean Demons could locate them anytime!

The traitor no longer expected the Royal Mages to locate Commander Hua, so he might have decided to kill everyone!

“Idiot! He’s an idiot! How can he let Night Rakshasa leave him alone! Stupid!” Pang Lai helped himself up shakily. He cursed at Jiang Yu while wiping at his tears.

Jiang Yu noticed the presence of the traitor when they escaped to the rainforest.

He knew that death awaited him.

Yet he had asked Night Rakshasa to inform Mo Fan and Pang Lai so that they could continue the mission.

He, however, exposed himself to the Ocean Demon troop.

Chapter 2788: Red Cardinal

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Ticktack!”

“Ticktack!”

The sound was faint. Whenever he heard the sound, he felt a searing pain in his wrists and ankles.

Jiang Yu opened his eyes. Everything in front of him was blurry. He had no idea when the rain had poured so heavily on the sandalwood mountain city. The domes of the high-rise buildings were covered in gray mist. The tumultuous sound of the rain, wind, and lightning filled the unknown place.

The faint sound did not come from the rain. It came from him and the people next to him.

Jiang Yu saw the downpour outside the windowless buildings. It was raining heavily. He saw his team members fall in a pool of blood one after the other. The blood had not completely dried up and was flowing outside the building.

They were dead. All of them were dead.

Why was he still alive?

Jiang Yu tried to move. But the pain was excruciating. He almost passed out. It was only then that he knew that he had lost his hands and legs.

Someone had cut them. Blood was gushing out. The ‘ticktack’ was the sound of his blood dripping on the cold ground.

“Once again, where’s the cat?!” Jiang Yu heard a voice.

He slowly came to his senses. He thought he was at the doors of death. Jiang Yu did not answer his interrogator. He tried to move. His back and his chest had been pierced by hooks. He was floating mid-air.

“Why… why did you side with the Ocean demons?” asked Jiang Yu through the haze of pain.

“Side with them? We share the same goal,” said Nan Shou Baixu.

“Same goal? You’re a human and they are demons. How can you share the same goal? Can the Ocean Demons give you all that you want? Ocean Demons are intelligent, but they are no different from the demons out there who want to devour our flesh and bones,” Jiang Yu said.

Nan Shou Baixu walked behind Jiang Yu and kicked Wang Ping’s corpse outside the building.

The building had forty stories. It did not have any windows or walls. It was an incomplete building. Wang Ping’s body was flung outside in the rain. It fell amongst the blue ocean monsters.

The blue ocean monsters were half human and half fish. They were not the legendary mermaid or merman from the folklores. They were much bigger in size compared to humans. They were sturdy with scales growing on their bodies. Their chests and shoulders were armed with large and sharp scales. The rest of their bodies were covered with finer scales that resembled soft armors.

Their lower half was fish. It was thick and powerful. They were covered with hard scales that served as their armors. They stood on the sandalwood mountain like blue armored tanks.

They had grown to such a terrifying level that most magic was useless against them.

The Fish Men Generals were carnivorous. They swarmed to devour Wang Ping’s corpse. They tore the body into pieces.

Nan Shou Baixu stood by the edge of the building. He looked down. “Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!”

He then turned to Jiang Yu with a smile. “I left just a tiny breath of life in them so they can feel every moment of being torn apart by those monsters. Now, again, where is the cat?”

“Do they have control over your mind? If yes, you’re just an Ocean Demon with a brain. You should stay under the ocean with them instead of coming ashore and asking me,” said Jiang Yu.

Nan Shou Baixu dragged another Royal Mage and walked to the edge of the building.

He then flung the Royal Mage down. Blood splattered in the hazy rain. The Fish Men Generals roared, as if telling Nan Shou Baixu that they still had not had enough of the bodies.

“What makes you think my mind is under the Godly Horde Prophet’s control? What good use is a puppet, anyway? Puppets are under someone else’s control, whereas I… Before I forget, Forbidden City and the Enforcement Union have both misunderstood something,” Nan Shou Baixu said as he approached Jiang Yu.

“What misunderstanding?” Jiang Yu asked.

Nan Shou Baixu let out a bark of laughter all of a sudden. “I never expected you to be the first to know my identity. Anyway, there’s no point for me to continue to hide my identity. I’m long forgotten. But from now on, no one will dare to overlook me.”

Over the years, Nan Shou Baixu executed missions as the Royal Mage to the point where he almost forgot his other identity.

“They are only aware of Salan but not me, Jiu Ying. Everyone knows the Red Cardinal in China, and all of them think that person is Salan. Even the Enforcement Union thought so. How hilarious is that?!” Nan Shou Baixu paced as he looked at Jiang Yu.

He smiled satisfactorily when he noticed Jiang Yu was shocked.

“Salan escaped from abroad into China. She was a newly risen Red Cardinal. However, she was not the Red Cardinal that represented China. I am the Red Cardinal of China!”

Nan Shou Baixu revealed his identity with pride, as if delivering some sort of speech.

Red Cardinals had the highest ambition of trampling the world under their feet for power.

Over the years, everyone was focused on Salan. Salan was thought to be the Red Cardinal of China. She was as terrifying as Anubis. The world feared her because of the disaster she had caused at Ancient Capital.

However, in the eyes of Nan Shou Baixu, Salan was nothing more than a madwoman. She fled into China to achieve her revenge. After that, she became the Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican and wreaked havoc at the Ancient City. Her actions had distracted everyone from the true Red Cardinal of China—Jiu Ying.

Not many people in this world were aware of Jiu Ying. They only knew about Salan. Nan Shou Baixu concealed his humiliation until today…

The moment the Forbidden Mage of China, Hua Zhanhong dies, no one would ever dare overlook him.

By then, the world would recognize him as the only Red Cardinal of China, and he would be the Supreme Pontiff!

Chapter 2789: Night Rakshasa’s Fury

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Salan is nothing. She hid behind the public curtain and used those frail and useless people as sacrifices. Even though she had the numbers, the world was never lacking in human population.”

“I, on the other hand, am going to kill Hua Zhanhong. He is the top-notched Forbidden Mage and commander of this country. The country wouldn’t suffer many losses if an entire city of people were killed. But if Hua Zhanhong is killed, people in the East Coastline won’t be able to hold back the Emperor of the Ocean Godly Horde.”

Jiu Ying was absorbed in his plan. His silence and humiliation over the years were all worth this moment alone. Salan would soon be forgotten.

The other Red Cardinals liked to spread evil and their stupid ideology, but Jiu Ying was different from them. He could not recruit disciples on a large scale like Salan and the other Red Cardinals due to his identity that was bound to the Supreme Pontiff.

Without disciples, he could not exert significant influence over the people. It would be difficult to execute his horrific plans.

Over the years, Jiu Ying had been hiding his true self. He had never shown any traces of it. He had assimilated into normal society and joined higher ranks in the country.Otherwise, he would have long been eliminated by various strict screenings. He might not have been able to join the important departments of the government.

Forbidden City had stringent requirements. It represented China’s most powerful force and was closely connected with the country, the government, the army, and the Magic Association. It was not an easy feat to hold a position as the Guard of the South.

However, in order to achieve his goal, Jiu Ying had almost erased his true identity. If it had not been for this chance, he would have continued living as Nan Shou Baixu or taken over the entire Forbidden City.

With the support from the Supreme Pontiff, he stood a great chance of becoming the Chief of Forbidden City.

Unfortunately, what was the point of becoming a Chief of Forbidden City in this era where the East Coastline was on the verge of collapse? The moment the Ocean Demons launched an attack, humans would be exterminated sooner or later, like a bunch of sheeps waiting to be slaughtered.

What was the ideology of Black Vatican? It was to exterminate humans!

Colluding with the Ocean Demons was the best decision the Black Vatican had ever made. They would require many Red Cardinal and Supreme Pontiff to make the Church Feast a success. However, with the help of the Ocean Demons, the Church Feast could be a reality!

“Do you really think that Hua Zhanhong can leave Hawaii alive? The moment he dies, the Ocean Godly Horde army will launch a mass attack. You will then realize how powerful they are! Puny humans on the dry lands can never fight them,” Jiu Ying walked to the edge once again.

The Fish Men Generals roared. Jiu Ying returned to Jiang Yu’s side. He pulled at the hook and dragged Jinag Yu to the edge of the building.

Jiang Yu’s blood dripped to the ground. He was at his weakest. He had suffered excessive blood loss and began to lose consciousness.

“Look down there,” Jiu Ying said.

Jiang Yu looked. The street was filled with corpses. Their team didn’t have many Royal Mages. The residents who had not been able to leave the place had been brutally eaten by the Ocean Demons.

“I’ve given you so many chances. Unfortunately, it seems like you don’t care. Don’t worry about Night Rakshasa, it can’t possibly escape very far. Soon, I’ll grab its neck and toss it down this building, too. My only concern is I’m not sure if the Fish Men Generals enjoy cat flesh,” Jiu Ying had lost his patience.

Jiang Yu could not even struggle. He closed his eyes. He felt dizzy. He felt that this was a blessing in disguise. At the very least, he did not have to experience the pain of being torn apart and chewed by the Fish Men Generals if he fainted.

“Meow!”

Jiang Yu sighed. He heard the voice that he was most familiar with. He had been with Night Rakshasa for a very long time. Its soft purr occasionally rang in his mind even if it wasn’t close…

When Jiang Yu was twelve, he had lost his family. None of his kin were willing to take him in. He had headed to the police station with his parents’ death certificate in his hands and been assigned to an orphanage three thousand kilometers away from his house.

After a long journey by train, car, motorcycle, and on foot, Jiang Yu had finally arrived at the isolated and neglected orphanage.The orphanage was abandoned. There were no management officers, nor any orphans to be seen. The dilapidated mansion looked like a haunted house. It was eerie and creepy.

Jiang Yu had nowhere else to go. He was exhausted. Thus, he cleaned up a tiny space and slept there. He covered under a dirty blanket and went to sleep.

The next morning before sunrise, he heard a faint sound outside the door. When he opened the door, there was a tiny kitten. It had just come into this world.

The kitten was inside a cardboard box. Someone had left it at the orphanage while he slept. But the orphanage was deserted, and Jiang Yu was the only person who was there.

“No one wants me. But you’re very lucky to have me here.” That was what he had said to Night Rakshasa.

“Meow!” Night Rakshasa had purred weakly.

…

He had never forgotten that miserable sound. He often heard it meowing in his mind. Whenever Jiang Yu was lost or alone, its meowing gave him the courage to go on.

Jiang Yu was afraid. But remembering his cat made him feel better.

He wondered about Pang Lai. He hoped his master was safe and sound. After all, Pang Lai was the reason he had become a respectable mage. After Jiang Yu spent a year in the orphanage, Pang Lai had passed by and adopted him.

As long as they were fine, he had achieved his purpose.

Strong breeze blew the rainwater onto his face. Jiang Yu knew he would be flung down. Jiang Yu felt a soft energy beside him.

“Meow!”

Night Rakshasa’s meow rang out. It did not sound soft. Instead, it sounded enraged.

Jiang Yu had first heard such an infuriated meow from Night Rakshasa when several gangsters had attempted to occupy the orphanage and pushed him to the ground.

Chapter 2790: Fish Man Chief

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Fish Men Generals roared. They were expecting delicious human flesh, all tender and juicy but had not anticipated that something would pull the falling person back to the building.

Jiang Yu was on the eighth floor of the building, so the Fish Men Generals climbed up to pull him to them with their scaly arms. For demons such as themselves, Jiang Yu was no more than a little mouse hiding in a hole waiting to be caught.

“Meow!”

The sharp claws struck out at an impossible speed. The Fish Men Generals’ armor sprouted multiple scratches and blood oozed out of them.

A lightning bolt struck above the street. It hit the burly Fish Men Generals and tore them into pieces where the scratches were on their bodies. The flesh fell to the side of the building in a puddle of blood.

The other Fish Men Generals roared and stared at the black and agile figure standing on the tower-shaped streetlamp. They radiated a violent aura that caused the fierce rain on the street to move in the opposite direction.

The Fish Men Generals charged. Many of them were holding weapons like bone hammers. They were huge. When they smashed the bone hammers at the streetlamps, it destroyed all the surrounding shops.

Night Rakshasa was agile. When the Fish Men Generals swung their bone hammers, it dexterously jumped on top of one of the hammers.

The Fish Man General thought the hammer might send the little black cat flying, but when it heard a terrifying cat cry coming from its back, it raised its head to see that Night Rakshasa was perched on its hammer!

A black figure passed by so fast that the Fish Man General could not see the movement of its claw. Night Rakshasa chopped off the head of the Fish Man General, and blood poured like a fountain from the stump where the head had been.

The other Fish Men Generals roared in fury. Four or five of them surrounded the Night Rakshasa. They trapped it, forming something like a wall with their bodies. Together, they raised their demonic weapons and swung at Night Rakshasa.

Boom!

The whole street shattered. Hundreds of cracks spread quickly from the area. The force lifted the cars, buses, and motorcycles abandoned at the side of the road and slammed many vehicles into the surrounding cement buildings.

The downpour stopped for a while. Several Fish Men Generals stared at the pit to check whether the nimble cat was dead or not.

When they looked, they did not see Night Rakshasa anywhere. They only saw a black, circular saw blade that spun and expanded continuously.

The Fish Men Generals were frightened and retreated. The black, circular saw blade expanded faster and faster. Soon, the circular saw blade drew all of them within its vicinity.

They were cut into pieces of flesh so thin that they were almost transparent. The Fish Men Generals were unable to escape from the spinning black circular saw blade. Night Rakshasa had cut them into sashimi. Its knife work was as meticulous as compared to that of a five-star chef.

A strange sound followed. On the other side of the street, a blue-armored giant, much taller than the building near it, suddenly stood up. It had appeared to be dozing off just a while ago. But now it roared as it saw that several Fish Men Generals were dead.

It was the Fish Man Chief. The armor on its body did not look like ordinary scales at all. They looked like rare metal smelted together to form scales. Even the luster of it was astonishing.

The Fish Man Chief crushed all the buildings near it. It stared at Night Rakshasa with contempt and arrogance while the cat stood on the street alone.

A mighty eagle chirped. A green figure slashed toward the city like lightning and hit the majestic Fish Man Chief. The green light lifted the Fish Man Chief into the air and appeared into the gray sky.

The other Fish Men Generals charged toward Night Rakshasa. They were following the Fish Man Chief, but it suddenly disappeared from amongst them.

A strange sound echoed, and the Fish Men Generals raised their heads. They saw that the Fish Man Chief was falling down from the clouds and mist of the torrential rain. When the Fish Man Chief hit the ground, its abdomen and chest were hollowed out.

The strengths of the Fish Men Generals and the Fish Man Chief were on another level. The Fish Men Generals wanted to rely on the Fish Man Chief to get rid of the enemy in front of them. But their leader was now dead. They did not even know what had killed the Fish Man Chief. There had been a cry in the sky and now their chief was dead.

When Night Rakshasa saw that the Fish Man Chief was dead, it jumped through the buildings and went to find Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu had lost his arms and legs, so he could not stand up. When he saw the black figure rushing to him, tears fell from his eyes. His vision was blurry.

“Meow.”

Night Rakshasa jumped onto Jiang Yu’s body and licked him with its little tongue. When it saw Jiang Yu’s miserable state, its pupils dilated in anger.

“Squeak. Squeak.”

A Dirty Hunter with a red body crawled on the floor and approached Jiang Yu and Night Rakshasa. Night Rakshasa’s fur bristled.

“Hiss.”

A purple-haired female demon appeared behind Jiang Yu. Its vicious eyes stared at Night Rakshasa, and there were countless eels all over its body that would open their mouths and grind their teeth.

“You two have a good relationship. I knew your little black cat would come to you eventually. The whole thing will work out! I can even return to the Forbidden City as the only survivor of the entire team of Royal Mages.”Jiu Ying jumped down and slowly approached Jiang Yu and Night Rakshasa.

Night Rakshasa was enraged. It glared at Jiu Ying. This was the man who had tortured Jiang Yu. Night Rakshasa would never forgive this villain.

Its black fur moved, and it radiated a demonic energy. The demonic aura formed a vortex underneath it.

Chapter 2791: Ghostly Energy Sword

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Red Hunter Dirty Demon’s moved fast. It charged at Jiang Yu’s back. The cunning creature seemed to know that Night Rakshasa would protect its human at any cost, so it took advantage of it to find Night Rakshasa’s weakness.

Night Rakshasa’s demonic energy changed. It was in attack mode when it was fighting multiple enemies but now it went into defense. The Purple-Haired Female Demon moved forward. It spread its seaweed hair wildly, covering everything like a swarm of foliage.

The Red Hunter Dirty Demon launched its attack and aimed at Night Rakshasa’s eyes. The sharp claws could even become a thin needle that was almost invisible. The needle-like claws extended at an impossible speed.

A few black furs fell. Night Rakshasa tilted its head slightly. A small hole appeared on the building and dozens of other buildings on the street.

Jiang Yu was shocked. This Red Hunter Dirty Demon was probably the most dangerous among the other Hunter Dirty Demons. Its power was frightening.

The Purple-Haired Female Demon was still approaching. The seaweed hair turned into vicious water snakes and tried to entangle the Night Rakshasa.

Those Tooth Eels on the Purple-Haired Female Demon could open its maw to reveal rows of fangs. These fangs were sharp and hideous.

Night Rakshasa could not step away from Jiang Yu even for a minute. The continuous attacks from the front and back were making it tired.

“It’s so touching. You two can die together.” Jiu Ying grinned.

Wisps of ghostly energy slowly emerged from the palm of his hand. The ghostly energies turned into a moon-shaped sword. The Ghostly Energy Moon Sword was already hanging above Jiang Yu’s head. Night Rakshasa did not notice it.

However, Jiu Ying did not intend to kill a defunct Summoner. The most important thing for him was to get rid of Night Rakshasa.

If Jiang Yu died, Night Rakshasa might escape. Even if he failed to take over the Forbidden City, asNan Shou, he would be able to occupy the top three highest positions in the Forbidden City if the other masters dropped dead.

There was something strange about the Ghostly Energy Moon Sword. It moved only in one direction. It appeared near the target without warning. When the target finally realized the sword was moving in its direction, it was often too late to react.

The Night Rakshasa was already dealing with two powerful Ocean Demons. Jiu Ying was familiar with Night Rakshasa. Even if its destructive power was remarkable, it usually fled to safety when it smelled an aura more powerful than it was.

The Night Rakshasa wasn’t very strong physically. But it was extremely difficult to launch a sneak attack on it because of its alert nature. The only way that can be used to restrain and defeat Night Rakshasa was by using Jiang Yu as bait. When it was exhausted, Jiu Ying would kill it slowly.

Jiu Ying was Nan Shou of the Forbidden City and ranked second in strength among the four guards. However, he could not win against Bei Shou if he did not use the sorcery of the Black Vatican. If he fought seriously, the other three guards might not survive the fight.

The Red Cardinals usually liked to accept disciples from a wide range, but Jiu Ying preferred to improve himself and pursue a higher realm.

Swish.

The Ghostly Energy Moon Sword moved without a trace. It was right above the Night Rakshasa now.

The reason Night Rakshasa had moved here was to avoid the venom of the Seaweed-Haired Female Demon, so it could not take a step back and figure out a way. If the Night Rakshasa continued to avoid the venom, the Ghostly Energy Moon Sword would chop off its head.

Night Rakshasa’s fur bristled. It moved too fast and passed the sword! It did not launch a counterattack against the Seaweed-Haired Female Demon. The Seaweed-Haired Female Demon had already revealed its weakness when it sprayed the venom. Night Rakshasa could severely injure it if it attacked now.

However, the Night Rakshasa did not attack. It was infuriated at Jiu Ying. It speeded up and charged at him. Jiu Ying sneered. The cat had lost its rationale. It could kill the powerful Seaweed-Haired Female Demon, but it wanted to kill Jiu Ying first.

It was not easy to kill the Red Cardinal. Jiu Ying’s palm condensed dark green ghostly energy. The ghostly energy filled the surroundings.

Night Rakshasa moved around in the place full of malevolent energy. Occasionally, the Ghostly Energy Moon Sword would attack, and Night Rakshasa was barely able to dodge it.

As Night Rakshasa approached Jiu Ying, the Ghostly Energy Moon Sword attacked frequently. It was a huge sword formation that waited patiently for Night Rakshasa to fall into its trap.

Night Rakshasa had many wounds on its body. Although none of the injuries were serious, the ghostly energy would still seep through and spread in the body. It was more terrifying than poison as it consumed all the vital organs in the body until it became a dry corpse.

Night Rakshasa rushed toward Jiu Ying. When it got close to Jiu Ying, his smile became more dangerous.

Swish.

Suddenly, hundreds of Ghostly Energy Moon Swords appeared within ten meters around Jiu Ying and slashed wildly.

Night Rakshasa had a powerful ability to escape moving objects. Most objects that moved too fast were still slow in its eyes. But the Ghostly Energy Moon Swords were so dense that Night Rakshasa could find even a small gap between them. It was a deadly sword formation!

Chapter 2792: Why Be a Beast?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

However, the Night Rakshasa did not retreat. It did not stop advancing at Jiu Ying. But it did pay a very painful price. No matter how small and flexible it was, it was still able to get hurt. The black fur was coated with red.

The red figure rushed to attack Jiu Ying’s neck. He sneered. Night Rakshasa thought it could kill Jiu Ying, but it underestimated his strength as Nan Shou of the Forbidden City.

Jiu Ying emanated a ghostly energy, and he disappeared and flew to every space that the malevolent energy touched. Although the range of movement was not vast, it was still enough to dodge Night Rakshasa’s claws.

Night Rakshasa’s changed its directions halfway. Jiu Ying was too powerful. Night Rakshasa could kill someone in seconds, but Jiu Ying had a strange skill that avoided it.

Night Rakshasa barely left a scratch on the back of Jiu Ying’s hand.

Jiu Ying turned to look at the blood oozing from a light scratch. The corners of his mouth curled up.

“You fought to death just for this?” Jiu Ying mocked.

Night Rakshasa was severely injured. The Ghostly Energy Moon Swords had slashed it many times. Although they were all minor injuries, the ghostly energy was hurting it.

“Meow.”

Night Rakshasa was still moving.

“What’s wrong? Are you not going to die with your master? Come here. We’ve known each other for so many years, so I can still generously fulfill this last wish of yours.”

Jiu Ying did not care about the scratch on the back of his hand. Night Rakshasa was not poisonous. It only had sharp claws. He did not need to care for a little scratch.

Night Rakshasa made a strange move. It titled its head and threw a shiny silver object in the other direction.

Someone caught it. He had black hair, dark brown eyes and a charming smile on his face. He stared at Jiu Ying as though he was a prey.

Jiu Ying looked at the silver object and finally realized what the cat had been playing at. Space Bracelet!

His Space Bracelet was gone!

Jiu Ying’s face darkened. The eerie energy around his body made him look like a vengeful ghost. Rakshasa hadn’t been trying to fight him. It was trying to steal his Space Bracelet!

The Forbidden City custom-made this Space Bracelet, and there was only one thing inside. It was an important scroll that could heal Commander Hua. Jiu Ying and the Ocean Demons had killed Bei Shou and snatched the bracelet.

“Night Rakshasa, thank you for your hard work.” Mo Fan glanced at the bleeding Night Rakshasa.

He slowly walked toward Jiu Ying. “I’ll take care of this bastard from the Black Vatican.”

Mo Fan was a professional in assassinating members of the Black Vatican. He enjoyed destroying them. He always used them to practice his newly learnt skills whenever they caused trouble.

Mo Fan did not mind having such a dark mindset towards them. Mo Fan had seen the cruelty of the Black Vatican. He knew how vicious they were. He had lost so many people he respected and cared for at their hands.

Mo Fan had to make himself cold and cruel to deal with people as evil as them. He thought of them as prey and enjoyed hunting them.

“You, especially a Red Cardinal, are great at patience, I have to say. If you hadn’t exposed yourself, I believe no one would have thought that the guard of the Forbidden City would be the leader of the Black Vatican. I know that people from the Black Vatican don’t look much different from ordinary people. You could have continued your ordinary life. You could live with dignity and compassion. Why be a beast?”

If they were the beast, then Mo Fan was the butcher. When Jiu Ying watched Mo Fan approach, he took a few steps back. He thought of taking Jiang Yu as a hostage and taking advantage of it to kill him.

Mo Fan was bloodthirsty when it came to the Black Vatican. He believed he could even kill the Red Cardinal if it came to that. His murderous intent was clear.

Jiu Ying stared at Mo Fan and composed himself. “Kill that pathetic person without his limbs,” ordered Jiu Ying.

When he turned to look at the Red Hunter Dirty Demon, he realized that Jiang Yu was gone. A huge moth flew into the air carrying Jiang Yu.

The Healing Scroll was gone, too. Mo Fan had taken both Jiang Yu and the healing scroll. The humiliation made Jiu Ying’s face twitch.

…

Mo Fan had stayed on stand-by. He had arrived there with Night Rakshasa, but he did not act because he didn’t want Jiang Yu killed and the Healing Scroll destroyed.

He could only let Night Rakshasa do its part to save its master’s life. When the Ghostly Energy Moon Swords appeared, Night Rakshasa was not intending to kill Jiu Ying. It was trying to steal the Healing Scroll!

They had finally gotten it back. Now the killing could ensue.

Chapter 2793: Clear Up!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Do you think you can get out of this place? Look at Honolulu for yourself!”

The Ocean Demons had occupied this place for a long time. The Ocean Godly Horde had given Jiu Ying the ability of the prophet of the ocean, so all the powerful Ocean Demons in Honolulu obeyed him. But he was still afraid, and he didn’t know why.

Jiu Ying’s pupils began to change. A blue blood filled his eyeballs making them appear strange.

The whole city of Honolulu was in a frenzy. Countless Fish Men Generals appeared in the streets. They surrounded the city like a military parade, and the rare metal-like scales on their bodies flickered.

The army of the Hunter Dirty Demons climbed onto the building and used the whole city as their lair. The Fish Men Generals occupied the streets, while all the buildings were full of Hunter Dirty Demons. The most conspicuous of them were the Red Hunter Dirty Demons. The smooth scales of their bodies create a strange illusion, making it difficult to judge their movement.

The Sword Fish with the special hook kept appearing in the rainstorm. They kept increasing in numbers. It felt as if they could destroy the entire city if they slowly lowered themselves.

Jiu Ying smiled at the scene. These people thought they could win because they had some stupid tricks up their sleeves, but they did not know that entire Hawaii was under the control of the Ocean Godly Horde. The emperor had control of it. All the rescue teams would die in the end, and so would Commander Hua.

The sky thundered. Lightning bolts appeared in the rainstorm and connected to form a white, electrifying chain.

The white lightning chains did not cover the clouds but hung down one after another. Their power was terrifying. They constantly generated lightning waves, which disintegrated the bodies of the Sword Fish.

Among the dense lightning chains, there was a green shadow of a horse. It shuttled between clouds, heavy rain, lightning, and the Sword Fish. It messed up the formation of the fishes forcing them to disperse and interrupting their destructive power.

A big snake with poisonous fog slithered on the crushed street. The Fish Men Generals looked mighty, but they were no different from ants in front of the huge snake.

When the snake breathed out, the poisonous fog penetrated the sky and the earth. It sent the Fish Men Generals flying and paralyzed their bodies.

Many white lightning chains were hanging down from the sky like white vines. The paralyzed Fish Men Generals burned as the lightning touched them.

…

With two totem beasts barring the way, , the Ocean Demons could not get close to the building.

The Black Totem Snake seemed to understand Mo Fan’s needs. It took the Red Hunter Dirty Demons and Purple-Haired Female Demon away and left the dilapidated building to just Mo Fan and Jiu Ying.

“I don’t know whether I will win or lose this fight, but the protection from the two Totems has given me enough time to kill you.” The dark aura on Mo Fan’s body grew stronger.

Jiu Ying felt the ground turn to mush. He looked down to see that Mo Fan had set the Dark Swamp in this area.

Jiu Ying had been too busy using his ability given by the Ocean Godly Horde to call all demons that he had forgotten to pay attention to the invasion of Black Substance. He only realized it when it was up to his knees.

The suppression power of Mo Fan’s Black Substance was very strong. Jiu Ying tried to get rid of the substance. It would hamper his ability.

There were flaws in the dark realm. Jiu Ying was a very experienced mage. He was a mage from the Forbidden City which was one of the top Magic Associations in China.

When he was just about to find the flaws in the dark realm, a large flame ignited into a flaming giant. Before Jiu Ying knew what was going on, he saw the divine fire surrounding Mo Fan. The flaming giant was Mo Fan, and the violent divine fire made him appear larger and powerful than he was.

Jiu Ying moved. The Ghostly Energy spread to the surroundings. He could occupy any space where the Ghostly Energy spread.

He wanted to avoid the flaming giant, but the flaming giant was still growing. The force of the collision spread to the city park and destroyed the entire building.

Jiu Ying did not even have time to hide before force hit him. He had mastered a type of light-controlling technique. Otherwise, he might have turned to ash like the streets and buildings around.

He could not understand why a Mage who had just advanced to Super Level could burst out so much terrifying power.

The Goddess Soul Shadow showed the most dazzling glow. Mo Fan was suspended mid-air in the sky above the city park that was burning. He stared at Jiu Ying on the ground.

Jiu Ying was angry.

The army of Ocean Demons and the two totem beasts were fighting. However, it was fairly empty where Jiu Ying and Mo Fan were. It looked like a battlefield was deliberately cleared up by Totem Beasts for them to fight.

Jiu Ying was confused why Mo Fan was so confident in fighting him alone. He was Nan Shou of the Forbidden City, and his strength was second only to Bei Shou, Deputy Chief, and the Chief himself. Even if no one knew him as the Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican, he was still at the top in all magical fields as Nan Shou.

Mo Fan, on the other hand, was a young Mage who didn’t come from a powerful magical background. Jiu Ying would be ashamed if he wasn’t even able to defeat a fledgling mage like Mo Fan.

“Your skills are not even comparable to me!” Jiu Ying roared.

1

He raised a hand. The Ghostly Energy surged, and a terrifying Ghostly Energy Moon Sword taller than the signal tower appeared behind Mo Fan!

Chapter 2794: Destruct And Trample

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan was suspended in the air, and the huge Ghostly Energy Moon Sword slashed at him.

The Ghostly Energy Moon Sword chopped off all the large buildings within a radius of one kilometer in one fell swoop as Jiu Ying waved it. It appeared as if a thousand giant sharp blades slashed toward Mo Fan from every direction.

The Ghostly Energy Moon Sword could even split the flames Mo Fan had spread in the surroundings.

Mo Fan’s figure was constantly flickering. Little Flame Belle had fully matured, and her understanding of space had reached a higher level. After Little Flame Belle merged with Mo Fan, he obtained her knowledge because of their merging of magic.

Mo Fan was a Space Element Mage. After possessing Little Flame Belle’s understanding of space, he could use many skills that he previously was unaware of.

There was only one Ghostly Energy Moon Sword. However, the spread of Ghostly Energy caused this to move quickly in a blur giving off an impression that multiple swords were slashing at the target.

Mo Fan used teleportation to dodge the attacks. But the Ghostly Energy Moon Sword followed Mo Fan and he could not get rid of it.

Mo Fan did not care. He teleported to different spaces and appeared next to Jiu Ying.

The Ghostly Energy Moon Sword attacked, but Mo Fan did not move. He stood there and connected all the space nodes and formed a gorgeous silver compass.

Mo Fan did not dodge this time, but Jiu Ying did not dare let the Ghostly Energy Moon Sword attack. If he did, the sword would slash him along with Mo Fan.

“Space Compass: Axis of Death!”

With this little trick, Mo Fan completed the Super Level magic of the Space Element.

A dark red axis appeared. Mo Fan moved from Jiu Ying’s right to the left. The dark red axis hit Jiu Ying’s heart by connecting Mo Fan’s afterimage like getting a thread through the eye of a needle.

Jiu Ying grimaced as he saw the compass formed by the space nodes. Jiu Ying tried his best to move, but no matter how he changed his position and direction, the entire space compass’s axis still aimed at him. Mo Fan had accurately measured the meridians on his body.

It was the Super Level magic of the Space Element. Even if Jiu Ying knew how it worked, he could not avoid it. The silver compass Mo Fan created while using the teleportation of Space Element to dodge his Ghostly Energy Moon Sword surprised Jiu Ying.

The deadly red axis passed through Jiu Ying’s heart. In the beginning, only a small, pencil-sized hole appeared on his heart. Soon, many red dots appeared in the deadly meridians corresponding to the silver nodes of the Space Compass. It looked like small laser beams.

Jiu Ying’s body was torn apart. The dark red axis of the compass cut through one of his eyeballs. Jiu Ying was in disbelief seconds before he dropped dead.

Mo Fan walked to Jiu Ying’s corpse. The divine fire did not dissipate even after Jiu Ying’s death.

Mo Fan smiled. He closed his eyes for a while. When he opened his eyes, they had turned black like a bottomless abyss that could consume everything. It was Dragon Sense.

It was the ability given to Mo Fan by the Black Dragon Soul. All the subtleties around him were immediately clear to him because of this ability.

At fewer than two hundred meters from Mo Fan, a trace of blue Ghostly Energy crawled on the Dark Swamp. Mo Fan knew what it was. He was skilled in dark magic and was a Shadow Element Mage who knew how to use Dark Puppets.

Those body parts were real. Mo Fan suspected that Jiu Ying had used a living person as his puppet and used Puppet Magic to replace him when it was critical. This trick could not deceive Mo Fan, especially his Dragon Sense.

The thing that was crawling in the Dark Swamp was Jiu Ying. He was not dead.

It was impossible to dodge the deadly axis of the Space Compass unless the person was powerful enough to destroy the space nodes. Jiu Ying knew this, so he did not defend or try to dodge it. He used the Puppet Magic to get away from the deadly axis of the Space Compass instead.

Jiu Ying was clear-headed and cunning. After all, he was Nan Shou of the Forbidden City. The strengths of the four people could resist the attack of the huge army of the Ocean Demons and fight against the Deep-Sea Lizard Dragon Demons. If Jiu Ying hadn’t hidden his identity, it would have been difficult to break the team.

“If you like to hide in the ground, stay there permanently!”

Mo Fan suddenly jumped up, and a black light appeared on his feet. It was a pair of domineering Black Dragon Boots. The boots turned Mo Fan into a mountain-sized black dragon as he jumped into the air!

The black dragon flew into the air and trampled everything. Mo Fan still had divine fire encasing his body. So, the dragon was on fire. When it trampled its feet, the force was enough to make a city disappear.

Bang!

The kick was second only to that of the black dragon itself. Jiu Ying was so frightened his body became visible and he tried his best to withstand the trampling.

But the black dragon was an emperor-level creature. Even though it had turned into a pair of boots, it could give Mo Fan an unparalleled destructive power if he had the Dragon Soul.

The earth shook violently, and the city was shaking.

Song Feiyao, the black phoenix, was in the air to block the Sword Fish with Green East Sea God’s power. When she heard the loud noise, she glanced at Mo Fan and saw a terrifying pit in the city. It seemed like an emperor-level creature had arrived.

Song Feiyao realized Mo Fan had not used all his power when he overthrew the Licheng Afterglow Island. Even without the three Totems, Mo Fan was invincible.

…

In the big pit, the bones of Jiu Ying trembled. He dragged himself with the strength of his upper body like a disabled beggar on the street. His face showed horror and he no longer had the confidence of Nan Shou or the Red Cardinal.

“I was going to use this kick only against a powerful Ocean Demon, but it’s not a loss to use it on you.” Mo Fan walked over with the Black Dragon Boots.

The power of the black dragon dissolved the objects he passed by. Mo Fan looked very much like the God of Destruction usually seen in the ancient murals!

Chapter 2795: Peep at Jiu Ying

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan grabbed Jiu Ying’s face and stared at him closely.

Jiu Ying felt the majestic power of the giant dragon emanating from Mo Fan. He never thought that Mo Fan could defeat him, and he could not believe that Mo Fan would have the blessing of the soul of the strongest creature in the world.

The Forbidden Mages could not even make the giant dragon move, but it submitted to Mo Fan and obeyed his orders.

With the power of the Black Dragon Soul, most people could not win against him.

Jiu Ying could not accept his defeat. He hid his identity and had waited for many years. In the end, he launched an attack as the Red Cardinal and sowed fear in everyone. The entire coastal area of China might have fallen to his glory. Compared to him, Salan was insignificant.

But he had lost to Mo Fan. ‘Could it be that he was the nemesis of the Black Vatican?’

“It seems like not all Red Cardinals are as difficult to deal with as Salan. It’s no wonder that you can only hide in a certain place and do such dirty, despicable, and ridiculous things,” Mo Fan said disdainfully.

Mo Fan’s words hit a sore spot. He resented the mention of Salan the most.

Salan was just a junior among all the Red Cardinals. She was insignificant. She acted like a vengeful madwoman and did not understand the true meaning of the Black Vatican.

“You haven’t seen the underwater civilization of the Ocean Godly Horde, so you don’t know what you are about to face. You have no contact with the Supreme Pontiff and don’t know what kind of a person he was, so you have no respect for the Black Vatican.” Jiu Ying stared at Mo Fan with bloodshot eyes.

“Oh?” Mo Fan raised his eyebrows. He looked at the dying person. “It seems like you know quite a lot of things. It just so happens that I have a professional torturer here.” Mo Fan summoned Apas.

Apas was not very willing to show up because there were sea monsters everywhere. But she still had to obey Mo Fan. Moreover, she feared Mo Fan’s strength.

“What do you want to know?” Apas asked.

“Everything,” said Mo Fan.

“I need a scope. Otherwise, the amount of information will be too large, and it will waste a lot of time,” Apas complained. “This guy’s cultivation is not low. If he resists, I may be injured.”

“Ask about the underwater civilization of the Ocean Godly Horde first then,” said Mo Fan.

Apas nodded. Her eyes began to change. The golden-pink pupils expanded and turned into an orb with strange colors. Jiu Ying wanted to avoid Apas’ gaze, but Medusa’s mysterious and charming eyes attracted him. He could not look away.

Apas was peeping at the memories of Jiu Ying. She was surprised to find that Jiu Ying did not resist her. There was no reason for such a person who had reached the top to be so vulnerable.

Apas had become a smart snake-haired creature after many years of cultivation. She did not rashly break into Jiu Ying’s spiritual world but created an illusion.

Jiu Ying mistakenly believed she had entered his spiritual world and stolen his memory.

“Something is wrong!” Apas let out a cry.

She took a few steps back. Her golden-pink eyes became more vigilant, as if something had provoked her. Apas’ face turned red, and her body radiated the coldness of a snake.

“What’s wrong?” Mo Fan asked.

If Jiu Ying was playing some trick, he would kill him.

“He still has some vicious tricks. I think he wants to use them to attack you.”

Jiu Ying’s face turned green and transparent, and the blood vessels on his face were visible. Through the green skin, they could see blue blood flowing in the blood vessels. His eyes were fierce and vicious.

“Can you take care of it?” Mo Fan took a few steps back. Jiu Ying appeared strange. hee was trying to fight back before he died.

“There are other weird things connected to his brain. I have to brainwash him first!” Apas said.

‘Mind control?’

Apas believed there was no ability in the world that could compare with Medusa’s. She would challenge this mysterious creature from the ocean.

“Don’t be merciful. Be as cruel as you can.”

Apas needed no encouragement. She was already torturing him.

Mental torment was far more intense than physical torment as time often stretched to eternity in the spiritual world. Even a slight pain would continue to magnify.

Apas constantly imposed multiple nightmares in the mind of Jiu Ying. His nightmares repeatedly exposed him to the things he feared most until he had a complete breakdown.

Mo Fan watched the changes in Jiu Ying’s face. He sweated, twitched, and shouted. Finally, he burst into tears and lost his willpower.

“How is it?” Mo Fan looked around and found that the army of Ocean Demons was approaching them again.

“He’s still pretending, so we can’t be in a hurry,” Apas said.

Jiu Ying had outstanding endurance. Although Apas had destroyed his psychological defense, his inner defense was rapidly rebuilding. It was a relatively rare phenomenon that Apas encountered.

When she destroyed the psychological defenses of ordinary people, it took months or even years to recover. But Jiu Ying’s willpower was rebuilding quickly.

The Red Cardinal of the Black Vatican was no ordinary person, after all.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, Apas screamed. She seemed to have seen something terrifying and withdrew from Jiu Ying’s mind.

Mo Fan did not know what had happened. He held her close and glared at Jiu Ying. Jiu Ying’s body twitched violently. Blood gushed out of his eyes, nose, lips, and ears. He looked gruesome.

Chapter 2796: Eye Parasite

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Red Cardinal, Jiu Ying, was on the verge of death. He fell to his knees, and blood gushed out even more.

Blood was oozing from his pores. His blood was not the typical red color. There was a strange green tinge to his blood, like something remnant of chemical tests for pharmaceutical drugs!

Jiu Ying’s body tightened and shrank. He bled all over the ground, and he fell in his own puddle of blood. His body emitted an unpleasant odor…

Mo Fan found it very strange and asked Apas about it. But Apas’ golden eyes registered only confusion. Mo Fan noticed something in her pupils when he looked at her.

It looked like a demonic bug kept inside a crystal ball. It was alive. It was scurrying to hide as though it did not want to draw attention to itself. It hid in the depths of her eyes. Mo Fan was caught by surprise. Apas almost closed her eyes.

“Don’t close your eyes! There’s something in them!” yelled Mo Fan.

Apas panicked. She had not recovered from her previous shock. But she trusted Mo Fan. She opened her eyes wide. She was scared but determined.

“I don’t know what that is. But it’s not good. Do you have a way to get rid of it?” Mo Fan was anxious.

“What do you think?!” Apas retorted.

Mo Fan sighed. He could not think of a way to solve the problem at hand.

“There’s something more terrifying than the mastermind. I saw its back. It almost trapped my mind there. I would have died if I hadn’t escaped fast,” Apas said, still shaken from the encounter.

Mo Fan did not understand what exactly had happened. ‘Wasn’t Apas searching through Jiu Ying’s memory? How did she run into a terrifying silhouette and nearly lose her life?’

“It could be some sort of curse or a supreme demonic spell. Its demonic body can draw all living things that look at it into its mental trap. Luckily, I only saw its back. If I had looked into its eyes, my mind could have been trapped inside there forever…” said Apas.

“What will happen to you if your mind is trapped like that?” Mo Fan asked.

“I’ll go into a coma,” said Apas.

‘How could there be such a bizarre demonic power? How could one’s soul be sucked away the moment they saw someone else’s back through other people’s memory?’ thought Mo Fan.

Apas was a Medusa. She was the young Medusa Queen with relatively pure blood of her species. People usually died when they looked into her eyes instead of the other way around.

“Is it related to the Ocean Godly Horde?” asked Mo Fan.

“Yes. It has a strong mental connection with the Godly Horde Prophets. Their connection is strange but stronger than the connection you have with your Contracted Beast.” Apas calmed down and recalled what she had seen.

Jiu Ying had used his manipulation ability that was similar to the Godly Horde Prophet. Meanwhile, Apas had noticed another living thing that had a strong mental connection with Jiu Ying…

‘Could it be that the Godly Horde Prophets were not the actual commander of the Ocean Demons, but they were just one of the pawns whose minds had been manipulated just like the other Ocean Demons?’ reasoned Mo Fan. ‘What was the creature Apas had seen? What was that bizarre thing in her eyes?’

Mo Fan was certain he had seen something. It wasn’t just his imagination. ‘Could it be some sort of Mental Parasite?’

Jiu Ying was dead. When Apas searched his mind, the Mental Parasite hidden in his eyeballs had taken advantage of the opportunity and burrowed into her eyes.

If that was the case…

Mo Fan was deep in thought when he felt something buzz in his mind. It felt as though he had hit his head on a wall. The pain was excruciating. It felt as if his skull would crack open.

“Apas!” Mo Fan cried as he held his head. Apas held him up. She had sensed something strange when she had looked into his eyes.

“Sh*t! Something is attacking you through our Contracted Mind connection!” Apas cried out.

“Quick… Figure something out! It hurts!” Mo Fan was in so much pain that he found it hard to speak.

It had to be the mental parasite. It had failed to control Apas, so it took advantage of the psychic connection that they both shared.

“Hold on, I’ll dig it out!” said Apas.

When the Mental Parasite hid itself, it was difficult to find but once it attacked, it was easy for her to get its location.

It appeared that the parasite was the same as the one that had shown up in Apas’ eyes. It attempted to kill Mo Fan using Apas’ Medusa gaze. Apas could die if Mo Fan was killed because of their Contracted Soul connection.

The Mental Parasite was wicked! If they didn’t kill it, both would be dead.

This was Mo Fan’s first time facing such a terrifying and demonic mental attack. He summoned his Black Dragon Helmet.

The Black Dragon’s deterrent power was strong. Mo Fan’s mental power was strengthened and almost reached the Ninth Realm. He felt better.

The Mental Parasite was not intimidated. But when it realized that it only encountered a wall so strong as if made of bricks, it tried to retreat. But Apas’ murderous intent was clear.

The Mental Parasite was, after all, a parasite. The moment Apas located it, it was destined to die. Mo Fan and Apas worked together to stop it and killed the strange Mental Parasite in between the Mental Bridge.

Mo Fan regained his senses. The pain was gone but his body was drenched in cold sweat. Apas breathed out a sigh of relief.

She thought she had escaped from the mysterious figure that had almost captured her soul. But the Mental Parasite had turned out to be the real culprit.

It was only then that Apas felt that she had truly broken herself free of that evil demonic shadow.

Chapter 2797: The Mastermind Behind The Scene—The Black Claw Emperor

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan stared at Apas, and she returned his gaze. They made sure nothing was amiss.

“What exactly was that thing? What was that evil demonic shadow that you encountered?” asked Mo Fan. He felt fear.

“The Godly Horde Prophets manipulate the Ocean Demon troop of the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, the Godly Horde Prophets are under another ocean creature’s manipulation. I believe the Ocean Demons are controlled by a well-defined mental network. The evil demonic shadow is the brains of the Ocean Godly Horde,” said Apas.

Hearing Apas’ words sent a chill down his spine. It was no wonder most countries on the coasts had been attacked by the Ocean Demons. With such a supreme Ocean Godly Horde as the brains of the Ocean Demons to control the entire Pacific Ocean, the Ocean Demons could eat up the remaining thirty percent of the dry lands and trap the world under the bottomless ocean.

“The brains of the Ocean Godly Horde and the Godly Horde Prophets communicate through psychic connection much like humans and their Contracted Beasts. The Godly Horde Prophets control the Ocean Demon troop with their powerful demonic spells. As a result, the Ocean Demon’s kingdom at the Pacific Ocean becomes organized. They have a clear goal.”

It was only then that Mo Fan truly understood how terrifying the Ocean Demon’s civilization really was.

They did not rule the Ocean Demons. Even if the cleverest ruler were given to rule the vast ocean creatures, there would still be a split among themselves, including internal wars and different goals. However, controlling their minds eradicated all these problems.

Even humans failed to achieve such cohesiveness. They were forced to unite during crisis and oppression. However, their unity wasn’t as strong as the Ocean Demons’ unanimity.

Mo Dan understood why Commander Hua was worried.

The moment the evil demonic shadow captured sufficient information; the Ocean Demons would attack on a large scale.

There was a rumble. The earth shook violently. The mountains and rivers were growing and expanding.

The sea level retreated, revealing a large area of land. The beach stretched for dozens of kilometers. The ocean that was originally visible seemed to have been sucked by a powerful force and drawn further away from the island. The mountains towered. The earthquake grew stronger in intensity. It shook so violently that the buildings began to crack and fall.

The Green East Sea God sensed something. It hovered above Mo Fan and Apas, and continued to crow.

Meanwhile, the Moon Moth Phoenix took Jiang Yu and Night Rakshasa to reunite with Pang Lai. Mo Fan stayed where he was, stalling for time, so that Jiang Yu and Night Rakshasa had enough time to reach safety.

He had obtained the Healing Scroll and Space Bracelet. He had to find Commander Hua!

Mo Fan had no idea what caused the violent earthquake. But he sensed that a great disaster was about to unfold.

“Let’s go!” Mo Fan and Apas hopped onto the Green East Sea God’s back.

The Black Totem Snake swung its tail. Its scales transformed into many small green snakes. The glowing green snakes swarmed the Ocean Demons that charged toward them in a frenzy and bit them to death. The Ocean Demons’ carcasses piled up.

“Big guy, hurry up!” Mo Fan took out the Totem Orb and called back the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake had been wounded in battle. Fortunately, it could heal rapidly. If it recuperated inside the Totem Orb, it could restore its power soon.

The Black Totem Snake fought to prevent the Ocean Demons from getting close to it. It was a Supreme Ruler, and it demonstrated its terrifying and majestic aura in the middle of the Ocean Demon army.

Mo Fan sensed that the Black Totem Snake had grown stronger compared to when he first saw it at Hang Zhou. It no longer glowed in a demonic aura. Instead, it radiated a divine and holy green glow.

“How’s the situation now?” Mo Fan asked Song Feiyao.

“The island is rising again. It seems that there’s a powerful force suppressing the entire island. Look!” Song Feiyao pointed.

The Green East Sea was the fastest flying creature in the sky. If it fought the Feather Crown at the Feathered Demon Heaven, the Silver Sky ruler would not even exist.

The Stingray and Sword Fish Legions attempted to break themselves free from the terrifying earthquake, only to disintegrate into beads of blood in mid-air, like blood roses blooming everywhere.

Mo Fan looked down.

The mountains rose slowly. The frightening cracks were clearly visible. They stretched across the mountains, forests, beaches, and cities of Hawaii. They reached up to thousands of meters high in the air. Mo Fan could not see where they ended.

The Green East Sea God let out a panicked cry. It had been flying high steadily and rapidly. But now it began to shake as if it could fall.

Mo Fan felt an inexplicable pressure. He felt as if the sky had darkened suddenly. A dark, demonic figure stood on the edge of the gloomy sky. Its claws stretched out like a black cloud that could cover a large mountain!

Mo Fan’s heart almost stopped beating when he encountered such a terrifying threat. This was not Mo Fan’s first time witnessing such enormous demonic claws. When he was at Pudong coast, the same frightening claws had killed three Apex-grade Mages!

It was the mastermind—The Black Claw Emperor! It had finally showed up!

The entire island was in catastrophe because of its violent arrival. Even a solid steel fortress would collapse under such a tremendous earthquake, let alone humans…

It was pointless to fight such a terrifying force. The Black Claw Emperor was as strong as the Black Dragon Emperor. It could kill them in the blink of an eye.

“Mo Fan, get behind me!” said a firm voice.

Mo Fan felt a vibration in the space before him. A man in a military coat appeared next to him. He had black hair and black beard. He had pure black eyes. He looked calm and resolute even in the face of the Black Claw Emperor.

Chapter 2798: Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Stand behind me!”

It had been so long since someone had ordered Mo Fan around. He remembered that when he was at his weakest and despairing moment, someone with a similar aura and silhouette had said the same to him in the past. The person had broad shoulders and confident posture. Even though he was alone, he possessed such an intimidating aura.

Mo Fan suggested the panicked Green East Sea God to retreat behind the person.

“Are you severely wounded? I have the Healing Scroll with me…” Mo Fan said in concern.

It was obvious that they could not immediately activate the Healing Scroll. Commander Hua would not be able to recover instantly.

It was not too late to flee. Judging from the Black Claw Emperor’s aura, it did not look as powerful as it was when it appeared at the Pudong coast. It meant that it was severely wounded, too. Both Commander Hua and the Black Claw Emperor were at their weakest.

“Its injury is more serious than mine. The Ocean Demon army is its only leverage,” said Commander Hua.

With Commander Hua standing before Mo Fan, he felt that the Black Claw Emperor’s demonic aura was no longer as intense as before. Mo Fan wondered if it was due to his own psychological state, or if it was because Commander Hua radiated an even more imposing aura as befit a Forbidden Mage.

“You are here. I’m no longer isolated and helpless,” said Commander Hua.

“The scroll…”

“Keep it with you. It has done its part to expose the Black Claw Emperor!” Commander Hua said firmly.

Commander Hua didn’t look like an injured man to Mo Fan at that moment. He was, after all, attempting to confront the Black Claw Emperor in mid-air. He did not show the slightest bit of fear. The Black Claw Emperor had wanted to destroy Mo Fan and the Green East Sea God with its claws. But when it saw Commander Hua, it pulled its claws away and was more vigilant.

‘Were the rumors untrue?’ thought Mo Fan. Commander Hua’s injury might not be as serious as they had thought.

He had been waiting for an opportunity…

Commander Hua had waited for an opportunity when the Black Claw Emperor could no longer hold itself back so that he could kill it in a single move.

Mo Fan was confused. ‘Was this all a game between Commander Hua and the Black Claw Emperor?’

Under Commander Hua’s protection, the Green East Sea God flew away from the Black Claw Emperor’s territory. Commander Hua’s imposing aura prevailed against the Black Claw Emperor’s intense demonic aura.

“He’s very strong!” Song Feiyao stared at Commander Hua in amazement.

His imposing aura contradicted the Licheng Afterglow Islanders’ arrogance. Commander Hua was so powerful that he could trample the vast Ocean Demon army like ants under his feet. None of them were a match for him.

Commander Hua had his eyes only on the Black Claw Emperor.

The Black Claw Emperor was furious. It hated being a target of that puny human. It would be a great humiliation if the human escaped again.

The Black Claw Emperor had no way to retreat. So, it decided to set off a violent tsunami. The giant tidal waves were made up of dense sea ants.

Mo Fan turned to the Sea Ant tidal waves to see that they were actually Dragon King Ants.

The Dragon King Ants were black in color. They looked ferocious and hideous.

Countless Black Dragon King Ants gushed out of the Black Claw Emperor. The tidal waves reached high up in the sky and devoured the cloud line, as if they were gnawing the other side of the world furiously.

The Green East Sea God flew at lightning speed. Still, it could not break itself free from the Black Dragon King Ants’ gnaws, like a small seagull that could not break itself free from the storm in mid-air.

Where Commander Hua stood was the boundary. The raging tidal waves made up of Dragon King Ants devoured and destroyed everything, but they disintegrated before Commander Hua. Commander Hua was surrounded by a white light that shone faintly like the morning sun. The white light gradually dispelled the darkness.

The white light spread and formed into a cross. It looked like a white arrow embedded on a gigantic crossbow from afar.

Heavenly Light Crossbow!

The Heavenly Light Crossbow cut through everything like a blazing white sun. The tidal waves made up of Dragon King Ants were burned to ashes. The Black Claw Emperor’s appearance was slowly peeling off.

It was a Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother!

Its dark body covering the forest was not its true body. It was made up of dense Dragon King Ants with black armors. It was a gigantic and movable nest fortress made up of Dragon King Ants.

When the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother crawled forward, the entire Dragon King Ant gigantic nest fortress moved forward with it.

When the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother stretched out its claws, its black claws were made up of destructive Dragon King Ants. When they smashed at their target, the Dragon King Ants would scatter into countless ants before returning to the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother along the sea water.

If it had not been for Commander Hua’s Heavenly Light Crossbow cutting through the black tidal waves with a majestic ferocity, they would not have seen the Black Claw Emperor’s true form. Mo Fan left the terrifying battlefield, but could not forget what he saw.

Dragon King Ants…

Mo Fan remembered when they were at Emperor Qin Island, Commander Hua had once confronted the same creature.

Commander Hua told Mo Fan that if he wanted to kill a true Emperor-level Ocean Demon, he had to gauge its strength, find its weakness, and develop a detailed plan of offense.

Mo Fan thought Commander Hua had been gauging its strength all this while exposing himself to danger. But looking closely, he realized that Commander Hua was already past that. He was executing his plant for killing the enormous creature.

Commander Hua used himself as bait and went into the depth of the island alone.

The Black Claw Emperor was eager to kill him. Even though it was severely wounded, it took the risk to expose itself. To Commander Hua, this was the perfect moment for the kill.

This was a fight-to-death confrontation. Only one would survive.

So, this was Commander Hua’s true plan.

…

“Mo Fan.”

The Moon Moth Phoenix flew to them. It brought Pang Lai, Jiang Yu, and Night Rakshasa along with it.

The two humans and the cat were severely wounded. They were exhausted and weak. They could fall at any time.

“The Healing Scroll…” Mo Fan attempted to open the Space Bracelet that had been sealed with the Forbidden System. He wanted to take the scroll out.

“Sad to say, we don’t have a powerful Healing Master in the country that can heal a Great Forbidden Mage within a short period of time. The Healing Scroll is not really that helpful to Commander Hua,” Pang Lai said sadly.

“So, is this Healing Scroll part of the plan, too?” Mo Fan asked.

‘They had sacrificed many Royal Mages… they had paid a heavy price…’

Pang Lai shook his head. The Royal Mages had made their choice. They had wanted to help Commander Hua. Even though the healing effect was weak, it could help a little.

Pang Lai held strong to his belief when he delivered the Healing Scroll. He had never thought this would lure the Black Claw Emperor to reveal itself!

Chapter 2799: Termite Guard

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Black Dragon King Ants continued to fall and formed huge mountains. When Commander Hua’s powerful Heavenly Light Crossbow penetrated the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother’s abdomen, a scorching hole appeared.

Dark blood gushed out of the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother’s wound. Mo Fan thought Commander Hua’s single blow had wounded it very badly. But to his horror, he saw thatthe Black Dragon King Ants sucked its blood frantically and closed up the wound. The Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother grew even larger and stronger than before.

The mountains made up of Black Dragon Ant Kings surrounded the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother and formed its body, claws and skull. The fortress made of ants collapsed and transformed into a golden-black enormous Ant King Beast. It then began to move and trample everything in its path.

The golden-black enormous Ant King Beast charged at Commander Hua. Its outer shell was harder than iron and steel. It transformed into a war machine. Its enormous body made it look like a moving fortress. It could also move swiftly and ferociously like a beast!

The island collapsed. Huge cracks appeared on the ground. The lava began to erupt. The island continued to explode and shatter in pieces. Soon, it would completely drown.

The destructive was from the Emperor-level Ocean Demon. Its destructive power was measured not by the number of people it could kill, but by how much of the land it could drown.

Commander Hua did not glow in a very bright light. The Great Forbidden Mage was different from what one assumed him to be. Judging from the Forbidden Curse he had cast, most people would assume him to glow bright like a blazing sun.

However, he floated in mid-air. He looked calm and collected while radiating a murderous intent. Mo Fan saw his posture and movement from afar. Commander Hua looked as tiny as a grain of sand in front of the golden-black Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother. However, when he raised his hands and cast the Forbidden Curse, his dim figure seemed to have broken through the shackles of this world.

…

“Is it burning?” asked Mo Fan. He sensed something.

“Void White Flame. That’s one of Commander Hua’s strongest skills.” Pang Lai explained to Mo Fan.

But the flame was not visible to the naked eyes.

Commander Hua cast Void White Flame. The golden-black Dragon King Ants were burning. The mountains made up of Dragon King Ants suffered a devastating blow. However, Mo Fan could not see anything.

The Void White Flame continued to burn the Ant King Beast. Suddenly, Commander Hua vanished from his place. The next moment, Mo Fan noticed a white light in the middle of the Black Dragon Ants.

The light was not very bright. But the Black Dragon King Ants could not cover even that amount of glow.

Mo Fan saw the magical glow from afar. But he could not quite determine what magical power they were.Commander Hua was killing the Mirage Dragon Ant King Mother.

When Mo Fan and Song Feiyao first arrived at Hawaii, they had assumed that the reason the mountains at Hawaii grew was due to the earth plane extrusion. That was partly true.

But mostly it was because Hawaii was filled with the Black Dragon King Ants. They hid within the rocks, mountains, surface of the land, and underneath the ground. They had lifted the island with their sheer number.

When the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother appeared, the earth shook violently and cracked because the Black Dragon King Ants broke through the ground. The rest of the islands sank while the mountains grew rapidly because the Black Dragon King Ants were piling up!

Commander Hua was aware that he could not possibly kill all the Dragon King Ants. But he had to stop them from gathering together on a large scale to prevent them from destroying humans by the coast. The only way was to kill the aggressive Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother!

The Dragon King Ants would never vanish. Even if he killed the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother, the ants would reproduce rapidly and give birth to another Ant Mother again…

But it would stall for time and allow the humans to fortify their defenses. Maybe they could even come up with more powerful mages to fight for them.

Commander Hua killed the Dragon King Ants before him with his Void White Flame. However, there were many other hills made up of Dragon King Ants but at least they were severely wounded. The Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother had lost a great number of ‘personal guards’. In the previous battle, Commander Hua had lost many of his subordinates before they successfully killed all the ‘termite guards’.

The Termite Guards served as the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother’s life-preserving charm. They were a part of the Dragon King Ants species that were difficult to reproduce quickly. But they served as a protective layer for the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother.

…

Even though Commander Hua was wounded, he insisted on killing the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother because if the Termite Guard returned and surrounded it, it would be impossible to subdue!

Mo Fan, the Royal Mages, and the rest of the rescue team had played crucial roles in this mission. If the Eight-headed Serpent, Stingray King, Sword Fish Chief, and Deep-sea Dragon Lizard Demons had found Commander Hua first, he would have been too exhausted to fight. The Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother would have taken advantage of his exhaustion and killed him.

The Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother could not hold back its killing instinct despite being severely wounded. While, Commander Hua was entirely confident of killing it.

Without its Termite Guard, the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother would undoubtedly be killed this time!

…

The black mountains grew higher. They moved in a disturbing manner. Yet Commander Hua had no intention of retreating.

The mountains made up of seemingly endless Black Dragon King Ants had devoured half of the island. Killing it required more than just courage. But Mo Fan could do nothing to help.

If the Black Dragon King Ants attacked the Black Totem Snake, there would not be any remains of the Black Totem Snake, not even its bones.

1

This was another epic battle. Mo Fan did not know about the previous battle. All he knew was he had been involved in itby accident.

Mo Fan seldom prayed to God. However, this time, he instinctively closed his eyes…

Chapter 2800: Killing The Emperor

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“If Commander Hua dies, the coastline will be wiped out, right?” Jiang Yu stared at the frightening terrain filled with darkness.

Pang Lai, too, was staring at the darkness that was entirely filled with the Black Dragon King Ants.

“If the Black Claw Emperor dies, the East Coastline is safe, right?” asked Song Feiyao.

The sight before them was too shocking to behold. Even though they had achieved Super level in their cultivation, their power was insignificant compared to the battle that was raging now. They were like a small canoe in the middle of a rainstorm.

Pang Lai shook his head. He did not answer Jiang Yu’s question. His silence was answer enough.

If Commander Hua died, the East Coastline could not last for long. Not many Forbidden Mages could unleash the perfect Forbidden Curse like Commander Hua. He fought the Emperor-level Ocean Demon on his own. No one was capable of fighting their way into the Pacific Ocean and killing the leader of the Ocean Demon like Commander Hua.

Commander Hua was not only the soul of the Battlemage, but he was also the country’s pillar. Without him, they would lose a leader who brought them hope in the middle of such a chaotic environment. Losing Commander Hua meant the mages would lose their soul.

How could a team of soulless mages fight the Ocean Demon army that were many times stronger than they were?

Pang Lai shook his head. He disagreed with Song Feiyao.

There was more than one Emperor-level Ocean Demon on the East Coastline. It was clear that the Black Claw Emperor was not the main culprit behind the Ocean Demon attack. Which Emperor-level Ocean Demon had started the war? Which Emperor-level Ocean Demon had manipulated all the Emperor-level Ocean Demon in the Pacific Ocean? All of these remained a mystery…

The only thing that was of certainty was that the Emperor-level Ocean Demon which had started the ocean battle was as powerful as the South Emperor.

Although Commander Hua had taken a huge risk, it would not improve the situation by very much. The East Coastline would still be in crisis. Many hordes, kingdoms, and Emperor-level Ocean Demons had yet to reveal themselves. The Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother was just one of the many.

They had gained victory and weakened the Ocean Demon force. Still, they had only preserved 20,000 kilometers of the coastline seawall protection plan that was under Shao Zheng’s ruling in the past. The gnawing Dragon King Ants in transparent form under the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother’s command could easily turn a building into powder with their strength.

Humans were at a disadvantage right from the beginning.

All Commander Hua could do was to slightly even the odds. He tried to offer some hope and a fighting chance to the humans. But there was still a very long way to go.

…

Mo Fan closed his eyes. He prayed in his heart.

When he opened them, he was greeted by the sight of endless Dragon King Ants. After Commander Hua ambushed them, the sky around that area turned black. The mountains, rivers, lands, and blue sky disappeared out of sight.

The Black Dragon King Ant army sometimes resembled a great rainstorm, other times they resembled huge mountains. They were all black and made one’s skin tingle.

Mo Fan noticed a trace of substance that did not belong to the Dragon King Ant’s demonic aura. The substance was a sort of powerful burning power. Yet the flame was not visible to the eyes…

A faint white light cut through the dark sky like a meteor. It flew towards Mo Fan and the rest of the group.

There was a change in the Dragon King Ants. They seemed to have been stirred up by something. They formed a whirlpool. The Dragon King Ant whirlpool attempted to devour the faint white light. But the white light slowed down the terrifying pulling force.

The white meteor slowly moved forward. Time seemed to have slowed down.

Mo Fan was anxious. He knew it was Commander Hua. He was trying to break free from the Dragon King Ant’s whirlpool.

“Don’t,” said Pang Lai to Mo Fan, stopping him from rushing to help. “Trust him.”

That was not an ordinary Ocean Demon. Even if Mo Fan brought along the three greatest totem beasts, all of them would be swallowed by the Black Dragon King Ants. Their rescue mission would have been in vain!

Therefore, Mo Fan stood there and watched them. He wished he could cast a downpour of fire meteors from the sky and wipe out all the disgusting Black Dragon King Ants. However, without the help of Demon element magical power, Mo Fan could not do much with his fire magical power.

“He escaped!” Jiang Yu cried out in delight.

“Meow!”

The beam of white meteor slowed and broke free of the whirlpool made up of Black Dragon King Ants. The familiar figure grew closer to them.

When the white meteor arrived before Mo Fan and his group, his clothes were unkempt, and he was wounded. He looked like someone who had barely survived the encounter. However, his eyes still shone with brilliance. Even wounded, he looked as powerful and majestic as before.

“What’s the escape plan? I-I’ll have to listen to all of your arrangements…,” Commander Hua blurted out.

“Zhang Xiaohou used to burrow into the tunnel under the river. The Ocean Demons have abandoned it. We can go back to Bo Sea through it,” Mo Fan said.

“Hmm…” Commander Hua nodded. “Okay.”

“Commander Hua, how is the Black Claw Emperor…?”

“It’s dead.” Commander Hua smiled proudly at them.

The crowd was shocked and happy! Commander Hua had killed the Black Claw Emperor. It had made Bo Sea dangerous and killed many Apex-grade Mages on the East Coastline. It had finally died!

Mo Fan still remembered the fear he felt when it attacked Magic City with its monstrous claws, as if slapping and awakening to powerful mages from their dreams. Finally, the enormous ghostly spirit which had loomed over the East Coastline and other base cities had died!

Mo Fan felt inexplicably happy!

It meant the supreme Emperor-level Ocean Demon could be defeated, provided they were as powerful as Commander Hua!

…

Mo Fan’s plan was a success. There was no trace of the Dragon King Ants under the abandoned sea tunnel, including the transparent Dragon King Ants.

The Black Dragon King Ant army did not continue to chase after them. Unlike the other Ocean Demons, the moment the Dragon King Ants lost their Ant Mother, they were crippled. What mattered most to those creatures was to appoint a new Ant Mother rather than to follow them for revenge.

Chapter 2801: You Have to Stay Alive

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Black Dragon King Ants gathered together and resembled mountains. But they scattered away after the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother had died. Some went into the ocean, some stuck to the land and ocean borders, some returned to deep sea rock bottom, and some hid somewhere in the sea area.

They had been working in unity and coordination under the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother’s instruction and command. But now, they split too fast for the eyes to see.

…

Meanwhile, Mo Fan and the rest of his group returned to Bo Sea through the tunnel under the ocean. The Dragon King Ants had received the news about the death of their Ant Mother, hence they retreated from Bo Sea. The sea surface became calm and clear.

Even though they had gained victory, Commander Hua did not show any reaction except that smile when informing about the death of the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother.

After the war is won, the surviving ones may not necessarily be over the moon about it because they had to witness their comrades’ sacrifices.

None of Commander Hua’s subordinates had survived after fighting the Termite Guard surrounding the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother. So, the war was not a victory in its entirety because they had faced many losses of their friends and teammates.

After they arrived at Bo Sea, Commander Hua spent a long time alone at the Great Bronze Bell Hill. Pang Lai commemorated the Royal Mages who did not return with them.

Mo Fan, Song Feiyao, and Jiang Yu stood behind them. They quietly waited for the two leaders mourning the death of their comrades. Song Feiyao looked remorseful.

After going through the war with them, she had finally understood that the unique ancient statues were not the reason that had provided Licheng Afterglow Island with peace and security. In fact, the ancient statues could not withstand attacks against creatures such as the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother. True peace was the result of someone standing up for the country and fighting the rainstorm with their own sweat and blood!

“Mo Fan,” Commander Hua called.

Mo Fan went up to him. Commander Hua had recovered from his injury slightly, and he looked more spirited.

Mo Fan was surprised that Commander Hua seemed to be recovering so quickly. He was told that the Healing Scroll had little effect on a Great Forbidden Mage.

“We seem to see each other quite frequently,” said Commander Hua with a tired smile.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan did not quite understand what Commander Hua wanted to express to him.

“In my current position, I rarely have friends with whom I can share my problems with. When I look down from my vantage point, I see that many people are still struggling to climb up, that many more are still at the starting point, and that there is a large crowd that is so far out of my sight that I don’t even get a chance to greet them.”

“I wish I will have the chance to say the same thing someday,” said Mo Fan.

“I occasionally pay attention to people with potential. To be honest, I expected you to take five years before you become a Super-level mage from the Awakening stage. I never expected you to become a Super-level genius at such a young age. Those who I valued and expected much of have vanished out of sight at Super level…,” said Commander Hua.

Mo Fan felt very complex. Commander Hua had just praised him, and he didn’t know how to respond. A person’s strength determined the level of society he was exposed to.

They first met each other at Emperor Qin Island by accident because Zhang Xiaohou had appeared within Commander Hua’s sight. Although Commander Hua had given Mo Fan the entrance ticket to the National Institute, it did not mean Mo Fan could join Commander Hua in the realm of Forbidden Curse.

Today was their third time meeting each other. They did seem to meet very often. To Commander Hua, this was very unexpected. He had assumed Mo Fan would take another five years or so until he was capable of lending Commander Hua a helping hand.

However, Mo Fan had aided him twice in a matter of months and done it with impact. Commander Hua was surprised and happy to see Mo Fan’s rapid growth.

“Commander Hua, if there’s something you want me to do, I would be very happy to accept. You just need to give me your order and I will follow,” said Mo Fan.

On Mo Fan’s first day at Magic High School many years ago, Principal Zhu had informed all students at the Awakening stage about the vocation of becoming a mage.

After he joined Pearl Institute, Dean Xiao had told them that money and fame were the least important in this vocation. In fact, all mages should strive for supreme magic.

Mo Fan was aware that the reason he could live in peace when he was young and weak was all because someone who was more powerful had shielded him from the ferocious Ocean Demons. After he became a Super-level mage, he believed he had to stand up and contribute.

“Can you promise me something?” Commander Hua asked solemnly.

Mo Fan nodded without hesitation. He would be willing to take on any challenging task for Commander Hua. It must be something important if Commander Hua was personally asking for a promise.

Perhaps it was about survival on the East Coastline, or about the presence of a certain Emperor-level creature, or the key points to face the Ocean Demon’s war…

Commander Hua patted Mo Fan on the shoulder. “Promise me that you will never act recklessly no matter how severe or desperate the war is. You must stay alive.”

Mo Fan was stunned. ‘Stay alive? Was this the important message that Commander Hua had to personally tell him?’

“Commander, I believe I’ve been doing quite well at staying alive,” said Mo Fan with a smile.

“No, you don’t understand.” Commander Hua’s gaze turned razor-sharp. He squeezed Mo Fan’s shoulder a little harder.

“You must stay alive because this war doesn’t belong to your generation. This is not your generation’s doing. We may be defeated; We’ll most likely be defeated. But I hope it will be my generation sacrificing themselves in the war for making the world safe rather than your generation because we are the ones who failed to stop this disaster. We are not powerful enough. We must not leave your generation’s mages to bear the consequences of our actions.”

“You’re exposed to my level because you’ve surpassed the people of your generation. You still have a bright future ahead. You will become stronger and more powerful. I hope you can celebrate that victory with your teammates maybe five years later, instead of fighting a ray of hope at the cost of other people’s lives like me.”

Mo Fan was at a loss for words. He had always viewed Commander Hua as invincible and his battle with the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother had cemented his belief. ‘Why would such a strong man say he is not powerful enough?’

“I don’t want you to take part in any of the Ocean Demon wars along the coast over these five years. We’ll be defeated within these five years. By then, we’ll have lost our base cities. Our defense line will crumble. All of us will have to move to the West. We’ll lose a lot of things. I hope you and your generation can protect the cities, establish a safe boundary, and provide a peaceful living environment for the next generation. Or maybe even reclaim our territories on the East Coastline from the Ocean Demons!”

Thanks for reading on MYBO XNO VE L.C 0M

Chapter 2802: Do You Want It Back?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

‘Reclaim the territory along the coast from the Ocean Demons? Couldn’t we defend even 20,000 kilometers of coastline?’ Mo Fan was shocked to hear Commander Hua’s words.

It was clear that the five greatest base cities’ plan was a success. They had prevented many cities from being attacked by the Ocean Demons. They had also gathered all the mages together.

Besides, they had just killed an Emperor-level Ocean Demon and preserved the important seawall.

‘But why did Commander Hua sound so hopeless?’ thought Mo Fan. ‘Were the humans destined to fall?’

The Ocean Godly Horde was more powerful than what they had seen thus far. Commander Hua must know something else.

“You have to promise me,” Commander Hua repeated. He almost sounded desperate and sad.

Mo Fan shook his head. It was impossible not to take part in the battles against the Ocean Demons in these five years. The Ocean Demons were on the verge of attacking the cities. Mo Fan could not turn a blind eye to their invasion.

He understood Commander Hua’s concern. The war against the Ocean Demons would be brutal. Everyone could die, including Mo Fan. They would be powerless when facing the many Emperor-level Ocean Demons that were as powerful as the Eight-headed Serpent.

Commander Hua hoped Mo Fan could avoid the tragedy and focus on his cultivation. He believed Mo Fan could face the Ocean Demon on his own some day in the future instead of fighting a hopeless battle now.

“You still don’t get it! You still don’t get what I mean!” Commander Hua turned his back to Mo Fan. He sounded annoyed. “The fact that you’ve achieved your current realm suggests that you will surpass me and the other Forbidden Mages in the future. Right now, you can’t change the situation along the coast. But you will be capable of fighting alone in five years!”

“Commander, you don’t understand either,” Mo Fan said firmly.

1

Even though Commander Hua was the commander of the country, Mo Fan refused to agree to his request. He found himself unable to promise him this one thing.

The Ocean Demon had wiped out Magic City. Pearl Institute had become a hunting ground. How could Mo Fan just stand there and do nothing while watching the Ocean Demons devouring the students and teachers?

Flying Bird Base City had become a vast ocean. Fish Men wandered around the residents in Fan Xuexin City who could not get rid of the sea area. How could Mo Fan just stand there without helping?

Even if he hid in the depths of the country or the forest and focused on his cultivation, would he ever feel at peace with himself knowing he abandoned everyone?

No. He could not.

Even if Mo Fan heeded Commander Hua’s instruction for the sake of a better future, he would not be able to hold himself back from joining the battle and helping his fellow people.

“I can’t promise you that I won’t fight the Ocean Demons if it ever comes to that,” said Mo Fan. “But I can promise you one thing, I will try my best to stay alive.”

Commander Hua was not satisfied with his response. But he knew Mo Fan well. In fact, Commander Hua believed both of them were like-minded. They believed certain things were more important than their own lives. It was precisely because of that kind of mindset that Commander Hua worried for Mo Fan.

If Mo Fan were given more time, his power would exceed everyone’s expectations. If he was given more time, he could kill Emperor-level Ocean Demons alone!

“Unfortunately, you’re not my soldier,” said Commander Hua sadly. “If you were, I would have dispatched you to the West with immediate effect.”

“I’ll heed your words and stay alive,” assured Mo Fan.

Mo Fan turned away and left. Commander Hua looked at Mo Fan’s receding back. Pang Lai heaved a long sigh.

Both Pang Lai and Commander Hua shared the same thought.

They did not want to involve Mo Fan in the battle.

…

After Mo Fan left Emperor Qin Island, he hopped onto the Green East Sea God’s back. The city and the Great Bronze Bell Hill grew fainter. They were speeding far away from the vast dry land.

The Great Bronze Bell Hill was a mountain. It used to be an ancient Great Wall. There was a beacon on the north of the Great Bronze Bell. One could enjoy the view of the endless ocean from the beacon. However, the place had lost its peace a few thousand years ago. They faced threats from the ocean frequently.

Commander Hua remained standing in place. The violent waves splashed against the wall. He stood still like a statue.

He was recovering, at least physically. He had looked frail and exhausted. But after a while had passed, he regained his majestic and intimidating aura. It was as though he could regenerate.

Perhaps Commander Hua truly possessed such an ability. Otherwise, why did the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother reveal itself to kill Commander Hua at all cost? Even though Commander Hua was severely wounded and trapped in Hawaii, his speed of recovery was amazing. The Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother did not expect the heavily wounded Commander Hua to be still capable of killing it.

The ocean was pure blue. Whenever the waves clashed with the rocks and cliff, they turned frothy. The scenery was breathtaking. But Mo Fan’s heart felt heavy.

“He regards you highly,” Song Feiyao said.

“I know. But I’m still not powerful enough,” Mo Fan said bitterly.

“To me, both Commander Hua and you are already the best among the best,” said Song Feiyao.

Suddenly, the shadow of an evil demon appeared in Mo Fan’s mind. He felt as if his heart had been struck by lightning and was going to stop beating. He related the image to Commander Hua’s message to him…

The Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother was just a vanguard. That shadow was the true leader of Ocean Godly Horde.

Commander Hua must have found out about the leader’s presence. Mo Fan wondered how powerful he had to be for him and Apas to stop the leader of the Ocean Godly Horde if they encountered it.

“Don’t you have the Underground Holy Spring with you?” asked Song Feiyao.

“Do you want it back?” Mo Fan’s eyes went wide.

Mo Fan would never return things which he had grabbed from others.

“I spent most of my time cultivating in the Underground Holy Spring. My body and spirit have developed certain resistance to it. The elders of Licheng Afterglow Island often assumed that they could nurture a Forbidden Mage just by cultivating in the Underground Holy Spring. How hilarious is that?! I believe Licheng Afterglow Island can never produce a Forbidden Mage,” said Song Feiyao.

“But your Underground Holy Spring contained tremendous energy. I’ve never seen such a rich Underground Holy Spring,” said Mo Fan.

Chapter 2803: Unprecedented Harvest

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Little Loach had been absorbing the energy from the Underground Holy Spring. Its small world had transformed into a vast and endless underworld ocean with limitless Soul Remnant and Soul Essence. They glowed in ethereal blue like a small mica cluster.

Mo Fan was confident that Little Loach was undergoing a transformation. It was compatible with the Underground Holy Spring energy. Its transformation was more palpable than when it had absorbed the Ancient King’s soul. Mo Fan even suspected a connection existed between the Underground Holy Spring and Little Loach.

Mo Fan basically did not have time to cultivate in peace these days. However, he clearly sensed that his cultivation had improved as Little Loach continued to indulge in the rich holy spring essence.

It was as if Little Loach had built a greenhouse for Mo Fan, allowing his eight elements to grow dramatically in a perfect environment. Even though he had not truly cultivated them, he felt several of his elements were about to break through the barriers. The energy was terrifying!

Mo Fan had been busy fighting the war in Hawaii. His cultivation would have increased drastically if he had found some time to cultivate. That was why he was so defensive when Song Feiyao had mentioned the Underground Holy Spring.

He could not afford to forgo such a treasure!

“I understand that negotiating with you in this situation is very selfish. But I’m hoping you can help me seek mercy from the law enforcers at Licheng City so that the islanders can take practical actions to atone for their misdeeds,” said Song Feiyao. She stared expectantly at Mo Fan.

“The law is not under my control.” Mo Fan did not agree to Song Feiyao’s request.

God had condemned the Licheng Afterglow Islanders because they had been willing to let others die. Their sin was unforgivable. Therefore, the people at Licheng City had the final say. Mo Fan couldn’t do anything.

“How about another Underground Holy Spring in exchange?” Song Feiyao was determined.

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped. ‘They still have another Underground Holy Spring?! Where is it? What in the holy hell?’

The Underground Holy Spring at Licheng Afterglow Island provided a massive amount of energy. It was no surprise that Mo Fan could complete three or four elements within a very short period.

If he was given another Underground Holy Spring, achieving Super level in all his eight elements would no longer be wishful thinking!

Mo Fan was thrilled. He was so excited that he almost shot up into the sky. He restrained himself from falling to his knees and pleading for the other Underground Holy Spring. He kept his cool.

He said calmly with a tinge of hypocrisy, “I’ll try my best to negotiate with the law enforcers of Licheng City,” he said calmly, cursing himself for being a hypocrite. “But I can’t interfere with their decision if they have already made the judgment.”

Song Feiyao smiled radiantly. It took his breath away. He had never seen her this happy ever. She was beautiful just like he had thought when he had met her at the temple.

…

It was not very difficult to fulfill Song Feiyao’s request.

Licheng Afterglow Islanders had a high level of cultivation. In this era filled with threats, the law enforcers could charge them as guilty mages and use them for battle reformation. By doing so, they could make up for their sins by earning some merits by helping in the battle. This would be the best way to punish them.

That was what Song Feiyao needed. She wished the islanders could be given a chance to atone for their sins.

Mo Fan could easily deal with the law enforcers at Licheng City. Licheng City had become a fortress. The army there would handle criminals from Licheng Afterglow Island.

Mo Fan had assisted them in tackling the lightning disaster. Hence, the people at Licheng City owed him. If Mo Fan was willing to talk to them about the islanders, the people at Licheng City would listen. The issue wasn’t that great.

“I’ll talk to the men over there. They are willing to listen to my suggestion.”

“Thank you so very much.”

“Now, what is this about the other Underground Holy Spring?”

“Wait for me at Hang Zhou. I’ll return to Licheng Afterglow Island. Eldest Granny is the one who has the exact knowledge about it. You have spared them, so I’ll try to negotiate with them. I believe they won’t keep this a secret forever,” said Song Feiyao.

“So, you don’t even know where it is?” Mo Fan felt like he had been cheated.

“I swear with my spirit soul that I’ll provide you the location for the other Underground Holy Spring,” Song Feiyao said firmly.

“Okay. But the Green East Sea God must stay at Hang Zhou. We need to conduct an experiment with the totem beasts,” said Mo Fan.

“Okay.” Song Feiyao nodded.

…

Song Feihyao had a very high level of cultivation. Her cultivation was as high as the Royal Great Mages. However, just like the other ladies from the island, she was poor at actual combat.

She had a way to return to Licheng Afterglow Island instantly. The Green East Sea God was reluctant to separate from her. However, with the Moon Moth Phoenix around, the Green East Sea God obliged.

After Song Feiyao left, Mo Fan returned to Hang Zhou with the three greatest totem beasts.

He sat on the Green East Sea God’s back. He took out his pendant excitedly and kissed it. “Little Loach, did you hear that? There’s another Underground Holy Spring!”

Little Loach glowed. It desired the other Underground Holy Spring, too!

Mo Fan possessed Fusion Magic. If he achieved Super level for all of his eight elements, his strength would not be different from those who had completed their four elements because he possessed the power of the Blessing of God’s Seal and Darkness Source. By then, he would be capable of taking on Ocean Demons of the Eight-headed Serpent’s level. His strength would be comparable to that of the Royal Great Mages even without the help from the totem beasts!

The three greatest totem beasts had gathered. A more powerful and ancient totem beast would appear soon. If Mo Fan found it, his strength would undergo another round of transformation. By then, he could face the battle on his own even without the assistance of his Demon element magical power.

Mo Fan was very powerful. He felt depressed after what Commander Hua had said to him.

‘Was it true that he would be able to protect humans and reclaim the territories along the East Coastline only after five years?’

If Mo Fan found another Underground Holy Spring or ancient sacred totem beast, he didn’t need to wait for five years!

…

“The Eight-headed Serpent’s Soul Essence? You’ve absorbed the Ocean Demons’ Soul Essence that the Black Totem Snake killed? Little Loach, are you expanding your factory of Soul Essence? That’s too much to absorb. I believe the absorption today alone can overtake Old Wolf’s group…”

“Here’ s the Red Hunter Dirty Demon Soul Essence… and here are another few Ruler-level Ocean Demon Soul Essence... Take them all. We’ll exchange them for some Rock Element Heaven Seed materials.”

“The four combined effects of Heaven Rock can multiply. The Stardust, The Country of Sand… Tsk! Tsk! I can cast a perfect spell even without being in a demon form!” Mo Fan grew increasingly excited.

There was a spiritual connection between Mo Fan and the Black Totem Snake because of the Totem Orb.

The spiritual connection allowed Little Loach to absorb all of the Ocean Demons’ Soul Essence after the Black Totem Snake killed them. As a result, Mo Fan had reaped an unprecedentedly great harvest.

Mo Fan even had the thought of putting Commander Hua inside the Totem Orb. By doing so, he could even absorb the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother’s Soul Essence. It could be as valuable as an Earth Fire Pistil!

Chapter 2804: Men Are Not As Fun Compared To Hunting Demons

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Mo Fan!”

They had agreed to meet at a teahouse at West Lake. A retro boat drove into the middle of a cooling lake. Hot tea was served. All the terrifying images of the Ocean Demons at Hawaii were pushed back in the depths of their minds. They could not stop admiring the peaceful and breathtaking scenery at West Lake.

“Mo Fan!”

Lingling stared at Mo Fan in annoyance. Mo Fan was still caught in a daze, and this was her second time calling him.

Mo Fan was still absorbed in Little Loach’s transformation after absorbing the Underground Holy Spring. Each Soul Essence produced could increase his strength drastically.

He had a total of eight elemental magical powers. After all his elements achieved Super level, he would be powerful! Each of his elements contained 2401 Star Sons. When each of the Star Sons continued to advance to the fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh grade, he could cast common magic with terrifying force!

Most people would not use the precious Soul Essence to strengthen their Star Sons due to lower returns. It would be an absolute waste. However, Mo Fan was different. Little Loach possessed special condensation ability. If it had not been for the fact that the Soul Essence produced could not be sold, Mo Fan would have become the world’s richest man long ago, and Zhao Manyan would no longer be on his list.

“Huh? What did you say?” asked Mo Fan. He took a sip of the fragrant tea. ‘Bitter!’

The loose-leaf tea had been kept for too long. It was so bitter. Cunning businessmen were everywhere these days!

Not many people could survive under the Ocean Demon’s threat for many years. But Mo Fan wondered why they were reluctant to offer some nice tea so everyone could enjoy their final days with delicious tea, at the least.

“As we mentioned earlier, most of the ancient characters on totem beasts are pointing to the same mysterious place. Even though the situation along the coastline is complicated, we must take a trip down there.” Jiang Shaoxu emphasized his words with impatience.

1

“I’m sorry. I was in a daze. You’ve been talking about a lot of complicated archaeological research. I’ve already shown my respect for you by not dozing off because that’s what I usually do whenever I listen to research in academics,” Mo Fan snorted.

“I think you’re just focusing on the Underground Holy Spring,” Lingling said, irritated.

“Not really. It depends on which side provides me with more sufficient and accurate information. Speaking of which, I’ve been to the place that you mentioned. But Northern Xinjiang is vast, and it’s a no man’s island. Just like you’ll find yourself losing direction at Gobi Desert if you don’t have clear signs. Even the Egyptians are confused with the direction of the golden pyramid in the desert.” Mo Fan had heard part of their conversations.

Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu had the intention of going to Northern Xinjiang.

After the duo had combined all the totem beasts’ seals, including the Green East Sea God’s, they found some characters from Northern Xinjiang which led them to believe it was most likely a totem beast’s trace. Mo Fan was very familiar with that area. It was near Beiguan Town!

Back then, Khufu led the Golden Pyramid Undeads to trample Northern Xinjiang. When a crisis happened along the East Coastline, it almost caused a devastating blow to the Northwest area. If not for Zhan Kong and his Undead Empire from Ancient Capital salvaging the situation, the Northwest area would have been destroyed.

When the coastline suffered a huge crisis, people moved to the West and built cities in the Northwest. Without the Undeads, the vast dry lands at Ancient Capital and North Xinjiang became their new habitat. Even though the lands were not suitable for planting, they eventually found a way around it.

“No matter what, we have to go to the Ancient Capital and Beiguan Town. After that, we might have to continue our journey to the Northwest, Inner Mongolia prairie, or return to Ningxia or Green Sea,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“We’re getting close to finding the totem beast, Mo Fan. I know you’re worried about the current situation in the East Ocean. But we, too, are racing against time. The totem beasts understood the Ocean Demon better than us. They are the Ocean Demon’s natural enemy. If we find the surviving totem beast, we can safeguard another base city!” Lingling said firmly.

Mo Fan stared at Lingling. He noticed she had grown mature. In the past, she could not blurt out such words with confidence.

“Why are you staring at me? I’m just hoping that there will still be a continuous supply of tasty milk tea,” Lingling defended herself.

“For me, my only concern is I’m afraid I won’t run into such an adorable Shanghai girl anymore.” Mo Fan smiled.

“Mo Fan, enough! If you want some sweet talk, come to me. Don’t go after a young woman!” Jiang Shaoxu said ruthlessly.

Lingling was right. If Mo Fan focused on finding totem beasts, Commander Hua would be more at ease.

‘If we find a sacred totem beast, perhaps we can alter the current situation.’ Mo Fan heaved a sigh when he recalled the image of Commander Hua facing the sea on the hill alone.

Even Commander Hua found their state to be hopeless. Could he still make a difference?

What he had to do was to find the sacred totem beast. They had a clearer picture on the route to its location. Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu had clues about the sacred totem beast. Although they did not know when the Ocean Demons would launch an attack, they had to race against time!

“So, that’s settled.” Lingling smiled. Finally, she could ignore the magic theory course that she had been memorizing since she was seven years old. She had broken herself free from the group of narcissistic men. Those men had pretended as though they were humorous, handsome, and had profound knowledge. They were nothing but shallow and childish.

“Lingling, how are you drinking that tea? Mine tastes very bitter,” said Mo Fan.

“The tea doesn’t taste as good as milk tea.” Lingling did not fancy the warm tea. Her only preference was milk tea with less sugar and pearls.

“We can depart after Song Feiyao arrives… Ahh! Mo Fan, I envy you. You have two ladies, one from Parthenon Temple and the other at Fanxue Mountain waiting for you. Besides, you have some ‘lovers’ like us to accompany you from time to time. Also, youalways flirt with someone new.” Jiang Shaoxu drew circles in the air with his slender fingers.

“I don’t mind if others say that to me. But you already know that I’m innocent, how dare you make fun of me?! I can’t do anything if you refuse to get married. I can’t worry so much about you. To me, it’s best if all of the world’s beautiful ladies remain single. I don’t mind admiring their beauty from afar,” Mo Fan said frankly.

“Dream on. After the mission is accomplished, I’ll basically go back to my hometown and get married. Lingling, you have to be careful. You’re a beautiful woman now…,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Men are not as fun compared to hunting demons,” Lingling said disdainfully.

Mo Fan and Jiang Shaoxu were speechless.

Chapter 2805: So-called High Level Of Cultivation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At the Clearsky Hunter Agency at Jing An…

Ding Ding Dong Dong!

The door was pushed open, it automatically bounced back to its place and disturbed a small wind chime. The wind chime produced a crisp and pleasant sound. The sound echoed within the tea house.

“Hi, I’m here looking for...” Song Feiyao was dressed in black crop top, black silk trousers, and black conical hat. She had captured many passersby’s attention along the way because of her unique attire.

“Shh!” A handsome man with golden hair stood up. He pretended to listen to her attentively.

Song Feiyao stared at him in confusion.

“I sit here and wait for the guests expectantly every day. However, most of them always disappoint me. Today, as usual I waited for the guests with some trepidation… until you walked in,” said the man. “My day brightened up. Even though you are dressed entirely in black, you appear ever so vibrant in my eyes…”

“Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Zhao Manyan, and you can call me Xiao Tian. Aside from being an outstanding Holy Light mage, I’m also a modern poet. Thank you for shedding light on my somewhat dull poetry. May I know what I can do in return? You may ask me to do anything. I’ll feel guilty if you don’t. After all, you’ve done me a huge favor…”

“I came here to find Mo Fan,” Song Feiyao stated her business. She did not know what the man was blabbering about.

“Oh! So, you came to find M-Mo Fan… You came to find Mo Fan…”

‘She’s such a pretty woman… How could Mo Fan be the one who...’ Zhao Manyan tried to remain calm. However, he was frustrated inwardly.

“Is he around?” Song Feiyao asked.

“He is. Please look for him yourself.” Zhao Manyan returned to his seat and ignored her.

She wondered what was wrong with him. She found his behavior so odd. She ignored him and looked around the shop.

The wind chime above the door rang again. Song Feiyao was about to walk to the backyard when she heard the handsome man stand up again. “You’re like a rainbow after the storm. Your stunning presence brightened my dull brain and inspired me greatly. Allow me to introduce myself…”

“Oh, really? This is my first time coming to Jing An. I heard there are many petty tea houses here. I never expected to meet such a romantic poet. I’m so happy!” said the girl.

Song Feiyao walked to the backyard. She barely heard the man and woman from inside. She noticed there was a variety of greenery in the courtyard. Then, she noticed a person sitting on his knees concentrating on his cultivation…

The tea house was surrounded by high rise skyscrapers. There were several main streets in Jing An. It was a crowded place. Even so, there was a sense of tranquility in the middle of chaos in the quiet backyard of the tea house.

Song Feiyao did not disturb Mo Fan. She sat beside him and quietly observed the Star Dust glow on him. The colors were brown, purple, red, pure silver, moon white, dark glow, mixed shadow, blood ink…

It was amazing that one person possessed so many shades of magical power. Each of them was extremely powerful!

…

Mo Fan opened his eyes. The unique Star Dust hues soon faded from his eyes, and they returned to his normal black-brown color.

“It is done!” Mo Fan smiled proudly.

His smile grew wider until he noticed a presence beside him. He tried to wipe the grin off his face lest he look like an idiot. Song Feiyao tried to hold back her laughter.

“Your cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds. We’ve once allowed the outsiders to use the Underground Holy Springs. It shows tremendous effect in the beginning, but it gradually fades. I rarely saw someone like you who can break through the barriers within such a short period of time.” Song Feiyao fixed her gaze on his chest.

When Mo Fan was in the middle of his cultivation, she noticed a unique glow on his chest. The light completely changed because of the Underground Holy Spring.

“I’d relied on the Underground Holy Spring when I first advanced to Super level,” Mo Fan said to Song Feiyao honestly.

She was surprised.

“There are more than one Underground Holy Spring. There’s one in Bo City. However, it’s a small spring that has almost dried up to the point where there is not much warmth left,” said Mo Fan.

He then briefly told the story of the Underground Holy Spring at Bo City to her. He also mentioned the guardians from the Ancient King’s generation who stood guard over the Underground Holy Spring.

“In other words, we’re of the same kind, right?” Song Feiyao asked, puzzled.

“Weiju clan from the Ancient Capital, Bo City, and Licheng Afterglow Island are all related to the Underground Holy Spring.”

“Perhaps in the past, the clan standing guard over the Underground Holy Spring had split. These springs are all that remains after so many years. When you mentioned another Underground Holy Spring somewhere else, I knew it must have been another branch of it like Bo City and Licheng Afterglow Island,” said Mo Fan.

“I’ve never thought about it... No wonder the Underground Holy Spring has such an effect on you,” Song Feiyao said with a sigh.

Mo Fan smiled. Truth was, the Underground Holy Spring was not particularly effective to him. It was all because of Little Loach! Little Loach had become a movable premium Underground Holy Spring for him.

Those with Super level had to search for the veins of Star Sea and figure out their magical path. They had to work very hard for it and exhausted tremendous energy and financial resources.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan was different. Ever since he obtained the Ancient King’s Soul Essence, Little Loach transformed and became distinctive from others. With the addition of the Underground Holy Spring, he would be close to invincible.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that even if Mo Fan slept and did nothing, his cultivation level could increase significantly and break through the solid barriers!

Mo Fan had achieved Super level in his Earth element magical power within the short period when Song Feiyao was away. He had achieved Super level in his Summoning element magical power not very long ago. The time it took him to achieve it had shortened radically.

And that was still not a big deal…

If things went smoothly, he would achieve a breakthrough in his Chaos element magical power, too! His Space, Shadow, and Fire element magical powers were going to advance again!

“By the way, what is your cultivation level? The place that we’re heading could be quite dangerous. The Green East Sea God cannot come with us,” Mo Fan said.

“I’ve completed my cultivation in four elements.”

‘Um… Well, you’ve been soaking in the Underground Holy Spring since you were a child. You became who you are today under the Licheng Afterglow Islander advantage. You don’t have any major elements, Heaven Seeds, or supernatural power. You have no exclusive knowledge of your own Super level cultivation. Yet you claim to have a so-called high level of cultivation, hmph!’

1

Chapter 2806: Returning To The Ancient Capital

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan had to venture outside once again. He found himself to be a true wandering child. He had never stayed in his house comfortably for a full month. He had to pack his stuff again.

There was no choice. He was born in a tumultuous world, and he had to save it.

He envied the Marvel superheroes. After the superheroes received their supernatural powers, they could immediately stand up to fight the crisis. Their innate abilities were sufficient to take on the disasters that befell their world.

However, there was no such thing in the country. They had to stand up to fight for the country whenever they were needed. Besides, they had to learn their skills from scratch. They had to work hard for their cultivation.

The road of cultivation alone was long and hard. It had to be so refined that each level of improvement had to be enumerated. Furthermore, after they advanced to a new level with great pains, they thought they could settle the crisis with their new level of power. Unfortunately, reality showed them that their abilities were never enough to solve anything.

Perhaps, everyone had a different concept about their own world.

In some people’s world, they had a small family. However, in some other people’s world, the city meant everything to them. To some people, the world was everything to them.

There were different levels of difficulties. Protecting one’s own family might seem difficult, but when one must protect an entire country, that was a whole new level of struggle.

…

Mo Fan had a nice habit of informing about his family before every departure.

After bidding farewell to Xinxia and Mu Ningxue, Mo Fan dialed the number of the British Fanxue Mountain Chamber of Commerce.

“Dad, you seem to have adapted well to living overseas. You don’t look like you’re coming back anytime soon. Are you going to find me a stepmother from London?” asked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was always informal with his father. Mo Jiaxin had never taken his blunt words to heart.

“Nonsense! There’s nothing much for me to do at Fanxue Mountain. There’s a shortage of manpower here, so I decided to stay here with Big Brother Zhuoyun. Even so, I’ve a better knowledge about the ins and outs of Fanxue Mountain than you. I’m aware of its imported and exported goods, selling prices and partnerships!” Mo Jiaxin said impatiently.

“Fine. Anyway, I heard about the presence of Ocean Demons in London. Northern Ice Abyss Beasts frequently appeared in Norway. Several large ships drowned. Also, several cities suffered different degrees of destruction. Even England is in the middle of preparation for war,” Mo Fan warned Mo Jiaxin.

Ocean coverage accounted for more than seventy percent of the Earth. Most of the affluent countries could not separate themselves from the ocean. They were in a dire situation.

“I often see groups of Dragon Rider mages flying in the sky in London. I suspect something big is about to happen. We’re already used to it. After all, we don’t run away from minor disasters, and we can’t run away from big disasters. So, we might as well do our parts,” said Mo Jiaxin.

“Make sense. I have to go to Northern Xinjiang and will likely spend a long time there. This time, I’m going to search for something related to our hometown,” Mo Fan told Mo Jiaxin everything.

“Okay. Be careful. I’m going to Greece in a couple of days. I’ll pay a visit to Xinxia when I’m on my way there.”

“Okay, Xinxia told me about it.”

…

After Mo Jiaxin hung up, he tossed his mobile phone to the side and continued to fix the vines of the China Roses on the wall. Although the China Roses were not as stunning and delicate as ordinary roses, they were always easier to maintain.

“Young Brother Mo, why haven’t you packed your stuff yet?” Mu Zhuoyun stared at Mo Jiaxin in confusion. He was still trimming the plants at his leisure.

“Why do I have to pack my stuff?”

“We’re going to Greece. The trip is ahead of schedule. Aren’t you aware of it?” asked Mu Zhuoyun.

“Oh dear! My memory fails me. Wait for a while, I’m almost done.” Mo Jiaxin put down his scissors. He turned back and looked at the climbing flowers.

He wondered if the plants would still be alive by the time he returned.

…

The Green East Sea God’s flying speed exceeded the Wind Roarasaurus. Although the Ancient Capital was very far, they arrived at their destination in a short period of time. They barely finished playing more than two rounds of cards.

Moreover, the Green East Sea God’s wings were furry. Its back was wide. Sitting on its back was more comfortable than a first-class seat on an airplane. Besides, they could enjoy a 180-degree panoramic sky view without any obstruction.

Although Mo Fan possessed Wings of Dawn and Dusk and that his flying ability was as good as the Green East Sea God, why bother to do the extra work unnecessarily?

When they landed at the Ancient Capital, they noticed that it had been reconstructed. Without the Undeads’ threat, the capital had become most of the coastal migrants’ first choice.

Mo Fan was relieved to see the Ancient Capital so prosperous. He had witnessed the disaster with his own eyes. He had thought that the capital was going to perish. It was a pleasant surprise to see it prosperous and lively.

When they arrived at the Ancient Capital, a person came to receive them.

That person was none other than the thousand-year-old female haunted spirit that lived in the body of another girl. She wore traditional Tang attire, and her face was as pale as a ghost.

“Have you resurrected in a new body?” Mo Fan recognized that she was the Queen of Nine Serenities.

“The girl often stays at home and plays online games. She’s the reason for her current look. Even a ghost looks better than her. I cannot find a suitable body to possess, so I have to temporarily use her body. Also, it’s a bonus that I can make her come out of her house and see the sunlight. I mean, look at her! Youngsters these days are so unhealthy. She is worse than me and I am a ghost!” The Queen of Nine Serenities complained.

The young girl was filled with Yin energy and was suitable for the Queen of Serenities to use as its host.

“I didn’t quite understand about the things you told me hastily on the phone,” Mo Fan said to the Queen of Nine Serenities.

“Guys, don’t keep talking among yourself! Mo Fan, why don’t you introduce me to the beautiful woman next to you?” Zhao Manyan drew close to Mo Fan while fixing his gaze on the Queen of Nine Serenities.

Although the girl looked as pale as a ghost, she was indeed a beauty.

The Queen of Nine Serenities was obsessed with beauty. She usually selected hosts who were beautiful.

“She is…”

“Hi, I’m Zhao Xiaotian. I’m a modern poet. The Ancient Capital provides such a pleasant living environment that it could produce a lovely lady like you. The Ancient Capital is not so ancient, after all.” Zhao Manyan quickly took over the conversation.

“Hohoho! You’re such a handsome scum!” The Queen of Nine Serenities laughed so hard that her body trembled.

Zhao Manyan was dumbfounded. He wondered why the young girl behaved so oddly. ‘Am I really a scum?’

“You’re a bit weak, Otherwise, you’ll make a perfect candidate with Yang energy.” The Queen of Nine Serenities stared at him.

Zhao Manyan was speechless.

Chapter 2807: New Forces

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“You came at the right time. The Ancient Capital seems to be at peace, but to tell you the truth, many Undeads became restless after the king passed away. They plan to attack when the next Red Moon appears to expand the Undead Empire,” the Queen of Nine Serenities said to Mo Fan.

“Can’t the Dead Kings of the Eight Directions control the Undeads?” Mo Fan asked in surprise.

Besides the king, there were also the Dead Kings of the Eight Directions, and each of them, especially Mountain Zombie, was a mighty warrior. Mountain Zombie was on the same level as the Black Totem Snake, so how could any Undead defy its orders?

“It’s dying,” the Queen of Nine Serenities said.

“What happened?” Mo Fan frowned. ‘How could the Mountain Zombie be dying?’

So many experts had attacked it in the past and it had always survived.

“In the battle of the underworld, we had the upper hand and had a chance to use the underworld as the new world for the Undeads of the Ancient Capital. But after Khufu and Archangel Michael killed the king, the Undeads of Egypt regained control of the underworld. The Undeads of the Ancient Capital couldn’t fight against Khufu, so we could only return to the Ancient Capital and Northern Xinjiang.

“The Undeads have to rely on death energy to survive. The king was still alive in the past, and we needed to reclaim the underworld so we wouldn’t disturb the people in the Ancient Capital and Northern Xinjiang. However, we lost control of the underworld, and the population of the Ancient Capital and Northern Xinjiang has grown significantly. Everyone was too hungry, and some new forces appeared and attacked the villages.

“A smart living dead should be the leader of these new forces. They have made many places appear as if they have been ravaged by beasts and demons. I went there with Red Skeleton before.”

The Queen of Nine Serenities explained the situation to Mo Fan. In the end, all these happened because the king passed away. When they had no king in the past, the Undeads would wander near the city and attack at night.

After they found a king, humans expanded their lands and reduced the habitats of the Undeads. After the battle, Khufu and the Undeads of Egypt occupied the underworld, so their conflict shifted to one between the residents of the Ancient Capital and the Undeads.

“The residents of the Ancient Capital and Northern Xinjiang respect some old rules and would not destroy tombs, spiritual lands, or dead swamps. However, many migrants who arrived did not know the rules. Their exploitation of natural resources and destruction caused many old Undeads who followed the king’s will to be dissatisfied, and they secretly joined the new forces.”

“The new forces of the Undeads of the Ancient Capital are expanding. I’m weak and don’t have the king’s support, so I can’t control them. Besides, Mountain Zombie is severely injured. I believe the political situation of the Undeads of the Ancient Capital will change soon, and the era of the Dead Kings of Eight Directions will end.”

It seemed that the situation of the Ancient Capital was not as optimistic. In fact, various parts of the country, including the Ancient Capital, had huge hidden problems. In the past, there were many wars between humans and demons. They fought more frequently because of the extreme cold and rising sea levels that reduced their resources. When humans and demons fought for a warm place, most of them died.

The Ocean Demons drove humans to the land, and the demons felt that humans were invading their territory. The Undeads’ territory had been seriously encroached upon.

When the Dead Kings of the Eight Directions and many Undeads obeyed the Ancient King and competed with the Undeads of Egypt for the underworld, they suffered a great loss. The Sphinx took revenge at the previous battle and severely injured Mountain Zombie.

The Dead Kings of the Eight Directions were either dead or injured, so their time as Undead leaders was coming to an end. New Undead forces were expanding, and they were targeting the humans.

A new battle would soon begin near the Ancient Capital. Otherwise, the Ancient Capital would return to the time when its inhabitants could not travel at night.

“At the end of the day, it’s not easy for everyone.” Mo Fan sighed.

It was inevitable that chaos would reign in the capital without the King of the Undeads. A short period of peace was only possible because of the King of the Undeads. Once the king passed away, everything would be the same as before.

Many people in the east had misunderstood the Ancient Capital. They thought the Ancient Capital did not have the threat of demons, so it was the most suitable place for cultivation and rest. But they did not know that a battle with the Undeads was just around the corner.

“Is there any solution?” Mo Fan asked.

“There’s none. Everything will return to the way it was before,” the Queen of Nine Serenities said.

“All right, I’ll warn Han Ji about it,” Mo Fan said.

“How about I kill you, and you become the new king?” the Queen of Nine Serenities asked.

“In that case, why don’t I just get rid of all the Undeads?” Mo Fan said gruffly.

“You’re right. However, even if the Undeads cease to exist, there are still Qinling Feather Demons and Kunlun Demon Kingdom. You better remind the human leaders not to provoke the Kunlun Demon Kingdom because of the threats of the Ocean Demons. The Kunlun Demon Kingdom can kill humans faster than the Ocean Demons,” the Queen of Nine Serenities reminded Mo Fan.

“Is the Kunlun Demon Kingdom very strong?” Mo Fan raised his eyebrows.

“If the Kunlun Mountains are at the seaside, the Ocean Demons will be much more obedient,” the Queen of Nine Serenities said.

Mo Fan was surprised. Based on his understanding, the Kunlun Demon Kingdom should be on the same level as the Undead Empire. But according to the Queen of Nine Serenities, they were even stronger.

He needed to talk with Chairman Shao Zheng. Hopefully, they did not plan to visit Kunlun.

…

Mo Fan sent Han Ji a message fromthe Queen of Nine Serenities.

Han Ji was still the chairman of the Magic Association of Ancient Capital. He would report this to all departments of Ancient Capital and take protective measures in time.

Han Ji always acted decisively. He immediately gathered the Imperial Forbidden Mages and Imperial Forbidden Army. With some accurate information given by the Queen of Nine Serenities, they planned to act first and eliminate the new forces of the Undeads.

They could not allow those migrants to exploit the Land of the Undead at will anymore. Otherwise, a bigger war would be right around the corner.

In contrast to other demons, the Undead would not go extinct. Every creature that died appeared as the Undead.

The Undead Empire was still relatively weak. Humans could live in peace for the time being, but the Undeads would become stronger. In the end, war was inevitable.

Han Ji could only stall for time to delay the war and let the humans, who had been fighting with the Ocean Demons, have some time to rest.

But how long could this situation last? In the uneven black soil, hungry roars echoed at dusk.

Chapter 2808: In the Same Direction

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

If they wanted to go to Northern Xinjiang, they needed a guide.

Both Zhang Xiaohou and Mu Bai once set out from the Ancient Capital and walked all the way westward to reach the high-altitude Xinjiang. They also walked to the northwest and wandered for a long time near the border of Northern Xinjiang. Both had traveled to the northwest region of the Ancient Capital for a long time.

It just so happened that both were present this time around, too.

Mo Fan thought Mu Bai would stay in Fanxue Mountain. After all, Mu Bai had more responsibility after becoming famous in the battle in Fanxue Mountain. However, he still came from far away to the Ancient Capital to join Mo Fan and the others when he heard they were looking for the Sacred Totem Beast.

Zhang Xiaohou arrived the next day.

After Mo Fan reported his itinerary to Shao Zheng, he was happy to hear it and immediately talked to Commander Hua.

The Commander was also much happier knowing that Mo Fan had not stayed on the East Coastline. He deliberately transferred Zhang Xiaohou, who was guarding Dalian, to the Ancient Capital and let Zhang Xiaohou return to the Imperial Forbidden Army as the Chief Commander.

Shao Zheng and Commander Hua knew that if Mo Fan could find a surviving Sacred Totem Beast, it would change the situation on the East Coastline. It was significant to the whole country.

While waiting for Zhang Xiaohou’s arrival, Mo Fan asked Song Feiyao for information about the Underground Holy Spring.

Mu Bai was surprised when he heard that Licheng Afterglow Island was guarding the Underground Holy Spring.

“When I traveled to the northwest by myself, I also found some information about the Underground Holy Spring. However, I wasn’t strong enough, so there were some places I couldn’t go,” said Mu Bai.

“You went to find the Underground Holy Spring by yourself after the catastrophe of the Ancient Capital?” Mo Fan asked.

“Not really. I was confused back then, and I found out about a spring similar to the spring Bo City guarded through some information. I wasn’t sure if that was the Underground Holy Spring and didn’t know what purpose it served. I just chose to pursue it without a purpose. At that time, I walked to Helan Mountain…” Mu Bai recounted his experience.

“If it is Helan Mountain, the targets we are looking for should be the same,” Song Feiyao said.

It was in Helan Mountain!

Helan Mountain place was a high-altitude area, and it was far away from the Ancient Capital. Mu Bai had walked alone to Helan Mountain. He was a hardcore backpacker.

“The information I got is incomplete, so it might not be as accurate as what she says. I inquired about some things locally. Unfortunately, a wild beast disaster broke out in Helan Mountain at that time, which destroyed many clues,” Mu Bai recalled.

“Why didn’t you say that earlier? It is the Underground Holy Spring.” Mo Fan did not know whether to laugh or cry. It turned out that Mu Bai knew about the other Underground Holy Spring from a long time ago.

“I didn’t know it was the Underground Holy Spring at first. She didn’t mention Helan Mountain, and you guys didn’t mention the Underground Holy Spring. How could I link them together?” Mu Bai raised his eyebrows innocently.

“Let’s put the matter of the Underground Holy Spring aside for now. Didn’t you say you wanted to find the Sacred Totem Beast?” Jiang Shaoxu interrupted them.

Lingling sat on the stone bench. She wore a pleated school skirt. Her favorite small laptop was on her lap.

Her eyes did not look away from the screen. She said to Jiang Shaoxu, “It’s interesting. If we want to find the Sacred Totem Beast, we must go to Jiangnan. Some Ningxia hunters discovered an archaeological site of the ancient road at the Yellow River. If we want to find the Underground Holy Spring or the Sacred Totem Beast, we must go to Ningxia.”

Mo Fan moved to Lingling’s side and looked at her simplified map route. Helan Mountain and the archaeological site at the Yellow River were not too far away, so they could save a lot of time.

Mo Fan felt happy when he saw the simplified picture. He was lucky to have the help of others at such a critical time. He could save a lot of time and did not need to run around the world without direction.

“How about this? When we arrive in Ningxia, we can separate into two groups. Some of us will go to find the Underground Holy Spring, and the others will go to find the archaeological site with Totem,” Jiang Shaoxu suggested.

“Okay, that will be more efficient. We will set off as soon as Zhang Xiaohou arrives.”

…

Since they had a mythical beast like the Green East Sea God, the journey was very convenient. It could fly in the sky at a very high altitude, and it did not collide with the territory of those demons along the way.

Besides, even if there were some careless demon tribes, they dared not to fight with the Green East Sea God. Most demons did not dare get near it.

On the way to Ningxia, the scenery was mostly brown. The place was desolate, and the clouds were white. They saw huge ravines, long canyons, and pine forest mountains. It was quiet at night, but the sun was magnificent. In such a unique world, Mo Fan suddenly imagined how Mu Bai might have felt traveling alone in this land.

People would feel lost and intoxicated.

…

When they arrived in Yinchuan, the weather turned cold. It was just night, and the temperature dropped. The temperature difference between day and night was huge. It was the difference between winter and summer.

“The temperature here is always like this. It doesn’t seem to be greatly affected by the south cold wave,” Mu Bai said.

“Unfortunately, the rainwater and soil are not good. Otherwise, people could build a large base city here to accommodate enough migrants.” Zhang Xiaohou sighed.

The people in the eastern part were still stubbornly resisting because this place was rich in resources, abundant in water, and had a balanced climate. It was not that humans could not adapt to the weather of different regions, but that the Loess Plateau could not grow enough food, vegetables, and fruits due its large population.

The Yellow River had nurtured countless generations but could not support the sudden influx of ten million, let alone a hundred million people.

Besides, the whole migration journey was full of the threat of demons. Many hungry demons were expecting a large number of prey like humans to arrive. Compared with demons, humans were still too weak. Only the Mages among humans could face them.

Migrating from the east to the west had too many problems. Many people would rather fight to the end than move.

“Let’s start our journey. Moving at night won’t have much impact on us,” Mo Fan said to the crowd.

“Okay.” Zhang Xiaohou nodded.

Zhang Xiaohou and Zhao Manyan took Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu to the archaeological site at the Yellow River. Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu would have enough time to conduct an on-site investigation.

Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Song Feiyao went to find the Underground Holy Spring.

Chapter 2809: Helan Mountain

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

They walked uphill to Helan Mountain. It was better to walk from the west as it was a level road. The mountains were barren, so plants could not grow. There were only rocks on the ground. At night, the wind blew the sand around the place.

The road in the east was steep. Mu Bai, who had been here before, suggested going from the west, so they did not have to climb over the mountains and would not lose their way in the deep valleys.

They walked along the mountain and occasionally saw some herdsmen who raised a group of red deer. Each red deer was as big as a stallion and had large and exaggerated antlers, which made them look very mighty.

These herdsmen were not ordinary. Most of them were Mages, and many of them cultivated the Psychic Element.

Psychic Element Mages could tame beasts, and many of them worked in the military. The most famous beastmaster came from the family of Duke Ayleen of the United Kingdom. All the family members were masters in taming dragons.

Red deer ran far better than war horses, and their antlers were natural weapons. In the past, there had been a group of Mages called Brave Red Deer Riders. They rode strong red deer to fight against the wild beasts in Northern Xinjiang and the Elemental Soldiers that only existed there.

“Hey there, are you guys going to the mountain to see the scenery? What’re you guys thinking going to the mountain in the middle of the night?” A man with thick eyebrows and a beard approached them riding a red deer.

The antlers of the red deer were copper-colored. They looked more like smelted copperware. The body of the red deer glowed, making it look like an ancient copper statue that had just been unearthed but was still majestic.

“We came from the Ancient Capital to investigate the archaeological site,” said Mo Fan.

“Investigate? Are you here to steal the…?”

“Of course not. We’re looking for a group of people who migrated here during the Qin and Han Dynasties. They once built some holy altars and springs near Helan Mountain, and we want to find these,” Mo Fan said straightforwardly.

“It’s impossible to find a stream here for a fresh source of water as it rarely rains. Even if there was one, it would have dried up long ago. You need to be careful if you want to go into the mountains. The Elemental Soldiers are looking for something. We had to give up the land for them,” the man warned them.

“Don’t worry, Sir. We’re quite strong, so we can handle the Elemental Soldiers,” Mo Fan said sincerely.

The man gave Mo Fan a thumbs up. “It’s been a long time since I last saw a young man like you who is so natural and unpretentious at boasting. Good luck!”

…

Song Feiyao’s attire fully covered her body and was suitable for this kind of place where sandstorms were frequent. Mo Fan faced the sandstorm with his rough skin, while Mu Bai wore his soft armor. Mu Bai protected his body very well. He was well-experienced.

“I didn’t walk too far after I went up the mountain. The Elemental Soldiers that the man mentioned earlier fought with the wild beasts from the north, and there were corpses everywhere,” Mu Bai said.

Song Feiyao also took out a sketch drawn by the Eldest Granny. “This sketch is only an outline, after all, it has been a long time. It is not easy to find the location of the Underground Holy Spring with accuracy.”

“That’s not necessarily true. Follow me.” Mo Fan smiled.

Mu Bai felt that Mo Fan was being overconfident when they didn’t actually know where they all were headed.

Song Feiyao had inherited some information about the Underground Holy Spring. The Underground Holy Spring they guarded was more orthodox and bigger than the Underground Holy Spring in Bo City. People in Bo City did not remember where the Underground Holy Spring came from, but people from Licheng Afterglow Island knew everything about its source.

Mu Bai had come here before to search for some clues about the Ancient Capital and Weiju Clan. He was unable to search further at that time due to the war.

No matter how one looked at it, Mo Fan was the one with the least knowledge and experience about this, so why was he taking the lead?

Mo Fan did not reveal anything. It was not convenient for him to tell them how he knew about the spring without disclosing the secret of Little Loach Pendant. He would then have to explain the rate at which Little Loach had improved so drastically. When he was near the Underground Holy Spring, Little Loach guided him automatically.

If the Little Loach was not a pendant, it might have gone to the Underground Holy Spring of Helan Mountain by itself. Little Loach would not be wrong about the location so Mo Fan trusted its direction.

Despite feeling a little skeptical, Mu Bai and Song Feiyao still followed Mo Fan as he led the way. Soon, they came upon a high-altitude area of the mountain.

The height of the mountains was not much different, but those to the west were much steeper, as if the mountains were split into halves. Under these mountains, there were many sand and rocky valleys. If an ordinary person were to fall, they would die on the spot.

Even if they were lucky enough to survive, they could not find their way back up as it was easy to get lost in those sand ditches.

“We need to get down.” Mo Fanpointed at the steep slope of the mountain that faced the west.

“Are you sure you don’t want to search up there first?” Song Feiyao asked.

“Let’s get down. It must be down there. It shouldn’t be too far from us,” said Mo Fan.

“Because of the war at the time, the guardian clan of the Underground Holy Spring either integrated into that era by hiding their names and hiding from the world. To prevent other people from stealing the Underground Holy Spring, they might have hidden it in the sand ditch under the intricate Helan Mountain,” said Mu Bai.

“There is a sandstorm below, so the Green East Sea God can’t see the deeper area clearly,” said Song Feiyao.

“Let the Green East Sea God hunt for food nearby, and we’ll go down by ourselves.” Mo Fan looked at the sky and found that the sandstorm had covered the whole sky. The vast brownish-yellow color made them feel very small and insignificant.

“Let’s not rush. The topography below is complicated, and it’s inconvenient to walk and climb. Wait for me here. I’ll rent a few Blue Sheep and red deer from the herders. These animals know the place and have excellent endurance. They can also help us enter some places we can’t access,” said Mu Bai.

They were not afraid of demons since they were strong enough to wander in Helan Mountain. The problem was that the terrain was dangerous because the ground was full of rocks and sand.

Chapter 2810: Eye of the Mountain Pattern

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The wind died down. After a while, the weather became sunnier.

Mo Fan stood at the top of the mountain and looked at the east. He saw a corner of the plain of Yinchuan at the end of the ravines. There was some vegetation there, too.

He used his dragon sense and looked at the northeast area. He looked beyond those staggered ridges and vaguely saw a turbid river flowing through dozens of loess slopes.

It should be a small tributary of the Yellow River, and the source should be an iceberg on Helan Mountain. Mo Fan realized that Helan Mountain and the Yellow River were very close. The clues of the Sacred Totem Beast and the Underground Holy Spring were all here.

He wondered if there was a close connection between the two.

Mo Fan put his hand on his chest and gently held the little pendant that had accompanied him for many years. It also came from Bo City. He got it from an old man who guarded the back of a mountain at a school.

…

The Green East Sea God hovered in the sky with its wings stretched out. It had not left the coast for a long time. It was happy. It did not like the ocean. It belonged at the plateau, mountains, and the sky!

The Green East Sea God cried, and its cry reverberated over Helan Mountain. It was ecstatic. The Green East Sea God had always advocated freedom, but it was locked in Licheng Afterglow Island while carrying heavy sins. It could finally fly above rivers and mountains as high as it wanted. It was free!

The wind from Northern Xinjiang blew to Helan Mountain again. The sands slowly covered the magnificent mountain yet again.

The Green East Sea God waved its wings and flew slowly towards the sky. It heard a spiritual voice talking to him. That voice was Song Feiyao’s. It did not need to continue guarding the three at high altitude, so it could wander on its own for a while. That was not a problem at all because it absolutely loved this place.

The sandstorm started again. On one side, there were rocky mountains that looked like solemn fortresses of varying heights. On the other side was a steep slope that seemed to be split into halves. The intricate sand valleys, stone valleys, and gravel rivers were entrenched between the faults and the steep slope.

The wind blew through the mountain. The water eroded the valleys. When the Green East Sea God flew to the north and the sandstorm stopped, the patterns in Helan Mountain became clear.

If the Green East Sea God looked down, it would find that these patterns connected like an eye, and the ridge was the eye socket.

For tens and thousands of years, it had been quietly staring at God.

…

In Helan Mountain, the blue mountain sheep always jumped through the cliffs.

The local people had mastered the method of taming animals. They tamed the Blue Sheep. They even rode the Horned Blue Sheep to participate in the battle once.

Mu Bai brought five Combat Blue Sheep along with him. The kind herdsmen gave them away for free.

“For free?” Mo Fan asked in surprise.

“Yeah. They often do this kind of thing. If travelers fall to their deaths in the Helan Mountain, these animals will find their way back, usually with their corpses. The herdsmen either wait for their relatives to come to claim the corpses, or they will bury them. In return, all the belongings of the travelers will be theirs, anyway,” Mu Bai explained.

“They are waiting for us to die to get our money?!” Mo Fan’s face darkened.

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s go.” Mu Bai handed over a Blue Sheep each to Song Feiyao and Mo Fan.

The Combat Blue Sheep were stronger than horses. They were quite skilled in fighting, so ordinary demons did not dare challenge them.

The Combat Blue Sheep had excellent jumping agility. Even if there was only one edge on those cliffs, they could step and jump on it safely. They could even walk on a 90-degree vertical cliff.

The two remaining Blue Sheep followed behind them. Mo Fan and the others did not need to give orders as these sheep were always within a close range. They were well trained.

“These are very tame,” Mo Fan said in surprise.

Tamed Beasts came in several levels. The Combat Blue Sheep had been domesticated to the highest level of safety. They were almost the same as Dimensional Beasts.

“Well, the herdsmen here are very skilled. It’s a pity that there are only a few Psychic Element Mages. Otherwise, they can form a great family with their skills,” Mu Bai said.

When Mu Bai first came here, he was surprised by the herdsmen.

People addressed these beastmasters as the herdsmen. Those who came here for the first time would think they were people who tended and reared sheep and cows. The herdsmen were battlemages. They were powerful and mainly guarded Helan Mountain and the wild beasts of the Northern Silver at the north of Yellow River.

Mu Bai revealed his identity as a member of the South Wing Mage Group, so he could borrow five Combat Blue Sheep from them for free.

Of course, it was true that the Combat Blue Sheep would bring their corpses back if they were to die.

With these flexible Combat Blue Sheep, Mo Fan could save a lot of magical energy. Otherwise, it would be troublesome to have to search every nook and cranny.

“There is a kind of Guiding Stone among the Ocean Demon Crystals. In the past, the Guiding Stones were very scarce, and the Awakening Stones differed in quality. Many talented students who were more suitable for a certain element had awakened another element because of the impurities of the Awakening Stones, and they spent the rest of their lives accomplishing nothing,” said Mu Bai.

“I did hear something from Mu Nujiao about this. Our country’s overall strength will also be greatly improved if we can awaken a specific element through the Awakening Stones.” Mo Fan nodded.

The attack of the Ocean Demons also brought many resources that were difficult for humans to obtain, including those crystals that could greatly enhance the power of the Mages.

Old magic needed to be replaced. Mo Fan had experienced the entire magic growth process himself, and he had also discovered many shortcomings in the cultivation process. This had a lot to do with schools, magic associations, and the level of magic civilization in the entire world.

When it came to this kind of thing, Mo Fan would think of Feng Zhoulong.

“Awakening is a reserve force after all, and it can’t change the current situation,” Mu Bai said worriedly.

Mo Fan understood. Commander Hua might have been right. It will take five years to change things.

In the past, Mages had to face demons. Mo Fan wondered if they had been as worried and uneasy as them. The Ocean Demons were too powerful, and humans were not strong enough.

To become stronger, humans needed new changes in magic.

Chapter 2811: Rock Paintings

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Only the staff of the Magic Department could take care of the changes in magic. Mo Fan knew nothing about it.

Even though Mo Fan had almost cultivated his skills to the peak, he still felt helpless sometimes.

He was strong, but he could not help other people become stronger. At the end of the day, he was only a good enough Mage. In the future, he could only fight with demons when he was needed. Although he enjoyed it, he was still not as good as a scientific researcher at the spiritual level.

The Little Loach guided them in a direction. There were huge mountains and valleys along the way. Little Loach guided them to turn right to reach their destination. However, there was a surging river on their right, so they could cross it.

Little Loach should have directed them to a bridge.

The wind was strong, and the gravel that hit their bodies caused pain. Mo Fan did not want to waste his magic energy on such trivial things, so he could only lower his body and bury his head in the broad neck of the Combat Blue Sheep and wish for it to be over soon. Although the smell of wool was strong, it was better than letting the gravel hit his face.

“The visibility is too low. Mo Fan, are you sure we’re heading in the right direction?” Mu Bai began to doubt.

They had known each other for many years, and Mu Bai knew for a fact that Mo Fan had a very bad sense of direction.

How could someone with no sense of direction lead the way?

“Trust me,” said Mo Fan.

“Look below. There are rock paintings,” Song Feiyao pointed to a cliff.

The two walked over and looked in the direction Song Feiyao pointed at. At first glance, it looked like the rocks were eroded by the strong winds so much so that it left deep cracks on them. It didn’t look like a ‘rock painting’.However, when Mo Fan and Mu Bai rode the Combat Blue Sheep to the other end and looked at the cliff, the messy patterns merged into a distinct shape.

“You can recognize it even if it is upside down?” Mo Fan admired Song Feiyao’s eyesight.

“We were taught about these ancient paintings since we were young, and we can recognize them even if there is only a part of them,” said Song Feiyao.

“What does it mean?” Mo Fan asked.

“A door. There is a door, and we need to find another rock painting to know the specific location of the door,” Song Feiyao said with certainty.

Since they had found the right place and knew the secrets, they could find the target easily. The most troublesome thing was finding something without any clues and directions.

The rock paintings spanned a very large area. Mo Fan and Mu Bai searched south and east for several kilometers before they found another rock painting.

Mu Bai was smart. He reminded Mo Fan that if the people of the Underground Holy Spring Clan wanted to leave a mark on Helan Mountain, they would choose a rock that would not be easily eroded by strong winds, acid rain, ice, and even snow. Otherwise, nature would destroy the rock paintings in no time.

After screening out several special rock structures, it became much easier to find details on the rock through the dragon sense even if dust and thick sand were covering them.

Even so, they spent two whole days here, and the Combat Blue Sheep grew impatient and wanted to go home.

…

“We’ve found everything. Do we need to interpret it in a certain order?” Mo Fan asked impatiently.

‘Underground Holy Spring…’

In these few days, Mo Fan had felt that his Fire Element was about to break through.

His cultivation skyrocketed even though he did nothing. It fueled Mo Fan’s infinite desire to find the new Underground Holy Spring quickly.

“We have to put them together to be able to decode them,” Song Feiyao said with a frown.

“It’s impossible. The rock paintings in the south are seven kilometers apart from the rock paintings in the north, and they are all imprinted on the rocks with special methods. Forcibly moving them will only destroy the rock paintings,” Mu Bai shook his head.

“What about copying it?” Mo Fan asked.

“It’s also difficult. These rock paintings point to a certain mountain pass. If we copy it, we might not find the mountain pass accurately,” said Mu Bai.

Song Feiyao pondered. She raised her head and stared at the brown and cloudy sky. The murky sky made it hard to tell what time it was.

“I remembered an ancient method of staring. We can look at these ancient paintings from a certain angle in the sky. Unfortunately, the weather is bad. We can’t see all the rock paintings if we fly too low, but we also can’t see the mountains if we fly too high,” said Song Feiyao.

“When I borrowed the sheep, the herdsmen told me that the weather would be sunny in two days. If we are going to go through with it, we need to find a cave to take shelter. Let’s find the way when it is sunny,” said Mu Bai.

“Okay, let’s wait for two more days. We need to find a cave to take shelter. I can also check if my Fire Element can break through,” said Mo Fan.

“Didn’t your Lightning Element just break through?” Mu Bai asked in surprise.

“Well, the things our ancestors left us are mysterious,” Mo Fan said vaguely.

…

If they could not find a cave, they might as well dig one themselves. Which was exactly what they did. It was not a difficult thing. Besides, the cave they dug was clean and comfortable. They set up a tent at the entrance of the cave. When the tent flap was open, they could see the magnificent scenery of the steep and dangerous mountains. With a view like that, it wasn’t such a bad idea to stay here.

“I want to drink mutton soup.” Mo Fan was about to sit down and cultivate when a light flashed suddenly.

“Second-level protected war beasts,” Mu Bai said without looking up.

“We didn’t get to taste the mutton steamed buns in the Ancient Capital before we left.” Mo Fan sighed. He had a strange obsession with food even in times like these.

“How did you meet her?” Mu Bai asked in a low voice gesturing towards Song Feiyao’s tent.

Song Feiyao had a tent of her own. She had proposed digging her own cave and setting up a tent. The tent flap was closed. She must have been sleeping. She didn’t want the two men to watch her while she slept. She needed her privacy.

“It’s a long story, so I’ll keep it short. She admires me for being young, handsome, and strong. I told her I have a partner, but she said she didn’t mind…”

“I am not asleep yet and I can hear you, you know,” said Song Feiyao from inside her tent.

“Oh, we met at Licheng Afterglow Island. We both shared the common interest of freeing the totem beast,” said Mo Fan indifferently.

1

…

“Mu Bai, tell me about the time when you left the Ancient Capital and traveled to Helan Mountain,” Mo Fan said.

“There’s nothing special. I was just a little confused.”

“Do you want to listen to what I did in the National Institute with Zhao Manyan?” Mo Fan asked with raised eyebrows.

“Haha.” Mu Bai sneered. He was too lazy to listen to that.

“So, Zhao Manyan almost did it with a female thief.”

Mu Bai was speechless.

Chapter 2812: Human Body Mural

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The herdsmen knew the weather in Helan Mountain very well. After two days, the sunlight dazzled the mountain terrain in the morning.

Mo Fan stretched and smiled. He never thought there would be such a day when cultivation could be so easy. It would have been great if Little Loach had reached such a level from the beginning. He would probably become the youngest Forbidden Mage in the world who was skilled in multiple elements.

1

His Fire Element had reached the third level!

The form of the Flame Demon King was Mo Fan’s strongest ability, and it could even compete with strong ruler-level creatures. His Fire Element had entered its peak. His entanglement with Little Flame Belle, as well as the Great Heaven Seed, Chongming Divine Fire, and Tiandi Flame Calamity, would make him comparable to the Goddess Soul Shadow from during the catastrophe of the Ancient Capital.

At that time, it even defeated the Mountain Zombie. Mo Fan’s mood was as bright as Helan Mountain in the brilliant sun!

“What did you dream about?” Mu Bai asked seeing him so happy.

Mo Fan touched his face and found that his cheeks were hot, and he grinned like an idiot. He wanted to hide his advancement and show his skills only when it was critical. But it turned out it was harder to hide his excitement.

“The sky is clear. Let’s hurry up and find the Underground Holy Spring quickly!” Mo Fan said.

Song Feiyao had woken up earlier than the two of them. She washed up with the clean water she carried before leaving the tent. She was looking for a suitable viewing angle.

When Mo Fan and Mu Bai found Song Feiyao, she seemed to have already determined the location.

“Would you like me to take you for a ride? I can fly very high.” Mo Fan wanted to show off his Black Dragon Wings to her.

“No, that’s okay.”

On Song Feiyao’s palm, there was a greenish-red seed constantly absorbing sunlight. The seed slid down to the barren soil and quickly spread out its strong roots beneath the soil. After the roots stabilized, a slender vine moved toward the air like a small green snake. The vines were very long. After it climbed for a while, Song Feiyao grabbed one position, and she flew into the air with the rapidly rising vines.

“This environmentally friendly sightseeing elevator is good,” Mo Fan commented.

Afterward, the two followed the vines that had grown to the sky into the air together. When they reached the same height as Song Feiyao, Mo Fan looked at the marked rock paintings.

All the rock paintings were to the east of them. At first, Mo Fan could not understand them, but as his field of vision became wider and his observation angle increased, Mo Fan was surprised to find that the rock paintings were getting closer!

Of course, the rock paintings weren’t moving.

All the rock paintings were arranged according to the shape of Helan Mountain. A large rock painting occupied the entire mountain wall in that area as far as the eyes could see. They saw the end of the rock painting on the sloped cliff when they looked down from a height.

On the mountainside on the left was an engraving of another rock painting. From their current angle and height, the peak of the mountain touched the rock painting on the edge of the cliff.

Several rock paintings merged owing to the different heights, sizes, and locations of the mountains. They had become one complete rock painting at the mountain pass!

In Mo Fan’s opinion, the designer was too bored to think of such a mural.

But Mo Fan also had to admit that the ancients were very good at making these fancy puzzle-like drawings. If Song Feiyao did not know how to observe them, they would never have been able to decode the meaning of the paintings.

“The mountain pass is just to the east. An underground tributary of the Yellow River flows into it. The people who live in isolation won’t be affected even if some huge mountains cover it,” Song Feiyao said confidently.

The rock paintings marked the secluded place of the clan that guarded the Underground Holy Spring and marked a special underground valley. They could easily find where they wanted to go if they followed the water source.

“There won’t be people living there, right?” Mu Bai asked.

“It’s unlikely to have people living there. Bo City, Licheng Afterglow Island, and Weiju Clan have all assimilated. No matter how isolated the places are, the residents must have left such a place,” said Mo Fan.

“We’ll know after we go in and look around. I hope these people didn’t disappear. The Underground Holy Spring will be very weak if no one was there to protect it,” said Song Feiyao.

They found the mountain pass, but there was no river there. Instead, an obvious alluvial fan had formed, like a completely dry delta. It was not a natural phenomenon in Helan Mountain.

They walked along the gravel-filled mountain pass. Those steep peaks were like gates of heaven that would fall at any time in front of the three of them. Without stepping into it, they could only see the dangerous mountain. They never thought that there was a road below. There was still sunlight in the morning, but it became very dark in the afternoon.

The passage through the mountain pass was not stable, and a lot of gravel and thick soil slid down. If it was the rainy season, there would be a disastrous flood. Mud, boulders, and sand would flow like wild beasts.

Fortunately, it had not rained recently.

The deeper they went, the more traces they found of life lived in this place. They even saw a few stone houses standing alone by the cliff. They looked at the outpost of the village. People might have used that to guard the entrance.

However, the stone houses had long been abandoned, and it was not clear when.

“The guardians of the Underground Holy Spring of Helan Mountain seem to like rock paintings, murals, and geoglyphs, and they were mostly represented by human body shapes, movements, and postures.” Mu Bai observed.

The floor they walked on and the cliffs on both sides had a ‘human’ shape that had been cut. The way it was cut was very fascinating. It seemed like when the cement had not even dried completely, a cat and a dog had accidentally stepped on it. Their small footprints had been immortalized on the wall and the floor.

It was the same for the human shapes. They had different postures. It seemed that when everything was still being fabricated and shaped, many people posed differently to leave their mark.

It was some sort of sculpture art. Most of the mural sculptures were convex, but some were concave.

Chapter 2813: The Underground Holy Spring

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

As they continued to go deeper into the cave, they found a clean stream.

The stream flowed through the mountain valley they had been walking on. Song Feiyao told them this was the exact stream they were looking for that crossed the ancient village before reaching the Yellow River.

The clear stream water suggested that the stream did not flow on the surface. Otherwise, the surrounding mud and dirt could easily turn it muddy.

The stream water spilled out from the rock strata, then passed by a fault valley blocked by the rocks. The mysterious and ancient village where the Underground Holy Spring was located at the fault valley.

The rock mass on top of the mountain within the fault valley resembled a gigantic umbrella that blocked the sun from view. It covered the entire fault valley. Even if one looked down from the sky, they could not possibly notice the cave down there.

The crystal-clear stream water flowed out of the fault valley through the cracks that were either formed naturally or man-made. The water flowed along the steep rocks and formed a transparent pool at the back of the village. It was truly a rare scenery to behold.

The village was surrounded by rocks and wood. Most of the houses were made of wood.

When they got closer to it, the village did not look much different from any other quiet mountain village. There were roads, a village entrance, a fortress wall, and rusted farming tools strewn about.

The village was so quiet that the visitors dared not venture inside to ask questions even when they stood right at the entrance.

“It’s deserted.” Song Feiyao sighed.

Unlike Licheng Afterglow Island, all the guardians of the Underground Holy Springs did not remain as a complete society. Not all of them knew the significance of what had been passed down by their ancestors. After all, it had been a long time since the guardian tribes were formed.

In the past, dozens of guardian tribe branches stood guard over the Underground Holy Spring. However, hardly any of them had survived till today.

“There are some farming tools with some words on them. They look like they are from the modern era.” Mo Fan used his dragon sense to search for clues from his surroundings.

“In other words, it hasn’t been long since the village was deserted. It’s possible that the villagers guarded the Underground Holy Spring until recently,” said Mu Bai.

Mo Fan nodded. He hoped the Underground Holy Spring was not nearly dried-up like the one he had seen in Bo City.

Judging from the current amount of sustenance Little Loach needed per day, it would be a waste of a trip if Mo Fan did not get an Underground Holy Spring that was on par with the one at Licheng Afterglow Island.

“Let’s split up and look around. I’ll explore the pool under the waterfall,” said Mo Fan.

“I’ll look around the village.”

“I’ll explore outside the village.”

…

Mo Fan walked toward the waterfall. Not all waterfalls flowed down with force and a rumble.

The waterfall here was small. It flowed quietly along the fault valley’s cracks formed over the years into a pool of water.

The pool was not very deep. After all, there was no impact from the downward flow of water. It looked like a huge spring which might have served as drinking water for the villagers. Mo Fan had the strong urge of rolling up his pant legs and soaking his legs inside the clean and refreshing spring water. He often did that when he was young.

He took off the pendant hanging on his chest, then soaked and washed it inside the water. Mo Fan had been keeping his pendant well-hidden to prevent himself from exposing Little Loach to the public. He sweated quite a bit and it was due for a wash.

As soon as he put his pendant inside the cold spring of the fault valley, Little Loach shone, making the pendant look as if it was alive. It broke itself free from Mo Fan’s grasp and burrowed into the shallow cold spring.

Mo Fan was puzzled. But he was not in a hurry to pick it back up. He seldom saw Little Loach so impatient.

It slid to the bottom of the spring. When it glowed, Mo Fan realized there was another layer of liquid with different density at the bottom of the spring. Ordinary stream water had very low density and floated on the upper layer.

Meanwhile, liquid with high density rested at the bottom. It looked like it had been sealed by a layer of something that resembled thin ice. When the spring water flowed down and struck it, it would sway, just like any other liquid. However, the liquid moved with a sense of sluggishness, making it seem like it would not break free of the ice even if a gargantuan force struck it.

Mo Fan smiled. So, the Underground Holy Spring was sealed at the bottom of the spring!

The Underground Holy Spring was completely different from ordinary water. The Underground Holy Spring was like sunken oil. There was a clear layer of boundary that separated the stream water from the Underground Holy Spring. Even a Water Element mage could not expose it with ease, let alone the villagers who collected water from it.

The Underground Holy Spring was hidden within the normal spring. It was a brilliant way of concealing it. Even if people with ulterior motives found the pool, they would have a hard time finding the Underground Holy Spring.

Fortunately, Mo Fan had Little Loach with him. Otherwise, they would have spent a lot of effort in finding the Underground Holy Spring. Mo Fan, Song Feiyao, and Mu Bai would have subconsciously looked for it at the hidden caves, mysterious realm, and underground places, inside the village with no result.

The village itself was secretly hidden between the fault valley of Helan Mountain. It was difficult to discover the petroglyphs unless they were the guardian tribe of the Underground Holy Spring. Only the leader of the guardian tribe had the knowledge of combining all the petroglyphs.

Those who used this method to hide the location of the Underground Holy Spring had done so to prevent the insiders rather than the outsiders from stealing it.

Little Loach was not restrained by the layer of Forbidden System. It was literally a movable Underground Holy Spring storage. Hence, the Forbidden System recognized it as part of the spring.

The moment it reached the bottom of the spring, Little Loach quickly absorbed the holy spring essence. Meanwhile, Mo Fan kept a close eye on their surroundings on the shore.

Something was strange.

There was no one in the village, and the Underground Holy Spring was skillfully hidden. If no one was here to manage it, how did the spring thrive? How had it not dried up?

If there was no water inside the pool, could the Forbidden System transform into sand and continue to keep the Underground Holy Spring hidden?

No one had discovered the secret of the petroglyphs. No one had barged into this place and discovered the guardians of the Underground Holy Spring secrets yet.

…

Little Loach absorbed the holy spring essence rapidly. Mo Fan let down his guard.

Obtaining the Underground Holy Spring was more crucial than anything else! Before Mo Fan could celebrate, Mu Bai rushed over to him after surveying the surrounding of the village.

“It doesn’t seem as simple as it appears to be, right?” asked Mo Fan.

“Simple? Have you found the Underground Holy Spring?” Mu Bai was stunned.

“Yes, and I’ve kept it.” Mo Fan nodded.

“Do you still remember the engraved frescoes when we entered through the cave…?” Mu Bai asked.

Chapter 2814: The War Of The Humanoid Golems

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Roar!

Before Mu Bai finished his words, a roar came from the majestic fault valley above them.

A giant, rocky leg trampled the steep, huge mountain. Its foot landed near Mo Fan and Mu Bai. Its foot was as huge as a stone house they had seen on their way here. It could easily trample animals and humans into meat pies.

With this foot down, the other one moved out of the remains of the mountain wall. Mo Fan and Mu Bai looked up and saw the giant’s waist in the middle of the stone wall. It slowly detached its waist from the wall.

After its waist was detached from the wall, it began to pull its upper body out.

…

It was as if its flesh, skin, and bones grew on the rocks, and it was trying to peel them out!

Finally, the giant removed itself from the rocks and stood before Mo Fan and Mu Bai. It was as tall as the peak of the mountain. It towered over everything.

Mo Fan looked at the giant and then at the mountain wall along which the spring water flowed, only to realize that an enormous shape of a human had dented the mountain wall.

‘What the heck! It was not a performance art piece, it’s a living body…!’

When they walked all the way in, they saw many human shapes dented on the mountain walls. It was clear that those were the living rocky giants like the one they had seen. They had been wandering around this area from the beginning.

Roar!

The humanoid golem roared, as if declaring a war against all the tribes in Helan Mountain.

It radiated an imposing and terrifying aura. Mo Fan and Mu Bai dared not slow down. They exchanged glances and decided to leave the rocky place and to fight the rocky giants in an open space.

However, the humanoid golem did not notice the duo under its feet. It stretched out its rocky arm and grabbed the rock mass that blocked the sun view. It climbed out of the mountain valley through it.

The mountain valley shook. Brown humanoid golems crawled out of the mountain wall one after another. The afternoon sun gleamed into the mountain valley and reflected on the humanoid golems. They shone like the Buddha. They looked holy and majestic!

More humanoid golems pulled themselves out of the steep cliff along the stone walls. They crawled outside and followed their leader.

A huge and majestic humanoid golem army was formed within a short period of time.

They made their ways to the outside world. The mountain valley was covered with countless dented traces that resembled footprints. Mo Fan and Mu Bai were shocked.

“It seems like they are not coming for us,” said Mu Bai after a long silence.

Mo Fan was stunned.

He had thought that the humanoid golems guarding the Underground Holy Spring had discovered him stealing the spring. However, the humanoid golems ignored them completely and made their way out of the cave. Mo Fan and Mu Bai did not know what was happening outside…

“Shall we follow them?” asked Mu Bai.

“Yes.”

Mo Fan had no idea where the humanoid golems were heading. If they swarmed the cities nearby Helan Mountain, Mo Fan and his group would have committed a sinful deed.

Mo Fan was an Earth Element mage. The surrounding earth element was so rich that his Earth element magical power increased by multiple folds. Mo Fan went after the humanoid golems along the rocks.

Song Feiyao and Mu Bai followed closely behind. They were worried that their invasion might have led to a disaster.

…

After the humanoid golems crawled out of the mountain valley, they found themselves on a land that faced the east. However, they moved toward the bulging mountains in the north. The peak of the mountains crossed with one another like huge swords clashing one another. Even the rocks that resembled the schists and spears laced with one another…

There were no flat grounds. Below the mountain peaks and rocks were cliffs that fell hundreds of meters down. The deep valley was bottomless with visible cracks. It was a large hollow piece of land with large rocks. If ordinary people were to walk on top of the land, they may slip and fall to the bottom of the mountain and shatter into pieces.

The humanoid golems spread across the hollow land made of rocks on top of the mountain. They heavily guarded and sealed the area. They unanimously turned to the north.

Meanwhile, the giant beasts covered in thick fur were seen at a higher mountain in the north. They leaped over the ridge and got closer to the humanoid golems. The giant beasts looked strong and ferocious. They bared their fangs. They were stronger and more powerful than the beasts within the forest. They gathered in a large group on the mountain line.

The beasts’ roaring shook the surrounding rocks. The rocks fell and crashed down. The humanoid golems were undaunted. They stood guard over their territory and were ready to fight the Blood Beasts from Northern Xinjiang.

“The Blood Beasts want to cross the Helan Mountain!” Mu Bai exclaimed.

The thick-haired demons were the Blood Beasts from Northern Xinjiang. These ferocious demons usually cooped up on the higher grounds in groups. The killing between humans and the Blood Beasts in Xinjiang had never ceased, and the war continued for several dynasties.

Roar! Roar!

The far end of the mountain was covered in crimson. The Blood Beasts roared in fury. One of them was covered with blood-red mane, and it stood in the middle of the Blood Beasts. It was the leader of the Blood Beasts.

Roar!

Likewise, the leader of the humanoid golems roared back in rage. They did not leave their positions.

The confrontation did not last for long. Both sides were gathering their soldiers. In the end, the Blood Beasts could no longer hold back their thirst for the northern border and charged at the humanoid golems.

There was no bloodshed in this war. The humanoid golems had no blood. They were elemental substances. The residents of Helan Mountain knew them as the Elemental Soldiers.

Similarly, the Blood Beasts did not bleed. Their blood fused with their muscles which then transformed into a terrifying force that could tear their enemies apart.

Even though not a single drop of blood was shed in this war, it was brutal. The Blood Beasts bit off some of the humanoid golems’ heads and threw their bodies into the bottomless pit. The Blood Beasts pounced on some of the humanoid golems, crushing them into pieces and scattering them across the gap between the rocks. The Blood Beasts crushed some of the humanoid golems into powder, and the powder flew away in the breeze.

1

Chapter 2815: Soul Entering The Rocks

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The war was chaotic. Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Song Feiyao stood there and watched the two parties fighting each other. Both the humanoid golems and the Blood Beasts turned a blind eye to them.

‘Why did they kill each other? Was this purely another senseless battle between the demons?’ they wondered.

The humanoid golems possessed elemental lives. They did not have to fight for any resources with the Blood Beasts. Meanwhile, the Blood Beasts were purely carnivorous. They could not possibly find the elemental lives to be useful to them.

“Could the humanoid golems be the reason why the Blood Beasts can’t go over to Helan Mountain?” Mo Bai asked.

There was a large Blood Beast tribe in the north of Helan Mountain. They were rampant and large in number. They had to cross Helan Mountain to invade human territories.

However, the Elemental Soldiers inhabited Helan Mountain. They would awaken whenever they sensed a large number of Blood Beasts encroaching on Northern Xinjiang.

Baa! Baa!

The Combat Blue Sheep bleated. But they did not sound as if they were intimidated by the Blood Beasts.

Mo Fan turned and saw several men and women in local herdsmen attire behind them.They might have rushed over after such a large commotion, or they could have been waiting here because they knew the war would happen.

“Guys, come over here lest the Blood Beasts hurt you,” said one of the herdsmen with his tanned arms exposed.

The trio retreated to the top of the fault valley in confusion. It was just the right height to watch the war unfold.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” asked the Chief of the herdsmen with a round hat.

“Did you find the Combat Blue Sheep to be useful?” The man whom the trio had first met at the bottom of the mountain grinned and revealed his yellowish teeth.

Mo Fan glanced at the crowd. The number of the herdsmen was scarce. Each of them rode on horses and deer. It was clear that they were used to the brutal and horrific war before them.

“What exactly is going on?” Mu Bai could not stop himself from asking.

“Even though Helan Mountain is very near to the Beast Kingdom of Northern Xinjiang, there’s not a single fortress and army to protect the mountain. We’re the only ones who stand guard over here. Do you really think we possess some sort of supernatural powers, or that Helan Mountain is so lofty and dangerous that the Blood Beasts can’t cross it?” said the man with the yellowish teeth.

The Chief with the round hat raised his hand, signaling the man to watch his words.

The Chief then stared at Mo Fan, looking like he knew something more.

However, he looked away and said nothing. He fixed his gaze on the leader of the humanoid golem, as if looking at an old friend.

The crowd turned quiet suddenly. The roar on top of the mountain intensified. Several Blood Beasts were ruthlessly thrown from the mountain. Their bodies smashed onto the fault valley below and ended up in a bloodless mess.

The leader of the humanoid golems and the Blood Beast covered in blood-red mane were in the middle of an intense fight. The mountain peak and rocks continued to collapse and fall into the deep valley. Countless rocks as huge as the houses crashed and fell down the mountain.

“Are they helping you to guard Helan Mountain?” Mo Fan asked.

“Do you know why we’re known as the herdsmen?” the Chief asked.

“Because you’re the beast tamer. You tamed the horses, deer, and Combat Blue Sheep,” answered Mo Fan.

“No! No! No! We don’t tame animals. We tend the Elemental Spirit of Helan Mountain!” said the Chief of herdsmen.

Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Song Feiyao were shocked. ‘Did the Elemental Soldiers listen to their orders?’

The Elemental Soldiers were powerful and large in number. They were more powerful than an army of elites!

“What spell do you use?” Mo Fan asked. ‘What kind of power summoned the Elemental Soldiers? Could it be the Psychic Element magical power?’

“We don’t summon the Elemental Soldiers. They live here in the Helan Mountain. They don’t completely listen to my instructions. They will only awake when the Blood Beasts come and temporarily become our soldiers to fight the beasts. Otherwise, they are dormant in Helan Mountain most of the time,” said the Chief.

“So, you’re using the Psychic element magical power, right?” Mo Fan asked again.

“Yes and no. Let me tell you a story from a long time ago. If you stay here for a while longer, you’ll learn that this is a story that has been passed down from ages ago.” A smile was finally seen on the Chief’s face.

Mo Fan was all ears.

“We used to be ordinary herdsmen. We’re neither Combat Mages nor Patrolling Border Team. No matter how many livestock we tended, we always had trouble making ends meet because the Blood Beasts often crossed Helan Mountain and hunted for food.”

“The Blood Beasts are powerful creatures, and we’re weak. Soon, our livestock were insufficient for them. The Blood Beasts then targeted the residents in the cities. One fine afternoon, the Blood Beasts covered Helan Mountain and swarmed us in groups.”

“We thought we were going to die. Little did we know about a village in the depths of Helan Mountain. The villagers stood up and cast powerful magic to defeat the Blood Beasts. However, all of them ended up dead.”

“They were hermits. Even though the Blood Beasts had not discovered their valley, they stood up for us. Only a few of them survived the battle. We invited them to stay with us. Unfortunately, they turned down our offer.”

“There’s a person in the village skilled in Black Magic. He substituted the wine with spring water and sprinkled it across the entire valley to commemorate the deceased. Later, he branded their souls on the high rocks, mountain wall stones, and large valleys.”

“We were puzzled and asked him the purpose of it. We wondered why he didn’t allow the respectable souls to leave of their own free will.”

“He told us that the deceased souls had to stand guard over something. Even though they had become ghosts and spirits, they had to continue guarding their ancestral inheritance.”

“Their souls entered the mountain and gave lives to the rocks. The Elemental Soldiers originated from the villagers’ souls. They forgot about the thing they were supposed to protect, but they always fought for us against the Blood Beasts.”

When the Chief told the story, his gaze focused on Mo Fan. He emphasized his words and stared hard at Mo Fan.

‘Substituting wine with spring water…’

The spring the Chief had referred to was not the spring that spilled out of the rocks. He was referring to the Underground Holy Spring!

The Underground Holy Spring was the only thing granted those rocks with extraordinary power and life!

Chapter 2816: The Chosen One

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The first question that the Chief had asked was, “Did you find what you were looking for?”

He knew everything. He knew Mo Fan had found the Underground Holy Spring and stolen it from the bottom of the spring for himself.

He had narrated that story so that Mo Fan could understand that the Underground Holy Spring was what granted the rocks life. The lives of the deceased people from the village.

The villagers were all gone. They had died protecting Helan Mountain.

While the guardians of the Underground Holy Spring at Helan Mountain stood up and faced the disaster with bravery, the people from Mingwu Ancient City and Licheng Afterglow Island decided to keep themselves away from the war.

“Go now. Since you’ve found this place, I believe you’re not far from the truth,” said the Chief to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan knew he had to return the Underground Holy Spring to them. The Underground Holy Spring was needed to summon the Elemental Soldiers at Helan Mountain. He could not take it away from them.

He could not afford to steal the spring for his own cultivation at the expense of the southern cities at Helan Mountain.

“I understand it hasn’t been easy for you to protect Helan Mountain. I’ll return the thing that I’ve taken from you,” said Mo Fan to the Chief.

However, the Chief shook his head. “The reason I told you the story is not to raise your conscience; I’m telling you so that we will never forget our ancestral tradition. Our ancestors have used up half of the Underground Holy Spring to protect the residents at Helan Mountain, and they continued to stand guard over the remaining half in an undead elemental form.”

“I understand...” Mo Fan was guilty.

“Say no more. I already know who you are and your background. You’re the same as the villagers. Go now. Go for the sake of saving the residents of Helan Mountain and protecting the East Coastline. By doing so, our ancestors’ effort of guarding the Underground Holy Spring for so many years would not go to waste!” said the Chief.

“How about Helan Mountain?”

“Using half of it is already sufficient. Besides, they were the ones who owed it to that person. If not, why would they haveguarded the Underground Holy Spring? The villagers strongly believe that that person will come someday. When that person comes and takes the Underground Holy Spring, the spring must be in complete form. It’s their fault if they failed to protect the spring,” said the Chief.

The true purpose of standing guard over the Underground Holy Spring was to wait for the right person to take it away, instead of allowing the spring to dry up or possess it without a purpose.

Both Bo City and Licheng Afterglow Island had failed to stand guard over the Underground Holy Spring; even Helan Mountain had done it only half right. Fortunately, the fragmented, sealed, and incomplete springs were still functional.

“You will do us a huge favor as long as you don’t take back the Elemental Soldiers’ lives,” said the Chiefas he cupped one hand in the other before his chest.

Mo Fan could not possibly call back the Elemental Soldiers’ lives.

Mo Fan did not quite understand why the Chief said they only required half of the Underground Holy Spring. Also, why was the Chief so sure that Mo Fan and his group were the ones they had been waiting for?

The Chief was firm in his decision.

Mo Fan did not turn down his offer. After all, the Underground Holy Spring was hard to understand. Instead of allowing it to dry-up in a no man’s island, he might as well use it well like the guardians of the Underground Holy Spring.

…

With the presence of the herdsmen and the Elemental Soldiers, the Blood Beasts could not possibly cross towards the Helan Mountain. The mountain’s defense line was more robust than any other fortress with an army. The Elemental Soldiers were the purest souls that would fight the Blood Demons till the end. Maybe they didn’t even know why they still fought…

After watching Mo Fan, Song Feiyao, and Mu Bai depart to the east, the herdsmen remain in their positions. They continued watching the chaotic battlefield. Some of the herdsmen quietly chanted an ancient spell to summon the scattered souls back to the rock mountain.

“Chief, are you sure that kid is the person we’ve been waiting for?” asked the man with yellow teeth.

“Why would that matter?”

“If yes, we can finally break ourselves free. If not, he has taken advantage of us!” said the man.

“The ancestors never told us who we should give the Underground Holy Spring to,” said the Chief.

“I wonder why the Elemental Soldiers allowed him to take the Underground Holy Spring without stopping him. Normally, the Elemental Soldiers would attack anyone who got near to the Underground Holy Spring,” said the man.

“So, then it must be him. We can finally break ourselves free,” said the Chief calmly.

…

There was a narrow area somewhere around the Yellow River at Helan Mountain. There was a rope bridge above it.Mo Fan and his group reached that place, but they could not stop looking back.

“Mo Fan, they look like the surviving villagers. They have become part of the herdsmen,” said Mu Bai.

“I know. If they were the herdsmen, they couldn’t possibly have known about the history of the Underground Holy Spring so well. Song Feiyao, what do you think?” Mo Fan turned around to Song Feiyao.

After all, Song Feiyao was a genuine guardian of the Underground Holy Spring.

“Yes. Their analyses are the same as mine,” said Song Feiyao.

“Analyses? What analyses are you talking about?” Mo Fan asked in confusion.

“Someone will take the Underground Holy Spring someday. I don’t know who the person is. Nobody does. But it’s possible that the person might be you,” said Song Feiyao solemnly.

‘Was he the Chosen One? Could it be…’

“What is the basis of your analyses?” Mo Fan found this to be ridiculous. He did not believe he could be the Chosen One. Although he believed he was gifted and extraordinary, and even Mo Jiaxin had mentioned there was a thunderstorm on the day he was born, he wondered what made them think he was that person the guardians had been waiting for.

“Not everyone can take the Underground Holy Spring whenever they want. Throughout the years, no one has ever stolen the Underground Holy Spring. It’s a holy relic, and it’s indestructible. Nothing can hide its great aura. Even if it’s stolen, we can find it back. If one steals it, it means that they are protecting the Underground Holy Spring on our behalf,” said Song Feiyao.

“I don’t understand,” said Mo Fan.

“There must be something on you that allows you to digest the tremendous energy from the Underground Holy Spring, as well as preventing the energy from spreading,”

“I-I…” Mo Fan panicked. ‘She has discovered Little Loach’s existence!’

“Since you’re capable of digesting the holy spring, you must be the one destined to take the Underground Holy Spring away,” said Song Feiyao.

She had discovered this when they were at Licheng Afterglow Island.

Chapter 2817: Overeagerness Ruins The Growth

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

While not everyone could take the Underground Holy Spring and digest it, Mo Fan was the exception.

The intense warmth from the Underground Holy Spring attracted many demons to fight for it. Only the guardians of the Underground Holy Spring knew how to keep its energy well-hidden to prevent trouble.

Mo Fan took the Underground Holy Spring and prevented the spread of its energy. On top of that, he could use the Underground Holy Spring energy to accelerate his growth of cultivation instead of going through a long, arduous cultivation journey.

Did this not show that the Underground Holy Spring belonged to him?

1

Regardless of whether Mo Fan was a perfect match for the Underground Holy Spring and could absorb the spring energy through his physique, or there was something on him that enabled him to absorb the spring energy and possess the spring, it showed that Mo Fan was the one the guardians of the Underground Holy Spring had been waiting for.

Even if Mo Fan was not that person, so what?

The guardians of the Underground Holy Spring could not possibly continue to stand guard over the spring forever until it dried-up.

If that was the case, the Underground Holy Spring’s guardians might as well give the spring to the person they believed was the one to end the curse placed on them over thousands of years.

The guardians’ mission was accomplished when that person arrived and took the Underground Holy Spring. They no longer had to hide or fight among themselves because of the mysterious treasure.

“Mo Fan, you don’t have to feel pressured. You came from Bo City. Uncle Zhuoyun is the person in charge of the Underground Holy Spring at Bo City. He will pass the spring down to Mu Ningxue sooner or later, and she is part of your family. It will eventually fall into your hands. The guardians of the Underground Holy Spring have assimilated, split, and disappeared over the years. So, it’s only normal that you be the one to protect the remaining Underground Holy Spring. You don’t have to care too much if you are truly the one they’ve been waiting for. If some day there comes that person who truly is for the spring, he will defeat you.” Mu Bai patted Mo Fan’s shoulder and tried to comfort him.

Mu Bai noticed that Mo Fan did not look pressured. In fact, Mo Fan was more than willing to take the place of the chosen one.

‘Why do I even need to comfort him?’ thought Mu Bai. He sighed. ‘It’s obvious he is enjoying the attention and the assumption. Even if he isn’t the right person, he will strive to become one.’

1

“Since you’ve said so, I’ll force myself to accept it, then!” Mo Fan smiled.

Song Feiyao did not know Mo Fan as well as Mu Bai. She nodded. “Hopefully we can find the remaining long-lost Underground Holy Springs so that you can dabble into the realm of Forbidden Curse.”

“Forbidden Curse?!” Mo Fan could not help but cry out loud.

“Isn’t the Earth Pistil required for the Forbidden Curse?” Mu Bai asked in confusion.

“The genuine Underground Holy Spring energy is as powerful as the Earth Pistil. In fact, Eldest Grandpa and Eldest Granny strongly believed that if I continue to cultivate in the Underground Holy Spring at Licheng Afterglow Island, I might be able to dabble into the realm of Forbidden Curse within ten years. However, I didn’t think so. Instead, I believe undue haste will only spoil the growth of my cultivation. I find my cultivation to be different compared to those who work hard to build their foundations and are familiar with magical skills, just like you two,” said Song Feiyao.

“Makes sense.”

Both Mo Fan and Mu Bai had experienced various fights to sharpen their skills. They continued to break through their cultivation in the middle of a crisis and stimulated their spiritual potential. Although they were young, they had a wealth of experience in combat compared to many old mages who lived in comfort.

Most people were selfish, lazy, and waited for others to provide for them. They strove hard in the beginning of their cultivation but when they had a decent life, they slacked off. Many people cultivated in their own backyards, or they relied on their own network, social status, and wealth to accumulate resources for their cultivation.

Even if they always secluded themselves from others to cultivate, they were always inferior to the mages who risked their lives in the battlefield. Cultivation based on resources would only ruin their growth.

Cultivation did not represent one’s real strength.

Even Mu Bai could defeat the so-called mages who had completed their cultivation, let alone Mo Fan with his large amount of Heaven Seeds.

By the time Mo Fan and Mu Bai completed their cultivation, their peers would be no match for them.

The reason Zhao Jing was a strong opponent was because his strength was on par with Mo Fan and Mu Bai.

They possessed Heaven Seeds, something that many third-grade Super Level mages desired!

While they could spend money to buy Soul Seeds, they could not do the same for Heaven Seeds. Sub-heaven Seeds alone were priceless, let alone the Great Heaven Seeds!

Besides, Song Feiyao had not achieved Super level for several of her elements.

Even though both Song Feiyao and Mo Fan were third grade Super Level mages, Mo Fan could inflict direct damage to a Supreme Ruler with his Fire element. Song Feiyao, on the other hand, could only peel off a layer of the Supreme Ruler’s skin.

The reason Song Feiyao agreed to follow Mo Fan and Mu Bai was not only to search for the Underground Holy Spring and totem beast, but also to gain some experience for herself.

She had a high level of cultivation, but she needed to strengthen herself by gaining more experience by venturing outside. She believed she still had a large room for improvement. Without practical experience, she could not reach the realm of Forbidden Curse even if she was provided with ten Underground Holy Springs.

Resting on one’s laurels was Licheng Afterglow Islanders’ biggest weakness. Song Feiyao knew this would only lead them to a dead end soon. They placed all their hope on the Underground Holy Spring. But the Underground Holy Spring would only bring them death. The moment the Ocean Demons arrived at their island, all of them would be wiped out and nobody would actually be able to fight.

Song Feiyao had never betrayed her people. All she did was find a way of survival for the islanders. Even though the road would be tough, at least they would be alive. She didn’t mind if none of them understood her purpose. It did not matter that they continued to misunderstand and blame her. She was fine with anything if Licheng Afterglow Islanders had a shot at survival.

…

“Mu Bai, did you go to Helan Mountain just to enjoy the scenery?” Mo Fan recalled.

“Actually, I heard about a type of bug in the valley of Helan Mountain. Its scientific name is…”

“Stop talking about the strange bug. Do you plan to find it during this trip?” asked Mo Fan.

“The valley at Helan Mountain is complicated. There are many fault valleys. It will consume a lot of time to find the bug. Moreover, we have something else to do,” said Mu Bai.

“Zhang Xiaohou hasn’t given us any clear clues. I don’t think we can help much even if we go to him. Let us go to the Bug Valley with you,” said Mo Fan.

“Will this…”

“We can’t find the totem beast in a day or two. What matters most is that our strengths have increased compared to the past. You were still too weak to go to the Bug Valley back then. But you’re different now. If your purpose is clear, with our current strengths, we won’t have to spend a lot of time in finding the bug,” said Mo Fan.

“Makes sense. Let’s go, then. There’s an entrance to the Bug Valley at the east of the Helan Mountain foothill.” Mu Bai nodded.

Song Feiyao had no qualms about it. After all, her purpose of venturing outside was to gain experience.

Chapter 2818: The Bizarre Star Bug

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At Yinchuan plain, when they looked down from the sky, the form of the Yellow River resembled a Chinese word. The water washed sediments accumulated at the river’s bottom to the shore and formed a rich plain.

The Ocean Demons frequently encroached on Chang River and Zhu River because these rivers were situated along the coast. They found it harder to invade the Yellow River. One of the reasons was that Zhang Xiaohou had destroyed the massive underground river tunnel of Bo City. Another reason was that a large amount of sediments and impurities accumulating in the Yellow River had severely hindered the Ocean Demons from marching to it.

The Yellow River water flowed rapidly. It was difficult to control its speed. It often led to disaster. The turbulent flow of water made the low-level Ocean Demons difficult to swim.

The Ocean Demon army was mostly made up of low-level Ocean Demons. By the time they swam to the Yellow River, they were already exhausted. How could they still have the strength to encroach on the cities of the Yellow River?

This was the fallen area of the plateau. Even though it was only plains, the altitude was more than a thousand meter. The Ocean Demons had difficulty reaching the zone.

Most civilization was impossible without the water. They needed water to irrigate, farm, generate electricity, and even for transport. Mo Fan wondered where the water came from. Probably rainwater. Meanwhile, those areas where the rain was scarce had to rely on the snow and ice from the mountain.

When the temperature rose, the snow on the mountains melted. The melted snow flowed to the lower areas and formed streams. The streams converged at a certain point to form rivers. When the rivers converged, they formed bigger water bodies. Prosperous cities were formed around these water bodies. It had been this way since ancient times.

However, a cold wave befell China. The snow on the mountains hardly melted. Many rivers had dried up. Without the supply of water, the crops died. Even transportation by river was hampered.

Even though the sea water could keep the difference of temperature along the coast balanced, many Ocean Demons attacked the coasts. The weather was bitterly cold, and the rivers were frozen.

With the Ocean Demons’ attack, humans were left with only five base cities to rely on.

The South Emperor joined forces with the Ocean Godly Horde of the Pacific Ocean. This was no different from ending humans’ all possible means of survival.

If they gave up the East Coastline and retreated to the country, could humans truly survive under such a poor environment?

…

Zhao Xiaohou used to serve in the military both within the country and along the coast. He was absorbed in his thoughts while staring at the icy cold Yellow River.

A lot of ridiculous ideas were published on many websites. They suggested retreating from the East Coastline and focusing on destroying the Ocean Demons in the country. They suggested taking back their territories from the weaker Ocean Demons to alleviate the current situation.

The seemingly wide people came up with endless plots. They made analyses and came up with winning scenarios. As a result, the admirers began to question the government’s decisions.

The truth was those ‘wise’ people had never fought at the frontlines. They were narrow-minded and thought they could solve the problems only by their words. They had never witnessed the Ocean Demons’ brutality. They had never seen the hopelessness and disappointment reflected on the citizens’ faces when they stared at the snow mountain where the snow no longer melted to provide them with a reliable water source.

There was no peace. No places to hide. The country had to ignore those suggestions and its supporters. It had to resolve the issue surrounding the snow mountain, kill the Ocean Demons, and save the people from desperate situations!

In fact, the people needed ways of preventing their crops from freezing, they needed ways to melt the snow mountains, they needed more advanced water transportation, they needed more powerful mages to fight the Ocean Demons and they needed a lot more solutions than the ‘wise’ people behind their keyboards giving suggestions.

The country was in a dire situation. As the cold wave continued, the upstream water might freeze forever. By then, there would be no water supply to irrigate the crops. The dams could not generate electricity. The country’s civilization would regress. Even if humans were not entirely wiped out, the Ocean Demons would have won.

“Chairman Shao Zheng was not impeached. He is somewhere he is needed the most. He always has a farther vision than others,” Zhang Xiaohou said to himself.

“Hey, are you daydreaming?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

Zhang Xiaohou returned to his senses, only to realize that two women had crawled to the bottom of the plain and discovered some clues on the river banks.

“I’ve checked the surroundings. There are no demons around this area,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“Okay, we’ll go down there, then. Lingling and I found a river monument. I believe this is what we’re looking for,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Good. I’ll continue to keep a close eye on the surroundings. Let me know if anything happens,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“You’re indeed an experienced soldier. You could even lure the Golden Sand Demon Tigers away. How did you do that?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

The ability to evade demon hordes in the wilderness was very important. Even if one had a very high level of cultivation and could easily kill a demon horde, the vibration from the use of spell and smell of blood could attract a larger number of demon hordes.

“I was a scout when I first joined the army. So, scouting is my strongest ability.” Zhang Xiaohou smiled. He was quite proud of his scouting ability.

“Okay. You may continue fooling those Golden Sand Demon Tigers. We’ll copy the words and patterns on the river monument before leaving,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Is that a sacred totem beast’s clue?” Zhao Xiaohou asked.

“It must be,” Jiang Shaoxu said.

“Great!”

…

On the east foothill of Helan Mountain, a large flock of tens and thousands of creatures that resembled crows swarmed out of the valley. The creatures had venomous purple pupils. They flew in flocks in the sky. It almost looked like a night sky spangled with stars.

However, it was noon, and the sun was still bright. The view made one palpitate.

“Damn it! Are you setting me up?! The Bug Valley is barely considered a small horde!” Three people were speeding on the plains. They looked like tiny dots.

The bizarre Star Bugs were behind them. Some Blood Beasts had been wandering on the plains and preying on the bison. But when the Blood Beasts saw the bizarre Star Bugs swarming them, they fled.

The Blood Beasts were slow. The Star Bugs passed by them like a gust of black wind, and the next moment, the Blood Beasts were reduced to bones. Even the surrounding plants were gone. It was a frightening sight to behold!

“Instead of teasing me, why don’t you kill them with your Fire Element magical power? I remember there’s a special effect of your flames. It can jinx those bugs!” Mu Bai cried out.

“Are you kidding me?! They placed their eggs in a valley rock fire for them to hatch. If they are afraid of fire, why do we even have to run?!” cussed Mo Fan.

“It’s because your fire power isn’t strong enough!”

“Hah! Then why are you running away?”

“I just don’t want to mess with them,” Mu Bai said coolly.

Chapter 2819: The Ancient City Wall

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan and Mu Bai had assumed that with their current strengths, they could do anything they wanted at the Bug Valley of Helan Mountain.

However, the situation in the Bug Valley was more dangerous than it appeared to be. Every different creature had their own principles. The bizarre Star Bugs possessed extremely powerful soul-sucking abilities. The moment Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Song Feiyao entered the Bug Valley, the Star Bugs slowly absorbed the intruders’ soul energy.

If it had not been for the fact that Little Loach warned Mo Fan about the Star Bugs, they would have only found out about them by the time most of their soul energy had been sucked away.

The valley was enveloped with fog that had anesthetic effects. The Fog Leaf Bug was the source of the anesthetic fog. They were a perfect match for the strange Star Bugs. The Fog Leaf Bug spread anesthetic fog in the air while the Star Bugs sucked humans’ souls.

After one’s soul was sucked, they could not recover from the severe damage. Although Mo Fan and Mu Bai had traveled to various places, they had never learned of the existence of such a bug in this world until now. They had to find their nest and take back their soul energy.

When one’s soul energy was impaired, their abilities would be suppressed significantly. Mo Fan and his group took their soul energy back, as well as the other soul energy that had been accumulated in the nest. However, they did not want to confront the Star Bugs.

The Bug Valley dominated Helan Mountain. The war between the Elemental Soldier and Blood Beasts provided them with an ample amount of ‘food’. As a result, the nest grew. Besides, the topography of Helan Mountain was complicated. There were many faults and cliffs. Thus, it served as a suitable habitat for the bugs. It was only when Mo Fan and Mu Bai stepped into the Bug Valley that they realized the existence of such a terrifying bug dynasty within Helan Mountain.

Fortunately, the bugs did not show interest in humans. Given the natural advantage in Helan Mountain, the bugs rarely left the Bug Valley. Otherwise, the bug nest would have been far more threatening than the Blood Beasts.

The bugs were like the Americans in the Second World War. They grew up in war.

Even though the trip to the Bug Valley was dangerous, Mu Bai reaped a great harvest.

He had once come here in the past. However, his lack of strength had prevented him from entering the Bug Valley. At that time, he resolved to enter the Bug Valley only when he reached Super level.

But now it seemed that even a Super Level mage could easily die in the Bug Valley. The bizarre Star Bugs hoarded the soul energy and the massive energy served as a wealth crystal., Mu Bai and Mo Fan benefited from taking the energy for themselves.

Taking the risk was not a bad thing, after all.

…

They finally got rid of the strange Star Bugs after speeding for hundreds of kilometers. They had manifested their high level of cultivation. If the road was not blocked, the demons could not catch up with them as they fled.

The trio found a resting place. Mu Bai took out some ointment and glanced at the swollen Song Feiyao. He tried to hold back his laughter.

Song Feiyao graciously accepted the ointment. She was annoyed.

The two men were fine. But she was the one who had suffered. She wondered if the areas that got stung would leave scars.

Mo Fan went to the river to see if there was any cell tower. He could not contact Zhang Xiaohou and his group if there was no signal.

“Hi, where are you? We’ve just come out of Helan Mountain.” Mo Fan took out his phone and raised it high. He wondered if this would help his phone receive a better signal.

“Yes. Have you settled the things on your end? Good, where are we going next? There are traces of the Ancient City Wall? I have a poor sense of direction. How about we wait for you here, and you come to us?”

…

Zhang Xiaohou and his group arrived within an hour. They were not far from Mo Fan and his group.

Song Feiyao kept her face well-hidden because she didn’t want Lingling and Jiang Shaoxu to laugh at her.

Mo Fan pointed at Helan Mountain. “There’s a Bug Valley inside. It is very dangerous. But there are many premium quality Soul Honey. We can harvest them once every several years. Soul Honey serves as a useful medicine for healing soul damage.”

Medicines for healing soul damage were rare. They could sell Soul Honey at a very high price at an auction.

“I’ve recorded the location,” said Mu Bai.

Mo Fan considered telling Mu Linsheng about it. He would ask someone from Fanxue Mountain to obtain the Star Bugs’ Soul Crystal regularly. By doing so, they could suppress the Bug Valley’s domination in Helan Mountain to prevent the powerful bugs from invading the cities near the mountain. Also, they could earn a lucrative sum for Fanxue Mountain.

Honey industry was a profitable business.

Of course, Mo Fan would also take a trip down to kill some of the bugs. He was afraid that the vanguard, Bai Hongfei, could not take on them alone.

In fact, it would be best if Mu Ningxue personally came to the Bug Valley. The bizarre Star Bugs was not afraid of fire. Mu Ningxue was an Ice element expert, and she could intimidate the Star Bugs. If Mu Ningxue came in as a team, they could basically wipe out the Bug Valley.

Mu Bai was an Ice element mage, too. However, his Ice element magical power was still weak.

“After the investigation, we noticed that the materials of the river monument are the same as the Ancient City Wall. It could have come from the same craftsmen in ancient times,” said Lingling.

“Will the Ancient City Wall be buried under the loess? Is it difficult to find it?” Mo Fan asked in concern.

“No. It has always been there. It is very well protected.”

“By the way, Big Brother Fan, the Great Wall of Northern Line starts from the north of Helan Mountain. The Ancient City Wall with the sacred totem beast’s trace happens to be a ruin in the middle of the Great Wall of Ningxia,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

The Ancient City Wall, the Great Wall of the Northern Line, the Great Wall of Ningxia…

‘Could the sacred totem beast be related to the Ancient Great Wall?’

When they were at Beiguan Town, a Heavenly Wall appeared from the Ancient Great Wall’s land. Millions of Khufu’s spirits were trapped there. Mo Fan vividly remembered the sight. He was bewildered whenever he recalled that image.

‘What was the sacred totem beast that was related to the Ancient Great Wall?’ Mo Fan was looking forward to finding it.

“Some of the ruins were buried under the loess. There are remains of base cities and crumbling beacons. The Great Wall of Ningxia has more than 1,500 kilometers of ruins. Fortunately, the part we are looking for is still well preserved. Otherwise, it would be difficult to find the Ancient City Wall in a short period of time even if we summon a team of archeologists,” said Lingling.

“Then, let’s go now without further delay.”

…

According to the record on the river monument, the Ancient City Wall was known as Cang Wall. It was a part of the ancient fortress city. It was not part of the Ancient Great Wall ruins.

Cang Wall had a very long history. It was a small relay station in times of peace. But it flourished in times of war. It was not near the river or on the ground. There were no mines. After the unification, there was no war. It gradually fell into disuse and was left with an exquisite ancient city wall.

When Mo Fan and his group arrived at the destination, they noticed the place was occupied. It had grown into a small town. Most of the people in the town conducted business through the barter system.

Chapter 2820: Awakened At The Age Of Ten

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Ancient City gate faced the sunset with its back facing the east. Several children in simple clothes played at the gate. They climbed to the top, then they slid down along the pile of sand. They rolled down and were covered in dust and mud. It was hard to identify them with their muddy faces.

Soon, their parents shouted at them from afar. The children ran to the side of hay that had been tied up and jumped on it.

Mo Fan noticed a child at the corner of the wall. The child was drawing with a tree branch. The walls of the Ancient City Wall were covered in mud. The child picked out the mud from the cracks of the walls. When Mo Fan approached the child, he was focused on picking out the mud from the cracks.

“Kid, what are you doing?” Mo Fan asked.

“Are you blind? Can’t you see?” the kid shot back.

“You want me to beat you up, huh?” Mo Fan rolled his sleeves up.

Lingling was by his side. She stopped Mo Fan and rolled her eyes at him.

“Why are you scraping the dirt off the wall? Do you know what it means to scrape this area?” asked Lingling.

“My dad used to do that. He said he doesn’t want the things passed down from the ancestors to be buried by the sand and dust, or let the wind spoil the drawings on the wall,” the child answered.

“Where’s your dad?” Lingling asked.

The child stared at Lingling. He must have never seen such a beautiful woman from the city. He blushed bright red. “My dad will be back at night.”

“Can we wait for him?” asked Lingling.

“No. He doesn’t like meeting people,” the child said.

“If you take us to him, I am sure he will be willing to talk to us. After all, we know the secret of the Ancient City Wall. Do you think I look like a bad girl?” said Lingling.

“You don’t, but he does,” said the child, pointing at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan raised his fist and gestured to hit the child. Lingling glared at him.

After a bit of persuasion, the child agreed to take them to his father. However, they had to stay until the night. His father worked very late into the night.

…

“We can’t pamper the child. If we strike him, he will spill everything out. Why did you have to tempt him with your beauty?” Mo Fan had a problem with the child who viewed him hostilely.

“Humans always have a thing for pretty stuff. They have a good impression about beautiful people. The child must have thought you’re ugly and fierce.” Zhao Manyan mocked Mo Fan.

Mo Fan ignored his mockery. He climbed to the top of the Ancient City Wall and found a space with a wide horizon. He then sat there and focused on his cultivation.

He had found another Underground Holy Spring. Even though half of it had been used, the remaining half was as powerful as the spring at Licheng Afterglow Island.

The guardians of the Underground Holy Spring at Helan Mountain took their ancestors’ words seriously. The spring was undoubtedly very well preserved.

Dusk came, and everything turned dark including the Ancient City gate. The town was lively during the day. When the sun was up, the place below was abuzz with markets, stalls, cars and even horse traders. But when dusk fell, the stalls were hurriedly closed, and the people returned to their respective houses.

The children playing near the Ancient City gate left with their parents. The sky had turned dark, but the child’s mother still had not come to fetch him.

Mo Fan and his group had thought the town was fairly big in the day because of so many people in the streets but the moment it began turning dark, every corner was deserted.

After Mo Fan and his group strolled around for a while, they realized the houses in the town were basically empty. The tools were covered in dust. The vendors did not live here. The bazaar was temporarily set up by the vendors from various towns, villages, and counties.

There was no one left at the Ancient City gate except the child who scraped the wall. It was late at night; the cold breeze blew. Still, no one came to pick the child up.

“What’s your name?” Mo Fan opened his eyes and realized the kid was still there.

“Xiao Tai,” answered the child.

“Where’s your mother? Everyone has disappeared. Are you still waiting for your father to come back from work?” asked Mo Fan.

“Yes.”

“Why is there no one living here? Did you live somewhere else?”

“I live here.”

“Okay. So, you and your family live here. It’s quite crowded during the day. But it’s cold and eerie at night. It must be difficult for a child like you to live here,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan suspected that the reason the Ancient City Wall was so well preserved was related to this child’s family. People usually had a strong desire to destroy things. The historic Ancient City Wall would have long been destroyed if somebody wasn’t locking after it.

“What were you doing just now? Are you doing your homework?” Xiao Tai was curious about Mo Fan’s cultivation.

“I was cultivating…,” Mo Fan replied. “You can consider it as a sort of homework.”

They attended nine years of compulsory magical education and cultivated after each class. So, it could be considered as a kind of homework.

“No one taught me that. Can you teach me?” asked Xiao Tai.

“Didn’t you say I look like a bad guy? How can you learn things from a bad guy?” Mo Fan said.

“After I learn it, I won’t do bad things like you. There are good and bad people, but there are no good and bad abilities,” answered Xiao Tai.

Mo Fan was at a loss for words. But others burst out in laughter.

“You’re still very young, so I can’t teach you. You must build up a good foundation in magic. After fifteen weeks when your physical condition is suitable for learning, only then you can awaken your first element of magical power. When you gain your first magic Star Dust, you can cultivate like me. However, not everyone can become a mage. You don’t seem like you know anything else apart from scraping the wall. So, let’s stop dreaming of becoming a mage,” Mo Fan dissuaded Xiao Tai while patting his shoulder.

“Is this the Star Dust that you’ve been talking about?” Xiao Tai stretched out his palm, and a pale-yellow swirling light pattern appeared on it. It looked like some sort of yellow peaceful Star Dust from a distant starry universe.

Mo Fan’s jaw dropped. ‘How old is this brat? He must be ten at most! How could he have already awakened the Earth element?! Who gave him the Awakening Stone? Was that person trying to get Xiao Tai into trouble?!’

The reason awakening had to be done after fifteen weeks was because it put a huge mental and physical pressure on the one who attempted it. Children who were under fifteen years old had incomplete brain development and mental capacity. Therefore, awakening them early would risk damaging their minds.

If their minds were damaged, it would pose even greater difficulty in the path of cultivation in the future. They would not be able to focus on their cultivation, much less increase it. They would even feel their minds hurt during cultivation.

Chapter 2821: Even The Undead Are Afraid Of Their Losing Jobs

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

‘Who would have awakened a ten-year-old child?’

This was no different from delivering a severe blow to someone whose brain was not fully developed yet!

“Did your dad awaken you?” Mo Fan frowned. He was furious. This would destroy a child’s road to magic in the future!

If that happened, Xiao Tai basically could never become an Intermediate Mage. He would lack a solid mind foundation. His soul might have already been damaged.

Xiao Tai shook his head. He was about to say something when he turned and stared outside the Ancient City gate. There was a road outside the gate. It looked more like a rough path with tyre tracks than a road.A figure slowly approached the Ancient City gate.

“My dad has come.” Xiao Tai’s eyes lit up.

The man walked to them. He wore a conical hat made of straw so they could not see his face. The man’s clothes were disheveled, as if he had just been looted.

Xiao Tai did not go up to him. He waited by the gate.

When the man finally arrived at the gate, Mo Fan, Mu Bai, Zhao Manyan, Zhang Xiaohou, Jiang Shaoxu, Lingling, and Song Feiyao frowned. They were surprised. They could tell from the smell that the man wasn’t human.

A pair of green glowing eyes were revealed under the conical hat. His face was as pale as a ghost. There was a claw mark on his face, revealing his cheekbone and rows of teeth. The empty town looked even more scary and creepy in the middle of the night.

“Dad!” Xiao Tai seemed to be familiar with this routine.

“An Undead!” Mu Bai and Zhao Xiaohou said unanimously.

An Undead had intelligence akin to a human. It stood there and fixed its gaze on Mo Fan and his group.

“Did you come to capture me? You must make sure you can do so first.” The Undead grinned smugly.

When it grinned and revealed its front teeth, blood stains tainted the gap. It had just murdered someone not long ago.

“We were following some ancient clues, and they brought us here. Were you a guardian of this Ancient City Wall back in those days? We would like to know the meaning of the words engraved on the wall,” asked Lingling.

They were not scared of it. After all, they had seen many Undeads in the Ancient Capital. However, they had never thought Xiao Tai waited for an Undead to come back home every day.

“This is a portal that leads to a mausoleum. I’m a mausoleum watcher… I’ve guarded for… I don’t remember how long I’ve been standing guard over it,” the Undead answered.

“How do we get in?” asked Mo Fan.

“Very simple. You come to me, then you will reach the mausoleum after walking out of the gate,” said the Undead.

“Dad, they are not bad people!” Xiao Tai said anxiously.

“But I’m not a good man either.” The Undead chuckled. It stared at Mo Fan and his group with its green eyes begrudgingly. “I’ve just killed a person.”

“And I am sure that person deserved to be killed,” said Mo Fan.

“How can you tell?” The Undead was puzzled.

“If that person was the one who awakened your son, he deserves to die,” said Mo Fan.

“He has harmed many. He sold Awakening Stone at a very high price and to whoever he pleased,” the Undead said after a pause.

“The Magic Association doesn’t recognize such awakening. Even if the child reaches an appropriate age, the Magic Association will treat them as heretics and arrest them. Their future will be ruined,” Mu Bai added.

The Undead removed its conical hat and put it on the wall. “So, I take it you are not the roving hunters who want to capture me and add to their list of achievements?”

“We are not here for that. We just want to know the meaning of the words engraved on this Ancient City Wall. If it is a portal, how does it open? Where does the portal lead to?” Mo Fan asked.

The Undead took its conical hat with one of its hands and waved at Xiao Tai with its other, signaling him to step to his side.

Mo Fan did not stop Xiao Tai. He allowed the child to go to the Undead’s side. After all, Mo Fan had no intention of holding him hostage.

“I’ve been standing guard over here. What do you think is my purpose for doing so? My purpose is to prevent unnecessary people like you from barging in,” said the Undead firmly. Xiao Tai hid behind his father.

“Since you’re standing guard over it, there must be some people who are allowed in? Can those who defeat you get in?” Mo Fan took a few steps forward.

“You look very confident. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been living for a very, very long time.” A bone-chilling light flashed in the Undead’s eyes.

If not for the fact that the Undead looked like a corpse, it basically was not much different from a human. The Undead that resembled a human so closely was always of a higher level.

Most of the Undead desired complete thinking. They were born powerful with immortal bodies. However, if they were given normal brains, they would have long become the rulers of the Earth.

“Let’s make it simple. If we defeat you, will you let us through?” asked Mo Fan.

“Regardless of whether I’m defeated, I won’t tell you through the portal,” said the Undead.

“Dad, but why? If they win, shouldn’t you tell them the truth?” Xiao Tai asked in confusion.

“This is not a child’s play. If they defeat me and reveal my secret that I’ve kept for so many years about the treasure hidden inside the mausoleum, what do I get in return? Nothing! Instead, I’m going to lose the job,” said the Undead.

Mo Fan was silent. It seemed even Undeads were afraid of losing their jobs…

“We can help you to heal your son’s mental damage so that he can attend magic school. I’m sure you don’t want to keep your son in this remote place, right?” said Mo Fan.

“Really?” The Undead’s green eyes lit up.

“Do we look like we’re going to harm you and your son? We’re just searching for the totem beast clues passed down from our ancestors. We need the totem beast’s help to solve the country’s crisis. The Ancient King is my mentor. The Queen of Nine Serenities is my friend. We are very close to many Undeads. You’re no different from a normal being. What’s the point of putting yourself in such a difficult position?” said Mo Fan.

“Deal.”

“Do you still want a fight?” asked Mo Fan.

“No need. If you dare to cheat me, you will end up like the teacher. I mean what I said!” said the Undead.

Chapter 2822: The Sacred Totem Beast’s Mausoleum

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The crowd was surprised. They had assumed the Undead had no room for negotiation, and that they were going to have to engage in a brutal fight. Who would have thought the Undead to be so concerned about its son?

Even though the Undead did not mention anything about its relationship with Xiao Tai, it was obvious that he was not the Undead’s biological son.

The Undead had been standing guard over the Ancient City Wall for many years. Its strength was not inferior to the Dead Kings of the Eight Directions. When Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhang Xiaohou contacted the Undead, they clearly sensed that its aura was of a Ruler level.

The Undead had lived for several thousand years. How could it possibly give birth to a living human son?

It was most likely that Xiao Tai was an abandoned orphan in the town who might have been adopted by the Undead. He stayed with the vendors during the day and occasionally played with the vendor’s children. Meanwhile, the Undead took care of him at night.

Xiao Tai was the only one who spent the nights in the town. He must have mentioned that his father works during the day and returns late at night. No one remained at night in the town to discover that his father was an Undead.

The child had no family and stayed alone in the marketplace that was deserted at night. He spent his nights with an Undead that had stood guard over the Ancient City Wall for many years.

Xiao Tai was adopted by an Undead. The Undead was powerless in the day. So, it had to rely on the vendors and town people to take care of him. It could only accompany him at night. It was not easy for Xiao Tai to grow up safely at this stage.

He ran into some unscrupulous people. The mage that awakened him at the age of ten was one of them. The devious mage must have noticed something valuable in Xiao Tai’s hand. So, he fooled the ignorant town people and awakened Xiao Tai.

“Don’t you find it meaningless standing guard over here for so many years?” Zhao Manyan asked.

“This is none of your business,” the Undead said coolly.

“Speak a little less, will you? Especially if you don’t know what you are talking about.” Jiang Shaoxu glared at Zhao Manyan.

“Fine, go ahead since you’re so good at it.” Zhao Manyan stood at the side.

Mo Fan waved his hand, calling Xiao Tai to come to him. Even if they hadn’t made the deal with the Undead, Mo Fan would have healed Xiao Tai’s mental damage, anyway.

He and Mu Bai had obtained Soul Honey from the Bug Valley at Helan Mountain. Soul Honey was the best medicine to cure one’s mental damage. Without the unique Soul Honey, they would have to send Xiao Tai to the Parthenon Temple for a chance of recovery.

“Take this. This can nurture his soul. As an Undead, you should know how to use it best.” Mo Fan took out a small portion of Soul Honey and passed it to Xiao Tai for him to pass it to his ‘father’.

When the Undead obtained the Soul Honey, its bone-chilling aura subsided. The Undead was genuinely concerned about Xiao Tai.

“Thank you.” The Undead’s fierce green eyes dimmed and revealed black pupils.

“You mentioned there’s a mausoleum down there. Whose mausoleum is it?” Mo Fan asked.

“I thought you already knew that since you were able to find your way here,” said the Undead.

“It’s the sacred totem beast’s mausoleum,” Lingling answered.

The Undead nodded. The crowd looked helpless and dejected. They had put in great effort in finding so many totem beasts. They had taken great pains in searching for complete clues that led them to the sacred totem beast, only to end up finding its mausoleum guarded by an Undead. Was there truly no other living sacred totem beasts in this world anymore?

“The horns of the Divine Deer, the carcass of the Black Snake, the claw of the Green East Sea God, the skull of the Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger, and the scales of Aofu…” Lingling mumbled.

She and Jiang Shaoxu had originally thought that each totem beast represented the split parts of a sacred totem beast. However, after they obtained the clues from the Green East Sea God, they realized that the various totem beasts did not actually represent a single sacred totem beast.

A totem beast may have the bloodline of two sacred totem beasts.

For instance, the Black Totem Snake represented the head and tail of Dark Tortoise. It also represented the body of the mural—Giant Serpent on the Cloud—on the stone wall at Lake Island.

Lingling reorganized the totem beasts’ clues to another sacred totem beast, and she finally found most of the outline of the Great Serpent on the Cloud at Lake Island. She thought that it was most likely that it would lead to the surviving living sacred totem beast in this world, but they had only ended up in a mausoleum.

They were very disappointed. If it was only a mausoleum, they could at least gain the sacred totem beast’s remaining power to strengthen themselves. However, it would not help them resolve the crises that the entire East Coastline was facing.

“Are we going down there or not?” asked Zhao Manyan.

“We are! Who knows we might find clues about other sacred totem beasts?! The White Tiger totem beast is in Kunlun. The worst that can possibly happen is we’ll barge in Kunlun Mountain. We’ll salvage whatever we can even if there’s only a pile of bones!” Mo Fan assured them.

“The mysterious feathers are left with only a pool of feathers at Lan Yang City. The Great Serpent on the Cloud is left with its mausoleum. The two greatest sacred totem beasts have been confirmed dead. The White Tiger from Kunlun and the Dark Tortoise in the ocean are the only two remaining sacred totem beasts.” Jiang Shaou let out a sigh.

Regardless of whether it was the Great Serpent on the Cloud or the sacred totem beast with the mysterious feathers, these two sacred totem beasts were more powerful than the Dark Tortoise and White Tiger.

This was especially so for the Great Serpent on the Cloud. Its mural on Lake Island had suggested that it was a sacred beast and ancestor of the Black Totem Snake. It was at least an Emperor level sacred totem beast.

1

It was also loyal to humans. Its existence was much more meaningful than a Forbidden Mage. Even though it might have difficulty in protecting five base cities, it could preserve the base city where it was placed.

If one the base cities was still surviving, humans had a ray of hope of reclaiming their territories along the coasts. If the entire East Coastline collapsed, humans’ survival would be threatened. Death would be inevitable!

“I’ll let you in. Remember, don’t simply barge elsewhere inside the mausoleum. Just focus on searching for the totem beast you are looking for. Otherwise, you might die exploring,” said the Undead.

“Thank you.” Mo Fan said gratefully.

“If we take something from the inside, what will happen to you?” Lingling asked.

The Undead considered the question for a while and smiled. “Doesn’t matter. After all, you’re not the first batch of people who entered the mausoleum. I’m not a very competent watchman.”

The Undead walked to the wall crack where Xiao Tai had previously scraped the mud out of. It stretched out its finger and moved along the patterns on the wall. The area where its finger brushed glowed faintly…

Chapter 2823: The Vision of The Divine Walls

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When the Undead finished drawing a door on the wall, the moon was high above the Ancient City Gate in the clear sky.

The moon shone brightly like a white curtain. The moonlight reflected the ordinary plains outside the Ancient City Gate. But when light fell on the area inside the Ancient City Gate, they were greeted with a completely different sight than what they had seen in the day.

Under the reflection of the moonlight, many buildings from the ancient era appeared inside the Ancient City Gate. Although the streets, people, and soldiers were just phantoms, Mo Fan and his group felt as if they had traveled back in time. Their surroundings were crowded, lively, and vivid.

“Come, let’s go to the Sky Observing City once more.” The Undead invited the crowd out from the Ancient City Gate, gesturing for them to walk out under the gate, and then walk in through the gate again.

“What an awesome design! The use of the ancient Chaos and Space Element magical power is as advanced as virtual reality in the modern era!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

…

When they re-entered the Sky Observing City, they found themselves in a different world. They were no longer at the rundown bazaar in a small town. Sky Observing City in the past was more prosperous than its current state. Mo Fan and his group saw many pavilions, palaces, temples, and the tall and majestic Ancient City Wall Forest!

It was hard to imagine and understand that they were in the middle of a city that they had only heard about. It was unbelievably realistic. They felt the coldness and hardness of the bricks when they stretched their hands out to touch them.

“Did we travel through time?” Zhao Manyan’s jaw dropped.

The crowd surveyed their surroundings. For a moment, they wondered if their minds were playing tricks on them, or if there was truly an existence of such an ancient city that someone had sealed it with a heavenly spell, withstanding even time itself.

The streets were crowded. A large group of Calvary Mages charged toward the Ancient City Gate, and the crowd quickly paved a way for them.

The Calvary Mages were charging toward Mo Fan and his group. However, the Calvary Mages swarmed them as if they did not see them there. They rode right past their group.

“This is like a ghost city. The moonlight acts as a photographic film while the Ancient City Gate serves as the projection. What we’re seeing is just the images projected from the ancient era,” said Lingling.

“Why did they record these things? Are they trying to tell us something about what happened here?” Jiang Shaoxu said while surveying his surroundings.

“It must have a certain special meaning.”

The crowd continued to walk deeper into Sky Observing City. Suddenly, the sky turned flaming red. The next moment, the houses and the walls within the city seemed as if it was burning in fire. The peaceful city turned chaotic in an instant.

The residents on the streets fled. The ancient officials and mages quickly gathered together and fought against something in the sky. Bizarre and destructive power struck the city from various directions. Many people turned into a pool of blood because of these energies.

The city seemed to be under some kind of attack. Fire was burning everywhere in the city. Bodies were scattered. Many widows and children lost their homes and cried for help.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

A loud bang came from the direction of the Ancient City Walls. The towering walls of the city shook violently.

Mo Fan turned his head around and looked at the Ancient City Wall where they had entered from, only to realize that the wall had come to life and metamorphosed into ancient soldiers entirely made up of walls and bricks.

Not only the Ancient City Walls, but the walls that surrounded the Sky Observing City underwent a drastic transformation. They were split and stood independently. They became ancient soldiers with lances and stood neatly in a row. They were tall and majestic. They stood guard over the Sky Observing City!

“What kind of magic can transform the Ancient City Walls into warriors?” Mo Fan cried out in surprise.

The sight was shocking to behold. A while ago, the Ancient City Wall was about to be destroyed. The next moment, the walls came alive and defended against some attack on the Sky Observing City.

With the protection from the soldiers, they soon ended the war.

Mo Fan watched in disbelief as the soldiers returned to their position side by side and transformed back into the ancient and robust city wall that surrounded the ancient city.

“Mingwu Ancient City… Mingwu Ancient City…” Song Feiyao mumbled.

Mo Fan heard her murmur. “Did Mingwu Ancient City show the same vision?”

“Didn’t you see the statues at Mingwu Ancient City? The materials of the Ancient City Wall are the same as the statues from Mingwu Ancient City. Grandpas and grannies told us that the statues can come to life. However, we’ve lost the ancient spell so we cannot summon them. We can only rely on their remaining divine power to deter the demons,” said Song Feiyao.

Mo Fan remembered the statues. He realized that the materials from the Ancient City Walls were indeed the same as the statues from Mingwu Ancient City. ‘Did the statues of Mingwu Ancient City originate here?’

The Mingwu Ancient City owned some special statues. However, the entire Sky Observing City was surrounded by these statues!

‘Who had cast such great and amazing magical power back then? How did they bring the Ancient City Walls to life and transfer them to other places?’

Besides, it was clear that Sky Observing City had extended majestic walls. ‘Why was it left with only an Ancient City Gate now? What about the other parts?’

‘And what did all this have to do with the sacred totem beast?’

“Mo Fan, I have a theory,” Lingling said solemnly.

Mo Fan turned to look at Lingling. The rest waited for her to speak.

“You are the guardians of the Underground Holy Spring. You could have been guarding the sacred totem beast all the while,” said Lingling.

1

“What does the Underground Holy Spring have to do with the sacred totem beast? Do you have any evidence?” Mo Fan was confused.

“We’ll know the answer as we continue to walk to the city center,” said Lingling while pointing at the Avenue of Heavy Soldier in the middle of the city.

The Avenue of Heavy Soldier was a standard cross that led to four corners of the Sky Observing City. There was only one entrance, which was the Ancient City Gate where they had entered from. The rest were surrounded by walls with very narrow doors. They did not usually open those narrow doors.

The crowd followed Lingling to the cross and found an ancient well at the Avenue of Heavy Soldiers. The well was like a human’s eye. It was round and clear. And it stared into the sky.

Mo Fan and Song Feiyao were very familiar with the Underground Holy Spring. When they walked to the edge of the ancient well, their faces were filled with shock.

The Underground Holy Spring, the Ancient City Wall, and the sacred totem beast…

‘Could the guardians of the Underground Holy Spring have been standing guard over one of the sacred totem beasts instead of the Underground Holy Spring over the years?’ This explained the reason for the unique warmth of the Underground Holy Spring.

It was actually the totem power!

Chapter 2824: Totem Holy Spring

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan tried to get closer so that Little Loach could identify it. But after considering it carefully, these ancient images were presented using the contortion of space and chaos to show them some sort of a holographic movie. How could it emit energy and let Little Loach absorb it?

Mo Fan was familiar with the water in the well. It was soft, flowed slowly, and the molecules moved differently than water. Its purity and luster were very distinctive.

“Is it the Underground Holy Spring?” Mu Bai and Zhang Xiaohou took a closer look.

They had not seen the Underground Holy Spring in so long, so they were unfamiliar with it. They looked at Mo Fan for confirmation.

“Yes, it must be the Underground Holy Spring,” Song Feiyao answered affirmatively.

She had been cultivating on Licheng Afterglow Island’s spiritual land from very young. That spiritual land had let her build her cultivation base to what it was now. So, she was very sure of what she saw.

“If that’s true then the Sacred Totem beast should be here all this time, but why haven’t we noticed anything so far?” Mo Fan was confused.

They had found the Underground Holy Spring, so where was the Sacred Totem Beast?

All they could see were some soldiers of the Ancient City who could ‘survive’ in the ancient city walls, but they did not see the Sacred Totem Beast, not even a trace of it.

‘If this place was the tomb of the Sacred Totem Beast, where is its skeleton?’ wondered Mo Fan.

“The Underground Holy Spring is the totem power of the Sacred Totem Beast,” Lingling walked around the source of the Underground Holy Spring to Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan sighed. “It is hopeless now. We should have traveled along the four oceans to see if Dark Tortoise is still alive. My Black Totem Turtle likes to follow the ocean currents when it has nothing to do. When I asked what it was doing, it said it was looking for something, but it wasn’t sure what it was. In my opinion, the Black Totem Turtle is looking for its dad, the Dark Tortoise. It’s either in the Arctic Ocean or the Antarctic Ocean,” he said.

They felt disappointed at having worked so hard and achieved such a result. It felt like they were back at square one. They finally figured out the origin of the Underground Holy Spring and knew what the totem power was, but it did not make any difference at all.

“Forget about the Dark Tortoise. What happened to the magical city walls? Why is it gone now?” Jiang Shaoxu asked.

“People most probably demolished them. There are some in Mingwu Ancient City, and the gate is here. The others were part of some cities for thousands of years and have long disappeared,” Zhao Manyan said.

“We can ask Xiao Tai’s father about it. Since he has been guarding this place, he should know—Wow, look at that guy with the rotten face!” Zhang Xiaohou suddenly pointed at a general on Heavy Military Avenue.

The general was wearing tattered armor. His hair was disheveled, and he walked wearily towards Moon Observing Well. He looked like Xiao Tai’s father!

“Oh my, this guy has lived for a long time! This city probably existed two or three thousand years ago,” Zhao Manyan said in surprise.

He had lived for that long! They wondered what his level was now. Fortunately, they did not have to fight him.

“Should we keep on searching? I feel like this is the end. The Sacred Totem Beast already died thousands of years ago.” Zhang Xiaohou felt undecided.

“Let’s get out of here and ask the Undead.” Mo Fan sighed.

As everyone walked to the Ancient City Gate, the scene in the Ancient City Pond returned to its original state. It was quiet and still. Soon, the sky would be red again. Day after day, this anomalous phenomenon would keep repeating. They did not know what message it held for them or the future generation. Or if it was just an echo which had become natural in its repetition.

It was like those guardians of the Underground Holy Spring they had come across. They had forgotten why they guarded it.

The undead in the tomb were no longer obsessed with preventing people from entering this mysterious realm.

“Should we find those divine walls? I think they will be helpful to us,” Jiang Shaoxu suggested.

“We have no clue where exactly the walls were moved. The only information we have is that there are some statues in Mingwu Ancient City, but those statues are only a small part of it.” Mo Fan shook his head.

He did not think they could progress any further with what they knew. The Sacred Totem Beast had disappeared thousands of years ago, he saw no point in looking for its remains.

The Totems that were still alive, such as the Black Totem Snake, White Tiger, Green East Sea God, and Moon Moth Phoenix, may have been the incarnations of the Sacred Totem Beasts.

Two of the four Sacred Totem Beasts had died. They did not know where to find the other two and did not know if it was too late to find them.

“Let’s go to Kunlun. Kunlun must have things we want to know, and there are some Totems that we have never learned about,” Zhang Xiaohou suggested.

Mo Fan shook his head. They would go to Kunlun but not right now.

There was no clue to the Seal of Totem Beast, so it was just a waste of time to go to Kunlun. They must have a clear direction of the location of the White Tiger before going to Kunlun otherwise their journey would be unnecessarily long.

“We should go to the Ancient Capital. It just so happens that we need to wipe out the Undeads in the Ancient Capital. Once we take care of the back, we can fight in the east at ease,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

“The situation in the Ancient Capital has always been like that. The Ancient King suppressed the Undeads, so it is natural for them to have grievances. It’s just like dams and rivers. How can the dams block the rivers all the time? We should open a small gate that won’t flood the farmlands and villages. In this way, the Undeads can provide us with some supplies and protection instead,” Mo Fan suggested.

The Undeads of the Ancient Capital had maintained that state for thousands of years.

The Undeads would not go extinct, and the Ancient King could not protect the Ancient Capital forever. As the Queen of Nine Serenities predicted, the Ancient Capital must handle itself by coexisting with the Undeads, relying on their protection, and battling them, if necessary.

Mu Bai nodded. The Ancient Capital had always been this way.

The catastrophe caused the Ancient Capital to suffer heavy losses. At that time, the Ancient King restrained the Undeads and gave the Ancient Capital time to recuperate. The Ancient Capital had become prosperous again. The existence of the Undeads resulted in strong Mages and incomes. It was part of the land.

There were hurricanes in the south, earthquakes in the mainland, and sandstorms in the north. However, people could protect themselves from hurricanes, earthquakes, and sandstorms. Most people had accepted these disasters as part of their lives and did not leave their homes.

“Let’s follow Brother Zhao’s suggestion and go to the Arctic Ocean to find the Dark Tortoise. I haven’t been to the Arctic Ocean yet,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

Zhao Manyan slapped Zhang Xiaohou on the back playfully. He laughed. “I was just joking. How can we go to the Arctic Ocean? The Iceberg Beasts are vicious, and the whole of northern Europe suffers from it.”

“Xiaohou, you seem to want to keep us engaged in something else.” Mo Fan frowned and stared at Zhang Xiaohou.

“No, I don’t. I’m just…” Zhang Xiaohou was tongue-tied as he faced Mo Fan.

Zhang Xiaohouwas always nervous and flustered when he faced Mo Fan since childhood. Whenever Mo Fan turned serious, he forgot that he was a famous general who didn’t have to feel so nervous.

“Could it be that Commander Hua doesn’t want us to return? Did something happen along the coast?” Mo Fan asked.

Chapter 2825: Sky Gap and Pale Waterfall

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan saw through Zhang Xiaohou’s plan.

Faced with Mo Fan’s questioning, Zhang Xiaohou did not dare to hide it any longer. “It is true that Commander Hua wants me to keep everyone away from the war on the East Coastline.”

“The Ocean Demons will attack soon?” Mo Fan asked.

Zhang Xiaohou nodded. It hadn’t been announced officially but Zhang Xiaohou had worked on Emperor Qin Island so he had learnt about a lot of things.

Commander Hua was eager to kill the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother because he wanted to weaken the strength of the Ocean Demons before the upcoming attack.

Even so, it wasn’t enough to make a difference against the attack of Ocean Demons which was inevitable. The Ocean Demons would likely attack in a few days.

“So fast?” Zhao Manyan was surprised.

Everyone had known that the Ocean Demons would attack sooner or later, but they hadn’t expected it to be this soon.

There were always signs of the Ocean Demon being active, but this was unexpected.

The sudden rise in sea level had caused huge changes in the security of the East Coastline. Many cities were under the threat of the Ocean Demons.

People abandoned many cities and relocated to the five main base cities. The situation on the East Coastline suddenly became grave as living space and resources reduced gradually. The world was different from what they knew in the past.

Mo Fan happened to be absent during the two huge cataclysms. The first time was in Northern Xinjiang. Khufu attacked Northern Xinjiang, but they could not get any reinforcements due to a sudden war with the Ocean Demons on the East Coastline.

The second time was when Mo Fan was dragged into the Dark Plane. When Mo Fan came out of the Dark Plane, the coastal area had changed completely. Ocean Demons roamed around the nearby sea area recklessly, which made the area outside the base city extremely dangerous. The oppressing situation was like an apocalyptic scene that caused people to suffer endlessly.

It was just the beginning. A massive attack of the Ocean Demons was yet to happen.

Commander Hua was worried. The East Coastline was preparing to face the all-out attack from the Ocean demons. According to Zhang Xiaohou, it would be within these few days.

…

The mood suddenly became heavy. On one hand, the monstrous tsunami swept across the east like a demon claw from the sky. After hanging in the sky for a long time, the demon claw finally fell. On the other hand, they could not find the Sacred Totem Beast, so they were powerless to do anything for the upcoming crisis.

When they walked out of the Sky Observing City, thick dark clouds covered the moon in the night sky and the surrounding was already pitch black.

When they looked back, the Ancient City Gate was still the same, but the prosperous city behind the Ancient City Gate had disappeared. They could only see a pile of sand and rubble. There was nothing much left.

“Did you find the answer you were looking for?” The tomb keeper smiled sadly as if he had already known that they could find nothing in those rubbles.

Mo Fan had a lot of questions, but he did not know where to start. The air was suffocating, and there was no wind at all.

Commander Hua had asked Zhang Xiaohou to accompany them because he had hoped the group could be kept back from participating in the battle. However, would it be right for them to escape the battle and hide? Could they survive if they retreat?

Mo Fan did not think so. If there were no Extreme South Emperor, nothing would change even if they gave away the rich coastline to the Ocean Demons. The Ocean Demons were not much different from other demons when they were not at sea.

But knowing the mainland, Mo Fan understood the situation was not optimistic. The most serious problem was the cold weather and the lack of water sources.

“Mo Fan, watch this.” Lingling unlocked her phone and played a video for Mo Fan.

When Lingling played the video, Mo Fan heard the sound of buildings collapsing and the roar of magic. The video seemed to take place in the Magic City. Mo Fan saw the skyscrapers in the Lu Family’s Mouth, which were the symbols of the Magic City.

The skyscrapers were constantly glowing with white electric light. The protective barrier used to resist the Undeads under the sea had opened again, and a huge light barrier separated the Huangpu River.

Mo Fan thought this huge barrier could protect the city for a while. The camera shifted to show huge openings in the sky like a ragged cloth with holes. Some places were completely vacant.

The sound of the waterfall overwhelmed all the noise. Mo Fan saw seawater flowing down with brute force from the gaps in the sky and flooding several urban areas in the Magic City.

The Pale Waterfall was surging like destructive white dragons. They were ruthlessly destroying the Magic City. Those who escaped and Mages who were trying to defend the city seemed insignificant in the face of it all.

The Magic City was submerged. The sky was torn apart.

Tons of seawater poured into the city, and the Pale Waterfall stirred. Even if this was just a video, it still looked shocking and terrifying. The magnificent the Magic City also could not escape from such a disaster.

“Didn’t you say we still had a few days left?” Jiang Shaoxu, Mu Bai, Lingling, and Zhao Manyan stared blankly at the video they received.

Zhang Xiaohou was surprised as well. Commander Hua had told him that there was still time…

‘Had Commander Hua deliberately deceived me? He didn’t tell me anything about this…,’ thought Zhang Xiaohou.

“Brother Fan.” Zhang Xiaohou looked at Mo Fan.

“Let’s go back. Grandpa and the others are still in the Magic City. The Ocean Demons have attacked,” Lingling said hurriedly.

Those gaps in the sky caused a large amount of seawater to hit the city, and many Ocean Demons entered through them. They had hard scales, sharp fangs, huge demon tails, and sturdy bodies.

A whole troop of Ocean Demons rushed down from the Sky Gap Waterfall, and their scaled blades flashed with cold light as they swung toward the citizens of the Magic City.

“We worked hard to build the seawall and set up various powerful protective barriers in the skyscrapers. And yet, these Ocean Demons fell directly from the sky. How could this happen? Why did it suddenly become like this?” Zhang Xiaohou found it unbelievable.

There was no giant tsunami, and the sea level did not rise. However, one huge gap after another appeared in the sky above the Magic City. The seawater flowed down with great force, and the army of Ocean Demons landed directly inside the city.

It completely disrupted the deployment of humans. There were so many Ocean Demons, and the urban area was flooded. How were they going to withstand the attack?

Chapter 2826: He Is a Forbidden Mage

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

On the Azure Pearl Campuses of Pearl Institute, there was a huge gap above the track field. The missing sky was like an abyss under the sea. People shuddered when they looked at it.

The gap lasted for only ten minutes. After ten minutes, the seawater flowed down from it. If it was just an ordinary waterfall, the people could drain it the moment it fell on the Magic City.The gap was large. The white dragon had completely covered the field of the Azure Pearl Campuses. The seawater spread for several kilometers at an impossible speed.

As the water rose, the track field, teaching buildings, stadium, cafeteria, and magic practice room of Azure Pearl Campuses were all flooded.

When the water depth exceeded two meters, many Ocean Demons came out of the Sky Gap Waterfall. Their combat capabilities were terrifying, and they defeated the Mages instantly.

The Ocean Demons were very cunning. Those weak ordinary humans were not a threat to them because they knew only Mages were of consequence. They would only target the Mages.

They wanted to eliminate the armed forces of humans in the shortest time. Once the Mages were done with, they could kill the humans however they wanted.

Pearl Institute was a place with many Mages. After all, it was a magic school.

The powerful Fish Men Generals were akin to demon kings in front of these intermediate-level magic students. Their scales could defend against most intermediate-level magic, and the bone sticks in their hands posed a big threat to the vulnerable magic students.

“Hurry up and run to the emergency shelter. Hurry up and run to the emergency shelter!” several magic teachers shouted.

When they built the base city, they set up emergency shelters at various important locations. The shelters prevented the war from spreading directly into the city, and most of them were provided for ordinary citizens for safety.

“Ah!”

“Run!”

“Don’t run over there!”

In the teaching building, a large group of students was taking classes. There were about a thousand new students, all of whom had entered the school more than a month ago.

Most new students were still at the basic level, and their combat power was not comparable to that of the seniors. They were also not as organized and combat ready as their seniors.

The students could not fight alone with the Commander-level Fish Men Generals. However, they learned to work together and form an emergency team of Mages from different departments during this time of crisis.

Together, these Mage teams could resist the Fish Men Generals. However, the new students were only at the basic level.

Their magic could not even scrape off the scales of the Fish Men Generals. Even though more than a thousand Mages formed a group, they could not withstand the destructive attack of a group of Fish Men Generals.

The number of Fish Men Generals was still increasing. Hundreds of Fish Men Generals rushed down from the Sky Gap Waterfall. The Ocean Demons seemed to have their plan on point. They knew this magic school could hinder them, so they dispatched an army of Ocean Demons with terrifying strength right from the beginning.

Most of them were Commander-level Fish Men Generals, so the new students could not fight against them. Besides, there were hundreds of them in the Azure Pearl Campuses. The situation was dire, and everyone felt hopeless.

People had worked hard to build a magical civilization, and the students had worked hard to learn magic, hoping to change the world one day. However, when they saw these brutal Commander-level demons, they felt insignificant and felt like the magic they had learnt was useless against the enemies. They wondered if being a Mage had a meaning at all in this world.

“Go back to the bottom of the sea!”

Amidst the cries, a solemn chant sounded from the highest part of the teaching building. His voice was full of power, as if a giant bell reverberated across the expanse.

He wore simple robes, had a fluttering beard, and the silver-blue brilliance all over his body was so dazzling that the sky looked dull.

He waved his palm, and the restless seawater in the Azure Pearl Campuses began to flow in a trajectory. The current was turbulent. The plain-robed man controlled all the seawater and made it flow in the opposite direction. The seawater began to spin violently near the field.

Looking down from a height, people realized that the seawater had turned into a huge vortex, and the vortex grew ever more powerful. The Fish Men Generals that were going to attack were constantly sucked to the bottom of the vortex.

It was unknown where the bottom of the vortex ended. It was a destructive army with hundreds of Fish Men Generals. However, they were all sucked and pulled into another space below the vortex.

The seawater was also flowing into this bottomless vortex. The Azure Pearl Campuses gradually came out of its submersion.

In the sky, seawater was still flowing out of the gap. The vortex in the field redirected the seawater to other places, barely forming a balance.

“Dean Xiao, is it possible to block the gap in the sky?” Mr. Bai Mei was anxious.

“It’s not easy to block it,” Dean Xiao said.

“What kind of magic is this? It can tear the sky apart and pour the seawater down. So many Ocean Demons have invaded the city. How are we going to fight in this battle?” Minister Wu said.

“Ms. Zhou, hurry up and take the children to the emergency shelter first. If they are willing to fight, they can stay.” Dean Xiao appeared sad.

It was too sudden and too terrifying.

Even if Dean Xiao, the town-level Holy Mage in the Magic City, knew the Ocean Demons would attack, he would never have imagined that they would have attacked in this manner.

Which demon king could tear apart the sky and pour seawater into the city through this method? If they did not kill this demon king, they would lose this battle.

The Ocean Demons did not attack ordinary citizens but kept attacking the Mages. They probably wanted to enslave and keep humans in captivity. Without the Mages, the citizens in the entire base city would be defenseless and left with no choice but to be enslaved!

“Dean Xiao!”

In mid-air, a man with eagle wings flew with a cold expression. Dean Xiao raised his head and glanced at the man.

“The Forbidden Curse Association ordered me to come…” the eagle-winged man said.

“I know, but I can’t leave right now.”

“You are the only Water Element Forbidden Mage in the Magic City, and the Magic City needs you even more,” the eagle-winged man said solemnly.

Mr. Bai Mei was stunned. She stared at Dean Xiao in surprise.

The entire Pearl Institute knew that Dean Xiao was highly respected and had been focusing on cultivating new students in the Azure Pearl Campuses. They knew he had a high cultivation and was an outstanding Formation Mage.

However, none of them knew he was a Forbidden Mage, too!

Chapter 2827: Rain in the Sky Hole

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When people stood on the terrace of the library of Treasure Mountain Excellence High School, they could see the turbid blue sea immediately. Although it was not the most intoxicating blue, it was enough to put a person in a daze.

Mu Nujiao was in a rebellious state because of the difficult demands of the family. She had left Jing An’s school and went to Excellence High School in Treasure Mountain. She wanted to stay away from the complicated battles and meaningless comparisons in her own family.

At that time, she had always liked going to the library terrace. She could study alone and quietly watch the sea not very far away.

She served as the Deputy Director of Excellence High School. When she came here again, she saw a tall seawall. Many soldiers patrolled the dyke, and she could not see the sea anymore.

Today was a day for Excellence Magic High School’s students to practice. In this era, it was not easy for these students, who could not even cast spells, to find a suitable place to practice, but every high school must get it done.

The weather was good. Mu Nujiao took her lunch break to meditate on the terrace. It was a habit, and it was this place that always helped her calm down even when she was fifteen. She would always come here to practice, study, or think when she was annoyed.

“Why did it suddenly rain?” Mu Nujiao was about to close her eyes when she suddenly felt a drop of cold rain fall on her forehead.

She looked up and found that a strange black spot appeared in the clear sky. If the sky and clouds were a light blue drawing board covering the earth, then there was a small hole in the middle of the drawing board. The water droplets fell from the small hole and were blown away by the wind before falling on her forehead.

Mu Nujiao stared at the hole. She found that the water droplets formed a thin line of rain and landed straight on the school playground.

The students gathered on the playground. They would set off for the northern border of the base city in half an hour. Even though it was only for practice, it was no less than visiting the military fortress on the edge of the protective barrier. They could no longer handle the Ocean Demons.

“It’s raining. The rain is so strange. How does it only fall in a straight line in one place?” Someone questioned on the playground.

There was only one white line of rain, and it hit the concrete playground softly. A group of teenagers in school uniforms thought it was strange and amusing, so they watched the splashing water from the side.

Mu Nujiao did not look away. She soon discovered that the small hole in the sky was getting bigger, and the raindrops that fell were getting thicker. It was as thin as a strand of hair at first but slowly became as thick as a finger. When the rain hit the playground, they could hear some sounds.

Mu Nujiao’s expression changed. When she discovered that the hole in the sky was still expanding, she realized something was wrong.

“Get out of there! Get out of there!” Mu Nujiao shouted at the students who were still at the playground.

The hole in the sky was getting bigger, and a thick water column descended. The icy water overflowed the entire playground.

More water fell from the sky at an impossible speed. The white-water column smashed down and shattered the ground of the playground. The water splash rose high and spread out toward the surrounding area like waves in a beach. Those who did not stand firm would fall or get swept away!

“Hurry up and go to the emergency shelter!” Mu Nujiao shouted again.

“Deputy Director, the weather may be weird for a while. Everything is fine, right?” asked the principal.

The principal was a middle-aged woman. Her hair was permed and dyed into a beautiful color to cover up the signs of aging.

Mu Nujiao’s decision to evacuate immediately felt very drastic to Principal Fan. After all, they had already made an appointment to go to the north to visit the battlefield. If all of them rushed to the emergency shelter, it would delay the visit and the practice session.

“It is not an ordinary climate. I think the war is starting. It is high-level sorcery. Cancel the practice and take the students to the shelter!” Mu Nujiao said with certainty.

Mu Nujiao had been to the sea and Japan, and she had dealt with many Ocean Demons. Although she had never seen this kind of sorcery, the icy water that poured down was unusual.

Mu Nujiao had no direct evidence that this was the Ocean Demons’ doing. However, her intuition told her that the Ocean Demons were behind it.

“Deputy Director Mu, you have provided many resources to this school and won many practical opportunities for our school. We are very grateful, but we can’t cancel the school’s plan because of such a trivial matter. Besides, we must apply with the officials of Treasure Mountain for emergency evacuation, or the Treasure Mountain Security Department will issue a warning signal. We have not received the relevant documents yet,” Principal Fan said solemnly.

Mu Nujiao frowned. Indeed, school affairs were not under her control, but this phenomenon was too strange. No matter what, it was illogical to risk the lives of these students.

“I also hope this is a false alarm, but if you insist on letting the students gather here, I will immediately propose a transfer to the board of directors. Your lack of sense of urgency in such a situation shows that you are unfit to be the principal of this school.” Mu Nujiao did not want to talk to principal Fan. It was pointless to argue with her.

“Mu Nujiao, you are only a Deputy Director!” Principal Fan said angrily.

Principal Fan was displeased. Mu Nujiao had no right to give her orders in the Excellence High School. She was from a renowned family, but it did not mean she could do whatever she pleased.

“Every school director is a member of the Talent International Union University, and I am the president. You can either evacuate the students to the emergency shelter immediately or pack up and leave. I will personally organize the evacuation!” Mu Nujiao did not want to play meaningless games with this principal.

Principal Fan had gotten in the way of Mu Nujiao many times, causing her to withhold many of her educational ideas and reforms. Since Principal Fan was older and wiser than her, Mu Nujiao had always respected her and backed down. But this time, it was very important for her to stand her ground.

Some people lived comfortable lives. They became so neglectful and ignorant that they habitually became lulled even in danger.

It would kill many people!

The longer people lived comfortably in the metropolis, the harder it became for them tosense a crisis.

Several other directors and teachers looked at Mu Nujiao in surprise. They did not expect this young Deputy Director to be so assertive today.

She even asked the principal to pack up and leave! It was not something ordinary people could do.

Chapter 2828: Black Alert

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Principal Fan was angry. But when she thought of Mu Nujiao’s various identities, she had no power to argue with.

The International Union University was a school organization formed by many top universities, including Pearl Institute, Temple Institute, and the top three international institutes in the Alps, Europe Institute, Sacred Hall Institute, and St. Petersburg Institute. The principals of many famous schools were just members of this organization, but Mu Nujiao was the president.

The position of Deputy Director was ordinary, but the president of Talent International Union University was considered very influential!

Principal Fan had no courage. But she refused to admit to being inferior.

“Students have lost this rare opportunity to practice, so you need to explain to the Ministry of Education. You also need to explain to the officials of Treasure Mountain for using the emergency shelter for unimportant reasons.” Principal Fan issued an emergency evacuation order to every teacher.

Most students did not know what was happening. They were still watching the water column flowing down from the sky.

The water column had turned into a long waterfall, and the water that flowed down had shattered the playground. The drainage channel began to load, and it could no longer drain the seawater.

When the manatee saw the humans, it violently rushed over with two ice axes. It threw its ice axes fiercely. The two axes formed an ‘X’ and cut several frightened magic teachers before returning to the manatee. The weapon was not stained with blood.

1

Students screamed in fright and ran away to follow the evacuation order. Only then did the teachers remember to use their magic, but their Intermediate spells that did not even have Soul Seeds could not hurt this marine warrior who was covered in marine ice armor.

The Ice Ax Manatee sensed the presence of many humans. It raised the ice axes in its hand and threw them at the magic students who did not have time to evacuate. The axes flew threateningly.

“Thousand Woods Through the Heart!”Mu Nujiao shouted. Countless sturdy wood flew out from her back, and they flew toward the Ice Ax Manatee. The wood mercilessly pierced its incomparably hard ice armor.

The wood was like a pine forest, but it grew horizontally. The front ends were all spike-shaped, and it nailed the Ice Ax Manatee. Even so, the Ice Ax Manatee was still trying to attack. It raised the two axes and threw them at Principal Fan.

Principal Fan’s Water Curtain Barrier shattered. A string of vines wrapped around her and pulled her to the side before the ice axes struck. She managed to escape from the ice axes.

The belated sound of a siren erupted. The alert signal light rushed into the sky. When it reached the top, it slowly illuminated the entire land of the Magic City. It was a shocking black!

An Orange Alert, Bloody Alert, Purple Alert…

1

This time, it was Black Alert!

“Black…” Mu Nujiao raised her head and saw the Black Alert. She took a deep breath, but it didn’t help with the suffocation she felt.

Black Alert! Unprecedented Black Alert!

Rehearsals were conducted according to the Purple Alert plan, and all strategies were rehearsed based on historical disasters. However, the ruthlessness and magnitude of the disaster far exceeded people’s estimates.

Black meant extinction.

The sound of the Black Alert was no longer an early warning of war or disaster but directly indicated that Shanghai had lost!

‘Was there no hope?’

They built dams and shelters for everyone, dispatched heavy troops from the major military departments across the country, created a base city plan, and killed the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother. Was all their effort meaningless?

Black…

Why was it a Black Alert? If it were a fake Purple Alert, people would fight to the death with the Ocean Demon for survival. This Black Alert meant that all the Mages in Shanghai did not need to resist. They should run away and try their best to survive.

‘But where could they escape?’

There was no habitat, food, water source, and housing. They would die no matter where they went.

“Moo! Moo! Moo!”

2

While Mu Nujiao was lost in her thoughts, the hole in the sky expanded, and a dozen Ice Ax Manatees stepped out of the waterfall with demonic energy. The surrounding buildings swayed due to the rushing seawater. These manatees stood in the most turbulent waterfall but were still sturdy. They were cruel, ugly, strong, and terrifying!

Mu Nujiao looked back and found that the group of students had already left the campus. She felt a little relief. But her relief was soon followed by hopelessness.

It didn’t matter where they evacuated, the outcome would be the same.

The first target of all the Ocean Demons were the Mages, especially Mages with high cultivation.

The Ice Ax Manatees glanced at their companion, which was nailed, and quickly targeted Mu Nujiao.

It seemed that this woman was the only one who could pose some threat to the Ice Ax Manatees in this area.

Chapter 2829: White Disastrous Cloud

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A loud noise reverberated from the direction of the seawall. Mu Nujiao followed the sound and found that the dam that blocked the sea surface had collapsed.

During the construction, the Battlemages had emphasized that these seawalls were heavy rocks transferred from Ding City and could withstand Advanced-level magic. They had assured them that if there was ever an attack from asea monster, they could withstand it for a long, long time.

But what Mu Nujiao saw was not a solid dam at all. There was only dust and rubble where the dam used to be. It had collapsed so easily!

“Moo! Moo! Moo!”

The Ice Ax Manatees got closer, and Mu Nujiao had to retreat to the collapsed dam to prevent these Ocean Demons from chasing the students.

“There is a big demon coming this way, so don’t go in that direction!” In mid-air, a Battlemage riding a Heavenly Eagle saw Mu Nujiao.

Mu Nujiao ignored him and ran in that direction.

A strange sound of rolling stones colliding came from the direction of the dam, and Mu Nujiao saw that many white shells were constantly hitting those rocks.

Those shells were pure white. Their thick bodies were comparable to an armed tank, and hard thorns covered the outer layer. When they stretched their bodies, they looked like evil maggots. However, they transformed into a powerful gear tank when they curled up.

These white Shell Demons broke the sturdy dam into pieces, leaving the battlemages guarding the dam without any support at all.

The Ocean Demons finally launched an all-out attack on the defensive line.

They first used the supreme supernatural power to open the sky, poured the seawater into the city, let a part of the Ocean Demons launch an attack, and quickly eliminated those Mages who resisted. Then, these white Shell Demons smashed and knocked down the dam.

The towering dam collapsed, and Mu Nujiao could finally see the sea again. However, she did not see turbid blue water but countless Shell Demons that glowed with a dazzling luster under the light.

The Shell Demons covered the sea until there was nothing else. Mu Nujiao did not know when the Shell Demons had covered the sea. When she looked closely, she found that the white Salamander and white Shell Demons were floating, crawling, and wriggling on the surface. There were so many of them that she could not see the end of the army of white Salamanders and white Shell Demons. The vast sea was overcrowded.

“White Disastrous Cloud…”

The White Disastrous Cloud above the Pacific Ocean was a terrifying phenomenon of the attack of the Ocean Demons that the patrol helicopter of the American Sacred Hall of Liberty discovered. It was approaching the coastal land!

People had known for a long time that it was extremely dangerous. There were so many of them that the sea level would rise several meters instantly.

The sea was over one million square kilometers. When the White Disastrous Cloud came, the sea level rose rapidly, which could instantly engulf most cities in the same sea level.

Now that the White Disastrous Cloud had appeared on the seaside of the Magic City, humans could not withstand the attack of this vast army of Salamanders and Shell Demons.

…

The Green East Sea God flew above the Ningxia Plateau. When it shuttled through the stratosphere, it saw a long line of airflow running through the sky, and it did not disperse after the Green East Sea God left for a long time.

“How did the White Disastrous Cloud come to Shanghai? How did it do it?” Zhao Manyan exclaimed again while looking at the video.

At high altitudes, the signal was not very good. The last information they received was a recording of the White Disastrous Cloud attacking the city. They were rushing to the Magic City.

“The Ocean Demons have never launched a major attack like this before. On one hand, it is to test how many Forbidden Mages we have. On the other hand, it is preparing meticulously for mass destruction. They are waiting for the White Disastrous Cloud,” Zhang Xiaohou said.

White Disastrous Cloud…

It was the all-out attack plan of the Ocean Demons, and the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother had been just a foil. They relied on the White Disastrous Cloud to engulf the human coastline and the nearly 20,000-kilometer coastal defense line.

“The shells of the Salamanders and Shell Demons have a certain degree of immunity to human elemental magic. The Ocean Godly Horde first launched a surprise attack with the Sky Gap Waterfall and used the army of Salamanders and Shell Demons with magic immunity as the vanguard and shield army. In the end, they launched a full-scale attack. The Ocean Demons have launched a devastating war on our base city!” Mo Fan’s face darkened.

Mo Fan had dealt with those Salamanders before. According to Lingling’s meticulous research, Salamanders were mutants with unparalleled reproductive ability.

Cao Qinqin had been to Japan, and Japan had dealt with the White Disastrous Cloud in the past. Cao Qinqin reported that the silver shell armor among the Shell Demons could partially reduce the power of a magic spell.

Partially reducing the power of a magic spell meant the power of a Super Level magic would be reduced by forty percent when it hit the Shell Demons. If it were a high-level Shell Demon, the power of the magic would be reduced by seventy percent!

When the Salamanders were fully armed, they could break through the solid seawall.

The ability of the Shell Demons to reduce the power of magic abolished the firepower of several important magic fortresses along the coast.

The enemy attacked the city, and countless high-level Ocean Demons landed in the city to slaughter Mages. The army of Salamanders and Shell Demons attacked the defense line of the seawall. Even if Mo Fan was not present at the scene of destruction, he could still feel the desperation in the Magic City.

“Mo Fan, we shouldn’t return. There’s nothing we can do to help,” Jiang Shaoxu said despondently.

“We have to do something. We’re not going to sacrifice ourselves. We’re just going to help,” said Mo Fan.

“I just received an emergency strategy from my father. Ding City will be used as the evacuation point. Since you are an Honorary Councilor of Ding City, you need to quickly remove all the demons between the Magic City and the Rock Capital of Ding City. This is what we have to do,” Jiang Shaoxu said loudly.

Ding City…

Instead of going to the Magic City, they should go to Ding City. Mo Fan was very familiar with the environment of Ding City. There were only rocks there. It couldn’t be compared to the richness of the Magic City. Ding City could not support so many people.

“I agree with Jiang Shaoxu. The Magic City has fallen, and it makes no sense for us to rush there now,” Zhao Manyan said.

“What about other base cities?” Mo Fan asked.

“There is no news of them being attacked for the time being.”

Mo Fan looked at them. He could not make up his mind.

He felt uncomfortable when he was indecisive. He never liked feeling that way so he kept trying to become stronger. But no matter how strong and powerful he got, the hopelessness remained.

“Wait! Wait!” Lingling suddenly shouted.

Her voice was filled with excitement, which made everyone confused.

Chapter 2830: The Split Parts of The Divine Walls

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Wait!” Lingling shouted once again.

Song Feiyao turned to Mo Fan. He nodded.

Lingling was smart. She was someone who considered the bigger picture. She wasn’t a coward nor was she reckless without reason. Her sense of morality was more accurate and reliable than Mo Fan in his opinion.

Song Feiyao asked the Green East Sea God to come to a halt. The Green East Sea God spread its wings and slanted slightly. Its feathers were blown upright because of the air, and it hovered in the air.

“Zhang Xiaohou is that Northern Xinjiang down there?” asked Lingling.

Zhang Xiaohou looked down. It was difficult to know for sure from such a high altitude. But he was all too familiar with the land in Northern Xinjiang because he had fought in a war there a long time ago.

“It’s Northern Xinjiang,” Zhang Xiaohou said with great conviction.

“How high can the Green East Sea God fly?” Lingling asked Song Feiyao.

“As high as the space above this sky. What do you want to do?” Song Feiyao asked in confusion.

“I want it to fly as high as possible. Besides, the weather must be clear at higher altitude,” Lingling said with great urgency.

No one knew what Lingling was up to. But she looked like she had a plan and could not explain everything to them right now.

“The Green East Sea God can manipulate the clouds and wind. However, it will have to stay in the troposphere. It cannot take you to the space above the sky,” said Song Feiyao.

“I’ll take her to the space above the sky. Meanwhile, you let the Green East Sea God manipulate the clouds and wind.” Mo Fan walked to Lingling’s side. The Wings of Dusk and Dawn on his back spread open. His Black Dragon Wings glowed like black alloy and blocked the bright sunshine, making him look like a dark angel.

Zhao Manyan was puzzled. “Seriously, why do you have the mood to admire the scenery in China right now?”

“Perhaps we won’t have a chance anymore in the future. Come, Lingling.” Mo Fan stretched out his hand.

Lingling wrapped her arms around Mo Fan’s neck without hesitation, allowing Mo Fan to lift her up into the sky.

Swoosh!

An enormous black figure soared up towards the highest point of the sky. Mo Fan’s Black Dragon Wings were not inferior to the Green East Sea God’s. He could fly as high as it could.

They flew toward the space above the sky. Even though Mo Fan did not understand why Lingling wanted to reach such a high altitude, he trusted her. She must have discovered something.

When Mo Fan reached the space above the sky, the Green East Sea God below them began manipulating the wind and clouds.

They could see a large expanse of land when they looked down from the space above the sky. This meant that the Green East Sea God had to make a large area of clouds scatter, and that area spanned hundreds and thousands of kilometers. Fortunately, the low altitude of the sky had only a few clouds condensed, and the weather was clear. The Green East Sea God only had to send the thin clouds away so that Mo Fan and Lingling could see the lands from the space above the sky.

This was exactly what Lingling had wanted. She wanted to see the large piece of land from the space above the sky. She wanted to look at the vast land of China!

…

The light shining from the space above the sky was splendid and not too glaring. It was simply breathtaking. This was Lingling’s first time reaching the space above the sky, and she could not take her eyes off the beautiful scenery.

1

However, she did not forget about the things she had to do.

She closed her eyes. All the geographical locations appeared in her mind. Then she recalled Helan Mountain, the monument at the Yellow River, the Ancient City Gate, Beiguan Town, Shenmu City, Jiayu City, the Ancient Capital, the Imperial Capital, Emperor Qin Island…

“What are you doing?” Mo Fan asked in confusion.

Lingling opened her eyes. The light from the space above the sky reflected in her eyes, and she looked even more ethereal. A hint of delight appeared in her eyes, too.

“I know where the divine walls from Sky Observing City are!” Lingling sounded thrilled.

Even though this was not what Mo Fan had wanted to know about the most, he asked, “Where are they?”

“They are the Ancient Great Walls. Do you still remember them? When the beacon at Beiguan Town lit up, the Ancient Great Walls rose from the ground at Beiguan Town and stretched all the way to Divine Wood City. Regardless of whether they are still well preserved or buried under the loess, the divine power from the Ancient Great Walls of Beiguan Town is most likely a part of the divine walls of Sky Observing City!” Lingling could not contain her excitement.

The Ancient Great Walls at Beiguan Town…

When they fought Khufu, the Undead had covered the entire plain. The walls that rose from the ground and served as the watchtowers had blocked the Undead outside Northern Xinjiang. Mo Fan still vividly remembered that spectacular and majestic incident.

If not for the Ancient City Wall summoning the divine walls and serving as an ancient defense line, Mo Fan and his group would not have been able to stall for time and wait for Zhan Kong and his Undead army’s arrival.

‘Indeed, it was all because of the Ancient City Wall and the divine walls! Did this not fit perfectly with the divine power of the Ancient Great Wall?!’

“The divine walls at Sky Observing City are split into great walls to safeguard the country. The great walls were built during the Ancient King’s era. The Ancient King has achieved Apex level in his Earth element magical power. He was the one who destroyed Sky Observing City and expanded the divine walls. The divine walls then served as the defense line on the north of China and continued to expand in the following dynasties because the emperors of those dynasties were able to find similar building materials to the divine walls…” Lingling continued.

“Look at the seal of the sacred totem beast before turning to the great walls again.”

Lingling pointed at a piece of large land that had shrunk into a curved slab.

Mo Fan possessed a dragon sense so he could see very far. However, Lingling did not see the land. All she saw was a painting plate with a mixture of yellow, brown, black, and green colors.

Mo Fan used his dragon sense to see things within ten thousand miles. He saw the incomplete great wall relics. It was difficult to zoom in and see all the relics at such a high altitude. Still, Mo Fan tried his best to make up for the missing pieces!

“It’s not high enough. We must fly higher,” said Mo Fan.

They crossed a historic relic in a province. Mo Fan wanted to combine the great walls near Ningxia and Helan Mountain with the Ancient City Gate and Ancient City Wall at Beiguan Town. To gain an overall view of this, they had to reach the highest point of the sky and had to have incredible eyesight.

“It must be it! It must be it! Mo Fan, my deduction must be right!” Lingling said in excitement. However, her face had turned slightly blue.

“Lingling, it’s too cold up here. You could…,” began Mo Fan.

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” said Lingling weakly.

Suddenly, a cloud of bright flame flared up. Mo Fan’s hair and skin was ablaze.

The flames danced wildly. They were sacred and solemn. Mo Fan had transformed into the Chongming Divine Flame man and was flying toward the highest point of the space above the sky. Even meteors and stars were inferior to Mo Fan’s supreme divine flames!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Mo Fan held Lingling close to him and continued flying toward the space above the sky. He was not aiming for a mountain or geographical area. He was looking for the great walls of China that spanned for thousands of miles!

Chapter 2831: The Sacred Totem Beast And The Great Walls of China

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The surrounding was dark and quiet. Mo Fan had never flown to such a high altitude before. He turned to Lingling and saw that she was about to pass out.

He stood still, as if he was standing on the surface of the lake at Divine Wood Well. He felt fear and restlessness. Mo Fan focused on using his dragon sense to maximize his vision.

‘The sacred totem beast… The Ancient Great Walls…’

“I-If the Ancient Great Walls are the divine walls, and the Underground Holy Spring is the source that brings them to life, then… we can summon the Ancient Wall Sacred Soldiers! W-We can bring the Ancient Wall Sacred Soldiers to the Magic City! The Ancient Wall Sacred Soldiers are the sacred totem beast that we’ve been searching for!” stammered Lingling. Each word caused her pain.

They had found the sacred totem beast!

“Lingling! I’m going to take you back now!” Even though Mo Fan was in the form of divine flame, his heat could not withstand the black wind and ice invasion in the space above the sky.

Mo Fan felt Lingling’s breath coming in gasps. Lingling tugged at his shirt tightly. She would not leave. Not unless Mo Fan had seen and verified the sacred totem beast! That might be the only hope they had.

She murmured softly. Something about the Ancient Great Walls’ location so that Mo Fan could relate the ancient relics with the seal of the sacred totem beast. She had all the information in her head, but she needed Mo Fan to see and combine the great walls from different provinces.

“Lingling, I’ll take you back now!” Mo Fan did not fly higher. The invasion of ice had surpassed his divine flames.

“N-N-No.”

“Lingling, the Western people refer to the space above the sky as heaven. Likewise, the Eastern people always believe that God sees and knows everything… Despite the absence of the Holy Spirit, I believe God knows your sincerity and has given you a perfect answer,” Mo Fan looked away. He had learned about everything.

He began to fall and swooped. The space above the sky was only fit for deities. It wasn’t meant for ordinary humans. Flying to the space above the sky once to obtain the answer was more than enough.

“H-Have we found the sacred totem beast?” Lingling asked weakly.

Mo Fan nodded. He let Lingling bury her head in his arms. He hugged her tightly to relay some warmth to her. “I used to admire Feng Zhoulong the most. But you’ve replaced him now.”

Lingling was a genius! She had found the sacred totem beast!

The fragmented great walls and especially the well-preserved Ancient City Wall formed the patterns of the combination of various totem beasts!

It was the sacred totem beast they had been searching for! It was alive all this time! Its bones had become rocks, its muscles had become soil. It had always been standing guard at the border!

…

When Lingling felt the warmth of the sunlight, she regained her consciousness. Everyone was delighted when they saw her awake.

“Let us bring the sacred totem beast back and summon the Ancient Wall Sacred Soldiers. Bringing the Ancient Wall Sacred Soldiers of China back to the Magic City is more meaningful than anything else!” Zhang Xiaohou said excitedly.

The Ancient Wall Sacred Soldiers were powerful. There were many fragments of the Ancient City Walls. If they summoned the Ancient Wall Sacred Soldiers, it would lead to a large army made up of divine walls!

“There’s still another issue…” Lingling shook her head. She drank a mouthful of warm water before she continued. “Many Ancient Great Walls have lost the cultivation base of the Underground Holy Spring. They are abandoned. I guess only the fragmented sections at Beiguan Town are the remaining soldiers that we can bring back to life.”

“We have the Underground Holy Spring, but it will consume a lot of time to allow the spring to flow into the fragments of the Ancient Great Walls. Moreover, it’s difficult to locate the remaining fragments of the Ancient Great Walls. It will take more than a month for the remaining fragments of the Ancient Great Walls to receive the cultivation base from the Underground Holy Spring,” Mu Bai said to Mo Fan.

Many Ancient City Walls were abandoned. The Underground Holy Spring was the only thing that could make the divine walls regain their power. The ancient well from the Sky Observing City had told them the truth. This was the true purpose of the guardian tribe of the Underground Holy Spring.

The Ancient Cities and Ancient Walls had been buried over the years. However, if the Underground Holy Spring was still well preserved, the walls would come back to life!

“If it takes a month to allow the spring to flow into the divine walls, the Magic City would be gone.” Zhao Manyan let out a sigh.

It looked like the sacred totem beast had to protect other base cities.

“We don’t need a month. We only need half a day to do it,” said Mo Fan.

Lingling turned to Mo Fan in bewilderment. She wondered if he had a solution to shower the Underground Holy Spring on the great walls that stretched up to thousands of miles within half a day.

“The Black Vatican hasn’t done anything good, but they taught us a trick—Summoning the rain!” Mo Fan looked at Zhao Manyan and his Water Buddha Beads!

The deceased, Wu Ku, was the reason the Black Vatican could summon the rain.

The Water Buddha Beads contained Wu Ku’s essence. Zhao Manyan possessed most of the Water Buddha Beads’ power, including summoning the rain!

The Black Vatican had once used some unique features from the Underground Holy Spring to create Mad Spring. As a result, the Undead at the Ancient Capital and the people from Andeas Union fell into madness. Mo Fan and his group could use the same trick.

It would take more than a month to douse great walls with the Underground Holy Spring. The most effective way was to allow the Underground Holy Spring to blend in with the rain, then make it rain in several important provinces. By doing so, the rain with the Underground Holy Spring could shower both the well preserved Ancient City Walls and those that were buried under the loess.

“I can make it rain. But I can only make it rain for a few hundred kilometers only. If you want me to make it rain for thousands of miles, I’m afraid it’s out of my ability. I can make it only if I become a Water element Forbidden Mage.” Zhao Manyan shook his head. It was too difficult for him to make it rain on a large area of land.

“If we find a Water element Forbidden Mage to assist you, can you make it rain?” Lingling asked in desperation.

“I can try. But where do we find a Water element Forbidden Mage? As far as I’m concerned, we don’t have any Water element Forbidden Mage in the country…” said Zhao Manyan.

“We have one!” Mo Fan said.

“Who?”

“Dean Xiao,” said Mo Fan.

Zhao Manyan frowned. He did not mean to disappoint Mo Fan, but they had to be realistic. “I’ve never heard of Dean Xiao being a Forbidden Mage. What makes you think that he’s a Water Element Forbidden Mage?”

“Most of the Forbidden Mages refuse to reveal their true identities because they will be assigned with forbidden tasks. I’ve seen Dean Xiao fight before. After Ding Yumian transformed into a wicked soul, Dean Xiao killed it in a split second. An Apex-grade Mage or a Semi-forbidden Mage could not possibly have done that. I suspected for a long time that perhaps Dean Xiao is a Forbidden Mage,” said Mo Fan.

“But how can you be sure that he is a Water Element Forbidden Mage? He could be a Forbidden Mage in another element…” Zhao Manyan said.

“It will most likely be the Water Element because he is most skilled in the Water Element magical power,” said Mo Fan.

“We will find out once we’re there. We’re running out of time now, and we don’t have any other choice. Let’s go to Dean Xiao and seek his help to scatter the rain!” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“We’ll go and find Dean Xiao now. He should be at the Magic City.We need to leave immediately,” said Zhao Manyan.

Chapter 2832: The Ancient King’s Underground Holy Spring

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The crowd hopped onto the Green East Sea God’s back. Mo Fan helped Lingling up, but he did not join them.

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Zhang Xiaohou asked in confusion.

Mo Fan shook his head.

“The Magic City is in a deep crisis. If you don’t come with us, I’m afraid we can’t handle it by ourselves,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Manyan, do you still remember Bin Wei, the female general? She’s the watcher of the Ancient Great Wall,” said Mo Fan.

“Of course, I remember! She’s the one who activated the Ancient Great Wall’s Royal Sky Pattern to fight Khufu’s army that spanned dozens of kilometers,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

It finally dawned on the others. The Ancient Great Wall watcher was the key that allowed the Ancient Great Wall to rise from the ground.

“The existence of the Royal Sky Pattern suggests that there are other Ancient Great Wall patterns, too. And the Ancient Wall Sacred Soldiers are one of them. We have to understand the ancient curse to ensure we are the ones in command when we bring the Ancient Great Walls to life,” said Mo Fan to Zhang Xiaohou.

“Okay. I can do this!” Zhao Xiaohou gave a military salute and quickly hopped off the Green East Sea God’s back.

Without delay, Zhao Xiaohou headed to Beiguan Town on his Wind Spirit Feather.

Bin Wei was the watcher of the Ancient Great Wall. She was the key woman in summoning the sacred totem beast.

“Old Zhao, Mu Bai, Jiang Shaoxu, and Song Feiyao, I’m not going to the Magic City. You have a heavy task ahead. The Magic City is in a war now. The situation is chaotic, and your life might be at risk…” Mo Fan looked at the crowd on the back of the Green East Sea God.

“Darn you! Hurry up and say what you want to say!” Zhao Manyan shouted.

“I must go somewhere else. So, I’m relying on you to inform Dean Xiao about the summoning of the rain on the divine walls. The rain is crucial in this case. I need your help with this,” Mo Fan said earnestly.

Although the crowd had no idea where Mo Fan was heading, they knew from his intense gaze that he had no intention of avoiding the war in the Magic City. He just had something urgent he needed to handle.

“Leave it to us,” said Mu Bai.

“Even if Dean Xiao is not a Water Element Forbidden Mage, I’ll drag him over!” assured Zhao Manyan.

The Green East Sea God spread its wings. When it flipped its wings, a sand tornado rose and vanished as it soared into the sky and vanished, leaving Mo Fan and Lingling behind.

Lingling’s condition had improved a lot. She stared at Mo Fan and wondered where intended to go next.

“We’re going to the Ancient Capital,” said Mo Fan to Lingling.

“Why?” Lingling was confused.

“Who built the Ancient Great Wall?”

“The Ancient King.”

“When I was in Northern Xinjiang, the Chief Military Instructor, Zhan Kong, appeared behind me. He looked at the Royal Sky Pattern on the Ancient City Walls and told me something. I’m starting to understand his words now!” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan vividly remembered. He recalled Zhan Kong and the words he had uttered. He remembered that when Zhan King stomped on his leg, the Undead army across the mountains and wilderness worshiped him as the one and only emperor.

He stared at the Ancient City Wall, then turned to Mo Fan and his group and said that they had wasted his masterpiece at that time!

His masterpiece! He was referring to the Ancient City Wall!

Mo Fan clearly remembered that the Ancient King had reached Apex level in his Earth Element magical power in that era. The Ancient King had destroyed the Sky Observing City and broke the divine walls. He was the one who executed the miracles of the great walls that stretched up to thousands of miles!

‘What must he do in order to not waste Zhan Kong’s masterpiece?’ wondered Mo Fan. He had to make another trip to the Dark Abyss. He had to go to the Ancient King’s white tomb palace. That must be the place where he could find his answer!

…

The Dark Abyss had once appeared in the Holy City.

‘Where did it migrate to?’ Mo Fan supposed the Queen of Nine Serenities had knowledge about its whereabouts. Therefore, Mo Fan decided to return to the Ancient Capital. With the help of his Black Dragon Wings, he could quickly complete the two trips even though the distance was a thousand miles.

The time agreed upon was a day.

In a day’s time, Zhang Xiaohou had to find Bin Wei. Bin Wei had been transferred to stand guard over the Ancient Great Wall. She was a descendant from the Sky Observing City. She was the only one who knew about the ancient curse. Hopefully, she knew how to bring the Ancient Wall Sacred Soldiers alive so that they could bring the army to Magic City.

Zhang Xiaohou’s mission was not complicated. If he found Wei Bin’s military registration and asked some questions about her whereabouts, he would be able to locate her.

Meanwhile, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, Jiang Shaoxu, and Song Feiyao were given a much more daunting task.

They had to head to the Magic City. The war had already begun. A large number of Ocean Demons swarmed and occupied the city. They had to locate Dean Xiao under the chaotic situation. They had to persuade him to leave the Magic City and head to the Ancient City Wall. It was a very difficult task, and they only had a day’s time to accomplish the mission.

Mo Fan had wanted to go to the Magic City himself. He believed that Dean Xiao would be much more willing to listen to him. Mo fan trusted him and Dean Xiao trusted Mo Fan.

However, someone had to go to the Dark Abyss. The Ancient King’s white tomb palace had left many things behind. Mo Fan believed there might be certain things that were related to the Ancient King’s masterpiece. There must be something related to it!

As soon as he arrived at the Ancient Capital, Zhang Xiaohou called him.

“Hello?”

“Big Brother Fan, I’ve contacted Bin Wei. She’s in the desert. With my current speed, I believe I can get there soon. My part is done. But Bin Wei told me that she only knows about the ancient curse of the Royal Sky Pattern. She doesn’t know where the rest of the curses are,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“Did you tell her about the Sky Observing City?” asked Mo Fan.

“Yes, I told her, and she already knew about it. However, she mentioned that the inheritance of the curses is incomplete. If they want to find the complete curse, they must go to the ancient mausoleum, specifically the Ancient King’s mausoleum,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

“Okay, I’m on my way now.” Mo Fan nodded. He felt more at ease.

He was right. ‘The Ancient Great Wall was that man’s masterpiece!’

“Big Brother Fan, are you going to the Dark Abyss?” Zhang Xiaohou was surprised.

“Yes, I am.”

“But the Chief Military Instructor is…”

“He must have left something behind,” Mo Fan said with great conviction.

“Okay. I never thought the Chief Military Instructor was a blessing all this while,” said Zhang Xiaohou.

…

There was no issue on Zhao Xiaohou’s end. Meanwhile, Mo Fan had to see what harvest he could reap from his trip to the Dark Abyss.

The Queen of Nine Serenities was surprised with Mo Fan’s theory. If there was truly a curse that could bring the divine walls to life, why didn’t the Ancient King use that curse when confronting Khufu? Why didn’t he use the curse during the underworld battle?

“I guess he didn’t have the Underground Holy Spring,” said Mo Fan.

The Underground Holy Spring was scattered among the various holy guardian tribes. The holy guardian tribes were the Ancient King’s descendants. The Ancient King had been waiting for his own resurrection. After he was resurrected, he would ask for the Underground Holy Spring from the holy guardian tribes.

When the Ancient King fused with Zhan Kong’s soul, Zhan Kong refused to look for the Underground Holy Spring.

Things got sorted out by themselves. It was only then that Mo Fan realized the person that the holy guardian of the Underground Holy Spring had been waiting for was the Ancient King, and not him!

They had been waiting for the Ancient King to awaken after several thousand years! The Ancient King wanted to reclaim his Underground Holy Spring!

Chapter 2833: The Invaded White Tomb Palace

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“The Ancient King has a divine army. I saw it once from the mural on the pillar inside his White Tomb Palace. If your deduction is true, then...” Mo Fan sighed. “His love for beauty became his downfall…”

“If it had not been for Qin Yu’Er, the first thing that the Ancient King would do after he is awakened would be to reclaim the Underground Holy Spring from the holy guardian tribes. Then he will sprinkle the Ancient Great Walls that had been buried underground for so many years with the Underground Holy Spring. He will own millions of Undead as his army, as well as the Ancient Wall Sacred Soldiers. By then, he can even destroy Khufu’s unified underworld!”

The Queen of Nine Serenities looked furious after Mo Fan explained the situation. The Ancient King was the true king because he possessed the ancient divine army!

The Ancient King was a powerful and talented man in the past. Many people were amazed by him. Unfortunately, he had not anticipated that his awakening would be symbiotic with a human, and that the human would die alongside his beloved woman. This was no different than giving up his entire world…

It was no wonder the Queen of Nine Serenities showed such an expression! However, Mo Fan disagreed.

The Ancient King was very powerful. ‘But why didn’t he swallow Zhan Kong’s soul, and instead let Zhan Kong take advantage of him?’

Even if the Ancient King was awakened on his throne, the city and the country were no longer his. His people had long been buried in the graves and were corpses under the ground. He had found a way to live an eternal life. But was this eternal life really what he desired?

After the Ancient King awakened, the first thing he did would be to go to the Tianshan Mountain and find Qin Yu’Er instead of gathering all the Underground Holy Spring. This was the only wish he left while he was still alive…

“Okay. I admit that no one can kill him except himself!” The Queen of Nine Serenities let out a sigh.

The battle at the Holy City was the Ancient King’s bridge of reincarnation instead of a divine feast for the angels. That was why he had told Mo Fan that that was his battle. It was clear that he had defeated Archangel Michael, yet he decided to let the Holy City gain the victory.

‘I give you the world. You can celebrate all you want.’

“Enough of the talking. We’re in a hurry. Where’s the entrance to the Dark Abyss?” asked Mo Fan.

“Do you really want to go to the Dark Abyss?” The Queen of Nine Serenities asked.

“Of course. I have the Underground Holy Spring, and I can bring the divine army back to life,” said Mo Fan.

“Don’t forget that we’ve been defeated in the underworld battle before,” said the Queen of Nine Serenities.

“What does this have to do with the Dark Abyss?” Mo Fan asked in puzzlement.

“The White Tomb Palace is our final stand. The Dark Abyss is the passage that connects to the portal of the underworld. This means that the underworld creatures can barge into the Dark Abyss. Do you know why the Mountain Zombie is dying? It’s standing guard over the Ancient King’s final purgatory—The White Tomb Palace,” said the Queen of Nine Serenities.

“Do you mean Khufu wants to take over the White Tomb Palace by force, too?” Mo Fan was shocked.

“Khufu is the one that initiated the battle at Holy City. Of course, he has the intention to annex our country because by doing so, the Undead can increase his power in the underworld. With that, he can fight against the Dark King,” said the Queen of Nine Serenities.

“T-Then, how’s the situation at the White Tomb Palace now? Is Khufu there?!” Mo Fan asked with a great sense of urgency.

‘If the White Tomb Palace was annexed, where was he supposed to go and find the curses that can bring back the divine army at the Sky Observing City to life? Bin Wei knew the Royal Sky Pattern only. But the invaders came from the East Coastline instead of Northern Xinjiang!’

“Khufu hasn’t appeared. The Sphinx led Medusa, the Mummy, the Dark Sword Master, and the Underworld Frog to attack the White Tomb Palace. The Skeleton Demon Lord and the White Corpse King are struggling to hold them back,” said the Queen of Nine Serenities.

The Sphinx had the face of a human and the body of a lion. It was the national beast of Egypt!

Mo Fan did not expect Khufu to take advantage of the opportunity to wreak havoc on the underworld while the East Coastline was under the Ocean Demons’ attack.

Khufu and his group wanted to take over the White Tomb Palace. In other words, they wanted to take control of the Dark Abyss.

The Dark Abyss was one of the Ancient King’s masterpieces.Khufu’s underworld army required the underworld light to move. If it took over the Dark Abyss, then its underworld army could easily appear in any land they desired!

The moment they took over the Dark Abyss, Khufu could wipe out Egypt, including China’s lands! Khufu was truly cunning!

“But I only have one day’s time…” Mo Fan said to the Queen of Nine Serenities.

“Don’t worry. I will handle the underworld issues. The land belongs not only to the living, but also to the Undead. We won’t let Khufu take over the White Tomb Palace with ease,” said the Queen of Nine Serenities.

“I’ll help you to handle the Sphinx, and you’ll help me to find the Watchman’s Curse of the Ancient Great Wall,” Mo Fan said solemnly.

“Of course, I’ll help you to find the Watchman’s Curse. As for taking on the Sphinx, you should just forget about it. It almost killed the Mountain Zombie.” The Queen of Nine Serenities shook her head. She did not want Mo Fan to take the risk.

“The White Tomb Palace is the key, and it must not fall into Khufu’s hand. If it takes over the Dark Abyss and the White Tomb Palace, the first thing it will do is to make a comeback at Northern Xinjiang. It also desires a large piece of Undead land. When that happens, the Ancient City will become the only city for the rest of the base cities to retreat. If Khufu takes over the Ancient Capital, we don’t have a second place to retreat in the war against the Ocean Demons,” said Mo Fan.

“Indeed. But the Sphinx is too powerful. You must enlist help from the totem beasts to fight it.” The Queen of Nine Serenities was concerned about Mo Fan’s safety.

In the eyes of the Queen of Nine Serenities, Mo Fan was still Wang’s student, as well as his successor.The Queen of Nine Serenities wanted to build a good relationship with Mo Fan while he was still alive. When Mo Fan died after seventy or eighty years, a new king would be born to the Undead of Ancient City.

Mo Fan was still not very powerful yet. If he died early, he could not contribute much to the world of the Undead.

If the Queen of Nine Serenities had any ulterior motives, he would have killed her on the spot.

“Don’t underestimate me. I can take this opportunity to settle my feuds with the Sphinx from the past!” Mo Fan clenched his fists.

The Sphinx had injured him severely in Northern Xinjiang because of its large Pyramid Undead Army. Even though Mo Fan could not use his Demon Element magical power, he had no fear in confronting it!

“Okay. I’ll help you to find the Watchman’s Curse. I’ll leave the White Tomb Palace to you.” The Queen of Nine Serenities nodded.

“How about the Dark Abyss?”

“I’ll guide you.”

“Thank you, Queen of Nine Serenities.”

“The future of the Undead of Ancient Capital rests on you. After you die as a Forbidden Mage, don’t go to heaven. It’s good to become an Undead and join us.”

1

Mo Fan was speechless.

The Dark Abyss and the White Tomb Palace were always shrouded in dark clouds and gloomy rainfall.Whenever Mo Fan stepped onto this lifeless land, he felt endless pathos.

Chapter 2834: The Disaster At Magic City

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The sky at the Magic City was covered with holes, as if magical crossbows had pierced it relentlessly.

Sea water poured down through the holes in the sky, splashing against the skyscrapers and disintegrating the concrete buildings.

They were greeted by a destructive sight. The strong flow of current struck the streets, causing the sewer system of the entire city to be stuck. Garbage and sewage flooded everywhere.

The Ocean Demons were covered in scales. They treated the chaotic place as their nest. They roamed in groups among the streets and houses. Heaps of eggs piled up into mountains within the residential areas. The mucus membranes were sticky and covered in strange demonic liquid. The latex-like mucus was everywhere as if someone had simply sprayed the walls with them.

Quack! Quack!

The strange sound caused one to palpitate in fear. Several Ocean Demons in red broke out of their shells. They resembled giant salamanders. They had powerful claws and they screeched like crying babies.

The Ocean Demon Babies were hungry. They screeched and screamed. Some mages and residents had assumed the sound to be of some abandoned human babies. When they had reached the monsters, they had ended up as food to the Ocean Demon Babies.

Jing An was the most prosperous ancient city. The residential and office buildings were closely lined up, depicting the artistic and modern high rise buildings that belonged to the city, as if one were in the old Shanghai’s Longtang!

The Clearsky Hunter Agency was located at Jing An. However, by the time Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, Song Feiyao, and Jiang Shaoxu arrived at their destination, Jing An was covered in a huge white sticky membrane. When they looked down from the sky, they were shocked to see that the Magic City had turned into a terrifying sea cave. It did not look like the Magic City they had known. Instead, it looked more like a huge Ocean Demon nest!

The large expanse of urban area that led to various directions were covered by a layer of white and sticky membrane.

The sky was filled with holes. Sea water poured into the city endlessly. The white mucus membrane nest looked like a sponge that kept absorbing the sea water, and it continued to expand!

“Do we really have to get down there?” Zhao Manyan’s face turned as white as a sheet.

‘Was this the same Magic City that they had been to? How did it turn into this lair in just a day?’

It did not look like an urban city where humans had once lived. It had turned into a Demon Kingdom with various Ocean Demons wandering around and hunting down the mages!

The population of the Ocean Demons was overwhelming compared to what they had seen from the video footage. The Ocean Demons were as big as the skyscrapers in the Magic City. Their hideous and horrifying figures were visible from afar. Their shoulders almost touched the sky as they roamed about on the streets. It looked like the end of the world!

“If we don’t go down, how are we supposed to find Dean Xiao?” asked Jiang Shaoxu.

Dean Xiao was in Pearl Institute at Jing An. Jing An was covered by a layer of white mucus that resembled a spider’s web. The spider web was so large that it could cover the entire city. What sort of Ocean Demon had cast such a terrifying spell?

Zhao Manyan sighed. “Let’s go to Pearl Institute and get it over with. We have nothing to lose, after all.”

“The Green East Sea God cannot not land down there. It’s best to let it hover in the sky,” said Song Feiyao.

“Okay. That’s a good idea if we need to flee,” said Zhao manyan shakily. “Why did the city turn out like this? Why? How can the peaceful Magic City become this way?”

The water poured down from the sky like transparent waterfalls that resembled demonic dragons. The continued flow of water destroyed everything in the city. Dust flew everywhere in the air. The destruction of the city did not look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai and the rest entered through the white membrane, they realized the white fluorescent membrane had spread everywhere. Some of it spread across the street, some of it penetrated more than a dozen buildings, and some suspended in mid-air. The white membrane had formed its own traffic system.

“Little Green Kraken, since you’re more familiar with the Ocean Demons, lead the way for us.” Zhao Manyan summoned the glutton through his ring.

Little Green Kraken had mastered the art of changing its body mass. It could swim around Zhao Manyan like a small green fish or transform into a giant whale huge enough to carry everyone through.

The sea water did not flood the nest within the white membrane. The white sticky membrane must have absorbed most of the water. However, Jing An was wet. They felt as though they had fallen into the stomach of an ancient demon.

When the light shone, the space inside the membrane was not entirely pitch-black. But there was some strange luster to them, and that made it even more horrifying.

Most of the buildings were covered in a layer of white membrane. As a result, it was difficult to identify the terrains. Fortunately, Zhao Manyan was very familiar with Pearl Institute.

Little Green Kraken had a good understanding of Ocean Demons. It could use a special sound wave to lure the group of Ocean Demons to another place and pave a safe path for Zhao Manyan and his group to continue to their destination.

The Ocean Demon babies shrieked. Song Feiyao wanted to take a look, but Zhao Manyan stopped her.

“Listen to me. Trust me, that sound is not from human babies. Most Ocean Demons are capable of imitating human voices. If you go, you won’t come across human babies, you will meet ferocious Ocean demons, instead. They will tear you apart!” said Zhao Manyan.

Song Feiyao nodded. It was best not to act alone.

“Hmph! Since you monsters like to cry like babies, I’ll kill you in one shot! Little Green Kraken, imitate the sound and lure them over here. When they come, you can eat all of them!” said Zhao Manyan.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Since the Ocean Demon Babies liked to imitate the human voices to lure people to them, Little Green Kraken would gladly return the same favor. After all, Little Green Kraken was not a picky eater.

Little Green Kraken was famished. It opened its mouth and imitated the sound of a group of people talking and engaging in a discussion.

True to their nature, the Ocean Demon Babies came rushing into the trap. They gathered and headed in the direction of the sound anticipating an encounter with humans so that they could eat them.

Little Green Kraken crouched at a corner. The Ocean Demon Babies had no idea they were about to enter a large devouring maw. They slid into Little Green Kraken’s stomach like rotating sushi.

Chapter 2835: White Monster Lair in The City

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Burp!

Little Green Kraken ate its food happily and waved its tail. It was probably the only one that felt happy over the fall of the Magic City. The city had turned into a seafood restaurant of its taste.

“Enough. Let’s go. There are still many unhatched Ocean Demon Babies. We can’t possibly finish clearing all the eggs. it’s best if we find Dean Xiao as soon as possible,” said Mu Bai.

Little Green Kraken continued to keep a close eye on their surroundings. They dared not take the powerful Ocean Demons lightly. There were several towering giant beasts. If they caught the beasts’ attention, it would be difficult to break themselves free from the creatures.

“Can you sense where humans are now?” Zhao Manyan asked Little Green Kraken.

Little Green Kraken transformed into a mini size clown fish and swam nimbly among the corals. Soon, Little Green Kraken led them to Pearl Institute. They arrived at the comprehensive stadium near the Azure Pearl Campuses,

The comprehensive stadium was the same place where Zhao Manyan and Mo Fan had worked hand-in-hand in killing the Mother Scale Skin Phantom. It had been restructured as a refuge. It was made of steel and other materials which interfered with the demons’ senses. Many Ocean Demon troops passed by the stadium and were unaware that many people were hiding inside.

“Many people must have died. But where are their corpses?” Mu Bai sensed that something was strange.

The Ocean Demons encroached on the Magic City. It had been densely populated, so the death rate must have been relatively high. However, they hardly saw any corpses within the white monster lair in this city. It did not make any sense.

The Ocean Demons were powerful and many in number, they must have killed so many mages and other residents of the city. However, their group couldn’t see any corpses along the way.

“They could have been devoured by the Ocean Demons. Little Green Kraken said there were many humans under the ground. Dean Xiao must have been protecting the students,” said Zhao Manyan.

Kawk! Kawk! Kawk!

The roaring sound came from the dark pool of water. Several heads covered with spiky whiskers poked out of the surface and stared at Zhao Manyan and the group.

Kawk! Kawk!

The sound intensified. Many Fish Men jumped out of the deep pool of water. They wielded sticks made of bones and smashed the dormitory that blocked their way!

“They are at Commander level… and there are so many of them…” Jiang Shaoxu looked troubled.

“Old Zhao, take them down. We need to learn more about the situation. Meanwhile, I’ll handle the Ocean Demons,” said Mu Bai.

“Okay. Be careful,” said Zhao Manyan.

“I think you should be more careful. Things down there are too strange,” said Mu Bai solemnly.

…

The Fish Men Generals wielded bone drills and marched towards Mu Bai. The bone drills were stained with blood. Mu Bai had not seen a single corpse since he entered the white lair. The only corpse he saw was pierced on a Fish Man General’s bone drill, like a cockroach that had accidentally gotten stuck in a gear wheel.

Mu Bai flew into a fit of rage. His hands transformed into claws and stretched out. A giant ice claw appeared from the wet ground and grabbed a Fish Man General.

The Fish Man General reacted quickly. It smashed the ice claw with its bone drill. Little did it know that that was not the only claw. Many ice claws that reached dozens of meters in height appeared around the Fish Man General.

The ice claws tore a Fish Man General into shreds!

The rest of the Fish Men Generals were dumbstruck after witnessing their companion’s brutal death. They had been fighting mages whom they could basically kill with a snap of their fingers. Even the more powerful mages had not been able to survive their attacks.

Humans were weak. The Fish Men Generals could easily wipe out hundreds and thousands of them.

However, it was clear to them that Mu Bai was different. He killed one of their companions so effortlessly. The Fish Men Generals were aware that they were no match for Mu Bai. They had to inform the Fish Man Chief about him.

Kawk! Kawk! Kawk!

The Fish Man General summoned the Fish Man Chief. Mu Bai acted swiftly. He came up with an iron pen with his other hand. The tip of the pen was as white as an ice goose’s feather. When he flung the pen out, the space vibrated suddenly. Countless Ice Iron Spears appeared behind Mu Bai’s back.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The Ice Iron Spears darted at the Fish Men Generals. Before they could scream, hundreds and thousands of Ice Iron Spears struck them and reduced them to pools of blood. Their armors scattered on the ground.

The Ice Iron Pen returned to Mu Bai without any blood stain. The afterimages of the Ice Iron Spears merged and returned to the Ice Iron Pen. Mu Bai let out a sigh. He surveyed his surroundings. After confirming that there were no other Fish Men Generals, he kept his Ice Iron Pen in his pocket.

“I have to act vigilantly to avoid alerting the giant Ocean Demons,” Mu Bai muttered to himself.

He could not cast powerful spells. Otherwise, it would only attract the other more powerful Ocean Demons. The Ocean Demons had gained an upper hand in the Magic City. They had to be careful in every step they took.

“Senior! Senior!” cried a voice. It came from the dormitory that had been crushed into pieces.

Mu Bai approached it and noticed several students from the ruins. They had nowhere to go so they hid inside the building. Mu Bai wondered how they avoided the Fish Men Generals from sniffing them out.

“Please help us! We beg you,” one of the freshmen pleaded.

Mu Bai looked at the stadium. He hesitated for a while before walking to the dormitory.

“What’s going on here? Where are the others? Why can’t I see any mages here?” asked Mu Bai.

“T-They have been caught and trapped inside.” The boy with stains on his face pointed at the stadium.

“Caught and trapped?” Mu Bai’s eyes widened.

“A colossal white demon came and turned all the mages into white chrysalises. Everyone is wrapped in that gooey thing and thrown in the stadium. The colossal white demon seems to be extracting some sort of energy from them,” the boy said anxiously.

“Where’s Dean Xiao?” The boy could not speak clearly. Perhaps he was too frightened.

‘A colossal white demon?’ Mu Bai had not seen it since he entered the place.

“Dean Xiao…”

“He went away with a person with eagle wings,” said a freshman from the Azure Pearl Campuses. The freshman was around when he had seen Bai Mei and Dean Xiao.

“Where exactly did he go?”

“W-We have to ask Mr. Bai Mei.”

Chapter 2836: Human Chrysalis

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“I need help! Mu Bai! Mu Bai!” Zhao Manyan’s high-pitched rang out from the stadium.

Mu Bai glanced at the students. “Mages like us are exposed to higher risks compared to you. I might as well take care of our survival before yours first.”

The students were stunned. The next moment, Mu Bai had vanished out of their sight.

“The Ocean Demons target the mages, especially those with a high level of cultivation. They didn’t discover us for a very long time. This means that our method is effective,” said the boy who had spoken to Mu Bai before.

“But how long are we going to hide here?”

“We must find a way to leave this place. Black Alert means there’s no way out.”

…

It was clear that the stadium was the most dangerous place of all. The reason Mu Bai had abandoned the helpless students was because he would only be endangering them more if he had brought them with him.

After Mu Bai entered the stadium, it was only then that he found the stadium was covered by a layer of white membrane. When he saw the building from afar, he thought that was the stadium’s original architectural design. The distorted shape looked exactly like a huge white egg!

Mu Bai followed Zhao Manyan’s voice. The inner space of the stadium was extremely bright. When the light shone, the inner space of the stadium was glaring, as if sunlight emanated from that one person who was submerged in the water. It looked surreal.

“Old Zhao, I can hear you, but I can’t see you!” Mu Bai shouted.

“D*rn you! Go deeper into the stadium! Hurry up! I can’t hold the Ocean Demons back for much longer!” Zhao Manyan said.

Mu Bai was relieved after hearing Zhao Manyan cursing him. But many Ocean Demons imitated human language to lure people into their trap. The Ocean Demons were much more intelligent than the demons on the dry lands.

Mu Bai was worried that the colossal white demon had deliberately set up this trap for him so that it could kill him when he reached the place…

As Mu Bai went deeper into the stadium, he was appalled. Every person was wrapped in white gooey thing, like pitiful insects stuck on a spider web. Their eyes were wide with fear. They were still alive, but it wouldn’t be long before they were swallowed whole.

They were hanging upside down all over the stadium. There were many of them. Countless tiny white maggots crawled around them. The maggots looked disgusting. Some of the maggots crawled into the people’s eyes and ears. When the maggots left their orifices, they became fatter. But the person became old.

There was a translucent white web above Mu Bai’s head that was dangling in mid-air. The web was filled with Ocean Maggots. The fattened maggots always crawled toward the same place, as orderly as ants. However, Mu Bai did not see their destination.

“May I know who Mr. Bai Mei is?” Mu Bai looked up and asked the human chrysalises in the stadium.

Coincidentally, a human chrysalis less than fifty meters from Mu Bai, dangling in mid-air, moved vigorously. It swung into an arc and almost hit the human chrysalis next to it.

Mu Bai approached the swinging human chrysalis without hesitation. The golden silkworms in his hand crawled toward the human chrysalis.

The white Ocean Maggots fled. They seemed to be afraid of the golden silkworms.

When the golden silkworms reached the human chrysalis, they bit the white gooey substance and released the trapped human. The person’s whole body was wet and sticky. He continued to vomit out the maggots and parasites.

“Let the golden silkworms go into your body. They can kill all the maggots,” said Mu Bai.

It was clear that Mr. Bai Mei was reluctant. After all, those disgusting maggots had just crawled all over him not too long ago.

“The Ocean Maggots suck organs’ vitality. I’m going to restore your organs so that you won’t grow old so rapidly. If you delay, you won’t be able to recover,” Mu Bai emphasized his words.

Mu Bai had learned a lot of skills from the shaman tribe at Andeas. He had once witnessed the type of bug that sucked human organs’ vitality. He recognized the white maggots at a glance.

Mr. Bai Mei nodded in resignation. Mu Bai gave him some clean water so that he could wash himself and clear his throat.

“Why the hell are you not here yet?!” Zhao Manyan shouted from above.

Mu Bai heard the sound of fighting as soon as he entered the stadium. However, he did not have the slightest sense of urgency about this.

Fortunately, Zhao Manyan was there to take on the Ocean Demons so that he could take the opportunity to find Dean Xiao’s whereabouts.

“We came to look for Dean Xiao. The Magic City is in a deep crisis. We can’t save anyone. We might not even be able to leave here safely. But if we find Dean Xiao, the Magic City still stands a chance to survive,” Mu Bai said straightforwardly, hoping that Mr. Bai Mei was an understanding person.

Mr. Bai Mei heaved a sigh, then looked at the stadium that was filled with human chrysalises. The human chrysalises were students and teachers from Pearl Institute. But he was powerless to save them at the moment.

“The Forbidden Curse Association summoned Dean Xiao, they should be somewhere near the Bund. I have a way to contact him. But what about the people here? How can I stand by while the Ocean Demons torture them?” Mr. Bai Mei was distraught. He did not know what he could do to save the students of Pearl Institute.

“The Ocean Demon is sucking those with a cultivation base to feed its unhatched eggs. The procedure will last about a week. You don’t have to worry about them right now. They won’t die. They will be well protected by the owner of the nest,” Mu Bai said calmly.

Still, Mr. Bai Mei looked restless. He did not find Mu Bai’s words to be a relief.

“What can I do for you?” asked Mr. Bai Mei.

“I need you to find Dean Xiao. It’s not entirely a bad thing for them to remain in this kind of situation. If they go outside the stadium, the Ocean Demons would most likely tear them to shreds,” said Mu Bai.

The moment Mu Bai entered the white lair, he had been thinking about the purpose of its existence. It was not until he saw the maggots that he was enlightened.

It was no wonder they had not seen even a single corpse on their way here. The colossal white demon that had woven the white lair and treated every living person as a resource. It needed living people as a source of vitality for its next generation of offspring!

Chapter 2837: Blessed By The Demon

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Still, I can’t leave them here…” Mr. Bai Mei shook his head.

“You don’t trust me?” Mu Bai was puzzled.

“I trust you. If the colossal white demon wanted to kill us, it would have done so a long time ago. Instead, it made us into chrysalises. But it’s torture to wait for death as maggots feed on you. I think that most students cannot endure such anguish. I can’t afford to watch them suffer, and I can’t let them wait for death not knowing whether someone would come for their rescue. I wish I could do something for them now. You don’t have to persuade me anymore. If Dean Xiao were here, I believe he would have done the same, too. He would never leave the students behind. He has something more important to handle, thus he left the students in my care. I can’t let him down!” Mr. Bai Mei said firmly.

Mu Bai was at a loss for words. If he were in Mr. Bai Mei’s place, he, too, would have difficulty leaving people trapped like this.

‘But the white lair…’

It was not difficult to free the students from their chrysalises. But the challenge was to get them out of the white lair safely.

The reason they had not been ambushed by the Ocean Demons was because they had not cast powerful spells till now. They had not left the white monster lair.

As long as they stayed inside the white monster lair, the terrifying monster of the lair would not show up. But if they attempted to flee, the terrifying monster would certainly reveal itself!

The monster that created such a lair was close to the Emperor level.

“Okay. I’ll figure out a way.” Mu Bai heaved a sigh. It was meaningless to continue to persuade Mr. Bai Mei.

Mr. Bai Mei was not trying to be difficult. They were all in a desperate situation and people did whatever they could to survive in such a situation. Just like a person who was caught in the middle of a quicksand. No matter how you persuaded them or told them that they could survive as long as they got out of the desert, it would still be pointless because they were sinking into the quicksand. They were on the verge of losing their breaths. What you had to do was to help them break free from their current desperate situation so that they still see a glimmer of hope. It was only then that they could think about other issues calmly.

“Do you have a solution to this?” Mr. Bai Mei’s face lit up in delight.

“I need students who have a lower cultivation base and are capable of hiding their scents,” said Mu Bai.

“Low cultivation base?” Mr. Bai Mei did not understand what Mu Bai had planned.

‘Shouldn’t students with a higher cultivation be chosen for such a situation?Otherwise, how could they fight the White Nightcrawlers that often appeared out of nowhere?’

The White Nightcrawlers were the powerful Ocean Demons that defeated the teachers from Pearl Institute. The teachers’ combat power was as strong as the army, especially the old professors who had kept their abilities well hidden. These old professors possessed a relatively high level of cultivation. Before the white monster lair was formed, the teachers and students from Pearl Institute had even assisted in evacuating people from other zones…

“The higher our cultivation bases are, the easier it will be for the White Nightcrawlers to detect us. We need the students’ help to collect the Ocean Demon Babies eggshells. The more the better,” said Mu Bai.

“Can you please tell me your plan first? Some of the students have hidden somewhere else. If I let them take the risk…,” began Mr. Bai Mei.

“The greatest issue we’re currently facing is the demon that built the white lair. Basically, only a Forbidden Mage is capable of fighting it. However, the Forbidden Mages are taking on the Emperor-level Ocean Demons as of now. It’ll be difficult for them to come here and fight this colossal white demon. To put it bluntly, people from other zones might still be alive for now but after a week, their chances of survival seems slim,” Mu Bai stated flatly.

“You mentioned it earlier,” said Mr. Bai Mei.

“Instead of figuring out ways to fight the colossal white demon or flee its lair, we should think of ways to hide the students inside this lair so that it can protect you and the students for a week,” said Mu Bai.

Mr. Bai Mei began to grasp Mu Bai’s point, and he listened to his words attentively.

“I’ll use the Ocean Demon Babies’ eggshells to make a pupa that resembles human chrysalis. You all can then hide inside the lifelike pupa and become the colossal white demon’s ‘personal collections’. By doing so, the rest of the powerful Ocean Demons will not simply strike you. All you have to do is take the initiative and give your magic energy to the Ocean Maggots when they come to collect the energy. Don’t let the Ocean Maggots go back empty-handed…,” said Mu Bai.

Mr. Bai Mei’s eyes lit up after hearing Mu Bai’s explanation. They could use lifelike fake human chrysalises to protect themselves! This was an awesome idea! After all, the Magic City basically had no other safe places for them to hide. Even if they fled the white monster lair, the other Ocean Demon hordes would hunt them down!

“May I know who you are?” asked Mr. Bai Mei. He was impressed with the young man’s preparedness.

“I am Mu Bai, the leader of the South Wing,” Mu Bai introduced himself.”Mr. Bai Mei, my plan can only stall for time. You must understand that the Magic City is under great calamity, and that the plan is just a short-term solution to ensure survival for the time being. We must change the situation to truly survive. Trust me, all of us are paying for this.”

Mu Bai’s words touched Mr. Bai Mei’s heart. Mr. Bai Mei did understand that what they were facing was just the tip of a massive iceberg. Otherwise, Dean Xiao would never have left them if it wasn’t something urgent.

Dean Xiao would never abandon Pearl Institute. He must have found a way to fight for the Magic City.

As a teacher, he had his own responsibility to take care of. He was helpless, too.

“No matter what, we are truly grateful for your help.”

“I suppose you have some Poison Element professors in the institute. Please, find them. I need their help,” said Mu Bai.

“Okay. No problem. How about this…” Mr. Bai Mei looked up.

He saw Zhao Manyan still fighting the White Nightcrawlers. White carcasses occasionally fell from above, spilling bizarre crystal-blue liquid.

“Don’t worry. He can handle them,” said Mu Bai. He knew Zhao Manyan very well. If he kept yelling, it meant he was fine. Zhao Manyan got silent and serious when he was in grave danger.

Several White Nightcrawlers patrolled the area. These Ocean Demons were no match for the heir of the Dark Tortoise—Zhao Manyan. Moreover, Song Feiyao and Jiang Shaoxu were with him. The duo had a relatively high level of cultivation base.

‘I don’t think they will take that long to finish. Old Zhao seldom fights with such bravery and aggressiveness. It’s a miracle that he is giving it his all today. He seems to appreciate his alma mater very much.’ Mu Bai shook his head in resignation.

Zhao Manyan could not leave in peace without dealing with the crisis before him. If Mr. Bai Mei could find Dean Xiao, they should be able to get things done on time…

Chapter 2838: The Corpse King

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At the Dark Abyss…

Ghosts covered the White Tomb Palace like moving clouds. They also resembled a huge hurricane above the palace.

Blood rain fell from the sky. There were endless Undead remains. Even though the remains had turned into powder form and mixed with the blood water, they put themselves together like piles of clay. Like a child who had no sense of artistry, the remains simply put themselves together. Their limbs and chest bones faced inside while their hearts, spleens, and stomachs faced outside.

The bizarre Undead did not belong to Khufu’s army. They were the Corpse King’s subordinates. The Corpse King’s small fries continued to put the crippled Undead together into one piece to fend off the solid Mummies.

The Skeleton Army piled up into mountains. They provided a layer of protection made of bones and shells for the White Tomb Palace to prevent the monster with a cow’s body and human’s head from destroying the precious palace. The monster was covered in gold and had already made its way under the White Tomb Palace’s extensive white stairs.

It ruthlessly banged against the stairs with its body. The white stairs cracked, and the cracks spanned all the way to the middle.

Moo!

The Bronze, Silver, and Gold Bull Monsters became the main force in trying to collapse the Undead guardian army of the White Tomb Palace. The strong tremors caused the land beneath the White Tomb Palace to crack.

“Divine Flame—Phoenix Nirvana!”

A figure, ablaze in flames, stood on the White Tomb Palace’s stairs. The flames on his body sprang like a flaming mountain peak.

Wings of flames appeared on top of the mountain. The sight was terrifyingly beautiful. It was like the awakening of the mythical Phoenix Mountain from its deep slumber, and it looked down furiously at the creatures below.

Mo Fan’s arrival was like the descent of divine fire. The blood rain vaporized into red gas. The sky turned blood red. The fire blades arched across the sky like thunderstorms, creating terrifying light in the sky.

The Phoenix Nirvana was ablaze with unprecedented destructive flames. Then it swooped down from the mountain peak.

Although the length of the Phoenix Nirvana’s wings were only fifty meters, its flames spanned up to two kilometers when it spread its wings and brushed past the stairs. As the Phoenix Nirvana approached the Bull Monster’s territory, it brushed past them and killed the Bronze and Silver Bull Monsters!

The Phoenix Nirvana could produce flames that spanned up to a kilometer from each wing. The Phoenix Nirvana’s greatest strength was the ability to produce exaggerated and terrifying flames. Even though the Bull Monsters were not reduced to ashes, the area where the Phoenix Nirvana had brushed past had turned into a sea of flames. Even if some of the Bull Monsters did not die on the spot, they suffered excruciating burns, and their suffering was more painful than those that died on the spot. Not many of them could escape the powerful fire divine power!

The flames illuminated the sky. The Gold Bull Monster remained standing under the stairs. Its golden skin was distorted slightly by the flames. Its face filled with rage. It radiated a terrifying dark aura, and it targeted the human with divine flame power.

Moo!

The Gold Bull Monster roared. It fixed its gaze on Mo Fan begrudgingly. The Bull Monster’s stare contained a strange mental spell. When Mo Fan met its gaze, a strong sense of fury sprouted from his chest suddenly. It made him feel as if he had to kill the Bull Monster, no matter the cost.

‘Was the stare provocative?’ Mo Fan quickly summoned his dragon sense.

When Mo Fan summoned his dragon sense, he was covered by a cloud of black substance. The black substance gradually expanded as the flame faded. It expanded and turned into a dragon.

One of the dragon’s favorite foods was bull-type creatures.There were various bull-type magical creatures in Western countries. Their flesh was juicy and tasty. Their primal fear of the dragon came from within their bones, much like chickens’ fear of the eagle hovering in the sky.

The arrogant and provocative Gold Bull Monster trembled and almost fell to its knees at Mo Fan’s transformation.

The Corpse King took advantage of the opportunity and flew out of the White Tomb Palace. It aimed at the Gold Bull Monster’s neck with its lance and slashed it. The Gold Bull Monster’s head fell from its neck. Gold splashed all over the ground. Its heavy head smashed on the white stairs. Some of the stairs cracked.

Mountain Zombie was enormous, and the Corpse King was different from it. The Corpse King was entirely in the human form. It wore ancient martial arts robes and wielded a lance. It had killed many Undead with its lance. The tip of its lance was bone white color, and razor-sharp.

To Mo Fan, the Corpse King looked more like an Undead. It was agile, powerful, and intelligent.

Mo Fan had never encountered the Corpse King before. The Corpse King turned its head around and looked at Mo Fan. He must have learned about Mo Fan from the Queen of Nine Serenities. It paid obeisance to Mo Fan for killing the troublesome Gold Bull Monster. It paid its respect to Mo Fan solemnly.

This was Mo Fan’s first time encountering such a polite Undead spirit. For a moment, he did not know how to respond to it, and he scratched his head awkwardly.

“Uh… It’s you! Give me back my eyeball! Return my eyeball!” A harsh female voice cried out from a nearby cliff.

Mo Fan found the voice familiar. When he turned to the direction of the sound, he saw a witch in eagle form fly up from the cliff. It charged at Mo Fan furiously.

Mo Fan was certain that he had never seen the witch before. A black eye patch covered one of her eyes. She bared her fangs. She looked hideous and frightening. She looked like she had run into her nemesis finally! Gray feather nails poured down densely like rain.There was nowhere Mo Fan could hide.

Just then, several Iron Corpses lunged at Mo Fan and shielded him from the feather nails. Unfortunately, the Eagle Witch grabbed them and flew to the sky, then tore the Iron Corpses apart!

Mo Fan felt sorry for the Iron Corpses. On second thought, the Iron Corpses were brainless and had no consciousness. He needn’t have felt burdened.

Meanwhile, he tried to recall if he had seen the eagle Witch before.

“My eyeball! My eyeball! Give me back my eyeball!”

The Eagle Witch’s high-pitched voice formed layers of sound waves and struck the ground.

Chapter 2839: The Three Medusa Sisters

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“She’s my older sister.” Apas woke up from her dreams and warned Mo Fan.

‘Yuri Ellie was the Eagle Witch that sold human skins at Holy City!’ thought Mo Fan. ‘So, it was her!’

Mo Fan had stolen Yuri Ellie’s eye—The Eye of Deception—to enter the sanctuary at Holy City. Even though the Eye of Deception could only be used for a limited number of times, it was one of the world’s rare wonders. Mo Fan had long added it to his personal collection!

He had never expected to bump into his creditor on this day. If Mo Fan had not run into Yuri Ellie, he would have never recalled that he had gouged the Eye of Deception from a wicked witch in the past.

Mo Fan heard a cough. “So, this kid is the one who stole my younger sister’s eye. What a handsome oriental boy! We’ll catch him, turn him into a human specimen, and then put him in the back garden. It will be such fun!” A charming voice rose from the other slope of the White Tomb Palace.

Mo Fan looked in that direction, only to find a woman with venomous snake hair, staring at him. The woman’s body did not resemble a snake. She had a garnet red scorpion body. She was in glass heels with her razor sharp and slender legs. She continued to swing her tail into the sky, as if the tail itself had its own life…

Trishina was the eldest daughter of the mother of Medusa. She was a mixed blood from the mother of Medusa and the Scorpion King. Trishina possessed Medusa’s powerful mental power as well as the Scorpion King’s strong physique.

Mo Fan did not expect to find them there. Even Apas had never thought of running into her two older sisters at the White Tomb Palace.

“I heard that my younger sister has been serving you all this while. Can you ask her to come out? It’s been a long time since we’ve met. How nostalgic…”

Trishina was calm and relaxed. She stood there gracefully. But the pride that came from within her bones was clearly visible on her demonic face.

Apas revealed herself. She stood beside Mo Fan. Her golden-pink eyes carried a hint of fury. She suppressed her anger and projected an intense icy cold aura that belonged to the Queen of Medusa.

The Queen of Scorpion and Eagle Witch roared when Apas showed up. The two demons’ eyes turned golden-pink within an instant. All of them were siblings. However, Trishina and Yuri Ellie’s mothers were from different bloodlines than Apas’.

Apas’ mother was a human. Trishina’s mother was the Queen of Scorpion. And Yuri Ellie’s mother was an Eagle Witch.

Apas was the only one who had the closest bloodline to the mother of Medusa. After all, the mother of Medusa had once been a human.

Yuri Ellie and Trishina had always plotted to kill Apas. They were concerned that the mother of Medusa would pass her throne down to Apas.

Luckily, the mother of Medusa had died. Trishina and Yuri Ellie oversaw the banshee kingdom in Egypt. They possessed the most powerful bloodlines and represented Europe and Africa.

“Since when did Mother’s kingdom become a vassal of the Undead? When did you two become Khufu’s b*tches?” Apas’ pupils continued to expand. Her aura was completely different from before. In fact, she radiated a terrifying aura that Mo fan had felt once before when they had worked together to subdue the Queen of Nine Serenities to subdue her.

Mo Fan instinctively took a few steps away from Apas. He noticed a divine snake shadow on her, like the mythical goddess of snakes. She looked dignified, majestic, and furious!

Mo Fan was surprised. ‘Is this the same Apas? Why had he never sensed such a powerful aura from her before? Why did the divine snake shadow look so familiar?’

Mo Fan remembered when he transformed into a demon form at Dubai, he took on the soul shadow of a Fire Snake Divine King. The divine snake shadow had come from Apas, and she had long mastered the divine skill. When he confronted the Heavenly Scared Sacred Tiger, Apas had revealed part of her afterimage.

At that moment, the divine snake shadow wrapped around Apas’ graceful figure. The coexistence of wickedness and holiness in one body was something shocking to behold. It turned out that Apas had hidden her true self very well.

‘So, she still hoped to achieve Emperor level and break free from our contract!’ realized Mo Fan. ‘What a cunning b*tch!’

If not for the fact that they had run into Apas’ two greatest nemesis, Mo Fan would have never known about this until Apas betrayed him!

Luckily, his cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds. Otherwise, judging from Apas’ current form and aura, she could really break their Contracted Soul by force.

Roar!

Roar!

The roar came from the lifeless land under the stairs. The next moment, an enormous creature appeared from the vast Undead army and charged at Mo Fan. The creature cut across the Bull Monsters, the Mummies, and the Dark Swordmasters.

It crossed the army and charged at the White Tomb Palace’s stairs. The roaring sound swept up the Undead army, and it took a while for the Undead to fall like mud next to the creature.

It was the Sphinx!

The Sphinx was a golden lion with a face that resembled a human. Mo Fan vividly remembered that it had struck him hard when he was in a demon form at Northern Xinjiang. The Sphinx was vengeful. It recognized Mo Fan at a single glance. It squinted its eyes, and its eyes lit up in delight!

“So, it’s you! Puny humans!” The Sphinx smiled.

“Ars*hole, do you have a death wish again?” Mo Fan shouted.

“I’m not a lion. I’m a Pharaoh!” The Sphinx emphasized his words.

“I’m Christ, then!” Mo Fan shot back.

Mo Fan quickly transformed into Flame Demon King when confronting creatures of the Sphinx’s level. He was ablaze with layers of flames. Each layer contained extremely powerful flames. When Mo Fan launched the attack, waves of flames blasted with force.

“Hah! Still the same old trick. You’ve not improved much over the years,” the Sphinx said disdainfully.

The Sphinx was made of sand and soil. It was a stone sculpture. It was not afraid of Mo Fan’s fire power. It had learned about his Fire Element magical power in Northern Xinjiang last time.

At that time, Mo Fan was in a demon form in the face of Khufu’s one hundred thousand vanguard army. Meanwhile, the Sphinx had struck after several Ruler-level demons died.

Mo Fan sneered. The Sphinx would find out about his latest progress soon!

Chapter 2840: The Fourth Accompanying Effect—Kingdom of Sand

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan unleashed all his divine flame power. The plumes of maple leaves scattered across the lifeless land. The Undead army from both sides were swept into the flames.

The Sphinx stood proudly in its place. It remained motionless in the face of the blazing maple forest. Its body was cast in gold. It seemed to have lost its life force to the blazing fire and turned into an invincible golden statue.

After the Sphinx held back Mo Fan’s powerful wave of flames, it came back to life again. It expanded its body so that it almost reached the clouds of ghosts in the sky. It could swallow the ghost army in a single bite if it wanted.

Mo Fan stood before the Sphinx. The Sphinx was as big as the White Tomb Palace. It could crush everything into pieces.

‘Did the Sphinx advance to a more powerful realm, too?’ he wondered.

Mo Fan had been so focused on how powerful the Sphinx was that he lost his cool. A buzzing sound appeared in his mind because of the violent tremors, and finally, he recovered his senses enough to focus.

Mo Fan shook his head. When he lookedat the Sphinx, he noticed it glowed in an underworldly golden light. The underworldly glow made it look enormous and gigantic.

“You want to compete for size, huh?!” Mo Fan was aware of the Sphinx’s trick.

He spread his Black Dragon Wings. He was covered by a large black shadow. His wings continued to expand, and the black shadow continued to grow.

The Wings of Dusk and Dawn!

The dragon soul from the Black Dragon Wings provided Mo Fan with a special suppression and restraint ability. The Sphinx had performed the Qi Tian transformation ability. It was Mo Fan’s turn to open the Sphinx’s eyes about his Black Dragon’s Qi Tian ability!

The Black Dragon Emperor was the king of the sky. When Mo Fan spread his wings, the wings blocked the sunlight that shone on the mountain range. If he wanted, he could even make the large piece of land disappear into chaos and darkness within an instant.

The Sphinx’s underworldly light shone brightly. It wanted to use the simplest and most brutal way to suppress puny humans like Mo Fan. Little did it know that the ancient Black Dragon Emperor was as powerful as Khufu. How could the Sphinx’s underworldly light that was borrowed from Khufu be comparable to Mo Fan’s Black Dragon Soul?!

Mo Fan suppressed the Sphinx with ease. The Sphinx’s underworldly light that reflected on the lifeless land gradually shrank and returned to itself.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan’s Black Dragon shadow did not fade. Instead, his shadow dominated the chaotic battle of the Undead. When the Undead Beasts saw his Black Dragon Emperor’s Wings, they knelt and trembled in fear. They completely lost the will to fight the battle.

The Sphinx, the Queen of Scorpion—Trishina, and the Queen of the Eagle Witch—Yuri Ellie were Khufu’s three main generals. All of them stared at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was once a puny human, and they could kill him with a snap of their fingers. However, he had transformed into the Black Dragon Emperor that was superior to their bloodlines. Fear sprouted in their hearts. They were filled with jealousy and resentment.

Why would an ancient and arrogant Black Dragon be willing to humble itself and become a human’s armor? On top of that, it had included its dragon soul in it!

“Kill him! And remove his Black Dragon Armor!” Trishina screamed like a banshee. She no longer sounded as graceful or elegant like she had appeared before. The current Trishina turned into a hideous banshee that was no different from a she-devil!

The Sphinx was intimidated by Mo Fan’s Black Dragon shadow. It instinctively took a few steps back. However, after remembering that Mo Fan was just using the Black Dragon shadow to scare it, it flew into a rage and roared fiercely.

The roars shook the Dark Abyss. The Sphinx flew into the sky and looked down at Mo Fan before spitting sand. The sand gushed out of its mouth like running water. Each grain contained gravity magic. When it fell to the ground, it gave off an impact similar to a rolling mountain boulder.

After the Sphinx unleashed the power of sand, it continued to pour on Mo Fan. His Black Dragon shadow was only capable of intimidating the Sphinx and Khufu’s Undead Beasts army, it could not defend him against the Sphinx’s practical Earth Element magic.

The flow of the sand river was terrifying. The White Tomb Palace was built on a rising cliff slope. It faced the lifeless land, and its back faced a deep pit. Both sides were steep slopes that went all the way down to a bottomless abyss.

The sand river covered the lifeless land, and it gradually flooded the stairs. The Sphinx could turn the White Tomb Palace into a Kingdom of Sand if nothing was done.

“The Kingdom of Sand!”

Mo Fan stood on the waves of sand. His eyes turned into a gleaming golden-brown. He looked confident and aloof.

The Fourth Accompanying Effect—The Kingdom of Sand!

The Sphinx was not the only creature in the world that could control the law of gravel. Mo Fan’s Rock Heaven Seed was not just there to please the eyes, it also provided him with four accompanying effects!

Even though Mo Fan was just using the second accompanying effect—Stone Seal and the Kingdom of Sand, he had the courage to cast the power before the Desert Beast—The Sphinx. If the Sphinx’s sand river were to swallow him, he would counterattack by building a Heavenly Moat made of rocks.

The Kingdom of Sand endowed Mo Fan with the ability to control the surrounding Earth Element substance. The Earth Element substance included sand, rocks, soil, and the enemy’s Earth Element magic. Therefore, Mo Fan was able to manipulate the Sphinx’s sand river!

The demonic and necromantic spells were cast in repeated succession on the battlefield. At the same time, the Stone-stealing Seal absorbed tremendous energy from it.

Mo Fan strengthened his Earth Element Soldiers with the energy before obtaining part of the Sphinx’s Earth Element substance from its sand river. He could manipulate the Earth Element energy that was as strong as the Sphinx’s sand river within a short period of time.

The Heavenly Moat rose from the ground and blocked the sky on the other side. The Heavenly Moat stopped the continuous flow of the sand river. It sent the rolling, heavy, and powerful waves of sand back to Khufu’s Mummies.

When the Sphinx saw this, it quickly closed its mouth. The sand river stopped. The golden grains moved slowly and spread. It gradually turned into a large sand dune before the Heavenly Moat.

The Heavenly Moat and the great sand dune stood before the White Tomb Palace and formed two sand barriers. As a result, Khufu’s Undead army had to go past the barriers before fighting the Undead of the Ancient Capital.

The Undead of the Ancient Capital, on the other hand, were provided with natural barriers. The battle was now more favorable to them. They had an advantage.

“Stupid lion, stop building walls for them!” Yuri Ellie was enraged.

“I’m not a lion, I’m a Pharaoh King!” The Sphinx burst into anger. It had never expected the puny human to possess such powerful Earth Element magic.

It had not sensed the aura of the Earth Element magic from Mo Fan when they fought in Northern Xinjiang in the past.

Chapter 2841: The Real Medusa

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Queen of the Eagle God, Yuri Ellie, let out a sharp cry. She had been hovering close to the abyss.

The Undead sank into the tomb slope. Eagle Witches with sharp claws and vicious eyes flew up from the abyss. At first, there were only a few of them, but soon, countless numbers of them appeared!

The army of Eagle Witches had arrived and was waiting for Khufu’s Undead Army.

After giving their orders, the Eagle Witches either hovered or flew down. Every time the Eagle Witches flew down, they would pick up an Undead of the Ancient Capital. Once the Eagle Witches dragged the Corpse Generals, Corpse Officials, Ghost Generals, and Ghost Officials into the air, the other Eagle Witches snatched them away. Their sharp claws tore apart the thick flesh of the Corpse Generals and Corpse Officials.

“Attack his eyes first!” Yuri Ellie hated Mo Fan so much that she ordered the Eagle Witches to charge towards him.

When the Eagle Witches circled the ground, they created a frightening storm. This storm was aimed at Mo Fan. Thousands of Eagle Witches created a formidable storm to blind Mo Fan.

“Well, it seems like you all like sacrificing yourselves.” Mo Fan smiled.

Yuri Ellie was a hot-tempered and brainless demon. ‘Did she already forget about the Black Dragon Wing?’ wondered Mo Fan.

“Fall!” Mo Fan shouted angrily and flew to the sky with the Black Dragon Wing.

When the shadow of the Black Dragon Wing plunged down, the Eagle Witches in the storm suffered. Their flexible and muscular wings could not move at all. They were frozen in mid-air and could not fly.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Eagle Witches who wanted to charge at Mo Fan all fell one by one and smashed against the white stairs. They were severely injured, and their feathers scattered in the air.

It did not matter whether they were dead or not. Once they fell to the ground, they were practically harmless. The Skeleton Soldiers could kill them easily.

Yuri Ellie was furious. Trishina was on the ground and glared at her sister as if she was an idiot. Despite the presence of Black Dragon Wing, she had sent a group of Eagle Witches! Witches could never win against the Black Dragon Wing.

“Order your daughters to kill those Corpse Generals of the White Tomb Palace,” Trishina said to Yuri Ellie.

Yuri Ellie realized that she needed to join forces with Trishina and the Sphinx if she wanted to take down Mo Fan, who had the Black Dragon Soul. Yuri Ellie changed her plan and ordered the Eagle Witches to attack and occupy the White Tomb Palace.

There were many Eagle Witches, and they occupied the sky above the White Tomb Palace. Their feathers were everywhere, and it turned everything chaotic.

The Eagle Witches had learned their lessons and did not dareapproach Mo Fan or provoke Mo Fan’s Wings of Dusk and Dawn. They bypassed Mo Fan and attacked the White Tomb Palace from the sides and the back.

“Ah!” There was a cry. It was as powerful as the last note of a powerful song.

Mo Fan turned to see Apas bent at her waist. Her face turned to the sky. Her posture made her look as agile as a dancer and like a snake at the same time.

Apas’ golden pink eyes had accumulated a kind of energy. A ray of light shot from her eyes as her long cry came to an end, forming a pattern of flowers in the sky.

The light stopped thousands of Eagle Witches. Some were flying low, some downwards, others were trying to attack the White Tomb Palace. Every one of them stopped.

Time itself seemed to have stopped at the area captured by the light. All movements had suddenly stopped, including the scattered eagle feathers. The barbs of a light eagle feather began to harden. After a while, the whole eagle feather turned to stone.

The eagle feathers fell slowly, but when Apas’ high-pitched cry echoed around the White Tomb Palace, it suddenly fell at an impossible speed. Finally, it smashed against the ground and shattered into pieces.

The insignificant eagle feather was not the only thing that had undergone such a strange change. In the sky, all the Eagle Witches who had been attacking the White Tomb Palace, and the army of Eagle Witches who stood at stand-by for orders, all became petrified like the eagle feather.

They could not fly after being petrified. The stone eagles slowly fell to the ground and shattered.

The Eagle Witch army that was raging just a moment ago were all petrified by Apas’ gaze. The eagle sculptures fell to Apas’ side and turned into gravel. That was what remained of the Eagle Witches. There was no blood.

Apas’ gaze not only petrified the skin and feathers of those Eagle Witches but also turned every part of their body into stone. Apas had killed them in the sky and their falling sculptures were tragic.

This was how the real Medusa subdued the enemy. She turned them into gravel.

Yuri Ellie was enraged. Apas had wiped out her entire Eagle Witch army.

It happened because of this poor girl she had accidentally let go off. It happened because of this girl with a human bloodline who looked the most useless among the three sisters.

Trishina and her army of scorpions on the ground were not affected. However, when she saw Apas use the stare of Queen Medusa, jealousy hit her. She felt uncomfortable, as if something pricked her whole body.

It was the Eyes of Destruction, the most powerful force of the mother of Medusa.

Once, the mother of Medusa used these eyes to kill a hundred thousand Female Demons. These eyes made her the highest-ranking Female Demon in the world, and all races of Female Demons in Europe and Africa surrendered to her!

‘How could such filthy and petty Medusa with a human bloodline inherit such imperial eyes? It was not fair. It was not fair!’

Trishina, the Queen of Scorpion, grimaced. She had fangs, a green face, snake hair, and a scorpion body.

“There is only one Medusa Queen in this world, and that’s me!” Trishina shouted.

She wanted to tear Apas apart and transplant her eyes onto her own.

Chapter 2842: The Strongest Form

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Trishina rushed toward Apas on the stairs. Behind her was the billowing dust and countless Scorpion Female Demons and Snake Scorpion Medusas.

This group of armies had appeared without warning. They hid under the soil from the beginning. When Trishina gave her order, they all attacked Apas. Unlike the Eagle Witches, Trishina’s army came from the dunes, so they were not afraid of Apas’ Eyes of Destruction.

Apas hated her two sisters. She had witnessed her two sisters kill her mother and endured the pain of expulsion for many years. Now that she had fully matured, she had inherited the power of the real evil temple from the mother of Medusa, and she had long wanted to trample her two sisters for all the pain they had caused her.

The Evil Snake Shadow appeared and suddenly opened its mouth, revealing two curved and sharp fangs. The bite stopped Trishina. She grabbed the snakes and scorpions around her and used them as shields. Those snakes and scorpions died when they were bitten and became petrified.

Trishina’s strong pincers fiercely swept away the corpses in front of her. The crimson, poisonous scorpion tail penetrated a Ghost Lord. The Ghost Lord had very sturdy armor but it turned to sand after the Queen of Scorpion stung it.

The wind blew, and the Ghost Lord was blown away like sands.

Fortunately, the soldiers were all the Undeads, so they were not afraid of dying. Otherwise, they would not have dared to fight after seeing the strong Ghost Lord die so easily.

“Be careful of her tail. You will die if you get stung by it.” Apas warned Mo Fan and the Undead of the Ancient Capital, who were guarding the White Tomb Palace on the long stairs.

The Corpse King had taken a few steps back. He stared at Trishina, and the bronze bone spear in his hand vibrated. It was like a copper bell ringing. Suddenly, the Corpse King rushed forward in a straight line, and the bronze bone spear pierced Trishina’s chest.

Trishina was heavily built and was almost as tall as a double-decker bus, and the Corpse King was the size of a human. However, the Corpse King was proficient in ancient martial arts. It jumped to Trishina’s head with the help of his spear.

The Corpse King smashed Trishina’s head with his palm, and an overlapping force overwhelmed her head. Unfortunately, the poisonous snakes on Trishina’s head were all alive. They did not let the Corpse King attack Trishina’s head. They rushed up and bit the Corpse King.

The Corpse King cast a spell, and many black spears suddenly appeared above him. They fell violently and pierced the poisonous snakes on Trishina’s head.

Trishina moved her terrifying scorpion tail that could kill in one attack. The poisonous tail would kill an emperor-level creature if it stabbed it. She had inherited the most terrifying ability of the Queen of Scorpions.

Although it was a deadly weapon, most emperor-level creatures prevented Trishina from using her poisonous tail. Apas’ Eyes of Destruction was direct and effective, so it was more intimidating.

The Corpse King stepped firmly, and a wave of air rose. He managed to dodge the fatal attack.

However, the poisonous tail kept the Corpse King at a distance, so he could not get near Trishina. He could only step back from the tail so he could have time to prepare his next attack.

Yuri Ellie hovered in the air and cried sharply. The cry made people’s heads hurt. They could hear the resentment and hatred in her heart.

Her target was Apas. Apas had destroyed the army of Eagle Witches that she had worked so hard to train for several years. She wanted to tear Apas apart and use Apas’ tender flesh to nourish her skin.

She did not have the strong physique of Trishina’s scorpion bloodline, but she was still a formidable threat to the White Tomb Palace. She attacked very fast. Whenever people heard a weird shriek, they would find her dragging some powerful Undeads from the White Tomb Palace to the sky.

Yuri Ellie was very cunning and followed the Sphinx closely. They worked together, so the Skeleton Demon Lord could not withstand the combined attack of these two powerful creatures. The Skeleton Demon Lord was severely injured and could hardly reassemble.

The Sphinx and Yuri Ellie wanted to kill the Red Skeleton of the Dead Kings of the Eight Directions. They rushed forward and killed many skeleton armies. Mo Fan hurriedly used teleportation to protect the Red Skeleton. He took the form of the Flame Demon King, so he would not be afraid of these two demons. Besides, he was wearing Black Dragon Suit.

Mo Fan took the strongest form after changing into the Flame Demon King and wearing the Black Dragon Suit. He combined his elemental magic, so some low-level Elements became more powerful so that Mo Fan could challenge the Sphinx.

He could compete with this Egyptian National Beast due to the Black Dragon Suit. The Flame Demon King had given him the destructive ability close to a Supreme Ruler. Even without the Demon Element, he could cope with the current situation.

“My eyes! My eyes!” Yuri Ellie shouted.

She stared at Mo Fan with her vicious eye. She wanted to get her eyes back. A human snatched the most powerful Eye of Deception of an Eagle Witch. It was a great shame!

She flew at an impossible speed. The light and shadow were intertwined. Mo Fan almost raised the dragon sense to the highest level of concentration before he could barely see the flying path and attack angle of Yuri Ellie.

The terrifying claws were aimed at Mo Fan’s heart. It was rumored that Eagle Witches would grab a person’s chest when they attacked. They would break the ribs and take the heart out of the shattered sternum. It was cruel.

Yuri Ellie was too fast, but Mo Fan did not have to use the Fire Element. The black dragon pattern on his arm was bright. His arm suddenly turned into a gauntlet and swung at Yuri Ellie.

Yuri Ellie sneered. She knew the ability of humans. With only human power, it was impossible to harm demigods like them.

Chapter 2843: Look into My Eyes

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Black Dragon Punch!

The punch caused countless cracks in the space.

The arrogant Yuri Ellie’s nose was broken, and her body left a long and deep hollow along the slope like a small meteorite. She bumped into countless mummies along the way, and they flew to the far side of the withered land.

The Sphinx turned its head and glanced, but it could not find where Yuri Ellie had landed. There were only a few drops of blood and a few teeth on the ground.

The cracks in the space were recovering at high speed with a strong backflow of air. It was like a crack under a lake. A fierce suction would suck all the water, and it would not subside until it filled up the lake.

This space went by the same theory. When a powerful force shattered the space, it would generate a backlash that sucked and pulled the surroundings frantically. It would drag every object into it until the cracks were filled and repaired.

Mo Fan rarely used the Black Dragon Punch, so he did not expect it to have such a terrifying effect. The Black Dragon could tear the space, and the soul of the Black Dragon Punch seemed to have inherited this ability.

The Punch of Space Crack did not consume anything and did not need the power of singing. Having such a magical item, Mo Fan now dared to have hand-to-hand combat with the Sphinx, let alone Yuri Ellie, who was so petite.

After wearing the Black Dragon Suit, Mo Fan was not afraid of the brutal power of the Sphinx. When he saw the Sphinx rushing over like a bull, he did not hesitate to hit the stairs with his feet!

Black Dragon Kick!

This kick on the ground caused a terrifying earth wave, which blocked the Sphinx’s attack.Mo Fan took this opportunity, and lightning locks surrounded him. In these lightning locks, there were thick dark substances.

Dark Lightning!

The third level of the Lightning Element was the highest level a human could achieve. Such magic could even threaten the Sphinx.

The dark lightning locks flew and tied the Sphinx’s unbalanced body, including its head, neck, limbs, and waist. These dark lightning locks tightly bound its body.

“Dark Thunder Meteor!”

Mo Fan was like an ancient mythical giant who used iron chains to fight with ancient Mutated Beasts. He raised his head and screamed. Mo Fan held the Sphinx in place, and a straight black thunderstorm suddenly slammed into it. The thunderstorm kept attacking the Sphinx which was entirely made up of sands.

Mo Fan integrated darkness and lightning together. Darkness had a strong corrosive power on hard substances such as metals, ores, and magic crystals, and lightning had defense penetration. The two integrated together to form a destructive and more effective attack ability.

The self-proclaimed divine body of the Sphinx just had thicker skin than most demons. It was indestructible because of its special gold sand structure, but everything had a limit. The combination of darkness and lightning had broken through that limit.

The Sphinx’s golden sand skin rotted. The golden liquid and golden flesh that made its flesh were damaged severely.

The Sphinx was shocked. Its human face revealed its emotions. When it was treacherous and calculating, it maintained a gentle and tricky smile.

The Sphinx had lived for a mysterious number of years and had dealt with countless humans. No matter how strong the top Mages were, only a few Mages could destroy its golden sand skin. It looked down on the magic humans admired and disdained the weak. It claimed to be a demigod, noble and invincible.

However, the Black Dragon had suppressed and hurt it in this battle. The Sphinx was shocked and angry.

Mo Fan had a hidden terrifying power. The Sphinx still remembered the battle in Northern Xinjiang. He had not used it yet, but he could compete with it.

“Are you scared? If you are scared, go back to Egypt and be the watchdog of the pyramids.” Mo Fan sneered when he saw the Sphinx’s face darken.

“I’m a lion! I’m Pharaoh!” The Sphinx was furious.

‘A lion! The symbol of the king! The messenger of God!’

It refused to be treated like a dog.The Sphinx shouted to command the mighty army of mummies.

The white mummies gathered under the White Tomb Palace. Among them, there were many powerful Pharaohs with purple incantations all over their bodies. The Pharaohs held a ghostly wood-long staff and cast evil curses in succession. These curses had little effect on the Undeads but had a terrifying effect on Mo Fan.

A few cursed ghosts appeared under Mo Fan’s feet. They stretched out their claws to tear open the muscles on Mo Fan’s calf. The pain was unbearable. Mo Fan could not concentrate on using his magic properly.

The Sphinx let out a sharp laugh, finally finding a window of opportunity.

The Sphinx had a body as big as the Mountain Zombie. However, it had a different fighting ../style.

The Sphinx was treacherous and cunning. When it got the upper hand, it liked to torment the opponent. However, when the opponent was powerful enough to threaten it, it would be careful and choose to watch from the side. It would not make a move until the last minute.

That cautious, cunning, and vicious manner did not match its image. However, this made it a very strong enemy.

There were many strong creatures in this world. Even Khufu, its master, dared not say he was invincible in this world, so the Sphinx must be especially careful.

Some curses could quickly weaken the power of Mo Fan’s magic, while some caused direct damage to Mo Fan’s body and soul. However, most curses were like an instant outbreak of disease that made Mo Fan feel distressed.

The most important thing was that the Black Dragon Suit had no defensive effect on the curses. The Black Dragon could not withstand the curse of the Egyptian Pharaoh.

“Look into my eyes.” Suddenly, Apas’ voice was not very far behind.

Mo Fan was confused. He had been cursed but he didn’t want to look into Medusa’s eyes. It would make his situation worse!

“Quickly look into my eyes!” Apas insisted.

Mo Fan turned his head and looked into Apas’ unique Medusa’s eyes.

Her eyes were perfect. They were more beautiful than the sea in Miami and the aurora at the North Pole.

For some reason, the chaos in the battlefield felt very far away. When he looked into her eyes, he seemed to be pulled out from the raging battle.

Chapter 2844: Magic Dragon Flame

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Although he seemed to be out of the battle, it did not mean he was doing nothing. Instead, he was very confident. He was confident that no matter how tragic the battle was, it would not affect him. He even looked at the battle among the Undeads with an indifferent attitude.

Mo Fan felt that it was a little unreal. Why did he suddenly have such emotions? It was as if he had become evil.

“Look into my eyes.” Apas’ voice sounded again in Mo Fan’s mind.

Mo Fan could not look away. He realized that Apas was giving him psychological suggestions, which could continuously strengthen a person’s willpower so that those curses could not find the flaws in his heart and soul.

The pain of the curse on his body was disappearing, and he felt braver. Mo Fan had the power of the gods all over his body and wished he could rush down and kill the dirty and despicable Undeads that belonged to Khufu.

“Did you just bring me courage, or can you stimulate my physical potential, too?” Mo Fan asked.

For some reason, Mo Fan wanted to fight the Sphinx. It was a kind of spiritual morale Apas’ eyes provided Mo Fan. However, his rationality told him that it was hard to fight the Sphinx without demonization.

“Why don’t you give it a try?” Apas smiled softly.

Without the curses, Mo Fan was not afraid of the Sphinx. Mo Fan felt he was a supreme god who had come down from heaven to restore order. The creatures in the world were all weaklings he could kill at will. If Khufu were present, Mo Fan would even dare to grab his beard and beat him up.

Mo Fan was wearing the Black Dragon Boots, so his speed was not inferior to that of many ruler-level war beasts. He rushed down the high stairs like a black light. When Mo Fan collided with the Sphinx, his body showed the Black Dragon Soul.

Close to the Black Dragon Soul, there was a dark golden shadow of an evil snake swiftly rushing toward the Sphinx. The snake’s fangs were long. It almost destroyed the Sphinx’s face.

The Sphinx’s attention was on Mo Fan’s Black Dragon Soul. It did not dare to underestimate the power of the emperor-level soul. It did not expect to see an evil snake above the Black Dragon Soul. This evil snake was equally terrifying as it was not inferior to the Black Dragon Emperor.

The soul and shadow surrounded Mo Fan, making him look even more sinister in the Black Dragon Suit. He had the invincible power of God’s presence in the human world. Mo Fan was surprised to see the Sphinx screaming and running like a wild dog that was hit in the face.

The Black Dragon Soul and the Flame Demon King had pushed Mo Fan’s strength to the peak of the Super Level. With the addition of the Evil Snake Shadow, he had three powerful and unparalleled forms. This combat power was already comparable to the demonization in Northern Xinjiang in the past. After all, demonization at that time only had four forms.

He lacked the Thunder Demon but had the Black Dragon Soul and Evil Snake Shadow.

“How do you feel now?” Apas’ voice was soft.

Mo Fan was overjoyed. He looked at Apas. He thought that Apas had given him the Evil Snake Shadow on her body but found that the noble and elegant Evil Snake Shadow was still there on Apas. She still dominated countless Egyptian Female Demons like the mother of all demons.

‘Can it be shared?’ Mo Fan realized that Apas was indeed a caring snake demon.

“Black Dragon Electric Claw!”

Mo Fan quickly transformed his gauntlet into claws. The Evil Snake Shadow suddenly slithered forward, adding a ghostly shadow effect on his speeding path. It made Mo Fan rush forward with explosive power and look strange.

The Sphinx was still sorting its face when Mo Fan approached him. The thorns in his claws had Thousand Catties Thunder, which numbed the Sphinx and tore the sturdiest golden sand skin on its chest.

The Sphinx was injured again. It groaned. It madly stepped on the ground with its powerful limbs, trying to stomp on Mo Fan, who was as small as an ant.

The Evil Snake Shadow slithered and avoided the Sphinx’s steps. Mo Fan never thought he could move so elegantly and finally understood why he was so confident.

“Chaos change!”

Mo Fan’s magic changed very quickly. He suddenly changed the order of gravity in this area while the Sphinx was still in a panic.

The power of inversion made the Sphinx suddenly float into the air, and his limbs did not reach the ground. He seemed to have fallen into a huge pit from the bottom up.

On the ground, Mo Fan’s body flashed with silver light. He disappeared and appeared on a deformed stone several hundred meters away.

Mo Fan’s Black Dragon Suit glowed with a terrifying black light, which caused a huge space to sag. It was as if a supreme supernatural entity had trampled on the space behind him. Mo Fan, who was dressed in black armor, gradually dissipated into majestic black dragon energy.

Amidst the dragon energy, a black outline appeared, and the red lotus that looked like fireworks and magma was blooming one after another.

“Magic Dragon Flame!”

Asha’ruiya had once asked Mo Fan to explore the hidden power of the Black Dragon Suit.

Mo Fan rarely wore the whole suit. After all, each piece of the Black Dragon Suit was very strong, and Mo Fan liked to save resources in battle. The strongest part of this suit was the Black Dragon Soul summoned by the Black Dragon Suit, which was enough to complete a Dragon Flame Breath!

The most powerful ability of the Black Dragon was the Dragon Flame!

At this moment, Mo Fan consumed all the energy stored in the suit and turned into a Black Dragon, just like the ruthless Dragon Flame that killed Su Lu in the past. He poured his anger and hatred into the Dragon Flames, which violently tumbled and burned in his abdomen and chest. He spewed this Dragon Flame out of his throat!

The Black Dragon seemed to have come in person in the dragon energy, and the Dragon Flame was even more domineering. As the Sphinx floated in the air, Mo Fan spat out the Dragon Flame at a 45-degree angle.

The Dragon Flame instantly lit up the entire evil abyss. Even the Sphinx seemed incomparably small when compared to the Dragon Flame.

Chapter 2845: Deadly Bridge

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was not the Black Dragon Emperor but the soul of the incarnation of the Black Dragon. However, the Dragon Flame was still powerful and burned an Egyptian National Beast like the Sphinx into two pieces.

From the Dragon Flames, two balls of flame fell to the ground. One was the Sphinx’s upper body, while the other was the waist and hind legs. They were burnt to crisps!

The vast army froze at this moment as they witnessed the fiasco of Khufu’s messenger.

The Sphinx had an undead body. Its whole body was full of flames. The two parts of the body that fell to the ground were still breaking off. Groups of mummies rushed to the Sphinx. They continued to cast Egyptian magic and even used the Pharaoh’s Source to reconnect the Sphinx’s body.

However, not everyone could touch the Dragon Flame. Those high-level mummies were burning too, and those Pharaohs stood far away by the fire at a loss. The mummy continued to pounce on the Sphinx. Many mummies died to extinguish the Dragon Flame.

The Pharaohs roared, trying to save the Sphinx from disintegration. The mighty army of mummies lost thousands of their own to extinguish the Dragon Flame. Ashes of the burnt mummies filled the sky.

Mo Fan wanted to chase after them, but the number of Khufu’s Undeads was too many. He could not get past them and could only watch those mummies trying to assemble the Sphinx at all costs.

Finally, they succeeded in reassembling the Sphinx. The Dragon Flame had burned its body, so it looked miserable. One of its front legs had not been rescued and was destroyed, so it only had three legs now.

After the Sphinx was reassembled, it roared angrily. It was embarrassing. It had been burnt to a pile of dirty rubble by a human! When the Sphinx glanced at its missing leg, his rotten black face scowled.

“You guys continue to attack. I’ll go back and report to Hades!” Sphinx said gloomily.

The Pharaohs were dumbfounded. ‘How could it run away from the battle? It did not matter if it only had three legs. All the Undeads did not have a complete body.’

Besides, they could not occupy the White Tomb Palace without the Sphinx. Dead Kings of the Eight Directions still had several extremely arrogant and troublesome characters. This army of Khufu undead could not fully obey Trishina and Yuri Ellie.

“Aren’t you a lion and a Pharaoh? Why are you acting like a lame dog? Don’t hide behind those mummies. Come and fight me!” Mo Fan shouted.

The Sphinx was furious. “You’re a stupid human who relies on the Black Dragon Soul. When Hades unifies the underworld, you’ll die!”

“When I defeat the Ocean Demons, I’ll demolish your temple, draw your blood, dig your bones, and step on your grave. Go back and tell Khufu to stop attacking the Ancient Capital. Otherwise, I’ll be sure to visit him next!” said Mo Fan.

Hades, Khufu, was the initiator of the battle in Holy City. Mo Fan would have to settle scores with him sooner or later. However, Mo Fan did not expect Khufu to come to the Dark Abyss. He was thinking of using the Dark Abyss to continue to expand his power.

The Sphinx opened its mouth, as if it was about to bite.

Black dragon energy surrounded Mo Fan once again. When the Sphinx saw this dragon energy, it turned its head and ran in fright. It was lame, but it ran so fast as if it wasn’t even injured anymore.

The immortal body meant that its soul would not be gone. There was no immortality in this world. Even an Undead could die.

…

The departure of the Sphinx affected the morale of the entire Undead army, but it was a pity that Trisina and Yuri Ellie did not plan to let Apas go.

Apas had already shown her Medusa’s Eyes of Destruction. If they did not get rid of her, Apas would kill the two sisters one day when she grew powerful enough. It was useless even if they had many armies of Female Demons. No Female Demon could withstand the attack of the Eyes of Destruction.

Apas and Mo Fan were bound together. It was not so easy for Trishina and Yuri Ellie to kill Apas. Besides, they also needed to fight with the Undeads of the Ancient Capital, which were guarding the White Tomb Palace.

The Black Dragon Suit gradually dimmed. Mo Fan realized that the energy of the Black Dragon Suit could only support the Black Dragon Flame once. After using the Black Dragon Flame, Mo Fan would lose the effects of the Black Dragon Horn Helmet, Black Dragon Armor, Black Dragon Gauntlet, Wings of Dusk and Dawn, and Black Dragon Boots.

It seemed that he must use this powerful skill only at a critical time. When he wore the Black Dragon Suit, Mo Fan could ensure his safety when fighting with Supreme Rulers, which could kill him.

Mo Fan let out a sigh of relief. He did not expect the Black Dragon Emperor would protect him at this critical time.

The black Dragon was dead, but its soul resided in this Black Dragon Suit. Perhaps this Black Dragon Suit had many other abilities he had never discovered before. As his strengths improved, he would figure out more of the skills.

…

“Mo Fan, I saw something on the Deadly Bridge. I don’t know if it is the ancient calling spell you were searching for. I tried to wake it up with some of the king’s utensils, but it seemed to need something else to wake it up.” The Queen of Nine Serenities’ voice came from behind.

Mo Fan glanced at Apas. Apas nodded to Mo Fan. “Go ahead. I can handle it here. Anyway, it’s my business.”

“Okay. But if they dare bully you, I’ll not stay behind,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan could not stay here for too long. They still needed to set up the rain and make other preparations. The Sphinx had left, so the White Tomb Palace should be safe for the time being.

After entering the White Tomb Palace, Mo Fan followed the familiar road to the Deadly Bridges. There seemed to be some special Undeads living in the White Tomb Palace, or perhaps the White Tomb Palace had its own soul. Every path was clear and smooth, contrary to his past visit.

Mo Fan arrived at the Deadly Bridge. There was nothing on the bridge. The corresponding curse was not there.

“I found the Tomb Palace Spirit. It reminded me that it was here. It said that since it was a bridge, there should be water. If the water is pure enough, we could glimpse the true meaning of this bridge,” the Queen of Nine Serenities said to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan looked under the bridge and found that the bottom of the bridge was no longer a dark and terrifying chaotic space. Instead, it became some dry floor tiles with canal-like marks on them. He considered it a while, then he poured the Underground Holy Spring at the bottom of the bridge.

Soon, the spring water became a river. The water passed through nine white arch bridges like a silver ribbon.

The water was clear enough to reflect the incantations at the bottom of the bridge. There were nine rows, like the words on bamboo slips.

Chapter 2846: Help Me Protect This Place

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan took out his new phone and took a high-resolution photo of the incredible scene.

Mo Fan did not know how to interpret it, so he compared them to each other. The new technology on his new phone allowed him to solve the problem of magic exposure. He could take the photo of the nine-line curse easily. He just needed to show it to the watchman of the city wall, Bin Wei, and let her decode it.

After getting the important curse, Mo Fan stood on the Deadly Bridge and took the Little Loach Pendant out. He pulled the Underground Holy Spring, that had poured at the bottom of the bridge, back into it.

The Underground Holy Spring was too precious. Mo Fan was unwilling to let it stay here and dry up over time. There was another important purpose for the Underground Holy Spring.

“The Underground Holy Spring seems to belong here,” said the Queen of Nine Serenities.

“It originated from Sky Observing City. The Ancient King probably started to rule the country and took the Underground Holy Spring and divine walls away from the Sky Observing City,” said Mo Fan.

“Well, the king is dead, so you can make up any story. Anyway, everything here is yours after you die,” said the Queen of Nine Serenities.

Mo Fan was at a loss for words. The person who wanted Mo Fan to die the most was probably not the Sphinx, Yuri Ellie, Su Lu, or Salan but the Queen of Nine Serenities.

“There are still some things left at the throne. Do you want to take them away? It’s better to use them before you die than to guard them after you die,” the Queen of Nine Serenities said to Mo Fan.

“I’m not dead yet! Besides, when did I promise you that I would reign here after my death? Can’t I die in peace?” Mo Fan asked.

“I can’t help it if that’s what you think.” The Queen of Nine Serenities had already made up her mind.

Mo Fan did not know whether to laugh or cry. He never thought that a female ghost would haunt him. Anyway, he only needed to think of it after his death.

He would take the treasure near the throne when he visited next time. He did not have much time right now. The sun was about to set. He hoped everything had gone well for Mu bai and Zhao Manyan.

Mo Fan was most worried about them and their mission. Their lives were at risk at the Magic City. They might not be able to survive there.

‘In such a situation, how were they going to convince Dean Xiao?’

Dean Xiao was also in a crucial position. ‘Would he leave the Magic City and come here to help them set up the rain?’ His departure would have too much impact.

“I’ll leave it to you then. Please help me protect this place,” Mo Fan said to the Queen of Nine Serenities and left the White Tomb Palace.

The Queen of Nine Serenities could not hold back her laughter. Mo Fan was an interesting man. She could not wait for him to die.

…

As soon as he walked out of the White Tomb Palace, an eagle suddenly smashed down. The silver-gray body fell directly into the high pillar of the palace, with blood on her face and her hair disheveled.

He looked closer and saw that it was Yuri Ellie with a blindfold. Yuri Ellie climbed out of the pillar. When she saw Mo Fan, she let out an evil roar and rushed towards him. She desperately wanted to kill Mo Fan.

“Give me back my eyes! Give me back my eyes!”

Without the Eye of Deception, she could not do many things. She had to rely on Trishina. She hated that the most. She would have been able to do anything if she had the eye.

“Do you want to lose the other eyes, too?” Mo Fan threw a lightning ball toward Yuri Ellie.

The lightning ball flickered and exploded in front of her. The strong electric sparks and thunder violently blew Yuri Ellie hundreds of meters high.

The silver-gray feathers scattered all over the place. Yuri Elie swirled in the air and screamed for a long time. Finally, she fell straight down towards the abyss.

Mo Fan was a little surprised. ‘When did Yuri Ellie become so weak?’

In the past, Yuri Ellie had not dared to use all her abilities in the Holy City. After all, the angels were there. If she did anything wrong, she would die.

But this was not the Holy City, and her ability was not inferior to Apas. Why did it seem like her ability was far inferior to the Sphinx and Trishina?

‘Had she become weak because of the Eye of Deception?’ thought Mo Fan.

The greatest threat to the White Tomb Palace was still Trishina. She and her soldiers were comparable to an army of Undeads. She was very persistent and only targeted Apas.

The most important thing for the three Medusas were their eyes. Trishina wanted Apas’ eyes, so she could kill Apas today at all costs.

Khufu’s army of Undeads could retreat if they wanted to, but her army of Snake Scorpion Female Demon did not intend to retreat at all. Even if all the army died today, it would be worth it if she could get Apas’ Eyes of Destruction. Trishina knew what was most valuable.

Mo Fan glanced at Apas and found that Apas’ long hair had turned cyan. Her fair skin and red lips were far from her usual appearance of a young girl. She looked more mature, noble, cold and full of demonic energy.

She also did not intend to give up. She wanted revenge on Trishina.

Mo Fan frowned. The battle between the two Medusas might not end soon, but he had to leave because he had no time and he had something important to do.

“Don’t worry, we will take care of her for you,” Red Skeleton suddenly said.

Mo Fan was taken aback. He did not know the Red Skeleton could speak human language.

“Oh, thank you. How is the injury of the Mountain Zombie? Will it die?” Mo Fan asked.

The Mountain Zombie was a powerful creature, after all. If it were here, the White Tomb Palace would never fall into the hands of Khufu.

“It needs to rest. You drove the Sphinx away and gave it a chance to rest. Maybe it will recover,” Red Skeleton said.

While talking to Mo Fan, it used a very subtle blood thread to control the seven Ferris Red Skeletons like a street artist. These seven Ferris Red Skeletons stood under the White Tomb Palace and blocked many mummies from advancing.

The Sphinx was the biggest threat to the Undeads of the Ancient Capital. It was a Supreme Ruler. Only the Mountain Zombie could compete with it.

Trishina was also on the same level. Although the Corpse King was also powerful, it was at a disadvantage.

The arrival of Mo Fan had severely damaged the Sphinx. However, Trishina only focused on Apas.

Apas’ Eyes of Destruction instantly wiped-out half of the Female Demon Army, which greatly relieved the pressure on the White Tomb Palace. Apas was strong enough to compete with Trishina.

This provided a window for the Corpse King, Red Skeleton, Queen of Nine Serenities, and Ghost King to compete head-on with those Pharaohs.

The Undeads of the Ancient Capital were not completely incapable of combat. They were powerful. If they could kill some powerful enemies, they would not lose this battle.

Chapter 2847: The Ocean Serpent Demon

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Magic City was shrouded in darkness, adding a sense of lifelessness to the city that was under Black Alert.

The Ocean Demons’ roars continued ceaselessly. People hid inside dilapidated buildings and trembled in fear.

For a long time, humans had high confidence in their abilities. When Shao Zheng proposed a crisis strategy for 20,000 kilometers of the coastline, they assumed him to be pessimistic. They believed that the huge reserve of mages would be enough to drive the Ocean Demons away.

Humans refused to believe and acknowledge the impending great danger they faced. They refused to believe that the Magic City would face the end of the world one day.

Yet D-Day had finally arrived!

The sky was riddled with holes. Icy cold sea water from the Pacific Ocean poured down on the Magic City. The sight was terrifying to behold, as if it was really the end of the world.

The sea water continued to pour down on the Magic City from the sky holes even to that moment. The city was soaked in sea water. The streets were hardly visible. Some of the buildings that looked like they would collapse at any time were still around, but they would collapse the moment a strong tide struck them.

The crying continued. They could not tell if the cries came from frightened children, or if they were the imitations by the wicked Ocean Demons. They ignored the wail and let it echo through the streets.

“We can easily mislead the Shark Men by using their sense of smell against them. Fortunately, we’re familiar with the Ocean Demons. We can cross over to the neighborhood smoothly,” whispered Jiang Shaoxu. He hid behind a rooftop water storage tank.

The rooftop water storage tanks were only available in old buildings. The ground was filled with sea water. It was difficult to walk on the ground. They could still move on the rooftop, at least. But Mu Bai, Zhao Manyan, Jiang Shaoxu, Song Feiyao, and Mr. Bai Mei had to move on the lower, old buildings and use the various sheds, boxes, and built shelves as covers.

The Shark Men, the Stingrays, and the Sword Fishes with special hooks were flying in the sky. They could fly in the sky as long as they created ripples around them.

Walking on top of the skyscrapers was no different from exposing themselves to the Ocean Demons.

Zhao Manyan and his group had walked through many buildings. Mu Bai cast Plant Element magic and used the steel-like rattan to connect one building to the other. By doing so, they could avoid encountering the Ocean Demons in the water while also avoiding their patrol in the sky.

However, it was extremely difficult to walk on the rattan. Even though Zhao Manyan and his group had a high level of cultivation, they moved as if they were treading on thin ice. There were too many high-level Ocean Demons in the city.

Among the Ocean Godly Horde, Servant-level Ocean Demons were hardly considered as demons. They were just snacks to the other powerful Ocean Demons.

Warrior-level Ocean Demons were basically the lowest level Ocean Demons that fought in the war. Even Commander-level Ocean Demons were considered small fries in the Ocean Godly Horde army. However, if they measured their strengths based on the humans’ overall strength, the appearance of Commander-level Ocean Demons alone in a small city was tantamount to a disaster.

“The Shark Men are heading toward the gray building. Let’s go!” Song Feiyao said while flying toward Zhao Manyan and his group in her Wind Wings.

They quickly moved. They leapt from one street to another commercial street nearby Yan’an Overpass.

The commercial street was composed of high-rise office buildings. The buildings were one or two hundred meters tall with glass curtain walls. There were commercial areas, shopping streets, important cross streets, finance plazas, etc.

Song Feiyao was a Wind Element mage, so she walked before the rest.

When they faced the Ocean Demons, they had to observe every direction. They had to be especially careful with the appearance of Ocean Demons under the muddy water.

Various garbage floated on the water, including office chairs, confetti materials, plastic boards, branches, leaves, etc. The garbage blocked their view from detecting creatures that swam under the muddy water.

Most of the cunning Ocean Demons often used black plastic film as a disguise to approach the mages, pretending as if it was just the black plastic film that floated to the mages’ side in the water. They then launched a sudden attack on the mages. They bit the mages and dragged them down into the water.

Aside from the Water and Shadow Element mages who might still stand a chance of breaking themselves free from the Ocean Demons’ grasp, the rest of the mages were killed in the water.

Song Feiyao was ahead of the others. She turned to the direction of the finance plaza, but then quickly turned back sideways. She looked troubled. Mu Bai and Zhao Manyan noticed the horror in her eyes.

Song Feiyao shook her head, signaling that they must not go in that direction. They had to skirt around that path. They skirted around a green space. Zhao Manyan was curious. He could not help himself from looking in the direction which had scared Song Feiyao. She looked so frightened.

A brown-gold office building and a deep blue skyscraper towered into the sky. There was a gap between the two buildings.

He caught sight of a serpent’s curvy tail drooping down into the water between the gap of the buildings. Its body stretched from the skyscraper all the way to the brown-gold office building dome. If it shrank slightly, it could clash with the two buildings that were over two hundred meters tall.

Zhao Manyan saw several parts of its body between the buildings. It was extremely long, and its body was covered densely with wicked scales that gave off bone-chilling coldness.

It was the Ocean Serpent Demon!

This creature used to exist in ancient literature. Humans hardly captured its true form. There were no pictures or sketches of it.

However, a living Ocean Serpent Demon appeared in the middle of the bustling big city. It patrolled the city as if it was its territory. It looked careless and lazy but radiated a terrifying aura.

It was best to skirt around that path. Zhao Manyan and his group had deliberately suppressed their breaths throughout the way.

If the Ocean Demon Serpent noticed them, they would not only fail to accomplish the important mission given, but they would also perish in the city.

“My sixth sense told me that the Ocean Serpent Demon’s aura is as imposing as the Black Totem Snake,” Zhao Manyan said in fear.

“It could possibly be more powerful than the Black Totem Snake. The Ocean Serpent Demon is rarely seen. The origin of its bloodline is not known. According to the ancient record of the cities destroyed by the Ocean Serpent Demon, it can basically make a city vanish overnight. The foreign news recently reported the sudden bloodbath of the cities along the coast. The Ocean Serpent Demon is mostly likely the main culprit,” whispered Mu Bai.

The foreign countries still had a very low alert for the crisis. They had not been able to inform the residents from the remote cities to migrate to safer places. As a result, tragedies happened. China, on the other hand, had launched the base city plan early so they had avoided many terrible catastrophes.

“The Commander-level and Ruler-level Ocean Demons are everywhere… And now, we have this powerful Ocean Demon here…” Zhao Manyan muttered.

“It’s Black Alert. Did you think they were joking when they called it Black Alert? Black Alert targets all humans, including the Forbidden Mages. Even the Forbidden Mages will get killed, let alone us,” said Mu Bai.

Chapter 2848: Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In the past, humans had a wrong impression that everything in the world worked in their favor. The truth was the world in the past had always been riddled with holes.

It was just that they were still very young and weak to understand it. So, they did not pay attention to all this. They had chosen to believe that certain things were beyond their control. Thus, creating a sense of disparity.

The same was true for Zhao Manyan. In the past, he perceived Warrior-level and Commander-level Ocean Demons to be frightening. He was young at that time. Whenever the powerful Ocean Demons appeared, he would flee. He, like the others, had naturally assumed the powerful mages from the Magic Association to take on the demons for them.

When he grew up, he realized he had to shoulder responsibilities. He had to face the crisis independently.

When a great storm came, those who hid inside cozy homes naturally did not feel the severity of the storm. What they felt from the great storm was just the tip of the iceberg. When they grew up, it was their turn to provide for their children. They encountered thunderstorms when making a living. It was only then that they realized the ugly side and hardship in this world that contradicted their original beliefs.

By then, a thought would appear in their minds. ‘Why is the world we live in so terrifying?’

In fact, the world has always been terrifying. It was just that somebody else had faced the terrifying situation to provide security and safety.

A few years ago, many Forbidden Mages died during a trip to the Extreme South. Later, a large expanse of glaciers in the Extreme South melted, and the sea level rose…

Someone had already made sacrifices for the stormy world. Some of them had succeeded, while others had failed. The successful ones were soon forgotten and lived peacefully for the rest of their lives. However, those who failed and felt threatened had to personally face the reality. They etched the lessons learned from their life experiences in their hearts forever.

‘Were Warrior-level and Commander-level Ocean Demons truly that terrifying?’

Human knowledge was limited to the dry lands, which occupied less than thirty percent of the Earth. As a result, they based their ratings on their limited knowledge. Even though dry lands occupied less than thirty percent of the Earth, humans had not fully explored all the areas. They dared not explore the dark and forbidden areas.

Humans had rated Emperor level as the highest level of all. ‘Was the statement true, though?’

If that was the case, how could the Dark King so easily manipulate the Forbidden Mage—Su Lu—and the Black Dragon Emperor. How had he turned them into his pawns? The Lord of the Plane laid his eyes on this world like a hungry wolf. What more disasters awaited humans?

The fact that they did not have a full understanding of all this did not mean that the world had been kind to them in the past.

Zhao Manyan finally understood everything. He had grown up and witnessed the true color of this world.

…

“We’re reaching the Bund!” said Jiang Shaoxu.

Huangpu River was stunning. The skyscrapers by the river enhanced the scenery, creating a beautiful landscape with the fusion of tranquility and splendor of the past. The visual impact was simply breathtaking.

However, when they noticed the blasts in the sky and the enormous and wicked Ocean Demons roaming and ravaging the city, they were stunned and speechless. They sank into despair and sorrow.

The turbulent flow of sea water flooded the avenue where people used to admire the scenery. The sight of influencers shooting for their videos and elderly couples taking evening walks were gone. Instead, everything was replaced by the Ocean Demons. They were greedy and brutal. They coveted and murdered anything that stood in their way.

At Bund bay, a wave from the tidal earth rose to the same height as the high-rise building—The Lu Family’s Mouth—and was as large as the Sky Gap buildings.

A demon’s face appeared in the middle of the towering wave. It had just shown the outline of its face from the water. However, its eyes were frightening, like a large spotlight hung in the prison used to inspect the prisoners. It cast a quick glance at the Magic City that was already trapped in its cage.

The night sky was pitch-black. However, its eyes were like an ice moon in the sky. Its bone-chilling coldness enveloped the entire Magic City and gave off an evil aura.

The Magic City sky was riddled with holes.

The main culprit that poked the sky holes was none other than the demon seen in the towering waves—The Demon Lord.

The Forbidden Curse Association had not seen its true form even today. The towering wave was just a disguise. What kind of creature was it? How did it possess such a terrifying divine ability? Was it a commander of the Ocean Godly Horde?

It was extremely powerful. Even though there were other powerful Ocean Demons around it, it did not require them to act as its backup.

The Demon Lord showed up without a sense of humility in the most prosperous area before humans. It did not stop the powerful Forbidden Mages from coming to it, as if it was waiting for humans to attack it.

And none of the humans could shake it up. Several Forbidden Mages joined forces but still could not break its towering waves to find out its true evil form. It was an act of humiliation towards the Forbidden Mages for the Demon Lord to continue standing in the middle of the humans’ sanctuary.

Forbidden Mages were like clowns who continued to perform unimpressive juggling before the Demon Lord. Although the Forbidden Mages were aware that the Demon Lord was the main culprit that caused the sky holes, they were powerless to stop it!

Hong Wu was the president of Dongfang Oriental Tower.

He was flying in mid-air. He was dressed plainly and looked like an ordinary elderly. However, at that moment, he was glowing with five different colors. His sharp gaze was full of divine majesty.

He was the leader in this battle.

In the past, they had to go through several important stages when dealing with the Emperor-level Ocean Demons.

However, at this moment, they did not have time to gauge the Demon Lord’s strength. All of them had to give their best, no matter the cost.

The Demon Lord showed up proudly. It allowed humans’ most powerful mages to approach and challenge it. Their invasion was just a game to the Demon Lord.

And the rule of this game was simple—to defeat it.

It stood there, allowing humans to try to subdue it. Still, at the end of the day, the battle was never a game.

The Demon Lord was not always so patient. It crushed humans’ confidence and turned the place into a hunting ground so that it could wreak havoc.

Meanwhile, defeating the Demon Lord was not the main reason that caused the Forbidden Mages to get so worked up and restless. It was the clear line in the night sky in the direction of Pudong that worried them the most.

The seemingly quiet horizontal line continued to draw closer and separate the night sky in the east. The upper sky turned light black while the lower sky turned pitch black.

Was the dark black shade part of the sky, or was it something else?

Even though they were far away from it, they heard a loud rumble, and the earth shook violently. The air turned suffocating.

How did the waves spread across the horizon and the towering mountain ridges?

It was approaching them.

And it drew closer…

It felt as though half of the sky was collapsing.

The reason the Demon Lord had been so willing, and patient was because it was waiting for the arrival of the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves!

Chapter 2849: Magic Disintegration

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

‘What else would the Magic City be left with if the massive waves struck the base city?’

This was the Demon Lord’s terrifying strength. There wasn’t much time left for the Magic City.

“Dean Xiao, do you have any idea about what it is? Is it a Water Element Holy Spirit or is it using Prime Waves to disguise itself?” asked President Hong Wu.

If they could not even figure out the enemy’s true form, it would be pointless to talk about defeating it.

Undoubtedly, the sky holes that poured the sea water down on the Magic City and the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves were the Demon Lord’s masterpieces.

Defeating the Demon Lord would be paramount for a chance to end the battle. Thus, the members of the Forbidden Curse Association focused their attention on it.

“It’s a disguise!” Dean Xiao said with great conviction.

“But how should we break the spell? Its Prime Waves are robust and invincible. We must remove that layer of disguise,” said President Hong Wu.

They encountered a great issue. When they cast their magic on the Demon Lord’s Prime Waves, their magic disintegrated suddenly. They had cast Fire, Lightning, and Light Element magic with incredible destructive power, but the Prime Waves disintegrated all of them into less powerful magic energy.

Just like a sword made of sand. The moment they stabbed the water with the sword, the sand dissolved within an instant.

Magic Disintegration!

It was a rare power yet the Emperor-level Ocean Demon possessed it. As a result, the Demon Lord was undefeatable despite facing various Forbidden Mages together.

“I think it is drawing our attention to it.” Dean Xiao did not provide a solution to break its Prime Waves.

The Demon Lord was so confident that it confronted all the powerful Forbidden Mages in the Magic City by itself. How could they possibly find a way to kill it?

If they did manage it somehow, would it help improve the current situation?

The sky above the Magic City was riddled with holes. The sea water flooded the entire city. The powerful Ocean Demons had killed many mages. Meanwhile, the Forbidden Mages were stuck with the Demon Lord…

“I understand what you mean. But look at the skyline above the sea. It will reach here within twenty hours. If the Demon Lord continues to stay so strong without weakening even slightly, all of us will get killed by the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves,” President Hong Wu said helplessly.

Hong Wu was in despair. Even though he was aware of the city’s chaotic situation and his peers’ suffering, he could not turn a blind eye on the Demon Lord.

The Demon Lord was as powerful as the Ocean God. Otherwise, it could not possibly cast such a powerful demonic spell.

Both the Forbidden mages and the Demon Lord were trying to catch each other’s attention.

An Ocean Demon of the Demon Lord’s level could destroy a city effortlessly.

No matter how rampant and brutal the Ocean Demons were, humans could still survive as long as they strived hard by hiding, uniting, or defending themselves.

But if the Demon Lord launched an attack, it would lead to an ultimate destruction. Everyone’s lives, cities, and homes would all come to an end.

The Dongfang Oriental Tower mages could not afford to put the entire city at such a risk.

The Forbidden Curse Association had especially sought help from Dean Xiao, hoping that as a Water Element Forbidden Mage, he could figure out a way to put an end to the Demon Lord’s Prime Waves.

The Forbidden Curse Association strongly believed that all demons were defeatable in this world. However, some of the demons were extremely skillful. Before humans figured out an effective way to kill the demons, the demons were positioned at a godly throne, and nothing could threaten them.

“It disintegrates magic particles. It understands the structure of all magic. It’s familiar with Star Orbit, Star Pattern, Star Constellation, and Star Palace. No matter how complicated a magic is, it is inseparable from its basic formula. It can be decrypted. If the magic contains many intertwines and changes…” said Dean Xiao to Hong Wu.

“Dean Xiao, we’re in great urgency. Stop talking about theoretical things. Hurry up and suggest a solution if you have one!” said the chief of the Eastern Mage—Ling Dong.

“He’s right. Even though the Demon Lord hasn’t taken the initiative to launch a direct attack on us, the sky holes and Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves could inflict severe destruction on the Magic City. We must defeat it!”

“I need help from one of my students. I need his fusion magic to decrypt the Prime Waves,” said Dean Xiao.

“Which student?” asked Ling Dong. “Mo Fan. He’s the only person who possesses fusion magic in this world,” said Dean Xiao.

“Mo Fan? Is he the same young man who helped Commander Hua in killing the Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother? He’s only a Super-level mage. How can he help us despite possessing fusion magic?” Hong Wu was puzzled.

“I’ll need his help to complete the forbidden curse with fusion magic effect. The Ocean Demons understand human civilization very well. Prime Waves target the mages to disintegrate their magic. Therefore, we have to cast a magic that they have no idea about. The magic mustn’t have a fixed formula. It must be varied,” said Dean Xiao.

“Must we use fusion magic? The Magic Association contains various kinds of magic. I am sure we can…” said Ling Dong.

“As far as I’m concerned, fusion magic is the most effective magic to overcome magic disintegration,” said Dean Xiao.

“Dean Xiao, are you absolutely sure you can decrypt the Demon Lord’s spell?” Hong Wu’s eyes lit up.

‘Completing a forbidden curse with the help of a Super-level mage?’ They had never heard of such an ability.

“We can give it a try,” said Dean Xiao.

Hong Wu was willing. Afterall, they had no choice but to try. It was far better than standing there helplessly waiting for the demons to attack. With each passing minute, thousands of mages in the Magic City were killed.

Regardless of how powerful the Demon Lord was, they must first remove its invincible armor—Prime Waves—before planning anything else.

They had sought help from many Forbidden Mages. Therefore, they might still have a chance of killing the Demon Lord. After all, they were at Dongfang Oriental Tower where most of the powerful mages were gathered.

“Shao Li, do us a favor, please,” said Hong Wu. “Find Mo Fan. Bring him here within eight hours by all means.”

Shao Li was the man with eagle wings. He was a small distance away from the battlefield. Although he was a Forbidden Mage, he could not complete a forbidden curse independently. As such, he was far from being a match for the Demon Lord.

“Noted,” replied Shao Li.

Chapter 2850: Terrifying Serpent Demon

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Everything felt eerie. It was almost as if the prey assumed that it had outrun the predator, but the predator was still sneakily observing the prey. When the prey let its guard down in relief, then the predator would lunge.

Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, Jiang Shaoxu, Song Feiyao, and Bai Mei were the preys, and the hunter was the Ocean Serpent Demon between the two buildings.

The Ocean Serpent Demon was lazy, quiet and in no hurry. It patrolled its territory with patience. Little movements didn’t escape its sight. It had discovered the five sneaky humans long ago.

It was different from the other unruly and testy sea beasts that roared and attacked the moment they saw a human.

It silently stared at the five people who thought they were smart enough to avoid its sight by weaving through the buildings below.

The group of stupid, narrow-minded humans seemed to have forgotten that noble beings did not require eyes to keep track of their surroundings.

The deep-sea cold pond scales on the Ocean Serpent Demon were sensitive to all temperature changes in its surroundings. When it opened its eyes, it could see the slow process of those flying insects flapping their wings. When it closed its eyes, it could visualize the five-kilometer radius around it as a temperature map.

The temperature of humans was too easy to identify, so these five humans fell into its trap from the start.

Boom!

As the building collapsed, glass shattered all over the floor. Some desks and chairs slid out of the broken wall in piles and fell on the street.

On the messy street, a golden diamond shield appeared around Zhao Manyan. Jiang Shaoxu and Mr. Bai Mei were within the shield as well.

The head of the Ocean Serpent Demon was still hanging above the high-rise building. Part of its body wrapped around the fallen golden brown office building, and the other part filled the wide street. Its weight cracked the asphalt road.

The golden diamond shield was Zhao Manyan’s trump card. However, his defense could only last a few minutes when facing such a terrifying ruler-level demon.

Mu Bai was in the smashed shop at the end of the street, his chest was covered in blood.

He struggled to push himself off the floor. As his body swayed, his legs and limbs trembled violently.

The trembling was not because of fear, but because of the fierce attack by the Ocean Serpent Demon. Some of his bones were already broken.

The Ocean Serpent Demon was still looking in their direction from its position above them. It looked away from Zhao Manyan’s golden diamond shield and looked at Mu Bai, who was still alive, with interest.

“Mu Bai, let’s run in different directions. We can’t all die here!” Zhao Manyan shouted urgently.

Mu Bai turned his palms. Many silkworms appeared on it. They burrowed into Mu Bai’s skin and bones and repaired his broken body.

Mu Bai could finally stand on steady feet. His limbs stopped trembling.

The ice pen and snow inkstone had rolled down into the sewer. Mu Bai wanted to summon them, but a long tail stood between Mu Bai and his magical equipment.

The ice pen and snow inkstone could not return because of its terrifying aura. Mu Bai’s ice magic would be severely affected if he did not have these two powerful magical equipment.

“You guys run. I’ll deal with it.” Mu Bai wiped off his blood.

Song Feiyao was unconscious at a distance from Mu Bai. She was the second person the Ocean Serpent Demon had attacked. She had avoided it just in time with her magic shield, but the powerful attack had sent her flying. It would take time for her to regain her consciousness.

“Are you crazy? How can you fight it alone?” Zhao Manyan shouted.

“Nothing is impossible.” Mu Bai breathed heavily.

Some strange bee holes appeared all over his body. Those bizarre Star Bugs that once appeared in the Helan Mountain Bug Valley flew out one after another and quickly formed a cloud of bugs.

These bizarre Star Bugs could absorb the power of the soul. It could weaken the powerful creature’s magic.

Mu Bai had deliberately brought some worm eggs and cultivated them in the last few days. Unfortunately, he hadn’t had enough time to cultivate more of them. If Mu Bai had a month, he could double the number of the Star Bugs. It allowed him to achieve the terrifying suppressing and weakening ability of the Bug Valley.

The bizarre Star Bugs flew. They were small, but they had a strange power of evasion. Soon, these Star Bugs were attached to the tail and body of the Ocean Serpent Demon, and their wings lit up.

The Ocean Serpent Demon tried to drive them away but failed. However, the Ocean Serpent Demon did not panic. It even found Mu Bai’s trick very funny.

After all, these Star Bugs were useless if it killed Mu Bai. The Star Bugs feed at a very slow speed. Before they could feed on it enough to weaken its power, the Ocean Serpent Demon would already have killed Mu Bai and the others.

The eyes of the Ocean Serpent Demon revealed its murderous intent. It found the humans boring and wanted to kill them all.

…

In mid-air, a winged shadow passed by very quickly.

The Ocean Serpent Demon shifted its attention to the shadow, and the scales on its whole body shrank. Its aura suddenly became frightening.

The Ocean Serpent Demon lost its cool and became angry and sensitive.

The winged man was Shaoli, who was instructed to look for the person who possessed fusion magic. He happened to pass by and saw the Ocean Serpent Demon attacking the humans.

Eagle-winged Shaoli was helpless. He had a matter of utmost importance to attend to. If he fought the Ocean Serpent Demon, he would be greatly delayed.

He had to make a choice, no matter how cruel it was. He felt sorry for the young Mages on the street.

Eagle-winged Shaoli glanced at the golden diamond shield that surrounded and protected the Mages. In the end, he chose to leave them. He swallowed the helplessness and humiliation he felt.

However, something caught his eyes and stopped him. He flew down avoiding the Ocean Serpent Demon’s attacks.

“Shaoxu, what’re you doing here?” Eagle-winged Shaoli landed in front of Zhao Manyan.

Jiang Shaoxu was stunned.

“Shaoli.” Jiang Shaoxu was so happy that she almost cried.

She had not expected to meet her cousin, Jiang Shaoli here.

“D*rn it!” Eagle-winged Shaoli was about to scold her, but the Ocean Serpent Demon was venting all its killing intent on him.

Eagle-winged Shaoli had not wanted to get involved in this fight.

This place was very close to The Bund and had many powerful Godly Hordes, which surrounded the Demon Lord. It was not a place common people would approach. Jiang Shaoli wondered why Shaoxu was here.

Chapter 2851: Sky Splitting Arrow

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Ocean Serpent Demon suddenly went mad, and its tail swung around at the buildings. Steel bars, glass, and cement all turned to powder with the force of the tail.

Eagle-winged Shaoli’s body shone with a purple brilliance, and they formed a gorgeous round shield, protecting the people on the street.

“Savage beast!” Eagle-winged Shaoli’s eyes were fierce. He pointed at the Ocean Serpent demon’s head.

Space splintered from his fingertips, as if infinite energy gathered at a point and then blasted away.

The Ocean Serpent Demon turned its head. The top of its head had fleshy horns like a coral crown. When the splintered space from Shaoli’s fingertips reached its head, the fleshy horns shattered, and blood spewed out.

The Ocean Serpent Demon screamed and panicked. It was scared of Eagle-winged Shaoli.

“Sky Splitting Arrow!”

Eagle-winged Shaoli raised a hand. Black cracks appeared in the air. These cracks were in the shape of crossbow arrows. They hung upside down under the clouds.

The Sky Splitting Arrows flew and left terrifying black scars between the clouds and the street. They all shot at the Ocean Serpent Demon.

The Ocean Serpent Demon had nowhere to hide. The Sky Splitting Arrow was a Chaos Element magic. The strong dimensional power evolving from these Chaos Element cracks could penetrate against the defenses of most scales and thick muscles. The deep-sea cold pond scales of the Ocean Serpent Demon might as well have been made of paper when facing the Chaos Element cracks.

The Ocean Serpent Demon Could not dodge. It was wounded. It bled profusely. A Sky Splitting Arrow pierced through its ass and nailed it to the wall of a dark blue building.

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

The Ocean Serpent Demon had been very difficult to fight. It had beaten them no matter how they joined their powers. However, Eagle-winged Shaoli had easily injured it within a few minutes. His every move had been damaging to the Ocean Serpent Demon!

The Ocean Serpent Demon was furious. The Star Bugs stuck to it began to work gradually. It could not regenerate its broken tail which unbalanced the Ocean Serpent Demon when it moved.

This area had many buildings. The Ocean Serpent Demon wanted to rage and rampage. However, it was afraid of the attacks of Eagle-winged Shaoli, so it could only vent its anger on the buildings where humans once lived.

The Ocean Serpent Demon began to cry. Low roars from all around them responded to its cries.

“It’s calling other companions from the Ocean Godly Horde. Let’s leave from here!” Eagle-winged Shaoli said to Jiang Shaoxu.

“Shaoli, we can’t leave. We have an important task. We need to go to the Bund,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

Mu Bai walked to them with Song Feiyao. The two of them were seriously injured, but they might still be able to get to the Bund.

“Nonsense! Do you know what’s going on at the Bund? The Forbidden Curse Association is teaming up to fight against an Ocean Godly Horde. It is even more terrifying than all the Ruler-level demons we’ve met. You guys were almost defeated when you tried fighting the Ocean Serpent Demon. What can you do there?” Eagle-winged Shaoli chided them.

“Shaoli, we’re not messing around. We found the Sacred Totem Beast. As long as we find Dean Xiao of the Pearl Institute, we can summon the Sacred Totem Beast,” Jiang Shaoxu explained.

“Forget about the Sacred Totem Beast. Don’t forget how Jiang Shaojun disappeared. Stop mentioning Sacred Totem Beast. I have an important task, so I can’t waste my time here any longer,” said Eagle-winged Shaoli angrily.

“Shaoli, why won’t you believe in Shaojun and me? The Sacred Totem Beast does exist, and we have found it! Although Shaojun died when he looked for the Sacred Totem Beast, he never regretted it. Just like him, I won’t regret it. You can continue to carry out your important task, and we will continue to walk to the Bund. We won’t stop unless we find Dean Xiao.” Jiang Shaoxu also did not want to entertain her bossy cousin any longer.

Eagle-winged Shaoli frowned.

The cry of the Ocean Serpent Demon echoed all around, and the roars of other powerful creatures responded one after another from behind the tall buildings. The roars were getting closer. They would arrive soon.

Eagle-winged Shaoli was not worried about an Ocean Serpent Demon. He could kill them. But if several Ocean Demons of the same level appeared here, he would waste valuable time fighting them.

“I came from the Bund. Dean Xiao of Pearl Institute is there. He assisted us in eliminating the magic disintegration ability of the Cold Moon Demon Lord. Dean Xiao can’t leave the Bund though. The Forbidden Curse Association needs him,” said Eagle-winged Shaoli.

Eagle-winged Shaoli looked at Jiang Shaoxu and Zhao Manyan. These two people were not students from the National Institute. Jiang Shaoxu and Mo Fan, whom he was looking for, were students from the National Institute.

“Dean Xiao needs Mo Fan’s fusion magic to help him break the magic disintegration ability of the Demon Lord. You and Mo Fan know each other. Do you know where he is? I can sense that he is in the west,” said Eagle-winged Shaoli.

“Huh? He needs Mo Fan’s assistance?” Jiang Shaoxu was confused.

“What’s going on?” asked Zhao manyan. “Can you elaborate? We know where Mo Fan is but…”

Eagle-winged Shaoli was overjoyed. He had not expected himself to be this lucky. Jiang Shaoli had a forbidden ability of the Divine Sense of Flying Bird. When he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could see everything the flying birds saw and sensed.

There were birds all over the place, so he could see many things that others could not. Although this ability was considered less powerful than others, there was no other perfect talent when one needed to find, search, hunt and peep.

That was why Eagle-winged Shaoli could easily find Dean Xiao even though he had been hiding his Water Element forbidden ability. So, it was easy for him to find someone.

He used the Divine Sense of Flying Birds to search for thousands of birds, but in the end, he only managed to capture the back of someone escaping on the plain at the east of Helan Mountain foothill from a goose migrating from the west to the east.

He had to find Mo Fan within eight hours. If Mo Fan was somewhere in a cave or a building or any other mysterious realm, it would be difficult to get a hold of his location.

Chapter 2852: Magic City’s Choice

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was not very difficult to find someone especially if they weren’t disguising themselves. However, time was of the essence.

Eagle-winged Shaoli was too anxious. He had very little time and did not want to waste it arguing with Shaoxu. He had to find Mo Fan.

Eagle-winged Shaoli let out a sigh of relief when he found out Mo Fan’s whereabouts.

With his speed, he could bring Mo Fan back within eight hours. He could call many spirit birds and beasts to assist him with the Divine Sense of Flying Bird. He could save a lot of time if he talked to some strong spirit birds and beasts to bring Mo Fan to the east to meet him.

“I’ll take you guys to a safer place first. Make sure you protect yourselves. I must find Mo Fan and bring him to the Bund now,” said Eagle-winged Shaoli.

Several vicious and powerful ruler-level demons had been trampling on the neighborhood, ruining the prosperous city. The demons had hidden in another block.

“Shaoli, that’s not the point.” Jiang Shaoxu hurriedly stopped him.

“What do you mean? I must take Mo Fan to the Bund within eight hours. President Hong Wu, Chief, Fire God, and Dean Xiao are all waiting for me. Is there anything more important than dealing with the Demon Lord who is about to drown Magic Base City?” Eagle-winged Shaoli said sternly.

They exchanged glances. ‘What’s going on?’

They were in urgent need of Dean Xiao. Only his Forbidden Water Element magic could incite a heavy rain across several provinces and revive all the Ancient Great Walls to awaken the Sacred Totem Beast.

However, the Forbidden Curse Association needed Mo Fan’s fusion magic to break the strange and powerful ability of magic disintegration. In any case, Mo Fan must be brought to the battlefield of the Bund of Magic City within eight hours!

Eagle-winged Shaoli listened to Jiang Shaoxu’s explanation, and he was troubled.

“Maybe we should consider the greater good,” Mr. Bai Mei said tentatively.

Eagle-winged Shaoli, Jiang Shaoxu, Mu Bai, Zhao Manyan, and Song Feiyao all nodded.

“Let Mo Fan come to the Bund,” said Eagle-winged Shaoli.

“Let us take Dean Xiao away,” said Jiang Shaoxu at the same time.

Everyone fell silent. Both had different perspectives and plans. It meant that there was a serious clash of opinion between the Forbidden Curse Association and the Sacred Totem Beast exploration team.

The Forbidden Curse Association would not let Dean Xiao leave. After all, the importance of a Water Element Mage who could complete the forbidden magic independently in Magic City surpassed that of several Forbidden Mages of other elements.

On the other hand, they were convinced that the Sacred Totem Beast existed and lived in China. The Sacred Totem Beast would appear again if only it rained with the Underground Holy Spring essence.

The strength and power of the Sacred Totem Beast could turn the tables on the current situation.

“You guys should obey the Forbidden Curse Association,” said Eagle-winged Shaoli solemnly.

If the two sides disagreed, it would only continue to waste time.

Regardless of who held the authority, the Mages should obey orders especially in a time of crisis. So, considering that, they needed to deal with the Cold Moon Demon Lord first. After all, it had pierced through the sky, resulting in countless cold waterfalls. It had even summoned the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves.

Magic Base City was in peril. Even if the Sacred Totem Beast existed, they could find it after dealing with the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

“Shaoli, it’s useless to discuss this here. Let us meet the president and Dean Xiao so they can make a choice,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

Eagle-winged Shaoli nodded. It was not something they could decide here.

“I’ll take you guys there now but be careful not to come into the sight of the Demon Lord,” said Eagle-winged Shaoli.

…

He took them towards the Bund. The Prime Waves were still standing, and they almost surpassed the landmarks of Magic City.

There was a vague outline of a face made of water. It looked cold and evil.

The Demon Lord was still calm and indifferent. It did not even bother to take action against the Forbidden Mages. It was more like a ruler standing on a higher plane and watching the weak and stupid species spend all their time trying to break through the labyrinth cage set by it.

“President!” Eagle-winged Shaoli arrived, but he did not dare to move closer with the fear of appearing in the line of sight of the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

“Why haven’t you looked for Mo Fan yet? When did you become such a reckless guy?” President Hong Wu said angrily.

“I must discuss this matter with you and Dean Xiao.”

“There’s nothing to discuss. Go and find Mo Fan now!” Hong Wu was furious. What they wanted now was action instead of futile discussions.

“President, let’s listen to him. We can’t rush it,” said Dean Xiao.

Dean Xiao saw Mr. Bai Mei, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, and Song Feiyao.

Dean Xiao remembered that Mo Fan had sent him a video of them riding the Green East Sea God before he went to search for the Sacred Totem Beasts. Only Mo Fan was missing from this group at the moment.

Dean Xiao knew exactly what kind of a person Mo Fan was. There must be an important reason if he did not make it back.

Eagle-winged Shaoli reported the matter of Sacred Totem Beast to the president and Dean Xiao.

After listening to him, Dean Xiao went silent.

However, President Hong Wu was enraged. “What a fool! Ancient sacred relics are indeed important, but the base city is about to go extinct. Is there a need to make a choice? Bring Mo Fan over now. Tie him up if you have to do so!”

“President,” said Dean Xiao.

“Dean Xiao, you don’t have to try to persuade me. I know your students did it for Magic City and all of us, but it is clear which is more important. Besides, all traces of Sacred Totem Beast are just guesses. As the president of the Magic Association, I can’t make such a hasty and unrealistic decision,” said President Hong Wu.

“President, I think you have misunderstood. It is not your choice or Mo Fan’s choice that matters, but mine,” Dean Xiao calmly said to President Hong Wu.

President Hong Wu was stunned. “What is your choice?”

“I’ll go and make the rain to awaken the Sacred Totem Beast,” Dean Xiao answered.

“Dean Xiao!” President Hong Wu could not believe his ears. “You would rather believe your students than the Forbidden Curse Association?”

“No, I don’t trust any of you. I only trust my own judgment.” Dean Xiao shook his head. Finally, he pointed his finger at the evil and extremely powerful Cold Moon Demon Lord. “That is deliberately wasting the time of Forbidden Mages.”

Chapter 2853: Waiting for The Sacred Totem Beast

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

President Hong Wu looked stunned.

He never thought that Dean Xiao would say such a thing. He could ask Mo Fan to cooperate with the Forbidden Curse Association, even order him as the president. But he could not force Dean Xao to obey him.

In terms of strength, Hong Wu was stronger than Dean Xiao. However, Water Elements Mages could defuse and suppress the power of Ocean Demons far more easily. When the Ocean Demons fought with Water Elements Mages, they were not much different from the demons on the land. It was very crucial in the fight against the Ocean Demons.

“Dean Xiao, please think once again. Their plans for Sacred Totem Beast are just mere guesses. The most important thing right now is to fill the gap in the sky above Magic City and the incoming Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves. The Forbidden Curse Association swears by our souls that the Demon Lord will do all these things. If we defeat it, it will ease the current situation in Magic City!” said Hong Wu earnestly.

Several Forbidden Mages were fighting with the Cold Moon Demon Lord, and the situation on their side was not optimistic. Even if they had not thought of a way to defeat the Demon Lord, the mere presence of Dean Xiao, a Water Element Forbidden Mage, could reduce the pressure and offer some morale to the Forbidden Curse Association.

Regardless of whether Dean Xiao could deal with the Prime Waves or not, his presence here was of utmost importance. He could not let Dean Xiao leave.

“We also know nothing about this creature. Even if we can solve the threat of the Prime Waves, can we conquer the Demon Lord? It stands there so fearlessly, almost unbothered by everything. How do we ensure that a more terrifying Ocean Demon won’t appear after we solve the problem of the Prime Waves?” Dean Xiao asked.

Since everything was uncertain at this time, no decision was perfect.

Although it was the Forbidden Curse Association’s decision, it did not necessarily represent the solution. Dean Xiao knew very well that the Totems had once expelled the Ocean Godly Horde. If they could awaken them, they might be able to change the current situation in the Magic City!

As a Mage, Dean Xiao believed that the Sacred Totem Beast was important in such a desperate situation.

“Dean Xiao!” Hong Wu raised his tone, and his face darkened. “This matter is related to the survival of Magic City, and your choice is particularly important. No matter how things turn out, the Forbidden Curse Association will stand by you if you choose to stay. However, if you leave and Magic City falls, you and your students will be considered traitors in the future. I beg you to think about that!”

“President Hong, all Mages are responsible for the destruction of Magic City. Our neglect, and inattentiveness have led to today’s catastrophe. However, I have nothing to say even if you choose to place the entire blame on me and my students. When a crisis and catastrophe emerges, the first thing you do is not reflect but find a person or a group to take responsibility for this matter and become the target of everyone’s anger. It is the ignorance of thought and the retrogression of civilization, and there is no cure for this!” Dean Xiao was unmoved by President Hong Wu’s attitude and retorted fiercely.

“Very well. Dean Xiao, I’m looking forward to the Sacred Totem Beast. Along with the lives of millions that will be lost in the Magic City, the unimaginable wreckage and an ocean full of human blood, I will wait here for your Sacred Totem Beast!” Hong Wu said coldly. His bloodshot eyes showed his anger and despair.

He cared about Magic City. So did Dean Xiao.

Those families, who were hugging each other and crying silently in the shattered house, were all waiting for the Mages they revered and respected to eliminate the wandering Ocean Demons and find a solution to remove the Black Alert.

However, when two people with the same goal had a major clash, they became indifferent towards the common enemy.

Dean Xiao could not say that his way was the right way. No one knew the results when facing the unknown. He just followed his heart.

“Shaoli, send them away.” Hong Wu was expressionless, and his tone was cold.

Dean Xiao bowed and turned to leave. Regardless of the outcome, Hong Wu’s generosity on the edge of despair deserved Dean Xiao’s salute.

However, Dean Xiao had become insignificant to Hong Wu.

…

Everyone left with the Green East Sea God.

Magic City became smaller and smaller as they flew further. They were lucky to survive and leave the Magic City at this time. But how many would be as lucky as them?

This place was also their home. Although they were outnumbered, everyone was fighting for their world against those Ocean Demons in their own way.

The Green East Sea God flapped its wings and increased its speed.

Finally, Magic City disappeared from their sights. However, Dean Xiao, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, Jiang Shaoxu, Song Feiyao, Eagle-winged Shaoli, and Mr. Bai Mei looked on with heavy hearts.

In Magic City, they felt at ease for some reason. But once they left Magic City, They felt sad and guilty.

What should they do to save Magic City from this disaster?

Those evil Ocean Demons did not slaughter ordinary humans but chose to kill the Mages first. It meant that their failure would be the beginning of a disaster. What kind of torture and humiliation would those powerless people face in the city at the hands of the Ocean Demons?

“Can we do anything to help?” Mr. Bai Mei asked in a daze.

No one could answer.

“At least we didn’t pin all our hopes on the Forbidden Curse Association, which is stronger and more authoritative than us. We are doing what we feel is right,” said Dean Xiao.

“Can the Sacred Totem Beast really save us? Aren’t we pinning all our hopes on it?” said Eagle-winged Shaoli.

At this point, it was pointless to argue.

“We’re too weak. Under the cruel survival law, we’re nothing but food for other races. Magic can never stop advancing,” said Dean Xiao.

“I finally understand why Mo Fan wanted to attack Asian Magic Association and kill Su Lu,” Mu Bai suddenly said.

Dean Xiao nodded. He knew what Mu Bai meant.

Many people felt that Mo Fan acted impulsively, and he was often reckless. But Mo Fan and the others were not looking at things the same way.

If no one stood up for certain things in life, it would continue unquestioned.

Chapter 2854: Make It Rain!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The vast territory was covered with beautiful mountains and rivers.

The Green East Sea God flew at a high altitude and overlooked the land of China. They could see the Ancient Great Wall guarding the land of Northern Xinjiang.

At the beginning of magical civilization, the monsters in Northern Xinjiang were the biggest threat to this land. People had experienced the same disaster and pain at that time.

Every period had its disaster and would endure the test of survival.

As the leader of the 20,000 km coastline, Chairman Shao Zheng had been transferred to the west. His transfer was to prepare for the counterattack in the future.

Even if the coast had been defeated, there was still a vast and boundless land. As long as they struggled and endured, they would survive.

After passing through various provinces, they saw the vast and magnificent mountains and plains. The heaviness in their hearts slightly abated.

They were focused on the important things that needed to be done.

“Dean Xiao, my Water Buddha Beads can make it rain heavily. However, there is not enough water in these provinces, so I need your skill as a Forbidden Mage to dispatch enough Water Element for me,” Zhao Manyan said to Dean Xiao.

“I understand. It’s not easy to make it rain heavily on millions of square kilometers. Are you confident you can do it?” Dean Xiao asked.

“Absolutely!” Zhao Manyan nodded earnestly.

…

Mo Fan had been waiting at Beiguan town for a long time. When he saw the Green East Sea God in the sky, his face changed.

When he saw that Dean Xiao was on the back of Green East Sea God, he could not hide his joy.

Mo Fan knew very well how difficult it might have been to pull Dean Xiao away from Magic City, but he was here!

Everything was ready! It was not too late.

“Are you guys all right?” Mo Fan glanced at Mu Bai, Zhao Manyan, and Song Feiyao.

All three looked disheveled and injured. They looked pale. They probably needed time to recover and recuperate.

Everyone shook their heads.

“Let’s start now. The situation in Magic City…” Mu Bai could not complete his sentence.

They needed to go to Magic City in person to be able to know the state it was in.

“Okay, let’s get started. Manyan and I will make it rain, and you guys summon it.” Dean Xiao did not want to waste a second more.

Mo Fan took out the Underground Holy Spring and gave it to Zhao Manyan and Dean Xiao.

Dean Xiao stood on the tower of Beiguan Town in his long robe. His hands slowly stretched out, and there were traces of blue water vapors on his fingertips. When his fingers moved, the water vapors followed the movement.

These water vapors were composed of blue crystals. They were not completely liquid. Every crystal was clear and bright, and contained powerful Water Element energy.

Beiguan Town had a vast land and sky. When the weather was clear, the sky would connect to the ground, presenting a long, soothing arc.

Dean Xiao slowly raised his hands to the top of his head and blue crystals flew up.

These blue water crystals were as fine as sand. At first, they were only scattered over a few kilometers in Beiguan Town. When Dean Xiao whispered, these blue water crystals multiplied at rapid speed.

After a while, blue water crystals surrounded the whole world. These countless blue water crystals were like ice. Each of the water crystals floated individually. The distance between each of them was the same.

Mo Fan and the others watched this incredible scene in Beiguan Town. They were in awe.

Many powerful Mages could shroud the world with magic. However, no one could cover dozens of kilometers of the area with magic particles like Dean Xiao. He was indeed a Forbidden Mage!

Mo Fan watched Dean Xiao manipulate millions of blue water crystals and use them to collide, arrange, absorb and gather. Finally, these water crystals made the windy and dry plain in Beiguan Town completely humid and immersed it in the suspended water crystals.

“Go!”

Dean Xiao raised his hands, and millions of crystals containing water energy were propelled with a strong flying force. The water crystals slanted and flew higher and further in the sky.

The blue water crystals left beautiful blue lines over the land of Northern Xinjiang. These lines were like the mysterious blue meteor shower that bloomed in the depths of the universe. It was exquisite and incredible and enthralled everyone who saw it.

All the water crystals dissipated and scattered in the sky for tens and thousands of kilometers. Some dark clouds appeared in the clear sky. The clouds were very high, and their numbers were increasing. They soon covered millions of kilometers of land.

“How it turns into rain is up to you,” Dean Xiao said to Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan nodded. He held the Water Buddha Beads tightly and concentrated.

The Water Buddha Beads had a strong ability to control water and a capacity to cause natural disasters if not regulated. It would gather a large amount of cloud and moisture in a certain area. This extreme ability often only brought terrible disasters to lands, such as typhoons, rainstorms, hail, and snowstorms.

“Wind!

“Cloud!

“Rain!”

Zhao Manyan threw the Water Buddha Beads high into the sky of Beiguan Town, and the Water Buddha Beads hovered at the highest point. Layers of watermarks emerged like ancient inscriptions. Each of them was extremely huge!

When the strong wind hit, the temperature across the entire plain changed, and the airflow was affected. The air current swept the earth.

The clouds tumbled rapidly with the changes in the airflow. At first, they stopped in the sky. Then, they moved toward the land. The thick clouds were like a long black cloth. The central and northern parts of China were sunny, with the warm sunlight shining on the earth. But in just a short period, the whole situation changed!

A few bean-sized raindrops fell, hitting the stone ground with a crisp splatter.

Suddenly, the rain came down heavily, and the sound increased. Rain instantly shrouded Beiguan Town!

In the past, most of the rain in Beiguan Town was always turbid. The rain was mixed with the flying sand and dust. It became cleaner only after raining for a while.

But this time, the rain was clear. It took on a blue color that felt cleansing.

Blue rain.

Beiguan Town had never had blue rain.

Chapter 2855: Flying Pattern

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The entire Northern Xinjiang was like a brown world. The Great Wall, the towers, the beacon, and the trenches gradually revealed their original appearance as the blue rain washed over them. It was quiet and tranquil.

At Yan Men City of Shanxi, the geese flew from the south to the north in the rain.

After the rain soaked their feathers, it was difficult for them to travel long distances. The flock of geese landed at a mountain in Yan Men City. They stood quietly on the ancient pine trees and stared at Yan Men City.

The rain washed away the dust in Yan Men City and revealed its glory. It had high walls and was entrenched on the ridges.

Yan Men City had lived through many weathers before, but never through blur rain. The essence of the blue rain had penetrated the ancient wall. The Ancient City Wall composed of soil, stones, and rock glowed with a mysterious luster. It looked studier than metals and contained more energy than magic stones!

Suddenly, the geese resting and avoiding the rain were startled by a sound from the mountain. The geese and other birds near the city flew away.

They did not know what was going on and only knew that such a violent noise meant that there was a predator around.

Nothing appeared. It looked like the mountains trembled as the wall of Yan Men City rose and moved.

…

Gansu of Jiayu City was once the most important and prosperous pass on the Silk Road. It was built with loess and bricks. The building was painted red and stood under the mountains. The structure was so magnificent and protected that enemies could never break in.

When the blue rain came, Jiayu City did not change much. The color of its walls and the eaves of its buildings had not changed at all.

People only saw a majestic figure standing on the city tower in the rain. It evoked the soul of the Great Wall, which was the guardian of China for centuries.

This soul awakened and was staring at the blue rain and the sky.

Finally, the quiet city began to shake like Yan Men City.

“J-Jiayu City has come to life!” some people exclaimed.

The city wall and tower rose up and became an ancient giant composed of loess, bricks, and towers. This ancient giant moved and flew toward the sky in the blue rain.

…

Each piece of soil near the historical Ancient Capital was covered with ancient rubble, and each piece of rubble had its own story to tell. Some stories had been passed down to this day and some had long been forgotten.

It did not take long for the blue rain to fall here. The small rubbles was mixed with the mud and soil of the ancient wall, and they glowed golden.

As the blue rain fell, the things guarded by people, put into the museum, and buried under the ground broke through the soil like flower buds.

People of the Ancient Capital were startled. The catastrophe in the past was caused by turbid rain, which triggered a riot of the Undead. The earth was restless again when the blue rain appeared.

However, they did not expect to see blue bricks, rock fragments, and special structured clay emerged from the soil.

It was raining, and the rubble kept flying to the sky.

The rain fell, and countless rubble flew. The two formed an incredible scene inside and outside the Ancient Capital. Such a scene was unexplainable, and it shocked everyone.

1

…

The maple leaves were all over the mountains and plains, the ancient roads were long, and the blue rain fell heavily.

The Great Wall was built in Badaling during the Warring States Period. After the Qin and Ming Dynasties, it had become the most spectacular cultural relic.

A majestic and dangerous juncture and tower were on the top of the mountain.

This blue rain also appeared on the Great Wall Ridge in the capital. The Ancient Great Wall Ridge stood above the mountains, as if it was about to touch the sky. Someone once drew a picture of the Great Wall on the clouds. However, he never expected it would fly up one day.

The rain constantly awakened every part of the Ancient Great Wall Ridge in the capital.

It rose from the ground and soared above the clouds. No one would have thought such a majestic and ancient building would come to life.

…

The blue rain did not last long. The magnificent Beiguan Town wassuspended in the sky.

Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and others still remembered the shocking picture of the Ancient City Wall rising from the ground and forming the Shield of China. However, Beiguan Town did not do that. Instead, it broke away from the loess and flew toward the sky!

After the blue rain, the sky was clear like a pure crystal mirror. The dust, yellow sand, clouds, and mists were all gone. Beiguan Town was suspended in the air. When people looked from the ground, it was just as bright as the scorching sun.

Mo Fan and the others were all on the tower of Beiguan Town. Everyone looked at Bin Wei, the watchman of the Ancient Great Wall, with a confused look.

“Floating Pattern?” Bin Wei was also shocked. As an ancient inheritor, she had never heard of Beiguan Town and other Ancient City Walls having such a power.

Bin Wei only knew the Royal Sky Pattern.

The ancient spell that Mo Fan brought from the Deadly Bridge should be the Sacred Soldier Pattern. It should be able to turn the Ancient City Wall into an invincible ancient sacred weapon like Sky Observing City.

However, this was completely different from what they expected.

Beiguan Town floated into the air. Several other Great Walls with beacons were also floating in the air.

The sky was clear. On the top of the tower of Beiguan City, everyone could see from a distance that several other city walls that once displayed the Royal Sky Pattern were also in the air like a long fortress.

Dean Xiao could not believe his eyes and could not explain the current phenomenon.

There was no ancient sacred soldier. There were only some Ancient City Walls floating in the air.

“Oh my God! Yan Men City, Jiayu City, Juyong City, the Ancient City Wall, and several other Ancient Great Walls are all floating in the air! They are floating in the air!” Zhao Manyan exclaimed.

Chapter 2856: National Beast of China

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan grabbed Zhao Manyan’s phone and watched the video clip that had circulated on the internet.

In the video, he saw the mythical phenomenon that spanned all over the country. The majestic Ancient Great Walls of thousand meters broke free from their original place on the mountains and soared into the sky. They floated above the land, just like Beiguan Tower!

“Mo Fan, fly to the space above the sky and take a look from there!” Lingling shouted.

“Okay. But even if I reach the space above the sky, I doubt I’ll see the reappearance of the mythical phenomena,” said Mo Fan.

“We may have succeeded, but how do we transfer them from here?” Lingling was engrossed in her thoughts one moment and excited the next.

“This is an ancient spell. I can sense the aura of a Forbidden Curse.” Dean Xiao stared at the sections of the floating great walls.

The majestic Great Walls floated at the same height. After they broke free of the land, they flew to the sky and hovered there. They cast enormous shadows on the land below. The people on Earth were so awed that they started worshiping them.

…

Mo Fan flew into the sky. He looked down and saw the central plains of China. The area within his sight was limited because China was just too big.

Mo Fan paid close attention to the segments that came from various important cities. He was shocked to find that the Great Walls floating in the sky were not just the existing Great Walls, but also many other ruins of the Great Walls that had not been recorded in the present era.

The ruins were buried underground in the past. Their fragments had blended into the soil, but the blue rain had summoned them into the air.

The Ancient Capital was at the top of the wall. Countless rubble, soil, stones, and rocks coiled up in the sky above the capital. They formed a gigantic skull with two horns. The skull was completely made up of soil and stones. It stood with an air of divinity in the middle of the sky.

The segments of the Ancient Great Walls from other areas were composed of beacon towers, stone towers, and walls. But, when Mo Fan looked down from the space above the sky, the segments connected and formed a long body that covered the central plains of China!

He looked further to the east and saw a tail.

The tail resembled a snake’s tail. It looked very similar to that of the Black Totem Snake!

1

As the Ancient Great Walls connected to one another, he noticed the horns of the Divine Deer, the face of the White Tiger, the body of the Black Snake, and the claws of the Green East Sea God…

‘No! This was not the Black Totem Snake. This was the Great Serpent on the Cloud! This was the sacred totem beast!’

Buzz!

Mo Fan was astounded when he was greeted by such a phenomenon. The pendant on his chest vibrated.

Usually, Little Loach remained as a black creature with no luster. It would only glow slightly when it advanced to the next level.

At that moment though, Little Loach turned dark green. It floated before Mo Fan and slowly uncoiled itself.

It was the Ancient Great Walls’ companion vessel. It was the symbol of the sacred totem Azure Dragon. It was a part of the sacred totem beast.

Mo Fan’s eyes were teary.

“You’re the one they speak of, right?” Mo Fan asked while staring at the floating Little Loach before him. “The Underground Holy Spring and the sleeping Ancient Capital have been waiting for you instead of me.”

Little Loach did not answer him. It could not answer him, after all.

“This is the reason why I can absorb the totem beast’s power.” Mo Fan marveled at this fact.

There were signs everywhere. All of the answers had been right in front of him. Still, he had to take one step at a time in this arduous journey to find the totem beasts.

Mo Fan finally understood everything. The reason Little Loach accompanied him was because Mo Fan was the one destined to complete and protect it. Everyone could own Little Loach, but not everyone could awaken it.

“Since you’re awake, let’s go to the Magic City now!” said Mo Fan to Little Loach.

This time, Little Loach did not return to Mo Fan’s chest. It broke free of the necklace and slowly implanted itself on his forehead.

Little Loach gradually fused with Mo Fan and formed a visible dark green seal. The seal was the scar of the sacred totem beast. It glowed as bright as the sun or the moon. Mo Fan stood suspended in the sky like a God. He glowed in green with splendor.

Green light spread on the lands of China and rested on the segments of the spectacular and divine Ancient Great Walls.

Boom!

The floating pieces began to move. They rolled up like monstrous waves and sailed like an enormous ship towards Mo Fan.

The horns and skull were of the Ancient Capital. The body and torso were of the Yan Men City. And its tail was of the Emperor Qin’s Island.

…

The Ancient Great Walls gathered together and gradually formed a gigantic green dragon. The green dragon floated in the endless Milky Way across the universe.

The Ancient Great Walls that had risen from the ground to stop Khufu’s Undead army in the past had been just a part of the green dragon’s chest.

The historic city walls and buildings from the Ancient Capital as well as the debris and tombs buried underground across the lands were the green dragon’s flesh and blood.

The unknown ruins were buried under the vast land of China. After the ruins were summoned, they flew to midair and fused to make the green dragon’s muscles and scales.

The giant shadow of Yan Men City was one of the green dragon’s claws.

The majestic long walls of the Imperial City formed the green dragon’s bones!

Si Matai, Green Mountain City, Arrow Buckle Great Wall, Tiger Mountain, and Jiu Meng Gate from the east eventually formed a part of the green dragon and joined with the Emperor Qin Island’s segment.

Mo Fan felt shocked and awed at the sight before him. Mo Fan had navigated the country’s great rivers and mountains. He had set foot in numerous famous historical sites. He had either stood guard or explored these places. He had been to many places overseas such as Egypt, Arabia, Italy, and Greece. These places had their own ancient civilizations with great national beasts recorded in their literature.

Mo Fan used to wonder what China’s national beast would be like. And he finally had the answer to that question.

This was China’s national beast!

It had been sleeping in various places and mountains. It had been guarding China’s great lands. It was the country’s true national beast—Azure Dragon!

Roar!

The Azure Dragon’s roar echoed like thunderbolts. Its roars transmitted from the western land to the eastern coast. Its roars sent shock waves across the lands.

He saw green lightning in the sky. The lightning covered the space above the sky and gradually spread all around. For a moment, people from every province witnessed the miracle.

The Azure Dragon was far in the space above the sky. Even so, people on Earth saw its magnificent body. After all, it was made up of the Ancient Great Walls.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan stood on the Azure Dragon’s horn. He turned around and saw the Azure Dragon’s seemingly endless body in the vast blue sky.

Faith and hope sprouted in his heart. Mo Fan said to the awakened National Beast, “Let’s go to the Magic City!”

Chapter 2857: The Country’s Guardian—The Sacred Dragon

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Azure Dragon traveled in the space above the sky. Mo Fan could easily reach the stars. The Azure Dragon’s magnificent shadow was cast in the vast lands of China.

The Azure Dragon flew between heaven and earth. It flew across the sky and mountains. Even the glory of the sun and moon paled in comparison to its glow.

Mo Fan stood between the Azure Dragon’s horns. They passed by the central plains. The intersection between the horizon and the skyline was visible. Pieces of the awakened Ancient Great Wall flew toward the Azure Dragon to complete its scales, horns, claws, etc.

The sacred totem Azure Dragon grew increasingly majestic. It flew above China like an ancient godly ruler patrolling the earth where its people lived.

The ancient rocks and the engraved statues made up of the sacred rocks that had been sprinkled with the Underground Holy Spring seemed to have waited for the arrival of this day. They had waited for the summoning from heaven. The Azure Dragon’s roars awakened their imperishable souls!

The Ancient Great Walls were made from generations of wisdom, blood, sweat, and tears. Disasters and wars could destroy humans because they were made of flesh and blood, but they could never destroy the brave souls that had blended into the mountains and streams.

The Ancient Great Walls segments contributed to the sacred totem Azure Dragon’s scales, flesh, blood, bones, and horns. The Azure Dragon flew in the sky. Every single piece of the rubble that made up the Azure Dragon contained its own glorious and depressing story. The rubbles was what made the Azure Dragon glow with such splendor. They bestowed the Azure Dragon with infinite power.

The Azure Dragon flew past the Yellow River and to the Chang River.

It continued to move along the Chang River and drew closer to the Magic City. The sky above the Magic City was totally different from the clear sky in the west. The Magic City was enveloped in darkness, as if the devilish creatures were devouring the city whole. Icy cold sea water continued to pour onto the city.

The city was in turmoil. Ocean Demons were all over the streets. Even though Mo Fan had watched these sights in various clips on the internet, his eyes turned red with anger at the Magic City’s deplorable state.

Jing An was a place he was very familiar with. It was where the Pearl Institute was located.

Jing An had turned into a white nest. Mo fan saw many humans trapped upside down in chrysalises. They were hung on both sides of the buildings as well as on the trees. The buildings and trees were densely packed with human chrysalises. They were barely alive.

They could not break free from the chrysalises. They had no choice but to endure the humiliation and hang in the middle of bone-chilling coldness and rainstorms. They felt hopeless.

The terrifying Shark Men and Hunter Dirty Demons had made Xu Hui City their hunting grounds. Citizens were enslaved and trapped inside the buildings. The Shark Men and Hunter Dirty Demons brutally killed the Mages. Even the powerless, newly awakened trainee Mages were not spared.

Treasure Mountain had turned into an ocean. More than half of the city was soaked in sea water.

The sea water was red. The floating corpses in the water made one sick. The Ocean Demons had revealed their true brutal nature. They slaughtered all living things in their path. They enjoyed showing off their Ocean Godly Horde’s power. They enjoyed smelling the blood from other hordes. On top of that, they enjoyed watching humans sink into despair.

Mo Fan caught sight of several glowing figures.

Many people longed for a little hope. Today, the Magic City could no longer protect them and granted them the hope that they needed. Still, these people struggled to hold on to their beliefs.

The Ocean Demons were far stronger than the humans. The number of Ocean Demons outnumbered humans. If the humans could not even find the faintest magical glow within the Magic City, it was evident that the city would soon be completely destroyed.

Mo Fan noticed a swarm of terrifying silvery white creatures in the direction of Pudong. These creatures had replaced the murky sea water and were striking the Huangpu River’s northwest bank in waves. The endless number of Salamanders and Shell Demons collapsed the buildings, robust fortress and the defense lines the moment they reached that area. They razed the city streets to the ground without mercy.

Meanwhile, the Ocean Demon Serpent continued to patrol around the skyscrapers. And the Chief Shark rampaged between the overpasses.

The traffic was a tumbling torrent. The Shark Men chased after the Mages in the middle of the waves.

A pile of ruins towered in the middle of the largest city. The ruins were made up of countless residential buildings, commercial buildings, and office buildings. As a result, the mountain of ruins could be seen from more than a dozen kilometers away.

The Demon King illuminated in bluish golden shell armor prostrated on top of the ruins. It squinted its eyes. Its two unusually thick and flexible whiskers swung actively like two ancient white snakes.

The Demon King opened its eyes. It moved its neck. It seemed to have smelled an imposing aura that came from the space above the sky. The flesh on its neck opened, revealing layers of colorful poisonous horns that resembled whiskers. For a moment, the poisonous horns looked like a sea of gorgeous corals.

However, those were not corals. Touching them would mean instant death. This was the Demon King’s fatal weapon.

The Multicolored Demon King stared begrudgingly at the sky. Unbeknownst to all of them, the sea water stopped pouring from the sky. The sky above the city had turned dark.

A majestic silhouette slowly revealed itself from the misty clouds. The sky was riddled with holes, and the water poured down through them. The pouring revealed a part of the Azure Dragon’s magnificent green body. It hid a large part of its body in the mists. It coiled in the space above the clouds.

1

…

A claw appeared from the clouds. The Multicolored Demon King became alert and screamed in panic before attempting to flee from the ruins.

However, the Azure Dragon had targeted the Multicolored Demon King with its claw. Its claw was comparable to that of the mountain of ruins. It grabbed the Multicolored Demon King and carried it above the clouds.

The Multicolored Demon King screamed miserably in the sky. It frantically shot its poisonous horns from its neck. The poisonous horns expanded in the sky and formed a forest of corals.

The corals were sharp and poisonous. They darted toward the clouds. Yet the mighty claw remained unharmed as it continued carrying the Multicolored Demon King above the clouds.

The Magic City was crowded with Ocean Demons. The Multicolored Demon King was protected by countless Ocean Demon chiefs. The Ocean Demon chiefs alone could dominate the city, let alone the Multicolored Demon King!

However, the unbeatable Multicolored Demon King was taken into the clouds by a mysterious creature, like a chick in an eagle’s talon.

The sky was dark. It was so dark as if the sky above the Magic City was entirely covered with a cloth. Glimpses of light shone on the creature’s body through the gaps.

Chapter 2858: The Two Greatest Emperor-level Demon Kings

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Squawk!

The Ocean Serpent Demon groaned. It had lost one of its horns, so it grew increasingly violent. It attacked every creature regardless of whether they were Mages or its own disagreeable kind.

The icy cold, elegant, and calm queen—Ocean Serpent Demon—had turned into a brutal, bloodthirsty, and crazy monster.

When the Ocean Demon chiefs and ruler-level Ocean Demons saw the Multicolored Demon King lifted up into the sky, they became fearful. They were so scared that they buried their heads under the city. Even the Hunter Dirty Demons burrowed into the underground sewers.

All of them tried to flee, except the Ocean Serpent Demon. Its head was covered with blood, and it frantically searched for the main culprit who had attacked it. It bit whatever came into its path.

The silhouette in the sky became the Ocean Serpent Demon’s target.

The Ocean Serpent Demon roared before spreading itself and swimming upstream along the transparent waterfall to confront the mysterious creature above the clouds.

The Multicolored Demon King was touched to learn that the Ocean Serpent Demon was so kind enough to lend its helping hand without caring much about others.

Little did it know that the Ocean Serpent Demon’s horn was its sensory hub. It could sense heat and danger through its scales. In fact, the Ocean Serpent Demon’s regulation of temperament came from its special horn.

Without its horn, it would turn mad and insane. It could not identify its enemies and allies.

The Ocean Serpent Demon swam upstream into the sky. It reached below the mysterious dark creature.

Just then, the mists dissipated. A green and huge abdomen was revealed. The abdomen was several thousand meters long and coiled up multiple rounds in the clouds. They could not see the rest of its body, as if the rest of its body spanned the other end of the sky.

The Ocean Serpent Demon was enormous. It could coil up around high-rise buildings. Its height was around five or six hundred meters. It was considered a gigantic figure in this international and prosperous city.

However, when the Ocean Serpent Demon was at the same height as the creature in the sky, it looked nothing more than a roach in the mud. Meanwhile, the green creature looked as magnificent as ever, like a holy mountain that stretched across the sky.

The Ocean Demon Serpent turned stiff, as if it had accidentally scurried into the realm of an ancient ice river. Its body, scales, and blood froze.

The Ocean Serpent Demon’s frenzies and violence were nothing in the face of such a powerful opponent. Even though it had lost its sensory ability, it was aware of the green creature’s level of supremacy after witnessing its green body which resembled a dragon. It would be stupid if it still could not understand hoe powerful that creature was.

Zap!

Countless lightning appeared in the clouds. It was only then that the stiffened Ocean Serpent Demon recovered its senses and realized its end. It gave its best to flee from the sky above the Magic City.

Green lightning arched across the sky and tore the Ocean Serpent Demon’s body apart. The powerful ruler-level Ocean Demon suffered from a catastrophe as it swam upstream. The lightning wiped out its hard scales, bones, and demonic aura.

The Multicolored Demon King was still struggling. The Ocean Serpent Demon was of a lower level, it lacked the skill to fight the Emperor-level sacred dragon in the sky.

The city was teeming with ferocious Ocean Demons. The demons had fixed their eyes on the dark sky to see the green silhouette’s true form. But, after the Ocean Serpent Demon was executed, the other demons’ hissing and roaring came to a halt. The ferocious and arrogant demons hung their heads and tried to flee.

The Magic City turned silent all of a sudden.

The canopy covered the earth, ocean, and the large city. At that moment, it landed. The dark shadow in the sky had seemingly covered the sky and the sun.

Just then, there were some changes in the sky. The sky had not only darkened but turned terrifying. The people were too small to see it clearly. They instinctively became fearful. They felt as if they were suffocating.

The creature was right above their heads. They summoned their remaining courage and looked at the edge of the sky ahead of them to find its barely visible green body.

When they turned around in panic, they noticed a moving green tail in the endless sky.

The Multicolored Demon King’s Sea of poisonous coral attack was shockingly powerful. The people felt as if they were facing a death phantasm when they saw its striking demonic colors. However, its multicolored coral attack was nothing compared to the powerful green claw above the clouds.

The Multicolored Demon King struggled to break free. It hissed and tried to fight back.

It tried to fight the Azure Dragon with all its might. However, the Azure Dragon grabbed it even tighter. Green lightning in the sky struck the Multicolored Demon King, and it suffered in excruciating pain.

The Magic City crowded with Ocean Demons fell silent. At that moment, wisps of white ghost silk flew from the white monster lair. It weaved an enormous white tentacle in midair and slammed at the Azure Dragon!

The white tentacle was so huge that it could wipe out the entire city in a single sweep. It contained endless demonic energy. It pierced the canopy and cut though the Chaos Dimension!

The appearance of the white tentacle was unprecedented. The Forbidden Mages had been fighting with the other demon kings and were extremely shocked when they saw this. If the white tentacle had attacked them from the start, the Forbidden Mages, super-level Mages group, and advanced Mages group basically would have died a long time ago.

After all, who would have thought the demon that had turned Jing An into a white monster lair was an emperor-level demon?!

It was clear that the demon that created the white monster lair decided to launch its attack at that moment was all because of the Multicolored Demon King. It refused to let the mysterious creature in the cloud tear the Multicolored Demon King into shreds.

The enormous white tentacle must have come from another terrifying dimension. To make things worse, it appeared in this peaceful world, hence doing a lot more damage. The Mages team from the Magic Association had intended to barge into Jing An to kill the white demon. They were dumbfounded when they saw this.

If the demon was capable of summoning such a white tentacle, the fact that it had remained silent was actually a trap. It was waiting for the Mages to fall into its trap!

“It’s an Emperor-level Ocean Demon! The white demon in Jing An is an Emperor-level Ocean Demon! Retreat now! Everyone, RETREAT!” The teacher from the National Institute cried out in shock. He hastily ordered the Mages behind him to stay away from Jing An.

The Enforcement Union in the Magic City launched a full-scale demon slaying operation. They had to get rid of several key potential problems to increase their survival rate.

Saving the people from the white monster lair in Jing An was part of their rescue plan. But to think they had almost fallen into the Ocean Demon’s trap…

If it had not been for the fact that the Multicolored Demon King had been attacked by the mysterious creature suddenly, the white demon would have continued to hibernate while carrying out its hidden, greedy, and ruthless agenda!

Chapter 2859: The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The white tentacle struck the sky. The great force pushed the clouds away and revealed the Azure Dragon’s body.

The white tentacle struck the Azure Dragon’s abdomen. The white tentacle contained countless antennas that resembled suction cups. They clung onto the Azure Dragon’s abdomen.

Boom!

There was a loud bang. The next moment, the white monster lair in Jing An expanded. White gigantic legs broke out of the white membranes and landed in the city area, causing a slew of terrifying sinkholes.

There was not much sea water around the white monster lair. But, after the white demon broke out of its nest, the city fell. Sea water from nearby cities gushed in and flooded Jing An.

The White Demon King stood in the middle of the tumbling city. It extruded the terrifying white tentacle from the spinnerets at its back. The white membrane that covered the entire Jing An also came from its enormous spinnerets.

At first glance, the White Demon King looked like an enormous spider. Its legs were thin and long, and the spinneret on its back was as large as a whale’s belly. The thin filament of silk extruding from the spinneret could turn a city into a terrifying white lair!

“It’s the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor!”

Feng Li was shocked after he saw the demon’s true form.

Demonic Ruins was a horrific forbidden place found in the south of Japan several decades ago. The ruins were found under the sea of unknown origin. The ruins seemed to exist in the folding of space. When one entered, the ruins seemed much bigger than from outside.

The China Forbidden Curse Association had once joined forces with Japan Forbidden Curse Association and explored the inside of these ruins. The mages who entered the ruins were either dead or became delirious. It took them a very long time to recover. However, by the time they recovered, they had forgotten everything about the ruins under the sea.

In the past few decades, the humans had not given up exploring the Demonic Ruins under the sea. They finally discovered the traces of several powerful Ocean Demons, and the White Spider Emperor was one of them.

Even the White Spider Emperor that had never left the Demonic Ruins under the sea heeded the Ocean Godly Horde’s instruction. It was no wonder the Ocean Demons had become so fearless!

The Demonic Ruins White Spider’s white tentacle grabbed the Azure Dragon tightly. Its tentacles sank into the ground to secure itself. The expanded white monster lair had turned into a gigantic city machine. It had become the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s armor.

For a moment, the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor grew incredibly huge. It was above Jing An, with densely packed buildings right under its body and feet. It had traveled for several kilometers.

The sticky membrane was no longer soft. It quickly hardened and became as hard as iron and steel.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s snow-white color radiated an icy cold aura. When it rose, it could easily reach the sky. The prosperous high-rise buildings stood underneath its belly.

There were countless thin, white filaments of silk under its belly. Each silk carried a large mass of flesh chrysalises. Each chrysalis contained a living human. They had been stuck together like insect eggs. They formed many gigantic white chrysalis groups under the Demonic White Spider Emperor’s belly, and it was about the size of a classroom crowded with a few hundreds of people. It was as big as a stadium. The humans were trapped within the white spider silk. It was humid and disgusting.

When Feng Li and the rest of the Enforcement Union members were greeted by this sight, they were stunned! ‘Could this be the white monster lair’s true form? What should they do to kill such a demon?’

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor tried to pull the Azure Dragon down from the clouds with its white tentacle extending from the spinneret at its back.

With the help of the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor, the Multicolored Demon King unleashed its poisonous coral thorns and pierced the Azure Dragon’s claws and abdomen.

Roar!

The Azure Dragon hissed. The Multicolored Demon King was in midair, and it slowly flew down onto the city.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor made a strange cry. It increased its power. The thin, white filament of silk all over its body became harder than iron and steel.

Countless white, steel-like brackets appeared in the sky above Jing An. The steel-like brackets acted as the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s tentacles. The white tentacle clinging on the Azure Dragon’s abdomen became more powerful and pulled the sacred totem Azure Dragon down from the clouds.

The sky above the Magic City was riddled with holes, and the sea water poured onto the city like a waterfall. The air was misty and foggy. The Azure Dragon dropped down slowly but still, they could not see its skull and tail.

There were two giant claws in the sky. One of them grabbed the Multicolored Demon King tightly while the other claw approached the ground.

Just when they thought the Demonic Ruins White Spider King was about to slam the Azure Dragon onto the ground, the Azure Dragon gabbed the Demonic Ruins White Spider King with two of its claws close to its abdomen and tail. The Azure Dragon grabbed it and yanked it to the sky!

The earth was lifted up. The buildings were thrown into the sky. The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor wanted to slam the Azure Dragon down, only to end up being caught like the Multicolored Demon King.

The Azure Dragon had not been dragged down. It just approached the land with its hind claws.

Just then, the white monster lair expanded again. Countless white silk transformed into long white snakes and wrapped around the Azure Dragon’s hind claws.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor frantically spit various filaments of silk onto the ground so that the sticky silk could stick to the city ground.

However, all of its effort was in vain. The Azure Dragon was enormous. Its body was magnificent. The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor was just as the size of the Azure Dragon’s claws.

The Azure Dragon grabbed the Multicolored Demon King with its front claws and the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor with its hind claws.

…

Many people in the city saw the terrifying sight.

The sky was dark. They had no idea how long or huge the green creature was. It grabbed the Multicolored Demon King with its front claws on one side of the city and the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor with its hind claws on the other side of the city. The Multicolored Demon King continued to struggle to break free of its grasp. Meanwhile, the mighty Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor looked furious. It tried to break free but still ended up being dragged away from the ground.

Nobody could figure out what sort of a creature the green thing in the sky was.

The Multicolored Demon King and Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor were powerful Emperor-level Ocean Demons. They had dominated the entire Magic City.

Even so, the two were helpless when confronting that green creature…

Chapter 2860: Absolute Divine Power

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Roar!

The Azure Dragon’s roars shook the sky. Air waves surrounded by icy cold fog blasted in the sky.

The air waves blew past the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor and melted its sticky white filaments of silk.

The flesh chrysalises hanging on the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s belly fell to the ground in front of the Enforcement Union members.

Each chrysalis contained a living human. Every flesh chrysalis basically contained a mage. They looked skinnier than before. Their internal organs were weakened. It was clear that the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor had absorbed their vitality in order to weave its magnificent white lair!

“Save them now! Quick!” Feng Li said to the rest of the Enforcement Union members with great urgency.

Large piles of flesh chrysalises fell to the ground. Feng Li and his group quickly stripped the filaments of silk from their bodies and throats. Fortunately, the humans trapped inside the chrysalises were still alive. They broke themselves free of the chrysalises. They were weak, but they could walk.

“Jing An is safe! Jing An is safe!” The people hiding inside the buildings jumped for joy.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor had taken control of Jing An all by itself. Everyone had witnessed it being captured. They felt relieved, as if the death scythes above their heads had finally vanished.

“Calm down! Everyone, calm down! We’re in this situation together, so we must unite and face the enemy. Those who are still capable of fighting the war, follow me. We’re going to stop the Ocean Demons from surrounding us. Those who have lost their magic power, help the rest who are still trapped inside the chrysalises and the refuge. We have to work hand-in-hand to stand guard over the refuge. Citizens stay there. We cannot let them be involved in this disaster. We must hide them somewhere safe!” Feng Li shouted at the rescued people.

“What exactly is that green silhouette above the sky? Is it here to help us?” several mages from the Magic Association asked in confusion.

They had not returned to their senses. Whatever had transpired a while before was still shocking.

Two claws appeared from the clouds and grabbed the Multicolored Demon King and the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor. The sight had stunned the Ocean Demon chiefs, Ocean Demon rulers, as well as the super-level Ocean Demons.

‘Was God watching over the citizens in the Magic City? Was there still a glimmer of hope for the citizens?’

“I’m afraid it could be a more powerful Emperor-level creature. We haven’t seen its true form. Even though it is an enemy of the Ocean Demons, it might not necessarily be our ally either. We can’t simply jump to any conclusion,” Feng Li spoke solemnly.

Most people assumed the enemies of the Ocean Demons were naturally their protectors.

But Feng Li was a wise man. He was aware of the country’s current situation.

There were no Forbidden Mages in the country who could summon such a divine beast to take on the Multicolored Demon King and the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor. Hence, its appearance was a mystery.

‘Why did it appear in the sky above the Magic City? Why was it the Ocean Demon’s enemy?’

What worried Feng Li the most was that the powerful green silhouette might not have arrived with the intention to help humans but rather to show off its power.

If the green creature cast its divine power on humans and crushed the cities with its magnificent body, the Magic City would be destroyed.

…

The Demon Lord was still standing at the Bund of the Magic City. It was taller than the skyscrapers.

The sky above the skyscrapers was covered in darkness. The black Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves were approaching. The shocking wave line in the sky was approaching the international city!

It looked like a tsunami. It was as though a majestic ocean was hanging upside down between heaven and earth!

A pair of icy cold, bright eyes appeared. The eyes were narrow and eerie. It no longer fixed its gaze on the flying Forbidden Mages.

Instead, it placed its attention on the clouds, as if it was looking for something. In fact, the creature that it was searching for was the Azure Dragon. The Azure Dragon coiled up in the space above the sky. It saw everything. It was above the sky and the clouds!

The sky was dark. A gap slowly appeared in the middle of the dark clouds.

Suddenly, a mass of poisonous and colorful corals was smashed against the Prime Waves, as if throwing a group of sea urchins at it.

The next moment, a gigantic white creature fell from the sky and smashed at the Demon Lord!

The Forbidden Mages looked up and were caught in surprise.

‘Weren’t they the Multicolored Demon King and the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor?!’

The two great Demon Kings had each occupied a prosperous city in the Magic City. They had gone on a wild rampage. The Forbidden Curse Association had to assign members to keep these Emperor-level Ocean Demons in check. However, the Demon Lord posed a tremendous threat to the humans, hence the Forbidden Curse Association assigned the Forbidden Mages to restrain it.

There were very few Forbidden Mages who could fight a brutal Emperor-level Ocean Demon alone.

However, they had never expected the Multicolored Demon King and Demonic Ruins White Spider to be smashed at the terrifying Demon Lord like soccer balls!

Bam! Bam!

The Demon Lord’s Prime Waves served as an indestructible shell. Even though the Multicolored Demon Lord and Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor were flung at it, the two Demon Kings just bounced away.

The Multicolored Demon Lord was covered in blood. Its neck that was filled with poisonous flesh had been ripped to shreds. On its back were shocking claw marks. Its tail and forelimbs had been severed. It died in agony.

Meanwhile, the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s spinneret had been torn apart. White blood gushed out like a flowing stream.

The filaments of silk all over its body that were as hard as iron had been shattered. The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor landed at the Huangpu River. As it got up, it was still a bit shaky. It half-prostrated its body as it looked up at the dark shadow in the sky in panic.

“Who lured these two Emperor-level Ocean Demons over here?!” Fire God shouted.

The Forbidden Mages had exhausted their energy in fighting the Demon Lord. With the addition of the two Emperor-level Ocean Demons in the fight, how were they supposed to take on these Ocean Demons?

“They look like they are severely wounded,” said an elder Forbidden Mage.

President Hong Wu frowned as he stared at the two Emperor-level Ocean Demons. He was confused, too.

He wondered why the two Emperor-level Ocean Demons rampaging through the cities would appear here of all places. More than that, he was confused why those demons were so severely wounded.

The two Emperor-level Ocean Demons had lost their arrogance and demonic aura. They stared at the clouds as if their great enemy was approaching them.

‘Was there something more terrifying above the clouds? Was that the reason the two Ocean Demons were so afraid and panicked?’

Chapter 2861: Is That Mo Fan?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

There were many layers of clouds in the dark sky. The clouds parted and revealed a magnificent mountain.

But there was no mountain in the Magic City. The mountain they saw was so massive and towering that it would have taken an army of mountains stacked up together to reach that height.

The Forbidden Curse Association members could not stop looking at it. When that mountain approached the city and the Huangpu River, the crowd was shocked to realize that it was not a mountain at all. It was a gigantic creature’s head!

The creature’s head gave off an air of divinity, as if it had crossed a divine boundary before reaching the human world. It appeared unexpectedly and was shocking to behold!

It was as if a mythical creature had come alive. It was so real. Its horns, whiskers, and eyes contained ancient divine powers. All living creatures had to bow and submit before it, including the humans. It was the sacred totem beast!

It was an ancient god of the previous era. It protected all living things, and humans worshiped it.

Even though magic allowed the humans to fend for themselves, this did not mean that the ancient god was weak!

The humans replaced the ancient god with a magic system. It took a large number of humans and numerous wars to end the era of the ancient gods of the totem beasts.

The reason god was known as God was because it could destroy any horde in a single blow all by itself. The Azure Dragon was the leader of the four greatest sacred totem beasts!

When it landed in one of the prosperous cities, the city appeared tiny to it, so did the humans and Ocean Demons.

The Azure Dragon looked down from the clouds.

The Forbidden Mages were used to seeing various bizarre phenomena. But when the ancient mythical creature appeared in the urban city, they froze.

The city was crowded with Ocean Demons, and the mages fought hard in the battle. Even so, when they witnessed that sight, they were dumbfounded. The dark cloud that covered the sky above the Magic City finally dissipated.

The clouds moved away and revealed a green and enormous body.

The place covered by fog gradually cleared, revealing a green magnificent torso.

For a moment, the humans thought the world had turned upside down. When they looked up, it was as if the earth and heaven had swapped places. The mountain ridges slowly appeared on the lands. But those were just the ancient god’s torsos.

They looked up at the sky holes that were constantly dumping sea water onto the city. At that moment, the sea water poured onto the ancient divine dragon’s body. It washed the mud off its body.

The people had assumed that the sea water had stopped pouring into the city. Now, they realized that the creature had blocked the holes and obstructed the flow of the water for a while. The Azure Dragon’s body was massive!

Who would have thought a living creature could fill a piece of the sky and make the sky look so crowded and even tiny? The Azure Dragon had to coil up its chest, abdomen, and tail to fit in the sky.

The members of the Forbidden Curse Association finally knew why the arrogant Multicolored Demon King and the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor looked so terrified. Emperor-level creatures were the closest thing to gods. The Azure Dragon had coiled up and taken up residence in the sky above the Magic City. It was of the Creator level, as if it had come from the depths of the universe. It should not have appeared in such a small world.

“Look there! Isn’t there a person standing on top of the Azure Dragon?” Several members from the Enforcement Union cried out.

They were standing on higher ground, and they saw the mysterious creature in the sky.

It felt sinful and blasphemous to just look at it directly. They did not believe it until they noticed someone standing above the Azure Dragon’s head.

Feng Li quickly rushed to the highest ground. He looked past the crumbling buildings and saw the Azure Dragon’s head. The Azure Dragon peered out of the clouds and looked at the Magic City. Feng Li then saw a figure standing between its horns.

The figure was very tiny. All living creatures bowed before the ancient sacred totem beast. If Feng Li had not used his mage’s sensory ability, he would not have recognized the figure standing above the Azure Dragon’s head.

The longer Feng Li stared at the figure, the more he found the person to be familiar.

…

At the south of Treasure Mountain was a watchtower. A woman with blood stains all over her body leaned against the edge of the tower. She cupped the vapor from the sky and splashed it on her face.

She ruffled her muddy hair. Her eyes had become numb to the killings. But when she turned to the sky above the Bund, her eyes lit up.

“M-Mo Fan?” She saw him standing between the Azure Dragon’s horns. He stood above its head.

“Your mind is playing tricks on you. Hide now and take a rest.” Ai Tutu rushed over and supported Mu Nujiao.

“It really looks like him.” Mu Nujiao pointed at the person standing between the Azure Dragon’s horns.

“You’re dying soon. Stop thinking about him…”

…

Meanwhile, an elderly man stood in the middle of the Ocean Demons at the Pudong sea area. He trampled piles of Ocean Demons carcasses under his feet. The number of carcasses could almost make up an island.

The elderly man’s suit was tattered. He was confronting a shimmering Salamander Emperor.

The Salamander Emperor was stunned by the presence of the Azure Dragon in the Bund above the sky. The elderly man could not help but turn his head around. He saw the Azure Dragon peering out of the clouds and recognized the figure standing on its head.

“Mo Fan… The sacred totem beast…”

Relief showed up on Song Qiming’s tired face. His legs grew weak. He was old. His cultivation continued to weaken. If only he was in his prime, he would have already chopped the Salamander Emperor’s head off. Fortunately, the younger generation was still strong.

“Lingling, I can’t stay by your side anymore.” Song Qiming fell backward slowly.

His back was filled with salamander carcasses in white and bronze armor. When Song Qiming fell backward, thousands of Salamanders and Shell Demons were so shocked that they fled.

Song Qiming’s body was buried among the Shell Demons’ carcasses. As an old mage, he had no regrets about being given a coffin made up of the Ocean Demons’ carcasses.

The Clearsky Hunter Agency was a small hunter firm. He set it up after his retirement. He taught potential young people to deal with the demons in the Magic City. He was born and now was dying in the Magic City. He used to be successful and famous. But he was now long forgotten…

Before he died, he had contributed his all to the Magic City. He witnessed a legend born in his hunter agency. He could finally die peacefully…

The Magic City would not fall even after his death. Instead, it would be reborn!

That person had summoned the Azure Dragon…

Chapter 2862: The Divine Throne and the Gathering of Demons

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Even though Mo Fan stood between the Azure Dragon’s horns, he did not have many expressions on his face.

Countless people looked up at him and the Azure Dragon. He and the Azure Dragon saw how the people in the Magic City had struggled and exhausted themselves in defending the city. The people were wounded, yet they continued to fight the war.

…

Everyone deserved respect.

Mo Fan noticed the people were looking up at them from the ashes, ruins, and war. They fixed their gaze on him and the Azure Dragon. However, he did not feel glorious or proud. Instead, he felt he was given a heavy duty.

‘Who could stay out of all this trouble?’

No one could. That was the reason why all of them held on even today.

Hawk!

The Cold Moon Demon Lord had been very calm but now it made a strange sound.

It sounded like an evil army’s trumpet. It could summon all the Ocean Demons in the city and make the icy cold sea water that had flooded the city surge to great heights.

The Magic City was large. Giant Ocean Demons wreaked havoc in every urban area. Upon hearing the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s trumpet, there was an uproar in the Magic City. The Ocean Demons’ hisses rang throughout the city and the sky.

A Manatee Demon from the Treasure Mountain charged towards the Bund.

A Black Squid Demon crawled up from Xu Hui’s sewerage system. It trampled the buildings under its feet.

A Lan Dragon Demon charged at the Bund from the east of the Rainbow Airport.

The Lord of Shark Man was awakened in a tennis court at Changning. It swayed its black-golden body and flew towards the Bund.

At Pudong area, the Salamander Emperor and Extreme Shell Demon leaped over Song Qiming and his group’s defense line and charged at the Lu Family’s Mouth. The Salamander and Shell Demons army did not continue to march forward. Under the intimidation of the Azure Dragon, lower-class demons such as the Salamanders and Shell Demons were weak in their knees.

The Ocean Demons were grouping together!

Apparently, the Cold Moon Demon Lord was the primary perpetrator of the attack on the Magic City. The moment it made the sound of a trumpet, all the Ocean Demon chiefs across the Magic City gathered together. They flocked to the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s throne at the Huangpu River.

The Ocean Demons’ gathering included the severely wounded Multicolored Demon King and the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor. After the Ocean Godly Horde was assembled, they became more courageous. They held their heads high and hissed provocatively and furiously at the Azure Dragon in the sky.

One could enjoy the view of the Dongfang Oriental Tower, Shanghai Tower, Universal Financial Center, Jinmao Tower, and other skyscrapers from the Bund.

They could enjoy the prosperity of the city and magnificent high-rise buildings in the modern era.

However, after the Cold Moon Demon Lord sounded the trumpet, various Ocean Demons took over the place. They were huge and ferocious. They bared their fangs and exuded demonic auras, as if a tsunami was incoming.

Lightning flashed and thunder struck. The sky was dark. Strong wind blew. The city was filled with ashes. The dark world seemed to be coming to an end.

For a moment, the Ocean Demons looked as if they had gained an upper hand in the war. They formed piles of demonic mountain ridges that were higher than the skyscrapers and almost reached the dark skyline.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord was the leader of the horde. The Emperor-level Ocean Demon was on its throne and acted like the Demon of Destruction. It despised all the puny lives of the world!

When the citizens saw the Ocean Demons on such a large-scale, their glimmer of hope faded once again.

They were trapped in the Magic City. The city was huge. These people were already on the verge of breaking down just by witnessing the Ocean Demons and Ocean Demon chiefs rampaging through their cities. At that moment, the entire Magic City was filled with Ocean Demons. The Ocean Demons at the Pudong continued to gather at the Huangpu River. The sight was too horrific.

Even the appearance of a single Ocean Demon in the human world was considered a terrifying disaster, let alone the appearance of dozens of them!

Roar! Hiss!

Their hissing rang throughout the Magic City. The sound came from the little demons.

There were many little demons. They roamed about the city and hunted down the mage groups. When the Azure Dragon appeared, the Ocean Demons all over the city trembled in fear and burrowed into the sea. They dared not show up before the Azure Dragon.

But after the Ocean Demons were summoned and gathered, the army showed up from the water. They responded to the Cold Moon Demon Lord and other Ocean Demon chiefs’ forces and hissed at the sacred totem Azure Dragon in the sky.

The Ocean Demons that had been fighting on their own had reunited. They wanted to fight the Azure Dragon and kill it. Their roars and hisses were deafening.

The Azure Dragon’s body was fully revealed. They saw its large green body in the space above the sky. It did not seem to belong to this world.

It was as majestic as ever. It fixed its gaze at the Ocean Demons. The Lord of Shark Man flew past the Azure Dragon, trying to provoke it but the Azure Dragon remained motionless.

It allowed the Ocean Demons to group together.

The Magic City could not hold back another round of attack. After the Ocean Demon chiefs left the areas where they had wreaked havoc, the people in those areas breathed a sigh of relief. The Mages still had a chance of survival.

Guarding the city was even more difficult than destroying it. Mo Fan had always been aware of this truth, and the Azure Dragon understood him.

“We are never alone,” Mo Fan said while touching its horn.

In the past, Mo Fan had always spoken to his pendant. At that moment, his pendant had returned to the sky, and it finally responded to him.

Roar!

The Azure Dragon’s roars resounded everywhere.

Figures glowing in holy light moved towards the intersection between the grayish sky and the earth in the Magic City from every direction.

The Huangpu River was flooded. An enormous silhouette, the size of an island, gradually emerged from the deep flow of the stream. People felt fearful just by looking at it.

Splash!

There was a blast from the stream, and the waves struck several Ruler-level Ocean Demons. The next moment, an enormous ocean beast appeared!

Its majestic armor was carved with ancient marks. It stepped on the whirling vortex with its powerful limbs. Two whiskers drooped from its mouth. They were hundreds of meters long. It was ancient and exuded an imposing aura!

“It’s the Black Totem Turtle!”

Several mages from the Forbidden Curse Association recognized the Black Totem Turtle glowing in blue, and they cried out in shock.

For a moment, they thought another round of great Ocean Demons had gathered again. They had never expected it to be an ancient totem beast.

According to hearsay, the Black Totem Turtle had appeared in Xiamen and defeated the Twin Plague Demon!

The Black Totem Turtle was just like the guardian of Hang Zhou, it came to protect humans.

Swish!

Green poisonous gas appeared on the Huangpu River like a tornado. The next moment, a giant snake covered in scales appeared at the riverside of the Bund. It rose. It was magnificent and was comparable to those Ocean Demon chiefs. Its eyes gleamed as it stared at the Ocean Demons.

It was the Black Totem Snake!

The Black Totem Snake’s scales shimmered even more brightly than the last time they had seen it. It looked different. It gave off an air of divinity, as if it could reenter the realm of the holy at any time.

The glow from the Black Totem Snake and the Black Totem Turtle reflected on each other. For a moment, the two great totem beasts seemed to have advanced to a new level. They exuded an imposing aura. Their auras intimidated the Ocean Demon Kings!

Even Mo Fan was struck dumb when he saw them.

This was the first time the Black Totem Snake and the Black Totem Turtle had met, and their encounter inspired each other to unleash their totem beast sacred power!

Chapter 2863: The Totem Beasts Gathered Together

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Pyrim!

There was a long cry in the sky. A green eagle-like silhouette dived down before spreading its wings and hovering above the Azure Dragon’s head.

The Green East Sea God flapped its wings and brought up a strong wind. The wind then turned into a muddy storm and covered the areas near the Bund. The air was rife with holiness and savagery.

Mo Fan thought the encounter between the Black Totem Snake and the Black Totem Turtle had inspired them to unleash their totem beast power. However, he noticed the Green East Sea God’s feathers were gleaming, too. It radiated an aura different from before!

Mo Fan turned around and realized the seal of the sacred totem beast was still there on the Azure Dragon’s body. The curvy and densely packed symbols spread all over its body.

The three greatest totem beasts—The Black Totem Snake, the Black Totem Turtle, and the Green East Sea God—had similar symbols glowing faintly on their bodies.

The Black Totem Snake had symbols that resembled snake scales. The Black Totem Turtle had symbols that resembled turtle shell curse. Meanwhile, the Green East Sea God had symbols that resembled feathers.

The symbols that resembled the snake scales and feathers were parts of the Azure Dragon’s seal of the sacred totem beast. After the Azure Dragon awakened, it stimulated the ancient totem beasts’ true potential.

Roar!

The Azure Dragon illuminated and summoned the totem beasts’ source of power. A holy beast covered in snow-white fur charged at them from the west.

As it sped, the gushing water turned into thick ice.

Frosts rained. Heaven and Earth froze. The creature displayed a strong aura of divinity. It made it look as if it had descended from the divine realm and was only momentarily dabbling into this filthy earth.

“It’s the Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger!” The chief of the Eastern Mage cried out in awe.

Tianshan Mountain was a holy place, and many Mages had visited and lived there. But the legend of the Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger had remained something of a myth which sounded fascinating but was far from reality.

Tianshan Mountain was very far from the Magic City. They wondered why the Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger appeared in the city!

The Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger could inflict enormous destruction on the Ocean Demons. The Ocean Demons had taken great pains in summoning the waves, but the Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger froze a large part of the waves so easily.

The high-level Ocean Demons could summon the waves and rains. But the little demons were stranded on the beach like lonesome sharks. Even though these little demons had sharp fangs and were strong, they could no longer pose threats to the Mages.

Swoosh!

A flying creature, that usually only appeared under the moonlight, advanced towards the Magic City from the same direction as the Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger.

Its wings were almost transparent, but they had a dreamy luster. It was different from the powerful Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger that could freeze the lands. It gave off an air of holiness like a nymph under the moon at night. It granted people a sense of peace and tranquility.

The Ocean Demons were rampant, and their demonic auras filled the city. The citizens lived in fear and trepidation. But when they stared at the Moon Moth Phoenix, they felt an unprecedented calmness.

It was the Black Totem Turtle, the Black Totem Snake, the Green East Sea God, the White Tiger, and the Moon Moth Phoenix!

The five great totem beasts appeared all at once. They surrounded the Azure Dragon’s head. The totem beasts responded to each other. Hence, their totem holy power reached a pinnacle. They glowed in radiant holy light. This was especially so for the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon was green in color. It was barely visible in the dark sky. After the arrival of the five great totem beasts, the seal of the sacred totem beast that covered the Azure Dragon’s body glowed brightly.

The totem beasts responded to each other. At that moment, each of them underwent a metamorphosis.

Even Mo Fan was astonished. He was very familiar with each totem beast. But today, he finally saw their true forms. They were glowing with holy symbols. Before this, the totem beasts were always in their beastly form which was no different than demons. However, today, the totem beasts had transformed into their true form. They had ancient gods with the holy seal of a totem beast!

The little demon army had been hissing all over the city. Upon sensing the imposing and holy aura, they fell silent.

Meanwhile, the Ocean Demons surrounding the Demon Lord panicked. They had to confront their greatest enemies.

The Forbidden Mages from the Forbidden Curse Association were so shocked that they were rendered speechless. They had never expected the totem beasts, which had disappeared long ago, to be the ones to stand up for them and protect the Magic City.

Gawk!

The Demon Lord made a strange sound. It seemed to be telling the Ocean Demons that they had nothing to be afraid of with those very few totem beasts.

The place was not filled with the totem beasts. There were only five of them, after all.

Many totem beasts had become extinct, and some of them still remained unknown. The totem beasts before them were the remnants from the Holy War. Meanwhile, there were four Emperor-level Ocean Demons and many Ruler-level, Super-level, Supreme-Ruler, Semi-emperor level Ocean Demons among the horde.

With such power in their group, the Ocean Demons had no worries about not being able to destroy the small city!

“President Hong Wu, with the help of the five great totem beasts and the Azure Dragon, is a glimmer of hope in this war?” asked a Mage in plain clothes floating in midair.

Hong Wu looked up and saw the mage was none other than the Water Element Forbidden Mage, Dean Xiao.

Dean Xiao landed. He stood on the ruined Bund where he could get a full view of the city below. The Huangpu River was filled with Dragon Demons. When he arrived at the river, the river became calm and still. The river and sea water flowed quietly. Even though there were many powerful Ocean Demons on the other side of the river, Dean Xiao had it under control.

Dean Xiao alone suppressed the Ocean Demons’ demonic auras. The Demon Lord fixed its scary gaze on him. Its gaze was filled with hostility and hatred.

“The Magic City will not be destroyed! We’ll fight the Ocean Demons to the end!” President Hong Wu summoned his courage and shouted at the sky.

‘Was it true that the Magic City was already in a hopeless state?’

The arrival of the sacred totem beast and the five great totem beasts were still no match for the swarm of Ocean Demons.

‘But the Magic City belonged to the humans!’ resolved President Hong Wu.

The humans consisted of the Forbidden Curse Association, Super-level Union, and an army made up of endless Intermediate and Basic-level Mages!

“Listen to my instructions. Forbidden Mages, gather at the Bund!” President Hong Wu shouted again. He hoisted a flag emanating purple electric light into the sky.

It was the Magic Association’s rally flag!

Mo Fan had seen the same rally flag back when he was at the Ancient Capital. He had never guessed how many Forbidden Mages and experts resided in the Magic City. Today, he finally had his eyes open.

“Listen to my instructions. Super-level Union, gather at the Bund!” The chief of the Eastern Mage raised a blue electric banner. His banner glowed, just like the purple flag.

Chapter 2864: The Experts Gathered at the Magic City

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In Jing An, Feng Li leaped down from a higher ground. He turned to his assistant and gave his order, “All Elders, Judges, and Deputy Judges of the Enforcement Union, gather now and follow me. We’re going to fight at the Bund!”

“But there are still many Ocean Demons within the city…,” the assistant said hesitantly.

The Enforcement Union was under the Magic Association. They were, however, independent of the Magic Association’s authority. They followed the orders of the head of the Enforcement Union and no one else.

“The Ocean Demons have grouped together. We must unite to kill them and the Demon Lord. It’s only by doing so can we ensure the Magic City’s survival. The Demon Lord is the primary perpetrator that instructs the Ocean Demon army to rampage through the city,” said Feng Li.

“Mr. Feng is right. We’re gathering intermediate and higher-level Mages. Isn’t that sufficient to take on the Ocean Demons? Elders, Judges, and Deputy Judges, leave this place to us!” said Nighthawk.

Nighthawk was an experienced member of the Enforcement Union. He hated himself for not having achieved Super-level even today. Otherwise, he could have followed the Magic Association’s highest order and fought the Ocean Demons with them.

The Super-level Mages left for the battle, but they still had remaining Advanced and Intermediate-level Mages with them in the city.

The experts stopped the sky holes. They gave their all in fighting the Ocean Demons. The experts were mainly composed of the Advanced-level, Intermediate-level, and Basic-level Mages. Couldn’t they unite and kill the roaming Ocean Demons?

The battle was not solely the responsibility of the Super-level Union and Forbidden Curse Association. Every mage had a duty in the battle.

“There’s still hope for us.”

…

Inside the Lu family’s secret place at the back of Kun mountain, the head of the Lu family paced back and forth before the stone entrance. He wanted to turn a blind eye to the gleaming blue electric flag in the sky, but he felt restless.

He returned to the secret place. He frowned and said to the crowd, “How many Super-level Mages do we have in the horde?”

“Only ten. Judging from the current situation, we will have difficulty in taking on an Ocean Demon of Ruler-level and above.”

“Sheng Ming, you stay here. The rest of you will accompany me to the Bund,” the head of the Lu family said solemnly.

“Grandpa…” Lu Qingyao ran to him. He did not understand why his grandfather had made such a decision.

“If the Magic City falls, we’ll end up dying in Kun Mountain, too,” said the head of the Lu family.

“But they will take us to Ding City soon,” said Lu Qingyao.

“You can leave, but I can’t. I don’t want our future generations to bear the humiliation and burden of our failures. I don’t want to lose our dignity. We are a dignified family!” said the head of the Lu family.

“If you’re not leaving, then we aren’t leaving either. I don’t want to go to Ding City. Those who want to go to that city, please do so.”

“You’re right. I won’t go there either. The Scarlet Demons occupied our home, destroyed our market, and devoured our people. We want revenge!”

For a moment, the head of the Lu family was lost for words as he stared at the crowd.

They would either stay or leave, but together. He had been protecting his family over the years. He did not expect them to have this resolve in times of trouble. He could not help but feel proud and hopeful. It was worth sacrificing himself for the sake of his people.

1

“Okay! You’ll kill the Scarlet Demon, and I’ll kill the Demon King!”

…

The streets at Changning were in a state of severe disrepair. A hunchbacked old lady walked down the street. Her eyes looked tired. Several starving Hunter Dirty Demons followed her. They bared their fangs.

The old woman looked up and saw the purple flag. Finally, there flickered some form of life in her sunken eyes.

A baby’s cry echoed from a nearby building.

When the Hunter Dirty Demons heard the cry, they quickly charged towards the building. They licked their lips in anticipation.

The old woman raised her hand, and the speeding Hunter Dirty Demons came to a halt. They stared at the old woman in horror.

The old woman passed by the Hunter Dirty Demons and found the crying baby girl.

“Little one, even your parents can’t protect you. Who else do you expect to grant you a chance to survive?” The old woman said to the wailing baby.

The old woman found a Battlemage and handed the baby to him.

“If I survive the war, you’ll be my granddaughter. I’ll show you how to play music, chess, read, and paint. But I’m not going to teach you how to use magic,” said the old woman to the baby. She gave her a wrinkly smile.

She then vanished into thin air. The next moment, a faintly visible light appeared on the streets and swiftly crossed the ruined city before approaching the Bund. The light drew close to the purple flag.

It was the Forbidden Curse rally!

…

At Lingyin Mountain in Hang Zhou, a middle-aged man in a monk’s robe walked out of the bamboo forest. He summoned a flock of bamboo birds with colorful feathers. The bamboo birds swarmed to form a flying carpet and allowed the Lingyin Monk to step on them and flew toward the Huangpu River.

…

At the Bund, countless lights gathered, like stars in the night sky.

The Magic City was lifeless. It was unlikely that there would be any magical armed forces. However, following the shimmering rally flags, an increasing number of people advanced towards the city.

The first person to arrive at the Bund was none other than the teacher of the National Institute, Feng Li.

A group of Elders, Judges, and Deputy Judges from the Enforcement Union followed behind Feng Li. These people had achieved a Super-level cultivation base.

The White family from the Magic City followed next. The family were experts. They were stained with blood. They had just witnessed and fought a battle before this. Still, they heeded the rally order and arrived at the Bund.

Soon, the Super-level Mages from all over the Magic City arrived at the destination.

The Superordinate Mages from the Magic Association, the Eastern Mages, the South Wing Mage Group, the North Wing Mage Group, the Enforcement Union, the renowned White family, the Mu family, the Lu family, the Dongfang family, the Zhao family, the Battlemages, the Hunter Union, professors from academic institutions, association members and experts, as well as experts who were not a part of any organizations, all arrived one after the other. For a moment, the magical light in the Bund dazzled so brightly that they looked like shimmering stars in the sky.

Under the purple Forbidden Curse rally order, aside from the Forbidden Mages from the Forbidden Curse Association, several new faces also arrived.

These people lived near the Magic City, but no one knew they were actually Forbidden Mages.

The Lingyin Monk and the old woman radiated imposing auras that were comparable to that of the leaders of the Forbidden Curse Association.

The sacred totem Azure Dragon was the head of the totem beasts. And the five great totem beasts gathered around it.

All the experts with a cultivation base of Super-level and above came together in the Magic City.

At that moment, everyone was on fire with a willingness and enthusiasm to fight off the Ocean Demons to make the world a better place.

“This is our showdown with the Ocean Demons. This war will decide the survival of the Magic City today!” President Hong Wu, from the Magic Association, shouted.

Mo Fan was standing between the horns of the sacred totem Azure Dragon. He pointed at the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

The Azure Dragon roared. Its roars shook the Ocean Demons and suppressed their demonic auras.

The Ruler-level Ocean Demons were intimidated by the Azure Dragon. They trembled in fear.

The Black Totem Snake, the Black Totem Turtle, the Green East Sea God, the Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger, and the Moon Moth Phoenix heeded Mo Fan’s orders.

“Fight to our last drop of blood!” Mo Fan shouted.

For a moment, the totem beasts’ holy light illuminated everything around them very brightly. The Black Totem Snake and the Black Totem Turtle took the lead and charged at the Ocean Demons on the other side of the river. Their auras suppressed the Emperor-level Ocean Demons. They were fearless!

Chapter 2865: The Black Totem Turtle Vs The White Spider Emperor

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Azure Dragon sucked in a deep breath before spitting a windstorm at the Ocean Demons.

The windstorm easily pushed the river water to the clouds and killed half of the Ocean Demons.

The windstorm contained powerful wind erosion ability. The creatures covered in hard armors and scales shattered in pieces and decayed rapidly. This was especially so for the Salamander Emperor and the Extreme Shell Demon from Pudong.

The Azure Dragon weathered their thick and hard shells and armors through the windstorm. As a result, the Ocean Demons revealed their hideous forms. Without their shells and armors, their combat capabilities dropped significantly.

Most of the Ocean Demons were covered in hard armors, steel scales and thick shells, but the Azure Dragon’s windstorm acted corrosively on their skin. The Cold Moon Demon Lord was hiding within its Prime Waves. When it saw what the Azure Dragon did to its demons, it could no longer hold itself back.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord gradually expanded its Prime Waves that turned into terrifying blue claws. It aimed at the Azure Dragon’s throat.

The appearance of the blue claws was like a devil from the pond of death. It looked grotesque. Mo Fan did not notice the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s attack. By the time he saw it, it had grabbed the Azure Dragon’s throat with its hideous claws.

The Azure Dragon’s windstorm came to a halt. The Cold Moon Demon Lord increased its evil power and attempted to break the Azure Dragon’s neck. Countless evil spirits surrounded and danced around the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s claws as they clung on the Azure Dragon’s neck.

The Azure Dragon lost its balance. Mo Fan turned around. He did not know how to help it to break free of the evil curse. But the Azure Dragon was a sacred totem beast. It would not be easily wounded. The ancient holy scales glowed brightly, and it slowly raised its head.

Roar!

Its majestic roar shook all the evil spirits away.

The Azure Dragon moved rapidly. The wind blew because of its movement and brought up a terrifying storm that covered dozens of kilometers.

Its holy scales glowed brightly. The Azure Dragon were fearless when confronting hundreds and thousands of Ocean Demons. It crossed the river and charged at the massive Ocean Demons that were as tall as the skyscrapers.

Its front claws touched the ground. Its claws unleashed a green dragon thunderbolt and shattered the Ruler-level Ice Ax Manatee. The frightening and powerful Ice Ax Manatee instantly turned into ashes.

It smashed at the Ocean Demons with its lengthy body made up of Ancient Great Walls. The Ocean Demons fled everywhere. Several Lizard Dragon Demons reacted too slowly and turned into puddles of meat pies because of the clash.

The demon spell lit up. More than a dozen of the Ruler-level Ocean Demons lunged at the Azure Dragon’s throat. They received the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s instructions and attacked the Azure Dragon’s throat again. The throat was now the most vulnerable part as it had been cursed with the evil spell.

The Azure Dragon’s holy scales glowed dazzlingly. The Ruler-level Ocean Demons looked as if they were gnawing on a raging green divine lightning. The lightning counterattacked them. They were either paralyzed on the ground or sent flying away.

Chiiiiik!

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor roared. The Emperor-level Ocean Demons were the only ones that could threaten the Azure Dragon even slightly.

As the Ocean Demons surrounded the Azure Dragon, the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s narrow eyes looked at it with malice. It aimed at the Azure Dragon’s throat.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor lunged. Even though it was large, it moved as swiftly as lightning. When it clashed with its enemy, it inflicted tremendous damage on them especially with its razor-sharp tentacles!

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s tentacles were like white death scythes. It could pierce the Azure Dragon’s throat.

The Azure Dragon was enormous. It floated in the sky like a mythical mountain. It would be difficult for it to avoid some of the attacks, especially an Emperor-level Ocean Demon’s ambush.

The Azure Dragon had destroyed the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s spinneret on its back. The enraged Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor aimed to fatally wound the Azure Dragon’s throat with every single attack!

Kwak!

Following a majestic roar was a black-brown gigantic figure leaping in midair. It smashed at the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor with its ancient turtle armor that was as thick and heavy as an island.

Before the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor could complete its Nine Hundred Spider-killing Scythes, it was blasted away like a white cannonball downstream into Pudong.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor crawled up. Its legs were long. It stood on the flowing river. Its skin was previously white but now it had turned green and blue. It glowed in faint eerie light. Apparently, it had boiled.

The Black Totem Turtle came from the Dark Tortoise lineage. It was born to fight in a war. It approached the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor with heavy feet thudding on the ground.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor flashed by. It was as fast as lightning. The white light cut through the tumbling river and the luxurious buildings on the riverside. Terrifying cracks appeared between heaven and earth. It was a frightening sight to behold.

It was clear that the Black Totem Turtle could not move as fast as the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor. The sacred symbols glowed on its shell which were like that of the Azure Dragon. But the Black Totem Turtle’s symbols were not as complete as the Azure Dragon’s seal of the sacred totem beast.

Still, the Black Totem Turtle’s incomplete symbols on its shell unleashed amazing protective powers. Like the interlaced laser light, its brown, ancient, and cursed shell glowed magnificently and formed a huge shield that arched over most of the river.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor slashed the Black Totem Turtle’s arc shield which made a loud piercing sound. Still, it could not hurt the Black Totem Turtle.

The Black Totem Turtle stood up. It smashed the air with its reef-like muscular forelimbs. An ancient bell appeared in the air. The ancient bell issued a divine sound wave and lifted up the moving Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor.

Kwak!

The Black Totem Turtle finally located the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor. It then tucked into its ancient martial turtle armor and turned into a huge, round turtle armor before sinking into the tumbling stream.

…

The Black Totem Turtle disappeared suddenly. The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor was dizzy because of the sound wave. The next moment, there was a blast on the river surface three kilometers away. A thick and heavy turtle armor that resembled a golden wheel smashed at the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor was facing the sky. It fell into the river downstream once again. A steel bridge collapsed. Its carcass was smashed into the tumbling waves in the river.

“Without the steel-like body made up of filaments of silk, the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s combat capability is greatly reduced,” Feng Li said with excitement upon seeing the sight.

When the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor was in Jing An, it was covered in steel brackets made up of the filaments of silk.

Chapter 2866: Difficult to Inflict Damage On It

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor had absorbed many Mages’ life source to replenish energy for its spinneret and spit out more sticky filaments of silk. When it fought, the massive spinneret served as its white, large steel body. It horrified everyone.

But it had been too arrogant. It had provoked the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon grabbed it and lifted it up into the sky and shattered its white, massive, steel-like body into pieces. The Azure Dragon also destroyed its spinneret.

When the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor was at its strongest, the Azure Dragon had delivered a severe blow to it. Without the spinneret on its back, the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor lost its strongest weapon. Thus, its combat capabilities had dropped drastically.

Still, the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor was not weak.

It was, after all, an Emperor-level Ocean Demon. Even though it lost its strongest Emperor-level ability, it could still kill the powerful Super-level and Emperor-level creatures effortlessly.

The Black Totem Turtle’s power was close to an Emperor-level. This was especially after it contacted the Black Totem Snake. After they interacted with each other, they glowed brightly compared to other totem beasts.

Under the brilliant holy light, it was still as majestic as ever despite the incomplete ancient symbols on its shell.

The Demonic White Spider Emperor crawled up from the broken bridge at the Huangpu River. Its abdomen was severely wounded. Blood gushed out of its wound.

It was clear that the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor was severely wounded once again. The Black Totem Turtle was a Supreme-level totem beast. Under the sacred totem Azure Dragon’s radiance, the Black Totem Turtle possessed power that enabled it to fight an Emperor-level creature with ease.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor groaned. Just then, a Sea Devil Spider King glowing in red crawled over to it. It stared at the Black Totem Turtle in fear.

The Red Sea Devil Spider King was an enormous creature. Still, it was tiny before an Emperor-level creature. Its long tentacles appeared on the sea surface, but they trembled. It was afraid of the Black Totem Turtle landing on it and turning it into a dead specimen.

But the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor had no intention of letting the Red Sea Devil Spider King help. The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor spread its white tentacles and hopped onto the Red Sea Devil Spider King. Its abdomen was wounded, but the wounded abdomen revealed countless fangs.

‘Why were there fangs inside its wound?!’

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s wound turned into a large mouth and bit the Red Sea Devil Spider King.

The Red Sea Devil Spider King struggled to break free. It groaned in pain, but the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor did not let it flee.

The fangs inside its wound gnawed the Red Sea Devil Spider King and shredded it into pieces before swallowing it.

After the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor devoured the Ruler-level Red Sea Devil Spider King, filaments of silk grew around its wound. The sticky filaments of silk quickly became flesh, skin, and armor. It was rejuvenating!

Chiiiik!

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor let out a maniacal laughter, as if it was mocking the Black Totem Turtle for launching a meaningless attack.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor had recovered. The wound on its abdomen was gone. But it had not recovered from the damage inflicted by the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon was within a sea of Ocean Demons. It was killing hundreds of them. Since the Black Totem Turtle had targeted the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor, it had to kill it. But the Black Totem Turtle was at a loss when it witnessed the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s strange ability to devour and rejuvenate.

If the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor could recuperate by devouring other creatures, the Black Totem Turtle must kill it in a single blow. Otherwise, it would only be wasting its energy.

…

Meanwhile, the Cold Moon Demon Lord remained standing in its Primes Waves. It had not cast its true demonic spell.

The Demon Lord seemed to be concocting a terrifying plan. It did not unleash all its power on the Azure Dragon. It would only stop the Azure Dragon when it cast some overbearing totem divine ability.

Mo Fan found the Demon Lord’s behavior to be strange. The Ocean Demons surrounding the Prime Waves protected the Cold Moon Demon Lord without caring much about the others. As long as the Azure Dragon did not directly threaten the Cold Moon Demon Lord, it would not make a move.

Mo Fan frowned. ‘Is the Cold Moon Demon Lord truly so arrogant that it can maintain such indifference even against the Azure Dragon? Is it more powerful than the Azure Dragon?’

The Azure Dragon’s level of power was closely related to the seal of the sacred totem beast. If they were able to find a more completed seal of the totem beast, the Azure Dragon could become stronger.

The same applied to the other totem beasts. If they could discover more totem beasts, they could reflect on one another, and their sacred totem beast power would increase.

The Black Totem Snake and the Black Totem Turtle had obviously benefited from this. They both glowed dazzlingly. Under the sacred totem Azure Dragon’s glow, the two totem beasts could even fight with Emperor-level creatures.

The seal of the totem beasts on the Azure Dragon was incomplete. But with the nourishment from the Underground Holy Spring, it was still a supreme creature among the Emperor-level creatures.

‘Then, why does the Cold Moon Demon Lord look so calm and at peace? Could there be any other hidden plot?’ Mo Fan wondered.

“Little Loach… I mean, Azure Dragon, strike it with divine lightning!” said Mo Fan.

The Azure Dragon flew into the sky. More than a dozen of Ocean Demons clung to its body. The Azure Dragon shook its body and sent the Ocean Demons flying several kilometers away.

Its horns unleashed dense green divine lightning in the dark sky. The lightning interlaced and covered the sky above the Bund including the Ocean Demons.

Bam!

A beam of divine lightning struck the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s Prime Waves. When the lightning struck, thousands of green ripples appeared on the river and land. Countless Ocean Demons were turned to ashes including several Ruler-level Ocean Demons that had been protecting the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

The terrifying divine lightning killed the Ruler-level Ocean Demons effortlessly. The Emperor-level Ocean Demons that were unable to avoid it in time were severely wounded.

However, the Prime Waves remained unaffected. The Cold Moon Demon Lord was protected inside the Prime Waves Fortress. It turned to the Azure Dragon, mockingly.

Mo Fan was shocked. So was the Azure Dragon.

‘Why did the lightning have no effect on it? Was the Demon Lord more than just an Emperor-level creature?’ Mo Fan pondered.

Perhaps the Cold Moon Demon Lord was in the same grade as the Dark King. Emperor-level creatures were just pawns that it could toy with.

Thus far, the Dark King was the strongest creature Mo Fan had ever encountered.

Regardless of whether it was the Black Dragon Emperor or the Chairman of Asia, Su Lu, they were like puppets to him. They could easily change the rules of heaven and Earth and laws of attraction.

If the Demon Lord was at the same level as those two, Mo Fan wondered if they still stood a chance of winning this war.

1

Chapter 2867: The Chanting of The Cold Moon Demon Lord

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Mo Fan, the Cold Moon Demon Lord can neutralize magic. Prime Waves Fortress is very sturdy. We can’t destroy it even if all of us use Forbidden Curses to attack it,” said Dean Xiao.

Hong Wu, the president of the Magic Association, stood next to Dean Xiao.

Hong Wu and the other members of the Forbidden Curse Association had tried using other magic abilities when Dean Xiao had left. However, they were unable to deal with the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s ability to neutralize magical attacks.

Even though the Sacred Totem Beast, Azure Dragon, was here, it still could not hurt the Cold Moon Demon Lord. They had to outsmart it by finding a solution to its ability of neutralizing magic instead of using brute force.

It was rare to find demons with more destructive power than the Azure Dragon in this world.

“I don’t understand why the Cold Moon Demon Lord doesn’t kill all the Forbidden Mages if it has the protection of the almost invincible Prime Waves Fortress,” said Mo Fan.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord hardly attacked. It was indifferent to everything the Sacred Totem Beast or other Forbidden Mages launched an attack of great destructive power.

Its demonic spells were strange and were always effective. Its cold eyes cut off the Fire Element Forbidden Curse that the Fire God had just completed. The Cold Moon Demon Lord’s curse also stopped the Years of Turbid Wind of the Azure Dragon.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord was unparalleled in terms of strength. However, its behavior was quite odd.

“I think it’s chanting,” said Dean Xiao solemnly.

“Chanting?” President Hong Wu and Mo Fan were confused.

“The waterfall that can make a hole in the sky and cause endless seawater to pour out is from the magic it cast. The Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves that arrived in the Magic City nine hours later are also the demonic spell that it cast. The latter magic requires an extremely long process of chanting, just like how powerful Forbidden Curses need a lot of time and energy to be cast,” said Dean Xiao.

Many magic and demonic spells had a chanting process. It was not as simple as standing in a place and chanting out the spells. It constituted a lot of process like preparation, accumulation of magic, the drawing of a magic circle, the setting up of a magic formation, among other things.

The most unique criteria of a spell chant were that the caster needed to stay in a place and chant uninterrupted.

“Is it still casting spells?” President Hong Wu found it unbelievable.

‘If the Cold Moon Demon Lord had been casting spells, how could it be distracted to cast other demonic spells?’

The Forbidden Curse Association had thought of this before. They knew that by killing the Cold Moon Demon Lord, they had a chance of stopping the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves hanging on the skyline. However, the Cold Moon Demon Lord could also cast other spells at that crucial time.

“I’ve seen this ability to multicast in South America,” Mo Fan said as he suddenly understood something.

Sharjah!

She was an angel of the Holy City. She was also an excellent Mage. Her natural talent was to multicast spells. She could cast three spells at a time! When casting one spell, she could use an entirely different element to cast another spell at the same time.

“In the process of chanting a god-level demonic spell, it can also cast another spell. However, it can’t do it frequently, so it will only cast spells during a few intervals. Its chanting can’t be interrupted, so it must use Huangpu River to connect to the sea to set off the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves. It gathered all the Ocean Demons to prevent the Azure Dragon from messing up with its plan,” said Dean Xiao.

“I get it now!” President Hong Wu finally understood.

Mo Fan looked at the east. A terrifying aura suffocated him.

The skyline that he looked at wasn’t really a skyline, it was an ocean connected to the sky. That deep and dark sea seemed to have swallowed everything in the east. The rolling waves had become a line that divided the world.

‘The ocean is supposed to be on the horizon. Why is it rolling vertically to the sky?’ Mo Fan wondered. ‘How powerful is a demon which is able to set off such terrifying demonic waves?’

Not only did the Cold Moon Demon Lord want to destroy the Magic City, but it also wanted to drown it underwater.

“We must stop it.” Mo Fan felt the doom.

“We can’t deal with its magical disintegration, so we can’t stop it.” President Hong Wu sighed.

Dean Xiao glanced at Mo Fan. “Mo Fan, we need your Fusion Magic. The Ocean Prophet has been watching humans for many years and knows our magic system well. The Prime Waves Fortress is used to deal with humans. We need your Fusion Magic that doesn’t belong to the system to deal with the Prime Waves Fortress.”

“Will it succeed?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes,” Dean Xiao answered with certainty.

Mo Fan did not hesitate. He removed his fusion gloves and handed them to Dean Xiao.

However, Dean Xiao shook his head. “We’re not familiar with Fusion Magic. We might fail even if we have the gloves. I need you to help me complete the Forbidden Curse.”

“All right. I’ll follow your instructions.” Mo Fan nodded.

“It’s not difficult. You just need to be in my formation and stay alive until my Medium Magic is complete,” said Dean Xiao.

Mo Fan glanced at the Cold Moon Demon Lord and the group of demons rushing toward them at an impossible speed.

“Dean Xiao, as far as I know, the Medium Magic requires a relatively long process. If you and Mo Fan are both in danger during this process, it will interrupt the Medium Magic and cause our efforts to be in vain,” said President Hong Wu.

“That’s why we need protection. We can’t juggle two tasks like the Cold Moon Demon Lord. President, I’ll leave my safety in your hands during the whole casting process of Medium Magic. Just like me, Mo Fan also needs everyone’s protection. Although the process won’t restrict him, the characteristics of the Medium Magic are too noticeable,” said Dean Xiao.

“Don’t worry. I swear I won’t let the Ocean Demons hurt you!” said President Hong Wu.

Dean Xiao looked at Mo Fan. “Let’s start. I need you to stay in my Medium Formation. The range of the formation is large, so you can move freely in the formation. However, those Ocean Demons can also step into the formation during the process.”

Mo Fan nodded. He would not die since the Azure Dragon was there to protect him. If he helped Dean Xiao complete the Fusion Forbidden Curse, the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s plan to drown the Magic City would fail.

No matter how ferocious or numerous the demons were, the only thing that could destroy the Magic City were the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves.

Chapter 2868: The Protection of the Dragon Wall

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Dean Xiao started to set up the Medium Formation. A dark red Soul Line connected Dean Xiao’s index finger and Mo Fan’s back.

Mo Fan turned to look at it. He found that the Soul Line did not affect his movement. In contrast, Dean Xiao stood there and was motionless. Dean Xiao concentrated, and a dark red giant pattern appeared on the ground like a huge drawing.

Energy flowed in the giant pattern like water. Some dark places began to light up. When a part of the pattern was lit up, the Soul Line between Mo Fan and Dean Xiao became brighter and more visible.

The Medium Formation was desolate yet magnificent. Dean Xiao stood in the formation and felt a large amount of energy flow from the dark pattern. Sometimes, a strong dark red airflow would become a storm and move in every direction.

Dean Xiao chanted and set up this Medium Formation with the help of Mo Fan’s Fusion Magic. It was a Forbidden Formation that could destroy the Prime Waves Fortress of the Cold Moon Demon Lord!

“President, I’ve set up the formation. I’ll leave the rest in your hands,” said Dean Xiao.

A light arc surrounded and protected him. Dean Xiao closed his eyes and ignored everything that happened around him. The process of the Forbidden Curse was long, but he needed to complete it.

At that moment, the Cold Moon Demon Lord looked at them. When it stared at Mo Fan, he felt as though he was trapped in an abyss. He felt goosebumps prickle all over his skin.

“This guy…” Mo Fan suddenly realized something.

It was the Ocean Demon Head Apas saw before. He could never forget the pull of that gaze.

This creature was indeed the real leader of the Ocean Godly Horde. It was an evil being that controlled every Ocean Prophet and used the Ocean Prophets to control the whole Ocean Horde!

“Mo Fan!” President Hong Wu shouted.

Mo Fan was lost in his thoughts for a while. When he came back to his senses, he realized that the Cold Moon Demon Lord had summoned a group of powerful Ocean Demons from the Pudong ocean area again.

The Ocean Demons’ eyes flickered and became triangular. Every Ocean Demon that had rushed toward Mo Fan and the others madly had a similar imprint of mind-control in their eyes.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord had controlled them all.

They might have been Ocean Demons and Ocean Beasts with no interest in human territory. Yet, they rushed toward Mo Fan and the others desperately, as if they hated humans.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord let out a strange cry again. More demons targeted Mo Fan and Dean Xiao. After the Ocean Demons heard the cry, they became aggressive and rushed toward the Medium Formation immediately.

“What’s going on? It seems to know that we’ll use the Medium Formation to deal with it.” President Hong Wu was surprised.

“The Demon Lord’s reaction shows that Dean Xiao’s method might actually work!” said the Chief Eastern Mage.

“That’s why we should protect Dean Xiao and Mo Fan.”

…

The Ocean Demons passed by the Huangpu River and rushed toward Mo Fan and Dean Xiao. Some Forbidden Magic could not really block the Ocean Demons. It was terrifying.

The Azure Dragon also seemed to know the Medium Formation between Mo Fan and Dean Xiao was important. Its tail slowly formed a circle, which protected Dean Xiao’s Medium Formation.

The tail of the Azure Dragon was huge, so it circled around the formation like an ancient city wall.

The Azure Dragon raised its head and roared when the Ocean Demons rushed at them. Suddenly, multiple blue meteorites hit the Huangpu River and killed many Ocean Demons in an instant.

The Salamander Emperor stepped into the river. Its mountain-like back bulged and covered the Ocean Demons from the blue meteorites of the Azure Dragon. The Ocean Demons passed through the river. Their target was Dean Xiao’s Medium Formation.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord issued another order.

Suddenly, all the Ocean Demons stared at Mo Fan. Some octopus monsters had hundreds of eyes, and they were all directed at Mo Fan.

“What’s going on?” Mo Fan was shocked.

It was difficult to kill Dean Xiao, who had the protection of the Forbidden Curse Association. However, Mo Fan was an easy target.

“Mo Fan, they want to kill you!” Mr. Feng rushed over with the members of the Enforcement Union.

“I know.” Mo Fan was anxious.

Both sides of the Huangpu River were full of Ruler-level demons. It was even more critical than the war he had fought before. Many Forbidden Mages had been killed, let alone Super Level Mages.

More than half of the Ocean Demons rushed toward Mo Fan to kill him. The Cold Moon Demon Lord must have known that the Medium Formation was important, so it wanted to kill either Dean Xiao or Mo Fan to stop it.

It was easier to kill Mo Fan as he was not a Forbidden mage.

Little White Tiger roared. Mo Fan saw the white figure speed on the Azure Dragon’s tail and body. Its cold breath froze a few Ocean Demons that wanted to jump over the tail of the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon turned around and saw many Ocean Demons trying to pass through a blind spot in its vision to kill Mo Fan.

The Lan Dragon Demon and the Lord of the Shark Men hit the Azure Dragon’s neck and chest. Azure Dragon’s scales cracked because of the force.

The Lan Dragon Demon and the Lord of the Shark Men were both emperor-level creatures and were more powerful than the Multicolored Demon King and the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor.

“Azure Dragon, you take care of those emperor-level creatures. I can take care of myself since I have Little White Tiger, Moon Moth Phoenix, and Black Totem Snake with me,” said Mo Fan.

The tail of the Azure Dragon had formed a sturdy wall that blocked the Ocean Demons. However, there were too many of them. Despite the Meteorite Rain, some Ocean Demons with special abilities could still break in through the barrier.

Chapter 2869: Lan Dragon Demon

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Azure Dragon understood and stared at the two emperor-level Ocean Demons.

The Lord of the Shark Men was a relatively powerful creature among the emperor-level Ocean Demons. Unlike the Giant Shark Beast, the Lord of the Shark Men had uneven skin and body. Other people would even mistake it for an offshore mine if it floated on the sea.

It had all kinds of deep-sea ores all over its body. These ores had different colors. They looked like agates, coral fossils, and pearls, making the Lord of the Shark Men look very luxurious.

The meteorites the Azure Dragon summoned were strong. The Ocean Demons below emperor-level would die easily if the meteorites hit them.

The Lord of the Shark Men liked to provoke. It flounced its body full of precious ores and showed its shining teeth. The Azure Dragon slowly opened its mouth and inhaled.

On the east and west banks of the Huangpu River, waves of air rolled past. After a few seconds, just as the airflow in the world seemed to have stopped, and there was no wind, a big blue cyclone appeared around the Azure Dragon’s mouth.

The Azure Dragon spat out the cyclone horizontally. The cyclone grew bigger as it left its maw.

Blue meteorites still fell from the sky. When these meteorites tumbled into the cyclone of the Azure Dragon, it turned into a blue whirlwind and sucked the Lord of the Shark Men from the Huangpu River.

The cyclone overturned the Lord of the Shark Men and countless Ocean Demons. The meteorites also smashed some unlucky ocean beasts to pieces.

The cyclone passed by the river and killed the Ocean Demons as well. The Ocean Demons were as vulnerable and pitiful as the Servant-class and Warrior-level creatures.

The Lord of the Shark Men fell on the east of the Lu Family’s Mouth, and some of the precious ores on his body had fallen off. The hot-tempered Lord of the Shark Men flew up and glowed red like a volcano.

The hot magma splashed and flowed through the odd-shaped holes on the Lord of the Shark Men’s skin, turning it into a mountain burning with magma. It rushed with the magma to hit the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon raised its head and ignored the attack of the Lord of the Shark Men. It only stared at the Lord of the Shark Men. Suddenly, the surrounding space trembled, including a large area behind the Bund.

This area was full of Forbidden Mages, emperor-level creatures, ruler-level creatures, and Super Level Mages. The buildings in the city had long been destroyed and thrown in the sea.

The Azure Dragon used its mind and suspended the stones, tiles, bricks, marble, sand, steel, and cement in these ruins. It had controlled half of the ruins in the city and used them to build an old stone gate.

The Lord of the Shark Men was aggressive. It wanted to burn the Azure Dragon with its body full of burning magma, but a stone gate made of half of the ruins in the city blocked its path.

The stone gate was sturdy. Even the Lord of the Shark Men could not break it. After hitting the stone gate, the Lord of the Shark Men became dizzy, and most of the magma on its body was extinguished.

The Lan Dragon Demon crossed the Azure Dragon and rushed to the Dragon Wall while the Lord of the Shark Men tried to attack the Azure Dragon. Their target was Mo Fan, so they did not need to fight with the Azure Dragon.

The Lan Dragon Demon could move freely in the air at a high speed like an electric eel in the deep sea. The Azure Dragon sensed it and used its body to block the Lan Dragon Demon. However, it still could not stop the strange movement of the Lan Dragon Demon.

Unless the Azure Dragon focused wholly on dealing with the Lan Dragon Demon, it would wander around its tail.

The Azure Dragon had a giant body. Despite several meanderings in the air and on the ground, its tail was in the People’s Park, and its head was in the river.

Lions and elephants hardly noticed the insects on their back and hind legs. Similarly, the Lan Dragon Demon was not a huge creature. Its dragon bloodline and appearance made it easier to get into the blind spot of the Azure Dragon.

Dean Xiao’s formation was at the People’s Park. One-fifth of the dark pattern of the Medium Formation was lit up.

Ten minutes had passed. Dean Xiao needed fifty minutes to complete this formation. It was not that long of a time. Inexperience Forbidden Mages would take a few days to complete such a formation if they were careful enough not to destroy the energy node.

A sharp cry rang out which made Mo Fan’s head hurt. He looked up and saw an evil dragon with dark glass patterns appear on the Dragon Wall. The cry came from it.

This dragon had claws that looked like a lizard’s claws. It was slowly crawling through the Dragon Wall to the Medium Formation.

“Dean Xiao. Dean Xiao,” Mo Fan called.

Dean Xiao closed his eyes and ignored everything. Mo Fan was anxious and fearful.

The Lan Dragon Demon was an emperor-level creature. If it jumped over the Dragon Wall, Mo Fan would not be able to withstand its demonic spells.

“I-I will protect you,” said Jiang Shaoli. He spoke without much conviction. The reason was that he was a Forbidden Mage but could not complete a Forbidden Curse alone. It would be difficult for someone like that to fight an emperor-level creature. Jiang Shaoli meant well but his protection would be useless against an emperor-level creature.

Mo Fan looked at the Little White Tiger. It was fighting outside the Dragon Wall. The frozen crystals on its body were expanding, but Mo Fan could not see it.

The Little White Tiger had not obtained many Seals of Totem Beast, so it could not win against the Lan Dragon Demon either.

The Dragon Wall moved and became a maze-like wall, which separated Mo Fan and the Lan Dragon Demon.

The Lan Dragon Demon was cunning. When it realized that the Azure Dragon had spotted it, it immediately disappeared from the Dragon Wall.

Although Mo Fan could not see the Lan Dragon Demon, he could sense it. It was using a special method to stare at him.

Mo Fan knew that it would appear again. It was waiting for the Azure Dragon to shift its attention to other creatures.

Chapter 2870: Black Snake at the Back

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Cold Moon Demon Lord had been quietly watching the battle. It knew that the Lan Dragon Demon had gotten near the Medium Formation but could not approach it because of the Azure Dragon.

It cast another strange demonic spell, and a giant hole appeared in the sky. A cold waterfall poured down on the Azure Dragon.

The waterfall was poisonous. When it touched the Azure Dragon, its poison quickly melted away the Sacred Totem Beast Scale of the Azure Dragon and suppressed the holy Seal of Totem Beast.

The Azure Dragon would not let the Cold Moon Demon Lord continue to pour down poisonous water on it. It suddenly stood up without moving its tail which was still a Dragon Wall.

Thousands of trails of gold light fell like dragon swords and almost covered the entire sky of the Bund. The Dragon Sword of Light had a powerful purifying ability and the poisonous water pouring down from the hole in the sky quickly evaporated. It also burned away the Ocean Demons with dark attributes.

Many Ocean Demons had dark traits, such as curses, poisons, and corruption abilities. The gold Dragon Sword of Light the Azure Dragon summoned was the nemesis of these substances. It purified and wiped out many evil spirits, demonic spells, and demons of darkness.

The poisonous water that wanted to corrode the Dragon Pattern of the Sacred Totem Beast had evaporated. The Azure Dragon stared at the Cold Moon Demon Lord majestically, but the Cold Moon Demon Lord looked at it with malice.

The thorn on the Azure Dragon’s tail suddenly erected. The Azure Dragon turned around and saw that the Lan Dragon Demon had jumped over the Dragon Wall and was rushing toward Mo Fan.

The Azure Dragon changed the shape of its tail and used the thorn on its tail to attack the Lan Dragon Demon. The sweep of the tail gave rise to a heavy wind.

Unfortunately, the Lan Dragon Demon was prepared for it. It quickly hid in a puddle of water in the park to dodge the tail of the Azure Dragon.

The Lan Dragon Demon jumped again. It transformed into a blue electric light and rushed toward Mo Fan at a high speed.

Mo Fan saw the bolt of destructive lightning but could not move to defend himself. Even before the Evil Dragon Lightning of the Lan Dragon Demon touched Mo Fan, his heart had stopped beating. His mind was blank, and his muscles were frozen. It seemed that he could do nothing but wait for the emperor-level creature to kill him.

The Azure Dragon roared and blocked the attack of the Lord of the Shark Men with its front claw. Its tail that failed to attack the Lan Dragon Demon rolled up and revealed two giant legs. Its legs caught the tail of the Lan Dragon Demon and pulled it back.

The Lan Dragon Demon had not expected to be caught by the Azure Dragon. The Azure Dragon was indeed terrifying. However, the Lan Dragon Demon had the bloodline of a lizard, so its tail was unimportant.

The Lan Dragon Demon bit off its own tail brutally and escaped from the claw of the Azure Dragon, bleeding.

The Lan Dragon Demon ignored its bleeding bottom and rushed toward Mo Fan as if its hatred could not be satiated until Mo Fan was killed.

Mo Fan still could not move and did not know if the Black Dragon Suit he wore could withstand the deadly attack of the emperor-level creature.

Unlike before, Mo Fan was now very calm. He stared at the Lan Dragon Demon and used his dragon sense to see it. Its skin was like electric cables, which could excite Evil Dragon Lightning that was many times stronger than the Lightning Element of Forbidden Mages. The Evil Dragon Lightning could kill creatures within a radius of several kilometers.

Mo Fan could not move, or even think, let alone use his magic. The Lan Dragon Demon was about to succeed in its mission when a giant snake with ancient holy scales appeared before it. The snake bit the Lan Dragon Demon’s neck and injected poison into its electric body.

The electromagnetic skin of the Lan Dragon Demon instantly diffused. The Black Totem Snake bit the Lan Dragon Demon and rushed out of the Medium Formation with the creature in its mouth.

The Lan Dragon Demon struggled to break free from the Black Totem Snake’s poisonous teeth. It gave up a big part of its neck, rolled into the muddy water, and hid in the buildings and ruins.

The Black Totem Snake did intend to let go of the Lan Dragon Demon. It was also familiar with water. When the Lan Dragon Demon ran to the river, the Black Totem Snake chased after it. In the place near Hongkou District, the Black Totem Snake finally bit the bottom of the Lan Dragon Demon.

The Lan Dragon Demon cried in pain. It paid a painful price for its mission to kill Mo Fan. However, the Black Totem Snake had been guarding Mo Fan by his side and waited for the arrival of the emperor-level Ocean Demon.

Unlike the Black Totem Turtle, the Black Totem Snake had received a stronger radiance from the Sacred Totem Beast. It had acquired the radiance of both the Black Totem Turtle and the Azure Dragon. The Black Totem Snake was now akin to a miniature but poisonous Azure Dragon.

If the Lan Dragon Demon was not injured and poisoned, it could still fight with the Black Totem Snake. However, it would die if it kept fighting after getting injured.

The target of the Black Totem Snake was obvious. The Lan Dragon Demon was one of the most powerful emperor-level Ocean Demons. If it could kill the Lan Dragon Demon, it could lessen the pressure on the Azure Dragon and other Sacred Totem Beasts.

It had lain in wait for the right time to strike. It was smart, ruthless, and brutal.

1

…

On the river in Hongkou District, the Black Totem Turtle was still fighting with the White Spider Emperor.

The Super-Level Union Mages of the renowned family were also fighting with the Deep-Sea Dragon Empire.

Zhao Manyan stood on the Black Totem Turtle. At his arrival, the Black Totem Turtle’s strength increased once again.

“We can’t attack mindlessly. We must think of a solution. If this creature can quickly recover his vitality by swallowing other creatures, we must think of a way to stop it from doing that. Otherwise, all the attacks will be useless,” Zhao Manyan said to the Black Totem Turtle.

Surprisingly, the Black Totem Turtle listened to Zhao Manyan’s advice.

“The Black Totem Snake is nearby. Think of a way and let the Black Totem Snake poison those ruler-level creatures so that, when injured, the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor can eat those poisonous creatures,” Zhao Manyan hurriedly said.

The Black Totem Turtle stood up. Its body bulged like an enormous dark brown mountain in the city. It was communicating with the Black Totem Snake.

The Black Totem Snake noticed it. The Lan Dragon Demon was running toward the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor to find protection for a while.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor was indomitable. It constantly ate other ruler-level creatures to regain its energy and combat power. Even its spinnerets destroyed by the Azure Dragon were slowly growing.

Once its spinnerets rejuvenated, the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor would be much more difficult to deal with than other emperor-level creatures.

Chapter 2871: Vengeance Ocean

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Black Totem Snake understood what the Black Totem Turtle wanted.

In the past, the Black Totem Snake usually released poisonous fog on a large area to incapacitate every creature within range so they could not move. However, the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor would notice it. Therefore, the Black Totem Snake released poison less noticeably.

It peeled off some of its scales which turned into water snakes when they touched the seawater. The snakes swimming in the river glowed with blue light. Some people might even mistake them for discarded plastics or leathers.

They targeted a group of Giant Lizard Dragons and entered their bodies secretly. The Giant Lizard Dragons did not notice the poisonous water snakes. Soon, the poisonous snakes began to spread poison from an artery to their whole bodies.

The poison would not take effect immediately. It would first eat away at the organs by assimilating into the blood. But it would not touch the heart and the head so the demons would not die.

High-level creatures could self-examine and find deadly poisons in their bodies. They could make their bodies secrete antidotes to keep themselves alive.

The poison of the Black Totem Snake was more advanced than crude, deadly poisons. It would leave the brain and heart of the creature untouched so that the creature would assume that its body functioned normally and would not notice it until it was too late. When its body slowly decayed because of the poison, it would be too late for the creature to secrete antidotes to save itself. Those Giant Lizard Dragons would not notice the water snakes eating away at their organs very slowly.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emeperor would be fooled into eating these Giant Lizard Dragons when it needed to regenerate, thereby poisoning itself.

As they expected, the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor devoured the Giant Lizard Dragons again. It was like a hungry beast and ate every Giant Lizard Dragon around it. After eating three Giant Lizard Dragons in a row, the spinnerets at its back began to grow and spit out ghost silks on the surroundings.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor let out a cry as though it was laughing. It sounded terrifying. It was happy because it could now create ghost silks again so it wouldn’t take long for it to be fully armed and metamorphose into White Iron Spider Emperor.

Unless it fought head-to-head, no emperor-level creature could defeat it when it was in this form!

More white ghost silks came out of the recovered spinnerets. They were sticky and could wrap many creatures and buildings in the surroundings at a time. White spider silks covered Hongkou District.

A white nest appeared in the city again. Suddenly, the body of the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor twitched. Its claws scratched on the ground, as if its chest was burning.

The ghost silks it secreted softened for some reason. As they softened, they became liquid like ice cream, making Hongkou District look like it had been splattered with paint.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor seemed to have grown older, and its middle claw suddenly fell off. The hard armor, muscles, sharp tentacles, and sturdy claws became corrupted and fell off as well.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor was furious. It finally realized that it was poisoned!

The White Spider Emperor was a venomous creature. It was not tortured to death by the poison in its body. It began to stab into its own body with its front claws, releasing all the poisonous blood.

The White Spider Emperor drank a lot of river water to make up for the lost blood in its body. However, it hurriedly stopped drinking when it found out that the river was full of poisonous water snakes. It stared at the Black Totem Snake, and its hatred was palpable.

The Black Totem Snake would not let the vicious Ocean Demons go. When the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor was poisoned, the Black Totem Snake attacked it. The flickering holy scales all over its body acted as an indestructible armor, so it wasn’t afraid of hand-to-hand combat.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor and Lan Dragon Demon began to rely on each other. The Lan Dragon Demon tried to use the Deep-Sea Dragon Empire in Hongkou District to block the attacks of the Black Totem Snake and Black Totem Turtle. However, the Super-level Union attacked right after the Deep-Sea Lizard Demon Dragon Troop gathered.

There were hundreds of people above the Hongkou District, and most of them were masters from renowned families. The Super-Level magic, jointly chanted, hovered and superimposed in the sky. A magical storm shaped like a black hole formed over the Hongkou District and the other side of the river.

The Lizard Demon Dragon Troop suffered heavy losses. The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor and Lan Dragon Demon were injured to varying degrees in the attack.

The Black Totem Snake and Black Totem Turtle were affected as well. The magical storm could not distinguish the target and attack everyone equally. The Black Totem Snake and Black Totem Turtle endured with the Scale Pattern of Sacred Totem Beast. Even though the magical storm would injure them, they could not let the two emperor-level creatures flee.

The Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor and Lan Dragon Demon could recover at a high speed. Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor’s body released snake poison just as quickly as the Lan Dragon Demon’s tail grew. To kill them, they would have to pay the price.

“Keep on attacking. The two Totems can hold their own,” said Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan rode on the Black Totem Turtle elegantly. He had become the spiritual leader of the union of renowned families. If they could kill the two powerful emperor-level creatures, it could boost the morale of the Magic City.

“I’m here to help!” The Fire God appeared.

He flew in the sky with a powerful Forbidden Curse. A red Sky Pool floated above the Fire God. When he shouted, the red Sky Pool slowly tilted and poured down the Fire of Sky Pool toward the ocean on the other side of the river.

The Fire of Sky Pool was an extremely powerful Forbidden Curse, almost comparable to the joint magic of Super-Level Mages. It was hard to imagine that a single person’s power could surpass that of many top Mages. He was a true Forbidden Mage!

The Fire of Sky Pool had killed many Lizard Demon Dragons. The furnace of the gods rolled down on the world, and the two emperor-level Ocean Demons could only struggle to survive in the Fire of Sky Pool.

If they were in a good condition, had evil dragon skin, or had a white iron body, they would have sustained minor injuries. However, they were already injured so the Fire of Sky Pool dealt them a fatal blow.

Chapter 2872: Battle in Hongkou District

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Attack! The two emperor-level creatures are dying!” Zhao Manyan shouted excitedly.

He had never expected that he would be chasing and defeating an emperor-level creature ever in his life. Zhao Manyan was thrilled. He was not as crazy during the battle in Andeas.

After all, he grew up in the Magic City and was fond of this place. Also, the Zhao family had many businesses in the city.

Zhao Manyan would kill anyone that destroyed his family’s business, even an emperor-level creature would be no match!

Everyone was willing to obey the person who could order the Black Totem Turtle. Even the Fire God of the Forbidden Curse Association talked to Zhao Manyan with respect.

“There are too many Salamanders across the river. If we attack rashly, we might fall into a trap. Please order Black Totem Turtle to open a way for us,” said the Fire God.

The Black Totem Turtle was indeed ferocious. It could even deal with the invincible emperor-level creature alone.

The Black Totem Turtle was also a marine creature. Its roar could make any Ocean Demon’s demonic spells ineffective. If the Black Totem Turtle could take the lead, other people would be at ease.

“Attack! It’s no longer a defensive battle! We want revenge on the Pacific Ocean!” Zhao Manyan shouted.

Although it was a bit of an exaggeration, they were in need of such inspiring words in the battle. Zhao Manyan took out the Wooden Fish Containers and Water Buddha Beads.

His cultivation was not as high as those of Superordinate Mages and apex-grade Mages. However, the Wooden Fish Container was associated with the Black Totem Turtle. After the Black Totem Turtle received the radiance of the Sacred Totem Beast, the Wooden Fish Container stimulated to infinite potential. Every magic was four times sturdier and as powerful. When combined with the Blessing of the God’s Seal, a Super-Level defensive barrier could be eight times thicker than the barrier of a normal Super-Level Mage.

The Water Buddha Beads were powerful water equipment. Wu Ku was sinful, but the Water Buddha Beads left behind seemed to have inherited most of his abilities as a Water Element victim. Because of this, Zhao Manyan’s control over Water Element was almost the same as Semi-Water Element Forbidden Mages.

Water Element had absolute suppression over Ocean Demons. Zhao Manyan could not deal with emperor-level Lan Dragon Demon and Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor, but he was a great threat to the Deep-Sea Dragon Empire.

…

“Hey, don’t be too aggressive. Follow everyone’s momentum for the attack,” said a soft voice.

The irritable Black Totem Snake broke free from the Lizard Demon Dragon Troop after it heard the voice.

A woman wearing a light red uniform of the Enforcement Union jumped onto the crown of the Black Totem Snake. She patted its head affectionately.

“Ms. Tang Yue, you came at the right time. Let’s cross the river with the Black Totem Snake. We can’t let the Lan Dragon Demon and Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor recover and flee.” Zhao Manyan’s eyes lit up when he saw Tang Yue.

Tang Yue was the Head of the Magic Court of Nanxi Mountain. She had just arrived at the scene.

The other Judges and Deputy Judges also landed on the head of the Black Totem Snake. They stood in an orderly line.

Two Totem Guardians appeared one after another. If they were here, the Super-Level Union could communicate and cooperate with the two Sacred Totem Beasts perfectly. This was crucial for Mages, who lacked frontal resistance!

There were not many Summoning Element Mages in the Magic City, so many Ocean Demons disrupted the formation of the Mages. After they made a sturdy formation, the destructive power and lethality caused by it would be even more powerful than that of the demons.

The body of the Black Totem Turtle was the most reliable. When it stood in front of them, it was like a natural barrier. Its shell acted as a protective wall, and it gave the Super-Level Mages time to cast magic spells however they wanted.

Unlike the Black Totem Turtle, the Black Totem Snake was a pair of sharp fangs. It could tear apart, attack, bite, and poison the enemy.

Its defensive power was far inferior to the Black Totem Turtle, but its aggressiveness was far superior. Its arrival threatened the lives of the Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor and Lan Dragon Demon.

The existence of the two Sacred Totem Beasts stabilized the battle in Hongkou District. Hongkou District could win if they killed the two emperor-level creatures!

…

More than half of the pattern had lit up.

The Dragon Wall was formed again, and the Ocean Demons below ruler-level could not jump over the tail of the Azure Dragon no matter how numerous they were. Even if a ruler-level creature broke into the Dragon Wall, its demonic spells would be restricted by the Azure Dragon, and its strength would reduce radically.

“Mo Fan, you have to be extra careful since the Black Totem Snake is not here,” Eagle-winged Shaoli said to Mo Fan.

“Don’t worry. I’m not weak. The Green East Sea God is blocking the Giant Shark Beasts in the sky. If they attack, the formation formed by me and Dean Xiao will be destroyed, so you should go and help the Green East Sea God,” Mo Fan said to Eagle-winged Shaoli.

Shaoli looked up. There were many big creatures eyeing them in the sky. They were all Chief Sharks and Giant Shark Beasts. There were about twenty of them.

At first, there were more than fifty of them, and each of them had reached the ruler-level of the Shark Horde in Lan Yang City. The Green East Sea God had killed thirty of them, but it had no time to kill the remaining twenty.

They were here to destroy the Medium Formation.

Their strategy was easy. They would use their bodies to smash the People’s Park into a hole. Then, the Medium Formation would not have any support on the earth so it could not absorb the elements of this world.

“All right. Take care,” said Eagle-winged Shaoli.

Mo Fan’s body was full of fire, and he stared at an Evil Tyrant Crocodile that had been annoying him.

…

The Moon Moth Phoenix flew. Its figure was almost invisible in the dark under the clouds.

Unlike other Sacred Totem Beasts, the Moon Moth Phoenix did not join the battle. Lingling and Leng Qing both laid on its back and as it flew toward the Pudong ocean area.

After flying for about ten kilometers, they saw many Ocean Demons moving toward the Magic City. Some even swam in the ocean. Even if they could not see their faces, they could guess that the creatures were tyrant-level demons.

The Moon Moth Phoenix hid. Even if it were exposed, it would be fine since it could use the charm of the Moon Moth. If it didn’t attack the Ocean demons, they would pass by it without attacking back.

“Grandpa!”

“Are you sure he is down there? I can only see the corpses of Salamanders,” Qing Leng asked.

There were piles of corpses of Salamanders. They wondered what kind of a person had delayed the arrival of the White Disastrous Clouds.

“He is down there,” Lingling said with conviction.

“Wait. Let those tyrants pass by first,” Qing Leng said calmly.

Chapter 2873: Rise of A New Evil—The Ocean Undead

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Leng Qing’s focus was on the red Ocean Demons.

The red Ocean Demons were different from the others. They did not have skin or flesh. They were all bones.

Fish bones were sharp and spiky. The Ocean Demons in red fish bones roaming on the water surface created an odd and terrifying sight. The sea water where they passed by turned red, as if it was infected. Even the plants under the water died.

“Over there!” Lingling discovered something and cried out urgently.

The Moon Moth Phoenix dived down and landed on top of a pile of Shell Demons and Salamanders’ carcasses.

The Moon Moth Phoenix flapped its wings and stirred up a strong wind. The wind blew off their armors—which were as hard as granite—layer by layer. Hundreds and thousands of Salamanders and Shell Demons’ carcasses were swept away.

Finally, an elderly man was revealed from under the pile of carcasses. He laid in the middle of a Salamander’s golden armor while he faced the sky. He looked as if he was laying on a large golden rocking chair.

“Grandpa!” Lingling and Leng Qing quickly dashed over to him.

The Moon Moth Phoenix flew to him. It spat out a drop of crystal-clear dew. The dew fell on Song Qiming’s forehead. At that moment, the blood vessels all over his body lit up, and the speed of blood flow, which was very slow before that, increased.

After some time, Song Qiming opened his eyes. He stared at Leng Qing and Lingling, and a strained smile appeared on his exhausted face.

“A-Am I still not dead?” Song Qiming asked.

Before he had collapsed, he was already exhausted. The Salamander Emperor had laid its eyes on him like a hungry wolf. It would have devoured him without doubt.

‘Did something happen that made the Salamander Emperor stop wasting its time on an elderly man?’ Song Qiming wondered.

“Do you really think you’re still in your thirties or forties?! You’re old.! Why can’t you just stay home and enjoy your retirement?!” Lingling was so upset that her eyes welled up with tears.

Fortunately, Lingling had prepared a gift for Old Bao during his grand birthday. The gift would enable her to locate him no matter where he was. That was how she had found him today.

“I feel more at peace knowing that I can contribute to this fight.” Song Qiming smiled wryly.

He slowly got up and tried to look at his Star Universe, only to find that his Star Universe had crumbled. The Star Son within was chaotic and out of order. It was completely out of control. Song Qiming felt bitter and helpless.

His cultivation base had collapsed. It could be either because he was severely wounded in the battle, or his aged body could no longer support the massive Star Universe.

“We can’t stay here any longer. We have to leave now.” Leng Qing helped Song Qiming onto the Moon Moth Phoenix’s back.

Song Qiming could barely move on his own. He was paralyzed. He considered himself fortunate to have survived.

“Wait!” Song Qiming cried out. Immediately, he was seized by a coughing fit. He had used up too much energy.

His cough was bad. It sounded as though he was going to die soon. Even so, he grabbed Leng Qing and Lingling’s wrists tightly. He insisted that they listen to him carefully.

Leng Qing and Lingling were puzzled. ‘Why was he pushing himself even though he was already in such a terrible state?’

If they could get him home in time, he could survive and regain his health with proper treatment. ‘Why was he trying to die in this place? Did he truly find this to be something honorable and worthy? Had he ever thought about his two granddaughters?’

“Help me down,” Song Qiming said firmly.

“Grandpa…”

“Help me down!” he insisted.

Lingling and Leng Qing had no choice but to help him to get down to the pile of Salamander carcasses.

Song Qiming had Leng Qing to turn over some of the carcasses. He then asked her to approach the seawater that had turned red.

Lingling had no idea why he had to do all this. When things became a little clearer, her expression changed.

Song Qiming, having found his answer, looked pale. “This is the reason why I’m not dead yet! Such cunning Ocean Demons!”

“We have to go back and inform the rest,” Lingling said urgently.

“It’s pointless. The two of you will take me back to the hunter agency. We must rely on him to take on the powerful Ocean army,” said Song Qiming solemnly.

“Grandpa, who are you referring to?” Lingling was puzzled.

“I’ve seen many evil forces and have been searching for the Red Demon to avenge your father. But the Red Demon is very well-hidden. I’ve found its doppelganger several times. It wasn’t an entirely fruitless journey. I’ve frozen them in a bottle using the Evil Bead Sublimation method,” said Song Qiming.

“The Evil Bead Sublimation method… then Mo Fan…” Lingling and Leng Qing’s eyes lit up.

“Yes. It’s sufficient for one time use,” Song Qiming nodded.

“Let’s delay no more…”

Creek!

Leng Qing was about to say something when she heard an unusual sound coming from the piles of Ocean Demon carcasses.

They stopped talking. They looked at the piles of carcasses as it emitted eerie red light. Something was writhing within the pile of carcasses, as if a fast-growing magic bud was trying to break through the soil.

Creek!

The sound grew and rang across the Pudong sea area. The carcasses floating above the sea twitched oddly. They seemed to be coming back to life.

The three of them jumped onto Moon Moth Phoenix’s back.

“They’ve awakened. Hurry up!” said Song Qiming.

The Moon Moth Phoenix flapped its wings and shot into the sky. The Pudong sea area turned eerie red. Massive whirlpool ripples appeared on the red sea. The whirlpool consumed all the carcasses, and the dead creatures came back to life!

Most of them became crimson red skeletons. They were razor-sharp with exaggerated bones covering their bodies. They looked as if they were put together from a mountain of fish bones in the dead sea. They turned into demonic evil creatures!

“It’s the Ocean Undead…”

The Moon Moth Phoenix flew high in the sky. The Undead’s evil aura was close to slamming it down. The Pudong sea area had transformed into a shocking demonic cave. Countless Ocean Undead crawled up from the ocean silt and mud. They did not have flesh on their bodies. They were covered in crimson red bones.

The reason Song Qiming was not killed was because the Salamander Emperor had planned to sacrifice him to the Ocean Undead.

The demons struggling in the middle of carcasses harbored a strong lifeless force, resentment, and evil aura. If Song Qiming hadn’t been rescued, he would have become a source of life force for the Undead.

Chapter 2874: The Ocean Queen (1)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At the People’s Square, the earth pattern had lit up and turned into a complete Seal Formation. The three elements—Lightning, Water, and Light had coalesced into three different colored beads, and they surrounded Dean Xiao.

The three beads contained the Forbidden Curse’s powerful spell. Dean Xiao ascended into the sky and stopped at the highest point in the battlefield. The beads with three different elements glowed in purple, blue, and gold around him. The lights arched across the sky and charged at the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s Prime Waves.

As soon as the three beads came in contact with the Prime Waves, they unleashed their true powers.

The bead with the Lightning element could unleash Sky Lightning. Lightning surged. Each lightning bolt was so bright that it illuminated the pitch-black Magic City. These bolts were capable of creating a sea of fire. Such lightning covered the sky including the southeast and northwest parts, and they gathered in the sky above the Bund.

The sound of the lightning storm was deafening. There were multiple Sky Lightnings. Thousands of lightning struck the Prime Waves within a few seconds. The light was so bright that even blazing sunlight paled in comparison. The world looked as if it had been set on fire by the flaming lightning.

But this was only a part of the fused Forbidden Curse. When the Sky Lightning struck the world, the gold Sacred Chant descended like the wrath of God. The Sacred Chant glowed in radiant gold and descended with splendor. It scorched and “cleansed” the land.

After the two extreme Forbidden Curse “cleansed” the Prime Waves, the blue bead seemed to have disappeared into thin air. But the blue Forbidden Curse bead had already burrowed into the Prime Waves and neutralized the magic.

The Lightning and Light Forbidden Curses had been neutralized and had no effect on the Prime Waves. However, the blue Forbidden Curse bead acted as a catalyst to break down the fortress. After the bead released its magnificent power, the fortress began to crack. At first, the crack was barely visible, but it soon spread to the entire Prime Waves Fortress before collapsing.

“It worked! It truly worked!” President Hong Wu was so excited that he was almost incoherent.

They finally neutralized the Prime Waves Fortress. The terrifying Lightning and Light Forbidden Curses intertwined and shone brightly on the Cold Moon Demon Lord. The creature remained in its place, but its eyes were filled with resentment and hatred!

Dean Xiao had mentioned that the Primes Waves was the Cold Moon Demon Lord itself in disguise.

He was right. The Prime Waves Fortress was not the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s real body. It floated in the sky. When the Prime Waves Fortress collapsed and turned into a pool of water, the Cold Moon Demon Lord revealed its true form.

It was not as terrifying and hideous as expected. It did not look strange and grotesque. It floated above the Huangpu River. It looked like an icy cold human from afar.

Only its eyes, tail, and crown horn set it apart from appearing perfectly human. Still, all this did not affect its throne as the most devilish Ocean Demon Lord.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord resembled the evil Trench Demon that proclaimed itself as the Ocean Godly Prophet.

They did not see the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s legs. Instead, it had countless whiskers that served as its “lower body”. When its whiskers gathered close, they resembled a woman’s long dress, except without a sense of aesthetic beauty.

It had a tail. There were two large whiskers under its whisker-like “lower body”. Those served as its tail. When it lifted its tail, it almost reached its crown horn.

What terrified them the most was that the end of its tail was not the shape of a thorn or a fin. Instead, it was a round, cold, silver eyeball! The eyeball shone in the cold moonlight. It looked noble even in its evil countenance.

Its Cold Moon Eye did not grow on its face. It grew at the end of its tail. I was no wonder it could move its eyeball at incredible angles and keep track of everything.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord’s body resembled a human. It had a torso, arms, neck, head, and orifices. But its Cold Moon Eye on its tail radiated only wickedness.

“The Eye of the Tide! The Eye of the Ocean!” Dean Xiao could not stop himself from blurting out the words as he stared at the bizarre and evil Demon Lord.

The members from the Forbidden Curse Association had heard of the legends surrounding the Eye of the Tide and the Eye of the Ocean. At that moment, they finally understood why the Demon Lord could cast such a powerful, divine spell that spanned across the ocean and land!

The Eye of the Tide had summoned the waves that surged to the skyline in the Pudong sea area. The waves were likened to a destructive tsunami that could drown the entire Magic City

The Eye of the Ocean was the source that created countless holes in the sky, thus allowing icy cold water to pour onto the city. If there was an ocean nearby, it could cast endless spells!

After the Prime Waves collapsed, the Cold Moon Demon Lord remained in the sky. Its skin was blue. Even without the Prime Waves as its disguise, the Cold Moon Demon Lord maintained its arrogance. It looked down at the human’s world, as if it only saw a low-level, dirty civilization below him.

The Ocean Prophets were its pawns and thus, it could control them. The Cold Moon Demon Lord was proficient in human language, but it did not bother to speak. Its demeanor and gaze implied only inevitable destruction.

It wanted to wipe out the Magic City and construct civilization that belonged to the ocean creatures only. It wanted the Ocean Godly Horde to conquer the world!

Boom!

While they were staring at the Cold Moon Demon Lord in shock, a loud sound rang out from Pudong. A red, evil tide charged at them rapidly.

It looked like a tumbling red desert from afar. Each grain of sand represented an evil spirit. The red tide had covered the entire Pudong. Even the large number of Salamanders and Shell Demons paled in comparison to the tide.

The tide looked aggressive and lifeless and filled both sides of Huangpu River. The Ocean Demons trembled in fear upon sensing the imposing aura. So did the humans.

“It’s the Ocean Undead! They have infiltrated our sea area!” Dean Xiao stared at the red Ocean Undead. There was no luster in their eyes.

“Dean Xiao, does this have anything to do with her?” Mo Fan asked in shock.

“She warned us before. Even if we’re aware of the issue now, we can’t do anything.” Dean Xiao heaved a weary sigh.

‘How did Ding Yumian turn into an Undead? How did she gather such a large number of Undead within such a short period of time?’

She was not the primary perpetrator. She was one of the victims. The war by the sea had led to many deaths over the years. Mountains of carcasses and corpses had filled the bottom of the ocean. The blood remained in the seawater by the bay for months. All this served as a fertile ground for the Undead!

But the humans had not explored much about the Ocean Undead. In theory, the Ocean Undead were much more powerful than the Undead of the land. After all, the amount of biological waste deposited in the ocean far exceeded the land surface!

Chapter 2875: The Ocean Queen (2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

What was bound to come had arrived.

After Ding Yumian had vanished, the faded Ocean Undead were assumed to make a comeback. People had lived in dread for this day.

The true queen of the Ocean Undead was someone else. The evil spirit in Ding Yumian was just one of the many insignificant conquerors.

The incoming red desert looked as if it could destroy everything.

The sound of weeping, whimpering, and roaring rang. The Undead’s roar was torture. The Magic City was already severely damaged, it couldn’t face another wave of Undead army. Even if they managed to defeat all the enemies, could the Magic City recover from this?

The place where the Undead had trampled became lifeless. The Magic City’s source of life was water. It had a flat and fertile land. But the ocean had flooded the city. The Undead wanted to invade the land.

The people of Magic City had not seen the ultimate judgment day. They were scared.

In the middle of the red desert, the skeletons covered in red, long veils traversed in the air and approached the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

One of the skeletons was cloaked in white veil. Its white veil was covered by cobwebs, but the red skeletons appeared noble in it. The female skeleton laughed like a woman, but its laughter was shrill and eerie.

It was as if she had already taken down the Magic City. Humans were meant to be defeated in this war from the beginning.

If humans could not defend the war by the coastline that spanned up 20,000 kilometers, it would be the same as surrendering the city, filled with resources, to the enemy. The Ocean Godly Horde would then expand the resources rapidly and become the world’s ruler.

If the humans fought back, there would be an increased number of deaths. Carcasses, corpses, and blood served as the Undead’s breeding ground. The Ocean Godly Horde had granted the Ocean Undead a noble status. The Ocean Demon would no longer wander under the dark ocean.

The Royal Skeleton Queen rose to the same height as the Cold Moon Demon Lord. Its Undead army had reached the Lu Family’s Mouth. The difference between the Ocean Undead and the Ocean Demons was that all the Ocean Undead were covered in bones, without any flesh. They were mostly made up of fish bones and the sharp parts from the demonic beasts such as their claws, sharp tail, sword fin bones, external and internal teeth, etc.

These were what made up the Ocean Undead army. Hence, the Ocean Undead army looked like an empire made of blades. They looked like red live weapons. There were too many of them. It was horrific.

“We have more enemies.” President Hong Wu was exhausted. So were the other members of the Forbidden Curse Association.

They had given their all in fighting the powerful Ocean Demons. The Azure Dragon and the five totem beasts had slightly made a difference in the outcome of the battle in their favor.

But in the end, the Ocean Demon army they had been fighting was just part of the Ocean Godly Horde. The Ocean Undead Empire was far more powerful. The Salamanders and Shell Demons were scrawny compared to them!

Pudong was flooded with the red Undead army. The humans had been fighting the Ocean Demons over the years. The carcasses and corpses in the past battles had become the fuel with which the Royal Skeleton Queen made its Undead army.

“Why do you have to fight back so hard? You will still end up dead and defeated before me.” The Royal Skeleton Queen let out a shrill laugh.

It had been living under the ocean for countless years. All the living creatures in the world would end up becoming skeletons sooner or later. Hence, it did not have to summon a single soldier or cast an Undead spell. After all, the fact of the matter was that living creatures died at one point and then they would belong to the Royal Skeleton Queen.

Thus, the Royal Skeleton Queen did not bother playing tricks in a war.

If need be, it would show its true power and unleash its massive army on the idiotic humans who assumed they were the ruler of the world.

“President Hong Wu, what’s its level?” the chief of the Eastern Mage asked.

The emperor-level Ocean Demons consisted of the Multicolored Demon King, Lan Demon Dragon, Demonic Ruins White Spider Emperor, the Lord of the Shark Man, the Salamander Emperor, and lots more. Still, none of them exuded a more imposing aura than the female Undead leader.

The female Undead was comparable to the Cold Moon Demon Lord. Perhaps it, too, was an evil spirit. If that was the case, this was a one-sided war. The Magic City would be utterly destroyed.

No one had ever survived in the Undead’s presence. The Undead were very sensitive toward the living. They were obsessed with transforming the living beings into their own kind!

“The Lord of Shara, the Extreme South Emperor, and the Bermudian Devil are the world’s three greatest emperors. There are ten emperors who have the power to dominate the world, and the Ocean Queen is one of them,” said Hong Wu.

The Ocean Queen had been a myth for a long time. But the Forbidden Curse Association members were aware of it and its group’s existence.

They lived in the depth of the ocean. They required a completely different living environment. Therefore, they were basically not considered much of a threat to humans. However, the Ocean Godly Horde had been in a Pacific War over the years, and this had strengthened the Ocean Undead. Moreover, their habitat had gradually expanded to the continents.

If only the humans knew that the Ocean Godly Horde had allied with the Ocean Undead, they would not have fought back. They would have saved their resources and moved to other places.

The powerful enemy appeared from the ocean one after another. The humans had just regained their confidence, only to fall into despair again. It was impossible to retreat.

“They can’t stay inside the refuge any longer. Have the officers transfer all the citizens inside the refuge to the Ding City,” said Councilman Gu in disappointment.

“There are still many Ocean Demons inside the city. The transfer process could…” Another councilman hesitated.

“The Undead itself is a virus. It can infect all the citizens within a very short period of time. Enough of questions and doubts. Do you want all the citizens of the Magic City to end up becoming the Ocean Undead?” said Councilman Gu.

“Got it.”

They could no longer stay in the city. The refuge with waterproof barrier, Forbidden Isolation, and hidden systems could not stop the Undead’s infection. The people inside the refuge would become Undeads sooner or later. If the Undead attacked the living humans, it would lead to casualties which couldn’t be cured. They would slowly turn into Undead themselves.

The Magic City was severely destroyed. The arrival of the Ocean Queen had further intensified the frightening aura.

Migration was the wisest decision. They had to abandon the city and flee.

Chapter 2876: Total Warfare

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

There were many Ocean Demons roaming in the Magic City. If they were to transfer the people from the refuge to other places at that moment, it would undoubtedly lead to a huge crisis.

But the Magic Association had no other choice. Evacuating the people out of the city was much better than leaving them all here to die.

“What about us?” asked one of the Apex-grade mages.

If they were to start evacuating people from the refuge, it would certainly be a challenging ordeal. But what about the mages? Should they retreat with the people or stay and fight?

“We have no way back,” said President Hong Wu.

When they had established the base city in the Magic City, they built a refuge. There was an emergency exit inside the refuge. The refugees stood a chance of leaving the Magic City alive. If the Mages fought the Ocean Demons and kept them busy, the people could survive. But there was no way out for the Mages.

The Ocean Demons gathered. Likewise, the humans assembled. They had shifted the important battle to Huangpu River. Most of the Ocean Demon army and Undead army were temporarily blocked at the Huangpu River barrier.

The Ocean Demons descended on the Magic City through the sky holes. The Ocean Demons in Pudong outnumbered the large Ocean Demon Kingdoms drastically.

Regardless of the outcome of the battle at Huangpu River, the people in the refuge had to leave. The Mages had to stall for time to give the citizens sufficient time to migrate to other places.

If the Ocean Undead were not present, they could buy more time. The Mages below Super level could destroy roaming Ocean Demons to enable a safer evacuation process and less fatality.

But the current situation was completely different. If they continued to stay, the dead people would become a part of the Ocean Undead and infect the living endlessly.

The refuge was crowded with people. The infection would bring immediate fatality and spread uncontrollably.

They were already defeated the moment Councilman Gu made the evacuation announcement. What was left now was to flee for their lives and strive to survive.

If the Mages could hold the battle for a while, more people could leave the city.

It was only after all the people in the refuge had left that the Magic Association would give the Mages an evacuation signal. Would any of them still be alive by then?

“I smell your fear. Here’s my suggestion, pick up the shattered pieces all around you and stab your poor little hearts!” The Royal Skeleton Queen spoke loudly. It sounded like it was reading a victory speech.

“Regardless of whether you continue to fight back or commit suicide, you’ll still end up becoming my people. Those who heed my order, I’ll perceive you as showing me your fidelity.”

The Ocean Queen stirred the people’s minds. It flaunted its massive Undead army and mocked the Mages.

Meanwhile, the Cold Moon Demon Lord swung its two tails gracefully. It remained as cold as ice. The Eye of the Tide and the Eye of the Ocean on its tail carried a hint of scorn.

It remained quiet, but the way it carried itself was evident that it believed it would win this war.

It had its hands on the Magic City.

The only thing that piqued its interest was the process of the war. It would either conquer the Magic City according to its will and orders, or it would encounter some plot twist and changes as it occupied and trample the city. Either one, it would still lead to the same result. It preferred the latter.

And the appearance of the Azure Dragon was a change in the process! At that moment, it rested its Cold Moon Eyes on the Azure Dragon.

“Kill them!” said the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

It spat out a very strange language, but the humans interpreted its message in their minds.

It was the Godly Evil Mind ability!

The Demon Lord was a godly level creature that could manipulate any creature’s minds. It could communicate with all kinds of races. It could unite the Pacific Ocean and give orders to the Godly Prophet and instigate more wars!

After it gave its order, the Ocean Demons in the city became ferocious and restless. They crossed the river barrier and charged at the mages. They launched a full-scale massacre.

At the same time, the Ocean Undead swarmed the Mages. Their red and razor-sharp skeletal bodies looked like a meat grinder in the war.

Multicolored lights arched across the sky. The Mages’ elemental glow formed elemental rainstorms simultaneously. They felt humiliated and angry.

They unleashed a massive fire meteor formed from slurry blaze, a rain of heaven and earth crystal spears that pierced the lands, and a dense swirl of wind blades.

A Whale Crocodile covered in bone vertebrae appeared from the tumbling river. It crushed a group of Super-level mages from the Hunter Union by landing on them from above.

Two people died from the group. They were pierced by the Whale Crocodile’s terrifying bones. The evil Whale Crocodile then dragged them a few hundred kilometers. The Mages were disfigured and died miserably.

But the Bone Vertebrae Whale Crocodile soon met its own fate. Its rampage caused it to fall into a Forbidden Mage’s trap. Enormous knife and axe struck it. In the blink of an eye, the Bone Vertebrae Whale Crocodile died a tragic death within the cursed knife and axe formation. It had been torn apart to the size of screws and parts.

Several Chief Sharks broke through the yellow scorching light barrier and tried to destroy a group of powerful Light Element Mages. Just then, a razor-sharp green wing swung at them and cut the Chief Shark into pieces.

It was the Green East Sea God that had attacked them. Its power had increased tremendously, and the Chief Sharks were no longer its match. However, the Green East Sea God was soon surrounded by many Shark Men and beasts in the sky.

A zirconia Chief Shark whose power was clearly superior to other Ruler-level Ocean Demons almost broke the Green East Sea God’s wing bones.

Roar!

The Azure Dragon roared, and the space in the sky shook. A green afterimage that resembled a dragon danced and intertwined in the sky. It later formed a terrifying and powerful hurricane above the Huangpu River and crushed thousands of crimson red Undead.

The hurricane formed from the dragon dance continued to expand. When it expanded to the extreme, it transformed into nine hurricanes that resembled dragon shadow and charged towards Pudong along nine straight lines. It crushed the Ocean Demon army and the Undead army. The densely packed evil spirits were killed within a split second under the nine lengthy hurricanes.

Tens and thousands of Ocean Demons and Ocean Undead died. The Azure Dragon looked as majestic as ever. It had undoubtedly strengthened the humans’ faith in the middle of their hopelessness!

They felt that there was no reason for them to despair. With the Azure Dragon in the sky, and on their side, the Magic City had hope yet.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord glanced at the Azure Dragon. And the Azure Dragon unflinchingly met its eyes.

Just a while ago, the Cold Moon Demon Lord had the Prime Waves to neutralize various magic, thus allowing it to chant its evil spell without any distraction. But now the Cold Moon Demon Lord had lost its protection.

A glimpse of contempt appeared in the Azure Dragon’s eyes as it looked at the demonic creature.

The Azure Dragon stopped wasting its time on the insignificant Ocean Demons. It roared and charged at the Demon Lord to kill the leader of the Ocean Godly Horde once and for all!

Chapter 2877: The Azure Dragon’s Might

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Cold Moon Demon Lord had not expected the Azure Dragon to be so hot-tempered.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord moved back a little. Just then, the Ocean Queen stood up and glared at the sacred totem Azure Dragon with its red-amber eyes.

The Azure Dragon’s body was majestic and towering. It moved in the sky and almost covered it. Meanwhile, the Royal Skeleton Queen was the size of a human. The Azure Dragon saw it only as a small red grain of sand!

The Ocean Queen sneered. It raised its red head and let out a long shrill, like a woman singing in a high-pitched voice.

Bam!

One hundred thousand of Undead on the land disintegrated. They transformed into razor-sharp and terrifying weapons made of bones under the Ocean Queen’s chant. They formed an evil skeletal domain of a two-kilometer radius around the Ocean Queen!

The appearance of one hundred thousand bones was frightening. They floated above the Magic City like a red storm of disaster. The Ocean Queen used half of them to form a Red Bone Palace to protect itself, then transformed the other half into sharp weapons and aimed at the sacred totem Azure Dragon!

Striking a target with ten thousand arrows was a bloodcurdling sight. Having razor-sharp bones made up of fifty thousand Ocean Undead aimed at the target was unimaginable. If the razor-sharp weapons were aimed at a large city, the buildings, skyscrapers, and streets in that city would be riddled with holes.

The Super-level Union trembled in horror upon witnessing its incredible demonic power. The members of the Forbidden Curse Association broke out in cold sweat. This was just one of the Ocean Queen’s random undead spells!

The Azure Dragon was in the sky. The razor-sharp bones swarmed it. While everyone thought the Azure Dragon was bound to be injured, it charged headfirst toward the rain of scary red bones.

The red rain of bones swallowed its green silhouette. Even so, it still glowed in sacred totem light. The bone spears, bone spikes, and spinal bone tips of evil spirits shattered into pieces or were turned into dust the moment they clashed with the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon was fearless. It continued to charge toward the Ocean Queen and the Cold Moon Demon Lord. It stretched out its front claws and lunged at the Red Bone Palace which held the Ocean Queen!

The Azure Dragon crushed the Red Bone Palace into pieces in a single claw. The shocking and terrifying claw mark lingered in the space. The Ocean Queen’s palace made up of bones collapsed.

The Ocean Queen unleashed one hundred thousand Undead bones to attack the Azure Dragon again. Half of them shattered into pieces the moment they met the Azure Dragon’s divine light while the other half collapsed with a single swing from its claw. While the humans suffered with hopelessness, the Azure Dragon beat the demons effortlessly.

The humans felt hopeful. Fury flashed in the Ocean Queen’s red-amber eyes.

It slowly raised its hand. Its long palm looked like a withered branch, and it pulled the clouds from the sky.

The clouds changed color. They turned as black as ink. Flashes of red lightning struck the earth. A withered bone claw gradually appeared from the sky under the terrifying light and grabbed the Azure Dragon by its neck.

The sacred totem Azure Dragon sensed it. It moved and dodged the scary withered bone claw.

The Ocean Queen continued to transfer its evil power to the clouds. Multiple withered bone claws appeared in the sky. In the middle of the red lightning storm, the withered bone claws were so large that it could crush a huge mountain range!

The Azure Dragon moved its body. It swung its tail at the pitch-black sky at an incredible angle. When it struck with its tail, ripples appeared in the sky. The dark clouds scattered, and the multiple withered bone claws disappeared.

The Azure Dragon coiled up in the sky. It drew the Ocean Queen and the Cold Moon Demon Lord into its coil. When the people looked up, they saw that the Azure Dragon’s body resembled a sacred dragon palace in midair. Under the sacred totem light, it appeared divine!

The Cold Moon Demon Lord and the Ocean Queen were trapped within the sacred dragon palace. They were the leaders of two greatest hordes. As a result, many kingdoms and hordes were affected. The demonic auras in the city because of the Ocean Demons and evil spirits gradually diminished.

“The divinity of the Azure Dragon!” someone shouted. The Mages along the river cheered.

No matter how dark and violent the storm was, there was always a trace of light. The sacred totem Azure Dragon’s light was the Magic City’s ray of hope to continue with their fight!

The Ocean Queen’s Undead chant was no longer audible. The Undead army lost its order and crashed onto one another. There was a pause in their attack.

“Most of the Undead don’t have their own thoughts.” Councilman Gu’s eyes lit up.

Councilman Gu was a Soul Element mage. Even though he had not reached Super-level, he had an exceptionally good understanding about the Soul Element creatures. He noticed the subtle difference in the Undead groups.

“These Undead were born not long ago. Some were forced to grow mature through certain undead demonic spells. Regardless of their levels, they don’t have minds of their own. They are like puppets. They will act only when someone pulls their strings,” Dean Xiao affirmed.

“Does this mean the Undead will scatter and lose their direction if we sever their mental connection with the Ocean Queen?” asked the chief of the Eastern Mage.

“It’s possible. The Ocean Undead live in the depth of the ocean. They can hardly survive on land and shallow sea areas. Most of the Undead army here are recent byproducts from the Pacific Ocean near China continental shelf. Most of them are still newborn. This type of Undead are simple-minded and can be manipulated with ease. This is why the Ocean Queen barged into our territory without hesitation.”

The Mages from the Forbidden Curse Association were knowledgeable. They had a wealth of experience, and they were aware of the powerful hordes’ many weaknesses.

If the mages made clever use of their weaknesses, they might be able to significantly reduce the pressure before them!

“Do we have Psychic Element or Soul Element Forbidden Mages in the country?” asked Dean Xiao.

President Hong Wu frowned. They did not have a Psychic Element or Soul Element Forbidden Mage. Those Forbidden Mages were available only in foreign countries.

‘But would they be willing to be involved in this battle?’ President Hong Wu wondered. They might not risk their lives for the sake of another country.

“President Hong Wu, Lingyin Monk is a Psychic Forbidden Mage,” said Councilman Gu. A thought sprang up in his mind as he spoke with a deep sense of urgency.

The crowd’s eyes lit up. They had unexpectedly summoned two powerful Forbidden Mages through the rally order. The old lady and the old monk were Forbidden Mages.

They came out of nowhere. It was as if they had disappeared and were long forgotten. However, this time, they came forward to help during the Magic City’s calamity!

Chapter 2878: The Demonic Ocean Skeleton

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“If we cut the connection between the Ocean Demon with the Undead from China’s continental shelf, we can significantly reduce the threat,” said the Chief of the Eastern Mage.

“Theoretically, it works. We’ll do it according to your suggestion. Councilman Gu, Chief Zhu, you two will assist Lingyin Monk. Get rid of the Undead’s hostile energy as soon as possible!” said President Hong Wu.

Chief Zhu and Councilman Gu nodded. They looked up at the higher ground and realized the Cold Moon Demon Lord was casting an evil spell with extreme coldness that froze the Azure Dragon’s Sacred Dragon palace.

The Azure Dragon turned to ice. It could not maintain that posture for long. It shook its body and flung the polar ice away.

It was through the Azure Dragon’s minor movement that the Cold Moon Demon Lord and the Ocean Queen broke free of its grasp. They flew toward the Pudong sea area.

The Azure Dragon was about to chase after them when the Lord of the Shark Men and a Demonic Ocean Skeleton appeared. They stood in the Azure Dragon’s way!

The Demonic Ocean Skeleton was covered in blood red tide. Through its translucent liquid skin, it could be seen that its body was covered in whale ocean beast and shark ocean beast’s vertebrae. Compared to the King Skeleton rampaging through the Pudong sea area, the Demonic Ocean Skeleton was the true warrior of the Ocean Skeleton!

The Demonic Ocean Skeleton was the ruler of the Ocean Skeleton! When the aloof Undead Red Bone Demon appeared, nine King Skeletons appeared from among the Undead army.

The King Skeletons were made up of red-brown tides. Their bones were made up of numerous rusty demonic bone structures. When they traversed through the middle of the Undead army, they stood out like giants.

They exuded an obvious demonic aura. The nine King Skeletons were not as great as the one Mo Fan had killed.

The one Mo Fan had killed had a fossil of the powerful Chongming Divine Bird on its spine, after all. With the fossil, the King Skeleton could restore itself through the black sea water. Its regeneration ability had caused tremendous trouble and damage to the army at the Pudong battle.

It was a wise decision that the Forbidden Mage had not fought it at that moment. The Mirage Dragon King Ant Mother would have killed the Forbidden Mage together with the Apex-grade experts in a single sweep.

The Demonic Ocean Skeleton’s body size was at the same level as the Mountain Zombie. When it stood up, its backbone faced the sky. Numerous red cartilages sprang up from its backbone. The cartilages were long and thick. They wrapped around the flying Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon was focused on the Cold Moon Demon Lord and the Ocean Queen. There were many ice remnants around its limbs. The remnants froze its dragon bones and slowed down its movement.

When the red cartilage cords shot at the Azure Dragon, several hundred cartilage cords wrapped around its midsection.

Roar!

The Demonic Ocean Skeleton roared. The nine red-brown King Skeletons gathered. They grabbed the cartilage cords and attempted to drag the Azure Dragon down from the sky.

How could those few decayed skeletons bring down the Azure Dragon with ease? The Azure Dragon soared up into the sky and broke the cartilage cords. It lifted the Demonic Ocean Skeleton and nine King Skeletons up from the land.

The Demonic Ocean Skeleton was caught by surprise. It had planned to drag the Azure Dragon down to the land, only to end up being flung into the sky.

When the Ocean Queen saw this, evil light glinted in its red-amber eyes. When it glanced across the Pudong sea area, the Undead army covering the sea water surged in numbers.

The Undeads marched toward the direction of the Demonic Ocean Skeleton. They grabbed the Demonic Ocean Skeleton and its cartilage cords with their claws, tails, and boney arms.

There were hundreds and thousands of Undeads. They united and attempted to drag the Azure Dragon down from the sky!

The Undeads had more strength than most demons. A large number of Undeads moved in unison and tried to pull the cartilage cords down.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

The cartilage cords broke. The Undeads’ arms began to collapse as well due to the extreme force. The red Undead army’s bones shattered. Many powerful Undeads were killed in the middle of direct combat with the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon was pulled downward slowly. Even though its body was majestic and as huge as a mountain range, it could not withstand the massive Undeads’ strong pull.

The Azure Dragon’s body resembled a mountain range. It smashed onto the red Undeads and stirred up a wave of bones that stretched up to dozens of kilometers. When the Azure Dragon fell, it glided into tens and thousands of Ocean Undeads and crushed them. It was a shocking and horrific sight.

“The Azure Dragon is surrounded by the Undeads.”

“Should we go and help it? What should we do?!”

When the Azure Dragon fell into the middle of the Undead chaos, people panicked.

The Azure Dragon passed by Huangpu River. Huangpu River was protected by many barriers. The Ferris Fortress Barrier had protected the skyscrapers. It could provide the Mages with a certain level of protection and stop the Ocean Demon army for a while.

The human army had made use of the Huangpu River to fight the Ocean Demons and Undeads. It was impossible to cross the Huangpu River and help the Azure Dragon even if they wanted to.

The Azure Dragon fought alone above the Pudong sea area. When it landed, it was surrounded by countless powerful Ocean Demons and brutal Undeads. The cartilage cords wrapped around its body restricted its movement.

Out of desperation, the Azure Dragon fought the endless army on the land. It killed a large number of the Ocean Demons and Undeads in every attack. Thousands of demons were pulverized.

However, the number of the Ocean Demons and Undeads only reduced slightly. As the battle raged, various Ocean Demon hordes and empires united. Unless they could inflict severe damage to the Emperor-level Ocean Demons, the Ocean Demons from the East Ocean and Pacific Ocean would continue to invade the city.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

A strong, massive wind struck the Magic City. The black skyline was visible. It looked as though the skyline was only a few kilometers away from the Magic City.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord’s Eye of the Tide rolled. It continued to manipulate the tides and the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves.

The Royal Skeleton Queen obstructed the Azure Dragon from interfering with the Cold Moon Demon Lord. The Royal Skeleton Queen had made the Azure Dragon fall into the middle of the Undeads. The Azure Dragon was forced to fight the endless Undead army without any assistance.

The Ocean Queen let out an ear-piercing laugh once again.

With the Demonic Ocean Skeleton and the Undead army continuing to hold back the Azure Dragon, the Magic City was certain to drown in the ocean!

Chapter 2879: Demon’s Endless Splendor

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Mo Fan, you can’t go there. The other side of the river is hell!” Dean Xiao stopped Mo Fan.

“It’s not like I’ve never been to hell,” said Mo Fan.

“The Forbidden Curse Association has invited Lingyin Monk to cast spells. I believe the Undead Army will soon be rid of the control of the Ocean Queen. Those Undeads and Ocean Demons can’t kill the Azure Dragon. However, you’ll die if you break in,” said Dean Xiao.

Mo Fan looked up and found that Councilman Gu and Chief Zhu had flown toward the Ocean Queen along with a few Forbidden Mages.

They were going to deal with the Ocean Queen to buy some time for the Azure Dragon. The demonic spells of the Ocean Queen were too powerful and might severely injure the Azure Dragon.

However, they wondered if they could fight against the Ocean Queen.

They wanted to cut off the connection between the Ocean Queen and the Ocean Undeads, but the process was extremely complicated. If they failed, the Azure Dragon would be trapped in the Pudong ocean area.

Besides, the Cold Moon Demon Lord would not miss such a good opportunity. It would instruct the army of demons to attack the Azure Dragon while it was down.

Humans were isolated from the army of Ocean Demons and the Undead. Only a few powerful Forbidden Mages could fly in the air to attack. However, if the Cold Moon Demon Lord and Ocean Queen joined forces, the situation would be dire.

“We can’t defend ourselves like this. How can we cross the river?” Eagle-winged Shaoli asked.

They must face the truth. The Mages had been relying on the previous barriers, formations, buildings, and fortresses to defend themselves. They would lose if they crossed the river and fought with the Ocean Demons head-on.

However, the results would be the same if the Azure Dragon was suppressed and could not stop the Cold Moon Demon Lord from summoning the Sky Tide.

…

Mo Fan moved. Other people’s decisions were not important to him. He would not let the Azure Dragon be trapped and attacked by the other demons.

The Azure Dragon had set up a wall to protect him. He could not stand by and do nothing while it was in danger.

“Mo Fan! Mo Fan!”

A familiar voice came from behind him. Mo Fan turned around thinking that someone intended to stop him.

Mo Fan was not impulsive. The Azure Dragon was locked by cartilages. What he wanted to do was to break those cartilages. Once the Azure Dragon broke free from those cartilages, it would not be afraid of those demons.

“Mo Fan, wait. I’ve something for you,” said the voice again.

Mo Fan looked over and saw Moon Moth Phoenix flying toward him. Lingling and Leng Qing were on its back. Mo Fan stopped at the river.

“Why did you run? You can’t solve everything on your own. Take this.” Lingling got down and extended an arm to hand him something.

Mo Fan was puzzled. He did not know why Lingling gave him a glass bead. “Is this a corpse locator? If I’m killed, I doubt you will find my corpse in one piece.”

Lingling was so angry that she kicked Mo Fan’s leg. “This is the power of the Evil Bead Sublimation that grandpa collected when he tracked the Red Demon.”

Mo Fan was stunned. He quickly put the glass bead together with the Evil Bead Sublimation on his waist.

An icy evil energy poured into the Evil Bead Sublimation, filling the missing energy in the bead! After a while, the Evil Bead Sublimation shone brightly once again. Mo Fan was so excited that he gave Lingling a hug and a kiss on her cheek.

“Lingling, you’re my little angel!” Mo Fan was overjoyed.

“There are several sections of seawall with the same stones as the Ancient Great Wall. If you can wake them up, it should be able to enhance the strength of the Azure Dragon. I’ll find Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, and the others after you cross the river and ask them to help me find those sections of the Ancient City Wall and seawall near the Magic City,” Lingling said to Mo Fan.

“All right. I’ll leave it in your hands.” Mo Fan nodded.

There should still be some water from the Underground Holy Spring in Zhao Manyan’s Water Buddha Beads. The spring water could awaken the Ancient City Wall of the Magic City’s seawall.

Having been attacked by many Ocean Demons, the Azure Dragon needed some new Ancient City Walls to recover fully.

…

After watching Lingling on the back of the Moon Moth Phoenix, Mo Fan turned in the direction of Pudong and looked across the river.

The Ocean Demons stood like dense high-rise buildings on the other side of the river. There were countless little demons at the feet of those powerful demons, and they crawled like swarms of ants over the ruins of a submerged city.

Behind this horrific horde of demons was a red rolling desert of skeletons of the Undeads. Each Undead looked like a grain of sand, and the high-level Undeads were like sandbags and dunes.

The bustling city on the other side of the river differed sharply from the demon-infested land. No one knew which side was the most realistic.

It was no wonder that people felt despair when they saw the Azure Dragon fall on the other side of the river. Hell was truly on the opposite side of the river.

He crossed the river not because he had extraordinary courage but because Little Loach was Mo Fan’s other half. It struggled and grew in the quagmire to turn into a dragon and fly in the sky. It had become the Azure Dragon. Mo Fan couldn’t leave his other half behind.

In the battle in Northern Xinjiang, Mo Fan had realized that a demon was living in his body. The demon was himself, who was eager to kill and fight.

Now that the Evil Bead Sublimation was filled again, Mo Fan’s body no longer trembled because of the powerful army of demons.

His blood was boiling with excitement!

The demon had appeared again!

…

“Someone is crossing the river. What is that guy doing? Is he crazy?”

“I-Isn’t that Mo Fan?”

“Oh my God! What is he doing? Is he planning to rescue the Azure Dragon alone?”

Several people from renowned families knew Mo Fan, including the Lu family, the Bai family, the Mu family, and the Dongfang family.

They saw Mo Fan step across the river and Ferris Fortress Barrier, where people appeared alone among the monsters.

Most of the demons gathered near Lu Family’s Mouth were of the ruler-level. Even if he had reached the peak of the Super Level, he could not survive in the middle of such a chaotic group of demons. Mo Fan wondered how he would deal with the Undead army if he couldn’t even defeat a few groups of demons.

When viewed from the opposite side of the city, Mo Fan’s figure appeared too small compared with the surging river and the groups of demons.

Even if the fire on his body raged when he took a step forward, he only looked like a tiny firefly on the other side of the river, where the demonic energy hung like a cloud.

But for some reason, this firefly still shone brightly. The flames flushed the river where Mo Fan stood and reflected the hideous figure of the giant demons ahead.

At first, the brilliance on his body was ordinary. Then, it became dazzling.

Chapter 2880: Reassemble and Trample

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

People were surprised.

It was not a brilliance that an ordinary Mage could radiate. A red sun seemed to have fallen and dyed the river red. Even the Ocean Demons, on the other side of the river, were stunned.

The divine fire was getting more intense and formed a magnificent soul shadow comparable to a god behind Mo Fan’s tiny back. The Divine Flaming Snake King followed Mo Fan and moved forward majestically. Its terrifying divine fire and divine body rushed toward the demons on the other side of the river.

The demons had trampled on ashes, dust, ruins, and flowery skyscrapers. As Mo Fan stepped on the shore, the ashes, dust, and ruins fluttered like yellow sand. They rearranged, recondensed, and recast over Lu Family’s Mouth. Soon, a golden palace made of sand appeared in that spot. It was spectacular and unbelievable, like an incredible mirage.

However, the golden sand palace was not an illusion. It floated in the sky and moved synchronously with Mo Fan.

The Kingdom of Sand in the air was not a real place, it was the huge Earth Element power contained in Mo Fan’s demon bloodline. When Mo Fan did not need it, it became a palace and floated in the air.

The demons rushed forward, and a dozen giant Ocean Beasts blocked Mo Fan’s way. The Cold Moon Demon Lord had controlled them, so they could not sense danger.

Mo Fan looked at the Kingdom of Sand in the air and slowly raised his hand. The golden Kingdom of Sand Palace instantly transformed into an Ash Sword.

The sword was comparable to the Oriental Pearl Tower, but it was in Mo Fan’s hand this time.

“Die!” The Ash Sword immediately slashed down.

The Ash Sword of the Kingdom of Sand had divided the overflowing sea water, vast land, and infinite demons into two.

It was almost as if the Ash Sword had divided a deep black river. The river was parallel to the Huangpu River and converged on the Bund!

Most people who gathered on the riverbank were Super Level Mages, but they could not believe what they saw.

‘Was that person really the Mo Fan they knew? How did his power instantly surpass all the powerful demons? How could the Earth Element magic he cast achieve such a shocking effect?’

“Even an Earth Element Forbidden Mage couldn’t do that.” The Fire God of the Forbidden Curse Association was shocked.

“Dean Xiao, your student is… ” President Hong Wu said eagerly.

Although Dean Xiao knew Mo Fan had this ability, this was his first time seeing it in reality. The Demon Element was a research area that the Magic Association had abolished. The experimental subjects had all become demons and monsters with infinite power, short lifespans, and always caused trouble.

However, Mo Fan did not have these traits, as if the demon’s power was born within him. He was neither devoured nor manipulated by the demons but gained their powers instead.

Dean Xiao could not answer President Hong Wu. Now that the Magic City had the Azure Dragon, five Sacred Totem Beast, and a real demon to protect this precarious territory, people could finally stop despairing.

When Mo Fan killed King Skeleton in the past, many Mages in the Magic City had acknowledged him. It was even more shocking now that he had crossed the river alone and shown his demon form to others.

It turned out that the power of a person might be able to make a difference!

…

The deep black river was full of the corpses of the demons, and it took some time for the water to fill the river.

The Ash Sword disintegrated into countless minute ash particles and condensed into larger golden stones.

The stones were like armor, and they gathered in front of Mo Fan. At first, it formed a big yellow sand armor. Then, it slowly became an ancient warrior that stood among the demons.

This Yellow Sand Giant Warrior stepped forward in step with Mo Fan.

However, Mo Fan’s speed was faster than the Yellow Sand Giant’s. When the demons gathered, Mo Fan’s small figure overlapped with the Yellow Sand Giant.

“The earth equipment of the Kingdom of Sand!”

Unlike Dubai, Magic City did not have deserts. However, the city had countless ruins of buildings destroyed by the demons.

Every stone, every inch of soil, and every tile at the ruins had turned into the power of Mo Fan’s Kingdom of Sand. The ruins in the Magic City had been summoned by the earth and reassembled to fuel its power.

The reassembled demon that walked in the ruins of the city could even compete with the Black Dragon. The ocean overlords, rulers, and heroes in front of them became weak and vulnerable and died under Mo Fan’s attacks.

Mo Fan wore the earth equipment and threw the Ash Sword far away to a quagmire filled with Undead and Ocean Demons.

The sword was as straight as a skyscraper. The sword trembled slightly, and the blazing sand suddenly swept in all directions. The yellow shock waves of hundreds of meters high swallowed countless evil spirits like a sandstorm.

Sandstorm Sword!

The attack made the area full of demons an empty and barren land. Mo Fan’s reassembled body, which was five or six kilometers away, suddenly crumbled into dust.

The sands and dust surrounded the upright sword, and a powerful arm quickly condensed at the hilt.

More sand and dust assembled to form arms, shoulders, chest, and head. A tall figure appeared where the sword was. Mo Fan, who had reassembled with the sand and dust, towered as if the Ash Sword was his real soul.

On the other side of the river was the nest of demons. The place was full of demons, and it was difficult for Forbidden Mages to move.

Helping the Azure Dragon was supposedly an impossible task, but Mo Fan had already crossed nearly ten kilometers.

He was getting closer to the Azure Dragon.

…

The Azure Dragon was indeed huge. Even though the Undead Army was as huge and boundless as the red desert, the Azure Dragon was like a lonely blue mountain among them. Its claws, tail, and body were killing evil spirits without a stop.

The Azure Dragon turned around and saw Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was in the terrifying quagmire formed by the evil spirit armies. However, he walked forward even then.

The Azure Dragon roared angrily. Tens and thousands of undead were shaken into the sky like rain.

“Little Loach, here I come!”

Chapter 2881: The Immortal Black Dragon

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Nine red-brown King Skeletons blocked Mo Fan’s way.

Mo Fan did not know what special connection they had with the previous King Skeleton. But he could sense the deep hostility they conveyed, as if they were enemies from a long time back.

Mo Fan sneered. ‘Do these ugly and hard skeletons think they can block my way?’

Mo Fan held his sword and stabbed the ground. The ruins at the back moved, and Ash Wolves arose and instantly formed an army.

The Ash Wolves roared and rushed toward the nine King Skeletons. The Ash Wolves overpowered the King Skeletons. The wolves bit off their bones and tore off their limbs. The ground was littered with Undeads’ torn bodies.

The Royal Skeleton Queen saw this. It was furious. It was not easy to trap the Azure Dragon, so it could not let it escape.

“Wake up,” the Ocean Queen said to the skeletons on the ground.

The shallow sea of Pudong was full of rusty bones. However, some of these bones had fine black lines on them.

The Black Pattern Iron Bones seemed to have been on standby for a long time. After the Royal Skeleton Queen gave an order, they fit together like pieces of a puzzle of different shapes in the shallow sea.

The Black Pattern Iron Bones were in different positions. Some Black Pattern Iron Bones were very far away but flew like bullets and gathered around Mo Fan and the Azure Dragon.

The long tail was full of thorns. The huge wings were covered with huge fishbone barbs. The lizard-like body was also made of sharp and hard spines.

The black patterns connected and formed the patterns of the Undead. The evil power on it made this newly formed terrifying creature emit a deadly aura.

The black patterned creature roared, and countless rusty bones turned pitch black. They were dismantled from other Undeads and turned into black bone wasps that swarmed in the air.

“Netherbone Dragon?” Chief Zhu and Councilman Gu were shocked.

They tried to suppress the Ocean Queen to break off her connection with the Undeads and relieve some pressure on the Azure Dragon. But no matter how they attacked, the Ocean Queen was still a powerful emperor-level creature which remained unfazed.

The creature she awakened was the legendary underworld demon. It was the emperor of the underworld, who was far superior to the Demonic Ocean Skeleton!

The numerous Dragon Bone Wasps made the Netherbone Dragon even more terrifying. It was hard to imagine that such a legendary creature belonged to the Ocean Queen.

The Netherbone Dragon targeted Mo Fan. The Ocean Queen would not let the Azure Dragon return to the sky. She would try her best to suppress the Azure Dragon and prevent anyone from helping it.

She was not trying to kill the Azure Dragon but trying to protect The Eye of the Tide of the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

The Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves would arrive soon. At that time, more powerful Ocean Demons would arrive. No matter how powerful the Azure Dragon was, how would it be possible to withstand so many emperor-level demons in the entire Pacific Ocean?

…

Mo Fan stared at the vicious Netherbone Dragon and removed the earth equipment he was wearing.

The place was full of Undeads and seawater. The humid air and the breath of the Undead greatly weakened Mo Fan’s Kingdom of Sand.

He could not rely on this power to defeat the tyrannical Netherbone Dragon. However, Mo Fan had another solution.

His overall strength had increased since he transformed into a devil in Dubai. The most important thing was that Mo Fan had not obtained the Black Dragon Soul at that time.

After the Netherbone Dragon appeared, Mo Fan could hear the call of his magic suit. The dragon’s body had been destroyed, but the dragon’s soul was immortal.

Mo Fan would not forget that a giant western dragon was inside his black magic suit. It was the Black Dragon Emperor, who was at the top of the food chain!

“The Devil’s Call: Black Dragon Suit!”

The earth of the Kingdom of Sand slowly dissipated, and the Black Dragon Soul lingered around Mo Fan. The devil bloodline was ultimately powerful among all other abilities. The Black Dragon Suit Mo Fan summoned this time was completely different from the usual. A towering dragon shadow shrouded Mo Fan.

Unlike eastern dragons, the Black Dragon was impressive and huge. It had a thick, broad belly and chest, rather than a long, slender body like the others.

When Mo Fan summoned the Black Dragon Suit, he thought it would shroud him like the earth equipment and transform him into a Black Dragon Warrior. To Mo Fan’s surprise, the Black Dragon Soul seemed to be still alive. It assembled onto Mo Fan’s body and then flew to the sky, turning into a Black Dragon Emperor made of black metal scales.

His whole body was covered with mechs and steels. When he waved his wings, he could hear the mechanical sound of the metals. The Black Dragon Emperor, who had killed itself in the Dark Plane, seemed to have been reborn with this magic suit.

It flew in the sky magnificently. Its meeting with Netherbone Dragon felt like a fated confrontation.

The Netherbone Dragon saw the Black Dragon Emperor and roared. Two legendary western dragons fought with each other. Mo Fan was completely unaware of the situation in front of him.

He vaguely remembered Asha’ruiya once mentioning the Black Dragon Emperor’s enemy from a thousand years ago. After killing it, the Black Dragon Emperor had been seriously injured and hid in the Cloud Cliff of the Tyrant Mountains.

‘Could the Netherbone Dragon be the incarnation of the Black Dragon Emperor’s enemy?’ wondered Mo Fan

Even if they had died long ago, they would not stop fighting. The Netherbone made a comeback with black-patterned skeletons as its body. The Black Dragon Emperor continued this thousand-year battle with the magic suit as its body. The epic had always vividly described the encounter outside the modern city.

Mages of the Forbidden Curse Association were as shocked as Mo Fan.

The two dragons fought feverishly. Every attack could cause the sky to shatter. Other Undeads, including those Ruler-level Undeads, seemed insignificant and vulnerable in front of them. They dared not approach the two dragons at all.

Mo Fan looked at the immortal Black Dragon Emperor and suddenly understood why the dragons had supreme status. It was because they never lost their fighting spirit!

The eastern dragons were the same. When danger came, they would still wake up, even if they were broken, dilapidated, forgotten, or buried in the sand.

It could be buried in the sand, but it could still fly and cover the sky. It was an eternal guardian!

Chapter 2882: A Troublesome Shark

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The obstacles ahead had turned into nine red-brown King Skeletons. As Mo Fan walked forward, the Divine Flaming Snakeking Soul Shadow behind him suddenly shot out. All the Undeads along its path were burnt to a crisp and “cleansed” by the flames that spread from the Flaming Snakeking.

A King Skeleton standing at the forefront reacted quickly. It tried to jump up to avoid the Flaming Snakeking’s fire, but the widespread, roaring flames shot up and turned into a huge head of a snake that bit down on the King Skeleton.

The bite was powerful because Mo Fan saw the King Skeleton shattering with the impact. When its body plunged into the ravaging flames, it was severely injured.

The other King Skeletons quickly moved to the side, but the rampaging flames just split into eight other snake heads!

Now, there were a total of nine flaming snake heads! They charged straight toward each King Skeleton. The flames raged, and the heads of the snakes were so powerful that all the King Skeletons suffered different degrees of injuries and burns.

At that moment, Mo Fan stepped into the area ravaged by the flames. If someone had looked, they would have seen that a huge snake encircled the area Mo Fan traversed to attack all those who approached him.

Mo Fan moved quickly. In the blink of an eye, he reached the first King Skeleton who was dragged into the sea of fire.

Compared to the King Skeleton who attacked the Magic City, these King Skeletons were weaker, and they did not have any regenerative abilities. Even if they had any, Mo Fan could still easily defeat them in his current state.

He brought his right leg up and stomped down on the bone-covered, flame-ravaged ground. A bump shot up ahead of him, as if something terrifying was eagerly making its way up from underground.

Boom!

An earthen spike erupted diagonally into the air, piercing through the first King Skeleton and dragging it into the air. It hung in the air like a maroon-colored flag. Due to the force from the thrust, its body was impaled firmly on the spike, though its limbs swayed nonstop in the air.

When the other King Skeletons saw their comrade’s carcass, they stepped back instinctively. However, at that moment, the Demonic Ocean Skeleton howled, as if telling them that the Undeads had no fear!

Mo Fan continued onward as the Divine Flaming Snakeking swept through the battlefield. All the Undeads and the Ocean Demons within the radius of three kilometers were slaughtered by the Soul Shadow.

The remaining eight King Skeletons might have fought fearlessly, but once Mo Fan walked out of the battlefield, all of them hung in the air like maroon-colored flags from eight other spikes that had erupted out of the ground.

All nine skeletons were impaled in a neat row, and they swung in the air.

Just when Mo Fan was approaching the Azure Dragon, he felt a strong wind blowing behind him. The wind was so strong that it swept up all the debris from the ground and charged at him like a meteor from space that was about to crash on the surface of the Earth. He could sense the destructive presence from it before it reached him.

Mo Fan turned and saw a huge seabed mine. He also saw rows upon rows of spike-shaped teeth on the mine. He knew just from the jaw alone that it had an absolutely terrifying bite. That type of jaw was present only in ancient carnivores. If he ended up in its mouth, he would be torn to pieces in an instant!

It was the Lord of the Shark Men!

It was incredibly troublesome. It possessed a powerful body made up of a seabed mine, allowing it to face without fear against the Azure Dragon. It could cause a rampage on the battlefield. It had an extremely destructive power. But that was not all, it could even easily withstand Forbidden Curses and Super-level combination spells.

This creature was arrogant, brutal, and so incredibly reckless that it had tried to bite through the Azure Dragon’s tail.

At this very moment, the Lord of the Shark Men went up against Mo Fan like a destructive, terrifying meteor. Since it showed up near the trams at the Zhang River, the remaining cables stuck themselves on the lord’s dorsal fins, causing all its ores, fossils, and ancient gemstones to light up.

Mo Fan made use of dimensional hopping to avoid the brutal crash, but the Divine Flaming Snakeking Soul Shadow retreated into him. Meanwhile, the Lord of the Shark Men slowly floated above the sunken part of the ground, resembling a barren island. Its eyes shone with a horrifying spark as it stared at the tiny Mo Fan. Its gaze was disdainful and full of contempt.

Mo Fan looked at it. The Black Dragon Emperor, in his armor, was still fighting against the Netherbone Dragon, and their fight would not end for a long while.

The Azure Dragon’s tail was about eight kilometers away from Mo Fan, but since it was drowned out by the Undeads, it could not help him.

Mo Fan felt a little troubled by the Lord of the Shark Men.

It was not that he was afraid of its might. It was just that the Lord of the Shark Men was the toughest and unreasonable of all the Emperors. If even the Azure Dragon’s divine power could not put a scratch on it, then Mo Fan would just be wasting his time fighting against it.

He didn’t want to waste his energy or his time, so he had to think of an effective way to hit back. He had to find its weakness.

“Roar!”

It would not be easy for the Lord of the Shark Men to kill Mo Fan, either. Mo Fan had mastered the Shadow Element, the Space Element, the Chaos Element, and the Earth Element. These abilities were also maxed out when he was in his demon form. The Lord of the Shark Men would be hard pressed to capture Mo Fan.

Mo Fan tried flying into the air, and just as he expected, the Lord of the Shark Men swam in the air. Despite its huge body, it could still swim around on the earth and the air as though it was seawater.

The fog was thick. The Lord of the Shark Men’s mine body remained as astonishing as ever. Suddenly, Mo Fan overturned the order of space so that gravity was reversed.

But the Lord of the Shark Men was smart. The moment it sensed that the order of gravity had changed, it immediately used its sharp dorsal fins to crash against space, causing it to shudder, and thereby throwing the changed order into a huge mess.

The winds of order blew backwards, and the space around them started regaining its original position.

When Mo Fan saw the Lord of the Shark Men ignoring the rules of space, order, and gravity to charge at him, he was forced to perform dimensional hopping once more.

But the Lord of the Shark Men was aggressive. It charged into the dimensional tunnel through the crack Mo Fan left behind. The storm of the alternate dimension raged against it, but only caused it to shed one layer of skin.

Mo Fan had no desire to fight against this reckless and dangerous shark in the alternate dimension, so he picked an exit at random and returned to the normal dimension.

Mo Fan let out a slew of curse words. He had finally got up to a space only eight kilometers away from the Azure Dragon, but due to the Lord of the Shark Men chasing him, he returned to the place where the nine King Skeletons swayed in the air, away from the Azure Dragon.

This was a flaw in picking an exit at random. Dimensional hopping was the improved version of instant teleportation. It allowed him to move long distances, but the moment he picked the wrong dimensional tunnel or picked an exit spontaneously, it would just bring him to a place further away from his intended location.

Mo Fan really wanted to skin the Lord of the Shark Men and pluck out all of its tendons!

Chapter 2883: Dragon Shadow Spear

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

There were plenty of Ocean Demons, and even more Undeads.

During the short moment Mo Fan fought against the Lord of the Shark Men, the path he had cleared was covered again by the Shark Men and more Undeads.

Their numbers had increased, even more than the ones he had encountered before.

There were Giant Shark Beasts, Chief Sharks, Shark Heroes, Seabed Bone Undeads, Shark Skeletons, Corpsefeasting Fish Kings, and many more.

Meanwhile, the Lord of the Shark Men had returned to Pudong. Its face was turned toward Mo Fan, and it grinned, baring its sharp teeth of diamonds. A grin full of mockery.

Unfortunately, there was not much free ground left. Otherwise, if Mo Fan could equip himself on the earth, he could fight head on against the Lord of the Shark Men.

“Growl!”

Hundreds of Seabed Bone Undeads surged forward from behind Mo Fan. They held a bone staff in their hands. These creatures were known as necromancers of the sea, and Mo Fan saw them shaking their bone staffs at him.

The empty sockets of the skulls on the staffs shone in a wicked, strange, red light. They were casting an evil curse!

Mo Fan hated curses the most. Before the Seabed Bone Undeads could cast their curses, he threw a punch behind him.

When his fist struck air, countless high-voltage lightning bolts shot out and split into even more lightning bolts that shot through the Seabed Bone Undeads’ bodies.

The creatures fell apart, and the bone staffs landed on the ground.

“Growl!”

Thousands of Shark Heroes equipped in ice-blue Frost Armor marched toward him from his right. Some of them rode on Ice Sharks, some held sharp bone forks, and some had underwater heavy axes.

They seemed to have gone through something like the training of a human army, because they

moved as one when they marched forward. They even attacked as one.

However, Mo Fan was prepared. The mud under their feet turned into a churning, black swamp. Countless black tentacles erupted, and they strangled their necks.

Only a handful out of the thousands of Shark Heroes made it out of the execution grounds that was the swamp. The Chief Sharks, who watched from the air, intended to use these Shark Heroes to exhaust Mo Fan’s strength and ambush him during the chaos, but these Shark Heroes were no different from cannon fodders to him. They couldn’t even reach him!

Mo Fan glanced at the Chief Sharks, and his body vanished from the spot like a drop of ink falling into water.

The next moment, Mo Fan appeared on the dorsal fin of a Chief Shark. This was a Chief Shark made of zircon. It was as tough as a zircon. If Mo Fan had not gone through his demonification, he would have had a hard time fighting against this Chief Shark, because it was a ruler among all ruler-level creatures.

Mo Fan held on tight to the Chief Shark’s dorsal fin with one hand and brought his other hand up high before unfurling his fingers a little. A sharp, black dragon spear appeared and shone with a black, metallic glow. A thick aura of death surrounded it.

Whoosh!

The dragon spear pierced through the Chief Shark’s heart. While in his demon form, Mo Fan was like a hunter in the dark. The long and thin Dragon Shadow Spear pierced through the Chief Shark’s back and came out through its stomach. The dark, corrosive powers of the spear spread through the Chief Shark’s body at lightning speed!

The Chief Shark squirmed and struggled in an attempt to throw Mo Fan off, but Mo Fan held onto the Dragon Shadow Spear tightly and poured his power into it. The Chief Shark suddenly plunged and crashed on the ground.

Its body had already eroded completely before it hit the ground. Its zircon skin fell apart due to rot.

The Dragon Shadow Spear continued releasing its corrosive power, and pus grew on the huge Chief Shark’s body before it was reduced to bones.

When Mo Fan withdrew the Dragon Shadow Spear, only black, brittle bones remained of the Chief Shark. It did not even have the chance to turn into an Undead.

“Interesting. Looks like this thing is made specifically to deal with these tough creatures.” Mo Fan’s gaze landed on the Lord of the Shark Men.

Due to having its body made of ores and gemstones, this creature did not even fear facing the Azure Dragon. However, there was nothing in the world which was completely invincible. Even the Titans in Greek mythology were killed by some weapon or another.

Darkness was perfect to take down these ugly and tough creatures!

The Lord of the Shark Men had seen what happened to its subordinate, and it narrowed its small eyes.

Mo Fan suddenly charged forward with speed, and his body practically blurred into a black line. He swung the Dragon Shadow Spear, producing thousands of afterimages for the spear. These afterimages sliced through the air like a black meteor shower and swept past the body of the Lord of the Shark Men!

Just as he had expected, the corrosive power of Darkness was the best method to deal with these creatures. He could see those afterimages leaving behind multiple holes on the creature’s body. These holes were filled with the corrosive power of darkness, and they started gnawing into the Lord of the Shark Men’s tough skin like living worms.

The creature howled. It was in great pain because of the corrosive power.

Its howls summoned its Shark Men army to surround Mo Fan. The air was filled with Giant Shark Beasts, and the ground with Shark Heroes and other subspecies of Shark Men. They were so densely crowded together that they formed a magnificent, terrifying sea of silver-gray.

Mo Fan sneered. He tossed the Dragon Shadow Spear into the cloud of blackness. He saw the cloud exploding into a black vortex. Innumerable number of Dragon Shadow Spears plunged down from within the vortex and stabbed into the ground at the speed of meteors to pierce through the Shark Men army!

Screams of agony rang in the air. The Shark Men army was like the most pitiful of ants before the Dragon Shadow Spear. They died in droves, but the Dragon Shadow Spear continued its attack. Its area of effect was so large that not even the Lord of the Shark Men was safe.

“Chaos: Seal!”

Mo Fan decided to deal an even more brutal blow. Once he was done with casting the Dragon Shadow Spear rain, he cast a Chaos Element spell that spread to a wide area. It copied the Dark Element spell from the Dragon Shadow Spear, and Mo Fan used it to attack the Shark Men’s army again!

If any of them survived, he cast another spell.

Even if they managed to survive, they would be crippled, and stuck with the corrosive power of death.

The Lord of the Shark Men could only watch as its army was slaughtered by Mo Fan’s Dark Element magic. Lava gushed out of its body like a volcano.

The Lord of the Shark Men was a powerful creature. It carried an underwater living volcano in its body. However, if it were to fight Mo Fan with Fire Element magic, it would be marching to its own death!

Mo Fan’s Demon Fire burned, and the light he emanated was even stronger than the light from the Lord of the Shark Men’s volcano. In fact, even the lava that gushed out of the Lord of the Shark Men’s volcano turned into a source for Mo Fan’s Demon Fire!

Chapter 2884: Cocklebur Clams

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Fwoooooooom…

Half of Mo Fan’s body was on fire, while the other half was a cold shadow, making him look sinister.

He ran to the Lord of the Shark Men.

Suddenly, the shadow and fire merged and formed the Black Demon Fire. The Demon Fire instantly crushed all the deep-sea lava on the Lord of the Shark Men’s body and engulfed it!

A black fire was unheard of.

The Lord of the Shark Men twisted and struggled to extinguish the Black Demon Fire. However, the Demon Fire spread faster than normal fire. It burned along the parts of the Lord of the Shark Men’s body which had rotted and used the gas generated from those parts as its fuel and kept burning. The fire became fierce as the necrotic gasses increased.

Around them were the Undeads and the corpses of those that Mo Fan killed with the Dragon Shadow Spear, so the necrotic gas in the area reached its saturation point.

When the black fire burned in such a place, the effect was even more terrifying. The fire burned everything it touched until everything was reduced to ashes.

It was unclear whether the power of the Black Demon Fire was of the Fire Element or the Shadow Element. However, both could turn an object into ashes in an instant. It was even more terrifying when the two merged. The Lord of the Shark Men’s body and the volcano in it had been reduced to ashes by the raging fire.

The Black Demon Fire engulfed the giant body, which even the divine power of the Azure Dragon could not shatter. The arrogant and cruel Lord of the Shark Men screamed and fled to the ocean desperately.

The Black Demon Fire followed it. It would not disappear in a short period. Even if the Lord of the Shark Men got into the deep icy sea, the Black Demon Fire would not extinguish, as it was a special fire that not only could burn at high temperatures, it also contained the scorching ability of the Shadow Element.

…

Mo Fan smiled as he watched the Lord of the Shark Men flee.

Fusion Magic worked best when Mo Fan was in demon form. Otherwise, it would be hard to deal with the Lord of the Shark Men.

Without the Lord of the Shark Men, no one else could stop Mo Fan from moving forward.

The Black Demon Fire did not disappear. The Divine Flaming Snakeking at Mo Fan’s back had become a black divine flame. It was like a snake demon who looked down on all manner of living beings as it ruled the ninth circle of hell.

The Dark Divine Flaming Snakeking began to kill everything on the battlefield. Mo Fan did not need to do anything, as the Dark Divine Flaming Snakeking took care of the demons.

Mo Fan reached the tail of the Azure Dragon and found that its hind claws were trapped in thousands of chondral cords.

The Ocean Undeads crawled on the chondral cords like ergates in a nest of maroon ants. They used their bodies to strengthen the chondral cords. As more Undeads crawled up, the chondral cords became thicker and tougher.

It was no wonder that the Azure Dragon could not escape from it. Since the number of Undeads kept increasing, the Azure Dragon was forced to stay on the ground.

Mo Fan glanced at the Azure Dragon’s tail.

The giant tail of the Azure Dragon stretched from the overpass entrance to the airport expressway. Although the chondral cords did not bind the tail tightly, thousands of clams stuck to it like cockleburs. It was terrifying to see!

The Cocklebur Clams had thin thorns all over their bodies. The Azure Dragon’s scales were big, but it had a soft granite-like skin between the scales, allowing it to twist its body in any way it wanted.

The thorns of the Cocklebur Clams were extremely thin, and they pierced through the soft skin between the scales.

The Azure Dragon had countless sections of the Ancient Great Wall as its body parts. The parts that were broken, cracked, and dilapidated had not been repaired, especially because the ancient wall relics were not well preserved. The soft skin and the broken parts had become the target of those evil Cocklebur Clams, making the entire tail of the Azure Dragon almost completely stiff.

Thousands of Undeads crowded the Azure Dragon’s tail, hind claws, and other parts of its body. If Mo Fan did not remove these parasitic creatures in time, the Azure Dragon would be in danger.

The Azure Dragon roared as it sensed Mo Fan approach. It was trying to tell Mo Fan to take care of the Cocklebur Clams on its tail first.

The Azure Dragon relied heavily on its tail to exert strength. If it became stiff, it would affect its whole body.

“Leave it to me.” Mo Fan jumped onto the Azure Dragon’s tail.

Rows of thorny fins were stuck at the end of the tail. There were hundreds of Cocklebur Clams on the fins, which were the size of a small guard tower.

The Cocklebur Clams not only stung but also made it difficult for the Azure Dragon to lift its tail due to the sheer collective weight of the clams.

Mo Fan looked at them. Pulling them out by force would injure the Azure Dragon’s soft skin, so he could not use violent magic recklessly.

It was a pity that Mo Fan had not mastered Light Element Magic. The Sacred Chants of the Light Element magic could exorcize these skeletons. Mo Fan’s Fire Element and Shadow Element were not lethal to these creatures.

“I can only use Lightning Element. The Azure Dragon also has lightning power. So why didn’t it use divine lightning to kill them?” Mo Fan looked at the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon’s whiskers were its source of lightning power. He understood why it did not use the divine lightning when he saw that one of its whiskers had fallen off.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord must have been responsible for that. When Mo Fan had rushed to the Azure Dragon, he had seen the Cold Moon Demon Lord cast a demonic spell. After that, he had not seen the Azure Dragon summon lightning bolts.

‘Whisker?’ Mo Fan looked around and saw the fallen whisker of the Azure Dragon in a town four kilometers away. A large group of Corpse-eating Bone Fishes was trying to devour the Azure Dragon’s whisker.

The remaining lightning power of the Azure Dragon was on that whisker.

It would be difficult to wipe out tens and thousands of Cocklebur Clams on the Azure Dragon’s tail with just devil’s lightning. If Mo Fan could absorb a part of the Azure Dragon’s divine lightning, he would be able to wipe out these intractable Undeads quickly.

“Azure Dragon, I’ll get your whisker back, so hold on.”

The Azure Dragon and Mo Fan could understand each other, so it knew about Mo Fan’s plan. Its other whisker began to accumulate lightning while waiting for Mo Fan to get the other whisker back.

…

The Corpse-eating Bone Fishes were a group of low-level Undeads. They were similar to the microbes found in nature and could break down any corpse.

These Corpse-eating Bone Fish would devour and decompose a body at a high speed.

The dragon’s whisker was precious. If this group of Corpse-eating Bone Fish ate the Azure Dragon’s whisker, they would most probably evolve into Bone Fish King. However, the fine thunder velvet on the whisker had powerful lightning and magnetic force. The Corpse-eating Bone Fishes that approached the whisker were electrocuted and reduced to ashes.

Chapter 2885: Soul Shadow—Divine Fire Phoenix

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When Mo Fan walked toward the whisker, the lightning bolts on the thunder velvet subsided. Some Corpse-eating Bone Fishes with strong resistance had started to eat it.

“Mind: Disintegration!”

The silver eyes flickered. Mo Fan froze the Corpse-eating Bone Fishes and disassembled the bones of these greedy creatures one after another. Soon, they were only a pile of broken white blocks.

Mo Fan was about to take the whisker away when he felt a chill on his back. His demon bloodline that had always been eager suddenly became calm.

The dark vein surged. Mo Fan turned around and saw a creature with a cold body and two whiskers.

It was the Cold Moon Demon Lord!

Mo Fan had not expected the Cold Moon Demon Lord to appear beside the Azure Dragon’s whisker. Its Eye of the Tide and Eye of the Ocean stared at Mo Fan coldly, as if they could see through him.

Mo Fan took a deep breath. This was the first time Mo Fan felt such terror in his demon form.

The dark vein changed the hot demon’s offensive blood to a defensive state. The demon in his body seemed to be telling him that he could only survive this terrifying creature’s stare if he were to remain calm.

He wondered who was stronger between the Dark King and the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

Mo Fan tried to breathe calmly. The Cold Moon Demon Lord only stared at him for a few seconds, but it felt like decades. Its stare felt like mental torture that would make him collapse at any time!

It was similar to the time when Apas accidentally saw the evil ruler’s figure. The fear still lingered at the bottom of his heart. Now that he faced it again, the fear grew and spread all over his body and soul.

Mo Fan tried not to look at the Eye of the Tide and Eye of the Ocean, but he could not avoid the eyes of the Cold Moon Demon Lord. Its eyes that were always shut were now open for some reason.

Its eyes suddenly widened and turned into a still lake. A thin layer of ice sealed the cold lake with countless corpses at the bottom.

They all died in different ways. Zhan Kong, Qin Yu’Er, Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, Mu Ningxue, Zhang Xiaohou, Ye Xinxia…

Mo Fan was familiar with all of them.

On the cleanest and shallowest part of the lake, Mo Fan saw a face exactly like his. The person was dead, but he must have cried desperately like a child at the last moment of his life.

It was the Divine Wood Well.

The corpses inside were of all the people he knew well, including those he had fought in many battles. They were all in the well.

Mo Fan felt goosebumps erupt on his skin.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord searched for everything he cared about, feared, and was afraid to face.

Mo Fan still could not figure out what was actually inside the Divine Wood Well. However, it must be a god-like existence close to the Dark King. ‘Could it be that the Cold Moon Demon Lord had also reached an unattainable realm?’

‘It was impossible!’ he told himself. ‘It would never reach such a level. Otherwise, why would it try so hard to gather all the empires in the Pacific Ocean?’

It was the Ocean Evil Mind. It could spy on people’s minds like the Godly Horde Prophet. It replicated Mo Fan’s memories and turned them into scenes that would break him.

He knew the Cold Moon Demon Lord was behind it, but why couldn’t he wake up?

He was trapped in a nightmare. Even though he was short of breath and struggled, he still could not wake up.

Mo Fan felt as if he was pulled into an endless underwater abyss. The cold and heavy water surrounded him. He was thousands of miles away from the light, but he did not know if he could reach the bottom of the lake.

…

It was doomsday. The Ocean Demons and Undeads in the Pudong ocean area ruled this apocalyptic era.

Mo Fan’s fire had gone out on the messy battlefield where he had been in demon form just a while ago. The demon pattern slowly faded and revealed his face. However, evil energy still surrounded him and extracted his soul like a ghost.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord stood less than five meters away from him. Its “skirt” spread out, and the tips of its whiskers flickered with a strange light. The Eye of the Tide and Eye of the Ocean opened and connected to the whiskers.

The Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves that rolled to the skyline fell at a place far from Pudong with a weaker aura than before.

The members of the Forbidden Curse Association noticed it in the sky and looked at it.

“It uses the Eye of the Tide and Eye of the Ocean on Mo Fan. It wants to kill Mo Fan!” Councilman Gu exclaimed in horror.

The Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves were collapsing. Even though the Cold Moon Demon Lord could juggle two spells at the same time, the chanting of the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves was affected because it was casting another powerful demonic spell.

“We need to think of a way to save him!” The members of the Forbidden Curse Association flew toward the small town.

The Ocean Queen noticed everything. It sent out Undead sound waves and summoned tens and thousands of broken Undeads smashed by the Azure Dragon. It set them up as the Broken Bone Formation to block the Mages of the Forbidden Curse Association.

The people of the Forbidden Curse Association could not land on the ground because of the Broken Bone Formation.

For a long time, the Cold Moon Demon Lord did not attack any Forbidden Mage because of the ongoing chanting of the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves, but it intended to strike a fatal blow on Mo Fan. The Cold Moon Demon Lord had understood that Mo Fan and the Azure Dragon could prove to be a threat against its plan.

…

The Seal of Azure Dragon on the forehead, which looked like the third eye, suddenly glowed. Many totem patterns appeared in the small Seal of the Azure Dragon.

Mo Fan’s forehead was hot. The Sacred Light shot at the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s closed eyes.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord screamed. It was no longer calm and indifferent. It tried to catch Mo Fan.

Mo Fan finally woke up. He sensed a blue eye on his glowing forehead, and scorching Sacred Fire burned in his own eyes.

“Thanks to you, I got to recall my fear from back then and now I understand that I should cherish my life.” Blue Sacred Fire burned in Mo Fan’s chest.

It had killed him with the Eye of the Tide and Eye of the Ocean. But that didn’t matter. There was a fiery heart in his body. With that fire, his body healed, and he was reborn.

His soul had merged with the demon. The Demon Fire that burned even more vigorously in the desperate situation of death refused to extinguish.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord tried to use his past and his fears to kill him. However, it had shaped him into a new being instead.

“Your tricks are not any better than Medusa’s.” Mo Fan avoided the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s attack.

The Sacred Fire on Mo Fan’s body burned even more brightly.

In place of the Divine Flaming Snakeking Soul Shadow, the Divine Fire Phoenix was spreading its wings on top of the Sacred Fire!

The appearance of the Mysterious Feather Sacred Totem Beast seemed to be outlined in Mo Fan’s Demon Fire Soul Shadow!

Chapter 2886: The Azure Dragon Breaks Free

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A blue claw appeared and targeted the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

The Mysterious Feather Sacred Totem Beast Soul Shadow at Mo Fan’s back was not complete. It was not enough to find related Totems. However, the afterimage that appeared had an incomparably magnificent aura. The Divine Fire Phoenix had the most powerful flames!

The Cold Moon Demon Lord’s body turned into icy seawater and escaped through the gap between the Azure Dragon’s claws. However, Mo Fan did not intend to let it go that easily. He raised his hands into a prayer pose. The Mysterious Feather Sacred Totem Beast Soul Shadow at his back slowly opened the Empyrean Fire Wings and suddenly attacked the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

A few of the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s whiskers burned. Its Eye of the Ocean opened and created an island made of seawater. The island pressed on the Empyrean Fire Wings and stopped the powerful fire from burning its body.

As the Azure Dragon and Mo Fan besieged it, the Cold Moon Demon Lord fled.

Mo Fan could feel the viciousness of the evil ruler of the ocean from its eyes. It wished it could turn the misleading memories that Mo Fan had seen into reality to truly break him.

Mo Fan sneered. After rescuing the Azure Dragon, the first thing he wanted to do was to kill the Ocean Evil Mind!

The Cold Moon Demon Lord retreated, and the Royal Skeleton Queen immediately flew over to guard it.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord turned and glanced at the collapsing tides. To kill Mo Fan, who was in the demon form, it concentrated the divine power of the Eye of the Tide on him.

It wanted to stop all the chanting and kill Mo Fan first. However, his willpower was far more tenacious than what it had expected.

Not only did it fail to kill Mo Fan by inducing a mental breakdown, but it had also delayed the arrival of the tide.

It could not afford to be distracted anymore. If it was distracted again, it would delay the arrival of the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves on this continent.

Right now, he could only let Mo Fan take the Azure Dragon’s fallen whisker away with him.

…

Mo Fan could feel the enormous divine lightning energy in the whisker. Even though it had not returned to the Azure Dragon, the lightning power it released could kill all the Cocklebur Clams.

Mo Fan absorbed the lightning power from the Azure Dragon’s whisker. Then, he merged it with the Space Element and created silver-blue lightning chains.

Lightning chains had a powerful crushing effect. After they touched a Cocklebur Clam, they would quickly turn to the next target and form a chain made of lightning connecting every clam.

The silver-blue lightning chains pierced through tens and thousands of Cocklebur Clams and turned them into powder.

The clams on the soft skin of the Azure Dragon were finally gone, and its tail slowly returned to normal.

Bang!

The Azure Dragon raised its tail and smashed the Undead army. The blue cracks in space branched out like a spider pattern and sucked in the Undeads through them.

After a few smashes, the cracks in space increased in number. Countless Undeads fell into an endless abyss.

Mo Fan was in the middle of the Undead army. He was looking for the chondral chords that trapped the Azure Dragon.

Soon, he found one with Brown Bone Undeads crawling on it. They used their bodies to strengthen the chondral chords. Thousands of Undersea Withered Bone Giant Generals were at one end of the chondral chord. They acted underworld burlaks and tied a part of the Azure Dragon’s body to the ground.

“Go to hell!” Mo Fan raised his hand. The shocking Fire Phoenix Wings slanted like a blade.

The Fire Phoenix Wings injured and killed thousands of Withered Bone Giant Generals. Before the Withered Bone Giant Generals could escape, Mo Fan jumped to the sky and stepped on a burning Fire Boat.

The Fire Boat fell from the cloudy sky and smashed the Withered Bone Giant Generals. Once the Fire Boat touched the ground, it exploded, and the detonation engulfed all the Withered Bone Giant Generals. The vibration even caused the Undead dunes to collapse!

Roar!

Without the pulling of the Withered Bone Giant Generals, the hind claws of the Azure Dragon could finally move. It raised them and broke free from the chondral chords.

The powerful hind claws caught the head of the Demonic Ocean Skeleton and crushed it. Fortunately, skeletons could not grow their heads back.

Its body sent out a chondral chord again which wrapped around the waist of the Azure Dragon.

The tail of the Azure Dragon could move freely, so it didn’t give a chance to the Demonic Ocean Skeleton to trap it anymore.

The Azure Dragon wagged its tail and sent the Demonic Ocean Skeleton, with a mountain-like body, flying more than ten kilometers away. Many strong emperor skeletons fell along the way.

Roar!

The Azure Dragon vented its anger on the despicable Undeads. Every time it wagged its tail, many Undeads were crushed to death.

Its hind claws caught the dune-like Undead army. No creature below emperor-level could escape from its claws.

With its neck finally free, the Azure Dragon raised its head and breathed out on the vast Undead army.

The dragon’s breath was real annihilation. The Undeads did not leave anything behind and vanished altogether.

The Undeads were dying. From the moment the Ocean Undeads came ashore, the army of Ocean Demon had expanded rapidly. However, with the outbreak of the Dragon Deterrence of the Azure Dragon, the red Undead army seemed to have vanished completely.

The Azure Dragon did not need to fly. Even on land, it could use its ancient force to wipe out vulnerable Undeads without using a single divine spell as long as it had its limbs and claws intact.

It attacked all the way back from the Pudong Airport. The Undeads lost tragically. The Azure Dragon had killed countless Undeads by then. The Royal Skeleton Queen could not stay still, and it tried to stop the Azure Dragon.

“Azure Dragon, the Demonic Ocean Skeleton is still around. Let’s kill it first.” Mo Fan stood on the horn of the Azure Dragon once again.

The demon joined forces with the Azure Dragon. The weak Undeads could not withstand it.

Those who wanted to trap the Azure Dragon using the human wave attack would be killed by Mo Fan’s lightning hands.

Without the restriction of the despicable Undeads, the Azure Dragon could kill the skeleton army brutally.

A Divine Beast like the Azure Dragon could crush thousands of Undeads even if it just rolled on them.

Chapter 2887: Divine Throne of the Undead

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Ocean Queen chased after the Azure Dragon, but the Azure Dragon ignored it.

It was not easy to kill the Ocean Queen. However, the Demonic Ocean Skeleton must first pay the price for its previous actions.

The Azure Dragon wagged its tail and plowed through the Undeads. Its body gradually flew off the ground.

It did not fly very high. Its ventral scale flew over the heads of the Withered Bone Undeads. Many Ocean Undeads retracted their heads, but it was useless. The claw of the Azure Dragon had blue lightning bolts.

“Wag your tail at the Ocean Queen!” Mo Fan looked back and saw that the Ocean Queen was approaching the tail of the Azure Dragon.

Mo Fan did not know what evil demonic spell the Royal Skeleton Queen was about to cast. He saw the space around it become dark red like an esophagus of an ancient monster. It was trying to devour the tail of the Azure Dragon.

The tail of the Azure Dragon had become more flexible. It swung its tail to the sky and summoned a bolt of golden divine lightning.

Boom!

The golden divine lightning sent the Ocean Queen flying, and the terrifying esophagus of a monster disappeared.

The target of Mo Fan and the Azure Dragon was not the Ocean Queen.

The Demonic Ocean Skeleton had not fully regained its consciousness after the attack of the Azure Dragon.

Its Emperor Bones were badly crushed. Mo Fan soon realized the place where the chondral chords appeared had become empty holes, and black blood oozed out.

“Trap it!” Mo Fan hurriedly said to the Azure Dragon when he saw the Demonic Ocean Skeleton trying to escape.

The claw of the Azure Dragon touched the ground, and the mountain-like body flew up.

The Demonic Ocean Skeleton ran on the corpses of the Whitered Bone Undeads. The Azure Dragon slithered in the air like a snake and caught up with the Demonic Ocean Skeleton.

It bit the Demonic Ocean Skeleton, but the Demonic Ocean Skeleton was strong. It tried to break free from the Azure Dragon’s bite by force, but the Azure Dragon did not give it a chance to escape. The Azure Dragon raised and shook its head, throwing the Demonic Ocean Skeleton to the ground.

The Azure Dragon’s claw pressed the Demonic Ocean Skeleton to the ground. The ground cracked, and the surface sank a few meters down.

The Demonic Ocean Skeleton struggled. It tried to break the claw of the Azure Dragon to escape. However, the Azure Dragon pinned the Demonic Ocean Skeleton with increased force and bit its upper body.

Its claw pressed it to the ground, but its head swung up. This wild bite instantly tore the Demonic Ocean Skeleton into two. Blood sprayed out. The scene was gruesome and shocking.

The emperor-level Demonic Ocean Skeleton was completely ripped apart. To prevent its Emperor Bones from reassembling, the Azure Dragon deliberately sprayed blue dragon’s breath on the Emperor Bones.

The dragon’s breath turned the bones of the Demonic Ocean Skeleton into ashes and wiped out the black blood. The Azure Dragon was still angry. It caught a few emperor-level skeletons that kicked it when it was down and bit them to death.

The Royal Skeleton Queen flew to the sky, and the regathered Undead army followed below. The army was as big as a thousand-meter-high mountain, so they looked particularly frightening on the flat ground.

Its amber eyes were full of anger and viciousness. It was because the Azure Dragon had ignored and embarrassed it in front of the Undead army.

Buzz!

A harsh vibration rang in the air. Countless Dragonwasps formed a terrifying forest in the sky and surrounded the Ocean Queen and the Netherbone Dragon.

The Netherbone Dragon had an evil aura. Its back was made up of the corpses of many emperor-level creatures. It looked frightening.

The Ocean Queen stood on top of the head of the Netherbone Dragon. More and more Black Bone Wasps gathered at its back. The aura of the Undeads almost engulfed the entire world.

It stared at the Azure Dragon and Mo Fan resentfully. The Undead army smashed by the Azure Dragon gathered again and climbed onto the other Undeads. Those wriggling figures made the red Undead mountain appear even bigger.

The red Undead mountain was like a Divine Throne of the Undead. It dragged the Ocean Queen, who rode the Netherbone Dragon.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord hovered on top of the Ocean Queen like a moon. Cold lights shone on the messy world with the chanting of the devastating tide.

On the other side, the Azure Dragon moved. Its blue mountain-like body was comparable to the Undead mountain. Its magnificent tail was on the muddy ground, but its horns almost touched the clouds!

Mo Fan stood between the Azure Dragon’s horns. The Mysterious Feather Sacred Totem Beast Soul Shadow was on its back and spread out in the fiery glow.

The Black Dragon Emperor was suspended beside the Azure Dragon. The Black Dragon Emperor was a giant creature, but it appeared only as big as the Azure Dragon’s head.

The combination of the western dragon with the metallurgical forging made it seem as though the Black Dragon Emperor had been reborn.

The Azure Dragon was fearless and took the lead in killing the Cold Moon Demon Lord in the sky.

The Ocean Queen immediately rode the Netherbone Dragon and blocked the Azure Dragon. A long skeleton hand came out of the tall red Undead mountain below it to grab the Azure Dragon’s neck!

The metallic Black Dragon Emperor suddenly took a deep breath. Its belly swelled and it spat out a terrifying black fire at the red Undead mountain. The long skeleton hand was forced to retract and block the giant fire of the Black Dragon Emperor.

The Netherbone Dragon took advantage of it and launched a surprise attack. It wanted to use its sharp thorn to pierce the eye of the Azure Dragon. Mo Fan flew up and punched out a lifelike Divine Fire Eagle at the Netherbone Dragon.

Buzz!

Numerous Black Bone Wasps flew toward the Divine Fire Eagle. They relied on a strange evil energy to extinguish Mo Fan’s fire.

The demon bloodline could push a certain power to its peak in a short period.

Mo Fan had control of the Chongming Divine Fire, and Little Flame Belle had the inheritance of the Mysterious Feather Sacred Totem Beast. The intensification of the demon bloodline awakened another soul of the Sacred Totem Beast and formed an incomplete Soul Shadow at Mo Fan’s back.

Mo Fan knew that it was not a complete Sacred Totem Beast. He needed more related Totems to trigger its real appearance.

However, Mo Fan yearned for this power. He believed that the complete Mysterious Feather Sacred Totem Beast could easily burn these Bone Wasps to crisp.

…

The Black-Patterned Bone Wasps were strange. Not only could they eat Mo Fan’s fire, but also could devour the fire that the metallic Black Dragon Emperor spat out.

Mo Fan carefully observed the Netherbone Dragon. The strongest ability of the Netherbone Dragon was obviously the Black Bone Wasps attached to it!

Chapter 2888: Dragon Wind Hat

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The red Undead mountain squirmed again. Many Skeleton Mountains appeared on the Divine Throne of the Undeads composed of hundreds and thousands of the Undeads.

These mountains were comparable to giant bone spears. They pierced outward from the Undead mountain from different directions. Some even pierced through the clouds.

The Mountain Bone Spears moved toward the Azure Dragon. Many necromancers cast a strange demonic spell at the Azure Dragon, and something like the fangs of red poisonous snakes pierced into its skin.

The number of red poisonous fangs increased. They bit off the Sacred Totem Beast Dragon Scale from the Azure Dragon’s body. The Mountain Bone Spears stabbed at the place where the scaled had peeled off. A few Mountain Bone Spears had pierced into the skin of the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon moved around the Divine Throne of the Undead. Its claw hit the Divine Throne and left a big hole. However, many skeletons climbed up from the ground and filled up the hole immediately.

The sharp laughter of the Ocean Queen echoed in the sky. It mocked the Azure Dragon’s attempts.

The Divine Throne of the Undead was still getting higher, and the number of the hideous Mountain Bone Spears kept increasing. They were like a fully armed Undead pillbox and could shoot out poisonous arrows with corrosive ability from all directions.

The Azure Dragon could not use its power. If its tail smashed at the Divine Throne of the Undead, the Mountain Bone Spears might pierce through it, too.

The Divine Throne of the Undead was meant to deal with a giant creature like the Azure Dragon. It kept expanding, as if it wanted to nail the Azure Dragon to the Divine Throne.

…

The Azure Dragon kept a distance and moved quickly from a low altitude. It circled the Divine Throne of the Undead while keeping a five kilometers distance around it.

Its head and tail formed a big blue arc around the Divine Throne of the Undead. After making a full circle, the Azure Dragon flew upward.

It flew in circles with great speed. Its action created a giant air current, which swept within five kilometers of the Divine Throne of the Undead.

Then the Azure Dragon flew upward again. It was so fast that its figure was a blur. Even when the Azure Dragon left the area, the afterimage remained.

The Azure Dragon continued to fly up in circles at high speed.

The Azure Dragon’s figure seemed to have elongated. An increasingly majestic blue air current formed a Tiandi Hat with the center of the Azure Dragon’s ascent as its wind axis.

The Dragon Wind Hat wrapped the whole Divine Throne of the Undead. The hideous Mountain Bone Spears broke as the Dragon Wind Hat spun violently. The skeletons climbing on the Divine Throne of the Undead got swept into the sky like dust. The sky became cloudy, and skeletons were everywhere.

The army of skeletons on the ground also received a destructive blow. The Azure Dragon spun in the sky, and the Dragon Wind Hat below became even more terrifying. It felt as if the Dragon Wind Hat would cover the whole Pudong.

The terrifying Undead mountain was crumbling. The ruler-level Undeads at the top collapsed first. Then, the Undeads in the middle shattered. Finally, it was the turn of the Undeads at the bottom. The bottom was composed of tens and thousands of Withered Bone Undeads. They still could not survive.

After a while, the shattered bone fell on the ocean not far away and on the other side of the Huangpu River.

The Dragon Wind Hat created by the Azure Dragon did not stop. Some small and weak Undeads were swept up to the sky and shattered after clashing with the powerful blue air current.

The red skeleton flew in the air like a sandstorm. Some fell like hail, and some, like snowflakes.

The laughter of the Ocean Queen stopped. As its Throne fell, it could no longer fight with the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon was still in the clouds. As it slowly landed, an even more terrifying divine power hit the land.

The Royal Skeleton Queen stood among the Undead army.

Suddenly, the ground trembled. The place where the Azure Dragon gazed seemed to crack. A crack rapidly appeared below the Ocean Queen and the Undead army.

The gap between the crack and the surface reached sixty meters. Except for the Ocean Queen, all the other Undeads were red sand in the Dragon Cracks.

The Royal Skeleton Queen trembled. It could not accept the defeat and roared at the Azure Dragon in the sky. The eyes of the Azure Dragon flickered, and it stared at the ground.

After sinking for about sixty meters, the Dragon Cracks sank a few dozen meters more!

A sponge would become hard after being compressed, let alone a ground full of mud, sand, stones, and rock.

The Royal Skeleton Queen could not stand still anymore. It kneeled on the ground. Its kneecap almost shattered. The strange white gauze on its head also disappeared.

An evil red light appeared on its body, and its amber eyes gleamed. No matter how it struggled, it could not break free from the Dragon Crack of the Azure Dragon.

The Dragon Crack was still sinking. The divine power was too dominating.

The skull, as well as other parts of the Royal Skeleton Queen, began to crack.

…

Roar!

The Netherbone Dragon roared madly. It wanted to save its owner by sending the Black-Patterned Bone Wasp toward the Azure Dragon.

Mo Fan would not let it disturb the divine power of the Azure Dragon. He was on the back of the metallic Black Dragon Emperor.

The Black Dragon Emperor spread its wings and flew. It knocked the Netherbone Dragon down with its body.

Mo Fan jumped off the Black Dragon Emperor before it knocked the Netherbone Dragon down. He quickly changed the Soul Shadow on his back, and the incomplete Empyrean Divine Fire immediately disappeared. A dark shadow quickly emerged like a giant ghost. It was like a black cloak attached to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan threw the Black Sky Cloak to cover the Black-Patterned Bone Wasps that flew toward the Azure Dragon. These Black-Patterned Bone Wasps were the cause of the plague. They could quickly infect creatures and weaken their power.

If the Black-Patterned Bone Wasps appeared in the city, they could harm the residents of the city. They were also the Netherbone Dragon’s strongest ability.

The divine power of the Azure Dragon was about to crush the Ocean Queen. Mo Fan must not let the Black-Patterned Bone Wasps affect the Azure Dragon’s divine power!

Chapter 2889: Poisonous Netherbone Dragon

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Cold Moon Demon Lord had stayed in the background, observing everything.

However, it could not stay calm anymore. Once the Azure Dragon defeated the Ocean Queen, it would lose its strongest protection. After all, the members of the Forbidden Curse Association had restrained other Emperor-level Ocean Demons, so they could not stop the Azure Dragon.

It opened its eyes.

However, they were not the Eye of the Tide and the Eye of the Ocean but the eyes on its face.

The ghost whiskers under it opened slowly like octopus tentacles, and a strange electric light shone on these whiskers.

The strange light got intense and almost made its body transparent. The strange light flowed in its body like glowing blood and finally flowed to its brain.

Its brain and eyes radiated a dazzling brilliance like the sun and the moon. The brilliance did not illuminate the entire world. Like a track light, it only illuminated the Netherbone Dragon and the Bone Wasps.

The body of the Netherbone Dragon seemed to be absorbing the Evil Mind Light. Its broken bones recovered quickly, its wings expanded, and its skeleton body had suddenly become stronger. Its body had grown terrifyingly sharp horns. Those horns and thorns could kill anything.

The group of Bone Wasps also began to transform with the illumination from the Evil Mind Light. In a few seconds, they turned from a group of Black-Patterned Bone Wasps to a group of Black-Patterned Iron-Blooded Dragonwasps.

There were many Bone Wasps, and they had strong phagocytosis, infecting ability, and cooperation skills. Now that each Bone Wasp had the bloodline of the real underworld dragon, they had stronger wings, stings, bones, and toxicity.

A Black-Patterned Iron-Blooded Dragonwasp could harm a small town easily, let alone a group of Black-Patterned Iron-Blooded Dragonwasps.

Mo Fan’s Black Sky Cloak could not cover these evolutionary Dragonwasps. They flew toward the Azure Dragon rapidly. They would sacrifice their lives to pierce and sting the Azure Dragon.

After all, the Black Dragon Emperor in magic armor was not the real Black Dragon Emperor. With the evolution of the Netherbone Dragon, the Black Dragon Emperor in magic armor was severely hurt. It could no longer withstand the terrifying attack of this evil underworld dragon.

Mo Fan anxiously looked at the Black Dragon Emperor in magic armor and the group of Black-Patterned Iron-Blooded Dragonwasps flying toward the Azure Dragon.

“Black Dragon Emperor, come back. You have tried your best.” Mo Fan used the Soul Seal to recall the soul of the Black Dragon Emperor.

The Black Dragon Emperor could no longer fight against the Netherbone Dragon, so there was no need to let it lose its soul in defeat.

The metal was removed and turned into pieces of black armor. It flew to Mo Fan and turned into a Black Dragon Suit on Mo Fan’s body.

Although the soul of the Black Dragon had gone, Mo Fan could feel that this magic outfit still contained a large amount of power of the Black Dragon. It gave Mo Fan a glimmer of hope because it felt like the Black Dragon Emperor had still got his back!

Mo Fan had an extraordinary physique because of the Demon Element. Now that he had a suit made of the Black Dragon’s armor, he believed he would not lose when dealing with the Netherbone Dragon.

The Black Dragon Wings spread, and a black fire burned all over it. As Mo Fan flew, the wings with black fire made him look like a black missile soaring into the sky.

The fire accompanied Mo Fan. The Black Dragon Wings and the outline of the Fire Phoenix Wings dyed the sky red.

Mo Fan rushed to the group of Dragonwasps and slaughtered them with the demon’s power. The fusion magic increased the destructive ability of several elemental magic, such as silver lightning, black fire, and red sandstorm.

Even though the Dragonwasps had evolved, they still could not withstand Mo Fan’s attack. One after another Iron-Blooded Dragon wasps died in the air. The dense black clouds they formed kept getting smaller.

Roar!

The roar of the Netherbone Dragon echoed from a few hundred meters away. The Netherbone Dragon, which had also evolved, was even more frightening than before. Its target was Mo Fan, and it was now flying toward him.

As soon as the Netherbone Dragon arrived, the Black-Patterned Iron-Blooded Dragonwasps that Mo Fan had injured seemed to regenerate and become more aggressive. The group of Dragonwasps put their lives at risk and stabbed Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was wearing dragon armor, so he could withstand some attacks. However, such rapid attacks could threaten his life.

Roar!

The Netherbone Dragon was cunning. It attacked Mo Fan, knowing that the Azure Dragon would come to his rescue.

However, the moment Azure Dragon came out of the clouds, the Netherbone Dragon flew past Mo Fan and rushed toward the Azure Dragon’s neck.

There was still a wound on the Azure Dragon’s neck, which the Cold Moon Demon Lord had inflicted. The Netherbone Dragon was a powerful and unparalleled poisonous dragon bee. It pulled out the poisonous sting at its bottom and fiercely stabbed the Azure Dragon.

Roar!

The Azure Dragon roared. The poisonous sting pierced into its wound. The dark red poison spread along the Azure Dragon’s neck.

The divine power of the Dragon Crack subsided. The Ocean Queen, which the crack had almost tortured to pieces, was finally free. It trembled like an old eighty-year-old woman but still managed to escape from the Dragon Crack.

The Azure Dragon was angry. It slightly lowered its head and used its horns to smash the Poisonous Netherbone Dragon.

The Poisonous Netherbone Dragon fell straight to the ground. Its bones broke apart, but it was still alive. After a while, it got up again and let out a strange cry.

Its cry seemed to be calling to something. Previously, the Ocean Queen had called the skeletons with black patterns, many of which were dismantled from the powerful ruler-level Undeads. This time, the Netherbone Dragon seemed to be calling those shattered skeletons to strengthen its body.

Mo Fan thought there were still some unawakened Black-Patterned Skeletons. However, the Poisonous Netherbone Dragon ordered those Black-Patterned Iron-Blooded Dragonwasps to attack the ruler-level Undeads!

The Bone of Origin of the ruler-level Undeads would develop the black patterns after the Dragonwasps stung them.

The Dragonwasps attacked many Undeads. As more ruler-level Undeads were infected with black-patterned bones, these black-patterned bones flew toward the Netherbone Dragon so that it could transform again!

What kind of demonic spell did the Cold Moon Demon Lord cast to make a summoned Emperor-level creature even more terrifying than the Ocean Queen?

Chapter 2890: The Plague Ruler

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Black-Patterned Dragonwasp was unstoppable. Many Ruler-level Ocean Undead were scattered among the Undead army, especially those that were newly born on China’s continental shelf.

The other Ruler-level Ocean Undead were more experienced and possessed a certain level of intelligence. They were aware that the Netherbone Dragon would devour them if they were infected by the Black-Patterned Dragonwasp.

However, the Undead from China’s continental shelf lacked intelligence. They were like newborn Undeads with only the instincts to hunt and gather.

The Black-Patterned Dragonwasp pierced into the skulls of the Undead from China’s continental shelf with its sting. An evil black mark appeared behind the Ruler-level Undead’s skulls.

The black mark spread throughout the Undead’s body rapidly like a disease. The Undead changed from red to black. The strong smell of sickness came from within its bones. It was horrifying.

The Black-Patterned Dragonwasp not only targeted the Undead, but also the powerful Ocean Demons. When it stung the living Ocean Demons, their flesh and organs turned purulent, as though they were covered in mud and water. Their flesh and organs fell off their bodies and they turned into evil black bones!

The Netherbone Dragon flew past them from above. The black bones flew toward the Netherbone Dragon like irons to magnet and repaired its shattered parts. They also added venomous horns and spikes to it.

For a moment, the sky was filled with the Netherbone Dragon’s necrotic gas. The evil aura covered the Pudong area for a short moment before spreading rampantly through the city like a swarm of insects.

An Undead Rat appeared from a pile of carcasses. It was made up of black and hideous bones. Even though it was small in stature, the necrotic gas spilling out of it was terrifying.

More Undead Rats gushed out from the piles of corpses. Their greedy eyes sparkled like emeralds in a dark pool. There were too many of them.

Flap flap flap flap!

Undead Flies hovered in the sky. They came from the Ocean Demons that were rotting. The Undead Flies flew toward the dense epidemic clouds to make them bigger.

Undead Rats, Undead Flies, and the Black-Patterned Dragonwasp…

The Nertherbone Dragon had become the embodiment of all the plagues in this world. It had summoned two other great armies. It became even more powerful. It could even stay independent of the Ocean Queen and become the new ruler of the Plague Empire!

The Azure Dragon’s sacred totem light failed to dispel the terrifying epidemic clouds. On the other side of Huangpu River, Light Element mages constructed Walls of Light. They were aware of how much devastation the creatures within the epidemic clouds could bring to humans.

“What the hell is the Cold Moon Demon Lord doing?!” Mo Fan glanced at it before looking at the transformed Netherbone Dragon.

It had not been easy for the Azure Dragon to wound the Ocean Queen. They thought they had successfully stopped the Cold Moon Demon Lord from chanting, but little did they know that the Netherbone Dragon underwent transformation twice in a row!

“Mo Fan!” Councilman Gu and the Forbidden Mages were nearby.

“We’ll join forces against the Netherbone Dragon,” said Chief Zhu.

“Retreat and go to the river to stop the Undead Rats and Undead Flies. No matter what, you must stop them from flooding into the city,” said Mo Fan.

“I’m afraid that the Azure Dragon and you will have difficulty holding back these creatures. Besides, the Azure Dragon is severely wounded,” said Councilman Gu with concern.

The Azure Dragon’s neck was stung by the Netherbone Dragon’s poisonous tail. The long sting was just under its neck. It was unlikely that the Azure Dragon could stir up a powerful hurricane like before.

The poison would spread throughout its body and affect the Azure Dragon’s ability.

“We’ve cut the connection between the Ocean Queen and its Undead from China’s continental shelf. The Lingyin Monk has cast his spell. The Undead from China’s continental shelf will collapse soon. By then, they will pose little threat to us. We’ll stand guard over the river to give citizens sufficient time to evacuate. After that, we will leave so that we won’t end up perishing in this place,” said Councilman Gu.

The Azure Dragon had severely wounded the Ocean Queen which was very crucial for their survival. This allowed the members from the Forbidden Curse Association to complete their decimation plan to reduce the Undeads’ threat over time.

Still, their reaction had been a little slow. If they had reacted to it before the Netherbone Dragon’s transformation, there would have been fewer terrifying enemies, including the Plague Ruler that threatened the citizens’ lives.

The plague creatures were different from usual demons. Regardless of how the demons roamed about the land or attacked the people, as long as they were killed, they could not regenerate.

But the plague creatures were contagious. They lived in the city sewers and on daily items that most migrants frequently used. They produced garbage. A tiny Undead Rat or Undead Fly could infect a large group of people. Furthermore, if they failed to control the epidemic, it would result in more infected creatures and cause more deaths.

Even if they did not die from the plague or the war, the people would eventually fall sick and suffer in pain. It was a torture to those who were already going through a difficult time.

The Undeads were scary. But the plague was terrifying.

And Undead Plague was the world’s most terrifying thing. It could wipe out any horde in a single blow!

“The waves are coming!” Mo Fan pointed at the high skyline waves.

The entire Pudong was covered by a rainstorm. The rainstorm did not come from the sky, it came horizontally from the ocean.

‘Was it a horizontal sweeping rainstorm?’ he wondered.

When they looked up, they saw that the horizon and the skyline had been engulfed by the massive waves. The Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves were even more monstrous than it appeared to be. It looked as if the other side of the world had drowned. It was dark and depressing.

They turned to the other side and saw that it engulfed souls. The people were unable to fight back and sank into their deepest fears. They lost their mobility and their ability to think. They were paralyzed on the ground and waited for the inevitable doomsday.

Once the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves reached them, more than half the people were trapped. They couldn’t migrate. Moreover, the Ocean Demon army was in their way. The Magic City and its citizens would sink to the bottom of the ocean.

All battles and efforts would be meaningless if they couldn’t crush the Eye of the Tide.

“We’ve no way out,” Councilman Gu let out a sigh.

“We don’t have any other choice,” said Mo Fan.

Chief Zhu nodded. He did not plan to retreat. If he failed to destroy the Eye of the Tide, his previous effort and perseverance would be meaningless. He decided to fight the Cold Moon Demon Lord to death.

He was a Light Element Forbidden Mage and could inflict damage to the epidemic most effectively.

Just then, he noticed an enormous segment of the Ancient Wall on the north through his peripheral vision. It looked like an ancient war fortress flying toward him.

Chief Zhu was stunned. He asked Mo Fan, “A-Are they sending help?”

Mo Fan turned to see a familiar segment of the green walls. They were flying toward the Azure Dragon. The seal on its forehead was like an eye glowing in divinity and giving out heat!

Chapter 2891: The Azure Dragon Vs The Demon Lord

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Ancient Wall flew toward the Azure Dragon and repaired the missing parts on its body. The Sacred Totem Beast Scale was perfected and glowed even more brilliantly after the Ancient Wall repaired the missing parts.

The Azure Dragon’s scale radiated a layer of sacred gold ripples. Its scales dazzled. With the addition of the Ancient Wall segment, the Azure Dragon’s soul was free. The Ancient Walls, sentry towers, beacon towers, and walls that flew to the Azure Dragon glowed in Sacred Totem Beast Divinity. The Azure Dragon appeared more lifelike and projected an imposing aura!

Mo Fan glanced at Huangpu River. He saw the Black Totem Turtle and the Moon Moth Phoenix. He also spotted Zhao Manyan, Mu Bai, Lingling, Jiang Shaoxu, Zhang Xiaohou, and the others.

It looked like they were the ones who had summoned the sea walls made up of Divine Walls to repair the Azure Dragon’s missing parts.

Mo Fan was over the moon. It was the perfect time to replenish the Azure Dragon’s health energy.

The Azure Dragon, with sacred ripples, glowed in unique divine light. The poisonous sting on its throat fell off. The poison that had spread through its body was slowly disappearing.

It did not take long before the Azure Dragon recovered its former magnificence. Mo Fan hopped onto its horns and fixed his gaze on the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord was on the back of the Netherbone Dragon. It continued to summon the destructive Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves with the Eye of the Tide.

Time was running out. The Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves would reach the Magic City in less than two hours.

The Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves’ terrifying aura could inflict unimaginable damage to the coasts near the East Ocean. They had to stop it while it was still on the high sea.

Roar!

The Azure Dragon was surrounded by sacred ripples. It charged toward the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord opened the eyes on its face. A wicked, bone-chilling light glinted in its eyes. It gave up the Eye of the Ocean that caused the pouring of waterfall onto the Magic City and targeted the Azure Dragon!

For a moment, a frightening Ocean Whirlpool appeared in the sky above Pudong. The whirlpool was massive and looked like a city made up of liquid. The Azure Dragon appeared small before the whirlpool.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord had extensive and powerful evil spells. Each of its spells was capable of inflicting damage that was as severe as the end of the world.

The Azure Dragon tried to break itself free of the Ocean Whirlpool. The sacred ripples surrounded its body. The gold ripples that resembled a swimming dragon flashed and spread throughout its body to shake the Ocean Whirlpool apart!

The Netherbone Dragon hid itself within the Ocean Whirlpool. It raised its head and struck at the Azure Dragon’s jaw with the Plague Horn on its forehead.

Mo Fan jumped down from the Azure Dragon’s horn. He summoned Black Dragon Kick.

The Soul Shadow on his back transformed into an enormous Black Dragon. It was as huge as a mountain range. He trampled on the Netherbone Dragon with his heavy weight. He crippled the Netherbone Dragon’s ambush. His trample was impactful. The poisonous horn on its forehead cracked.

When Mo Fan trampled on the Netherbone Dragon, the Cold Moon Demon Lord floated in the sky. It stretched its body whiskers toward Mo Fan like claws.

Mo Fan focused on it and realized that the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s body whiskers flashed with multicolored lightning. When its body whiskers danced in an order, Mo Fan thought he was looking at a kaleidoscope of colorful worlds. They were remarkable!

By the time Mo Fan returned to his senses, the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s whiskers that resembled a kaleidoscope were right before him. He felt the necrotic gasses almost suffocate him. He quickly traveled through Space Element to break free and kept a distance from the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord looked disappointed. It had failed to kill Mo Fan yet again.

Meanwhile, the Azure Dragon successfully broke free of the Ocean Whirlpool. It charged at the Cold Moon Demon Lord with its claws. The Cold Moon Demon Lord avoided it like a flying spirit. The multicolored evil whiskers were soft and light like fibers, and it was difficult to grab them. With these whiskers, the Cold Moon Demon Lord moved freely in the sky and avoided attacks effortlessly.

“Azure Dragon, keep a close watch on it. I’ll take on the Netherbone Dragon!” said Mo Fan to the Azure Dragon.

Mo Fan was in demon form. He dared not clash head-on with the Cold Moon Demon Lord. This was not his first time being affected by its necrotic gasses. It was best to leave that monster to the Azure Dragon.

It was clear that the Cold Moon Demon Lord did not want to tangle with the Azure Dragon any longer. However, it was left with very few powerful Ocean Demons to fight for it. It had no choice but to confront the Azure Dragon itself.

The Azure Dragon was a Sacred Totem Beast. It was immune to the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s Godly Evil Mind attack. The Cold Moon Demon Lord failed to manipulate the Azure Dragon’s mentality, thus it found it wasting its time continuing to fight the Azure Dragon to get it tired.

Moreover, with the Azure Dragon’s current ability, it could threaten the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s life.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord’s Eye of the Ocean flashed. It could not cast the evil spell of pouring water onto the Magic City. Therefore, it kept changing its position with the help of its bizarre whiskers. The Azure Dragon, on the other hand, coiled its body around the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

Roar!

The Azure Dragon spat a green dragon hurricane with sacred ripples. The green dragon hurricane moved toward the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord’s multicolored and magnificent whiskers spread out like layers of oil paper umbrellas layered on top of each other. When the dragon hurricane struck it, it somehow changed the direction of the wind.

The Azure Dragon tried another attack. It aimed its horns at the Cold Moon Demon Lord. Its horns glowed in sacred light. It became enormous. It charged at the Cold Moon Demon Lord with its dazzling horns.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord twisted its body. It withdrew its multicolored whiskers and vanished suddenly.

A strange coral thorn appeared on the Azure Dragon’s back. The Cold Moon Demon Lord appeared on top of the coral thorn. It held the Coral Blood Demonic Thorn with both of its hands. Its arms were so powerful as if it had absorbed the power of thunder. It wrapped around the Azure Dragon’s body with its whiskers.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord looked like a dragon slayer. It rode on the Azure Dragon’s back and stabbed the Coral Blood Demonic Thorn into the Azure Dragon’s back ruthlessly before slashing it all the way to its waist. The Azure Dragon’s blood gushed out.

The Azure Dragon shook its body and flung the Cold Moon Demon Lord away.

The wound on the Azure Dragon’s back was gruesome. It did not care about its pain and chased after the Cold Moon Demon Lord. It grabbed the Cold Moon Demon Lord with its front claws and tore it apart!

Several of the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s whiskers broke. Its blood which gushed out from the wounds were sticky and silvery.

Groan!

The Cold Moon Demon Lord let out a shrill cry. The whiskers that connected to its Eye of the Ocean rose and struck the Azure Dragon’s head.

When it struck, the sky was ripped with holes, and endless icy cold sea water gushed out of those holes. It looked as if the other side of the space was a planet of an alternate dimension. When the Cold Moon Demon Lord shattered the alternate dimension wall, the sea water from the planet gushed out at the Azure Dragon!

Chapter 2892: The Eye of The Ocean

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan fought the Netherbone Dragon at a lower altitude. Little did he know that a massive influx of Seawater Planet gushed toward him from his back. It was hard to imagine there was such a scary spell in this world. It made all living creatures appear like tiny ants before such a spell. They did not stand a chance to fight back.

When the Seawater Planet swept the Azure Dragon to the Pudong sea area, the Azure Dragon wrapped its tail around Mo Fan to protect him.

It was a fierce tide. Even though the Azure Dragon was the size of a mountain range, it, too, was washed into the ocean.

Fortunately, the oriental sacred dragon was different from a common dragon. The oriental sacred dragon could swim in the water. It could swim as fast as it flew in the sky. Manipulating the ocean was one of Azure Dragon’s many abilities.

After they were washed up on the East Ocean, the Azure Dragon’s fins on its back manipulated the movement of the ocean. It summoned layer upon layer of ocean waves and stacked up a majestic Ocean Mountain. The Ocean Mountain was several thousand meters tall. Its diameter was more than ten kilometers. It looked as if the East Ocean had soared into the sky in a single glance. It was a shocking sight to behold.

The Ocean Mountain finally stopped the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s Seawater Planet. Mo Fan hid within the Azure Dragon’s tail. He felt dizzy.

It was appalling and confusing just what kind of monster the Cold Moon Demon Lord was. Each evil spell it cast was ten times stronger than a Forbidden Mage’s. If it had not been for the fact that the Sacred Totem Azure Dragon protected him, Mo Fan would have died a long time ago.

He was still in demon form. But he was akin to a child before the Cold Moon Demon Lord. It could kill him with ease.

Kawk! Kawk! Kawk!

The Netherbone Dragon was with them wherever they went. It wanted to infect the Azure Dragon with its Plague Curse.

However, since the Azure Dragon was surrounded by sacred ripples, the Netherbone Dragon had difficulty inflicting damage. Hence, it decided to target Mo Fan.

The vast sea area was a hundred kilometers away from Huangpu River and the Magic City. The dark and depressing Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves continued to advance from the far side of the East Ocean. There was a large number of Ocean Demon hordes gathering on the surface of the sea.

The creatures had heads that resembled a lizard, and their bodies resembled a shark. They were covered in blue scales. They were armored. They wielded metal weapons.

Many unknown Ocean Demons had appeared. The grand arrival of the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves would open the frontier. They wanted to celebrate the occasion. They looked forward to it. They would cover the areas where the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves traversed.

Of course, these Ocean Demon hordes were nothing to the Azure Dragon.

With the Azure Dragon’s presence in the sea area, the Ocean Demons dared not make a move. They did not want to be affected by the two godly level creatures. They stayed as far as they could and deliberately left a vast sea area for the two to fight each other.

The fight between Mo Fan and the Netherbone Dragon was like a battle between God and the Devil. The Ocean Demon hordes offshore were killed as a result of the fight. Mo Fan cast demon’s lightning. His demon’s lightning spread all over the sea surface. Thousands of Servant-class and Warrior-level Scarlet Demons were killed. Their corpses floated above the sea.

The Netherbone Dragon was brutal. It released its Black-Patterned Dragonwasps and transformed the Ocean Demon hordes into corpses on the water to absorb more necrotic gasses and increase the level of poisons for each of its poisonous thorns.

This was the difference between demons and humans. Under catastrophic situations, the Mages united and fought back using defensive magic to reduce the level of fatality. Ocean Demons, on the other hand, lacked such conscience. They were killed before they could escape from the mishap.

They were either killed by Mo Fan’s fire power in his demon form, the Azure Dragon’s Ocean shaking waves, or the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s terrifying tumbling ocean.

…

The Cold Moon Demon Lord was merciless. Each of its evil spells was powerful and boundless. The Azure Dragon and Mo Fan were swept to the east and farther away from the city and the land.

The Azure Dragon was aware that the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s Eye of the Ocean was very powerful. The Azure Dragon’s ability to control the ocean was inferior to it. The Azure Dragon was exhausted after holding on for some time.

“It wants to sweep us into the East Ocean and drown us,” said Mo Fan.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord’s spells relied heavily on the ocean. It had powerful control over the ocean. Meanwhile, the Azure Dragon could only summon wind and rain. It could soar into the sky and swim in the ocean. The Cold Moon Ocean Demon used the ocean as its weapon. Each of its attacks was likened to a doomsday catastrophe. The Azure Dragon was forced deeper into the ocean.

Mo Fan and the Azure Dragon had unknowingly left offshore.

Even though they were on China’s continental shelf, there was a sea slope. It was an area where the sea level dropped significantly. The seawater was extremely deep.

The Azure Dragon tried to fly into the sky many times. But the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s powerful Eye of the Ocean stirred up the ocean surface, causing the ocean to surge and tumble. The Cold Moon Demon Lord made use of each drop of seawater as its weapon to attack the Azure Dragon. As The Azure Dragon’s mighty body was restricted by the seawater, as if it could be dragged down into the ocean abyss at any time.

Splash!

The Azure Dragon drowned. Mo Fan was covered by the strong and fierce tide.

Mo Fan found underwater combat to be more difficult. He could only cast Shadow, Space, and Chaos Element magic. If he cast Lightning Element magic, the creatures under the ocean could not sense the Lightning Element magic in the sky, thus the effect of his Lightning Element magic on them would be affected.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord finally forced the Azure Dragon to its territory where the Cold Moon Demon Lord could fight best. The ocean was several hundred kilometers in circumference and had an average depth of five hundred meters. It was a perfect battlefield for the Cold Moon Demon Lord to cast its evil spell!

It laughed. Its laughter transmitted to Mo Fan’s head. He felt like it was mocking him.

‘It can get us in such a mess by using its Eye of the Ocean alone.’ Mo Fan felt helpless.

Even though the Azure Dragon had sacred ripples, it was suppressed when confronting the Cold Moon Ocean Demon.

The Azure Dragon swam in the ocean. A terrifying black hole appeared behind it and tried to suck it in. Only God knew what type of demonic abyssal sea prison was on the other side of the black hole.

“Dive down and go to the bottom of the ocean,” Mo fan said to the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon trusted Mo Fan unconditionally. It shook its body and swam like a snake into the depths of the ocean.

The bottom of the ocean and the land in this area sloped downward. As they moved eastward, they went deeper into the ocean before reaching the true deep-sea area.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord and the Netherbone Dragon went after them. They did not intend to forgo the chance to kill the Azure Dragon and Mo Fan. The Cold Moon Demon Lord’s evil spell was not affected in the bottom of the icy cold and dark ocean.

Its Eye of the Ocean moved around like a wheel. For a moment, the bottom of the ocean was stirred up. Gravels and mud flew everywhere.

Chapter 2893: Black Flame Magic Armor

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Don’t stay inside the water, go deeper. We’re going to the rock layer crack at the bottom of the ocean!” Mo Fan said with a great sense of urgency after he noticed the ocean shaking violently.

The Azure Dragon swung its tail vigorously and banged against the big crack at the bottom of the ocean with its indestructible dragon horns.

The Azure Dragon’s body was extremely hard. To it, the rock surface was no different than mud. Moreover, it possessed Earth Element magic, so it could easily break the hard rock at the bottom of the ocean.

After they burrowed into the rock stratum, the sea area above them blasted off. Terrifying ocean waves struck them. The rocks under the ocean were shattered into powder.

The Azure Dragon dived deeper. The rocks at the bottom of the ocean were thicker and harder. The Azure Dragon had to slow down its pace. At the very least, they managed to avoid the destructive ocean waves.

“They’re coming after us.” Mo Fan looked up. The world under the ocean was pitch-black. He sensed the necrotic gas and aura of sickness from above. He also sensed the evil aura that belonged to the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

The rock stratum was not completely solid. Some of them resembled a cave. The rock stratum collapsed because of the terrifying and destructive waves.

When they went deeper, the rock stratum became increasingly dense, like hard rocks at the bottom of the ocean. The Azure Dragon had to use more strength to smash the rocks. Moreover, the Cold Moon Demon Lord and the Netherbone Dragon were after them. They brought along seawater and poured it into the depths of the cracked rocks. Spectacular waterfalls appeared in the rocky world under the ocean.

When the icy cold seawater was poured into the rock veins, a large amount of white gas gushed up.

“There it is!” Mo Fan was delighted and quickly turned the Azure Dragon to head toward the area with white gas.

The Azure Dragon crushed the black rocks under the ocean. Extreme heat gushed out of the cracks. They saw flashes of red. The light illuminated the pitch-black rocky world under the ocean.

The next moment, flaming red liquid in high temperature gushed out from the crack. It spread because of the Azure Dragon’s smashing. Red lava flowed like streams and covered the black rock stratum area.

It was a massive volcano under the ocean. It contained lava. The scale of the lava was as large as West Lake in Hang Zhou. This would undoubtedly improve Mo Fan’s strength!

The rock stratum had blocked most of the seawater. Regardless of how fierce the movement of the seawater was, their impact weakened because of the heavy rocks.

Moreover, the rock stratum was connected to the land. It was a sacred place with pure Earth Element. It was Mo Fan and the Azure Dragon’s territory.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord and the Netherbone Dragon had caught up with them. Mo Fan stretched out and bit the back of his hand.

His teeth sank into his blood vessels. His warm demon’s blood flowed out and dropped on the ocean dike. His blood was absorbed as soon as it touched the rocks.

The blood droplets made the rocks glow even more, like a rare metal that had been quenched by a furnace. It dazzled and became scorching hot!

“Wrath of the Earth’s crust: Black Flame Heavy Armor!”

Mo Fan created a covenant with the Earth’s crust with his blood.

The searing hot rock veins shook violently. Mo Fan was wrapped by countless black flame rocks. The rocks were as big as a building. They became his Earth Heavy Armor.

Mo Fan changed from a tiny person to a gigantic figure.

He was transformed into a heavily armored demon empowered by the ocean rock veins. The Earth Heavy Armor was more powerful than when it was under the Kingdom of Sand’s influence. The heavy rocks that supported the ocean made him look even more stout and imposing.

He absorbed the underground lava that was as big as West Lake.

The powerful lava under the ocean became a part of Mo Fan’s Earth Heavy Armor. Each piece of rock that made up the heavy armor exuded an aura of evil black flame that came from underground!

Black Flame Heavy Armor Demon!

Mo Fan felt the ocean lava flowing in his body. The lava made him invincible. Meanwhile, the ocean rock veins gave him a super powerful demonic body to fight the Emperor-level Ocean Demons.

Roar!

The Azure Dragon seemed to have regained its vitality under the ocean rocky world. It shook its body and charged at the Cold Moon Demon Lord and the Netherbone Dragon with its dragon horns.

Mo Fan had become an enormous God in the underground. He could no longer stand between the Azure Dragon’s horns. Hence, he rode on its back.

He raised his hand. He was ablaze in black flame. He wielded a long and huge Blade of the Black Flame. The blade contained the power of the earth and the lava!

The Azure Dragon lunged at the arrogant Netherbone Dragon with its dragon horns and sent it flying backwards. Mo Fan, on the other hand, aimed at the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s head with his Blade of the Black Flame. He slashed it with his Earth and Fire Elements magic that had the most destructive effect.

The slash split the bottom of the ocean into a huge gorge. The sea area above his head was split into half.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord did not avoid his attack. A few of its whiskers were cut off.

Mo Fan had targeted the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s tail whisker that was connected to its Eye of the Tide. Unfortunately, its tail whisker was much more powerful than its other whiskers.

Mo Fan did not give up. It was a chance hard to come by to be able to inflict severe damage on the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

The Cold Moon Demon had driven Mo Fan and the Azure Dragon to the bottom of the ocean. It had not expected the two to use the ocean rock veins to counterattack. It was slightly nervous as it held off Mo Fan’s Blade of the Black Flame.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord did not expect Mo Fan’s strength to increase by leaps and bounds. His Black Flame Heavy Armor was so powerful that it threatened the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

“Bite it!” said Mo Fan to the Azure Dragon.

This was a rare opportunity!

The Cold Moon Demon Lord tried to kill the Azure Dragon so that no one could stop it when it ruled the land. Hence, it showed no mercy in chasing after them. Even though Mo Fan and the Azure Dragon were at the bottom of the ocean, the Cold Moon Demon Lord had insisted on pursuing them.

If only the Cold Moon Demon Lord realized the rock stratum and the underground lava were beneficial to Mo Fan and the Azure Dragon, it would have fled without hesitation.

This was the area where the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s Eye of the Ocean was suppressed slightly. But once it returned to the ocean, the Azure Dragon would be no match for it.

They had to finish their battle here!

Mo Fan would not allow the Cold Moon Demon Lord to leave the rock veins. He would not allow it to leave the primary underground lava.

The Azure Dragon and Mo Fan understood each other. The Azure Dragon ignored the Netherbone Dragon. It decided to coil up and trap the Cold Moon Demon Lord, instead. Regardless of how much damage the Cold Moon Demon Lord could inflict on it, the Azure Dragon would not let go of it this time!

Mo Fan lifted his blade and aimed at the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s tail whisker which held its Eye of the Tide!

He was ablaze in brilliant black flame. It was a symbol of his determination!

Chapter 2894: Break The Tail of The Eye of The Tide

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Cold Moon Demon Lord was illuminated in blue demonic light. Its body and whiskers became as hard as diamonds.

When Mo Fan slashed it with his Blade of the Black Flame, his Earth Heavy Armor shattered and cracked with the impact. He felt his bones aching and becoming numb.

Mo Fan wondered what bizarre demonic spell the Cold Moon Demon Lord had cast on him. Nevertheless, he had no other option.

His Blade of the Black Flame cracked. Mo Fan re-summoned it. Black lava shot out from its crack, making it look as if a dozen volcanoes had erupted simultaneously!

Mo Fan could bring out the best of the Black Flame Heavy Armor in demon form, but he felt that the covenant was not strong enough.

The Earth-Blood covenant.

He would become more powerful by shedding more blood! No matter what, he had to cut off the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s Eye of the Tide this time!

He cut his palm with the Blade of the Black Flame, like an ancient martial artist paying his respect in a special way. He used his own blood to show his innermost sincerity.

Blood spilled out of Mo Fan’s hand. He activated his dark pulse to speed up the flow of the blood so that the blood reached his arm and poured onto the surface of the ley line through his palm.

The ocean occupied seventy percent of the world. It was as if the ocean was the world’s foundation.

The rock stratum was the world’s core. The rocks below the surface were unimaginably massive. All living creatures just lived on the rock surface.

At that moment, Mo Fan spilled his blood onto the ley lines that spanned for tens, hundreds, and thousands of kilometers.

The ley lines in the ocean were even vast. Mo Fan was aware that he could only use a very small portion of the ley lines with the Earth-Blood covenant.

As long as he could obtain it, it was capable of destroying everything!

The ley lines in the ocean were all pitch-black and cold.

However, the ley lines boiled and burned. Black flame gushed out from the cracks. The flame grew stronger. They came from Mo Fan’s blood of the demon that was filled with fire and arrogance.

The dark ocean world turned into a sky of intense black flames. The dense black flame pistil flew toward Mo Fan and ignited his massive and majestic heavy armor.

The ley lines looked like a black sun, and there was a demon holding the Blade of the Black Flame in the middle of the sun. The “demon” slashed the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s icy cold diamond body!

Swoosh!

The Netherbone Dragon was eager to save its master. When it saw Mo Fan slash at the Cold Moon Demon Lord with his Blade of the Black Flame, the Netherbone Dragon flew toward the Cold Moon Demon Lord to defend it.

Mo Fan cut the Netherbone Dragon’s jagged bone with his Blade of the Black Flame. His black flame remained strong even in the icy cold world. Irrespective of the Netherbone Dragon’s sudden appearance to defend its master, he continued to slash at the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord’s blue lights dimmed. Its icy cold diamond body shattered like glass before turning into countless meteors and shooting into the surrounding rocks.

Just then, a terrifying icy cold recoil immediately struck back. Mo Fan was sent flying away. His heavy armor collapsed like a building.

Mo Fan was shocked. He had given his all. He had transformed into ultimate demon form.

He had believed that the Blade of the Black Flame could kill all Emperor-level creatures. To his horror, he had only broken the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s defense only to end up being thrown back and injured.

‘How powerful is the Cold Moon Demon Lord?!’ he wondered.

Roar!

The Azure Dragon roared. It found the falling Cold Moon Demon Lord in the middle of the black flame. The Azure Dragon aggressively bit the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s Eye of the Tide!

The Cold Moon Demon Lord had not recovered its senses from Mo Fan’s attack. The Azure Dragon approached it suddenly, and it did not have time to cast its demonic spell.

The Azure Dragon was as resolute as Mo Fan!

Even though the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s whiskers over its body unleashed destructive light, the Azure Dragon clung to its tail whisker which held the Eye of the Tide!

Slash!

The Azure Dragon bit off the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s tail whisker. For a moment, the ocean ley lines, and the ocean itself shook. It was as if the whole world trembled along with the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s Eye of the Tide!

Mo Fan’s bones shattered because of the recoil. He was in excruciating pain. He couldn’t even move a finger. However, he was over the moon after he saw the Azure Dragon bite off the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s tail whisker which held its Eye of the Tide!

Kawk! Kawk! Kawk!

The ley lines turned icy cold unexpectedly. The rock surface condensed with cold diamond frost.

Breaking the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s tail whisker did not seem to threaten its life. Instead, Mo Fan sensed its unusual aura, and the aura spread profusely.

A bone-chilling evil aura in the ocean rapidly suppressed the dazzling and scorching rocks, as well as the black flame that covered the ley lines.

…

The Azure Dragon sensed something. It quickly grabbed Mo Fan with its hind claws and fled the ocean.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

A loud bang resounded. The rock surface under the ocean turned into powder, and seawater poured down from above.

Mo Fan hid inside the Azure Dragon’s claws. He saw the ocean collapse. An extremely terrifying icy cold destructive force followed behind the Azure Dragon. The areas where the Azure Dragon had passed by were reduced to ashes within seconds.

The Azure Dragon sped up. It passed by the rock surface and reached the ocean. It swam out of the ocean and soared into the sky. It reached the clouds and flew into the space above the sky.

The destructive force that came from the ocean ley lines followed behind it. Mo Fan saw the ocean fall and the light extinguished. The space shattered…

If it had not been for the fact that the Azure Dragon had fled on time, the Sacred Totem Beast would have been killed, too. Mo Fan could not believe there was a creature in this world capable of such devastation.

“Has the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves subsided?” Mo Fan looked toward the east.

The Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves in the east had indeed subsided. It was so tall that it reached the sky signaling the arrival of doomsday. Even though the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves still looked majestic and terrifying, it had weakened.

The Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves had subsided! The Eye of the Tide was the key to this!

Mo Fan heaved a sigh of relief. He and the Azure Dragon risked their lives to break the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s tail which held the Eye of the Tide, and it was all worth it.

“Azure Dragon, where are you going? The city is in that direction.” Mo Fan noticed the Azure Dragon flying toward the Pacific Ocean.

The Azure Dragon continued in that direction without looking back. It flew further away from China.

It flew extremely fast!

The color in the sky changed. The color of the boundless ocean changed, too.

The sky and the ocean changed to the same color. It was only then that Mo Fan realized they had almost reached the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

“Are you going to throw the Eye of the Tide into the Pacific Ocean? Isn’t that the same as returning it to the Cold Moon Demon Lord?” asked Mo Fan, confused.

Chapter 2895: The Mages Evacuate

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The middle of the Pacific Ocean blended perfectly with the sky. An ancient, magnificent sacred dragon flew through the sky. The green airflow surged and stretched for dozens of kilometers. The airflow had not subsided even after the Azure Dragon had left.

The ocean below the sky was inky blue. Mo Fan noticed the sea was different from other areas. The density of the seawater in this area was higher, it was deeper compared to other areas.

The Azure Dragon approached the ocean surface and threw the Eye of the Tide into the calm, ink-blue ocean.

Suddenly, the ocean erupted. A terrifying tail flung up high and attempted to pull the Azure Dragon down into the ocean with it.

Mo Fan was shocked. He had not expected a terrifying creature to live under such a calm and still ocean.

The Azure Dragon quickly soared into the sky. The owner of the tail did not reveal its true form. It could not grab the Azure Dragon. It swept away the Eye of the Tide.

A frightening gas ripple appeared on the ocean. It swept the entire Pacific Ocean. The unknown creature hidden under the ocean seemed to have transformed after obtaining the Eye of the Tide. Its aura grew increasingly frightening.

Mo Fan looked down. He felt as if he had been sucked into the deep, calm ocean. Meanwhile, the Azure Dragon did not stay there any longer. It quickly returned to China.

“This is another ruler in the Pacific Ocean. Did you want it to restrain the Cold Moon Demon Lord by giving it the Eye of the Tide?” Mo Fan finally understood.

The Cold Moon Demon Lord was very powerful. It could fight the Azure Dragon easily even though it was in the middle of chanting the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves. After losing its Eye of the Tide, it did not need to chant anymore, so it would be even stronger than before.

…

The Azure Dragon could not fight it even if it now only had the Eye of the Ocean.

The Azure Dragon knew that biting off its Eye of the Tide would only stop the Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves from engulfing the land. However, it would not stop the Cold Moon Demon Lord from continuing its massacre with fury!

The Cold Moon Demon Lord would vent out its anger to the remaining mages standing guard over the Magic City.

Even though the citizens had been evacuated from the city, the Mages, who were still fighting, would all perish. They were destined to be defeated in the war, but they had to ensure their people’s survival!

The Azure Dragon threw the Eye of the Tide to another Pacific Ocean ruler. The moment the ruler possessed the tide power that belonged to a demon lord, its strength would increase by leaps and bounds. By then, it could fight the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

Hence, the Cold Moon Demon Lord was left with only two options. It could either choose to stay in the Magic City to continue its plan of sinking the land, or it could return to the middle of the Pacific Ocean and grab its Eye of the Tide from the mysterious ruler.

“You’ve made the correct decision. This will buy us more time.” Mo Fan finally understood the Azure Dragon’s intention.

…

The Azure Dragon flew over the coast. It did not stay in the sky above the Magic City. It continued to fly toward China.

1

The sky was vast. The Azure Dragon’s body gradually petrified and decomposed. It started from its head, claws, then its long body…

The Azure Dragon was exhausted.

It was summoned briefly through the Underground Holy Spring. It relied heavily on the special source to prolong its life. After the source of the Holy Spring drained out, it had to return to the soil in different cities, mountains, and battlefields all over the country.

Mo Fan stared at the wounded and scarred Azure Dragon. Even though it had transformed back into segments of Ancient Walls, the scars were visible. The scars did not just come from this harsh battle, those were accumulated from the rise and fall of the country from thousands of years.

The Azure Dragon was no longer a living being. It was no longer an ancient god either. It was an immortal guardian!

Regardless of how the Azure Dragon formed or disintegrated, Mo Fan stared at the immortal sacred beast in awe. He strongly believed that when the Azure Dragon was at its prime, it certainly had been a Holy Spirit that was more powerful than the Cold Moon Demon Lord and the other ocean rulers. However, the passing of time had expelled it from the list of the Roof of the World.

It made him sad but Mo Fan was aware that the Azure Dragon had done all it could.

The Seal of Azure Dragon that resembled a sky eye on its forehead slowly faded. It left Mo Fan’s forehead and transformed into a small pendant again. The pendant floated before him.

The Azure Dragon transformed into a Little Loach pendant and returned to his neck.

This time, Little Loach was green in color. It was no longer black like before. The Sacred Totem Beast companion vessel glowed with extraordinary luster. It was an ancient sacred object.

“If only you had revealed your true form from the beginning, I wouldn’t have had to work so hard throughout my cultivation path. But this isn’t that bad, too, right?” Mo Fan stroked his pendant.

Mo Fan had learned from Ms. Tangyue that Little Loach was a growing soul cultivation vessel. Indeed, it was in the middle of its growth. Mo Fan was in the middle of growth, too.

Instead of looking forward to something falling into his lap and becoming a superhero within a second to protect the galaxy, Mo Fan preferred to grow slowly. It was only through experience and growth that he could learn to become more practical and stronger. He would be more confident in facing dangerous encounters in the future if he built on his experience.

At the very least, he knew how to grow to become more powerful if he was given sufficient time.

How could a man who was a stranger to his own power be certain that he would not lose himself to an even more powerful force?

…

Mo Fan flew back to the Magic City.

All the citizens in the Magic City had evacuated. The Ocean Demons roaming inside the city lost their backup because the sky holes had ceased to form. As a result, they were gradually eliminated.

The tide subsided in the east. The Heaven-shaking Demonic Waves finally disappeared from the sky. The people felt more at ease.

Ocean Demons’ carcasses stacked up by the two sides of Huangpu River. The river was stained red with blood.

The city was in a dilapidated state. Mutilated limbs were everywhere. It all looked bleak.

The Mages were exhausted. Still, they continued to fight the battle. There were Ocean Demon remnants inside the city. They hid inside the underground tunnels and buildings. There were many of them. It was impossible to kill all of them at once.

Swoop!

A white light arched across the sky. When it reached the peak, it transformed into countless white comet tails and scattered in every direction.

All the Mages saw the white meteor flying above them.

It was an evacuation signal from the Magic Association.

The mages could finally leave this hellish place!

All of them began to leave. If the war were to continue, it would go on for days and days. There were several enormous Emperor-level Ocean Demons, Shark Kingdom, Deep-Sea Lizard Demon Dragon Empire, Salamander and Shell Demon Empire, and even more in the direction of Pudong.

The Magic City had lost in the battle. But thankfully, the people were alive.

Chapter 2896: The Barrier Plan

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The evacuation location was Ding City.

Ding City was constructed with the purpose of becoming the Elemental Capital. It was part of the plan to designate it as the Magic City’s evacuation destination.

After the citizens had successfully evacuated from the Magic City, the Mages left, too. However, the process of evacuation was challenging. The people were scattered in various areas. Many of them were trapped within the ruins. Most of them were blocked by the Ocean Demons, thus they were trapped inside the refuge.

Even though the white meteor had sent the signal to all the Mages to evacuate the city, many stayed behind to help those who were still trapped.

Mo Fan could maintain his demon form for a while longer. When he fought the Cold Moon Demon Lord, the ice recoil had severely wounded him. Mo Fan had absorbed the ley lines lava, but he could not completely recover due to the cold impact he suffered from the Cold Moon Demon Lord.

Fortunately, staying in demon form had strengthened him. He had a stronger life force. After reaching the Magic City, Mo Fan gathered the five great totem beasts and stalled for time for those who had not been able to leave the city.

It was already dark when Chief Zhu found him.

“Where’s Councilman Gu?” Mo Fan did not see the powerful Forbidden Mage.

“He wounded the Ocean Queen, but it killed him,” said Chief Zhu.

Mo Fan took a deep breath.

This was not his first time receiving the news of death in the battle. The Forbidden Curse Association had suffered great losses in the war.

“If we could have foreseen this and evacuated earlier…,” mumbled Mo Fan.

Chief Zhu shook his head. “The Ocean Demons are too strong. If we don’t stop them, they won’t just harm the Magic City, they will move to the entire country.”

The war was inevitable. They were destined to pay a heavy price in exchange for temporary peace for the coastlines across the country.

The preparation for war was hasty. However, the coastline along China was considered well-preserved compared to other countries near the Pacific Ocean.

Mo Fan had been to the Andeas. He was aware that certain countries had fallen apart due to the Ocean Demons. The countries were at war. Many people were killed. So many lives lost. They had failed to unite to fight the Ocean Demons.

The Magic City had been defeated. But after a few years, when the people regained their strength, they would take it back. They wouldn’t leave an ounce of land for the greedy Ocean Demons.

“Leave with your totem beasts now! We can’t afford to suffer any more losses. Besides, the Magic City Barrier Plan has started. When the time comes, the Forbidden Curse Association will need you and the totem beasts to destroy the Ocean Demon Empire within the Magic City ruins,” said Chief Zhu to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nodded.

“Thank you for everything you did for the Magic City,” Chief Zhu said with sincerity.

Mo Fan vividly remembered the first time he visited the Eastern Mage Tower to awaken his Third and Fourth Elements. At that time, he was astounded by the Eastern Mage Tower’s splendor.

Chief Zhu was the leader of the Eastern Mages. He represented the apex of the Magic Association.

Mo Fan was touched with his words. “Please, don’t mention it. I’ve been staying here and attending school ever since Bo City was destroyed. This is my second home.”

Chief Zhu was stunned. “Thank you for not letting us down. The Magic Association surely knew what it was doing when bringing you up!”

Mo Fan smiled.

Chief Zhu also smiled. A long-awaited smile…

…

Meanwhile, no one knew where the Cold Moon Demon Lord had disappeared. Mo Fan thought it would be furious because of the humiliation it endured.

Mo Fan and the Azure Dragon had their hands on its Eye of the Tide. But if they had kept the Eye of the Tide to themselves, the Cold Moon Demon Lord would have surely taken it back by all means.

The Azure Dragon had tried to destroy the Eye of the Tide. But the Eye of the Tide was a sacred object. It was indestructible.

The Azure Dragon had no choice but to throw the Eye of the Tide to another ruler that might possess its power and force the Cold Moon Demon Lord to leave the city. By doing so, the Azure Dragon had saved the Mages in the Magic City. Thankfully, the outcome turned out to be worth it.

They hoped that after the ruler in the Pacific Ocean gained the Eye of the Tide, it would become the Cold Moon Demon Lord’s rival. Once the Pacific Ocean was split into two Ocean Demon camps, the Cold Moon Demon Lord would not dare to invade the coasts.

Humans needed more time to make plans. They especially needed time to consider the relocation and evacuation of their people. No matter what, they had to prepare for everything.

When the Ocean Demon army gushed in and the base city failed to hold them back, they had considered transferring the people to China.

They needed sufficient time to make plans.

They needed to make various arrangements when moving so many people from one place to another. They had to clear the roads, provide escorts, and stock up on supplies.

They also needed to give the army more time to open up the wasteland and build a city there.

…

At Ding City…

Bone-chilling coldness filled the air. The clouds condensed in the sky above and made the elemental capital made up of rocks look even colder.

It was day four since they evacuated the Magic City.

The Magic City Barrier Plan had started. Before Chairman Shao Zheng was transferred away, the Barrier Plan was one of the strategies deployed in the event that several base cities were defeated.

In order to prevent the base city from turning into the Ocean Demon’s paradise, after the people evacuated the city, the underground refuge was connected to form a steel barrier under the city. This could serve as a stronghold to locate the Ocean Demons at any time.

The Magic City was occupied by several powerful Emperor-level Ocean Demons. However, the powerful Ocean Demon army could not possibly stay in the Magic City all the time.

They would take back the Magic City someday.

The steel barrier under the Magic City was an important stronghold in their plans to take back the city in the future.

After they took back the city, various magic organizations would assign the Mages to the city and rescue the people who were trapped inside. They would slowly kill all the troublesome Ocean Demons.

The steel barrier stronghold plan was a strategy for a long-term battle.

…

“It’s so cold. When will the bloody weather clear up?!”

People walked on the streets in Ding City. Many people had moved to Ding City. It was certainly crowded.

Fortunately, everything was in order. The citizens in the Magic City had experienced Black Alert, so they cherished the peace they currently had.

“I heard that the World’s Magic Organization gathered experts to fight the Extreme South Emperor. I wonder how the situation is. If they can change the cold weather, we don’t have to suffer so much.” The patrol officers chatted as they gathered around a communal fireplace to keep warm.

Chapter 2897: Visiting The Totem Beast Hero

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Three days ago, rumor had it that the world’s experts had fought with the Extreme South Emperor.

The catastrophe that the Cold Moon Demon Lord had stirred up in the Magic City had sent a fearful message to the world. If even the most powerful Magic City in China with many national Magic Associations could not hold back the Ocean Demons’ invasion, how many more countries would be destroyed in this era?

Ding City was a busy city. Many news stories spread from across the world. Those who had been dormant, neutral, or hibernating had heard about the Ocean Demons’ provocation. They laid their eyes on humans like hungry wolves!

“Why didn’t the world’s experts fight the Cold Moon Demon Lord? It’s wounded. If they kill it, they can eliminate the danger in the Pacific Ocean,” said the leader of Ding City Guardian Mage, Wen Xia.

Xie Qinghua wore a big military coat and held a walking stick.

Xie Qinghua had not expected Ding City to be the Magic City’s evacuation destination. Ding City was crowded with people in such a short period of time. The officers, army, and volunteers were extremely busy.

Fortunately, Chairman Shao Zheng had personally been here prior to this. They had prepared well for this possible incident. Thus, Ding City did not end up becoming a mess.

The housing issue was not a major problem.

Ding City had many rocks. There were plains around the city. Roads and buildings were built on the plains. Many migrants were allowed to stay on Ding City’s plain.

Xie Qinghua stared at the industrialized new city on the plains. He sighed. “Not every country is invaded by the Ocean Demons, but the cold weather across the globe has threatened many countries, especially Europe…”

Wen Xia was puzzled upon hearing his words. On second thought, she understood the message he wanted to convey.

Those countries that had not been threatened by the Ocean Demons ignored the safety of the countries near the coasts.

Every country’s leader was self-centered. They only wanted to solve the global coldness issue that had brought them problems but turned a blind eye to countries near the Pacific Ocean. Regardless of how many of the cities were destroyed, or how many people had died, they ignored it because it had nothing to do with them.

“It’s difficult to continue to survive if we keep on relying on other people’s help. At the end of the day, we must grow strong,” said Xie Qinghua.

Wen Xia nodde. “We have powerful creatures in our country. The Azure Dragon is one of them.”

“That’s right. Our country has existed for around five thousand years. Some of the things are in our heritage. We can’t forget them just because time has passed, or things have changed. We should thank the person who found the ancient Sacred Totem Beast. By the way, I learned that they have settled the totem beast team in North Park. I must handle some army-related preparation. Wen Xia, do visit them on my behalf,” said Xie Qinghua.

“Of course.”

Wen Xia summoned several guards and went to North Park.

The reason North Park was called a park was because there were stone sculptures there. Even the plant decorations were made up of stones of different materials.

There were several houses in North Park. They usually received the ruling leaders in North Park. This time, they assigned the place for the totem beast team.

“Do behave yourself. They are the Magic City heroes, understand?” Wen Xia gave a piece of her mind to her followers when she noticed their playful grins.

Tao Jing and Zhou Donghao were her followers. They took a bus here. After they experienced the battle in Ding City, they decided to stay on for further developments.

Wen Xia had achieved great things, so she was rewarded with a high position. The fledgling Mages under her lead naturally obtained a lot of premium resources because of her. Therefore, their cultivation improved by leaps and bounds, and they were also afforded promising positions.

Strength was very important, but opportunity was even more essential. They might not know the importance of the existence of a broken city made up of stones, but with the development of Earth Elemental Capital and implementation of the policy, Ding City became the second Flying Bird Base City. Furthermore, it had become the Magic City’s refuge. It was Magic City’s backup. Ding City was no longer what it used to be.

Those who had experienced the battle in Ding City had risen to power. Even though they were just common Mages, they held managerial positions in certain departments.

They were aware that their achievements in Ding City were nothing compared to the totem beast team’s great accomplishment.

The totem beast team had found the Azure Dragon!

Without their painstaking search for the Sacred Totem Beast, the people would not have known the existence of such a mythical national beast in their own country!

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Wen Xia straightened her lapel before knocking on the door.

The courtyard door was not actually closed. Even so, Wen Xia dared not simply push open the door. She knocked until someone responded.

“Come in. The door is not closed.” The voice came from the courtyard.

Wen Xia pushed open the door. She walked in a military stride. She held her chin high.

After Zhou Donghao and Tao Jing noticed their superior’s solemnity, they followed suit. They maintained the same pace as hers.

“Eh, isn’t he Mo Fan? He’s one step ahead of us.” Tao Jing was the first to recognize Mo Fan. She looked delighted.

2

Mo Fan had barged into the dark cave alone and saved her life. Tao Jing certainly would not forget him.

Wen Xia was stunned when she saw Mo Fan playing with a group of small animals glowing in spiritual holy light in the courtyard.

A Little White Tiger was covered in mud and happily squirmed toward other small animals.

A flame porcelain doll kept running. Apparently, it preferred to keep itself clean and did not want to be stained by the Little White Tiger.

There was a small Holy Spirit that resembled a butterfly on Mo Fan’s head. It chased and played with the Little White Tiger.

There was an eagle on top of the stone carved wood. It looked divine and aloof. Its gaze never left the noisy small animals.

For a moment, Wen Xia thought she had entered a petting zoo.

Mo Fan sat among the animals. He was stained with mud, but he laughed along.

“How are you? You’ve arrived before us. The totem beasts are playing in the courtyard, will this affect the Totem Beast Heroes from resting?” Wen Xia walked over to him.

“Totem Beast Heroes?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

“We came to pay a visit to the Totem Beast Heroes. As an Honorary Council, we came to welcome them,” Wen Xia said solemnly.

It was only then that Mo Fan understood her words. He burst out in laughter and pointed at the mud-stained totem beasts. He said, “They are the totem beasts, and I’m the person you want to see.”

Wen Xia looked at the small beasts that were playing in the mud and then glanced at Mo Fan, who looked so carefree.

‘Were they really the majestic and magnificent totem beasts and the Totem Guardian from the Magic City war they had heard about?’

Chapter 2898: The Totem Beasts’ Privilege

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Wen Xia Tao Jing and Zhou Donghao could not believe it.

The Little White Tiger was very playful. When the Green East Sea God did not pay attention to it, the Little White Tiger threw a handful of mud at its feathers.

The Green East Sea God stood on the wooden statue. It was more mature compared to the other totem beasts; hence it did not bother playing with them. It was furious after the others threw mud at it!

The high and mighty Green East Sea God would not bother to play with mud!

The Green East Sea God was stirred up. Its body expanded. Its green feathers glowed in holy light and occupied the entire courtyard.

Within a few seconds, the Green East Sea God revealed its true form. Its terrifying green wings were so powerful that it could flap North Park away effortlessly.

Wen Xia, Tao Jing, and Zhou Donghao were speechless.

At the same time, the Little White Tiger glowed in holy blue light. It was shrouded in a bone-chilling aura and was covered in spotless white fur.

The playful Little White Tiger transformed into a magnificent Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger that glowed in holy light. It confronted the Green East Sea God in midair and exuded a terrifying aura.

The trio’s jaws dropped. It was only then that they realized Mo Fan wasn’t bluffing. These “little babies” were truly totem beasts. They had transformed into mini versions. After the three people saw their true forms, they were weak to their knees.

Many video clips had circulated on the internet, but most of the clips were taken from a distance away, including the image of the Azure Dragon coiling up in the sky above the Magic City. When they saw the totem beasts at a close range, it was only then that they realized how powerful they actually were!

“They’re going to fight each other! The Little White Tiger is going to fight the Green East Sea God!” Mo Fan shouted.

Several people ran out of the house.

Wen Xia thought that the Totem Beast Heroes came out to stop the totem beasts from fighting each other. She watched in disbelief when the young people sat on chairs in the courtyard and took out snacks from their pockets and waited for a good show!

The Moon Moth Phoenix flew between the two totem beasts. It quickly calmed the two with its serene and peaceful aura.

Mo Fan thought it was a pity that he could not witness the battle between the Green East Sea God and the Heavenly Scar Sacred Tiger. He wondered which would be more powerful.

“Are you the legendary Totem Beast Heroes?” Wen Xia asked incredulously.

“So, we are being called the Totem Beast Heroes, huh? Not bad. I like it!” Zhao Manyan was all smiles.

People admired and respected him from the bottom of their hearts. Zhao Manyan felt that his life was better now that people respected him for his actions and not for his massive wealth.

He would rather become a wealthy, handsome, and popular man with great achievements than just a rich, spoiled brat.

Aromatic smell wafted out from the kitchen. Yu Shishi and several young ladies had come over with several large plates of delicacies.

“Go wash up and eat your food,” said Yu Shishi. After that, she glared at Mo Fan. “Not you! The food is for them!”

“I’m covered in mud. What’s wrong if I go and wash up? Do you seriously think I’ll fight for food with the totem beasts?” Mo Fan said with a huff.

Yu Shishi smirked.

Mo Fan entered the house. He took a shower and changed his clothes.

Everyone chatted inside the courtyard. Mo Fan came out of the house and noticed that Wen Xia, Zhou Donghao, and Tao Jing looked at him differently now.

“Tell me, how did you summon the Azure Dragon? Everyone is discussing it fervently across the country. Oh, my god! I’m also a friend of the Azure Dragon Guardian. We’ve boarded the same bus and been to the dark cave together… I can’t wait to attend the annual classmate gathering and compare my achievements with theirs!” Zhou Donghao said excitedly.

“The Forbidden Curse Association has sealed the news for us. Don’t tell the rest that we’re the ones who shared the news with you. We haven’t found some of the missing totem beasts, so we’re worried that someone else will hinder our progress or harm us.” Jiang Shaoxu acted vigilantly and warned those who came to visit them.

“Understood. But I suppose those who have the intention of getting you into trouble are aware of the identities of the Totem Guardians, right?” asked Wen Xia.

“Indeed. But at the very least, they won’t recognize us at a single glance wherever we go. The identity of Totem Guardian has to be well-hidden. The totem beasts have to be well-protected,” said Song Feiyao.

“Anyway, we’re aware of the presence of Totem Beast Heroes. I heard that the Forbidden Curse Association will prepare a totem medal for us that will grant us certain power equivalent to that of a councilor. We can even request the military for assistance with that.” Jiang Shaoxu brought up the issue.

“Indeed. Ding City will prepare the totem medals for you. I came here to discuss the issue with you. Also, I would like to spend some time with your totem beasts so that I can create corresponding totem medals for all of you,” said Wen Xia.

“That’s great! The country only supported us from the shadows before,but now it’s supporting us openly!” Zhao Manyan smiled in satisfaction.

“Moreover, some of the researchers and archeological teams will cooperate with you unconditionally. They will provide you with any information, and documents that you need,” added Wen Xia.

“Great! Finally, we don’t have to do everything on our own. Can we find a place to camp and enjoy life while leaving the dirty work to others in our future search for the totem beast? We’ll just have to give them our orders,” Zhao Manyan said happily.

“Dream on! In fact, the country can’t help us much. It has only granted us certain privilege,” said Jiang Shaoxu.

“Not really. President Hong Wu has issued some paperwork to us and helped us collect the legend of totem beasts from various places. I believe we’ll get a lot of important information from there,” said Mo Fan.

The totem beasts had done a remarkable job in the Magic City war. Countless people had witnessed the true totem beasts. The totem beasts had always been in the country. They acted as the guardians of the people. Summoning a vast number of mages could help find the remaining missing totem beast.

Furthermore, this could save the totem beast team some time.

“The Ocean Demons will make a comeback. By then, we won’t be heavily defeated like this time!” Mo Fan said solemnly.

Thankfully, they did not give up looking for the totem beasts’ traces. They were glad that their hard work had paid off. This was the reason why Jiang Shaojun had been willing to dedicate his life to search for the mysterious and ancient totem beasts.

The totem beasts were truly extraordinary Holy Spirits with unique powers!

Chapter 2899: The Complete Ice Crystal Bow

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

What mattered most now was to increase their strengths.

It was unlikely that they could summon the Azure Dragon again unless they could find another source of Underground Holy Spring.

Unless the Evil Bead Sublimation was replenished, it would be difficult to cast Demon Element magic again.

If the Cold Moon Demon Lord or the Ocean Queen made a comeback, Mo Fan could not contribute much to another war.

Little Loach had transformed into a Little Azure Dragon pendant. The Underground Holy Spring had spilled onto the Ancient Great Walls all over the land. Little Loach was the one that benefited from all of it. It was the one that had summoned the Sacred Totem Beast and unlocked its ancient seal. Little Loach glowed in green luster. The pure energy within itself was as vast as an ocean.

The Nether Ocean within the Little Azure Dragon pendant stirred up tumbling waves. Each wave was capable of improving Mo Fan’s cultivation and helping him break through the barrier.

Mo Fan needed sufficient time to improve the strength of each of his magical elements!

He did not have any special plans. He only wanted to focus on his cultivation.

He had to cultivate in a quiet place. With the help of the divine tool, the Little Azure Dragon pendant, his level of cultivation would reach its peak within a very short period.

Although the Sacred Totem Azure Dragon was in deep slumber, it had left behind tremendous treasure for Mo Fan. After the battle at Huangpu River, the Azure Dragon and Mo Fan had harvested numerous Soul Remnants and Soul Essence.

The Soul Remnant and Soul Essence could help to boost Mo Fan’s cultivation.

It would be an arduous task to ensure the level of cultivation for eight of his elements to reach their peak. But with the massive resources he owned, Mo Fan could do it.

…

Cultivation was boring. There was no shortcut to improve the level of cultivation for the elements.

Even though Mo Fan had gained much popularity and the people across the country had been discussing the totem beasts and the Azure Dragon fervently, he turned a deaf ear to all this and shut himself inside a small courtyard.

Let the world proclaim his legend to their heart’s content!

Mo Fan’s Thunder Element had achieved the highest level of cultivation, followed by his Fire Element, Shadow Element, and Space Element.

The level of cultivation for his Summoning Element, Earth Element, and Chaos Element was slightly lower. But he could slowly digest the massive energy within the Little Azure Dragon. He believed the level of cultivation for all of his magical elements would increase by leaps and bounds after this!

Mo Fan did not go anywhere else. He stayed in Ding City, just like the rest.

Like him, Zhao Manyan reaped significant benefits from the war. He followed Mo Fan and practiced his own cultivation, which was a rare sight.

‘This jerk hardly cultivates. It seems like after experiencing the power and ability, he decided to become an expert too.’

Not long ago, Zhao Manyan had grabbed some assets from the Zhao family. He exchanged the assets for various magical sources. He finally seemed to have realized that nothing was more important than becoming stronger.

…

The weather was icy cold. The breeze felt like a whip on their bodies.

The trees had dried up. A large area of forest nearby Ding City had withered. Many crops had frozen to death. Even the rivers began to freeze.

After half a month of such a climate, they finally began feeling slightly warmer. But the weather did not last long before the cold wind started again. It began to snow. Even though Ding City was an Earth Element capital, it was covered with snow.

It had been a long time since they experienced this drastic change of seasons. They did not experience any warmth. There was only constant bitter cold.

They transported tons of flints out of the dark caves. The flints served as important heating material for the city.

“The Cave Demons are driven to the corner, and they are desperate. They gave their all to fight us to keep the Fire Magic Stones. Luckily, we have sufficient reserves of Mages when we open up the wasteland, otherwise, it would be another tough battle,” said the officers on the transport vehicle.

“But we can’t go on like this. We don’t have any land to plant crops. The city exhausted a lot of the Magic Stones to generate heat. The monsters inside the dark cave will someday lose their minds due to the cold weather. They will come out and simply kill people.”

“The weather along the coast is warmer. I miss Shanghai. The weather over there was much better than here.”

“Word has come from the underground barriers that an expert deployed from the Imperial Capital has killed the head of the Deep-Sea Lizard Demon Dragon. After that, the Lizard Demon Dragon fled into the ocean.”

“Who is that person? He is so powerful!”

“I heard he’s the youngest Forbidden Mage in the country. He has long gained the insights of the independent forbidden curse method. I’m not sure what his name is, but I heard he’s a Fire Element Forbidden Mage.”

1

“That’s something worth celebrating. The weather over here is too cold. There’s nothing much except the rocks. I hope we can return to the Magic City someday. I would rather fight the Ocean Demons daily than freeze to death here.”

…

At Fanxue Mountain…

Flying Bird Base City and Fanxue Mountain were naturally warmer compared to the mainland since those places were near the sea. The cold air was tempered by the vast Pacific Ocean. The climate was like the usual winter in the south.

Mu Ningxue was draped in a white goose coat. Her hair was as white as snow and fell over the coat’s shoulder braces. She walked in the ancient courtyard like a noble lady from the ancient era. She looked regal.

“Got it. I still need to practice my cultivation for a while longer. After I finish my cultivation, I’ll return to Fanxue Mountain.”

The voice message came from Mo Fan. He was working very hard to practice his cultivation.

He could practice his cultivation at Fanxue Mountain. However, considering that the Flying Bird Base City and Fanxue Mountain were in an eventful period, Mo Fan would most likely be affected by the invasion of the Ocean Demons if he chose to practice his cultivation there. Mu Ningxue also wished he could practice his cultivation somewhere more peaceful so that his level would improve.

“Ningxue, I found the Earth Crystal shattered pieces from the Amazon ruins. We have to pay a fortune if we want to buy it from the top hunters. I suppose you need them, right?” Shao Yu walked to her with a box in her hand.

Mu Ningxue opened the box. When she saw the special crystals that resembled shattered diamonds, she smiled radiantly.

Shao Yu stared at her. Mu Ningxue was truly a natural beauty. When she smiled, her charm attracted even the ladies.

“I suppose this should be enough for me,” said Mu Ningxue to Shao Yu.

“Does this mean you almost completed your Ice Crystal Bow?” Shao Yu asked expectantly.

“Yes. I have to speed up my cultivation,” Mu Ningxue nodded.

“After you finish practicing your cultivation, I believe not many people in the country will be a match for you.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“No, I don’t exaggerate my words. I’ve seen you use the Ice Crystal Bow before,” Shao Yu said.

Chapter 2900: The Antarctic Recruitment

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Ocean Demons had threatened every base city.

This included the Flying Bird Base City. The traces of the Emperor-level creatures were discovered on the offshore many times.

The Magic City had experienced the Black Alert once. No one knew when it would be the Flying Bird Base City’s turn.

Every base city was on guard. They saw the Ocean Demons’ true forms from the Magic City battle. The Ocean Demons were much more powerful than they had expected!

The Flying Bird Base City was not fully established like the Magic City. The city lacked foundation and did not have sufficient reserves of powerful Mages. It lacked top combat groups such as the Magic Association, the Forbidden Curse Association, the Super-level Union, and the Advanced Army.

If the Cold Moon Demon Lord and its Ocean Demon army were to sweep away the Flying Bird Base City, the city would not stand a chance.

Perhaps the Cold Moon Demon Lord did not show even the slightest interest in this newly constructed base city. It was aware that the Magic City and Imperial Capital were the important ones.

Even so, the Flying Bird Base City was not peaceful. After all, the number of Ocean Demons that appeared in the South Ocean were as many as in the East Ocean. The Flying Bird Base City was the city hub between the East Ocean and South Ocean.

With the Magic City battle over, the people in the Flying Bird Base City trembled in fear. Without the Magic City’s support, could the newly constructed base city truly survive the attack of the Ocean Demons?

Some of the citizens had attempted to migrate to another city. The Ocean Demons devoured human flesh. None of them dared to risk their lives and stay here in the city. Most of the people staying in the Flying Bird Base City were foreigners. They did not feel very attached to this city.

However, some of the people who had migrated decided to return. The condition they had stayed in was poor. The weather was icy and resources were scarce.

The icy coldness had not only affected them, but it also caused the crops to freeze. The river surface was frozen. There were also transportation issues.

Warm places had their advantages. Moreover, the Ocean Demons on the mainland had become ferocious due to the extreme cold. The city was under constant alert.

Regardless of whether they stayed on the mainland or along the coast, they faced the same problem. Those who often migrated realized this issue. The same happened everywhere, including countries overseas.

…

They had been living in fear for several months.

The Flying Bird Base City had been struck heavily several times. Still, it managed to hold back the attack. The Ocean Union officer mentioned that many Ocean Demon hordes appeared and hibernated with the seasonal change.

The following season would cause a certain level of hindrance to the Ocean Demon horde’s movement regardless of whether it was the tide or the ocean current. Therefore, they were able to enjoy some peace along the coast in these three months.

The inference was from the experts, but most people did not fully trust their words. The Flying Bird Base City did not let down their guard. The frequency of the Ocean Demon attack had reduced.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan practiced his cultivation behind closed doors.

Likewise, Mu Ningxue focused on her cultivation. The collection of the final pieces of the Ice Crystal Bow was completed. The Soul Power from the shattered pieces could improve her cultivation by leaps and bounds. On top of that, she could finally use her completed Ice Crystal Bow!

She had reached a bottleneck for her cultivation. It would be meaningless if she continued to cultivate further.

She walked to the courtyard and felt that the air in Fanxue Mountain was no longer as icy cold as before. Some unknown wildflowers bloomed into bushes.

If this were the past, the current season would either be summer or spring. However, they had winter throughout these days.

…

When she came to the council hall, it was empty. She saw an envelope. There was a coat of arms woven in gold silk on the surface. It looked familiar, but Mu Ningxue could not recall what the symbol meant.

The envelope had her name on it.

Mu Ningxue opened it and took out a letter. It resembled an invitation card from Queen Elizabeth. It read:

1

[China Fanxue Mountain—Mu Ning Xue

The Intercontinental Magic Association does not simply send out invitations to the Mages. The Five Continents Magic Association Alliance respects every mage, and we trust that they are given freedom.

However, we encountered an unresolved issue in the middle of executing a great plan. We require the help of a unique Ice Element mage like yourself. Please accept our invitation. We hope you share similar concerns as us in this time of global crisis.

Regards, The Five Continents Magic Association Alliance]

Mu Ningxue finally understood. The letter came from the Intercontinental Magic Association and the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance. This suggested that the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance was in the middle of executing a far-reaching plan together but had encountered some obstacles during the process.

Mu Ningxue was puzzled. ‘Why did they choose her?’

The Five Continents Magic Association Alliance was an international alliance. And she was not the only outstanding Ice Element mage in the world. Why her?

“Come in, please. We’ve heard of your stories circulating in our community. We never expected to have such an outstanding mage in the country. You look much younger than we expected,” Mu Linsheng’s voice rose from outside the door.

When he entered, he saw Mu Ningxue on the main seat with the special letter. He looked delighted.

“Have you finished your cultivation?”

“Yes,” Mu Ningxue responded, fixing her gaze on the person Mu Linsheng brought in.

That person wore unique red clothing, adorned with complete accessories. He gave off an imposing aura at a single glance.

Mu Ningxue found the person to be familiar. After Mu Linsheng introduced him to her, she realized that the person was none other than the famous Fire Element Forbidden Mage.

He was Wei Guang, the newly promoted Forbidden Mage.

He was an expert under the Magic City Underground Barrier Plan. He had destroyed the leader of the Deep-Sea Lizard Demon Dragon and had its army flee to the ocean.

He cultivated Fire Element magic and achieved the Forbidden Curse. He quickly comprehended the independent Forbidden Curse principles. Many old Mages had not been able to complete the Forbidden Curse spell independently. Wei Guang’s appearance made them break out in a cold sweat. Still, his presence represented the country’s Forbidden Curse force.

Wei Guang sized Mu Ningxue up. “I supposed you’ve read the letter. The Forbidden Curse Association assigned me to meet with you.”

“But I still don’t understand.” Mu Ningxue was still confused.

“The crusade against the Extreme South Emperor is real. The Five Continents Magic Association Alliance are in the Antarctic Continent. My team and I will escort you there,” said Wei Guang.

“The Antarctic?” Mu Ningxue frowned.

Chapter 2901: Extreme South’s Chronic Poison

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mu Ningxue did not expect the world’s experts to recruit her to fight against the Extreme South Emperor.

Moreover, the Forbidden Magic Association in China had also received the same letter. It put Mu Ningxue in a difficult position.

“Ningxue, this letter is from the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance. Every registered mage must obey the recruitment unconditionally, but don’t worry. I have talked to Wei Guang about this. Although the Magic Association in China can’t reject the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance, it has dispatched a team to protect you. Wei Guang is the leader of the team,” Mu Linsheng said softly to Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue had read the letter. She knew that the empty words from the Alliance held no meaning. When she became a mage and joined the Magic Association, she had known that she had no power to reject this kind of recruitment. It was an obligation and duty, just like military service. However, ordinary people did not receive such recruitment.

“We’ll depart after you’re ready. We have no time to waste,” Wei Guang said to Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue did not answer. She needed to verify something. She had her own doubts.

…

“Dean Song He, I received a recruitment letter from the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance.” Mu Ningxue called the Dean of the Imperial College. She had to inquire about this matter in more detail. She didn’t want to be hasty.

“Oh, I know about it. You don’t really want to go, do you?” said Dean Song He.

“Not really. I know I can’t reject it, but I still want to know why I was recruited,” Mu Ningxue said.

“I inquired about it. It’s mainly because of your natural talent. They probably need a mage with a natural Ice Element spiritual body, but they won’t readily reveal what it is that they want you to do,” said Dean Song He.

“Who should I trust when I get there?” Mu Ningxue asked.

“Trust yourself, Ningxue. There are many questionable things about this recruitment, but this letter is from the Holy City and the most prestigious Magic Association in the five continents. Even if they recruit the chairman, the chairman must go. You are the one who will decide what you do during your journey, be it during your encounters or during unforeseen circumstances,” Dean Song He warned.

“I get it. Thank you, Dean Song He,” said Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue asked other people too. But they did not know much about it either. It was obvious that the information about the recruitment from the Holy City and the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance would not be readily disclosed.

Mu Ningxue could do nothing.

Because of the sudden recruitment, she had no choice but to go to the most frightening forbidden place for humanity, the Antarctic continent. It made Mu Ningxue feel a little lost and helpless.

…

Mu Ningxue wanted to tell Mo Fan about it, but she thought it would be a little inappropriate. Therefore, she left a letter for him. After Mo Fan finished practicing his cultivation, he would know her whereabouts.

Mu Ningxue wasn’t hesitating because she didn’t want to disturb Mo Fan, but because telling him would complicate the situation.

First, she could not reject the recruitment as it would be a violation of the magic convention. She could not possibly go against the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance, anyway.

Secondly, Mo Fan would not let her go alone if she told him about it.

2

He would stop his cultivation and accompany her to the Antarctic Continent. Mu Ningxue could not bear to drag Mo Fan in danger so soon after the battle in the Magic City.

Mu Ningxue informed people to not disturb Mo Fan’s cultivation. She then packed her things and set off.

According to the arrangement of the Forbidden Curse Association, she had to go to South America first. Then, she would set off from Argentina in South America and arrive at the Antarctic Continent after crossing an ocean.

The Forbidden Curse Association allowed Mu Ningxue to bring some companions, but Mu Ningxue refused. Mu Ningxue knew what kind of a place the Antarctic Continent was. She could not predict what would happen there.

Fortunately, the Ice Crystal Bow already had a complete form. Otherwise, Mu Ningxue would feel even more uneasy.

Compared to the group that fought the Extreme South Emperor, her cultivation was insignificantly higher.

…

The Land of the Antarctic was even more mysterious than Tianshan Mountain. For every Ice Element Mage, the primitive landscape with turbulent ice veins was like a big cultivating sanctuary.

Some special Ice Element Mages used to publish articles about the harsh practice in the Extreme South Land, which attracted people who pursued supreme magic.

The Extreme South Land was a land full of treasures for the Ice Element Mages as there were limitless Ice Element resources. It was only in such a forbidden place that humans could break through the limit and become a real Forbidden Mage.

Although this place was dangerous, people were eager to visit. As an Ice Element Mage, Mu Ningxue had heard similar remarks more than once. However, Mu Ningxue had ignored these adulterated cultivation theories.

There were people in the world who liked to be unconventional and express their extraordinariness. However, many people had gone missing and died after stepping into the Extreme South Land.

One could only practice Ice Element if they were strong enough. Otherwise, they would die.

…

“The Antarctic Continent has the power of ice invasion. Standing on the Antarctic Continent is equivalent to putting hot water in an ice bank. Our temperatures will drop slowly. When the water turns to zero degrees and starts to freeze into ice, that’s when our lives come to an end.” Wang Shuo told everyone about the bad conditions on the Antarctic Continent before departure.

Ice invasion would deplete a person’s vital functions little by little. Mages of all levels would suffer from this depletion in their abilities and corresponding strength.

A high level of cultivation would not reduce the impact of ice invasion. Even if they were Forbidden Mages, they would be affected by ice invasion if they stepped into the Antarctic Continent.

This was why the Antarctic Continent was known as the forbidden place on earth.

The Antarctic Continent was extremely harmful to Mages, let alone ordinary people. Humans were rejected here. The moment they stepped in, they would suffer from a “chronic poison”.

“The strength of the creatures in the Antarctic Continent is far greater than that of the Ocean Demons. They should be about five times stronger than the demons on the land. When you see a Commander-level or ruler-level Ice Beast, you must not take it lightly,” Wang Shuo continued.

“You have been to the Antarctic Continent before, right?” Wei Guang asked.

“I was young and ignorant. Alas, this leg is the price I paid at that time. Fortunately, I didn’t die,” Wang Shuo said with a bitter smile as he tapped his left knee with a cane.

Chapter 2902: Alumni

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Can’t your leg recover? You’re a great mage in the Imperial Capital. You should be able to find some top Healing Mages to heal your injury,” said a young woman who looked to be in her twenties.

“This is the scary part of the Extreme South Land. The injuries you have suffered there will probably accompany you for the rest of your life. After you get there, you must treat the wound in time, even if it is a small cut. Once those “chronic poisons” erode your wound, you might live with it your entire life,” explained Wang Shuo.

“Mr. Wang, please don’t scare me. I hate having scars!” the woman exclaimed.

“That place will only be even more terrifying and unpredictable. I am not sure why the association is asking two little girls to travel with us. Your level of cultivation doesn’t seem very high,” Wang Shuo said as he looked at Mu Ningxue and the woman in charge of logistics and food.

“Cough. Cough. Brother Wang, this is Mu Ningxue from Fanxue Mountain. She is the person we are going to escort to the Extreme South Land,” said a Royal Great Mage.

The woman in charge of logistics and food hadn’t known about this. She turned around in surprise to look at the quiet Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue wore a black mask to keep the cold out, and her long white-silver hair was strikingly noticeable. However, Wang Shuo and the woman thought it was a dyeing method that young girls liked these days. They did not expect her to be Mu Ningxue, the key person in this important mission.

This mission was led by a Forbidden Mage, who was assigned to protect her. It showed how important the person they escorted was.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were Miss Mu.” Wang Shuo apologized, but his eyes seemed to express some other emotion.

He probably could not understand why a female Ice Elemental Mage was considered this important.

Back then, Wang Shuo went to the Antarctic Continent on behalf of the Imperial Capital Exploration Team, and the Imperial Capital only dispatched a few young Royal Mages. Because of those inexperienced and ignorant people, the team was trapped in the ice storm.

Wang Shuo wasn’t clear about the exact task of this mission. Nevertheless, it was overblown to dispatch a Forbidden Mage and an entire team for exploration, arming, logistics, and emergency response to accompany a female Ice Elemental Mage to the Antarctic Continent.

“Wow, you are Mu Ningxue? I was in the same grade as you when I was in Imperial College,” said Yan Lan, the woman in charge of logistics.

“Yeah.” Mu Ningxue gave a short response. She had no intention of chatting.

However, Yan Lan was talkative. Perhaps it was Mu Ningxue’s mask covering her cold expression, or perhaps it was the simple-minded nature of Yan Lan, but she seemed excited and kept talking about all kinds of things about Imperial College.

“At that time, our grade had a lot of young talents, and each of them was a dazzling star. After everyone graduated, many people who were famous in school became ordinary. On the other hand, some people who didn’t have much fame started to stand out. Mu Ningxue, you have always been the most talked-about person when the alumni meet. For some reason, everyone likes to mention you. We talked about how you won the World College Tournament, established Fanxue Mountain, defeated various young and powerful mages, entered Mu Pang Mountain alone… Everyone calls you a Goddess! Can I call you the same in the future? If you don’t answer, I will take your silence as a “yes”. In fact, after talking for a long time, Goddess Mu sounds friendly. All the juniors also liked to call you that.”

Yan Lan rambled on. She had finally met the famous person everyone talked about.

Mu Ningxue felt a little emotional when she heard Yan Lan mention the school. She did not say anything and quietly listened to Yan Lan.

Yan Lan seemed to know the past and present of the people in the whole school. She could talk a lot about one person, which made the boring itinerary a little more interesting.

“By the way, Mr. Wei Guang is also a student of the Imperial College. He is our senior. When he became a Forbidden Mage, it caused a stir in our school. If you attend the Homecoming, you will see his photos hanging all over the campus. He should be the youngest Forbidden Mage of this era. I heard that few people knew about Wei Guang before. I wonder what rare encounter he had. Even foreign countries were scrambling to report it,” Yan Lan continued.

Yan Lan babble. Wei Guang was walking toward them. He glanced at Yan Lan and then at Mu Ningxue.

“You can voice out if you have any complaints and requirements. Our team will try our best to meet your expectations. If you have any discomfort, let us know as soon as possible. If you need food, clothes, or special things, you can let her know,” Wei Guang pointed at Yan Lan.

Yan Lan smiled. When she looked at Wei Guang, her eyes lit up in joy. She admired him a lot.

“Mr. Wei Guang, the three of us are alumni,” Yan Lan said.

“So what?” Wei Guang asked.

“Uh…” Yan Lan was a talkative girl, but she did not know how to respond to Wei Guang.

Yan Lan lowered her head and looked at Mu Ningxue, as if she had done something wrong. Mu Ningxue patted her lightly on her shoulders to provide some comfort.

Seeing that Mu Ningxue had nothing to say, Wei Guang returned to his position.

After Wei Guang left, Yan Lan said cautiously, “Wei Guang doesn’t seem to like me. Am I too talkative?”

“He is likely too proud of himself,” Mu Ningxue responded indifferently.

Wei Guang was quite proud, and Mu Ningxue had felt it the moment he stepped into the conference hall of Fanxue Mountain. The way he looked at other people, and the tone of voice always held a certain impatience.

“But he has the right to be proud. After all, not everyone can become a Forbidden Mage, and there are not many people who can have great achievements and become famous at such a young age,” said Yan Lan.

The colder the other person was, the more Yan Lan felt that that was the temperament that an unattainable person should have. It would make Yan Lan think that the other person was less mysterious and respectable if Wei Guang was approachable and friendly.

“Maybe.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. Everyone said that you are the most difficult to approach. You won’t pay attention to anyone, as if everyone in this world is a pile of garbage… I’m sorry. I heard this from a senior, but I don’t think it is true. Is it because I often listen to everyone talking about you, so I naturally feel that you are someone who has been by my side all this time?” Yan Lan suddenly realized.

Mu Ningxue smiled. For a girl with a simple mind like Yan Lan, she did not need to be cold toward her.

1

Chapter 2903: Refraction of the Ice Field

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mu Ningxue had never felt that she was easy to get along with. She never paid attention to what she liked or disliked sharing with other people.

When some people approached her and chatted with her with a purpose in their minds, she would put on a temperament that hinted at them that she wanted to be left alone. In fact, too many people behaved strangely with her.

They either deliberately pretended to admire her or looked down on her. If a person was not sincere, their behavior would come off as annoying. Most people Mu Ningxue met were this way, which made it very difficult to get along with and hence, she came off as aloof and as cold as ice.

There were not many sincere women like Yan Lan. From her words, Mu Ningxue could feel that she did not intend to flatter her, nor did she have any ulterior motives. She just wanted to talk with her.

In fact, women like Yan Lan were honest. They would be the same no matter who they talked with.

Mu Ningxue was quite envious of her. Therefore, Mu Ningxue felt that Wei Guang was being impatient with Yan Lan because he was too proud of himself.

Wei Guang felt that Yan Lan was trying to suck up to him. But she really did not intend anything like that.

…

Yan Lan was a mage who was good at cooking. She had a unique understanding of food and knew how to match special ingredients. These ingredients could make people resist the invasion of cold and the spreading of the poisonous miasma.

Food Mage was a very rare profession, but it was critical in this itinerary.

“The Ice Wheel Flying Boat will be an important transport for us to travel in the Antarctic Continent. It can keep our feet out of the icy land and reduce the chance of them hurting because of the cold. Of course, the most important thing is the formation inside, which can warm our bodies and our blood. It can remove the ice invasion effect little by little.”

“Unfortunately, the Ice Wheel Flying Boat can’t work in all ice fields, so we have to do without it in some places. As we stay longer in the Antarctic Continent, the Clear Fire Formation will gradually lose its effect.”

“It would have been great if we also had the Ice Wheel Flying Boat and Clear Fire Formation in the past.” Wang Shuo sighed. He seemed particularly concerned about the difference between the past and the present.

It was natural to have such reactions. In the past, Wang Shuo was in a bad condition on the Antarctic Continent. He explored a long distance and lost his left leg, but not many people remembered his contribution. People in the Imperial Capital remembered him as the man who had stepped into the Extreme South Land only when the recruitment from the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance came. They needed him to be the guide for the current team.

The blue sea was getting purer. Nature would probably only show its original form vividly when it was close to the forbidden area that no one can enter. That was why the color of the blue sea was so stunning.

Some white icebergs appeared on the sea. They were like sailboats slowly drifting in the icy blue picture.

The icebergs weren’t actually floating, they were just the tips protruding on the surface and were part of vast icebergs underwater. Human sight and the ship made it seem like the icebergs were drifting.

Along the way, Mu Ningxue saw the wreckage of many ships. There were wrecks attached to the uneven corners of the icebergs, and others floated about 100 meters underwater.

Unlike the dilapidated ships hanging on the corner of the icebergs, the ships sinking in the sea gave off an eerie feeling. They were in the deep, calm sea where the light could not penetrate. They loomed like a ghost ship underwater. It felt like something in the ship was staring at the sea surface, and the resentment always shrouded the hull.

As the ship continued to sail, they could see a spectacular ice world. It was a clear boundary between the frozen sea and the blue water waves. When the Ice Wheel Flying Boat crossed the seawater and sailed on the ice, they felt like they had arrived in another world.

Everything in this world seemed static, like a magnificent white painting with blue and white ice mountains with thin ice layers.

“We are about to arrive on the Antarctic Continent,” said Wang Shuo. He felt uneasy.

In fact, he had not wanted to come here at all. When the cold and domineering air hit him, his left leg started to hurt.

“Let’s not rest. We must move on. We’ve already wasted a lot of time,” Wei Guang said to everyone.

“At this point, the outpost team must explore the route. There are some powerful Ice Beasts inhabiting the Antarctic Ocean,” Wang Shuo hurriedly protested.

Wei Guang glanced around and seemed reluctant. They could not move forward before the outpost team declared the road ahead to be safe.

“Okay, you guys go ahead and take a look. If there is no special situation, we will move forward at full speed,” said Wei Guang.

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

The personnel in charge of exploring the route were two brothers with similar appearance and figures.

The two summoned a white panther and a black panther. The white panther had a pair of wings and could fly in the air. On the other hand, the black panther had a more robust physique, sharp claws, and could run steadily on the ice.

The two brothers rode on their own summoned beasts. However, they disappeared from everyone’s sight after a short distance. This phenomenon made Wei Guang frown.

“The glaciers and ice surfaces here will cause various refractions of light, so the real appearance of the whole ice field we saw is not that of a flat land or undulating mountains. It may be more complicated with cracks, waves, glaciers, and icicles. I asked them to leave recognizable marks along the way,” Wang Shuo explained.

“If that’s the case, won’t we get lost easily?” asked the Royal Great Mage.

“This is not the scariest thing,” Wang Shuo said with a strange expression.

“What’s the scariest thing?” Wei Guang asked.

“Just as we can’t see the two brothers who have gone to explore the route, the powerful beasts living in groups in the ice field may be close by. When we accidentally step into an empty ice field, we might alert a group of beasts,” said Wang Shuo.

“Huh?”

“Such a strange thing actually exists!”

“It means that we are in danger no matter where we are!”

Everyone felt spooked after hearing that. The ice field was too bizarre and unreasonable!

“Therefore, we have to be extra careful when we move. Someone has to go forward to explore first, and someone might need to patrol the invisible “areas” around us to ensure that there are no powerful creatures and groups of Ice Beasts near us,” said Wang Shuo.

Chapter 2904: Cultivating Sanctuary

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The sunlight was dazzling, especially when it shone on some icebergs that were like prisms. The reflected light was intensely bright. When humans bathed in sunlight for a long time in the cold, their skin felt tingly. It was a strange feeling.

They were in a cold place but could feel the scorching sun. As a result of the ice invasion, every gust of wind scraped the skin like blades. Their muscles and bones ached constantly.

“The sunlight almost makes my skin crack,” the Royal Great Mage complained.

“Ha! You should be grateful that we are here this season. If it were any other season, we wouldn’t even have the qualifications to step into this forbidden area. The area of ​​the Antarctic ice will double in size, and the ice invasion will be five times more powerful than it is now. Even many Ice Beasts die that season,” Wang Shuo said.

The Royal Great Mage, Li Wenbin, looked around in confusion.

He had been feeling uncomfortable ever since he had stepped into the Antarctic Continent. ‘How could such a harsh environment be suitable for humans to live in?’ And this was not the worst-case scenario!

“I don’t quite understand what you mean. Will the climate here change?” asked Li Wenbin.

“Didn’t you notice? It hasn’t set in a long time,” Wang Shuo said as he pointed at the sun in the sky.

Only then did Li Wenbin realize that the day had been so long. Li Wenbin saw the sun hanging in the sky from a long while ago. It should have set, and the night should have fallen by now. ‘Why did it feel like the sun kept shining in the sky as if it had just risen?’

“Polar day,” Wang Shuo explained. “From here on, we won’t see the night if we don’t go back.”

This phenomenon only occurred in the Antarctic Continent and Arctic Continent. Mu Ningxue knew the principle of it.

Mu Ningxue roughly calculated the time and frowned. It was true that they would not see the night anymore, but soon, the “eternal night” would rule the Antarctic Continent.

This month was the time when polar day and polar night alternated.

The Antarctic Continent, especially the pole, would have only nightfall for up to six months. The pole and the area around the Antarctic Continent would become dark and cold like icy purgatory.

The Five Continents Magic Association and the experts of Holy City chose to fight with the Extreme South Emperor in such a month…

‘Did it mean that if they did not do anything this month, people would not even have the qualifications to step into this place for the next six months of eternal night, let alone go to the pole to fight with the Extreme South Emperor?’ Mu Ningxue wondered.

The cold was all over the world. Several important magical developed countries were over the northern hemisphere. As for the impact of the cold, the northern hemisphere would be affected more. Many countries were even constantly recruiting Fire Element Mages to relieve the freezing problem for important rivers and waterways.

“They are eager to fight with the Extreme South Emperor at the last minute. Could there be a disaster coming to the Extreme South Land in the future?” Mu Ningxue muttered to herself.

Mu Ningxue roughly calculated. More than twenty days had passed this month, and the remaining polar days were about only a week.

However, they stepped into the Antarctic Continent at this time. If they could not complete the task of this recruitment in seven days, they would face the most terrifying eternal night in the Extreme South. Only a few people could probably leave from here alive.

From the beginning, Mu Ningxue had a lot of questions, but so far, no one could tell her the truth. Even Wei Guang, who led the team, did not seem to know what they were supposed to do.

…

The two brothers, with their White Panther and Black Panther, returned. They explored a long way and told everyone with certainty that the road ahead was safe. They had checked some blind spots in the refraction area, and there were absolutely no ferocious Ice Beasts there.

As the Ice Wheel Flying Boat started to move, the ice invasion had already begun. Mu Ningxue noticed that everyone’s skin, including the Forbidden Mage Wei Guang, became extremely pale. It felt as if their blood had congealed.

“Don’t you feel cold?” Yan Lan asked in a trembling voice while wrapping herself in a magic jacket.

“I’m all right.” Mu Ningxue felt nothing.

Everyone here had been tortured by the ice invasion. They wrapped themselves in layers upon layers of warm clothes which had little to no effect. No matter how strong the sunlight was, they still felt cold. The coldness was accompanied by soreness, stiffness, and tingling all over their bodies.

However, Mu Ningxue found that the ice invasion did not seem to have any effect on her.

Everyone else’s muscles were stiff, and they were tired and weak. It was similar to how ordinary people felt after running a long distance. The only way they could recuperate was by going to the Clear Fire Formation in the Ice Wheel Flying Boat.

Everyone wished to stay in that Clear Fire Formation all the time to stay away from the torture of the ice invasion.

“You should go to the Clear Fire Formation to rest for a while. We have already taken turns to go there.” Yan Lan looked at Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue had put on a jacket that could cover the whole body and wore a mask on her face which only revealed her eyes.

Yan Lan could not see Mu Ningxue’s complexion. She just felt that Mu Ningxue should go and rest for a while.

Mu Ningxue thought about it and then nodded.

…

When Mu Ningxue reached the Clear Fire Formation, she felt a bit distressful. Other people felt warm and comfortable as though they had just taken a hot bath. But she felt so uncomfortable in this hot temperature.

After reluctantly staying for a while, Mu Ningxue went out. When she walked to the deck of the Ice Wheel Flying Boat, she felt that the cold and crisp air outside was much more comfortable.

“It seems that the ice invasion doesn’t work on me,” Mu Ningxue muttered to herself.

It was probably because she suffered from extreme icy torture of the Ice Crystal Bow since she was a child, or because the ice invasion of the Extreme South and the effect of the Ice Crystal Bow were of the same type. Mu Ningxue was surprised to find that she was completely immune to the ice invasion of the Extreme South.

Mu Ningxue even felt that her body was constantly absorbing the purest ice element in this ice invasion environment and transforming and strengthening her ice ability bit by bit.

“Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to come here.”

For others, this place was tortured. For Mu Ningxue, who had listened to the ice and snow and felt the wind and frost, it seemed to be a rare cultivating sanctuary.

Mu Ningxue felt that her level of cultivation, which had been close to its bottleneck, was a little subdued again.

However, she would soon become a Forbidden Mage if her cultivation advanced further.

Chapter 2905: The Other Side of the Star Bridge

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The road ahead was boundless. Mu Ningxxue knew that it was useless to be worried. She could only take one step at a time.

She calmed herself and felt the Ice Element that filled the land.

For some reason, these ice elements that were cruel, and brutal to others were rather appealing to Mu Ningxue. They were like fireflies in the forest, which were pure and harmless.

She tried to absorb them into her soul little by little, but these ice elements turned into special snow water, washing the magic bow that merged with her soul.

The Ice Crystal Bow had always accompanied Mu Ningxue in her growth. When she was a child, she felt that it was like a devil that kept whipping her. If she were a little neglectful, she would pay a painful price.

After she gradually got used to its harshness and punishment, she felt that it was not as terrible as she thought.

Since the incident in Venice, Mu Ningxue had been collecting the fragments of other Ice Crystal Bows. The Mu family did not know much about the Ice Crystal Bow. Mu Ningxue discovered that the Ice Crystal Bow did not devour other people’s souls to complement itself. It was a special bow that needed to raise ice-attribute energy.

Mu Ningxue relied on the growth of Fanxue Mountain to collect ice fragments from all over the country to make up for the insufficiency of the Ice Crystal Bow and gradually gain control of it.

All these years of hard work had not been in vain. Mu Ningxue improved her cultivation very quickly because of the soul energy released by the Ice Crystal Bow.

In fact, it had been some time since she had advanced to the third level of the Ice Element Super Level, but the cultivation could not represent her true ability. She still had a long way to go in cultivating.

…

Ice elements kept pouring in from all directions like a rushing river. At this time, Mu Ningxue once again felt that her cultivation barrier was loosening. However, there was nothing outside the barrier.

It felt like she was advancing. It was a similar feeling to when she advanced from basic level to Intermediate to Advanced to Super Level.

However, what made Mu Ningxue extremely confused and amazed was the Forbidden Curse. ‘Could she become a Forbidden Mage standing in this cold and unique world?’

It was impossible.

If it were so easy to become a Forbidden Mage, there would not be so few Forbidden Mages in this world.

‘If that was the case, what was the power that broke through the barrier of Super Level and the new realm she was about to enter?’

Mu Ningxue felt that her Ice Element Star Sea was changing. There were a total of 2,401 Star Sons, which deviated from the original orbit and flew into the darkness far away. The areas they crossed were all illuminated, forming many splendid starlight bridges.

Mu Ningxue did not know what to do with the unusual behavior of the Star Sons. She hurriedly chased them with her mind and followed these obedient Star Sons.

More than 2,000 Star Sons crossed at the same time, and the cast star bridge led to the world beyond the Star Sea. When Mu Ningxue chased the Star Sons along the star bridge, she was surprised to find a brighter and vaster Star Universe. The Star Sons there were extremely bright, and the light made it all look very dream-like.

The other side of the Star Bridge seemed to have countless power, and tens and thousands of Star Sons that it could dispatch. Unfortunately, the other Star Universe did not belong to Mu Ningxue.

She crossed the Star Bridge like opening a door. The beautiful, and endless new world unfolded like an exhibition that was for watching.

“Does it mean if I cross this Star Bridge and reach the other side of the Star Universe, I will become a Forbidden Mage?” Mu Ningxue muttered while staring at the peaceful and vast star universe.

Mu Ningxue did not know what it meant for Star Sons to become a bridge. The longer a person cultivated, the more choices they had to make.

However, this phenomenon was undoubtedly telling Mu Ningxue that her current cultivation was on the Star Bridge.

She broke away from the Super Level realm of 2401 Star Sons and stepped into the Star Bridge formed by the Star Sons. If she reached the other side, she would become a Forbidden Mage!

‘But what should I do to cross this Star Bridge?’

At first, Mu Ningxue thought the Star Sons flew toward the Star Universe on the other side and formed a Star Bridge.

But when Mu Ningxue stepped on it, she found that all the stars were reversed. They flew from the other side of the Star Universe to her feet. If she tried to step on the Star Bridge to go to the Star Universe on the other side, these Star Sons that flew in the opposite direction would send her back to the starting point!

Mu Ningxue’s speed was far slower than the speed at which these Star Sons sent her back to the starting point. So, it was pointless to walk on the Star Bridge.

Mu Ningxue was not someone who gave up easily. She had an idea.

Since the Star Bridge was composed of the 2401 Ice Element Star Sons that she was familiar with, she could try to make them stop.

In the past, the Mages made the Star Sons stop moving irregularly and arranged them in the pattern they needed to transmit the magic energy to complete a spell.

With Mu Ningxue’s cultivation, it was not difficult for her to do so.

She concentrated on controlling the high-speed Star Sons and made them stop on the path of the Star Bridge, forming a tranquil Star Bridge made of 2401 Star Sons. Although it was a little difficult, Mu Ningxue did it as quickly as possible.

All the Star Sons of the Star Bridge stopped. They were motionless, and it gave Mu Ningxue hope. She immediately took advantage of this perfect opportunity to step toward the Star Universe on the other side.

The star bridge was very long, and Mu Ningxue’s soul could only run at a fixed speed.

Before Mu Ningxue crossed one-tenth of the Star Bridge, all the still Star Sons began to vibrate violently!

Stopping the Star Sons consumed a large amount of Spiritual Force. Mu Ningxue’s Spiritual Force was not enough to stop the Star Sons long enough for her to run over the Star Bridge to the other side.

The Star Bridge collapsed, and all the Star Sons returned to the starting point in reverse. They also sent Mu Ningxue back to the starting point.

Mu Ningxue suddenly felt tired and had to leave her Spiritual World.

She felt a little dizzy. She wondered if it was because she spent too much Spiritual Force to stop the Star Sons or because she tried very hard to move forward. She had to rest for a while to recover her energy.

Mu Ningxue opened her eyes and looked at the boundless glacier world. She realized that the Star Bridge was her real bottleneck. Crossing the Star Bridge to reach the Star Universe on the other side would become her next biggest cultivating challenge.

Chapter 2906: God’s Gift

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mu Ningxue could quickly recover because of the ice elements in the Extreme South Land. While purifying the Ice Crystal Bow, they also helped her recover her lost Spiritual Force.

Soon, Mu Ningxue stepped into her Spiritual World again.

This time, she did not run like before. Running in the Spiritual World consumed a lot of physical energy. If she could control the Star Sons under her feet, maybe she could control these Star Sons to send her to the other side of the Star Bridge!

Those Star Sons were the most important link between a person and the Star Sea World, and their movement was the source of all magic.

Since people could make the Star Sons stop, why could they not make the Star Sons move in the opposite direction?

In the past, the Mages spent an extremely long time practicing how to make Star Sons stop, but Mu Ningxue had a new idea. She tried to make the Star Sons move in reverse.

This reverse movement was not as simple as turning around. She had to stop the Star Sons that were moving normally first before making them turn the opposite way.

Mu Ningxue had never tried it before, but because of the special nature of the Star Bridge, she felt that this was the only way.

Mu Ningxue found her road of cultivation. It was like opening a new door.

After advancing to the third level of Super Level, Mu Ningxue had spent a long time unaware of the way to improve and change herself except by concentrating on cultivating other elements.

But she had discovered a new method and a new world. Although there were a long Star Bridge, and new changes, she did not lack in her resolve to succeed.

…

Mu Ningxue practiced quietly. Some sounds came from the passages on both sides of the Ice Wheel.

“I don’t know why that guy is so arrogant. We are a team, after all. Even though we are older, he orders us as if we were his little soldiers!” the Royal Great Mage, Li Wenbin, complained.

“Can you keep it down! We will be in trouble if he hears us,” said White Panther Summoner.

“He is in the Clear Fire Formation, so he won’t hear us. Hmph… he said he needed to preserve his strength because he was a Forbidden Mage, so he must stay in the Clear Fire Formation for a longer time. We are forced to stay outside in the cold because of that. He won’t tell us what we need to do and keeps being arrogant and mysterious. Does he really think he became a Forbidden Mage with his own strength? No! It is because he has a big supporter! Many people in the country are at the peak of their Super Level and are more qualified than him to become Forbidden Mages. Why does he think he has the right to be so bossy?” said Li Wenbin, indignantly.

Right from the beginning, Wei Guang’s attitude had disgusted many people. However, they could not voice it out since he was a Forbidden Mage. After everyone entered the ice invasion range in the Antarctic Continent, there were conflicts regarding the use of the Clear Fire Formation.

No one wanted to be tortured by the ice invasion. They all wanted to preserve their body heat. Every extra minute spent in this cold and freezing world was equivalent to losing a part of one’s soul. Only the Clear Fire Formation provided warmth.

“Alas, it’s pointless to complain. No matter what, him becoming a Forbidden Mage is indeed extraordinary. He must be very capable. Otherwise, why would the old guys in the Forbidden Curse Association value him so much?” said Black Panther Summoner.

“Hmph, if I become a Forbidden Mage, my God’s gift won’t be weaker than him,” said Li Wenbin.

“Big Brother, what’s God’s gift?” White Panther was younger and had no idea what they were discussing.

“After becoming a Forbidden Mage, the Mage receives a powerful and unparalleled Magic God’s gift, which is superior to any of the abilities we have acquired in the basic level, Intermediate, Advanced, and Super Level. It is a God-like ability,” Black Panther whispered.

In the Forbidden Curse Association, God’s gift was the key to determining the potential of a Forbidden Mage.

The God’s gift Wei Guang obtained after becoming a Forbidden Mage was extraordinary, which made him stand out even among other Forbidden Mages.

“What kind of power is it?” White Panther Summoner was curious.

“We don’t exactly know what it is. Every Forbidden Mage won’t easily reveal all their God’s gifts. However, I have heard that there is a Light Element Forbidden Mage in Europe, and his God’s gift is to turn sunlight into a weapon. A ray of sunlight is the Spear of God’s punishment, a ray of sunshine is a long red sword, and a scorching sun that illuminates the earth is a hundred million fire arrows,” Black Panther Summoner explained.

“There is indeed such a person. Everyone calls him the Son of Light. He is one of the top five Forbidden Mages in Europe.” Li Wenbin nodded. His face glowed with admiration for such a person.

“This is crazy! That means he is invincible in a sunny place. This is not different from a god! Can a Mage reach such a terrifying realm?!” White Panther Summoner said in horror.

‘If God’s gift of a Forbidden Mage was that powerful, was there anyone in the world that could fight with such a person?’

“That’s why God’s gift can determine the upper limit of a Forbidden Mage. It is just like innate talent. But innate talent is useless for someone who doesn’t work hard, regardless of how powerful their talent might be. However, if people with good backgrounds, sufficient resources, and talent put in equal effort, they will reach a higher realm, which surpasses many Mages of the same level.” Wang Shuo came out and joined the conversation.

“Is it true that every Mage who becomes a Forbidden Mage will get God’s gifts?” White Panther felt that he had opened a new door of knowledge and took advantage of this rare opportunity to learn from these accomplished Mages.

“I think so…” Black Panther Summoner was not so sure.

Wang Shuo was knowledgeable. However, he only smiled and did not say anything.

“If you are curious, you can ask Wei Guang about it, provided he is willing to answer your doubts,” said Li Wenbin.

“Forget it.” White Panther Summoner scratched his head in embarrassment.

Wei Guang was too difficult to get along with!

…

“God’s gifts?”

Mu Ningxue was not far from them, so she heard everything.

She gently stretched out her hand and pointed to an ice sheet that was dozens of meters in the distance. The ice sheet instantly turned into white particles. A gust of wind blew the ice fragments up like a foam.

“That’s weird. We explored this path just moments ago. There was a thick and long ice sheet there. How did it suddenly disappear?” Black Panther frowned.

Chapter 2907: Who Is The Leader

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“All sorts of strange things can happen in the Land of the Antarctic. As long as there’s no issue with our route, we’ll keep moving!” said Wang Shuo.

Due to the existence of areas that refracted light, even if they record every terrain and landmark, changes were likely to occur.

Many times, Wang Shuo had noticed that the Extreme South Land was not a straight path. It was more like an organic world. The glacial plate, the snow mountain rift valley, and the white shoot continent were like dormant, massive beings. It would inadvertently appear in front of them and behind them and catch them unaware.

Wang Shuo would not find it surprising if strange things happened here.

Moreover, there were many creatures here that were so powerful that their strength exceeded imagination. If these creatures wanted to move the mountains and the seas, they would!

After they went along the designated route, the Black Panther Summoner continued to explore the place.

This time, he came back wounded. He was bleeding. He was frozen and looked as white as a ghost. He was also in excruciating pain.

Fortunately, they had a Healing Mage in Yan Lan’s team who treated the Black Panther Summoner’s wounds in time.

At that moment, Wei Guang came out of the Clear Fire Formation. When he saw the wounded Black Panther Summoner, he frowned. “What happened?”

“I encountered a Giant Ice Beast. It stood before me, but its aura was just as difficult to detect as a glacier. If it had not been for the fact that my Dark Star sensed danger, I wouldn’t have made it back alive,” said the Black Panther Summoner, wincing in pain.

“You have a relatively high level of cultivation. Why weren’t you able to take on the Giant Ice Beast?” asked Wei Guang.

“I don’t know what species it is. It shattered an entire glacier that spanned up to several kilometers with a single swipe. It is at least a ruler-level creature,” said the Black Panther Summoner.

“We haven’t even cme far, and you already met a ruler-level creature?!” Yan Lan cried out in surprise.

“Anyway, we have to be careful as we continue. Let your younger brother scout ahead. We don’t have much time left.” Wei Guang glanced at the sky. He used the orientation of the sun to tell time.

Mu Ningxue had been paying close attention to the orientation of the sun. The sun had been circling around the sky for several days now. Its position in the sky had dipped a little over the past few days, and it was showing signs of sinking below the horizon.

The moment the sun sank into the horizon, it would not rise again. They would be enveloped in a terrifying state of eternal darkness.

“It’s too dangerous for him to go alone. After all, we’ve already entered the Giant Ice Beast’s territory. Send a few more people so that they can protect one another,” said Mu Ningxue.

When the White Panther Summoner heard her words, he turned to her.

The White Panther Summoner’s level of cultivation was not as high as his elder brother. He might not return alive if he explored alone.

“Li Wenbin, send two of your people with him,” said Wei Guang.

Li Wenbin nodded. He selected a Shadow Element Mage and a Wind Element Mage from his team.

“Before they go, let them warm up in the Clear Fire Formation so that they won’t freeze to death out there,” the Black Panther Summoner suggested.

“They are still in good shape. There’s no need for them to go into the formation. Mu Ningxue can go in and take a rest.” Wei Guang disagreed with the Black Panther Summoner.

Wei Guang disliked discussing things with others. He expected everyone to obey his words.

…

Mu Ningxue entered the Clear Fire Formation. It was indeed warmer inside.

She only stayed inside for a while before letting Yan Lan into the formation. The cold could not harm her, so there was no need for her to keep on occupying the formation.

“Are you really fine with it? If anything happens to you, I can’t afford to bear the consequences,” Yan Lan whispered to Mu Ningxue.

“It could be due to my physique. I’m always in good shape,” said Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue did not plan to tell Yan Lan about the fact that the cold could do no harm to her. Mu Ningxue did not have the habit of sharing everything with others. The trip itself remained a mystery, so it was necessary to keep certain things to herself.

Yan Lan did not doubt her words and entered the Clear Fire Formation gratefully.

Mu Ningxue did not leave the Clear Fire Formation cabin. She closed her eyes and took a rest outside the formation.

Yan Lan’s lips had turned purple because of the cold. Her skin was pale. The ice had invaded her skin, muscles, and blood. Even her bones had turned stiff due to the freezing temperature. Fortunately, the Clear Fire Formation could gradually eliminate the poison of the cold.

After two hours, Yan Lan recovered. Her cheeks had turned red. The effects of the cold were gone.

She opened her eyes and found Mu Ningxue was still outside the formation.

Mu Ningxue sat in a dignified posture. Yan Lan stared at her focused demeanor.

She had to admit that Mu Ningxue was impeccably beautiful. Even a woman would fall for Mu Ningxue’s beauty.

‘She’s truly perfect. Why can’t I look as gorgeous as her?’ Yan Lan thought to herself.

Suddenly, there was an argument outside the formation cabin.

Mu Ningxue opened her eyes. There was not even the slightest trace of change in her complexion. Her skin was still as white as snow. Even though she was in the middle of the icy cold world, she did not look pale or weak.

Yan Lan was confused. She wondered why Mu Ningxue was not affected by the cold. Yan Lan had stayed inside the Clear Fire Formation for a long time. Most people would have frozen to death without recuperating in the Clear Fire Formation.

“Something is happening outside,” said Yan Lan.

“Let’s go check it out.”

The two ladies left the cabin. They saw the Black Panther Summoner and Li Wenbin at the deck. They were quarreling with Wei Guang.

“We don’t have much time left. If they lose their way, they can surely catch up with us soon based on the trails we’ve left behind. If something were to happen to them, it’s pointless to go and look for them. We’re not inside a sunny garden. Every extra day spent here will only endanger everyone’s lives even more,” Wei Guang said solemnly.

They were in the middle of an argument. Wei Guang showed no room of negotiation.

Yan Lan whispered to Mu Ningxue, “The trio who went out to explore the route haven’t returned yet. Wei Guang sent another person to find the route. He doesn’t intend to wait for the three to return.”

“Let’s go over there,” said Mu Ningxue.

When the Black Panther Summoner saw Mu Ningxue walking toward them, he looked at her as though she could save him. He explained the entire situation.

“I’m the leader. I’ll decide how to go there. You don’t have to seek advice from her,” Wei Guang said coldly.

“The Magic Association is the one that recruited me. If you don’t want to become the leader of this team, you may go back now. I’ll finish the remaining route by myself.” Mu Ningxue refuted.

2

Chapter 2908: Revolted Wind Element

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

When the others heard her words, they stared at her. Even Wei Guang was stunned.

Mu Ningxue had not spoken much throughout the journey. Wei Guang had assumed that she was willing to leave everything to him so that he could complete his recruitment task assigned by the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance.

Nobody had thought that she would refute him in such a straightforward manner.

‘Is this how young people communicate as a team?’ Wang Shuo shook his head in resignation.

Wei Guang made all the decisions by himself without discussing things with others. Meanwhile, Mu Ningxue’s words were equivalent to telling him to get lost if he wasn’t willing to do the job he was supposed to do.

Wei Guang was a Forbidden Mage. The way Mu Ningxue talked to him did not show the slightest hint of respect. It was as if this Forbidden Mage was no different from others who had gone against her.

Wei Guang looked troubled. He was arrogant, so he naturally felt embarrassed when she put him on the spot before the crowd.

“Senior, I believe what Mu Ningxue meant was that we should work together in Extreme South Forbidden Land. We are in the same boat, and we are a team. We can’t simply leave behind team members.” Yan Lan quickly tried to ease the atmosphere.

“I’ll send someone to look for them. You have to go forward with the Ice Wheel Flying Boat. We must delay no more!” Wei Guang held his anger back.

“I want to wait for them,” said Mu Ningxue.

“As I mentioned earlier, I’ll assign someone to search for them. I’ll either bring them back alive, or carry their corpses back, will you be satisfied with that?” snapped Wei Guang.

…

A mass of twilight clouds condensed behind them. The twilight was different from usual. It was so dark as if an invisible hand gradually pressed against them from behind.

The sun shone brightly on the road ahead of them. The sunshine spread across the white glacier world. It looked holy and solemn. The sight was majestic and magnificent.

The mass of twilight clouds slowly caught up with them. Danger crept in. One could tell that Wei Guang was very particular about time.

Before departure, he had not expected the Extreme South Land to be so much worse than his expectations. As they progressed, he realized the journey was much more challenging and consumed more time than he had anticipated.

The shortcut was a crack in the glacial mountain range. The crack started from the Byzantine Mountains all the way to their destination. The glacial crack was so huge and wide that it spanned more than ten kilometers. It resembled a small plain or valley. It was the narrowest area. It was dark, deep, and gloomy like a cave.

The Ice Wheel Flying Boat would most likely get struck halfway and would not march forward.

After they entered through the crack, there was a green river. The water flowed very slowly. There were hardly any ripples on the surface.

Some of the shattered pieces floated on the river. They were curious as to why the water did not freeze. ‘Could it have a higher freezing point?’

The Ice Wheel Flying Boat sped up and soon traveled another five or six kilometers. The river was not as calm as it appeared to be. Some translucent figures gathered near the Ice Wheel Flying Boat. They moved like ghosts. Mu Ningxue and her group could not see their true form clearly as they swam under the water. However, they sensed an intense bone-chilling coldness surrounding the Ice Wheel Flying Boat.

“It’s the Phantom Demons!” Wang Shuo was shocked and shouted at others with a great sense of urgency.

Wei Guang had noticed the Phantom Demons under the water long ago. A reddish-brown fire pattern appeared between his brows. His gaze turned razor-sharp. A dark-purple Holy Flame appeared on the river.

The Holy Flame resembled a monster with an enormous mouth. It engulfed the Phantom Demons hidden under the water. The Phantom Demons were so scared that they fled. Many of them rushed out of the ice water and crashed against the surrounding ice cliffs. Most of them were destroyed by the Holy Flame and reduced to ashes.

“Trash!” Wei Guang snorted disdainfully at those creatures.

Normally, Fire Element magic power would be suppressed under such an icy environment. However, Wei Guang could melt the glacial river by casting a random spell.

The Ice Wheel Flying Boat continued to move forward and reached a narrow place inside the crack.

The sunlight shone on the ice wall that was a hundred meters above the land. The rays refracted and reflected on the ice wall opposite it. It repeatedly refracted and reflected until it rested on the river inside the cracks. The light was no longer incandescent but turned into something strange and dark green.

The air inside the dark green crack was dirty, making one struggle for breath. The icy cold wind blew from the front. The river water stirred up. The Ice Wheel Flying Boat did not move forward. Instead, it slowly moved backward.

Wei Guang’s assistants were Wind Element Mages. They tried to manipulate the direction of the wind. The moment they cast a spell, the terrifying wind struck them back and smashed them against the crack.

The crowd was shocked. ‘What sort of strange wind was that? It was so powerful that it forbade the Wind Element Mages from casting their spells!’

Even though Wei Guang was a Forbidden Mage, he could not do anything in this situation. All he could do was to recover the Mages who had been swept away by the wind.

Mu Ningxue was also a Wind Element Mage. She sensed the weirdness within the icy wind inside the crack. She closed her eyes and tried to communicate with the restless wind elements.

The Wind Element inside the crack was very strong. If they cast Wind Element magic spells under such an environment, the effect of the strength would increase by multiple folds. ‘But why did the Wind Element Mages suffer a backlash?’ Although the Wind Element was pure and strong, it was amiable.

Mu Ningxue framed a constellation inside her mental state. She tried to shape Wings of Sail for the Ice Wheel Flying Boat with the Wind Element. However, when she drew the Wind Element to her side, all of the Wind Element attacked her.

She reacted swiftly. She glided backward. When she left the deck, Mu Ningxue noticed the outline of a strong arm made up of gale in the middle of the strong icy wind. It struck the deck ruthlessly!

Everyone was stunned. They did not know what creature was attacking them. Just when they were about to fight back, the wind arm turned into a wisp of breeze and blew past the Ice Wheel Flying Boat.

“What’s going on? Did you see the thing that attacked you?” Wei Guang asked urgently.

“There are demon spirits inside the wind. They controlled the Wind Element. When the Wind Element Mages cast the spells, the demon spirits transformed the Wind Element into a violent spirit and attacked the Wind Element Mages,” explained Mu Ningxue.

The Wind Element was not neutral anymore. It had an aggressive side!

“Is that possible? Can’t we share the elements? Can someone actually cause the elements to revolt?” Li Wenbin asked in surprise.

“When you reach the Forbidden Curse level, you’ll find out that the elements cannot be shared,” said Wei Guang.

Chapter 2909: Ice Elf Queen

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Wei Guang’s words enlightened Mu Ningxue. She attempted to use her ability to control Ice Element to get rid of the Wind Element’s aggressiveness.

Soon, the air was filled with ice and snow. They were already in an icy cold world; thus, she could easily condense her Ice Element magic. If she cast a stronger spell, she could freeze the Ice Valley of the Wind.

“The method works! The wind is no longer as strong as before!” said Li Wenbin.

The Ice Element Mages stared at Mu Ningxue in confusion. They had difficulty even in controlling Ice Element in this region.

The Ice Element here was much more aggressive than the outside. They had to exhaust tremendous mental energy to make the element obey them so that they could manipulate it according to their will. The Ice Element here could not be shared with others. The nature of the Ice Element was aloof and arrogant. It refused to obey the Mages from outside of the Extreme South Land.

However, it worked differently for Mu Ningxue.

“Is this related to your natural talent? Do you have a special affinity to the Ice Element?” asked an Ice Element Royal Mage.

“I suppose so.” Mu Ningxue was not certain either.

They had finally solved the revolting Wind Element issue and cleared up the road.

Someone behind them shouted before the Ice Wheel Flying Boat traveled far.

Wei Guang’s men had found the missing Mages and brought them back. Mu Ningxue saw the snow-white panther. It carried an unconscious Mage on its back.

Yan Lan and several people from logistics carried them to the cabin. They treated the White Panther Summoner. Strangely, the unconscious Mages were not injured, yet they had fallen into an add state of unconsciousness. Their skins had frozen and were as hard as granite. They radiated a stiff and icy cold necrotic gas.

Yan Lan and her group left the Clear Fire Formation to the wounded Mages. Wei Guang questioned those who were still in good condition. They told him that they, too, had no idea how they were attacked. They did not see the creature. They had fainted and become lost in the middle of the refraction of light, suddenly.

“The refraction of the light inside the crack doesn’t play an important role in this situation. There’s no need to scout ahead anymore. Those who are off duty can take a good rest. Meanwhile, those who are on patrol duty must stay alert. Anything can happen in this haunted place,” said Wei Guang to the crowd.

…

Elements could not be shared.

The words had inspired Mu Ningxue. Her Ice Element supernatural power was capable of crushing all her enemy’s Ice Element magic. She had absolute control over her Ice Element in this place.

However, her power could not stop her enemy from using the Ice Element magic to attack others. ‘Could she strike an effective blow against her enemy if she tried to control the Ice Element herself, or even cause it to revolt like the Wind Element inside the narrow valley that had become aggressive and lashed at them?’ Mu Ningxue certainly wanted to give it a try.

In the Absolute Forbidden Realm, she had to make the Ice Element obey her. All other humans and creatures who had the wishful thinking of casting their spells in this environment suffered a violent backflash.

If this were the past, Mu Ningxue would not have had such strong control over the Ice Element. After all, only those who had achieved the Forbidden Curse could control the elements so absolutely.

However, after she tried to reverse the trajectory of the Star Sons in the New Star Bridge, Mu Ningxue had gained a more powerful ability, which was her absolute affinity for the Ice Element.

In the past, the mages had to draw astrological signs on their bodies as a guide to complete a single magic with the help of various elements between heaven and earth. But for some reason, the Ice Element magic appeared on Mu Ningxue’s palm without having to construct any Star Pattern, Star Constellation, or Star Palace.

She no longer required the help of the Star Sons as a medium of communication with the elements. All she needed was to connect with her mind.

Moreover, 2401 Star Sons had transformed into a Star Bridge. It was unlikely that they would transform into a Star Palace. They marched into the Star Sky Bridge through the Star Domain.

Mu Ningxue sensed a drastic change in her Ice Element power. She felt as if everything had become new to her. She had to explore and practice more!

The Absolute Forbidden Realm: Rebel Element

Bearing this in mind, Mu Ningxue quickly put it into practice. She cast the Absolute Forbidden Realm and let the Ice Element Mages on the Ice Wheel Flying Boat cooperate with her.

Li Wenbin and Wang Shuo glanced at Mu Ningxue in confusion. They wondered how she could focus on practicing her cultivation in such an environment. ‘Shouldn’t she practice it in the city instead?’

“What levels of magic do we use? Do we cast a Super-level or Advanced magic?” asked the Royal Mages.

“Advanced will do,” said Mu Ningxue.

“I’ll use Icebound Coffin, then,” said a man in a brown bear cap.

He articulated the Star Orbit and drew the Star Pattern. An Advanced Ice Element Star Constellation surrounded the man in the brown bear cap within a few seconds. At the same time, thick pieces of crystals that resembled white steels condensed above his head.

However, the man in the brown bear cap’s expression changed as soon as he noticed the appearance of the condensation of the crystals. The next moment, he felt as if something had struck his chest, and he moved a few steps backward.

His legs and chest froze. Even his arms began to freeze. The Icebound Coffin did not appear above his head or attack the target. Instead, the Icebound Coffin had frozen and trapped him inside!

The man with a brown bear cap was shocked. He quickly stopped his magic. He then turned to Mu Ningxue in disbelief.

Mu Ningxue remained motionless. She merely watched the changes on his body.

“The Ice Element backlashes!” The man in the brown bear cap exclaimed.

He had never felt like this before. Even though the Ice Element in the current environment was unfriendly, if he focused on maneuvering it, he could still do regular magic. Even the Ice Element had revolted against him!

The man in the brown bear cap was also a Wind Element mage. He had already suffered a backlash from the Wind Element a while ago.

“How did you learn to possess the element by yourself?” Wei Guang walked over to her. He looked equally surprised.

Wei Guang did not show interest in this type of practice usually. However, after witnessing the Ice Element backlashing against the mage, he was curious.

“How does it work? Does this mean that if she’s around, the Ice Element Mages cannot cast the spell, and if they insist on casting the spell, they will be attacked by the element?” The other Ice Element Mages asked in surprise.

They did not quite believe this. They tried to cast an Ice Element spell themselves.

Very soon, they realized that even if they cast the lowest level of Ice Element spell called the Ice Spread, they were still attacked by the Ice Element.

This was too much! Most people said that the mages were slaves to the elements.

But Mu Ningxue was more like an Ice Elf Queen who could control the Ice Element unconditionally.

Chapter 2910: Extreme South Graves

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

They had to admit that certain people were so powerfully gifted in the field of magic that they made others jealous.

The team had to confront the terrible weather. Those who had little leisure time did not bother to improve their own strengths.

But Mu Ningxue was different. She observed the situation. She changed her cultivation path with a new mindset that no one else bothered to try.

In fact, she had surpassed her peers. This was because she never stopped practicing her cultivation!

The crowd envied Mu Ningxue’s new ability. Her ability made her undefeatable before the Ice Element Mages. Before the Ice Element Mages cast their spells, they had to obtain her approval first, otherwise the Ice Element would rebel!

“Unfortunately, this ability is still far inferior to God’s gift. It can indeed suppress the spell below the Forbidden Curse, but it’s just a very ordinary ability in Forbidden Curse level,” said Wei Guang, shaking his head.

“Wei Guang, not everyone can become a Forbidden Mage. It’s considered rare to have someone of Mu Ningxue’s age achieve apex-grade in Ice Element, as well as possessing such a mystical Ice Element ability.” Wang Shuo chuckled.

The Forbidden Curse was bound by the Forbidden Curse Convention. It dictated that the Forbidden Mages would not involve or take part in any secular matters. The ability Mu Ningxue had mastered was supreme. They could not always measure her power from a Forbidden Mage’s point of view.

“Extreme South Land is a forbidden land. Even Forbidden Mages have difficulty surviving in such an environment. You are aware that the world is in the middle of various disasters, and the Forbidden Curse is the only spell that can truly make a difference in this world. Who are you to say that you can control your own destiny, unless the disaster directly befalls you. Are you seriously thinking that we’re living in a peaceful era? Do you think you can still sleep in peace in the city and organize some useless magic academic debate?” Wei Guang snorted at Wang Shuo.

“You’re right. We’re just a few grains among the sand. The waves can easily sweep us away. Meanwhile, you’re the boulder that can stand firmly in the middle of the flowing stream and can even split the stream water,” said Wang Shuo sarcastically.

…

After they passed by the Great Rift, Wang Shuo looked uneasy.

The previous areas were just the edge of the South Pole. This time, they had come to the real forbidden land.

After traveling for a few kilometers, the Ice Wheel Flying Boat had faced a serious issue. All the parts and machinery were frozen to the point that they could not operate anymore. Several Mages had to cast spells at the same time for the Ice Wheel Flying Boat to move on the thick ice surface.

The ice surface was uneven and jagged. The wind from the Great Rift swept over to them again. The wind filled the place and blended in with the terrifying ice and snow. They formed a frightening ice thunderstorm. Wei Guang and his group found themselves unable to move even an inch forward.

The Ice Wheel Flying Boat was their only refuge. It did not take long before the Ice Wheel Flying Boat was frozen in place and turned into a stone statue. It became a part of the surrounding glaciers.

The speed at which everything froze was faster than their ability to break free from it. Just when they thought they had finally avoided the “cleansing” of the ice field thunderstorm, they were terrified to find themselves frozen in the middle of the ice range of such thickness.

“Hurry up! We have to break the ice. Otherwise, we’ll be trapped inside here forever!” Wang Shuo cried out.

The cabin was filled with frost. Several Mages curled up under the quilt. No matter how the rest tried to wake them up, the Mages slept like a log

This was very dangerous. Sleeping like a log in the icy cold land was no different from death. Wei Guang and his group had to wake the mages up before their vital organs stopped functioning.

“How’s the Clear Fire Formation?!” asked Wei Guang.

“It’s not working. It’s difficult to break the Ice Wheel Flying Boat free. Call the rest. We must try to break the ice together!” shouted Li Wenbin.

“Damn it! Without the Clear Fire Formation, all of us will die in agony!” Wei Guang said in annoyance.

“After breaking the ice, we’ll return,” said Wang Shuo.

“Impossible. We have to continue moving forward until we arrive at South Pole Station,” said Wei Guang firmly.

They woke everyone up and started to break the ice.

The ice was extremely thick. It was much harder than the rocks under the ocean. Everyone took turns to cast spells. Even so, they were exhausted.

“Transform into dust!

Mu Ningxue cast the Absolute Forbidden Realm spell and transformed the solid ice into white ice dust. The next moment, a lengthy crack appeared on the massive frozen mountain range. They even saw the light of dusk from afar.

However, the speed of the condensation of the ice field thunderstorm was terrifying. The crack regenerated within a few seconds. Before the Ice Wheel Flying Boat could travel even a little, it was covered by thick ice and snow. The area where the Ice Wheel Flying Boat had been a while back had condensed into an ice mountain range!

Icebound!

If the scary Icebound was a type of magic, the power of the Icebound Coffin in the Extreme South Land had increased more than a thousand-fold. The magic could create iceberg graves on the land and bury Mu Ningxue and her group alive!

The graves continued to pile up and expand. The people trapped inside had to keep running and digging, or else, they would be trapped under the graves forever. They would not be able to see daylight again.

There were too many ancient experts trapped in the Extreme South Land. Some of them had been ruler-level experts. Even so, they could not escape from the clutches of these glacial grim reapers!

The wind blew the snow toward them. The strong wind solidified the snow. As a result, it hardened in the middle of the cold weather. If one were to look down from the sky, one could see the swift bulging of the ice mountain range on the land.

It was a glacial mountain range. It had been created miraculously in just a few hours. It meant a true disaster to the creatures on the ice land.

The Ice Wolf horde lived outside the Great Rift. They had been preserved in the newly risen ice veins, like fossilized specimens.

Likewise, a flock of flying Aurora Snow Birds was as still as a painting. They had been carved on a cliff several meters in height.

A Giant Ice Beast struggled furiously in the middle of the glacial thunderstorm. It was very strong and powerful. Whenever it charged at the ice rock that was several hundred meters thick, it shattered the ice rock into powder. Still, the glacier graves slowly engulfed its powerful body and made it a part of the ice vein…

Regardless of whether it was a living being or the snow land, those that did not condense into ocean water would freeze, including the space!

It had been a very spacious plain before. But now, the arrival of the ice field thunderstorm had created several terrifying glaciers. Frozen graves that spanned up to hundreds of kilometers rose from the ground!

Chapter 2911: Beast Blood

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Hurry up! We have to leave this haunted place!”

The team abandoned the Ice Wheel Flying Boat and rushed out of the massive ice graves without caring much about others.

The graves expanded. The ice surrounded them like a mountain range. Even the sky above them was covered by ice.

The only way to escape was to keep running and breaking the newly condensed ice crystals. If they were any slower, they would be trapped inside the thick ice. The ice would freeze their blood and stiffen their bodies. They would end up becoming a living ice specimen, engraved on the ice rocks.

Even though Wang Shuo had been to the Extreme South Land, he had never encountered such a terrifying disaster. All they had in their minds was to rush out and break the ice!

They grew weary under the icy cold weather. It was hard to imagine how far the ice field thunderstorm would cover. They also wondered how far the extreme south graves could expand.

They felt the sunlight was getting further from them. The cold invaded their bodies. They felt exhausted. They began thinking whether it was such a bad idea to give up and let the ice engulf them. Perhaps it was not a bad idea to get trapped inside the ice crystals. At the very least, they did not have to suffer so much pain.

They felt tired. The light was far from them. They moved forward at full speed, only to come to a bottomless ice cave and fall deeper into it. They were further away from the exit!

“Are we going to die here?”

Some of them were so tired that they could not move any longer.

Swish!

A purple holy flame that resembled a flaming holy beast lit up. It spread toward the ice rock before them.

The thick ice melted, and they felt warm. Wei Guang stepped on a wave of flames and flew ahead of the group. He cast a long holy flame carpet and provided a glimmer of hope for those who were about to give up.

“We’re almost out there! Hurry up!” shouted Li Wenbin.

It was only then that they were filled with hope and rushed out of the terrifying massive graves along the flaming carpet.

Outside the ice field thunderstorm was a tranquil and picturesque scene. Snowflakes dropped on the ice mountain ranges. Small creatures that could withstand the cold roamed on the smooth land.

The sunlight was bright enough without burning their skins. It was as warm as the afternoon sun.

The experience of staying by the edge of the thunderstorm was completely different from when they were in the middle of the thunderstorm. They felt that what they had experienced a while ago was nothing more than a scary nightmare!

“Take a headcount!” Wang Shuo said to the crowd.

The team leaders quickly did a headcount. Yan Lan let out a scream. The Healing Mage from her team was gone!

Li Wenbin frowned. The two Royal Mages under his lead were missing too. The two Royal Mages had previously been struck by the rebelling wind.

They were five people short.

They had not recovered from the lingering fear of escaping the graves in the middle of the ice field thunderstorm. They were now enveloped in helplessness and fear.

It was unlikely that they could return to the ice field thunderstorm and rescue others.

After the thunderstorm was over, all they could see were mountain ranges behind their back. The mountains were entirely made up of ice and snow. Digging the five people out was no different from getting trapped in a quicksand. They would only get caught in it, too!

The Extreme South Land was filled with danger. Everyone was prepared to sacrifice their lives. But they did not expect the five people to die so soon.

“We’ve lost the Ice Wheel Flying Boat and Clear Fire Formation. We can at most survive for three days in the middle of the cold!” Li Wenbin panicked.

They only had three days!

They were in the middle of the Extreme South Land. It would take them about four days even if they were to return to the ocean. They did not have an escape.

Hardly any of them could keep their cool in the face of this situation where the road ahead was filled with danger without a way back.

“That’s why we can’t delay any longer. Follow me! We’ll go forward on foot!” said Wei Guang.

“I’m so tired that I barely have the energy to speak.”

“That’s right. The ice field thunderstorm drained too much of our energy. We need to take a rest.”

“Take a rest, huh?” Wei Guang glanced at the exhausted Mages and sneered. “If we can’t reach the South Pole Station in three days, all of you will sleep eternally in this place. Moreover, the cold will weaken our magic. We might still be able to fight the Ice Beast for a day or two. But on the third day, we will be so weak that we can’t even fight the weakest ice creatures in this place!”

“Wei Guang is right. We can’t take a rest yet. Let us gird up our loins and continue to march forward!” said Wang Shuo.

…

Everyone was exhausted. Even though they had successfully escaped the ice field thunderstorm filled with graves, it did not mean they were physically strong.

Furthermore, the cold continued to torture their bodies and drain their energy. Judging from their current states, Mu Ningxue believed they would not be able to make it to the destination alive.

Mu Ningxue had not expected the terrifying ice field thunderstorm to appear suddenly and block their way.

“Professor Wang, is there a way to alleviate, or even get rid of the cold poison? According to the special law of nature, the corresponding antidote is always somewhere around the poison. I suppose there must be something that can help to fight the cold in the Extreme South Land?” Mu Ningxue asked Wang Shuo.

If they continued in this state, Mu Ningxue believed that all would die of the cold except herself. Even Wei Guang was no exception.

Wang Shuo paused mid-stride. His gloomy eyes lit up.

‘She’s right! There is indeed such a law of nature!’ There must be something they had overlooked!

“Blood Beast! The Giant Ice Beast’s boiling blood!” Wang Shuo cried out in excitement.

“Professor Wang, are you mad?” said Li Wenbin.

“Even though the Giant Ice Beasts are covered in strong cold-resistant fleece and skin, their blood plays the most crucial role in helping them to resist the cold. Some of their blood boils like hot lava and contains high levels of heat. If we consume the Giant Ice Beast’s boiling blood, we can resist the cold and eliminate the cold poison to a certain extent,” said Wang Shuo.

“Are you sure it works?” Wei Guang turned around and asked solemnly.

“We can give it a try. At least the heat from the blood can warm our body for a while, if nothing else,” said Wang Shuo.

“But the Giant Ice Beast is at least a ruler-level beast. We don’t have much energy left to kill it,” Li Wenbin said.

They were so tired that they could barely lift their legs. It was considered a blessing that they could even walk, let alone fight a ruler-level beast.

“I’ve exhausted too much mental energy. I need some time to recuperate.” said Wei Guang. His lips had turned pale.

If it had not been for Wei Guang’s purple holy flame, they would not have been able to escape from the ice field thunderstorm. Wei Guang had exhausted much of his energy.

“Set up a camp and take a rest first. I’ll go and get it,” said Mu Ningxue.

Chapter 2912: Ice Field Holy Bear

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“No way. If you get killed by the Giant Ice Beast, our journey will be meaningless!” Wei Guang objected.

“If we don’t resolve this issue, all of us are going to perish in this place,” said Mu Ningxue.

“Stop arguing! Mu Ningxue is the only one who is still in good shape. Li Wenbin, Yan Lan, and Li Ting, you will accompany Mu Ningxue to find the Giant Ice Beast. How does that sound? The rest of us will take the time to recuperate,” said Wang Shuo.

“Can you ensure her safety?” asked Wei Guang.

“We won’t go too far. If we face a situation that we can’t handle, we’ll immediately send you a signal. It won’t be too late for you to come to our aid,” said the Black Panther Summoner, Li Ting.

Wei Guang reluctantly agreed.

…

The four left the camp. There was no wind in that area, but the cold was stronger than before. The trio, who accompanied Mu Ningxue in the exploration, were in a poor state of health.

“Why is Wei Guang so particular about this mission? We don’t know why we must go to that place even now.” Yan Lan was confused.

“Perhaps he wants to curry favor with the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance and the people from the Holy City. After all, the world’s experts have gone to the Extreme South Land to take on the Extreme South Emperor. The experts are ambitious and powerful people. They have the power to speak on the world’s stage. If Wei Guang completes this mission, he’ll have a bright future ahead. Moreover, he is a Forbidden Mage.” Li Wenbin had long been dissatisfied with Wei Guang. He revealed Wei Guang’s true intention without hesitation.

“I believe so. We have to sacrifice our lives for the sake of his career path.” the Black Panther Summoner, Li Ting, let out a sigh.

Mu Ningxue did not join the discussion. She noticed a huge footprint on the thin layer of frost. The footprint resembled a bear’s, but it was ten times larger.

The other footprint was very far away. They had to walk for a while before finding iy.

“It should be an adult Ice Field Holy Bear. It walked past here not long ago,” said Mu Ningxue after analyzing the footprint.

“Let’s go after it and kill it!” said Li Ting.

He summoned the Stygian Black Panther. The black panther smelled the footprint and led the group to an ice cliff.

The ice cliff was a few kilometers away from them. Considering the issue of the light refraction, they patrolled the surrounding area once. After they were convinced that there were no other ice field hordes, they approached the Ice Field Holy Bear again.

The Ice Field Holy Bear did not hide itself. It was in the middle section of the cliff. It stood up and caught the Snow Eagle flying around the ice cliff with its paws. Blood and feathers splattered everywhere. The Ice Field Holy Bear’s savage nature was exposed.

The Ice Field Holy Bear was covered in golden fur. Its chest, abdomen, paws, arm joints, knee joints, and forehead were covered in armor made up of pure gold. It looked like a wild bear in a battle holy suit. It was powerful and ancient compared to the Ocean Demons. It exuded an air of holiness and majesty.

This type of creature was immune to a lot of powerful magic.

“How about we change the target? It’s quite difficult for us to take on this one…” Li Wenbin looked pale.

After all, they were still weak. The Ice Field Holy Bear must at least be a ruler-level creature.

In fact, they were reluctant to fight with any ruler-level creatures in the Extreme South Land. Unfortunately, the ruler-level creatures were everywhere on this land.

Most of the demons in the Extreme South Land were ruler level. Most of the ruler-level demons would only roam inside the Extreme South Land during warm weather. Otherwise, they would migrate elsewhere.

“Yeah. I don’t think we should mess around with the Ice Field Holy Bear,” said Li Ting.

The Stygian Black Panther dared not go near the Ice Field Holy Bear. It was clear that the Black Panther was intimidated by its imposing aura.

It did not matter if they caught another Giant Ice Beast. ‘Why must they choose such a troublesome beast?’

“We don’t have much time left. We have to do this,” said Mu Ningxue.

“B-but…” Before Li Ting finished his words, Mu Ningxue leapt down and charged at the Ice Field Holy Bear near the cliff.

The rest were stunned.

Even if they decided to kill the bear, they had to plan first. They had to gauge the Ice Field Holy Bear’s strength and find its weakness before making a move.

However, Mu Ningxue had already jumped down and charged. Hence, the rest had no choice but to follow. After all, she was the key person in this mission.

Roar!

The Ice Field Holy Bear was eating the Snow Eagle when it saw a female human charge at it. It flew into a fit of rage.

The Ice Field Holy Bear roared in fury. The ruler-level Snow Eagles fell off the ice cliff.

Mu Ningxue raised her hand. A powerful ice sword appeared in her hand. When she jumped down to the cliff, she ran as fast as the wind. She accelerated and changed trajectory interchangeably. Her ice sword unleashed massive energy laced with thorns.

…

Mu Ningxue could perfectly control the Ice Element. Even when facing an ancient and powerful creature in the Extreme South Land, she had no fear.

The Ice Field Holy Bear stretched out its paws. The back of its claws was covered by indestructible gold and ice armors. Furthermore, its shiny shimmering gold armors resisted the sword thorns.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

When the sword thorns came in contact with its armors, there was a clanging sound of metal hitting on metal. There was not even a scratch on the Ice Field Holy Bear’s body. It grinned and let out a bellow as it stared at Mu Ningxue who appeared out of nowhere.

Mu Ningxue moved extremely fast. Like the wind, she effortlessly skirted around the Ice Field Holy Bear and appeared behind it.

The Ice Field Holy Bear’s back and neck were not covered by the gold and ice armors. Mu Ningxue stabbed.

The Ice Field Holy Bear leapt forward and jumped under the ice cliff.

Mu Ningxue looked down and saw it falling. She closed her eyes and focused on manipulating the Ice Element.

By the time she reopened her eyes, her pupils had turned snow white. She looked resolute and magnificent!

The massive ice cliff began to shake. Countless ice swords appeared from the steep ice cliff and transformed into a terrifying sword formation.

The top of the ice cliff cracked, as if a large part of the ice had sloped downward. The ice cliff with the sword formation collapsed and covered the area where the Ice Field Holy Bear fell!

Chapter 2913: Strip Them Of Magic

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Li Wenbin, Li Ting, and Yan Lan followed Mu Ningxue. The trio came to the ice cliff cave. The massive ice cliff had collapsed except the cave. Even though the Ice Field Holy Bear was a large creature, it could withstand such a collapse.

The group stared at Mu Ningxue in disbelief.

They wondered if their minds had played tricks on them and made them witness the terrifying fall of the ice cliff, or if Mu Ningxue had really been the one doing all of it.

If Mu Ningxue had indeed done it, it was too unbelievable. The group did not see her constructing the Star Palace, and they wondered how she could unleash such a terrifying destructive power within a short period of time!

Mu Ningxue did not stay at the cave entrance. She noticed something was writhing beneath the collapsed ice cliff. As expected, the Ice Field Holy Bear was not dead yet. It pushed away the shattered ice cliff that had fallen on its body before limping away from her.

Eight pairs of Wind Wings appeared on Mu Ningxue’s back. The Wind Wings had snow white feathers. Each layer of the Wind Wings contained lines of wind marks. The Wind Wings were beautiful and holy. They were light yet powerful.

Mu Ningxue flapped the Wind Wings and caught up with the Ice Field Holy Bear with ease. Strong wind blew her aloft, and the wind marks danced. Mu Ningxue drew a Wind Bow in the sky. With the pulling force of the Wind Wings on her back, she stretched the Wind Bow to maximum length.

Buzz!

The conical Wind Bow resembled a drill and chiseled a bloody hole in the back of the Ice Field Holy Bear. Its boiling blood gushed out. When its blood spilled on the ground, the snow melted.

The Ice Field Holy Bear fell. It tried to get up, but Mu Ningxue stepped on its back. The hot-tempered bear was humiliated. It turned its humiliation into fury. Its golden fur raised and gave off a terrifying aura that belonged to a wild beast.

Mu Ningxue flapped the Wind Wings and flew into the sky. As she flew into the sky, a rain of ice spears shot toward the Ice Field Holy Bear. The ice spears formed a horrific Ice Spear Forest about one kilometer away from the Ice Field Holy Bear.

The Ice Field Holy Bear got up and tried to fight back. Before it could even lay its paws on Mu Ningxue’s sleeve, it was tortured by the ice spears. No matter how hard it tried to avoid the ice spears, it was useless. It wrapped its paws around its head and wailed.

The Ice Field Holy Bear was wounded. Some of the ice spears were stuck in its body.

Even so, the Ice Field Holy Bear was tenacious. Although it was wounded, it did not fall. It glared at Mu Ningxue and roared. Its golden eyes were burning with flames.

Mu Ningxue clenched her fists in the air. Many tiny ice dust appeared around the Ice Field Holy Bear. The ice dust gathered to form a large ice ring.

The ice ring shrunk and locked around the Ice Field Holy Bear’s neck like shackles. It stopped roaring.

Soon, several ice rings appeared and locked its paws, legs, and mouth. The ancient beast looked like a wild beast in the zoo. The locks prevented it from posing threats to others.

“Draw its blood now,” said Mu Ningxue to Li Wenbin.

Li Wenbin had not recovered his senses as he stared at the subdued Ice Field Holy Bear and the bleeding hole on its back.

The Ice Field Holy Bear’s blood was plentiful. They collected several big jars. The amount of blood collected could even fill up a small hot spring. The blood was boiling and filled with energy. It did not have the fishy smell of a beast.

Even to that moment, Li Wenbin had not recovered his senses. He was still in shock.

The three people had followed Mu Ningxue closely when she had charged at the beast. But they didn’t even get the chance to strike. Mu Ningxue had subdued the seemingly undefeatable Ice Field Holy Bear on her own. Li Wenbin and Li Ting even had a momentary doubt about the strength of the ruler-level creatures in the Extreme South Land!

The Ice Field Holy Bear was not weak. One could feel how powerful the ancient bear’s strength was from its blood. It could easily be the leader or ruler of a certain horde on the land. Mu Ningxue was incredibly powerful. She cast several powerful and destructive spells in a single breath. She had cast her spells so fast that the others hadn’t even been able to see the process. Also, when she had cast those spells, she hadn’t paused like most Mages.

She had the power to cast spells at her fingertips. They wondered what her level of Ice Element cultivation was to have this much power.

…

After collecting the Ice Field Holy Bear’s blood, Yan Lan and the members from logistics briefly processed the blood before drinking it to keep themselves warm.

Wang Shuo was right. The Giant Ice Beast’s boiling blood could resist the cold. It formed a special heat inside the human’s stomach before transferring to the entire body.

With this energy, they no longer felt so fearful and uneasy.

“Professor Wang, the blood can temporarily alleviate the cold, but it cannot eliminate the cold poison. The deeper we go into the land, the less effective the Beast Blood will be,” whispered Li Wenbin to Wang Shuo.

“I know, but I believe the blood is sufficient to support us until we arrive at the South Pole Station,” said Wang Shuo.

The Beast Blood could not resolve the root of the issue. Even if they had an ample supply of Beast Blood, they could easily freeze in such cold weather.

They soon realized that only fresh blood from the Giant Ice Beasts could resist the cold. Which meant they would have to continue looking for the Giant Ice Beasts.

…

Mu Ningxue killed a Polar Wolf King and a thousand-year-old Snow Python on the way. However, the heat that came from their blood was inferior to that of the Ice Field Holy Bear.

By the third day, the group was in a very weakened state. They could barely cast a spell to continue their journey. They progressed slowly like a group of clumsy corpses dancing in the middle of the snow.

The road ahead of them was cold and dark. Many of them collapsed. Some of them cried like babies and refused to take another step forward.

The cold stripped every one of their most powerful magic. Without magic, they could barely survive in a forest, let alone the Extreme South Land!

“Are we going to die here?” Yan Lan could barely speak.

She leaned on Mu Ningxue. Mu Ningxue did not say anything. She did not know the purpose of the recruitment. She did not understand why the Magic Association in the country sent a group of people to escort her for the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance’s sake.

Chapter 2914: Extreme South Castle

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“I don’t know about the future, but at least I know you’re not dead yet. We’ve arrived at the destination,” said Mu Ningxue to Yan Lan.

“D-don’t lie to me,” Yan Lan said feebly.

One had to feed on illusions to persevere. If they had strong willpower, they could unleash their potential and keep trying.

If they decided to give up in the middle of hardship, especially in such a cold, freezing environment, they would sleep there for eternity.

However, not everyone could go through such hardships. Yan Lan felt as if her head had been pierced by ice blades, and strong wind gushed out from the holes. She felt so much pain that she felt as though she was going crazy.

Her teeth, face, and neck were numb, let alone her limbs. The bone-chilling coldness continued to spread throughout her body and torture her.

The environment was covered by snow. The snow gleamed in the sun and radiated a holiness about it. The view of the glaciers that had existed for ages was breathtaking. The environment was no different from a living hell. Even though she had only been there for a couple of days, she felt as if she had suffered for more than three years.

Whenever she closed her eyes and planned to give up, she felt a sense of despairing comfort. She thought she might as well sleep there. At the very least, the sooner she shuts her eyes, the less pain she would have to endure.

“Aren’t you curious about me?” Mu Ningxue realized that it was pointless to continue lying to her. She pondered for a while before finding something else to say.

“Curious about what?” Yan Lan showed a hint of curiosity. It was clear to see that she suffered tremendously.

“About how I am not affected by the cold,” said Mu Ningxue.

Yan Lan’s eyes lit up. She stared at Mu Ningxue. She remembered that Mu Ningxue had let her stay in the Clear Fire Formation in her place. Yan Lan then looked at Mu Ningxue closely.

Mu Ningxue did not look like she was struggling in the cold. Instead, Mu Ningxue had killed and collected Beast Blood for them.

“I doubted… but I wasn’t so sure about it. You aren’t affected by the cold, not even the slightest bit?” asked Yan Lan.

Seeing that she had successfully drawn Yan Lan’s attention, Mu Ningxue took the opportunity to help her walk forward at a faster pace. Mu Ningxue sped up. Wind tracks formed under her feet.

“Yes, I previously wasn’t aware of it either. But now, I realize that the extreme south cold doesn’t affect me,” Mu Ningxue said as she walked.

“Is it because you’re gifted? That’s very lucky for you,” Yan Lan said with envy.

Mu Ningxue shook her head. “An Ice Demon had been inside my body since I was twelve. It always appears at night and tortures me with its bone-chilling coldness. I never had a peaceful sleep.”

“Huh?!” Yan Lan was shocked.

“The cold tortures but strengthens me at the same time. When I joined the Imperial College, I found those so-called geniuses and hardworking Mages to be hilarious. Their hard work is less than a tenth of mine.” Mu Ningxue took Yan Lan’s hand into her and felt a trace of warmth in Yan Lan’s hand.

Yan Lan was touched upon hearing Mu Ningxue’s words. ‘From the age of twelve until now?’

Yan Lan and her group was so in despair to the point of wanting to commit suicide after staying only a couple of days in such a cold environment. ‘How did Mu Ningxue survive over the years?’

“When we fall into a very poor environment, out of our comfort zone, we often feel sad and desperate. However, the truth is, we’re wallowing in self-pity. Our adaptability is far more powerful than they are credited to be. Regardless of how poor the environment is, it can’t break us. The only thing that can break us is our lack of willpower,” said Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue vividly remembered her mother saying those words to her. When Mu Ningxue was a child, she lived her life like a princess. Many people pampered her. She led a wealthy and comfortable life. She had never experienced any hardships. All she had to think about was how to dress up to earn the crowd’s praise.

After she inherited the Ice Crystal Bow, everything had changed. Her life became a living hell. She became hopeless, much similar to how others felt when they stepped into the Extreme South Land.

Mu Ningxue was aware that the cold in the Extreme South Land could not kill them. Most people who had died here were the ones who had given up and let the cold take them.

“I-I cannot endure for so many years like you…,” said Yan Lan.

Mu Ningxue’s heart was heavy. She was afraid that Yan Lan would give up.

“But I can hold on for one more day,” Yan Lan blurted out.

Mu Ningxue let out a sigh of relief. She was not very eloquent in her words. If she were Mo Fan, she might have been able to rekindle Yan Lan’s hope in just a few words.

Luckily, Yan Lan did not give up. She did not close her eyes, just like the others. And that was more than enough.

If she did not give up on herself, she could hold on for another week.

When one survives their most vulnerable state, they could adapt to other hardships. They would no longer be as dejected as before. They would learn to survive!

Mu Ningxue looked back and noticed her team members were getting fewer.

Not everyone heeded her advice, and not all of them had strong willpower. Some of them chose to close their eyes and fall into eternal sleep on the flat glaciers.

…

After a while, they could not hear the sound of the wind blowing. Without the wind, they were not whipped by the cold.

A small castle made up of ice clay was in sight. There was a magic flag on top of the castle. The flag showed the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance’s logo.

“We’ve made it!” Mu Ningxue was the first to see it.

“Don’t lie to me anymore! I can still hold on. You don’t have to lie. Don’t worry…” Yan Lan forced a small smile. After that, she looked up to see the castle.

Her smile froze. She was thrilled and ecstatic. She burst out in tears.

They had finally arrived at their destination. They had crossed the horrible Extreme South Land and reached the South Pole Station!

The experts from the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance gathered inside the castle. They were in the middle of a discussion to devise an international plan to take on the Extreme South Emperor!

The group fastened their paces. At that moment, they pushed their potential to the maximum. Those tortured by the cold were “revived” and ran to the Extreme South Castle.

…

Several people came out of the castle and greeted the group. They asked for their identities before letting them climb on the back of the mounts and sending them into the Extreme South Castle.

There was a powerful magic barrier inside the Extreme South Castle which resisted the cold. Even though they still felt cold, it was much more subdued than the outside.

They had been deprived of food, warm water, and heat. After experiencing such hardships, the group had finally arrived at their destination!

Chapter 2915: Forbidden Curse Alliance

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Are you Mu Ningxue?” A woman in a holy battle suit approached her and sized her up arrogantly.

The Holy Ruler had long golden-brown hair. Waves of her hair draped across her shoulders and chest. It reached her waist.

She had an upright posture and a prominent nose. She had red lips and a pair of blue eyes. She was gorgeous and radiated an air of nobility.

“Yes, I am,” Mu Ningxue said.

“Hah! Asians have a strange sense of judgment. You look so ordinary to a European. People still prefer deep and prominent features like mine.” The female Holy Ruler chuckled.

“Did the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance recruit me for a beauty contest?” Mu Ningxue smirked.

“They are discussing some important issues, so you can’t go in there for now. Michael asked me to follow you closely. You can call me Yvette,” said the female Holy Ruler.

Yvette stared at Mu Ningxue arrogantly. Her gaze roamed over Mu Ningxue’s body in a rude manner. Yvette chuckled when her eyes swept across a certain part of Mu Ningxue’s body.

Mu Ningxue assumed Yvette to be a superficial fool and did not indulge her. She went over to check on Yan Lan and her group members.

But Yvette refused to let Mu Ningxue leave. “We have to wait here lest they call you. As you know, all the experts from the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance are gathered here. They have prominent and outstanding positions. Every decision they make could affect the operation of the world. Therefore, we should not delay even a second, if called.”

There was a large and heavy stone door before them. They did not hear any sound from the other side.

Just when Yvette was about to make a sour remark at Mu Ningxue again, a gap slowly appeared at the large door. The door opened from the inside. Two men in holy battle suits pushed at the stone door.

The large, stone door was not entirely opened. It left a gap only big enough to allow one or two people to go through. One of the Holy Rulers glanced at Mu Ningxue and Yvette. “Who’s Mu Ningxue?”

Mu Ningxue stepped forward. Yvette was only half a step behind her.

“How do you prove yourself to be her?” The Holy Ruler did not allow them to enter through the door. Instead, he shot her a strange question.

“She’s Mu Ningxue. Forbidden Mage from China, Wei Guang escorted her,” said Yvette.

“Where is the escort, then?” asked the Holy Ruler.

“He’s resting inside the formation. Do you want him summoned?” asked Yvette.

“Yes.”

…

Mu Ningxue was puzzled over the Holy Rulers’ behavior. ‘Did they have to be vigilant to this extent, or had someone previously impersonated me and come to the human’s forbidden land?’

Wei Guang was summoned.

He was in a poor mental state. He looked no different from a zombie. It was clear to see that he forced himself to stay awake and walk here after the alliance summoned him.

“I’m Wei Guang. I came here by the order of the Ice Emperor.” Wei Guang behaved more politely before the Holy Rulers.

‘The Ice Emperor?’ Mu Ningxue’s heart clenched upon hearing the words.

Mo Fan had told her about the Forbidden Curse Plan related to the Great Bronze Bell Hill on the Emperor Qin Island.

The Ice Emperor was under the Extreme South Emperor’s control and was its puppet. It used him to monitor the world.

‘Hadn’t Commander Hua freed him from the Extreme South Emperor’s manipulation? Why did he appear here?’ Mu Ningxue felt puzzled.

The Ice Emperor ,Mu Rong, was the first to confront the Extreme South Emperor among the experts. He was also the only survivor among them.

Once a Forbidden Mage became an Ocean Demon’s puppet, he would undoubtedly pose a great threat to humans. Since Commander Hua had identified him as one of the Ocean Demon’s puppets, the Ice Emperor should have been closely guarded. After all, no one could make sure whether he had broken free of the Extreme South Emperor’s control or not.

‘Could it be that the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance was aware of this and was using the Ice Emperor to locate the Extreme South Emperor?’

That would make more sense.

‘But why did the Ice Emperor let Wei Guang recruit her for the battle?’ thought Mu Ningxue.

Mu Rong was a legendary figure in the Mu family. As a Forbidden Mage, Mu Rong did not get involved in any of the family’s affairs. He had basically left his family.

The Mu family had another real “ancestor” who took charge of the family.

When Mu Ningxue was at Mu Pang Mountain, she heard someone saying that even though Mu Rong came from the Mu family, he did not get along with the real “ancestor”.

The “ancestor” of the Mu family lived in Imperial City and enjoyed a high status there. Rumor had it that he never revealed himself as the Forbidden Mage and had not registered as one of the experts in the Forbidden Curse Association.

He neither revealed his true identity nor appeared before the world. As such, he did not have to obey the Forbidden Curse Convention. Mu Ningxue had thought of it before she came to the Extreme South Land.

The reason the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance had recruited her was mostly because of the big wig from the Mu family who happened to be one of the world’s experts. It was clear that he had learned about her special talent in Ice Element ability. Hence, he decided to recruit her in fighting the Extreme South Emperor.

She had assumed that it was the “ancestor” from the Mu family who had recruited her. She did not expect it to be the Ice Emperor instead.

The Mu family addressed him as the “ancestor”. Of course, he was not an old monster that had lived for several hundred years.

Unfortunately, a majority of the Mu family did not know much about the two Forbidden Mages, the ancestor and Mu Rong, and they knew even less about Mu Ningxue who had been driven out of the Mu family.

…

After they entered through the large, stone door, Yvette stayed close to her. Her rude demeanor was gone the moment she entered through the stone door. She appeared solemn, elegant, and righteous.

Wei Guang lowered his head as he entered through the stone door. Even though the people inside the stone door were strangers to Mu Ningxue, she felt pressured when she noticed Wei Guang and Yvnette’s drastic changes.

Inside the boulder was a spacious and simple hall. It did not give off an atmosphere of opulence and majesty. Instead, the people inside radiated imposing auras. They did not purposely target Mu Ningxue and her group. Their aura came naturally due to the tension under the poor extreme south environment. Their tense expressions inevitably gave off a certain kind of pressure.

“Ice Emperor and fellow seniors, this is Mu Ningxue. She is here safe and sound. My mission is complete.” Wei Guang bowed and tried to speak in a deeper voice. He did not want the rest to find out that he was in a weakened and fragile state.

Chapter 2916: Graft Innate Talent

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Well done! Thank you for your effort throughout the journey,” said the Ice Emperor. His voice echoed in the empty hall.

Wei Guang forced a smile.

Mu Ningxue thought Wei Guang would mention others who had sacrificed themselves in this journey, but he didn’t.Those who had died in the journey and were buried under the snow were forgotten. Their corpses would never leave the accursed demonic land.

In the eyes of the Forbidden Mages, people were born to serve them because of their high and mighty position. People’s lives were only considered worthy as long as they fulfilled their missions, but their names were not even worth a mention.

“You may take a seat there,” said the Ice Emperor to Wei Guang.

Even though the seats were simple, the arrangement had its special meaning. There were no other seats over the other side. It was only after Wei Guang went over to that side that he realized it. He felt embarrassed, still, he stood at the corner. He found that his position was worse than the Holy Rulers.

Mu Ningxue saw his humility.

For a moment, Mu Ningxue had mistakenly thought that the cold land had stripped Wei Guang of his soul. Truth was, he always behaved like that before the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance. This had nothing to do with his mental state.

“Mu Ningxue, do you possess a special physique of Natural Soul Seed?” asked the Ice Emperor.

Mu Ningxue stared at the old man and nodded.

Mu Rong was not a supporter. If the seats were arranged in a sequence according to their level of status and strength, the Ice Emperor belonged to the bottom of the list.

There were two rows of seats. The seats floated in midair along the two sides of ice clay walls. It resembled the VIP seats in an opera. The stone door stretched to the innermost ice rock wall.

Mu Ningxue stood opposite to the three seats floating in midair. She saw a familiar face in the person sitting in the center. That person had left a deep impression.

He was Archangel Michael from the Holy City.

He was the one who had forced Qin Yu’Er and Zhan Kong to leave the world. He looked stoic and majestic.

And he was the presiding officer this time!

The Forbidden Mages from the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance sat on both sides of the three high seats. They were the members of the alliance.

The Ice Emperor sat on the left and at a distance from Michael.

The arrangement of the seats basically determined his status among the world’s experts.

If it had not been for the fact that he was the only survivor from the team who explored the extreme south, he would not have been given such a high priority to speak.

“We need you to do us a favor. It’s related to…” Mu Rong tried to explain the details to Mu Ningxue.

At that moment, a lady in lavish clothes in one of the three presiding seats interrupted Mu Rong. She turned to Mu Rong, completely ignoring Mu Ningxue. “Just tell her how to do it. You don’t have to let her know why she needs to do it.”

The lady was draped in a lavish emerald-green robe. She was skinny with prominent facial features. She looked like a noble woman in an oil painting. Although she came from a noble and wealthy background, she looked picky and hard to please.

The Ice Emperor nodded. “Mu Ningxue, as you’re aware, the reason the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance recruited you is related to the world’s safety and security. We can’t simply reveal the information to you. All you need to know is that you’re contributing to the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance and the world,” said the Ice Emperor.

Mu Ningxue did not respond to him. In fact, she did not bother listening to his nonsense.

“Are you sure she has the physique of Natural Soul Seed?” asked the lady in emerald-green dress.

“Of course. You can see how she survives in the icy cold land when it spares no one.” The Ice Emperor chuckled.

“Okay. Michael, you’ll continue the discussion with fellow Mages. Meanwhile, I’ll take Mu Ningxue to the Ice Cave,” said the lady in emerald-green dress.

Archangel Michael nodded.

…

After Mu Ningxue left, someone in the hall raised a question.

“She’s a Forbidden Mage from Asian Magic Association,” the person said to Michael. “Archangel, what will happen to Mu Ningxue if she takes away her innate talent by using this means?”

“Chairman of Asia, are you aware of the issue we are facing now? We need Lady Karolina’s power. She’s the only one who can get us through the Avalanche River safe and sound,” said Michael coolly.

“But we still have to seek Mu Ningxue’s approval,” said the Chairman of Asia.

“Lady Karolina has taken her to the Ice Cave. Shewill naturally seek her approval. Let’s stop wasting so much time on this issue,” said Michael.

…

The Ice Cave was about thirty kilometers from the Extreme South Castle. Mu Ningxue did not understand why she was being led there. She remained on guard.

The Ice Emperor, Wei Guang, Yvette, and Lady Karolina accompanied her.

Lady Karolina had a special status. She seemed to be the key woman in the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance’s plan of fighting the Extreme South Emperor. Judging from her aura, Mu Ningxue sensed that she, too, was an Ice Element Mage.

When they entered the Ice Cave, it was almost a brand-new world. The cave was deep and long. It was covered with crystals. The crystals and diamond shimmered. It looked like a nest for a dragon that had a love for beauty.

“I have a right to know,” Mu Ningxue blurted out.

“I can explain to you now. We need your innate talent, which is the special physique of your Ice Element Soul Seed,” said Mu Rong.

Lady Karolina walked ahead of them and remained quiet.

“If this is all you’re telling me, I believe it’s time for me to go back,” said Mu Ningxue impatiently.

“No hurry. It’s only a simple matter. You came from the Mu family, right? Truth is, there’s a genius from the Mu family who once delved into various strange abilities. One of which is the ability to graft innate talents onto others. Lady Karolina is the key woman in our mission to fight the Extreme South Emperor. However, the moment the cold strikes her, she cannot cast her divine spell. Lady Karolina needs to “borrow” your innate talent,” said Mu Rong.

Wei Guang and Yvette followed behind them. They were stunned by this. ‘Can they actually “borrow” and “return” one’s innate talent?’

“Do you think I’m a three-year-old?” said Mu Ningxue coldly.

Mu Rong frowned. He looked solemn. Lady Karolina paused mid-stride. Still, she did not turn around. It was clear that she planned to leave the issue for Mu Rong to deal with.

“What do you mean? Do you think I’m lying to you? I’m an Ice Element Forbidden Mage. I’m a member of the International Forbidden Curse Association as well as a core member of the alliance…” The Ice Emperor sounded harsh.

“You intend to strip me of my innate talent. That’s not “borrowing”.” Mu Ningxue had had enough of their lies.

Mu Ningxue had been very close with Mu Qingluan and Mu Feifeng. However, their innate talents were suddenly found on Mu Fangzhou!

As soon as Mu Rong mentioned the strange ability about talent grafting, Mu Ningxue recalled Mu Fangzhou’s evil magic!

So, they were birds of the same feather!

Chapter 2917: Mu Rong’s Lie

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Since you’re aware of the innate talent grafting method, this makes things simpler. You will cooperate with Lady Karolina. After she obtains your innate talent, you will have made your contribution in saving the world. Don’t worry. The alliance won’t wipe out your name.” Mu Rong smiled strangely.

Upon seeing Mu Rong’s creepy smile and the arrogant Lady Karolina with her back facing them, Mu Ningxue did not feel the slightest bit of pride or willingness to help them. She felt disgusted.

“I’ve arrived here as per the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance’s recruitment. If there’s nothing else, I believe I can leave now.” Mu Ningxue turned around. There was no need to communicate with Mu Rong anymore.

Mu Ningxue had an odd feeling when she was coming here. She had felt that something was not right from the beginning of the journey. She had been right.

As she walked out of the Ice Cave, Mu Ningxue glared at Wei Guang. Her eyes were filled with disgust. Wei Guang must have known everything.

Before the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance recruited a Mage, they had to communicate with China’s Forbidden Curse Association. They had to first discuss with the members of China’s Forbidden Curse Association and obtain their approval.

Wei Guang was a member of China’s Forbidden Curse Association. He was aware of the truth, yet he hid it from her. He intended to bring her to the valley of death and rob her of her innate talent!

“You can’t leave. You have to obey the magic convention. The Magic Association used their resources to bring you here. The Magic Association requests you to make some sacrifices for the world. What excuse do you have to turn down its offer?!” Mu Rong.

“The magic convention states that the Mages below the level of Forbidden Curse are free agents. We are only required to respond to you upon a special situation. I responded to your call. You have no right to threaten me or make me stay here.” Mu Ningxue knew the magic convention very well.

“It’s up to us to determine if you’ve arrived at the destination or responded to our call! If you leave now, we’ll strike your name off the Magic Association list. From now on, each spell that you cast will be considered a threat!” Mu Rong shouted.

Mu Ningxue walked out. There must have been a few screws loose in Mu Rong’s brain ever since he had been manipulated by the Extreme South Emperor. His words were simply ridiculous.

“Mu Rong, not everyone understands the truth. They only focus on their personal interests and neglect the future. Lucifer bewitched the world and make them stupid, ignorant, and selfish. As a result, God sent angels to the earth and took action. He provoked the war between humans and made them kill each other. Soon, humans understood the true meaning of freedom and peace. They worship God and respect the angels.” Lady Karolina finally turned around. Her eyes were filled with contempt.

“I understand. I’ve said all that I needed to say. I’ve also given my advice. Still, she’s stubborn. She can’t blame us for using coercive means,” Mu Rong said, respectfully.

He glared at Wei Guang and Yvette near the Ice Cave and gave his order. “Arrest her.”

Wei Guang stood in Mu Ningxue’s way. He looked resolute.

“Mu Ningxue, we hope you can cooperate with us. I’m aware of the innate talent grafting spell. It won’t harm you. The alliance has no choice. They must rely on Lady Karolina to cross the Avalanche River. The alliance doesn’t have much time left. Once the polar night falls, the Extreme South Emperor will become more powerful. By then, no one will be able to stop it,” said Wei Guang.

“Who told you all this?” Mu Ningxue refuted.

“Mu Rong, of course!” said Wei Guang.

“Are you aware that he was once the Extreme South Emperor’s puppet? When he was under its manipulation, he collected information about the world’s experts for the Extreme South Emperor,” said Mu Ningxue.

Wei Guang was stunned. He stared at Mu Rong. Wei Guang had never heard of this before.

Mu Rong’s expression changed, as if someone had triggered a switch. The corners of his mouth twitched. “Nonsense! Mu Ningxue, do you know it’s a serious offense if you slander a Forbidden Mage?!”

“You act like a lapdog for Mu Rong, hoping that you can have your little seat in the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance. But you didn’t even know that Mu Rong is a pathetic figure in the alliance where they found him useless yet felt it was a pity to get rid of him. If you continue to curry favor with Mu Rong, the alliance members will regard you as a dangerous man.” Mu Ningxue found Wei Guang’s action to be hilarious.

Wei Guang froze. He stared at Mu Rong for a long time. “Mu Rong, is she telling the truth?”

Mu Rong flew into a fit of rage. He had not expected Mu Ningxue to know about this.

Hua Zhanhong’s plan was secretive. Aside from Mo Fan and his group’s halfway interference, the rest did not know anything about it.

After Mu Rong resumed normalcy, he quickly sought help from the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance to save him from China’s army.

Hua Zhanhong was aware that Mu Rong had broken free of the Extreme South Emperor’s manipulation. The Five Continents Magic Association Alliance pressured him to hand over Mu Rong on account of executing the plan to fight the Extreme South Emperor. It was only then that Hua Zhanhong surrendered Mu Rong to the members of the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance.

Mu Rong’s current state was unclear. He was like a sinner who everyone watched out for. He even had to be cleansed by a Psychic Element Mage daily in order to ensure the Controlling Seed planted inside his head would not sprout again.

Wei Guang had no idea about all this. He thought Mu Rong was an experienced senior within the alliance, and that Mu Rong would allow him to squeeze into the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance. Therefore, he concealed the information during the recruitment and did not inform China’s Forbidden Curse Association about the innate talent grafting issue.

His action was undoubtedly risky. After all, if China’s Forbidden Curse Association found that he had concealed the truth, the association would punish him severely. However, if Wei Guang managed to ride on the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance’s coattails, then the matter was no longer that important.

“Would you rather trust her or me? Wei Guang don’t forget how you got to where you are now…” Mu Rong’s expression looked strange. Even though he was an old mage, he could not keep his emotions in check when they brought up the subject of spiritual puppets.

“Wei Guang, the reason you became a Forbidden Mage is because Commander Hua granted you the Earth Pistil with fire attribute. That is how you reached where you are now. Do you know where the Earth Fire Pistil came from?” Mu Ningxue was resolute.

Confusion flashed in Wei Guang’s eyes. ‘How did Mu Ningxue know that my Forbidden Curse came from the Earth Fire Pistil?’

“Zhao Jing violated the convention and openly called for a private army to attack Fanxue Mountain. He accused us of hiding a great treasure. That great treasure is the Earth Fire Pistil that came from Lan Yang City. We’ve paid a heavy price and sacrificed many lives to save Fanxue Mountain and guard the Earth Fire Pistil. If we had failed, Zhao Jing would have been the Forbidden mage instead of you. We protected the Earth Fire Pistil that made you a Forbidden Mage!” Mu Ningxue sounded harsh.

Each of her words was a blow to Wei Guang. He was already weak, and her words made him feel suffocated.

Lan Yang City, the Earth Fire Pistil, and Zhao Jing…

These words alone were sufficient to prove that Mu Ningxue was aware of the Earth Fire Pistil’s origin!

Chapter 2918: Being Mean Is Contagious

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Wei Guang was familiar with Zhao Jing. After all, he had been trampled underfoot by the powerful Zhao Jing for a long time.

Since Zhao Jing suddenly disappeared, Wei Guang felt that his life had taken a new turn.

The National Forbidden Curse Association recognized him and gave him the long-awaited Earth Pistil, which was the key to becoming a Forbidden Mage. Then, he obtained the unparalleled God’s gift after becoming a Forbidden Mage. He stood out among the crowd and became a dazzling star in the country. Even the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance was paying attention to him.

However, Wei Guang knew that the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance had strict requirements. If someone like Mu Rong did not recommend him, it would be difficult for him to be able to join the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance with his young age, qualifications and achievements.

Therefore, the plan to take down the Extreme South Emperor was the key. He had decided to try his best to fulfill the alliance’s requirements, including hiding the truth about Mu Ningxue’s recruitment.

However, Wei Guang was surprised to find out that it had been possible for him to become a Forbidden Mage only because of Fanxue Mountain and those who fought there!

The Fire Element Earth Pistil was a sacred object that could not be replicated. In fact, Wei Guang had not even known about its origin when he received it.

However, Mu Ningxue knew about it fully well. She knew every detail and could tell him more. Wei Guang realized that he believed her. After all, people who were not involved in this field could not get their hands on a sacred object like the Earth Pistil.

“Once my innate talent is taken away, I’ll die,” said Mu Ningxue. “He has been lying to you and the alliance.” Mu Ningxue pointed to Ice Emperor Mu Rong.

Mu Ningxue did not believe that the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance would allow such use of magic that could kill a Mage. If the alliance did allow it, then such an alliance was not worthy of loyalty and respect.

Wei Guang looked at Mu Rong. Mu Rong walked to Mu Ningxue with anger in his face.

Wei Guang realized what Mu Rong was going to do and immediately stood between him and Mu Ningxue.

He was not someone without a conscience. If Fanxue Mountain had sacrificed so many people’s lives to protect the Earth Pistil that had made him a Forbidden Mage, he would not let Mu Ningxue die here.

“Will the innate talent grafting method kill Mu Ningxue?” Wei Guang stared into Mu Rong’s eyes and asked firmly.

“It doesn’t matter. Don’t forget who you are working for. A great battle would not be possible without sacrifices. You know why the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance, and you and your own team are all struggling in this hell hole. Each of us is ready to sacrifice our lives, and Mu Ningxue can’t choose to just walk away!” Mu Rong responded angrily.

Mu Rong had never expected Wei Guang to betray him.

“I guess the answer is yes, then. I should make it clear to the alliance then,” said Wei Guang.

“How dare you?” Mu Rong was furious. When he shouted, the whole Ice Cave shook.

“Ha! Are you guys doing a stage play? Wei Guang, you are a really ignorant person. Do you think the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance members are like you? Even old mages with little experience know that the magic to steal innate talent will kill the target. Upon issuing the recruitment, the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance agreed to execute it. They knew what would happen to Mu Ningxue. Anything you try will be pointless,” Lady Karolina mocked as she walked to them.

Wei Guang sneered. “It is true that the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance is not absolutely holy. When all members get to vote anonymously on whether to perform the innate talent grafting method despite knowing it will kill people, I think they will all vote in favor since their names will not be taken. However, it will be different if this matter is not handled under the table. They must make decisions under their name. When they don’t have the cover of anonymity, they wouldn’t dare subject a Mage to death by something so evil.”

Everyone in the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance knew that the innate talent grafting method would kill people.

However, they stayed safe as they weren’t the ones doing it. It would be Mu Rong anyway. They could stay behind the curtains and claim they had nothing to do with it. They could ignore the consequences and cross the Avalanche River successfully.

If Mu Ningxue died, Mu Rong would take the blame. He will be accused of hiding the truth from the alliance and stopping at nothing to complete the plan. Mu Rong would be the one to receive the punishment.

As for Mu Rong, he was already a sinner. If he could not make some contributions to this plan to fight the Extreme South Emperor, he might end up in an asylum.

Everyone in the alliance wanted to complete the task and claim to have no blood on their hands. Having Mu Rong as the scapegoat was easy for them.

The alliance secretly allowed it. However, everyone would openly condemn the Ice Emperor, Mu Rong.

“Wei Guang, if we can’t cross the Avalanche River, you will be responsible for the global cold disaster in the future and for over 100 million deaths!” Mu Rong shouted.

Wei Guang paused, but the others could tell he was still going to expose the matter.

“Since my innate talent is the key to crossing the Avalanche River, you could just take me along. I don’t understand why you want to kill me for it,” said Mu Ningxue. “Witch!”

The corners of Lady Karolina’s lips twitched when she heard the word.

Mu Ningxue was also a little surprised at herself for throwing that word out loud. She thought for a while and realized that Mo fan’s influence had rubbed off on her. Being mean was contagious.

Lady Karolina was indeed no different from a witch. She wanted to kill Mu Ningxue and plant her innate talent on herself. Such evil magic was no different from the Cursed Beast of the Black Vatican.

“You don’t need to know about everything,” Lady Karolina said indifferently.

“Since you need my innate talent to serve the whole world, don’t I at least have the right to know why you intend to kill me?” said Mu Ningxue.

“Mu Ningxue, if the Holy Rulers have such an ability, we won’t even hesitate for a second. Sacrifice is an honor. Your selfishness and cowardice lead you to question and despise the alliance. Your country is also facing a cold disaster, and thousands of people die every day because of it. Don’t you feel sorry for them?” Yvette said to Mu Ningxue.

“Well said, Yvette. Sacrifice is an honor.” Lady Karolina nodded at the female Holy Ruler with a smile. Then, she looked at Mu Ningxue disdainfully. “My talent needs to be combined with your talent to help the alliance cross the Avalanche River.”

Mu Ningxue smirked. “If that’s the case, grafting your innate talent into me can also help the alliance cross the Avalanche River. After all, sacrifice is an honor according to your faith,” said Mu Ningxue.

1

“This is ridiculous!” Lady Karolina was enraged, and her voice became high-pitched.

No matter how fiercely Mu Rong, Mu Ningxue, and Wei Guang had quarreled till then, Lady Karolina only looked at them apathetically.

Lady Karolina could not control her emotions at all.

Chapter 2919: Coercive Means

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Wei Guang had seen the true colors of these two people.

He walked to the outside of the Ice Cave, but Mu Rong suddenly appeared in front of him with a darkened face.

Mu Rong put his hand on Wei Guang’s shoulder. His eyes showed hostility and anger. “If you insist on doing it, don’t blame me for the consequences!”

“Although I might not seem very uptight and righteous, I am still a man of principles,” said Wei Guang.

“Principles don’t get you results, boy. I’m not a man of principles. I only care about effective results!” said Mu Rong with a murderous gaze.

The Ice Cave began to tremble, and the stalactites smashed into the ground.

Mu Rong’s beard waved, and his eyes turned sharp. He used magic to easily bury the exit of the ice cave. Those incomparably thick, hard-as-steel ice rocks piled up in front of Wei Guang, completely cutting off the place from the outside.

“What are you trying to do? Are you going to kill us so that no one knows the truth?” Wei Guang looked at the blocked entrance in disbelief.

The Extreme South Castle was only a few dozen kilometers away from here. The members of the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance and the Holy City were inside the castle. They represented the most sacred and authoritative people in the world, and Mu Rong, one of them, dared to commit murder here.

At first, Wei Guang thought that Mu Rong was just using coercive means to threaten him. However, he soon saw the brutality and ferocity in Mu Rong’s eyes.

He would stop at nothing to achieve his goal even if it meant killing his companions!

Mu Rong had gone crazy!

“Mu Ningxue is right. I’m already half a prisoner in the alliance. If the Extreme South Emperor doesn’t die, I must bear the blame. I will be ridiculed by my peers and be abandoned by everyone. I thought you could help me escape this situation, but I didn’t expect you to be so stupid. I’ll give you one last chance. If you still don’t make the right decision, you can stay here forever as a frozen specimen!” Mu Rong’s aura got stronger.

He was like a magical beast that had been frozen for thousands of years. He had accumulated a lot of resentment and was about to vent it.

Wei Guang realized that Mu Rong was going to fight to the death. He would not hesitate to kill him even though he was a member of the China Forbidden Curse Association.

He glanced at Mu Ningxue and lowered his voice. “Run.”

Mu Ningxue ran in the other direction of the Ice Cave, but the Holy Ruler, Yvette, blocked her path.

Yvette smiled like a creep. “You don’t seem to know your status. How can you compare yourself to Lady Karolina with your identity and say such bold things? Lady Karolina is the bright moon in the sky, and you’re just a stinking firefly!”

Yvette used her magic, and layers of Flaming Sun Ripples appeared on her body. They were like golden shackles and chains that trapped Mu Ningxue’s in every direction.

Mu Ningxue was prepared. In fact, from the moment she stepped into theIce Cave, she had felt as though she was walking into a beast’s lair. She knew they would attack if she refused whatever they wanted to do to her.

The Wind Wings appeared on her back. The white wind feathers formed a small storm that swept away the Flaming Sun Ripples and gave Mu Ningxue time and speed. Then, a slender white shadow passed over her. Mu Ningxue rolled Yvette up like a tornado.

Yvette spun in the air and smashed to the ground. Now, she was angry. She held a Holy Judgment Spear and threw it toward Mu Ningxue with force.

When the Holy Judgement reached Mu Ningxue, it suddenly turned into a cage spear, trapping her inside like a birdcage.

Yvette smiled. Her smile froze on her face when she realized that her cage hadn’t trapped Mu Ningxue but just her afterimage composed of white wing feathers. The real Mu Ningxue had long been outside the cage and was getting farther.

Yvette was stunned. She never thought that her magic would not work on Mu Ningxue.

“You can’t escape from here!” Lady Karolina shouted. She raised her hands as if she was holding something.

A turbid halo appeared between her hands. It turned out she was holding a turbid crystal ball.

She turned the turbid crystal ball formed by the halo upside down, and the space suddenly began to twist strangely. It was like water was being churned in the well, except the space around them churned in this instant.

The process was short. Something rang in Yvette’s head. When she came back to her senses, she found herself standing at the entrance of the cave blocked by the ice rocks.

Mu Ningxue, who had fled in the direction of another entrance, also seemed to have been transformed by space. She returned to where she had stood before and faced Mu Rong and Lady Karolina!

“Chaos Order!”

Mu Ningxue was solemn. Lady Karolina’s strength was higher than that of Mu Rong. Her Wind Element gave her an advantage in speed, but it was nothing compared with Lady Karolina’s Chaos Element. Lady Karolina could change her direction and pull her to whichever spot she wanted.

She could not leave.

“Go. Don’t disappoint me this time,” Lady Karolina said to Yvette. She was arrogant and ordered people around while not doing any of it herself.

Yvette nodded and approached Mu Ningxue again.

Mu Ningxue did not plan to escape anymore. She twisted her wrist. An ice sword suddenly appeared in the air and attacked Yvette.

An Ice Moon Arc accompanied the attack. Yvette summoned a heavy golden wall to resist the power of Mu Ningxue’s sword.

However, Mu Ningxue was very handy with her magic. She crushed the sword and turned it into countless ice blades. The ice blades that covered the entire cave were like stars sinking into the sea in midsummer. They were beautiful and filled with killing intent.

Yvette was horrified. She had to use magic armor to protect herself from severe injuries. Mu Ningxue’s ice blades injured her. She could not dodge or defend against the attack, let alone take down Mu Ningxue. She could not even ensure her own safety against Mu Ningxue’s fierce ice magic.

Mu Ningxue’s ice magic was endless, and Yvette could not fight against her at all.

Yvette felt humiliated. ‘How could I be so vulnerable against Mu Ningxue?’

Chapter 2920: Elemental Plunder

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Back off.” Lady Karolina closed her eyes and intended to rest until everything was done.

But she was disappointed to see Mu Ningxue defeat Yvette so easily.

She looked at Yvette. She understood that the higher-ups in Holy City had some… needs due to which they kept whichever Mage they preferred no matter how they lacked in strength.

Yvette knew what Lady Karolina was thinking. She was enraged. Her current position as a Holy Ruler wasn’t because of some dirty and cheap reason, she had earned this place with her strength.

But she found Mu Ningxue and her use of magic very weird.

Lady Karoline was an Ice Element Mage, and her cultivation had reached the level of a Forbidden Mage. She walked toward Mu Ningxue fearlessly. It was as if she was a noblewoman condemning a female slave to death.

“Use all your strength. When you try your best and still can’t hurt me, you will understand why you are unworthy of living in this world and why your talent must be grafted into me!” Lady Karolina said with contempt.

What Mu Ningxue said before had already angered her.

Mu Rong had isolated the Ice Cave, and the alliance’s meeting to take down the Extreme South Emperor would not end in a short time. She could slowly play with Mu Ningxue till it was time.

Lady Karolina could see that Mu Ningxue was proud and stubborn. However, such a wild girl needed to be taught a lesson. Otherwise, she would not know who she messed with.

She not only wanted to take away Mu Ningxue’s innate talent but also her dignity.

“Elemental Plunder!”

Mu Ningxue suddenly closed her eyes, and her long white-silver holy hair fluttered without wind. She fully exposed her flawless face, which was as beautiful as a work of art. She raised her head slightly and opened her eyes slowly.

Suddenly, the temperature of the Ice Cave dropped sharply. The Ice Element Elves all over the Ice Cave and the glaciers in the Extreme South Land seemed to have heard the queen’s call and were gathering here.

It got colder, and the air began to condense. Mu Ningxue was using her power too!

“Absolute Forbidden Realm?” Lady Karolina maintained a playful expression.

If this is a duel between Super Level Mages, the power of Mu Ningxue’s Absolute Forbidden Realm could make her invincible in battle. After all, it was a power that only Ice Element Heaven Seed possessed. When it combined with the awakened Ice Element supernatural power, she could easily defeat a Super Level Mage like Yvette.

Unfortunately, Lady Karolina was not a Super Level Mage. She was a Forbidden Mage, an orthodox Forbidden Mage who could independently complete Forbidden Magic.

How could Mu Ningxue, who was only at the peak of her Super Level, fight with one of the strongest Forbidden Mage in the world like her?

If Mu Ningxue had obeyed, she might have given her a chance to live. Or she could have immortalized Mu Ningxue’s name for her sacrifice.

Since she was rude, arrogant, and overconfident, she wanted to destroy Mu Ningxue!

“Elemental Plunder!”

Lady Karolina was very familiar with this magic. It could gather ice elements within hundreds of kilometers and enhance one’s domain, control, and magical power.

However, snatching control of the ice element in front of an Ice Element Mage was ridiculous.

Once she made a gesture, those ice elements that surrounded Mu Ningxue like soldiers would instantly become her Elemental Slaves!

Boom!

There was a loud bang. The purple holy flame turned into a brave lion and knocked the Ice Emperor Mu Rong into the air.

The Ice Emperor Mu Rong looked embarrassed. He stood and staggered. He turned to Lady Karoline with a sad face. “Lady Karolina, why did you plunder all the ice elements? My current cultivation is not as good as before, so I can’t use some advanced ice magic under your deterrence.”

Wei Guang looked a little weak. He was confused. He had not recovered from the ice invasion. He should not have been able to compete with an old and experienced Mage like Mu Rong. His Ice Elemental magic was far stronger compared to Wei Guang’s Fire Element in this place.

However, he had injured Mu Rong. Mu Rong’s strength seemed to have been drained away by something, and he suddenly became weak like an old man.

In the beginning, Lady Karolina looked with disgust at the Ice Emperor, Mu Rong, assuming that he could not even handle a weak Forbidden Mage. However, she soon realized that something was wrong.

“I haven’t plundered the elements yet.” Lady Karolina frowned.

Mu Ningxue was the one who had plundered the elements. She turned all the ice elements into her soldiers and created a majestic ice element empire.

However, Mu Rong was an Ice Element Forbidden Mage. How could he lose to Mu Ningxue in a fight involving Ice Element?

“I-I can’t control any Ice Elements,” said the Ice Emperor, Mu Rong.

Lady Karolina’s eyes widened. She spread her hands out and clenched them slowly, trying to plunder all the Ice Elements around her.

To Forbidden Mages, the elements were not soldiers but slaves. And slaves must obey them at all costs!

However, no matter how she pulled the Ice Elements into her hands or ordered them, it would not work at all. All the Ice Elements gathered toward Mu Ningxue.

Mu Ningxue had not even started casting any magic. Those Ice Elements formed a shocking Ice Element storm that spread in a radius of one or two kilometers with Mu Ningxue as the center.

Elements were micro-particles. In the absence of the Mage’s astrological sign, they were harmless and non-threatening. However, Mu Ningxue was gathering the elements. This could turn into a massive disaster.

“What is going on?” Lady Karolina was also shocked.

‘Did the Ice Elements only listen to Mu Ningxue?’

Elements were shared. The Forbidden Mages could plunder a certain element and force the Mages below them to suppress the ability of that element. It would be difficult for Mages to cast magic, and their power would also be greatly reduced.

But even if everyone was a Forbidden Mage, the elements were still shared.

The exclusive use of elements only existed between the Forbidden Mages and low-level mages. Therefore, this phenomenon was impossible!

First, Mu Ningxue was not a Forbidden Mage at all.

Secondly, even if she were a Forbidden Mage, Lady Karolina and Mu Rong were Ice Element Forbidden Mages with a higher level of cultivation.

It was impossible for them not to be able to obtain even one Ice Element!

If they had no Ice Element, they could not even use ice magic at a basic level.

How could an Ice Element Forbidden Mage not be able to use ice magic?

Chapter 2921: Mu Ningxue, God’s Gift

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Forbidden God’s gift!” Lady Karolina suddenly realized.

Mu Ningxue’s exclusive use of the element was not the Absolute Forbidden Realm but the God’s Gift that only Forbidden Mages possessed!

On top of that, God’s gift was so domineering that she plundered all the ice elements within hundreds of kilometers around her. Under the shroud of her God’s gift, no one could cast any ice magic, including Ice Element Forbidden Mages.

However, Lady Karolina found it unbelievable. ‘How could such invincible God’s gift be possessed by someone who wasn’t even a forbidden mage?

The Ice Emperor, Mu Rong was also shocked. He watched Mu Ningxue control all the Ice Elements. For a moment, he felt that Mu Ningxue was the real ice god. Although he was an Ice Element Forbidden Mage, he never expected to be deprived so severely as to be weaker than the weakest basic-level mage.

“It’s really God’s gift. It’s impossible…” Mu Rong stared at the elements surrounding Mu Ningxue with a look of horror.

Although some half-Forbidden Mages could possess the Forbidden God’s gift in advance, he wondered how such a thing happened to Mu Ningxue.

God’s gift…

The gift of God could make her as close to a God of the element as a mortal could be.

He was suddenly angry and jealous. Mu Ningxue had gotten rid of all his Ice Element magic. Mu Rong was only excellent in the Ice Element, and his levels in other magic were not much better than Yvette’s.

“Lady Karolina.” Mu Rong’s voice was low.

Lady Karolina’s face kept changing, and a poisonous light flashed in her eyes.

Lady Karolina was a Forbidden Mage. Her God’s gift was only mid-level among all Forbidden Mages, which was far from Michael and several other archangels.

If she also possessed a Forbidden God’s gift like Mu Ningxue when she became a Forbidden Mage, she would have been able to join the Holy City Palace.

“Is it possible to graft God’s gift?” Lady Karolina suddenly asked.

“It’s not possible,” Mu Rong replied with certainty.

“Hmph, then there is no need for such God’s gift to exist in this world. A woman with such low-level cultivation like her will be a disaster like Qin if she has such God’s gift.” Karolina’s face was cold and emotionless.

“But I can’t use any ice magic now,” said Mu Rong.

Although Mu Rong had reached the peak of Super Level in other elements, he had no resistance to Mu Ningxue, who had a powerful elemental storm.

“So, what if she has plundered the ice elements?” Lady Karolina walked toward Mu Ningxue.

A layer of turbid elements shrouded her, making her slender and tall body look like a female devil who came out of the abyss. Every time she got closer, she became even more terrifying.

“Lady Karolina, you can’t treat an independent Chinese Mage like this.” Wei Guang walked toward the terrifying Lady Karolina with a firm look in his eyes.

On the Ice Wheel Flying Boat, Wei Guand had seen the extent to which Mu Ningxue had a control over the Ice Element. However, he had not linked it to the Forbidden God’s gift. He only thought Mu Ningxue had a special talent, and her attainments in Ice Elements were far beyond everyone.

But when Wei Guang witnessed Mu Ningxue suppressing the two Ice Element Forbidden Mages with her God’s gift, he realized he had committed a big sin.

With Mu Ningxue’s current achievements in the Ice Elements, she would be a dazzling star among the world’s experts in the future. She was already a half-Ice Element Forbidden Mage.

The most incredible thing was that she obtained the God’s gift that only orthodox Forbidden Mages possessed despite being a half-Forbidden Mage. Besides, it was the unparalleled god-like Ice Element God’s gift.

With such talent, strength, and incredible God’s gift, she could trample Lady Karolina and Mu Rong in the future.

Wei Guang realized how stupid he had been. He pushed an ice god from China into the mouth of these tigers who wanted to devour her.

Mu Ningxue was right. The sacrifice should be Lady Karolina’s if it was that necessary to graft innate talent!

Wei Guang knew very well that Lady Karolina would not let Mu Ningxue live after seeing her God’s gift.

Lady Karolina had eyes only for Mu Ningxue at that moment. She didn’t even look at Wei Guang. It was as though he was a piece of trash in front of her.

She raised her hand, and Wei Guang floated uncontrollably like a fluttering paper figurine.

“Who do you think you are? You are just a dog that licks the owner’s toes. If you can’t learn how to please the owner, you will end up in a slaughterhouse.” Lady Karolina was very cold-hearted.

She turned to look at Wei Guang finally.

Because of the ice invasion, Wei Guang’s strength was drained. He hadn’t recuperated much. Even if he was on full strength, a fairly new and recent Forbidden Mage like him could not fight someone like Lady Karolina.

Lady Karolina’s nails were long. Her nails slowly moved downward in the air.

“Ah!” Wei Guang suddenly screamed.

His chest bled, and five claw marks appeared under his neck to his abdomen, almost tearing him apart!

Turbid air came out of Wei Guang’s wound. Another force was torturing him from inside his body. His scream was shrill and horrifying.

Lady Karolina slowly turned her other hand. At the same time, Wei Guang hung upside down.

Yvette could not help but tremble at the scene.

Lady Karolina was too terrifying. She had completely lost the aristocratic elegance and calm temperament. That forceful, cold-blooded, and cruel aura made people shudder.

“You are overconfident.” Lady Karolina walked forward without giving Wei Guang another look. He was bleeding profusely.

She stepped into Mu Ningxue’s ice elemental storm field and looked at the elemental elves who did not obey her orders at all. She almost went mad with envy.

Chapter 2922: A Complete Ice Crystal Bow

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ice Element…

The Ice Element that Lady Karolina was proud of.

Since the first awakening of the Ice Element, Lady Karolina had been painstakingly managing her Ice Element Empire. Now that she had become a Forbidden Mage and Queen, the “ice country” had betrayed her! It now obeyed a nameless woman who came out of nowhere.

“Do you think you can compete with me by plundering all the ice elements? You are just a mage who can’t even cast an Ice Element Forbidden Magic. You have all the ice elements in the world, but so what?” Lady Karolina smirked.

Mu Ningxue did not respond. She stood in the white storm formed by the elements.

“I’m a Forbidden Mage of two elements. What are you? The world is big. You’re a speck of dust, but I’m a towering mountain. The Forbidden God’s gift has given you the courage to disobey me, but it can’t give you the strength to fight against me!” Lady Karolina said in a sharp voice.

She attacked.

The power of chaos that shrouded her had turned into countless sharp blades that could cross space and time. These blades slashed toward Mu Ningxue’s neck, abdomen, hands, and knee joints!

They could not see the trajectory of this Chaos Blade at all. They had the terrifying ability to cut space, and no magic tool or defensive enchantment could stop them.

Mu Ningxue was aware of Lady Karolina’s terrifying strength, and Wei Guang could not even fight back with her.

However, Wei Guang bought some time for her. Mu Ningxue had a divine item, but it needed to be summoned.

If Lady Karolina’s attention was focused wholly on Mu Ningxue, she wouldn’t be able to summon it. Lady Karolina’s strange Chaos Element magic would subdue her.

Mu Ningxue stood in the white Chaos Storm. A stream of clean ice dust coiled like a graceful ice dragon and flew around Mu Ningxue. It flew to her arms and turned into a beautiful longbow.

The longbow was composed of ice dust. It was crystal clear like a perfect star diamond.

Mu Ningxue took the Ice Crystal Bow. Her index finger and thumb pinched the air.

The endless storm of white elements immediately began to gather and shrink. It looked like a thousand-year-old icy snow-white snake was dancing wildly. The power stirred the space, and the chaotic blades hidden in the air scattered.

The white Elemental Storm did not stop. They quickly gathered around Mu Ningxue’s fingers and turned into an arrow composed of holy ice elements.

This arrow had gathered all the Ice Element Elves within hundreds of kilometers. It looked slender and long, but the power it contained was as strong as those ten-thousand-year-old glaciers.

Mu Ningxue knew very well how strong the enemy was, so she dared not hesitate.

The arrow was wholly formed. All Mu Ningxue had to do was draw the bowstring!

Compared with the Ice Crystal Bow she had summoned before, this complete Ice Crystal Bow was heavier. The bowstring was tighter and required greater control.

Fortunately, Mu Ningxue had learned to reverse the Star Sons, and this change greatly enhanced her mental state.

Mu Ningxue pursed her thin lips, and her beautiful eyes narrowed. She was determined. She stretched her arms and held her breath.

She slightly drew the bowstring, but it was not enough to make the arrow shoot toward the powerful Lady Karolina.

Mu Ningxue felt a searing pain all over her body. At the same time, she felt dizzy, as if a powerful force had hit her. She knew this was the backlash caused by her weak body forcibly drawing the complete Ice Crystal Bow.

It was the first time she had used a complete Ice Crystal Bow, but she had to do it!

Swoosh!

The bowstring vibrated lightly, but it caused a violent surge and tremor, which spread from where Mu Ningxue was to a distance before her.

Swoosh!

The second draw caused a surge and tremor again, but the power was ten times that of the previous one. It was so strong that countless cracks appeared in the thousand-year-old Ice Cave.

Swoosh!

Mu Ningxue drew the bowstring for the third time completely. The resulting surge and tremor increased, and the Ice Cave smashed. The ice rock glaciers of more than ten kilometers collapsed as if thousands of beasts had trampled it. It was terrifying!

Swoosh!

Mu Ningxue drew the bowstring to the end for the fourth time. The surge and tremor that was generated, affected the entire glacial continent!

The endless glacial mountains turned into dust. The hundreds of meters thick ice split open. It almost seemed that the clear and cold sky itself had collapsed.

The world outside the Extreme South Castle seemed to have fallen into a black hole and was annihilated.

Lady Karolina was shocked by what she saw. She was horrified.

‘How could a person who had not become a Forbidden Mage be able to control this kind of power that could destroy the sky and the earth? What kind of evil weapon was the magic bow she was holding?’

The Chaos Element aura surrounding Lady Karolina was shaken by this terrifying force. The frightening thing was that Mu Ningxue had not shot the arrow yet.

And still the aura from the Ice Crystal Bow had caused all this!

Lady Karolina knew that the arrow which pointed at her wasn’t an ordinary arrow. She felt as though she was standing at the edge of the world, on the brink of collapse. The endless dark death aura surrounded her. This feeling gave her goosebumps.

‘What kind of power is this?’ she wondered.

Why could it make a Double Elements Forbidden Mage like her, who stood at the top of the world, feel such horror?

Buzz…

Mu Ningxue let go of the string and shot the arrow. The glaciers and the earth trembled.

Lady Karolina saw the collapsed world attacking her at high speed. She began to run away desperately, but the horizon fell faster than her escape.

She felt a chill on her back. Doomsday was chasing her, and all her terror came from that arrow, from that Ice Crystal Bow in Mu Ningxue’s hand!

Lady Karolina fell. She was powerless, so she fell and suffered severe injuries.

Mu Rong also did not escape the terrible destruction caused by this arrow. He could not even use the power of the Ice Element Forbidden Mage and was buried in the cracks of the abyss by the ice rocks that rolled down from the mountains and Ice Cave.

Lady Karolina was indeed a Chaos Element Forbidden Mage. She seemed to have set up a Chaos Element force field around her in advance.

The order changed by this Chaos Element force field was no longer gravity, direction, or space, but time!

Time Reversal!

In the space where Lady Karolina was, the shattered glaciers, the cracked earth, and her bruised body all seemed to reverse like a scene in a movie.

The glacier reintegrated into a complete block.

The cracks in the earth repaired themselves.

The wounds on Lady Karolina’s body healed quickly without a trace.

Chapter 2923: Heaven Bow and Earth String

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lady Karolina was solemn as the Time Reversal hadn’t restored her body as before. Her mental state was even worse. She felt miserable. She stood on those “boiling” glaciers. She felt like she might fall into a deep valley any time.

She stared at Mu Ningxue. She could see that Mu Ningxue had some wounds in her fair skin. Some blood oozed out of her fair arm.

“Haha! You have to pay the painful price for using a power that does not belong to you. Do you want to die together with me? I order time. Finally, the magic weapon will turn you into bones while I’m safe and sound.” Lady Karolina’s voice was not as strong as before, but she still did not want to show the slightest humility.

Mu Ningxue drew the Ice Crystal Bow again, but this time, it was not toward Lady Karolina but the dark blue sky.

She bent her body to the extreme and drew the bow entirely to the back. She let go of the string, and the empty bowstring was filled with powerful rebound. It produced a majestic air string on this glacial land!

This air string spread on the land as if the entire sky was the bow while the earth was the string. The scene was shocking.

Lady Karolina still tried to look arrogant. When she realized that the power of the heaven bow and earth string would make the glacial world collapse, she gritted her teeth and changed the order of time again.

The ability of Lady Karolina could not control time completely. The power of time order only allowed her to set up a limited area before any time change happened. She could only lock a space as large as a football stadium.

If the objects inside the limited area suffered severe damage in a short period, she could immediately activate the time order. Everything within that area would return to the state it was before she locked the area.

Lady Karolina did not expect Mu Ningxue to take another action so quickly. She did not even have a chance to lock another area.

The bones of her body seemed to have been beaten hundreds of times by a sturdy iron rod. When the majestic earth string erupted, Lady Karolina could only use her magic equipment to withhold it.

The Chaos Whirlpool could absorb energy to offset the destructive force, but Mu Ningxue’s power was actual substance. Therefore, the Chaos Whirlpool did not affect this power.

Lady Karolina had three layers of protection: magic equipment, guardianship, and life blessings. However, her bones were still falling apart. If she could use Ice Element Magic, she could set up an ice castle since she was a Forbidden Mage. However, she could not even get an Ice Element when competing with such a weapon.

Lady Karolina had a slender body. After all her bones were broken, her body fell like a piece of paper in the ice cracks.

Her eyes were full of anger, but her body could no longer fight back.

Mu Ningxue walked down the ice ladder of the crack. She did not plan to let a person who wanted to kill her survive, regardless of her identity and status in the world.

However, Lady Karolina let out weird, high-pitched laughter when Mu Ningxue approached her.

“You sure are courageous. I can see the killing intent in your eyes, and I also believe you won’t hesitate to kill me. However, you can’t do it. I may suffer severe injuries. I may be suppressed by the evil magic bow, but I won’t die here. Enjoy the last moments you have. The people from the alliance will arrive soon. By that time, you will share the same fate.” Lady Karolina lay on the crushed ice. There was no fear in her eyes, only madness.

The cause of her madness wasn’t because she was in danger. She was a proud person and always regarded Mu Ningxue as insignificant. However, she had lost!

As a Double Elements Forbidden Mage, she stood at the top of the world and controlled the destiny of the magic of the five continents. However, she lost to a small mage like Mu Ningxue.

Lady Karolina had to admit that Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow was the strongest weapon she had ever seen in her life. It could even help a half-Forbidden Mage defeat a Forbidden Mage.

Lady Karolina was also a bit frustrated because she could not use Ice Element Magic.

She mainly cultivated the Ice Element, and the Chaos Element. If Mu Ningxue’s God’s gift did not suppress her Ice Element Magic, she could still defeat Mu Ningxue even if she had the Ice Crystal Bow.

She was amazing.

Without the recruitment, the alliance would not have known that China had such an Ice Element Mage. She had an unparalleled talent for ice and snow and had a magic bow that could destroy the world.

At this age, she was already a half-Ice Element Forbidden Mage. If she became a Forbidden Mage in a few years, only a few people in the alliance could stand against her.

Mu Ningxue walked to Lady Karolina. She controlled the ice spear and stabbed Lady Karolina’s neck.

A transparent shell appeared on Lady Karolina’s body. This shell did not have the slightest luster but it was exceptionally strong. The powerful ice spear shattered when it stabbed the shell!

Mu Ningxue drew her bow and shot an arrow at Lady Karolina’s forehead at close range.

The airwaves surged. A giant ripple appeared on the ground and plowed the glacier like a field.

Mu Ningxue and Lady Karolina were in an empty area. Even the deep glaciers that had been frozen for hundreds of years had been scraped away. There were only ancient ice rocks around. It looked desolate.

The colorless Shell of Life remained on Lady Karolina’s body. It had no cracks and was intact.

Mu Ningxue’s arrow at close range was devastating. It was not too different from the previous two arrows, but it still could not kill Lady Karolina.

Lady Karolina was in a miserable state. Her luxurious green clothes had already turned red, and her hair was messy like an old woman’s. However, she still used arrogance to defend her dignity.

“Don’t waste your energy. This is the shell of the Holy Dragon, and it is used to guard its descendants. No energy in this world can tear it apart. You can’t kill me, and you’re going to die soon. Do you know what charges you will face after attacking an elder of the alliance? Do you know the consequences of murdering an emissary of the Holy City? The moment you received the recruitment, you were destined to die. No matter how hard you try, it will just be a futile effort of someone on death row.” Lady Karolina chuckled.

Chapter 2924: Practice Cultivation Right Here

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lady Karolina was a scourge. Mu Ningxue did not intend to spare her. However, Mu Ningxue had not found a way to break Lady Karolina’s Shell of Life yet.

Mu Ningxue turned around and looked at the Extreme South Castle, several figures charged at them at breakneck speed.

The power unleashed from the arrows were so great that one could sense its powerful force even from dozens of kilometers away. Even though the alliance was in the middle of a closed-door meeting, they would send someone to check on the situation.

Mu Ningxue noticed those people were dressed in Holy Judgement Court battle suits. It was clear that they came from the Holy City.

If Mu Ningxue stayed around, she would only get into greater trouble. She glanced at Lady Karolina.

Lady Karolina looked smug. Her grin was hideous because of the pain she felt. Her smile looked twisted and sickly.

Lady Karolina did not expect for things to end up this way. The Shell of Life that came from the Holy Dragon was precious. She only had one chance to use it. Regardless, the outcome would still be the same. The alliance would take Mu Ningxue down. The Holy City would bring justice. Lady Karolina would naturally be the one to decide the outcome of that justice!

Mu Ningxue did not waste any more time on Lady Karolina. She turned around and walked toward the grayish and green glacial world. The earth was covered in white. Mu Ningxue’s silhouette gradually faded. One of the experts from the Holy City tried to catch up with her. The expert must have heard Lady Karolina’s cry for help and assumed Mu Ningxue was the perpetrator.

Mu Ningxue was not as fast. She wielded the Ice Crystal Bow and forced back the expert from the Holy City with some arrows before quickly hiding inside a million-year-old glacier vein.

…

A fierce storm raged, and the falling snow attacked her skin like razor blades. Mu Ningxue stepped into a raging world that resembled something straight out of the barbaric era. The place was covered in snow-capped mountains. The fading sunlight looked as if it could not penetrate the area.

Mu Ningxue found an ice cliff and rested there. The brutal cold could not harm her. But still, she felt very cold.

No matter what, she would not go to the warm areas. She resolved that she would not leave her fate in the hands of the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance.

Even if she told the truth and had Wei Guang as her witness, she would not simply hand herself over to the Holy City and the alliance for their disposal.

All she could do was flee. There were many experts within the alliance. If she went somewhere warm, they would certainly find a way to bring her back in chains. By then, she would have no control over what would happen to her.

She decided to go deeper into the Extreme South Land to keep herself protected using the harsh environment to her advantage.

If the experts from the alliance were too far away from the ice castle, they would be affected by the environment. Hence, Mu Ningxue was safe in the depths of the Extreme South Forbidden Land.

…

She laid on the ice and took a nap.

Mu Ningxue had to recuperate. Even though she no longer fainted after using the Ice Crystal Bow, it left her physically and mentally exhausted. Fortunately, she did not encounter any powerful Extreme South Demons along the way.

She cleaned her face with the snow. Mu Ningxue stood on the ice cliff and stared at the ancient, icy cold, and deserted glacier. She could not help but think of the person who had been forced to Tianshan Mountain. The person had to live alone in the ice mountain veins.

Mu Ningxue was just like her. She had been banished to this place. ‘What was wrong with this world? It rejected everyone and everything.’

When Mu Ningxue saw how Qin Yu’Er was tied up on a stake in the middle of the Holy City, she felt angry for her and thought it was unfair to treat someone this way. At that moment, Mu Ningxue finally realized that no one was spared if dictatorship and abuse of power existed in this world. They could either give in and join them, or they could fight back. If they fought back, they would be regarded as a heretic and be completely wiped out.

“I’ll just practice my cultivation here for a while.” Mu Ningxue’s eyes had not turned entirely black.

She was aware of all this. Otherwise, she would not have trained to grow stronger without caring much about others. Becoming strong and powerful was the only way to break herself free from the dictators in the Holy City. Perhaps she could rise to power if she was strong enough.

Of course, all this was possible only if she could survive.

…

Meanwhile, Lady Karolina laid motionlessly on a cold, stone bed like a leather puppet inside the Extreme South Castle.

“You’ll need to take some time to recover. Lady Karolina, is Mu Ningxue truly so powerful that she could injure you this severely?” Michael stood beside her bed, looking confused.

“She wields an evil bow. How pathetic! Under the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance’s governance over the years, we never put up with heresy, Black Vatican, forbidden spells, and evil things. Little did we know that Mu Ningxue had long dabbled in evil and had passed the point of no return. Regarding the origin of the evil bow, feel free to ask Mu Rong about it.” Lady Karolina gnashed her teeth.

“I’ve already asked about it. The Ice Crystal Bow requires a person with special Ice Element innate talent for sustenance. An individual alone is hard to fulfill the Ice Crystal Bow’s requirement. It requires many Ice Bow human sacrifices. If one were to collect all the ice crystal fragments, one would have to rob the cultivation of the holders. Obviously, the Magic Association absolutely forbids such a spell. Any spell that uses life, soul, or cultivation as sacrifice is evil, indeed. The Holy City and the Magic Association will not allow the existence of such an evil spell in this world,” said Archangel Michael with great conviction.

“It’s good that you understand. I’ve suffered a lot to dig out such a dangerous person for the Holy City. Archangel, I hope you can apprehend her as soon as possible!” Lady Karolina said solemnly.

“The elders told me that she escaped into Reckless Ice Land. What matters most now is to take down the Extreme South Emperor. At the very least, we must stop it from its transformation. The place where Mu Ningxue hid herself is a forbidden land where even a Forbidden Mage cannot survive. We don’t have to spend so much time on her,” said Michael.

“But without her innate talent, how do we cross the Avalanche River?” asked Lady Karolina.

“Lady Karolina, we sent out the recruitment order and brought you the person. It’s you who messed things up!” said Michael harshly.

“I-I understand.” Lady Karolina dared not speak more.

“Pay half of your soul as the price. Without a substitute, you must bear your own consequences. We must cross the Avalanche River.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll help to fulfill the order of the plan to take down the Extreme South Emperor,” said Lady Karolina.

“Take a good rest. We’ll depart in three days after the snowstorm is over,” said Michael.

Lady Karolina’s face turned gloomy as she watched Michael leave.

No matter what, she would not spare Mu Ningxue!

Chapter 2925: She Is Banished

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The four seasons did not appear in order. Only the ever-changing date on the calendar signaled the passing of time.

There was some greenery inside and outside of Ding City, all thanks to the Plant Element magic students from the Magic Association in Ding City. The icy cold, rocky city became livelier. Even though it was not as prosperous as the Magic City, the citizens gradually got used to it. They found joy in the middle of despair.

They were like sprouts. Even though they might be carried away by the breeze at any time, they endeavored to survive.

The weather slowly turned warm. The sprouts grew faster. Leaves on the trees were sparse. The citizens paid special attention to them, as if they expected they could enjoy peace and tranquility only after it grew into a towering tree.

The main city and plains of Ding City were in the middle of expansion. Originally, most of the citizens had to live inside a simple shed. After the city was expanded, they were given warm and cozy houses. Their standard of living had significantly improved.

The key to Ding City’s development was that it was never short of stones. The city had sufficient architects and labor workers. The city would become prosperous in a short period of time.

Ding City was in development for quite some time. The city grew at a rapid pace. Since many citizens from the Magic City moved to Ding City, the city changed swiftly with new sights appearing every month!

“So, it looks like we’re not as terrible as we thought, right? Since the world’s experts returned from the Extreme South, the weather has turned warmer day after day. I suppose we can go back to the old days soon,” said Zhou Donghao.

He smoked a cigarette while chatting with several Mages from Ding City. Judging from the layers of clothes they wore, one could see that the weather had indeed become warmer.

“I don’t mind staying here, but I miss the Magic City’s prosperity and comfort,” said one of the Mages in a patrol uniform.

“Of course! The Magic City is a haven for food with a myriad of delicacies. I can’t even find a steamboat restaurant in this city when my hunger pangs hit in the middle of the night.”

“I heard that the Magic City’s Fortress Plan is effective. They have cleared out an area that is like that of Jing An. They don’t have to continue hiding in the underground fortress anymore.”

“That’s right. The news reported that the Magic City issued several official announcements to allow Advanced-level citizens to move into the Magic City Fortress. My elder brother is a Mercenary Mage. He and his team members killed a Snow Shark and harvested several Snow Shark cubs. The Snow Shark cubs will grow up to be Commander Level creatures. The creatures can make them rich overnight!” said the Mage in patrol uniform.

“Ocean Demon cubs are valuable!”

“It’s a high risk, high return job. The current Magic City is like a massive treasure trove city filled with powerful Ocean Demons. Aside from the generous rewards given by the country and the Magic Association for killing the Ocean Demons, we can gain many treasures from the exploration. After all, the Magic City is the Ocean Demons’ gathering place. There are many ruler-level Ocean Demons and several emperor-level Ocean Demons.”

“Speaking of the emperor-level Ocean Demons, my superior found a large scale by the Huangpu River. Do you know what it belonged to?”

Everyone turned to the Mage in the patrol uniform. They paid special attention when the Mage talked about matters related to the emperor-level Ocean Demons.

“It belonged to the Lan Dragon Demon’s horn scale. My superior secretly kept it for himself and sold it to a wealthy man. The wealthy man has a way to sell it internationally. According to him, many foreigners fight for it and offer a price that is multiple folds of the market price!”

“I heard that the Black Totem Snake was the one that severely wounded the Lan Demon Dragon, right?” asked Zhou Donghao.

“Right! The Lan Demon Dragon almost died!”

“I wish I could go into the Magic City and collect the carcasses. I am not greedy enough to risk my life for emperor-level creatures’ remains. Ruler-levels would be enough for me.”

“Stop it! I’m also tempted to do it. How about we seek our superiors’ approval to go to the Magic City?”

“Are you crazy? Why do you want to fight for your life in the Magic City when you have a secured job in Ding City?”

They chatted happily after the meal. A man in patrol uniform brought along a woman.

“Mr. Zhou, she wants to talk to you about something.” The Patrol Mage led the woman to Zhou Donghao.

Zhou Donghao was puzzled. He looked at her.

The woman looked haggard, as if she had been through a serious illness and was in the middle of recovery. She gestured for Zhou Donghao to follow her to a corner. Zhou Donghao obliged, despite his friend’s warning look. He wondered what her intention was.

“Do you happen to know Mo Fan?” asked the woman.

“Of course, I do. He’s a hero in the country. Um… Why do you look for him?” Zhou Donghao noticed he had run his mouth off without thinking, so he quickly changed the tone of his speech to appear solemn.

“Someone asked me to convey a message to him. Can you take me to him?” asked the woman.

“You can tell me. I will inform him. He is under cultivation. I believe he has reached a critical moment in his cultivation. If there’s nothing urgent, I think it’s best to not interrupt him,” said Zhou Donghao.

“Um… If that’s the case, I’ll talk to him again after he finishes his cultivation,” said the woman.

“Is the matter very important?” Zhou Donghao noticed the woman’s condition so he could not stop himself from asking.

“Yes, it’s something very important. But there’s no hurry. After all, it can’t be rushed,” said the woman.

Zhou Donghao was curious. He did not know what she was trying to express.

In fact, society was aware of the people who commanded the totem beasts. People tried to get close to Mo Fan and his group through different means. Zhou Donghao acted as a gatekeeper to ensure Mo Fan could focus on his cultivation.

“I plan to stay somewhere nearby. Is there any hotel that offers a quiet environment?” asked the woman.

“There is one behind the street. Miss, I’m very curious. Who are you? Why are you looking for Mo Fan?” asked Zhou Donghao in confusion.

Yan Lan hesitated for a moment. Still, she chose not to reveal her name.

This was something big. The alliance and the people from the Holy City could use their positions and rights to monitor China. So, it was best to get fewer people involved in the matter.

“Never mind. Could you please inform me after Mo Fan finishes his cultivation? I can wait,” said Yan Lan to Zhou Donghao.

“Of course.” Zhou Donghao was still at a loss.

…

Yan Lan stayed in Ding City. She followed Mu Ningxue’s instructions and did not immediately inform Mo Fan about the Extreme South issue.

Yan Lan understood Mu Ningxue’s intention. The enemy they confronted was not the common Mages but the Holy City and the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance.

Mo Fan needed time to strengthen himself. Likewise, Mu Ningxue also needed time.

The Extreme South Land was a forbidden land. Few people could survive the barbaric ice world. However, it was the perfect refuge for Mu Ningxue.

“I won’t leave the Extreme South Forbidden Land until I break through the Forbidden Curse.”

Yan Lan recalled the determination in Mu Ningxue’s eyes when she had said those words to her. Yan Lan was very impressed with her and respected her greatly.

Mu Ningxue was all alone at the end of the world.

She had been banished…

And awaiting rebirth.

Chapter 2926: The White Ocean Demon Group

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The courtyard was planted with laurels, and the fragrance filled the air. It had been a long time since Tao Jing smelled the flowers. She hung around for a while enjoying the fragrance.

The sweet scent lifted her mood. Tao Jing then walked into the house.

She had grown accustomed to serving him lunch at this hour daily over the past one year. The man gave an impression of being lackadaisical. Who would have thought he was such a hard worker. In today’s hustle and bustle in the city, only a few young people could focus on their cultivation for a long period of time.

Tao Jing placed the tray by the side. She was about to take away the utensils from the day before when she realized that yesterday’s food was untouched.

‘Didn’t Mo Fan take his meal yesterday?’

Mo Fan ate his lunch every day. He did not eat anything else except his lunch. He basically finished all the food he had for his lunch regardless of the type of food served.

Tao Jing personally prepared the dishes. She had to prepare the dishes daily. Mo Fan was her savior. Hence, she prepared his portion with care. She felt happy whenever Mo Fan ate up all the food.

‘He hasn’t even opened the lunchbox cover. Does he not like the food? Or, has he gone off the rails in his cultivation?’ Tao Jing was worried about him.

He had been eating the lunch she served for the past year. However, today was an exception. Something must have happened. ‘What if Mo Fan had died inside?’

Tao Jing pushed open the door and entered the house. She noticed that the isolation formation inside the house was torn apart.

There was not even a bed inside the empty cultivation room. It had very little ventilation for air. It looked so simple, like a rich man’s prison. It was hard to believe one would have the perseverance to cultivate under such adversity in this era.

‘Where is he?’ Tao Jing was shocked.

She did not see Mo Fan. She even wanted to lift the mat on the floor to look for him.

Truth was, Tao Jing had not seen Mo Fan over the past one year. The only way to confirm that he was still alive was through the food he ate. When she didn’t find Mo Fan inside, she felt confused and disappointed.

It was as if the pig she had been feeding for over a year had run out from its pen in the middle of the night.

…

The seawater in the Magic City receded slowly. There were still many low-lying urban areas soaked underwater. The sewer ponds were connected to the city sewers. As a result, the area became frightening and smelly.

The Magic City underground fortress was built nearby the Rainbow Station. The Ocean Demons at ten kilometers radius from the station had been wiped out. Most of the Ocean Demons gathered at Pudong that was connected to the sea, followed by the two prosperous cities, Xu Hui and Jing An.

A few Mages went in and out of the broken steel door. They had been stationed in the Magic City underground fortress for a very long time. They knew the city’s current state very well.

“No matter what, we have to wipe out the White Ocean Demons in the campus area today,’ said a bearded man.

“Captain, there are only a few of us here. I think it will be a difficult task. How about we join forces with the Bronze Lion Hunter Group? We’ll agree to their 4-6 split. It’s much better than being wiped out,” said a potbellied Mage.

“Fatso, they want sixty percent from the reward, don’t you get it?!”

“Darn it! Why are they so greedy?! We have fought the White Ocean Demons for several months. The Lan Spider White Ocean Demon is the only one left that we can’t handle by ourselves. Do they have to demand such an exorbitant rate?!” the pot-bellied Mage cried out furiously.

“We won’t let them despise us even if it means losing our lives! After we take down the Ocean Demons in the campus area, we won’t let them ride on our coattails even if they wish to!”

“That’s right! The top management promised to promote the team, that can wipe out the Ocean Demons in the campus area, to generals. After we become generals, even people like the Bronze Lion Hunter Group will have to drop their money and their respect at our doorstep!” said the bearded man.

“Let’s depart now!”

“Let’s go now!”

The Summit Brigade were once hunters. They had worked as mercenaries overseas and served in the military for small countries. Thus, they had gained quite a name in the country.

After they returned to the country, they formed the Summit Brigade with the purpose to kill demons. They responded to their country’s call and stayed around in the Magic City to clear up the Ocean Demons’ nests. The city was both filled with danger and challenges. Likewise, lucrative rewards and bright futures awaited them.

The Summit Brigade skirted around the underground pond and arrived at Jing An efficiently.

The Pearl Institute was their destination. The Ocean Demons had occupied the campus area for a long period of time. Over the past one year, the White Ocean Demons had reproduced exponentially. The speed of reproduction increased after they obtained the land resources and source of energy from the cities.

Some of the Ocean Demon hordes turned the factories and enterprises into a scary nest within a few months’ time.

Furthermore, a large number of demons stayed around the Pudong area. The underground sewer in Shanghai was massive. The Ocean Demons roamed about the various parts in the city through the underground sewer. They continued to grow and form trap holes. If it had not been for the execution of the fortress plan that allowed humans to continue fighting the Ocean Demons, the number of Ocean Demons in the Magic City would grow and turn the city into an enormous Ocean Demon empire city.

The White Ocean Demons were the type that reproduced rapidly and were also very powerful. Over the last few months, the Summit Brigade fought them on a large-scale basis. They sent people to scout the area and finally targeted the Lan Spider White Ocean Demon. It was the key. It was like a queen in a beehive. It continued to lay eggs and reproduce rapidly. Meanwhile, the White Ocean Demons were like hard working bees. They plundered and collected energy to provide nourishment for their queen!

The fortress commander classified the White Ocean Demons as A-grade Ocean Demon group. It was difficult for the army to skirt around the black pond and enter the White Ocean Demon’s territory. They had to hand over the task to the civilian group.

Of course, the civilian group wasn’t made up of just anybody. The White Ocean Demons were very powerful. It was basically a suicidal mission for the less famous civilian groups in the country to take on the task. Even the non-elite army would get themselves killed if they fought the White Ocean Demons.

…

“What’s going on?!” The bearded captain cried out angrily. “You are the scouts. How the hell are you doing your job?! Why are the carcasses everywhere?!”

“W-we… We scouted this place yesterday. It’s impossible for this to happen. Could the Bronze Lion Hunter Group have gone ahead of us? This is way too much! How can they barge into the A-grade Ocean Demon group area without the fortress commander’s approval?! They cannot handle the issue in this way! They may trigger a riot by the Ocean Demon hordes!” said the pot-bellied Mage.

“Captain! Captain! There are many White Ocean Demons carcasses ahead of us! It looks like an expert is inside this area.” A scout came running to him.

Chapter 2927: The Angel of Death Clothed In White

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Darn it! Captain, isn’t this the White Demon that wounded your leg last time? I still remember the broken horn on its head. It looks like it was killed by a Lightning Element Mage!” cried one of the members in shock.

“It’s a ruler-level Ocean Demon. How did it die so easily?”

“Captain! Captain! Those guys who robbed us of our land are still around. They entered the Lan Spider White Ocean Demon’s cave. Hurry up! Don’t let them take our credit away!” cried the pot-bellied man.

A magical glow shimmered about a few kilometers ahead of them. The experts were still inside the cave.

The Summit Brigade had been exploring and wiping out the White Ocean Demons for several months. It had not been easy for them to finally come close to harvesting the fruit of their hard work, only to find out that someone else had robbed them of their share. They definitely wouldn’t put up with it!

The brigade quickly charged into the depth of the campus area. They were increasingly shocked as they saw any more White Ocean Demon carcasses along the way.

“It looks like that group of experts are much stronger than us. When we confront the White Ocean Demons, we have to find ways to restrict them first. But the experts killed all of them!”

“The gigantic White Ocean Demon with a poisonous horn that we’ve planned to kill for a month is dead!”

“The Silver Marauding Demon is dead, too! Those are Great Ruler level Ocean Demons! We even prepared decoys to lure them away!”

The brigade was appalled as they marched further into the cave.

They knew the White Ocean Demon group very well. They were aware of the number of ruler-level Ocean Demons, special commander-level Ocean Demons, and alien creatures. This time, they had devised a very detailed plan to take down these Ocean Demons.

Little did they know that the Ocean Demons were killed before they could even strike!

“That group of experts must be hunting down the Lan Spider White Ocean Demon now! Hurry up! We cannot miss it!” the bearded captain cried furiously.

“Captain, that group of experts are quite powerful. Should we just let them do it?”

“How can we just let them have it? It’s their fault for not following the rules. Why do we have to put up with them? We’ve been here for several months. If it hadn’t been for us killing the poisonous White Ocean Demons, they wouldn’t even be able to venture into the cave!” yelled the bearded captain.

“Hurry up! They are...” The pot-bellied Mage charged ahead of them.

When the pot-bellied Mage passed through the damp forest, he stopped in his tracks.

“Why are you standing there? Go and fight them!” shouted the bearded man.

The bearded captain and his group paused mid-stride. They stood by the side of the damp forest.

There was a lake in front of them. It was an artificial lake found in the Pearl Institute area. The lake water had flooded the forest and the streets.

The lake had become the Lan Spider White Ocean Demon’s nest. It had laid countless eggs in it.

The Summit Brigade thought there was a group of super-level Mages by the lakeside. They thought that group had used various magic elements to surround and attack the powerful Lan Spider White Ocean Demon. Little did they know that there was only one person near the artificial lake.

The man wore a white shirt. Even though he had killed hundreds and thousands of White Ocean Demons along the way, there was not even a single blood stain on his shirt.

He stood on the lake surface. The Summit Brigade stared at him. The person did not shine in a dazzling magical glow. He glowed slightly, yet the divine power he unleashed was so powerful that it caused the Lan Spider White Ocean Demon’s blood to spill everywhere!

When the Summit Brigade first stepped into this area, they assumed it would be a tough battle. However, the man clothed in white cast a bizarre spell and struck the Lan Spider White Ocean Demon brutally. The powerful Ocean Demon was severely wounded and would collapse at any time!

“Only one person?”

“Is it true he’s all alone?”

The Summit Brigade dared not come close to the lake. A while ago, they were filled with indignation. However, at that moment, they lost all their courage. The person before them was truly very powerful!

The person killed the White Ocean Demon group all by himself. He killed hundreds of commander-level Ocean Demons and ruler-level elite Ocean Demons before killing the queen of the White Ocean Demons.

Judging from the level of “freshness” of the carcasses, he had arrived at the area not long ago.

Where the hell did that deity come from?!

Squeak!

The powerful ruler-level Ocean Demon let out a miserable cry before it collapsed by the lakeside. The poisonous blood gushed out of its body. Its long tentacles twitched several times…

And it finally died!

The battle was over, just like that!

There was not even a single drop of blood on the man’s white shirt. It was supposed to be a terrifying battle with the Ocean Demon, but why did he, instead, look like an angel of death that harvested the Ocean Demons’ lives?

The carcasses of the ruler-level Ocean Demons were treasures. However, the man in white shirt did not show any interest in them, not even in the Lan Spider White Ocean Demon. The man turned around and noticed the Summit Brigade. He gave them a warm smile.

The Summit Brigade took a few steps back. They found the man was much scarier than the enormous Ocean Demons!

“Y-Your Highness!” The bearded captain bowed respectfully. He turned from an angry captain to an innocent schoolboy in an instant.

“You came from the fortress. I saw the marks you left behind when I came in here. I followed your marks and found the Lan White Spider Ocean Demon.” The man in white shirt approached them.

“Y-yes, we left the marks behind. We’ve been standing guard over here for several months. We’ve wiped out some of the troublesome White Ocean Demons.” The captain’s voice trembled. His tone was completely different from before.

They felt pressured. In fact, anyone in their shoes would feel the same. The Summit Brigade knew how scary the White Ocean Demons were. Otherwise, they would not have prepared so extensively and sacrificed even their men to defeat it.

They knew the White Ocean Demons very well. So, they were aware of the strength and power of the man who destroyed the nest all by himself!

“I’m sorry I robbed you of your harvest. I just finished my cultivation. I feel like fighting and testing the outcome of my cultivation. Hence I tried it on the White Ocean Demons. I stayed over there. I used to enjoy admiring the lake from the balcony, or the college girls strolling by the lakeside… Ahem! Ahem!” Mo Fan pointed at a large apartment by the lake.

The apartment was dilapidated. White sticky net materials stuck to the top of the building. It looked horrible.

“So, that’s how it is. Since it’s your home, it’s only reasonable for you to kill the White Ocean Demons to vent out your anger. We’re sorry for not informing you in time. Otherwise, we would have killed all the small Ocean Demons for you so that you wouldn’t have had to get your hands dirty. Hehe!” said the bearded captain with a grin.

Meanwhile, the Summit Brigade members stared stupidly at the bearded captain, as if they did not know who he was.

“Thankfully you didn’t take it to heart. Could you please clear up the battleground? I’m quite a lazy person,” said Mo Fan.

“Your Highness, how dare you belittle us?!” The bearded captain scowled. “You don’t need to say “please” You have put so much effort in killing the Ocean Demons. It’s our honor to help you with the cleaning. It’s our duty to do so!”

Mo Fan chuckled. He admired the captain’s willingness to humble himself.

The other Summit Brigade members’ eyes lit up. ‘Does he really not want the carcasses?’

The Summit Brigade was going to get rich! The White Ocean Demons’ crystal cores were worth a lot of money!

Chapter 2928: Humiliation

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Your Highness, are you a Forbidden Mage?” the bearded captain asked warily.

Even a super-level mage who had a perfect cultivation could not crush the White Ocean Demon group in this manner. Judging from the Lan Spider White Ocean Demon’s strength, even a group of super-level mages with perfect cultivation could not kill it so easily.

However, the Summit Brigade had witnessed the “deity” strike the White Ocean Demon aggressively. He had basically held the powerful ruler-level Ocean Demon down and struck it. The Ocean Demon did not even have a chance to fight back!

Aside from a Forbidden Mage, the captain could not imagine who else had the power to trample the powerful ruler-level Ocean Demon in this way.

“Do I look like a Forbidden Mage?” Mo Fan chuckled.

“Oh! You must be Wei Guang. It’s my pleasure to meet you here. You are much younger and more handsome than we expected,” the bearded captain cried out in amazement.

The other group members approached Mo Fan. Wei Guang had made a great achievement in the Magic City. They mistakenly thought Mo Fan was Wei Guang.

The Summit Brigade had stayed overseas. They returned to the country only after the Magic City fortress plan was executed. Therefore, they did not know much about the great battle between the Mages and the demons here in the city that had come to pass.

Mo Fan did not answer them. He waved his hand and bade them farewell.

The bearded captain’s eyes lit up. He assumed Mo Fan did not want to reveal his true identity.

“So, you’re truly Wei Guang! It is no wonder you’re so powerful!”

“It’s no wonder you’re the youngest Forbidden Mage in the country. We haven’t heard from you in the past one year. So, you’ve been practicing your cultivation behind the closed-door.”

“What’s the point for us to work so hard when even a Forbidden Mage has to work this hard,” lamented the pot-bellied Mage.

…

Most of the underground fortress were made up of steel and iron before developing into an underground city well-hidden under the Magic City. It turned into a crowded market town with streets, hotels, motels, and shops.

Thousands of people went in and out daily. The number of people exceeded the East Maritime Fortress in Japan. The country’s most powerful and famous Mages and Mage groups were there. Often, the foreign mercenaries could also be seen.

The Magic City was an international metropolis. The Ocean Demons had occupied it. The country urgently wanted to take back the city. Besides, the powerful Ocean Demons treated the Magic City as an “opening”. Many Ocean Demon hordes from the Pacific Ocean fought with humans. They robbed the scarce resources from them.

After more than a year, the Magic City became a battleground. Humans entered the underground fortress and executed various plans to wipe out the Ocean Demons. Meanwhile, endless Ocean Demons swarmed the Magic City and used humans’ magic stones and other sources to rapidly reproduce and transform.

The Forbidden Mages were recuperating. Similarly, the emperor-level Ocean Demons hid somewhere inside the Magic City to recover. For the time being, the two avoided a head-on clash. The battle would be long-lasting. At the end of the day, it all depended on the war between humans and the Ocean Demon hordes.

Humans could either slowly wipe out the Ocean Demons so that the Magic City could return to peace, or the Ocean Demons would gradually engulf the city and turn the prosperous Magic City into a demonic cave on land.

…

The Summit Brigade sat at the large hall inside Rainbow Wind Tavern. They enjoyed watching the female dancers dancing on the public dance floor while chugging cold beer.

They had a great harvest today. They had obtained a large batch of White Ocean Demons’ crystal cores for free. They had earned a lucrative sum after selling the ruler-level Ocean Demons’ carcasses. They could apply to the Magic Association next year to request to be promoted into an army.

The captain was over the moon. They thought they would have to sacrifice a lot of men during the attack. But it was as if a large pie had fallen from the sky just for them and for free!

“Excuse me, are you the captain of the Summit Brigade?” A middle-aged and polite-looking man approached.

“That’s me. Who are you?” asked the bearded captain.

“I’m just a passer-by. One of your members is drunk. He said you met Wei Guang at Pearl Institute campus area, is that true?” the man asked politely.

The bearded captain frowned.

He warned his subordinates to not simply reveal the truth lest the outsiders found that they robbed “Wei Guang” from his glory. Unfortunately, his subordinate had run his mouth off.

“How can such a thing be true? The kid is rambling because he is drunk. That’s all nonsense.” The bearded captain chuckled.

“Regarding your victory, the mercenaries say you and your members lack the abilities to wipe out the White Ocean Demons. Did Wei Guang assist you?” asked the middle-aged man while pushing back the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

The bearded captain noticed the middle-aged man was of mixed blood. He was very fair. He had brown pupils and could not speak the language accurately.

“No. He did not assist us. Now, if that is all, please don’t disturb us anymore. We want to enjoy our free time,” said the bearded captain impatiently.

The man grinned. His grin sent a chill down the captain’s spine.

The bearded captain had completed three elements of magical power. It was normal to act humbly before the “godly” fighter who killed the Lan Spider White Ocean Demons. However, he refused to be threatened by just any passer-by. He sprang up and confronted the middle-aged man of mixed blood.

“Sit down!” The middle-aged man shouted harshly.

The bearded captain shuddered. He felt as if something of crushing weight was pushing down on him. He sat down but the chair smashed into pieces, and he fell down.

The pot-bellied Mage was shocked and quickly tried to diffuse the situation.

“Mister, please don’t be angry. It’s true that we’ve met Wei Guang and he is the one who killed the White Ocean Demons. We helped him clean up the battleground,” said the pot-bellied Mage in a hurry.

“Can you describe how he looked?” said the middle-aged man.

“He wore a white shirt. His long hair was unkempt. It looked as though he hadn’t cut it for a year. There was a mark on his forehead…”

The middle-aged man of mixed blood looked like he had finally received the information he wanted. He glanced at the bearded captain and sneered.

“When someone asks you a question in the future, give an honest answer. You remind me of my dog. I have to whip it every time, so it knows I’m not playing with it.”

The middle-aged man took the liquor jar and splashed the contents against the bearded captain’s face. He laughed as he did it.

The other Summit Brigade members stood at the side. None of them dared to stop the middle-aged man. They could not possibly stop him. His imposing aura was so terrifying that they shuddered in his presence.

The middle-aged man left after he finished humiliating the bearded captain.

Even after the mixed blood man had left for some time, the bearded captain remained on the ground. He was in a mess, not because of the liquor poured all over him, but because of his resentment and helplessness after being humiliated in this manner!

Chapter 2929: The Holy Shadow Apostle

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

There was a small bonfire without any firewood within the embers. It looked as if it had appeared by itself out of thin air. A tiny, flaming tongue occasionally appeared to lick the aromatic, sizzling roast meat.

When Mo Fan sprinkled some cumin, the aroma grew stronger. He sat on a pile of ruins and nibbled at the meat with satisfaction.

The manatee flesh tasted better than Wagyu beef. The outer layer of the manatee flesh was muscular, so it did not burn easily even under high temperature. The tender flesh inside was cooked very quickly.

Inside the city ruins, Mo Fan sat by the campfire and enjoyed his delicious food. Demons and monsters roared but he did not seem bothered.

Even if powerful Ocean Demons wanted to approach him, they dared not come closer when they saw the Ice Ax Manatee carcasses everywhere.

The city was dimly lit. The surroundings around the campfire were slightly brighter. However, the area where the brightness of the campfire reached was limited. The shadow of a pair of slender legs slowly walked toward Mo Fan.

The man wore a pair of exquisite brown leather shoes. The surface of the shoes was lustrous. Those who managed to keep their shoes clean were neither germaphobe nor suffered from OCD, at least not in this area. It meant that they were confident in their ability to overcome most crises.

Mo Fan saw the man walk out from the dimly lit city. He noticed the man’s clean leather shoes. Even so, Mo Fan was not affected. He took a bite of the tender flesh and chewed it.

“Are you Wei Guang?” The man approached Mo Fan.

“No. You’ve got the wrong person.” Mo Fan’s mouth was full, so he only responded briefly.

“You don’t have to cover up. I saw you kill those Ice Ax Manatees. You can disguise your appearance, but your strength is in line with the description I received from others. As far as I’m concerned, Wei Guang, you’re the only one whose strength has reached that level here in China.” The middle-aged man of mixed blood grinned.

Mo Fan was confused. He looked up at the stranger. ‘Why does everyone here think I am Wei Guang? Is Wei Guang very strong? Is Wei Guang really as handsome as me?’

“China is huge. There are many hidden talents and experts inside the country. I’m not Wei Guang. You’ve got the wrong person. You, on the other hand, I notice gold patterned lining under the lapel, the kind only those in the Holy City wear. Are you from the Holy City?” asked Mo Fan.

“You’re quite observant. Do you want to surrender, or do you intend to challenge me? You’ve been severely wounded in the Extreme South Land and have been sealed with the Bridge of the Forbidden Curse. You’ve lost the forbidden spell. You’re no different from a normal Super-level Mage now,” said the middle-aged man.

“For the last time, I am not Wei Guang, and I don’t know any person with that name. If there is nothing else, please stop badgering me. I want to eat the roasted meat in peace.”

“Do you know who I am?” The middle-aged man of mixed blood asked calmly.

“No, I don’t.”

“Of course, you don’t know me. I come from the Holy City. However, I never mention the Holy City when I carry out my duties. You can call me the Holy Shadow Apostle, ranked as an Able Angel.” The middle-aged man of mixed blood looked proud when he said this.

“Aren’t there only seven angels in the Holy City?” asked Mo Fan in confusion.

“The seven people are Archangels. The world is huge. Dirty works are carried out in many places. The seven Archangels can’t possibly do everything by themselves,” said the Holy Shadow Apostle.

“So, what exactly are you here for? You only mention your title, but you didn’t even tell me your name. Don’t you have a name?” Mo Fan stared at the man.

“I’m Clark. I have come to kill you,” said the Holy Shadow Apostle.

Mo Fan looked shocked. He stared at Clark at length. “You appall me. I thought you wanted to take away my roasted meat. I don’t like sharing my food with others.”

The corners of Clark’s lips twitched. He glanced at the delicious roasted meat and sneered. “I don’t mind waiting for you to enjoy your last supper.”

“That’s not necessary. The meat must be roasted over a low fire. While waiting for it to cook, I might as well beat you up and kick you out of here so that you won’t disturb me anymore.” Mo Fan stood up. His aura changed.

The dimly lit city was filled with ruins. Some of the twisted steels suspended in mid-air. The soft moonlight shone on them and made their shadows look elongated. It made everything look frightening.

Mo Fan met Clark’s eyes. Their surroundings became even darker. The city, the ruins, and the moonlight looked as if they had been soaked in black ink. For a moment, the illuminated area around the small campfire was the only light in the dark world.

Inside this slightly bright area, two slender figures confronted each other. Even though they were unarmed, the sound of sharp weapons clashing rang in the air.

‘So, he’s a Forbidden Mage.’ Mo Fan sensed Clark’s imposing aura.

The extraordinary power seemed to have expanded Clark’s figure indefinitely. His aura grew so imposing as if he had transformed into a giant and intended to trample Mo Fan under his foot!

This was truly very unexpected. The annoying middle-aged man of mixed blood was a Forbidden Mage.

Mo Fan thought that made logical sense. After all, Wei Guang was a Forbidden Mage, so another Forbidden Mage would be sent to kill him. Mo Fan barely recalled the past, but he felt that Wei Guang’s name was familiar from a year ago.

‘Why is Clark here to kill China’s Forbidden Mage? Did the Archangels from the Holy City have a few screws loose in their heads? Had Wei Guang committed a wicked crime and been sentenced by the Holy City?’

Mo Fan had a lot of questions in his mind. But knowing how Holy City did things, he assumed that Wei Guang might not have done anything wrong. He must have gone against Holy City with good reason.

Mo Fan did not feel anxious about facing a Forbidden Mage. Instead, he felt excitement

Aside from being in the demon form, he had not truly fought with a Forbidden Mage before. He wondered if the man before him had achieved the level where he could cast any forbidden spell independently.

After Mo Fan finished practicing his cultivation, the strength for all his elements had increased by leaps and bounds. He no longer found the common ruler-level creatures and experts to be challenging.

Mo Fan planned to look for a Semi-Forbidden Mage to practice his skill. He had not expected to bump into a Forbidden Mage who was here to kill him.

Mo Fan was not bothered about Clark casting a forbidden spell.

Casting a forbidden spell in the Magic City was no different from a death wish. The emperor-level Ocean Demons still lurked around the city. Casting a forbidden spell would only lure and trigger them. Mo Fan believed Clark was aware of this, too.

Even though Clark was a Forbidden Mage, he could not cast a forbidden spell in the city as of yet. If that was the case, Mo Fan saw no reason to avoid this challenge.

Chapter 2930: The Black Flame Demon King

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The tiny bonfire inside the dark world grew strong suddenly. It gradually transformed from a small flame into an enormous Flame Planet and burned horrendously in the middle of the endless darkness.

The Holy Shadow Apostle, Clark, sensed the sudden surge of flaming power and the presence of darkness. He stared at Mo Fan and sneered. “You’re a Fire Element Forbidden Mage. What other excuses do you have to deny your own identity?!”

“Wei Guang is not the only person in this world with powerful Fire Element magic.” Mo Fan slowly spread his arms, as if embracing the scary Flame Planet within his chest.

Bam!

The Flame Planet shrunk and transformed into a beam of blazing flame before blasting everywhere. One could see a wave of shocking energy spreading throughout the infinitely dark world.

For a moment, the dark universe was filled with black flames!

“Stop using these tricks to fool me! You can never imagine the power of an angel from the Holy City!” Clark shouted. The next moment, a dazzling Holy Wheel appeared behind his back.

Unlike Sharjah, Clark did not own Angel’s Wings. However, the Holy Wheel on his back seemed to possess a similar divine power. It could remove Mo Fan’s dark reign over the world. For a moment, the world resumed to its original state.

Inside the dimly lit city, the corpses and carcasses were everywhere. The buildings crumbled, and the streets were submerged under the polluted water.

Clark carried the Holy Wheel on his back. The Holy Wheel had ancient runes written all over it. It contained a mysterious power of incredible force. The Ocean Demons dared not go near him.

Clark grinned smugly and laughed at Mo Fan. “Only fools assume they have achieved the peak in their cultivation path. Unbeknownst to them, they must cross the Cloud Temple before reaching the mountain peak. The Holy City angels are precisely the ones who inhabit the Cloud Temple and take charge of the world!”

However, Clark’s pride did not last for long.

Originally, he thought his Holy Wheel could suppress Mo Fan’s power, and that Mo Fan would tremble in fear like a child before him.

Little did Clark know that Mo Fan had, instead, appeared in another form. Mo Fan gave off a bizarre, holy but evil aura. Clark was shocked!

The black flames that had previously shrouded the universe came from Mo Fan!

His hair swayed in black flames. His skin was in black molten fire. His eyes, face, body, and his arms were ablaze in black flames.

For a moment, Clark felt as though Mo Fan was the Flame Demon King from hell, while he was a Holy Flame Boy descended from the sun!

The dark world was filled with icy cold air. The atmosphere was strange. It gave one goosebumps and caused one to break out in cold sweat.

The fire power surged. It was blazing hot. One would melt rapidly under such scorching heat.

The repulsive energy combined perfectly and was fully demonstrated on a Mage. This sight was incredible!

A wide grin appeared in the middle of the black flames. Even though Clark was a Forbidden Mage, he could not help but take a few steps back in alarm.

The black flames spread and covered Clark’s surroundings. Mixed-blood Clark was about to spin his Holy Wheel when he noticed his surroundings had been engulfed by the evil black flames.

The city disappeared once again. Clark fell into Mo Fan’s Absolute Forbidden Realm. The realm resembled a massive hell with multiple levels. Clark could not break free from it.

Clark looked solemn. According to the information given to him, Wei Guang was an excellent Fire Element Mage. His Fire Element was orthodox and was purple in color.

However, the flames that Clark confronted were not orthodox. They were evil and frightening. It looked like it had fused with other elements. As a result, the black flames became more aggressive and powerful. The spin of the Holy Wheel was protected by sacred runes, but the black flames engulfed it!

‘What sort of power is that?’ Clark wondered.

Clark tried to work around the black flames. He had never encountered such Fire Element power. If it had not been for the fact that he was a Forbidden Mage, he could not have possibly held his own against such an attack!

“Holy Wheel Light Cut!”

The Holy Wheel spun. Sword light that was hundreds of times more powerful than the Holy Absolute Sword appeared. It slashed the surrounding recklessly.

Clark fought back. He wanted to kill Mo Fan as soon as possible.

However, Mo Fan’s ability was much stronger than Clark had imagined.

A Holy Wheel appeared behind Mo Fan. However, the Holy Wheel was entirely made up of black flames. The Holy Wheel was engraved with dense black runes…

The Holy Wheel in black flames surrounded Mo Fan and formed a layer of protection around him. Mo Fan cast the exact same spell as Clark’s. However, Mo Fan’s power fused with the Holy Wheel in black flames!

Clark was dumbfounded.

Mo Fan’s holy runes held back Clark’s slashes. Clark wondered how Mo Fan had mastered the same spell as him. After all, Mo Fan was not a Mage from the Holy City.

Clark noticed something. He looked into one of Mo Fan’s eyes begrudgingly.

‘He’s using the method of Seal and Chao Element power!’ Clark was not an idiot. He was, after all, a Forbidden Mage. He soon found out the reason Mo Fan was able to cast the same spell as him.

Mo Fan used the Chaos Element power!

He used the Chaos Element power and “sealed” Clark’s previous spell. Mo Fan then used his black flames to recreate a similar Holy Wheel!

Mo Fan grinned. The cultivation for all his elements had reached its peak. He could cast the elements alternately and freely during a battle. He could use the special ability in every element to complement and strengthen one another.

The Holy Wheel was a powerful spell. Mo Fan had previously seen the mages in the Holy City cast that spell.

Hence, Mo Fan cast the same spell. The spell would become one of his own in the future.

It was a Sealing Spell!

This was one of the Chaos Element powers that Mo Fan had mastered when he practiced his cultivation behind closed doors. He had refined the Cross Seal Formation which he had previously learned from the Federal Army in Andeas.

Mo Fan called it the Eye of the Seal.

Since he could copy his own magic and use it to produce a secondary casting effect, he thought he could do the same by copying someone else’s magic for his own use.

The use of the Chaos Whirlpool reversal could cause the enemy’s magic to bounce back. Copying someone else’s ability and magic was entirely a different concept.

On top of that, Mo Fan used his fusion ability to fuse the Chaos Element with his other elements. The Holy Wheel in black flames was the outcome of this fusion!

Chapter 2931: The Forbidden Magic Bell

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Holy Wheel spun. The black sacred runes were ablaze in flames. They resembled poetry lines that had been imprinted on the air barrier and contained some sort of ancient evil power.

It was similar to the complete connection between the Star Son and the Star Pattern. When the flaming words and sentences were read out, a terrifying power was unleashed like the blazing sun. It engulfed each and every dark corner!

The Holy Wheel itself was the power of light. After Mo Fan transformed it into darkness and flames, its poetry flaming power was reduced to nothing. It covered the sky and the earth.

Hoot! Hoot! Hoot!

Like God chanting the words of destruction in this world. The clear, divine rhythm rang out in the sky above the city. The next moment, a raging black, destructive flame swept over the prosperous and noisy place. The black, blazing flames shone brightly in the universe, and it was as bright as the stars in the sky. A savage-looking, smiling face appeared in the middle of the flames.

The Holy Shadow Apostle, Clark, was trapped in the world of black flames. He tried hard to break free of Mo Fan’s destructive and suppressive force. However, no matter how far Clark fled from Mo Fan, he always saw Mo Fan’s cruel smile behind him, as if he was just a puppet to Mo Fan.

Clark was shocked. His opponent’s Fire Element power exceeded his expectations. Clark wondered if this was Wei Guang’s Forbidden God’s gift.

If Wei Guang’s Forbidden Curse had not been sealed and he had managed to cast a forbidden spell, Clark stood no chance to fight back!

Clark tried to keep his cool. He looked around. The surrounding areas had been engulfed by the black flames and Holy Wheel’s destructive poetry. He recalled that those poems came from the Holy Wheel’s sacred runes. His opponent used one of the Holy Wheel’s abilities. However, the power unleashed through the black flames was different. Clark even felt as if he was the one who had stolen the Holy Wheel spell, while his opponent was the true master of the Holy Wheel.

“God’s gift!”

“Action Precognition!”

Clark’s eyes changed into an incandescent light. His pupils turned blindingly white.

He stared at Mo Fan with his incandescent pupils. He found Mo Fan’s figure in the middle of the endless black flames.

Through his incandescent pupils, he noticed Mo Fan was not demonized. He noticed a Fire Holy Spirit that lived within Mo Fan. The Holy Spirit granted Mo Fan the supernatural flaming power.

Mo Fan’s black flames were bizarre, as if it was a fusion of two different elements.

Mo Fan had mastered Fire of Heaven Seed, which was a Great Heaven Seed. The Absolute Forbidden Realm came from the Great Heaven Seed, that was how Clark was dragged into the flaming hell.

“Is this the Fusion Magic? Hasn’t it already disappeared from this world?” Clark cried out in surprise.

“Sh*t!” Clark screamed and retreated.

He withdrew at least one kilometer away from Mo Fan. A silver lightning struck the earth. The moment the silver chain touched an object, more silver lightning spread to the surroundings. On top of that, the lightning could cross space. Even though the lightning blasted one kilometer away from Clark, it reached him within the blink of an eye!

‘What sort of strange power is this?!’ he wondered. ‘Lightning that spreads within an instant!’

1

The movement of lightning itself was fast. After it had been given the ability to spread in an instant, it was even more difficult to avoid it.

Moreover, the cracks of lightning that had spread to other directions seemed to become aware and moved toward Clark.

The propagation of lightning followed a pattern. It moved along certain substances, the vapor in the air, or areas with dense Lightning Element. However, the silver lightning moved like a living being. It ran after its target!

When the lightning in the sky struck the earth, silver lightning roses bloomed all over the land. The lightning roses bloomed and unleashed dense lightning flower thorns. The lightning flower and rain thorns pierced, leapt, and twisted before swarming toward Clark.

If it had not been for the fact that Clark had cast the Action Precognition, he could not have possibly escaped the silver lightning rose area!

“Space Element and Lightning Element!” Clark identified the elements from the magic spell.

His heart sank. His opponent’s ability was somewhat odd but very versatile. Without casting a forbidden spell, it would be hard to take his opponent down.

‘I can’t waste time any longer!’ Clark thought to himself. It looked like he had to cast a forbidden spell to subdue his opponent.

Mo Fan launched a raging attack. Clark avoided his attacks with his God’s gift.

Clark’s Forbidden God’s gift was Precognition. He could foresee his opponent’s next move and the trajectory of the element’s movement. He could predict the substances that could threaten him. His precognition power allowed him to avoid his opponent’s attacks and restrictions.

His ability was much more powerful than the Dangerous Precognition. Most of the time, the Dangerous Precognition was a temporary reaction. However, Clark’s Precognition allowed him to foresee events that followed continuously.

Although his opponent was very powerful, he had not reached the Forbidden Curse level. Clark was still able to dodge his opponent’s attack with the use of Precognition.

With the help of Action Precognition, Clark began to cast a forbidden spell.

Buzz!

A heavy, ancient magic bell rang above Mo Fan’s head suddenly.

Mo Fan felt as if he was trapped inside an ancient bell. He could not break free of the magic bell’s power regardless of his speed and strength.

“Is this the Forbidden Cage?”

The cage was used only before the execution of death. It was a terrifying, soul-trapping power during the execution of a forbidden spell.

Mo Fan did not expect Clark to truly be a Forbidden Mage that could cast a forbidden spell independently. Mo Fan also had not expected him to simply cast a forbidden spell on this land swarmed by the Ocean Demons!

“You’re in Magic City! Have you thought of the consequences of casting a forbidden spell in this place?” Mo Fan glared at Clark.

Casting a forbidden spell would not only lead to an unrecoverable damage to the land in the Magic City, but it would also awaken the emperor-level Demon Lords from their deep slumber. Even though the great battle in the Magic City was over, the Demon Lords had not left the city. They hid in the underground sewage in the Magic City and Pudong sea area to manipulate the Ocean Demon hordes and Ocean Demon empire.

It seemed to have formed a certain kind of balance in the past one year. If a Forbidden Mage did not appear in the land, the Demon Lords would not reveal themselves.

The appearance of the Demon Lords would mean another battle in the Magic City. The Demon Lords would gather. Similarly, the Forbidden Mages would have no choice but to gather and fight them!

However, the Magic City could no longer withstand another wave of great destruction. The earth, air, water, and sky needed time to recover. If they continued to destroy the city, everything on the land would become lifeless. Both humans and the Ocean Demons could not survive another war!

Humans and the Ocean Demons were living beings. The true destruction was when a resource-rich land turned into a wasteland!

The battle between the Forbidden Mages and the emperor-level Ocean Demons must not be triggered once more!

Even though Clark came from the Holy City and was a foreigner, he must be aware of it!

“Are you trying to tell me about the Forbidden Curse Convention? We’re the one who set the convention.” Clark laughed wickedly.

Chapter 2932: Admit Defeat

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Evil and terrifying powers had ruled the world for a long time. If they fully complied with the Forbidden Curse Convention, they could not get rid of the evil and heretic forces.

Moreover, the Holy Shadow Apostle had the right to cast a forbidden spell without reporting to the Forbidden Curse Association. This was the Holy Shadow’s privilege!

“Do you know what happened to this city before?” Mo Fan’s gaze was razor sharp.

“I don’t care. All I care about is to drag you back to the Holy City.” Clark pointed at Mo Fan.

The Forbidden Cage grew increasingly strong. Its imposing aura spread several kilometers away. If there were Demon Lords nearby, they would certainly charge at them with the intent to murder.

Mo Fan sucked in a deep breath. The forbidden spell was threatening. Mo Fan had to hold the spell back with his Black Dragon Armor.

What concerned Mo Fan was not his own survival but the survival of Magic City.

The fortress plan had been executed for only a year. They had gradually wiped out the Ocean Demons. Many people had paid a heavy price. Even though the Magic City was now in a dilapidated state no one wanted to give the place up.

However, all their efforts would probably be in vain all because of Clark!

“I’ll remember you for what you did today, Holy Shadow Apostle Clark. When I become a Forbidden Mage, I’ll cut your head off!” said Mo Fan.

“Hahaha! Do you really think…” Clark laughed disdainfully and then stopped. He noticed that Mo Fan was no longer in the Forbidden Cage.

A moment ago, Clark had heard Mo Fan’s voice. ‘How did he disappear in the blink of an eye?!’ Clark’s Forbidden Cage could trap a soul, even. So, how had Mo Fan escaped?

“D*mn it! You can’t escape from me!”

Clark flew into a fit of rage. He ran after Mo Fan by tracing his wisp of aura. The forbidden spell gradually diminished, as if an impending terrifying thunderstorm had vanished instantly. The aura slowly faded.

Clark ran after Mo Fan. When the two were around, the wild beasts had gone quiet. After they left, their roars were heard once again inside the dimly lit city.

Clark looked for Mo Fan but couldn’t find him.

The Forbidden Cage could absolutely entrap its target. Even though it could not restrict one’s movement, no matter where one was, one would be pulled back into the Forbidden Cage by a forbidden force, like an inescapable giant space quicksand.

Clark was not surprised that his opponent had escaped from him. After all, his opponent was a Forbidden Mage, too. Clark had to admit that his opponent had been quite strong. He could have been defeated if he hadn’t used his forbidden spell. Clark was relieved that Wei Guang’s forbidden spell had been sealed.

..…

The darkness spread. Mo Fan’s figure gradually appeared in the area that had previously been covered by the Forbidden Cage.

He had not escaped very far. He had disappeared into the Dark Space. With his current spiritual realm and dark cultivation, the Dark Space allowed him to circumvent all the elemental destruction. It also enabled him to break free of the soul-trapping effect, including breaking free of the Forbidden Cage itself.

Fortunately, Clark was not a Great Forbidden Mage. Otherwise, Mo Fan probably could not escape from him even if he hid inside the Dark Space. Mo Fan was unsure if he could hold back Clark’s forbidden spell in his current state.

Mo Fan reasoned that if he combined Dark Element, Space Element, Rock Element, and Chaos Element powers with the Black Dragon Magic Armor containing the Black Dragon Soul, he could survive Clark’s attack.

1

Regardless, he should not have simply tried out his skill with a Forbidden Mage!

After practicing his cultivation behind closed doors for a long period of time, Mo Fan had grown overconfident. Little did he know that he would bump into a crazy Forbidden Mage who wanted to kill him. Why was Clark so annoying?

Mo Fan sighed. “My roast manatee is burned.” He returned to the place where he had been roasting. When he saw that his manatee meat had become charcoal black, he had no mood to cook anymore

“If I only knew I could reach this realm so soon, I would have kept the Earth Fire Crystal by all means. By now, I would have had the chance of becoming a Fire Element Forbidden Mage, instead of Wei Guang.”

Mo Fan recalled the name. “What did he do to get hunted by the Holy City, anyway? The Holy City doesn’t issue a wanted notice openly. I suppose it must be something hidden from the public.”

“Anyway, I have to go back to Ding City first and get a pen name from Hong Wu. Hopefully, he found an Earth Crystal that is suitable for me.”

…

Mo Fan had absorbed the Sacred Totem Beast’s energy. He had also digested the remaining Underground Holy Spring. He had basically completed the cultivation of seven elements. His Fire Element and Shadow Element had reached an ethereal realm. They were very different and powerful compared to their previous state.

Rumors about the Semi-Forbidden Curse were circulating in the Forbidden Curse Association

Semi-Forbidden Curse meant that one of the elements had exceeded the super-level and was moving toward the Forbidden Curse level. However, it had not reached that level yet.

The Semi-Forbidden Curse was much more powerful than the super-level. Basically, those with Semi-Forbidden Curse cultivation could defeat mages that had completed four elements. A Semi-Forbidden Mage usually owned a Heaven Seed. The Heaven Seed was an important symbol to determine if a mage could progress to the Forbidden Curse level.

Mo Fan’s Shadow Element had surpassed his Lightning Element and dabbled into this realm. He guessed this was related to his journey to the Dark Plane and Dark Source.

He lacked a Heaven Seed for the Lightning Element. Hence, it still had not broken through that barrier.

Mo Fan owned a Great Heaven Seed for the Fire Element. With the awakened mysterious feather of the Sacred Totem Beast, his Fire Element was ready to break through to the Forbidden Curse level. There was only one thing lacking, an Earth Crystal with fire attribute.

Even though his other elements had not reached the semi-forbidden level, Mo Fan’s power was far beyond super level. The increase in the level of his other elements had made his Fusion Magic more powerful.

Mo Fan’s spiritual realm for his Space Element had reached the peak of the ninth grade. With the cooperation of his dragon sense, he could cast a tenth-realm spell.

However, the problem was that the tenth grade did not exist in the spiritual realm. The ninth grade was the apex for everyone.

Mo Fan’s spiritual realm was completely different from the other Mages. He could strike Mages below Forbidden Curse level by using Space Element alone.

His Summoning Element had become even more terrifying! The types of summoned creatures were based on the level of cultivation and spirituality.

Mo Fan had achieved the tenth realm for his spirituality. He could fuse the Semi-Forbidden Curse with the Fire Element and Shadow Element.

Even Mo Fan had no idea what type of creature he could summon from the plane!

The Earth Element had quadruple side effects!

Yu Shishi had previously fooled Mo Fan. She had him exchange it with his Tianshan Snow Lotus. Mo Fan was reluctant. However, at that moment, Mo Fan felt the greatness of the power with quadruple side effects!

The Heaven Seed Domain, the Heaven Seed Side Effect, and the Heaven Seed Absolute Forbidden Realm…

Mo Fan could cast the spell of the Kingdom of Sand, Earth Heavy Armor, without transforming into demon form.

If not for his concerns for Magic City’s fortress plan, Mo Fan would have continued the fight with Clark.

He had many trump cards, so it would not be a one-sided match in fighting a young Forbidden Mage with a single element.

Of course, he had to be careful not to give his opponent a chance to cast a forbidden spell. The forbidden spell was truly terrifying!

Chapter 2933: Warm Season

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The weather was warm. Many flowers bloomed on the withered land. The nutrients in the soil were stored up due to the winter season. When the climate was suitable for the plants to grow, the flowers bloomed. They were large and very colorful. When Mo Fan flew in the sky, he smelled the fragrance of the flower as the wind blew.

‘Was the cold finally over?’

They thought the cold would last for many years. They did not expect the cold to end so soon.

Humans should not simply give up hope. Even though they were trapped in a freezing world, it was not really that scary, after all. If they adapted to the weather and waited for the cold weather to pass, all the hardship would naturally come to an end.

Mo Fan was glad that the land thrived once again. After the ice and snow melted, the resulting stream water was purer than ever. The land and forest were more fertile than before. On top of that, humans became tougher and stronger compared to the times when they lived in the big cities.

The Mages no longer did their jobs only to earn a living. Similarly, the residents did not stay in their comfort zone. They girded up their loins and faced the crisis and natural disasters together.

…

When Mo Fan returned to the Ding City, he noticed that the hardworking Plant Element Mages had turned the barren, rocky city into a Hanging Garden of Babylon. The streets and roads were decorated with different colors of peonies and azaleas. Some of the flowers bloomed in clusters at the street corners, and some scattered on the alley walls.

Mo Fan’s courtyard was planted with laurel trees. The laurel trees usually gave off a strong fragrance, and some people felt uncomfortable with its scent. However, the laurel trees in the courtyard gave off a very light fragrance. The fragrance of the laurel trees was so light that one could only sense its unique smell when they were close enough.

Mo Fan walked into the courtyard and saw that Tao Jing was changing the utensils. She wore a knee-length dress and high heels, revealing her white, slender calves.

“You don’t have to bring me food anymore. I’ve finished practicing my cultivation,” said Mo Fan as he walked over to Tao Jing.

Tao Jing turned around. She stared at him in confusion. Mo Fan had a scruffy beard, and long hair. Even so, he still wore a white shirt.

“You should clean up and eat. I almost poured the leftover dishes into your bowl,” said Tao Jing.

Mo Fan scratched his head in embarrassment. No wonder Clark had mistaken him for Wei Guang. Mo Fan had gained fame in the country. The reason he had been mistaken for another person was because of his appearance which had changed because he had spent a year in cultivation behind closed doors.

“I’ll find a shop at the back of the street. Thank you for taking care of me for so long. Your food was great” Mo Fan smiled.

“My family rears two large Huskies. They don’t eat dog food. We eat homemade food. Since I have to prepare food for them anyway, I don’t mind preparing one more portion.” Tao Jing smiled warmly.

Mo Fan walked out of the courtyard.

“By the way, there’s a young lady staying in the backstreet. She has been asking for you. She stays at the hotel next to the barber shop at the end of the street. After you finish grooming yourself, go and find her.” Tao Jing recalled the young lady and reminded Mo Fan about her.

“A young lady?” Mo Fan tried very hard to recall which lady he had indebted that caused her to look for him in this place.

That was impossible. He did not simply get into a relationship with any woman. ‘Could Zhao Manyan have used my identity to cheat on someone?’

Mo Fan was puzzled. He went to cut his hair. He sent a message to his friends and informed them that he had finally finished practicing his cultivation!

…

“Mr. Tony, just cut it short.”

“Your long hair and beard brought out your own kind of ../style. Do you want me to design a haircut for you that will take the world by storm? It’s going to be exclusively for you. It will capture everyone’s attention.”

“I don’t need any superfluous adornment for my handsome face. That will only cover up my natural beauty.”

“You’re quite funny.”

Mr. Tony took out a razor and cut his hair. He shaved Mo Fan’s thick beard, too. The entire process took Mr. Tony less than five minutes. After the haircut, Mo Fan thought he resembled Hanamichi Sakuragi, especially if he chose to dye his hair red.

1

The ladies inside the barber shop could not stop themselves from looking at Mo Fan. His short and clean hair made him look spirited, energetic, and handsome!

Mo Fan looked into the mirror and was satisfied with his haircut. A single word was sufficient to sum up his life.

“Hmm… You look like… Are you Mo Fan?” Mr. Tony cried out in surprise.

“Correct! Is there a discount for me?” Mo fan chuckled.

“The fee is $78. I don’t offer discounts to my customers. Can you give me your signature? Please sign it using your flames. That’ll be cool,” Mr. Tony said excitedly.

1

“With that skill of yours, is it even worth $78?!”

Mr. Tony was unrelenting. He got Mo Fan’s signature in flames and also the 78$ for the haircut.

The moment Mo Fan walked out of the barber shop, he thought he had lost miserably to Mr. Tony. He was about to walk to the hotel to see the young lady who had been looking for him, but he ran into someone familiar. It was Zhou Donghao.

Zhou Donghao looked up to see Mo Fan and passed by without a word.

The next moment, he turned around and pointed at Mo Fan in shock. “M-Mo Fan!” Zhou Donghao exclaimed. The crowd on the street turned to them.

Most of the residents in the Ding City came from the Magic City. They were certainly aware of Mo Fan’s identity. He was none other than the hero who had come to the rescue with the Azure Dragon!

Mo Fan quickly dragged Zhou Donghao into the hotel lest he stirred up a commotion.

“I finished practicing my cultivation, I heard someone was looking for me, so I came over to see what’s going on,” said Mo Fan.

“Oh, I almost forgot. When Xiao Lan first arrived at Ding City, she said she came to look for you...” Zhou Donghao heaved a sorrowful sigh. “I should have known this. At the end of the day, Xiao Lan still admires you. She rejected me even after thirty-six confessions.”

‘Thirty-six confessions?!’ It was no wonder Zhou Donghao looked so dejected.

Zhou Donghao took Mo Fan to Xiao Lan. She was in the tea house.

She was dressed decently. She looked like an ordinary young lady at first glance. However, Mo Fan sensed her magic aura. It was clear that she had a high level of cultivation.

Mo Fan had never seen her before. According to Zhou Donghao, she had waited for a long time to meet him.

“Are you Mo Fan?” asked Yan Lan.

“Yes, I am. And you are?”

“I’m Yan Lan. There’s something I want to talk to you about. It’s about Mu Ningxue…” Before Mo Fan could say anything, Yan Lan interrupted solemnly, “Please don’t disturb her at the moment. She’ll return when the time is right.”

Chapter 2934: The Key Figure

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

For a moment, Mo Fan thought Mu Ningxue was angry with him. Otherwise, why would she request not to be disturbed?

After listening to Yan Lan’s explanation, Mo Fan’s emotions were complicated.

He was glad that Mu Ningxue was not angry at him. But he was sad that he could not be with her when she was out there in the inaccessible and extremely cold world.

“You don’t have to explain it to me. I understand,” said Mo Fan.

Yan Lan was confused seeing Mo Fan handle the information so calmly.

When Mu Ningxue explained things to her, she had emphasized to Yan Lan that Mo Fan was a reckless person. So, she had made Yan Lan promise not to tell him that she was in danger. Instead, she had told Yan Lan to only convey that she was in a hostile environment trying to break through her barriers.

“It’s good that you understand. The incident that happened in the Extreme South is too complicated, and it involved a lot of…” Yan Lan let out a long sigh.

Yan Lan did not know much about the incident. All she knew was that she trusted Mu Ningxue. She guessed the reason Mu Ningxue had escaped from the incident was related to the powerful corrupted experts who held supreme positions in the alliance.

“I’m glad that you managed to make it back and inform me about all this. Speaking of which, when I was on my way back yesterday, I bumped into Clark. He said he came from the Holy City and wanted to kill Wei Guang. Did you just mention that Wei Guang was your group leader?” asked Mo Fan.

The moment he mentioned Clark, Yan Lan shuddered. Her face instantly changed!

Clark had killed the Black Panther Summoner and the White Panther Summoner. He had taken Professor Wang back in chains. The recruitment team members were either killed or held under control. If it had not been for Mu Ningxue, Yan Lan would not have been able to return from the Extreme South Land alive.

Even to this day, Yan Lan dared not reveal her true face and name. Even though she had come back to her country and was aware that Mo Fan stayed near her, she had to keep herself well hidden.

“They refused to spare us.” Yan Lan looked sad.

“The way the Holy City does things is always cruel. Regardless of whether the Holy City is truly a centralized extremist, one thing is certain, someone is doing something from the shadows in the name of the Holy City. Thank you for informing me about Mu Ningxue’s current situation. Don’t worry, I won’t rush to the Extreme South Land,” said Mo Fan to assure her.

Even though Mo Fan wished he was at Mu Ningxue’s side, he would only become a burden to her if he went to the Extreme South Land recklessly.

Mo Fan did not possess Mu Ningxue’s special ability. He would only be tortured by the cold and become half dead, just like the other Mages.

Even if he found Mu Ningxue, she would only be distracted trying to keep him alive.

Since she had made up her mind, there was no need for Mo Fan to attempt to change her decision.

However, this did not mean that Mo Fan would just stand by and do nothing. He had to figure out the entire situation.

The first thing he had to do was to ensure the safety of the group members who had gone to the Extreme South Land with Mu Ningxue.

The Holy City had assigned someone to kill Wei Guang and Yan Lan. They had secretly issued the wanted notice. They only had one purpose for doing so. They wanted to kill those who had witnessed the incident after which there would be no one to contradict their words and they could add criminal charges to Mu Ningxue’s name.

The alliance and the Holy City had not issued any announcement about recruiting Mu Ningxue. It meant that they had some concerns with them. Wei Guang and Yan Lan would mostly be their concerns for now.

“So, the Holy Shadow Apostle thought you were Wei Guang, huh?” Yan Lan asked in surprise.

Yan Lan knew about Clark’s power. When he killed the White Panther Summoner and the Black Panther Summoner, the two brothers lacked the ability to fight back. Even the great Mage, Li Wenbin, had been defeated before he could even cast a spell.

‘If Clark had mistaken Mo Fan for Wei Guang, wasn’t Mo Fan in danger?’ Yan Lan thought. She looked at him carefully. He didn’t seem to be hurt at all.

“Did someone save you?” asked Yan Lan.

“Of course not. I beat him and then escaped when he cast his forbidden spell,” said Mo Fan.

“That’s impossible! Clark is a Forbidden Mage who can cast an independent forbidden spell. You have to be very careful. He possesses an odd ability and can trace you.” Yan Lan looked pale.

She vividly remembered how the Black Panther Summoner and White Panther Summoner were murdered.

If it had not been Mu Ningxue’s sudden appearance, she and Wei Guang would not have survived.

“I’m going to the Forbidden Curse Association later. Come with me. It’s pointless to keep hiding from the issue. Since the Holy City members don’t dare to announce it openly, we can pressure them to do so.”

Yan Lan and Wei Guang had hidden themselves well. But if Clark found them, they were as good as dead.

It would be difficult to survive a killer who was a Forbidden Mage. Therefore, Mo Fan wanted to raise public awareness with the help of the community.

Raising public awareness was the only way to deter the powerful members of the Holy City.

They had the audacity to do anything, but they dared not become the world’s enemy openly.

“But some of the alliance members are from China’s Forbidden Curse Association, and they work for them. How can we tell if they can be trusted?” Yan Lan asked with concern.

“We have to find someone that we can trust, then,” said Mo Fan. “Mu Ningxue asked you to look for me partly because she wants me to ensure your safety, too. Don’t worry.”

Yan Lan nodded.

…

Things were complicated. Mo Fan had to figure out a way.

Wei Guang was the key figure. Yan Lan did not know much about the exact situation. She happened to become one of the targets, and Mu Ningxue had saved her from Clark. Wei Guang was the only one who was aware of the whole truth.

Mu Ningxue tried to warn Mo Fan that Yan Lan and Wei Guang were the two key figures in that incident by having Yan Lan to look for him. Therefore, Mo Fan had to ensure their safety to protect Mu Ningxue.

Mo Fan took Yan Lan to the Magic Association at Ding City.

They waited outside for a while before the red, wooden door opened. Mo Fan saw a familiar figure come out of President Hong Wu’s office. Yan Lan stood at the side. When she saw the figure, her face turned as pale as a ghost!

“Mo Fan, why are you here?” President Hong Wu smiled warmly at him. “Since you are here already, let me introduce you to someone. This is the Holy City’s Able Angel, Clark. He’s also my sister’s son from Italy. Clark, this is Mo Fan, the Totem Beast Hero whom I mentioned before. He’s the one who summoned the Sacred Totem Beast and gave us a ray of hope in the battle in Magic City.” He could not wait to introduce his nephew to Mo Fan.

“We met each other yesterday. It looks like fate brought us together again.” Clark smirked.

Mo Fan chuckled. ‘Such a small world. Pity I have to see this numbskull again!’

“Have you met before?” asked President Hong Wu, confused.

“Yes. I went to the Magic City yesterday and roasted meat in the ruins. The d*uchebag smelled the aroma, then fought with me for the food,” said Mo Fan.

Chapter 2935: Mo Fan, Don’t Act Impulsively

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Hahahaha, young people always speak their minds. If old men like us compare him to a wild dog, we’ll be immensely hated,” said President Hong Wu.

“Uncle, I’ll leave first. I’m glad to meet such an amazing young Chinese man here,” said Clark.

Clark approached Mo Fan, but he looked at Yan Lan with contempt and mockery in his eyes. He looked at her as though to force her to remember how he had murdered her companions.

Yan Lan stood behind Mo Fan. She was too scared to say a word.

Clark smiled and walked past Mo Fan. He slowly left the office along the wooden spiral staircase. His leather shoes tapped against the floor as he walked.

President Hong Wu stopped smiling. He stared at Mo Fan and frowned. “Do you two have bad blood?”

“He is your nephew? I fought against him in the Magic City yesterday, and he almost used the Destructive Forbidden Curse on me. I’m sure you know the consequences of using the Destructive Forbidden Curse in the Magic City,” Mo Fan said.

“He came to tell me about this today. The Forbidden Mage, who ranks in the Holy City as an angel, has the privilege of using the Forbidden Curse. Even though I’m the president of the Magic Association, I can’t do anything about it.” President Hong Wu signaled Mo Fan to take this conversation into his office.

Mo Fan and Yan Lan entered President Hong Wu’s office. President Hong Wu closed the door. An Isolation Barrier was on the door, so the room was soundproof.

Yan Lan sat on a chair with her head lowered.

After knowing about President Hong Wu’s relationship with Clark, she could not trust him even though he was the president of the most prestigious China Magic Association.

However, Mo Fan was of a different opinion.

Clark happened to be related to President Hong Wu, but that did not mean he would protect him unconditionally. There was , of course, the possibility that President Hong Wu would choose to maintain a good relationship with the alliance and Holy City and betray them.

“President Hong Wu, do you know about Mu Ningxue’s recruitment?” Mo Fan got straight to the point.

President Hong Wu shook his head. “I’m the president of the Oriental Pearl Tower, but I’m not the head of the Forbidden Curse Association. The Forbidden Curse Association of the Imperial City has been taking care of this matter. As you’re aware, we retreated to Ding City, so we had been more focused on managing Ding City and Magic City.”

“But you seem to know what went on behind the scenes,” said Mo Fan.

“I also just learned that Mu Ningxue had a conflict with Mu Rong in the Extreme South Land, and Mu Ningxue killed Mu Rong with an evil bow. I heard that it is related to the years of grievances between Mu Ningxue and the Mu family,” said President Hong Wu.

Mo Fan frowned, but Yan Lan was surprised.

“I see. She has already been condemned,” Mo Fan said gravely.

“We can’t handle this matter recklessly. We know your relationship with Mu Ningxue. Even so, you can’t simply challenge the majesty of the Holy City,” said President Hong Wu.

“What do you suggest?” Mo Fan asked.

“I have sent someone to find the person in charge of the Forbidden Curse Association in the Imperial Capital. Mu Ningxue is a member of the Magic Association. Even if she is accused of murdering a Forbidden Mage, we have the right to argue her case. Of course, the indictment from the Holy City has not been made publicly, which means there are still many things that the Holy City and the alliance have not figured out. They can’t issue a global bounty for the time being,” said President Hong Wu.

“After your nephew kills everyone who traveled with Mu Ningxue, they will issue a public bounty,” said Mo Fan.

“I can prove—” Yan Lan interrupted.

Mo Fan gave Yan Lan a signal with his eyes, and Yan Lan immediately stopped talking.

President Hong Wu noticed their interaction. He looked at Mo Fan again and sighed. “Mo Fan, you still don’t believe me. I know we had our differences in the Magic City—”

“President Hong Wu, this is a different matter. Although I would never doubt your principles of righteousness, a person’s professional ethics and impartialness may not directly correlate with this noble quality,” said Mo Fan.

“Young people are always so direct. If it were another person saying this to me, I would definitely kick him out,” said President Hong Wu.

“President Hong Wu, what do you plan to do?” Mo Fan asked.

“Just like you, I need to find out the truth. Regardless, Mu Ningxue is a member of the China Magic Association. As the president, I’m obliged to protect all her rights,” said President Hong Wu.

“Glad to hear that.” Mo Fan just wanted to know the stance of the China Magic Association.

“I’ve heard about what happened in Dubai. Mo Fan, the Holy City is different from Su Lu. This time, you can’t act impulsively no matter what,” President Hong Wu warned Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had challenged the chairman of the Asian Magic Association because of Feng Zhoulong.

Despite the Five Continents Magic Association’s attempts to block this news and make up countless stories about what happened in Dubai, things could not completely settle down.

Mo Fan was already on the blacklist of the Five Continents Magic Association.

Mo Fan was likely to stand against the Five Continents Magic Association because of what happened to Mu Ningxue.

He was indeed a legendary person in China, but he was a dangerous person internationally. The top management of the Five Continents Magic Association had been paying attention to him for a long time.

China was constantly fighting with demons. Mountain demons were attacking the country, and Ocean Demons were continuing their invasion. If Mo Fan did something outrageous and was caught by high-level international executives, China would have difficulty mobilizing enough power to defend him.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I can’t summon the Azure Dragon to kill the people in the Holy City if I have to fight them.” Mo Fan smiled.

Mo Fan’s smile sent a chill up President Hong Wu’s spine. This was what President Hong Wu was worried about!

“The Holy City and the alliance are not as shady as you think. A formal pleading is required for Mu Ningxue’s case. This is the only way to prove her innocence and save her,” President Hong Wu said solemnly.

“If it is a formal pleading, I’ll leave it to you, President Hong Wu,” said Mo Fan.

“What about you?”

“Oh, I’ll collect evidence to uncover the truth. Don’t you need that for pleading the case?” Mo Fan answered.

“Anyway, don’t act impulsively. Try to find some trustworthy people to find out who is pushing this matter. We have to find out just who wants Mu Ningxue to be found guilty, and what caused Mu Rong’s death,” said President Hong Wu.

“I get it, President Hong Wu. What about Wei Guang?” Mo Fan asked.

“Wei Guang violated the rules of the China Forbidden Curse Association. Due to his concealment of the recruitment details and public opposition to the alliance, he has been removed from the China Forbidden Curse Association. We’re not sure where he is… ahem, you can find out who removed him.” President Hong Wu suddenly lowered his voice.

Chapter 2936: Members of the Forbidden Curse Association

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“One more thing. If I’m not mistaken, the Fire Element Earth Pistil obtained by Wei Guang was guarded and handed over to the country by those of us in the Fanxue Mountain. Now that I have reached the realm where I can advance to a Forbidden Mage, I wonder if the country will provide me with the same courtesy,” said Mo Fan.

He came to Hong Wu to ask about the Forbidden Mage. Commander Hua once mentioned some things about Forbidden Mages. The country provided Wei Guang with an Earth Pistil, so was Mo Fan also eligible to receive one?

“I’ll submit your application as soon as possible. As you’re aware, the Earth Pistil is something we can’t ask for. Maybe we can’t even find any suitable one for you in the whole country. However, you can rest assured. After all, you have made great contributions to the country and submitted an Earth Pistil. If there is an Earth Pistil that matches your attributes, we’ll immediately give it to you,” said President Hong Wu.

“That still means nothing to me.” Mo Fan rubbed his temples.

“There will be at least one. It’s hard to say when you will receive one. By the way, you still need to make a report once you accept the promotion of being a Forbidden Mage,” said President Hong Wu.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan was puzzled.

“You need to report to the Supreme Magic Association. We are under the jurisdiction of the Asian Magic Association, so you must report to the Asian Magic Association about your current cultivation situation. The Country and Magic Association will report to the Asian Magic Association that we have another Mage in line when we obtain the Earth Pistil,” President Hong Wu explained to Mo Fan.

“In other words, I need the permission of the Asian Magic Association to become a Forbidden Mage.” Mo Fan raised his eyebrows.

“Yes.”

Becoming a Forbidden Mage was not simply a matter of cultivation level and good luck but it also depended on the approval of the Supreme Magic Association. Such requirements were not needed on any previous level of cultivation.

“Forbidden Curse is a level that should not exist. Becoming a Forbidden Mage is equivalent to losing oneself. One should not think that the stronger you get, the freer you become. Therefore, I hope you think twice regarding Mu Ningxue’s matter. You must be careful,” President Hong Wu warned him.

“Is there any situation that does not need to be reported to the Supreme Magic Association?” Mo Fan asked.

“You can ask Dean Xiao about this. Dean Xiao is not a registered Forbidden Mage. However, he had to join the China Forbidden Curse Association and become an official member. Some powerhouses in this world have completed the rebirth on their own and have become Forbidden Mages. However, once these powerhouses expose their power as a Forbidden Mage, they will be compulsorily inducted under the Forbidden Curse Association. Otherwise, the Five Continents Magic Association and Holy City will punish them,” said President Hong Wu.

“That sounds very constricting. If that is the case, the strongest group of people in this world are basically the members of the Holy City and Supreme Magic Association,” said Mo Fan.

“They have to be domineering. Before the Forbidden Curse Association was fully established, there were too many disasters caused by uncontrolled Forbidden Mages. Although the world is big, there is limited space for those who live in it. Much of the land devastated by the Forbidden Mages is beyond repair. The power of the Forbidden Curse is beyond the magic we usually practice. When such a terrible ability attacks because of some personal grievances, interests, or greed, it is the common people who suffer.” President Hong Wu sighed. Hong Wu had to explain to Mo Fan the stakes of the Forbidden Curse.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t seen those in power abide by the Forbidden Curse Convention. Forget it. We don’t have to worry about that for now. I have other things to deal with, so I’ll leave first,” Mo Fan sighed.

“Don’t act impulsively!” President Hong Wu warned him again.

…

Mo Fan had never once thought that the Magic Association would ever provide him with an Earth Pistil. After President Hong Wu’s explanation, Mo Fan was sure that the Asian Magic Association and Five Continents Magic Association Alliance would never allow him to become a Forbidden Mage.

If they did not want him to become a Forbidden Mage, he could not get an Earth Pistil from the Magic Association. Things were still very complicated.

Even if he had made such a great contribution to the Magic City, many people would choose not to get involved with his case especially if Holy City and alliance were involved.

Mo Fan also understood that no one would be willing to help him if he challenged the Asian Magic Association. In the end, he had only himself to rely on.

“Mo Fan, you don’t quite trust President Hong Wu, do you?” Yan Lan asked softly.

“He is a member of the Forbidden Curse Association. Whether he is trustworthy or not depends on his actions henceforth. It is hard to say whether he is doing his job as the President of the Dongfang Oriental Magic Association or giving me the cold shoulder to avoid conflict with the Supreme Magic Association,” Mo Fan explained calmly.

“Wei Guang might have hidden some things from everybody but it was not to the extent to get him removed directly from the China Forbidden Curse Association. It seems that someone in the China Forbidden Curse Association has colluded with the people of the Holy City and does not intend to let others know the truth of the matter,” said Yan Lan gloomily.

She had not expected things to turn out this way. She had faced the Supreme Magic Association, Holy City, and Five Continents Magic Association Alliance. They stood like the most magnificent mountain in the world, but she was as small as a mosquito. ‘How am I going to face them and protect myself if I do have to go against them?’

Mo Fan looked at Yan Lan. “Don’t worry. We still have other ways. Let’s go to the Holy City for now.”

“Go to the Holy City? Isn’t it the same as throwing ourselves into their trap?” Yan Lan’s face turned pale with fright.

“Don’t worry. There is someone I can trust in the Holy City.”

…

It was useless to rush the matter. Mo Fan did not set off to the Holy City immediately. He went to the Flying Bird Base City to check on Fanxue Mountain.

Fanxue Mountain continued to expand its area like a vigorous beating heart of a city. Fan Xuexin City had gradually become the safest coastal inner area.

Surprisingly, the departure of Mu Ningxue and this matter did not have any impact on Fanxue Mountain for now.

“Someone must have given us some protection,” Mo Fan guessed.

The fact that Fanxue Mountain was not affected at all meant that a bigwig in the country protected it and did not allow people from the Holy City and the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance to go to stir up disputes there for conflicts involving Mu Ningxue. Otherwise, the Holy City and the alliance would have already targeted Fanxue Mountain.

Mo Fan was at ease to see that nothing was troubling Fanxue Mountain for now. If something happened to Fanxue Mountain, Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue would not stay silent.

Chapter 2937: Archangel’s Teacher

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

With the Black Dragon Wing, Mo Fan could save a lot of money on air tickets. Recently, there had been many crises. Despite signs of recovery, the cold wave continued to emerge due to too many conflicts in the past and caused many international flights to be canceled.

The reduced space of living made the boundary between humans and demons continue to be magnified. All the countries were not very optimistic because the balance and containment had changed.

Mo Fan went to the Holy City along Alps Mountain. The Holy City was the same as in the past. It was magical as always. The brilliance of the bright eye hanging over the holy city told people that they were under the gaze of gods all the time.

Mo Fan stepped into the Holy City. As he had expected, he wasn’t allowed to enter.

He was on the Holy City’s gray list.

The dangerous acts that Mo Fan committed internationally made him the target of the Holy Judgment Court. The information about the Azure Dragon and Demon Element should also be on the information boards of some angels in power in the Holy City.

“We’ve met in the Divine City.” Judicator Maule stared at Mo Fan with a razor-sharp gaze.

“I remember. At that time, you regarded me as a heretic, someone who practices Disastrous Art.” Mo Fan looked at the judicator.

“We won’t simply let you enter the Holy City. After all, you have a close relationship with the King of the Undeads, who was executed in the Holy City in the past. Besides, we also have information that you are still very close to the group of Undeads in the Ancient Capital. What you have done is not welcome in the Holy City,” Judicator Maule said firmly.

“A small judicator like you has no right to judge what I do. I have notified someone with more authority. I’m just waiting for her here,” Mo Fan said to Maule.

Judicator Maule looked at Mo Fan like he was a criminal.

“With more authority? You seem to know nothing about the Holy City. Since you are already on the list, you can’t step into the Holy City unless you are carried into the Holy City as a heretic corpse. I swear by my reputation as a judicator that the Holy City is always watching you, so you better be careful,” Judicator Maule said coldly.

Mo Fan stood aside, but he did not care about the aggressive Judicator Maule at all. Yan Lan could feel the unusual aura of the Holy City.

Everyone here, every building, every magic system, barrier, and mysterious structure made people extremely uneasy. It reminded Yan Lan of the panic she felt when the strict teacher on the podium saw through every action she did in school.

“Dismissed!”

A solemn voice rang out. A Holy City’s guard shouted.

There were ring roads, bridges, and important highways leading to various European countries outside the Holy City, but the Holy City did not allow vehicles to pass through. Those who arrived in the Holy City could only enter on foot. There was not much transportation in the Holy City. It maintained its environment similar to the time when it was first created.

A group of people in the city walked over in red clothes, which made them seem solemn and divine. Even the marble pavement they walked on was glowing with a rare luster.

“It’s Archangel Gabriel.”

There were a total of seven Archangels. They represented the highest authority of the Holy City and the symbol of the most mysterious and powerful god in the world.

They surpassed the Five Continents Magic Association. They were otherworldly, and monitored the world all the time.

Those red-clothed angels walked over, and all the Holy Judges, guardians, and residents of the Holy City near the city gate saluted in respect.

The arrogant Judicator Maule lowered his head. He understood the authority of the Archangels. The residents could neglect the Archangels, but he could not.

“No need to salute. I’m here to greet my teacher, “Archangel Gabriel said to everyone with a serene smile.

“Your teacher?” Judicator Maule was puzzled.

‘Was there anyone in this world who could be the teacher of an Archangel? That person must be a veteran angel!’

Judicator Maule looked around to look for the teacher the Archangel was talking about. He saw Archangel Gabriel walking toward the man he had almost kicked out of the city gate!

‘Mo Fan? But he was on the Holy City’s graylist and was a heretic!’

Judicator Maule was stunned. The Archangel was so respected by the whole Holy City. However, she earnestly and respectfully saluted the heretic like a modest student!

‘Was this guy really Archangel Gabriel’s teacher?’

“Sharjah, you didn’t have to bring so many people along. I could find you by myself, but Judicator Male here said I am not allowed to enter the city,” said Mo Fan.

Sharjah glanced at Judicator Maule. Maule’s face darkened. He wanted to explain but did not know how to.

“Please forgive him. He is just performing his duties,” Sharjah said softly.

Judicator Maule relaxed. Although every Archangel was difficult to get along with, they were impartial and incorruptible.

“Recently, there have been a lot of crimes in the Holy City. We need someone like Judicator Maule who can carry out his responsibility to ensure the city’s safety among the mages, some old ladies can’t walk, some drunkards who like to make trouble, and arrogant people who disrespect the Holy City,” Sharjah continued.

Judicator Maule felt as if a heavy object had hit his head. He almost fell to the ground.

He worked so hard to get to this position. As the supreme ruler of the Holy City, how could the Archangel Gabriel abuse her power over a resident of the Holy City who was just doing his job?

“Judicator Maule is under Archangel Michael. Don’t you need to ask him about this transfer?” asked a middle-aged woman in red next to Sharjah.

“Well, you’re right. I should have asked Michael.” Sharjah nodded earnestly. “After asking Michael, you can accompany Maule to the Public Safety Administration.”

The middle-aged woman in the red angel clothes was stunned.

She was not a Holy Judge but a Holy City Apostle who had a chance of becoming an angel!

How could Sharjah transfer her just because she said something that the Archangel might not want to hear?

Sharjah still had a serene smile on her face. She stepped forward and gently held Mo Fan’s arm like he was an elder. At this moment, she was no different from an eager little girl. She had a lot of recent events to share with him.

Chapter 2938: Dragon Egg Shop

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Sharjah was as agile and beautiful as the forest elves in Western fairytales with purple hair. She still looked the same as before, with a unique personality.

She only showed eagerness and passion in the things that piqued her interest. Otherwise, her eyes were like the still surface of a lake without any ripples.

It was difficult to see her eager and enthusiastic because there weren’t many things in this world that interested her.

“You are now an Archangel and rule the Holy City, yet you haven’t changed even a little,” Mo Fan said to Sharjah, who was walking on the street holding his hand.

Sharjah did not care about anyone’s stare, nor did she care about her identity as an Archangel.

“When I needed help, it was not the Holy City but you who came to my aid. When you need my help, I will stand by your side without hesitation.”

“Seems like you already know what happened?”

“Yeah, it’s something that is worth studying, but I didn’t expect that it involved you. When I recall the days I fought with you in the Dark Plane in Dubai, I can’t help but miss those times. I used to think that with your violent temper and my strength, we would join forces and fight against something unknown one day. I didn’t expect that day to come so quickly.” Sharjah smiled.

“It’s probably because the world is a little darker than we thought,” said Mo Fan.

“The world is like grass. The more we yearn for the light, the deeper our roots become. In fact, we can only ensure that the eroded roots won’t break out of the ground,” Sharjah said as she walked. She stared at Yan Lan next to her with purple crystal eyes.

Yan Lan did not say anything and just listened quietly. She was still stunned. When Mo Fan had said he knew someone in the Holy City, she had assumed it might be a resident. She never thought it would be an Archangel.

Not everyone could meet Archangels, let alone receive a warm welcome from them. Yan Lan gradually began to believe in Mo Fan. Perhaps they still had hope.

Sharjah did not go to the temple and dispersed everyone around her. She untied the symbolic angel’s robe and walked around the Holy City with Mo Fan and Yan Lan like ordinary people.

There were many interesting magic shops in the Holy City. The staff in the shops were all magic artisans and apprentices. They always made wonderful accessories and sold them at high prices.

No matter what price they set, tourists from all over the world came to buy it.

As they walked in front of those gorgeous display windows, Mo Fan saw a shop selling dragon eggs. Dragon eggs were kept in isolated containers decorated with gold nests. It looked like it could hatch a dragon any minute.

“Let’s go in and have a look.” Sharjah led Mo Fan inside.

“Is this the legendary gambling egg?” Mo Fan looked at the prices of the dragon eggs.

The eggshells were all different in size, shape, and pattern. Some were cyan, while some were golden blue. Some eggs were huge, but some were only the size of a quail egg. The whole shop was large, and endless customers entered and left. They were all holding monocles near their faces and carefully observing the material and texture of the eggs. It was to identify the breed of the quiet little dragon inside.

“Yes.” Sharjah nodded. She walked to a blue-white little dragon egg that no one cared about. She paid the staff and handed it to Yan Lan. “Since this is our first meeting, here’s a gift for you.”

Yan Lan was puzzled. When she took the blue-white dragon egg with both hands, she immediately felt the little dragon move inside. “Thank you.”

“These dragon eggs from different places, nests, and domestication bases may hatch a low-level Fire-Headed Lizard or a fearless and powerful Red Dragon. Just like gambling stones in Yunnan They might be huge, precious stones or just priceless jade. You never know.”

Mo Fan had also heard about the gambling dragon eggs. The family of Duke Ayleen in Britain created the craze of European dragons, making it the dream of every European to own a real dragon.

In Europe, dragons liked to sleep and reproduced when they had nothing to do. Their eggs were the result of interbreeding. After all, purebred dragons were very rare. Therefore, dragons had countless types of descendants, including Sub-Dragons, Pseudo-Dragons, and Hybrid Dragons.

The industry of dragon eggs gambling was born because of this. Rich people spent a lot of money on dragon eggs, but they ended up with a group of savage lizards. Some people with sharp eyes chose a Sub-Dragon and set foot on the pinnacle of life.

“Europe has become different from the past because of the British dragon-training family,” said Sharjah.

Mo Fan nodded. He knew about it.

Europe had become powerful because of the production of giant dragons, and a group of so-called Dragon Calvary Mages had emerged. These Mages rode and commanded dragons in fights.

People were no longer purely obsessed with esoteric magic and gradually began to use dragon power. The age of magic in Europe was progressing, and the Dragoon Mages would soon become a new powerful group that dominated the world!

“Unfortunately, I still can’t complete the fusion magic without Mr. Feng,” Sharjah said with a gloomy expression.

The era of Dragon Mages would gradually sweep over. At first it was fusion magic. Sharjah was still blaming herself for it.

Despite its derivation from the dragon industry, dragon eggs gambling became a popular trade in Europe. They could imagine the dragon’s influence on the world.

Mo Fan patted Sharjah on the shoulder to comfort her. “Changes are bound to happen. Don’t be disheartened,” said Mo Fan.

“Mr. Mo, the enemy you have to face this time is from the dragon-training family. Lady Karolina’s full name is Karolina Gaia. She supports the dragon gambling industry through the Gaia family. Her wealth and status are at the top of the world,” Sharjah said to Mo Fan.

“Lady Karolina?” Mo Fan made a mental note of the name.

He wondered if this was an important figure. Perhaps she might also be involved in Mu Ningxue’s exile.

Mo Fan did not expect that she would be such an influential person!

Chapter 2939: Angel’s Blacklist

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Sharjah walked with Mo Fan. She glanced at Yan Lan.

Some tourists surrounded Yan Lan because the blue-white dragon egg in her hand had hatched. A cute little dragon’s head with two small protrusions crawled out. It had two little horns.

The horns meant that the little creature was a Sub-Dragon. The staff cheered because the dragon egg had hatched a Sub-Dragon. It was newsworthy. It would increase the popularity of the shop.

Yan Lan did not know what to do. She looked at everyone’s envious and eager eyes. She could not help but be protective toward the little Sub-Dragon that only showed half its head.

Sharjah took Mo Fan to the side and left Yan Lan amidst the people. “Don’t get me wrong.. It’s just that she is an outsider who happened to be involved…”

“I know,” said Mo Fan. He understood her concerns. “But I have to ensure her safety. Mu Ningxue doesn’t want her to suffer because of her.”

“Mr. Mo… have you ever thought that this matter might not be solely directed toward Mu Ningxue?” Sharjah’s tone changed. It was no longer soft and light but turned a bit solemn.

Mo Fan was stunned. ‘If it is not directed at Mu Ningxue? Then…’

“There are seven Archangels in total, and each of them will show up and return to their positions when they think there are hidden dangers in this world. In fact, everything they deal with is the reason why they can ascend to the temple.” Sharjah calmed a bit.

“You can be straightforward,” Mo Fan said to Sharjah.

“As you have seen, Michael stepped on the corpse of the Ancient King who was about to become Hades and ascended to the Holy City. I overthrew the dictatorship of Su Lu, the dark chairman of Asia, and entered the Holy City as an Archangel,” said Sharjah.

Mo Fan thought about it. He knew what Sharjah meant, but it implied that this was all a conspiracy.

“Archangel Ramiel sentenced the Holy Son Wen Tai,” Sharjah continued.

Mo Fan shuddered.

“Mr. Mo, whether these people they got rid of were righteous or evil, they had one thing in common. Their influence or strength threatened the Holy City.” Sharjah was very close to Mo Fan. She was almost whispering.

As one of the Archangels, Sharjah knew she should not simply tell anyone about this. If it were not for Mo Fan, who fought with her in the past, she would never have uttered these words.

“Sharjah, do you mean Mu Ningxue is being targeted by an Archangel who wants to return to their throne in the Holy City?” Mo Fan asked in surprise.

Sharjah shook her head. The purple eyes kept staring at Mo Fan. He took a deep breath. The target of the Archangel was not Mu Ningxue but him!

“The election of the Parthenon Temple was supposed to end at the beginning of this year, but it was postponed for unknown reasons. Elections have been postponed repeatedly. Some people do not want Ye Xinxia to become the goddess of the Parthenon Temple, and others secretly support Izisha. It’s not because they want Izisha to win. They just don’t want to see Ye Xinxia become a goddess,” said Sharjah.

Mo Fan’s breath caught in his throat.

Xinxia was a Saintess. She had a high status in the Parthenon Temple and had an unparalleled appeal in the world. However, the elections had been postponed several times, and Xinxia had not revealed the real reason. Mo Fan thought that the fight within the Parthenon Temple was still going on.

After listening to what Sharjah said, Mo Fan felt suffocated.

“I am targeted by an Archangel because they firmly believe I am a heretic that needs to be dealt with?” Mo Fan suddenly realized why the Holy Judgment Court had not cleared his name as a heretic after all he had done. He was not on the blacklist of the Holy Judgment Court but the Archangel’s!

“I heard about what happened in the Magic City. You awakened the Chinese Totems to save the residents of the Magic City and exposed your demon’s ability. Your influence in China has surpassed that of most Forbidden Mages, but you are not a Forbidden Mage,” Sharjah continued.

“I have no choice,” said Mo Fan.

“I understand. If it were me, I would do the same. Even though the Holy Son Wen Tai had a high reputation, the Archangel could throw him to the dark abyss.” Sharjah knew what Mo Fan was thinking.

Mo Fan understood everything. Mu Ningxue was in exile, and he was the reason.

They were trying every means possible to have Mo Fan turn against the Holy City so that they could justifiably get rid of him for the Archangel to ascend to the throne.

“Sharjah, thank you for telling me this.” Mo Fan sincerely thanked her.

“One more thing, Mr. Mo. You are indeed on the blacklist of an Archangel, but every Archangel has a small book that records the names of about five to ten people anyway. If we look at the current situation, you might not be on the top of the list yet,” said Sharjah.

“Because I’m not a Forbidden Mage yet and not as much a threat for the Holy City for now?”

Sharjah nodded.

Mo Fan was not a Forbidden Mage, so the Archangel would not take direct measures against him for now.

If the Archangel wanted to ascend and return to the Holy City, he needed an “event” that would heighten his position as an Archangel. Compared to the Holy Son Wen Tai, the Ancient King, and Chairman Su Lu, Mo Fan was still not as important or threatening.

“I think something must have gone wrong. They made Mu Ningxue a pawn to get you. But I think they probably didn’t expect Mu Ningxue to fight back and kill Mu Rong in the process and severely wound Lady Karolina with the power of a half-Forbidden Mage,” said Sharjah.

Mo Fan opened his mouth in surprise. ‘Did Mu Ningxue really kill the Forbidden Mage Mu Rong?’

Based on what Sharjah said, she had fought with two people all alone.

“You mean that the Archangel set up a trap for me, but he found Mu Ningxue to be more threatening?” Mo Fan could not believe it.

“Well, both of you are problematic.” Sharjah nodded.

Mo Fan did not know what to say.

“According to the Greek national news, the election day of the goddess, which was originally postponed indefinitely, will be held in the next Flower Festival. That time will be a carnival for the Greek people!” The LCD screen hanging high in the store broadcasted the news.

The tourists did not care about it. After all, they did not know about the world’s current affairs. However, Sharjah suddenly turned to the LCD screen.

After a while, she smiled brightly. “Mr. Mo, it seems like your whole family is problematic.”

Chapter 2940: Natural Enemy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan couldn’t even pretend to be unaware of it. As the Archangel of the Holy City, Sharah knew a lot of things that went on in the world.

She mentioned that someone secretly manipulated Xinxia’s goddess election, and a group of people supported Izisha. This meant that Xinxia had gradually gained the upper hand in the election. If it were not for the intervention of the Archangel, she would definitely be the goddess.

The Parthenon Temple was an independent force outside the Magic Association. Even the Holy City would not simply challenge the power of the Parthenon Temple. What they could do was to let the election be postponed indefinitely.

If the Parthenon Temple had only a Saintess without a goddess, it would be limited by internal battles.

However, these people behind the scenes seem to have failed in the end.

The election of the Parthenon Temple’s goddess would be held at the next Flower Festival. The election would take place even if it was delayed.

In Sharjah’s opinion, the fact that this news was reported internationally showed that Ye Xinxia had broken free from the suppression of the Archangel. In other words, the Archangel underestimated the dominance of the Parthenon Temple’s Saintess.

If Mu Ningxue’s banishment and the postponement of the Parthenon Temple’s election were the ways in which the Archangel was trying to put pressure on Mo Fan, then both Mu Ningxue and Ye Xinxia were beyond the control of the Archangel.

“If the two of you are separated, the Archangel may not put you at the top of the blacklist. But if you two are together, I think you two have a high probability of ranking at the top of the list. After all, the Archangels who have not returned to their positions will target hidden dangers that can become uncontrollable in just a few years like you two. Your growth has made this Archangel uneasy,” said Sharjah.

Many things had a sign. After the incident between Qin Yu’Er and the Chief Military Instructor, Mo Fan understood that there were many cancerous things in this world beside the Black Vatican. Some cancers seemed to be stronger. Removing them was equivalent to killing the whole world and putting the world in chaos.

Perhaps this was the true face of this world, and they had to face it.

“Every power beyond the Forbidden Curse is not in control of the “management” of this world. The magic books given to each country by the Magic Association only had contents up to Super Level. They don’t want anyone to become a Forbidden Mage and don’t want anyone to have the ability beyond the Forbidden Curse,” Mo Fan said.

“It has always been like this. No one cares about how advanced the magical civilization will be. They only care about whether they will always be at the top of everyone.”

“Mr. Mo, our battle in Dubai has not ended. Chairman Su Lu was just an executioner. The culprit who killed Mr.Feng Zhoulong is someone on the top of the world.”

Sharjah said it firmly. The battle had never ended.

If civilization was compared to a person, the brain held the power. The brain kills everything that threatens its control to maintain dominance.

Every person who could stand at the top of society must have strong willpower and must cast away laziness, comfort, and inability to make progress. However, when they reached that position, they became the rotten part of humankind because of their self-centeredness and their hunger to maintain their dominance. Although they had a high presence among humans, they made the entire group unenthusiastic, lazy, and lived comfortably so they could hold their position.

Of course, this was not the case in every era. Although the ruling class was pedantic, all human beings were often in states of “crisis” and “weakness.” Races without natural enemies would become even more terrifying because some people in their group will become their “natural enemy.”

What was a human’s natural enemy? It was the ruling class.

But the funny thing was that the people in this era were not living a comfortable life. They faced the threat of the Ocean Demons and the encroachment of the Extreme South. As if humans were ships, they swayed violently in the wind and rain and might sink at any moment. However, some rulers were still harming those under them.

Therefore, the ruling class would eventually be overthrown. They forced the vast majority of people to live without a choice of escape and freedom.

For a long time, Mo Fan had only focused on getting stronger without the pressure of anyone seeing him as a threat.

The incident between Qin Yu’Er and Chief Military Instructor Zhan Kong woke him up to the reality around him, and the most remarkable thing was the matter of Feng Zhoulong.

He did not expect that he would follow in the footsteps of the two revered people.

He might have predicted them. If the two were his role models, he would not end up much better than them.

‘Was there something I did wrong to be seen as an enemy of the Archangel and soon the enemy of the world?’ wondered Mo Fan. He could not think of anything he had done that warranted such scrutiny.

Perhaps it was because he rejected the sanction of the Holy City and disobeyed the world.

Therefore, he only had two choices. Either he fought with little hope, or he joined them.

Even though the latter could ensure his safety, it was like joining Chairman Luo Mian, or joining Michael’s dictatorship, and maybe Su Lu’s team.

The sky was red as blood. A bruised Heavenly Eagle carried a young soldier who had no soul and was unable to wake up in the cold coffin in Hangzhou.

He sacrificed himself, merged with the evil robe, and let himself fall into the dark hell in exchange for the survival of the inner city of the Ancient Capital. He annihilated his soul in the Holy City and did not want to fight anymore.

To study hard, he stayed awake day and night. When he opened up perfect innovative magic, he did not apply for a “patent” immediately to seek benefits and go to the Asian Magic Association to teach it to the world. In the end, he died tragically in a foreign country.

How remarkable these people and events were!

If Mo Fan joined them, he would stand on the opposite side of these people. Mo Fan could not bring himself to do it.

The road he embarked on was consistent with these remarkable people. His heart and soul were influenced by them, making him unwilling to submit to the Archangels.

So as Sharjah said, this battle had never ended.

Despite this, most past battles could not see through the situation. They did not know where the enemy they were about to face was hiding, what was obstructing and maiming them, and they always let those respectable people around them die, making their hearts break.

Mo Fan understood.

Chapter 2941: A Hidden Problem

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Sir, you still have a way to get out of this situation. As long as you don’t dabble in Forbidden Curses, the country and I will ensure your safety from the people of the Holy City. However, the moment you turn to Forbidden Curses, it will be equivalent to declaring a war on them,” said Sharjah to Mo Fan.

“Sharjah, which side are you on?” asked Mo Fan.

“I want to make up for the mistake of not protecting Mr. Feng Zhoulong,” said Sharjah solemnly.

“So, are you going to continue fighting?”

“Yes. This conflict will not be settled with ease,” said Sharjah.

“How can I let you fight the battle alone?”

Sharjah stared at Mo Fan, and life gradually returned to her eyes. She looked happy.

“That’s great! Mr. Mo, I can fight alongside you again! I like this. Whenever I’m with you, I feel as if I’m still alive, as if my heart is still beating and my blood is still warm.” Sharjah smiled radiantly. She no longer looked as if she had been shrouded by a layer of mystery and otherworldliness like before.

Mo Fan could not help but stretch out his hand to pat on Sharjah’s head. If it had not been for the fact that Sharjah was an Archangel, she would still be the naïve, energetic student he had taught.

“Speaking of which, many people saw you pick me up at the city gate. The Archangel who hasn’t returned to his position would be aware of this too. If that’s the case, he will see you as his enemy,” said Mo Fan.

“More than one of them have set their sights on you. People in the Holy City once held a special, secret meeting to discuss the incident involving the Azure Dragon and the demons. They summoned all the Archangels to the meeting, except for me. They knew about us from Dubai,” said Sharjah, calmly.

“When you’re alone in the Holy City, did they ostracize you?” Mo Fan could not help but ask with concern.

“Not everyone is our enemy. Of course, some of them pretend to be our friends. It’s complicated. The longer I stay in the Holy City, the more I miss my school days in Ojos Holy School. I miss how the students competed and were jealous of one another, I miss watching the eccentric teachers working on meaningless things…,” said Sharjah.

“Now that you mention it, I also miss my days at Pearl Institute.” Mo Fan chuckled.

Mo Fan missed Pearl Institute. However, the students there may not miss him. As soon as he joined the institute, he snatched all the resources. Most of the students hated him.

No matter how strained the relationship was between Mo Fan and the students, Pearl Institute was long gone. The Magic City had become part of the Ocean Demons’ lair.

Despite having the will to save the world, it rejected him.

“Sir, have you made up your mind about the path to the realm of the Forbidden Curse?” Sharjah inquired about Mo Fan’s cultivation issue.

“Not yet. Perhaps I can find some clues from the totem beasts,” said Mo Fan.

The clues lay on the Mysterious Feather Sacred Totem Beast. Mo Fan already had the Fiery Furnace in his heart. He believed his Fire Element magic would grow closer to the Mysterious Feather Sacred Totem Beast.

He had to find more totem beasts related to the Mysterious Feather Sacred Totem Beast for his Fire Element to grow stronger!

The Fire Element was Mo Fan’s strongest ability. It was also the one element that showed the greatest promise for him to dabble in Forbidden Curses.

“I found a clue here, but it’s not very clear. Sir, you may still have to dig out more information on your own. It’s about the birth of a demonic creature in East Guardian Tower in Japan. It’s on the verge of becoming a Wicked God.” Sharjah took out an item that resembled a pearl from the Space Bracelet.

The exterior of the pearl was clear and lustrous, but the inside was extremely murky, as if it had been injected with contaminated gas.

“What is this?” Mo Fan asked in puzzlement.

“Sir, I sensed a similar aura from you,” said Sharjah.

“It’s the Red Demon!” Mo Fan cried out.

“So, you’re aware of this, too. The quasi-Wicked God has obtained the Eight Souls from heaven and earth. It’s going to gather massive evil energy from every prison and jail in the world. It’ll become the Emperor of the Evil Temple in the next moonless night,” whispered Sharjah.

This was a confidential matter in the Holy City. It was also a hidden issue in Sharjah’s authority. Originally, Ramiel wanted to obtain the right to handle the issue. After Sharjah sensed the aura from the evil pearl that was similar to Mo Fan, she stopped him.

Sharjah had some of the priesthood personnel to follow up the matter before she finally learned about the quasi-Wicked God’s Evil Temple and the Ascension Ceremony.

“I’ve been tracking it for a long time. It has multiple identities, so it’s impossible to tell which of them is the true one,” said Mo Fan.

“The Red Demon has to use its true identity if it wants to become the emperor under the moonless night!” said Sharjah with great conviction.

“We can’t let it ascend to become an emperor. It’s an extremely dangerous creature,” said Mo Fan.

“Yes. Otherwise, it would not have been listed in the Holy City list. Sir, you can make good use of this opportunity,” said Sharjah.

“What do you mean?” Mo Fan did not quite understand what Sharjah was trying to say.

“Evil energy becomes evil when it is used by evil forces. Sir, you have a similar aura within you, yet you’re not affected by it. This shows that you can harness that energy. With your current level of cultivation, you’re qualified to enter the Forbidden Curse realm. So, this is a good opportunity for you to become a Forbidden Mage by using Red Demon as your cornerstone,” said Sharjah.

Sharjah needed Mo Fan to become a Forbidden Mage. Otherwise, how would he fight with the experts of the Holy City? Mo Fan’s Demon Element power was not stable, and the Azure Dragon was in deep slumber. Hence, he had to have the power to fight the battle!

The Magic Association would not give Mo Fan a chance to dabble in Forbidden Curses. He had to rely on himself to become a Forbidden Mage. He could use the totem beasts to become a Forbidden Mage for good. However, the path of searching for totem beasts was time-consuming. They did not have much time left. Mu Ningxue could not possibly stay in the Extreme South for long. Also, Xinxia’s election was around the corner.

Something big was about to happen soon. Since Mo Fan decided to fight the war, he had to dabble in Forbidden Curses this year!

“Thank you. This information is very useful to me!” Mo Fan nodded.

“There are many spies working for the Archangels among the priesthood. I’ll have the priesthood personnel withdraw from this issue. Sir, I suppose you can find the target, right?” asked Sharjah.

“No problem.”

“You have to be very careful. The problem is so serious that the Archangel decided to personally handle it. Any single mistake can make it the Red Demon and later, the Wicked God.”

“I’ve dealt with him for many years. Don’t worry,” said Mo Fan.

“There’s a compass inside the Holy City. It shows the direction of the energy that surpasses the level of the Forbidden Curse.”

“Regardless of whether you have become a Forbidden Mage, or whether the Red Devil has become the emperor by then, the compass in the Holy City will show the same direction. People in the Holy City are aware of it.”

“I’ll also submit a “failed” affirmation to the Holy City so that when you dabble in the Forbidden Curse realm, people in the Holy City will assume you’re the Red Demon. With that, you can hide yourself along the way,” Sharjah said with caution.

Mo Fan stared at Sharjah, he did not expect her to be so meticulous.

Fortunately, Sharjah was on his side. Otherwise, the road to the big confrontation would be even more challenging!

Chapter 2942: I’m An Adult

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan received a lot of important information from Sharjah. The feeling of being at a loss was horrible. Fortunately, he had figured out everything and knew what step to take next.

Mo Fan did not stay around in the Holy City for long. The longer he stayed in the city, the greater the pressure Sharjah would feel.

The next moonless night would be the Red Demon’s Ascension Ceremony. Mo Fan looked at the calendar and realized it was less than a month before the full moon eclipse.

He had to look for Lingling regarding this matter.

Meanwhile, Sharjah let Yan Lan stay in the Holy City. After all, the most dangerous place was also the safest. Sharjah could protect Yan Lan if she stayed in the Holy City. It would be much safer than staying in the country.

The killer was a Forbidden Mage. Mo Fan could not think of any other person who could truly ensure Yan Lan’s safety.

He returned to the country alone. It was already midnight, and a perfectly shaped crescent moon appeared in the pitch-black sky. If one were to look carefully at it, one could notice the slight curve in the middle of the crescent moon.

Mo Fan rushed back to the Imperial Capital overnight and found the Clearsky Hunter Agency franchise.

The Clearsky Hunter Agency in Magic City was a flagship store. Meanwhile, the franchise was set up by Old Bao’s disciples. The Clearsky Hunter City was situated in one of the streets, just like the one in the Magic City. They received various bizarre, demonic cases in the urban city and worked closely with many official organizations.

Mo Fan had practiced his cultivation behind closed-door for more than a year. Lingling could not possibly stand guard over him all that time. Hence, she was transferred to the Imperial College and attended a school there.

The moment Mo Fan stepped into the Clearsky Hunter Agency, he saw Leng Qing at the bar. She sat on a high stool reading a stack of documents.

It was already late at night. The Clearsky Hunter Agency was not entirely a small cafeteria. Its decoration resembled a serene, small-scale bar. Mo Fan was about to greet Leng Qing when a man with slick black hair and leather jacket walked forward. The man stared at Mo Fan in disdain. He held a glass of wine and sat beside Leng Qing.

“I heard that you’re the boss of this cafe?” The man in slicked back hair../style and leather jacket said in a deep voice.

“Get lost,” Leng Qing said indifferently.

The man’s face changed instantly. The surrounding crowd burst into laughter. A hint of anger showed up in his eyes.

Mo Fan went over to them. He glared at the man who attempted to flirt with Leng Qing.

When the man met Mo Fan’s eyes, fell onto the ground in fear. A small packet of white powder fell off from his back pant pockets.

A bulky man came out from the other end of the hall. He glanced at Leng Qing before giving another look at the man in the leather jacket on the ground.

“How dare you visit my bar with this kind of stuff?! Do you have a death wish?!” The next moment, the bulky man dragged the man out of the door.

…

Leng Qing noticed Mo Fan. She gestured for him to sit in the chair next to her.

“You came at the right time,” said Leng Qing.

“A glass of iced Coke, please. I just flew back from Europe. I am almost a dried-up corpse because of the windy weather,” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan felt refreshed after drinking the iced Coke with lemon slices. It was only then that he noticed that the documents Leng Qing had been reading were related to the Red Demon.

It looked like Leng Qing knew that the Red Demon would make some commotions soon.

“Take a look first. Lingling will come in a while. I need to attend the Enforcement Union’s mission tonight. You and Lingling have to handle the Red Demon’s ascension time carefully,” said Leng Qing.

Mo Fan nodded.

It was obvious to see that more than half of the documents had been placed aside for a very long time. It looked like Old Bao was the one who had been collecting the information. He had been tracking the Red Demon since the beginning.

The remaining documents were the latest updates since Mo Fan practiced his cultivation behind closed-door. Most of the clues were discovered overseas. The doppelganger of the Red Demon was found in a guard hill at Yunnam.

Since Mo Fan desired to take down the Red Demon, he had to study the documents carefully.

After studying the documents once, Mo Fan realized the Red Demon’s main target was the “prisons”. Regardless of whether the prisoners were ordinary people or vicious mages, they seemed to be the Red Demons’ favorite. He always found its presence at those places.

The Red Demon’s usual evil methods were to manipulate their minds, spread the plague, diseases, and naturally, death.

If they did not kill such a monster in time, it would only bring greater harm to the people and the world.

In the dimly lit place, Mo Fan focused on reading the information. He noticed a young lady with black, shoulder length hair sitting next to him.

Mo Fan was aware of his own charm. He knew he stood out like a sore thumb among men. Hence, he knew women liked to flirt around with him, just like how the man tried to flirt with Leng Qing. Even though the dim light had covered up his good looks, he knew the young ladies would be charmed by his aura and would take the initiative to make friends with him.

He felt excited. He also wished to talk to the pretty girl. Perhaps this could even lead to some unforgettable developments. Still, Mo Fan acted innocent by blurting out, “I’m sorry. I’m waiting for someone.”

His voice was deep. The truth was that men shone best when they learned how to reject certain things.

“Do you have a few screws loose in your head?” said a silvery and melodious voice. The young lady blinked while staring at Mo Fan.

Mo Fan turned to her, and his jaw dropped.

How did “Lolita” with double ponytails whom he had been waiting for become as gorgeous as a celebrity overnight?

She looked simply stunning.

“Lingling, did you come for a beauty pageant contest?” Mo Fan finally closed his mouth feeling self-conscious.

As he was speaking, he reached out and flicked Lingling’s earring. He pinched her cheeks. She was draped in a simple, lace scarf.

“I’m an adult now! I’m studying in college.” Lingling slapped Mo Fan’s hand away.

“Did you skip a grade?”

“Yes. It’s pointless for me to study in high school, so I skipped a grade,” said Lingling.

Mo Fan looked at her carefully. He felt complicated. He did not know how to put it in words.

Lingling looked good. In fact, if he were to compare her with Apas, both had their own unique beauty. Even though he had not met Lingling for more than a year, her transformation was truly shocking.

If he had to describe her in words, he would say he felt relieved to see her growing into a beautiful young lady, just as a father would for his daughter. However, he hoped she would never grow up. He wished she would still be the same cute and childish young girl with pink cheeks. The same young girl who drank milk tea and spoke like an adult.

Chapter 2943: The Bizarre Event In The Twin Guardian Towers

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lingling looked upset. However, a hint of joy appeared in her eyes.

Mo Fan had finally finished his cultivation. She did not have to attend school anymore.

She had learned everything there was to learn before she was fourteen years old. School was merely a rite of passage for her.

“I came back from the Holy City and received some news about the Red Demon.” Mo Fan explained about the Red Demon he had learned from Sharjah

Mo Fan remembered Lingling had brought back the Sublimed Evil Bead filled with energy from the Magic City. The truth was that she and Mo Fan did not expect Old Bao to be investigating the Red Demon from the shadows all the while.

With the information obtained from the Holy City and Old Bao’s clues, it would not be difficult to locate the Red Demon.

Mo Fan and Lingling could finally take down the Red Demon. It had always been a thorn in their side.

“Can you locate it?” Mo Fan asked Lingling.

Lingling compared the information obtained from the Holy City with Old Bao’s. “Yes. But it’s quite a troublesome place…”

“Where is it?” asked Mo Fan.

“Its birthplace is at the Twin Guardian Towers in Japan,” said Lingling.

Mo Fan was puzzled. He did not expect the Red Demon to finish its journey at its birthplace.

Anyway, it would be good to start and end over there. After all, creatures like the Red Demon should not have existed in this world in the first place. It was a kind of obsession, like a haunting ghost.

…

Since it had almost reached Japan, they had to react swiftly.

Mo Fan did not have time to gather other missing partners. They were very busy, after all.

Hence, Mo Fan went to Japan with Lingling. Considering that the Red Demons, Kazuaki, Mochizuki, and Fujikata were friends, Mo Fan naturally had to visit them before taking the main Red Demon down.

Mochizuki and Fujikata were the top management of the Twin Guardian Towers. When their National Institute came to Mo Fan’s country, they had openly challenged the masters. When Mo Fan stepped into the Twin Guardian Towers, he could not help but recall the details of the fight with the students from the Japanese State House.

He missed those days.

Mo Fan stayed in a hotel near the Twin Guardian Towers. He hadn’t had a proper rest these few days.

As soon as he finished practicing the cultivation behind closed-door, he went to the Magic City before flying to Europe. After that, he returned to Imperial Capital. Before he could even take a rest, he had to go to Japan. He felt a bit dizzy.

However, confronting the Red Demon Kazuaki was not a simple task. Mo Fan could not face it in his exhausted state.

“I have to sleep for a day. Lingling, you can visit the Twin Guardian Towers as a tourist,” said Mo Fan to Lingling.

“Okay. Take a good rest, then.” Lingling tidied her hair.

Mo Fan noticed Lingling paid more attention to grooming herself these days. This was a good thing. A pretty lady could bring life to a lifeless environment. No young ladies on earth should spend their days and nights just studying anatomy, slaughtering demons, and performing exorcisms…

…

Early in the morning, Mo Fan was in a deep sleep. Most likely he would only get up at night.

After Lingling finished getting ready, she left the hotel. She had cut her hair to shoulder-length. She looked prettier with this haircut, like a young idol ready for a film set. She gave off a unique aura. Hence, she attracted the crowd’s attention wherever she went.

She put on a pair of comfortable wedges and joined the tourists. For a moment, those young boys who had previously been focusing on the Twin Guardian Towers’ majestic view lost interest in it.

“Are you alone?”

“Can I be friends with you?”

“Where did you come from?”

Many boys flirted around with Lingling. They asked too many questions. Those on the road and streets were inevitably attracted to her too.

Lingling decided to put on sunglasses to cover up her “innocent and friendly” look. With the sunglasses on, she exuded an air of arrogance and rejected those who offered to travel alongside her.

The Twin Guardian Towers was only open to the visitors at a specific time. During that time, it was crowded with tourists. Most of the tourists came from China. The Twin Guardian Towers was a must-visit destination to take photos.

When Lingling arrived at the ground below the Twin Guardian Towers, she noticed a group of young people in their twenties in the middle of training. She guessed those young people must have been from the State House. They were in the middle of preparation for the World College Tournament. It would not take long before the National Institutes from various countries came here and challenged them. Surprisingly, most of their strengths had exceeded Advanced level.

Linglin was surprised. Since the members of the State House had passed Advanced level, this showed that the overall strength of the new batch of Mages in Japan had progressed!

It seemed like the Ocean Demon season was around the corner. Thus, Japanese Mages’ overall strength had improved by leaps and bounds.

“Are you a tourist?” asked Officer Ozawa.

“Yes, I am.” Lingling passed him her passport.

“Are you alone?” Officer Ozawa asked again.

“Yes, I’m alone.”

“Are you a hunter?” Officer Ozawa noticed Lingling’s identity on her passport. He was surprised to find that Lingling was a Seven-Star Hunter Master.

“Is there any problem?” Lingling inquired.

“Don’t get me wrong. Truth is, we’re trying to contact the Hunter Union, because some bizarre events have happened in the Twin Guardian Towers. We need some experienced hunters to help us look at it. It’s only a small issue. If you’re willing, I’ll have the students show you around,” said Officer Ozawa with an apologetic smile.

“Okay. After all, I’m only taking a casual stroll.” Lingling agreed.

“Thank you very much. The situation by the sea is severe. Hunter Masters of higher rank do not care about these groundless issues. However, the State House’s students keep telling us about it. As such, we can’t leave the issue alone. Please wait here for a while. We’ll make arrangements for you. There are many places in the Twin Guardian Towers that forbid tourists from visiting. We can allow you access to them,” said Officer Ozawa.

…

After a couple of minutes, a boy and a girl from the State House came to her. They were about the same age as Lingling.

The students from the State House and National Institute were basically below the age of twenty. Even though Lingling was a few years younger than them, she did not look childish or ignorant.

“May I know where your mentor is? We came here by the order of Officer Ozawa to show her around the Twin Guardian Towes,” said the female State House student as she walked over to Lingling.

“I am the one you were sent for.” Lingling pointed to herself.

“You?” The female State House student sized Lingling up.

Officer Ozawa had been handling other businesses at the side. He ran over to them and confirmed Lingling’s identity.

“She looks younger than me. How can she possibly be a Seven-Star Hunter Master?” said Ikuko Ishida.

Officer Ozawa scratched his head.

To be honest, when he first saw Lingling’s passport, he did not quite believe her identity either. However, when he was away, he had secretly checked the hunter’s information and found out that she was truly a Hunter Master. She had even helped in resolving the Drowning Curse in Japan!

Chapter 2944: The Red Demon’s Magnetic Field

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

A moat surrounded the West Guardian Towers. The moat contained various exotic species of fishes. Some of the fishes were as big as a crocodile, which were three or four meters long and swam in the pond. Some of them were very small in size and swam in groups. They were multicolored. When they swam in groups, they looked like small rainbows that swept across the water. In the sunlight, they appeared even more gorgeous.

After they passed by the moat, Ikuko Ishida made a quick introduction of the West Guardian Towers. Ikuko must have frequently received foreign visitors and leaders. She was very skilled in introducing and showing her around the towers, but Lingling noticed her impatience.

“Is it an easy feat to pass the Hunter Master examination in China?” Ikuko Ishida turned her head around and asked. She did not bother to continue memorizing the introduction lines.

“Ikuko, it’s very rude to ask that,” said the male student, Kaede Takahashi.

“She’s not rude. She is just ignorant. The registration process to become a hunter is standardized across every country. The main reference would be the hunter’s contribution point and bounty level,” answered Lingling.

“Hmph! I’m not interested in accompanying a young naïve girl wandering around. I still have many businesses to handle. Kaede, since you’re so eager to help, do accompany and show her around. After all, people like you don’t need much training. When the next batch of people replace you, you can travel around the world with the National Institute team,” Ikuko Ishida said furiously. She turned around and left.

Lingling stared at Ikuko Ishida’s fading silhouette with her head lowered. She was deep in her thoughts for a moment.

Kaede Takahashi was beside Lingling. He felt embarrassed and said apologetically, “Ikuko don’t usually behave like this. I suppose the competition in the State House has given her a lot of pressure. I hope you won’t take this to heart. I’ll do my best to show you around.”

“Are you a member of the National Institute?” asked Lingling.

“Not yet. It’s just that I perform slightly better in the State House with a bit of luck. I’ll replace another member of the National Institute in the next batch. I believe my hard work will pay off. I hope my family, friends, and teachers can watch my performance in the World College Tournament… Please accept my apology for engaging in a topic that you’re not interested in. Please come with me. This is the West Guardian Towers’ library,” said Kaede Takahashi.

The National Institute would occasionally replace one or two of their members. The students with outstanding performances in the State House would be transferred to the National Institute. The same rule applied to every country.

Kaede Takahashi was selected to be the next replacement member. Ikuko was either jealous of Kaede Takahashi, or Lingling, hence her unusual behavior.

“Actually, my performance pales in comparison to yours. Being a Seven-Star Hunter Master is truly remarkable. After all, some of the elders in my family are hunters, too. But they aren’t a Seven-Star Hunter Master,” Kaede Takahashi said politely and respectfully.

“Officer Ozawa mentioned some strange occurrences in the Twin Guardian Towers. Everything looks normal here.” Lingling had been keeping an eye on the surroundings throughout the journey.

The Twin Guardian Towers was a large building that consisted of a restaurant, library, hospital, hotel, museum, academy, and military fortress. The towers were very crowded during open days. It resembled a mini version of a kingdom.

It was not an easy feat to walk through the entire Twin Guardian Towers. Moreover, the “castle” was complete and filled with people of various professions. There would be a dark side to all of this.

“Actually, those are small issues. Look at the library. Some of the students and military officers stay until very late at night due to the examinations around the corner. They heard noises in the library at midnight, as if someone was whispering from behind the bookshelves. We invited Soul Mages to investigate the issue. Some of the students even claimed that they had seen figures under the moonlight. They were walking, arguing, and even flipping the bookshelves,” said Kaede Takahashi.

“Are there anything else aside from this incident?” asked Lingling.

“There are some basements under the West Guardian Towers. The basements serve as a place to interrogate the prisoners. Some of the military officers claimed that prisoners who had died unexpectedly haunt them and keep them awake at night.

“The next incident happened in the Mochizuki’s family. Some of the young people in the family are sleepwalking. They appeared in strange places and slept there until the next morning. They couldn’t recall what had happened the night before. In fact, some even more horrible incidents happened in the family before. However, the Mochizuki’s family didn’t spread the news. Perhaps it has something to do with the reputation of women in that family.”

Lingling walked into the library and to the bookshelf that had been flipped over.

She randomly picked several books and checked the sides. She then looked at the order in which the books were arranged on the other shelves.

“Those who claimed to have seen supernatural visions in the library said the bookshelf had been flipped over. But I don’t see any signs of that. Besides, the books are placed in an orderly way. Did anyone rearrange anything?” Lingling asked for some details regarding the matter.

“No. They didn’t rearrange anything. In fact, the person who witnessed the bookshelf being flipped over is one of my juniors. She was so frightened that she rushed over and told me about it that night. After that, I informed Officer Ozawa,” said Kaede Takahashi.

“Oh, we can rule out the incident that happened in the library, then.” Lingling crossed out the supernatural incident that happened in the library from her handwritten record.

“I don’t get it.”

Lingling did not answer him, because that was a lame question.

Hunters required strong senses. They had to eliminate the seemingly strange incidents that had nothing to do with the case. The incident that happened in the library looked scary. However, Lingling thought otherwise. The incident was no more than a made-up supernatural story from Kaede Takahashi’s junior in order to approach him, to be protected by him, and to capture his attention.

Lingling could see through the tricks at a glance.

As for the young people’s sleepwalking and women’s reputation issues in the Mochizuki’s family, those were their private issues. Thus, Lingling was not interested to learn more about that.

However, Lingling would like to gain more understanding about the haunting prisoners. The Red Demon was made up of grievances. Its appearance could basically stir up a kind of “negative magnetic field” and affect emotionally unstable people.

‘The Red Demon’s magnetic field could be the cause for these incidents. Some people have kept their own desires close to their minds and hearts. They dare not take action. However, they did it because of the Red Demon.’

The thought sprang up in Lingling’s mind!

Chapter 2945: The Twin Guardian Towers’ Secret Matter

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

To verify her guess, Lingling specially requested to meet with Kaede Takahashi’s junior. She also found his junior’s life journey through the network in Japan.

‘Kaede Takahashi’s junior seldom participates in club activities. She likes flower arrangement. She was absent in the one and only debate exchange tournament. She has a high level of cultivation and a strong learning ability. She is an introvert, and she gets nervous easily. She stammers when speaking before the public… This is interesting.” Lingling took a quick glance at the junior’s information.

Meanwhile, Kaede Takahashi sat beside Lingling and watched her reading the information from the notebook.

“Since you want to find out more about her, shall I ask her to come over?” asked Kaede Takahashi.

Lingling shook her head. If there was already something wrong with Kaede Takahashi’s junior, all the information provided would basically be inaccurate. Lingling would rather trust the data and analysis than the junior’s lies.

“Do you frequently meet up with her?” asked Lingling.

“Quite frequently. Speaking of which, I’ve been meeting her daily for the past half a month. I met her either by chance or due to some incident that has happened.” Kaede was enlightened.

“Are you aware that she has a crush on you?” asked Lingling.

“Um… Aren’t we supposed to be investigating the bizarre events that happened in the West Guardian Towers? Why are you asking about me?” said Kaede Takahashi, embarrassed.

“You’re right. Perhaps I’ve been a little too gossipy. Do you know the two young people who have done the wrong things from the Mochizuki family? It would be good if I can meet up with them,” said Lingling.

“Yes, I’m acquainted with them. They are from the State House. It’s almost noon. I’ll ask them out for lunch. Since we’re in the middle of investigating sensitive issues, I won’t tell them about your identity. We’ll chat like normal friends. How does that sound?” asked Kaede Takahashi.

Lingling nodded.

If she interrogated them, they would not tell her the truth. Lingling had to obtain the information she wanted through casual talk.

Kaede Takahashi’s junior was an introvert and lacked confidence. A couple of days ago, she became a “smart” girl all of a sudden and found various excuses to approach Kaede Takahashi. Hence, she won his attention and protection.

Of course, it was also likely that the girl had finally summoned up her courage to approach Kaede Takahashi. However, Lingling thought that his junior had most likely been influenced by the Red Demon’s magnetic field. The magnetic field could amplify one’s desire and will power to act on it, even if the desire was a crime.

They still had some days left before the moonless night. Hence, the Red Demon’s magnetic field influence was not as strong. It was likely that its weak influence was the reason that led to the happening of the so-called “bizarre” events.

Lingling still had to gather more evidence to verify the Red Demon Kazuaki’s magnetic field effect.

…

They had their lunch at the cadet restaurant. There were many students around. Aside from the members of the State House, there was a prestigious school’s branch located at the Twin Guardian Towers. Hence, the students often came for their further studies.

There were many students around. There were about four to five hundred of them. Most of them were in their twenties. There were several teachers too. They headed toward the teacher’s restaurant on the second floor. It was less crowded compared to the West Guardian Towers.

“Hi, Kaede! I saw a hardworking “bee” around you a couple of days ago. It’s a surprise to see that you’ve switched to a beautiful “butterfly” so soon. It’s no wonder you’re the famous guy in the State House. Talking to girls is a luxury to us.” A man with an afro hair../style grinned as he walked over to them. He sat beside Kaede Takahashi.

Lingling sat opposite Kaede Takahashi. She glanced at the man with the afro.

“Nagayama, don’t be mistaken. She’s Officer Ozawa’s guest. I’m just showing her around the towers.” Kaede Takahashi’s face turned red as he quickly explained to Nagayama.

“Really? I thought you have a new girl and can’t wait to show her off to us. After all, she’s very lovely. Sinchino Mochizuki will arrive in a while. If she’s not your new love, I can be bold enough to approach her. Otherwise, we won’t have the chance once Sinchino is here.” Nagayama chuckled.

He deliberately sat down next to Lingling. He made a one-eighty-degree change to his attitude and introduced himself solemnly. He expressed his interest to be friends with her.

“Nagayama, don’t behave like this. I told you she’s an honorable guest. Don’t make her uncomfortable,” said Kaede Takahashi to Nagayama who was showing too much enthusiasm for Lingling.

“Haha! Look at how nervous you are! Dare you say you don’t have the slightest desire for her? Most people don’t usually behave so disciplined and well-mannered, not unless they encounter a girl whom they fall in love with at first sight and make them feel extra self-conscious about their own actions. Why is your face reddening? Did I guess correctly?” Nagayama teased Kaede Takahashi.

“It’s very rude of you to say that before a guest.” Kaede Takahashi’s face darkened.

Nagayama realized Kaede Takahashi was about to fly into a fit of rage and quickly stopped being playful. Just then, there came a man outside the restaurant with his hands in his pockets. The man’s dashing, long hair covered his forehead. His somewhat lackadaisical gaze did not seem to show any interest in anything around him. He was tall. He wore a neat, Western-../style school uniform. He easily captured the people’s attention around him.

He was a handsome man at a single glance. However, he was indifferent to everyone, including the girls who stared at him flatteringly.

“What’s the matter? Why did you call me here?” Sinchino Mochizuki sat down. He was impatient.

He glanced at Lingling. She was a stranger to him, but he did not say anything.

“I haven’t seen you for a couple of days. I wonder what you’ve been up to. Let me introduce her to you. She’s Officer Ozawa’s guest. She comes from China,” said Kaede Takahashi.

“Oh, have fun here, then.” said Sinchino Mochizuki indifferently.

“Sinchino, are you chemically castrated? How can you not show even the slightest joy when you meet with such a lovely Chinese girl? Why were you behaving so outrageously that day?” Nagayama asked in puzzlement.

Sinchino glared at him.

It was clear that Nagayama was someone who easily ran his mouth off. He could spew anything through his teeth.

Lingling sized Sinchino up. Sinchino was the type who was adored by many women. Besides, he looked like he had a high expectation in who he chose to be around. ‘If he was the one who sleepwalked in the Mochizuki’s family, what had he done that affected a woman’s reputation? Did he even have to do that?’

“I’m not hungry. If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first.” Sinchino did not plan to stay around and chat with them.

“Sinchino, wait! We’re just showing our concern because of your recent behavior,” said Kaede.

“Haha! Showing your concern for me? I suppose you must have been laughing behind my back. May you shine brightly at the World’s College Tournament. I’ll rot in one of the dark corners,” sneered Sinchino.

When Kaede Takahashi heard this, his face changed!

Chapter 2946: Accidental Killing

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lingling raised one of her eyebrows. ‘So, it looks like they have a pretty complicated relationship!’

Lingling had briefly gone through some information a while ago.

Actually, Kaede Takahashi was not the one with the most outstanding performance in the State House. Sinchino was better than him.

Originally, Sinchino was most likely to be selected for the National Institute. However, not long ago, there was some major issue with his attitude. Even though the Mochizuki family had stopped the issue from spreading, Sinchino was disqualified from becoming a member of the National Institute.

After Sinchino was disqualified, Kaede Takahashi became the next in line.

Lingling was curious to know who Sinchino had lost his control for, and what was the outrageous thing that he had done. She also wondered if Kaede had done something to Sinchino that caused him to be disqualified.

Lingling sensed hostility among the trio.

She had to wait for Mo Fan to wake up from his sleep before she could find out what exactly had happened in the Mochizuki family. Otherwise, Lingling could not possibly find out the truth.

Kaede Takahashi, Nagayama, and Sinchino Mochizuki had been so close with one another. However, their relationship turned sour due to some recent issues. Lingling wondered if they had been affected by the Red Demon’s magnetic field that caused them to reveal their dark sides, or if it had been a hidden issue within themselves.

“Sinchino, don’t go overboard. You can’t expect me to apologize for something like that happening to you!” Kaede Takahashi was angry. He did not expect Sinchino to say those words to him.

Sinchino turned his head around and glared at Kaede Takashi. He sneered and left the restaurant.

The restaurant was crowded. The two raised their voices. For a moment, the crowd stared at both Kaede Takahashi and Sinchino.

After some time, the crowd discussed the issue fervently. Kaede Takahashi felt uncomfortable in the tense atmosphere. But Linling was still eating her food, so he had no choice but to stay around.

“I’m truly sorry. I didn’t mean to show you such an embarrassing scene. Actually, we are very close. We studied, trained, and played together. However, Sinchino was in a very bad mood ever since he was disqualified. It’s only normal for him to put the blame on others. I shouldn’t have said those words to him.” Kaede Takahashi let out a sigh.

“That’s right. They always bicker with each other. I bet Sinchino will come and send Kaede off on his departure day. There’s nothing to be calculative about. Regardless of who gets chosen for the National Institute, both of them are making us proud!” Nagayama said with a smile.

“Nagayama, how’s your uncle recently? Does he still have insomnia?” asked Kaede Takahashi.

Nagayama sighed. “I would rather not bring him up. At nighttime, he screams like a banshee, as if he has run into ghosts. We’ve hired Psychic Mages to check on him. One of them is certain that my uncle has a psychological issue,” said Nagayama.

“Nagayama’s uncle is a watchman at the East Guardian Towers,” whispered Kaede Takahashi to Lingling.

She nodded.

The East Guardian Towers was the Red Demon’s birthplace. It was a prison, and it held the most heinous criminals. These criminals were capable of casting extremely powerful and evil magic.

Nagayama’s uncle had taken sick leave. However, his current state was no different from being possessed by a haunted spirit. The Psychic Mage and Light Mage had examined him. They did not find signs of any spirits wandering around him. The Mages considered him to be under some kind of curse but then came to the conclusion that it wasn’t so.

In the end, the Mages confirmed that it was a psychological issue. Hence, his uncle had to solve the issue on his own. All the Psychic Mage did was to comfort him and let him have a good sleep that day.

Lingling asked detailed questions because Nagayama’s uncle was a watchman of the East Guardian Towers. He could have been easily affected by the Red Demon’s aura.

“This was how it happened. There was a commander who practiced evil spells. The commander spread his evil spells across the East Guardian Towers so that the prisoners became his congregation. The Chief of the Towers was unaware of the existence of the gang that practiced the evil spells. But he was unaware of their presence until the gang became so powerful that they threatened the prohibition of the East Guardian Towers. As such, the Chief of the Towers made up his mind and executed all the prisoners who were likely to be a member of the evil gang.”

“Truth was that the number of the members were not as many as the Chief of the Towers thought. However, his fear caused him to kill many people. It was at that time that my uncle accidentally murdered a prisoner.”

“Originally, prisoners held in the East Guardian Towers was more wicked than those sentenced to a death penalty. Even though these prisoners were killed, the killers did not feel that guilty.”

“The prisoner that my uncle killed was found to be innocent. He was framed. But the crime for which he was held prisoner was still heinous. The prisoner died inside the East Guardian Towers. As a result, countless people sought explanations from the Chief of the East Guardian Towers. The Chief of the Guardian Towers dared not reveal the truth that he had killed so many prisoners out of his own fear of the evil gang. He made it appear as though the prisoners died of suicide and suppressed the news.”

Nagayama was a chatterbox, and he could not hide anything from others. He easily spilled out the East Guardian Towers’ past events. The past event was something that could severely damage the East Guardian Towers’ reputation.

Lingling listened to his explanation attentively. She briefly understood why Nagayama’s uncle was in a state that made him look as if he had been haunted by a ghost.

The moonless night was about to come. The Twin Guardian Towers looked like it had been shrouded by a bizarre aura. Those who had no one else to pour out their pain to, and the crimes that took place in the dark corners but were unattended, and the desperate screams seemed to have coalesced into a restless and terrifying aura. The aura gradually affected those who carried guilt and secrets close to their hearts.

And all this was likely to herald the arrival of the Red Demon Kazuaki!

…

“I can look around on my own. You still have training in the afternoon, so you don’t have to accompany me anymore,” said Lingling to Kaede Takahashi.

“I’ll ask an officer to accompany you.” Kaede Takahashi was worried about her.

“No need.”

“Okay. Shall we meet again for dinner?” asked Kaede Takahashi.

“Okay.”

Lingling walked to the higher ground of the West Guardian Towers alone. The sturdy castle was built of large rocks. Most of the military forces were stationed in it. The West Guardian Towers military castle expanded following the Ocean Demons’ invasion.

Lingling got the pass, so she could stroll around the military area by herself. She walked toward the drawbridge.

Chapter 2947: Didn’t Cross Paths Last Time

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Kaede Takahashi, even though you lacked the skills, you have worked hard these days and have proven your strength to join the National Institute team. But is joining the National Institute team your only target? You have to stand out in the World College Tournament among the powerful Mages and geniuses. You have to reclaim the country’s glory. Hence, you have to pay full attention even though this is just training, understand?!” said the instructor, Shou Watani.

“Noted, Mr. Watani. Thank you for putting a painstaking effort on me!” Kaede Takahashi nodded and dared not to think of anything else.

Shou Watani’s training was harsh. He seemed to be tireless.

Outside the arena, when the crowd noticed Shou Watani’s figure, they talked about him.

“Isn’t that Shou Watani? He’s the leader of the Japanese team that won the last World College Tournament,” said a man in a kimono and slippers while taking a sip of iced beer.

“It’s him. Never thought he’s the instructor of the National Institute.”

“The members of the Twin Guardian Towers invited him to be the temporary instructor for the National Institute players. He’s even stronger than the experienced professors.”

“Shou Watani is upset with the fact that he hadn’t been able to achieve a better result in the last performance. It’s no wonder the players of the State House for this batch are so strong. They repeatedly defeated the teams from the National Institute!”

The training was mainly about the formation and cooperation among the members. They had to learn to keep calm in the face of a crisis.

Daylight faded. Before they even saw a sunset, it was already twilight. It seemed to arrive earlier than before.

Lingling sat there impatiently. She wondered when Mo Fan would wake up from his sleep!

She took out her phone and called him.

His phone rang a few meters away from him. Mo Fan yawned and took his phone. He did not answer it. Later he met her personally.

‘How’s it going?” Mo Fan asked.

“I don’t have definite clues yet, but many bizarre incidents have happened in the Twin Guardian Towers,” said Lingling.

She did not gather much information. Fortunately, they still had a couple of days left before the moonless night. Thus, they could take their time to find more clues.

They had to learn about the cunning Red Demon Kazuaki’s purpose and his aura. They had to make early preparations before taking it down.

Sharjah had mentioned that the Red Demon Kazuaki was going to hold its Ascension Ceremony in this place. There must be something like an altar that stored massive evil energy. After all, it was impossible for the Red Demon Kazuaki to become an emperor in a single swoosh as soon as it reached the Twin Guardian Towers!

Since it chose to ascend and transform in the Twin Guardian Towers, the towers must contain something that it needed. It was either that the environment played a part in assisting him during the ascension and transformation, or the towers contained certain substances that it required.

It would be good if Lingling and Mo Fan could sort things out. Otherwise, how could they stop the Red Demon Kazuaki? How could Mo Fan become a Forbidden Mage in the process?

“Never mind. Take your time. Lingling, are you still a kid? How can you still leave the grains on the side of your mouth when eating a rice ball?” Mo Fan noticed some grains near her lips.

Lingling did not bother about it. She was still facing the laptop.

Mo Fan reached out and scraped the grains from her cheeks roughly.

“Oh gosh! I just applied powder on my face!” Lingling was angry.

“You’re still young. Why do you even have to apply face powder? Your skin is good without it,” said Mo Fan with a huff.

“I recently developed a fondness for black, metal rebellious look. I prefer those with nose rings, earrings, Ghana braids, and so on!” Lingling complained.

“Fine. You look good anyway.”

…

Meanwhile, on the training ground, Nagayama rushed over to Kaede Takahashi’s side with a great sense of urgency when the instructor was not paying attention to them.

“Your love rival is here! I saw a dashing man with the new girl whom you have been hanging out with! Why are you still training here? You might even lose your dinner date later!” Nagayama said.

Kaede turned his head around and saw Lingling with Mo Fan.

Judging from the way they interacted with each other, he could easily guess that the two were lovebirds. Lingling interacted intimately with the man who appeared out of nowhere. When they chatted, they looked accustomed to each other.

“Kaede Takahashi! Wind Disc!” Ikuko Ishida’s voice rose on the training ground.

Kaede Takahashi was lost in his own thoughts when the Wind Disc struck him. Fortunately, he had a solid foundation and was able to form a Light Wall using Light Element magic to hold back the attack.

After the Wind Disc dispersed, Shao Watani went over to him. Kaede Takahashi looked down. Shao Watani glared at him before turning to look at Linling in the corner.

Shao Watani noticed where Kaede Takahashi’s gaze was a while ago.

“The tournament is around the corner, but your mind is somewhere else. You disappoint me,” said Shao Watani.

Kaede Takahashi was aware of the problem.

He also wondered why his heart was captured by the Chinese girl whom he met just a while ago. He was curious if he was attracted by her beauty or her mysterious identity as a Seven-Star Hunter Master.

“Sir, I’m sorry. I…,” Kaede Takahashi apologized to Shao Watani earnestly.

Even before he could finish his words, Shao Watani walked to Lingling!

Kaede Takahashi was petrified! ‘Was Shao Watani about to scold her?’

Kaede Takahashi quickly caught up with Shao Watani. However, his teacher increased his pace and reached Lingling.

“I recognized you,” said Shao Watani.

Kaede Takahashi caught up with him. He was about to stop him when he noticed that Shao Watani wasn’t looking at Lingling but at the man beside her. The man looked like a scatterbrain.

“Me?” Mo Fan pointed to himself.

“You’re Mo Fan,” said Shao Watani.

“Who are you?” Mo Fan stared at Shao Watani. He looked familiar but Mo Fan couldn’t recall where he had seen him.

Shao Watani looked a little unhappy. He was the strongest player in the Japanese team. Even though Mo Fan took the first place in the World College Tournament and was known as the strongest young Mage, he had expected Mo fan to at least remember him.

Shao Watani sucked in a deep breath. “You and I haven’t crossed paths, so you might not remember me.”

Mo Fan tried his best to recall Shao Watani. Still, he could not remember who he was.

Just then, a familiar lady walked over to them.

“Mo Fan, he’s Shao Watani. He’s the leader of the Japanese National Institute. When the Chinese team competed with our team in Venice, you didn’t play the game,” Chihaya said with a warm smile.

“Oh, now I remember! Shao Watani, we’ve seen each other in the Caribbean Sea, right?” Mo Fan finally recalled.

Chapter 2948: Sparring

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was only then that Shao Watani appeared less stern. They had seen each other before when the National Institute team joined forces to wipe up the Red Ornaments Guild.

When they were in the City of Canals in Venice, Mu Ningxue demonstrated her powerful strength in the competition between the Chinese team and Japanese team. At that moment, Shao Watani was stuck with Ai Jiangtu, hence he did not have the chance to change the outcome of the competition.

“You’re Mo Fan?!” Kaede Takahashi cried out in shock.

Nagayama, Ikuko Ishida, and the other members from the State House surrounded them. The crowd turned to them when they noticed the commotion.

“He’s Mo Fan. He’s the one who took first place in the World College Tournament.”

“He looks normal.”

“He may have gained first place in the tournament, but that doesn’t mean he might still be as good now.”

Mo Fan was embarrassed. He did not expect himself to be recognized by so many people in Japan. He did not expect his good looks to leave such an indelible impression to others to the extent of being recognized even among the crowd.

“What is he doing here? Is he here to spy on the National Institute team’s tactics?” Ikuko Ishida said rudely. This was especially after she saw him with Lingling.

“The Mochizuki family invited them to come over to be our guests. Don’t be rude.” Chihaya glared at Ikuko Ishida.

“So, you’re our guests. Speaking of which, the World College Tournament seems to have happened only yesterday. I didn’t even have the chance to congratulate you and your team for winning the championship,” said Shao Watani to Mo Fan politely.

“You care more about the tournament than I do. I didn’t feel anything special about the game. After all, it’s been a long time since the tournament was over,” said Mo Fan.

The corners of Shao Watani’s lips twitched.

He wondered why every single word that came from Mo Fan carried a certain arrogance!

“I’ve been invited over to provide one-month training for the players of the State House. I suppose Japan is the first station for China. I wonder where your team is now?” asked Shao Watani.

“I thought the new season had ended. Isn’t the event held once every four years?”

“This season has been postponed. After all, the Ocean Demon and the cold hit many countries,” said Chihaya.

“Mo Fan, since you are here, shall we take the opportunity to spar with each other? After all, we used to take part in the World College Tournament, and it’s difficult to pass on practical combat skills to the students. If we spar with each other, the students can gain better understanding. Of course, it’s also the biggest regret in my life for not being able to fight with you back in Venice then,” Shao Watani offered.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” said Mo Fan.

“We’re their seniors. It’s a hard chance to come by to meet with the champion. I believe they also wish to learn something from you.” Shao Watani turned his head around and asked the students from the State House, “Am I right?”

“Yes, we’re looking forward to it!”

“It’s so unfair. As a former champion, you’ve been guiding the students from the National Institute and State House in China. Meanwhile, we only have a rare opportunity by chance. We hope you can show us your skills. We’ll appreciate your effort.”

“We hope you can fulfill Mr. Shao Watani’s wish,” Kaede Takahashi said earnestly while bowing to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan scratched his head. Kaede Takahashi bowed before him.

Reasonably speaking, it was difficult to reject a Japanese who bowed to him.

“Fine. My only concern is that your biggest wish might end as your biggest regret.” Mo Fan had no choice but to accept Shao Watani’s invitation.

Shao Watani smiled.

As long as Mo Fan accepted his challenge, Shao Watani did not mind his words.

Shao Watani held a grudge against the outcome of the World College Tournament even after all these years. He was accused of not being able to achieve a better result for Japan.

The students of the State House, on the other hand, were over the moon. They did not expect the boring training would turn into a sparring session between two experts from the previous World College Tournament.

Before the new season of the World College Tournament was over, Mo Fan was frequently mentioned among the members of the State House and National Institute. Kaede Takahashi, Nagayama, Sinchiro, and Ikuko Ishida heard about him and the Chinese team many times.

“At that time, Mr. Shao Watani was the team leader. Even though Mo Fan won the championship, the difference in strengths was just slight. The key was team cooperation and luck. It would be a mirror match if Mr. Shao Watani fought one-on-one with Mo Fan,” said Nagayama.

“I guess the same too. After all, both of them are the greatest experts at that moment.”

Kaede Takahashi did not say anything. He focused all his attention at the battleground.

“Sinchiro is here!” Ikuko Ishida shouted.

At the edge of the arena was a slender figure with both of his hands inside the pocket. He watched the sparring match from afar. He had no intention of approaching the battleground.

It was clear that everyone looked forward to the sparring session, this was especially so for the Japanese players.

The spectators on the stand stirred up after knowing their identities.

…

“We’re not sealing our super-level power because the Twin Guardian Towers have a powerful forbidden barrier to absorb the overflowing energy,” said Shao Watani to Mo Fan.

“I’m fine with it,” said Mo Fan.

“I hope you can bring out your full strength so that I can see how you earned the world’s number one title.” Shao Watani began a fighting stance.

Chihaya was the referee. She signaled the students to turn on the energy ban and enclose the fighting arena.

Kaede Takahashi sat beside Lingling. He hesitated for some time before asking, “Did you come here with Mo Fan?”

“Yes,” said Lingling.

“If that’s how it is, I’ll surpass him sooner or later,” Kaede Takahashi said in a low voice.

Lingling glanced at Kaede Takahashi in confusion.

He did not say anything. He watched the competition intently, as if he did not want to miss out anything from their sparring.

…

“Let the game begin!” said Chihaya.

Shao Watani was the most outstanding student in Japan in the past. Today, his strength grew even more powerful. His first spell was a super-level magic.

He did not intend to gauge Mo Fan’s strength. He straight away summoned the majestic power of the Star Palace.

The Star Palace was magnificent. It surrounded Shao Watani. It was pure silver. It was the power of space.

…

When Shao Watani cast his magic spell, Mo Fan remained motionless.

There was no corresponding energy around him. However, he stretched out his right hand. His middle finger and thumb were ringed together.

Shao Watani was about to strike with his Space Element power. One could feel that the entire arena was shaking, as if an earthquake was incoming!

Even so, Mo Fan still had not cast any magic spell. He merely flicked his middle finger from his thumb.

At that instant, an overwhelming destructive force swept over to Shao Watani!

His silver Star Palace collapsed and turned into shattered starlight. The boulder in the arena was overturned, and a hole appeared!

Shao Watani stared at him in horror. He was still in a daze and wondered how he got swept away like a straw in the wind!

The energy of the forbidden barrier around the arena which was used to absorb the overflowing power was crushed into pieces.

The barren mountain in the east of the Twin Guardian Towers was razed to the ground by the subsequent surge of the force!

Everything collapsed with just one snap of his finger!

Chapter 2949: Have Shown Some Mercy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Kaede Takahashi’s entire body shuddered, and he froze.

From his side, he saw a fan-shaped area in the east where Mo Fan had unleashed his radiation power. The arena, wall mountain, and distant barren mountain in that area were reduced to a land of ashes!

Shao Watani was supposed to be an even match with Mo Fan. He floated in midair and landed on the ground after everything was destroyed. By the time he returned to the ground, his legs were weak, and he was drenched in sweat. He had to rely on his willpower to keep himself from falling down in a heap!

Chihaya was equally baffled. She had not expected the sparring session that had begun seconds ago to end this way. She stared at Mo Fan. She did not seem to know him anymore. Even though it was still the same Mo Fan, he was so different from before. He gave them a lazy smile.

The crowd remained on the stand. They all looked panicked. Thankfully Mo Fan had his back to them. The direction in which he had flicked his finger was a barren land. Otherwise, they would all have perished.

They wondered how powerful Mo Fan must be if he could just cause this amount of destruction with a snap of his finger. He was once the champion of the World College Tournament, which was already rare in all fields in the world.

“I’m sorry. I’ve just finished practicing my cultivation, so I’m still not very familiar with my own power,” Mo Fan glanced at Shao Watani apologetically.

Shao Watani just stood there. A while ago, he had been full of fighting spirit just like old times in Venice. He finally had the chance to spar with the strongest man for that year and wanted to fulfill his wish.

However, at that moment, he seemed to have fallen into an abyss of despair. The light surrounding him faded rapidly as soon as he closed his heart from everything else, leaving only an aura of darkness that seemed to be whipping at him.

‘Why was their gap so big?’

Even though Mo Fan was undoubtedly the world’s number one, he could not possibly have become who he was today in just a few years’ time.

He could not even hold back one of Mo Fan’s attacks. Mo Fan was showing him mercy. Otherwise, Shao Watani would have been destroyed, just like the barren mountain.

“Shall we continue?” asked Mo Fan.

“I’m willing to admit defeat.” Shao Watani was aware of his own inferiority compared to Mo Fan. Therefore, there was no need to continue the sparring match.

The gap between the two could no longer be made up by another game. They were no longer in the same level of cultivation. They did not even share a similar level of realms.

Shao Watani thought he had been working very hard over the years. He had achieved super-level in three of his elements. He was the best among the young generations. However, he realized the small gap between him and Mo Fan during the World College Tournament only meant that he would be left farther behind in the future. He could not possibly surpass Mo Fan in this life.

Shao Watani lost all his fighting spirit. He felt doom.

It was not an easy feat to accept such a harsh reality.

…

The showdown ended unexpectedly.

They had their meals in the restaurant. The atmosphere was slightly awkward.

On the contrary, Mo Fan ate his food very happily. He could not resist tasty food.

“I’m at least an instructor in the Twin Guardian Towers. Since you’ve achieved that level of realm, why don’t you make a show and fight a few more rounds with me? Otherwise, it would be very difficult for me to carry on with the lessons later,” Shao Watani could not help but whisper to Mo Fan.

“I’ve told you that I’ve just finished practicing my cultivation behind the closed-door. Besides, I’ve already shown you some mercy,” said Mo Fan.

Shao Watani laughed and did not say anything more.

Meanwhile, the students on the other table saw Mo Fan wolf down his food. They stared at him as if he was a monster. This was especially so for Kaede Takahashi and Chihaya.

They suffered a huge blow after witnessing Mo Fan’s powerful strength. ‘How were they supposed to surpass him in the future?’

“Sinchino, come over here,” Chihaya called him.

Shao Watani also waved his hand at Kaded Takahashi, signaling him to sit with them.

Nagayama joined them shamelessly.

“Let me introduce you. He’s Mo Fan. I suppose you’ve seen him in the fighting arena just now. Mo Fan, he’s my younger brother, Sinchiro Mochizuki. He’s still immature. I’ll appreciate it if you could provide him with some guidance in these few days,” said Chihaya.

“I’m far from being a mentor for him. Moreover, I’m here to accompany her on a trip to Japan. She just started college and is very eager.” Mo Fan pointed at Lingling.

Mo Fan did not mention his true purpose of visiting Japan. There were still many things that he was unsure of. Hence, he used Lingling’s trip to Japan as an excuse.

“No matter what, I hope you could share your experience with them since they haven’t gone out of town.” Chihaya behaved like an elder sister to them. It was clear that she cared a lot for Sinchino and hoped he could grow more mature.

After Chihaya arranged accommodation for Mo Fan and Lingling, she stayed in the West Guardian Towers.

Mo Fan frowned as soon as he entered the house. Lingling was just about to go take a shower, when he stopped her.

“What’s wrong?” asked Lingling.

“Something’s wrong. I sensed a strong aura the moment I entered the West Guardian Towers. The Sublimed Evil Bead also warned me about a massive evil energy in this place. However, after we had our dinner, the strange aura was gone, and the Sublimed Evil Bead showed no more response,” said Mo Fan.

“Do you mean the Red Demon Kazuaki sensed your presence?” Lingling guessed.

“It’s possible. But we haven’t truly contacted the Red Demon Kazuaki. We’ve mostly interacted with its doppelgangers,” said Mo Fan.

“It has scruples about you. You have to keep your aura in check. It could be that your strength has alerted it,” said Lingling.

“Even if that’s the case, I don’t think it will leave this place. The Ascension Ceremony is around the corner. The Red Demon is an evil spirit that must possess someone else’s body. I think it is possessing someone at the moment. Whose role is it currently playing? You remember how it pretended to be one of the Lu family members…”

“I have the same thought too. It’s most likely among the crowd in the West Guardian Towers, but who could it be?” Lingling thought about the issue.

They had knowledge of the Red Demon’s nature. It was not purely an evil spirit. It had to rely on someone else to survive, much like a parasite. It had to take control of the person’s mind and steal their memories. It could even perfectly impersonate the person it possessed.

Chapter 2950: Impersonating Together

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The next day, Mo Fan walked around the West Guardian Towers alone. Lingling had mentioned earlier that the Red Demon’s magnetic field seemed to be influencing people’s minds subconsciously and making the people in the Twin Guardian Towers behave strangely.

However, Mo Fan did not encounter even a single event like what she had described. There was once an elderly woman who lost her way in the West Guardian Towers, and he saw someone was kind enough to show her the direction. A person accidentally spilled his drink on someone else’s shoes. They looked like they were about to fight each other. However, to Mo Fan’s surprise, the duo apologized to each other. Mo Fan felt uneasy with how friendly both were to each other.

It was a fruitless day.

Mo Fan initially thought he could figure out the Red Demon Kazuaki’s method of doing things before the arrival of the moonless night. It would be ideal if he could locate a part of the population where it could potentially thrive so that he could effectively stop it.

Not finding any clues was frustrating, to say the least. Even the Red Demon’s magnetic field seemed to have vanished.

“I sense that the Red Demon is wary of me. I’ll take a walk in the city. How does that sound?” asked Mo Fan.

She nodded. Ever since Mo Fan appeared in the Twin Guardian Towers, the Red Demon’s magnetic field had disappeared. The West Guardian Towers were originally filled with a strange and hostile atmosphere. However, its culture had improved so much that it surpassed the level of civilization. There was not even a single person spotted spitting!

Mo Fan felt helpless. If he had known that the Red Demon Kazuaki had parasitized somewhere nearby, he would have avoided Shao Watani’s invitation.

Lingling drew close to Mo Fan and whispered in his ears.

Mo Fan’s eyes lit up. He thought Lingling’s idea was brilliant. He immediately packed up his things and pretended to look for some fun in the city.

…

Lingling suggested a very simple idea.

The Red Demon could parasitize and disguise itself. The moment it noticed the appearance of a person who could threaten its plan, it would hide itself and wait quietly for the moonless night.

If so, why couldn’t Mo Fan disguise himself, too?

Mo Fan had a disguise artifact called The Eagle Witch Medusa’s Eye of Deception. The artifact would allow Mo Fan to blend into the heavily guarded place.

Lingling asked Mo Fan to impersonate a certain person. It would be best if he impersonated a person related to the East Guardian Towers. By doing so, Mo Fan could observe the presence of the Red Demon from the shadows.

For safety purposes, Lingling had no intention of asking who Mo Fan intended to impersonate. After all, the Red Demon was a creature that could manipulate one’s mind and steal one’s memories. If Lingling knew about it, the Red Demon Kazuaki could locate Mo Fan through her subconscious.

Hence, Mo Fan was the only person who was aware of the person he impersonated.

Likewise, the Red Demon Kazuaki was the only one that was aware of the person it impersonated.

Since it liked to play such a bizarre game, Mo Fan would play the same game with it.

[The Red Demon Kazuaki has misgivings about Mo Fan. Even if it knows that he is hiding among the crowd, it will try to dig him out lest he obstruct its ascension. The moment it takes action, it will certainly expose its flaws.]

Lingling quickly typed into her notebook.

[The Archangel Sharjah mentioned evil energy. It’s a massive energy. The overflow of the energy could affect its surroundings as well as the people around. They are possibly close to the mass of evil energy.]

Before Lingling came here, she had read up a lot about the Red Demon.

Apas also came from the Evil Temple. It had a good understanding about the Evil Temple, especially the Eight Souls Wicked God’s ascension method.

If the evil energy were to cast its effect on the moonless night, it must first be placed somewhere inside the Twin Guardian Towers, so that it could adapt to its surrounding environment, like creating a bacterial breeding ground for the Red Demon Kazuaki.

Since the evil energy had to be placed somewhere, the Red Demon Kazuaki had to stand guard over the mass of evil energy before the arrival of the moonless night. Hence, impersonating someone inside the Twin Guardian Towers would be the best way to not draw people’s attention. It could behave normally despite knowing that the Twin Guardian Towers would be severely affected. Just like a demon waiting quietly for its evil fruit to ripen.

At that moment, it was waiting calmly.

…

There were still seven days until the moonless night.

Regardless of whether the Red Demon Kazuaki was aware of Mo Fan’s deliberate interruption, the energy emitted from the evil magnetic field became increasingly hard to conceal.

Lingling witnessed an army being scared out of their wits by an enormous horned-fin Ocean Demon before being dragged into the ocean. Truth was, it was just a commander-level Ocean Demon. The army was capable of killing it. However, they were intimidated because of the previous appearance of a similar ruler-level enormous horned-fin Ocean Demon.

Meanwhile, in the West Guardian Towers, the National Institute’s final name list became extremely complicated.

Originally, Kaede Takahashi was almost certain of being selected as the State House player. However, one night, he mistakenly touched the East Guardian Towers’ forbidden barrier suddenly. Not only was he injured, but his injury also hampered his final stage of training. A rumor spread among the State House students that someone wanted to usurp Kaede Takahashi’s title.

The East Guardian Towers once fell into a chaotic situation. Lingling did not have the chance to find out what exactly had happened. She was only aware that a new batch of guards took over the place the next day.

Officer Ozawa handed the issue over to Lingling, so she went to take a look. However, the outcome of her investigation was disappointing.

Nagayama’s uncle, the same guard who had accidentally killed an innocent prisoner, was mentally unsound. Lingling initially thought she could dig out some useful information from him, only to end up receiving little to no clue.

“I wonder if Mo Fan is able to obtain some useful information. Everything seems trivial for now. The issues look like they have long been deposited in the West Guardian Towers and have been accidentally triggered just recently.” Lingling sat in the beverage area of a restaurant while holding a cup of matcha drink.

“Clank!” A stack of plates fell next to Lingling. She was startled. She took off her headphone to see a waitress pointing and scolding the restaurant manager!

“What exactly do you want me to do?! Do you want me to stack the plates or wipe the tables? Or is it just because I refuse to watch a movie with you or play along with any of your attempts that you avenge me with all sorts of menial labor?!” shouted the waitress.

Although it was nighttime and there were not many people in the restaurant, several diners could not help but stare at the commotion.

The restaurant manager stood motionless. “If you feel tired, let me know. It’s not like I refuse to let you take a break,” he said. “Why do you need to say something like that? I have no ulterior motives. I just wish to keep the restaurant clean. Isn’t that part of my duty as the manager of the restaurant?”

Lingling glanced at the two people arguing in public. Things like that rarely happen in Japan, at least not in public. The Japanese valued their dignity.

However, as the moonless night approached closer, this kind of phenomenon happened around Lingling many times.

It seemed like the Red Demon Kazuaki and its evil fruits could stir people up and express their frustrations and their anger. As a result, the adults behaved like children, and they caused trouble wherever they went.

Chapter 2951: Ending Life

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“There you are! Why aren’t you resting at this hour?” Kaede Takahashi’s voice was familiar.

Lingling turned to him only to see him exhausted and haggard. He probably had not fully recovered from his injury after touching the forbidden barrier. He probably still felt the pain from his wounds.

“How did you get to the forbidden barrier? Don’t you even have the slightest recollection of how you got there?” asked Lingling.

Kaede Takahashi shook his head and said wryly, “I slept very early that night. A sharp pain jolted me awake.”

“Sleepwalking, just like Sinchino Mochizuki. He didn’t even know what he had done.” Lingling related the two issues together.

Kaede Takahashi’s expression changed.

“That’s right. Sinchino and I encountered similar incidents. Besides, both of us might be disqualified from becoming the National Institute team players. Could someone be messing around in the dark?” Kaede Takahashi sensed that things were not as simple as he thought.

“If Sinchino and you are disqualified, who will most likely be the next to join the National Institute team?” asked Lingling.

“It’s not good to simply make a speculation without evidence, especially on things like this,” said Kaede Takahashi.

“I’m just asking. I’m not convicting that person,” said Lingling.

Kaede Takahashi hesitated. “Ikuko Ishida will most likely be the one next. However, the Mochizuki family has settled Sinchino’s issue in private. So, he stands a high chance of recovering his spot.”

Lingling nodded. Then, she keyed in the two people’s names into her notebook.

Kaede Takahashi could not quite read the strange data in her notebook. Since she was a professional hunter, she must have a unique insight about collection of data. He did not ask about it.

“We’ve got a problem!” Nagayama rushed into the restaurant from outside and charged at Kaede Takahashi.

The restaurant was very near to the State House. The students often were found there during the breaks.

“What’s wrong?” asked Lingling.

“My uncle committed hara-kiri!” said Nagayama.

Lingling frowned.

Nagayama’s uncle had a very poor mental state. But from what Lingling noticed, he still had a very firm will to live and to rid himself of the mental burden.

He had not seemed like a person who wanted to commit hara-kiri.

“Your uncle has cut his belly! Why are you here instead of with him?!” exclaimed Kaede Takahashi.

“Officer Ozawa asked me to come over to inform Ms. Lingling,” said Nagayama.

“We’ll go there and take a look,” said Lingling.

“Huh? It looks scary. Are you sure you want to go to the scene?”

…

When they arrived at the scene, there was a pool of blood on the floor. The blood dripped slowly.

Nagayama and Kaede Takahashi looked away. They could not look directly at the corpse. Meanwhile, Lingling looked like a veteran detective who frequented the crime scene. She wore her gloves skillfully and carefully examined the body.

“It’s suicide,” Lingling said with great conviction.

The military penal officer from the West Guardian Towers beside her was stunned. “Miss, I should be the one to say that line. Don’t try to act like Detective Conan!”

After leaving the scene, Lingling was deep in her thoughts. Kaede Takahashi’s phone fell on the ground and made a loud sound.

“What are you doing? He’s my uncle, not yours! Why do you have to be so nervous?!” Nagayama scolded.

Kaede Takahashi picked up his phone. He showed his phone to Lingling and Nagayama. It was a short video that Kaede Takahashi had just received.

Lingling clicked on it. To her horror, she saw a girl soaking her head in the bathtub, and her hair spread on the water…

“Who is she? Why did she have to shoot something so scary?” asked Nagayama.

“She’s my junior,” said Kaede Takahashi. He looked pale.

He had just received the message. The three of them immediately ran to her apartment.

The room door was locked. Nagayama crashed the door open.

The moment they entered through the door, the water in the bathroom had overflowed to the living hall. Kaede Takahashi panicked. He quickly dashed into the bathroom.

Lingling was slower. However, by the time she entered the bathroom, Kaede Takahashi and Nagayama stood frozen at the door.

“She might still be alive!” Lingling pushed the two away and carried the girl out from the bathtub.

Unfortunately, Kaede Takahashi’s junior’s eyes were filled with blood veins. She had suffocated.

There was a cell phone propped up on a stand next to the bathtub. She recorded the process of ending her life with that phone. She had scheduled the video to get sent.

“What’s going on? Why… all of a sudden?” Nagayama was shocked.

“I-I rejected her yesterday. I told her that… I just want to focus on the World College Tournament.” Kaede Takahashi was devastated.

Throughout his youth, Kaede Takahashi had many girls who showed an interest in him. He politely refused their advances. All of them just went on with their lives.

Kaede Takahashi collapsed on the floor. ‘Why did she have to end her life just like that? She was a living being. Why did she have to do that just because he rejected her? Had he been so brutal that she had lost all willpower to move on?’

“Kaede Takahashi, please leave. Get a hold of yourself. Ms. Lingling, I have to delete her video. Everyone is tense right now. If the rumor spreads that his junior committed suicide because of him, this will affect his journey in joining the National Institute team.” Nagayama was calm. It looked like he was very concerned about Kaede Takahashi’s future.

Apparently, Kaede Takahashi did not think about it. He had not recovered from the shock of his junior’s suicide.

“Don’t delete the video. If you delete the video, it will only make him more suspicious. Do you think the interrogators are children? If a person ends their lives, no matter what you do, it will change nothing. Moreover, we don’t if the cause of her suicide was the rejection or something else.” Lingling stopped Nagayama’s reckless behavior.

Nagayama heard her out and did not do anything hastily.

“Inform Officer Ozawa,” said Lingling. “Contact her teacher, her family and her relatives. Don’t touch anything. Her death may not be as simple as you think.”

Chapter 2952: The Prisoner Visits

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Officer Ozawa and several other officials in charge of the order of the West Guardian Towers gathered in front of the door. They checked the contents of the video with Kaede Takahashi and made a copy from his phone.

Officer Ozawa walked out of the house with a dark expression. Lingling was sitting outside the house.

“What do you think?” Officer Ozawa asked.

“Your intuition is right. Many strange things happened in the West Guardian Towers, and they all should be related to the two people who committed suicide. I’ll find the substance that affected their emotions as soon as possible,” said Lingling.

The magnetic field of the Red Demon had become more powerful. The emotions of people like Nagayama’s uncle, who felt guilty and tormented, were amplified. Finally, they chose to end their lives by committing suicide.

It might be the same thing that happened to Kaede Takahashi’s junior. It showed that the Red Demon’s magnetic field had greatly affected both because they might have come into contact with that powerful evil energy.

“I’m so sorry to trouble you. The East Guardian Towers are also in trouble, so we have many things to handle,” said Officer Ozawa.

Lingling returned to her room. She had obtained information on the daily activities of Nagayama’s uncle and Kaede Takahashi’s junior. After some simple comparisons, Lingling soon noticed a pattern.

“The Sacrificial Mountain.”

Nagayama’s uncle and Kaede Takahashi’s junior never crossed paths. One was part of the fortress’s military, and the other was in the academy. The Twin Guardian Towers were large, so the probability of the two meeting was small. However, the Red Demon’s magnetic field had greatly affected them more than anyone else.

In Lingling’s opinion, the two might have gone to the same place at the same time where the evil energy was manifesting. The closer they were, the easier it was to be affected.

The next morning, Lingling and Officer Ozawa went to the Sacrificial Mountain.

The Sacrificial Mountain was a Japanese temple. It was a place where the people of the Twin Guardian Towers paid tribute to their deceased relatives.

Every few days, Nagayama’s uncle would come here because of his guilt. He wanted to wash away the pain and guilt he felt by asking for forgiveness at this place.

“I have already confirmed what you asked me to look into. The spirit tablet of the father of the girl who committed suicide yesterday is indeed here. The day before yesterday was her father’s death anniversary. Someone saw her here. She stayed here for a long time,” Officer Ozawa said to Lingling.

“Everyone needs to register to enter the Sacrificial Mountain, right?” Lingling pointed to a monk who was guarding the gate.

“Yes. Everyone must register,” said Officer Ozawa.

“List down all the people who have visited this week. I’ll go in and take a look,” Lingling said to Officer Ozawa.

“Okay.”

…

Lingling walked into the Sacrificial Mountain. There was an old, small temple inside. Many people’s spirit tablets were in the temple’s main hall, and these spirit tablets were arranged in orderly rows and columns. Each spirit tablet had an oil lamp at the side. The bright oil lamps illuminated the small temple and made it appear mystic.

Lingling read the general instructions. Only the spirit tablets of those who had contributed to the Twin Guardian Towers would be displayed on it. Of course, they were all deceased.

A delicate scroll summarizing the lives of the deceased was under each spirit tablet. Golden ink was used to highlight the remarkable things they did for the Twin Guardian Towers.

Lingling was proficient in various languages. Although the scrolls were in Japanese, she could understand them.

She read a few scrolls at random. Officer Ozawa walked over with a book and told Lingling that he had noted down the list of recent visitors.

“Officer Ozawa, is this the one that Nagayama’s uncle accidentally killed?” Lingling pointed to one of the spirit tablets.

“Yes, he was a brave person. It’s a shame such a thing happened.” Officer Ozawa nodded.

“Didn’t you notice anything?” Lingling asked.

Officer Ozawa did not understand. After carefully observing the full name on the spirit tablet, he suddenly realized something. “The father of the girl who committed suicide was Akematsu?”

“Yes, they came here recently to pay tribute to the famous Akematsu, who was accidentally killed,” said Lingling.

“This…” Officer Ozawa was creeped out.

Two unrelated people suddenly committed suicide, and they were related to Akematsu, who was accidentally killed because of association with the evil group.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Officer Ozawa’s communicator rang. He glanced at it and found a text message about the Battle of the Night Sea.

The sea-facing part of the Twin Guardian Towers was a military fortress. In the past few days, the Ocean Demons had been trying to invade it. However, the main battles were at sea, so the Twin Guardian Towers would not be affected.

Officer Ozawa did not pay much attention to it at first. After all, he was not responsible for the Battle of the Night Sea. He was mainly in charge of the Twin Guardian Towers. After flipping through the list of deaths in the battle, he saw a familiar name.

“What’s wrong?” Lingling asked.

“I’m not sure if it is a coincidence, but a female soldier named Shizuka Sato, who died in the Battle of the Night Sea, also came here four days ago,” said Officer Ozawa.

Lingling took the book with the list of names and made a comparison. She found that a person had visited late at night four days ago.

“Officer Ozawa, I would like you to make some comparisons regarding this visitor to see if there are any other people who have had… similar accidents,” said Lingling.

Officer Ozawa nodded and took photos of the list of names in the book with his phone.

“That’s weird.” Officer Ozawa’s hand stopped moving, but he continued to pose for pictures. On one of the pages, he fixed his gaze on the last name. “Ki Kurokawa. Why would this person be listed as a visitor?”

Lingling leaned forward to observe. Since Ki Kurokawa was not a particularly unique name, she couldn’t figure out why Ozawa was shocked.

“Is there anything special about this person?” Lingling asked.

“It is impossible for him to appear here. He is imprisoned in the lowest level of the East Guardian Towers!” said Officer Ozawa.

‘He is imprisoned? That means he is a sinner who isn’t allowed to see sunlight for the rest of his life. Why would such a terrifying person visit here? How did he escape?’

“I must look into this!” Officer Ozawa uttered hastily. He appeared to be scared.

“Is it that bad?” Lingling asked.

“It is worse.” Officer Ozawa did not dare to stay any longer. He ran down the Sacrificial Mountain while calling the headquarters of the West Guardian Towers’ military fortress.

Chapter 2953: The Third Suspect

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After Officer Ozawa left, Lingling walked around the Sacrificial Mountain.

She could confirm that this was where the evil energy was released. Lingling knew very well that the Red Demon might be nearby. If she was too obvious, the Red Demon might target her.

Lingling left. She already knew that the evil energy was in the Sacrificial Mountain and was likely in the temple’s spirit tablets.

…

After Lingling returned to her room, she opened the visitor list and carefully checked the names.

Lingling was checking the first page when someone knocked on the door. She frowned.

“Who is it?” Lingling asked.

“It’s me.” Mo Fan’s voice came from outside.

Lingling opened the door.

“Didn’t we agree that we won’t meet up?” Lingling angrily asked.

“I found something. What about you? Did you find any clues?” Mo Fan walked in. He glanced at Lingling’s laptop on the table and the list of names.

“I haven’t found anything so far. I only know that a guy, who was imprisoned at the lowest level of the East Guardian Towers, escaped and visited the Sacrificial Mountain. What about you? Did you find anything special?” Lingling stood in front of the door.

“I sneaked into the East Guardian Towers. It was different from what we expected,” said Mo Fan.

“In what sense?” Lingling asked.

“Everything in the East Guardian Towers was in order. The guards were on patrol, the prisoners were strictly guarded, and there were almost no signs of riots,” Mo Fan replied.

“That is a bit abnormal. Ordinary people live in the West Guardian Towers, and it is full of anger, ugliness, and irritability. On the other hand, the East Guardian Towers have many criminals, but it is calm and peaceful,” said Lingling.

“Did you find anything else?” Mo Fan said helplessly.

“No. There are very few clues and everything I have found till now is all fragmentary. I feel that nothing is related to what we are looking for, but at the same time, everything seems to be connected. It is giving me a headache,” said Lingling.

“Okay. I will continue to search. Come and find me if you find anything important,” said Mo Fan.

“How can I find you? I still don’t know who you are disguising as,” said Lingling.

“Let’s choose a place. If you find anything, we will meet at the stone platform at the east cliff,” said Mo Fan.

“Okay.”

…

After closing the door, Lingling opened the notebook and began to look for information about Ki Kurokawa.

Lingling soon found the documents about shocking things Ki Kurokawa had done. These documents were internal documents of the Japanese government and were not open to the public. They recorded the terrorist incidents of Ki Kurokawa slaughtering civilians.

Ki Kurokawa was a manslayer. He had slaughtered people more than once. He had killed thousands!

Lingling finally understood why Officer Ozawa was in a panic. If such a manslayer was out, it would seriously affect the Twin Guardian Towers and even Osaka Castle.

‘Was this also related to the Red Demon?’ she wondered.

The Red Demon was not a manslayer. It liked to control other people’s minds and turn them into its spiritual slaves.

Lingling’s mind was a mess. The special environment of the Twin Guardian Towers made it possible for people to be affected by the magnetic field of the Red Demon.

However, who were the people related to the Red Demon Kazuaki? Where was the Red Demon hiding? The Red Demon was greedily staring at these people caught in his game like a cunning game designer.

Lingling lay on her back on the soft bed, turned her head to the side, and looked at the three sketches on the bedside table.

She had drawn these three sketches near the suspension bridge. They recorded the scene of an army entering the East Guardian Towers. At that time, Lingling felt that there was something strange about it but could not understand exactly what.

She took two of the papers each in one hand. Suddenly, she got it! Lingling understood the difference between the two!

The first sketch showed the army entering the East Guardian Towers. The third sketch showed the army coming out and walking on the suspension bridge.

The number of people had changed! When they entered, there were about twelve men in that army. When they exited, there were thirteen people in the army!

There was an extra person!

Lingling got up from the bed and finally understood why she felt something was strange.

“Why was there an extra person? Either a soldier was guarding it and he came out with the others. Or the army took someone out of the East Guardian Towers and asked him to put on a military uniform to hide him. Could it be that the person they brought out was Ki Kurokawa?” Lingling muttered.

‘Did the army let Ki Kurokawa out? Did someone use the army to help Ki Kurokawa escape from prison? Did the army do it on purpose?’

There were so many questions in her mind which could only be answered if she talked to the army directly.

“Why is he on the visitor list?” She found that Kaede Takahashi was also one of the visitors.

Kaede Takahashi also visited the Sacrificial Mountain. The night of his visit, he sleepwalked to the edge of the cliff, and the yellow lightning severely injured him. If he could not recover, he would lose the chance of joining the National Institute.

Lingling continued to flip through the notebook. If she was guessing right, a person named Sinchino Mochizuki should have also visited the Sacrificial Mountain.

Since the Sacrificial Mountain was where the evil energy was stored, people who behaved strangely would be on the list.

Lingling looked at last month’s record but did not see Sinchino Mochizuki on the list.

Lingling typed his name on a fresh page and circled it in red ink. She wasn’t sure if he was affected by the Red Demon’s magnetic field. Either it made him lust after a woman and commit a crime, or he was the Red Demon. There were some side effects when the Red Demon occupied someone’s consciousness and memories.

“It can also be Ki Kurokawa.” Lingling wrote down the name.

A person imprisoned in the East Guardian Towers had escaped and visited the Sacrificial Mountain of the West Guardian Towers. Either someone had helped him escape or it was the Red Demon who was in fact Ki Kurokawa.

Lingling was about to close the notebook after she keyed in the names of these two suspects. However, she hesitated. She reopened the ‘suspects’ column and added another space. She had a third suspect in mind, but she didn’t key in the name yet.

Chapter 2954: A Photo

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The lights in the house at the end went out, and the long corridor became as dark as the night sky. The brilliance of the crescent moon could only illuminate the silhouettes of the Twin Guardian Towers. No one could see what was going on inside.

In the woods outside the lengthy passageway, a thin individual stood. He had short hair and dark brown eyes that glistened even at night.

He had just been concentrating on the lit room. He still had no plans to go even after the light went out.

His body was encased in a layer of dark red, evil energy, and the beads hanging on his waist glowed with a special luster, like luminous pearls.

“Who is in the woods?” asked a night watchman.

Mo Fan walked to the watchman. “I am just taking a walk after eating. Don’t be so nervous.”

“It’s midnight now.”

“I had a late dinner. Is that against the law?” Mo Fan asked.

The watchman turned his flashlight on Mo Fan’s face. “You are Mo Fan!” he said. “You are the one who defeated Shou Watani with just one move.”

“You flatter me,” said Mo Fan with a smile. “I was only able to win because Shou Watani didn’t go all out on me. I even dare to think he gave in intentionally.”

“You’re indeed very strong. You don’t have to be so humble. Although you’re from China, we have always respected the strong regardless of nationality. Can I take a photo with you?” asked the watchman.

Mo Fan nodded.

The watchman happily took his phone out and took a photo with Mo Fan. The torch flashed. It emitted a glare, but Mo Fan held his eyes open. The photo was finally taken.

“Thank you! Thank you! I never thought I could take a photo with an amazing person like you!” The watchman left contentedly.

…

After the watchman left, Mo Fan waited for a while in the woods alone. He left after a while when he didn’t detect anything unusual.

In Lingling’s room, she took the notebook and snuggled under the blankets with her notebook. She opened the “suspects” column and noted down the third suspect’s name: Mo Fan.

…

When it was dawn, Lingling pulled the blanket away from her head. She looked in the mirror.

She had barely slept so she had dark circles under her eyes. She wouldn’t have cared in the past, but she had changed. She wanted to look beautiful every day.

She covered them with an eye cream. Although her complexion was pale because of lack of sleep, she thought she still looked good.

Lingling changed into simple sports clothes and went on her morning run. Then, she took a bath, put on a full set of makeup, and went to the restaurant for breakfast in good spirits.

She continued her healthy habits that she had opted for a year now. Lingling was finally active like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl after quitting the unhealthy habits of staying up all night, drinking milk tea, and skipping meals. She exuded the attractiveness that was particular to girls her age, like a flower that was just beginning to bloom.

After breakfast, Lingling returned to the room to start her hunter’s work for the day. She discovered a picture wedged in the door gap as soon as she entered the room.

This photograph still smelled of ink, thus it ought to have been printed just recently.

It was a photo of two people. A man dressed as a watchman with a bright smile, taking a photo with Mo Fan. There was nothing strange about Mo Fan’s face but his dark brown eyes looked strange because of the glare from the flashlight. Other than that, nothing was amiss.

Lingling looked at the photo, and a smile appeared on her face.

“I stayed up all night for nothing.” Lingling pouted.

Lingling could have a restful night’s sleep if she knew Mo Fan was by her side.

1

…

The quiet night was moonless.

In West Guardian Towers, strange deaths were a continuous occurrence, but these killings had clear “motives” that could be justified. There was no mistake. The majority of them who mysteriously passed away were on Lingling’s list of visitors obtained from the Sacrificial Mountain.

There was no question that the Sacrificial Mountain contained the evil energy. Those who had been there had been adversely affected by the Red Demon’s magnetic field. Their intense feelings drove them to commit suicide.

Even though she was aware of a list of people who would eventually pass away, Lingling was unable to stop them because she could not control a group of people who were destined to die.

She was aware of the location of the evil energy, but she was unsure of the Red Demon Kazuaki’s true identity.

Only one thing Lingling was certain of was that the Red Demon had a clone, and that clone was also passing for another person. Kazuaki, the Red Demon, had not yet slipped in any way.

The Red Demon Kazuaki’s actual identity was patiently awaiting the moonless night. By impersonating someone, his clone was causing chaos in the West Guardian Towers. Lingling was aware of his disguise, but she was unable to confront them head-on. The Red Demon Kazuaki would only become more careful in concealing his true identity.

“If only I can go to the East Guardian Towers, I can find out who are allies and enemies.” Lingling held a small notepad in one hand and a pencil in the other.

Strange energy emanated from the Twin Guardian Towers as a whole. These strange occurrences might be perceived as normal by other hunters. Lingling, however, was unique. Her expertise lay in linking seemingly unrelated topics while removing truly unrelated ones.

“Master Lingling, the West Guardian Towers are in a panic. If you know something, please let us know. The students have no intention of training, the soldiers can’t get along, and even the higher-ups are beginning to suspect each other. Everyone says that the evil gang from the past has returned and that they are devouring everyone. People who get along every day are turning out to be suspicious. They might take away our most prized possessions,” said Officer Ozawa, solemnly.

Ki Kurokawa had recently escaped from the East Guardian Towers and the chief of the Towers decided to lock down the Twin Guardian Towers. Nobody was permitted to enter the country as a tourist, and nobody was permitted to depart. The manslayer Ki Kurokawa might be hiding in one of the Twin Guardian Towers. It was a possibility.

Officer Ozawa wanted to hire other hunters or even report to senior officials in Osaka Castle. However, the Chief of the Towers ordered the Twin Guardian Towers to be locked down. No one could enter or leave until they found Ki Kurokawa.

Lingling became the only hunter in the Twin Guardian Towers as of now. Officer Ozawa asked Lingling to deal with some minor incidents before, but he had not expected the situation to escalate.

Chapter 2955: Frame-up

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Lingling was not surprised by this. The moonless night was coming soon. It would be weird if there were still peace here.

“Someone deliberately released Ki Kurokawa to prevent everyone in the Twin Guardian Towers from entering, leaving, and communicating with the outside world,” Lingling said.

“Could it be that someone is going to implement a dreadful plan?” Officer Ozawa asked.

“What actions will the Chief of the Towers take if a prisoner escapes from the East Guardian Towers?” Lingling asked.

“Lockdown, of course. In fact, there are two prohibitions in the Twin Guardian Towers. The first is to lock down the East Guardian Towers. Outsiders can’t break in, and the prisoners inside can’t escape. The second is a safety measure. If a prisoner accidentally leaves the East Guardian Towers, the prohibition on the West Guardian Towers will also be activated. Then, the entire Twin Guardian Towers will be on lockdown to prevent prisoners from escaping into society,” Officer Ozawa said.

The system of the Twin Guardian Towers was simple.

The East Guardian Towers and the West Guardian Towers used to be prisons for a very long time. The sole entry and escape, if the inmates were held prisoner on a cliff, similar to the East Guardian Towers, would be the suspension bridge.

In this fashion, if inmates managed to scale the East Guardian Towers’ cliff and escape, they would have to cross the suspension bridge and enter the West Guardian Towers. The convicts would be unable to flee if the West Guardian Towers were placed on lockdown.

In the past, the East Guardian Towers provided some assurance.

The strictness of the East Guardian Towers, however, eventually rendered the West Guardian Towers essentially worthless. The West Guardian Towers were initially transformed into a military facility by the army. The West Guardian Towers eventually developed into a location with educational, military, and tourist services.

If Ki Kurokawa had not escaped, many people who lived in the West Guardian Towers for a long time would not even be aware of the second level of safety measures.

“The Chief of the Towers is very sure that Ki Kurokawa has not left the West Guardian Towers. Every prisoner has a prisoner’s mark after being imprisoned. This mark is related to the prohibition of the West Guardian Towers. Once he tries to leave the Twin Guardian Towers, the second-level prohibition will be automatically triggered. Ki Kurokawa knows this, so he does not dare provoke this second-level prohibition,” Officer Ozawa said.

“The manslayer fled into the West Guardian Towers and mingled among its occupants, blending into their social circle. People continue to die in strange ways, but the reasons are not clear. Since the Evil Gang has returned, everyone is wary of those around them. The Twin Guardian Towers are on lockdown and don’t have contact with the outside world creating an environment for panic,” said Lingling.

“Master Lingling, you found out about the escape of Ki Kurokawa. Now that so many days have passed, did you find anything else? If we can catch him, everyone won’t be so anxious,” Officer Ozawa said.

“Let’s handle it one at a time,” Lingling said.

“Huh? Do you already know where Ki Kurokawa is hiding?” Officer Ozawa asked.

“Well, sort of.”

…

Officer Ozawa called the higher-ups of the Twin Guardian Towers.

The Chief of the Towers, Katana Mochizuki, Tegami Fujikata, and General Takuichi were the four chiefs of the Twin Guardian Towers.

The Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo, was in charge of the defense of the East Guardian Towers. All the guards had to obey his orders, and all the prisoners were under his management.

In the Mochizuki family, Katana Mochizuki played an important role. This family built the Twin Guardian Towers. They were the earliest residents of the Twin Guardian Towers, and their family members held many positions in the entire Twin Guardian Towers.

Tegami Fujikata was in charge of the State House and the Academy. All the teachers and students were under her management.

General Takuichi was the leader of the military fortress. In addition to Ocean Demons, he dealt with other threats to the city, such as prisoners who might escape from the East Guardian Towers.

Officer Ozawa had no idea that all four chiefs would show up at once, and he had no idea why they would show up to support a Chief Military Officer like him.

Officer Ozawa entered the hallway and saw that the four chiefs had been invited to an emergency meeting by an unidentified person. A wide range of professionals were also in attendance.

“Ozawa, you told me a long time ago that you hired a Seven-Star Hunter Master to handle the strange incident in the Twin Guardian Towers. Where is the Seven-Star Hunter Master now?” the Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo, asked.

“A woman named Lingling is the Seven-Star Hunter Master. She has some major discoveries and seeks to report to all of you,” Officer Ozawa said.

There were a lot of people there, and they were all staring at Lingling.

To be honest, it was hard to believe that a young girl could be a Seven-Star Hunter Master, yet no one expressed any skepticism.

“Okay. Young master, what are the reasons for all the troublesome things happening in the Twin Guardian Towers? Also, how did you find Ki Kurokawa’s name on the Sacrificial Mountain’s visitor list? Why were you at the Sacrificial Mountain?” The Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo, took charge of the overall situation.

Lingling found a place to sit down. She needed to tell them everything one by one.

“First of all, let’s talk about what happened to the Mochizuki family a while ago. According to my investigation—”

“I don’t care about that matter! I hope you could talk about Ki Kurokawa. It is the most urgent thing we need to know right now,” the Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo, interrupted Lingling.

Lingling glanced at the Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo. However, she ignored him and continued, “According to my investigation, the scandal of the Mochizuki family was deliberately committed by someone. Akematsu has a daughter who is studying in the academy, and she loves Kaede Takahashi. She knew that Kaede Takahashi wanted to join the National Institute’s team, so she used Psychic Element Magic to force Sinchino Mochizuki to sleepwalk and do some terrible things, forcing Sinchino Mochizuki to lose his position in the National Institute.”

Sinchino Mochizuki was also present. When he heard Lingling’s words, he trembled and stared at Kaede Takahashi in horror.

Everyone in the conference room abruptly stopped speaking.

“Erm, we actually checked it out. It’s just as Miss Lingling said,” Katana Mochizuki said slowly.

“Although the Mochizuki family did not take disciplinary action against Akematsu’s daughter, she still blamed herself and chose to end her life the day after Kaede Takahashi rejected her confession,” Lingling said.

“Kaede Takahashi sleepwalked and almost died. At that time, his junior was already dead. It won’t make sense unless we assume that the spirit of his junior controlled him,” Nagayama said hurriedly.

“You can ask Kaede Takahashi. He knew what was going on.” Lingling looked at Kaede Takahashi.

Kaede Takahashi suddenly panicked. Under everyone’s attention, he was obviously under pressure.

After hesitating for a while, Kaede Takahashi lowered his head and said, “Miss Lingling, you’re really smart. It was true that I pretended to sleepwalk. Sinchino lost the qualification of the National Institute because of me. When my junior confessed, she told me the truth. I hoped to return the quota to Sinchino, so I violated the prohibition late at night and hurt myself.”

Chapter 2956: A Wrong List

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“So, these so-called bizarre things that happened in the State House were simply because of the relationship problems between the students?” Officer Ozawa was quite surprised.

He did not expect this result. After all, it was difficult to explain everything that had happened.

“I’ll take care of the things in the State House, so there is no need for everyone to worry about it,” said Tegami Fujikata.

“I apologize for making everyone concerned about my affairs,” said Kaede Takahashi.

“Miss Lingling, if you only resolved the personal grievances of these young people as a Seven-Star Hunter Master, then there is no need to hold this emergency meeting.” The Chief of the Towers was unhappy with Lingling.

From the perspective of the Chief of the Towers, these matters pale in comparison to Ki Kurokawa’s location. Everyone had their ideas and was prepared to act in ways that were absurd due to the extremely stressful environment throughout the Twin Guardian Towers. It would take too long to take action against them.

“If you want to know the whereabouts of Ki Kurokawa, you need to listen to me patiently because they are all related to the next thing I’m going to say,” Lingling said.

“Can’t you just tell us where Ki Kurokawa is?” The Chief of the Towers was angry.

“Chief, please listen to Lingling. Even if the matter is urgent, we can still spare some time. Besides, the Twin Guardian Towers are on lockdown, so Ki Kurokawa can’t escape,” said Katana Mochizuki.

Lingling ignored the impatient Chief of the Towers and continued, “Let’s talk about the officer who committed suicide. He used to be the guard of the East Guardian Towers. He blamed himself for murdering Akematsu, who was framed and imprisoned. Recently, he had the symptoms of a mental disorder as he said he could always see the ghosts of those who died. He could not bear the guilt and torture, so he chose to commit suicide.”

The Chief of the Towers snorted coldly but did not interrupt Lingling this time.

Everyone knew what Lingling was talking about, and the death of Nagayama’s uncle was not included among the strange incidents. Ultimately, he was affected by his own guilt and the opinions of others. Nobody was shocked when he decided to end his life.

“While we’re on the subject, we should bring up the Evil Gang that’s hanging around the East Guardian Towers. The East Guardian Towers’ security personnel formerly faced a serious danger from the Evil Gang, which had amassed a sizable number of inmates. Did you give the order to assassinate every member of the Evil Gang, Chief?” Lingling asked the Chief of the Towers.

The Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo, glanced at everyone present. This matter was not a secret inside the Twin Guardian Towers, so he admitted without hesitation. “Yes, I issued an order to kill all the members and let the prisoners serving their sentences have their souls extracted in advance.”

“Then have you thought about the problem?” Lingling said.

“What problem?”

“The people you ordered to kill were not members of the Evil Gang but those who did not join or were unwilling to join the Evil Gang,” said Lingling.

When Shigekyo learned it, his face transformed. He violently slammed the table. “Nonsense!”

Katana Mochizuki, Tegami Fujikata, General Takuichi, Chihaya Mochizuki, and Officer Ozawa were all shocked.

“H-How is that possible? At that time, we had gotten rid of the Evil Gang. Although we did kill some innocent prisoners in the process, we got to curb the expansion of the Evil Gang. It was inevitable. Miss Lingling, maybe you are mistaken? How could the chief, soldiers, and guards executing at that time carry out a completely different order?” In an effort to lighten the mood, Officer Ozawa attempted a smile despite the heavy atmosphere.

“Since many innocent people were killed, it meant that you guys could not distinguish the members of the Evil Gang. Was it possible that the Evil Gang was quite large in East Guardian Towers, but some people refused to obey them, such as the righteous Akematsu?”

“After the Chief of the Towers realized this force was growing, the head of the Evil Gang wanted to get rid of the gang in advance. Therefore, he put innocent prisoners and those who refused to join them on the list of members. Then, he made good use of the chief’s order to kill them, so the gang had control of the entire East Guardian Towers.”

While speaking, Lingling paced, but her gaze was questioningly fixed on the Chief of the Towers.

The conference hall was silent. They could only hear Lingling’s light footsteps and her terrifying inferences.

Shigekyo, the Chief of the Towers, began to breathe heavily.

“Nonsense! Nonsense! You are only a little girl. You know nothing! Have you lived through that period? Do you even know what happened inside? Akematsu joined the Evil Gang out of resentment because he believed that he was falsely accused. This was a fact at the time. Why do you say that we wronged him? Why should we accept this criticism?” Shigekyo said angrily.

“Chief, you don’t have to be so angry. I think you were also misled by others about this matter. At that time, you would never have thought that in addition to the prisoners being brainwashed by the Evil Gang, someone in your security team also might have joined the Evil Gang,” Lingling said to Shigekyo.

Hearing Lingling’s remarks, the irate chief was startled and sat stiffly back in his chair.

“Chief?” Katana Mochizuki stared at the Chief of the Towers in horror.

Lingling’s recent statement was nothing more than a supposition, thus the Chief of the Towers was justified in reprimanding her. After all, if Lingling was correct, the Chief of the Towers committed a grave sin that could not be atoned for.

Even if Lingling’s assumption was reasonable, everyone still did not quite believe it. Even the Chief of the Towers scowled at her claims.

Katana Mochizuki and Tegami Fujikata realized that Lingling’s assumptions might be true since the Chief of the Towers looked so panicked!

Why else would the Chief of the Towers react in this way?

Could it be that all the people killed at that time were not even members of the Evil Gang?

The Evil Gang was in charge of the East Guardian Towers as a whole at that time.

Chapter 2957: The Twin Guardian Towers Have Been Infiltrated

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Nagayama, your uncle killed himself not just to make amends to Akematsu. he wished to express his regret to the duped Chief of the Towers and all the deceased captives. He was one of the guards who joined the Evil Gang, and he was the one who compiled a list of non-members for the chief.”

“Akematsu did commit manslaughter, but so did all the other convicts who perished as a result of this episode. However, other prisoners were serving heavy sentences, and society would not care about them. Akematsu was different. As a result of what happened to Akematsu, people were aware of the plan to eliminate the Evil Gang. Unfortunately, people did not know much about it.”

After Lingling finished speaking, everyone’s expression changed, as if it took time to digest this critical piece of information. Some people at the management level paled as they thought about further details.

“If all the people who died at that time were dissidents of the Evil Gang, it means that all the prisoners in the entire East Guardian Towers were members of the Evil Gang. Now that so many years have passed, they must have grown to a level that we can’t even imagine!” Shou Watani said in a trembling voice.

It was too frightful!

Evil Gang had not been eradicated back then, and now it must have expanded beyond measure. With their growth rate like parasitic bacteria, the current East Guardian Towers must have become a concentration camp for the Evil Gang.

“Erm, Miss Lingling, do you have any proof for your claims?” Officer Ozawa said in a low voice.

Officer Ozawa specially invited the Chinese Hunter Master to appease everyone and solve the strange incidents. The idea was to calm everyone’s anxiety. After all, too many strange events had come to pass in quick succession.

At first, Officer Ozawa was happy to see Lingling solve the problems between the State House. It turned out that the students were to blame for the strange occurrences in the beginning.

He had not expected Lingling to reveal such shocking news. It did nothing to calm people down, instead it revealed more horrifying possibilities.

They become much more frightened.

“Although I don’t have any clear evidence, those involved knew whether the story was true. I can only expose it. Chief, even if you want to conceal it, I can tell you responsibly that when the moonless night is bound to arrive, everyone in the Twin Guardian Towers will die.”

“By then, you will have strengthened the Evil Gang, manslaughtered the inmates, and destroyed the Twin Guardian Towers, which had stood for hundreds of years.” Lingling was firm. There was no trace of playfulness on her somewhat immature and young face.

Lingling was so solemn that her aura did not match her young age. She had a lot of experience, like a mentor.

The Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo, had been seated for a while.

Even though he had known about this for a while, he was still hesitant to accept it. He made an effort to convince himself that the Evil Gang was really defeated by his strategy. But the truth was something else.

His subordinate had confessed everything to him before committing suicide.

Shigekyo saw Nagayama’s uncle kill himself that evening when he was in his room. His blood flowed, and he was dying slowly with remorse and despair. He begged Shigekyo to save the Twin Guardian Towers.

Shigekyo thought he could hide this sin forever, but he had not expected a Hunter Master to expose it.

‘How did an outsider know everything so clearly?’

“Chief!”

“Please tell us the truth!”

“Chief, are the Twin Guardian Towers in danger?”

“Chief, we should end the lockdown and contact Osaka, so they can come forward to solve this.”

“Yeah, it is not the best idea to trap everyone here. It will only make us more uneasy and cause more terror incidents.”

Suddenly becoming enraged, the Chief of the Towers struck the table.

“No way! The lockdown cannot be lifted. I won’t let scum get away. I won’t allow such a thing to happen even if the Twin Guardian Towers are impacted!” the Chief of the Towers said sternly.

Everyone looked at the Chief of the Towers in confusion as they attempted to understand his startling statement.

“Finding Ki Kurokawa is just an excuse. I believe that you know where he is. Your purpose is to lock down the Twin Guardian Towers and identify the head of the Evil Gang under the pretext of finding Ki Kurokawa,” Lingling said to the crowd.

“Miss Lingling is right. Ki Kurokawa didn’t escape from the prison. I asked an army to enter the East Guardian Towers and take him out of there.” The Chief of the Towers nodded.

“Chief, why would you do that? Why did you create such a panic for everyone?” asked an instructor.

“Miss Lingling, please help explain the matter. I-I’m ashamed to even say it.” The Chief of the Towers’ attitude toward Lingling was different. Everyone could tell that he respected her.

“Like I said before, the Evil Gang eradicated dissidents and grew continuously in the East Guardian Towers. Many guards became their members. However, that was many years ago. The Evil Gang has already crossed the suspension bridge and infiltrated the West Guardian Towers.” “The members have entered the spheres of management, academies, the military, and prisons, among others. There are members of the Evil Gang among your friends, colleagues, teachers, subordinates, and bosses, just as you feared.” Lingling glanced at the conference hall sharply.

Her statement caused an uproar. The Evil Gang created by the prisoners had infiltrated the West Guardian Towers!

“Chief, is that true?” General Takuichi stared at the Chief of the Towers.

Katana Mochizuki and Tegami Fujikata remained silent. Were they really unaware of this? They might have observed it, but they couldn’t be certain.

Lingling’s findings were unbelievable, and they felt powerless against the truth.

“For so many years, The West Guardian Towers has been in good order. How did the Evil Gang get inside?”

“Yeah, those prisoners are all imprisoned in the Dongshou Pavilion, and there are restrictions to trap them. Even if they are all Evil Gang members, they can’t escape from the East Guardian Towers.”

“Chief, it would be better not to simply acknowledge such an assumption. Regardless of our position, we all serve the Twin Guardian Towers with loyalty. It breaks our hearts to see other people being suspicious of us.”

“It’s difficult for the enemy to destroy the Twin Guardian Towers, but the panic and suspicion caused by such remarks will ruin us.”

Soon, a group of individuals opposed it and voiced their disagreements. Several disputed Lingling’s assertions.

This was often the case with people. Despite knowing the truth, they would rather judge it as false. Otherwise, it would be challenging to keep things as they are.

“I’m sorry, everyone. Locking down the Twin Guardian Towers means I’m determined not to let the Twin Guardian Towers be corroded.”

Chapter 2958: More Panic

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Chief, even if you decide to do this, you need to have everyone’s consent first. All of us work for the Twin Guardian Towers, and we are also willing to risk our lives and honor to defend the Towers. How could you imprison us over fabricated charges? It only shows that you don’t trust any of us!” said the head of the Guard Regiment.

“The Twin Guardian Towers has always been well-organized. There’s no such thing as the Evil Gang. What did they do? Are they truly threatening us? Chief, we’re disappointed with your hasty decision.”

What was the Evil Gang? Thus far, they did not find any evidence about the Evil Gang’s operation. Moreover, the East Guardian Towers maintained foolproof security. Aside from Ki Kurokawa, whom the Chief of the Towers had brought out of the prison, none of the prisoners had ever escaped from it.

If that were the case, why did they have to seal off the Twin Guardian Towers due to some strange theories, and why did they imprison everyone inside the towers because of this made-up Evil Gang?

People from various departments raised objections. Perhaps they did not even care about the existence of the Evil Gang.

“Chief, since you mentioned the existence of such a terrifying organization, kindly reveal it to us so that we can see that the organization is real. Before your subordinate committed hara-kiri, he was already mentally unstable. It was only natural for him to say strange things. As for the young woman, she was the one who arrived at the crime scene first, hence she believed everything she saw and heard,” refuted the head of the Guard Regiment.

“Everyone, keep quiet.” When Katana Mochizuki saw them quarreling, he finally stepped in.

Katana Mochizuki was still an influential man. The crowd respected the elders of the Twin Guardian Towers.

“I can understand that all of you are in a bad mood because of the recent, strange deaths of the people you know or are familiar with. However, based on the facts laid before us, we don’t have to be divided into two groups and suspect each other. We must unite and make up for the past mistakes by investigating the departments that may have been infiltrated. On top of that, we have to figure out what the organization is trying to do and who the leader is. Everyone, it’s not that I suspect you, but I believe some of the evil ideology has demonic properties and can affect our minds subconsciously. Don’t feel burdened if you have come into contact with them. As long as you’re willing to help us, we won’t pursue the matter. After all, it’s not your fault,” Katana Mochizuki said to the crowd in the emergency meeting.

“Mr. Katana, are you saying that you agree to the suggestion?” asked the head of the Guard Regiment.

“Yes.” Katana Mochizuki nodded.

“Tegami Fujikata, how about you?”

Tegami Fujikata also nodded. “We should work hand-in-hand to get through this together.”

“But what is the challenge for us? It seems to me that this atmosphere is all made up. Didn’t most of the bizarre deaths end up having a logical explanation?”

“The truth is, we also have no idea what the challenge is that we’re facing. This is what worries and disturbs us the most. We haven’t figured out what the organization is really up to.” Katana Mochizuki let out a long sigh.

This sort of emotion was horrible. It appeared as though they were aware that disaster was coming but were unable to spot any indications of it. It was as if lightning had just struck in the afternoon, and, immediately after, a downpour occured. They were powerless to stop it!

Katana Mochizuki knew the enemy was on the way. It was approaching them. However, he did not know who the enemy was, or what action to take. He did not know a thing about his enemy!

…

The Chief of the Towers made up his mind. He insisted on sealing off the Twin Guardian Towers and would issue a notice to the public that a prisoner had escaped, thus no one was allowed to go in or out of the towers.

After they left the meeting, Officer Ozawa looked wistful. He turned to Lingling. “I didn’t expect it to turn out this way.”

“But you’re the one who insisted on giving an explanation about the bizarre phenomenon,” said Lingling casually.

“I didn’t expect the issue to be more serious than I anticipated. If I knew the truth, I would have rather remained in a state of panic as before. At the very least, we can comfort ourselves by assuming that everything that happened was purely coincidental.” Officer Ozawa looked disheartened.

No one should blame him for being discouraged. After all, he hired the hunter to keep the Twin Guardian Towers in order and to solve the bizarre issues. Who would have thought the hunter was so smart to the point of researching the background of the Twin Guardian Towers?

The Twin Guardian Towers was covered in years of filth. There was a lot of stuff hidden behind the public eye in the world. This happened not only to the Twin Guardian Towers, but also to the Japanese regime. As long as the man in power turned a blind eye to the issues, who would find out about the internal rots? Most people were only concerned with the chaotic phenomena that happened on the surface and quarreled over personal interests.

Officer Ozawa, have you ever considered the idea that the Evil Gang had long since occupied the Twin Guardian Towers and had altered their appearance and way of life with the aid of the Towers?” Lingling asked.

He was so shocked that he almost stumbled. ‘That was a very bold speculation!’

“Ms. Lingling, your thoughts are indeed quite different from us. Ahem, if the Evil Gang truly occupied the towers, wouldn’t I have become one of them, too?” Officer Ozawa answered wryly.

“That’s why no one should be trusted except Mo Fan and I,” said Lingling.

“If that’s the case, it is equally possible that Mo Fan and you could be the main culprits of the Evil Gang too. You stir up panic in the Twin Guardian Towers, then you control the Chief, Katano Mochizuki, and Tegami Fujikata. You make us harm one another and cause us to be trapped inside the towers,” said Officer Ozawa in jest.

“You finally get it!” Lingling’s face turned solemn.

When Officer Ozawa noticed Lingling’s change of expression, he was so shocked that he almost missed a step again. ‘Could this be the truth?’

By the time Officer Ozawa regained his balance, a chill went down his spine. A silvery laughter rose. Lingling laughed so hard that she held her stomach and sat on the bench by the stone steps. Her body trembled with laughter.

Officer Ozawa stood by the side and scratched his head. ‘Ms. Lingling is teasing me.’

“Ms. Lingling, you seem like you still had a lot to say during the emergency meeting. Although I might not look trustworthy right now, I hope you can tell me more about the issue. I dislike the feeling of being kept in the dark. Even if the truth is worse than what I anticipated, I want to be informed,” Officer Ozawa said solemnly.

“There is a demon here. It enjoys role-playing. We’ve known about it for a while, and we’ve been tracking it since. In the past, we believed it prowled the world’s prisons, feeding on human resentment and other negative emotions. However, we’ve neglected the fact that this is its birthplace, and where the most infamous prison in the world is located. If I were the Red Demon Kazuaki, I’d also build my foundation here,” said Lingling.

Chapter 2959: Give The Name List

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Before Lingling and Mo Fan entered the Twin Guardian Towers, they subconsciously thought that the Red Demon Kazuaki would make radical changes to the towers and stir it up before the moonless night. However, both were wrong.

The Red Demon did not lay its hands on the Twin Guardian Towers at all. It would not simply lay its hands on its people.

This was because the Twin Guardian Towers were already within its grasp. The Evil Gang was one of the Red Demon Kazuaki’s evil sprouts. It had grown into a gigantic tree. The shade of the tree covered the towers like a mass of dark clouds.

The moonless night was about to arrive.

The Twin Guardian Towers was its fortress that would protect it during its ascension. The moment it ascended and became the emperor, it would use the Twin Guardian Towers as its base camp to infiltrate and grow rampantly. It would turn Osaka into a prison.

“Ms. Lingling, do you mean that the Twin Guardian Towers have been substantially infiltrated?” asked Officer Ozawa in horror.

“Officer Ozawa, you may have underestimated the Red Demon’s ability. Its doppelganger appeared in Kun Mountain of China. Since its inception, it has maintained solid control over a sizable prison. If not it, then who else gained control of the Twin Guardian Towers?” said Lingling.

“Oh, my god! Ms. Lingling, is it because the Twin Guardian Towers are completely under the Evil Gang’s control that you didn’t mention all this during the meeting?!” Officer Ozawa could barely control the pitch of his voice.

He was informed that the towers had only been breached. He believed the impact to be quite minor, much like the proportion of corrupt officers among the officials.

But according to Lingling’s argument, the Twin Guardian Towers had completely fallen! ‘How could this happen? Everything appeared to be in order, didn’t it?’

“Officer Ozawa, you’re the Chief and Takuichi’s right-hand man. When the meeting was over, didn’t the Chief allow you to draw up a name list of the suspected people?” asked Lingling.

“Not yet,” said Officer Ozawa while shaking his head.

“Oh, perhaps he wants you to send me back first. Officer Ozawa, how about we make a bet?” said Lingling.

“What’s the point of making a bet?”

“So that I can know if you’re trustworthy,” said Lingling.

“I-I need to digest your words first.” Officer Ozawa was scared. He found his world view disintegrating.

“You’re the one who pleaded with me to tell you the truth with sincerity. I am telling you the truth now, but you refuse to hear it and you want to retreat,” said Lingling.

“I… fine, Ms. Lingling, I admit that I’m starting to get scared. After all, I grew up here. I spent my childhood and most of my adulthood here. I served the Twin Guardian Towers. It’s my home. I’m very familiar with everyone. They are very dear to me.” Officer Ozawa’s tone changed.

At that moment, he did not know what to do. Lingling’s words shocked him. He wondered whether he could trust her, or if he was even willing.

“That’s very common. Most people would rather live in a dream. Even after they are inadvertently woken up from it, they want to return to it. However, a dream is, after all, just a dream. Dreams are illogical without any common senses and connection to reality. Dreams show things that appear in one’s subconscious minds. When they are able to think normally and revisit their dreams, they’ll find that everything in their dreams is like a sketch. The faces of the people they have been obsessed with are distorted with a hypocritical smile. The beautiful scenery behind their backs is drawn with a few rough lines. The outlines are blurred. They don’t actually like the things inside the dreams, they are only placing their hopes on them so they have the feeling of relying on them,” said Lingling.

Officer Ozawa was rendered speechless.

Lingling had used an appropriate to depict the circumstance. The Twin Guardian Towers were very much like a dream. Everything looked normal when they did not notice its problems. However, the moment they probed into it, thought of them carefully, and got to the bottom of them, they realized many things appeared bizarre and unusual.

Did the situation involving the few young individuals from the State House, for instance, appear normal? It was clear that it was just a minor incident, but many people were hurt by it.

It was deformed once they touched it.

“I’ll go back to my room and take a rest first. The moon is disappearing soon,” said Lingling to Officer Ozawa.

“What is the bet you mentioned?” Officer Ozawa asked.

Lingling whispered a few words to him. He fell deep into his thoughts.

…

After Lingling closed her room door, Officer Ozawa still smelled her lingering fragrance. However, at that moment, he felt ambiguous.

Who should he trust?

He trusted the place where he grew up. He also trusted the elders and peers he had known since he was a child…

But Lingling, the Chinese girl who had wandered here by accident, made some terrifying remarks!

Officer Ozawa sucked in a deep breath before returning to his post. He was in charge of maintaining the security of the Twin Guardian Towers. All of the events were within his purview to handle.

Right after he returned to his office, a slender silhouette stood before the window.

Officer Ozawa was stunned. The faint moonlight reflected the person’s appearance. He was a familiar figure. It was Chief Shigekyo.

“Chief, why are you here?” Officer Ozawa asked in surprise.

He was about to switch on the light, but the Chief stopped him.

Chief Shigekyo turned around, looking depressed.

“Ozawa, you have been in charge of the order of the Twin Guardian Towers over the years. You handle almost all the internal incidents that happen inside the towers. You know the ins and outs of every department, level of management, and the staff. I hope you can draw up a list for me of the people who may have been affected by the Evil Gang,” said Chief Shigekyo.

“H-How could I simply convict people without any evidence?” said Officer Ozawa in shock.

“It’s just a name list with suspected people. Everyone in the country has the right to list out suspects. They have nothing to fear if they haven’t broken the rules. With your current position, you communicate, interact, reconcile, and handle everyone from the institute to the families, Ministry of Security, and the military. You deal with Katano, Tegami, and Takuichi. You’re familiar with their subordinates. No one knows better than you what they are doing, or what they have done over the years. The Twin Guardian Towers are in great danger. You’re my most trusted man. The reason I came alone is because I need to seek your assistance as you’ve been an honest and loyal person. I need your help for the sake of preventing the towers from rotting…” said Chief Shigekyo solemnly.

Chapter 2960: The Blood Demon

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Officer Ozawa hesitated. “I’ll do my best.”

“Good, but you have to act fast.”

Officer Ozawa bowed to him. The Chief waved his hand, signaling that Ozawa did not have to do that.

After the Chief left, Officer Ozawa heaved a sigh of relief.

He was under a lot of pressure. He sat down on the chair and stared at the table. He was compelled to scratch his head.

How should he draw up the name list?

Based on his observation, many people fit the characteristics of the Evil Gang. They acted strangely and lacked common senses. But how could he prove that those people were part of the Evil Gang? What if those were just stressed, hence the erratic behavior? What if it was just a mistake?

Officer Ozawa was under tremendous pressure because of the task assigned to him. Truth was, he did not want to pit anyone against the Twin Guardian Towers.

The moon outside the window resembled an eye, casting its bone-chilling gaze on the jagged, rocky cliffs of the Twin Guardian Towers.

A Japanese castle was on top of the cliff. It was situated in the middle of the rocks under the bleak moonlight. It was clear that there was not even a single trace of fog in the night, but the fortress looked as if it had been shrouded in mystery. When one fixed their gaze on it, one would find oneself fascinated by it. Later, it was shocking to realize that many pairs of eyes looked back like hungry wolves…

…

Lingling sat on a rock bench at the stone platform. She could view the scenery from the platform. The atmosphere was serene and quiet.

The place was utterly empty. Even a night watchman did not patrol such a remote nook.

She looked up to see the moon. It was above her head. She guessed the moon would vanish entirely in two days. By then, the land would fall into absolute darkness.

“Lingling!” A man approached her. He smiled lazily as though he had just woken up.

Lingling neither got up nor turned around.

The man was Mo Fan. They had agreed to meet at this place if any one of them found a clue. They had decided to meet at midnight.

“Did you discover anything this time?” Mo Fan walked up to her.

“I did, but the enemy is too cunning,” said Lingling.

“How so?” asked Mo Fan.

“It has several doppelgangers. It won’t reveal its true form until the most critical moment. When I saw a fish caught on the net, I deliberately waited for a couple of days. Little did I know that I would still find the same fish on the net. Regardless, catching a small fish is better than catching nothing.” Lingling turned around and gave him a charming smile.

“We have to do things one step at a time. Who is that small fish?” Mo Fan continued to walk forward.

Mo Fan was ready to take another step when all of a sudden, as if his legs were being tugged by a rope, his body stiffened. It was difficult for him to move.

Mo Fan frowned. He looked down, only to find that he had stepped into a trap.

He had stepped within a magic circle that was about the size of a manhole cover. Brown light trails are interspersed throughout the magic circle. No matter how complex the light traces were, they intertwined with one another and formed a Trapped Demon Hexagram. A light spear grew in the middle of the Trapped Demon Hexagram and nailed Mo Fan in place. He could not move at all.

“You are that small fish.” Lingling smiled.

“Lingling, stop joking around! Are you under the demonic spell, too? I’m Mo Fan…” said Mo Fan.

“Are you really Mo Fan? Allow me to ask you a few questions to confirm. If you can answer all correctly, I’ll spare you. How does that sound?” Lingling walked around him.

“Go ahead.”

“Where did we meet the first time?”

“At Clearsky Hunter Agency,” Mo Fan said briskly.

“When we first met, how many stripes were there on my Scottish striped uniform?” asked Lingling.

Mo Fan was speechless.

“You can’t answer it, right? Go to hell!” Lingling snapped her fingers. The Trapped Demon Hexagram unleashed a powerful light inch spear and sliced his flesh piece by piece!

“Lingling, are you mad?!” Mo Fan screamed in pain.

Lingling remained motionless. Mo Fan was under torture, and she stared at him shrewdly.

Mo Fan was trapped inside the Trapped Demon Hexagram. He could not endure the pain any longer. He glowed in crimson red light. He looked like an expanded large vessel that was going to burst at any time!

Bam!

Blood splattered. The blood, as sharp as a sword or an ax, split the surrounding rocks apart. Lingling dodged. She was protected from the splattered blood by a barrier that encircled the area where she was standing.

“Hah! You finally reveal your true self!” Lingling fixed her gaze on the man trapped inside the Trapped Demon Hexagram.

The man was bathed in flowing blood. She could not see his face or his skin. “Mo Fan” finally revealed its true form.

The Blood Demon did not have a face, so it could transform into any body it liked.

“So where exactly did I reveal my flaws?” The Blood Demon looked creepier under the moonlight. When it opened its mouth, it did not have even a single tooth. It looked like a skinless old man.

“Huh?” Lingling stood inside the protective barrier.

“I’m a dedicated and motivated Blood Demon. Whenever I impersonate a person, I can do it so well that I can live with their families in peace . I can even do better than their true selves, making their beloved ones become obsessed with me and forget their true loves. Is there anything that I can do to improve myself? Can you tell me before dying?” The Blood Demon smiled hideously.

“If you want to impersonate a person, you have to learn their weaknesses first,” said Lingling.

After the Blood Demon heard her words, it was deep in its thoughts. It smiled. It seemed to have understood her words.

“A person looks real with their flaws and annoying pet peeves. They will look scary and hypocritical if I create a perfect image of them in order to gain other people’s approval. Is that what you mean?” said the Blood Demon.

Lingling did waste time on meaningless conversation with the Blood Demon.

It laughed. It appeared extremely content, as though it had discovered a remarkable talent. “Thank you for your guidance. You can meet your Creator now!”

The Blood Demon continued to laugh, but its laughter was one of rage and madness.

Chapter 2961: Unable to Impersonate His Sense of Despicability

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The Blood Demon’s identity had been exposed with ease.

The moment it entered Lingling’s room using Mo Fan’s identity that night, she already saw through it!

Lingling stood inside the protective barrier and stared at the furious Blood Demon indifferently. Its body expanded. Its blood was like hot lava. Its blood was as foul and corrosive as a strong acid when it flowed upon the ground.

The Blood Demon broke itself free of the Trapped Demon Hexagram and slowly walked toward Lingling.

Its claws were red. Another black figure suddenly materialized close to Lingling when it got to her.

The black figure responded in a split second. The Blood Demon exploded with terrifying blood plasma, but he pressed it on the stone wall ruthlessly with a single hand. The shape of a human appeared on the stone wall.

The Blood Demon struggled to break free. However, it was as if it was no more than a three-year-old child before the dark figure. The Blood Demon could not cast its powerful, demonic blood plasma power. Meanwhile, a dark, evil shadow that resembled the Darkspawn appeared behind the black figure. The Darkspawn shadow made him look like the descendant of a demon. He was filled with destructive power.

Creak! Creak! Creak!

He exerted more force with his arm. The Blood Demon’s bones were crushed. The next moment, a wolf appeared from the black figure. The wolf bared its fangs and severed the Blood Demon’s head. For a moment, blood gushed out of the Blood Demon’s neck and spilled onto the stone wall. Its blood was as striking and red as bright red paint!

The Blood Demon finally went limp. The wolf ate up the rest of the body before fading behind the black form.

The black figure wore the cloak of a night watchman. He took off the hood and revealed a common appearance.

Before the Blood Demon died, it had seen the black figure’s true form. The black figure was none other than the night watchman who had taken a photo with it in the forest!

“Unfortunately, it’s the Blood Demon. How I wish it was the Red Demon itself,” said the night watchman, shaking his head.

“It won’t act so carelessly. After all, it will be its Ascension Day in two days,” said Lingling.

Lingling recognized the night watchman. It was the same night watchman in the group photo that was clipped to the door the other day.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect to take a picture with myself in this life.” The night watchman smiled.

Mo Fan found this to be funny. He used the Eye of Deception and impersonated an ordinary night watchman.

He protected Lingling from the shadows and noticed another “Mo Fan” trying to ask Lingling about the clues she had gotten from the Sacrificial Mountain. Mo Fan did not give it a second thought. He pretended to bump into “Mo Fan” and took a group photo with “himself”.

Lingling did not sleep throughout that night. She was aware that it was not the true Mo Fan who had visited her. She believed it had to be one of the Red Demon’s doppelgangers that she had brought back from the Sacrificial Mountain. The Red Demon’s doppelgangers wanted to find out what she had learned, thus it impersonated Mo Fan to test her.

At that moment, Lingling had not said anything. She also did not seek help, because the Blood Demon stood guard at the forest. It would have laid its hand on her if she had walked out of the room. She had forced herself to stay awake. She had switched off the light and hid under her quilt.

Fortunately, Mo Fan had been watching over her in the dark. He sent her the photo. The purpose of the photo was to tell Lingling that she did not have to be so scared because he was guarding her.

When Lingling saw the group photo, she knew that the night watchman was indeed Mo Fan.

The reason they did not immediately expose the Blood Demon’s true identity was because they wanted to lure the main culprit out—The Red Demon, Kazuaki. However, the Blood Demon was worthless. It seemed like it had nothing to do with the Red Demon Kazuaki. Knowing that they could not fish out any useful information from it, they decided to kill it, lest it caused them trouble.

“Lingling, I’m curious. You mentioned that it has to impersonate flaws too if it wanted to look real. May I ask about the flaw that I have which gave it away?” Mo Fan removed the disguise of the Eye of the Deception. He revealed his true form.

“No one can ever impersonate your sense of despicability,” Lingling answered nonchalantly while checking the Blood Demon’s carcass.

Mo Fan regretted asking the question.

In fact, the reason Lingling saw through Mo Fan’s impersonator was because of his habitual actions and unintentional intimacy. She could not sense the same despicable aura from the Blood Demon.

The real Mo Fan would never stand outside the door and ask for her permission to enter her room.

The Blood Demon had underestimated Mo Fan’s shamelessness. It had overlooked his brazen habits. So, how could it truly impersonate him?

“We still have two days left. No matter what, I think we have to barge into the East Guardian Towers. What I am worried about the most is the inside of the towers. The environment inside is too quiet.” Mo Fan glanced at the pitch-black mountain range in the middle of countless yellow lightning and the strange castle on top of it.

“But the East Guardian Towers are more heavily guarded than before. We cannot enter from other places except the drawbridge.” Lingling was frustrated over the matter.

In the past couple of days, Lingling discovered that no matter how hard they tried, they could not get through the entrance of the East Guardian Towers. They were too heavily guarded!

“That’s why we have to find a way out. Katana Mochizuki and Chihaya Mochizuki mentioned that without the Chief and military general’s permission, they could not open the door for us.” Mo Fan was equally irritated over the matter.

Before that, Chihaya had sealed off the secret passage in the cliff. Hence, the drawbridge was the only entrance. The drawbridge was heavily guarded with many experts. Someone used to sneak into the towers by using Shadow Element but failed. There were several layers of protection inside the East Guardian Towers.

“Actually, there’s a person who can help us. I wonder if he is willing. I hope I guessed correctly,” said Lingling.

“Who is that person?” asked Mo Fan.

“It’s Ozawa. I have inquired after him. Aside from holding the general affairs position, he is also in charge of supervising food and disciplinary issues of the East Guardian Towers. If he’s willing to help us, then we can enter the towers easily,” said Lingling.

“Ozawa… I guess he’s not a cunning person, after all. But why would he turn against the Chief and other superiors and place his trust in us?” Mo Fan was confused.

“It all depends on his understanding. I talked about a lot of things with him today. I wonder if he can understand them.” Lingling sighed. “He’s quite pitiful. I guess he’s one of the few people who has been kept in the dark. It must be hard for him to live with the puppets, assholes, and parasites for so long.”

“Is there any problem with Ozawa?” asked Mo Fan.

“No problem.”

“How did you assign him to think things out?”

“I’ve made a bet with him. I suppose the outcome is revealed. Let’s go back to my room first. If he waits for me there, I guess he has finally understood,” said Lingling.

Chapter 2962: Entering the East Guardian Towers At Night

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mo Fan wondered what bet Lingling had made with Ozawa. When they returned to the house, there was no one at the entrance.

“It seems like Ozawa didn’t come,” Mo Fan said in resignation.

Without Ozawa’s help, they had to enter the towers by force. The East Guardian Towers’ system was very robust. Barging in by force would be Mo Fan’s last option, if at all.

“Ms. Lingling.” Just then, a whisper rose from the narrow cobblestone canal outside the long corridor. It was Officer Ozawa’s voice.

Mo Fan and Lingling’s eyes lit up. They walked to him.

Ozawa sat there. He looked depressed. Lingling was right.

“Mr. Mo Fan.” Ozawa smiled wryly at Mo Fan. He said, “Although I’m not sure who I should put my trust on, or what to believe anymore, I want to find out the truth as much as you do.”

“We want to enter the East Guardian Towers. Officer Ozawa, we need your help. We know most about the West Guardian Towers’ situation,” said Mo Fan to Officer Ozawa.

“I can help you, but I’ll have to come with you,” said Ozawa.

“Okay.”

“So, when are we taking action? We don’t have much time left.” said Lingling.

“Now. The guards on duty late at night will be having their dinner. You can disguise yourselves as kitchen helpers,” said Ozawa.

Mo Fan and Lingling nodded.

…

They put on the uniform of kitchen helpers, complete with the identity tags. Mo Fan was curious how Lingling convinced Officer Ozawa to make such a decision.

Officer Ozawa was a crucial member of the middle and upper management in the West Guardian Towers. Taking outsiders into the East Guardian Towers without permission was considered treason.

After they got ready, Officer Ozawa led the way. Mo Fan pushed a heavy food cart and walked toward the drawbridge.

“The Chief asked me for a name list.” Officer Ozawa walked ahead of them.

“It looks like he’s planning to let you take the fall. Regardless of the name list you provide, it will eventually be twisted to do the Chief’s bidding. The same tragedy is about to happen again,” said Lingling.

He had used the same trick!

Back then, the leader of the Evil Gang had manipulated the Guard Regiment and asked the guard for a name list that allowed him to wipe out all the dissidents. As a result, the entire East Guardian Towers were occupied by the Evil Gang.

Today, Chief Shigekyo once again proposed to eradicate the Evil Gang by asking Ozawa for a name list.

Who were the people on the name list? Were they truly people from the Evil Gang, or those from the West Guardian Towers who refused to obey the Chief’s instructions?

The Twin Guardian Towers had been sealed off. How was this different from sealing off the prison back in those days? What would happen in the end? The decision would all end up on the person with power.

What was the Evil Gang anyway?

A member of the Evil Gang did not necessarily have an evil mark on his head. Anybody could be one of the Evil Gang members. Even though Chief Shigekyo appeared to be a righteous man and had the intention to get rid of the bad people from the towers, at the end of the day, he was the one to make the decision which would condemn people whether they were guilty or innocent, just like the innocent prisoners in the past…

The job she had assigned Ozawa to think about was simple.

What the Chief had said during the emergency meeting were facts, but they were just a small part of the truth. Most people followed the crowd.

The Evil Gang occupied more than half of the total number of people. Thus, the remaining people were considered deviant.

The name list that the Chief asked for was exactly the minority people of the West Guardian Towers that were not part of the Evil Gang!

“You’ll find the answer after you arrive at the East Guardian Towers,” said Lingling as she patted Officer Ozawa’s shoulders.

“Why me? Why must I be the one to draw up the name list?” Officer Ozawa could not understand.

“Probably because you’re a trusted man for both sides. The Evil Gang trusted you, the crowd who fought against the gang trusted you, so did Mo Fan and I,” said Lingling.

“Being trustworthy turned out to be a bad thing. Will I eventually lose the battle with my conscience over my indifference to the towers and become just like Nagayama’s uncle?” Officer Ozawa sounded frustrated.

“Maybe. The truth will be harsh. It might cause you endless pain. Your conscience will constantly torture your spirit,” said Lingling.

Officer Ozawa did not say anything.

In fact, he did not expect he would be caught between the two parties. No one had ever told him anything. Even though the West Guardian Towers were different from the past, no one had informed him which side he was on. He only worked hard to do his job and helped those who sought his help.

He could not tell the difference between the two parties. Perhaps his ignorance was the reason he had obtained the approval from both parties.

“You’re a little late today, Ozawa. We’re starving. Uncle, what have you prepared for us tonight? I can smell something delicious!” The guard on the drawbridge smiled when he saw the three people approaching.

“Curry.” Mo Fan used the Eye of Deception to disguise himself as a middle-aged chef.

“Haha! I guessed so. Please save more for me,” said the guard on the drawbridge.

“I don’t think so.”

The guard glanced at Lingling. However, he did not find her to be suspicious.

Ozawa was usually the one in charge of dinner delivery. He would personally deliver dinner every week. Meanwhile, the middle-aged chef uncle had always been the same man who brought the food for several decades. As for the female kitchen helper, they changed every few months. Hence, the guard was not surprised to see Lingling. He knew the middle-aged cook and Ozawa, after all.

The soldiers conversed with Ozawa and his company, but carefully examined the food cart. After they had checked everything, they used a device to scan the food cart once more in order to catch anything amiss. It would reveal anyone using magic to conceal themselves.

The guard allowed them to cross the drawbridge after making sure everything was okay.

After crossing the drawbridge, there was a small door under the large entrance. They entered through the small door that could fit the food cart.

Four guards stood by the side. They followed them until Ozawa and his group placed the utensils and food on the designated place.

…

Another guard in a brown uniform approached them from the opposite end of the bridge at the same time. He walked toward the East Guardian Towers. The guard at the drawbridge bowed to him.

“Sir!”

“Was that the middle-aged chef who entered the towers?” asked the head of the Guard Regiment.

“Yes. Officer Ozawa personally delivered supper. There’s also a new girl,” said the guard at the drawbridge.

The leader of the Guard Regiment frowned and fastened his pace toward towers.

Chapter 2963: The Chiefs Have Been Imprisoned

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After moving further and approaching the final cell door, Mo Fan, Lingling, and Ozawa heard a voice that sounded like a foghorn.

Mo Fan and Lingling panicked.

They had arrived at the final cell door. Even if their presence were discovered by others after entering through the cell door, they would have, at the very least, assessed the situation inside and figured out what happened to the East Guardian Towers,

But if they were stopped here, they could not do anything.

“Officer Ozawa, you seemed to have forgotten the rules. Those who enter the East Guardian Towers have to report to the Chief beforehand, especially if it is a new person.” The leader of the Guard Regiment raised his hand to remind the guard at the final cell door to keep watch.

Mo Fan made the decision to storm the towers after noticing that things did not appear to be going well.

They had come to this point. If they dragged on any longer, the Red Demon would ascend and take action!

“Sir, are you doubting me?” Ozawa shot a glance at Mo Fan, telling him covertly to not do anything yet.

“Why will I doubt you, Ozawa? It’s just that we must follow the rules. The girl can naturally enter to deliver and pick up the food after three months.” The head of the Guard Regiment smiled.

Lingling had disguised herself. It was obvious that the head of the Guard Regiment did not recognize her.

“Sir, I don’t get what you were trying to say. I handed over the report to the Chief three months ago. I wonder if your mind is somewhere else, or if I fail to follow the rules. Please find it out from the Chief. Additionally, sir, you should correct the young guards stationed at the third cell door. It’s disrespectful for the guards to whistle at a female cook like delinquent boys, even though the kitchen is tiny and unnoticeable.” Officer Ozawa asserted.

“Did something like that happen?” The head of the Guard Regiment asked one of the elderly captains next to him.

“O-Officer Ozawa, my subordinates were just joking around. After all, standing watch at night was incredibly dull. Please accept my apology,” said the elderly captain.

“Sir, I still have other important matters to handle. Please open the door now,” said Ozawa.

“You mentioned that you’ve handed the report over to the Chief, but I haven’t received it.”

“That is your issue. If I fail to hand the report over to the Chief, I’ll bear the consequences. However, if you failed to read it or misplaced the document, you must formally apologize to the Chief,” said Officer Ozawa.

The Guard Regiment’s commander paused. Finally, he motioned with his hand for the guard at the final cell door to let them in.

…

Mo Fan and Lingling breathed a sigh of relief after entering through the East Guardian Towers’ prison corridor. They gave Ozawa a thumbs up.

Ozawa was thankfully assertive enough. Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t be able to go into the towers. Even though Mo Fan was unlikely to be trapped inside the East Guardian Towers, he certainly could not see the things he was looking for.

“This way. I remembered the chief used to say that he heard some strange sound in the ninth prison corridor,” said Ozawa.

Mo Fan and Lingling followed Ozawa to the ninth prison corridor. Mo Fan trapped the guards who pursued them in the Chaos Compartment. They followed the usual path.

When they reached the ninth prison corridor, Mo Fan pushed the food cart and heard a loud “clanking” sound from the large iron door. It sounded as if someone was knocking on the iron door frantically.

Mo Fan froze for a second in shock. He stood on his tiptoes to see the situation inside the prison.

There was only a small window inside the prison, and it was sealed off with iron wires. When Mo Fan looked inside, a face appeared in front of the window suddenly. He stared at Mo Fan begrudgingly!

The face was full of dirty beard. He had a large nose and thick lips. The prisoner looked like a middle-aged homeless man. He did not look anything special at a single glance, but Mo Fan stared at him for a very long time.

Officer Ozawa first gave the prisoner little thought. But he was so astonished that his mouth dropped when he focused on the prisoner’s filthy face!

The prisoner was none other than the middle-aged chef!

For more than ten years, the middle-aged chef had been preparing meals for the guards at the East Guardian Towers. In addition, it was the same person Mo Fan had been impersonating when he used the Eye of Deception!

‘What was going on?!’

Mo Fan could not regain his composure even after a while.

He had taken a group photo with “himself” not long ago. This time, he discovered another “him” within the prison after disguising himself as a middle-aged chef!

If this was the middle-aged chef, who had Mo Fan attacked in the West Guardian Towers? There were now three middle-aged chefs at the present!

“Go, go, go! Let’s continue forward.” Lingling urged them.

The prison’s middle-aged chef went into a frenzy that made him want to charge outside and rip Mo Fan apart. However, the middle-aged chef was just an ordinary man. He was trapped inside the jail, so he could not possibly escape. But it was obvious that he was quite pissed off at Mo Fan!

Mo Fan and his group continued to walk forward. They soon arrived at the “soul-sucking” prison. The prison consumed the Mages’ magic and soul power, turning them into common people so that they could not use magic to break free despite being trapped in just a simple sort of prison.

As they moved forward at Lingling’s urging, they were astounded by what they saw!

It was the four chiefs—Katana Mochizuki, Tegami Fujikata, and the Chief Shigekyo…

Aside from the military general Takuichi, the three chiefs of the East Guardian Towers were being held inside the prison.

Then who were the three people in the emergency meeting just a few hours ago?

“Ozawa, is that you?” Chief Shigekyo got up from the prison and lunged at the door with delight.

However, the next moment, Chief Shigekyo seemed to have realized something. He appeared distressed and sat down gloomily.

“Chief, you…” Ozawa felt as if his head was about to explode.

‘What exactly is going on?!’

“Ozawa, I believed that you were the only one who wouldn’t be affected by the Evil Gang even if everyone in the Twin Guardian Towers were. But I didn’t expect you to join them anyway. I’ve a poor sense of judgment.” Chief Shigekyo exhaled deeply. His face was partially hidden by his long, unruly hair.

Even so, Ozawa clearly recognized the prisoner. The prisoner was indeed Chief Shikeyon!

He recently spoke with Chief Shigekyo. He warned Ozawa that there was a serious threat to the Twin Guardian Towers. But why was Chief Shigekyo suddenly locked up here? His disorganized appearance made it obvious that he had been a prisoner for quite some time.

“Chief, what’s going on? What the hell is happening?” When Ozawa clutched the cell door, the potent forbidden system nearly electrocuted him.

“Aren’t you aware of it?” Chief Shigekyo walked up to Ozawa and gave him a bewildered look. Chief Shigekyo then glanced at Mo Fan and Lingling.

It took some time before Mo Fan and Lingling returned to their senses. They removed their disguises and revealed their true identity.

At that moment, Tegami Fujikata and Katana Mochizuki stood up. They recognized Mo Fan.

“Mo Fan! Mo Fan!”

“It’s really you! Oh, thank goodness!” Tegami Fujikata and Katana Mochizuki cried out in excitement.

Chapter 2964: The Blood Demon’s Ruling

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Looking at the messy Katana Mochizuki and Tegami Fujikata, Mo Fan was at a loss.

Why did the pair sound as though they hadn’t seen him in a while? Mo Fan wondered why they had been locked up here all of a sudden.

“Did you two come here to live the prisoner’s life?” Mo Fan hesitantly enquired.

Both Katana Mochizuki and Tegami Fujikata’s faces turned dark. ‘Did he have a few screws loose in his head? Why would anyone want to experience life in a prison?!’

“We’ve been trapped here. The Twin Guardian Towers are no longer the same as they were. Don’t trust anyone you encounter.” Katana Mochizuki sighed. “How should I make this clear to you…?”

“We saw you three just a few hours ago. So, who are you?” questioned Mo Fan.

“We are who we are! The three outside who look like us are not the real us! An evil power has long penetrated the Twin Guardian Towers. It was already too late when we realized there was a problem with them. The three of us were harmed and confined to this space,” said Katana Mochizuki.

“It’s the Blood Demon… they have been replaced by the Blood Demons,” said Lingling in a low voice.

The Blood Demon was an expert persona impersonator. Recently, one of them had pretended to be Mo Fan. They initially believed there to be just one Blood Demon in the Twin Guardian Towers. Mo Fan and Lingling had no idea that the Blood Demons had taken the place of even the three chiefs, Katana Mochizuki, Chief Shigekyo, and Tegami Fujikata. The real them were here, trapped in the prison!

Mo Fan and Lingling exchanged glances.

How many Blood Demons were there inside the Twin Guardian Towers? How many people were replaced by the Blood Demons inside the towers?

“Who are the people being imprisoned at the back of the corridor?” Ozawa looked horrified.

“Go and look at them yourself,” Chief Shigekyo said with a sigh.

Ozawa walked slowly into the depth of the pitch-black corridor. Prison cells surrounded the corridor on both sides. Numerous hundreds of prisoners were being housed in the jail cells, based on their size.

Ozawa saw familiar faces inside the prison cells with every step he took. The prisoners looked shocked. They regarded Ozawa in puzzlement.

Ozawa recognized most of them. They were members from the Mochizuki family, instructors and students from the institutes, as well as the soldiers and officers from the military…

“Ikuko Ishida!” Ozawa called out.

“Nakamura-kun!”

“Kimi Wa!”

The West Guardian Towers was their home. But why were they all being held here as prisoners? Only the most horrible convicts were housed in the East Guardian Towers.

‘Where were the real prisoners? What the hell is going on here?!’

Ozawa felt as if he was falling into a scary, deep pit as he walked deeper into the corridor. He could not help but grab at his hair. He wanted to shout and felt as though he had a bad headache. He did not, however, dare to utter a syllable.

He collapsed, and tears welled up in his eyes. At that moment, he understood what Lingling had meant by the “truth”.

‘Was this the truth?! Why did reality seem even more absurd than a nightmare? When did it become like this?’

The West Guardian Towers had been overrun by monsters. They took on their appearances and resided in the West Guardian Towers after imprisoning the residents of the West Guardian Towers in the East Guardian Towers!

…

Officer Ozawa left the dimly lit jail hallway, confused. He could not even walk steadily.

He had delivered the food to the East Guardian Towers on numerous occasions, but he never once entered the jail hallway. Why did he never examine it himself inside? He would have only needed to take a quick peek at it to understand why the Twin Guardian Towers were being surrounded by an unusual aura!

“I thought the people inside the Twin Guardian Towers were ill, hence they behaved in a sickly manner. But I never thought everyone inside the towers had been replaced. Tell me, what are those things clothed in human’s skin? Tell me!” Officer Ozawa was on the verge of a mental breakdown, but he would not let himself collapse.

He was indignant. He exploded in rage!

He had been deceived for so long. At that moment, He thought he heard the monsters covered in human skin shrieking mockingly at him. They laughed at him after talking to him like everything was fine.

“So, there are hundreds and thousands of Blood Demons occupying the West Guardian Towers?” Mo Fan sucked in a deep breath.

“Yes. The outcome is more than we expected.” Lingling nodded.

Lingling had foreseen the outcome. She had predicted that most of the people in the West Guardian Towers had been manipulated by the Evil Gang, and a minority of them were still being kept in the dark.

However, after the moonless night, the remaining few people’s memories would be wiped out. By then, the Twin Guardian Towers would entirely become the Red Demon’s lair. It would not be a surprise if they break through the Twin Guardian Towers’ forbidden system and expand to Osaka.

However, Lingling had not expected that a large group of Blood Demons had replaced the people inside the West Guardian Towers including the three chiefs!

She felt disgusted and frightened when she realized the people she had interacted with in the West Guardian Towers were truly Blood Demons.

It made sense why she had felt something wasn’t right. She had discovered that everyone was acting strangely and that something was amiss with West Guardian Towers as a whole. And yet, they even told her about the strange incidents.

“Mo Fan, Kazuaki always uses this place as its lair. It brainwashed the heinous criminals and transformed them into Blood Demons. There are still many Blood Demons in the black corridor down there. The Blood Demons are waiting for a chance. Once they are able to take control of a suitable person, they will imprison that person inside the East Guardian Towers, then one of the Blood Demons will change into the person’s appearance and take over everything,” said Katana Mochizuki.

“Is it down there?” asked Mo Fan as he pointed to a pitch-black corridor.

“Yes, it’s down there,” said Katana Mochizuki.

“How about the Red Demon Kazuaki? Which one is it?” asked Mo Fan with urgency.

“We don’t know. He appears in a mass of blood mist. We can’t even see its face,” said Katana Mochizuki.

There were many Blood Demons. They were equivalent to the Red Demon’s doppelgangers. The issue was how to distinguish the real Red Demon from its imitators.

They did not have much time left. If they could not find the true Red Demon, before it ascended to become the emperor, Mo Fan could not stop it even if he used his full force!

“Lingling, are we going to search for it one by one by checking the imprisoned people over here?” asked Mo Fan.

“We can’t possibly find it that way. Mo Fan, do you still remember the letter? The one set up by the Red Demon itself?” Lingling asked.

Chapter 2965: Which Is The True Form?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

‘Which letter? Was it the letter that the Cold Hunting King wrote to Lingling, and it took many years before she finally received it?’ Moreover, the letter was received in the form of a commission.

Lingling’s father, The Cold Hunting King, wrote a commission before he fought the Red Demon to death. He had entrusted the experts from the Hunter Union to kill the Red Demon Kazuaki.

But the Red Demon Kazuaki had tampered with the letter of commission. As a result, it took more than a decade before Mo Fan and Lingling finally received it.

“The Red Demon Kazuaki commissioned us to kill the young Red Demon Lu Kun in order to obtain my father’s soul. It fulfilled my father’s last wish with the aim of obtaining one of the Eight Souls, which is the Rightful Soul,” said Lingling.

Mo Fan nodded.

The young Red Demon Lu Kun was no more than one of the Red Demon Kazuaki’s pawns. The Red Demon Kazuaki used it to gain the Cold Hunting King’s Rightful Soul.

“Kazuaki is also one of the Eight Souls. It represents the Righteous Soul. Do you still remember it?” asked Lingling.

Mo Fan nodded. Apas had mentioned that the Red Demon followed the ritual of the Evil Temple Eight Souls. If it were to ascend to become the Wicked God, it had to obtain the souls according to the Eight Souls’ frame!

“I think he has obtained seven souls, except one, which is its Righteous Soul. Otherwise, why would it set its final ascension destination at the Twin Guardian Towers?” said Lingling.

Katana Mochizuki and Tegami Fujikata were beside them as they listened to Lingling’s analysis.

The Righteous Soul…

Kazuaki was indeed a righteous man in the past. When the rest had their hearts being distorted as a result of the Evil Bead’s negative energy, Kazuaki took the Evil Bead away, thus allowing Katana, Fujikata, and their group to resume normalcy. However, he fell and became a Red Demon.

“He sacrificed himself in order to save us,” Katana Mochizuki muttered to himself.

“Since my father owned the Rightful Soul, Kazuaki had to fulfill his last wish to gain his soul. So, what do you think Kazuaki’s last wish is?” Lingling asked Katana Mochizuki and Tegami Fujikata.

“His last wish…” For a moment, Tegami Fujikata did not know how to answer Lingling.

“Those who live inside the Twin Guidance Towers wake up every day to see familiar faces. Despite their tiredness after a long day of work, they smile and greet everyone they see. The elders enjoy their retirement. The peers compete with one another, but they patch things up among themselves. The peers work very hard to grow stronger…” Officer Ozawa spoke up. He spoke in a very solemn voice with a bitter smile on his face.

Upon hearing his words, Mo Fan and Lingling were shocked. They turned around and stared at Officer Ozawa.

‘Could Ozawa be the…’

Just then, Ozawa quickly returned to his senses. He waved his hand. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not Kazuaki. Back in one of the summers when I was young, my peers went for a vacation with their parents. My parents had to attend to their duties, so they didn’t have time to accompany me. As a result, I spent the time alone inside the Twin Guardian Towers. I didn’t have a friend, and I said something outrageous. I told myself that I will never stay in the Twin Guardian Towers that are no different from a prison.”

“Those words were spoken in the heat of the moment, and Brother Kazuaki overheard them. He talked to me. He took me to the beach and played with me…”

“That summer, Brother Kazuaki taught me a lot of things, and I had a lot of fun. After I came back from school the next summer, I tried to find him, but he had disappeared into thin air. Before we bade farewell, he told me these words. I still remember his words even to this day. All these years, I took his words as a code for conduct. I wanted to turn his words into reality, so I treated the Twin Guardian Towers as my home, I treated everyone inside as my relatives…”

Katana Mochizuki and Tegami Fujikata were inevitably lost in their thoughts upon hearing Ozawa’s words.

He was right. It was because Kazuaki treated each and every one of them as his own relatives that led him to make that decision.

Katana Mochizuki and Tegami Fujikata grew even more remorseful. They regretted their inability to maintain greater composure and sobriety. At that time, the Evil Bead was still not as powerful yet. It was their own greed and selfishness that had led to their downfall!

“That’s why the Red Demon used the Blood Demons to replace everyone inside the Twin Guardian Towers. With that, Kazuaki’s Righteous Soul can live in a made-up dream land to fulfill his last wish.” Lingling finally realized.

This explained why, despite holding a position of importance, Ozawa had not been supplanted by the Blood Demon or had his mind impacted by the Evil Gang’s.

Kazuaki saw his own reflection in Ozawa. If not for the fact that Kazuaki had been consumed by the Red Demon, he would have lived inside the Twin Guardian Towers and managed the towers in silence, just like Ozawa.

“If Ozawa is not the Red Demon, who else can it be?” Lingling was deep in her thoughts.

According to Ozawa’s words, the Red Demon Kazuaki would most likely impersonate him. After all, Ozawa’s current life was all that it wanted. However, Ozawa was not affected by it, thus it was clear that he was not the Red Demon.

And even if Ozawa were the Red Demon, he would not have taken Mo Fan and Lingling into the East Guardian Towers. This would only ruin its plan.

“I still have doubts. Since the Blood Demons have replaced all the people inside the towers, why doesn’t the Red Demon just kill them? Why did it have to imprison them inside the East Guardian Towers?” asked Mo Fan.

“The Red Demon transformed the prisoners into Blood Demons. Unless the Blood Demons’ souls are destroyed, they will trigger the West Guardian Towers’ forbidden system if they leave the towers. Regardless of the people the Blood Demons are impersonating, they can never leave the Twin Guardian Towers. However, Osaka will assess the East Guardian Towers. If they find the number of prisoners becoming lesser, the external authorities will question the Chief. As such, we must replace the prisoners and be imprisoned here so as to avoid being under examination,” said Chief Shigekyo.

“Besides, the Blood Demon is drawing on the information from our memory. If we die, the impersonators may not be able to support the operation of the Twin Guardian Towers. At the end of the day, they are learning to replace us completely,” said Tegami Fujikata.

Mo Fan nodded.

“Mo Fan!” A thought sprang up in Lingling’s mind.

“What?” Mo Fan turned to her.

“If the middle-aged chef is a Blood Demon, and you’ve transformed into him using the Eye of Deception, our identities will be exposed very soon!” cried Lingling.

“Sh*t!” Mo Fan patted his head.

Mo Fan assumed the chef was an ordinary human, hence he cast a mild level of Black Aura to make the chef fall asleep, because he did not want to shorten the chef’s life expectancy. However, if the chef was a Blood Demon, the chef would wake up much faster than he expected!

“We need to get out of here first!” Lingling sensed the seriousness of the matter.

They did not have time to save the Chiefs. If they did not leave the place, they would be trapped inside the East Guardian Towers!

The prison door mechanism in the East Guardian Towers was terrifying. Regardless of how astounding Mo Fan’s power was, the moment his soul energy was sucked away, he would become magically dried up, just like the prisoners!

Chapter 2966: Fierce Battle On The Drawbridge

An ear-piercing alarm rang. Mo Fan, Lingling, and Ozawa did not have time to save the prisoners. If they dallied, they would be trapped inside, too.

Fortunately, they quickly arrived at the first prison door. The drawbridge on the cliff swayed when a strong wind blew. It made one’s heart palpitate as if they were going to fall into the bottomless pit at any time.

The drawbridge was filled with security guards. This was the only exit for the East Guardian Towers. Thus, once the drawbridge was occupied, no prisoners could escape.

“There are so many of them!” Lingling cried out in shock. Although the drawbridge was spacious, the number of guards was endless.

Usually, there were only two teams of guards patrolling the area. However, after the alarm rang, all the guards from the West Guardian Towers immediately flooded the drawbridge!

“We can’t get out of here.” Ozawa despaired.

“Everything will be fine as long as we don’t get trapped.” Mo Fan had no intention of giving in without a fight.

He walked toward the crowded drawbridge.

“Follow behind me. I’ll make a path to the outside even if it means fighting them.” Mo Fan smiled cockily.

“Ozawa!” shouted the head of the Guard Regiment. He was furious. “Are you aware of what you’ve done?! There has never been a traitor in the Twin Guardian Towers in the past several hundred years. I didn’t expect you to become so lost. The Chief mentioned that the Evil Gang has infiltrated the Twin Guardian Towers, and I refused to believe him. But now I do!”

“Sir, it’s unlikely that you still don’t know who the prisoners are inside the East Guardian Towers, right? Do you still need to lie? The reason the Twin Guardian Towers have fallen is all because of people like you. If you still have the pride inherited from the towers in you, then accept my declaration of war in a dignified manner! I won’t lose this fight!” Ozawa displayed his heroic side.

Having said that, Officer Ozawa tactfully stood alongside Lingling. They followed behind Mo Fan, letting the “fierce tiger” charge and kill the guards.

Ozawa was prepared to go all out. He was an Advanced-level Mage. Even though he had not fully focused on his cultivation, he was able to fight some guards!

But after he saw Mo Fan charge at the Guard Regiment and knock them down like a savage wolf, he realized that he could only help Mo Fan by following behind him and not getting in his way.

The Guard Regiment was considered powerful. However, Mo Fan’s current level of magic was different from theirs. If it had not been for the fact that the drawbridge was protected by a special barrier and forbidden system, Mo Fan’s Meteor Fire Rain Fist would have destroyed everything.

Mo Fan shot his flames everywhere. He stepped on a carpet ablaze in flames and sent the guards flying away with every step he took. The guards hit the barrier. The barrier prevented them from falling and being shredded apart by the yellow lightning bolts. But it was unlikely that they could return to their senses.

“Red Eagle!”

Mo Fan raised one of his hands. A red, massive thunderstorm appeared above his head. The thunderstorm was not made up of fire or wind, it was made up of flocks of Flaming Eagles.

The Flaming Eagles were red with bright feathers. They were covered with fiery magic feathers from crown to tail. Each of them looked magnificent. They danced in flames. There were thousands of Flaming Eagles. Mo Fan produced them by fusing his Fire Element with his Summoning Element. He then summoned the elemental army from another plane.

The Guard Regiment had never seen such gorgeous and extravagant magic before. They looked up to see the Flaming Eagles, and their jaws dropped. By the time the army of Flaming Eagles swarmed them, the guards fled in horror.

The drawbridge had limited spaces for them to escape, including the outside areas surrounded by the forbidden system. However, Mo Fan summoned all the Flaming Eagles from their magic lair using his fusion of Fire and Summoning Elements. As a result, the guards fled while wrapping their hands around their heads.

They were burned, pecked, scratched, lifted into the air, and incinerated by intertwined plumes of fire. The head of the Guard Regiment was at the other end of the drawbridge. He looked apprehensive when he was greeted by this nightmarish scene.

‘Did that guy descend from heaven? How did he manage to beat the whole regiment up?’

Mo Fan soon arrived at the middle of the drawbridge. Behind him, an undetermined number of individuals collapsed. The “protection net” of the illegal system outside the drawbridge had several of them entangled. Their posture changed. They were essentially no longer able to fight.

“Who the hell are you? Do you know you will be wanted internationally if you cause trouble at the East Guardian Towers?!” The head of the Guard Regiment pointed at Mo Fan.

“Enough nonsense! Show me what you’ve got!” said Mo Fan.

The head of the Guard Regiment flew into a rage. Yet, he did not have the courage to confront Mo Fan head-on.

The guards had undoubtedly inherited some kind of ancient secret spell formation. All of a sudden, they formed a neat line together. They had yellow armor that flashed. They formed a line that resembled a row of armored dragons and snakes.

Soon, the armored dragons and snakes appeared on the drawbridge. They were mighty, bold, and covered in face armor. When the Flaming Eagles crashed on them, their flames and claws had little effect on the guards.

The corners of Mo Fan’s lips twitched when he saw the Armored Dragons and Snakes Formation.

He had not summoned any formidable creatures yet. He took a few steps back and cast a Chaos Element vortex before him to prevent others from interrupting him when he cast his spell.

“Ancient Magic Portal!”

The turrets atop the Thousand Tribe Elf Tower were so tall that they nearly touched the clouds. Among them was a fire cloud. Even the Flaming Eagles summoned from the magic lair had to submit to the Element Elf Queen inside the fire cloud.

It was a Wanxia Eagle in flaming red feathers. It was the ruler of all fire elemental feather beings. At that moment, Mo Fan used his supreme Fire Element cultivation and tenth realm of spiritual power to communicate with the Wanxia Eagle and make it submit to his summoning!

The Ancient Magic Portal finally started to open. The light flashed. In midair, a ball of fire as hot as the sun appeared. Its brightness was considerably more pronounced than during the daytime as it illuminated the entire Twin Guardian Towers. The ice-cold boulders were cast in a vivid crimson shadow, which caused the rocks to heat up as if they were on fire.

The moment Wanxia Eagle appeared, the feathers around the Flaming Eagles’ crowns became hotter. Above the drawbridge, a terrible feather fire thunderstorm formed by coiling feather fire clouds.

The ruler looked down from the sky. It grabbed the armored dragons and snakes with its flaming claws. When it squeezed its claws, heat waves exploded from the armored dragons and snakes’ spines.

The armored dragons and snakes were defeated. The Flaming Eagles soared in the sky. Some of them dived like a rain of red arrows, and some of them coiled into an enormous red lotus root and smashed the drawbridge!

Chapter 2967: Desperate Commission

The guards’ understanding of Fire Element magic had been altered by Mo Fan’s surprising and striking magic. It was difficult to believe that a single individual was responsible for all of the magic. To execute magic of that size and strength, at the very least, an army of Mages would be needed!

“That’s very powerful! Mr. Mo Fan, did you reach the realm of the Flame God in just a few years?!” Ozawa looked amazed. It was no wonder Mo Fan could defeat Shao Watani with a snap of his finger. Mo Fan’s magic had reached the apex, and no one could stop him!

“Please don’t flatter me. Let’s leave first,” said Mo Fan with a smile.

The Guard Regiment’s formation on the drawbridge was in shambles. They lacked solid skills to stop Mo Fan. Mo Fan and his group dashed out of the drawbridge. Meanwhile, the head of the Guard Regiment had already vanished. He must have gone to report to his master.

The massive barrier of the forbidden system was still around. The faint moonlight illuminated the barrier, they barely saw its outline that resembled pale yellow bubbles.

Mo Fan and his group sneaked into the complex West Guardian Towers. However, the towers were agitated. Apparently, the chiefs had received the news. They gathered a large number of armies, Guard Regiment, and Patrol Mages to surround all the towers.

Mo Fan would not make enemies with anyone inside the West Guardian Towers, despite the fact that most of the residents were the Evil Gang and a sizable number of Blood Demons. After all, a portion of them, like Ozawa, were still being kept in the dark. These people held onto their faiths and kept themselves from crossing the lines. They fought valiantly.

“We have to find allies. Otherwise, we’ll be branded as thugs and heretics by those fake chiefs and heads,” said Ozawa.

“That’s not a good idea. The West Guardian Towers have fallen. We’ve barged into the East Guardian Towers and triggered their bottom line. Everyone inside the towers have basically branded us as their enemies, anyway,” said Lingling.

“We have to expose their lies. We can’t allow them to continue to wreak havoc.” said Ozawa.

“How do you suppose we do that? We’ve already alerted them. We can’t possibly tell the crowd that the chiefs, Katana Mochizuki, Tegami Fujikata, and the others are actually Blood Demons. The reason they have never been suspected shows that they have assimilated with the actual identities in many ways,” Mo Fan said guiltily.

How could they convince the crowd?

Only the trio was aware of the reality. No one would believe Ozawa since he was branded a traitor. They wouldn’t believe such a ridiculous tale unless the crowd saw the imprisoned Chiefs, Katana Mochizuki, and the rest of the gang in the East Guardian Towers by themselves.

“We have to uncover the Red Demon’s true identity. Once we uncover it, the Blood Demons will be neutralized,” said Lingling.

“Tomorrow night will be its Ascension Day.”

“The West Guardian Towers is in chaos. The fake chief will take this opportunity to wipe off the deviants,” said Ozawa with great urgency.

“Don’t panic. Give me some time. The Red Demon has to fulfill its Righteous Soul’s last wish, after all. It will not leave it alone. It is certainly inside the Twin Guardian Towers.” Lingling sat down and repeated the hypothesis she had previously put out in the jail.

Lingling had some inkling that the Red Demon was nearby. But she was unsure of just which it was. It had to be a demon posing as someone else who spoke normally to them while snickering behind their backs.

“Mr. Mo Fan, the Chief told me something very important just now,” Ozawa whispered to Mo Fan while Lingling was deep in thought.

Mo Fan and Ozawa stood at the side. It was best to let Lingling figure things out in silence so that they could scale down their area of investigation.

“What is it?” asked Mo Fan.

“The West Guardian Towers’ forbidden system is an ancient system to prevent the prisoners from escaping the East Guardian Towers and entering society. Before this, I didn’t understand why the fake Chief sealed off the West Guardian Towers by using Ki Kurokawa as an excuse. But the Chief reminded me of something in the prison…,” said Ozawa.

He paused for a moment. He stared into Mo Fan’s eyes and said solemnly, “Once the West Guardian Towers’ ancient forbidden system is opened, it will last for a week. After a week, the ancient forbidden system will enter a period of dormancy…”

“Dormancy?!” Mo Fan’s jaw dropped.

“The fake Chief has the intention to release all the Blood Demons. The Red Demon wants to grant amnesty to the prisoners inside the East Guardian Towers. The scariest part will be that they can walk among others in human’s skin,” said Officer Ozawa.

The Blood Demons were the true prisoners. The Red Demon had transformed them into Blood Demons before impersonating the people inside the West Guardian Towers.

They had prisoner’s marks on them. Even if they became someone else, they could not leave the West Guardian Towers, because the ancient forbidden system would stop them.

However, if the fake Chief used a lousy excuse to open the ancient forbidden system and exhausted the energy stored in it, the demons, murderers, and bloodthirsty thugs from the East Guardian Towers would enter into the society when the ancient forbidden system entered the stage of dormancy!

The majority of the prisoners were inhumane. They would only cause panic and trouble to Osaka.

“Mr. Mo Fan, can you do me a favor?” Ozawa asked gravely.

Mo Fan did not answer him.

“I-If we fail to stop the Red Demon, could you destroy the Twin Guardian Towers?” asked Ozawa.

“There are still many innocent people inside the towers. Ozawa, how can you make such a request?” asked Mo Fan.

“The old Chief once told me that there is nothing to be proud of or any sense of superiority among the guards manning the Twin Guardian Towers. The ones who truly contribute to the world are those who sacrifice themself in arresting the wanted criminals. The East Guardian Towers imprison thousands of heinous criminals, but more are the number of people who sacrifice themselves in arresting them. These people are truly worthy of our admiration. Hence, we write down their spirit signs in the Sacrificial Mountain. Whenever we are at a loss, or we are in the middle of greed and foolishness, we go there and worship them, so that we are reminded of the people who established the Twin Guardian Towers for us…”

“If the Twin Guardian Towers fall, the heinous criminals will escape. Even if we commit hara-kiri, we lack the fortitude to confront our ancestors.”

“Therefore, we must stop the criminals from leaving this area at all costs. Those that are still rational would, in my opinion, make the same decision that I do. We’d sooner die beside them than allow even one of them to escape!”

Ozawa spoke with resolve. Mo Fan could even hear his loud breathing.

“I can’t do that.” Mo Fan shook his head. He turned down Ozawa’s outrageous request without hesitation.

“Mr. Mo Fan!” Officer Ozawa said sternly. “No one will blame you. Instead, you will redeem all of us inside the Twin Guardian Towers. Please fulfill our wish!”

“I’m a man of principles, Ozawa. I won’t destroy the Twin Guardian Towers even if you’re the only person inside with a clear head, let alone for the innocent people inside who cling to their beliefs even now,” Mo Fan remarked sadly.

“But—”

“We still have some time. Since you choose to believe in us, don’t simply blurt out such nonsense. Trust us, the Red Demon is not only your problem, it is also our target.” Mo Fan patted Ozawa’s shoulders.

Ozawa looked perplexed. Mo Fan breathed out a sigh and whispered to Ozawa, “Lingling’s father was a hunter. He died because of the Red Demon. Even though he knew he was going to die, he saved a death commission for us.”

Mo Fan had taken over the commission.

The desperate commission was not just a commission from a hunter, it was also a commission from a father.

Although he never had a chance to speak to the Cold Hunting King, Mo Fan promised him that he would take good care of Lingling. He would carry out his instructions and destroy the Red Demon himself!

The Red Demon was the main culprit!

Chapter 2968: Swagger

“So, the Red Demon has caused suffering for everyone. I have faith in you and your partner, Mr. Mo Fan.” Ozawa gave a solemn nod.

He also wished there was a perfect answer to the problem, rather than seeing the Twin Guardian Towers turn into an enormous grave.

“It’s dawn. Take a rest. Tonight’s our last chance.” Mo Fan glanced at the dawning light outside the towers.

When the moonless night arrived, it would be the Red Demon’s ascension time. Mo Fan could not wait until that moment to strike. Hence, the critical moment was just before the last of the crescent moon’s tip disappeared. They hoped the moon could illuminate the Red Demon’s ghostly shadow.

Ozawa did not dwell on the issue. He was aware that a great battle was about to occur. Furthermore, he had no way of knowing how many of the Twin Guardian Towers’ residents were still rational. He would fight until the very end, even if he was the only person left.

He lay on the couch with a blanket over his body. Ozawa hadn’t slept for the previous two nights. When fatigue overcame him, he dozed off.

Mo Fan also needed to recuperate. He sat on the floor. He noticed Lingling examining the data in the notebook when he turned to face her.

Lingling had the final say in the situation. She had never disappointed him. She must have learned something. Otherwise, she wouldn’t work this hard to figure out the secret.

…

They occasionally heard military boots outside the house making rhythmic marches and fast footfalls. The army appeared to be heading in their direction and could barge in at any moment.

They were taken into hiding by Ozawa. Strangely enough, despite the Patrol Mages repeatedly pacing back and forth close by, they failed to locate the dwelling. It’s possible that only individuals who were familiar with the Twin Guardian Towers’ layout would be aware of such a hiding area.

…

In the late afternoon, Mo Fan awoke. Ozawa, meanwhile, dozed off on the couch like a log.

“I’m a little hungry,” said Lingling.

“We’ll go to the restaurant and eat something. I’m hungry too. As for Ozawa, let him sleep. After all, he has done his best,” said Mo Fan.

Ozawa had done them a great favor by summoning the courage to take them into the East Guardian Towers. Mo Fan and Lingling would handle the rest.

They left the house and made their way along the forest’s winding paths to the restaurant.

Despite the tragedy that occurred, it seemed unusual to see the restaurant open as normal. Numerous students ate in the restaurant. They conversed joyfully, acting as if nothing had occurred. It’s possible that they were unconcerned with the mayhem that erupted inside the West Guardian Towers or the rebellion in the East Guardian Towers. They were exempt from having to consider these matters. They only needed to do their individual tasks.

Mo Fan ordered two bowls of ramen. He split the disposable chopsticks before passing them to Lingling.

Mo Fan ate his food faster than Lingling. He added some chili powder to the ramen, took a spoonful of the soup, and then swallowed the noodles. Soon, he finished half of the bowl. Meanwhile, Lingling had eaten only a few pieces of nori and sipped some broth.

The restaurant still operated as usual. But for some reason, the number of people slowly reduced.

At a single glance, they left as usual after taking their food. However, several students ordered large meals, and they left suddenly after only having a few bites.

Mo Fan looked at his watch. It was peak hour for lunch. The restaurant was left with very few people. The students did not enter the restaurant again.

After five minutes, Tegami Fujikata, Chihaya Mochizuki, Shao Watani, and the rest of the group walked into the restaurant. Behind them were the students from the State House. They were here for a meal after finishing the classes.

“Mr. Mo Fan, Ms. Lingling!” Nagayama was the first to discover them.

“Weren’t they on the wanted list yesterday?” Shao Watani asked in confusion.

He approached Lingling and Mo Fan. The others did likewise.

“You two, why did you spend last night within the East Guardian Towers? There are no-go zones in the East Guardian Towers. If anyone enters the towers without authorization, even those who serve there, they will be charged. Despite knowing this, why did you still violate the law? You’re making life challenging for us.” Shao Watani sat down. He did not treat Mo Fan and Lingling as if they were wanted criminals.

At that moment, Tegami Fujikata walked into the restaurant. She stared at Mo Fan. Mo Fan looked up. He gave her a chilly look and went back to his ramen.

He had to fill up his stomach so that he had the energy to fight with the impersonators.

“It’s a long story. I suppose everyone is starving. Sit down. Let’s talk slowly,” said Mo Fan to the crowd.

The communal table in the restaurant was large enough to accommodate everyone.

“Let us listen to what Mo Fan has to say. Perhaps, he has his own reasons.” Chihaya Mochizuki suggested everyone to sit down.

Tegami Fujikata nodded. She wondered what kind of tricks Mo Fan was going to pull.

…

The rest did not order their meals. Outside the restaurant, they could hear loud footsteps. Additionally, they picked up a tiny vibration created by the military boots on the stone steps. Although the short fence had blocked the view, Mo Fan and Lingling were aware that the army had surrounded the restaurant.

“The army is outside the restaurant. Mr. Mo Fan, Ms. Lingling, please give us a reasonable explanation,” Tegami Fujikata said with a straight face. She looked fearless.

She was not afraid of Mo Fan and Lingling exposing their lies. After all, the Twin Guardian Towers were under their control. Even if a minority of people heard Mo Fan’s theory, they would not believe him.

Mo Fan was aware of Tegami Fujikata’s intentions. But he was not in a hurry. He finished eating his noodles first. Lingling was hungry, so she slowly finished her food.

“It’s true that we barged into the East Guardian Towers last night. What we saw inside the towers opened our eyes. You don’t have to believe my words. You can just go in and see it for yourself. You will then realize you are actually living in a terrifying reality,” said Mo Fan to the crowd.

Tegami Fujikata and Ikuko Ishida were certainly the Blood Demons. But Mo Fan was unsure about the identities of Chihaya Mochizuki, Sinchino Mochizuki, Nagayama, Kaede Takahashi, Shao Watani, and the rest of the group.

It was a little complicated inside the Twin Guardian Towers. The Evil Gang, in addition to those in positions of authority who had been supplanted by the Blood Demons, was there to brainwash the populace. The mob would misidentify the inmates in the East Guardian Towers as the actual monsters and demons even if they were visible to them.

“Rules are rules. We don’t simply break the rules. We hope you haven’t caused anything bad. I hope the Chief will be merciful to you,” said Ikuko Ishida.

Mo Fan chuckled. “I can’t be stopped by any of you! “To put it arrogantly, none of you can stop me. It’s up to me to decide whether or not I wish to extend you my mercy rather than you doing so!”

Chapter 2969: Public Trial

After hearing Mo Fan’s remarks, Shou Watani and another instructor became angry and irritated.

How could there be such an arrogant and domineering person? He did not show any respect to the people in the Twin Guardian Towers.

“Mo Fan, I admit that you’re strong. However, the Twin Guardian Towers has a foundation that lasted hundreds of years. Even if you defeated the guards yesterday, you wouldn’t be able to compete with all the masters in the Twin Guardian Towers. You should calm down and admit to your mistakes. Considering that you’re a foreigner, the chief won’t punish you very severely,” said Shou Watani.

Mo Fan abruptly exclaimed, “Shou Watani, after hearing your remarks, I think you have a clear mind.”

“What do you mean by “a clear mind”? Everyone here has a clear mind. Both you and Officer Ozawa stepped over the line yesterday!” Shou Watani said sternly.

“You know nothing. Don’t you realize that other people around you don’t care and are not confused by what we did?” Mo Fan asked.

The question surprised Shou Watani, who then turned to look around.

He understood that nobody had questioned Mo Fan and Lingling about their motivations for trying to enter the East Guardian Towers. Perhaps he was the only one who was ignorant.

“Lingling, we have another ally,” Mo Fan said to Lingling.

Lingling tucked her hair behind her ears and glanced at Shou Watani, who was still confused.

It was true that Shou Watani did not know anything. Since he was suddenly transferred here, the people here probably did not want him to stay.

“Mr. Shou Watani, you should just ignore them. Breaking the strict law of the Twin Guardian Towers is a serious crime,” Ikuko Ishida reminded him.

“Y-Yes, but they need motives to commit crimes. I want to know what your motives are,” said Shou Watani.

“Motives?” Mo Fan said. “I want to save individuals like you who don’t know the reality.

Shout Watani was even more confused.

He looked at Tegami Fujikata and Chihaya Mochizuki, then he turned to Mo Fan and Lingling again.

‘Why does everyone appear to be aware of what is happening? Meanwhile, I don’t know anything! What the hell is going on?’

“Chihaya, take Shou Watani with you and leave,” Tegami Fujikata suddenly said.

“Okay, Miss Tegami.” Chihaya Mochizuki nodded.

Mo Fan glanced at Chihaya Mochizuki. It seemed that she had fallen into the hands of the enemy. It was unknown whether she was controlled or replaced. There were several floors of cells below the East Guardian Tower, and Mo Fan did not have time to check them one by one.

“Why do I need to leave?” Shou Watani was even more confused.

‘Why did she want him to leave when they were still having a conversation?’

“Shou Watani, there are some things you don’t need to know. The Twin Guardian Towers have its way of handling things,” said Tegami Fujikata with a smile.

“I have the right to know. After all, I’m one of the instructors in the State House and a member of the Twin Guardian Towers.” Shou Watani did not intend to leave. He wanted to know the whole story.

“I’ll let you know later,” said Tegami Fujikata.

“No. I need to know the truth. Or is there another secret behind this matter and you don’t want to disclose it to me because I have only been here for a month or two?” The more Shou Watani listened, the more he found this whole situation very strange.

“Well—”

“Miss Tegami, I don’t quite get it either,” said Sinchino Mochizuki. He was also obviously baffled by the whole thing.

“Shinchino, this is not something you should ask!” Chihaya Mochizuki glared at him.

“Then what should I ask? Am I to be excluded even though I’m a member of the Mochizuki family? Everyone knows what kind of a person Officer Ozawa is. I could believe that anyone in this place could betray the Twin Guardian Towers except him. Why did Officer Ozawa want to break into the East Guardian Towers? There must be something happening in the East Guardian Towers that has a huge impact on every one of us,” said Shinchino Mochizuki.

Ozawa obviously had a good relationship with people in the Twin Guardian Towers. Shinchino Mochizuki’s remarks resonated with other instructors and students.

“Yeah, how could Officer Ozawa make such a decision?”

“Why did he sneak two outsiders into the East Guardian Towers?”

“What did he see in the East Guardian Towers?”

“Yeah, what happened to Ozawa? Could it be that he was affected by the Evil Gang?”

“He did make a mistake, but I believe it was unintentional.”

Many students started to comment on the matter. Mo Fan and Lingling were surprised to hear these comments.

It seemed that the Blood Demons and Evil Gang did not have total control over the Twin Guardian Towers. There were still many people with sober minds in the Twin Guardian Towers.

There was still hope!

“I have something to report! Officer Ozawa has voluntarily surrendered himself to General Takuichi. As Officer Ozawa requested a public trial, ministers from various departments have already joined him in court. Everyone in the Twin Guardian Towers can participate.” A soldier suddenly ran in and saluted Tegami Fujikata.

Tegami Fujikata frowned. Mo Fan and Lingling exchanged glances. ‘Was Ozawa trying to feign ignorance? Why did he voluntarily surrender?’

‘Did he want to confront the Twin Guardian Towers, which were ruled by demons?’

Those Blood Demons might mutilate him. It was extremely dangerous!

“General Takuichi hasn’t been replaced,” Lingling whispered to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan nodded. He had not seen General Takuichi in the cell.

However, there were still people in the Twin Guardian Towers whose minds were controlled. Since the Blood Demons controlled their thoughts, most of them did their bidding without even being replaced.

“Officer Ozawa said that he was the one who sneaked Mo Fan and Miss Lingling into the East Guardian Towers without authorization. They had no idea about it, so they didn’t realize they were violating the commandments. Officer Ozawa was the one who ordered Mo Fan and Miss Lingling to fight against the guards, so it has nothing to do with them,” said the soldier.

Tegami Fujikata’s face darkened after hearing the soldier’s words. Ozawa took all the blame, so Mo Fan and Lingling were still guests of the Twin Guardian Towers. They also did not have a valid reason to arrest them.

“It will only be clear whether he is guilty after the trial,” said Tegami Fujikata.

“Please read to the court, Miss Tegami,” said the soldier.

“Haha, it just so happens that I want to go there too.” Tegami Fujikata sneered.

‘Ozawa would have a public trial. So what?’ He could not possibly overturn the twisted system of the Twin Guardian Towers alone.

Even if it was a court, most of the jury were their people. Whether he had committed a crime or not was up to them.

They could not reveal their true colors before the moonless night came and their master ascended. This act had to go on!

“Let’s go. I also want to know why Officer Ozawa did such a thing,” Sinchino Mochizuki said to Nagayama and Kaede Takahashi. The two nodded.

Shou Watani wanted to figure things out, so he followed everyone to the court.

“Are you done with your meal?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes,” Lingling replied.

“Let’s go. Tonight, it will be its ascension,” said Mo Fan.

“It’s also the night of judgment. I’ve been looking forward to this day,” said Lingling.

Ozawa was not the one who Lingling wanted to see on trial, but the Red Demon Kazuaki!

Chapter 2970: List of Sinners

The court was huge. It was like a large stadium where people could watch sporting events.

In a place like the Twin Guardian Towers, there was a great deal of controversy, and public voting was required for many major decisions.

The members of the Twin Guardian Towers had the right to vote to decide the appointment of others.

When Mo Fan and Lingling arrived at the court, it was already full of people. It seemed that everyone attached great importance to this matter. Considering the recent events and the lockdown on the Twin Guardian Towers, the chiefs still needed to give an explanation.

They were only able to inform a limited group of people of the details and were unable to call an emergency meeting as before.

The central area housed the processing court. Its size was comparable to a basketball court, and it included a sizable outside seating area that could hold thousands of people.

There were more than thousands of people in the Twin Guardian Towers. The catering staff, gardeners, migrant workers, maintenance workers, and cleaners did not attend the trial. They were not official members of the Twin Guardian Towers.

“The demon aura is everywhere.” Mo Fan glanced at the crowd and sighed.

‘Who was the leader of these monsters?’

A crescent moon, which appeared to be a curved silver line, slowly rose in the sky as outside the big French window. It was gradually squeezing into the murky, turbid darkness.

It was the final night. If they could not find the Red Demon, Mo Fan could not become a Forbidden Mage.

Mo Fan glanced at Lingling. She was very serious and focused. She had a clear clue, but this clue pointed to several people. She needed to rule out some things to be sure.

Dong!

A strange gong sounded, and the four chiefs appeared on the main seats like four judges. Ozawa stood below them.

Ozawa turned around and looked at Mo Fan and Lingling. He smiled apologetically. “I needed to do something about it.”

“But it is dangerous for you to do this. How did you get the chance for a public trial? What if the person you surrender to is also a Blood Demon?” Mo Fan said helplessly to Ozawa.

“Other than you two, there are people who I believe are still trustworthy. Besides, nothing can be done without a price. Brother Kazuaki made sacrifices for his friends and companions in the past. Although the Red Demon controlled him in the end, he still bought more than ten years for the Twin Guardian Towers,” said Ozawa.

When Lingling heard Ozawa say those words, her eyes lit up.

Dong!

At this time, the gong sounded again. Even though it wasn’t loud, banging the gong in the middle of the night was unsettling.

“Ozawa, you took outsiders into the East Guardian Towers and attacked the guards and injured them. This is a felony. If you think of the Twin Guardian Towers as a small kingdom, your action is no different from treason. Do we have to throw you into the East Guardian Towers so that you can reflect on your mistakes and remember your identity as a guardian?” said General Takuichi.

Ozawa surrendered himself to General Takuichi. He seemed to be the person Officer Ozawa trusted.

He possessed the Twin Guardian Towers’ military might. He was in charge of ensuring the security of the Twin Guardian Towers and battled primarily against Ocean Demons from the sea. After all, those held in the East Guardian Towers are all demonic beings who posed a threat to numerous nations.

“The Chief of the Towers visited me. He told me that the Twin Guardian Towers were in a crisis and may collapse at any time. We also mentioned this in the emergency meeting. Everyone in the Twin Guardian Towers should be able to tell that the towers are different from before. Falsehoods, oddities, and inexplicable occurrences are present everywhere. The unexplained things that are exposed, and things that are still hidden…”

“The Chief of the Towers asked me to hand over a list to clean up the incumbents who may have endangered the Twin Guardian Towers,” said Ozawa.

“I know that I have a grave responsibility, and the name of any person I write may affect that person’s life. I dare not be rash and have to be responsible for every incumbent in the Twin Guardian Towers. So, I entered the East Guardian Towers myself and wrote a list.”

Ozawa took a large letter out from his sleeve while he spoke and presented it to the four chiefs with both hands.

The Chief of the Towers did not speak but their faces were stiff.

However, General Takuichi looked at the Chief of the Towers and asked, “Chief, is what Ozawa said true?”

“Yes, but the list of suspects has nothing to do with the felony of breaking into East Guardian Towers,” said the Chief of the Towers.

“Should we take a look at this list first?” said General Takuichi.

The Chief of the Towers hesitated and looked at Katana Mochizuki.

Katana Mochizuki nodded. It was just a list. Nothing would happen even if everyone looked at it.

The list was presented and projected onto the screen through a projector, ensuring that people in the public courtroom could see it.

[Positions.]

[Names.]

Two straight columns made up the list. The first had positions, whereas the second had names.

From the top to the end…

When everyone saw this lengthy list, there was an uproar!

After a few seconds of silence, the Chief of the Towers was enraged. “Ozawa, are you making fun of us?”

“Chief, I did what you told me,” said Ozawa.

“This is your list? This is the position list of all the staff in the Twin Guardian Towers. Everyone’s name is on it!” said the Chief of the Towers.

“Yes, all of us are on the list. Every single one of us. These are the sinners who will cause the Shuangshou Pavilion to collapse at any time!” Ozawa said in a low voice.

Everyone was a sinner.

“The Twin Guardian Towers have become a mess because of all of us. We are about to destroy the Twin Guardian Towers. There are demons in the prison that have dominated us and are about to endanger society and the entire country. Each of us is an accomplice, regardless of our position.”

“We turn a blind eye to the harm, let bizarre things happen, turn a deaf ear to the outside world, and scoff at the truth. General Takuichi just said that the Twin Guardian Towers are like a small kingdom. Now our country is about to be destroyed. Is this because of the action of some dissidents?”

“Every kingdom has corruption and dark corners, but the fallen of the kingdom have already proven that our generation is stupid. We have no resistance in the face of erosion.”

“Maybe some people still stick to their posts and principles, but it’s also a crime to be weak and powerless!”

“We are the ones who ruin the Twin Guardian Towers.”

“Chief, you asked me to hand in a list of people who have threatened the Twin Guardian Towers. This is the list.”

The list shown on the big screen had the names of all Twin Guardian Towers members, including Ozawa!

Everyone was in it!

Chapter 2971: The People in the Court Are Shocked

Each person had to accept responsibility!

The list that Ozawa handed over was this one!

The Twin Guardian Towers gradually approached the cliff’s edge due to their carelessness, insensitivity, ignorance, and neglect, making it possible for it to fall at any time.

Since the inmates might escape from their cells and infiltrate society, the people of this generation might also end up as the sinners of the Twin Guardian Towers.

“Ozawa, you’re insane,” said the Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo. He was so angry that he breathed roughly.

“I would like to apologize to the ancestors of the Sacrificial Mountain first,” said Ozawa.

A razor-sharp knife suddenly materialized in his hand as soon as he finished speaking.

The guards next to Ozawa were shocked. They thought Ozawa would attack them, but he stabbed himself.

The blood ran down from the blade to the handle. Ozawa’s hands were stained red.

“Ozawa!” Mo Fan yelled as he ran to stop him.

Ozawa extended a hand and stopped Mo Fan.

He was in pain, but he looked determined.

“Don’t worry. I won’t kill myself. It is indeed easy to apologize by committing suicide, but that is what those who want to destroy the Twin Guardian Towers want. I won’t let them take away the Twin Guardian Towers like this.” Ozawa neither stabbed himself further nor drew the dagger out.

He was still bleeding, but it wasn’t enough to kill him.

“You don’t have to do this. You’re not the only one to blame.” Mo Fan looked at Ozawa. He was moved.

Seeing the blood gushing out of Ozawa’s body, Mo Fan could feel his sincere affection for the Twin Guardian Towers and his uncontaminated passion! His action was not meaningless.

He was trying to wake everyone up from their daze. The Blood Demons did not have total control over the Twin Guardian Towers, but the evil thoughts had occupied everyone’s mind. Everyone had forgotten how their forefathers fought those savage monsters, how they erected a splendid castle atop the cliff, and how many of their predecessors perished in the process.

“You’re insane, Ozawa. You’re really insane. Until someone like you spread unfounded rumors that caused people to worry, the Twin Guardian Towers have always been in order. What you must do is to take care of yourself and those who spread panic instead of accusing everyone in the Twin Guardian Towers!” the Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo, said angrily.

“Chief, there is something I have always wanted to report. The previous regulations required us to regularly confirm the identities of the inmates housed in the East Guardian Towers in order to stop those who are adept at unusual magic from using these techniques to escape. It appears that this rule has been abolished at some point, and someone like me, who is in charge of prisoner verification, has just become a decoration in the police department,” a guard in the Guard Regiment said.

The guard seemed to have kept these words in his heart for a long time. When he finally could mention it, he looked at Ozawa.

A look of relief flashed through Ozawa’s face. It seemed that there were still people who could think rationally.

“Three months ago, as I used the energy ball to remove the last of the negative energy from the cell, I noticed a prisoner who had no skin. He was covered in blood as if he had torn off his own skin. I reported this to the Regiment Commander a long time ago, but the Regiment Commander never got back to me,” said another middle-aged guard. He deliberately lowered his hat so that his face was hidden.

“I saw it too! But not in the East Guardian Towers. I saw it in the dean’s room,” a female student whispered.

“Ah, I thought I was dreaming. It turns out everyone has seen it!”

“Could it be that the horror stories that have been going around the academy lately are real?”

“Oh my god! I wasn’t wrong about what I saw then!”

All of a sudden, everyone was talking about what they had witnessed. They had seen the Blood Demons in their lives but had not dared to believe it to be true.

“That is the Blood Demon. It is an evil creature that can imitate the appearance of others,” said Lingling.

“Blood Demons!”

“Yes, I have some information about the Blood Demon here. Mo Fan and I killed a Blood Demon recently, too. It impersonated Mo Fan,” said Lingling.

Lingling already knew everything there was to know about Blood Demons, including strong proof that they could change into others.

The Chief of the Towers Shigekyo, Tegami Fujikata, and Katana Mochizuki all made somber faces. They did not want to discuss this issue. However, Ozawa’s actions led to discussions among the members of the Twin Guardian Towers, and more people expressed their doubts.

“Let’s take a look. I’m also curious about it. Such an evil creature actually exists in this world?” said General Takuichi.

“This…” Katana Mochizuki seemed reluctant.

“Katana, you’re the most senior chief. I think you don’t want the rumor to spread because it would cause panic in the Twin Guardian Towers. Now let’s examine the Blood Demons. Everyone is interested in learning more about it as well,” General Takuichi insisted.

Many people were doubtful. The Blood Demons had replaced so many people that they would have made a slip while acting as the person they impersonated. Some people might have even seen their true appearances.

Katana Mochizuki found that the people in the court were conversing about it. He knew that if he expressed a different opinion, it might raise suspicions.

The Blood Demons did not get along well with one another. If the exposed Blood Demons were caught, Katana Mochizuki had no way to protect them.

All of the information regarding the Blood Demons came on the screen right away when Lingling submitted it, allowing everyone in the court to see it.

It was a short video that recorded the “Blood Demon Mo Fan” trapped in the trapped magic formation. Slowly, his bloody appearance was revealed.

“This is it!”

“Oh my god! This is what I saw!”

“Blood Demons do exist!”

The students exclaimed from the crowd. The crowd itself was in an uproar!

It turned out that Blood Demons did exist! They turned into someone’s appearance in the Twin Guardian Towers.

The people in the court were also shocked. Ozawa was relieved to see everyone’s reaction. This was what he had wanted.

No one, not even the unaffected, would believe him if he claimed that the Blood Demons had taken over the Twin Guardian Towers.

A little guidance would allow everyone to draw conclusions based on their past experiences, which was always more convincing.

Chapter 2972: The Demon King, Ki Kurokawa

Mo Fan gave Ozawa a thumbs up.

Ozawa smiled bitterly. The dagger was still in his stomach, so it was hard for him to express himself properly. Ozawa, though, had done an excellent job!

He succeeded in getting those living in a dream to reflect and question.

As Lingling had mentioned, a dream was a dream, after all. It contained a lot of absurd things. People would feel as though everything was real while immersed in it. But when they tried to think and question, they would realize that this dream was full of loopholes!

The Blood Demons had controlled the Twin Guardian Towers, so it was full of ambiguities. The Blood Demons could steal a portion of the memory of the person involved, but they could not play their roles perfectly. Despite the perfect performance, a real person would always have their own flaws.

“Ikuko Ishida, where are you going?” Shou Watani suddenly asked.

“I’m not feeling well, so I want to go back and rest,” said Ikuko Ishida.

“Oh, why did mentioning the Blood Demons make you feel so uneasy? Can it be…” Shou Watani stared at Ikuko Ishida.

Ikuko Ishida panicked and bolted.

Shou Watani chased after her. A rope made of interwoven light silk appeared on his palm, and he threw it. The rope landed on Ikuko Ishida and tied her up!

“Shou Watani, what’re you doing? Why did you attack a student?” Tegami Fujikata asked angrily.

Shou Watani dragged Ikuko Ishida back. “During a training session, Ikuko Ishida hurt herself. She was injured on her right arm. I asked the nursing staff to help her deal with the wound, but her wound had miraculously disappeared. The wound was caused by Poison Element Magic. Even a Healing Mage would find it difficult to heal it so fast. At that time, I was suspicious of her.”

“Use Light Element Magic to burn her eyes,” Lingling said to Shou Watani.

“You can’t do that!” Tegami Fujikata shouted.

But Shou Watani ignored her. He knew other things about Ikuko Ishida that made him increasingly suspicious. He cast the Light Element Magic on Ikuko Ishida’s eyes.

Ikuko Ishida covered her eyes and screamed. Black smoke rose out of her body as if she was burning.

The black smoke became thicker. Her skin melted like black plaster. Black pus flowed down her body.

What was exposed once the pus ran down was not typical flesh and blood but rather dark blood scabs. Her body was covered in hideous-looking blood scabs.

“Ah!” The students next to Ikuko Ishida screamed in fright.

A Blood Demon! A Black Scab Blood Demon!

The horrifying thing did, in fact, exist.

The court erupted once more. People could not believe that a person had suddenly turned to something like this.

Tegami Fujikata had already gotten up. However, she had to pretend to be surprised at Ikuko Ishida’s appearance.

“Unbelievable! Unbelievable…” Tegami Fujikata did not dare defend her.

“Chief!” Ozawa shouted.

“W-What else do you want to say?” The Chief of the Towers took a deep breath.

He realized at this point that he was powerless to help the Black Scab Blood Demon. They could not show themselves because the moonless night had not yet arrived. If the others caught them in public, they would only die under the sun.

“The real Ikuko Ishida is imprisoned in the corridor of the prison of the East Guardian Towers. You wonder why I broke into the East Guardian Towers. This is the reason! Ikuko Ishida is not the only person imprisoned in the East Guardian Towers. I saw many people there, and I can tell you that—” Ozawa knew this was the right moment to tell the truth.

At that precise moment, a guard who had been watching Ozawa flung himself at him. He planned to kill Ozawa, so he snatched the dagger from his stomach.

When the man moved, his clothes seemed to be soaked by something. If someone looked closely, he would find that the guard was covered in blood and the uniform was dyed entirely red.

He could not let Ozawa tell everyone what he saw in the East Guardian Towers. He must kill Ozawa!

However, the Blood Demon Guard did not notice Mo Fan sneering.

Ozawa and Mo Fan switched places after a burst of brilliant silver light. The Blood Demon Guard hurled himself at Mo Fan instead of Ozawa, who was now grinning.

Mo Fan extended his hand, and the purple lightning wrapped around his arm like a snake. The snake struck out and bit the Blood Demon Guard on the neck.

From a distance, it looked like Mo Fan had lifted the Blood Demon Guard with one hand. The Blood Demon Guard could not move as the Lightning Demon Snake bit it.

“Another one!” Mo Fan smiled and threw the reckless Blood Demon Guard to the center of the court.

Everybody’s eyes grew wide.

They were still shocked about Ikuko Ishida’s transformation, and another Blood Demon had suddenly appeared. A person had suddenly turned into a demon!

Mo Fan slowly walked and stepped on the Blood Demon Guard. He glanced at everyone in the court.

They all maintained their composure. It seemed that the Blood Demon army planned to abandon these stupid Blood Demons who were caught.

The clever Blood Demons would not simply reveal their flaws. It appeared that they were also immersed in the roles they played based on the Blood Demon that imitated Mo Fan.

“The Blood Demons are like mice in the gutter. Not only can they not live publicly, but they are also indifferent when they see their companion being trampled on like this. I wonder if there are any fearless and righteous Blood Demons. Can you step forward and compete with me?” Mo Fan’s stepped on the Blood Demon Guard’s face and mocked them.

There were thousands of people in the court, but no one stepped forward.

“You guys were once terrifying demons. Why did you suddenly change and become the well-behaved watchdog of the Twin Guardian Towers? Since you decide to become a dog that submits to humiliation, why did you commit such a heinous crime in the first place? If you’ve been a dog all the time, you don’t have to be locked up in the East Guardian Towers,” Mo Fan continued to mock.

Mo Fan glanced around again. Someone stood up, just as he had predicted.

It was an ordinary-looking man in a military uniform. His military uniform wasn’t very neat so it was easy for him to blend in with the crowd.

He took off his hat and smiled. His face was distorted because of the smile.

“Hello, Mo Fan. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Ki Kurokawa.” The man in the military uniform dropped his hat, jumped off his seat, and walked toward Mo Fan.

Mo Fan raised an eyebrow. ‘What a brave Demon King.’

“Oh, it’s you. Someone who had to kill people just for them to remember you,” said Mo Fan in disdain.

Ki Kurokawa’s face darkened.

“Someone like me doesn’t have to kill people, and yet people will always talk about me. I’m like a dazzling star in the night sky,” Mo Fan continued.

Ki Kurokawa became so enraged that blood smoke began to emanate from him. His features eventually melded horrifyingly as though it had been corroded by a powerful acid.

He disliked acting. He liked to slaughter!

Since the result was already known, there was no point in wasting time with these individuals.

“Of course, there is one thing I must praise you for. You are like an adult with no interest in playing this kind of childish game with the Red Demons,” said Mo Fan.

Chapter 2973: Border On

Ki Kurokawa walked toward Mo Fan. He undid the tie around his neck and tore the uniform in disgust.

He displayed his muscular chest, firm arms, and scarred arms. A scar covered the part below the neck like an exaggerated tattoo.

Although Ki Kurokawa’s body was drastically different from the Blood Demons’, his face was corroded. Ki Kurokawa was a half-demon.

He was transforming into a Blood Demon but had not fully become one.

The appearance of Ki Kurokawa caused quite a stir in the court. The person who was the most infuriated was the Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo.

He was responsible for freeing Ki Kurokawa from prison. Ki Kurokawa could take the place of someone from the West if he transformed into a Blood Demon.

However, Ki Kurokawa disobeyed the order and exposed himself.

Even though it was inevitable, and the moonless night was approaching, exposing himself at this time was not a wise decision.

…

Ki Kurokawa was an uncontrollable factor. In actuality, a lot of prisoners resembled him.

These people were Demon Kings from all over the world. They wouldn’t have been qualified to be held in the East Guardian Towers if they weren’t psychopaths and hadn’t committed heinous crimes.

Ki Kurokawa had also always detested the Red Demon. The creature who could order him around did not yet exist in this world.

He would do whatever he wanted!

“Many people like to act as the person they impersonate, but I have no interest in that. I am most interested in chopping your head off. I want to display it on my collection shelf.” Ki Kurokawa grinned.

For someone like him, it was impossible to suppress the desire to kill, just as someone who was starving would find it impossible to ignore the aroma of mouthwatering food.

Ki Kurokawa wants to slowly destroy all that lives.

When Ki Kurokawa walked, Mo Fan noticed his arm.

His left hand’s wrist was now covered in the pronounced scars that covered the rest of his body. But his palm was not what was attached to his wrist; rather, it was a pitch-black hook. The sharp, curved hook resembled the ready tail of a scorpion.

Ki Kurokawa attacked. He was like a strong and sturdy scorpion. He resembled a powerful, solid scorpion. He approached carefully and suddenly launched the scorpion hook at Mo Fan’s throat without warning.

There was no fancy magic sheen, just a deadly attack, at a speed that caught people off guard.

Mo Fan’s eyes suddenly changed color. His pupils widened, and the blurred figure of Ki Kuraokawa gradually became clear. Mo Fan saw that the black scars on his body were like some ancient animal patterns, which provided a strange force.

Mo Fan did not have much time to analyze it. He extended his right hand, and a black metal substance quickly wrapped around his arm. Then, a dragon claw appeared on his fist.

Ki Kurokawa was a killer, an Assassin Mage.

He trained his own special ../style of attack. He combined the abilities of the Shadow Element and Poison Element in his special way of attack, transforming himself into a vicious, black venomous scorpion that could slit the necks of his victims with ease.

However, Mo Fan saw through him.

If Ki Kurokawa was a poisonous scorpion, Mo Fan was a sharp-eyed dragon eagle. Mo Fan used his spiritual knowledge from the ninth world to see right through the venomous scorpion’s trump card. In terms of speed and power, Mo Fan and Ki Kurokawa were not of the same species.

Mo Fan attacked without the use of any fancy magic. He only used the dragon claw to attack Ki Kurokawa’s heart.

A split second would decide the winner and survival in this deadly confrontation.

Mo Fan moved away and avoided the Deadly Black Scorpion of Ki Kurokawa, but Ki Kurokawa could not avoid Mo Fan’s dragon claw piercing his heart.

Plink… Plink…

Black blood dripped from Ki Kurokawa’s chest. Mo Fan stretched his right hand forward and pushed Ki Kurokawa, who was only half a step away. At the same time, he withdrew his dragon claw, and his hand returned to normal. He had no trace of Ki Kurokawa’s blood on his hand.

“Don’t be so shocked. Most people can’t avoid my attack. You’re not alone.” Mo Fan stood there with a confident smile.

Ki Kurokawa was stunned. He could not even feel the pain from his chest.

It was too fast. In a matter of seconds, his life had been taken from him before the pain even spread through his body.

“It may not be a bad idea to die like this…” Ki Kurokawa did not have much energy to speak. He slumped to the ground like a heap of mud. Blood poured out of his chest. The blood pooled around him in a matter of seconds.

His corroded face started to look normal again. It seemed that the erosion of the Blood Demon had no longer affected him as he died.

“Is Ki Kurokawa dead?”

“Mo Fan is ten times more terrifying than Ki Kurokawa!”

“I couldn’t even see their movements!”

The two engaged in a battle that moved too quickly for the troops and guards to intervene in time. The laid-back Mo Fan stood in the center of the court. He made everyone shudder in fear and disbelief.

Ki Kurokawa was a Demon King.

Many famous and powerful people in the Japan Magic Association had been attacked. The murderer, who once instilled fear, was like a vulnerable child in front of Mo Fan. Mo Fan was the real Demon King!

“Mr. Mo Fan, thank you for killing this demon. I didn’t expect Ki Kurokawa to be hiding among the crowd. This is a mistake on our part,” said the Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo.

‘Ki Kurokawa brought it upon himself. No one could stop it.’

A half-Blood Demon was unreliable, anyway. Since the Red Demon had not spiritually baptized him, he would make foolish decisions.

But the show had to go on!

The moonless night was coming soon!

At that time, no matter how rampant and powerful Mo Fan was, he could not win against the Red Demon.

“A murderer, who was imprisoned in the East Guardian Towers, lived in the Twin Guardian Towers arrogantly and freely attacked people in the court. The Twin Guardian Towers have come to this now? Chief, I remember you admitted in the previous emergency meeting that you brought Ki Kurokawa from East Guardian Towers and detained him in a secret place. Was this how you detained him? Does it mean that something is also wrong with the chief?” Mo Fan asked the Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo.

Shigekyo’s face darkened. He was a Blood Demon, but he could not admit it.

Unlike Ki Kurokawa, he was clever and knew about the importance of the moonless night. Anyone who was exposed before would be abandoned.

“Mo Fan, you can’t accuse the chief without direct evidence,” said Katana Mochizuki.

Chapter 2974: Battle

“Actually, in the East Guardian Towers…” Mo Fan was going to expose the Chief of the Towers. But Ozawa shook his head, signaling to Mo Fan that this was not the right timing.

He could not expose the Chief of the Towers.

The Chief of the Towers was one of the rulers of the Twin Guardian Towers. If Mo Fan provoked him, he would immediately order everyone in the Twin Guardian Towers to arrest Mo Fan. Ultimately, a battle would take place.

Mo Fan was capable. However, if that happened, they would be unable to help those under the grip of the Evil Gang and those with sober minds.

“Chief, the escape of Ki Kurokawa might be an accident, but I saw some people in the East Guardian Towers. I will point them out, so I hope you won’t neglect them anymore. The Twin Guardian Towers are at stake. We must deal with those dangerous people no matter the cost!” said Ozawa.

“Point them out then.” The Chief of the Towers looked at Mo Fan.

Although Katana Mochizuki and Tegami Fujikata did not speak, they knew what to do.

“This is another list. I am sure that these people are all Blood Demons.” Ozawa handed them another list.

“Let me have a look first,” said General Takuichi.

After General Takuichi read it, he handed it to the other three people. “Should we let everyone take a look?” he said, indifferently.

The list that Ozawa handed over did not include all the Blood Demons. After all, Ozawa did not know how many people were still imprisoned in the cell.

He had walked to the cell at the end of the corridor. He had written down the names of all the people imprisoned in it from his memory, but the list had only a few names.

If he exposed too many Blood Demons, the Chief of the Towers Shigekyo, Tegami Fujikata, and Katana Mochizuki would fight back immediately. Once a large number of Blood Demons were cleared, they would lose control of the Twin Guardian Towers.

But for the moonless night, it was acceptable for them to sacrifice a small number of people. This was just a game to them.

Ozawa was aware of his current situation. Exposing them all would only lead to chaos. Due to their need to act, he could eliminate some Blood Demons and identify others of sober mind.

Katana Mochizuki, Tegami Fujikata, and the Chief of the Towers looked at the list and hesitated.

“Should we reveal our identities?” Tegami Fujikata asked in a low voice.

“That’s not worth it. It’s only a few people.” Katana Mochizuki shook his head.

“Don’t you think they are deliberately weakening our strength by reducing our numbers?” said the Chief of the Towers.

“Yes. If Ki Kurokawa hadn’t been so reckless, we wouldn’t have had to compromise. Take a look at your credibility in the court. If you don’t take care of these people, no one will trust you anymore. Do you want us to sacrifice you too?” Katana Mochizuki asked.

The Chief of the Towers gritted his teeth.

It was all Ki Kurokawa’s fault. If he had endured it a little longer, everyone would have a new life. Why did he have to expose himself? If Shigekyo had known earlier that Ki Kurokawa was this uncontrollable, he would have killed him with his own hands.

“Hmph! I have looked at the list. These people are trash,” said the Chief of the Towers, Shigekyo.

Everyone was a prisoner, and they were all crazy people. He did not have to pity them.

If it were not for everyone having a common goal to escape from the East Guardian Towers, they would have killed all of them to avoid getting exposed.

…

After getting the approval of the Chief of the Towers, the list of Blood Demons compiled by Ozawa was made public.

“Catch them! Don’t give them a chance to escape!” The Chief of the Towers ordered the Mages of the Twin Guardian Towers to take action.

Thirty-seven people were caught in the pavilion, and they were all Blood Demons. They were tortured, after which they revealed their true appearances.

The Chief of the Towers was smart. To prevent these thirty-seven people from exposing other Blood Demons, he killed them all on the spot!

The court suddenly became an execution chamber. Even though there were only thirty-seven people, it nonetheless had a significant impact on others.

“As expected of the chief, we get to kill these parasites because of you!”

“You flatter me. You should thank Ozawa. Actually, I asked Ozawa to do this. Since Ozawa violated the commandment to carry out my order, he should only receive a light punishment. The unfortunate occurrence of the Twin Guardian Towers is indeed because of the negligence of every one of us, especially me. Let’s end the public trial and go back,” the Chief of the Towers Shigekyo said to the crowd.

This trial could not continue anymore. The Chief of the Towers could give up on some of his companions. However, the Red Demon would blame him if more were killed.

“Chief, don’t forget to save the people imprisoned in the East Guardian Towers. They have suffered a lot,” Ozawa reminded the Chief of the Towers.

“I’ll save them, of course.” The Chief of the Towers nodded.

…

Ozawa did not force them. If the Blood Demons revealed their identity, it would not benefit them. Therefore, they could only end this trial.

Ozawa had to deceive others by claiming that all of the Blood Demons had perished and that the Twin Guardian Towers would soon return to peace in order to make them feel better.

When he told them about it, Ozawa sobbed. As he cried, he was not sure whether he felt sad for the sorrowful Twin Guardian Towers or the torture and pain the dagger caused him.

Ozawa returned to his room after he was released.

Lingling helped Ozawa with his wound by wrapping some gauze around his abdomen. She felt a little sad to see him in pain.

Ozawa, who knew the truth, had to face a powerful opponent. He even had to force himself to accept those terrible facts and abandon some people.

“I still can’t save everyone,” Ozawa said regretfully.

“You have done better than anyone else.”

“Most people will choose to join and integrate with them when they find out that everything can’t be changed. Only you choose to fight. People who can make such a choice are amazing.” Lingling comforted Ozawa.

“But there are still many…” Ozawa still felt a little regretful. He was blaming himself for not exposing more people. Maybe those Blood Demons would agree as well.

“Are you mentally prepared to let me destroy the Twin Guardian Towers? You don’t have to worry about it anymore. It will at least be better now,” Mo Fan said.

“The number of people you exposed is good. If you choose more people, the Blood Demons might reveal their identity and kill the people imprisoned in the East Guardian Towers. Since your request was not too over the top, they didn’t kill the people in the East Guardian Towers,” said Lingling.

Ozawa nodded quietly. This was what he had been considering.

“A battle is not all about impulsivity. You can’t just run forward and kill the enemy. The enemy may be right in front of you, but you must still take each step thoughtfully, just as you did today. Sometimes, you even have to make compromises with the enemy.” Lingling was impressed by Ozawa’s decision.

Chapter 2975: The Essence of the Einherjar Spirit

The weather outside the home that night was eerily cold. They felt as though they had entered a huge freezer even though there was no breeze. It gave the impression that the dim moonlight was primarily to blame for the frost-covered trees, eaves, and stones.

“We’ll go to the Sacrificial Mountain,” said Lingling.

“I’ve been to the Sacrificial Mountain. It’s true that the Red Demon gathers its massive evil energy from the Sacrificial Mountain that allows it to ascend to become an emperor. However, the Sacrificial Mountain is like a fortress. It cannot be destroyed by using brute force. Besides, it’s too close to the West and East Guardian Towers. If the evil energy spreads outside, it will turn thousands of people into tyrannical demons,” said Mo Fan.

The evil energy was massive. After all, during the moonless night, the Red Demon prepared for its ascent by gathering bad energy from many corrupted and evil places throughout the world.

The Sacrificial Mountain was like Pandora’s box. Even Mo Fan dared not simply “open” it. Mo Fan could only appear and attack the Red Demon when it believed that time had come for the energy to be transformed into ascension power.

Before the moonless night, if they had come into contact with the evil energy, it would have been no different than them murdering the residents of the Twin Guardian Towers.

…

They reached the Sacrificial Mountain. There was a white stone path in the dense bamboo forest that led to the torii gate of the Sacrificial Mountain.

Mo Fan and Lingling visited the Sacrificial Mountain in the middle of the night. They noticed the plain white silk that hung off the tree branches by the roadside along the mountain path, all the way up to the temple. There were even white knots tied around the stone piers that were shaped like statues of spirits to welcome guests to the temple.

They exchanged glances. When was the Sacrificial Mountain decorated in this manner? Why did it look like a mourning festival?

They continued forward. Soon, Mo Fan saw a monk and a few workers standing guard over the entrance. It was nighttime. They looked busy, but they were vigilant. They tried to avoid making any sort of sounds at all.

Mo Fan and Lingling walked up to them. The monk smiled and watched the pair approach.

“What are you doing here?” asked Lingling.

“The festival is around the corner,” answered the monk.

“Is it tomorrow?” asked Lingling.

“Yes, tomorrow is the day.”

“Tomorrow is the eclipse,” said Lingling.

“Yes, it’s the eclipse. Most people are unaware of the Einherjar Spirits on the Sacrificial Mountain. The Einherjar Spirits are like the ancient night watchers who silently watch over the families. Hence, we, especially the young people, will pay tribute to them every year during the eclipse of this month,” said the monk.

“But why did no one mention this before?” Mo Fan asked in confusion.

“Why do they have to mention it? Everyone has an Einherjar Spirit they respect. Every year, the young people will tell us something they’ve done in the past year on the festival night. It must be something that they have summoned their courage to do after they were inspired by the great Einherjar Spirits, or the lessons they have learned from the Einherjar Spirits. Before being made public during the event, these things are typically kept a secret. As a result, they won’t discuss anything prior to the festival. But I think they’ll remember it for themselves.” The monk smiled softly.

“Only the young people?” asked Lingling.

“Yes. Those beyond the age of twenty-five don’t have to participate in the festival any longer. After all, they are full-fledged adults by that age. Their personalities are basically set. This festival is prepared for the young who are prone to getting lost, falling into depravity, or going astray,” said the monk.

“In other words, young people below the age of twenty-five of the Twin Guardian Towers will gather here tomorrow night?” asked Lingling.

“That’s right. Everyone will come. Nobody will skip it,” said the monk firmly.

“Could you be a little more specific?” Lingling asked with a sense of urgency.

“I suppose you’ve seen the spirit tablet arranged inside the temple. Each spirit tablet represents an Einherjar Spirit, and each Einherjar Spirit represents a type of spirit. The Einherjar Spirits are role models for the young. When they are young, they worship Einherjar Spirits in their hearts. They learn about the Einherjar Spirit’s past and about their essence. They even try to emulate the praiseworthy things that the Einherjar Spirit has done…,” said the monk.

Lingling frowned. ‘Learn about the Einherjar Spirit’s past and about their essence… and follow the examples of the Einherjar Spirit’s praiseworthy actions.’

“I got it! I understand why the visitors of the Sacrificial Mountain on the name list died one after another!” said Lingling.

“Were they affected by evil energy?” asked Mo Fan in confusion.

“They are affected by evil energy and also by the Einherjar Spirits. Originally, the Einherjar Spirits served as the young people’s role models. However, the Red Demon brings in massive evil energy. As a result, Einherjar Spirits are ingrained in the young people’s minds. They would do everything they can to accomplish their goals even at the cost of their lives,” said Lingling.

Lingling and Ozawa checked the visitors’ name list. Many people were dead, and the reasons for their death looked “reasonable”.

At that time, Lingling could not figure out if these people were affected by the Red Demon’s magnetic field, or if it was due to their own problems. Thus, she could not reach a conclusion. Upon hearing the monk’s words, Lingling finally understood the reason!

Their deaths were in line with the essence of the Einherjar Spirits! They followed the example of the spirits…

“Grand Master, did you lose a Einherjar Spirit tablet from the temple recently?” asked Lingling.

“How did you know that?” the monk cried out in surprise. He stared at Lingling for a moment before explaining. “That Einherjar Spirit tablet sparks controversial issues. Hence, I didn’t pay much attention to it when it disappeared all of a sudden.”

“Got it! Thank you, Grand Master. Can I join the festival tomorrow night?” asked Lingling with a smile.

“Of course, you can. I wish you a bountiful harvest,” said the monk.

…

Dusk arrived. The plain white silk swayed under the breeze. The Sacrificial Mountain was different after the decoration. The adornment gave the mountain a hint of color, however it did not make the peak appear very colorful.

On the white silk, there were black ink scribbles that appeared to be lantern riddles for people to solve.

The young people went up to the Sacrificial Mountain. They dressed in plain kimonos. Their kimonos were plain. The majority of them, including the kimonos for women, were in pale colors and hardly had any patterns.

They were mostly young folks. They hardly ever saw inhabitants of the Twin Guardian Towers who held influential positions. It seemed to have been something that had been agreed upon.

They went up to the Sacrificial Mountain. in front of the temple, there were a lot of futons. Since they had arrived first, they took their seats in front of the Einherjar Spirit tablets of the temple.

They weren’t very serious, really. They conversed casually.

They stopped grinning, though, when the shelf containing the Einherjar Spirit tablets was carefully pushed outside the temple and turned toward the people.

Chapter 2976: The Gathering of The Good And Evil Eight Souls

Everyone was required to provide a brief account of how the Einherjar Spirits had influenced them throughout the previous year.

As the representative of the younger batch, Sinchino Mochizuki started first.

He still looked the same since they saw him for the first time. He was stoic. His fringe covered his deep eyes. He wore a black kimono that brought out the grandeur and solemness.

He stood up and faced the Einherjar Spirits tablets. After pausing for a while, he described his experience.

“I once thought I could obtain whatever I want as long as I work hard. But my experience taught me that I’m still far from being enough. I often overlook things and people around me. As a result, they assumed I was arrogant and rude. The truth is, I’m a single-minded person. When I focus on my own thoughts, I tend to overlook people who greet me. When I focus on my cultivation or battle, I forget that they are just training…” Sinchino Mochizuki recounted his past sentimentally.

He regained his qualification to participate in the World College Tournament. However, he was aware that he had behaved like a vicious dog that attacked and hurt many people. His Einherjar Spirit was a man of wisdom.

After Sinchino Mochizuki finished speaking, the rest took turns to talk about their own experiences.

Mo Fan listened to them intently. He found it meaningless. After all, he did not like to do self-reflection through rituals like this. He believed that self-reflection was done by oneself in seclusion rather than displayed in front of others. If self-reflection was supposed to be done in front of others, it wouldn’t be called “self-reflection” in the first place.

However, this was the Twin Guardian Towers’ tradition. Besides, the young people of the towers respected the tradition. They each had an Einherjar Spirit as their role models. They worked very hard for their goals.

Mo Fan peered up to observe the setting sun.

The sky was dark. The moon was obscured. The stars were sparse. The Sacrificial Mountain was enveloped in intense darkness. The stone lantern flames illuminated the young people.

The young people were the Twin Guardian Towers’ future generation. Each of them told a story that motivated themselves and the crowd. For a moment, Mo Fan felt as if he was still a student. At that time, he thought he alone could turn the world upside down…

“Mr. Mo Fan, it’s half-time now. You can share some of your experience with us. After all, you’re a role model to many people,” said the monk with a soft smile.

“There’s no need for that.” Mo Fan wanted to turn down his offer.

“You’re still very young, right?” the monk insisted.

The young people turned to Mo Fan. Their gazes looked eager. In the end, Mo Fan felt the pressure to share his experience and insights.

“I’m glad to know that you’ve been working very hard. My teacher once told me to always sail against the current, because the scenery ahead will be even more beautiful, and that I will find a better place.”

“The truth is, as I sail against the current, aside from seeing a more beautiful world, I also noticed the ugly side of it, and it’s truly disappointing to behold that ugly side.”

“Hence, I work hard to grow stronger in order to protect things which I think are beautiful, as well as destroying things that disgusted me.”

Mo Fan briefly spoke out his mind.

Kaede Takahashi rose up at that precise moment. He seemed to have been considering a question for Mo Fan for some time.

“Mr. Mo Fan, how do you judge the beauty and ugliness of a thing? Do you rely on your own judgment? We are aware that things have their own beauty and ugliness. If you judge wrongly, wouldn’t it be equivalent to committing a crime?” asked Kaede Takahashi.

“It’s your turn. Tell us about yourself.” Mo Fan grinned. He did not answer Kaede Takahashi’s question. He passed the stage to Kaede Takahashi.

Kaede Takahashi walked up to Mo Fan and gave him a quick glance. He sucked in a deep breath. He raised his head to look at the night sky.

The sky was pitch-black. It was the perfect night. Regardless of whether things were beautiful or ugly, all of them would be covered by darkness. When dawn came, people would see nothing more than a battlefield that had been cleaned up.

“Some people vanished into thin air after gaining their nobility. No one ever mentioned them. They didn’t even have an epitaph. The man whom I revered is Kazuaki.” Kaede Takahashi took out a Einherjar Spirit tablet and placed it on an empty space.

Mo Fan was not surprised. In fact, Mo Fan and Lingling had singled out two people the day before.

One of them was Ozawa.

Ozawa revered Kazuaki and always followed his example just like the young people who held an Einherjar Spirit in their hearts. They learned about the spirits of the Einherjar Spirit and emulated the contributions the spirits had made.

And Ozawa matched the Red Demon Kazuaki’s needed carrier. However, Ozawa was already over twenty-five.

However, this did not preclude him from visiting Kazuaki’s Einherjar Spirit tablet or the Sacrificial Mountain. He was not greatly affected by the Red Demon’s magnetic field; therefore, he was likewise oblivious of the additional spirit tablet in the temple.

Both the Einherjar Spirit teaching and the magnetic field had no effect on Ozawa. As a result, the Red Demon could not possibly lure him to do things that involved self-sacrifice for righteousness.

The Red Demon was still short of the Righteous Soul. It needed someone to be the Righteous Soul.

What then would it do to fulfill Kazuaki’s soul?

In order to enable one of the young men to perform an action similar to what Kazuaki carried out in the past, Kazuaki was included as one of the Einherjar Spirits inside the temple.

And the young man who was chosen was Kaede Takahashi. He had been to the Sacrificial Mountain. He had visited one of the Einherjar Spirits.

The Einherjar Spirit tablet disappeared immediately after Ozawa and Lingling came to the Sacrificial Mountain. The Einherjar Spirit tablet was none other than Kazuaki’s. Kaede Takahashi had taken the tablet away.

“To give up your achievements for your friends. So, this is your Righteous Soul, right?”

Mo Fan stared at Kaede Takahashi. Kaede Takahashi did not answer him.

Kazuaki had sacrificed himself in order to save Tegami Fujikata, Katana Mochizuki, and the rest of the group.

What Kaede Takahashi did was exactly the same as Kazuaki.

However, the fact was, most of the visitors on the name list had basically been sacrificed.

After Lingling discovered the spirit of the Einherjar Spirits and the missing spirit tablet, she had gone to the place where Kaede Takahashi had been severely wounded by the forbidden system.

The forbidden system that he had encountered was extremely powerful. It was so powerful that it could shred a super-level Mage apart. However, Kaede Takahashi survived the powerful forbidden system and suffered only a moderate degree of injury.

Putting aside the fact that Kaede Takahashi did not sacrifice his own life, he followed the same example as the visitors on the name list. He emulated the Einherjar Spirit!

The Einherjar Spirit he had followed by example was Kazuaki. He sacrificed himself for the sake of righteousness. He fit the requirements of the Righteous Soul!

He even helped Kazuaki fulfill his last wish—to become a respectable Einherjar Spirit whose spirit lived forever in the Twin Guardian Towers!

The Red Demon Kazuaki gathered Eight Souls. The Sacrificial Mountain was its ascension altar! To be precise, the Twin Guardian Towers was its ascension altar.

The Four Souls of Goodness in heaven and earth were embraced by the Einherjar Spirits that the young people worshiped on the Sacrificial Mountains!

Meanwhile, the Four Souls of Evil in heaven and earth were engulfed by the Twin Guardian Towers, which had been besieged by Blood Demons, prisoners, and the Evil Gang.

The fusion of good and evil Eight Souls would give birth to a true Wicked God Soul!

Chapter 2977: The Four Souls of Evil

“Any last words?” said Mo Fan to Kaede Takahashi.

Kaede Takahashi remained motionless. He smiled.

Mo Fan didn’t seem shocked despite discovering the Red Demon’s true form. Lingling sensed a bad omen when she saw Kaede Takahashi’s strange facial expression.

Even though they had found the Red Demon, she felt there was something strange about the Twin Guardian Towers. Had she overlooked something else?

“My last words are none other than my question I asked you moments ago. How do you judge things that are beautiful and ugly? How do you judge something to be good or evil in this world?” asked Kaede Takahashi, calmly.

Mo Fan and Lingling had found the right person. Kaede Takahashi was the Red Demon Kazuaki.

The moment he sacrificed himself, he was no longer the same Kaede Takahashi that they had met. He became the new host for the Red Demon Kazuaki. It possessed the body of the young man who had sacrificed his achievements for righteousness.

The Red Demon Kazuaki had not killed Kaede Takahashi. Instead, it saved him. Triggering the forbidden system could have reduced him to ashes. However, the Red Demon Kazuaki saved him and took over his life.

It was not surprised with Mo Fan either. It was ready to face him.

“You’re right. I judge based on my own values,” Mo Fan answered.

“If your values are distorted, everything you do is no different from committing a crime, just like the prisoners inside the East Guardian Towers. You’ll develop their level of perversion! Since you possess great power, few people in this world will dare to rise against you. If so, how do you judge yourself?” Kaede Takahashi interrogated Mo Fan.

“This is interesting. The head of the demon of a generation is interrogating someone’s soul.” Mo Fan could not stop himself from laughing.

“Can we stop with the nonsense now?” Mo Fan drew closer to Kaede Takahashi.

But Kaede Takahashi had no intention to fight him. “You respect violence, but I don’t,” he said.

“How should I put this? I asked you for your last words. I didn’t ask for you to prattle on endlessly!” Mo Fan put an end to his pointless discussion with Kaede Takahashi. Mo Fan blazed with firestone and lightning.

Bam!

Mo Fan struck without hesitation. Lightning danced, as if a group of savage lions were shredding their prey apart.

Kaede Takahashi did not dodge Mo Fan’s attack. He let the lightning strike him. Soon, Kaede Takahashi was covered in blood. He turned black.

Before the Red Demon completed its ascension, it did not possess an emperor-level power. Hence, Mo Fan’s Lightning Element magic was fatal to it.

However, the Red Demon did not avoid Mo Fan. It let him attack without any qualms.

The Red Demon was not immune to the Lightning Element magic and yet, it did not even dodge him.

Kaede Takahashi was injured. He was in agony, but he endured the pain.

Mo Fan was puzzled upon seeing the Red Demon not defending itself or fighting back.

Finding the Red Demon’s real form prior to its ascension was regarded as a success for Mo Fan and Lingling. They were shocked to see, though, that it did not retaliate.

“As I mentioned earlier, I don’t like violence.” The Red Demon Kazuaki grinned. It stumbled slightly, but it forced itself to stand upright. “Even if you destroy me, I won’t fight back.”

“Then you’ve already lost,” said Mo Fan.

“Of course, I’ve lost. Have you forgotten how I was born?” said the Red Demon Kazuaki.

“You were born from a mass of corrupted and evil energy before becoming a demon,” said Mo Fan disdainfully.

“You’re right. Most people find my birth to be disgusting. I don’t think I’m qualified to become the Wicked God,” said the Red Demon Kazuaki.

“Then why don’t you destroy yourself?” Mo Fan struck again.

This time, he cast Heaven Fire. This flame was powerful enough to reduce the Supreme Rulers such as the Eight-headed Serpent to ashes. Mo Fan did not believe that a demon hated violence. It would struggle and retaliate to avoid death.

The Heaven Fire covered the Red Demon Kazuaki in an instant. It stood in the middle of the fire and allowed the flames to engulf it.

Even so, it did not fight back. It was in agony, but it did not cast any evil energy to fight back.

“W-What are you doing?!” Sinchino Mocizuki screamed.

“It’s not Kaede Takahashi,” Lingling answered indifferently.

“It’s not up to you to decide if he’s Kaede Takahashi or not. As his best friend, I’m the one who is in the best position to confirm his identity. He’s Kaede Takahashi. You’re trying to murder him!” Sinchino Mochizuki charged to stop them.

“Sinchino, she’s not lying. I’m not Kaede Takahashi…” The Red Demon Kazuaki gradually revealed its true form in the middle of the blazing flames.

It was a mound of liquid that was silvery black. A human form was created out of the liquid. Although it had no face, it had a pair of gooey eyes. Its eyes contained a wisp of red substance. Its soul appeared to be represented by the red substance.

Screams rang in the temple.

A monster that resembled a demon that had been imprisoned in the depths of their nightmares materialized in the middle of the flames, frightening the young people. It appeared disgusting and awful.

A moment ago, the monster was a living being. It was Kaede Takahashi. However, the flames seemed to have melted its skin and revealed its true form.

It was not Kaede Takahashi! It was a demon with crimson red eyes!

“I’m the Red Demon.” The Red Demon confirmed its identity in the middle of the blazing flames. It was as evil as hell!

Sinchino Mochizuki was dumbfounded. The truth was laid bare before his eyes. He could not doubt it. Kaede Takahashi was possessed by a demon!

“It’s time to end this today!” Mo Fan sucked in a deep breath. He glanced at Lingling.

Lingling’s breath was caught in her throat as he fixed her gaze at the Red Demon. It was the main culprit!

“It’s time to end this today. Most of the great demons tend to say it’s either your doomsday, or my doomsday. However, I won’t say that. I must perish today, because it’s my fate,” the Red Demon laughed madly in the middle of the flames.

It kept changing its voice. Sometimes it sounded like a male, and other times, like a female. It could be the Eight Souls’ voices.

“Show me what you’ve got!” Mo Fan sneered. He knew the demon would not allow itself to be destroyed without fighting back.

“Show you what I’ve got, huh? Don’t blink!” The Red Demon raised its hands high.

A red moon appeared in the pitch-black sky. Even though it was an eclipse, the moon appeared above the Sacrificial Mountain suddenly. The moon looked like an evil eye filled with blood veins, looking down at the tiny, pathetic world!

“It’s my destiny. The tribute is my grave, but the Red Demon will never disappear from this world. Mo Fan, you can’t kill the true Red Demon!” The Red Demon Kazuaki laughed. It looked as though it was already victorious.

“I’ll reduce you to ashes now!” said Mo Fan.

“I don’t need your help. I’ll do it on my own. The true master that rules the world is born today. I’m a slave and have served you for a long time.” The Red Demon Kazuaki stepped out of the flames.

It was liquid in human form. But every stride it took altered the way it looked. It changed into Eight Souls—Four Souls of Goodness and Four Souls of Evil.

Mo Fan knew the Four Souls of Goodness. They were Kazuaki, the Cold Hunting King, Yuna, and the Red Bird.

But he had never seen the …

Mo Fan was shocked when he recognized the faces of the Four Souls of Evil!

2978 The New Wicked God

They were Yu Ang, Lu Nian, the Cold Prince, and Su Lu!

The Four Souls of Evils represented the Jealousy Soul, the Mad Soul, the Hatred Soul, and the Greed Soul!

Mo Fan was shocked by the faces that appeared one after another on the Red Demon.

‘How could it be these four people?’ he wondered.

Those four people represented the Four Souls of Evil in heaven and earth. In other words, the Eight Souls were either directly or indirectly connected to Mo Fan.

Mo Fan was the one who sent Yu Ang, Lu Nian, the Cold Prince, and Su Lu to hell!

He was perplexed. It was as though the gathering of the Eight Souls was tailor-made for him!

‘Could it be…?’

Mo Fan watched as the Red Demon approached him one step at a time. The Red Demon remained in a mad, demonic form. It half-knelt before him suddenly.

“Mo Fan, I prepared the sacrificial ritual for you!” The Red Demon Kazuaki raised its head and fixed its gaze on Mo Fan with devotion and fervor.

Mo Fan was forced to take a few steps back. He had not anticipated this kind of result. He briefly believed it was merely one of Red Demon Kazuaki’s tricks to distract him.

However, the Red Demon Kazuaki did not show the slightest bit of intention to fight back. Seven Souls flew out of its eyes. The Seven Souls transformed into seven wisps of red souls. The red souls surrounded Mo Fan under the red moon’s illumination.

“What kind of trick are you pulling?!” Mo Fan said furiously.

“Are you sure you don’t know the truth? Do you know what the bead hanging around your waist represents?” The Red Demon was left with Kazuaki’s soul. At that moment, it took on the appearance of Kazuaki, but its body remained in the shape of a soul in red, just like the other red souls.

Mo Fan glanced at his waist. He had indeed hung the Sublimed Evil Bead around his waist.

“Kazuaki took away an evil bead. Mo Fan, you’ve also taken an evil bead. I am a Red Demon of the first generation. Which Red Demon generation do you think you belong to?”

“Do you seriously think that Old Bao can modify the Sublimed Evil Bead? All he did was change the name of the evil energy so that you can accept it. He then gave it to you to use as it is.”

“Haven’t you once doubted why the evil energy is so compatible with the demon inside your body? Why is it only you and me in this world who can truly refine such majestic and monstrous evil energy?”

Kazuaki half-knelt before Mo Fan. Upon facing the questions that struck his soul, Mo Fan stumbled.

‘The Red Demon… I’m also a Red Demon…’

“No! I’m not like you!” yelled Mo Fan because he could not accept it.

“Yes, we’re different, because you’re more powerful than me. You can control it instead of letting it take control of you. I lost myself, but you remain who you are. This is why I’m not qualified for the ascension. But you are the true demonic Wicked God!” answered Kazuaki.

It looked up once it had finished speaking and noticed the red, malevolent moon.

The time had come!

The Red Demon Kazuaki floated. It rested its gaze on Lingling and smiled.

“Your theory is wrong. Kaede Takahashi is not the true Righteous Soul. It’s me that will give up all the evil energy that I’ve gathered over the years for the new Wicked God, including my soul—the true Righteous Soul! Take away everything I have so that we can embrace a greater god!”

The Red Demon Kazuaki floated. Under the reflection of the evil moonlight, the Seven Souls surrounding Mo Fan occupied seven orientations of the life souls.

The moment the Red Demon completed its self-redemption and fulfilled its Righteous Soul, the Eight Souls in heaven and earth gathered.

Mo Fan stood under the evil moon and in the middle of the Eight Souls. Everything was unbelievable. He came here to destroy the Red Demon and steal the fruits of evil that it had acquired through its sins over the years in order to achieve his Forbidden Curse.

But the Red Demon sacrificed itself for him!

The grand festival altar and the coronation of the Wicked God made it seem like it had been the Red Demon’s carefully devised trap. It fought with him, and he was bonded with the Eight Souls. He had unknowingly embarked on the path to becoming the Wicked God!

As for the Righteous Soul, the Red Demon itself was the eighth soul. It offered itself up.

Lingling was so shocked at the sight that she froze.

The Red Demon’s behavior had always been unpredictable. Regardless of how odd its behavior was, Lingling never expected the ceremony for the ascension of the Wicked God to turn out like this.

Lingling looked at Mo Fan. He was engulfed in red as a result of the Eight Souls’ illumination. His bones, blood vessels, and skin all had an ugly red hue. The faces and eyes of the Eight Souls represented their destinies—Righteousness, Fairness, Loyalty, Perseverance, Jealousy, Madness, Hatred, and Greed!

Evil energy poured over Mo Fan. The dark moon in the sky was about to allow his soul to change at that very instant. The Sacrificial Mountain appeared to be erupting like a volcano due to the evil energy that the Red Demon had been storing there for more than ten years. Together with Mo Fan’s soul, the Eight Souls were undergoing metamorphosis.!

Never before had the Sublimed Evil Bead shone so brightly. It looked like a thousand-year-old night pearl, and its luster filled the world.

Under the illumination of the ancient pearl light, Mo Fan noticed half of Yu Ang’s rotten face. Perhaps it was out of jealousy and anger, the other half of Yu Ang’s face looked even uglier than the rotten side.

Mo Fan heard Lu Nian’s hysterical laughter!

The Cold Prince briefly described the sins he had committed. Anyone could sense his monstrous hatred and resentment toward the world!

Meanwhile, Su Lu was absorbed in his quagmire of power. He was so greedy that he wanted to become the world’s most supreme human king. Mo Fan vividly remembered each of his words and his expressions.

This was the Four Souls of Evil of the world.

Mo Fan had killed them! He had trampled them ruthlessly! Today, they submitted themselves to him!

As for the lady from the Alps Mountain, Yuna, he had told her the truth. She used her blood and spread it all over the garden to show that flowers that represented the truth would bloom. However, even after her blood dried up, not a single flower bloomed.

Mo Fan had cleared her name. Everyone knew that Yuna had never betrayed the Alps Mountain.

The Red Bird was the only non-human soul. It had worn out its feathers, had experienced countless times of recovery, only to suffer numerous destructions again. The result was resentment.

Mo Fan’s heart was a Divine Fire Fiery Furnace.

When he came into contact with fire, he recovered, and he was then born again. His heart was burning with an unmistakable fire of perseverence!

Mo Fan constantly accepted challenges. He was like a Red Flaming Bird that kept searching for truths. Regardless of how many times he broke his wings, or how severe the breeze was, or how heavy the downpour was, he flew up into the sky to fly again.

2979 Demonic Nature

The bead light spread across the sky. Every soul floated before Mo Fan, and the person finally appeared. Even though he had never seen that person in real life, his face clearly appeared in his mind.

That person was the Cold Hunting King! He represented the Rightful Soul of the world!

The Seven Souls vanished. Mo Fan’s body overlapped with the Cold Hunting King’s wisp of red soul.

Under the intertwining of the bead light and the evil moon, Mo Fan’s face and body changed into that of a different person.

His shoulders widened, and his face became squarer. The red soul stood before Lingling. She looked at Mo Fan. She also saw the red Rightful Soul that had overlapped with Mo Fan.

“Lingling.” It was Mo Fan’s voice, but it was also the voice of someone else, one with a more regal cadence.

Lingling felt as if she had been electrocuted. She had waited for that voice to call her name for many years.

When she was young, she always listened to bedtime stories before going to bed. Her father used to come home exhausted with bruises and cuts all over his body but he would carry her and tuck her into bed while bragging about the demons he had killed that day.

However, that night was different from usual.

She had stayed up late at night. She almost fell asleep numerous times but was jolted awake by a footstep outside. Her father used to call her as soon as he entered through the door of the house. However, that night, she did not hear her father’s call even after she waited until dawn.

“Lingling…”

“You can go to bed alone.”

“You can prepare meals for yourself.”

“You have learned to live a healthy and balanced life.”

After Lingling grew up into an adult but his voice would always ring in her mind. Sometimes, she could not help but bury her head in her arms and break down even after so many years.

She had been waiting for her father all this while.

She wanted to hug him so badly again, even though she knew he was dead and gone. She was still not willing to accept the truth.

The father and daughter remained silent. No words could express how she felt when her father’s voice called her name so softly.

Mo Fan’s soul overlapped with the Cold Hunting King’s. It was the Rightful Soul of heaven and earth! The Rightful Soul was the most important soul among the Eight Souls!

At that moment, Mo Fan truly felt the king’s emotions…

If the king was given a chance, he would never choose to be the Rightful Soul of this world. The king longed to be an ordinary father and watch his dear Lingling grow up.

He wanted to tell bedtime stories and watch her fall asleep.

He wanted to drop her to school.

He wanted to guide her away from bad influences.

He wanted to delight in her youth as she grew up to be beautiful but also wanted to worry about guys eyeing her…

Unfortunately, time never went backwards.

Lingling had grown up. She had grown up alone without his company.

Even though the king had missed her and could never go back to the past, he was glad to see that she was well. This was the greatest satisfaction for him.

“Thank you,” the Cold Hunting King whispered to Mo Fan.

Before Mo Fan could respond to him, the Cold Hunting King’s red soul stirred up a powerful soul windstorm. The windstorm expelled the corrupted and evil energy from the Sacrificial Mountain and infused Mo Fan’s body with the most pure, righteous energy.

The Four Souls of Goodness honored Mo Fan! The true Wicked God was both good and evil.

Mo Fan had been baptized in the past. He was furious when he was in Dubai. Mo Fan was a destroyer in contrast to the saints, Zhan Kong, Wen Tai, and Feng Zhoulong. If the world became ugly, he would end it!

The Wicked God was both good and evil. It could save people. Likewise, it could destroy heaven and earth.

Everything hinged on his own thoughts.

“I am Mo Fan, and I’m also a demon.”

Mo Fan’s eyes turned into blood-ink, and his blood boiled.

The Red Demon had red souls, but the true Wicked God had a blood-ink soul. It was exactly like the demon that resided inside Mo Fan’s body.

As far as Mo Fan was concerned, he never saw the Star Dust, Nebula, Galaxy, and Star Sea in his Demon Element. However, when the Eight Souls gathered today, his Demon Element grew and turned the world into blood-ink…

The universe itself was blood-ink.

His Lightning Element, Fire Element, Shadow Element, Summoning Element, Space Element, Earth Element, and Chaos Element were inside the blood-ink, demonic universe!

Mo Fan sensed the drastic change in his own world.

Before this, he used to wonder which element of the Forbidden Curse he would be chosen to wield after stealing the Red Demon’s massive energy.

The truth was that when he had seen Lu Nian from the Four Souls of Evil, he realized that the Red Demon’s power could turn those who could not control it into a monster.

Those who had been used as experiments to turn them into a demon by Lu Nian all ended up the same.

As for the Red Demon Kazuaki, it was a half-demon. But there was only one Wicked God. It was clear that the Red Demon Kazuaki had found a more perfect demon!

At that moment, Mo Fan finally understood why it said he could never kill the Red Demon.

This was because he was the Red Demon himself. He was much stronger than the Red Demon Kazuaki. He was in a better position to control the Eight Souls. He was more capable of posing a threat to the world.

…

The Eight Souls gradually dissipated. The new Wicked God stood there. The blood moon slowly disappeared from the sky, and Mo Fan finally reverted to his original form.

He was unaware of the wave of evil energy that was approaching him like a pack of massive dragons. With his just acquired supernatural power, he did not feel any sense of assurance either.

In fact, he felt an unprecedented calmness. His blood-ink eyes that shot evil power gradually returned to its black-brown color.

Mo Fan looked around him and realized that most of the youngsters on the Sacrificial Mountain had fled.

A black-haired girl hugged him tightly. It was as though she wasn’t willing to let go of him.

Mo Fan gradually became calmer. He was no longer as riled up as when he was under the power of the Eight Souls. He reached out and patted her softly on the back to comfort her.

“He’s gone, isn’t he?” Lingling buried her head in Mo Fan’s arms.

“Yes.” Mo Fan nodded.

“Are you a Forbidden Mage now?” Lingling looked up at Mo Fan.

“I could be even more than that…” Mo Fan did not know how to answer her.

‘A Forbidden Mage?’

It appeared that becoming a Forbidden Mage was not the only option. Mo Fan could sense a significant difference in the magic galaxy submerged in the crimson cosmos. It appeared as though he had changed into a demon of extreme calmness created by the Eight Souls.

Lingling had not anticipated this outcome. But one thing for sure, Mo Fan would remain as he was. The vast malevolent energy did not make him lose himself. Perhaps, this was the reason why he was more perfect compared to the first generation of Red Demon.

The first generation of Red Demon Kazuaki was a completely mad demon. It had sinned innumerable times…

Swoosh!

Swoosh!

The black night sky was lit by a dazzling star fire. They heard the sound of the star fire arching across the sky. It sounded like a flute!

2980 The Angel’s Trap

Lingling and Mo Fan both raised their heads to look up at the sky at the same time. They were startled when they noticed golden light wisps rising from the horizons coming from six different directions. Before cutting through the sky above the Sacrificial Mountain, the golden light formed an arch over the celestial sphere.

“What are they?” Lingling asked in surprise.

That was an extraordinary level of power. She’d never witnessed such magnificent magic. It looked like there were six divine golden threads that had separated the world into parts. It also looked like a bird cage that had covered the boundless and vast land of Japan!

Mo Fan frowned. He used his dragon sense to explore the magnificent magic. Soon, he understood everything.

“Lingling, save the rest of the people inside the East Guardian Towers. The Red Demon is dead. The Blood Demons have nowhere to hide themselves,” said Mo Fan to Lingling.

“But those things above the sky seem to be coming for you,” said Lingling.

“Yes, they are coming for me. In fact, the barrier of the forbidden system of the Twin Guardian Towers had targeted me from the beginning,” Mo Fan said wryly.

“What are you going to do, then?”

“Don’t worry about me. With my current form, no one can defeat me.” Mo Fan stroked Lingling’s hair affectionately.

“You say the same thing all the time, but in the end, it’s still…” Lingling said in a huff.

“Go now! The battle is unavoidable. It’s either they kill me, or I kill them!” said Mo Fan.

Lingling stared at Mo Fan. She wondered why he looked so calm despite noticing the strange light. She had a sensation of oppression as she anticipated a battle.

‘What did Mo Fan have to confront now that he was a Wicked God?’

Was he going to face those who were unshakeable in this world, or did he no longer fit in this world?

“This happens all the time! Every single time!” cried Lingling.

“Lingling…”

“You still remember what I said to you at Canton Tower?!” Lingling wiped away her tears. Mo Fan felt helpless.

“If you die, I’ll live a life that you’ll hate to see the most!”

How could Mo Fan ever forget her words? If Lingling truly lived a life like that, the Cold Hunting King would never be able to rest in peace.

“Lingling…” Mo Fan watched her preparing to walk down the mountain. He was reluctant to be separated from her.

Lingling had looked at him sternly a few moments ago. When Mo Fan called her, she turned back and threw herself into his arms. She wrapped her hands tightly around him.

“Mo Fan, you can’t die! You must live. I don’t care if everyone thinks you are a demonic killer. I don’t care if you don’t fit into this world anymore. You have to stay alive. We all know who you are. We understand that everything you do is for the world.” Lingling’s voice grew increasingly emotional. Her tears streamed down her face.

Lingling knew what Mo Fan was about to face. He was about to embark on the same path as Zhan Kong. He stood in opposition to the Holy City and the Five Continents Magic Association Alliance.

He had become a threat to the world. He was treated as an uncontrollable factor who refused to work alongside the corrupted Holy City system. The Holy City wanted to eliminate people like him.

“I promise you that I will stay alive,” he said.

Lingling left him reluctantly. The six wisps of golden threads on the horizons were getting closer. The Sacrificial Mountain looked as if it had been grasped by God’s invisible, gigantic hand.

The mountain was in the middle of the deformation. The mountain forest was crushed into powder.

Flocks of birds fled in panic. When their black, tiny silhouettes reached a certain height in the sky, they fell all of a sudden.

“Go now!”

Mo Fan pushed Lingling gently forward. It was only then that she ran down the mountain.

…

Mo Fan felt complicated as he watched her leave.

The Twin Guardian Towers were a cage. It had been a trap since the beginning. It was a trap set for him and it had waited patiently for him to fall into it.

He would have been fine had he not attempted to dabble into the Forbidden Curse realm.

His Demon Element was an unstable element. With the additional protection of the Azure Dragon and the other totem beasts, he was seen as a heretic who needed to be exterminated.

‘A heretic… Hah!’

It had been a couple of years since he finally set foot on this path.

He remembered what the man had said to him that night in the prosperous Holy City. “This is my fight.”

Mo Fan could not do anything about it. All he did was watch Zhan Kong and Qin Yu’Er make their final decision to back off and leave the world to those numbskulls.

Finally, he had his own fight. This time, Mo Fan made his own choice.

“Come, show me what the Holy City has got!”

Mo Fan stood on top of the Sacrificial Mountain. He stood in the middle of the ancient forbidden system. He shouted the words to the sky.

He knew about the origin of the magnificent cage. He was also aware of the consequences of his decision.

“That’s outrageous, demon! You used the Red Demon as your pawn and committed heinous crimes across the world. You did all this so that you could become the Wicked God. Do you know how many innocent lives you’ve killed with your filthy souls? Your sins will not be pardoned. Even the East Guardian Towers cannot put up with a criminal like you. We must take you back to the Holy City in chains. The Holy Judge from the Holy City will punish you on Judgment Day!” A high-pitched voice rang out from the sky.

Mo Fan noticed a tall individual with a pair of long wings in the middle of the night. The figure wore boots that belonged to a Holy Judge. The person was clad in olden armor. The pitch-black night became as bright as day upon the figure’s appearance.

It was an angel! It was an angel from the Holy City! He had finally revealed himself!

“Mr. Monk, I didn’t expect you to have a part-time job here.” Mo Fan grinned.

The monk who stood guard over the mountain had removed his ragged robe and put on an angelic military outfit. His current aura was completely different from his previous ordinary outlook as a monk. He exuded an air of divinity and did not look like an ordinary mortal at all!

“I am the Archangel Shalitha. My mortal job is to be the guardian of the mountain.” The Archangel Shalitha was fair, but his gaze was razor-sharp. No one could look into his eyes.

“Since you took up a mortal job, you already know how I became the Wicked God. You are also aware that the Red Demon Kazuaki is the one that committed all the heinous crimes,” said Mo Fan as he looked up to face the unearthly experts in the sky.

“How do you explain the incident in Dubai? The civilians died because of the war that you started!” Shalitha questioned Mo Fan.

“It was Su Lu who killed them.”

“You don’t have the right to use the power beyond the boundary in the city.” Shalitha’s words invited no room for negotiation.

“Are we only going to have a verbal fight, then?”

“So, you want to go against an Archangel’s orders?” Shalitha sneered.

“I can come with you without a fight. In fact, I long to visit the Holy City Archangel’s Hall,” said Mo Fan arrogantly.

2981 Order

Mo Fan was encased in a cocoon.

The cocoon was made of incredibly delicate, light velvet. He didn’t experience any sharp pain or a tightening of the bonds around him. It was silky soft, instead.

Mo Fan did not fight back. He allowed himself to be wrapped in the Cocoon of Light.

The holy, blazing light velvet binding Mo Fan began to transform. The holy power gradually diminished. Wisps of red light slowly replaced the gold color.

After Mo Fan was covered by the Cocoon of Light, the light velvet transformed into a red silkworm covering and protected Mo Fan. The cage in the sky was tightening up. What was even more exaggerated was that the magnificent cage in the night sky had turned red!

Instead of six arches of striking light, they saw many crimson red scythes that were capable of axing heaven and earth. The red scythes slashed at the Archangel Shalitha.

The Archangel Shalitha was shocked.

Shalitha originally used the Demon-Trapping Heavenly Barrier to trap Mo Fan. Little did Shalitha know that Mo Fan’s evil magic was so potent that he was able to absorb Shalitha’s holy magic and change it into his own might.

Swish!

The Sacrificial Mountain was divided by six pointed scythes that were as red as the dark moon. The splitting force burst into flames like a lotus in bloom. No one was able to halt the great evil power that was disguised by the Sacrificial Mountain for a brief period. Thousands of demons from hell appeared to have flooded the planet as if a portal to hell had opened.

The Archangel Shalitha was protected by his golden armor. His milky white feathered shield surrounded him. His feathery shielded him like troops whenever the evil power poured against him.

Shalitha surveyed his surroundings calmly.

He was in the sky, but he had no trouble moving around in the air. He raised his white feathered shield. The special glow of the feathered shield purified the surrounding and removed the resentful and evil aura. It also emitted light ripples that rivaled the splendor of the aurora.

Everyone in the Twin Guardian Towers watched the magnificent sight.

If God were to arrive on Earth, the wicked aura-filled night would change into a holy night with hymns being sung, as depicted in the old paintings.

Shalitha no longer showed an interest in the revolted Demon-Trapping Heavenly Barrier. After all, it was just a tool to subdue the heretics. He descended to the ground. An extra layer added to the ripples of light in the night sky with every step he took. It looked as if the sky had been stratified. Part of it belonged to a holy universe with a magnificent, quiet palace!

Regardless of how lavish the palace was, Mo Fan clearly knew that it was an alternate dimension world that could trap him inside forever.

Mo Fan sensed Space Element magic. He detected an unknown and scary universe. Shalitha threw him into the dreadful world of the parallel dimension at that very instant. Despite having a holy and glorious palace, it was lifeless.

It was a dead silent dimensional cage. It would slowly engulf Mo Fan.

The Archangel Shalitha had altered his magic. He cast his power like a true divine being. His spell looked like a phenomenon from a myth.

Mo Fan sucked in a deep breath.

The smell of that world was no different from the turbid air in the Dark Plane. He thought the smell on Earth was the sweetest.

Mo Fan was not intimidated by Shalitha’s magnificent power. If he had no knowledge about dimensional magic, he would be trapped inside the alternate dimension for an indefinite period of time.

Mo Fan remembered a Forbidden Mage with such supernatural magic in Dubai. He would be imprisoned in the alternative dimension for all time if he lacked understanding of dimensional magic.

Mo Fan’s spiritual universe had achieved the realm of Forbidden Curse. He had mastered the two greatest dimensional magic and would be able to find an exit inside the complicated and magnificent dimensional plane. Regardless of how strange or divine the dimensional plane was, as long as he could find the exit, it could not trap him inside forever!

He followed the wisp of sweet scent in the air and found the route to the Twin Guardian Towers.

The Space Palace appeared from the stratification, and Mo Fan escaped. When he looked up, the devouring plane continued to engulf things that got in its way like a magnificent black hole. It was about to devour the Book Mountain at the West Guardian Towers.

“Shalitha, what are you doing?” Mo Fan cried out in surprise.

“The Twin Guardian Towers have fallen. It became a place where demons are kept. I won’t allow the criminals to be released into society,” said Shalitha.

He didn’t appear to care that Mo Fan had gotten away. He targeted the entire Twin Guardian Towers with his powerful spell in addition to Mo Fan.

“Interesting. You must have stayed here and observed all that took place. You still didn’t show up and try to stop it from happening. But now, you want to destroy the place. Are you truly doing this for the sake of the society’s safety or are you just trying to cover up for your crimes?” questioned Mo Fan.

“Everything that happens in this world is fleeting. They are like flowing water. It’s the law of nature. Before the Red Demon became the Wicked God, it hadn’t crossed the boundary. As an Archangel and a witness of the incident, I couldn’t interfere in the matter,” said the Archangel Shalitha.

“That’s why you set up a trap for me. You didn’t show up to interfere despite watching the Red Demon Kazuaki offer its Righteous Soul and enshrine me as the Wicked God! Only after I crossed the boundary, you have sufficient reasons to use your Archangel power to sanction me!” said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had always been on the Archangel’s hit list. Now, he definitely topped the list!

To kill Mo Fan, the Archangel Shalitha allowed him to cross the realm of “Forbidden Curse”, so that he could be treated as a heretic. By doing so, the Archangel Shalitha could honor the Holy City in the name of killing the new generation of the Wicked God.

Shalitha paid no attention to the Red Demon’s transformation into the Wicked God.

Mo Fan’s transformation into the Red Demon, then the Wicked God with perfect demonic power and the ability to summon the Azure Dragon, became Shalitha’s perfect excuse for carrying out the bidding of the Holy City.

“You don’t have to speculate how the Archangels do their work. We are never angels with holy virtues. We are killers. We work for God. While the politicians and conquerors will end up losing their reputations for killing the innocents, we don’t care about losing our reputations. We look further and have more profound philosophies. We don’t even view ourselves as humans. We keep the world in order!” Shalitha did not take Mo Fan’s accusation seriously.

His order of the world neither referred to pace or stability nor chaos. He was referring to the kind of order where Holy City reigned supreme and no one dared to challenge it.

2982 Down Without A Fight

Mo Fan stared at Shalitha.

Mo Fan could feel Shalitha’s Archangel-like confidence even though he remained expressionless.

Shalitha had strategized everything. It was as if everything was under his control.

He had been hiding atop the Sacrificial Mountain as a monk on duty. He must have been aware of the Red Demon’s strategy. He had even seen the Red Demon saturate the Sacrificial Mountain with tremendous evil energy…

When the Red Demon Kazuaki gave its Righteous Soul to make Mo Fan the new Wicked God, Shalitha was always there. Shalitha remained idly by and observed everything that occurred.

What Shalitha did was no different from creating a demon—an emperor-level Wicked God.

Even so, he did nothing about it.

Mo Fan suspected the Red Demon Kazuaki had known about the Archangel Shalitha’s presence. It knew Mo Fan would be deemed as “crossing the boundary” the moment he became the Wicked God, and that the Archangel would kill him. Hence, it had decided to work together with Mo Fan.

The Red Demon allowed Mo Fan to take over the Wicked God position for him to become the most powerful Red Demon, so that he could fight against the Archangel Shalitha.

But the Archangel was very ruthless. When Shalitha fought, he was even more cruel than the Red Demon.

Shalitha destroyed everything. He wanted to wipe out the Twin Guardian Towers from the world once and for all. After that, he would put all the blame on Mo Fan. Shalitha would then honor the Holy City in the name of an angel and take Mo Fan back in chains.

People in the Holy City had long arranged a “seat” for Mo Fan. They waited for a powerful and brave angel to hold Mo Fan down on the “seat” that was meant for the most terrifying heretic and demon!

“Aren’t you afraid of getting into trouble by playing with fire?” asked Mo Fan.

Shalitha had contributed to Mo Fan’s ascension to become the Wicked God.

It was not because Shalitha was crazy, but he was too arrogant. He was very confident in his ability to control everything. He held strong to his belief that he must destroy everything that “crossed the boundary”. But he was patient enough to wait for the people to “cross the boundary” instead of killing them when they were still weak and young.

“Even though you’ve become a Wicked God, you’re still no more than a baby to me,” answered Shalitha calmly.

The truth was, Shalitha did not intend to play with fire.

There was a certain order for everything in this world. To put it clearly, the world’s order could be compared to a leaky water pipe.

The moment the water pipe began to drip, most people would assume it was still fine and use it after getting it repaired.

However, they would notice the water begin to eat through the repairs and overflow from the pipe. They would still believe that the leaky portion of the water pipe just needed to be tightened.

The entire water pipe would explode and cover the place with water in a matter of time before they could do anything about it.

From Shalitha’s point of view, he would change the water pipe the moment it begins to drip because the quality of the water pipe was inferior and failed to support the water pressure.

Shalitha saw things differently. He knew the water flow was strong and that the water pipe was of poor quality. Thus, he knew all this would eventually lead to an explosion and a mess. However, not everyone agreed with the same theory. They assumed that repair alone could solve the water pipe from leaking. For convenience, others would just repair the pipe or adjust the water pressure.

Mo Fan was like a strong water flow. Meanwhile, the country, the Magic Association, the Mages Institutions, and other social organizations were like the poor-quality water pipes. They thought Mo Fan’s didn’t pose a threat like the leak from the water pipe.

But Shalitha viewed him differently. He believed Mo Fan would break through the society’s bondage sooner or later. Even without the Red Demon Kazuaki’s sacrificial ritual, Mo Fan would dabble into the realm of the Forbidden Curse in a couple of years.

Instead of allowing Mo Fan to grow stronger, like a water pipe that was going to burst at any time, Shalitha did not mind fueling the flames.

Shalitha wanted to make Mo Fan “explode”. He wanted it to be known to the world that Mo Fan was an out-of-control heretic.

The blame of the Red Demon’s sins would obviously be shifted to Mo Fan, as well.

Shalitha could tell the world that Mo Fan was the man behind the Red Demon gang. Mo Fan had, after all, become the Wicked God and he was a beneficiary of the evil energy.

Shalitha did not need evidence or the truth. All he needed was a direction.

The Holy City also needed an excuse.

“On two conditions,” said Mo Fan to Shalitha.

Shalitha did not understand what Mo Fan meant.

“First, spare the Twin Guardian Towers,” said Mo Fan to Shalitha.

“Two, withdraw the wanted notice for Mu Ningxue. My beloved has suffered far too much in the Extreme South Land. I hope she can return home.”

Shalitha descended to the ground. His glowing feathered shield made him look holy and proud, like a deity from heaven.

“Are you pleading guilty?” Shalitha asked in surprise.

“Of course not. Why would I plead guilty? I didn’t commit any crime in the first place, but I can go to the Holy City with you to face the judgment anyway,” said Mo Fan.

“Hah…” Shalitha was not happy with his answer.

“It’s my duty and mission as the Heavenly Cloud and Winged Shadow. I will give up my hostility and my incredible destructive power. I will give up the meaningless killing and face the Holy City’s fair judgment!” Mo Fan blurted out the words.

“That’s the language of the Holy City! Who taught you that?!” Shalitha cried out furiously.

“Don’t I deserve to be judged?” refuted Mo Fan.

“You don’t deserve that. You should fight back! You should…” Shalitha flew into a fit of rage. This was not the outcome he expected!

He wanted Mo Fan to fight him back. He wanted Mo Fan to be angry. He wanted Mo Fan to become mad and make an enemy with the Archangel as well as the Holy City.

Shalitha was only able to swiftly execute him with the charge of heresy if he fought back at that point. But Mo Fan was willing to face the judgment.

Mo Fan had spoken in the Holy City’s language. It was the Holy City oath.

For those who had been viewed as heretics, as long as they gave up fighting and were willing to face the Holy City Judgment, all the priests including the Archangels from the Holy City could not dispose of them!

They were required to deliver those folks to the Holy City. Those people would be subject to the judgment of the Eleven Stones!

The oath was engraved in the soul of the Archangel.

When Mo Fan recited the curse with the power of divinity, the Archangel Shalitha could only take Mo Fan back in chains. He had no right to get rid of Mo Fan. Otherwise, the divine oath would come back to haunt the Archangel Shalitha.

“You’re living on borrowed time!” Shalitha was enraged.

‘Who taught Mo Fan that language?!’

It was true that the Holy City embraced the divine oath, but only few people in this world knew of it. Someone must have been assisting him! That person must be in a higher position in the Holy City!

Could it be the Wicked God?

Even though Mo Fan had just become the Wicked God with powerful magic, Shalitha was confident that he could kill him!

2983 The Archangel of Murder

Shalitha was an Angel of Force. He was a killing angel!

He had to kill Mo Fan today! The heretic had to be put to death by Shalitha inside the Twin Guardian Towers. So, he had to blow up the towers!

Shalitha did not want to give Mo Fan more time!

Mo Fan had just become the Wicked God. Shalitha still considered Mo Fan an infant in terms of power.

But the moment Mo Fan digested all the evil energy, the magic elements inside his body would break through the Forbidden Curse. By then, he would truly become the king of the Wicked God and would be powerful enough to kill an Archangel!

“Are you sure you’re not playing with fire?” Mo Fan stared at the furious Shalitha. He sneered. “Thank you for helping me become who I am today. Since you regard me so highly and even used the Red Demon Kazuaki to set me up, I won’t let you down.”

“It has to be Gabriel! It must be Gabriel! She’s a stupid and ignorant woman!” It was only then that Shalitha came to understand how Mo Fan had learned of the oath.

“How can you say that about her? You’re the one who told her about the Red Demon and hinted to her to reveal the information to me. Sharjah did everything according to your order. I also did everything as you had arranged. What else are you still dissatisfied with?” said Mo Fan.

Mu Ningxue was exiled. Xinxia’s election path was obstructed.

Mo Fan also never believed he could be secure. In fact, someone set up a trap for him shortly after he concluded his cultivation behind the locked door.

The truth was, when he stepped into the Holy City and met Sharjah, he had never suspected her to set him up.

It was not until the appearance of the Archangel Shalitha that Mo Fan believed he had most likely been betrayed by Sharjah. She was in cahoots with other Archangels and wanted to send him to his death.

Before he departed, Sharjah told him something in a foreign language. Mo Fan had not understood the intent of that language at first. At this moment, Mo Fan finally understood. He had run out of options a long time ago.

The Holy City rejected a Demon Element Mage. They would not allow a demon to summon the Sacred Totem Azure Dragon.

Even Commander Hua and Chairman Shao Zheng had repeatedly warned him to not appear on the east coastline or get involved with the Ocean Demons’ battle.

Still, Mo Fan could not bear to leave the Magic City alone in its crisis. He became the savior of the city and was in the limelight for a while. He transformed into a demon in front of the entire crowd. As a result, the Holy City had already decided to target him.

The Holy City gave an absolute death order.

Even Sharjah had to cooperate with them, and she became a stepping stone for the killing angel—Shalitha.

Mo Fan knew he would dabble into the realm of the Forbidden Curse sooner or later. But he had not expected the people from the Holy City to eagerly look forward to his progress. They could not even wait to help Mo Fan to gain the Forbidden Curse so that they could kill him!

They wanted to see Mo Fan fight back. If he did, they could claim that he was a rogue demon who had gone insane and attacked the angels of the Holy City. By then, everyone would be convinced that he was against the Holy City.

‘Fine!’ Mo Fan would agree to go to the Holy City with them. He was willing to oblige with their plans because he needed time.

He needed more time to allow the demonic Wicked God inside his body to become stronger. He had become very powerful. But the survival of the Twin Guardian Towers still depended on him.

If he decided to fight with Shalitha, the tower would be destroyed instantly.

Shalitha would make a big deal out of the fact that he was the Wicked God and that the Red Demon Kazuaki’s sins would be transferred to him even if he managed to escape the death angel.

Many times, people did not care about the truth.

The moment they were told that the Red Demon Kazuaki “worked” for Mo Fan, his reputation would be tainted. His country might still side with him, but the rest of the countries in the world would be against him.

If Mo Fan were to fight Shalitha, he would not show him any mercy. But this was not the right time to fight Shalitha.

‘Just like Ozawa…,’ thought Mo Fan.

Although Ozawa knew the truth and had a strong urge to fight all the Blood Demons in the court, he still held back. He knew that his anger and recklessness would jeopardize everyone.

Mo Fan was ready for battle. He needed to be as calm as Ozawa. He needed the help of the public. If he could reveal the truth to them, he would not have to face the war alone. He still had faith in those who trusted him.

Therefore, Mo Fan gave up on fighting back.

He still trusted Sharjah.

She had not been able to tell him everything. Although Mo Fan was seemingly at a dead end, she had tried very hard to allow him a route of escape until the end.

…

Mo Fan’s surrender infuriated Shalitha.

Mo Fan’s decision to submit to the Holy City’s judgment proved that, despite appearances, he was not hostile to the Holy City. He respected the Holy City, and he agreed to its summons of judgment.

Under this situation, the Holy City had to consider a lot of factors, especially the public opinion and the truth.

If Mo Fan could prove that the Red Demon Kazuaki’s crime had nothing to do with him, then he would not be considered a heretic that had to be exterminated.

If China wanted to recover from the Ocean Demons’ damage, they would not allow Mo Fan to be mistreated. If the people from the Holy City could not find something to convict Mo Fan, they had to release him.

It was easy for the Holy City to convict him. Even the Holy Saint, Wen Tai, had been executed. Still, they did not want to drag the issue for long. After all, they had personally sent Mo Fan to the path of becoming a powerful Wicked God!

‘Playing with fire…’

Shalitha finally understood.

“Hmph! Do you really think you can escape just like that?! When you reach the Holy City, you will most certainly be put to death!” Shalitha’s tone changed. He no longer sounded as cold as before. His tone conveyed some feelings.

Shalitha had never expected Mo Fan to pull this trick. ‘Was the demonic Wicked God truly an infant?’

The “infant” was born with divine power. The world would be in danger if he continued to exist.

“I believe the people from the Holy City would judge me fairly,” said Mo Fan calmly.

The corners of Shalitha’s lips twitched. It was clear that he was suppressing his inner fury.

“A fair judgment? My judgment means justice!” Shalitha’s tone was strange.

He vehemently objected to any adjustments being made. He wouldn’t let anything get in the way of his plan. Even if Mo Fan agreed to accompany him without a struggle, he wouldn’t accept the result!

Shalitha’s face changed. His emotions changed from irritation to indifference. His indifference was tinged with arrogance. It was as if the world was nothing to him. He could choose whatever he wanted to do!

His iris turned golden.

It appeared as though the additional dimension in the sky had evolved into a Space Mutated Beast. It raised its claw, which had the power to obliterate both heaven and earth. Its claw was bigger than a cloudy mass. The Twin Guardian Towers were in its line of sight.

It was the Dimensional Destructive Claw! How could mortals stand against such strength?

“What are you doing?!” Mo Fan shouted.

2984 Sacred Feather Vermilion Bird

Shalitha’s nasty and callous visage broke into a mocking smile.

“Do you seriously think that your cleverness can buy you more time? I never allow anyone to interfere with my law enforcement and judgment!” Shalitha said in a high-pitched voice.

Inside the black dimension, the Dimensional Destructive Claw touched the castle located on the cliff of the East Guardian Towers. The robust castle was lifted like a toy and was slowly dragged into the lifeless world with the Palace of Death.

The Twin Guardian Towers was protected by a powerful ancient forbidden system. The forbidden system could trap everyone inside the East Guardian Towers. It provided a layer of absolute protection. Yet, under the Archangel Shalitha’s dimensional destructive power, the ancient forbidden system was no different than a foam! The yellow forbidden system was crushed with ease.

Under the cold, night sky, the magnificent East Guardian Towers were swept away by the Dimensional Wind into the terrifying sky. The lengthy drawbridge that connected the East Guardian Towers and West Guardian Towers were hung upside down.

Under the attack of the terrifying dimensional power, the drawbridge and the castle were like kites that had their strings broken!

Bam!

The drawbridge was completely broken. For a moment, the castle was let loose. Everyone watched as it was ruthlessly swept into the cold, lifeless dimension.

The dimension looked like a layer of folded intervals floating in the night sky.

Everyone saw the East Guardian Towers being swept into the “shredder” before shattering into several bits, strips, and finally dust!

There were thousands of prisoners inside the East Guardian Towers. When the castle was thrown up high into the sky like a kite, the prisoners were expelled from the castle. The crowd saw the East Guardian Towers and the people inside being shredded into pieces!

That wasn’t even the scariest part…

The West Guardian Towers, a thriving mountain town with a university, library, restaurant, hotel, fortress, and forest, were also listed up!

The tree leaves filled the sky and rustled in the wind. They collided violently in the air.

The soil, debris, tiles, broken branches, benches, flower beds and other things were pulled up…

The West Guardian Towers looked like it had been turned upside down. The sundries were thrown out into the sky, including the people inside the towers. None of them were spared. They were like straws in the strong breeze!

The West Guardian Towers echoed with their cries and screams. The gardeners clung tenaciously to the trees. They appeared to be straining and holding on their life-saving straws as they were engulfed in a flood vortex.

The trees were uprooted, nevertheless.

The ground was raised. The roots were pulled off. It was hopeless, no matter how fierce their will to live was!

The West Guardian Towers, like the East Guardian Towers, were carried into the fatal dimension and reduced to dust.

Numerous people died brutal deaths. Mo Fan could smell the strong odor of blood.

The Archangel Shalitha was more ruthless and cold-blooded than the criminals in the East Guardian Towers, despite the fact that he shone with holy light and appeared to be a holy divinity.

“What about now?” Shalitha turned his head and rested his gaze on Mo Fan. Mo Fan was protected by divine oath runes.

Mo Fan showed no emotion. The anger in his chest, though, was going to erupt like a volcano.

“This is only the beginning. I’ll destroy everything you care about. Do you think Mu Ningxue can survive if she hides inside the Extreme South Land? Those who are on my list can never survive, especially you! I’ll decide the day and the time you die!” Shalitha’s gaze was frightening.

He was a killing angel. This was Shalitha’s true form!

He did not care about how the world perceived him. Humanity’s moral values could not stop him. There were no procedures in his judgment. All he did was kill!

The Sacrificial Mountain was in shambles. Mo Fan stood on top of it.

The golden divine runes turned into beautiful poetic words. They gradually surrounded him. Sharjah had taught him the divine oath.

With the presence of the divine oath, the killing angel Shalitha could not hurt Mo Fan. He still had a chance of surviving in the middle of the desperate situation. After that, he could take his time to make a comeback…

It also meant that, under the divine oath’s protection, he could not cast any Demon Element magic.

The divine oath worked both ways. Mo Fan could not hurt the Archangel Shalitha.

“You did all this just to make me destroy the divine oath?” Mo Fan’s voice was icy.

Lingling and Ozawa were inside the West Guardian Towers. They, too, could not escape the Archangel Shalitha’s destructive power.

Shalitha made it a point to kill everyone inside the Twin Guardian Towers so that Mo Fan would submit to his authority.

“So what?!” said Shalitha indifferently.

“I never wanted to cause irreparable damage. I still had hopes for you and the Holy City. I never wanted to… It’s you who has a death wish!” Mo Fan’s anger reached the point where he could no longer control himself!

Enough was enough! He could not put up with Shalitha anymore!

“Since the matter has come to this point, let’s end this now and for forever! You are the one who made me the Wicked God. So, let me shred you into pieces with my own hands!”

Eight wisps of souls, including the Souls of Goodness and the Souls of Evil appeared upon Mo Fan’s scream. They broke through the divine oath and transformed into demonic gods. They stood behind Mo Fan. They were enormous and magnificent. They resembled eight demonic mountains on the ground!

As for Mo Fan, his demonic flames surged into the sky. The red flames illuminated the night sky into an evening glow. Numerous red divine birds flocked together. They resembled a veil of leaves under the mountain breeze. They covered the sky and the moon. They were as striking as the stars!

Mo Fan was ablaze in the flames. Aside from the Eight Souls Mountain, a silhouette of a divine flaming bird gradually spread its red heavenly wings. For a moment, the Eight Souls Mountain blazed in fire. The flocks of red birds fell onto the divine shadow of the bird behind Mo Fan like fire meteors.

Each fall of the fire meteor stirred up a torrent of fire. Each torrent of fire was a “baptism” for the divine shadow of the bird. Every thousand times of baptism brought about a fresh transformation in the shadow of the bird!

It transformed from the Red Bird to the Flaming Magpie. It then transformed again to become the Flaming Sun Eagle and Chongming Divine Bird before becoming the Sacred Feather Vermilion Bird!

They were all feathered demons. They were all red birds. Whenever the birds struck the sky, they reached the realm of nirvana!

The red birds with hardy souls had a legend or a myth. The Sacred Feather Vermilion Bird and the Divine Fire Phoenix were the heroes of the myth.

The myth resided in Mo Fan’s heart!

It was the Mysterious Feather Sacred Totem Beast. It had never disappeared from the world. It was a red bird. It was superior even to heaven!

It was like a man with a heart that was harder than gold. It would fight against everything.

Finally, its soul was awakened by Mo Fan!

2985 Kill The Angel

Mo Fan was a demon. He was a Wicked God. He was also a divine phoenix that rose from the ashes!

He looked up to see the Archangel Shalitha. Mo Fan’s eyes looked as if they were a sea fire that could even engulf the Great Wall of China as he approached Shalitha.

“Your era is over! Seven archangels in charge of maintaining the order of humanity, huh? Let me take your place. Shalitha, you don’t deserve that position at all!”

At that moment, the true demonic Wicked God finally descended. The Sacred Totem Beast’s soul was awakened inside the Wicked God’s body!

It was the world’s most powerful fire. It was capable of reducing the corrupted conquerors to ashes!

Mo Fan made a leap. His Sacred Feathers faced down in the sky. When he spread his wings, fire swept across the sky. He lunged at the lifeless Palace of Death.

He struck a punch. The next moment, the Palace of Death and the destructive wind in the dimension disappeared altogether. The Wicked God’s fire covered the sky and swept away the aura of the dimension in a single blow.

Meanwhile, on the land, the mountains near the West Guardian Towers were uprooted, loud explosions were audible. The next moment, the fortress, library, institute, restaurant, and hotel inside the towers were crushed. The people inside the tower started to fall like rain. They smashed onto the crumbling towers.

They were shocked and believed it to be a nightmare. They were on the verge of losing consciousness when they noticed the horrifying fissures in the mountains and stronghold, and the crumbling towers. However, a few of them had been drawn into the lifeless Palace of Death and were ultimately crushed into powder.

Shalitha’s divine power caused destruction with a godlike precision. Regardless of their levels of cultivation, they were just ordinary beings, and their lives were as worthless as straws.

But the demonic shadow was the only one who could fight with such a divine figure. For a moment, people did not know how to differentiate between the god and the demon!

The god-like figure wanted to reduce them to ashes, but the demonic shadow wanted them to be saved.

“Ozawa! Ozawa!” Lingling did not care much about treating her own wounds. She hurried all the way to a stack of woods, where she used every ounce of might to dig a bloody person out of the crumbling pile.

When she dragged him out, Lingling realized Ozawa was only left with half of his body.

The unhealed cut on his abdomen marked the severance of his upper body with his lower half. The lower half of his body had been swept into the Palace of Death and turned to dust, just like the people of the East Guardian Towers.

Lingling’s eyes turned red. She tried to help Ozawa up, but she did not know how she could make him feel better.

Ozawa did not look to be in pain. Instead, he reached out a hand to comfort Lingling. Her body trembled in anger.

“Is this where the Twin Guardian Towers belong? I thought I’ll be able to see the sun set and drink beers on the wheelchair with my peers who share the same passion…” whispered Ozawa.

“Don’t bother about the Twin Guardian Towers for now. Even if the towers are destroyed, we can rebuild them. If you die, no one can resurrect you!” Lingling wanted to treat his injuries, but she did not know how.

Ozawa’s body was halved by the Dimensional Wind. Even a Psychic Mage could not cure him, let alone Lingling, who only knew basic medical care.

“When I was swept up, it was only then that I realized how puny I am… I-I can’t do anything. I can’t save anyone. I—” Ozawa fixed his gaze on Mo Fan in the sky.

At that moment, Mo Fan shone like a blazing sun. The Archangel Shalitha was magnificent and noble, and Mo Fan was his only match in the world. The rest were just fireflies!

“You’ve done very well! You’ve done a really good job! You’re more sober minded compared to the rest in the Twin Guardian Towers. You’re the best. You’re the hero of the towers. You’ve saved and awakened everyone. You’ve done all you can. You’re not puny…” said Lingling.

Lingling wanted to tell Ozawa that no matter how puny they seemed to be, they belonged to their own small world. They were great people especially since they were willing to stand up and defend the things that they cared about.

Unfortunately, it was already too late for Lingling to say the words.

Ozawa stared at the sky where the Archangel Shalitha fought with Mo Fan. His eyes looked lifeless. There was no luster in them.

He was dead. He died alongside the fallen Twin Guardian Towers.

Ozawa refused to close his eyes. Lingling could not stop crying when she looked at his tired and exhausted face.

Ozawa had done a very good job.

Who exactly brought his world to an end? Who was it that had no mercy at all for them? Who was it that destroyed the Twin Guardian Towers, which Ozawa had worked tirelessly to safeguard, without even the tiniest sign of decency or humanity?

Someone sacrificed themselves to protect the towers. But some had no regard for it at all. They trampled the sacrifices under their feet. They were none other than the Archangels from the Holy City!

Lingling had never experienced such rage and agony. She also wished she could become a demon and destroy the dreadful, depraved world for good!

…

Mo Fan observed the scene on the ground.

He saw Lingling. He also saw Ozawa with only half of his body. He saw the shattered Twin Guardian Towers.

In the end, Shalitha destroyed the Twin Guardian Towers. Regardless of whether the people were criminals or innocents, everyone had died because of his ruthless magic.

Mo Fan heard Lingling’s cry. The flames of anger in his chest only grew stronger!

“Go to hell!” Behind Mo Fan, long wings of flames appeared. Like an intensely burning planet, he charged at the Archangel Shalitha without caring much about others!

The Archangel Shalitha was surrounded by a tough feathered shield. One of his potent celestial powers was the shield. But as soon as Mo Fan walked up to him, his angelic feathery shield melted. The Archangel Shalitha seemed like he would be reduced to ashes because of the explosion.

Shalitha ignored the Twin Guardian Towers. There were still some remnants from the towers, but he could not wipe them out, because Mo Fan was a threat to him now!

Shalitha flapped his angelic feathered wings and surged into the deep navy-blue sky. He glowed in a beautiful aurora light. It was beautiful and vibrant. When he reached the sky, streams of light that resembled holy, sharp swords pierced the sky and ruthlessly charged toward Mo Fan!

It was the Dome Light Heavenly Swords!

Mo Fan looked up to see the divine punishment. They were demonic swords from heaven. Not only could the swords pierce him, but they could also nail his soul to the bottom of darkness!

Even so, Mo Fan refused to give in to the high and mighty Shalitha.

Mo Fan passed through the Dome Light Heavenly Swords. The swords cut his skin, and his demonic blood spattered. He spread his Divine Phoenix Wings. The next moment, a pool of fire surged in the sky.

2986 You Created Me

Mo Fan would not make concessions. His body was raging with flames, making him look like a divine spear that could pierce through the sky. He was incomparably dazzling in the blue night sky. The land, rivers, and mountains within hundreds of kilometers were all dyed red by the Sky-Piercing Divine Spear.

He attacked the Archangel Shalitha again.

Without his powerful angelic feathered shield, the Archangel Shalitha could only use his supernatural powers to confront Mo Fan head-on.

Shalitha had his wings pointing downward and was gazing down. Then, his body turned into a fine silver statue. However, a light that was not seen in the open still shined from within his eyes!

Shalitha bowed his head. Suddenly, numerous silver breezes in the shape of hats swept through everything in his line of sight.

Shalitha was at an altitude of thousands of meters, so the area he could see was vast. Having occupied a vast area, the Hat-shaped Silver Wind circled and gathered to form a Silver Wind Domain on their way to attack Mo Fan.

As Mo Fan’s Divine Phoenix Flame collided with those Silver Winds, the fiery flame was continuously extinguished.

Mo Fan was so powerful that he was unstoppable. However, the Silver Wind Domain slowed his speed and weakened his strength. The spiked spear that could pierce through the sky began to dim and disappear like a fleeting meteor after passing through the Silver Wind Domain.

The powerful spear was neutralized.

Archangel Shalitha’s supernatural powers were also startling.

Mo Fan was in the raging Hat-shaped Silver Winds. His irises turned dark red, and demon patterns covered his arms. Infinite power was in his veins, making his body as strong as that of a supernatural entity.

He extended his hand and closed his fingers. The evil energy that could make the world tremble turned into a bloody sickle in the sky. He tried to cut Shalitha’s head with it.

Shalitha did not know that Mo Fan’s demon power was unparalleled and thought he was trapped in the Silver Wind Domain. Even though they were thousands of meters apart, the bloody sickle that seemed to be able to divide the vast sky into two still slashed down.

Shalitha flapped his angelic wings and dodged.

The majestic feathers scattered. Shalitha’s wings and shoulders were wounded. He could feel the burning pain.

Shalitha did not stop. He flew toward the sky. The bloody sickle was still hanging high above his head. No matter how fast or far he escaped, he was still under the blade.

Swoosh!

The sickle slashed again, and Shalitha flew nearer to the ground. It was a large virgin pine forest with tall, centuries-old pine trees. The crown of coniferous trees formed a dark green sea lake. The view was breathtaking when the wind blew.

But in the next instant, the enormous pine forest was destroyed. As it pursued Shalitha into the forest, the bloody sickle felled tens of thousands of century-old pine trees and split the ground.

Shalitha was fast. He flew swiftly past the low mountains and undulating forests. However, he could not shake off the attack of the demonic bloody sickle. Shalitha quickly turned around to see the sickle’s destruction of the landscape behind him, and he was horrified to see it!

The enormous pine forest ended at the seashore.

Shalitha wanted to hide in the ocean but found that the beach, seawater, and shallows had been cut in half, causing a gap to form between the water. Although it had been pursuing him up until now, its strength was still so terrifying!

Shalitha stopped, gasped, and glanced back at the vast, torn land. His heart pounded in fear.

He touched his back. His hand was covered in blood when he pulled it back.

“I’m injured?” Shalitha could not see his back but could feel a burning pain.

He stepped on the seawater full of sand. When he was about to wash his wounds with the water, a silver wing on his back suddenly slipped off and fell into the sea.

Shalitha was stunned. He slowly turned his head and found that blood spurted from his back!

A wing! His wing! One of his wings was severed!

Shalitha could not believe it. He forgot to pick up the silver wing from the water which was soaking in the dirty seawater. He could not accept the fact that he had been severely injured.

“I will tear your wings first. Then, I’ll break your hands and feet before cutting your head off.” Mo Fan’s voice boomed on the beach.

In terms of speed, Mo Fan was just as fast. When the bloody sickle tore apart the land, he chased after Shalitha at the same time.

Shalitha’s face changed. He looked crazier and angrier than before.

“I made you the Wicked God, so I have absolute power to kill you!” Shalitha’s voice was loud and cold.

“If you were really confident in destroying me, you wouldn’t look so afraid.” Mo Fan walked toward Shalitha while watching his angel’s blood stain the beach red.

“Afraid of you?” Shalitha laughed like it was a joke.

As he laughed, he saw his silver wing floating in the seawater. Mo Fan had cut it off. Despite being an invincible killing angel, he was injured.

Was Shalitha not afraid of Mo Fan? If he was not afraid of Mo Fan, why would he be so mad to push Mo Fan into the abyss of death?

If he was not afraid of Mo Fan, why would he make Mo Fan his prime target to honor the Holy City and regard him as the greatest hidden threat?

Many existences in this world were stronger than Mo Fan, but Shalitha had chosen Mo Fan. He was not afraid of Mo Fan’s current strength. He was afraid that Mo Fan would break through all the shackles, and eventually, even the Archangel could not restrain him.

Shalitha was afraid of Mo Fan’s terrifying growth.

Shalitha foresaw the terrifying growth of Mo Fan and wanted to destroy him before he became more powerful. However, Shalitha suddenly realized that he had made a huge mistake.

The Wicked God was not a newborn baby!

His body had an adult demon. Having gathered the Eight Souls and sacrificed the Red Demon Kazuaki’s evil energy, Mo Fan could not control the powerful demonic power, which now possessed the strongest soul. He could use the demonic power at will!

Besides, the divine soul shaped by the Wicked God made the souls of the Red Bird and Chongming Divine Bird in Mo Fan’s body born into the soul of Sacred Feather Vermilion Bird.

This awakening was already powerful. When the two combined, Mo Fan was not afraid of the Archangels.

Shalitha was playing with fire.

He regarded Mo Fan as the greatest threat and wanted to get rid of him. However, he never thought he would turn Mo Fan into a demon with his own hands!

He created the Sacred Phoenix Vermilion Bird that was reborn from death and a mature demon who no longer needed to drain his energy!

2987 Sacred Tooth Staff

Buzz…

The arrival of Mo Fan seemed to have caused the seawater to evaporate. At first glance, it looked like a vast dry field covered with a thin layer of salt.

Shalitha did not pick up his severed wing. The silver armor with gold patterns on his body began to glow brightly, which made his ordinary figure look like a silver-winged god in the light.

“Sacred Tooth!”

Shalitha raised his hand, and a light shined and descended from the sky and covered him like veils. Then, a thin and long staff appeared on his hand.The staff looked special. The top was a dragon tooth blade, which looked extremely sharp.

Its end was a thorn, which was made of the toe thorns of an ancient dragon. The body of the staff was made of dragon bone. It looked crystal clear and radiated a wild, ancient aura.

Judging from its appearance, it was not a long-range staff. It was a Combat staff. Not only was it blessed with supreme magic power and secret techniques, but it also possessed strong combative abilities.

Shalitha held the Combat Staff tightly, and his confidence surged. He regained his pride.

Most Mages had lost the ability to fight in close-quarters battles, but according to the system of this world, Mages who could fight in close-quarters battles were several grades stronger than those of the same level. The opponent could not detect their attacks and attempts because of obvious spellcasting.

Mages would keep a certain distance from each other in magic duels. Once they found themselves in a dangerous situation, it would be easier for them to escape. Therefore, the death rate of Mages was much lower than people from other domains.

Shalitha chose this combat weapon because he wanted to kill Mo Fan, no matter the cost.

With a Combat Staff made of the teeth of an ancient dragon and silver armor with gold patterns, Shalitha had transformed into an Archangel of Murder. The sacred aura emanating from his body was bloodthirsty!

He was a ruthless demon but also a noble Patrol Angel. Everything he did was to maintain the order he believed in!

The flames of the Sacred Feather Vermilion Bird still covered Mo Fan’s body. When he saw Shalitha’s transformation, he did not show any scorn.

This guy represented the most powerful human in the world. His power exceeded the limit when the unique angel halo was turned on.

Mo Fan remained alert. His eyes changed as he used the dragon sense of the Black Dragon Emperor. He observed the Archangel Shalitha with an ability that did not belong to humans.

He knew that Shalitha would attack soon, and he might die at that moment.

Shalitha moved.

One phantom.

Two phantoms.

He only had one wing left but it seemed as though he still had several of them.

When the third phantom appeared, Mo Fan felt that there were three Shalithas in front of him. They all held the terrifying Sacred Tooth Staffs and approached him strangely.

Mo Fan suddenly stopped when the phantom of the three angels formed a triangle. Mo Fan could not approach any phantoms until he identified the real Shalitha.

Shalitha waved the Sacred Tooth Staff and slammed it down on the ground. Mo Fan’s surroundings were torn like an oil painting. This made his protection over the land become meaningless. Shalitha slashed from three directions while tearing the space apart. Mo Fan had to find a way to avoid it!

Mo Fan tried to calm himself. Shalitha was skilled in dimensional magic, and the Sacred Tooth Combat Staff in his hand was endowed with the powerful ability to split space. Mo Fan observed his surroundings to identify the phantom since the space was still intact!

Mo Fan only needed a few seconds to analyze the opponent’s attack after using the dragon sense. If an outsider saw it, he would see a large crack in the land and a massive lightning bolt. It was frightening.

The demon blood on Mo Fan’s body was boiling with excitement. At the same time, it also sent a chill up his spine. It was a warning from the dark vein. He was in danger!

Swoosh!

Mo Fan dodged, but a long wound appeared on his body.

It was not fatal, but it was painful. Mo Fan’s whole body, including his head, ached. He was scared as though an ancient dragon had really caught him.

Mo Fan moved further from Shalitha.

It was no wonder Shalitha looked contemptuous when he got the Sacred Tooth Staff. The Sacred Tooth Staff was like a torture device. No one could move away from it or withstand its attack

Mo Fan did not know what suppressed his abilities. Every time he used the dragon sense to look at Shalitha, he felt that Shalitha was a giant dragon with its fangs bared, and he had nowhere to hide.

“That is the ancient dragon tooth. The Black Dragon Emperor is only a young dragon in front of it, so you can’t use the dragon sense against it.” A voice sounded in Mo Fan’s mind.

It was Apas. She was warning him.

Mo Fan was a little surprised. Apas was “hibernating” most of the time, especially after the battle with her two sisters in the Dark Abyss. She spoke now because she wanted to help him.

But Apas should not show up to fight for Mo Fan. She was just a vulnerable snake in front of Shalitha. Unless Apas could become the real Medusa Queen, Shalitha would easily kill her. She would only have demon power to threaten Shalitha only if she could become Medusa Queen.

“Dragon’s observation ability is not the best in this world,” Apas said.

“As the Wicked God with Eight Souls gathered, you can borrow my eyes.”

More phantoms appeared. Shalitha made another move, and the phantoms increased to nine.

Mo Fan could not see Shalitha’s movements clearly when there were three other phantoms. With nine phantoms, it would be even more difficult.

‘Borrow Apas’ eyes?’ wondered Mo Fan.

Mo Fan did not understand it until the Eight Soul Mountains appeared on his back. They turned into a powerful force that could suppress Shalitha’s potent angelic aura.

At the same time, Mo Fan’s eyes changed. The eyes no longer had only one color like the dragon’s eyes but several specks of them. One of them was gold in color, just like Medusa’s eyes!

When the golden eyes gleamed, Mo Fan was surprised to discover that everything in front of him had stopped moving!

2988 Frost of Alternate Space

Time seemed to have frozen. There were slight differences, but they were almost the same as Temporal Stasis.

“The most powerful skill of the Eyes of Medusa is the Temporal Stasis!” Apas’ voice sounded in Mo Fan’s mind again. “But it is only visual awareness, a kind of pseudo-Temporal Stasis that allows you to gain more time to tahink. As a Wicked God, you’re just a baby right now. There’s still a lot of power you need to master.”

Although Apas made him sound weak, he knew she was trying to help him.

Mo Fan’s opponent was the Archangel Shalitha, so he needed more powerful abilities to deal with him. The golden eyes that Apas bestowed on him were crucial. Mo Fan was able to see Shalitha’s movements and get rid of the fear he had felt because of the dragon’s teeth.

“So, this is space duplication?”

Mo Fan finally discovered the source of those powerful phantoms. Shalitha’s Sacred Tooth Staff duplicated the space and the power of the staff itself!

It was similar to the Cross Seal Formation of the Chaos Element, but Shalitha could copy the magic in progress! Shalitha was the most skilled Mage in dimensional magic Mo Fan had ever met.

With golden eyes, Mo Fan could use Temporal Stasis. However, he had to speed up to resolve this. The Eight Soul Mountains on his back suddenly disappeared. He turned into a silver arrow and passed through the gaps of those duplicated spaces.

The outer layer of the silver arrow was full of the flames of the Sacred Feather Vermilion Bird. Mo Fan spread these flames into those Phantom Spaces, and they were duplicated as he predicted.

Shalitha created nine layers of Phantom Space. The flames of Mo Fan’s Sacred Feather Vermilion Bird also turned into nine layers. Shalitha’s face changed when the nine layers of raging Sacred Feather Vermilion Bird Flames swept toward him.

It was too late for Shalitha to put away the Phantom Spaces. He never thought Mo Fan could see through it so fast. After he saw it through, he used the nine layers of Phantom Space to duplicate his flames too.

Each of the nine layers of Vermilion Bird Flames was like an ancient flaming mountain when attacking. Shalitha kept waving the Sacred Tooth Staff to create a safe space in front of himself.

However, Mo Fan was also a Dimensional Mage. With the demon blood, his ability in Space Element had become stronger. It was easy for him to connect the cut section.

The raging flames still engulfed Shalitha in the end. The silver armor on his body was deformed, and he was in pain. His distorted face looked no different from those vicious prisoners.

The battle silver armor on his body melted and flowed onto his body. Shalitha realized that his skin and muscles might blend with the armor, so he discarded this precious battle silver armor.

Shalitha revealed his burnt and ugly skin. He finally used the Combat Staff to open a dimensional tunnel in the nine layers of flames and escaped.

Mo Fan already saw where Shalitha was heading and waited at the end of the dimension tunnel.

The claw of the Wicked God grabbed Shalitha’s wing.

Shalitha was also a ruthless person. When he realized Mo Fan wanted to drag him and pierce through his throat with the claw, he waved the staff and cut off his wing himself. Then, he rushed toward the coastal mountains while bleeding profusely.

Mo Fan chased after him. He transformed into a Wicked Flaming Phoenix and shuttled across the coastal mountains.

Shalitha suddenly turned around to attack with the end of the Combat staff. The thorny spears hit like torrential rain and destroyed the big mountains.

Mo Fan flew in the air, but he suddenly stopped, as if his soul had left his body. The Wicked Flaming Phoenix he had just transformed continued to move forward through the thorny spears to Shalitha.

Shalitha was furious. He held the Combat Staff and drew a swirl mark on his chest with the other hand.

Where his fingers passed, blue tracks like star fragments appeared. This track was in the shape of a vortex. When he finished drawing it, he pushed it forward. The blue trajectory formed by the fragments rapidly expanded and turned into a giant painted vortex. The star fragments filled the painted vortex, which looked like a mysterious sunken area in the starry sky.

The Wicked Flaming Phoenix that Mo Fan had transformed crashed into the painted vortex and disappeared. The raging flames also disappeared when they touched the painted vortex. The sky that was still red became dark and silent.

It was indeed difficult to deal with someone proficient in dimensional magic. He could not withstand the attack with normal defensive magic, and his powerful magic was easily thrown into another space, which was equivalent to disappearing from this world.

Even if Shalitha’s wings had been cut off and his back was bleeding, he had no intention of running away. He held the Sacred Tooth Combat Staff and used the tip to slash toward Mo Fan in the air. A strange substance splashed out and quickly solidified around Mo Fan.

An extreme coldness engulfed Mo Fan. He observed and realized that it was the Frost of Alternate Space!

It appeared that there was a cold substance in the sky, which was also present in many planes not in this world. The wandering creatures in alternate dimensions would be frozen instantly by them.

That was the Frost of Alternate Space. It was rare in the sky but could still freeze those powerful feathered demons into dead objects.

The Frost of Alternate Space that Shalitha sprinkled around Mo Fan would spread. They could quickly spread in the air. A small drop from the alternate space could instantly freeze dozens of kilometers of mountains and rivers, and the creatures in these mountains and rivers would die.

The Frost of Alternate Space did not have to cover objects to freeze them like ice cubes. It just needed to shroud them a little. It was capable of suffocating living things.

Mo Fan quickly fled the area that was covered by the Frost of Alternate Space. Shalitha continued to wave the Sacred Tooth Staff to summon this terrifying substance from the alternate space to this fragile world.

The creatures in the mountain range slowly died, making it look like a black mountain on a distant planet.

The flames of Sacred Feather Vermilion Bird on Mo Fan’s body were also extinguished, and his body became stiff and cold.

2989 Stab His Heart

Mo Fan knew that he would not be able to escape from this area no matter what, so he did not waste time struggling.

The heart was like an eternal furnace. The icy cold from the polar regions or the frost from the alternate space could not extinguish the furnace. In his chest, the flame of the Sacred Feather Vermilion Bird was rolling. Every drop of blood in his body was burning hot, enough to form the most powerful fire! Every inch of his skin was hot and expelled the cold of the outside world that invaded his body.

Vitality. Energy.

Mo Fan was a Red Sun full of infinite vitality!

Coldness, loneliness, and death could never erode all that he had. The heat of the Red Sun would sweep all these away!

“It seems that I still haven’t mastered a lot of things.” Mo Fan looked at the flames of the Red Sun in his chest.

Becoming a Wicked God did not mean Mo Fan was invincible. It meant he just discovered a skill that he had to work hard to improve. He still needed to discover many powerful forces and awaken many potent supernatural powers.

This was probably the reason why the Archangel Shalitha was unwilling to give Mo Fan a chance to survive. Shalitha knew that a newly born Wicked God was growing every second and would only get stronger with time.

The flames of the Red Sun dissipated the Frost of Alternate Space. The Sacred Tooth Staff in Shalitha’s hand caught fire. His hand was burnt.

Shalitha’s face turned pale. The wound on his back began to take a toll on him. He became weaker, and his eyes turned vicious.

He attacked Mo Fan again with high speed and strength. His body was getting weaker but it was still like a big steel mountain to Mo Fan.

Bang!

Mo Fan was sent flying. Waves of ripples appeared. The ripples rushing into the sky could easily penetrate the dark clouds several hundred meters thick. They could even lift the ground if they rushed to it.

Mo Fan fell to the ground and hit the land between the mountains. More than a dozen nearby mountains collapsed under the force of the fall.

Dust was everywhere. Shalitha suddenly rushed down from the sky like a silver lightning bolt. Mo Fan used the Eyes of Medusa and saw Shalitha’s Sacred Tooth Staff trying to stab his head.

Its power was so strong that it washed away the surrounding air, forming a giant cone-shaped air space.

Mo Fan stood up. After seeing that Shalitha planned to fight him in close quarters, he stood his ground.

Mo Fan rushed up from the ground like a sharp red light and fought fiercely with Shalitha’s silver lightning bolt in midair. Their figures were blurred because both were impossibly fast. They were like two black dragons fighting each other!

The pure savage power of the demon was not inferior to that of the Archangel. When the Sacred Tooth Staff stabbed, Mo Fan held the staff’s handle tightly so that its sharp fangs could not attack him.

Demon patterns appeared on Mo Fan’s skin. His forehead, face, and arms were full of these scary patterns. These patterns were full of powerful energy.

Mo Fan tightly grasped the sacred tooth. Shalitha wanted to pull it out but found that Mo Fan was pulling him closer bit by bit. The terrifying killing intent in the dark red eyes made Shalitha feel afraid.

Mo Fan pulled the Sacred Tooth Staff fiercely and flung Shalitha toward a sharp mountain peak. The mountain peak broke, and Shalitha rolled over and fell into a vast, wild grassland.

Before Shalitha had the time to stand up, Mo Fan triggered a Storm Cloud. Mo Fan stood proudly in the sky full of dark clouds. Shocking lightning bolts struck from the sky and hit the same position.

The barren grassland instantly turned into a purgatory of lightning. Shalitha’s body twitched after the lightning struck him. He could not even hold the Sacred Tooth Combat Staff and kneeled on the ground.

Lightning bolts continued to strike him, and Mo Fan stood in the middle. His eyes turned from dark red to light purple. More and more lightning bolts struck from the sky and hit the mountains. The barren grassland where Shalitha was turned into a deep abyss.

There was a huge hole caused by lightning strikes from the sky!

…

There was no light in the bottom of the hole, except for lightning bolts that kept striking continuously.

Shalitha rose from a pile of scorched underground rocks and trembled. His back was severely aggravated, and he had lost a lot of blood. Compared with his previous prideful self, he was now miserable. He looked like an injured, wild wolf.

The sacred halo had disappeared. Mo Fan’s demon power had suppressed it.

He raised his hand and tried to call upon the lost Sacred Tooth Combat Staff.

The Sacred Tooth Staff flew quickly from the thick rock layer to Shalitha’s hand, like a needle piercing through the soft mud. But when he saw his Sacred Tooth Staff, he found that only one part of the Sacred Tooth Staff remained. The upper part had disappeared.

Boom!

A fierce lightning bolt struck the hole. When it was about to hit the bottom of the hole, it suddenly turned into numerous snakes. The snakes quickly filled the hole like filaments and illuminated it.

The light was dazzling. Shalitha was anxious when he found Mo Fan standing less than ten meters away. Mo Fan was holding the other half of the Sacred Tooth Staff.

“If you want it, I can give it to you,” said Mo Fan.

The next moment, Mo Fan appeared before Shalitha. He tried to stab Shalitha’s heart with the blade of the Sacred Tooth Staff!

Shalitha squirmed and dodged, but Mo Fan still pierced through his arm and nailed him to a rock.

The angel’s blood splattered in the cracks of the rock. Some specks of blood hit Mo Fan’s face.

Shalitha was furious. He stabbed at Mo fan’s chest with the remaining half of the Combat Staff that he held in his hands.

Mo Fan could dodge, but he would miss the perfect opportunity to kill Shalitha. He was already mad with anger so being stabbed did not scare him.

He extended his hand. His palm faced Shalitha’s face.

The flames of Vermilion Bird surged from his body again and transported to his wrist within seconds. Finally, the flames burst out through his palm.

2990 Wake Up!

Boom!

After a huge blast, it appeared as though an earthquake had impacted a sizable region of mountains outside of Osaka. Mountains, meadows, and stretches of coastline spanning almost 100 kilometers abruptly crumbled.

Red lava, billowing flames, and fire pillars fell from the sky…

The earthquake in Osaka was powerful. In this international city, traffic halted, electricity went out, and warning alarms sounded everywhere.

A continental plate west of Osaka had broken. Even if all of Japan’s volcanoes erupted at the same time, it would not have caused such a massive destruction.

Some Japanese Forbidden Mages in Osaka also had to show up. They looked westward over the city and were frightened by the sight.

‘Which peerless emperor of the Pacific Ocean did this?’ they wondered. ‘Why did he appear in Osaka? Why was there no warning?’

The Forbidden Mages in Osaka did not dare to go and check. They knew that force would melt them if they approached.

Fortunately, this power was not directed at Osaka. Otherwise, hundreds and thousands of people would have been wiped out!

…

In the broken zone, the lava flowed. The area was covered in red magma. Mountain-like rocks and gravel floated in the lava ocean.

A man was floating on the lava. He wasn’t burned by it. There was not even a trace of flame on his body, and he did not seem to have any trouble.

He drifted to the rock. Suddenly, he extended his hand weakly. He grabbed a corner of the rock and climbed up from the lava. His body was icy cold because he had wrapped himself in Dimensional Frost. However, his neck and face were completely scorched. It was a skull-like head with a pair of ugly eyeballs. He looked around as though searching for something.

Finally, he found a corpse. A corpse that had been pierced through the chest by the sharp end of the Sacred Tooth Staff.

The corpse was also floating on the lava, and the Sacred Tooth Staff was still protruding from his chest.

“Hahaha. You thought I didn’t know you could be reborn in flames, didn’t you? The end of the Sacred Tooth Staff has the Spirit Stone of the Dimensional Frost. The Dimensional Frost has killed your heart, so you can’t be reborn.” Shalitha looked at Mo Fan’s body and laughed maniacally.

Shalitha survived Mo Fan’s Flaming Palm, but Mo Fan did not survive Shalitha’s deadly stab.

Shalitha’s wings were severed, the Sacred Tooth Staff was broken, and even his head was burned to the point that only bones remained. But he had still won against the Wicked God in the end.

Shalitha traveled the world and knew very well that a powerful Wicked God would be born in this world. It was riskier than he expected, but what could be more fulfilling than to step on a generation of Wicked God in honor of the Holy City?

Shalitha could not move anymore. He wanted to check Mo Fan’s body. After all, a Wicked God usually had “many lives”.

But Shalitha could not move at all.

Mo Fan was indeed dead. Shalitha could not sense any life force or evil aura from his body.

He planned to lie here, rest for a while, and deal with it after his energy was restored. Shalitha could not let Mo Fan’s body soak in the lava for too long because he knew exactly how he had killed Mo Fan.

The Spirit Stone of the Frost of Alternate Space was at the end of the Sacred Tooth Staff. He stabbed the end of the staff into Mo Fan’s heart, which meant that the Frost of Alternate Space had entered Mo Fan’s heart. It had frozen his heart.

Shalitha did not know if Mo Fan would keep absorbing the surrounding volcanic elements and underground magma. The Wicked God was the most evil and tenacious of creatures. Once the heat dissolved the source of Frost of Alternate space, he might be resurrected from the dead!

Shalitha was a little anxious. Although he had won, he was still worried about it.

To ensure that Mo Fan had no chance of surviving, he had to regain his strength quickly and strike a fatal, final blow!

Shalitha enjoyed lying there and watching Mo Fan’s corpse float on the lava. It was like looking at his spoils of war.

A smile appeared on Shalitha’s face.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Shalitha heard a few light footsteps. His hearing was worse than before. He could not hear the footsteps until the person was very close to the pool.

Mo Fan’s Flaming Palm had been powerful. Under normal circumstances, Forbidden Mages would not dare to approach this place rashly, so who was it who had approached at this time?

Shalitha glanced in the direction of the footsteps. He frowned when he saw a young girl with an innocent face.

Shalitha knew this girl. She was Lingling, the huntress who had traveled by Mo Fan’s side!

Lingling stood on the edge of the lava pool. She glanced at Shalitha indifferently before looking at Mo Fan’s body.

“Unfortunately, he died. Go. Leave. I won’t attack you,” Shalitha said indifferently.

“You destroyed the Twin Guardian Towers and killed many people,” said Lingling.

“The fact is that I saved Osaka and destroyed an evil nest. The heroic spirits of Sacrificial Mountain and the whole of Japan should be grateful to me. The Twin Guardian Towers are infected with the plague. I know you want to find a cure for the plague, but can you really find it? It will spread and cause contagion even if you find a cure. To prevent ourselves from being infected, people all over the world will vote to isolate the village under such circumstances. Isolation is tantamount to destruction. The question is, who will do it?” Shalitha said calmly.

“You’re ruthless.”

“You only think about yourself, but I think about all people. Don’t forget that it’s not the Blood Demons who control the Twin Guardian Towers but the Evil Gang. That’s a cult. There are not many innocent people in the Twin Guardian Towers. Forget it! I’m too tired to discuss this with you. I’m Shalitha. Everything I do is objective. I’m an Archangel, the patroller of this world. I don’t need to explain myself to an egoistic little girl like you,” Shalitha retorted.

Lingling jumped on the broken stones floating on the lava. Her body obviously could not resist such intense heat, so she sweat profusely.

“What’re you doing?” Shalitha asked.

“I think it’s you who should die.” Lingling jumped to the front of Mo Fan’s corpse like a nimble deer.

She firmly grasped half of the Sacred Tooth Staff that had stabbed Mo Fan’s chest with both her hands.

“Stop! Stop!” Shalitha suddenly roared.

Lingling ignored him.

The Frost of Alternate Space immediately froze her hands and entered her body. With Lingling’s current cultivation and physique, she could not stand this extreme cold for even a few seconds.

But Lingling did not let go of the staff. She used all her strength to hold onto it.

“You promised me! Wake up!” she yelled at Mo Fan.

She tried with everything she had to pull out the Sacred Tooth Staff that was in Mo Fan’s chest!

“Wake up!”

2991 A New Heart

Lingling pulled the tip of the Sacred Tooth Staff out from the back. The tip passed by Mo Fan’s heart leaving a scary hole in his torso.

The red lava slowly flowed into the hole in his chest. The Frost of Alternate Space that remained in his heart slowly subsided as the hot lava melted it. The lava was like the blood in Mo Fan’s body. It was expanding the shriveled heart and reviving it!

Badump!

A clear heartbeat reverberated. At the same time, a sharp fluctuation occurred in the lava pool and river that covered the entire hole!

Badump! Badump!

The heartbeat resounded twice in a row. The red world suddenly went crazy. There was a raging eruption of lava and flames. Numerous fire pillars shot up into the sky.

Badump! Badump! Badump!

The heart began to beat rapidly. The area to the west of Osaka instantly erupted with spectacular and violent flames like volcanoes. It was quite startling!

In the flames of the volcano, a body drifted up. He was bathed in the inexhaustible lava fire. He regained his vitality and was eventually reborn, just like the son of the sun!

Shalitha slumped against the swaying rock in fright.

He thought he had killed Mo Fan and won the battle. However, he hadn’t expected that an inconspicuous girl would be the reason for his defeat!

When Mo Fan came into contact with fire, he was reborn!

The Wicked God was immortal and had the most powerful flame in the world. If he was not killed in time, no one knew what catastrophe he would bring to this world.

Shalitha could not move his eyes away from Mo Fan at all.

Mo Fan’s heart kept beating as though it had never been frozen by the Frost of Alternate Space. After his rebirth, his heart seemed to have gotten even stronger. It was like a scorching sun that kept burning.

The aura of the Red Sun hit Shalitha’s festering face. He could sense that this Wicked God with a new heart was even stronger than before. The flame might be even superior to the Flame Saint of the Holy City!

The Wicked God had been growing all this time. Shalitha was terrified not just because he was powerless to fight this Wicked God but also because he had created an invincible demon!

If he did not kill Mo Fan today, he knew Mo Fan would become terrifying as time passed!

“Y-You have no idea what you’ve done!” Shalitha’s voice trembled. He no longer sounded arrogant.

“If the Holy City is full of ruthless scum like you, it shouldn’t exist in this world at all!” said Lingling.

Flames were everywhere, but the ground was not hot at all. Mo Fan, who had a new heart, landed beside Lingling. His body had no raging flames and shocking demon patterns anymore.

Mo Fan looked neat and clean, just like an ordinary man. The flames all over the sky had already shown his extraordinary power despite the lack of demon aura on his body. If he issued an order, the flames in the sky would descend. The flames of the Wicked God would burn Osaka, the vast mountains nearby, and even the ocean at a distance!

This was the real power of a god that could crush thousands of lives in a single move.

If Mo Fan were a real Wicked God, with resentment toward the world and endless contempt in his heart, he could burn everything to the ground.

Mo Fan only wanted to kill one person. Archangel Shalitha, who represented the Holy City, was his target.

Mo Fan walked toward Shalitha.

Shalitha’s eyes betrayed the fear he felt. He also felt annoyed and regretful.

‘Why did I create such a dangerous creature?’ he thought.

“You probably can’t honor the Holy City in the way that you want, but you can die in the Holy City, if you want.” Mo Fan smiled brightly.

“You won against me, but you can never win against the Holy City. So, I still win even if you kill me now. You have become the enemy of the Holy City. So, now you are a criminal everywhere around the world. You can run away, hide, and fight, but what about the people around you? They will also be rejected by this world. You still lose, no matter what. You still lose!” Even though Shalitha was afraid of death, he provoked Mo Fan.

“You’re right.” Mo Fan nodded.

“If I’m alive, I’ll be your only enemy. If I’m dead, your enemy is the Holy City, the Five Continents Magic Association, the Forbidden Curse Association, and countless countries and powerful people loyal to the Holy City,” Shalitha continued.

“Does it mean I’ll have a way out if I don’t kill you?” Mo Fan smiled.

“Yes. We can let go of the past and stop fighting. In fact, there are many secret agreements like this in the Holy City,” said Shalitha.

Shalitha has already lost, so he could only bargain with Mo Fan with his identity as an Archangel. He knew what Mo Fan needed and what was important to him. He could use it to his advantage.

“I agree to your second condition,” said Shalitha. He knew Mo Fan was questioning what choice he should make.

“Next time, you should agree to my condition before destroying half the city. Unfortunately, I don’t want there to be a next time.” Mo Fan reached Shalitha.

Mo Fan extended his hands and held Shalitha’s ugly head. With a smile, Mo Fan slowly applied force and lifted Shalitha’s head while he stepped on Shalitha’s body to hold him down.

Shalitha’s neck stretched, and he felt the pain of suffocation as his head was pulled up. He struggled.

“You’re such an exquisite and perfect Archangel. How can you have such an ugly head? I’ll help you remove it slowly. This is also a great time to reflect on what you have done wrong and why you made the situation worse. Try not to make such a mistake in your next life, or your head will be pulled off like this again,” said Mo Fan as he continued to pull his head off.

He sounded like a gentle elder giving sound advice. But the bones of Shalitha’s neck cracked. His agony was apparent in his struggle.

2992 The Mourning of The Holy City

Shlick!

Shalitha’s head was finally separated from his body. Mo Fan picked up his head like a melon from a farm. He looked at it and thought there was nothing special about it. He then casually flung it to the side.

Shalitha’s body twitched.

Mo Fan crouched down by the side. He observed the body for a while in case the archangel had any supernatural abilities that would have allowed him to be resurrected from the dead.

It was only after Mo Fan confirmed that Shalitha was truly dead that he left in satisfaction.

Mo Fan walked to Lingling. He noticed that her hands had turned purple as a result of frostbite.

He took her hands into his. A gush of gentleness and warmth spread and gradually removed the chill in her body.

Lingling looked pale. It took a few minutes before her cheeks turned pinkish again.

Mo Fan’s heart was full of conflicting emotions as he looked at Lingling.

Lingling was indeed not an ordinary girl. Even the Forbidden Mages from Osaka dared not approach this place, and yet, she did. She also saved him from the valley of death in front of Shalitha.

“What if Shalitha still had some energy left in him and killed you with a snap of his finger? Promise me. No more of such foolishness in the future,” said Mo Fan. His heart ached for her.

Lingling was truly fearless. She saved him from the Archangel of Murder. Even the newly promoted Wicked God almost died in that archangel’s hands.

“Instead of waiting for an uncertain outcome like a fool, I might as well take the risk,” said Lingling.

“You’re right. We picked the right bet, but we didn’t win. What should we do next?” Mo Fan breathed out a long sigh. It was not a sigh of relief of having survived this dangerous encounter. It was because he knew that the real horror had just begun.

“We don’t have a way out of this anymore,” said Lingling.

“We?” Upon hearing Lingling’s words, he could not help but reach out to hold her face. “It’s not us, this time. It’s me. Girl, are you really sure you want to join me in overthrowing the Holy City?”

“Don’t you even think about leaving me behind,” said Lingling fiercely as she slapped Mo Fan’s hand away.

“I don’t intend to leave anyone behind, but I have my own plans. You should go back to school and study hard. I now find that magic can’t change the world, but knowledge can,” said Mo Fan to Lingling.

“What’s your plan?” Lingling panicked. She could somewhat guess what he was thinking.

“I need more time. I can’t start a war with the Holy City now, so I’ve decided to go to the Holy City and let them hold me for trial. With that, I can stall for time,” said Mo Fan.

“If you go to them now, they won’t treat you fairly!” said Lingling furiously.

Mo Fan tried to persuade Lingling that things were not that bad. “Lingling, don’t be so quick to judge everything negatively because of that scum of an angel. How sure are you to say that the Holy City and its entire ruling class are hopeless? Even if they are, I’ll still fight till the end. At the end of the day—”

“You don’t want to get us involved in the situation. That is what you are planning! I am not a child!” retorted Lingling.

“I know you aren’t a child anymore. You’ve always been smarter than most people, and you’re better at judging a situation than anyone else,” said Mo Fan.

“You chose to face judgment in the Holy City because you want to protect others. But you have to know that those people whom you want to protect are willing to go to hell and back with you if you face a life-or-death situation!” Lingling shouted at Mo Fan.

‘Those people whom you want to protect are willing to go to hell and back with you…’

Mo fan felt a gush of warmth in his heart after hearing those words.

“If that’s the case, I think I’ve lived a good life.” Mo Fan did not expect Lingling to say such touching words. He hugged her.

“So, are you still going to surrender yourself?” Lingling buried her head in his arms.

“I’m not surrendering myself. We all need more time,” said Mo Fan.

“But…”

Lingling’s words were on the tip of her tongue when she felt slightly suffocated because her heart was full. Mo Fan hugged her tightly, as if just a simple hug wouldn’t be enough to make an impact on his memories.

Lingling, though, saw it as another goodbye. She remained silent. She cherished the moment. At least she was prepared for it. Lingling finally let go of her restlessness.

“I like—”

“You’re still young. Don’t say things like that.”

“I liked the days when we used to catch demons together.”

“Oh, okay—”

…

The foothill on the east of the Alps Mountain was the world’s cleanest wilderness nourished by snow and ice. It was a vast and endless land. A magnificent and ancient city was built on the land.

Stepping into the land felt like returning to Europe’s prosperous era. There were tall city walls and an ancient gate. It was surrounded by crystal-clear ice and snow.

The architecture of the city was exquisite. The streets were spotless. The colorful magical barriers were like sheer veils. They were formed to protect the noble lady—the Holy City. The barriers enhanced the beauty of the city.

This was a city where miracles happened. Its distinctive ../style attracted numerous tourists every year. The city had a strong religious presence. It was the Mages’ supreme religion. The magical cultivation path was long and difficult. It was tedious and painful. The thought of being able to occupy a place in the Holy City filled them with hope and power.

The Holy City was full of colors, especially with the gold that represented holiness. The rose gold represented femininity, the white gold represented purity, and the brownish gold represented majesty.

However, the Holy City had another color today. It was shrouded in black. Black signified mourning. Black symbols were seen everywhere.

Black feathers filled up the corners of the streets.

Black flags were everywhere.

Devotees of the Holy City strolled slowly through the streets while dressed in monk-../style black clothing. They held a black chalice filled with clean water with a willow branch dipped in it. They sprinkled the water onto the roads.

This was a ritual of sorts.

It was a custom of mourning in the Holy City. If one of the Archangels passed away in Holy City, they would hold this ritual to mourn for them. It was a solemn sight.

“He died for us.”

“Shalitha’s name will be engraved on the majestic monument on the sacred peak of Alps Mountain.”

“We’ll remember him in our hearts. We’ll bring that demon to justice!”

“We’ll search for him even to the ends of the world. We’ll trace his demonic aura. We won’t rest until we catch him and put him to death. We pray this in the name of the Archangel Shalitha!”

The foghorn-like voice of the Archangel Ramiel swore to heaven over the city gates.

People used the bridge to enter and exit the city. They lowered their heads and dared not even utter a word or bring up the subject.

Three days ago, sensational news spread around the world. One of the archangels who monitored the world, the Archangel Shalitha, was tragically beheaded in Japan. And the murderer was Mo Fan!

Today, the Holy City mourned for the death of the Archangel Shalitha. The Mages who entered the city felt its wrath. The supreme, divine right of the Holy City had never been trampled this way before in the past!

“You don’t have to pursue me to the ends of the world. I’m right here.”

The Archangel Ramiel’s shout resounded throughout the city when a man in front of the city gate removed his hood. The man had his hands in his pockets and stood before the priesthood of the Holy City.

“M-Mo Fan!”

“Mo Fan!”

“He’s the Wicked God!”

“No, he’s a demon!”

The crowd was so scared that they fled everywhere. Meanwhile, the priests and Archangels mourning for Shalitha’s death looked confused.

2993 That Person Is Mo Fan

Black feathers, black flags for mourning, and black flower petals were sprinkled all over the streets in the Holy City .

in front of the audience, Mo Fan made his way to the end of the city’s boulevard.

The Holy Palace was in the city center. The Holy City had a total of seven avenues. From above, they could see how crowded with structures the city’s center was. The seven avenues from the edges of the city led to the majestic Holy Palace and intersected at the perfect center point of the city. The avenues divided the Holy City into fourteen areas, and each area was presented in the shape of a fan.

The Holy City was divided into a Front City and a Back City.

The Front City was the seventh area that was near to the Alps Mountain. It was also the only entrance to the Holy City.

After they entered through the city, the path led straight to the Holy Palace. When Mo Fan noticed that the First Avenue of the Holy City was filled with black thorny flowers and roses, he gave them a smile.

“I didn’t expect such a big welcome from you. I’m flattered,” he said to the Archangel Ramiel who escorted him.

Ramiel blew his beard and scowled. He was so furious. “We’re mourning for Shalitha. This will also be your funeral!”

“Archangel, didn’t you have a rule that said whoever willingly recited the divine oath would be fairly judged? I am still innocent until proven guilty.,” said Mo Fan with solemnity.

“Do you think you can survive the judgment?!” said Ramiel.

Mo Fan sighed. “Judging from the tone of your voice, I can sense that you will convict me without hesitation on Judgment Day.”

“You’re right. You may be able to deceive the world with your various lies, but we’re aware of how Shalitha died. Are you aware of the severity of your sin for killing an Archangel? You will be subjected to the harshest sanction of the Holy City!” Ramiel said without hesitation.

“You’re not the only person who decides the outcome of the judgment,” said Mo Fan.

“We all know what will happen to you. Here’s a reminder for you, the last person who faced similar judgment was a Greek called Wen Tai,” said Ramiel.

“It’s my honor to be treated unfairly just like him,” answered Mo Fan.

“Stop spewing nonsense! The reason he was executed was because of our fairness. Regardless of your position, identity, or religion, the people from the Holy City will never allow a heretic to survive in this world,” Ramiel said, firmly.

Mo Fan did not say anything more. It would be meaningless if he continued to debate with someone like him.

There were no vehicles on the Holy City avenues. Everyone traveled on foot.

The clergymen dressed lavishly, including the Archangel Ramiel. He wore a purple-gold divine armor. Even his feathers glowed in a golden luster. He looked majestic.

The sight was impressive. Such a situation did not often appear in the Holy City. The pedestrians were forcibly pushed to the sides. Only the clergymen could walk on the clean and spacious First Avenue.

The truth was that the people did not look at the clergymen. They focused on Mo Fan, who was at the front of the line.

They found it hard to believe that the legendary three-headed and six-armed demon was actually an Eastern boy who looked so ordinary. His demonic aura was not intense, and he did not have rageful golden irises.

He had the typical Eastern features with neat, black short hair and a pair of black-brown eyes.

…

Mo Fan walked toward the Holy Palace. He recited the divine oath, so no one could put shackles on him.

The Archangel Ramiel stood behind Mo Fan and glared at him.

The clergymen reacted as if they were facing a great enemy. They kept a close watch on their surroundings and acted cautiously.

‘Was it true that the killer of the Archangel Shalitha surrendered to them without a fight?’ They wondered. He was arrogant and looked down upon the Holy City. ‘Would he truly allow the people of the Holy City to take him into the palace in chains?’ There must be some kind of conspiracy. They could not let down their guard. They had to be prepared for a battle!

They continued to march forward. Both sides of First Avenue of the Holy City were crowded. They dared not step into the middle of the road. They stared at Mo Fan. They discussed him in fear.

The journey was long. It was so long that by the time Mo Fan stepped into the Holy Palace, the world already knew of his arrival.

People from St. Kai’s Altar in Australia, Cape of Good Hope, Magic Castle from Africa, St. Paul’s Holy Church from Europe, and the Divine Palace of Freedom from America congratulated Ramiel and his group. Shalitha’s death had shocked everyone from the Magic Association. Thus, the Enforcement Union from the Magic Association immediately listed Mo Fan as the most dangerous and wanted criminal.

The directive was issued from the continental level to the national level before spreading to various famous cities like wildfire. Finally, the people from the Magic Association learned about the news. It had been years since a directive was issued with immediate effect. Similarly, they had never revoked such a high-level directive in only three days.

Mo Fan had truly put the people from the Magic Association on edge these three days.

None of the Magic Association, including the continental Magic Association wanted to take over the troublesome case. After all, who would dare to arrest the person who was capable of killing the Archangel Shalitha?

Mo Fan surrendered himself. And that was the best outcome!

Asian Magic Association was the only association that did not immediately issue a wanted notice. Meanwhile, China Magic Association tore the wanted notice after receiving it from the Holy City.

No matter how heated the debate or the world was, Mo Fan slowly entered the Holy Palace and vanished in the midst of the Holy Judges while being covered in live social media posts from many different nations!

…

At the City of Canals in Venice, a gothic ../style sanatorium was situated near the hills. It provided a perfect view. They could enjoy the beautiful sunset of Venice from here.

Many people admired the view and took some pictures. Some of them lamented the fact that it had been such a long time since they had enjoyed the sunset in Venice. They had not enjoyed such a golden, serene, and picturesque sight for a while now.

A lady sat quietly on her chair. She rested her gaze on a frivolous young man who was goofing around. He looked comical, and he flirted with one of the nurses as if no one was around.

“Mother, what are you looking at?” Zhao Youqian peeled off the skin of the grapes and held it up to her mouth.

The lady shook her head. She had no intention of eating the grapes.

She smiled. “Manyan used to be like him. He always looked as though he lost his soul and his mind whenever he saw pretty girls. He ignored everyone. When he was young, he only played with girls with good looks, both older and younger than him. If he were still alive, he would be about the same age as that young man.”

2994 How Are You Doing Down There

Zhao Youqian’s face turned somber.

He did not want to hear his younger brother’s name, especially since he knew that his brother had not perished as expected.

“Mother, take a rest. I’ll come and visit you next time.” Zhao Youqian rose, straightened his suit, and bid farewell to the lady.

“Do you have something else to do again?” asked the lady.

“Yes, I’ve a lot of things to handle. Ever since the trend of the Dragon Mage started in Europe, our family business has been severely affected. The crowd goes to the auctions where dragons are held for sale. They care less and less about us. Our old customers who used to fawn on us go to buy things from our competitors now,” Zhao Youqian said with great dissatisfaction.

“Old customers? They cooperated with us because they respected your father. Now that your father is gone—” said the lady.

“Why do you always talk like that? Why must you always do that? Regardless of our topics of conversation, you always have to mention it. Mother, why can’t you keep yourself in check? How can I chat with you if you continue behaving this way?” said Zhao Youqian impatiently.

The lady was so shocked when she watched Zhao Youqian become furious. Soon, she calmed herself down.

“I can mention them only to you. Don’t you miss them at all? We were a family…” The lady looked slightly disappointed.

Zhao Manqian realized that he had lost his temper and quickly took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

“I didn’t mean that. It’s just that I feel sad whenever you mention them. I don’t want to feel sad. I want to move on with our lives,” Zhao Manqian said softly.

“Whenever I mention them, you look angry instead of sad.”

“Mother, I wasn’t—”

“Fine. I understand how you feel. I saw a young man who resembled your younger brother, and I inevitably thought of him. Go back and do your work. You must spend a lot of effort on the family’s business.” The lady regained her composure.

“Okay. Rest well. When the weather turns warm and you get better, I’ll take you home,” said Zhao Manqian.

…

Zhao Manqian left in a haste. He panicked. It was as if he was afraid that his mother saw through his true inner thoughts.

Meanwhile, the lady Bai Miaoying fixed her gaze on Zhao Manqian’s silhouette. She did not blink even for a second.

She wondered when her family had reached such a state. Regardless of how beautiful Venice was, it could not sweep away the pathos in her heart.

Bai Miaoying closed her eyes and tried to rest with restlessness and torment in her heart. She waited for time to pass meaninglessly.

It was almost night. The weather was cold. Still, Bai Miaoying refused to go back to the house. She did not want to feel suffocated by the stuffy air inside the house.

Not long ago, she had learnt the news about her family from an old caregiver. The news was the reason Mai Biaoying became seriously ill and was admitted into the hospital.

She could not accept the truth. She could not help but suspect her son.

‘Was it true that Zhao Youqian was the one who did it?’

Thump! Thump! Thump!

She heard footsteps approaching her.

Bai Miaoying ignored the sound. Someone wrapped a warm, wool coat around her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. Bai Miaoying opened her eyes.

She was greeted by the sight of a handsome and familiar face. He always smiled even when he was serious or angry.

He liked to smile. Bai Miaoying remembered that when he was young, he often gave people a warm smile. He could not stop giggling. The corners of his lips curled upward even when he was engrossed with something around him.

This was also the reason why Bai Miaoying and her husband were so fond of him. It was as if he was born to love his home and everything that his parents gave to him.

“Are you Xiao Manman?” At that moment, Bai Miaoying could not quite believe what she saw upon watching his face.

Her first thought was not that her son had risen from the dead, but that she had fallen asleep in her chair and subconsciously entered a dreamland.

“Ahem, I told you not to call me by that name after I turned eighteen,” the man said, appearing embarrassed.

“As long as I am alive, I will call you that. Xiao Manman, where’s your father? Did he come to visit me with you? How are you doing down there? Did the ghosts mistreat you? Are you well-fed? Do you have enough money to spend? Did you receive the things that I burned for you in Venice during Tomb-Sweeping Day last year? Oh, dear! I forgot that Venice is a foreign country. I guess the Italian ghosts have confiscated the money. Even if they didn’t, the money has to go through the customs of the underworld. They must have withheld a lot of stuff. I’ll return to the country and add more things for you—” Bai Miaoying was so excited that she talked nonstop, as if she wanted to say everything within those few seconds.

“Mother, I’m sorry that I couldn’t bring Dad to visit you.” Zhao Manyan sat on the chair.

“Why? Didn’t you meet each other? You must rely on each other. Don’t go separate ways just because of minor arguments. I know he’s very strict. He always hopes that you can become successful and gain the right to speak in society just like him. But he also told me that your spontaneousness is an admirable quality. People live to enjoy their lives, and it’s counted as a blessing as long as they can live peacefully. If you’re happy and keep that cheerful smile, he won’t force you to join the Chamber of Commerce, an elite in the political arena, or the man among men—” Bai Miaoying truly had a lot to say. She finished everything in a single breath, as if she was afraid that she would not have a chance later.

After Zhao Manyan heard her words, he stopped smiling. Grievance showed up in his eyes.

“Mother, I can’t bring Dad to visit you because I’m not down there. I’m still alive. I’m living a good life. You’re not dreaming. Look at your surroundings. Your dream can’t be so real that even mosquitoes are around to bite you.” He patted Bai Miaoying’s arm.

Bai Miaoying felt a searing pain. Her complexion kept changing. The expressions on her face alternated between shock, joy, and doubt.

“Xiao Manman, Is it really you?” Bai Miaoying could not quite contain her excitement.

“Yes, it’s me. I’ve been wandering outside for a few years. I miss home. Above all, I miss you.” Zhao Manyan smiled. He gave his mother a big hug.

2995 Zhao Manyan’s Lies

Bai Miaoying eagerness was still too much to handle after a while. Perhaps, it was because she had suppressed her emotions for a very long time. She wanted to burst out in tears, but her eyes were so dry that she felt pain.

“Let’s go in and talk,” said Bai Miaoying to Zhao Manyan as she tried to calm herself.

“It’s okay. Let’s chat here. I know what you’re worried about,” said Zhao Manyan.

“Let me take a good look at you.” Bai Miaoying looked at Zhao Manyan. She reached out to touch his face.

Zhao Manyan was no longer as fair as he was, and his skin was not as soft and supple anymore. He had been maintaining his good looks for a very long time. He had dyed his hair a vibrant color. It made him look pompous and overly fashionable.

Today, the outline of his face seemed to show his character. He looked more regal and bold. He used to have a pair of innocent-looking eyes, but at that moment, they looked deep and full of complicated emotions. Even though he looked as frivolous as before, Bai Miaoying noticed this was just his outer appearance, a state of mind that he had been maintaining for a very long time.

He had gone through a lot. He had changed a lot. He had experienced sadness and torment. Still, he had not lost himself. He had grown into himself.

Perhaps, he had become more mature. But Bai Miaoying believed Zhao Manyan was more than just a mature man.

“You look more like your father now.” Bai Miaoying let go of his face. She looked relieved.

“Maybe.” Zhao Manyan tried to recall his father’s face.

“You and your brothers are very different in terms of your personalities. Youqian obeyed your father since he was young. He did everything according to your father’s orders. He seldom went against him. After he grew up, he wanted to take over the family business. As for you, you don’t really show any interest in the family business. You did the opposite of what your father told you. But now, Youqian has changed. And you, you grew up to be like your father.” Bai Miaoying sighed.

Zhao Manyan did not say anything. He sat by her side and listened attentively to her.

Bai Miaoying could talk endlessly. Back then, she often nagged Zhao Manyan. He played games while listening to her nagging. In fact, he did not really pay attention to her words.

This time, it was surprising to see Zhao Manyan sitting there quietly and listening to his mother. He listened attentively to every word she spoke.

In the past, he would become impatient. But at that moment, he found that he enjoyed listening to her talk endlessly.

“There’s something I have to tell you.” Bai Miaoying’s face changed. She looked bitter.

“What is it?”

“Your father could have lived longer, but Youqian…” Bai Miaoying felt as if something was stuck in her chest.

She had no intention of telling Zhao Manyan about it. She had just gotten him back. However, considering her younger son’s safety as well as Zhao Youqian’s change of character over the years, she had to warn Zhao Manyan to be wary of his older brother.

Now that Zhao Manyan was alive, the family succession, that had been dragged out for a very long time, would fall into his hands. She could not guarantee that Zhao Youqian would not do something reckless.

Bai Miaoying told her younger son about what she had learnt from the old caregiver. Zhao Youqian was the one who had unplugged his father’s medical equipment so that his father passed away earlier.

“Mother, how can you simply listen to the old caregiver’s words? No matter how much of a scum Zhao Youqian is, he would never use Father’s life as a bargaining chip for the family competition. Don’t be absurd, Mother.” Zhao Manyan refused to believe it.

“Youqian has been lost these years. I feel that I no longer know him anymore. He loses control of his emotions. Xiao Manman, even though he’s your older brother, we’re a large family, and there are many things that cannot be maintained solely through family relationships. No matter what, you must be careful!” Bai Miaoying trusted the old caregiver.

“There’s something I haven’t told you,” said Zhao Manyan. “I was inside the ward when my father passed away.” Zhao Manyan told Bai Miaoying part of the story when he had sneaked into the ward.

Zhao Manyan only told her the part that his mother would be able to accept and be at peace. He didn’t tell her about his brother giving the orders to unplug the medical equipment.

“Is it true?” Bai Miaoying cried out in shock.

Zhao Manyan spoke in detail. Bai Miaoying wanted to believe him, but she was still worried.

“Of course, it’s true. The Black Vatican laid their eyes on me. I didn’t show up all this while because I don’t want to get you into trouble. Mother, don’t worry. Youqian is not as bad as you think. Perhaps, the people from other clans deliberately wanted to crush us after knowing about such a big change in our family. So, they simply made up stories,” said Zhao Manyan.

“T-That’s great! I almost believed them! Do you know how sad I was when I heard it? I even felt like killing myself. Our family was doing fine. I was shocked to see it turn into something like this.” Bai Miaoying’s tears streamed down her face.

She heaved a long, relieved sigh.

After learning the “truth” from Zhao Manyan, Bai Miaoying felt as if she had finally gotten rid of the despair and pain. The air was fresher, even the night in Venice looked more breathtaking.

Bai Miaoying could not quite accept the fact of Zhao Manyan’s death. She knew he was terribly sick, and she knew he wouldn’t have survived for long. His illness had triggered internal strife in the family. As a result, Bai Miaoying was so dejected that she did not even have the courage to live on.

Finally, Bai Miaoying could rest assured that both of her sons were well and good!

“Stop thinking about unnecessary stuff. Take good care of your health. Eat well. Who knows, maybe you will live long enough to see your own grandchildren in a couple of years. By then, we may need your help to take care of the children. If you aren’t here, I don’t want to have a child,” said Zhao Manyan with a warm smile.

Bai Miaoying slapped Zhao Manyan’s head playfully. “Don’t simply spew nonsense! You must have at least seven or eight children and contribute to growing our family. Otherwise, you will be sorry for the young girls you’ve flirted with!”

2996 The Man and the Turtle

Contributing to the birth of seven or eight children was quite a challenge for Zhao Manyan. However, getting seven or eight wives would be a simple task.

“Tell me about yourself. What have you been doing in the last few years?” said Bai Miaoying.

“I’ll pick the most exciting stories to tell you!”

“I don’t want to learn about your promiscuous life!” Bai Miaoying said gruffly.

“No! I am talking about heroic stories about saving people and maintaining peace in the world!” said Zhao Manyan.

“Are you sure you did all that?” Bai Miaoying raised one of her eyebrows and looked at him skeptically.

…

They sat there and chatted for a very long time. Zhao Manyan noticed Bai Miaoying was so tired that she squinted her eyes while talking. Even so, she, like a child, refused to go to bed. She insisted on waiting for him to finish his story.

Zhao Manyan helped her into the house and handed her over to the nurse.

“I’ll be in Venice for a while. I will come over to visit you. Go to bed now and get well soon,” said Zhao Manyan to Bai Miaoying.

“I’m not sick. All I have is that sorrow in my heart. I’ve finally gotten rid of that and have even gotten back my son—” said Bai Miaoying.

“Well, you hardly have the strength to talk. Go and take a rest first. I still have something I need to do,” said Zhao Manyan.

“What is it that you need to do?” Bai Miaoying asked firmly as though she would refuse to rest if he didn’t answer her last question.

“A friend of mine is in big trouble. He might need the help of our family’s influence in the international arena,” said Zhao Manyan.

“So, are you coming back to the family?”

“Yes. I didn’t master the magical skills, so I must come back to inherit our family business,” said Zhao Manyan.

“But your older brother—”

“It’s fine. I’ll talk with Youqian. He’s my biological brother. We should support each other,” said Zhao Manyan.

Bai Miaoying nodded. Even though she believed Zhao Youqian was not easy to communicate with, they were, after all, biological brothers. They would sit down and talk things through. It wouldn’t matter who inherited the family business.

…

Zhao Manyan walked down along the sycamore forest path. He was about to leave the sanatorium when a man in a cyan-patterned formal suit appeared in his path. He stared at Zhao Manyan with his razor-sharp gaze.

Zhao Manyan did not look surprised when he saw the man. He walked toward him.

“I heard your conversation,” said the man in a cyan-patterned formal suit in a low voice.

“This is the difference between you and me. Of course, the main point is I don’t want Mother to live in pain because of the things you did. Father has passed away, and she is already very sad about it. I know she expects you to be innocent from the bottom of her heart. Besides, you’ve been behaving well before her. I don’t want to ruin her impressions of you,” said Zhao Manyan calmly.

“You’re indeed my good younger brother. You’re very considerate. Since you defended me this time, I won’t kill you. If you promise to live the life of a scum and never get involved in the family affairs, I can guarantee that you can live in peace away from here.” Zhao Youqian walked out of the forest. A group of people in dark golden monastery robes appeared behind him.

The people in monastery robes had their foreheads covered by the brim of their hats. They were masked in breathable gauze. It was clear that they did not want Zhao Manyan to see their faces.

But they had imposing auras. The forest was dead silent. There was not even a single chirping sound from the birds or insects. Even the air turned so cold that it was about to freeze everything!

They were a group of top-notched experts!

“If this were the past, I would have given you all the things that father left for us. But I won’t do that anymore. I need the power of the Venice Chamber of Commerce,” said Zhao Manyan.

“You leave me no choice, then. I will cripple you first before sending you to a mental hospital with a nice environment,” said Zhao Youqian.

“That was exactly what I wanted to do to you. However, considering that doing that will raise our mother’s suspicion, I decided to forgive you temporarily. Everything you did was insane and heartless. It resulted in two outcomes: I’m not dead yet; second, father passed away by his own choice. Based on these factors, we can still stay together as a family. We can, at the least, pretend to be one for our mother’s sake,” said Zhao Manyan.

“I don’t need your forgiveness. I’m the one who is in control of the situation. You should beg me. I can spare your life for mother’s sake,” Zhao Youqian said ruthlessly.

“I don’t care what you feel about me. It’s up to me how I want to treat both of us. Anyway, you guys can lock Zhao Youqian up and throw him into the water prison to calm him down. Let him think clearly about who is in control of the situation now,” said Zhao Manyan as he snapped his fingers.

Zhao Youqian was stunned. He thought Zhao Manyan had brought along many experts with him. However, he soon found out that Zhao Manyan was not talking to himself.

“You’re still using such childish tricks—” Zhao Youqian was about to mock him when he felt someone grab his arms from behind.

Ahh!

Before Zhao Youqian recovered his senses, two people had twisted his arms upward behind his back. His joints were about to break. Zhao Youqian gritted his teeth in pain!

“What are you doing?!” Zhao Youqian turned around and realized that the people in dark golden monastery robes were the ones grabbing his arms.

‘What was going on? Are they under Zhao Manyan’s spell?’

“You’ve been in close contact with the Killer Palace. I’ve dug out the background of the pair who struck me in Venice last time.” Zhao Manyan approached Zhao Youqian.

Another two people in golden dark monastery robes walked to Zhao Manyan’s back and stood behind him respectfully. They bowed to Zhao Manyan.

“That’s impossible. How can they pledge their loyalty to you? They—” Zhao Youqian was both shocked and furious. He had spent a lot of money training the Guardian Mages.

“Simple. If they refuse to pledge their loyalty to me, they must die. You assume they will do anything for money including sacrificing themselves. You assume they won’t betray you if you can pay them a handsome sum of money. The truth is, compared to their lives, they don’t give a sh*t about how much money you give them,” said Zhao Manyan.

“How shameless of you to even call yourself the guardians of the Killer Palace!” Zhao Youqian cursed at them.

The guardians of the Killer Palace stood there in silence.

The Killer Palace had its own rules: dignity, and religion. Unfortunately, none of these were worth mentioning when they came to face a scornful Black Totem Turtle that was as big as an island.

They had seen the massive thing with their own eyes. It lunged at them like a black mountain range emerging from the middle of the sea. It was a terrifying creature that was almost certainly close to, if not already an emperor-level creature!

When the blonde man and his turtle appeared inside the hidden monastery, the Killer Palace, no one dared to go against him.

2997 Business Summit in Venice

Their power and tactics appeared weak before the absolutely powerful creature.

Zhao Youqian never expected to be subdued with such ease. He had a large network and was in control of many assets. He had gained various titles in the world arena. However, at that moment, all this appeared to be meaningless.

The water prison lived up to its title.

The water inside the water prison was very freezing. When he was first dropped inside the water, he did not quite feel the cold. After staying in it for a while, he gradually felt bone-chilling pain which became unbearable.

The water prison was dimly lit, hence it lulled one into a sense of peace. However, the water was smelly, and the humid environment made it difficult to close one’s eyes.

Zhao Youqian was not a Mage. He did not have even the slightest interest in magic cultivation. He had a very weak physique. He collapsed easily inside a common water prison.

It took a few days before someone finally opened the water prison door. A middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit took Zhao Youqian out of the water prison.

After Zhao Youqian left the water prison, he saw a carpet on the floor. He grabbed the carpet and wrapped it around himself like a crazy man. Even so, his lips had turned purple because of the cold. He could barely walk.

“Uncle Qing, what took you so long to save me?! Do you know how I’ve been living in the past two days?! It has to be Zhao Manyan’s doing! I won’t spare him! I’ll assign someone to dig him out!” said Zhao Youqian furiously.

“Youqian, it’s Manyan who asked me to release you. He told me your mother’s health has improved. She will be discharged from the hospital today. Manyan will be attending the Business Summit in Venice, so he can’t pick Mrs. Zhao up. He said you must wash and dress up so that Mrs. Zhao won’t suspect anything,” said Uncle Qing.

“Did you say he’s going to attend the Business Summit? Does he have the ability to attend the Business Summit? Damn it! I’ve worked so hard to accumulate the resources and form a good rapport with various parties, and he comes back suddenly and takes it all away!” Zhao Youqian shouted hysterically.

Zhao Youqian’s many years of hard work had been squandered. He couldn’t accept it, especially not when the person was his most hated younger brother.

“You should be more sensible. Many of our family members heeded his orders. Moreover, you are aware that his current status is not inferior to an international great mentor of Forbidden Curse level. Based on this factor alone, hardly anyone in Zhao Group dares to go against him. You’d better take good care of Mrs. Zhao from now on, or you really risk spending your life inside the water prison,” said Uncle Qing with a long sigh.

Uncle Qing was one of the elders in the Zhao Group. He was their father’s right-hand man. He knew the ins and outs of the corporate sector.

Later, he worked for Zhao Youqian. He managed everything so well even in the absence of his father.

Zhao Youqian had not figured out his own situation even to this day. He no longer had the upper hand!

“How is that possible? Don’t be ridiculous! Where’s Zhao Jing? Did Zhao Jing’s group agree to accept him into the Zhao Group, too?” asked Zhao Youqian.

“Zhao Jing’s group submitted to someone else long ago. We didn’t know who that person was before. But I assume you should know who that person is now,” said Uncle Qing.

“Is it Zhao Manyan?” Zhao Youqian was baffled.

Zhao Jing’s supporters were the younger generation in the Zhao Group that were able to compete with Zhao Youqian. Originally, he thought Zhao Jing’s group would select a new leader to preside over the situation after Zhao Jing went missing. Zhao Youqian did not expect that the person would be Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan was about to inherit the massive fortunes of the Zhao Group. Instead of supporting the sidekick, Zhao Jing, they might have decided to support Zhao Manyan. After all, Zhao Manyan was the rightful heir. On top of that, despite the passing of Mr. Zhao, many elderly people in the business arena showed their respect to him. They only dealt with Mr. Zhao’s immediate family members and ignored the rest of the people in Zhao Group.

Zhao Group encountered a severe economic crisis. They needed someone to preside over the situation and lead the company. Zhao Group had to maintain the right to speak at the Business Summit in Venice!

“Take me to the Business Summit. Take me there. He is going to ruin the Zhao Group! He will get us into trouble. He’s still young and is a stranger to those cunning men from the commercial arena. They don’t recognize him!” said Zhao Youqian.

“If you insist, I’ll have to send you back to the water prison. You only have one choice now. Go wash and dress up, then pick Mrs. Zhao up from the sanatorium and chat with her at home,” said Uncle Qing.

“Uncle Qing, what do you mean? Do you mean I—” Zhao Youqian stared at the elder of the family. When he saw the firmness in his eyes, Zhao Youqian realized something.

Uncle Qing was on Zhao Manyan’s side!

‘Why did Uncle Qing think that Zhao Manyan was capable of leading the whole Zhao family and Zhao Group?!’

“Fine. I’ll see how he deals with the cunning old men in the commercial arena. I’ll see how he’s going to give an explanation to our mother. If he messes up things in the Business Summit, Zhao Group’s reputation will be ruined on the international stage. When he dies, I’ll see how he will answer to our father!” Zhao Youqian was so angry that he smashed all the bottles and jars beside him.

…

Zhao Group chaired the Business Summit in Venice. The Five Continents Chambers of Commerce gathered to discuss the development of the major Chambers of Commerce for the next two years. They wanted to set some codes of conduct for the Chambers of Commerce Alliance to avoid damages because of the malicious competitions. They also wanted to exchange ideas with one another. After all, even the hidden clan from the Parthenon Temple would attend the Business Submit, let alone the various continents of consortium and great families that held control of the commercial lifelines!

In the past, too, Zhao Group hosted the Business Summit in Venice.

This year, Zhao Manyan’s father was no longer the host. He had passed away. As his father’s successor, Zhao Youqian worked very hard to prepare for this in the past few years so that he could formally present himself before the world’s chiefs of major consortia, the presidents of the National Chambers of Commerce, the heads of prestigious families, and the major royal focal points.

However, in the end, Zhao Manyan took over his place.

Zhao Youqian’s willpower collapsed.

Zhao Youqian had been waiting for this day. He did everything he could to get ready for this day. He did not expect Zhao Manyan to pretend to be dead all this time and sweep in on this day to take his place!

…

The Business Summit started.

They saw a young man. He looked so young that he did not even have a beard around his mouth.

The young man had blonde hair, which did not quite suit the solemn occasion. Even though he was dressed in a standard burgundy tuxedo, had an upright posture, and exuded an imposing aura, he did not look like someone who was reliable to the VIPs in the commercial arena.

Most of the time, only the leading bosses or highly respected people would host such an occasion. Most of the guests had not seen the young man before.

“Ladies and gentlemen, good to see you. Perhaps, many of you don’t recognize me. I’m Zhao Manyan, the heir of Zhao Group. You can address me as President Zhao. My father has passed away. I’m not here to continue his legend. I’m here to bring all of us to achieve new glory in the commercial arena.” Zhao Manyan gave a simple introductory speech. The warm smile on his face showed his confidence and strength.

2998 The Person In Charge of Zhao Group

“You’re still a novice. We can guide you closely for the sake of Mr. Zhao. Regarding the contract between our royal family and Zhao Group that disallowed the merchants from selling silver jewelry in the Indian Ocean, could you nullify it from today onward?” snorted Prince Beny from the Spanish royal family.

The Spanish royal family was an old guest of the Business Summit in Venice. They were one of the most important members within the Chambers of Commerce. Their main business activity was noble silver and rare pearls.

“Of course, I can nullify the contract. After all, the value of your trinket productions pales in comparison to the small crafts from Yiwu, China that are exported worldwide. You can trade in the Indian Ocean. Sign the contract and you will no longer be on the list of the Chambers of Commerce of Venice,” replied Zhao Manyan calmly.

The members from the Spanish royal family turned pale upon hearing his words.

Did the young man have God with him? Even Mr. Zhao dared not strike their names off from the Chambers of Commerce of Venice!

“Chambers of Commerce of Andeas will take over your place. Prince Beny, instead of spending time chatting with your female seniors and juniors in Ojos Holy School, you should spend more time supervising the processing chain of your noble silver jewelry. See for yourself the number of complaints and criticisms from European countries.” As Zhao Manyan was speaking, he shot a glance at the lady next to him.

The lady placed a stack of documents before the Spanish royal family and Prince Beny.

Under the crowd’s stare, Prince Beny did not have the courage to flip through the documents. He was well aware of the contents inside the documents. Before this, Zhao Youqian was in charge of the Chambers Of Commerce, and he had helped Prince Beny handle the issue in silence. However, the new heir had exposed the issue.

“The Zhao family has two more years as the president of Chambers of Commerce, and I’ll be running the show for these two years. Regardless of our titles or statuses, we are all businessmen at heart. Even a fruit vendor can pick out rotten fruits from a pile of fruits, so why can’t you, especially in luxurious goods trades? How disappointing!”

“Does anyone here have any comments on the change of quota?” Zhao Manyan looked around the room.

Some of them had business dealings with the Spanish royal family. Before they could raise objections, Zhao Manyan went on to say, “If you have any opinions, you don’t have to talk to me. You can talk to the Chambers of Commerce of Andeas Alliance.”

Right after he said that most of them decided not to speak up for the Spanish Royal family.

The Chambers of Commerce of Andeas Alliance was a bold, new country.

Their National Chambers of Commerce practiced the same culture. They would fight to death with anyone who stopped them from gaining wealth. Most of the attendees in the Business Summit traded internationally, and they were well aware of the situation in South America.

The Spanish royal family did not have much power. Meanwhile, the Chambers of Commerce of Andeas Alliance was different. The Chambers of Commerce was tied to the union countries.

It was clear that the new president had obtained the Chambers of Commerce of Andeas Alliance’s full support. Otherwise, the countries in South America would not show their interests in the Chambers of Commerce of Venice.

Zhao Manyan had just joined the Chambers of Commerce of Venice, and he had already struck the Spanish royal family off the list and replaced it with a new Chamber of Commerce. Many, in the beginning, wanted to show their dissatisfaction. But they kept quiet.

The Chamber of Commerce was not as simple as it appeared to be.

Not only were members of the Chambers of Commerce scheming and fighting against one another, but Zhao Group itself was riddled with flaws. Despite Zhao Youqian’s efforts, his influence was far less than that of his father.

Even if Zhao Youqian was the one who came to power, he, too, would be questioned in many ways. He might even be requested to step down on the spot to give way to someone else who had more power to take over the presidency of the Chambers of Commerce of Venice.

Zhao Youqian’s purpose was not to daunt the business tycoons. All he had to do was to keep Zhao Group’s two-year appointment as the president of Chambers of Commerce.

“I am a suspicious person by nature. Regardless of which country, which field, or which forces you serve, I have never heard of your name before. Your understanding about the Chambers of Commerce may be even lesser than that of my servant. May I know how you intend to lead us to glory? Since Mr. Zhao has passed away, we should hold a general election soon. After all, your auctions have been noticeably empty in recent years, at least in Europe. I don’t care much about it in other regions,” said Nozankasa of the Kasa family.

“From now on, things will change,” said Zhao Manyan.

“How are you going to make the change? I don’t want to listen to your empty and childish development plan. I need to see something practical. If none, please return to your seat in the Chambers of Commerce, and I’ll be the host today. After all, we have basically confirmed the Kasa family as the next president to serve. It’s not a bad thing to serve the Chambers of Commerce two years earlier,” Nozankasa said provocatively.

When the Kasa family took the lead, many European consortia and royal families expressed their dissatisfaction and requested to immediately hold a general election.

“Everyone. Silence, please.” said Zhao Manyan.

However, the arguments continued. It was clear that the crowd refused to listen to Zhao Manyan. Just then, Nozankasa raised his hand and clenched his fist.

Within a moment, the crowd fell silent. They showed their respect to Nozankasa, as if he was their leader. They waited for him to make his speech.

“Please show us that your family’s auction and magic bazaar continue to occupy the largest share of the Chambers of Commerce among all of the countries.” Nozankasa extended an inviting hand. The gesture made him look like a gentleman, but he was, in fact, being aggressive.

“Does that mean that we will continue to preside over the Chambers of Commerce over the next two years if I manage to show you the proof?” asked Zhao Manyan.

“At least I won’t have any refuting opinions on that,” said Nozankasa with a smile.

The European Kasa family was involved in a wide array of activities, one of which was close to Zhao Group’s main business activities, auction and magic bazaar.

They were aware that Zhao Group’s operation of auction in various countries was no longer as profitable as it used to be.

Without Mr. Zhao, Zhao Group was still able to stand firm in the international arena, but they lacked the qualification to preside over the Chambers of Commerce of Venice.

“This is our contract with the Victorian Dragon Taming family. We will be in charge of all the dragon-related auctions in Europe, Asia, and America in the future.” Zhao Manyan snapped his fingers.

A blonde, blue-eyed Italian woman dressed in a professional suit walked up to Nozankasa and passed him a copy of the documents.

Nozankasa was stunned. He quickly flipped through the copy of the documents. The contents were lengthy. He did not read everything in detail, but he noticed Duke Ayleen’s signature at the end of the contract!

Duke Ayleen was the first heir of the Victorian Dragon Taming family. They were told that the title of “heir” could be removed now because Ayleen had already taken the reins of the Victorian Dragon Taming family.

The Victorian Dragon Taming family was at their height of power. They were the only great family that surpassed the Kasa family in Europe!

2999 Zhao Group’s Leader

“When did you sign the contract?” Nazankasa sprang up from his seat and questioned Zhao Manyan.

“It’s been some time since I signed it. Before this, my older brother, Zhao Youqian, helped to handle our family business. He’s not very close with Duke Ayleen. The contract officially came into effect after I took over his position,” said Zhao Manyan.

Nozankasa flipped through the documents. There was a supplemental agreement after the contract.

He frowned.

They had the audacity to challenge Zhao Group in this field all because they had obtained young dragons from the Victorian Dragon Taming family.

As a result, Zhao Group’s bidding clubs faced serious problems. The dragon auction became trendy in Europe. Any industry that produced dragon-related products made a lot of money. Moreover, there was a great demand from several rich continents.

Therefore, people criticized Zhao Group for this. This was probably the reason they had been pulled down from their altar. Zhao Youqian had a very poor relationship with the Victorian Dragon Taming family.

Little did they know that right after the Zhao family changed their heir, the Victorian Dragon Taming family gave them their exclusive auction right. This had not only strengthened Zhao Group’s financial resources, but they had also obtained Duke Ayleen and her group’s deep trust.

The confusion was that Zhao Manyan was still very young, so how had he obtained Duke Ayleen’s trust?

“Mr. Nozankasa, I’ve another contract. We plan to acquire all of your bidding clubs and use them specially for our dragon auction venue. You can look at our proposed price and see if it satisfies you.” Apparently, Zhao Manyan came prepared for the Chambers of Commerce of Venice. He snapped his fingers again.

A third pretty lady came out with a new contract and passed it to Nozankasa.

Nozankasa was stunned. ‘What the heck?!’

He had come here to oppress Zhao Group’s bidding clubs. How did it turn out that Zhao Group wanted to acquire his clubs?

“We have no intention of selling our bidding clubs. Please take back your contract,” said Nozankasa gruffly.

“I only proposed the acquisition once. After all, we still have many other choices. I thought your family has high prestige in Europe, so your auction will be trustworthy,” said Zhao Manyan.

Nozankasa sneered. Meanwhile, the consultant beside him read the contract in detail.

After the consultant finished reading the contract, he whispered to Nozankasa, “Sir, if Zhao Group monopolizes the bidding market, we won’t be able to compete with them. Instead of letting it gradually fall into disuse, we might as well accept his offer. After all, the money can be used to make up for the energy stone mining problem we invested in South America. We should focus on the energy magic stone now. There’s no need to compete with Zhao Group in the bidding industry.”

After hearing his consultant’s advice, Nozankasa could not help but read the contract carefully.

The price offered was indeed very enticing. Zhao Group was filthy rich, after all!

If they could splurge to acquire his bidding clubs, then the Zhao Group had ample funds. A businessman could not act recklessly.

“I’ll consider the price offered. I’ll read the contract in detail.” Nozankasa smiled.

“I hope we can work well together,” said Zhao Manyan.

…

When the Kasa family stopped asking Zhao Manyan to step down from his position, the rest of the representatives with lesser power naturally shut their mouths. None of the leading bosses had the intention to start a war with Zhao Group, thus, the rest of the great families, consortia, and royal families did not dare to oppose them. After all, Zhao Group was still the host for Chambers of Commerce of Venice. Zhao Manyan had sent them a very clear message by kicking the Spanish royal families out of the Chambers Of Commerce.

Issues targeting Zhao Group gradually reduced. What was left was some conflicts among the major consortia. The president of the Chambers of Commerce had to stand up to mediate the dispute.

Zhao Manyan was not very good at mediation. Thus, he passed it to an elder of the Zhao family.

People had to act according to their abilities. The scale of the Chambers of Commerce of Venice was large, and the knowledge about it was as deep as the ocean. Zhao Manyan still had a lot of things to learn.

…

“Old Dong, I hope these cunning old men won’t think about replacing me anymore,” said Zhao Manyan to an elder beside him during the break.

“They won’t bring up the issue this year, but I’m not sure about next year. It all depends on our harvest this year.” Old Dong gave him a smile.

“Why are you smiling?” Zhao Manyan asked in confusion.

“Young Master Zhao, the fact that you’re an admirable Mage has contributed a lot to our family. For a very long time, the great families and royal families from Europe have been prejudiced against us. They assumed we’re just businessmen, and that a businessman is not as noble as a Mage. They criticized us for raising prices, sensationalizing the commodities, and tinkering with the finance market. They said we didn’t make any contribution to society,” said Old Dong.

“Really? I’d say doing anything is pretty much the same,” replied Zhao Manyan.

“Cultivation is the noblest of human pursuits. Our foundation is built in the Magic City. You’re the hero of the city. Even your father failed to build a rapport with some of the great families’ alliance or Chambers of Commerce Alliance. But as soon as you took over, success came naturally. All this could be done because of your respectable image in the Magic City. After all, who would doubt a businessman who can give his life for a city?” said Old Dong calmly.

Zhao Manyan had never thought of it that way. After all, everything he did all these years was mostly because he had been dragged down by someone else. Perhaps, he had been dragged down too frequently, hence, he unknowingly fell into the pit himself again.

“Maybe.” Zhao Manyan was puzzled.

“You’ve gotten first place in the World College Tournament. The Europeans look highly on these titles. In fact, the world regards these titles very highly. Zhao Group spent a lot of money to invest in students from prestigious schools. We hope that they will bring us back the corresponding glory. Unfortunately, the return on investment is very poor. Still, we have to spend the money on them. But now, you alone are a powerful and great mage. Your aura is different from the leaders of consortia who still need the protection of the Guardian Mages. Therefore, I believe your uniqueness and glory, as well as your talent and ability in the commercial arena will make you do better than your father someday,” said Old Dong from the bottom of his heart.

“Old Dong, you think too highly of me. I’m worse than Zhao Youqian in terms of doing business.” Zhao Manyan shook his head. He was aware of his own ability.

“You’re different. It’s true that he’s an outstanding businessman, but he’s not an outstanding leader. Zhao Group has a lot of outstanding businessmen, but we need a motivating and committed leader.” It was clear that Old Dong thought very highly of Zhao Manyan.

3000 You’re The Supreme Pontiff

As the old saying went, he who was able to go through the hardest hardships would stand out from other men.

In the past, Zhao Manyan was a playboy who lacked ambitions.

Today, despite his playboy appearance, those who had a good sense of judgment because of their wealth of experience from their lives could see that Zhao Manyan showed his open-mindedness through his seemingly lackadaisical behavior, because he had seen the beauty, ugliness, goodness and evil of the world.

Not every young heirs was open-minded. However, most successful people were open-minded.

While the experienced businessmen were good at careful planning and budget-conscious, Zhao Manyan had to be the one to conquer the arrogant European consortia, European ancient, great families, and European royal families.

Zhao Group was not short of money, but they lacked the respect from the world!

…

After the meeting was over, Zhao Manyan sat alone at the top of the chambers of commerce tower. Behind him was an ancient bell engraved with dragons and mountains.

He could enjoy the full view of Venice. He still remembered the day he was forced to the valley of death by Zhao Youqian.

How could he possibly not feel dejected?

Whenever he recalled his father at the time of his death, his father did not look angry or resentful. Instead, his father looked regretful. Zhao Manyan finally understood why father looked so.

For a very long time, Zhao Manyan hated his older brother so much that he wanted to kill him…

Zhao Manyan could not wait to tell their mother how scum Zhao Youqian actually was. Zhao Manyan did everything he could to make himself stronger so that he had the resources to take revenge.

However, by the time he had the ability to take revenge, Zhao Manyan was reluctant to speak out the truth when he saw his mother looking at a loss, as if someone had sucked away her soul. He could not afford to set off a bloody revenge.

So, he decided to cripple Zhao Youqian’s most powerful weapon. Zhao Manyan did not stop Zhao Youqian from being a businessman. As long as Zhao Youqian took good care of their mother and family business, Zhao Manyan would not hold a grudge against him. After all, his father did not show any resentment toward Zhao Youqian. Whenever Zhao Youqian had a few screws loose in his head, Zhao Manyan would send him to the mental hospital and let him stay there for a couple of days.

“There you are! Have you finished the meeting? Why don’t you take a rest?” A soft voice rose.

“Mother, why are you here?” Zhao Manyan turned his head around. He was surprised to see Bai Miaoying. Her complexion improved a lot compared to last time.

“I learned from Old Dong that you did a great job today. If your father is here, he’ll be very happy about it.” Bai Miaoying took her seat.

“I’ve asked the ladies to record the video. I’ll send him the video later. I suppose there’s internet down there,” said Zhao Manyan.

Bai Miaoying rolled her eyes at Zhao Manyan.

“I don’t understand. How did you make the Victorian Dragon Taming family sign the contract? Even if you have a close relationship with Duke Ayleen, she can’t possibly agree to sign such an important contract with you.” Bai Miaoying asked in puzzlement.

“Mother, what is my greatest talent?” asked Zhao Manyan.

“Magic?”

Zhao Manyan shook his head.

“Doing business?”

Zhao Manyan shook his head again.

“Then, what is it?” Bai Miaoying could not think of anything else.

“Courting girls!” Zhao Manyan said proudly.

Bai Miaoying was stunned. It took her a while before she recovered her senses.

“Really?” she cried out in surprise.

“It’s true. There was once I went for a vacation in the Victorian Dragon Taming family’s house with two friends. Initially, I intend to shamelessly ask for a flying dragon from Ayleen. Two of my friends only had their eyes on dragons, and they racked their brains to conquer the dragons. However, I’m smart enough to realize that as long as I’m able to conquer Ayleen, I’ll be able to get all the dragons,” said Zhao Manyan.

Bai Miaoying could not help but let her jaw-dropped upon hearing his words.

He was a talented man.

His son was truly a talent!

“I’ve seen that girl before. She is a nice girl. Despite coming from a distinguished family, she can adapt to any environment. Bring her over for a meal if there’s a chance,” said Bai Miaoying.

“Ahem, actually, I’m still courting her. This is by far the most difficult girl I can get my hands on,” said Zhao Manyan embarrassedly.

“Then you have to work harder and show her your true feelings. Stop using those lousy tricks,” said Bai Miaoying.

“Okay. Mother, there’s something I might need your help with,” said Zhao Manyan.

“What is it?” Zhao Manyan looked solemn. It was clear that he had something serious to talk to her about.

“We must have the final say in Venice. I need to whitewash someone.”

“Whitewash someone. Are you referring to the Holy City’s case…?” Bai Miaoying widened her eyes.

“Yes.”

…

…

After the heavy rain, the olives outside Athens City bloomed flawlessly. Unique fragrance came from the clusters of pale yellow stamens, and it made the city look like an enchanting woman.

The Parthenon Temple Goddess election that had been postponed numerous times finally took place this year. People in Athens City felt as if they had been through a long war, and that the days of darkness finally came to an end.

Inside the city stood two sculptures. The sculptures represented the candidates of the goddess who had reached the final stage.

One of them was Ye Xinxia, the other was Izisha.

Izisha’s sculpture had a long spear in her hand and was covered in magnificent armor. She made her sculpture a symbol of victory and gave off the aura of a fighting saintess.

Meanwhile, Ye Xinxia’s sculpture was unarmed. The sculpture perfectly depicted her aura of gentleness and meekness. Her sculpture held a long olive branch, with the other hand resting on her chest. Her sculpture looked serene and elegant, which represented peace and wisdom.

The two saintess portrayed two different ../styles. It was difficult to conclude which of the two the people preferred.

But one thing for sure, the one who failed would have her sculpture knocked down on the spot. According to the final stage of the previous goddess election, most of the losers ended up poorly. After all, this was not a beauty pageant contest. The Greek government was closely-related to the Parthenon Temple election. They were all about fighting and competing for personal interests.

After the two saintess finished giving their speeches, the Athens City stirred up. The crowd could not wait to salute and give their allegiance to their goddess in advance.

The speech was the final public canvassing. It would then be followed by the Flower Festival before the final election results.

They returned to the Parthenon Mountain. The path was neither too narrow or wide. The other female attendants had left, leaving only Izisha and Ye Xinxia. They would return to their respective Saintess’ Hall at the intersection in front of them.

Izisha stopped at the intersection and turned around.

“All this time, I’ve been mistaken about one thing. Probably this was also the reason why you can grow to become so strong within a short period of time,” said Izisha to Ye Xinxia.

Ye Xinxia turned around and looked at Izisha in puzzlement.

“I admitted that I’m the one who plotted everything. I’m the one who set you up to become the Red Cardinal Salan. I know your blood relationship with Salan,” said Izisha bluntly.

“Everyone knows about it.” said Ye Xinxia coolly.

“But I didn’t accuse you. It’s just that I’ve always been wrong about one thing.” Izisha never took her eyes off Ye Xinxia.

“What is it?” Ye Xinxia asked nonchalantly.

“You’re not the Red Cardinal. You’re the Supreme Pontiff Ye Xinxia!” said Izisha with great conviction.

3001 The Chosen Goddess

After a long silence, Xinxia placed her hands gently on the armrest. She ignored Izisha’s accusations.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back and rest.” Xinxia turned around and faced Izisha with her back as she said the words.

Izisha did not move. She fixed her gaze on Ye Xinxia, like the snake king from the jungle, as if wanted to see through Ye Xinxia’s soul.

Even after Ye Xinxia was out of Izisha’s sight, Izisha remained on the same spot. She gave a radiant smile in the direction of Xinxia, as if she had discovered a great secret. As she was smiling, her emotions gradually changed. She became indifferent and slightly annoyed. In the end, she looked bizarre.

Izisha never expected Ye Xinxia would be her competitor in the final stage of the election. Of course, what upset Izisha the most was the Divine Soul!

She was a former goddess. During her tenure as the goddess, Izisha had never been recognized by the Divine Soul. As a result, she received numerous criticisms during her tenure.

Even though she took control of the Parthenon Temple to the point that hardly any forces dared to go against her, everything she did that came with minor flaws would be deemed as “not recognized by God” because she lacked the Divine Soul.

She was a goddess who was not recognized by God.

She was a goddess who forced her way into that position by killing, intimidation, and power!

This was the crowd’s comment about Izisha!

On the contrary, the pious, ancient, and godly faction always praised Ye Xinxia’s insignificant deeds exaggeratedly. They praised her to the skies when she spread blessings to the temple or contributed greatly in other areas.

She was a God chosen goddess!

Given such a saintess, even gods would abandon them if they failed to worship her as the supreme faith in Parthenon Temple!

When Ye Xinxia first arrived at the Parthenon Temple, she had nothing and was just a trainee maid.

The Hall Mother and the other old sages were superstitious about the Divine Soul. Hence, the Divine Soul was the factor that had exalted Ye Xinxia to the position where she could share equally with Izisha. Today, Ye Xinxian became Izisha’s greatest competitor in the re-election of the goddess.

Izisha’s previous arrangements and sacrifices were meaningless.

She had mastered the Resurrection Divine Art.

She had engineered her own death, after which she had resurrected from the Crystal Ice Coffin. She did all this to make people aware that she had mastered the Resurrection Divine Art despite not having the Divine Soul. Her ability to resurrect from the dead was the best example.

However, when she woke up from the Crystal Ice Coffin, she realized nothing had changed.

All the Parthenon Temple cared about was the Divine Soul. It was God’s choice. They only cared about obtaining the recognition of the Divine Soul instead of that supreme divine art.

During her tenure in ruling the Parthenon Temple, those who had long dissatisfied with her finally found a way to vent their frustration, which was to provide unconditional support for Izisha’s competitor.

Izisha stood at the crossroad of the Saintess’ Hall.

She looked increasingly hideous.

She had paid an unimaginably heavy price in order to be re-elected.

However in the end, she might be overthrown by the people who expected her downfall.

She had gotten rid of her greatest threat in the world—Wen Tai.

Although Wen Tai was dead, his soul seemed to dwell in this world and manipulate everything from the shadows.

…

After Izisha returned to the Saintess’ Hall, she looked indifferent.

A female sage, Mera, walked up to Izisha and bowed to her solemnly. The way she bowed was different from usual. She bent down a lot. She was close to half-kneeling and with her face totally facing down.

“What are you doing?” Izisha frowned as she asked.

“I’m bowing to you,” said the female sage Mera with a smile.

“I know.” Izisha sounded indifferently.

She had been with the Parthenon Temple for many years. How could she not be able to distinguish the difference between the salutations? The way the female sage Mera bowed to her was a salutation shown to a goddess. The election was not over yet, before the result was released, this salutation should not appear in any occasions, including private homes.

“My lady, why do you have to be so strict? I just thought you are almost certain owning the throne of the goddess. It’s been many years since I performed the salutation. It’s getting rusty, so I practice it lest anything goes wrong during your succession ceremony. If I do it wrongly, the rest of the sages will mock me,” said the female sage Mera.

“Stop doing such meaningless gestures.” Izisha looked cool. Apparently she was not interested in Mera’s flattery.

She disliked this type of useless red tape. A person who was powerful enough to take control of everything did not care about superficial etiquette.

What she needed was everyone’s respect and fear that came from the bottom of their hearts!

“Noted, My Lady.” Mera was embarrassed. She thought she could please Izisha with her cleverness. Mera quickly switched the topic and said, “Someone sent you a lot of exquisite small jars.”

“I saw them.” Izisha saw the jars as soon as she stepped into the Saintess’ Hall. Mera arranged the exquisite small jars very neatly. This was the only thing that Izisha found pleasing to her eyes over these days.

“It has to be someone you’re very familiar with who delivered them over. The person who delivered them also made a point of explaining that the contents are stored in a sealed package. You have to personally open them. It seems like each pattern represents a different gift. I guess this old friend of yours is celebrating for you in advance,” said Mera.

Mera was under Izisha’s lead for a long time. Thus, Mera understood Izisha’s habits and interests very well.

Izisha disliked exquisite objects that most female attendants and sages did such as jewelry, expensive clothes, and luxury courtyards. She did, however, have a special liking for artistic jars with exquisite patterns and unique shapes.

The place where she lived was decorated with various flower jars, celadon vases, and antique porcelain. She replaced them once in a while.

Despite this, very few people knew about her interest. As such, Mera was confident that the artistic jars collected from all over the world were given to Izisha by someone who knew Izisha very well. Besides, that person had to be a detailed-oriented person and also cared very much about Izisha.

Izisha walked into a hall with an exhibition of flower bed. She sized one of the short, small jars up and took it. She then opened the small lid with the shape of the leaf.

She thought the jar contained some kind of exotic fragrance. However, a pungent smell filled her nostrils.

Izisha was irritated with the smell. When she looked into the jar, her expression immediately changed.

Smash!

She smashed the exquisite jar onto the floor ruthlessly. It shattered into pieces, and the gray powder inside the jar spilled out.

3002 Revenge Designed Specially For Her

“What’s going on? What is it?” Mera quickly rushed over to Izisha.

The female attendants in the hall were so scared that they hid themselves. They peeked and watched from afar.

They did not know what had happened. All they saw was Izisha smashing the jars ruthlessly and looking so angry that her body trembled.

They rarely saw her in this state. Izisha could control her emotions very well. She always kept her cool even when she was furious. What had angered her in this way?

“Smash them all!” said Izisha angrily.

“All of them?”

“Yes, all of them!” Izisha cried out in a shrill voice.

Soon, the sound of the jars shattering rang through the hall. The beautiful jars were smashed to pieces. The sharp pieces were scattered around the floor.

Each jar was filled with white and gray powder. The female servants took the initiative to clear up the mess.

“Who sent them? Who sent all these things?!” asked Izisha furiously.

“It’s from my younger sister in the Hall of Faith. She said—” Mera was so terrified that her voice trembled in fear.

“Do you know what’s inside the jars? Do you know what they are?!” Izisha could not control her anger.

Mera looked puzzled. She thought the white and gray powder were either spices or special salts. Even if Izisha disliked the jars, she did not have to fly into such a fit of rage.

“I don’t know,” said Mera in a low voice.

“See carefully for yourself! Look at them clearly!” Izisha grabbed Mera’s hair and pushed her down to the floor ruthlessly.

Mera almost screamed. When she saw the gray powder scattered all over the floor, she twitched, as if she had been electrocuted.

The powder and the jars were cremains! The urns contained the cremains!

Who on earth had the guts to deliver a batch of urns with cremains to the running saintess of the Saintess’ Hall?!

A while ago, when Izisha had looked into the urn and smelled the powder, it had given her the creeps.

“T-There is a name written on the lid,” one of the cleaning attendants whispered.

Right after Izisha heard her words, she picked a lid and turned it over. Indeed, there was a name written on it. It was Dannie.

Dannie was Izisha’s right-hand woman who was assigned to the Sacred Hall of Liberty in America. Dannie was there to deal with some voting issues, as well as helping Izisha to deal with Khufu from the shadows.

‘Are these Dannie’s cremains?’

“My lady, this is your nephew’s name, Quintus.” Mera noticed a familiar name on another lid.

Izisha had been training some of the talented young people from the shadows over the years. Her nephew, Quintus, was one of her favorite trainees. He was a Golden Knight in the Hall of Knights. He was expected to succeed Norman and become the next Fighting Magistrate.

The Fighting Magistrate was an important position in the Hall of Knights. In fact, Izhisha prepared to let Quintus become the Golden Knight Fighting Magistrate by the end of this month to make a case for her own campaign.

But he was dead! His body was reduced to cremains to fit into a small, exquisite urn before it was delivered to her place! Anyone who saw this would go mad!

Each urn contained a person’s cremains.

They were all Izisha’s most loyal supporters. They held important positions. Those people could pave a path for her and bring her many votes. As a result, Izisha showed more concern and paid more attention to those people.

‘How did they die? What happened to them before they died?’

Even Izisha had no idea when they had died.

On top of that, the murderer filled Izisha’s favorite artistic jars with their cremains. The murderer wanted her to see the cremains of the deceased!

Izisha admitted that she was not a kind person. However, the murderer was not only brutal, but also barbaric enough to create a “massacre” suit specially for her!

“D-Do you want me to call my younger sister here? There must be some misunderstanding.” Mera was scared out of her wits. It was only then that she realized how serious the issue was.

“No need. Take these out and bury them,” said Izisha coolly.

‘A misunderstanding?’ Izisha did not think it was just a misunderstanding.

Everything was carefully plotted. Whoever was behind this knew that Mera had been serving her for many years. They knew Mera had a younger sister in the Hall of Faith. They knew they could deliver the urns to her place through Mera.

Moreover, many of the people who secretly worked for Izisha had their names written on the lids. They knew everything!

Needless to say, Mera’s younger sister would either have escaped or been killed. Even though she was just one of the pawns, no one could survive under someone so brutal.

“Wash the floor ten times.” Izisha instructed.

“Yes, My Lady!”

…

Izisha returned to her bedroom. She sat on the cold, smooth chair. Her eyes were red with blood veins

After two hours, Mera approached her cautiously.

Mera dared not to tell Izisha that her younger sister had committed suicide by poisoning herself. The people from the Hall of Faith had carried her body away and buried it.

Mera dared not to grieve for her younger sister’s death. She was aware that if she could not calm Izisha’s anger, Mera, her family, and her clan would suffer the consequences.

“Is it possible that this was done by the stubborn God-Preserving Faction? They are reckless. They did all this to bring you down,” said Mera.

“It’s not them.” Izisha suppressed her anger.

She was in a position where she had to regain her composure even though she had lost control of her emotions. When she lost control of her emotions, she could not think calmly and respond to the situation well. She had to find the opponent’s purpose for doing something like this.

“Then—” Mera dared not simply make an assertive statement. After all, Izisha had many enemies.

“I know who did this. You can ignore this matter. I’ll have someone else handle it,” said Izisha.

“Okay,” replied Mera.

“Are there any unbroken urns left?” A thought sprang up in Izisha’s mind.

“Yes, there are,” said Mera.

“Send one to Ye Xinxia.”

“That’s not very nice,” said Mera in horror.

“She’s in charge of the Hall of Knights. People from the Hall of Knights were killed. She should investigate the matter,” said Izisha.

“Oh, alright. Then, it shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll glue Quintus’ shattered urn back and send it to her. After all, he’s your nephew,” said Mera.

3003 Buried Seed

It was only dusk, but Izisha already felt tired and sleepy. She got up from the recliner and saw a girl hurrying by while holding a big urn.

“Is this the cremains you cleaned?” Izisha stopped the girl.

The girl was afraid of Izisha. She did not dare to raise her head and speak. She just nodded and hid her hand that was cut while cleaning those broken urns behind her.

Izisha had already seen it. “Give it to me.”

The girl nervously handed the urn containing all the cremains to Izisha.

“Put that down and give me your hand,” Izisha ordered.

The girl did as she was told. When she extended her hand, she still dared not raise her head for fear that Izisha would scold her.

Izisha often lectured people, including Great Sages and female believers like them.

Suddenly, the female believer’s cut palm and finger felt warm. She secretly glanced at her palm and was surprised to find that Izisha’s hand was covering it. Izisha’s hand transmitted a warm light which healed the wound of the female believer.

The female believer opened her mouth wide in surprise. ‘Izisha healed me! Even the Combat Knights don’t have this honor!’

“Is there any place with a better view suitable for burying this urn?” Izisha pointed to the urn of cremains on the ground.

“There is a quieter place behind El Mountain Spring to the east,” said the female believer bravely without fear.

“Got it.” Izisha nodded. She picked up the funerary urn and walked toward the east.

The female believer was puzzled.

She did not know what Izisha was going to do. Moreover, word of the funerary urn incident had already spread in Saintess’ Hall two hours earlier. The female believers, who were here to serve members of Goddess Peak, were also aware that these were the cremains of some of Izisha’s relatives, friends, and subordinates.

…

El Mountain Spring was in a relatively remote location on Goddess Peak. Goddess Peak was large, and a part of it had a virgin forest. When Izisha was in charge of the Parthenon Temple, she often buried some female attendants of Goddess Peak who opposed her on a mountain in Goddess Peak.

Every Greek regarded the magnificent and sacred Parthenon Temple as a holy place and a paradise on Earth. Izisha, however, viewed it as a luxurious cemetery. All those who died in the Parthenon Temple battle were buried there.

Izisha arrived at El Mountain Spring and saw a person loitering near it.

There were very few men who could step into Goddess Peak. At least in the past, Izisha prohibited all men from entering Goddess Peak except Combat Knights of the Hall of Knights. However, Ye Xinxia gradually changed the rule, making it less strict.

“I’m sorry. I seem to have lost my way. This place is huge, and I lost my way while strolling around. Do you know how to get to Saintess’ Hall?” The middle-aged man looked very ordinary, and his clothes were extremely plain. He smiled gently, which made him look like a person with a particularly optimistic attitude.

“Ma’am?” It was the first time Izisha heard someone address her in such a way.

This was Greece, and they were at Goddess Peak of Parthenon Temple, yet there was someone who did not know her?

“This is the first time I’ve been here, and I came to visit my daughter. I heard that there are many rules here, so please forgive me if I said something wrong.” The middle-aged man scratched his head. His dark brown eyes made him look innocent.

“You have said nothing wrong so far. If you walk in the direction I came from, you’ll reach Saintess’ Hall.” Izisha deliberately stared into his eyes for a second. She was a Psychic Mage, so it was difficult for someone with a low cultivation level to deceive her.

“I got it. Thank you. The scenery here is so pretty. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a fairy-like place. However, I’m a bit bored since my daughter is very busy. I don’t want to disturb her, so I can only go out and wander around. I can’t even talk to anyone,” said the middle-aged man.

“You’re indeed very talkative,” said Izisha.

“Hahaha, I admit it. I think I’m talkative too. If you find me noisy, I can stop talking. Why are you carrying a jar? Are you here to get some spring water? Do you need my help?” The middle-aged man smiled.

“This is an urn. You can help me bury it. I don’t want to get my hands dirty.” Izisha glanced at the soil around her. It was all soil formed from decaying leaves. Ever since she had been cursed, she had developed a fear of soil.

“Sure, but why do you want to bury it? Are there pickled mustard greens inside?”

“There are cremains inside,” Izisha said coldly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that your relative passed away. Why is your relative… so heavy?” When the middle-aged man took it, he almost dropped it.

Izisha did not answer. The middle-aged man kept quiet. He found a place with dry soil and quickly dug a hole.

“We do the same in our hometown. When our loved ones pass away, we put them in a small box and bury them in the mountains or near rivers to symbolize their passage back to their homeland. All dead people have to be buried, so you don’t have to be sad. Sometimes living in the world is like entering a casino. The rules, benefits, and various things of the casino attract us to bet and fight for chips. It’s always in our heads that we should stop gambling and live a quiet and comfortable life in the countryside, but it’s only when we die that we can do so,” said the middle-aged man.

He shoveled away the soft soil with a branch. His movements were swift, as if he often did similar things. Izisha stood at the side and watched calmly.

It was true that the cremains of people Izisha was familiar with were here in the mountains. Though she only felt anger and barely any sadness, she felt a little emotional listening to this man’s nonsense.

Their faces appeared in front of Izisha. Many of them had tried their best to please Izisha, and she often felt disgusted. However, they might have really thought of her as an important person.

“Please go and pick a fruit.” The middle-aged man had a lot of dirt on his hands, but he did not seem to mind it.

“Fruit?” Izisha asked in confusion.

“At the core of fruit is a seed. Instead of burying the jar, why not scatter the cremains here and plant a seed? There’s also a spring next to it. A good thing to do instead of mourning for a loved one and watching the cold tombstone weeping is to watch a new sprout grow, blossom, bear fruit, and become a towering tree. In this way, you won’t feel that they have left you. When you’re in pain, you can lie quietly under the tree, and feel guarded by them, and your heart will find peace,” said the middle-aged man.

3004 Memory Seal

There was no such sort of burial ritual in Greece, and she had never even heard of using soil from burying a loved one’s cremains to nourish a seed.

But Izisha thought that this method was good. It was better than finding a random place to bury dead people and never getting close to the area within a radius of one kilometer outside this land in her life.

Izisha found a fruit. Fragrant fruit trees were everywhere on the Goddess Peak. The female believers would pick them up regularly, wash them, and send them to the Saintess’ Hall.

“A pear?”

“Yeah, a pear.” Izisha handed it to the middle-aged man.

“Eat it and give me the core.” The middle-aged man glanced at Izisha and felt that she was a little dull-witted.

Izisha hesitated. She was indeed a little hungry as she had not eaten anything since the public speech in the morning.

“I’m going to scatter the cremains.” The middle-aged man opened the urn.

Izisha nodded and took a bite of the pear.

“Why are there so many cremains? I thought it was your relative or something, but it turns out to be a large pet. Is it a Griffin? I often see people here riding griffins.” The middle-aged man immediately made this inference when he saw the huge pile of cremains.

Izisha took a small bite, but she could not swallow it. ‘Forget it. He is not a member, so I don’t have to explain things to him.’

“Yeah, it’s a big Griffin,” said Izisha.

The middle-aged man scattered all the cremains into the pit and then walked to the mountain spring to wash his hands.

Izisha wanted to stop him as the mountain spring was not for washing dirty hands, but he had already put his hands in it. She could only pretend not to see.

After Izisha finished eating the pear, she walked to the edge of the pit full of cremains and threw the core down.

“Alas, why did I wash my hands?” The middle-aged man walked over helplessly. He picked up the soil on the ground to fill the pit, which dirtied his hands again.

Izisha smiled.

The middle-aged man went to the mountain spring to wash his hands for the second time. After that, he bid farewell to Izisha.

Seeing the freshly dug soil on the ground, Izisha remembered what the middle-aged man had said. “Don’t use magic. I know there is a kind of magic that can make trees grow, but don’t use it for this. Just let it grow naturally.”

…

When Ye Xinxia looked up at the mysterious starry sky in the middle of the night, she could not help but think of the past.

Ye Xinxia remembered that when she was a student, the students around her would always be anxious when the exam was approaching. However, she never felt that way because she never relaxed.

She had been in the Parthenon Temple for many years. Just like in the past, she never rested for a second. She knew that working in the Parthenon Temple was not like learning magic. It would be possible for her to take the time to make up for the chapters she missed and ask other people if she was not sure about an area of knowledge. Her decisions and intentions were related to the Parthenon Temple, Greece, and many places that needed the help of the Parthenon Temple.

She had to take responsibility for many things. One thing that made her want to give up the most was that rain of blessings could only fall on one field, while disease in another area would quickly destroy the townspeople.

The town’s survivors would eventually ask her why she let the disease torture them to death. Could it be that the Parthenon Temple was biased?

It was only willing to save those people who were of benefit to them and the wealthy areas that could support the Parthenon Temple with a lot of money.

She had witnessed too many people die over the years. She thought the suffering in Bo City would be the most shocking death she would ever see, but she never thought it was just the beginning. In the Parthenon Temple, she witnessed such things happening all over the world almost every month.

The Divine Soul bestowed upon Ye Xinxia the Resurrection Divine Art.

But the Resurrection Divine Art could only save one person, and hundreds and thousands of others would die.

Diseases, plagues, curses, darkness, wars, monsters, natural catastrophes…

The Parthenon Temple was powerless against these frequent outbreaks of disaster. The real purpose of the Parthenon Temple was no longer to relieve suffering. Everyone was focused on electing and cultivating the next goddess and trying to form a relationship with her power.

Ye Xinxia kept telling herself not to forget why she started. However, she had a problem, which forced her to gather all the power like the previous goddesses and win the position of the goddess at all costs.

If she wanted to execute her plan, she had to change the Parthenon Temple and let it focus on its original purpose.

But how could she change the Parthenon Temple? The only way was to be the goddess.

In a situation where she could not even survive, it was impossible to execute her original plan unless her plan coincided with Izisha’s.

Only by giving up her original plan and gaining supreme divine power could she have the chance to execute her original plan.

There was also another important reason she could not lose to Izisha!

A black stone. The goddess had a black stone.

The gear of fate had returned to its original position, but Xinxia could not let the tragedy repeat!

“Your Highness, the Hall of Knights has been fully controlled, so it is impossible for them to renegade. There are two high priests in the Hall of Faith who will support you unconditionally, but Izisha still has control over the Hall of Judgment,” Tata said in a low voice.

“The situation is clear,” said Xinxia.

“The Hall of Judgment has a close relationship with the Holy City, and what we are most worried about right now is the interference of the Holy City. The quasi-priest you asked me to drive away asked me to tell you that there will be no one in the holy city to vote for you, and they will support Izisha unconditionally,” said Tata.

“Got it.” Xinxia nodded.

“Why are you not worried? You must know that the votes of the Holy City are important. If they all support Izisha, you have no chance of winning. If there’s no other way, you should agree to their conditions. After all, we can’t rely on that person. Everyone in the Holy City wants him to die. Your decision will not affect his final judgment. It is better to make a more sensible choice so that your position as a goddess will be guaranteed,” Tata said anxiously.

Xinxia stared at Tata. Tata did not dare to speak anymore.

“Don’t say such things in the future. When I was young, I faced many such situations. I was powerless at that time,” Xinxia said to Tata in a softer tone.

“Huh? You remember?” Tata was surprised.

Tata had met Xinxia a long time ago. At that time, she was still held in Wen Tai’s arms, illuminating the surroundings like a bright pearl which lit up Wen Tai’s smile all the time.

Tata had taken care of Xinxia from when she was younger than four years old. At that time, Ye Xinxia was the little princess of the Parthenon Temple, but it did not take long for that to change.

“I don’t know why, but I have been remembering memories from the past frequently, as if some sort of memory seal had opened. Some of them are so vivid in my mind,” said Xinxia.

3005 Resurrected Person

Mostly, Ye Xinxia had no memory of her childhood. She thought that she had forgotten everything. After all, many people have no memory of things from when they were too young.

But recently, whenever she was sleeping, meditating, or in a trance, memories would gradually flood her mind, and she could feel the emotions from that time.

Ye Xinxia was a Psychic Element Mage. She tried to recall the memories deep in her mind by dreaming, but she was horrified to find a small shackle at the bottom of her memories. It locked a blind spot that she thought she had forgotten.

It was like a small black box of fear in everyone’s heart, placed and locked in a dark corner that she would never touch. No matter how many years passed, she had no courage to open that box. The things inside would accompany her for life. Whenever and wherever she accidentally touched it, it would make her shudder!

Was it an act of self-protection?

Ye Xinxia, who had learned Psychic Element Magic, knew very well that when one faced a major setback or suffering, the brain would selectively erase this memory directly from her mind to not overwhelm her.

Did someone impose a magical shackle on the mind to force her to forget important things? Who was the person who imposed this memory shackle on her?

“If you remember what happened at that time, you should understand that only by becoming a goddess can you have decision-making power. We can’t compete with Izisha without the support of the Holy City,” Tata said calmly.

“Don’t worry about it,” Ye Xinxia replied.

“Okay. Since you seem to know what to do, I won’t bother you anymore. However, Izisha sent you another small problem just now. Her nephew Quintus was murdered, and his cremains were locked in an urn. This was sent to the Saintess’ Hall. It is a very bad incident. The act is disrespectful to the temple’s sacred authority. I guess that it’s the anti-temple heretics once again. They deliberately create panic when elections are around the corner,” said Tata.

Parina presented a broken and reglued delicate jar. Ye Xinxia wanted to check it, but Tata stopped her.

“It’s human remains,” Parina said with certainty.

“Are you sure it’s Quintus’, the Golden Night who is running for the Fighting Magistrate?”

“Yes, it’s indeed his. He was beaten, whipped, burned, putrefied, and eaten by ants before he died. The murderer either hated Quintus or hated Izisha greatly,” Parina replied.

“There are only cremains. How do you know about all this from this pile?” Tata was puzzled.

“Soul Autopsy. The cremains contain part of the memories of the deceased. His crushed soul can also be found there.” Parina explained professionally.

Parina was now a Great Sage, and she was mainly in charge of the Hall of Judgment to deal with dangerous aliens. She often joined forces with the Holy City, the Divine City Tibet, the Swiss Snow Palace, the Japan Emperor Pavilion, and the British Cross Castle to eliminate evil people hiding in the world.

Parina had seen a lot of cruel methods in which people were often killed, but what the Golden Knight Quintus suffered had made her a little uncomfortable.

‘What kind of person would torture someone in such an inhumane way out of hatred for the Parthenon Temple?’

“Parina, can you take care of it?” Tata asked.

“Well, I…”

“Let’s take care of it together,” said Xinxia.

Parina was a little confused. By rights, the goddess did not need to take care of such a thing.

“Izisha won’t ask me to take care of a torture and murder incident for no reason. She wouldn’t do it just to distract me. There must be something more to this,” said Xinxia.

Xinxia remembered what Izisha had said to her at the intersection of the Saintess’ Hall.

What was coming would come. Xinxia knew that she would face it sooner or later. She had stayed in the Parthenon Temple just to have the courage and ability to deal with all this in the future, after all.

“Do you know something about this?” Parina could guess from Ye Xinxia’s expression that she knew more than she let on.

“I think It’s the Black Vatican,” said Xinxia.

“B-Black Vatican?” Tata and Parina’s faces changed.

Everyone was terrified of that organization. Their methods were the cruelest in the world, and their willpower was stronger than most thugs!

“Yeah.”

“Is it Ye Chang?” Tata’s voice trembled.

Parina’s face was pale. She clenched her fists.

‘Is this witch finally going to show up?’ Parina would never forget the wound Ye Chang had inflicted on her back with a knife.

That was a few years ago. When Parina and the Swiss Holy Court Mages were chasing a Chief Extraditor, they were caught in a trap set by Salan.

Salan killed all the Holy Court Mages. When the Chief Extraditor was about to commit suicide, Salan had stopped her.

“I know you. You’re the little girl who is seeking attention around the Parthenon Temple. I like your diligence and perseverance, and I also understand that you’re not willing to be a foil for others. However, fighting spirit and recklessness are two different things. You should think wisely. Otherwise, no matter how much Resurrection Divine Art the Parthenon Temple has, it won’t be able to drag you back from the gates of hell.” Salan had sounded sarcastic.

Parina was a special female Sage in the Parthenon Temple. She once died in a battle with the anti-temple heretics. Everyone knew about that battle. Her body was brought back, and Wen Tai resurrected her in Godly Seal Mountain.

She was a resurrected person. A female Sage resurrected by Wen Tai.

Parina had always cherished herself. All the believers of the Parthenon Temple were eager to get a real Blessing of God’s Seal, and the resurrected person was a person whose forehead had been kissed by the Divine Soul.

However, most of them thought that Parina was not worthy of resurrection. She was just an unknown person in the Parthenon Temple at that time. Many people died for the Parthenon Temple, but why did Wen Tai choose to resurrect her particularly?

Parina also knew that regaining her life was precious, and she dared not be negligent in her actions from then on.

She wanted to be recognized and let everyone know that she was worthy of being favored by the Divine Soul, worthy of being selected by Wen Tai, and worthy of the Resurrection Divine Art!

She tried her best to make more contributions to the Parthenon Temple but eventually fell into the trap of the Chief Extraditor.

She had died again. The most ironic thing was that Salan recognized her.

3006 Weird Forgetting

When Parina was resurrected, Salan was beside Wen Tai, holding a one-year-old baby girl in her arms.

Salan recognized Parina. She laughed at Parina, which made her wish to pull out her sword and stab Salan’s heart.

She had failed the Divine Soul and Wen Tai’s choice. Once again, she carelessly handed over her life.

Salan did not kill her. She, instead, picked up a saber and left a mark on her back which bled profusely.

The wound was not fatal, but it made Parina feel humiliated.

“There are many Red Cardinals and a Supreme Pontiff whose true identity has never been known in the Black Vatican. It may not be Ye Chang who did this,” Tata said.

“I’ll investigate.” Parina clenched her fists.

“We have to find her. According to her usual behavior, this torture and massacre may be just the beginning,” Xinxia said to Parina.

“Understood.”

“She is taking revenge on Izisha. In fact, we don’t have to be so…” Tata knew exactly what Ye Chang was going to do.

Izisha was Ye Chang’s lifelong enemy.

When Wen Tai was judged by the priest, there were eleven stones in total. When guilt and innocence were equal, Izisha chose to kill Wen Tai even though she was his sister!

This was the source of the biggest change and split in the Parthenon Temple at that time.

Izisha executed her own brother!

Ye Chang hated Izisha deeply. When Ye Chang became the Red Cardinal Salan, who owned a group of believers who were notorious all over the world, she took revenge and brutally killed all those who threw black stones. She did not hesitate to slaughter the families of those people and destroy the whole city.

The whole world thought Salan was a madwoman who killed everyone she saw. Every place she went was left full of corpses in her wake. However, those who used to be with Wen Tai knew this happened because of Izisha’s decision!

It was Izisha who turned Ye Chang into the Red Cardinal Salan, and the increasingly powerful Salan finally started her final revenge.

“I’ll go to Izisha to inquire about the situation. You’ve been busy all day, so you should rest now. I’ll report to you as soon as there is any progress.”

Parina bid farewell to them. Xinxia nodded and let Parina leave.

“You should take a rest too.” Tata knew that she had said many things that should not have been said today, so she thought it would be better to leave early.

Xinxia was indeed tired. She could not even remember if she had had her dinner.

After changing her clothes, Xinxia was about to find someone when there were a few light footsteps outside the main hall.

“Xinxia, are you done with your work?” The middle-aged man walked to her with a smile.

“Yes. Dad, where have you been? I haven’t seen you all day today.” Xinxia smiled. Seeing loved ones was always comforting to her. She felt as if the entire cold Saintess’ Hall suddenly had a lot of warmth.

Mo Jiaxin sighed. “Let’s not talk about it. I made a mistake and went to another Saintess’ Hall. I met someone there but when I mentioned you, her face darkened.”

“You made it to Izisha’s side?” Xinxia blinked.

“Who is Izisha? Is she the other goddess? You can’t blame me. When I got lost, a lady pointed the way to me. I didn’t know there were two Saintess’ Halls, so I thought that was the way back here,” Mo Jiaxin said. “That woman is silly. She should have told me that there are two Saintess’ Halls.”

“Maybe she thought you were visiting relatives,” said Xinxia.

“It’s all Mo Fan’s fault. He insisted on having me stay in Athens. I’m not used to Goddess Peak. It is full of girls. I’m still more comfortable with London. I can grow flowers, and Brother Zhuoyun can play chess with me,” said Mo Jiaxin.

“It’s all my fault that I don’t have time to accompany you,” Xinxia said, ashamed.

“That’s fine. This place is actually not bad. I’ll go for a walk in the city tomorrow, so I don’t have to stay on the mountain all the time,” said Mo Jiaxin.

“Okay, I’ll have Chris accompany you.”

“No, no, I’ll take a stroll by myself. I’m quite comfortable walking in Athens by myself. Alas, it’s better to have a daughter. You can do great things for the country and take care of the family. Look at Mo Fan. He is like a homeless child. I never see him. He won’t even call me!” Mo Jiaxin complained.

Ye Xinxia hesitated but still did not tell him the truth. Mo Jiaxin’s current state was good. He had no cultivation, so he did not understand and did not need to know things that didn’t concern him.

“Dad, can you tell me about the past? About…” Xinxia was a little reluctant to speak.

“Well, it’s been many years, so I can’t remember clearly. At that time, there was an old house next door. Your mother moved there with you, and we became neighbors.” Mo Jiaxin knew what Xinxia wanted to ask.

“Any more details?” Xinxia asked.

“There’s nothing special. Your mother looks ordinary, and she is a bit stupid. She didn’t know anything about cooking, washing, cleaning, and taking care of a child, so she often came to ask me for help. Eventually, our two families became one.” Mo Jiaxin did not think there was anything incomprehensible in that story.

She was a widow with a child. As a neighbor, Mo Jiaxin would do his best to help her. After living together for a short time, Ye Xinxia’s mother suddenly disappeared. At that time, Mo Jiaxin thought it was normal.

After all, she was a single mother and might not have wanted to be burdened. He always thought that such a life put too much pressure on her, and she decided to leave.

Mo Jiaxin treated Xinxia as his own daughter. Mo Fan also liked her a lot and cared for her like his own sister.

Although life was a little bit difficult, Mo Jiaxin was still relieved that the two children had grown up healthily.

Mo Jiaxin looked at Xinxia. He suddenly seemed to have something very important to tell her but he couldn’t remember.

In spite of his best efforts, Mo Jiaxin could not recall it. It was extremely strange. After a while, Mo Jiaxin gave up.

“Why do you suddenly want to know about this? Did you find something related to her?” Mo Jiaxin asked.

“No. I just remembered some things from my childhood and wanted to talk with you. I don’t know if it was just a hallucination or if it did happen.”

“You still remember things from when you were a child?”

“Yes, I have some vague memories.”

3007 Leader of White Magic

Mo Jiaxin only talked about trivial things. Xinxia sat there, listened, and eventually fell asleep.

In the dream, the trivial things Mo Jiaxing said formed her complete childhood, and Xinxia experienced it over again even though she had no memory of it. It was like being trapped in a repeated memory that was lost.

When she was awakened by a large swath of blood rushing toward her face, it was already morning. She saw the mountains and the forests. She heard the sounds of birds coming from afar.

“Are you awake?”

“Yes.”

“Tea?”

“Okay.”

She felt groggy. She accidentally fell asleep, but it felt like she had lived through years of her life. When she tried to recall the things that happened in the dream in detail, she could not remember anything at all.

The sky had brightened by the time she washed up. When the sun was just rising, she received news that the Tulce family was about to announce their support.

“Your Highness, among the members of the Parthenon Temple, only people from the Tulce family are still hesitant. The eldest son of the Tulce family has a grudge against you, so I think he will hinder your victory,” said Fiona, a maid who was always by Xinxia’s side.

“Go and call Jerome and Tulce,” said Xinxia.

“Call them? I’m afraid they have joined forces with Izisha,” said Fiona.

“Tell Tulce I want to chat with him about the Mountain City Titan,” said Xinxia.

“Will he agree to come?”

“He will.”

…

Xinxia did not have much appetite for breakfast, so she only drank some grape juice and tidied up her makeup. She looked at herself in the mirror. When she looked at her reflection for a long time, she felt as though the person staring back was not really her. The person in the mirror had her thoughts but showed a different expression.

Everyone in the mirror was like this. Their faces would slowly distort if stared at for long.

“Tulce and Jerome are here.” Fiona ran over hurriedly.

“Let them wait.” Xinxia took a pen out and wrote a letter. Then, she sealed it with letter oil and cast a small spell to prevent anyone from prying.

“Who is this letter for?” Fiona asked.

“Send it to Lady Karolina,” said Xinxia.

“With Magic Door?”

“Yes.”

“Your Highness, I just remembered that the Grand Holy Altar Master of the St. Kai’s Altar, Jonne, will come to visit this morning. They informed us three days ago. At noon, Haylon, the Lord of the Hall of Knights, will hold an Apollo’s Attention Ceremony for all the Golden Knights. You will also need to attend the ceremony and…” Fiona wanted to report today’s itinerary in one go.

“We will discuss the plans in the afternoon after the Apollo’s Attention Ceremony,” said Xinxia.

“Okay. It will be another busy day. Your Highness, I roughly calculated the time where you can take a break. Ten minutes on the plane. You have to go to the southernmost part of Greece in the afternoon. People hope to see you at Greenbud City’s memorial ceremony, no matter how late it is.” Fiona told her about the afternoon’s itinerary.

Xinxia ignored her. Fiona was always talkative.

“Tulce and Jerome are still in the hall. They are a little impatient.” Tata walked in when she saw that Ye Xinxia still had no intention of going out to talk to them anytime soon.

The Tulce family was an ancient family of the Parthenon Temple. Their support was crucial. The situation was clear now. Ye Xinxia and Izisha had almost the same amount of support. The Tulce family was vacillating. Their loyalty was related to an important war in Greece, namely, the battle of Titans.

Like the Undead in Egypt, Greece had destructive Tyrant Titans. They were ancient gods abandoned by the Greeks. With a heart of hatred for Greece, they often appeared as ghosts. If they appeared in urban areas, it would mean unfathomable consequences.

The threat of the Titans could be greatly reduced by whomever the Tulce family was willing to support. The goddesses did not want to be scolded for pleasing the world and not solving the problems of their country.

Any saintess who became the goddess needed the loyalty of the Tulce family. Tata was very anxious and justifiably so.

After calling two key figures from the Tulce family here, Xinxia ignored them. Today should be Xinxia’s last chance. If she could not get an accurate answer from the Tulce family, then there was a high probability that the Tulce family would support Izisha.

Once many city-states in Greece knew that the Tulce family supported Izisha, they would also follow suit. After all, the Titans were everyone’s fear!

“Hua Lisi?” Xinxia looked around but did not see the familiar female knight.

“Yes, Your Highness?” Hua Lisi walked out of the indoor garden. She was somewhere Xinxia could not see her, but she always watched over Xinxia.

“Tell Haylon that the Apollo’s Attention Ceremony will be held outside the Saintess’ Hall. The weather is good today,” said Xinxia.

“Okay.”

“Your Highness, Tulce and Jerome are leaving.” Tata became even more anxious.

She had to show them some respect anyway. The Tulce family was important to the Parthenon Temple.

“Prepare them lunch and let them follow us to the Greenbud City’s memorial ceremony,” Xinxia said to Fiona.

“I don’t want to keep them here for lunch.” Fiona pouted. She disliked the Tulce family.

“I didn’t say we have to have lunch together.” Xinxia winked at Fiona.

Fiona immediately understood. There were so many dining halls, so she could find a remote place for them, preferably out of sight, where they could have their lunch without encountering anyone.

“My little princess, if you neglect them like this, you will drive them to Izisha sooner or later.” Tata was anxious. She could not guess what Xinxia was thinking.

…

The Apollo’s Attention Ceremony began, and all the Golden Knights in the Goddess Peak of the Hall of Knights would attend it. The Fighting Magistrate Norman wore golden emerald armor and led all the Golden Knights. They appeared in front of the Saintess’ Hall.

The front of the hall was spacious and sunny. Every Golden Knight exuded the holy aura as befit those above the Super Level. They stood solemnly in front of Ye Xinxia, Haylon, and Norman.

Haylon was wearing blue-gold holy armor and read aloud the Apollo language of ancient Greek. The sun shone brightly in the sky. After the Lord of the Hall of Knights, Haylon, finished reading, Ye Xinxia held her hands high. She wore a long white dress without any embellishments to dim her graceful figure.

Ye Xinxia seemed to be holding the red sun in her palms. Countless golden lights from the sky pierced through the Goddess Peak of Parthenon Temple like spears, turning the Goddess Peak into a holy palace.

Blessing Element! The power of the invincible Blessing Element!

It was the only magic in the world that could improve people’s cultivation. For the Golden Knights who had advanced to Super Level, the blessing was likely to allow them to awaken more supernatural power.

People who already had supernatural power had a high probability of entering the next stage of cultivation.

3008 Who Owns the Stone?

The Saintess gave them a chance to watch Apollo.

They supported the saintess because her blessing could help people advance beyond mediocrity!

The ceremony was solemn. Even if everyone was excited and joyful because of the gradual awakening of some special powers in the blessing of Apollo’s attention, they could not express it at will.

They saluted one by one and left.

After leaving the sight of Haylon, Ye Xinxia, and Norman, they cheered in the forest. They said some words of gratitude and pledged their loyalty.

After staying in the Parthenon Temple for so many years, Xinxia knew that the loyalty of the knights did not depend on the long-term baptism of the temple culture but on the power, glory, respect, and expectations they fulfilled.

It was no wonder they only supported those who had the Divine Soul. Only the blessing of the Divine Soul could bring them these things.

The ceremony was over before noon.

Haylon and Norman did not leave and entered the Saintess’ Hall together.

Norman was talking with Jonne, the Grand Master of the St. Kai’s Altar. The two had a close relationship.

“Norman, is this the power of the saintesses of the Parthenon Temple? It is incredible! If I weren’t the Grand Master of the Australian Magic Association, I would also like to stand with those Golden Knights and feel the attention of Apollo. Maybe my Light Element, which has never advanced to Forbidden Curse, will have a glimmer of hope!” the Grand Master, Jonne, said.

“This is just the power of the saintess. When Her Highness becomes a goddess, the blessings she can bestow will be even more extraordinary. Parthenon Temple has a deep foundation. Otherwise, how can we possibly expect to have so many believers all over the world?” Norman said with a smile.

In fact, the effect brought by Apollo’s attention surprised Norman a little. The Divine Soul seemed to blend with Ye Xinxia perfectly. Every blessing she cast seemed to be bestowed by the real god. Even many Forbidden Mages coveted it.

“The Blessing Element is the leader of White Magic, after all. Outside the Holy City is the holy land of the Parthenon Temple. This statement is true. St. Kai’s Altar… Alas, not only is it lifeless, but it also doesn’t have that kind of impressive magic. Everyone only knows how to enjoy themselves. They have become so fat to the point that they find it difficult to even move. We’ll only fall behind and become weaker.” The Grand Holy Altar Master, Jonne, sighed.

The St. Kai’s Altar from the Five Continents Magic Association…

But the Grand Master, Jonne, knew that the gap between the Australian Supreme Magic Association and the Parthenon Temple was too big!

The leader was someone who could bestow real power and the blessing of the gods. On the other hand, the leader of the Australian Magic Association did not even bother to make empty promises.

“We all know that your Light Element doesn’t advance to the Forbidden Curse because of the evil curse when you returned from the Extreme South. I have already negotiated with Her Highness about this matter, and she will remove it for you,” Norman said to the Grand Holy Altar Master, Jonne.

“I’m really grateful. I don’t even know how to repay you.” Jonne was so excited that he almost wanted to salute, but Norman hurriedly stopped him.

“Supporting Her Highness of the Parthenon Temple in Australia is the best way to show your gratitude,” said Norman.

…

After returning to the hall, Xinxia invited Grand Master Jonne for a meal.

When Jonne saw that Norman and Haylon were not qualified to sit with her, he panicked and did not dare to sit at the same table with the saintess. However, Jonne soon found that people around Xinxia chose their seats at random. Norman and Haylon did not sit down because they insisted on maintaining their etiquette as knights of the Parthenon Temple.

“Grand Master Jonne, there’s something I would like to ask you,” said Xinxia.

“Feel free to ask anything, Your Highness.” After seeing the magic of the Blessing Element of the Parthenon Temple, Jonne had already become hopeful of becoming a Light Element Forbidden Mage. Therefore, he respected the saintess even more.

“St. Kai’s Altar also has a stone from Holy City, right?” asked Xinxia.

“Huh?” Jonne’s expression slightly changed.

“I just want to know who owns this stone now,” said Xinxia.

“This… To tell you the truth, this stone is not owned by one person. It is jointly kept by me, Buck, and Gomis. We can decide what to do with the stone,” Jonne said in a low voice.

“Tell me about their temperament,” said Xinxia.

“Buck is staying neutral, and Gomis will probably obey the lord of the Holy City.”

“What about you?” Xinxia asked.

Unknowingly, Jonne’s palms were a little sweaty. “I… If you can remove my Light Element Evil Curse, I’ll support you. But even so, we can’t have the stone since Buck will most likely obey the Holy City,” Jonne said cautiously.

The Holy City could not give Jonne anything, except for an arrogant attitude.

The Supreme Magic Association should have the highest law enforcement power, but the existence of the Holy City had never allowed it to have full control.

After becoming a Light Element Forbidden Mage, Jonne would become a Double Elements Forbidden Mage, and he no longer needed to humble himself in front of the Holy City.

What angered the Great Master Jonne the most was the trip to the Extreme South. The Holy City initiated the trip, for which he paid his future as the price. The Holy City had not given him a solution until now. After he got to know Norman and learned about the blessings of the Parthenon Temple’s Divine Soul, he knew that he had hopes of removing the evil curse and becoming a Light Element Forbidden Mage!

“Not only will you be able to get rid of the evil curse, but the Blessing of God’s Seal will also open the door of God’s gift to the third element,” Xinxia said to Jonne.

Jonne opened his mouth to say something. If he activated the third element of God’s gift, he could surpass Gomis and become the strongest person among the staff of the Australian Magic Association!

“If you support us, we will support you too,” said Xinxia.

How could Jonne not understand what she meant?

“Actually, Buck owes me a favor that can only be repaid with his life.” The Grand Master Jonne immediately expressed his hidden thoughts.

“Okay, let’s eat first.”

The delicious food was served course by course. It was the first time in more than ten years that Grand Master Jonne experienced such a wonderful feast. Delicious food could make anybody happy!

Xinxia finally had an appetite.

…

It was near dusk when Ye Xinxia boarded the plane and headed to Greenbud City in the south.

Tulce and Jerome accompanied them. These two were representatives of the Tulce family. They were supposed to take the oath. They did not know why they boarded this plane to the southern countryside!

After getting off the plane in Greenbud City, Tulce finally could not stand Ye Xinxia’s silent treatment!

“What on earth do you want? What I hate the most is Orientals like you who like to pretend to be so profound!” Tulce said as he pointed rudely at Ye Xinxia.

Like before, he did not have much respect for the saintess.

“I see. I was pretending to be profound. I gave you a whole day to reflect, but you didn’t want to tell me anything. I had no choice but to bring you here so that you could witness the disaster of Greenbud City with your own eyes and let you feel the grief of those who have lost their loved ones. It is also my hope that I can evoke a little remorse in your heart.” Ye Xinxia looked at Tulce calmly.

3009 Unforgivable

Jerome looked at Tulce in bewilderment. Tulce trembled. He looked terrified.

“What have you done to Greenbud City?” asked Jerome in surprise.

“I…”

“You can take your time to confess to the residents of Greenbud City.” Xinxia signaled Hua Lisi to push her forward.

Tulce went from arrogant to terrified within minutes. He was at a loss. He was so lost that his heart was full of regret, and he descended into a crazed frenzy.

Countless people died in the tragedy of Greenbud City. In just one night, all of Greece lived in the fear of the Tyrant Titan’s massacre. When the tragedy happened, Mo Fan, Zhao Manyan and Mu Bai were in Greece. It was at that time that Tulce and Mo Fan fought to settle the issue. After an investigation, Ye Xinxia discovered the evidence to Tulce’s crime.

How did the leader of the Outlaws control the Tyrant Titan with an evil spell?

The Tyrant Titan was an ancient god, but it was as savage as a demon. Still, its divinity remained. Without the help of a certain special power, nothing could enslave it!

The Tulce family mastered that special power. The special power was passed down to generations of the Tulce family.

Tulce taught the leader of the Outlaws the ancient mind-controlling spell so that the leader could control the Tyrant Titan, which eventually led to the Greenbud City’s tragedy.

“I have the evidence of you instructing Dick’s military attaché to help you cover up the horrible crime,” Hua Lisi said to Tulce.

Tulce looked as if someone had sucked his soul away. He almost fainted on the spot.

It was the pope from the Arian Church. He was the desperado who owned the Tyrant Titan’s Black Turbid Moon.

Little did Tulce know that his close friend who taught him to live a life of debauchery was the pope of the Arian Church. He also did not know the outsider would master the God Controlling Art completely. None of his family members had learnt to do that!

His friend had taken control of the Tyrant Titan.

Tulce was still unaware of it when the tragedy in Greenbud City happened. It was only after he learned the issue in depth that he realized his recklessness had led to this blunder!

Imparting the knowledge of the Tulce family’s magic to others was absolutely forbidden. This was a taboo, and it had caused such a horrible incident!

The Tulce family’s reputation was ruined.

The Greeks hated them so much that they would willingly transform into wild beasts and tear them apart!

Jerome finally knew Young Master Tulce had committed a great sin. He quickly dragged Tulce before Xinxia and said, “Get up! Kneel in front of her! Now!”

Young Master Tulce was so shocked. His body was drenched in sweat. A while ago, he was arrogant and showed no respect. But now, he wished he could bury his head before Xinxia’s shoes and seek her forgiveness.

“I really had no idea he was the pope of an evil cult. Ye Xinxia… No, I mean, My Lady, please, don’t make this matter public—” Young Master Tulce’s expression alternated between remorse, fear, and humility.

Xinxia stared at him icily. She did not say anything.

Jerome was Tulce’s elder. He knew how to save Tulce.

“We’ll change our oath. We will swear to pledge our loyalty to you. Young Master Tulce has made a horrible mistake. He will do everything to make up for his mistake. Please spare him this one time!” said Jerome.

“I’m not in the position to pardon your sins. Go and confess your sins to everyone in Greenbud City now! Let Izisha decide how to sentence you,” said Xinxia.

“My Lady!” Jerome cried out.

Xinxia let Hua Lisi continue to push her forward. She was greeted by the sight of the mourning crowd of Greenbud City.

“My Lady, Tulce is willing to pledge his loyalty to you. It can tilt the scale to your favor. This is the key for you to become the goddess!” Tata said with a great sense of urgency.

If Xinxia could forgive Young Master Tulce in exchange for his family’s absolute loyalty to her, this would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

“The Golden Sun Knights swore an oath this morning. They will protect Greece and its people. They will not spare even one savage Tyrant Titan that tramples our city or our land. The Tulce family is no longer trustworthy, so the Golden Sun Knights will take up the guardianship. From now on, the Tulce family will be struck off the Parthenon Temple!”

Ye Xinxia spoke with unprecedented solemnity and indifference. She could not afford to keep a family who did not take the citizens’ safety seriously in the Parthenon Temple. She could not forgive people like this!

Jerome, Young Master Tulce and Tata knelt on the floor. They hoped they could convince Ye Xinxia.

But Ye Xinxia did not even bother to turn and look at them.

With Hua Lisi’s help, she arrived at the memorial platform and faced tens and thousands of residents of Greenbud City. They were the deceased’s kith and kin.

Xinxia faced the people and said, “I’ve been through a suffering similar to yours. I almost died. At that time, I coiled up inside a small fridge and thirsted for even a glimmer of hope.”

suffering like you all, and I almost died.

“I can never forget the torture even today. The long agony of gasping for air in the middle of fear.”

Xinxia had personally experienced disasters. She had witnessed tragedies under Blood Alert.

Tata and the rest did not understand why Xinxia did not take advantage of this opportunity to subdue the Tulce family. By doing so, she would stand a higher chance of winning the goddess campaign.

Xinxia could temporarily put aside her original intention, but she would not give up on it. If she were to forgive this type of person to become the goddess, she would feel disgusted at herself.

…

In the end, Xinxia exposed the identity of the main culprit, Young Master Tulce.

After she made his name and his deed public, the prestige of the Tulce family would be ruined. They would live the rest of their lives as street rats. They would be despised and humiliated.

They deserved it. They did not deserve sympathy.

If they showed pity to the Tulce family, who would show compassion to the countless bodies buried in the deep underwater pits of Greenbud City?

…

The goddess had the power to strike the Tulce family off the list.

If both of the saintesses agreed that the Tulce family was not qualified to stay in the Parthenon Temple, then they could remove the Tulce family from the Parthenon Temple!

Young Master Tulce was held in custody.

Jerome and a cadre of elders kneeled before the Hall of Saintess. They waited under the scorching sunlight, hoping they could see Izisha just for once.

Izisha was in charge of the Hall of Judgment. Hence, she would be the final judge in this case. She would decide if she wanted to strike their names off the list, or to condemn them or let them stay.

Xinxia decided to strike their names off.

Of course, Izisha could overrule Xinxia’s decision. The person who had the ruling points had the power of internal enforcement.

“My Lady, why did you refuse to see them? They have been kneeling on the staircase all day. If you spare them, they will swear to support you till their deaths. The Tulce family is still very powerful. It’s their eldest young master who did something wrong. You don’t have to impose such a heavy sentence on them. They can work hard to redeem themselves and regain the citizens’ acknowledgement,” said Mera to Izisha.

“Hmph! Ye Xinxia is very kind-hearted. If I were her, I would have beheaded him and his clan’s heads!” said Izisha.

“Um—”

“Tell them to f*ck off! Otherwise, use their blood to clean the dust on the staircase!”

3010 The Person With Strange Irises

A red spot slowly appeared on the clear blue sky above Athens. It expanded and covered the whole sky. The people on top of the buildings sensed an enormous figure covering the large area.

It was a red dragon. It flapped its wings and flew past the skyrise buildings of Athens flashily. It left a torrent of dust and leaves in its wake over the streets as it flew to the Parthenon Temple.

“It must be Lady Karolina. It’s her red dragon!”

“How can she fly over our city at her own will? The enormous dragon looks extremely dangerous,” said several Mages of Athens.

“Her red dragon has a green certificate issued by St. Petersburg Church. Thus, her dragon can fly all over the sky of Europe. It naturally is Lady Karolina’s expensive and luxurious private jet.”

“Speaking of which, why is she heading to the Parthenon Mountain?”

“The Victorian family often pays a visit to Greece. The news frequently reported that they are very close with the saintesses and Duke Ayleen.”

“I suppose the Victorian family supports Ye Xinxia, right?”

“I suppose so. But Lady Karolina is Ayleen’s stepmother. She, too, has the same right to inherit the Victorian family’s fortunes. Hence, it depends on who Lady Karolina wants to support. If she supports Izisha, then the Victorian family and a vast majority of the ancient, British great families will share equal number of votes.”

The election was around the corner. The focus of the topic was on the two saintesses sculptures in Athens. Many Greek restaurants divided their menus to join in the fun of the election.

It was clear that Lady Karolina was an important figure in the election. She represented a certain number of the British votes.

Her high-profile appearance sent the people of Athens into a strange circle of “deep discussion”.

The discussion involved the election matter and the unspeakable relationship between a certain person with the two saintesses…

The most shocking news of all was that the choice of goddess was already pre-decided. The insider information was appalling. Everyone preferred to do things that captured the crowd’s attention.

The goddess election had a more exaggerated influence than the World Cup.

The World Cup was a celebrated event for the men. Meanwhile, the goddess election was an important occasion for both men and women.

The election lasted for a month. Before the start of the official election, the worshippers of the Parthenon Temple would fill Athens. Various traditional rituals and events surrounding the election would take place in Athens.

Therefore, that month was the best time for travelers from all over the world to come to Athens and enjoy the unprecedented serenity, elegance, luxury, and amazement of the events in the city.

…

Flowers bloomed after an abundant rainfall last month. Truckloads of fresh olives were delivered to Greece and were used to adorn every corner of the city. The flowers looked pure and pretty. They were seen in every corner of the city.

Greece without its goddess was like a city without a soul.

It had been many years since a goddess was elected to lead Greece. The signs of deterioration of the city were obvious.

Today, the election finally kick-started.

The Parthenon Temple’s ultimate leader possessed Resurrection Divine Art, and she would descend to the city soon.

…

The streetlamps were decorated with flower chains. The draping flower chains glowed brightly with luster even in the middle of the night. When they walked on the streets in Athens, they thought they had accidentally stumbled into a European aristocrat’s grand wedding. They were intoxicated by the beautiful sights, not to mention that each turn was a surprise in itself.

At that moment, The Great Mage Parina was on the “dream” streets. She wore a light gray sweater and covered her hair and part of her forehead with a hood. She looked like a night runner who did not want to grab people’s attention. She enjoyed her own peace and music under the quiet city.

After shedding the luxurious robes that belonged to a Great Mage, Parina blended into the dimly lit corners of the city perfectly well. The place was far away from the city and the Parthenon Mountain. There were no streetlights in the remote place. Even the administrative officers refused to pay attention to that place, because the tourists would not visit it. The sparsely scattered floral remnants was a pathetic indication that they, too, were celebrating the “festival”.

Parina trotted along. Her steady breathing was audible on the quiet but filthy path.

As she passed by a jumble of forest, a pair of greedy eyes lit up in the middle of the darkened tree trunks. The eyes were glued to Parina’s shapely gray figure.

Parina ran into an even more remote, narrow path. The pair of eyes vanished before resurfacing from a dilapidated hut next to Parina. The owner of the eyes coveted her graceful, athletic figure.

The path was so quiet that even the sound of stray cats rummaging through trash cans was loud.

When Parina trotted to a dilapidated house with dead ends, the owner with that pair of greedy eyes appeared before her suddenly!

Under the faint moonlight, she saw a man with a skinny jawline. He looked like someone suffering from anorexia. He was a bag of bones. However, he had a pair of gleaming eyes. His gaze was so sharp as if they could skin someone alive.

“How can I help you?” Parina stopped and stared at the person with strange irises.

“I suffer from a disease. I’m in unbearable pain,” said the person.

“I’m not a doctor. You can go to the hospital for your… condition,” said Parina.

“Any woman who is as beautiful and mature as you can cure my sickness. After you make me happy, I can turn your skin and bones into a beautiful small jar as a token of my appreciation. My handiwork is regarded as a treasure in some of the world’s most famous men’s vaults. Isn’t this every woman’s wish?” The man with strange irises spoke eagerly.

“You’ve been making a lot of these small jars lately, haven’t you? Your hands are shaking. Is it due to overworking?” asked Parina.

The man was surprised at her words.

Under normal circumstances, a beautiful night jogger like her would be afraid of him. He expected Parina to flee in shock, and cry for help in the deserted streets. Meanwhile, the man himself would pursue her while enjoying the chase.

“I’ve indeed made a lot of jars. A big client provided me with many perfect materials,” said the man with strange irises.

“Okay. I’ve come to the right person, then.” Parina removed her hood and revealed her forehead with the sanction mark, as well as her tawny-blonde, long hair that gave off an air of nobility.

“Y-You are the Daughter of Resurrection, Parina!” The person with strange irises was so shocked that his eyes flickered.

“Who gave you the materials to make the forty urns?” Parina approached the person slowly.

“I hunted them myself…” The person with strange irises slowly retreated. He looked stunned.

3011 The Red Cardinal

A cry of help rang throughout the quiet outskirts of the city.

The skinny figure stumbled on his way as he fled in panic.

Behind him was a lady with long, wavy tawny-blonde hair. She quickened her pace as she chased after the man with strange irises like a fearless warrior.

Her graceful pace was much faster than the man who staggered. The man with strange irises climbed up like a monkey. He ran quickly through the trees, windowsills, and polls. He was as fast as lightning.

However, regardless of how many kilometers he ran, when he turned around, he always saw Parina’s upright figure on the intersection of the road. She stared at him icily. She was intimidating.

Bam!

The man with strange irises was as frightened as a street rat. He hit a garbage truck on the corner of the street before crawling backward in the middle of the garbage.

“I-I never kill people. I didn’t kill any women. I stole women’s bodies from the hospital. They were supposed to be cremated. My job is to… I confess I am a cremator!” The man with strange irises tried to show her his professional documents. But he realized he hadn’t brought anything with him.

“Who gave you the permission to hunt people?” Parina questioned him again.

“You’re the first one I approached. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I know you have assigned the Nyx Goddess to stop me from embarking on a criminal path. Thank you so much.” The man with strange irises got up, then he fell on his knees before Parina in the middle of the garbage.

“If you don’t answer my question, I’ll show you the Creator’s Power from an Execution Sage!” Parina walked up to him and stepped on the back of his head.

The man’s nose was broken. Blood streamed down his face. He let out a cry. He was so scared that he trembled.

“He’s a Black Druggist. He sent me some… dead bodies. He knew about my skill, so he threatened me to do things as per his orders,” said the trembling man.

“Did he come here alone?” asked Parina.

“He came with an Eastern woman. The Eastern woman wore a red robe.” When he mentioned the woman, his face changed. He looked as if he was certain he would die now that he had exposed the woman.

“Where did you meet them?” asked Parina.

“Inside a private mansion.”

“Take me there.”

“I…”

“You don’t have a choice!”

…

They passed by bustling streets. The fragrance of olives filled the city. Parina took the man in chains as they went to a residential area where wealthy men lived.

The roads were spotless. The green forest was neatly trimmed. It looked like an ancient, noble manor filled with Greek majesty. The residence located halfway up the mountain was in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city.

They arrived at a luxurious mansion. It was a large vintage house. The clean and exquisite French windows did not affect its overall ../style. In fact, it brought out its nobility and grandeur.

“You better think carefully. Are you sure this is where you met up with them?” Parina tugged at the shackles and pulled at the man.

The man got up from the floor and said firmly, “There’s a bronze statue inside. You can see it once you enter through the door.”

Parina took a few steps forward. She indeed saw a majestic bronze statue. It was the statue of the bust of a Tyrant Titan.

“Don’t play tricks with me. This is the Tulce family’s property. Are you taking advantage of the Tulce family’s downfall by shifting the blame on them?!” said Parina furiously.

“Why would I try to trick you? I met them here. They even provided a craft room for me. There are still some flakes of human skin left inside the staircase on the first floor.”

“Did the Tulce family provide that to you?” Parina asked in disbelief.

“I’m not sure if it was really the Tulce family, but this is where I worked,” said the man cautiously.

Parina looked solemn.

She could not conclude that the Tulce family was involved in this case based on his words alone. She had to go inside the craft room and see for herself. She wanted to see if the remnants of the flakes of human skin were really there.

“We’ll sneak inside. If there’s nothing there, I’ll use you as my raw material and craft an urn following your way!” said Parina coldly.

“No! My craft doesn’t make anyone feel pain. You don’t know how to avoid inflicting pain on them. You’ll only torture me instead.”

“I didn’t say I particularly like crafting.”

…

The vintage mansion did not have foolproof security. Parina sneaked in effortlessly. When she reached inside the staircase as mentioned by the man, she saw a craft room. There were dozens of carving knives, polishers, and small drills of different scales and precision on the table…

The smell of blood was strong. Although the place looked clean, Parina sensed that it was as filthy and brutal as a slaughterhouse.

“There are some strands of hair here. They seem to belong to a man with a strong figure.”

“I suppose so… I also don’t know who he is.”

“Dust. No, I mean, they are not dust. They are finely ground bone powder.”

The man with strange irises showed Parina the traces of his crime one by one.

“Were they still alive when you did this?” Parina frowned. She noticed a lot of blood stains on the machine.

“They were dead.”

“Are you sure?!”

“I…”

“I give you one last chance. Were they still alive when they were brought in here? Tell me now!” Parina could not quite contain her anger.

This looked like torture! This was brutal!

“Some of them… were still alive.” The man with strange irises finally spoke the truth.

Upon hearing this, Parina felt like she couldn’t breathe properly.

What kind of hatred led to doing something like this? A quick death seemed like a luxury in the face of such a thing.

“No pain. I guarantee you that they didn’t feel even the slightest bit of pain. My handiwork will only bring them happiness,” the man with strange irises said with great conviction.

“Shut up!” Parina wished she could stomp on his head and crush it.

The man with strange irises dared not say anything more.

Parina instructed him to collect all the crime evidence. She was aware that the matter was serious. She had to inform Ye Xinxia as soon as possible. She also had to inform the Hall Mother…

“It’s the Red Cardinal. Did you see her face?!” asked Parina.

“I did not dare to look at her. Perhaps, you can—” said the man with strange irises.

“What are you talking about?” Parina was stunned.

“She’s upstairs.”

Parina stood on the staircase. She was about to take a step but abruptly came to a halt. She felt as if she had been frozen by a certain power.

The woman was inside the house!

She was the Red Cardinal!

3012 Holding A Sharp Blade

“She knows you’re coming. Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!” The man with strange irises had been maintaining a humble attitude all this while. At that moment, he burst into laughter suddenly.

Click-clack! Click-clack! Click-clack!

They heard the crisp sound of high heels on the floor before a slender figure appeared on top of the stairs.

The woman took a step down. Parina took a step back.

The Red Cardinal continued to walk down the staircase. She stared at Parina indifferently.

Meanwhile, Parina’s face had turned as white as a sheet. She kept retreating. Her legs trembled violently for every step she took backward.

She felt a searing pain on her back all of a sudden. The pain was so unbearable that she could not even stand upright. Parina thought the scar had healed. However, when she faced the perpetrator again, her wound ripped open. Was this a certain kind of Sharp Blade Curse?!

“You never change. Why can’t you use your brain for once? Why must you always take your life so easily, thinking that you can resurrect from the dead again and again? You always think you can do better the next time. But alas…” The Red Cardinal walked into the craft room and stood still.

Parina had backed up against a wall. She leaned on it. It was still hard for her to stand up straight.

“Must I turn you into a small jar so that you can grow?” said the Red Cardinal.

The man’s eyes lit up. If he could use the elegant Parina as his raw material, he believed he could bring out a level of craftsmanship that was beyond human limits!

However, the man’s eyes seemed to have annoyed the Red Cardinal. She glared at him.

He was so frightened that he prostrated on the floor and dared not to look at her or Parina again. He wrapped his hands around his head.

“What exactly do you want?!” Parina summoned her courage to ask.

“Is it that difficult to guess? All I want is revenge. Hasn’t this come across your mind before? I still remember the way you stared at that person. Despite the fact that your heart has sunk, you tried hard to show the same adoration and admiration like the rest,” said the Red Cardinal.

“I’m not going to become as crazy as you!” screamed Parina.

“I’m more sober minded than the rest of you. Since we’re born into this world, we cry when we get hurt, and we take revenge when we are wronged. We will do everything to take back what belongs to us. I’m hurt, so I want to seek revenge and take back what is mine. And you… even though it’s obvious that you’re hurt too, you act like nothing is wrong. Although you’re angry, you continue to pledge your loyalty to your enemy. You have become so numb to losing everything you hold very dear to yourself. Your heart has been distorted, yet you act sickeningly calm. Tell me, are you crazy, or am I?” retorted the Red Cardinal.

The Red Cardinal’s words subverted most people’s views of the world that were in line of logical thinking. The Red Cardinal was a desperado whose views of the world were distorted. Many people who listened to her went astray. Parina could refute her.

“You won’t get away with this. Athens and the Parthenon Temple are not places where you can do whatever you please!” Parina gathered her courage.

“Even your last words are so uninspiring,” said the Red Cardinal indifferently.

…

After walking out of the craft room, the Red Cardinal heard the man’s hysterical laughter.

She paused mid-stride before returning to the underground craft room. After some time, the man’s miserable scream rang throughout the vintage mansion.

Splash!

At the courtyard’s small pool, the Red Cardinal turned on the tap and washed her hands that were covered in blood. She cleaned each of her fingers meticulously.

“How do I handle Parina’s body?” Yan Qiu was dressed in a female servant’s dress. She approached the Red Cardinal, who was washing her hands.

“Send her body back to the Parthenon Temple,” said the Red Cardinal.

“The effect of your medicine will go away soon,” Yan Qiu warned her.

“Have the other Red Cardinals arrived?” asked the Red Cardinal.

“The three new Red Cardinals are your disciples. They won’t dare to act slow,” replied Yan Qiu.

“There were supposed to be four of them. Unfortunately, Blue Bat was—” The Red Cardinal heaved a sigh.

She admired Blue Bat. Blue Bat had a sharp mind and possessed thousands of skills. If she was given some information, she could speculate the entire story. Unfortunately, she was not able to tame Blue Bat entirely.

If Blue Bat could completely forget about her identity as the member of the Enforcement Union, she would be an outstanding successor to the Red Cardinal Salan!

“She is indeed powerful. Not many people can make us suffer a setback.” Yan Qiu nodded.

There were a whole bunch of idiots in this world who thought they were brilliant enough to dig out the key figures of the Black Vatican, and they exhausted much of their energy on the unnecessary people.

Those idiots were the Holy Judges, Enforcement Union, Sacred Hall of New York, and the Holy Altar Mages and others.

But Blue Bat was the only one who encountered the true leader of the Black Vatican. And Blue Bat was the only one who remained steadfast in the middle of the crazy church.

She had caught Salan off guard and thrown the Andeas plan off track. The rebels who were supposed to gain victory had been destroyed by the Federation. The Black Vatican was originally able to expand fivefold, but the Blue Bat’s actions had caused the Black Vatican to suffer severely in the ceremony.

This was especially so for Wu Ku!

Wu Ku was an important figure elected by Salan as the new Red Cardinal. Wu Ku’s intelligence and ability surpassed the incompetent Red Cardinals!

Despite Blue Bat’s betrayal, Salan was never angry with her. Instead, Salan was frustrated with herself that she was not good enough in her own exemplary behaviors and teachings.

Blue Bat was likened to a razor-sharp blade. Salan’s own mistake had caused her to hold the wrong direction of the “blade”. As a result, Salan was hurt by the “blade”. If only she were able to hold the hilt, everything would turn out differently, and she would ruthlessly pierce the invincible forces!

…

Early in the morning, they woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside. Despite the lack of sleep, they were not annoyed at the soft chirps.

Ye Xinxia opened her eyes. She looked outside the sheer gauze curtain and saw the green mountains and forest. The beautiful angles of the mountains were smoothed out by the dense leaves. Several spirit birds with long, fairy tails hovered between the mountains…

“My lady!

“My lady!”

She heard voices outside her bedroom. Ye Xinxia got up. She did not sit on her wheelchair.

She walked to the door. After she opened the door, she saw the people kneel before her. They lowered their face so low that she could not even see their eyes.

Ye Xinxia sensed a bad omen.

“Parina…” Fiona sobbed.

Ye Xinxia’s breathing came out rapidly. She closed the door and leaned behind it. The crowd remained in place and continued kneeling before the door.

After a few minutes, Ye Xinxia opened the door once again. There were tear streaks on her face.

“Is her body intact? Is her soul broken?” asked Ye Xinxia.

“My lady, she can’t be resurrected again.”

“I know. I just want to know if she was in pain when she died.”

“S-She died in peace.”

3013 Strutting Around

Parina’s funeral was held on the same morning.

Izisha attended her funeral. She fixed her razor-sharp gaze on Ye Xinxia, as if looking for Ye Xinxia’s hypocritical smile in the middle of sadness.

But…

‘Why was Parina killed?’ Izisha was confused about her death too.

While everyone in the Parthenon Temple could die, Parina was the only one with the highest possibility of staying alive.

‘Did Parina discover something important that even her special resurrected identity could not save her?!’

Salan had killed her.

The only difference was that Parina’s body was not made into an exquisite jar or turned into cremains. Her body was sent to the Parthenon Mountain foothill in decent condition.

“My lady, what’s going on?” Mera whispered to Izisha.

“Parina discovered something important. Ask the adjudicators to investigate the people she met and places she went to,” said Izisha.

“She’s dead. Most of the clues have been erased,” said Mera.

“If the person is just one of the Red Cardinals, she will have turned Parina into cremains in an urn, just like the urns sent to our hall. However, the person showed some mercy when she killed Parina. It has to be something related to Wen Tai. Her emotions might have left behind some clues. Parina’s body will lead us to the mad person!” said Izisha with great conviction.

“Alright, I’ll inform Milo.”

…

It was noon, and everything went on as usual. However, there were some rumors circulating among the Parthenon Temple.

People began to discuss the past. Some speculated the real cause of Parina’s death. Parina was the Great Sage of the Parthenon Temple, so her death would bring about a certain level of influence.

“I don’t want to take too much time over a dead person. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to London.” Lady Karolina sat inside the hall and said impatiently to Tata.

Right after she spoke, Ye Xinxia appeared at the entrance of the hall in black, long-sleeved shirt. She looked pale.

Lady Karolina remained in her seat and watched Ye Xinxia.

“My husband is still well-preserved inside the Time Frost. I dislike beating around the bush. If you want to gain the Victorian family’s support, this is my condition. As for the events involving negotiation, sincerity, and friendship. I am sorry, I don’t buy those,” Lady Karolina said bluntly.

“I don’t plan to talk to you about that,” said Ye Xinxia.

“Then, there’s nothing to talk about between us. The honor is yours if you become the goddess.” Lady Karolina stood up and walked out of the hall.

…

Outside the hall, a red dragon landed majestically. It pressed its weight on the stone tiles, as if wanting to crush the expensive tiled floor.

Lady Karolina hopped onto the back of the red dragon. She looked down at Tata, who followed behind.

Lady Karolina smiled. She said to Tata, “Ask the saintess to give it a thought. If she changes her mind, she can come and visit the Victorian manor, and I won’t let the ballot slip out of my hand. Besides, as far as I’m concerned, Izisha also possesses the resurrection ability. She was dismantled into eight pieces and laid inside the Crystal Ice Coffin before miraculously coming back to life.”

“She didn’t master the true resurrection art. You must trust us,” said Tata.

“Actually, I don’t really care about the authenticity of the art. It doesn’t matter to me as long as someone can bring my man back to life… I wish you all the best in the election. See you!” Lady Karolina was in midair as she said the final words.

The red dragon flew in the direction of northwest and gradually away from Athens. Then it left Greece.

It flew past several European countries before heading toward Holy City. It was still early. So, Lady Karolina stayed in the Holy City for a while, as if it was a transit station.

…

Lady Karoline dared not simply reveal her special identity in the Holy City. She let the red dragon land on the plain, then she walked to the First Avenue of the Holy City.

She walked to District 7 on First Avenue. Lady Karolina had her own club in the Holy City. She had made a lot of friends from around the world. They always had a way to satisfy her preference for a drunken night out.

Just when she was about to step into her secret base, she noticed a familiar figure inside an old coffee shop at the corner of the hustle street at District 7.

Lady Karolina walked over to the place, pretending to buy some drinks.

She looked at the person near her and was shocked.

“How did you get away?!” Lady Karolina could not help but cry out while pointing at the man drinking iced coffee.

“Sorry, do I know you?” the man stared at Lady Karolina in confusion.

“Do you think you’re a stranger to the world? You’re the newly promoted Wicked God, Mo Fan! You’re a sinful man!” said Lady Karoline.

Mo Fan took large sips of the iced coffee. He smiled. “You have a good sense of judgment. I’ve been walking around on the streets for some time, yet no one comes to me and questions me like you.”

There was a hint of hostility in Lady Karolina’s gaze. It was clear that she was going to summon the Holy City guardians.

The Wicked God escaped from the Holy Palace and strutted around the streets to enjoy his teatime!

“Running into me is the start of your bad luck!” Lady Karolina’s face changed.

The surroundings immediately turned into an ice cave. The drinks on display were frozen into ice within a second. Her aura was so strong that it suppressed most of the powerful Mages. They had difficulty breathing.

“Who are you?” asked Mo Fan.

Lady Karolina said her name haughtily.

“Such a small world. I didn’t expect to bump into you in the Holy City.” Mo Fan was surprised. He really hadn’t expected to run into the b*tch who had banished Mu Ningxue to the Extreme South Land.

Unfortunately, they were at the Holy City. Otherwise, Mo Fan would have grabbed her hair and smashed her face on the floor.

“How can I help you, Lady Karolina?” Just then, a spirited woman with purple curls walked out with a frozen coffee.

Lady Karolina frowned. She was the Archangel Sharjah!

She disliked people addressing her as Gabriel. So, the people in the Holy City called her by her name.

Many times, Sharjah dressed up like an ordinary, pretty girl. She sometimes liked to pretend to be a tourist. Most pedestrians could not recognize her as easily and would not know that she was one of the rulers of the Holy City.

“Thank God that you’re here. The demon—” said Lady Karolina.

“Before the final judgment, he’s just a suspect. Moreover, he surrendered himself to the Holy City. He recited the divine oath, so the Holy City has to protect him,” said Sharjah calmly.

“Still, it’s unbecoming for him to strut around the Holy City like this…” Lady Karoline could not quite accept it.

3014 The Victorian Family

‘How could a criminal enjoy his coffee in the evening so leisurely? What was the Holy City to him?! Was the Holy City just a vacation resort to him?!’

Many people in the Holy City could not wait to see Mo Fan die a violent death!

“What difference does it make? If he has sinned, he’s on probation before he leaves the world. If he hasn’t sinned, he’s enjoying the freedom that belongs to him anyway,” said Sharjah.

Lady Karolina could not convince Sharjah. Still, she could not accept the fact that this man was walking around in freedom.

Why couldn’t the Holy City keep the demon in check? She expected to see Mo Fan hanging highly in the claws of the golden dragon. She expected to see him all bruised and battered while being hung in the scorching sun. She hadn’t expected this!

“But—”

“It’s upon China and Asian Magic Association’s behest. As long as he remains in the Holy City before judgment, the Holy City Archangels agreed to not deprive him of his human rights.” Sharjah waved her hand. She had no interest in providing Lady Karolina with any more explanation.

A mass of purple aura spread and melted the adverse effect caused by Lady Karolina’s frosty magic. After that, she continued wandering around the Holy City like any other ordinary girl.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan stood in place. He fixed his gaze on Lady Karolina and gave her a smirk.

Lady Karolina felt a chill spread down her spin.

She sensed that Mo Fan was trying to remember her face. He looked as if the first thing he wanted to do after breaking free from the Holy City was to kill her!

Lady Karolina snorted. She was not afraid of him. Why did she need to be so calculative with someone who was going to die soon anyway?

“Enjoy your last freedom. That’s all you can do,” sneered Lady Karolina.

Mo Fan had already left.

…

Lady Karolina went into her winery. When she recalled Mo Fan’s expression, she was no longer in the mood for any drinks.

‘Forget about it. Let’s just go back to England.’

She went out of the city and hopped onto the red dragon. They flew to the England coast. The place was much colder than Italy, Greece, and the Holy City. There were hardly any other colors except the weeds along the lengthy coastline.

The Victorian family’s manor was in the coldest area. Around the manor was a variety of cold-resistant plants and because of this, the manor looked like a unique oasis in the middle of a barren land. Colorful flowers bloomed around the manor. Despite lacking sunlight, the flowers grew well and added a splash of color in the area.

Lady Karolina’s favorite plants were the thorny flowers dangling along the high walls. When she was younger, her childish husband had climbed the wall that was filled with thorny flowers with his bare hands in order to find a place to spend a night with her in private.

She walked quickly into the mansion. She went down along a spiral staircase and into the basement ice cellar. No wine was stored here. Instead, there was a hundred-year-old Ice World Magic Stone. It was used to freeze a middle-aged man who had died six years ago.

The man sat on the chair, looking like he was deep in his thoughts. Lady Karolina stood before the frozen body and stared at him for a very long time.

“Dear, I’ve not been able to obtain the special God’s gift. This place can preserve you for another half a year, at most. Don’t worry, the saintess from the Parthenon Temple needs my vote. You’ll be brought back to life very soon,” said Lady Karolina to the inert body.

The man couldn’t hear her words. It looked as though she was speaking to herself. It was as if she was performing a stage play.

“When you wake up, I won’t hate you anymore.”

“When you wake up, I will give you all you want.”

“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have thrown a fit at you because of those unimportant women. We’re husband and wife, after all. We should forgive each other for everything.”

“I know you were just flirting with them. You still love me from the bottom of your heart. When you wake up, I’ll put up with all your flaws. It’s my fault for freezing you here. I just want to make you stay. I don’t mean to take your life away. I—”

Lady Karolina was in tears.

Knock! Knock!

There was a knock on the thick, wooden door of the ice cellar.

“Who is it?” Lady Karolina immediately turned as cold as ice.

“Madam, the saintess from the Parthenon Temple is here,” said the servant from outside the door.

Lady Karolina was delighted. She could not stop herself from planting a kiss on the frozen middle-aged man’s cheek. She was so happy that she looked like a lady embarking on a new life.

“I’ll come after I change my clothes. Is it Izisha or Ye Xinxia?” asked Lady Karolina calmly.

“It’s the younger one,” said the servant.

“Great!”

There was joy in her words this time.

Izisha possessed the Resurrection Divine Art. However, she had only resurrected herself thus far. Besides, there was much controversy about her resurrection. It seemed like her Resurrection Divine Art was not the orthodox Parthenon Temple resurrection method. It did not belong to the White Magic. It was suspected to have originated from Black Magic.

Ye Xinxia, on the other hand, mastered the resurrection art that was approved by the Soul of the Parthenon Temple. Even the Forbidden Curse Alliance never questioned her ability.

Although Lady Karolina was closer with Izisha, she could make her family give their full support to Ye Xinxia for the sake of resurrecting her husband from the dead.

…

The family meeting was held in the afternoon. Lady Karolina knew what the meeting was about.

Duke Ayleen showed clear signs of the party she supported. She was very close with Ye Xinxia. The mass media had reported about this before. As an insider, Lady Karolina was aware of this too. On top of their close relationship, there were also many interests involved in it.

Four people in the Victorian family had the most power.

One of them was Duke Ayleen. If the Victorian family was a public listed company, Ayleen would own 30% of the shares.

The other was Lady Karolina. She and her husband owned 25% of the shares. Lady Karolina told the public that her husband was critically ill but had not yet been declared dead.

Another one was Old Weller. He was the younger brother to Ayleen’s father. He owned 15% of the shares.

The last one was a mysterious person who did not belong to the Victorian family. That person owned 30% of the shares.

There were no other minority shareholders. These four people held the Victorian family’s shares. Today, the Victorian family was the greatest family in England because of the enormous dragon. They were in a position where no other Europeans could compete. The four people who held the power of the family controlled England’s economy and magic system to a certain extent!

3015 The Mysterious Guest

Ye Xinxia obtained full support from Ayleen. Ayleen also held the most power.

However, Ayleen had no control over the other members with 70% of the ownership.

As long as Lady Karolina stood firm on her decision in the meeting, Ye Xinxia would face obstacles in gaining majority of voting support from the people of England.

Inside the meeting hall, Lady Karolina put on her favorite dress. Her dress was a noble blue color like distant stardust. It accentuated her snow-white skin and slender figure. Lady Karolina knew she would be the main character for this day. She would be the one to decide the Victorian family, the Parthenon Temple, and Europe’s future.

Lady Karolina saw Ye Xinxia.

Ye Xinxia sat beside Ayleen.

They both looked as if they were still undergraduates in the middle of a beauty-parlor chat. Lady Karolina found them pathetic and ridiculous.

‘So, these two little girls think they can control the entire Europe, huh? There are still many people in the city who are more capable than them!’

“The meeting has begun. Please take your seats,” said the executive.

The Victorian family’s key figures were no more than twenty. Aside from the four people with absolute power over the family, the others were more like advisors. In the end, they still had to obey the views of the four people with the most power and let them make the final decision.

This was rarely seen in other great families. They rarely had absolute control over their positions.

“Let me make an opening speech,” said Old Weller. He glanced at the main entrance. After making sure the entrance was closed, he began his speech.

“Today, we are going to make an important decision. The decision we make will directly impact our ability to gain international prestige. We’re going to decide the goddess of the Parthenon Temple, and we’re aware of the Parthenon Temple status in the world. If we make the wrong choice, then I think we should just stick to expanding in England.”

The group inside the meeting hall burst into laughter.

The Victorian family was also known as the Dragon family. They were the talk of the town these days. The European Mages discussed them. Many clans were somewhat unimpressed with the Parthenon Temple.

In fact, the Parthenon Temple had a solid foundation. However, relying on the goddess’ Resurrection Divine Art alone could not change the world. Meanwhile, the Victorian family had caused drastic changes to the situation in Europe.

The children wanted to become the Dragoon Mages instead of just an outstanding Mage.

“My lady, I’m sorry. Some young people just think they know everything.” Old Weller could not help but shake his head upon hearing the laughter. He apologized to Ye Xinxia who sat at the far end of the round table.

Ye Xinxia did not take that to heart. She sat there and observed.

The group was not surprised to see Ye Xinxia involved in the Victorian family’s meeting. After all, she had invested a sum of money in the family in the name of a saintess many years ago. She had helped the family to resolve many immediate issues.

She occasionally showed up at family meetings, but she never interfered in their decisions.

“My lady, we’re aware of your intention of being present in this meeting. B-But, what can you bring to us? As far as we’re concerned, Izisha has a perfect network with the ancient, great families of Europe. As for you, you can’t bring anything of substance to our family aside from having the loyal believers of Divine Soul and gaining fame from charity,” said a noble young man who had laughed a while ago.

“Duke, as much as we would like to build a closer relationship with the Parthenon Temple, we don’t seem to be lacking anything now,” said Thompson, who was in charge of the dragon hatchery industry.

“We still lack a lot of things. For example, we lack dragon taming techniques…,” said Old Weller.

Old Weller was in charge of taming dragons.

Dragon taming technique was key to the Victorian family. Regardless of how powerful a dragon was, if they failed to tame it, it would be pointless.

They had to tame even the most powerful and irascible dragons and turn them as obedient as a sheep. The Victorian family had achieved a breakthrough in this area for the past few years.

But they had not gained four-star taming levels.

If they achieved a four-star security level in taming a dragon, it would mean the dragon they tamed would be safer than the pets kept in the city. Most national governments longed for them to tame the enormous dragons.

“Aren’t we here to talk about supporting votes? It shouldn’t take such a long time to discuss it. Don’t you think so, Ye Xinxia?” Lady Karolina stared at Ye Xinxia.

Lady Karolina had already laid out her conditions for Ye Xinxia. The result at the end of the meeting all depended on whether Ye Xinxia would give up her precious Resurrection Divine Art. To put it bluntly, it was a deal between Lady Karolina and Ye Xinxia.

“Discussion?” asked Duke Ayleen. She was puzzled with their words.

“Ayleen, of course you were not there for the discussion. We all know your thoughts. You will certainly support your best friend unconditionally,” said Lady Karolina with a smile.

Lady Karolina had to act politely before Ayleen.

“You all have misunderstood. This is not a meeting for discussion. Uncle, I already stated the main point for today’s meeting when I summoned you all here. I’m here to make an announcement instead of discussing whether to support Izisha or Ye Xinxia,” said Duke Ayleen to Old Weller.

“What’s the difference? I understand how you feel. Even though the Victorian family supports Ye Xinxia, we can’t possibly give our support unconditionally. So, I think we shouldn’t discuss the issue, instead, we should make a direct announcement,” said Old Weller calmly.

Meanwhile, Ayleen shook her head.

The people in the meeting had differing opinions. Some did not mind giving their support unconditionally, while others said the Parthenon Temple should first show them their sincerity. Some said they could make other choices.

Lady Karolina smiled even more radiantly when she saw the group arguing over their different opinions.

Lady Karolina hoped this would make Ye Xinxia aware that the Victorian family was not certainly the bargaining chip for her to win the election. With that, Ye Xinxia would agree to Lady Karolina’s condition.

“You don’t have much time left to consider my offer,” whispered Lady Karolina to Ye Xinxia.

“Why don’t we listen to Ayleen’s announcement first?” said Ye Xinxia.

…

Ayleen stood up. She did not show them a gentle and elegant smile. Instead, she looked solemn. She radiated an air of intimidation of a reigning queen.

The group fell silent.

“What is it that makes everyone so arrogant today? Perhaps with the power and wealth the dragons provide us, it has rendered some of us weak in our intellect.”

Ayleen reprimanded the group without hesitation, especially the young people who assumed they did not need to strengthen their ties with the Parthenon Temple.

“How did we conquer the enormous dragons?” questioned Ayleen.